Perhaps the most endearing aspect of PEANUTS and the many characters created by Mr. Schulz is the clarity of their naive philosophies. Today we have the rare "quip" puzzle where the theme is a Quotation. Some are strictly for humor, and some like today's combine humor and a touch of reality. This is the 11th LAT by Mr. Morse who is a Sunday specialist with only one Monday among his earlier publications. When the Corner started, before we migrated to the LAT we had regular quip puzzles which many enjoyed and many hated. It is hard to hate Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The cluing - Quote part I, etc., is not helpful but it gets the job done. Garry does include some fine bonus fill like HANNIBAL, TSARISTS, AA SPONSOR (introduced today), DARKHORSE, POLICE CAR and TRIAL DATE which may not be as much fun as it sounds.
The quip:
17A. Start of a Charles M. Schulz quote: ALL YOU NEED (10)
22A. Quote, part 2: IS LOVE, BUT A (10).
38A. Quote, part 3: LITTLE CHOCOLATE (15).
50A. Quote, part 4: NOW AND THEN (10).
59A. End of the quote: DOES'NT HURT (10).
There are implicit references to Valentine's Day with "LOVE" and "CHOCOLATE" but you need to bring your own flowers. I accept gifts all year round. Enjoy this gift from Garry.
Across:
1. Penthouses, e.g.: Abbr.: APTS. Only one LINK came to mind.
5. Smartphone downloads: APPS.
9. Metaphor for responsibilities: HATS. A wife ears many hats, cook, nurse, companion, mother, lover...
13. Adriatic port: BARI. Bari is a port city on the Adriatic Sea and the capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region. Looks pretty
14. March Madness org.: NCAA. For the college basketball championship.
15. "Beavis and Butt-head" spin-off: DARIA. My son Devin liked this character.
16. Bickering: AT IT. The kids are always bickering.
19. Rub the wrong way: CHAFE.No thigh humor from me.
21. Twelve-step helper: AA SPONSOR. Alcoholics Anonymous, which is a sometimes successful way to help those who are addicted and need to face that reality to deal with it.
24. Non-neutral atom: ION. Also a leading repeat TV Network, LINK.
25. Light sleeper's distraction: DRIP. Leaky faucets do drive Oo crazy,
26. Living area in "The Martian," with "the": HAB. The Hab, short for "The Mars Lander Habitat" is a series of artificial living quarters that were constructed before the Ares III manned mission to Mars landed. Therefore not an abbreviation but a nickname?
28. A Gabor sister: EVA. Along with Zsa Zsa and Magda.
30. Acts of faith?: LEAPS.
34. Classic sci-fi villain: VADER. I do not see Darth as a Classic villain, but that is just me. He was a sweet man with a family who was misled.
41. 1980s attorney general: MEESE. This is not the plural of Mouse.
42. Shade related to violet: LILAC. A light violet.
43. Responsibility: RAP. This was not easy but it does the responsibility for or adverse consequences of an action shown more clearly in "he refused to take the rap."
44. Bend: ARC. Like a good curveball.
46. Cope with: HACK. A strategy or technique for managing one's time or activities more efficiently. Dictionary.
48. Dept. head: MGR.
56. Source of a siren: POLICE CAR. The same number of letters as AMBULANCE.
58. "__ Mio": O SOLE. They began as teenagers. IL VOLO.
61. Avian crop: CRAW. You do not grow birds.
62. Score symbols: FLATS. Musical score.
63. "You're kidding!": EGAD.
64. Whodunit canine: ASTA. When he wasn't with Nick and Nora he was ...making babies
66. Phillies slugger Hoskins: RHYS. They study everything now, even ballplayers I do not know. LINK. (pronounced reese).
67. Nair rival, once: NEET. Was this replaced by VEET?
Down:
1. Old counters: ABACI. I know C.C. can do this, can you?
2. Hiking network: PATHS. Not a computer network
3. Defense attorney's concern: TRIAL DATE. "Concern" is such an odd word in this context, as it is how one makes his/her money.
4. Be paid to watch, as children: SIT FOR.
5. Prefix with -gram: ANA. No PANgrams lately.
6. Techie training site: PCLAB. Is it one or two words? Help please our experts. LAB. Clecho- 45D. Tech tutorials site: CNET.
7. Caroline Islands republic: PALAU. Following World War II, in 1947, under UN auspices as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the United States assumed administration of Palau. In 1982, Palau signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Palau gained its independence and established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1994.
8. Dost speak: SAYST. Bible talk.
9. Legendary Carthaginian general: HANNIBAL. What we know of his LIFE he was the most interesting man of his time.
10. "You __ busted!": ARE SO. When you run into your mother at the mall during school hours.
11. Attach with string: TIE ON.
12. __ City, Iraq: SADR. Not known to me consciously but it has been in the NEWS.
15. The Carpenters, for one: DUO.
18. Deep-water fish: OPAH.
20. More wicked, in Worcester: EVILLER. In British English, the "LL" is commonly used in words where Americans use a single "L." TRAVELLER comes to mind.
23. Touching competition?: EPEE.
27. Guacamole fruit: AVOCADO. One of the many fruit trees we have planted on our condo grounds, Of course, plating on common areas creates many conflicts.
28. Disease-stricken tree: ELM. We recently had reference to the
DISEASE.
29. Face off: VIE.
31. Knee injury initials: ACL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
32. Key letter: PHI. Beta Kappa. I am proud that my son earned his key in his junior year in college.
33. La preceder: SOL. Do re me fa sol la ti do.
35. Long shot: DARK HORSE. No politics so no comment.
36. Coming-in hr., roughly: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
37. Sales staff member: REP.
39. Romanov adherents: TSARISTS. Their HISTORY.
40. Lyricist Sammy: CAHN.
A Hall of Famer LINK.
47. ER diagnostic tool: CT SCAN. CT is an abbreviation of computed tomography or computerized tomography.
48. Bucks: MOOLA. Moolah is a Fijian word meaning 'money' which may be the etymology.
49. Sparkle: GLEAM. A long-gone toothpaste.
51. Yellowish-brown: OCHER. Or is it ochre.
52. "Brideshead Revisited" novelist: WAUGH. The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. A precursor to DOWNTON ABBEY.
53. Assortment: ARRAY.
54. Thrill: ELATE. A classic C.C. word.
55. Unfamiliar with: NEW AT.
56. Sharable PC files: PDFS. Portable Document Formats.
57. Brain and spinal cord: Abbr.: CNS. Central Nervous System
60. Saints' achievements: Abbr.: TDS. New Orleans' version scores touchdowns, none more prolific than Drew Brees
Welcome to Friday Mr. Morse. I hope the Corner all enjoyed this puzzle and I look forward to their comments and any you feel like posting as well. HAPPY VD! Lemonade out.
Happy birthday Heartrx wherever you are.
