Monday, July 20, 2020 Evan Kalish

Theme: ASSET MANAGER. (49. Adviser concerned with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across) - The first word of each theme entry is a type of asset.

20. Reused file film: STOCK FOOTAGE.

31. Audiophile's multi-disc holder: CD CHANGER.

44. Flicks with 007: BOND FILMS.

Boomer here.  

Happy Monday everyone. I loved the theme today.  Made me think about money I used to have. Just kidding.  I used to love the 007 films with Sean Connery. Then when they started switching I sort of lost interest.

Across:

1. Dust __: teensy arachnid: MITE.  I used to coach Little League baseball when my son was a player.  But before he made the big time, I remember he was a MITE at age eight.

5. Sleep audibly: SNORE.  I never SNORE, but I know others that can.

10. Female pop star: DIVA.

14. "Now!" letters: ASAP.  I really don't like this acronym.  I'll do it when I have time and I am not A SAP.

15. Bounce off a wall: CAROM.  Remember the old CAROM boards when you needed to knock little rings around with a pool cue.

16. Days of anticipation: EVES.  Christmas EVE is the best one.  Always has been, always will be.

17. iPhone assistant: SIRI.

18. "Long story short ... ": IN SUM.  Is this anything like DIM SUM?  I had it once in Chinatown, San Francisco, USA.

19. Greek god story, e.g.: MYTH.

23. Nintendo console with a similarly named remote: WII.  I hate to admit the hours I wasted on Nintendo.

24. Increase, as the stakes: RAISE.  Fun to try in Poker, but once in awhile the boss may give you one so you can play more poker.

28. "Climb aboard!": HOP IN.  I used to visit the "WILL HOP INN" , A 3.2 beer joint in Minnetonka, MN.  I do not like beer, but they had a great electronic bowling machine there.  10 cents a game.

35. "__ explain!": I CAN.

36. Strand on a desert island: MAROON.  "Minnesota, hats off to thee!"  First line of the Minnesota rouser.  Minnesota Gopher colors Maroon and Gold.  No we are not changing the Gopher name.

37. Musician Yoko: ONO.  I can imagine that when Bryson DeChambeau took a 10 on the fifteenth hole on Jack's course in Ohio last Friday, he probably said something worse than Oh NO.

38. Actress Aniston, in tabloids: JEN.  I don't watch "Friends" anymore, but the longevity of that show of reruns is amazing.

39. When repeated, nothing new: SAME OLD.  You have to repeat this.

40. Wee bit: TAD.

41. Actor Mahershala: ALI. 

42. "People say ... ": I HEARD. It through the Grapevine.

43. Snack: BITE.

46. Tethered fliers: KITES.  This brings back memories.  I would by a paper kite and some string and go to the baseball field and try to get it in the air.  I chose the ball field because there were no kite eating trees.  Charlie Brown should have used a ball field.

47. Tour of duty: STINT.  Yup I had one.  Now I get reasonably priced healthcare at the VA.

48. Tasseled hat: FEZ. Shriners wear these a lot, especially in parades. I have friends who are Shriners.  They do good works especially in hospitals for children.

57. Tree part that yields cinnamon: BARK.  WOW, I never knew that.  I like ground cinnamon but maybe not so much any more.

60. Knighted composer Edward: ELGAR.

61. Wander: ROVE.

62. Haleakala National Park's island: MAUI.  I suppose they HULA there ???

63. Two-wheeled transport with a battery: E BIKE. I remember these too, but no kid in my neighborhood had the $$$ to own one.

64. Agitate: ROIL.

65. Would like: WANT.  "All I WANT for Christmas is my two front teeth"

66. In-the-wall security features: SAFES.  We don't have one.  We have a metal fireproof box for important documents, but the cash all goes in the bank.  I think they have a SAFE.

67. Sale price come-on adverb: ONLY.  A frequent word used on TV commercials.  Sometimes it comes after "BUTT WEIGHT".  Why do they need to know the weight of my rear end, before they cut the price and offer free shipping ?

Down:

1. Sunday service: MASS.  I have not been there since the middle of March.  First the archbishop closed my church for about 8 weeks.  Then when they re-opened, father told everyone over 65 and with health issues to stay home.  They email the MASS to me, but it's not quite the same.

2. "Ya think?": IS IT.

3. Poi plant: TARO.  TARO is a starchy root, not to be confused with TAROT cards that tell your fortune.

4. Underdog's surprising feat: EPIC WIN.  I think the Nationals winning the World Series over the Astros last year was an EPIC.

5. "Star Wars" genre: SCI-FI.  I used to like "The Twilight Zone".

6. Prefix between micro- and pico-: NANO.  I think "Mork from Ork" used to say this twice.  Shazbot.

7. Approximately: OR SO.

8. 10-1 victory, e.g.: ROUT.  300 to 150 in Bowling.

9. Actress Watson: EMMA.  I remember EMMA Boettcher beating James on Jeopardy.

10. Humiliate: DEMEAN.

11. Climbing vine: IVY.  You should see C.C.'s cucumber plant in front of our house.

12. Thoroughly evaluate: VET.

13. Campfire residue: ASH.  Years ago, everyone was allowed to burn trash in a controlled receptacle.  Except on Monday when folks hung out their laundry to dry.

21. Family: KIN.  I have KIN living on Burnikel Road in Siren WI.

22. Large piano: GRAND.  I really enjoyed the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.  They had a Yellow Brick Road on the floor that led you to a wizard.  I have not been there for awhile.  Parking seems a little scarce.

25. "This fly ball is mine!": I GOT IT.

26. Roman political body: SENATE.

27. Wears away: ERODES.

28. Muslim head coverings: HIJABS.  I don't know much about head coverings, but C.C. and I always wear masks in public buildings like grocery stores.

29. Leopardlike feline: OCELOT.

30. Pressed Italian sandwich: PANINI.

31. Saharan beast: CAMEL.  I wonder if people still smoke these.  I was a smoker 20 years ago, but never CAMELs.

32. Imagine great things: DREAM. "Jeannie with the light brown hair."

33. Colorado-based brewery: COORS.  I may have mentioned that I don't like beer.  Never have.  But these guys have a baseball park named after them.  Go Rockies.

34. Wait to speak to the next available agent, say: HOLD.  Believe me, I get junk sales calls that tell me to hold for a real person.

36. Half a fish: MAHI.

39. Searches (through): SIFTS.  I remember my Mother sifting flour to prepare a cake.  Flour must all ready be sifted now.  Maybe you can get one of those sifter machines at a garage sale.

43. __ World, DC Comics planet of opposites: BIZARRO.

45. Ancestry.com apparatus: DNA KIT.

46. "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN.  I thought James Holzhauer was better.

48. Taxi fees: FARES.  The last time C.C. and I took a taxi was from the Las Vegas Airport to the Orleans.  It could not have been much more than two miles and the fee was way too much.

50. Goes out with: SEES.

51. Idris of "Luther": ELBA.

52. Relieved end-of-week cry: TGIF.  Since I am no longer employed I play golf on Mondays.  TGIM!

53. Produce: MAKE.

54. Hired hood: GOON.  I think they used to call a hockey bad boy a GOON.

55. Malevolent: EVIL.

56. Depend (on): RELY.

57. German luxury car: BMW.  Silly me.  I used to think it stood for British Motor Works.

58. Towing org.: AAA.  I used to have triple A but I never used it.  It seemed to be more than help for car trouble.  Lots of ads for hotels, and restaurants on the highway.

59. Gallop: RUN.  Lots of RUNNING coming this November.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Steve Marron, our Thursday sherpa, made his WSJ debut today. You can solve the puzzle here. It's a puzzle that we've been back and forth for a long time. Thank you for your patience, Steve!

Tuesday July 7, 2020 Evan Kalish

Off to the Races:  The word Gate can be placed at the "Start" of the first word of each theme answer to give us a new concept.

19-Across. Outdoor security illumination: FLOOD LIGHTING.  Flood Gates.  Everything you wanted to know about the Flood Gates of New Orleans, but didn't know to ask.

30-Across. Teeth: PEARLY WHITES.  Pearly Gates.

40-Across. First ten U.S. constitutional amendments: BILL OF RIGHTS.  Bill Gates.

William Henry Gates, III (b. Oct. 28, 1955)

And the Unifier:
55-Across. Where horse races begin ... and where the beginning of 19-, 30- and 40-Across might be seen: STARTING GATES.

WARNING:  There is a bad word at the very end of this very funny Video.

Across:

1. Baroque composer of many fugues: BACH.  Remove the "C" and you get 1-Down: Scroogean scoff: BAH!  

The Bach family was very musical, but probably the best known is Johann Sebastian Bach (Mar. 31, 1685 ~ July 28, 1750).  The "forgotten son" of the family was P.D.Q. Bach.

5. "__ did you say?": WHAT.

9. Pageant adornment: SASH.

13. Workout reminder: ACHE.

14. Team instructor: COACH.  Also the name of a company that makes high-end handbags.

15. Stage in an insect's life cycle: PUPA.  Some insects undergo 3 stages, others have a 4 stage life cycle.

16. Stiletto __: shoe part: HEEL.  High heels are really not all that comfortable.  Since the Quar, I have been either been going barefoot, in my gym shoes, or wearing flip-flops.  Not sure I ever want to go back to dress shoes.

17. Waze suggestion: ROUTE.

18. Chief Norse deity: ODIN.  A crossword staple.

22. Tennis toppers: VISORS.

24. Shucked shellfish: OYSTER.  Grilled oysters are a speciality in many restaurants in South Louisiana.

25. German cry: ACH!

26. Tummy muscles: ABs.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

28. Election night graphic: MAP.  Results from the 1900 Presidential election.  Looks like William McKinley (Jan. 29, 1843 ~ Sept. 14, 1901) beat William Jennings Bryan (Mar. 19, 1860 ~ July 26, 1925).

29. Sloppy room metaphor: STY.

34. Caesar's last gasp: ET TU.

35. Gut punch reaction: OOF!

36. __ na tigela: Brazilian berry dish in a bowl: AÇAI.  Açai berry has become a very popular crossword word.  They look like blue berries.

45. "Fill 'er up" fluid: GAS.

48. Michelle Obama __ Robinson: NÉE.  Before she married Barack Obama (b. Aug. 4, 1961) in October, 1992, she was known as Michelle LaVaught Robinson (b. Jan. 17, 1964).

49. Turn on the waterworks: SOB.  I initially tried Cry.

50. Charged particle: ION.  Ions appear with some regularity in the crossword puzzles.

51. Defeat cunningly: OUTFOX.

53. Flat renter: TENANT.  I initially tried Leasee then I tried Renter, before finally settling on Tenant.

59. State with a greeting in its name: OHIO.  //  A shortened version of 4-Down: Word of greeting: HELLO!

60. Apple pie-making tool: CORER.

61. Hoops officials: REFs.  As in Referees.  The ref is in the stripped shirt.

64. Lady's man: LORD.  You, too, can become a Lord or Lady.

65. Egg producer: OVARY.

66. Bridal accessory: VEIL.  Bridal veils can be of varying lengths, as shown below.

67. Approximately: OR SO.

68. Word after user or stage: NAME.  As in User Name or Stage Name.

69. Provocative, as humor: EDGY.

Down:

2. Versatile blackjack card: ACE.

3. Culinary topper: CHEF'S HAT.  The usual crossword answer to a clue like this is Toque.

5. Stove fuel: WOOD.

6. In it for the long __: HAUL.

7. Play opening: ACT I.

8. One blamed for losing a game: THE GOAT.  But GOAT also means Greatest Of All Time.

9. Unchangeable leopard markings, in Jeremiah: SPOTS.  The Biblical phrase can be found in Jeremiah 13:23.

10. IRS-conducted ordeals: AUDITS.

11. Small piano: SPINET.  Here are some sizes and names of keyboard instruments.

12. Irritably needing food: HANGRY.  Hangry is a portmanteau of Hungry and Angry.  There is a physiological reason for this condition.

14. Bing who teamed with Hope in "Road to ..." films: CROSBY.  Bing Crosby (né Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr.; May 3, 1903 ~ Oct. 14, 1977), Bob Hope (né May 29, 1903 ~ July 18, 2003), and Dorothy Lamour (née Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; Dec. 10, 1914 ~ Sept. 22, 1996) made several "Road to ..." movies that were adventurous, comedic, romantic and musical.

20. Like much lore: ORAL.

21. Pre-release buzz: HYPE.  There was a lot of Hype before the release of the last Star Wars movie.

22. Enjoy an e-cig: VAPE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

23. Very cool rapper?: ICE T.  Ice T (né Tracy Lauren Marrow; b. Feb. 16, 1958) is also an actor.  He portrayed Detective Odafin Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

27. Extremely muscular, in modern parlance: SWOLE.  I am not familiar with this word.  It is derived from the word "swollen", but also describes an extremely muscular physique.

28. Annoys: MIFFS.

31. Massage: RUB.

32. Owl's sound: HOO.  Hand up if your owl said "Who!"

33. Mattress problem: SAG.

37. Smoothie additive also used to sprout "hair" on terracotta "pets": CHIA SEED.

38. Lots and lots: A TON.

39. "__ it obvious?": ISN'T.

41. Playing an extra NBA period: IN OT.  As in In Over Time.

42. Dictionary: LEXICON.  John McWhorter (b. Oct. 6, 1965) is a professor at Columbia University where he teaches English and linguistics.  He also hosts a podcast called Lexicon Valley, which provides fascinating lectures on language etymology.

43. Traffic circle: ROTARY.  These circular traffic intersections go by many names.  We called them roundabouts.  They are supposed to ease the flow of traffic, but sometime it can be difficult to exit if there are too many exit options.

44. "Su-u-ure": I BET!

45. Split with the band, maybe: GO SOLO.  Members of the Beatles began to go solo near the end of the band's run.

46. Novelist, e.g.: AUTHOR.

47. Alternative to a crowded elevator: STAIRS.  I worked on the 7th floor of a 7-story building.  I would usually take the stairs because it was good exercise.

52. Hobbit on a quest: FRODO.  A reference to Frodo Baggins.  I never understood the appeal to the Hobbits.

54. Optic __: NERVE.

56. Starburst?: NOVA.

57. Ma's ma: GRAM.  My maternal grandmother went by Nana.

58. Roberts' "Pretty Woman" co-star: GERE.  Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy about a "working girl", played by Julia Roberts (b. Oct. 28, 1967), and a wealthy businessman, played by Richard Gere (b. Aug. 31, 1949).

62. Newton fruit: FIG.  Fun Facts about the Fig Newton.

63. Sneaky: SLY.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.  ~  Bill Gates (b. Oct. 28, 1955)

Saturday, January 25, 2020, Evan Kalish

Saturday Themeless by Evan Kalish

Evan Kalish is our much-travelled collector of post office pictures. Evan chronicles his collection at his fun web site and is closing in on 10,000 post office sites he has documented. 2019 saw him visit 708 new, active facilities.

In this picture, he is shown at the post office in San Antonio, Puerto Rico eleven days after visiting all the post offices on the island. He circles every post office on his AAA map and then highlights them once he has visited them. In this picture his right index finger is pointing at the office in San Antonio, P.R.

