Monday March 23, 2020 Kurt Krauss

Theme: GETTING CLOSER (36. Parlor game encouragement suggested by the starts of 17-, 28-, 45- and 60-Across)

 

17. *Very limited consolation: COLD COMFORT.

28. *Tidy Lotto prize: COOL MILLION.

45. *Genuine greetings: WARM REGARDS.

60. *In-demand real estate listing: HOT PROPERTY.

Boomer here. 

Thank you for describing Minnesota weather from January to June.  The news media is still swamped with news of the Covid-19 virus.  I hope the Crossword Corner Family is staying healthy and safe.  Our Governor here in Minnesota has closed bars, restaurants, schools, public places, and - sadly- Bowling centers. Both of my leagues have been called off for the season. No banquets either. So now, we are all just sitting around and waiting for our share of prize money, so we can buy more toilet paper. Sorry to make a bad joke because this is serious and I hope we can recover.

Across:

 

1. Bldg. units attended to by supers: APTS.  Lived in one for many years.  Very happy to have a modest townhome now.

5. "Queen of Soul" Franklin: ARETHA.  The "Queen of Soul".  Left us in August, 2018.

11. Flow back, as the tide: EBB.  I wish the Stock Market would stop EBBing.

14. Half a toy train?: CHOO.  Or "Part of a sneeze".

15. "You cheated!": NO FAIR.  We have a state fair in the fall that attracts thousands and thousands.  Hopefully the virus threat will subside so people can have some fun.

16. Water tester: TOE.

19. Gasteyer of "Mean Girls": ANA.  SNL Graduate.

20. Approaches: NEARS.

21. "__ show time!": IT'S.  IT'S about time.

22. Illuminated: LIT.

23. Left-hand page: VERSO. Vs. "recto".

24. Sun.-to-Sat. periods: WKS.  I wish someone could zero in on the number of WKS that this virus shut down might last.  I've heard every estimate from 6 to 60.

26. Go for the hook: BITE.  I hope it's not a carp.  Fishing is a bit dangerous this time of year.  The ice over on lakes prevents boats, however, walk out at your own risk.  I think houses needed to be off the lakes by March 15.

27. Greek vowel: ETA.

32. Skin pics: TATS.  Not my favorite.  I do not own any body art.

34. Boston skyscraper, with "the": PRU.  Dential insurance.  NOT Dental insurance.

35. Low grade: DEE.  There are many Dianes and Dianas out there who might argue about the "Low Grade".

41. Novelist Rand: AYN.

42. "The Simpsons" bartender: MOE.  Also a buddy of Larry and Curly.  For us old guys who do not watch The Simpsons.

43. Northern New Mexico art community: TAOS. A very art worthy town. I believe Georgia O'Keeffe is most famous.

50. Monotonous routine: RUT.  With home confinement, I feel I am in a rut.

51. Above: ATOP.

52. Number that's its own square root: ONE.  "ONE, is the loneliest number that you'll ever know".  Three Dog Night.

53. Beav's big brother: WALLY.  And his friend was Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford.  A PGA Golfer from Minnesota named Tim Herron also looked like "Clarence" so now guess what his nickname is.

55. Bumped into: MET.  "As I was walking to St. Ive's, I met a man with seven wives".

56. Nashville awards org.: CMA.  Country Music.  I was not too smart.  18 months at Fort Campbell, KY, and I never made it to the Grand Old Opry in Nashville.

58. Scout's merit __: BADGE.

59. Square of butter: PAT.  Mr. Boone was not square, now he's selling bathtubs on TV.

64. Apply: USE.

65. Iron deficiency concern: ANEMIA.  "We call it Tired Blood"

66. Riga resident: LETT.  LETT us pray. Our archbishop closed all the churches  except for weddings and funerals.  However only a maximum of 10 humans may attend either event.

67. Guys: MEN.  Tom Cruise was one of the few good ones.

68. Fails to: DOESN'T.

69. Watched closely: EYED.

Down:

1. Duke's conf.: ACC.  Many thought Duke was a contender in the NCAA tournament.

2. Back-and-forth missed calls: PHONE TAG.  I answer my phone about 4 times a day. Once a week it is someone worth talking with.

3. Put up with: TOLERATE.

4. Root beers, e.g.: SODAS.  Diet Pepsi and diet Ginger Ale are my favorites.

5. Calendario units: ANOS.

6. Bucharest is its cap.: ROM. Romania.

7. Terrible grade: EFF.  I did receive an "F" in college.  It was in French.  But I also got an "A" in bowling.

8. Lao-tzu's philosophy: TAOISM.

9. Trumpeter Al: HIRT.  Dixieland Trumpeter from New Orleans.

10. Performing __: ARTS.

11. Bibliography space-saver: ET ALII.  Et no favorite of Joe Frazierr.

12. Beautiful, in Barcelona: BONITO.

13. Scrambled, as eggs: BEATEN.

18. Gator's kin: CROC.

23. Chow Chow checker: VET.  Wow, I have never been called that, have you Veterans out there??

24. __-out: exhausted: WORN.  Not yet, but I am getting there.

25. Jack who played Quincy: KLUGMAN.  More famous to me as Oscar Madison.

26. Sanctified: BLEST.  I used to spell this "BLESSED", but never mind.  The churches are all closed.

29. Express a view: OPINE.  Yup, Everyone has an OPINION!

30. Twiddled one's thumbs: IDLED.  Let my van warm up in the driveway.

31. "Seinfeld" uncle: LEO.  Loud talker.

33. "Forever" post office purchase: STAMP.  Our post office did not have the new Arnold Palmer stamps, but C.C. was able to order online.  Still waiting for them.

37. Norse war god: TYR.

38. Apple throwaway: CORE.  "And from the Garden of Eden, picked the apple they was eatin' and I swear that I'm the one that et the CORE.  The Braggin' Song.  Chad Mitchell and many.

39. Tea named for William IV's prime minister: EARL GREY.

40. Casino wheel: ROULETTE. A decent bet. There are 38 numbers on the wheel and a single number bet pays 35 - 1.  Black-Red and Odd-Even- and High Low are even money bets.

44. Snorters' quarters: STY.  I get it.  Snorers' quarters are my bedroom.

45. Beads once used by Native Americans as currency: WAMPUM.  Now we have Native American casinos all over Minnesota and Wisconsin where you can blow you Wampum maybe on a roulette wheel.

46. Opposite of "Atten-hut!": AT EASE.

47. Way past ripe: ROTTEN.

48. Pointed beard: GOATEE.  I tried a regular beard one winter.  Pretty itchy.

49. Cashless deal: SWAP.  We used to have a number of these in the Baseball Card Collecting world.

54. One-named "Hello" singer: ADELE.

56. Landlocked African land: CHAD.  Did he not once form the CHAD Mitchell Trio ??

57. Like old records: MONO.  Mostly were 78RPM records played on a turntable with one speaker.  You may want to sit by the fire someday and tell your grandkids about it.

58. Dinghy or dory: BOAT. These are those things I mentioned that are sitting around waiting for the ice to melt.

61. Canadian VIPs: PMS.

62. __ Tin Tin: RIN.  1950s TV show.

63. Since Jan. 1: YTD.

Boomer

Sunday March 22, 2020 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Components Lacking" - ING is deleted from each familiar phrase.

23A Roadway closed for repairs?: DOWN STREET. Downing Street.

45A. TV show about Amtrak services?: TRAIN PROGRAM. Training program.

66A. Cornfield maze, e.g.?: LAND PATTERN. Landing pattern.

88A. Free-for-all debate?: OPEN ARGUMENT. Opening argument.

112A. Unarmed spy?: CLEAN AGENT. Cleaning agent.

114A. Sidewalk vendor's supply request?: STAND ORDER. Standing order.
 
37D. Incidental music at a race?: TRACK NUMBER. Track number.

41D. Make sketches of Barbie dolls?: DESIGN WOMEN. Designing Women.

DESIGN WOMEN is the only phrase clued as a verb phrase. Did you know that constructor Andrea Carla Michaels was a writer for "Designing Women"?

Seeing Gail's byline just makes me so happy. She never fails to deliver a solid puzzle. So many sparkling long fill in this grid.

Across:

1. Thin coating: FILM.

5. Square things: ATONE.

10. Hi-tech training site: PC LAB.

15. City on the Aare: BERN.

19. Palm native to South American swampland: ACAI. You can get the frozen acai packets at Trader Joe's.

20. Precept: TENET.

21. Family name in Civil War fiction: O'HARA.

22. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. Saw lots of legends at 3M Championship over the years. Not him.

25. Sturdy piece of lumber?: SOUNDBOARD. Fun clue.

27. "Not interested" feeling: ENNUI.

28. Maintain control (over): RIDE HERD.

30. Oater orphans: DOGIES.

31. Online biz: E-TAIL.

33. Quirky: ODD.

34. Prop for Mr. Monopoly: CANE.

35. Hot Wheels maker: MATTEL.

38. "Nixon in China" tenor role: MAO.

40. Showed up for: ATTENDED.

44. Omits an attachment, say: ERRS. I do this at times.

50. "Dumbo" actress Green: EVA. She was the Bond Girl in "Casino Royale".

51. Stephen of "Counterpart": REA.

52. Had a stable baby: FOALED.

53. Insignia automaker: OPEL.

54. Presentation prop: EASEL.

56. __ 5000: annual list of the fastest-growing privately held companies: INC.

57. "Stranger Things" actor: ASTIN (Sean)

58. Despicable sort: TOAD.

59. Surface: ARISE.

60. Pay attention: TAKE NOTE. And 76. "Right this way": FOLLOW ME. 92. Rutted route: DIRT ROAD. 105. Preempts the following show, perhaps: RUNS LATE. These are just four.

62. Cold War st.: SSR.

63. Pequod co-owner: PELEG.

65. HR dept. data: SSNS.

70. Agitated state: SNIT.

73. Apply to: USE ON.

75. Mdse. category: IRR.

78. Boiling words: I'M MAD.

80. PepsiCo-owned chip brand: LAYS. Cucumber-flavored.

81. Command to start playing: HIT IT.

82. Choose: OPT.

83. Plane part: CABIN.

84. Carson's successor: LENO.

85. "I won't miss it": NO LOSS.

86. Put a nick in: MAR.

87. Chemistry suffix: ENE.

91. Mother of Ares: HERA. Sister and wife of Zeus.

94. "You're a fine __ to talk": ONE.

95. Triathlon segments: EVENTS. Hope Tokyo Games will be delayed rather than canceled.

97. Address bar letters: HTTP.

98. Played for a sap: HAD.

100. Guitar-making hardwood: ALDER. And 121. Key wood: EBONY.

102. V8 veggie: CARROT.

108. Ford named for a legendary flier, briefly: T BIRD.

116. They're often scrambled: EGGS.

117. Big dos: GALAS.

118. Sure rival: ARRID.

119. It's near the humerus: ULNA.

120. Recipe smidge: DASH. Looking forward to my salt kelp.

122. Besmirch: TAINT.

123. Often-pickled veggie: BEET.

Down:

1. Lose steam: FADE.

2. Quicken's boxed Q, for one: ICON. Any of you use Quicken?

3. Scotts Turf Builder target: LAWN.

4. French social dances: MINUETS.

5. NFL pass, complete or not: ATT.

6. Gibbs of country: TERRI.

7. Ninja Turtles' human pal April __: O'NEIL. No idea. Read more here.

8. Requirement: NEED.

9. Kin of -kin: ETTE.

10. Prepared for a selfie: POSED.

11. Bit of guitar music notation: CHORD.

12. Heap kudos on: LAUD.

13. Prince Valiant's son: ARN.

14. Statistician's concern: BAD DATA.

15. Giant in the development of neurological disease therapies: BIOGEN. This Biogen employee has been widely ridiculed in China. I feel sad for her.

16. Actor Morales: ESAI.

17. Hard to come by: RARE.

18. Affirmative actions: NODS.

24. Webmaster's creation: SITE.

26. Animal-based fertilizer: BONE MEAL. Never used it.

29. Hula __: HOOP.

32. "He Was Despised," in Handel's "Messiah": ALTO SOLO.

34. PC corner key: CTRL.

35. Is worthy of: MERITS.

36. Concert venues: ARENAS.

38. Personal bearing: MIEN.

39. "So?": AND.

40. Improved in a barrel: AGED.

42. Pre-event periods: EVES.

43. Glen relative: DALE.

46. Porch furniture material: RATTAN.

47. Sci-fi visitor: ALIEN.

48. Stick in a cage: ROOST.

49. Genre of Vasarely's "Zebra": OP ART.

52. Twitter follower, often: FAN.

55. Recess rebuttal: ARE SO.

58. Bygone despots: TSARS.

61. Advanced French class assignment: ESSAI. Essay.

63. Positive particle: PROTON.

64. Signed up: ENLISTED.

67. Krall of jazz: DIANA.

68. Richard __, first black "SNL" host: PRYOR.

69. IRS convenience: E-FILE.

71. Convey: IMPART.

72. Colorful swimmers: TETRAS.

74. Sewer worker in a '50s sitcom: ED NORTON. "The Honeymooners".

77. Sgts.' superiors: LTS.

78. Like most cupcakes: ICED.

79. Salon service with a pedi: MANI.

80. Give for a while: LEND.

81. __ office: HOME.

84. Go for a rebound: LEAP.

85. "Sister Act" extra: NUN.

89. Thick soup: POTTAGE.

90. Jupiter and Mars: GODS.

91. Fragrant coating for grilling: HERB RUB.  I seldom use herb.

93. Clobber: THRASH.

96. Preventative power: VETO.

98. Spicy Asian cuisine: HUNAN. Originated in Hunan province, which is south of Hubei province where Wuhan is the capital. Hu means "lake".  Hunan means "south of the lake". Hubei means "north of the lake". The two provinces are neighbors separating by a big lake.

99. Pacing, perhaps: ANTSY.

100. Gaming pioneer: ATARI.

101. Bolshevik leader: LENIN.

102. Duped?: CC'ED.

103. Bit of plankton: ALGA.

104. Short standards?: REGS. Regulations.

105. Move, for short: RELO.

106. Six-part undergrad exam: LSAT.

107. Blade brand: ATRA.

109. Not occupied: IDLE.

110. Surrealist Magritte: RENE.

111. "Phooey!": DRAT.

113. Yak it up: GAB.

115. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT.

   

Today we celebrate the 79th birthday of Pat (PK on our blog). Stealing this nice cake from CrossEyedDave again. Happy birthday, PK, you're a special person!

C.C.

Saturday, March 21, 2020, Joe Deeney

Themeless Saturday  by Joe Deeney

A favorite picture of Joe's taken at the San Francisco Exploratorium

Joe's gracious response to my email about this puzzle:

Gary,


Thanks for reaching out! I'm glad you enjoyed the puzzle. Hope all is well with you.

I built this grid in early 2019. Rich requested a revision of the SE in late August and accepted the puzzle in early October. Original SE stack was LET IT SLIDE, IRON-WILLED, and MANGO SALSA, with QAEDA and 44-Down, which in hindsight isn't a very good answer. I'm glad Rich pushed for a revision here. 

I hadn't tried making many puzzles with stair-step 13's before and wanted to give it a go with this puzzle. SAID NO ONE EVER was one of the seeds I played around with and when I found this stack it seemed like it had a lot of potential to build off of.

I hope everyone gets a satisfying Saturday workout with this one.

-Joe

Take it away Joe:

Across:

1. Cathartic magnesium compound: EPSOM SALTS - My lovely gardener wife uses EPSOM SALTS to supply her tomato plants with a cathartic release from soil depletion

11. Bygone Bulgarian bigwig: TSAR - Bulgaria's last TSAR was Simeon II whose office was abolished four days after my 9/11/46 day of birth.

15. Some drag racers: ROCKET CARS - For every action...

16. Scott of "Arrested Development": BAIO  - 21 years after he was Chachi in Happy Days 

17. Comment denying kinship: NO RELATION - Latin variation of "post hoc, ego propter hoc" in this witty 1:43 West Wing scene

18. Bob Ross painted with one: AFRO - Soft spoken artist

19. Dog follower, maybe: SLED - Nome or bust!

20. "Disturbia" singer, familiarly: RIRI - Nickname for Rhianna 

21. Raise: ERECT.

22. "The Cocktail Party" monogram: TSE - A T.S. Elioplay based on Alcestis by the Greek playwright Euripides. You're welcome! 😏

23. Former Carson Daly employer: MTV  - Curious?

Parker Sibley at UNC

24. Horn for Parker: SAX - Our grandson's father is a professional musician and named his two sons for famous jazz sax musicians, one of which was Charlie "Bird" Parker. Grandson Parker is now on a drum (not a SAX) scholarship at The University of Northern Colorado

26. Where to find Ruth and Aaron: Abbr.: HOF and 51. Came clean: ADMITTED IT - If Pete Rose had just ADMITTED IT (he bet on baseball), he would be in the Hall  Of Fame by now. 

27. West in old movies: MAE.

28. Small book size: OCTAVO.

30. Words that contradict what preceded them: SAID NO ONE EVER - And yet they continue

34. Perpetual loser: CELLAR DWELLER - Another phrase for a team that is in the bottom of the standings like the 1966 Cubs

35. Game time?: HUNTING SEASON.

36. Hydrocodone, e.g.: OPIATE - Threw mine away after surgery

37. "Too Many Rappers" rapper: NAS - Okay

38. Holstein's hi?: MOO.

39. "Flags of Our Fathers" setting, for short: IWO - A Clint Eastwood film

41. Vegas summer hrs.: PDT - Same as Los Angeles

42. Windy City train org.: CTA.

45. "Baywatch" actor: EFRON.

47. Superman's mom: LARA - Wife of dad Jor-El on Krypton. Stepmom on Earth was Martha Kent who was married to Johnathan Kent

49. Physics Nobelist the year after Einstein: BOHR - Every physical science teacher in history has had his students make a model of the BOHR atom. Science peeps will know what atom this is. (*Answer at bottom of write-up)

50. "Count on me!": I'M IN 

53. "Aww!": CUTE.



54. Source of some long flows: HEADWATERS - The HEADWATERS of the Mississippi River are in Minnesota's Lake Itasca where you can wade across Old Man River

55. Freezer aisle brand: EDYS.

56. At risk: IN JEOPARDY - Corona Virus seems to have us all IN JEOPARDY 


Down:

1. __ Blofeld, Bond bad guy: ERNST 

2. Combines: POOLS - Some workers POOL their money and buy large amounts of lottery tickets

3. Slope of loose stones: SCREE - I showed a man skiing down SCREE in Austria last week

4. Passed: OK'ED.

5. Sideshow __ of "The Simpsons": MEL - If you're really that interested

6. Gave it another go: STARTED ANEW - I retired but then taught six more years after a year away from the classroom  

7. When Prospero says, "We are such stuff / As dreams are made on": ACT IV - Sam Spade's version

8. Hideaway: LAIR.

9. Dix moins sept: TROIS - 10 - 7 = 3 in any base ten math language 

10. I-9 ID: SSN.

11. Uphill aid: T-BAR.

12. Sanctuary: SAFE HAVEN - A controversial topic these days

13. Protection from planes: AIR COVER - Below is the prayer commissioned by George Patton during a run of bad weather. The entreaty was answered with clear skies and AIR COVER that was able to support his troops in the Battle Of The Bulge on 12/23/44. Patton gave Chaplain James O'Neill a bronze star for this prayer.

14. Support: ROOT FOR - Only families of players and coaches were allowed in to ROOT FOR their team at the Nebraska Boys State Championships last week

21. Does very well: EXCELS AT.

23. Do the bare minimum: MAIL IT IN - What many NBA players do until the playoffs which may not come this year

25. Welk intro words: A ONE AND A TWO.

27. Mediterranean country in which English is an official language: MALTA - My first five-letter country starting with M is a 22 hr flight away. The official languages in Macao are Cantonese and Portuguese but English is common too but no where near the Mediterranean 😜  

29. Final purpose, to Aristotle: TELOS.

30. Factor in committee assignments: SENIORITY - Competence? Not necessarily!

31. Houston's __ Stadium, named for an energy company: NRG A lovely drone tour if you're interested 

32. Has too much, briefly: OD'S.

33. Run a tab, say: OWE.

34. Coffee, in diner slang: CUP OF MUD - Diner vernacular for coffee 

35. Hockey advantage: HOME ICE - Of the last 17 Stanley Cup playoffs, the 13 champions had the advantage of playing on HOME ICE

40. From days past: OLDEN.

41. __ parade: PRIDE.

42. Python pro: CODER - A sample of what a CODER might produce in Python language

43. Bronze ordinal: THIRD - Will there be a summer Olympics?

44. Like Taos, say: ARTSY.

46. Folks: ONES

48. Key of Mozart's clarinet concerto: Abbr.: A-MAJ - The clarinetist starts playing after a 2:00 intro:

49. Version to debug: BETA - It appears The Iowa Caucus app needed to be debugged 

51. Sashimi selection: AHI.

52. Light knock: TAP - For $650 you can have this note with the first stanza about TAPPING written in the author's own hand.

Comment at will:

* That is a model of a Carbon Atom - Atomic #6

Friday, March 20, 2020, Robin Stears

Title: Anagram that!

After writing up hundreds of Friday puzzles, it is unusual to fill in all the spaces and not know the theme. But that is exactly why I love crossword puzzles, and it took staring at the reveal and fill positioned in all the regular theme locations (e.g. 17A) to have the light bulb come on. A classic V-8 can in the forehead. I will bet that Steve and others who love the classic British puns and anagram puzzles featured in the London Times etc. will adore this theme. Once I saw the concept, it was so easy. Robin took four very different types of oils- ESSENTIAL, COD LIVER, VEGETABLE, and LAVENDER  and repurposed the letters into fanciful but legitimate alternate fill. This built on a 2018 PUZZLE that Steve stared at, just like I did today. Finding combinations that included all the letters of the oil was most impressive.

Robin has appeared in the LAT since 2009 but has ramped up her mainstream publications with this being her 5th of 2020. Here is a quick LOOK at her construction history. Today, she crammed the grid with 7 letter fill like ACADEMY. ATINGLE, CARTELS, EVASIVE, ICE FLOE, LA PLATA, MASONIC, ODDBALL, OVERRAN, PESETAS, RATRACE, REPTILE, SEASIDE, SO HAVE I, SOLACES , and SOVIETS.

17A. *Bargain on the last day of Oktoberfest?: STEIN SALE.
ESSENTIAL. What makes it essential? The ESSENCE.

26A. *Singer Damone, vis-à-vis actor Morrow?: OLDER VIC.
COD LIVER. Damone was only about 8 months older. Cod Liver Oil was a big threat to kids wanting to stay home from school when I was young.

38A. *Snoopy's specialist?: BEAGLE VET.
VEGETABLE. I was stumped on 36A trying to make it a variation of Olive Oil. Some OILS that didn't make the cut.

53A. *One who'll talk your ear off about osso buco and saltimbocca?: VEAL NERD.
LAVENDER. The silliest of the fill.
and, the reveal:
65A. Basic auto maintenance, and how each answer to a starred clue was created: OIL CHANGE. This is one time I may not have gotten the theme without the reveal.

Across:

1. Incite: PROD. Prodding sounds much meaner, but I grew up in cow country so my mental picture may be wrong.

5. Modern "methinks": IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Language changes the words not the thoughts.

9. Pink flowers in a van Gogh still life: ROSES. He painted this while in the asylum at St.Remy. The color has faded.

14. Water-diverting feature: EAVE. The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls. Wiki.

15. It's not optional: NEED. Nice clue.

16. Brigham Young University city: PROVO. Read its HISTORY.

19. Urdu for "palace": MAHAL. Urdu تاج محل‎ (tāj mahal, “crown of palaces.

20. Blunder: ERR.

21. Barbarian in Dante's Seventh Circle: ATTILA. In the river of boiling blood are the violent sinners, such as Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun, Ghibelline tyrants and 13th-century robber barons, "are paying for their heartless crimes" (XII.106). Michael Delahoyde.

23. Butterfield of "Ender's Game": ASA. Almost the theme from Tuesday's END GAME puzzle.

24. Cartomancy deck: TAROT. This is a stretch because cartomancy uses a common deck (or part of one) of cards. This is what my grandmother TAUGHT.

29. Starfleet school: ACADEMY. Star Trek.

32. Record holder: SLEEVE. I love this misdirection, especially now that they are producing albums again.

33. Ship: SEND.

34. Accessories for a Red Hat Society lunch: BOAS. This ORGANIZATION is appropriate for many Cornerites.

37. Bond and Bourne: SPIES.

41. Scratching post material: SISAL. Cats prefer woven sisal because their claws do not get caught in the sisal rope. It is a natural fiber derived from the 'agave sisalana' cactus plant and is not the same fiber as coir or jute.

44. Jai __: ALAI.

45. Its first version was egg-shaped: iMAC.

49. Spotted cat: OCELOT. For CED.

51. Argentina's "City of Diagonals": LA PLATA. A CSO to OMK and this CITY.

56. Norse group that fought the Vanir: AESIR. The Aesir (pronounced “ICE-ir”; Old Norse Æsir for multiple gods, Ásynjur for multiple goddesses, Áss for one god, and Ásynja for one goddess) were one of the two main tribes of deities venerated by the pre-Christian Norse.

57. Hypotheticals: IFS.

58. Part of AC/DC: DIRECT. Current.

61. Minn. neighbor: ONTario. We have many visitors from Ontario here in Pompano Beach.

62. A-listers: ELITE.

67. "Who's on First?" catcher: TODAY. You have to be a real fan to recall that position.

First base         Who
Second base What
Third base I Don't Know
Leftfield           Why
Centerfield Because
Pitcher             Tomorrow
Catcher            Today
Shortstop          I Don't Give a Darn! or I Don't Care!

68. Composer Sibelius: JEAN. Fifteen FACTS.

69. While away: KILL. Ah, while away not while away!

70. Note next to a red F, maybe: SEE ME. Since we have so many teachers who read this blog, this may be an ultimate gimme.

71. __-Navy game: ARMY.

72. Downfall of many kings?: ACES. Also a fun clue.

Down:

1. Old Iberian coins: PESETAS. Woth 100 centimos.

2. Grind: RAT RACE. I loved the Lucys.

3. Exceeded, as a budget: OVERRAN. I like "waves of barbarians overran the Roman Empire" and "he must not overrun his authority as governor" better.

4. Agnus __: DEI.

5. MIT center?: Abbr.: INSTitute.

6. Substantial content: MEAT. What a meaty tome.

7. Sun: Pref.: HELIO. We had this in January.

8. The "O" in football's OBJ: ODELL. Beckham Junior.
HIGHLIGHTS.

9. Tach readout: RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.

10. 60 minuti: ORA. Italian lesson.

11. "Me too": SO HAVE I.

12. Hard to follow: EVASIVE. I like this clue.

13. Says "There, there," say: SOLACES. Middle English: from Old French solas (noun), solacier (verb), based on Latin solari ‘to console’.

18. Silver of FiveThirtyEight: NATE. The POLLING PLACE.

22. Spots: ADS.

25. Eccentric: ODDBALL.

27. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.

28. Snake, for one: REPTILE.

30. MIT Sloan deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration was created in the US.

31. Class with mats: YOGA.

35. Entirely: ALL.

36. Authenticating symbol: SEAL. Now we use stamps for seals on legal papers.

39. North Carolina university: ELON. This is where my friend the late Roger Staley studied as an undergraduate; it is a selective, average-sized private university eminent as a national model for connected and experiential learning.

40. Through: VIA.

41. Khrushchev and Gorbachev: SOVIETS.

42. Baffin Bay hazard: ICE FLOE. Baffin Bay is the body of water between Baffin Island in Canada's Nunavut and Greenland's southwestern coast. It lies north of the Arctic Circle, connecting the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and is frozen for most of the year.

43. Coastal region: SEASIDE.

46. Like some lodges: MASONIC.

47. Goose-pimply: ATINGLE. An "A" word.

48. Price-fixing groups: CARTELS. In the United States, virtually all cartels, regardless of their line of business, are illegal by virtue of American antitrust laws. Cartels have a negative effect on consumers because their existence results in higher prices and restricted supply. In South Florida, they are WORSE.

50. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. I really did not know this MAN.

52. Way to go: PATH.

54. Spanish red wine: RIOJA. Rioja is a wine region in North Central Spain, 120 Miles south of Bilbao.

55. Less rainy, as a climate: DRIER.

59. Oater actor Jack: ELAM. What a face.

60. Harlem sch.: CCNY. City College of New York.

63. Bagpiper's hat: TAM. Oh the one from shanter!

64. London __: Ferris wheel: EYE.

66. Letters in an APB: AKA. I guess, but they are not mutually inclusive. An All Points Bulletin does not need an Also Know As.


Robin is fast becoming one of our regular setters, with this effort containing so many gems. Be safe everyone, we have canceled the condo Bingo night and our Starbucks no longer allows sitting or loitering. Lemonade out

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy 82nd birthday to Commander Al (Spitzboov), who served in the Navy Reserve for over 20 years. Al is a very resourceful and creative person. He helped me solve many tricky problems. Here is Al with Argyle.

 

Argyle and Spitzboov

(August 23, 2014, Washington County Fair)

3) Happy 84th birthday to John28man! So glad to hear from you from time to time, John!

 

Thursday, March 19th 2020 Morton J. Mendelson

Theme Whodunnit - the theme entries tell a short story.

17A. The con entered the bank under an __, ...: ASSUMED IDENTITY

27A. ... told the banker a __, ...: FABRICATED STORY

44A. ... opened an account with a __, ...: COUNTERFEIT BILL

56A. ... and cashed a check with a __: FORGED SIGNATURE

Hands up, straight off the bat, I'll confess, I'm not a fan of the narrative puzzle. This is cleverly done, four 15's across the grid is no small feat to pull off, but ... these kind of themes just don't work for me.

For crossword aficionados, Merle Reagle once ran two consecutive Sunday puzzles under the title "Kindergarten Crime Spree" and I was yawning by the end of the first one, let alone the second. Maybe that's what set me against the gimmick? I still, just my 2¢, we can agree to disagree. I'll take my Mr. Grumpy hat off now.

However, there were a couple of clues I'm still baffled by, maybe you can help me out. The first is 10D. "CV" is an abbreviation for "Curriculum Vitae", or "resumé" here in the US. The clue/answer makes no sense. "Vita" is not short for CV, and forms no part of the original phrase. I think there's just basic misunderstanding here, maybe? I don't want to spout all Latin genitive at you, but this is all wrong.

The second is 57D. "Apt answer for this puzzle location". What? "... clue location" I could understand, but "puzzle location"? I think wires crossed again. But, there are more important things in the world to worry about at the moment, so I'll park my irk and let's see what was enjoyable:

Across:

1. Jazzes (up): PEPS

5. "Let's open a window": I'M HOT

10. Musical riff: VAMP

14. Louver part: SLAT

15. Whistle blower: COACH. Nice clue, sometimes you don't see the obvious.

16. Retailer whose logo colors are the same as on its founder's national flag: IKEA

20. Sly critic: SNIPER. Someone who snipes.

21. Became frothy: FOAMED

22. Fertility clinic supply: OVA

24. Prefix with content: MAL

25. Not agin: FER

26. Amazon snake: BOA

31. Catching a break: IN LUCK

32. Iditarod runner: HUSKY

33. "High School Musical" extra: TEEN

34. Crouched behind a boulder: HID

35. This and that, say: PAIR. This had me thinking for a while. Nice clue for a simple word.

39. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE

42. Colorado's "Steel City": PUEBLO. The first steel mill was built to supply rail lines for the new Denver - Rio Grande railroad. It's still going strong. I didn't immediately associate Colorado with steel mills.

48. One in a tchr.'s key: ANS. The answer key for teachers. You'd think they'd know the answers without having to cheat :)

49. Canadian whisky: RYE. Odd clue, there's nothing to say that Canadian whisky has to be rye. It must be fermented, distilled and aged in Canada, but you can make it from pretty much whatever grain you like. Here's a collection of single malts. Cheers!

50. Old call letters?: MCI. The name stood for Microwave Communications Inc. Worldcom bought them in 1998.

51. "The Hollow Men" poet's monogram: TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot on his driver's license. It's not the most cheery of poems:

Sightless, unless

The eyes reappear

As the perpetual star

Multifoliate rose

Of death's twilight kingdom

The hope only

Of empty men.

52. Giggle: TEE HEE

54. It merged with CBS in 2019: VIACOM. Viacom need to make up their minds. CBS was spun off from the original Viacom in 2005. Now they're all smiles and back together again.

60. JFK part: Abbr.: INIT. This had me puzzled for a while. JFK is three initials, therefore an abbreviation of part of it.

61. Languid: INERT

62. Pic to click: ICON

63. Koppel and others: TEDS. Koppel best known as the "Nightline" anchor on ABC.

64. "Long time __!": NO SEE!

65. Like racehorses: SHOD

Down:

1. TV ad promoting water conservation, e.g.: PSA

2. Golfer Ernie from South Africa: ELS

3. Good enough: PASSABLE

4. Bowl over: STUN

5. Swell treatment?: ICE PACK

6. Classic Ford: MODEL A. It replaced the Model T, which seems a little peculiar.

7. Word with net or ball: HAIR

8. Anxious med. condition: O.C.D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

9. American agents, familiarly: THE FEDS

10. CV, briefly: VITA. See my comment in the intro on this.

11. With hands on hips: AKIMBO

12. Night streaker: METEOR

13. Bright spot in the workweek: PAY DAY. In my first job after school we were paid in cash on a Thursday. We were given a half-hour to pick up the pay packet from the pay window. There was a little corner of the envelope you tore off and counted the contents before you stepped away.

18. Copycat: MIMIC

19. Language of Oslo, in Oslo: NORSK

22. Make the most __: OF IT

23. Barn topper: VANE. The antique ones go for quite a lot of money.

25. Clash of clans: FEUD

28. Sentence that should be two or more sentences: RUN-ON

29. Crook: THIEF

30. Laid-back sort: TYPE B. Do type-b people drive Model A Fords?

34. New employee: HIRE

36. Over the top: A BIT MUCH

37. Societal woes: ILLS

38. What a hat may symbolize: ROLE. A little puzzlement at first, but "wearing my sales hat" for example.

40. Trapped, after "up": A TREE

41. Entered: KEYED IN

42. Salsa option: PICANTE

43. New York college town: UTICA

44. Tantrum: CATFIT. Never heard of it. I'd like to tell you if it is one word or two, but Google didn't help a whole lot. I did find an article about cat seizures, which is not what I expected, and I found some workout programs.

45. Pre-shoot-out score, perhaps: ONE-ONE

46. Cyberhandle: USER-ID. My first thought was "AVATAR", but that's your pictorial persona.

47. Political fugitive: ÉMIGRÉ

53. Driver's lic. stats: HGTS

54. Competes: VIES

55. Blues singer Redding: OTIS. Who can't resist a couple of minutes to listen again to this?

57. __-cone: SNO

58. Hundred Acre Wood denizen: ROO. Here's one of the original illustrations of Kanga and Roo. Don't talk to me about the Disney cartoonification of the books and their commercialization beyond.

59. Apt answer for this puzzle location: END. Another bit of clue bafflement, as I mentioned at the top.

Which brings me to the grid! Stay safe and make smart choices. Shelter-in-place is a smart choice, whether or not mandated in your specific area.

Steve