Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Prasanna Keshava

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like Home.  Today we move up in the world from a Flat (apartment) to a Manor.

17-Across. Perspiration cause by fear of failure: FLOP SWEAT.  Gross!  Flat.  What is the difference between a Flat and an Apartment?

23-Across. Lucky wristband: CHARM BRACELET.  Chalet.  I think of these as being more of vacation homes.

35-Across. "Don't cheer yet!": HOLD THE APPLAUSE.  House.

44-Across. Best woman?: MATRON OF HONOR.  Manor.

Wayne Manor

And the Unifier:

56-Across. Confined to one's residence ... or, as the circles show, a description of four puzzle answers: HOME BOUND.  Note that the word spelling out each abode forms the outer Bounds of the answer phrase.  Home Bound is appropriate for the past year.  Hopefully, we will soon be able to expand our universe and venture out to do the things we enjoyed before the pandemic.

Across:

1. Holiday sub: TEMP.  With more people buying online, I wonder how many brick-and-mortar stores will be hiring extra salesclerks for the holidays.

5. Kilt wearer: SCOT.

9. "Mazes and Monsters" novelist Rona: JAFFE.  Rona Jaffe (June 12, 1931 ~ Dec. 30, 2005) was an American author.  Mazes and Monsters was also a 1982 made-for-TV movie, which starred a young Tom Hanks.

14. Natural soother: ALOE.  This has become a crossword staple.

15. To be, to Balzac: ÊTRE.  Today's French lesson.  Honoré de Balzac (May 20, 1799 ~ Aug. 18, 1850) was a French playwright and novelist.

16. Popular ride app's basic level of service: UBERX.

19. "Is it too risky?": DARE I?

20. X: TEN.

21. Turquoise kin: TEAL.

22. Indian strings: SITARs.

26. Autumn shade: OCHER.

28. Children's author Blyton: ENID.  Enid Blyton (née Enid Mary Blyton; Aug. 11, 1897 ~ Nov. 28, 1968) was a British author who wrote over 600 books for children.  I am not familiar with her works, however.

29. Spiral shape: COIL.

30. Fashion label from Milan: PRADA.

32. Gross less deductions: NET.

39. Gave the go-ahead: OK'D.

40. Emcees: HOSTS.

41. Ballpark officials: UMPs.  As in the Umpires.

42. Fabergé perfume, originally: BRUT.

43. Surgical tube: STENT.

50. Gofer's task: ERRAND.

51. University of New Mexico player: LOBO.

52. Game-winning line: OOO.  Think of the game of Tic-Tac-Toe.

55. Arnold of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World": STANG.  Arnold Stang (Sept. 28, 1918 ~ Dec. 29, 2009) was a comic actor.

58. "All kidding __ ... ": ASIDE.

59. Totals: SUMS.

60. Poker stake: ANTE.

61. Church council: SYNOD.

62. Redwood, e.g.: TREE.

63. Aussie hoppers: ROOs.

Down:

1. Only president who was also chief justice: TAFT.  William Howard Taft (Sept. 15, 1857 ~ Mar. 8, 1930) served as the 27th President of the United States and the 10th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was a very large man, and legend has it he once got stuck in his bathtub.  Doubtful, but a special bathtub was made especially for him.

2. Vogue alternative: ELLE.  Both are fashion magazines.

3. One born under the sign of Cancer: MOON CHILD.  Everything you wanted to know about a Moon Child, but didn't know to ask.

4. Oomph: PEP.

5. Refuse conduit: SEWER.  The famous sewer scenes from Phantom of the Opera.

6. Third-stringers: C-TEAM.

7. Dental care brand: ORAL-B.  This has become a crossword staple.

8. Asian New Year: TET.

9. Court-ordered, as a review: JUDICIAL.

The Supreme Court of the United States

10. Eased up: ABATED.

11. Born in the wild: FERAL.  Feral hogs are terribly destructive.

12. "__ Jacques": FRÈRE.

13. Live and breathe: EXIST.

18. Sun, for one: STAR.

22. "500" initials on Wall Street: S AND P.  As in Standard and Poor's.

