Thursday, September 23, 2021, Ed Sessa

 

Greetings, curciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here.  Today marks an anniversary of sorts.  My first recap was posted on 17 September 2020.  Waseeley, my partner in Thursday crime, wrote up the puzzle on the 16th of this month and that would have been exactly one year.  I have never been one for counting rotations of this planet or its orbits around our sun (ask anyone who has put up with my commenting on the time references in any Star Trek television show or movie) but I realize that other folks like to keep track of such things.  In any event, today is more-than-close-enough to mark the one-earth-year anniversary of may alter ego, MM, writing recaps for the corner.  Please allow me to repeat what I said at that time:  Thank you all for allowing me play in your sandbox.  - -  Joseph

Today's puzzle-setter is our frequent friend, Ed Sessa, and he has come up with something a bit unusual in that the theme answers are not located simply as Across or Down words patiently waiting to be filled in.  Instead, they cross . . . and those patterns are placed diagonally, to boot.  The reveal comes at:

54 Across. Linked in a way illustrated by three pairs of puzzle answers:  JOINED AT THE HIP.

At three locations in the grid Ed has crossed the word HIP and the I of each word is shared in both directions.  The completed long answers provide no hints whatsoever about the theme.  It's the siting that counts.  Pretty clever, if you ask this marine mammal.  Here is how it looks in the grid:

Here is what this structure was built UPON (see 59 Across, although the word is used somewhat differently there):

Across:

1. "The Giving Tree" author Silverstein: SHEL.  Most people do not know that SHEL Silverstein also wrote this:

The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash)

5. Gravelly voiced sort: RASPER.  It's too bad that CEDO is not a word because RASPER is a bit of a stretch.

11. Top (out): MAX.   From MAXimum or MAXimize.   It can be stressful to MAX Out one's credit cards.

14. Ritzy: LUXE.  DeLUXE  (There's a Ray-ism in this one, for sure).

15. City on the Rio Grande: EL PASO.  Also, a Marty Robbins classic.

The Drifter TV Show - 1965

16. Flamenco dancer's cry: OLE.  Today's Spanish lesson.

17. Org. mandating eyewash stations: OSHA.

18. Canvassing technique: DOOR TO DOOR.  Ding dong.   Or, if you have a Ring camera, "There is someone at your DOOR."

20. Animals in a herd: HIPPOPOTAMUSES.  The animals could have been many other species and still answered the clue.  This answer sent me down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the theme might be.  Still, I want one.

Gayla Peevey Then (1953) and Almost Now (2016)

22. Face value: PAR.  A financial reference.  This could also have been clued with a golf reference.

23. Org. with 132 Pulitzer Prizes: NY TIMES.  The New York Times.

24. Initiation rite: BAPTISM.

28. Tear up: WEEP.  Oh, it's "crying" as opposed to "ripping into pieces".

29. Batter's stat: RBI.  A baseball reference.  Runs Batted In

30. One hanging around in the forest?: SLOTH.  Also, a Deadly Sin - but not today.  Anyone try HIKER first?

32. Give and take: SWAP.  Today's "let's pass on a potential reference" moment.

36. "And fly, __ evil intercept thy flight": Milton: ERE.  Thanks, perps.

37. Title teacher in a James Hilton novella: MR CHIPS.

40. Kipling's "Follow Me __": OME.  OM, OM, Range

41. Insect dating from the Jurassic era: WASP.  150 - 200 million years later we now get the so-called Murder Hornets.

43. Board, as a bus: HOP ON.  Board a Bus?  Nicely teed up.   Fore!

Weird Al  Yankovic with Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on The Tomorrow Show - 1981

Another One Rides The Bus

44. Darling of baseball: RON.  A nice play on words.

45. Daughter of Cronus and Rhea: HERA.

48. Becomes clear: SOAKS IN.  Ah, the idiom.

50. Digs: SHOVELS.  Ah, not the idiom.

53. Stadium shout: RAH.

58. Hardwood with an edible seed: ALMOND TREE.  The tree itself isn't often referred to as, simply, "hardwood"  but Ed, or Rich, could not, for obvious reasons work the word "tree" into the clue.

59. After: UPON.  UPON further reflection . . .

61. '60s-'70s Pontiac: GTO.  My aunt Millie had a GTO.  I have never been able to figure out how that come to be.  Wa-wa,Wa, Wa. Wa. Wa. Wa. Wa

Ronnie and the Daytonas

62. Venetian Renaissance painter: TITIAN.  I would have loved to use a video clip of the E. Buzz Miller's Art Classics (SNL) pronunciation-based wordplay here but I could not find one that was not copyright protected.

63. Mystery-solving Wolfe: NERO.

64. Virtual-city denizen: SIM.  As in Sim City, the video game.

65. Strips in the freezer: STEAKS.

New York Strip Steaks

66. Torah holders: ARKS.

Down:

1. __-mo: SLO.  SLOw-motion

2. Muzzle: HUSH.  Used as a verb - as is muzzle.  Interesting clue.

3. What some Woodstock attendees eventually became: EX - HIPPIES.

Who? Me?

4. Seize eagerly: LEAP AT.  Does a ballerina LEAP AT the chance to show off her skills?

5. Go over again: REDO.

6. Cockeyed: ALOP.  We have heard this word before but not often.  Does anyone here use it?

7. Table setting item: SPOON.  Hey diddle diddle.

8. House disciplinarians: PARTY WHIPS.  The House of Representatives.  A PARTY's WHIP is generally considered to be the member tasked with ensuring that members of a given party vote the way the party leadership wishes.

Toe The Line

9. Impressive spread: ESTATE.  Hands up for thinking first of something to do with food.

10. One sharing quarters: ROOMIE.  A bit slangy even though the clue is not.

11. Bullwinkle's last name: MOOSE.

12. Sunburn applications: ALOES.  Balms applied frequently in crossword puzzles.

13. Boomers' kids: XERS.  My XERS:  Before anyone cries discrimination, please be aware that the settings of the photos could have been, and have been, switched for both of them.

 

Lauren - Law School Graduation

Randal on the Great Wall

19. Breaks up with: DUMPS.

21. Feature of some eyeglasses: PRISM.  PRISM eyeglasses are used to correct double vision. 

24. Pub order: BREW.

25. Magician's opening: ABRA.  ABRA Cadabra.  ABRA is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew "avra" meaning "I will create."  Cadabra is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew "kedoobar" meaning "as was spoken."  "I will create as spoken!"  Makes sense.

26. Camera type, briefly: SLR. Single Lens Reflex.  Note the pentaPRISM.

27. Espresso-based coffee concoction: MOCHA LATTE.  If "chocolate" had been in the clue this one would have been easier.

31. However, in poetry: THO.  Short form of ALTHO?

33. Churchgoer, e.g.: WORSHIPER.

34. Mine, in Amiens: A MOI.  Today's French lesson.

35. "Mystic River" Oscar winner Sean: PENN.

38. Nanki-__: POO.  A Mikado reference (Gilbert and Sullivan).

39. Capture: SNARE.

42. Graph lead-in: PHONO.  Thought, for a moment, that PORNO might work.

46. Social functions: EVENTS.

Somebody Forgot The Name Tags

47. "The front page of the internet" website: REDDIT.

49. Island big shot: KAHUNA.  Today's Hawaiian lesson.

50. Chicago Symphony conductor with 31 Grammys: SOLTI.

Sir Georg Solti

51. Mouthed stadium greeting: HI MOM.

52. Narrow groove: STRIA.  Often one of a number of similar parallel features.

54. Benders: JAGS.  Not the British cars. 

55. Shipbuilding wood: TEAK.

56. Toms' counterparts: HENS.  A Turkey reference (not the country).

Hen and Tom

57. Questionable political spending: PORK.

60. Apt. IDs: NOS.  Apartment Numbers.  The clue (abbreviated so the answer will be, too) could have referred to streets, or come to think of it, myriad things.

I believe that this is No. 29.  You know what's odd?  Every other number.

And, on that note:

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Thursday, September 9, 2021, Chris Sablich

 

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.

History seems to be repeating itself or, as Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja vu all over again."  The puzzle that I recapped two weeks ago was constructed by Chris Sablich and so is today's puzzle.  He, like the Labrador Retriever above, seems to be on a roll.

ONE TWO BUCKLE MY SHOE, THREE FOUR KNOCK AT THE DOOR, FIVE SIX . . .

With that lead-in what can we do except to start with the unifier (drum roll, please):

54 Across.  Game requiring fine motor skills ... and what people do before playing 19-, 26- and a 49-Across?: PICK UP STICKS.  At three places in the grid Chris has inserted activities that require humans to pick up and use sticks of one kind or another

Here are the identified theme answers:

19 Across.  Game in which Willie Mosconi holds the competitive record run of 526 points: STRAIGHT POOL.  A POOL cue.  It would have been nice if this was called a "pool stick".

26 Across.  National summer sport of Canada: LACROSSE.  A LACROSSE stick, or CROSSE.

49 Across.  Rock concert highlight: DRUM SOLO.  A DRUM stick (but not a piece of fried chicken).

. . . and here is how this all looks in the grid:

Across:

1. Horse known for its endurance: ARAB.

5. Fitzgerald specialty: SCAT.

                                                        Ella and The Duke

9. Block: CLOG.  Blockage would have been a bit clearer but it is Thursday.

13. Lingerie brand: BALI.

14. Sport with mallets: POLO.  It could have been clued as another garment brand.

15. Now, in Nogales: AHORA.  Today's Spanish lesson (also 9 Down and 28 Down).

16. Big drink of water: SWIG.  Water?

17. Mathematician Turing: ALAN.  Sometimes referred to as "the father of modern computer science".

18. Actionable words: LIBEL.

22. Guarantee: ASSURE.  Looks a lot like 43 Down.

25. London district: SOHO.

29. Gambler: BETTOR.  A local casino is offering marijuana-infused beef to their best BETTORs.  Them's pretty high steaks.

33. "So that's it!": OHO.  Hand's up for filling in the H and then checking the perps to see if it is going to be OHO or AHA.

34. Spills: TELLS.  As is "to spill the beans."

36. Coeur d'__: ALENE.  A city in Idaho

37. Blemish: MARK.  "You're a blemish, Bob."  "I'm a wart?"

39. Fastening hardware: TACKS.  Not usually referred to as "hardware".

41. __ Timor: EAST.

42. Concert site: ARENA.  ARENA Rock has almost, but not quite, run its course.  Hey, it's preferable to Yacht Rock.

44. Local life: BIOTA.

46. Something to shoot for: PAR.  PAR for the course.

47. Salad veggie: RADISH.  Why couldn't the RADISH finish the race?  He was just a little beet.

51. Forensic detectives, for short: CSIS.  Crime Scene InvestigatorS

53. Easier to swallow, as pills: COATED.

59. "The King and I" group: HAREM.  I used a "King and I" clip in the last recap to illustrate ETC.  Chris, or Rich, might have watched it.

60. __ Tuesday: TACO.  The first use of the phrase is attributed to the August 20, 1973 edition of the Rapid City Journal.

61. Sound partner: SAFE.  As in SAFE and sound.

65. Love abroad: AMORE.  That's what Dino told us.  Today's Italian lesson.

66. Sailor's direction: ALEE.

67. Blue-pencil: EDIT.  A blue pencil is traditionally used by a copy editor because the color will not show in some lithographic and photographic reproduction processes.

68. Recipe amts.: TSPS.  TeaSPoonS  Abbreviations, both in clue and answer.

69. Foxx whose real last name was Sanford: REDD.  I had suspected that REDD Foxx was only a stage name but I did not know that his real last name was Sanford.

70. Lavish affection (on): DOTE.  When I get sad, my dad's sister really knows how to cheer me up.  She's the perfect auntie-dote.

Down:

1. Six-pack makeup: ABS.   An ABdominal muscleS reference.

2. Not even rare: RAW.  A cooking reference.

3. Frazier foe: ALI.

4. California coastal destination: BIG SUR.

                                           A Lesser-known Beach Boys Tune

5. Extra keys, say: SPARE SET.  Now, where did I put those?

6. Soda order: COLA.  Coke also starts with C O.

7. Kyrgyzstan range: ALAI.  Not the best-known range.  Often clued with Jai.

8. Drinks table accessory: TONGS.  Swizzle stick would not fit but it would have been fun given the theme.

9. Qdoba competitor: CHIPOTLE.  Both are Mexican-style eateries.

10. Gray wolf: LOBO.

11. Nabisco brand: OREO.  Needs no comment - but I will anyway.  I have sometimes wondered if it would be possible to construct a puzzle using only the word OREO clued seventy different ways,

12. Chutzpah: GALL.   Chutzpah is Yiddish.  From the Aramaic ḥu ṣpā via the Hebrew hutspah.

15. Tennis Hall of Famer Gibson: ALTHEA.

July 6, 1957

20. Variable pace: TROT.  Pace was helpful but I'm not at all certain about the use of "variable" to clue this answer.

21. Fireplace food-warming shelf: HOB.  A flat metal shelf at the back of a fireplace.  Manatees are unfamiliar with this.

22. 12-time MLB All-Star Roberto: ALOMAR.

23. About 30% of Africa: SAHARA.

24. Made a point: SCORED.  In sports and in debate.  Other uses for the word, too.  Stick that in your pipe.

27. Big piece: SLAB.  Or, in motorcycle jargon an Interstate Highway.

28. Castilian hero: EL CID.  You no doubt remember LE CID from Chris's last puzzle.

30. Tempest site?: TEAPOT.

31. Reduced: ON SALE.

32. Went over again: RETROD.  Never have I ever used this word.  Retread?  Yes.

35. HEATH Bar rival: SKOR.

38. Fashion trademark of old-time golfer Gene Sarazen: KNICKERS.

40. Covered with plaster: STUCCOED.   I just watched a movie about a woman having her broken leg set.  What a great cast.

43. Presuppose: ASSUME.  Looks a lot like 22 Across.  My girlfriend constantly complains that I don't listen to her.  Or, at least I ASSUME she does.

45. One way to run: AMOK.  Clever cluing.

48. With it: HIP.  Not the body part.

50. Talked back to: SASSED.  This type of behavior is often exhibited in x-word puzzles.  That must be because of all the vowels and esses.

52. Cool red giant: S-STAR.  An astronomy reference.  An S-type STAR is a cool giant with approximately equal amounts of oxygen and carbon in its atmosphere.

54. Cool, in dated slang: PHAT.

55. Dog food brand: IAMS.

56. Corn, e.g.: CROP.  Very ambiguous cluing.  It could be a type of humor . . or liquor.  It could be something on your foot.  There must be hundreds of types of CROPs that are grown.

57. "Cautionary" account: TALE.  A Cautionary TALE is a story told in folklore to warn its listeners of a danger.

58. __ tea: ICED.  CHAI?  PUER?  DARK?

62. Big fuss: ADO.  Misspelled?

63. Tailor's concern: FIT.

64. Summer in France: ETE.  A French lesson.  It is often ETE time in our puzzles.  Et la vie est easy . . .

By the time you have read the above, Valerie and I will have left on a road trip to Oregon for a gathering with my motorcycle riding friends of many years.  On the slab but not on a motorcycle.  The excuse for this gathering?  A Reuben Sandwich.

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