Saturday, December 22, 2018, C.C. Burnikel

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by C.C. Burnikel

Since 1999, December 22nd has been the day to celebrate Abilities Day. The school where I sub has a girl who lost her right forearm in a ATV accident. Here you can see her as she is competing in a recent swim meet where she won two events. If you need a hero, she would be someone you should consider.

C.C. has a Saturday themeless for the third time in two months and made me feel like I had limited abilities! It took me only 15 minutes to get to this NE corner and then I took a detour on the Natick Turnpike.  I had no shot on 10, 11 and 12 Down and 14 Across and had wrong answers on 20 and 24 Across. After another fifteen minutes, I threw in the towel and got help from the U.S.S. Google! I still had fun and humble pie is not fattening!

Personal note - It has been one year since I became the regular Saturday blogger and I appreciate C.C. giving me the chance and for you to not giving me the boot.

And now let's see C.C.'s many abilities on this wonderful Weekend puzzle:

Across:

1. Hypoallergenic wool: ALPACA While similar to sheep’s wool, ALPACA fiber  is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic (unlikely to cause an allergic reaction)

7. Chinese way of life: TAOISM 

13. Be the victim of a slaying?: ROAR AT - Good comedians are said to "slay" the audience who are probably ROARing AT them

14. Taiwanese drink originally made with milk and tapioca pearls: BOBA TEA - I had no idea but here is the finished product and a kit to make said beverage

15. Sports cheaters: DOPERS - Jose Canseco's book blew the whistle on this practice

16. Series of celebratory visits: PUB CRAWL - This ritual seems to be de rigueur for some 21st birthdays

17. Squeeze (out): EKE.

18. Fixes, as a pump: RESOLES - C.C. loves shoes and I'm sure has many pairs of pumps

20. Green span: LEA - A wonderful play on Alan Greenspan for an old cwd friend

21. Convention: NORM - The NORM at this site is educated discourse 23. Because it fits: APTLY to the subjects at hand

24. Cat's hangout: SILL - Not the cat in its LAIR but the kitty on the window SILL

25. Prominent parade brass: TUBAS - If you're a musician you probably already know which of the below is a TUBA and which is a Sousaphone. If you aren't you probably don't care. Here's the difference

27. The Cuban?: LAS - A Cuban speaking Spanish would know LAS Vegas literally means "THE Meadows"

28. Wolf in "The Jungle Book": AKELA - The Disney Wolf was voiced by this gentleman. AKELA was also the name of the leader in our cub scout pack.

29. Kicks back: TAKES IT EASY

32. Place for a frozen treat: GELATO STAND - A ubiquity in Rome

34. Response to a welcome return: WE MISSED YOU - A common sentiment when a former blogger returns to our fold 

36. Apps with errors: BETAS - Fortunately, now they've got all the bugs out 😅

39. Avril follower: MAI - Les averses d'avril apportent des fleurs de MAI (April showers bring May Flowers)

40. Stopped lying: AROSE - As opposed to started telling the truth

42. Drained of color: ASHY.

43. Sharp picker-upper: TALON.

45. Put under: DRUG.

46. Early Melotone Records competitor: RCA -Melotone

47. Produce aisle option: ORGANIC - Is it really better?

49. Turn sharply: ZAG - After a zig

50. Factor in exit velocity, in baseball: BAT SPEED

52. Wore thin: GOT OLD - Remember the political ads this fall?

54. Life-saving devices, at times: EPIPENS 

55. In a calm manner: EVENLY.

56. Make drinkable, in a way: DESALT - This Carlsbad DESAL(T) plant will provide 7% of San Diego's water from the ocean

57. Two-day trip, often: RED EYE - Guide to conquering Red Eye Flights


Down:

1. Deeply devoted: ARDENT.

2. Guard: LOOKOUT - Bikers must LOOKOUT in the 33. Hazardous area for a bicyclist passing a parked car: DOOR ZONE 

3. Checkout choice: PAPER BAG - Or in the Dr.'s office

4. Equal: ARE.

5. __ Fire: 230,000-acre Northern California conflagration of 2018: CARR.

