Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Kurt Krauss

Don't Go Away Mad, Just GO Outside!  Each two-word theme answer begins with the letter G and ends in O, hence the word "GO" is on the "outside" of each answer.

17-Across. Transmission specification: GEAR RATIO.  How to determine Gear Ratio:

25-Across. Stockholm-born three-time Best Actress nominee: GRETA GARBO.   This Swedish actress never actually said, "I want to be alone."  According to her, she said, "I want to be let alone."

Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; Sept. 18, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1990)

36-Across. Longtime New Year's Eve bandleader: GUY LOMBARDO.  Guy Lombardo (né Gaetano Alberto Lombardo; June 19, 1902 ~ Nov. 5, 1977), was a Canadian-born musician.  In 1924, he formed the Royal Canadians along with his brothers.  He began his tradition of playing big band music on New Year's Eve in 1929.  His band could be heard on this date for the next 47 years ~ first on radio, then finally in the late 50s on television.

50-Across. Video game series with a Warriors of Rock edition: GUITAR HERO.

And the unifier:

59-Across. Leave the house ... and a literal feature of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across: GO OUTSIDE.

Across:

1. Cigar residue: ASH.

4. "West Side Story" sides: GANGS.

9. Cul-__: dead-end street: DE-SAC.

14. Versatile truck, for short: UTE.

15. Head off: AVERT.

16. Oven emanation: AROMA.

19. Divided island of Southeast Asia: TIMOR.  The island is divided between East Timor and Indonesia.

20. Fielder's mishap: ERROR.  Think baseball.

21. Irish watering hole: PUB.  The Best Irish Pubs according to the Irish Post.

23. Trucker on a radio: CB-ER.

24. Catch one's breath: REST.

28. Barfly: SOT.

29. Run out of juice: DIE.

30. Weekend show with Aidy Bryant, to fans: SNL.  Aidy Bryant (née Aidan Mackenzy Bryant; b. May 7, 1987) is an American comedian who has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2012.

31. "Dig in!": EAT.

32. Actress Berry: HALLE.  Halle Berry (née Maria Halle Berry; b. Aug. 14, 1966), is probably best known for her role in the 2001 movie Monster's Ball, which also starred Billy Bob Thornton.

34. Real estate units: ACRES.  Some Acres are Green.

39. Dalmatian marks: SPOTS.  This dog breed can actually trace its roots to the Dalmatia region of Croatia.  Can you Spot the Dalmatians on the book's cover?

41. Skin irritations: SORES.

42. PC key near Z: ALT.  The Alt key, or optional key, is used to change the function of another pressed key.  //  And 54-Across. Escape key function: UNDO.

43. Partners for mas: PAs.  Ma and Pa Kettle were a bit before my time, but I remember hearing about them.

46. Terminate: END.

47. Suffix with Brooklyn: -ESE.  As in Brooklyese, the dialect of speech associated with Brooklyn.

53. Dashing style: ELAN.  A crossword staple.

55. Comfy footwear: MOC.

56. Leave the chair: STAND.  Here's a chair with its stand.

57. Secret Service role: AGENT.

62. Rodeo rope: REATA.

63. Bring together: UNITE.

64. Gp. that isn't gun-shy: NRA.  As in the National Rifle Association.

65. Welles on-screen: ORSON.  Orson Welles (né George Orson Welles; May 6, 1915 ~ Oct. 10, 1985), is probably best known for his role as Charles Foster Kane in the 1941 movie, Citizen Kane.  The character of Kane was believed to have been modeled after the San Simeon Castle Builder of 3-Down: William Randolph HEARST.

66. Hall of Fame pitcher Ryan: NOLAN.  Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (b. Jan. 31, 1947), had a 27 -year career in major league baseball.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

67. Corn serving: EAR.

Down:

1. Hole-making tools: AUGERS.  Scary looking tools!

2. Den music system: STEREO.

3. San Simeon castle builder: HEARST.  See 65-Across.

William Randolph Hearst (Apr. 23, 1863 ~ Aug. 14, 1951)

4. Teri of "Young Frankenstein": GARR.  Teri Ann Garr (b. Dec. 11, 1944) was so funny in Young Frankenstein.

5. Gardner of the silver screen: AVA.  Ava Gardner (née Dec. 24, 1922 ~ Jan. 25, 1990) was one of Frank Sinatra's wives.  Her first marriage was to Mickey Rooney, then she married Artie Shaw.

6. Badminton divider: NET.

7. Beef: GRIPE.

8. Strong ales: STOUTS.

9. Not dis?: DAT.

10. CNN journalist Hill: ERICA.  Erica Ruth Hill (b. July 20, 1976) was the co-anchor of Weekend Today for several years.

