Tuesday, May 21, 2019 John-Clark Levin & Jeff Chen

"Tiny Bubbles"

4. It's often worn with a hood and mortarboard: ACADEMIC ROBE.  10^-6 or 0.000001

10. Computer screen array: DESKTOP ICONS.  10^-12 or 0.000000000001

25. Longtime late-night host: CONAN OBRIEN.  10^-9   or 0.000000001 

26. Don Ho's signature song ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: TINY BUBBLES.


The circled answers are three of the twenty metric system "unit prefixes" used in the International System of Units (SI).   The prefixes are used for multiples or  fractions of the seven base units of measurements, which include second for time, meter for length, kilogram for mass, etc.   In case you missed the news, big changes occurred yesterday, May 20, 2019 as the redefinition of the base units went into effect.

However, the theme is Tiny Bubbles, and we have:

• Microbubbles - Used in biomedical imaging and for targeted drug delivery.
• Nanobubbles - Change the characteristics of water molecules, with widespread potential uses.
• Picobubbles - Being studied to improve extraction in phosphate production.  

Who knew ?  I only knew of microbubbles, and that led me to see if there were indeed, nanobubbles and picobubbles. 

If you aren't buying in, just count all of those zeros in the SI unit prefixes as Tiny Bubbles.

Moving on...

Across:

1. Fur-protesting org.: PETA.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

5. Criminals, to cops: PERPS.  Perpetrators.   Perps, to cruciverbalists:  perpendicular answers.

10. Idiotic: DUMB.

14. With, in France: AVEC. 

15. Paying careful attention: ALERT.

16. Biblical twin: ESAU.  The hirsute one that sold his birthright.

17. California county known for vineyards: NAPA.

18. JFK Library architect: I.M. PEI.  As you are aware, he died last week at 102.  Jackie Kennedy chose an unknown architect named I.M. Pei to design the Kennedy Library

19. Talked like a rat?: SANG.

20. Shoe brand with a three-stripe logo: ADIDAS.

22. Jabbing rudely: POKING.

24. Rescue helicopter: MEDEVAC.

26. Something for serving the English breakfast?: TEA TRAY.

27. Spanish hand: MANO.  Anatomy.  Mano a Mano: hand to hand. 

28. Crushing on: INTO.  Adoring on, or idolizing. 

29. Fronton game word: ALAI.  Didn't know the word fronton.  Had the clue been "Cesta game word" jai alai would have come to mind.   As it was, perps provided the answer.   If you are looking for a venue where you can watch a match, here's a list:  Frontons in the USA

32. Like about-to-be-toppled dominoes: ON END.

34. Surreptitious summons: PSST.

38. Branded wares, informally: MERCH.  Merchandise.

40. American gymnast Raisman with three Olympic gold medals: ALY.  Three Golds, Two Silvers and a Bronze in Olympic competition:

41. Magazine name: TITLE.  Caught me thinking of masthead names. 

42. Preface, briefly: INTRO. 

43. Tip of a quill: NIB.

44. Ensure the win: ICE IT.

45. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO.  Shakespeare.  That's about all I know about it. 

47. Send to iCloud: UPLOAD. 

49. "Doctor Who" airer, familiarly: THE BEEB.    "...a nickname originally coined by Peter Sellers...and popularised by radio DJ Kenny Everett."

50. Smoothie maker: BLENDER.

52. Gained altitude: ROSE.

53. "Survivor" faction: TRIBE.  If interested, here's a list of the tribes of "Survivor" through the years.  I think I've watched perhaps a total of 10 minutes of it in the 38 "seasons" it has been on TV.  They must average about two seasons a year, since Wiki tells me it has been on since 2000.   Apparently it's a very popular reality series.

55. Stud farm stud: SIRE.

56. Latin art: ARS.

57. Not yet sleeping: STILL UP.

59. Chicago ballplayer: CUB.


60. Show on which Tina Fey co-starred for six seasons: SNL. 

61. Cooks' prep tools: PEELERS.

62. India pale __: ALE.

63. "Yo!": HEY !

64. Bar tender in Tokyo?: YEN.  Two words for the currency clue rather than the singular word for an occupation.

65. For instance: SAY.  FREX, as JzB would abbreviate FoR EXample.

66. Blanc who voiced Bugs: MEL.


Down:

1. Former Delta rival: PAN AM.  Never flew Pan Am, but was a Delta frequent flyer member.  The only thing I got from them in return was lost and misrouted luggage at Hartsfield.   Still have my card

2. Give the slip: EVADE. 

3. Lukewarm: TEPID.

5. Italian chum: PAISANO. 

6. Massachusetts state tree: ELM.   They also have a state rock.  It's called Plymouth. And a state cream pie and terrier dog, both called Boston.

7. U.S. House member: REP.

8. Cursor beginning?: PRE.  Precursor - a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.

9. Grad student's income: STIPEND. 

11. Delta rival, as it was once known: US AIR.  US Airways, nee Allegheny Airlines, merged with American Airlines.   I remember the expansions of Pittsburgh International in the 70s and 80s, largely to support Allegheny / US Air.   TWA was the other major carrier that had a hub at Pittsburgh.

12. Exodus food: MANNA.

13. Glitch-ridden, as software: BUGGY.   Hopefully the bugs are caught in Beta Testing.

21. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.

23. Bread grain: OAT.

29. "What __ missing?": AM I.

30. "Stormy Weather" singer: LENA HORNE.


31. In a naive way: ARTLESSLY.

33. Giants QB Manning: ELI.  The New York Giants of the National Football League.

35. Stabilizer for movie shooters: STEADICAM.   Invented by Garret Brown.  He also invented Skycam, "the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events."

 Description

36. Outmoded calculator: SLIDE RULE.

37. Hanoi New Year: TET.

39. Sharpen: HONE.

41. Shower wall piece: TILE.

46. Divan kin: SETTEE.

48. Thorax membrane: PLEURA.  More anatomy.  Thank you perps.   The Crossword Corner's  resident physician wouldn't need to look these up, but I had to.  The last anatomy class I had was in high school...

• Thorax - "the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen, including the cavity enclosed by the ribs, breastbone, and dorsal vertebrae, and containing the chief organs of circulation and respiration; the chest.
• Pleura - "each of a pair of serous membranes lining the thorax and enveloping the lungs in humans and other mammals."

49. Garbage: TRASH. 

51. Defy authority: REBEL.

54. __-at-ease: ILL.

57. MI6 agent: SPY.

58. "Gangnam Style" musician: PSY.   The video, if you care to watch it.   Now with 3,349,033,725 views and counting.   That's 3.349 billion  (10⁹⁾  or 3.349 gigaviews,  if one were to use the SI unit prefix.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 Jon Markman & Jeff Chen

"MLB CLOSERS"

16. N.L. West team's pests?: GIANTS ANTS.

22. N.L. East team's untruths?: PHILLIES LIES.

28. N.L. East team's parties?: BRAVES RAVES.

39. A.L. East team's cheers?: ORIOLES OLES.

46. N.L. Central team's pitchers?: BREWERS EWERS.

57. Ace relievers, briefly ... and a hint to 16-, 22-, 28-, 39- and 46-Across: MLB CLOSERS.

Loved this puzzle.  I think it was made a little tougher because the cities weren't named in the clues.  If you don't follow sports in general and professional baseball in particular, you may have had to work a little bit harder to get the solve. 

Across:

1. __ tag: game with infrared beams: LASER.

6. Make full: SATE.

10. Bro: BUB.

13. 10th-century Holy Roman emperor: OTTO I.  I believe one of his descendants lives in Roman Forest under an alias !

14. Letter-shaped fastener: T-NUT.

15. Restaurant list: MENU.

18. Martial __: ARTS.

19. Muddy pen: STY.

20. Not quite a B: C PLUS.

21. Illuminated from below, as a statue: UPLIT.

24. Reach: ATTAIN.

27. "Peachy-__!": KEEN.

32. Cry from a crib: WAH.

35. Sumptuous: LUXE.

36. Swelled head: EGO.

37. Metered ride: TAXI.

38. "You rang?": YES.

43. "Around the __": ESPN panel show: HORN.  Weekday program targeted at sports junkies,  with a cast of sports journalists opining and arguing about current sports events and sports headline stories.

45. Exercises, as power: WIELDS.

51. Dice throws: ROLLS.

52. Govt. security: T-BILL.  T-Bill Explained at Investopedia

53. Milne hopper: ROO.

56. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

59. "O.G. Original Gangster" rapper: ICE T.

O.G. Original Gangster was his 1991 album.  It is often referenced as one of the key factors in developing the genre of gangster rap.

A rapper turned actor, Ice-T plays Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Here shown with Mariska Hargitay who plays Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

60. Glimpse: PEEK.

61. Flat-package furniture stores: IKEAs.

62. Neither's partner: NOR.

63. "American __": Starz series based on a Neil Gaiman novel: GODS.  Never heard of it, but easy to perp in.

64. Nabisco wafer brand: NILLA.

Down:

1. Ships' records: LOGS. Spitzboov would know about these.

2. "They're __ again!": AT IT.

3. "Don't move, Rover!": STAY.

4. Ages and ages: EON.

5. "Sherlock Holmes" director Guy: RITCHIE.  Name looked familiar.  Was married to Madonna.

6. Slot in a stable: STALL.

7. Declare void: ANNUL.

8. Rwandan tribe: TUTSI.

9. Sci-fi visitors: ETs.

10. Cold War dividing line until 1989: BERLIN WALL.   Who famously proclaimed,  "I am a jelly doughnut !"  ?

11. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE. "Bad spellers of the world..."

12. Sculpted works: BUSTS.

15. Breakfast syrup type: MAPLE.

17. Manipulates politically: SPINS.

21. Exploits: USES.

22. Cover with asphalt: PAVE.

23. __ out a living: EKE.

24. With competence: ABLY.

25. Loyal: TRUE.

26. Financial adviser's suggestion: TAX SHELTER. Tax Shelter Explained at Investopedia

29. Outdoor gear brand: REI.  Recreational Equipment Incorporated. 

30. Earlier: AGO.

31. Encyclopedia bk.: VOL.

33. Chopped down: AXED.

34. King cobra warning: HISS.

37. On one's __: alert: TOES.

39. Mine contents: ORES.

40. Mil. time off: RNR. Rest and (Recuperation, Relaxation or Recreation).  Here's an image of a  booklet of unused scrip from my trip to Armed Forces Recreation Center Ski School Berchtesgaden for  a little R&R.   Learned Alpine skiing there.  Of course, went up to Obersalzberg to see the "Eagle's Nest" while there. 

41. Tom of "The Seven Year Itch": EWELL.

42. Beef cut: SIRLOIN.

44. Little hooter: OWLET.

Owl Owlets GIF from Owl GIFs

46. Really smart person: BRAIN.

47. Veg-O-Matic maker: RONCO.

48. Canonized pope known as "The Great": ST LEO.

49. Flowed back: EBBED.

50. Candle threads: WICKS.

53. Film spool: REEL.

54. __ hygiene: ORAL.

55. Legendary Greek mount: OSSA.  If you are going to climb it, consider stopping by REI to buy your ice axe, backpack and other hiking equipment.

57. Fuel efficiency stat: MPG.

58. Hit the slopes: SKI.

Abejo would like to pass along his CONGRATULATIONS to the Elk-McKean Little League team from Kane, Wilcox, JOHNSONBURG and Ridgway, Pennsylvania in making it to the Junior League World Series. Only 12 teams from around the globe make it this far. Elk-McKean plays tonight at 7C.   You can watch the games at upstream.tv

Saturday, May 19, 2018, Jeff Chen

A Themeless Saturday puzzle by Jeff Chen

Today's puzzle comes to us from Jeff Chen who has an MBA from the Foster School Of Business at the University of Washington. Here he is displaying an incredible grid he created.

One thing that caught my eye on Jeff's fine puzzle was a plethora of J's. He had nine in all but the stair step of four J's in the middle stands out like an honest politician. I wonder if that was just serendipity. Last Saturday's Greg Johnson puzzle only had one J - DON'T JINX IT!

Every corner had speed bumps for me but worked out beautifully with Tintinnabulation being my last head scratcher but the bell finally rang and I got it. Yeah, I know, don't quit your day job!

Here are the balance (MBA, get it?) of Jeff's Saturday-worthy clues:


Across:

1. Begin another chapter, e.g.: WRITE - ...and the plot thickens

6. Gets high at a moment's notice?: JET SETS - I don't think these are people I want to, uh, "get high with" at a moment's notice!

13. Country name on "The Woman in Me": SHANIA - Now, on the other hand, Shania... 

14. Cell package: DATA PLAN.

15. Suppressed guffaw: TITTER.

16. Art using locks: JIU JITSU - "When I say no..."

17. Verbalize: UTTER.

18. Double over?: FOLD - An elementary teacher taught me this FOLDING mnemonic 

19. Grave: TOMB and 8. Part of a historic 19-Across name: TAJ - It costs 1,000 rupees to enter the TAJ MAHAL to see the TOMB of Mumtaz Mahal.  It is open everyday but only Muslims can enter on Friday

s

20. Bit of tintinnabulation: PEAL - The Moon has no air, so if a bell is rung there does it make a TINTINNABULATION? 

21. NBA great __ Olajuwon: HAKEEM - The two most famous NBA stars with Nigerian parents. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo                          Hakkem Olajuwon

23. MIT mentors: RAS - Resident Assistant. In our dorm their thankless job was to keep beer out of the dorm

24. Lilly of pharmaceuticals: ELI.

25. Insert into an email, as a video: EMBED.

26. Buckets: A TON - It is supposed to rain buckets today

28. Hard-boiled genre: FILM NOIR - Turner Classic Movies is a good place to find them

30. Self-titled 2001 album: J.LO - Jennifer LOpez, her boyfriend (our cwd friend A ROD) and their four children from other marriages 

31. Voter's choices: YES OR NO - It surprised me on Tuesday how many bond issues around here got a YES vote!

32. Worried about losing one's place?: JEALOUS

36. Spree: JAG

37. Source of trial figures: JURY LIST - This is the JURY LIST of the men who found Al Capone guilty. Judge Wilkerson got wind that the original panel had been bribed by Capone and so he swapped Capone's original jury with these men who had been empaneled for another trial across the hall

38. Asian genre influenced by The Beatles: J POP - Japanese POP music. Here's sample with Japanese lyrics and the English translation. 30 seconds should give you the idea that this ain't Mozart!

40. Throws out: JUNKS - Those temporary taxes never seem to suffer this fate

41. Debt-laden Wall St. deal: LBO - Leveraged Buy Out

42. Small Indian state: GOA - Yeah, I'd go with small

43. Hardware with elongated heads: T BOLTS.

45. Awestruck: AGOG and 25. Unable to look away: ENRAPT and  I think some of these 600 kids were this on Monday during my Manned Space Flight presentation. Uh, that's yours truly in the Carrot Suit.

46. Game with a 2210 A.D. edition: RISK - An angry Ukrainian took exception when Kramer 52. Hint at, with "to": ALLUDED to negative characteristics about Ukraine while playing RISK with Newman 

48. Et __: ALIA

49. Arcade giant: ATARI.

50. Retirement obstacle: INSOMNIA- Retire for the night

53. Dessert analog to turducken: PIECAKEN.

54. Puts on: STAGES - Let's PUT ON A SHOW!

55. George Carlin was the first, briefly: SNL HOST - TV Guide announcement 

56. Firefighter, at times: HOSER - A popular Omaha event

Down:

1. Slight fiction: WHITE LIE - Think carefully before you answer Honest Abe

Does this dress make me look fat, Abe?

2. Faddish '80s-'90s hairstyles: RAT TAILS.

3. Agents' gathering: INTEL - His skill and diligence at gathering INTEL by decoding Japanese messages made the difference at Midway

4. Level with fans: TIER - Wanna see the Yankees and Dodgers in Yankee Stadium? The price depends on which TIER you choose - $24 - $2,000.

5. __ trumpet: EAR - Eh? Not quite the same as my Bluetooth hearing aids!

6. Given a sentence to complete: JAILED - With Nebraska's "good time" law and good behavior, you can get out after completing only half that sentence 

7. Manuscript with dense notes?: ETUDE - I would say the notes in this Chopin ETUDE are pretty dense!

9. Hot rod?: SPIT - Improvisation

10. Corrida combatant: EL TORO 

11. Eponymous explorer of Australia: TASMAN - Abel TASMAN was the first European to see this area that is now a southern state of Australia 

12. Intentionally overlooks: SNUBS.

13. Make one's eyes pop out: STUPEFY.

14. Nickname for tennis star/prankster Novak Djokovic: DJOKER.

18. Icon often pictured with wind-blown hair: FABIO - Heartthrob FABIO then and now

21. Chinese ethnic group: HMONG - In Grand Torino Clint Eastwood plays an ex-marine that helps a HMONG family

22. Ringgit spenders: MALAYS - The price of a Big Mac Combo meal in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia is RM15 (three of these ringgits) which is about $4

27. Passing charge: TOLL.

29. Magical power: MOJO - Gotta get your MOJO workin!

30. Yanks: JERKS - Derek Jeter was one Yank who wasn't a JERK!

32. Post-fall cabal: JUNTA - Zimbabwe’s new President, Emmerson Mnangagwa is being accused of having formed a JUNTA after overthrowing Mugabe last year

33. Pressure indicator: OIL GAUGE.

34. Part of it was a 2016 campaign issue: US BORDER - Mama don't allow no politicking here

35. Cheap smokes: STOGIES - Famous STOGIES of song at :50

37. Assange of WikiLeaks: JULIAN - A man without a country

38. Hum along, say: JOIN IN - If you don't know the words, just make 'em up like my mother did!

39. Scores, with "a": PASSEL - Dropping an "R" after a vowel and before a consonant is common in English like PARCEL - PASSEL and Curse - cuss

40. City where Jake Blues was in prison: JOLIET - Played by brilliant, disturbed John Belushi

42. Some movie set techs: GRIPS - Here they are setting up a camera dolly

44. Hold-up targets: BANKS.

45. Hold-up man?: ATLAS - He did not hold up the aforementioned institutions

47. "Mayor" author: KOCH - Ed

49. One not often hitting the high note: ALTO - ALTO daughter had no shot at the soprano ingenue lead of Laurey in Oklahoma. She was a great Ado Annie

51. Leader with a jacket named for him: MAO - When paired with my Nehru and Eisenhower jacket, my wardrobe is internationally complete!

52. Elastic wood: ASH.

DA GRID

Saturday, March 24, 2018, Debbie Ellerin and Jeff Chen

A THEMELESS SATURDAY WITH DEBBIE AND JEFF

Debbie Ellerin and Jeff Chen have collaborated on this wonderful puzzle on National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day. Yum! Horizontal and vertical stacks are very impressive to me. There was also ample supply of Saturday subtleties such as the fabulous 45. Kvetching chorus : OYS.

Husker Gary here today saying OY Vey, let's hope we can make this a kvetching-free zone today as we are now officially in the season of spring!

Now let's see what else this wonderful duo has for us today:

Across

1. __ bar : TAPAS - Hispanic noshes

6. Line used when wrapping? : THAT'S THAT - What we bloggers might say after we wrap up reviewing a puzzle

15. Singer whose three studio albums have numerical titles : ADELE - A woman with a glorious voice and a plethora of vowels in her name

16. Was bugged : WORE A WIRE - Just speak into my shirt

17. Remove, as a corsage : UNPIN - Be careful how you're pinning and unpinning that corsage, Buster!

18. It has a climbing route called "The Nose" : EL CAPITAN 

19. Crude : TASTELESS - That may have been funny years ago but... 

21. Den denizens : CUBS - Saw them play the Royals in beautiful Sloan Stadium in Mesa, AZ on a beautiful 60F day last Sunday. The surrounding area is called Wrigleyville like it is in Chicago surrounding Wrigley Field. 

22. Nice assent : OUI - Yes in Nice, France!

23. League of Women Voters co-founder : CATT - Carrie Chapman CATT. Progress!

24. Assists a chef : PREPS - For me that would be, "Get out the ketchup, Gary!"

26. White House advisory gp. : NSC - JFK and his National Security Council in October 1961 during a very tense time in American history

27. Six-pack group : ABS - Here's how to work on your abdominal muscles 

28. Fighting chance : BOUT - What many consider the greatest and most brutal BOUT of all time. Joe Frazier's corner quit after the 14th round which gave Ali a TKO but Ali was begging his corner to "cut off his gloves" so he could quit but Joe beat him to it.

29. Comics shriek : YEOW

31. The African Queen, for one : STEAMBOAT - Bogie and Hepburn suffered many physical ailments making this movie in the brutal Belgian Congo

35. Former first daughter : MALIA and 2. To an annoying degree : AD NAUSEAM - I had _ U L I _ (JULIE Nixon) for the name for awhile because  I thought AD NAUSEAM ended in UM.

