Friday, March 29, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

Insider Trading.  Each theme answer consists of two 4-letter words where the first and last letters are the same, but the two internal, or "inside", letters (in the pattern of A__ or __A) have "traded" places.  How very clever!

17-Across. Frantic activity at a clothing sale?: GARB GRAB.  The infamous Wedding Dress Garb Grab at Filene's Basement in Boston.  If you haven't experienced the original Filene's Basement, you don't know what you're missing.

26-Across. Wooden bird sculpture?: SAWN SWAN.  This was my Rosetta Stone.

52. Cereal maker's storage building?: BRAN BARN.  I couldn't find a Bran Barn, but here's the famous Bran Castle near Brașov, Romania, allegedly the home of Dracula.  Well worth the visit!

66. Dispassionate bivalve?: CALM CLAM.

40-Across. With 42-Across, white-collar crime ... and a hint to four Across answers: INSIDER.

42-Across. See 40-Across: TRADING.  Together these clues give us INSIDER TRADING, which is a big No-No with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This was a tough Friday puzzle.  It's never good when I can't get 1-Across/1-Down on the first pass.  Getting the gimmick early helped me today.

Across:

1. Result of littering, maybe: PUP.  Oh, not like the street after the parade has floated by,

but as in a dog with its babies.

4. Recipe direction: SIFT.  I remember my mother sifting flour before doing any baking.  I only occasionally used a sifter when baking.  Probably why my cooking is the way it is.

8. Round paths: ORBITS.  The orbits of the planets are elliptical .  The elliptical orbits are a subset of the round orbits.

14. Airport info: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.  A crossword staple.

15. Minorca, por ejemplo: ISLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Minorca is one of the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  The Islands belong to Spain.  Minorca is the tiny island on the far right on the map.

16. Promote: TALK UP.

19. How some insults are veiled: THINLY.  If someone ever says to you, "Oh, you lost 10 pounds?  That's a good start", then you have just been the subject of a thinly disguised insult.

20. Luster: SHEEN.  Not to be confused with Martin Sheen.

21. Electric guitar effect: WA WA.

23. Meh: SO-SO.  //  And 41-Down.  Meh: DRAB.

24. Comedy bit: GAG.

28. Recreational walk: STROLL.  My memory is a little rusty, but I think you can take a STROLL down ...

31. European relative of aloha: CIAO.  Today's Italian lesson

32. Financial claim: LIEN.

33. Heroic poetry: EPOS.  A long, narrative poem, such as Beowulf.  I was so disappointed when I learned that Beowulf was not actually about a wolf.

35. Scheming wife of Augustus: LIVIA.  Livia (58 BCE ~ 29 CE) was a Roman Empress.

44. Mongol invader: TATAR.  Probably the most famous Tatar was Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire.

45. "__ Tired": Beatles "White Album" song: I'M SO.  I don't remember this song.  //  And 71-Across: SLEEPY.

47. Long-gone time: YORE.

48. Plant with therapeutic sap: ALOE.  A crossword staple.

50. Ball VIPs: BELLES.

56. Longtime NBC hit: SNL.  As in Saturday Night Live.

57. Drive-in need: AUTO.

58. Ivan IV, from 1547 to 1584: TSAR.  Also known as Ivan the Terrible.  He is considered the first TSAR of Russia.  Previous rulers were known as Grand Princes.  The title of Tsar gave him gravatis in the eyes of the European monarchs. Once he appointed himself Tsar, he and Queen Elizabeth I carried on a long correspondence, which opened up trading between England and Russia.  It is said that Ivan proposed to Elizabeth, but she declined.  Probably just as well for her.

60. Passageway: AISLE.

64. Theater company: TROUPE.

68. Fairy tale sibling: HANSEL.  Brother of Gretel. The story of Hansel and Gretel is an old German fairy tale, recorded by the Brothers Grimm.  They were children of a poor woodcutter.  Their mother had died and their step-mother took them deep into the woods and left them to fend for themselves.  They came upon a beautiful gingerbread home, unaware that its owner was a cannibalistic witch.

69. Logician's adverb: ERGO.

70. "Really? Me?": AMI.  Hmm ...  Ami the transliteration for a Hebrew word meaning "my people".

72. Precious: DEAR.

73. Favorite: PET.  My late pet.

Down:

1. Coat holders: PEGS.  My first thought was a coat tree, but that didn't work well with the perps.

2. Wasatch Front state: UTAH.  This was totally unknown to me.  Apparently, the Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in Utah, which includes such cities as Provo, Salt Lake City and Odgen.  Do any of our crossword friends live in this area?

