QOD: Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Tuesday, 24 January 2023

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

QOD: Be honest, be nice, be a flower, not a weed. ~ Aaron Neville (né Aaron Joseph Neville; b. Jan. 24, 1941), American musician

Rest and Recharge! The last word of each theme answer are things may need or have a rest.

18-Across. * Traditional Thanksgiving entree: ROAST TURKEY. This answer confused me a bit, but apparently a roast turkey needs to rest a bit before being carved. This gives the turkey time to reabsorb the juices so that the meat will be nice and juicy.

24-Across. * Feature of anxiety, often: RACING MIND.

35-Across. * The "order" part of a "Law & Order" episode: COURT CASE.

47-Across. * Piano lesson pages: SHEET MUSIC. The musicians a Rests is a musical notation sign that indicates the absence of a sound. Each rest symbol and name corresponds with a particular note value indicating how long the silence should last.

And the unifier:

53-Across. "Enough already!" or what one may do to each answer to a starred clue: GIVE IT A REST.

Today's puzzle also acknowledges many of our regulars!

Across:

1. Cert. for some babysitters: CPR. As in CardioPulmonary Resuscitation.

4. Golden St. region: SO-CAL. As in Southern California.

9. Chase a fly, maybe: SWAT.

The caption reads" It's Like Skydiving"

13. Summer arrival: LEO. Hi, Leo III!

14. "Sweet Love" singer Baker: ANITA. Anita Baker (née Anita Denise Baker; b. Jan. 26, 1958) is a singer-songwriter best known for her soulful ballads. Her birthday is next week. [Name # 1.]

15. Maker of G-Shock watches: CASIO. Everything you wanted to know about the G-Shock Casio watch, but didn't know to ask.

17. Sci-fi invaders: ETs. As in ExtraTerrestrials

20. Venezuelan cornmeal cake: AREPA. Not a Tuesday word. Arepa is a type of food made with cornmeal that is usually stuffed with a filling. It is a common street food in South America.

22. "Big Blue": IBM. As in International Business Machines.

23. Certain sib: SIS. My Sis and I traveled together on our recent trip.

28. N. Dak. neighbor: MONT. Hi, Montana!

29. Egyptian boy king: TUT. If my full name was Tutankhamun, I would probably go by Tut, too. [Name # 2.]

30. Novelist Jaffe: RONA. Rona Jaffe (June 12, 1931 ~ Dec. 30, 2005) wrote many novels. She was big in the late '60s and '70s. [Name # 3.]

31. Mean monster: BRUTE. Ogre was not enough letters.

32. Cultural no-nos: TABOOs.

34. Successful dogcatcher, e.g.: CAPTOR. This clue and answer feels a bit off.

37. "Or even less": IF THAT.

40. Hardly fresh: OLD HAT. The origin of the expression of Old Hat.

42. Alexander Hamilton's birth island: NEVIS. If you've seen the musical, then you knew immediately that Alexander Hamilton (Jan. 11, 1750s ~ July 12, 1804) was born in Nevis and that he was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr (1756 ~ 1836). Hamilton was the 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury and he still appears on the $10 bill. [Name adjacent.]

43. __-false test: TRUE.

44. This minute: NOW.

46. Trashy place?: DUMP.

50. Words of agreement: I DO.

51. Big part of an alligator: JAW. My first thought was Maw, since the alligator has a big mouth.

52. Bygone anesthetic: ETHER. A brief history of the use of Ether in medicine.

58. "How Easy Is That?" cookbook writer Garten: INA. Ina Garten (née Ina Rosenberg; b. Feb. 2, 1978) is best known as being the Barefoot Contessa. [Name # 4.]

59. Aromatic bulb: ONION.

60. Brief appearance in a film: CAMEO. Alfred Hitchcock (né Alfred Joseph Hitchcock; Aug. 13, 1899 ~ Apr. 29, 1980) was known for making Cameo appearances in his films.

61. Tony winner Vereen: BEN. Ben Vereen (né Benjamin Augustus Middleton; b. Oct. 10, 1946) portrayed Chicken George in the 1977 television miniseries Roots. [Name # 5.]

62. Group after boomers: GEN-X.

63. City considered Japan's cultural capital: KYOTO.

64. Biblical craft: ARK.

Down:

1. See-through: CLEAR. // And 4-Down. See-through wrap: SARAN.

2. Domesticated rodent: PET RAT. I'll pass on this pet.

3. Circular diamond shape: ROSE CUT. Hand up if you immediately knew about the Rose Cut.

5. Grammy-winning Yoko: ONO. Yoko Ono (b. Feb. 18, 1933) makes frequent Cameo appearances in the crossword puzzles. I can't believe she is nearly 90 years old. [Name # 6.]

6. "Homeland" org.: CIA. Homeland was American espionage thriller television series that ran for nearly a decade.

7. @ signs: ATs.

8. Sonia Sotomayor, for one: LATINA. Sonia Maria Sotomayor (b. June 25, 1954) joined the United States Supreme Court in August 2009. I can't imagine that she has a pleasant job. [Name # 7.]

9. Film on a pond: SCUM.

10. "This means __!": WAR.

11. Invites to dinner, maybe: ASKS OUT.

12. Connect with: TIE INTO.

16. Raw bar mollusk: OYSTER.

19. Letters on an incomplete schedule: TBD. As in To Be Determined.

21. Crunchy hummus scooper: PITA CHIP. Yummers!

25. Backsplash binder: GROUT. Everything you wanted to know about kitchen backsplashes but didn't know to ask.

26. "Wuthering Heights" setting: MOOR. Wuthering Heights is a 1847 novel by Emily Brontë (July 30, 1818 ~ Dec. 19, 1848). It was initially published under her pen of Ellis Bell. I probably read it in high school, but the only thing I can tell you about the book is it involves characters named Catherine and Heathcliff.

27. About to happen: IN STORE. What comments are In Store for us today on this puzzle?

28. Nattily dressed snack food mascot: MR. PEANUT. The nattily dressed Mr. Peanut (whose full name is Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smyth) has changed a bit throughout the ages. [Name adjacent.]