The Sounds of Music
Today our constructorCatherine Cettapresents us with a reveal that tells us all we need to know about her clever, elegant, musical theme ...
56. "By the way ...," and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters:ON A SIDE NOTE. That is, the circles each contain aNOTEof the musical scale indescending orderalong on the left then rightSIDEof the grid -- represented by the syllablesTI,DO,SOL,LA,MI,FA,DO, andRE. This system has been around since the 11th Century and is calledSolfège-- the use of mnemonics in teaching the sounds in a musical scale.
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. "Casablanca" heroine:ILSA. Here she cajolesSaminto playingAs Time Goes By ...
Judy DenchandGeoffrey Palmercajoled that tune into a delightful10 series romcom-- I thinkthis is episode 1.
5. Is generally positive:HOPES.
10. Mavens:PROS.
14. Subject with lots of problems:MATH. That's how you learnMATH-- by solving lots of problems, and the more problems you solve the moreMATHyou learn.
15. Weasel out of:EVADE.
16. "Rats!":DARN.
17. Attachments:TIES.
18. Old thing:RELIC. My favorite relic is theShroud of Turin,a sheet of linen14' 3"long by3' 7"wide containing a highly detailed image of a crucified man, which hasseveral unique properties. It is believed by some to be the burial shroud of Christ, certainly a debatable question, but as yet no one has come up with a satisfactory explanation for how it was created. But there is no question thatit is the most studied artifact of all time. Based on radiocarbondata collected in 1988 from a sample taken from a single location on the cloth, skeptics claim that it was created in the Middle Ages. Others say that the carbon-14 measurements may have been accurate for the2.5 sq.in.sampletaken from one of the corners, but that it is probably not representative of the age of the whole50 sq ft.cloth. The skeptics have been challenged byDavid Rolfe, a British documentary film producer and researcher on the Shroud of Turin, who has offered a million dollars to anyone who can replicate it, the only stipulation being thatthey can use only technologies extant in the Middle Ages. FWIW, Teri and I were fortunate to see the Shroud inTurin,Italyin 2000;I have read several dozen books on the subject, both pro and con; and I still have no idea on how it was made.
19. Classic pet name:FIDO.
20. Amanda Gorman's "__ to Our Ocean":ODE.In June 2020,Lonely Whalecollaborated withAtmosandFuture Earthto produceOde to Our Ocean— a poem byAmanda Gormanwritten forWorld Oceans Day.
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| Amanda Gorman |
21. Civil rights leader __ Scott King:CORETTA.Coretta Scott King(née Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968.
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| Coretta Scott King 1964 |
23. Hem but not haw?:SEW.
24. A as in Aristotle:ALPHA.ALPHAis the first letter of the Greek alphabet, the alphabet used by the Greek philosopherAristotle.
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| Aristotle Marble portrait bust, Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek original (c. 325 bce) |
26. Hasty getaway:LAM.
27. Hate the thought of:DREAD.
29. Footprint makers:SOLES.
30. Fútbol cheer:OLE.
31. Birthing coach:DOULA.Doula vs midwife: what's the difference?
32. Dweeb:TWERP. I think either the clue or the fill is a stretch ...
33. Kylo who is Darth Vader's grandson:REN.Kylo Ren(bornBen Solo) is a fictional character in theStar Warsfranchise. He was introduced inThe Force Awakens(2015), the first film of the sequel trilogy as the main antagonist. He subsequently appeared inThe Last Jedi(2017) andThe Rise of Skywalker(2019). Looks like a bad dude ...
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| Kylo Ren |
34. "What a butterfingers I am!":OOPSY.
35. Fuse together:MELD.WELDfit, but didn't perp.
37. Coffee containers:URNS. The preferred containers for holding coffee in crosswords.
39. Whole:ENTIRE.
42. "Don't be led __":ASTRAY. Good advice!
46. Fog:MIST.
47. Tea region of India:ASSAM. Actuallythere are three regions in India that cultivate tea, butNILGIRIandDARJEELINGwouldn't fit. Here's a lovely lady plucking tea in an Assam tea garden ...
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| Assam tea garden |
51. Couch:SOFA.
52. Baseball Hall of Famer nicknamed "Master Melvin":OTT.Melvin Thomas Ott(March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958) was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from 1926 through 1947. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Though unusually slight in stature for a power hitter, at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), 170 pounds (77 kg), Ott led the National League in home runs a then-record six times. He was an All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons, and was the first National League player to surpass 500 career home runs.
Ott was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
53. Round figures:SPHERES.
55. Farm pen:STY.
56. [Theme reveal]
59. Naturally curly styles:AFROS.AFROScommonly style our crossword grids and my favorite wearer of themisKeith Jarrett. Known primarily as a jazz pianist and improvisor, he is also equally at home playing classical piano. I was first introduced to him with his performances of the Russian composerDimitri Shostakovich's24 Preludes and Fugues. Here is Keith playing the latter'sOp. 87: No. 1 in C Major ...
61. Fashion's Diane __ Fürstenberg:VON.Diane von Fürstenberg(néeDiane Simone Michele Halfin; 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for herwrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princelyHouse of Fürstenberg, as the wife ofPrince Egon von Fürstenberg. Following their separation in 1972 and divorce in 1983, she has continued to use his family name.
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| Diane von Furstenberg |
62. __-toothed tiger:SABER. The scientific name for this beast is theSmilodon, an extinct genus offelids. It is one of the best known predators of prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, The hundreds of specimens obtained from theLa Brea Tar Pitsin Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.
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| Painting ofSmilodon populator the American Museum of Natural History Charles R. Knight |
65. Mosque toppers:DOMES.TheDome of the Rockis an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the earliest archaeologically attested religious structure to be built by a Muslim ruler and its inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
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| Dome of the Rock Temple Mount Old City of Jerusalem |
66. Terminus:END.
67. Cornflower kin:AZURE. Both are shades of blue --here are a few others.
68. "Rly?":SRSLY. Text speak: "Really?":"Seriously!". Seriously meh!
69. __ race:RAT. ... theRATSappear to be winning.
70. Sidestep:DODGE.
Down:
1. Lament from someone in big trouble:I'M TOAST. The birth of an idiom ...
2. Knocked out of action:LAID LOW.
3. Church tower topper:STEEPLE.Ulm Minsteris a Lutheran church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is the tallest church in the world. The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a steeple measuring 161.53 metres.
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| Ulm Minster Lutheran church |
4. Satisfied sounds:AHS.
5. Sub:HERO.
6. Authoritative ruler:OVERLORD. A timely clue.
7. Hoppy brew:PALE ALE.
8. Word feature:EDIT MENU.Microsoft Wordthat is. I intended to illustrate this clue with a screen shot of the WordEDIT MENU, but Word has become so bloated with features that I couldn't find it. The product seems to have overtaken by adverts for Microsoft's AI product,CO-PILOT. Just tell it what you want and it will do the rest.
9. Offshoot:SECT.
10. Many an attachment:PDF.Portable Document Format, a freeware product original developed byAdobe Acrobat, which has become an industry standard for document portability -- regardless of who you're sending it to, there is a good chance that they'll be able to read it.
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| Adobe Acrobat |
11. Elevate:RAISE UP.
12. Major hassles:ORDEALS. Or this could have been clued "Major ordeals:"HASSLES.
13. Unscheduled winter break:SNOW DAY. As retired folks we no longer break forSNOW DAYS -- but we can't break fromSNOW SHOVELING!
21. Wyoming's second-most populous city:CASPER.Casperis a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Casper is nicknamed "The Oil City" and has a long history of oil boomtown and cowboy culture, dating back to the development of the nearby Salt Creek Oil Field.
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| Casper skyline |
22. Extras:ADD ONS.
25. Recluse:HERMIT.
28. Dove bars?:ROOSTS. TheseROOSTSare often found inDovecotes.
36. By __ and bounds:LEAPS.
38. Japanese noodle dish:RAMEN.
39. Panic! at the Disco genre:EMO.Panic! at the Discowas an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004 by childhood friends Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, Brent Wilson, and Brendon Urie. Following several lineup changes, Panic! at the Disco operated as the solo project of front man Urie from 2015 until its discontinuation in 2023. Here's theirHouse of Memories...
40. Trivial objection:NIT.
41. Threatening NOAA forecasts:T STORMS. The number ofT STORMSthatNOAAis allowed to forecast has recently been reduced by circumstances beyond its control -- weather is so chaotic! 😕
43. Last on-screen message in a classic film:ROSE BUD. The film referred to in the clue is the 1941 dramaCitizen Kane, a thinly veiled biopic of the publishing magnate,William Randolph Hearst. The film was directed byOrson Wellsto a score byBernard Hermann. Near the end of the film, as Kane dies his enigmatic last words areROSE BUD. Reporters and others launch a search for the meaning of these words, but are unable to discover them. The very last scene shows workmen wandering through his warehouse, inspecting and disposing of various artifacts from his life -- but only we see the nameROSE BUDon his childhood sled as it is consumed by flames in the fireplace. Some commentators describe Kane's words as his recollection of his childhood innocence at the moment of his death ...
44. Toward the rudder:AFT.
45. "Oh, happy day!":YAY. What kidsSAYon13Ds! 😀
48. Cold response:SHIVER. What I do on13Ds! 😕
49. City in Arizona's Verde Valley region:SEDONA.Sedonais a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. AndCSOStoLucina,CMOE, andProf.M.
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| Cathedral Rock Coconino National Forest Sedona, AZ |
50. Political philosopher Hannah:ARENDT. Another timely clue.Hannah Arendt(bornJohanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theorists of the twentieth century.She is probably best remembered for the controversy surroundingthe trial of Adolf Eichmann;for her attempt to explain how ordinary people become actors in totalitarian systems; and perhaps most of all for the phrase "the banality of evil."
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| Hannah Arendt |
53. Cheeky:SASSY.
54. "Makes me want to cry":SO SAD.
57. Carolers' tune:NOEL. Here was the first one ...
58. Maker of Zen K-Cup pods:TAZO.Tazo Tea Company(TAZO) is a tea and herbal tea blender and distributor founded in Portland, Oregon. It is now a Lipton Teas and Infusions division and is based in Kent, Washington. This Britaphile finds the idea of getting green tea from plastic cups to be not very green, and quite frankly revolting! 😖
59. Some internet search results:ADS.
60. Supporting:FOR.
63. Bit of energy:ERG.TheERGis a unit of energy equal to 10−7 joules (100 nJ). It is not an SI unit, instead originating from the centimeter–gram–second system of units (CGS). Its name is derived from ergon (ἔργον), a Greek word meaning 'work' or 'task'.
64. "The Pioneer Woman" host Drummond:REE.Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond(née Smith, born January 6, 1969) is an American blogger, author, food writer, and television personality. Drummond became known for her blog,The Pioneer Woman, which documented her life in rural Oklahoma, and hercookbook. Here's how she makesOrange Chicken...
And her recipe forSlow Cooker Chicken Alfredolooks good too ...
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| Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo |
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
