Friday, May 26, 2023, Andrew Anker

  

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a Friday recap In Re:  A puzzle by Andrew Anker.  I was not able to find a preexisting label for Andrew on this blog so it may be his LAT debut.

At four places in the grid, Andrew breaks apart the first word of common two-word expressions.  In each case, the first word starts with the letters RE.  By separating those letters we get "regarding" and, thereby, new meanings.  Here are the four themed answers:

20 Across:  Subject line on an email about bog vandals?: REPEAT OFFENDERS.  Re: Peat Offenders.

25 Across:  Subject line on an email about CPA training?: REFORM SCHOOL.  Re: Form School.  The implication is that what Certified Public Accountants do is fill out (tax) forms.

42 Across:  Subject line on an email about a guide to raising twins?: REPAIR MANUAL.  Re: Pair Manual.  How to raise two (a pair of) children.

48 Across:  Subject line on an email about art studios?: RECREATION AREAS.  Re: Creation Areas.

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

Across:

1. Datum from Elias Sports Bureau, e.g.: STAT.  Sports STATistics

5. Take it easy: COAST.  "Phone it in"

10. "Fine, be like __!": THAT.

14. Gyro part: PITA.  Not a gyroscope.  A Greek sandwich.

15. Forget, as a repulsive image: UNSEE.  Often used in a phrase such as "I wish that I could UNSEE that."

16. Field mouse: VOLE.

17. Berserk: AMOK.

18. Sparkling alternative: STILL.  Do you prefer your bottled water with or without carbonation?

19. Somali-born supermodel: IMAN.  A frequent visitor.

23. __ Grande: RIO.  A suitable name for a big river.

31 December 1978

24. Pity party cry: POOR ME.

31. Creme-filled cookies: OREOS.  We are often offered these snacks while doing our puzzles.

32. Sticker: THORN.  Not, in this case, something to apply to your ski or motorcycle helmet.

33. Stroke: PET.  Not a medical reference.  Used as a verb.

36. Glove: MITT.  I used to be one of those chefs that shouts and swears a lot.  Then I discovered oven MITTs.

37. Behr product: PAINT.  Hand up for first thinking STAIN.  Heck, four of the five letters are the same.

38. Lucy van __: "Peanuts" girl: PELT.

39. Green vegetable in minji stew: PEA.   Not a reference to the K-pop NewJeans singer.

40. __ Park, California: MENLO.  Roughly twenty miles south of SFO.

41. __ fries: CURLY.

44. Fantasized: DREAMT.

47. Set as a price: ASK.

55. Cream additive: ALOE.  A soothing substance frequently found in crossword puzzles.

56. Permissible: LICIT.  Legit or LICIT, the perps know.

57. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO.  Having never watched "Homeland" I initially found myself wondering, after perping the fill, who the heck was OTTO Miranda.  Then it dawned on me that we're talking about Miranda OTTO from LOTR.

58. Buds: PALS.  Not young flowers.

59. Mound: KNOLL.  Grassy KNOLL jokes are not funny.  They're hill areas.

60. Stick in one's __: CRAW.  Idiomatic.

61. Cloverleaf element: EXIT.  Not a plant reference.

62. Know without knowing why: SENSE.

63. "We came to play" sneakers brand: KEDS.

Down:

1. Practice boxing: SPAR.

2. Life partner: TIME.  As in publishing.

 

3. Straddling: ATOP.   Seems a bit off.  Yes, you might straddle a horse but you could also be ATOP a building without straddling said structure.  Then again, could you be straddling something without being ATOP it?

4. Become established: TAKE ROOT.

5. Made to order: CUSTOM.  CUSTOM-made exit signs are all the rage these days.  But I think that they are on their way out.

6. Aware of: ONTO.

7. "Get real!": AS IF.

8. Mirror image: SELF.  What you see in the looking glass.

9. Appear out of nowhere?: TELEPORT.

10. Small-screen fave: TV IDOL.

11. Simpson who demands, "Operator! Give me the number for 911!": HOMER.

12. Rating unit for 29-Down: ALARM. and

29. Cook-off potful: CHILI.

13. Perfect or imperfect: TENSE.  Adjective was too long.

21. Publicizes: AIRS.

22. Halfway to midnight: NOON.  

25. Easy win: ROMP.  ROUT?  The perps know.

26. Lake that drains into the Niagara: ERIE.

27. Crumbly cheese: FETA.  Do we get FETA with our PITA?

28. "Castle" co-star __ Katic: STANA.

