Friday, January 3, 2020

QOD:  Santa Clause has the right idea ~ visit people only once a year.  ~  Victor Borge (né Børge Rosenbaum; Jan. 3, 1909 ~ Dec. 23, 2000), Danish-born comedian

Thursday, January 2, 2020

QOD:  When you are balanced and when you listen and attend to the needs of your body, mind, and spirit, your natural beauty comes out.  ~  Christy Turlington (née Christy Nicole Turlington; b. Jan. 2, 1969), American model

Wednesday, January 1, 2020 / New Year's Day

QOD:  No man ever distinguished himself who could no bear to be laughed at.  ~  Maria Edgeworth (Jan. 1, 1768 ~ May 22, 1849), Irish author

Tuesday, December 31, 2019 / New Year's Eve

QOD:  Every age gets the lunatics it deserves.  ~  Roy Porter (né Roy Sydney Porter; Dec. 31, 1946 ~ Mar. 3, 2002), British medical historian

I Triple Dog Dare Ya.  Each of the theme answers begins with a triple letter.




18-Across. Remote control insert: AAA BATTERY.

26-Across. Grievance filed with a consumer protection org.: BBB COMPLAINT.  Better Business Bureau.

49-Across. Spec for a large loafer: EEE SHOE-WIDTH.

63-Across. Firefox or Chrome: WWW BROWSER.  World Wide Web.

Across:

1. "In Her Shoes" actress Cameron: DIAZ.  Cameron Diaz (née Cameron Michelle Diaz; b. Aug. 30, 1972) is an American actress who began her career as a model.  In Her Shoes was a 2005 movie about a irresponsible party girl (Diaz) who is mistaken for her sister who is an attorney and nearly unrails her sister's career.

5. "__ Flanders": Defoe novel: MOLL.  Moll Flanders is a 1722 novel by Daniel Defoe (1660 ~ 1731) of Robinson Crusoe fame.  Moll Flanders is supposedly based on the life of Moll King, a strong-willed criminal.  Probably not on my "to-be-read" list of books.

9. Dethrones: OUSTS.

14. With the bow, to a violist: ARCO.  The perps gave me this answer.

15. Furniture giant: IKEA.  This furniture company was founded by Ingvar Kamprad (né Feodor Ingvar Kamprad; Mar. 30, 1926 ~ Jan. 27, 2018).  I visited the Ikea store in Houston once.  Didn't buy anything, though.

16. Still standing, as a bowling pin: UNHIT.

17. Like worn tires: BALD.  //  And 12-Down. Corvette quartet: TIRES.  A bit of a duplication here.

20. Like waterlogged sneakers: SQUISHY.

22. "Love It or List It" option: REMODEL.  Apparently Love It or List It is a Canadian home design television show.  I am not familiar with this show, so the answer revealed itself through the perps.

23. Pie __ mode: À LA.   Pie à la mode.  Yummers!

24. Inoculation fluids: SERA.

25. Chicago-to-Indianapolis dir.: SSE.  As in South SouthEast.

31. Source of iron: ORE.

32. Palindromic supermodel: EMME.  My first thought was Elle Macpherson.  The correct answer, however, was Emme (née Melissa Owens Miller; b. June 30, 1963).  She is considered a Plus-Size model, meaning, she looks more like people we all known and love.

33. Sevilla's country: ESPAÑA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

37. Has a bug: AILS.

39. Tally: SUM.  I initially tried Add.

41. Brawl souvenir: SCAR.

42. Come back: RETURN.

45. Lemonlike: TART.  Is this a CSO to our Lemonade?  I wouldn't say he is tart, though.

48. PC "oops" key: ESC.  As in the Escape key.

52. Mover's transport: VAN.  I guess they aren't good at counting.  It looks like more than 2 men to me.

55. Brewpub lineup: TAPS.

56. Wrestler's goal: PIN.

57. The tiniest bit: ONE IOTA.

59. As you like it, foodwise: TO TASTE.

65. Renegade on the road: JEEP.

66. Suffer defeat: EAT IT.

67. First in line: NEXT.

68. Fronton game word: ALAI.  A Fronton is the walled court used in playing Jai Alai.  We often see Jai Alai in the puzzles, but Fronton doesn't appear as often.

69. Smeltery refuse: DROSS.

70. Pre-coll. exams: SATs.  These tests, given to High School students, were originally called Scholastic Aptitude Tests.  They were later renamed the Scholastic Assessment Tests, now are simply called SATs.

71. Latin Grammy winner Anthony: MARC.  Marc Anthony (né Marco Antonio Muñiz; b. Sept. 16, 1968) is probably best known for being one of the husbands of Jennifer Lopez.

Down:

1. Applies gently: DABS.

2. Saudi Arabia neighbor: IRAQ.  Saudia Arabia has many neighbors.

3. Rights org. since 1920: ACLU.  As in the American Civil Liberties Union.  Next month the ACLU will celebrate its 100 anniversary.  It was founded on January 19, 1920.

4. Astrological sign system: ZODIAC.

5. Soccer great who co-founded Athletes for Hope: MIA HAMM.  Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

6. "Works for me": OKAY.

7. "Orange Is the New Black" actress DeLaria: LEA.  I have never seen Orange is the New Black, nor have I heard of Lea DeLaria (b. May 23, 1958), an actress and comedian.  Orange is the New Black is about female prisoners.  It is based on the memoir of the same name by Piper Kerman, which describes her experiences in her year spent in a federal prison for money laundering.  Apparently, the prisoners don't always wear orange on the show.

8. Tar pits locale: LA BREA.  All together, now:  La Brea Tar Pit is redundant.

9. Overwhelms by sheer numbers: OUT-MANS.

10. Golden rule preposition: UNTO.  Do unto others ...

11. Storage structures: SHEDS.  I initially tried Silos.  Poor Sheryl's She-Shed is afire.

13. Fashion sense: STYLE.

19. High-altitude home: AERIE.  I learned this word from doing the crossword puzzles.  It used to appear very frequently for the puzzles.

21. __ gin fizz: SLOE.  Everything you wanted to know about Sloe Gin, including a recipe/.

24. Holmes and Poirot: SLEUTHS.  The former is Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the latter is Hercule Poirot created by Dame Agatha Christie.

26. Animal that sounds dull: BOAR.  They can be very destructive.

27. Puff pastry cheese: BRIE.  Brie in a puff pastry makes a great appetizer.

28. Karate skill award: BELT.  The colors of the Karate Belt explained.

29. Some govt. heads: PMs.  As in Prime Ministers.

30. Adorns with Charmin, for short: TPs.  Toilet Papering someone's house is a big prank for some high school kids.

34. Scored 100 on: ACED.

35. Tweed's caricaturist: NAST.  As in Thomas Nast (Sept. 27, 1940 ~ Dec. 7, 1902).  Although he was born in Germany, Thomas Nast is considered the Father of the American Cartoon.  He created many political cartoons, especially of Boss Tweed during the 1870s.  It is appropriate to see him to day because he is also credited with creating the modern version of Santa Claus.

Santa is on the Right.

36. Gothic window feature: ARCH.

38. Go after in court: SUE.

40. Chinese leader who hosted Nixon: MAO.  Nixon in China is a modern opera inspired by President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China when he met with Chairman Mao.

43. Quick comebacks: RETORTS.  Am not!  Are too!

44. "How cool!": NEAT-O.

46. School assignments: REPORTS.

47. Annoying sort: TWIT.

50. Gives rise to: SPAWNS.

51. Up the creek: IN A JAM.

You.  I can relate.

52. Made a solemn promise: VOWED.

53. Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR.  Anwar Sadat (né Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat; Dec. 25, 1918 ~ Oct. 6, 1981) was the 3rd President of Egypt.  He served as President from October 1970 until his assassination 11 years later.  In 1973, he led Egypt into the Yom Kippur War against Israel.  A few years later, he became the first Arab leader to visit Israel and worked for peace between the two countries.  In 1978, he and Menachem Began shared the Nobel Peace Prize.  Sadly, he was assassinated at age 62.

54. Not familiar with: NEW TO.

58. Sacred wading bird of ancient Egypt: IBIS.

59. Thumb-typist's message: TEXT.

60. Ward of "CSI: NY": SELA.  Sela Ward (née Sela Ann Ward; b. July 11, 1956) also appeared for one season on the current FBI.

61. Rip: TEAR.

62. Sweeping story: EPIC.

64. Briny expanse: SEA.

Here's the Grid:

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy 2020!

Monday, December 30, 2019

QOD:  We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.  ~  Rudyard Kipling (né Joseph Rudyard Kipling; Dec. 30, 1865 ~ Jan. 18. 1936), British author

Sunday, December 29, 2019

QOD:  Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas.  ~  Paula Poundstone (b. Dec. 29, 1959), American comedian