Friday, November 17, 2023

QOD:  It’s important to remember that you’re born naked, and the rest is drag.  ~  RuPaul (né RuPaul Andre Charles; b. Nov. 17, 1960), American drag queen and television personality

Thursday, November 16, 2023

QOD:  I understand your play is full of single entendres.  ~  George S. Kaufman (né George Simon Kaufman; Nov. 16, 1889 ~ June 2, 1961), American playwright

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

QOD:  That which is impossible to force, it is impossible to hinder.  ~  Marianne Moore (née Marianne Craig Moore; Nov. 15, 1887 ~ Feb. 5, 1972), American poet

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

QOD:  A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life.  Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.  ~  P.J. O’Rourke (né Patrick Jake O’Rourke; Nov. 14, 1947 ~ Feb. 15, 2022), American political satirist

A Day at the Gym.  The End word of each theme answer is a Workout one might do at the gym.

16-Across. *   Device that crushes pungent cloves: GARLIC PRESS.

24-Across. *   Go swimming in one's birthday suit: SKINNY DIP. 

48-Across. *   Perm style popular in the 1980s and early 1990s: JHERI CURL.

58-Across. *   Very little, informally: DIDDLY SQUAT.

And the unifier:

38-Across. Come to a satisfying conclusion, and what the answer to each starred clue literally has: WORKOUT IN THE END.

Across:

1. Yahtzee cubes: DICE.   //  27Across. Domino dimple: PIP.  The dimples on the dice and dominos are both called PIPs.

5. Load to bear: ONUS.  From the Latin, literally meaning Burden.

9. Includes on an email: CC's.  A shout out to our wonderful Blog host.

12. Milky white gem: OPAL.  Hi, Kazie!  These gems are prevalent in Australia.

13. Exactly right: SPOT ON.

15. Barrister's field: LAW.  A Barrister is an attorney who specializes in trial litigation, as opposed to a 

Solicitor, who focuses on more transactional areas of law, such as contracts.  These terms are more common in the United Kingdom rather than in the United States.  In England, the Barrister in criminal court wears the iconic wig.

18. Unlock, in verse: OPE.

19. Shared values: ETHOS.

20. "Tag, __ it!": YOU'RE.

22. Puts on: DONS.

28. Flexible blackjack card: ACE.

30. Letters accompanying college apps: RECS.  As in Recommendations.

31. Maker of Calm + Restore skin care products: AVEENO.  We learned from a recent crossword puzzle that Aveeno products are also vegan.

I know everyone won't get the joke, but it made me laugh. *

33. Sheep sound: BAA.

34. Threesome: TRIO.  Ménage à trois?

41. Wild guess: STAB.

42. P-like Greek letter: RHO.  The Greek letters appear so often in the puzzles that we should have them all memorized by now.

43. Apple AirPod, e.g.: EARBUD.

44. Qatari leader: EMIR.  The letters also stand for European Market Infrastructure Regulation.

46. __ deco: ART.  We haven't seen our old friend Erté (né Romain de Tirtoff; Nov. 23, 1892 ~ Apr. 21, 1990) in a long time.  He used to make frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  He was best known for his Art Deco designs.

47. Some coll. degrees: BSs.  As in a Bachelor of Science degree, as opposed to a Bachelor of Arts degree.

52. Olympic sword: ÉPÉE.  A crossword staple.

54. Vampire teeth: FANGS.

My neighbor's cat that we renamed Fang.  He likes us better than his real owner.

55. Video game pioneer: ATARI.

57. Tot: KID.

64. "World of Dance" judge, to fans: JLO.  Jennifer Lynn Lopez Affleck (b. July 24, 1969) got her start as a Fly Girl on the television comedy In Living Color.  She is well known for her many marriages and relationships.  [Name # 1.]

65. Make a minister: ORDAIN.

66. Constellation bear: URSA.  I guess if you have a good imagination, you can see the Bear in the Stars.  It's easier to see the Big Dipper.  Can you find the 27-Down. Bear hands: PAWS?

67. << on a remote: Abbr.: REW.   The Rewind button.

68. Rapper Lil Uzi __: VERT.  Although I didn't recognize the name, when I saw his photo, I realized that Lil Uzi Vert (né Symere Basil Woods; b. July 31, 1995) has made appearances in the puzzles before.  Apparently, he had a $24M pink diamond imbedded into his forehead, until it was "ripped" out during a concert.  [Name # 2.]

69. Yellowstone grazers: ELKS.  We learned from last Tuesday that all Elks are Deer, but not all Deer are Elks.

Down:

1. "Best in Show" animal: DOG.  One of the funniest movies I have seen.

