Friday, April 3, 2020

QOD:  People hear what they see.  ~  Doris Day (née Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff; Apr. 3, 1922 ~ May 13, 2019), American actress

Thursday, April 2, 2020

QOD:  Ugiliness is in a way superior to beauty because it lasts.  ~  Serge Gainsbourg (né Lucien Ginsburg; Apr. 2, 1928 ~ Mar. 2, 1991), French singer-songwriter

Wednesday, April 1, 2020 / April Fool's Day

QOD:  The only truly serious questions are the ones even a child can formulate.  ~  Milan Kundera (b. Apr. 1, 1929), Czech writer  [Milan Kundera died in Paris, France on July 11, 2023 at age 94.]

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 Bruce Haight and Kevin Christian

QOD:  It’s not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.  ~  René Descartes (Mar. 31, 1596 ~ Feb. 11, 1650), French philosopher

What are Little Girls Made of?   Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.

16-Across. Sweetened, as something harsh to hear: SUGAR-COATED.

24-Across. Variety, idiomatically, with "the": SPICE OF LIFE.

38-Across. Loaded bakery item: EVERYTHING BAGEL.  Yummers!  My favorite kind of Bagel; especially good with cream cheese and lox.

47-Across. "Don't make any sudden moves": NICE AND EASY.

And the Unifier:

59-Across. What the starts of 16-, 24-, 38- and 47-Across make?: LITTLE GIRLS.

And, just so the boys don't feel left out:

Across:

1. Fords and Chevys: AUTOS.  Because Cars was too short.

6. Trick: FOOL.

10. Electric guitarist's need: AMP.  A crossword staple.

13. "When __ we three meet again": "Macbeth" opening line: SHALL.

14. Baseball card transaction: TRADE.

15. "You think I did it?!": MOI?  Here's workout video to do at home, since we can't go to the gym.  My trainer prepared several nice videos for me to do at home until the fitness center opens again.  Her video is a bit more strenous than Miss Piggy's.

18. Had a bite: ATE.

19. Culturally pretentious: ARTY.

20. Coffee container: URN.  John Keats wrote an Ode to a Grecian one.

21. __ nerve: OPTIC.

23. Daisy __: Li'l Abner's wife: MAE.

27. Amazes: AWES.

29. "A," in pilot shorthand: ALFA.

30. Bulova competitor: TIMEX.  Both are watches.  I think of Bulova is being a bit more upscale than the Timex watch, however.

32. Give a hoot: CARE.

34. Credit in a footnote: CITE.

41. Surrender, as land: CEDE.

42. "Star __: The Rise of Skywalker": WARS.  I stopped watching the Star Wars films decades ago.

43. Molecule parts: ATOMS.  Chemistry 101.

44. Recipe instruction: STIR.

46. Aid in crime: ABET.  A crossword staple.

52. "No more sharing," briefly: TMI.  Textspeak for Too Much Information.

55. Island in "Jaws": AMITY.

56. Bethesda research org.: NIH.  As in the National Institutes of Health, where you can get the latest information on Covid-19.

57. Mythical man-goat: FAUN.  Roman mythology.  A Satyr is it's Greek counterpart.

58. Cacophony: DIN.

63. Ltd., across the pond: INC.  Clever!  Going East to West, instead of the usual West to East across the pond.

64. Sooner State natives: OKIES.  An Okie is a resident of Oklahoma, but is also a somewhat derogatory term used to describe migrant workers during the Great Depression during the 1930s.  Here's the reason why Oklahoma is nicknamed the Sooner State.

65. Jump for joy: EXULT.

66. In the past: AGO.

67. Rump: REAR.

68. Brainy bunch: MENSA.

Down:

1. Black tea from India: ASSAM.  Assam is a state in northeastern India and is known for its tea plantations.

2. "Star Trek" lieutenant: UHURA.

3. Worked closely with a partner on a task: TAG TEAMED.

4. Skin care brand: OLAY.  A crossword staple.

5. Camera initials: SLR.  As in Single Lens Reflex camera.  We see this a lot in the puzzles, but what does it really mean?  I'll let the the Britannica explain.

6. Old Paris coin: FRANC.  I lived in France before the Euro.  We went to Switzerland and had to exchange our French Francs for Swiss Francs.  Before returning to France, we went into a Swiss chocolate shop and plopped the remainder of our Swiss Francs on the counter and asked to purchase as much chocolate as our money could buy.

7. Horse morsel: OAT.

8. Shelley's "__ to the West Wind": ODE.

9. Batted first: LED OFF.

10. Stradivari's tutor: AMATI.  Antonio Stradivari (1644 ~ Dec. 18, 1737) was an Italian stringed instrument maker.  He is best known for his violins.  He is believed to have crafted over 950 violins, of which approximately half that number are known to have survived through the centuries.  Nicolò Amati (Dec. 3, 1596 ~ Apr. 12, 1684) came from a family of violin makers.  He is known for adopting the form of the violin to give it a greater power of tone.  He is said to have taught Stradivari, however, this may or may not have been correct.  Stradivari is said to have begun an appreticeship at age 12 under the guidance of the aged Amati.  A Brief History of Amati and Stradivari.

11. Central idea: MOTIF.  I was so sure that Theme was the correct answer.

12. Cake serving: PIECE.  I wanted a Slice of cake.

14. Singer Amos: TORI.  Tori Amos (née Myra Ellen Amos; b. Aug. 22, 1963) won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at age 5.  She was expelled 6 years later, at age 11, for musical insubordination.

17. Pair in a pint: CUPS.

22. Appease: PLACATE.

24. Hot: SEXY.

25. Makes on the job: EARNS.

26. Cassini of fashion: OLEG.  Oleg Cassini (né Oleg Aleksandrovich Cassini Loiewski; Apr. 11, 1913 ~ Mar. 17, 2006) was an American fashion designer with an interesting ancestry.  He was born in Paris, France to an Italian Countess and a Russian diplomat.  He ultimately made his way to the United States and became a naturalized citizen.  He designed costumes for Hollywood, but is probably best known for his White House connection.  In 1961, he became Jackie Kennedy's exclusive couturier.

28. "No more for us": WE'RE SET.

30. Noir sleuth: TEC.

31. "__ been wrong before": I'VE.

32. Zin cousin: CHARD.  Think of the Red and White wines of Zinfandel and Chardonnay.

33. Broadcast: AIR.

35. "Time for me to split": I GOTTA RUN.

36. President pro __: TEM.  Pro tem. is short for Pro Tempore.  Article One, Section Three, Paragraph 5 of the United States Consitution reads:  "The Senate shall chuse (sic) their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."  The President pro tempore is the second highest ranking officer in the Senate.  The current President pro tem is Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa.  End of civic lesson.

37. Hallelujah trio?: ELs.  As in the letter "L".  I wasn't fooled by this clue.

39. Bed size: TWIN.

40. Life-changing household arrival: BABY.

45. Pop star Swift: TAYLOR.  Taylor Allison Swift (b. Dec. 13, 1989) is only 30 years old, but she seems to have been around forever.

46. Tennis great Arthur: ASHE.  Our good friend Arthur Robert Ashe (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) makes another guest appearance in the crossword puzzle.

47. First name in 1970s gymnastics: NADIA.  As in Nadia Comăneci (b. Nov. 12, 1961).  In 1976, at just the age of 14, she was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 at Olympic Games.

48. Cyberchatting: IMING.  As in Instant Messaging.

49. __ de Mayo: CINCO.  A brief history of Cinco de Mayo.

50. Oversized keyboard key: ENTER.

51. Feels poorly: AILS.

53. Thinks (over): MULLS.

54. Photo-sharing website, familiarly: INSTA.

57. Prix __ menu: FIXE.  Today's French lesson.  The phrase means Fixed Price.

60. '50s presidential nickname: IKE.

61. Aunt in Acapulco: TIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

62. Great fielding play, say: GEM.

Here's the Grid:

As Maria from The Sound of Music reminded us to Stay at Home.

Monday, March 30, 2020

QOD:  All the world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.  ~  Seán O’Casey (né John Casey; Mar. 30, 1880 ~ Sept. 18, 1964), Irish playwright

Sunday, March 29, 2020

QOD:  If you don’t know how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.  ~  Linda Sunshine (b. Mar. 29, 1948), American author