Bite the Bullet

Good afternoon! The never-ending winter drags on as hurricane-like winds take over the NYC area today. It's even worse in New England, where they are getting a major blizzard. It's another day I decided not to venture outside for lunch.

Caroline Stewart's puzzle for today is called "They Won't Bite." I don't know much about this constructor, except she's had a few puzzles published in the Times. The theme answers are below:

20A: Carpenter's tool with teeth (ELECTRIC SAW). This tool has been used as a weapon in many horror movies (the one film genre I really don't like), especially "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" series, and obviously, the "Saw" franchise.

56A: Dinner utensil with teeth (DESSERT FORK).

11D: Grooming device with teeth (POCKET COMB). When I was in middle school, the cool thing to do was to carry a comb in your back pocket. However, it couldn't be just any comb. It had to be a certain type with the handle sticking out of the pocket (see left). It was called a Salon Styler. I always carried mine in my purse for fear of either losing or breaking it.

29D: Landscaper's tool with teeth (GARDEN RAKE). Yes, folks, this was another "fun" gift I got from my parents. Like the snow shovel, it was monogrammed with my initials. I hated, hated, hated raking leaves and having to put them in trash bags. One of the big pluses of city living is I don't have to do it now.

There was no Alphabet Soup today. :-(

I had a tough time with the cryptoquote. There were lots of long words:

The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions. 

We travel back to ancient Rome for these words of wisdom. These are the words of Marcus Tillius Cicero, simply known as Cicero (106 B.C.-46 B.C.).  In the above quote, Cicero is teaching us that body language is sometimes more important than words. We can learn so much about what a person is thinking just by his/her facial expressions and eye contact. Cicero wore many hats; he was a philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, and political theorist. He brought back the teachings of the Greek philosophers to Rome and was credited for creating the Latin philosophical vocabulary. His works influenced present-day European literature. Want to learn more? Consult Project Gutenberg for a list of his writings.

The simplicity of today's JUMBLE makes up for the tough cryptoquote. The picture contains two skydivers having a great time. The caption reads "When the instructor didn't charge for the parachute lesson, it was a ______.

Word list:

BEAAT = ABATE
COALF = FOCAL
COLPUE = COUPLE
ROVFRE = FERVOR

Scrambled solution: AFLLEFER
Solution: FREE FALL

For all those who are "between jobs," I recommend that you buy the ultimate job-search book, What Color Is Your Parachute? It's been updated for 2014, and the job-hunting process, unfortunately, is a very different one today.

That's all for today. On a personal note, I have been using My Fitness Pal as a weight-loss tool since August. I'm happy to say that I'm almost back to my goal weight (just 2 lbs. away). Using the app is very simple, and the best part is that it's free! The user just tracks his/food intake, along with exercise. There is a calorie limit that the user must maintain each day, but he/she may increase calories by adding exercise.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick