Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Gary Cee

Words within words.  This was a very clever theme, but I am not clever enough to come up with a good title, so here's your challenge:  Name this Puzzle!  And the winner is TTP for is entry of:

Indifferently Different

17-Across. Playful but egocentric?: SELFISHLY ELFISH.

27-Across. Hopeful but insubstantial?: MEAGERLY EAGER.

44-Across. Terrible but legal?: LAWFULLY AWFUL.

58-Across. Impolite but uptight?: PRUDISHLY RUDISH.

Across:

1. Barton who wrote "A Story of the Red Cross": CLARA.  Clara Barton (née Clarissa Harlowe Barton; Dec. 25, 1821 ~ Apr. 12, 1912) led a remarkable life.  [Name # 1.]

6. TMI part, briefly: INFO.  Textspeak for Too Much Info.

10. Tibetan priest: LAMA.  As Ogden Nash has informed us: 

        The one-l lama,

        He's a priest.

        The two-l llama,

        He's a beast.

        And I'll bet

        A silk pajama

        There isn't any

        Three-l lllama.

14. Refueling ship: OILER.

15. Juice extractor extraction: PULP.

16. Actor Bana: ERIC.  Eric Bana (né Eric Banadinović; b. Aug. 9, 1968) just celebrated his 54th birthday.  [Name # 2.]

20. Egyptian boy king: TUT.  The tomb of King Tut (né Tutankhamun) was discovered 100 years ago.  [Name # 3.]

21. "hehe": LOL.  More textspeak.  Laughing Out Loud.

22. Jot down: NOTATE.

23. Blue cheese from England: STILTON.  Everything you wanted to know about Stilton Cheese, but didn't know to ask.

26. Diagnostic test for epilepsy, for short: EEG.  As in the ElectroEncephaloGraphy.  Everything you wanted to know about the EEG but didn't know to ask.

33. Words in the title of some tribute poems: ODE TO.

35. "__ your head!": "Think!": USE.  //  Change one vowel, and you get 57-Across. Can. neighbor: USA.  

36. Start all over: REDO.

37. Horseback game with a namesake shirt: POLO.

38. Like pet birds, typically: CAGED.

40. __ Millions lottery: MEGA.

41. Starting on: AS OF.

42. Heavenly sphere: ORB.

Celestial Spheres

43. Cheat: COZEN.  Definitely not a Tuesday word.

48. Mucky stuff: GOO.  //  And 62-Across. Exude, as confidence: OOZE.

49. Spot for a pingpong table: REC ROOM.

52. Pampers all the time: SPOILS.

56. Links org.: PGA.  As in the Professional Golfers Association.

63. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL.  Amal Clooney (née Amal Alamuddin; b. Feb. 3, 1978) married George Clooney in 2014.  She was born in Beirut, Lebanon.  Her speciality is international law and human rights.  [Name # 4.]

64. Jeff's wife on "Curb Your Enthusiasm": SUSIE.  Susie Essman (née Susan Essman; b. May 31, 1955)  plays Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm.   [Name # 5.] 

65. "Terrible" time for tots (and their parents): TWOS.

66. Solitary: LONE.

67. Joyful shout: CHEER.

Down:

1. Is priced at: COSTS.

2. Fire dept. rank: LIEUT.  As in Lieutenant.  The fire pole is a traditional feature in the fire station, but it also presents a safety risk to the firemen.

3. Coldest temperature on record, e.g.: ALL TIME LOW.  What is the coldest recorded temperature in your state?

4. NWSL official: REF.  Hand up if you knew that NWSL stood for National Women's Soccer League.  Referees are needed for the soccer games.

5. Melber of MSNBC: ARI.  Ari Melber (né Ari Naftali Melber; b. Mar. 31, 1980) hosts The Beat with Ari Melber, which airs on MSNBC.  [Name # 6.]  

6. Apple device featuring Siri: iPHONE.

7. __ and void: NULL.

