Wednesday, Ed Sessa, February 15, 2017

TITLE: WAIT THERE'S MORE! or HOMOPHONES RUNNING WILD!

Husker Gary at the humpday helm today and as you can see below in the grid the homonyms for TO, FOUR, WON, SAIL and GOODBYES are employed to make the marketing slogan you see here at the right. How cool is that? Uh, it took me a while to see it. You?

Theme fills

20. *More than is wise : TO (TWO) A FAULT - C'mon that's funny! 

26. *Luxury resort chain : FOUR (FOR) SEASONS - Yeah, this FOUR SEASONS buffet in Singapore seems to qualify as Luxury

36. *Dominated the election : WON (ONE) BY A LANDSLIDE - Attributed to Joe Kennedy when he was backing JFK's presidential race

44. *Complete with ease - SALE (SAIL) THROUGH - She did! 

Reveal: 

54. Farewells ... or, homophonically and read top to bottom, what the first words of the answers to starred clues represent? : GOOD BYES 

BTW, I got this TWO FOR ONE SALE - GOOD BUY last month and they are great:

Watt ells does Ed half four us two day:

Across

1. See 1-Down : FOOD paired with 1. With 1-Across, Whoppers and McRibs, e.g. : FAST for a clever start in the NW corner!

5. Risk taker : DARER

10. Minimally : A TAD

14. He sang about Alice : ARLO - He sang about Alice for over 18 minutes

15. Ooze with : EXUDE

16. Bond's first movie foe : DR NO - You mean someone other than Ursula Andress was in that movie?

17. Word with interest or service : SELF - Marty McFly had to go back to 1955 to see a FULL service station like here

18. Lavin of "Alice" : LINDA

19. Water retainer : DIKE

22. River racers : SCULLS

24. Rose of Guns N' Roses : AXL

25. Poetic pair : COUPLET - How many times have you read these wonderful couplets to a child?

31. "__ to leap tall buildings ... " : ABLE - ...or FROM a tall building

32. "David Copperfield" villain : HEEP

33. Cain, to Abel, informally : SIB(ling)

41. Teachers' org. : NEA

42. Sufficient, to Shakespeare : ENOW - Methinks there are many at this site who know of whom the Bard is speaking when he wrote "I must not think there are evil ENOW to darken all his goodness". I had to look it up.


43. Working hard : AT IT

48. Descends, as a rock wall RAPPELS - I'm not sure I have courage ENOW to give this a go

52. Fluke-to-be : ROE - Baby fluke eggs

53. Worried : UNEASY

59. Fly in the ointment : SNAG

60. Fly-fishing catch : TROUT - A trout going after that fly

62. Tennis score : LOVE - It's means nothin' 

63. Floor piece : TILE

64. "Maybe, just maybe" : I HOPE

65. Big name in furniture : IKEA

66. Clairvoyant : SEER - And now, the great SEER, soothsayer, and sage, Carnac.... the Magnificent. Johnny often called the question to this answer the funniest bit he ever did in this character. That question to this answer is at the bottom of this write-up.

67. Got by : COPED

68. See 58-Down : PENN with 58. With 68-Across, "Milk" Oscar winner : SEAN


Down

2. Embossed cookie : OREO - Another clue for the ubiquitous OREO

3. Southwestern clay pot : OLLA

4. Remove respectfully : DOFF - Dr. Suess had a Hat DOFFING Cat as well as tales of Green Eggs and Ham

5. First-class : DELUXE

6. Armpit : AXILLA - Hey, don't look at me, I didn't know either! :-)

7. Squirt : RUNT

8. Teacher's deg. : EDD - Doctor of Education degree - usually seen as EdD. 

9. Thought (out) : REASONED

10. Make sense : ADD UP

11. Composer's embellishment : TRILL - Do you have any problems with National Antems sang with "Triplets, quintuplets, mordents, TRILLS, turns, six-note slides and grace notes?"

12. Bracelet spot : ANKLE - How Lindsay Lohan disguised hers while under arrest. A fashionable felon?

13. Biblical verb : DOEST - Perhaps thou DOEST but shouldst thou?

21. Toy inserts usually not included : AA'S - Batteries

23. Crescent points : CUSPS

25. Either "The Man Who Wasn't There" director : COEN - My favorite COEN brothers' movie is Fargo

26. Doe's dear : FAWN

27. Wind in a pit : OBOE

28. Arm bone : ULNA - About 12" below your AXILLA

29. Bull Run soldier : REB - Johnny REB showed this would not be a quick war

30. Over-the-shoulder garb : SHAWL

33. In __: as placed : SITU

34. "Understood," in hippie-speak : I DIG

35. "Little Women" sister : BETH

37. Verbal nods : YESES

38. Kind of geometry : ANALYTIC - How far did Yogi have to throw? Piece 'o Pythagorean Cake for our math heads!











39. "The Giver" novelist Lowry : LOIS - What? Ed didn't use Superman's girl friend here?

40. Thai language : LAO - Everyone knows hello is ສະບາຍດີ

45. Entertainers on the road : TROUPE

46. Partner of hollered : HOOTED

47. Wine choice : RED

48. Reddish-brown colors : RUSTS

49. Singer Lennox : ANNIE - One reviewer's list of ANNIE'S Top 10 songs omitted my favorite - Sweet Dreams

50. "Positive thinking" advocate : PEALE

51. "Your table's ready" signaler : PAGER

54. Sticky stuff : GOOP

55. Radar dot : BLIP

56. Team connection : YOKE - A YOKED means of crossing Nebraska before I-80

57. All tied up : EVEN

61. Letter after pi : RHO

Carnac answer/question: The answer is "Sis, Boom, Bah". And the question is "What sound does an exploding sheep make?"

Weed luv four ewe two comment:

Husker Gary
 

Note from C. C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Skip (Hondo on the blog), who is a huge fan of UConn women's Basketball. Skip is also an expert on vintage sports cards & attends shows often on weekends.

Left to right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana (Sept 2013)

 

Sunday, February 5, 2017, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT

Did one of these wonderful toys ever find its way into your home? When the string was pulled and released, it played the sound of the animal selected by the center arrow.

Don and C.C. took the premise of this toy and turned it into a  very clever gimmick for today's puzzle. They took some common phrases that contain an animal and made a silly phrase using the SOUND associated with that animal in place of the animal's name. How cool is that? No reveal was necessary as you can see in these theme fills.

21. Sign of a lawn tractor problem? : HISS (SNAKE) IN THE GRASS - I don't care to be close enough to hear this sound

26. Inhospitable medical fraud? : COLD QUACK (DUCK) - Not a frigid fowl!

41. Landscaping mulch specialists? : BARK (DOG) HANDLERS - Uh, who's handling who?

67. "Ahooga!" producer? : SILLY HONK (GOOSE) and 119. Posting that periodically reposts itself? : MIGRATORY TWEET (BIRD) - If they went south this winter and I didn't, how come they're SILLY? A specific and general bird reference. 

71. Hard golf club to swing? : GRUNT (PIG) IRON - An intermediate product of the smelting of iron ore usually shaped in ingots 

96. Excitement about the producer of the original "Charlie's Angels"? : SPELLING BUZZ (BEE) - Dirt on Aaron Spelling or attempts on these words

111. Playful crib liner? : SQUEAK (MOUSE) PAD - Here's an adversarial one

Now let's see what else Don and C.C. have for us in this, uh, HOOT of a puzzle:

Across

1. Director's shout : ACTION - Clint Eastwood doesn't shout this because, "It even makes the horses nervous." He simply says "Begin".

7. Sulky-pulling horse : PACER

12. Woods on a tee : TIGER - Tiger's meteoritic career seems to be flaming out

17. With alarming suddenness : WHAMMO

18. Independent African nation since 1993 : ERITREA - Do you know where it is on this map? The answer is under the grid at the bottom of this write-up.

20. Arizona neighbor : SONORA

23. Frigid : ARCTIC

24. Iowa's state tree : OAK

25. Bucket list items, say : GOALS

28. __ Schwarz : FAO - I'll bet you know this movie, the star on the right and the song they are playing in this scene at the FAO Schwarz Toy Store.

30. Plant with edible leaf sheaths : LEEK

32. Clump on a lawn : TUFT

33. Org. that dropped "Lawn" from its name in 1975 : USTA - Grass/Lawn tennis surfaces used to be the most common but are rare now due to maintenance costs

34. Flexible pronoun substitute : HE OR SHE - Have you ever been to a Gender Reveal Shower?

37. Exit : LEAVE

39. Number for a pair : DUET

43. One way to learn : ASK

44. Like the viva voce part of some exams : ORAL - Latin for "with living voice"

48. 15-member sports org. : ACC - Clemson won the ACC and National Championship this year

49. Dorm room, perhaps : STY

50. Some float in place with the tide : PIERS

52. Irish brew : RED ALE

54. Pampas birds : RHEAS

57. Make more attractive : SWEETEN

59. "Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat" author : AMY TAN

60. Restless desire : ITCH - Tom Ewell is the other person in this iconic scene from The Seven Year ITCH

63. MGM motto word : ARS

64. Bottled surprise : GENIE

66. Pet Shop Boys label : EMI

73. Sch. in Tempe : ASU

74. Island veranda : LANAI - Word I learned on The Golden Girls

75. Anti-bullying ad, e.g. : PSA

77. 2014 "Cosmos" presenter __ deGrasse Tyson : NEIL

78. Register, as a sale : RING UP - I'll bet C.C. knew the umpire just did RING UP this batter

80. Sounded displeased : SNORTED

83. Did pre-heist planning at : CASED

87. How some goods are quickly sold : AT COST 

88. See eye to eye : AGREE

89. Director DuVernay : AVA

92. Conceptual artist Yoko : ONO

93. Ritz alternative : HI HO

94. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL - Not on my playlist

100. '70s jazz band Spyro __ : GYRA

102. Model X maker : TESLA

103. Type of counter seen in kitchens? : CALORIE - High tech method using your 108. Part of iOS : SYST

104. Vogue rackmate : ELLE - My subscription has lapsed

106. Make a move : STIR

110. "Monsters, __" : INC

113. "The game didn't go well" : I LOST

115. "Top Hat" studio : RKO

118. Card game with tricks : EUCHRE - Contents of a standard EUCHRE deck

124. Common boot feature : LACING - One question in a recent survey asked whether I UNLACE my shoes when I remove them. I do. You?

125. August birthstone : PERIDOT - New word for me

126. Sherpas' language : NEPALI - Mt. Everest is Sagarmāthā in NEPALI 

127. Moves like a monarch : FLITS

128. Rent-a-car choice : SEDAN

129. Swimmer's bane : CRAMPS


Down

1. Dr. Seuss title ender : A WHO

2. Seed used in smoothies : CHIA - Also a funky gift

3. Group on a mission : TASK FORCE

4. Uses Facebook Chat, briefly : IMS

5. "Jeepers!" : OMIGOSH

6. Ill-advised move : NO NO - Trying to dunk over LeBron James

7. Market before building : PRESELL

8. 2008 bailout beneficiary : AIG

9. Shaq's pos. : CTR

10. Obama __ : ERA

11. Get out of a pickle : RESCUE - This guy did not get out of one

12. __ wrench : TORQUE

13. Held at the station : IN CUSTODY

14. Suggested subtly : GOT AT

15. Former "Weekend Today" co-host Hill : ERICA

16. Pool triangle : RACK

18. Jennifer of "Zero Dark Thirty" : EHLE

19. Starting with : AS OF - AS OF today there are 44 days until Spring!

20. Down : SAD

22. Scout's find, ideally : TALENT

27. Old Fords : LTDS - 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria 

29. Genesis vessel : ARK

31. One with lasting merit : KEEPER

32. Den focal point : TV SET

34. I-beam relative : H BAR - An I-beam on its side?

35. Every partner : EACH - EACH and every one of  you

36. Takes in : HAS

38. Ovine sign : ARIES

40. Poland neighbor : UKRAINE - Probably easier to spot than ERITREA

42. Prefix with -lexic : DYS

43. Voice of the difficult homeowner in "Up" : ASNER

45. Yelp contributor : RATER

46. Enterprise rival : ALAMO

47. October Revolution figure : LENIN

51. The Skatalites music genre : REGGAE - Pioneers of Ska music

53. Ipecac, for one : EMETIC

55. Be on the disabled list, say : AIL

56. Galaxy Note accessory : STYLUS

58. Transitional state : WAKING

61. Local branch : CHAPTER

62. Doll : HON

65. Blue __: German wine brand : NUN

67. She played Buffy : SARAH - After seven seasons, she had become "annoyed" with the role

68. Question in Matthew : IS IT I - Engendered by Jesus' statement "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me"

69. Day break? : LUNCH

70. __ cavity : NASAL

72. Stevedore's org. : ILA - Brando won an academy award playing Terry Malloy who took on the ILA

75. Gets ready to operate : PREPS

76. Braces (oneself) : STEELS

79. Return from searching? : GOOGLE HIT

81. Brian who has coached two Olympic skating gold medalists : ORSER and 85. Longtime Wyoming senator Mike : ENZI - Two names I didn't know and will forget

82. Indian lentil stew : DAL

84. Chip flavoring : SOUR CREAM

86. Nap : DOZE

90. Spoils recipient : VICTOR

91. Ducks, on ESPN crawls : ANA - The Anaheim Ducks NHL team

95. Farrier's tool : RASP

97. Overdo the flattery : LAY IT ON - The master

98. Shiny craft store supply : GLITTER

99. It's good in Quebec : BON

101. Itches : YEARNS - ITCHes is both fill and clue today 

102. Cleans : TIDIES

104. The same : EQUAL

105. "All My Children" Emmy winner on her 19th try : LUCCI

107. Pipe smoker's gadget : TAMP

109. Tab target : SLOT

111. __-starter : SELF

112. Brewery unit : KEG

114. Media player command : SYNC

116. Large seaweed : KELP

117. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame : OTIS

120. Hurdle for srs. : GRE

121. Disencumber : RID

122. Govt. lawyer : ADA

123. Employment org. created in 1935 : WPA

Here's the grid and if you wish to comment, we will  not say, uh, NEIGH:

Eritrea from 18 Across