Friday, January 10, 2020

QOD:  You learn a lot about yourself doing physical work.  And what I learned about myself was that I didn’t like doing physical work.  ~  Rod Stewart (né Roderick David Stewart; b. Jan. 10, 1945), British singer-songwriter

Thursday, January 9, 2020

QOD:  Action is the antidote to despair.  ~  Joan Baez (née Joan Chandos Baez; b. Jan. 9, 1941), American singer-songwriter

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

QOD:  I can’t talk to a man who bears an undeserved animosity toward ferrets.  ~  Graham Chapman (né Graham Arthur Chapman; Jan. 8, 1941 ~ Oct. 4, 1989), British comedian

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

QOD:  I believe that all children should be surrounded by books and animals.  ~  Gerald Durrell (Jan. 7. 1925 ~ Jan. 30, 1995), British naturalist

Buckle Up!  Today we have both the dreaded circles and anagrams!  So, buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride on this ROCKY ROAD as we travel around the world in a puzzle that contains lots of foreign language words.

I'll start with the unifier:

And the Unifier:
61-Across. Nutty ice cream parlor order ... and a hint to each set of circled letters: ROCKY ROAD.

17-Across. Not be serious: KID AROUND.

24-Across. "Answer with the first thing that comes to mind" exercise: WORD ASSOCIATION.

36-Across. World's largest lizards: KOMODO DRAGONS.  The Komoda Dragon is found in the Indonesian islands.

52-Across. '70s Chilean president: SALVADOR ALLENDE.  Salvador Allende (June 26, 1908 ~ Sept. 11, 1973) was a physician and President of Chile from 1970 until 1973 when he was killed in a coup.  After the coup, Augusto Pinochet (Nov. 25, 1915 ~ Sept. 10, 2006) became the dictator of Chile.  The latter was my first thought, and both names have the same number of letters.

Salvador Allende.

We've also have a little criminal activity going as well.

15-Across. Thieves' hideout: LAIR.  //  65-Down.  Thieves' hideout: DEN.

16-Across. Thief: CROOK.

Across:

1. Indian music style: RAGA.

5. French "to be": ÊTRE.  The first of several references to the French language in today's puzzle.  The verb Être is an irregular verb.  In the present tense, the verb is conjugates as: Je suis / Nous sommes (I am / We are); Tu es / Vous être (You are You are); Il eat / Elle eat (He is / She is) / Ils sont / Elles sont (They are). 

9. Goldman __: investment banking giant: SACHS.  Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman (Dec. 9, 1821 ~ July 20, 1904).  Thirteen years later, his son-in-law, Samuel Sachs (July 28, 1851 ~ Mar. 2, 1935), joined the firm, and the name became as we know it today.

14. Go with the __: FLOW.

19. Like the accent in passé: ACUTE.  The French language uses 5 distinct accents:

the cédille Ç,

the accent aigu é,

the accent circonflexe â, ê, î, ô, û,

the accent grave à, è, ù

and the accent tréma ë, ï, ü.

20. French monarch: ROI.  The French King.

21. Hockey score: GOAL.

23. Cold War mil. program: SDI.  As in the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars.  The program was initiated in 1983 during the Reagan Administration.  The program was designed to develop a space-based missile defense program to protect the country from a nuclear attack.  The program is sometimes considered the straw that broke down the Cold War between the United States and the USSR.

29. Golfer Michelle: WIE.  Michelle Song Wie (b. Oct. 11, 1989) was the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship.  She was 10 years old at the time.

30. "I've seen better": MEH!

31. Playground equipment: SWINGS.

32. Quaint lodging: INN.

33. Passé: OLD HAT.  Note that the clue contains a acute accent.

42. "Peer Gynt Suite" dancer: ANITRA.  Definitely not a Tuesday clue, but I am sure you have heard the music that accompanies the dance.

43. "Mangia!": EAT!  Today's Italian lesson.  Mangia is the imperative verb form of the verb to eat.

45. Wine city north of Lisbon: OPORTO.  Today's Portuguese lesson.  This city, which is the second largest city in Portugal, appears as Porto in maps in English.

48. CEO's degree: MBA.  The Chief Executive Officer would likely have a Master's in Business Administration.

51. Wallet single: ONE.

56. Ed.'s backlog: MSS.  As in a backlog of Manuscripts.

57. Actress Russo: RENE.  Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.  She began her career as a fashion model.

58. World Cup cheer: !OLE¡  Today's Spanish lesson.

59. Funny Cheri: OTERI.  Cheri OTERI (née Cheryl Anne Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She was on Saturday Night Live 2 decades ago, where she played a number of roles, including the Spartan cheerleader.

Cheri is on the Right.

66. Seasonal mall temp: SANTA.  Their temporary job is over until next season, which, I think now begins in about July.

67. "Omigosh!": YIPE!.

68. Loitering, say: IDLE.

69. German steel city: ESSEN.

70. Some pipe joints: ELLS.

71. Utopia: EDEN.

Down:

1. D.C. United's former stadium: RFK.

2. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI.  Mashershala Ali (né Mahershalalhasbaz Gilmore; b. Feb. 16, 1974) also won an Oscar for his performance in Moonlight.  He was also the star of the 3rd season of True Detective, and appeared for a couple of seasons in House of Cards.

3. Neptune or Pluto: GOD.  They are brothers in Roman mythology.

4. Palme d'Or, e.g.: AWARD.  It is the Oscar of the Cannes Film Festival.

5. Kid-lit girl who lives on the "tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel: ELOISE.  The Eloise Books were not actually a part of my childhood.

6. Cross-shaped Greek letter: TAU.

7. Second Beatle on the "Abbey Road" cover: RINGO.

8. Ambulance patient's MD: ER DOC.  As an Emergency Room Doctor.

9. Scoundrel: SCALAWAG.  Fun word.

10. Fly ball's path: ARC.  Think baseball.

11. "My __ Vinny": 1992 comedy: COUSIN.  This movie is a favorite of many of the regulars on this blog.

12. Show-off: HOTDOG.  A CSO to Misty's dogs.

13. Wound yarn units: SKEINS.  A CSO to our resident knitters.

18. Travel aimlessly: ROAM.  May your roam be on a smooth road and not a Rocky Road.

22. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Tyler: AISHA.  Aisha Tyler (née Aisha Naomi Tyler; b. Sept. 18, 1970) is a complete unknown to me.  I watched the show when Drew Carey was the host.  I didn't know it was still on.

24. 1914-'18 conflict, briefly: WWI.  Also known as World War I, the War to End All Wars.

25. Farm grunt: OINK.

26. Nevada casino city: RENO.  Not to be confused with 57-Across.  Reno is also the home of the National Judicial College.  I took some courses there about 20 years ago.

27. Photo session: SHOOT.

28. Latin jazz great Puente: TITO.  Tito Puente (né Ernesto Antoino Puente; Apr. 20, 1923 ~ May 31, 2000) is sometimes called the King of Latin Music.

34. Pres. or P.M.: LDR.  Presidents and Prime Ministers are Leaders of their respective countries.

35. Pulitzer category: DRAMA.

37. Sportscaster Albert: MARV.  Marv Albert (né Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; b. June 12, 1941) was involved in a sex scandal in the late 1990s.

38. Toronto native: ONTARIAN.  Hi, Canadian, Eh!

39. LED component: DIODE.

40. Hard-to-miss sign: NEON.

41. Beach pailful: SAND.

44. Summer shirt: TEE.

This shirt is appropriate now.  No need to wait until summer. 

45. Be absorbed gradually: OSMOSE.

46. Farfalle and fusilli: PASTAS.

The Farfalle is on the left.

47. Acting twins Mary-Kate and Ashley: OLSENS.

49. Cambridge chaps: BLOKES.

50. Treaty partner: ALLY.

53. Sandwich shop specification: ON RYE.  We just had some smoked whitefish on rye.  Yummers!

54. Lubricate again: RE-OIL.

55. Like "Stranger Things": EERIE.

60. Numbered hwy.: RTE.

62. Lowest-ranking NCO: CPL.

63. Roulette bet: ODD.  I initially tried Red.  But, instead, we were looking for Even or Odd.

64. Brewpub pour: ALE.

Here's the Grid:

Monday, January 6, 2020

QOD:  Love your neighbor as yourself; but don’t take down the fence.  ~  Carl Sandburg (né Carl August Sandburg, Jan. 6, 1878 ~ July 22, 1967), American poet

Sunday, January 5, 2019

QOD:  Only intuition can protect you from the most dangerous individual of all, the articulate incompetent.  ~  Robert L. Bernstein (né Robert Louis Bernstein; Jan. 5, 1923 ~ May 27, 2019), American publisher and human rights activist