Saturday, Gareth Bain, October 6, 2018

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Gareth Bain

Ach du lieber! Today we celebrate National German-American Day which is very noteworthy in Arlington, NE where I was born and now sub. Arlington was settled by many families from Germany who started many farms and the St. Paul's Church which was a true cultural force for generations.  This very strict Missouri Synod group forbid kids to dance, drink or smoke and girls were not allowed to play athletics. Needless to say this became a losing battle as the years rolled on - shades of the movie Footloose. My dad said that St. Paul members made great beer during prohibition!

Today's constructor is South African veterinarian Gareth Bain. In a very nice email from him, he has told me, " I am a shelter medicine veterinarian currently working in Gordon's Bay just outside of Cape Town and previously worked in East London". I sailed through Gareth's lovely offering in just over 20 minutes but the computer said I had a bad cell. A thorough search got me to finally change KASA/SO DUH to KANA/NO DUH

As a proud parent of a rescue animal, I am glad to blog Gareth's fun puzzle: 

Across:

1. Soap-drop indicator: PLOP - NASA shows the fizz you get when you PLOP an Alka-Seltzer tablet into a water sphere in weightlessness

5. Prepared for pie, in a way: CORED  - Here's what we use

10. Trunk extension: LIMB - Bartering tools

14. Buddhist priest: LAMA - Tibetan for high priest or chief  

15. The "A" in the Tokyo studio AIC: ANIME.

16. Stargazing subject?: IDOL - My stargazing involves astronomy 

17. Rural stopovers: INNS - This plaque proudly announces that George Washington slept in this Georgia INN belonging to Stephen Calfrey Pearce in 1791

18. Retro filter choice: SEPIA - My SEPIA wife and I at a famous venue

19. Importunate solicitor: TOUT  - Persistent salesman

20. Spin-off with a bluesy theme song by John Lee Hooker: NCIS NEW ORLEANS - Spinoff

23. 2000s political slogan: YES WE CAN - President Obama's catch phrase

24. Initial payments: ANTES  - Otherwise you want get any cards! ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠

26. European hub: ORLY  - Once your flight lands at ORLY, it's a 21 min trip to the Eiffel Tower

27. Industrious type: BUSY BEE - I married one

29. Nut: WEIRDO.

32. Ritual heap: PYRE - "Try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral PYRE"

33. Rapper will.__: I.AM - Okay

34. Half a piano duo?: HAND - A beautiful four-minute video about playing piano with one HAND and dealing with a handicap

35. Chaparral plant: SHRUB - Here's some east of Colorado Springs

37. Longfellow's "The Bell of __": ATRI.

38. Iwo Jima flag-raiser Hayes: IRA - This first flag raised on Iwo Jimo was done by SSgt. Harold Schrier. Later the iconic Joe Rosenthal photo with Ira Hayes was staged

39. Half a classic cowboy nickname: KEMO.

40. Top of the order?: ABBESS - She's the CEO of the Abbey

42. DNA units: STRANDS  - Watson and Crick won the 1962 Nobel prize for discovering this structure of DNA

44. 1990s game console release, initially: SNES.

45. Strong feeling: THROE  - Many things are done in "the THROES of passion"

46. '60s-'70s singer born Ellen Cohen: MAMA CASS - John Phillips thought Mama Cass did not fit the image of the other Mamas and Papas who were string beans but he relented

50. Catcall?: HERE KITTY KITTY - What does a 500 lb canary say? 

53. Circumstances, idiomatically: BOAT.

54. Hilarious: A RIOT - Not usually a teacher's favorite student

55. Look for: SEEK.


56. Certain something: AURA - Captured with Auric or Kirilian Photography

57. "Obviously!": NO DUH - Rude!

58. Put away: SAVE - The ant put away food for the winter while the grasshopper frittered away his summer

59. Highland language: ERSE - Inniu Dé Sathairn (Today is Saturday)

60. Irritations found in clouds: GNATS

61. Iowa Department of Transportation city: AMES - Straight down I-35 from  C.C. in Minneapolis


Down:

1. "Naturalis Historia" author: PLINY - The largest surviving publication from the Roman Empire 79 A.D.

2. Poker for knights?: LANCE - On March 10, 1524 Henry VIII was knocked from his horse by a LANCE in a joust

3. Old Dodges: OMNIS  - Along with the Plymouth Horizon, Chrysler's first front-wheel drive vehicle

4. It often looks like gibberish: PASSWORD - Programs generate these until you can put in something intelligible 

5. "No more discussion": CASE CLOSED.

