Monday, April 5, 2021 Sheryl Bartol

 

Theme:  SHAKY GROUND (64A. With "on," not strong, as an argument ... and what might cause the ends of answers to starred clues?)- The last parts of the theme entries are all synonyms of "trip":

17. *Bank form: DEPOSIT SLIP.

37. *Surprise inheritance: WINDFALL.

43. *Venue for a license plate game: ROAD TRIP.

Boomer here. 

I am not sure if any of you avid puzzlers were able to sit through 4 1/2 hours of opening day of the Twins game with the Brewers however the answers of 17, 37, and 43 remind me of the Twins 9th inning defense. Oh well, Happy 162 game season to all!

Across:

1. Guys: MALES.

6. Overplay on stage: HAM UP.  We got some Delicious HAM from Aldi for Easter.  C.C. and I hope your Easter went well.   

11. Sting operation: CON.  Great movie with Robert Redford and Paul Newman "The Sting".

14. Rent-a-car company: ALAMO.  "Hi up Santa Anna, We're killing your soldiers below, so the rest of Texas will know, and remember the ALAMO". The Kingston Trio.

15. State one's views: OPINE.

16. Penn or Brown, e.g.: IVY.  IVY League has great universities however place the word "Poison" in front of Ivy and you have a very nasty weed.  Don't ask how I learned about this.

19. Oz's __ Woodman: TIN.  If he only had a heart.

20. "Smell Ready" deodorant brand: AXE.  

21. Prepare to exit one's car: UNBELT.  I've been having trouble fastening the belt in our Santa Fe but no problem taking it off.

22. Actress/inventor Lamarr: HEDY.

23. Like Hammett's falcon: MALTESE.  1931 book, 1941 Movie.  A little before my time.

25. Jamaican music: SKA.

27. In the thick of: AMIDST.

30. "Let me run that errand": I'LL GO.  It's my Monday off  with the bowling team.  Did someone say "golf" ?  I'll go!  Weather man predicts 75 today!

34. Spoke like Daffy: LISPED.

39. At some prior time: ONCE.  ONCE upon a time, I was pretty good at something.  It's been so long I cannot remember.

40. Like A-listers: ELITE.

42. __ Piper: rat-removal fellow: PIED.  I think Hamline got a college named after that Piper.

45. Political candidate lists: SLATES.  Not the season.  I'm tired of politics for awhile.

47. Key above Shift: ENTER.  Caps Lock did not fit.

48. Some green sauces: PESTOS.

50. Org. in Clancy novels: CIA.  The only one I remember was "The Hunt for Red October".  I never was much of a reader. 

52. Support pieces above doors: LINTELS.

56. "Star __ III: The Search for Spock": TREK.

59. China's __ Kai-shek: CHIANG.  C.C. would probably know more about this guy.  He was actually the leader of Nationalist China which we now know as Taiwan.

62. __ v. Wade: ROE.

63. "Justice League" actress Gadot: GAL.

66. ER fluid hookups: IVS.  Interesting - I needed an IV for contrast before my bone scan but for radiation they just zapped me.

67. Soprano Fleming: RENEE.

68. Allow to fluctuate, as a currency: UNPEG.

69. Service charge: FEE.  I hate them.  My banks do not charge fees nor do we see them on most transactions.  Sometimes we have to pay on international transactions.

70. Heroic Schindler: OSKAR.

71. __ Dame: NOTRE.  "Cheer, Cheer for old Notre Dame."  Notre Dame is French for "Our Lady". And from that we get "Fighting Irish"  I guess.

Down:

1. "__ Secretary": 2010s CBS drama: MADAM.  I believe it was spelled backwards in this puzzle.

2. Echo Dot assistant: ALEXA.  I believe she is a roommate of Siri.

3. Flap for a mic: LAPEL.  I hesitate to say how many LAPEL pins I have from bowling accomplishments.

4. Moody music genre: EMO.  I think It's cousin EMU is in Liberty Mutual Commercials but he's not as ridiculous as the guy selling Wet Teddy Bears. 

5. Insincere "My bad": SO SUE ME.  I'm thinking the ghost of President Roosevelt should sue Liberty Mutual!

6. Breeding environment: HOT BED.

7. Church niche: APSE.  My church has a pretty high APSE.  I cannot imagine why.  The heating bill must be higher than Texas in a snow storm.

8. Paper factory: MILL.  I think there is an old stream running by the factory.

9. Troop groups: UNITS.

10. Get-up-and-go: PEP.  There was once a breakfast cereal by this name.  I never tried it, and I don't see it in grocery stores any more. 

11. Name, as sources: CITE.

12. "Metamorphoses" poet: OVID.

13. Part of a Wall St. address: NY NY.  "Start Spreading the News"  Frank Sinatra.  From "The Sands" in old Las Vegas.  I believe it was on the grounds where the Fashion Show Mall sits now.

18. One with confidential info: INSIDER.

22. Thirty after the hour: HALF PAST.

24. Dated stereo component: TAPE DECK.  It's been a long time since I have seen or used one.

26. Josh: KID.

28. Credit card motion: SWIPE.  Most of the places we go now have an option to push your card in and remove rather than SWIPE,

29. __ for tat: TIT.

31. Milk, in Marseille: LAIT.

32. TV show about a high school choir: GLEE.  I was performing for three years in the Benilde High School Glee Club.  It took a lot of extra time for practices and concerts, but it was the most rewarding fun I had in High School.  And I say this 56 years later. 

33. Cutlass automaker: OLDS.  I never owned a Cutlass but I once had a 1955 sedan and a big 1957 -98 Sedan and I had a 1961 Two door Hardtop.  I hope the city appreciated my support by paying all the speeding tickets. 

34. Myths, legends, etc.: LORE.

35. Informed of: IN ON.

36. Ella's improv style: SCAT.

38. Like stored Russian dolls: NESTING.

41. Blistex target: LIP.  We use ChapStick

44. Bi- plus one: TRI.  Strike out in the tenth frame, or the tenth inning if you are a TWIN.

46. Extended period of time: LONG RUN.

49. Vampire vanquisher: SLAYER.

51. Partner of pains: ACHES.

53. Spew lava and ash: ERUPT.  I still remember Mount St. Helens.

54. Introvert: LONER.

55. Everglades plant: SEDGE.

56. "The workweek's almost over!": TGIF.  I can read, but it's only Monday.  Get to work (Or to the lanes, or to the course)

57. Glowing review: RAVE.

58. Above all __: more than anything: ELSE.

60. Slugger Aaron: HANK.  We only lost Mr. AARON this past January.  Although he was a Milwaukee Brave, The Brewers have memorialized him at American Family Insurance Stadium.  Miller Park has also left us.

61. Swedish furniture chain: IKEA.  I'm leaving this alone this time.

64. Sign of a sellout: SRO.  No Standing Room tickets this year.  Everyone gets a seat due to Covid.

65. Musician Yoko: ONO.  "Oh No" here's another puzzle with Yoko in it.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 80th birthday to dear Irish Miss, the sunshine of our corner. Thanks for all the love and care you've showed to us all these years, esp to me and Boomer. Thanks for making us feel so special.

 

L-R: Anne, Agnes, Eileen, Mary, and Peggy.

St Patrick's Day, 2019

Saturday, October, 17, 2020, Sheryl Bartol

 Saturday Themeless by Sheryl Bartol

Today's constructor is Sheryl Bartol from Evanston, IL whose first LA Times puzzle I blogged this year on May 23. Sheryl learned to construct crosswords from her sister Debbie Ellerin whose byline we see here also. This is a very attractive picture of the two sisters.

This was Sheryl's lovely response when I asked her about this puzzle: 

Hi Gary,

Nice to hear from you again.  This puzzle went through a lot of iterations and rework.  In the end, it was quite different from where I started, as I discovered new word combinations along the way.  Here are a few comments on some of the entries:

One of my favorite words is EMOTICON which I often use in my emails ;) 

We play a lot of board games in my house, especially during a pandemic, which inspired my CARTEL clue.  

I am also a big Indian food fan, hence the way I clued LENTIL.

Lastly, I love the change that our dear editors made to my clue for POET, which was not nearly as clever.

I hope everyone enjoys solving it!

Thanks,

Sheryl

Across:

1. They clean up: JANITORS - They are a great asset to any school or business especially these days.

9. Menu category including shells: PASTA - Conchiglia is Italian for conch shell

14. Park, for one: OPEN AREA.

15. Monopoly player?: CARTEL - Real money and products 

16. Sign in many restaurant windows: UBER EATS which can lead to this delivery service

17. Emblem on a dollar bill: US SEAL.

18. For or against: SIDE - If you choose a SIDE, you might have to 57. Retreat from, as a previous statement: WALK BACK - Wait, that's not what I meant

19. Parisian street food: CREPES - Parfait in French means perfect. Oh, but you already knew that. Uh, the truck doesn't seem to be parfait!

