Friday, March 3, 2023, Amie Walker

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with this morning's review of a puzzle constructed by Amie Walker.  I had the pleasure of recapping one of Amie's puzzles last July and in that puzzle she added a letter or two to common expressions and, thereby, created new and different expressions.  In today's offering, she heads in the opposite direction and deletes a single letter to provide definitions for three themed clues (all of which are starred for our convenience).  The reveal comes at:

50 Across:  "Stay alert!," or a phonetic hint to the answers to the starred clues: KEEP AN EYE OUT.  The phonetic hint is that we must delete an I.  An "eye for an I" in the reveal, as it were.

The starred clues are found at:

19 Across:  *Relocation specialist?: MOVE PRODUCER.   Movie Producer before the deletion.

26 Across:  *Chiropractor who treats mollusks?: CLAM ADJUSTER.  Claim Adjuster adjusted.

Steve Martin - Claim Adjuster

42 Across:  *Lift for Mom's mom?: GRAN ELEVATOR.  Grain Elevator.  Lift being, in this case, British English for what we in the USA call an ELEVATOR.

This is how the completed grid looks:

. . . and here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. PC shortcut key: CTRL.  The classic being CTRL ALT DEL

5. __ Jansen: kid-lit detective with a photographic memory: CAM.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

8. More than a few: MANY.  

12. Seehorn of "Better Call Saul": RHEA.  A TV reference.

13. Repaired, maybe: TAPED.  Yes, maybe.  Not often the best way to repair something.

15. Facial tissue additive: ALOE.

16. God of war: ARES.  MARS would also have fit, and met the definition, but would not work out.

17. Market directives that have yet to be executed: OPEN ORDERS.  A financial market reference.

21. Study closely: PEER AT.  Hand up for first trying to make PERUSE work out.

22. Intended: MEANT.

31. Cattle breed: ANGUS.

34. Land divisions: ACRES.  There are 640 ACRES in a square mile.

35. Maker of Don't Bossa Nova Me Around nail polish: OPI.  This brand often appears.  It's probably one that I should commit to memory.

36. Light air: LILT.  Air as in a song.

37. Tennessee athlete: TITAN.  A professional football team.  Formerly the Houston Oilers.

38. "Kapow!": BLAM.

39. Skater Midori: ITO.  An American Olympian.

40. Cutoffs fabric: DENIM.

41. Walk quartet: BALLS.  A baseball reference.   The new baseball rules regarding allotted time to throw a pitch and for the batter to be ready to hit are going to seem a bit odd at first.

45. Tag line?: NOT IT.

Forgive the Animals for Not Knowing Their (There, They're) Contractions

46. Spectators on "Ted Lasso," e.g.: EXTRAS.  Some are done with CGI.  Another TV reference.

55. Evasive reply to "Why do you ask?": OH NO REASON.  The reply is often a lie.

58. Ancient letter: RUNE.   From Germanic alphabets used in the 3rd to the 13th centuries.

59. Lug: HAUL.  Hand up for TOTE (although that's often clued as a pledge drive giveaway).

60. Makes a baby blanket, say: KNITS.

61. Jazz legend James: ETTA.   This rare talent is a frequent visitor.

62. Bird in the starling family: MYNA.  To enforce the ban against exporting MYNA birds, a country trained lions to guard its frontiers.  One day two smugglers tried to sneak a MYNA bird out of the country while the border lions were sleeping. But the lions woke up and captured the smugglers, who were accused of transporting MYNAs across state lions.

63. Carry-on inspectors: Abbr.: TSA.

64. Cubicle surface: DESK.

Down:

1. Muscle woe: CRAMP.  I flexed my glutes and got a cramp.  That was a pain in the butt.

2. Pang: THROE.

3. Superman player: REEVE.  In the 1978 movie "Superman" and in three sequels.

4. Use an engraving machine, say: LASER CUT.  I found this one to be just a bit of a stretch.

5. Guitar accessory: CAPO.  Let's say that the guitarist knows how to play a song in the key of G but the singer wants to do it in A flat.  Put the CAPO on the first fret and play just as you would in G.

6. Mimicked: APED.

Humans Pretending to Be Apes Aping Human Choreography

7. Set of dishes?: MENU.  Word play.  Not plates.

8. Some ladies of Spain: MADRES.  Spain was a bit of misdirection except to let us know that the answer might be, and was, a Spanish word.  Some ladies everywhere are mothers.   A somewhat open-ended clue in that there are many, many possible answers.

9. Yard sale?: ALE.  As in a yard of ALE.  A yard is a tall beer glass holding 2 1/2 imperial pints.

10. "That's neither here __ there": NOR.

11. "Bingo!": YES.  Aha!  Oho! Yea!   Another open-ended clue,

13. Sandwich that might have queso fresco and crema: TORTA.  A Mexican street food lesson.

14. OB-GYN, e.g.: DOC.  Abbr/abbr

18. Brother in Roman lore: REMUS.  Romulus and REMUS had a wolf for a foster mother.  The legend says that they founded Rome (named for Romulus).

Romulus and Remus

20. Buddies: PALS.  Good PALS don't let you do stupid things . . . alone.

23. Lagoon border: ATOLL.   I often forget if it's one T and two L's or vice versa.

24. Landlocked country in South Asia: NEPAL.

25. Abridges: TRIMS.  An editing reference.  No one says that they're going to abridge the hedges.

27. Location of the fictional town Horseshoe Bay on The CW's "Nancy Drew": MAINE.  Another TV reference.

28. Play ender, often: ACT IV.  This clue and answer is always a bit of a punt whether it is ACT IV or ACT I or ACT II, etc.

29. Pulitzer category: DRAMA.  There are 21 categories.  Yet another open-ended clue.

30. Fox Sports NFL sideline reporter Hale: JEN.  Another TV reference.

31. Square up: ALIGN.

32. TNT component: NITRO.  triNITROtoluene

33. Rub it in: GLOAT.

37. __ Aviv: TEL.  A major Israeli city.

38. Exchanged: BARTERED.  SWAPPED did not quite fit.

40. Dissuade: DETER.

41. Like classic Volvos: BOXY.

1975 Volvo 240

43. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA.  Born in 1856.  Musk was born in 1971.  NIKOLA should have trademarked his name.

44. Chilly temps: TEENS.  As you read this I will be at 9,000 feet in Colorado and TEENS will seem on the warm side.

47. Path: ROUTE.

48. Reunion attendees: AUNTS.  Again, an open-ended clue.  This could refer to a family reunion (and it did) or a school reunion or a military service reunion, etc.

49. Cookout choice: STEAK.  Lots of possible answers fit this clue, too.

51. Startled cry: EEK.  Often, EEK a mouse!  More often, we see EKE out a living.

52. Huff and puff: PANT.

53. Craigslist caveat: AS IS.  I saw an ad on Craig's List that read:  "Radio, $1.00., volume stuck on high."  I thought to myself, "I can't turn that down . . ."

54. __ bene: NOTA.

55. Resistance eponym: OHM.  We're talking physics here (electrical) not political resistance.

56. Pile near a pitchfork: HAY.

57. Convent figure: NUN.

Well, that wraps things up for today .  .  .  and, I might add, NUN too soon.

____________________________________________

Thursday, July 28, 2022, Amie Walker

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with this morning's recap of a puzzle exhibiting a wistful choice of themes for a midsummer's day.  As she did with her June 17, 2022 LAT puzzle, at places within the grid our puzzle setter, Amie Walker, has added a letter or two to common expressions and, thereby, created new and different expressions.  In today's puzzle she has added two letters - BR as in "Brrrrrr it's cold".  We can only wish.

The reveal comes at:

55 Across:  Harbingers of lower temperatures, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues: COLD FRONTS.  A COLD FRONT is the leading edge of a cold air mass.

The theme is applied at (starred for our convenience):

17 Across:  *Lord of the grill?: BROIL BARON.  Oil Baron.

Lord of the Grill - Stephen Raichlen

26 Across:  *Some spring newlyweds?: BRIDES OF MARCH.  Ides of March.  Beware!

43 Across:  *Warning words from one holding the reins?: BRIDLE THREATS.  Idle Threats.

The balance of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. Furnish funds for: ENDOW.  For example:

6. Sleep restlessly: TOSS.  ______  and TURN.    _____ a coin.  ____ one's cookies.

10. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Devers: GAIL.  One of only two women to successfully defend an Olympic 100 meter championship.

14. Jeweler's glass: LOUPE.

15. Dance that tells a story: HULA.  What did the animal control officer ask the Hawaiian dancer?  "HULA the dogs out?"

16. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn: ANNA.  Continuing with the recent trend, this is the first many proper nouns in the puzzle.  Depending on which answers you wish to count, there are a dozen or so.  

19. Wine list heading: REDS.

20. Small batteries: AAS.

Third From The Left

21. Subdivision divisions: LOTS.

22. Fake eyelash, informally: FALSIE.  Eyelashes?  Today's "I had best not go there" moment.

24. "No warranties": AS IS.

25. Went around: ORBITED.  AVOIDED was a working guess.  Literally to go around (and around and around).

30. Borrower: LENDEE.  Not too hard to suss out but a word rarely seen/heard.

31. "The Chi" creator Waithe: LENA.  Unknown to me.  Another day of the week it might have been Horne, Olin or  the Hyena.

32. Text an embarrassing screenshot to the wrong person, say: ERR.

35. Pre-K basics: ABCS.  The basis for a pop song.

36. Sports radio host Patrick: DAN.  So many Dans from which to choose.

37. H.S. exam: PSAT.  We sit for the PSAT quite often in our puzzles.

38. "Caught you!": HAH.  OHO, the answer is not AHA!

39. Rip-off: SCAM.  "This is an ugly word, this SCAM." - Carmine Sabatini

41. __ solution: SALINE.

46. "Please let me give it a go": MAY I TRY.

48. Pond plant: REED.  It was likely going to be either pond or oboe, n'est-ce pas?

49. "The Ranch" actress Cuthbert: ELISHA.  Another unknown.  Thanks, perps.

50. Apple variety: GALA.  Not an electronics reference this time.

51. Rio automaker: KIA.  KIA recently adopted a new logo.

54. Skating site: RINK.  THIN ICE was too long.

58. Peniston with the Top 10 hit "Finally": CECE.  CSO to C.C.

CeCe

59. __-slapper: KNEE.  Ha Ha.

60. Wed: UNITE.  Not a dy of the wk.

61. How most TV shows air: IN HD.  High Definition.

62. Tournament ranking: SEED.

63. Triumphant April Fools' Day cry: GOT YA.  Crosses ITTY at 52 Down.  See 26 Down.

Down:

1. Island in a classic palindrome: ELBA.

2. Comedy Central's "Awkwafina Is __ From Queens": NORA.  Does she have to pay royalties to Pepsico?

3. Pairs: DUOS.

4. Big name in nail polish: OPI.  This proper noun is now part of the Croswordese lexicon.

5. "Maybe yes, maybe no": WE'LL SEE.

6. "Oh, really?": THAT SO.  Is it?

7. Sharing word: OURS.

8. "__ Pitch": Canadian web series about softball: SLO.

9. Bay city, briefly: SAN FRAN.  The folks there don't usually take too well to this sort of thing.

10. Aioli base: GARLIC.  Basic recipe:  4 cloves fresh garlic, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp coarse grained salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup EVOO, 1 teaspoon water

11. Prime number?: ANESTHESIA.  As in to make NUMB.  This muttonheaded marine mammal initially missed the context.  Thanks, Cat.

12. Not mainstream: INDIE.  Usually used in a show-biz context.

13. Cut with light: LASED.   Crossword constructors, and editors, love verbs that are the same in present and past tense -  Cut, put, shed, cast, quit, hit, etc.  etc.  etc.

18. Capital known as "The City of Trees": BOISE.  State Capital of Idaho.

23. Syllables in an incantation: ABRA.

24. Throws in: ADDS.

25. Black cat, to some: OMEN.  Having passed on the Steve Miller Band possibility, a couple of clues above, I shall attempt to redeem myself:

Howlin' Wolf - 1961

26. Meh: BLAH.  'Nuff said

27. "Queen of Country" McEntire: REBA.

28. Slowly but surely: INCH BY INCH.

29. Moth attractor: FLAME.  

A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office.  The doctor asks, “What’s the problem?”  The moth replies, “Doc, let me tell you. I hate my job. Every single day I have to go but I hate my boss and I hate my work.  I wake up every day next to a woman that I once loved, but I stopped loving her long ago. Last week my dog died.  I don't know what to do."  The doctor says, “Those are some serious problems. You need help. But you need a psychiatrist. Why in the world did you come into a podiatrist’s office?”  The moth says, “Because the light was on.”

33. Harangue: RANT.

34. GPS lines: RTES.  We never know if it will be Roads, Route, Avenues, Streets, Highways, etc.  I love working with GPS devices.  I do not love the clues/answers that they have brought us.

36. Tyne of "Judging Amy": DALY.

37. Begged: PLED.  A robot accused of stealing his neighbor's electricity PLED guilty as charged.

39. Jedi enemy: SITH.  A Star Wars reference.

40. Classic music libraries?: CD RACKS.  In the age of Mp3s, Compact Discs qualify as "classic".

41. __ life: SHELF.  Some items are marked with those dates that are overly pessimistic.

42. Accent piece: AREA RUG.

44. Gambled: RISKED.

45. Available on the stock exchange: TRADED.  Hand up for first trying LISTED,

46. "__ beaucoup": MERCI.  Today's French 101 lesson.

47. Unrecognizable: ALIEN.  Used as an adjective not as a visitor from another galaxy.

50. Sheer delight: GLEE.

51. Work on a muffler, say: KNIT.  Not an automotive reference.

52. __-bitty: ITTY.  ITSY BITSY wouldn't work with the perps, I suppose.  A musical moment missed.

53. Between ports: ASEA.  Where we may sometimes find ourselves, metaphorically.

56. Low digit: ONE.  The number this time (see 11 Down).  Not a part of the anatomy.

57. Artist Yoko: ONO.  The last of today's proper nouns  . . .  and a frequent visitor.

Here is how all of this looks in the grid:

Well that wraps things up for today's puzzle recap.  I am in Victoria British Columbia helping to celebrate a couple of dear friends' 50th wedding anniversary.  The scary part is that I was at the wedding.  The temperature is not cold but it is delightfully cooler than it is in SoCal.

Have a great Thursday, everyone.

_____________________________________________