Saturday, January 27, 2018, Andy Kravis

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?

Andy's very challenging but fair Saturday puzzle left me playing a mental edition of this game:

The puzzle came down to an obvious vowel for the crossing of these two words:

10. Official cocktail of New Orleans : SAZERAC - Made with SAZERAC Rye Whiskey and assorted goodies

27. Court dance : PAVANE - A slow, processional dance of 16th century Europe. I wonder if Cole Porter could have written When They Begin The PAVANE if he were alive in 1588.

Suffice it to say "I" made a bad pick but had a good time. Two stacks of nine-letter words and twin ten and eleven letter stacks looked very impressive to this humble blogger!  Well let's see what other treats Andy has for us:


Across

1. Longtime employer of 26-Down : ABC SPORTS and 26. "Miracle on Ice" commentator : AL MICHAELS - Al called out, "Do you believe in miracles?" when the USA beat the  46. "Miracle on Ice" loser : USSR

10. Double shot? : STUNT - Fabulous clue! Here's Johnny Depp with his STUNT Double

15. "Geek sighting!" : NERD ALERT - Name calling abates when you really need one!

16. "Mad TV" alum Lange : ARTIE - You might know troubled ARTIE better as this guy's sidekick if you go for that type of entertainment

17. Runway-ready : DRESSED UP - Models properly adorned taking off down the runway


18. Boarding pass data : ZONES - Seating areas like this flight from Jeddah to Cairo

19. Pay stub abbr. : YTD - Year To Date

20. Kid gloves, so to speak : CARE - Parents have to know when to treat their child with kid gloves.

21. Turn down : REJECT

22. City on Lake Michigan : GARY - Or your humble Saturday blogger

23. African capital formerly called Salisbury : HARARE - Salisbury, Rhodesia became HARARE, Zimbabwe as the British Empire continued to shrink

24. "Cool, dude!" : GNARLY - Beach lingo

28. Hard-to-count quantity : PILES - PILES are much harder to count than stacks

29. Emit a powerful magnetic force? : OOZE CHARM - Delightfully phrased by Alan Jay Lerner and wonderfully sung by Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady describing a pompous Turkish man who dances with Liza

32. It's all downhill from here : ACME

33. Hoofed it : HIKED

34. Comics pooch : ODIE - Here with his best friend

35. They're matched by foundations : SKIN TONES - Foundation/SKIN TONE match chart

37. Take forcibly : WREST

38. Like milk of magnesia : CHALKY - Mg(OH)₂

39. "You Gotta Be" soul singer : DES'REE

40. Old-time feature film preceders : SHORTS - "One-reelers"

41. Corduroy feature : WALE - The "ridges" in the material that can make that swoosh sound when walking

42. Rose __: reddish mineral : QUARTZ

43. Big name in hair trimmers : WAHL - I bought one because Paul Harvey was pitching them. Meh... 

44. Big Ten sch. that competes for the Paul Bunyan Trophy : MSU - Naturally enough, the other team is Michigan

47. Singer __ Marie : TEENA - Claimed to be a black artist with white skin

48. Exposes to public scorn : PILLORIES

50. Goldbrick : IDLER - Is Beetle Bailey the most famous one?

51. Ruins things? : ARTIFACTS - Pompeii is nothing but these

52. Pains : PESTS

53. 1790s political powder keg : XYZ AFFAIR - Our young country refused to pay a bribe

Down

1. "Honey, I'm Good" singer Grammer : ANDY - Not on my playlist but I think I've posted enough pictures of singers I don't know

2. "Sesame Street" roommate : BERT - He of the paper clip collection

3. Street __ : CRED - Short for credibility which can be gained by some overt act

4. '60s protest org. : SDS

5. Units of pressure : PASCALS 

6. Owner of a legendary lantern kicker : O'LEARY - Most say her cow did not start the Chicago fire but it makes for a good story

7. Put through the wringer again? : REDRY

8. "Can't argue with that" : TRUE

9. Brand sold at Pep Boys : STP

11. Agent that undermines from within : TROJAN HORSE - Modern day application 

12. "Cure Ignorance" magazine : UTNE READER - I only know this from crosswords. My ignorance is probably incurable anyway. 

