Monday, September 27, 2021

QOD:  I didn’t go to high school.  I think that after you learn to read and write and do your numbers and flush the toilet behind yourself, you don’t need more schoolin’.  You need to get out in the water and swim.  ~  Wilford Brimley (né Anthony Wilford Brimley; Sept. 27, 1934 ~ Aug. 1, 2020), American actor

Sunday, September 26, 2021

QOD:  Life is a lot like jazz ~ it’s best when you improvise.  ~  George Gershwin (né Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz; Sept. 26, 1898 ~ July 11, 1937), American composer

Friday, September 24, 2021

QOD:  Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.   ~  F. Scott Fitzgerald (né Francis Scott Fitzgerald; Sept. 24, 1896 ~ Dec. 21, 1940), American novelist

 

Thursday, September 23, 2021

QOD:  Comedy works best when people recognize themselves.  ~  Jason Alexander (né Jay Scott Greenspan; b. Sept. 23, 1959), American actor

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

QOD:  Young men are apt to think of themselves as wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think of themselves as sober enough.  ~  Philip Stanhope, 4^th Earl of Chesterfield (Sept. 22, 1694 ~ Mar. 24, 1773), British statesman and diplomat

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

QOD:  Poetry is just the evidence of life.  If your life is burning well, the poetry is just the ash.  ~  Leonard Cohen (né Leonard Norman Cohen; Sept. 21, 1934 ~ Nov. 7, 2016), Canadian-American singer-songwriter 

Same Word, Different Meaning.  As we wind down the baseball season (Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled for October 26), let's take a look at some of the sport's figures.

20. Football-shaped gem: MARQUISE DIAMOND.

Baseball Diamond

Marquise Diamond

28. Get revenge: EVEN A SCORE.

And the Red Sox Win!

48. Retriever retriever, perhaps: DOG CATCHER.

Carlton Fisk, former Red Sox Catcher

Here's the Unifier:

54. Estimates, and what the last parts of 20-, 28- and 48-Across are, in different ways: BALLPARK FIGURES.

2021 Red Sox figures

As you read today's commentary, I will be somewhere between New Jersey and the D.C., area as I make my trek back home after spending the past 2 months in New England.  Thus, this will be a somewhat abbreivated commentary.

Across:
1. Unit of parsley: SPRIG.

6. Gridiron gear: PADS.

10. Souvenir of a ticket: STUB.  Can it really be 25 years ago that I went to this Stones concert?

14. 2000s first lady Bush: LAURA.  Laura Bush (née Laura Lane Welsh; b. Nov. 4, 1946) married George W. Bush (b. July 6, 1946) in 1977.

15. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE.

16. Overblown publicity: HYPE.

17. Perpendicular to the keel: ABEAM.

18. Travel aimlessly: ROAM.

19. Monopoly token replaced by a cat: IRON.  I rather liked the Iron.

23. "The Addams Family" cousin: ITT.  A new Addams Family movie is coming out in October.

24. Switch positions: ONs.

25. Winter sports footwear: SKIS.

35. Author Rand: AYN.  Ayn Rand (née Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; Feb. 2, 1905 ~ Mar. 6, 1982) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.  She moved to the United States in the 1920s.  Her best known works are The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

36. "__ the Falling Snow": Enya song: AMID.

37. Gas up: REFUEL.  I will have may refueling stops on my drive from New England to Louisiana.

38. Train making all the stops: LOCAL.

40. Assist: AID.

42. Column-bottom number: TOTAL.

43. Right away: AT ONCE.

45. Danson and Nugent: TEDs.  Ted Danson (né Edward Bridge Danson, III; b. Dec. 29, 1947) is a former model and actor.  Ted Nugent (né Theodore Anthony Nugent; b. Dec. 13, 1948) is a musician.

47. Hudson Riv. engineering school: RPI.  As in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  Hi, Spitzboov!

50. Own (up): 'FESS.

51. Vietnamese soup: PHO.

52. Anti-discrimination initials: EEO.  As in the Equal Employment Opportunity.

63. Side squared, for a square: AREA.

64. Zippo: NONE.

65. By oneself: ALONE.

66. Thailand, once: SIAM.

67. Dealing with the issue: ON IT.

68. Pasta wheat: DURUM.  Everything you wanted to know about Durum, but didn't know to ask.

69. Angel's instrument: HARP.

70. After normal hours: LATE.

71. "Austin Powers" genre: SPY-FI.  A pun on Sci-Fi.

Down:

1. Grand __: SLAM.

2. Old sunscreen ingredient: PABA.  Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA) is not used so much in sunscreen products, in part because it is a strong sensitizing agent and can cause allergic dermatitis.  

3. Remorseful one: RUER.  You'll rue the day ...

4. Baghdad natives: IRAQIs.

5. Entire spectrum: GAMUT.

6. What birdies barely beat: PARs.  A golfing reference.

7. Skin soother: ALOE.  A crossword staple.

8. Perfectly accurate: DEAD ON.

9. Business training session: SEMINAR.

10. Leveling wedge: SHIM.  This word is becoming a crossword staple.

11. Beginner: TYRO.  Can you use this word in a sentence?

12. Stratford-__-Avon: UPON.  This city is best known for being the birthplace of Willie the Shakes.  (Hi, OMK!)

13. Curve in the road: BEND.

21. Checkout counter unit: ITEM.

22. Portfolio listings: ASSETS.

25. Dish with greens: SALAD.  My favorite salads are Caesars.

26. Former capital of Japan: KYOTO.  The city of Kyoto is known for its Buddhist temples, Shinto Shrines and beautiful gardens.

27. Undercover, informally: INCOG.

29. By way of: VIA.

30. Archie's spouse: EDITH.  A reference to All In the Family. 

31. Corp. money manager: CFO.  As in the Chief Financial Officer.

32. Bizarre: OUTRÉ.  The word comes to us from the French

33. Brings in at harvest time: REAPS.

34. Clothing designer Perry: ELLIS.  Perry Ellis (né Perry Edwin Ellis; Mar. 3, 1940 ~ May 30, 1986) was a fashion designer.

36. Li'l Abner creator: AL CAPP. Al Capp (né Alfred Gerald Caplin; Sept. 28, 1909 ~ Nov. 5, 1979) created Li'l Abner in 1934.

39. Mandela's org.: ANC.  As in the African National Congress.

41. Low grade: DEE.  Not a good grade.

44. Fuel additive: ETHANOL.

46. Eins plus zwei: DREI.  Today's German lesson: 1 + 2 = 3.

49. Popular Mexican beer: CORONA.  Not to be confused with the Corona Virus.

50. Make a mess of: FOUL UP.

53. "Yipes!": EGADS!

54. Wild party: BASH.

55. Opera highlight: ARIA.  Aria from Carmen.

56. Shakespeare's mad king: LEAR.

57. Genie's abode: LAMP.

58. Work with needles: KNIT.  A CSO to some of our regulars.

59. Big bash: FÊTE.

60. Golfer McIlroy: RORY.  Rory McIlroy (b. May 4, 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland.

61. Sufficient, in texts: ENUF.

62. Game before the finals: SEMI.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, September 20, 2021

QOD:  Contentment is work so engrossing that you do not know you are working.  ~  Donald Hall (né Donald Andrew Hall, Jr.; Sept. 20, 1928 ~ June 23, 2018), American laurate poet