Theme: There and back.
NaomiZ here with many thanks to the great Anonymous T for blogging the last three Thursdays. I made a ROUND TRIP and have come back to work the crossword puzzle with you all. Today, constructor Roland Huget clues us in on the theme with a big reveal:
61-Across. There and back, or a progression found in 17-, 25-, 35-, 51-, and 61-Across: ROUND TRIP.
The word TRIP appears in each theme entry. The first time, TRIP is spelled normally. In each subsequent appearance, the last letter from the previous appearance moves to the front of the word. In the final appearance, TRIP has come back to the beginning.
17. Hair removal option: WAX STRIPS. Ouch.
25. Underhanded move: CHEAP TRICK. And for the rockers among us ...
35. Growth also known as yellow poplar: TULIP TREE. Liriodendron tulipifera -- known as the tulip tree or yellow poplar -- is native to eastern North America.
51. Noncommissioned screenplay: SPEC SCRIPT. A spec script is a screenplay written on speculation, meaning without a guaranteed payment. It may be written with the goal of selling it to a production company or studio.
61. There and back, or a progression found in 17-, 25-, 35-, 51-, and 61-Across: ROUND TRIP.
Across:
1. Former "Doctor Who" star Capaldi: PETER. Peter Capaldi is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist, who portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who from 2013 to 2017.
6. "Quit crying, ya big baby!": WAH.
9. Latches (on to): GLOMS.
14. Breakout publisher: ATARI. Breakout is an arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and released in 1976. Eight rows of bricks line the top portion of the screen, and the player's goal is to destroy the bricks by repeatedly bouncing a ball off a paddle into them.
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| Breakout starting screen |
15. Punk offshoot: EMO. Thank goodness for frequent fill EMO to get me started on this puzzle.
16. Make merry: REVEL.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Get around: EVADE.
20. Shot: PIC. We took many shots on our three week adventure, and need to sort through them.
21. Apex predator with feathers: EAGLE.
22. 21-Across nest: AERIE.
23. Homecoming attendee: ALUM.
25. [Theme clue]
27. Blotter target: WET INK. An ink blotter is either a handheld rocking device or simple blotting paper, both used to absorb excess ink when writing with a fountain pen.
29. Emblem on a dol.: US SEAL. Abbreviated "dollar" in the clue lets US know there will be an abbreviation in the answer.
30. "4 real?": SRSLY. Text speak: seriously?
31. So-so poker hand: PAIR.
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| One pair ranks just above I got nuthin'. |
34. Conniving: SLY.
35. [Theme clue]
39. Stand __: PAT. "If you stand pat in draw poker you're betting on the cards in your hand being better than any you're likely to draw. It didn't take long for stand pat to move from the poker table, where it first appeared in the late 1800s, to the realm of politics; by the early 20th century, to stand pat was to oppose any change in U.S. tariff policy. The term continues to be used mainly in U.S. English, where it's applied to everything from a coach's decision not to change out players during a game to a homeowner's decision not to refinance." -- www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standpat
42. Really liking: INTO.
43. Brings up: REARS. As in brings up, or rears, children.
47. Fireplace receptacle: ASH PAN.
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| fireplace grate and ash pan |
50. __ Sea: saline lake in California's Sonoran Desert: SALTON. Although there were salt lakes in the area millions of years ago, the current lake was formed by accident in 1905 when an irrigation canal broke, and water flowed into the Salton Basin for two years. Over the course of the 20th century, the lake became an important resting stop for migrating birds, but as the lake shrank and agricultural runoff poisoned the fish, it became an ecological disaster.
51. [Theme clue]
55. Dreamcast maker: SEGA. Sega introduced its Dreamcast video game console in 1998/99, replacing the Saturn, and the earlier Genesis. The Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, ending Sega's 18 years as a console maker.
56. "Bosch" star Welliver: TITUS. Titus Welliver is an American actor, best known for his portrayals of the Man in Black in Lost, Silas Adams in Deadwood, Jimmy O'Phelan in Sons of Anarchy, and the title role in the television series Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. He is also known for his collaborations with Ben Affleck, starring in his films Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo, and Live by Night. I clearly need to watch more television. I did watch Sons of Anarchy, though!
57. Place for HS filmmakers: AV LAB. High School is abbreviated; so is Audio Visual Laboratory.
59. Gown partner: CAP.
60. Wipe out: ERASE.
61. [Theme clue]
63. Compare: LIKEN. Shall I "liken" thee to a summer's day? Shakespeare used the word "compare," and the lady being compared came out ahead: But thy eternal summer shall not fade! To liken is to assert a similarity, but to compare is to examine similarities and differences.
64. Hesitant response: ERM. Here's that British "um" again.
65. With a single voice: AS ONE.
66. Hรคgar's dog: SNERT. Hรคgar the Horrible is the title and main character of a comic strip created by Dik Browne, which first appeared in 1973. Following Browne's retirement in 1988, his son, Chris Browne, continued the strip until his own death in 2023. The strip is a caricature commenting on life in the United States through a loose interpretation of Viking Age Scandinavian life.
67. Deli choice: RYE.
68. Deviated from a straight course: YAWED. (A moving ship or aircraft) twisted or oscillated around a vertical axis.
Down:
1. Green-skinned fruits in the custard-apple family: PAWPAWS. I only know this fruit from the old song, "Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch." Asimina triloba is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada, and it yields the largest native fruit of North America.
2. Always-open merchant: E-TAILER. An internet retailer.
3. Campaign promises directed at wage earners: TAX CUTS.
4. Triage ctrs.: ERs. Triage centers are Emergency Rooms.
5. Liturgical act: RITE.
6. Consider the pros and cons of: WEIGH.
7. Copious: AMPLE.
8. Hebrew prophet: HOSEA.
9. Hall of Famers: GREATS.
10. Simple machines: LEVERS. A lever is a simple machine that amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, which is said to provide leverage, which is mechanical advantage gained in the system. Components of the machine are fulcrum (or pivot), load, and effort.
11. Egg cell producers: OVARIES.
12. Insurance category: MEDICAL.
13. In an aerodynamic way: SLEEKLY.
18. Pool triangle: RACK. Pool as in billiards.
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| This carbon fiber rack will set you back $895.00 plus tax and shipping. |
24. Jackson of the Modern Jazz Quartet: MILT. Milton "Bags" Jackson (1923-1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
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| Milt Jackson at the vibraphone. |
26. Ragdoll sound: PURR. The Ragdoll is a breed of cat whose silky coat is dark on top and light below, with blue eyes. American breeder Ann Baker developed Ragdolls in the 1960s. The name Ragdoll comes from the tendency of these cats to go limp when picked up. Ragdolls are considered dog-like because they follow people around, are receptive to handling, and are not aggressive toward other pets.
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| Ragdoll cat |
28. Alma mater of Spike Lee and Ang Lee: Abbr.: NYU. Filmmakers Spike Lee and Ang Lee (no relation) earned their MFAs from New York University.
31. Map marker: PIN.
32. Well-suited: APT.
33. Skater Midori: ITO. Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. She was the 1989 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She was the first woman to land a triple Axel in competition. Midori Ito continues to compete: in 2024, she won the International Skating Union Adult Figure Skating Competition's Masters Elite Women III + IV Artistic Free Skating category.
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| Midori Ito at the 1992 Olympics |
36. "The Mod Squad" role: LINC. Clarence Williams III (1939-2021) played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973.
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| The Mod Squad: Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III |
37. Bullpen stat: ERA. In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also called the bullpen. A statistic relevant to pitchers is their Earned Run Average -- the number of earned runs they have allowed, divided by the number of innings pitched, and multiplied by nine (the usual number of innings in a game). Lower is better.
38. Anago and unagi: EELS.
39. Some Degas works: PASTELS. French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) did much of his work in pastels, which are powdery sticks of pigment with very little binder, resulting in beautiful works of art that are very fragile.
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| Edgar Degas, "Waiting" (c. 1882), pastel on paper |
40. Medicine cabinet staple:
ASPIRIN.
41. Bad thing for an official to be on:
THE TAKE. To be "on the take" is to accept bribes or other illegal income.
44. Was humiliated:
ATE CROW.
45. Hair growth option:
ROGAINE. According to the manufacturer, "ROGAINE® minoxidil products are the first FDA-approved topical treatment that is clinically proven to help regrow hair." Rip it out with WAX STRIPS, grow it with chemical treatments ... or maybe just get comfortable with your hair.
46. Replied sharply:
SNAPPED.
48. One who may download Microsoft software:
PC USER.
49. Green light:
ASSENT. Since a green traffic light gives permission to proceed, by extension, to "green light" a project is to give permission to go ahead with it. To assent is to express approval.
50. Diehard fan, in slang:
STAN. A "stan" is an obsessed fan. The term comes from the song
Stan by Eminem, which describes a fan who is excessively fixated on the rapper.
52. Harder to come by:
RARER.
53. Creamy white:
IVORY.
54. Decorative feather:
PLUME.
58. Annual celebration, briefly:
BDAY. Easier to write in the tiny spaces of my pocket calendar.
62. Passenger-screening org.:
TSA.
Transportation
Security
Administration.
Here's the grid:
While I was away, I was able to briefly scan most of the blog posts here and many of the comments as well. What struck me was how very difficult the puzzles seemed to be, and how very clever all of you were to solve them. I hoped I would be able to keep up with you upon my return! I managed to complete today's puzzle on paper, no cheating, but it took a moment to get started, and there were quite a few entries solved by perps. Anyone who made it through the grid deserves AMPLE praise. I hope you all got to REVEL in your success, and that no one ATE CROW.
in red at the right. I wrestled with what letter would work in that cell that began two unkown-to-me words and correctly guessed the L. I was so pleasantly surprised to get the congratulations message. I'll take a "got 'er done!"
