Tuesday, January 7, 2020 David Poole

Buckle Up!  Today we have both the dreaded circles and anagrams!  So, buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride on this ROCKY ROAD as we travel around the world in a puzzle that contains lots of foreign language words.

I'll start with the unifier:

And the Unifier:
61-Across. Nutty ice cream parlor order ... and a hint to each set of circled letters: ROCKY ROAD.

17-Across. Not be serious: KID AROUND.

24-Across. "Answer with the first thing that comes to mind" exercise: WORD ASSOCIATION.

36-Across. World's largest lizards: KOMODO DRAGONS.  The Komoda Dragon is found in the Indonesian islands.

52-Across. '70s Chilean president: SALVADOR ALLENDE.  Salvador Allende (June 26, 1908 ~ Sept. 11, 1973) was a physician and President of Chile from 1970 until 1973 when he was killed in a coup.  After the coup, Augusto Pinochet (Nov. 25, 1915 ~ Sept. 10, 2006) became the dictator of Chile.  The latter was my first thought, and both names have the same number of letters.

Salvador Allende.

We've also have a little criminal activity going as well.

15-Across. Thieves' hideout: LAIR.  //  65-Down.  Thieves' hideout: DEN.

16-Across. Thief: CROOK.

Across:

1. Indian music style: RAGA.

5. French "to be": ÊTRE.  The first of several references to a foreign language in today's puzzle.  The verb Être is an irregular verb.  In the present tense, the verb is conjugates as: Je suis / Nous sommes (I am / We are); Tu es / Vous être (You are You are); Il est / Elle est (He is / She is) / Ils sont / Elles sont (They are). 

9. Goldman __: investment banking giant: SACHS.  Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman (Dec. 9, 1821 ~ July 20, 1904).  Thirteen years later, his son-in-law, Samuel Sachs (July 28, 1851 ~ Mar. 2, 1935), joined the firm, and the name became as we know it today.

14. Go with the __: FLOW.

19. Like the accent in passé: ACUTE.  The French language uses 5 distinct accents:

the cédille Ç,

the accent aigu é,

the accent circonflexe â, ê, î, ô, û,

the accent grave à, è, ù

and the accent tréma ë, ï, ü.

20. French monarch: ROI.  The French King.

21. Hockey score: GOAL.

23. Cold War mil. program: SDI.  As in the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars.  The program was initiated in 1983 during the Reagan Administration.  The program was designed to develop a space-based missile defense program to protect the country from a nuclear attack.  The program is sometimes considered the straw that broke down the Cold War between the United States and the USSR.

29. Golfer Michelle: WIE.  Michelle Song Wie (b. Oct. 11, 1989) was the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship.  She was 10 years old at the time.

30. "I've seen better": MEH!

31. Playground equipment: SWINGS.

32. Quaint lodging: INN.

33. Passé: OLD HAT.  Note that the clue contains a acute accent, or in French, an Accent Aigu.

42. "Peer Gynt Suite" dancer: ANITRA.  Definitely not a Tuesday clue, but I am sure you have heard the music that accompanies the dance.

43. "Mangia!": EAT!  Today's Italian lesson.  Mangia is the imperative verb form of the verb to eat.

45. Wine city north of Lisbon: OPORTO.  Today's Portuguese lesson.  This city, which is the second largest city in Portugal, appears as Porto in maps in English.

48. CEO's degree: MBA.  The Chief Executive Officer would likely have a Master's in Business Administration.

51. Wallet single: ONE.

56. Ed.'s backlog: MSS.  As in a backlog of Manuscripts.

57. Actress Russo: RENE.  Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.  She began her career as a fashion model.

58. World Cup cheer: !OLE¡  Today's Spanish lesson.

59. Funny Cheri: OTERI.  Cheri OTERI (née Cheryl Anne Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She was on Saturday Night Live 2 decades ago, where she played a number of roles, including the Spartan cheerleader.

Cheri is on the Right.

66. Seasonal mall temp: SANTA.  Their temporary job is over until next season, which, I think now begins in about July.  Also a fond memory to our own Santa.

67. "Omigosh!": YIPE!

68. Loitering, say: IDLE.

69. German steel city: ESSEN.

70. Some pipe joints: ELLS.

71. Utopia: EDEN.

Down:

1. D.C. United's former stadium: RFK.

2. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI.  Mashershala Ali (né Mahershalalhasbaz Gilmore; b. Feb. 16, 1974) also won an Oscar for his performance in Moonlight.  He was also the star of the 3rd season of True Detective, and appeared for a couple of seasons in House of Cards.

3. Neptune or Pluto: GOD.  They are brothers in Roman mythology.

4. Palme d'Or, e.g.: AWARD.  It is the Oscar of the Cannes Film Festival.

5. Kid-lit girl who lives on the "tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel: ELOISE.  The Eloise Books were not actually a part of my childhood.

6. Cross-shaped Greek letter: TAU.

7. Second Beatle on the "Abbey Road" cover: RINGO.  *

8. Ambulance patient's MD: ER DOC.  As an Emergency Room Doctor.

9. Scoundrel: SCALAWAG.  Fun word.

10. Fly ball's path: ARC.  Think baseball.

11. "My __ Vinny": 1992 comedy: COUSIN.  This movie is a favorite of many of the regulars on this blog.

12. Show-off: HOTDOG.  A CSO to Misty's dogs.

13. Wound yarn units: SKEINS.  A CSO to our resident knitters.

18. Travel aimlessly: ROAM.  May your roam be on a smooth road and not a Rocky Road.

22. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Tyler: AISHA.  Aisha Tyler (née Aisha Naomi Tyler; b. Sept. 18, 1970) is a complete unknown to me.  I watched the show when Drew Carey was the host.  I didn't know it was still on.

24. 1914-'18 conflict, briefly: WWI.  Also known as World War I, the War to End All Wars.

25. Farm grunt: OINK.

26. Nevada casino city: RENO.  Not to be confused with 57-Across.  Reno is also the home of the National Judicial College.  I took some courses there about 20 years ago.

27. Photo session: SHOOT.

28. Latin jazz great Puente: TITO.  Tito Puente (né Ernesto Antoino Puente; Apr. 20, 1923 ~ May 31, 2000) is sometimes called the King of Latin Music.

34. Pres. or P.M.: LDR.  Presidents and Prime Ministers are Leaders of their respective countries.

35. Pulitzer category: DRAMA.

37. Sportscaster Albert: MARV.  Marv Albert (né Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; b. June 12, 1941) was involved in a sex scandal in the late 1990s.

38. Toronto native: ONTARIAN.  Hi, Canadian, Eh!

39. LED component: DIODE.

40. Hard-to-miss sign: NEON.

41. Beach pailful: SAND.

44. Summer shirt: TEE.

This shirt is appropriate now.  No need to wait until summer. 

45. Be absorbed gradually: OSMOSE.

46. Farfalle and fusilli: PASTAS.

The Farfalle, also known as Bow Tie,  is on the left.

47. Acting twins Mary-Kate and Ashley: OLSENS.

49. Cambridge chaps: BLOKES.

50. Treaty partner: ALLY.

53. Sandwich shop specification: ON RYE.  We just had some smoked whitefish on rye.  Yummers!

54. Lubricate again: RE-OIL.

55. Like "Stranger Things": EERIE.

60. Numbered hwy.: RTE.

62. Lowest-ranking NCO: CPL.

63. Roulette bet: ODD.  I initially tried Red.  But, instead, we were looking for Even or Odd, not colors.

64. Brewpub pour: ALE.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  I believe that all children should be surrounded by books and animals.  ~  Gerald Durrell (Jan. 7. 1925 ~ Jan. 30, 1995), British naturalist

*   Golda Meir, David Ben-Gurion, Henrietta Szold and Theodor Herzl

Wednesday December 18, 2019 David Poole

(Note from C.C.: D-Otto write today's post.)


Theme: Crazy, mixed-up Santa

The Barnacle had the circles, so I managed to suss the theme. It would've been a lot harder without 'em. The reveal would also be of help, for those of you who read the entire reveal clue.

17a. Line on an application: LAST NAME.

23a. Masters home: AUGUSTA NATIONAL. LIU and guess what? It's not in Maine. (STANA Katic played Kate Beckett on Castle).

38a. Southern nickname involving a brown bird: THE PELICAN STATE. I'll bet B-E, Hahtoolah, Swampcat and Boo LuQuette got this one immediately.

"A wonderful bird is the pelican.
His bill can hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak.
Food enough for a week.
But I'm damned if I see how the helican."
Dixon Lanier Merritt

54a. "Double Indemnity" (1944) Oscar nominee: BARBARA STANWYCK. This was my kryptonite. I spelled it WICK -- DNF.

And the reveal...

64a. 2003 Billy Bob Thornton title role ... and a hint to each set of puzzle circles: BAD SANTA.

Across:

1. Transcript figs.: GPAS. Grade point averages. Mine ranged from C to shining C.

5. Letters for the princess?: HRH. Her Royal Highness

8. Frozen, maybe: AFRAID.

14. Alternatively: ELSE.

15. Perrier, par exemple: EAU. French water.

16. Financially responsible: LIABLE. Libel makes you liable.

19. Telescope parts: LENSES.

20. "Star Wars" SFX: CGI. Computer-generated imagery.

21. Dada co-founder: ARP.

22. Firewood measure: CORD. 128 cubic feet.

29. Cooped (up): PENT.

30. Lay an egg: FLOP. The egg is laid in the coop.

31. Soup with tofu and seaweed: MISO. Sounds delicious. Not.

32. Vancouver-to-Calgary dir.: ENE.

34. Walked (on): TROD.

37. 51-Down's state: Abbr.: NSW. New South Wales, Australia.

43. Big to-do: ROW. Similar to a major honey-do?

44. "Then again," on Twitter: OTOH. On the other hand.

45. Country N. of Kenya: ETH. Ethiopia.

46. Creative spark: IDEA.

48. New Age musician John: TESH. He's been a co-host on Entertainment Tonight, a TV sportscaster, even a Klingon on Startrek: TNG.

50. Tag sale caveat: AS IS. Caveat emptor.

58. Mani-pedi spots: SPAS. Not feet.

59. Game with 108 cards: UNO.

60. "Gloria in Excelsis __": DEO. Christmas music. If I linked it, it would break the "no politics, no religion" rule. So I'll link this instead:

61. Brusque: ABRUPT. TERSE was too abrupt.

66. NutraSweet developer: SEARLE. It's now marketed by the NutraSweet Company. NutraSweet used to be Aspartame (200 times sweeter than sugar) until they discovered Neotame (7000-13000 times sweeter than sugar) -- the Carolina Reaper of sweeteners.

67. Modern art?: ARE. How great thy art art.

68. Cocktail garnish: PEEL. Really? Just the peel?

69. Bank, often: LENDER.

70. Since Jan. 1: YTD. Year-to-date.

71. Shaggy Scandinavian rugs: RYAS.

Down:

1. Easy-to-swallow dosage: GELCAP. Have you found them easier to swallow? I take my pills five at a time in one swell foop.

2. One of 10 in Exodus: PLAGUE. How many can you name? Answer far below.

3. Give, as homework: ASSIGN. Teenagers bane, after acne.

4. Background in theater?: SET.

5. Sincere: HEARTFELT.

6. Flutist Jean-Pierre: RAMPAL. He has been personally "credited with returning the flute to popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." (WIKI) Do you say "flutist" or "flautist" or maybe "tootler" (from last Saturday)?

7. Paint choice: HUE. Not OIL.

8. Apportion: ALLOT.

9. "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" host: FIERI. Host of various Food Network shows. He was born Guy Ferry, but apparently took umbrage at his last name.

10. Like dice rolls: RANDOM. At least you hope so.

11. Bodybuilder's pride: ABS. I've got 12-pack abs.

12. Paris' __ de la Cité: ILE. It's a natural island in the Seine. Notre Dame Cathedral (or what's left of it) is located there.

(Courtesy The New York Times)

13. __ Plaines: DES. Chicago suburb just north of O'Hare airport. I lived nearby at one time.

18. "One Mic" rapper: NAS. The only NAS I'm familiar with is Network Attached Storage, like my music server.

22. "Meet John Doe" director: CAPRA. Frank Capra. Also Pocketfull of Miracles and It's A Wonderful life.

24. U.S. sch. near the Mexico border: UTEP. University of Texas El Paso.

25. Tally symbols: NOTCHES. "...he secretly carved one more notch on the butt of his gold-handled cane..." at the 3:15 point.

26. Ricci of fashion: NINA. I thought her name was Christina.

27. CEO aide: ASST.

28. Actor Rob: LOWE. He's been in lotsa stuff, but I remember him best as Sam Seaborn in The West Wing. I binge-streamed the whole series not long ago.

33. Opposite of paleo-: NEO. Played opposite Morpheus in The Matrix.

35. Like a diving catch in baseball: ONE HANDED.

36. Summer hrs.: DST. Some love it. Some hate it. Some are ambidexterous.

38. Windy City daily, familiarly: TRIB. Chicago Tribune.

39. "Today" co-anchor Kotb: HODA. She just got engaged at 55.

40. Pitcher sans arms: EWER. That clue reminds me of this movie scene.

41. Specks: IOTAS. Could'a been MOTES.

42. Winter warm spell: THAW.

47. Inane: ABSURD. Not STUPID.

49. Comic-book store owner on "The Big Bang Theory": STUART.

51. 2000 Olympics city: SYDNEY. (Guess who spelled it with an I?)

52. Drink served with mint: ICE TEA. Let the arguments begin...

53. Danish toasts: SKOALS. Not to be confused with the smokeless tobacco.

55. Fuji, for one: APPLE. Because MOUNTAIN and VOLCANO were too long.

56. Yelp contributor: RATER. Does anybody here trust/use Yelp?

57. Negatives: NOS.

61. Silent speech syst.: ASL. American Sign Language. In case you'd like to learn...

62. Quilting party: BEE. Are there other "bees" besides quilting and spelling? Discuss.

63. Legged it: RAN.

64. Reddish-brown horse: BAY. News to me. I always assumed it was gray, like San Francisco Bay.

65. Busy mo. for a CPA: APR. I've completed my IRS certification to be a Tax-Aide volunteer again next year. This may be my last year. Between the IRS and AARP, they've thrown up so many roadblocks that the compensation is becoming inadequate to the exertion.

That brings us to the deep end of the Poole. It's been fun subbing. Desper-otto out.

The Grid:

Here's that list of the ten plagues. I managed to remember four of 'em. I'll bet you did better.

Blood
Frogs
Lice or gnats
Flies
Livestock (??? How can this be a plague? Raining cats and dogs?)
Boils
Hail
Locust
Darkness
Death of firstborn

Tuesday, December 10, 2019 David Poole

Double Play.  I'll start today with the unifier, which is very self-explanatory.  

55-Across. Canoeing challenge whose first word can precede the start and whose second word can precede the end of the answers to starred clues: WHITE WATER.

20-Across. *   Fruity adult beverage: WINE COOLER.  We get White Wine and Water Cooler.  A Wine Cooler can be either a special refrigeration unit for storing wine or a carbonated beverage of wine and fruit juice.

White Wine

Wine Cooler

28-Across. *   Black-spotted orange flower: TIGER LILY.  We get White Tiger and Water Lily.

White Tiger

Claude Monet's Water Lilies

38-Across. *   Toy pistols used on stage: CAP GUNS.  We get White Cap and Water Gun.

White Caps on the Ocean

Water Gun, also known as a Squirt Gun.

46-Across. *   Toy car brand: HOT WHEELS.  We get White Hot and Water Wheels.

White HOT!

Water Wheel

Across:

1. Chinese sauce additive: MSG.  As in MonoSodium Glutamate.

4. Olympic swimming star Ledecky: KATIE.  Katie Ledecky (née Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky; b. Mar. 17, 1997), has won 5 Olympic gold medals and 15 world championship gold metals.

9. L.L.Bean competitor: J.CREW.

14. Listening organ: EAR.

15. Stereotypical Pi Day celebrants: NERDS.

16. "Drab" color: OLIVE.

17. Handel's "Messiah" et al.: ORATORIOS.  An Oratorio is similar to an Opera.  Oratorios became popular in the 1600s and 1700s because the Church forbid theatrical performances.  Thus oratorios were musical compositions with an orchestra, a chorus and generally a soloist, but without the costuming and theater props.  Oratorios also tended to focus on religious  topics.

19. Creepy film motel: BATES.

22. Put in the mail: SENT.

23. Cowboys QB Prescott: DAK.  Dak Prescott (né Rayne Dakota Prescott; b. July 29, 1993), was born in Sulphur, Louisiana.  The Cowboys lost to the Bears last week.

24. Well-worn pencils: NUBS.

26. "Keystone" police: KOPS.

33. Prefix with center: EPI-.  As in the Epicenter of an earthquake.

34. __ Valley: Reagan Library site: SIMI.

35. Strand at a ski lodge, say: ICE IN.

37. Pitcher's stat: ERA.  As in Earned Run Average.

41. Prefix with natal: NEO-.  As in Neonatal, which refers to newborn babies.

42. Asian food breadcrumbs: PANKO.  I use Panko breadcrumbs when I cook fish.

44. Novelist Leon: URIS.  Leon Uris (né Leon Marcus Uris; Aug. 3, 1924 ~ June 21, 2003) is probably best known for his 1958 novel Exodus, which is about the creation of the State of Israel.

45. They, to Thierry: ILS.  Today's French lesson.

49. Artist Warhol: ANDY.  Andy Warhol (né Andrew Warhola; Aug. 6, 1928 ~ Feb. 22, 1987) died at age 58 from complications of gall bladder surgery.  In 1968, an assassination attempt was made on his life in which he was seriously wounded.

50. "The Good Earth" mother: OLAN.  The Good Earth is a 1931 novel by Pearl S. Buck (née Pearl Sydenstricker; June 26, 1892 ~ Mar. 6, 1973) about family life in China in the early 20th Century.  It is well worth reading.

51. Some SAT takers: SRs.  As in Seniors in High School.

52. Olympian bigwig: ZEUS.  Oh, as in the Greek god of the sky and thunder, not the Olympic games.

61. Safe places?: WALLS.

63. Talus: ANKLE BONE.

64. Orange Muppet: ERNIE.

65. Not tight enough: LOOSE.

66. ER VIPs: MDs.  Medical Doctors are the VIPs in the Emergency Room, but don't forget about the ER nurses, who also play an important role.

67. Cockamamie: INANE.

68. Beginning: ONSET.

69. Automated spam creator: BOT.

Down:

1. Cat's cry: MEOW.

2. Indian cover-up: SARI.

3. Concert keyboard: GRAND PIANO.

4. Rap on the door: KNOCK.

5. Sleek, in car talk: AERO.

6. 75% of a quartet: TRIO.

7. Pop star: IDOL.

8. Ancient mystic: ESSENE.  The Essenes were a Jewish sect from about 200 to 1 BCE.  They are considered to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

9. Position at work: JOB.

10. Enduring work: CLASSIC.

11. Baptism or bris: RITE.

12. Like Olympic years, numerically: EVEN.

13. "Wild" 1800s region: WEST.

"Wild" Mae West

18. Oolong and pekoe: TEAs.

21. 1921 play that introduced the word "robot": R.U.R.  This play appears with some frequency in the crosswords.  It is a 1920 play by Czech writer Karel Čapek (Jan. 9, 1890 ~ Dec. 25, 1938).  R.U.R stands for Rossumovi Univerzáiní Robots (Rossum’s Universal Robots).  The play takes place in a factory that makes organic, artificial people called as Robots.  These Robots, however, were more like human people rather than the current concept of robots.

25. Euphoria: BLISS.  Also the name of a chain of Yoga studios.

26. Stay fresh in the fridge: KEEP.

27. Celeb with her "OWN" network: OPRAH.

28. Andalusian aunt: TIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Andalusia is a region of Spain.

29. Little rascal: IMP.

30. Lively baroque dance: GIGUE.

31. Red Square shrine: LENIN'S TOMB.

32. Give in: YIELD.

34. Grouchy look: SCOWL.

36. Prone to prying: NOSY.

39. Often-bookmarked address, briefly: URL.  As in the Uniform Resource Locator.

40. Grafton's "__ for Noose": N IS.  Sue Grafton (Apr. 24, 1940 ~ Dec. 28, 2017) wrote a series of crime novels, each beginning with a letter of the Alphabet.  The first in the series was A is for Alibi.  She wrote all the way through the letter Y (Y is for Yesterday).  Sadly, she died before she could begin what would have been the final book in the series, Z is for Zero.

43. "80's Ladies" country singer: K.T. OSLIN.  I am not familiar with K. T. Olsin (née Kay Toinette Olsin; b. May 15, 1942).

47. "Yee-__!": HAW.

48. Surround, as with a saintly glow: ENHALO.  Yup.  It's a real word.

49. Graceful steed: ARAB.

51. "Ni-i-ice!": SWEET!

52. Cube root of acht: ZWEI.  German math.

53. Merit: EARN.

54. Forearm bone: ULNA.

56. Part of, plotwise: IN ON.

57. Boxing ref's calls: TKOs.  As in Technical Knock Outs.  A crossword staple

58. "Anything __?": ELSE.

59. Opposite of exo-: ENDO-.

60. "Don't play" music staff symbol: REST.

62. Date regularly: SEE.




Here's the Grid:

Geaux Tigers!

Joe Burreaux, LSU Quarterback

QOD:  One must learn to be silent just as one must learn to talk.  ~  Victoria Wolff (Dec. 10, 1903 ~ Sept. 16, 1992), German-born novelist.