8. Travel by air: FLY.  Flying is not fun anymore.

9. Carefully attentive: OPEN-EYED.

10. Skipped town: LEFT.

11. Opera solo: ARIA.  My favorite aria from Carmen.

12. Fine spray: MIST.

13. Dull pain: ACHE.

18. Uphill climb: SLOG.

19. Stadium section: LOGE.

Loge in the Budapest Opera House

24. Release, as steam: LET OFF.

25. Chinese philosophical principle: TAO.

26. "What __ is new?": ELSE.

28. Sport with scrums: RUGBY.  The perps gave me enough letters to let me guess Rugby.  I know nothing about this game.  Apparently scrums is short for scrummage.

29. Under __: sports apparel brand: ARMOUR.  I am not familiar with this sportswear, but I have seen the logo.

30. "Heavens to Betsy!": GEEZ, LOUISE!  Also the name of a clothing boutique in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

31. Advantage: EDGE.

32. Speckled horse: ROAN.  What exactly is a Roan horse?

33. Hot springs gemstone: OPAL.  How opals are formed.  Australia is a huge source of opals.  Hi, Kazie!

34. Lentil pancake in Indian cuisine: DOSA.  You, too, can learn how to make Dosa.

38. Mammoth: COLOSSAL.  The Colossal of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

39. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO.  Arlo Davy Guthrie (b. July 10, 1947) is the son of folk singer Woody Guthrie.  Arlo is probably best known for Alice's Restaurant, but he also sang The City of New Orleans.  [Name # 7.]

43. Ozone-depleting chemical, for short: CFC.  Short for ChloroFloroCarbons.

45. Aptly named hybrid fruit: UGLI.  The Ugli is a hybrid of a tangerine or orange and a grapefruit.  

46. Diamond-shaped pattern: ARGYLE.  Also a reference to our dear Santa.

47. Have on: WEAR.

50. Davis of "Do the Right Thing": OSSIE.  Ossie Davis (né Raiford Chatman Davis; Dec. 18, 1917 ~ Feb. 4, 2005) was an actor and a civil rights activist.  He was also married to actress Ruby Dee.  I saw Do the Right Thing when I was living in France.  It didn't translate well.  [Name # 8.]

51. HBO's "Real Time With Bill __": MAHER.  Bill Maher (b. Jan. 20, 1956) is a comedian and political commentator, known for his satire.  [Name # 9.]

52. Catch sight of: SPOT.

53. Ship's front: PROW.

54. Liqueur with a licorice taste: OUZO.  Everything you wanted to know about Ouzo, but didn't know to ask.

55. Mid-month day: IDES.  Beware the Ides of March.

56. Course of action: PLAN.

59. Managed care gp.: HMO.  As in a Health Maintenance Organization.

60. The Trojans of the NCAA: USC.  As in the University of Southern California.

61. "I think we all know that!": DUH.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Sandwich, Massachusetts is the oldest town on Cape Cod.
The law enforcement officers there are the Sandwich Police.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy birthday to Joseph (MM), who has been wittily guiding us on Thursdays. Here's a picture of him in Chiang Rai. He said "On that trip we spent time in Langkawi, Penang, Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Singapore."

 

Chiang Rai, 2017

 

Sunday May 22, 2016 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Holding Out" - OUT is removed from the starting of one word in each theme entry.

 

27A. Exertion while getting up? : STANDING EFFORT. Outstanding effort.

41A. Angry reaction to insolent trick-or-treaters? : HALLOWEEN FIT. Halloween outfit.

 

60A. Pickup shtick that needs refinement? : ROUGH LINE. Rough outline.

70A. Place for perjurers? : LYING AREA. Outlying area.

86A. Ship's secure containers? : BOUND FREIGHT. Outbound freight.

102A. Wing for rugby's Wallabies? : AUSTRALIAN BACK. Australian outback. Wiki said Wallabies is the nickname for Australia's rugby team. Learning moment for me.

 

37D. Gregarious play group? : SOCIAL CAST. Social outcast.

