Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Frank Virzi

My House is Your House (If you can find it).  A type of an abode can be found "divided" in the circles of each theme answer.

20-Across. Tenderloin often served with Béarnaise sauce: CHATEAUBRIAND.  CABIN.

A Chateaubriand is a very expensive filet mignon.  It was named after a French aristocrat and writer named François-René de Chateaubriand (1768 ~ 1848).

33-Across. Rockies resort town: VAIL, COLORADO.  VILLA.

41-Across. Sub on a plate: HERO SANDWICH.  RANCH.

There are many variations on a RANCH style house.

And the Unifier:

56-Across. Biblical phrase in Lincoln's historic 6/16/1858 speech, and what each set of circled letters contains: A HOUSE DIVIDED.  This bibilcal reference appears in the Gospel of Mark (3:25) where Jesus said, "If a House be Divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." (Revised Standard Version).  I am familiar with Lincoln's speech.   I did not know, however, that it was a Biblical reference.

Across:

1. Single-celled creature: AMEBA.

6. Cab alternative: UBER.  Oh, literally a cab.  I was thinking of our usual misdirection of a Cabernet wine.

10. Partner of aid: ABET.  Partners in crime: Aid and Abet.

14. Disinterested: BORED.

15. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  Did you know that a Hoya is a genus of tropical plants?  That is not, however, the origin of the Georgetown Hoya, which apparently derived from Greek and Latin words.  The Georgetown mascot is Jack, the Bulldog.  Anyway, that's their story, and they're sticking to it.  I rather like the flower, though.

16. Hot under the collar: SORE.

17. Pricey violin, for short: STRAD.  A violin Stradivarius violin was created from the shop of Antonio Stradivari (1644 ~ Dec. 18, 1737).

18. Did some weeding: HOED.  This answer appeared in yesterday's puzzle and was clued as "worked the soil".

19. Start of a spell: ABRA.

23. Prince Valiant's boy: ARN.  He appears with some frequency in the puzzles, but I can never remember his name.

24. Highest degree: NTH.  You known the answer has to be either Nth or Ph.D.

25. Kindergarten art item: CRAYON.

28. Squeaked by: MADE DO.

30. Smeltery refuse: SLAG.

32. Inc. kin: LLC.  As in a Limited Liability Company.

36. Rifle range supply: AMMO.

39. Federation in OPEC: UAE.  The United Arab Emirate is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Company.

40. Les __ les autres: one another: UNES.  Today's French lesson.

46. Court players' gp.: ATP.  As in the Association of Tennis Professionals.

47. Disapproving sounds: TSKs!

48. Like a one-lane bridge: NARROW.  I wanted a Covered Bridge, but that was too many letters.

52. Topiary tool: SHEARS.

54. "http" often begins one: URL.

55. Lemon finish?: ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

60. River seen from the Leaning Tower: ARNO.

62. Old bread problem: MOLD. 

63. Breezing through: ACING.

64. Rain cats and dogs: POUR.

65. "Do it, or __!": ELSE.

66. Eco-friendly word: REUSE.  We saw this word last Friday.

67. Falafel holder: PITA.  Yummers!  Street food in Jerusalem.

68. Letter opener: DEAR.  Fun clue.

69. Those in favor: YESES.

Down:

1. '70s-'80s scandal that inspired "American Hustle": ABSCAM.  Abscam was an FBI sting.

2. Lepidopteran foe of Godzilla: MOTHRA.  This creature has appeared in the puzzles before.

3. Quick post office run, say: ERRAND.

4. Outplay: BEAT.

5. Back-of-the-book supplements: ADDENDA.

6. "You betcha!": UH, HUH!

7. Blockhead: BOOB.  Hmm ...  //  Not to be confused with 34-Down. Blockhead: LUNK.

8. Watcher: EYER.

9. Politically extreme: RADICAL.  In chemistry, a radical is an atom, molecule or ion that has an unpaired valence electron.

10. Yoga posture: ASANA.

11. "Blowin' in the Wind" singer/songwriter: BOB DYLAN.  The answer my friend ...

12. Make a mistake: ERR.

13. Sri Lanka export: TEA.

21. Yours, to Yves: À TOI.  More of today's French lesson.

22. Legendary Greek ship: ARGO.

26. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.

