Thursday, July 28, 2022, Amie Walker

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with this morning's recap of a puzzle exhibiting a wistful choice of themes for a midsummer's day.  As she did with her June 17, 2022 LAT puzzle, at places within the grid our puzzle setter, Amie Walker, has added a letter or two to common expressions and, thereby, created new and different expressions.  In today's puzzle she has added two letters - BR as in "Brrrrrr it's cold".  We can only wish.

The reveal comes at:

55 Across:  Harbingers of lower temperatures, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues: COLD FRONTS.  A COLD FRONT is the leading edge of a cold air mass.

The theme is applied at (starred for our convenience):

17 Across:  *Lord of the grill?: BROIL BARON.  Oil Baron.

Lord of the Grill - Stephen Raichlen

26 Across:  *Some spring newlyweds?: BRIDES OF MARCH.  Ides of March.  Beware!

43 Across:  *Warning words from one holding the reins?: BRIDLE THREATS.  Idle Threats.

The balance of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. Furnish funds for: ENDOW.  For example:

6. Sleep restlessly: TOSS.  ______  and TURN.    _____ a coin.  ____ one's cookies.

10. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Devers: GAIL.  One of only two women to successfully defend an Olympic 100 meter championship.

14. Jeweler's glass: LOUPE.

15. Dance that tells a story: HULA.  What did the animal control officer ask the Hawaiian dancer?  "HULA the dogs out?"

16. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn: ANNA.  Continuing with the recent trend, this is the first many proper nouns in the puzzle.  Depending on which answers you wish to count, there are a dozen or so.  

19. Wine list heading: REDS.

20. Small batteries: AAS.

Third From The Left

21. Subdivision divisions: LOTS.

22. Fake eyelash, informally: FALSIE.  Eyelashes?  Today's "I had best not go there" moment.

24. "No warranties": AS IS.

25. Went around: ORBITED.  AVOIDED was a working guess.  Literally to go around (and around and around).

30. Borrower: LENDEE.  Not too hard to suss out but a word rarely seen/heard.

31. "The Chi" creator Waithe: LENA.  Unknown to me.  Another day of the week it might have been Horne, Olin or  the Hyena.

32. Text an embarrassing screenshot to the wrong person, say: ERR.

35. Pre-K basics: ABCS.  The basis for a pop song.

36. Sports radio host Patrick: DAN.  So many Dans from which to choose.

37. H.S. exam: PSAT.  We sit for the PSAT quite often in our puzzles.

38. "Caught you!": HAH.  OHO, the answer is not AHA!

39. Rip-off: SCAM.  "This is an ugly word, this SCAM." - Carmine Sabatini

41. __ solution: SALINE.

46. "Please let me give it a go": MAY I TRY.

48. Pond plant: REED.  It was likely going to be either pond or oboe, n'est-ce pas?

49. "The Ranch" actress Cuthbert: ELISHA.  Another unknown.  Thanks, perps.

50. Apple variety: GALA.  Not an electronics reference this time.

51. Rio automaker: KIA.  KIA recently adopted a new logo.

54. Skating site: RINK.  THIN ICE was too long.

58. Peniston with the Top 10 hit "Finally": CECE.  CSO to C.C.

CeCe

59. __-slapper: KNEE.  Ha Ha.

60. Wed: UNITE.  Not a dy of the wk.

61. How most TV shows air: IN HD.  High Definition.

62. Tournament ranking: SEED.

63. Triumphant April Fools' Day cry: GOT YA.  Crosses ITTY at 52 Down.  See 26 Down.

Down:

1. Island in a classic palindrome: ELBA.

2. Comedy Central's "Awkwafina Is __ From Queens": NORA.  Does she have to pay royalties to Pepsico?

3. Pairs: DUOS.

4. Big name in nail polish: OPI.  This proper noun is now part of the Croswordese lexicon.

5. "Maybe yes, maybe no": WE'LL SEE.

6. "Oh, really?": THAT SO.  Is it?

7. Sharing word: OURS.

8. "__ Pitch": Canadian web series about softball: SLO.

