Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Kurt Mengel & Jan-Michele Gianette

TITLE: Time To Move Your Vowels!

Kurt and Jan-Michele have given us a fun variation of a Bruce Venzke/Gail Grabowski puzzle I blogged July 19 of this year. Bruce and Gail progressed through the vowels nesting them between N & T at the start of two-word phrases.  Similarly, Kurt and Jan-Michele placed their vowel progression betwixt M _ SS at the end of multiple word phrases as you can see below:

Throw in a generous dash of proper nouns, mythological creatures, Spanish and some muppets and you have the ingredients for a lovely Wednesday exercise. I caught on early and wondered what the fill for MUSS would be. Not to worry!

Let's first look at the theme fills from Kurt and Jan-Michele:

20. Sustained nuclear chain reaction requirement : CRITICAL MASS - This is an illustration of the reaching of critical mass in 1942 in an underground squash court at the University of Chicago as part of The Manhattan Project

27. Really botch things : MAKE A MESS - After spending $20B for 2,000 new trains, the French found out they are too wide for 1,300 platforms which will cost millions more to retrofit

35. Haphazard : HIT OR MISS - Ask Ford Motor Company

45. Edible seaweed : IRISH MOSS - Got any catsup?

51. A breeze to use, in adspeak : NO FUSS NO MUSS - Looks easy to me and more palatable than Irish Moss.

Kurt and Jan-Michele definitely did not aMASS a MESS and gathered no MOSS or MISS a trick in this MUSSless puzzle:

Across

1. Feathered Nile wader : IBIS 

5. Tropical hardwoods : TEAKS

10. Title of respect : MAAM

14. Have a flat? : RENT

15. Barbera's partner in cartoons : HANNA - They had quite a stable

16. Sea eagle : ERNE

17. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA crossing 2. __ Paese: Italian cheese : BEL (Beautiful country) got my Natick right up front and I got it, uh, right 

18. Moving : ASTIR

19. Journalist Jacob : RIIS - His muckraking was very discomforting for Tammany Hall

23. Room where you may have to stoop : ATTIC - Anne Frank's hiding place

26. One working with dough : KNEADER - or with a puppy

31. Port and claret : WINES

32. __-Magnon : CRO

33. The Cowboys of the NCAA's Big 12 : OSU - Their sugar daddy Boone Pickens is an "awl man"

34. __ one's time: waited : BIDED

38. Tires (out) : POOPS  

40. Give in to the munchies : EAT

41. __ green : PEA

44. Emmy nominee Fischer of "The Office" : JENNA - She played sensible Pam against Steve Carrell's eccentric Michael

48. 1992 Disney film featuring a magic lamp : ALADDIN

50. Wild West brothers : EARPS - Most famous residents of Pella, IA in their boyhood

55. Moscow news acronym : ITAR - Informatsionnye Telegrafnoye Agentstvto of Rossi (Information Telegraph Agency of Russia)

56. Retired racehorses, often : SIRES - Studs works too

57. Thames museum : TATE

61. 35-Down house : CASA and 35. Tegucigalpa's country : HONDURAS - Aquí están algunas CASAS en Tegucigalpa (Here are some homes in Tegucigalpa) 

29. That, in Tegucigalpa : ESO - Es por ESO que podría ser agradable vivir allí (That is why it might be nice to live there)

62. "I give!" : UNCLE

63. Ticklish Muppet : ELMO - Oh, that's how it works!

64. Inexact figs. : ESTS

65. "My heavens!" : EGADS - Your EST was $400 and the bill is $1,200! EGADS!

66. Prince's "Purple __" : RAIN

Down

1. Intense anger : IRE

3. GEICO product: Abbr. : INS

4. One of Barbie's siblings : STACIE - I totally, for sure didn't know if it was spelled STACEY

5. Pad __ : THAI

6. Right direction? : EAST - A country boy is just as likely to say "Turn EAST" at the stop sign rather than "Turn Right".

7. Opposed : ANTI

8. Madison Square Garden hoopsters : KNICKS - Hopeless hoopsters recently 

9. Clear wrap : SARAN

10. Mythological swimmers : MERMAIDS - How long do you have to be at sea to mistake one for the other?

11. Daughter of King Minos : ARIADNE - Associated with mazes and labyrinths

12. Liqueur flavoring : ANISEED - Also called ANISE. It's flavor is in many things but I love it in my black jellybeans!

13. Mr. and Mr. : MESSRS

21. HDTV maker : RCA

22. Explorer with Clark : LEWIS - They had it much tougher than Armstrong and Aldrin and were darn lucky to have Sacajawea!

