Tuesday, September 14, 2021

QOD:  A loser says that’s the way it’s always been done.  A winner says there ought to be a better way.  ~  Sydney J. Harris (né Sydney Justin Harris; Sept. 14, 1917 ~ Dec. 7, 1986), American journalist

Bourgeois Bohemians.  The circles provide the links to the two BOs found in each theme answer.

20-Across. 2002 Hugh Grant film based on a Nick Hornby novel: ABOUT A BOY.

30-Across. Gobbledygook: MUMBO JUMBO.

41-Across. Three-time All-Star outfielder whose son was a seven-time N.L. MVP: BOBBY BONDS.

And the Unifier:

55-Across. Birds with short finch-like bills ... or, what the sets of circled letters literally are?: BOBOLINKS.  Everything you ever wanted to know about these small songbirds.

I am placing the Grid here today, so you can easily see the "links" to the BOs.  The letters in the circles are just nonsense.

Across:

1. Sarah __, first woman governor of Alaska: PALIN.  Sarah Palin (b. Feb. 11, 1964) was the 9th Governor of Alaska.  She served as Governor from 2006 until she resigned 3 years later.  She looks alot like actress Tina Fey.

6. Academic acronym: STEM.  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

10. Chem class rooms: LABS.  Chemistry is one of the S's in STEM classes.

14. Therapy prefix: AROMA.  Aromatherapy is a pseudoscience, so probably doesn't qualify for STEM.

15. Cardamom-infused tea: CHAI.  Here is one recipe for making your own Chai Tea.

16. Tierra en el mar: ISLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Land in the sea is an Island.  Hi, Lucina!

17. Blue Ribbon beer: PABST.  The history of the name of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

18. Heavenly bear: URSA.  Ursa Major is also known as the Big Dipper.

19. Small bottle: VIAL.

22. Ogre, for one: BEAST.  //  And 52-Across. Shrek's love: FIONA.

23. Post-injury regimen: REHAB.

24. Delicate: DAINTY.  In cleaning out my parents' house, I came across a delicate lace dress that belonged to my grandmother.  It is over 100 years old.  The dress looked a lot like the one pictured below.

25. Strong, as a storm: SEVERE.  Like Hurricane Ida.

28. Reunion attendee: AUNT.

29. Signal from the wings: CUE.  Think of an actor on stage who needs help with his lines.

36. Symbol on several PC keys: ARROW.

39. Long-handled tool: HOE.

40. Puccini specialty: OPERA.  Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858 ~ Nov. 29, 1824) wrote numerous operas.  He is probably best known for La Bohème and Madama Butterfly.

44. Title for Richard Starkey: SIR.  That's Sir Ringo to you.

45. RPM indicator: TACH.

46. Drum kit cymbals: HI HATS.

49. Put under: SEDATE.

54. Blond hair, e.g.: TRAIT.

59. Come by honestly: EARN.

60. First name in desserts: SARA.  

61. Bull-riding venue: ARENA.  A dangerous sport.

62. "__ sow ... ": AS YE.  A Biblical phrase:  As ye sow, so shall ye reap ...

63. A bit open: AJAR.  When is a door not a door ...

64. Wastes time: IDLES.

65. Canasta combination: MELD.  Rules of Canasta.

66. Foots the bill: PAYS.

67. Parcels (out): DOLES.

Down:
1. Fairy tale bear: PAPA.

2. Part of UAE: ARAB.  As in the United Arab Emirates.

3. ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca: LOBO.  A lone BO.

4. "There's no doubt!": I'M SURE.

5. Talk aimlessly: NATTER.  Nattering nabobs of negativism.

6. Diving acronym: SCUBA.  Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

7. Pulsate: THROB.

8. "Settle down!": EASY.

9. Soccer great Hamm: MIA.  Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) has now retired from playing soccer.

10. Have a ball: LIVE IT UP.

11. Lao or Thai: ASIAN.

12. __ from the past: nostalgic event: BLAST.

