Friday, October 15, 2021

QOD:  The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.  ~  John Kenneth Galbraith (Oct. 15, 1908 ~ Apr. 29, 2006), Canadian-born economist

Thursday, October 14, 2021

QOD:  Political questions are far too serious to be left to the politicians.  ~  Hannah Arendt (née Johanna Arendt; Oct. 14, 1906 ~ Dec. 4, 1975), German-American philosopher and political theorist

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

QOD:  There’s nothing sadder than on old hipster.  ~  Lenny Bruce (Oct. 13, 1925 ~ Aug. 3, 1966), American comedian

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

QOD:  It’s choice, not chance, that determines your destiny.  ~  Jean Nidetch (née Jean Evelyn Slutsky; Oct. 12, 1923 ~ Apr. 29, 2015), American co-founder of Weight Watchers

TailSpins:  The word Tail is "spun" into each of today's theme answers.

17-Across. Crude carrier: OIL TANKER.

31-Across. Gem set by itself: SOLITAIRE.

46-Across. It's useless to argue with one: KNOW IT ALL.

9-Down. Good thing to spend with one's kids: QUALITY TIME.

25-Down. "Rebel Without a Cause" co-star: NATALIE WOOD.  Natalie Wood (née Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko; July 20, 1938 ~ Nov. 29, 1981) died under mysterious circumstances.

And the unifier:

66-Across. Dramatic descents, and a hint to each set of circles: TAIL SPINS.  Interesting how two of the spun tails intersect.

Across:

1. Crosses by wading: FORDS.

A Ford Fording a River.

6. Bag-checking org.: TSA.  As in the Transportation Security Administration.

9. Juice buy: QUART.

14. Spreads used instead of butter: OLEOs.  //  Not to be confused with 2-Down. Hodgepodges: OLIOs.

15. Bar passer, briefly: ATT.  As in an Attorney.

16. Latin bears: URSAE.  Today's Latin lesson.  Probably the most well known Latin bears are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

19. De La Garza of "FBI": ALANA.  Alana de la Graza (b. June 18, 1976) was also a character in the Law & Order franchise.

20. "Stop stalling!": DO IT!

21. Like a stunt pilot's maneuvers: AERIAL.   See the video above.

23. Disfigure: MAR.

24. Part of an act: SCENE.  Hi, OMK!

26. Notable biblical birth: NATIVITY.

28. "Inferno" poet: DANTE.  Dante Alighieri (circa 1265 ~ d. 1321) was from Florence, Italy.  The Inferno is just one part of his longer poem The Divine Comedy.  The other 2 parts are Purgatorio and Paradiso.  The focus of this poem is the SOUL.

30. Tour de France saison: ÉTÉ.  Today's French lesson.  The Tour de France bicycle race takes place in the Summer.

35. "She loves you" followers, in song: YEAHs.  The Beatles!

39. What may be before now?: ERE.

40. Old nuclear agcy.: AEC.  As in the Atomic Energy Commission.  It operated from August 1946 to 1975.  It was created by Congress during the Truman administration and was designed to control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology for military and civilian use.

41. Chicago winter hrs.: CST.  As in Central Standard Time.

43. Statesman with an eponymous jacket: MAO.  Andy Warhol made many portraits of Mao.

44. Court case: TRIAL.

49. Predicament: FIX.

51. "Speed Racer" genre: ANIME.  Speed Racer is a Japanese comic about car racing.

52. Hikers' flasks: CANTEENS.

56. Serena's sister: VENUS.   As in the tennis-playing sisters Serena (née Serena Jameka Williams; b. Sept. 26, 1981) and Venus (née Venus Ebony Starr Williams; b. July 17, 1980) Williams.

59. Time to remember: ERA.

60. Twist in pain: WRITHE.

62. Barbershop sound: SNIP.

64. Kaka'ako crooner: DON HO.  Don Ho (né Donald Tai Loy Ho; Aug. 13, 1930 ~ Apr. 14, 2007) is best known for his song Tiny Bubbles.

68. Prenatal test, informally: AMNIO.

69. Circus closing?: ESS.  As in the letter "S".  Circus.  I am not a fan of this type of clue.

70. Pigeon shelters: COTES.  These shelters are usually referred to as Dovecotes.  They can come in all shapes and sizes.  You can make your own pigeon cote if you are so inclined.

71. Like starfish: RAYED.

72. Legal thing: RES.  More of today's Latin lesson.

73. It's quite a blast: H-TEST.  Hydrogen Bomb.

Down:

1. __ chain: FOOD.

3. Bit of antiquity: RELIC.

4. Punctuational symbol of completeness: DOTTED I.

5. U.S. ID issuer: SSA.  As in the Social Security Administration.

6. Word before heart or heed: TAKE.  Take heart, you know you can complete today's puzzle.

7. Less lax: STERNER.

8. Skylit courts: ATRIA.

Take Heed of the Atria in the Heart

10. Internet acronym: URL.  As in the Universal Resource Locator.  This appears with some frequency in the puzzles.

11. "Ditto": AS AM I.

12. Approached aggressively: RAN AT.

13. Lachrymose: TEARY.

18. Swaying hip-hop dance: NAE NAE.  I am not familiar with this dance.

22. Downed: ATE.

27. Sign of success: VEE.

29. Clock sound: TICK.

31. Collector's goal: SET.

32. Yossarian's "Catch-22" tentmate: ORR.  Catch-22 is a 1961 satirical war novel by Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 ~ Dec. 12, 1999)

33. Island garland: LEI.

34. Janet Yellen's field: Abbr.: ECON.  Janet Louise Yellen (b. Aug. 13, 1946) is an Economist who is the current United States Secretary of the Treasury.  She earned her Ph.D. in Economics at Yale University.

36. Physicians' org.: AMA.  As in the American Medical Association.

37. Scary "2001" computer: HAL.

38. Fifth of a musical series: SOL.

42. Desk chair feature: SWIVEL.

45. Admiral's rear: AFT.  Hi, Spitzboov!

47. '70s tennis star Ilie: NĂSTASE.  In the 1970s, Ilie Năstase (né Ilie Theodoriu Năstase; b. July 19, 1946) was ranked the number 1 tennis singles player.  He was born in Bucharest, Romania.

48. Two fins: TEN SPOT.

50. Gen-__: XER.

52. Aromatic closet-lining wood: CEDAR.

53. Barbecue draw: AROMA.

54. Child minder: NANNY.

55. Fertilizer compound: NITER.  Niter is another term for Potasium Nitrate.  A weird word for a Tuesday puzzle.

57. Act in concert: UNITE.

58. Angle calculations: SINEs.  We all remember this from high school math, don't we!

61. Escaping-steam sound: HISS.

63. Verbal nudge: PSST!

65. Step on it, quaintly: HIE.

67. BYU or NYU: SCH.  Brigham Young University and New York University are both Schools.

חתולה

Monday, October 11, 2021

QOD:  It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.  ~  Eleanor Roosevelt (née Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; Oct. 11, 1884 ~ Nov. 7, 1962), First Lady of the United States and political activist

Sunday, October 10, 2021

QOD:  I guarantee you, you will find no reasonable man on top of big mountains.  ~  David Lee Roth (b. Oct. 10, 1954), American musician