Monday May 16, 2022 Bruce Venzke

Theme:  "Glad to help!"

17. Response to "Thanks": GLAD TO DO IT.

27. Response to "Thanks": YOU'RE WELCOME.

48. Response to "Thanks": ANY TIME AT ALL.

64. Response to "Thanks": MY PLEASURE.

Boomer here.

I guess I always just use "You're welcome", but I also usually just say "Thank you".  Except when I am responding to my good Graybar friend Joe LaMotte, in which case I say "Thanks a lot".

Across:

1. Blackjack player's request to a dealer: HIT ME.  In a casino, just brush your cards on the felt.

6. Mouth off to: SASS.  Guilty!

10. Punxsutawney celebrity: PHIL.  Groundhog Day.  Punxsutawney comes up frequently on trivia game shows and I am amazed how many contestants do not know him.

14. Fairy tale monsters: OGRES.

15. Tattoo parlor supplies: INKS.  Yes I am a veteran but I never spent money on INK.

16. "iZombie" actress McIver: ROSE.  Once we stopped at Pete Rose shop in Las Vegas.  Everything for sale was at least triple figures BEFORE the decimal point.

19. Jazz great Fitzgerald: ELLA.  My grandma's name was Ella.

20. Gardener's bagful: SOIL.  Getting to be time to plant flowers.

21. Penny: CENT.

22. Milk source: UDDER.  I would never UDDER a word about cows.

23. Last non-AD yr.: ONE BC.

25. Prefix meaning "all": OMNI.

33. Bubble bath spot: TUB.  We got a new bathtub a few years ago. Now it's a big step-over to get into it.

36. Eurasian border river: URAL.

37. Laugh nervously: TITTER. No, Elon Musk did not buy this.

38. Festoon: ADORN.

40. Energy: PEP.  These boys might change your oil.

42. Relatively cool heavenly body: K STAR.

43. Krispy Kreme products: DONUTS.  These Krispy guys left most of Minnesota.  I think their donuts were too expensive for the land of 10,000 lakes.

45. Nick at __: NITE.

47. Slip-__: shoes without laces: ONS.  I used to call them loafers.

51. Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of __": HELL.  Will it ever freeze over?

52. Big name in hotels: HYATT.

55. Iridescent gems: OPALS.

58. Too: ALSO.

61. __ school: PREP.  Before you go to college.

63. Muted, as colors: PALE.

66. Self-images: EGOS.

67. Retired tennis pro Kournikova: ANNA.

68. "Big Little Lies" actress Witherspoon: REESE.  Dodger Pee Wee.

69. Brooklyn NBA team: NETS.  Okay, why is the LA team called Lakers?

70. Exam: TEST.

71. Ill-fated Ford: EDSEL.  I remember that model when it first came out. I think 1959.  I think the big nose did it in.

Down:

1. "You can't have any!" types: HOGS.

2. Aptly named cooler brand: IGLOO.  Also a small ice fishing shelter in Minnesota.

3. "How to __ Your Dragon": TRAIN.

4. Sampling of songs: MEDLEY.  "Who will buy this wonderful morning?"

5. Inexact no.: EST.

6. Agree (with): SIDE.  Travel along, singin' our song, SIDE by SIDE !

7. Unknown composer, for short: ANON. Anonymous.

8. Chairlift alternative: SKI TOW.  Closed for the summer.  MN has quite a few.

9. Former Air France jet, for short: SST.  It was a very quick one.

10. Foretells: PREDICTS.

11. Wait on the phone: HOLD.  I hate this.

12. Cruise stopover: ISLE.  I have never been on a cruise.  Those ships are something else.

13. Shakespearean king with three daughters: LEAR. Also a jet.

18. Take place: OCCUR.

22. Not probable: UNLIKELY.  That the Twins will win the World Series.

24. Generous bonuses: BOUNTIES.  Nothing much in the current stock market.

26. Bumped into: MET.  NY National League player.

28. Knock: RAP.  None of that so-called music in my home !

29. Supreme Court justice Kagan: ELENA.

30. "The Simpsons" bus driver: OTTO.  Not to be confused with AUTO.

31. Cruel: MEAN.  MEAN Gene used to be the pro wrestling announcer in Minneapolis.

32. Slips up: ERRS.  Infielders do it.

33. "Look what I did!": TA DA.  Congratulations!

34. Japanese soup noodles: UDON.

35. Super skinny: BONY.  Not my favorite kind of chicken.

39. Without mercy: RUTHLESS.  Like the 1935 New York Yankees.

41. Avocado center: PIT.  Looks like a big seed to me.

44. Tee sizes, briefly: SML.  My tees are all about two inches long.

46. California/Nevada resort lake: TAHOE.  Been there.  Beautiful lake a short drive from Reno.

49. Comedian Boosler: ELAYNE.

50. Expired, as a subscription: LAPSED.  Nope, I just renewed our Star Tribune. Need to keep the paper coming to see C.C.'s puzzles.

53. Brings into alignment: TRUES.  Miss the potholes in the road to help.

54. Not long-winded: TERSE.

55. Inviting store window sign: OPEN.

56. Numbered book part: PAGE.

57. "That was __ of fun!": A LOT.  Thanks A LOT ! Joe LaMotte!

59. ICU caregivers: LPNS.  I have seen plenty at the VA hospital.

60. Picket fence piece: SLAT.

62. Take (off): PEEL.  Peel me a grape

64. Little rug: MAT.

65. "You __ My Sunshine": ARE.  My only sunshine.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Boomer's surgery this morning was canceled. The surgeon tested positive for COVID yesterday. We'll know a new date soon.