9. Bay city, briefly: SAN FRAN.  The folks there don't usually take too well to this sort of thing.

10. Aioli base: GARLIC.  Basic recipe:  4 cloves fresh garlic, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp coarse grained salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup EVOO, 1 teaspoon water

11. Prime number?: ANESTHESIA.  As in to make NUMB.  This muttonheaded marine mammal initially missed the context.  Thanks, Cat.

12. Not mainstream: INDIE.  Usually used in a show-biz context.

13. Cut with light: LASED.   Crossword constructors, and editors, love verbs that are the same in present and past tense -  Cut, put, shed, cast, quit, hit, etc.  etc.  etc.

18. Capital known as "The City of Trees": BOISE.  State Capital of Idaho.

23. Syllables in an incantation: ABRA.

24. Throws in: ADDS.

25. Black cat, to some: OMEN.  Having passed on the Steve Miller Band possibility, a couple of clues above, I shall attempt to redeem myself:

Howlin' Wolf - 1961

26. Meh: BLAH.  'Nuff said

27. "Queen of Country" McEntire: REBA.

28. Slowly but surely: INCH BY INCH.

29. Moth attractor: FLAME.  

A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office.  The doctor asks, “What’s the problem?”  The moth replies, “Doc, let me tell you. I hate my job. Every single day I have to go but I hate my boss and I hate my work.  I wake up every day next to a woman that I once loved, but I stopped loving her long ago. Last week my dog died.  I don't know what to do."  The doctor says, “Those are some serious problems. You need help. But you need a psychiatrist. Why in the world did you come into a podiatrist’s office?”  The moth says, “Because the light was on.”

33. Harangue: RANT.

34. GPS lines: RTES.  We never know if it will be Roads, Route, Avenues, Streets, Highways, etc.  I love working with GPS devices.  I do not love the clues/answers that they have brought us.

36. Tyne of "Judging Amy": DALY.

37. Begged: PLED.  A robot accused of stealing his neighbor's electricity PLED guilty as charged.

39. Jedi enemy: SITH.  A Star Wars reference.

40. Classic music libraries?: CD RACKS.  In the age of Mp3s, Compact Discs qualify as "classic".

41. __ life: SHELF.  Some items are marked with those dates that are overly pessimistic.

42. Accent piece: AREA RUG.

44. Gambled: RISKED.

45. Available on the stock exchange: TRADED.  Hand up for first trying LISTED,

46. "__ beaucoup": MERCI.  Today's French 101 lesson.

47. Unrecognizable: ALIEN.  Used as an adjective not as a visitor from another galaxy.

50. Sheer delight: GLEE.

51. Work on a muffler, say: KNIT.  Not an automotive reference.

52. __-bitty: ITTY.  ITSY BITSY wouldn't work with the perps, I suppose.  A musical moment missed.

53. Between ports: ASEA.  Where we may sometimes find ourselves, metaphorically.

56. Low digit: ONE.  The number this time (see 11 Down).  Not a part of the anatomy.

57. Artist Yoko: ONO.  The last of today's proper nouns  . . .  and a frequent visitor.

Here is how all of this looks in the grid:

Well that wraps things up for today's puzzle recap.  I am in Victoria British Columbia helping to celebrate a couple of dear friends' 50th wedding anniversary.  The scary part is that I was at the wedding.  The temperature is not cold but it is delightfully cooler than it is in SoCal.

Have a great Thursday, everyone.

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Thursday, July 14, 2022, Karen Lurie

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.  It will be somewhat briefer than usual as Valerie and I have been in Yosemite this week with my grandchildren, a few good friends, and their grandchildren.

Our constructor today is Karen Lurie or, perhaps Karen Urie (see below).  Karen has had several puzzles previously reviewed here, most recently less than two weeks ago on July 5th.

Let's start with the reveal:

51. "Oh, admit defeat already!," and advice that was followed to form the answers to the starred clues: JUST TAKE THE L.  Just take the LOSS.  Or, as applied in the grid, remove the letter L from the start of three common phrases.  The results are three odd, but not nonsensical, phrases with entirely different meanings from the originals.

These are the starred clues and answers:

20. *Research on the ampersand?: AND MARK STUDY.  A Landmark Study is an important and influential report on a topic of interest.  An ampersand is this mark: &.  We use it to symbolize the word AND.  If you research the & symbol then you have have done an AND MARK STUDY.