23. "Preacher" network : AMC

24. Black goo : TAR

25. Ref's ruling : TKO - One of these quieted Rhonda Rousey 

28. Zingers : MOTS - One of the kings:

30. More definite : SURER

34. Information units : BITS 

36. Tablets that can't be swallowed : IPADS - What's a crayon?

37. __ tai : MAI

38. Jai alai balls : PELOTAS - Number 40 catches the PELOTA in his cesta and returns it. I wonder if one sips a Man Tai while watching Jai Alai?

39. Observing Ramadan, say : ON A FAST - My colleague in a multinational school in Brooklyn said Muslim kids didn't have much energy during Ramadan

41. __ favor : POR

42. Sixth sense letters : ESP - If you've seen Ghostbusters, you know he never had a chance

43. Stubborn beast : ASS

44. Muppet who plays lead guitar in The Electric Mayhem : JANICE

45. Baseball division : INNING - 33 of 'em!

46. Blokes : HE'S

47. Become an expert in : MASTER 

49. Point of contention : ISSUE

52. Killer whale : ORCA

53. Blend : MELD 

54. Doesn't allow to rust : USES - What moms might be saying this time of year

58. Mobile's st. : ALA

59. "Enough gory details, thanks" : TMI - ...and then the doctor had to...

60. Ages and ages : EON - Either a generic term for a long time or scientifically, a billion years

What say you?

Wednesday, August 2, 2017, Debbie Ellerin

Title: "For the apparel doth oft proclaim the man"-  Polonius in Hamlet

Husker Gary reporting in from the mall with a humpday puzzle by Debbie Ellerin where she describes four types of people using an article of clothing for each. A very straightforward grid where the SW corner did give me pause with FOODIE, LEEDS and the non-programming logic term of 51. Logician's word : ERGO - Cogito ergo errat (I think, therefore I err)

Here are Debbie's theme entries, two are singular and two are plural:

17. Ineffectual exec : EMPTY SUIT - As Gertrude Stein said, "There's no there, there!" We all know some.

28. Pioneers : TRAIL BLAZERS - One of my TRAIL BLAZER heroes. She was just tired of being treated badly

44. Self-important sort : STUFFED SHIRT - After a few risqué images came to mind, I immediately thought of this ultimate example

60. Traitors : TURN COATS - Two of the most well known

These fills from any clothing store made for a lovely device. Let's try on Debbie's other fills for size:


Across

1. Cold shoulder : SNUB - I am now seeing these cold shoulder tops in schools

5. Track competition : MEET - The world only cares about the one that comes every four years and in 2028, it's in LA

14. "Red" nuisance : TAPE - 9. Multitudes : SLEWS  of this helped me decide to get out of my summer business 

15. Spitballs, to class clowns : AMMO

16. One-named "Tik Tok" singer : KESHA - She's in a court fight with Kemosabe Records (no, really) 

19. "The Addams Family" actor John : ASTIN

20. Itty-bitty : WEE - A 5' 4" baseball Hall-Of-Famer known to be able to place the ball or "hit 'em where they ain't"

21. A time to dye : EASTER - See Judas above


23. Final check? : MATE - Do you see how white can checkMATE in one move?

24. Await with trepidation : DREAD - What I feel when I blog. What mistake did I make?

26. A-list : ELITE - A-LIST was Agnes and C.C.'s theme yesterday

33. Bagel flavor : ONION

36. Like overly graphic tabloid stories : LURID - If it bleeds, it leads!

37. Padre's hermana : TIA - Dad's sister is your aunt

38. Keystone State Ivy : PENN 

39. Purple shade : LILAC - Even LILACS have different shades  

40. Prepare to travel : PACK

41. Tiny amount : TAD

42. Topples (over) : KEELS - When it's fake, it's called a FLOP

43. Tough spots : FIXES

47. Multitude : FLOCK

48. Spiteful : CATTY


52. Pago Pago resident : SAMOAN - SAMOANS Rommel and Toke will be freshmen playing football at Oregon State University this fall, 5,000 miles away from their Pago Pago home 

56. Fish often smoked : EEL

58. "Live at __": The Who album : LEEDS - Recorded on Valentine's Day 1970 at the University of LEEDS

62. Jackie's predecessor : MAMIE

63. Smallest bills : ONES

64. Massive landmass inhabited by masses : ASIA


65. Trapshooting : SKEET - Two at a time with an over/under shotgun

66. Japanese soybean paste : MISO

67. End of Oktober? : FEST


Down

1. Crock-Pot concoction : STEW

2. Pointed a finger at : NAMED

3. Word with cut or crust : UPPER - This UPPER cut from Mike Tyson was "all she wrote"

4. Get into the pool? : BET - These were the winning squares for each quarter for the last Super Bowl pool if you BET on these squares shown and wrote in your name. The overtime would have been a moot point.

5. Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea : MASADA

6. Flightless birds : EMUS

7. Put out : EMIT

8. Reusable grocery bag : TOTE

9. Jamaican genre : SKA

10. "Fantine's Arrest" B'way show : LES MIZ - Ann Hathaway said it was very hard to lose 25 lbs. and play Fantine who was a   "starving, miserable whore"

11. It's put on heirs : ESTATE TAX

12. Chinese side dish : WHITE RICE - I prefer it to brown or fried rice


13. Playing with a full deck : SANE - The Statler Brothers sang of the consequences of not having a full deck using these lyrics

18. Hanker (for) : YEARN

22. Archaeological treasure : RELIC

25. Ian Fleming's alma mater (and the school that expelled James Bond) : ETON

27. Youngster : LAD

29. Coming-clean declaration : I LIED

30. Breaks in the action : LULLS - Baseball is a great game that has too many LULLS

31. Full of chutzpah : BRASH  - John McEnroe was the BRASH player everyone loved to hate. He put butts in the seats!

32. Fifth Avenue landmark : SAKS

33. Makes a decision : OPTS

34. Slob's opposite : NEAT FREAK - I fulfill one of these roles at our house

35. "If you would be so kind" : INDULGE ME

39. Vichyssoise veggies : LEEKS - Julia Childs' ingredients for the soup I can't spell on my best day

40. Keystone State univ. : PITT

42. Chain whose website has a "Find a Colonel Near You" feature : KFC - The Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Samoa is in the village of Tafuna

43. Former French capital : FRANC

45. Gastronome : FOODIE - One of ours will be blogging here tomorrow!


46. "Just watch me!" : I CAN SO - Hold my beer and watch this

49. Kid around with : TEASE

50. Himalayan legends : YETIS - It was there year to bring cole slaw to the imaginary monster picnic

51. Trees with ovate leaves : ELMS

53. Elementary bit : ATOM

54. Bond category, for short : MUNI 

55. Mining hauls : ORES - Bauxite ORE from which most all aluminum has been made. BTW, why does everyone still say "tin foil" when it's not tin?

57. Test for a future atty. : LSAT - Granddaughter is studying for it now.

59. Filming site : SET

61. Big, clumsy type : OAF

I hope Debbie's puzzle suited you and you are now ready to comment:

The Grid:

Sunday, July 30, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: DOUBLE TROUBLE

Husker Gary reporting on another fun C.C. Sunday puzzle. The creative and prolific den mother of our blog has taken eight common two-word phrases and replaced the D that begins one of the words with TR which generates  a silly phrase as you can see below.

Four of the swaps took place in the first word and four in the second word. 

Here are my attempts to make sense of the nonsense products of C.C.'s fun swap as the original phrases seem self-explanatory. 

23. Gathering of zombies? : TRANCE (DANCE) PARTY - Michael DANCING in a TRANCE

25. Vacation including Caribbean dance lessons? : SALSA TRIP (DIP) - Kids getting down on that vacation after lessons

50. Dumpster illumination : TRASH (DASH) LIGHT - Trash can be a 24/7 proposition

53. Case with a strict time limit? : SPEED TRIAL (DIAL) - A possible characteristic of this proceeding 

85. Semi driver's superstition? : LUCKY TRUCK (DUCK) - A LUCKY DUCK in a TRUCK

88. Bugs' wealthy heir? : TRUST (DUST) BUNNY - Would he live like this?

113. Photo including six-pack abs? : TRUNK (DUNK) SHOT

115. Vocal technique used at seders? : KOSHER TRILL (DILL) - You might hear it here

Hmmm... I wonder what a TRAMP WASHCLOTH would look like

Let's see what ELSE C.C. has for us this morning: 

Across

1. Moving manga : ANIME -  Japanese cartoon style - the word "manga" comes from the Japanese word 漫画 composed of the two kanji 漫 (man) meaning "whimsical or impromptu" and 画 (ga) meaning "pictures" This issue will run you about Fifty 27. Currency exchange table letters : U.S. Dollars

6. Celebratory smoke : CIGAR

11. Cause of inflation? : PUMP

15. Winter Palace ruler : TSAR

19. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard : COHEN - I tend to think of Handel's magnificent chorus first

20. Mozart work : OPERA

21. Sport involving protective suits : EPEE - I would hope so

22. Sch. publishing the Daily Bruin : UCLA

28. Dietary figs. : RDAS - I don't exceed my Recommended Daily Allowance of salt any more

29. Goad : EGG ON

31. Faithfully following : TRUE TO


32. Awards originally for radio only : PEABODYS - NBC won a PEABODY for this series the year I graduated from high school

34. Is strongly held, as a belief : RUNS DEEP 

36. Long while : EON

37. Burro bellow : BRAY

38. Chatty bird : MYNA

39. Line in an Ellington classic : A TRAIN - You could take a 78  RPM spin on this line

41. Company with a spokesduck : AFLAC - as annoying as that GEICO gecko

43. South American squeezer : BOA

45. Bundle up : SWATHE

47. Eyelid malady : STYE






55. Screen door stuff : MESH - Ours are Kitty-proof

56. Ranch rope : LARIAT

58. Leader who resigned in his sixth yr. : Richard Milhous Nixon and 66. Water gate : DAM - Speaking of RMN and 95. Like some interviews : ON TAPE - Speaking of RMN

59. Wings it, in jazz : VAMPS - When the singer forgets the words, what the band must do

60. Matching pair : SET

61. Subdue, in a way : TASE

62. City WSW of Bogotá : CALI

64. Attorney general before Dick Thornburgh : ED MEESE

67. Pricey mushroom : MOREL - This is an Iowa area code

68. 2015 Verizon purchase : AOL

69. "Kojak" actor : SAVALAS

73. Tinseltown pooch : ASTA - Nick and Nora's Wire Fox Terrier

74. Blighted urban area : SLUM - This perfectly good farm ground had to be declared legally blighted to build a $300M Costco Chicken Plant one mile from me

76. Commonly injured knee ligament, briefly : MCL - Your knee has many ligaments

79. "__ Like You": Young Rascals hit : A GIRL

80. Baggage-opening org. : TSA

82. Exactly right : SPOT ON

84. Harbor sound : TOOT

90. Antoinette's head : TETE - La TETE de Marie Antoinette s'est retrouvé dans un panier (The head of Marie Antoinette wound up in a basket)


91. Remove forcefully : RIP OUT - In Dead Poet's Society, Robin Williams had his students RIP OUT the pages that dared to quantify poetry

93. Apnea-treating doc : ENT

94. Come in : ENTER

97. Note at the office : MEMO

99. "And step on it!" : ASAP

100. Sailor : TAR 

102. Flipped before serving, perhaps : OVER EASY - A mandatory practice in one of Warren Buffet's companies or your next one's free!

104. Gmail lifesaver : UNDO SEND - "I just laid the babysitter" Dang, "I meant I just paid the babysitter!"

108. Safari runner? : IPHONE - Safari's the browser I use on my iPhone

110. Pub fun : DARTS

111. American assignment : SEAT - Ben appears to be   assigned to SEAT 17E

112. John in Wimbledon : LOO - Even John McEnroe had to use the LOO occasionally when he played at Wimbledon

118. Theater section : LOGE

119. Unlikely to bite : TAME - Ask before you pet!

120. Irritated : IRKED

121. Kindergarten refrain : E-I-E-I-O 

122. Slaughter of the Cardinals : ENOS - He was a 125. Risk taker : DARER who is remembered for scoring from first base on a single in the 1946 World Series

123. River of Flanders : YSER

124. Drops of sorrow : TEARS


Down

1. Cause a ruckus : ACT UP

2. Like Thor : NORSE

3. "It's been fun" : I HAD A BLAST - A likely refrain heard after completing a C.C. puzzle

4. Kings and bishops : MEN - The Chess Pieces around here 

5. Make gradual inroads : ENCROACH

6. Number at a doctor's office : CO-PAY

7. "Count me out" : I PASS - "Would you like some liver, Gary?

8. Lang. where all nouns are capitalized : GER

9. Major route : ARTERY


10. Futuristic arms : RAY GUNS - Take that Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

11. Cancún cash : PESOS

12. "Time to start the day!" : UP AND AT 'EM

13. Brooks of comedy : MEL

14. Heckled : PESTERED

15. Sugar Plum Fairy's dress : TUTU

16. Hours often set by parents : SCREEN TIME - Hmmm...

17. O'Connor successor : ALITO

18. Knock at : RAP ON - Halloween Day will mark the 500th Anniversary of when Luther did RAP ON this door.

24. Whirlpool : EDDY


26. Plucked instrument, in Padua : ARPA

30. Chews (on) : GNAWS

33. Hardly humble : BRASH

35. Hydrocarbon gas : ETHENE - Gotta love all those E's

38. When doubled, fish often grilled : MAHI

40. Its anthem is "Hatikvah" : ISRAEL - The Hope


41. Devices with shielded keypads : ATMS and 109. Slot machine inserts : ONES - One machine giveth and one machine taketh away

42. On the house : FREE

43. Slant : BIAS

44. Mythical monster : OGRE

46. National Pecan Month : APRIL - Puh can/Pee can/Puh cawn/Pee cawn

48. Barks : YAPS

49. Besides : ELSE

51. Guanaco cousin : LLAMA - A definite family resemblance

52. Fiesta fare : TACOS

54. Marge Simpson or June Cleaver : TV MOM - Granddaughter knew the former but had never heard of the latter

57. Knave of Hearts' loot : TARTS - He brought them back when the King commanded him to do so

61. Score : TALLY

63. Moved like a kangaroo : LEAPT - On the East side of the Atlantic and LEAPED on this side

65. Unnerve : DAUNT

66. Dim : DARKEN

67. Auto-painting franchise whose name reverses three letters of a transmission franchise : MAACO - The transmission place of course is AA (beep beed) MCO

69. Margarita flavoring : SALT

70. Fever and shivering : AGUE

71. Quasimodo's creator : VICTOR HUGO - Research at the Tate reveals that HUGO probably based this character on a very respected but reclusive stone mason who was working at Notre Dame when the author was there. No bell ringer that hunchback.

72. Mark on a bass : STRIPE

74. Leave thunderstruck : STUN

75. Going around in circles, say : LOST

76. Only state capital without a McDonald's : MONTPELIER - but you can get to one 10 min away in Berlin, VT.

77. Roadwork marker : CONE

78. Nearly six trillion mi. : LT YR - The light we currently receive on Earth from Proxima Centauri left there in May of 2013

81. Saint's home : SUPER DOME - Also the home for homeless after Hurricane Katrina

83. One may be crumbled on a sundae : OREO

84. Albacore and yellowfin : TUNAS

86. Sham : TRAVESTY

87. Harold's movie pal : KUMAR - I never miss their movies. I never see 'em and I never miss 'em.

89. Lit : BESOTTED

92. Radon detection aid : TEST KIT - $17.57 at War~Mart

96. Honky-__ : TONK

98. Indian city known for its silk production : MYSORE - I found this title amusing and disgusting if read a certain way

99. Purim month : ADAR - There it is in this Jewish year of 5777. My goodness, I think I am still writing 5776 on my checks!

100. Pope, for one : TITLE

101. Splash guard : APRON


103. Food processor? : EATER - ...and not gain a pound

104. Lead to a seat : USHER

105. Has to have : NEEDS

106. "Seriously!" : NO LIE

107. Sorrow : DOLOR - Roethke's poem DOLOR "explores the persona’s response to a life constrained in a grindingly repetitive institutional environment."

114. Exhibits, as doubts : HAS

116. Calypso offshoot : SKA

117. Coastal inlet : RIA

Comments are welcome, even from a TROLL HOUSE