3. Opposite of embiggen: PARE.  Embiggen is a perfectly cromulent word.  It's first known use was on a 1996 episode of The Simpsons.

4. Traffic stopper, perhaps: SIGNAL.

5. Leb. neighbor: ISR.  Israel is a neighbor of Lebanon.

6. Diamond concern: FLAW.  Can you spot the flaws in these diamonds?

7. Spicy sauce: TABASCO.  Made in Avery Island, Louisiana.  Did you know that Avery Island isn't really an island?  It's really a salt dome.  There are five such "Islands" in southern Louisiana.

8. Capital NNW of Albany: OTTAWA.

9. Cheer syllable: RAH.  //  And 25-Down. Cheer: GLEE.

10. Euphoria: BLISS.

11. "You don't need to tell me": I KNOW.

12. Home of the Drillers of Class AA baseball: TULSA.  The Tulsa Drillers are the double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

13. Watch surreptitiously: SPY ON.

18. Colorful tropical flower: BEGONIA.

22. Middle management issues?: WAISTS.  Another good clue.

27. Satchmo's birthplace, briefly: NOLA.  Louis Daniel Armstrong (Aug. 4, 1901 ~ July 6, 1971), also known as Satchmo, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

28. Narrow opening: SLIT.

29. Turner with numbers: TINA.  As in Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; b. Nov. 26, 1939).  Tina on her last birthday at age 79.  I hope I can look as good as she does when I turn 79.

30. Enjoy an easy chair: REST.

34. Monastic leaders: PRIORS.

36. Charmingly pastoral: IDYLLIC.

37. Member of a Baroque consort: VIOL.  A musical instrument used in Renaissance and Baroque music.  It is similar to a cello, is six-stringed, held vertically and played with a bow.

38. Memo heading: IN RE.

39. Survey range components: AGES.  On a survey form, there are often boxes to check one's age range.

43. Takes badly?: ROBS.  Nice misdirection.

46. Threatened: MENACED.

49. These days: LATELY.

51. Charm: ENAMOR.

52. Spa features: BATHS.  Here I am (way in the back) swimming in the pool at the Gellert Spa in Budapest.

53. Like much of Oregon: RURAL.

54. Make amends: ATONE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

55. "I give up!": NO USE.

59. Uncommon: RARE.  Tanzanite is one of the world's rarest gem stones.  It is found only in Tanzania, hence its name.

61. Open-handed blow: SLAP.

62. Unconvincing, as an excuse: LAME.

63. Put out: EMIT.

65. Energy: PEP.

67. NY airport named for a mayor: LGA.  As in LaGuardia Airport, which is named after Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (Dec. 11, 1882 ~ Sept. 20, 1947).  He was only 5'2'', and interestingly, his first name means "little flower" in Italian.  He was the 99th Mayor of New York City.  He served as Mayor from January 1934 through December 1945.

Now here's the GIRD GRID:

QOD:  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours.  ~  Eric Idle (b. Mar. 29, 1943)

Friday, March 22, 2019, Peter Koetters

Theme: Look Ma, No ADS!  The letters AD are missing from the ends of each theme answer. (Edited later: AD is moved up at the end of each Across theme entries.)

 

17-Across. Embattled World War II city: STALINGR(AD).  The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the major battles between Russian forces and Nazi Germany.  The city, which is located in the confluence of the  Tsaritsa and Volga rivers, was originally called Tsaritsyn.  In 1925, the name was changed to Stalingrad in 1925 in honor of Joseph Stalin.  Nikita Khrushchev had the name changed to Volograd in 1961.  Just in case it's too subtle, the suffix GRAD means means City in Russian. AD moves up in 8D. Limited-access internet area: DARK WEB.  Everything you wanted to know about the DARK WEB

19-Across. Absolutely bonkers: STARK RAVING M(AD).

Apparently, STARK RAVING MAD was also the name of a short-lived sit-com on NBC. AD moves up to 16. It holds water: DAM.  Can you identify the dam in the background?

36-Across. Capital ESE of Kabul: ISLAMAB(AD).  The capital of Pakistan.  The capital city is located East-SouthEast of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ad moves up to 27. Pat: DAB.  Here's a DAB of butter on a stack of pancakes.

38-Across. College student: UNDERGR(AD).  The difference in your social life when you transition from being an Undergrad vs. Graduate Student. AD moves up to 32. Tongue-in-cheek award eponym: DARWIN.  Unfortunately, often times the recipient of the Darwin Award ends up dead.

48-Across. Nation of Islam leader who was a mentor to Malcolm X: ELIJAH MUHAMM(AD).  Elijah Muhammad (né Elijah Robert Poole; Oct. 7, 1897 ~ Feb. 25, 1975), was the son of a sharecropper and Baptist lay minister before developing the Nation of Islam, which is an African-American religious and political movement. AD moves up to 44. Stifled: DAMPED.

55-Across. Online annoyances needed to complete five puzzle answers: POP-UP ADS.

Across:

1. Foretold: PRESAGED.

9. Biblical spy: CALEB.  As I am sure you all remember from your Biblical history, after Moses and the Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years, they came upon the land of Canaan.  Moses sent out 12 men on a reconnaissance trip into Canaan and report back about its cities and inhabitants. Caleb was one of the spies Moses enlisted for this mission.  Ten of the spies feared entering the land, but Caleb and Joshua thought otherwise.  You can find out more about this mission in the Book of Numbers.  Spoiler Alert:  The land was deemed safe enough at the time for entry.

14. California resort island: CATALINA.  Fun things to do on Catalina Island.

15. Let up: ABATED.

18. Lady of Las Palmas: SEÑORA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

21. Source of a mole poblano ingredient: CACAO.  History of Mole Poblano.  The bitter-sweetness of the CACAO counteracts the spiciness of the peppers.   You can get some Mole made with ants at Xochi in Houston, Texas.

24. "Now, where __?": WAS I.  I was having a senior moment, there!

25. Spans often presidentially named: ERAs.

26. '60s Hagman co-star: EDEN.  Think of I Dream of Jeannie.  Barbara Eden (née Barbara Jean Morehead; b. Aug. 23, 1931) and Larry Hagmen (né Larry Martin Hagman; Sept. 21, 1931 ~ Nov. 23, 2012) starred in the television show.

28. Turn: GO BAD.  How long has that milk been in the refrigerator?  It has GOne BAD!

33. Rapper __ Wayne: LIL.  His given name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (b. Sept. 27, 1982).  I am not familiar with his work, but he seems to have a lot of ink.

34. Marble piece: SLAB.

35. Czech currency: KORUNA.  Here are some Czech coins.

39. Partner of Marcus: NEIMAN.  The high-end department store  Or, as we used to call the store ~ Needless Markup.  The store was originally founded by Herbert Marcus (Sept. 6, 1878 ~ Dec. 1950) and his sister, Carrie Marcus Neiman (May 3, 1883 ~ Mar. 5, 1953) in Dallas, Texas in 1907.

I associate the store with Stanley Marcus (né Harold Stanley Marcus; Apr. 20, 1905 ~ Jan. 22, 2002), who was the son of founder Herbert Marcus.

40. Zeno's home: ELEA.  Zeno of ELEA was a pre-Socratic philosopher.  He lived around 495 ~ 430 BCE.  A little before my time.

41. Just out: NEW.

42. Log: ENTER.

43. Deal preceder: ANTE.  Not as a business deal, but the dealing of cards in a poker game.

44. Place to nosh on a knish: DELI.  Yum!

45. Musician Rundgren: TODD.  For years, Liv Tyler (b. July 1, 1977), thought Todd Rundgren (né  Todd Harry Rundgren; b. June 22, 1958) was her father.  Her mother, Bebe Buel (b. July 14, 1953), was living with him at the time, but had a brief affair with Steven Tyler (b. Mar. 26, 1948) of Aerosmith fame.

Todd Rundgren is probably best know for his song, Hello, It's Me.

47. Braves slugger: AARON.  As in Hammerin' Hank Aaron (né Henry Lewis Aaron; b. Feb. 5, 1934).

54. Edible oil: CANOLA.

59. More disturbing, as details: GORIER.  Some of the recipients of the 32-Down Awards meet with very Gory endings.

60. Licorice-flavored brew: ANISE TEA.  Anise tea is actual an herbal tea that is thought to soothe an upset stomach.  How to Make Anise Tea.

61. Because: SINCE.

62. Demoted to the minors: SENT DOWN.  Think baseball.  A player who doesn't do well in the major leagues may be Sent Down to the minor league team.

Down:

1. Many Chrome runners: PCs.  As in Personal Computers.

2. Muppet Rizzo, e.g.: RAT.

Not to be confused with Ratso Rizzo.

3. Greek vowel: ETA.  Not the usual Estimated Time of Arrival we see in the puzzles.

4. Burrito seller's array: SALSAs.  Yum!

5. Ginsburg associate: ALITO.  Fooled me.  I was going for Elena Kagan (b. Apr. 28, 1960).  Ruth Bader Ginsburg (née Joan Ruth Bader; b. Mar. 15, 1933), Samuel ALITO (né Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.; b. Apr. 1, 1950) and Elena Kagan are all Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court.

