Saturday, July 13, 2019, Greg Johnson

Themeless Saturday by Greg Johnson

Today celebrates the delight/bane of my existence - National French Fry Day. I've often said that if were no potatoes, I'd be many pounds lighter. (See fast food fries ratings just above the grid at the bottom of the blog)

As a matter of fact, there isn't much you can do to a potato to make it unpalatable to me. Well, If you put them under liver... 😖

I managed to sail right through Greg's pangrammatic puzzle with nary a potato necessary

Across:

1. It may be tuna-flavored: CAT FOOD 

8. Words spoken while pointing: THAT WAY - Assistance from a tuna lover

15. Places with tanks: AQUARIA.

16. Some Australians call it "chateau cardboard": BOX WINE - A fun new phrase for me

17. In a peculiar fashion: FUNNILY - Reminds me of last Sunday's LY puzzle

18. 1996 Olympics site: ATLANTA.

19. Most of pewter: TIN.

Periodic Table Composition of PEWTER

20. [Uh-oh!]: GULP.

22. Money: TENDER - something tendered or offered, especially money, as in payment. 1535–45; earlier tendre, noun use of Anglo-French tendre to extend, offer. 

23. Golden __: ALES - Here ya go

25. Original "Jeopardy!" announcer: PARDO - Even this poor video quality brings back fond memories of Don PARDO and Art Fleming (:39)

27. It's put on: GARB and 1. Garment commonly seen in Morocco: CAFTAN - Hasbro will sell you an Indiana Jones villain wearing GARB known as a CAFTAN

28. Rock bottom: NADIR - NADIR in poetry

30. Sugar __: BEETS.

32. CV section: BIO - Writing a BIO in your Curriculum Vitae 

33. Two-thirds of 900?: ZERO ZERO - The other third is a 9

35. Place to go in London: LOO - A public LOO where you can, uh, go on a London street

36. One hanging around near the church entrance: GREETER.

39. Matching 401(k) contribution, e.g.: JOB PERK.

41. "Everybody Hurts" band: REM - A nice listen

42. Drink served in two states?: ICE WATER - Physics Phun! Here we see water in two of its states - solid and liquid

44. "__ recall ... ": AS I.

45. Title for Juan Carlos I: EL REY  - Juan Carlos I fue EL REY de España desde 1975 hasta 2014 (Juan Carlos I was the king of Spain from 1975 - 2014)

46. Pony Express employee: RIDER - The phrase "Orphans preferred" says something about this job

50. Sugar __: CONE 

52. Words on perishables: USE BY - Once that time strikes, my lovely bride pitches it no matter what 

54. The printed one doesn't include specials: MENU.


55. Massages: KNEADS - One kitty KNEADS another

57. Eccentric: KOOK.

59. Waiter at a stand: CAB 

60. Weak: LANGUID - A synonym was used in  the broadcast phrase "Wound my heart with monotonous LANGUOR" which signaled the French Underground that D-Day was imminent  

62. Fruit, so to speak: OUTCOME - Deeds are FRUITS, words are only leaves.

64. Territory within another territory: ENCLAVE -  Le Petit Senegal in Harlem, Manhattan

65. Walk all over: TREAD ON - South Carolinian Christopher Gadsen's Revolutionary War flag 

66. Heinz Field athlete: STEELER.

67. Elves, in some cases: HELPERS.


Down:

2. Constellation whose name is Latin for 51-Down: AQUILA and 51. Mexican flag bird: EAGLE.

3. Stored in a cask: TUNNED - I suppose if it's stored in a TUN... 

4. Agitate: FAN - Every group has someone who tries to FAN the flames of an argument 

5. Not a copy: Abbr.: ORIG.

6. Prepare to show some muscle: OIL UP 

7. Some farmhands: DAY LABORERS 

8. Not yet on the sched.: TBA.

9. More than eager: HOT TO TROT.

10. Semi bar: AXLE.

11. Bluegrass characteristic: TWANG.

12. Like some watches: WINDABLE - I've had them but can't remember the last time I wound a watch

13. Situated toward the front: ANTERIOR - The ACL is in front of the PCL below

14. High school memento: YEARBOOK.

21. Top suit: PREZ - Suit is vernacular for management 

24. What "L" may indicate: SIZE - I just love this joke!

26. Nightclub VIP's spot: DEE JAY BOOTH.

29. Fix, as laces: RETIE.

31. Not at all wasted?: SOBER - Ah the many synonyms for being drunk

34. Unlikely to be out and about: RECLUSIVE - Time magazine's Top 10 most RECLUSIVE celebrities

36. Crowlike birds: GRACKLES - FINALLY they have mostly left our yard! They are big, noisy bullies that arrive around the first day of spring and leave around the first day of summer. Our little birds now have a chance at the feeders and our sunflower chip bill will go down

37. Sonorous: RESONANT - My RESONANT voice was a great asset for me in my teaching career 

38. High standing: EMINENCE.

40. Proper partner: PRIM.

43. Word with day or end: WEEK.

47. Solve, as a cipher: DECODE - Perhaps the most famous DECODER was Alan Turing in Hut 6 at Bletchley Park

48. Win over: ENAMOR.

49. 17th-century Flemish painter: RUBENS - Lovely Christina Hendricks of AMC's Madmen is said to have a RUBENESQUE figure

53. "'A' - __ Adorable": Perry Como hit: YOURE.

56. Serving two purposes: DUAL.

58. "Goofy Greats" record label: KTEL - This commercial brings back memories

 
61. Essen article: DER  - Dies ist DER vorletzte Hinweis (This is the penultimate clue)

63. Hat for an Angel: CAP - Many think the Angel under this CAP is today's best MLB player. His name is at the bottom of this blog *

After digesting this LA Times ranking of fast food fries, you can move on to comment:

* That California Angel is Mike Trout 

Saturday, February 9, 2019, Greg Johnson

Saturday Themeless by Greg Johnson


Here we are five days prior to Valentine's Day and we celebrate my wife's favorite food group - Chocolate. Therefore I got a jump on St. Valentine and combined my lovely wife's favorite confection with a sentiment I have maintained through 52 years of marriage.

Our constructor, Greg Johnson may have had some premonition about this as he had this clue today:

9. Flavor that pairs well with chocolate: MINT - I remember when these wonderful treats were 2 cents at the pay station in a restaurant or were free in an upscale eatery. 

Greg Johnson

44. Unchallenging: EASY - While not real EASY, today's puzzle, gave up the ghost faster than most Saturdays for me. Now let's see what else Greg, with his [insert adjective] expression, has for us today:


Across:

1. In honor of: AFTER - The VFW in my hometown is now named AFTER my friend who died in Vietnam and not the heroic WWI man who no one could remember

6. Site with a Pill Identification Tool: WEB MD - I wonder what this thing is...

11. Tried hard: STROVE.

12. More substantial: MEATIER.

14. Sea of Azov peninsula: CRIMEA - A war described as "notoriously incompetent international butchery"

15. When many photos are taken: AT SUNSET 

17. Some therapeutic applications: OILS - A graphic Web Md warning 

18. Didn't get in the way of: LET BE 

20. Brand with an orange-and-yellow bull's-eye trademark: TIDE and 35. Fan: ROOTER - This fan must have felt horrible when the TIDE (Baman) got routed in the National Championship Game this year

21. Conversation on the go: WALK AND TALK - One of many TV and movie 51. Metaphors, e.g.: TROPES - commonly used TV/movie devices

24. X or Z preceder: GEN.

25. Stella Artois product: LAGER - Their Super Bowl ad got good reviews. Sara Jessica Parker pronounced it "Stella Artwah" and Jeff Bridges said "Stella Artoes" 

26. Waiters stand in them: LINES - We waited in line for Ubers not taxis

28. Product of sugar and heat: CARAMEL - People sometimes disregard the middle A like the middle T in dentist

31. Real go-getter: DYNAMO - The motor below is really a electricity generating DYNAMO and could keep my laptop 36. Energized: AMPED up in a storm

32. Retrieved at an airport carousel: CLAIMED - I put a big pink strap around my black bag

33. Pet holdable in one hand: HAMSTER.

34. Critical sounds: HISSES - Appropriate melodrama response when villain appears

35. Took turns: ROTATED - Super Bowl sites are rotated among NFL cities. Next: Miami, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles

37. Cleanser compound: BORAX - Here's a pre-presidential pitchman

38. Saint, in Brazil: SAO.

39. What you'd better have if you miss work: A GOOD EXCUSE 

45. Highest Italian peak south of the Alps: ETNA - This map shows it as a lone white dot on the East end of Sicily 

47. Like yummy desserts, sooner or later: EATEN.

48. Fit to serve: ONE-A - I don't know if the Babe was ever ONE-A but he did register in 1917

49. Separate: DISCRETE = Brown and White rice are DISCRETE varieties 

53. Homicide official: CORONER - 85-yr-old David McCallum still plays the CORONER on NCIS 

54. Event associated with a blue moon: RARITY.

55. Concrete-reinforcing rod: REBAR - REROD works too

56. Kind of question: YES/NO - Yeah, I sent one as a 13-yr-old. She marked Yes!!

Down:

1. Heart chambers: ATRIA - The educated peeps here can find them below

2. Nonessential decoration: FRILL - Lipstick on a pig?

3. Siberian industrial center: TOMSK.

4. Big event lead-in: EVE

5. What John Wayne and Cary Grant weren't: REAL NAMES - Birthplace of Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa

6. Dinner party amenity: WET BAR - I'd prefer a taco BAR

7. Painter's aid: EASEL.

8. A/C letters: BTU - Our old HVAC cwd friend

10. Appoint: DESIGNATE 

11. Harbor hauler: SCOW - A garbage SCOW in NYC Harbor

12. Brand on Barbie boxes: MATTEL.

13. Cashed in: REDEEMED - Like Green Stamps

16. Stretching muscle: TENSOR - The TENSOR of the fascia lata in red

19. Trimmed, in a way: EDGED.

22. Bay Area city: ALAMEDA - The San Francisco Warriors play in the Oracle or Oakland/ALAMEDA Arena which is the oldest NBA venue.

23. Female R&B group with the '80s hit "I Miss You": KLYMAXX - A lovely song

27. MIT part: Abbr.: INST- Hmmm... MASS or INST or TECH

28. Of concern to the Weather Channel: CLIMATIC - Our recent departure from CLIMATIC norms has been dramatic 

29. Twelve-step helper: AA SPONSOR.

30. Start the day: RISE.

31. Requirement for statistical analysis: DATA ENTRY - Not my dream job

32. Tried to catch: CHASED - She was CHASED but remained chaste

33. Massive group: HORDE.

37. Flat-topped straw hat: BOATER - Nobody wore one better than this guy

40. Davis with a recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy": GEENA - She was really hard-nosed in Grey's Anatomy but GEENA and baseball, gotta love it!

41. Denver's __ Field: COORS - Playing at an elevation of 5,280 ft. can have its issues

42. Remove from the bulletin board: UNPIN

43. Take care of: SEE TO 

46. A football field is about 32% larger than one: ACRE.

50. Not take well: ROB - An oft-seen fun fill for larceny 

52. Female name that's a body part backwards: RAE - Here's both in this picture 

Now put down that Snickers and comment away:

Note from C.C.:

Happy 48th  birthday to dear Splynter (Richard), our faithful Saturday Sherpa for a long time. Life has not been easy for Splynter the past year, but he's a tough guy. Hope you got that job you wanted, Splynter!