Saturday, December 21, 2019, Brian E. Paquin

Saturday Themeless by Brian E. Paquin

Happy Winter Solstice! Today at 10:19 p.m. CST, the Sun will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn and therefore those of us north of the equator will have our fewest hours of daylight. It is called the first day of winter for us and  the first day of summer for our friends south of the equator. 

Brian Paquin presents us a puzzle (with parallel vertical grid spanners) that you may have to finish in a hurry as there will be a minimum of daylight to guide your solve. 

Let's see what we have on this auspicious astronomical day:


Across:

1. Swagger: BRAVADO shown by someone who 1. Crows: BRAGS - An interesting cross

8. Elite list: WHO'S WHO - As a high school senior I remember getting a flattering letter that I had been chosen to be in the WHO'S WHO book for outstanding students. My balloon burst when I saw that I had to send them $50 to see my name in print.

15. Tent event: REVIVAL - Elmer Gantry's REVIVAL tent was home to a charlatan hustler 

16. "Get going!": HOP TO IT 

17. No longer happening: AT AN END - Today? Autumn!

18. Its namesake, a former Surveyor General of India, objected to having it named for him: EVEREST - The world's highest peak is called Chomolungma by the Tibetans and Sagarmatha by the Nepalese 

19. Hip-hop subgenre: GANGSTA - Google if you must

20. '20s tennis star Lacoste: RENE - How his shirt with the crocodile came to be

21. Convene: SIT.

22. De bene __: literally, of well-being: ESSE - In law

24. Exchanges: SWAPS - Judge James H. Wilkerson SWAPPED juries for Al Capone after he found out the original panel had been bribed

28. Old Messina money: LIRA.

31. __ operandi: MODI - Plural of Modus Operandi (M.O.)

33. Aromatic garland: LEI - I wonder if ONO ever wore a LEI and shared an OREO with an EMU at a game where 14. Giants legend: OTT was playing in Crosswordland

34. More than is tolerable: ONCE TOO OFTEN 

38. Charles, until he's in charge: HEIR TO THE THRONE - Prince Andrew was 8th in line for being HEIR TO THE THRONE but now it seems his mother has "fired" him

41. Doesn't evolve: STAYS THE SAME - Like these guys

The Luddites

42. Area of interest: BAG - Papa's got a "brand new one" according to the "hardest working man in show business"

43. Cold War leader Andropov: YURI - YURI was head of the KGB for fifteen years before being the head of the Soviet state for fifteen months 

44. Longbow wood sources: YEWS.

47. Lumps: CLODS - Breaking them up to make a seed bed

50. Places where shooting occurs: SETS - They can be deceptive 

52. Like aspirin, briefly: OTC - Certain meds like these are not Over The Counter any more

54. Sermon ender?: ETTE.

56. Spot for a bowler: HAT TREE - Not where you would find our blogging, bowling friends 

59. Kerosene cousin: COAL OIL - The difference 

62. Like some light, fruity wines: UNOAKED  - American Chardonnays are almost always oaked, which is why they're known for that buttery creaminess, and European Chardonnays are steel-aged and tend towards those bright apple and citrus flavors. A new word for me and my spell checker

63. Annual February race site: DAYTONA 500

64. Croc or cobra: REPTILE.

65. Cat's asset: STEALTH - My first thought

66. Like some lumber: TREATED - Our deck made of pressure TREATED lumber lasted ten years and now we have a composite deck




Down:

2. Sell at the mall, say: RETAIL - Less and less so

3. Italian "forward": AVANTI - The 1963 Studebaker AVANTI. If you thought the Edsel looked odd... How the AVANTI came to be

4. "Pulp Fiction" actor Rhames: VING - Theories abound about why Ving had a band-aid on his neck

5. City rtes.: AVES.

6. Boccaccio added "Divina" to the title of his masterpiece: DANTE Alighieri originally called his work simply Commedia 

7. Ancient: OLD AS METHUSELAH - it took a lot of crosses to get the spelling correct

8. Response to a wince: WHERE DOES IT HURT?

9. __ to: halted, nautically: HOVE - He HOVE to when the pirate told him to

10. Debuts: OPENS - Phantom Of The Opera OPENED at The Majestic Theater of Broadway January 26, 1988 and has been playing there ever since 

11. Scatter: STREW.

12. Anguish: WOE.

13. Part of HMS, at times: HIS - His/Her Majesty's Ship and 61. Word of obedience: AYE - A word often heard on board

23. "Told you!": SO THERE.

25. Glee club voice: ALTO.

26. Rounded tool part: PEEN - Claw and ball PEEN hammers

27. Trig function: SINE.

29. Rival of Tiger: RORY - McIlroy today. The golf media actually tried to make Phil Mickelson his rival but Tiger in his prime had no peer

30. Giants in the 1954 horror film "Them!": ANTS - None named OTT

32. Smidgen: IOTA.

35. Owner of Clairol and CoverGirl: COTY.

36. "Goodness!": OH MY - Look at the size of those ANTS!

37. Let out: FREE.

38. London-based financial corp. founded in Hong Kong: HSBC - Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

39. Short space saver: ET AL.

40. "It is the green-eyed monster ... " speaker: IAGO - The passage in original and modern text

45. Exercise prompt: WORK IT.

46. Brosnan role in '80s TV: STEELE - We had his co-star in the Friday the 13th puzzle this month

48. Yazoo region: DELTA.

49. One without arms: STOOL.

51. More lucid: SANER.

53. Turned over: CEDED.

55. Decorator's subtlety: TINT - Quick, what is the color of your living room wall? I have no idea about ours.

57. Drink copiously: TOPE - From French toper to keep an agreement, from Spanish topar to take a bet; probably because a wager was generally followed by a drink. You're welcome

58. "Ciao!": TATA.

59. Streaming alternatives: CD'S - Our Mannheim Steamroller and Trans Siberia Orchestra CD'S get a workout this time of year

60. Meal starter?: OAT - A cheap ($0.98) and convenient version of a childhood favorite of mine

Go ahead and comment with a light heart as our darkest days will now start to get longer      and Spring is coming. Calculate the time until spring

Notes from C.C.:

Happy fifth wedding annversary to Oo and Lemonade. How time flies!