45D. Blog entry about garden edging? : BORDER POST. Border outpost. Boomer bought this plant from Walmart two weeks ago, but he did not keep the flower tag. Do you know the name?

Though the OUTs in the original OUT* phrase are mostly prefixes, Gail kept the OUTless phrases far away in meaning as possible. The theme looks simple (Gail makes everything look simple), but it's hard to nail it.

Themers are placed Across and Down for the smoothest fill, though often Down themers rob the grid of sparkling long fill.

 

Across:

1. Hyde Park carriage : PRAM

5. One with ropelike tresses : RASTA

10. Enjoys King and Queen : READS. Stephen King. Ellery Queen. We also have 114. King creation : NOVEL

15. Water carrier : DUCT. Not PAIL.

19. Seat of Allen County, Kansas : IOLA. No idea. What's it famous for?

20. __ Bell: Emily Brontë pen name : ELLIS. Learning moment for me also.

21. Run the show : EMCEE

22. Morales of "Jericho" : ESAI

23. Mongolian for "waterless place" : GOBI

24. Half a Yale cheer : BOOLA. Also 53. Member of college music's Whiffenpoofs : ELI

25. Order to attack : SIC 'EM

26. Reason to ban a book : PORN. Once I had PORN and ORGY in one grid. Rich asked me to remove one. Lots of stuff to consider when filling a puzzle: number of abbrs, partials, names, etc. Do not put G-SPOT in LAT, do not put CEE/PEE/ELOAN in WSJ, do not put LGE in NYT.

 30. Crystallized mist : ICE FOG

32. Shows some spunk : DARES

33. Leather piercers : AWLS

34. Aspirant : WANNABE

35. Take under one's wing : ASSIST. Not MENTOR.

38. Tel __ : AVIV

39. Had a row? : OARED. Did not fool me.

40. Many August births : LEOS

45. Short deli order? : BLT

48. Russian retreat : DACHA

50. Pressure source : PEER. Peer pressure.

51. Completed with one stroke : ACED. This refers to hole-in-one, right?

52. Really come down : POUR

54. Long Island airport town : ISLIP. All crosses.

56. Shock source : TASER

58. __ pants : CARGO. Not CAPRI.

59. Bug-loving org. : NSA

62. Attacked without warning : RAIDED

63. Somewhat soft, as a sound : LOWISH. Not a word I use.

65. Ref's call : TKO

66. Capital east of the Black Hills : PIERRE. Pretty city. Boomer took me there in 2001.

68. Spa treatment : FACIAL

72. MD associates : RNs And 85. Ambulance VIP : EMT

75. Three-time Olympics host country : ITALY. China only hosted one.

76. They may be emotional : SCARS, which we all have.

78. Express disdain (at) : SNIFF. Not SNEER.

79. Cioppino cooker : POT.  Never had Cioppino. Looks delicious, Irish Miss/D-Otto.

80. Curious to a fault : NOSY

81. Steinbeck surname : JOAD

82. Some light beers : BUDS. Tiny clue/answer dupe with 84. Not-too-potent potable : NEAR BEER.

83. Cyberjotting : E-NOTE

90. Salinger title teen : ESME

91. Collectors' items? : DEBTS. Lovely clue. Of course I was thinking those eBay items.

92. Go on : LAST

93. Too violent, perhaps : R-RATED

95. Split the tab : GO DUTCH

98. Fourth down play : PUNT

99. Bit of ugly politics : SMEAR

101. Extremely : EVER SO

107. Retina feature : CONE. Another learning moment to me.

108. "Invisible Man" author Ellison : RALPH

110. Chan portrayer : OLAND (Warner). Learned from doing crosswords.

111. Supply-and-demand sci. : ECON

112. Rock band famous for face paint : KISS

113. Often-bricked surface : PATIO

115. Northern terminus of I-79 : ERIE

116. Some Neruda poems : ODES

117. Old will? : SHALT. Thou shalt ...

118. Noisy fliers : GEESE. Not GNATS.

119. Peace Nobelist Cassin : RENE. Never heard of him.

Down:

1. Fairy tale trio : PIGS

2. Underlying cause : ROOT

3. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA

4. It often includes sides : MAIN DISH. For years, my lunch was a hot bowl of rice noodle soup. Cantonese noodle soup is similiar to Vietnamese Pho. Tasty slow-cooked broth, a few pieces of meat & green veggie, but no bean sprouts or basil on top. Cilantro is the only herb Chinese use.

5. Second coming : REBIRTH

6. How writers usually work : ALONE. Same as 95% (or more) of the crossword constructors.

7. Plods (through) : SLOGS

8. Scrabble piece : TILE

9. Without obligation : AS A FAVOR

10. Work out : RESOLVE. Some of you were aware that I wanted this soybean paste, but Amazon sent me soy sauce, which I stupidly opened. Amazon asked me to keep the soy sauce, but I had to re-order the paste and they would not offer me free shipping. Sigh! I did not re-order. I bought another container of red miso at the Asian market yesterday, Yellowrocks!

11. Qatari bigwigs : EMIRS

12. Part of IRA: Abbr. : ACCT. Stock market was violent again last week.

13. Wood finish? : DEE. Just the last letter.

14. Like parts of the Great Plains : SEMI-ARID

15. Count (on) : DEPEND

16. D.C. location, familiarly : US OF A

17. Chocolate substitute : CAROB. The chocolate mint plant I bought last time lost its chocolate flavor when seeped in hot water, TTP/Anon-T. Still very minty though.

18. Hint : TINGE

28. Court figs. : DAs

29. Texter's "Just sayin'" : FWIW

31. Site for techies : CNET

34. Nilla product : WAFER

35. Pilgrim John : ALDEN

36. They can make good impressions : SEALS. I had ?EALS in place and thought of MEALS first. They do make good impressions.

38. Hebrew opener : ALEPH. First letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

39. First word of "The Raven" : ONCE

42. Distinctive mark : A PLUS

43. "Gone With the Wind" actress : LEIGH (Vivien). Victim of bipolar.

44. Assuage : EASE

46. Winter Games vehicle : LUGE

47. Walked (on) : TROD

49. United route : AIR WAY

52. Two of a kind : PAIR

55. It covers a lot of ground : SOIL. Nice clue also.

56. Maori carvings : TIKIs

57. Like many an Internet troll: Abbr. : ANON Also 88. Frantic monologue : RANT

58. Wine order : CARAFE

61. Interstellar dist. : LT-YR. Light-year.

62. Navigation hazard : REEF

64. Slick : OILY

66. Cincy-based consumer products giant : P AND G

67. Like Oscar Wilde : IRISH

68. "Whatever floats your boat" : FINE

69. Energy source : ATOM

70. "This Gun for Hire" actor : LADD (Alan)

71. Astronaut's garb : G-SUIT. Watch this clip from Gary if you missed it last time. You won't forget his voice.

73. Innocent words : NOT ME

74. Mount to mount : STEED

76. Word in two state names : SOUTH

77. Soup aisle array : CANS

81. Department of Labor training program : JOB CORPS. Also a learning moment to me.

82. "Hang in there" : BE STRONG

 

86. Gets in the pool, maybe : BETS

87. Seasonal pharmacy offering : FLU SHOT

 

89. Potter's pedal : TREADLE

91. Arm-twisting : DURESS

94. Took off : RAN

95. Tropical lizard : GECKO

96. Like jellybeans : OVOID

97. Like urban population : DENSE. We have over 75,000 people here in Brooklyn Park, MN. 15% are Asian.

98. One learning the ropes : PUPIL

99. Toil (away) : SLAVE

100. Bores for ore : MINES

102. Wasatch Mountains resort : ALTA. Got via crosses.

103. Burn remedy : ALOE

104. Spread measurement : ACRE

105. Mint product : COIN

106. Often-skinned spot : KNEE

109. Fan reaction? : AAH. I wanted BOO.

C.C.