13. Victoria, to William IV : NIECE - Yup! William IV had a brother named Edward and Edward's daughter was Victoria 

14. One of many taken in school : TEST

21. Rhapsodized : RAVED

22. Britt Reid's alter ego : GREEN HORNET - See alter egos below

    Chen Zhen       Britt Reid      Bruce Wayne      Dick Grayson

23. Shore weather phenomena : HAZES 

24. Med school admissions data : GPA'S

25. __ of time : NICK - When the superheroes above appear 

27. Cooler : POKEY - Colorful name for a jail

29. Hog calls : OINKS - For calling hogs at this school  it's SOOIE!

30. Obey a court order : RISE - When Officer Byrd says RISE for Judge Judy, you'd better or he will 31. Parcel (out) : METE out a big time glare

33. 1980s-'90s Notre Dame football coach Lou : HOLTZ - A great coach and speaker but a horrible TV football analyst

36. Medieval Turko-Mongol settlers : TARTARS

37. Comfortable : WELL OFF

39. National flower of Mexico : DAHLIA

40. Jacket material : SUEDE - Jerry Seinfeld muses about why water can hurt Suede when it comes from cows who stand out in the rain.

41. Strauss piece : WALTZ - Professor Higgins and Liza doing just that

42. Common applicator : Q-TIP

43. Like an Irish Terrier's outer coat : WIRY

44. Flaky mineral : MICA

45. Long-distance calling org.? : SETI - The best movie about Search for Extra  Terrestrial Intellligence scientists 

48. __ Romana : PAX - Sometimes it was PAX Romana or else!

49. Battle of Britain gp. : RAF - Royal Air Force

Your take?

DA GRID

Saturday, January 20, 2018 Alex Bajcz

THE DOCTOR IS IN

A nice Saturday (corrected) workout supplied by Alex Bajcz (rhymes with badges). He did his B.S. and M.S. in Michigan and then, true to his crossword lineage, got his Ph.D. in, wait for it, ORONO, ME in Ecology and Environmental Science. It can't be more perfect than that. Here we see that Alec has scaled the 852' peak of Norumbega Mountain in Acadia National Park (more crosswordese) in Maine. I wonder if he had OREOS while at the summit. 😏


Husker Gary here at his Saturday post! l had to test many areas before I got one of these for a good start in this challenging exercise.

Here two things in my life that served as long fills and proved to be helpful:

18. Company that pioneered metal drivers in golf : TAYLOR MADE - They dominate my golf bag

23. Thing to get one's claws into : SCRATCHING POST - One of Lily's topped with her favorite perch

Let's now explore the rest of the delightful word environment Alex has proposed for us:

Across

1. Color in the brown family : ECRU 

5. Dusty trail figure : PARD(ner) - I imagine he might be dusty after a month on a cattle drive

9. Board that decides without voting : OUIJA - Didn't you always accuse someone else of pushing the planchette (yes, that is what it is called)?

14. Flow hindrance : CLOT - The cause of death for Jimmy Stewart

15. Not expected : UNHERALDED - If you follow college football, you know UNHERALDED University of Central Florida had an undefeated season and the Huskers then hired their coach for $5M/year

17. Duck-like bird : COOT -  or Today's blogger : Old ____

19. Perrier units : LITERS - I prefer my water not sparkle

21. Only one fed. holiday falls on it annually : THU - Oh yeah, it's when Macy's has a parade, the Lions play football and Black Friday is the next day! 😏


22. A hockey player may check with one : HIP

27. Often-glazed delicacy : ROAST HAM

28. Tail of a cartoon dog? : DOO - Ruh, roh if you didn't know Scooby DOO!

29. Actress __-Margret : ANN - This Swedish beauty  does not like being called Ann or Annie Olsson

30. Hosp. areas : ERS - You find DRS in ERS and ORS

31. Lake Itasca, vis-à-vis the Mississippi : SOURCE 

35. Out indefinitely : IN A COMA

38. Certain landing aid : PONTOON - Very handy if you're landing a plane on Lake Itasca

39. Sara Roosevelt's maiden name : DELANO - Sara and her little boy Franklin in 1893

40. Gordon Shumway's title alias, in a sitcom : ALF - I have never ALFED

41. "I didn't need to know that" : Too Much Information - Do you want to hear about my operation? 52. Strong denial : I DO NOT

42. Book after Exod. : LEV - Google the 76 things LEVITICUS prohibits. Some people have cherry-picked from the list to justify their beliefs

43. Settled things : MEDIATED

46. They go on until dawn : SLUMBER PARTIES - One of the rigors of having daughters

50. More at the end? : IER

51. Many a boat, to its skipper : SHE - In Latin ship means Navis which is  a feminine word

54. Fulfill, as a promise : MAKE GOOD ON - He did MAKE GOOD ON his famous promise!

58. Advanced : LENT 

59. Pac-12 student : OREGON DUCK - My cousin's brother is the head BB coach at OREGON where the DUCKS play on this very distinctive court

60. Colon, in analogies : IS TO - Did you ever take the Miller's?

61. Parachute fabric : NYLON

62. Bldg. units : APTS - With our new $300M chicken plant being built, our city is proposing to build over 200 APTS across the street from us.

63. Pipe organ component : STOP - Wow! That's a lot of 'em!

Down

1. O.T. book : ECCL - Pete Seeger turned this lovely passage into a hit song called Turn, Turn, Turn

2. Fancy enamelwork : CLOISONNÉ - (Kloy zuh nay) - Enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin metal bands, fixed edgewise to the ground. I had no idea but it's beautiful!

TIME OUT - Think of something you absolutely hate doing! Now insert that in the blank below.

3. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - ____ is about as fun as a ROOT CANAL

4. Says : UTTERS

5. Tries to pick up : PUTS THE MOVES ON and 33. Flirts with : COMES ONTO. A little mini-theme, Alex? 😏

6. Political commentator Navarro : ANA - Okay, if you say so.

7. Drummer's creations : RHYTHMS - Our crossword friend here provided RHYTHMS for a fairly popular group of British lads.

8. 2010 Commonwealth Games host city : DELHI - After gaining independence in 1950, India remained in a loose association called the Commonwealth

9. One making a splash? : OAR

10. Rail stop between Stuttgart and Munich : ULM

11. State in both the Pacific and Mountain time zones : IDAHO - Same for Oregon in that area

12. "A __ Fury": "Star Wars" DVD segment : JEDIS

13. More than competent : ADEPT

16. They may involve cheap shots : ROUNDS OF DRINKS - It was so hot on the day I got my hole-in-one that the ROUNDS OF DRINKS only cost me $50 ($20 tip for attendant) because most everyone else had gone home

20. Urban omnivore : RAT

24. Word of amore : CARA - Jay Black of Jay And The Americans still getting it done at 72 with fabulous CARA MIA!

25. Mob hiree : GOON - Luca Brasi, Don Corleone's GOON, wound up "sleeping with the fishes"

26. Show displeasure : POUT - Better not... 

27. Carefully timed operation : RAID

32. Worst of the worst : ROTTENEST

34. Lover of Geraint : ENID - Welsh folklore reworked by Tennyson 

36. Bad state for sailing : CALM - Blush, I first put IOWA!

37. Seat for a priority boarder : ONE-B - It takes good eyes to see that on this 767 that is an aisle seat in first class 

38. Part of a bargain, maybe : PLEA - 97% of Federal cases wind up with the accused entering a PLEA of guilty for a reduced sentence

40. Hyper : AMPED UP

44. "__ be a shame if ... " : IT'D

45. Mediterranean sauces : AIOLIS 

46. Do only what he says : SIMON - 
"SIMON says put up your hand!"
"Now put it back down!" 
"Aha, you're out!" 😛

47. "Rescue Me" star Denis : LEARY and 48. "Did I do that?" TV nerd : URKEL and 49. Sitcom with a 1974 wedding episode : RHODA. Three TV series that did not make it into our living room

53. Sporty car roof : T-TOP - Moviedom's most famous?

55. A big one might be fragile : EGO - See Bandit above

56. Geometric suffix : GON - C.C.'s  favorite pentaGON

57. Eighth mo. in the old Roman calendar : OCT 

Now you guys can tell the Doctor where it hurts:

DA GRID