Today's crossword by Jeffrey Wechsler adds an M sound to five familiar phrases. In four of the phrases, the spelling had to be changed:
How a snail moves? ONTHESLIME
Comprehensive text on mints? TICTACTOME
Reaction to Bugs' continued evasiveness? ELMERSGLOOM
Seminal discovery by sports historians? THEFIRSTTEAM
"I plotted against Caesar completely on my own!"? CASSIUSCLAIM
Gaius Cassius Longinus (85 BC-42 BC) was the Roman senator who led the plot to kill Gaius Julius Caesar, dictator of the Roman Empire. The crossword answer references heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay (1942-2016). In 1964, Clay joined the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim organization, and its leader Elijah Muhammad (birth name: Elijah Poole) gave Clay the new name Muhammad Ali. "Muhammad" means "One who is worthy of phrase." After receiving the new name, Ali announced that "Cassius Clay" was his "slave name."
ELMERSGLOOM references Elmer Fudd, cartoon nemesis of Bugs Bunny: "Ooh, some day I'm going to
get that wascally wabbit!" In 1936, Borden created Elsie the Cow as a mascot for their dairy products. Four years later, a mate was created for Elsie. Elmer the Bull became the mascot of Borden's chemical products division. Elmer's Glue-All was introduced in 1947. Let's have a show of hands: How many of you have ever had a bottle of glue with a top that did not get clogged so badly that you had to get a utensil to remove the solidified glue? Well? Nobody? Yeah, that's what I thought.
THEFIRSTTEAM references The First Tee, a youth development organization which "teaches life skills and leadership through golf," although I'm not sure how anyone can learn life skills by using a club to hit a ball into a hole.....and then doing it again.....and again.....and again.....and again.....
https://thefirsttee.org/"You got me there" is SOIDO. "So I do"?
Huh? "A in Acapulco" is UNA, which is not used in English. "Milwaukee: mine :: Marseilles: ___" is AMOI, which is not used in English. "Part of un giorno" is ORA. Those are the Italian words for "day" and "hour," respectively, and are not used in English. "Some kissing sounds" is MWAHS, which is an awkward answer, although singer/actress Dinah Shore hosted four different tv variety series (1951-61, 1970-74, 1974-80, 1989-92) and ended each telecast by blowing a big "Mwah!" kiss to the studio audience and the tv viewers.
Okay, that's all for today. And I'm sorry if I disappoint anyone but I'm not going to blow a kiss. That was Dinah's shtick, not mine.
