Thursday, January 3rd 2019 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: Retirement Party - all the theme entries pun on the hang-up-your-boots topic:

17A. Watchmakers never retire, they just __: WIND DOWN. One of my favorites, along with 12D.

20A. Musicians never retire, they just __: DECOMPOSE. This one is a little bit of an outlier to my mind. I'd say that a musician and a composer are two different animals. That's just me being hyper-critical though.

39A. Beekeepers never retire, they just __: BUZZ OFF.

55A. Tree surgeons never retire, they just __: BRANCH OUT.

61A. Teachers never retire, they just __: MARK TIME. Some teachers are giving up marking homework, citing research that says it doesn't help the student improve in any way. Instead, they have interactive discussion with each student on the work that was submitted.

12D. Farmers never retire, they just __: GO TO SEED.

38D. Lumberjacks never retire, they just __: PINE AWAY.

A neat theme from Pawel, and in fact I'm surprised that it hasn't been done before. Both across and down theme entries, and both the downs interlock with one of the acrosses, that's neat. The rest of the construction and the fill are solid with just one (personal) grumble for my first blog of 2019.

Let's see what else we've got that catches the eye:

Across:

1. Save for later: LAY ASIDE.

9. Place to doodle: MARGIN. I tried napkin first.

15. Smooth talker: OPERATOR. Released in 1984, Sade's album coincided with the emerging CD music boom. It seemed like everyone I knew had a copy of it to be played at every dinner party.

16. 1969 World Series competitor: ORIOLE.

18. Elite area of the pop charts: TOP TEN.

19. Passionate about: INTO.

22. Beetle-shaped artifact: SCARAB.

25. Grad school grillings: ORALS.

26. FDA overseer: HHS. The US Department for Heath & Human Services. I didn't actually know what HHS stood for until today.

27. Urban network: ROADS.

30. First name in architecture: EERO. Very influential figure in architecture and industrial design. Here's the iconic TWA Terminal at JFK which opened in 1962:

33. Prime letters?: USDA. Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner are the seven grades of beef. Most of the Prime beef goes to restaurants and hotels.

34. Acclimate gradually: EASE IN.

36. One not seen on "MTV Unplugged": AMP. Not quite true, but you get the idea. Generally there are no electric instruments. You still need amps for the vocal and acoustic mics. There were some really great sessions in the series.

41. Anonymous surname: DOE.

42. Pal: PAISAN.

44. Polish language: EDIT. Very nice misdirection here - polish as in hone, rather than slavic.

45. Actress Collette of "United States of Tara": TONI. Thank you, crosses.

46. "Chasing Pavements" singer: ADELE. I think Adele might be winning the "singers in crosswords" count at this point.

47. Some mil. hospitals: VA'S.

50. Spew out: EGEST. Not ERUPT them. That set me off down the wrong track for a while.

53. White weasel: ERMINE. Ermine fur is (or was) used on a lot of ceremonial costume.

59. State categorically: AVER.

60. Ides of March word: BEWARE. "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!"

64. Roughly three nautical miles: LEAGUE. So Jules Verne's Captain Nemo sailed 60,000 miles submerged in Nautilus. That's about three circumnavigations of the earth, quite a feat.

65. Often-fried tropical fruit: PLANTAIN. Food! I spent some time trying to think of another commonly-fried fruit and came up empty-handed (battered and deep-fried doesn't count).

66. Least candid: SLYEST.

67. It may be diagrammed: SENTENCE. Seems like a lot of work, I don't really see the point, to be honest.

Down:

1. On the paltry side, as an offer: LOWISH.

2. Between-finger-and-thumb quantity: A PINCH.

3. They mind your own business: YENTAS. Nice clue, this one made me laugh out loud.

4. Fervor: ARDOR.

5. Glum: SAD.

6. "What was __ do?": I TO.

7. Columnist Maureen: DOWD.

8. Marine eagle: ERNE.

9. Hustle: MOTOR.

10. Kitchen magnet?: AROMA.

11. Gentle waves: RIPPLES.

13. Dots in la mer: ÎLES. Your french lesson for the day. Paris sits in the middle of the Île-de-France region, an "island" within the larger landmass of the country itself.

14. Aloha State bird: NENE.

21. Prefix with play: COS. Cosplay, a portmanteau of costume+play. Some excellent examples of cosplay can be seen each year at Comic-con in San Diego.

