Wednesday, March 29, 2017, Jeff Stillman

TITLE - BROADWAY

Husker Gary here, taking you on a tour of Jeff's pleasant Humpday offering. He takes the word WIDE and spreads it out in two different arrangements (2/2 and 1/3) and then provides fill in the divide to literally cause WIDE to be SPREAD out as you can see in the grid below:

The clincher is his reveal

64. Far-reaching ... and a literal feature of the answers to starred clues : WIDESPREAD - The insatiable Emerald Ash Borer that arrived here in crates on the coast from Asia is WIDESPREAD and still expanding

THEME FILLS:

17. *Rain-X auto product : WIPER BLADE - This is not a Rain-X product but ya gotta love it!

21. *Manhattan theater district locale : WESTSIDE - So, you want to see Hamilton at The Richard Rogers Theater on Manhattan's WESTSIDE tonight? No problem, StubHub can get you in the very back starting at $965 per seat

40. *Electrician's basic knowledge : WIRING COLOR CODE - The only one I know is black to black, white to white and ground to ground. BTW, I always turn off the breaker!

54. *Many a military spouse : WAR BRIDE - Although told not to, Japanese women did fraternize with "the enemy" and tens of thousands of them became WAR BRIDES

Now let's see how Jeff filled in those WIDESPREAD spaces in the rest of the puzzles

Across

1. Anemic : WEAK

5. Dukes not among royalty : FISTS - Our cwd friend Burt Lahr dared anyone to put up their Dukes! I resisted putting in DAISY Dukes.

10. Huge production : EPIC - Ben Hur always leaps to my mind

14. Rod in a hot rod : AXLE

15. Kate's sitcom pal : ALLIE

16. Pilaf base : RICE

19. Like port, usually : AGED - If you can spring for those Hamilton tix, maybe this 70-year-old Port in a handblown bottle for $965 would also interest you

20. Lacking a key : ATONAL

23. Proofer's mark : STET

25. Feathery layer : HEN

26. Oomph : PEP

29. Set apart from the group : ISOLATE - The Amish practice of shunning even your own children seems particularly cruel to me

33. Org. with the staff of Aesculapius in its logo : AMA - This doctor's group might also call this the staff of Caduseus 

36. Big name in gas : AMOCO

38. Slam-dance : MOSH - Ya gotta know going in what could happen!

43. See 22-Down : ELKS and 22. With 43-Across, fraternal order : THE

44. Mane area : NAPE

45. Like some buckets : OAKEN

46. Cotillion girl : DEB - An anachronism? 

47. Move more product than : OUTSELL - Here's the rankings

49. Absorb, as a cost : EAT

50. Nonpro sports gp. : AAU - Kobe Bryant hates the Amateur Athletic Union BB program because it makes kids play all year long

52. Trapper's trophy : PELT - Something I could never do

59. Subtle difference : NUANCE - The NUANCED looks of Meryl

63. Continental coin : EURO

66. Brought up : BRED

67. Like nocturnally counted critters : OVINE - One sheep, two sheep...

68. Unrestrained party : ORGY

69. Cotton bundle : BALE - Tote that barge and lift this

70. Archibald and Thurmond of the NBA : NATES - "Tiny" NATE Archibald played here  before they moved to Sacramento

71. Water testers : TOES - I have put my "TOES in many waters" with varying results.

Down

1. Bedtime drink, in totspeak : WAWA - Don't we all remember Gildna Radner when we hear this?

2. Freeway sign : EXIT

3. Chop House dog food brand : ALPO

4. Laments loudly : KEENS - An old Irish or Scottish term for screams of women heralding a death OR a card in a Duel Decks Game

5. Sources of morals : FABLES

6. Not in the pink : ILL

7. Cabbage dish : SLAW - KFC has some great SLAW

8. Laundry room brand : TIDE

9. Views : SEES

10. Dry-__ board : ERASE

11. Risky purchase, metaphorically : PIG IN A POKE - Have you ever used Craig's List?

12. Tea preference : ICED

13. Relinquish : CEDE - Land CEDED in my state

18. Be frugal with : RATION

24. Alley scavenger : TOMCAT 

26. Handled clumsily : PAWED - "Honest, I was just reaching for the popcorn!"

27. Writer Zola : EMILE

28. Special-interest government spending : PORK BARREL - Some say he got as much as anybody

30. Aerial maneuvers : LOOPS

31. Not paying attention : 
ASLEEP

32. Howe'er : THO

34. Greek sorceress : MEDEA - The tale of her and Jason would make for a great soaper - Ημέρες των ζωών μας (Days Of Our Lives)

35. Cut taker : AGENT

37. Sue Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS - In my last writeup, I posited Sue could have used C AS IN Corpse

39. 1988 Motown acquirer : MCA - ...and then there was a suit and then...

41. Safari grazer : GNU - There's a bottomless pit of these 

42. Arrive by auto : ROLL UP

47. Sharer's word : OUR

48. You can see right through them : LENSES

51. Dwelling : ABODE

53. Deck that's worth a fortune? : TAROT

54. "Dragnet" star Jack : WEBB

55. Subtle glow : AURA

56. Triumphant shout : I WON - Said by 1 of every 76,000,000 lottery players

57. One who insists on the spotlight : DIVA

58. Ready for print : EDIT - Even Tom had to EDIT

60. Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO - Not the piano player or the Roman emperor 

61. "La __ aux Folles" : CAGE

62. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDY'S

65. Denver-to-Des Moines dir. : ENE


Now, how 'bout some WIDESPREAD and far ranging comments:

A few pix from our trip last week to D.C.

This is Joann and I at the WWII monument with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. If you go to D.C. take the night tour as it is an entirely different world.

This is Joann and I with U.S. Senator Ben Sasse at the Nebraska Congressional Breakfast. We have known Ben since he was nine and I started calling him Senator Sasse when he was in grade school!

Here we are with our Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Our daughter has had three of Jeff’s girls in fourth grade at St. Joe’s in Lincoln. 

Friday March 17, 2017, Paul Coulter

To celebrate St. Paddy's day, here's a beautiful version of When Irish Eyes Are Smilin' by the Irish tenor who was a foil for Jack Benny for years. It makes for lovely background music!

Now, for sure and begorrah, let's be gettin' down to the puzzle!

TITLE: BACK TO FRONT

On this St. Paddy's Day, Lemon has put himself on the injured reserve list and C.C. has brought me, Husker Gary, up from the minors to take the mound.

Paul's lovely offering dredges up memories of a recent Sunday puzzle I blogged where I also put the grid at the top. In that puzzle a word was put IN the middle of a silly phrase and had to be repositioned to the front to make sense. Today Paul forces us to take the last word of a silly phrase and transport it to the front to make a single, familiar word. 

Obviously the puzzle needed no reveal, so here are the theme entries

16. Laboratory scam? : SCIENCE CON/CONSCIENCE - Jiminy's counsel to Pinnochio took a while to sink in

28. Snubbing a testimonial? : TRIBUTE DIS/DISTRIBUTE - A good passer is called a good DISTRIBUTOR

45. John Deere rep? : TRACTOR PRO/PROTRACTOR - For some reason kids often ask for a compass when they really want a PROTRACTOR

61. Ordinary law office employee? : NORMAL PARA/PARANORMAL - JoBeth Williams confronts a PARANORMAL creature in Poltergeist 

Let's see what else our Literary Leprechaun has for us today

Across

1. "Oopsy" : MY BAD

6. Grand Prix component : ESS - Curve, here's one

9. In things : FADS - Joann, where's my Nehru jacket?

13. Adult insect : IMAGO - I've only heard it here

14. Prefix with data : META - It seems someone has lots of this on all of us

15. Subject preceder : IN RE

18. Saves, say : STAT - Usually accrued by soccer and hockey goalies 

19. Challenge : CALL OUT - Matt Dillon faced one of these at the start of every episode

20. Like some flushes : ACE HIGH

22. Missed the mark : ERRED

24. Spike TV, once : TNN - The Nashville Network

25. Nile threats : ASPS

33. Take for a while : LEASE

35. B to C, e.g. : SEMITONE 

36. Call off : END

37. Something shared on a plane : ARMREST - Sound right?

40. Pres. when Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided : DDE - Ike

41. "The Social Contract" author : ROUSSEAU - Jacques - "What wisdom can be greater than kindness?"

43. Hindu ascetics : YOGIS - Did any of them catch for the Yankees?

48. Old Nair rival : NEET

49. "You betcha!" : YEP

50. Mozart opera ending : TUTTE - Cosi Fan TUTTE (Women are like that). Like what?

52. Spendthrift : WASTREL

56. Hospital test : MRI SCAN - I just listened to talk shows on my iPhone

60. Large deep-water fish : OPAH






63. Actor Auberjonois : RENE - Fr. Mulcahy in the 1970 movie M*A*S*H

64. Relaxed : EASY

65. Refresh, as a cup of coffee : TOP UP - Is this also a Mardi Gras tradition?

66. Participants in some awkward meetings : EXES

67. Case breaker, perhaps : DNA - Uh, Number 2, you might wanna have a seat

68. Flower holders : STEMS - Not a vayse or a vahze

Down

1. Category for non-recurring pd. bills : MISC

2. 1979 disco classic : YMCA

3. Payment that's posted : BAIL - Remember who sponsored The Bad News Bears? Now you can order a jersey!

4. Eternal : AGELESS - Dick Clark's middle name for years

5. Philanthropist, e.g. : DONOR

6. Common Market letters : European Economic Community

7. Ancient colonnade : STOA

8. Sacred sites : SANCTUMS

9. Stocking stuff : FISH NET - Maybe Splynter will have some for us tomorrow

10. Not backing : ANTI

11. Party pooper : DRAG

12. First family member : SETH 

14. Poet's concern : METER

17. Short : CURT

21. Being : ENTITY

23. Throw into turmoil : DISRUPT

25. On the ball : ALERT

26. Monterrey title : SENOR

27. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting : PADUA - The Montana Shakespeare In The Park Troupe chose a different setting but used Elizabethan English (mostly) 

32. Notice from Shakespeare? : SEEST - Didst thee SEEST the setting for Taming Of The Shrew cameth ere?

29. Obsessive idea metaphor : BEE - Busy as a...


30. Caravan assembler : DODGE - The original minivan - 1984

31. Common Sundance entry : INDIE

34. Time for eggs : EASTER

38. Worked on, as a cold case : REOPENED - They haven't REOPENED the Cain and Abel case. How many witnesses could there have been?

39. Fold, spindle or mutilate : MAR

42. Crop cutters : SCYTHES

44. Buck : ONESPOT - Really?

46. Gin __ : RUMMY - Remember this Bond Villain who cheated at Gin RUMMY using a spy with binoculars and an earpiece? 

47. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA - No, descartar la OTRA tarjeta (No, discard the other card)

51. Slopes : TILTS

52. Had on : WORE 

53. Top : APEX

54. Fit to be tried : SANE - Two psychiatrists testified as to whether this Omaha man was SANE enough to stand trial for his four murders.

55. Student's request : LOAN 

57. Vacation spot : CAPE

58. Jack-in-the-pulpit family : ARUM

59. Gets caught off guard : NAPS

62. The ANC's country : RSA - Republic of South Africa

Now before you start celebrating reasonably (let your conscience be your guide), how 'bout some comments:

Wednesday, March 8, 2017, Agnes Davidson & C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: WORD LOVERS


Our two good friends here at this little literary outpost, C.C. and Irish Miss, have produced a lovely exercise for us today. 

Husker Gary reporting on their effort to take a word (foreign to me) and use it as a delightful pattern.These word-loving ladies used the word LOGOPHILE, from the Greek - LOGOS meaning word and PHILE meaning lover, to give us four fills where the first word starts with LO and the second with GO. 

What word could be more apropos? 

The reveal tells all. I could see the pattern but had no idea what these two LOGOPHILES were doing.

64. Word lover who'd especially enjoy the four longest answers in this puzzle? : LOGOPHILE

THEME FILLS:
17. Ambitious aspiration : LOFTY GOAL - After 108 long years, the Chicago Cubs reached their LOFTY GOAL of a World Championship last fall

25. "We're off to a strong start" : LOOKING GOOD - Forest Gump's 1970's investment in "some kind of fruit company" would have him LOOKING GOOD and worth $6B today.

39. A city council is part of it : LOCAL GOVERNMENT - My town's LOCAL GOVERNMENT has been besieged by debate on both sides concerning the building of a $300,000,000 Costco Chicken Plant two miles south of our house. A former Nebraska governor with whom I golf told me, "Gary, what kind of industry did people think we would attract?"

50. Aphrodite or Venus : LOVE GODDESS - Hilarious Judy Tenuta billed herself as a "LOVE GODDESS - It could happen!"

Now that you've LOGged On, let's see what else Agnes and C.C. have for us

Across

1. __-pedi : MANI

5. Like many snowbirds: Abbr. : RET'D - I subbed five of the last eight days. I've got to look up the word RETIRED 

9. Golden Arches pork sandwich : MCRIB

14. __ jacket : ETON - May we clear that for you?

15. Part of a plot : ACRE

16. Muse for Millay : ERATO

19. Industry bigwig : TITAN

20. Hotel breakfast buffet offering : OMELET - Your attendants might be wearing ETON jackets

21. "Evita" role : CHE

23. River near the Sphinx : NILE

24. Hush-hush govt. org. : NSA

28. Lauren of fashion : RALPH - His company made an entire line of ads for sponsoring Downton Abbey. 

30. Mystery man John : DOE - He seems to show up in a lot of morgues

31. Uninteresting : BLAH

33. "Yippee!" : WAHOO - Twenty minutes from here

36. Flapper's accessory : BOA - The kind that's safe around your neck

43. Typical "Blue's Clues" watcher : TOT

44. Davenport resident : IOWAN

45. Gossip column twosome : ITEM - These things are like our savings account - they generate no appreciable interest!  

46. Stop : END

47. Stop : CEASE - Didn't I just see this clue recently?

55. __ King Cole : NAT

58. "Not sure yet" : I MAY

59. Road cover : TAR - This road TAR job was in one of my favorite movies

60. Sole role in the play "Tru" : CAPOTE

62. Place for short cuts : SALON

66. Pointed remark? : THERE

67. Always : EVER

68. Persia, today : IRAN - The mullahs don't like it but some American knockoffs like this and "Mash Donalds" are showing up. 

69. Totally filled : SATED

70. Email status : SENT - Oh my! Did I hit SEND?

71. What a successful dieter weighs : LESS

Down

1. Fruit served in balls : MELON - Oh, now I get it!

2. Matter makeup : ATOMS

3. 2002 legislation that protects whistleblowers, familiarly : NO FEAR ACT 

4. Like some waters: Abbr. : INT'L

5. Convertible, in slang : RAG TOP - Guy Fieri's RAG TOP and his show - Diners, Drive-In and Dives - are both cool!

6. Prefix with friendly : ECO

7. Song on a CD : TRACK -I haven't bought music on a record, tape or CD since Moby Dick was a guppy.

8. Indian metropolis : DELHI - The Ploof Gourmet Kitchen in Deli has been proclaimed the best Deli in, uh, DELHI. Call  +91 22 2463 4666 for take out!

9. Got together : MET

10. Shrink in fear : CRINGE

11. Probability expression : RATIO - The odds for my FB Huskers winning the National Championship  this year are 100:1. VB odds are much better!

12. Author Calvino : ITALO - Classics always wear well and offer lessons to all generations. To Kill A Mockingbird is one that comes to my mind! You?

13. Like fillets : BONED

18. Cry out : YELL

22. Home of the Ewoks : ENDOR - The home of our crossword buddies. Now where do those ELOI hale from? 

26. "I'm impressed!" : OH WOW

27. Hired hood : GOON - Some don't make it to Social Security age

29. Puzzle solver's cry : AHA - AHA, now I get it! It's two word phrases where the first word starts with LO and the second with GO!

31. Lunchtime fave : BLT - You had me at bacon!

32. John of the U.K. : LOO

34. Gardner of the silver screen : AVA - No one was afraid of her boyfriend/husband, just his GOONS!

35. Start of a conclusion : HENCE

36. Bane : BETE NOIRE - That which is hated or a rasslin' stage name

37. Cardinal Ozzie Smith's retired uniform number : ONE - Now there's a guy who knew how to take his position 

38. Spot to check your balance : ATM

40. Lisa who hosts CNN's "This Is Life" : LING

41. Beckett no-show : GODOT

42. Leading lead-in : MIS - It's MISLEADING if you think GODOT is going to show up

46. Friend of Pooh and Roo : EEYORE - What a sad outlook on life. I've known a few.

48. Go along with : ESCORT

49. PDQ : ASAP

50. Leans while sailing : LISTS

51. D-Day beach : OMAHA - C.C and Agnes, you couldn't throw Nebraska a crumb here? :-) 

52. Lot attendant : VALET - A dfferent pronunciation if you are handing Lord Grantham his riding clothes

53. Lowlands : DALES

54. Used the car : DROVE

56. Book with roads : ATLAS - or...

57. After-school jobholders : TEENS - Like any honest labor, McJobs have dignity

61. One of the Everly Brothers : PHIL - The Beatles were huge fans of Don and PHIL

63. Actor Beatty : NED -This t-shirt was inspired by what may be Ned's most remembered role

65. High-ranking off. : GEN

I am LOng GOne but look forward to your comments: