Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday Puzzle by veteran LAT and NYT constructor Joe Deeney.
This solver will admit to being quite unsure about the nature of the theme after first completing the puzzle. After a while, though, the cob webs cleared and the double entendre nature of the clever theme became clear. There is no reveal to guide us down this path so let's jump right in with the themed answers, of which there are five, and see how they "hang together":
17 Across: Designation for who or what, perhaps: LEADING QUESTION. The "perhaps" is crucial here as it is also in the following four clues/answers. Either of the two interrogatories in the clue might LEAD (start) a question. In this case, though, there is also the "angle" that they might be deemed by some to be the best type of question. LEADING, here, more or less equals favorite choice.
23 Across: Designation for tri tip or flap steak, perhaps. TOP SIRLOIN This one was misleading because, per Wikipedia, tri tip is the bottom of the subprimal cut and flap steak is from the muscle of the bottom sirloin. In this case, though, either might be your favorite, or TOP, choice (but not in the sense of USDA Choice).
37 Across: Designation for "Unforgiven" or "Tombstone," perhaps: BEST WESTERN. Both of the titles in the clue are, as we say in crossword-ese, oaters. BEST WESTERN is a chain of motels but one of the aforementioned titles could also be somebody's best/favorite western movie.
49 Across: Designation for mozzarella or cheddar, perhaps: GOAT CHEESE. Hmm, both types of cheese are made from cow milk. In this case, though, GOAT is used as in Greatest Of All Time and one of the cheeses in the clue might be someone's favorite.
57 Across: Designation for Ticonderoga or Faber-Castell, perhaps: NUMBER ONE PENCIL. A #1 pencil is softer than the ubiquitous #2 pencil. In this instance, though, either the Ticonderoga or the Faber-Castell (both brand-named pencils) might be someone's favorite.
Now that we have completed our work with our favorites, here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Rash reaction?: ITCH. Not rash as in impulsive or not well thought out. Literally, a rash on your skin.
5. Pool float: RAFT.
9. Tune in: WATCH. Tune in - not in the Timothy Leary sense. As in to watch on TV.
14. Branch of Islam: SHIA. SHIITE was too long.
15. Santa __: California winds: ANAS.
16. "Here for you": I CARE.
20. Couple of dollars?: ELS. One of "that" type of clue, like Head of state = S. The are a couple of L's in dollars.
21. Chapel vow: I DO.
22. Cosmetics brand with a So Fierce! collection: REVLON. This solver is unfamiliar with So Fierce! but did know some cosmetics brand names so, after a few perps, the answer was sussed out.
27. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA. Their music is often labeled "ska punk, a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music.
28. Eye ailment: STYE. We'll skip the photo.
29. Fitting: APT. Indeed
30. "Not all heroes wear __": CAPES. But Batman and Supergirl, among others, do.
32. Yellow __: LAB. This solver, had he any input, would have suggested a way to work Labrador retrievers into the themed answers.
Rustler - RIP
35. Potential auction winner: HIGH BID. Potential??
39. True to life: FACTUAL. . . . but it may be cruel
Everybody Plays The Fool
40. "Big" and "Bang Bang" singer Rita: ORA. A frequent visitor.
41. Minor tussle: SETTO.
42. Actress Zadora: PIA. Haven't thought of her in years.
44. "Curses!": DRAT. DARN or DANG or RATS would have fit the allowable space.
48. Furry foot: PAW. Having previously used the "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw" pun we will go with this: It is often a good thing to occasionally PAWs and reflect.
52. Principal dancer in a ballet company: ETOILE. French for STAR.
55. Hundred Acre Wood hopper: ROO. A Winnie The Pooh reference. Roo is Kanga's child.
56. Beach bottle no.: SPF. On sunscreen. Sun Protection Factor
61. Tire out: DRAIN.
62. Stand up: RISE. Business at the bakery is on the RISE.
63. Second-most-traded currency in the world: EURO. That the answer was four letters helped.
64. Asks (for): SENDS. As in "Send for the midwife!"
65. Basic sammies: BLTS. with mayo
66. Frosh, probably: TEEN. Frosh = Freshman
Down:
1. Bits of green in blue: ISLETS. A stumper for a while but it does make sense. Islands in the ocean.
2. Whole kit and caboodle: THE LOT. Slangy clue. Slangy answer.
3. U.S. operative: CIA SPY. One of those answers where you go back over the grid you find yourself asking "What's a ciaspy?"
4. Possessed: HAD. My ex-wife got really mad at me when I told her that she HAD no sense of direction. She packed upon her bags and right.
5. Shore leave, informally: R AND R. Rest and Recreation.
6. Second-largest Portuguese-speaking country: ANGOLA. 40% as a native language. 60% total.
7. Page to check before contacting customer service: FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions.
8. Historically Black school in Houston, briefly: TSU.
9. Sensible: WISE.
10. When Miranda says, "O, brave new world / That has such people in 't!": ACT V. Even if one had not idea about the play being referenced, one could guess that the first part of the answer was ACT and then it was only a question of which Roman Numeral it would be. See also 18 Down.
11. Severe decline: TAILSPIN.
12. Not on the up-and-up: CROOKED.
13. Dyes used for some body art: HENNAS. Not often seen as a plural noun.
18. XXX divided by X: III. Roman numerals. Easy math 30 / 10 = 3
19. Directional suffix: ERN. As in westERN.
24. Choose: SELECT. Used as the verb. But as an adjective: What philosopher appealed to only a Select group of people? Frederick Niche.
25. One of the two women in "Hamlet": OPHELIA. One would have to be at least somewhat familiar with the play to know this one.
26. Terse assurance: IT IS. It is.
30. "Strong Enough" diva: CHER. This official video is pretty weird.
31. Rub the wrong way?: ABRADE.
33. Regarding: AS TO.
34. AC meas.: BTU. British Thermal Unit
36. Classic Pontiac: GTO. Ronny And The Daytonas were from Nashville! Who knew.
37. Alter ego of DC's Kate Kane: BATWOMAN.
38. D.C. daily: WAPO.
39. Spotlight: FEATURE. As in to shine the spotlight on someone or something.
41. Forks out: SPENDS. Idiomatic clue.
43. Immobile: AT REST. This solver has always thought of immobile as could not move.
45. Shelter adoptee: RESCUE. A pet shelter reference.
Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of a Friday puzzle constructed by Lewis Rothlein. Per the NYT a couple of years ago, LewisRothlein is a yoga instructor and jazz piano enthusiast in Asheville, N.C. He has had puzzles previously published in both the NYT and the LAT.
This solver found today's offering to be challenging and enjoyable. A number of the clue / answer combinations required some cogitation - not because they were obscure but because one had to dig a bit deeper than usual into the cranial data base.
There is no reveal/unifier in today's puzzle. At four places within the grid Lewis breaks common words into two pieces and this "division" is incorporated into the manner in which the clue must be interpreted in order to conjure up the correct response. Here are the four themed clues and answers:
17 Across: Pa ss: SPLIT TICKET. Neither pass as in a gap in the mountains nor Pass as in to do well on a school exam. As used in the clue, Pass means a way to get into a concert or a sporting event. SPLIT TICKET voting is when a voter votes for candidates from different parties in the same election, as opposed to straight-ticketvoting. Here, though, the Ticket has been literally been split.
25 Across: Fi rm: PARTED COMPANY. Not firm as in solidified. In the clue it is used in the sense of a business entity. . . and in this instance the entity has been PARTED like the Red Sea. PARTING COMPANY, of course, most often is used in a different context.
43 Across: Shis hito: CRACKED PEPPER. Shishito is a type of pepper although it is not the type of pepper that is commonly CRACKED. In the clue, the pepper has been cracked in half.
56 Across: Bo nds: SEVERED TIES. Not bonds as in financial instruments. Bonds as in the ties that bind. SEVERED TIES is quite similar to PARTED COMPANY, above.
This is how it all looks in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Creature of Jewish folklore: GOLEM. In Jewish folklore, a GOLEM is an artificial humanoid made of clay, soil, or dust brought to life by a series of rituals and magical formulas. According to legend, GOLEMs could only be created by a powerful rabbi.
6. Verb with thou: SAYST. A variation of SAYEST. A hand up here for first trying SHALT.
11. __ bar: FIG. SAND was too long as was OYSTER.
14. Slightly in front: UP ONE. Not physically ahead of the pack. UP ONE as in a sports score.
15. Intercontinental range: URALS. Separating Europe and Asia.
16. Soundless messaging syst.: ASL.
19. Dark site of the moon?: SEA. SEAS, or mares, on the moon are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by lava flowing into ancient impact basins. They were dubbed maria (Latin for 'seas') by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas.
20. Members of a sub group: HOAGIES. Not a reference to religious sects or to underwater vessels. A sandwich reference.
21. Like overripe bananas: SPOTTED. Not in the optical sense. More like a leopard.
23. "Embrace the glorious __ that you are": Elizabeth Gilbert: MESS. Elizabeth Gilbert is
an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love
24. Dressage pace: TROT. From Wikipedia, Dressage is a form of horse riding and an equestrian sport that aims to develop the horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform.
30. Formal, in a way: DRESSY. Interesting with DRESSY following Dressage.
32. Sought office: RAN.
33. Fruit in some gin: SLOE.
34. Overlord of the rings, for short?: IOC. Not a LOTR reference. The Olympic Rings.
35. "That's gonna leave a mark!": OOF. Punt!
36. Family: KIN. When asked if he had family in Salt Lake City, Robert de Niro replied,"Utah kin to me?"
37. Egg pouches: SACS.
39. Co-worker of Jamie, Alan, and Mara, in Progressive ads: FLO. This solver thought that is was kind of the constructor/editor to choose the most-well-know of the group for the answer. What did you think?
40. Planters: SOWERS. As ye SOW so shall ye reap.
46. Blasted: DARN. Not a reference to an explosion. As slangy clue with a slangy answer.
47. __ bene: NOTA. NOTAbene is a Latin phrase meaning "mark well" or "note well". It is used to call attention to something important in a text or speech.
48. Skating hazard: THIN ICE. Literally. The expression is more often seen as an idiom.
51. Comic-con attendee with pointy ears, maybe: TREKKIE. A Star Trek reference
55. Feel sick: AIL. What does one say upon seeing a sick redhead? Ginger ail.
58. Org. with Kings and Knights: NHL.
59. Switch: TRADE. As in:
60. Aquarium fish: TETRA. A frequent visitor.
61. Slime: GOO. Punt-ish.
62. Campaign topic: ISSUE. I told my boss, “Sorry I’m late. I was having computer ISSUEs. Boss: Hard drive? Me: No, the commute was fine. It’s my laptop.
63. Caravan rest stops: OASES.
Down:
1. Rhapsodize: GUSH.
2. Intel collected during a race: OPPO. Truncated clue, truncated answer. A political race. OPPO is damaging information about a political candidate that is gathered and used or made public usually by an opponent's camp.
3. "Copacabana" showgirl: LOLA. Okay. If we're headed down this road we might as well go with the over-the-top version.
4. Hard-to-read people: ENIGMAS.
5. Fortes: METIERS.
6. Word on some European notes: SUISSE. Seen on Euro notes that feature Switzerland.
7. Shape made with a pencil and string: ARC. A rudimentary compass.
8. Jaws: YAKS. Not a reference to mandibles. Idioms for talking too much. Not a reference to these:
9. Didn't answer immediately: SLEPT ON. As in the colloquialism to "sleep on it".
10. Brief weather event?: T-STORM. "Brief" in the clue tips us off that the answer will be a-brief-iated.
11. Slick one: FAST TALKER. The meaning of FAST-TALK is to influence or persuade by fluent, facile, and usually deceptive or tricky talk.
12. Words of understanding: I SEE.
13. Willing (to): GLAD. As in "I'd be GLAD to help you with that."
18. Petulant: TESTY.
22. Best or bests: TOPS. The first word of the clue is an adjective. The second is a verb.
25. Minor offense: PECCADILLO. Anyone recall previously seeing PECCADILLO in a puzzle?
26. Wilt: DROOP.
27. Half-__: latte spec: CAF.
28. Cain genre: NOIR. A reference to James M. Cain. Perhaps best known for the novels Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice.
29. Urges: YENS. Not used as a verb as in to pressure someone to do something. The urges, themselves.
30. __ jockey: DISC.
31. Laugh good and hard: ROAR.
35. Word with hand or saw: OLD.
38. Get the drift, perhaps: SCAN. A bit of a stretch. Apparently used as in to quickly peruse.
39. Folks who might say, "Curses! Foiled again!"?: FENCERS. Not FENCERS as in those enclosing a yard. A sword fighting reference. A foil is a type of sword.
40. Botanical reproductive unit: SPORE. How mushroom does a SPORE need?
41. Decided in favor of: OPTED TO.
42. Underwhelming argument: WEAK TEA. Idiomatic.
44. Skating great Yamaguchi: KRISTI. The name was known. The spelling was aided by the perps.
45. Menu selection: ENTREE. I recently made a delicious European breakfast entree, but when I finished eating it I had a stomach ache. It was a Belchin Waffle.
48. Kick: TANG. As in "this dish has quite a kick to it."
49. Chipper greeting: HI HO.
50. Some NASA missions: EVAS. ExtraVehicular ActivitieS What we used to call spacewalks.
52. Many Ikea purchases, essentially: KITS. Put it together yourself.
57. Gettysburg address feature?: EDU. At first this solver thought that this was just plain wrong. Got the web address part of it but every Gettysburg-related site I dug out ended with EDU or GOV. Then Gettysburg College in, of course, Gettysburg, PA was "discovered".
