Friday, January 24, 2020 Paul Coulter

"TURN DOWN SERVICE"


Let's go with the reveal first.

62. Hotel amenity, and a hint to three puzzle answers: TURN DOWN SERVICE.   At the end of three across answers, you have to read the intersecting down answer.   Very neat !

The theme entries:

16. (across) Blamed for personal advantage: THROWN UNDER THE B, with
18. (down) Clear: BUS.
THROWN UNDER THE BUS - Mark's clue nails it succinctly.    In business, politics, sports, personal relationships...  

31. (across) Punch with force, maybe: GIVE A FAT L, with
34. (down) Backtalk: LIP.
GIVE A FAT LIP - Nothing figurative here. 

44. (across) Chanoyu ceremony essential: JAPANESE T, with
46. (down) High __: TEA.
JAPANESE TEA. - This was hard for me because I didn't know what a Chanoyu ceremony was, but then looked at the other two theme answers and aha !   Changed my 46D from High def to TEA, and that also cleared up the stall where MOOLA belonged.

"The simple art of Chanoyu is really a synthesis of many Japanese arts with the focus of preparing and serving a bowl of tea with a pure heart." - Chanoyu   

You would think the genesis of this puzzle was the reveal TURN DOWN SERVICE, wouldn't you ?



Across:

1. Draft category: ONE A.   Actually, it's 1-A.

5. Crisply played, in mus.: STAC.   Music / Staccato.

9. Qatar's capital: DOHA.   Whatever happened to Doha Doc ?

13. Inflammation treatment: CORTISONE.   And 39. Ibuprofen brand: ADVIL.  Corticosteroids vs. NSAIDs

While we're on the subject, take the pain quiz.

15. Apple product: IPOD.

19. More mean: NASTIER.

20. Sci-fi helmsman: SULU.

21. Burdened: LADEN.

24. Portable chair: SEDAN.     Champagne glass: Coupe.

26. "Uno __": cantina request: MAS.    "One more" in Spanish.

27. Fundraising targets: ALUMNI.

29. Boar's mate: SOW.

35. Greatly beloved ones: GEMs.

38. He reunited with his fictional ex on Valentine's Day in 2011: KEN.   I assume with Barbie ?

41. Backboard attachment: RIM.

42. Place Sundance liked to see: ETTA.   Loved this clue / answer.  Etta Place

Life with the Sundance Kid

47. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr.: SSR.   Soviet Socialist Republic.

49. Waste time: DAWDLE.

50. __ store: APP.

53. Many an Indian: HINDU.

57. Green: MOOLA.   Both slang for money.

58. Game with two secret passages: CLUE.   No clue on this answer based on the clue alone.   Never played it; don't know much about it.    Didn't know there were secret passages.   But, with C from ACT, -. U from PULSE, and E from EYES, what else could it be ?   C-UE.

60. Advice: COUNSEL.   Advice, advise, counsel and council.    Simple nouns and verbs that can easily be confused.   Only one of the four works as both a noun AND a verb.   Which one ?

67. They can make you better, briefly: MEDs.   Medicines, like Aleve and Advil.

68. Basically: IN ESSENCE.

69. Annoyance: PEST.

70. Do, for example: NOTE.   Trickery.   The musical note.     '...Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are used to name notes the same way that the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, and B are used to name notes in English." - Wikipedia.

71. Cutty __: SARK.   The famous fast clipper sailing ship built in Scotland in 1869, now residing in dry dock at Greenwich, London as a museum ship.   Some fifty years after her construction, the Scotch whisky was created and named after her.    The ship was named for the short skirt worn by the witch in the Robert Burns poem Tam o' Shanter. 

Down:

1. Fall mo.: OCT. Month / October

2. Kabuki kin: NOH.

3. Give the wrong change, say: ERR.

4. Acts of reparation: ATONEMENTs.

5. IRS IDs: SSNs.   Internal Revenue Service / Social Security Numbers.

6. Talks up: TOUTs. Talks down: Calms.

7. Musical in which FDR is a character: ANNIE.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Here's the famous scene:

8. Gave up: CEDED.    Gave down: See 23(D).

9. Board mem.: DIR.   Member / Director.

10. Expresses a preference (for): OPTs.

11. Blah: HO-HUM. Meh.

12. "A Passage to India" heroine: ADELA.   Adela Quested - SparkNotes

14. "Lemme!": I WANNA.

17. Age relatives: ERAs.   A distinct period of history. eg, The Dinosaur Age or the Ice Age.   Thomas Paine wrote The Age of Reason.

21. Delay: LAG.

22. Not quite identical: ALIKE.   Like fraternal twins.

23. Comforter: DUVET.   What is the best down for a duvet ?   Hungarian goose down ?   Icelandic Eiderdown ?    Best Downs for a Good Night's Sleep

25. It's often served with nutmeg: NOG.   Here served in a coupe:

28. "... __ woodchuck could chuck wood?": IF A.   "Hey you dang woodchucks!   Quit chucking my wood !"    BTW, in the Geico Sequels run off, the Racoon commercials are comfortably ahead.

30. Subjects of European trials during the Renaissance: WEREWOLVES.

32. Wd. ending in -less: ADJ.   Adjective.   The part of speech.    This clue stumped me for way too long, and that was with AD- in place !   After finally getting enough letters to see JAPANESE at 44A, it became clear. D'OH !

33. FDR power plan: TVA. Franklin Delano Roosevelt / Tennessee Valley Authority.  The TVA at History.com 

36. Botch: MISDO.   Act wrongly.

37. Common sense?: SMELL.    Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense.  "The most important political tract of the Revolution was written not by a lawyer or university-educated philosopher, but by a former corset maker."

40. Bloke: LAD.

43. It may be tapped into a tray: ASH.

45. Parents, usually: NAMERs.

48. P.R. part: RICO.   Puerto Rico.

50. Appear: ACT.

51. Fluff, as pillows: PLUMP.   The history of fluff.

52. Blender button: PUREE.    The first button I pushed was pulse, but the blend(er) of crossing clues didn't agree.

54. Hopeless: NO WIN.

55. "Beats me!": DUNNO.

56. Up in the air: UNSET.    Not yet decided. 

59. Aims: ENDs.   Had eyes first.  Don't know why.

61. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko: SESE.

63. It ends shortly after 1-Down: DST.   Daylight Savings Time

64. __ moment: IN A.

65. "Bad Moon Rising" band, briefly: CCR.    Creedence Clearwater Revival.


66. "A rat!": EEK.


Check your answers against this grid:

Friday, January 10, 2020 Joe Deeney

"Joint Ventures"


18. Joint venture?: ORTHOPEDIC OFFICE. 

28. Joint venture?: PRIVATE PRISON.

47. Joint venture?: MARIJUANA SHOP.

62. Joint venture?: FURNITURE FACTORY.

Four types of  joints. 

Two maintenance guys were smoking a joint and offered to share some of it with me.  I don't partake, so I declined.  Besides, I really don't care to be around high maintenance people. 

Across:

1. They may be counted: SHEEP.  A study by Oxford showed that counting sheep doesn't help you fall asleep.  It has the opposite effect.  So unless you are a worried shepherd...

6. "Masterpiece" airer: PBS.   Home of Dour Downton Abbey.

9. Hideaway: LAIR.

13. Disinclined: LOATH.   Inclined: Predisposed.

14. One in the script: LINE.  

16. Tribal leader: ELDER.

21. Neon tips?: ENs.   "N or n is the fourteenth letter in the modern English alphabet. Its name in English is en (pronounced /ˈɛn/), plural ens."  - Wikipedia.

22. "C'mon, play along": BE A SPORT.  As in,  "C'mon, play along.  Be a sport,  and quit the crabbing every day about the clues and answers."  

23. A toddler may be put down for one: NAP. 

24. Curtails, with "in": REINS.

26. Of inferior quality: EL CHEAPO.  Pseudo Spanish. 

31. Winter Olympics event: LUGE.   "Luge is one of the most dangerous sports in the Olympic games, and the athletes who race down an icy, high-banked track at speeds typically up to 90 mph are a special breed."   daredevils !   Most of us won't drive that fast in a vehicle equipped with airbags.

32. Programming pioneer Lovelace: ADA.   Nailed it.   Her mother believed in rigorous study.  Her father was a poet.  Read all about it at Biography.com by clicking her name.

33. Hustle: MOTOR.  Verb.  Informal.   Run or move as fast as possible.

37. Combustion residue: ASH.   Combustion fuel: Ash. Or Oak, Hickory, Elm etc.

38. Like the object of an "Aww!": ADORABLE.   So passé.  Now it's totes adorbs !  If you wanna be a cool cat daddy-o, you gotta dig the new kings jive.   Can the lip and focus your audio, or you'll be swinging in squaresville.   Totes = totally.  Adorbs = adorable.   YMMV.

42. U.K. singer Rita __: ORA.   Would you like a frozen margaRITA ORA classic margarita ?  Wait, never mind.  I was channeling Boomer there for a moment.  Anyway, from what I read, she's very popular in the U.K. 

43. Food packaging abbr.: NET WT.   Net weight.

45. Cause of some royal sleeplessness: PEA.    Just add another mattress.

46. Salt Lake City team: UTEs.    The college team.  The professional basketball team in Salt Lake City is the Jazz.

52. Coastal evergreen: SAND PINE.    Pinus clausa     Florida, and a little bit of coastal Alabama.

55. Character usually seen in 41-Down (LA NIÑA):  TILDE.    An image of an adorable little Latina ?   No, the diacritical mark to tell you how to pronounce a letter.

56. Nail: ACE.

57. Pink drink: ROSÉ WINE.   There's another of those accent marks.

59. "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very __ Day": 2014 film: BAD.   A Disney film. Anyone see it ? 


65. Trauma pro: ER DOC.   Emergency Room Doctor.  With just the D in place, I tested for medic.  No go.  Don't know why I was thinking about the battlefield. 

66. Timbuktu's land: MALI.

67. "Stronger" rapper West: KANYE.

68. 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE.  Arthur.

69. Coddling, briefly: TLC.  The Learning Channel.   Tender Loving Care.

70. Place: STEAD. 

Down:

1. Plum used to flavor spirits: SLOE.

2. Jazz band staple: HORN.   The Utah Jazz periodically play the Charlotte HORNets in pro basketball.   In fact, the Jazz will be hosting the Hornets tonight at the Vivant Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.

3. Adheres to a healthy diet: EATS RIGHT.

4. E. African land: ETH. iopia.   The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.   You will be tested on this in a future crossword puzzle.  The currency is the Birr, just in case that comes up some time.

5. It commonly involves spiders: PHOBIA.

1. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders.
2. Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes. 
3. Acrophobia – The fear of heights. 
4. Agoraphobia – The fear of open or crowded spaces. 
5. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs. 
6. Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightning. 
7. Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces. 
8. Mysophobia – The fear of germs. 
9.  Aerophobia – The fear of flying.
10. Trypophobia – The fear of holes.

YMMV on the order of the above.    I found some links that listed the top phobias by state.   Most rankings were based on internet search queries, and state results seemed to vary by year.   I guess that's to be expected using that type of methodology.   Here's one: Common Fears by State

6. "I'd love that!": PLEASE DO.

7. Auction action: BIDS. 

8. Last-second online auction participant: SNIPER.   New to me.   A brief article  from eBay.

9. Moved out: LEFT HOME.

10. Furry TV ET: ALF.   Alf  (né Gordon Shumway; b. October 28, 1756) is the nickname (based on  Alien Life Form) of an extra planetary visitor who followed an amateur radio signal to Earth from the planet Melmac.   Be careful WikWak ! 

The series lasted about 4 years.  It was very popular in Germany.   During the series run, a place in Germany named Alf had municipal signs stolen so many times they had to have extras made and stored in reserve.  The municipality also created replicas and offered them for sale to curb the thefts.  

11. Tony winner Menzel: IDINA.   Thrice nominated.   She won in 2004 for her role in Wicked.    DW saw it in Chicago with her gal pals.   I tended the farm.   I best know Idina Menzel from crosswords and for the Top 10 song,  "Let It Go" from the Disney animated film, Frozen, in which she voiced the character of Queen Elsa. 

12. Summarize: RECAP.   As a speaker, tell them what you told them.  As a listener, tell them what you heard.  Key takeaways.

15. Food recall cause: E. coli.  Escherichia coli.

17. Auctioned wheels: REPO.   Repossessed automobiles sold at auction.  You don't actually own the automobile until you get clear title.   Lenders have repo clauses in the loan agreements to reclaim the asset for payment failure and loan default.  Some lenders may repo for failure to provide adequate insurance. 

19. Fivesome: PENTAD.   This pentad is known as the Greek Church.  It's said to be the hardest of all splits to pick up.  As all bowlers know, splits happen.

20. Tolkien brutes: ORCs.

25. Halloween __: EVE.   I've never heard of Halloween Eve as a thing.  Heard of Halloween.  Heard of All Hallow's Eve.  Different names for the eve of All Saint's Day, right ?  Halloween Eve would be like eve of the eve.  Is it a thing ?    Oh well, it's a crossword puzzle, and it perped right in. 

27. "Reflection" musician Brian: ENO.   Understanding The Importance Of Brian Eno

28. Map out: PLAN.

29. Subterfuge: RUSE.

30. It's expected: PAR.  On the golf course.  It's incredibly easy to get par and more on every single hole, but the goal is to get par or less.

34. As much as possible: TO THE BONE.   Very much, or thoroughly.  "I couldn't get to the clubhouse in time; I got soaked to the bone from the sudden downpour. "

35. "Wonderfilled" cookie: OREO.

36. Coarse file: RASP.  Coarse voice:  Coach Orgeron of the LSU Bayou Bengals has one.

38. Not without ramifications: AT A PRICE.   "Yes, we can add those additional features", the project executive said.  He quickly added, "At a price", knowing full well that this customer had a history of using "unclear communications" and "customer satisfaction" complaints to get more than was bargained for.  PEs and PMs call it scope creep.  Contract terms and conditions need specificity,  with special focus on deliverables.  Ask Jinx.  He teaches this stuff.   

39. "The Problem with __": 2017 documentary about racial stereotypes: APU.


40. Blissful: BEATIFIC.   Wanted Edenlike, but quickly ruled it out.

41. Pacific weather phenomenon: LA NIÑA.   All you wanted to know and more:  El Niño and La Niña: Frequently asked questions

44. Iraq war issue, briefly: WMD.   Weapons of Mass Destruction.

46. Currency mkt. money: USD.   United States Dollar.

48. Real hoot: RIOT.

49. "To recap ... ": IN SUM.   Didn't we just have that word in an answer ?

50. Boo: JEER AT.   Increasingly common fan interaction with players, coaches, owners and teams.

51. Smart set?: ALECKS.   Loved this clue / answer.

52. Cautious: SAFE.

53. Automaker whose current models end in X: ACURA.   Fooled me.  The Tesla Model X came to mind. 

54. "The Big Bang Theory" crowd: NERDs.

58. "Actually ... ": WELL.

60. "Game of Thrones" girl __ Stark: ARYA.   As Abejo would say, "Four perps and I had it."   I never watched Hunger Games of Thrones.

61. Turned green, say: DYED.

63. Japanese drama: NOH.


64. Skin pic: TAT. Picture / tattoo.

Here's the grid so you can check your answers:

Wrong grid.  Here's the real grid so you can check your answers:

Friday, December 27, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

"I, uh..."

17. A vat, some cloth, etc.?: DYER NEEDS.   Dire needs.

24. One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew?: MAYAN SWEEPER.   Mine sweeper.

38. Apothecary's concern?: PHIAL MANAGEMENT.    File management.  As Canadian Eh would tell us, phial is just another name for vial.

47. Large cat romantically interested in opposite-sex large cats?: STRAIGHT LION.   Straight line.

60. Surprisingly genteel outbreak of lawlessness?: CIVIL RIOT.   Civil right.


Had to ask for help to get the theme on this one.   The common phrases follow the 5 theme answers.   Just not sure that I agree about 17A, but the others all change a long I sound to an uh sound.  Dyer and Dire sound like the same pronunciation to me. 

Across:

1. Stop lying: RISE.   Get out of bed, perhaps.

5. Suburban expanse: LAWN.

9. Comes impressively into view: LOOMs.

14. One may be pitched to a publisher: IDEA.

15. Canal that helps connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic: ERIE.   Excellent story and photos in this PBS article.

16. Capital SSW of Damascus: AMMAN.   The capital of Syria is Damascus.  The capital of Jordan is Amman.  The currency of Syria is the Syrian Pound.   The currency of Jordan is the Jordanian Dinar.

19. Surprise in a bottle: GENIE.  

20. Shade tree: ELM.

21. Jazz saxophonist __ Cobb: ARNETT.   No idea.   He was known as "Wild Man of the Tenor Sax."  JzB probably nailed it.    I would have known war correspondent Peter Arnett.

23. Angle or angler's necessity: LINE.   LurE first.  Should have paid attention to both parts of the clue.

26. Not from around here: ALIEN.


29. Any of four palindromic emperors: OTTO.    I wonder if any of them were nicknamed Desper ?

30. Gels: SETs.

31. Moody: IN A PET.    I read that "in a pet" can mean a fit of peevishness, sulkiness, or anger.

35. Object of podiatric study: TOE.

41. Serious misdeed: SIN.  

42. Not on the fence: OPTING.

43. Túpac Amaru, e.g.: INCA.   Perps.  There was a rapper named Tupac Shakur, so Tupac struck a bell.  Amaru did not. 

44. Beige look-alike: ECRU.

46. Big celebrations: FETEs.

53. Oxen group: TEAM.   The yoke's on them.

54. Ex __: out of nothing, in Latin: NIHILO.   Thank you perps.

55. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.

58. Make over: RENEW.   A variant for the typical redo.

62. Being dragged behind: IN TOW.   There goes Jinx !

63. Largest human joint: KNEE.

64. Not doing anything: IDLE.

65. No longer hip: PASSE.   Huey Lewis sang to us that "It's hip to be square."

66. Fax button: SEND.

67. Like some pockets: DEEP.   Deep pockets are required for the fitted sheets on some thicker mattresses.   In your gums, they are bad for the health of your teeth.   And as we all know, it's another term for being financially well off.

Down:

1. Lift: RIDE.

2. Pastoral verse: IDYL.    Hey !   What happened to the other L ?   Either way, after listening to some pronunciation clips, it sounds like idle or idol to me.  

3. Appear: SEEM.

4. Facial projection: EAR.

5. Not sure (of): LEERY.

6. Sports venue: ARENA.

7. Increase in girth: WIDEN.

8. Fits one within another: NESTs.   Nesting dolls, boxes, bowls, tables, measuring spoons... What else ?

9. Hang back: LAG.

11. Capable of anything: OMNIPOTENT.   A powerful word.

12. Nearly half of New England: MAINE. 

13. Express contempt: SNEER.

18. Indian bread: NAAN.

22. With 10-Down, breakfast choice: TWO EGG, and 10-Down: See 22-Down: OMELET.   Two egg omelet.   How adding cheese, diced ham, green bell peppers and onions ?

24. Tableland: MESA.   Devils Tower, pictured at 9A, is considered a butte, not a mesa.

25. Suffix with cigar: ETTE.

26. Egyptian serpents: ASPS.

27. City near Provo: LEHI.   I've never been to Utah.  I thought the 4 letter city near Provo was Orem, since that is what we most often see in crosswords.  People from the state are called ?????

28. Nomadic sorts: ITINERANTS.   Nailed it with the IT start.

31. Call into question: IMPUGN.

32. Member of the 2019 World Series champs: NAT.   The Washington Nationals.

33. Request from a Midwestern cheerleader, maybe: AN I.    Take your pick from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, or Iowa State.    I watch when the Ohio State marching band dots the i.   I haven't heard any college cheers where the name is spelled out.  High school, yes.

34. God with a flute: PAN.   Didn't know Jean Pierre Rampal or James Galway from a couple of puzzles in the last few weeks, but Pan was a gimme.

36. Barely at all: ONCE.  Sometimes, barely at all is once too often.

37. LAX postings: ETAs.

39. Actress Petty: LORI.   No idea.   But then I learned she played Geena Davis's little sister in "A League of Their Own"


40. Comportment: MIEN.

45. Hitchcock was known for them: CAMEOs.   Here's 20 of the documented 39, but I couldn't spot him in a few.


46. Deluded one: FOOL.

47. Denude: STRIP.

I would have loved to see the clue simply as Delude, followed by Denude, but it was still fun.

48. Singer __ Marie: TEENA. The "Ivory Queen of Soul" here singing  "Square Biz"

"In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that caused momentary seizures for the rest of her life." - Wikipedia

49. 2006 "American Idol" winner Taylor __: HICKS.   Nailed it with Taylor.   DW is a fan of Idol.

50. Yours, once: THINE.

51. Animate: LIVEN.

52. Sheepish admission: I LIED.   Until I finally decided to stop lying and get out of bed.

55. Assistant: AIDE.

56. Cobbler's concern: SOLE.   You can get sole year round from New England fishmongers, and you can probably find an old-timey cobbler to resole your shoes if needed.

57. Dance part: STEP.

59. "SmackDown" org.: WWE.    World Wrestling Entertainment.   SmackDown is a brand for this professional wrestling and sports entertainment corporation.

61. Unburden: RID.

You can also check your answers here:

Friday, December 13, 2019 Victor Barocas

Time to Trim That Tree !

17. "O Tannenbaum" and others?: PINE NUMBERS.   Pin Numbers.   I mostly use four of them, all between 0 and 9.  Seems like too few possibilities.   

24. One trying to photograph a partridge during the holidays?: PEAR SHOOTER.   Pea shooter.   So quaint.  Wish it were now.

38. Muchacho working with wood?: ELM NINO.   El Nino.  Perfect clue / answer agreement with Muchacho / El Nino.

50. Boob tube yule log residue?: ASH SEEN ON TV.   That's just funny !  One channel airs continuous loops of "It's a Wonderful Life", another of "A Christmas Story", and another of "The Yule Log" from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.  A television tradition.

60. Do some holiday decorating ... and what you need to do to four puzzle answers to produce familiar phrases?: TRIM THE TREE.

The Pine, Pear, Elm and Ash trees all need to drop a letter in Victor's imaginative creation, rather than the now more commonly accepted meaning of "trimming a tree",  as in adorning.

More commonly accepted of course, unless you are old-school and still relish in the final pruning of the tree you and your family have just hewn from the local Christmas tree farm. 

Across:

1. Innocents: LAMBs.

6. Uncool crime?: ARSON.    Literally and figuratively.

11. "That cracks me up!": LOL.  Laugh Out Loud

14. Video game giant: ATARI.   Early successes were Pong,  Asteroids and Missile Command.

15. Old-school: RETRO.

16. Leave breathless: AWE.

19. Resting place: INN.

20. Meal in a pot: STEW.

21. Meal in a pot: SOUP.   Loved the consecutive clue duplication.

22. Styx home: HADES.   They're not from Hades.  They are from Chicago.   You may not recognize their name, but you would most likely remember so many of their hit songs from the '70s and '80s.

27. Submerge: ENGULF.

30. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY.   "Multilevel marketing" just seems to reek of a pyramid scheme to me.  Caution flags go up. 

31. Most Belgraders: SERBs.  Belgrade, Serbia.

32. Playing with a full deck: SANE. 

34. Free game version, perhaps: DEMO.

37. This answer's consonant count, aptly: TWO.   Creative clue.

41. Title for Jagger: SIR.   Mick Jagger. 

42. NRA member?: ASSN.    National Rifle Association

44. Actress Skye: IONE.   Her father was Donovan, perhaps best known for mid '60s pop hits  Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow. 

