Friday, April 14, 2023, Pam Klawitter

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here along with He-man to bring you a TGIF recap.  Today, the I's (ayes) definitely have it with a straightforward theme from veteran puzzle-setter Pam Klawitter.  This puzzle "continues" the egocentric "I Me Mine" drift of the puzzle reviewed by this blogger two weeks ago.  Who knows what the future may hold.  I can't wait to find out.

At the following four places within the grid, Pam has added the letter I to common words/phrases to create amusing answers to the given clues:

16 Across:  Member of the swim-up bar staff?: TREADING WAITER.  Treading Water.

21 Across:  Exercise class that's all about one's ego?: VANITY PILATES.  Vanity Plates.

34 Across:  Elements needed to start NFL games?: THE PROS AND COINS.  The Pros And Cons.

48 Across:  Tricks for producing excellent Tweetstorms?: TIRADE SECRETS.  Trade Secrets.

The reveal comes at:

54 Across:  "Not staying long," and an apt title for this puzzle?: I JUST DROPPED IN.

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Pizza chain in many food courts: SBARRO.  The chain specializes in what is called "N.Y. style" pizza.

7. Mark Cuban's NBA team: DALLAS.

13. Blue state: SADNESS.  Misdirection.  Not a political red state/blue state reference.

15. Fútbol chant: OLE OLE.

18. La Scala showpiece: ARIA.  Tunes frequently heard in crossword puzzles.

19. Take a little off the top: TRIM.

26. Hardware with crosspieces: T-BOLTS.

28. Big name in nail polish: OPI.  This had to be something like the twentieth time I have seen this one in a puzzle....and I finally remembered the product's name.

29. Phishing fig.: SSN.  Social Security Number

30. Interior designer Berkus: NATE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

31. Marriages: UNIONS.

40. Most massive: HUGEST.  An odd-looking word is it not?

41. Barrel band: HOOP.

42. Many a "9-1-1" character: EMT.  Emergency Medical Technicians are not strangers to crosswords.

45. Make a typo, say: ERR.

46. Not fair: CLOUDY.  Not an ethics reference, a meteorological reference.   With apologies to Paul and Art:

52. One with elitist tastes: SNOB.

53. Gray __: AREA.  Neither MATTER nor WHALE were going to fit.

62. "Come From the Heart" country singer Kathy: MATTEA.

63. Without any oomph: WEARILY.

64. Came next: ENSUED.

65. Office binder: STAPLE.  Not a three-ring binder.  Something to use to bind papers together.

Down:

1. Retired jet: SST.  SuperSonic Transport

2. Granola __: BAR.  A raisin, a peanut, and an oat sit down to order a drink.  The bartender says, "What do you think this is, a granola bar?"

3. Juice aisle suffix: ADE.  A bit of a stretch.

4. Genetic letters: RNA.

5. Hill-building stinger: RED ANT.

6. Egyptian god of the underworld: OSIRIS.

7. __ Jones: DOW.

8. Menu phrase: ALA.  In the style of.

9. Island chain: LEI.  A bit of wordplay.  A chain of flowers often associated with the Hawaiian Islands.

10. Buncha: LOTTA.  Punt.

11. National Weather Service postings: ALERTS.

12. Binger's target: SERIES.

14. Cranky mood: SNIT.

17. Part of LGBTQ+: GAY.

20. Web portal with a butterfly logo: MSN.

21. Participate in a primary, say: VOTE.

22. First Hebrew letter: ALEPH.

23. Gesture while giving directions, maybe: POINT.

24. Shuffle gadget: IPOD.  Before we kept our tunes on those devices that we call "phones" some of us used these:

25. "The Mod Squad" role for Omar Epps: LINC.

Omar is on the right

26. Explosive letters: TNT.

27. "Phooey!": BAH.  The sheep says Baa.

31. Tech support callers: USERS.

32. "Panini" rapper Lil __ X: NAS.  A frequent visitor.

33. Not __: barely acceptable: SO HOT.

35. Had regrets: RUED.

36. Nasty sort: OGRE.  Shrek might beg to differ.

37. "We'll square up later" markers: I O U S.  Phonetically, I Owe You. 

38. Wordless agreement: NOD.  Apparently, most people lean slightly forward when they NOD their head.  I am inclined to agree.

39. Seeker of intel: SPY.

42. UFO mechanics, presumably: ETS.  Extra TerrestrialS.  

43. Verne Troyer's "Austin Powers" role: MINI-ME.

44. __ horse: TROJAN.

46. Brunch choice: CREPES.  Two weeks ago we were served OMELETTES.

47. Seize, as an opportunity: LEAP AT.

49. Is up against: ABUTS.

50. Canal setting: EAR.  Neither Suez nor Panama would fit the allotted space.

51. Jackdaw kin: CROW.

55. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU.

56. Rugby ball prop: TEE.  Often clued with a reference to American football.

57. Cam or Mitch, on "Modern Family": DAD.  A TV reference.

58. Celebrated time span: ERA.  Often clued along the lines of Equal Rights Amendment or Earned Run Average.

59. Short swim: DIP.

60. Under the weather: ILL.

61. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.  Another frequent visitor.

. . . and now, having just dropped in for a quick visit . . .

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Friday, March 31, 2023, Rena Cohen

Good Morning Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the Friday recap.

Today's puzzle comes to us courtesy of Rena Cohen and, in what seems to be an abundance of riches, we get not only starred clues but circles, too, each of which may have been either annoying or helpful depending on your personal proclivities.

