Tuesday, June 1, 2021 Alina Abidi and Gary Larson

Two Truths and a Lie.  A classic Ice Breaker.

17-Across. Machine Gun Kelly or Pretty Boy Floyd: PUBLIC ENEMY.

George Kelly Barnes aka Machine Gun Kelly (July 18, 1895 ~ July 18, 1954)         

Charles Arthur Floyd aka Pretty Boy Floyd (Feb. 3, 1904 ~ Oct. 22, 1934)

25-Across. Former name of Denver's Ball Arena: PEPSI CENTER.

34-Across. Breathtaking regimen?: AEROBIC EXERCISE.

49-Across. Underwater shocker: ELECTRIC EEL.

And the unifier:

56-Across. Get a delicate dialogue started ... and a hint to 17-, 25-, 34- and 49-Across: BREAK THE ICE.  The word Ice is "broken" up in each theme answer.  One Hundred of the Best Ice Breakers.  Hi, Tinbini.  We miss you.  Don't let today's theme keep you away!

Another way to get rid of ice is 32-Down. Melt: THAW.

White Rabbit!  As we enter a new month, some of us are also entering into hurricane season.

Across:

1. Object from a much earlier time: RELIC.

6. Wild guesses: STABS.  Also the name of a steak restaurant.

11. "__ Blinded Me With Science": 1983 hit: SHE.  This song came is at number 20 on the list of One-Hit Wonders.

14. Barn-raising sect: AMISH.  I think they are known for more than just barn-raising.

15. 14-inch paper size: LEGAL.

16. Triumphed: WON.

19. JFK posting: ETD.  Estimated Time of Departure.

20. Slipped up: ERRED.

21. Bit of staircase babyproofing: GATE.

22. Musician's asset: EAR.

29. Pests whose name means "fly" in a Bantu language: TSETSEs.  These flies are the vector for African Sleeping Disease.

31. "Bottomless" brunch drinks: MIMOSAS.  Yummers!  Mimosas are made with equal parts of champagne or sparkling wine and orange juice.  If you use cranberry juice instead of orange juice, the drink is called a Poinsettia.

33. Wildly excited: MANIC.

41. Strand at the airport, say: FOG IN.

42. Worked the soil: HOED.  *

43. Very few: NOT ALOT.

46. Like some decorative glass: STAINED.  The Rose Windows in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris were largely spared in the fire.

51. One with a code name: SPY.

52. Bordeaux, say: WINE.  Everything you wanted to know about Bordeaux wines, but didn't know to ask.

53. Loads: HEAPS.

55. Longoria of "Desperate Housewives": EVA.   Eva Longoria (née Eva Jacqueline Longoria; b. Mar. 15, 1975) was on the day-time soap opera The Young and the Restless before getting the role of Gabrielle Solis on Desparate Housewives.

62. Transgression: SIN.  Seven of them are deadly.

63. Flat contract: LEASE.

64. Quell: ALLAY.

65. Bit of ink: TAT.   No pin to the skin for me.

66. Spud: TATER.  Yummers!

67. Soothing balm: SALVE.  Aloe, our crossword staple, was not enough letters.

Down:

1. Missy Elliott genre: RAP.  As you can infer from the clue, Missy Elliott (née Melissa Arnette Elliott; b. July 1, 1979) is a rapper.

2. Big Aussie bird: EMU.  Everything you wanted to know about Emus, but didn't know to ask.

3. Women's __: LIB.

4. Key in the water: ISLE.  Visiting the Florida Keys is on my bucket list.  The word key is a corruption of the Spanish word Cayo, which means a small island.

5. Tweets: CHIRPS.  The logo over the years.

6. Goes into low-power mode: SLEEPS.

7. Cares for, as a garden: TENDS.

8. Mature: AGE.

9. Loud comics sound: BAM.

10. Foxy: SLY.

11. Jogging wear: SWEATS.

12. Soothing cuppa: HOT TEA.

13. See 24-Down: ENDERS.  //  And: 24-Down. With 13-Down, collisions from behind: REAR.

18. Manitoba tribe: CREE.

21. Italian dumplings: GNOCCHI.  Yummers!  I am making a basil pesto gnocchi later this week.

22. R&B great James: ETTA.  Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

23. Activist and tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.  Arthur Ashe (né Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr.; July 10, 1043 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) also makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

26. Big-screen format: IMAX.

27. Cannes subject: CINE.  Home of a film festival.

28. Qatari leader: EMIR.

30. Batman villain who carries a double-headed coin: TWO 

FACE.

33. R&B's Boyz II __: MEN.

35. Hightail it: BOLT.

Usain Bolt (b. Aug. 21, 1986)

36. Horror movie helper: IGOR.

37. Big name in banking: CITI.

38. + or - particles: IONS.

39. Slip slowly through the cracks: SEEP.

40. Whirlpool: EDDY.

43. State-of-the-art: NEWEST.

44. "Booksmart" director Wilde: OLIVIA.  Olivia Wilde (née Olivia Jane Cockburn; b. Mar. 10, 1984) holds both American and Irish citizenship.

45. Renter: TENANT.

46. Explorer: SEEKER.

47. Suckling spot: TEAT.

48. Top dogs: ALPHAS.

50. Run after: CHASE.

54. "Sisters" star Ward: SELA.  We have lots of names in today's puzzle.

Sela Ann Ward (b. July 11, 1956)

56. Sandwich letters: BLT.  As in a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich.

57. Stephen of "V for Vendetta": REA.  Stephen Rea (b. Oct. 31, 1946) always looks so sad.

58. Put away: EAT.

59. Under the weather: ILL.

60. LeBron until 2010, for short: CAV.  LeBron James (né LeBron Raymone James; b. Dec. 30, 1984) has played professional basketball for a number of teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers twice, from 2003 - 2010 and again from 2014 - 2018.  Inbetween, he played for the Miami Heat.  He currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

61. Private __: EYE.

Here's the Grid:

*  The Ramones.

חתולה

Monday May 31, 2021 Winston Emmons

Theme: HRS (58. Personnel depts., and what the personnel in 20-, 31-, 40- and 50-Across have in common) - Each theme answer is a person with a HR initial.

20. "The Carpetbaggers" author: HAROLD ROBBINS.

31. Auto industry partner of Charles Rolls: HENRY ROYCE.

40. "I Am Woman" singer: HELEN REDDY.

50. She married Bill in 1975 but didn't start using his last name until his 1982 Arkansas gubernatorial campaign: HILLARY RODHAM.

Boomer here again. Happy to wish everyone a safe and pleasant Memorial Day as we remember those who are no longer with us.

I hope you all hit a HOME RUN and solved this puzzle.  This past week C.C. and I met up with with two famous constructors, Andrea Carla Michaels and Tom Pepper. We took a HARRIET ROUTE around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. I think it is about a three mile trek.  I got about one mile around and Tom was gracious enough to accompany me back to the starting point since I am an old man that doesn't move too well.  C.C. and Andrea finished the loop around the lake.  A great way to spend a sunny Wednesday in Minnesota.    

Boomer, C.C., Tom and Andrea, 5/26/2021

 Across:

1. Shock: STUN.  I do not own a STUN gun but I think it's now called a Taser. 

5. Eyelid hair: LASH.

9. Run through a reader, as a debit card: SWIPE.  An improvement to the old days when you needed to present the card and the merchant ran it through a machine with a triple sheet receipt.

14. Mama's mate: PAPA.

15. Tooth trouble: ACHE.  I don't have that trouble anymore.  Just take my teeth out at night.

16. Printer powder: TONER.

17. Tiny picnic invaders: ANTS.  No problem, they won't eat much.

18. Drink in a stein: BEER.  "Beer, Beer, Beer said the privates, happy men are we.  There's none so fair as can compare with the fighting infantry. "

19. Side-by-side fridge pioneer: AMANA.  A small town east of Des Moines, famous for refrigerators.

23. Ending for hero or serpent: INE. Heroine. Serpentine.

25. 60 minuti: ORA.

26. "If looks could kill" look: GLARE. "Stop talking about my Mother!"

27. Form a close bond (with): LIAISE.

29. Insertion mark: CARET.

33. Operated: RAN.

36. Drama divisions: ACTS. I was in all of the ACTS of Noye's Fludde.

37. TiVo ancestor: VCR.  Video Cassette Recorder.  Almost as obsolete as me.

38. Latin god: DEUS.  Eight plus four years of Catholic school, I remember this.

39. Originally named: NEE.

43. Fern-to-be: SPORE.

45. Smoothly take one's place: EASE IN.  After my vaccination shots, my bowling team allowed me to EASE IN to the line up.

46. Chicago Eight defendant Bobby: SEALE.

48. "__ making a list ... ": HE'S.  "Checking it twice"

49. Series-ending abbr.: ETC.  This is an abbreviation of some of that Latin I learned.

54. In the end, in the Louvre: EN FIN. Not sure about the Louvre.  I only know Fin Is "Ice T".

55. Lunch or dinner: MEAL.

56. Second Hebrew letter: BETH.

59. "Down East" state: MAINE.  Silly me, I always thought MAINE was "Up East".

60. Give a darn: CARE.

61. "It's really cold!": BRRR.  Very famous consonant word in Minnesota.  For example, last Friday our temperature started around 40 F and maybe got to a high of 52 F.  Plus it rained all day but weather forecasters hinted that we might see snow?! 

62. Longed (for): PINED.

63. Tacks on: ADDS.

64. Garage sale caveat: AS IS.  We try to have a garage sale every year.  I unload baseball cards and we also try to peddle some things that we bought at other garage sales a few years ago.  But we never sell our garage.

Down:

1. Hot tub with a whirlpool: SPA.

2. Beige relative: TAN.  I've heard of Sunburn and Suntan.  Never heard of a Sunbeige.

3. Put more at stake: UP THE ANTE.  I like Craps at Las Vegas.  There is no ANTE.  Just bet what you can afford to lose.

4. Hubble-operating org.: NASA.

5. Unskilled worker: LABORER.  A LABORER Yes, A Crossword Blogger, Yes too.

6. Amtrak express: ACELA.

7. Place for a mower: SHED.  If you have one.  When I had a mower, I always kept it in the garage.

8. Frau's partner: HERR.  Retired 2nd Baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals.  By the way, have you seen the blue sign on the outfield fence of Busch Stadium.  About 20 feet left of center.

9. Horse home: STABLE.

10. Burrowing marsupial: WOMBAT.

11. "... bombs bursting __": IN AIR.  "Gave truth through the night, that our flag was still there".

12. Pasta tubes: PENNE.

13. Hurlers' stats: ERAS.  Earned Run Average.  Our Twins staff 's ERAs are pretty high this year.

21. Upbeat type of outlook: ROSY.  "Things look swell, Things look great, Gonna have the whole world on a plate."

22. Folklore fiend: OGRE.

23. Congresswoman __ Omar: ILHAN.  She is from Minnesota's 5th District.  C.C. and I live in the 3rd.  Congresswoman ILHAN was a bit controversial over the last four years.

24. Nephew's sister: NIECE.

28. Form 1099 agcy.: IRS.  Yeah, we did our thing in February.  How many waited until the revised date of May 15?  You may have lucked out because the IRS was overwhelmed.

29. Use the bike lane: CYCLE. 57. 29-Down prefix: TRI.  Lake Harriet has a bike lane and a path for walking so we did not get run over.

30. Land measure: ACRE.

32. Done: OVER.  Not quite yet.  Hang on.

33. Coupon users, e.g.: REDEEMERS.  We use coupons occasionally, but only from the stores that we already frequent.

34. Books review: AUDIT.

35. "Bye Bye Bye" band: NSYNC.

38. __ Moines: DES.  I visited the Graybar there as part of my job before I retired.

40. Garden worker: HOER.  Careful how you pronounce this.

41. Pine droppings: NEEDLES.  NEEDLES and Pins (UH), Smokie.

42. Impulsive: RASH.  Of course I have to mention PBA Player Sean RASH who bowled 2 of his 30 300 games on television.

43. Hospital solution: SALINE.

44. Smoothed wood: PLANED.  Is PLANE travel safe again ??

46. Mount in Exodus: SINAI.

47. Like Santa's helpers: ELFIN.

48. Cache: HOARD.  Yes, I have a HOARD of Baseball Cards.

50. Rope fiber: HEMP.

51. Village People megahit: YMCA.   I never caught on to the body contortions.

52. Enjoy one's Kindle: READ.

53. "Waterloo" group: ABBA.

 

Sunday May 30, 2021 Paul Coulter

Theme: "What's My Line?" - Each profession is punnily rephrased fitting the person in the clue.

23. Researcher with an outgoing personality?: SOCIAL SCIENTIST.

37. Clergyman who builds cupboards?: CABINET MINISTER.

49. Bleep button operator?: CROSSWORD EDITOR. Read it as CROSS WORD EDITOR.

68. Dietitian?: MIDDLE MANAGER.

87. Drug kingpin?: TRAFFIC ENGINEER.

96. Getaway driver?: FLIGHT ATTENDANT.

118. Fishing guide?: CASTING DIRECTOR.

Ha ha, we can just call Rich a "bleep button operator". All the other theme entries will make me smile. Lovely theme, Pau1!

Grid design is our standard LAT, 144 words with 76 black squares. Very much my style, though I often I reach 78 black squares.

Across:

1. Space station launched in 1973: SKYLAB. First U.S. space station.

7. "__, Inc.": 2001 film: MONSTERS.

15. Commonly green dish: SALAD.

20. South American naval force: ARMADA. Spanish for "naval fleet".

21. Turkey, mostly: ANATOLIA. Asia Minor. Asian part of Turkey.

22. Torment: AGONY.

25. Terry O'Quinn's "Lost" role: LOCKE (John). I don't recall seeing a O'qu* style surname before.

26. Big bunch: SCAD.

27. Floors: STUNS. Verb "floors".

28. Clamp shape: CEE.

29. Leveled, with "up": TRUED.

30. Dot-commerce: E-TAIL.

32. Two-time Super Bowl QB Manning: ELI.

34. Country name last used in 1949: SIAM.  Thailand's former name. "One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble. Not much between despair and ecstasy...". Argyle really loved the song. He was in Bangkok for a few days in his Marine days.

35. R&B singer's hyphenated stage name: NE-YO. Wiki says "The stage name Ne-Yo was coined by Big D Evans, a producer with whom Ne-Yo once worked, because Evans claimed that Ne-Yo sees music like the character Neo sees the Matrix."

44. Links scores: BOGEYS.

46. Lena of "Chocolat": OLIN.

47. Lennon's love: ONO.

48. Fall Out Boy genre: EMO.

53. __ boom: SONIC.

55. "Elder" or "Younger" Roman statesman: CATO.

56. Stuns: AWES.

57. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. Holy Roman Empire.

58. Marine snail: WHELK.

59. Home of Hercules' lion: NEMEA.

61. Loafer, e.g.: SHOE.

64. Mikey, Mouth or Chunk, in an '85 film: GOONIE. Alright, the film is "The Goonies".

 

65. TV monitoring org.: FCC.

72. Ground cover: SOD.

73. Friend of Athos: ARAMIS. "The Three Musketeers".

75. Big name in pet food: IAMS.

76. Hard-to-ride horse: BRONC.

78. Moved to a quieter table, say: RE-SAT.

79. Special __: OPS.

81. Old apple spray: ALAR.

82. Dept. of Labor arm: OSHA.

86. Football's Terrell, nicknamed "T.O.": OWENS. Hall of Famer.

92. "Yuck!": FEH.

93. Bank offering, for short: IRA.

94. Advanced: LENT. Verb "advanced".

95. Ancient ascetic: ESSENE. Jewish ascetic.

102. Former Fords: LTDS.

103. Mmes., in Madrid: SRAS.

104. CVS pickups: RXS.

105. Conger catcher: EELER.

107. Chopper blade: ROTOR.

109. __ Beach, composer of the first symphony composed by an American woman: AMY. Learning moment for me. Thanks for finding this new clue angle, Paul!

111. Mimic's talent: APERY. We just had APED last Sunday.

113. "To be" is one, poetically: IAMB.

117. Busybody: SNOOP.

122. Liveliness: VERVE.

123. Like some hard drives: EXTERNAL.

124. Altogether: IN TOTO.

125. Tradesperson: PLYER.

126. Reveal: DISCLOSE.

127. 1980 TV series with the episode "Harmony of the Worlds": COSMOS.

Down:

1. Undesirable freshness: SASS. Cute clue.

2. Fast food magnate who once owned the San Diego Padres: KROC (Ray). Nice trivia.

3. Pool site, often: YMCA.

4. Spotted: LAID EYES ON.

5. Nabokov novel: ADA.

6. Light wood: BALSA.

7. Retinal area subject to degeneration: MACULA. I bet Lemonade nailed this one.

8. "Come __!": "Welcome!": ON IN.

9. Dundee denials: NAES.

10. RR stop: STN.

11. "Sesame Street" watcher: TOT.

12. Bring out: ELICIT.

13. Angry reaction: RISE.

14. Fill to the max: SATE.

15. Short-lived 1979 nuclear treaty: SALT II.

16. Ancient assembly areas: AGORAS.

17. Temporary substitute that means "place holder" in Latin: LOCUMTENENS. Wow, never heard of this word, you?

18. Huber of tennis: ANKE. Forgot. We had her before. German.

19. Like some blond hair: DYED.

24. Bic Clic __ pen: STIC.

31. Small dogs: TOYS.

32. "National Velvet" author Bagnold: ENID.

33. Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI. German. Known for her Nazi propaganda.

34. __-cone: SNO.

35. "A Doll's House" heroine: NORA.

36. Awards acronym: EGOT.

38. They're ripped in gyms: BODS.

39. Martinique, e.g.: ILE.

40. Anchor: MOOR.

41. About, on a memo: IN RE.

42. __ Barzini, Vito's rival in "The Godfather": EMILIO. Barzini. He killed Don Corleone's oldest son Sonny, the hot-tempered one.

43. Disturbed greatly: ROCKED.

44. Discreetly send a dupe email to: BCC.

45. Hindu teachers: SWAMIS.

50. Was shy?: OWED. Good old clue.

51. Interpret: READ.

52. "Accordingly ... ": THEN.

53. Like much testimony: SWORN.

54. "Look here!": OHO.

60. Gives forth: EMITS.

61. Last word of "America the Beautiful": SEA.

62. "Let's see ... ": HMM.

63. Allied gp. since 1948: OAS.

64. "Seinfeld" friend: GEORGE (Costanza). Played by Jason Alexander.

65. Remote: FAR OFF.

66. Embroidery yarn: CREWEL.

67. Patient record: CASE HISTORY.

69. When repeated, Cult Jam vocalist: LISA.

70. Competent: ABLE.

71. Nana: GRAN.

74. "Wow!": MAN.

77. Negatively affects the flow in: CONSTRICTS.

79. Other, to Ortiz: OTRA.

80. Fall preceder?: PRAT. Pratfall.

81. Court records: ACTA.

83. Schedule competitively, as a tournament: SEED.

84. Coop group: HENS.

85. Is for a few: ARE.

88. Bend: FLEX. I never made the connection of the "drip, drip" noise in our bedroom/bathtub wall with rain until I read TTP's comment. Then we had steady rain on Thursday and I heard the annoying noise on Thursday evening non-stop. Here's our downspout. The association guy actually replaced the bottom bending part earlier this year as the old one was broken.

89. Marshy areas: FENS.

90. Not Rep. or Dem.: IND.

91. "Cast Away" setting: ISLE.

93. Part of TGIF: IT'S.

97. It's on the record: GROOVE.

98. Susan B. Anthony biographer Ida Husted __: HARPER. Also learning moment for me. Both Lemonade and Melissa have a granddaughter named Harper. See here.

99. No-tell motel events: TRYSTS.

100. Pine __: NEEDLE.

101. Garr of "Tootsie": TERI.

106. Songlike: LYRIC.

107. Invite request: RSVP.

108. Turow novel set at Harvard: ONE L.

109. Finished perfectly: ACED. Amazed at Moe's astute observations of Friday's theme.

110. Dress style: MAXI.

111. __ Domini: ANNO.

112. Annual May golf tournaments, familiarly: PGAS.

114. Tiny bit: ATOM.

115. Con __: briskly: MOTO.

116. Frat dudes: BROS.

119. Shamus: TEC.

120. Offline, briefly: IRL.

121. Brian of rock: ENO.

I'm very pleased to tell you that Fermat Prime (Lorraine) is doing well, though she does not get out much, according to her friend Malcolm. Here's a picture from her backyard last Monday.

Looks who's in town this week! Andrea Carla Michaels. Guess who the other cool guy is. Boomer will show you another picture tomorrow.

Andrea, Boomer and the Guy, 5/26/2021