I pulled out 27D “Can we talk privately?”: AREYOUALONE because it made me think of what could be a terrible pickup line at a bar for a mortgage broker: “Can I get you a loan?” Awful and creepy. Anyway, remember going to bars? Yeah, so do I. I haven’t been to a bar since last year. Friends of mine keep getting covid, and it’s like oh snap. Stop it with the covid already, you know?! I wanna go do fun stuff again without seeing new record hospitalizations on the regular.
Theme!
17A With 18-Across, Emmy-winning “Ugly Betty” actress: AMERICA FERRERA. Also was very good in Superstore. 23D Oscar-winning director of “Get Out”: JORDANPEELE.
36D Grammy-winning singer of “Little Things”: INDIAARIE.
26D Grand Ole Opry performer … or a hint to 17-/18-Across and 23- and 36-Down: COUNTRYSTAR. Because they’re celebrities whose first names are countries. Good one, Ross!
So far, this has been the hardest crossword post I’ve had to write. My hands are very, very cold, and moving my fingers to the proper places to put words up here is difficult, my brain thinks a sentence, and my fingers are like, “Nah, we’re good where we are.” I’m glad I can write this in private because blowing into my cupped hands has been more effective than letting them freeze in place. The living room is at about 60 right now, but in my office area, it’s, wait, it’s way colder than 61. This thermometer clearly is garbage.
I pulled out 22A Start of a tax form: LINEA because I’m a CPA in California, but I don’t do tax. So this clue was not an easy solve for me.
I pulled out 22A Dead even: ALLTIEDUP because right now the Dodgers are up by two after one inning, and all tied up would be the best case outcome of tomorrow’s game. Now I’m back to this post, and Dodgers are down 5-2 at the Seventh Inning Stretch. Ridiculous.
Theme!
19A *Children’s book whose title character says “If I can fool a bug, I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs”: CHARLOTTESWEB. 6D *Chain known for its soft pretzels: AUNTIEANNES. 25D *Prominent left-leaning political action committee: EMILYSLIST.
28D Literary trio found in the answers to this puzzle’s starred clues: THEBRONTES. Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte, and Emily Bronte.
I pulled out 1A _ Modern (London gallery): TATE because I went there back in 2014 and saw a piece of art and felt abused. See, I had thought that there was a patched part of the wall where art had been, and I looked to see what had been there because the plaque was still up. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t a patched wall at all but the art itself:
Tuttle’s Paper Octagonals are paper shapes that he cut from a template and glued to the wall. The orientation of the shape can vary from one installation to the next. Tuttle intends that the octagon should disappear into the wall as much as possible. Nonetheless, once noticed, the work becomes strangely present. As an object it is ultra-thin, but it still takes up an awkward place between painting and sculpture.
I lamented to my brother-in-law about how it’s not art to put white paper on the wall, but he said that art is supposed to make you feel, and since anger is a feeling, it is art. So there!
Damn.
And now for the theme!
17A Socket replacement?: GLASSEYE. 24A Canine covering?: DENTALCROWN. 36A Batter’s additions?: FALSELASHES. 46A Old rug in a courtroom?: POWDEREDWIG.
57A Basketball feint … or a hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 46-Across?: HEADFAKE.
I pulled out 6A Wry reply to “How’d you do that?”: MAGIC because it’s a thing I say to Calah all the time. Or I say that I’ve got the magic touch. The difference is that that frequently is the case. At her mother’s wedding Sunday night I pulled my keys, sunglasses, and wallet out of the cloth napkin that had been on the table. Magic!
Themes!
17A *Miniaturized reference: POCKETATLAS. 60A *Iconic photograph taken by Voyager 1 at the request of Carl Sagan: PALEBLUEDOT. Really, I didn’t expect to be as awed by the photo as I am.
We’re in the rightmost band a little more than halfway down the image. (JPL/NASA)
I pulled out 13A Menu at un café: CARTE because I only now realize that it’s carte like card. I always think about the dessert cart in restaurants back in the day.
Today’s theme was pretty EEEEEEEEEEEasy.
17A Clamoring for “The Bonfire of the Vanities“?: CRYINGWOLFE. It’s a novel by Tom Wolfe. 24A Selling someone on “The Importance of Being Earnest”?: WILDEPITCH.
Like I said yesterday, the streak is alive. And now it’s up to three full weeks. Which is bananas.
I pulled out 21A Homemade headgear for pretend pirates: PAPERHATS because I didn’t think about paper hats in a long time, but as the wedding draws nearer, I feel like pretending to be pirates will be part of my life in the foreseeable future.
The title of this puzzle is Gravity’s Rainbow, and the theme had to do with rainbows. Falling.
95A Mars and 96D ___ River, part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: THE(RED)PLANET. 56A Fruit with crimson-colored flesh and 58D Southern California county: BLOOD(ORANGE). 39A 1966 Donovan hit and 42D Chicken: MELLOW(YELLOW). 6A Spruce or fir and 10D Fresh, in a sense: EVER(GREEN)TREE. 43A Sinatra, to fans and 45D Racy: OL(BLUE)EYES. 60A Popular folk rock duo and “Mood _” (Duke Ellington classic): (INDIGO)GIRLS. 100A Harmful bits of sunlight and State flower of Illinois or New Jersey: ULTRA(VIOLET)RAYS.
It’s so cold today in LA! It rained and hailed yesterday. It’s sunny out now, but it’s 54 degrees outside. Bananas. But the rain has made me realize I can make progress on the chairs with the chisel set that my college roommate Darren got me as a gift recently. But more on that in the woodworking chair project series. Woodworking series posts every Tuesday at 10am PT.
I pulled out 37A Singer Watson, a.k.a. Tones and I, with the 2019 hit “Dance Monkey”: TONI because I think the clue is bad. The song itself is catchy. As much as I don’t care for it, it’s not the worst every so often. But the clue has the answer in it. There are down clues to get you there if you don’t know that her name is TONI (which I didn’t), but you might as well have clues like Musician Adams, a.k.a. will.i.am, with the 2009 instant classic “I Gotta Feeling,” or State of origin of Tramar Dillard, a.k.a. Flo Rida, with the 2007 breakout single “Low.”
I remembered to look at the title of the puzzle this time, and that helped me solve a lot of it.
Sugar, Sugar is even more helpful now that I look at it again. I got that it is candy from the Sugar, but I now I realize that the two Sugars is indicative of that already.
22A Bookworms call dad?: NERDSRINGPOP. This was one of the last ones I got in the entire puzzle. Some friends of mine proposed to their now-wives with ring pops and then went ring shopping later. I proposed to Calah with a costume jewelry ring. I’m not talking a ring that looks nice but isn’t expensive. This ring probably came in a big pack that had a choking hazard warning on it. I had gotten it for free years earlier in a creative wedding invitation. Despite earlier statements she’d made that the type of ring didn’t matter, Calah looked at it and said no repeatedly and emphatically. So there we were at the park at night near a lamppost. I was on one knee on the damp ground with a ring out, and I got denied. But I’m good at quick thinking. In an attempt to make the situation less awkward, I pulled out from my pocket a ring box and revealed an honest engagement ring with a stone that caught what little light there was. My second attempt got a more favorable result. Of course she’d tell the story a little differently. But now I get to look forward to her reading this and expressing horror at me telling the world a story with too little context and arguably major, relevant omissions. 31A A young Justice Ginsburg chuckles?: BABYRUTHSNICKERS. Aw, I miss RBG. Especially now that ACB is sitting in her chair. 47A Do core exercises all day, every day?: CRUNCHNOWANDLATER. This could not be a more applicable clue and answer. Whenever I’ve had Now and Later, it’s been hard, and I eat a little bit of the wax paper wrapper that I cannot separate from the petrified candy. Even though CRUNCH in this context refers to the Nestle chocolate-and-rice bar, I’ve yet to find a Now and Later that’s not made a loud sound when I chew it. 67A Burger King bingefest?: WHOPPERSSPREE. OK I had never heard of Spree until this morning.