31. *Ambien, for one?: AID TO REST.  The common expression is Laid To Rest.  From its funerary roots, the expression Laid To Rest is more often used to indicate that a situation has been resolved as in:  At the end of this recap I hope to have Laid To Rest any lingering questions about the clues and answers.  Ambien, of course, is a sleep medicine and, therefore an AID TO REST.

44. *Folds?: ENDS A HAND.  Lends A Hand is pretty self-explanatory.  Here, the clue is a poker reference.  To Fold is to drop out of the betting at which point you have forfeited any money that you have previously bet on the poker hand.

Here is what this all looks like in the grid:

. . . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Karate match exchanges: BOWS.  Exchanging BLOWS would not quite fit.

5. Exams for coll. credit: APS.  A pluralization of the Advanced Placement exam.  Meh.

8. Hydro __: bottle brand: FLASK.

13. Perfect copy: EDIT.  Perfect, in this case is used as a verb.  A perfect (adjective) copy could be a clone.

14. __-portrait: SELF.

16. Otherworldly: EERIE.  Things often get EERIE in our puzzles due to the word's high vowel content.

17. Wee: TINY.  Recently, we have seen oh so many instances of EENSY, TEENSY, WEENSY,  ITTY, ITSY BITSY and the like.

18. "Quite so": TRUE.

19. Without exception: EVERY.

23. Brief "If you ask me (and even if you didn't)": IMO.  In My Opinion.

24. Current: HIP.  Neither an electrical nor a hydraulic reference.  Happening now.

25. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS.  He appears often.

28. Wan: ASHEN.

34. Brazilian city: RIO.  RIO de Janeiro

35. Otherwise: ELSE.

37. World Heritage Site org.: UNESCO.

38. School units: CLASSES.  CREDITS was a pretty good, but incorrect, first thought.

40. Chest of drawers: DRESSER.  What did the Ikea DRESSER say to the aliens after landing on their planet?  "I come in pieces."

41. Valiant: HEROIC.

42. Sound like a pig: OINK.

43. Press coverage: INK.  A now somewhat outdated colloquialism as newspapers continue to lose subscribers.

46. Must-haves: NEEDS.

48. Shares again, on Twitter: RTS.  ReTweetS?  Meh.

49. Energy Star certifying org.: EPA.

50. Tammy Duckworth's title, briefly: SEN.  SENator.  Democrat from Illinois.

57. Shoyu __: noodle dish: RAMEN.  Scooby Doo finishing a prayer.

60. Fallon's predecessor: LENO.  Hosts of "The Tonight Show"

Jimmy Fallon and Jay LENO

61. Tire swing holder: ROPE.  TREE would have fit and the E would have worked.

62. Peabody, e.g.: AWARD.  The Peabody is an AWARD given for excellence in radio broadcasting.  The Sherman in an entirely different matter.

63. Shoots the breeze: YAKS.  Also, large, hairy animals.

64. Continent with 11 time zones: ASIA.

65. Insurance spokeslizard: GECKO.

66. Root word?: RAH.  To root, as in to cheer for a team.

67. "To Kill a Mockingbird" star: PECK.  Gregory.

Down:

1. Pre-release software version: BETA.

2. Asgard god: ODIN.  As I am sure that I have mentioned before, I first learned of ODIN and Loki and Thor from reading Marevel comic books as a child.

3. Leaf blower: WIND.  A bit of misdirection if one first thought of those noisy, but water saving, devices.  Also, the output of those devices.

4. Buffalo: STYMIE.  Not used as the animal but, rather, as the verb.

5. Intro to physics?: ASTRO.  Often clued with reference to the Houston, TX baseball team.*

6. Fringe benefit: PERK.  Short, and intentionally misspelled, slang for perquisite.

7. Frozen drink: SLUSHIE.

8. Nurture: FEED.

9. "Schitt's Creek" co-creator: LEVY.  Dan and Eugene LEVY.  Either one.

10. "__ we done here?": ARE.

11. Lancelot or Mix-a-Lot: SIR.  On the TV show "Two and a Half Men" it was SIR Craps-a-lot.

12. Vital: KEY.  Synonyms for necessary/essential.

15. Really stinky: FETID.

21. Unrealistically common affliction in soap operas: AMNESIA.  My girlfriend just told me that she has AMNESIA.  Who does she think she is!?

