Tuesday, October 15, 2024

QOD:  He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of dispute.  ~  Friedrich Nietzsche (né Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche; Oct. 15, 1844 ~ Aug. 25, 1900), German philosopher

Rise and Shine.  The first word of each theme answer is something that may lift you up, although in the case of the ladder, you have to work rise up.

17-Acorss. Seat with horizontal spindles: LADDER BACK CHAIR.

24-Across. One competent in many areas: JACK OF ALL TRADES.

43-Across. Concise promotional talks: ELEVATOR PITCHES.

And the unifier:

56-Across. Request from someone who needs a ride, or a request that can be made of the starts of 17-, 24-, and 43-Across: HEY, CAN I GET A LIFT.

Today's puzzle will LIFT your mood.

Across:

1. African tree snake: MAMBA.  Mambas are fast-moving, highly venomous snakes.  Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and green in color.  The fourth is the black mamba, which is largely terrestrial and generally brown or grey in color.  All are native to various regions in sub-Saharan Africa.

6. Strappy tops, for short: CAMIs.  Short for Camisole.  You can even get them in camouflage.

11. Los Angeles NFLer: RAM.

14. "What worries me is ... ": I FEAR ...

15. Introvert's recharging period: ALONE TIME.

19. Some hosp. staffers: DRs.  //  And 3-Down. Stuff prescribed by 19-Across, for short: MEDS.  Doctors and Medicines.

20. Moves to solid food: WEANS.

21. Quite wound up: TENSE.

22. Many a YA hero: TEEN.  YA stands for Young Adult.

23. Spot for a tailgate party: LOT.

32. Kitchen garb: APRONS.

33. Helps: AIDS.

34. Antlered quadruped: ELK.  The elk, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae.  It is also one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia.

35. Golden yrs. funds: IRAs.  As in Individual Retirement Account.

36. "Later!": BYE.

37. Surrealist painter with an iconic mustache: DALÍ.  There is a beautiful Salvador Dalí museum in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.  I hope it survived Hurricane Milton.  I don't yet have any updates, other than to note the museum is temporarily closed.  Salvador Dalí (né Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí Doménech; May 11, 1904 ~ Jan, 23, 1989) had, not only an iconic mustache, but a very unique style of painting.  [Name # 1.]

38. Hr. division: MIN.  Hours are made up of Minutes.

39. Clarinet kin: OBOE.  Both the Oboe and Clarinet are reed instruments.  The Oboe has a double reed.

41. Lemon meringue pan, say: PIE TIN.

46. Greenlights: OKs.

47. Additionally: ALSO.

48. Place to store decorations, maybe: ATTIC.

51. Capital of Nigeria until 1991: LAGOS.  Today the capital of Nigeria is Abuja.  It is located in the middle of the country; the former capital of Lagos is located along the coast.  

53. Informal greetings: HIs!

59. Gives a glow up: MAKES OVER.

60. Jazz choreographer Bob: FOSSE.  Bob Fosse (né Robert Louis Fosse; June 23, 1927 ~ Sept. 23, 1987) was one of the jazz hands and he incorporated them in nearly all of his Broadway and film musical choreography.  [Name # 2.]

61. __ out a living: EKE.

62. Leg joints: KNEES.

63. __ salts: footbath additive: EPSOM.  Everything you wanted to know about Epsom Salts but didn't know to ask.

Down:

1. Not spicy: MILD.

2. Way out there: AFAR.

4. Not good: BAD.

5. "Cameras rolling?": ARE WE ON?

6. Place to change for a dip in the pool: CABANA.

7. Ruck of HBO's "Succession": ALAN.  Although Alan Ruck (né Alan Douglas Ruck; b. July 1, 1956) portrayed Connor Roy in Succession, he is probably better known for being Ferris Bueller's best friend in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  [Name # 3.]

8. Comfy shoes, briefly: MOCs.  As in Moccasins.

9. Printer supply: INK.

10. Divisions of the economy: SECTORS.

11. "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN.  Although I saw the movie, Knives Out, I did not know the director's name.  Rian Johnson (né Rian Craig Johnson, b. Dec. 17, 1973) also directed one of the films in the Star Wars franchise.  [Name # 4.]

12. French pals: AMIS.  Today's French lesson.  Since this is in the plural, it means either your male friends or a mix of male and female friends.  If it referred only to your female friends, the answer would have been Amies.

13. For a __ pittance: MERE.

16. Letter before iota: THETA.  By now, we should all know the Greek alphabet.

18. Coral-based ecosystems: REEFS.  Reefs appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle when we learned that they are threatened by coral bleaching.

22. MMA decisions: TKOs.  As in Technical Knock-Outs.

23. U.K. business abbr.: LTD.

24. Pressly of "Mom": JAIME.  Jaime Pressly (née Jaime Elizabeth Pressly; b. July 30, 1977) was also a regular on the short-lived sit-com My Name is Earl.  [Name # 5.]

25. __ : showers :: May : flowers: APRIL.  If April showers bring May flowers, What to Mayflowers bring?

26. Origami bird: CRANE.  In Japanese folklore, the crane a strong majestic bird that mates for life and is said to live for a thousand years.  It symbolizes honor, good fortune, loyalty, and longevity.  These characteristics give the crane such special meaning and why the Japanese believed that anyone with the patience and commitment to fold 1,000 origami cranes would be given good fortune and granted a wish.

27. Seven-__ cake: LAYER.

28. Falsehood: LIE.

29. __ Valley, California: DEATH.

30. Grammy nominee Goulding: ELLIE.  Elena Jane Goulding (b. Dec. 30, 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. [Name # 6.]

31. Onion peels: SKINS.

36. "You need new glasses, ump!": BOO!  Think baseball.

37. Geometric art style of the 1920s: DECO.  Our crossword friend, Erté (né Romain Petrovich de Tirtoff; Nov. 23, 1892 ~ Apr. 21, 1990), is probably the best known Art Deco artist.  The term Art Deco is short for French Arts décoratifs.

39. Wooden vat: OAK CASK.

40. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS.  BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. 

41. Cockpit figure: PILOT.

42. "There's no danger": IT'S SAFE.

44. Express aloud: VOICE.

45. Beepers: PAGERS.  That's so 1990s.

48. Melodramatic sigh: AH, ME!

49. Decking wood: TEAK.  Why Teak is good for decking.

50. Tot: TYKE.

51. Like most Twitch streams: LIVE.  Twitch is an American video live-streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions.

52. Actor Steve of "Peacemaker": AGEE.  Peacemaker is a black comedy on HBO.  Steve Agee (né Steven Douglas Agee; b. Feb. 26, 1969) portrays John Economos who is the bumbling but well-meaning warden of Belle Reve Penitentiary on the show.  Steve Agee is also a guitarist.  [Name # 7.]

53. Cat's warning: HISS.

54. "Assuming that's true ... ": IF SO.

55. Flute part: STEM.  Think wine glass, not a musical instrument.

57. Persona __ grata: NON.  Today's Latin lesson.  It is a Latin phrase that means unwelcome person. 

58. Chop (off): LOP.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

QOD:  Time is a created thing.  To say “I don’t have time” is like saying “I don’t want to.”  ~  Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher  

Out and Out.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase Out and Out probably originated in Middle English sometime between 1150 and 1500.  Yeah, that's a pretty big spread of time.  The further alleges that its earliest evidence of the phrase, however, is from about 1300.  Go figure.  At any rate, the word OUT can follow each of the two words in the theme answers to give us a new concept.

17-Across. *  Martial arts achievement: BLACK BELT.  Black Out / Belt Out  A Black Out may either be a temporary loss of consciousness or a power outage.  Belt Out means to sing a song loudly and forcefully.

Black Out

23-Across. *  Target range in sports betting: POINT SPREAD.   Point Out / Spread Out.  To Point Out is to direct someone's attention toward, especially by extending one's finger.  Spread Out is to move items apart from each other, or to place over a large area.  I spread out all my papers whenever I am working at my desk.

35-Across. *  Toolmaking period when bronze was replaced with steel: IRON AGE.  Iron Out / Age Out.  To Iron Out is to resolve or settle differences.  To Age Out is to reach an age where an individual is no longer part of a particular group or situation and must leave it.  For example, a child may age out of foster care.

49-Across. *  Simple drawing of a person: STICK FIGURE.  Stick Out / Figure Out.  To Stick Out is to be noticable.  To attend a fancy gala wearing torn jeans will make you stick out.  To Figure Out is to solve a problem.

And the unifier:

58-Across. Complete, or what can follow both parts of the answers to the starred clues: OUT AND OUT.  Vocabulary.com defines Out-and-Out as "absolute" or "complete," often in a bad way.   For example:  What you just told me is an Out and Out lie.

Across:

1. Young fellow: LAD.

4. Did plenty of nothing: IDLED.

9. Firepit remains: ASHES.

14. "__ we good?": ARE.

15. Habitats threatened by coral bleaching: REEFS.  Everything you wanted to know about Coral Bleaching.  Did you know that most of the world's species of coral can be found in Australia's Great Barrier Reef?

16. Large tree branch: BOUGH.  This is a word found in a common childhood lullaby.

Rock a bye baby, on the tree top,

When the wind blows the cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

19. Burn a bit: SINGE.

20. TV room fixture: SOFA.

21. Sheep sound: BAA.

22. Increased rapidly: SURGED.

26. Tuskegee __: WWII aviators: AIRMEN.  The Tuskegee Airmen was a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.  They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces.

28. Everything pizza, no anchovies, e.g.: ORDER.

29. Ushered through the door: LED IN.

30. Japanese sash that might be tied in tateya musubi style: OBI.  The style of the knot in the obi has symbolic meaning.

31. __ opera: SOAP.  A soap opera, or daytime drama, is typically a long-running television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality.  The term "soap opera" originated in the 1930s from radio dramas that were originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.

34. Dollop: GOB.

39. Clickable link: URL.  The Uniform Resource Locator has become a crossword staple.

40. Freshly: ANEW.

42. __ de la Cité: Notre-Dame home: ÎLE.  The Île de la Cité is one of two natural islands in the Seine, in central Paris.  In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the area governor for the Roman Empire. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace on the island.  Construction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral began in 1163.  Sadly, in April 2019, a fire destroyed much of the Cathedral.  It has undergone massive reconstruction and is anticipated to reopen this December.

43. Not quite right: WONKY.

45. "Creed" actress Thompson: TESSA.  I am not familiar with Tessa Thompson (née Tessa Lynne Thompson; b. Oct 3, 1983).  Apparently, she began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company.  Perhaps our friend Keith knew of her.   She celebrated her 41st birthday just last week.  [Name # 1.]

47. Atonement: AMENDS.

51. Red Icee flavor: CHERRY.

52. D.C. baseballer: NAT.  As in the Washington Nationals.

53. Shows understanding: NODS.

57. Pushy crowd: HORDE.

60. Sub-par performance?: EAGLE.  A golfing reference.  Not as in a poor performance, but rather a score of two strokes under par on a hole.  It's a significant accomplishment that demonstrates a golfer's skill and strategic thinking.

61. Controls one's food intake: DIETS.

62. San Diego __ Safari Park: ZOO.

63. Boxer Patterson: FLOYD.  Floyd Patterson (Jan. 4, 1935 ~ May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972.  At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title of world heavyweight champion.  He was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it.  [Name # 2.]

64. On the briny: AT SEA.

65. Clairvoyant's claim: ESP.  As in ExtraSensory Perception.

Down:

1. Hands-on classes: LABS.

2. "Collapsed in Sunbeams" singer-songwriter Parks: ARLO.  Arlo Parks (née Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, b. Aug. 9, 2000), is an English singer and songwriter.  Collapsed in Sunbeams was her debut album.  [Name # 3.]

3. Like one who might communicate in ASL or BSL: DEAF.  As in American Sign Language and British Sign Language.  Two countries separated by a language.  What's the difference, you ask.  ASL focuses more on facial expressions, while BSL relies more on hand and body movements.

4. Vex: IRK.

5. "Little" name in snack cakes: DEBBIE.  The history of the Little Debbie snack cakes.  [Name adjacent.]

6. Country singer Womack: LEE ANN.  Lee Ann Womack (b. Aug. 19, 1966) is primarily a country singer, but some of her songs have crossed over to the pop music hits.  [Name # 4.]

7. Note in the C minor scale: E FLAT.

8. "Spring forward" hrs.: DST.  As in Daylight Saving Time.

9. Wildly impractical: ABSURD.

10. Swanky evening dos: SOIRÉES.  Today's French lesson.  A Soirée is just another way of saying a fancy evening affair.

11. Lingered: HUNG AROUND.

12. Goaded, with "on": EGGED.

13. Leave behind: SHED.

18. Blue Grotto island: CAPRI.  The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, southern Italy. Sunlight shining through an underwater cavity is reflected back upward through the seawater below the cavern, giving the water a blue glow that illuminates the cavern.

22. Rosemary piece: SPRIG.  I grow Rosemary in my garden.

24. Prefix meaning "all": OMNI-.  As in Omnipresent, which means everywhere.

25. Udon alternative: SOBA.  Both Soba and Udon are Japanese noodles, but are made of different flours.

26. Ages and ages: AEON.  Eon is the American version, while Aeon is the British version.

27. "That's my cue to leave": I'D BETTER GO.

29. Queens airport code: LGA.  As in LaGuardia Airport.  It's the airport I generally use when I have to go into NYC.  The airport was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939.  It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia (Dec. 11, 1882 ~ Sept. 20, 1947).

30. Dollar bill: ONE.

32. Torah chests: ARKs.

Torah Ark in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam.

33. Tissue layer: PLY.

36. Potentially disastrous: RISKY.

37. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.  Frozen is a Disney animated movie that is based on the fairy tale The Snow Queen.  [Name # 5, fictional.]

38. Washbasin jug: EWER.

41. In an odd way: WEIRDLY.

44. Upturned: ONEND.

46. Bitter rant: SCREED.  A Screed is a long speech or piece of writing, typically one regarded as tedious.

47. Stripy marbles: AGATES.  This word appears with some frequency in the puzzles.

48. Have a life-changing experience?: MUTATE.

49. Mussel habitat: SHOAL.  We had Shoal in a recent Tuesday puzzle.  The Isles of Shoals are a group of Islands between Maine and New Hampshire.

50. Nunatsiavut people: INUIT.  The Nunatsiavummiut are the people of Nunatsiavut, an autonomous region in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

51. Culinary institute grad: CHEF.

54. Move like slime: OOZE.

55. Pairs: DUOs.

56. "Enough!": STOP!

58. Tennis champion Tokito: ODA.  I do not follow tennis, so was not familiar with Tokito Oda (b. May 8, 2006).  He is a Japanese professional wheelchair tennis player.  He has won four major singles titles. In 2023, he won the French Open, becoming the youngest man to win a major tennis tournament. [Name # 6.]

59. Govt. intel org.: NSA.  As in the National Security Agency.

And the Grid:

חתולה