Friday, September 1, 2023

QOD:  It’s my belief we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.  ~  Lily Tomlin (née Mary Jean Tomlin, b. Sept. 1, 1939), American actress and comedian

Thursday, August 31, 2023

QOD:  Everybody has got to died, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case.  ~  William Saroyan (Aug. 31, 1908 ~ May 18, 1981), American novelist

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

QOD:  The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet.  It requires a certain relish for confusion.  ~  Molly Ivins (née Mary Tyler Ivins; Aug. 30, 1944 ~ Jan. 31, 2006), American newspaper columnist and humorist

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

QOD:  Knowledge and timber shouldn’t be much used till they are seasoned.  ~  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Aug. 29, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1894), American physician and poet

Double Speak:  Each word in the two-word theme answer can be paired with the word Talk, to give us two (Double) new concepts.

18-Across. Java joint: COFFEE SHOP.  Coffee Talk / Shop Talk

Coffee Doublespeak

26-Across. In-demand spot at a busy bistro: EMPTY TABLE.  Empty Talk / Table Talk

Table Talk circa 2023

46-Across. Source of lumbar support: BACK PILLOW.  Back Talk / Pillow Talk

And the unifier:

58-Across. Deliberately ambiguous language, and an apt description of 18-, 26-, and 46-Across: DOUBLE TALK.

Across:

1. Kindergarten basics: ABCs.

5. 1996 film that earned Frances McDormand her first Oscar: FARGO.  Frances Louise McDormand (née Cynthia Ann Smith; b. June 23, 1957) portrayed Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating a triple homicide in the film.  The movie earned McDormand her first Oscar.  [Name # 1.]

10. Tapped brew: BEER.

14. Ever so: VERY.

15. Cooked at home: ATE IN.

16. Church recess: APSE.

17. Business maj.: ECON.  As in Economics.

20. Snooze: NAP.

21. Cash dispensers: ATMs.  This used to be a crossword staple.  We haven't seen the Automated Teller Machines in a while.

22. Beginnings: ON SETS.

23. Affixes in a scrapbook, say: GLUES.

25. Not too late: IN TIME.

30. Italian evening: SERA.  Today's Latin lesson.

32. __ number: product ID: SERIAL.

33. Activate, as an alarm: TRIP.

34. Resistance unit: OHM.  Everything you wanted to know about the Ohm but didn't know to ask.  It was named in honor of Georg Ohm (né Georg Simon Ohm; Mar. 16, 1789 ~ July 6, 1854), a German physicist and mathematician.  [Name # 2.]

37. Patio: TERRACE.

40. Deed: ACT.

41. Pedicure beneficiaries: TOES.

43. Improper treatment: MISUSE.

45. "Ignore that suggested edit": STET.

50. Muscle injury: STRAIN.

52. Oscar-winning song from "Selma": GLORY.  Selma is the movie about Martin Luther King's 1965 protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Georgia in the fight for Civil Rights.

53. With no markup: AT COST.

54. "How've you __?": BEEN.

57. "His Dark Materials" actor __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.  Lin-Manuel Miranda (b. Jan. 16, 1980) is probably best known for Hamilton.  [Name # 3.]

60. Edinburgh resident: SCOT.  Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.  [Name adjacent.]

61. Poker pot starter: ANTE.

62. Code with dots and dashes: MORSE.  The Morse Code was/is a method of telecommunication using a series of dots and dashes to encrypt text characters.  The Code is named after Samuel Morse (né Samuel Finley Breese Morse; Apr. 27, 1791 ~ Apr. 2, 1872).  He led a very interesting life and in his early years was a painter.   [Name adjacent.]

63. __ Alto, California: PALO.  Palo Alto considers itself to be the Birthplace of Silicon Valley.

64. Clarinet need: REED.

65. Concluded: ENDED.

66. "... with __-foot pole!": A TEN.

Down:

1. Get even for: AVENGE.

2. "Don't freak out": BE CALM.  The history behind the Keep Calm slogan.

3. Appear unexpectedly: CROP UP.

4. Thesaurus entry: Abbr.: SYN.  As in a synonym.

5. Indisputable point: FACT.

6. Elemental particle: ATOM.

7. Officials who may cry foul: REFs.  As in Referees.

8. Animated pic: GIF. GIF = Graphics Interchange Format.

9. Low-scoring tie: ONE-ONE.

10. Jazz band member: BASSIST.

11. Collectibles such as ticket stubs and matchbooks: EPHEMERA.  Not a Tuesday word.  Probably more of a 12-Down word.  Webster's defines Ephemera as: (1) something of no lasting significance; (2) ephemera plural : paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles.

12. Understood by a select few: ESOTERIC.

13. Counts at a gym: REPS.  As in Repetitions.

19. Sinusitis doc: ENT.  The Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor has become a crossword staple.

21. Until now: AS YET.

24. Sci-fi film extras, briefly: ETs.

25. "Let me see if that's possible": I'LL ASK.

27. Italian three: TRE.  More of today's Italian lesson.

28. Low-ranking soldier on base: AIRMAN.

29. Relating to element 56: BARIC.  Barium has the atomic number of 56 on the periodic table.  Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element. 

31. Fitting: APT.

34. Bonus sports periods: OTs.  As in Over Times.

35. Warm element in some massages: HOT STONE.  Everything you ever wanted to know about Hot Stone Message but didn't know to ask.

36. Rom-com encounter: MEET CUTE.

38. Many a sports trophy: CUP.

The Stanley Cup.

39. Endorse digitally: E-SIGN.  During Covid, I found myself having to e-sign many documents.

42. Pulsed, as lights in a light show: STROBED.

44. Bracket shape: ELL.

46. Defiant retort: BITE ME.  Rather impolite.

47. Meme feline: LOL CAT.

48. Baltimore MLB player: ORIOLE.

49. Jazz trumpeter Marsalis: WYNTON.  Wynton Learson Marsalis (b. Oct. 18, 1961) is a New Orleanian Jazz trumpeter and composer.  He is currently the artistic director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center.  Below is a non-Jazz performance.  [Name # 4.]

51. Syst. with hand gestures: ASL.  As in American Sign Language.  As a point of interest, Dorothy Casterline (née Dorothy Chiyoko Sueoka; Apr. 27, 1928 ~ Aug. 8, 2023) lost her hearing as a teenager due to an illness.  She became  an American deaf linguist known for her contribution to A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles, which considered a foundational work of sign language linguistics.  Dorothy died earlier this month at age 95.

53. Hebrew month before Nisan: ADAR.  Everything you wanted to know about the Hebrew calendar but didn't know to ask.

54. The __ of Avon: BARD.  Also known as Willie the Shakes (William Shakespeare; 1564 ~ 1616).  [Name # 5.]

55. Besides: ELSE.

56. __ out a living: EKED.

59. Immense weight: TON.

60. Galentine's Day destination, perhaps: SPA.  I just recently learned about Galentine's Day, which falls on February 13.

And the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, August 28, 2023

QOD:  Done is better than perfect.  ~  Sheryl Sandberg (née Sheryl Kara Sandberg; b. Aug. 28, 1969), American technology officer

Sunday, August 27, 2023

QOD:  If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.  ~  Herbert Stein (Aug. 27, 1916 ~ Sept. 8, 1999), American economist