Friday, February 9, 2024

QOD:  As in absolute governments the King is the law, so in free countries the law ought to be king.  ~  Thomas Paine (Feb. 9, 1737 ~ June 8, 1809), English-born early American political activist

Thursday, February 8, 2024

QOD:  War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.  ~  William Sherman (né William Tecumseh Sherman; Feb. 8, 1820 ~ Feb. 14, 1891), American general and educator

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

QOD:  Some of the greatest conflicts are not between two people, but between one person and himself.  ~  Garth Brooks (né Troyal Garth Brooks; b. Feb. 7, 1962), American country music singer-songwriter

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

QOD:  A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it.  ~  Zsa Zsa Gabor (née Sári Gábor; Feb. 6, 1917 ~ Dec. 18, 2016), Hungarian-born actress

A Whole Lotta Shaking.  The word Whole can be added to the last word of each theme answer to give a new concept.  

200Across. *  Customer support line, typically: TOLL FREE NUMBER.  Whole Number.  A whole number is simply any positive number that does not include a fractional or decimal part.

25-Across. * Male minister: MAN OF THE CLOTH.  Whole Cloth.  The term "whole cloth" is something that is entirely fictional or utterly false; completely fabricated and not based on reality at all.  The term is a reference to tailors who would falsely advertise garments being made "out of whole cloth," when, in reality, they were pieced together from different cuts.

45-Across. *  Rolled meaty entree that may be served "wet": BEEF ENCHILADA.  Whole Enchilada.  According to Webster's, the Whole Enchilada means "the entire thing : everything".

And the Unifier:

50-Across. "Too complicated to explain," and a way to describe the end of the answer to each starred clue?: IT'S A WHOLE THING.

Across:

1. Tree covering: BARK.

5. Put up, as wallpaper: HANG.

9. Tabloid couple: ITEM. 

Rumor has it that these two are an item.

13. Margarine: OLEO. 

14. Emotionally distant: ALOOF.

16. Weigh station rig: SEMI.

17. Four Corners state: UTAH.

18. Ancient Greek region: IONIA.

19. Settled on a perch: ALIT.

23. Barbecue chef's spice concoction: RUB.

24. "Barton Fink" director Joel: COEN.  The Coen Brothers, Joel (né Joel Daniel Coen; b. Nov. 29, 1954) and Ethan (né Ethan Jesse Coen; b. Sept. 21, 1957) have made numerous films together.  [Name # 1.]

Ethan (Left) and Joel (Right) Coen

31. Step before a "big kid bed": CRIB.

33. December decor: WREATH.

34. Compete: VIE.

35. "Morning Edition" medium: RADIO.

37. Raggedy __ and Andy dolls: ANN.  The backstory.  [Names # 2 and 3, fictional.]

38. Venue for a major 1-Down: ARENA.  //  And 1-Down:  1. Boxing match: BOUT.

40. __ de Triomphe: ARC.  It's been in Paris, France since the 1830s

41. Mottled horses: PINTOs.

44. Airline that doesn't fly on Shabbat: EL AL.  A crossword staple.

48. "You've Got Mail" director Ephron: NORA.  Nora Ephron (May 19, 1941 ~ June 26, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. [Name # 4.]

49. Short albums, for short: EPs.  As in Extended Plays.

57. Big birds of Australia: EMUs.  We often see Emus in the crossword puzzles.

58. Greek fable writer: AESOP.  You can find a list of his fables at the Library of Congress.  [Name # 5.]

59. Mental flash: IDEA.

60. Apple Watch assistant: SIRI.  [Name adjacent.]

61. Email option since 1997: YAHOO!

62. Harvest: REAP.

63. Brief "Chat soon": TTYL.  Textspeak for Talk To You Later.

64. "__ Yankees": DAMN.  The only thing I know about this 1950s era film is in the video below. 

65. Sugar amts.: TSPs.  As in Teaspoons.  Why the measurement is called a Teaspoon.

Down:

2. Voice range higher than tenor: ALTO.

3. Tangible: REAL.

4. Vegetable also called a German turnip: KOHLRABI.

5. Blue accessory for Maggie Simpson: HAIRBOW.  And her mother, Marge, has blue hair.  [Name # 5, fictional.]

6. __ vera gel: ALOE.  A crossword staple, as is this cartoon.

7. Sold-out amount: NONE.  Cute clue.

8. Enter: GO IN.

9. "The House of the Spirits" novelist Allende: ISABEL.  Isabel Allende (née Isabel Angélica Allende Llona; b. Aug. 2, 1942) is a Chilean novelist who makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.   [Name # 6.]

10. Latin American soap: TELENOVELA.  As in a soap opera, not a bar of soap.

11. Gulf States ruler: EMIR.

12. Research univ. near Harvard: MIT.  As in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

15. Tap: FAUCET.

21. Enjoyable: FUN.

22. Chocolaty coffee drink: MOCHA.  Yummers!

25. Era associated with modern furniture: MID-CENTURY.  Everything you wanted to know about Mid-Century furniture but didn't know to ask.

26. Senegal currency: FRANC.

27. First extra inning: TENTH.

28. Home of the Vietnam National Museum of History: HANOI.  There is also a memorial in Hanoi honoring John McCain.

29. "Proud Mary" singer Turner: TINA.  Time for a musical interlude with Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; b. Nov. 26, 1939 ~ May 24, 2023).   [Name # 7.]

30. Mend: HEAL.

31. Grump: CRAB.

32. Deeply un-well?: RARE.

36. Covent Garden performance: OPERA.

39. Keep out of college sports for a season: REDSHIRT.  Redshirt refers to a year in which a student-athlete sits out for a playing season, but still maintains his/her four-year eligibility.

42. " ... Kind of?": IN A WAY.

43. Consider overnight: SLEEP ON.

46. Paleontologist's discovery: FOSSIL.

47. Fitting: APT.

50. "You found the right person": I'M IT.

51. Leader: HEAD.

52. Workplace-focused workplace: Abbr.: OSHA.  As in Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

53. Weaving machine: LOOM.

54. __ of March: IDES.  Did you know that every month has an Ides?  Ides of March is famous / infamous because it is the day that Julius Caesar was supposedly assassinated.

55. Spring's opposite, in tides: NEAP.

56. Intervening spaces: GAPS.

57. Approximate fig.: EST.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, February 5, 2024

QOD:  Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing.  ~  William S. Burroughs (né William Seward Burroughs, II; Feb. 5, 1914 ~ Aug. 2, 1997), American writer 

Sunday, February 4, 2024

QOD:  A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself.  ~  Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Feb. 4, 1906 ~ Apr. 9, 1945), German Christian theologian