Friday, April 12, 2024

QOD:  The difference between fiction and reality?  Fiction has to make sense.  ~  Tom Clancy (né Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr.; b. Apr. 12, 1947 ~ Oct. 1, 2013), American novelist of political thrillers

Thursday, April 11, 2024

QOD:  Fear is a bad guardian for a thing that ought to last.  ~  Cicero (BCE Jan. 3, 106 ~ BCE Dec. 7, 43,), Roman statesmen and philosopher

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

QOD:  Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.  ~  Anne Lamott (b. Apr. 10, 1954), American novelist

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

QOD:  Always predict the worst, and you’ll be hailed as a profit.  ~  Tom Lehrer (né Thomas Andrew Lehrer, b. Apr. 9, 1928), American mathematician and comedian

On the Book Shelf.  Today we get both books and the supports that hold the books upright.

These bookends are for people who read between the lions.

17-Across. Garlic bread option: TEXAS TOAST.  Text.

22-Across. Column of super-heated ash and sulfur dioxide during an eruption: VOLCANIC PLUME.  Volume.

44-Across. Nightshade relish: TOMATO COMPOTE.  Tome.

51-Across. Reading on a decibel meter: NOISE LEVEL.  Novel.

And the unifier:

33-Across. One of a pair on a library shelf, as well as one of a pair in each set of circled letters: BOOK END.

The circles spell out another name for a book:  Text / Volume / Tome / Novel.  The other portion of today's theme was a bit tricky, for me at least.  Note that the circles are at the beginning and the end of each theme clue, thus the circles form a sort of "bookend" for the clue.  Unlike many puzzles that have circles, in this puzzle circles are integral to the theme.

Across:

1. Use for support: RELY ON.

7. PC key below ~: TAB.  The Tab Key is also found under the Tilda on the Mac keyboard, too.

10. Distort, as data: SKEW.

14. Calm and Restore skin care brand: AVEENO.  [Name adjacent.]

15. MLB stat: RBI.  Runs Batted In in Major League Baseball.

16. Valley west of Sacramento: NAPA.  Known for its wineries.

19. Site with a Craft Supplies section: ETSY.

20. "Spider-Man" trilogy director Sam: RAIMI.  Sam Raimi (né Samuel M Raimi; b. Oct. 23, 1959) has directed a number of films, including the Spider-Man trilogy, which has such original names as Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3.  [Name # 1.]

21. "Come on down!" announcer Johnny: OLSON.  Johnny Olson (né John Leonard Olson; b. May 22, 1910 ~ Oct. 12, 1985) was an American radio personality and television announcer.  Olson is best known for his work as an announcer for game shows, including To Tell the Truth the Match Game and the iconic The Price Is Right where he shouted out "Come on down!"  Hard to believe that he died nearly 40 years ago.  [Name # 2.]

25. Superficial layer: VENEER.

26. Statistician Silver: NATE.  In 2009, Nate Silver (né Nathaniel Read Silver; b. Jan. 13, 1978) was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time.  He is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball, basketball, and elections.  [Name # 3.]

27. Not here anymore: GONE.  All I could think of was Away, but that was too many letters.

28. Word that can follow goal or detail: ORIENTED.  As in someone may be Goal-Oriented, or Detail Oriented.

32. __-country music: ALT.  As in Alternative Country Music.

36. Joey pal of Piglet: ROO.  Think of Winnie the Pooh.  A baby kangaroo is called a Joey.  And Roo is the baby kangaroo friend of Piglet.  [Name # 4, Fictional.]

37. Saddle attachments: STIRRUPS.

39. "Can't you take a __!?": HINT.

40. Flow slowly: OOZE.

41. Broad neckties: ASCOTS.

48. Geological period: EPOCH.

49. Cries miserably: WAILS.

50. Casual get-together: SESH.  Short for Session.

56. Elm or ash: TREE.

57. "Noah kept bees in the ark hive," e.g.: PUN.  Cute clue.

58. Act as a go-between: LIAISE.  A fun word with lots of vowels.

59. Utters: SAYS.

60. 18-wheeler: RIG.

61. Begins, as a project: SETS TO.

Down:

1. Lab animal in a maze: RAT.

2. Night before: EVE.

3. Superman foe Luthor: LEX.  This supervillain makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.  [Name # 5, Fictional]

4. Jack Black film with the tagline "Meet your ancestors": YEAR ONE.  I must have missed this 2009 movie.

5. Available for purchase: ON SALE.

6. Recognize: NOTICE.

7. Rail rider: TRAIN.

The Caption reads: Ted did you know there's a miniature woman tied to the train tracks who looks remarkably like me?

8. Core group?: ABs.  As in the Abdominal muscles that make up one's body core.

9. Drill insert: BIT.

10. Herman whose chart is topped with a giant "E": SNELLEN.  I never thought about who came up with the Eye Chart before, so this was my learning moment.  In 1862, Herman Snellen (Feb. 19, 1834 ~ Jan. 18, 1908) a Dutch ophthalmologist, introduced the Snellen chart to study visual acuity.  [Name # 6.]

11. Panko-breaded chicken dish: KATSU.  Katsu is not a Tuesday word.  Panko in the clue should have led you to Japan.  Chicken Katsu is Japanese-style fried chicken.

12. __ salts: bathwater additive: EPSOM.  The name Epsom salt came from the town of Epsom, England where in 1618 a farmer's cows refused to drink the local water because of its bitter taste.

13. Hockey Hall of Famer Gretzky: WAYNE.  Wayne Douglas Gretzky (b. Jan. 26, 1961) is a former professional hockey player.  He played in the NHL for 20 seasons with 4 different teams.  He is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all times.  [Name # 7.]

18. Actor Sharif: OMAR.  Most of the movies that starred Omar Sharif (né Michel Yusef Dimitri Chaloub; Apr. 10, 1932 ~ July 10, 2015) were before my movie-going time, but I have seen Doctor Zhivago.  Tomorrow would have been his 92nd birthday.  [Name # 8.]

21. Chose: OPTED.

22. Starbucks size: VENTI.

23. Memo phrase: IN RE.  Today's Latin lesson.  It is a Latin phrase meaning in the matter of.

24. Abel's brother: CAIN.  A Biblical reference.  In Genesis 4: Cain slew Abel.  East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Feb. 27, 1902 ~ Dec. 20, 1968) is recreation of the biblical Cain and Abel story as told through two generations of brothers who betray one another.  [Names 9 and 10, Biblical.]

25. Battery unit: VOLT.  the Volt is a unit of measurement regarding the strength of an electric current.  In 1881, it was named in honor of Alessandro Volta (né Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta; Feb. 18, 1745 ~ Mar. 5, 1827).  Alessandro Volta was an Italian physicist and chemist who was a pioneer of electricity and power.  He is credited as the inventor of the electric battery and the discoverer of methane.

27. Need for some hybrids: GAS.  Best Hybrid cars of 2024 - 2025 according to Edmunds.

28. Approves: OKs.

29. Like stale expressions: TRITE.

30. Ages: EONS.

31. Ellipsis element: DOT. ... 

33. Liquid diet component: BROTH.

34. Anise-flavored aperitif: OUZO.  Ouzo is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is commonly drunk in Greece.

35. Cartel whose "O" does not stand for "oil": OPEC.  Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.  Everything you wanted to know about OPEC but didn't know to ask.  It came into being September 10–14, 1960, and the first countries in OPEC were Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

38. Kitchen invaders: ROACHES.

39. "On the spot" spot: HOT SEAT.

41. Part of a basic Latin conjugation: AMAS.  More of today's Latin lesson.

42. Showroom pitches: SPIELS.

43. Dog with a strong herding instinct: COLLIE.

44. Battery units?: TESTS.  As in a battery of medical tests.

45. Verdi composition: OPERA.  Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813 ~ Jan. 27, 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas.  The Houston Grand Opera will be performing his 1853 opera Il Trovatore next season.  [Name #11.]

46. Amble: MOSEY.

47. Yet to be paid: OWING.

51. Steve Inskeep's network: NPR.  Steven Alan Inskeep (b. June 16, 1968) is a radio journalist for National Public Radio.  [Name # 12.]

52. French yes: OUI.  Today's French lesson.

53. Sue Grafton's "__ for Vengeance": V IS.  Sue Taylor Grafton (Apr. 24, 1940 ~ Dec. 28, 2017) wrote a detective series that featured private investigator Kinsey Millhone.  This was an "alphabet" series, with each book beginning with a letter of the alphabet.  The series started with A is for Alibi, which was published in 1982.  Her final book in the series was Y is for Yesterday.  Sadly, she died before she could finish/publish the last letter of the alphabet.   [Name # 13.]

54. Superlative suffix: -EST.

55. Sign between Cancer and Virgo: LEO.  And a shout-out to our very own Leo III.  We miss you, Leo.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

For those in the path of the eclipse yesterday, I hope you got to enjoy the full experience.  There won't be another total eclipse that crosses the United States for another 21 years.

Monday, April 8, 2024

QOD:  Nostalgia is memory minus complexity.  ~  Janice Turner (b. April 8, 1964), British journalist

Sunday, April 7, 2024

QOD:  Every man or woman who is sane, every happy person, is in infinite debt to a woman.   ~  D.W. Winnicott (né Donald Woods Winnicott; Apr. 7, 1896 ~ Jan. 25, 1971), British psychoanalyst