Friday, Jun 12, 2020 Gary Larson

Golf Strokes and Strong Arming by Gary Larson

TTP is still recuperating from his at-home projects. He asked me if I'd sub once again and give him a chance to get the drywall compound and latex paint off his hands, and the ache out of his back. So, here goes...

Gary has given us a traditional letter swap puzzle with accompanying witty cluing and ensuing hilarity. In this case the swap is fully explained in his reveal answers: 

63. Golf strokes...and when combined with 48-Down (Strong arming), and divided in four parts, a hint to four puzzle answers: PUTTS + FORCE = PUT "TS" FOR "CE." As my sister used to say to me, "Simple, stu."

17. Emulates Ogden Nash?: MINT SWORDS.

Oops -- MINTS WORDS (Mince words).

The Rhinoceros.
The rhino is a homely beast,
For human eyes he's not a feast.
Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros,
I'll stare at something less prepoceros.

27. Imagined gifts?: PRESENTS OF MIND (Presence of Mind).

44. What cheerleaders lead?: SPORTING CHANTS (Sporting Chance).

"Siss-Boom-Bee, kick him in the knee.

Siss-Boom-Bass, kick him in the other knee."

54. Tracks on a lily pad?: FROG PRINTS (Frog Prince).

 

And here's what else Gary provided for our consideration...

Across:

1. Throw off: EMIT. SCWA*

5. Like some firs: NOBLE. I only learned of these recently. They're native to the Cascade and Coast ranges along the West Coast. Reportedly, you can recognize them by the vertically standing cones atop the branches.

10. After-school treat: MALT. C'mon. You put in OREO, didn't you.

14. Actress Anderson: LONI.

Guess what? Her name is actually Loni Anderson. Who knew? She burst (bust?) onto the scene in 1978 as Jennifer Marlowe, the buxom receptionist at WKRP in Cincinnati.

15. Source of net profits?: ETAIL. It can also be the source of net losses.

16. Cooking acronym popularized by Rachael Ray: EVOO. I actually knew this -- Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

19. Early light time: DAWN. "O Jose can you see, by the dawn's early light..."

20. Can't stand: HATES. ABHOR would've worked, until it wouldn't.

21. Student of Graham: AILEY. This one sent me down the rabbit hole. Turns out it has nothing to do with crackers. Alvin Ailey was a dance student of Martha Graham. Before my eyeballs glazed over I found this.

22. "Of course": SURE DO.

25. Ones working with maître d's: GARÇONS. French waiters.

30. Word on a dipstick: ADD. Have you ever tried to read the level of synthetic oil on a bright metal dipstick? Taint easy.

31. Country singer Blake who's a coach on "The Voice": SHELTON. This was his first hit (3:47) back in '01.

32. Noted work: MUSIC. The music is made up of notes...and rests, and other stuff.

35. Want ad initials: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.

36. Lies: RESTS. Where it sits.

40. Fiber-rich snack: RAISINS. I used to think dietary fiber was a specific compound. Nope. It's basically that which cannot be digested. It comes out virtually unchanged from the way it went in. TMI?

43. Slip in a pot: IOU. Think poker.

48. Remote situation: FARNESS. Nose-raiser, if I ever saw one.

49. Gets more out of: REUSES. SCWA*

50. Gone by: OF OLD. OLDEN, PASSÉ.

51. Kooky: WEIRD.

53. Gifford's successor on "Live!": RIPA. Kathy Lee Gifford was Regis Philbin's costar before Kelly Ripa came along.

59. Rep on the street: CRED. Rep = Reputation. Cred = Credibility.

60. Deck with a Hanged Man: TAROT. SCWA*

61. Duck that lends its name to a color: TEAL. SCWA*

62. Wriggling: EELY. SCWA*

64. Like hunks and knockouts: SEXY. Personally, I don't see it...

Down:

1. West __: upscale store: ELM. I looked 'em up. They sell furniture. Hadn't heard of 'em but there is a store about 50 miles away in west Houston.

2. "Who, me?": MOI.

3. Certain keeper's charge: INN. The innkeeper is in charge of the inn, I guess.

4. Some church contributions: TITHES. Some people still do this.

5. Units of force: NEWTONS. How many figs to make a Newton?

6. Chiwere-speaking native: OTOE.

7. Breakfast snacks: BARS.

8. Topper: LID. HAT, CAP.

9. Yellow pair?: ELS. YeLLow.

10. It requires some orderly help: MEDICINE. Medical orderlies get the worst jobs, think of fraternity hazing.

11. Toyota model: AVALON. There's a neighborhood lady who we meet on our walks through the 'hood. She drives one, and we refer to her as Mrs. Avalon when we're not referring to her as "Our Lady of the Walking."

12. Bargain-basement: LOW END.

13. Tommy Tune's ten: TONYS. You can read about him here.

18. One-named Nigerian singer: SADE.

21. Defensive covering: ARMOR. This was slow in dawning, but makes perfect sense.

22. WWII supply referred to as "meatloaf without basic training": SPAM. Official lunchmeat of Hawaii.

23. Pakistani tongue: URDU. SCWA*

24. Wine list heading: REDS.

25. Prepare for a Hail Mary: GO LONG. and pray...

26. Where to see a wake: AFT. Behind the boat.

28. Degree requirement, perhaps: THESIS.

29. Greet and seat: SEE IN. USHER into the house of.

33. Nickname in late 20th-century British politics: IRON LADY. Lady Margaret Thatcher.

34. Liked, with "for": CARED. "No thank you, I don't care for it."

37. Offenses: SINS.

38. Schlep: TOTE. HAUL.

39. Unravel, with "out": SUSS, in the mystery sense of unraveling.

41. TGIF part: ITS. "Thank GoODness It's Friday." Always follows "Sure Happy It's Thursday."

42. Libretto cousins: SCRIPTS.

44. "On Language" columnist: SAFIRE. William Safire (1929-2009) was a longtime NYT political columnist. He also wrote the On Language column in the NYT Magazine. You might remember his "nattering nabobs of negativism."

45. Move forward: PROPEL. IMPEL was too short.

46. München mister: HERR. München -- we spell it Munich. MIL lives there. She turned 95 a couple months ago, and is still as crabby feisty as ever.

47. Book reviews: AUDITS. CPA reviews.

51. St.-John's-__: WORT. It's used in traditional medicine and warrants this high praise: -- "High-quality clinical evidence for its effectiveness remains absent." Red-headed stepchild of Hydroxychloroquine.

52. Showbiz award "grand slam": EGOT. I learned this just a few weeks ago -- Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony. At first glance, it looks like a rye fungus.

54. Uploading letters: FTP. File Transfer Protocol, but you knew that.

55. India-born author Santha Rama __: RAU (1923-2009).

She was best known for her travel books.

56. Originally: NEE. Used in announcements.

57. Try: TAX.

58. Dodgy, on this side of the pond: SLY. I thought it meant iffy or questionable. Hmmm. It can mean both.

* SCWA -- Standard CrossWord Answer

And here's the grid. Desper-otto out.