Saturday, March 3, 2018, Gail Grabowski

SATURDAY WITH GAIL

Husker Gary reporting from the Great Plains on a very challenging Saturday exercise by Gail Grabowski shown here in a previously posted picture. This is a Gail Grabowski interview with C.C. from a few years ago as well. She said her Dad's everyday practice of a cup of coffee with a crossword puzzle started down the path to solving and then to construction. She further states that her teaching background steered her towards using wordplay in many puzzles.

Traction today was as hard to obtain as was our icy streets last week. The NE corner bewitched, bothered and bewildered me. As often happens I got started at the bottom but I definitely found Gail's puzzle fair and challenging.

Now here's a few of the long fills I found interesting:

1. Steve McQueen's co-star in "The Getaway" : ALI MACGRAW - So good they made a sequel! 

                             1972                                                                         1994

17. Defect : BREAK RANKS - Not many do here

12. Portmanteau for workout clothing worn socially : ATHLEISURE - Ah, my vocabulary continues to grow

66. It helps you get up : STEP LADDER - STEP LADDER? Nifty! Footwear choice? Dicey

68. Commercial challenges : TASTE TESTS - Remember?

31. Fueling device with an automatic shut-off feature : PUMP HANDLE - Yeah, but you have to let go!

Here's what else Gail has for us on "If Pets Had Thumbs Day"

Across

11. Hollow : VALE - I got the geography connotation eventually 

15. It doesn't include overtime : BASE SALARY - The BASE SALARY at my most recent school is $37,000 and my salary maxed out  at MA + 36 would have been $76,000

16. Can of corn at the market, say : ITEM - Tricky clue but baseball people might have thought of this slang first 

18. Online shopping option : CHAT - Their webpage

19. Organic soy milk brand : EDEN - Okay, it's Saturday cluing

20. Org. hacked during the 2016 presidential campaign : DNC - Her  book was a fascinating read  but I don't think she'll be getting any Christmas cards from Hillary

21. Some edible plant parts : STALKS - Rhubarb would be my favorite

23. Morally base : SORDID

26. Vein contents : ORE and 30. Vein contents : DEPOSITS 

27. Texas-Louisiana border river : SABINE - Even when Texas was not in the Union yet

34. Red-hot : ON A TEAR

36. Superfan : NUT 

37. "On the Road" narrator : SAL - SAL Paradise was the name Jack took in his book

38. Company with back-to-school buys : BIC - Is anything as uBICuitous as a BIC pen?

39. Flowery lines : ODE

40. Crock-Pot and Cuisinart: Abbr. : TMS - TradeMarkS - Indicated by ® or ™

41. News gp. : UPI - United Press International

42. 1940s mil. zone : ETO - Here is an Eisenhower jacket with a European Theater Of Operation insignia high on the left shoulder

43. Excite, with "up" : REV


44. Wilde forte : EPIGRAM - Here's one I have always liked

46. Sounded right : RANG TRUE - Oscar's EPIGRAM RANG TRUE to me the first time I heard it.

49. Joan of Arc's crime : HERESY - Pope Leo X called Martin Luther " a true heretic".

50. Shorten a yard to mere inches? : MOW - I'm still using my snowblower and so it may be a while 

51. Crate up : ENCASE - "We drug Kong, ENCASE him in a crate and take him to New York. What could possibly go wrong?"

53. Where Excalibur was forged : AVALON

56. Buff end : OON - Not ALO

57. Bering Sea port : NOME - Also the home of the finish line of the world's most famous dog race

61. Amy's "Sisters" co-star : TINA - Amy Poehler and TINA Fey of SNL fame. Rotten Tomatoes said, "Meh"

62. One with a lot of wheels : AUTO DEALER - Mine sold my MIL an 58. GM line until 2004 : OLDSmoblie  27 years ago and it is still going strong!

65. Bands in the East : OBIS - More clever Saturday level cluing 

67. Substantial content : MEAT 


Down

1. Calais cleric : ABBE and 11. Parish priests : VICARS - ABBÈ Jacques Seck, VICAR General and Curate of Dakar Cathedral (Retired)

2. Hog product : LARD - The secret of my MIL's great apple pies

3. Understanding answer : I SEE

4. Is not to be taken lightly : MEANS IT

5. What it doesn't hurt to do : ASK


6. Checkout counter device : CARD READER - At the Apple Store last week my "genius" used a handheld device to scan the UPC on my purchase, READ my credit CARD and send me a receipt via email. I don't know what he would have done if I'd wanted to use cash

7. Sweat __ : GLAND

8. Like bad butter : RANCID - Gail got two scents in on these last two entries

9. Craft for couples : ARK - Couples of animals. Why did Noah take two mosquitos?

10. "The Swiss Family Robinson" author : WYSS - I truly thought this would be an author I would know but, uh, no

13. News source, perhaps : LEAK - Many a "LEAK" is just a trial balloon

14. Defib specialists : EMTS

22. Places for piggies? : TOOTSIES

24. Very few : ONE OR TWO

25. End of a ristorante request : DENTE -  Si prega di fare la mia pasta al DENTE. (Please make my pasta just firm to the bite)

27. Unlit? : SOBER - Lit is one of many euphemisms for drunk

28. One of the original Pointer Sisters : ANITA - How 'bout a little Pointer Sister disco to pump up your Saturday

29. Passion caused by strips : BACON MANIA

32. Cantina fare : TAPAS - Estas tapas en Granada, España un aspecto delicioso (These TAPAS in Granada, Spain look delicias)

33. Disreputable : SLIMY 

35. Cabaret offering : REVUE - I suspect a critic would offer a review of this, uh, REVUE

45. Hurled weapon : GRENADE and 60. Throws wildly, say : ERRS - Not a good combination 

47. Bring up the rear : GO LAST - I will read this at my MIL's funeral. She always waits until all are served before she is. 

48. Online reminders : E-NOTES

52. Appropriate : COOPT - "uh PRO pree ate" not "uh PRO pree uht"

53. Splitting target : ATOM

54. Hard-to-describe feeling : VIBE

55. Tweed's caricaturist : NAST - People like Kim Jung Un don't have such impediments as Thomas Nast

59. Fulfill : MEET - Just because you can MEET the requirements to teach doesn't mean you can do it!

63. Hagen of the stage : UTA - UTA was the original Martha when Albee's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf opened on Broadway in 1962. I'll bet most of you know who played Martha in the 1966 movie

64. Down : EAT

What say you?

DA GRID

Monday, February 19, 2018 ~ Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime? - Synonyms for living the dream.

20A. Inquiry meant to entrap: LOADED QUESTION

35A. Nonfluctuating method of doing things: SET FORMULA

40A. Impressionist once labeled "The Man of a Thousand Voices": RICH LITTLE

52A. Wealthy, and a hint to the first word of 20-, 35- and 40-Across: ROLLING IN DOUGH

Argyle here. The Monday mavens have struck again.

Across:

1. Android downloads: APPs

5. Array around a surge protector: WIRES. I would have said plugs.

10. Words after deal or count: ME IN. Or, as one word, my take-out order.

14. Bridges of Hollywood: BEAU

(left to right) Jeff, Beau and Lloyd Bridges.

15. Part of a sports complex: ARENA

16. Enveloping glow: AURA

17. "NBA Friday" channel: ESPN. (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network)

18. Peachy: DANDY

19. Dental exam image: X-RAY

23. Right-angled shape: ELL

24. Per __: daily: DIEM

25. Freebies with a bowl of soup: CRACKERS

30. Mud __: type of wasp: DAUBER. Learn more here.

34. Sharp-eyed flier: HAWK

37. Org. supporting flossing: ADA. (American Dental Association)

38. Freelancer's encl.: SAE. (stamped addressed envelope or self-addressed envelope:)

39. QB scores: TD's. Touchdowns.

45. Pedometer unit: STEP

46. "Already?": "SO SOON?"

47. First-stringers: STARTERS

49. Honorary legal degs.: LLDs. Legum Doctor is a doctorate-level academic degree in law, or an honorary doctorate, depending on the jurisdiction. Wikipedia

51. Ipanema's city: RIO. Ipanema is a neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

59. Pop music's "hottest spot north of Havana": COPA. While your already dancing ....

60. Shut down: CEASE. What the heck; let's make it drei.

61. Three, in Germany: DREI

62. Baking chamber: OVEN

63. Makes docile: TAMES

64. Folklore brute: OGRE

65. Remain up in the air: PEND

66. Sport with clay disks: SKEET

67. Can't live without: NEED. Crosswords.

Down:

1. Brother of Cain: ABEL

2. Cuban currency: PESO

3. Respected Smurf: PAPA

4. Basking locale on a cruise ship: SUNDECK. On your way to Rio.

5. Walks like a duck: WADDLES. "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." Add, "Walks like a duck."

6. Baghdad's country: IRAQ

7. Eye care solution brand: RENU

8. Pulled the plug on: ENDED

9. Ties the knot: SAYS, "I DO"

10. Largest amount: MAXIMUM

11. Money in Malta: EURO

12. Mideast nation in a 2015 nuclear deal: IRAN

13. Vote against: NAY

21. Lodge logo animal: ELK. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

22. Hazmat suit hazard: TEAR. Hazmat is an abbreviation for “hazardous materials”.

25. Seals in the juices of: CHARS

26. Traffic report source: RADIO

27. Spy plane acronym: AWACS. (airborne warning and control system)

28. Sit for a bit: REST

29. ERA and RBI, e.g.: STATS. Statistics for earned run average and run batted in.

31. Montana city: BUTTE

32. Tribal leader: ELDER

33. Talks hoarsely: RASPS

36. Stetson hat material: FELT

41. The Netherlands, informally: HOLLAND

42. Lounge around: LOLL

43. Formally accuses of, with "for": INDICTS

44. Heart-to-heart: EARNEST

45. Used to change a ceiling light bulb, as a chair: STOOD ON. Not a good idea.

48. Relieved (of): RID

50. Move on tiptoe, say: SNEAK

52. Wander: ROVE

53. Take the lid off: OPEN

54. It usually has a set of rules: GAME

55. "That makes sense": "I SEE"

56. Hard-to-resist feeling: URGE

57. Actor Richard: GERE

58. Moved quickly, old-style: HIED

59. Squad car driver: COP. Car 54, where are you?

I shall stand not upon the order of my going, but go at once. I won't stand on a chair either.

Argyle