But I can talk about Whoppers for eternity. My favorite one in the box or carton–wait a second, does it come in a carton because it’s malted milk? Whoa!–is the one that’s a little soft and chewy. It’s a wonderful surprise whenever it happens. Also Whoppers are better than Maltesers. Maltesers is reportedly the choice of terrorists. Whoppers is the choice of me. 84A Supernova in our galaxy?: MILKYWAYSTARBURST. Pretty good. 103A When E.M.T.s bring home the bacon?: LIFESAVERSPAYDAY. Pineapple is the best lifesaver.
115A Some astronomy Ph.D.s?: MARSSMARTIES. Probably the weakest of all the theme ones.
Finished in 38:35. The blog post took me way longer to write.
ning was ridiculous. Jim Jordan is how he’s been for a while. He just focuses on the irrelevant parts of events, and he won’t say that the election wasn’t rigged.
I pulled out 47D Expeditions by knights: QUESTS because I play Avalon with friends most Tuesday nights, and I’m writing this as we’re playing right now. If they read this post, they’ll know why I’ve been a little distracted.
Today’s long clues are clearly in reference to getting Trump out of the Oval.
18A Hard deposit in a bladder: KIDNEYSTONE. 29A Legislation often resulting from compromise: BIPARTISANBILL. Come on, Mitch McConnell, let’s get an early trial going after impeachment breezes through the House. 46A N.F.L. signal caller: PROQUARTERBACK. 61A Jiffy: BRIEFMOMENT.
37A Adage on the impermanence of suffering … or a hint to 18-, 29-, 46- and 61-Across: THISTOOSHALLPASS.
They all pass stuff, but we need these articles of impeachment to go through and for us to make Mike Pence. Also NYT just reported that the Trump administration executed Lisa Montgomery while Trump happily pardoned all kinds of criminals. What a time to be alive!
The week starts off with a not-so-challenging puzzle. However, it’s got plenty of room for tripping up. Take it from someone who knows.
I pulled out 34D Typical John le Carré work: SPYNOVEL because how the hell did they get him in a puzzle right after he died? Did they have this one ready to go? Was it happenstance?
Now, I didn’t know the name John le Carré until I got the notifications that he’d passed away. But it turned out I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with his work. That is to say that I’d heard of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
As usual, I didn’t know the theme until the end.
19A Model/TV host on a record five Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers: ELLEMACPHERSON. In another sign of how uncultured I am, I had been unaware that she is/was a TV host. But as a former SI subscriber, I found the clue overall to be helpful. 28A “Grey’s Anatomy” actress: SANDRAOH. I tried watching this show but couldn’t get into it. Then I happened upon spinoff series Private Practice on Netflix. I got partway through the first episode and could not bear to continue. Good for them for getting paid and for so long, but I have proved unhelpful when it comes to them collecting residuals. 34A “Full Frontal” host: SAMANTHABEE. I haven’t watched this show, but I liked her on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I was in DC in 2017 when signs were promoting the then-upcoming Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner located at Constitutional Hall, a venue operated by the Daughters of the American Revolution. To be honest, I’m a little creeped out by this organization. It’s not that I’m against celebrating our history and those who fought for our country’s independence but that DAR is a sorority of almost exclusively white women. That they recently let a Black woman join their national board is a good sign for the future(?), but long traditions of exclusion can make joining any organization a deterrent, and that can be a never-ending cycle. I’m not saying that my opinion reflects the feelings of DAR, and I am fully in favor of expanding outreach and making the organization more inclusive. 42A North Carolina senator who unseated Elizabeth Dole: KAYHAGAN. Whenever I hear that name, I just think of The Godfather. I know that it’s Kay who marries Michael Corleone and not Tom Hagen, but it’s like when I see the name Trey Stone, I think of South Park.
53A Female scholars … or a hint to 19-, 28-, 34- and 42-Across: WOMENOFLETTERS. The theme because ELLE (L) MACPHERSON, SANDRA (O) OH, SAMANTHA (B) BEE, and KAY (K) HAGEN.
Finished this one in 6:58.
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