Friday, November 25, 2022, Emma Oxford

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's state-of-the-puzzle recap.  That is, I am here for those of you who have come out of the food coma that was likely induced by yesterday's feasting.  If you have not yet recovered then you have probably yet to solve the puzzle and are probably also not reading this so . . . never mind.

Today's puzzle setter is Emma Oxford.  I have previously recapped Emma's puzzles and they are always a pleasure.  The clues are often very clever.  Her themes are always creative and today's is no exception.  To grasp what she has accomplished today it helps if you, first of all, know the nicknames for various (in this case six) constituent states of these United States.  Second, it helped to know the postal abbreviations for those states.  Third, you need to like to play with words - in this case by breaking them apart at out-of-the ordinary places.  Here are the six themed clues and answers:

16 Across:  Flower of the Hoosier State?: IN CARNATION.  The Hoosier State is the nickname for Indiana and its postal abbreviation is IN.  INCARNATION becomes Indiana Carnation.

24 Across:  Basement access in the Palmetto State?: SC AREA WAY.  The Palmetto State is the nickname for South Carolina and its postal abbreviation is SC.  SCARE AWAY becomes South Carolina Area Way.

30 Across:  Clothing in the Sunshine State?: FL ATTIRE.  The Sunshine State is the nickname for Florida and its postal abbreviation is FL.  FLAT TIRE becomes Florida Attire.

44 Across:  Girls from the Show-Me State?: MO LASSES.  The Show Me State is the nickname for Missouri and its postal abbreviati0n is MO.  MOLASSES becomes Missouri Lasses.

50 Across:   Psychedelics from the Evergreen State?: WA SHROOMS.  The Evergreen State is the nickname for Washington and its postal abbreviation is WA.  WASHROOMS becomes Washington Shrooms (slang for mushrooms of the psychoactive type).

62 Across:  Fortified wines from the Ocean State?: RI VERMOUTHS.  The Ocean State is the nickname for Rhode Island and its postal abbreviation is RI.  RIVER MOUTHS becomes Rhode Island Vermouths.

Here is how this looks in the grid:

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

Across:

1. Spanish home: CASA.  La lección de español de hoy

5. Yelped about?: RATED.  Clever.  Nothing to do with a dog complaining.  Having used the food review app, Yelp.

10. Fix: JAM.  Hand up for thinking this had something to do with repair work.  Then thinking is might be pet related.  Nope, Fix is used, here, as a noun as to be in a fix.  That's probably better than being in a pickle.

13. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA.  She has both a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.  I wouldn't know her from Eve.

14. Take from commercial to residential, maybe: REZONE.

15. PC core: CPU.  Central Processing Unit

18. Some triage pros: RNS. and 65. Some triage pros: DRS.  Professiohals is abbreviated to PROS iin both clues.  Registered NurseS and DoctoRS.  See also 59 Down.

19. Opposite of paleo-: NEO.

20. Stand for a presentation: EASEL.  Again, it us not as if we are at a performance of Handel's "Messiah".  Literally a stand on which you might place 0our presentation.

21. Clog fillers: FEET.  Not the hairs in your sink.  The shoes.

22. Boot: EXPEL.  Not the shoe.  Used, here, as a verb.

27. Three-line verse: HAIKU.

        Our own Chairman Moe

        Often writes HAIKU verses

        For our enjoyment

29. Screen __: TEST.  Hand up for first writing in SHOT (well, the second T worked).

33. Rise to the occasion: STEP UP.

37. Refrigerator drawer: BIN.

38. Word before toast or after peach: MELBA.  Created as a surname by opera diva Nellie Melba (born Hellen Mitchell) after her hometown of Melbourne Australia.  Such was her fame that several food dishes were named after her.

40. Comm. system in the film "CODA": ASL.  Comm as in communications.

41. Entirely: IN TOTO.  Also, where a dog treat might be found in Kansas.

47. Without: SANS.  From the Old French via Middle English.

49. Sore spots: WELTS.  When Gandhi was on his first hunger strike people would routinely bring him locally-made bread in an attempt to get him to eat.  What people don't understand, though, is that Gandhi was actually a very temperamental man and, prone to anger, he would hurl the bread at his friends sometimes leaving bruises and WELTS.  He justified this behavior by saying that it was all part of his philosophy of naan-violence.

54. Banks known as "Mr. Cub": ERNIE.

57. Think piece?: IDEA.  The result of thinking, perhaps.

58. Social outcast, metaphorically: LEPER.

60. Portuguese greeting: OLA.  Lição de hoje de Portougese.

61. __ sequitur: NON.

66. Clinches the deal: ICES IT.

67. Veal or venison: MEAT.

68. "Happy now?": SEE.  Ah, things people say.

69. Bathroom fixture: BIDET.  More French.  Today's let's-skip-the-visual-aid moment.

70. IDs on tax forms: SSNS.  Social Security NumberS

Down:

1. Michael who plays Alfred in "The Dark Knight" trilogy: CAINE.
n2. Building addition: ANNEX.  Vladimir Putin is griping about all of the land he is trying so hard to ANNEX.  Oh, Crimea river.

3. Lackey: SYCOPHANT.

4. Level just below the majors: AAA.  A baseball reference.  The Triple A teams are the best in the minor leagues.  Below AAA is AA, A, and other tiers.

5. Instill confidence in: REASSURE.  People keep telling me that alcohol isn't a solution but I've asked my chemist friends and they all REASSURE me that it is.

6. Xipe Totec worshipper: AZTEC.  Hand up for no idea what Xipe Totec was except that it sounded Mesoamerican.  The Z from REZONE was the hint that led quickly to AZTEC.

7. Labor over: TOIL AT.

8. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO.  Among other accomplishments, frequent visitor Brian ENO is known as the creator of "ambient" music.

9. Lair: DEN.

10. Banana Republic alternative: J CREW.  Hand up for first thinking of types of governments.

11. Sleep clinic study: APNEA.

12. Dank and damp: MUSTY.

14. Messenger __: RNA.  Pigeon would not fit.

17. On again: RELIT.  Like a light bulb or a candle.

21. Destiny: FATE.  "Man does not control his own fate.  The women in his life do that for him."  Groucho Marx

23. Nosh on: EAT.  From the Yiddish nashn.

25. Flea market transaction: RESALE.

26. Educated guess, basically: Abbr.: EST.  ESTimate

28. Traditional garment for Japan's Coming of Age Day: KIMONO.  Despite not being familiar with Coming of Age Day this one filled quickly.

30. Org. in "Miss Congeniality": FBI.

31. Three-time Tony winner __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.

32. West __: upscale furniture store: ELM.

34. Misbehave in class, in a way: PASS NOTES.

35. Purpose: USE.

36. "Thx" counterpart: PLS.  PLeaSe and Thanks

39. Spar above a ship's figurehead: BOWSPRIT.

42. Job safety org.: OSHA.

43. Pitch: TAR.  Neither a baseball reference nor a sales spiel reference.  Pitch is the black viscous substance obtained as a residue through the distillation of organic substances.

45. Last new Olds: ALERO.  Oldsmobile.  A new olds.  Cute.

46. Orch. section: STR. and 50. Orchestra section: WINDS.  In the first of these two, almost identical, clues ORCHestra is abbreviated so STRings is also.

48. Cracked, as a mystery: SOLVED.

51. Love to bits: ADORE.

52. First word in a Jane Austen title: SENSE.

53. Attorney general under Reagan: MEESE.  Edwin MEESE.

55. Minnesota representative Omar: ILHAN.  A well know figure due the the fact that she has been seen as somewhat polarizing.

56. Bridge positions: EASTS.  We need one of the first two letters to see if it will be EASTS or WESTS.

59. Triage pro: EMT.  Emergency Medical Technician.  See also 18 and 65 Across.  Is the use of the same clue three separate times a new record?

62. Saguaro segment: RIB.  Saguaro is a ribbed cactus that looks like this:

63. Here, on Métro maps: ICI.  C'est francais n'est ce pas?  ICI is the French equivalent of Here.

64. Verbal hesitations: UMS.  Hmm, not the strongest of finishes to a very good puzzle.

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Friday, November 18, 2022, David Alfred Bywaters

 

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here and, no, you have not misplaced almost an entire week.  I have now returned from my overseas sojourn.  I have also been reassigned to the Friday beat.  I guess that now makes me Joe Friday.  I will try to live up to his, my predecessor's and my contemporary's standards.

In today's puzzle, frequent contributor David Alfred Bywaters insists that U to get out of here.  You can stay but U must go.  At four places within the grid he repeats a word but, for the second occurrence, drops the letter U from the first iteration and thereby provides a witty definition of the clue.  To wit:

17 Across:  Grammarian?: USAGE SAGE.  Hmmm, will the theme be repeating words?  Ummm, no, not exactly.

29 Across: Aspen, in the Rockies?: POPULAR POPLAR.  At first I thought that the clue had something to do with the ski resort but it turned out to be tree-related.

43 Across:  Nodding, e.g.?: AUCTION ACTION.  At first I thought the clue had something to do with sleeping or the granting of consent.  One is able to bid at an AUCTION by nodding.

59 Across:  One inept at data storage?: CLOUD CLOD.

It would have been amusing if David had managed to somehow work YEW, HEW, HUGH or EWE into the grid.

With that, youse guys and gals, it's now time to make a U-turn and head back to the top of the puzzle:

Across:

1. Time-travel destination. PAST.  FUTURE would not fit.  PRESENT neither fit nor made any sense.

5. Short notice?: MEMO.  Shortened version of MEMOrandum.

9. Béla Fleck's instrument: BANJO.  Bela is a true virtuoso.  He plays everything from Bluegrass to Jazz and Mozart on the 5-string banjo.  The bass player in his band is Victor Wooten who is one of the greats.  This tune ranks among my favorites:

14. One in a four-part harmony: ALTO.  BASS would have fit but it would not work with the perps.

15. Button alternative: SNAP.  Oh, it's not a peyote button.  I guess we have closure.

16. "Night Sky With Exit Wounds" poet Vuong: OCEAN.  A learning moment for this solver.

19. "I'll do it!": LET ME.

20. Steadfast: LOYAL.

21. Coined: MINTED.

23. Paean in verse: ODE.  I've written a poem about the sounds made by dogs but you can only read it if you scan it first.  It's a bark ODE.

25. Broadcast: AIR.  Both the  clue and answer are used here as verbs.

26. Global clock std.: GMT.  Greenwich Mean Time

33. Steeped in a salt solution: BRINED.  It is almost time to BRINE the Thanksgiving turkey.

35. Apartment ad abbr.: RMS.  RooMS   A little bit better than MSS at 5 Down.

36. Fishing gadget: LURE.

37. Rich soil: LOESS.  Hand up for initially thinking of LOAM but there wasn't enough of it to fill the space.

38. Not neg.: POS.  POSitive.  Post Offices?

39. Warm up some leftovers, say: EAT IN.

40. Fantasy heavy: OGRE.  Shrek and Fiona have significantly altered the OGRE landscape.

Not Shrek

41. Lip: RIM.

42. Make more capacious: EXTEND. 

46. Workout top: TEE.

47. Managed: RAN.  As in:

48. Granola morsel: OAT.

49. Maritime crime: PIRACY.

51. Apollo 11 lander: EAGLE.

56. Geographer's volume: ATLAS.

61. __ Corps: PEACE.  Formed in 1961 to "promote world PEACE and friendship by providing trained volunteers to countries who need them."

62. Quite a few: LOTS.  TONS.  GOBS.  MANY.  A LOT.

63. Word with deck or dock: HAND.

64. Mortgage payment component, often: TAXES.

65. Focus group?: EYES.  Not a marketing research panel but, literally, what you focus with.

66. Tense: EDGY.  ANTSY was too long.

Down:

1. Ant-Man player Rudd: PAUL.

2. Too: ALSO.  Additionally, there are more synonyms for too as well.

3. Parting word to a dog: STAY.

4. Word chanted in "Animal House": TOGA.

5. Pile on an ed.'s desk: MSS.  We have seen this (somewhat of a punt) fill before.  ManuScriptS

6. Cloisonné medium: ENAMEL.

7. Nativity scene trio: MAGI.

8. Warm welcome: OPEN ARMS.

9. Short jacket: BOLERO.  We will save the Ravel for another day.

10. Got a great grade on: ACED.

11. Safety feature at a trapeze school: NET.

12. Toast topping: JAM.

13. See 34-Down: ONE.  and . . .

34. With 13-Down, 2016 film subtitled "A Star Wars Story": ROGUE.

18. Weds without ceremony: ELOPES.

22. Warns, with "off": TIPS.

24. Disappointment: DUD.

26. Wheat protein: GLUTEN.

27. Bay Area county: MARIN.

28. Fashionista's concern: TREND.   Now, where did I put my Davy Crockett hat?  Maybe it's with my Members Only jacket and parachute pants.  Not.