13. Like pretzels: SALTY.

21. "May I speak?": AHEM.

22. Bluegrass band staple: BANJO.

24. Hall & Oates, e.g.: DUO.

25. Nature's bandage: SCAB.  Yuck!

26. Costa del Sol coin: EURO.  Costa del Sol is in Spain, hence, the most common Euro you will find there will be one featuring Spanish designs.  Each Euro has a National side, which features pictures of its country.  Rather like the State Quarters that were minted in the United States.

27. Trick or treat: VERB.

28. Under the covers: ABED.

31. "This isn't good": UH, OH!

32. Part of "MNF," an in-season wkly. sports broadcast: MON.  As in Monday Night Football.

33. Spanish for "table": MESA.  Also the name of a town in Arizona and a CSO to our Arizona contingent.

34. One with a tyre in his boot, perhaps: BRIT.

35. Scull crew: OARS.

37. Managed to get: OBTAINED.

38. Tombstone first name: WYATT.

42. Letters in early dates: BCE.  Before the Common Era.

43. Chase away: SHOO.

47. Like mosaic tiles: INLAID.  We saw some of the most amazine mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily.

48. Salon creation: HAIR DO.

49. Teakettle output: STEAM.  Remove the A and you have STEM.

50. Backspace over: ERASE.

51. Hannah of "Splash": DARYL.  We never saw much more of Daryl Hannah (née Daryl Christine Hanna; b. Dec. 3, 1960) after this 1984 movie came out.

52. New venture: FORAY.

53. Structural beams: I-BARS.

55. Gulf of California peninsula: BAJA.

56. 1994 Jodie Foster title role: NELL.

57. "Trick" joint: KNEE.

58. Disrespectful talk: SASS.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

60. Botanical fluid: SAP.  This makes me think of the maple trees in Vermont.

That's all for today folks!  See you next week.

חתולה

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 Mark McClain

QOD:  Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night but differently each time.  ~  Ornette Coleman (né Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman; Mar. 9, 1930 ~ June 11, 2015), African-American alto saxophonist and composer

Everything Old is New Again!  The first word of each theme answer is the opposite of old.

17-Across. Wind of 19-24 mph, on the Beaufort scale: FRESH BREEZE.

59-Across. "The Hunger Games" trilogy, e.g.: NOVEL SERIES.

10-Down. Genre for a John Lewis quartet: MODERN JAZZ.

29-Down. Patriots' home: NEW ENGLAND.  As you are reading this, I am in New England.

And the clue that points us towards the theme:

65-Across. Unlike the starts of this puzzle's four longest answers: OLD.

Across:

1. Water filter brand: BRITA.

6. Voice below baritone: BASS.

10. Major Web portal: MSN.  As in MicroSoft Network.

13. Grows faint: FADES.

14. Informal okay: UH HUH.

16. "Now I get it!": OHO.

19. Reservoir structure: DAM.

20. Swimmer that may be furry: SEAL.

21. Inlet, vis-à-viss the sea: ARM.  You can see many inlets on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

22. Classic Lanvin scent: ARPÈGE.  Also the name of a fancy restaurant in Paris.  The perfume, however, was created in 1927 and is still available for purchase today.

24. In addition: ALSO.

26. Big name in bouillon cubes: KNORR.  If spelled with an umlaut, however, it becomes a Viking merchant ship.

27. Japanese living art form: BONSAI.  Bonsai literally means "planted in a container".  Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants.  Any tree can be used to grow one.

30. Iberian dance for two: FANDANGO.  It takes two to Fandango, but this clip has several dancers.

33. Summer on the Seine: ÉTÉ.  Today's French lesson.

34. Danes of "Homeland": CLAIRE.  Claire Catherine Danes (b. Apr. 12. 1979) played CIA operative Carrie Matthison in the first few seasons of Homeland.  It was an interesting show with a unique twist in the final episode.

