Tuesday, December 26th, 2023, Rebecca Goldstein

 PHYSICS 101

Hi there~! - A quick solve for me today, only four proper names, three of which I had no clue about, and a 'simple' theme/reveal.  Two each of 13- and 9-letter theme answers, with some chunky 8-, 9-, and 10-letter DOWN answers in the mix, again leading to several three-letter fills.  BTW, this puzzle featured many of what I think are 'typical' 4- and 5-letter answers, but with too many choices that potentially "fit".  The clues are marked "*", so you can see what I mean....

18. Make a real mess: SCREW THINGS UP

oops

33. Gymnastics rings position held with the body parallel to the ground: LEVER HANG - I will be able to do this by the end of 2024 - NOT~!

39. Feature of some espadrilles: WEDGE HEEL - I did not know an espadrille was a shoe; but I recognize them now~!

53. Force-multiplying device that can be found at the beginning of 18-, 33-, and 39-Across:

SIMPLE MACHINE - see the links in blue for examples

 
And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Finishes: ENDS

5. Spill the beans: BLAB

9. Chest muscle, for short: PECtoral - doesn't help with the lever hang....

12. In __ of: LIEU

13. Credit card user: PAYER - uh, well, not necessarily....

14*. "It follows logically that ... ": ERGO - THUS, too

15. Maintain: KEEP - I like this kind of KEEP

16. "Me too," more formally: "AS DO I"

17. State of mind: MOOD

21. Chillingly strange: EERIE

22*. "Pronto!": ASAP - or STAT~?

23. Many moons __: AGO

26*. Rightmost computer menu, often: HELP - HOME, FILE, EDIT, VIEW, DRAW - a great clue for a 'common' word - I had to think about the software I use before I could pick the correct one

 

AutoCAD

28. Cloak and __: DAGGER

30. Tortoise's fabled competitor: HARE

36. Norse god of war: ODIN

37. Collaborative sites: WIKIs

38. Another, in Spanish: OTRA

41. Witnessed: SEEN - I have SEEN images of guys wearing the next answer....

42. Swim team swimwear: SPEEDO - which brings to mind the word "UNSEE"....

43. Toward sunrise: EAST

46. Extra sports periods, briefly: OTs

47*. Per person: A POP - EACH, too

50. Chops, as an onion: DICES

57. Japanese noodle: UDON

59. Dog collar dangler: ID TAG

60. Notion: IDEA

61. Come to a stop: HALT

62. "You've got some __!": "NERVE~!"

 63. Shakespeare's mad king: LEAR

64. "Yellowjackets" network, briefly: SHO - No clue, but I had two-thirds via crossings

65. Mardi __: pre-Lenten festival: GRAS

66. Annoys: IRKS

DOWN:

1. Part of BPOE: ELKS - as usual, I started with the DOWNS clues first, and was on a roll quickly....

2. Nephew's sister: NIECE - check

3. Brand of riding mowers: DEERE - check

4. Ruins at Durrington Walls that once consisted of wooden posts, not stones: SUPERHENGE - ....but here I was denied STONE henge, so it had to be something else

5*. Giant party: BASH - FETE, GALA~?

6. Winona's "Beetlejuice" role: LYDIA - ya know, I have never seen this movie....and I don't plan to

7. Very long time: AEONS

8. Units led by colonels: BRIGADES - I'm not military, nor anyone in my family, but PLATOONS fit, as well; the Charge of the Light Brigade gives me a gratuitous opportunity to link Iron Maiden

 

The Trooper

9. Grow cuttings from a succulent, say: PROPAGATE - succulent~?

10. Alter __: EGO

11. Fish that may be black or blue: COD

13. Dev of "Lion": PATEL - perps

14. Down Under bird: EMU

19. Golfer Michelle __ West: WIE - perps

20. Practice in the ring: SPAR

24*. Bookstore section: GENRE - HOW TO was my first thought

 25. Liver, for one: ORGAN - I do have a "liver", but I deal with a different kind of "ORGAN"

Reinstalled six reed pipes, buried in a corner behind the chamber in the shot;

my 'boss' is packing up on the right

A pain in the a** to get to, I might add

 27. Ballet barre bend: PLIÉ

29. Pepper in extremely hot curry dishes: GHOST CHILI - no clue; the CHILI part filled in, but I WAGed the GHOST half

30. "Can you explain?": "HOW SO~?"

31. Skilled (at): ADEPT

32. Works alone: RIDES SOLO - meh.  Unless you're a cowboy~?

34. __ out a win: almost lose: EKE

35. Disgusting: VILE

37. Extraordinarily large: WHOPPING

40. Dutch cheese: EDAM

44*. "Better late than never," e.g.: ADAGE - AXIOM, IDIOM~?  I always forget which

45. [as per the original]: SIC

48. More mature: OLDER

49. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - Dah~! ( see 58D., below ) I shoulda known this from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"

51*. Duck down: EIDER -ha~! I read this clue as 'heads up'; AVOID, EVADE, ELUDE~? - Bzzzt~!

52. Go on tiptoe: SNEAK

54. Picked-off pass, for short: INTerception - football, which is a sport I do like....

55. Big D NBA squad: MAVs -  Thought it was the NUGgetS - but they're DENVER, not DALLAS - I am a total NON-basketball guy

56. Prominent feature of a fennec fox: EARS - I tried TAIL first

na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-NA - BATMAN~!

57*. Hesitation syllables: UHs - ERs, UMs~?

58. Lah-di-__: DAH - or, my clue, the "I shoulda got that" noise, like "D'Oh~!"


Splynter

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, Joe Deeney

 PUNNY MONEY

Today's puzzle is very similar to the one I guest blogged last Tuesday - the first word of the theme answers 'rephrased' as a noun and not an adjective, creating a punny money theme.  Two 15-letter spanners and three more themers, generating a fair number of three-letter words as a consequence.  A good challenge for a Tuesday, a few unknown proper names, and I did have to cheat to figure out why I did not get my "ta-DA~!"; see below.  The theme answers;

16. The landscaping startup was financed via ...: HEDGE FUND - maybe money does grow on trees

21. The extreme tourism startup was financed via ...: VENTURE CAPITAL

31. The shrink-ray startup was financed via ...: MICROLOANS - according the spell-check, this is not a two-word phrase, making it the outlier in the group

41. The religious iconography startup was financed via ...: ANGEL INVESTORS

49. The agriculture startup was financed via ...: SEED MONEY

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Like a final exam in a language class, typically: ORAL

5. Religious offshoot: SECT

9. Nile reptile: ASP - No more Indiana Jones clip; every time I guest-blog....so I PASS on the "ASP"

12. Michael who plays Allan in "Barbie": CERA - filled via perps

13. Physics and chemistry Nobelist Marie: CURIE - and - 19A. Gas observed by 13-Across: RADON

14. __ date: deadline: DUE

15. Direct-hire alternative: TEMP

18. Boxer Muhammad: ALI

20. "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself" memoirist Alan: ALDA - educated WAG

24. "You're important to me": "I CARE"

25. Conditional programming word: ELSE

26. Gillette brand: ATRA

27. Clicking sound?: SHORT i - C-L-i-C-K; I know there are some here at the corner that are not too fond of this type of clue, but I find them a clever challenge to suss out

34. Wasn't straight: LEANED - Here's the architectural countermeasures taken to save the most famous "LEAN"

35. Desert in northern China: GOBI

38. Social satirist Mort: SAHL - DAH!  I typed SAUL; if you look at my grid image, this is the one "cell" I had wrong

40. "The West Wing" creator Sorkin: AARON - Ooops, not AlleN

46. "Buona __": Italian "Good evening": SERA

47. West Yorkshire home of Kirkstall Abbey: LEEDS - I thought maybe this was a fictional reference, such as one from a popular TV series....but it's a spectacular set of ruins

The Wiki

48. On Soc. Sec., perhaps: RETired

51. __ one's time: wait: BIDE

52. Exist: ARE

53. __ guide: USERS

54. Perched upon: ATOP

55. Ed.'s stack: MSs - manuscripts

56. Disorganized state: MESS

57. Workout spots: GYMS

DOWN:

1. "Parable of the Talents" author Butler: OCTAVIA - another WAG

2. Word on an incumbent's campaign poster: RE-ELECT

RE-ELECT MAYOR GOLDIE WILSON - "I like the sound of that";

He gets my vote for best fictional mayor

3. Joined at the elbows: ARM-IN-ARM

4. Spot for a needy pet: LAP

5. Soft glove material: SUEDE

6. Hosp. trauma pro: ER DOC

7. Health insurance giant: CIGNA

8. Football kicker's aid: TEE

9. Accomplishes mundane tasks, facetiously: ADULTS - My friend Mark introduced me to this "21st century" term; we were discussing something like home-ownership responsibility, and he said he was stressed about all this "adulting" - I thought it was hysterical, and still do

10. Dessert with toppings: SUNDAE

11. Graduate from a balance bike: PEDAL - Never heard of a balance bike; in my day, you fell off, got hurt, and got back on again....

13. Blacken: CHAR

17. Unable to be successful with: FAILING AT

19. Bemoan: RUE - Bzzzt~!  I had CRY to start

22. Spot to begin a hike: TRAILHEAD - I knew it was trail something

23. Org. with a white rabbit in its logo: PETA

27. Mme., across the Pyrenees: SRA

28. Dearie: HON

29. La Liga chant: OLÉ

30. Word after hot or lightning: ROD - my CT home has several lightning rods - the LI house, not a one

32. Spreadsheet unit: CELL - I have a spreadsheet at work that calculates the ƒ(n) for determining organ pipe dimensions - something like the logarithm something of its wavelength, but it goes down the PETA hole quickly....

33. Part of campus Greek life: SORORITY

36. Nothing-to-do feeling: BOREDOM - Thought I had mono....

Wayne's World

37. Shoe parts: INSTEPS - I had shoe LAST last week

38. Sinister smiles: SNEERS

39. Gives a thumbs up: AGREES

40. Burro: ASS - followed by....

41. Breakfast tea variety: ASSAM - so the next answer should be ASS AM / FM ~?

42. "Guess you beat me": I LOSE - Nope.  I guess I lose....

43. Babies, in Spanish: NENES - I thought it was a Hawaiian bird....

 

A nene with a nene

44. Makes a sudden change in direction: VEERS

45. Freezer aisle brand: EDY'S

50. Not saying anything: MUM

51. Carry-on: BAG

MERRY CHRISTMAS -- HAPPY HOLIDAYS --

BEST IN THE NEW YEAR TO ALL~!!!

Splynter