Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Stella Zawistowski

 

Good morning.  Malodorous Manatee here.  Hahtoolah is still on vacation and, once again, I have the honor of filling in for her.

Today's puzzle setter is frequent contributor, Stella Zawistowski.  I always enjoy solving her puzzles.  Much has previously been written here on The Corner about Ms. Zawistowski so rather than repeat that let's join the festivities.  Party On, Cruciverbalists!

At three places within the grid, Stella has, at the end (or BACK) of a longer answer, placed synonyms for PARTY.  For our convenience, the themed answers are starred.  Two of these answers are fourteen letters long and two are twelve letters long.  Nice grid, Stella.

Here are the party-themed answers (and their respective clues):

20 ACROSS: *Broadcast quality determined by a car antenna: RADIO RECEPTION. Jumping right in, indeed:

26 ACROSS: *Sine or cosine, for short: TRIG FUNCTION. A TRIGonometry reference. It might have also been clued linguistically: Conjunction Junction . . .

. . . What's Your Function?

43 ACROSS: *Issue best kept within the clan: FAMILY AFFAIR.

The reveal comes after the three, party-themed answers and explains them to us:

52 ACROSS: Tongue-in-cheek description of a mullet, and of the answers to the starred clues: PARTY IN THE BACK. Hairstyles come and go. The mullet is, perhaps, best forgotten.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

. . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Drains of energy: SAPS.

5. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. ATMOsphere

9. Jousting weapon: LANCE.

14. Drive-__ ATM: THRU.

15. Have to have: NEED.

16. Negatively charged particle: ANION. Positively charged, it is a:

17. Many millennia: AEON. Outside of North America, AEON is favored over EON for uses unrelated to science.

18. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.

19. Muscular: TONED.

23. NFL six-pointers: TDS. TouchDownS

24. Beer barrel: KEG.

25. One, in Germany: EIN.

32. Mongolia's continent: ASIA.

34. Load, as cargo: LADE. STOW would have fit the space.

35. Movement-sensing game console: WII. Nintendo WII

36. Get set, casually: PREP. PREPare

37. Fireplace ducts: FLUES. Somebody asked me what a Spoonerism was. I haven't got a cooking FLUE.

39. "You said the same thing as me!": JINX. Typically, after the coincidental voicing of the same content, the individuals compete to say the word JINX before the other person.

40. Go kaput: DIE.

41. Sheet music symbol: CLEF. NOTE or REST would have fit the space, too.

42. Really, really stinky: RANK. Interesting word, RANK, with other definitions than the one used here.

47. Cry inconsolably: SOB. A depressed French baker sobs bitterly into the dough . . . His life is pain.

48. "__ go time!": IT'S.

49. Boxer's stat: KOS. Knock OutS

57. Move rapidly toward: RUN AT. Alternatively,

58. Sweetie: BABE. Often clued with the movie pig. Used this way, BABE is preferable to the BAE we see so much of lately.

59. Double Stuf cookie: OREO. Cookie of a thousand clues.

60. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. A frequent visitor.

61. "Yes, let's do it!": I'M IN. Or, a hacker's pronouncement.

62. Actor Sharif: OMAR.

63. Youngster: CHILD.

Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young)

64. Sitcom backgrounds: SETS. The Addams Family tv show living room set was actually pink.

65. Breathe hard: PANT.

Down:
1. Microwave button: START. Among others.

2. Coming up: AHEAD. What did one hat say to the other? "You stay here, I'll go on ahead."

3. Urges along: PRODS.

4. Gymnast Lee who won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics: SUNI.

Suni Lee With Her Medal

5. Nobel Peace Prize winner Sakharov: ANDREI.

6. Hard-boiled Chinese snack: TEA EGG.

7. Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls: MEL C. MELanie Jayne Chisholm

8. Garfield's drooling frenemy: ODIE. That's ODIE on the right, er left.

9. Crisscross pie crust pattern: LATTICE.

10. Bless with oil: ANOINT.

11. Yucatán boy: NINO. One of today's Spanish lesson.

12. Last name of filmmakers Ethan and Joel: COEN. The "Best Of" clips are too long. So, let's just go with this Fargo trailer:

13. Come to a close: END.

21. Bhindi masala pod: OKRA. A Northern Indian curried dish featuring, you guessed it, OKRA. Thanks, perps.

22. Isn't yet decided: PENDS.

26. Felt-__ marker: TIP.

27. Material in a lint trap: FLUFF. Never has anyone that I know referred to lint as FLUFF.

28. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates

29. "Victory is mine!": I WIN.

30. Pigpen grunt: OINK. What's the difference between bird flu and swine flu? If you have bird flu you get tweet-ment. If you have swine flu you need OINK-ment.

31. Put the kibosh on: NIX. Remember this bumper sticker?

32. "Eri tu," but not "Eres Tu": ARIA. "Eri tu" is an aria from a Verdi opera. "Eres Tu" (It's You) is a popular song. However, ere is a version of "Eres Tu" recorded with a symphony orchestra.

33. Look like: SEEM.

36. Many an email attachment: PDF. Portable Document Format

37. Low-altitude airplane pass: FLYBY. The pattern is full.

38. "Miss Saigon" Tony winner Salonga: LEA. Unknown. Perped.

39. Salsa container: JAR.

41. Formed clumps: CLOTTED.

42. Get out of bed: RISE.

44. Holy Land nation: ISRAEL. The term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern State of Israel, the Palestinian Territories, western Jordan, and parts of southern Lebanon and southwestern Syria. Jews, Christians and Muslims regard it as holy.

45. Step-counting device: FITBIT.

46. Capital of Greece: ATHENS.

49. Cosmic balance: KARMA. One person's take on this:

50. Salty expanse: OCEAN.

51. Hybrid garment: SKORT. A cross between a SKirt and shORTs.

52. Pull's opposite: PUSH.

53. Voting against: ANTI

54. Bird in Egyptian art: IBIS.

55. First line on a form, often: NAME.

56. "Touched your nose!" sound: BOOP. We have seen this clue/answer before. I prefer this take:

Betty Boop

57. TiVo remote button: REC. RECord.

Stella, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.

. . . . and now it is time to rest and recover from all of this partying.

_________________________________________________________

פרת ים

MM Out

Monday June 20, 2022 Susan Gelfand

Theme: Going Places - each fitting the name in the clue.

20. Where Clay went to make a ceramic vase?: POTTERY STUDIO.

25. Where Penny went to deposit money?: SAVINGS BANK.

47. Where Viola went to perform with an orchestra?: CONCERT HALL.

53. Where Dean went to meet with professors and students?: COLLEGE CAMPUS.

Boomer here. 

Just want to apologize to our VA cafeteria. C. C. and I spent a long day last Wednesday with four separate appointments. During the noon hour we had lunch at the VA,  I selected a couple of burritos and an ice cream bar and it was delicious! A generous portion of spicy beef with lettuce and cheddar. I skipped the beans. The cafeteria has many choices and they all look pretty good. We'll be back! 

Boomer, VA Cafeteria, 6/15/2022

 Across:

1. Shoot the breeze: CHAT.  This word is the cat in the hat.

5. Ladder rung: STEP.  We have one in front of our front door.  Also an anagram of a PEST squirrel out there often.

9. How-to presentations: DEMOS.  Never a big fan of those.  Always someone trying to sell something.

14. Lacking color: PALE.

15. Blue-green hue: TEAL.  Beautiful duck or pheasant.

16. Poetry muse: ERATO.

17. Dance, music, sculpture, etc.: ARTS.  Two Garfunkels.

18. Tabula __: blank slate: RASA.

19. Rolls of fabric: BOLTS.

23. Calligrapher's tool: PEN.  And a pig's home.

24. Selfish shout: MINE. Dig for gold.

30. Verbalize: SAY.

33. Olympic skater's leap: AXEL.  We used to have a TV show starring Clelland Card.  "Axel and his dog".  Cartoons and videos.  I never missed it.

34. Herbal beverage: TEA.  For two.

35. Stock unit: SHARE.  The market is not SHARING too much lately.

37. Boy, in Spanish: NINO.

38. Speed: HASTE.  Makes waste.

41. "Sign me up!": I'M IN.  This is an advertisement for the Minnesota Lottery.

42. Talks up: TOUTS.

44. Golden yrs. fund: IRA.  Retirement fund.  If you invested in the stock market, you may have to get a job.

45. Verse writer: POET. You're a POET and don't know it but your feet show it, they're Longfellows.

46. Mornings, briefly: AMS.

51. Lose color: FADE.

52. Cow's sound: MOO.

59. Doctor Who player Whittaker: JODIE. English actress.

60. Declare: AVER.

61. Say grace, say: PRAY.  Thanks to all for your prayers as I continue healing progress.

63. Sci-fi visitor: ALIEN.

64. Gas holder: TANK.  $100 bucks should fill it.

65. Quiche ingredients: EGGS.

66. Stately home: MANSE.

67. Laryngitis docs: ENTS.  I'll bet he never gets yelled at!

68. Film spool: REEL.  In Minnesota it is fishing gear on a rod.

Down:

1. Tax prep pro: CPA.  We now use TurboTax.

2. Triangular stringed instrument: HARP.

3. Voice above tenor: ALTO.  I was always a 2nd bass in the glee club,  How low can you go?

4. Aerospace employee who assesses new aircraft: TEST PILOT.

5. Force: STRENGTH.  I have very little.

6. Run like the dickens: TEAR.  Also a drop from an eye.

7. "Nothing to it!": EASY.  Crosswords are not EASY for me.

8. Blood component: PLASMA.  I lost a bit in the surgery, but my body is making more.

9. Shows to be untrue: DEBUNKS.

10. Wear away: ERODE.  They claim that our earth is eroding, but I do not notice that.

11. Landlocked African nation west of Niger: MALI.

12. Springfield Elementary bus driver: OTTO. Mann.

13. "Help!" letters: SOS.  Save Our Ship!

21. Number of millimeters in a centimeter: TEN.  Number of pins on a Lane. Not an alley.

22. Altoids container: TIN.

25. Father Christmas: SANTA. You better watch out, you better not cry.

26. Widely accepted truth: AXIOM.

27. Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Williams: VENUS.  In blue jeans, Mona Lisa with a pony tail.

28. Dead __ Scrolls: SEA.  I've seen the Atlantic and the Pacific but the Pacific isn't terrific and the Atlantic isn't what it's cracked up to be.

29. No-frills: BASIC.

30. American __: U.S. territory in the South Pacific: SAMOA.

31. Disney mermaid: ARIEL.  The little princess.

32. Streisand title role: YENTL.  1983 movie.

36. Rap devotee: HIP HOPPER. Never a fan of rap.

39. Tuscany three: TRE.

40. Designates for a specific purpose, as funds: EARMARKS.  I leave them on a pillow.

43. Like triangles with unequal sides: SCALENE.

48. "__ to Joy": segment of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: ODE.

49. Cancel out: NEGATE.

50. Pitcher Seaver who won three Cy Young Awards: TOM.  Hall of Famer with 311 wins.

51. Swatter's targets: FLIES.  Many were hit and caught off Tom.

53. Pepsi or Coke: COLA.  I prefer Pepsi.

54. Thor's father: ODIN.

55. "Dear __ Hansen": 2017 Best Musical Tony winner: EVAN.

56. Small change: CENT.  I remember when you could get 15 minutes at a parking meter for one.

57. Strong desire: URGE.  I am experiencing an URGE to bowl and play golf.  Maybe 2023.

58. Poultry herb: SAGE.  I always put a lot in the stuffing.

59. English muffin topper: JAM.

62. Monogram of a French fashion house: YSL. Yves.  If you buy the purse, you will have nothing left to put in it.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

1) Look at this Elvis! Boomer can't remember the exact time of this photo. It's from a Graybar Halloween party.

2) Here's a picture of sweet Charlotte (our Lemonade stand baby) at a dance party.

Sunday June 19, 2022 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Switching Sides" - The first part & second part of each common phrase is switched.

23. Part-time job for teenage waterfowl?: DUCK-SITTING. Sitting duck.

28. Extravagant and elaborate way of going around slowpokes?: FANCY PASSING. Passing fancy.

37. Breather in the ballroom?: DANCING BREAK. Breakdancing.

44. Glee found on horseback?: RIDING JOY. Joyriding.

64. First-rate dog shelter?: STERLING POUND. Pound Sterling.

85. Extremely blah coif?: NOTHING DO. Do nothing.

90. Cattle that may tip over?: LISTING STOCK. Stock listing.

101. "Life's too short for dull razors," e.g.?: SHAVING POINT. Point shaving.

107. Queue for lottery tickets?: DRAWING LINE. Line-drawing.

Hmm, am I missing some extra layer that tightens the set? There are lots of 2-word or 2-part phrases that can be swapped.  

Interesting Ed put RIDING JOY in 44A rather than 25A. In most grids, if theme entries are all placed in Across spots, the longest fill length is always shorter than the shortest theme entry.

Across:

1. Fish tacos fish, familiarly: MAHI. We also have 8. Tuna in poke bowls: AHI.

5. Department store founder depicted in "Miracle on 34th Street": R H MACY.

11. __ de fideo: Mexican noodle soup: SOPA. Fideo = Noodle.

15. Top: BEST.

19. Comparison words: AS AN.

20. "Oh, cry me a river": BOOHOO.

21. Neighbor: ABUT.

22. Ski area in Utah's Wasatch Mountains: ALTA. The other 4-letter ski area is VAIL in Colorado. ALPS too.

25. Hard on the eyes: UGLY AS SIN.

27. Egyptian goddess: ISIS. The assistant to Boomer's radiation doctor is from Egypt.

30. "Sadly ... ": I FEAR.

32. "__ be an honor!": IT'D.

35. Appearance: MIEN.

36. Devoutness: PIETY. Filial piety is big in China. It's in my bones.

40. New Year's __: EVE.

42. Quirky: ODD.

43. Bless with oil: ANOINT.

50. Spring: LEAP.

52. "Nashville" actress Blakley: RONEE.

53. Gives a little: BENDS.

54. "My Kind of Country" singer McEntire: REBA.

55. Big name in baby food: GERBER. The original Gerber baby just passed away.

57. Middle Alou brother: MATTY.

58. Heavy __: METAL.

59. Mass book: MISSAL.

61. Thus far: TO NOW.

62. Retort from a self-appointed authority: SAYS ME.

63. Chap: LAD.

68. Water under le pont: EAU. le pont = the bridge.

69. "Gotcha": OH I SEE.

71. Comedy duo Garfunkel and __: OATES. Learning moment for me.

72. Gold units: KARATS.

74. Greek god of the underworld: HADES.

75. Not straight: CURLY.

76. Celebrated, as a holiday: MARKED. Nina's husband Mark ran the Grandma's Marathon yesterday. In ASICS, probably.

78. Landed: ALIT.

79. Cooking stove: RANGE.

80. Tropical veranda: LANAI. Nice and quiet.

81. Lairs: DENS.

87. Temperature unit: KELVIN.

88. Calendario square: DIA. Calendar.

89. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE. So much fun with those "Call Me Maybe" covers. 

93. Out of whack: ASKEW.

97. Poet Silverstein: SHEL.

99. Tavern quaff: ALE.

100. Some charity runs: TEN-KS.

105. Effortlessness: EASE. I've watched a ton of "Butter". You wonder how BTS succeeded so long as a group. Just watch this practice video.  Talk about professionalism.

106. Subject of PETA's traveling exhibit "Without Consent": LAB ANIMAL.

113. North Carolina campus: ELON. We also have 92. Some electric cars: TESLAS.

114. Dorky sort: NERD.

115. New version of an old film: REMAKE.

116. Jessica of "L.A.'s Finest": ALBA.

117. Traps in an attic?: WEBS.

118. Change for a five: ONES.

119. "The Right Stuff" figure: YEAGER (Chuck)

120. Deck chair piece: SLAT.

Down:

1. Fuming: MAD.

2. Sun Devils sch.: ASU.

3. Southwest estate: HACIENDA. Large casa.

4. Squid organ: INK SAC.

5. Grand slam quartet, briefly: RBIS. Who has the most RBIs in a season? Don't google.

6. In great demand: HOT.

7. Witticism: MOT.

9. NCAA div.: CONF. Conference.

10. Surface for shavasana: YOGA MAT.

11. Apple product?: SAUCE. Real apple.

12. Maternity ward doc: OB-GYN.

13. Juicer refuse: PULP.

14. "Right Back __": Spice Girls song: AT YA.

