Tuesday, August 20, 2019, Kevin Christian & Kristian House

You Can Bet Your Life.  Each word in the starred theme answer can come After the word Life to give a new phrase or concept.

17-Across. *  Pedigree ancestry: BLOOD LINE.  As in Lifeblood and Life Line.

 Lifeblood.

Life Line

25-Across. *  Suit tailor's concern: JACKET SIZE.  As in Life Jacket and Life Size.

Moses hands out Life Jackets before crossing the Red Sea.

Life Size.

35-Across. *  Nightly ritual for young children: STORY TIME.  As in Life Story and Life Time.

 Life Story.

Life Time.

49-Across. *  Teacher's outline: LESSON PLAN.  As in Life Lesson and Life Plan.

Life Lessons

Life Plan.

And the unifier:
58. "Field of Dreams" subject, and where both parts of the answers to starred clues can go: AFTERLIFE.  (Admit it, your first thought was Baseball, even though it was a letter short.)

Across:

1. New England fish: COD.  More than you ever wanted to know about the Atlantic COD.

4. Seriously injures: MAIMS.

9. Frosh, next year: SOPH.  This year's Freshman is next year's SOPHomore.

13. "Should I take that as __?": A NO.

14. Are: EXIST.

15. Boy Scout unit: TROOP.

19. Luxury Honda: ACURA.

20. "Eight Miles High" band, with "The": BYRDS.

21. Farm building: BARN.

23. Up to, in ads: TIL.

24. The Beatles' "__ Love Her": AND I.

28. Prospective elevator passenger's query: GOING UP?

30. Villain played by Josh Brolin in most "Avengers" films: THANOS.

31. Flock female: EWE.

32. Biblical paradise: EDEN.

34. Olympics segment: EVENT.

38. On the ocean: AT SEA.

41. Red Sox manager Alex: CORA.  José Alexander Cora (b. Oct. 18, 1975) has been the Red Sox manager since 2017.  He played for a number of MLB teams, including, but not limited to, the Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Texas Rangers.

42. Topeka's st.: KAN.  Topeka is the capital of Kansas.

45. "I want to see": SHOW ME!  Missouri is known as the Show Me State.

47. "The Lord of the Rings" wizard: GANDALF.

52. "__ all work out": IT'LL.

53. Barcelona gold: ORO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

54. Field mouse: VOLE.

55. Diviner's deck: TAROT.

56. Opposite of sur: NORTE.  More of today's Spanish lesson.  North is the opposite of South.  Did anyone see the 1983 movie El Norte?  it was about a group of people from Guatemala fleeing from ethnic and political persecution during the Guatemalan Civil War.  They trek north to the United States hoping for a better life.

61. Movie legend Greta: GARBO.  Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; Sept. 8, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1990) was a Swedish actress.

62. Appliance with burners: STOVE.

63. Actress Vardalos: NIA.  Nia Vardalos (née Antonia Eugenia Vardalos / Νία Βαρντάλος; b. Sept. 24, 1962) is a Canadian-Green actress, best known for her 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

64. Cannon of "Heaven Can Wait" (1978): DYAN.  Dyan Cannon (née Samille Diane Friesen; b. Jan. 4, 1937) was one of Cary Grant's 5 wives.  They were married for about 3 years in the 1960s.  There was a 33 year age gap between the two.

65. Sinatra classic with Anka lyrics: MY WAY.  My Way is without the video.

66. PIN requester: ATM.  Cute clue for the Automatic Teller Machine.

Down:

1. Sauerkraut, mainly: CABBAGE.  You, too, can make your own Sauerkraut.

2. "Just this second": ONLY NOW.

3. Desperate: DO OR DIE.

4. Drugs from docs: MEDS.  As in Medications.

5. Rose of Guns N' Roses: AXL.  Axl Rose (né William Bruce Rose, Jr.; b. Feb. 6, 1962) is the lead singer of the band referenced in the clue.

Axl is the one without the had.

6. Three on a sundial: III.

7. "Hardball" cable channel: MSNBC.

8. Rib eye, for one: STEAK.

9. Baseball great Musial's nickname: STAN THE MAN.  Stan Musial (né Stanley Frank Musial; Nov. 21, 1920 ~ Jan. 19, 2013) played for the St. Louis Cardinals for 22 years.