Sometime during his quests he finds the time to, "put his stamp" on "first-class" puzzles like this and definitely doesn't just "mail 'em in"! Okay, okay I'm through.

When I contacted Evan, he was kind enough to send me a wonderful narrative about how this puzzle came to be. I have posted his response at the bottom of this write-up and I highly recommend that you take time to read it.

Now for our special delivery from Evan (Okay NOW I'm through):

Across:

1. Moisture-catching linings: SWEAT BANDS - My lawn mowing fashion statement 

11. Barbecue crust: CHAR - National Cancer Institute says agents in charred meat can cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer and advises those parts be cut off and discarded. Not good for me to hear!

15. Period that included the Civil War: LINCOLN ERA.

16. Place with rolling pins, perhaps: LANE - Cute clue for our bowlers, Evan!

17. Making a plea: ENTREATING.

18. Present opener?: OMNI - It's an election year so guess what will be OMNIPRESENT

19. Have the chutzpah: DARE 21. Word with interest and error: HUMAN- This 8-second clip is a HUMAN interest story about a HUMAN error for a "hard to sight-read" word

20. Farm structure: SILO - Can hold corn or ICBM's

22. Farm structure: STY - and either can be next to one of these

23. Date night convenience: ATM - Insert $4.25 and you can get your date a Sprinkles Cupcake at this ATM

24. Pauses: LET UPS - Not a good idea when your team is on a roll

      Hélène Dutrieu

25. "Femina Cup" (1910s contest) competitor: AVIATRIX - an award of 2000 francs established in 1910 by Pierre Lafitte the publisher of French women's magazine Femina to honor women pilots who, by December 31, had kept an airplane in the air longest without landing. Here is the first winner - Hélène Dutrieu who was in the air for 2 hrs and 35 min. on 12/31/1910 

28. Turn: ROT.


29. Informal "Right?": AIN'T IT TRUE - or more commonly around here: AIN'T IT THE TRUTH?

32. Ball, e.g.: GALA.

33. Links legend: SNEAD - Arnie fought to get in here but... 

34. It's above lead on tables: TIN - There's Lead (Pb - PlumBum) right below TIN (Sn - StaNnum) in the Carbon family 

35. Ring of Saturn?: ORBIT - Cute again! Saturn's ORBIT path 

36. Hash ingredient: SPUD.

37. Makes even more gross?: GETS A RAISE - Cute again! My gross teacher salary was $488.33/month in 1968. In 2012 it was $4,883/month - I GOT quite A RAISE!

39. Plural possessive: OUR.

40. Leo is one: FIRE SIGN - If you believe in such, uh, science

41. Jalopies: CRATES.

43. __ wolf: CRY - Aesop had a fable about the consequences of doing this once too often

44. Nasty current: RIP - Swim sideways to the current to escape

47. R&B family name: ISLEY - Otis Day and The Knights covered The ISLEY Brother's song Shout in Animal House

48. Caps on a protective vest: SWAT - Those CAPS are letters not headgear. Fun!

50. Fundació Joan __: Barcelona museum: MIRO - The Joan Miró Museum in Barcelona that contains most of his art

51. Family member: AUNT.

52. Blocks off: BARRICADES - The "construction" of the BARRICADE on stage in Le Miserables often draws applause on its own.

54. Level: TIER.

55. Gerald Ford and Glenn Ford, e.g.: FREE MASONS - Mason symbolism on the $1 bill

56. Blues first name: ETTA - Her ETTA Is Betta Than Evah album led off last Friday's puzzle

57. Intermediary's compensation: FINDER'S FEE.


Down:

1. They often have runners: SLEDS - Mine was a Flexible Flyer

2. Succeed in: WIN AT and 3. Contest form: ENTRY - To WIN AT Power Ball after you make an ENTRY has a chance of 1 in 292,000,000

4. Estate unit: ACRE - Highclere Castle (used in Downton Abbey) was originally set on 5,000 ACRES in Hampshire, England

5. __ the line: TOE.

6. "Dang!": BLAST IT.

7. Part of the Enterprise's power source: ANTIMATTER - It was also in Dan Brown's book

8. Diamond of song: NEIL.

9. Bond classic: DR NO - My first image that DR NO evokes for me is of Ursula, especially on this cold, winter's day

Ursula Andress in Dr No

10. Decline: SAG - None spotted in the picture above

11. Leverage: CLOUT.

12. Early code name?: HAMMURABI - One of his 282 rules from his code of ~1754 B.C.

13. Alphabetically second on a list of U.S. state capitals: ANNAPOLIS - Oh yeah, it's the capital of Maryland AND the home of The Naval Academy 

14. Put back: REINSTATE - It may be a while before AJ Hinch is REINSTATED into baseball because the Astros got 44. No longer forced to deal with: RID OF him. Hinch didn't 24. Whopper you can't eat: LIE - He admitted he knew of the cheating, didn't approve of it but did not stop it

21. Curse: HEX.

23. All in: AVID - I would say Evan is "All In" on his post office avocation. 

25. Ever so slightly: A TAD.

26. Not remotely fresh: TRITE.

27. Flees in a panic: RUNS SCARED - I would if he were 30. Chasing, with "of": IN PURSUIT  of me

29. Like eight Supreme Court justices: ASSOCIATE - Chief Justice Roberts has a big responsibility these days

31. Artificial intelligence framework: NEURAL NET - Explained from MIT

32. __ Torino: 1970s Ford: GRAN - The producers of GRAN Torino (a 53. Ford product: CAR) found the car they wanted on Ebay. Clint Eastwood bought the car after the movie was done for his collection 

35. Bacchanalia: ORGY - Curious?

37. Beneficiaries of a 1944 bill: GI'S - A well-deserved benefit for The Greatest Generation and military men and women that followed 

38. PAC's election season purchase: AIR TIME - INFLUENCE had too many letters

40. "30 Rock" creator: FEY - Can you find the "creator" in the More Info area below?

42. One-third of dodeca-: TETRA - One-third of twelve is four

45. Sherlock's foe Adler: IRENE - Based on a real person?

46. Term in Old West and hip-hop culture: POSSE.

48. Indian garb: SARI.

49. Chirpy bird: WREN - They are a drab addition to our winter landscape but their songs can lift my spirits

50. Keyword in Newton's second law: MASS - Bigger masses are harder to speed up

52. Texting partner, like, srsly!: BFF - Part of the modern lexicon by now

Here is what Evan wrote to me about the genesis of this puzzle:

The origin of this puzzle dates back six years, to when I was effectively filling grids manually and with a distinctive lack of success. Here is an early draft of the grid. I love reading about scientific developments and try to keep my word list updated accordingly. This grid was originally developed around the HIGGS BOSON, front and center (well, top and left). You can see the origins of the current puzzle in the SE corner, with fill that included FISA Courts—which were in the news at the time—and some other short entries that I find unsatisfying today...

Back then I left several half-filled versions in a folder (including a version with the NE and SE corners of the grid as they stand today). I remember being excited to include HAMMURABI, ANNAPOLIS, and FINDER’S FEE because they hadn’t appeared in a modern NYT crossword before… (and indeed they still haven’t!) Fast forward to July 2018 and this puzzle came to life. I had to scrap HIGGS BOSON, but was able to get my sci-tech fill with ANTIMATTER and a NEURAL NET from AI research. Other than that, I tried to make all the longer answers radiating from the center interesting while keeping everything smooth.

Favorite submitted clues: “Spot with rolling pins?” = LANE, “Present opener?” = OMNI, “Like fans you can’t turn off?” = AVID, and “Early code name?” = Hammurabi. Glad to see my clue for ORBIT made the cut!