Saturday, July 14, 2018, Andrew J. Ries

A Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Andrew J. Ries 

On the Fourth Of July we Americans celebrate our declaration of independence. Ten days later our French friends celebrate Quatorze Juillet or, The Fourteenth of July which they also refer to as Bastille Day. That day celebrates the storming of the infamous prison and the beginning of The French Revolution. "Liberté, égalité and fraternité!"

I blogged another Saturday puzzle of Andrew Ries's last April 28 on Super Heroes Day. Below is a picture of David Hanson, Victor Borocas (who authored last Sunday's AAA puzzle), our own C.C. and Andrew (not Andy). Next to them is one of Andrew's published books of puzzles that is so apropos for his home state.

Andrew had a double major in film studies and history from St. Cloud State, which he calls a "hockey school", an hour NW of Minneapolis. He got hooked on puzzles by his grandmother and his passion has led to his now being a full-time constructor (as you can see by one of his books above). Andrew says it is not really work when you are doing what you love. He estimates he will do close to a hundred puzzles this year as his trade requires being prolific. I had a great exchange with Andrew via gmail and I hope we get to see a lot more of him in the future

I was also fascinated by the very clever logo for his website which incorporates Andrew's name and a familiar zodiacal fill we see here. C'mon, ya gotta love it!

I managed a 14-minute tour through today's puzzle as I seemed to be on Andrew's frequency beginning with a NASA gimme for me. 

Now let's storm the barriers and see what else A RIES has for us today:


Across:

1. Critical measurements in "Apollo 13": AMPS  - This NASA educator, who has seen Apollo 13 countless times and remembered how the ground crew in Houston figured out how to mete out the meager 20 AMPS the command module would have available to return to Earth.

5. "Yada yada yada" letters: ETC.

8. They may be wrapped at restaurants: FORKS - Pitas and sushi stayed in the kitchen

13. China neighbor: LAOS  - This will connect Kunming, China with Bangkok, Thailand through LAOS

14. Common pace for a slugger: TROT  - The most famous home run TROT in baseball history

16. "__ you special": AREN'T - Sarcasm d'jour 

17. In a big stack: PILED HIGH - How do you even attack this $22 Carnegie Deli sandwich?

19. Assessor's decision: VALUE - Oh look, my the house tax levy went down! Oops, never mind, the VALUATION on my house went up

20. Kind: ILK - Aren't we an ILK here at the corner and each of us a vital 7. Tooth not examined by a dentist: COG.

21. Car wash option: WAX - Is it worth it?

22. Serious reading?: RIOT ACT - King George I issued this decree in 1714 saying goups of 12 or more could be shot or impreisoned when assembling. He wrote it in German as he never learned to speak English and German survived in Buckingham Palace until WWI when they also abandoned their German family name and adopted the name Windsor.

24. B-complex vitamin: NIACIN


26. Old fad items packed in boxes with breathing holes: PET ROCKS - There truly is one born every minute

27. Conclude with: END ON - Some rude people don't heed the rule that fireworks were to END ON July 4th. 

28. Achieves: DOES

29. New job requirement, perhaps: RELO - Real estate agent speak for RELOCATION

30. "That makes sense": GOOD REASON

33. Convertible's spot: DEN - I assume Andrew did not mean someone ran into the house with their car

34. Help for ones seeing stars?: TELESCOPES - Galileo changed the world with his telescope by looking at the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. His findings got him accused of heresy and kept him under house arrest until his death

36. Macabre rock genre: DEATH METAL - Google if you're more interested than I am

38. Where odds are posted: Abbr.: OTB  - Here are what the OTB odds were for the final leg of the Triple Crown this year

41. Modern capture?: SCREEN GRAB  - The picture above was a SCREEN SHOT (GRAB) from a website using Command + Shift + 4 on my MacBook Pro computer

43. Negri of silents: POLA - I'll bet you all know the "little tramp" with whom she had an affair (circa. 1922)

45. Starter starter?: HORS  - What HORS D'OEUVRE(S) (literally outside the work or outside the meal) are appropriate for a Bastille Day party?

