Friday, April 19, 2019, David Alfred Bywaters

Very Punny!  Today's puzzle uses puns, rhymes and homophones to twist common phrases.  In the first three theme answers, the rhyming word is found at the front of the phrase, and in the last two theme answers, the rhyming word is found at the end.

We also have a very special remembrance of our dear friend with 9-Down (ARGYLE) and 12-Down (SANTA).

17-Across. Flatfish family founders?: SOLE MATES.  The common phrase is Soul Mates.

25-Across. Barbershop levy?: POLE TAX.  The common phrase is Poll Tax.  A pole tax is essentially a tax placed on an adult without consideration of income or resources.  In the United States, the poll tax had been a pre-requisite for voting.  The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished poll taxes as a pre-requisite for voting in federal elections.  A few years later, the Supreme Court ruled that States could not use the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in State elections.  (Never have an attorney explain a legal matter.  I'll just send you all a bill.)

Why is the Barber Pole Red, White and Blue?  It comes from the Middle Ages when men went to the barber not only for a hair cut and a shave, but also for medical treatment.  Bloodletting was a well known medical treatment for curing all sorts of illnesses.  The red represented the blood, and the white represented the bandages used to stop the bleeding.  The blue is said to be the color of the veins that were cut during this whole bloodletting process.

38-Across. Rabbit monopolizing the entrance to the warren?: HOLE HOG.  The common phrase is Whole Hog.  This clue threw me off because the clue contains one animal and the answer contains a different animal.

51-Across. Part in a Humpty Dumpty biopic?: EGG ROLE.  The common phrase is Egg Roll.

62-Across. Mutant tree trunk with extraordinary powers?: SUPER BOLE.  The common phrase is Super Bowl.  The answer made me laugh.

Across:

1. Bonkers: LOCO.  What a crazy way to begin this puzzle!

5. Raucous animal sound: BRAY.

9. Sambuca flavoring: ANISE.

14. Not up: ABED.

15. Ire: RAGE.

16. Trio in the logo of a national motorists' group: RED AS.  As in the three red A's of the American Automobile Association.  I found this to be a devious clue.

19. Acquires: GAINS.  The word "gets" is too short.

20. Shirt with a slogan: TEE.

21. "Metamorphoses" poet: OVID.  An ancient Roman poet.

22. Mindless way to learn: BY ROTE.

23. When doubled, a German spa town: BADEN.  Baden Baden is a spa town in Southwest Germany.

26. Broadway restaurant founder: SARDI.  Sardi's is a famous restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District.  It began as a modest little eatery, known as The Little Restaurant in 1921.  The founder was Melchiorre Pio Sardi and his wife Eugenia Pallera.  He was known in New York as Vincent Sardi (Dec. 23, 1885 ~ Nov. 19, 1969).  A few years later, the restaurant moved down the block and re-opened as Sardi's.  Because the restaurant is in the Theater District, Vincent Sardi hired a sketch artist to draw caricatures of actors and other celebrities, which adorn the walls of the restaurant.

28. Energizes: GOOSES.  To goose up: To cause something to become stronger or more intense.  For example:  Listen to him rev up his car.  It sounds like he really goosed up his engine.   Geese at the park can be energizing.

30. Upscale: CLASSY.

32. Go bad: ROT.

33. Pairs: TWOS.  In go the animals, two by two ...

37. NFL pass, complete or not: ATT.  As in an Attempt.

41. Fez or fedora: HAT.  Hi, Abejo!

42. Pedi concerns: TOES.

44. Day in Durango: DIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

45. N, in a TV content warning: NUDITY.

47. Directions: TRENDS.

50. Laconic: TERSE.

54. Come to: TOTAL.  Think of the tab on your bar bill.  The total came to how much!!!

56. Turf grippers: CLEATS.  Crabby cleats.

57. Die, e.g.: CUBE.  The singular of Dice.

58. Pet's attention-getter, perhaps: PAW.

61. Great deal of, slangily: LOTTA.  Led Zeppelin and Whole Lotta Love

64. Concerning: ABOUT.

65. God with a quiver: EROS.  It's Greek to me.

66. Carrot (always) or stick (sometimes): ROOT.

67. On edge: TENSE.

Oops, different spelling!

68. Used to be: WERE.  The way we were.

69. Tavern array: ALES.

Down:

1. Final: LAST.

2. Vowel-rich woodwind: OBOE.

3. Have a party, say: CELEBRATE.

4. One was written on an urn: ODE.

5. Valorous: BRAVE.

6. Five stars, e.g.: RATING.

7. Like fine Scotch: AGED.

8. Fist-pumper's cry: YES.

9. Sock pattern: ARGYLE.  // And, just 3 clues over we have 12-Down. One-night-a-year flier: SANTA.  A double CSO to our beloved Santa.

10. Minimally distant: NEAREST.

11. Jerk: IDIOT.

13. County not far from London: ESSEX.

18. Fashionable: MODISH.  I initially tried Modern.  At least some of the letters were correct.  

22. With 52-Down, paper since 1872: BOSTON.  //  And 52-Down.  See 22-Down: GLOBE.  Together we get The Boston Globe.

I read the Globe when I lived in Boston, but that was years ago.  Recently I have been getting weekly emails from the Globe urging me to subscribe.

24. Sunday paper barrage: ADs.  Does anyone really ever look through all the ads in the Sunday paper?  I stopped getting my local newspaper when there were more ads than news/articles, and when the sports section was longer than the news sections.

25. Friend of Tigger: POOH.  Winnie the Pooh and his friends were the creations of A.A. Milne (ne Alan Alexander Milne; Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956).  His son, Christopher Robin Milne (Aug. 21, 1920 ~ Apr. 20, 1996), was the basis of the character of the same name in the books.  Sadly, Christopher Robin became estranged from his parents, believing that his father had exploited his childhood in writing the books.  I have fond memories, however, of the these books from my childhood.

26. "Go away!": SCAT.

27. Choir voice: ALTO.

29. Mountain nymph: OREAD.  More Greek in today's puzzle.

31. Mountain melodies: YODELS.  You don't even have to go to the mountains to heard yodeling.  Just go to your local Walmart.

34. Draining effect: WHIRLPOOL.

35. Equine eats: OATS.  Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy ...

36. Eyelid problem: STYE.

39. Triangle side, say: LINE.

40. Site of unwanted suburban vegetation: GUTTER.

But that's my vegetable garden!

43. Low cloud: STRATUS.

46. Trafficking org.: DEA.  As in the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is tasked with preventing drug trafficking.

48. Go around: ROTATE.

49. Daze: STUPOR.

51. Dazzling effect: ÉCLAT.  The word comes from the French, which means "splinter", or "burst".  Also the name of an eau de toilette for men.

53. Mount: GET ON.

55. More than a little plump: OBESE.

57. Medical research objective: CURE.

59. Natural soother: ALOE.  We had this clue the last time I on a puzzle.

60. Dampens: WETS.

62. Put in stitches: SEW.

63. Product of Bali: BRA.  Not the island, you silly goose!  The lingerie company.

Here's the Grid:

Today is a special day in the religious communities.  Today is Good Friday.  It also marks the beginning of Passover, which begins as sunset today.  For those who observe the these events, I wish you a Happy Easter or a Happy Passover.

Friday, March 29, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

Insider Trading.  Each theme answer consists of two 4-letter words where the first and last letters are the same, but the two internal, or "inside", letters (in the pattern of A__ or __A) have "traded" places.  How very clever!

17-Across. Frantic activity at a clothing sale?: GARB GRAB.  The infamous Wedding Dress Garb Grab at Filene's Basement in Boston.  If you haven't experienced the original Filene's Basement, you don't know what you're missing.

26-Across. Wooden bird sculpture?: SAWN SWAN.  This was my Rosetta Stone.

52. Cereal maker's storage building?: BRAN BARN.  I couldn't find a Bran Barn, but here's the famous Bran Castle near Brașov, Romania, allegedly the home of Dracula.  Well worth the visit!

66. Dispassionate bivalve?: CALM CLAM.

40-Across. With 42-Across, white-collar crime ... and a hint to four Across answers: INSIDER.

42-Across. See 40-Across: TRADING.  Together these clues give us INSIDER TRADING, which is a big No-No with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This was a tough Friday puzzle.  It's never good when I can't get 1-Across/1-Down on the first pass.  Getting the gimmick early helped me today.

Across:

1. Result of littering, maybe: PUP.  Oh, not like the street after the parade has floated by,

but as in a dog with its babies.

4. Recipe direction: SIFT.  I remember my mother sifting flour before doing any baking.  I only occasionally used a sifter when baking.  Probably why my cooking is the way it is.

8. Round paths: ORBITS.  The orbits of the planets are elliptical .  The elliptical orbits are a subset of the round orbits.

14. Airport info: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.  A crossword staple.

15. Minorca, por ejemplo: ISLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Minorca is one of the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  The Islands belong to Spain.  Minorca is the tiny island on the far right on the map.

16. Promote: TALK UP.

19. How some insults are veiled: THINLY.  If someone ever says to you, "Oh, you lost 10 pounds?  That's a good start", then you have just been the subject of a thinly disguised insult.

20. Luster: SHEEN.  Not to be confused with Martin Sheen.

21. Electric guitar effect: WA WA.

23. Meh: SO-SO.  //  And 41-Down.  Meh: DRAB.

24. Comedy bit: GAG.

28. Recreational walk: STROLL.  My memory is a little rusty, but I think you can take a STROLL down ...

31. European relative of aloha: CIAO.  Today's Italian lesson

32. Financial claim: LIEN.

33. Heroic poetry: EPOS.  A long, narrative poem, such as Beowulf.  I was so disappointed when I learned that Beowulf was not actually about a wolf.

35. Scheming wife of Augustus: LIVIA.  Livia (58 BCE ~ 29 CE) was a Roman Empress.

44. Mongol invader: TATAR.  Probably the most famous Tatar was Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire.

45. "__ Tired": Beatles "White Album" song: I'M SO.  I don't remember this song.  //  And 71-Across: SLEEPY.

47. Long-gone time: YORE.

48. Plant with therapeutic sap: ALOE.  A crossword staple.

50. Ball VIPs: BELLES.

56. Longtime NBC hit: SNL.  As in Saturday Night Live.

57. Drive-in need: AUTO.

58. Ivan IV, from 1547 to 1584: TSAR.  Also known as Ivan the Terrible.  He is considered the first TSAR of Russia.  Previous rulers were known as Grand Princes.  The title of Tsar gave him gravatis in the eyes of the European monarchs. Once he appointed himself Tsar, he and Queen Elizabeth I carried on a long correspondence, which opened up trading between England and Russia.  It is said that Ivan proposed to Elizabeth, but she declined.  Probably just as well for her.

60. Passageway: AISLE.

64. Theater company: TROUPE.

68. Fairy tale sibling: HANSEL.  Brother of Gretel. The story of Hansel and Gretel is an old German fairy tale, recorded by the Brothers Grimm.  They were children of a poor woodcutter.  Their mother had died and their step-mother took them deep into the woods and left them to fend for themselves.  They came upon a beautiful gingerbread home, unaware that its owner was a cannibalistic witch.

69. Logician's adverb: ERGO.

70. "Really? Me?": AMI.  Hmm ...  Ami the transliteration for a Hebrew word meaning "my people".

72. Precious: DEAR.

73. Favorite: PET.  My late pet.

Down:

1. Coat holders: PEGS.  My first thought was a coat tree, but that didn't work well with the perps.

2. Wasatch Front state: UTAH.  This was totally unknown to me.  Apparently, the Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in Utah, which includes such cities as Provo, Salt Lake City and Odgen.  Do any of our crossword friends live in this area?

3. Opposite of embiggen: PARE.  Embiggen is a perfectly cromulent word.  It's first known use was on a 1996 episode of The Simpsons.

4. Traffic stopper, perhaps: SIGNAL.

5. Leb. neighbor: ISR.  Israel is a neighbor of Lebanon.

6. Diamond concern: FLAW.  Can you spot the flaws in these diamonds?

7. Spicy sauce: TABASCO.  Made in Avery Island, Louisiana.  Did you know that Avery Island isn't really an island?  It's really a salt dome.  There are five such "Islands" in southern Louisiana.

8. Capital NNW of Albany: OTTAWA.

9. Cheer syllable: RAH.  //  And 25-Down. Cheer: GLEE.

10. Euphoria: BLISS.

11. "You don't need to tell me": I KNOW.

12. Home of the Drillers of Class AA baseball: TULSA.  The Tulsa Drillers are the double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

13. Watch surreptitiously: SPY ON.

18. Colorful tropical flower: BEGONIA.

22. Middle management issues?: WAISTS.  Another good clue.

27. Satchmo's birthplace, briefly: NOLA.  Louis Daniel Armstrong (Aug. 4, 1901 ~ July 6, 1971), also known as Satchmo, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

28. Narrow opening: SLIT.

29. Turner with numbers: TINA.  As in Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; b. Nov. 26, 1939).  Tina on her last birthday at age 79.  I hope I can look as good as she does when I turn 79.

30. Enjoy an easy chair: REST.

34. Monastic leaders: PRIORS.

36. Charmingly pastoral: IDYLLIC.

37. Member of a Baroque consort: VIOL.  A musical instrument used in Renaissance and Baroque music.  It is similar to a cello, is six-stringed, held vertically and played with a bow.

38. Memo heading: IN RE.

39. Survey range components: AGES.  On a survey form, there are often boxes to check one's age range.

43. Takes badly?: ROBS.  Nice misdirection.

46. Threatened: MENACED.

49. These days: LATELY.

51. Charm: ENAMOR.

52. Spa features: BATHS.  Here I am (way in the back) swimming in the pool at the Gellert Spa in Budapest.

53. Like much of Oregon: RURAL.

54. Make amends: ATONE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

55. "I give up!": NO USE.

59. Uncommon: RARE.  Tanzanite is one of the world's rarest gem stones.  It is found only in Tanzania, hence its name.

61. Open-handed blow: SLAP.

62. Unconvincing, as an excuse: LAME.

63. Put out: EMIT.

65. Energy: PEP.

67. NY airport named for a mayor: LGA.  As in LaGuardia Airport, which is named after Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (Dec. 11, 1882 ~ Sept. 20, 1947).  He was only 5'2'', and interestingly, his first name means "little flower" in Italian.  He was the 99th Mayor of New York City.  He served as Mayor from January 1934 through December 1945.

Now here's the GIRD GRID:

QOD:  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours.  ~  Eric Idle (b. Mar. 29, 1943)