Thursday, February 13, 2025, Kevin Christian & Drew Schmenner (2025)

State Raps

It appears to me that our veteran constructorsKevin ChristianandDrew Schmennerhave given us another "modern lingo" Thursday theme for today's offering. We'll start with our themers, which are all the titles of songs ...

17. Katy Perry song whose lyrics mention Venice Beach and Palm Springs:CALIFORNIA GURLS. This song was co-written with rapperSnoop Doggand served as the lead single for her third studio album,Teenage Dream(2010). If you want to know why it's spelled that way,read this.I'd rate the official video anRfor all the skin, but thisPG-rated video just has the music, lyrics, and a few suggestive double-entendres...

23. Stevie Ray Vaughan blues cover with the line "I'm standin' out in the rain":TEXAS FLOOD. In 1983Stevie Ray Vaughanrecorded this song originally by blues musicianLarry Davis...

37A Regulatory legal associations, and what 17-, 23-, 54-, and 61-Across are?:STATE BARS. Obviously the literal meaning --state bar associationshas nothing to do with music, so I started by assuming that each of the states named in the songsmust have a famousBARin them named after the song titles -- this sent me down a rabbit hole but all I came back with were some bunnies in a so-called "men's club" called "California Girls"inAnaheim, CA🙃.

I finally hit pay dirt when I asked the Internet sage if the "wordBARSmight be slang for the words to a song and got this response ...

'the term "bars" is often used aship-hopslang to refer to a song or a rapper's lyrics within a song, -- essentially meaning the musical bars of a song that are especially good, e.g. "the hook".

... each themer thenassociates a name of a state with the "bars" of a song. Hand up if you've got another explanation! 😀

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Two-time NBA MVP Malone:KARL.Karl Anthony Malone(born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and a 14-time member of the All-NBA Team, which include 11 consecutive First Team selection. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behindLeBron JamesandKareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Karl Malone

5. "Parks and __":REC.Parks and Recreation(also known asParks and Rec) is an American political satire mockumentary television sitcom. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. The series starsAmy Poehleras Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana ...

8. Gray shade:SLATE. TheNational Slate Associationbegs to differ-- consider the nuanced tiles on this slate roof ...

13. Pet peeve?:FLEA. Pet peeves are all a matter of perspective ...

14. "The Little Mermaid" prince:ERIC.The Little Mermaidis loosely based onthe story by Hans Christian Anderson, but the notion of a water nymph who falls in love with a human dates back at least to ancient Greece and theMyth of the Ondine.This is an enduring story that has been repeated in such works as Dvorak's operaRusalkaandGerman authorFriedrich de la Motte Fouqué's1811 novellaUndine. The Disney studios have produced several versions of the myth and the Prince in these stories finally has a name:ERIC. Theoriginalanimated version was made in 1989 and a live action version in was released in 2023. Here's a pic from the second version afterAriel(Halle Bailey) has savedPrince Eric(Jonah Hauer-King) from drowning ...

Prince Eric and Ariel

16. Mongolian, e.g.:ASIAN.Mongoliais a landlocked country inEast Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 square miles), with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state. ApparentlyAlexander Borodinwas slightly mistaken when he titled this tone poem asIn the Steppes ofCentral Asia.

17. [Theme clue]

20. Like fraternity brothers:MALE.--And sorority sisters areFEMALE. Vive la différence!

21. Pantry array:CANS.

22. Seasonal illness:FLU. Have you had your flu shot? Rumor has it that they're no longer PC. 🙃

23. [Theme clue]

26. D-rated:POOR.

27. Poem of praise:ODE. A briefarticle onODESby thePoetry Foundation.

28. Hot toddy option:TEA.

29. __ solution:SALINE.Saline solutionis a mixture of water and salt (sodium chloride) that has many different uses for your health.Normal saline solutionis a mixture of water and salt with a salt concentration of0.9%-- for every 1 liter (1,000 milliliters) of water, there are 9 grams of salt. Normal saline is one type of IV fluid that healthcare providers give people in a hospital. This is because normal saline and human blood have the same balance of water and salt.

31. Zilch:NADA. Today's Spanish lesson:NOTHING.

33. Writer/actress Fey:TINA.Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey(born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She was a cast member and head writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1997 to 2006. After her departure from SNL, she created the NBC sitcom30 Rock(2006–2013, 2020) and the Netflix sitcomUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt(2015–2020). Here's a clip from the pilot episode of30 Rockin which she starred ...

36. __ in comparison:PALED.

