Tuesday, July 12, 2022

QOD:  None are so old as those who have outlived their enthusiasm.  ~  Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 ~ May 6, 1862), American essayist and philosopher

Does this make me look fat?  Each theme answer contains a "cut" carbohydrate.  Cutting or limiting carbohydrates from one's diet may help with weight loss.

17-Across. *   Performer who may wear harem pants: BELLY DANCER.  BEER

25-Across. *   People in a love-hate relationship: FRENEMIES.  FRIES

36-Across. *   Body-lifting exercises: CHIN-UPS.  CHIPS

47-ACROSS. *   Veers from the straight and narrow: BREAKS BAD.  BREAD

And the unifier:

56-Across. Dieting advice, and what the answers to the starred clues literally do: CUT THE CARBS.

Across:
1. California wine region near Sonoma: NAPA.  How Napa Valley became known for its wines.

5. Not quite: ALMOST.

11. Zamboni surface: ICE.  The Zamboni is named after its inventor, Frank Zamboni (Jan. 16, 1901 ~ July 27, 1988).

14. Nowhere to be seen, for short: AWOL.  Absent Without Leave, or Absent Without Official Leave.

15. Simple shelter: LEAN TO.

16. Prom rental: TUX.

19. Lob's path: ARC.

20. "Star Wars" heroine: LEIA.  Leia was portrayed by Carrie Fisher (née Carrie Frances Fisher; Oct. 21, 1956 ~ Dec. 27, 2016).  Sadly, she died young.

21. Taylor Swift's "__ Song": OUR.  I'll spare your ears.

22. If not: ELSE.

23. Tree frog sound: CHIRP.

27. Transmission choice for driving uphill: LOW GEAR.

29. Stockpile: AMASS.

30. Chips __!: cookie brand: AHOY. 

31. Creme Egg candymaker: CADBURY.  Everything about the Cadbury Creme Eggs, but didn't know to ask.

35. Hearty holiday drink: NOG.

37. Spigot: TAP.

40. Ambushed: WAYLAID.

41. Corn Belt tower: SILO.

42. Storybook brutes: OGRES.

45. Tracks down: LOCATES.

51. Pet rabbit's home: HUTCH.

52. Wallop: SOCK.

53. Feel crummy: AIL.

54. Carpenter's clamp: VISE.  Everything you wanted to know about Bench Vises, but didn't know to ask.

55. Source of milk for pecorino cheese: EWE.  Everything you wanted to know about Pecorino Cheeses, but didn't know to ask.

60. Time zone word: Abbr.: STD.  As in Central Standard Time.

61. Dined at a bistro, say: ATE OUT.

62. Nerd: GEEK.  Did you know that the word Geek originally referred to a carnival worker who would bite the heads off live animals? 

63. That lady: SHE.  It could have been Her, so I had to wait for the perps.

64. Tinkers (with): MESSES.

65. Avant-garde: EDGY.

An Avant-garde hairstyle

Down:

1. Capture: NAB.

2. Knock the socks off: AWE.

3. Tadpole: POLLIWOG.  Is there a difference between a polliwog and a tadpole?

4. Hay fever, e.g.: ALLERGY.

5. "Marriage Story" actor Alan: ALDA.  Alan Alda (né Alfonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b. Jan. 28, 1936) is probably best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H.  Marriage Story was a 2019 film.

6. Actress Thompson: LEA.  Lea Thompson (née Lea Katherine Thompson; b. May 31, 1961) is probably best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future films.  In those films, she played the mother to Marty McFly, who was played by Michael A Fox (b. June 9, 1961).  In real life, she was only 10 days older than her "son".

7. Regal home: MANOR.

8. Promptly: ON CUE.

9. Rudder's locale: STERN.

10. Only Canadian MLB city: TOR.  The Toronto is the home to baseball's Blue Jays.  Hi, Canadian Eh!

11. Firenze locale: ITALIA.  Better known to English speakers as Florence, Italy.  Did you know that Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, hence her first name?

12. Swear words: CURSES.

13. More than necessary: EXCESS.

18. Cry of pain: YIPE.

22. Television award: EMMY.

23. Tartan-sharing kin: CLAN.

Men of different clans, as evidenced by the tartans.

24. Santa's jolly syllables: HO HO.

25. Physically delicate: FRAIL.

26. Disneyland hat pair: EARS.

28. Sore: ACHY.

32. Genetic material: DNA.

33. Construct: BUILD.

34. Bun, e.g.: UPDO.  Oh, a hairstyle, not an item of food.

36. Wine barrel: CASK.

37. Giggled self-consciously: TITTERED.

38. Smart __: know-it-all: ALEC.

39. Swanky: POSH.  One of Spice Girls was known as Posh.

40. Like disappointing coffee: WEAK.

41. McMuffin meat option: SAUSAGE.

42. Think too much (about): OBSESS.

43. Old-__ forest: GROWTH.  Did you know about the Old-Growth Forest Network?

44. Ebb: RECEDE.

46. Rather smart: CHIC.

48. Cook in some olive oil, say: SAUTÉ.

49. Tugs at a fishing line: BITES.

50. Choir section: ALTOS.

54. November honorees: VETS.  We have lots of Veterans on this blog.

56. Pic taker: CAM.  As in a Camera, also known as a smart phone.

57. Shade on a color wheel: HUE.

58. Plead: BEG.

59. Big __ Country: SKY.  Hi, Montana!

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, July 11, 2022

QOD:  Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.  ~  E.B. White (né Elwyn Brooks White; July 11, 1899 ~ Oct. 1, 1985), American writer

Sunday, July 10, 2022

QOD:  Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can.  ~  Arthur Ashe (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993), African-American professional tennis player

Friday, July 8, 2022

QOD:  We are each of us an endangered species.  When we die, our species disappears with us.  Nobody like us will ever exist again.  ~  Janet Malcolm (née Jana Klara Wienerová; July 8, 1934 ~ June 16, 2021), American journalist

Thursday, July 7, 2022

QOD:  Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal.  ~  Robert A. Heinlein (July 7, 1907 ~ May 8, 1988), American science fiction writer

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

QOD:  If you think people are inherently good, get rid of the police for 24 hours and see what happens.  ~  Sylvester Stallone (né Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone; b. July 6, 1946), American actor

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

QOD:  The noblest art is that of making others happy.  ~  P.T. Barnum (né Phineas Taylor Barnum; July 5, 1810 ~ Apr. 7, 1891), American showman

It's Yours for the Taking:  Go for it.  The word GET can be found after the word IT in each of the theme clues.

20-Across. *   Financial plan followed by a mayor: CITY BUD GET.

28-Across. *   Nests, as a set of measuring cups: FITS TOGETHER.

44-Across. *   Achieve one's specific goal: HIT THE TARGET.

And the unifier:

55-Across. "Seize the day!," and what the answers to the starred clues literally have: GET AFTER IT.

Across:

1. Seat that may swallow the remote control: SOFA.

5. U.K. soccer teams: FCs.  I think this stands for Football Clubs.  I wasn't in the UK on this past trip, so can't confirm.

8. Tappable symbols: ICONS.

 

13. Happy kitty sound: PURR.

14. Washer capacity: LOAD.  My washing machine got a real workout this past weekend.

16. Krispy Kreme buy: DONUT.  Yummers!

17. Thing: ITEM.

18. "Pitch Perfect" actress Kendrick: ANNA.  Some of the scenes in Pitch Perfect 2, which also starred Anna Kendrick (née Anna Cooke Kendrick; b. Aug. 9, 1985), were filmed at the Louisiana State University.

19. Residence: ABODE.

23. From square one: ANEW.

24. "Totally!": YES.

25. "It's __-win situation": A NO.

26. Breakfast syrup choice: MAPLE.

32. Olympian's goal: MEDAL.  What are the medals really made of?

35. Technical sch.: INST.  As in an Institution.

36. Big primate: APE.

37. Words that clarify spelling: AS IN.  "A" as in Apple.

38. Some postgrad degs.: MAs.  As in a Master of Arts degree.

39. Bermuda shorts endpoint: KNEE.

Um... NO!

40. Automobile: CAR.

41. Way out there: AFAR.

43. No longer vivid: FADED.

48. Repeated slogan: CHANT.

49. Frying liquid: OIL.  What is the best cooking oil for frying?

50. Some laptops: PCs.  I use a Mac.

53. Fish often grilled, on menus: MAHI.  Yummers!

Mahi Mahi

58. Odds partner: EVENS.  Because Odds and ENDS wouldn't fit.

60. Take five: REST.  Take Five was a favorite of my Dad's.  We played it at his funeral.

61. Score in a tennis shutout: LOVE.  Why Love in Tennis?

62. Royal domain: REALM.

63. Fill until full: SATE.

64. Scissors sound: SNIP.

65. Annual cable sports awards: ESPYS.

66. Drug used in microdosing therapies, for short: LSD.  It's formal name is Lysergic acid diethylamide.

67. Snakelike swimmers: EELS.  We had some of the most amazing smoked eel at the Volendammer Vishandel fish shop in Amsterdam.

Down:

1. Like hot wings: SPICY.

2. Belly button type: OUTIE.

3. Guitar neck features: FRETS.

4. West Point team: ARMY.

5. Show off shamelessly: FLAUNT.  If you've got it ...

6. Time-share units: CONDOS.

7. Participated on karaoke night: SANG.

8. Mont. neighbor: IDA.

9. Bright blue pigment: COBALT.  Everything you wanted to know about Cobalt, but didn't know to ask.

10. How some tots count to five: ON ONE HAND.

11. Ready for skinny-dipping: NUDE.

12. Instant Pot dish: STEW.

15. Mailer-__: programs that send automated messages: DAEMONS.

21. Skip out (on): BAIL.

22. License plates: TAGS.  Here are some examples of Louisiana license plates.

27. Vet's patient: PET.

28. Autograph seeker: FAN.

29. Wonder Woman's headpiece: TIARA.  Well, sort of.  I think of a tiara as being bejeweled.

30. Fencing blade: ÉPÉE.  A crossword staple.

31. Woodwind insert: REED.

32. Name associated with supersonic speed: MACH.  Named after Ernst Walfried Josef Wenzel Mach (Feb. 18, 1838 ~ Feb. 19, 1916).

33. Actor Morales: ESAI. Esai Morales (né Esai Manuel Morales Jr.; b. Oct. 1, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles, but I can never remember how to spell his name.

34. Really inexpensive: DIRT CHEAP.

38. Holds weight: MATTERS.

39. Kit __ Klub: "Cabaret" setting: KAT.

41. "I see now!": AHA!

42. __ shui: FENG.

43. Perceived: FELT.

45. How prosciutto is sliced: THINLY.  Prosciutto is uncooked, unsmoked dry-cured ham.

46. Cooks in an oven: ROASTS.

47. Talented: GIFTED.

50. Naturally inclined (to): PRONE.

51. Courteous: CIVIL.

52. Pedometer units: STEPS.

53. For a __ pittance: MERE.

54. St. crossers: AVES.  Streets and Avenues.

56. Color named for a duck: TEAL.

57. Besides: ELSE.

59. Texting format, briefly: SMS.  As in Short Messing Service.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Many thanks to Malodorous Manatee and Waseeley for holding down the fort on Tuesdays while I was away.   We traveled from Budapest, Hungary to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Budapest

Mespelbrunn Castle

The Netherlands

Flower market in Amsterdam

Mespelbrunn Castle

Amsterdam