Monday July 16, 2018 Neville Fogarty

Theme: 4 O's. - Each theme entry has a pair of consecutive O's. .

17A. 1970s-'80s fashion inspired by astronauts' footwear: MOON BOOTS.

39A "Was I premature?": TOO SOON?

62A. 1990s cartoon series featuring a classic 8-Down dog: GOOF TROOP. 8D. Mickey Mouse creator: DISNEY.

11D. Teacher's domain: SCHOOL ROOM.

30D. Play some b-ball: SHOOT HOOPS.

Boomer here.  

It has been a fairly ordinary week, but I am looking forward to participating in the PBA50 Pro-Am tournament (I am an Am) to send off the PBA50 tournament this Tuesday in Monticello, MN.  Monticello is a city about 40-50 miles west of the Twin Cities, and carries the moniker of "River City" since the Mississippi flows through the town.  Below are some cards of the bowlers who will participate.  I chose these players because they are past champions of 4 previous PBA50 tournaments that were held at Treasure Island Casino in Welch, MN.  (60 miles south of the Twin cities.) Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams, and Parker Bohn III.  They were kind enough to autograph my cards.

Across:

1. Carpenter's file: RASP.  Mr. Utin first name ?

5. Necklace pellet: BEAD.

9. Thorns in one's side: PESTS.

14. __ mater: ALMA.

15. Wrinkly citrus fruit: UGLI.  Crazy, if a fruit is Ugly, call it what it is, do not misspell it.

16. Neckwear named for a British racecourse: ASCOT.  I believe you need to have a LOT more money than I to wear one of these.

19. The "a" sound in "above": SCHWA.

20. Like Frosted Flakes' coating: SUGARY.  Frosted Flakes, Golden Crisp, etc. taste good, but I don't think they are good for kids.

21. Responsibility: ONUS.

23. "Above," in verse: OER. "The land of the free, and the home of the brave."

24. DVD holder: CASE.  I suppose, but it could also be a lawyer's pursuit..

26. Series installment: EPISODE.

28. Like easy, well-paying jobs: CUSHY.

31. Traditional 15th anniversary gift: CRYSTAL.  Reminds me of Crystal Gayle - "Don't in make my Brown Eyes Blue"

33. 1993 Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee Arthur: ASHE.  A great tennis player.  His life ended however at the age of 49.

34. Vietnamese soup: PHO.

35. Souped-up vehicle: HOT ROD. Also famous NBA star "Hot Rod" Hundley.  Drafted by Cincinnati and traded to the Minneapolis Lakers.  He became more famous when the team moved to Los Angeles.

38. __ Speedwagon: REO.

41. Fútbol cheer: OLE.  I believe this is Sven's buddy.  I'm from Minnesota, I know all the stories about OLE don'tcha know.

42. NASA explorers: PROBES. Silly me, I always thought they were called Astronauts.  C.C. has John Glenn's autograph. 

44. "Dig in!": EAT.

45. Coke or Pepsi: SODA.  This is another interesting word.  I learned that carbonated beverages were called SODA when I served in southern USA.  Up north we called it POP.

46. Most sour: TARTEST.

48. Humped beast: CAMEL.  I remember when these were awful cigarettes.  I would not even walk a half mile for one.

49. "Who Let the Dogs Out?" one-hit wonder: BAHA MEN.

51. Carry with effort: HAUL.

53. __ Grande: RIO.

54. Colored eye part: IRIS.

56. Citrus-flavored diet drink: FRESCA.  I would not call this SODA or POP.  I might call it TARTEST though.

60. "__ have a clue": I DON'T.  My expression when I am trying to solve these puzzles.

64. Conical home: TEPEE.

65. Short skirt: MINI.

66. First blank on many forms: NAME.

67. Donkeys: ASSES.  I'll leave this alone.

68. Trebek of "Jeopardy!": ALEX.  Not my favorite Canadian.  He's okay on Jeopardy, but I don't like his Colonial Penn commercials.

69. Heavenly spheres: ORBS.

Down:

1. Ewes' guys: RAMS.  This is an LA Times puzzle, you'd think this would have a football clue.

2. Moises of the 2007-'08 Mets: ALOU.  Moises, Felipe, and Matty.  I think they were the only trio of brothers to make the big leagues. (Correction: Gloria and Allan just reminded me of the DiMaggio brothers. Thank you!)

3. Urban pollution: SMOG.

4. Dashing style: PANACHE.

5. Regatta markers: BUOYS.

6. Sense of self: EGO.

7. Glee club voice: ALTO.  Not in my book.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but a Glee Club was male voices.  Females sang in Choirs, choruses, and other symphonic names. and ALTO is definitely a female voice tone.

9. "Tell your friends": PASS IT ON. A request in a few commercials,

10. Corner PC key: ESC.

12. Hauled to the shop: TOWED.  We have a car in the apartment lot near our home and there is a car which has a horn blasting frequently.  I wish that was towed.

13. Look steadily (at): STARE.

18. Donkey's cry: BRAY.  I have heard of Bray, but I suppose HEE HAW was too many letters.

22. Final result: UPSHOT.

25. Rebound, like sound: ECHO.

27. H.S. exam for college hopefuls: SAT.  Back when we were kids, this was called the Scholastic Assessment Test, and you needed a decent score to apply for college.  Now it is just called the SAT, and all you need to get into college is a fist full of money.

28. Fisherman's soup fish: CARP.  NO WAY!  In Minnesota if you catch a CARP, you are required by law to dispose of it and you are not allowed to toss it back into the lake.

29. PC manual reader: USER.

32. Prickly flowers: ROSES. The flowers are not prickly, it's the stems.

34. Dorm room decoration: POSTER.

36. Shoppe sign adjective: OLDE.  I think this is the queen's English.  Everything in Britain is OLDE.

37. "Let's Make a __": DEAL.  Pick Me Monty!!

39. Home-wrecking insects: TERMITES. I have never actually seen a termite, but I have seen their supper once or twice.

40. Witness' promise: OATH. Nothing but the truth

43. Sheep cry: BAA. No - this is not the Acronym for Bowlers Anonymous Association.

45. City near Naples: SALERNO.

47. Real mystery: ENIGMA.

48. Terse: CURT.  Famous Bloody Sock Pitcher for the Red Sox in the World Series.  (Gave new meaning to the team name).

49. Big name in water filtration: BRITA.  Never tried this. We buy bottled water for drinking. 

50. Senate staffers: AIDES.

52. Stick on, as a label: AFFIX.  Affix stamp here.  Have you seen the USPS new JFK stamps?

55. Gardener's bagful: SOIL.

57. Fly high: SOAR. Like an eagle.

58. Hair care tool: COMB.  I never knew a comb was a tool.  I don't keep one in my tool box.

59. "Planet of the __": APES.

61. Born, in alumni newsletters: NEE.

63. Single: ONE. Short for a Washington bill.

Boomer

Saturday, March 31, 2018, Neville Fogarty

THEMELESS SATURDAY WITH NEVILLE FOGARTY

Today we celebrate National Bunsen Burner Day with a lovely offering from Neville Fogarty. Husker Gary reporting from the Great Plains where I have used many a bunsen burner over the years. Neville's puzzle progressed steadily but at the end I could not find the one bad cell the computer said I had and then I realized I had put a ZERO instead of an O at shoOt em up. The juxtaposition of those two keys is unfortunate for bad typists such as yours truly. That's just another reason I prefer using a pencil instead of a laptop.

Here is a 2007 premiere of a fun TV Crossword Game Show featuring a precocious 19 year-old Neville on the premiere of a Crossword game show:

Now let's see what our TV star/constructor has for us today:

Across

1. Dandies : FOPS - Henry IV, Part I, Act I, Scene 3, Hotspur and the FOP

5. Space Invaders genre : SHOOT 'EM UP - As so many games are. You shoot your blips at other blips

14. Blue dye : ANIL - Speaking of DYES, Granddaughter Elise has been blessed/cursed with Papa's affinity for crosswords and works them everyday. So for Easter, she DYED this crossword egg for me. Yeah, I'm proud!

15. Quintet that won a Grammy for their a cappella version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" : PENTATONIX - I had never seen this before and I just love it!

17. '20s tennis star Lacoste : RENE - Lacoste. The man and the eponymous clothing line he launched

18. 1996 McDonald's offering : ARCH DELUXE - A very expensive flop for McDonalds. Massive advertising couldn't save it

19. Gold mine : MONEY TREE - None in my yard

21. Shellac ingredient : RESIN

22. Egg, in Ecuador : HUEVO - HUEVOS Rancheros 

23. Former Monopoly token : IRON - The token in the middle replaces the IRON. Works for Dave and me!

25. Fair-hiring letters : EEO

26. Anthony of "black-ish" : ANDERSON - Okay

29. Cleaning staff members : MAIDS - We usually tip them $5/day

31. Sgt., e.g. : NCO - What movie featured Commissioned Officer Lieutenant Haulk and Non-Commissioned Officer Master Sergeant Dickerson?

32. Hawaii's __ Coast : KONA - Home of some very good coffee in the only American state that grows coffee

33. Split-resistant wood : ELM

34. Bit of progress : DENT - I have had 50 or more projects to grade at one sitting and it seemed to take forever to make even a DENT in the pile

36. Dynamite guy? : NOBEL - Alfred, the inventor of dynamite

38. It's administered by the College Board, briefly : PSAT

42. Brooding genre : EMO - Teenage angst is fertile ground for music

44. Welsh national emblem : LEEK - Traditionally worn on St. David's Day March 1

46. Downed : ATE - He ATE how many Nathan's Hot Dogs?

47. Mine countermeasure : SONAR 

49. Game with a disc : ULTIMATE - Previously known as ULTIMATE Frisbee but now just ULTIMATE

51. "The Lead With Jake Tapper" channel : CNN

52. Gutter locale : EAVE - _ A _ E turns out NOT to be LANE

54. Greek strings : LYRES

55. What Santa Claus makes and gets : LISTS - Santa is making LISTS and checking them twice and kids are sending him LISTS of what they want

57. Ornament : EMBELLISH - Merriam Webster's definitions of Ornament is 4.  The act of adorning or being adorned and 5. An embellishing note not belonging to the essential harmony or melody


60. Really easy to use : IDIOT PROOF - Why has no one ever thought of this before?

62. "Crash __ Me": Dave Matthews Band hit : INTO - Okay

63. Dwindled to nothing : PETERED OUT - Possibly originated in comparing Peter's fading faith in Jesus prior to the crucifixion 

64. Poetic units : FEET - An accented syllable with one or more unaccented syllables. Twas the NIGHT/be fore CHRIST/mas when ALL/ through the HOUSE = four FEET


65. Hospital employees : RESIDENTS - Miranda Bailey was the RESIDENT the interns called THE NAZI on Grey's Anatomy

66. Closes : ENDS

Down

1. Field worker : FARM HAND - High tech equipment has greatly reduced the need

2. Like the most valuable American Gold Eagle coins : ONE OUNCE

3. Attached, as a ribbon : PINNED ON - Last Saturday's puzzle discussed the perils of pinning and unpinning a corsage on today's prom dresses

4. Magical hiding place : SLEEVE 

5. Minor fight : SPAT

6. Berliner's address : HERR

7. Rarely : ONCE IN A BLUE MOON - Tonight there will be a second full moon in this month which happens quite rarely. This second full moon is called a BLUE MOON because of its rarity not its color

8. Survey question option : OTHER

9. Little bit : TAD

10. For all time : ETERNAL - JFK's ETERNAL Flame has been extinguished several times. The first was when a group of Catholic school children sprinkled it with holy water and the lid came off.

11. Insidious insider : MOLE - Every teacher's lounge has one. Anything said there will go straight to the administration. Kvetch with caution!

12. Idle : UNUSED - Idle acres was a phenomenon where farmers did not plant anything and were paid by the government for doing so

13. Short cuts : PIXIES - Big Bang Theory fans will recognize who has this PIXIE cut

16. Foreign opening? : XENO - XENO means stranger or guest

20. Pennsylvania city where Peppermint Pattie was first produced : YORK - Hence the name

24. Folded fare : OMELET

27. State bordering Arizona and New Mexico : SONORA - We were in the north end of the SONORAN Desert last week. The Mexican state of SONORA is south of Tucson

28. Wish Tree artist : ONO - I am not familiar with anything Yoko ONO has done and precious few others would if she hadn't married well and had such a lovely name for crosswords

30. "Here comes trouble" type : IMP

35. "Dancing With the Stars" achievement : TEN - Last Saturday the puzzle had 14. XXX, perhaps : TENS

37. Grown elver : EEL - An elever is a young EEL. Yeah, I knew that 😛

39. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN - Eero's mother certainly attended a sale on vowels when her son was born!

