Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Joe Schewe

⌁  "Wired"  ⌁

17. Carry only a carry-on, say: TRAVEL LIGHT.  WIRED LIGHT  💡

24. MLB's National League nickname (because it was founded first): SENIOR CIRCUIT. WIRED CIRCUIT

47. Unscrupulous sales tactic: BAIT AND SWITCH. WIRED SWITCH  

57. Chaw in a cheek: TOBACCO PLUG.  WIRED PLUG  🔌

39. Tense with excitement ... and a hint to the ends of the four longest puzzle answers: WIRED.

Across:

1. Like aged cheddar: SHARP.

6. Three-dimensional: CUBIC.ऒ

11. Clavell's "__-Pan": TAI.  Big shot. 

14. Down-yielding duck: EIDER.

15. IRA-establishing legislation: ERISA. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act

16. __ Tin Tin: RIN. The German Shepherd Dog is my favorite.

19. "__ had one job!": YOU.   The perfect opening for CrossEyedDave.  I'll link this one to get him started. 

20. Bottom edge of a dress: HEM.

21. Slithery swimmer: EEL.

22. Bacteria in food recalls: E. COLI.

29. "Of course": YES.

30. Least fresh: OLDEST.

31. Rainbow-shaped: ARCED.

34. Five-time Silver Slugger Award-winning catcher Joe: MAUER.   Some guys are just athletically gifted.  Like another Minnesotan, Dave Winfield.   Mauer was a great multi-sport ballplayer in high school.  Click the link to read about him.   

First Baseman since 2014

C.C. used to have Joe Mauer as her avatar:

35. The 2% in 2% milk: FAT.

38. Nobel physicist Niels: BOHR.

40. Vague amount: SOME.

41. Wonderment: AWE.  If you take the previous answer at 40A, and append it to this answer, you will have the adjective that I sense grates on Husker Gary's ears. 

42. Funeral rite heaps: PYRES.

43. Aleppo's land: SYRIA.

44. Martin of "Route 66": MILNER.  We had a clue of "66, for one"  yesterday at 5D, and the answer was RTE.  Boomer commented, "I think there was a famous TV show with Martin Milner about Rte. 66."   So anyone that read the blog yesterday should have been able to get Milner today.  That's him on the right.  Reruns of Route 66 are on late night TV.    Nice car for a pair of drifters. 

 He beat out Robert Redford for the role.

46. Buddhist discipline: ZEN.

51. Takes a break: RESTS.

52. Ill. neighbor: IND.

53. Piece of history: ERA.

56. Framed works: ART.

62. Knight's title: SIR.

63. Downloadable read: EBOOK.

64. Moan and groan: WHINE.

65. "Listen up!": HEY.  Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over.

66. Takes a chance on: RISKS.

67. Vetoes: NIXES.

Down:

1. Meyers of late-night TV: SETH.

2. Put on the payroll: HIRE.

3. Frequent Yosemite photographer Ansel: ADAMS.

 The Story Behind the Photograph That Made Ansel Adams Famous

4. Gun, as an engine: REV.

5. Fussed in front of a mirror: PREENED.  This sure sounds like fussing to me.  Never heard of scritch before.

6. Upright violin kin: CELLO.

7. Ocean State sch.: URI.  The University of Rhode Island is the flagship university for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

8. The __ Dipper: BIG.

9. "Kinda" suffix: ISH. Sorta.

10. Party food provider: CATERER.

11. Seek a spot on, as a sports team: TRY OUT FOR. 

12. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI.

13. Alaskan native: INUIT.

18. Floral garlands: LEIS.

23. IV units: CCs.

25. Ogler: EYER.  Oxford Dictionaries:  Eyer.  Noun.  Rare.
    1 Chiefly literary and poetic. A person who looks at or sees something or someone; an observer.
    2 A person who makes eyes in needles. Now historical.

26. Loud crowds: ROARERS.  Like the fans at the 2018 U.S. Open played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

27. Crossword puzzle list: CLUES. Also from Oxford Dictionaries... Origin: Late Middle English: variant of clew. The original sense was ‘a ball of thread’; hence one used to guide a person out of a labyrinth.  I could use a better ball of thread on some Saturday puzzles.

28. Fingered in a lineup, briefly: ID'ed.

31. Old hoops org.: ABA.  American Basketball Association. 1967 to 1976.   I was a fan.  Dr. J (Julius Erving), Rick Barry, Moses Malone, Dan Issel,  Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Tiny (Nate) Archibald and others. 

32. Line of seats: ROW.

33. Mutual attraction in a relationship: CHEMISTRY.  Are we talking about covalent bonding ?  Or 💑 ?

34. Stuck in the mud: MIRED.

36. "__ dreaming?": AM I.

37. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA.  I believe this is Abejo's favorite.  So much so that he takes it with him when he dines out.

39. Casino mogul Steve: WYNN.  I would have preferred the clue to have been about Ed, Keenan or  Early.  

40. Lip-__: mouth the words: SYNC.

42. Wall surface: PLASTER.

43. Land a plane: SET DOWN.  Hi Dudley ! 

45. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.   Linked ITT's picture last time.

46. Galvanizing metal: ZINC. 

47. Audacious: BRASH.

48. Eagle's nest: AERIE.

49. Trimmable candle parts: WICKS.

50. DNA structure: HELIX.

54. Ancient character: RUNE.

55. Long, long time: AGES.

58. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.