Let's start with the unifier:

61 Across:  Lifts for one's self-esteem, and what's been given to the answers to the starred clues: EGO BOOSTS.

Ego.  Self.  Myself.  ME.  At four places in the puzzle (circled in case any of us found ourselves in danger of having an identity crisis) ME is "boosted" (raised) above the clue/answer on which we are working.  The letters ME are then integrated (in sequence - up right down right) into the answer below.  A metaphor for the whole self if you will?  It would have been fun if synonyms for ID and SUPER EGO had somehow been worked into the puzzle.  A picture being worth a thousand words, here is how things look in the grid:

Here are the four themed clues/answers (each starred for our convenience).  Without the ME the answers border on gibberish

17 Across:  *Brunch station for custom orders: OMELETTE BAR.

23 Across:  *TV competition won by singer Noah Thompson in 2022: AMERICAN IDOL.

37 Across:  *Many a retired pro athlete: SPORTS COMMENTATOR.  Retired (?) football player Tom Brady recently signed on as a COMMENTATOR for the sum of $375 million.

48 Across:  *Masquerade:  COSTUME PARTY

Across:

1. Lead characters in "Mike & Molly"?: EMS.  The leading letter (character) in both names is M.

4. Pockets for falafel: PITAS.   What did the hummus say to the PITA bread when she got sick?  I falafel.

9. Hawkeye: IOWAN.

14. "That's Not All Folks" memoirist Blanc: MEL.  Mel's book title may have included the word "Not" but his epitaph does not: 

15. Not quite right: ACUTE.  A geometry reference.  A right angle is 90 degrees.  An ACUTE angle is less than 90 degrees.

16. Evade, as the truth: SKIRT.

19. Gate part: LATCH.

20. Christ the __: Rio landmark: REDEEMER.  A very famous statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

21. 400 meters, on a standard track: LAP.

22. Polite assent: YESM.  Shortened form of YES Ma'am.  What would be a polite dissent?  NOM?  Nom.

28. Write: PEN.  Noun or verb?  Verb.  T0 write something.

30. "Most likely ... ": ODDS ARE.

31. Checked thoroughly?: MATED.  A chess reference.  Checkmate.

34. Peak: ACME.  We often need to choose between ACME and APEX.

36. Irish actor Stephen: REA.   A frequent visitor.

41. Drop off: NOD.  To NOD off to sleep.  See also 38 Down.

42. Roman moon goddess: LUNA.

43. Actress Spacek: SISSY.

44. Late __: BLOOMER.

47. Shining example: GEM.

51. Former home of the Mets: SHEA.  SHEA Stadium 1964 - 2009

55. Asian festival: TET.

Tet 2017 Year of the Rooster - Photo By MM

56. Military shelter: ARMY TENT.

58. Book that's all mapped out?: ATLAS.  An ATLAS being a book of maps.

62. Southern twang: DRAWL.  What happens to Texans when they stop doing drugs?  They suffer with DRAWL.

63. Flower part: SEPAL.

64. "Happy now?": SEE.

65. Burj Khalifa's city: DUBAI.  The world's tallest building.

66. Barilla rival: PREGO.  A pasta sauce reference.

67. Hurler's stat: ERA.   A baseball reference.  Earned Run Average.

Down:

1. Georgia school whose unofficial mascot is Dooley the Skeleton: EMORY.

2. Wild brawl: MELEE.  The word's origins are French.

3. Bobrun runners: SLEDS.  BobSLEDS.

4. Bánh mì spread: PATE.

5. Marvel hero with super cool powers?: ICEMAN.  Cool as in cold as in ICE.  We shall pass on the Eugene O'Neill inspired jokes.

6. Rutabaga, e.g.: TUBER.

7. Game company featured in "Ready Player One": ATARI.

8. Spanish 101 verb: SER.  To be.

9. Christmas or Easter: ISLAND.  Nice word play.  Not Nice as in the city in France.  Nice as in pleasant.  Both Christmas and Easter are the names of holidays and ISLANDs.

10. Giraffe kin: OKAPIS.  Seen most often in crossword puzzles.

11. Quipster: WIT.  Hand up for first thinking WAG.

12. Part of a circle: ARC.

13. Ultimate power?: NTH.  A mathematics reference.  NTH can mean either unspecified or largest.

18. Disposition: TEMPER.

21. Encumbered: LADEN.

24. Date component, often: COMMA.  Not a social setting,  E.G. March 31 COMMA 2023.

25. Board game?: DARTS.  More wordplay.  Think dartboard.

26. Cookies that can illustrate phases of the moon: OREOS.  I had not thought of that. . . but OREOS are always a good guess if the clue references cookies.

27. "The Sandlot" actor Denis: LEARY.

29. D.C. clock setting during baseball season: EDT.  Eastern Daylight Time

31. Rachel Maddow's channel: MSNBC.

32. Speed skater Ohno: APOLO.  A frequent visitor.

33. Ruckuses: TODOS.

34. "Precision Crafted Performance" sloganeer: ACURA.

35. Scam: CON.  Both the clue and the answer can be used as a noun or as a verb.

38. Dropped off: SLEPT.  See also 41 Across.

39. "Four Quartets" monogram: TSE.

40. Has as a goal: AIMS TO.

45. Parliament site in North America: OTTAWA.

46. Cereal mix: MUESLI.  This blogger's personal favorite.

47. Backpack in a locker, maybe: GYM BAG.

49. Epic bash: RAGER.  Relatively recent slang. 

50. Familiar theme: TROPE.

52. "Steppenwolf" author: HESSE.  Many here have likely all read the book.  About the same time we all likely were listening to this:

Steppenwolf - 1968

53. Key in: ENTER.

54. Lost: AT SEA.  Idiomatic.

57. "Carpe diem" acronym: YOLO.  You Only Live Once

58. Do some sums: ADD.

59. Capote nickname: TRU.

60. CSI setting: LAB.  A TV show reference.  Crime Scene Investigation.  LABoratory.

61. Unproven ability: ESP.

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