23. Oranjestad's island: ARUBA. Stab in the dark, but I knew Aruba was part of the Dutch West Indies at some point, so it made sense.

24. Petty officer: BOSUN. Contraction of boatswain.

28. Woodworking tool: ADZ. You can "adds" an E if you like!

29. Out of it: DAZED.

31. __ Grande: RIO.

32. Only partner?: ONE. The one-and-only.

34. System used for many returns: E-FILE.

35. Word with dark or hours: AFTER.

36. Suitable: APT.

37. 1972 host to Nixon: MAO. Tricky Dickie's groundbreaking trip to China to meet the Chairman.

40. Horatian creation: ODE.

Be wise, and mix the wine, since time is short: limit that far-reaching hope.

The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:

Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.

From "Carpe Diem"

43. Billboards and posters: SIGNAGE.

46. From __ Z: A TO.

47. Vance of "I Love Lucy": VIVIAN. Ethel to Lucy.

48. Lackluster: ANEMIC.

49. Calm: SERENE.

51. Stocking shades: ECRUS.

52. It may be fitted: SHEET.

54. Finish choice: MATTE.

55. OPEC units: BBLS. How does a barrel of oil get abbreviated to BBL? Because the 42-gallon drums were originally blue, so a Blue Barrel, or a BBL.

56. Lively country dance: REEL.

57. Decides what's fair, among other things: UMPS. Baseball umpires. Fair or foul ball.

58. Tall __: TALE.

62. Got on the ballot: RAN.

63. Round Table VIP: KNT. I've grumbled about this abbreviation before, so I'll spare you my moans. I still don't like it though.

Back stateside after my sojourn in England. I got very lucky with the weather, I only needed the umbrella on two days out of 16, which must be some kind of record in December. Here's the beach at Shoreham-on-Sea looking towards Brighton on Christmas Morning:

And that does it for me. Here's the grid:

Steve

Sunday June 10, 2018 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: "Seabees"- Each theme entry is in the pattern of C* B*.

24A. Subject of an 1857 Elizabeth Gaskell biography: CHARLOTTE BRONTE.

40A. Organization that really counts: CENSUS BUREAU.

57A. Tribute group: COVER BAND.

78A. Microbrewery choice: CRAFT BEER.

96A. Bletchley Park analysts: CODE BREAKERS. Enigma machines.

109A. Ghee, e.g.: CLARIFIED BUTTER.

3D. Team that hasn't won a Super Bowl in its 50-year existence: CINCINNATI BENGALS.

13D. It's seen on carousels: CHECKED BAGGAGE.

37D. Amateur sport since 1893: COLLEGE BASKETBALL.

51D. Perp processing area: CENTRAL BOOKING.

Simple theme. But holy smokes, just look at this answer grid. Fantastic intersection, Pawel!

As I mentioned before, it takes luck and skills to make this happen. You've got to have an ample supply of C* B* phrases, and you've got the chops to design the grid. Let me pull a low-degree Husker Gary trick and put the Answer Grid in front.

Across:

1. Scrabble accessories: RACKS.

6. Long-grained rice: BASMATI. Hindi for "fragrant". Picard's favorite rice. Oo likes Jasmine rice. I like short-grained white rice.  

13. Cajun crustacean: CRAWDAD. Never had it.

20. Target reader of a series of guides, facetiously: IDIOT. Complete Idiot's Guides.

21. Odysseus, e.g.: ITHACAN.

22. Struck a chord: HIT HOME. Great fill.

23. Kids' eager query: CAN WE?

26. Seal predator: ORCA.

27. Really enjoy, with "in": BASK.

28. '80s police show partner: LACEY.  "Cagney & Lacey".

29. Better, to a rapper: ILLER.

31. Proprietors' places: INNS.

35. Generous limit?: SKY.The sky's the limit.

36. "I'm __": "Dragnet" line: A COP.

43. Meet with privately: SEE ALONE.

45. Tearjerker need: HANKIE. Been ages since I last used a handkerchief.

46. Enriched: FATTENED.

48. Nautical time units: BELLS. Hi there Spitzboov!

49. Actor Morales: ESAI. Always remember him as Tony.

50. Tourism prefix: ECO.

52. Mojito flavoring: LIME.

53. Like some portrait photos: BACK-LIT.

55. Unyielding: SET. Santa was sure stubborn at times. 

56. Having four sharps: IN E.

59. Phoenix-to-Albuquerque dir.: ENE.

60. Gill openings: SLITS.

62. Like the Valkyries: NORSE.

64. "No Limit Top __": 1999 rap album: DOGG.

65. Stress, they say: AGER.

66. Shows obvious anger: BRISTLES.

68. Teddies, e.g.: LINGERIE.

70. Seehorn of "Better Call Saul": RHEA.

72. Diamond stats: ERAS.

73. R&B singer __ Marie: TEENA.

74. __ Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster: ALBUS. Forgot. We had him before.

77. Poetic time: EEN.

80. Play date: GIG.

82. RSA ruling party: ANC. African National Congress.

83. "Yeah, so?": BIG DEAL.

85. Logician's "E": ERAT.

86. Either of baseball's Griffeys: KEN. Untarnished by any steroid scandal. Cool and clean.

87. Food stamp?: USDA. Nailed it.

88. How the euphoric walk: ON AIR.

89. "The Godfather" catchphrase: BADA BING. Remember him?

92. Lost intentionally: TANKED.

94. Rockefeller, e.g.: OIL BARON.

98. Trueheart of comics: TESS.

99. Bass ending: OON.

100. Business bigwig: EXEC.

101. Worshiping figure: ORANT. Regular in our old Star Tribune Daily days.

102. One of a deck's pair: JOKER.

104. "Star Trek" villain: KHAN.

106. Scottish resort town known for its whisky: OBAN. Looks charming.

116. Low area: SWALE.

117. Settled accounts, so to speak: GOT EVEN. Another  solid fill.

118. Big wardrobe: ARMOIRE. Great also.

119. Almost off: ON LOW.

120. Salad choice: ICEBERG. In Guangzhou, iceberg is often cooked, with oyster sauce.

121. Low-quality material, idiomatically: SOW'S EAR.

122. Castaway's place: ISLET.

Down:

1. Bad guy in the song "Copacabana": RICO. Learning moment for me.

2. Month before Nisan: ADAR.

4. Brando's "A Streetcar Named Desire" role: KOWALSKI. Stanley.

5. Chateau __ Michelle winery: STE. No idea. It's in Washington.

6. Antacid option: BICARB.

7. Olympians, e.g.: Abbr.: ATHS. Athletes.

8. One-named Colombian singer: SHAKIRA.

9. Scuff, e.g.: MAR.

10. Often-injured knee part, briefly: ACL.

11. Confucian path: TAO.

12. IOC part: Abbr.: INTL.

14. Marbled cut: RIB EYE.

15. "Give it __": A TRY.

16. One of many Seuss village residents: WHO.

17. Put on: DON.

18. Product, say: Abbr.: AMT. Got via crosses.

19. Capital of Denmark?: DEE. Denmark.

25. Nice cup?: TASSE. Just French for cup. Also 30. Him, to Henri: LUI. 54. Sylvie's seraph: ANGE. Angel in French. And 90. Year abroad: ANNEE. For Splynter.

27. Consult with the doctor: BE SEEN. Not fond of this answer or BE LATE last time. Command phrases are fine: BE CAREFUL, BE SEATED, BE BRIEF etc.

32. Figure in red: NET LOSS.

33. Indigenous: NATIVE.

34. Defiant challenge: SUE ME.

36. Fashion model Wek: ALEK. Look at her long legs.

38. Connected, in a way: ON LINE.

39. Annoy: PESTER.

40. Mating game: CHESS.

41. Flip chart holder: EASEL.

42. Roswell sighting: UFO.

44. Sequence sung like "Twinkle twinkle": A B C D.

47. Less cool: NERDIER.

56. "It __": formal self-identification: IS I.

57. Reached an apex: CRESTED.

58. Cold War capital: BONN. West Germany's capital.

61. Singing syllable: TRA.

63. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.

65. Catch a bug: AIL.

67. Evening on Etna: SERA.

68. Small fishing boat concern: LEE TIDE. Also 76. Boatloads: SCADS.

69. Taunt: RAG.

70. Recover from a crash: REBOOT. Computer crash.

71. Bum: HEINIE.

73. Place to keep leaves: TEA BOX. My friend Carmen just introduced this Dates, Longan, Goji berry tea to me. A few months ago, Carmen was in the same island (Sanya, Hainan) D-Otto visited in the 1980s. Very very few foreigners ventured into Hainan then. My friends were all in awe that D-Otto even stayed at the resort hotel Chairman Man favored.

