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".
Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here, once again, after an extended sabbatical, with the recap of a Friday Puzzle by veteran constructor Kathy Lowden. Let's jump right in with the reveal:
73 Across. Stop by unannounced, and how to make the starred clues match their answers?: DROP IN. We are asked to drop the letters I and N from the starred clues. What then remains are the clues-to-be-solved.
Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed:
21 Across. *Hot point: SHABU SHABU. Hot Pot. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces. The term is onomatopoeic, derived from the sound – "swish swish" – emitted when the ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot.
27 Across. *Main event: MOTHERS DAY. Ma Event. No, not the cellist YoYo. Yo Mama.
50 Across. *Chain-chain-chain: CUBAN DANCE. Hmm, a reference to Aretha Franklin? Nope. Cha-Cha-Cha. But, wait . . .
56. *Rhino: PI FOLLOWER. Rho. A Greek Alphabet reference.
This is how it all looks in the grid:
. . . and the rest of the story:
Across:
1. Number with 101 digits: GOOGOL. The number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The tech behemoth got its name from a misspelling of GOOGOL.
7. Tenerife, por ejemplo: ISLA. Spanish language clue, Spanish language answer.
11. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL.
14. Prisoner: INMATE. When INMATEs fall in love do they finish each others sentences?
15. Speak indistinctly: SLUR.
16. Fish eggs: ROE. Does the search for caviar require a ROE boat?
17. Cardiology implants: STENTS.
18. Song for one: SOLO. Anybody first try ARIA?
19. "That tastes go-o-o-od": MMM. Punt!
20. Work on one's abs, say: TONE. As in to TONE up one's muscles.
24. Broccoli part: STEM.
26. Psyched: EAGER.
33. Wine category: REDS. Reds, whites and rosé.
34. Disciplines: AREAS. AREAS of study or expertise.
35. Hoped: WISHED.
37. Cross piece?: PEN. Cross has several meanings and is also, as used here, a brand of writing implements. One of those clues that "trades on" the convention that all the clues start with a capital letter.
38. Patti with a plaque on the Apollo Theater's Walk of Fame: LABELLE.
41. Rank in judo: DAN. In judo, improvement and understanding of the art is denoted by a system of rankings split into kyū and DAN grades. These are indicated with various systems of colored belts, with the black belt indicating a practitioner who has attained a certain level of competence.
44. Within the realm of possibility: DOABLE.
46. Future oak: ACORN.
48. Bakery worker: ICER. A specialist frequently found working in our puzzles
53. Mushroom with a honeycomb-like top: MOREL.
55. Burst of wind: GUST.
60. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA. Spanish language clue, Spanish language answer.
64. "It's __-brainer!": A NO. This was an easy one.
65. European automaker: AUDI. OPEL, MINI and FIAT would have fit the space (among others).
66. Benders: SPREES. As in to go on a Shopping SPREE.
68. Lav: LOO. Please excuse me. I have to go powder my nose.
69. Hard-to-break plates: MAIL. As in chain mail.
70. Van Gogh's "The Potato __": EATERS.
71. Fitting: APT. Yes, it is.
72. Princess Anne, to Prince William: AUNT. This solver will confess to not really following this family's activities in any detail.
Down:
1. Crux: GIST. What do meteorologists, biologists, and archaeologists have in common? They all get the GIST of their field.
2. Not fooled by: ONTO.
3. Portentous sign: OMEN.
4. Elephant-headed god: GANESHA.
5. Mel in the Baseball Hall of Fame: OTT.
6. Secondary: LESSER.
How to choose the LESSER of two weevils.
7. Emmy nominee Rae: ISSA. A frequent visitor.
8. Messy type: SLOB. What’s the difference between a well dressed man on a bicycle and a slob on a unicycle? A wheel and attire.
9. Doozy: LULU.
10. Came up: AROSE. By any other name . . .
11. 1998 Michael Bay disaster film: ARMAGEDDON.
12. Systematically searched (through): COMBED.
As In "Comb The Desert"
13. Animals found only in Madagascar: LEMURS.
22. Letters for the Royal Navy: HMS. His or Her Majesty's Ship.
23. Rabbit's larger cousin: HARE.
25. Inventor Nikola: TESLA. The feud between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, known as the "War of Currents," revolved around their competing electrical systems: Tesla's alternating current (AC) and Edison's direct current (DC). This rivalry included public debates and business conflicts, ultimately leading to the widespread adoption of AC as the standard for electrical power transmission.