40. Bore witness : ATTESTED

41. They may be long drives : TEE SHOTS - This perfect form should get him a long drive

43. Musical chairs? : MAESTRI - A maestro is a symphony director and MAESTRI is a gaggle of them

45. Last word of two James Bond film titles : KILL - A View To A KILL and A License To KILL

47. Twisted Sister frontman Dee : SNIDER - He was not talking about your kid's money

48. In the plant, say : ON SITE

50. Billy Joel hit with the line "I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home" : MY LIFE

51. Cut : CLIP - The guy who CLIPS my hair isn't the best barber but he's a good guy




53. Salsa __ : VERDE - I know VERDE means green

56. Socks cover them : TOES

58. Set of rounds : BOUT

59. Young newts : EFTS - I sometimes can't tell my ENTS from my EFTS

61. X'ing one? : PED

We welcome all pertinent and impertinent remarks now:

DA GRID:

Saturday, February 24, 2018, Neville Fogarty and Doug Peterson

THE NEVILLE AND DOUG SHOW

Husker Gary reporting on today's fun puzzle that comes to us from Neville Fogarty and Doug Peterson. Two triple stacks of tens is always impressive! Two of the long fills ,which are usually so helpful, were unbeknownst to this solver out on the Great Plains. Also, some of the clever cluing left welts from my forehead slaps! "Will run you" led the list!

Here is C.C.'s interview with Neville  where it is revealed he was an 11-year-old Jeopardy! "Back to School Week" (October 3, 2000) contestant with a pet fish named Bob Saget. He also lists Doug as one of his inspirational constructors. 

 In the interest of equal time, here is C.C.'s interview with Doug Peterson where it is revealed "I listen to loud heavy metal music when I’m constructing my puzzles. (Not loud enough to wake the neighbors.) Believe it or not, it helps me concentrate."

Now let's explore the themeless puzzle this talented duo produced for us today. As is my wont, I will start with the long fills. As I mentioned before, two of them were not all that helpful to moi (marked in red)!

1. Arcing "American Ninja Warrior" obstacle : WARPED WALL  2. __ moment : AHA - that's what they are called!

15. "This is news to me" : I HAD NO IDEA - Ya gotta love the cerebral, deadpan humor of Rita Rudner 

17. Noting : TAKING DOWN - Here's how they do it in this venue and 22. "Guilty as charged" : I DID IT - What the stenographer in the OJ trial never had to TAKE DOWN

58. Producer Rhimes' TV production company : SHONDALAND - Shonda Rhimes' company logo and its first hit show and now I've now seen a buncha episodes

63. Sci-fi franchise since 1984 : TERMINATOR - TERMINATOR 2 - 3D was a favorite attraction for my kids 
at Universal Studios Orlando. It is now shut down as these parks must change with the times.

65. Weekend night events, usually : SLEEPOVERS - Been there, hosted those! 😲

Here's the rest of Neville and Doug's fill:

Across

11. Cut on a Jackson 5 album? : AFRO - Oh, hairCUT!

16. Used miles, perhaps : FLEW - If you've got the frequent flyer miles...

18. Romney's 2012 running mate : RYAN - He's now Speaker Of The House

19. Letters of address for Washington and Lee? : EDU -It is https://www.wlu.EDU for Washington and Lee Unversity

20. Great in scope : EPIC

21. Extended narratives : ARCS - Can you see the ARC with the movie Titanic?

25. "Whispers of Immortality" poet : T.S. ELIOT - 32 lines - half about death and half about eroticism (so I read)

27. Norman or Eugene : CITY - Oklahoma U and Oregon U cities were chosen as red herrings for a simple clue

28. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel __ : ALE 

30. Includes in the mix : ADDS

31. Former Radiohead label : EMI - They did okay with these lads

32. Lemons may be among them : USED CARS - There's a 🍋 among our bloggers too 

35. Letter's needs : TENANTS - If you've got apartments to let, you will need TENNANTS

37. Continuous : ONGOING - Congress's many ONGOING investigations of themselves never seem to end

41. Links with : TIES INTO - It turns out the Star Wars TIE IN with this lollipop was not, uh, well thought out. No one seems to want to put their mouth into Jar Jar's mouth. Duh!

43. __ Today: magazine for teachers : NEA - Our state passed a law that to join the local and state education associations and you also HAD to join the NEA whether you liked their politics or not.

44. Start to bat? : ACRO - ACROBAT

46. Once called : NEE 

47. Court suspension : STAY

48. Pacific states? : TRANCES - Nothing to do with WA, OR or CA but a pacified state of mind

51. Onion offering : SATIRE

53. Meany in an Irving title : OWEN

54. Actress Miranda of "24: Legacy" : OTTO - I have never partaken but am sure she's just fine

56. Monk's title : DOM - This bottle of  1964 DOM 49. Will run you : COSTS about $2,000

57. __ swing : MOOD 

62. Brief plea : NOLO - NOLO (I do not wish) Contendre (to contend). I don't admit guilt but will take take the consequences with no chance of being retried. 

64. Footnote notation : IDEM - Ibid didn't cut it

Down

1. Marx asset : WIT - A Marx TOY was always an asset at my house but so was the WIT of the Marx Brothers 

3. Win big : RAKE IT IN - It appears the house is RAKING IT IN here

4. Combs differently? : PDIDDY - Sean Combs -> Puff Daddy -> PDIDDY - 

5. Lassitude : ENNUI - The only popular song with ENNUI in the lyric that I know of. It's at 30 sec but I recommend the whole song

6. Pursue persistently : DOG - Deputy Samuel Gerard did DOG Richard Kimble in The Fugitive

7. Spacious : WIDE

8. Took in : ADOPTED - Nah, you've seen enough pix of our ADOPTED kitty

9. Corps of Discovery Expedition explorer : LEWIS - Sorry CLARK, you're out, LEWIS you're in. 

10. Cavalry weapon : LANCE - A modern Cavalryman and his weapon

11. "Yes, sad to say" : AFRAID SO

12. Casting choice : FLY ROD

13. Jerks, say : REACTS - Hey, he had it coming!

14. Dominates : OWNS - Frank Lary was a pitcher in the 50's/60's for a mediocre Detroit Tiger team but he OWNED the Yankees 

22. Rapper-turned-actor : ICE-T

23. It has a torch and two branches on its back : DIME - Here's the obverse and the reverse side with aforementioned items

24. Hint : TASTE 

26. Key __ : LARGO -  A lovely song by a one-hit-wonder. If you knew his name, you're a better man than I am Charlie Brown!

29. Minus : LESS

32. Pairing : UNION - Last Saturday Joann and I celebrated the 51st anniversary of our UNION. I bought her this cake because it has 1) Dairy Queen Ice Cream, 2) Ghirardelli Chocolate, 3) strawberries and 4) a 51 on top. And, oh yeah,  it  also covered Valentine's Day.

33. Parlor purchase : CONE

34. Payments for hands : ANTES - You have to pay to play

36. Unsystematically : AT RANDOM

38. Hint : INTIMATE - This is the long "a" version of this word

39. __ miss : NEAR - Burchard, Nebraska's Harold Lloyd certainly had one here!

40. "Got to Give It Up" singer : GAYE - I'd love to insert his wonderful version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine but two songs are plenty.

42. Coming up : IN STORE 

44. "Alias Grace" author : ATWOOD

45. Big Easy cuisine : CREOLE

47. Canonized Norw. king : ST OLAV - SLEEPOVERS eliminated ST OLAF

50. Waters with pipes? : ETHEL - She did indeed have a set of pipes! Hardest/cleverest clue of the puzzle for me.

52. Town in a 1945 Pulitzer-winning novel : ADANO - The John Hersey story of an Italian-American soldier replacing a church bell in this town in 1944 Sicily that the Fascists had destroyed

53. Prefix for all : OMNI

55. Big sport's words : ON ME - My cheap friend usually did that after most everyone had left the bar

59. Fall off : DIP

60. Conjunction that reverses to a man's name : NOR - NOR flips to RON.

61. Pepper and others : DRS - The others are many and inferior

Thanks Neville and Doug! Now what say you?

DA GRID