36. Kept the party hopping, briefly: DJ'ED.  As in being a Disc Jockey.

37. Scenic road, maybe: BYWAY.  Byways in Louisiana, some of which are scenic.

39. Albuquerque sch.: UNM.  As in the University of New Mexico.

40. Dahl who wrote "Fantastic Mr Fox": ROALD.  An interesting article about the dark side of Roald Dahl (Sept. 13, 1916 ~ Nov. 23, 1990).

41. Ready for business: OPEN.

42. Present from birth: INNATE.

44. Zen opening?: ZEE.  As in the Letter "Z"

45. Pointy flags: PENNANTS.

47. Sports coat: BLAZER.  Also a Chevy vehicle.

49. Full of chutzpah: GUTSY.

50. States: SAYS.

51. What a voter fills out: BALLOT.  Many are now electronic.

53. Golf scorecard word: PAR.

54. Soybean product: TOFU.

58. Gershwin brother: IRA.  Ira Gershwin (né Israel Gershowitz; Dec. 6, 1896 ~ Aug. 17, 1983) was a lyricist and the older brother of composer George Gershwin (né Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz; Sept. 26, 1898 ~ July 11, 1937).

George and Ira Gershwin.  Ira is on the right.

62. Light brown: TAN.

63. Upright: ERECT.

64. "Divine Comedy" poet: DANTE.  Dante Alighieri (1265 ~ Sept. 14, 1321) was an Italian poet best known for Divine Comedy, which was written around 1320.  Can you name anything else Dante wrote?

66. Site for handmade gifts: ETSY.

67. Little ones: TYKES.

Down:

1. Inseparable pals, briefly: BFFS.  Textspeak for Best Friends Forever.

2. Seldom spotted: RARE.    Below is a RARE Spotless cheetah.

3. Half-baked thought, perhaps: IDEA.

4. Popular electric cars: TESLAs.

5. Shade of gray: ASH.

6. Grand Canyon pack animal: BURRO.  Does anyone remember this children's book by Marguerita Henry?

7. "May I say something?": AHEM.

8. The Beatles' "__ Loves You": SHE.

9. Somers who played Chrissy on "Three's Company": SUZANNE.  This show ran from March 1977 to September 1984.

11. Layered hairstyle: SHAG.  Joyce Dewitt, who also starred in Three's Company, sported a SHAG hairstyle.

12. Bering Sea port: NOME.

15. King in "Jesus Christ Superstar": HEROD.

18. Thai cuisine herb: BASIL.  Hi, Lemonade and Oo.

23. Madrid museum: PRADO.  You can see many masterpieces at the Prado.

25. Like some bridal dresses: LACY.

26. Destiny: KARMA.

27. Early form of 10-Down: BE-BOP.

28. Common blood group: O-TYPE.  Everything you need to known about the ABO blood-typing system.

30. Helsinki natives: FINNS.  A brief history of Finland.

31. Hair salon application: GELÉE.

32. More unusual: ODDER.  Not to be confused with Udder.

35. Mommy's sis: AUNTY.

38. Invalidate: ANNUL.

40. Depend (on): RELY.

42. About to happen: IN STORE.

43. Vintage ski lifts: T-BARS.

46. Make amends: ATONE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

48. Off the right path: ASTRAY.  You may have to ATONE if you go too far ASTRAY.

50. Like sea water: SALTY.

51. __-Honey: candy bar: BIT-O.  Very chewy.  You may lose a filling from this sticky candy.

52. Depleted Eurasian sea: ARAL.   A history of the past half-century of the Aral Sea.

Aral Sea from 1960 to 2010.

53. Push-up targets: PECS.

55. Sow sound: OINK.

56. Big celebration: FÊTE.

57. Puts in the lineup: USES.

60. Racetrack doc: VET.  As in the Veterinarian.

61. D.C. summer hrs.: EDT.  Washington, D.C., is in the Eastern Time Zone, thus during the summer, it is in Eastern Daylight Time.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה