Friday January 8, 2020

QOD:  Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.  ~  David Bowie (né David Robert Jones; Jan. 8, 1947 ~ Jan. 10, 2016), British musician

Thursday, January 7, 2021

QOD:  Ask the average person his views on snakes and he will, within the space of ten minutes, talk more nonsense than a brace of politicians.  ~  Gerald Durrell (Jan. 7. 1925 ~ Jan. 30, 1995), British naturalist

 

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

QOD:  A tree is best measured when down, and so it is with people.  ~  Carl Sandburg (né Carl August Sandburg, Jan. 6, 1878 ~ July 22, 1967), American poet

 

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

QOD:  The function of memory is not only to preserve, but also to throw away.  If you remembered everything from your entire life, you would be sick.  ~  Umberto Eco (Jan. 5, 1932 ~ Feb. 19, 2016)

Let there be Light!  The word Light can be placed in the before, or aHEAD, of the first word in each theme answer to give us a new concept.

17-Across. *  Football score: TOUCH DOWN.  Light Touch.

11-Down. *  Musical song generating extended applause: SHOW STOPPER.  Light Show.

25-Down. *  Confinement that might involve an ankle monitor: HOUSE ARREST.  Light House.

Nubble Light on Cape Neddick, Maine

26-Down. *  Right-angled flying toy: BOX KITE.  Light Box.

And the Unifier:

63-Across. Night driving need, and what can go with the starts of the answers to starred clues: HEAD LIGHT.

Lots of proper names in today's puzzle.  They shouldn't cause too much trouble, though, since most of people make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

Across:

1. Eldest Baldwin brother: ALEC.  Alec Baldwin (né Alexander Rae Baldwin, III; b. Apr. 3, 1958) was great as Jack Donaghy on the sit-com 30 Rock.  His three younger brothers (Daniel, William and Stephen), are also actors.

5. Sales staffers: REPs.  As in Representatives.

9. Fettuccine, e.g.: PASTA.  Yummers!

14. Capital NW of Napoli: ROMA.  Or, as Americans would say, Naples and Rome.  Naples is one of the dirtiest European cities I have visited, but there are still wonderful sight that are "must sees".  And the food there is fantastic.

Visions of Vesuvius from Naples

15. Suffix with stink: -EROO.  As in Stinkeroo!

16. Value system: ETHOS.  Ethos comes to us from the Greek, which means character.

19. Atlanta campus: EMORY.  Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia.  It is a Methodist-affiliated educational institution.  It was named in honor of John Emory (1789 ~ 1835), who was a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

20. Barge movers: TUGs.  We see lots of tugboats on the Mississippi River.

21. "I'd like to help": ALLOW ME.

23. Island near Bora Bora: TAHITI.  Tahiti is the largest island of the Windward Islands.  The French artist, Paul Gauguin (1848 ~ 1903), spent 10 years painting in Tahiti.

26. Soft French cheese: BRIE.  Yummers!  When we lived in France, we practically lived on Brie and Baguettes.

27. Chess pieces and board, e.g.: SET.  Remember the chess game from Alice in Wonderland?

28. Lennon's love: ONO.  Yoko makes very frequent guest appearnces in the puzzles.  Yoko Ono (b. Feb. 18, 1933) is nearly 88 years old.

29. Palm starch: SAGO.

31. Sausage on a grill: BRAT.  Bratwurst.  I'll let Spitzboov explain the etymology of this German word.

33. We, to Henri: NOUS.  Today's French lesson.

35. Deli counter cry: NEXT!

37. Got to one's feet: STOOD.

40. Spout, as oil: GUSH.

41. Starts to fly, with "off": TAKES.

43. Nashville venue: OPRY.  I understand it's Grand.  It's genre is County and Western.

44. Yarn coil: SKEIN.  Hi, Madame DeFarge!

46. Like peanut-butter pie: RICH.  I have never had a Peanut butter pie, but here is a recipe.

47. Wall St. events for young companies: IPOs.  As in Initial Public Offerings.

48. Monterrey years: AÑOs.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Monterrey is a city in Nuevo León, Mexico.

50. "God" prefix: THEO.  Think Theology.

52. Brian of rock: ENO.  Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George Eno; b. May 15, 1948) is another friend who makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

53. MLB dugout boss: MGR.  As in the Manager of the Major League Baseball team.  Johnny Pesky (né John Michael Paveskovich; 1919 ~ 2012) was briefly the manager of the Boston Red Sox.  He was associated with the Red Sox for 61 of his 73 years in baseball.

55. Pouty look: MOUE.  She's Baaaack!

 

57. Screenwriter Nora: EPHRON.  Nora Ephron (May 19, 1941 ~ June 26, 2012) was briefly married to Carl Bernstein.  She wrote about their tumultuous marriage in the autobiographical novel Heartburn. 

59. Smooch that misses everything: AIR KISS.

61. Movie-rating org.: MPAA.  As in the Motion Picture Association of America.

62. Unarmed, to a cop: CLEAN.

68. Proverbial waste maker: HASTE.

69. Puzzle guy Rubik: ERNŐ.  Ernő Rubik (b. July 13, 1944) is best known for his cube.

70. Pâté de __ gras: FOIE.  Pâté de Foie gras has a controversial history.  It is a delicacy of duck or goose liver.

71. First name in perfumery: ESTÉE.  Estée Lauder (née Josephine Ester Mentzer; July 1, 1906 ~ Apr. 24, 2004) often drops in for a visit in the puzzles.  She built up a cosmetics company.

72. Tolled: RANG.

73. Business envelope abbr.: ATT'N.  As in Attention.

Down:

1. The "A" in MoMA: ART.  As in the Museum of Modern Art.  The museum has lots of fascinating collections.

2. Place to go in London?: LOO.  Fun misdirection.

3. Big Aussie bird: EMU.  Did you know that they boom and grunt?

4. Desert landscape features: CACTI.  Hi, Lucina!

5. Arcturus, for one: RED GIANT.  Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere should be able to see this Giant Red Star, one of the brightest in the sky.  The name Arcturus is derived from the ancient Greek, meaning Guardian of the Bear.  As you can see below, it is somewhat near the Ursa Major (Big Dipper)

6. Greek Cupid: EROS.

7. "Batman" sound effect: POW!

8. Underwater detector: SONAR.  Sound Navagation and Ranging.

Sonar Explained

9. Apple pie prep tools: PEELERS.

10. Prefix with sphere: ATMO-.  As in the Atmosphere.

12. Velvet-voiced Mel: TORMÉ.  Mel Tormé (né Melvin Howard Tormé; Sept. 13, 1925 ~ June 5, 1999) made 8 guest appearances on the sit-com Night Court.

13. Until now: AS YET.

18. Simple shelters: HUTS.  Some are elaborate vacation hide-aways.

22. Women's __: LIB.

23. Barbecue pair: TONGS.

24. Aimée of "8 1/2": ANOUK.  8 1/2  is a 1963 avant-garde film directed by Federico Fellini, which starred Aimée Anouk (née Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus; b. Apr. 27, 1932).  The film starred Best Foreign Language Film.

30. Mechanical part: GEAR.

32. Yours, to Yvonne: À TOI.  More of today's French lesson.

34. Area below the knee: SHIN.

36. Computer repair person: TECH.

38. Maine college town: ORONO.  Home of my alma mater.

39. Bagless vacuum pioneer: DYSON.

42. Border collie, say: SHEEP DOG.

45. Candidate: NOMINEE.

49. "Help!"-ful soap pad brand: SOS.

51. October gem: OPAL.  Hi, Kazie!

53. Papier-__: MÂCHÉ.  This art form literally means Chewed Paper.

54. Biting desert lizards: GILAs.

56. Aisle escort: USHER.

58. Israeli seaport: HAIFA.  It's a city in northern Israel.

60. Evangeline Lilly's "Lost" role: KATE.  I am not familiar with Evangeline Lilly (née Nicole Evangeline Lilly; b. Aug. 3, 1979), nor have I ever watched Lost.

61. Public education advocate Horace: MANN.  Horace Mann (May. 4, 1796 ~ Aug. 2, 1859) was also a United States Representative from Massachusetts.

64. Period often named for a president: ERA.

65. Received: GOT.

66. Two-bagger, for one: HIT.  Think baseball.

67. Half a score ... or a perfect score: TEN.   Meh!

Here's the Grid:

חתולה