30. Lionize: HONOR.

33. Ucayali River country: PERU.  A more obscure reference than something Incan related would have been but, hey, it's Friday.

34. "Heart on My Sleeve" singer __ Mai: ELLA.

35. "Chat soon," in texts: TTYL.  Talk To You Later

37. Pregame motivators: PEP TALKS.

38. Rotten genre?: PUNK ROCK.

Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols

40. Viral post: MEME.  A shortened version of the Greek mimeme itself derived from the Ancient Greek meaning mimema meaning imitated thing.

41. La __ Azul: Frida Kahlo museum: CASA.  A Spanish lesson.  The Blue House.

42. Most prized, perhaps: RAREST.

43. Hall of Famer known as "The Mick": MANTLE.

44. Fall in folds: DRAPE.

45. "Don't get so worked up": RELAX.

46. Common recall trigger: E COLI.

49. Jabber at the table?: TINE.

50. Screen image: ICON.  I showed my grandson an old floppy disk.  He said, "Cool!  You 3-D printed the save ICON."

51. Many Louvre works: OILS.  One would have thought that this answer would be in French.

52. Raison d'__: ETRE.  This one is.

53. Hardly any: A TAD.  A BIT.  A FEW.  SOME.  The perps know.

54. Scatters seed: SOWS.  Not clued as female pigs.

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Friday, May 12, 2023, Taylor Johnson

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle by Taylor Johnson who first appeared in this venue just a few days shy of one year ago (on 22 May 2022, per Bill).  Taylor has also had puzzles published in other venues.  Previously, he has employed themes where letters have to be removed from common words and phrases in order to form appropriate (and humorous) answers to the clues.  Today, in an example of, arguably, increased efficiency, nothing has to be removed.  A single letter merely has to be moved over from the start of one word to the end of the preceding word.  He provides the key at:

59 Across:  Makes room, and when parsed differently, an instruction for four answers in this puzzle: MOVES OVER.  Or, as intended here, MOVE  S  OVER.

He applies this methodology at four places in the grid:

17 Across:  Leg muscle of a mathlete?: GEEK'S QUAD.  Geek Squad (techies) is modified by moving the S from the beginning of the word SQUAD to the end of the word GEEK thereby making GEEK possessive.  At the risk of being redundant, GEEK SQUAD  morphs into GEEK'S QUAD (as in quadriceps).

31 Across:  Fruity pastry made by a movie boxer?: ROCKY'S TART.  Similarly, ROCKY START becomes ROCKY'S TART.  What Adrian certainly was not?

Theme From Rocky XIII

35 Across:  Pub pour for an enlisted soldier?: PRIVATE'S ALE.  Parsed differently, PRIVATE SALE.

42 Across:  Vacation for a stand-up performer?: COMIC'S TRIP.  COMIC STRIP.

Comic's (and POTUS's) Trip

Here is how this looks in the grid:

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

Across:

1. Informant: RAT.  Hollywood gangster movie jargon.

4. MGM part: METRO.

9. Labor leader Chavez: CESAR.  His granddaughter was recently tapped to be the current president's reelection campaign manager.

14. Goof: ERR.

15. Sprinter Bolt: USAIN.  Among other accomplishments, an eight-time gold medalist at the Olympics.

16. Enough: AMPLE.  Knock.  Knock.  Who's there?  Four eggs.  Four eggs who?  Four eggs AMPLE.

19. Stacked: BUILT.  A bit of a stretch.  In slang, both stacked and BUILT have another meaning.  Perhaps that's what was intended here.

20. "Don't you agree?," informally: INNIT.  Punt!

21. Darn things: SEW.  Darn, here, is used as a verb as in to mend.

23. However, poetically: THO.

24. Game requiring plug-ins?: MAD LIBS.  You plug your words into the blanks without knowing the context (a second participant asks you for a noun, a verb, an adjective, etc.).  The results can sometimes be hilarious.

