Saturday, October 14, Kyler Dolan and Jennifer Marra

  Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan and Jennifer Marra

 Today, Kyle, a regular Saturday constructor and sometime collaborator from Chicago, teams up with Jennifer Marra to present us with a real challenge. I worked this one from the SE up to the NW and earned a nice "got 'er done!"

Jennifer lives in Connecticut with her husband following the defection of their grown children. She worked as an electrical engineer wrangling numbers and retired early to take on words. When she’s not writing fiction, she can be found constructing crosswords. Jennifer met Kyle through a Facebook puzzle site after stalking him through his numerous publications and this is here initial entry at the LA Times and says he is a great teacher and won’t let a puzzle leave the safety of his computer until it’s ready for the world.

Across:

1. Long-distance relationship?: STAR SYSTEM. This one took this amateur astronomer awhile but it simply refers to a star and all the heavenly bodies that orbit about it.

11. "bfn" alternative: TTYL - Bye For Now and Talk To You Later. There are hundreds of these.

15. Overwhelmed by mosquitoes: EATEN ALIVE - This swarm is in Arctic Alaska

16. "Easy now": WHOA.

17. Landmark whose address is 768 Fifth Avenue in New York City: PLAZA HOTEL 😳

18. Flooring trees: OAKS.

19. Character: TENOR - The TENOR of many political debates these days is very unpleasant

20. __ favor: POR - and 34. "Don't mention it," in Spanish: DE NADA. "POR favor, tráeme una bebida". "¡Gracias!" "DE NADA." (Please get me a drink. Thank you. You're welcome.)

21. Foundation options: TONES - Oh that foundation

22. MLB playoff round: NLCS - We followed our cousin and my former student Alec Bohm in the National League Championship Series last year. 

24. "Is that how you see it?": THINK SO. 

26. Saltimbocca herb: SAGE.

29. Made oneself scarce: HID.

31. "Ocean to Ocean" singer Tori: AMOS.

32. Equal: ARE 😀

33. Palme d'Or field: CINE - French for cinematography 

37. Chill: SIT BACK AND RELAX.

40. Desert of the Maghreb: SAHARA.

41. Gifts that may be made from pupu shells: LEIS.

42. Number of players needed to play Klondike: ONE - Hence the name Solitaire 

43. Monopoly token until 2013: IRON.

A vintage set

44. Paragraph opener: TAB.

45. Vintage Pontiacs: GTOS - I'll let Ronny And The Daytona tell you all about them!

46. Isn't really hot?: ACTS MAD 😀

49. Old autocrat: TSAR.

51. Some fundraisers: RACES.

52. Lithium-__ battery: ION.

54. "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" singer: SIMBA.

58. Whistleblower-protecting org.: OSHA.

59. Comprehensively defeated: TAKEN APART - Sports slang here:

61. Heated contest?: MEET - Some track MEETS have preliminary races called heats that determine the final contestants. 

62. Local number, at times: ANESTHESIA - 😀 This number rhymes with summer and numbs you for a medical procedure. My dentist uses a local and I just can't talk for a few hours afterward.

63. Makes sense, with "up": ADDS.

64. Practiced but did not compete: REDSHIRTED - A common procedure in college athletics. Here ya go.

Down:

1. National Teddy Bear Day mo.: SEPT - Okay

2. Narrative: TALE - Morgan Freeman does a great job doing the narration in this wonderful movie. 

3. __ end: AT AN - 100F days are AT AN end here. 

4. Go to commercial, say: REZONE 😀 You might not like it if land next to you gets REZONED from residential to commercial.

5. Jam: SNARL.

6. "Boo-__!": YAH.

7. Janitorial closet feature: SLOP SINK.

8. Big name in "handmade" vodka: TITO.

9. Navratilova rival: EVERT 

Martina          Crissy

10. Allen who was the first host of "This Week in Baseball": MEL.

11. Athletic advantage: TWO ON ONE 

12. "Some help you are": THANKS A LOT - You pretty much need the eye roll too!

13. Makes the team?: YOKES - 😀 Usually oxen 

14. Sudeikis role: LASSO.

21. Kitchen counters?: TIMERS 😀

23. American who may have a quinceañera: CHICANA - A CHICANA is an American woman or girl of Mexican descent 

25. Held a claim: HAD DIBS - Bonus points if you know the name of this movie and on what morbid thing they HAD DIBS. (*answer below)

26. Lip: SASS.

27. Cantata component: ARIA - Okay

28. Wed: GET HITCHED.

30. Delivered: DEALT 😀

33. Rebounds: CAROMS.

35. "Wildlife" writer/director: DANO.

36. Plot lines: AXES.

38. High chairs?: BAR SEATS.

39. Asset for some writing contests: NEATNESS.

45. Beef source: GRIPER - Biff appears to have a beef with Marty in Back To The Future 

46. Musk: AROMA.

47. Like some sausages: CASED.

48. Title woman in a "little ditty" of 1982: DIANE - Earworm alert

50. Beer with sushi, maybe: ASAHI.

53. Approved: OKED.

55. Halyard pole: MAST - The halyard is the rope used to raise the sail up the mast

56. Larson who plays Captain Marvel: BRIE - No cheese in a Saturday puzzle

57. Barely: A TAD.

59. 2022 Todd Field film about a conductor: TAR - Cate Blanchett plays a fictional, world renowned conductor named Lydia TÁR. Rotten Tomatoes review

60. Ultimate: NTH.

*The movie was Stand By Me and the boys HAD DIBS on the dead body of Ray Browers.

Monday July 8th, 2019 Jennifer Marra

Theme: TV investigators

20A. Investigating team in "Sherlock": HOLMES AND WATSON.

39A. Investigating team in "Dragnet": FRIDAY AND GANNON.

56A. Investigating team in "The X-Files": MULDER  AND SCULLY.

Boomer here.  C.C. said this might be Jennifer's LA Times debut. Congratulations!

I spent considerable time this weekend watching the 3M Open PGA golf tournament on TV.  I mentioned in the past the C.C. and I attended the Champions tour event at the TPC in Blaine but we did not visit this year's tourney.  The field was a bit weak however the play was very good on a tough course. I noticed many Canadians in the field but most of the upper level Europeans were across the pond getting ready for the Open.

I had to chuckle when one of the announcers identified Adam Hadwin as being from Manitoba, British Columbia.  He later corrected himself, but I think he said Adam was from Moose Jaw, Manitoba.  Well, since I have shirttail relatives in Saskatoon, I knew that Moose Jaw is in Saskatchewan.  The 3M tournament was happy to welcome Canadians and I think they probably felt at home in Minnesota.  We did not have any earthquakes this weekend. It's difficult to putt when the ground is shaking.  Exciting finish.  Funny hat Bryson knocked in an eagle putt on 18 but then congrats to Matt Wolfe who nailed an eagle of his own to win ! 

Across:

1. Head honcho: BOSS.  Bruce Springsteen

5. Bird's crop: CRAW.

9. Fare in a pigsty: SLOP.  There was a little rain at the 3M Open and a few sloppy shots.

13. Canal about which the 1905 song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" was written: ERIE.

14. Subs from delis: HEROS.  I think Heroes is spelled with another "e".

16. One can be painted or papered: WALL.  OR you can make or lose paper money on this Street.

17. Tattle: TELL.  Have an apple William.

18. Now, in Nicaragua: AHORA. Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann would know this.  I didn't.

19. On the ocean: ASEA.  He joined the Navy to see the world, but what did he see, he saw a sea.

23. Limbs in sleeves: ARMS.  "Babes in Arms" was a musical from the thirties that has been performed in many high schools over the years.

24. "__ woods these are I think I know": Frost: WHOSE.

25. Black __ : covert missions: OPS.  Remember Donald Sutherland's Black Ops revelation in the movie "JFK" ?

28. "Moby-Dick" narrator: ISHMAEL.

32. Archaeologist's find: RELIC.

34. Ventilation: AIR.  Basketball star Michael Jordan.

35. Turkey meat choice: DARK.  We used to have a local racing fan and journalist who called himself "Dark Star".  He stopped at "Boomer's Ballcards" once or twice and made purchases of baseball cards.  He was a member of Interlachen Country Club where Bobbie Jones won the US Open in 1930 for his third leg of the grand slam.  C.C. and I visited the course for the 2002 Solheim Cup and again in 2008 for the LPGA U.S. Open.  Not to play, just to watch.

43. Is the right size: FITS. It the shoe fits, wear it. 

44. Eisenhower nickname: IKE.  I will always remember when he visited Minneapolis in a bubble top convertible parade, around 1956. I always wondered why JFK did not use the same type of transportation.

45. Jack of "Twin Peaks": NANCE.

46. Losing weight: ON A DIET.  I did not need a diet.  The pills took my weight off.  Now I am a fighting 180 LBs.  C.C. can maybe convert that to KGs.

49. __ out: just manage: EKE.  Didn't take long to get from IKE to EKE. 

50. Sugar substitute brand: EQUAL.  A little spendy.  I buy the same stuff with the name "Stevia" in a bag from Aldi.  Of course I refill my empty "Equal" jars with the product.

54. "The Andy Griffith Show" tyke: OPIE.  I wonder if Ronnie Howard ever thought that his screen name would be used in over 1000 crossword puzzles.

63. Tight connection, as between mother and baby: BOND.  "Bond, James Bond."

64. "... had a farm, __": E I E I O.  Mr. McDonald's sneaky way to get 5 vowels into a puzzle.  By the way.  Old McDonald grew potatoes and livestock on his farm, and eventually opened a fast food restaurant.  Some people say that story is a Kroc.

65. In __ of: replacing: LIEU.

66. Bibliography space saver: ET AL.  How many eggs did you have for Breakfast Caesar ?  Et tu Brute.

67. "The Wife" actress Close: GLENN.  Famous astronaut John.  We have his autograph.

68. Unceasingly: EVER.  "If you're EVER in a jam, here I am.

69. Steak order: RARE.  Retired NL Umpire Dutch Rennert was said that his strike call sounded like STEAK RARE.

70. Fr. holy women: STES.

71. Part that's left: REST.  Did you ever notice that highway rest area bathrooms are not too restful?

Down:

1. Second Hebrew letter: BETH.

2. Three-ply snack: OREO.  I think OPIE used to ask Aunt Bea for an OREO.

3. Window ledge: SILL.  "High upon a Windowsill, I couldn't hardly reach it," (Our Gang) 

4. 1965 Alabama march site: SELMA. "And you tell me over and over and over again, that you don't believe, we're on the eve of destruction."

5. Deep fissures: CHASMS.

6. Discuss to death: REHASH.  Sounds like an afternoon meal in the U.S. Army.

7. Elvis __ Presley: ARON.

8. Scrabble play: WORD.  C.C. and I used to play frequently.  She beat me all the time but now we are donating the big Scrabble game to the church garage sale this month.

9. Lawn mower's trail: SWATH.

10. Roundup rope: LASSO.

11. Spreads on breads: OLEOS.  I wonder if Aunt Bea spread OLEO on OPIE's OREO.

12. Piper Cub, e.g.: PLANE.  Tattoo on Fantasy Island.  De Plane, De Plane !!

15. Observed: SAW.  Tweety - I taught I taw a puddy cat.

21. Author Jong: ERICA.

22. Shoemaker's tool: AWL.

25. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF.  Sounds like a dog bark during July 4 LOUD fireworks.

26. Prefix with scope or meter: PERI.

27. Use a box cutter on: SLIT. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit.  Upon the slitted sheet I sit.  (say that carefully)

29. Like horses' necks: MANED.

30. Help: AID.

31. Work unit: ERG.

33. Cards shown to get past bouncers: IDS.  We have an IDS Tower in Minneapolis.  I believe it was an acronym for Investors Diversified Services. That company has been swallowed up, but the building remains with the same name.

35. Some trial evidence: DNA.  The "A" stands for acid.  The DN stands for something I cannot spell.

36. Diarist Frank: ANNE.

37. __ the boat: make waves: ROCK.  "I am a ROCK, I am an ISLAND" Simon and Art.

38. Leg joint: KNEE.  Quarterbacks take them at the end of a game.

40. Yang partner: YIN.

41. Alias letters: AKA.

42. Caper: ANTIC.

46. Corrida cheer: OLE.  Ole and Sven were installing new shingles on the roof.  But Sven was only using half the nails and tossing the others away.  Ole said, "Hey Sven, why are you throwing half the nails off the roof??"  Sven "Can't you see those nails are pointed on the wrong end." Ole - "Stupid!!  Those nails are for the other side of the roof!" 

47. "I" on the periodic table: IODINE.

48. Many office printers: EPSONS.  With apologies to any one who owns one.  I think they are a thing of the past. HP stands for Horsepower.

50. Live coal fragment: EMBER.  We used to have a restaurant chain in the Twin Cities.  Their slogan was "Remember the Embers."  Not many left. Needless to say they were predicting actuality.

51. Marketing target: QUOTA.

52. Of an arm bone: ULNAR.

53. Bewilder: ADDLE.  Adjective for BRAIN.

55. Swiss calculus pioneer: EULER.

57. Rule, for short: REG.

58. Isn't feeling up to par: AILS.

59. Bygone Nair rival: NEET.  I remember this.  Haven't seen it for a long time.  I never used it.  I never had hair on my legs.

60. Being broadcast as it happens: LIVE.

61. Wranglers alternative: LEES.  Levi's alternative also.

62. Asian tent: YURT.

Boomer