6. Like turnpike ramps: ONE WAY - NO DUH!

7. Wisconsin college: RIPON - Their alumni include Harrison Ford, Al Jarreau and Spencer Tracy

8. Abu Dhabi bigwig: EMIR - Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

9. Shaking event: DEAL - A recent historic one

10. Prolonged list, as of complaints: LITANY.

11. "It's safe to sit next to me": I DON'T BITE.

12. Onetime accessory for Britney Spears and Keri Russell: MOUSE EARS - Britney during and after

13. Nonkosher sandwich, usually: BLT - A 2015 Pew Poll showed 57% of Jews eat pork

21. Techie stereotype: NERD.

22. "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle: EASE - For your listening pleasure 

25. Ones in it for the long haul: SEMIS - Need a job,? They're all hiring!

27. Mitt Romney's alma mater: Abbr.: BYU.

28. Modern folklore: URBAN MYTHS - Some thought this curse dogged the Red Sox until they won the World Series in 2004 against the Yankees

29. Card game played by Phileas Fogg: WHIST - An illustration done for a printing of the Jules Verne classic

30. Annual observance celebrating commitment to the planet: EARTH HOUR - A world-wide event where lights and appliances are turned off for one hour at 8:30pm local time. The next one is 3/30/19

31. Behind: IN ARREARS

32. __ tem: PRO - PRO tem(pore) presides over the U.S. Senate when the V.P. is not in the building. John Tyler is the only one who ever became president

36. Darwin's __ Beagle: HMS - His work while traveling on that boat changed the world

37. Graph point's x-coordinate: ABSCISSA - A bit of arcana for us math peeps

39. Low joint: KNEE - A joint whose injury ends may athletic careers

41. Turtle's mouth: BEAK - Having this BEAK look back at you on the 9th hole on my golf course is scary

43. Vital vessels: AORTAE - Okay, okay ERSE showed me AORTAS is wrong

44. Didn't play: SAT OUT which is usually not done by the 47. Top squad: A TEAM.

46. Crete's highest elev.: MT IDA - Here's a hiking map in the local language

48. Martin or Miller: STEVE.

49. "I'ma Be Me" stand-up comic Wanda: SYKES - Yes, female comics can be profane also

51. Kodos' alien cohort on "The Simpsons": KANG - Okay, just not interested enough to look it up

52. It can be pumped: IRON - or...

53. Honey, in slang: BAE - a meh diminutive of Baby I guess

DA GRID:

Saturday, Aug 13th, 2016, Gareth Bain & Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,K,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  Well, I thought I was not going to do so well with this puzzle when I saw the constructors' names, but all in all, I came out on the other side with just a few scratches - but I have to admit to some red-letter cheating.  I was done in by the proper names, again, and one entry that I am ashamed to have missed, but it's been a long hot and humid week, so that's my excuse....what's yours~?   Triple 9- and 11-letter corners, with a couple more nine-letter entries on the inside.  One from each corner;

15. Some wealthy '70s British emigrants : TAX EXILES - The Beatles come to mind, and a lot of other musicians

12. Political nickname : "The GOVERNATOR" - Ahhnold Schwarzenegger

67. Bond, e.g. : MASTER SPY - gratuitous image for C.C.

 

30. Liqueur in a monastic-looking bottle : FRANGELICO - back in the day, a friend of mine used to make an alcoholic drink that tasted like the milk of the cereal "Boo Berry", and this was one of the main ingredients

LONG
         W
             A
                 R
                   D
                   ~!

ACROSS:

1. Parents concerned with play dates? : STAGE MOMS - har-har

10. Like kelp : ALGAL - I thought maybe LEAFY; this image is "ALL GAL"

16. Those who call New Zealand "Aotearoa" : MAORI - educated WAG

17. Yom Kippur theme : ATONEMENT

18. Buff : MAVEN - I was stuck on the verb for a while; this is more like Film ___

19. Default : RENEGE

20. "Penny Dreadful" network, briefly : SHOwtime - never heard of this show, but I don't get premium channels

22. Lea grazer : EWE

23. Changdeokgung Palace city : SEOUL

26. Like white tigers : INBRED

28. Left Bank eateries : CAFÉS

31. Temp in many pictures : MALL SANTA - At first I thought it was "MALE ---", but the last "-TA" was solid; I just could not see the connection to 'pictures' - had it been 'shopping centers'....but then, that's too easy

33. Water cooler newcomer : HIREE - every week there's newly hired kids at UPS, and very few last beyond a year

34. Cardiogram connection : LEAD

35. Nuclear fission pioneer Otto : HAHN

36. Educator LeShan : EDA

37. Defender at Thermopylae : SPARTAN

40. Noir hero : TEC

41. Group of pals : GANG

43. Bard's instrument : LUTE

44. "... with a muffler __ her eyes": "Henry V" : AFORE

46. Pigs and cows, e.g. : UNGULATES - "hoofed" - the Wiki

48. Mules' mothers : MARES - HORSE was not the correct pluralism

49. Ideal : EDENIC - ah, so that's how you get EDEN to fit 6 letters....

50. Branding target : STEER

52. He succeeded Michael as Batman : VAL - Kilmer, one of the few proper names, and I could spell it, too

53. Lincoln's st. : NEBraska - Shout Out to two of our regulars~!

55. Swear : ATTEST

59. Stomach : ABIDE

61. Way to get to Bora Bora : AIR TAHITI - D'oh~! I went with VIA, not AIR

64. Quest for intel : RECONnaissance

65. Immature : UNRIPENED

66. Tiny energy sources : ATOMS

DOWN:
1. Scrabble board symbol : STAR - smack in the middle

2. Turner Prize-awarding gallery : TATE

3. Impulse pathway : AXON - good WAG, but then again, a four-letter brain word....

4. River through Rochester, New York : GENESEE - I'm familiar with the answer because I drove down Genesee Street when I visited my buddy up at Utica

5. Interpretations of scripture : EXEGESES - all the consonant filled via perps; the rest was "E" WAGs; new word for me

6. Old copy : MIMEO

7. Fútbol cry : OLÉ

8. Chess pieces : MEN - I SO want a stone set for the back yard~!

9. Now-flightless "birds" : SSTs - great clue for a standard CW fill

10. Two-time National Book Award-winning poet A.R. __ : AMMONS - WAGed one "M", the rest was perps

11. A.L. West team, in crawl lines : LAA - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

13. Sleepy backseat query : "ARE WE THERE~?"

14. Performances in rows : LINE DANCES

21. "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" aunt : HILDA - again, a WAG

24. Häagen-Dazs ingredient? : UMLAUT - this is Blue Oyster Cult/Spinal Tap territory~!

25. To whom Polonius said, "To thine own self be true" : LAERTES - I WAGed the spelling

27. "Ridiculous!" : "BAH~!"

28. Cuban Revolution VIP : CHE GUEVARA - I am familiar with this iconic poster image

29. Help badly? : AID AND ABET

32. Grapevine product, with "the" : LATEST - there's also the A.A. Grapevine

38. Put : PLACE

39. Young camper's proof of ownership : NAME TAPE - I looked this up after the fact because I had never heard of such a thing

42. Try hard (for) : GUN

45. At a greater distance : FARTHER

47. Bedding : LINENS

51. Absorb the loss : EAT IT

54. "John Dough and the Cherub" author : BAUM - perps and a WAG

56. Zehn minus neun : EINS - das German 10 - 9 = 1

57. Bit of progress : STEP

58. Spruce (up) : TIDY

60. King's end? : DOM - kingdom

62. Like Schubert's "Trout Quintet" : IN A - filled in the "IN" and waited....

63. The 1906 Hepburn Act gave the ICC power to set rates for them : RRs

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Chickie, who has been with our blog since 2008. Chickie and her husband Bill has been married for 62 years.

2) Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's wife Betty as well! They've been married for 51 years!

Spitzboov & Betty at the reunion dinner held at the US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, 2012

Saturday, Jun 4th, 2016, Gareth Bain

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing B,J,Q,X)

Blocks: 32

  This would have been an even quicker solve had it not been for the rash of proper names - and the fact of the matter is that it's the "Bain" of today's offering from Gareth.  Not only did I count 13 or more in the puzzle, but they crossed, too, and if you didn't know, well, then, you just didn't know.  And I did not know three squares, which I have to call fun-sponge on.  Not a particularly intimidating grid, with 2 11's and 2 10's in the Across, and paired 10's in the Down;

25. Film for which Anthony Quinn won an Oscar : VIVA ZAPATA - Never saw the movie, but there is this clip from Ocean's 13 which I did know - and proper name #6

11. 1980s scandal : IRAN-CONTRA - I remembered this news item from my high school days, with Oliver North and (a gratuitous leg image of) Fawn Hall; my earliest recollection of "news" was ABSCAM, and Claus von Bülow's trial

26. Angel on one's shoulder, so to speak : INNER VOICE

56. Genre of Madonna's "Ray of Light" album : ELECTRONICA - I thought this referred to her "gospel" album, Like A Prayer, but no.  I do remember this song, and it's along the lines of the "electronica" I listen to these days.  The Wiki on "Ray of Light"

blONdeWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Indian state bordering Bhutan : ASSAM - filled via perps; proper name #1

6. Lab glassware eponym : PETRI - OK, a proper name, but I knew this one (#2)

11. AOL, e.g. : ISP - Internet Service Provider

14. Bridges : SPANS - got it; the verb, not the noun(s)

15. Hamal's constellation : ARIES - thought I got it with "ORION", and it jibed with POPS, ERAT, and TIN....but left me with a mess at the end - and proper name #3

16. Indianapolis' __ Dome : RCA - #4 or....

17. 2008 Jack Black title role : KUNG FU PANDA - #4~?

19. Shipping nickname : ARI - OK, I tried UPS....more at 41d.

20. Considers with disdain : SNEERS AT

21. Spoke quietly? : SIGNED - Sign language, very cute

23. Sch. with a Riverhead campus : LIU - Uh, OK, drew a blank on this one - and I literally live like 5 miles from it; in my defense, it's on the Suffolk County Community College Campus - #5~?

24. Lure : SEDUCE - dah~! Had ENTIce

30. Author Morrison : TONI - #7

32. Benz finish : ENE - too bad the space wasn't longer, as I was thinking "clear coat" - the 'finish' on a Mercedes-Benz.  Nope, just BenzENE

33. Tender in Warsaw : ZLOTY - thought it was a kopek - #8

34. Proceeds : WENDS - I had "GAINS", as in the proceeds from a sale

35. Georgia of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" : ENGEL - proper name #9, filled via perps

37. Bapt., e.g. : RELigion

38. Austrian composer Webern : ANTON - proper name #10; via perps

39. Pet problem? : PEEVE - not fooled

40. Some cake layers : TIERS

42. Grill guard : U.S. :: __ bar : Australia : ROO - Nailed it, but not too hard to figure out.  I know what an automotive grill(e) guard is, and just expanded the idea....

43. Span. title : SRTA

44. Holder of an affectionate message : CANDY HEART

46. Destructive type : VANDAL

48. JFK, for one : DEMocrat

49. Tidbit : MORSEL

50. Most like a dive : SEEDIEST

55. Richard __ : III - I had it, then took it out because it didn't jibe with EMI at 58a.

58. Longtime Elton John label : MCA - dah~!! Not EMI

59. Show shown over : RERUN

60. Discussion venue : FORUM

61. Poetic twilight : E'EN

62. Fluid accumulation : EDEMA

63. Ridges on the neck : FRETS - I was in the wrong wheelhouse when I filled in MANES, which I knew was wrong, but....and then when the answer was revealed, I felt even sillier, since I play guitar....

DOWN:

1. Wants in payment : ASKS - tragedy has struck; my Dodge Stratus snapped a ball joint on Sunday, and because of various other ailments, I think it's time to upgrade; 293,475 miles, and it does not owe me anything.  Now I am looking for a Dodge Caravan, and they are ASKING for $10-13K, used

2. Like some flax : SPUN

3. Levelheaded : SANE

4. German chancellor Merkel : ANGELA - proper name #11

5. "The Magic School Bus" teacher : Ms. FRIZZLE - never heard of the book, show, or her; the Wiki - and proper name #12

6. Family nickname : PAPA - yeah, POPA is not quite right

7. Proof word : ERAT - part of Q.E.D., frequently seen in crosswords

8. Element in some solder : TIN

9. Site of a major part of the Bible? : RED SEA - RODS-- was just not going to give me any positive result - and "part(ing)" should have clued me in

10. Start of a repeat : "I SAID..."

12. Bug barrier : SCREEN DOOR

13. Like a pro : PAID

18. Everyday : USUAL - here's the "usual" gratuitous leg image

22. "__ Morgen!" : GUTEN - das German~! (see, I can knock more than just Frawnche)

24. Arranged : STYLED

25. Nixon and Ford : VEEPS

27. Flier's request : VEGETARIAN

28. Classical entrance : PORTAL - I want a drawbridge and gate on my castle home when I build it

29. Used the dining room : ATE IN

31. Tot's rebuttal : "IS NOT~!!"

34. Cleaned : WASHED OFF

36. Novak's TV partner : EVANS - no clue, but a good WAG on my part - #13

41. Its first truck was a Ford Model A : RYDER - I did not know this; UPS' first vehicle was a Model T car

44. Canceled due to rain, say : CALLED

45. Key of Sibelius' First Symphony : E MINOR - you know the drill; fill in -M--OR, and wait; once I got "SEEDIEST", I knew it was not MAJOR

47. Big name on the farm : DEERE

49. One apparently trapped behind glass : MIME - couldn't find a Spinal Tap link

50. Pond build-up : SCUM

51. Peak west of the Ionian Sea : ETNA

52. The Auld Sod : EIRE

53. Rabbit's tail : SCUT

54. Highland tops : TAMS

57. "And Venus sets __ Mercury can rise": Pope : ERE

Splynter