6. Bewildered: AT SEA.

7. Maguire of "Spider-Man": TOBEY.

8. Early lesson: ABC'S - Here's where you can begin!

9. Boat mover: OAR.

10. Ballet's birthplace, to Parisians: ITALIE - The word ballet comes from the country of ITALIE (French for Italy) where the Italian word ballade meaning to dance. C.C. at her best!

11. "Black Beauty" author: SEWELL - My Dad said, "That is the only book I ever remember reading"

12. __ Fund: org. supporting girls' education founded by a 2014 Nobelist: MALALA - Another hero!

14. Informal discussion: BULL SESSION.

16. Side with a dog: POTATO SALAD - Substitute CHIPS for SALAD for me










19. Elmore Leonard novel whose title overlaps itself on some covers: SPLIT IMAGES - Yup.

22. Step aside: MAKE WAY.

24. "Sweet Home Alabama" band, familiarly: SKYNYRD - (Lynyrd SKYNRD). That and Georgia On My Mind are two great songs about states

26. Four-time Australian Open champ: SELES - Monica the tennis player

28. Carne __: ASADA - Literally "meat grilled" because those pesky Spanish have the adjective follow the noun

30. Finger-pointing uncle: SAM  - Now 101 years old

31. Enjoyed a roll: ATE.

35. By and large: USUALLY.

36. Like fishhooks, as a rule: BARBED.

37. Pen pals' plan?: ESCAPE - Debate continues whether these penitentiary pals make it

38. "In other words ... ": THAT IS - Fourscore and seven, THAT IS, eighty seven years ago

41. Dip popular at Easter: EGG DYE.

43. 16th-century council site: TRENT - An 18 year series of meetings in TRENTo, Italy where Pope Paul III tried to end corrupt practices in the Catholic Church. Hmmm... 

44. African country with rich uranium deposits: NIGER - So far this month we have had Gabon, Burkina Faso and now NIGER

47. German auto: OPEL - 1964 Opel Ad. I wonder what the words Economisch, Rulm, Pitting and Handig below the picture mean

48. Dock setting: COVE.

51. Mother's Day destination: SPA.

53. Talk acronym: TED - Are you up to a 12 minute M.I.T.  TED talk about puzzles and constructors?

Saturday, December 15, 2018, Greg Johnson

Themeless Saturday by Greg Johnson

Today marks the celebration that is well appreciated by a man who has always had a cat in his household and has taught and traveled with adolescents for over 40 years - National Cat Herders Day!

One story credits the  genesis of this phrase to IT expert Dave Platt who remarked, "Managing senior programmers is like herding cats."  The site Wellcat took the phrase and declared it a national day.

Our constructor today is Greg Johnson and I can only find this [insert adjective] picture of him from my last write-up of his work and no other info

Let's see what Greg has conjured up to herd us cats here at our word sandbox:

Across:

1. Brakes: SLOWS UP - To SLOW UP from 17,000 mph the shuttle had to fire retro rockets ahead, enter the atmosphere whose friction made the bottom 3,000˚F, make big sweeping turns and then finally deploy drag chutes. The process began over Australia to land at KSC

8. Do a sauce preparation job: DEGLAZE - Adding wine or stock to particles in the bottom of the pan (called fond) after searing or cooking.

15. Wedding employee: LIMOUSINE DRIVER

17. One always looking up: ETERNAL OPTIMIST - Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie Forebush declared I'm A Cockeyed Optimist

18. Meander: WEND.

19. 42nd's second: GORE is closely associated with 31. Global warming concern: ICE CAPs

20. Food buyer's consideration: TASTE and 27. Pizza party purchase: SODA - Do all SODAS TASTE the same?

21. Polish removers: ACETONES  - We used Windex and elbow grease to get polish out of our carpet

24. One of 20 in many books: MATCH- For our striking friends 

28. Stress-free locale, ideally: SPA.

33. Private dining area: MESS TENT - Can you find this famous one?

36. "Death at a __" (2010 comedy): FUNERAL - Just check out the cast!

38. Cooling-off period: DETENTE - America's DETENTE with the U.S.S.R. has ebbed and flowed since the 60's

39. A, often: FRONT ROW - A hilarious Bob Uecker commercial 

41. Hemsley's role on the sitcom "Amen": DEACON - Maybe so, but this is the role Sherman played that helped change TV and the world

42. Hill climber: ANT.

43. What happy concertgoers want: MORE.

45. Perfect places: EDENS.

46. Deeply saddens ... or delights: MAKES CRY 

48. Parting sentiment: PEACE - The first Today Show host Dave Garroway's signature was saying PEACE with his hand upheld

52. Little, playfully: ITTY.

53. First name in late-night talk: DAVE and 61. First name in late-night talk: ARSENIO - Letterman and Hall worked the other side of the clock Garroway had worked

57. Bar association concern: AMBULANCE CHASER - Walter Matthau played AMBULANCE CHASER "Whiplash Willie" in this fun movie

60. Top dog?: PICK OF THE LITTER - How in the world could you pick from (let alone herd) this litter?

62. Shower components: METEORS

Down:

1. Host: SLEW - There's a SLEW of meteors shooting through the atmosphere above

2. For calorie counters: LITE.

3. Predictor, sometimes: OMEN.

4. Conduct may have it on either end: WORD ACCENT - With the WORD ACCENT up front - CON DUCT is how one behaves. With the WORD ACCENT at the back - CON DUCT is how electric wires behave. 

5. Bright star: SUN - The answer to an old bar bet, "What star is closest to the Earth?"

6. Data plan number: USAGE - Verizon has told me how many GB/month I can use without paying more but I can't remember the number

7. American workers: PILOTS - American was the first airline to fly the DC-3 which made it able to make a profit by only carrying passengers while others 8. Counted (on): DEPENDED on carrying mail and freight

9. August hrs. in Augusta: EDT.

10. Breakfast food mentioned in court in "My Cousin Vinny": GRITS - A very funny minute of video

11. Green bean: LIMA.

12. "It's Your Space" sloganeer: AVIS - Remember when it was, "We're #2, we try harder"

13. Cocktail garnish: ZEST - Here's a pile of lemon ZEST

14. Art Deco designer: ERTE - Great for crosswords not so much for Scrabble®

16. Space observation: NO ROOM - A great observation about the space in the Sistine Chapel

22. Pie __: CHART - Speaking of cell phone usage

23. Left carefully, with "out": EASED.

24. Tick off: MIFF.

25. Luxury auto: ACURA - I put my first guess of LEXUS back in the word garage

26. Carpentry joint component: TENON - We had TENON Saw last Friday

28. Bae or boo, to former generations: STEADY DATE - Saccharine pet names 

29. Pound parts: PENCE - A British pound equals 100 PENCE (1p) or 50 TUPPENCE (2p)

30. Playwright Chekhov: ANTON - Cultural idiot me is not familiar with ANTON's plays but I do know who Yogi Berra's backup catcher was (* see at bottom :-) 

32. Prosciutto di __: PARMA - Very thinly sliced cured ham whose superior taste is obtained by the wonderful air in Parma, Italy and 46. Fruit served with prosciutto: MELON

34. Direct: STEER.


35. Some bills: TENS - If you have this  1863 TEN, you should 37. Investigate: LOOK INTO  how much it is worth

40. "Amazing Grace" figure: WRETCH - John Newton, a former captain of a slave ship, wrote the poem in 1779 but never heard the melody which was applied to it 50 yrs later. It can be played using only the black keys.

44. Highly regard: ESTEEM.

47. Spin, say: CYCLE.

48. Storied bear: PAPA - A name I treasure 

49. 2018 White House visitor from Qatar: EMIR - Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the current EMIR of Qatar

50. Kids' curriculum: ABC'S

51. Garden veggie: CUKE - Our garden ranneth over!

54. Regarding: AS TO.

55. Suddenly turn: VEER - In the VEER FB offense, either the QB or one of the HB's will try to VEER through the defense 

56. Messes up: ERRS 

58. "100 Years...100 Movies" org.: AFI - American Film Institute 

59. Battleship success: HIT - How 'bout Battleship Beer Pong for the pool?

Now I'll try and herd all of you cats to the comment page:

* Yogi's backup had very few stats as Yogi hardly ever took time off.