45. Barely leading: UP ONE.

47. Lacrosse need: STICK.   La crosse is of French Canadian origin.  It literally means crooked stick.

49. Finds exciting: IS IN TO.
 
53. Fail to match: CLASH.     Like plaid pants and a striped shirt.   Or, The Clash.  "The only band that matters."   An English band that you may recall from the song "Rock The Casbah" 

54. Air Force prog. that first admitted women in 1969: ROTC.   Reserve Officer Training Corps.

55. Sworn statement: OATH.

59. Like rappers Jon and Wayne: LIL.   Spotify now lists over 8,000 artists with “Lil’” or “Lil” at the beginning of their name. 

63. Monopoly abbr.: AVE.   Mediterranean Avenue, Baltic Avenue, Oriental Avenue, etc.

64. "Biography" channel: A AND E.

65. Toroidal bread: BAGEL.

66. Victorious shout: YES.

67. "Understood": ROGER.

68. Fair-haired: BLOND.

Down:

1. Track count: LAPs.

2. Fighting: AT IT.

3. Clydesdale feature: MANE.   Perhaps Clydesdale was chosen on the off chance that someone might not know of the famous horses.   But I would say that the most significant feature of the Clydesdale is their massive size.     In the area where I grew up,  there are various breeds of heavy horses still being used for farm labor, especially by the Amish and Mennonites.   We called them Pennsylvania draft horses or just draft horses,  regardless if they were Belgian, Percheron, or Clydesdale.

4. Craft beer server: BREW PUB.    Budweiser was hardly a craft beer when August Busch Jr. presented his father with the famous hitch and first case of beer after the repeal of Prohibition.  Busch Sr. saw the marketing potential and had the team sent by rail to NY and New England, delivering cases of beer to both Alfred E Smith and Franklin D Roosevelt.  The rest, as they say, is history.

5. Serious code-breaking?: SIN.

6. Strong suit: ARMOR.   The deck of cards clue had me thinking of card games.

7. Picture puzzle: REBUS. 

8. Zimbalist of "Remington Steele": STEPHANIE.    The show launched the career of Pierce Brosnan.      

9. Hockey legend: ORR.   Bobby.   His primary role on the ice was as a defenseman, but he twice led the NHL in scoring.  He scored the game winning goals in each of the two Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup victories in the early '70s.  He remains the only defenseman to have ever won the scoring title. 

10. Reason for an empty seat: NO SHOW.

11. Saw: LAID EYES ON.   Have you seen the Peloton  "The Gift That Gives Back" commercial ?   Struck me as cringe worthy.    I found it on YouTube and the comments were not favorable, and then comments were disabled as the story went viral. 

Then Ryan Reynolds hired her for a commercial for his Aviation Gin product.   In this take, she's having a different perspective after receiving a Peloton from her husband.  I love how her girlfriends are trying to figure out what to say and how to help her.  

12. "For sale by" sign poster: OWNER.    Obvious, but cute.   Gives me an idea for a practical joke to pull on a buddy.

13. Spyglass part: LENS.

18. Its Space Command has HQ in Colorado: USAF.  

23. Not much at all: A TAD.

25. Otherwise: ELSE.

26. Sign to interpret: OMEN.

27. Cuban pronoun: ESTA.   

28. Latest: NEWS.

29. Financial report line: GROSS SALES.

32. Caterpillar's exhalation in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland": SMOKE RING.   I didn't specifically remember.    Looked it up later.    The caterpillar was lazing on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah pipe.  

33. Andy's doll pal: ANN.   The Raggedy siblings.

35. 36-Down flavor: MINT.  

36. Classic cookie: OREO.    Anyone ever try a mint flavored Oreo ?

39. Tiny parasites: LICE.

40. Drive from power: OUST.

43. Unnamed degrees: NTHs.

46. Indispensable: PIVOTAL.

48. Fictional title country in a 1987 film: ISHTAR.   Roger Ebert said,  "It's not funny, it's not smart and it's interesting only in the way a traffic accident is interesting."  He gave it one star.

49. Foot fraction: INCH.   Foot fracture ?   You'll probably need the special boot.  Been there, done that.  

50. Still in the game: ALIVE. 

51. __ plume: NOM DE.   A pen name or pseudonym.

1. David John Moore Cornwell ?
2. Charles Dodgson ?
3. Eric Arthur Blair ?
4. Stanley Lieber ?
5. Samuel Clemens ?

52. River swimmer: OTTER.   Eric "Otter" Stratton became a successful Beverly Hills OB/GYN after leaving Farber. 

53. Art class medium: CLAY.

56. Ship to Colchis: ARGO.  Perps.

57. Many a gamer: TEEN.   Our language evolves.  Before video games and RPGs, # 2 was # 1.

1. 
   

   a person who plays video games or participates in role-playing games.
2. 
   

   North American (especially in sports) a person known for consistently making a strong effort.

       Similar to a gamer, calling a basketball player a baller is a compliment.

58. Kept: HELD. 

61. '90s Indian prime minister: RAO.   Perps.

62. Recede: EBB.    Reseed: Sow (again).

PSA - Speaking of the clue at 2D.  Fighting:

A flu shot is your best protection.

Check you answers here:

Friday, November 29, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

"Turn of Phrase"


17. Plumbing expert?: DRAIN BRAIN. 

25. Cub Scout meeting refreshment?: PACK SNACK.

30. Candlemaker's choice?: WICK PICK.

45. Zookeeper's job, at times?: BEAR CARE.

51. School sports upset: JOCK SHOCK.

64. Inflated thread-count scam?: SHEET CHEAT.

Swap the words in the answers to get the real phrase.   I have no idea what a pick wick is, but a few references say it is a pick like tool used for raising the short wick in an oil lamp.

Across:

1. Fit together: MESH.

5. Explodes: POPS.

9. Sources of shade: ELMS.    So elms throw shade ?  They seem more stately than that.

13. Lope opening?: ANTE.   "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play."   Except, of course, they're really not antelope.  They're pronghorn.   Kind of like buffalo v. bison.  Commonly accepted misnomers.

14. Pacifies: CALMS.

16. "The disease of kings": GOUT.    I once had to see a backup doctor when mine was away.   My sprained wrist was misdiagnosed as gout.    Gout is now on my record at the hospital.  

19. Tasmania's highest peak: OSSA.   Didn't we just have Abel Tasman last week ?  Or was it in a link from Lemonade ?  Anyway, Mount Ossa is as high as Denver, CO.

20. Lively movements: RONDOS.  Help me get her out of my heart   Sounds like the definition of a rondo to me.   The refrain.   Yes / No ?

21. Snare: TRAP.

23. Idiosyncrasy: TIC.

24. Break up: END IT.    Cause ending it is hard to do.

27. Mex. neighbor: USA.

29. Robbery: HEIST.

35. Food distribution giant: SYSCO.   The world's largest.  Headquartered in Houston. 

38. Instrument named for an animal part: HORN.   Love the opening of this song.

39. Name related to Marge: PEGGY.    I tried Midge.  My Aunt Peg would have been disappointed.

42. __ beer: NEAR.   Tried one once.

43. Two-run homer situation: ONE ON.

47. United Kingdom language: SCOTS.  One of three native languages spoken in Scotland today.

50. Private __: EYE.   A gumshoe.   A detective.   A dick.    Have you ever seen The Bank Dick starring W.C. Fields as Egbert Sousé, "...a drunk who must repeatedly remind people in exasperation that his name is pronounced "Sousé—accent grave over the 'e'!", because people keep calling him "Souse" slang for drunkard" ? 

54. Kosher deli offering: LATKE.    They tasted a lot like potato pancakes to me too, Yellowrocks.

59. Place for a slip, perhaps: ICE.    Cute clue.

60. Cry of pain: YOWL.     Tried yelp.   Painful reviews.

61. Drawing tool: SIPHON.    Nice wordplay in the clue.   Loved it.

62. Give temporarily: LEND.   First instinct was loan.  Waited for another letter from a perp.

66. "I did it!": TADA.    No melodic tada at WaPo like we had at the Mensa site.

67. Like cornstalks: EARED.

68. Wight, for one: ISLE.    The Isle of Wight is just south of England.

69. Highbrow, perhaps: SNOB.

70. Pugilistic victories, briefly: TKOs.    Technical knockouts

71. Prized: DEAR.

Down:

1. Familia member: MADRE.    Esposa de su padre.   As Hahtoolah would quip, today's Spanish lesson.

2. Company whose failure brought down an accounting firm: ENRON.   Arthur Anderson.

3. Remain in force: STAND.   e.g. The judge's gag order will (remain in force) (stand).

4. Alpine protagonist: HEIDI.   Johanna Spyri's Swiss miss

5. Banned pollutants: PCBs.    Polychlorinated biphenyls

6. Tool secured by tholes: OAR.    Typically mounted on the gunwales

7. Oro y __: Montana's motto: PLATA.

8. Taint: SMIRCH.

9. Psych 101 subject: EGO.

10. Drifting, possibly: LOST AT SEA.

11. Bach's bailiwick: MUSIC. 

12. Neat pile: STACK.

15. Treacherous type: SNAKE.   "Instead you lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin' " - Keep on Loving You - Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon.

18. Still in bed: NOT UP.   But not necessarily asleep.

22. Pitchfork-shaped letters: PSIs.

25. Walk or run: PACE.

26. Timberlake's former band: NSYNC.   Justin Timberlake. 

28. Liquid sample: SIP.

30. Question of identity: WHO.   Who Are You is an album and song by English rockers The Who.

31. It carries a charge: ION.

32. Orchestral climax: CRESCENDO.   There are two in The Beatles A Day in the Life.

33. Rap: KNOCK.  

34. Cold War agcy.: KGB.   Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti - Committee for State Security

36. Sleeper or diner: CAR.  

37. Smeltery supply: ORE.

40. Nerd: GEEK.    It's all geek to me.

41. Happy fan's word: YAY.   

44. Intrusive: NOSY.

46. Natural history museum item: RELIC.

48. 56-Down's opposite: THOSE.   And, of course,   56. 48-Down's opposite: THESE.

49. "I'm not impressed": SO WHAT.   "Big whoop"

51. Stuns at the altar: JILTs.   Maggie Carpenter left three grooms at the altar before the big city columnist came to town to investigate.  Name the movie.

52. Eel's element: OCEAN.

53. Counter tender: CLERK.   Be harsh. 

55. Ladybug prey: APHID.    I read that each ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day.

57. Eucalyptus eater: KOALA.    Heartwarming story last week about the lady that saved the koala from the fire in New South Wales.

58. Put in: ENTER.  

61. Norms: Abbr.: STDs.    Who says, "The standard is the standard ?"   Don't rack your brain unless you are an NFL fan.  NFL Article from 2015

63. Apply with care: DAB.    And the initials of today's constructor !

65. Fair-hiring letters: EEO.   Equal Employment Opportunity.

Here's another place to check your grid:

Note from C.C.:


Here's a picture of Bill G's granddaughter Bella enjoying the rain. Good to see you back in blue, Bill! Thanks for persevering through the login troubles.

Friday, November 15, 2019 Joe Deeney

" What's My Line ? "


16. Clothes line?: HOW DO I LOOK ?

24. Tag line?: YOU'RE IT.

37. Border line?: PASSPORTS PLEASE.

46. Pick-up line?: WHERE TO ?

59. Defensive line?: I DIDN'T DO IT.

Joe constructed last Saturday's themeless.    If you aren't a Saturday solver, take a few moments to read Joe's comments.    Now, back to today...   A fairly easy Friday, don't you think ?   Let's call that a confidence builder.

Also, did you notice ?  Joe gave us a pangram !

Across:

1. River past the Museo Galileo: ARNO.

5. Wipe out: ERASE.

10. "Antiques Roadshow" airer: PBS.    I like how they show old clips from earlier seasons, updated with the currently appraised values. 

13. Half of rock's '60s "it" couple, per Time: CHER.   The other half would be Sonny.

14. "I've got this": LET ME.    Martin "Marty" Crane was the pragmatic and salt-of-the-earth father to psychiatrist sons Frasier and Niles Crane on the sitcom Frasier.

In the episode, "A Tsar is Born" they take a clock to the Antiques Roadshow and learn of its history.

15. Chipotle serving, casually: GUAC.   Eat This, Not That - Worst Chipotle Menu

18. Approximately: OR SO.

19. County bordering London: ESSEX.    British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is from Essex.

20. Ingredient in arròs negre, a squid-and-rice dish: INK.   Never saw the clue.

21. Pursuit: QUEST.   Do you recall Jonny Quest ? 

22. Solidified: FROZE.

26. Able-bodied: HALE.

28. Green of "Casino Royale": EVA.    The first of the Daniel Craig Bond movies.

30. Iraq War danger: Abbr.: IED.   Improvised Explosive Device.

31. "The Wire" antihero __ Little: OMAR.   No idea.   Wikipedia tells me The Wire is an American crime drama television series broadcast by the cable network HBO.

32. Think back to: RECALL.

34. Gym surface: MAT.   I wanted a wood at first.  Oak or Ash.

40. Vague ending: ISH.

41. Bilingual Muppet: ROSITA.  No idea, but the perps helped.

42. MD's diagnostic tools: MRIs.  Magnetic Resonance Imagings

43. Big bird: EMU.   More from Sesame Street.   This Big Bird is an oversized canary.

44. Relative of Da and De: VON.    Surname prepositions.  e.g. Oscar de la Renta.  Or,   El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.   Or the von Trapp family from the Sound of Music.  Da is Portuguese, often seen in names such as da Silva, da Costa, da Bears etc.

45. Leaning: BIAS.

50. Rte. with a Lake Michigan ferry crossing: U.S. TEN.   U.S. 10.    The S.S. Badger
 

52. Times New __: ROMAN.

53. Health care provider: Abbr.: LPN.   Licensed Practical Nurse

55. "Set Fire to the Rain" singer: ADELE.

58. Beyond regulation play, briefly: IN OT   In Overtime.

61. WWII Axis general: TOJO.

62. Kansas Army fort: RILEY.   Home of the Big Red One.    The 1st Infantry Divison.   The 1st Infantry Division Museum is at Cantigny Park in nearby Wheaton, Illinois.  

63. Slaughter on the diamond: ENOS.

64. Asian honorific: SRI. Indian honorific.

65. Neglected: SEEDY.

66. Grant's opposite: DENY.

Down:

1. Overexertion symptom: ACHE.

2. Frat letters: RHOs.

3. Ironic "This should come as no surprise ... ": NEWS FLASH.

4. Ones stocking up: ORDERERs.   Whoa !  A buyer ?  Stocking up for resale,  or stocking up on consumables ?   That's my best guess.   I'll bet blog reader Montana stocks up for the winter in case the highways become impassable.

5. Lilly of drugs: ELI.

6. Bullpen staff: RELIEVERs.  

7. Loads: ATON.

8. Like the air around a campfire: SMOKY.

9. "What's THAT?": EEK.

10. Applesauce, e.g.: PUREE.

11. Low singers: BASSI.   Singers (being plural) told me it would end in the I.

12. "Waverley" novelist: SCOTT.    The Waverley Novels - Sir Walter Scott

15. Squash, for one: GOURD.  Versus gored. 

Bet he wished he'd picked a different sport. Perhaps squash ?

17. Big name in spatulas: OXO.    I like the ergonomic grips on their kitchen utensils.

21. Put down: QUELL.

23. Reset: ZERO OUT.

25. Crankcase reservoirs: OIL PANS.

26. Kachina carver: HOPI.

27. Reddit Q&A sessions: AMAs.  Ask Me Anything

29. When Prospero says, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on": ACT IV.   Filled in ACT and waited.

33. Blew away: ASTOUNDED.

34. Ford carrier in the mid-'70s: MARINE ONE.   Wasn't firing on all cylinders as I tried to recall Ford car models...  until I got enough perps to see Marine One.   President Gerald Ford, of course.

35. Tibet's place: ASIA.

36. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role: TESS.   Juila Roberts played Tess Ocean, divorced wife of Danny Ocean, played by George Clooney.

38. Guys who spin: PR MEN.   Started with DJ Men spinning records, and ended with Public Relations men spinning the conversation.

39. Like some war correspondents: EMBEDDED.    Or videos in this blog.

43. Poetry Muse: ERATO.   OwenKL has been struck by the poetry muse.  Ditto for Chairman Moe, Haiku Harry and Limerick Larry.

46. Court directives: WRITS.

47. Esteem: HONOR.

48. Heart Eyes or OK Hand: EMOJI.    Definitely needed perps, and then it was, "Aha, now the clue makes sense !"

49. "Yesterday," today: OLDIE.    Nailed it.   From falling in love to the heartache,  Beatles style:

"Eight Days A Week"
Oh, I need your love, babe
Guess you know it's true
Hope you need my love babe
Just like I need you

"I Feel Fine"
Baby's good to me, you know
She's happy as can be, you know
She said so
I'm in love with her and I feel fine

"Ticket to Ride"
I think I'm gonna be sad
I think it's today, yeah
The girl that's driving me mad
Is going away

"Yesterday"
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

51. Bit of body art: TAT.   Tat or ink.

54. Stack: PILE.

56. Safari sight: LION.

57. Online marketplace: ETSY.    Started with eBay. 50 % wrong.

59. Returns home?: IRS.    Great clue. The Internal Revenue Service is where you send your tax returns.

60. Big Apple team, on crawl lines: NYY.    NY and wait for the perp.  Could have been G, J, or M and possibly others. Sports news crawl lines.

Check your grid here:

Wednesday, Nov 6, 2019 Gary Larson

Homonym Swap

17. Financial support at Kitty Hawk?: WRIGHT AID.
43. Siblings sharing a ceremony?: RITE BROTHERS.

Swap Wright and Rite:
   Rite Aid - The drugstore chain.
   Wright Brothers - Wilbur and Orville.

29. Remove italics from text?: RIGHT LETTERS.
59. Contact a fictional pirate?: WRITE HOOK.

Swap Right and Write
  Write letters.
  Right hook. 

How clever was that ?   Swap the homonyms for humorous effect.   Not puns.   Not malaprops.   Not juxtapositions.   What is the word I am looking for ?   Is there one ?   The best term I could come up with was homonym swap.   Does that sound wright rite write right ?   OK, maybe puns of a sort.

Across:

1. Zippo: NADA.    Notta lot you can do with this answer... Perhaps, "You are welcome" (Spanish): de ____,   or "Blue Book Org.":

5. State of irritation: HUFF. 

9. Produce carrier: CRATE.   Liquids carrier: Barrel. 

14. Historic British school: ETON.   For the elite.

15. Plains native: OTOE.

16. Indy participant: RACER. 

19. Skybox setting: ARENA.

20. Up to, casually: 'TIL.   Until

21. Sticky: ADHESIVE.   Adhesive as an adjective rather than as a noun.. 

23. Tie the knot: SAY I DO.  Wed.

25. Runs like mad: DASHES.    Very few trick-or-treaters last Thursday.  Just 16 or so children.   Returned a 250 count bag of snack sized candy bars.  Have just under half of the 90 count bag left.   

33. "All __ Jazz": THAT.    Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange starred.  Bob Fosse directed the semi auto-biographical work.   Dr. Nina wanted Fosse last Friday for the musical revue clue.

35. Zones: AREAs. 

36. "The A-Team" actor: MR T.   Mr. T as Sergeant Bosco Albert "B.A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus. 

37. Bread served with tandoori chicken: NAAN.

38. Met highlights: ARIAs. 

39. Spelling contests: BEEs.

40. Some iTunes downloads, briefly: EPs.  EP in Music

41. Cal. entries: APPTs.   Abbr in the clue. Abbr in the answer.

42. Have an inclination: TEND.

46. "... because you don't want to cross me": OR ELSE.

47. Up-to-the-minute: LATEST.

51. In seventh heaven: ECSTATIC.     Downy Wrinkle and Static Remover spray will make your garments ecstatic.

55. Women's rights activist Nellie: BLY.  Nellie Bly: Rabblerouser and Pioneer in Investigative Journalism

56. Battleship barrage: SALVO.

61. Fuss over feathers: PREEN.

62. Stare at creepily: OGLE.

63. Balm ingredient: ALOE.

64. Change, as a will: AMEND.

65. They're often loaded: SOTs.    WC Fields persona.

66. Continuity problems: GAPs. 

Down:

1. Semiaquatic salamanders: NEWTs.

2. Skylit courts: ATRIA.   And here I thought they were heart chambers.

3. Lacy place mat: DOILY.   Let's check ETSY to see if any are available.  

4. With 58-Down, "Life of Pi" director: ANG. and 58. See 4-Down: LEE.   Ang Lee.  Roger Ebert's Review

5. Ballpark treat: HOT DOG.   Show off.

6. State that celebrates Pioneer Day: UTAH.  July 24th.  New to me.

7. Pâté base: FOIE.   French for liver. 

8. Govt. agents: FEDs.

9. Fancy scarves: CRAVATs.

10. Hardest to come by: RAREST.

11. Whiz: ACE.

12. Notable Downing Street address: TEN.  

13. Important span: ERA.  Or, abbr for Earned Run Average in baseball stats.   I already miss watching and listening to MLB games. 

18. Seen enough: HAD IT.    I'm done.

22. Think tank products: IDEAs.

24. Tehran's land: IRAN.

26. Dudes with fab abs: HE MEN.   Stepping on He Man and Battle Cat in your stocking feet is no pleasure. 

27. Slipped up: ERRED.

28. Fast Atl. crossers, once: SSTs.   Super Sonic Transports.   BOAC and Air France.

30. Horn-honking Marx: HARPO.

31. Country singer Travis: TRITT.   Long haired country boy.   Hard to pick from so many great songs.


32. Chow line?: LEASH.  Loved this clue.

33. Piglike forest dweller: TAPIR.  8 fascinating facts you should know about tapirs

34. Swiftness: HASTE. 

37. Successor to Claudius: NERO.  It's all Roman to me.

38. __-ski: APRES.    After ski.  Perhaps spritzers or Glühwein in the chalet.

39. Second to none: BEST.

41. Hurry off and hide: ABSCOND.

42. Hunt down the source of: TRACE.

44. Gridiron complement: ELEVEN.  Football.   American rules football.   Eleven players on the offensive side of the ball.  Eleven on the defensive side. 

45. High society types: ELITEs.   The A-list.

48. Deadly African virus: EBOLA.

49. Single-master: SLOOP.

50. Small fry: TYKES.   "Fry” may have been derived from the Middle English, Anglo-French frie, which means “to spawn.” Eventually ”frie” became “fry,” the term and denoted offspring, young animals, or members of a group." - Disappearing Idioms .com on "Small fry."

52. What Noah counted by: TWOs.

53. Constellation named for a mythological ship: ARGO.   Now I get it.

More here.

54. List: TILT.   Misdirection.  In this case, list means to lean to one side.    Simple yet effective one-word clue to potentially lead you astray for a moment.

56. Place for a retreat: SPA.

57. Usher's offering: ARM.   Offer your right arm, holding it at 90 degrees, to the eldest woman in the group.  If you aren't sure which one is the eldest, don't ask.

60. Folklore crone: HAG.

Check your answers against this grid:

Note from C.C.:

Here is a picture of little Agnes with her brother Bill on her left and brother Jack on her right. She said they were standing in front of a WWII Memorial. We can't get a clearer picture, but you can still see her cute dress, shoes and flowers.