Wednesday, October 3, 2018

QOD:  Never miss a chance to have sex or to appear on television.  ~  Gore Vidal (Oct. 3, 1925 ~ July 31, 2012), American writer

Someone Keeps Moving My Chair!

The first word of each starred theme answer describes a specific type of chair.

3-Down. *Life of affluence: EASY STREET.   Think of an Easy Chair.  This one doesn't really look terribly comfortable.

9-Down. *Specialty: WHEELHOUSE.  Think of a Wheel Chair.

17-Down. *Magician's riffled prop: DECK OF CARDS.  Think of a Deck Chair.  We called these Adirondack Chairs, but they go on a Deck.

25-Down. *Swimming option: SIDE STROKE.  Think of a Side Chair.  This is a Queen Anne Side Chair.

And now for the Unifier:

27-Down. Perches for tots, and what the answers to starred clues literally contain: HIGH CHAIRS.  If you notice, all of the theme answers go down, so that the "chair" can be "high" in the answer.  This is now an old-fashioned high chair, but looks like the one we had when we were growing up.

Thank goodness, Mr. Stowe didn't slip in the dreaded Dentist Chair!

 From where I sit, this was a fun puzzle.  So pull up your favorite chair, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Across:

1. Party with a piñata: FIESTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Fiesta is Spanish for Party.

7. Tin alloys: PEWTERS.  Pewter is an alloy of tin and other metals, which may include, silver, copper, antimony or bismuth.  In the olden days, Pewter also contained lead, but that could be toxic.

14. Online icon: AVATAR. Also the name of a movie.  

15. Expo entry: EXHIBIT.

16. Begrudge: RESENT.

17. 31-day month: DECEMBER.  Or, as my hubby calls it, the Month of Susan.  //  And:  47-Down: Month after 17-Across, south of the border: ENERO.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

18. Jabber: YAK.

19. Surge protector?: LEVEE.  People in Louisiana know all too well about Levees.  The levees ostensibly protect against a storm surge.  In New Orleans, a very complex system of canals and other structures are needed to help protect against potential surges from hurricanes.

20. __-Cat: winter vehicle: SNO.

21. "That wasn't nice of you": TSK!  Often repeated as in Tsk! Tsk!

22. Italian tenor Andrea: BOCELLI. Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer who just celebrated his 60th birthday on September 22.

24. Cricket club: BAT.  I sat through the 2001 movie Lagaan, which was about a cricket game in India.  The game was played over several days.  It felt like I sat in the movie for several days just watching the film.  Cricket is not a fast moving game!

25. Went down: SANK.  I initially tried Fall.

26. Dander reaction, perhaps: AH CHOO!

30. 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee: ORR.  Bobby Orr (né Robert Gordon Orr; b. Mar. 20, 1978), makes frequent guest appearances in the crosswords.  He had a long career with the Boston Bruins.

31. Shakespearean bad guy: IAGO.  Iago is the main antagonist in Othello.

32. __ the line: TOEING.

33. Word with dating or skating: SPEED.  As in Speed Dating or Speed Skating.  I have done neither.

35. Airport NW of LAX: SFO.  As in the San Francisco International Airport, which is NorthWest of the Los Angeles International Airport.

37. Egged on: URGED.

38. Strainers: SIEVES.  I had a boss who had the attention span of a sieve.

40. 2018 Stanley Cup champs, familiarly: CAPS.  As in the Washington Capitals, which is a hockey team.

42. Yard tool: HOE.

43. Swear (to): ATTEST.

44. Tennis immortal Arthur: ASHE.  As in Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993).  There is a new biography about him entitled Arthur Ashe: A Life.

45. "Fareed Zakaria GPS" network: CNN.  Fareed Zakaria (b. Jan. 20, 1964), is an Indian-American journalist.  He hosts a television show about public affairs from around the world.

46. Took the helm: STEERED.  Hi, Spitzboov!

48. Revolutionary icon: CHE.  As in the revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara  (June 14, 1928 ~ Oct. 9, 1967).  He went to medical school before becoming a revolutionary.

49. Butter square: PAT.  Why a Pat of Butter?  More than you ever wanted to known.

52. Marmalade morsels: RINDS.  My favorite marmalade is orange marmalade.

53. Feathery accessory: BOA.

54. Marine animals named for flowers: ANEMONES.  One is the flower and the other is the sea creature.

56. Nabokov novel: LOLITA.   A 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov (Apr. 22, 1899 ~ July 2, 1977) about a middle aged literature professor obsessed with a young girl.  It was made into a 1997 movie starring Jeremy Irons.  I saw it in London.

59. Athletic shoe: SNEAKER.  Do people really call athletic shoes sneakers?

60. Island group that includes São Miguel: AZORES.  My sister frequently vacations in the Azores.

61. Italian Riviera resort: SAN REMO.

62. Triple Crown winners: HORSES.

Down:

1. Many miles: FAR.

2. "Now __ seen it all!": I'VE.

4. It might be rare: STEAK.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

5. Fail big-time: TANK.  I initially tried Fall.

6. "The creation of beauty is __": Emerson: ART.  A quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 ~ Apr. 27, 1882)

7. Complaint: PEEVE.  A Pet Peeve is not to be confused with a Pet Rock.

8. Show a real talent for: EXCEL AT.

10. "Humble and Kind" singer McGraw: TIM.  Tim McGraw (né Samuel Timothy McGraw; b. May 1, 1967) was born in Delhi, Louisiana.  His father was Tug McGraw (Aug. 30, 1944 ~ Jan. 5, 2004), a major league baseball pitcher.

11. Falls back: EBBs.

12. Nothing, in Quebec: RIEN.  Today's French lesson.

13. Texas ballplayer, to fans: STRO.  As in the Houston Astros.

19. Yearns (for): LONGS.

21. La Brea attraction: TAR PIT.  All together, now:  La Brea Tar Pit is redundant.

22. Barnyard bleat: BAA.  As in the sheep.

23. Bakery employee: ICER.

24. __ nova: BOSSA.  The Bossa Nova is a genre of Brazilian music.

28. Common soccer score: ONE / ONE.  I don't believe I have ever seen a soccer game.

29. Nash who wrote "Parsley / Is gharsley": OGDEN.  As in Ogden Nash (né Frederick Ogden Nash; Aug. 19, 1902 ~ May 19, 1971)

34. Big nights: EVEs.

36. Desert refuges: OASES.  Midnight at the Oasis.

39. "Revolution From Within" writer Gloria: STEINEM.  As in Gloria Steinem (b. Mar. 25, 1934).  I can't believe she is 84 already!

41. Prof.'s degree: Ph.D.  As in a Doctor of Philosophy.  What is the difference between an M.D and a Ph.D.?    * Answer below.

48. __ scheme: COLOR.  What is the Color Scheme of your living room?

49. Bridge call: PASS.  I have never played bridge, but I have heard some of the terms.

50. LPGA golfer Nordqvist: ANNA.  Anna Nordqvist (b. June 10, 1987) is a Swedish golfer.

51. Video game rating: TEEN.

53. Nincompoop: BOZO.

55. Spoil: MAR.

56. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH.

57. Ball holder: TEE.

58. Pack animal: ASS.

Sit back in your comfy chair and give us your thoughts on today's fare.

Answer:  An M.D. buries his mistakes; the Ph.D. must live with his mistakes.