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.
QOD: Upper classes are a nation’s past; the middle class is its future.~Ayn Rand (née Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum; Feb. 2, 1905 ~ Mar. 6, 1982), Russian-born philosopher and author
QOD: What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance.~Havelock Ellis (né Henry Havelock Ellis; Feb. 2, 1859 ~ July 8, 1939), English psychologist
QOD: The desire not to be anything is the desire not to be.~Ayn Rand (née Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum; Feb. 2, 1905 ~ Mar. 6, 1982), Russian-born philosopher and author
QOD: There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader. ~ Alexandre Ledru-Rollin (né Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin; Feb. 2, 1807 ~ Dec. 31, 1874), French Politician
Catchphrases: Each of the starred answers is a catchphrase, although they are not what I would generally consider as such. Here is a listing of what I think of as being catchphrases.
17-Across. * Carpe diem: SEIZE THE DAY.
23-Across. * Be the first to begin: GET A HEAD START.
38-Across. * Party gifts container: GRAB BAG.
52-Across. * Act in desperation: GRASP AT STRAWS.
And the unifier:
62-Across. Familiar slogan ... and what each answer to a starred clue is?: CATCHPHRASE. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Catchphrase is defined as (1) word or expression that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view; or (2) a slogan.
Across:
1. Morse code component: DASH.
5. John Wick, for one: HITMAN. John Wick is a fictional character is a series of action-thriller films. He was an orphan taken in by the Russian mafia and trained as an assassin. John Wick is portrayed by Keanu Reeves (né Keanu Charles Reeves; b. Sept. 2, 1964) in the movies.
11. Wedding reception VIPs: DJs. As in Disc Jockeys. We had a live band at our wedding.
14. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo: ISLA. Today's Spanish lesson. Puerto Rico is an Island.
15. Blueprint: SCHEMA. Not a Tuesday word or concept.
16. Legendary bird of prey: ROC. All your questions of the mythical ROC can be found here.
19. Rap sheet letters: AKA. As in Also Known As.
20. "Zip your lip!": CAN IT!
21. Lust or greed: SIN. Two of the Seven Deadly Sins. The other five are: Sloth, Envy, Pride, Wrath, and Gluttony.
22. "And how!": AMEN. An interesting history of the word Amen.
27. Hug: EMBRACE.
29. Mom's mom: NANA. We called my mom's mom Nana. Dad's mom was called Grammy.
30. Extended pd. away from work: LOA. As in a Leave of Absence.
31. Notable period: ERA.
33. Commercial charge: AD FEE.
37. U.K. network: BBC. As in the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC dates back almost 100 years.
41. Coffee dispenser: URN.
42. Invite for: ASK TO.
44. Aggregate: SUM.
45. Container cover: LID.
What my Tupperware lid drawer looks like.
46. Escape clauses: OUTS. An Escape Clause in a contract, sometimes known as a Clawback, is a clause that lets a party out of the terms of the contract without a penalty.
They had an Escape tunnel.
49. Letters in alphabet soup: NOODLES. Yummers!
56. Retinal cells: RODS. Today's anatomy lesson.
57. Fannie or Ginnie follower: MAE. Fannie Mae is short for the Federal National Mortgage Association. Ginnie Mae is short for the Government Mortgage Association. Mae was the name of both my grandmother and hubby's grandmother.
58. Silently understood: TACIT.
61. Dismissal metaphor, with "the": AXE.
65. A-lister: VIP. As in a Very Important Person.
66. Wind instruments: FLUTES.
67. Biter on a pooch: FLEA.
68. Nonetheless: YET. Any Yet, ...
69. Corporate jet maker: CESSNA. You, too, can own a Cessna.
70. Hide partner: SEEK.
Down:
1. Frisbee, for one: DISC. The Frisbee started out as a pie pan.
2. Befuddled: ASEA.
3. Shoe with a strap that nearly encircles the ankle: SLINGBACK.
4. More smoke-filled: HAZIER.
5. FDR's successor: HST. Harry S Truman (May 8, 1884 ~ Dec. 26, 1972) became the 33rd American President upon the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882 ~ Apr. 12, 1945).
6. German pronoun found in half of Munich?: ICH. This clue made me laugh: Munich.
7. What we have here: THESE.
8. Highway divider: MEDIAN. Concrete medians are cropping up all over my city.
9. Actress Seales of "Insecure": AMANDA. Insecure is an HBO comedy series. Apparently, Amanda Ingrid Seales (b. July 1, 1981) caused a bit of a scandal over an Emmy after-party.
10. Opposing vote: NAY.
11. Emmy category: DRAMA.
12. Phoenix's 2019 Best Actor role: JOKER. Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (b. Oct. 28, 1974) portrayed the Joker in the movie of the same name. I opted not to seek this film.
13. Few and far between: SCANT.
18. "At Last" singer James: ETTA. Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
22. Hardly any: A TAD.
24. Taiwanese PC maker: ACER. I learned of this computer manufacturer from doing the crossword puzzles
25. Queen of Olympus: HERA. Hera is the queen of the Greek gods. // And 40-Down. Eros, in Rome: AMOR. Mythological gods of love.
26. Reel trouble: SNAG.
27. Napoleon's 1814 place of exile: ELBA. When Napoleon was exiled on St. Helena, there may have been a plot to rescue him by submarine.
28. Unruly crowds: MOBS.
32. Tummy muscles: ABS. As in the Abdominal muscles.
34. Comprehensive: FULL SCALE.
35. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. And a shout out to our dear friend, Abejo.
36. Goals: ENDS.
38. Rise, as prices: GO UP.
39. Batter's job in a squeeze play: BUNT.
43. Discard: TOSS.
47. Husk-wrapped cantina food: TAMALE. CSO to Lucina!
48. Something to update on Facebook: STATUS.
50. Solemn vow: OATH.
51. "Whistle While You Work" septet: DWARFS.
52. Turkey topper: GRAVY.
53. "Chicago" showgirl Hart: ROXIE.
54. Highly skilled: ADEPT.
55. Splinter groups: SECTS.
59. Understanding words: I SEE.
60. Hardwood tree: TEAK. Everything you wanted to know about Teak Trees.
62. Ozone-depleting chemical: CFC. As in Chlorofluorocarbon, which is actually a class of chemical made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Chlorine and Florine.
63. Farm layer: HEN.
64. Free TV spot: PSA. As in a Public Service Announcement.
