Monday March 25, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: MIDDLE EAST (57. Arabian Peninsula region, and what 16-, 20-, 36- and 50-Across literally have) - EAST spans across each theme answer.

16. Sellers of build-it-yourself furniture: IKEA STORES.

 

20. Mets' home before Citi Field: SHEA STADIUM.

  

36. Five-armed ocean creature: SEA STAR.

50. Leaves-catching brewing sieve: TEA STRAINER.

Boomer here.

East is east, and west is west. My friend Matt McNeil headed east to Detroit for the World Series of Bowling. He struggled a bit, leaving too many 7 pins, (Matt is a lefty) but managed to finish fourth in the Cheetah preliminary, and third in the big final tournament.  I am sure he cashed a couple of decent checks and made a good name for Minnesota.

Across:

1. Super bargain: STEAL.  Reminds me that MLB starts this Thursday and we have Byron Buxton.  I think he can steal a lot of bases if only he can figure out how to get on first, first. 

6. Effective on: AS OF.

10. Ed.'s backlog: MSS.

13. Bisect: HALVE.  I remember as a kid we had to TRISECT a Three Musketeers bar.

14. "Good Morning America" co-anchor Spencer: LARA.

15. Boarding site: GATE.  I'm not sure if I would show up if a Boeing 737 Max was at the gate.

18. Mythical monster: OGRE.

19. Delt neighbor: PEC.  Could be a personal electronic computer

22. Enemies: FOES.  Between Threes and fives.

23. Puts up, as a skyscraper: ERECTS.  Yup, I had an erector set when I was a kid also.  LEGO had not been invented yet.

24. Climate-affecting Pacific current: EL NINO.  I think I have mentioned that I once had a Storm El Nino bowling ball. It may still be in the garage in my used bowling ball cemetery.

27. Citrus-flavored soda, on its labels: MTN DEW.  Never liked it much.  I prefer Diet Pepsi.

29. Minnesota's state bird: LOON.  I've seen many of these birds on the lake. They emit a goofy call sound.

30. Final Four org.: NCAA.  All over the TV networks this week.  It will become more focused as 68 teams become "Sweet Sixteen" survivors.  My Gophers bowed out after making it to the round of 32.  It was not much of a contest, One of our best players could only last 4 minutes due to injury, but that's no excuse.  Michigan State proved why some teams are seeded 2 and others are 10.  But the Gophers have some very good underclassmen coming back.  See you next year, Sweet Sixteen.  

32. Eye-boggling work: OP-ART.  Look closely and you might see a hawk eating a chicken.

35. __-di-dah: pretentious: LAH. Hey - A - A, Good by

38. ''I'll pass'': NAH.  I am Naht sure if this is a word.

39. Decree: EDICT.

41. Wander about: ROAM. Anywhere I roam, where I lay my head is home.

42. Warehouse gds.: MDSE.

43. East Asian home of Acer and Asus: TAIWAN.  When I worked Pizza, we used to get mushrooms from Taiwan. Silly me, I thought that Taiwan was China. 

45. Like partly melted snow: SLUSHY.  I think you can get these at 7-11.

47. Merkel of Germany: ANGELA.

49. Molecule component: ATOM.  We have A Tom participating on this blog. Actually two of them.

53. Drag to court: SUE.  My name is SUE, How do you do. - Johnny Cash, "A boy named Sue".

56. Witty Bombeck: ERMA.  Fascinating lady whose column appeared in nearly every paper that had a crossword puzzle.  Sadly left us in 1996. 

59. Done with: OVER.  Airline pilot "Captain Oveur" in "Airplane" played by Peter Graves.  Peter Graves was born in Minneapolis and was the younger brother of James "Matt Dillon" Arness.

60. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.  Wife of Mr. Lou Grant of Mary Tyler Moore Show fame.

61. Wheel connectors: AXLES.

62. Mario Bros. console: NES.  Of course I had a Nintendo. The Mario Brothers drove me nuts and then along came the "Adventures of Link."  Don't lie if you ever had one.

63. Ruby and scarlet: REDS.  I would have clued: "Pete Rose and Johnny Bench, for two".

64. Suspicious (of): LEERY.

Down:

1. Cruise vessel: SHIP.  "We sail the ocean blue, in our saucy ship of beauty."  Gilbert and Sullivan - HMS Pinafore.

2. Box office income: TAKE.  Sports venues hardly have box offices any more.  Seems you buy your ticket online, and pay with your smart cellphone.

3. Monthly util. bill: ELEC.

4. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.  Or Ms. Gardner

5. Classroom session: LESSON.  Some teachers used to teach a lesson with a paddle.

6. Soothing medicinal plants: ALOES.  I think Alexander G. Bell wanted everyone to answer the phone "Hoy Hoy"

7. __ Lee cakes: SARA.  "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee."

8. Mine extractions: ORES.  Minnesota has a large industry of taconite mining.  Taconite is a low grade iron ore.

9. Make secure, as a seat belt: FASTEN.  Hard to believe, when I got my driver's license, no cars even had seat belts.

10. "Presto!" sticks: MAGIC WANDS.  We did not have magic wands either,  We had to go to Andy's gang and "plunk our magic twanger"

11. Peacock's gait: STRUT.

12. Appears to be: SEEMS.  Things are seldom what they seem.  Skim milk masquerades as cream.

15. Try for a long pass, in football lingo: GO DEEP.

17. Romantic ideal: THE ONE.

21. Fervent feeling: ARDOR.

22. Dolphin feature: FIN.  Also a detective on "Law and Order SVU"

24. Vogue competitor: ELLE.

25. Laundry batch: LOAD.  "Fry up another batch of bullheads Muriel - Here comes another load of voters"  - Hubert Humphrey.

26. Pitching masterpieces: NO-HIT GAMES.  Clay Buchholz tossed a no hitter for Boston in his second MLB start.  I think he was guest of Dustin Johnson at the Valspar golf tourney this weekend.

27. Bricklayer: MASON.

28. "Ciao!": TA TA.  No, my sister still ends here emails with CIAO.  (she told me she does not do crosswords, only Sudoku.)    

31. Irene of "Fame": CARA.

33. Poison ivy symptom: RASH.  There's a PBA bowler named Sean Rash.  He created some issues early in his career and other pros nicknamed him "Diaper".

34. Rock music's __ Might Be Giants: THEY.  Brandon Belt and Buster Posey might be Giants too.

36. Prop for a clown: STILT.  I've walked on stilts when I was young.  Not any more, now I am lucky if my legs are working.

37. Dutch beer brand: AMSTEL.

40. Ides of March victim: CAESAR.  How many croutons did you have on your salad Caesar ??         Et tu

42. Tight-lipped: MUM.

44. Not as cold: WARMER. We are getting there here in Minnesota. First days of Spring are producing mid-to- high 40s. People in the know are saying the melting of snow is moderate and could prohibit serious flooding.  I don't know about that.  The snow piles are pretty huge. I wish safety to those who may live in a flood plain.

46. Parent of Maybelline: LOREAL.

47. Used, as china: ATE ON.  Did you ever go to McDonald's and eat on your lap??

48. Chutzpah: NERVE.

49. South American mountain range: ANDES. Jorge, a bowling and golf friend of mine is from Chile.  The Andes mountain range to the east is just in the way.  Chile is a very versatile country on the Pacific coast

C.C. & Jorge, 7/7/2012

51. Staff assistant: AIDE.

52. "Look what __!": "Yay me!": I DID.  You can holler this when you finish this puzzle.

53. Bargain hunter's delight: SALE.  Major League baseball again, Pitcher Chris of the Red Sox.

54. App downloader: USER.

55. Site for handmade art: ETSY.

58. Application file suffix: EXE.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

Mike Alpern, the host of the Cru Dinner, kindly sent me this picture of him and our Jeffrey Wechsler at the ACPT. You can also read Deb Amlen's article here about the tournament and the Cru Dinner. Rookies all received a free copy of signed crossword book. I'll link Mike's photo album when they become available.

Sunday March 24, 2019 Jason Mueller

Theme: "Pollination" - BEE sits on top of each flower.

23. *Henry James heroine: DAISY MILLER. And 18. Hardwood tree: BEECH.

29. *Hip-hop artist with the 2014 #1 hit "Fancy": IGGY AZALEA. And 26. "Three Tall Women" Pulitzer playwright: ALBEE.

42. *Youngest NBA player to win the MVP: DERRICK ROSE. And 37. "Cold one over here, please": BEER ME.

67. *Bashful one: SHRINKING VIOLET. The only flower with BEES on top. See 60. 2007 IHOP acquisition: APPLEBEE'S.

93. *"Under the Net" novelist: IRIS MURDOCH. And 87. Designer Geoffrey: BEENE.

109. *Looney Tunes girlfriend: PETUNIA PIG. And 99. Borscht veggie: BEET.

117. *Add unneeded ornamentation: GILD THE LILY. And the reveal on top: 114. Creature found atop the apt part of each answer to a starred clue: BEE.

I love this theme!

Don G and I had the same idea a few years ago. But ours is only a weekday grid. I'm amazed at the amount of theme entries Jason put in this grid. The fill is really good, despite the challenges of those paralleled BEEs.

Across:

1. "Behind the __ I'll convey myself": Polonius: ARRAS.

6. Base near home: THIRD. FIRST too. We also have 6. Target Field team: TWINS. And 34. Pitcher Hershiser: OREL.

11. EMT skill: CPR.

14. Judge's seat: BANC.

19. Fail to make use of: WASTE.

20. WC: LOO.

21. Prayer opening: O LORD. Boomer has been going to church faithfully since last November. Making friends with God.

25. Top of a scepter, perhaps: ORB.

27. German university city: ULM. University of Ulm. Albert Einstein's birthplace.

28. Initial payments: ANTES.

31. Pays attention: LISTENS.

34. Delivery pros: OB/GYNS. Baby delivery.

35. One taking a selfie: CELL.

36. AP rival: UPI.

40. Campaign funding org.: PAC.

46. Big risk taker: DAREDEVIL. Great fill.

52. Happening: EVENT.

53. Studio supporter?: EASEL.

54. Remote, as a road: LONESOME.

55. Dwindle: FADE AWAY.

57. Divested (of): RID.

58. Bird in Saint-Saëns' "The Carnival of the Animals": SWAN. Learning moment for me.

59. 1912 Olympic legend: THORPE (Jim).  Native American.

66. Barrett of Pink Floyd: SYD.

71. "NCIS" was spun off from it: JAG.

74. Key movie scenes: SET PIECES.

75. 60-year-old Mattel classic: BARBIE.

79. Since: AS OF.

81. D.C. VIP: SEN.

82. Pocatello natives: IDAHOANS.

84. Korean rice dish: BIBIMBAP. Literally "mixed rice". Various julienned veggies and sliced beef or other meat on top of steamed rice. And an egg in the middle. Koreans like featuring an egg in their dishes. See their iconic cold noodles below.

Bibimbap

Korean Cold Noodles. The stuff under the egg is sliced Korean pears.

90. Keats, for one: ODIST.

91. "These go to eleven" band: SPINAL TAP.

95. Prefix with Pen: EPI.

96. Nab: ARREST.

98. Pocatello-to-Provo dir.: SSE.

102. Approached: NEARED.

105. Go back in: RE-ENTER.

111. "The way I __ ... ": SEE IT.

