Tuesday, September 15, 2020

QOD:  Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.  ~  Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie (Sept. 15, 1890 ~ Jan. 12, 1976), British mystery novelist

Climbing the Food Chain:  Today we have a word ladder as our puzzle.  One letter is changed from each of the stared answers as we climb down the ladder from BREAD as the first Across spot to TOAST in the final Across spot.  I love word ladders, but I don't know if I have seen one in a crossword puzzle before.  I have highlighted each letter change.

1-Across. *   Dough (and start of a word ladder): BREAD.

15-Across. *   Bit of luck: BREAK.

16-Across. *   Dismal: BLEAK.

22-Across. *   Sheepish remark?: BLEAT.

57-Across. *   Made holy: BLEST.

64-Across. *   Fabulous time: BLAST.

66-Across. *   Dispense with modesty: BOAST.

71-Across. *   Doomed, slangily (and end of the ladder): TOAST.

And the unifier:

37-Across. Apt description of the sequence suggested by the answers to starred clues?: FOOD CHAIN.

Across:

6. "__ it ain't so!": SAY.



9. Pop's bros: UNCs.  Short for Uncles.  Not sure I have ever used this term.

13. Insurance giant: AETNA.  Various logos throughout the years.

14. Paul Bunyan tool: AXE.  Despite what people in Minnesota say, Paul Bunyan was actually born in Bangor, Maine.

17. Itinerary word: VIA.

18. Poetic feet: IAMBI.

19. __ Lingus: AER.  The airline of Ireland.

20. Horse-and-buggy sect: AMISH.

23. Interoffice PC connection: LAN.  As in Local Area Network.

24. Carnival city: RIO.  Short for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The Mardi Gras carnival in Rio (and elsewhere across the world that celebrates) is on Tuesday, February 12, 2012.  You can celebrate both Abraham Lincoln's birthday and Mardi Gras at the same time next year!

25. "You bet!": YES!

27. "Seats all taken" sign: SRO.  As in Standing Room Only.  The Fire Marshal might have something to say about that.

28. Abbr. on a B-52: USAF.  As in the United States Air Force.  This plane, manufactured by Boeing, continues to operate in the country's armed services.

30. Not nice at all: CRUEL.  When it's spelled as Crewel, it is fancy needlework.

32. Hillside home asset: VIEW.

33. Author Wiesel: ELIE.  Elie Wiesel (né Eliezer Wiesel; Sept. 30, 1928 ~ July, 2, 2016) has become an old friend in the crossword puzzles.  He was born in Romania and survived both Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentrations.  He went on to write about his experiences in the Holocaust and became a political activist.  He was the recipient of hte 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.

35. Blood work and such: LAB TESTS.

40. Partygoer, say: ATTENDEE.

43. Target's target, say: LOGO.  This one almost stumped me.  I laughed when the answer came to me.

46. Some August babies: LEOs.

47. Third of eight: EARTH.  Cute clue.  In school, I learned there were 9 planets.  That was before poor Pluto was demoted.

50. Intertwine: MESH.

52. Under the weather: ILL.  I wanted Ail.

53. Also say: ADD.

54. What a suspect tries to beat, with "the": RAP.

56. "That's more than I need to know": TMI.  Text speak for Too Much Information.  Also, the abbreviation for the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor that had a partial meltdown in March 1979.

59. Musical set in Argentina: EVITA.  Don't cry for me.

61. Family guy: SON.

62. "Me too!": AS DO I!

63. Bigwig: VIP.  As in a Very Important Person.

67. Uncommon sense: ESP.  As in ExtraSensory Perception.

68. Justice Sotomayor: SONIA.  Sonia Maria Sotomayor (b. June 25, 1954) makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She was nominated to the High Court in May 2009 and joined the Court in August of that year.

69. A.D. part: ANNO.  As in Anno Domini.  The phrase is medieval Latin and means "In the Year of the Lord".

70. Vote against: NAY.

Down:
1. Ricky's signature song on "I Love Lucy": BABALU.

2. Word after news or press: RELEASE.  As in a New Release or a Press Release.

3. Everlasting: ETERNAL.

4. Santa __ winds: ANA.

5. Senegal's capital: DAKAR.  Dakar is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean, mid-way between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator.

6. Rescuer: SAVIOR.

7. x or y, on graphs: AXIS.

8. "Sure, sure": YEAH! YEAH!

9. Eurasian border river: URAL.  The river flows through Russia and Kazakhstan and empties into the Caspian Sea.

10. Usually successful opponent: NEMESIS.

11. Musical set at the Kit Kat Klub: CABARET.



12. Winter lifts: SKI TOWS.

Using a Rope Tow.

15. Tots' spill catchers: BIBS.

21. Karaoke singer's tool: MIC.

26. Isle of Napoleon's exile: ELBA.  The Smithsonian Magazine had a article about Napoleon's life on Elba.  The island looks beautiful.  There would be worse places to be exiled.

29. Piccolo relatives: FIFES.

31. Gastric woe: ULCER.

32. Cobra's weapon: VENOM.

34. Long, long time: EON.  A crossword staple.

36. "Open __ 9 p.m.": store sign: 'TIL.  Don't you just hate these signs?

38. Pigged out (on), briefly: OD'ED.

39. All square: DEAD EVEN.

40. Storied cave opener: ALI BABA.  A reference to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.  It is one of the stories from Persian tales found in One Thousand and One Nights.

41. Exposes: TELLS ON.

42. Holy city resident?: TOLEDAN.  A resident of Toledo.  Hi, JazzBumpa!  Oops. Wrong Toledo.  A Toledan is a resident of Toledo, Spain.  Toledo was a major center of Catholics, Muslims and Jews in the middle ages.  Holy Toledo!  Who knew?

44. Nails the test: GETS AN A.

45. Absorption process: OSMOSIS.

48. Psychedelic: TRIPPY.

49. Fez or fedora: HAT.  Hi, Abejo!  Sending you prayers for a speedy recovery.

51. Suggest: HINT AT.

53. Go __: fight: AT IT.

55. Brewery that co-distributes Not Your Father's Root Beer: PABST.  Who knew?

58. Just passable: SO-SO.

60. Mastercard rival: VISA.

65. WC: LOO.  Possible theories on the origin of the word LOO.

Here's the Grid: