Sunday, January 14, 2024

QOD:  Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but happiness and growth occur while you are climbing.  ~  Andy Rooney (né Andrew Aitken Rooney, Jan. 14, 1919 ~ Nov. 4, 2011), American television personality

Friday, January 14, 2022

QOD:  Truth has no special time of its own.  Its hour is now ~ Always.  ~  Albert Schweitzer (Jan. 14, 1875 ~ Sept. 4, 1965), French-born theologian

Thursday, January 14, 2021

QOD:  Often things you think are just beginning are coming to an end.  ~  John Dos Passos (né John Roderigo Dos Passos; Jan. 14, 1896 ~ Sept. 28, 1970), American novelist

 

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

QOD:  In conversation, remember you’re more interested in what you’re saying than anyone else is.  ~  Andy Rooney (né Andrew Aitken Rooney; Jan. 14, 1919 ~ Nov. 4, 2011), American television personality

It's What's Inside that Counts.  The circled letters spell out things that can make up the inner core.


17-Across. City near the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN UTAH.  Nut.

25-Across. "Be yourself," nowadays: KEEP IT REAL.  Pit.

36-Across. Casino advantage: HOUSE EDGE.  Seed.

51-Across. "Be right with you": JUST ONE SEC.  Stone.

And the Unifier:
61-Across. Earth's most central geologic layer ... or what can be found in each set of puzzle circles: INNER CORE.

Across:

1. Watering hole: BAR.

4. African language group: BANTU.

9. Suddenly took interest: SAT UP.

14. Québec street: RUE.  Today's French lesson.

15. Future oak: ACORN.

16. Way to go it: ALONE.

19. Has to have: NEEDS.

20. Biceps exercises: CURLS.

21. Hosting a show, briefly: MC-ING.  As in being an Emcee, short for Master of Ceremonies.

23. Tennis do-over: LET.

24. Breyers __ Cookies & Cream: OREO.  A fresh new clue for our old crossword staple.

27. Arnaz-Ball production company: DESILU.  The production company is a combination of Desi and Lu(cy).

29. Muss, as hair: TOUSLE.

30. Magazine VIPs: EDs.  As in Editors.

31. Adjust to one's environment: ADAPT.

35. Old fast fliers: SSTs.  As in SuperSonic Transport, a crossword staple.  Why the Concorde was retired.

39. Fleshy fruit: POME.  According to Webster's, a Pome is a generic term for any fleshy fruit "consisting of an outers fleshy layer and a central core with usually five seeds in a capsule."  The best known example of a Pome is an Apple.  In fact, in French, the word for Apple is Pomme.  Other examples of Pomes, include: pears, quince, loquats, and pomegranates.

42. Barbecue spot: PATIO.

43. Can opener: TAB.

46. Feathered friends: AVIANS.  The obvious Birds was too few letters.

49. Beethoven's "Tempest," e.g.: SONATA.  Time for a musical interlude.  This piece is also known as Sonata No. 17 and was composed by Beethoven around 1801/1802. 

55. Chimps and gorillas: APES.

56. Furry sitcom extraterrestrial: ALF.  Alf was a sit-com ran from the mid-1980s to 1990.  I never watched it, but am familiar with it because Alf makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

57. Chutzpah: MOXIE.  Chutzpah is that quality in the man who kills his mother and father, then throws himself at the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.

58. Stick with a pin: PRICK.  //  And 22. Little point to pick: NIT.

59. Early American crop: MAIZE.  Scientists believe that maize was first domesticated in the Americas, probably in Mexico.  A large cache of ancient maize was discovered in a cave in New Mexico over a hundred years ago.

63. Geographer's volume: ATLAS.

64. Tokyo-based watchmaker: SEIKO.  I had a Seiko watch like this one.

65. No-frills bed: COT.

66. Filters (through): SEEPS.

67. Jacket material: TWEED.  I initially tried Denim.

68. "Very cute!" sounds: AWs!

Down:

1. Tacit rules of male friendship: BRO CODE.  If it's tacit, why is there a book?

2. Was a sign of: AUGURED.

3. Set right: REDRESS.

4. Passes a law against: BANS.

5. Pressure prefix: ACU-.  As in AcuWeather, which allows you to learn of weather conditions where you live.

6. "I'm innocent!": NOT ME!

7. Barely detectable amount: TRACE.

8. Far from cool: UNHIP.

"I recommend hip replacement surgery for men who aren't as hip as they used to be."

9. Serenaded: SANG TO.

10. Stein filler: ALE.  Time for another musical interlude.

11. Like many summer shoes: TOELESS.  I prefer sandals.

12. Still being shuffled: UNDEALT.

13. Tablet crushers: PESTLES.  Tricky clue.  I was thinking along the lines of an iPad, which I certainly wouldn't want to crush.

18. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI.  A crossword staple.  I have never read The Time Machine, but apparently there are two-post humans existing in the future and the Eloi are one.

25. Spiral-horned antelope: KUDU.  These animals are native to Africa.

26. Tricky plan: RUSE.

28. Vientiane people: LAO.

32. Poisonous African snake: ASP.  It was the death of Cleopatra.

33. Stew morsel: PEA.  If you're a princess, it will keep you awake at night.

34. Vietnamese New Year: TET.  A crossword staple.

36. Cookbook verb: HEAT.  Stir probably used more in the cookbooks.

37. Spinal segment: DISC.

38. Bit of baby talk: GOO.

39. Often-abbreviated attire: PAJAMAS.  As in PJs, or as we say in my house: Jammie-Jams.

40. Produce eggs: OVULATE.

41. Put in the wrong folder: MISFILE.

43. Pudding choice: TAPIOCA.  I think of Tapioca pudding as a comfort food.

44. Was humiliated: ATE CROW.

45. Laundry holders: BASKETS.   Do you use a laundry basket or a clothes hamper?

47. "Easy to clean" ad claim: NO MESS.  I initially tried, No Muss.

48. __-Cat: winter vehicle: SNO.

50. DEA agent: NARC.

52. Live: EXIST.

53. Muscular power: SINEW.

54. Start of a counting rhyme: EENIE.  A final musical interlude.

58. Cattle poker: PROD.

60. Microwave: ZAP.

62. Squeeze (out): EKE.

Here's the Grid:

Monday, January 14, 2019

QOD:  Death is a distant rumor to the young.  ~  Andy Rooney (né Andrew Aitken Rooney, Jan. 14, 1919 ~ Nov. 4, 2011), American television personality

Sunday, January 14, 2018

QOD:  Happiness depends more on how life strikes you than on what happens.  ~  Andy Rooney (né Andrew Aitken Rooney, Jan. 14, 1919 ~  Nov. 4, 2011)

Thursday, January 14, 2016

QOD:  Constant kindness can accomplish much.  As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.  ~  Albert Schweitzer (Jan. 14, 1875 ~ Sept. 4, 1965), French physician and theologian and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

QOD:  The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.  ~  Andy Rooney (né Andrew Aitken Rooney; Jan. 14, 1919 ~ Nov. 4, 2011)

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

QOD:  Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing,  you will be successful.  ~  Albert Schweitzer (Jan. 14, 1975 ~ Sept. 4, 1965), German theologian, missionary and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize