Friday, January 27, 2023

QOD:  Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.  ~  Learned Hand (né Billings Learned Hand; Jan. 27, 1872 ~ Aug. 18, 1961), Federal Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 2^nd Circuit

Thursday, January 26, 2023

QOD:  You only grow when you are alone.  ~  Paul Newman (né Paul Leonard Newman; Jan. 26, 1925 ~ Sept. 26, 2008), American movie actor

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

QOD:  For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.  ~  Virginia Woolf (née Adeline Virginia Stephen, d. Mar. 28, 1941, Jan. 25, 1882 ~ Mar. 28, 1941), British writer

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.]

31. Rager: BASH.

33. Feathery accessories: BOAs.

34. Military rookie: CADET.

36. Whodunit board game: CLUE.  A brief history of the game of Clue.

37. "Closer to Fine" duo __ Girls: INDIGO.

38. In a row?: FEUDING.  Row:  a noisy argument, but when used in this context the word rhymes with cow.

39. Lifetime channel offering: TV MOVIE.

41. Japanese electronics giant: TOSHIBA.  A brief history of Toshiba.

43. Hitting sound: THWACK.

45. Ballpark frank: WIENER.  The Boston Red Sox are known for their Fenway Franks.

47. Won at musical chairs: SAT.

48. "I feel the same way": ME TOO.

49. Curmudgeon: CRANK.

51. Curse: JINX.  Hi, Jinx!

54. Geologic time unit: EON.  A crossword staple.

55. Line in a child's drawing of the sun: RAY.  Hi, Ray-o-Sunshine!

56. Full of feelings: EMO. 

57. "Quiet on the __!": SET.

I Rest My CASE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, January 23, 2023

QOD:  Break a vase, and the love that assembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole. ~  Sir Derek Walcott (né Derek Alton Walcott; Jan. 23, 1930 ~ Mar. 17, 2017), West Indies poet and author

Sunday, January 22, 2023

QOD:  If you believe that no one was ever corrupted by a book, you have also to believe that no one was ever improved by a book.  ~  Irving Kristol (Jan. 22, 1920 ~ Sept. 18, 2009), American political journalist