46. "Nattering nabobs" veep: AGNEW - Spiro of Maryland - Nixon's VP and lightning rod

48. Track runners: TROLLEYS  - Omaha once had a trolley system that was second in size to only Boston

50. Many a head shop garment: TIE DYE.

51. Don't forget about: INCLUDE.

52. Have in hand: OWN.

53. Reddit VIP: MOD  - They are MODERATORS on the Reddit site with which I have no experience

54. One you usually don't want to meet: MAKER  -Rooster Cogburn once warned, "Prepare to meet your MAKER!"

55. Makeshift branch hanger: ROPE SWING  - The internet has a bottomless supply of "fails" on ROPE SWINGS. You can't fool gravity, inertia and centripetal force.

58. "Hello" balladeer: ADELE and 42. First artist whose first six albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200: BEYONCE - I'm sure they are fine artists but they are not on my iPhone playlist

59. Miss a syllable or two, say: SLUR  - Foster Brooks (correction) used this verbal device to make a good living

60. Formerly: ONCE.

61. Rich veins: LODES  - Gee, I wonder where they got the name of the TV Show with the man and his three sons in Nevada

62. Medium skill: ESP - I've told the joke here at least twice about the the crooked fortune teller who was running from the law - Headline - Small Medium At Large. Ah, you can't go wrong with good material!

63. Invader from below: WEED.


Down:

1. __ skiing: ALPINE - Sliding down a mountain using "fixed-heel" ski bindings

2. Sending out: MAILING - I can't remember the last time I got a significant communication via Snail MAIL

3. Round fabric pattern element: POLKA DOT

4. Compass dir.: SSE - This plane is heading SSE which is 160˚to the nearest 10 degrees on a compass and the 0 is dropped from the runway marking

5. Hunt in "Mission: Impossible" films: ETHAN - A Tom Cruise film franchise

6. Brand with a leporine mascot: TRIX  - Silly Rabbit, TRIX are for kids!

8. Solid, in a request: FAVOR  - "Hey, brother, would you do me a solid (FAVOR)?

9. Speaker: ORATOR - On November 19, 1863, famed ORATOR Edward Everett spoke for two hours but President Lincoln only spoke for two minutes at a cemetery dedication

10. Fastened anew, as a corset: RELACED seems to fit with 47. Squeezed (in): WEDGED.

11. Sandwich component?: KNUCKLE - "How'd ya like a KNUCKLE sandwich?"

12. "Boss of the Plains" apparel brand: STETSON - Mexicans claimed their tan galán (very gallant) hats were superior to Texan's plain STETSON hats. For those Texans, tan galán became...

15. Golfing groups: THREESOMES - A THREESOME playing winter golf on the Great Plains

18. Gradually goes down: DWINDLES - Jimmy Durante wistfully singing the September Song, "Oh the days DWINDLE down to a precious few"

23. "Come on in!": IT'S OPEN.

25. Whispered sweet nothings: COOED - Often paired with BILLED and I suppose I could look up why but...

26. They take things the wrong way: POACHERS - Killing those animals is contemptible 

28. Smallest Battleship pieces: DESTROYERS - Can you pick it out?

31. Connected with: REACHED.

32. Bottom-line positives: NET GAINS - Could be in dollars or yards

35. Looie's underling: SARGE - This second Looie never could get the respect of those under him

37. Metaphor for a potential crisis: LANDMINE - Do you know where they lie at family gatherings?

38. Best-case: OPTIMAL.

39. "The Wizard of Oz" plot twist--literally: TORNADO - Dorothy leaves b/w Kansas and winds up in Technicolor Oz

40. Denied access, on social media: BLOCKED - My niece's incessant politics and profanity made me BLOCK her

44. Genetic variant: ALLELE.

49. Casting array: LURES  - Where do you start?

50. Annoying sort: TWERP.

52. Numbered work: OPUS - The most popular "On Hold" music in the world is this OPUS Number One written for CISCO by Tim Carleton and Derrick Deel. 15 seconds is enough for me.

56. __ Miss: OLE  - How 'bout those Rebels?

57. "I. Am. Speechless.": WOW - Now how about some comments for Andrew and ce misérable (this miserable) that will Leave. Us. Speechless. 

p.s. I hope our Madam Defarge is knitting today in observance of Bastille Day! 

DA GRID