Thursday, December 21, 2023 Lisa Senzel, Will Nediger
No movie, no popcorn, today -- the trailer for the first themer
from today's constructors, Lisa Senzel and
Will Nediger, should wake you up ...
20A. Review that says, "Hitchcock serves up a twist that you won't see
coming"?: PSYCHO ANALYSIS.
31A. Review that says, "Bit of a downer, but Soderbergh delivers"?: TRAFFIC REPORT.
37A. Review that says, "Idina Menzel shines as Elsa"?: FROZEN ACCOUNT. Just Let it Go ...
51A. In-depth news story, or any of the reviews mentioned in this puzzle?: FEATURE ARTICLE
The ARTICLES were an ANALYSIS, a REPORT, and an ACCOUNT of 3 different FEATURE films - PSYCHO, TRAFFIC, and FROZEN. TRAFFIC'S Feelin' Alright was an AD-LIB by Steve Winwood.
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Less risqué: TAMER. Also a noun ...
10. Yearn (for): ACHE.
14. Name said to activate an Amazon gadget: ALEXA. Machines don't seem to understand me, so I avoid talking to them.
15. Potato, in Indian cooking: ALOO. Here's a recipe for ALOO Parathas and here's a video of the steps:
16. Satellite whose day is almost 30 Earth days: MOON. Does the moon rotate on its axis?
18. Word with bar or Bell: TACO.
19. Oodles: A LOT. Notice the space between the 1st oodle and the second oodle, a CSO to Melissa 😁
20. [Theme clue].
23. The Thrashers, on sports crawls: ATL. The Winnipeg Jets (nés The ATLanta Thrashers) are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, playing its home games at Canada Life Centre. Here's their old logo:
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Atlanta Thrashers |
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Winnipeg Jets |
24. "ur the best": ILY.
25. __ and Herzegovina: BOSNIA. Bosnia and Herzegovina sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe, in the Balkans, bordering Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north and southwest.
27. Cuddling on the bus, e.g.: PDA. Public Display of Affection. Often clued: "Get a room!"
28. Silk Sonic musician Anderson .__: .PAAK. Note .Prefix. The principals of Silk Sonic are Johnson and his colleague Bruno Mars. Here's their Leave the Door Open with Bruno on keyboards and Anderson on drums. Both share vocals. I like their vibe ...
30. Fox Sports journalist Hale: JEN. Jennifer Hale (born February 28, 1978) is an American journalist working for Fox Sports as an NFL sideline reporter where she is currently paired with Chris Myers and Robert Smith. She also covers NBA's New Orleans Pelicans for Bally Sports New Orleans and also covers college football for Fox Sports.
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Jennifer Hale |
34. __ the line: TOE. I wanted TOW for this. I think both could be used in different contexts.
35. Headed up: LED.
36. Donkey: ASS. They're stereotyped as ill-tempered and stubborn, but they're actually quite wise ....
42. Frightened cry: EEK.
43. Figure of interest?: RATE.
44. Private chats, briefly: DMS. Direct Message Service. Similar to cell-phone text messaging (TM), but DM uses the Internet rather than cell-towers to relay the messages.
45. Chew out: YELL AT.
47. Unruly head of hair: MOP. This is as unruly as it gets ...
48. Pleased sigh: AAH.
.
51. [Theme reveal].
55. High-fiber food: BRAN. My favorite BRAN source ...
57. Keypad key: ENTER.
58. Live a nomadic life: ROVE. Here's Ralph Vaughan Williams' Whither Must I Wander sung by Sir John Shirley-Quirk ...
59. Palo __, California: ALTO. Today's Spanish lesson: "Tall stick". Here's why the town is called that.
60. Harriet Tubman portrayer Cynthia: ERIVO. Cynthia Erivo (/əˈriːvoʊ/; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category. Here's a clip from Harriet ...
61. Matures: AGES.
62. Efficient: LEAN.
63. Iberian infants: NENES. More Spanish. The Nene is also the national bird of Hawaii ...
Down:
1. St. Petersburg neighbor: TAMPA. And a neighbor of TAMPA, about 30 miles Northwest of it, is Tarpon Springs, one of the worlds largest suppliers of natural sponges, preferred by potters everywhere.
2. Top celebs: A LIST.
3. Actress Streep: MERYL. Here's a movie from an A LIST actress I'll never forget ...
4. Corporate VIP: EXEC.
5. Jones of "Parks and Rec": RASHIDA. DNK she was Quincy Jones' daughter. Here she is pouring out her heart to Conan O'Brien (very funny) ...
6. Skewered Thai dish: SATAY. Here's a recipe for Thai SATAY chicken.
7. Splashy style: ELAN.
8. __-Cola: COCA.
9. Strip of computer icons: TOOLBAR. Here's part of my Firefox TOOLBAR ...
10. Collect over time: AMASS.
11. "SNL" regular who wrote the memoir "A Very Punchable Face": COLIN JOST. Colin Kelly Jost (/ˈdʒoʊst/; born June 29, 1982) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. JOST has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2005, and co-anchor of Weekend Update since 2014. Jost is married to Scarlett Johansson, who recently co-starred in the quirky Wes Anderson Sci-Fi flick Asteroid City (streaming on Prime).
12. Indiana residents: HOOSIERS.
13. Sinus specialist, for short: ENT. A CSO to Picard for his recent picture of a different kind of ENT
21. Norwegian saint: OLAF. Olaf II Haraldsson (c. 995 – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint OLAF and Olaf the Holy, was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (English: Eternal/Perpetual King of Norway) and canonised at Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimketel, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030.
And since 'tis the season, here is a medley of Christmas carols performed by the St. Olaf's Choir of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (and a CSO to C.C.) ...
22. Oxen connector: YOKE.
26. Strong insect: ANT.
27. Company VIP: PREZ.
28. Fragment: PIECE.
29. Outlet letters: ACDC. Only Alternating Current (AC) comes out of an outlet. OTOH Direct Current (DC) is supplied by batteries, which in turn supply a lot of crosswordese. 😀
31. Used a paternity benefit, perhaps: TOOK LEAVE.
32. Sharp's counterpart: FLAT.
33. Skillets, woks, etc.: PANS.
34. Eater of 26-Downs on a log?: TREE FROG. Here's what Tree Frogs eat -- doesn't sound like they'd find Ants on a Log very appetizing ...
37. Tina of "Mean Girls": FEY. Mean Girls is a 2004 American
teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters, written by Tina Fey, and starring
Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert,
Amanda Seyfried, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer,
Amy Poehler and Fey. Based on a book of advice to parents of teenage girls by Rosalind Wiseman, entitled
Queen Bees and Wannabes, ...
38. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT.
39. Marketing kin of "organic": NATURAL
40. Smell: ODOR.
41. Countless: UMPTEEN.
46. Freeway divisions: LANES.
47. Stoneworker: MASON. Among the most advanced masonry in the world are the huge perfectly fitted "polygonal stone walls" of the Incas. But they weren't the first civilizations who built such structures, as described in the video Evolution Of Polygonal Masonry | From Ancient Times To The Incas | Quarrying, Tools & Methods.
48. Be part of, as a film: ACT IN.
49. Excedrin alternative: ALEVE.
50. Deli subs: HEROS. What’s the Difference Between a Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie? The biggest one may be where you live.
52. Part to play: ROLE.
53. Jazz great James: ETTA. And here's why ...
60. Harriet Tubman portrayer Cynthia: ERIVO. Cynthia Erivo (/əˈriːvoʊ/; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category. Here's a clip from Harriet ...
62. Efficient: LEAN.
63. Iberian infants: NENES. More Spanish. The Nene is also the national bird of Hawaii ...
 |
| Nenes |
1. St. Petersburg neighbor: TAMPA. And a neighbor of TAMPA, about 30 miles Northwest of it, is Tarpon Springs, one of the worlds largest suppliers of natural sponges, preferred by potters everywhere.
 |
| Natural Sponges Tarpon Springs, FL. |
2. Top celebs: A LIST.
3. Actress Streep: MERYL. Here's a movie from an A LIST actress I'll never forget ...
4. Corporate VIP: EXEC.
5. Jones of "Parks and Rec": RASHIDA. DNK she was Quincy Jones' daughter. Here she is pouring out her heart to Conan O'Brien (very funny) ...
6. Skewered Thai dish: SATAY. Here's a recipe for Thai SATAY chicken.
8. __-Cola: COCA.
9. Strip of computer icons: TOOLBAR. Here's part of my Firefox TOOLBAR ...
10. Collect over time: AMASS.
11. "SNL" regular who wrote the memoir "A Very Punchable Face": COLIN JOST. Colin Kelly Jost (/ˈdʒoʊst/; born June 29, 1982) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. JOST has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2005, and co-anchor of Weekend Update since 2014. Jost is married to Scarlett Johansson, who recently co-starred in the quirky Wes Anderson Sci-Fi flick Asteroid City (streaming on Prime).
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| Colin Jost |
13. Sinus specialist, for short: ENT. A CSO to Picard for his recent picture of a different kind of ENT
21. Norwegian saint: OLAF. Olaf II Haraldsson (c. 995 – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint OLAF and Olaf the Holy, was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (English: Eternal/Perpetual King of Norway) and canonised at Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimketel, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030.
 | |
| Saint Olaf King and Martyr Feast Day July 29. |
22. Oxen connector: YOKE.
26. Strong insect: ANT.
27. Company VIP: PREZ.
28. Fragment: PIECE.
29. Outlet letters: ACDC. Only Alternating Current (AC) comes out of an outlet. OTOH Direct Current (DC) is supplied by batteries, which in turn supply a lot of crosswordese. 😀
31. Used a paternity benefit, perhaps: TOOK LEAVE.
32. Sharp's counterpart: FLAT.
33. Skillets, woks, etc.: PANS.
34. Eater of 26-Downs on a log?: TREE FROG. Here's what Tree Frogs eat -- doesn't sound like they'd find Ants on a Log very appetizing ...
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| Ants on a Log |
38. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT.
39. Marketing kin of "organic": NATURAL
41. Countless: UMPTEEN.
47. Stoneworker: MASON. Among the most advanced masonry in the world are the huge perfectly fitted "polygonal stone walls" of the Incas. But they weren't the first civilizations who built such structures, as described in the video Evolution Of Polygonal Masonry | From Ancient Times To The Incas | Quarrying, Tools & Methods.
48. Be part of, as a film: ACT IN.
49. Excedrin alternative: ALEVE.
50. Deli subs: HEROS. What’s the Difference Between a Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie? The biggest one may be where you live.
52. Part to play: ROLE.
53. Jazz great James: ETTA. And here's why ...
54. Memo starter: IN RE.
55. Product of Bali: BRA. More crosswordese.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
And a Happy belated Hanukkah 🕎 and a Merry
Christmas ⛪🎄🎅 to all!
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