24. Repressed, with "in": HELD.

25. Harvests: REAPS.

26. It's eight in Madrid: OCHO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

27. "Order up!" shouter: COOK.

30. Italian sauce with pine nuts: PESTO.  Yummers!

31. Word before race or trap: RAT.

32. Top dog: NUMERO UNO.

33. "SportsCenter" channel: ESPN.

34. Midterm or final: TEST.

36. Crowded into: THRONGED.

37. Elvis' "__ Dog": HOUND.

38. Camera setting that does everything except point and shoot: AUTO.

42. Best Actor winner for "On the Waterfront": BRANDO.  Marlon Brando, Jr. (Apr. 3, 1924 ~ July 1, 2004) was born 97 years ago this coming Saturday.

43. Hoity-toity sort: SNOB.

44. Parts of Western landscapes: MESAs.  Hi, Lucina!

45. Culturally pretentious: ARTSY.

46. Get in shape: TRAIN.

47. Pancake maker's need: FLOUR.  Or you could just use a pancake mix.

48. Metz man: HOMME.  French geography.

49. Quite overweight: OBESE.

53. Fully aware of, as a scheme: ONTO.

54. Lofty verses: ODEs.

56. Post-WWII pres.: HST.  Harry S Truman (May 8, 1884 ~ Dec. 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States.  His Vice President was Alben Barkley.

57. Rowboat mover: OAR.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Glad to learn that the ship has finally been freed.

Monday March 29, 2021 Don Gagliardo

Themes: Unique Signs

21. "Parking" image, on signs: P IN A SQUARE.

39. "Kosher" image, on labels: K IN A TRIANGLE.

59. "Registered" image, on product names: R IN A CIRCLE.

 

Boomer here. What a nice surprise to see Don G's byline.

Don and his wife Barbie

Three images in three different shapes in a rare 16x15 grid.  I was looking for a big B in the silhouette of a bowling pin. Great to see you, Don.  I have many memories of you showing C.C. the ropes of the crossword highs and lows!  Thank You. 

Across:

1. Buckwheat porridge: KASHA.  I guess I am only familiar with Cream of Wheat and Malt O' Meal.

6. Tears, as paper: RIPS.  Or Aaron Judge RIPS one out of Yankee Stadium.

10. Hobbyist's book: HOW-TO.  I have many books from Jim Beckett.  Baseball card hobby.

15. One submitting a tax return: FILER.  It's that  time of year for sure. The feds have changed the last date to file to May 15.  We don't care.  TurboTax got that monkey off our back. With help from Desper-otto.

16. Operatic solo: ARIA.

17. State bordering both Nevada and Canada: IDAHO.  I have cousins in Twin Falls.  My uncle left Minnesota with his family years ago to plant potatoes.

18. "Almost!": CLOSE.

19. Drink brand associated with NASA missions: TANG.  Of course I have had orange juice now and then, but I never tried TANG.   I never tried flying to the moon either.

20. Fight off: REPEL.  Here in the "Land of 10,000 mosquitoes we sometimes use "Off" to REPEL them.

24. "As I see it," to a texter: IMO.  In My Opinion.

25. Stay alcohol-free: ABSTAIN.  When I used to enjoy a cocktail I don't remember that it was ever free.  Now with the cancer meds I am taking, ALL alcohol is strictly forbidden.  So I save about $50 bucks a year.

27. Ad that spreads awareness, briefly: PSA.  Well I know this as Prostate Specific Antigen.  Mine has been hovering around 7, a little bit high.  Interestingly it also stands for grading of baseball cards.  Remember the Mantle rookie card photo that C.C. posted a while back.  It had been graded with a PSA9.  10 is the best. 

28. Baseball's Musial: STAN. 13. 28-Across nickname: THE MAN.  He was THE MAN.  A lifetime Cardinal with 3630 hits and 475 career home runs.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.  I saw one game at Busch Stadium.  It was a 1987 World Series Twins vs. Cardinals.  Of course Mr. Musial was retired by then, but I am sure he was in the ball park watching.  Later I went to the USBC Bowling hall of fame, but Stan was not there. 

29. Princess from a galaxy far, far away: LEIA.  I believe Star Wars was popular in 1987 also.  I was not into it, but my son ? Never mind.

