QOD: Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Tuesday, 5 September 2023

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

QOD: More tears have been shed over the lack of men’s manners than the lack of morals. ~ Helen Hathaway, American educator

It's September so Back to School: The last word of each two-word theme answer pertains to education. The first word correlates with a word or phrase in the clue.

17-Across. Instruction in public relations?: SPIN CLASS.

26-Across. Instruction in horticulture?: NURSERY SCHOOL.

48-Across. Instruction in an early computer language?: BASIC TRAINING.

63-Across. Instruction in residential real estate?: HOME STUDY.

Across:

1. Barely detectable amount: TRACE.

6. Secret agent: SPY.

9. Tiffs: SPATS.

14. Moving-day containers: BOXES.

15. Tot's piggy: TOE.

16. Well-mannered: CIVIL.

19. Slowly break down: ERODE.

20. Annoyance: PEST.

21. Likely (to): APT.

22. Rather underwhelmed: UNAWED.

23. Theater walkway: AISLE.

25. Map marker: PIN.

31. Capital city near the Nile Delta: CAIRO.

33. Four-time WNBA champion Bird: SUE. The only Bird I could think of who played basketball was Larry Bird, but he didn't play in the Women's National Basketball Association. Sue Bird (née Suzanne Brigit Bird; b. Oct. 16, 1980) played with the Seattle Storm for her entire career. She played from 2002 until she retired just a year ago in September 2022. [Name # 1.]

34. Jason's ship, in Greek mythology: ARGO. [Name # 2.] Jason is an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts. He led the quest for the Golden Fleece. It's all Greek to me. A CSO to our old friend Lemonade. We miss you.

35. Do the last part of a triathlon, e.g.: RUN.

36. Catch a few winks: NAP.

39. Los Angeles commuter org.: MTA. MTA = Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

41. The NHL's __ Ross Trophy: ART. Arthur Ross (né Arthur Howe Ross; January 13, 1885 ~ August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was regarded as one of the best players of his time. He is know for being one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice rather than pass it to a forward. He was the first coach for the Boston Bruins. The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. [Name # 3.]

42. Length x width, for a rectangle: AREA.

44. Novelist Deighton: LEN. Although Len Deighton (né Leonard Cyril Deighton; b. Feb. 18, 1929) is best known for his spy and espionage novels, he also writes cookbooks and books on military history. [Name # 4.]

46. Mystical old letters: RUNES.

52. Letter after pi: RHO.

53. Whitlock Jr. of "Cocaine Bear": ISIAH. Although I didn't recognize the name, I recognized the face. Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (b. Sept. 13, 1954) portrayed Clay Davis, the corrupt politician on The Wire. [Name # 5.]

54. Faces with courage: BRAVES.

57. Hogwash: ROT.

58. Words said with an eye roll: I BET.

62. "Mental Illness" Grammy winner Mann: AIMEE. Aimee Elizabeth Mann (b. Sept. 8, 1960) will celebrate her 63rd birthday later this week. She studied music at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. [Name # 6.]

65. Perfect places: EDENS. A Crossword staple.

66. Prez on a fiver: ABE. We all are familiar with Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12, 1809 ~ Apr. 15, 1965), the 16th President of the United States. [Name # 7.]

67. Junkyard stuff: SCRAP.

68. Full of spice: ZESTY.

69. Knight's title: SIR.

70. Herbes de Provence herb: THYME.

Down:

1. Cookbook meas.: TBSP.

2. Rock climber's line: ROPE.

3. Graph line: AXIS.

4. Mythological man-horse: CENTAUR.

5. Top-left PC key: ESC. Also on the top left of my MacBook keyboard. // And 61-Down. Use a keyboard: TYPE.

6. Paper fastener: STAPLE.

7. Movie advertisements: POSTERS.

8. "That's correct": YES.

9. Like most of the Pacific Coast Highway: SCENIC.

10. Omnivorous fish: PIRANHA. Piranha are surprisingly small fish, but they do have sharp teeth.

11. Declare without shame: AVOW.

12. Sea level shift: TIDE.

13. Snow coaster: SLED.

Sled alternatives

18. Young woman: LASS.

22. Bent out of shape: UPSET.

24. Steam-emitting laundry appliance: IRON.

26. Dressed to the __: NINES. The possible origin story of this phrase.

27. "Tasty": YUM.

28. Chimp kin: ORANG.

29. Beast in "Puss in Boots": OGRE. Puss in Boots is a European fairy tale about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand in marriage of a princess for his penniless and low-born master.

Apropos of nothing, other than the title above is in French: Life is surreal for French speakers in Louisiana right now because phonetically, "chat GPT" sounds like "Chat, j'ai pété", which means "Cat, I farted" in English. Television news reporters say, with a perfectly straight face, Cat, I farted. Is Cat, I Farted going to steal your job? How are schools dealing with cat, I farted? Lawyers have been caught using cat, I farted to write their briefs. It goes on, and on ...

30. Auction units: LOTS.

31. Fiddler __: creature with asymmetric claws: CRAB. Everything you wanted to know about the Fiddler Crab but didn't know to ask.

32. Luminous glow: AURA.

37. Voices between sopranos and tenors: ALTOS.

38. For each: PER.

40. Operatic showstopper: ARIA.

43. Clothes dryer attachment: AIR VENT. How to clean a dryer vent.

45. Kenyan city known as the Green City in the Sun: NAIROBI.

47. Disconnect, as a trailer: UNHITCH.

49. Corny: CHEESY.

50. Chemically similar compound: ISOMER. Isomers are compounds that have the same molecular formula, but are structurally different.

51. Evening, in ads: NITE.

54. Folk legend Joan: BAEZ. Joan Baez (née Joan Chandos Baez; b. Jan. 9, 1941) is probably mostly associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, as her music in that period focused on protest and social justice. [Name # 8.]

55. Take a bus: RIDE.

56. Iowa college town: AMES. Ames, Iowa is the home of Iowa State University. There is a town in Louisiana called Iowa, but it is pronounced pronounced with the long A sound at the end ("EYE-uh-way"), opposed to the pronunciation of the state of Iowa.