Monday April 27, 2020 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: DOUBLE ROOMS (56. Hotel accommodations for couples, and a hint to both parts of 20-, 27- and 49-Acros) - Room can follow both two words in each theme answer.

20. Strategy with delaying tactics: WAITING GAME. Waiting room. Game room.

27. Rental industry with units for extra belongings: PUBLIC STORAGE. Public room. Storage room.

49. Household gathering to discuss something: FAMILY MEETING. Family room. Meeting room.

Boomer here.

I couldn't help but notice how the theme answers seem to fall into our fight with Covid-19. It certainly is a waiting game to try to get back to at least partially normal.  I am sure we all have family meetings to decide how to spend time while we stay at home.  And hotel accommodations??  I see reports on TV almost daily about Las Vegas and the empty hotels. In the meantime we have golf courses here that are open with strict rules.  I am still staying at home but I could try golf in a week or two.  Hoping you all are well and coping.

Across:

 1. Pull a pre-exam all-nighter: CRAM.  Or try to fit a dozen golf balls in one of those small pockets on your golf bag.

5. High-five sound: SLAP.  Or SLAP a 40 foot putt into the hole.

9. Hamster homes: CAGES.

14. Word in a bailiff's order: RISE.  "ALL RISE !"  Yankee Aaron Judge's nickname.

15. Comics possum: POGO.  POGO has internet games.  I play the Trivial Pursuit daily, but it seems that it will not be available next year.

16. Seashore recess: INLET.  In our lakes we call them bays.

17. Mail-routing abbr.: ATTN.

18. How some close NFL games are won: IN OT.  The NFL draft took place this week.  Now we have to wait and see if there will be a season.

19. Black, in Bordeaux: NOIRE.

23. There's no winner in one: TIE.  I have some TIEs in my closet that are winners.

24. Defense org.?: ABA.  American Bar Association.

25. Enticed: TEMPTED.  Yes I am TEMPTED to see if I can still hit the ball. FORE!

32. Grabbed a bite: ATE.

33. Loafer or moc: SHOE.  I have two pairs of bowling shoes and two pairs of golf shoes.  I have one pair of black leather dress shoes I only wear to church so they have been in the closet for awhile.

34. Outlying communities: EXURBS.  It seems that the virus is less dominant in rural areas.

37. Brown shades: TANS.

39. Push in some chips: BET.  Sorry, not available on the "Sin City" Strip for awhile.

41. Fab Four first name: PAUL.  Not JOHN.

42. "Jeepers!": SHEESH.

45. Agrees quietly: NODS.

48. Capote nickname: TRU.  I remember Truman's book "In Cold Blood" about a nasty murder in Kansas.

52. Pancake flipper: SPATULA.  The spat won't do it all by itself.  It needs an operator.

54. Not within walking distance: FAR.  Where Aaron Judge hits baseballs.

55. Ab neighbor: PEC.  A bushel and a pec and a hug around the neck.  (Doris Day.)

62. Dog collar dangler: ID TAG.  We called them "Dog Tags". Mandatory item to wear in the Army.

64. When many start lunch: NOON. I usually start mine about 11:00 but that's AM so it's noon somewhere. 

65. Slender wind: OBOE.

66. Eat away at: ERODE.  I can ERODE a bag of sunflower seeds.  When I had real teeth I would eat the salted in the shell variety.  Now I just settle for the seeds.

67. Lump of dirt: CLOD.  Golfers call it a divot.  Pick it up and put it back where you found it.

68. Bread with hummus: PITA.

69. Sensitive skin spots: SORES.  Golfers may get these on their feet in the Spring.

70. Cooped cluckers: HENS.  Plenty of them at my Uncle Bill's farm on Burnikel Road in Siren Wisconsin.

71. Place to hold a snifter: STEM.

Down:

1. Stick in one's __: CRAW.  Does a CRAW have a father?? CRAWDAD ??

2. "Lovely" musical meter maid: RITA.  Lovely Rita meter maid, may I inquire discreetly, when are you free to take some tea with me ?  (Sergeant Pepper's Lonely hearts club band.) I own the vinyl album on a bookshelf.

3. Piedmont wine center: ASTI.

4. __ telepathy: MENTAL.  You need some of this to finish these puzzles.

5. Veggie favored by Popeye: SPINACH.  I'm strong to the finish, cuz I eat my spinach.

6. Like epic novels: LONG.  "A LONG, LONG time ago, I can still remember when the music used to make me smile."  Don McClean - "American Pie".  I have that one next to SGT. Pepper.

7. Super-excited: AGOG.

8. Idaho product: POTATO.  At least I have not heard of those being scrapped and not sent to market.

9. HBO-owned broadcaster: CINEMAX.  These guys are going crazy now with movie theaters closed.

10. "It's __-brainer!": A NO.  A Doctor.  Dr. No - Bond, James Bond.

