Friday, May 20, 2022

QOD:  The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing ~ and then marry him.  ~  Cher (née Cherilyn Sarkisian; b. May 20, 1946), American singer and actress

Thursday, May 19, 2022

QOD:  The first time Adam had a chance, he laid the blame on women.  ~  Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (née Nancy Witcher Langhorne; May 19, 1879 ~ May 2, 1964), American-British politician

Wednesday, April 18, 2022

QOD:  No folk tale has ever begun: Once upon a time there was a president.  ~  Nicolás Gómez Dávila (May 18, 1913 ~ May 17, 1994), Columbian philosopher

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

QOD:  People can do more than they ever believe they can do.  Physically, mentally, academically.  You have to be pushed.  It hurts, but it’s worth it, and it’s a great thing.  ~  Sugar Ray Leonard (né Ray Charles Leonard, b. May 17, 1956), African-American boxer

Two for the Price of One:  Today's theme answers give us two pairs of pants.

17-Across. *   Saddle attachment for a tall jockey?: LONG STIRRUP.  Long Pants and Stirrup Pants

Long Pants

Stirrup Pants

28-Across. *   Stevedore school instruction?: CARGO TRAINING.  Cargo Pants and Training Pants

Cargo Pants

(Need to) Pull-Up Pants

46-Across. *   Relaxing exercise for skydivers?: PARACHUTE YOGA.  Parachute Pants and Yoga Pants

Parachute Pants

Yoga Pants

And the unifier:

61-Across. Trousers, and what the answer to each starred clue literally is: PAIR OF PANTS.

Across:

1. Item sold with an envelope: CARD.

5. Olive Garden selections: PASTAs.

11. "Dropped" drug: LSD.  Short for Lysergic acid diethylamide.  Tune in and Drop out.

14. Nabisco cookie: OREO.  The company keeps on making variations on a theme.  You can often find Oreos with all sorts of weird fillings.

15. Wool source: ALPACA.  What's the difference between an Alpaca and a Llama?

16. Reverent feeling: AWE.

19. "__ I help you?": CAN.  Grammatically speaking, the question should be "May I help you?"  You probably physically can help me, but do I really want you to?

20. Supplement: ADD TO.

21. Sweet potato kin: YAM.  Do you know the difference between a Yam and a Sweet Potato?

22. Targets: AIMS.

23. Oodles: ALOT.

26. "I Dream of __": JEANNIE.

32. "A Sorta Fairytale" singer Tori: AMOS.

33. Shop __ you drop: 'TIL.

34. Thaw, as a wing: DE-ICE.

37. Familial nickname: SIS.  Last Tuesday, the family nickname was a Sib.

38. Billiards stick: POOL CUE.

41. Org. with seven teams in Canada: NHL.  Hi, CanadianEh!  Can the rest of us name all 7 Canadian teams in the National Hockey League?

42. One-named "Hello" singer: ADELE.  Adele (née Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; b. May 5, 1988), just celebrated her 34th birthday.  Hello is a good song, but my favorite is the one below.

44. Swiss peak: ALP.

45. Air conditioner nos.: BTUs.  As in British Thermal Units.  Everything you wanted to know about BTUs, but didn't know to ask.

50. Beach scavenger: SEAGULL.  Been there, done that.

52. Tusked beast: BOAR.

53. See 69-Across: WARS.  //  And 69. With 53-Across, "The Mandalorian" franchise: STAR.  Together we get Star Wars.

54. "WandaVision" actress Dennings: KAT.  I am not familiar with Kat Dennings (née Katherine Victoria Latwack; b. June 13, 1986).

56. Thesaurus name: ROGET.  Peter Mark Roget (Jan. 18, 1779 ~ Sept. 12, 1869) led a very interesting life / existence / essence / viability.

60. Pretty-picture link: AS A.

64. Albertan's last letter: ZED.  Another CSO to CanadianEh!  What's the difference between Zee and Zed?

65. __ milk: ALMOND.  What's the difference between Cow Milk and Almond Milk?

66. Polling results, say: DATA.

67. Project conclusion?: -ILE.  As in a Projectile.  My first thought, however, was Projection.

68. Title usually abbreviated: MISTER.  That's Mr. Mister to you!

Down:

1. Fast-food beverage: COLA.  It was either going to be Soda or Cola.  Or the generic Coke, if you live in the South.

2. Three-time A.L. MVP: A-ROD.  We haven't seen A-Rod (aka Alex Rodriguez; b. July 27, 1975) in a while.

3. Tear apart: REND.

4. Military IDs: DOGTAGS.  Did you know that the dogtags were used in the American Civil War?

5. Basketball coach Summitt in the Hall of Fame: PAT.  Pat Summitt (née Patricia Susan Summitt; June 14, 1952 ~ June 28, 2016) was the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols from 1974 until 2012.

6. "Baby Cobra" comedian Wong: ALI.  Ali Wong (née Alexandra Dawn Wong; b. Apr. 19, 1982) appeared recently in a puzzle.  Her stand-up routines are not suitable for family viewing.

7. Nimble: SPRY.

8. __ P. Henson of "Empire": TARAJI.  I am not familiar with Taraji P. Henson (née Taraji Panda Henson; b. Sept. 11, 1970).

9. Keen insight: ACUMEN.

10. Tree goo: SAP.

11. Giving an earful: LACING INTO.  Lace into synonyms.

12. Hindu teacher: SWAMI.

13. Tightly packed: DENSE.

18. Recital piece: SOLO.

22. Novelist Tyler: ANNE.  Anne Tyler (b. Oct. 25, 1941) is an American novelist from Minnesota.  She has written over 20 novels, most recently French Braid, which was published just this year.

24. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO.  Miranda Otto (b. Dec. 15, 1967), is an Australian actress who portrayed Alison Carr, the CIA Station Chief in Berlin and was a double agent in the television series Homeland.

25. Rascal Flatts, e.g.: TRIO.  Rascal Flatts was a country music band.  I believe the band disbanded last Fall.

27. Deputy: AIDE.

28. Where to find a cocina: CASA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Hi, Lucina!  My מִטְבָּח is in my בַּיִת.

29. In a group of: AMID.

30. Annual floral procession in Pasadena: ROSE PARADE.  The first Rose Parade was held over 130 years ago.

31. God to more than two billion: ALLAH.

35. Guzzle: CHUG.

36. "Frozen" sister: ELSA.  I recently saw a stage production of Frozen.

38. Chile neighbor: PERU.

39. Driver or putter: CLUB.

40. Capable of: UP TO.

43. Drops back: LAGS.

45. Detour routes, often: BY-ROADS.  Also known as Byways.  There are lots of scenic byways in Louisiana.

47. High-pH compound: ALKALI.  Time for a Chemistry Lesson.

48. Insurance filings: CLAIMS.

49. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.  Wyatt Earp (né Wyatt Berry Strapp Earp; Mar. 18, 1848 ~ Jan. 13, 1929) was a lawman and a bit of an outlaw.  He is probably best associated with the infamous shootout at the OK Corral.

50. Language of Southern Africa: SWAZI.  Everything you wanted to know about Swazi but didn't know to ask.

51. Artist's stand: EASEL.

55. Brisk pace: TROT.

57. Puny pest: GNAT.

58. Blues legend James: ETTA.  We haven't seen Etta James (né Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) in quite a while.  She often makes guest appearances in the puzzles.

59. Russian sovereign: TSAR.  The Russian Tsar visited us last Tuesday.

61. Nonstick spray brand: PAM.  It comes in all sorts of flavors.

62. Common Scrabble tile value: ONE.

63. Pres. on a dime: FDR.  As in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882 ~ Apr. 12, 1945).

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, May 16, 2022

QOD:  More and more we are into communications; and less and less into communication.  ~  Studs Terkel (né Louis Terkel, May 16, 1912 ~ Oct. 31, 2008), American author

Sunday, May 15, 2022

QOD:  Nothing so dates an era as its conception of the future.  ~  Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George Eno; May 15, 1948), British musician