15. Deep opera voices: BASSI.

16. "McFarland, USA" actress Fisher: ELSIE.  Also in "Eighth Grade"

17. Stretch on the job: STINT.

18. Like lemonade: TANGY. Ours is sweet. Baby Charlotte.

24. iPad speaker: SIRI.

26. Resort town on Colorado's Roaring Fork River: ASPEN.

29. Suffix with neat or beat: NIK.

30. Pop star: IDOL.

31. Gradually vanish: FADE.

32. Lowly: IGNOBLE.

33. Chophouse choice: T-BONE. We dined at the VA cafeteria last Wednesday. I had two tasty chicken wraps.

34. Less damp: DRIER.

38. Talk through the whole movie?: NARRATE. Great clue.

39. WSW opposite: ENE.

40. Mini vortex: EDDY.

41. Meas. reduced by fog: VIS. Visibility.

44. Pave anew: RE-TOP.

45. Halved: IN TWO.

46. Earl __ tea: GREY. Got some really good matcha at the Asian store the other day. So good in this hot weather.

47. Globetrotting group: JETSET.

48. Former White House quartet: OBAMAS.

49. New Haven sch.: YALE U.

51. Pts. of a book: PGS.

53. Forehead-covering hair: BANGS. The iconic Jane Birkin bangs.

56. Tricky road curves: ESSES.

57. Rupees and rubles: MONEY.

58. 102-Down's mother: MADRE. 102. 58-Down's son: NINO.

59. Hawaiian "thank you": MAHALO. Xie xie in Chinese.

60. Admission of guilt: I DID IT.

61. Magazine name: TITLE.

62. Not straight: SNAKING.

63. "Mean Girls" star Lindsay: LOHAN. Rachel McAdams & Amanda Seyfried are in this film also.

65. Drinks for the house: ROUND.

66. Key __: LARGO.

67. Kyiv's country: UKRAINE. Notice the Kyiv spelling.

70. Writer/actor Rogen: SETH.

73. Throw in: ADD.

75. Zoo enclosure: CAGE.

76. Valletta's island: MALTA.

77. Block that often falls on Wile E. Coyote: ANVIL.

79. Genetic material: RNA.

80. "__ Misérables": LES.

82. "Modern Family" co-star: ED O'NEILL. With Sofía Vergara.

83. Little cut: NICK.

84. Nordstrom rival: SAKS.

86. Conservationist Bindi: IRWIN.

87. Season wood, in a way: KILN DRY. New term to me.

90. Tropical garland: LEI.

91. Male deer: STAG.

93. Heaps: A SLEW. of.

94. Thin-layered rock: SHALE.

95. Shish __: KABOB. Popular street food in Xi'an. Often seasoned with cumin.

96. Chris who plays Captain America: EVANS.

97. Extra: SPARE.

98. Wrestling moves: HOLDS.

103. FBI guys: G MEN.

104. Beech or peach: TREE.

105. Dept. formed after the 1977 oil crisis: ENER.

108. Reddit Q&A session: AMA.

109. Droll sort: WAG.

110. "The Mindy Project" actor Barinholtz: IKE. Here with Mindy.

111. Org. with Thunder and Heat: NBA.

112. Gulp down: EAT. Boomer lost another 10 lbs since his surgery. His oncologist said "get fat!". He ordered Boomer to drink more Ensure, eat more food. He said the chemo drug needs to bind with protein to work. Poor Boomer gets stomach ache if he eats more than usual.

A few extra notes:

1) Thanks for the comments on Boomer's debut last Thursday. He was so happy to read your feedback. 

2) We had a very busy week. The ortho nurse said that Boomer's wound was healing nicely. We'll have one more MRI scan on July 11th and meet with the surgeon for follow-up. Hopefully Boomer can take off the sling then.

The meeting with the radiation doctor also went smoothly. Boomer is scheduled to have 5 sessions of radiation starting on June 27th.

The meeting with the oncologist went great also. Boomer will start a new oral chemo called Olparib after he completes his radiation. He'll also receive a bone strengthener infusion on July 1. Hope the side effects are less than Zometa infusion Boomer received a few years ago.

On the PT front, Boomer started the pendulum exercises last Thursday. Baby steps. He'll continue his regular PT next Monday and Thursday. We also hope to get a bone scan done next week somewhere near our home. The VA scanning place got flooded on Friday.

C.C.