Friday, March 8, 2024, Joe DiPietro

 

Greetings, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of today's puzzle by veteran constructor Joe DiPietro.  Let's jump right in with the reveal at:

57 Across: "That's a lost opportunity," and what can be said to the writer of four clues in this puzzle: YOU'RE MISSING OUT.

Alternatively, you might say to the writer "That's not what Timothy Leary meant!"  At four places in the puzzle, Joe has literally dropped OUT from the clue.  In other words, we are, indeed, MISSING OUT.  As solvers, we must mentally append OUT to the sole remaining letter and thereby create a perfectly acceptable, albeit brief, crossword puzzle clue.  Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed and what can we say except, "Far out, man!":

17 Across:  R.  When we add OUT to R we get ROUT.  LOPSIDED VICTORY.

24 Across:  B.  Tack OUT onto B and the result is BOUT.  PRIZEFIGHT.

38 Across:  P.  P plus OUT equals POUT.   SULKY EXPRESSION

46 Across:  T.  A CSO !  Appending OUT to T results in  TOUT.  CREATE HYPE.

The perps were certainly helpful in sussing out the above answers but, after the gimmick was recognized, none were overly difficult or obscure.  Of course, prior to grasping the gimmick, this solver was seriously considering WTF as a possible title for this blog.

The completed grid appears near the end of this recap.  For now, here are the ins and outs of the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Sanitizer targets: GERMS.  Bacteria was too long.  HANDS was, briefly, considered.

6. "Mad Money" cable network: CNBC.  The first of about a dozen (depending on one's criteria) abbreviated answers in today's puzzle.  TBH SMH IYKWIM

10. Actress Mazar: DEBI.  Per Rotten Tomatoes:  A character actress known for feisty and heavily accented New York roles.

14. Lab vessel: FLASK.  Not Lab as in Labrador Retriever.  Lab as in chemistry lab.

15. Does some horticultural work: HOES.  We had several horticultural/botanical references in today's puzzle.  This was one of them.

Otis Lee - Hard Row To Hoe - Circa 1968

16. Group with reserves: OPEC.

20. Widespread alert, for short: APB.  All Points Bulletin

21. "The Tilled Field" painter Joan: MIRO.  A surreal botanical reference.  I wonder what MIRO was dropping (ingesting).  

22. Speed: RACE.  Used as a verb.  Otherwise, PACE?

23. Leaves in hot water?: TEA.  Not leaves as in departs.  Another botanical reference.

27. Trifle (with): TOY.

29. __ pen: VAPE.    Doctor to patient:  Do you smoke?

                                        Patient:  Yes.

                                        Doctor:  Cigarettes, VAPE, cigars, marijuana?

                                        Patient:  Brisket and pork shoulder, mostly.

30. Whit: IOTA.  A crossword staple although clued many different ways.

32. What coastlines and hairlines may do: RECEDE.  This solver would have preferred a slightly different clue.

35. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA.  SKA Punk, actually.

Take On Me

41. "Three Little Kittens" treat: PIE.  Lose your mittens.  Then find them and get rewarded with PIE.

42. Quick bursts: SPURTS.

43. Go: EXIT.  Used as a verb.

Snagglepuss

44. Like racehorses: SHOD.  Hand up for FAST.

 
45. Skin pic: TAT.  TATtoos are frequently visible in our puzzles.

51. "Go me!": YAY.  See also 63 Across

54. Harvest: REAP.  Possibly another botanical reference.  Anyone first think of this?:

55. "__ Flux": 1990s MTV series: AEON.

56. HHS agency: FDA.

61. Spoonful, perhaps: DOSE.  Hmmm, should we go with Julie Andrews here?  Nah.

Royal Albert Hall - 2005

62. __ learning: ROTE.  Memorization, basically.

63. "Go me!": I RULE.  See also 51 Across

64. Brief timetable: SKED.  Right up there with SESH on the "Come on, enough of this type of thing already" scale.

65. Takes to court: SUES.

George Harrison

66. Organizes: SORTS.

Down:

1. Major key for some piano works by Chopin and Schubert: G-FLAT.  We knew that this answer had to begin with either A B C D E F or G

2. Travel to an away match?: ELOPE.  Cute clue.  Match as in wedded pair.

3. Climactic scene in the Eminem film "8 Mile": RAP BATTLE.

4. Bks.-to-be: MSS.  A punt that we have seen before.  Books-to-be are ManuScriptS in this instance.

5. Revealing, in a way: SKIMPY.  Today's "I had better pass on the GIF" moment.

6. French endearment: CHERI.

Pepe LePew

7. Help for the overnight shift, maybe: NODOZ.  UPPER would have fit but is not "crossword friendly".

8. Writer/activist Harris in the documentary "Hacking Democracy": BEV.  The documentary explored the level of integrity of electronic voting machines.

9. Procedural franchise since 2000: CSI.  A TV show reference often viewed in puzzles.

10. Mental decline: DOTAGE.

11. Unit in geochronology: EPOCH.  Has geochronology previously appeared in our puzzles?  Geochronology is the scientific study of the age and history of Earth's rocks and rock assemblages.

12. Top of the art world?: BERET.  Cute clue, although TOP more often refers to a shirt or blouse than it does to a hat.  Artists are stereo-typically depicted wearing BERETs.

13. Distant: ICY.  Not as in far away.  A behavioral reference.

18. Hollywood VIP: DIR.  DIRector, I suppose.  Probably not the constructor's favorite answer in this grid.

19. "Jinkies!": CRIPES.  Not previously a part of this solver's vocabulary.

25. Chris who won four straight US Opens in the 1970s: EVERT.  A women's tennis reference.

26. Tapered haircuts: FADES.  FADES, to this observer, seem to combine the worst elements of two older hairstyles.

28. Wine cask wood: OAK.  Another botanical reference.

30. Web access co.: ISP.  Internet Service Provider

31. "Certainement!": OUI.  Clue en français / Answer en français

32. Tend to an overgrown plant: REPOT.  Smoke another doobie?

33. Give off: EXUDE.

34. EMT skill: CPR.  A common crossword pairing.

35. Number of squares on a chess board: SIXTY FOUR.  Eight by eight.

36. Fish that can transform into a dragon, per Japanese legend: KOI.

37. Little pest: ANT.  Anyone try IMP first?

39. Tuning fork feature: Y SHAPE.  I have an A-440 tuning fork lying around somewhere.  These days, one uses an electronic gadget.

40. Neptune's realm: SEA.  A reference to the god and not to the eponymous planet.

44. Pan-__ scallops: SEARED.

45. Game of love: TENNIS.  Cute.  In a tennis match love means zero.

Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders

46. Thief: CROOK.  Or not.  Or not not.

47. Get more mileage out of: REUSE.  I tried to change the color of my monk's cowl costume so that I could REUSE it but old habits dye hard.

48. Celerity: HASTE.  Anyone first misread this as Celebrity?  Celery?

49. Some 20 Questions answers: YESES.

50. Luau fare: POI.  Often served in our puzzles.

52. Not for minors: ADULT.  When my children were little they sometimes said "When I grow up I want to be a dult."

53. "Revolutionary Road" author Richard: YATES.

57. NFL stat: YDS.  YarDS  A football reference.

58. "__ Doubtfire": MRS.  You are missed, Robin Williams.

59. Letters of credit?: IOU.  Not letters of credit as your bank might issue. I OWE YOU.

60. Syllable in some lawn product names: GRO.  Today's final botanical reference.

As promised, here is the completed grid:

And now, in keeping with today's theme . . .

_______________________________________________

“I'm paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I'm not thrilled about.”   - - - Richard Lewis  1947 - 2024

Saturday, Aug 4th, 2012, Joe DiPietro

(Note from C.C.: Cruciverb & some your local papers have the incorrect grid, hence the perplexing comments in Splynter's write-up. Here is the correct answer grid. Splynter's grid looks like this. A pair of symmetrically placed letters, the D in HOSTED (33A, clued as "Moderated") and the M in MAILED (37A, clued as "Sent") were accidentally blacked out. Two missing Down entries: EDU (31D, clued as "URL ending") & HMO (32D, clued as "Wellness gp."). Please click here for the correct Across Lite file.)

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 31

Ah, so this is what it feels like to get beaten up mentally....took me an extra 2 minutes beyond my 'personal' allotted time, and that was after switching over to red-letter after two passes, and all too pale. There was just too much vagueness and/or ambiguity in the clues for me. Plus, there's what I would call "orphaned" letters ( no perpendicular crossing clues ) in this puzzle, which I thought was a construction no-no, found in the 11-letter spanners;

30A. Does some wedding planning : SETS THE DATE - meh, I filled this in early, and it stayed, but doesn't really strike me as "some" wedding planning; more like THE wedding plan

36A. Where a collector may browse : ANTIQUE SHOP

So onward with what 35acrossed me....

ACROSS:

1. Letter in red and violet : SHORT E - dah~! filled this and still didn't get it, until the separation between the T & E came to me; rĕd and violĕt

7. Moves right for, say : LETS PASS - how annoying is it when someone is cruising at 55-60 in the fast lane? Please, please, move right, and let us pass ~!

15. One-dimensional : LINEAR - I overthought this; AutoCAD-wise, a line has a starting point, and a direction, hence more than 'one' dimension....

16. Even further evidence : EXHIBIT C - when your first two examples are just not enough

17. Ideal conditions : OPTIMA - filled it, didn't like it, had to keep it.

18. Sailor : SEAFARER

19. __ Mints : THIN - stuck on "breath" and "junior", but like Calvin said in the comic strip the other day, I had to write really small to get it to fit....

20. Came out with something : SAID IT - and I am not going to SAY IT....

22. Daisy __ : MAE

23. Friend, in slang : HOMIE

25. Reacts to errors, maybe : BOOS - sporting events; in hockey, it's usually a response to poor officiating

26. Only : MERE

27. Used : SPENT

28. Burma's first prime minister : U NU - this guy

29. 1956 title monster : RODAN - oh yeah, nailed it~!



31. Chilean island south of Tierra del Fuego : HOSTE - map

35. Suffered : AILED

40. Little sedative? : TRANQuilizer - ugh, I guess

41. Uppermost number, sometimes : XII - the last "I" was there, and so I switched to Roman numeral thinking, and then the clock fell off the wall and clocked me in the head; 12, at the top of the dial

42. Take out, in a way : EJECT - THROW out, yes; take out = EVICT, ERASE, EXTRACT....

47. Implores : BEGS

48. '70s TV co-host : CHER - with Sonny, so long ago

49. Court game using mallets : ROQUE - the Wiki; sounds like fun - I will have to build one in the big space in the backyard where the old shed once stood

50. Mirror : APE - new clue for an old fill

51. Bluish purples : MAUVES - in my part of the world, mauve is reddish purple, so this one was blank a very long time; according to the standard RGB numbers, there is more B than R

53. Repeated words from one who's been rebuffed : BUTS - but, but, but....

54. "Can't use it" : NOT FOR ME

56. Sign up : ENLIST - had ENROLL, screwed me up for a long time

58. Laura Innes's "ER" role : DR. WEAVER - didn't watch, couldn't begin to guess - but once I had D_WEAVER, the "R" was the only logical solution

59. Unification Church member : MOONIE - can you guess where the name came into play from this link?

60. Most thickset : STOUTEST - I mis-read this about 3 times before I saw thick SET - so I was trying DUMBEST, etc.

61. Aim : INTEND - the verb; I aim to please with my blogging.

Down:

1. Armadillo relatives : SLOTHS

2. Rap : HIP-HOP - meh, two different musical genres, if you ask me - then again, the Beastie Boys ain't "gangsta" rap; R.I.P. Adam Yauch

3. Prompt : ON TIME

4. Get to slow down : REIN IN

5. One may be worn with a kilt : TAM - hey, I got one, first pass ~!

6. Significant stretches : ERAS

7. Tissue problems : LESIONS

8. Removed : EXED OUT - and spelled out, this time

9. Rama IX subjects : THAIs - Mentally mired in Ramses, and therefore Egyptian thoughts kept popping up; also, isn't there a space program that has a name like this, too - Husker?

10. Pan for gold, say : SIFT

11. Gp. found in alleys : PBA - well, I knew it referred to bowling, but that it wasn't ABA, or WBA - I'll bet Boomer know all about the Professional Bowler's Association

12. Reward for an ace : AIR MEDAL - ugh, really???

13. Hydrogenated oil : STEARATE - I had -----RATE, and WAGed from there

14. Checked (for) : SCREENED & clecho 46D. Checked (for) : TESTED

21. Sit next to : ABUT

24. And those that follow, in notes : ET SEQQ - for those who "ugh"ed at this one, we have seen it before on the blog; half way down this page

26. __ operandi : MODI - well, I know it's modUS, but guessed the Latin plural counts, too - method-S of operations.?.?.?

29. Grim character? : REAPER - I like the Family Guy version the best

31. Trilby circlets : HATBANDS - sort of a small Fedora



32. Not favorably written up : ON REPORT - meh, to me, "on report" means probation

33. Second leg : STAGE TWO

34. Cookie holders : TINS

37. Brings to light : EXHUMES

38. Radiation dose unit : SIEVERT - see here

39. Bring in : HIRE

43. Unit of assorted merchandise : JOB LOT

44. Mustang, for one : EQUINE - yeah, but I like the FORD CAR better



45. Interrupts on the floor : CUTS IN

48. Slice : CARVE

51. Zoo protection : MOAT

52. One of two decisive games : SEMI

55. Blaise's blaze : FEU - French for fire; we had one going tonight; and clecho #2 ↓

57. Blaise's brush-off : NON

Answer grid.

Splynter