Tuesday, December 3, 2019, Robert E. Lee Morris

Are You a Mensa Genius?  The first word of each theme answer can describe a high IQ.

17-Across. Optimistic viewpoint to "look on": BRIGHT SIDE.

58-Across. Samsung product: SMART PHONE.

11-Down. Hothead's trait: QUICK TEMPER.

24-Down. Wicked wit: SHARP TONGUE.

Across:

1. Desert Storm missile: SCUD.  During Desert Storm, journalist Arthur Kent (b. Dec. 27, 1953), gained fame for reporting on the war and was dubbed The Scud Stud.

5. Jed Clampett portrayer Buddy: EBSEN.  Before becoming Jed Clampett, Buddy Ebsen (né Christian Ludolf Ebsen, Jr.; Apr. 2, 1908 ~ July 6, 2003), had been cast in the role as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.  He had to be replaced after he became ill due to a reaction to the aluminum dust that was an integral part of the costume.

10. Newspaper ad meas.: SQ. IN.  As in Square Inches.

14. Greek liqueur: OUZO.  An anise-flavored aperitif.  It's a clear liquid that turns cloudy when ice is added.

15. Like much snack food: SALTY.

16. German wheels: AUDI.

19. "The Way You Love Me" singer Faith: HILL.  Faith Hill (née Audrey Faith Perry; b. Sept. 21, 1967) is married to fellow musician, Tim McGraw (né Samuel Timothy McGraw; b. May 1, 1967).

20. Comfort: EASE.

21. Medieval clubs: MACES.  Bludgeoning weapons.

22. Vampire played by Cruise: LESTAT.  Tom Cruise (né Thomas Cruise Mapother, IV; b. July 3, 1962) played the Vampire LESTAT de Lioncourt in the 1994 movie Interview with the Vampire, which was based on the novel of the same name by New Orleanian, Anne Rice.

26. Offhand comment: REMARK.

29. Breathed out: EXHALED.

31. Connects (to): RELATES.

34. Eastern neighbor of Tenn.: N. CAR.  North Carolina is Tennessee's eastern neighbor.

35. "FBI" actress De La Garza: ALANA.  Alana De la Garza (b. June 18, 1974) recently joined the cast of the FBI.  She previously was in the cast of several of the Law & Order shows.

37. "Strange Magic" rock band: ELO.  The Electric Light Orchestra was a band that originally formed in 1970!

38. California's Big __: SUR.

39. Know-it-all: WISE GUY.

41. UFC sport: MMA.  As in Mixed Martial Arts.  I let the perps fill in this answer.

42. Psychic's "gift": ESP.  As in ExtraSensory Perception.

43. "Gesundheit!" evoker: ACHOO.

44. For each unit: A POP.

45. Emancipate: SET FREE.

47. Middle of __: remote area: NO WHERE.

50. Restaurant chef's workload: ORDERS.

52. Came close to: NEARED.

53. Singer Joplin: JANIS.  Janis Joplin (née Janis Lyn Joplin; b. Jan. 19, 1943 ~ Oct. 4, 1970) was born in Port Arthur, Texas.  Tragically, she died of a heroin overdose at age 27.

55. Taste defeat: LOSE.

57. Strong desire: URGE.

64. Any thing, say: NOUN.  Not keen on this type of cluing.

65. Bamboo muncher: PANDA.  China owns and leases all the Giant Pandas.  Bei Bei, the Panda that was at the National Zoo, was sent back to China last month.  They are such cute little critters.

66. Black stone: ONYX.

67. Pigged out (on), briefly: OD-ED.  As in Over-Dosed.

68. Fur tycoon: ASTOR.  John Jacob Astor (né Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 ~ Mar. 29, 1848) was born in Germany, but immigrated to the United States shortly after the American Revolution  He was an astute businessman and quickly entered into the fur trade.  He became the first multi-millionaire in the United States.

69. Designer Chanel: COCO.  Coco Chanel (née Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel; Aug. 19, 1883 ~ Jan. 10, 1971), led an interesting life.

Down:

1. Cry noisily: SOB.  //  And: 49-Down. Blubber: WEEP.

2. Many a stray 4-Down: CUR.  //  And 4-Down:  Hound: DOG.

3. Special forces weapon: UZI.  The Uzi was designed by Uziel Gal (né Gotthard Glas; Dec. 15, 1923 ~ Sept. 7, 2002), a German-born Israeli gun developer.  He was horrified that this weapon was name after him.

5. Sprawling property: ESTATE.

6. Barbershop quartet member: BASS.

7. More underhanded: SLIER.

8. Flight board abbr.: ETD.  As in Estimated Time of Departure.

9. "Bill __ Saves the World": science talk show: NYE.  As in William Sanford Nye (b. Nov. 27, 1955).  Is he a Scientist or a Comedian?

