Friday, November 5, 2021, Gary Larson

Title: Furniture for a $1,000.00 please, Mayim.

I had to resist my inclination to be sad when I finished solving this Friday from Gary "Taking over the World" Larson because for me it is a take off on JEOPARDY . Naturally I do not relish missing the incomparable Alex Trebek but we soldier on.

Gary creates every kind of puzzle and this one is Friday hard based on (1) no reveal; and (b) some very thoughtful but deceptive cluing. I still enjoy the aha moment when I find a theme without having to call any of my co-bloggers and this was one of such puzzles. I also have the advantage of having written-up 400+ puzzles so I should be pretty good. For example, we know that the convention is to not have non-theme fill longer than the theme fill. We find the four longest and BINGO, we have a place to begin. More solving tips next week. 

The themers:

18A. Furniture for an angler?: WATER TABLE (10). This puzzle is so apt after Joseph discussion on polysemous words, which are the key to today's puns. Table is the furniture but when you add water it doesn't grow it becomes the level below which the ground is saturated with water. Very important in South Florida construction. 

22A. Furniture for an efficiency expert?: SNAPPY DRESSER (13). Dresser can be both a bureau/armoire and someone with clothes on. Snappy is an old fashioned compliment.

49A. Furniture for a military officer?: SERVICE BUREAU (13). Back to putting away clothes, this time in the miltary.

56A. Furniture for an event planner?: PARTY CHAIR (10). Chair may be the most common piece of furniture but  it first developed as early as 3100-2500 B.C. The first items created for household use were made of stone, as wood was not readily available during the Neolithic time period. Dressers, cupboards and beds were amongst the first forms of furniture.

Now that we know all that...

With only 46 spaces of theme there is plenty of room for longer fill: AIR BASE, CLOAKED, IKETTES, LIE IDLE, NOT WITH, OPEN PIT, SECULAR, SHAPERS, SWEEP UP, PRESORTS, and REBIRTHS are all interesting. Let us see how he weaved his web.

Across:

1. Simple starts: ABCS. A fun misdirection and not a simple fill. 

5. Move unsteadily: LURCH. My favorite will always be TED CASSIDY .  

10. Mex. title: SRTA. Senorita. 

14. Yawn-inducing: SLOW. Like my write-up this week.

15. "That's __": 1953 Top 10 hit: AMORE.

16. Close relative, often: HEIR.  Or legatee, or beneficiary?

17. Stuffing ingredient: SAGE. Poor parsley, rosemary and thyme.

20. German article: EINE. Drei?

21. Kind of barbecue: OPEN PIT. Great in our non-winter cool nights. 

26. Worldly: SECULAR. Hmm, I know it refers to attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis. But do you have to be worldly?

27. Highways: Abbr.: RTES. Routes.

30. Small game pieces: PAWNS. In our game. 

32. Alphabetically fifth of Santa's reindeer: DASHER. Blitzen, 

Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donner, Prancer, Rudolph, and 

Vixen. The naughty one.

34. Phone download: APP. I need two hands to carry my phone these days. 

37. Hidden: CLOAKED.

39. One attached to a binding, perhaps: SKI. Stand height influences leverage on the ski as well as the ski's feedback on your body parts ...so bindings definitely make a difference.

40. Organized set: SERIES. Many different variations of the same meaning.

42. Family group: MAFIA. Not mine.

44. Cheat, in a way: PEEK. People did like sitting near me on test day.

45. Gather dust: LIE IDLE. A wonderful mash-up of vowels.

54. Against: NOT WITH. Sorry, I am not with your program. 

55. Anna Pigeon mystery series writer Nevada __: BARR.  She is a very open book. BIOGRAPHY.

59. Plus: ALSO.

60. You won't get cards without it: ANTE. Noy xmas, but playing cards for poker etc.

61. Actress Knightley: KEIRA. A puzzle favorite.

62. Barely go (through): SEEP.

63. Red ink: LOSS.

64. Touch, say: SENSE. One of many. 

65. White-tailed shore bird: ERNE. Now you know why they call them sea eagles.

Down:

1. Weigh: ASSESS. Important in assaying ores.

2. Illusionist David known for death-defying stunts: BLAINE.

3. Hennessy product: COGNAC. Very big seller at the liquor store accross the street. Also voted the MOST POPULAR

4. Remove with a broom: SWEEP UP. 

5. __ of diminishing returns: LAW. One of the first things I learned in law school is that you could study too much...

6. First name in "Pulp Fiction" credits: UMA. We have seen her so often.

7. Turbine part: ROTOR. Part of the spinning process. 

8. __ paper: CREPE. Not to be confused with Suzette'

9. "__ a bottle and an honest friend!": HERE'S.

Here's A Bottle And An Honest Friend!

Here's a bottle and an honest friend!

What wad you wish for mair, man?

Wha kens before his life may end,

What his share may be o' care, man?

Then catch the moments as they fly,

And use them as ye ought, man?

Believe me, happiness is shy,

And comes not ay when sought, man.

Robert Burns

10. Woodworking tools: SHAPERS. A machine for woodworking.

11. New beginnings: REBIRTHS. An oversued term

12. List: TILT. A boat will list/tilt.

13. Equals: ARE.

19. Heavy wts.: TNS. Tons.

23. Word after fire or first: PLACE. You have others?

24. Two-masters: YAWLS. Sailing craft. 

25. 1962 villain played by Joseph Wiseman: DR NO.

28. Startled cry: EEK. Not eke.

29. Hindu title: SRI.

31. Short beer order: SAM. Adams. Meh.

32. Emergency room treatment, for short: DEFIB. Defibrillator. 

33. Parting word: ADIEU. Buh bye.

34. Hieroglyphics creature: ASP. The snake made famous by Cleopatra, but was Cleopatra killed by an asp? LINK?

35. One of a peppery trio?: PEE. I never tasted mine.

36. Does a laundry task: PRESORTS. A weird answer never used before. 

38. Mustard family member: KALE.  They are characterized by herbaceous plants having alternate leaves, acrid or pungent juice, clusters of four-petaled flowers, and fruit in the form of a two-parted capsule, and including broccoli, cabbage, candytuft, cauliflower, cress, mustard, radish, sweet alyssum, turnip, and wallflower.

41. Aptly named backing group for the Turners: IKETTES. 

43. Flight center: AIRBASE.

46. Place to get wheels: DEALER. I only heard they sold eightballs, dime bags, or keys.

47. Yankee Don who pitched the only no-hitter (a perfect game) in World Series history: LARSEN. A fun self reference (spelling be damned) to the rarest feat in baseball. 

48. Iceland is in it: EUROPE. I am seriously thinking about going after talking to two of Devin's friends who go often.

50. Letters after either Cowboy St. senator's name: R-WY. Republican from Wyoming. Tricky.

51. Maker of NyQuil and DayQuil: VICKS. VaPoRub

52. "... __ wed": I THEE.

53. Mountain __: CHAIN. I see many mountains, lions and peaks and passes.

54. Technology start: NANO. Not nanu.

56. Amigo: PAL. No hint of language change.

57. Org. that takes many forms: IRS. Very amusing clue.

58. Issa of "Awkward Black Girl": RAE.

So now November is here with many events ahead from Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving still to come. In order to relax from all the stress remember do a puzzle and you won't need a muzzle, and your SO will want to nuzzle as you both guzzle your holiday spirits.  As I mentioned a challenging but great puzzle; thank you Gary, and thank you all who voted for me to stay in office.

lemonade out.