Sunday, December 10, 2017, C.C. Bunikel

TITLE: IT'S AMAZING

Husker Gary here acting as a literary Sherpa for our crossword mistress. This Sunday, C.C. had made an AMAZING (hence the title) puzzle by scrambling the word GRACE inside some two or three word phrases and situated those scrambled letters such that they span the words in the phrases. Fun! 

I am showing the grid early to help those of you who did not have the circles in your paper or electronic grid.

I saw the gimmick and struggled to see what could go with GRACE for the gimmick. However, for the payoff, C.C. substitutes the word BLESSING for GRACE to generate this reveal (not MIXED GRACES):

121. It's not all good ... and it's literally found in this puzzle's circles : MIXED BLESSING. Cool! I have always considered cell phones as a MIXED BLESSING

Let's take a look at C.C. theme entries:

22. Tehran tinderbox for 14-plus months : HOSTAGE CRISIS - They were released just minutes after Ronald Reagan's inauguration 

34. Making the Guinness Book, say : SETTING A RECORD -  Ozzie set the record for "Dog Rope Walking" by going 11.4' in 14 seconds

55. World Cup events : SOCCER GAMES - I am not a SOCCER FAN and this is the ONLY image I remember from the sport - Brandi Chastain in 1999

84. Recycling center item : BEVERAGE CAN - They can really add up

101. Log holder : FIREPLACE GRATE - This feels pretty good at this this time of year on the Great Plains

16. What a Facebook post might draw : STRONG REACTIONS - I posed what I thought was a very innocent question on FB last election season and I was bombarded by STRONG REACTIONS. To quote Edgar Allen's famous bird - NEVERMORE!!

43. Violet Crawley's title in "Downton Abbey" : DOWAGER COUNTESS - Hearing Maggie Smith wield her acid tongue in this role is well worth viewing!

Now let's what other AMAZING BLESSINGS C.C. is bestowing on us today

Across

1. /, on some score sheets : SPARE - The bottom score here is known as a Dutch 200 where you get that score by alternating spares (/) and strikes (X) for ten frames. Boomer doesn't bother with /'s all that often! 😏

6. Herbal tea : TISANE, 1. Teahouse treat : SCONE and 80. "Unexpected blends" tea brand : TAZO provide a mini theme by tea connoisseur C.C.

