Friday, December 15, 2023, John Andrew Agpalo

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.  Our puzzle setter, John Andrew Agapalo (who presented us with a Sunday puzzle back in July of this year) has constructed a grid with ten, count 'em ten, theme-related answers.  Let's start with the unifier:

36 Across:  Exciting but dangerous way to live, and a hint to making the starred clues match their answers: ON THE EDGE.

There are two components to "making the starred clues match their answers".  First, the theme-related answers all "reside" on the perimeter or, if you will, ON THE EDGE of the puzzle.  Second, the prepositional phrase "ON THE" has been omitted from each entry and we have been asked to supply that in our heads as we suss out the appropriate fill.  When we add ON THE ahead of each entry then that clue is appropriately answered.  Initially, attempting to figure out the answers left this solver scratching his head but, once the "AHA" moment occurred, the (mostly idiomatic) answers were derived quite easily.

Here are the themers (mostly idioms and all marked with asterisks for our convenience):

1 Across:  *Kerouac novel: ROAD.  We had ON THE ROAD as an answer two weeks ago and, at that time, I stuck to the literary reference and resisted using the following.  I have taken this second reference as a sign that I should yield:

On The Road Again

5 Across:  *Free: HOUSE.  If something is ON THE HOUSE then it is, at least when the phrase used idiomatically, free of charge (but not unlike an ion).  This would not apply e,g, to a rooftop antenna.

10 Across: *Alert: BALL.  ON THE BALL

1 Down:  *Officially: RECORD.  ON THE RECORD.   We might hear also  hear OFF THE RECORD but we don't hear OFF THE HOUSE or OFF THE BALL.

13 Down:  *Keeping watch: LOOKOUT.  ON THE LOOKOUT

39 Down:  *Imminent: HORIZON.  ON THE HORIZON  Looming

50 Down:  *Available for purchase: MARKET.  ON THE MARKET

67 Across:  *Precisely: NOSE.  ON THE NOSE

68 Across: *Undecided: FENCE.  ON THE FENCE

69 Across:  *Then and there: SPOT.  ON THE SPOT

This is how all of this appears in the completed grid . . .

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

Across:

14. Sea eagle: ERNE.  This type of bird is a frequent visitor.

15. The Ivies, e.g.: OCTAD.   In this case the reference is to the eight universities in the Ivy League.  When solving, we initially do not know if the answer is going to be OCTAD or OCTET but we can go ahead and fill in the first three letters in either case. 

16. Palm smartphone: TREO.  Now discontinued.

Palm Treo 755 P

17. John of "The Suicide Squad": CENA.

18. Running start?: READY SET GO.  Said before a race.  Often, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go.

20. Anthem with English and French lyrics: O CANADA.  CanadianEH!

22. Eye surgery acronym: LASIK.  Laser-Assissted In SItu Keratomileusis

23. Univ. dorm figures: RAS.  Resident AdvisorS appear often in our puzzles.

24. Jonathan Larson musical: RENT.  Loosely based on La Boheme

26. Powerful Chevy: CAMARO.  Certainly the IROC version but my mom drove a CAMARO with a quite-under-powered straight six.

27. Celtic priest: DRUID.  How did they create the first diagram of Stonehenge?  They DRUID.

29. Skewered snack in peanut sauce: SATAY.

31. __ Malnati's: chain known for Chicago-style pizza: LOU.  Operating mostly in Illinois with a smattering of locations in Arizona, Wisconsin and Indiana.  So, if you had not heard of LOU, you were not alone.

32. King and queen: SIZES.  A reference to mattresses.  Just like two weeks ago only then it was twins.

34. Cassis cocktail: KIR.  Creme de Cassis and white wine.

35. Safari shelter: TENT.  Not a reference to an Apple browser.   A clue that takes advantage of the leading-cap convention to try to fool us.

39. Tough: HARD.  As in difficult.

42. In medias __: RES.

43. Snapped out of a daydream, perhaps: SAT UP.  A bit of a stretch but not too much.

46. Latin for "eggs": OVA.

47. Special talent: FORTE.   I cannot play loud music.  It's just not my FORTE.

49. Jeans fabric: DENIM.

51. Curiosity and Opportunity: ROVERS.  A reference to NASA's Mars exploration devices.
 
53. Scandinavian capital: OSLO.  A frequent destination for solvers.

55. Nashville awards org.: CMA.

56. Words of empathy: I CARE.

57. Rat: TATTLER.  Has anyone actually hear this word used?  Tattle or tattletale, yes.  

59. Boast in a restaurant window: ZAGAT RATED.

63. File's partner: RANK.  RANK and File

64. Poetic paeans: ODES.

65. TikTok aesthetic: E-GIRL.  Outside of this solver's ken.

66. Spanish "east": ESTE.

Down:

2. Vehicles of mine?: ORE CARS.  As in extracting minerals from the earth.  Not possessive. Hand up for first muttering that ORE CARTS would not fit and the clue is plural, dammit.  

3. Fashion icon with a Fantasia fragrance line: ANNA SUI.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

 

4. Campus official: DEAN.  As in DEAN Martin in the movie "Back to School".

5. Throng: HORDE.

6. Scads: OCEANS.

7. "Respect for Acting" writer Hagen: UTA.  A frequent visitor.

8. Teary, maybe: SAD.  Whenever I am sad my friend says "Cheer up man. It could be worse.  You could be stuck underground in a hole filled with water."  I know he means well.

9. Dreyer's partner in ice cream: EDY.  William Dreyer and Joseph EDY.

10. Benchwarmers: B-TEAM.

11. Place to check for prints: ART SALE.  Not fingerprints.

12. Shackle: LEG IRON.

19. Perform amazingly, informally: SLAY.

Stan Freberg -  Saint George and the Dragonet

21. Elizabeth who founded the Red Door salon: ARDEN.

25. Grows fond of: TAKES TO.  Like a duck to water

26. What casino workers are always dealing with: CARDS.  Nice word play.

28. Active wear brand: IZOD.  There is one brand of active wear clothing that I cannot stand.  I guess that I am Lacoste intolerant.

30. Even numbers?: TIE.  The score is even.

33. Houston squad, casually: STROS.  The Houston Asterisks baseball club.  Sorry, Texans, but it is going to take a while longer for this Los Angeles-born son of a Brooklyn-ite to forgive and forget.

35. Head of Québec: TETE.  Québec signals to us that the answer will be en français.

37. R&B singer whose stage name is pronounced like a pronoun: HER.

38. Gal of "Red Notice": GADOT.  Not just any gal, but Gal GADOT, the actress.  Another one of those clues that takes advantage of the leading-cap convention to try to fool us.

40. California roll ingredient: AVOCADO.

41. Wreaks havoc on: RAVAGES.

44. Prepare for take-off?: UNCLASP.   As in prepare to remove an article of clothing.

45. __ cheese: Southern spread: PIMENTO.  Often clued with a reference to olives.

47. Stew (over): FRET.

48. Brand that boasts 24-hour immunity support: ESTER C.

52. Shake an Etch A Sketch, say: ERASE.

54. Stock holder?: LADLE.  Stock, in this case, as in soup.

58. "__ chic!": TRES.  Very stylish.  Not:

60. Call, as a game: REF.  Abbreviated answer but NOT an abbreviated clue.  Odd.

61. Grow old: AGE.

62. __ ear: TIN.  As in tone deaf.  Fitting that we wrap things up with an idiom.

___________________________________________________________________

Friday, December 1, 2023, Katie Hale

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle by Katie Hale.  The theme of this creation seemed to me to be simultaneously a tad "forced" and quite clever.  Let's go straight to the reveal as it seems to be the best place to start:

38 Across:  Classic demonstration, and a way to describe the relationship between each starred clue and its answer: TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE.  A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE of something is, as the clue says, a classic or perfectly illustrative instance of something.  In the case of today's puzzle, however, our puzzle setter has creatively combined abbreviations used in texting with book titles.  TEXT and BOOK.  The TEXTing abbreviations form the clues and the BOOKs form the answers.  One might say that we are dealing with Literal (literary) examples:

Here are the four places where the theme is employed:

16 Across:  *LOL OMG: THE DIVINE COMEDY.  LOL and OMG = "Laughing Out Loud" and "Oh My God" in text-speak.  Either/both could be a reaction to something comedic.  The reference is to this book:

22 Across:  *CU soon: ON THE ROAD.  CU = "See You" in text-speak.   As in, e.g, "I am on the road but will see you soon."  The reference is to this book:

51 Across:  *SRY: ATONEMENT.  SRY is text-speak for "(I'm) Sorry" and atonement is the act of making amends for one's misdeeds.  The reference is to this book:

62 Across:  *TMI: NOTES ON A SCANDAL.  TMI = text-speak for Too Much Information.  The reference is to this book:

In each instance the perps were a big help in sussing out the correct answers.  Here is how the completed grid looks (please ignore the yellow and orange highlighting as it is a product of the Crossword Nexus solver and in this instance has no meaning):

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

Across:

1. Welcome gifts at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel: LEIS.  The hotel lies on the Hawaiian island of, well, Hawaii (The Big Island).

5. Deputy: AIDE.

9. Some parents: MOMS.  DADS would also fit.

13. Mount near Taormina: ETNA.  Taormina is a town in Sicily where A-listers like to hang out.

14. Passing remark?: I'M OUT.  "I pass."

15. Nike rival: AVIA.  An athletic shoe reference.

19. __ year: GAP.  When I took my GAP year(s) we simply called it dropping out.

20. Actress Collette: TONI.

21. Fatal flaw of some Greek heroes: HUBRIS.

25. Fuel for some grills: GAS.  See also 27 Across.  Some prefer wood pellets.

26. Youngest March sister: AMY.  Another literary reference.  In this case to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

27. Some barbecue remains: ASH.  See also 25 Across.

29. Young chap: LAD.

32. Tesfaye whose stage name is the Weeknd: ABEL.  I suppose that Weend is no sillier than e.g. Beatles, Kinks or Zombies but it does seem that way.

35. Bandleader's cue: HIT IT.

37. Old-fashioned before: ERE.  Able was I ERE I saw Elba.

42. Indifferent review: MEH.

43. Queues: LINES.  British English.

44. Fission target: ATOM.

45. Hindu title: SRI.  Remember this guy?

Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh

46. Well-worn: OLD.  No comment.

47. Place for a paraffin body wrap: SPA.

49. __ choy: BOK.  The vegetable.

57. Tiny slice: SLIVER.  A man walks into a bar with a SLIVER of metal on his tie.  The bartender says, "Sorry, we don't want your tie pin here."

60. Can of worms, maybe: BAIT.  Used literally not idiomatically.    As an idiom it means a situation that causes a lot of problems when you start to deal with it.

61. "Narcos" org.: DEA.

65. Not buttoned: OPEN.

66. Actor Rami: MALEK.  An American actor best known for his role as Elliot Alderson in 'Mr. Robot' and Freddie Mercury in 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'

67. Send for onboarding: HIRE.   Onboarding sounds, to me, like something that Alexander Haig would have conjured up (see:  Vietnamification).  

68. Some twins: BEDS.  Hand up for first trying BOYS.

69. Beltmaking tools: AWLS.  For making holes.

70. Not so much: LESS.

Down:

1. Abandon one's inhibitions: LET GO.

2. Hawke of "The Northman": ETHAN.

3. Clumsy: INEPT.  How does a socially inept cat walk away from a conversation?  On her faux pas.

4. Like a tear-jerker: SAD.

5. __ acid: AMINO.  Lysergic Diethylamide was too long.

6. Ancient Aegean region: IONIA.  Often visited in our puzzles.

7. Not yet settled: DUE.

8. Make a lasting impression?: ETCH.

9. Green arboreal snake: MAMBA.  Was Rosemary Clooney singing about a snake?

Mambo Italiano

10. Had to scramble to get out the door, perhaps: OVERSLEPT.

11. Calf-length skirt: MIDI.

12. Voices: SAYS.  In the clue, voices is used as a verb.  Do we hear voices raised in protest?

14. Cream relative: IVORY.  Cream, here, is used as a color and not as a dairy product and Blind Faith was too long.

17. Part of a collection: ITEM.

18. Really must, informally: OUGHTA.

23. "Come no further": HALT.

24. Palm fruits: DATES.

28. Number of suspects in Clue: SIX.  The answer was going to be a number three letters in length.  One, two, six and ten were the suspects.

30. "Alligator Boy" in a 2021 Netflix animated film: ARLO.  Unknown to this solver.  

31. Judge to be: DEEM.

32. Places for taking notes?: ATMS.  We can take banknotes out of ATMS (Automatic Teller MachineS).

33. __ garden: BEER.  Hands up for those who first tried ROSE.

34. Put on display: EXHIBITED.  One of those clues where the verb can be either present or past tense.

35. Accord maker: HONDA.  Not as in treaty or pact.

1976 Honda Accord

36. Barinholtz of "History of the World, Part II": IKE.  Ah, the TV series not the movie.

39. Chaps: BLOKES.

40. Safflower __: OIL.  Pretty crude ____   if you ask me.

41. Polite address: MA'AM.

47. Former weekend programming block that featured "Clarissa Explains It All": SNICK.  Short for Saturday Night Nickelodeon.

48. Anti-fur gp.: PETA.

50. Bakery features: OVENS.  Aromas was too many letters.

52. Kids' batting game: T-BALL.

53. Fertile spots: OASES.

54. __ Bauer: EDDIE.  Me and EDDIE have a clothes relationship.

55. Gets warmer?: NEARS.  As in the kids game Hot And Cold.

56. Chaucer works: TALES.  Yet another book reference.

57. Nose-in-the-air type: SNOB.

58. Casual gait: LOPE.  When you turn off Auto-correct all LOPE is host,.

59. Oblong tomato: ROMA.  The most common variety of tomatoes used in crossword puzzles.

63. "Yup" opposite: NAW.

64. Bruins' org.: NHL.  The Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.  Being a UCLA "product" (a year of undergrad, two years of grad school and a few years of teaching) the puzzle-appropriate response was not the first thing that came to mind.

_________________________________________________________