37. [Theme reveal]

40. Wash away suds:RINSE.

43. Cornerstone number:YEAR. Here is the cornerstone of theRoosevelt Archat the main entrance toYellowstone National Park, the first National Park. The Arch was dedicated byPresident Theodore Roosevelton April 24, 1903.Here are some interesting facts about the structure.

Yellowstone National Park April 24, 1903

44. Cat prey:MICE.BIRDfit but wouldn't fly.

48. Skin care brand:AVEENO. I don't usually hype products, but I find this lotion to be very helpful in restoring moisture to my hands after a session of throwing pots ...

50. Old film channel:TCM. The channel isn't "old" (as in former), but the movies are.Turner Classic Movies(TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered atTed Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atlanta, Georgia.

52. Kraken's realm, briefly:NHL. Thank you perps. TheSeattle Krakenare a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference.The Pacific Northwest region has a history of Scandinavian immigrants and ancestry, connecting Seattle to the team name which is derived from alegendary sea monsterof Nordic mythology.

Kraken Logo

53. Spoils:ROTS.

54. [Theme clue].

58. "And so on" abbr.:ETC.

59. With, at le restaurant:AVEC. Today's French lesson --AVEC= "with"

60. __ América: quadrennial soccer tournament:COPA.TheCopa America, is the top men's quadrennial football (European for "soccer") tournament contested among national teams from South America. It is the oldest still-running continental football competition. The competition determines the champions of South America. Since the 1990s, teams from North America and Asia have also been invited to compete.

61. [Theme clue]

66. Come next:ENSUE. A clue about jeans willENSUE...

67. Jeans spot that might wear out first:KNEE. They might wear out before that if they're distressed ...

68. Type of saxophone:ALTO. Here'sCharlie Parker("The Bird") on alto sax,Hank Joneson piano,Ray Brown onbass, andShelly Manneon drums atCarnegie Hallin December of 1947 ...

69. Maker of apple products:MOTTS.Mott'sis an American company, founded in 1842 involved primarily in producing apple-based products, particularly juices and sauces.

70. "Stat!":NOW. WhenASAPis not fast enough!!!

71. German "no":NEIN. Today's German lesson:NEIN= "no" andJA= "yes".

Down:

1. Fast-food chain owned by Yum! Brands:KFC. The original recipe forKentucky Fried Chicken(KFC) is a closely guarded secret, but a nephew ofColonel Harlan Sanderswho used to make it as a kidouted it to the Chicago Tribune.

2. San Francisco Bay city:ALAMEDA. There'sa lot to see and do there.

3. Chill:RELAXED.

4. Boxer Ali:LAILA.Laila Amaria Ali(born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title. Ali is widely regarded by many within the sport as one of the greatest female professional boxers of all time. She is the daughter of boxer Muhammad Ali. Here she is at a charity fashion show forHeart Truthin 2011 ...

Laila Ali

5. __ Speedwagon:REO. As the clue doesn't have a space betweenspeedandwagon, the preferred spelling of the vehicle created byRansom E. Oldsin 1915, thenit must be the name of the band that started in Illinois in the Sixties. Here's theirRoll With the Changes-- timely advice? ...

6. Make a mistake:ERR.

7. Dos y tres:CINCO. Today's combined math and Spanish lesson: "2 and 3 = 5".

8. Gives in to gravity:SAGS.

9. The Tigers of the SEC:LSU.Louisiana State University(commonly referred to asLSU) is an American public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The university was founded in 1860 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy. The current LSU main campus was dedicated in 1926 and consists of more than 250 buildings constructed in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, occupying a 650-acre (260 ha) plateau on the banks of the Mississippi River.

And aCSOto our favorite Tiger,Hahtoolah!

10. Plane feature with a lift-to-drag ratio:AIRFOIL. Anairfoilis a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly moreliftthandrag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foils of similar function designed with water as the working fluid are calledhydrofoils. When oriented at a suitable angle, a solid body moving through a fluid deflects the oncoming fluid (for fixed-wing aircraft, a downward force), resulting in a force on the airfoil in the direction opposite to the deflection. This force is known as aerodynamic force and can be resolved into two components: lift (perpendicular to the remote freestream velocity) and drag (parallel to the freestream velocity). The explanation I learned in HS physics was that the upper curve of the airfoil, being longer than the lower curve makes the air thinner on top than on the bottom. The difference between these air densities creates a vacuum effect literally "sucking" the wing upward. The mathematics of airfoils can get pretty complicated and I confess that I don't begin to understand them.

Airfoil geometry

11. Beer, slangily:TALL ONE. Here's a pint of lager in a tall one ...

12. Made certain:ENSURED.

15. Milan farewell:CIAO. Today's Italian lesson:CIAO= "Ta Ta!". Google translate indicates that it's also likeALOHA--it can be used for "Hi" as well.

18. Celebratory suffix:FEST.11D's are frequently consumed at these celebrations.

19. "No ifs, __, or buts":ANDS.

23. Boatload:TON.

24. Greek cheese:FETA.Feta(Greek: φέτα, féta) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brine.

Feta cheese

25. Parishioners:LAITY.FLOCKfit but didn't perp.The termLAITYrefers to the people in a religious congregation who attend services and may even participate in the services as lectors, acolytes, or sacristans, but arenot ordained, as distinct from the clergy who lead the services and areordained.

26. Ecto- or endo- finish:PLASM. Theectoplasmandendoplasmare components of thecytoplasm--everything inside a cell membraneexcept for thenucleus. Shown circled in this diagram are thecytoplasmand its components, therough and smooth endoplasmic reticula. Not labelled is theectoplasm, which is the space between the plasma membrane and the cytoplasm.

30. Car loan fig.:APR.Annual Percentage Rate.

32. Donkeys:ASSES.

34. Bridal bio word:NEE.

35. Lessen:ABATE.

38. X, at times:TEN. -- also the social media company now usually referred to as "X, formerly known as Twitter". The owner of the company is very interested in efficiency these days, and I'm sure that he intended to shorten the name, but it seems as if he has actually lengthened it. 😀

39. Prefix with enemy:ARCH. See43Afor an alternate use of this word.

40. Red diamond, e.g.:RARE GEM.Ared diamondis a diamond which displays red color and exhibits the same mineral properties as colorless diamonds. Red diamonds are commonly known as the most expensive and the rarest diamond color in the world, even more so than pink or blue diamonds, as very few red diamonds have been found. The largest and most perfect in the world is theMoussaieff Red Diamond.

The Moussaieff Diamond

41. Words of dissension:I VOTE NO.

42. Sales figure:NET COST.

45. Heaped:IN A PILE.

46. Trattoria red:CHIANTI. This wine comes with its own Italian lesson --Chiantiis an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from theSangiovesegrape. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ("flask"; pl.: fiaschi). However, the fiasco is now only used by a few makers of the wine; most Chianti is bottled in more standard-shaped wine bottles.

A fiasco of Chianti

Fiasco of course is also a modern term for a "complete, and utter failure" and is apparently somehow related to bottles (flasks) through a long chain of associations. However my attempts to understand this chain were a complete, and utter failure. 😀

47. Yale student:ELI. e.g. our constructor for January 9, 2025,Jem Burch.

49. Terse "Of course!":OBVI. Meh.

51. "Shameless" star William H. __:MACY.Shamelessis an American black comedy drama television series starringWilliam H. MacyandEmmy Rossum. The series is set in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. With the premiere of the ninth season on September 9, 2018, Shameless became the longest-running original-scripted series inShowtime's history. In January 2020, the series was renewed for its eleventh and final season.

55. Faucet problem:LEAK.

56. The NCAA's Huskies:UCONN.TheUniversity of Connecticut(UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, the school became a public land grant college, then took its current name in 1939. Over the following decade, social work, nursing, and graduate programs were established. During the 1960s, UConn Health was established for new medical and dental schools. UConn is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. I think their name "Huskies" derives from the phonetic similarity betweenUConnandYukon, a land of ice and snow. Here's their sports teams' logo ...

57. Barnard attendee:WOMAN. At first this seemed like a simple thing to explain -- but given thenuances of the transgender movement, and the fact thatColumbia University, which is coeducational, is just across the street and Barnard students are free to attend classes there, and thatBarnard is actually a college of Columbia-- things got complicated pretty quickly.

59. Long time:AGES.

62. Boring routine:RUT. The social-media company owner that I referred to in38Dhas had some success in moving ruts underground, although speculation is thathe may have gotten bored with the whole thing. 😀

63. "The Matrix" character who chooses the red pill:NEO. An adventurous sort who got his start in a differentSci-Fi film.

Thered pill and blue pillare metaphorical terms representing a choice between learning an unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the blue pill. The pills were used as props in the 1999 filmThe Matrix.

64. Kitten's sound:MEW.

[mew, mew, ...]

65. Actor Cheadle:DON.Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards. He is one of a few actors to have received nominations for the EGOT. His performance inHotel Ruandagot him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor ...

Cheers,

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley