Tuesday, July 26, 2022 / Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff Chen

Game Night.  The END word of each theme answer is a board GAME.

16-Across. *   "Now you see what I deal with every day": WELCOME TO MY LIFE.

26-Across. *   "Our goose is cooked": WE'RE IN TROUBLE.

40-Across. *   Tools that may make one say, "Damn you, autocorrect!": SPELL CHECKERS.

54-Across. *   "No idea": I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE.

And the unifier:

62-Across. Last stage of a chess match, and what each answer to a starred clue literally has: ENDGAME. Everything you wanted to know about the Endgame, but didn't know to ask.

Across:

1. Rental for some exercise classes: YOGA MAT.  Yuck!  Sorry, but I would never rent a Yoga Mat.

8. Vice President Harris: KAMALA.

Kamala Devi Harris (b. Oct. 20, 1964)

14. Make move, as a cartoon: ANIMATE.

15. Grapefruit kin: POMELOS.  The Pomelo is native to Southeast Asia.

18. Clandestine org.: NSA.  As in the National Security Agency.

19. Shortfin shark: MAKO.

20. Facts and figures: DATA.  Hi, Picard!

21. EMT's skill: CPR.  The Emergency Medical Technician better know how to perform CardioPulmonary Resuscitation.

24. More than fix up: REDO.

32. Color selection tools: PALETTES.  One of Van Gogh's palettes as seen in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

33. Defeat badly: TROMP.

35. Extended a performance, in a way: ENCORED.

36. "The Good Doctor" actress Thomas: ANTONIA.  I have never seen The Good Doctor, so was not familiar with Antonia Thomas (née Antonia Laura Thomas; b. Nov. 3, 1986).

38. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" novelist Zora __ Hurston: NEALE.  Zora Neale Hurston (Jan. 7, 1891 ~ Jan. 28, 1960) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

39. Stereo components: SPEAKERS.

43. Fly high: SOAR.

44. "Jeopardy!" co-host Jennings: KEN.  Ken Jennings (né Kenneth Wayne Jennings, III; b. May 23, 1974) has made a pretty good living with his trivia knowledge.  Not only was Jeopardy! good to him, both as a contestant and a host, but he has appeared on other trivia game shows, such as Masterminds and The Chase.

45. Regarding: AS TO.

49. Heavy burden: ONUS.

51. Cake mix need: EGG.

59. Desert illusions: MIRAGES.

60. Source of pint-sized beverages?: MINI-BAR.

61. Use: EMPLOY.

Down:

1. Show sleepiness: YAWN.

2. Tip jar bills: ONES.

3. __ monster: lizard: GILA.  //  And 8-Diwn. __ dragon: lizard: KOMODO.  What is the difference between a Gila Monster and a Komodo Dragon?

4. Theater chain initials: AMC.  As in American Multi-Cinema.

5. Chairman who led China's Cultural Revolution: MAO.

6. Bank drive-thru device: ATM.  The Automated Teller Machine is a crossword staple.

7. Swarm (with): TEEM.

9. "Vice" Oscar nominee Adams: AMY.  Amy Lou Adams (b. Aug. 20, 1974) portrayed Lynne Chaney in the movie Vice.

10. Blend: MELD.

11. "Search Party" actress Shawkat: ALIA.  Alia Martine Shawkat (b. Apr. 18, 1989) also portrayed Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development.

12. Hay storage area: LOFT.

13. Drifting aimlessly: ASEA.

15. "__ Face": Lady Gaga hit: POKER.

17. Small fruit pastries: TARTS.

21. New Orleans cuisine: CREOLE.  Creole versus Cajun cuisine.

22. Seabirds that often follow ships: PETRELS.  Everything you wanted to know about Petrels, but didn't know to ask.

23. Solemn ceremony: RITE.

25. Scene not meant to be seen: OUTTAKE.

26. Decreases in strength: WANES.

27. Yosemite peak, familiarly: EL CAP.  El Capitan, affectionally known as El Cap, is more than just a big rock.

28. "The Simpsons" neighbor Flanders: NED.

29. Kaput: BROKEN.

30. Solitary sort: LONER.

31. Kuwaiti rulers: EMIRS.

32. Ballpoint, e.g.: PEN.   A brief history of the Ballpoint Pen.

34. Faux __: PAS.  Today's French lesson.

36. Tailless primate: APE.

37. Bottle part: NECK.

39. "So what" shoulder gesture: SHRUG.

41. __ Tunes: LOONEY.

42. Leans to one side: CANTS.  Probably the most famous CANTer in the world ...

45. Je t'__: French "I love you": AIME.  More of today's French lesson.

46. Leveling device: SHIM.

47. Canvas cover: TARP.

Blue tarps after a hurricane

48. Avocado shape: OVAL.

50. A few: SOME.

51. Idris of "Luther": ELBA.  Idris Elba (né Idrissa Akuna  Elba;b. Sept. 6, 1972) also played Stringer Bell on The Wire.

52. "Where America's Day Begins": GUAM.  According to this article, Guam is not technically where America's Day Begins.

53. "Chicago" star Richard: GERE.  Richard Tiffany Gere (b. Aug. 31, 1949) starred in many, many movies.

55. Sense of self: EGO.

56. Metal container: TIN.

57. Plus: AND.

58. Smoke, briefly: CIG.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Today would have been my mother's 92nd birthday.  Sadly, it is also the day that I lost my grandmother, who died 20 years ago today, just 1 week shy of her 96th birthday.

Monday July 25, 2022 Joe Deeney

Theme: WELL WELL WELL (56. "What have we here?" and 20-, 36-, and 42-Across) - Three definitions of "well".

20. Hale and hearty: IN GOOD HEALTH.

36. "Any time now!": I'M WAITING.

42. Gathering spot for thirsty animals: WATERHOLE.

Boomer here. 

 

Good morning all.  I'M WAITING to see if the new meds are helping with my cancer battle.  I should know in a week or two.  I am sure the WATERHOLE got plenty of business last week with temperatures in the 90s all week up here in the northland.

Across:

1. Lifetime pals, briefly: BFFS.  Best Friends Forever. 

5. Periodontist's concern: GUMS.  Minnesota's Judy Garland's given name was Francis GUMM!

9. Brand of facial tissue: PUFFS. "The Magic Dragons".

14. Sign on for more service: RE-UP.  Not me. I did two years and flew home.  Now I get decent medical care.

15. Indiana neighbor: OHIO.  Home of the Redlegs and Guardians. Shoutout to my penpal Janice!

16. Facing the pitcher: AT BAT.

17. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actor Samberg: ANDY.  Sheriff of Mayberry.

18. Decomposes: ROTS.

19. Milk seller: DAIRY.  DAIRY Queen sells great Sundaes.

23. Taken care of: SEEN TO.

24. Play-__: kids' clay: DOH.  It kind of smelled.  I never liked it.

25. That girl: SHE.

28. Pixie: ELF.  Santa's helper.

29. Native of Pre-Columbian Peru: INCA. 

32. Reacted to a surprise, perhaps: GASPED.  Too hot!

34. Muscles worked by crunches: ABS.  Too hot to exercise.

38. __ and for all: ONCE.  And all for one!

40. African country on the Gulf of Guinea: GABON.

41. "If all __ fails ... ": ELSE.

44. NCO below sgt.: CPL.  Two stripes.

45. "You're not alone in that": I DO TOO.

46. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil, familiarly: ESPO.  Career with Boston, Chicago, and New York.

48. Pair: TWO.  What ever happened to the TWO dollar bill?

51. Gift for music: EAR.

52. Hunted for fossils, say: DUG.  I never hunted for fossils and my name is misspelled!

54. Mixed nuts nut: CASHEW. One of my favorites.

59. Strictly forbidden: TABOO. So, don't do it!

62. Very small bit: IOTA.

63. Great Plains natives: OTOE.  My history book did not mention them.

64. Distant and cool: ALOOF.

65. Lacking color: DRAB.  New cars are never DRAB

66. Sit for a spell: REST.  Okay.  Wake me up in a half hour.

67. Employees: STAFF.

68. Long, wriggly swimmers: EELS.  Have you heard about sharks close to shore?  Maybe they have eels for lunch.           

69. Satisfies the munchies: EATS.  Trick or treat.

Down:

1. Slow-cook in a closed pot: BRAISE.  Pressure cooker.

2. Bulb with an aniselike flavor: FENNEL. 

3. Exaggeration allowance in estimates: FUDGE FACTOR.

4. Watch secretly: SPY ON.

5. "If You Could Read My Mind" singer Lightfoot: GORDON.  What a tale my thoughts would tell.

6. "This looks bad!": UH OH.  Here comes more hot weather.

7. Teeny plant pest: MITE.

8. "Such a pity": SO SAD.  This gun violence in Uvalde and shopping malls.

9. Noodle dish topped with crushed peanuts: PAD THAI.

10. Six-sided state: UTAH.  One of three four-letter states.

11. "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity" org.: FBI.  I thought it was Federal Bureau of Investigation.

12. Distant: FAR.

13. Pen with a trough: STY.  A home for pigs.

21. __ Spunkmeyer: cookie brand: OTIS.  Elevator guy.

22. Boston airport: LOGAN.  Never been there,  I got to New Jersey once.

25. Share juicy gossip: SPILL THE TEA.  Beans.

26. Farm cluckers: HENS.  Uncle Bill had many. Eggs for breakfast every day, then sold the rest.

27. Microsoft's web browser: EDGE.

30. Breezy goodbye: CIAO.  See ya!

31. Stroll along: AMBLE.

33. Escalator part: STEP.  Just stand on it!  You'll get there.

35. Borscht base: BEET.  My mother grew them and we ate them as a vegetable.

37. Nagging troubles: WOES.

38. Cut covered by a Snoopy bandage, e.g.: OWIE.  Only kids under 5 get them.  We older folks call them by a different four letter word.

39. Zilch: NADA.  Not this four letter word either.

40. Grave-robbing demon: GHOUL.

43. Departed into the sunset, say: RODE OFF.  I hate driving into the setting sun.

44. West Virginia natural resource: COAL.  Santa may put it into your stocking.

47. Tech training sites: PC LABS.

49. "The other team clobbered us": WE LOST.  Twins say that a lot.

50. Big-eyed nestlings: OWLETS.

53. Coast: GLIDE.

55. Used cusswords: SWORE.  My language driving into the sunset.

56. Husky's "Hello": WOOF.

57. Had on: WORE.  She WORE a yellow ribbon.

58. "And some other people" abbr.: ET AL.

59. Prof. helpers: TAS.  Teaching Assistants

60. __-country music: ALT.

61. Constricting snake: BOA.  A big BIG snake,  I have never seen one and never hope to see one.

Boomer

 

Sunday July 24, 2022 Gary Larson & Amy Ensz

Theme: "The Old Switcheroo" - Pro and Con exchange places.

23A *Truly unappetizing French dish?: GROSS CONFIT. Gross profit.

25A. *In favor of monetary penalties?: PRO FINING. Confining.

48A. *Proposed bill?: A WORK IN CONGRESS. A work in progress.

67A. *Source of talent for a major-league franchise?: PRO STABLE. Constable.

71A. *Opposed to medical treatment?: CON CURING. Procuring.

92A. *Stall selling souvenirs on graduation day?: PROCESSION STAND. Concession stand.

114A. *Appeal from a jailhouse lawyer?: CON FILING. Profiling.

Reveal:

117. Both sides of an argument, and what have been switched to create the answers to the starred clues: PROS AND CONS.

I'm picturing how Chairman Mao would react to this puzzle. He probably find the first one very appealing. Nothing GROSS!

Four of the original phrases are one-word entries, Gary and Amy probably did not have many candidates to choose from.

Across:

1. "Dragnet" star Jack: WEBB. "Just the facts, ma'am."

5. Got to laugh: AMUSED.

11. Big galoots: APES.

15. Feathery scarves: BOAS.

19. Diva's delivery: ARIA.

20. Albania neighbor: KOSOVO. Its capital is Pristina.

21. Office note: MEMO.

22. Luxury hotel chain: OMNI.

27. Ruhr Valley city: ESSEN.

28. On: ATOP.

30. Lhasa native: TIBETAN. You'll find tsampa in any Tibetan restaurant. Made of barley flour.

31. "The Optimist's Daughter" Pulitzer winner Welty: EUDORA.

35. Group in the minors: AA TEAM. The next is Triple-A.

38. Snoopy adversary: RED BARON.

42. Down source: EIDER.

43. Quaked: SHOOK.

51. Dull pain: ACHE.

52. __ fide: in bad faith: MALA.

53. Honeycomb figures: HEXAGONS.

54. Actor Sheen: MARTIN.

56. Left hanging: IN LIMBO.

59. "Time __ the essence": IS OF.

60. Animated short: CARTOON.

61. Lentil dish: DAL.

62. Cynthia Nixon's role on "The Gilded Age": ADA.

63. Some tribute pieces: FAN ART.

66. Salary: PAY.

73. __ Claire, Wisconsin: EAU. Minnesota is solid blue, but our neighbors are all red. 

74. Platitude: TRUISM.

76. Bovine chew: CUD.

77. Load from a lode: ORE.

78. Moving right along: AT SPEED.

80. Violinist Leopold: AUER. Learned from doing xwords.

82. Anka song with a Spanish title: ESO BESO.

86. Slowing down, musically: Abbr.: RITARD.

87. Cowardly Lion portrayer: BERT LAHR. Fun to see his full name.

90. Eurasian range: URAL.

91. Last name of both "Fargo" writers: COEN.

95. Fizzled out: ENDED.

97. German pronoun: EINES.

98. QB-to-receiver successes: TD PASSES.

99. Wife, in Spanish: ESPOSA. Boomer just calls me "Lao Po" (Old Wife).

101. Declare: ASSERT.

103. Nissan models: ALTIMAS.

107. Great Salt Lake state: UTAH.

109. First name in skin care: ESTEE. Here's their best seller. The Advance Night Repair.

121. "__ on First": book about comedian Costello: LOU'S.

122. Antioxidant berry: ACAI.

123. Czech currency: KORUNA. I thought they use Euro.

124. Aardvark meal: ANTS.

125. As many as: UP TO.

126. "Gin and Juice" rapper Snoop __: DOGG.

127. Verve: ENERGY.

128. Sushi bar soup: MISO. Miso alone is just the paste, which I use every day.

Down:

1. Minimum __: WAGE.

2. Commits a faux pas: ERRS.

3. Life stories: BIOS.

4. Military outpost: BASE.

5. Pedigree org.: AKC. The American Kennel Club.

6. Holstein sound: MOO.

7. Admiral's org.: USN.

8. As yet: SO FAR.

9. "A New Argentina" musical: EVITA.

10. Inflict on: DO TO.

11. Concert device: AMP.

12. Pay-__-view: PER.

13. Hams: EMOTERS. Spellcheck does not like this word.

14. "Modern Family" actress Vergara: SOFIA. Bill G likes her a lot. How are you doing, Bill?

15. Ecru kin: BONE.

16. Drop: OMIT.

17. Chlumsky of "Veep": ANNA.

18. Omen: SIGN.

24. Move stealthily: SNEAK.

26. Some early PCs: IBMS.

29. Form couples: PAIR OFF.

32. New England sch.: URI.

33. "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO.

34. First word of "The Raven": ONCE.

36. Yemeni port: ADEN.

37. "Rizzoli & Isles" crime series novelist Gerritsen: TESS. I remember she was so excited when Rich used her as a clue for TESS a while ago.

 

38. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Oscar winner Malek: RAMI.

39. Actor McGregor: EWAN.

40. American Girl product: DOLL.

41. Intertwines: BRAIDS.

42. Frozen waffle brand: EGGO.

44. Sabrina portrayer Melissa Joan __: HART.

45. Squid relatives: OCTOPI.

46. Resident of Lima, Lisbon, or Athens: OHIOAN. Great clue angle.

47. Big name in smooth jazz: KENNY G.

49. Lime and rust: OXIDES.

50. Astronaut's insignia: NASA.

54. Bongbong of the Philippines: MARCOS. Current president. Son of the Imelda Marcos.

55. Conductor Toscanini: ARTURO.

57. Be relevant: MATTER.

58. Sounded loudly: BLARED.

60. Recycle bin item: CAN.

62. Boxer Muhammad: ALI.

64. Honda luxury cars: ACURAS.

65. Doze: NOD.

67. Guy of "Memento": PEARCE.

68. Allocate: RATION.

69. Got rid of: OUSTED.

70. Pal: BUD.

72. Counters: REBUTS.

75. Mime Marcel: MARCEAU. We see his BIP from time to time.

76. Collectible frames: CELS.

79. Glazier's item: PANE.

81. Sport-__: versatile vehicles: UTES.

82. Lose ground?: ERODE.

83. Noted times: ERAS.

84. All there: SANE.

85. Auto pioneer: OLDS.

87. Verve: BRIO.

88. A dog's age: EONS.

89. Chart toppers: HITS.

92. Soft drink giant: PEPSICO.

93. Scott Simon's network: NPR.

94. Filled: SATED.

96. "Sorry Not Sorry" singer Lovato: DEMI.

100. Bowl of greens: SALAD.

101. Composer Copland: AARON.

102. Land by the sea: SHORE.

103. Anti-censorship org.: ACLU.

104. Belt holder: LOOP.

105. Fastener with flanges: T NUT.

106. "Should that be the case ... ": IF SO.

108. Toll rd.: TPKE.

110. Bogus offer: SCAM.

111. "Beloved" novelist Morrison: TONI.

112. Sinus docs: ENTS.

113. Exxon's original brand name: ESSO.

115. Badger: NAG.

116. Band booking: GIG.

118. __ La Table: kitchenware retailer: SUR. My sister-in-law Connie sent us a nice kitchen towel from them. Too pretty to use.

119. Director Lee: ANG. Spelled as "An" in mainland China. Ange Lee is from Taiwan.

120. Anti vote: NAY.

 

Boomer completed his shoulder PT last Tuesday. He'll continue the OT for the next few weeks. He still can't type with his left hand, but he is able to put his left hand on the walker or the railing for stability now. Baby steps.

C.C.