115. Pine Tree State campus town: ORONO. Alma mater of dear Hahtoolah. 

116. __ Diego: SAN.

120. Some, in Stuttgart: EINES.

121. Bit of work: ERG.

122. Saying: ADAGE.

123. Big fight: MELEE.

124. Palindromic Latin verb: ESSE. And 126. Palindromic court star: SELES.

125. Rehab woe: DTS.

127. Creases: FOLDS.

Down:

1. "Idol" judge replaced by DeGeneres: ABDUL.

2. "Around the Horn" host Tony: REALI.

3. French coronation city: REIMS.

4. Coolers in windows, briefly: ACS.

5. Timid: SHY.

7. Cease: HALT.

8. Bermuda, e.g.: ISLE.

9. GPS data: RTES.

10. Aachen article: DER.

11. Blocked, as a drain: CLOGGED.

12. Gershwin title lover: PORGY.

13. One-named Swedish pop singer: ROBYN. Guess what? She was born Robin.

14. Ruth's husband: BOAZ. Total stranger to me.

15. Allowing admittance anywhere, as a pass: ALL ACCESS. Another great fill.

16. Highborn: NOBLE.

17. Angler's basket: CREEL. Also 107. Caught congers: EELED.

22. Reason to shake: DEAL. Nice clue.

24. Overexcited: MANIC.

29. Watson creator: IBM. They have a woman CEO. She probably knows a regular on our blog.

30. Vail alternative: ASPEN.

32. Tina and Lana: TURNERS.

33. Mel Blanc's "That's All Folks" et al.: EPITAPHS.

37. Donkey sound: BRAY.

38. Dawn deity: EOS.

39. Linguistic suffix: ESE. And 41. Citrus suffix: ADE.

42. Skillful: DEFT.

43. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You __?": EVAH.

44. Make over: REDO.

45. Mauna __: KEA. Not LOA.

47. Suspect's story: ALIBI.

48. Copland ballet with a hoedown: RODEO.

49. Gives one's word: VOWS.

50. "It could happen": I MAY.

51. Allow to use: LEND.

56. "The Way We __": WERE. Such an idealistic movie. 

57. Guns: REVS.

60. Like, with "to": AKIN.

61. Dessert option: PIE.

62. __ Park: Pirates' field: PNC.

63. Part of XL: Abbr.: LGE.

64. Site of Napoleon's exile: ELBA.

65. Fish in the genus Hippocampus: SEAHORSE.

68. Where __: IT'S AT.

69. Hip-hop's Salt-__: N-PEPA.

70. Walked-on: TRODDEN.

71. Some punches: JABS.

72. Take __ of: taste: A SIP.

73. Mongolian desert: GOBI. You can still see part of the old Great Wall.

76. Scott of "Charles in Charge": BAIO. Some  #MeToo trouble as well.

77. Etched: Abbr.: INSC.

78. Bk. read at Purim: ESTH.

80. Tweaks: FINE-TUNES.

82. Research ctr.: INST.

83. JFK, say: DEM.

85. Plan, with "out": MAP.

86. Pancakes sometimes served with caviar: BLINI. Here is a plate of Chinese pancakes. Popular breakfast food. Do you like cong you bing, Jayce?

87. What Superman first looked like?: BIRD.

88. Prior to, in poems: ERE.

89. Grafton's "__ for Evidence": E IS.

92. Sliced-off parts: PARINGS.

94. "He that __ many words shall be abhorred": Eccl.: USETH.

97. Coffee order: Abbr.: REG.

99. Fraternal org.: BPOE

100. Strange: EERIE.

101. Preppy jackets: ETONS.

103. Abated: EASED.

104. Aside (from): APART.

105. Ceremonies: RITES.

106. Govt. security: T-BILL.

108. Judy of "Devious Maids": REYES. Another learning moment.

110. Support for glasses: NOSE.

111. Facet: SIDE.

112. Israeli airline: EL AL.

113. