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

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 - ✔

Wednesday, Aug 14th, 2024, Wendy L. Brandes

 A WHITER SHADE OF HAIR

Rick Beato from YouTube, 4:53

I urge you to watch the whole thing - too funny

Welcome to the second Wednesday in a row with "TURN" as part of the theme reveal, where the four letters in the reveal, 'PALE', "turn" into three of 16 possible arrangements spanning the theme answers - E,P,A,L, L,E,P,A, and A,L,E,P..  Two quality 10-letter fills in the Down, NO circles this week, a paltry 16 TLWs ( compared to 30 four-letter ones ), but way too many proper names again, and because they were rather vague to boot, I felt they ruined a good puzzle.  Sigh.  Anyway, the theme answers and reveal:

17. *Reacting to a "d'oh" moment: FACE PALMING

Homer Simpson

27. *Reimbursement on the go: MOBILE PAYMENT - PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, etc.; in the past, I have paid coworkers for lunch via monetary app - it's convenient, even if my brother thinks it's "dangerous" - but then again, he's convinced all hybrid electric car batteries are going to catch fire, too.

48. *Last few in a series: FINAL EPISODES - What's your favorite BINGE series~?  I happen to like the USA series "Burn Notice", 2007-2013

I even went out and bought the sunglasses

63. Losing color, or what can literally be found in the answers to the starred clues: TURNING PALE - and I inadvertently got the background colors of the above images to "turn" in gradient, too~!

And Away We Go~!


ACROSS:

1. "Glee" teen played by Kevin McHale: ARTIE - no clue, never watched the show; name #1, and not a good way to start the crossword

And a visual "hint" to 7D.

6. Sing-__: ALONG - did you sing along to "Glee"~?  I prefer karaoke

11. Broken up over a breakup, say: SAD - not been my particular response, just sayin'

14. Interest gatherers: LOANS

15. Exodus mount: SINAI - name #2

16. Making out on a park bench, say, for short: PDA - Public Display (of) Affection

Rosalynn & Jimmy Carter - the former president TURNS 100 Oct 1st

19. Developer's parcel: LOT

20. "Table for Two" author Towles: AMOR - name #3, didn't have to be one

21. Edge out: BEAT

22. Disapproving look: GLARE

I would say you got the wrong cat food

24. "I caught a fish thiiiiis big," e.g.: TALE - any size fish would've been a better choice for the cat

26. On the calendar: SLATED - Astronauts Lovett, Mattingly, Swigert and Haise were "slated" to be on Apollo 14, not 13

32. Regions: AREAS

33. Astrological lion: LEO

34. Collision reminder: DENT - Cornerite unclefred had a fix for my car's dent last week

37. Took off: RAN - Possibly the best "one-hit wonder" of the 80's

A Flock of Seagulls - "I ran"
The guitar part is actually quite rocking - even has a solo

38. School trips, e.g.: OUTINGS

42. Brazilian port: RIO - name #4

A view of the port from on high

43. Big bunch: SLEW

45. Hit the gas in idle: REV

46. "The L Word" co-creator Chaiken: ILENE - name #5

52. Sculpt: CHISEL

54. Eye piece: IRIS

55. The Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes: RACES - The Preakness Stakes making up the Triple Crown of horse racing

56. "Buh-bye": "TA-TA" - Snarky

58. "What will __ think of next?": THEY - "They" usually get the weather wrong, too

62. Kimono sash: OBI - had this Monday in C.C.'s grid - it's either the sash one or the Jedi Wan . . . . get it~?  See 10D.

66. Org. for Melissa McCarthy's "Spy" character: CIA - no clue, filled via perps; name-ish

67. Tablet read: eZINE - yeah, but meh.

68. Grave danger: PERIL

 

@ 1:48 - "I must face the peril - NO~! It's too perilous"
 

69. Cards, on scoreboards: ST.Louis -  name-ish

70. Like Tropicana Field: DOMED - name-ish

Home of MLB Tampa Bay Rays

71. __ wool: STEEL


DOWN:

1. Italian sports car, briefly: ALFA - name #6, but this one I knew

Model 147 - the Alfa Romeo, I mean

2. Walk aimlessly: ROAM - enter R and O, then wait for perps - it's either roVE or roAM

3. Soft or hard entree: TACO - Dah~!  This took too long for me to see

4. Indisposition to change: INERTIA - the physics from Wiki

5. Seer's talent: E.S.P.

6. Reaching REM: ASLEEP

7. Peruvian metropolis: LIMA - trying to change it up with a $2 word for city, still a "name", #7

8. "Consider this handled!": ON IT~!

9. British Gram?: NAN - name-ish

10. Polite response to a bad pun: GIGGLE - as opposed to the more common GROAN

11. Like paint in some abstract art: SPLATTERED

Very Cool - artist Ashvin Harrison

12. Love to pieces: ADORE

13. Saw romantically: DATED

18. Up to perform: ABLE

23. Touch down: LAND - not Touchdown

A Cincinnati Bengals Touchdown dance

25. "What's more ... ": ALSO....

26. Clean Air Fund target: SMOG

27. Home to the largest known volcano in the solar system: MARS - from SETI

28. Spoken: ORAL

29. Advantageous: BENEFICIAL

30. Busy with activity: ALIVE

31. Yearning: YEN - Alliteration; welcome, Yes, You are

35. The whole __ yards: NINE - I was under the impression that this was the length of an ammunition belt - Wiki says it came from an earlier source

36. Baby piggies?: TOES - Didn't fool me

39. River to the Caspian Sea: URAL - name #8

40. No-call list no.: TELephone - Too far to go for this abbr., IMHO

41. "Yes! Yes!" in Yucatán: "SI SI~!" - A phonetic shout-out to our host

44. "The Runaway Bunny" writer Margaret __ Brown: WISE - name #9, and it didn't have to be

47. Reward poster subject, maybe: LOST PET

49. Prepared for a new arrival, say: NESTED

50. Sympathized with: PITIED

51. Persepolis locale: IRAN - name #10

52. Comfy water shoes: CROCS - I find them to be hideous, but YMMV; we had a now-terminated employee who wore them to work. . . . in a wood shop;  Bzzzt~!

53. Nail biting, maybe: HABIT - Yup.  One of my few remaining habits, with no end in sight

56. Prune: TRIM

57. Poet Sexton: ANNE - name #11

59. Fabulous racer?: HARE - the FABLE of The Tortoise & The Hare

60. Lebanese designer Saab: ELIE - a new clue for this NAME, #12 - his website

61. Holler: YELL

64. "In Treatment" star Aduba: UZO - name #13

65. Map software tech: GPS - a loooong way to go for a TLW

Splynter

Wednesday, Aug 7th, 2024, Annemarie Brethauer

EGGS BENEDICT

 Yeah, that guy....Hi there, and welcome again to the Corner, where we'll discuss today's puzzle from Annemarie Brethauer, who is a free-lance constructor and has had several grids for the LA Times.  Today we don't have "theme" answers, per se, but instead the dreaded circles that "turn" the word COAT - and very cleverly done, I might add, such that the letters rotate to a distinct quadrant of the square with each version.  This does lead to a few "meh" fills and dreaded proper names, but a mere twenty TLWs.  I could recreate the boxes with the associated fill, but methinks it would just be simpler to post the solution up top, and mention the long fills in the Across that relate to the circles;

18. "Ha! April Fools!": "AH, I GOTCHA~!" - this feels a little forced, IMHO, esp. with the "Ha" and "AH" in the clue/answer

20. Rile up: ANTAGONIZE - but then we get this sparkling fill

62. Starbucks order: VENTI LATTE - this fill has some crossword history; it is NOT "ventilate"

65. Made-up: FICTIONAL - A fictional Time Machine

Back To The Future,1985

And back in time for some history of the grid-centered reveal . . . .

39. Traitors, and an apt title for this puzzle: TURNCOATS - believed to be coined during the English Civil Wars, when soldiers turned their coats inside out to match the opposing side's colors

 And "Back to the Future~!" We Go


ACROSS:

1. Food grinder: MOLAR - AH, one's back teeth, not a kitchen appliance; see 5D.

6. Mischievous rascal: IMP - I was being an intentional mischievous rascal last week

9. Bee-related: APIAN

14. Puccini composition: OPERA

15. In-like-a-lion mo.: MARch - goes out like a lamb, sometimes

16. Impressions: DENTS - someone left an "impression" on my car's bumper - and I have no idea when it happened; I just noticed it last week when I walked up on the back of my Prius; I do know it was a white car . . . .

17. Intel mission: RECONnaissance

22. Early ISP: AOL - America OnLine

23. Went bad: SOURED - AH, not ROTTED

24. Pack it in: EAT

26. Blokes: MEN

28. __ La Table: kitchenware shop: SUR - filled via perps; their website

29. California sch. near the Mexican border: SDSU - San Diego State University; had the "S"s from perps, so . . . .

32. Meet, as a challenge: RISE TO

34. Capital of Thailand?: TEE - I know some Cornerites don't care for this kind of clue, but I don't mind; the "T" that is the capital letter of T-hailand

36. Quite a long time: EONS

38. Surgical tool: LASER

42. "Trust the __ touch": longtime slogan of a car repair chain: MIDAS

Commercial from 1985

45. Duds: GARB - dress, finery, apparel, clothing

It's a Zoot Suit riot

46. QVC alternative: HSN - Home Shopping Network

49. Brunch order: OMELET - AH, not having Eggs Benedict~?

51. Vegetables in a "mushy" dish: PEAS - AH; my parents may have been British, but I never had this growing up - I went looking for some recipe info

53. __ & Perrins steak sauce: LEA

55. Nonstick spray brand: PAM - I use this - very convenient in a spray

56. Canine command: SIT~! - whenever I hear a distant dog barking, I say "sit~!", because it reminds me of this movie, and this scene

Fletch, also from 1985 - @1:42

58. Lawn party cover: CANOPY  - I am pondering the purchase as a place to park my tractor

60. State in southwest India: GOA - name

67. Nerve center: LOCUS - meh, but it is the first definition of the word - I am used to the math definition

68. Took apart: UNDID - meh

69. Finale: END

70. Muscat citizen: OMANI - name

71. Musical silences: RESTS

72. 2022 film starring Cate Blanchett as a conductor: TÁR - name; the IMDb 

73. Electrician, at times: WIRER - one who WIRES outlets, switches, etc.


DOWN:

1. Convoluted situation: MORASS - good fill; the NW and SE corners were tough for Wednesday

2. Unfurl: OPEN OUT - Sigh.  Yes, this is true . . . .

3. Good talking-to: LECTURE - AH.  I got the email "lecture" from C.C. last week as well 😜

4. Very loud: AROAR - we had this last Saturday

5. Appliances that may have pilot lights: RANGES - AH - I had STOVES to start

6. Vellani who plays Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel: IMAN - name, no clue -the IMDb

7. Fish often grilled for tacos, informally: MAHI - formally, mahi-mahi

8. Booker or Pulitzer: PRIZE - name(s) - I know about the Pulitzer, here's the Booker

9. "And now, without further __ ... ": ADO

10. Anti-65-Down org.: PETA - AND - 65D. Pelt: FUR

A FAUX coat, not a TURN coat

11. Earnings: INCOMES - meh; I don't care for the pluralized version

12. Typical Wheaties box portrait: ATHLETE

Little Chocolate Donuts for breakfast - and the cigarette

I love Belushi's facial expressions in this skit

13. Code-cracking org.: NSA - a WAG; National Security Agency

19. One of four-on-the-floor: GEAR - the only "four-on-the-floor" I owned was my Subaru Brat

Also 1985 - huh.

It had "O-tops", as there was a frame over the door, so not quite "T-tops"

21. Harder to explain: ODDER - meh.

25. Pinball faux pas: TILT

27. Negative conjunction: NOR

30. "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow": SONG - clever clue

31. Remove the lid: UNCAP

33. Scout uniform accessory: SASH

Russell, from "UP" - love this movie

35. "Plus some other writers" abbr.: ET. AL.

37. Really mad: SORE

40. Takes advantage of: USES

41. Beaded counters: ABACI

Technically, a beaded counter(top)

42. Floor-washing tool: MOP - a looong way to go for a TLW

43. Envision: IMAGINE

44. Garage band output, once: DEMO CDs - AH.  Meh.  I know, I know; I'm stuck in 1985 - this is also the name of the Apple software expressly for the purpose of producing one's own music, but TAPES just seem more "sincere"

47. Toy racer: SLOTCAR

48. Farthest planet from the sun: NEPTUNE - PLUTO~!  Stuck in 1985

50. DVR option: TiVO

52. Sickly looking: SALLOW

54. Response to Captain Kirk: AYE, SIR

Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home - OK, so this is actually 1986

57. Guiding principle: TENET

59. Watts of "The Painted Veil": NAOMI - name, filled via perps - the IMDb

61. Plugging away: AT IT

63. "Peter Pan" dog: NANA - name I did not know; it occurs to me I have not seen this animated classic

64. Abbr. with a synopsis: TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read - the modern world of zero attention span

66. Wallet cards: IDs

Splynter