59. Mass. MLB team: BOS.  Boston Red Sox.   In 1967 I was playing Little League and devoured anything / everything baseball.  Yaz won the Triple Crown and Boston won the AL Pennant to face St Louis in the World Series.  The series was tied at 3 games apiece.  Our teacher,  Mr Kelly,  rolled a TV into the classroom.  We all watched the deciding Game 7.   Bob Gibson of the Cardinals won his 3rd game and St Louis took the series 4-3.  I was pulling for the Cardinals, but became a Yaz fan that season.  Great ballplayer.  1st ballot HOF'er.  Born in Southampton, N.Y., site of the 2018 U.S. Open.  BTW,  no other Triple Crowns were won in either league until 2012, when Miguel Cabrerra of the Tigers accomplished the feat.

60. "All systems go!": AOK.  Jinx might see that in his side view mirrors as he leaves the campgrounds.

61. __ Beta Kappa: PHI.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 C.C. Burnikel

"SPICE MIX"

16. Area behind velvet ropes, often: VIP SECTION.

60. Former "SNL" regular known for Sinatra impressions: JOE PISCOPO.

10. Commercial rental property: OFFICE SPACE.

24. Beverage-named Denver arena: PEPSI CENTER.

And the reveal:
35. Curry powder, e.g. ... and what each set of puzzle circles contains: SPICE MIX.

C.C. mixes in some spice to season this sumptuous repast.

I was puzzled at the top because I typed in VIP SEaTIng on the across run.  Everything was going swimmingly on the down run until I got to 7 and 8 down.

Across:

1. Condition before a storm: CALM.

5. Secure at the pier: LASH.

9. Swamp croaker: TOAD.


13. Hand lotion ingredient: ALOE.

14. Triangular Greek letter: DELTA.

15. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.


18. Sci-fi hoverers: UFOs.

19. Cul-de-__: SAC.

20. Completes a sentence?: DOES TIME. 

22. Cholesterol-inhibiting drug: LIPITOR.   Atorvastatin.

26. Smokey Bear TV ad, e.g.: PSA.   Here's a collection of them:


27. Scoundrel: CAD.

28. Sports drink suffix: ADE.

29. Stockpile: AMASS.

31. JFK's predecessor: DDE.

Meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) and President-elect Kennedy

33. Favoring relatives in hiring: NEPOTISM.  How Stuff Works: Nepotism

35. Richter scale event: SEISM.  Seism; A shaking of the Earth's surface; an earthquake or tremor. - Wiktionary.  Jayce's arena.  Here's some reading about Richter scale from How Stuff Works.

37. Pinch in a recipe: DASH.

38. Tourney winner: CHAMP.

40. Rotisserie rod: SPIT.

 Be careful - the spit and forks are blazing hot.

42. Pride members: LIONS.  Matt Patricia is the new head coach of the Detroit Lions.

The Pride of Detroit

44. Baggage claim bag: SUITCASE.

46. John of "Star Trek" (2009): CHO.

47. Word of choice: WHICH.

48. So-so grade: CEE.

49. Tribute in verse: ODE.  The first ode I heard was to Billie Joe:


51. Yellowfin tuna: AHI.

53. Book buyers: READERS.  Or non-prescription reading glasses. Wilbur uses those for reading the blog.  I have 20-40 vision with my glasses on.  New glasses should be here soon.  Hopefully, less blurry vision  and fewer headaches will ensue.

55. Not-so-subtle verbal nudge: HINT HINT.

58. "O Sole __": MIO.

59. Relaxing soak, or a financial soaking: BATH.

65. Draft classification: ONE A.  1-A.   Selective Service Classifications

66. Building extension: ANNEX.

67. Be acquainted with: KNOW.


68. Knitter's purchase: YARN.  Madame Defarge enjoys knitting, as did my MIL. 

69. Rock group: BAND. Was going to link their Rock and Roll Band song, but this 1990 international hit would be the most famous song of this German rock group that started plying their trade at the height of Beatlemania.  The video has 574M views.


70. Planted, as seed: SOWN.

Down:

1. Cleveland NBAer: CAV.   The Cavaliers.  The star player of the Cavs is LeBron James.  Marc Stein of the NY Times wrote of LeBron James, "Just don’t forget that it’s James’s unwavering brilliance, above all, that convinced the Warriors — after a 73-win season in 2015-16 — that they had to do anything they could to add (Kevin) Durant to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala to ensure they could beat this one guy."

2. "Moonlight" Oscar winner Mahershala __: ALI.

More at IMDb

3. Chop off: LOP.

4. Argentine soccer superstar Lionel: MESSI.   Star forward playing for FC Barcelona.

Forbes Profile

5. Net judge's call: LET.

6. "Put __ on it!": A LID.

7. Hunches over: STOOPS.

8. Underwear brand: HANES.

9. Tightly drawn: TAUT.

11. Candle shop allure: AROMA.  This place sells over 1200 candles scents and fragrances if you are into making your own.  This household has enough scented candles.  They seem to multiply like Tribbles.

12. Provided with medicine: DOSED.

14. "Wonder Woman" publisher: DC COMICS.

17. Bother a lot: EAT AT.

21. Marquis de __: SADE.  Who Was the Marquis de Sade?

22. Arrive onshore: LAND.

23. Perfect example: IDEAL.


25. Reckless: RASH.

30. Roaring success: SMASH.

32. Blu-ray buy: DISC.

34. "Looks like trouble!": OH OH. Mercy, look what just walked through that door.


36. Unlikely GoFundMe donor: MISER.

39. "ABC World News Tonight" anchor David: MUIR.  David Muir, Lester Holt and Jeff Glor.

 Wikipedia says WNT is the "most watched newscast in America" but the cited reference is for the week of August 14th, 2017.  A little research led to this Forbes article.

41. Casual shirts: TEES.

43. Ark builder: NOAH.

45. Bangkok natives: THAIs.

47. Ryder of "Edward Scissorhands": WINONA.  Winona Ryder starred opposite Johnny Depp.

 Named after the nearby city of Winona

49. "Yippee!": OH BOY.

50. Mythical hunter: DIANA.  In Roman Mythology.  More here.

52. Muslim woman's headscarf: HIJAB.

54. Comes to port: DOCKS.

56. Larger __ life: THAN.

57. Ky. neighbor: TENN.  Speaking of getting to know you:


61. One on foot, in signs: PED.

62. Musician Yoko: ONO.

 Yoko Ono to Receive Songwriting Credit on John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’

63. "Kaboom!": POW.

64. Part of MYOB: OWN.  Mind Your Own Business.  Alternatively - for those with teenagers - Make Your Own Bed.

Tuesday June 5th, 2018 Samuel A. Donaldson

"LOSS LEADERS"

17. Gym bar addition: WEIGHT PLATE. WEIGHT LOSS

24. Fairness principle for bandwidth providers: NET NEUTRALITY.  NET LOSS

36. Judicial fact finder: HEARING EXAMINER. HEARING LOSS

48. What a crossword clue typically starts with: CAPITAL LETTER. CAPITAL LOSS

58. Retail come-ons ... and what the starts of the longest Across answers can be?: LOSS LEADERS.

Across:

1. Plunk down in front of, as a counter: SIT AT. 

6. 1-BR listings: APTs. Abbr # 1 Apartments

10. Ph.D. wannabe's obstacle: GRE. #2 Graduate Readiness Exam

13. Heart chambers: ATRIA.

14. Blue Ribbon beer: PABST.  Johnny Russell had a Hot Country Single in 1973 with Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer

He also wrote Act Naturally that Husker Gary linked last Saturday, as sung by Ringo and Buck Owens.  He was co-writer on George Strait's 1984 #1 Hot Country single Let's Fall to Pieces Together

16. Short flight: HOP.

19. In days of yore: AGO.

20. Opposite of SSW: NNE. #3 North, Northeast

21. Seat of Allen County, Kansas: IOLA.


22. Pricey watch: ROLEX.

28. Dodos: NINNIES.

30. Lumber: WOOD.  Pittsburgh's "Lumber Company" of the '70s  "They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and I try to hit it square,” Stargell said.

31. "__ Baby": "Hair" song: ABIE.

32. Genie's offering: WISH.

33. Hoppy beer, for short: IPA. # 4 India Pale Ale

41. Mo. port on the Miss.: STL. # 5 St. Louis

42. Mark Harmon TV series: NCIS. # 6 Naval Criminal Investigative Service

43. "Now!" in the ER: STAT. #7 Statim (Latin immediately)

44. Ruler until 1917: TSAR.  Nicholas II

45. iPad and Kindle Fire: TABLETS.

52. "I didn't expect to see you here": OH HEY.


53. Out of the wind: ALEE.

Leeward and Windward

54. Itinerary word: VIA.

57. Habitat of many schools: SEA.  "In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling, and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling."  Wikipedia

62. "Live __": Taco Bell slogan: MAS.

63. Take off the TiVo: ERASE.

64. Lustrous furs: MINKS.   Free shipping and no tax.

Style Details

65. Poetic tribute: ODE.

66. Mannerless one: BOOR.

67. Behold, of old: SEEST.

Down:

1. Like lumber: SAWN.

2. Southern coast-to-coast hwy.: I-TEN. #8  Interstate 10

3. Occurring every third year: TRIENNIAL.

4. 2008 bailout co.: AIG. # 9 American International Group

5. South Pacific getaway: TAHITI.

Sheltered Blue Lagoons

6. Orchard fruit: APPLES.

7. Micronesian setting for the 10th season of "Survivor": PALAU.

Welcome to Palau

8. Letters in an incomplete schedule: TBA. # 11 To Be Announced

9. Retired flier, briefly: SST. #12 Super Sonic Transport

10. Ex-U.N. head Boutros-__: GHALI.   We always heard, "Boutros Boutros-Ghali" on the TV.

11. Thesaurus compiler: ROGET.

12. Hobbyist's glue: EPOXY.

15. Resistance unit equal to one trillion of the basic units: TERAOHM.  Why would anyone need these extreme values?  My Fluke meter won't measure to a trillion ohms of resistance.   Jayce ?

18. Musical quality: TONE.

23. Yellowstone's __ Faithful: OLD

Webcams - Pick the Upper Geyser Basin

25. Cabinet dept. concerned with nukes: ENER. #13 Energy

26. Candy from Mars: TWIX.  Cute clue.

27. Rights icon Parks: ROSA.

28. Casual denials: NAHs.

29. "Su-r-r-r-re": I BET.

32. "Rushmore" director Anderson: WES.  "This cult favorite is a quirky coming of age story, with fine, off-kilter performances from Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray." - Rotten Tomatoes.    Wes Anderson: American film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor.  Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom. 

33. Play peacemaker: INTERVENE.  People who have contributed to peace.

34. Bog fuel: PEAT.

35. "Fine" studies: ARTS.

37. Current, as fashion: IN STYLE.  Had in vogue. I guess vogue is outta style.

38. Frozen Four org.: NCAA. # 14 National Collegiate Athletic Association.    Frozen Four is the branding for the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.  Minnesota Duluth is the most recent champion.

39. Lass: GIRL.

40. 5-Down or 7-Down: ISLE.

44. Deadlock: TIE.

45. Penn's silent partner: TELLER.

Magicians and Entertainers

46. Perfectly, with "to": A TEE.

47. Backup squads: B TEAMS.

48. Pink drink, for short: COSMO. #15 Cosmopolitan


49. On the horizon: AHEAD.

50. Temporary stage: PHASE.

51. Catcher at a rodeo: LASSO.


55. Really gets to: IRKS.

56. Certain prof.'s designation: ASST. #16  Assistant

59. Poetic planet: ORB.

60. __ Paulo, Brazil: SAO.  The most populous city in the Americas (NY 4th, LA 8th, CHI 14th), and the most populous metropolitan area of the Americas (NY 3rd, LA 5th, CHI 8th).   Sao Paulo -Wikipedia

61. Yahtzee cube: DIE.

 

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear TTP (Tom), our Tuesday Sherpa since March 20, 2018, though he's been always there helping me solve various blog and life glitches. 

Madame DeFarge, I sure hope you can make the Chicago Corner Gathering happen. You've met Abejo, who met TTP for beer a few years ago. We need to "see" TTP.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018, Ed Sessa

Holding Hands

20. Basic cocktail with Dewar's: SCOTCH AND SODA.

24. Live frugally: PINCH AND SCRAPE.

42. Political entities subject to Constitutional separation: CHURCH AND STATE.

48. Exhortation to come together ... and a hint to 20-, 24- and 42-Across: LET'S JOIN HANDS.

Each phrase holds (contains) the word hands. 

Across:

1. Learn to fit in: ADAPT.

6. "Sí," on the Seine: OUI. 

9. Nasser of Egypt: GAMAL.

14. Oscar winner Marisa: TOMEI.   1993 Oscars, Best Supporting Actress award,  as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny

15. "What was __ expect?": I TO.

16. Martini garnish: OLIVE.

17. "The Sixth Sense" writer/director M. Night __: SHYAMALAN.  Perps made it easy.  Otherwise, no clue. 

19. "Mack the Knife" singer Bobby: DARIN.

22. Spanish "other": OTRA.

23. Acorn producer: OAK.

31. What truants "play": HOOKY.   I thought of Senior Skip Day.

32. 2010 Apple release: IPAD.

33. Application file suffix: EXE.  File suffix being file type.  Short for executable.

35. Pests in a pantry: ANTS.

36. Like very serious errors: FATAL.   "Error 1603: A fatal error occurred during installation" is a catchall when your application's executable doesn't install correctly. 

38. Octopus octet: ARMS.

39. Muscle spasm: TIC.

40. Chore: TASK.

41. Most of Wile E. Coyote's gadgets, brand-wise: ACMES.

46. Forget-me-__: NOT.  

Your birth flower if you were born in September.

The Alaska state flower.

Symbolism 



47. Ohio border lake: ERIE.

54. Hawaiian hi: ALOHA.

55. Embarrasses deeply: MORTIFIES.

58. Bourbon Street cuisine: CAJUN.

59. Boston skyscraper, with "the": PRU.

60. Nick of "Cape Fear": NOLTE.

61. Shoelace problems: KNOTS.

62. Stockholm airline: SAS.  SAS is an abbreviation of its former full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark–Norway–Sweden.   The main hub is in Copenhagen, while the company headquarters is near Stockholm.   Wikipedia

63. Wear away: ERODE.


Down:

1. @ signs: ATs.   I first learned this symbol meant each at.   Internet Hall of Famer and inventor of email,  RPI & MIT grad Ray Tomlinson, used the @ symbol to distinguish host name from user name so that messages could be sent from one host to another on ARPANET, the precursor to the internet. 

2. "I am so stupid!": DOH. Popularized by Homer Simpson.    You're telling me Grumpy and Doc weren't in Sleeping Beauty ?  Oh, Snow White.  DOH !

3. Actress Poehler and singer Grant: AMYS. Actress and comedian Amy Poehler and contemporary Christian singer Amy Grant.

4. Birds with eyelike spots on their tails: PEACOCKS.

5. Youngest-ever Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Hutton: TIMOTHY. Won for "Ordinary People."   I confused him with his father Jim.

6. Lube shop container: OIL CAN. Red Sox fans like Wilbur would remember "Oil Can" Boyd, a starting pitcher for the Beantown nine.

7. D-Day beach: UTAH.

8. Hebrides isle: IONA.

9. NASA's __ Space Flight Center: GODDARD.

10. Where Nome is: ALASKA.

11. Surrealist painter Joan: MIRO.

12. Gung-ho: AVID.

13. "Girls" creator Dunham: LENA.

18. Gillette blade: ATRA.

21. Diet-friendly: NO-CAL.

24. Cool, in '90s slang: PHAT. Not an acronym, but a deliberate misspelling of fat, in the sense of rich, abundant, or desirable.  A couple of backronyms - phrases constructed after the fact - are Pretty Hot And Tempting and PHysically ATtractive.  Paraphrased from Snopes.com

25. Greek column type: IONIC.

26. V-shaped cut: NOTCH.

27. Football's "Iron Mike": DITKA.


28. Place for a waxing: SPA.

29. Prefix with frost: PERMA.

30. Ron Darling or Tom Seaver: EX MET. Starting pitchers for the NY Mets.

34. To be, to Livy: ESSE.   "Livy, Latin in full Titus Livius, (born 59/64 bc, Patavium, Venetia [now Padua, Italy]—died ad 17, Patavium), with Sallust and Tacitus, one of the three great Roman historians. His history of Rome became a classic in his own lifetime and exercised a profound influence on the style and philosophy of historical writing down to the 18th century."  - Britannica.com

36. De __: actual: FACTO. "In fact or in practice; in actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status." Wiktionary.

37. Campfire remnant: ASH.

38. Represented: ACTED FOR.

40. Some "Iliad" warriors: TROJANS.

41. Utterly absurd: ASININE.

43. Left open, as a door: UNSHUT.

44. Indian political family: NEHRUS.

45. "Dagnabbit!": DRAT.

48. Absence: LACK.

49. Splashy style: ELAN.

50. Axis dictator who ordered the Pearl Harbor attack: TOJO.

51. Little rascals: IMPS.

52. "Julie & Julia" director Ephron: NORA.

53. Grain tower: SILO.

56. Flight board abbr.: ETD.

57. "Just like I said!": SEE.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Debbie Ellerin

"Cookies"

Debbie drops these baked goods into our thoughts to sweeten our day.

16. Bed buyer's concern: COMFORT, and 17. Still on the plate: UNEATEN.   FORTUNE cookie.

23. "Oliver Twist" criminal: FAGIN, and 25. "Sommersby" star Richard: GERE.  GINGER cookie.

45. Bump up against: ABUT, and 47. Coastal flock: TERNS.  BUTTER cookie.

53. Massage technique meaning "finger pressure" in Japanese: SHIATSU, and 55. Stocking attachments: GARTERS.  SUGAR cookie.

34. With 36-Across, mass-produced ... and what each of four black squares in this puzzle is?: COOKIE CUTTER.

Across:
1. Far from homogeneous: DIVERSE.

8. Fight back: RESIST.

14. Threatening: OMINOUS.

15. Red hot chili pepper: CAYENNE.  Add a half-teaspoon or more to your next batch of chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies.  Don't knock it until you try it. 

18. Suffix for Gator: ADE.  Gatorade.  Developed by researchers at the University of Florida.

19. Like cactus-friendly climates: ARID.   The Prickly Pear is the official state plant of Texas.

Tender cactus leaves (nopalitos) are nutritious substitutes for green beans, okra, squash, and bell pepper. Its top production occurs in the summer months when other vegetable plants are out of season. Texas Cactus Council

20. "__ making a list ... ": HE'S.

21. Family guy: SON.

26. Deeply absorbed: RAPT.

27. Clickable pic: ICON. 

Anonymous T borrowed this familiar image to use as the desktop ICON for a Windows program he wrote for use by C.C.'s blogging team.   The program eliminated repetitious pre-blogging work.  Great job Anon T !   Thanks again !

28. Skippy rival: JIF.

Jif vs Skippy

29. Roadie's load: AMP.

30. San Antonio Spurs coach Popovich: GREGG.

PK would know he's called "Pop" or "Coach Pop"   He is the longest tenured coach in the NBA and in all major sports leagues in the United States.   He has a record-setting 21 consecutive winning seasons, and has won 5 NBA Championships as the head coach of the Spurs.

31. Worth having: OF USE.

37. "Spun" tales: YARNS.  Madame Defarge knows about yarns that do not include dubious amounts of exaggeration. 

38. Arm bone-related: ULNAR.

41. News letters: UPI. 

42. Trike rider: TOT.

43. Having no slack: TAUT.

44. Soft French wheel: BRIE. Why Some Cheeses Come in Wheels and Others in Blocks

48. Blues-rocker Chris: REA.

49. Somerhalder of "The Vampire Diaries": IAN.

IMDb Entry on Ian Somerhalder

50. Two in a row?: OARS.

51. Prompt on stage: CUE.

59. Rodeo ropes: LASSOES.

60. Massachusetts site of Phillips Academy: ANDOVER.  Prestigious university prep school that is named in many rankings as the best high school in the country.  About $54K/yr if you can get your child or grandchild accepted.   I scanned the alumni list.  Didn't get past the B's.  The Bush's,  Bill Belichick, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Humphrey Bogart...  although the Casablanca actor was expelled.

61. This one or that one: EITHER.

62. Dangerous wave: TSUNAMI.


Down:
1. Bashful pal: DOC.  They of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs

2. Texter's "If you ask me": IMO.

3. Vigor's partner: VIM.

4. "Terrible" French kid: ENFANT.  "Enfant terrible, which literally means "terrifying child" in French...could be anyone - young or old - whose behavior shocked others. Now the term is also often applied to young, successful newcomers who shock or scare old-timers with their new approaches, easy successes, or disregard for tradition."   Paraphrased from Merriam Webster.

5. Crucifix: ROOD.

6. Foolproof: SURE FIRE. "What's a sure fire way to fail your driving test ?"


7. Guinness suffix: EST.

8. Carted off to jail: RAN IN.

9. Looked at closely: EYED.

10. "The __ is calm tonight": "Dover Beach" opening: SEA.  Summary and Analysis

11. Coming up: IN THE FUTURE.

12. Show contempt: SNEER.  Emotional body language - Sneer explained

13. Present perfect, for one: TENSE.

15. Saving one's bacon?: CURING.  Fun clue. 

19. Really excited: AGOG.

21. Polynesian nation: SAMOA.

22. One who strikes while the iron is hot: OPPORTUNIST. 

24. Top pitcher: ACE. Nat Max Scherzer 7W - 1L,  1.78 ERA,  104 SO, 0.85 WHIP.  Those are ACE stats.

25. Birthday present: GIFT.

26. Risqué: RACY.

28. Soup du __: JOUR.


30. Essence: GIST.

32. Vintage hue on a photo app: SEPIA.

33. Scary-sounding lake: ERIE.

35. Nautical speed unit: KNOT.

36. Cross-sectional X-rays: CATSCANS.

38. Development site: UTERUS.

39. Metallica drummer Ulrich: LARS.

40. Woman with a habit?: NUN.

44. Nantes native: BRETON.

Nantes is a city on the Loire river and is the capital of Brittany, a region of  France. 

Bretons are an ethnic group located in this region.




45. Flier's window alternative: AISLE.

46. Iranian faith: BAHAI.

47. Stun gun brand: TASER.

50. Winnebago relative: OTOE.

Native Heritage Project - Oto Indians

52. Pakistan's national language: URDU.

54. Mt. St. Helens output: ASH.

55. Mobster's piece: GAT.

56. "2 Fast 2 Furious" actress Mendes: EVA.   Eva and partner Ryan Gosling

57. Sleep acronym: REM.  "Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep, REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, distinguishable by random/rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied with low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly." Wikipedia.

58. Indian title: SRI.  "...a polite form of address, like "mister" in English, or as an epithet for the names of Hindu deities."  Yogapedia

Here's the grid:

Tuesday, May 15, 2018, Joe Kidd

"Bad Penny"

17. Purina product for a young tabby: KITTEN CHOW.

22. Nickname for Coolidge: SILENT CAL.  “You can’t know too much, but you can say too much.”

51. Toe-tapping number: DANCE TUNE.

57. Riviera gambling destination: MONTE CARLO.   It is probably not possible to place a bet for one hundredth of a Euro at a Monte Carlo casino.

CENT appears in each of the four answers, but not spelled as such.   Thus, they are incorrect or invalid, or "bad."

35. With "a," someone undesirable ... and what's found in the circled letters?: BAD PENNY.

"Pennies today are viewed as nearly worthless by many people (although not so many as a year ago), but when the term “bad penny” first appeared in the 18th century, pennies were serious money.  This made them ripe targets for counterfeiters, and to reach into your pocket or purse and discover that you had ended up with such a counterfeit coin, a “bad” penny, was a depressing and annoying experience."

"A bad penny always turns up” is a very old proverb that dates back to at least the mid-18th century and is probably much older.  The general sense of the phrase is, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “the predictable, and often unwanted, return of a disreputable or prodigal person after some absence, or (more generally) to the continual recurrence of someone or something.”  A “bad penny” is a person whose presence is unwelcome on any occasion, but whom fate perversely employs to torment you by making said person appear (“turn up”) repeatedly, often at the worst possible times."
Source: The Word Detective. 

Across:
1. Lymph __: NODE.

5. Offended smack: SLAP.

9. Catch some rays?: FISH.

13. Universal blood type, for short: O NEG.

14. Cursed: SWORE.   Not here, please.

15. First bet in a summer World Series: ANTE.  World Series of Poker.

16. Sharp tooth: FANG.

19. Actress Hagen: UTA.

20. Comes down with: GETS. 

21. Boca __, Florida: RATON.

 The laziest city in the country ?

25. Looks embarrassed: IS RED. 

27. Popeye's energy source: SPINACH.

28. Syst. for the hearing-impaired: ASL.  American Sign Language

30. Sci-fi writer Bradbury: RAY.  A favorite of mine was Fahrenheit 451.  “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”  - Ray Bradbury

31. Extreme degree: NTH.

32. Grand Canyon State sch.: ASU.  Arizona State University.

33. Theater level: LOGE.

34. __ Dhabi: Persian Gulf port: ABU.

36. Fragrant evergreens: PINES.

38. More than pique: IRE.

39. Nutritious berry: ACAI.

40. Fitting: APT.

41. Toy dog, briefly: POM.  Pomeranian.  Sorry, Irish Miss.  We get another Spitz breed of dog.  Last time I had a dog in the cw it was the Shiba Inu. 


43. "__ be an honor": IT'D.  Really, it would.

44. Tokyo's former name: EDO.

45. Most obsequious: OILIEST.

49. Force back: REPEL.

53. Classroom fixtures: DESKS.

55. Mai __: tiki drinks: TAIS.

56. Burgundy on screen: RON.  "Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top-rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 1970s, but that's all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman is hired as a new anchor."  IMDb.

59. Group activity at a Jewish wedding: HORA.

60. Mystical old letter: RUNE.

61. Bargaining group: UNION.

62. Still unfilled, as a position: OPEN.

63. Ocular woe: STYE.

64. TV screen meas.: DIAG.

65. Sassy: PERT.


Down:

1. Easy to prepare, in adspeak: NO FUSS.

2. How bettors may act: ON A TIP.

3. Alaska's __ National Park: DENALI.

More than a mountain

4. Breakfast staple: EGG.

5. Light activator: SWITCH.

6. Heaps of, informally: LOTSA.

7. Sculpture, paintings, etc.: ART.

8. Look closely (at): PEER.

9. Britannica fodder: FACTS.

10. How people react to slasher films: IN HORROR.

11. Prehistoric period: STONE AGE.

12. Chop with an axe: HEW.

14. Book of drawing paper: SKETCH PAD.

18. Clipper's target: NAIL.

20. Annoying flying insect: GNAT.


23. Boredom: ENNUI.

24. Cut with a surgical beam: LASE.

26. Easter coloring: DYE.

29. "Sneaking" feeling: SUSPICION.


32. Annoying crawling insect: ANT.

33. Word after time or term: LIMIT.

34. Pantomimed: ACTED OUT.   Played a part.

37. Apple with earbuds: IPOD.

39. "Into Thin __": Jon Krakauer book: AIR.  After reading "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster" you may want to read "The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest" by Anatoli Boukreev. 

42. Corrida cheers: OLES.

44. Actress Sommer: ELKE.

45. Bump's place, idiomatically: ON A LOG.

46. Liechtenstein locale: EUROPE.   Europe : LIECHTENSTEIN

47. Nighttime noisemaker: SNORER.

48. Lodger: TENANT.

50. Makeup maven Lauder: ESTEE.

52. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.

54. Gulf War weapon: SCUD.

57. Dash of flavor?: MRS.

58. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase: AN I.

59. Make like a bunny: HOP.

See all y'all later n'at !

Here's the grid:

Oh wait.   One more.   For Irish Miss:

A "majestic puffball"

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

"Strong Persuasion"

17. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" singer: BARBARA MANDRELL.



25. David Bowie genre: GLAM ROCK.


32. Bourbon-making process: SOUR MASH.    TinBeni's favorite answer today.

42. Electromagnetic radiation unit: GAMMA RAY.

49. Cost per night, in hotels: ROOM RATE. Got a great room rate and free upgrade at the Hampton Inn in Pauls Valley, OK on our drive down to Texas.   Thirteen hours drive from Chicago.    Enough for one day.

And the reveal:
58. Using coercion, as shown in this puzzle's circles: TWISTING ONE'S ARM.   Arm was "twisted" in each of the five theme answers.


Across:

1. Swampy spots: BOGS.   Fens.

5. Hopeless case: GONER.

10. Zoo structure: CAGE. 

14. Pinza of "South Pacific":  EZIO.

15. Verdi aria translating to "It was you": ERI TU.

16. Gem from Australia: OPAL.

20. Flying nocturnal predator: OWL.   DW was driving and I was reading clues.  She guessed bat. 

21. Good, in Grenoble: BON.

22. "Makes sense to me": I SEE.

23. Decide not to use: PASS ON.

29. Israeli port: HAIFA.  The other three major seaports are Ashdod, Elat, and Hadera.

31. Sneezer's need: TISSUE.

35. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE.  Holy Roman Emperor, 800-814

36. Pampered: DOTED ON.

37. Part of EDT: EASTERN Daylight Time.

41. Juillet's season: ETE.   French for summer or summertime.

44. Online financial site: E-TRADE.

48. Cuba __: rum drink: LIBRE.    TinBeni's favorite clue today. 

51. "The party's been canceled": IT'S OFF.

55. Cocktail party spread: PATE.  pâ·té

56. Seagoing pronoun: HER.

57. Extinct emu-like bird: MOA.

Flightless Birds at Lostzoo.com

63. Northern neighbor of Chile: PERU.

64. "This I Promise You" band: NSYNC.
NSYNC received its name after Justin Timberlake's mother commented on how "in sync" the group's singing voices were. The group's name is also a play on the last letter of each of the initial members' names: JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, JasoN, and JC. (Wikipedia)



65. First chip in: ANTE.

66. Escalator part: STEP.

67. Storied granter of wishes: GENIE.

68. Neither winning nor losing: TIED.

Down:

1. Charlie Parker jazz genre: BEBOP.

2. Longtime Boston Symphony conductor: OZAWA.  Seiji

3. Brownies, e.g.: GIRLS.

4. Weep loudly: SOB.

5. Apache chief: GERONIMO.

6. Algerian port: ORAN.  One of nine major seaports in Algeria, but the one we see most often in crossword puzzles.

7. Matchstick-removing game: NIM.   I'd never heard of this game, except for in crosswords.

8. Internet sales, collectively: E-TAIL.

9. Rushes toward: RUNS AT.

10. Apple pie-making gadgets: CORERS.

11. Wild way to go: APE.

12. Four qts.: GAL. Four quarts make a gallon.   Four fifths make 80 %.

13. Building add-on: ELL.

18. On the ferry: ABOARD.

19. Moore of "Ghost": DEMI.

24. Actress Elisabeth: SHUE.

25. Grill fuel: GAS.

26. Irish actor Milo: O'SHEA.

27. Spicy Indian dish: CURRY.

28. Excited about, with "on": KEEN.  Fervent. 

30. Vampire tooth: FANG.

32. __ voce: softly: SOTTO.

33. Southern New Mexico county: OTERO.

34. Prefix with sphere: HEMI. 

36. Woodland grazer: DEER.

38. Atmosphere, as of a restaurant: AMBIENCE.   Had the best Chicken Genovaise I've ever had at DiBZ in Temple, Texas on Friday evening.  My sister finds the best restaurants.  She says, "I can't cook."   I think she confuses don't and can't. 

39. French existential dramatist: SARTRE.

40. "__ chic!": TRES.

43. Many a micro brew: ALE.

45. Excites: AMPS UP.

46. "Doggone it!": DRAT.

47. Enjoying the bistro, say: EATING.

50. Needing a chill pill: TENSE.

52. Muscat native: OMANI.  Muscat is the capital city of Oman. 

Oman is about the size of Kansas.
"The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered from Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, the nascent sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, although the Sultanate never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew his father, and has since ruled as sultan, but he has not designated a successor. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world, while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK and US. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbors and to avoid external entanglements."  Source: CIA World Factbook

53. Strong point: FORTE.  Lake Charles born, Slidell, LA. raised Matt Forte played played running back for the Tulane Green Wave before having a highly productive career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.   He retired this year.   JJM's daughter studies at Tulane.

54. Widely known: FAMED.

56. Hägar's daughter: HONI.

58. Adorns with Angel Soft, briefly: TPs. Adorns with toilet paper ?  Made me smile.  Fun clue.  Anonymous T, did you get your TPS Report submitted on time ?... with the right cover letter ?

59. Freshly painted: WET.

60. Hothead's emotion: IRE. 

61. MD for women: GYN.

62. Took it easy: SAT.

Vising in Texas.  That's all from me.  See all y'all later n'at !

Here's the grid:

Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Victor Barocas

 The Multifunctional Tool.

18. *Tuna eater's tool, maybe: CAN OPENER.

24. *Eyebrow-plucking tool: TWEEZERS.

36. *Shape of rotini pasta: CORKSCREW.

41. *Cocktail frank stabber: TOOTHPICK.

48. *Loser to rock, beater of paper: SCISSORS.

58. With 60-Across, contraption that usually includes the answers to the starred clues: SWISS ARMY. 60. See 58-Across: KNIFE.

Let's see what other fun Victor brings today.

Across:

1. Goldman's partner: SACHS. Marcus Goldman and Samuel Sachs.  The large multinational investment bank. 

6. Socially awkward sort: DORK.  Clark Kent ?

10. Potter's material: CLAY.

14. Voyager 1, e.g.: PROBE.

15. Like James Bond antagonists: EVIL.

16. With 11-Down, 2016 almost-Oscar-winning movie: LA LA.  11D. See 16-Across: LAND.  At the 2017 OSCAR awards ceremony,  La La Land won six OSCARS, and was erroneously awarded a seventh for Best Picture.  Moonlight was the real 2016 Best Picture award winner.  

17. Screen legend Flynn: ERROL. Swashbuckling swordsman.

20. Neither's partner: NOR.  If a verb is already in the negative, then partners either and or  are used.

21. Boxing ref's decision: TKO.

23. Worked, as dough: KNEADED.

27. Family room: DEN.

28. Captain's group: CREW.  Ship, Captain and Crew is a game played with five dice.  Players ante in to the pot.  Only after getting the Ship (a six), Captain (a five) and Crew (a four) can you get the Cargo.  The player with the largest Cargo total (point value of the other two dice) wins the pot.  

29. Spring shape: COIL.

31. Lottery ticket purchase, essentially: BET.

34. Michaelmas daisy: ASTER.  Daisy ?  Five letters.  See if ASTER fits.  It should.  It does.  Look up Michaelmas daisy later.   Oh, a daisy that blooms around Michaelmas (Sept 29th).   The largest group of Michaelmas daisies, with over 1,000 named cultivars is symphyotrichum novi-belgii.  That means "hair growing together - from New York".   They are also known as New York asters.  The weird stuff you learn on the internet...

38. Trendy: CHIC.

39. Sixth __: intuition: SENSE.  I have an intuition that blog-follower Fact Checker (and others) are looking up New York asters right about now.

40. Émile who wrote "J'Accuse...!": ZOLA.

43. "Miracle on 34th Street" store: MACYS.

44. Thor, to Odin: SON.

45. Its football team has played Harvard 134 times: YALE.

46. Grand Marquis, for short: MERC.


47. 2100, to Augustus: MMC. When the Roman statesman and military leader added one thousand, plus one thousand, plus one hundred, his total was MMC.

52. Adjusted (to): ATTUNED.

56. Dorm mgrs.: RAs.  Dormitory managers: Resident Assistants. 

57. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace: LEW.  I read Ben-Hur Wallach, assumed actor, saw the answer needed three letters and entered Eli.  How do you say bzzzt ?  You can read about Indiana-born, Civil War General and author Lew Wallace at  Britannica Biography: Lewis-Wallace.

62. Pub size: PINT.

63. "The World According to __": GARP.  Never read it, but have heard of it.  Almost entered the synonym for trail mix.

64. Concave navel: INNIE.

65. Not leave: STAY.  Love it when Rosemary Butler joins in, then get a chuckle out of the falsetto a few seconds later.


66. Leave: EXIT.  But they just asked me to stay, just a little bit longer.    What a twist !

67. Surprising plot development: TWIST.  O. Henry.   'nuff said ?

Down:

1. Used up: SPENT.

2. Cursor shape: ARROW.  The standard mouse pointer on a computer is an arrow, but you can select from a variety of others.  

3. Proofer's change: CORRECTION. After the blue-pencil.  Editing vs Proofreading  

4. "Game of Thrones" network: HBO.

5. Soda water: SELTZER.  Carbonated water.

6. Interior designer's concern: DECOR. Are all of these  Fixer Upper decors going out of style ?

7. Eggs, to a biologist: OVA.

8. Hockey venue: RINK.  The Pittsburgh Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena.

9. Yukon gold rush region: KLONDIKE.

We had an Isaly's  restaurant in our small town in N.E. Ohio.  Isaly's invented the Klondike Bar.  I knew of it long before I knew of the Yukon gold rush region.  Isaly's was also regionally famous for its "Skyscraper" ice cream cones and chip-chop ham.  There are now 14 flavors of the Klondike bar.

10. Wash the dirt off: CLEAN.

12. Protected at sea: ALEE.

13. Three feet: YARD.  Is it possible to get a complete food storage center... less than a yard wide ?

19. Banana leftovers: PEELS.

22. Royal Botanic Gardens locale: KEW.   Kew is WSW of London proper.  About 30 minutes on the Tube from Westminster.   Zoom in and the take the satellite view.  Zoom out to get your bearings.


25. Build: ERECT.

26. Wall-mounted light fixtures: SCONCES.

30. Ural River city: ORSK. Today's second pictorial geography lesson:

A 23 hour drive from Orsk to Omsk

31. Hybrid green veggie with small florets: BROCCOLINI.  Just saw this recipe for pan roasted broccolini  on an episode of Growing A Greener World. 

32. Slippery: EELY.

33. "__ the night before ... ": TWAS.

34. Play divisions: ACTS.

35. "Go away!": SHOO.

36. Finish the top of, as a room: CEIL.  To provide with a roof.   In French, ceil is eye, and ciel is sky.

37. Business magnates: CZARS.

39. Era that began with Sputnik: SPACE AGE.  Jump on that bandwagon.  Don't get left behind !

42. Church songs: HYMNS.

43. Soldier's cooking supplies: MESS KIT.  Field utensils.

46. Actress Farrow: MIA.

47. In need of air freshener: MUSTY.  Not that olives smell musty, but I had to get this vid in somewhere after Sunday's discussion of olive trees.  Gary mentioned seeing them in Tuscany.  We just saw this episode Saturday.  


49. Burial chamber: CRYPT.

50. Int.-reducing mortgages: RE-FIs.  Hi Lemonade !

51. Like sugar: SWEET.  How long before fresh sweet corn ?

52. Egyptian snakes: ASPs. 

53. Foolish one: TWIT.

54. Funny Fey: TINA.

55. "The Destroyer" of Marvel Comics: DRAX.  No idea.  Wagged the A.

59. Med. scan: MRI.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

61. Opposite of SSE: NNW.

Here's the grid.  See all y'all later n'at !