Wednesday, August 30, 2017, Jacob Stulberg

THEME: VOWEL MOVEMENT REDUX

A Wednesday puzzle with a vowel progression? Put up the Husker Gary Signal, Commissioner! This is my third recent puzzle with this gimmick. I thought we'd take a new look at the VOWELS in ASL. How many did you know?

 Jacob's progressive vowel insertions were on three two-word phrases and one single word adjective and were placed to complete the sequence CR _ M.... 

Perhaps it's not necessary but here is his grid and since only very smart people read this blog, I only indicated the vowels employed in Jacob's exercise.

Let's check out Jacob's exhibition of VOWEL PLAY by looking at his sequential theme entries:

17. Student's all-nighter : CRAM SESSION - They pulled a big CRAM SESSION to try to pass Professor Kingston's class in 1973's The Paper Chase

25. Dessert with a caramelized top : CREME BRULEE - Breaking through that wonderful caramelized crust 

39. Course of study that may include forensics : CRIMINAL JUSTICE - Abby of NCIS is my favorite forensic scientist and part of my latest Netflix binge

48. Like a mid-17th century English government : CROMWELLIAN - I'll bet Puritan and Roundhead Oliver was the life of any party! (Picture corrected from earlier Thomas)

61. Car's impact-absorbing structural feature : CRUMPLE ZONE - The CRUMPLE ZONE of both cars gives way first as designed

Now let's see what else Jacob has CRAMMED into this Wednesday exercise:

Across

1. Brigantine's pair : MASTS - How'd they get that ship in there?

6. Necklace globule : BEAD

10. Touch gently : PAT

13. Sneezing sound : ACHOO - Response - Gesund (healthy) heit (hood) to wish good health

14. Grade for exceptional work : A-PLUS 

16. "Gross!" : UGH

19. Links figure : PAR - PAR for pros is usually one less than for me

20. Trek on a trail : HIKE - Wanna hike up Half Dome in Yosemite? Here's the trail:

21. Lots : A TON

22. Martini garnish : OLIVE

24. Keats' "__ on Indolence" : ODE - For this ODE to his own laziness, Keats used as an epigraph this passage from Matthew 26: "They toil not, neither do they spin" and we also had 56. Like noble gases : INERT

27. Verbal : ORAL

29. Former "Inside the NFL" host Dawson : LEN

30. Correctional : PENAL - Nebraska's PENAL system is at 150% of capacity

32. Issuer of bulls : POPE - Named for the leaden seal (bulla) affixed to the bottom of a Papal edict, uh, not the content

35. Bridge support : ARCH - For some reason the ARCHES shown here gave this bridge in Memphis the nickname "The Dolly Parton Bridge." Hmmm... It's a mystery to me

42. Trail : PATH

43. Sports figures : ODDS

44. __ fit: tantrum : HISSY

45. Tie-ending qtrs. : OTS - James White scoring the TD that decided the 2017 Super Bowl which was the first one to go into OverTime

47. Boot : KICK - The Falcons were KICKING themselves for letting the the Super Bowl above get away from them

54. Letter after upsilon : PHI

57. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" actress Marisa : TOMEI - She is a fine actress but she'll always be Mona Lisa Vito, the car expert in My Cousin Vinny to me

58. Je t'__: French "I love you" : AIME 

59. Cookware material : IRON 

60. Bygone U.K. record label : EMI

64. Suitable : APT

65. Comic/writer/activist Izzard : EDDIE - A British comedian known for dressing as a woman in his act

66. Solitary sort : LONER - I am an involuntary  LONER when eating lunch in faculty lounges

67. Ed.'s acquisitions : MSS - Manuscripts 

68. Italian wine region : ASTI

69. Latin clarifier : ID EST  - i.e. This might, uh, clarify the issue, i.e. explain the difference  

Down

1. Virile : MACHO - Many in this sport have their MACHO image enhanced pharmacologically 

2. Bitterly pungent : ACRID

3. Seal the deal : SHAKE ON IT - It can be complicated

4. Heavy reading? : TOME

5. Signal of distress : SOS - This became standard after the sinking of the Titanic and replaced CQD (Come Quickly Danger) (-.-.  --.-  -..)  which the doomed ship was sending as she sank

6. Moisten while roasting : BASTE

7. __ salts : EPSOM

8. Dress named for a letter : A-LINE

9. Electronic music's Daft Punk, e.g. : DUO and 47. Film critic Pauline : KAEL- I guess...

10. Dilation target : PUPIL - My good friend had this situation with his eyes

11. Tequila source : AGAVE

12. Red billiard ball : THREE - Its correct placement in the rack for 8-Ball

15. [Bo-ring!] : SNORE

18. Rank between marquis and viscount : EARL

23. __ fringe: fanatical extremists : LUNATIC

25. Colombian city : CALI

26. __ cheese : BLEU - Not a fan

28. Make emphatically, as a point : RAM HOME - I think this RAM made his point emphatically 

30. Angel dust, for short : PCP

31. Significant stretch : ERA

32. Sketchbook, e.g. : PAD

33. __ Navy: discount retailer : OLD

34. Comfy lounging wear : PJS - After one of my blogs i got an anonymous note from someone who said I put commas where they are not required. So, would PJ'S be out of place here or here 37. IV units : CCS - CC'S

36. Like aggressive investments : RISK PRONE - "Hello, Mr. Madoff, I'd like my money back"

38. "Listen up!" : HEY

40. Body part with a bridge : NOSE - You can alter that bridge

41. It's just over a foot : SHIN

46. __-baked potatoes : TWICE

48. Third-stringers : C-TEAM - Most would now say "Third on the depth chart"

49. Escapades : ROMPS

50. Passes over : OMITS - Why did Jacob omit CRY ME A RIVER? 😉

51. Praises highly : LAUDS

52. Maximum : LIMIT

53. Macao Science Center designer : I.M. PEI - Wow!

55. Sharpens : HONES

59. Polo maker that's a Polo rival : IZOD

62. Nutritional abbr. : RDA

63. Philanthropist Broad : ELI - A little obscure for a Wednesday?

It's no CRIME to have an opinion here:

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?