Monday July 25, 2022 Joe Deeney

Theme: WELL WELL WELL (56. "What have we here?" and 20-, 36-, and 42-Across) - Three definitions of "well".

20. Hale and hearty: IN GOOD HEALTH.

36. "Any time now!": I'M WAITING.

42. Gathering spot for thirsty animals: WATERHOLE.

Boomer here. 

 

Good morning all.  I'M WAITING to see if the new meds are helping with my cancer battle.  I should know in a week or two.  I am sure the WATERHOLE got plenty of business last week with temperatures in the 90s all week up here in the northland.

Across:

1. Lifetime pals, briefly: BFFS.  Best Friends Forever. 

5. Periodontist's concern: GUMS.  Minnesota's Judy Garland's given name was Francis GUMM!

9. Brand of facial tissue: PUFFS. "The Magic Dragons".

14. Sign on for more service: RE-UP.  Not me. I did two years and flew home.  Now I get decent medical care.

15. Indiana neighbor: OHIO.  Home of the Redlegs and Guardians. Shoutout to my penpal Janice!

16. Facing the pitcher: AT BAT.

17. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actor Samberg: ANDY.  Sheriff of Mayberry.

18. Decomposes: ROTS.

19. Milk seller: DAIRY.  DAIRY Queen sells great Sundaes.

23. Taken care of: SEEN TO.

24. Play-__: kids' clay: DOH.  It kind of smelled.  I never liked it.

25. That girl: SHE.

28. Pixie: ELF.  Santa's helper.

29. Native of Pre-Columbian Peru: INCA. 

32. Reacted to a surprise, perhaps: GASPED.  Too hot!

34. Muscles worked by crunches: ABS.  Too hot to exercise.

38. __ and for all: ONCE.  And all for one!

40. African country on the Gulf of Guinea: GABON.

41. "If all __ fails ... ": ELSE.

44. NCO below sgt.: CPL.  Two stripes.

45. "You're not alone in that": I DO TOO.

46. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil, familiarly: ESPO.  Career with Boston, Chicago, and New York.

48. Pair: TWO.  What ever happened to the TWO dollar bill?

51. Gift for music: EAR.

52. Hunted for fossils, say: DUG.  I never hunted for fossils and my name is misspelled!

54. Mixed nuts nut: CASHEW. One of my favorites.

59. Strictly forbidden: TABOO. So, don't do it!

62. Very small bit: IOTA.

63. Great Plains natives: OTOE.  My history book did not mention them.

64. Distant and cool: ALOOF.

65. Lacking color: DRAB.  New cars are never DRAB

66. Sit for a spell: REST.  Okay.  Wake me up in a half hour.

67. Employees: STAFF.

68. Long, wriggly swimmers: EELS.  Have you heard about sharks close to shore?  Maybe they have eels for lunch.           

69. Satisfies the munchies: EATS.  Trick or treat.

Down:

1. Slow-cook in a closed pot: BRAISE.  Pressure cooker.

2. Bulb with an aniselike flavor: FENNEL. 

3. Exaggeration allowance in estimates: FUDGE FACTOR.

4. Watch secretly: SPY ON.

5. "If You Could Read My Mind" singer Lightfoot: GORDON.  What a tale my thoughts would tell.

6. "This looks bad!": UH OH.  Here comes more hot weather.

7. Teeny plant pest: MITE.

8. "Such a pity": SO SAD.  This gun violence in Uvalde and shopping malls.

9. Noodle dish topped with crushed peanuts: PAD THAI.

10. Six-sided state: UTAH.  One of three four-letter states.

11. "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity" org.: FBI.  I thought it was Federal Bureau of Investigation.

12. Distant: FAR.

13. Pen with a trough: STY.  A home for pigs.

21. __ Spunkmeyer: cookie brand: OTIS.  Elevator guy.

22. Boston airport: LOGAN.  Never been there,  I got to New Jersey once.

25. Share juicy gossip: SPILL THE TEA.  Beans.

26. Farm cluckers: HENS.  Uncle Bill had many. Eggs for breakfast every day, then sold the rest.

27. Microsoft's web browser: EDGE.

30. Breezy goodbye: CIAO.  See ya!

31. Stroll along: AMBLE.

33. Escalator part: STEP.  Just stand on it!  You'll get there.

35. Borscht base: BEET.  My mother grew them and we ate them as a vegetable.

37. Nagging troubles: WOES.

38. Cut covered by a Snoopy bandage, e.g.: OWIE.  Only kids under 5 get them.  We older folks call them by a different four letter word.

39. Zilch: NADA.  Not this four letter word either.

40. Grave-robbing demon: GHOUL.

43. Departed into the sunset, say: RODE OFF.  I hate driving into the setting sun.

44. West Virginia natural resource: COAL.  Santa may put it into your stocking.

47. Tech training sites: PC LABS.

49. "The other team clobbered us": WE LOST.  Twins say that a lot.

50. Big-eyed nestlings: OWLETS.

53. Coast: GLIDE.

55. Used cusswords: SWORE.  My language driving into the sunset.

56. Husky's "Hello": WOOF.

57. Had on: WORE.  She WORE a yellow ribbon.

58. "And some other people" abbr.: ET AL.

59. Prof. helpers: TAS.  Teaching Assistants

60. __-country music: ALT.

61. Constricting snake: BOA.  A big BIG snake,  I have never seen one and never hope to see one.

Boomer