MR. UNICORN VERSE
"Now I will believe that There are unicorns"
My last blog of a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle goes WAY back to 2012, when I was on Saturday duty; I discovered that JW's first crossword dates all the way back to 1969 - published in the NYT one day after the Apollo 11 astronauts left Earth. As for today's construction, Mr. Wechsler goes beyond his normal add-a-letter theme style to a full-word-added one. I really had to use my noggin to get my "ta-DA~!" Lots of vague clues, but this is how a Friday should be. Alas, I got bogged down with some proper names again ( e.g., the last letter "D" in red below ), even if I knew half of them. I've noticed, too, that there are ALOT of two-word entries in JW Fridays, today being no exception, but at least they feel less "forced", so I will refrain from my usual Twurds count. I will, however, point out the Shakespeare count ( 4 ), the abbrs count ( 9 ), the names count ( 7 ), the two-words ( also 7 ), plus two Bible, two Montreal, two New York, two octopus & two Thwurds references. Phew - I think I got them all . . . An oversized 15 x 16 grid, no circles, and 14 3LWs; the themers and reveal;
21. Apparel worn between December 22 and January 19?: CAPRICORN PANTS - Capri Pants; these are the dates of the Zodiac Sign for the "horned goat", Latin "caper cornu"; etymology fascinates me
The Tropic of Cancer is counterpart to the Tropic of Capricorn
30. Unappreciative of St. Louis's hockey team?: SCORNING THE BLUES - Sing the Blues; the St Louis Blues did not make the Stanley Cup playoffs - but Montreal is up on Buffalo😕, right Canadian Eh!
Stray Cat Strut, lyric @ 1:42
56. Shakespearean "Listen up!," or an apt title for this puzzle?: "LEND ME YOUR EARS~!" The Bard #2 - #1 is in the link up top
I also pondered POPCORN MUSIC / CORNER NURSE
But Wait, There's More, my CORN-erites~!
ACROSS:
1. Urban haze: SMOG - I do the Down clues first, and had nothing up here to get started . . . sheesh
5. Urban network: ROADS - I tried TRAMS
10. Parts of some locks: HASPS - hair~? canal~? Just plain old 'gate' locks
15. Boring outcome?: HOLE - clever clue/answer; drills "bore" holes . . . 🙄
16. Go up to: END AT - Semi-meh, as in "this progam will _ _ 11pm" - Two-word #1
17. Yamaha woodwinds: OBOES - yes, they DO make them . . .
18. SNAP benefits org.: USDA - Learning moment for me; abbr, #1, for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Progam from the US Dept of Agriculture; more here
19. San Antonio site: ALAMO
20. Take part financially: BUY IN - Two-word #2
24. Wine cocktail also called blanc-cassis: KIR - Forgot the name of this drink
25. Mortgage agcy.: FHA - Federal Housing Administration - abbr #2
26. Pair of: TWO - two words in one crossword answer = Twurds
27. Bill fig.: AMounT - abbr #3
35. Dearie: HON - At least is was not the "other" 3LW . . .
36. Expressions of discovery: A-HAs
37. Bi- quadrupled: OCTO- - Bipeds and Octopodes, #1 - or is it Octopi~? Hmmm . . .
38. "Four Quartets" poet: ELIOT - name #1
41. Writer Harte or wrestler Hart: BRET - name #2 - I had a falling out with my trainer BretT with two-T's; he's a millennial, so he has a short attention span and can be arrogant at times . . . we're good again
42. Lets go: FREES - Bible reference #1; Moses, Exodus 5:1 "let My people go free, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness"
43. SoCal emer. force: LAFD - I had the "P"olice B4 the "F"ire Dept, as NYC is FDNY - NY #1, abbr #4
44. Puts away: EATS - corn-on-the-cob eating contest~?
45. French street: RUE - Friends of mine did a spur-of-the moment Road Trip to Montreal (#2) way back in 1990; they thought they were clever because the remembered their car was parked on "RUE" street . . .
52. Drink suffix: ADE
53. Biblical suffix: ETH - "And thus thine sayETH" - Bible reference #2 - I have been rewatching the fascinating series "The Psychology of the Biblical Stories" presented by Jordan Peterson, who steers clear of the religious aspect; now I'm working through his Exodus ones - which is how I came to know 42A.
54. Private aid gp.: NGO - Non-Governmental Organization - abbr #5
55. Largest U.S. union: NEA - The trucking teamsters is listed at #4; I was once a part of their union as an employee of both Roadway Express ( now YRC ) and UPS; abbr #6
61. Longtime college football coach Nick: SABAN - no clue, name #3
63. Vintage violin: AMATI - crossword staple
64. Smack: SWAT
65. Scoundrel: KNAVE
66. Almanac info: TIDES
67. Cover, in a way: PAVE - Phew~! It took waaaay too long to get this fill - JW Friday clue
68. Alpine song: YODEL
69. Put away: STASH
70. Big Apple resident, for short: NYer - I was not in the City - but I once dwelled on Long Island, NY mention #2, and abbr #7
DOWN:
1. "I'm sorta disappointed": "SHUCKS~!" - Not only a "CORN" theme reference , but a 51D. "Easter" Egg as well~!
2. Pompeii art form: MOSAIC - Incredible amount of detail; I'd love to make one
Octopus #2
3. Experienced sort: OLD PRO - Two-word(ish)~?
4. Locker contents: GEAR - think sports
5. Try to access, as the back of a closet: REACH IN - Meh; two-word #3
6. Borrowed: ON LOAN - Two-word #4
7. Hebrew month after Shevat: ADAR - We had ELUL in the Sides Add LE puzzle last month
8. Curse: DAMN
9. "Enough!": "STOP THAT~!" - Two word #5
10. Rub shoulders (with): HOBNOB - More Shakespeare, #3, in the definition here
11. Be next to: ABUT
12. Kikkoman condiment: SOY SAUCE - two-word(ish), but it is a "thing"
13. Louvre Pyramid architect: PEI - crossword staple, name #4
14. Protected fig.: SSN - Social Security Number, abbr #8
22. "Alternatively ... ": "IF NOT..." - Two-word #6
23. Causes to gasp, perhaps: AWES
28. Ration (out): METE - a toss-up between this and DOLE, and they both worked at 58D. as well 🠟
29. General __ chicken: TSO's - My go-to Chinese choice, and I made my own this past weekend, added Spam to my fried rice per the recipe from last Friday - name(ish)
31. Friend of TV's Mary Richards: RHODA - MAUDE~? MOORE~? Before my time, name #5
32. Brooks of country music: GARTH - I did this one a few times at karaoke - name #6, but obviously I knew who we're looking for
33. "Lord, what fools __ mortals be!": "THESE~!" - Shakespeare #4, here, line 115
34. Cinema icon born in Rome: LOREN - Dah~! - Went with Peter LORRE off my LOR_ _; name #7
Sophia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone
38. Site of Napoleon's exile: ELBA - ABLE WAS I ERE I SAW ELBA - well-known palindrome
39. Tallow kin: LARD - I tried SUET
40. Guilty expression: "I FEEL BAD..." - Thwurd #1
41. Traction providers: BATHMATS - Phew, Friday fill . . . here's mine
I just installed the new vanity & top
42. Hullabaloo: FUROR - I tried MELEE
44. Cornerstone abbr.: EST'D - #9
45. Appealingly unconventional: ROGUISH - the "U" in the Down position looks odd
47. Place to keep toys?: KENNEL - Toys, as in small dogs, but I wasn't fooled; without the "?", maybe
48. Benjamins: C-NOTES - $100 bill slang
49. "Not exactly, but close": "IN A WAY..." - Tried NEARLY, but SWAY had to be correct: Thwurd #2
50. "Developed With Dermatologists" lotion brand: CeraVe - their website
51. Spring holiday: EASTER - 1...
57. Icicle spot: EAVE - 2...
58. Give out: EMIT - 3 "E"s in a row
59. Nonsense word similar to "blah": YADA - yada yada - also three in-a-row
60. Jessica Mendoza's network: ESPN - Four-letter network~? Almost 4 "E"s in a row
61. Cloud's place: SKY - Ah, but which CLOUD - the digital storage one~?
62. "That's __-brainer!": "A NO~!" - aaaaand a Twurd. #7. Sorry. Had to.
Splynter
Grid Flow 42.9
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