Friday, December 18, 2020

QOD:  Politicians are wedded to the truth, but like many other married couples they sometimes live apart.  ~  Saki (né Hector Hugh Munro; Dec. 18, 1870 ~ Nov. 14, 1916), British writer and satirist

 

Thursday, December 17, 2020

QOD:  Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.  ~  William Safire (né William Lewis Safire; Dec. 17, 1929 ~ Sept. 27, 2009), American journalist and author

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

QOD:  Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.  ~  Philip K. Dick (né Philip Kindred Dick; Dec. 16, 1928 ~ Mar. 2, 1982), American author

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

QOD:  The universe is made up of stories, not atoms.  ~  Muriel Rukeyser (Dec. 15, 1913 ~ Feb. 12, 1980), American poet

Dance to the Music!  The last word of each theme answer is a music genre.

 18-Across. Drywall material: SHEET ROCK.  Rock Music.

24-Across. Freezer aisle treat: ICE CREAM POP.  Pop Music.

49-Across. Similar but unspecified things: ALL THAT JAZZ.  Jazz Music.

56-Across. Peepers of a certain color, affectionately: BABY BLUES.  Blues Music.

And the Unifier:

36-Across. Instruction to start playing ... or a hint to the end of 18-, 24-, 49- and 56-Across: CUE THE MUSIC.

And a musical bonus:

1-Down. Jamaican genre: SKA. 

Across:

1. Technical details: SPECS.

6. Roadie's load: AMPS.

10. World's best-selling cookie: OREO.

14. Superhero sound effect: KAPOW!

15. Are in the past?: WERE.  We are at the store.  We were at the store.

16. Home to il Colosseo: ROMA.  Did you know that the Colosseum in Rome, Italy was also used to stage naval battles?  It could be filled with water due to an elaborate plumbing system.

17. Ouzo flavoring: ANISE.  Anise has a licorice-like flavor.

20. "Won't you be __ and ... ": polite request words: A DEAR.

22. School fundraising gp.: PTA.  Time for a musical interlude.

23. Filmmaker Brooks: MEL.  Mel Brooks (né Melvin Kaminsky; b. June 28, 1926) is a comic actor and film director.  Some of his films include Young Frankenstein and The Producers.  He was also a co-writer on Get Smart, the television series.

Don Adams, Mel Brooks, and Gene Wilder

27. Spelling showdown: BEE.  Spellbound was a movie that followed 8 competitors in the 1999 Scripts National Spelling Bee.

28. Sleep stage: REM.  Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the phase where the sleeper is believed to have vivid dreams.  The phenomenon occurs in mammals and birds.  Do you often awaken at 3:00 a.m.?  It is not all that uncommon.

29. Sound like an ass: BRAY.

30. "Piece of cake!": EASY.  Probably not easy to make and quite time-consuming.

31. Chill: LAID BACK.

34. Syrup source: SAP.  My grandparents had friends who tapped maple trees and boiled the sap to syrup. If you pour the heated syrup onto fresh snow, it will immediately harden.  We called it Sugar on Snow, and it was such a treat.

39. Eagle or evil organ: EYE.

40. Unrecoverable expense, in economics: SUNK COST.

43. Cat's warning: HISS.

46. Seek, as a compliment, with "for": FISH.

47. "Argo" spy org.: CIA.  As in the Central Intelligence Agency.  The 2012 movie Argo was loosely based on  the rescue of 6 Americans following the Iran Hostage crisis in 1979.

48. Total: Abbr.: AMT.  As in Amount.

53. Unwinding spot: SPA.

54. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.

55. Outline, maybe: TRACE.

60. Lyric poem: EPODE.  According to Webster's, an Epode is: (a) a lyric poem in which a long verse is followed by a shorter one; or (b) the third part of a triadic Greek ode following the strophe and the antistrophe.

62. Get up in arms: RILE.

63. Crafts go-with: ARTS.

64. French greeting: SALUT.  Today's French lesson.

65. Finds in mines: OREs.

66. Ink cartridge color: CYAN.  Cartridge colors come in Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.  When mixed in the appropriate combinations, we get blue, green, red and black.

67. Digital "I've got it!" gestures: SNAPS.

Down:

2. Cure-all: PANACEA.

3. Marked by widespread growth: EPIDEMIC.  Or if it is really wide spread, it becomes a Pandemic.

4. Trig ratio: COSEC.  Short for Cosecant.

5. Promise with one hand on the Bible: SWEAR.

6. Cuteness reactions: AWs!

AW!

7. "I could go either way": MEH!

8. Like Ivy League clothing styles: PREPPY.  In case you need to know how to look Preppy, there is a handy handbook on the style.

9. Sort out: SEE TO.

10. "Catch-22" pilot: ORR.  Orr was the roommate of Yossarian in the 1961 novel Catch-22, by Joseph Heller.  He was a pilot who was also nearly crashing his plane, or getting shot down, but somehow managed to survive.

11. iRobot vacuum: ROOMBA.  It can also be used as transportation for your pet cat.

12. Award show hosts: EM CEES.  Short for Master of Ceremonies.

13. Buffalo Bill show shooter: OAKLEY.  Annie Oakley (née Phoebe Ann Mosey; Aug. 13, 1860 ~ Nov. 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter.  

19. Select, as for a job: TAP.

21. Money-back offer: REBATE.

24. Not online: Abbr.: IRL.  In Real Life.

25. Structure with a keystone: ARCH.

Anatomy of an Arch.

26. Finally arrives: MAKES IT.  It could be parsed as Make Sit, but that answer wouldn't fit the clue.

30. Totally rad, in modern lingo: EPIC.

Epic Fail

32. Club fees: DUES.

33. Queen __: "Lemonade" star's nickname: BEY.  As in Beyoncé (née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; b. Sept. 4, 1981).

34. Summery headwear: SUN HAT.

35. Pose a question: ASK.

37. Sled dog command: MUSH.

38. Soda since 1886: COCA~COLA.  It is listed as KO on the New York Stock Exchange.  Dr. John Pemberton first sold his beverage creation in May 1886.

41. Evaluated, as competition: SIZED UP.

42. Looney toon?: TAZ.  As in the Warner Brothers Tasmanian Devil.

43. Monopoly maker: HASBRO.

44. Get in the way of: IMPAIR.

45. Horse house: STABLE.

46. Like a baker's apron, probably: FLOURY.

49. Wall St. trader: ARB.  As in Arbitrage.

50. Purple hue: LILAC.  I love Lilac trees and their flowers.

51. Lock on the head: TRESS.

52. Country made up of 6,852 islands: JAPAN.  Everything you wanted to know about the Japanese archipelago.

57. "Sure": YES.

58. GPS approx.: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.  This is a crossword staple.

59. Taxpayer's ID: SSN.  As in Social Security Number.  This has become a crossword staple, but do you know how to decode the number?  The Number is divided into 3 parts: the Area, the Group, and the Series.  The Area is the first 3 digits.  Prior to June 25, 2011, the first three digits indicated where the Social Security number was issues.  After that date, numbers were issued randomly.

61. "The War of the Worlds" foes, e.g.: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrrestials.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה