Wednesday, July 19, 2023

QOD:  Everyone has talent at 25.  The difficulty is to have it at 50.  ~  Edgar Degas (né Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas; July 19, 1834 ~ Sept. 27, 1917), French impressionist artist

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

QOD:  There is only one way to avoid criticism:  Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.  ~  Aristotle, Greek philosopher

So Long, Farewell ... 

How do you say "Good-bye" to a wild critter?

20-Across. Wild "adios"?: MAÑANA PIRANHA.  Tomorrow Piranha.  Piranha are surprisingly small fish, but they have seriously sharp teeth.

24-Across. Wild "goodbye"?: LATER ALLIGATOR.

41-Across. Wild "auf wiedersehen"?: TSCHUSS OCTOPUS.  Bye-bye, octopi.

47-Across. Wild "au revoir"?: ADIEU COCKATOO.

Across:

1. Use a swizzle stick: STIR.

5. Soothes to sleep: LULLS.  I hope this puzzle and commentary doesn't lull you to sleep.

10. Poker pot starter: ANTE.

14. Skin opening: PORE.

15. Starting lineup: A TEAM.

16. Read, as a QR code: SCAN.  Did you know that the QR stands for Quick Response?

17. Wide-eyed with anticipation: AGOG.

18. Hollywood headliners: MOVIE STARS.

22. "Cornflake Girl" singer Amos: TORI.  Tori Amos (née Myra Ellen Amos; b. Aug. 22, 1963) is a singer-songwriter and pianist.

23. Dodge pickup truck: RAM.

31. All-important: VITAL.

32. + or - particles: IONS.

33. "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" cable network: HBO.   Bryant Gumbel (né Bryant Charles Gumbel; b. Sept. 29, 1948) was born in New Orleans.  He was a co-host of the Today show for 15 years before hosting the HBO sports show.

34. Targets of Terro bait traps: ANTS.  I am not familiar with this particular brand of bait traps, but it was easy enough to find the Ants.

35. Popovich who is the winningest coach in NBA history: GREGG.  Gregg Charles Popovich (b. Jan. 28, 1949) is the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.

37. Track competition: MEET.

38. Emulate Eileen Gu and Lindsey Vonn: SKI.  Eileen Gu (née Eileen Feng Gu; b. Sept. 3, 2003) is a Chinese-American Olympic gold medalist.  She competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics for China.  Lindsey Vonn (née Lindsey Caroline Kildow; b. Oct. 18, 1984) is also an Olympic gold medalist.

39. __ and rave: RANT.

40. Hunts, with "on": PREYS.

45. "Big Blue" on the Big Board: IBM.  Why Big Blue?

46. Fill a position: HIRE.

53. Sign of stress?: ACCENT MARK.  Accent Marks found in French

ç – the cedilla (la cédille)

é – the acute accent (l'accent aigu)

â/ê/î/ô/û – the circumflex (l'accent circonflexe)

à/è/ì/ò/ù – the grave accent (l'accent grave)

ë/ï/ü – the trema (l'accent tréma)

55. French Quarter city, informally: NOLA.  New Orleans, Louisiana.

56. Skinny tropical tree: PALM.

57. Take place next: ENSUE.

58. Bryce Canyon state: UTAH.

59. "Good point": TRUE.

60. Cook in the oven: ROAST.

61. Pad thai protein option: TOFU.  Yummers!  You, too, can make your own pad thai.

Down:

1. Canned meat used in Hawaiian cuisine: SPAM.  You can even find spam treats at the gas station stores in Hawaii.

2. "Julius Caesar" costume: TOGA.

3. Multivitamin ingredient: IRON.

4. Meets on the river?: REGATTAS.  The Head of the Charles rowing event in Boston will take place in October.

5. Actress Hedy in the National Inventors Hall of Fame: LAMARR.  Hedy Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; b. Nov. 9, 1914 ~ Jan. 19, 2000) was not only a movie star, but an inventor.  Tinkering was one of her hobbies.  During World War II, she learned that radio-controlled torpedos could easily jam and go off course.  So, she and George Antheil devised a radio frequency-hopping system that couldn't be jammed.  The invention was granted a patent in 1942.  This later became the basis for the technology used in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.  In 2014, fourteen years after her death, Hedy Lamarr was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

6. Paradise: UTOPIA.  The word Heaven also fits into the spaces provided.

7. Jeans maker Strauss: LEVI.  Levi Strauss (né Löb Strauß; Feb. 26, 1829 ~ Sept. 26, 1902) began making jeans for gold miners in San Francisco in 1853.

8. Villain's hideout: LAIR.

9. Using questionable campaign tactics: SMEARING.

10. Inhaler user's malady: ASTHMA.

11. Campus sports gp.: NCAA.  As in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

12. Road goo: TAR.

13. USN rank: ENS.  As in Ensign.

19. Unexpected hiccups: SNAGS.

21. Yuletide song: NOEL.

24. Clickable connections: LINKS.

25. High point of a home tour?: ATTIC.  Cute clue!

26. Deliberately deceive: LIE TO.

27. Ship captain's journal: LOG.

28. Org. exited in Brexit: THE EU.  As in the European Union.  Can you name all the countries in the EU?

29. Minds: OBEYS.

30. Turns rancid: ROTS.

31. Seemingly limitless: VAST.

35. Utility gauge: GAS METER.

36. Many ICU professionals: RNs.  Registered Nurses will be found in the Intensive Care Units.

37. Snack food mascot with a monocle: MR. PEANUT.

39. Apply by massaging, as barbecue spices: RUB IN.

40. Politically motivated spending: PORK.  An appropriate clue to follow the barbecue spices.

42. Fugitive's plea: HIDE ME!

43. Repeated song part: CHORUS.

44. Unwelcome windshield item: TICKET.

47. Rights advocacy gp.: ACLU.  The American Civil Liberties Union has been around for over 100 years.

48. "Let's ... never do that": UM ... NO.

49. The Madrigal family home in "Encanto," e.g.: CASA.  A continuation of today's Spanish lesson.  Hi, Lucina!

50. Dog in Oz: TO-TO.

51. Norwegian saint: OLAF.  Before he was known as a saint, Saint Olaf was known as Olaf II Haraldsson, King of Norway (995 ~ 1030).

52. Pearl Harbor site: OAHU.

53. Well-put: APT.

54. Catmobile, e.g.: CAR.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, July 19, 2021

QOD:  We cannot control the evil tongues of others, but a good life enables us to disregard them.  ~  Cato the Elder, Roman historian

Sunday, July 19, 2020

QOD:  Astronomy’s much more fun when you’re not an astronomer.  ~  Brian May (né Brian Harold May; b. July 17, 1947), British astronomer and guitarist in Queen

Friday, July 19, 2019

QOD:  The excitement of learning separates youth from old age.  As long as you’re learning, you’re not old.  ~  Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (née Rosalyn Sussman; July 19, 1921 ~ May 30, 2011), American medical physicist and recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Thursday, July 19, 2018

QOD:  The longer the title, the less important the job.  ~ George McGovern (July 19, 1922 ~ Oct. 21, 2012)

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

QOD:  Somehow politicians have become convinced that negative campaigning pays off in elections.  ~  George McGovern (July 19, 1922 ~ Oct. 21, 2012)

Sunday, July 19, 2015

QOD:  No man should advocate a course in private that he’s ashamed to admit in public.  ~  George McGovern (July 19, 1922 ~ Oct. 12, 2012)

Friday, July 19, 2013

QOD:  Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.  ~  Edgar Degas (July 19, 1834 ~ Sept. 27, 1917)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

QOD:  Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it.  ~  Rod McKuen (né Rodney Marvin McKuen; Apr. 29, 1933 ~ Jan. 29, 2015)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

QOD: Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. ~ William Faulkner (Sept. 15, 1897 ~ July 6, 1962)