Friday, March 22, 2024, Katie Hale

Greetings, Cruciverbalists. Anomalous Moderate here with a recap of today's puzzle by Katie Hale.  As was the case with the puzzle I reviewed this past December 29th, Lisa Simpson leads the way to anagram-ville (well, it's kinda close to Margaritaville).  At five places in the grid Katie has a bit of fun by rearranging the initial three or four letters of everyday vocabulary and thereby produces humorous themed answers.  After the first few of these were figured out by this solver (not in top-to-bottom order) I thought that the theme would have an electronics angle (STEM, USB, RCA) but this was not to be.

Here are the five he terms, er themers:

18 Across:  Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game?: STEM JERSEYS.  (New York) METS JERSEYS has been rearranged.  A tech reference.

24 Across:  Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables?: RCA WASHES.  CAR WASHES  RCA was an early brand of TVs and other electronic gear (although I do not recall ever seeing an RCA turntable).  A break-even transactions is sometimes referred to as "a wash".  Six of one a twenty-fourth of a gross of the other.

38 Across:  One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd?: AARP TROOPER.  PARATROOPER  If anyone here needs AARP explained please drop me a line.

51 Across:  Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac?: GIF NEWTON.  FIG NEWTON  A popular cookie morphs into an animated illustration of an aha moment in the history of physics.  Here, now, a GIF:

59. Lab work focused on data storage devices?: USB CULTURES.  SUBCULTURES

This is how all of this appears in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

So, Cars:  Oops, Across:

1. Trailhead posting: MAP.  My hiking friends and I used to rely heavily on the USGS contour maps.

4. Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994: LA LAW.  Today's first TV show reference.

9. Lariat: ROPE.  Drop the L from the clue and we could form RIATA.

13. Spring mo.: APR.  APRIL.  This could have been clued with a credit card interest rate reference.

14. Vague afternoon time: ONE-ISH.  Probably not Katie's favorite fill.

16. Multicolored gem: OPAL.  We have all seen some so-so posts on blogs but here are some gems:  emeralds, sapphires, OPALs, rubies

17. "Gotta __!": JET.  New to this solver.  "I gotta JET is, apparently, a phrase that means "I have to go (quickly)".

20. Miner concern: ORES.  Often found in crossword puzzles but rarely seen pluralized.

22. Water coolers: ICE.  The use of the plural in the clue lead to a bit of head scratching but, I guess, ICES would not be not used in this context.

23. Water movers: MAINS.  Not the first water conduit that came to mind but the clue is on target.

27. Dead set on: WED TO.  Pairing Dead with WED might be perceived as a slippery slope.

29. Tangy red spice: SUMAC.  Popular in middle-eastern cuisine.

30. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER.

32. CSNY's "__ House": OUR.  It was very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard.

33. Making one's hair stand on end?: TEASING.  A clue to be taken literally.

37. Doesn't take well?: ROBS.   Don't take this wrongly . . .

40. Mark left by a bumper: DENT.  If a plane has a small DENT does that make it an airline fracture?

42. Afternoon rests: SIESTAS.

43. Sprint: RUN.  Did the clue jog your memory?

44. Dudes: MEN.  By definition.

45. Romance novelist Dare: TESSA.  Unknown to this solver although I am aware that Romance Novels exist and I have heard such books referred to as "bodice rippers".

49. Make space on the whiteboard: ERASE.  Clued many ways.

55. "__ you a barrel of laughs": AREN'T.  See also 63 Across.

57. Nintendo character option: MII.  Completely unknown to this solver.  Thanks perps.  MII is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles.

58. Artemis org.: NASA.  With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

62. Gov. or sen.: POL.  POLitician.  We see POLs quite often.

63. Barrel of laughs: RIOT.  See also 55 Across.

64. Big-box shop: COSTCO.  I was in one just prior to starting to work on this write-up.

65. 68-Across restroom: LOO.  We often go there in our puzzles.

66. Drummer Ulrich: LARS.  Of Metallica.

67. "Anything Goes" star Merman: ETHEL.

68. U.K. part: ENG.  United Kingdom.  ENGland

Down:

1. Focuses in college: MAJORS.  If marine biology was the right major for you then your grades were probably above c-level.

2. Brief sketch: APERCU.

3. Comms experts: PR TEAM.  COMMunicationS experts - Public Relations TEAM

4. Rock's __ Lonely Boys: LOS.

5. Opposition parties: ANTIS.  ANTIS is a word not often heard, seen or used.

6. Hanger-on: LEECH.  Idiomatically and literally.  Ugh.

7. Teegarden of "Friday Night Lights": AIMEE.

8. Financial paper, for short: WSJ.  The Wall Street Journal

9. "The Jetsons" maid: ROSIE.  That's ROSIE in the back.  You know the other names from the song.  Another TV reference.

10. What love is, per a "Frozen" song: OPEN DOOR.

11. Earnings report: PAY STUB.  Of a sort, I suppose, for an individual but not for a company.

12. Lapel edges?: ELS.  Lapel begins and ends with the letter L.

15. Take up, in a way: HEM.  See also 37 Down.

19. Playful "grr" alternative: RAWR.  Used to express anger, flirtation or affection.

21. Try to hit: SWAT AT.

25. Lenovo rival: ACER.  DELL and SONY would also have fit the allotted space.

26. Wireless speaker brand: SONOS.  Hand up for ANKER.

28. RN workplaces: ORS.  Registered Nurse.  Operating RoomS.

31. Elton John accomplishment, briefly: EGOT.  Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony.   Elton John is the most recent person to complete this feat and, of all who have done so (less than twenty people) he was the oldest at "completion".

34. Basilica alcove: APSE.  Do you struggle to find domed recesses in cathedrals?  There's an APSE for that.

35. Result of angering a wasp, probably: STING.  Not the ethnic kind of WASP.

36. Fury: IRE.

37. Taken up, in a way: RE-SEWN.  See also 15 Down.

38. University of Michigan city: ANN ARBOR.  Go Blue!

39. Spread out at a cocktail party: PATE.  Not splayed.  An edible spread that might be put out (served).

40. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.

41. "1984" superstate: EURASIA.

44. Maitre d' offering: MENU.

46. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.  Alternatively:  You shouldn't eat stationery.  It might become a dietary STAPLE.

47. "Time to go already?": SO SOON.

48. Like a watch with hands: ANALOG.

50. Factions: SECTS.

52. "You can't stop me": I MUST.

53. Colin of "1917": FIRTH.  An actor/motion picture reference.

54. Extended family member: NIECE.  In Nice, nièce.

56. "No Scrubs" group: TLC.  A music/"girl group" reference.

59. Clickable link: URL.  Here's One

60. Little piggy: TOE.

61. Mexican lager: SOL.  Aaahhh, a nice cold beer to wrap things up.

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Friday, March 8, 2024, Joe DiPietro

 

Greetings, Cruciverbalists,  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle by veteran puzzle-setter Joe DiPietro.  Let's jump right in with the reveal at:

57 Across: "That's a lost opportunity," and what can be said to the writer of four clues in this puzzle: YOU'RE MISSING OUT.

Alternatively, you might say to the writer "That's not what Timothy Leary meant!"  At four places in the puzzle Joe has literally dropped OUT from the clue.  As solvers, we must mentally append OUT  to the remaining letter and thereby create a short, but perfectly acceptable, crossword puzzle clue.  Here are the for places where the gimmick is employed and what can we say except, "Far out, man":

17 Across:  R.  When we add OUT to R we get ROUT.  LOPSIDED VICTORY.

24 Across:  B.  Tack OUT onto B and the result is BOUT.  PRIZEFIGHT.

38 Across:  P.  P plus OUT equals POUT.   SULKY EXPRESSION

46 Across:  T.  A CSO !  Appending OUT to T results in  TOUT.  CREATE HYPE.

The completed grid appears near the end of this recap.  For now, here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Sanitizer targets: GERMS.  Bacteria was too long.

6. "Mad Money" cable network: CNBC.  The first of more than a dozen (depending on one's criteria) abbreviated clues and/or answers in today's puzzle.  TBH SMH IFYWIM

10. Actress Mazar: DEBI.  Per Rotten Tomatoes:  A character actress known for feisty and heavily accented New York roles.

14. Lab vessel: FLASK.  Not Lab as in Labrador Retriever.  Lab as in chemistry lab.

15. Does some horticultural work: HOES.  We have several horticultural/bontanical references in today's puzzle.  This is one of them.

16. Group with reserves: OPEC.

20. Widespread alert, for short: APB.  All Points Bulletin

21. "The Tilled Field" painter Joan: MIRO.  A surreal botanical reference.  I wonder what MIRO was ingesting.  

22. Speed: RACE.  Used as a verb.  Otherwise, PACE?

23. Leaves in hot water?: TEA.  Not leaves as in departs.  Another botanical reference.

27. Trifle (with): TOY.

29. __ pen: VAPE.    Doctor to patient:  Do you smoke?

                                        Patient:  Yes.

                                        Doctor:  Cigarettes, Vape, cigar, marijuana?

                                        Patient:  Brisket and pork shoulder, mostly.