11. Mariachi's hat: SOMBRERO.

12. One-celled swimmers: AMOEBAE.  Anatomy of an amoeba.  For a 1-celled critter, it sure has a lot of parts.

13. Orange veggies: CARROTS.  Anyone remember Captain Kangaroo and Bunny Rabbit?

18. Hogwash: ROT.

22. Keep out: BAN.

25. Fish organ: GILL.

26. Move, in realty ads: RE-LO.

27. Shone with a nearly blinding light: GLARED.

29. Pampering place: DAY SPA.  A nice place to be pampered.  Many day spas, however, can be very pricy.

32. Simple shelter: HUT.

33. Ambulance letters: EMS.  I initially tried EMT, for Emergency Medical Technician.  Unfortunately, that gave me Tores for Skin Irratations (41-Across).

35. S&L offerings: CDs.  As in Certificate of Deposits.

36. Looked through a home remodeling magazine, perhaps: GOT IDEAS.

37. Transvaal settler: BOER.  Transvaal is a province of South Africa.  The word Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans noun for farmer, and refers to the Dutch and Huguenot population that settled in South Africa in the late 17th century.

38. Florence's river: ARNO.

The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno in Florence, Italy.

39. Arizona cactus: SAGUARO.

40. Tool that unclogs using suction: PLUNGER.

44. Chair part for elbow resting: ARM.

45. Feudal Japanese military ruler: SHŌGUN.  It's also the title of a novel by James Clavell.

47. "Seinfeld" regular: ELAINE.  The character of Elaine was played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (b. Jan. 13, 1961).  She wasn't a very good dancer.

48. Former Justice __ Day O'Connor: SANDRA.  Sandra Day O'Connor (b. Mar.. 26, 1930) was the first female United States Supreme Court Justice.  She was nominated to the High Court by President Ronald Reagan.  She replaced Potter Stewart on the Court.  When she retired in 2006, after having served no the Court for nearly 25 years, Samuel Alito replaced her.

49. Make beloved: ENDEAR.

51. Lone Ranger's pal: TONTO.  The Lone Ranger ran on television from 1949 to 1957.

52. Affordable, in brand names: ECONO.  As in the Econo-Lodge.

53. Sci-fi beings: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrestials.

56. British firearm acronym: STEN.  I didn't realize that the STEN gun was an acronym.  It is named after its designers: Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield, the government's rifle and arms factory in London's Borough of Enfield.

58. Color like khaki: TAN.

60. Black gold: OIL.

61. Hagen of Broadway: UTA.  Uta Thura Hagen (June 12, 1919 ~ Jan. 14, 2004) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists.  To sow, we must open our hands.  ~  Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. Nov. 26, 1931), Argentine recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize

Monday November 25, 2019 Ed Sessa

Theme: BEHIND TIME (59A. Later than expected ... and where the ends of the answers to starred clues may be found) - Time can precede the last word of each theme entry.

17A. *Soccer ref's formal warning: YELLOW CARD. Time card.

27A. *Letter box access: MAIL SLOT. Time slot.

45A. *Area where cellphones don't work: DEAD ZONE. Time zone.

11D. *Sneak into the shot: PHOTO BOMB. Time bomb.

35D. *iPad's giant ancestor: MAIN FRAME. Time frame.

Good morning everyone. Vikings did not play, Gophers did okay, I went back to a 16 pound bowling ball, That's all I have to say.

Across:

1. Pole on the Pequod: MAST.

5. Conclude from evidence: INFER.

10. Auto loan figs.: APRS.  Between Mars and Mays.

14. Smoothie berry: ACAI.

15. Land, in France: TERRE. Add Haute and you may land in Indiana.

16. Talk over tea: CHAT.

19. Like wet mud pies: OOZY.

20. Bullring bravo: OLE. Lena's husband and Sven's buddy.

21. Like dried-out mud pies: CAKY.  If this is a word, it is ICKY.

22. Cerebral __: brain layer: CORTEX.  I did not know the brain had layers.  Did the scarecrow need a cortex??  Does the Great and Powerful Wizard have a cortex in the Castle of Oz?

24. Name of many pharaohs: RAMSES. Oh, I thought it was the names of NFL L.A. Football players.

26. Singer Mars: BRUNO.  When I was a kid, we had a German Shorthair named Bruno. Long story.  My dad took me pheasant hunting with Bruno. The crazy dog would scare up birds 100 yards away in the cornfield out of range of our shotguns.  Dad was not too happy.

30. Emeril catchword: BAM. Add another BAM and you have Pebbles Flintstone's friend.

33. Like XLII, numeral-wise: ROMAN. Forty Two!  How do you do?

36. Elevator innovator: OTIS.  We had one of these at the first Graybar warehouse that I worked at.  We would load it up with Chance hardware and it went right to the basement. Sometimes stopped a little below floor level.

37. Classic theater name: ROXY.  Moxy, Floxxy and Cottontail .

38. Eurasian border range: URAL. There are a lot of mountains. Mostly in Russia.

39. Fiber sources: BRANS.  Raisin Bran, All Bran,-- I prefer Wheat Chex.

40. Four-leaf clover, to some: OMEN.

41. Astronaut Armstrong: NEIL.  "We come in peace for all mankind".

42. Apartment payment: RENT.  Musical on Broadway.

43. "In Xanadu did __ Khan ... ": Coleridge: KUBLA.

44. Weigh station unit: TON.  No really it's only 16 pounds.  Feels like a ton.

47. Weighty exam: FINAL.

49. Montblanc topper: PEN CAP.  I only use retractibles

53. Prohibited: FORBAD.  I suppose FORBADE did not fit in the grid.

55. Biblical "you": THEE.

57. Rose of rock music: AXL.  Does he want to buy a vowel?

58. "Sorry to say ... ": ALAS.  ALAS THEE CAME and went to RENT.

62. Opposite of went: CAME.

63. Bay window: ORIEL.  My sis has a bay window in her San Francisco home. I never knew it was  called an ORIEL.   

64. Many an Omani: ARAB.

65. Like two, not one: EVEN.  Your score if you make all pars.

66. Simultaneous equation variables: X AND Y.  I never was much good at algebra.

67. No longer here: GONE.  But not forgotten, Oh my darlin' Clementine.

Down:

1. Big city big shot: MAYOR.  Running for president, I thought it was Pete's first name.

2. Amtrak express train: ACELA.

3. Witch trial town: SALEM.  "You can take SALEM out of the country but ??? you cannot take the country out of Salem".  Did you notice how all the cigarette ads have been replaced by new Medicare plans?  Ask your doctor if CAMELs are right for you. 

4. Shop __ you drop: TIL. "There were bells, on a hill, but I never heard them ringing - 'Til there was you"  Professor Harold Hill's on hand and River City Gonna have a boys band.

5. Formal words of confession: IT WAS I.  No, it was you!

6. Hickey spot: NECK.  "How in the heck can I wash my neck, if it ain't gonna rain no more."

7. Start to unravel: FRAY.

8. Slip up: ERR.  I think MLB calls it an ERROR.

9. Disaster relief organization: RED CROSS.  This time of year we all get requests for help.  I think the Red Cross is a solid organization.

10. Seed that grows squirrels?: ACORN.  I think it grows OAKS.  Boy do they ever make a mess on sidewalks this time of year.

12. Level with a wrecking ball: RAZE.  Wrecking balls are seldom used in Minnesota.  You would not believe the townhomes, apartment buildings, and multi business warehouses going up in the open spaces. No wrecking ball needed to clear space.

13. River of Hades: STYX.

18. Neptune's realm: OCEAN.  OCEAN'S 11 - Clooney and Pitt a tricky pair.

23. Part of KO: OUT.  Also the result for Twins vs. Yankees. And the Yankees didn't even have "Yankee Hankys"

25. Petite: SMALL.  Been pretty close to XL all my life.  I think C.C. is a small.

26. Cheesy pancake, perhaps: BLINTZ.

28. Cosmetics giant: L'OREAL. Some of the plush stores in our malls have cosmetic counters and ladies who ask you to try some cosmetic spray.  Then you find out it's $135 per ounce.

29. Lamp support: STAND.

31. Ice skating feat: AXEL.  I think I mentioned when I was a kid and we had an "Axel and his Dog" treehouse show every afternoon.  He would show "Our Gang" and "Laurel and Hardy" reruns.  I miss that guy,

32. Mimicking bird: MYNA.

33. Littlest of the litter: RUNT.

34. Snack sometimes eaten from the inside out: OREO.  Good old black and white cookie.  A crossword favorite.

37. City where Joan of Arc died: ROUEN.

39. Loaf holder: BREADBOX.  Remember some of those old quiz shows where a staple question was "Is it bigger than a breadbox?{

43. Weak- or knock- follower: KNEED.

45. Crime scene sample: DNA.  Do Not Ask!

46. In full view: OPENLY.

48. "Peer Gynt" dramatist: IBSEN.

50. Egypt's capital: CAIRO.

51. Guy felling trees: AX MAN.  We have an interesting chain of stores here in the Twin Cities called "The Ax Man."  They buy large lots of overstock from other businesses, display it like my garage floor, and sell it cheap.  I stop in and look now and then, but I don't buy much.  I already have a  lot of stuff in my home.  I wonder if the Ax Man might be interested.

52. Annapolis frosh: PLEBE.  This is not derogatory.  Some of them might grow up to be Admirals.

53. Clock front: FACE.  Point it at the stereo so it can face the music.

54. Norse king: OLAV.  I believe there were five of them.

55. Girl Scouts' __ Mints: THIN. I think these were the most popular. A year ago I asked for sugar free cookies and I was sold "Gluten Free".

56. Hurried, old-style: HIED.

60. Historical period: ERA.  Could be an "Earned Run Average"

61. Kids' game with a safe area: TAG.  You're it.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

1) Here is a nice article about Boomer at Benilde-St. Margaret's, where Boomer helps coaching the kids every year. Thank you, John Sabol, Max Johnson, the bowling team and Benilde-St. Margaret's Marketing & Communications team. You all made this season special for Boomer.

2) Happy Birthday to our talented and adventurous Picard!