Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Wednesday, Aug 28th, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein & Rafael Musa

 CHECK MARK✔

Theme from the Sting (The Entertainer) on Vibraphone

Hump Day~! Another Rebecca Goldstein puzzle - this time she's partnered with Rafael Musa, whose latest LA Times constructions were themeless Saturdays blogged by HuskerG.  A 'normal' 15 x15 grid, and what is becoming a "normal" ( for me ) Wednesday occurrence, circles.  Today's circles are in a pattern reminiscent of the way a chess knight moves, but skewed 45°, and all four examples use the letters V, I, B & E - The result; a CHECK mark, and a graphic representation of the theme of the puzzle;

57. "How's everybody feeling?," e.g., and an apt description of this puzzle's circled letters: VIBE CHECK - ✔


I have not heard or used this phrase; I guess I am just "OLD".  It does sound Millennial, or GenZ, so I'm not surprised.  On the flip side, we did have three other solid, nine-letter fills, so I am going to add those at the top of the write-up here, for Cornerites who care to "cheat" ( I used to 'peek' at the Saturday write-up for a little "assistance ).  I did not get my "ta-DA~!" after the puzzle was filled; turns out I had a "U" in the cell where the "I" is, highlighted in the solution above, and it was the theme that helped me see my mistake....

16A. "That's my cue to leave": "I BETTER GO." - reminds me of the closing scene from Pulp Fiction -

 Vincent and Jules, dressed in T-shirts and shorts, "think they should be leaving now"

3D. Story connectors: ELEVATORS - Dah~!  I got caught up thinking story as in tales, novels, movies, etc.

32D. Smarts: INTELLECT


 And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Swerve: VEER

5. Person in a toque: CHEF

9. Explicit content warning letters: NSFW - Not Suitable For Work

13. Vogue rival: ELLE

14. Short video on Instagram: REEL - new clue for this answer; I don't Instagram - filled via perps

15. "Cloud Atlas" star Berry: HALLE - never saw this movie - sounds intriguing, so I borrowed the book and started reading it this week - name #1

18. Instruments with bell-shaped bottoms: OBOES

19. Field near a volcano: LAVA BED

National Park, California

20. Race in place: REV

22. Go all in, maybe: BET - meh.  It's not really a bet so much as a bluff, or desperation call

23. Help: AID

24. Person who doesn't sugarcoat things: REALIST - I consider myself a realist

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTg7sFTyeWfIPFr3wBO-MPE_i44yvky6GA9WrEMsxSZPLh2SeVQK7Co2B76ogrwKIlb2a8&usqp=CAU

26. Envelope abbr.: ATTN - ATTENTION - see 35A.

28. Fed a friend's iguana, say: PET SAT - I found another picture of my iguana Zeus -



29. Heckles a performance: BOOS

30. Cranberry farm: BOG

31. Finale: ENDING

35. Microwave aluminum foil, say: ERR - I actually made this error a week ago - I just wanted to take the chill off a protein bar, never noticing the foil package - but the sparks in the zapper got my ATTENTION -

36. Endearing: LOVABLE

38. Word between last names: NÉE - Frawnche

39. "__ learned!": LESSON - I had to learn how to solder a windline joint last week - we are installing the windlines for the new pipe organ at St. Peter's Harwich, MA, this week.  Here's a picture of a reed rank laid out so we can modify its wind chest for the Washington National Cathedral -

16' Fagotto (Bassoon) - YouTube

41. Apple platform: iOS - I'm a PC

42. __-Alt-Del: CTRL - and this is how you FIX PCs

43. Endorses digitally: eSIGNS - Living in CT, I did a lot of eSigning for documents related to NY accounts - I wonder about the legality sometimes, when you take into consideration hackers

45. Weight: HEFT

46. Takes a nosedive: CRATERS - There have been numerous episodes of Air Disasters where a mechanical failure led to a plane taking a nosedive, resulting in a crater. 

48. Khan Academy founder Khan: SAL - name #2, no clue, filled via perps - his Wiki

49. Election Day mo.: NOVember, and fast approaching 

50. Jockey item with straps?: BRA - Jockey, the brand name


51. Prophets: ORACLES

55. Cravalho who voices Moana: AULI'I - name #3, did not see the movie, had no clue; her IMDb

59. Plug protrusion: PRONG

The orange snake from hell

60. Actor Bana: ERIC - name #4

61. Hurt: ACHE

62. Jazz legend James: ETTA - name #5, crossword staple

63. Allows: LETS

64. Stash, as a carry-on: STOW


DOWN:

1. Accessory for some brides: VEIL - I was "today years old" when I saw this video - NOT Weird Al's version....

The Greg Kihn Band - Jeopardy

2. Brazilian singer-songwriter Ramalho: ELBA - name #6, no clue, filled via perps

4. Keeps: RETAINS - AND rhyming - 24. Wins back: REGAINS

5. First Nations people: CREE - I WAGed OTOE.  Bzzzt~!

6. Bison bunch: HERD


7. Neuro letters: EEG - abbr. for neurology, etc., ergo abbr for ElectroEncephaloGram

8. Cauliflower cut: FLORET - ah.  I missed this on the first pass - broccoli would have clued me in

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Florets - looks quite tasty

9. Catch in the act: NAB

10. Mess-makers: SLOBS

11. Group of ships: FLEET - ARMADA didn't fit

12. "__ Coast best coast": WEST - WAG for the rhyme

15. Freeway section marked with diamonds: HOV LANE 

Not effective, in my experience on Long Island - a Zipper lane would be the way to go

17. "More info soon": TBD

21. Studio supports: EASELS - Artist's studios, that is

25. "__ be amazing if ... ": IT'D - meh, but necessary

26. Cain's brother: ABEL - name #7

27. Ripped: TORE

A tragedy -

28. Perspective, for short: POV - Point of View - there's a GUN for that; doesn't work on women

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -

30. Less meaty: BONIER - like most fashion models

33. Make less powerful, in gamer slang: NERF - filled via perps, but it sorta makes sense

34. Coins in a game of dreidel: GELT

36. Got blown out: LOST BIG - especially if you went 'All In'

37. Code for the busiest airport in Massachusetts: BOS - Boston Airport didn't sound right, until I recalled that it's called "Logan" Airport
Looks confusing

40. Black __: SEA - I threw in "TIE"

42. Does a fast-paced Latin dance: CHA-CHAs

44. Colorful stones at the bottom of an aquarium: GRAVEL - uh, well, I guess it is gravel; I had more than one aquarium as a kid - I am thinking about doing another - I can be on the road without worrying about my fish.

46. Pickleball venue: COURT

47. Airstream stopover, for short: RV LOT - meh. RV Park is a more common 'phrase', and based on a website during my search, an RV LOT is a permanent (so to speak) rental spot to park your RV - not really a "stopover"

48. Cul-de-__: SAC - Frawnche

49. Back of the neck: NAPE

51. Notice in passing?: OBITuary

52. Suggestions, for short: RECS - meh.  I am guessing "recommendations", but this is something I do not typically use, or hear, in my daily travels

53. Reverberation: ECHO

54. Distort: SKEW - Dah~! Not WARP

56. Cookbook writer Garten: INA - Dah~!  I filled in UTA - the "other" three-letter name I always get wrong; Uta is the German actress who frequently appears in crossword puzzles, too

58. Intense anger: IRE

Splynter -

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