Tuesday August 6, 2024 Amie Walker

Spin the Bottle.  The last word or portion from each theme answer can be combined with Bottle to give us a new concept.

19-Across. Romantic involvement without defined parameters: SITUATIONSHIP.  Ship in a Bottle.  The dictionary defines Situationship as "a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established."

25-Across. Brand in a nursery: DIAPERGENIE.  Genie in a Bottle.

49-Across. Email alternative: TEXTMESSAGE.  Message in a Bottle.

And the unifier:

55-Across. Classic Jim Croce song, or a stretch for the ends of 19-, 25-, and 49-Across?: TIME IN A BOTTLE.

Across:

1. Atlas page: MAP.

4. Detective agency often outsmarted by Carmen Sandiego: ACME.  Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?  Carman is a fictional character in a video/computer game that is designed to teach children geography, math and other skills.  [Name # 1, Fictional]

8. Hit the brakes: STOP.

12. Utter delight: GLEE.  Also the name of a television series that ran from 2009 to 2015.  Sadly, several of the young cast members have died.

14. Lets loose: FREES.

15. Cornmeal cake: PONE. Yummers!

16. "Right Here Waiting" singer Richard: MARX.  Apparently Richard Noel Marx (b. Sept. 16, 1963) is an "adult contemporary" singer-songwriter.  I don't recognize the name, nor do I recognize the song.  [Name # 2.]

17. Godiva rival: LINDT.  Yummers!  The history of Godiva.  The History of Lindt. [Name adjacent.]

18. Cathedral area: APSE.  A crossword staple.

22. Wi-Fi device: ROUTER.

24. Create a cartoon: ANIMATE.

28. __ Talks: lecture series: TED.  Not a person's name, but a public-speaking presentation given at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) annual event or one of its many satellite events around the world. 

29. Designer Gucci: ALDO.  Aldo Gucci (May 26, 1905 ~ Jan. 19, 1990) was the son of the founder of the Gucci fashion company.  He ran the company for over 30 years, from the early 1950s until the mid-80s.  [Name # 3.]

30. Japanese currency: YEN.

31. The "A" of LGBTQIA+, informally: ACE.  Okay.  LGBTIQA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual and plus. Many other terms (such as non-binary and pansexual) that people use to describe their experiences of their gender, sexuality and physiological sex characteristics.

33. Cry upon stubbing one's toe: YELP.

35. Yoga studio accessory: MAT.

37. Parts of psyches: EGOs.

40. On the __: running: LAM.  The possible origin of the expression On the Lam.

42. Fish and chips fish, often: COD.  Yummers!  I had some of the best Fish and Chips while in Iceland.

44. Get a grip on: GRAB.

46. Tony-winning singer/actress Salonga: LEA.  I am not familiar with Lea Salonga (née Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga; b. Feb. 22, 1971).  She is a Filipino singer and actress and is best known for her theater work.  She has starred in Broadway musicals, including Miss Saigon and Les Miz.  [Name # 4.]

52. Top player: ALL-STAR.

54. Rang out: PEALED.

58. Big celebrity: IDOL.

59. Red wine grape: SYRAH.  Everything you wanted to know about the Syrah grape but didn't know to ask.

60. Figure skating leap: AXEL.

63. Hawaiian goose: NENE.  When I first began working on crosswords, this Hawaiian Goose was a crossword staple.  It would appear at least once a week.

64. Glum drops: TEARS.

65. Title for Emma Thompson: DAME.  Dame Emma Thompson (b. Apr. 15, 1959) is a British actress.  She gained the title "Dame" in 2018.  [Name # 5.]

66. Throws into the mix: ADDS.

67. Sportsbook calculations: ODDS.

68. Cow's sound: MOO.

Down:

1. Film studio founded in 1924: MGM.  MGM stands for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  The company is named after three companies which were combined in 1924: Metro Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and Louis B. Mayer Productions.

2. In the manner of: À LA.  Today's French lesson.

3. Bring around: PERSUADE.

4. Vegas casino with a musical name: ARIA.  I was just in Vegas last week attending a conference.  We weren't staying at this hotel/casino, though.  I did see the Aria casino and hotel.

5. Penny: CENT.

6. Middle of the road: MEDIAN.  It's known as the Neutral Ground in New Orleans.

7. Tallinn's country: ESTONIA.  I visited Tallinn several years ago.  It is a beautiful city.

8. Muscle twitch: SPASM.

9. Part of a Willy Wonka costume: TOP HAT.

10. Not remote: ON-SITE.

11. Sounded like a baby bird: PEEPED.

13. Election Day survey of voters: EXIT POLL.

14. Commotion: FLURRY.

20. Short-sleeved shirt: TEE.

21. Sabrina, to Hilda and Zelda: NIECE.  Okay.  These names are totally unknown to me, although it was easy enough to suss out the word Niece.  Sabrina (née Sabrina Spellman) is a character from the comic Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.  She apparently lives with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda.  Not only was Sabrina the Teenage Witch a comic strip, but was also a television series.  [Names # 6, 7 and 8, fictional.]

22. Nutrition fig.: RDA.  As in the Recommended Daily Allowance.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the RDA is the average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of most healthy individuals in a particular gender and life stage group.

23. Like some garage floors: OILY.

26. Shining example: GEM.

27. Put into law: ENACT.

32. Sandwich filling with hard-boiled ingredients: EGG SALAD.  Yummers!

34. "Godmother of Soul" LaBelle: PATTI.  Patti LaBelle (née Patricia Louise Holte; b. May 24, 1944) began her singing career in the 1960s as the frontwoman for the band Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells. [Name # 9.]

36. Shiv's partner on "Succession": TOM.  Succession was an HBO television series that centered on Logan Roy, an aging media mogul and his family.  Tom Wambsgans was the son-in-law who was married to Logan's daughter, Siobhan "Shiv" Roy.  [Names # 10 and 11, Fictional]

38. Challenge for a doctoral student: ORAL EXAM.

39. Wise: SAGE.

41. Has every intention of: MEANS TO.

43. Unexplored ocean regions: DEPTHS.

45. Place with pillows: BED.

46. "Gran Cocina __": Maricel E. Presilla cookbook: LATINA.  If I cooked, I would probably like the recipes from this book.  Maricel Presilla specializes in the foods of Latin America and Spain.  She was he first Latin American woman to have been invited as a guest chef at the White House.  She also holds a Ph.D. in medieval Spanish history.  [Name # 12.]

47. Left out, as a syllable: ELIDED.

48. Energy bar nut: ALMOND.

50. Saw right through, in a way: X-RAYED.

51. Game, __, match: SET.

53. 1990s tennis great Monica: SELES.  Monica Seles (b. Dec. 2, 1973) was the youngest champion of the French Open when she won at age 16 in 1990.  [Name # 13.]

56. Small fastener: BRAD.  It could be a name, but not in this case.

57. Rower's pair: OARS.

61. Taking Back Sunday genre: EMO.  Apparently Taking Back Sunday is a rock band that was formed in the late 1990s.

62. Zodiac sign for one with an August 6 birthday: LEO.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday August 5, 2024 Shaun Phillips and Ben Wildman-Trobriner

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today we are treated to another Olympic-themed puzzle. What a marvelous surprise! Theme:

USA  FTW!

Beginning with the four themed clues, we have:

16 Across. Performance in the center ring, e.g.: CIRCUS ACT.  

Three Ring Circus by Linda Mears

22 Across. Facetious "do not disturb" sign: GENIUS AT WORK.  This one was my favorite. 

some Wile E. for Charlie Echo

49 Across. Year-end feat for a star student: A-PLUS AVERAGE.  It took me a bit to parse the hyphen. I suppose that lowers my average.

60 Across. Leafy dish that may be topped with vegan ranch dressing: TOFU SALAD.  

recipe  (I would skip Step #2 to save time.)

The reveal is found in Row 8:

38 Across. Olympic delegation cheered on by the chant found in 16-, 22-, 49-, and 60-Across: TEAM USA.  

Bonus points to Shaun and Ben for finding phrases where USA spans two words.

Additional bonus points for including eleven Olympics-themed clues in the fill. I will note them as we go through the other clues. Just a warning, I am taking some liberties here.

Across:

1. Clock front: FACE.  Last Monday's reveal was ON THE CLOCK.

5. Genie's home: LAMP.

9. IRS form experts: CPAS.  "Internal Revenue Service" is abbreviated, so is "Certified Public Accounts".

13. Arkin of "Argo": ALAN.  (1934 - 2023). He was in a lot of notable movies. I wonder if our constructors chose Argo because they advocate alliteration.  #ItTakesOneToKnowOne

14. Genesis twin: ESAU.  He was the elder twin to brother, Jacob.

15. __ kebab: SHISH.  Its etymology is Turkish. The Western version is a dish of pieces of marinated meat and vegetables cooked and served on skewers. 

18. 1492 craft: PINTA.     and     20 Across. Ocean crossed by 18-Across: ATLANTIC.  

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean Blue.  

19. Barcelona bar bites: TAPAS.  another amusing alliteration

25. Splashy suits?: SPEEDOS.  [Olympic nod #1. They are seen in the swimming and diving competitions.]

28. "One Kiss" singer __ Lipa: DUA.  If you saw Barbie, you saw Dua in a cameo role, playing Mermaid Barbie. Additionally, her song Dance the Night is on the movie's soundtrack.  

29. Dressed (in): CLAD.  In the above picture, Dua Lipa is CLAD in a mermaid costume.

30. Beaver structures: DAMS.  Beavers are considered a keystone species because they create habitat for so many other animals. This is wonderful time-lapse video showing the wildlife attracted to a pond made from a beaver's DAM. It is from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. (5:41 min.) Look for the dates in the bottom, right-hand corner. It begins on 3/31/19 and goes through 4/20/20. At the end, there is a list of all the animals in order of appearance. Fittingly, the very first animal listed is Beaver Castor canadensis.   

33. Pride flag letters: LGBTQ.

37. "__ the land of the free ... ": O'ER.   [Olympic nod #2. You will hear it whenever the USA is awarded a gold medal.]

40. 38-Across gymnast Mary __ Retton: LOU.  [Olympic nod #3. She won five medals in gymnastics events at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angles.]

41. Hard-to-find guy: WALDO.  There are seven primary Where's Waldo? books and over 30 variations. The first Where's Wally? book was published in 1987 in the U.K.

43. Guitar clamp: CAPO.  Without a CAPO, the open strings on a guitar are E, A, D, G, B, and E. My teacher taught me the mnemonic Elephants And Donkeys Got Big Ears. Using a CAPO changes those notes, depending on where the CAPO is applied. It allows one to use familiar finger positions to play different chords.

44. 38-Across gymnast Lee: SUNI.  [Olympic nod #4.  Among her many achievements, Suni is on the 2024 USA Women's gold-medal winning gymnastics team.]

45. Dashboard stat: RPM.  "Statistic" is abbreviated, so is "Revolutions Per Minute".

47. Optometry exam: EYE TEST.  I had one the other day. I had to confess to my doctor that I was "meta-ing the test" because I could not tell if the second letter was an O or a D but I looked ahead and saw a for-sure D, so I knew the blurry letter must be an O.

54. Steakhouse order often served au jus: PRIME RIB.  

55. Old enough: OF AGE.  [Olympic nod #5. Have you noticed that the announcers tend to say, "At twenty years OF AGE" instead of "twenty years old"?]

59. __ of humor: SENSE.  

63. Cheered (on): EGGED.  I am fairly sure EGGing someone on is cheering them on to do a bad thing so no Olympic nod this time.

a crocodile hatching from and EGG
Its mother will stay nearby (to EGG it on?)
for several weeks to months.  more on crocodiles

64. Erelong: ANON.  Erelong is a hint that the answer is also archaic. Both are adverbs that mean "before long", "shortly", or "soon".  

65. "Blame It on the Bossa __": NOVA.  This song was a 1963 hit single for Eydie Gormé (1928-2013). (Mad Men fans might like this video.)

66. Flue grime: SOOT.  

67. U-shaped stringed instrument: LYRE.  

68. Checkout unit: ITEM.  

(Click to enlarge.)
Sometimes that is me on the right because I have not yet figured out how to
bag my own ITEMs and dig for my credit card at the same time.

Down:
1. Information that's easily verified: FACT.  

2. Shawkat of "Being the Ricardos": ALIA.  She was also in Arrested Development.  IMDb page

3. Gefilte fish fish: CARP.

4. Like some small pets: ENCAGED.  After being ENCAGED, the canary was ENrAGED so it ENgAGED an attorney.

5. "__ Misérables": LES.  [Olympic nod #6.  A French rendition of Do You Hear the People Sing? was in the Opening Ceremonies.]  

6. Fit __ fiddle: AS A.  Have you heard, "As fit as a brown trout"? Read more here.

7. Chinese region known as the "Las Vegas of Asia": MACAU.  Vegas vs. Macau

8. Final golf shots, usually: PUTTS.  [Olympic nod #7. "Golf first became an Olympic sport during the second edition of the modern Games, Paris 1900. It returned for the the 1904 Games in St. Louis, but then took a 112-year hiatus before finally returning to the Olympic program for Rio 2016." Golf Olympic History]  

9. Chitchat: CHIN-WAG.  Merriam-Webster labels this word as "chiefly British" and "informal". It means "a friendly conversation."

10. Spotted bean or horse: PINTO.  In the NE, we have PINTO crossing PINTA, which crossed the ATLANTIC.  

11. Showing signs of life: ASTIR.

12. Rustic cabin: SHACK.  

The B-52's  ~  Love Shack  ~  1989

15. Pancake flipper: SPATULA.

17. Like items at a consignment store: USED.

21. Boy: LAD.

23. Lymph __: NODE.

24. Physicist Newton: ISAAC.  I remember liking this book. I should re-read it. 

25. Flat-bottomed barge: SCOW.

26. Heartfelt request: PLEA.

27. Actor James __ Jones: EARL.  [Olympic nod #8. James Earl Jones narrated introductions to the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics.]

31. Sport in octagonal enclosures, for short: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts

32. Word before hero or power: SUPER.

34. Red, white, and __: 38-Across's colors: BLUE.  [Olympic nod #9. These are the colors of  the American flag.]

I read once that "red, white, & blue" sounds odd to French people. They say, "blue, white, & red." Fair enough.  

35. Cargo capacity units: TONS.

36. Bow out: QUIT.

38. Athlete in lane four of an Olympic swim trial, for one: TOP SEED.  [Olympic nod #10. An Olympic pool has eight lanes. Lane #4 is preferred because it has less wave resistance. The swimmer with the best time in the preliminary heats merits Lane#4 in the finals. Read more here.]

39. Protein-rich bean: SOYA.

42. Percussionist's kit: DRUMSET.  Putting kit in the clue waved us off the preferred DRUMkit.

44. No Doubt lead singer Gwen: STEFANI.  Before she was on The Voice, Gwen was Just a Girl (1995), singing in a band called No Doubt.  

46. Tarnish: MAR.  like a reputation

48. Self-images: EGOS.

49. Church recesses: APSES.  

The round part is an APSE as viewed from the outside.

50. Spaghetti sauce brand: PREGO.

51. Shoptalk: LINGO.  

52. All-important: VITAL.  

a sign displaying human VITAL signs
(Click to enlarge.)

53. Tree with black wood: EBONY.  

56. "Thanks __!": A LOT.

57. __ birth to: GAVE.

58. Cheese similar to Babybel snacks: EDAM.  

61. The "F" of FWIW: FOR.  FOR What It's Worth

62. French one: UNE.  [Olympic nod #11. France is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.]

Here is the grid:  

 

I "picked" these Black-Eyed Susans for you.
Enjoy your day!