Saturday, October 12, 2019, Erik Agard

Themeless Saturday by Erik Agard

Today we take another fun spin on Jeopardy Champion Erik Agard's puzzle-mobile. Two triple vertical stacks of 9's and triple horizontal rows of 8's are so impressive!

This is a nice article about Marylander Erik (graduate of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Springs)


Across:

1. Online gay dating site: GRINDR - Here ya go

7. Bridge accessory: SCORE PAD.

15. Electrically overhaul: REWIRE - It took me an hour to REWIRE a lamp three weeks ago. Now I could do it in five minutes!

16. ProvenÁal olive-and-capers spread: TAPENADE - Its name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapenas. French major granddaughter says ProvenÁal used in clue is an archaic name for the adjective Provençal describing things from the Provence area in SE France

17. Many: A LOT OF.

18. Bent: APTITUDE - My APTITUDE for math and science led to a 42-yr career (BENT OUT OF SHAPE was our Thursday gimmick)

19. Legal end: BAN - It doesn't seem to be a good time to be starting a Vape business 

20. Eponymous German bacteriologist: PETRI - Here is the discoverer of penicillin, Alexander Fleming, holding a PETRI dish like the one he used in making his momentous find

22. Nuzzled: NOSED.

23. Relative of "You go!": ATTA- Many "over and above" things I did as a teacher garnered me an "ATTA Boy" but no cash

25. Yogurt-based condiment: RAITA - How to make one type. Yes, I saw it is an anagram of our cwd rope friend

27. Contents of some weekly organizers: MEDS - They can get complicated

30. Forensic workplace: DNA LAB - DNA testing exonerated this Idaho man and convicted the actual perpetrator. 28. "Alas ... ": SADLY he spent 20 years in jail before the truth came out

32. Volumes on devices: EBOOKS.

34. Cheeks asset: GLOW.

35. Lose juice entirely: DIE.

38. Sci-fi science: ALIEN TECHNOLOGY - The premise of the movie Independence Day was that gov't scientists were studying ALIEN TECHNOLOGY at Area 51

41. Palindromic observance: TET.

42. Imprecise words: OR SO.

43. Stand-up comic Boosler: ELAYNE - A funny minute with ELAYNE

44. Words of denial: I WASN'T 

46. Was upheld on appeal: STOOD - After a review, an NFL referee can say a call has STOOD, been confirmed or been overturned

47. Radio letters: AM FM - In my yute, our car radios only had AM but those of us of a certain age will recognize the Conelrad symbols in case of emergencies

50. Many of the characters in the 2018 film "Smallfoot": YETIS.

52. Italian cabbage?: EURO - This is slang for money. Real Italian cabbage is Cavolo Italiano

53. Part of UCSD: DIEGO - The Geisel Library at the University of California at San DIEGO

55. Radical cousin: NEATO - The fill predates the cluing by quite a bit

57. Cheese go-with: MAC.

58. Handy annuals: ALMANACS - Here's one from the year I was born

60. It was created in Philly in 1792: US MINT.

62. Small tuft: PLUMELET - The PLUMELET (feather) in Forest Gump had wonderful symbolism

63. White, to Juan: BLANCO - A fun song about Una Paloma BLANCA - The White Dove (I know the fill is masculine BLANCO but this is a fun song)

64. Persistent: TIRELESS.

65. Unifying alloy: SOLDER - U.S. - Sodder. U.K. - Sohl' der. Why?

Down:

1. Park it: GRAB A SEAT.

2. Sympathetic: RELATABLE - I would call Tom Hanks the most RELATABLE actor in Hollywood

3. Defiant refusal: I WON'T DO IT.

4. Micromanager's excess: NIT - In a recent response to me, a professional person hoped my "weekend went GOOD" and said "she was giving me a PEAK at fees her institute charges". I did 9. Go (for): OPT to not correct her

5. Fall: DROP.

6. Direct: REFER - My doctor REFERRED me to a wonderful Omaha surgeon rather than trust our local hospital

7. Competitions in which batting is forbidden: STARING CONTESTS - Anyone batting their eyes loses

8. Goalpost look-alike: CAPITAL H.

10. Control during riding: REIN.

11. Lay to rest: ENTOMB.

12. Meaning of two vertical lines, at times: PAUSE.

13. Put in later: ADDED - If you buy M*A*S*H DVD's, you can choose to leave off the ADDED laugh track which I would elect to do

14. Done things: DEEDS.

21. Tiny bit: TAD.

24. Wound application: ALOE.

26. Without help: ALONE.

29. Informal "Dig?": Y'KNOW - Another ' from Erik and a very annoying speech idiom

31. Base runners?: AWOLS - Sgt. Hulka chews out Pvt. Ringer after Winger goes AWOL from the base, which was Camp Arnold, in Stripes

33. Deviate: STRAY.

35. "Excu-u-use me!": DO YOU MIND - He made it famous (:07)

36. "Learning [is] the kind of __ distinguishing the studious": Bierce: IGNORANCE - I always say that I am smart enough to know how little I know

37. Triangular chart user: EYE DOCTOR - People in 2020 will be surprised to learn that 20:20 vision is normal not perfect vision

39. Basic natures: ESSENCES.

40. Having a timing problem: LATE - Rude

44. "Let's": I'M GAME - A fourth apostrophe fill for our good friend Erik today

45. Familia member: TIA - ¿Todos los demás tienen una TIA loca en su familia? (Does everyone else have a crazy aunt in their family?)

47. Change for the better: ADAPT - When in Rome...

48. __ Vanilli: MILLI - Their lip-synching fraud of someone else's performance came out when the track stuck while they were "singing" on stage

49. Big bone: FEMUR.

51. Theater buff's collection: STUBS - Decorate a coffee table with them

54. Turow memoir: ONE-L.

56. Parliament : London :: Storting : __: OSLO - Norway's parliament, the Storting, meets in this building

59. Pale __: ALE.

61. Not bien: MAL - ¡El rompecabezas de Erik es bien, no está MAL! (Erik's puzzle is good, not bad!)

Comments welcome:

Saturday, October 5, 2019, Gail Grabowski

Saturday Themeless by Gail Grabowski

Probably somewhat dated info

Today I had a nice Easter Egg hunt with Gail's offering. I found my basketful in the SE corner and then had to work my way back up for a very satisfying "got 'er done!" That made my time a little higher than usual but did not diminish my pleasure in doing one of Gail's always fun offerings.

Any lady who authors such fun puzzles and likes Siamese cats is a friend of mine. Plus, the second smartest woman I have ever known (C.C. is tops) was also a JH English teacher.

Across:

1. Mirage sights?: CARD GAMES - I'll bet you could find CARD GAMES at this Las Vegas hotel/casino but no oasis

10. Hint: WHIFF - Yeah, this WHIFF is giving her a hint

15. Puccini's Rodolfo, for one: OPERA ROLE - Spoiler alert! Mimi dies of consumption in Rodolfo's arms in the final scene of La Boheme 

16. Word with society or system: HONOR - People who violate the HONOR system should not get into the HONOR society

17. Parties like there's no tomorrow: LETS LOOSE.

18. Singular: OUTRE.

19. Recipe word: ADD.

20. Utter: PURE - Triskaidekaphobia is utter nonsense to us science peeps

21. Serves, with "out": DISHES.

22. Considerable number: MASS.

23. Implore: BESEECH - Reminds me of this wonderful Godspell song - We BESEECH Thee

24. Traditional Mesoamerican fare: TAMALE.

27. Name on the 1969 album "Clouds": JONI - Ms. Mitchell's wonderful song and album.

28. One may be purposely broken: LAW which might cause the police to 51. Pick up: NAB the offender

29. Program access aids: ICONS - These are the ones we bloggers use here

30. Pop-up fare: TOAST - I TOAST my English muffins twice for extra crispness

31. Former NHL forward Tikkanen: ESA - Here 'ya go

32. Nothing more than: MERE.

33. City ordinance subject: NOISE - Around the 4th of July these ordinances are not 41. Require compliance with: ENFORCEd quite to the letter of the law

34. Bit of power: WATT.


35. Green of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children": EVA - EVA Green as Miss Peregrine appears to be armed with a crossbow

36. Contaminate: TAINT - One bad apple...

37. Word in a marriage metaphor: AISLE - Marriage is a "Walk down the AISLE"

38. __ Aviv: TEL - "Hill of Spring" founded in 1909

39. Restraining order: HALT.

40. __ storm: WINTER - It can increase traffic to web sites to check for school closings. I think kids go there too.

43. Woven line: CORD.

44. Provoke: STIR UP and 6. Turn on: AROUSE - Is it getting warm in here?

45. Oregon's highest mountain: HOOD - Mt. HOOD from the International Rose Garden in Portland is an awesome sight!

46. Org. with Eagles: BSA - Now both boys and girls can make Eagle Scout

49. Squeezable holders: TUBES.

50. Listen: LEND AN EAR - Shakespeare put similar words in Mark Antony's mouth

52. Upstanding: ERECT.

53. Regular beach walker's resource: TIDE TABLE - The TIDE TABLES if I were taking a group to Cocoa Beach today

54. Load with jeans, say: DARKS - Every student should have to cut out the lower squares and sort them correctly

55. They don't sting: DRONE BEES - The DRONES only job is to mate with an unfertilized queen

Down:

1. Cuba libre ingredient: COLA.

2. Behaved like: APED.

3. Like many Fla. residents: RETD 

4. Ones often working in small rms.: DRS.

5. Thelma and Louise, e.g.: GAL PALS - To the end

7. "Wuthering Heights" scenery: MOORS - It was hard for Catherine and Heathcliffe to 9. Make out: SEE each other in the MOORS. Yeah, I know there's a second way to construe "make out" but...

8. Apart from this: ELSE.

10. Response to a bell: WHO IS IT - Needed one more cell to enter SALIVATE

11. __ wine: HOUSE - A usual order for a wine know-nothing like yours truly

12. At all: IN THE LEAST - "That joke was not funny IN THE LEAST"

13. Ship's deck sometimes reduced to six letters: FORECASTLE - The F'O'CSLE of the Queen Mary is behind the bow and in front of the first stack

14. It's in ice caps and ice sheets: FRESH WATER - Where over 68% of FRESH WATER is found

21. Like urban population: DENSE - Exhibit A: Hong Kong

22. Giraffe feature: MANE - _ A _ E made me think NAPE but...

23. Talk a good game: BOAST- Joe Namath shocked the sports world when he made good on his 1969 BOAST

24. Borne out long-term: TIME TESTED.

25. Fictional detective often seen wearing an open aloha shirt: ACE VENTURA - You either like Jim Carrey's brand of humor or you don't

26. Strength of character: MORAL FIBER - See Gandhi above

27. Cooler: JOINT - Also jail, gray bar hotel, hoosegow, club fed, gaol, et al

30. Decorative fabric: TOILE - Here 'ya go


33. Rights org. since 1909: NAACP.

34. Leaf blower: WIND - I am very aware of WIND in my two avocations - biking and golf

36. Fencing maneuvers: THRUSTS.

37. Show time: AIR DATE - Usually there is a three month gap between when a Jeopardy game is taped and that show's AIR DATE

40. Stiff: WOODEN - Some pols just aren't good "on the stump"

42. Eponymous vacuum brand: ORECK.

43. Many a time-share: CONDO - This company specializes in getting people OUT OF time-shares

45. Next in line: HEIR.

46. Tiny tot, in Toledo: BEBE - When Michael Buble sings Melancholy Baby in Spanish, the first line is "Ven a Mi BEBE Melancolico" (Come to my my melancholy baby)

47. Commission source: SALE - Their commission rate is why we chose this company to list MIL's house

48. Combative deity: ARES - Gods of war can be that way

50. Part of LLC: Abbr.: LTD - LIMITED Liability Company

Comment away. I'm sure Gail will overlook grammar errors: