Wednesday, March 18, 2020, Paul Coulter

Theme: SPIN DOCTOR

Melissa here. This would be nearly impossible to see without the circled letters. There are five word groupings (one in each corner plus one in the center) in which the circled letters, read from the top and SPINning around to the right, spell the name of a doctor.

NW Group: Dr. JEKYLL

1. __ d'art: OBJET.

14. Move furtively: SLINK.

17. Rite of Christian ordination: HOLY ORDERS.

NE Group: Dr. DOOM

 

10. Axlike tool: ADZE.

16. Cow conversation: MOOS.

19. Hip '60s Brits: MODS.

SW Group: Dr. PHIL

62. Mall directories: MAPS.

67. "Ick!": BLEH.

70. Director Kazan: ELIA.

SE Group: Dr. WATSON

63. 1850s Eurasian conflict: CRIMEAN WAR.

69. Salty expanse: OCEAN.

72. Celestial red giant: SSTAR.

And the reveal in the center  ...

71. With the circled word in the grid's center, what each circled word is?: SPIN.

Center Group : DOCTOR

 

35. Carries out: DOES.

38. Fabric ponytail holder: SCRUNCHIE.

43. Foldable beds: COTS.

Across:

6. It's sold in bars: SOAP. Nice clue - and timely, too, especially if it's disinfecting soap.

15. "In memoriam" bio: OBIT. Shortened word "bio" indicates shortened word for obituary.

20. Rodeo ropes: LASSOS.

21. Honeybunch: DEARIE.

23. Montréal mate: AMI. French for male friend. Amie for female friend.

25. Fights (for): VIES.

27. "Cold Mountain" hero played by Jude Law: INMAN.

28. Bolster: PROP UP.

31. Enhance, as an expense report: PAD.

33. Whiz: ACE.

34. Sticking points: TINES. Like on a fork.

37. ER personnel: RNS.

41. Chinese menu surname: TSO. From Wikipedia:
a sweet deep-fried chicken dish that is served in North American Chinese restaurants. The dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (also romanized Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader, although there is no recorded connection to him nor is the dish known in Hunan, Zuo's home province.

44. Pet store enclosures: CAGES.

48. Dismissive syllable: FEH. Don't see this as much as meh, but seems to have the same meaning.

49. Hasty escape: LAM. Nice cluing. According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, lam means: "flight," as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning "to run off" (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste, which was used in British student slang for "beat" since 1590s.

50. Computer key: DELETE.

51. Bounded: LEAPT.

53. Quite: OH SO.

56. Leaves in the afternoon?: TEA.

57. Irritate by rubbing: ABRADE.

59. Supermarket walkways: AISLES. I haven't been to one in over a week - a little reluctant to go this week, even though I need to. What's it been like for you?

68. Spanish cat: GATO.

Down:

1. __Kosh B'gosh: OSH.

2. Rain-__ bubble gum: BLO.

3. Word whose meaning wouldn't change if it began with "z": JILLION. From vocabulary.com: Similar to words like zillion, tons, or oodles, jillion is perfect for talking about a huge but vague number. It's also hyperbolic — in other words, it's an exaggeration. The word is modeled on actual numbers like million and billion, so it almost sounds like a real quantity. But like zillion, jillion is imprecise.

4. One-named singer: ENYA. Not Cher.

5. Boxing decisions: TKOS. Technical Knock Outs. A TKO is declared when the referee decides during a round that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason.

6. "Me too": SO DO I.

7. Corpulent: OBESE. Rarely used word, needed perps.

8. Ultrathin MacBook: AIR. Who has one? I shy away from anything that thin when it comes to a laptop.

9. War affliction, for short: PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A little suprised this passed the breakfast test - but we've probably seen it before, it's a great crossword entry.

10. Jordan's capital: AMMAN.

11. Entry-level job?: DOORMAN. Great clue.

12. Astrology diagrams: ZODIACS.

13. Ancient ascetic: ESSENE. A member of an ancient Jewish ascetic sect of the 2nd century BC–2nd century AD in Palestine, who lived in highly organized groups and held property in common. The Essenes are widely regarded as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

18. Invite letters: RSVP. French - Répondez s'il vous plaît; please reply.

22. __ al-Fitr: end-of-Ramadan feast: EID. Eid al-Fitr, also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.

23. Fitting: APT.

24. Hosp. scan: MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging.

26. MS format details: SPECS. One of the regulars can explain this better than I.

29. Mexican money: PESO.

30. L.A. school: USC. University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.

32. Tray filler: ASH.

35. Milano cathedral: DUOMO. Closed to tourists right now for the Coronavirus alert.

36. Prov. bordering four Great Lakes: ONT.

37. Authentic: REAL.

39. Early TV maker: RCA.

40. Freezer cubes: ICE.

41. Game for little hitters: TEE BALL.

42. Wrinkly dog: SHARPEI.

45. Jumps in the lake: GETS WET.

46. Summer in la ville: ETE.

47. Vast quantity: SEA.

48. Served like cherries jubilee: FLAMBE.

49. British co. letters: LTD.

50. A teaspoon, say: DOSE.

52. Ottoman title: PASHA. A higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries and others.

54. French-speaking Caribbean country: HAITI.

55. Colorful memory game: SIMON. Players take turns repeating a sequence of lights and sounds. Play in your browser here.

 

58. Heart tests, briefly: ECGS. An electrocardiogram — abbreviated as EKG or ECG — is a test that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat. With each beat, an electrical impulse (or “wave”) travels through the heart. This wave causes the muscle to squeeze and pump blood from the heart.

60. Golden Triangle country: LAOS.

61. SASEs, e.g.: ENCS. SASE = Self-addressed stamped envelope. ENC = Enclosure. So a SASE is a type of enclosure.

64. Missy Elliott music genre: RAP.

65. Battery for small electronics: AAA.

66. GI's furlough: RNR. Hm. If you say so, but  I usually see R&R, which is military slang for rest and recuperation. RNR is how it's pronounced, so maybe that's why ..?

Monday March 2, 2020 Paul Coulter

Theme: PIZZA ( 69. Popular pie, and what the ends of 17-, 30-, 45- and 61-Across have in common)

17. Crème de la crème: UPPER CRUST. Pizza crust.

30. Spar without a partner: SHADOW BOX. Pizza box.

45. Extremely lame, in modern slang: WEAK SAUCE. Pizza sauce.

61. Business manager skilled at reducing expenses: COST CUTTER. Pizza cutter.

Boomer here.  WWWWW - Wow, What A Wild Week on Wall Street!  I felt like I was on a bicycle with no brakes coasting down Lombard Street in San Francisco. However, we have seen this before around 2008 and we survived. I hope all will stay safe from the coronavirus and I hope if you were hurt in this correction, that those nasty numbers last week will start bouncing back today.

I made thousands of pizzas as a chef for a pizza restaurant in Hopkins, MN.  I've also eaten quite a few but I cut them out of the diet for now.  Not healthy enough.

Across:

1. Photographer Adams: ANSEL.  Always outdoor scenes.  We found one at a garage sale once.

6. "Happy Motoring" company: ESSO.  Fill 'er up in Canada eh?

10. Cuba, por ejemplo: ISLA.

14. 2000s first lady Bush: LAURA.

15. Matty of baseball: ALOU.  Also Jesus and Felipe.

16. Twice-monthly tide: NEAP.  Depends on full or new moon.  It amazes me that the moon can have an effect on the ocean.

19. Kvetch like a fish?: CARP.  In Minnesota, if you happen to catch one of these mud-eating fish, it is against DNR rules to toss them back in the lake.

20. West of "My Little Chickadee": MAE.  "When I'm good I am very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better."  Mae West.

21. Mr. Peanut prop: CANE.  "Ain't no more CANE on the Brazos my boy, Oh, Oh, Oh.  Well we done ground it all to molasses. Oh, Oh, Oh.  (Chad Mitchell Trio).

22. Dental hygienist's gizmo: SCALER.  In Minnesota, we use these to clean fish.

24. Essen's river: RUHR.  Quite a distance Northeast from my temporary home in Hardheim. (1969)

26. Russian space station for 15 years: MIR.

27. Hurry-scurry: ADO.  Much ado about nothing.

28. "__ Yankees": DAMN.  You can say that again! I am a Twins fan.