10. Arid African expanse: SAHARA.

12. Wait in traffic: IDLE.

13. Rock's Lofgren: NILS.  Nils Hilmer Lofgren (b. June 21, 1951) is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

18. Get better: HEAL.

21. Southeast Asia's __ Peninsula: MALAY.

22. Camera attachments: LENSES.  This one is just a bit too large for the average tourist.

23. Reason for absence: EXCUSE.

25. Driveway surface: TAR.

27. Jeremy Irons film based on a Christopher Paolini fantasy novel: ERAGON.  Eragon was apparently a fantasy-action film.  Rotten Tomatoes listed it as the 10th worst film of 2006.

28. Bill of fare: MENU.

30. One of Santa's reindeer: DASHER.  Can you spot Dasher?

32. "Get Shorty" novelist __ Leonard: ELMORE.  Elmore John Leonard, Jr. (Oct. 11, 1925 ~ Aug. 20, 2013) was born in New Orleans.  He wrote many novels that were adapted into movies.  Get Shorty was a very funny movie, but I had trouble with the book.

33. Lathered (up): SOAPED.

Not a happy camper

36. Late July zodiac sign: LEO.  Leo is the Zodiac sign from July 23 to August 22.

39. City districts: WARDS.  There are 17 wards in New Orleans.

40. Slushy treat: ICEE.  The Polar bear is its logo.

44. "I understand now!": AHA!

46. Ally: FRIEND.

48. GM security system: ON-STAR.

51. Point of view: SLANT.

53. Roman queen of the gods: JUNO.  Juno was the chief goddess and was the female counterpart to Jupiter.

54. Retired MLB slugger: A-ROD.  As in Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (b. July 27, 1975).  He had a long career in professional baseball.  He played 7 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, three with the Texas Rangers and 12 with the New York Yankees.

56. Word on a dollar: ORDO.  The Latin phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum is found under the pyramid on the One Dollar bill.  It means A New Order of the Ages.

58. Place for TLC: SPA.

59. Humanities degs.: MAs.  As in Masters of Arts.

60. Ad __ committee: HOC.

61. Lennon's love: ONO.  Yoko Ono (b. Feb. 18, 1933) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

62. Grand Central Sta. site: NYC.

63. Skeleton prefix: EXO-.  Critters with Exoskeletons:

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  See it all.  See it fairly.  Be truthful, be sensible and be careful with language.  When nothing depends upon man, everything depends on him.  ~  Henry A. Grunwald (né Heinz Anatole Grünwald; Dec. 3, 1922 ~ Feb. 26, 2005); Austrian-born American journalist and editor

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Kurt Krauss

Don't Go Away Mad, Just GO Outside!  Each two-word theme answer begins with the letter G and ends in O, hence the word "GO" is on the "outside" of each answer.

17-Across. Transmission specification: GEAR RATIO.  How to determine Gear Ratio:

25-Across. Stockholm-born three-time Best Actress nominee: GRETA GARBO.   This Swedish actress never actually said, "I want to be alone."  According to her, she said, "I want to be let alone."

Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; Sept. 18, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1990)

36-Across. Longtime New Year's Eve bandleader: GUY LOMBARDO.  Guy Lombardo (né Gaetano Alberto Lombardo; June 19, 1902 ~ Nov. 5, 1977), was a Canadian-born musician.  In 1924, he formed the Royal Canadians along with his brothers.  He began his tradition of playing big band music on New Year's Eve in 1929.  His band could be heard on this date for the next 47 years ~ first on radio, then finally in the late 50s on television.

50-Across. Video game series with a Warriors of Rock edition: GUITAR HERO.

And the unifier:

59-Across. Leave the house ... and a literal feature of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across: GO OUTSIDE.

Across:

1. Cigar residue: ASH.

4. "West Side Story" sides: GANGS.

9. Cul-__: dead-end street: DE-SAC.

14. Versatile truck, for short: UTE.

15. Head off: AVERT.

16. Oven emanation: AROMA.

19. Divided island of Southeast Asia: TIMOR.  The island is divided between East Timor and Indonesia.

20. Fielder's mishap: ERROR.  Think baseball.

21. Irish watering hole: PUB.  The Best Irish Pubs according to the Irish Post.

23. Trucker on a radio: CB-ER.

24. Catch one's breath: REST.

28. Barfly: SOT.

29. Run out of juice: DIE.

30. Weekend show with Aidy Bryant, to fans: SNL.  Aidy Bryant (née Aidan Mackenzy Bryant; b. May 7, 1987) is an American comedian who has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2012.

31. "Dig in!": EAT.

32. Actress Berry: HALLE.  Halle Berry (née Maria Halle Berry; b. Aug. 14, 1966), is probably best known for her role in the 2001 movie Monster's Ball, which also starred Billy Bob Thornton.

34. Real estate units: ACRES.  Some Acres are Green.

39. Dalmatian marks: SPOTS.  This dog breed can actually trace its roots to the Dalmatia region of Croatia.  Can you Spot the Dalmatians on the book's cover?

41. Skin irritations: SORES.

42. PC key near Z: ALT.  The Alt key, or optional key, is used to change the function of another pressed key.  //  And 54-Across. Escape key function: UNDO.

43. Partners for mas: PAs.  Ma and Pa Kettle were a bit before my time, but I remember hearing about them.

46. Terminate: END.

47. Suffix with Brooklyn: -ESE.  As in Brooklyese, the dialect of speech associated with Brooklyn.

53. Dashing style: ELAN.  A crossword staple.

55. Comfy footwear: MOC.

56. Leave the chair: STAND.  Here's a chair with its stand.

57. Secret Service role: AGENT.

62. Rodeo rope: REATA.

63. Bring together: UNITE.

64. Gp. that isn't gun-shy: NRA.  As in the National Rifle Association.

65. Welles on-screen: ORSON.  Orson Welles (né George Orson Welles; May 6, 1915 ~ Oct. 10, 1985), is probably best known for his role as Charles Foster Kane in the 1941 movie, Citizen Kane.  The character of Kane was believed to have been modeled after the San Simeon Castle Builder of 3-Down: William Randolph HEARST.

66. Hall of Fame pitcher Ryan: NOLAN.  Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (b. Jan. 31, 1947), had a 27 -year career in major league baseball.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

67. Corn serving: EAR.

Down:

1. Hole-making tools: AUGERS.  Scary looking tools!

2. Den music system: STEREO.

3. San Simeon castle builder: HEARST.  See 65-Across.

William Randolph Hearst (Apr. 23, 1863 ~ Aug. 14, 1951)

4. Teri of "Young Frankenstein": GARR.  Teri Ann Garr (b. Dec. 11, 1944) was so funny in Young Frankenstein.

5. Gardner of the silver screen: AVA.  Ava Gardner (née Dec. 24, 1922 ~ Jan. 25, 1990) was one of Frank Sinatra's wives.  Her first marriage was to Mickey Rooney, then she married Artie Shaw.

6. Badminton divider: NET.

7. Beef: GRIPE.

8. Strong ales: STOUTS.

9. Not dis?: DAT.

10. CNN journalist Hill: ERICA.  Erica Ruth Hill (b. July 20, 1976) was the co-anchor of Weekend Today for several years.

11. Mariachi's hat: SOMBRERO.

12. One-celled swimmers: AMOEBAE.  Anatomy of an amoeba.  For a 1-celled critter, it sure has a lot of parts.

13. Orange veggies: CARROTS.  Anyone remember Captain Kangaroo and Bunny Rabbit?

18. Hogwash: ROT.

22. Keep out: BAN.

25. Fish organ: GILL.

26. Move, in realty ads: RE-LO.

27. Shone with a nearly blinding light: GLARED.

29. Pampering place: DAY SPA.  A nice place to be pampered.  Many day spas, however, can be very pricy.

32. Simple shelter: HUT.

33. Ambulance letters: EMS.  I initially tried EMT, for Emergency Medical Technician.  Unfortunately, that gave me Tores for Skin Irratations (41-Across).

35. S&L offerings: CDs.  As in Certificate of Deposits.

36. Looked through a home remodeling magazine, perhaps: GOT IDEAS.

37. Transvaal settler: BOER.  Transvaal is a province of South Africa.  The word Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans noun for farmer, and refers to the Dutch and Huguenot population that settled in South Africa in the late 17th century.

38. Florence's river: ARNO.

The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno in Florence, Italy.

39. Arizona cactus: SAGUARO.

40. Tool that unclogs using suction: PLUNGER.

44. Chair part for elbow resting: ARM.

45. Feudal Japanese military ruler: SHŌGUN.  It's also the title of a novel by James Clavell.

47. "Seinfeld" regular: ELAINE.  The character of Elaine was played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (b. Jan. 13, 1961).  She wasn't a very good dancer.

48. Former Justice __ Day O'Connor: SANDRA.  Sandra Day O'Connor (b. Mar.. 26, 1930) was the first female United States Supreme Court Justice.  She was nominated to the High Court by President Ronald Reagan.  She replaced Potter Stewart on the Court.  When she retired in 2006, after having served no the Court for nearly 25 years, Samuel Alito replaced her.

49. Make beloved: ENDEAR.

51. Lone Ranger's pal: TONTO.  The Lone Ranger ran on television from 1949 to 1957.

52. Affordable, in brand names: ECONO.  As in the Econo-Lodge.

53. Sci-fi beings: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrestials.

56. British firearm acronym: STEN.  I didn't realize that the STEN gun was an acronym.  It is named after its designers: Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield, the government's rifle and arms factory in London's Borough of Enfield.

58. Color like khaki: TAN.

60. Black gold: OIL.

61. Hagen of Broadway: UTA.  Uta Thura Hagen (June 12, 1919 ~ Jan. 14, 2004) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists.  To sow, we must open our hands.  ~  Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. Nov. 26, 1931), Argentine recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize