Tuesday, March 3, 2020 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

I'm Ok, You're Ok!



16-Across. Steinway parts: PIANO KEYS.

29-Across. Hobbyist's blade: X-ACTO KNIFE.

35-Across. "Are you serious?": NO KIDDING.

46-Across. Cartoon character who is five apples tall: HELLO KITTY.

And the Unifier:
60-Across. Receives a go-ahead ... and a hint to what's hidden in 16-, 29-, 35- and 46-Across: GETS THE OK.

Across:

1. Not very spicy: MILD.

5. Time and again, to a bard: OFT.

8. Stage surprise: AD LIB.  Today's Latin lesson.  Ad libitum (Ad lib., for short) is Latin for "at one's pleasure."

13. More reasonable: SANER.

14. Give in to jet lag: NAP.

15. Far from posh: SEEDY.

18. Whack, biblically: SMITE.

19. Space-saving abbr.: ETC.  More of today's Latin lesson.  Et cetera (abbreviated as Etc.) roughly translates in English as "and other similar things".  Literally, it means "and the rest".

20. Mayberry kid: OPIE.  Played by Ron Howard (b. Mar. 1, 1954).  Be sure to wish him a belated Happy Birthday.   He just turned 66.

 Ron Howard then.

Ron Howard today-ish.

21. Bk. before Philippians: EPH.  A reference to books of the New Testament.  The letter from Paul to the Ephesians is before his letter to the Philippians.

22. Cajun crustacean: CRAWDAD.  NOOOOO!  This is so wrong!!!!!  It is CRAWFISH!!!

24. Lowlifes: SLEAZES.

28. Bell-shaped lily: SEGO.  The Sego Lily is the state flower of Utah.

31. Laura of "Marriage Story": DERN.  Laura Dern (née Laura Elizabeth Dern; b. Feb. 10, 1967) is from an acting family.  Her parents are Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.  I have heard of Marriage Story, but haven't seen this Netflix movie.

33. BMW competitor: AUDI.

34. Merged comm. giant: GTE.

39. Awareness-raising TV ad: PSA.  As in a Public Service Announcement.  We see these often in the crossword puzzles.

42. Lose stamina: TIRE.

43. A whole lot: GOBS.

50. Chase scene maneuvers, slangily: UEYS.  Awkward!

52. Some bottled waters: DASANIs.  Dasani is a brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola company.  It's basically filterered and bottled tap water.

53. Most tidy: NEATEST.

55. Arcing shot: LOB.

56. Fleshy facial feature: JOWL.

57. Student advocacy org.: PTA.  As in the Parent Teacher Association.

58. Off-the-cushion pool shot: CAROM.

62. Render weaponless: UNARM.

63. Maiden name lead-in: NÉE.  Today's French lesson.

64. Country rocker Steve: EARLE.  I am not familiar with the work of Steve Earle (né Stephen Fain Earle; b. Jan. 17, 1955).

65. Jam-packed: DENSE.

66. FedEx rival: UPS.

67. React to yeast: RISE.

Down:

1. Restaurant host: MAÎTRE D'.  More of today's French lesson.  The Maître d' (short for maître d’hôtel), is the head supervisor of wait staff and welcome guests in a formal restaurant.

2. Like most pet birds: IN A CAGE.

3. Writer Deighton: LEN.  Len Deighton (né Leonard Cyril Deighton; b. Feb. 18, 1929), is best known for his  spy and espionage novels.  He just celebrated his 91st birthday.

4. Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin __": DROOD.  Charles Dickens died before he finished writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  It was to have been published in 12 installments, but only 6 had been written when Dickens' died, thus, the true ending is the real mystery.

5. Upstate New York lake: ONEIDA.  My flatware is made by Oneida.

6. Actress Dunaway: FAYE.  Faye Dunaway (née Dorothy Faye Dunaway; b. Jan. 14, 1941) is probably best known for her role as Bonnie Parker in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde.

7. Playfully pranks, for short: TPs.  Toilet Papering someone's house and yard is a big prank for some high school kids.

8. Stubborn equine: ASS.

9. Cut down to size: DEMEAN.

10. German city where Wagner was born: LEIPZIG.

11. Crime after a data breach, perhaps: ID THEFT.

12. "See ya": BYE.

13. Architectural details: SPECS.

17. Title planet in a 2001 sci-fi film: K-PAX.  I never saw this movie, which starred Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.

23. In need of patching: WORN.

24. __ finder: carpenter's tool: STUD.

25. Wine city near Sacramento: LODI.  I learned of this California city from doing the crossword puzzles.

26. Just managing, with "out": EKING.

27. Witness: SEE.

30. Coast Guard Academy student: CADET.

32. "__ your life!": NOT ON.

36. Dee who sang with Elton: KIKI.

37. Spring flower: IRIS.

38. Joint ailment: GOUT.

39. Prof.'s degree: Ph.D.  As in the Doctor of Philosophy.

40. Maritime route: SEA LANE.  Check out this this interactive map of sea lanes.

41. Concession speech deliverer: ALSO RAN.

44. Paging gadgets: BEEPERS.  These were high tech 20 years ago.

45. Ventricular contraction: SYSTOLE.  The heart beat has two phases: the systole and the diastole.  The Systole occurs when the heart contracts and the blood is pumped out.  The diastole occurs when the heart muscle relaxes after the contraction and the blood pours into the heart chambers.

47. Hercules' 12 challenges: LABORS.

48. Low-risk govt. securities: T-NOTES.  As in Treasury Notes.  These appear often in the crossword puzzles.

49. Evergreens used for archery bows: YEWS.  The tree also has red berries.

51. Buffy's weapon of choice: STAKE.

54. Make changes to: ALTER.

56. Wrangler maker: JEEP.

58. Bovine chew: CUD.  Everything you wanted to know about Cattle Chewing and more.

59. French Mrs.: MME.  More of today's French lesson.

60. Oxlike antelope: GNU.  What's Gnu with You?

61. Yokohama yes: HAI.  Today's Japanese lesson.

Here's the Grid:

QOD: Happiness is a reward that comes to those that have not looked for it.  ~  Émile-Auguste Cartier (Mar. 3, 1868 ~ June 2, 1951), French philosopher and journalist

Monday February 10, 2020 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: CLAY (72. Potter's material associated with the end of 17-, 27-, 49- and 64-Across) - Synonym theme.

17. Bit of insurance paperwork: CLAIM FORM.

27. No longer in style: OUT OF FASHION.

49. Work out regularly at the gym: GET INTO SHAPE.

64. Fungus on an old loaf: BREAD MOLD.

Boomer here.  

Hello everyone. I remember when I used to hate Mondays, but now I have retired and my bowling league competes every Monday morning in the winter. Speaking of winter, it is still here in Minnesota.  Waiting for April.

Across:

1. Depletes, with "up": USES.  We used to have so many uses for modeling clay when I was a kid.

5. Pod in Creole cuisine: OKRA.

9. Theme park that retired its IllumiNations show in 2019: EPCOT.  I visited there around 1987.  I don't remember IllumiNations but it was an interesting theme park.

14. Tall and skinny: LANK. I used to be that in the 60s.  Then I got old and my upper chest dropped down a foot or two.

15. Umpire's call: FOUL. Yup, I am waiting for the season to begin.  I heard that the first pitch is in mid to late March.  That would be interesting at Target Field.  I guess the Twins open on the road.

16. Greek played by Anthony Quinn: ZORBA. Zorba the Greek.

19. Earlier offense: PRIOR.  Interesting - Minnesota has a small city called Prior Lake.  I suppose that means that there was one of 10,000 lakes there first.

20. Series-ending abbr.: ETC.

21. Set as a price: ASK.  ASK and you will receive.

22. Accumulates: AMASSES.  I have AMASSED a bunch of Baseball cards.

24. Letters shown in the "Wheel of Fortune" bonus round: R S T L N E.

26. PC panic key: ESC.  I had a bit of panic on the computer but C.C. fixed it. 

34. Public tantrum: SCENE.  Shakespeare, Clifford O'Dets,  Arthur Miller, Pirandello ??  (The Hip Song - Chad Mitchell of course.)

37. Hydroplaned: SLID.  I think Jack and Jill SLID down the hill.

38. Writer Ferber: EDNA.

39. Novelist Levin: IRA.  Keep it loaded to delay income tax.  But when you get to be my age, Uncle Sam says you have to take some out.

40. Charge card charge: LATE FEE.  This is how credit cards make $$$.  Not from C.C. and me though.

43. Tarzan player Ron: ELY.

44. Owlet's home: NEST. N E S T L E S, Nestle's makes the very best.  Chocolate.

46. With everything in place: NEAT.

47. ER images: X RAYS.  Do not need anymore.  The ER figured out what was wrong with me.  Well, physically anyway.

52. __ ring: foot jewelry: TOE.  Waste of money.

53. Postgame rundowns: RECAPS.  My bowling league secretary emails a RECAP every week, So we can see how we did.

57. Domed hall: ROTUNDA.

61. Watergate pres.: RMN.  Tricky Dick.  Always thought Milhous was an odd middle name.

62. Sigma follower: TAU.

63. Soft palate part: UVULA.

67. Latish wake-up hr.: TEN AM.  I am on my third cup of coffee and thinking about lunch by then.

68. James of "Elf": CAAN.  I suppose folks remember him in the "Godfather" but my favorite roll was his portrayal of Brian Piccolo in a TV movie called Brian's Song.

69. Charitable offerings: ALMS.

70. Catch by trickery: SNARE.

71. Prefix with formal or final: SEMI.  Also a big truck.

Down:

1. Worrier's stomach woe: ULCER.  I have been lucky to never have one of these.  And I have eaten some outrageous stuff in my lifetime.

2. Seasons with crystals: SALTS.  Don't use these to treat an ulcer.

3. Make official: ENACT.

4. Tackle moguls: SKI.  We have many small mountain ski areas here in MN, but I have never tried.  My winter sport is ... You know.

5. Cancel out: OFFSET.

6. Eccentric sort: KOOK.  KOOKIE,  KOOKIE lend me your comb.

7. Capek play about automatons: RUR.

8. __ mater: ALMA.  "Bright college years we sing to thee"

9. Toll-paying convenience: EZ PASS.  We have no toll roads in Minnesota.  Come on up and drive for free.

10. Sports car that has two syllables in German: PORSCHE.  I don't think you can drive one of these for free.  Insurance will take its toll.

11. NFL analyst Collinsworth: CRIS.

12. Slender wind: OBOE.

13. Seasoned sailors: TARS.  Never knew how they got that name.  I have seasoned TAR on my driveway.

18. "Hamilton" creator Lin-__ Miranda: MANUEL.  Quite a production.  It's making the rounds.

23. Victor at Gettysburg: MEADE.  Civil War General - Kicked Robert E. Lee's butt at Gettysburg.

25. Chaney of silents: LON.  I've heard of him but he was well before my time.

28. Bone: Pref.: OSTEO.

29. Pet peeves?: FLEAS.  "My dog has fleas!"

30. Saks __ Avenue: FIFTH.  Also a bottle of Chivas Regal.

31. Mental flash: IDEA.

32. "I'm __ human": ONLY.  "Only the Lonely" Roy Orbison.

33. Negative votes: NAYS.  A bunch of these on the Senate floor last week.

34. Act the fink: SING.  Sing, Sing a song.  Make it simple to last the whole day long. (Carpenters).

35. First Nations tribe: CREE.

36. "__ of Eden": EAST.  Home of the AL Yankees and Red Sox.  Get 'em Twins 2020.

41. Paid for a hand: ANTED.  Years ago we caddies would play poker in the country club caddy shack.  The ante was usually five cents.  But that was a lot of $$$ in 1960.   

42. Use, as energy: EXPEND.

45. In name only: TITULAR.  I'll leave this alone.

48. DVR button: REC.

50. Like a generic brand: NO NAME.  There's a company in MN called "No Name Steaks".  I have never tried one, I like steak with a name, even if it is only sirloin.

51. Designer Giorgio: ARMANI.  I don't need his clothing and I cannot afford it anyway.

54. Ring-shaped reef: ATOLL.

55. Director Brian De __: PALMA.

56. Like dishwater: SUDSY.  And also like Pabst Blue Ribbon.

57. Boring routines: RUTS.  We have ice ruts up here this year that are unbelievable!  Dangerous but C.C. and I take our time.  I would hate to have to call the fire department to pick me up off the ground.

58. Baking appliance: OVEN.

59. Fish in cat food: TUNA.  I did not know it was cat food,  StarKist is a favorite on Fridays in Lent.

60. Preschool basics: ABCS.

61. Paper quantity: REAM.  I think it's 500 sheets.  One ream lasts us about two years.

65. Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __: RAE.

66. PC alternative: MAC.  Oh yeah, that thing.  I always thought it was a big sandwich.

Boomer