27. Document with a key: MAP. "Document" is, perhaps, a bit of a stretch.
28. Vein contents: ORE. A mining, and not a circulatory system, reference.
29. Novice: TENDERFOOT.
30. Dorky type: DWEEB.
31. Feel poorly: AIL.
32. Designer bag monogram: YSL.
36. Chairs: HEADS. Not the things we sit in. Leaders of a meeting, panel or group of people.
39. "The View" network: ABC.
40. __-ray disc: BLU.
42. Rainbow shape: ARC.
43. San Diego-to-Palm Springs dir.: NNE.
45. Sweet sandwich: OREO. A pretty straightforward clue for this food very often found in our puzzles.
47. Indulge: CATER TO.
48. Zambezi Valley antelope: IMPALA. Might have been clued with a Chevy reference.
49. Like many laundromats: COIN-OP.
51. "Just a number," so some say: AGE. Would that it were true.
52. Breastfed: NURSED. What kind of bees make milk? Boo bees.
54. Alpaca kin: LLAMA.
57. Island banquet: LUAU.
58. Norse god of war: ODIN. He's been around far longer than the Marvelverse.
59. Droop: WILT. Might have been clued with the single-word - Chamberlain.
61. Ooze: SEEP.
62. Garr of "Tootsie": TERI. This solver would have referenced Young Frankenstein (but you probably already guessed that).
63. Org.: ASSN. Abbreviated clue . . .
67. Nice round number?: PAR. After first thinking that the constructor was employing the Nice, France misdirection it slowly dawned on me that the reference was to a round of golf.
Well, that will wrap things up for now. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Julius Tausig. I did a quick web search on Julius and found this: Julius Tausing Clue and Answer Talk about meta! As I could find no previous references to Julius here on the Corner, it appears that this might be his L. A. Times debut. If so, congratulations, Julius.
In any event, in today's puzzle we have a theme that involves adding the letter L in order to morph common English usage into the sought-after answers to the clues. The reveal is found at:
64 Across: Accepted defeat, and what 17-, 24-, 40-, and 51-Across did?: TOOK THE L. Took the Loss.
These four clues "took the L" and incorporated it:
17 Across: Hideout that's not very hidden?: OPEN LAIR. From Open Air.
24 Across: Times of year for competitive baking?: FLOUR SEASONS. The Fours Seasons of the year. Hmmm, we'll go with Carole King but it could have been Vivaldi . . . or Fankie Valli.
40 Across: Hip-hop subgenre dedicated to the woes of hair loss?: BALD RAP. A Bad Rap, more often a Bum Rap (which was an answer in one of our puzzles last week), is an unjust accusation. Bad Rap might be redundant.
51 Across: Assorted barrettes and clips?: HAIR PIN BLEND. From Hair Pin Bend or, more often, Hair Pin turn.
This is how everything looks in the grid:
Here are the non-themers:
Across:
1. "Thriller" debut channel: MTV. MTV was the pioneering broadcaster of music videos. "Thriller" was a mega-hit album by Michael Jackson.
4. Dull pain: ACHE. A sensation frequently experienced in our puzzles.
14. __ milk: OAT. SOY would have fit the allotted space but none of the letters would have worked out.
15. Dramatic outburst during court testimony: LIAR. We have LAIR in the puzzle so why not LIAR?
16. Like Enigma machine messages: IN CODE. The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
19. Small beard: GOATEE.
Maynard G. Krebs
20. Recipient of a wish list: GENIE. Hand up for thinking SANTA. The N would have worked out.
21. Zen paradox: KOAN. This solver was introduced to the KOAN by a High School English teacher. A KOAN is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement, anecdote, question, or verbal exchange, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening.
23. Shirt: TOP. TEE would have fit and the T would have worked out.
28. Historic fort near Charleston: SUMTER. Best known as the site for the opening of the Civil War.
31. Quark-antiquark particle: MESON.
Beyond This Solver's Ken
32. "That is not __!": parents' words of warning: A TOY. OKAY would have fit and the Y would have worked out.
33. __-Cola: COCA. We'll do Easter at 11 Down.
36. Rite place: ALTAR. I just learned than my neighbor lives a secret life as a priest. It's his ALTAR ego.
39. Greek god of pastures: PAN.
42. Pro: ACE. Not fer. An accomplished person.
43. Stood out: SHONE.
45. MRI output: SCAN
46. __ novel: DIME. DIMEnovel is a term for cheap, sensational paperbacks that were popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the U.S. Alas, the price component has gone the way of Two Buck Chuck.
47. Composer Frederick: LOEWE. Were you thinking Classical Music? Chopin, perhaps? In this case, Alan Lerner's collaborator. One example from their prolific output:
49. Got down pat: NAILED. There was an off-color joke involving Richard Nixon going around in the '70's. NAILED was not part of it.
55. Insect whose colony has a queen: ANT. What did the Pink Panther say after stepping on the ANT hill? Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant . . . .
56. "Ah, got it": I SEE. Indeed.
57. Garden party?: GNOME. Party, in this case, means an individual that might be found in a garden. Not a Ricky Nelson reference.
61. Split: IN HALF. Not "split" as in it's time to leave. Not a bowling reference. Not a reference to a city in Croatia.
66. __ 101: skyscraper in an Asian capital: TAIPEI. Designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons.
Taipei 101 Tower
67. Latin year: ANNO. A translation clue/answer.
68. Sick: ILL.
69. Turn on the charm?: INCANT.
incant
/ĭn-kănt′/
transitive verb To chant or intone (ritual or magic words).To state solemnly, to chant. To recite an incantation
70. Scorch: SEAR. CHAR would have fit and the R would have worked out.
71. Loving poem: ODE.
Down:
1. First commercial synthesizer maker: MOOG.
2. Cassette: TAPE. State of the art at one time.
3. Powerful engine banned by F1: V-TEN. The F1, in this case, stands for Formula One auto racing.
4. Gene variant: ALLELE. Fortunately, for this solver, the word was remembered even if the spelling was not. Thanks, perps. From Wikipedia, "An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through single nucleotide polymorphisms, but they can also have insertions and deletions of up to several thousand base pairs." Got that?
5. Longtime KGB spycraft enemy: CIA.
6. Poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern: HAIKU. Hand up for thinking MoeKu.
7. Wrong move: ERROR. Oops!
8. Contract endorser: SIGNEE. A word that we do not often hear. . . or see.
9. Musician Brian: ENO. A frequent visitor.
10. Obama-era legislation, initially: ACA.
11. Small rabbit: COTTONTAIL.
Danny Kaminsky
12. Ancient theater of Ephesus: ODEON.
13. Cries: WEEPS. I saw my sister WEEPing uncontrollably, worried that her Economics degree wouldn’t land her a job. I said, “Are you having a financial cry, sis?”
18. "Swell!": NIFTY. Slang. Bitchen'. Rad. Far Out! Groovy.
22. Eritrea's capital: ASMARA. A place not so frequently visited in our puzzles.
25. Killer whale: ORCA. A mammal which frequently visits our puzzles.
26. "By yesterday!" letters: ASAP. Alternative cluing: Recent aquittee.
27. Spanish sun: SOL.
en español
28. Drains: SAPS.
29. Zion locale: UTAH. Zion National Park.
30. Like an ancient obelisk: MONOLITHIC. This could have been clued with a reference to 2001 A Space Odyssey.
34. Twins who created the fashion label The Row: OLSENS. This solver did not know about the fashion line but Mary-Kate and Ashley OLSEN are twins who often appear in our puzzles.
35. Public health org.: CDC. Is it going to be NIH? No.
37. Fictional company whose products tend to malfunction: ACME. A Wile E. Coyote reference.
38. Woodwind insert: REED.
40. Appliance alert: BEEP.
41. Great-aunt of Prince George: ANNE. We fought a revolution to separate from the British royals. Some of us pay them very little or no attention. Thanks perps.
44. Scand. land: NOR. Probably not Juilius' favorite answer.
46. "That __ hurt": DIDN'T.
48. Video game that uses a balance board: WII FIT.
50. Cambodia's __ Wat: ANGKOR.
Photo By MM
51. Part of Hispaniola: HAITI.
52. Diplomat Kofi: ANNAN.
Former U.N. Secretary General
53. Releases with bugs, probably: BETAS. A computer coding/debugging reference.
54. Sierra __: LEONE. Often visited in our puzzles.
58. Weird or cringe, in Gen Alpha slang: OHIO. As for OHIO used in this context, this I know from nothing. But Merriam-Webster does: The Gen alpha slang use of Ohio as an insult originated on the Internet shortly after a series of memes about the US state of Ohio began circulating in the late twenty-teens. The most common type of these memes is the "only in Ohio" variety, which describes something weird or awkward and then claims that it happens in Ohio.
59. Combine: MELD. MESH would have fit and both the M and the E would have worked out.
60. Vogue rival: ELLE. A magazine frequently read in our puzzles.
62. Shrinks' org.: APA.
63. Actor Cariou: LEN. LEoNard Joseph Cariou
65. "Based __ true story": ON A. When it says this you can bet that significant liberties have been taken with the facts in the name of entertainment.
Yours truly will be heading to the mountains in a bit and will be skipping the next couple of otherwise-scheduled blogging cycles. See all y'all after returning.
.png)
