Monday June 29, 2020 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: KEEPS AN EYE ON (55. Looks after, as suggested by the last word of 20-, 29- and 46-Across) - Synonym theme.

20. Protection for extremities during slicing and dicing: FINGER GUARDS.

29. Old-style timepieces attached to vests: POCKET WATCHES.

46. 15-season CBS drama about the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit: CRIMINAL MINDS.

Boomer here.  

I have a pocket WATCH which I never use.  I do have a wristwatch but I only wear it in Las Vegas so I can make sure when it's time to take C.C. to the buffet.  It GUARDS against losing too much $$ or my MIND. 

Across:

1. Evidence of fire: SMOKE.  My last one was a menthol, sometime around 2001.

6. Phone call enders: BYES.  "Bye, bye Miss American Pie"  (Don McClean).

10. Recedes to the sea: EBBS.  Flows the wrong way.

14. Piglike rhino relative: TAPIR.

15. Move like The Blob: OOZE.

16. Strong wind: GALE.  As in Gale Storm??

17. "__ you clever!": AREN'T.  I try to be clever, I Ain't sure.

18. Folklore meanie: OGRE.

19. Stan on the sax: GETZ.  Well known but a little before my time.

23. Long-standing dispute: FEUD.  I used to watch "Family Feud".  I liked Richard Dawson and John O'Hurley, but I am not a big fan of Steve Harvey.

24. Go public with: AIR.  I have been going a few yards AIRing out a Titleist.

25. Brewery kilns: OASTS.

33. GI chow: MRE.  Well, I used to have adjectives for GI food but MRE was not one of them.

34. Many a retired racehorse: SIRE.  I am still wondering if the Kentucky Derby will take place.

35. The "O" in OAS: Abbr.: ORG.

36. Least distant: CLOSEST.  A few holes in our golf league are marked with a prize for CLOSEST to the hole.  So far I have not cashed.

40. Coming into being: NASCENT.

42. Rude dude: CAD.  Kind of made me think of CADDIES.  I spent some time watching the Travelers tournament this past weekend.

43. Travel document: VISA.  Also a card that can get people in trouble.

45. Tropical "constrictor": BOA.  Bank Of America will issue the above mentioned cards.

50. Become frantic: PANIC.  Just push the PANIC button and all will settle down.

51. Meadowland: LEA.  "LEAn on me, when you're not strong"

52. Uses a shovel: DIGS.

59. "The Thin Man" dog: ASTA.  I don't have too say "I'm too young" very often but I never saw the movie.  I did see the TV episodes. I think Peter Lawford was "The Thin Man" in the late fifties and I remember ASTA.

62. Lacrosse targets: NETS.  Also hockey pucks and basketballs.

63. Specialized vocab: LINGO.

64. Null and __: VOID.  You may want to AVOID being VOID.

65. Like much testimony: ORAL.

66. Word with circle or city: INNER.  Don't forget tube.

67. Kibbles 'n Bits competitor: ALPO.  No dogs in our home.  No ALPO Either.

68. Agile: SPRY.

69. Colorful marble: AGATE.  Also had steelies, shooters, and peeries in the bag.

Down:

1. Employee group: STAFF.

2. Curie with two Nobels: MARIE.

3. Speak candidly: OPEN UP.  "Not by the hair on my Chinny Chinny Chin."

4. Regal realms: KINGDOMS.

5. Art Deco master: ERTE.

6. __-woogie: BOOGIE.  "He's the BOOGIE, Woogie bugle boy of company B"

7. Dannon products: YOGURTS.  I cannot remember if I ever tried it.

8. Pound who was a friend of T.S. Eliot: EZRA.  He's was a poet, but if you don't know it, maybe his feet show it.  They're Long Fellows.

9. Tea leaves reader: SEER. C.C. enjoys a cup of tea, but she never reads the leaves.  Too depressing.

10. Spider's hatching pouch: EGG SAC.

11. Main squeeze, in slang: BAE.

12. Lunch menu letters: BLT.  Very delicious and wholesome food.  Just fry the fat out of the bacon.

13. Utters, in slang: SEZ.

21. Earns lots of, as dough: RAKES IN.  I don't know about the dough. We just use the rake on garden weeds, and leaves in the fall.

22. Spoils, as a grandchild: DOTES ON.

26. Clog or loafer: SHOE.  Golf shoes are great.  They used to have metal spikes but now mine have plastic grippers on the soles.

27. Fork-tailed shorebird: TERN.

28. Army NCO: SSGT.  This is G.I. pay Grade E-6.  I only made it to E-5.  I think you need to serve longer than two years to get to E-6.

30. Narrow opening in a cliff: CREVICE.

31. Take the title: WIN.  The only current pro sport to watch now is golf.  Seems every week a different player WINs the title.

32. High-spirited horse: ARABIAN.

36. Sputnik letters: CCCP.  Speaking of  which, I have heard that the U.S. Air Force is detecting Russian planes near Alaska recently.

37. "__ Croft: Tomb Raider": LARA.

38. Top Norse god: ODIN.  If you are a SON of ODIN you probably have no problem with this puzzle.

39. Flight safety org.: TSA.  These guys (and ladies) are mostly standing around in the airport these days.  Last February, it took C.C. and I nearly an hour to get to the gate.

41. Toting clubs for a golfer: CADDYING.  This was my employment from age 14 to about 17.  It was a great job and I got to play a nice golf course every Monday.

44. MLB's Hank Aaron, e.g., in 21 seasons: ALL-STAR.  Hammerin' Hank was incredible!!

47. Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, with "The": MIKADO.  HMS Pinafore, Pirates on Penzance.  I used to be able to sing some of their stuff.

48. Pitifully small: MEASLY.

49. "Burnt" crayon color: SIENNA.  I am not sure if CRAYOLA makes this color anymore.

53. "__ it, Rover!": "Fetch!": GO GET.

54. Keep a mate awake, perhaps: SNORE.  I stayed awake all last night and I did not SNORE at all.

56. Grandson of Adam: ENOS.  A biblical name.  I am old enough to remember Enos "Country" Slaughter who played for several MLB teams.  I only remember the St. Louis Cardinals.

57. One in handcuffs, for short: PERP.

58. Kazan with an honorary Oscar: ELIA.

59. Actress Gardner: AVA.  She was one of Frank Sinatra's 30 wives.

60. Sun, in Sonora: SOL.

61. Bit of advice: TIP.  My advice is you may want to stay out of restaurants for awhile, but if you cannot resist, leave a TIP.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

Big milestone for Barry G, who turns 50 years old today.  Barry used to be very active on our blog. Hope all's well with you and your family, Barry! Hope the in-laws are all safe and sound.

July 2, 2016

Monday June 22, 2020 Jordan Hildebrandt

Theme: FRIED RICE (62. Chinese menu standard, or what's literally found in the circled letters?) - Letters of RICE are scrambled up.

17. Boss on a red truck: FIRE CHIEF.

25. Writer of arcade entertainment reviews: GAME CRITIC.

38. Frozen food biggie: MARIE CALLENDER'S.

50. National STEM Competition for middle school visionaries: FUTURE CITY. According to Wikipedia, Future City Competition is a national competition in the United States that focuses on improving students' math, engineering, and science skills. The program is open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades who attend a public, private or home school.

Boomer here. 

C.C. said this is Jordan Hildebrandt's LA Times debut. Congratulations, Jordan!

June 22 has good and bad memories for me. My first child, by a previous marriage, Deborah was born on June 22, 1970.  That's the good memory.  Sadly Debbie passed away from heart disease at the age of ten on June 25, 1980.  I cannot imagine her at age 50.  Rest in peace my sweet little girl.

Across:

1. Transplant to a new container: REPOT. No pots for us. Our plants and flowers are in the garden.

6. Wd. modifying a noun: ADJ.

9. Triumphant shouts: TADAS.  Might have been a few at the RBC Heritage last weekend, but I did not hear any.

14. Appliance maker: AMANA.  Made in our neighbor to the south, Amana, Iowa.  Home of the Wurst Festival.

15. CT scan relative: MRI.  I suspect Abejo can tell you about his.  I will never forget mine two years ago.

16. Room on the Clue board: STUDY.

19. Tuesday fare?: TACOS.  I have seen the ads for Taco John's. We have not purchased restaurant food since the virus shutdown. Anyway, I mentioned before, C.C. and I prefer buffets, The Mystic Lake Casino has excellent tacos in their buffet, but it is not yet open. You need to gamble hungry.

20. Letters before "Fridays" in a restaurant name: TGI.  I think the Minnesota ones have closed.

21. Campus party garb: TOGA.  Good old "Animal House" - I miss John Belushi.

22. Arrange in order: SORT. I cannot even try to remember how many hours I spent sorting baseball cards. A labor of love.

23. Divisions of history: ERAS. Or  "Pitcher's stats".  On the backs of their baseball cards.

29. Detox facility: REHAB.

31. Long __ of the law: ARM. Saw a few of these in Tulsa on Saturday.

32. In the past: AGO.  "A long, long time AGO, I can still remember how the music used to make me smile."  Don McClean - "American Pie"

33. Riotous spree: RAMPAGE.

37. Per item: A POP.  I am having A POP as I write this. It's diet Ginger Ale.

42. Desktop image: ICON.

43. Premier League powerhouse: ARSENAL.  I thought this was a stash of weapons and ammo.

44. Progressive spokeswoman: FLO. Yup I have Progressive. I rate them third in stupid car insurance commercials.  Behind #1 Liberty Mutual, and #2 GEICO.

45. Toward the stern: AFT.  In a big ship.  The kind I saw docked at Harbor Town last weekend.  In the fishing boats that I commanded the motor was "AFT" (Pronounced MOTOR, Not MO TORE)

46. French fathers: PERES.

55. Eye care brand: RENU.  I wear glasses.  C.C. likes contacts and I think she uses this.

56. Sword's sharp part: EDGE.  Ford makes a mini SUV called an EDGE.  No payments for three months. and I have no interest in this car.

57. 1857 litigant Scott: DRED.  We studied some of this in High School and it should be a topic for today's "Black Lives Matter" movement.  Dred was a black American in Missouri.  He sued for his freedom and it got to the Supreme Court but they ruled against 7 - 2.  By the way, in case you have not heard, the Minnesota Twins removed the statue of previous owner Calvin Griffith.  He was a cheap bigot and there is no reason to honor his memory.

59. Road goo: TAR.

60. Super-excited: GIDDY.

64. Disney's Little Mermaid: ARIEL.

65. Sass: LIP.  TU of them make a flower.

66. Hilda and Zelda, to TV's Sabrina: AUNTS.  I remember playing the "Legend of Zelda" for hours on my Nintendo game.

67. Category in iTunes: GENRE.

68. Employ: USE.

69. Dough raiser: YEAST.  Great Stuff!!  I made pizza for a few years and we had to use yeast to tenderize the crust.

Down:

1. Roofing support: RAFTER.

2. Political refugee: EMIGRE.  I guess dreamers are not in that group and are here to stay. Thank you 5 of the big robes!

3. Outcast: PARIAH.

4. Number of beers that fall off the wall in each round of the song: ONE.  It takes about thirty miles in the car to finish this song.  I don't think I ever finished.  Did you like "Take one down and pass it around" or "If one of those bottles should happen to fall."  ??

5. Diplomat's skill: TACT.

6. Latina friend: AMIGA.  My buddy Jorge from Chile calls me AMIGO. 

7. "I Have a __": MLK: DREAM.  Again another timely reference.  I know I mentioned a couple of weeks ago regarding my experience at Fort Campbell on April 4, 1968.

8. Skippy rival: JIF. When I was young, my Cub Scout troop toured the Skippy factory in St. Louis Park, MN.  At the end of the tour we received a small jar.  The factory is gone now, but I am still loyal to the brand.

9. Noisy weather event, briefly: T-STORM.  We had a big one last week.  Thunder shook our house.

10. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.  Is this the same as Nintendo ??

11. All-purpose roll: DUCT TAPE.  Many uses, We have used a lot!

12. Hubbub: ADO.  Much ADO about nothing.

13. Part of CBS: Abbr.: SYS.  Looks like CBS has landed the PGA tournaments with no fans on the course.

18. Harley, e.g.: HOG.  They are a bit noisy, just like real HOGS.

22. It allows air but keeps out bugs: SCREEN. We have them, but once in awhile a Minnesota mosquito sneaks in and drives C.C. crazy.

24. Deadly nerve gas: SARIN.

26. Great Seal bird: EAGLE.  This would be two under par on one hole.  something I did once about 30-40 years ago on a par five.  On in two and one putt - about a 30 footer.

27. "Young Frankenstein" aide: IGOR.  "Oh Boy IGOR Stravinsky, Oh Boy, Bo Belinsky."  Allan Sherman.

28. Many "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" characters: COPS.

30. Sweetie, in slang: BAE.

34. Antivirus giant: MCAFEE.  Maybe we could take some for the Covid-19.  Just kidding, Do not try it.

35. Medicare Advantage, familiarly: PART C.  I have Medicare but don't use it.  Why are there SO MANY commercials for these add on plans.  Joe Namath - Don't you have anything to do??

36. Pacino and Roker: ALS.  Roker is a Joker.

37. Sherlock Holmes adversary Irene: ADLER.

38. Offend slightly: MIFF.

39. Civil rights org.: ACLU.  "Civil Rights Leaders are a pain in the neck, Can't hold a candle to Chiang Kai Shek, How do I know, I read it in the Daily News."  Tom Paxton.

40. Based on, as opinions vis-à-vis faith: ROOTED IN.

41. Daytime snooze: NAP.  No time, always have stuff to do.

45. Diamond pattern: ARGYLE.  No one will ever forget our Santa.

47. Light-sensitive eye layer: RETINA.

48. Passes, as laws: ENACTS.  Our Supreme Court has been busy lately. Not passing laws but deciding if they are okay.

49. Most certain: SUREST.

51. Part of a cow the milk comes from: UDDER.  Which cow?  This one or the UDDER one.??

52. Elba who played Mandela: IDRIS.

53. Total rubbish: TRIPE.  I always thought TRIPE was the part of the fish you toss away while cleaning it.

54. "__-haw!": YEE.  I used to watch "HEE-HAW"  YEE HAW sounds Chinese, I'll check with C.C.

58. June 6, 1944: D DAY.  I was not yet alive, But this day in history will long be remembered.

60. Gift at a white elephant exchange, say: GAG.

61. Wrath: IRE.

62. Annual shot target: FLU.  Hopefully the annual shot target in the future will be Covid-19.

63. Parisian street: RUE.  Or, one of the "Golden Girls".

Boomer

Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Frank Virzi

My House is Your House (If you can find it).  A type of an abode can be found "divided" in the circles of each theme answer.

20-Across. Tenderloin often served with Béarnaise sauce: CHATEAUBRIAND.  CABIN.

A Chateaubriand is a very expensive filet mignon.  It was named after a French aristocrat and writer named François-René de Chateaubriand (1768 ~ 1848).

33-Across. Rockies resort town: VAIL, COLORADO.  VILLA.

41-Across. Sub on a plate: HERO SANDWICH.  RANCH.

There are many variations on a RANCH style house.

And the Unifier:

56-Across. Biblical phrase in Lincoln's historic 6/16/1858 speech, and what each set of circled letters contains: A HOUSE DIVIDED.  This bibilcal reference appears in the Gospel of Mark (3:25) where Jesus said, "If a House be Divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." (Revised Standard Version).  I am familiar with Lincoln's speech.   I did not know, however, that it was a Biblical reference.

Across:

1. Single-celled creature: AMEBA.

6. Cab alternative: UBER.  Oh, literally a cab.  I was thinking of our usual misdirection of a Cabernet wine.

10. Partner of aid: ABET.  Partners in crime: Aid and Abet.

14. Disinterested: BORED.

15. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  Did you know that a Hoya is a genus of tropical plants?  That is not, however, the origin of the Georgetown Hoya, which apparently derived from Greek and Latin words.  The Georgetown mascot is Jack, the Bulldog.  Anyway, that's their story, and they're sticking to it.  I rather like the flower, though.

16. Hot under the collar: SORE.

17. Pricey violin, for short: STRAD.  A violin Stradivarius violin was created from the shop of Antonio Stradivari (1644 ~ Dec. 18, 1737).

18. Did some weeding: HOED.  This answer appeared in yesterday's puzzle and was clued as "worked the soil".

19. Start of a spell: ABRA.

23. Prince Valiant's boy: ARN.  He appears with some frequency in the puzzles, but I can never remember his name.

24. Highest degree: NTH.  You known the answer has to be either Nth or Ph.D.

25. Kindergarten art item: CRAYON.

28. Squeaked by: MADE DO.

30. Smeltery refuse: SLAG.

32. Inc. kin: LLC.  As in a Limited Liability Company.

36. Rifle range supply: AMMO.

39. Federation in OPEC: UAE.  The United Arab Emirate is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Company.

40. Les __ les autres: one another: UNES.  Today's French lesson.

46. Court players' gp.: ATP.  As in the Association of Tennis Professionals.

47. Disapproving sounds: TSKs!

48. Like a one-lane bridge: NARROW.  I wanted a Covered Bridge, but that was too many letters.

52. Topiary tool: SHEARS.

54. "http" often begins one: URL.

55. Lemon finish?: ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

60. River seen from the Leaning Tower: ARNO.

62. Old bread problem: MOLD. 

63. Breezing through: ACING.

64. Rain cats and dogs: POUR.

65. "Do it, or __!": ELSE.

66. Eco-friendly word: REUSE.  We saw this word last Friday.

67. Falafel holder: PITA.  Yummers!  Street food in Jerusalem.

68. Letter opener: DEAR.  Fun clue.

69. Those in favor: YESES.

Down:

1. '70s-'80s scandal that inspired "American Hustle": ABSCAM.  Abscam was an FBI sting.

2. Lepidopteran foe of Godzilla: MOTHRA.  This creature has appeared in the puzzles before.

3. Quick post office run, say: ERRAND.

4. Outplay: BEAT.

5. Back-of-the-book supplements: ADDENDA.

6. "You betcha!": UH, HUH!

7. Blockhead: BOOB.  Hmm ...  //  Not to be confused with 34-Down. Blockhead: LUNK.

8. Watcher: EYER.

9. Politically extreme: RADICAL.  In chemistry, a radical is an atom, molecule or ion that has an unpaired valence electron.

10. Yoga posture: ASANA.

11. "Blowin' in the Wind" singer/songwriter: BOB DYLAN.  The answer my friend ...

12. Make a mistake: ERR.

13. Sri Lanka export: TEA.

21. Yours, to Yves: À TOI.  More of today's French lesson.

22. Legendary Greek ship: ARGO.

26. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.

27. Some mil. drillers: NCOs.  As in Non-Commissioned Officers.

29. Cruet filler, to Rachael Ray: EVOO.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil also appeared in last Friday's puzzle.

30. Tons: SCADS.

31. MGM co-founder Marcus: LOEW.

Marcus Lowe (May 7, 1870 ~ Sept. 5, 1927)

35. German industrial region: RUHR.

36. Cries of insight: AHAs!

37. Protestant denom.: METH.  As in Methodist.

38. Monocled food mascot: MR. PEANUT.  Mr. Peanut has undergone many changes in his 100 + year existence.  I think this year's Super Bowl did him in.

42. Houston MLBer: 'STRO.  As in the Houston Astros.

43. Took as a given: ASSUMED.

44. 45-Down inscription: INRI.  //  And  45-Down. Site of the Crucifixion: CALVARY.

49. The "r" in pi-r-squared: RADIUS.  Pi-r-squared?  Pi r not squared, pi r round!

50. Danish seaport: ODENSE.

51. Wood-splitting tools: WEDGES.

53. Now, in Nogales: AHORA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

54. Cow's milk source: UDDER.

57. Only: SOLE.

58. Film lioness: ELSA.

Elsa with Joy Adamson

59. Slushy drink brand: ICEE.

60. iPhone purchase: APP.

61. French king: ROI.  Our final French lesson for the day.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.  ~  John Tukey (né John Wilder Tukey; June 16, 1915 ~ July 26, 2000), American mathematician