Thursday October 29, 2020 Michael A. Macdonald

Theme: In First - IN is inserted to the start of each common phrase.

 17. Anger at progress?: INROAD RAGE. Road rage.

 27. Embezzlements?: INSIDE SWIPES. Side swipes

 47. Bills' places?: INVOICE BOXES. Voice boxes.

 60. EMT assignment?: INJURY DUTY. Jury duty.

Boomer here again, filling IN another blog slot. MM will be back next Thursday. Hope all goes well today, MM.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. Oh well, 73 is not so bad. 7 + 3 +10.  The number of frames in a game of bowling and the number of pins in a strike. 

Across:

1. "__ Come Undone": Wally Lamb novel: SHE'S.

5. They're on the house: COMPS.  A few more at the bar and they may really end up on the house.

10. Sty fare: SLOP.

14. Guinness logo: HARP.

15. Extra rival: ORBIT.  I am sure there are a few satellites floating around up there.  So why is my DirecTV causing me trouble?

16. Info on a blood donor card: TYPE.  I am O-Neg.  Too old to donate now.

19. Writer Blyton: ENID.

20. See 56-Down: POETRY. And 56. With 20-Across, Homer's medium: EPIC.

21. Tops: APEXES.

23. Move laterally: SIDLE.

24. Human being, for one: MAMMAL.  I think you need warm blood also.

32. Did not participate: ABSTAINED.  We continue to wear masks and ABSTAIN from groups

35. All-star game side: EAST.  East is East and West is West and the wrong one I have chose.

36. Rank above maj.: COL.  Right above Major is a lieutenant colonel wearing a silver oak leaf.  The next up is a "full bird" Colonel with a silver eagle on the collar.

37. Place for a mineral scrub: SPA.

38. U.N. workers' rights gp.: ILO. International Labor Organization.

41. __ chi: TAI.

42. Amman native: ARAB.  Let me tell you about AHAB the ARAB.

44. National Storytelling Festival VIP: RACONTEUR.  I try to be one of these, even if I cannot spell it.

50. Flora and fauna of different regions: BIOTAS.  Didn't they wake up Sleeping Beauty?

51. Prepares, as leftovers: WARMS.

55. Some colas: PEPSIS.  Add DIET and its in our fridge.

58. "Groovy!": FAR OUT.  Lookin' for fun and feelin' GROOVY.  Simon and Garfunkel.

59. National gemstone of Australia: OPAL.

64. Apply with a tube, as frosting: PIPE.  When I first quit the nasty cigarettes, I leaned on a PIPE for about a year.  I have been tobacco free now for about 18 years.

65. Down source: GEESE.

66. Curved molding: OGEE.

67. Whole bunch: SCAD.  I have a SCAD of Baseball Cards.

68. Chic, to a Brit: NOBBY.

69. Challenge for the cleaning staff: MESS.  Where I ate for two years.

Down: 

1. They might be icebreakers: SHIPS.  Our driveway gets icy now and then but we never clear it with a ship.

2. Asian capital on the Red River: HANOI.  HANOI Hilton is a nasty place where John McCain spent about five years.

3. Flubbed a play: ERRED.

4. Drew attention to: SPOTLIT.

5. Buffalo Bill Museum city: CODY.  I think it's neat to have a city named after you.  I have driven through Wyoming on I-80 but the closest I got to CODY was Rock Springs. 

6. Two-time Art Ross Trophy winner Bobby: ORR.  The greatest hockey player on ice, and then Gretzky came along.

7. Deg. offered at Duke's Fuqua School: MBA.

8. Pua of "Moana," e.g.: PIG.

9. Cooks in a bamboo basket: STEAMS.  Nope, we use a stove top and an oven.

10. Metal marble: STEELIE.  I had many, along with agates, cat eyes, and peeries.

11. Forest cat: LYNX.  Minnesota's WNBA basketball team made famous by Lindsay Whalen, now coaching the lady Gophers. 

12. Ryan Hurst's "Sons of Anarchy" role: OPIE.  Never mind.  We all remember Ronnie Howard.

13. Sidewalk traffic, for short: PEDS.

18. Sports venues: ARENAS.  Now baseball and football are building enclosed venues but they call them domes. 

22. Fox foot: PAW.  Dad on the "Beverly Hillbillies"

24. Mosque tower: MINARET.

25. Drink suffix: ADE.

26. Docs: MEDICOS.  I saw six medical professionals in the past 6 weeks, and I think if you called them MEDICOS the injection might have gone a little deeper than planned. 

28. Sample: SIP.

29. Cracker topper: PATE.  I use cheese.

 

30. Old Testament twin: ESAU. Jacob sold his birthright to ESAU for a bowl of stew.  Too bad because I think ISAAC had a ton of Apple stock. 

31. Recipe verb: STIR.  Shake, but not STIR. James Bond.

32. Dark purple berry: ACAI.

33. First word of two Springsteen album titles: BORN. In the USA.

34. Balkan native: SLAV.

39. Salmon cured in brine: LOX.  Brine sounds like something that could shoot up my blood pressure.

40. Like some city streets: ONE-WAY.

43. "Cool Runnings" vehicle: BOBSLED. When I was a kid in Minnesota, of course I owned a sled. 
Of course we would slide down hills, but then watch the Olympics to see guys risk their lives on the BOBSLEDS. 

45. Court org.: ABA.

46. Russia, until 1917: TSARDOM.

48. Son of a son: III.  They all need the same first name.

49. Guarantee, as a loan: CO-SIGN.

52. Nice red: ROUGE.

53. Silences with a button: MUTES.  Silence is golden!

54. Lid woes: STYES.

55. Bursts: POPS.  DADS on "Leave it to Beaver."

57. Dad: PAPA.

58. Glenn of The Eagles: FREY.

61. New prefix: NEO.

62. Bush in Florida: JEB.  Former Governor of Florida, Brother of George W., and made a run for the oval office in 2016. 

63. Port letters: USB.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

1) Misty, we're so sad that you lost your sweet Dusty.

2) Big Easy sent me these pictures of his side yard after Hurricane Zeta. Thankfully the snapped oak tree did not hit his house.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019, Michael A. Macdonald

FLASH in the Pan.  The word Flash can be proceed the first word of each theme answer to give us a new concept.

20-Across. "Hell's Kitchen" chef: GORDON RAMSAY.  As in Flash Gordon.  Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip hero who first appeared in 1934.

Gordon Ramsay (né Gordon James Ramsay; b. Nov. 8, 1966) is a British chef, restaurateur and food critic.

31-Across. Risky low-lying area to build on: FLOOD ZONE.  As in Flash Flood.  These two terms are close, but not the same.  The National Weather Service defines a Flash Flood as flood caused by heavy or excessive rain in a short period of time, generally less than 6 hours, whereas a Flood Zone is an area that is prone to flooding for a longer period of time.

 

This event was neither a Flash Flood, nor did it occur in a Flood Zone.

48-Across. Not someone an amateur should play poker with: CARD SHARK.  As in Flash Card.  We all probably had Flash Cards when in school to help learn vocabulary, math problems, or other information.  Typically, a flash card has a question on one side and the answer on the other.

And the unifier:

55-Across. Narrative device that peeks at the future ... and a hint to the start of 20-, 31-, and 48-Across: FLASH FORWARD.

Across:

1. Bloke: CHAP.

5. Tie, in chess: DRAW.

9. Rival of Elle: VOGUE.  Both Elle and Vogue are fashion magazines.

14. Punjabi prince: RAJA.  A crossword staple.

15. Personal energy field, some say: AURA.

16. Black key wood, traditionally: EBONY.  Did you ever wonder why piano keys were in black and white?

17. Banned apple spray: ALAR.  Which crosses with 3-Down:  Cracked open, say: AJAR.  When is a door not a door?

18. Electric fan noise: WHIR.

1
9. Fix, as a loose shoelace knot: RETIE.

23. Special or covert strategies: OPs.  As in Special Operations or Covert Operations.

24. Trucker's unit: TON.

25. Owns: HAS.   //  And 11-Down: Obtained: GOT.

28. Lorelei's river: RHINE.  According to legend, Lorelei was a beautiful young German maiden who would sing enchanting songs while sitting on this huge rock on the banks of the Rhine River.  When the boatmen heard her singing, they would become so enrapt, that they would forget where they were, causing their boats to crash into the rock and they would drown.  The legend became famous after Heinrich Heine wrote this poem, which you can read in both English and German.  The Lorelei is actually a large rock formation in the curve of the Rhine River, and there have historically been a lot of boat crashes at the site.

34. Long, long time: EON.  Another crossword staple.

35. Post-WWI art movement: DADA.  Everything you wanted to know about the DADA Art Movement, but were afraid to ask.  Marcel Duchamp (1887 ~ 1968) is an artist who is closely associated with the Dada movement.

37. Affixed with a hammer: NAILED.

38. Unknown Doe: JOHN.  John or Jane?  Wait for the perps.

40. "Gymnopédies" composer: SATIE. Erik Satie (May 17, 1866 ~ July 1, 1925) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

42. High-grade cotton: PIMA.   Not to be confused with 50-Across: Adidas alternatives: PUMAs.

43. Barely make, as a living: EKE OUT.

45. Boots the ball: ERRS.

47. Serious no-no: SIN.

52. Everyday article: THE.

53. Second-tallest living bird: EMU.  These large birds make frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

54. Burger holder: BUN.

61. Camper's craft: CANOE.

64. "English breakfast" drinks: TEAS.  Everything you wanted to know about English Breakfast Tea, but were afraid to ask.

65. Bear's warning: ROAR.

66. Assumed name: ALIAS.

67. Colored eye part: IRIS.

68. Prefix for objectors: ANTI-.  As in Antidisestablishmentarianism.

69. Where to get dates: PALMS.  Cute clue!

70. __ a one: none: NARY. 71. Barely a sound: PEEP.

Down:

1. Rugged cliff: CRAG.

2. Angelic ring: HALO.

4. Formal forgiveness: PARDON.

5. Occurs to, with "on": DAWNS.

6. German coal valley: RUHR.

7. La Scala number: ARIA.  It may not have been recorded at La Scala, Milan's opera house, but it is an ARIA from Carmen, one of my favorite operas.

 

8. Become fond of: WARM TO.

9. Porch with a roof, usually: VERANDA.

10. Give heed to: OBEY.

12. Institute of higher learning, to Brits: UNI.

13. Look at intently: EYE.

21. Opinion piece: OP-ED.  I learned from doing the crosswords that OP-ED means "Opposite the Editorial Page in a newspaper, and that it expresses the opinion of the author who is not generally affiliated with the paper's editorial board.  Here are some Tips on writing an Op-Ed piece.

22. Oklahoma athlete: SOONER.  The word "sooner"became associated with Oklahoma shortly after the Land Run of 1889 to people who entered what became the State of Oklahoma before the official date designated in the Indian Appropriation Act of March 2, 1889.

25. "Total patient" philosophy: HOLISM.

26. Low-hemoglobin condition: ANEMIA.

27. Many taxis: SEDANS.

28. Not accept: REJECT.

29. Pipe smoked in trendy bars: HOOKAH.  Since it's the 2nd day of Sukkot, this clue is rather timely.  Actually, the only time I have actually seen a Hookah in a Sukkah is on a UNI campus.  It's just funny because it rhymes.

30. "Where are you?" response from a nearby room: IN HERE!

31. Govt. regulator of dietary supplements: FDA.  As in the Food and Drug Administration.

32. "I don't have time right now": LATER.

33. Nada: ZIP.

36. Inhaler user's malady: ASTHMA.

39. Nonverbal okay: NOD.

41. Really bug: IRK.

44. Having no purpose: USELESS.

46. Cowboy boot attachment: SPUR.

49. "Keep __ Weird": Texas city slogan: AUSTIN.  This slogan was adopted in 2000 by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas.  You can read more about the weirdness of the city.

51. Open for Christmas: UNWRAP.  Fun clue.

54. Everycow: BOSSY.  I always heard cows called Bessie, however, there is apparently a tradition of calling cows Bossie.

55. Whitecap formation: FOAM.

56. Olympian queen: HERA.  It's Greek to me.

57. Okay, but not great: FAIR.

58. Great: A-ONE.

59. Part of APR: RATE.  As in the Annual Percentage Rate.

60. Plumbing problem: DRIP.

61. Upper limit: CAP.

62. Phrase on a menu: À LA.  Think of Chicken à la King.

63. Nada: NIL.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Facing the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.  ~  John Kenneth Galbraith (Oct. 15, 1908 ~ Apr. 29, 2006), Canadian-born economist