11. Beautiful people, as a group: GLITTERATI.

12. Like a fog-enshrouded cemetery: EERIE. Actually these days, nearly any quiet walk in the evening. 

13. Jouster's mount: STEED.  A five-letter word for horse.

21. Sacred Nile bird: IBIS.  A Latin word for a bird with a long beak.

22, Not more than: MERE. We went to the grocery store for milk and canned fruit and spent a MERE $100.00 

26. Scrolling PC key: PG UP.

27. Frisks, with "down": PATS. A TSA guy frisked me at the airport in February. Evidently my hernia created a problem.  TSA guys do not look too busy now.

28. Salt Lake City's state: UTAH. The great Salt Lake is the eight wonder of the world.  I have only driven by the Southern Shore on I-80 but it is magnificent.  The only puddle we have that comes even close is our Mille Lacs Lake in Central Minnesota.  

29. Philanthropist: BENEFACTOR.

30. Get all blubbery: SOB.

31. So, so small: TEENY.  Itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini.

35. Severely overcook: BURN.  Or one half of a surname.

36. Fake coin: SLUG.  I have never seen or used one.  I guess they are great subway cheaters in NYC. 

38. Couch or bench: SEAT.  Rosa Parks would not give hers up.  Way to go, Rosa.

40. Quarterback Brady: TOM.  With the Buccaneers now.

43. Erasure marks: SMUDGES.

44. Big Island port: HILO.  I have never been to Hawaii but I know it's on the biggest Island.

46. Comes to the aid of: DEFENDS.

47. Scorch: SEAR.

50. Cape Canaveral event: LAUNCH.  I have only been to central Florida but I know Canaveral is off the eastern coast on what is sort of like a long island.  Maybe it is called a cape ?

51. Bunches of Brownies: TROOPS.  My buddies in Hardheim Germany were also called TROOPS.

52. Seekers of intel: SPIES.  Bond, James Bond.

53. Martinez with three Cy Youngs: PEDRO.  Pretty good pitcher with the Green Monster behind him.

57. Tree trunk: BOLE.

58. Minnesota's state bird: LOON.  That is our bird.  We are all a bit LOONIE.

59. Last bio: OBIT.

60. Bit of dust in a sunbeam: MOTE.

61. Tailor's line: SEAM.

63. Drink suffix: ADE.

Boomer

Tuesday, March 24, 2020 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

We're in the Money!  Slang words for money are "split" in today's theme answers



16-Across. Huff and puff: BREATHE HARD.  Bread.

38-Across. Lawn area where rainwater collects: LOW SPOT.  Loot.

10-Down. Bags for potatoes, say: BURLAP SACKS.  Bucks.

23-Down. Subject to, as the proverbial mud: DRAG THROUGH.  Dough.

And the Unifier:

59-Across. Divvy up poker hand winnings, and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: SPLIT THE POT.

I hope everyone is safe and Covid-free.  Many of us are now under a Stay-at-Home Order.  Fortunately, we are well and, since the weather is good, I have been able to sit out in the garden with a good book and take walks around our neighborhood.  I do miss getting together with friends and family, but at least there is the phone.  Please take this virus seriously, though.  I have been speaking with nurses who are at the front line in cities around the country.  They are truly frightened by what they are seeing.

Across:

1. Gives up the single life: WEDS.

5. Christina of "Sleepy Hollow": RICCI.  The 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow was loosely based on Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Christina Ricci (b. Feb. 12, 1980) played Katrina Van Tassel.

10. Physique, briefly: BOD.

13. Holliday pal: EARP.  Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (Mar. 19, 1848 ~ Jan. 13, 1929) has been making a lot of guest appearances in the puzzles recently.  He was a close friend and associate of Doc Holliday (né John Henry Holliday; Aug. 14, 1851 ~ Nov. 8, 1887).  Both are best known for their participation in the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

14. Headgear for shading one's face: SUN HAT.

15. Luau strings: UKE.

18. Narrow inlet: RIA.

19. Gland near the larynx: THYROID.

20. Snow glider: SLED.  

21. Bollywood's country: INDIA.

24. "Jeopardy!" material: TRIVIA.

26. Seed in some sauerkraut: CARAWAY.  Everything you wanted to know about Caraway, but were afraid to ask.

29. Brass band sound: OOM-PAH.

32. List-ending abbr.: ET AL.  A crossword staple.

33. Ellipsis trio: DOTS.

36. Cotton thread: LISLE.  More than you ever wanted to know about Cotton Lisle.

37. Programming glitch: BUG.

40. Jurisprudence org.: ABA.  As in the American Bar Association.  The current President of the ABA is Judy Perry Martinez, an attorney from New Orleans.  I had brunch with her shortly before the  self-imposed quarantine began.

