Friday, September 11, 2020 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Swapping Vowels"

Chairman Moe, here, with the honor and pleasure to recap a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle! I can see why Lemonade714 so enjoys doing a Friday Wechsler. This puzzle creates its unique scheme by swapping the two vowels in the second word (CAROL -> CORAL), completely changing the meaning. This continues throughout the long entries.

For example: 16. Yuletide decorations at a beach cottage?: CHRISTMAS CORAL/CHRISTMAS CAROL. We all have heard of a Christmas Carol, but a true Christmas "Coral" version of a Christmas "Carol" might be this:

29. What many skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas represent?: CORPORATE TEXAS/CORPORATE TAXES. When I owned a business back in 2010-2012, I filed corporate taxes for the first time. Glad I had a competent accounting firm ...

35. Opera group sponsored by a '70s-'80s sitcom family?: JEFFERSON DIVAS. The Jeffersons was a spinoff from "All in the Family". The DIVA singing this is Ja'net Dubois from "Good Times" fame. JEFFERSON DAVIS was president of the Confederate States of America. But if you really want to hear a JEFFERSON DIVA, then click on the link

53. Denim's golden age?: DAYS OF OUR LEVIS. DAYS OF OUR LIVES is one of the longest running soap operas on television, dating back to 1965! I personally am not a fan of "soaps", so the link should give you all you need to know about this Emmy Award Winning series ... in tribute to Splynter, here is my impression of DAYS OF OUR LEVIS:

What I truly enjoyed about Wechsler's puzzle was how "tight" it was. No forced clues/solves. Everything ran like an expensive, Swiss watch. And from what little experience I have at creating crossword puzzles, squeezing quadruple 13's into a 15x15 grid could not have been easy. While it took me just under a half hour to solve, I had very few "write-overs".

BTW, a big tip of the hat to all of our first responders; especially today, but let's give them kudos EVERY DAY on keeping us safe, protected, and healed during times of crisis. You are appreciated!

On to the rest of the clues!

Across:
1. Staging area: THEATER. Nice deflection. Staging area could also be referred to as a stopping place, or assembly point

8. Oregon Trail sights: WAGONS. Straight-forward clue

14. Part of a score: MEASURE.

15. "No need to point": I SEE IT. At first, I didn't "see it" with regard to the theme and its entries. But once solved, I felt more prudent: WISER. 8. Down

18. Michigan, e.g.: LAKE. No U Michigan vs. The Ohio State U football game this fall due to the Big 10 Conference postponing its season

19. Some summer arrivals: LEOS. Here is a link to this sign, if you'd care to learn whether or not you're compatible with them

20. Bit of baby talk: GOO. I hear that the "GOO GOO Dolls" will go on the road with Lady Gaga. They're billing this as the "GOO GOO GAGA" tour.

On a more personal note, Chairman Moe celebrates - via FaceTime - his first grandchild; born earlier this year, to my daughter and son-in-law. This past weekend I heard the 3 month old, handsome devil, utter his first "GOO"! I am definitely smitten, though the 2,400 miles we are apart has made visiting impossible during this pandemic

22. Quick cuts: TRIMS. I have been using this to cut my hair the past 6 months

24. Snowball fight defense: FORT. All we need in the part of Arizona where I live is some snow ...


25. Sing the praises of: LAUD. I hope this doesn't "break" the no religion code here; but whenever I see the word "LAUD", this hymn comes to mind ... please enjoy the melody; words are optional of course ...

26. Furniture chain that also sells lingonberry preserves: IKEA. I only knew them for having great meatballs

27. Tolkien's Legolas, for one: ELF. More info, here

28. First name of the first woman to win a Nobel Prize: MARIE. From the nobelprize.org website: "Together with her husband, she was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity."

33. Righteous Babe Records founder DiFranco: ANI. Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. Wikipedia. Some crossword editors might only accept a clue such as, "Wheel of Fortune" purchase

34. Darken in summer: TAN. One thing I have learned from living 10 years in FL, and not quite 1 year in AZ, is that having a TAN is not what a lot of "natives" do. They let the visitors broil in the sun!

43. Drops off: WANES. In keeping with the puzzle theme, how about this for a limerick?

Esthetician (and Mom) is quite keen
'Bout her business; and here's what I mean:
Her twin boys stopped breast-feeding;
Hairy clients kept pleading;
Now her day's spent with waxes and WEANS

44. U.K. part: ENG. Also consists of N Ireland, Wales, and Scotland

45. Target ball in a pool game: NINE. Nine-ball was always one of my favorites

46. "The Martian" novelist Weir: ANDY. My son was called "Andy" (short for Andrew) by us, up until he decided he'd rather be called "Drew"

47. Young newts: EFTS. Crossword staple filler

49. Momoa who plays Aquaman: JASON. OK, ladies; I gave the guys the "Splynter Jeans". Here is your Aquaman!

50. DVR button: REC. I went from Cable/Dish to streaming about 2 years ago. No REC button on my REMOTE, and no DVR

51. Give off: EMIT. After yesterday's "E-BOOK" and "E-TAILERS", I am waiting for the following "word" to be allowed in crossword puzzles. Clue: what does a catcher wear on the video game, "MLB, The Show, 2020"? Answer: an E-MITT

52. Mountain cat: PUMA. Or what brand of clothes Rickie Fowler and several other PGA pros wear

58. Codeine, e.g.: OPIATE. Cough syrup with Codeine used to be sold, OTC. From FDA.gov: "FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA requires labeling changes for prescription opioid cough and cold medicines to limit their use to adults 18 years and older"

59. How a leaf blower operates: NOISILY. With leaf season nigh in many parts of the US, here is a friendly reminder from the folks at Remington:

60. Gets a gander at: ESPIES. ESPY, singular, is either getting a gander at, or a sports award

61. Put together: AMASSED. I am amassing a whole lot more knowledge about "stuff", now that I'm blogging

Down:
1. Film buff's network: TMC. The Movie Channel. Part of Showtime Networks

2. "That's sorta funny": HEH. HEH? Meh. JK, Jeffrey ...

3. Like a flashback time: EARLIER. THIS GUY had a few flashbacks

4. World atlas spread: ASIA MAP. Pretty big place

5. Walrus features: TUSKS. First thought that came to mind was this:

6. Art Deco icon: ERTE. Wiki

7. __ sleep: REM. According to my SO's FitBit, she should get between 15-25% REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep each night. Dream mode

9. Cravat cousin: ASCOT. Haiku:

Brutus the Buckeye
Must have face cover. Is that
Wearing a M-ASCOT?

10. Most 1990s Prizms: GEOS. Geo Prizms were only available in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, Chevrolet was the owner of the brand

11. Above, to a bard: OER. More crossword-ese

12. River between two Great Lakes: NIAGARA. After last week's "memory" of Lava Soap, I seem to remember this brand of spray starch

13. First U.S. city to host the Olympic Games: ST LOUIS. Used to travel there a lot when I was a working stiff

17. Flying: ALOFT. I will cede this to Ray-O-Sunshine for an appropriate pun

21. Lines from an admirer: ODE. Very few of my haikus and/or limericks are ODES

22. Idiosyncrasy: TIC. Not a good thing to have if it's your "tell" in Texas Hold 'em Poker

23. Classic studio letters: RKO. Not THIS RKO:

24. Distinctive style: FLAIR. This guy was the eponymous FLAIR

25. Remiss: LAX. Also the airport code for Los Angeles International. CSO to Steve, Picard, Bill G, Misty, Fematprime, Malodorous Manatee, Sarah, Wendybird, NaomiZ, Keith, Edward, and Michael. All of whom reside not too far (relatively, speaking) from LAX (the airport). Was I lax??!!

27. Fish-eating bird: ERNE. Yesterday's clue? It was a Sea Eagle

28. Fix: MEND. Oh, darn

30. Stumblebums: OAFS. From dictionary dot com: early 17th century: variant of obsolete auf, from Old Norse álfr ‘elf’. The original meaning was ‘elf's child, changeling’, later ‘idiot child’ and ‘halfwit’, generalized in the current sense.

31. Jackets named for a British school: ETONS. His AND hers models:

32. Distinctive flavor: TANG. It sure was distinctive! But why did they choose it for the NASA missions? Here's one version

35. Mystery woman: JANE DOE. I had JEZIBEL in as my first answer

36. Market aisle border areas: ENDCAPS. When I worked in the wine biz, this is what we were aiming for:

37. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-creator: FEY.

38. Row: SETTO. As in fighting. Guessing that RKO and Ric FLAIR had a few SETTOS

39. Completely disorganized: IN A MESS. Like the desk in my den/office

40. In relation to: VIS A VIS. There are lots of "VISA V's" in this image, as their stock price fluctuates:

41. "Is that __?": ANO. Or could this have been clued: Doce meses?

43. "1917" subject: WAR. The official trailer

47. Overact: EMOTE. Who would you add to your top ten list of emoters? In Hollywood or in TV?

48. High pipes: FIFES. I used this in a haiku last week ...

49. Child played by Meryl: JULIA. Nice misdirection! I was trying to think of whether actress Streep actually was a "child actor". Turns out she was 25-26 years old before landing her first role

51. Actor Morales: ESAI. More crossword-ese. Great vowels!

52. Anticipated dance: PROM. Anticipated by whom?! Not sure I could afford to go now. Back in the '60's, a tux rental (white dinner jacket/cummerbund/bowtie) was around $10-15. Corsage was what, $4-5 or less? A stretch limo? C'mon! And "after-PROM" was .... well, that varied!

54. Shrill bark: YIP. At age 40, I developed these:

The YIPs

55. A, in Oaxaca: UNA. UNA cerveza mas, por favor

56. Tahiti, to Gauguin: ILE. Frawnch

57. Qantas hub, in itineraries: SYD. An iconic view from the Harbor Bridge Climb

That's all! There's no "Moe"!!

The grid:

 Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy birthday to dear Husker Gary, the genius in puzzle titles and graphics. He puts stunning amount of time and effort into his Saturday blog. Thank you, Gary! We're so lucky. Gary and Joanne were here in Minneapolis a few years ago.

Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. and Joanne

 2) Please continue putting Abejo in your thoughts and prayers. He's in hospital due to pneumonia right now.

Thursday September 10th 2020 Timothy Schenck

Theme: Time for a drink!  As the theme reveal neatly explains:

37. Breaks found on rows 3, 5, 11 and 13 of this puzzle?: INTERMISSIONS.

Intermissions are lovely. You put in your drink order at the bar before the first act, and when the curtain drops for the break, off you trot and find your order ready and waiting for you. It's part of the magic of live theater. In the case of "The Woman in Black" in London's West End, I damn well needed it. I was scared to death. My daughter (I think she was 17 at the time) had to pat my hand to calm me down. I did notice she downed her Jack & Coke pretty quickly though.

So moving on, the grid at the bottom gives you a better picture of the theme entries, but the "intermission" breaks up the names of four Shakespeare plays (Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and Othello) on the four rows of the puzzle which have only one black square. I'm visualizing the black square as the curtain coming down for the interval. Coming back from the interval, you might see this:

I looked to see if there was anything deeper to the theme, but I couldn't uncover a "meta". We have a prince, a king, a thane first and then a king and finally a general, but nothing I can see to link the title characters together.

Straightforward enough theme then, nothing to anger the crossword gods as far as I can see. It might be a little on the easy side for a Thursday, but there's no harm in a breeze through the puzzle every now and then. Let's take a tour:

Across:

1. Gets ready for vacation: PACKS.

6. Initialed, perhaps: OK'ED.

10. Turkish title of honor: AGHA.

14. Before-bed read: E-BOOK. Peculiar clue/answer, why an e-book in particular and why specifically before bed? 

15. After curfew: LATE. Before curfew: LATTÉ

16. Boy friends: BROS.

17. Entrée with a sweet glaze: CANDIED HAM.

19. Reply to "Shall we?": LETS!

20. __ Minor: ASIA.

21. Indian princess: RANI. Aghas and Ranis today. We are honored.

22. Grand, moneywise: GEE.

23. Making out: NECKING.

25. Do-it-yourself manual phrase: LEARN TO.

29. Baby blues, e.g.: PEEPERS. Jeepers, Creepers!

31. __ & Perrins steak sauce: LEA. Repeat after me. It's pronounced WUSTER. Guy Ferry (oh, I'm sorry "Fieri" as he now prefers to be known) revelling in his own ignorance annoys me just a little. It's not difficult. Moving on, rant over.

32. Make the grade?: PASS.

35. Country with the highest and lowest points in the W. Hemisphere: ARGentina. The high point is Cerro Aconcagua at 22,141ft and the low point is Laguna del Carbón which is 344 ft below sea level, making a height differential of 22,485 ft. Quite a climb from bottom to top.

36. Like cranberry juice: TART.

41. Senate staffer: PAGE. I tried AIDE first. Was wrong, but easily rectified.

42. Attila follower: HUN. I like this one - HUN follows ATTILA in his generally-accepted name, and the Huns as a whole followed him. Neat!

43. Lymph __: NODE.

44. Switch ups?: ONS. Switch downs - Offs. Just to confuse the issue, the Brits, not content with spelling words with a redundant "U" and driving on the wrong side of the road have "Off" being up and "On" being down. I know.

45. Old dinero: PESETAS.

48. River under the Arlington Memorial Bridge: POTOMAC. Not difficult if you know that the Potomac is in D.C but a nice clue.

50. "Don't miss it!": BE THERE!

55. ER workers: RN'S.

56. Animal house: LAIR.

58. Rink jump: AXEL.

59. Unintended ink, maybe: BLOT. Not a tattoo when you've had too much to drink? Someone should tell Jimmy Buffett "... how it got there I haven't a clue".

61. Sanrio character with a red bow: HELLO KITTY. I have a picture of myself with a six-foot Hello Kitty costume character at one of the Licensing Expos in Las Vegas. I'll spare you.

63. Car with a bar: LIMO. I was thinking railroads and trying to think of an alternate name for the bar car when the penny dropped.

64. H.S. subject: BIOL.

65. Cajun pods: OKRAS. I'm not sure I'd use the "S" to pluralize this one. To me, "okra" is singular and plural.

66. Cookbook abbr.: TBSP. How many okra to a tablespoon?

67. Binary code digits: ONES. Binary. It's as easy as 01,10,11.

68. Bill Parcells' real first name: DUANE. Nice bit of trivia this, I had no idea. The Big Tuna adopted the name "Bill" because at high school he was always being mistaken for another student called Bill, and he didn't like his given name, so he went with the misnomer.

Down:

1. Pie choice: PECAN. Apple for me.

2. Humble: ABASE. Verb, not the noun.

3. Like megaphones: CONIC.

4. Company that coined a photographic "moment": KODAK. 

5. Compete in a biathlon: SKI. Then you shoot. The biathlon and the modern pentathlon are all based on what skills a soldier would need; in the biathlon's case an infantry soldier in winter, in the pentathlon's case a cavalry officer (although I'm not sure quite why a cavalry officer would need to swim unless his horse went on strike).

6. Time of one's life: OLD AGE. When does old age start? I remember when I was a kid that I was aghast when I worked out that by the year 2000 I'd be 41. I was convinced I'd never make it to be that old.

7. Actress Madeline: KAHN. Who? Thank you, crosses, always bailing me out with TV and film peeps.

8. Amazon and Etsy: E-TAILERS.

9. AOC, for one: DEM. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic reprentative for New York's 14th Congressional District.

10. More competent: ABLER.

11. Home of Thule Air Base, the U.S. Air Force's northernmost: GREENLAND. What happened to the plan to buy the country? That seemed to die a quick death.

12. In great demand: HOT.

13. Donkey: ASS.

18. Sea eagle: ERNE.

24. __ dixit: assertion without proof: IPSE. "That's just how it is".

26. Units of energy: ERGS. Derived from the Greek "ergon" meaning work, or task. In SI units it is equivalent to 1.000000×10⁻⁷ J; the Brits again make it complicated expressing it as equal to 7.375621×10⁻⁸ ft⋅lbf,  but at least now you all know. I'd go with the SI version if you're ever asked.

27. Laconic: TERSE.

28. Cheerios grain: OAT.

30. Revolutionary pamphleteer: PAINE. Thomas Paine. He was born in Thetford in England and came over here to cause trouble. Not the first Englishman to stir the pot.

32. John's instrument: PIANO. Sir Elton, master of tickling the ivories.

33. Light-wave units: ANGSTROMS. Expresses wavelength and interatomic distances. Equivalent to 10⁻⁸ cm. We're getting quite a lesson in exponents today.

34. Sault __ Marie: STE. Thank you, crosswords past.

36. "__ bad!": TOO.

38. Flightless bird: RHEA.

39. Intrude (on): MUSCLE IN.

40. Research ctr.: INSTitute.

41. Soda: POP. Are all sodas pop, and are all pop sodas? I'm not sure, I'll turn it over to the wordly-wise.

45. Some govt. leaders: PM'S. Prime Ministers, or should that be "Ministers, Prime"? It's not widely known, but the designation of Prime Minister is usually an honorific, and not an official title, the UK included.

46. Govt. notes: T-BILLS.

47. Aviation prefix: AERO- You can have aeronautics, aerobatics and aeroplanes, but you can't have airnautics or airbatics, but you can have airplanes. Anyone care to tell us why?

51. Short verse: HAIKU.

52. More than needed: EXTRA.

53. Cure again, as leather: RE-TAN. I'm not sure if you can re-tan something, isn't it one and done, or worse, one and failed?

54. "Family Ties" mom: ELYSE. I never saw the show, but the solid crosses filled in the name for me.

57. Skin cream additive: ALOE. 

59. Club alternative: BLT. The classic sandwich.

60. Ad-__: LIB.

61. "Big Little Lies" network: HBO.

62. Decked in a ring: KO' D. 

[Cast Exeunt]

And so, here find ourselves at the end of the puzzle. Usually I'd just post the grid and be gone (begone with thee!) but today there's a little coda.

The sharp-eyed among you might have noticed that I skipped a couple of the solution entries, so here they are to finish things off:

49D. Good way to go out: ON TOP.

22D. Fun time: GAS.

As you might guess from that, this is my last blog at the Corner for the forseeable future (that's a cracking expression, isn't it - you can't tell what's going to happen in the next two minutes, so not exactly a lot of the future is foreseeable. A car crashed into my house once while I was sitting in this same chair, I certainly didn't foresee that happening, even two seconds before.)   

I'm not sure I'm going out "on top" but I am going out "on Thursday" but you get the idea. And it's been a gas. Or, in the great words of the Rolling Stones - a "gas gas gas".

That's a cue for my final musical link: you might have to "click to expand" or unmute if you want to hear it. There's an expression "dance like no-one's watching" - I love how Mick Jagger dances precisely because someone's watching. So do the same. For the sheer musicianship, theatricals, lyrics and dance I think this is my favorite video of all time. 

Thanks for all the education, comments, questions and clarifications over the years; it's been quite the experience. The blogging team here have been wonderful, and C.C. is an amazing mentor and inspiration.

Keep as well as you are able; and remember to be nice to each other. It's a short life, however long you live it. Or a long life, however short you live it. Don't hold back.

Now it's Theme Time - it's time for a drink!

Sláinte!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

I'm very sad to tell you that today will be Steve's last write-up. He joined our team in 2012 and has faithfully guided us over 354 posts (thanks, TTP!). Steve blogged when he was traveling for work in India. He blogged when he was home in England for Christmas. No matter where he was, he's always here guiding us on Thursdays. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication over the past 8 years, Steve. We'll miss your incomparable humor and wits  You're a クールな男!"

Wednesday, September 9, 2020 Susan Gelfand

 Theme: I can't do better than the unifier: HORSEPLAY.  Playing with this HORSE is complicated.  It combines with the theme entries like this: It can follow the first part of the entries and precede the second part, in each case yielding an in the language phrase.

The unifier: 60. Roughhousing, or a hint to both parts of the answers to starred clues: HORSEPLAY.  Boisterous physical play that can easily go too far, especially indoors. 

17 A. *Feature of Santa Claus' beard: WHITE HAIR.  Of course.  This gives us a WHITE HORSE, which can have a variety of meanings in mythology, associated with the sun chariot, warriors and fertility. Figuratively, this can also refer to white capped waves.  Then we have HORSE HAIR, the long, coarse hair from their mains and tails.  This has many uses, including in upholstery, brushes and the bows of musical instruments.

39 A. *Out-of-control guy: WILDMAN.  He is a mythological creature from medieval Europe, or in modern times, as defined in the clue.  A WILD HORSE is a free ranging animal in various parts of the world, probably descended from domestic HORSES rather than originally wild stock. A HORSEMAN is, variously, one who practices equestrianism for recreational, practical or sporting purposes.

11 D. *Bobbysoxer's footwear: SADDLE SHOES.  These are casual, low heeled shoes characterized by a plain toe and saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot.

Do what she says.

A SADDLE HORSE is one that is trained for riding.  A HORSE SHOE is a U-shaped band of iron fitted and nailed to the rim of a horse's hoof to protect it.

25. *Football field director: QUARTERBACK.  This is the guy who throws the ball and hopes that somebody on his team catches it.  A QUARTER HORSE is a horse of a small stocky breed noted for agility and speed over short distances. It is reputed to be the fastest breed of horse over distances of a quarter of a mile.  HORSEBACK, generally with "on" is an indication that something is done while riding a horse.

Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here to rein this puzzle in.  So, enough horsing around - let's get to it.

Across:

1. "The Grapes of Wrath" family name: JOAD.  It's one tragedy after another for them in this classic novel by John Steinbeck.

5. Pay attention to: MIND.  As a verb, MIND has several different meanings, here it means to regard something as important.

9. Havana houses: CASAS.  Literal, in Spanish

14. Court legend Arthur: ASHE.  Arthur [1943-1993] was an American tennis player who won three grand slam singles titles, and was the first African-American selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team.

15. On the ocean: ASEA. Afloat in a boat.

16. Pixel pattern: IMAGE. A visual representation of something or someone on the screen of your electronic device.

19. Kind of wave: TIDAL.  A Tidal wave is a regularly reoccurring shallow water wave caused by effects of the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the ocean. The term "tidal wave" is often used to refer to tsunamis; however, this reference is incorrect as tsunamis have nothing to do with tides.

20. Colorful birds: ORIOLES.  New World orioles are a group of birds in the genus Icterus of the blackbird family. Males are typically black and vibrant yellow or orange with white markings, females and immature birds are duller.

22. Woodworking tool: ADZE.  An ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. They have been used since the Stone Age.

23. Arouse: PIQUE. Stimulate interest, curiosity or resentment.

26. Enjoys now and then, with "in": DABBLES.  Takes part in an activity in a casual or superficial way.

28. __ hand: HOUR.  A clock has it's hands on it's face to give you the time.  The HOUR hand, unsurprisingly, points to the nearest HOUR of the day.  

29. Skater's surface: ICE.  Hockey playoffs are in full swing.

32. Auditioner's aim: ROLE.  A part in a play or as a character in other activities.

33. Santa __: dry winds: ANAS.  Strong, extremely dry downslope winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure air masses in the Great Basin.

34. Chess pieces: MEN.  Figures or tokens used in a variety of board games.

35. Peaks: CRESTS.  Tops of hills, mountains, waves, stock chart graphs, or anything similarly shaped.

38. Polite address: SIR.  MA'AM doesn't fit.

41. Primitive dwelling: HUT.  A hut is a primitive dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hides, fabric, or mud using techniques passed down through the generations.

42. Bothers quite a bit: EATS AT.  Consuming one, emotionally.

44. Tiny ammo: BBS. Round 4.5 mm plated steel projectiles shot from an air pistol.

45. Rocky Road holder: CONE.  An edible container for ice cream, named for its shape.

46. Italian peak: ETNA.  An active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily,

47. Holiday veggie: YAM.  Actually, a sweet potato.  It's complicated.

48. Bridle strap: REIN.  One of a pair of long straps typically connected to the bridle or headpiece and used to control the HORSE.  Or a cross word puzzle.

49. Many map lines: STREETS.  So you can know where you're going.

52. Genre for the Village People: DISCO.

Mandatory

53. Lipstick container: TUBE.  A cylindrically shaped object.

54. Custard-filled pastries: ECLAIRS.  An éclair is an oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with chocolate icing.

58. Challenging tests: ORALS. Examinations given by the spoken word, often administered to students pursuing advanced degrees

64. Permissible: LICIT.  Within the law.

65. Roused: WOKE.  Awake and/or aware

66. Roof overhang: 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. 

67. Signed: INKED.  Official signings are done in ink, not pencil, for durability.

68. Church recess: APSE.  A large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof, typically at the eastern end, and usually containing the altar.

69. Sometimes seedy loaves: RYES.  Sandwich bread

Down:

1. Word with bone or breaker: JAW.

2. __Kosh B'gosh: OSH.  Kids' clothes

3. Tuna type: AHI. Big eye tuna in Hawaii, or yellow fin tuna on the mainland.

4. Routes that contain the letters in "routes": DETOURS.  Alternate routes when the main routes are impassable.

5. Half a food fish: MAHI. The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide.  It's past time to forever ban all "half a" clues.

6. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. [b 1942] Isao Aoki is a Japanese professional golfer. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. 

7. Actor __ Patrick Harris: NEIL. [b 1973] Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, comedian, writer, producer, and magician. He is known primarily for his comedy roles on television and his dramatic and musical stage roles.  You probably know him as Doogie Howser.

8. Took a risk: DARED.

9. Op. __: footnote abbr.: CIT.  In a second reference to a work, meaning: "in the work already cited."

10. Friendly: AMIABLE.  Seems nice

12. Staring intently: AGAZE.  Peering intently at the dreaded A-word.

13. Monica of tennis: SELES.  [b 1973] A retired professional tennis player, who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. An ethnic Hungarian, she was born and raised in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. 

18. Bard's "before": ERE.  

21. Cutting talk: SARCASM.  A sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although sarcasm is not necessarily ironic. 

23. Temporary stage: PHASE.  A distinct period in a series of events or a process of change or development.

24. Ancient Greek region: IONIA.  An area in modern western Turkey directly across the Aegean Sea from the Greek peninsula.

 

It's Greek to me.

27. Partner of raised, in bios: BORN.  Said of a place where someone lived from birth through adolescence.

29. Copy: IMITATE. Ape

30. Cartoon frame: CEL.  A transparent sheet of celluloid or similar film material, which can be drawn on and used in the production of cartoons.  Now, a single frame collectable of a cartoon character.

31. Finish no later than: END BY.  Setting a due date.

36. Long, loose top: TUNIC.  A loose garment, typically sleeveless and reaching to the wearer's knees, as worn in ancient Greece and Rome.  

37. Courtroom staple, for short: STENO. A person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine and transforming same into an official certified transcript 

39. Ebb: WANE.  Recede or decrease in vigor, power, or extent; become weaker.

40. Corp. VP's degree: MBA.  Master of Business Administration. 

43. Metal marble: STEELIE.

45. Lettuce keeper: CRISPER.

49. Grey Goose rival: STOLI.  Vodkas

50. Shroud city: TURIN.  Read about it here.

51. The "u" sound in "census": SCHWA.  The unstressed central vowel, represented by the symbol ə in the International Phonetic Alphabet.  Note that if the "u" of census were replaced with an "a," "e," "i," or "o," the sound would hardly change

52. "__ Day": 1993 rap hit: DRE.

55. Circuit: LOOP.  One time around a circle or oval.

56. Slow-moving boats: ARKS.

57. "Now it's clear": I SEE.

59. Normal: Abbr.: STD.  Standard.

61. Put down: LAY.  As tools or weapons.

62. Hail, to Hadrian: AVE.  Ave is a Latin word, used by the Romans as a salutation and greeting, meaning "hail". It is the singular imperative form of the verb avēre, which meant "to be well"; thus one could translate it literally as "be well" or "farewell".

63. Cry of success: YES!.  As when your team makes a good play or scores.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope you enjoyed the ride. 

Cool regards!

JzB

Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Jerome Gunderson

Bartender, Fix me a Whisky.  Everything you wanted to know about  Whisky or Whiskey  but were afraid to ask.



17-Across. Housekeeper's whisky request?: MAKE IT NEAT.  Hi, Tin.

61-Across. Bachelor's whisky request?: SINGLE MALT.

11-Down. Geologist's whisky request?: ON THE ROCKS.  Sorry, Tin!

29-Down. Astronaut's whisky request?: STRAIGHT UP.

Across:

1. Former soldiers: VETS.  As in Veterans.  I know severe of our commenters are Veterans.

5. Explosive compound, briefly: NITRO.

10. A lot: TONS.

14. Quarreling: AT IT.

15. Still soft, as concrete: UNSET.

16. First-year law student: ONE L.  Also the name of a book by Scott Turow.

19. Gillette razor: ATRA.

20. Wire-bending hand tool: PLIERS.

21. Place to adopt a dog: PET SHOP.  My pets were all either strays or came from the pound.

23. Really big cats: LIONS.  The differences and similarities between a House Cat and a Lion.

26. Mechanical learning routine: ROTE.

27. Itemizes: LISTS.

30. International shipping co.: UPS.

32. Red wine grape known as Shiraz in Australia: SYRAH.

35. Eight: Pref.: OCTO-.  Think of the eight-armed Octopus.

36. Grins: SMILES.

38. Be in debt: OWE.

39. One of a bike's two: TIRE.

40. "Li'l" comic strip character: ABNER.  L'il Abner was a satirical comic strip created by Al Capp (Sept. 28, 1909 ~ Nov. 5, 1979).

41. Medical image for diagnosis: SCAN.

42. Bering or Black: SEA.  I have been to the Black Sea, but not the Bering Sea.

43. First game of the season: OPENER.

44. Related by blood: AKIN.

45. Type style that sounds like a Disney mermaid: ARIAL.

47. Gun, as an engine: REV.

48. Johnny Mathis classic that begins, "Look at me": MISTY

49. FBI agent: G-MAN.  Machine Gun Kelly (July 18, 1895 ~ July 18, 1954) supposedly coined the term G-Man.

51. Fix a lawn: RESOD.

53. Hawaiian medicine men: KAHUNAS.

56. Saudi __: ARABIA.

60. Ships' rears: AFTS.

64. Loyal: TRUE.

65. Letter-shaped dress style: A-LINE.  Designer Christian Dior (Jan. 21, 1905 ~ Oct. 24, 1957) is credited with creating the A-line dress in the 1950s.

66. ExxonMobil brand: ESSO.  A crossword staple.

67. Clumsy one's exclamation: OOPS!

68. British race car maker: LOTUS.

69. Half-moon tide: NEAP.

Down:

1. Femme fatale: VAMP.

2. And others: Abbr.: ET AL.  Another crossword staple.

3. Symbolic carving in Maori culture: TIKI.

4. Type of durable work boot: STEEL TOE.

5. Insane, as a scheme: NUTS-O.

6. Lodging choice: INN.

7. "Cats" poet's monogram: TSE.  Thomas Sterns Eliot, known as T.S. Eliot (Sept. 26, 1888 ~ Jan. 4, 1965) wrote Cats.  He would probably be horrified by the Broadway production based on his poetry.

8. Harvest: REAP."

9. Frolicking swimmer: OTTER.  If you like the Water, then you really "Otter" learn how to swim ...

10. Warm and cozy: TOASTY.

12. Fiddling Roman emperor: NERO.

13. Open-handed hit: SLAP.

18. Colored eye part: IRIS.  Also a painting by Van Gogh.

22. Throw softly: TOSS.

24. Phone __: NUMBER.

25. Fishing lure: SPINNER.

27. Much, casually: LOTSA.

28. More slippery: ICIER.

31. Magician's hiding place: SLEEVE.

33. Be in store for: AWAIT.

34. Comic Youngman: HENNY.  Henny Youngman (Mar. 16, 1906 ~ Feb. 24, 1998) is probably best known for his catch phrase, "Take my wife, please!"

36. Maple-syrup-to-be: SAP.  I just opened a bottle of Vermont maple syrup.

37. Make a mistake: ERR.

41. Ended a prayer: SAID AMEN.

43. "The Good Earth" heroine: O-LAN.  Pearl S. Buck (1892 ~ 1973) published her book, The Good Earth, in 1931.  It is about a poor family in a Chinese village in the early 1900s.  O-Lan and her husband, Wang Lung, ar both farmers ekeing out a living and hoping to earn enough monty to buy a plot of land.

46. Makes laugh: AMUSES.

48. __ or less: about: MORE.

50. Like a facial cavity: NASAL.

52. Clearance events: SALES.

53. Green Hornet's sidekick: KATO.  I am not really familiar with the Green Hornet's activities.

54. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.

55. Storage building for crops: SILO.  Also how too many offices operate with little or no communication between departments.

57. It may be stolen on a diamond: BASE.  Think of the Baseball diamond.

Any guesses where this baseball field is located?

58. Ingrid's "Casablanca" role: ILSA.

59. Upon: ATOP.

62. Petty gripe: NIT.

63. Beast with a beard: GNU.

Here's the Grid:

The new blogging format is rather cumbersome, and it is much more difficult to include pictures.  It will take some practice before I feel more adept at including more photos.

Monday September 7, 2020 John Guzzetta

Theme: RNS (69. Hosp. staffers, or an initial feature of the answers to starred clues) - Each theme entry is in the pattern of R* N*:

16. *Glowing circular phenomenon in the constellation Lyra: RING NEBULA.

19. *Harlequin publication, e.g.: ROMANCE NOVEL.

35. *Sound of tires on a highway, say: ROAD NOISE.

55. *Budget college meal: RAMEN NOODLES.

60. *Letter stereotypically created from cut-and-paste newsprint: RANSOM NOTE.

Boomer here.  

 

In these days of Covid-19, my heart goes out to the thousands of RNs in our country who are working overtime to help bring health back to the millions of victims. 

Across:

 
1. Hit the slopes: SKI.  It's a bit early, but Minnesota has many ski slopes for enthusiasts.  All they need is that white stuff, and I am sure it will be here soon. 

4. Divide according to delivery area, as mail: SORT.  In the past I used to SORT thousands of Topps baseball cards into complete sets of 792 different players.

8. Pleasant vocal cadence: LILT.

12. Charged particle: ION.  I watch "Law and Order" on ION television.  "Positively Entertaining".

13. Nairobi resident: KENYAN.

15. Sheltered from the wind: ALEE.

18. Cranberry sites: BOGS.  Add a "G" and you have Wade BOGGS of the Boston Red Sox.  His 1983 rookie card is worth quite a bit.  I am sold out, sigh.

 

21. "The Time Machine" author: H G WELLS.

24. Big sports venue: ARENA.  These are mostly basketball ARENAS.  A bigger sports venue might be a football stadium.

25. Dollar bill: ONE.  Bill Bradley of the NBA's New York Knicks was also known as "Dollar Bill".  I am not sure why, I am sure he made more than that.

 

 

26. Strong old-time cleanser: LYE SOAP.  Never used it.  I like Irish Spring.

30. TSA agents' requests: IDS.  The Minneapolis' IDS Center is a 57 story building towering over downtown Minneapolis.  I've been to the top lookout area.  Just to look, not to jump.  Interesting that the IDS was built in 1970 and people joked about the Minneapolis skyline.  Now about a dozen tall buildings have been built, but tradition is that no building can be higher than the IDS. 

31. Toothpaste holder: TUBE.  Not needed but my Fixodent comes in a TUBE.

33. Entomologists' subjects: INSECTS. Our mosquito crop has been fairly limited this year.  Thanks for small favors.

39. Manner of behavior: BEARING.  I believe older cars had BEARINGS in the wheels.  Just another thing to go wrong.

41. Tolkien brutes: ORCS.

45. Friend: PAL.  All of you out there are my Crossword PALs.

46. Golden __: General Mills crackers: GRAHAMS.  Delicious!  I think we used to use GRAHAM crackers to make SMORES,  If you had one, you always wanted SMORE.

50. It can be bruised: EGO.

51. "Laughing" critter: HYENA.

53. Find suitable: DEEM FIT.  I have not yet found a suitable golf course.  They are all too hard.

59. Greek god of war: ARES.

64. Mailed: SENT. We have had our cluster mailbox removed last week.  We still do not have all of our mail.  However, I watch the news and it seems the Post Office is going through some unwanted changes.

65. Harmonize: ATTUNE.  "Oh how we could harmonize" (Heart of my heart).

66. Feel crummy: AIL.

67. Consumes: EATS.  Hershey chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers.  Do you want  S'MORE ??

68. Jumps on one leg: HOPS.  Gather a few and brew some Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Down:

 
1. Knighted one: SIR. Or in Uncle Sam's Army, a Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, and or General.

2. Zen garden fish: KOI.

3. The Boar's Head in "Henry IV," e.g.: INN.  I've mentioned it a few times.  The C'Mon INN in Billings, Montana.  One of my favorite stops.  The last time I was there however was the National Bowling tournament in 2002.  

4. Fitting: SEEMLY.

5. Hoping to score a run: ON BASE.  My Twins are having trouble getting there.

6. Olympic miler Jim: RYUN.  From Kansas, he won a silver medal in the 1500 meter run at the 1968 Olympics.

 

7. Barber's powder: TALC.  There are a lot of commercials around that this stuff may be bad for you.

8. Hard work: LABOR.  And a Happy LABOR Day to all of you.  Why do they call it "LABOR DAY" and then millions of people take the day off work.

9. "Couldn't be happier!": I LOVE IT.  Bowling, Golf, and food.

10. Arthurian tales: LEGENDS.

11. Some electric cars: TESLAS.  I hardly ever see an electric car.  I know TESLA stock is doing well, but I have my doubts.

13. Small hill: KNOLL.

14. Scottish denial: NAE.

17. College sr.'s test: GRE.

20. Parts of necks: NAPES.

21. Sizzling: HOT.  "When you're hot, you're not you're not."  Jerry Reed.

22. Wildebeest: GNU.

23. Spider's creation: WEB.  I was wondering which insect created this world wide WEB.

27. Three-time PGA leading money winner Vijay __: SINGH.  He won over 50 PGA events, but now, at age 57, I think he has moved over to the Champions Tour.

28. Tokyo's Yoko: ONO.  Very news worthy when she became the wife of John Lennon.

29. "__ see it ... ": AS I.

32. Disco or jazz: ERA.  Also a pitching stat.

34. Title for Amazon's Jeff Bezos: CEO.  All that money and he can't even afford hair. He is incredible.  Started by selling books and CDs out of his garage.  Now he sells almost everything.  And he sells it to almost everybody who might be afraid to leave their home due to Covid-19.

36. Wurlitzer product: ORGAN.  Great for Church music.

37. Broadcast: AIR.  We need it to blow up footballs and volleyballs and basketballs. Bill Cosby.

38. Target of a cheek swab: DNA.

39. San Francisco vicinity: BAY AREA.  I have a couple of sisters out there.  The fires are causing bad air.  I guess you do not need to spend money on cigarettes.  Just go outside and inhale.

40. H or O, in H2O: ELEMENT.  Interesting how if you mix the two, you get water.

42. NFL official: REF.  Sometimes they are called Zebras.

43. Technique used for many film explosions: Abbr.: CGI.

44. Boozer: SOT.  Years ago, I would stop after work at the Stardust for one quick one.  But I was never a SOT.  I had to drive home 15 miles and did not take chances.

45. Sentence segment: PHRASE.

47. Makes sense: ADDS UP.

48. Cantaloupes and honeydews: MELONS.  Our favorite are watermelons.  They are pretty heavy but they taste sooooo gooood,

49. Terse summons about an exam grade: SEE ME. I never got a SEE ME.  I think I was teacher's pet.

52. They're built in birdhouses: NESTS.

54. AOL rival: MSN.  I use MSN.  Not sure what it stands for.

56. New Deal prog.: NRA.

57. Sworn promise: OATH.  You are not allowed to LIE under OATH.  Also I've heard that your nose will grow.

58. Leery of: ONTO.

61. Rowboat mover: OAR.  I used two of them many times at North Star Lake, North of Grand Rapids MN.  Then my Dad bought a five horse motor.

62. Metal in bronze: TIN.  Speaking of Grand Rapids, MN the original home of Judy Garland. NOT. Michigan. TIN reminds me of Jack Haley, the Tin Man who needed some oil to get moving on the way to OZ to ask the Wizard for a heart. 

 

63. Raised urban trains: ELS.  Golfer ERNIE.

 

Boomer

Sunday September 6, 2020 Gary Larson

Theme: "Building Vocabulary" - The first word is a building tool.

21A. Low-tech iCloud precursor: FILE CABINET.

23A. Supreme effort: LEVEL BEST.

43A. Boot camp bigwig: DRILL SERGEANT.

65A. Billowy attire named for an early rapper: HAMMER PANTS.

88A. '60s-'70s NBC News White House correspondent: SANDER VANOCUR. Unfamiliar to me.

112A. Flier's concern: PLANE FARE.

115A. Manicurist's item: NAIL CLIPPER.

 

32D. Place to spin your wheels: ROLLER RINK. (Thanks for catching my misses, Bob)

 

49D. One of two for a positive number: SQUARE ROOT.

 

Another great title!

Splynter, our master carpenter, once proposed this theme to me. I said there was no hope as Rich had done this puzzle before. He was so disappointed. Shows you how much I know.

Across:

 

1. Embarrassment: SHAME.

 

6. Multi-purpose cotton wad: SWAB.

10. Knack: APTITUDE.

18. Metric weights: KILOS.

19. Baba ghanoush bread: PITA. Never had baba ghanoush. Not fond of eggplants.

20. Pals: PAISANOS. Probably same root.

 

24. Like some wells: ARTESIAN.

25. Kind of case or law: FEDERAL.

26. Batman and Robin, e.g.: DUO.

27. Loses it: GETS MAD.

31. Savvy: SMARTS.

35. Dignify: ENNOBLE.

39. Because of: OWING TO.

42. Historic trail terminus: Abbr.: ORE. Oregon.

46. Game whose "Discover the Secrets" version includes a baseball bat and a dumbbell: CLUE.

47. Half of ASAP: AS SOON. Rare 6-letter partial.

50. Voyaging: ASEA.

51. Obstructed the progress of: DERAILED.

53. Literally, Latin for "it follows": SEQUITUR. Non-.

55. Org. concerned with alleys: PBA. This is going to be a long winter for Boomer. He really misses bowling and his friends.

57. Late bloomers: ASTERS.

58. Shell for a crew: SCULL.

59. Mount once called Tacoma: RAINIER.

63. Stimulant: UPPER. I did not know "upper" has this meaning.

64. Org. with a lot of baggage?: TSA.

67. Friend of TV's Sheldon: RAJ. "The Big Bang Theory".

70. Entangle ... or disentangle, oddly: RAVEL. Indeed.

 

73. Welcomed at the door: ASKED IN.

74. VP before Gerald: SPIRO.

76. "Blue" or "Red" cattle dog: HEELER.

78. Uncertain sounds: UMS.

79. Bygone data entry method: KEYPUNCH. Not familiar to me either.

81. Seat sometimes spun: BAR STOOL.

83. Crunchy salad bit: BACO.

86. Try to influence: WORK ON.

87. Novel of the South Seas: OMOO.

92. Icky stuff: GOO.

93. Dawdles: TARRIES.

94. Dabs with a towel: PATS DRY. I love this microfiber cloth.

 

 
98. Recorded: ON TAPE.

102. Like original Matchbox cars: DIECAST.

104. Dorm VIPs: RAS.

105. Cause __: icon: CELEBRE. I always thought "cause célèbre" as an issue.

108. Material used to make cans: TINPLATE.

118. Air: TELEVISE.

119. Green Gables girl: ANNE.

120. Tee off: ANGER.

121. Blue: SADDENED.

122. Big name in little trains: TYCO.

123. Eye drops: TEARS.

Down:

 

1. Winter resort feature: SKI RUN.

2. Big name in hotels: HILTON. Ages ago I brought my grandma to Hilton Xi'an and ordered her some French fries at a bar inside. Her first taste of western food.

 

 

3. Toward the sheltered side: ALEE.

4. Hang-around-the-house footwear: MOCS.

5. Morales of "NYPD Blue": ESAI.

6. Willpower: SPINE.

7. Prevail: WIN.

8. Scarfed down: ATE. My grandma often made me veggie dumplings when I came back home from college every Friday evening. She loved seeing me wolfing down those dumplings. They're very time-consuming.

9. Cave dweller: BAT.

10. Did a takeoff on: APED.

11. Upgrade, as a dirt driveway: PAVE.

12. Levels: TIERS.

13. Muhammad's religion: ISLAM. And 60. Mosque leader: IMAM.

14. Drum with a sitar: TABLA.

15. Parisian article: UNE. Chinese is much simpler. No Une/Un confusion.

16. They're allowed: DOS.

17. Rough no.: EST.

21. Wither away: FADE.

22. Deli bread: BAGEL. And 65. Subs: HEROS.

23. Projecting shelf: LEDGE.

25. Canine found in cats: FANG.

28. Turn partner: TOSS.

29. Popeye's __'Pea: SWEE.

30. Juan's "Look!": MIRA.

33. More accurate: TRUER.

34. Ranked tournament players: SEEDS.

36. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty: O'DOUL. Gosh I miss the old blog format. It was much easier to insert a picture at the correct spot. 

 

 

37. Swelter: BROIL.

38. Buildup in a trap: LINT.

40. Triumphant cry: TA DA.

41. Indivisible: ONE.

44. QB Jared Goff, e.g.: LA RAM. Jared Goff is the only LA Rams player I know.

45. Snares: TRAPS.

46. Ticket: CITE.

47. Second in command: Abbr.: ASST.

48. "Just a few __": SECS.



52. Venomous snake: ASP.

54. River through Kazakhstan: URAL.

55. Le Pew of toons: PEPE.

56. Bit of finishing hardware: BRAD.

61. Urquhart Castle's loch: NESS. Here's the castle.

 

62. Vex: IRK.

63. Eric who founded a reader: UTNE. The Utne Reader.

66. F-series camera maker: NIKON.

68. West Coast gas brand: ARCO.

69. Doe in many films: JOHN.

71. Plus: ALSO.

72. Review for accuracy: VET.

74. Word heard twice in "I'm a Little Teapot": SPOUT. Great clue angle.

75. Runs smoothly: PURRS.

76. WarnerMedia streaming service recently retired in the U.S.: HBO GO. Replace by HBO Max? We don't have HBO at home.

77. Former Irish leader de Valera: EAMON.

 

78. Forearm bone: ULNA.

80. Org. with an annual Week Without Violence: YWCA.

82. Muesli morsel: OAT.

83. Cheese on crackers: BRIE.

84. With, on la carte: AVEC.

85. Hombre's home: CASA.

89. Death Row Records co-founder: DR DRE.

90. Southernmost Great Lake: ERIE.

91. Vision-related: OPTIC.

95. Don or Betty on "Mad Men": DRAPER.

96. Top-10 list makers: RATERS.

97. WWI battle river: YSER.

99. Afflicted with a breakout: ACNED.

100. Tick off: PEEVE.

101. Tiny: ELFIN.

103. Fifth cen. pope called "The Great": ST LEO.

106. Effortlessness: EASE. So what detergent or hack do you use to clean your shower liner?

107. Raised: BRED.

109. Cartographer's abbr.: N LAT. North Latitude.

110. Chris who plays Kirk in three "Star Trek" films: PINE.

111. Babe Zaharias is a charter member of its HOF: LPGA.

112. NFL stat: PTS.

113. Grassy plain: LEA.

114. City council rep.: ALD.

115. __ Geo: NAT.

116. "__ thoughts?": ANY.

117. Business mag: INC.

C.C.