Saturday, February 9, 2019, Greg Johnson

Saturday Themeless by Greg Johnson


Here we are five days prior to Valentine's Day and we celebrate my wife's favorite food group - Chocolate. Therefore I got a jump on St. Valentine and combined my lovely wife's favorite confection with a sentiment I have maintained through 52 years of marriage.

Our constructor, Greg Johnson may have had some premonition about this as he had this clue today:

9. Flavor that pairs well with chocolate: MINT - I remember when these wonderful treats were 2 cents at the pay station in a restaurant or were free in an upscale eatery. 

Greg Johnson

44. Unchallenging: EASY - While not real EASY, today's puzzle, gave up the ghost faster than most Saturdays for me. Now let's see what else Greg, with his [insert adjective] expression, has for us today:


Across:

1. In honor of: AFTER - The VFW in my hometown is now named AFTER my friend who died in Vietnam and not the heroic WWI man who no one could remember

6. Site with a Pill Identification Tool: WEB MD - I wonder what this thing is...

11. Tried hard: STROVE.

12. More substantial: MEATIER.

14. Sea of Azov peninsula: CRIMEA - A war described as "notoriously incompetent international butchery"

15. When many photos are taken: AT SUNSET 

17. Some therapeutic applications: OILS - A graphic Web Md warning 

18. Didn't get in the way of: LET BE 

20. Brand with an orange-and-yellow bull's-eye trademark: TIDE and 35. Fan: ROOTER - This fan must have felt horrible when the TIDE (Baman) got routed in the National Championship Game this year

21. Conversation on the go: WALK AND TALK - One of many TV and movie 51. Metaphors, e.g.: TROPES - commonly used TV/movie devices

24. X or Z preceder: GEN.

25. Stella Artois product: LAGER - Their Super Bowl ad got good reviews. Sara Jessica Parker pronounced it "Stella Artwah" and Jeff Bridges said "Stella Artoes" 

26. Waiters stand in them: LINES - We waited in line for Ubers not taxis

28. Product of sugar and heat: CARAMEL - People sometimes disregard the middle A like the middle T in dentist

31. Real go-getter: DYNAMO - The motor below is really a electricity generating DYNAMO and could keep my laptop 36. Energized: AMPED up in a storm

32. Retrieved at an airport carousel: CLAIMED - I put a big pink strap around my black bag

33. Pet holdable in one hand: HAMSTER.

34. Critical sounds: HISSES - Appropriate melodrama response when villain appears

35. Took turns: ROTATED - Super Bowl sites are rotated among NFL cities. Next: Miami, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles

37. Cleanser compound: BORAX - Here's a pre-presidential pitchman

38. Saint, in Brazil: SAO.

39. What you'd better have if you miss work: A GOOD EXCUSE 

45. Highest Italian peak south of the Alps: ETNA - This map shows it as a lone white dot on the East end of Sicily 

47. Like yummy desserts, sooner or later: EATEN.

48. Fit to serve: ONE-A - I don't know if the Babe was ever ONE-A but he did register in 1917

49. Separate: DISCRETE = Brown and White rice are DISCRETE varieties 

53. Homicide official: CORONER - 85-yr-old David McCallum still plays the CORONER on NCIS 

54. Event associated with a blue moon: RARITY.

55. Concrete-reinforcing rod: REBAR - REROD works too

56. Kind of question: YES/NO - Yeah, I sent one as a 13-yr-old. She marked Yes!!

Down:

1. Heart chambers: ATRIA - The educated peeps here can find them below

2. Nonessential decoration: FRILL - Lipstick on a pig?

3. Siberian industrial center: TOMSK.

4. Big event lead-in: EVE

5. What John Wayne and Cary Grant weren't: REAL NAMES - Birthplace of Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa

6. Dinner party amenity: WET BAR - I'd prefer a taco BAR

7. Painter's aid: EASEL.

8. A/C letters: BTU - Our old HVAC cwd friend

10. Appoint: DESIGNATE 

11. Harbor hauler: SCOW - A garbage SCOW in NYC Harbor

12. Brand on Barbie boxes: MATTEL.

13. Cashed in: REDEEMED - Like Green Stamps

16. Stretching muscle: TENSOR - The TENSOR of the fascia lata in red

19. Trimmed, in a way: EDGED.

22. Bay Area city: ALAMEDA - The San Francisco Warriors play in the Oracle or Oakland/ALAMEDA Arena which is the oldest NBA venue.

23. Female R&B group with the '80s hit "I Miss You": KLYMAXX - A lovely song

27. MIT part: Abbr.: INST- Hmmm... MASS or INST or TECH

28. Of concern to the Weather Channel: CLIMATIC - Our recent departure from CLIMATIC norms has been dramatic 

29. Twelve-step helper: AA SPONSOR.

30. Start the day: RISE.

31. Requirement for statistical analysis: DATA ENTRY - Not my dream job

32. Tried to catch: CHASED - She was CHASED but remained chaste

33. Massive group: HORDE.

37. Flat-topped straw hat: BOATER - Nobody wore one better than this guy

40. Davis with a recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy": GEENA - She was really hard-nosed in Grey's Anatomy but GEENA and baseball, gotta love it!

41. Denver's __ Field: COORS - Playing at an elevation of 5,280 ft. can have its issues

42. Remove from the bulletin board: UNPIN

43. Take care of: SEE TO 

46. A football field is about 32% larger than one: ACRE.

50. Not take well: ROB - An oft-seen fun fill for larceny 

52. Female name that's a body part backwards: RAE - Here's both in this picture 

Now put down that Snickers and comment away:

Note from C.C.:

Happy 48th  birthday to dear Splynter (Richard), our faithful Saturday Sherpa for a long time. Life has not been easy for Splynter the past year, but he's a tough guy. Hope you got that job you wanted, Splynter!