22. Positive shift: UPTURN.

25. Scottish monster, affectionately: NESSIE.  The Loch Ness Monster.

26. Rise: ASCEND.

27. Baby birds?: STORKS.  Not chicks.

28. Sagittarius symbol: ARCHER.

29. Mum: SILENT.

30. Stockpiles: HOARDS.  Why do dragons HOARD jewels and gold?  Because cash is flammable.

31. Beast of burden in many fables: ASS.  This has been teed up.  Who am I to pass.

Rollng Stones

32. Support for a proposal?: ONE  KNEE.  A marriage proposal.

33. Hi-__ graphics: RES.  RESolution.

36. Tres __ cake: dairy-soaked dessert: LECHES.

39. Sea plea, briefly: SOS.  A rhyming clue.

40. Took care of: DID.

42. Really hot: ON A TEAR.  Idiomatic expression for having success over a period of time.

45. In a fitting way: APTLY.

47. Set up: ENTRAP.  If you ask a cop what their favorite movie is they have to tell you.  Otherwise it's ENTRAPment.

50. Smidge: SKOSH.  From the Japanese word sukoshi (pronounced skoh shee).

51. Weightlifting move: JERK.

52. Reverse: UNDO.

53. "Eso Beso" singer: ANKA.  Paul ANKA wrote, and performed, many other songs but "Eso Besso" is the one that seems to appear most frequently in our puzzles.  I wonder why that is.  Lots of vowels and esses, I suppose.

54. Sprinkler attachment: HOSE.  I do not attach a hose to my sprinklers.  They must mean an attachment used for sprinkling.

55. "Awesome, dude!": EPIC.  Slangy clue.  Slangy answer.

56. Pipe problem: LEAK.

57. Tattered cloth: RAG.  Or a song by Scott Joplin.

58. Blow away: AWE.

59. Big name in laptops and lipstick: MAC.  We all know the Apple MACintosh computer, the actual MACintosh apple, MAC and Cheese and the Big MAC.  In keeping with recent trends, however, the author/editor elected to go with lipstick.   So be it.  What the L.

Big Mac Edition

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Thursday, June 30, 2022, Dave Taber & Laura Moll

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the line on today's puzzle.  Today's constructors are Dave Taber & Laura Moll.  They have had at least two previous puzzles reviewed here on The Corner (24 November 2021 and just last week on 22 June 2022) and there are references to them on the Crossword Fiend site.

There is no reveal in today's puzzle.  However, a recurring hint to the theme is included in each of the themed clues.  There are three of these, one of which is in two parts.  Those clues all have "LINE" as part of the clue so I guess that's the party line and I'm sticking to it.

12 Across:  Hotline?:  I'M ON FIRE.  The Boss, perhaps, said it best (a line about being "hot"):

19 Across:  Deadline?:  ET TU BRUTE.  From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.  Spoken as Caesar is being stabbed to death.  A line about "Dead".

39 Across: Clothesline?:  KEEP YOUR PANTS ON.  Colloquialism for "be patient".  Pants are clothes.  A line about "Clothes".

57 Across: With 69-Across, Lifeline?:  HE LIKES IT.

69 Across: See 57-Across:  HEY MIKEY.

A line about "Life" cereal.

Across:

1. Gratuity: TIP.  Fifteen percent?  Eighteen percent?  Twenty percent?  Before or including tax?

4. Bow (out): OPT.

7. Personal records: BESTS.

15. Only state that shares a time zone with Alaska: HAWAII.  On the map below, in the only double-sized rectangle, west of the tip of Baja California and south of Alaska, you will see the Hawaiian Islands .

16. Bag: CUP OF TEA.  Precisely, at the 0:33 and 1:40 marks:

17. Brunch order: OMELET.   A dish often served in crossword puzzles

18. Gush: SPEW.

21. The WNBA's Dream, on sports crawls: ATL.   Women's National Basketball  Association.

24. Unremarkable: SO SO.  Meh.

25. Uno y uno: DOS.  La lección de matemáticas de hoy.

26. Grapefruit choice: RUBY RED.

30. Flunky: PEON.

32. Tony Shalhoub's role on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel": ABE.  He also played Monk on the eponymous TV show.

