Crossword Weblog & Solutions for March 14, 2024 by Sally Hoelscher

Constructor: Michael Berg

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• PET INSURANCE (20A: Coverage for a kitty)
• PARTY INVITATION (39A: Note which may embody an RSVP request)
• PASSIVE INCOME (55A: Investment returns, dividend shares, and so forth.)

On at this time, which is Pi Day, every theme reply has the initials P.I.

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

Michael: This puzzle was impressed by my love for pies and my enthusiastic endorsement for any and all excuses to eat them. It’s powerful, but when I needed to decide a favourite it might be banana cream. ☺️

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SIS (17A: Trans March on Broadway organizer) The Trans March on Broadway, organized by actress and activist SIS, was held on September 6, 2021. The March was held to name consideration to erasure of trans our bodies within the theatre and leisure trade.
• WATER (18A: Makeup of about 60% of the human physique) As a scientist by coaching, it makes my coronary heart pleased to see science information within the crossword. The proportion of water within the physique varies relying on age, intercourse, and hydration degree.
• PET INSURANCE (20A: Coverage for a kitty) PET house owners can purchase INSURANCE that can cowl vet payments, both partly or in full relying on the coverage. PET INSURANCE dates again to 1890, when an organization in Sweden issued insurance policies overlaying horses and livestock. Sweden has the best degree of PET INSURANCE on the earth, adopted by Britain. PET INSURANCE will not be as frequent within the United States, with lower than 1% of U.S. PETs lined. Please do not inform my cat, Willow, that I haven’t got PET INSURANCE for her. Here’s a photograph of Willow serving to me write this text.

• POE (24A: “The Tell-Tale Heart” creator) “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a brief story by Edgar Allan POE. It was first revealed in 1843, in a literary journal known as The Pioneer. In the over 180 years because it was first revealed, “The Tell-Tale Heart” has been tailored many occasions, and been a studying project for a lot of college students. I learn “The Tell-Tale Heart” when it was assigned to me whereas I used to be in highschool. That was fairly a number of years in the past now, however I nonetheless bear in mind the fundamentals of POE’s highly effective brief story, an unreliable narrator insisting on their sanity, and within the course of confessing to committing a homicide.
• CURE (32: Antibiotics, for strep throat) Strep throat is a bacterial an infection. Therefore, antibiotics, that are lively in opposition to micro organism, are an efficient CURE for strep throat. Most sore throats are attributable to viruses, which antibiotics usually are not efficient in treating. This is why antibiotics are (hopefully) solely prescribed after strep throat has been confirmed with a strep take a look at.
• ARAL (36A: Shrinking sea in Central Asia) Prior to 1960, the ARAL Sea was the fourth-largest lake on the earth. Located between the international locations of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it started shrinking within the Sixties because of Soviet irrigation initiatives that diverted the rivers feeding into the lake. By 2007, the ARAL Sea had declined to 1/10 of its authentic measurement, and break up into 4 separate lakes. Satellite photographs of the ARAL Sea over time present the dramatic adjustments within the panorama. As one may think, the shrinkage of the ARAL Sea has had an incredible affect on the communities within the space.
• BEETS (60A: Red veggies in borscht) Borscht is a soup that originated in Ukraine. BEETS are the primary ingredient in borscht, which provides the soup a particular purple colour.
• LLAMA (64A: Alpaca relative that communicates by buzzing) This clue is an instance of what I prefer to seek advice from as an “added worth” clue. If the clue right here had merely been [Alpaca relative], I might have stuffed within the reply of LLAMA, as a result of I do know that LLAMAs and alpacas are associated. However, the clue provides us an additional bonus by offering us with the enjoyable animal undeniable fact that LLAMAs talk by buzzing. A mom LLAMA will typically hum to its child, and grownup LLAMAs will talk with one another by buzzing.
• ELLE (65A: “Legally Blonde” protagonist) The 2001 film Legally Blonde is predicated on Amanda Brown’s guide of the identical identify. ELLE Woods is the primary character of the guide and the film. Reese Witherspoon portrayed ELLE Woods within the film.
• MISSY (67A: Rapper Elliott) MISSY Elliott is a four-time Grammy Award-winning rapper, singer, songwriter, and report producer. At varied occasions MISSY Elliott has been known as the “Queen of Rap,” the “Queen of Hip Hop,” and the “First Lady of Hip Hop.” She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame final 12 months, the primary feminine rapper to obtain that honor.
• ALIEN (2D: Marvin the Martian, for one) Marvin the Martian is an animated character from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Although the ALIEN first appeared in a 1948 Bugs Bunny cartoon, he was unnamed till 1979. Marvin the Martian was initially voiced by Mel Blanc, and is often depicted sporting a Roman soldier’s uniform and basketball footwear.
• MAE (11D: “Good Girls” actress Whitman) Good Girls is a TV sequence that facilities on three suburban moms dealing with monetary difficulties. They resolve to rob a grocery store, and consequently find yourself concerned with against the law boss and the FBI. The three girls are portrayed by MAE Whitman, Retta, and Christina Hendricks.
• SHE (13D: “Nevertheless, ___ continued”) Seeing this phrase referenced within the puzzle at all times makes me smile. If you want a reminder of the importance of “Nevertheless, SHE continued,” I wrote about it on July 18, 2023 when your complete phrase was within the puzzle.
• JULIE (25D: “Mary Poppins” actress Andrews) JULIE Andrews received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her efficiency of the title character within the 1964 film Mary Poppins.
• OREOS (26D: Cookies with a restricted version Space Dunk selection) OREOS are fashionable cookies, not just for consuming, but additionally for crossword constructors to place in puzzles. Because the letters within the phrase OREO(S) are crossword-friendly, the phrase often seems in crosswords. Space Dunk OREOS have been launched earlier this 12 months. These OREOS characteristic the traditional chocolate wafers crammed with two colours of marshmallow-flavored creme with popping sweet combined into the creme.
• CBT (32D: Common discuss remedy for despair (Abbr.)) CBT right here stands for cognitive behavioral remedy. CBT can be utilized for the remedy of tension. It focuses on difficult and altering ideas and attitudes and growing coping methods to enhance emotional regulation.
• TNT (40D: Explosive in lots of Acme merchandise) The Acme Corporation is a fictional business featured within the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. The firm is the supply of many units utilized by Wile E. Coyote in his try to outwit the Road Runner.
• ELLA (58D: Jazz singer Fitzgerald) During her profession as a jazz singer, ELLA Fitzgerald (1917-1996) earned a number of nicknames together with “Queen of Jazz,” “Lady ELLA,” and “First Lady of Song.”
• BLM (60D: Letters on some racial justice indicators) Today’s puzzle is reminding us that Black Lives Matter (BLM).
• ELI (61D: Former quarterback Manning) ELI Manning performed for NFL’s New York Giants for 16 seasons (2004-2019). During his profession, he led the Giants to 2 Super Bowl victories, and was named MVP in each of these years (2008 and 2012).