Thursday, October 21, 2021, Sam Acker

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with a canine friend to present today's recap.

While our collie friend is excited about the ovine references in the puzzle and in the write up, s/he is not our puzzle setter.  Today, that would be Sam Acker.  I was able to locate a Crossword Corner write up of one of his puzzles from May, 2019 and perhaps there are others.  For today's challenge, Sam has designed what I believe is called a "Designated Squares" puzzle.  Let's start with the reveal:

56 Across:  You may not need a bookmark for one . . . and a hint to this puzzle's circles: PAGE TURNER.  Page turner, of course, being a term for a book that you, or our friend above, just cannot stop reading.

Other than the reveal, there are no theme answers per se.  However, at four locations within the grid we find sets of four circled letters, stacked two on top of two.  Each of these sets contains one each of the letters that spell PAGE.  At each location, start with the P and proceed clockwise and they all spell PAGE.  From top to bottom, the P's also rotate clockwise with the first P in the Northeast, the next in the  Southeast, the next in the Southwest and finally in the Northwest.  They TURN, if you will, both ways.   Clever.  Here is how they appear in the completed grid:

. . . and now for the rest of the clues/answers.  I was going to go with an abbreviated blog post today but thought, "Naaahhh!  We have enough abbreviations in the puzzle."

Across:

1. Wildfire prevention ads, e.g.: Abbr.: PSAS.  Public Service AnnouncemetS (abbr no 1)

5. Short video: CLIP.

9. Valentino classic, with "The": SHEIK.

14. Certain sax: ALTO.  Part of the orchestra got kidnapped last week.  Today, the perpetrators were located arrested for grand theft ALTO.

15. Cocktail garnish: LIME.  Just ask Kermit.

 

16. Redhead of Bedrock: WILMA.  Wilma Flintstone From the Town of Bedrock

17. Top prize: GOLD MEDAL.

19. Highly skilled: ADEPT.

20. Lab eggs: OVA.  Today's Latin lesson.  In school, my classmates and I used to argue all the time about the plural form of the word for female sex cells.  We'd go on and on and wasted a lot of class time.  Eventually, it was resolved.  Frankly, I'm glad that's OVA.

21. Stereotypical baby "words": GOO GOO GA GA.  Ten letters, six vowels.  Helpful for a constructor.

23. Minimal damage: DENTS.

25. Mag. edition: ISS.  Punt!  An ISSue of a Magazine (abbr no 2)

26. Small but distinctive amount: DASH.    -T

28. Mandatory bet: ANTE.  Gotta' pay to play

29. __ Bar: Apple support service: GENIUS.  At Apple Stores (computer, not fruit) they call the help desk the GENIUS Bar.  A bit of foreshadowing for 55 Across.

32. CIA relative: NSA. (abbr no 3)

33. Homer's "Sailing a Dory," e.g.: SEASCAPE.  Winslow Homer is a famous American landscape (and SEASCAPE) painter.

Sailing A Dory

 

35. Insults, with "on": HATES.  Modern slang, I suppose.

37. __ land: LALA.  A state of mind characterized by its lack of  seriousness and/or unrealistic expectations.    More recently, a motion picture (though the leading l of land would have to have been capitalized in the clue to head down that path).

38. Word with date or dance: RAIN.  In baseball, do we now have Climate Change makeup dates?

40. Pickle unit: SPEAR.

43. Scottish winds: BAGPIPES.  A bit of word play.

 

Dropkick Murphys - Cadence To Arms

47. Number of "Friends" seasons: TEN.  I didn't know that.  I never watched the show.  I would have clued it as "Ardbeg ____ ".

48. Siesta wrap: SERAPE.  One of today's Spanish lessons.

51. NYC gallery: MOMA.  In New York City (abbr no 4)

52. Where women click on the links?: Abbr.: LPGA.  Really didn't get the "click" part unless the reference is to "really clicking" (doing well). (abbr no 5)

Ladies Professional Golf Association

54. Backing: FOR.  As opposed to opposing

55. Course from a bar: SALAD.  Course, of course, is polysemous.  In this case, a part of a meal.

60. Feminine side: YIN.  YIN / Yang  Taoism  Balance

61. Spawn: BEGET.

62. Square, for one: RECTANGLE.  A square is a RECTANGLE with all sides being of equal length.

64. Place for games: ARENA.  

65. Do some craftwork: KNIT.

Valerie Has Been Busy Recently

66. Troubles: WOES.  Pack 'em up, Joe

 

67. CEO's aides: ASSTS.  Punt.  ASSistanTS (abbr no 6)

68. Italian pronoun: ESSA.  Another of today's language lessons.  In English, ESSA can mean she, her, it, thereon or therefrom.

69. Words in many law firm names: ANDS.  Creative cluing.  

Down:

1. Temples with up-curved roofs: PAGODAS.

Near Chang Rai - 2017 - Photo By MM

2. Resident of Ljubljana, probably: SLOVENE.

Residents of Ljubljana - 2018 - Photo By MM

3. Margaret Mitchell's birthplace: ATLANTA.    She wrote GWTW.

4. Gardener's purchase: SOD.

5. Egyptian queen, familiarly: CLEO.  CLEOpatra (abbr no 7)  Not Liz? 

Photo by 20th Century Fox

6.  Venetian Resort.  LIDO

Hotel Excelsior - Venice, Italy - Lido Beach

7. "Just think!": IMAGINE.  

8. She's behind Harris in the current presidential line of succession: PELOSI.

9. Bravado: SWAG.  Usually, in this context, SWAGger.  SWAG is often clued as the free stuff you might get at a convention. (not the abbreviation for Scientific Wild Ass Guess).

10. Greeting from a sideline, maybe: HI DAD.  Usually, Hi Mom

11. Polished: ELEGANT.

12. Deadlock: IMPASSE.

13. Kit __: KAT.  A candy bar or . . . a bar?

18. Classic British sports cars: MGS.  My friends Mark and Diana recently acquired this 1950 MGTD.  (abbr? We'll give 'em a pass on this one because if you mentioned Morris Garages nobody would know what you were talking about)

22. Pac-12's Beavers: OSU.  Pacific 12 Division of the NCAA (abbr no 8)

24. Where Musk is CEO: TESLA.  SpaceX wouldn't fit.  It could have been clued as Inventor Nikola.

Nikola Tesla

27. Owns: HAS.  Patti PAGE had a Grammy.  Jimmy PAGE HAS two.

29. Gadot of "Wonder Woman": GAL.  GAL Gadot, not some random gal.

30. Org. concerned with PCB's: EPA. (abbr no 9)

31. Mail in a box: SHIP.  Noun or verb, noun or verb?

34. Pixar film in which Paul Newman voiced a Hudson Hornet: CARS.

36. Jung's inner self: ANIMA.

38. 63-Down genre: RAP.   I was eating some green onions when suddenly I started rhyming everything that I was saying.  Turns out they were RAP scallions.

39. It's just a number, they say: AGE. Don't we all wish that this was, in fact, true.

40. Home of the NHL's Blues: STL.  The National Hockey League's Saint Louis Blues (abbr no 10)

41. Pizza topping: PEPPERS.  Pepperoni would not fit.  Some of us enjoy ground hot pepper sprinkled on pizza.

42. Fascinates: ENGAGES.

43. Scrubby wastelands: BARRENS. 

Rocky Point Barrens, New York

44. 62-Across, for one: POLYGON.  What do they make POLYGONs wear when they're on probation?  Angle monitors.

45. Sent a note to, nowadays: EMAILED.  Perhaps the most acceptable of the E-words we now often find in puzzles.

46. Blue state: SADNESS.  Today, the talking heads use Blue State/Red State to denote political divides.

49. Little newt: EFT.  We often see EFTs and newts in our puzzles.

50. Boxer/actor Mickey: ROURKE.

53. Secret __: AGENT.  Secret SANTA? Nope.  Secret CODES?  Nope.

55. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.  Another of today's Spanish lesson - SenoRA (abbr no 11)

57. Flight sked info: ETAS.  Estimated Time of Arrival S  often land in crossword puzzles.  (abbr no 12)

58. TV series for 18 seasons: NCIS.  Naval Criminal Investigative Services.  A TV series often seen in crossword puzzles and the last of a baker's dozen abbreviations in the puzzle if you don't also count 63 Down. 

59. Jazz diva Jones: ETTA.  ETTA, too, often visits us

61. Sheepish remark?: BAA.  With the previous herding-dog/ovine references, Shaun the Sheep seems appropriate.

63. "Straight Outta Compton" group: NWA.  The rap group.

What color are all of the books in the Library?

Red.

On that note let's turn to a new page . . .

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Thursday, October 7, 2021, Michael Paleos

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with Buck Henry & Mel Brooks' Maxwell Smart and The Chief to introduce today's puzzle.

If my research is correct, today's constructor Michael Paleos made his L.A. Times Debut on June 28, 2019.  He has also had puzzles published in the L.A. Times on March 12, 2020 and, more recently on June 10, 2021.  Apologies in advance if I have missed one or more.

The Cone Of Silence seemed appropriate today because Michael riffs on those silent letters that are not uncommon in the English language.  The reveal comes at 54 Across:

54  Across.  Cold shoulder . . . and a hint to four circled letters, individually and as a unit: SILENT TREATMENT

The interesting twist here is that the four circled letters spell, in order from top to bottom, MUTE.  That is an impressive twist on an otherwise pretty straightforward theme.

17 Across.   Aids for retrieving things: MNEMONIC DEVICES   MNEMONIC DEVICES are tools used for memorizing a string of words.  Well-known ones include HOMES (for the Great Lakes), King Philip Came Over For Great Spaghetti (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, Species) and ROY G BIV (for the colors in a rainbow and, yes, Indigo has been dropped by some).

28 Across.  Hendrix's "Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, for one: GUITAR SOLO

33. Made bad news easier to take: SOFTENED THE BLOW

41. Bond of the '70s and '80s: ROGER MOORE.  Not a T-Note or a Junk Bond, but a British spy.

. . . and now for the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Something going to the dogs: ALPO.  Right "off the bat" a bit of misdirection.  Not the idiom for a crumbling situation but literally something you would give to a dog.

5. Chirpy sci-fi critter: ARTOO.  R2 D2 aka ARTOO DEETOO from the Star Wars franchise.  R2 D2 visited us last Friday, also.

R2 D2 Noises

10. Joe by another name: JAVA.  Slang for coffee.

14. Welsh actor Roger: REES.  Unknow to this solver.  Diolch, perps.

15. Domain: REALM.

16. Kalahari-like: ARID.  The Kalahari Desert.

20. Hunted ones in a 2016 craze: POKEMON.  POKEMON GO

21. Rare forecast: HAIL.  Less frequent than sunny skies, overcast skies, rain or snow.

22. Teeing off: IRING.  Alternative clue:  What this clue is to solvers.  Irking?  Okay.  But the present participle of IRE?   

23. Provider of colt comfort: MARE.  Not Cold Comfort.  Nice wordplay.  No, not jeu de mots.

24. "On the Road" narrator __ Paradise: SAL.   Jack Kerouac's (nee Jean Louis Lebris de Kerouac) thinly-veiled self in the book.

Cassidy (Cassady / Dean Moriarty) - 1977 - Grateful Dead

27. Zippered shelter: TENT.  Looking at the local streets, other clues come to mind.

31. One might be slipped: DISC.  Hands up for having had L5 / S1 or something similar added to your vocabulary at some point.

32. Some urban pollution: NOISE.

39. Word with box or light: IDIOT.  Two idioms.  IDIOT box for television and IDIOT light for the lights on an automobile dash board that illuminate to tell the driver that something has gone amiss.

40. Bush hoppers: ROOS.  Bush is used to indicate Australia and hoppers provides a slangy hint for KangaROOS.

44. Part of CSNY: NASH.  Crosby Stills NASH and Young.  DSGN work not work as well.  A local school once held a charity auction featuring Graham NASH's Nash Rambler automobile.

48. Its returns were never sales: Abbr.: IRS.  Tax Returns.

49. Strong lobby for seniors: AARP.  This clue requires no explanation here.

50. Game with scratching: LOTTO.  Scratch off that ticket.  You might be a winner.

51. 2019 Broadway biomusical: TINA.  TINA Turner.

52. Big squeeze: BEAR HUG.  Again, nice wordplay.

58. Rapper-turned-actor: ICE T.  Alternatively, Rapper-turned-actor who often visits crossword puzzles.

59. Something one may be dying to hide?: ROOTS.  Hair Dye.  Nice pun.

60. Pro foe: ANTI.

61. Smart-alecky: CUTE.  CUTE, real CUTE.  Do we detect a note of sarcasm?

62. Affected: ARTSY.  As used here, too, too pretentious.

63. Zap: LASE.  Zap often turns out to be Nuke, as in microwave.

Zap Comix #0

Down:

1. Axilla, commonly: ARMPIT.  Today's let's skip the graphics moment.  The A from ALPO at 1 Across proved helpful as, initially, I had no idea about 14 Across.

2. Lost love in "The Raven": LENORE.  Edgar Allan Poe.

James Earl Jones and Friends

3. Spy, in a way: PEEK IN.  LOOK IN was, briefly, considered as was PEER IN.

4. "Pay It Forward" actor Haley Joel __: OSMENT.  Unknown to me.  Thank you, perps.

5. River in Tuscany: ARNO.

The Arno River at Night - Firenze 2015 - Photo By MM

6. Bit of equestrian gear: REIN.

7. Tic __: TAC.  A bit surprised that it didn't turn out to be Tic Tok.  What do you get if you cross some ants with some tics?  All sorts of antics.

8. So last year: OLD HAT.  Idiom meaning passe.  It may have developed during the time when women often wore hats and the styles changed annually.

9. 1998 Masters winner Mark: O'MEARA.  In 1998, golfer Mark O'MEARA became the oldest to win two majors in the same year.  He was 41.

10. Monopoly corner: JAIL.  Do not pass GO.  Do not collect $200.

11. Parabolic path: ARC.

12. Contend: VIE.

13. They pop up too often: ADS.  Online Pop-up ADS.

18. IM gasp: OMG.  Instant Message gasp = Oh My God!

19. Sábado preceder: VIERNES.  Today's Spanish lesson.

23. Emphatic end to a killer performance: MIC DROP.

24. Lowe's bagful: SOIL.  Lowe's home improvement centers sell bags of SOIL in the Garden Department.

25. "And another thing ... ": ALSO.

26. MGM co-founder: LOEW.  Marcus LOEW.  Not to be confused with Lowe's from 24 Down.

28. Gimlet option: GIN.  2.5 ounces of GIN, 0.5 ounces of Simple Syrup, a squeeze of fresh lime and a lime wedge to garnish.

29. One of a Swiss Army knife's many: USE.  Many uses.

30. Blubber: SOB.  To cry.  Not, in this case, flab.

31. Disembark, maybe: DETRAIN.  Not to be confused with DEPLANE.

 

33. Aide to millions: SIRI.  A modern-day reference.  My girlfriend asked me why I was whispering at home.  I told her that I was worried that Mark Zuckerberg was listening.  She laughed.  I laughed.  Aexa laughed.  SIRI laughed.  We all laughed.

34. It could be fishy: ODOR.  

35. Cookie fruit: FIGS.  Fruit, as with fish, can be singular or plural.

36. __ the mark: TOE.  

37. NBA's Raptors: TOR.  A National Basketball Association team.  TORonto.  Canadian, eh?

38. Groundbreaking invention: HOE.  Quite literally.

42. Watchword: MANTRA.  There was an indecisive Buddha.  His mantra was, "ummmmmmmm...."  

43. Address provider: ORATOR.  A nice play on words.  Why did Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address?  Because the Gettysburg was naked.

44. Not odd: NORMAL.  Not EVEN.  Not even what?

45. She turned Arachne into a spider: ATHENA.  I did not know this but the assumed that it would be an ancient goddess and the perps made it fairly easy to guess correctly.

46. Action film fodder: STUNTS.

47. Stymie: HOGTIE.

50. GPS finding: LAT.  LATitude.  For a modern take on location-finding take a look at the What Three Words app.  What Three Words

51. It's under un beret: TETE.  Today's French lesson.  TETE = head.

52. Risks: BETS.  This makes more sense as a couple of verbs than it does as a couple of nouns.

53. "Nothing to it!": EASY.

54. Attack, to Rover: SIC.  (Not my error)

55. RN workplace: ICU.  Registered Nurses work, sometimes, in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital.

56. Tennis call: LET.  A serve that hits the net and lands in the correct court.

57. Rubbish: ROT.  Another idiom  Used as a noun not a verb.  I was once on an airplane and found myself seated next to a man who held a backpack full of ROTting meat.  He said that it was his carrion luggage.

. . . and on that note . . .

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