Wednesday, May 2, 2018, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Get IT?

17. *Mother of Donald Jr. and Eric: IVANA TRUMP.

26. *Laurence Fishburne's "What's Love Got to Do With It" role: IKE TURNER.

35. *With 41-Across, two-time NBA All-Star named for an NBA Hall of Famer: ISAIAH.

41. *See 35-Across: THOMAS.

51. *Swimmer with five Olympic gold medals: IAN THORPE.

60. *Early 20th-century muckraker: IDA TARBELL. Awesome.

48D. Expert computer operations group ... to which the answers to starred clues belong?: IT TEAM.

Melissa here. I come, like all the regulars, with a heavy heart today, but I know Santa would want the show to go on. I'm guessing that C.C. consulted with him on this puzzle, which feels a bit comforting. Do you feel him? I do.

Across:

1. Low-pH compound: ACID.

5. Creighton University city: OMAHA.

10. Silly: DAFT.

14. Running behind: LATE.

15. Spanish bar food: TAPAS.

16. Falls back: EBBS.

19. Pacific Rim continent: ASIA.

20. Disney collectible: CEL.

21. __ anglais: English horn: COR. -->

22. "Casablanca" actor Peter: LORRE.

24. Dublin residents: IRISH.

30. Dried chili in Mexican cuisine: ANCHO.

31. Tiny tunneler: ANT. Dig the alliteration.

32. Colorful tropical fish: TETRA.

33. Cause of red cheeks: ROUGE. Or joy.

36. Biol. or geol.: SCI.

38. Spa treatments: PEELS.

40. Courthouse figs.: DAS. District Attorneys.

43. Woody thicket: COPSE.

45. Extends a tour: REUPS.

46. Sunbather's goal: TAN.

47. Place for a Fitbit: WRIST. My daughter and I just got each other one for an early Mother's day gift. Nifty little devices.

53. Perfume compound: ESTER.

54. Take a pass: SAY NO.

55. Buccaneer's domain: SEA.

57. __ chi: martial art: TAI.

58. "The Boss Baby" voice actor Baldwin: ALEC.

63. Sport with periods called chukkers: POLO.

64. Intoxicating shrubs: COCAS.

65. Fidel's successor: RAUL.

66. Throw out: TOSS.

67. Contest submission: ENTRY.

68. Band boosters: AMPS. Nice clue.

Down:

1. Keys on a keyboard: ALICIA.

2. Luray attraction: CAVERN. Cool video on this page. Anyone been?

3. Slanted, in a way: ITALIC. Ohhh.

4. La-Z-Boy room: DEN.

5. Aptly named "Airplane!" autopilot: OTTO.

6. Two-party system?: MARRIAGE. Haha.

7. "The Simpsons" storekeeper: APU.

8. Village: HAMLET.

9. __ of tea: A SPOT.

10. Start of a message to magazine subscribers: DEAR READERS.

11. What some vote in: ABSENTIA.

12. Christopher A. Wray's agcy.: FBI.

13. Bag-checking org.: TSA.

18. "Gesundheit!" evoker: ACHOO.

23. Well-worn tracks: RUTS. See here.

25. Tex-Mex seafood dish: SHRIMP TACOS.

27. Patella: KNEECAP.

28. Periods of history: ERAS.

29. Root word?: RAH.

34. FedEx alternative: UPS.

35. Many a cable co.: ISP.

36. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer: SHEA.

37. Gives legal advice: COUNSELS.

39. Symbol of the second-largest state: LONE STAR.

41. Prefix with angle or cycle: TRI.

42. Pallid: ASHY.

44. Use foul language: SWEAR.

46. Walked all over: TROD ON.

49. Make airtight: SEAL UP.

50. Quavering musical sounds: TRILLS.

52. In reserve: ON ICE.

56. "Child's play!": EASY.

58. On point: APT.

59. Bath bathroom: LOO.

61. Pretend to be: ACT.

62. Push-up top: BRA.

D. Scott Nichols (Argyle/Santa/Cid) In Memoriam

I'm sad to let you know that Scott, our dear Santa, passed away last night (April 30, 2018). He was 73.

Argyle had various health issues, but he always bounced back to the blog. The amputation was just too much for Santa physically.  He was tired when I last talked to him, but he kept his wits, humor and cynicism. The classic Santa I knew and loved.

Argyle covered 840 puzzles for our blog. He also made seven puzzles for the L.A. Times and two puzzles for the New York Times. It was always fun working with him. Challenging too, as Santa could be very stubborn.

Off the blog, he was my advisor and close friend. Seldom did I make any blog or life decision without consulting Santa: "Santa, I don't get this theme"; "Santa, my blood pressure is low again"; "Santa, did you see that comment at 10:00am?". His replies were always short, succinct, to the point and quick.  He was always just one email away.

I still can't believe he won't be back. He left a big hole in my life. I just can't stop sobbing. But I feel very lucky to have had him in my life for almost 10 years. A few months ago, he surprised me with an email I sent to him in 2008. He saved every email.

Santa, rest in peace. You'll always be in my heart. Thanks for all you've done for me and this blog.

I also want to thank Argyle's adopted niece Jennifer Ballard for taking good care of him while busy with her own job and family life. She patiently answered all my questions and kept me updated on Santa's progress. Thank you, Jennifer!

Our condolences to Argyle's sisters Kalista Nichols, Laura Manitta, Sheilla, Claire and all his family.

Our Beloved Santa (Feb 20, 1945-April 30, 2018)

Santa and His Four Sisters

Santa and Jennifer at Jennifer and Dave's Wedding, June, 2011

You can send sympathy cards to this address:

Jennifer Ballard
188 West Rd.
Argyle, NY 12809

Thank you so much!

C.C.

Added later:

1) More Argyle remembrances and memories can be read on Tuesday May 2 puzzle post. Just scroll down to Comments Section.

2) Please click here to view Santa's obituary.

3) Please click here for all Santa's pictures. Or just click below YouTube clip I made. Sorry, Santa, I did a poor job cropping some pictures.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Victor Barocas

 The Multifunctional Tool.

18. *Tuna eater's tool, maybe: CAN OPENER.

24. *Eyebrow-plucking tool: TWEEZERS.

36. *Shape of rotini pasta: CORKSCREW.

41. *Cocktail frank stabber: TOOTHPICK.

48. *Loser to rock, beater of paper: SCISSORS.

58. With 60-Across, contraption that usually includes the answers to the starred clues: SWISS ARMY. 60. See 58-Across: KNIFE.

Let's see what other fun Victor brings today.

Across:

1. Goldman's partner: SACHS. Marcus Goldman and Samuel Sachs.  The large multinational investment bank. 

6. Socially awkward sort: DORK.  Clark Kent ?

10. Potter's material: CLAY.

14. Voyager 1, e.g.: PROBE.

15. Like James Bond antagonists: EVIL.

16. With 11-Down, 2016 almost-Oscar-winning movie: LA LA.  11D. See 16-Across: LAND.  At the 2017 OSCAR awards ceremony,  La La Land won six OSCARS, and was erroneously awarded a seventh for Best Picture.  Moonlight was the real 2016 Best Picture award winner.  

17. Screen legend Flynn: ERROL. Swashbuckling swordsman.

20. Neither's partner: NOR.  If a verb is already in the negative, then partners either and or  are used.

21. Boxing ref's decision: TKO.

23. Worked, as dough: KNEADED.

27. Family room: DEN.

28. Captain's group: CREW.  Ship, Captain and Crew is a game played with five dice.  Players ante in to the pot.  Only after getting the Ship (a six), Captain (a five) and Crew (a four) can you get the Cargo.  The player with the largest Cargo total (point value of the other two dice) wins the pot.  

29. Spring shape: COIL.

31. Lottery ticket purchase, essentially: BET.

34. Michaelmas daisy: ASTER.  Daisy ?  Five letters.  See if ASTER fits.  It should.  It does.  Look up Michaelmas daisy later.   Oh, a daisy that blooms around Michaelmas (Sept 29th).   The largest group of Michaelmas daisies, with over 1,000 named cultivars is symphyotrichum novi-belgii.  That means "hair growing together - from New York".   They are also known as New York asters.  The weird stuff you learn on the internet...