6. Actress Gershon: GINA.  As in Gina Gershon (b. June 10, 1962)

7. Many an RPI grad: ENGR.  Hi, Spitzboov!

9. Honduran homes: CASAS.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

10. He played Fish on "Barney Miller": ABE VIGODA.  Abe Vigoda (né Abraham Charles Vigoda; Feb. 24, 1921 ~ Jan. 26, 2016) was a constant victim of death hoaxes beginning in 1982 when People magazine erroneously reported his death.  He lived another 34 years after this fake news.

11. Legal scholar Guinier: LANI.  Lani Guinier (b. Apr. 19, 1950) was nominated to be the United States Attorney General in 1993.  Unfortunately for her, some of her writings were deemed too controversial, hence her nomination was withdrawn.  She specializes in Civil Rights and is now a law professor at Harvard.

12. "The most private of private schools": Hugh Laurie: ETON.  Prince William (b. June 21, 1982) and Eddie Redmayne (b. Jan. 6, 1982) were classmates at Eton.

13. Marine threat: BERG.  As in an Iceberg.

20. Bled: RAN.  Adding a cup of vinegar or a half cup of salt to the rinse cycle will help hold colors from bleeding in the wash.

21. 2010s Caesars Palace regular, familiarly: CÉLINE.  As in Céline Dion (née Céline Marie Claudette Dion; b. Mar. 30, 1968).

22. Out of the sack: ARISEN.

23. "Heads or tails": CALL IT!

26. Vigorous spirit: ELAN.

29. Claim discovery, perhaps: ORE.

30. Phone in crime shows: BURNER.  Lots of burner phones were used on The Wire.

31. San __, Texas: ANGELO.  I am not familiar with this city in Texas, but here are some fun things to do in San Angelo.

34. Wisenheimer: SMART ALEC.

35. Proposal support?: KNEE.

37. __ Zion Church: AME.  As in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

38. Last: Abbr.: ULT.  As in the Ultimate.

40. Turn into: END UP AS.

43. Naval brass: Abbr.: ADM.  Grace Murray Hooper (Dec. 9, 1906 ~ Jan. 1, 1992) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.  She was a computer scientist and was involved in the development of COBOL.

46. Orchard Field, today: O'HARE.  The main airport in Chicago was renamed O'Hare in honor of Eddie"Butch" O'Hare (né Edward Henry O'Hare; Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943) who was a naval aviator in the United States Navy.  He was shot down in the pacific theater during World War II.  The name of the airport was changed from Orchard Field to O'Hare International Airport in 1949.

47. Not to be missed: A MUST.  The musical Hamilton is a MUST SEE.  I saw the show last weekend.  It was fabulous!

48. Cardio readout: ECG.  As in an ElectroCardioGraph, sometimes abbreviated as EKG.  

49. Indochinese Peninsula nation: LAOS.

50. Cross letters: INRI.  A crossword staple.  From the Latin phrase: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum.   As we learned from last week's entry in a puzzle, different theologies have slightly different interpretations on how this phrase should be translated.  So, let's just leave this alone.

51. Become part of: JOIN.

52. Refine: HONE.

53. Could hear __ drop: A PIN.

56. Volume One words, perhaps: A TO.  Youch!  This was an evilly tricky clue.  Think of the letters on the spine of an encyclopedia (do they even exist anymore?).  Volume One would contain articles beginning with A to perhaps B.  Or, maybe the first volume of the OED would have these words on its spine.

57. Morning coat?: DEW.

58. Title of respect, in Tokyo: SAN.  Today's Japanese lesson.

Hahtoolah here.  As Lemonade noted last week, he'll be sharing the Friday blog spot.  So, you got me today.  Hope you had as much fun with this puzzle as I did.  Fear not, however, Lemonade will be back (just like Arnold!).   In the meantime,  I will sometimes be sitting in for him on some Fridays.

QOD:  The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.  ~  Stephen Sondheim (né Stephen Joshua Sondheim; b. Mar. 22, 1930)

Notes from C.C.: 

1) As Hahtoolah said earlier, she'll sharing the Friday blogging duty with Lemonade from now on.  Lemonade's workload has increased substantially the past few weeks. He does not have extra time for write-up. Each post often takes our team at least 3 hours. Thank you, Lemonade and Susan!
 

2) Happy Birthday to dear Pat (PK on our blog), who turns 78 today. Sorry, CrossEyedDave, I stole your cake again. PK was a newspaper reporter before, hence her always keen observations.