Friday, May 17, 2019

QOD:  The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouth they’ve been in.  ~  Dennis Potter (né Dennis Christopher George Potter, May 17, 1935 ~ June 7, 1994), British screenwriter and journalist

A Chipper By Another Name Would Still Be a Chipper.  Wait, what?  In this puzzle each time we are given the clue "Chipper" we get an entirely different definition.  Look how the first and last answers span the grid.  The two middle theme answers are symmetrically placed in the grid.  Nice!

17-Across. Chipper: JONES OF BASEBALL.  As in Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones (b. Apr. 24, 1972).  He was a third baseman for the Atlanta Braves.

27-Across. Chipper: GREEN SIDE IRON.  A golfing reference.

46-Across. Chipper: IN A JAUNTY MOOD.

56-Across. Chipper: MULCH MAKING TOOL.  This made me think of the wood-chipping scene from the 1996 movie Fargo.  Not for morning consumption, however.

Across:

1. VMI program: ROTC.  As in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.  Such programs are found on at the Virginia Military Institute as well as many other university campuses.

5. '80s-'90s courtroom drama: LA LAW.  This television drama was on when I was in law school in the other LA.

10. On-call worker: TEMP.  As in a TEMPorary worker.

14. Assert as true: AVER.  A crossword staple.

15. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony: OLIVA.  As in Tony Oliva (né Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; b. July 20, 1938).  He had a long career with the Minnesota Twins.

16. Pupil's place: UVEA.  As in parts of the eye.

20. Tetra- doubled: OCTA-.  4 doubled is 8.

21. Atonement: AMENDS.

22. Confuse: ADDLE.

25. Wrigley brand: ORBIT.  Gum that comes in all different flavors.

31. Geological time span: EON.

32. Carpenter's joint element: TENON.  It's the projecting piece of wood made for insertion into a mortise of another piece of wood.

33. Hiccup cause: SPASM.

36. Genesis voyager: NOAH.

38. Protector with strings: APRON.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

40. Mlle., across the Pyrenees: SRTA.  Today's French (Mlle.) and Spanish (Srta.) lesson.  Both are abbreviations for Miss in English.

41. God of Islam: ALLAH.

43. Called from the field: LOWED.  The sounds the cow makes.

45. Bordeaux vineyard: CRU.  More of today's French lesson.  A Cru is a vineyard or group of vineyards of high quality.

49. Rural wagons: DRAYS.

50. Response at the door: IT'S ME!  Sometimes the answer is: It is I, which has the same number of letters.

51. Fair-hiring problem: AGEISM.

54. "I don't like your __": TONE.

62. Tierra en el mar: ISLA.  More of today's Spanish lesson.  The Island (Isla) is a bit of land (tierra) in the sea (el mar).

63. Force to leave: EXILE.

64. Personification of victory: NIKE.  Nike was a Greek goddess.  Here is the winged victory wearing Adidas.

65. Dance basic: STEP.

66. Shemar's longtime "Criminal Minds" role: DEREK.  I have never watched Criminal Minds, however, Shemar Moore (né Shemar Franklin Moore; b. Apr. 20, 1970) played Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless for many years.

67. Plus: ALSO.

Down:

1. One of five characters on "The Big Bang Theory" to appear in every episode: RAJ.  Another show I have never watched.  Raj is played by Kunar Naayar (b. Apr. 30, 1981).

2. Ab __: from the start: OVO.

3. Cube root of 1,000: TEN.  Crossword math:  10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000.

4. Spicy cuisine: CREOLE.  Well, I rather suppose this depends upon one's definition of "spicy."    I don't consider Creole to be an especially spicy cuisine, but then, I am accustomed to this style.  The word "Creole" is derived from the word "criollo", which is Spanish or Portuguese for "born in the colony".  The word "Creole" initially referred to the first settlers of European descent in the French colonies, especially New Orleans.

The term "Creole", when referring to food, is a style of cooking that originated in Louisiana, that blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, West African, Native American, Caribbean, German and Italian influences.  Traditional Creole dishes include red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo and creole sauce dishes.

5. Plunder: LOOT.

6. Italian wheels, briefly: ALFA.  The Alfa Romero Automobile company was actually founded by Alexandre Darracq (1855 ~ 1931), who was French.

7. Ad-__: LIB.  An appreciation for ad libitum, which is a Latin phrase translated as "at one's pleasure"

8. Director DuVernay: AVA.  Ava DuVernay (b. Aug. 24, 1972) is probably best known for her 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time.

9. Horseradish relative: WASABI.  Wasabi is a plant of the family that includes horseradish.  Apparently, however, most of what American's think of as Wasabi really a mixture of horseradish, mustard and food coloring.

10. Casual summer garments: TUBE TOPS.

This tube top doesn't look very comfortable.

11. Former Indiana governor Bayh: EVAN.  Evan Bayh (né Birch Evans Bayh, III; b. Dec. 26, 1955),  is the son of Senator Birch Bayh, Jr.  Both father and son served as United States Senators from Indiana.

12. Amalgamate: MELD.

13. Chums: PALS.

18. Crime scene clue, maybe: SCENT.

19. Arab bigwigs: EMIRS.  This has become a crossword staple.

22. Gemini rocket stage: AGENA.

23. Eagerly anticipate, with "over": DROOL.

This baby is too cool to drool.

24. North America's highest peak: DENALI.  Mt. Denali is in Alaska.

25. Fragrant: ODOROUS.  I think of odorous as being more stinky than fragrant.

26. Fame: RENOWN.

28. Large expanse: SEA.  Yup.  It goes on and on.

29. Part of the picture: IN PLAY.

30. Busters: NARCOS.

34. Four-decades-plus first name in the Senate: STROM.  As in Strom Thurmond (né James Strom Thurmond; Dec. 5, 1902 ~ June 26, 2003).  He served as a United States Senator from South Carolineafor 48 years.  In 1948, he ran for President as the States Rights Democratic Party candidate.

35. Title role for Bea: MAUDE.  As in Bea Arthur (née Beatrice Frankel; May 13, 1922 ~ Apr. 25, 2009).  She would have celebrated her 97th birthday earlier this week.

37. Links equalizer: HANDICAP.

39. Take-home: NET.  The amount of money you have after taxes.

42. Tough to hear, as criticism: HARSH.

44. Like embers: DYING.

47. Stuck: JAMMED.

48. Medit. tourist attraction: MT. ETNA.  Italian volcano.

51. Author Martin: AMIS.  As in the British novelist Martin Louis Amis (b. 1949).  He wrote the novel Money, which I read, but didn't enjoy.  He is the son of novelist Kingsley William Amis (Apr. 16, 1922 ~ Oct. 22, 1995).

52. Unexpected blow: GUST.

53. Couture monthly: ELLE.

54. Roof piece: TILE.

55. Fraction of a meg: ONE K.  One Thousand (one K) is a fraction of a million (meg.).

57. Men's grooming brand: AXE.

58. Aperitif named for a former Dijon mayor: KIR.  The cocktail is made with crème de cassis topped up with white wine or champagne.  It was named after Félix Kir (Jan. 22, 1876 ~ Apr. 26, 1968), a Catholic priest, resistance fighter and politician.  He served as mayor of Dijon from 1945 until his death in 1968.

59. Good thing to strike: OIL.  The first oil well in Louisiana was drilled in late 1901-early 1902.

60. Signs off on: OKs.

61. Sign of summer: LEO.  Sign of the Zodiac.

Here's the grid: