Sunday January 23, 2022 Michael Schlossberg

 

Theme: "Nuts!" - Each theme entry is punnily rephrased as if it's super-fan of something.

23. Hex nut?: WITCH DOCTOR.

32. Palm nut?: FORTUNE TELLER.

50. Date nut?: HISTORY BUFF.

65. Wing nut?: STUNT PILOT.

71. Butternut?: PASTRY CHEF.

91. Doughnut?: BANK MANAGER.

104. Wheel nut?: RACECAR DRIVER.

120. Chestnut?: BODYBUILDER.

Fun theme. It's tougher than it looks. First, each * nut must be an in-the-language phrase, then each answer is a person who can be a fan of the first part of the clue.

Across:

1. Spanish for "prairie": PAMPA. Not LLANO.

6. __ wind: SOLAR.

11. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF (Carl). German composer. Sometimes we see the  "O Fortuna" clue.

15. Breaks down: ROTS.

19. Verdi creations: ARIAS.

20. Milan fashion house: PRADA.

21. Letter-shaped support: I BAR.

22. Hose color: ECRU.

25. Paints the town red: LIVES IT UP. Great fill.

27. Sinus-clearing aids: NETIPOTS.

28. Boilermaker ingredient: BEER.  The beer & whiskey cocktail.

30. Go in for: REPLACE.

31. Cool, in a way: FAN. Verb "fan".

34. Encircle: HEM IN.

37. "__ Bop": Cyndi Lauper song: SHE.

39. Fiver: ABE.

40. "Curious George" co-author Margret: REY.

41. City on the Skunk: AMES.

42. Audrey of "The Da Vinci Code": TAUTOU.  Do you like her "Amélie"?

45. Flavorful: SAPID. Not a word I use.

47. It's almost always fishy: SEA.

52. Brewers' gadgets: TEA BALLS.

54. "Sorry, can't do it": ALAS NO.

55. Customary: STOCK.

58. Mischievous glance: SLY LOOK.

59. Bit: IOTA.

62. "Sorry not sorry": SUE ME. Also 34. "Funny not funny": HA HA.

64. Old Bruins nickname: ESPO. Phil Esposito. Boston Bruins.

74. Folksy Guthrie: ARLO.

75. Abdominal scar, actually: NAVEL. Boomer's scar is healing nicely.

77. Earth goddess: GAIA.

78. One in the alley's back row: NINE PIN.  Ha, alley!

81. Pueblo building material: ADOBE.

84. Breakfast cereal magnate: C.W. POST. Post cereals, headquartered here in MN.

89. Zigzagged, in a sport: SLALOMED.

94. Drink with a painful homophone: ALE. Ail.

95. Packed (with): LADEN.

97. "Phooey!": OH DARN.

98. Family figure?: TREE. Great clue.

99. Kind of blanket or paint: WET.

100. Bubbly prefix: AER. Oh OK, like aerate.

102. New Haven collegian: ELI.

103. FDR had three of them: VEEPS.

110. Card game cry: GIN.

111. "C'est magnifique!": OOH LA LA.

112. "How ya __?": DOIN'.

113. Punter's metric: HANG TIME.

118. Reggie Jackson nickname based on his postseason success: MR OCTOBER. Jeter is Mr. November.

122. Impress: ETCH.

123. "Game of Thrones," for one: SAGA.

124. Dodge: ELUDE.

125. Hawaiian veranda: LANAI.

126. Squirrels' haunts: OAKS.

127. Train station, e.g.: STOP.

128. Bob who was the voice of Future Ted Mosby in "How I Met Your Mother": SAGET. Sadly he's gone.

129. Muscular, in modern lingo: SWOLE. Instead of SWELLED.

Down:

1. First to move, usually: PAWN.

2. Indy champ Luyendyk: ARIE. Only two clue options for this fill.

3. Glove: MITT.

4. Protest group, perhaps: PACIFISTS.

5. Sooty receptacle: ASH PAN.

6. Allow as a handicap: SPOT. I don't get this clue.

7. "LOTR" menaces: ORCS.

8. Delt neighbor: LAT.

9. Tangy Mexican sauce: ADOBO. I just learned that it has paprika instead of the  red chili pepper. So it's not hot.

10. More desirable to collectors: RARER.

11. Massage parlor services: OIL RUBS.

12. Triple Crown stat: RBI.

13. Packers QB before Rodgers: FAVRE. Brett Favre. Aaron Rodgers.

14. Streaming service offer: FREE TRIAL.

15. "Match Game" regular Charles Nelson __: REILLY.

16. In base eight: OCTAL.

17. Fighters' pact: TRUCE.

18. Word that's its own synonym when a "b" is added to the end: SUPER. Superb.

24. Family title?: DON. Mafia family.

26. Fly past: SPEED BY.

29. Due-in hr.: ETA.

32. Former embryo: FETUS.

33. Bourbon order: NEAT.

35. Pianist Gilels: EMIL. We had him before. Soviet pianist.

36. Arizona College of Nursing city: MESA.

37. "Here's a thought ... ": SAY.

38. Center of activity: HUB.

42. Move en masse: TROOP.

43. Many times o'er: OFT.

44. Aerial enigmas: UFOS.

46. Old Spanish dough: PESETA. Replaced by EURO of course.

47. Splash (through): SLOSH.

48. Split to come together: ELOPE.

49. Request from: ASK OF. So what do you call this treat? Boomer calls it Bismarck.

51. "Will do": ON IT.

53. Novelist Waugh: ALEC.

56. Golf green insert: CUP.

57. Mauna __: KEA.

60. Preserved, as sardines: TINNED.

61. Like: ALA.

63. Chinese sauce additive: MSG. Xi'an has not had any new cases for a few days. Andy was able to visit the supermarket yesterday. He bought some kelp (for salad), sesame seeds, and this addictive Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

65. Prefix with belt, in slacks: SANSA. Not familiar with Sansabelt. Jack is wearing the brand.

66. What a wavy line may mean in music: TRILL.

67. Long bones: ULNAE.

68. Advent air: NOEL.

69. Eggs in a lab: OVA.

70. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. I caught a few "Chopped" over the years.

72. Costa __: RICAN.

73. Sign of boredom: YAWN.

76. Western wolf: LOBO. Followed by 79. Skunk cousin: POLECAT.

80. "Haven't the foggiest": I'M AT A LOSS. Another great fill.

82. "Phooey!": BAH.

83. Week add-on: ENDER.

85. Inventor's protection: PATENT LAW.

86. Nasty sort: OGRE.

87. Ooze: SEEP.

88. A fourth of doce: TRES. 1/4 of 12.

90. Out of juice: DEAD.

92. Penn of the Harold & Kumar films: KAL.

93. Hosp. test in a tube: MRI.

96. MC Chris genre: NERD RAP. Google shows that "Simply put, it's any hip hop beat paired with an emcee (or multiple microphone fiends) rapping about geek culture."

 99. Big name in jam: WELCH'S.

101. Maracanã Stadium city: RIO.

103. Watches: VIGILS.

104. "Did my heart love till now?" speaker: ROMEO.

105. Main artery: AORTA.

106. As much as possible: CHOCK. Ful.

107. Capital near Casablanca: RABAT.

108. Empaths pick them up: VIBES. There was a psychic in the neighborhood where I grew up. People would give her money, or fresh fruit or other goodies so she could tell others what was wrong in their life.

109. __ Gay: ENOLA.

110. Serengeti bovine: GNU.

113. London's __ Park: HYDE.

114. Help in a risky way: ABET.

115. Passport fig.: ID NO.

116. It may include several courses: MEAL. Chinese Spring Festival is coming!

117. One in a wet quintet: ERIE. Nice clue angle.

119. __ trip: EGO.

121. Exposed, with "up": DUG.

We met with the SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) doctor at the VA hospital last Wednesday. Then Boomer had a PT session. He also had a session with the OT (Occupational Therapist) last Friday. He'll have weekly sessions with the PT/OT starting on Feb 7th. 

Boomer starts his radiation tomorrow morning. 

C.C.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019, Michael Schlossberg

 Theme: JOB SAFETY

17. Result of overexposure in the field?: FARMER'S TAN.

28. Result of carelessness in a locker room?: ATHLETE'S FOOT.

49. Result of excessive practice in calligraphy class?: WRITER'S CRAMP.

63. Occupational concerns such as 17-, 28- and 49-Across: JOB HAZARDS.

Very few stumbling blocks, all came together pretty easily. Appears to be Mr. Schlossberg's debut, at least here at the Corner. Welcome Michael, hope to see more of you.

Across:

1. Super silly: WACKO.

6. Gum balls, e.g.: WADS. Only if they're ABC (already been chewed).

10. Surgery memento: SCAR.

14. "Once more!": AGAIN.

15. MLB family name: ALOU. For those (like me) who don't follow baseball, here.

16. Voice mail signal: TONE.

19. "Yeah, that'll never happen": UM NO.

20. Actress Mendes: EVA. Longtime love of Ryan Gosling, they have two children together.

21. Brewpub orders: IPAS. India Pale Ale, a hoppy style of beer within the pale ale category.

22. Fencing blades: EPEES.

23. Blitz by a linebacker: RED DOG. In football, strategy of sending a player on a full-out defensive rush, known in the modern era as a blitz.

26. Ill-fated Ford: EDSEL.

33. Hot rod: DRAGSTER.

36. Cellist with multiple Grammys: YOYO MA.

37. Sales pro: REP.

38. Picks from a lineup: IDS. Identifies.

40. Champagne label word: SEC. Champagne Sec is the title used for off-dry Champagne wines with between 17 and 32 grams per liter of residual sugar. Although the word sec means 'dry,' there are in fact four styles of champagne which are drier: Extra Dry, Brut, Extra Brut and Brut Nature (zero, non-dose).

41. Sighing contentedly: AAHING. Yep, it's a word.

45. Salve: OINTMENT.

51. Cloud, as of gnats: SWARM.

52. Title Mozart valet who married Susanna: FIGARO.

56. "__ Health": Quiet Riot album: METAL.

58. Hops hot spot: OAST. A kiln for drying hops or malt, or drying and curing tobacco.

61. Laundry hamper: BIN.

62. Greek Cupid: EROS.

66. Balmy: WARM.

67. Free speech org.: ACLU.

68. Sampler wisdom: ADAGE. A sampler is a decorative piece of needlework typically having letters or verses embroidered on it in various stitches as an example of skill.

69. Eyelid irritation: STYE.

70. "That's enough": WHEN.

71. Dancer cohort: COMET. Santa's reindeer.

Down:

1. Thin cookie: WAFER.

2. Tequila plant: AGAVE.

3. Spot for a Mercedes: CAR AD. Tricky.

4. Second-oldest Kardashian sister: KIM.

5. Formula __ auto racing: ONE.

6. Winged stinger: WASP.

7. Ski resort near Snowbird: ALTA.

8. Complete one exercise segment: DO A SET.

9. Space heater?: SUN. 😎

10. Utterly shock: STUPEFY.

11. Grow slack, as a poorly tied knot: COME LOOSE.

12. Novelist Tyler: ANNE. Pulitzer winner. Where to start when reading Anne Tyler.

13. Classic autos: REOS. The band REO Speedwagon took their name from the  a 1915 truck designed by Ransom Eli Olds. Neal Doughty had seen the name written across the blackboard when he walked into his History of Transportation class on the first day they had decided to look for a name.

18. "Correctomundo!": RIGHT. Famously spoken by Henry Winkler as Fonzie in Happy Days, and Samuel L. Jackson as Jules in Pulp Fiction.

22. Standard Oil brand: ESSO.

24. Former U.N. leader Hammarskjöld: DAG. Swedish economist and diplomat.

25. NFL periods forced by ties: OTS. Overtimes.

27. Susan of "L.A. Law": DEY. Also from The Partridge Family.

29. Hawaiian garland: LEI.

30. Triage MD: ER DOC. Emergency Room Doctor.

31. Portent: OMEN.

32. Diplomat's need: TACT.

33. "Do I need to __ you a map?": DRAW.

34. Fanny: REAR.

35. Difficult H.S. class covering U.S. or world events: AP HISTORY. AP = Advanced Placement.

39. Round Table title: SIR.

42. "I'm the culprit": IT WAS ME.

43. "Cryptonomicon" novelist Stephenson: NEAL. Award-winning 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, set in two different time periods. Absurdly banned in many prisons.

44. Dog's "I'm warning you!": GRR.

46. '90s trade pact: NAFTA.

47. "Yuck, tell someone else!": TMI. Too Much Information.

48. Fuel efficiency stat: MPG. Miles Per Gallon.

50. Kiss: SMOOCH.

53. The "A" in James A. Garfield: ABRAM.

54. Narrow hilltop: RIDGE.

55. Initial stage: ONSET.

56. Kitty cries: MEWS.

57. Middle proof word: ERAT. Latin,"which was to be shown or demonstrated."

59. Fit: ABLE.

60. Avoid like the plague: SHUN.

63. Uppercut target: JAW.

64. Efron of "Baywatch" (2017): ZAC.

65. Hubbub: ADO.

Note from C.C.:

Here is a beautiful picture of Melissa's two grandkids and their parents. You can click here to see all the cute pictures of Jaelyn and Harper.