30. Whit: IOTA.  A crossword staple although clued many different ways.

32. What coastlines and hairlines may do: RECEDE.  This solver would have preferred an slightly different clue.

35. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA.  Punk SKA, actually.

Take On Me

41. "Three Little Kittens" treat: PIE.  Lose your mittens.  Then find them and get rewarded with PIE.

42. Quick bursts: SPURTS.

43. Go: EXIT.  Used as a verb.

Snagglepuss

44. Like racehorses: SHOD.  Hand up for BRED or FAST.

 
45. Skin pic: TAT.  TATtoos are seen frequently in our puzzles.

51. "Go me!": YAY.  See also 63 Across

54. Harvest: REAP.  Possibly another botanical reference.

55. "__ Flux": 1990s MTV series: AEON.

56. HHS agency: FDA.

61. Spoonful, perhaps: DOSE.  The Lovin' DOSE?

Gotta' Love That Autoharp

62. __ learning: ROTE.  Memorization, basically.

63. "Go me!": I RULE.  See also 51 Across

64. Brief timetable: SKED.  Right up there with SESH on the "Common. enough of this type of thing already" scale.

65. Takes to court: SUES.

George Harrison

66. Organizes: SORTS.

Down:

1. Major key for some piano works by Chopin and Schubert: G-FLAT.  We knew that this answer had to begin with either A B C D E F or G

2. Travel to an away match?: ELOPE.  Cute clue.  Match was in wedded pair.

3. Climactic scene in the Eminem film "8 Mile": RAP BATTLE.

4. Bks.-to-be: MSS.  A punt that we have seen before.  Books-to-be are ManuScriptS

5. Revealing, in a way: SKIMPY.  Today's "I will pass on the GIF" moment.

6. French endearment: CHERI.

Pepe LePew

7. Help for the overnight shift, maybe: NODOZ.

8. Writer/activist Harris in the documentary "Hacking Democracy": BEV.  The documentary explored the integrity of electronic voting machines.

9. Procedural franchise since 2000: CSI.  A TV show reference.

10. Mental decline: DOTAGE.

11. Unit in geochronology: EPOCH.  Has geochronology previously appeared in our puzzles?  Geochronology is the scientific study of the age and history of Earth's rocks and rock assemblages.

12. Top of the art world?: BERET.  Cute clue.  Artists are stereo-typically depicted wearing BERETs.

13. Distant: ICY.  Not as in far away.  A behavioral reference.

18. Hollywood VIP: DIR.  DIRector, I suppose.  Punt!

19. "Jinkies!": CRIPES.  Not previously a part of this solver's vocabulary.

25. Chris who won four straight US Opens in the 1970s: EVERT.  A women's tennis reference.

26. Tapered haircuts: FADES.  FADES, to this observer, seem to embody the worst elements of two older hairstyles.

28. Wine cask wood: OAK.  Another botanical reference.

30. Web access co.: ISP.  Internet Service Provider

31. "Certainement!": OUI.  Clue en français / Answer en français

32. Tend to an overgrown plant: REPOT.  Smoke another doobie?

33. Give off: EXUDE.

34. EMT skill: CPR.  A common crossword pairing.

35. Number of squares on a chess board: SIXTY FOUR.  Eight by eight.

36. Fish that can transform into a dragon, per Japanese legend: KOI.

37. Little pest: ANT.  Anyone try IMP first?

39. Tuning fork feature: Y SHAPE.  I have an A-440 tuning fork lying around somewhere.  These days one uses an electronic gadget.

40. Neptune's realm: SEA.

44. Pan-__ scallops: SEARED.

45. Game of love: TENNIS.  Cute.  In a tennis match love means zero.

Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders

46. Thief: CROOK.  Or not.  Or not not.

47. Get more mileage out of: REUSE.  I tried to change the color of my monk's costume so that I could REUSE it but old habits dye hard.

48. Celerity: HASTE.  Anyone first misread this as celebrity?  Celery?

49. Some 20 Questions answers: YESES.

50. Luau fare: POI.  Often served in our puzzles.

52. Not for minors: ADULT.  When my children were little they sometimes said "When I grow up I want to be a dult."

53. "Revolutionary Road" author Richard: YATES.

57. NFL stat: YDS.  YarDS  A football reference.

58. "__ Doubtfire": MRS.  You are missed, Robin Williams.

59. Letters of credit?: IOU.  Not letters of credit as your bank might issue. I OWE YOU.

60. Syllable in some lawn product names: GRO.  Today's final botanical reference.

As promised, here is the completed grid:

And now, in keeping with today's theme . . .

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“I'm paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I'm not thrilled about.”   - - - Richard Lewis  1947 - 2024