75. Over-__: sports wager: UNDER.

78. Michael of "Arrested Development": CERA.

79. Prepare for impact: BRACE.

81. Summer hire, perhaps: INTERN.

84. Claim to call: DIBS.

86. Erstwhile CIA rival: KGB. What's their current rival?

87. Algebra staples: UNKNOWNS.

91. Casual Friday casualty?: NECKTIE.

93. Bond rating: AAA.

95. One whose business is mostly overhead?: ROOFER. Nice clue.

97. Lion or tiger: ROARER.

102. Banter: JIVE.

103. Nutritional stds.: RDAS.

105. Mother of Ares: HERA.

107. Ointment additive: ALOE. My aloe vera is still alive. Indoor plant now. I can't risk the unexpected rain again.

108. Mature eft: NEWT.

109. Pixar Studios' specialty, for short: CGI. Computer-Generated Imagery.

110. __ cit.: footnote abbr.: LOC.

111. Bore, as a cost: ATE.

112. Yank's opponent: REB.

113. "Dude!": BRO.

114. Underground org.?: UMW. United Mine Workers.

115. How-__: instruction books: TOS. TTP is a natural, a walking encyclopedia. 

116. "__ lied": SO I.

C.C.

Saturday, February 3, 2018, Pawel Fludzinski

DR. FLUDZINSKI IS ON CALL TODAY

After having Alex Bajcz Ph.D. as our constructor two weeks ago, our Saturday environs today are blessed with Pawel Fludzinski Ph.D (Pah' vel   Flu gin' ski). After some pleasant email exchanges I found  his doctorate and post doctorate work was in organic chemistry and he has just retired to Santa Fe, NM after 31 years of working for Eli Lilly in Pharmaceutical R and D. Eight of those years included stints in England and Japan. 
He had a friend who knew Will Shortz, introduced Pawel to Will and after that Dr. Fludzinski took up the challenge of constructing crosswords with his first one being a 9/18/11 Sunday LA Times puzzle. Pretty impressive.

Pawel's license plate tells you both where he lives and about what one of his passions is.

I earned a "got 'er done" in Pawel's challenging weekend offering but those of you familiar with The Family Circus, might recognize that the path I took resembled this circuitous route as the boys in the cartoon frequently take in getting from point A to point B. BTW, this also resembles my path in the grocery store.

Pawel's puzzle was anything but a, uh, bitter pill to swallow and I am going to start with his long fills which were so helpful once a few of their cells were filled.

19. Jesse Owens, e.g. : OLYMPIC ATHLETE - HOAX ALERT! Hitler never did congratulate Jesse for his 1936 Olympic wins, as Jesse expected, but this 2013 photoshopped image made the internet rounds. Jesse did feel snubbed in that FDR never contacted him in any way to acknowledge his tremendous accomplishments. 

50. Canine epithet : MAN'S BEST FRIEND - 'Nuff said! 😀

5. Real estate investment strategy : FLIPPING HOUSES - Tarek and Christina starred in Flip or Flop on HGTV. His job was negotiations and labor and hers was some decorating but mainly simply looking photogenic. They're divorced but are still on the show together.

16. Voting bloc term used by Nixon and Trump : SILENT MAJORITY - Howard Beale's fabulous call to arms for this group in 1976's Network

Now let's see what Dr. Fludzinski has prescribed for us in the balance of his puzzle:

Across

1. Bundles together, as wheat : SHEAFS - One SHEAFS wheat into SHEAVES

7. EPA concern : AQI - Air Quality Index Current air quality across the USA

10. Cab alternative : UBER - I've sung their praises here 

14. Field meeting : HUDDLE - "Okay guys, 3 OUT, SLOT HAT - 73 GHOST TOSSER ON SET. BREAK!"

15. Choral extreme : BASS NOTE - The E♭Paul Robeson hits in Old Man River on the word "jail" is listed as a "Notable low note"