33. Big brutes: OGRES.

35. Dutch guilder successor: EURO.  Also the successor to many other EUROpean currencies.

43. Celtic language: ERSE.

44. Took the wheel: DROVE.

45. Bird in the bush: EMU.  Thanks for not cluing it with a refence to those idiotic insurance company commercials.

46. Choke up: CLOG.  Not a crying reference.  See 56 Across.

49. Long rants: TIRADES.

51. Justice Dept. arm: ATF.

54. Boldly state: AVER.  I always forget the difference between AVER and AVOW.   By definition AVER means to acknowledge and AVOW mean to declare.  No wonder I can't keep 'em straight.  See also 68 Across

56. Have an ugly cry: SOB. 

60. Helter-skelter: AMOK.

64. Friend of the mistake-prone: ERASER.  Nice clue.

65. Seafood appetizer: CRABCAKE.

68. State with confidence: ASSERT.  See also 54 Across.

70. Hockey fake-outs: DEKES.

71. Fine-grained wood: YEW.  Often clued with an archery reference.

72. Paper polishers, in brief: EDS.  EDitorS.  Could have been clued with Ames and Begley.

Down:

1. Personal quirks: TICS.

2. Happy cry from an eager Little Leaguer: I'M UP.  Next at bat.

3. Leader who wears the Ring of the Fisherman: POPE.

4. Having a bad day: OFF.  If you're OFF (from work) it could be a good day.

5. Start to fall?: PIT.   PITfall.  One of those types of clues.

6. With 15-Down, kids' hangout: TREE.

7. Material for some cutting boards: BAMBOO.  Panda's like it, too.

8. Ceremonial pitcher: EWER.  Often seen in crossword puzzles.

9. Cantina toast: SALUD.  Not something to eat.  "To your health.  Cheers!"

10. Couple with: TIE TO.  Today's I-had-better-not-go-there moment.

11. Surfing stops: SITES.  Not an oceanic reference.  A WWW reference.

13. "Get out of town!": NO WAY.

14. Breaks bread: EATS.

15. See 6-Down: HOUSE.

20. First place: TOP SPOT.  EDEN was too short.

22. 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Polamalu: TROY.  Perhaps best known for his hair.

23. Minifigure maker: LEGO.

26. Deal with leaves: RAKE.

27. Company that moves people: UBER.

28. Quilting parties: BEES.

29. Hard workers: DRUDGES.

31. __ worth: NET.  My financial advisor asked me, "What's your NET worth"?  I replied, "I don't own a net".

34. Mess up: ERR.

36. Outside the box?: USED.  No longer new and in the box.

37. Capital on the Tiber: ROME.  Tiber River.

38. Burden: ONUS.

40. Delt neighbor: PEC.   A musculature reference.

41. Car rental giant: AVIS.

42. Archie's boss, in detective fiction: NERO.    A literary reference.  NERO Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

47. Team featured in the HBO sports drama "Winning Time": LAKERS.  This TV series took a lot of (well deserved) flack.  There's another take on the subject on the horizon.

48. For all to see: OVERT.

50. Ancient calculators: ABACI.  Allan Sherman explains plurals:

51. Still to come: AHEAD.

52. Short and probably not sweet: TERSE.

53. Chemist's container: FLASK.  Works for whisky, too.

55. "Diving Into the Wreck" poet Adrienne: RICH.  A learning moment.

58. "Aha! Say no more": I SEE.

59. Long shot, in hoops lingo: TREY.  A three-point shot in basketball.

61. Produce: MAKE.

62. Gave clearance: OK'ED.  Some people are OKay with marijuana and alcohol but cocaine is where they draw the line.

63. Home openers?: KEYS.  Not a sports reference.  If you hadn't yet switched to digital pad locks you'd use KEYS to unlock the doors to your home.

66. "All in favor, say __": AYE.

67. Automaker whose "M" stands for "Motoren": BMW.

 

Well, that wraps it up for this recap and for my fifth in twenty nine days.  I will now take my leave with an even greater appreciation for those, here, who write up the puzzles each and every week.

Dave and Laura, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.

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