33. Rascal: SCAMP.

35. "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE.  What about thy Mother??

36. Hawaiian porch: LANAI.

37. Ab __: from day one: OVO.

38. Uses a sieve: SIFTS.  We used to use an aluminum with a squeeze handle.  I never knew why my Mom sifted flour.  It always seemed pretty sifted to me out of the bag.

42. Apply, as a brake: STEP ON.  We had to do that quickly Saturday morning.  Some car was stalled in the middle of our lane.  C.C, saved us because I was watching the rear view mirror at some idiot tailgating us.

44. Flynn of "Captain Blood": ERROL.  From Australia, he led three lives with three different wives.

48. Hunky-__: fine: DORY.  I don't think I have heard this since Ike was President.

49. Toronto's prov.: ONT.  Home of the Blue Jays.  That team has a whole country rooting for them since the Expos moved to Washington.

50. Dada co-founder: ARP.

51. Either H in H2O: ATOM. 

53. Home of the NHL's Senators: OTTAWA.  A lot more Canadian cities have a hockey team.

55. A head: EACH.

57. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU.

60. Old phone feature: DIAL.  Absolutely old.  We went through several in my life, and Graybar sold millions of them.

64. Shortest-named Great Lake: ERIE.  4th largest great lake

65. Sci-fi's Jabba the __: HUTT.  Aaron Rodgers "3-19, 3-19, HUTT HUTT !

66. Mars has two: MOONS.  Amazing.  There are only three moons between Mercury and Jupiter.  Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus all have dozens.  I am surprised they don't run into each other.

67. Aloha State bird: NENE.

68. Jazz and Disco periods: ERAS.  Pitching statistics too.

Down:

1. Grad: ALUM.  Short for alumnus, not aluminum.

2. Auto parts giant: NAPA.

3. Clark Kent, really: SUPERMAN.  "Look, up in the sky!  It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a bird (wiping your eye).

4. "... __ he drove out of sight": Moore: ERE.  "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night"

5. Tree that rhymes with a month: LARCH.

6. Deserve: EARN.  I guess it's deserved.  Lend some of your money to a bank and you will earn interest.  Just not as high as the poor guy who borrows it.

7. Pivot around: SLUE.

8. "Help!"-ful soap pad brand: SOS.  ...---... or a Competitor of Brillo.

9. Not in the house: OUTSIDE.  "Ball one", says the umpire.

10. Ancient Andean: INCA.  Inka Dinka Do - Jimmy Durante

11. Aquanaut's base: SEA LAB.

12. Texas city in a cowboy song: LAREDO.  Johnny Cash did the song.  But Laredo is unique with a bridge across the Rio Grande.

13. Estimated: Abbr.: APPROX.

18. Wheels, so to speak: CAR.  I call my wheels a van.

23. Game stick with a netted pocket: CROSSE.  Never played it.  Add "LA" and you have a great city in Wisconsin.  Close to Minnesota just on the east side of the Mississippi.

25. Expose: UNMASK.  We would do this on Halloween when our face got sweaty.

26. Sam who owned Cheers: MALONE.  "Where everybody knows your name."

28. ISP alternative: DSL.

29. Fed. law known as Obamacare: ACA.  It's "Affordable Care".  However some people still cannot afford it.  But I don't think the U.S can afford an alternative.

30. Clog: STOP UP.

31. "Wreaked" state: HAVOC.

32. Creepy sort: WEIRDO.

34. Tool for two lumberjacks: PIT SAW. I don't see many any more.  It takes two persons to use it and I think power saws have taken over.

39. Completely, alphabetically speaking: FROM A TO Z.

40. A.L.'s Blue Jays: TOR.  Mentioned them before.

41. Scheming: SLY.  And the Family Stone.  "Everyday People."

43. Pain in a canal: EARACHE.

45. Made of oak, say: WOODEN.  Coach John Wooden - famous coach of UCLA.  His teams won something like 10 NCAA national championships.  I remember Lew Alcindor (AKA) Kareem and Bill Walton helping.

