QOD: Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

QOD: Money doesn’t make you special; It makes you lucky. ~ Eve Ensler (b. May 25, 1953), American playwright

Clam Up.

16-Across. * Historic lifetime golf or tennis achievement: CAREER GRAND SLAM. You can get a breakfast Grand Slam at Denny's.

19-Across. * Cushioned Adidas running shoes: CLOUD FOAM.

21-Down. * Social status hierarchy: CLASS SYSTEM.

And the Unifier:

23. Seafood appetizer, and what each answer to a starred clue literally is?: STUFFED CLAM. The word Clam forms the border of each starred answer and the rest of the answer is "stuffed" into the Clam.

I had never heard of Stuffed Clams before and I grew up in New England. According to this recipe, they are generally made of quahogs (remember that quahogs appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle!).

Across:

1. Aquatic barker: SEAL. Do seals really bark?

5. "Notorious" justice, initially: RBG. I had the opportunity to meet with the Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2006 when I was sworn in to the United States Supreme Court. She met with a small group of 10 of us after the swearing in ceremony.

8. Frozen rock in a bar?: CUBE. Hi, Tinbini! I hope you are well. We haven't "seen" you in a while.

12. Lake that drains via the Niagara River: ERIE. Seein Erie appear in the puzzle brings back memories of our friend Abejo.

13. City on the Nile: CAIRO. Cairo, Illinois is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

15. Daunting exam: ORAL.

20. TV censoring device: V-CHIP.

22. Do canine care?: FLOSS.

25. Long-bodied fish: EEL.

26. Dose amt.: TSP.

28. Super Bowl org.: NFL. As in the National Football League.

29. Bronze component: TIN. Hi, Tinbini! We do miss you! Bronze is an alloy consisting mostly of copper and tin, with a handful of other elements.

31. Hang loosely: DRAPE.

33. Tigger's best friend: ROO. A reference to Winnie the Pooh and his many friends.

35. Clear sky hue: AZURE.

37. Long-eared equines: ASSES.

38. Need to pay: OWE.

39. More secure: SAFER.

40. Extreme clutter: MESS.

41. Oscar-winning actress Berry: HALLE. Halle Marie Berry (b. Aug. 14, 1966) won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Leticia Musgrove in the 2001 movie Monster's Ball. The movie was largely filmed in New Orleans.

43. "Should that happen ... ": IF SO.

44. Power source for Watt: STEAM. Think of the Watt steam engine, named after James Watt (1736 ~ 1819).

46. Sleeping sound: SNORE.

48. City hall leaders: MAYORS. Thomas Willett (1605 ~ 1674) was the first and third mayor of New York City.

50. Guiding principles: CREDOS.

53. Driver's licenses, e.g.: IDs. In Louisiana, it is now possible to have one's driver's license on one's iPhone.

54. Donnybrook: RHUBARB. I am not familiar with this definition of Rhubarb. My mother made the best Rhubarb and Strawberry pie.

58. "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. __: CHU. Jon M. Chu (né Jonathan Murray Chu; b. Nov. 2, 1979), adapted Kevin Kwan's novel of the same name into the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians.

59. A or B, but not O: NOTE. I am assuming that the A and B refer to musical notes. If all three letters have something in common, it would be blood type.

61. "30 Rock" actor __ Morgan: TRACY. Tracy Jamal Tracy (b. Nov. 10, 1968) was very seriously injured in a car accident in 2014. Fortunately, after a long recovery period, he seems to be fine now.

62. Pleased: GLAD.

63. Follow orders: OBEY.

64. Product pitcher: AD REP. Hand up if you first entered Ad Man.

65. "Mary Magdalene" star Rooney __: MARA. Mara Rooney (née Patricia Rooney Mara; b. Apr. 17, 1985) also starred in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

66. Capital on the Tiber: ROME.

67. Party attendee: GUEST.

68. Portent: OMEN.

Down:

1. "Be there in a __!": SEC.

2. Stat for Clayton Kershaw: ERA. As in Earned Run Average. Clayton Kershaw (b. Mar. 19, 1988) is a professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

3. Breathing necessity: AIR.

4. Bloodsucker: LEECH. Leeches used to be a common "medical" procedure. Are they making a come-back?

5. Pasta sauce brand: RAGU.

6. Eagle or lark: BIRD.

7. Steffi in the Tennis Hall of Fame: GRAF. Steffi Graf (née Stefanie Maria Graf; b. June 14, 1969) was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.

8. Pink cocktail, familiarly: COSMO. A Cosmo is made of vodka, cranberry, Cointreau and a bit of lime juice. Yum!

9. Digital address letters: URL. A crossword staple.

10. Sheep sound: BAA.

11. Common name for a tree-lined street: ELM. Also a street where you might experience a nightmare.

13. Corn, wheat, etc.: CROPS.

14. Switch type: ON/OFF.

17. Privileged groups: ELITES.

18. Cowboys' home: DALLAS. The football team.

20. Chapter companion: VERSE.

24. Foals' fathers: SIRES.

25. Wax-coated cheese: EDAM. Yummers! This has become a crossword staple.

27. Links tournament with two-person teams: PRO AM.

28. Yuletide carols: NOELS.

30. Roman fiddler: NERO.

32. Basil-based sauce: PESTO. Yummers! I am growing some basil so I can make my own pesto.

34. "Wise" flier: OWL. Owls are such beautiful birds.

36. The Congo, formerly: ZAIRE. As I am writing this, a volcano is erupting from Mount Nyiragongo. The volcano is on the northeastern part of the country near the Rwanda border. The official name of the country is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was known as Zaire from 1971 until 1997.

41. Word or phrase preceded by "#": HASHTAG.

42. Put into code: ENCRYPT.

45. Goof up: ERR.

47. Uranus or Neptune: ORB.

48. Key that may sound sad or angry: MINOR.

49. Marinade in Philippine cooking: ADOBO. I am not familiar with Adobo, but you it sounds interesting.

51. Windy City hub: O'HARE. The airport in Chicago is named in honor of Butch O'Hare (né Edward Henry O'Hare; Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943), an American navy aviator. He was shot down in action during World War II.