Saturday, December 21, 2024, Stacey Yaruss McCullough & Matthew Stock

 Saturday by Stacy Yaruss McCullough & Matthew Stock

 

Today is the Winter Solstice which means Nebraska will only get 9 hrs 11 minutes and 47 seconds of daylight. Tomorrow we will add four seconds to that total as we head towards spring. 

This puzzle kept me in the dark most of the way through. What a slog!

On a personal note, this week marks the beginning of my eighth year of blogging Saturday themeless puzzles for C.C. at her wonderful site.

Across:

1. Bad Bunny genre: LATIN TRAP - I found out it is not LATINO RAP. Here is what it is.

10. Maker of Cleansing Melts soap pads: OLAY.

14. "There's a storm brewing": I CAN FEEL IT - As seen from Nebraska Memorial Stadium last spring

16. Traffic sign: CONE 😀

17. Digs at the beach: SAND CASTLE - I got "Digs" as a noun and eventually the rest came

18. New clothes hangers?: TAGS - Minnie Pearl's iconic TAG

19. Yurchenko double __: vault now called the Biles II: PIKE.

20. Stick in the water: POOL NOODLE - BOAT PADDLE worked for a long time! Is this really a stick? 😀

22. Oaf: CLOD.

24. CrossFit moves: BURPEES.

25. Neither early nor late: ON BEAT 😀 Rhythm!

28. Dark: MORBID.

29. Artistic hot spots: KILNS 😀

30. Products of deductive reasoning?: TAXES 😀

31. Study: DEN - Noun not verb

34. Loads: A LOT.

35. Yarns: TALES.

36. Exclamation of approval: VIVA - _ _ V _ turned out to not be RAVE

37. Bow wood: YEW - 

38. Acts like a gobstopper: LASTS - We called them Jaw Breakers in my misspent yute 

39. Unspoken: TACIT.

40. News segment: SPORTS.

42. Grapefruit relative: POMELO.

43. "Do I look like I care?": SPARE ME - 

45. Word with freeze or fry: DEEP.

46. Precursor to getting one's just desserts?: CAKE BATTER 😀

48. "Well, that used to be true ... ": I WAS.

52. Quarreling: AT IT.

53. Lao Gan Ma condiment: CHILI CRISP - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Lao Gan Ma (old grandmother in English) was invented in a small Chinese town by Tao Huambo. This has become very popular and made her very wealthy. All you'd want to know. From C.C.: This brand is hugely popular in China. [My brother] Andy puts it in everything. Cantonese food is mild. Not much chilis. But Sichuan food is super spicy.

55. Eerie spray: MIST.

56. One of three in the Girl Scouts logo: SILHOUETTE.

57. Bridesmaid's accessory: POSY - Today I learned a POSY is simply flowers joined together by stems or floral wire to make it easier to carry.

58. Entertainment on a carousel, once: SLIDE SHOW - This fabulous scene from Mad Men is great TV writing and would have made for amazing ad copy.

Down:

1. Condition whose therapy may include hissing like a snake: LISP.

2. __ palm: ACAI - A Swiss Army knife of cwds

3. School house?: TANK 😀

4. Overexposed?: INDECENT.

5. George Halas Trophy org.: NFC - The Philadelphia Eagles were champions of the National Football Conference of the NFL but lost to the AFC champion KC Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

6. Vessel at a teddy bear picnic: TEAPOT 😀

7. Task on a postseason to-do list: RESOD - We chose to merely RESEED and it worked out fine

8. High, in Italian: ALTO - L'affitto è molto ALTO. (The rent is very high)

9. Some brimless hats: PILLBOXES - On 11/22/63 Jackie gave this hat to her secretary Mary Gallagher at Parkland Hospital but no one knows what happened to it after that.

10. Deep-ocean mollusks: OCTOPI.

11. Funny bones?: LOADED DICE.

12. Perspective: ANGLE.

13. Party planner's list: YESES.

15. Grants for researchers?: TENURES - Getting that grant can go a long way toward keeping your job

21. Contact juggler's props: ORBS - Contact manipulation is a form of object manipulation that focuses on the movement of objects such as balls in contact with the body.

23. __ Vegas Raiders: LAS - To some of us, they will always be the Oakland Raiders. My dad always referred to the Brooklyn Dodgers not the LA ones.

25. 3 out of 5, say: OKAY.

26. __ Valley sunbird: Middle Eastern species: NILE.

27. Air busses?: BLOWS A KISS 😀

28. Soda shop treats: MALTS.

30. Spoon-fed line: TASTE THIS 😀

32. Profoundly bad: EVIL.

33. Gp. with a compass rose emblem on its flag: NATO.

35. Southwest expanses?: TARMACS 😀

36. Many "What We Do in the Shadows" characters: VAMPIRES.

38. First unsigned artist to record a Billboard No. 1 hit: LOEB.

39. Golf club part: TOE - Not where you want to hit the ball

41. Sort of: PRETTY.

42. Stopping point: PERIOD 😀

43. Rascal: SCAMP.

44. Grillmaster's domain: PATIO.

45. Territory nearly surrounded by Haryana: DELHI - As you can see, DELHI is mostly in the state of Haryana (yellow below) but extends into Uttar Pradesh

47. Contribute to grass roots movements?: TILL - I had seed as the first verb

49. "__ pleasure!": WITH.

50. Regarding: AS TO.

51. Be effusive: SPEW.

54. Prompt: CUE.

 

Sunday, April 30, 2023, Matthew Stock & Stacey Yaruss McCullough

Theme: "Inbox Zero" - IN is replaced by O in each common phrase.

24A. Mayhem that ensues when one tries to order a Big Mac at an Arby's?: FAST FOOD CHAOS. Fast food chains.

37A. Troubles in central France?: BURGUNDY WOES. Burgundy wines.

47A. Moment of brain freeze for a programmer?: CODER BLOCK. Cinder block.

70A. What a wizard panda might cast on its hungry enemies?: THE CURSE OF THE BAMBOO. The Curse of the Bambino.

93A. How a baby born in mid-September might behave?: LIKE A VIRGO. Like a Virgin.

100A. Entry on a canner's to-do list?: PROCESS PEACH. Princess Peach.

118A. Anticipation on a horse farm?: FOAL COUNTDOWN. Final countdown.

Not quite sure I get the title. Makes sense if this is a rebus puzzle where IN in the box is replaced by O. As it is, the box is lost on me.

Congratulations to Stacey on her LAT debut!

Across:

1. Sticky sandwiches: S'MORES. Still never had one in my life.

7. Hayek Pinault of "Magic Mike's Last Dance": SALMA. Here with Channing Tatum. She's married to ... OK, François-Henri Pinault.

12. Mink cousin: MARTEN.

18. Rummylike game: CANASTA.

20. Begs: PLEADS.

22. Arise: EMERGE.

23. Made aware: ALERTED.

26. Staple used in some sensory play activities: RICE.

27. Workday alternative: ADP. Automatic Data Processing,

29. Cuts it close?: SHEARS. Nice clue.

30. Otolaryngologists, for short: ENTS. Such a long name.

31. Lawyer's org.: ABA.

32. "Just relax!": BREATHE.

35. Significant period: ERA.

36. Some online convos: IMS.

40. __ mess: traditional English dessert: ETON. Learning moment for me. No-bake dessert. Wikipedia says "it's commonly believed to originate from Eton College and is served at the annual cricket match against the pupils of Harrow School ..."

42. __ de deux: PAS.

45. Jack or jenny: ASS.

46. Drink gingerly: SIP.

50. Squeeze: SMUSH.

53. Gently object: DEMUR.

55. Port near Naples: SALERNO. My sister-in-law Connie has probably gone to all the cities in Italy.

56. Furry or feathered friend: PET.

57. Garden structure: SHED.

60. LaLiga chants: OLES.

62. Animal that often sleeps holding hands with its mate: OTTER. So they won't drift apart. So sweet!

63. Four seasons: YEAR.

65. Recovers: HEALS UP.

67. Saintly glows: HALOS.

75. Hard to sleep through, say: NOISY.

76. Go against: DISOBEY.

77. Some Outback sprinters: EMUS.

79. __ of undying: Minecraft item: TOTEM. No idea.

82. Trifling amount: A TAD.

84. Stack in a gym: MATS.

85. Kinda sorta: ISH.

86. Beef rib, to be brief: ANAGRAM. "Beef rib" is an anagram of "to be brief". Amazing clue.

89. Quickly: APACE.

91. Peppermint __: PATTY.

95. "__ Mubarak": holiday greeting: EID.

97. Summer Games org.: IOC.

98. Cell service initials: LTE.

99. Place to get blintzes: DELI. Have some!

106. Old-school weed whacker: HOE.

108. NYSE launch: IPO.

110. Advice when juggling knives: USE CARE.

111. __ Paulo: SAO.

112. Over again: ANEW.

114. Intensify: DEEPEN.

116. Soul maker: KIA.

117. Rabbitlike mammal with short hind legs: PIKA. Can't see clearly.

122. Target of some shaving: LEG HAIR.

124. Concurs: AGREES.

125. Like many valuable baseballs: SIGNED. Look at this one!

126. Heavy hammers: SLEDGES.

127. Lightning container, idiomatically: BOTTLE.

128. Jai alai basket: CESTA.

129. "Oof, everything hurts": I'M SORE.

Down:

1. Egyptian seal?: SCARAB. This kind of seal.

 

 

2. Surfrider Beach city: MALIBU.

3. Like some garages: ONE CAR.

4. Like a blue lobster or a blue moon: RARE. Is it tasty?

5. Cutesy suffix with "most": EST.

6. Foster's partner: STEARNS.  Stearns & Foster mattresses.

7. Coppertone stat: SPF.

8. In the manner of: ALA.

9. Mortgage-free resident, often: LESSEE.

10. Ruler's class: MATH.

11. Spot cost: AD FEE.

12. Prescribed stuff, for short: MEDS. The nurses helped me destroy Boomer's meds. Such a waste.

13. "Mayfair Witches" cable network: AMC.

14. Bring up again?: RE-HEM.

15. Convey: TRANSPORT.

16. Viola Davis accomplishment, briefly: EGOT. So talented.

17. Moray Firth river: NESS.

19. Extra: ADDED.

21. Flew without flapping: SOARED.

25. Speechifies: ORATES.

28. Doesn't dine and dash: PAYS.

32. "Running Up That Hill" singer Kate: BUSH.

33. __ one's thumbs: TWIDDLE.

34. Rhode Island's motto: HOPE.

36. Flowering: IN BLOOM. Rain/snow mix today, then a beautiful week ahead.

38. EV's lack: GAS.

39. Chisels: SCULPTS.

41. Singer Rita who is a judge on the U.K. edition of "The Masked Singer": ORA.

43. Clearasil target: ACNE.

44. Heath bar alternative: SKOR.

48. Valuable deposit: ORE.

49. Doesn't disturb: LETS BE.

50. Catch: SPY.

51. Converge: MEET.

52. State on the Colorado Plateau: UTAH.

54. Tunisian film director Tlatli: MOUFIDA. Unfamiliar to me.

57. Feng __: SHUI.

58. Towel set word: HERS.

59. Gut course: EASY A.

61. Biblical queen's land: SHEBA.

64. Go back (on): RENEGE.

66. Fountain beverage: SODA POP.

68. Lie for, say: ABET.

69. Big name in snacks: LAYS.

71. Cohort: COMRADE. Obit of Jiang Zimin, Comrade Jiang.

72. Hockey advantage: HOME ICE. One more great fill: 81. "Don't despair!": TAKE HEART.

73. Skip past: OMIT.

74. Bump from office: OUST.

78. Not likely to mingle: SHY.

79. __ tale: TALL.

80. "I've got that covered": ON IT.

83. Brand location: TAG.

87. Park in NYC: AVE.

88. Social atmosphere: MILIEU.

90. Corp. heads: CEOS.

91. Innocent, e.g.: POPE. Pope Innocent.

92. Air Force hotshot: ACE.

94. Gets ready to eat?: RIPENS.  I like this clue also.

96. Trex construction: DECK.

97. Tel Aviv resident, e.g.: ISRAELI.

101. Flawed sentences: RUN-ONS.

102. Heads to sea: SAILS.

103. Italian cheese: ASIAGO.

104. Less powdery: CAKIER.

105. Raspy: HOARSE.

107. Little hooter: OWLET.

109. Eye-related: OPTIC.

112. Abbr. for some nonbinary people: AFAB. Assigned Female At Birth. Also remember AMAB.

113. Canceled, at NASA: NO GO.

114. Prescribed amount: DOSE.

115. Lip: EDGE.

117. Scholars' degs.: PHDS.

119. Animation studio souvenir: CEL.

120. Drenched: WET.

121. Promise not to tell, for short: NDA.

123. Ruby, for one: GEM.

 

Do any of you make your own yogurt? Do you know why they want you to have shelf-stable coconut? I started mine yesterday morning and set it for 12 hours. I put a bit of agar agar as thickener, the result was still watery. Not creamy. Not even sour. Tasted just like coconut milk.

(Added later: I just realized that I forgot to put the yogurt starter. D'oh!)

C.C.