21. CPR group: EMS The difference between EMS and EMT

22. "__ Story": TOY.

23. Reasons for sighs: CLOSE CALLS - Put down that cell phone!

25. Female rabbit: DOE.

26. Like "Home Alone": RATED PG 

28. City NNW of Park City: OGDEN.

31. Many glasses are sold as one: PAIR - I got my first PAIR at 15. You? 

33. Queen dowager of Jordan: NOOR - A Jordanian Queen born in Washington D.C.

34. Browning but not cooking: POET - A clue change Sheryl admired for POET Elizabeth Barrett Browning 

35. Have the ability to: COULD.

36. Ripped: TORE.

37. Barbecue tool feature: TINE.

38. Fireside sight: LOGS.

39. Like some tricks: DIRTY.

40. Showed scorn: SNORTED - Yeah, I'm the only one who first put SNEERED

42. "Erie Canal" mule: SAL - I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal. She’s a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

43. App update messages, say: PUSH ALERTS - It's up to you whether to get 'em  or not

46. Award show VIPs: MCS - The Golden Globes had Ricky Gervais MC their award show and he promptly made fun of everyone in Hollywood. What did they do? They had him back!

49. Egg dropper: HEN - I conducted thousands of these over the years sans any HENS

50. Plane, for one: EVENER - After a trip through the PLANER

51. "What can I help you with?" speaker: SIRI - "Who was James Buchanan's vice president?"

52. Clear out: VACATE.

54. It often includes a colon: EMOTICON - :-) Sheryl says she really enjoys these.  I have found Bitmojis which are pretty cool!

56. Amtrak speedsters: ACELAS - NYC to DC takes 2h and 35m on this train

58. Gives up: CEDES - There are several below

59. Clomps (through), as a puddle: SPLOSHES - Yeah, I'm the only one who put SPLASHES. Even GALOSHES made more sense instead of this word that is foreign to me (and my spellchecker) 

Down:

1. Renaissance faire contest: JOUST.

2. Challenging H.S. science class: AP BIO - A page on Speciation from an Advanced Placement Biology  book

3. Clingy, say: NEEDY.

4. Memo intro: IN RE.

5. Menlo Park, N.J., notable: TAE - Edison and his staff are said to have comprised the first R & D facility 

6. Pythia of the Temple of Apollo, for one: ORACLE - This ORACLE was always a woman and was said to have made her prophecies after inhaling fumes (hallucinogenic?) that rose from cracks in the Earth in the temple at Delphi.

7. Vintage: RETRO - Acme dinettes are still in production 70 years later

8. MS enclosures: SASES - Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes ("en vuh lopes" or "awn vuh lopes?")

9. Volkswagen sedan: PASSAT - In German, PASSAT means "trade wind"

10. MGM motto word: ARS.

11. Safe room barrier: STEEL DOOR - This safe room from the Atlas Company might interest you if you live in Oklahoma's "Tornado Alley"

-

12. Baseball or soccer: TEAM SPORT.

13. Start of a Shakespeare title: ALL'S -ALL'S Well That Ends Well - "Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to no one." Act I scene i.

15. Its lines have lines: CUE CARD.

20. Hazards: PERILS - Even I'm not old enough to remember this 1914 movie serial

23. Sting: CON - I'd pay to see it again 

24. Ingredient in the Indian dish dal: LENTIL - Indian LENTIL (a Sheryl fav) curry with spinach 

25. Discourages: DETERS.

27. Like a cloudy London day: GREY - How that "colour" is spelled where you might be able to see only a few "metres"

28. Goes (for): OPTS.

29. Gentle parting sentiment: GO IN PEACE.

30. Criticized publicly: DENOUNCED - Election day can't get here fast enough 

31. Charley, in Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley": POODLE.

32. National Mustard Day mo.: AUG.

35. Adheres ... or separates: CLEAVES - A poetic expression using the less common (first) definition

39. "__ Kapital": DAS - Is it ironic that a first edition of Marx's anti-capitaliism book now sells for $300,000?

41. Angle symbols: THETAS.

42. Boardwalk activity: STROLL.

44. Online show offering Hollywood info: E-NEWS.

45. Update after a new survey, maybe: REMAP - After Lewis and Clark's survey

46. Biblical prophet: MICAH

47. "Time in a Bottle" singer: CROCE - This song and its scenes tug at my heart

48. Some islands have them: SINKS.

49. Temperature control syst.: HVAC - Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning 

51. They're often rivals: SIBS - I'm sure there was none of that with Sheryl and Debbie!!    

53. Ginger __: ALE.

55. Ring decision, briefly: TKO.

Comment below:

Notes from C.C.:

 

Happy birthday to Wilbur Charles (Bill)!

 

Saturday, May 23, 2020, Sheryl Bartol

Saturday Themeless by Sheryl Bartol

Debbie Ellerin                  Sheryl Bartol

Today's constructor is Sheryl Bartol and in my search to contact her, I ran across the fact that she had co-authored a puzzle with Debbie Ellerin who is a frequent LA Times Saturday constructor. So I contacted Debbie and got the wonderful reply that SHERYL IS DEBBIE'S SISTER! Here is Sheryl's response to my note:

Hi Gary,

   Thanks for reaching out.  By way of background on me, I live in Evanston, IL and learned to construct puzzles from my sister (and sometimes co-constructor) Debbie Ellerin.  In retirement, in addition to constructing an occasional puzzle, I spend my time working with a homeless agency in my community “to end homelessness, one person at a time”. I also love traveling with my husband and three kids (and look forward to getting back to it post-pandemic), and competing in my family’s fantasy football league. 

I am excited about my debut LA Times puzzle and my first themeless puzzle.  I started the puzzle with the entry PROMPOSAL after being intrigued by the elaborate prom invitations devised by my children’s high school classmates. Other early longer entries were FORCEQUIT and MANOAMANO, which I thought were unique phrases. As I completed the fill, I was drawn to some words with personal connections. I am not sure if these clues survived the editing process, but I associate UPPER with the area of Michigan, that was home to my husband’s family. CREPE and EDAM were related to some of my travels, and I clued DESPERADO and HER with references to favorite Eagles and Beatles songs. The clue for APU came from my son Andrew who is a big Simpsons fan! All those hours of Simpsons watching finally paid off :)

Take care,

Sheryl

Now let's explore what the other of these two lovely sisters has to offer today with her LA Times and themeless debut:

Across:

1. Program shutdown of last resort: FORCE QUIT - If I push Command + Option + Esc, I get this window that allows me to FORCE any open program to QUIT if I choose it and hit Return

10. Like hair needing more rinsing: SUDSY - Not SOAPY it turns out

15. Shares secrets with: OPENS UP TO - Kids who do this to teachers can put the teacher in a difficult position 

16. Champs-Élysées lunch choice: CREPE - Shown below is the Crêpe salée chèvre miel et crêpes sucrées Nutella et spécialité banane (Savory Crêpe with goat cheese and honey and a sweet specialty Nutella and banana Crêpe) from the Creperie Framboise Champs-Elysees (White circle on map just off the Champs-Elsysse)

The CREPE dish mentioned above          The restaurant very near the Champs-Élysées

17. Spring roll wrapping: RICE PAPER - The steps showing the ingredients placed on RICE PAPER and rolled up with the finished product at the top

18. "The Tetons and the Snake River" photographer Adams: ANSEL - The master of b/w photography

19. Hardware item: T-NUT - 65 of them at Menards

20. "The Office" actress Ellie: KEMPER - Her IMDB

22. Zip in your step: PEP.

23. "__ Majesty": "Abbey Road" track: HER - A 23-second "throwaway" song that was "hidden" 14 seconds after the last track on Abbey Road. 

24. Hung in there: PERSEVERED.

26. Cool: RAD - The verb synonym  FAN didn't cut it

27. Rewards: DESERTS - Get what you deserve as "just DESERTS"

29. Pan flying: PETER - I was watching this at Grandma Opal's house the night my youngest sister was born

32. Aquatic diver: LOON.

34. Hawaiian staple: TARO.

35. Iowa college town: AMES - A 3-hr drive from my home to AMES for a Husker FB game (Huskers are 86 - 17 -2 against the Cyclones)

36. Hills complement: DALES - For me the Army Song will always start, "Over hill, Over DALE" but I'm not sure any more.

37. Cylindrical cheese: EDAM.

38. Word on a door: PUSH - Don't you all know the classic Far Side cartoon about this?

39. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" singer: IVES - Can you OD on a song? 

40. Wed on the sly: ELOPE.

41. Home of the Curve, the Pirates' Double-A team: ALTOONA 

43. Milk purch.: GAL.

44. "Bye!": SEE YA LATER - Yeah, we all know the next word in the Bill Haley and The Comets' song

47. Clean Water Act org.: EPA.

50. Support: AID.

51. Ill-__: like a poor clay model: SHAPEN.

52. Cultivated: GREW.

53. Ruler's domain?: ROOST - I know who rules the ROOST here!

55. In direct competition: MANO A MANO - Below #94 is going MANO A MANO with #79 which will 3. Come again: RECUR  all game long

57. Get used (to): INURE - How do you INURE yourself to this violence?

58. Senior's elaborate ask: PROMPOSAL - Last week it was 21. Down in Erik and Leslie's puzzle

 School dance invite portmanteau: PROMPOSAL - It appears Brooke said Yes

59. Notable Titanic casualty: ASTOR - John Jacob ASTOR was the richest passenger aboard the RMS Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time with a net worth of roughly $87 million when he died (equivalent to $2.3 billion in 2019).

60. Crumbly toppings: STREUSELS - Cinnamon coffee cake with STREUSEL topping!

Down: 

1. Tenth word of the Gettysburg Address: FORTH - Yeah, I had to figure out if Fourscore is one word or two

2. Speak up: OPINE.

4. Tech review site: CNET - CNET's best products for 2020

5. Medium claim: ESP - A medium with true ESP would be, uh, rare

6. Shook: QUAKED - The building on flexible pads doesn't SHAKE/QUAKE as much

7. Michigan's __ Peninsula: UPPER - You take the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge, as seen here from the International Space Station, to get there from the lower Michigan peninsula 

8. They may follow bullets: ITEMS - This is an actual Power Point slide with bullet ITEMS that appeared sequentially (with sound of course) as I talked on planets with 7th graders. 

9. Undermines: TORPEDOES - A principal that didn't like me TORPEDOED a proposal I was making to the school board at the last minute. It passed anyway.

10. Close ones: SCARES - Wow!

11. Item near a sugar bowl, perhaps: URN.

12. Eagles title antihero: DESPERADO - Elaine's boyfriend was a huge fan of this song

13. Cop's surprise: SPEED TRAP - Hey, you were warned!

14. Site with many pans: YELP.

21. Ties up: EVENS - Carlton Fisk would not have gotten to hit his historic, game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 World Series if pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo had not hit a 3-run home run to EVEN the score in the 8th 

24. Putt-putt standard: PAR - PAR is 2 on every Putt-Putt® golf hole

25. Share around the campfire, say: RETELL.

26. Work on hooves: RESHOE - My farrier friend also works on giraffe hooves

28. "Have __": SOME.

29. Tevye, to Tzeitel: PAPA - She and her sisters don't want PAPA or Yente to make a match for them

30. Mayonnaise and salad dressing: EMULSIONS - A definition and a picture of EMULSIONS

31. Tried: TESTED OUT.

32. Illumination with a blob: LAVA LAMPS - They do a great job of showing how the heat inside the Earth melts rock to a liquid or LAVA which makes the LAVA rise to the surface and erupt. Plus the kids think they are cool!

33. Bullfight holler: OLE.

36. "Empty Nest" actress Manoff: DINAH  Her IMDB

40. Cup handle: EAR.

42. World metaphor, in Shakespeare: OYSTER - I doff my hat if you know the play and the speaker of this line: "Why then the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open" (*answer below the grid)

43. Mapping subject: GENOME - Here 'ya go!

45. Disassembled: APART.

46. Domingo, e.g.: TENOR - A wonderful three minutes of the Three TENORS singing Nessum Dorma (A wonderful 50. Bizet's "Habanera," for one: ARIA from Puccini's Turandot). Left to right - Placido, Jose and Luciano.

47. Remove entirely: ERASE.

48. Correctional: PENAL.

49. Some mil. absentees: AWOLS.

52. Scientifically engineered crops, for short: GMOS - A good cartoon explanation 

54. "Sold out" sign: SRO - The Husker VB sellout streak is at 268 at the 8,000+ seat Devaney Coliseum and the Standing Room Only tix ain't cheap!

56. Toon shopkeeper who once worked a 96-hour shift: APU - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon - The Kwik-E-Mart proprietor in The Simpsons.

*Pistol speaks the line to Falstaff in The Merry Wives Of Windsor