17. Predestine : ORDAIN - ...do ORDAIN and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

18. Countermeasure : ANTIDOTE - Milking venomous snakes is the first step to producing an ANTIDOTE

21. Advance : SPOT - Look kid, I'll SPOT you 10 points

22. Part of NAFTA: Abbr. : AMER - North AMERican Free Trade Agreement

23. Rats along the Rhine? : ACH - ACH du lieber! Ich habe gerade eine Ratte gesehen! (Oh my God, I just saw a rat!)

26. Rage : IRE

27. Where snowbirds flock in winter? : SUNBELT

31. Feller's tool? : CHAINSAW - Here's a pretty good feller!

34. Cheap smoke : STOGIE

35. Stick : CLING

36. Hamm from Alabama : MIA - An all time great soccer player born in Selma, AL

38. Windows predecessor : MS-DOS - Tedious forerunner of icons (GUI - Graphic User Interface)

39. Five-book collections : TORAHS - The first 5 books of the Jewish Bible are such a collection

41. Serious betrayals : TREASONS - Here is a famous group committing TREASON

 43. Henry VIII's third : SEYMOUR - Jane SEYMOUR came between Anne Boleyn and Ann of Cleves but died with her head intact.

45. Kunal Nayyar's role in "The Big Bang Theory" : RAJesh Koothrapali - You either know this or don't care 

46. Ultra-secret org. : NSA - National Security Agency

47. River to the Seine : AUBE - In the same vein as Where's Waldo, can you find the AUBE?

48. Winged figure of myth : EROS

56. Monthly subtitled "The Magazine of Maine" : DOWN EAST - Ya gotta love this cover and the topics

57. Portugal's capital, locally : LISBOA - Easier to find than the AUBE

a

58. Having an accent : STRESSED - "CON flict" is mostly a noun while "con FLICT" is mostly a verb

59. Speedily : AT A RUN

60. Astronomical dist. : LT YR  - LighT YeaR

61. Slight opening? : ESS - Slight

62. End zone quartet : PYLONS - If the ball is inside or touches one of the PYLONS at the corners of the end zone, it's six points!

Down

1. Wave off : SHOO

2. Fling : HURL

3. Result of pulling the plug? : EDDY - Circling the drain

4. __ apple : ADAM'S  

6. Year-ending ceremony participants : SENIORS 

7. Quatrain rhyme scheme : ABAA - Dylan Thomas's final stanza

8. Airline with a kangaroo on its logo : QANTAS - QANTAS on the left and on the right...? *Answer at the bottom of the write-up.

9. Common canal site : ISTHMUS 

10. Position near the top of some organizational structures : UNDER BOSS - Sotto Capo

11. Spare tyre site : BOOT - A spare TYRE (tire) in a Land Rover BOOT (trunk). Oh so British!

12. Kitchen finish? : ETTE

13. "Pioneer Woman" cookbook writer Drummond : REE - Ree's show is a favorite of my wife's

20. Backups' backups : C-TEAM

23. Bank nos. : ACCTS

24. Techie on "24" : CHLOE - Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Jack (Kiefer Sutherland seem to be having a hard day on "24"

25. Hirsute : HAIRY

28. __ Heath: Thomas Hardy setting : EGDON - It is said that EGDON Heath was as much a part of The Return Of The Native as the characters

29. They have their pride : LIONS

30. Championship ice dancer __ Virtue : TESSA - Along with her partner Scott Moir 

32. So to speak : IN A MANNER 

33. Verbal deftness : WIT - A highly prized trait here

37. Rue stop? : ARRET - Here's an ARRET sign where Rue De Buade crosses Rue Jardins

40. Naval fortification : SUB BASE - The Nazi U-boat SUB BASE built in what was then occupied France

42. Winter cap feature : EAR FLAP - Found on a certain hunter of a "cwazy wabbit" 

44. Piece maker : REESES - M & M's turned down being in ET and REESES pieces cashed in 

49. Twine fiber : SISAL - 50# hay bales tied with SISAL twine - $6 apiece

50. Suffragist who co-founded Swarthmore : MOTT - A powerful trio

51. Off the mark : AWRY - Where best laid plans of men and mice can go

52. EPA issuances : STDS - STanDardS

53. Iberian river : EBRO - For 32€, you can be outfitted to do this on a five mile stretch of the EBRO River in northern Spain

54. Truth or consequences, e.g. : NOUN - Pretty tricky, Pawel!

55. Aykroyd and Patrick : DANS

56. Broadband choice, briefly : DSL - Digital Subscriber Line. Usually the slowest connection

If the puzzle made you uneasy, I'll bet Pawel can hook you up with an ANTIDOTE! 😀 Now tell us your symptoms by commenting:

DA GRID

*The logo on the right is from Alaska Airlines