27,  Idle Talk:  CHATTER

30. International gas brand: ESSO.  From Standard Oil.  S.O.

33. Source of a low blow?: TUBA.  A bit of word play.  A wind instrument that plays low notes.  Hand up for first thinking of KNEE,

34. "History of the World, Part II" actress/writer Wanda: SYKES.  The Hulu TV series is meant to be a sequel to the 1981 Mel Brooks movie.  It's good to be the king.

39. Like part of some fusion cuisine: ASIAN.

41. Semisoft cheese: EDAM.  Not all cheeses are made in the same manner.  In fact, EDAM is made backwards.

45. Shirt part with a button: CUFF.

49. Tip: POINTER.

50. ESPN Deportes language: ESPANOL.  The clue employs the Spanish language so the answer does also.

52. Small bill: ONE.  As in legal tender, currency.

53. Crossed (out): XED

55. __ board: EMERY.  A SURF board was too short.  A CUTTING board was too large.  Ouija board fit but didn't work.  Thanks, again, perps.

56. Pegasus pair: WINGS.  The mythical winged horse.

62. First name in cosmetics: ESTEE.  ESTEE Lauder visits us frequently.

63. Netflix crime drama set in Missouri: OZARK.

64. Self-regard: EGO.

65. River in a van Gogh painting: RHONE.

66. Event of passing interest?: RELAY.  RELAY race.  Pass the baton.  Literally.

67. Silent approval: NOD.

Down:

1. Ruling period: REGIME.  It can be used to mean the time period although more often it refers to the government in power.

2. Entertainment centers?: ARENAS.  A bit of word play.  Places where you might go for entertainment.  Not something like this:

3. Directions: TRENDS.  Would one ever say that current directions are in the right, or wrong, direction?

4. "You honestly need me to do that?": MUST I.  Quotation clues provide much flexibility.

5. Letters on some office suite doors: ESQ.  ESQuire is an honorific for an attorney.  Collectively, we're still working out the approriate honorific as esquiress does not seem to have caught on.

6. Sigma follower: TAU.  It helps to know the Greek alphabet if one likes to solve crossword puzzles . . . or at least print it out and keep that sheet of paper handy.

7. Narrow inlets: RIAS.  Crosswordese.

8. Next: ON DECK.  Best known as a baseball reference.  The next batter up is said to be ON DECK.

9. Indie rockers Death __ for Cutie: CAB.  Often clued with a reference to wine or Uber.

10. Cassowary cousin: EMU.

11. Classic bit of slapstick: SPIT TAKE.  A SPIT TAKE is a comedic technique or reaction in which someone spits a drink, or sometimes food, out of their mouth as a reaction to a surprising or funny statement.

12. "Everyone's accounted for": ALL HERE.

13. Fires back, in a way: RETORTS.  Verbal bantering.

18. K, in the NATO alphabet: KILO.  Same tip as for 6 Down, above.

  

22. Frequent question from a toddler: WHY

25. British dude: BRUV.  Brother --> Brudder - -> Bruvver --> BRUV.  Unfamiliar to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

26. Buckwheat noodle: SOBA.

28. Indian state near Bhutan: ASSAM.  An oft visited place in crosswords.  Sometimes clued with a reference to tea. 

29. Brief sign-off: TTYL.  Talk To You Later.  Hand up for first trying TA TA.  Cheerio!

32. Cover the spread?: CATER.  Provide the food on the table as in "that's a nice spread."

33. Hint of color: TINCT.  Hand up for TINGE.

35. Olive stuffing: PIMIENTO.   A red, heart-shaped pepper.

36. Cloudburst: RAIN.

37. Singer Brickell: EDIE.   She knows what she knows if you know what I mean.  Married to Paul Simon. 

38. Drains: SAPS.  SAP is another word with multiple meanings.

39. Household outlet output: AC POWER.  Alternating Current.

40. "In a few": SOONISH.  Acceptable . . . ish.

43. __ ed: SEX.  No longer limited to those "social disease" films that they showed us in high school.

44. Shiver: TREMOR.

45. Hunting garb: CAMO.  CAMOuflage

46. Bumpy: UNEVEN.

47. Precede: FOREGO.  Although it is usually employed to mean relinquish or go without, FOREGO can also mean to go before.

48. Casting option: FLY ROD.  Sculpture (lost wax casting)?  Hollywood ensemble?  To throw?  To watch your cellphone screen on your TV?  Nope.  A fishing reference.

51. Annoying: PESKY.  Where does the word "politics" come from?  From the Greek "poly" for many and the English "ticks" for PESKY parasites.

54. Nap: DOZE.

57. Mil. title: GEN.  GENeral  Abbr / Abbr

58. Match, in poker: SEE.

60. Kilmer of film: VAL.

Nick Rivers Straightens That Rug

61. Cy Young stat: ERA.  A baseball reference.  Earned Run Average.  The Cy Young award is given annually to the best pitcher in each of the two major leagues.

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Friday, April 28, 2023, Pam Klawitter

 

Yogi Berra is quoted as having said, "It's deja vu all over again" and this morning that is apropos.  As far as explaining the theme of today's puzzle is concerned, this blogger can (and will) copy the description that he posted two weeks ago: 

(quote) Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here along with He-man to bring you a TGIF recap.  Today, the I's (ayes) Y's (whys) definitely have it with a straightforward theme from veteran puzzle-setter Pam Klawitter.

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

18 Across:  Forged painting?: ART DECOY.  Art Deco

23 Across:  When kids start rolling their eyes at everything their parents say?: THE IRONY AGE.  The Iron Age.

40 Across:  School newspaper entries from its youngest reporters?: KINDERGARTEN COPY.

49 Across:  Sign that it's time to clean the closet?: DUSTY JACKET.  Dust Jacket.

The reveal comes at:

63 Across:  "Allow me to explain," and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's theme: HERE'S WHY.  Or, in this instance, H . . . e . . . r . . . e' . . . s  Y.

Here's how all of this looks in the grid:

. . . and Here's the rest of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. __ farm: ANT.  I had one when I was a child.

4. Respond to "Let's give it up for ... ": CLAP.  The clue refers to a colloquialism for soliciting a round of applause.  The answer, or course, also has at least one other meaning.

8. Burro: ASS.

 

11. Bamboozle: CON.  What do you call a female CON artist?  Ms. Leading.

14. Lav: LOO.  Bathroom.  We've often seen this clued with some reference to the British Isles.

15. London jazz duo?: ZEDS.   . . .  (immediately followed by just such a reference).  The last last letter of the alphabet (what we Yanks call Zee) in British English is called ZED.

16. "Shape of You" singer-songwriter: SHEERAN.  Ed SHEERAN.  His third album was the worldwide best seller in 2017.  He is currently being sued for copyright infringement.  The plaintiff is asking $100 million.  In 2022 SHEERAN successfully defended a copyright infringement claim involving "Shape of You".

20. Foul: POLLUTE.  Adjective, noun or verb?  Verb.  . . . and neither an odor nor a basketball reference.

21. Get lovey-dovey: SMOOCH.

22. Post-makeover self: NEW ME.

27. Ink: TATS.  Ink being slang for TATtoo.

30. Make hay, maybe: MOW.  As in the advice to "MOW while the sun shines".

31. Country quarters: INNS.  Apparently, quarters as used here, can be plural.

34. Spanish cheer: OLE.

35. Gardener's mixture: LOAM.  I went to the library to get a book about soil but was told that they had only one, unavailable copy.  It was on LOAM.

37. Cuss out: SWEAR AT.

43. "No need to explain further": YES I SEE.  Aha!

44. Broke new ground?: HOED.

45. Spy-fi writer Deighton: LEN.  Author!

46. Turow book: ONE L.  Author!

47. Shar-__: wrinkly dog: PEI.  Not to be confused with the architect.

48. "Anything __?": ELSE.

55. Some pasta: TUBES.  There are many types of pasta and several of those are tubular.  Wait, isn't that surfer slang?

56. James Cameron blockbuster set on Pandora: AVATAR.  Mr. Cameron has directed three of the all-time top five grossing films

60. Critters sought in a Nintendo game: POKEMON.

65. Rust-causing agent: OXIDANT.  Remember this from chemistry class?

66. "Dear __ Hansen": EVAN.  A musical and a film.

67. Energizer size: AAA.  A battery reference.

68. Pea holder: POD.

69. Cartoon frame: CEL.  Pre CGI technology.

70. Bulb unit: WATT.  These days, we purchase LED bulbs with a WATT equivalence.

71. Phisher's fig.: SSN.  Social Security Number.   Phising is the act of sending a false email in an attempt to gather information with which to commit fraud.

Down:

1. "Ah, me!": ALAS.  My experiment of cross breeding a hen with a Slinky has failed.  ALAS, I have no spring chicken.

2. Convention: NORM.

3. "Africa" band: TOTO.

4. Slovak neighbor: CZECH.

5. Dulce de __: LECHE.

6. Fuss: ADO.

7. "Gangnam Style" rapper: PSY.  The video is one of history's most-viewed.

8. Colorado quaker: ASPEN.  As in quaking ASPEN trees.  In the clue, quaker was not capitalized so it wasn't going to be a religious sect.

Populus Tremuloides

9. Like a strutting peacock: SHOWY.  Hand up for PROUD.

10. Title city in a DuVernay film: SELMA.  Ava DuVernay.

11. French wine term: CRU.  The word roughly translates to "growth" but is now used to denote a vineyard and its wines.

12. Muesli grain: OAT.  Sometime today, USPS is scheduled to deliver to me a box containing four bags of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Muesli.  I do not have Celiac Disease.  I do enjoy eating crunchy things made from rice.

13. Vane dir.: NNE.  North North East

17. Mournful: ELEGIAC.  Same etymology as elegy.

19. Apt rhyme for "spots": DOTS.

22. "On the double!": NOW.  Neither ASAP nor STAT would fit.

24. PR concern: IMAGE.  Public Relations.

25. Tomato paste tomato: ROMA.

26. Register: ENROLL.  Noun or verb?  Verb.  As in to register for a class.

27. Pacific Rim capital: TOKYO.  So many from which to choose.  The perps, especially the K and the Y, narrowed things down considerably.

28. Extraterrestrial: ALIEN.  So far, most of our depictions have come from Hollywood.

29. Became edgy: TENSED.

32. Mane areas: NAPES.  A hand up for first trying NECKS.

33. Broadway composer Jule: STYNE.  A member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame with far too many credits to cite here.  One of his best known:

 

35. "__ Misérables": LES.

36. Underground resource: ORE.  What is a ferrous particle's favorite constellation?  Ore-ion.

37. Poker-faced: STOIC.  The ancient STOICs never got cavities.  They were implacable.

38. Itty-bitty: WEE.

39. Gridiron position: END.  An American Football reference.

41. Watered down: DILUTED.  THINNED would fit.

42. Actress Perlman: RHEA.  Best known for her role as Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli Lebec on the TV show "Cheers":

47. Sack dress?: PJS.  PaJamaS are something to wear when one "hits the sack".

48. "Are we there yet?" guesses: ETAS.  Estimated Time of Arrival S

50. Poison __: SUMAC.

51. Pricey steak: T-BONE.  I asked the butcher for a couple of T-BONEs but he gave me sirloins instead.  He later apologized for his mis-steak.

52. "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" film: YENTL.  The song from the movie.

53. Gold purity unit: KARAT.  I often forget which one is spelled carat (mass) and which is spelled KARAT (purity).

54. Part of a track meet: EVENT.

57. First word of "Jabberwocky": TWAS.  TWAS meant to be a nonsense poem.

58. "Got it!" cries: AHAS.  Yes, I see.

59. "Deadpool" actor Reynolds: RYAN.

60. Burst: POP.  Soda, parent, music, burst and art are among other possible clues.

61. Good Grips kitchen brand: OXO.

62. Tyke: KID.

63. Fell, as firs: HEW.  Homophone of you, yew and ewe.

64. Longoria of "Telenovela": EVA.  I never can keep all of the EVA  and AVA names sorted out.  The perps tell me which it should be.

 . . . .  and now it's time

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