Tuesday, October 8, 2019 Debra Hamel

But is it erasable?  The first word of each theme answer can proceed the word Pencil to give us a new concept.

17-Across. Ocular arch-shaping cosmetic: EYEBROW WAX.  Eyebrow Pencil.

26-Across. Robby the Robot, e.g.: MECHANICAL MAN.  Mechanical Pencil.

48-Across. Backyard cooker: CHARCOAL GRILL.  Charcoal Pencil.  Everything you wanted to know about the difference between a charcoal pencil vs. a graphite pencil but were afraid to ask.

And the Unifier:

65. Tentative "It's a date" ... or a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, and 48-Across: PENCIL ME IN.  If you "pencil in" an appointment in your date book, you can always erase the date and cancel your plans if you get a better offer.

Across:

1. How headless chickens may run: AMOK.  Did you know a turtle can swim without a head?

5. Argo and Titanic: SHIPS.

10. Email asking for money, perhaps: SCAM.

14. Pedi partner: MANI.  As a Pedicure and Manicure.

15. "A Confederacy of Dunces" author John Kennedy __: TOOLE.  John Kennedy Toole (Dec. 17, 1937 ~ Mar. 26, 1969) was from New Orleans.  Sadly, he died by suicide at age 31.  His most well-known novel was A Confederacy of Dunces, which was published after his death.

16. Gyro bread: PITA.  Yummers!

19. Like Felix Unger, e.g.: ANAL.  Hmm ...

20. Forbidden regions: NO-GO AREAS.

21. Mom's brother: UNCLE.  My mother had no brothers, thus I have no maternal uncles.

22. __ Lanka: SRI.  The island country off the coast of India.  Between 1948 and 1972, the country was known as Ceylon.  The name Sri Lanka means "Resplendent Island" in Sanskrit.

23. 1/60 of an hr.: MIN.  There are 60 Minutes in an Hour.

25. "The cow is of the bovine __; / One end is moo, the other, milk": Ogden Nash: ILK.

32. Miss. neighbor: ALA.  Louisiana and Arkansas are also neighbors of Mississippi, but the answer today is Alabama.

33. High school stat: GPA.  As in the Grade Point Average.

34. Loewe's lyricist: LERNER.  Alan Jay Lerner (Aug. 31, 1918 ~ June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist who collaborated with Frederick Loewe (June 10, 1901 ~ Feb. 14, 1988), who was a composer.  Together they created many well known Broadway musicals, including My Fair Lady and Camelot.

Lerner is on the right.

37. Dog pack leader: ALPHA.

40. One or more: ANY.

42. Spanish "I love you": TE AMO.  Today's Spanish lesson, obviously.

43. Get by: MANAGE.

45. Article in Die Zeit: DER.  Today's German lesson.

47. Up to, briefly: 'TIL.  Short for Until.

52. N, E, S or W: DIR.  N(orth), E(ast), S(outh) or W(est) are all Directions.

54. Golf teacher: PRO.

55. Portuguese saint: SÃO.  Today's Portuguese lesson.

56. UPS driver's assignment: ROUTE.

58. Not one to pass up a porterhouse: MEAT LOVER.

64. King of Siam's Broadway dance partner: ANNA.  Anna and the King of Siam was a musical by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  It was loosely based on the true story of Anna Leonowens (Nov. 5, 1831 ~ Jan. 19, 1915), who was a tutor to the children of King Mongkut.  Russian-born Yul Brynner (July 11, 1920 ~ Oct. 10, 1985) played the role of the King.

66. The Stones' Jagger: MICK.

Sir Michael Philip Jagger (b. July 26, 1943).

67. One-eighty: U-TURN.

68. Distort, as rules: BEND.  Bending the law doesn't exactly break the law, but it could be considered inappropriate or unfair.

69. Throbbing pain: ACHE.

70. Pro bono promise: NO FEE.

71. Boats like Noah's: ARKS.  Not all Arks, however, would be laden with animals.

Down:

1. Last word before digging in?: AMEN.  Cute clue.  A reference to saying Grace before a meal.

2. BLT condiment: MAYO.  A Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich would have Mayonnaise in it as well.

3. 10 C-notes: ONE-G.  Ten C-notes *$100 bills) are worth One-Grand ($1,000).

4. Put the __ on: squelch: KIBOSH.

5. Attic function: STORING.  I initially tried Storage.

6. Sewing machine inventor Elias: HOWE.  Elias Howe (July 9, 1819 ~ Oct. 3, 1867) is credited with creating the modern sewing machine.  Isaac Merritt Singer (Oct. 27, 1811 ~ July 23, 1875), however, has his name associated with the machine.  Howe was a nice family man, but Singer was quite the cad.  Singer is believed to have fathered at least 24 children with various wives and mistresses.

Elias Howe and his Sewing Machine.

7. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

8. Outmoded TV type: PLASMA.

9. __ symbol: SEX.

10. Wing measurement: SPAN.  The Albatros has the largest wingspan of any living bird.

11. Where Reds play: CINCINNATI.  A baseball reference to the Cincinnati Reds.

12. In the least: AT ALL.

13. 2018 Best Actor Rami __: MALEK.  Rami Said Malek (b. May 12, 1981) plays Elliot Alderson on the television series Mr. Robot.  He won the 2018 Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Malek is on the right.

18. Hard to find, to Caesar: RARA.  Today's Latin lesson.

21. Like some expectations: UNMET.

24. Feeling poorly: ILL.

26. Palindromic address: MA'AM.

27. "Enchanted" film title girl: ELLA.

28. Naval officer on a cereal box: CAP'N CRUNCH.  This cereal has been around since 1963.  We used to eat it as kids.

29. Beer initialism: IPA.  As in India Pale Ale.  Here's the history of India Pale Ale.

30. "I'm on it!": CAN DO!

31. "We __ Farmers": insurance slogan: ARE.

35. Pianist Gilels: EMIL.  I am not familiar with Emil Gilels (Oct. 19, 1916 ~ Oct. 14, 1985).  He was a Soviet musician.  It's a long piece, but worth listening to.

 

36. Winning streak: ROLL.

38. "Yeah, right!": HAH!

39. With jaw dropped: AGAPE.

41. Affirmative vote: YEA.

44. Do something human?: ERR.

46. Stephen King's kid lit counterpart: R.L. STINE.  Today is the birthday of R.L. Stine (né Robert Lawrence Stine; Oct. 8, 1943).  He turns 76 today.  Happy Birthday!  He is best known for his Goosebumps series of horror fiction for children.

49. Awaken: COME TO.

50. Sometimes it's unmitigated: GALL.

51. Self-moving vacuum: ROOMBA.

52. Certain queen's bailiwick: DRAMA.  Cute clue.  We all know someone who is a big DRAMA QUEEN.

53. Greek column type: IONIC.  There were 3 major styles of columns in ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.  (If Debra Hamel, today's constructor, is who I think she is, then she is a historian specializing in Ancient Greece.)

57. Word before part or heart: TAKE.  As in the phrases Take Part and Take Heart.

59. Sufficient, in texts: ENUF.  Meh!

60. "Back forty" unit: ACRE.  The most remote area of the farm.

61. Swerve: VEER.

62. Kindle technology: E-INK.  I don't have a Kindle.  I do have a Nook, but I really prefer to read an actual book with pages that I can flip back and forth.

63. Gps. of drinks: RNDS.  As in Rounds.  "I'll get the next Round!"

65. "The lowest form of humor ~ when  you don't think of it first": Oscar Levant:  PUN.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Read.  Read.  Read.  Just don’t read one type of book.  Read different books by various authors so that you develop different styles.  ~ R.L. Stine (né Robert Lawrence Stine; b. Oct. 8, 1943).  See 46-Down.
    

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 78 birthday to dear Jayce, who's been with our blog for over a decade. Thanks for understanding so deeply my 🥣安 and other problems, Jayce. So glad you found us. Here's his wedding picture again. Young and Beautiful.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Mom and Pop Stores:  Each answer "KEEPS" the word "SHOP" hidden within the two-word spans.

16-Across. Golf tournament won by Shane Lowry in 2019: BRITISH OPEN.  Shane Lowry (b. Apr. 2, 1987) is an Irish professional golfer.

19-Across. "Easy Rider" actor: DENNIS HOPPER.

Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 ~ May 29, 2010)

51-Across. Baltimore-based medical school: JOHNS HOPKINS. Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 ~ Dec. 24, 1873) was an American entrepreneur, abolitionist and philanthropist.  He amassed a large forture, which was bequeathed to a number of institutions, the most memorable is the still existing Johns Hopkins University.  His first name is actually Johns, which was his mother's maiden name.

57. "Fingers crossed!": HERE'S HOPING.

And the unifier:

34-Across. Stocking experts, and what 16-, 19-, 51- and 57-Across literally are: SHOPKEEPERS.  Shopkeepers are the individuals who own and operate an independent shop.  A lot of the little Mom and Pop stores in my city are disappearing and are being replaced by the big stores.

All the tripe you want from the Shopkeeper of this little shop we found in Naples.

Across:

1. Fisherman's __: waterfront district in San Francisco: WHARF.

6. Police HQ alerts: APBs.  As in All Points Bulletins.

10. Sushi bar sauce: SOY.

13. Swiss mathematician: EULER.  Leonhard Euler (Apr. 15, 1707 ~ Sept. 18, 1783) was influential in many areas of mathematics, including topology and analytical number theory.  It's all over my head, but ...

14. Soft palate dangler: UVULA.

15. "t," in "btw": THE.  Textspeak for By The Way.

18. Cavity-fighting org.: ADA.  As in the American Dental Association.

21. eharmony profile part: BIO.  As in a Biography.

24. Entry point: DOOR.

25. With 31-Across, "The Aviator" Oscar nominee: ALAN.  //  And 31. See 25-Across: ALDA.  This gives us Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abrusso; b. Jan. 28, 1936).

26. Maxim: OLD SAW.

28. Pequod crew: WHALERS.  A reference to Moby Dick, the novel by Herman Melville (Aug. 1, 1819 ~ Sept. 28, 1891).  The book is on my TBR list, but way, way down on that list!

32. Tidy (up): SPRUCE.

38. Give as a task: ASSIGN.

39. Office notice: MEMO.

42. Govt. drug bust, perhaps: FBI RAID.

45. Post-workout refresher: SHOWER.  Most of the showers in our hotels were very, very tiny.

47. __ mater: ALMA.

48. TriBeCa neighbor: SOHO.  TriBeCa is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City that is the Triangle Below Canal Street.  It is near the area that is South of Houston Street.

50. "__ Blinded Me With Science": 1983 hit: SHE.

56. "Sands of __ Jima": 1949 film: IWO.  This was a John Wayne movie.

61. Country star McGraw: TIM.  Tim McGraw (né Samuel Timothy McGraw; b. May 1, 1967) was born in Delhi, Louisiana.

62. Gas brand BP relaunched in 2017: AMOCO.

63. Less prevalent: RARER.

64. Had chips, say: ATE.

65. Fail to notice: MISS.  What happened to the Swiss Miss logo on the chocolate?  Do you Miss her?

66. Washington, e.g.: STATE.  Washington was admitted into the Union on November 11, 1889.  The State is named for George Washington.  Its capital is Olympia and its largest city is Seattle.

Down:

1. Spider's creation: WEB.

2. "Ben-__": HUR.  Before it was an epic 1959 movie, starring Charlton Heston in the title role, it was a novel entitled, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, by General Lew Wallace (Apr. 10, 1827 ~ Feb. 15, 1905).  Wallace was a Union General in the American Civil War.  He presided over the trial of Henry Wirz (Nov. 25, 1823 ~ Nov. 10, 1865), who was the Confederate Commander over the prisoner-of-war camp near Andersonville, Georgia.  Wirz was found guilty of cruelty and endangering the lives of the prisoners and was executed.  Wirz was only 1 of 2 individuals executed for war crimes during the American Civil War.

3. Baba in a cave: ALI.  The story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is just one of the Arabian Tales in the collection One Thousand and One Nights.  Ali discovered that the phrase "Open Sesame" would open the thieves' den, and hence, its treasures.

4. No longer working: Abbr.: RET'D.  As in Retired, like many of us here on the blog.

5. Curly-haired "Peanuts" character: FRIEDA.  I don't remember this character.

6. To have, in Paris: AVOIR.  Today's French grammar lesson.

7. Baby seals: PUPS.

 

8. "Yuck!": BLEH!

9. Twins infielder Miguel: SANO.  Miguel Sano (né Miguel Ángel Jean Sanó; b. May 11, 1993) is a 3rd baseman for the Minnesota Twins.

10. Rice, in Chinese cuisine: STAPLE.

11. "My goodness!": OH, DEAR!

12. Hankers (for): YEARNS.

14. "Hmm ... not likely": UH, NO.

17. Winter flakes: SNOW.

20. Capital of Sicily: PALERMO.  I was in Palermo a few weeks ago.

 Here I am waving from the balcony of our hotel.

 Our hotel was a few feet from the Quattro Canti, the intersection of the city's two main thoroughfares.

The Cappella Palatina, within the Norman Palace, is covered in beautiful mosaics.

21. Fluffy wrap: BOA.

22. "__ be darned!": I'LL.

23. Vegas calculation: ODDS.

27. Like most of northern Africa: SAHARAN.

28. Little songbird: WREN.

29. Drillmaster's syllable: HUP.

30. Opening day pitcher, typically: ACE.  The pitcher should be an Ace, but those selected to throw out the first ball aren't.

 

32. Icy road worry: SKID.

 

33. Cribbage piece: PEG.  My grandfather taught me to play cribbage.  Playing cribbage with my mother was one of the last things we did together.

35. Mama bear, in Seville: OSA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

36. Omega preceder: PSI.  It's Greek to me.

37. Puts a Singer to work: SEWS.  My grandmother had a Singer like the one below.

40. "Not really a fan": MEH!

41. Mined metal: ORE.

42. Sizzling Tex-Mex fare: FAJITA.  Yummers!

43. Fail epically: BLOW IT.

44. Shout from the foyer: I'M HOME!

45. __ Tzu: toy dog: SHIH.

46. Advanced student's course: HONORS.

48. Contractor's parameters: SPECS.

49. "Yeah, and ... ?": OK, SO.

52. Fancy pillowcase: SHAM.

53. Prefix with sphere: HEMI-.

54. Gold medals, to Spaniards: OROs.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

55. Quarrel: SPAT.

58. Nest egg acronym: IRA.  As in the Individual Retirement Account.

59. "Nothing but __": "Swish!": NET.

60. College sr.'s test: GRE.  As in the Graduate Record Examinations.

Here's the Grid:

A BIG "Thank You" to Boomer for filling in for me over the last several weeks while I was away.  Doing double duty two days in a row is a lot.  I really appreciate his fine and humorous commentaries.

Finally, here is your QOD:  My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn't pay the bill, he gave me six months more.  ~  Walter Matthau (né Walter John Matthow; Oct. 1, 1920 ~ July 1, 2000)