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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