Quicklink
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
CROSSWORD SETTER: Mark McClain
THEME: After Dinner … each of today’s themed answers starts with a word that is often seen AFTER “DINNER”.
58A. When one might have a mint … or where the first words of 18-, 24-, 37- and 48-Across can be found AFTER DINNER
18A. Hotel lobby supervisor BELL CAPTAIN (giving “dinner bell”)
24A. Working the room, as at a banquet TABLE-HOPPING (giving “dinner table”)
37A. Time of reckoning DATE WITH DESTINY (giving “dinner date”)
48A. Congressional majority, e.g. PARTY IN POWER (giving “dinner party”)
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 4m 49s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Morse code bit DAH
Dahs and dits are the sound equivalents of dashes and dots in Morse code.
15. Electric razor brand BRAUN
Braun is a manufacturer of consumer goods based in Kronberg, Germany.
16. Like some short-term committees AD HOC
The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”.
18. Hotel lobby supervisor BELL CAPTAIN (giving “dinner bell”)
A bell captain supervises bellhops in a hotel. The term “bellhop” comes from the fact that the front desk clerk used to ring a “bell” to summon a porter, who then “hopped” to attention and received his or her instructions.
22. Texter’s “Wish you hadn’t said that!” TMI
Too much information! (TMI)
24. Working the room, as at a banquet TABLE-HOPPING (giving “dinner table”)
A banquet is an elaborate feast. “Banquet” is a term that seems to have reversed in meaning over time. Coming into English via French from Old Italian, “banquet” is derived from “banco” meaning “bench”. The original “banco” meal was simply a snack eaten on a bench, rather than at a table.
29. Gumshoes: Abbr. PIS
Gumshoe is a slang term for a private detective or private investigator (P.I.). Apparently the term “gumshoe” dates back to the early 1900s, and refers to the rubber-soled shoes popular with private detectives at that time.
32. Madrid museum PRADO
The Museo del Prado is in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and has one of the finest art collections in the world. The gallery’s most famous work is “Las Meninas” By Velazquez.
Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (after London and Paris). People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.
53. Nielsen of “The Naked Gun” films LESLIE
Leslie Nielsen was a Canadian actor, famous for playing the zany Sergeant Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun”. Nielsen’s big break in films came in the innovative comedy “Airplane!”
56. Canon SLR camera EOS
I’ve been using Canon EOS cameras for decades now, and have nothing but good things to say about the cameras and the lenses. The EOS name stands for Electro-Optical System, and was chosen because it evokes the name of Eos, the Titan goddess of dawn from Greek mythology.
57. Indian wrap SARI
The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.
64. Mao __-tung TSE
Mao Zedong (also “Mao Tse-tung”) was born on December 16, 1893 in the Hunan Province of China. As Mao was the son of a peasant farmer, his prospects for education were limited. Indeed he left school at age 13 to work on the family farm but did eventually get to secondary school in Changsha, the provincial capital. In the years following, Mao continued his education in Beijing and actually turned down an opportunity to study in France.
65. Unlike poetry PROSY
Something that is “prosy” resembles prose. Also, “prosy” can be used to mean lacking impact or dry, prosaic in fact.
66. Blended ice cream drinks MALTS
Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, in 1922.
67. Buddhist sect ZEN
Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.
Down
2. “Our Gang” girl DARLA
Alfalfa’s love interest in “Our Gang” was Darla, whose real name was Darla Hood. Hood became quite a successful singer after she grew out of her “Our Gang” role.
4. Consumer protection gp. BBB
The Better Business Bureau is a private concern (nope, it is not a government agency), founded in 1912. It operates like a franchise, with local BBB’s managed independently but operating to a “corporate” set of guidelines.
5. “Respect” singer Franklin ARETHA
I think Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, had a tough life. Franklin had her first son when she was just 13-years-old, and her second at 15. In 2008, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked Franklin as number one in their list of the greatest singers of all time.
“Respect” is a song by Otis Redding, and one that he recorded himself in 1965. It became a hit when Aretha Franklin made her famous cover version in 1967. The Redding and Franklin versions have different storylines though, and different musical “feels”.
6. Upstream swimmer SALMON
When young salmon (born in freshwater) are at the smolt stage, they become adapted to saltwater and head for the sea. They return to freshwater to reproduce, often traveling long distances upstream.
7. Dutch bulb TULIP
Tulip festivals are held in a few cities around the world. The largest of these is the Canadian Tulip Festival that is held every year in the capital city of Ottawa. The tradition of growing tulips in Ottawa really started at the end of WWII. The Dutch royal family presented the city with 100,000 tulip bulbs as an act of thank for having sheltered Princess Juliana and her children while the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. The first Canadian Tulip Festival took place in 1953.
8. Britannica, e.g.: Abbr. ENC
Encyclopedia (enc.)
The “Encyclopædia Britannica” is the oldest English-language encyclopedia that is still being published. The final print edition was issued in 2010, a set of 32 volumes. The focus in recent years moved away from print and is on the online version of the encyclopedia.
11. Melville’s obsessive whaler AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.
13. Clearasil target ACNE
Clearasil acne medication was developed in 1940 by Ivan Combe and Kedzie Teller. Combe promoted the product by sponsoring the television show “American Bandstand” for many years.
25. Sufficient, in poetry ENOW
“Enow” is an archaic form of the word “enough”.
31. Hebrides isle SKYE
The Isle of Skye is off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. It is the second largest island in the country, and has been linked to the mainland by a road bridge since 1995. I’ve never been there, but I hear the views are spectacular.
32. Many emailed image files PDFS
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.
34. Suit filer: Abbr. ATTY
Attorney (atty.)
35. ” … hallowed be __ name” THY
“Hallowed by thy name” is a phrase from the Lord’s Prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer is a central prayer in Christian religions, and is found in two places in the New Testament. In the version in the Gospel of Matthew the last line of the prayer is “deliver from evil”. In the Gospel of Luke the last line is “lead us not into temptation”. The last words of the prayer as it most often said today are:
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever,
Amen
36. Dictation takers STENOS
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).
46. Big name in little trains LIONEL
Lionel is the name most associated with toy trains in the US. The first Lionel trains rolled off the production line in 1901 and they are still produced today, although the original Lionel Corporation is long gone. In 1995, the brand was bought by an investment company that included train enthusiast Neil Young (the singer), and operated as Lionel, LLC. Neil Young’s financial involvement ended after a 2008 reorganization of the company following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, but the company is still producing and selling.
47. What an editor’s caret indicates INSERT
The character known as a caret was originally a proofreading mark, used to indicate where a punctuation mark was to be inserted. “Caret” is Latin for “it lacks”.
49. Busybody YENTA
Yenta (also “Yente”) is actually a female Yiddish name. In Yiddish theater “yenta” came to mean a busybody.
54. Get an __ effort E FOR
Apparently the phrase “E for effort” originated as a WWII campaign in the US to help boost productivity in factories.
55. Houston player, informally ‘STRO
The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “‘Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program.
60. Hosp. staffers RNS
Registered nurses (RNs)
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Website pop-ups, e.g. ADS
4. Brush with liquid while roasting BASTE
9. Jeweled headwear TIARA
14. Morse code bit DAH
15. Electric razor brand BRAUN
16. Like some short-term committees AD HOC
17. Make a boo-boo ERR
18. Hotel lobby supervisor BELL CAPTAIN (giving “dinner bell”)
20. Bathtub insert PLUG
22. Texter’s “Wish you hadn’t said that!” TMI
23. Practical, as a solution VIABLE
24. Working the room, as at a banquet TABLE-HOPPING (giving “dinner table”)
27. Words before uproar IN AN …
28. Dipstick wiper RAG
29. Gumshoes: Abbr. PIS
32. Madrid museum PRADO
35. Little kid TOT
36. Went to the bottom SANK
37. Time of reckoning DATE WITH DESTINY (giving “dinner date”)
41. Is the right size FITS
42. Yea’s opposite NAY
43. Short, but probably not sweet TERSE
44. Sneaky SLY
45. Warm lining FUR
46. Feline king LION
48. Congressional majority, e.g. PARTY IN POWER (giving “dinner party”)
53. Nielsen of “The Naked Gun” films LESLIE
56. Canon SLR camera EOS
57. Indian wrap SARI
58. When one might have a mint … or where the first words of 18-, 24-, 37- and 48-Across can be found AFTER DINNER
61. Santa visitor’s seat LAP
62. Fable’s lesson MORAL
63. Rear, to an admiral STERN
64. Mao __-tung TSE
65. Unlike poetry PROSY
66. Blended ice cream drinks MALTS
67. Buddhist sect ZEN
Down
1. Quite competent ADEPT
2. “Our Gang” girl DARLA
3. Decorative foundation plant SHRUB
4. Consumer protection gp. BBB
5. “Respect” singer Franklin ARETHA
6. Upstream swimmer SALMON
7. Dutch bulb TULIP
8. Britannica, e.g.: Abbr. ENC
9. Wrapping, as an ankle TAPING
10. Rover’s collar attachment ID TAG
11. Melville’s obsessive whaler AHAB
12. Stir up ROIL
13. Clearasil target ACNE
19. Fly AVIATE
21. Flies like a seagull GLIDES
25. Sufficient, in poetry ENOW
26. Cattle poker PROD
29. Low poker hand PAIR
30. Quaint lodges INNS
31. Hebrides isle SKYE
32. Many emailed image files PDFS
33. Train wheel guide RAIL
34. Suit filer: Abbr. ATTY
35. ” … hallowed be __ name” THY
36. Dictation takers STENOS
38. Accustomed (to) INURED
39. Small fruit pie TART
40. Four-way __ STOP
45. Without prejudice FAIRLY
46. Big name in little trains LIONEL
47. What an editor’s caret indicates INSERT
48. Sincere entreaties PLEAS
49. Busybody YENTA
50. Dance in triple meter WALTZ
51. Wipe out ERASE
52. Mature, as fruit RIPEN
53. Desk light LAMP
54. Get an __ effort E FOR
55. Houston player, informally ‘STRO
59. School-of-thought suffix -ISM
60. Hosp. staffers RNS
Today's business:
Pretty much a typical zippy Monday, except for 32-D, which I finally had to get on crosses for the false clue. I mean it says it right in the title: It's not an image file. (I kept wanting GIF there, as it is an image file, and couldn't make the rest of the grid work out.)
LESLIE Nielsen is always a good happy memory source watching all that he has done. He actually was an actor that did serious things all the way back into the 50's, though doing Airplane and the like got him much more known than he already was. One of my nostalgia buys since I discovered E-Bay was Police Squad!, which I'll have to pull out in the next day or two. Oddly enough, that show ended both too soon and not soon enough, you find, if you read into the lore behind it.
Yesterday stuff:
Ended up being pretty quick with the other two Sunday grids I did (45-60 mins each), but got bogged down in my error-prone areas. Getting Gail Grabowski Round 2 almost perfect in about an hour's time was a definite highlight of my solving yesterday.
@Bill
You're welcome. It was interesting to learn about and follow. Good community opportunity I'm sure.
I'm wondering where such things are online. For my grid setting questions, all I'm finding is daily crossword blogs like this one and vanity blogs, so I'm not really sure how much of that happens outside of things like ACPT.
As for pencil and paper vs. computer, I started out on pencil and paper for that very reason and any times I relay are with that. When you're a skilled typist, it almost feels like an advantage when you know you can simply gain speed over others based on that alone, assuming you know the interface. Speaking of that, I just got into Across Lite – it's a very nice interface for doing puzzles. Which makes me wonder why they can't get the online puzzle formats any more stable…or why I can't find any more .puz files than I do. But that's another topic for another day.
Hope you have fun on the rest of your trip.
Had snoop before YENTA. Otherwise, easy. as it should be.
My minister said "The rabbit saw his shadow." We have snow, and I put my boots and shovel in the cellar already.
Easy Monday as usual.
Bill – congrats on doing so well in the tournament. We all experienced your successes vicariously. Of course any disappointments or failures there are yours alone, however… 🙂
@Bella
That's great you got to see the Blues like that. They only look young because…they ARE young. A couple of them are 19 and several are 23 and under.
@Ken
The Seals ultimately became the Cleveland Barons which were folded into the Minnesota North Stars which became the Dallas Stars who won a cup. So they sort of won a cup… More amusingly, the Seals started as the California Seals. About a month into their first season they became the Oakland Seals. Two years later they became the California Golden Seals, then the Barons, North Stars and Stars….Fortunately they've been put out of their misery now.
Best –
I had to check PROSY (vs. "prosey"). It's ok, but it just doesn't look right to me. Otherwise, perhaps a little more advanced for a Monday, but not much. BTW, someone might check: does not the "other" end of the Giant's Causeway reappear in the Hebrides near SKYE?
Jeff, I recall reading that the Blues got their nickname only because the owner Sid Salamon liked the W.C. Handy song (listen here.). The poster on Sunday made it sound like they had no business being in the Cup Finals. Perhaps, but they played a Habs team stocked with Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Yvan Couroyer, Serge Savard, etc. The best the Blues could muster were Al Arbour, Red Berenson (now the coach @ Michigan) and Glenn Hall, who by the way won the Conn Smythe Trophy anyway.
Why Am I talking so much hockey? Not sure because baseball is back, so get ready for those clues in the grids.
Bill, let me add to the chorus of congratulations on the ACPT showing. I agree that paper solving is a lot different than the keyboard. You finished ahead of some well-known constructors and other heavy hitters, so you will be moving up in class for sure. Did you happen to meet the guy who calls himself "Dr. Fill?" 🙂 I noticed Barry Silk didn't bother to show up. Enjoy the vacation!
@Willie
You're correct on the origin of the Blues name. Just wanted to add that I was a little kid attending one of the Blues-Canadiens Stanley Cup Finals. I was about 5 years old in the "Standing Room Only" part of the arena so I barely saw any of the game. Blues lost 4-0 I believe – both in the series and in that particular game. To this day it's the only Finals game I've ever attended.
Best –
The puzzle was very doable, and just my level ….. that would be level G…. I had a good time and enjoyed it, and decided to wait before posting so I could read some of all-you-all's comments.
Bill, why don't you write a semi permanent blog ( which stays on the sidelines for several months, or a year)… and for the first one, may I suggest you write your opinion and view about the tournament that you attended…. Did you meet any 'famous' people, how did you find the accoustics, how were you seated, what sort of grub, were the directions quite explicit and easy to understand, were your neighbors friendly, how did you rate the various categories of puzzles, how was the variety entertainment, Does Will Shortz enunciate well, (was he wearing shorts ?), did Howard Barkin dance a jig when he won, ( the ACPT photo appears to show that he has a blister on his left index finger … maybe all that furious scribbling). Any politicians in the room, any scientists, did you see CC Burnickel, who set one of the crosswords ? Any crossword jokes, that you care to share with us….. please, we want to know. And, of course some photos, if you could be so kind.
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., …. three Irishmen walk into a bar …. and the bartender says …. 'Erin go bragh', we've been invaded.
Have fun, all.
I just want to add my congratulations for Bill's fine showing at the tournament and to say that my solve times with paper and pen don't look so horrible beside Bill's times now that I know the use of computer speeds things up…whew!
Today was pretty standard for a Monday. I did successfully solve Sunday's grid after I did today's puzzle. I'll say that getting the theme part way through Sunday's grid was a real help with the long answers. No other real problems except for "karma" in for 66 Down and then having to scratch "kismet" in when I saw karma wasn't going to fit. Doh!
Jeff, you gotta read the story about what might have been the Saskatoon Blues. I had moved to Scottsdale by then, so I never heard the whole account. Scary.
IT'S BASEBALL!!! This seemed like a short off-season, perhaps because last season's World Series was so memorable.
Vidwan, that's a great idea! Bill, you should write a blog entry about the tournament. We'd all read with interest.
Easy Monday, except what the bleep is a DAH??! Never heard that, and of course I initially had DOT.
LOL– "Police Squad" with LESLIE Neilson… Now I've got that theme song in my head. Would be fun to see some of those episodes again…wonder if they're on YouTube.
See y'all tomorrow 😀
Sweet dreams~~™