29. Give a ring?: PIERCE.  Neither a marriage nor a telephone reference.

30. Start: ONSET.

31. Diffuser emanation: AROMA.

32. Student of Socrates: PLATO.

33. Balloon: BLOAT.  Mick Jagger goes to the doctor and tells his physician that he is always very gassy but cannot fart.  In other words, he can't get no flatus action.

38. Zenith: PINNACLE.

39. Went out: EXITED.

41. Imitate a lion: ROAR.  Under the right conditions, the roar can be heard up to five miles away.

42. "Getting here soon?": ETA.  "What is your Estimated Time of Arrival?"

44. Droopy perennials: IRISES.  Famously painted by Vincent Van Gogh.

45. Native American trickster: COYOTE.  Homer Simpson sends up Carlos Castaneda with the help of Johnny Cash:

49. Tempo: PACE.  Sometimes (this time) the answer is a synonym (e.g. CLIP or RATE) sometimes it is an example (e.g. TROT or LOPE).

50. Be overly sweet: CLOY.

52. Need a massage, perhaps: ACHE.

53. Hefty rival: GLAD.    Both are brands of plastic bags.

54. Yearn: LONG.  ACHE, PINE and ITCH were potential candidates.

55. Current event?: EDDY.  Nice pun.  Not, in this instance, a recent occurrence.  An EDDY is a circular movement in fluid or gas.

56. Fitting: APT.

57. Dim sum beverage: TEA.  Both are of Chinese origin.

58. Insufficiently firm: LAX.  Also an airport in SoCal...where the security is anything but.

60. Naval letters: USS.  United States Ship.

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September 22, 2022, Garrett Herzfeld

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with today's recap of a puzzle constructed by Garrett Herzfeld.  Today's puzzle does not have a "reveal" but it does contain four themed answers and the theme could be dubbed, simply, COUPLES.  Or, perhaps even more simply, AND.  At four places in the grid, the answers are commonly used expressions that consist of two things each of which directly relate to the topic of the clue. In keeping with the theme, these four clues all contain only a couple of words . . . one of which is, of course, couple.  Here are the themed clues and answers:

17 Across:  Married couple?: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD.  The traditional (Western Christian norms) marriage ceremony contains the phrase "to have and to hold".  A couple of marriage-related things.

26 Across:  Perfect couple?: PRIM AND PROPER.  Both PRIM and PROPER could refer to a condition of perfection (seemingly, a wee bit of a stretch, clue-wise).  A couple of perfection-related things.

42 Across:  Celebrity couple?: RICH AND FAMOUS.  Celebrities are often both rich and famous.  A couple of celebrity-related things.

56 Across:  Power couple?: BIGGER AND BETTER.  Again, just a bit of a stretch, clue-wise.  A couple of power-related things?  Let us know if you come up with a BETTER way to clue this. 

Here is how all of this appears in the grid:

. . . and here are the rest of the entries:

Across:

1. "Calvin and Hobbes," for one: COMIC.  Bill Watterson's classic.  My kids grew up with the characters . . . and I grew along with them.

Calvin is the one on the left

6. Cave __: ART.   Punting on second down (no pun intended 'cause it's across)?  Lots of other ways to clue ART.  See, for example, 38 Down.

9. Church bell sound: CHIME.

Manfred Mann Sings About Bells Chiming

14. Catherine of "Schitt's Creek": O'HARA.

15. Ultrasound goo: GEL.  Often clued with something relating to hair care.

16. Enter one's credentials: LOG ON.  Ah, the old "log in" vs "log on" hesitation.

20. Navigate black diamond slopes: SKI.  Black (diamond), Blue (square) or Green (circle)?  Advanced, Intermediate or Beginner?

21. Telephone no. addition: EXT.  EXTension

22. Destinations in some getaway plans?: RESORTS.  A nice bit of word play.

23. Craters of the Moon locale: IDAHO.  Not our planet's satellite.

25. "Big whoop": MEH.  Slang and slang.

31. Basic bagel order: PLAIN.  Not onion, sesamee, poppy seed or everything.

33. Uber __: EATS.

34. Many a Monopoly sq.: AVE.  AVEnue

35. Forever, seemingly: EONS.  What do you call a smell that lasts for a very long time?  EON musk.

36. Sonic explosions: BOOMS.

38. Kitchen job: PREP.  PREParation.

39. "Pressure" singer Lennox: ARI.  ANNIE Lennox was not going to fit.

40. Artificial grass: TURF.  Astro TURF was first installed in 1964 at Fieldhouse at the Moses Brown School in Providence Rhode Island.  The subsequent (1966) installation at the Houston Astrodome gave it fame, and its name.

41. City north of Memphis: CAIRO.  Cairo, IL is north of Memphis, TN.  Cairo, Egypt is north of Memphis, Egypt.  Take your pick.

46. Large deer: ELK.  What do you call a well-known ELK?  Famoose.

47. Olfactory sense: SMELL.  Tautological.

48. Holds carefully: CRADLES.

52. Not feeling well: ILL.  It makes me sick when people forget to add an apostrophe.  If it happens again, I'll be  ILL.

53. Mobile download: APP.  Mobile phone.

59. Uses Liquid Nails, say: GLUES.  Useful stuff.  Great for re-setting bricks if you don't want to chip out and reinstall mortar.

60. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS.  Yet another visit from this guy.

61. Pond honker: GOOSE.

What's In The Bag, GOOSE?

62. Brute: BEAST.

63. Procure: GET.

64. Ready for a refill: EMPTY.

Down:

1. Camp beds: COTS.

2. "Aw, what the heck": OH OK.  I suppose.

3. Fish tacos fish, on menus: MAHI.

4. Sportswriter Berkow: IRA.  He shared in a Pulitzer Prize in 2001.

5. Collapsed: CAVED IN.

6. Kathryn's "WandaVision" role: AGATHA.  I have never seen the show.  Thanks, perps.

7. Kylo of the "Star Wars" sequels: REN.  It helped that the clue referenced the source.

8. Letters before a summary: TLDR.  Too Long, Didn't Read.  SMH.

9. Bullpen aces: CLOSERS.  A baseball reference.  The best relief pitchers.

10. Santa's laugh: HO HO HO.  Oh, ok.

11. Archetypal lab assistant: IGOR.

That's Eye-gore

12. Shed feathers: MOLT.

13. Burnt __: ENDS.  The trimmings from a smoked brisket.

18. Checkup: EXAM.

19. Dangles a carrot in front of: TEMPTS.  The old Carrot and the Stick dichotomy.

23. Fashion icon Apfel: IRIS.

24. Singular events: ONE-OFFS.

26. "Pray for the Wicked" band __! at the Disco: PANIC.

27. Reservoir creator: DAM.  BEAVER would not fit.

28. Musée d'Orsay city: PARIS.  An art museum housed in a former railroad station, the Gare D'Orsay.  I preferred the Jeu de Paume mais c'est la vie.

29. At any point in time: EVER.

30. Credit report blot: REPO.  It is tough to get around if the bank has REPOssessed your car.

31. Bottom-heavy fruit: PEAR.

32. Chicago mayor Lightfoot: LORI.

36. "All in the Family" surname: BUNKER.

Archie and Edith Bunker

37. Chicago airport code: ORD. code for Chicago O'Hare International Airport.  The airport used to be called Orchard Field.  Ah, that explains it.

38. Simon & Garfunkel half: PAUL.  Not Art.  Did you know that PAUL wrote this song?

Not The Cyrkle

40. Like Denali, among North American peaks: TALLEST.  20,310 feet

41. Morehouse, e.g.: COLLEGE.  I first thought that it said Moorehead, as in Agnes.

43. Shrubbery: HEDGES.

44. In the thick of: AMIDST.

45. Former Spice Girl who was a judge on "America's Got Talent": MEL B.

48. Longtime NYC punk rock club: CBGB.  The letters stood for Country, BlueGrass and Blues. . . but it became the birthplace of Punk.

49. Stir up: RILE.

50. Desierto's lack: AGUA.  La lección de español de hoy.  A desert lacks water.

51. Belted out a tune: SANG.

53. Situated on: ATOP.  

54. Vexation: PEST.  Interesting cluing.

55. 2022 prequel film in the "Predator" franchise: PREY.  Hollywood  does like to recycle ideas.  They call the bodies of work franchises.

57. Scottish no: NAE.

58. Spider-Man player Holland: TOM.

Well, that's it for today. . . and for a while.  57 Down is a fitting send off as I will be in Scotland next month (with brief visits to both Spain and Portugal, also).  I will be able to read the blog but I will nae be available to write up the puzzles.   Slainte!

Garrett, you are invited to post anything that you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the comments section below.  We would love to hear from you.

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