46. Complete: ENTIRE.  There once was a girl from St. Paul, who went to a newspaper ball.  Her dress caught on fire, and burned her ENTIRE front page, sports section and all.

47. Reach, as a goal: ATTAIN.  A whole bunch of major league teams are in Spring Training hoping to ATTAIN that fancy trophy for their stadium display case.

51. NC State's conf.: ACC.

52. Dull sound: THUMP.  Sounds like a ball going in the gutter.

54. On the safe side, at sea: ALEE.

55. Spanish "this": ESTA.

56. Lawyers: Abbr.: ATTS.  Most abbreviate ATTY(s)

58. Mercedes-__: BENZ.

59. Big Dipper bear: URSA.  Major.

62. Lord's Prayer start: OUR.  We say this in church.  So many stories.  I went to an all-boys Catholic School. I coach bowling there now and it is co-ed. When young ladies would come to our sock hop dances, they had to recite the Lord's prayer to get in.  If they said debts instead of trespasses they were not allowed.  If they got by that and ended with "For thine is the power etc." they were refused.  Now we say that at the end of the prayer.  I am wondering though, after the prayer we are asked to offer a sign of peace and everyone shakes hands. I wonder if that might be adjusted due to coronavirus.   

63. You, in French: TOI.

Boomer

Tuesday, February 25, 2020 Paul Coulter

It's Mardi Gras, so Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Let's go to the Movies!  The last word of each movie theme answer can follow the word "Hollywood" to give us a new concept.

17-Across. 1950 Gloria Swanson film: SUNSET BOULEVARD.  Hollywood Boulevard.

Sunset Boulevard was a film by Billy Wilder about a silent film star hoping to make a comeback.

25-Across. 1979 Jim Henson film: THE MUPPET MOVIE.  Hollywood Movie.

Hollywood movies aren't necessarily filmed in Hollywood.

The Muppet Movie is based on the television show, The Muppets.

42-Across. 1988 Demi Moore film: THE SEVENTH SIGN.  Hollywood Sign.

The title of The Seventh Sign, an apocalypse film, is apparently a reference to the seven seals in the New Testament book of Revelation.  It got very poor ratings when it came out.  Probably they haven't improved with time.

The Hollywood Sign dates to 1923, when it was erected as an advertisement for a local real estate development.  It originally read "Hollywoodland".  The "Land" portion has been lost, but the rest of the sign soon became an icon. 

And the Unifier:

57-Acrosss. 2002 Woody Allen film ... or what each of the last words of 17-, 25- and 42-Across can be: HOLLYWOOD ENDING.  Hollywood Endings is about a film director trying to make a comeback.

Across:

1. Rene of "Ransom" (1996): RUSSO.  Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.

6. Not as expensive: LESS.

10. A bit loopy: DAFT.

14. Part of "the works" on a burger: ONION.

15. Old man, in German: ALTE.  Today's German lesson.

16. Needle case: ETUI.  A crossword staple.

This can be yours for only $675.  Not sure if it comes with the contents.

20. Peanut butter choice: SMOOTH.  My choice would be chunky.

21. Like wax fruit: INEDIBLE.

22. Note from one who's shy?: I.O.U.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

24. Laser pointer chaser: CAT.

33. Get out of bed: ARISE.

34. Jazz instruments: SAXES.  Did you know that the Saxaphone is a newcomer to the musical instruments?  Adolphe Sax (Nov. 6, 1814 ~ Feb. 7, 1894) received a patent for the instrument in 1846!  It is now a staple of Jazz music

35. Peruvian singer Sumac: YMA.  We haven't seen Ms. Sumac (1922 ~ Nov. 1, 2008) in quite some time.  She used to make frequent appearances in the puzzles.  She has quite a unique voice.

36. Squirrel's hoard: NUTS.

37. Credited in an endnote: CITED.

38. Place to tie up a boat: PIER.

39. 24-hr. cash source: ATM.  The Automatic Teller Machine appears often in our puzzles.

40. Equestrian: RIDER.

41. "That's __!": "Piece of cake!": A SNAP!

45. News initials: UPI.  As in United Press International.

46. __ bunt: productive MLB out: SAC.  A baseball term meaning a Sacrifice Bunt.

47. Looks at closely: EYEBALLS.

52. "John Wick" star Keanu: REEVES.  I think of Keanu Reeves (né Keanu Charles Reeves; b. Sept. 2, 1964) as the actor from the Bill and Ted movies.

59. "Garfield" dog: ODIE.

60. Baseball family name: ALOU.  The Alou brothers make frequent appearances in the puzzles.  The three brothers, Felipe Rojas Alou (b. May 12, 1935), Matty (Dec. 22, 1938 ~ Nov. 2, 2011), and Jesus (b. Mar. 24, 1942), were of the first generation of the family to play major league baseball.  Two of Felipe's sons, Moises (b. July 3, 1966) and Luis Rojas (b. Sept. 1, 1981) are also professional baseball players.

61. Dalai Lama's land: TIBET.

62. Have a craving for: WANT.

63. Appraise: RATE.

64. Clairvoyants: SEERS.

Down:

1. PBS painter Bob: ROSS.  Bob Ross (né Robert Norman Ross; Oct. 29, 1942 ~ July 4, 1995) appeared recently when I provided commentary.   He has actually made a number of guest appearances in the crosswords in the past.  He hosted a show on PBS entitled The Joy of Painting.

2. E pluribus __: UNUM.  The Latin phrase meaning "Out of Many, One", which is the traditional motto of the United States and is found on some American currency.

3. Chinese: Pref.: SINO-.

4. Fair-to-middling: SO-SO.

5. Previous: ONE TIME.

6. Chem class: LAB.

7. Fair-haired Wells race: ELOI.  Another crossword staple.  They are of the imagination of H.G. Wells' novel The Time Machine.

8. Flabbergast: STUN.

9. Chose: SELECTED.

10. Actor Danny who appears in M&M's commercials: DEVITO.  Danny DiVito (né Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr.; b. Nov. 17, 1944) is best known for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the television sit-com Taxi.  He is married to Cheers star, Rhea Pearlman.

11. Run __: drink on credit: A TAB.

12. Roll and bind, as a sail: FURL.

13. Laundry soap brand: TIDE.

18. Commandment pronoun: THOU.

19. Red-wrapped cheeses: EDAMs.  Yummers!

23. Positive aspect: UPSIDE.  Also the title of a movie.

25. "The __ is out there": "The X-Files" catchphrase: TRUTH.

26. Blackjack request: HIT ME!

27. Handy Scrabble tile: ESS.  As in the letter "S".

28. Eucharistic plate: PATEN.

29. Applies, as pressure: EXERTS.

30. Competing (for): VYING.

31. "Know what __?": I MEAN.

32. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.  Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (Mar. 19, 1848 ~ Jan. 13, 1929) is probably best known for his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, although his role was minor compared to that of his brother, Virgil.

33. Future MD's class: ANAT.  As in Anatomy.

37. 1860s North-South conflict: CIVIL WAR.

38. Letter before omega: PSI.  It's Greek to me.

40. Settle, as a debt: REPAY.

41. Climbs: ASCENTS.

43. Rental from a renter: SUBLET.

44. Tortoise racer: HARE.  A reference to one of Æsop's fables.

47. Website with step-by-step instructions: E-HOW.  I have never heard of eHow, but it makes sense.

48. "Star Wars" sentence inverter: YODA.  There is green, he is.

49. Tiger Woods' ex: ELIN.  Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren (b. Jan. 1, 1980) was born in Stockholm, Sweden.  She and Tiger were married in 2004 and divorced 6 years later.  Last October, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Filip.  Just last week, she legally changed his name to Arthur.

Elin, her boyfriend Jordan Cameron, and baby Arthur, formerly known as Filip.

50. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA.  Can you believe it's been 50 years since this song came out!

51. Chimney residue: SOOT.

53. Actress Falco: EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) played Carmela Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos.

54. Vague feeling: VIBE.

55. The "E" in DOE: Abbr.: ENER.  As in the Department of Energy.

56. Some NCOs: SGTS.  As in Sergeants, who ar Non-Commissioned Officers.

58. Deserving: DUE.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I  think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  ~  Mark Twain (né Samuel Langhorne Clemens; Nov. 30, 1835 ~ Apr. 21, 1910), American writer.