Friday, March 4, 2022

QOD:  Write the story you want to tell and need to read.  It’s impossible to know what others want, so don’t waste your time trying to guess.  ~  Khaled Hosseini (b. March 4, 1965), Afghan-American novelist

Thursday, March 3, 2022

QOD:  There has never been a single tweet that couldn’t be replaced with “PLEASE AUTHENTICATE MY EXISTENCE.”~  Charlie Brooker (né Charlton Brooker; b. Mar. 3, 1971), British journalist and screenwriter

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

QOD:  The music is all.  People should died for it.  People are dying for everything else, so why not the music?  ~  Lou Reed (né Lewis Allan Reed; Mar. 2, 1942 ~ Oct. 27, 2013), American musician

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 / Mardi Gras

QOD:  There’s room in the world for beauty to be diverse.  ~  Lupita Nyong’o (né Lupita Amondi Nyong’o; b. Mar. 1, 1983), Mexican-Kenyan actress

Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?

18-Across. Sequence of missed calls: PHONE TAG.  Smart Phone.

21-Across. Place for Oreos: COOKIE JAR.  Smart Cookie.  A Smart Cookie is a clever person with good ideas.

38-Across. Let it slide: LOOK THE OTHER WAY.  Smart Look.

52-Across. Wallet or purse alternative: MONEY BELT.  Smart Money.

And the unifier:

58-Across. Fashionable group ... and what the starts of 18-, 21-, 38- and 52-Across form: SMART SET.  The word Smart can precede the first word of each theme answer to give us a new concept.

Today is not only Mardi Gras, but it's a White Rabbit Day.  Happy first of March and Mardi Gras!

Across:

1. Gaming site whose machines originally took pennies: ARCADE.  That's why they were called Penny Arcades.

7. Invite (to): ASK.

10. Serve, as coffee: POUR.

14. Jumped: LEAPED.

15. Wide-angle view: PANORAMA.  Guess the panoramic city below.

17. Mom or dad: PARENT.

19. Pitcher's control, say: ASSET.

20. Wood-splitting tool: AXE.

25. Extra: SPARE.

30. New England cape: ANN.  Cape Ann is north of Boston.

31. Fountain offerings: SODAS.

33. When tied NFL games may be decided: IN OT.  As in in Over Time.

34. Spanish folk hero: EL CID.  We've seen El Cid before.

36. Does some self-grooming, as a bird: PREENS.

42. Counsel: ADVISE.

43. Things one can't do without: NEEDS.

44. Bearing: MIEN.

45. Salt or fresh follower: WATER.  Ever wonder about the differences between Fresh and Salt Water?

47. Mayo, por ejemplo: MES.  Today's Spanish Lesson.  May is a Month.  Hi, Lucina!

50. North Atlantic hazards: BERGS.

55. "What was __ do?": I TO.

57. Lord's home: MANOR.

63. Barely manage, with "by": SCRAPE.  //  And 34-Down. Barely managing, with "by": EKING.

64. Lone Ranger, to Tonto: KEMO SABE.  The complicated origin of the term Kemo Sabe.

65. Kitchen appliances: RANGES.

66. Inside scoop: INFO.

67. Force (through), as legislation: RAM.

68. Evaluate: ASSESS.

Down:

1. Andes grazer: ALPACA.

2. Motive: REASON.

3. Novelist McCullers: CARSON.  Carson McCullers (née Lula Carson Smith; Feb. 19, 1917 ~ Sept. 29, 1967) was an American author whose writings generally take place in the deep South.  She is probably best known for her 1940 novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, which was also made into a film.  It was also made into a 1968 film, starring Alan Arkin.

4. Sneak __: look secretly: A PEEK.

5. Teeth: Pref.: DENTI-.

6. Georgia summer hrs.: EDT.  As in Eastern Daylight Time.  Much of the country goes into Daylight Time in 13 days.

7. Uber or Lyft: APP.

8. African desert: SAHARA.

9. Kentucky fort: KNOX.  Not to be confused with the Fort Knox in Maine.

10. Eminent leader?: PRE-.  As in Preeminent.  In a snooty publication, the word might be spelled as Preëminent.

11. Cereal grain: OAT.

12. Thurman of "Pulp Fiction": UMA.

13. Torn old shirt, perhaps: RAG.

16. Small bills: ONEs.

22. Avoid: ESCHEW.

23. __ de vivre: JOIE.  Today's French lesson.  The phrase Joie de Vivre, roughly translates into English as Enjoyment of Life

24. Expand, as a house: ADD ONTO.

26. Places to fish from: PIERS.

27. From the beginning: ANEW.

28. Gossip columnist Barrett: RONA.

Rona Barrett (née Rona Burstein; b. Oct. 8, 1936)

29. Website featuring crafts: ETSY.

32. Ball shape: SPHERE.

35. Sgt.'s superiors: LTS. Lieutenants are Sergeant's superiors.

37. Color suggesting anger: RED.

38. Mary's was little: LAMB.

39. Drooling comics dog: ODIE.  Garfield's pal.

40. Done: OVER.

41. High schooler, usually: TEEN.

46. Microscopic organism: AMOEBA.

47. Household, from the French: MÉNAGE.  More of today's French lesson.

48. Marries in secret: ELOPES.  A crossword staple.

49. Emphasize: STRESS.

51. Remains on the shelf: SITS.

The Elf on the Shelf

53. Some youth ctrs.: YMCAs.

54. Structures raised by Amish: BARNS.

56. Peter the Great, e.g.: TSAR.  Tsar or Czar?

58. Enjoy Aspen: SKI.

59. Chess pieces: MEN.

60. Big initials in bowling: AMF.  Hi, Boomer!

61. Friend of Pooh: ROO.

62. President pro __: TEM.

63. Mexican Mrs.: SRA.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

Here's the Grid:

 

חתולה

Happy Mardi Gras, Chère!  Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

Monday, February 28, 2022

QOD:  He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.  ~  Michel de Montaigne (Feb. 28, 1533 ~ Sept. 13, 1592), French philosopher

Sunday, February 27, 2022

QOD:  What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?  ~  John Steinbeck (né John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.; Feb. 27, 1902 ~ Dec. 20, 1968), American novelist and recipient of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature