QOD: Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Tuesday, 6 June 2023

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

QOD: If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they’ll stop making it tomorrow; if it’s all three, they stopped making it yesterday. ~ Mignon McLaughlin (née Mignon Neuhaus; June 6, 1913 ~ Dec. 20, 1983), American journalist

Imagine Me and You ... Each theme answer begins with U (You) and ends with ME with lots of letters in BETWEEN.

16-Across. Star-spangled garb for July 4th: UNCLE SAM COSTUME.

22-Across. "Catch you later": UNTIL NEXT TIME.

34-Across. Activity with Skip and Wild Draw Four cards: UNO GAME.

47-Across. Focus of many a murder podcast: UNSOLVED CRIME.

55-Across. Secret-teller's intro, and an apt title for this puzzle: BETWEEN YOU AND ME. Just between you and me, I'll let you in on a secret: Today is National Yo-Yo Day.

Across:

1. Sketch show with a musical guest, familiarly: SNL. Saturday Night Live provides lots of fodder for the crossword puzzles. The show made its debut on October 11, 1975 with George Carlin (May 12, 1937 ~ June 22, 2008) as the first host. Don Pardo (Feb. 22, 1918 ~ 2014) was the first announcer.

4. Uncovers: BARES.

9. Dollop: BLOB.

13. Secure (to): TIE.

14. South Pacific island: TAHITI. It looks like such a romantic location.

15. Bert who played the Cowardly Lion: LAHR. Bert Lahr (né Irving Lahrheim; Aug. 13, 1895 ~ Dec. 4, 1967) began his acting career in vaudeville. Although he was in other films, he is best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. [Name # 1.]

19. Relay race rods: BATONS.

20. Paint shade: HUE.

21. Not even half-baked: RAW.

26. Taxi prices: FARES.

28. Ref. work favoring "favour": OED. // And 33-Across. Last section of the 28-Across: ZED. The last section of the Oxford English Dictionary are the words beginning with the letter "Z", or as they say across the pond, the letter Zed.

29. Sneaker pattern: TREAD.

30. "Best. Day. __!": EVER.

31. Tax return fig.: AGI. As in Adjusted Gross Income.

32. Pharmaceutical giant __ Lilly: ELI. The name of the pharmaceutical company was named after its founder, Colonel Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 ~ June 6, 1898). He died 125 years ago today. [Name # 2.]

36. Round vegetable: PEA.

39. Goal: END. The word "Aim" also fit into the spaces provided.

40. Pres. after FDR: HST. Harry S Truman (May 8, 1884 ~ Dec. 26, 1972) immediately followed Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882 ~ Apr. 12, 1945) as President of the United States. [Name # 3.]

41. Street: ROAD.

42. Wishing one hadn't: RUING.

45. Poor grade: DEE.

46. Observes Ramadan, say: FASTS. Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, which means that there is not a correction for seasons. Instead of 364 days per year, as are in the Gregorian calendar, there are only 354 days per year.

50. Diagnostic scan, briefly: MRI.

51. Illegal turn, maybe: UIE. Meh. Not keen on this clue and answer.

52. Inexact lunch hour: ONEISH.

59. Cut with a beam: LASE.

60. "Night" author Elie: WIESEL. I first read Night when I was in high school. Night is the first book in a trilogy (the other books are Dawn and Day) and is an autobiographical account of Elie Wiesel's experience in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. He describes his battle with G~d for a way to understand the horrors of what he experienced in the concentration camp. I hope this book isn't banned. Wiesel (né Eliezer Wiesel; Sept. 30, 1928 ~ July 2, 2016) was the recipient of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy for victims of oppression around the world. [Name # 4.]

61. Group's adjective: OUR.

62. North Carolina university town: ELON. Not to be confused with Elon Musk (b. June 28, 1971). [Name # 5.]

63. Attach, as a patch: SEW ON. Because Iron-On didn't fit in the spaces provided.

64. Greenpeace, for one: NGO. As in a Non-Governmental Organization.

Down:

1. Short pencil: STUB.

2. Singer Simone: NINA. Nina Simone (née Eunice Kathleen Waymon; Feb. 21, 1933 ~ Apr. 21, 2003) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. [Name # 6.]

3. Gave a good talking-to: LECTURED.

4. Low choir voices: BASSI. Here's an example of a singular Basso voice.

5. "With you now": AHA!

6. Outer edge: RIM.

7. Engraved with acid: ETCHED.

8. __ City, Iowa: SIOUX.

9. Sandwich known by its initials: BLT. Ask in a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich.

10. Avant-garde violinist and artist Anderson: LAURIE. About 40 years ago, I went to a 2-day Laurie Anderson (née Laurel Philips Anderson; b. June 5, 1847) concert in Brooklyn, New York. It was such a fabulous concert. She was married to fellow musician, Lou Reed (né Lewis Allan Reed; Mar. 2, 1942 ~ Oct. 27, 2013). [Name # 7.]

11. "Yowza": OH, MAMA!

12. Prepared, as coffee: BREWED.

14. Outdoor wedding shelters: TENTS.

17. "Table for one" type: LONER.

18. Put down roots: SETTLE.

23. Company emblem: LOGO.

24. Tried to speak horse: NEIGHED. Whyever would I want to speak horse? I can, however, speak hoarse.

25. __-state area: TRI.

26. Brimless hat: FEZ. This clue and answer made me thing of our friend Abejo. He had mentioned more than once that he belonged to an organization that wore fez hats.

27. "__ Maria": AVE.

31. Plus: AND.

32. Pro in an ambulance: EMT. As in an Emergency Medical Technician. A crossword staple.

34. Use Goo Gone, e.g.: UNGLUE. I am not familiar with this company. Apparently there are many iterations of this product.

35. "Hang on __!": A SEC.

36. Greek god of the sea: POSEIDON. Poseidon is also the god of earthquakes. [Name # 8.]

37. Consume: EAT.

38. Targeted social media posts: ADs.

39. Brian of Roxy Music: ENO. Brian Eno (né Brian Peter George Eno; b. May 15, 1948) used to make very frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. We haven't seen him for a while. [Name # 9.

Then and Now

41. Instant noodles option: RAMEN. Standard fare for poor college students.

42. Sound of distant thunder: RUMBLE.

43. Preposterous: UNREAL.

44. Rather formal "Can this be true?": IS IT SO?

45. Judy Blume novel about a girl with scoliosis: DEENIE. Judy Blume (née Judith Susan; b. Feb. 12, 1938) is best known for her young adult novels. Deenie was first published in 1973, and the title character is diagnosed with scoliosis, which is curvature of the spine. In the book, Deenie must wear a back brace to correct the curvature. Treatments for scoliosis have advanced considerably in the 50 years since the book was published. Princess Eugenie (b. Mar. 23, 1990) has scoliosis and had surgery. [Name # 10.]