Monday June 24, 2024 Larry Snyder

  

Happy Monday, everyone! Today's offering comes to us from OVERachiever Larry Snyder. Husker Gary introduced us to Larry on his June 3, 2023 LAT debut.

Theme:                          Overdoing It!

I am always impressed when a constructer can double-up on the themers. Let's take a look:

17 Across. Like structurally significant walls: LOAD-BEARING. I knew this one from watching HGTV. It'll cost extra!

• OVERLOAD.  to load with too great a burden or cargo
• OVERBEARING.  unpleasantly domineering

30 Across. Many a beach resort condo: TIMESHARE.

• OVERTIME.  in addition to normal working hours
• OVERSHARE.  reveal an inappropriate amount of detail about one's personal life

39 Across. Taking every point, in hearts: SHOOTING THE MOON.  Hearts is a card game. explanation

• OVERSHOOTING.  going past (sometimes unintentionally)
• OVER THE MOON.  extremely happy; delighted

46 Across. Have a guilt-free conscience, so to speak: SLEEP EASY.

• OVERSLEEP.  sleep past the time one intended to wake up
• OVER EASY.  a way to cook eggs so both sides are fried but the yolk remains runny

Then the reveal:

64. Repeatedly, or what can come before the main components of 17-, 30-, 39-, or 46-Across: OVER AND OVER.

When something is said repeatedly it is said OVER AND OVER. Also, two OVERs are paired with the two parts of the themed answers. 

Well done, Larry! I especially liked your grid-spanner, SHOOTING THE MOON.  

Hmmm.... I wonder if C.C. will pay me OVERTIME for having to write two explanations for each answer?  😜

Next, I'll go OVER the remaining clues:

Across:
1. Lettuce wrap lettuce: BIBB.  Fortunately I could only think of one variety of lettuce with a 4-letter name. Here is a P.F. Chang's copy-cat recipe. It calls for ground turkey or chicken but I want to try it with tofu.

BIBB lettuce makes nice cups for the filling.

5. "Tapestry" artist King: CAROLE.  Tapestry is the title track of the second studio album by American singer-songwriter, Carole King (b. Feb. 9, 1942). Here is a version with the lyrics:  

11. Weaken: SAP.  

14. Opera solo: ARIA.     and     36 Across. Kind of soprano: MEZZO.

MEZZO-soprano ARIAs offer a rich vocal range  for the middle female singing voice (between soprano and contralto). This is Raehann Bryce-Davis singing La Luce Langue at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, Belgium in 2021. She will knock your socks off!  

15. Soft end of a pencil: ERASER.  cute

16. One more than bi-: TRI-.

19. Cherry shade: RED.  not the protection from the sun provided by a cherry tree

20. Creative motivation, casually: INSPO.  INSPiration

21. Floating ice chunk: BERG.  not a 4-letter nickname for iceberg lettuce (See 1-Across.)  

hanging out on the BERG

22. Actress Merrill: DINA.  (1923 - 2017)  Her father was Wall Street broker E.F. Hutton and her mother was cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. NPR ran this piece when she passed away.

23. Use oars: ROW.

25. "No harm done": IT'S OKAY.

27. Chew the fat: GAB.     and     71 Across. Chews the fat: YAKS.  

33. Beginning on: AS OF.

35. Sorento automaker: KIA.  Here are the details on the 2025 model from Car and Driver magazine. When did KIAs get so large?

43. 41-Down variety: PEKOE.     and     41 Down. Brewed beverage: TEA.

44. Floral garland: LEI.

45. How only two Super Bowls have ended, for short: IN OT.  an Easter egg??

This just happened last February when the Chiefs beat the 49ers IN OverTime in Super Bowl LVIII. The other time was seven years ago when the Patriots beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

50. Moody music genre: EMO.

51. Cajole: WHEEDLE.  

53. Droop: SAG.  Blame it on gravity!

Old 97's (You know I love them!)

No Baby I from their seventh studio album, Blame it on Gravity

"You got them tears

They fall like pearls

Blame it on gravity, yeah

Blame it on being a girl"

55. Gripped: HELD.

56. __ A Sketch: ETCH.  

"screen time" in the 1960s

59. Maps app output: ROUTE.

63. In need of chicken soup, maybe: ILL.

66. "Fee, __, foe, fum": FIE.  I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread.

(Hand up for preferring the dead option when this happens.)

67. Make fizzy: AERATE.  On my recent cycling trip in the Pyrenees I tried txakoli wine (not a type-0! how to pronounce). It is not in itself fizzy but they pour it from on high so it AERATEs by the time it gets to your glass. (See the 9 sec. video below.) You are supposed to drink it quickly, before the bubbles leave. more info  

He makes this look easy! 

68. Dread: FEAR.

69. Supporting: FOR.  as in "I am FOR this ballot measure"

70. Bishop's neighbor on a chess board: KNIGHT.  

Down:
1. Indonesian island that has more than 20,000 temples: BALI.  That is about 1 temple for every 225 people. Balinese Hinduism

2. Wrinkle remover: IRON.  

3. Leaning: BIAS.  "Atilt" took today off.

4. Negative media coverage, for short: BAD PR.  Public Relations is shortened.

5. Fair grade: CEE.  

6. Part of UAE: ARAB.  United Arab Emirates

7. Hard to find: RARE.

8. Egyptian god of death and rebirth: OSIRIS.  ESP for me but it turns out he was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.  more info.

9. 50 meters, for an Olympic pool: LENGTH.  I liked this fresh angle! I also like a 50-meter pool. The pool where I swim these days is only 25 yards. I feel like I am constantly turning around.

10. Unit of energy: ERG.  The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10⁻⁷ joules.

11. Home plate umpire's parameter: STRIKE ZONE.  Great fill! I saw that "batter's box" fit but that did not seem quite right so I waited for a couple of perps.

12. Large stadium: ARENA.

13. March 14, to math fans: PI DAY.  3/14 is the day we celebrate 3.14  

18. Kick (out): BOOT.  

Nancy Sinatra released These Boots Are Made for Walkin' in 1966.

22. Sequence before fa-sol-la: DO RE MI.  

24. Crowdsourced site, briefly: WIKI.  Today's meta moment:  Wikipedia's entry about Wikipedia  

26. Alike: SAME.

27. Sound of shock: GASP.

28. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.

29. Merchant with novels, memoirs, etc.: BOOK SELLER.  I recently read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. There is a picture of a cat on the cover so I kept waiting for a cat to appear in the story. Spoiler alert:  no cat.

31. Least amt.: MIN.  MINimum

32. Two under par, in golf: EAGLE.  

34. Tricked: FOOLED.

37. Speed (by): ZOOM.  

38. "You may be __ something there": ONTO.

40. Cued (up): TEED.

42. Angry cat sound: HISS.

47. An hour before midnight: ELEVEN.  11:00 p.m. is one hour before 12:00 a.m. Whose great idea was that?!

48. "Great" czar: PETER I.  (1672-1725)  more info

Hand up for quickly filling in P-E-T-E-R what???

49. Three feet: YARD.

51. Faint scent: WHIFF.

52. Prefix meaning "sun": HELIO-.  Helios was the Greek sun god. He drove a chariot across the sky from east to west every day.  

relief sculpture excavated at Troy

54. Silly: GOOFY.

57. Rocky projection: CRAG.  This is a 5:35 min. video about a couple looking to find a new location in Greece for sport climbing. They establish ROUTEs on a gorgeous and challenging CRAG.  

58. "Thirty days __ September ... ": HATH.  I useth the knuckle trick.  

60. Eye layer: UVEA.  

61. Flooring wood: TEAK.     and     64 Down. Flooring wood: OAK.

62. Messes up: ERRS.

65. Com alternative: NET.  Top Level Domains (TLDs) See #4 below. (Click to enlarge.) 

Here's the grid:

That's it for today. sumdaze, OVER and out!