37. Make a call : OPT

38. Conqueror of Valencia in 1094 : EL CID

40. Brain in many an Asimov story : MAIN FRAME - Not exactly a MAIN FRAME but here is Isaac Asimov pitching a computer. Hey, authors have to eat too!

43. British title : DAME

44. Part of a flute : STEM - How 'bout a Champagne flute with a hollow STEM

47. __ shooter : PEA 

48. Buzzed : TIPSY

50. Pokémon that evolves to Kadabra : ABRA - Yeah, I knew that! 😛

51. Org. concerned with child support : PTA - Mrs. Johnson "socked it to the Harper Valley PTA"

52. Singer Vannelli : GINO - 65-yr-old GINO was performing in Scottsdale just after we left this week

53. 1995 AFI Life Achievement Award recipient : SPIELBERG - His first movie was Amblin' which he wrote, directed and edited with $15,000. I can't pick a favorite of his movies  but Apollo 13 is right up there.

55. Spidey sense, basically : ALARM BELL

58. Skateboard leap : OLLIE - Mass OLLIES

59. Stopped taking orders : WENT ROGUE - I did this at several points in my life which almost all turned out to be bad decisions 

60. Home of Armani and Prada : MILAN - Do they sell at Kohl's?

61. News credential : PRESS PASS - Where/when they wore them.

62. Place on a pedestal : EXALT


Down

1. Scientific name involving a repeated word : TAUTONYM - New word for me but you see an example at the bottom of this chart

3. What Brad's Drink became : PEPSI COLA - Invented in 1893 in New Bern, N.C. 

4. Settled down : ALIT

5. Elder or Younger Roman writer : SENECA - PLINY was not only wrong, it was one letter short

6. Modern-day eruption : TWEET STORM - Today everybody has an opinion and an electronic forum

7. "The Planets" composer : HOLST - It has seven movements - one for each planet except the one we inhabit

8. Story lines : ARCS - The ARC in the movie Apollo 13 quickly changed from getting to the Moon to getting back to Earth safely

9. It can be green, red or yellow : TEA - I'll bet a bunch that C.C.'s house does not contain a TEA bag 

10. Con's mark : SAP

11. Hyphenated word in a Hawthorne title : TWICE TOLD - An 1837 compilation of short stories he collected over the years

12. Put the bite on : HIT UP - Every year we get HIT UP for these delights. Gotta love the Thin Mints

13. Many Scheherazade characters : ARABS - A Rimsky-Korsakov symphonic suite based on The Arabian Knights

14. XXX, perhaps : TENS - Olympic judges at the Roman Colosseum? 

20. Big dogs : LABS and 24. Little dog : POM - Here's a cross of a Golden Lab and a Pomeranian. 

25. Self-Operating Napkin creator Goldberg : RUBE - Here it is!

28. Rides with wing-shaped tailfins : BAT MOBILES - There's more than one?

30. Game including golf and bowling : WII SPORTS

32. Taker of ppm measurements : EPA - The Environmental Protection Agency decides how many parts per million of any stuff can be in any other stuff

33. Barbershop quartet style : A CAPPELLA - A wonderful scene and fabulous music!

34. Race against the clock : TIME TRIAL - Omaha has been the site of the TIME TRIALS for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team for years.

36. Outdoor party crashers : ANTS

39. Buster? : DEA AGENT - Busting drug rings

41. "Bossypants" memoirist : FEY -Tina FEY is a funny woman

42. Fictional governess : EYRE - A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret. 

46. Rita Hayworth's title princess : SALOME - Her Salome dress recently sold at auction for $15,000. (Talk about contrast to Jane Eyre!)

48. Building subcontractor : TILER 

49. Just plain silly : INANE

50. Outstanding : A PLUS 

52. Be a looky-loo : GAWP - Of course I thought it was GAWK first



53. Genesis creator : SEGA

54. "Disarming Iraq" author Hans : BLIX - He was also the first western representative at the Chernobyl disaster site

56. Ceremonial title? : MRS - On What's My Line, Emcee John Daly's first question of a woman contestant after she signed in was, "Is it Miss or MRS. ______"?

57. Jazz genre : BOP- Or BEBOP 

What say you?

DA GRID