2. Hoppy brew letters: IPA.  As in India Pale Ale.  The real story of IPA's origin.

3. Sedan, e.g.: CAR.

4. Astronaut Ochoa who was the first Latina in space: ELLEN.  Not only was Ellen Ochoa (b. May 10, 1958) the first Latina in space, but she was also the director of the Johnson Space Center.  In 1993 she became the first Hispanic woman to go into space when she went on a 9-day mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery.  [Name # 3.]

5. Stand against: OPPOSE.

6. Scandinavian language, to its speakers: NORSK.  Norsk is one of two principal languages of Norway, but there are several others.

7. Native people of Colorado: UTE.  A crossword staple.

8. Distress call: SOS.  This is becoming a crossword staple.  It has appeared in several of the past Tuesday puzzles.

9. Sun block?: CLOUD.  Great misdirection.

10. __ pants: warm-weather wear: CAPRI.  Where did they come from?

11. Use a broom: SWEEP.

13. PTA meeting place: SCH.  The Parent Teacher Association meetings take place at the School.

14. "Bye Bye Bye" boy band: NSYNC.  [Name adjacent.]

17. "Hard pass": IT'S A NO.

21. Bivalve in a bed: OYSTER.

22. Golfer's gouge: DIVOT.

23. Rossini composition: OPERA.  Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) wrote 39 operas, as well as many pieces of music, including chamber music and sacred pieces.  He is probably best known for his 1816 opera The Barber of Seville.   [Name # 4.]

25. Tehran's land: IRAN.

 

26. Less of a mess: NEATER.

29. Journalist Katie who guest-hosted "Jeopardy!" in 2021: COURIC.  Katherine Anne Couric (b. Jan. 7, 19957) always seemed a little too cheerful for me.  [Name # 5.]

32. Actress Anita of "La Dolce Vita": EKBERG.  Anita Ekberg (née Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg; Sept. 29, 1931 ~ Jan. 11, 2015) was a Swedish actress.  In 1964, she became a permanent resident of Italy.  She is known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita, which was directed by Federico Fellini (Jan. 20, 1920 ~ Oct. 31, 1993).  [Name # 6.]

33. Sci. course: BIO.

35. Yeshiva leader: REBBE.  Rabbi vs Rebbe.

36. Occupied: IN USE.

37. Betting numbers: ODDS.

39. Drive-__ window: THRU.

40. Trash-talking types: HATERS.

45. Bungle: MIS-DO.

46. Writing movement rooted in internet culture: ALT LIT.  Alternative Literature.

48. Jackie O's son: JFK, JR.  Tragically, JFK, Jr. (né John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr.; Sept. 25, 1960 ~ July 16, 1999) and his wife, Caroline (née Caroline Jeanne Bessette; Jan. 7, 1966 ~ July 16, 1999) were killed in a plane crash while on their way to the wedding of a Kennedy cousin.  After the death of President John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy (née Jacqueline Lee Bouvier; July 18, 1929 ~ May 19, 1994) married shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and became known as Jackie O.  [Names # 7 and 8.]

Caroline Kennedy, JFK, Jr., and Jackie Kennedy Onassis

49. Selassie of Ethiopia: HAILE.  Everything you wanted to know about Emperor Haile Selassie (né Täfäri Mäkonnän; July 23, 1892 ~ Aug. 27, 1975), but didn't know to ask.  When he became emperor, he changed his name to Haile Selassie which means Power of the Trinity in Amharic.  [Names # 9.]

50. Fund: ENDOW.

51. Storm-tracking aid: RADAR.

53. Arouse, as interest: PIQUE.

56. Author Rand: AYN.  Ayn Rand (née Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; Feb. 2, 1905 ~ Mar. 6, 1982) was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher.  She is best known for her novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, both of which I read when I was in college.  [Name # 10.]

59. Hip-hop producer Gotti: IRV.  I am not into the hip-hop scene, so am not familiar with Ive Gotti (né Irving Domingo Lorenzo, Jr.; b. July 26, 1970).  [Name # 11.]

60. 1950s political monogram: DDE.  As in Dwight David Eisenhower (Oct. 14, 1890 ~ Mar. 28, 1969).  [Name # 12.]

61. Bookmarked link: URL.  The Uniform Resource Locator has become a crossword staple.

62. Invite (to): ASK.

63. Prof's assistants: TAs.  As in Teaching Assistants.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

*  Avinu Malkeinu (Hebrew: אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ; "Our Father, Our King") is a Jewish prayer recited during the High Holidays.  Avinu is pronounced like Aveeno.

Monday, November 13, 2023

QOD:  Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light is the most effective policemen.  ~  Louis D. Brandeis (né Louis Dembitz Brandeis; Nov. 13, 1856 ~ Oct. 9, 1941), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Sunday, November 12, 2023

QOD:  Patience is also a form of action ~  Auguste Rodin (né François-Auguste René Rodin; Nov. 12, 1840 ~ Nov. 17, 1917), French sculptor