10. Beast fought by 47-Across: ORC.

11. Canadian french fries dish: POUTINE.  I had heard of this dish, which is basically french fries and cheese curds topped with gravy.  It is most closely associated with the cuisine of Quebec.  I had an opportunity to try it for the first time this past spring when I was up near the Quebec border.  It was interesting, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to order it again.

12. Where land and sky seem to meet: HORIZON.

16. Most colorless: PALEST.

18. Chief Norse god: ODIN.  In Norse mythology, Odin is the god of wisdom, poetry, death and magic.

22. Like some mil. officers: RET.  As in Retired.  Fortunately, you don't have to be in the military to retire.

25. Weaponless self-defense: JUDO.

26. Mimic: APER.

27. Goalie's goal: SAVE.

29. "Hurry!": GET A MOVE ON.  My grandmother used that expression a lot.

33. It has both Kings and Queens counties, briefly: NYC.  As in New York City.  I was in Manhattan during the July heat wave.  I had to go through Queens from the airport.

35. Uses needle and thread: SEWS.

36. Roman robe: TOGA.

37. Persian Gulf republic: IRAN.

38. Comparable in duration: AS LONG.

39. "Not Taken" place in a Frost poem title: THE ROAD.

40. "My apologies": SO SORRY!

42. Catastrophic New Orleans hurricane: KATRINA.  Louisiana is still feeling the impact of this storm, which hit the state almost exactly 14 years ago.

43. The whole shebang: ALL OF IT.

44. Cardinals or Falcons: NFL TEAM.

46. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums: ENO.  Brian Eno (b. May 15, 1948) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

48. Dashboard feature: DIAL.

50. Suffix with proto- or cyto-: PLASM.  As in Protoplasm and Cytoplasm.

51. Southpaw: LEFTY.  Did you ever wonder where the term Southpaw originated?

55. Low card: TREY.

57. Sched. question mark: TBA.  As in To Be Announced.

59. Disabled car need: TOW.

60. "2 Fast 2 Furious" actress Mendes: EVA.  Eva Mandes (née Eva de la Caridad Méndez (b. Mar. 5, 1974) and Ryan Gosling (né Ryan Thomas Gosling b. Nov. 12, 1980) are a family unit.

Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  If I didn’t do what I do, I wouldn’t be as young as I am.  ~ Robert Plant (né Robert Anthony Plant; b. August 20, 1948), British musician

Tuesday, August 13, 2019, Gail Grabowski

What's Your Super Power?  The word Power can be placed before the each word in each starred theme clue to give a very special type of Power.

17-Across. *   Cafeteria queue: LUNCH LINE.  Power Lunch (a working lunch where important discussions take place) and Power Line.

39-Across. *    Non-glitzy local tavern: DIVE BAR.  Power Dive and Power Bar.  I was unfamiliar with the term Power Dive.  According to the dictionary, it is a "steep dive of an airplane with the engines providing the thrust".   It also the title of a 1941 movie.

11-Down. *     Corporate retreat with team-building activities: COMPANY TRIP.  Power Company and Power Trip.

25-Down. *     Basil sitting on a sill, e.g.: WINDOW PLANT.  Power Window and Power Plant.

Anatomy of a car Power Window.

And the Unifier:

64-Across. Takeover endeavor ... and a hint to what can precede each word in the answers to starred clues: POWER PLAY.

Across:
1. Not fatty: LEAN.

5. Polynesian carving: TIKI.

9. Ebenezer's partner Marley: JACOB.  A reference to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Jacob Marley is the deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge who makes a ghostly appearance to Scrooge on Christmas Eve.  He tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts before morning.

14. Luxury hotel name: OMNI.

The Omni Hotel in Houston

15. Word before rock or rain: ACID.  As in Acid Rock or Acid Rain.

16. Run off to wed: ELOPE.  A crossword staple.

19. Chickens (out): WIMPS.

20. Dr. Mark Sloan portrayer in "Grey's Anatomy": ERIC DANE.  I never watched Grey's Anatomy, so am not familiar with either Dr. Mark Sloan or ERIC DANE (b. Nov. 9, 1972).

22. Flower holder: POT.

23. Harsh treatment: RAW DEAL.

26. Rio Grande city: EL PASO.   The Texas city that has been in the news recently.

28. Buckeye State: OHIO.  It's the State that's Round on the End and High in the Middle: O-HI-O.

29. Vane heading: EAST.

32. From scratch: ANEW.

33. Drums held between the knees: BONGOS.

36. How wet hair hangs: LIMPLY.

38. Australian hub, in itineraries: SYD.  As in Sydney, home of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

41. Quattro meno uno: TRE.  Foreign math.  4 - 1 = 3.

44. Part of a mug shot profile: ONE EAR.

John Dillinger, Public Enemy #1

46. "I'll handle it": NO PROB.

48. Like early-morning golf greens: DEWY.

(I know, different spelling.)

50. Self-important type: SNOB.

He's probably on a Power Trip.

52. "Lovely" musical meter maid: RITA.

 

53. Maven: EXPERT.

55. Unwrap with gusto: RIP OPEN.

58. Rank above maj.: COL.  A Colonel is a rank above a Major.

59. Device used to record aerie hatchlings: EAGLE CAM.

62. "Better late than never," e.g.: ADAGE.  (Maxim also fits, here, but that was yesterday's word.)

68. Desert drifts: DUNES.

The name of the first book in the Sci-Fi series by Frank Herbert.

69. Taiwanese PC giant: ACER.  I learned of this company from working the crosswords.

70. Word game piece: TILE.

Also known as a manual from IKEA.

71. Lauder of makeup: ESTÉE.  Estée Lauder (nйe Josephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1906 ~ Apr. 24, 2004), makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

72. Lays down a lawn: SODS.

73. Worry obsessively: STEW.

Down:

1. Bit of cybermirth: LOL.  Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.

2. Earthbound bird: EMU.  A male EMU can grow to a height of over 6 feet.  It is the largest bird native to Australia.  It can't fly, but can run at a rate of 30 MPH if being hunted.  If cornered, its sharp toe claws can eviscerate its hunter, so be warned.

3. Gothic novelist Radcliffe: ANN.  Ann Radcliffe (né Ann Ward; July 9, 1764 ~ Feb. 7, 1823) was a pioneer in writing Gothic fiction.  She was also one of the most popular writers of her time.  Her appeal is probably lost to time.

4. Words to pacify a pooch: NICE DOG!

5. Shire of "Rocky": TALIA.  Talia Shire (née Talia Rose Coppola; b. Apr. 23, 1946) is the sister of Francis Ford Coppola.  Other than the Rocky and The Godfather films, I can't name another movie she was in.

6. Christmas eave decoration: ICICLE.  Cute clue.

7. Bighearted: KIND.

8. Think tank nugget: IDEA.

9. Tiara sparkler: JEWEL.

10. "Aladdin" prince: ALI.

 

12. Try to block: OPPOSE.

13. Give: BESTOW.  Fun word.

18. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE.  As in the Holy Roman Empire.

21. Doubles partner who's not serving: NETMAN.  A tennis reference.

23. Steals from: ROBS.

24. Crow's-nest call: AHOY!

27. Sidekick: PAL.

30. Final Olds made: ALERO.  This model ceased production in 2004.

31. Bro or sis: SIB.  As in a Sibling.

34. Laudatory lines: ODE.

35. Sonora snooze: SIESTA.

37. Supporting: PRO.

40. Delivery vehicle: VAN.

42. Memorization method: ROTE.

43. Israeli diplomat Abba: EBAN.  Abba Eban (né Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; Feb. 2, 1915 ~ Nov. 17, 2002) made a guest appearance recently.

45. Emmy-winning scientist Bill: NYE.  As in William Sanford Nye (b. Nov. 27, 1955).  He bills himself as Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

47. Gives a cue: PROMPTS.

48. Ten-year period: DECADE.

49. Book after Genesis: EXODUS.  A Biblical reference

51. Prepared, as coffee: BREWED.

54. Maker of tasty "pieces": REESE.

56. Cupcake finishers: ICERS.

57. Achievement for a duffer: PAR.  A golfing reference.

60. Transcript nos.: GPAs.  As in Grade Point Averages.

61. Bonkers: LOCO.

63. "That's surprising": GEE!

65. Beyond tipsy: LIT.

66. Many a microbrew: ALE.

67. Archery wood: YEW.

Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  Just because your ad looks good is no insurance that it will get looked at.  How many people do you know who are impeccably groomed … but dull?  ~  William Bernbach (Aug. 13, 1911 ~ Oct. 2, 1982), American advertising executive

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Betty, loving wife of dear Spitzboov.  I think they have the longest marriage on our blog.

Happy Birthday also to dear Chickie (Leah), who used to comment regularly on the blog. Chickie lost here husband Bill a while ago and now lives in a new place.

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015