Wednesday, Nov 27th, 2024 ~ Christina Iverson

  THE MIND...

I am a pluviophile

Another 16 x 15 grid for a Wednesday puzzle - but - no circles, then again eight or ten names, depending on how you count, 22 each of TLWs and four-letter words, eight "quoted" clues, and a whopping ELEVEN abbreviations;

18. *Is treated unfairly: GETS THE SHAFT

29. *Biodiverse ecological layer: RAINFOREST CANOPY

49. *Lost control of one's emotions: FLEW OFF THE HANDLE

64. Expression that covers a broad category, or what is found at the end of the answer to each starred clue?: UMBRELLA TERM - Today's $2 word for this phrase is "hypernymy"

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Coastal country with approximately a quarter of Africa's gorillas: GABON - I recall "Survivor" had a season there

6. "Huh, really?": "THAT SO~?"

12. Panda car driver: COP - I did not know this is a British term, despite having parents born & raised in England, but it makes sense; black & white . . . . the Wiki

15. The "A" of the ABC islands: ARUBA - the others being Bonaire and Curaçao

16. Become less intense: EASE UP

17. Singer DiFranco: ANI - name #1 

20. Slump: SAG

21. Skedaddles: SCOOTS

22. Fish out of water: MISFITS - semi-meh.  FishES would have helped

24. Data unit: BYTE

26. "A little assistance here!": "HELP~!"

28. Monogram pt.: INITials - abbr#1

34. Irene who matched wits with Holmes: ADLER - #2; I did not know this character

35. Eateries that might have 1950s decor: DINERS

Hello~? McFly~?

36. Actress Gadot: GAL - #3; I am getting used to seeing her in crosswords now

37. Apple platform: iOS

40. Foot part: TOE

41. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA - #4, crossword staple

44. "You're making me blush!": "STOP IT~!"

47. Sacred song: PSALM

54. Actress Chaplin: OONA - #5 - her IMDb

55. Phone message: TEXT

56. Genesis garden: EDEN

57. Suitcases: LUGGAGE

61. Gutter ball preventer: BUMPER

I think she's cheating . . . .

63. Genetic material: DNA - abbr#2

68. Common breakfast ingredient: EGG

69. Hearty: ROBUST

70. Loads (of): SCADS

71. Poor grade: DEE

72. Real estate and the like: ASSETS

and "the like"  :7))

73. "Aw, shucks": "OH MAN..."


DOWN:

1. "Eww!": GAG

2. "__ you nuts?": ARE

3. "And yet ... ": BUT STILL...

4. More than a little indecent: OBSCENE - "the words he knows are all obscene, but . . . "

We lost Phil Lesh last month - Oct 25th

5. Brussels-based gp.: NATO - Wed-level crossword clue - abbr#3

6. Wobble: TEETER - good WAG on my part

7. Pestered: HASSLED - but ANNOYED was not

8. Volcanic residue: ASH

9. United group: TEAM

10. Certain Muslim: SUFI

11. Makes a selection: OPTS - meh. chooses is  better

12. Vegas venue: CASINO - I have ZERO desire to go to Las Vegas, other than to see the architecture

13. How some bet: ON A TIP - Dah~! Not ONLINE

14. Spot that isn't spotless: PIG STY

19. Hostess brand: HoHo - meh.  I don't like this clue; isn't it a "product", not a brand~?

23. Snorkeler's footwear: FINS - how goes the swimming, C.C.~?

24. Boast: BRAG

25. When repeated, "Blah, blah, blah" kin: YADA - the "Elaine-ism" from Seinfeld

27. Trident-shaped letter: PSI

30. __ pie: dish with corn chips: FRITO - does make sense; we called it "Dip" in Cincinnati

31. Explosive letters: TNT - two blogs in a row for me; abbr#5

32. Corp. suit: CEO - ah; 'suit' meaning the 'person' in the position; the term for this is "metonymy" - and abbr#6

33. Colombian street snack: AREPA

A recipe here - a taco made with a thick corn flatbread

38. "Sounds painful!": "OOF~!"

39. UV-filtering measurement: SPF - Sun Protection Factor - for UV "B" rays, and abbr#7

41. Nightmare: BAD DREAM

42. Fanning of "Super 8": ELLE - #5, More from her IMDb page

43. Prayer ending: AMEN

44. Branded totes and pens, e.g.: SWAG - I am quietly wondering if I will ever get invited to the Pipe Organ convention, and see what swag they are offering. . . . 

45. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT - duh-duh-duh dun....snick - snick - #6

46. Tina Turner's signature song: THE BEST - I can think of others that are "BETTER"

48. Star-bellied Dr. Seuss creature: SNEETCH - I've never heard of these guys, #7

49. Practiced origami: FOLDED - practiced POKER, too

50. Upscale waiting area in an airport: LOUNGE - total WAG

51. Take part (in): ENGAGE

And a Picard Shout-Out~!

52. Rejoices: EXULTS

53. Web design code: HTML - abbr#8

58. Supernatural glow: AURA

59. Engineered foods, for short: GMOs - Genetically Modified Organisms, abbr#9

60. Subsides: EBBS

62. El __, Texas: PASO

65. Regret: RUE

66. Dietary amt.: RDA - abbr#10

67. Early AOL rival: MSN -  MicroSoft Network - abbr#11

Splynter

Savor Stuffing the Stuffing tomorrow~!