Friday, January 20, 2023, Wendy L. Brandes

(Except, Perhaps, Today)

Good Morning Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with your Friday puzzle recap.  Today's puzzle comes to us courtesy of previously-published Wendy L. Brandes.

Let's start with the reveal:

52 Across:  Chophouse order, and an apt title for this puzzle?: NEW YORK STRIP.

What the constructor has done is remove (strip) the NY (New York) from recognizable word patterns and, thereby, created new, humorous definitions for four clues. Here are the four themed-answers:

20 Across:  Dinner roll that provides an unexpected boost?: ENERGIZER BUN.  ENERGIZER BUNNY.

27 Across:  Outlandish stories about Vietnamese soup?: PHO BALONEY.  PHONY BALONEY  PHO, of course is a Vietnamese soup.  BALONEY, in addition to being a lunch meat, is slang for nonsense.

37 Across:  Valued at one fancy ballpoint?: COSTS A PRETTY PEN.  COSTS A PRETTY PENNY.  Ballpoint pen.

46 Across:  Golfers who just need to dance, dance, dance before every drive?: TEE BOPPERS.  TEENY BOPPERS.  May the gods forgive me:  I never thought that I would cite the following anywhere, anytime , for any reason:

This is how it all looks in the grid . . .

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

Across:

1. Meet portion, or portion of meat: LEG.  For example, a leg of a relay race or a chicken leg.

4. Film franchise featuring Lightning McQueen: CARS.

8. Regarding: ABOUT.

13. Portfolio options, for short: IRAS.  Individual Retirement AccountS

15. Perched on: ATOP.  The god of thunder rides to the top of the mountain atop his noble steed.

Upon reaching the summit, he gets off his horse, raises his hammer to the sky and yells, "I am Thor!"  The horse turns around and says, "That'th cuth you forgot your thaddle thilly!"

16. Deteriorating: WORSE.  A bit of a head scratching moment because the clue is a gerund but the answer is not.  WORSEning?

17. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of __": NIMH.

18. NYC gallery with a Bell helicopter on display: MOMA.

19. Melted together: FUSED.

23. Pool necessity: CUE.  Not a swimming pool.

24. Had as a regular customer: SOLD TO.

32. Bulky boats: ARKS.

Noah's Ark

34. Lithium-__ battery: ION.

35. Seized auto: REPO.  Derived from REPOssession.

36. Tease mercilessly: RIDE.  

42. Texter's "But ... ": OTOH.

43. "Monday Night Football" commentator Aikman: TROY.  I would have clued this with a reference to UCLA.

44. Young man: LAD.

When I was a lad I served a term

As office boy to an Attorney's firm.

I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,

And I polished up the handle of the big front door.

45. Anklebones: TALI.  Plural, in Latin, of TALUS

49. Stretching muscle: TENSOR.

51. Common Market letters: EEC.

58. Silky fabric: SATIN.  Letters I've Written Never Meaning To Send (mail).

61. The "genu-" in "genuflect": KNEE.

Tom Lehrer -1967

plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

62. American tennis phenom Gauff: COCO.

63. Begins: OPENS.  COMMENCES was far too long and STARTS would not fit either.

64. Low-pH stuff: ACID.

65. Is shy: OWES.  Not a reference to social interaction but, rather, a financial reference.

66. Play area: STAGE.  Not a reference to children on the schoolyard but, rather, a theatrical reference.

67. Egg layers: HENS.  This clue is to be taken literally and not, in this case, idiomatically as in "to lay an egg" meaning to do something poorly.

68. After taxes: NET.

Down:

1. Command to a prompter: LINE.  The use of "Command" threw me off a bit.  I think of it as more of a request.

2. Actress Moriarty who plays Starlight on "The Boys": ERIN.

3. PlayStation, for one: GAME CONSOLE.

4. Strappy top, for short: CAMI.  CAMIsole

5. Comprehensive: ATOZ.  From A TO Z.

6. Trevi Fountain city: ROME.  Was the answer going to be ROME or ROMA?

7. Like Greenland's population: SPARSE. 0.14 people per square kilometer.  For comparison the USA population density is 34.05 per square kilometer.

8. "Zero stars": AWFUL.

9. Edge: BOUNDARY.  I just found out that my girlfriend is mad at me.  According to her diary, I have "BOUNDARY issues".

10. Sterile work environs: ORS.   Operating RoomS

11. Employ: USE.  I once saw a car with a bumper sticker that said:

12. "Thank you for coming to my __ Talk": TED.  A phrase that has become a part of the urban lexicon.  The phrase parodies the popular TED talk series, where in some cases the statements made by the performers are very obscure and meaningless.

14. Azalea, e.g.: SHRUB.  I bought a new SHRUB trimmer last week.  It's cutting hedge technology.

21. Park and drive: GEARS.  VERBS would have fit.  An automotive reference.

22. "If I Were a __": Beyoncé ballad: BOY.  If she were, she probably would not look like this:

25. Horseracing achievement: TRIPLE CROWN.

26. "Will do, hon": OK DEAR.

27. Crochet loop: PICOT.  A learning moment.  Thanks, perps.

28. Heckle: HOOT AT.

29. Seydoux of "No Time to Die": LEA.

30. On the facing pg.: OPP.  Punt!  OPPosite

31. Compass dirección: NORTE.  Spanish in the clue . . .

33. Mails: SENDS.  Baby You Mail me?

Sam Cooke

38. Watering down: THINNING.

39. Tarzan creator's monogram: ERB.

40. Also: TOO.  It can mean overly, too.

41. Blood groups: TYPES.

By Percent of US Population

46. AAA job: TOW.

47. Neo-soul artist Badu: ERYKAH.  Troy, Coco, Erin, Lea and now ERYKAH.  Okay, that's enough of this for today.

48. Boxer's favorite store, maybe?: PETCO.  Not a pugilistic reference.  A canine reference.

50. Feel: SENSE.

53. "... cut __": end of a carpentry maxim: ONCE.  Measure twice . . .

54. Bridle strap: REIN.  Neither RAIN nor REIGN.

55. Canvas shoe brand: KEDS.

56. Frozen treat brand: ICEE.  SLURPEE wouldn't fit.  SQUISHEE is almost never seen in our puzzles.

57. Station: POST.  One of those words that can either be a noun or a verb.

58. Distress signal: SOS.  Morse code.

59. Likely (to): APT.

60. Leaves for dim sum: TEA.  TEA leaves.

________________________________________________

Geoff Brown, Friday, January 6, 2023

Well, AH no, SpongeBob, but you're close.  What's missing is simply A.  A what?  Not A what.  Just A.

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a Friday puzzle from Geoff Brown.

Let's start with the reveal:

67 Across:  Not quite right, and an apt title for this puzzle?: AMISS.

In this case A (the letter) is MISSing.  It has been removed from a "normal" word of phrase in order to create a humorous answer to the (somewhat contrived, out of necessity) definition provided in the clue.

Here are the five themed clues and answers:

18 Across:  Deep dive into the statistics of a NY slugger?: META ANALYSIS.  Meta Analysis is a statistical method to combine the results of different studies.  Drop the A and we end up with a reference to the New York Mets baseball team.

23 Across:  Scotch drinker who complains about a small pour?: DRAMA CRITIC.  A Drama Critic reviews stage productions.  Drop the A and we have someone who comments on a shot of whisky (a dram is equal to about one eighth of a fluid ounce).

"Give The Fiddler A Dram" - Doc Watson

37 Across:  So over meaty spaghetti sauce?: PASTA BOLOGNESE.  This one also works as "past a Bolognese".

50 Across:  One who stands in the way of a wager?: BETA BLOCKER.  Beta Blockers are a class of drugs used primarily to treat cardiovascular diseases.  Drop the A and you can no longer have fun on FanDuel or DraftKings.

58 Across:  Flushed condition?: FLORIDA STATE.   FLORIDA STATE University is, of course, a well-known university who's main campus is in Tallahassee, FLORIDA.  Drop the A and you'll turn red.

This is how it all appears in the grid:

. . . . and here is the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Peak in the Tour de France: ALP.  Peak as in mountain top not as in reaching the peak of one's level of performance.

4. Nickname for a Carolina team: CANES.  The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team.

9. Air fryer brand: OSTER.

14. Grief: WOE.

15. Leaves out: OMITS.  There are two types of people.  Those who can extrapolate OMITted data using existing data.

16. Fracking target: SHALE.

17. African viper: ASP.

20. Put on another coat: REPAINT.  Not layer up for the cold.

22. Word with square and cube: ROOT.

26. Briny cheese: FETA.  For those interested in the process:  How To Make Feta Cheese

29. "Patience __ virtue": IS A.  Wait a moment.  Aren't we missing A?

30. Final bio: OBIT.

32. Texting nicety: THX.  Thanks.

33. Civil War POTUS: ABE.  POTUS in the abbreviation for President of the United States.  ABE is the abbreviated version of Abraham Lincoln.  Often clued with reference to a five dollar bill.

35. Dismal turnout: NO ONE.  Dismal-est?

36. Afore: ERE.  Before.  Works well in palindromes.

41. British term for a vaccination: JAB.  I just realized that Boris Johnson looks a lot like Benny Hill.  It might explain quite a lot.

42. Quick and energetic: BRISK.

43. GPS display: RTE. RouTE

44. Frosty: ICY.  Aloof.  Distant.  ICY The Snowman?  

45. Take on: HIRE.  A bit of a stretch clue-wise, but it is Friday.

46. __-K: PRE.  Murray The would not fit the allotted space.

48. "The Book of Boba __": FETT.  A Star Wars reference.

55. Flow slowly: OOZE.

57. Jelly Roll Morton genre: RAGTIME.

Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers - 1926

62. Karate level: DAN.  BELT would not fit.  Thanks, perps.

63. Probably will, after "is": APT TO.  Not to be confused with Apt #2.

64. Puzzle: POSER.

65. Fizzle out: DIE.

66. Washed-out: ASHEN.  ASHEN-faced Joe Smith goes to see his doctor.  "Doc" he says, "I have a piece of lettuce coming out of my butt."  The doctor performs an examination and says  "Joe, I have some bad news.  Unfortunately, it's just the tip of the iceberg."

68. Copa Mundial cheer: OLE.  A Spanish lesson for today.  Copa Mundial = World Cup.  The World Cup football (soccer) tournament was recently held in Qatar.

Down:

1. Oscar or Tony: AWARD.  We often see EGOT.

2. Sore __: LOSER.

3. Cartoon piglet with a British accent: PEPPA.

4. Many open mic performers: COMICS.  Other six-letter plurals were also possibilities (e.g. ACTORS, MIMICS, CLOWNS).

5. Egyptian deity: AMEN RA.  Also, AMUN RA.   The god of creation.

6. Tucci's "Road to Perdition" role: NITTI.  Frank NITTI.  Al Capone's first cousin.

7. GPS display: ETA.  GPS is abbreviated ergo so is the answer.  Estimated Time of Arrival

8. Fig. in identity theft: SSN.

9. European capital with more than 340 lakes: OSLO.  We visit the capital city of Norway quite often in our puzzles.

10. Not quite meeting: SHY OF.

11. Market research comparison: TASTE TEST.

12. Pharmaceutical giant __ Lilly: ELI.

13. Hi-__ graphics: RES.  High Resolution.

19. Following a curve: ARCING.

21. French friends: AMIES.  Female (avec le e) friends in this case.

24. Hammer home?: TOOL SET.  Not as in to hammer something home, the idiom for stressing a point of debate.  Literally, where one might keep their hammer.  Alternatively, Stanley Burrell's crib.

25. Old Mac laptop: I BOOK.  First released in 1999.

27. Preakness horse's age: THREE.  The Preakness Stakes comprises one-third of (American) horse racing's "Triple Crown" (with the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes).  Regardless of their actual date of birth, all Thoroughbred racing horses turn 0ne year old on January 1st of the year following their birth.

28. Log chopper: AXE.

31. "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the __ Rings": TEN.

33. Rapidly: APACE.

34. Item left for a certain fairy: BABY TOOTH.  Anyone else grow up with Mr. O'Malley?

35. Bête __: NOIRE.  More French although the term is part of the English lexicon.

38. "Frankly," in texts: TBH.  To Be Honest

39. Paid off: BRIBED.  I tried to offer my school's administrator a BRIBE but she was too principled.

40. Not in a slump?: ERECT.  Today's let's pass on the graphic moment.

41. Peanut butter brand: JIF.

46. Dishes: PLATES.

47. "The Gambler" singer: ROGERS.  Kenny Rogers.

49. Patisserie product: TORTE.  Made with lots of eggs and little flour.

51. Luca of "The Godfather": BRASI.

52. Affectionate nickname: KIDDO.

53. Send with a click: EMAIL.  In this case, used as a verb.

54. Soprano Fleming: RENEE.  A fairly easy proper noun to perp.

56. Williamson who was the 2019 #1 NBA draft pick: ZION.  A tougher proper noun to perp.

58. Tower authority: Abbr.: FAA.  As in aircraft control tower.

59. CD precursors: LPS.

60. Après-ski option: SPA.  I have never heard anyone say "Hey, let's hit the SPA" after a day on the slopes.  Anyone go, initially, with BAR?

61. Loki player Hiddleston: TOM.  A tough finish (except that it perp'd easily) if you're not into the latest Hollywood/Marvel efforts.

A belated Happy New Year, one and all!

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