Tuesday, January 19, 2021 Andrea Carla Michael & Kevin Christian

Vowel Progress with the letter "B".

17-Across. Where Alcatraz sits: SAN FRANCISCO BAY.

23-Across. Disc sport popular on college campuses: ULTIMATE FRISBEE.

38-Across. Give-it-a-test-run advice: TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.  "I" sound with a "U" vowel.

48-Across. Storied pot-of-gold spot: END OF THE RAINBOW.

59-Across. Hiding-your-eyes parent-baby game: PLAYING PEEK-A-BOO.   "U" sound with an "O" vowel

Across:

1. Prepared, as a bed: MADE.

5. Scuttlebutt: RUMOR.

10. Col. Sanders's chain: KFC.  Formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.  KFC seems to be very popular in Egypt.  We saw many KFC restaurants in Egypt, but chose not to eat there, opting for local fare instead.

13. Soft palate feature that translates to "little grape": UVULA.  Today's Latin lesson.  This "little grape" has become a crossword staple.  It's function is to seal off the nasal cavity from the throat during swallowing.  It works well, except when you are barfing.

15. Battery terminal: ANODE.

16. Right-angle shape: ELL.

20. Towel embroidery word: HIS.

21. Like many meds: ORAL.

22. "A __ Day's Night": Beatles song: HARD.

28. Shakespearean fairy queen: MAB.  Queen Mab is referenced in Mercutio's speech in Act I, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliette.

29. Jay of late-night TV: LENO.  Jay Leno (né James Douglas Muir Leno; b. Apr. 28, 1950) was the host of the Late Show with Jay Leno in the '90s and aughts.  I though his humor had a mean streak.

30. Lady's man: LORD.

33. "A Room of One's Own" author: WOOLF.  Virginia Woolf (née Adeline Virginia Steven; Jan. 25, 1882 ~ Mar. 28, 1941) is considered one of the most important modernist 20th century authors.  Sadly, she also suffered from depression and died by suicide at age 59.

35. Admirer: FAN.

42. Kiki, Sandra or Ruby: DEE.  Kiki Dee (née Pauline Matthews; b. Mar. 6, 1947) is a British singer; Sandra Dee (née Alexandra Zuck; Apr. 23, 1942 ~ Feb. 20, 2005) and Ruby Dee (née Ruby Ann Wallace; Oct. 27, 1922 ~ June 11, 2014) were both American actresses.

43. Brainiacs, maybe: NERDS.  Also the name of a candy.

44. Mass __: an I-90 nickname: PIKE.  The Massachusetts Turnpike is a toll road.

45. Fair: JUST.

46. "Dude!": BRO.

56. Achy: SORE.

57. What a slob makes: MESS.

58. Nitrogen-based dye: AZO.

64. Veer off course: YAW.

65. Vegan and Paleo regimens: DIETS.

66. Roadside hot dog seller: STAND.  The famous Lucky Dogs.

67. NBC staple for 45 years: SNL.  Saturday Night Live is also a crossword staple.

68. Daisy variety: OX-EYE.

69. Three in a deck: TREY.

Down:

1. __ pork: Chinese menu item: MU SHU.  Food! as our friend Steve would say.

2. To no __: in vain: AVAIL.

3. Kirsten of Spider-Man films: DUNST.  Kirsten Caroline Dunst (b. Apr. 30, 1982) also stars in On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

4. Toymaker for Santa: ELF.  Fortunately, they wore their masks this past year.

5. Charged: RAN AT.

6. Mom's brother: UNCLE.  My mom had no brothers.

7. "Surely you don't mean me?!": MOI.

8. Has too much, briefly: ODs.  As in Over Doses.

9. __ center: REC.  As in a Recreation Center.

10. Skewered dish: KEBAB.  Yummers!

11. Bell-bottom bottom: FLARE.

12. Only non-rhyming Pac-Man ghost: CLYDE.

14. Roastery draw: AROMA.

18. Many a Mideast native: ARAB.

19. Very, very: OH, SO.

24. Website for film buffs: IMDb.  As in the Internet Movie Database.

25. Polar bear hangouts: FLOES.

26. Bank (on): RELY.

27. Inside scoop: INFO.

30. Inc., in England: LTD.

31. Underground find: ORE.  A crossword staple.

32. Pastrami holder: RYE.

33. Value: WORTH.

34. Chicago airport code: ORD.  The airport code is ORD because it was originally known as Orchard Depot Airport.  The airport was renamed to O'Hare in 1949 in honor of Edward O'Hare (Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943), a navy aviator who was shot down in World War II.

35. "The X-Files" org.: FBI.  The X-Files ran from September 1993 until May 2002.

36. Arctic seabird: AUK.  It's name is derived from the Islandic word álka.  They look a little like penguins, except they can fly and are found in the Northern hemisphere.

37. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.  Bill Nye (né Willima Sanford Nye; b. Nov. 27, 1955) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

39. Plenty, in texts: ENUF.

40. Gala: FEST.

41. "Once __ ... ": UPON.  Once Upon a time there was ... a piece of wood.  Do you know which children's story that is the opening line to?

45. Kangaroo kid: JOEY.

46. Diamond bag: BASE.

47. Daredevil dangers: RISKS.

48. TV sports awards: ESPYS.

49. Hall of Fame pitcher Ryan: NOLAN.  Nolan Ryan (né Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.; b. Jan. 31, 1947), pitched for the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Houston Rockets, and the Texas Rangers.  He was inducted into the Baseball of Fame in 1999.

50. Southern twang: DRAWL.

51. E, on a gauge: EMPTY.

52. Peanut Butter Cup creator: REESE.  Yummers!

53. Storybook elephant: BABAR.  Babar the Elephant first appeared to entertain children in 1931.  The books recount the story of a baby elephant orphaned by a hunter, who finds his way into the city.

54. Layer with a hole: OZONE.  Below is a graphic of how the Ozone layer is formed.

55. "Toy Story" cowboy: WOODY.  Voiced by Tom Hanks.

60. "Yes, indeed!": I DO!

61. Give a thumbs-down: NIX.  This informal word comes to us from the German nichts, which means nothing.

62. "__ whiz!": GEE.

63. Law firm fig.: ATT.  As in an Attorney.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 Paul Coulter

It's Party Time!  Each word in each theme answer can be paired with the word Party to give us a new concept, so let's Party like it's 1999!

17-Across. *   Afternoon social that may include a waltz or three: TEA DANCE.   Tea Party and Dance Party.

Tea Party

Dance Party

38-Across. *   Brewery container: BEER KEG.  Beer Party and Keg Party.

Oktoberfest Beer Party

Keg Party

11-Down. *   Growing business?: GREEN HOUSE.   Green Party and House Party.  The Green Party is a political party.

Green Party

House Party

28-Down. *   Monster.com activity: WORK SEARCH.  Work Party and Search Party.

Work Party

Search Party

And the unifier:

59-Across. Like the U.S. political system, and a hint to the answers to starred clues: TWO PARTY.  No further comment necessary.

Across:

1. Playfully shy: COY.

4. Cooled with cubes: ICED.

8. Shrubs arranged as barriers: HEDGES.

Keep of the Lawn!

14. Anger: IRE.

15. It has three numbers and two slashes: DATE.  In the United States, today would be denoted as 1/12/21.  In Europe, it would be 12/1/21.

16. Staves off: AVERTS.

19. Stay close to: BE NEAR.

20. Start of a pirate's refrain: YO HO HO!

21. Matching tops worn together: TWIN SET.  Twin sets were quite popular a few years ago.

23. Phobos, to Mars: MOON.

25. Cry after a golfer's ace: IT'S IN!

26. "Even __ speak ... ": AS WE.

29. Goldarn: DANG.  Mild cussing.

31. [None of the above]: OTHER.

34. New Mexico art community: TAOS.

35. Wall St. takeover: LBO.  As in a Leveraged BuyOut.

36. Tom, Dick or Harry: ANYONE.

37. U.K. continent: EUR.  The United Kingdom is located in Europe.

40. Arg. neighbor: URU.  Uruguay is a neighbor of Argentina.

41. Hopping joints?: ANKLES.

43. Elton John's title: SIR.  When Elton John (né Reginald Kenneth Dwight; b. Mar. 25, 1947) was knighted in April 1998, he added Hercules as his middle name.

44. Chinese menu possessive: TSO'S.  I wonder if General Tso minds that people eat his chicken.

45. Used a stun gun on: TASED.

46. Jared of "Panic Room": LETO.  Jared Joseph Leto (b. Dec. 26, 1971) was born in Louisiana.  He was so good in Dallas Buyers Club, but he often looks a little demonic.

47. Russo of "Ransom": RENE.  Rene Marie Russo (b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  Ransom was a 1996 film.

48. Panache: ÉCLAT.

50. "Giant" author Ferber: EDNA.  Edna Ferber (Aug. 15, 1885 ~ Apr. 16, 1968) is probably known for her novel Show Boat, which was made into a musical that is still played.  The Houston Grand Opera performed it a couple of years ago.

52. "The Piano Lesson" painter Henri: MATISSE.  Henri Matisse (né Henri iÉmile Benoît Matisse; Dec. 31, 1869 ~ Nov. 3, 1954) painted several versions of piano lessons.  This is probably the most well known.

54. Depends (on): RELIES.

58. Summer TV fare: RERUNS.

61. Hush-hush: SECRET.

62. Deep sleep: COMA.  Also the name of Robin Cook's 1977 medical thriller.

63. B&B, maybe: INN.  The Seven Gables Inn in the Monterey, California area is one of our favorites.

64. 1896 and 2004 Olympics setting: ATHENS.

65. Command to a dog: HEEL.

66. Anatomical pouch: SAC.

Down:

1. Part of SLC: CITY.  As in Salt Lake City.

2. Sundae-topping cookie: OREO.  A crossword staple treat.

3. "All right!": YEAH.

4. "Famous Potatoes" state: IDAHO.  Maine is another state known for its potatoes.  My sister had a boyfriend from Aroostook County and every time he would return from his family's farm, he would bring my parents a 50 pound bag of potatoes.  

5. Does some necking: CANOODLES.

6. "Yada, yada, yada" letters: ETC.

7. Tick repellent: DEET.  Or, more formally, it is known as N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide.

8. Hard thing to kick: HABIT.

9. Vespers: EVENSONG.

10. Population statistic: DENSITY.

12. Coup d'__: ÉTAT.  Hmm ...  Today's French lesson.  The term means Blow of State, and is the overthrow or removal of an existing government from power.  It usually involves violence.  

13. Ukr. or Est., once: SSR.  Ukraine and Estonia were two of the countries that made up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

18. Stadium toppers: DOMES.

New Orleans Superdome

22. Barrister's topper: WIG.  I am glad these are not used in American courts.

24. Local theater, briefly: NABE.  Slang for Neighborhood.

26. Bothered big-time: ATE AT.

27. Hot spot: SAUNA.  A brief history of the Sauna.

30. Swedes' neighbors: NORSE.

32. Noted 2001 bankruptcy: ENRON.  I can't believe it's been 20 years already!

33. Word in a green trio?: REUSE.

36. British landing facility: AERODROME.  Today's British English lesson.  What is the difference between an Aerodome and an Airport?

38. Sheets and pillowcases: BED LINEN.

39. Sky box?: KITE.

42. Professor's address: LECTURE.

44. Singing syllables: TRA LA.

46. Capt.'s underlings: LTs.  Captains and Lieutenants.

49. Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTs.

51. Sherpa's country: NEPAL.  Nepal has a most unusual flag.

52. Convene: MEET.

53. Carve in stone: ETCH.  The outer wall of the great Library in Alexandria, Egypt is etched with over 120 scripts and ancient alphabets.  Visiting the library is well worth the visit.

55. Colored eye part: IRIS.

Anatomy of the Eye.

56. Italian peak: ETNA.  Our friendly volcanic crossword staple, which is found in Sicily.

57. Match audio and video: SYNC.

58. Mandela's land: Abbr.: RSA.  As in the Republic of South Africa.

60. Tales of __: misfortunes: WOE.  Alas, we have come to the end of the puzzle.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה