Tuesday September 24, 2019 Robert Fisher

Theme: SOLD (62. Auctioneer's cry after the starts of 20-, 36- and 49-Across)

 

20. Seeking an Olympic victory: GOING FOR THE GOLD.

36. Hardly ever: ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.

49. Zwieback, e.g.: TWICE-BAKED BREAD.

Boomer here again.

Just watching the magic number go down.  Sunday was excruciating 4 and a half hours with too many walks.  Vikings did well though. Fun to be a sports fan in Minnesota this year.  I have little interest in NBA or NHL.

Across:

1. Octopus octet: ARMS.  Also many MLB bullpens octets this time of year.

5. Read electronically: SCAN.

9. Stand in for: ACT AS.  Unless you are a pitcher or a quarterback.

14. Painful joint inflammation: GOUT.

15. "What'll ya __?": HAVE. Pabst Blue Ribbon.

16. Legendary crooner Mel: TORME.  I think we just saw this. Reminded me of the Seinfeld when Kramer made a fool of himself with Mel.

17. Prefix meaning "all": OMNI.  Speaking of basketball and hockey, I am reminded of the OMNI Arena in Atlanta.

18. From the start: ANEW.  If your golf driver fails you, get A NEW one!

19. Utter nonsense: TRIPE.  This is disgusting innards from animals.  Yuk!

23. Beach toy for a windy day: KITE.  Go fly one.  Keep away from trees and especially power lines.

24. Information technology giant: UNISYS.  My golf buddy Jorge retired from them years ago.

25. "Norwegian Dances" composer: GRIEG. Edvard.

28. Road curves: BENDS.  I suppose the ones at Daytona don't count.

30. More than a few: MANY.  Many's the times I've been mistaken, and many times confused.  (American Tune - Paul Simon)  It's all right, all right, I'm just weary to my bones.

31. Come into view: EMERGE.

33. Hosp. diagnostic procedure: MRI.  This is exactly the treatment that convinced the professionals that I had Cancer and not an arthritis problem.  The MRI got me back on the right track.

39. Jamaican music: SKA.

40. "Big Little Lies" actress Meryl: STREEP.

41. Frenzied way to run: AMOK.  I guess it was somewhat organized and God bless the kids who were protesting the lack of attention to climate change, which seems to be running AMOK.

42. Smelting waste: DROSS.

43. Like good pie crusts: FLAKY.  Actually, I prefer the graham cracker kind of crust.

44. Field & __ Magazine: STREAM.  My dad was an outdoorsman and we had a subscription coming to our home when I was a kid.

47. Beach toy: PAIL.  Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch one full of water.

55. Celebrate boisterously: REVEL.

56. Urge on: GOAD.  Sixty thousand purple clad fans packed U.S, Bank Stadium to GOAD on the Vikings last Sunday.

57. 220-by-198-foot plot of land, e.g.: ACRE.  Some may call it a bad tooth.

58. Farsi speaker: IRANI.

59. To be, in Tours: ETRE.

60. Not that: THIS.

61. Animal skins: PELTS.  Sorry but I think the collection of these is disgusting.

63. Enjoy some tub time: SOAK.  I take showers. No time to soak, I have to go bowling.

Down:

1. Visibly awed: AGOG.

2. CBS Sports NFL analyst Tony: ROMO.  Former Cowboy quarterback is now trying out the PGA golf venue.

3. Tax-free govt. bond: MUNI.  Put your money in a MUNI.

4. Disapproving look: STINK EYE.

5. Elevator passage: SHAFT.  Years ago when I started at Graybar, our warehouse was four stories with a rail access on the lower level.  I do not have room on this blog to tell you the horror stories created by this elevator.

6. Kayak-like boat: CANOE.  Also a men's cologne.

7. State unequivocally: AVER.

8. Former House leader Gingrich: NEWT.  Strange name for a strange looking guy.  But I would never pick on a House of Representatives Speaker.  I believe they have a tough job.

9. Conference-goer: ATTENDEE.

10. Welsh herding dogs: CORGIS.

11. Small music ensembles: TRIOS.  Kingston and Chad Mitchell are my favorites, but I suppose you already know that.

12. In a plentiful way: AMPLY.

13. Plants-to-be: SEEDS.  May have to try something different next year.  Our garden was the Detroit Tigers of gardens this year.

21. Booking on a band's tour: GIG.

22. Stuck (on): HUNG UP.  Also the way I keep my phone in the basement.

25. Scientifically engineered crops, e.g., briefly: GMOS.  Maybe I could get some of these for our garden.

26. __ and file: RANK.  I made it to Specialist E-5.

27. Ancient Cuzco dweller: INCA.

28. Spanish newborns: BEBES.

29. Author __ Stanley Gardner: ERLE.  He spelled his first name funny, however Perry Mason was one of my favorite TV characters.  I even read a couple of Erle's books years ago.

31. Bury: ENTOMB.

32. "Veronica __": teen drama starring Kristen Bell: MARS.  Snickers and Milky Way!  No more for me. Not a good snack for diabetics. I don't think the U.S will ever get a space probe to MARS either.  At least not in my lifetime.

33. NYC cultural center: MOMA.

34. Chess piece involved in castling: ROOK.  I used to play a little chess.  I used to laugh at people who called the piece a castle.

35. Like many a stained shirt pocket: INKY.  Was this not a Pac-Man character?  I once drew a crowd playing Pac-Man at Six Flags Great America Amusement Park in Gurnee, Illinois.

37. Tel Aviv residents: ISRAELIS.

38. Ones habitually hanging out in retail complexes: MALL RATS.  There are no rats at our Mall of America in Minnesota, but not as much fun as the aforementioned Great America Park.

42. A step above "meh": DECENT.

43. White lie: FIB.

44. Remove paint from: STRIP.

45. Shakespearean contraction: 'TWERE.  "'Twere the nights before Christmas" sounds stupid.

46. Primary competitor: RIVAL.  Graybar used to sell RIVAL housewares to Target but then they went direct.

47. Oyster gem: PEARL.  PEARL Bailey was a legend.

48. Tacked on: ADDED.

50. Brings to maturity: AGES.  Some things get better with age.  Not my bowling or golf scores though.

51. Zither-like Japanese instrument: KOTO.

52. Canyon feedback: ECHO.  Toyota used to make a small car called an ECHO. I think they stopped around 2005 because nobody wants a small car anymore.

53. Opera song for one: ARIA.

54. Newsroom station: DESK.

Boomer