41. "Mad TV" alum Lange: ARTIE.  I am familiar with neither Mad TV nor Artie Lange (b. Oct. 11, 1967).

43. Installed, as carpet: LAID.

44. Taiwanese laptop giant: ACER.  I learned of this compter company from doing the crossword puzzles.

45. Lou portrayed in "The Pride of the Yankees": GEHRIG.  Lou Gehrig (né Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig; June 19, 1903 ~ June 2, 1941) played 17 years for the New York Yankees.  He died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig disease, at age 37.

47. Do-it-yourself diagnostic tool: TEST KIT.

49. Rolled in the aisles: ROARED.

52. Spur-of-the-moment: HASTY.

53. Animator's output: 'TOON.  As in a cartoon.

55. Egyptian or Ethiopian: AFRICAN.  Ethiopia and Egypt are currently fighting over water from the Nile.

Egypt in Green; Ethiopia in Orange.

58. Letters in an academic address: EDU.  As in the Internet address.

63. Fix, as a fight: RIG.

64. Norelco product: SHAVER.

65. New Balance rival: NIKE.

66. Slangy word of indifference: MEH.  Meh!

67. Fall bloomer: ASTER.

68. Cubicle fixture: DESK.

Anatomy of a Cubicle.

Down:

1. Organic flytrap: WEB.  Cute clue.

2. Piece of corn: EAR.

3. Dr. with Grammys: DRE.

Dr. Dre (né Andre Romelle Young; b. Feb. 18, 1965)

4. Like some relations: SPATIAL. Not Sisters.

5. One with regrets: RUER.

6. __ water: facing trouble: IN HOT.

7. Waiting room seat: CHAIR.  Some of the Most Uncomfortable Chairs.

8. Aerobic regimen, casually: CARDIO.  Some cardio exercises we can do in quarantine.

9. "__ be an honor": IT'D.

11. "The Grapes of Wrath" figure: OKIE.  A reference to John Steinbeck's 1939 novel.

12. Like a useless battery: DEAD.

14. Not prone to mingling: SHY.

17. Defrost: THAW.

20. __ Valley: Reagan Library site: SIMI.

21. Sprain soother: ICE BAG.

22. The great outdoors: NATURE.

25. Chevy needing recharging: VOLT.  Does anyone have one of these vehicles?

27. Commotion: ADO.

28. Cry of distress: YOWL.

30. Even if: ALBEIT.  Fun word.

31. Robust: HEARTY.

34. PreCheck org.: TSA.

35. Hot rod?: SPIT.

38. "Star Wars" twin sister: LEIA.  Princess Leia was played by Carrie Fisher (Oct. 21, 1956 ~ Dec. 27, 2016).  She suffered a heart attack while flying from London to Los Angeles.  Tragically, her mother, Debbie Reynolds (Apr. 1, 1932 ~ Dec. 28, 2016), died the following day.

39. Thomas Gray's "The Bard," e.g.: ODE.  Here is the Poem.

42. Resolve, with "out": IRON.

44. Finally finished: AT AN END.

46. Sales reports diagrams: GRAPHS.

48. Ousted Iranian ruler: SHAH.  The last Shah of Iran was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Oct. 26, 1919 ~ July 27, 1980).  He was ousted in February 1979.  He makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

50. D-sharp equivalent: E FLAT.

51. Take the wheel: DRIVE.

53. Political stretch: TERM.

54. Yellow comics dog: ODIE.  A reference to the Garfield comic strip.

56. Road in old Rome: ITER.  Today's Latin lesson.

57. NFL snapper: CTR.  Center.  

59. Org. funded by FICA: SSA.  As in the Social Security Administration.

60. Traditional March 14 dessert: PIE.

61. Thumbs-ups: OKS.

62. Shatner's "__War": TEK.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.  ~  Cicero (né Marcus Tillius Cicero; Jan. 3, 106 BCE ~ Dec. 7, 43 BCE), Roman statesmen and philosopher

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!  Who gets the most Runs Batted In?  The POWER HITTER!

17-Across. Corporate acquisition offer: TAKEOVER BID.

24-Across. Unfair hiring practice: GENDER BIAS.

34-Across. Marquee actor's honor: STAR BILLING.

48-Across. Life-changing incident for Peter Parker: SPIDER BITE.

And the Unifier:
57-Across. One batting cleanup who gets a lot of the stat hidden in 17-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: POWER HITTER.

Across:

1. Sister's attire: HABIT.  Religious garb.

6. Transmits, as a text: SENDS.

11. Young guy: LAD.

14. 2019 Australian Open winner Naomi: OSAKA.  Naomi OSAKA (b. Oct. 16, 1997) represents Japan on the world tennis circuit.  She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father.  She won the 2019 Australian Open, however, sadly she was eliminated from play in the 2020 Australian Open just last week.  American Coco Gauff (b. Mar. 13, 2004) beat her.  Look how young these professional tennis players are!

Naomi Osaka, age 22

Coco Gauff, age 15

15. Get used (to): INURE.

16. King Kong or Donkey Kong: APE.

King Kong

Donkey Kong

19. Pampering place: SPA.

20. "You should leave now": PLEASE GO!

21. Studio stand: EASEL.

23. Crew team's blade: OAR.

27. Nixon's older daughter: TRICIA.  Tricia Nixon (b. Feb. 21, 1946) was married to Edward Cox (b. Oct. 2, 1946) in 1971 in the White House Rose Garden while her father was still President.

30. Belfast's province: ULSTER.  Ulster is the green area on the map of Ireland.

31. Coil of yarn: SKEIN.  A CSO to our resident knitters.

32. Geometry product: AREA.

39. "Close Encounters" hoverers, briefly: UFOs.  As in Unidentified Flying Objects.

40. Arrange loosely: DRAPE.

43. Christie of mystery: AGATHA.  Dame Agatha Christie (née Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller; Sept. 15, 1890 ~ Jan. 12, 1976) wrote over 60 detective/mystery novels.  Her best known recurring detectives/sleuths are Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.  Christie herself was involved in a personal mystery in 1926 when she disappeared for 11 days after a quarrel with her first husband.

47. Without exception: TO A MAN.

51. "Yada, yada, yada" letters: ETC.

52. Link to the internet: MODEM.

53. Has an easy catch with: TOSSES TO.

56. Soufflé need: EGG.

60. Big name in jeans: LEE.

61. Airport shuttles: TRAMS.  An airport tram in needed to get from one terminal to another at the big airports.  The Atlanta airport calls it the Plane Train.  I use this one a lot because I nearly always have to go through Atlanta when I fly.

62. "__ Jacques": FRÈRE.

63. Give permission to: LET.

64. Final authority: SAY SO.

65. Fork-tailed seabirds: TERNS.

Down:

1. Family-style Asian dishes: HOT POTS.  We found a fabulous Hot Pot restaurant in Houston that made hot pot just like we had in Chengdu.

2. Just for fun: AS A LARK.  After getting the Lark, I wanted On A Lark, but the Sister's HABIT told me that was not the correct answer.

3. Bear claw makers: BAKERIES.  Clever clue.

4. DIY furniture store: IKEA.  This store has become a crossword staple.  The company was founded by Ingvar Kamprad (né Feodor Ingvar Kamprad; Mar. 30, 1926 ~ Jan. 27, 2018).

5. Art community NNE of Santa Fe: TAOS.

6. Prolonged battle: SIEGE.

7. Scandal-plagued energy giant: ENRON.

8. Well-worn pencil: NUB.

9. Soft & __: deodorant: DRI.

10. Matzo meals: SEDERS.

11. Collie of old TV: LASSIE.

12. Become visible: APPEAR.

13. Handshake events: DEALS.

18. "Tom's Diner" singer Suzanne: VEGA.  I knew the song, just didn't known its name.

22. NYC dance company: ABT.

25. Dramatic one-on-ones: DUELS.

26. Airline that doesn't fly on Shabbat: EL AL.  A crossword staple.

28. Op. __: footnote abbr.: CIT.  Today's Latin lesson.  Op. cit. is an abbreviation fo Opus citatum, which means "the work cited".

29. __ flash: quickly: IN A.

32. Britcom starring Jennifer Saunders: AB FAB.  Jennifer Jane Saunders (b. July 6, 1958) is one of the stars of the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous.

33. __ Grande: RIO.

35. Industrial area of western Germany: RUHR.

36. Words of commitment: I DO.

37. Agency under FDR: NRA.  As in the National Recovery Administration.  This agency was established on June 20, 1933.

38. Casino regular: GAMESTER.

41. Dressmaker's guide: PATTERN.

42. Concert extras: ENCORES.

43. Orbital high point: APOGEE.

44. 1959 Sandra Dee title role: GIDGET.  The movie was before my time.  Sally Field played the Gidget on the television show.

45. Drink suffix: -ADE.  A partial CSO to the blog's Lemonade.

46. Dangles a carrot in front of: TEMPTS.

47. New Age pianist John: TESH.  He probably doesn't like this picture anymore.

John Frank Tesh (b. July 9, 1952)

48. Get a whiff of: SMELL.

49. Market express lane units: ITEMS.

50. Sculpted form: TORSO.

54. Sort (through): SIFT.

55. Basic French verb: ÊTRE.  This ver has become a crossword staple.  I have conjugated it here in the past.

58. Man-mouse connector: OR A.  Are you a Man OR A Mouse?

59. Method: WAY.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Listening is being able to be changed by the other person.  ~  Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo, b. Jan. 28, 1936), American actor