Theme: Smell the Cork - A wine quip puzzle.
17A. Start of a quip : I LIKE TO COOK
25A. Quip, part 2 : WITH WINE,
32A. Quip, part 3 : SOMETIMES
46A. Quip, part 4 : I EVEN PUT
52A. End of quip : IT IN THE FOOD
Hello Everyone. Boomer here, sitting in for Al, who is taking the next few months off due to extra workload.
I understand the quip, my sisters live in the wine country of Northern California. I stayed in the Scandinavian heartland, and no matter how much wine you put on the lutefisk, or drink with the eelpout, you will never improve the taste.
Across:
1. Grafton's "A" : ALIBI - "A" Is for Alibi.
6. Mill fill : GRIST - You can use the grist with Coors Light to make batter for that lutefisk.
11. Witchy woman : HAG - "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!"
14. Aristotle forte : LOGIC
15. Major outlet : AORTA - I think more of an artery. An outlet is a store that sells last year's stuff for half price, or the thing on the kitchen wall into which you plug your toaster.
16. Chemical ending : IDE - Aristotle says this clue is logical
19. Lot : TON -
20. First name in hair products : VIDAL - I first thought of ESTEE. Pass the White Out.
21. Spanish possessive : NUESTRO Never cared much for foreign words in puzzles
23. Like the 4-Down in a 1960 chart-topper : TEENIE - This took a while to get. "One, Two, Three, Four, tell the people what she wore."
26. Bear : BRUIN - Chicago NFLers may not compare to Boston's hockey team.
27. Champagne designation : SEC - Champagne is home to the Fighting Illini. They're in the Big Ten, not the SEC.
28. "them" author : OATES. Joyce Carol Oates.
29. Payoff : SOP - Sorry, I don't get this on at all.
30. Acquire : GET
31. Word in a current account? : AMPERE - Now we're talking electricity, just don't plug it in to your AORTA.
35. Take willingly : ACCEPT
38. Dreyer's partner in ice cream : EDY - They don't make sugar free.
39. River wriggler : EEL - Don't cook them in wine, it won't help
42. Don't just want : CRAVE
43. Top-secret org. : NSA
44. PETCO Park player : PADRE Who was Jack Murphy and what happened to him?
48. Hawks' homes : AERIES - I thought only eagles built aeries. The Hawks home is Atlanta.
49. Outclassed by a large margin, as competitors : DWARFED - "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work we go"
50. You are, in Yucatán : ESTAS - Another foreign word - Yuc
51. Mid-seventh-century date : DCL - Anyone this old would not be much of a date.
56. Deborah's "The King and I" costar : YUL - Shaved his head before Michael Jordan made it stylish.
57. Thumbs-up person, perhaps : RATER - Or maybe sizes ripe olives.
58. "Amazing" magician : RANDI - Again I'm lost. David Copperfield nor Criss Angel would fit.
59. Ike's WWII domain : ETO
60. Alex's mom on "Family Ties" : ELYSE - I remember her in "Bridgette Loves Bernie"
61. Words of reassurance : IT'S OK - Thank you
Down:
1. Poetic pugilist : ALI - "The Greatest" self acclaimed
2. Online chuckle : LOL
3. "Tell me already" : I GIVE UP - or "Holler Uncle!!"
4. See 23-Across : BIKINI - I know it was a yellow polka dot one, but I never knew if the polka dots were yellow, or if it was yellow with a different color dots.
5. Stranded in winter, perhaps : ICED-IN - Oh Oh, you may have to get a filet of lutefisk out of the freezer.
6. Reading pen? : GAOL. Reading Gaol, prison in England.
7. Fabled flier : ROC
8. Like many "Twilight Zone" episodes : IRONIC - I thought it might be SciFis.
9. Pub choice : STOUT - Also a college in Menomonie WI.
10. Pay after taxes : TAKE HOME - It keeps getting smaller, and hopefully you still have a home.
11. Member of an ancient Asia Minor empire : HITTITE - I have heard of them, but whenever I see the word in print, I always think of a pitch, High and Tight.
12. Beautifier : ADORNER
13. Columbus, by birth : GENOESE
18. __ Bo : TAE - Could have asked for the initials of the guy who invented uses for 31 Across
22. Exchanges : SWAPS - Also a Kentucky Derby Winner in 1955 under Willie Shoemaker. Held off favorite Nashua at Churchill Downs.
23. "Conan" channel : TBS _ The commercials tell you - "TBS - very funny". Sorry that's an oxymoron. If Conan was funny, he's still be on NBC.
24. Handel cantata "__ e Leandro" : ERO
25. Least arid : WETTEST
27. Go out with : SEE - And have fun, as long as your date isn't 650 years old.
30. It's eight hours later than PST : GMT - Greenwich Mean Time. I always thought mean time was when your alarm clock goes off.
31. Singer Grant : AMY - I first thought of Gogi and her one hit "The Wayward Wind".
32. Cut : SEVER
33. Forest safety concern : OPEN FIRE - Smokey the Bear (or Bruin) is on the lookout. There's a wonderful statue in International Falls, MN.
34. Actress Lupino : IDA - Famous in crosswords as well as movies and TV roles. I remember her mostly with her then husband Howard Duff in a TV show, Mr. Adams and Eve.
35. Wool-coloring agent : ACID DYE Not familiar with this, sounds dangerous. I think I'll keep my sweaters the color that they came in.
36. Close-cropped hair style : CREW CUT - Military hairstyles are making a comeback.
37. Italian horse : CAVALLO - Another one of those foreign words.
39. Inventing family : EDISONS - And here's another tie in to the outlet and ampere.
40. Prior to : ERE
41. French article : LES
43. Feature of one who is barely sleeping? : NUDITY - What can I say, clever clue, got me.
44. "Great" czar : PETER I
45. Former PLO leader : ARAFAT
47. Corolla part : PETAL - If this a Toyota Corolla, then the answer would be PEDAL.
48. Pompeii burier : ASH - This clue threw me. Ash is a common word, I could think of a more common clue. Oh well.
50. French 101 verb : ETRE
53. Nintendo's Super __ : NES - Mario did not fit. NES is an acronym for something
54. Meter lead-in : ODO
55. Hägar creator Browne : DIK - Unusual spelling makes him a favorite of crosswords. He also teamed with Mort Walker on Beetle Bailey - one of my favorites.
Answer grid.
Boomer
Note from C.C.:
Here are two more wonderful "Hard to Believe" photos from another blog regular. Both taken by his father. And the boy is ??? (Answer: Bill G.)
17A. Start of a quip : I LIKE TO COOK
25A. Quip, part 2 : WITH WINE,
32A. Quip, part 3 : SOMETIMES
46A. Quip, part 4 : I EVEN PUT
52A. End of quip : IT IN THE FOOD
Hello Everyone. Boomer here, sitting in for Al, who is taking the next few months off due to extra workload.
I understand the quip, my sisters live in the wine country of Northern California. I stayed in the Scandinavian heartland, and no matter how much wine you put on the lutefisk, or drink with the eelpout, you will never improve the taste.
Across:
1. Grafton's "A" : ALIBI - "A" Is for Alibi.
6. Mill fill : GRIST - You can use the grist with Coors Light to make batter for that lutefisk.
11. Witchy woman : HAG - "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!"
14. Aristotle forte : LOGIC
15. Major outlet : AORTA - I think more of an artery. An outlet is a store that sells last year's stuff for half price, or the thing on the kitchen wall into which you plug your toaster.
16. Chemical ending : IDE - Aristotle says this clue is logical
19. Lot : TON -
20. First name in hair products : VIDAL - I first thought of ESTEE. Pass the White Out.
21. Spanish possessive : NUESTRO Never cared much for foreign words in puzzles
23. Like the 4-Down in a 1960 chart-topper : TEENIE - This took a while to get. "One, Two, Three, Four, tell the people what she wore."
26. Bear : BRUIN - Chicago NFLers may not compare to Boston's hockey team.
27. Champagne designation : SEC - Champagne is home to the Fighting Illini. They're in the Big Ten, not the SEC.
28. "them" author : OATES. Joyce Carol Oates.
29. Payoff : SOP - Sorry, I don't get this on at all.
30. Acquire : GET
31. Word in a current account? : AMPERE - Now we're talking electricity, just don't plug it in to your AORTA.
35. Take willingly : ACCEPT
38. Dreyer's partner in ice cream : EDY - They don't make sugar free.
39. River wriggler : EEL - Don't cook them in wine, it won't help
42. Don't just want : CRAVE
43. Top-secret org. : NSA
44. PETCO Park player : PADRE Who was Jack Murphy and what happened to him?
48. Hawks' homes : AERIES - I thought only eagles built aeries. The Hawks home is Atlanta.
49. Outclassed by a large margin, as competitors : DWARFED - "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work we go"
50. You are, in Yucatán : ESTAS - Another foreign word - Yuc
51. Mid-seventh-century date : DCL - Anyone this old would not be much of a date.
56. Deborah's "The King and I" costar : YUL - Shaved his head before Michael Jordan made it stylish.
57. Thumbs-up person, perhaps : RATER - Or maybe sizes ripe olives.
58. "Amazing" magician : RANDI - Again I'm lost. David Copperfield nor Criss Angel would fit.
59. Ike's WWII domain : ETO
60. Alex's mom on "Family Ties" : ELYSE - I remember her in "Bridgette Loves Bernie"
61. Words of reassurance : IT'S OK - Thank you
Down:
1. Poetic pugilist : ALI - "The Greatest" self acclaimed
2. Online chuckle : LOL
3. "Tell me already" : I GIVE UP - or "Holler Uncle!!"
4. See 23-Across : BIKINI - I know it was a yellow polka dot one, but I never knew if the polka dots were yellow, or if it was yellow with a different color dots.
5. Stranded in winter, perhaps : ICED-IN - Oh Oh, you may have to get a filet of lutefisk out of the freezer.
6. Reading pen? : GAOL. Reading Gaol, prison in England.
7. Fabled flier : ROC
8. Like many "Twilight Zone" episodes : IRONIC - I thought it might be SciFis.
9. Pub choice : STOUT - Also a college in Menomonie WI.
10. Pay after taxes : TAKE HOME - It keeps getting smaller, and hopefully you still have a home.
11. Member of an ancient Asia Minor empire : HITTITE - I have heard of them, but whenever I see the word in print, I always think of a pitch, High and Tight.
12. Beautifier : ADORNER
13. Columbus, by birth : GENOESE
18. __ Bo : TAE - Could have asked for the initials of the guy who invented uses for 31 Across
22. Exchanges : SWAPS - Also a Kentucky Derby Winner in 1955 under Willie Shoemaker. Held off favorite Nashua at Churchill Downs.
23. "Conan" channel : TBS _ The commercials tell you - "TBS - very funny". Sorry that's an oxymoron. If Conan was funny, he's still be on NBC.
24. Handel cantata "__ e Leandro" : ERO
25. Least arid : WETTEST
27. Go out with : SEE - And have fun, as long as your date isn't 650 years old.
30. It's eight hours later than PST : GMT - Greenwich Mean Time. I always thought mean time was when your alarm clock goes off.
31. Singer Grant : AMY - I first thought of Gogi and her one hit "The Wayward Wind".
32. Cut : SEVER
33. Forest safety concern : OPEN FIRE - Smokey the Bear (or Bruin) is on the lookout. There's a wonderful statue in International Falls, MN.
34. Actress Lupino : IDA - Famous in crosswords as well as movies and TV roles. I remember her mostly with her then husband Howard Duff in a TV show, Mr. Adams and Eve.
35. Wool-coloring agent : ACID DYE Not familiar with this, sounds dangerous. I think I'll keep my sweaters the color that they came in.
36. Close-cropped hair style : CREW CUT - Military hairstyles are making a comeback.
37. Italian horse : CAVALLO - Another one of those foreign words.
39. Inventing family : EDISONS - And here's another tie in to the outlet and ampere.
40. Prior to : ERE
41. French article : LES
43. Feature of one who is barely sleeping? : NUDITY - What can I say, clever clue, got me.
44. "Great" czar : PETER I
45. Former PLO leader : ARAFAT
47. Corolla part : PETAL - If this a Toyota Corolla, then the answer would be PEDAL.
48. Pompeii burier : ASH - This clue threw me. Ash is a common word, I could think of a more common clue. Oh well.
50. French 101 verb : ETRE
53. Nintendo's Super __ : NES - Mario did not fit. NES is an acronym for something
54. Meter lead-in : ODO
55. Hägar creator Browne : DIK - Unusual spelling makes him a favorite of crosswords. He also teamed with Mort Walker on Beetle Bailey - one of my favorites.
Answer grid.
Boomer
Note from C.C.:
Here are two more wonderful "Hard to Believe" photos from another blog regular. Both taken by his father. And the boy is ??? (Answer: Bill G.)
