Stereo Components - April 2016

Good morning, Dear Readers! It's springtime in Chicago, praise goddess.

The Theme!

Component clues are homophones for halves of the entered answer. Homophonic left and right, as opposed to mono. Not bad.

• c) Just average (4)
  FAIR (double syn.)
• e) Is obliged to go west, where there are no limits (4)
  gO WESt where there are no limits =  OWES
• FAIR OWES => PHAROAHS (1 across)

• k) Henry upset soldier getting a girl more stoned (6)
  (Henry = H) (upset (soldier = GI) = IG) getting (a girl = HER) = HIGHER
• a) Place for 34 across that's unlit, having no opening (3)
  (unlit = DARK) having no opening = ARK
  34A is ARK
  HIGHER ARK => HIERARCH (8 across)

• l) It's braided by Jews around the foyer—that's so nice! (7)
  (around = C) the (foyer = HALL) (that's so nice = AH) = CHALLAH
• b) Distraction that's necessary to find a zero (4)
  finD A ZEro = DAZE
• CHALLAH DAZE => HOLIDAYS (26 across)

Took a looooorng time to figure out where the C-AH came from but it's “around” as in like “circa.” K fine.

• i) Funny book company gets some sound equipment (5)
  (company = CO) gets some (sound equipment = MIC) = COMIC
• g) Father Nelson's circle that is catching some sleep? (5)
  (circle = O) (that is = I.E.) catching some (sleep = ZZ) = OZZIE
• COMIC OZZIE => KAMIKAZE (27 across)

• j) Act let out in stock (6)
  ACT LET * anagram = CATTLE
• h) Composer who sounds lean (5)
  sounds (lean = LIST) = LISZT
• CATTLE LISZT => CATALYST (40 across)

• d) View unfinished pine (4)
  (view = SIGHT) unfinished = SIGH
• f) Gets rid of breakfast cereal, by the sound of it (5)
  (breakfast cereal = KIX) by the sound of it = KICKS
• SIGH KICKS => PSYCHICS (41 across)

PINE => SIGH is a little erm dubious to us.

And that wazzat for the theme. Medium temperature. A Goldilocks theme.

Highlights!

• 14A) A German in East European borders (4)
  IN (East European = EE) borders = EINE

Nice! Reminds us of our favorite clue to introduce newcomers to What Iz a Cryptic Clue Pls Explain. We cite the following:

• Capital city in a former Eastern European country (4)
  in a (former Eastern European country = CZECHOSLOVAKIA) = OSLO

and then people usually look at us like we're big jerks and why would anyone want to do such a nasty jerk thing like solve a cryptic crossword puzzle. So maybe we should think of a more easily digested go-to cryptic example clue. A real Ritz™ cracker of a clue. Salty buttery simple carbohydrates, melts on the tongue. Dear Readers: do you, too, have trouble explaining this cryptic business?

• 16A) Racy hex signs reinterpreted, as a rule, for bishops (7)
  RACY HEX reinterpreted = EXARCHY

Anagram with a fun narrative! V nice!

• 18A) Primp—the odds are, it's a spot for gambling (3)
  PrImP the odds are = PIP

Dots on the cards. Which we think are maybe used in card counting? Card counting is on our list of things that would be cool to sit down and learn, like learning the Rubik's cube.

• 20A) What helps make pole a pole vault (4)
  poLE A Pole = LEAP

A daring word spanner!

• 25A) Total confusion surrounding China's first famous author (6)
  TOTAL confusion surrounding (China's first = C) = ALCOTT

Woot! Appreciate “author” without gender qualification. Feminist Harper's Cryptic Clues.

• 28A) Contorted coitions with equal tension for both participants (8)
  Contorted COITIONS = ISOTONIC

Enjoyed, even though COITIONS was very clear anagram fodder and whatda heck is ISOTONIC?

i•so•ton•ic
adj.
1. Of equal tension.

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ok, literally exactly “equal tension” V COOL.

• 30A) Is The Apartment noir? Curiously, it's a decreasing factor! (8)
  (the apartment = FLAT) (NOIR curiously = IRON) = FLATIRON

OHhhhhhhh gorsh it's “decreasing” as in “de-creasing” as in “remove the wrinkles” oh crimey this one is excellent and diabolical! Mwa!

• 34A) To cheer for five good books (5)
  TO (cheer = RAH) = TORAH

Nice. Happy Purim to our Jewish brothers and sisters!

• 37A) Doxies struggling with hair bleaches, etc. (6)
  DOXIES struggling = OXIDES

Re: the hair reference, was that a shout out to Tacky Harper's Cryptic Clues?? Always love a reference to doxies.

See also: DOXIES in Harry Potter or DOXIES as in “prostitutes.”

• 38A) Fulfills requirements for rawness (7)
  RAWNESS * anagram = ANSWERS

Nice anagrama!

• 3D) Editor edited tonight also (11)
  edited TONIGHT ALSO = ANTHOLOGIST

Glorious supra-nice anagrama!

• 4D) Crustier weird guys who signed up (8)
  CRUSTIER weird = RECRUITS

Keep 'em coming! More anagrams!!

• 7D) Terrific screenplay with an overwritten character (11)
  (Terrific = SUPER) (screenplay = SCRIPT) = SUPERSCRIPT

This was a NICE charades clue!

• 8D) Appropriate greeting for President Kennedy (6)
  (greeting = HI) for (President Kennedy = JACK) = HIJACK

“Appropriate” slant rhyming with “instigate” as in a fancy word for “stealing” but like a genteel stealing committed by a rich person. We originally had SEANCE as our answer.

I asked my friend Joe / I asked my friend Jake / they said it was fhqwhgads
view on utube

• 12D) Material for comic's opening: hints— listen to it (6)
  (comic's opening = C) (HINTS listen to it = HINTZ) = CHINTZ

Speaking of comics, we've been doing stand‑up comedy. It is by far the most challenging art form we have ever attempted. When the joke doesn't land it's like, “welllll catch up with you in the next life, scuse me while i pilot my starship directly into the sun …” But instead you have to stay strong and tell another joke. It requires such discipline. We hate it (we're falling in love with it).

• 13D) With needle, takes drugs, inhaling half‑score in long lines (11)
  With (needle = HYPO) (takes drugs = USES) inhaling (half score = TEN) = HYPOTENUSES

One of our favorite Key & Peele sketches:

• 22D) …who's having no opening article front and back—that's high praise (7)
  (WHO'S having no opening = HOS) ((article = AN) front and back = ANNA) = HOSANNA

Meet you all the way!
Hosanna

• 23D) Rigging a jury, an occurence leading to a year (7)
  Rigging A JURY AN = JANUARY

Nice!!

• 24D) Endowments coming from old money (7)
  TALENTS (double syn.)

YasSS!!!

• 31D) Nine in bed getting up—really unpleasant (5)
  (Nine = IX) in ((bed = COT) getting up = TOC) = TOXIC

• 35D) High‑calorie seconds in bridal dinner: icing, chocolate (4)
  seconds in bRidal dInner iCing cHocolate = RICH

Do it, bridesy! Have seconds on dessert! It's your day!

Lowlights!

• 19A) Chores that can produce some toning (6)
  CHORES that can produce = OCHRES

“toning” in the sense of color tone. Blmeah.

• 21A) Field nurse's study (6)
  (Field = LEA) (nurse's = RN'S) = LEARNS

We just had this in October. Not quite exactly the same, but very very close and basically exactly the same actually:

• October 2015
  3) Field nurses and cons
  (Field = LEA) + (nurses = RNS) = LEARNS

• 39A) Pediatric disorder in the offing, for daddy! (9)
  PEDIATRIC disorder = PATRICIDE

“for daddy” whoa. What was for daddy? Murder was for daddy. Kinda intense, but then also kinda funny :)

• 5D) Feller involved in forestry, according to a Times banner (2,4)
  A (Times = X) (banner = HEAD) = AXHEAD

Sure. We guess.

• 6D) At heart, it's honest money (4)
  hONESt = ONES

Bohhhhhrrriiiiiiiiin.

• 10D) Pitch from a debaucher (4)
  RAKE

“rake” meaning “slant”? Never hearda.

• 11D) Asian spirits living in barracks (6) bARRACKs = ARRACK

We saw “Asian spirits” and tried to force ONI into it, cuz we've got onsen and natural hot springs onda brain. Then we tried working SAKE, cuz obv. Right? Gotta be SAKE. But, nah. Arrack invasion.

• 15D) Racing fans, silly, mad to get in with rising star …(9)
  SILLY mad to get in with (rising STAR = RATS) = RALLYISTS

A “rallyist”?

• 29D) Oiler disabled in a bay (5)
  OILER disabled = ORIEL

Never hearda “oriel” to mean “bay window.” Hrmph.

• 33D) Patsy given a ring in corny drama (4)
  (Patsy = SAP) given a (ring = O) = SOAP

Haha that's rather judgmental! Casting aspersions on our stories!

Our father's orthopedic surgery partner once told us a story about growing up on the mean streets of Providence, Rhode Island and how cops would call showing their badges “flashing their potsy.” Doesn't that sound like a lie? This partner is a good surgeon, but not a good truth teller. Upon Googly searching just now, “potsy” qua “badge” shows up in The Tenth Commandment by Lawrence Sanders:

See for yourself on Googly books

… but perhaps not elsewhere? Inconclusive.

The Tacky

• 1A) Initially Philadelphia police hid a reevaluation relating too much to children (11)
  (Initially Philadelphia = P) POLICE HID A reevaluation = PEDOPHILIAC

Ugh. Outside the news, the Harper's puzzle is by far the place where we most frequently encounter reference to pedophilia. Weird, right?

Comments are fuel for more blogging.