30. Society newcomer: DEB.

32. Minnesota NFLer: VIKING.  What can I say?  Mike Zimmer is trying hard.  The first move was to fire the place kicker Dan Bailey.  That should help IF they find a better one.

34. Slacks: PANTS.  Golf courses are opening up here.  Soon its time to hang up the PANTS and break out the shorts.

36. Second drop-down list, say: SUB MENU.

42. Garage floor blemish: OIL SPOT.  Not in our garage.  Santa Fe dos not leak.  Neither did our Dodge van.

43. Wabbit hunter Fudd: ELMER.  Silly Wabbit, Trix are for Kids.

46. Forward, to Fellini: AVANTI.  Used to be a fancy Studebaker.  I don't think they make them anymore.

49. "Just a __!": SEC.

51. "Count on me!": I CAN.

52. Blubbers: SOBS.

53. "Pow!" relative: BAM.  I think BAM BAM was Pebbles boyfriend.

56. Potatoes often used for fries: RUSSETS.

58. Cape __, Mass.: COD.  Sounds like a great fishing spot to me. 

61. Draw out: EDUCE.

63. DIY furniture brand: IKEA.  A regular Crossword word.  We have an IKEA store near the Mall of America.  C.C. and I went there once,  That was enough.

64. Fridge forays: RAIDS.

67. Diet-friendly: NO-CAL.  I need the Pepsi version.  Trying to keep that glucose low.

68. Blab: TELL.

69. Boredom: ENNUI.

70. Eccentric: DOTTY.  DOTTIE Pepper was a great LPGA Pro.  Now she provides commentary for tournaments.

71. Creative pursuits, with "the": ARTS.

72. Yard-grooming tool: EDGER.  It's getting to be time to get those lawn tools out of the garage.

Down:

1. Fast-food co. serving buckets: KFC.  We have not been there for a long time.  KFC sold many of their restaurants to Popeye's.  I went once, never again.

2. Feel sick: AIL.

3. Aptly named clean-up basin: SLOP SINK.  We have two in our home.

4. Speaker's ers or ums: HESITATIONS.  A golfers nightmare.

5. Sports spot: ARENA.  Many a home for hockey and the NBA.

6. Some rodent homes: RAT'S NESTS.  Looks like my hair in the morning.

7. Baghdad's land: IRAQ.

8. Alluring poster: PIN-UP.

9. Long stories: SAGAS.

10. Add to the staff: HIRE.  MN Gophers new head basketball coach Ben Johnson.

11. Poetic salute: ODE.

12. Elk: WAPITI.

14. Chinese tea: OOLONG.  Great stuff.  Helps prevent diabetes.

22. Help: AID.

23. Poetic bird of one word: RAVEN.  Nevermore.

25. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.

26. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA.  Pretty good comedy.  Betty White is the only Girl to be still with us.

28. King Kong's home: SKULL ISLAND.

31. Patting-the-baby's-back goal: BURP.  Why not just put 7 Up in his or her bottle.

33. "Picnic" playwright: INGE.

35. Petulant state: SNIT.

37. Book jacket blurbs: BIOS.

38. "His Dark __": fantasy trilogy: MATERIALS.

40. Defendant's story: ALIBI.

41. Hosting the roast: EMCEEING.  I have not seen too many roasts lately.  I don't even see reruns.

44. Use the feed bag: EAT.  I just use a knife and fork.

45. OR attendants: RNS.  Also, I received my Pfizer shots from RNs at the VA.

46. Go up: ASCEND.

47. Ritualistic kind of doll: VOODOO.  Who Do?  You Do!

48. Kidnap: ABDUCT.

50. Surly mutt: CUR.

54. Singer Baker with eight Grammys: ANITA.

55. Manufacturer: MAKER.  Mr. Coffee provides me with a MAKER

57. Stony debris: SCREE.

59. Count (on): RELY.

60. Gael or Breton: CELT.  Boston NBA Player.

62. Lap-loving pet: CAT.

65. Past __: late: DUE.  Remember, Federal Tax return is DUE May 15!

66. __ Loin of Beef: Bugs Bunny character: SIR.

 

Boomer