Friday, March 12, 2021

QOD:  He that has been bitten by a snake is afraid of a rope.  ~  Edward Albee (né Edward Franklin Albee, III; Mar. 12, 1928 ~ Sept. 16, 2016), American playwright 

Thursday, March 11, 2021

QOD:  A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.  ~  Douglas Adams (né Douglas Noel Adams, Mar. 11, 1952 ~ May 11, 2001), English author

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

QOD:  Checking luggage is like how I imagine childbirth to be.  You do it, it sucks, takes forever to come out, you forget, you do it again.  ~  Olivia Wilde (née Olivia Jane Cockburn; b. Mar. 10, 1984), American actress

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 Mark McClain

QOD:  Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night but differently each time.  ~  Ornette Coleman (né Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman; Mar. 9, 1930 ~ June 11, 2015), African-American alto saxophonist and composer

Everything Old is New Again!  The first word of each theme answer is the opposite of old.

17-Across. Wind of 19-24 mph, on the Beaufort scale: FRESH BREEZE.

59-Across. "The Hunger Games" trilogy, e.g.: NOVEL SERIES.

10-Down. Genre for a John Lewis quartet: MODERN JAZZ.

29-Down. Patriots' home: NEW ENGLAND.  As you are reading this, I am in New England.

And the clue that points us towards the theme:

65-Across. Unlike the starts of this puzzle's four longest answers: OLD.

Across:

1. Water filter brand: BRITA.

6. Voice below baritone: BASS.

10. Major Web portal: MSN.  As in MicroSoft Network.

13. Grows faint: FADES.

14. Informal okay: UH HUH.

16. "Now I get it!": OHO.

19. Reservoir structure: DAM.

20. Swimmer that may be furry: SEAL.

21. Inlet, vis-à-viss the sea: ARM.  You can see many inlets on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

22. Classic Lanvin scent: ARPÈGE.  Also the name of a fancy restaurant in Paris.  The perfume, however, was created in 1927 and is still available for purchase today.

24. In addition: ALSO.

26. Big name in bouillon cubes: KNORR.  If spelled with an umlaut, however, it becomes a Viking merchant ship.

27. Japanese living art form: BONSAI.  Bonsai literally means "planted in a container".  Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants.  Any tree can be used to grow one.

30. Iberian dance for two: FANDANGO.  It takes two to Fandango, but this clip has several dancers.

33. Summer on the Seine: ÉTÉ.  Today's French lesson.

34. Danes of "Homeland": CLAIRE.  Claire Catherine Danes (b. Apr. 12. 1979) played CIA operative Carrie Matthison in the first few seasons of Homeland.  It was an interesting show with a unique twist in the final episode.

36. Kept the party hopping, briefly: DJ'ED.  As in being a Disc Jockey.

37. Scenic road, maybe: BYWAY.  Byways in Louisiana, some of which are scenic.

39. Albuquerque sch.: UNM.  As in the University of New Mexico.

40. Dahl who wrote "Fantastic Mr Fox": ROALD.  An interesting article about the dark side of Roald Dahl (Sept. 13, 1916 ~ Nov. 23, 1990).

41. Ready for business: OPEN.

42. Present from birth: INNATE.

44. Zen opening?: ZEE.  As in the Letter "Z"

45. Pointy flags: PENNANTS.

47. Sports coat: BLAZER.  Also a Chevy vehicle.

49. Full of chutzpah: GUTSY.

50. States: SAYS.

51. What a voter fills out: BALLOT.  Many are now electronic.

53. Golf scorecard word: PAR.

54. Soybean product: TOFU.

58. Gershwin brother: IRA.  Ira Gershwin (né Israel Gershowitz; Dec. 6, 1896 ~ Aug. 17, 1983) was a lyricist and the older brother of composer George Gershwin (né Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz; Sept. 26, 1898 ~ July 11, 1937).

George and Ira Gershwin.  Ira is on the right.

62. Light brown: TAN.

63. Upright: ERECT.

64. "Divine Comedy" poet: DANTE.  Dante Alighieri (1265 ~ Sept. 14, 1321) was an Italian poet best known for Divine Comedy, which was written around 1320.  Can you name anything else Dante wrote?

66. Site for handmade gifts: ETSY.

67. Little ones: TYKES.

Down:

1. Inseparable pals, briefly: BFFS.  Textspeak for Best Friends Forever.

2. Seldom spotted: RARE.    Below is a RARE Spotless cheetah.

3. Half-baked thought, perhaps: IDEA.

4. Popular electric cars: TESLAs.

5. Shade of gray: ASH.

6. Grand Canyon pack animal: BURRO.  Does anyone remember this children's book by Marguerita Henry?

7. "May I say something?": AHEM.

8. The Beatles' "__ Loves You": SHE.

9. Somers who played Chrissy on "Three's Company": SUZANNE.  This show ran from March 1977 to September 1984.

11. Layered hairstyle: SHAG.  Joyce Dewitt, who also starred in Three's Company, sported a SHAG hairstyle.

12. Bering Sea port: NOME.

15. King in "Jesus Christ Superstar": HEROD.

18. Thai cuisine herb: BASIL.  Hi, Lemonade and Oo.

23. Madrid museum: PRADO.  You can see many masterpieces at the Prado.

25. Like some bridal dresses: LACY.

26. Destiny: KARMA.

27. Early form of 10-Down: BE-BOP.

28. Common blood group: O-TYPE.  Everything you need to known about the ABO blood-typing system.

30. Helsinki natives: FINNS.  A brief history of Finland.

31. Hair salon application: GELÉE.

32. More unusual: ODDER.  Not to be confused with Udder.

35. Mommy's sis: AUNTY.

38. Invalidate: ANNUL.

40. Depend (on): RELY.

42. About to happen: IN STORE.

43. Vintage ski lifts: T-BARS.

46. Make amends: ATONE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

48. Off the right path: ASTRAY.  You may have to ATONE if you go too far ASTRAY.

50. Like sea water: SALTY.

51. __-Honey: candy bar: BIT-O.  Very chewy.  You may lose a filling from this sticky candy.

52. Depleted Eurasian sea: ARAL.   A history of the past half-century of the Aral Sea.

Aral Sea from 1960 to 2010.

53. Push-up targets: PECS.

55. Sow sound: OINK.

56. Big celebration: FÊTE.

57. Puts in the lineup: USES.

60. Racetrack doc: VET.  As in the Veterinarian.

61. D.C. summer hrs.: EDT.  Washington, D.C., is in the Eastern Time Zone, thus during the summer, it is in Eastern Daylight Time.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, March 8, 2021

QOD:  Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.  ~  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Mar. 8, 1841 ~ Mar. 6, 1935), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Sunday, March 7, 2021

QOD:  If you feel that there is something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.  ~  Wanda Sykes (née Wanda Yvette Sykes; b. Mar. 7, 1964), African-American comedian