38. Trendy: CHIC.

39. Sixth __: intuition: SENSE.  I have an intuition that blog-follower Fact Checker (and others) are looking up New York asters right about now.

40. Émile who wrote "J'Accuse...!": ZOLA.

43. "Miracle on 34th Street" store: MACYS.

44. Thor, to Odin: SON.

45. Its football team has played Harvard 134 times: YALE.

46. Grand Marquis, for short: MERC.


47. 2100, to Augustus: MMC. When the Roman statesman and military leader added one thousand, plus one thousand, plus one hundred, his total was MMC.

52. Adjusted (to): ATTUNED.

56. Dorm mgrs.: RAs.  Dormitory managers: Resident Assistants. 

57. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace: LEW.  I read Ben-Hur Wallach, assumed actor, saw the answer needed three letters and entered Eli.  How do you say bzzzt ?  You can read about Indiana-born, Civil War General and author Lew Wallace at  Britannica Biography: Lewis-Wallace.

62. Pub size: PINT.

63. "The World According to __": GARP.  Never read it, but have heard of it.  Almost entered the synonym for trail mix.

64. Concave navel: INNIE.

65. Not leave: STAY.  Love it when Rosemary Butler joins in, then get a chuckle out of the falsetto a few seconds later.


66. Leave: EXIT.  But they just asked me to stay, just a little bit longer.    What a twist !

67. Surprising plot development: TWIST.  O. Henry.   'nuff said ?

Down:

1. Used up: SPENT.

2. Cursor shape: ARROW.  The standard mouse pointer on a computer is an arrow, but you can select from a variety of others.  

3. Proofer's change: CORRECTION. After the blue-pencil.  Editing vs Proofreading  

4. "Game of Thrones" network: HBO.

5. Soda water: SELTZER.  Carbonated water.

6. Interior designer's concern: DECOR. Are all of these  Fixer Upper decors going out of style ?

7. Eggs, to a biologist: OVA.

8. Hockey venue: RINK.  The Pittsburgh Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena.

9. Yukon gold rush region: KLONDIKE.

We had an Isaly's  restaurant in our small town in N.E. Ohio.  Isaly's invented the Klondike Bar.  I knew of it long before I knew of the Yukon gold rush region.  Isaly's was also regionally famous for its "Skyscraper" ice cream cones and chip-chop ham.  There are now 14 flavors of the Klondike bar.

10. Wash the dirt off: CLEAN.

12. Protected at sea: ALEE.

13. Three feet: YARD.  Is it possible to get a complete food storage center... less than a yard wide ?

19. Banana leftovers: PEELS.

22. Royal Botanic Gardens locale: KEW.   Kew is WSW of London proper.  About 30 minutes on the Tube from Westminster.   Zoom in and the take the satellite view.  Zoom out to get your bearings.


25. Build: ERECT.

26. Wall-mounted light fixtures: SCONCES.

30. Ural River city: ORSK. Today's second pictorial geography lesson:

A 23 hour drive from Orsk to Omsk

31. Hybrid green veggie with small florets: BROCCOLINI.  Just saw this recipe for pan roasted broccolini  on an episode of Growing A Greener World. 

32. Slippery: EELY.

33. "__ the night before ... ": TWAS.

34. Play divisions: ACTS.

35. "Go away!": SHOO.

36. Finish the top of, as a room: CEIL.  To provide with a roof.   In French, ceil is eye, and ciel is sky.

37. Business magnates: CZARS.

39. Era that began with Sputnik: SPACE AGE.  Jump on that bandwagon.  Don't get left behind !

42. Church songs: HYMNS.

43. Soldier's cooking supplies: MESS KIT.  Field utensils.

46. Actress Farrow: MIA.

47. In need of air freshener: MUSTY.  Not that olives smell musty, but I had to get this vid in somewhere after Sunday's discussion of olive trees.  Gary mentioned seeing them in Tuscany.  We just saw this episode Saturday.  


49. Burial chamber: CRYPT.

50. Int.-reducing mortgages: RE-FIs.  Hi Lemonade !

51. Like sugar: SWEET.  How long before fresh sweet corn ?

52. Egyptian snakes: ASPs. 

53. Foolish one: TWIT.

54. Funny Fey: TINA.

55. "The Destroyer" of Marvel Comics: DRAX.  No idea.  Wagged the A.

59. Med. scan: MRI.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

61. Opposite of SSE: NNW.

Here's the grid.  See all y'all later n'at !

Monday April 30, 2018 Matt McKinley

Theme: THIRTY DAYS (58. Feature of the time periods hinted at by the starting letters of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across) - Apr, Jun, Sep and Nov starts each theme answer.

17A. Fruity 12-Down topping: APRICOT JAM.

23A. Craftsperson using scrap metal, glass, etc.: JUNK ARTIST.

38A. Tax filing option for married couples: SEPARATE RETURNS.

47A. Restriction for quarantined patients: NO VISITORS.

Boomer here. And happy good morning to one and all.  I see some month abbreviations, including April.  I am not sorry to say good riddance to April this year.  Not only did the weatherman dump a ton of snow on us, but our Minnesota Twins had 4 games postponed, and managed to lose nine more in a row.  Hello May! Garden fence is ready and the dirt is rejuvenated.  We have yet to see the perennial Asian lily or the rose bush return for the summer.  

Best wishes to Argyle for a speedy rehab recovery.  Now... On with the show!  

Across:

1. Harley rider: BIKER. I had a bike when I was a kid, but it was not a Harley. I always felt that calling a Harley a bike was like calling a battery jumper cable clamp a paper clip.

6. Approved: OK'ED.

10. "The lady __ protest ... ": "Hamlet": DOTH.

14. Where one may be taken for a private word: ASIDE. To the dungeon.

15. Golfer's warning: FORE.  I often wondered where this came from.  I just holler "Look out", and that's before I swing the club.

16. Slender woodwind: OBOE. Well what's new ? A four letter word with three vowels.

19. Drive or reverse: GEAR.

20. The "S" in "CBS": Abbr.: SYST.

21. Little green veggie: PEA. Split 'em and make soup.

22. Vast chasm: ABYSS.

26. "400 Richest Americans" magazine: FORBES. No I am not in there. It's brutal to be 401st in anything. 

30. Nagging troubles: WOES.  Briefly, there is not enough room on the page to list my nagging woes.

31. Nimble: AGILE. Jack be agile, Jack be quick.

32. Stick a toothpick in, as a snack: STAB.  I'm not sure about toothpicks.  I think a knife or fork is more appropriate. 

34. "Bye, Luigi!": CIAO.  My sister has been to Italy a number of times.  She always ends her emails to me with this four letter Italian word (with three vowels).  I think she does the LA Times crossword frequently.

41. High-school kid: TEEN.

42. "On Golden __": POND.  Henry Fonda and his daughter Jane, as well as a star-studded cast.  Fonda sort of reminds me of Walter (Grumpy Old Man) Matthau and his buddy Jack Lemmon.

43. Rodeo lasso: RIATA.

44. Film critic Pauline: KAEL.

46. "Town Without Pity" singer Gene: PITNEY.  It isn't very pretty what a town without PITNEY can do.

51. One who's done for: GONER.

52. Old studio letters: RKO. It's an acronym for Radio-Keith-Orpheum.  What's interesting is downtown Minneapolis had a theatre called RKO Orpheum. Redundant and it's not there anymore.

53. Olympic sword: EPEE. Widely used in crosswords, I suspect because it's a four letter word with three vowels.  Okay, I am boring all.  I won't mention it again.

57. Ridesharing company: UBER. There are 12,000 Uber drivers now in the US.

61. Range in Europe: ALPS.

62. Country's McEntire: REBA.

63. Cove, e.g.: INLET.

64. Viral internet phenomenon: MEME. "Class, Who wants to get out at noon?"

65. Former couples: EXES. Goes first at tic tac toe.

66. Like yesterday's fashions: PASSE. 

Down:

1. Parts of cote tales?: BAAS.

2. Kids' road-trip game: I SPY. Now in a heap of trouble, "I Spy" was Bill Cosby's first TV show with Robert Culp in 1965,  You need to be as old as I to remember it.

3. White wine apéritifs: KIRS.

4. Cut and paste, e.g.: EDIT.

5. Word with room or center: REC.

6. Plenty of times: OFTEN.  OFTEN is a lot.  One OF TEN, not so much

7. TV cop with a lollipop: KOJAK. Telly Savalas played detective Kojak.  His first name was Theo, which I always considered it to be half a name.  Then along came Andy Sipowicz  who named his kid Theo.

8. Big Band __: ERA.

9. Rep.'s opponent: DEM. Politics, - Elephants and Donkeys

10. Bone-shaped treat: DOG BISCUIT.

11. Follows orders: OBEYS. If someone ORDERS a PIZZA, I might follow it out to the table.

12. Browned bread: TOAST. Ein Prosit.  "Here's to the guy who couldn't think small. Here's to the biggest embezzler of all..."  I am sure Tom can name that tune.

13. Word sewn on a towel: HERS.

18. Composer's work: OPUS.  This is interesting.  There is a business complex called OPUS in the city where I grew up.  So I googled Opus and sure enough it's a commercial real estate conglomerate.  Not sure about the composer clue.

22. Dined: ATE. Unscramble the letters and you have EAT.  A lot of people ATE between seven and nine.  

23. Spectator's bit of disapproval: JEER. Add a "T" in the middle and you have shortstop Derek, who was seldom Jeered at Yankee Stadium.

24. Tony or Hugo: AWARD.

25. Judge's apparel: ROBE. New York Yankee Aaron does not wear a robe, but when he comes to bat, the fans "All Rise".

26. Like greyhounds: FAST.

27. S-shaped molding: OGEE.

28. Ready on the vine: RIPE. The garden is coming soon.  How do you tell if green beans are ripe?

29. Poetry that doesn't rhyme: BLANK VERSE.

32. Popular vodka, popularly: STOLI.

33. Square root of 100: TEN. O GEE Whatever happened to Bo Derek ?

35. Persia, today: IRAN.

36. Required poker bet: ANTE.

37. "__, can you see ... ": O SAY. I believe the correct spelling is "OH SAY" - can you see?

39. Zoo primates: APES.

40. "Divergent" films heroine: TRIS.

45. Oxygen is about 21% of it: AIR. In large cities, I think the rest is smog.

46. Luther's sect: Abbr.: PROT.

47. Duke or earl: NOBLE.

48. Hr. after noon: ONE PM. Eleven on the West Coast.

49. Many a casino-owning group: TRIBE. We have several Native American casinos in Minnesota and they do very well.  I don't go too often because I think the house percentage is much higher than Nevada.  But one of the casinos has 24 bowling lanes.  Been there, done that.

50. Gumbo vegetables: OKRAS.

51. U.S. island territory: GUAM.

53. Author Ferber: EDNA.  A name from the roaring twenties.  She wrote at least two books that were made into movies.  If you can name them, you are older than I.

54. Buddies: PALS.

55. Seers?: EYES.  I like SNAKE ____.  (A roll of 2 at the craps table).

56. Ninety degrees from norte: ESTE.

58. Luigi's three: TRE. The second appearance of Luigi in the clues today.  Isn't he Mario's buddy ?

59. Whammy: HEX. This crossword clue has a hundred different answers.  Hope you had the ACROSS before you got to it.

60. Cry from a pup: YIP.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Spitzboov (Al) and his wife Betty visited dear Argyle on Saturday April 28, 2018. Spitzboov brought this great Marine "At Their Core" to Santa, who was a Marine.

Click here to see Spitzboov's write-up. Thank you, Spitzboov and Betty,  for visiting Argyle and letting him know that he's sorely missed. 

Please continue keeping Argyle in your thoughts and prayers. Please send cards to below address. Argyle's friend Jennifer wanted me to tell you that "he enjoys the cards that everyone sends especially with notes in them".

D. Scott Nichols

Room #219
Wesley Health Care Center
131 Lawrence St.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Argyle