Monday December 24, 2018 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: SUGAR SUBSTITUTE (38. Artificial sweetener ... and what the end of 17-, 26-, 48- and 58-Across is, literally) - The first word of each theme entry is a type of sugar.

17. Pieman meeter of rhyme: SIMPLE SIMON. Simple sugar.

26. Toronto NHL team: MAPLE LEAFS. Maple sugar.

 

48. Iconic hat-shaped L.A. restaurant: BROWN DERBY. Brown sugar.

58. George Washington hairpiece: POWDERED WIG. Powdered sugar.

Boomer here.  

"Beat the drum, and hold the phone, the sun came out today." (John Fogarty, "Centerfield")  Left out Beet sugar, but that is spelled differently. I would get kicked off this blog. 

I am back bowling again!! Good news and bad news. Monday I shot a three game set of 599.  Thursday I ran into a dry condition on the lanes, left a lot of splits, and only managed 424 (I used to get that in two games). But I am not discouraged, but extremely happy to be back participating in the sport I love.  Plus my Thursday teammates cut me some slack.  They are happy to have me back, and "I'm happy to be here … I just want to help the ball club".  (Crash Davis to Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham).

And at this joyful time of year it is my pleasure to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas from C.C. and me.  Fa la la la la , la la la la. 

Across:

1. Pumpkin-growing place: PATCH.  "Down by the river that flows by the graveyard"  Dickie Lee said Patches lived there.

6. Bitter: ACRID.

11. Heat in the microwave: ZAP.  Have you ever seen those cages with a goofy light in them?  You hang it outside on the deck and it zaps mosquitoes.

14. How a timely stage entrance is made: ON CUE.

15. Letter after eta: THETA.  I had to think.  This was Greek to me.

16. "Strange Magic" band: ELO.

19. Jack of "Barney Miller": SOO.  Nick Yemana was a favorite of mine on a great show.  Sadly he passed away in 1979. 

20. Persian Gulf ship: OILER.  I believe this is an NFL Houston player, or a skater for Edmonton eh.

21. Croc's cousin: GATOR. University of Florida teammate.

23. Bovine baby: CALF.

29. Upper crust groups: ELITES.  No team name that I can think of, however the New York Yankees were fairly elite in my lifetime.

31. Corp. kingpin: EXEC.  Kingpin is an all time favorite for me.  I loved Woody Harrelson, and hated Bill Murray.

32. Baseball's Doubleday: ABNER.  Absolutely!  And he was not 'Lil.

33. Pad __: Asian noodles dish: THAI.

35. Bank acct. addition: DEP. I think the clue should tell us if it is an abbreviation. Or should I read "acct." into it ?

42. Moody music genre: EMO.

43. Scheme: PLOT.  If you scheme a mobster you may need a plot.

44. Capital of Morocco: RABAT.

45. Motown music genre: SOUL.  I used to enjoy the Platters, Temptations, and other Motowners.  Sorry, I do not like the Rap of today.

47. Highly adorned: ORNATE.  Has everyone "Ornated" their Christmas tree?

53. Hershey's nibble: KISS. I am not a big fan of commercials, especially insurance and drugs.  But I am overjoyed by the ten Hershey's Kisses playing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

54. Goldbricks: LOAFS.

55. "Fame" singer Cara: IRENE.  Good night.

57. Six-pack muscles: ABS.

64. Tiny source of teen angst: ZIT.

65. __ Lauder: ESTEE. I'm sure their sales are good this time of year.

66. Debonair: SUAVE.

67. USN rank: ENS. "He joined the Navy to see the world.  But what did he see, he saw the sea."

68. Light beer brand: COORS.  I never acquired a taste for beer.  I cannot tell the difference between Coors and Miller...Unless we're talking ball parks.

69. Binge: SPREE.

Down:

1. Stamp sellers: Abbr.: POS. Post Offices.

2. Singer DiFranco: ANI. Monday word?

3. Film buffs' channel: TCM.  Turner Classic Movies .

4. Brit's hot "spot": CUP OF TEA.  I had one with my meal tonight.  (It makes C.C. happy).  Mine was called green tea, but it looked brown to me.

5. Prefix with port: HELI.  Where choppers park.

6. Totally lost: AT SEA.  See 67 Across.

7. Nest tweet: CHIRP.  Do birds tweet on their cell phones?

8. Sleep stage: REM.

9. Simpson trial judge Lance __: ITO.  I don't know how many cases this magistrate heard, but this one made him forever famous.

10. Hang down: DANGLE. "Your head Tom Dooley, Hang down your head and cry."  Kingston Trio.

11. Keebler cracker: ZESTA.  I still like Ritz better.

12. Socially chilly: ALOOF. Christmas turkey stuffing.  Don't forget ALOOF of bread.

13. Standard & __: POORS.  The performance recently is making some folks Poorer.

18. Shade trees: ELMS.  I remember there was a nightmare on this street.

22. Former nuclear agcy.: AEC. Atomic Energy Commission.

23. Stop: CEASE.

24. LP record: ALBUM.

25. Jargon: LINGO.  I have heard that this is a slang term for a Brit who voted for Brexit.

27. Fewest: LEAST.

28. Way off the highway: EXIT.  Also a way out of the European Union.

30. Miscalculate: ERR.  To do this human, to forgive - divine.

33. Bridal gown netting: TULLE. I have never worn a bridal gown.  How an I supposed to know this?

34. "The Deuce" network: HBO.  Old time acronym for Home Box Office.  And you will pay to watch it!

35. Persian Gulf emirate: DUBAI.  Dubai is friendly to the U.S.  Tiger Woods plays golf there.

36. French states: ETATS.  Imagine if France spelled all English words backwards.

37. "For __ sake!": PETE'S. I have heard this.  I wonder who Pete is!

39. Tater: SPUD. "When you say BUD, you've said a lot of things that Spuds cannot say"

40. Like damaged mdse. on sale: IRR.

41. Really drunk: TANKED UP.  Don't look at me - I am on the wagon.

45. Personal ad woman: Abbr.: SWF.

46. Unsolicited, as a manuscript: ON SPEC.

47. __ and terminer: criminal court: OYER.

48. Burn brightly: BLAZE.  There's a place called "Blaze Pizza" in Minneapolis.  Funny name for a Pizza restaurant,  I have never tried it.

49. Batman's sidekick: ROBIN.  To the Bat Cave, to get the Batmobile, and drive someone Batty.

50. Brewers' kilns: OASTS. It could be in the dugout at Miller Park on a cold Milwaukee Spring day.

51. Successful hitchhiker: RIDER. Chuck Willis hit named after C.C.

52. Saints quarterback Drew: BREES.  When He goes Marchin' in, There's trouble.

56. Storied loch: NESS.  FBI famous detective Eliot

59. Baja bear: OSO.

60. Intl. commerce group: WTO.  ITOA - I'm Tired of Acronyms.

61. Basic card game: WAR.  Played this easy game for hours, then I turned 11 and discovered Cribbage.

62. "__ been thinking ... ": I'VE. been workin' on the railroad

63. "Golly!": GEE.

Boomer