Tuesday April 22, 2025

QOD:  I think like a genius.  I wrote like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child.  ~  Vladimir Nabokov (Apr. 22, 1899 ~ July 2, 1977), Russian novelist

If You Keep Making that Face, it Will Get Stuck in That Shape.  The circles spell out features of the face.

17-Across. "Everyone knows that!": IT'S NO SECRET.  Nose

22-Across. Mountain hiker's protection: BEAR SPRAY.  Ears.

  

38-Across. "I haven't decided": MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO.  Eyes.

49-Across. TV episodes that are mostly flashback scenes: CLIP SHOWS.

And the unifier:

58-Across. Smirking, scowling, or smiling, and what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle are doing?: MAKING A FACE.

Across:

1. Swimmer's unit: LAP.

4. "Safe!" or "Strike!": CALL.

8. Pesto herb: BASIL.  Yummers!

13. Part of some sports drink names: -ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

14. California/Nevada resort lake: TAHOE.

15. Bacteria that may cause gastroenteritis: E. COLI.  Short for Escherichia coli, a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.

16. Type: ILK.

19. Spanish wine region: RIOJA.  Everything you wanted to know about the Rioja Wine region, but didn't know to ask.

21. Main dish: ENTREE.

25. Snow pusher: PLOW.

28. "Elder" or "Younger" figure of ancient Rome: CATO.

29. Put in the attic, perhaps: STORE.

30. Ben Affleck Best Picture winner set in Iran: ARGO.  The movie Argo was based on a true story of a CIA rescue mission during the Iranian hostage crisis. The film depicts the CIA's efforts to evacuate six American diplomats who had escaped the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by disguising themselves as a Canadian film crew.  The CIA tapped Tony Mendez, portrayed by Ben Affleck, to pose as a Hollywood producer to scout locations in Iran for a film.

33. Cow's milk cheese from an Alpine region of Italy: ASIAGO.  Yummers!  The cheese is named after the village of Asiago in the Veneto region of Italy.

37. Plant, as seeds: SOW.

41. PC pioneer: IBM.  International Business Machines.

42. Military programs intended to influence attitudes: PSY OPs.  Psychological Operations.

43. Remove wrinkles from: IRON.

44. Taco topping: SALSA.  Yummers!

46. Scannable bars on mdse.: UPCs.  As in Universal Product Code.

48. Word on a red sign: STOP.

54. Caterpillar's cover: COCOON.

56. Put into law: ENACT.

62. La Brea __ Pits: TAR.

63. "Rolling in the Deep" singer: ADELE.  I know we have several Adele (née Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; b. May 5, 1988) fans here.  This is one of my favorites.

64. Public outcry: FUROR.

65. Notable stretch of time: ERA.

66. As bad as can be: WORST.

67. Sulking state: SNIT.

68. Single crunch, say: REP.

Down:

1. Hibernation location: LAIR.

2. Go off script: AD LIB.  Today's Latin lesson.  Short for ad libitum, which means with out prior preparation.

3. Tea variety: PEKOE.  Technically, Pekoe tea is not a variety, but rather a classification of tea.  

4. Lion or tiger: CAT.

5. Sounds of satisfaction: AHs.

6. One who doesn't like company: LONER.

7. British pop singer Lewis: LEONA.  I am not familiar with Leona Louise Lewis (b. Apr. 3, 1985), but she has an alliterative name.

8. Keg contents: BEER.

9. Receive, as a gift: ACCEPT.

10. Player who is not graceful in defeat: SORE LOSER.

11. Suffix with infant: -ILE.  As in Infantile.

12. Like birthday candles before a wish: LIT.

14. Prom queen crown: TIARA.

18. Messy digs: STY.

20. 2018 and 2019 Cy Young winner deGrom: JACOB.  Jacob Anthony deGromm (b. June 19, 1988) is a professional baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Texas Rangers.

23. Doesn't go: STAYS.

24. "The White Lotus" actress Parker: POSEY.  Parker Posey (née Parker Christian Posey; b. Nov. 8, 1968) was known as the Queen of the Indies because she starred in so many independent films when she started her acting career.  She portrayed a neurotic dog owner in Best of Show.

26. Maine university town: ORONO.

27. Cry of victory: WE WON!

29. __ sauce: SOY.

30. Just a little off: AMISS.

31. Morocco's capital: RABAT.

32. Athlete's closet: GYM LOCKER.

34. "Looking for," in classified ads: ISO.  Textspeak for In Search Of.

35. Energize: AMP UP.

36. Sounds of surprise: GASPS.

39. Clean Air Act org.: EPA.

40. Yellowstone beast: BISON.

45. Ruins: SPOILS.

47. "Rah!" or "Olé!": CHEER.

49. Gear tooth: COG.

50. Idles: LOAFS.

51. Jesting: IN FUN.

52. Substance that can be holy or hard: WATER.

53. Freak out: SCARE.

55. Tech news site: CNET.

57. Lobster catcher: TRAP.

58. Gaping mouth: MAW.

59. Big fuss: ADO.

60. NPR host Shapiro: ARI.  Ari Michael Shapiro (b. Sept. 30, 1978) is an American radio journalist.

61. Camp bed: COT.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

QOD:  All looks yellow to the jaundiced eye.  ~  Alexander Pope (May 21, 1688 ~ May 30, 1744), English poet

Standing Ovations:  Notice that each theme clue is a two word phrase where each word contains two double O.  Also the theme clues are Down, so that the double Os are "standing".

3-Down. *  Pasta-shaped colorful foam float: POOL NOODLE.

9-Down. *  Totally chill: LOOSEY GOOSEY.

21-Down. *  Celebratory search engine logo: GOOGLE DOODLE.  Here's a Google Doodle from last week:

25-Down. *  "So awesome!": TOO COOL.

And the unifier:

31. Enthusiastic audience reactions, and a feature of the answers to the starred clues: STANDING O'S.  Sadly, I am not as clever as my fellow commentators, so I do not know how to add color to highlight the grid to accent the double Os, so I'll insert the grid here so you can see the four theme answers.

Across:

1. Deeply engrossed: RAPT.

5. Played music at a dance club, say: DJ'ED.

9. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA.  [Name # 1.]

14. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI.  These fictional post-human beings from the 1895 novel, The Time Machine, by H G Wells (né Herbert George Wells; Sept. 21, 1866 ~ Aug. 13, 1946) used to make frequent appearances in the puzzles.  We haven't seen them in a while.

15. Slippery: EELY.

16. "Please specify" list option: OTHER.

17. Many many: A TON.

18. Call on the carpet: TAKE TO TASK.

20. Triangle or quadrilateral: POLYGON.  A Polygon is a plane figure with at least three straight sides and angles, and typically five or more.

22. Holds a grudge against: RESENTS.

23. Fed. ID fig.: SSN.  As in Social Security Number.

24. Give the boot: OUST.

26. Boomer's kid, perhaps: XER.  Generation X (1965 ~ 1980) is the demographic between the Boomers (1946 ~ 1964) and the Millennials (1981 ~ 1996).  

27. Sty emanation: ODOR.  //  And 45-Across. Sty emanations: OINKS.

29. Maker of Regenerist products: OLAY.

31. Bath tourist spot: SPA.

The Ein Gedi spa on the Dead Sea.

34. First __ equals: AMONG.  Also the name of a 1984 political novel by Jeffrey Archer (b. Apr. 15, 1940).

36. Pogo stick sound: BOING.

37. Toy that resembles a gyroscope: TOP.

38. Rafael who is one of tennis's "Big Three": NADAL.  The Big Three in tennis refers to Novak Đoković (b. May 22, 1987), Roger Federer (b. Aug. 8, 1981) and Rafael Nadal (né Rafael Nadal Parera; b. June 3, 1986), each of whom is considered to be among the greatest players.  [Name # 2.]

39. Healthcare.gov law, for short: ACA.  As in the Affordable Care Act.

40. Chi-town airport: O'HARE.  Ever wonder why the airport code for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is ORD?  It was originally named Orchard Field Airport for the neighborhood in which it was located.  It was renamed in 1949, in honor of aviator Edward "Butch" O'Hare (Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943) who went missing in World War II. 

42. Nothing to do with soccer?: NIL.

43. Boo-boo: ERROR.

46. World Cup cheer: OLÉ.  A crossword staple.

47. Wonderland bird: DODO.  Think of Alice.

48. Abbr. on a company sign: ESTD.  As in Established.

49. Promissory note: IOU.

50. "My only __ sprung from my only hate!": Juliet: LOVE.  A reference to a play by Willie the Shakes.  [Name adjacent.]

52. "To a degree": -ISH.

55. Church deliveries: SERMONS.

59. Artist with the 2024 album "Cowboy Carter": BEYONCÉ.  Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (b. Sept. 4, 1981) is married to Jay-Z (b. Dec. 4, 1969), whose given name is Shawn Corey Carter, but is that why she had Carter in the name of the album?  [Name # 3.]

61. Slowpoke's opposite: SPEED DEMON.

63. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

64. Ebbing and flowing: TIDAL.

65. Old movie spool: REEL.

66. Answering system limbo: HOLD.

67. Clotted cream accompaniment: SCONE.  Yummers!

68. Site for selling personalized gifts: ETSY.

69. Multitool's multiplicity: USES.

Down:

1. Cuts with a sickle: REAPS.  Sometime it can be pretty grim.

2. Singers between sopranos and tenors: ALTOS.

4. Itsy: TINY.

5. Route around a construction area, say: DETOUR.  There is some major road construction on the interstate in my city for the next [fill in the blank] years.

6. Denim pants: JEANS.

7. Rocky Mountain National Park grazer: ELK.

8. One who adds a little color: DYER.

10. Aquatic mammal: OTTER.

11. Better __ ever: THAN.

12. Try out: TEST.

13. Boats like Noah's: ARKS.

19. Austinite, e.g.: TEXAN.

28. Personal code?: DNA.  Cute clue.

30. Story teller?: LIAR.

32. Chorizo meat: PORK.

33. "Planet of the __": APES.

34. __ Domini: ANNO.  Today's Latin lesson.

35. Pigeonhole filler: MAIL.

36. Storyteller: BARD.  The Bard is Willie the Shakes.

41. Double or triple, maybe: HIT.  Think baseball.

44. 18 holes of golf, typically: ROUND.

48. In equal amounts: EVENLY.

49. "To be clear ... ": I MEAN.

51. Double-reed woodwinds: OBOES.  A crossword staple.

53. Ascend, as a peak: SCALE.

54. Giraffe groups: HERDS.

55. Phased-out jets: SSTs.  These jets used to be a crossword staple.

56. __ fail: EPIC.

57. Upgrade, as decor: REDO.

58. Parched: SERE.

60. Banzai Pipeline island: OAHU.  I am not a surfer, so was not familiar with the term Banzai Pipeline.  Apparently it is a famous surfing spot.

62. Rendezvoused: MET.

חתולה

I will be taking a brief hiatus for the next few weeks.  Fear not, Tuesdays will not be blank.  You will be in good hands.  See you in July.