Friday, November 8, 2019

QOD:  Parents like the idea of kids, they just don’t like their kids.  ~  Morley Safer (Nov. 8, 1931 ~ May 19, 2016)

Thursday, November 7, 2019

QOD:  Every act of rebelling expresses a nostalgia for innocence.  ~  Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913 ~ Jan. 4, 1960), French existentialist philosopher

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

QOD:  The curiosity of the human mind is essential if you want citizens who think rather than accept the first nonsense they come to.  ~  François Englert (né François Baron Englert; b. Nov. 6, 1932), Belgian theoretical physicist and recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

QOD:  Life it too short to work so hard.  ~  Vivien Leigh (née Vivian Mary Hartley; Nov. 5, 1913 ~ July 8, 1967), British actress

Is your name Google, because you have everything I want.  There is a dating app hidden in each of today's theme answers.  Apps didn't exist back in the dark ages when I was dating.  Do these apps replace bad pick-up lines?

18-Across. Black-and-yellow pollinator: BUMBLE BEE.

24-Across. Tense tennis moment: MATCH POINT.

37-Across. Volatile situation: TINDER BOX.

54-Across. Body part that provides limited motion: HINGE JOINT.

And the Unifier:

61-Across. Mobile download for single people, and what the starts of 18-, 24-, 37- and 54-Across have in common: DATING APP.

Across:

1. Works on a quilt: SEWS.  My mother made over 500 quilts for the Linus Project ~ an organization that donates quilts to children in hospitals or are victims of disasters.  This is the last quilt my mother made.  She completed it just a few days before she was killed.

5. Team that won the Women's World Cup in 2019: USA.

8. Winter skating sites: PONDS.  Rinks also work, but some skating rinks are available all year long. Ponds are less reliable and the ice is never smooth.

13. Yawn-inducing: HO-HUM.

15. Melancholy: SAD.

16. Love to pieces: ADORE.

17. Burr, to Hamilton: ENEMY.  As in Aaron Burr (Feb. 6, 1756 ~ Sept.  14, 1836), Vice President under Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton (Jan. 11, 1750s ~ July 12, 1804), the 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury.  The former shot and killed the latter in a duel.  Everything you ever wanted to know about the Hamilton-Burr duel.

20. Fodder for fantasy football: STATS.  As in Statistics.

22. Cause for a handshake: DEAL.

23. Waited to be found, maybe: HID.

26. Classroom staffer: AIDE.

27. Word after drinking or driving: AGE.  Are the Drinking Age and Driving Age same in your state?

28. Maple extract: SAP.  My family had friends who had a sugar house in northern Vermont.  When I was a kid, I used to go there during sugar season and we would have Sugar-on-Snow.  The sap would be heated to syrup, and while still hot would be poured on fresh snow.  It would immediately harden. It was so tasty!

29. Many an eBay user: SELLER.

31. Curtain holders: RODS.

33. Jack of "Dragnet": WEBB.  Jack Webb (né John Randolph Webb; Apr. 2, 1920 ~ Dec. 23, 1982), portrayed Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet.  He wanted just the facts, ma'am.

36. Honeycomb units: CELLS.

40. Lion in "The Chronicles of Narnia": ASLAN.  This critter has become a crossword staple.

43. Marquee name: STAR.

44. 24-hr. banking conveniences: ATMs.  Do you remember the first time you used and Automated Teller Machine?

48. Sits on the throne: REIGNS.

50. Picture file suffix: GIF.  Ever wonder what GIF meant?  It is an abbreviation for Graphic Interchange Format.

52. Fish-to-be: ROE.  Roe, Roe, Roe your Fish ...

53. Batting practice area: CAGE.  Think Baseball.

58. Fire pit residue: ASH.

59. "Soldier of Love" Grammy winner: SADE.  Sade (née Hele Folasade Adu; b. Jan. 16, 1959) is a British-Nigerian singer.

60. Much paperwork: FORMS.  Everyone's favorite forms.

64. Takes a breather: RESTS.

66. Kagan on the bench: ELENA.  Elena Kagan (b. Apr. 28, 1960) is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  She joined the Court in August 2010.  She was the 4th woman to serve on the High Court.  She also makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

67. "Take that!": HAH!

68. Chuckleheads: DOPES.  I don't think I have ever used this word to describe someone.

69. Guitarist's aid: STRAP.

70. Moth-eaten: OLD.  It's old, because holey didn't fit.

71. "Pretty Little Liars" series novelist Shepard: SARA.  I am not familiar with Sara Shepard (b. Apr. 8, 1977).

Down:

1. Pronoun for a mom: SHE.

2. Way, way back when: EONS AGO.

3. Sparked, as one's appetite: WHETTED.

4. "Poison" shrub: SUMAC.

The poison Sumac is on the left.

5. Flash drive port: USB.  The Universal Serial Bus makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.

6. Riyadh resident: SAUDI.  Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia.

7. Jingle-writing guys: AD MEN.  Do you know who wrote this little jingle?  *

8. Veil of gloom: PALL.

9. Poem from an admirer: ODE.

10. Ritzy San Francisco neighborhood: NOB HILL.  This neighborhood of San Francisco is home to many unique and historic buildings.

11. Hanukkah toy: DREIDEL.  [Note:  Because Chanukah is a transliteration of a Hebrew word, there are various spellings of the word in English.  The "CH" at the beginning of a transliteration indicates to the reader that the word is pronounced with a guttural "H" sound.]

12. Farm machines: SEEDERS.

Not intended for home use.

14. Traditional stories: MYTHS.

19. Dugout rack items: BATS.

21. Produce offspring: SPAWN.

24. Spoil: MAR.

25. Opinion pages: OP-EDs.  This has become a crossword staple.

26. Echo Dot assistant: ALEXA.  Amazon's computer assistant.

30. Prefix with friendly: ECO-.  As in Eco-friendly.

32. Place for a play: STAGE.  Nice clue.

34. Wager: BET.

35. North Carolina fort: BRAGG.  Fort Bragg is named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg (Mar. 22, 1817 ~ Sept. 27, 1876).  He had served in the United States Army, but resigned in 1856 to become a sugar plantation owner in Thibodaux, Louisiana.  He later joined the Confederate army, where he became a General.  He died suddenly at age 59.

38. Place for a stay: INN.

39. Court filing: BRIEF.

40. Hangouts for video game players: ARCADES.

41. Chef's condiment: SEA SALT.  Sea Salt is made by evaporating seawater.  Some people claim is has healthful benefits, but there is no scientific evidence to support this theory.

42. Not as heavy: LIGHTER.

45. Dietary supplement once pitched by Anna Nicole Smith: TRIMSPA.

46. Centaur or chimera: MONSTER.

Centaur

Chimera

47. __ foot in: enter: SET.

49. Fluffy rug: SHAG.  Are these rugs still popular?

51. Norwegian inlet: FJORD.

55. Twin Falls' state: IDAHO.  Twin Falls is a town in Southern Idaho in the county of the same name.

56. Mount Everest is on its border with China: NEPAL.  Nepal is the only country in the world with a national non-quadrilateral flag.

57. Layered cookies: OREOS.  You can get Oreos in all sorts of flavors.

59. Piece of cake: SNAP.  I wanted Easy, but the perps objected.

62. Once __ while: IN A.

63. Deg. of distinction: Ph.D.  As in a Doctorate of Philosophy.

65. Retirees' benefits org.: SSA.  As in the Social Security Administration.

Here's the Grid:

*  Barry Manilow wrote a lot of ad jingles, including "I am Stuck on Band-aids."

Monday, November 4, 2019

QOD:  The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.  ~  Will Rogers  (né William Penn Adair Rogers; Nov. 4, 1879 ~ Aug. 15, 1935), American humorist and actor