27. Some mil. drillers: NCOs.  As in Non-Commissioned Officers.

29. Cruet filler, to Rachael Ray: EVOO.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil also appeared in last Friday's puzzle.

30. Tons: SCADS.

31. MGM co-founder Marcus: LOEW.

Marcus Lowe (May 7, 1870 ~ Sept. 5, 1927)

35. German industrial region: RUHR.

36. Cries of insight: AHAs!

37. Protestant denom.: METH.  As in Methodist.

38. Monocled food mascot: MR. PEANUT.  Mr. Peanut has undergone many changes in his 100 + year existence.  I think this year's Super Bowl did him in.

42. Houston MLBer: 'STRO.  As in the Houston Astros.

43. Took as a given: ASSUMED.

44. 45-Down inscription: INRI.  //  And  45-Down. Site of the Crucifixion: CALVARY.

49. The "r" in pi-r-squared: RADIUS.  Pi-r-squared?  Pi r not squared, pi r round!

50. Danish seaport: ODENSE.

51. Wood-splitting tools: WEDGES.

53. Now, in Nogales: AHORA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

54. Cow's milk source: UDDER.

57. Only: SOLE.

58. Film lioness: ELSA.

Elsa with Joy Adamson

59. Slushy drink brand: ICEE.

60. iPhone purchase: APP.

61. French king: ROI.  Our final French lesson for the day.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.  ~  John Tukey (né John Wilder Tukey; June 16, 1915 ~ July 26, 2000), American mathematician

Tuesday, June 9, 2020; Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette

Don't Talk with Your Mouth Full!  The first word of each 3-word phrase pertains to the initial act of eating.

18-Across. Chat leisurely: CHEW THE FAT.

28-Across. Refrain from saying something unpleasant: BITE YOUR TONGUE.

46-Across. Fall into a trap: SWALLOW THE BAIT.

61. Have some humble pie: EAT YOUR HAT.

Today's puzzles had lots of names, which will probably make some solvers unhappy.  But, let's just carry on and see if we can find some new friends we may meet again in the puzzles.

Across:

1. "Funny!": HA HA!

5. Sea of Cortez peninsula, informally: BAJA.  The Sea of Cortez is also known as the Gulf of California.

9. Some Apples: iMACS.

14. Very much: A LOT.

15. Employs: USES.

16. Carne para un taco: POLLO.  Today's Spanish lesson.  I prefer fish tacos, but Chicken is good, too.

17. Worshipped object: IDOL.

20. Suffer a power outage: GO DARK.  I hope Cristobal didn't cause a lot of people to Go Dark this week.

22. Greek known for paradoxes: ZENO.  Zeno of Elea (495 BCE ~ 430 BCE) is the first of our many names in today's puzzle.  He is also the earliest, time-wise in our collection of names.  He was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher best known for paradoxes.

23. They often pop up in windows: ADs.  Adverts.

24. Appear to be: SEEM.

26. Hagen of Broadway: UTA.  Uta Hagen (née Uta Thyra Hagen; June 12, 1919 ~ Jan. 14, 2004) has become a crossword staple.  In fact, I "met" her doing the puzzles.  She was born in Göttingen, Germany.  Her family emigrated to the United States when she was 5.  She also became a well-known acting teacher.

35. Tennis replay: LET.

36. Hotelier Helmsley and singer Lewis: LEONAs.  Leona Helmsley (née Leona Mindy Roberts; July 4, 1930, Aug. 20, 2007) was known as the Queen of Mean.  Leona Lewis (née Leona Louise Lewis; b. Apr. 3, 1985) is a British singer.

Leona Helmsley

Leona Lewis

37. Start of Hamlet's question: TO BE.

38. Works at, as a trade: PLIES.

It's advertised as 3-ply.

40. Is able to: CAN.

41. Fur tycoon: ASTOR.  A reference to John Jacob Astor (né Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 ~ Mar. 29, 1848), the German-born American businessman who made is fortune in gaining a monopoly in the fur trade.  He was the first multi-millionaire in the United States.

42. Second to __: unbeatable: NONE.

43. Patrol vehicle: COP CAR.

45. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO.

49. Prefix with plus or pass: SUR-.  As in Surplus or Surpass.

50. African antelope: ORYX.  They are beautiful animals.

51. One more than bi-: TRI-.

54. U.S. Army E-3s: PFCs.  As in Private First Class.

57. Words spoken laterally?: ASIDES.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

64. Seep: OOZE.

65. "Goldengirl" star Susan: ANTON.

Susan Ellen Anton (b. Oct. 12, 1950)

66. First-rate: A-ONE.

67. "Look, amigo!": MIRA.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

68. Broadway composer Jule: STYNE.  Jule Styne (né Julius Kerwin Stein; Dec. 31, 1905 ~ Sept. 20, 1994), was a British-American songwriter and composer best known for writing  the music for such musicals as Funny Girl, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Gypsy.

69. Lads: BOYS.

70. ER "Hurry up!": STAT.  Stat is a medical abbreviation for the Latin word Statum for Immediate.

Down:

1. Reagan secretary of state Alexander __: HAIG.  General Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. (Dec. 2, 1924 ~ Feb. 20, 2010), held many positions in the Federal Government.  As the clue tells us, he served as the 59th United States Secretary of State during the Reagan administration.  During the Nixon and Ford administrations, he served as White House Chief of Staff.

2. Designer Gucci: ALDO.  Aldo Gucci (May 26, 1905 ~ Jan. 19, 1990) was the eldest son of Guccio Gucci (Mar. 26, 1881 ~ Jan. 2, 1953), who was the founder of the fashion House of Gucci.

3. Car engine cover: HOOD.

4. Finally: AT LAST.

5. Ohio State athlete: BUCKEYE.  It doesn't look overly intimidating.

6. Bat wood: ASH.  Think baseball.

7. "Oh, man!": JEEZ!

8. "Even __ speak ... ": AS WE.

9. Old Apple app for pics: iPHOTO.  Apparently the iPhoto was discontinued in 2015 and was replaced with the Appel Photos app.

10. Homer's bartender: MOE.  A reference to The Simpsons.

11. NATO alphabet "A": ALFA.  This appears with some frequency in the puzzles.

12. Dressed: CLAD.

13. Boozers: SOTS.

19. Letter-shaped fasteners: T-NUTS.

21. Film units: REELS.

25. Milk giver, in totspeak: MOO-COW.

27. Busy crawlers: ANTS.  The ants go marching one by one ...

28. "Look out __!": "Heads up!": BELOW.

29. Memoir featuring Ike Turner: I, TINA.  Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; b. Nov. 26, 1939) is 80!

30. Not appropriate: UNAPT.

31. __ Cucamonga, California: RANCHO.  A city probably known to our California contingent.

32. Gangster dubbed "The Teflon Don": GOTTI.  Crime finally caught up with John Joseph Gotti, Jr. (Oct. 27, 1940 ~ June 10, 2002).  He ultimately died in federal prison.

33. German WWII sub: U-BOAT.  Short for Unterseeboot, which translates as Undersea boat.

34. Gateway Arch designer Saarinen: EERO.  Our old friend Eero Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1910 ~ Sept. 1, 1961) is back.  He was born on the 37th birthday of his father Eliel Saarinen (Aug. 20, 1873 ~ July 1, 1950), who was also an architect.  Eero designed many iconic buildings, including the beautiful chapel on the MIT campus.

35. ICU caregivers: LPNs.  As in Licensed Practical Nurses, who may be found in the Intensive Care Unit.

39. Slender fish: EELS.  A crossword staple.

41. Chain known for roast beef: ARBY'S.

43. Greek isle: CORFU.

44. Fizzes up: AERATES.

47. Patti who won a Tony as Evita: LUPONE.  Patti Ann LuPone (b. Apr. 21, 1949) make occasional guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  I saw her perform in Evita years ago.

48. Math postulates: AXIOMS.

51. Afternoon socials: TEAS.

52. Go ballistic: RANT.

53. __-bitty: ITTY.

55. Complain like a shellfish?: CRAB.

56. "Begone!": SHOO!

58. "Stop wasting time!": DO IT!

59. "Fantastic Beasts" actor Miller: EZRA.  I am familiar with neither Fantastic Beasts nor Ezra Matthew Miller (b. Sept. 30, 1992).

60. Chair or sofa: SEAT.

62. Partner of hither: YON.

63. "__ questions?": ANY.  Great last clue for the puzzle!

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  I’ve always believed human blood is red because it really needs to draw attention to itself.  ~  Patricia Cornwell (née Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956), American crime writer