Tuesday December 24, 2019 Mark McClain

You Can Bank On It.  The word Bank can follow the first word of each theme answer to give us a new concept.

17-Across. *   Nutrition guide: FOOD PYRAMID.  A Food Bank is generally a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those in need.

24-Across. *  Comprehensive personal philosophy: WORLD VIEW.  The World Bank is an international financial institution whose mission is to end extreme poverty and to promote prosperity in a shared way.

34-Across. *   Horse breeder's concern: BLOOD LINE.  The first Blood Bank in the United States was established in 1936.

46-Across. *   Figuratively, whence some unexpected ideas: LEFT FIELD.  The Left Bank,  or La Rive Gauche, is a district of Paris.

And the unifier:

53-Across. 9:00 AM weekday event, typically ... and what the first word in the answers to starred clues can be: BANK OPENING.

Across:

1. Drains of energy: SAPS.

5. Pay with a credit card: CHARGE.

11. FDR's successor: HST.  Harry S Truman (May 8, 1884 ~ Dec. 26, 1972) became 33rd President of the United States following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882 ~ Apr. 12, 1945).

14. Gillette razor: ATRA.

15. Alabama's cross-state rival: AUBURN.  On November 30, 2019, the Alabama Crimson Tide played against the Auburn Tigers in football.  Auburn beat Alabama with a final score of 48 to 45.

16. Par-three eagle: ACE.  The obligatory golfing clue and answer.

19. Big coffee holder: URN.

20. Battery terminals: ANODES.  The Anode is the negative electrode of the battery.

21. Chant for Real Madrid: ¡OLÉ!  ¡OLÉ!   Today's Spanish lesson.

23. Send (to) for treatment: REFER.

27. Disney CEO Robert: IGER.  Roger Allen Iger (b. Feb. 10, 1951) was the President of ABC Television before moving over to Disney.

Mr. Iger is on the left.

28. Cross-shaped Greek letters: TAUs.  I liked how this crossed with 28-Down: New Mexico art colony: TAOS.  The two words differ by only 1 letter.  But that one letter makes a world of difference!

Taus

Taos

29. Yardstick unit: INCH.  // And 44-Across: Yardstick units: FEET.

30. Grass farm roll: SOD.

31. Truth: FACT.

32. Small boat: DINGHY.  The word Dinghy comes from the Bengali word ḍiṅgi.  It seems to be a generic word that can describe a plethora of small boats.  I'll leave it to our resident seafarer, Spitzboov, provide us with his expertise on all things related to ships and boats.

36. Covent Garden productions: OPERAs.  The Royal Opera House in London is sometimes referred to as Covent Garden, although  Covent Garden  is so much more.

39. Driver's one-eighties: UIEs.

40. Gave birth to: HAD.

43. CBS legal drama "The Good __": WIFE.  I never watched this show, which ran for 7 seasons, from 2009 until 2016.

45. Novelist Caleb: CARR.  Caleb Carr (b. Aug. 2, 1955) appears with some frequency in the crossword puzzles.  He is best known for his novel The Alienist, which I read about 20 years ago.  It was a fascinating book and I really liked the author's style of writing.

49. Mint family herb: THYME.

50. Corkscrew pasta: ROTINI.

51. Rose impressively: SOARED.

52. Big name in ATMs: NCR.  The company formerly known as National Cash Register Company is known for producing Automatic Teller Machines.

56. To this moment: YET.

57. Lacking nothing: ENTIRE.

58. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) also played Carmela Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos.  I never watched Nurse Jackie, but did watch The Sopranos.

59. Insured investments: Abbr.: CDs.  As in Certificates of Deposit.

60. Ready for more action: RESTED.

61. Run the show: LEAD.

Down:

1. African adventures: SAFARIs.

2. In a single try: AT ONE GO.  Not a phrase I would be apt to use.

3. Checked for errors: PROOFED.

4. More glum: SADDER.

5. Little isles: CAYS.

The Tobago Cays

6. "Ben-__": Heston epic: HUR.  The movie Ben-Hur was based on the novel of the same name by Lew Wallace (Apr. 10, 1827- Feb. 15, 1905).   The story line follows the life of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who was enslaved by the Romans at the beginning of the first century.  He later became a charioteer and converted to Christianity.

7. Org. with many judges: ABA.  As in the American Bar Association.

8. Grapevine fodder: RUMORS.  I initially tried Gossip, which fit into the spaces provided.

9. Barbecue: GRILL.

10. Came to a close: ENDED.

11. Semi activity: HAULING.

12. With 36-Down, nocturnal bird with a shrill cry: SCREECH.  //  And 36-Down: See 12-Down: OWL.

13. Down-for-the-count count: TEN.

18. Part of mph: PER.  As in Miles Per Hour.

22. Like ewe, but not me: OVINE.  Cute clue.

24. City between Austin and Dallas: WACO.  There's lots to do in Waco.  Did you know the city was the home of Dr. Pepper?

25. Best in an épée match: OUT DUEL.  //  And 44-Down. Deceptive fencing moves: FEINTS.

26. Tot's query: WHY?

31. Home of the SEC's Gators: FLA.  The University of Florida's mascot are the Gators.

32. Nutrition regimen: DIET.

33. Officeholders: INs.  Because Elected doesn't fit.

34. One of hockey's Hulls: BRETT.  The only hockey Hull I am familiar with is Bobby Hull (né Robert Marvin Hull; b. Jan. 3, 1939).  Apparently, he is the father of Brett Hull (né Brett Andrew Hull; b. Aug. 9, 1964).  Brett played professional hockey for several teams, including the Calgary Flames and the Detroit Red Wings.

35. Stretched the truth: LIED.

37. Poked a hole in: PIERCED.

See 26-Down.

38. Concerted tries: EFFORTS.

40. Fall outing in a wagon: HAYRIDE.  Are you familiar with the Louisiana Hayride?

41. Country south of Georgia: ARMENIA.  The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian is a fascinating historical novel about Armenia in 1915.

42. Made deeper, as a shipping lane: DREDGED.  Here are some Dredging Projects in Louisiana.

45. Coco of fashion: CHANEL.  Coco Chanel (née Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel; Aug. 19, 1883 ~ Jan. 10, 1971) makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.

47. __ optic cable: FIBER.

48. Completely absurd: INANE.

49. Low digit: TOE.  Funny!  Nice misdirection, but I wasn't fooled this time.

51. Went quickly: SPED.

52. Home of MoMA: NYC.  The Museum of Modern Art is located in New York City.

54. Hobbyist's buy: KIT.

55. Smelter input: ORE.  Smelting is the process of applying intense heat to ore for extracting the base metal.

Here's the Grid:

I wish all who celebrate a very Merry Christmas!

QOD:  If you want to be happy for life, love what you do.  ~  Mary Higgins Clark (née Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; b. Dec. 24, 1927), American author

Tuesday, December 17, 2019; Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Do You Think I Am Gaining Weight?  Yes, this is the dreaded circle puzzle.  And, yes, I found this to be a bit of a challenge for a Tuesday.  Very clever, though.  The circled letters (which interestingly do not span words, but are contained completely in one word of the answer) are all measures of weight ~ beginning with a very small unit and growing progressively to a very large unit.

17-Across. Very exciting episode: HIGH DRAMA.  According to Britannica "an avoirdupois DRAM  contains 27.344 grains (1.772 grams) and is equal to one-sixteenth avoirdupois ounce of 437 1/2 grains. The term also refers to the fluid dram, a measure of capacity equal to one-eighth fluid ounce."  Clear, right?

26-Across. One doing the play-by-play: SPORTS ANNOUNCER.  An OUNCE is 1/16 of a Pound.

44-Across. Stand-up comic who is a recurring panelist on "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me": PAULA POUNDSTONE.

60-Across. Subject of the 2019 biopic "Rocketman": ELTON JOHN.  A long TON is 2,240 pounds. A Short Ton is 2,000 pounds.  The Short Ton is used in the United States.

And the unifier, of sorts:

65-Across. Device related to the circled letters: SCALE.

Across:

1. Spanish kiss: BESO.   Today's Spanish lesson.

5. Tax law pros: CPAs.  As in Certified Public Accountants.  I think a few of our regulars are CPAs.

9. Shaving scratches: NICKS.

14. Tune from "Tosca": ARIA.

15. The "A" in SATB: ALTO.  Think of the singing voices:  Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass.

16. It's sent with a click: E-MAIL.

19. Rich boy in "Nancy" comics: ROLLO.  Nancy is a comic strip that began in the 1930s.  Apparently there was a recent up-date and revision.

20. Many garden flowers: ANNUALS.

21. Responding to an Evite: RSVP-ING.  RSVP is a derived from the French phrase Répondez S’il Vous Plaît, which means Please Respond.  The -ing ending makes it a bit clunky, but one should always respond yea or nay to an invitation.

23. CD-__: data holders: ROMS.

25. Tot's little piggy: TOE.

34. Hoisting device: WINCH.

35. Snobbish attitude: AIRS.

36. Road service org.: AAA.  As in the American Automobile Association.

37. Irish New Ager: ENYA.  Her given name is Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (b. May 17, 1961).  No wonder she goes by ENYA.

38. Full of sass: LIPPY.

40. Dead set against: ANTI.  //  Fun to see this directly above 43-Across. Gets in on the deal: ANTES.

41. DDE's WWII domain: ETO.  As in the European Theater of Operations.

42. Hula-Hoops and Pogs: FADS.

 The Hula-Hoop came out in 1958.

Pogs were popular in the 1990s.

48. Orbiting research facility: Abbr.: ISS.  As in the International Space Station.

49. Spa treatment: PEEL.  I would prefer a Pedi(cure) over a Facial PEEL.

50. Turned on an axis: PIVOTED.  I initially tried Rotated.

54. Caviar choice: SHAD ROE.

59. __ acids: protein components: AMINO.

62. Baltimore NFLer: RAVEN.

63. Kind of pressure: PEER.

64. Oklahoma city NNW of Oklahoma City: ENID.  Enid, Oklahoma makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.  It is the 9th largest city in the State and has one of the largest grain storage capacity in the world.

66. PC scrolling key: PGDN.  It's the Page Down key.

67. British mil. honors: DSOs.  As in the Distinguished Service Order.

Down:

1. __ Men: "Who Let the Dogs Out" band: BAHA.  The Baha Men are a Bahamian band.

2. Leprechaun land: ERIN.

3. Talk with one's hands: SIGN.  It is important that the individual hired to sign, especially in the public arena, be qualified to do so.

4. Island near Maui: OAHU.  The two islands are near each other, but not next to each other.

5. Guitarist Santana: CARLOS.  Carlos Santana (b. July 20, 1947) is a Mexican-American guitarist and musician.

6. Red Cross supply: PLASMA.

7. Bodega convenience: ATM.  As in the Automatic Teller Machine.

8. Go sky-high: SOAR.

9. On edge: NERVOUS.

10. "No plans that day": I'M OPEN.  I initially wanted I'm Free.

11. Colombian metropolis: CALI.  I think this is a CSO to our friend Chickie.  I think she lived in Cali, Columbia.

12. Pottery oven: KILN.

13. Laborious walk: SLOG.

18. Vader in "Star Wars": DARTH.

22. Stephen King work: STORY.  I would have classified his work as Horror novels.  We both share the same alma mater, although he graduated several years before I entered the university.

24. Buys eagerly: SNAPS UP.

26. Look (for), as electronic bugs: SWEEP.

27. Vessel of 1492: PINTA.  One of Christopher Columbus's ships.

28. "The joke's __!": ON YOU.

29. Color TV pioneer: RCA.

30. __ in the bud: NIP.

31. "The Divine Comedy" segment: CANTO.

32. In one's tummy: EATEN.

33. Salary increase: RAISE.

38. Go unrenewed: LAPSE.

39. Bachelor's famous last words?: I DO.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

40. Raid target: ANT.

42. Slick trick: FAST ONE.

43. C.S. Lewis lion: ASLAN.  I can never remember this lion's name.  Aslan is a major character in the book The Chronicles of Narnia.

45. Model train giant: LIONEL.  In 1900, Joshua Lionel Cowen (Aug. 25, 1877 ~ Sept. 8, 1965) and Harry C. Grant founded the Lionel Corporation.  Although it made a number of novelty toys, it is best known for its model trains.  In 2006, the Lionel electric train became the 1st electric toy to be inducted into the  National Toy Hall of Fame.

46. Stacked like Tupperware: NESTED.

47. Do a ranch vet's job: DEHORN.

50. They beat bogeys: PARS.  Golfing reference.

51. Apple computer: iMAC.

52. "Choose-A-Sheet" paper towels brand: VIVA.

53. Captain Sparrow portrayer: DEPP.  Johnny Depp (né John Christopher Depp, II; b. June 9, 1963) played Captain Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

55. Kept the party hopping, for short: DJ'ED.  As in the individual who is the Disc Jockey.

56. Howard and Silver: RONS.  As in actors Ron Howard (né Ronald William Howard; b. Mar. 1, 1954), also known as Opie from the Andy Griffith Show; and Ron Silver (né Ronald Arthur Silver; July 2, 1946 ~ Mar. 15, 2009).  The latter died of cancer at age 62.

57. Lake Erie state: OHIO.  It's the State that's Round on the Ends and HI in the Middle!

58. Circle's lack: ENDS.

61. Journey segment: LEG.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  ~  William Arthur Ward (Dec. 17, 1921 ~ Mar. 30, 1986), American writer