12. Premier League powerhouse : CHELSEA - More Soccer

19. Ascended : SCALED

20. Calligraphy container : INKPOT

21. Top-seller : HOT ITEM

24. Getting on in years : ELDERLY - Hey! I resemble that adjective!

25. Asthmatic's device : INHALER - It got my brother through his childhood

26. Super, slangily : UBER - Today's use of that word is much better than what is was used for two generations before.

27. Batman after Michael : VAL - Can you find Mr. Kilmer?

28. Google : Android :: Apple : __ : IOS - This Operating System keeps my iPhone going

29. Got the word : HEARD

30. It borders three oceans : ASIA

32. Resort near Boston : CAPE ANN - I picked the wrong one at first

38. Wander (about) : GAD - My lovely  bride doesn't care for the fact that I do this constantly when we are shopping 

41. Took charge of : LED

44. Long stretches : AEONS

45. Netflix alternative : HULU - I'm a NETFLIXer

46. Down tune : DIRGE -These Volga boatmen have a famous one named after them. 

48. Ocean rings : ATOLLS

50. Earned : WON

51. Some charges : USER FEES - It's better to use them than to 49. Impose, as a tax : LEVY

54. Investment firm T. __ Price : ROWE

60. Plummeted : SANK

61. Ne'er-do-well : KNAVE

63. Catch of the day, perhaps : SEA BASS - $30 on this menu for Misoyaki SEA BASS

64. Inc., in Toronto : LTD

66. Euro divs. : CTS - It takes 100 €0.01 to make €1.00

67. Workout addicts : GYM RATS - Our YMCA has them of all ages and sizes

69. "That's no kidding" : I MEAN IT

72. Sault __ Marie : STE

74. Pull : TUG - Her trademark

75. Jerry-rigged, in a way : TAPED ON - Oh, like this?

79. Ekberg of "La Dolce Vita" : ANITA

82. Crime scene figure : PERP - PERP (prep) SCHOOL was our first silly, Sunday answer last week

87. Stable baby : FOAL

88. National summer sport of Canada : LACROSSE - Hmmm... A sport that only requires two months. 😜 Sorry Canadian Eh!

90. Luanda is its cap. : ANG - Where I'm sure they post many 14. Flight takeoff fig. : ETD's at their international airport

91. Mourning on the court : ALONZO - A 6'10" former NBA player

93. Distant : ALOOF

94. Sudden attack : RAID - Look out refrigerator!

96. Dish alternative : CABLE

99. Lush : SOT

100. Lady Tigers' sch. : TSU - The Tennessee State University Lady Tigers play just north of where the Vanderbilt University Lady Commodores play in Nashville

106. More offensive : NASTIER - Campaigns race to see who can be NASTIER

108. Queen in "Frozen" : ELSA (not our Born Free lioness) and 86. Film lioness : NALA (a different lioness)

109. Lackluster finish : MATTE

113. And the like: Abbr. : ETC - Yul Brynner sang/spoke it in The King and I

114. Sweetie : HON - This appellation may not be very welcome today

115. Mother of Castor : LEDA - Castor's twin Pollux had a different father. It's a long story...

117. Choice word : WHETHER 

119. Get going, as an oven : PRE-HEAT 

123. Roll call discovery : ABSENCE - A big requirement in schools these days

124. Figure of speech? : ORATOR - A clever clue for one of the best ORATORS of modern times 

125. Oddball : WEIRDO

126. Agreement often reluctant but still respectful : YES DEAR - What to say if my lovely bride is right or wrong

127. Mischief-makers : DEMONS

128. Thrills : SENDS - A great song using this 50's slang by one of the best R 'n B singers ever

Down

2. Lara's husband in "Doctor Zhivago" : PASHA - Later in the book, this laughter prone prankster changed - "[PASHA] knew that rumor had nicknamed him Rasstrelnikov, 'the Executioner.' He took it in stride, he feared nothing" 

3. Wedding settings : ALTARS

4. Genuine article : REAL DEAL

5. Barely beat (out) : EDGE

6. It may be nervous : TIC - If Inspector Clouseau worked for you...

7. Reduced to rubble : IN RUINS - The Roman Colosseum is magnificent even in this state

8. Aspen traveler's item : SKI BAG

9. Cathedral recess : APSE

10. Detective fiction genre : NOIR - Bogie was the film master 

11. Movie makeup dept. creations : ETS - Such as in my favorite Sci-Fi movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

12. Inferior : CHEAPO

13. Cry out loud : HOLLER

15. '60s protest : LIE IN - When your "Sit In" just wasn't gettin' it done

17. Fish trapped in pots : EELS - I'd try them at C.C.'s house if she offered them...

18. Adams of "Her" : AMY

19. __ Tzu : SHIH - Most take great pains to pronounce this breed carefully

23. Sister of Clio : ERATO - One of the muses who frequent our little word stand here

27. Space devoid of matter : VACUUM - Here's a kitty trying to figure out a VACUUM here on Earth

31. Lust, e.g. : SIN

32. Dopey frame, e.g. : CEL - In this CEL frame, he is gettin' down with Snow White

33. Short lines at the post office? : ADDR - ADDRess

35. Hardy's "Pure Woman" : TESS - She and Yoko both are frequent fliers here

36. Now, in Nicaragua : AHORA and 53. This, to Picasso : ESTA - Aquí ESTÁ la respuesta AHORA (Here is the answer now)

37. Climbing aids : RUNGS

39. Mole, perhaps : AGENT

40. Classroom array : DESKS - These DESKS have only way to be arrayed

41. Shenanigan : LARK - Or a more beautiful use of the word from a musical we all know

42. School since 1440 : ETON - The ETON Cricket team will tour Sri Lanka next spring

47. Uncertainties : IFS - If IFS and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas

50. Bug catcher : WEB -  Our lush landscape invites many of these spider constructions 

52. One-named Tejano pop star : SELENA - I subbed for a Spanish teachers for two days and I showed half of this film of her too-short life each day

56. Plains folks? : OSAGES

57. Belgium winter hrs. : CET 

58. Social division : CASTE

...but so is high school

59. Remark to the audience : ASIDE- A wonderful theatric device used in this movie

62. Pro with a siren : EMT

65. Paternity test letters : DNA - Blood tests could only tell a man he wasn't the father or that he could be

68. Uses elbow grease on : RUBS

70. Comfy slip-on : MOC

71. Skinny : INFO

72. Impact sound : SPLAT - Spaghetti's done!

73. Dabbling ducks : TEALS - New use of Dabble for me

76. Thin as __ : A RAIL  and 121. Like Twiggy's style : MOD - 5'6" 90lbs

77. Important animal in '70s U.S.-China diplomacy : PANDA - Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing

78. Future chicken : EGG

81. Heaps : A LOT

83. Golf course figure : PRO - PAR

85. Ben of "Roots" : VEREEN - Chicken George

89. Send-__: farewells : OFFS 

92. "Hmm … " : LET ME SEE - Did I find all my errors or will I have to count on my friends to find them?

95. What "4" may mean: Abbr. : APR - Uncle Sam gets my last tax money as late as possible on 4/15 

96. Porcelain with a pale green glaze : CELADON - Beautiful green pottery first made in China but named in England

97. Justice Dept. bigwigs : AGS - Attorneys General (A'S G?)

98. Beaning aftermath, sometimes : BRAWL 

BASEBRAWL

102. Odysseus' kingdom : ITHACA

103. Revolting sort? : RIOTER

104. Formally give : CEDE TO

105. Takes courses at home? : EATS IN

107. Felt the pain : ACHED

110. "Hot corner" base : THIRD - So called because hit balls get there very quickly, that's why all that play THIRD base should wear these

111. Ministers : TENDS

112. Cartesian connection : ERGO

113. Kathryn of HBO's "Oz" : ERBE - Google it if you're interested

115. Old Parmesan bread : LIRE - A euphemism for old money in Parma, Italy

116. Eye __ : EXAM - My 95-year-old MIL passed her eye EXAM and now her driver's license is now good until she is 100

118. Adheres (to) : HEWS - So this is where that comes from

119. Settle up : PAY

120. Biloxi-to-Mobile dir. : ENE -ESE would work for this famous song lyric "From Natchez To Mobile"

122. Places to crash, in ads : BRS - One of our 3 B(ed)R(nooms)S got converted to a computer room/office 20 minutes after on daughter got a job and moved to Lincoln. 

Now how 'bout some MIXED BLESSINGS from the peanut gallery (Man, I'm old!)

Gary

Notes from C.C.:

Here is a picture from our local crossword constructors get-together last Sunday Dec 3, 2017.  Chris is based in Iowa. Drove a long way. Quite a few are our LAT constructors. Kathy made her LAT debut earlier this year.

I recall Will Shortz mentioned a while ago that after New York and California, Minnesota has the most constructors.

Thanks for organizing the event, Tom, you're the best!

Dec 3, 2017 Sunday

Seated, L to R:  C.C. Burnikel, Theresa Horan (Teedmn), Kathy Jaschke

Standing:  George Barany, Tariq Samad (Cryptics constructor), Stew Lelievr (been to the ACPT for about 20 years straight), Andrew Sand, Amy Bemis, Jay Kaskel, David Hanson (Rosebud), Marcia Brott, Christopher Adams, Victor Barocas and Tom Pepper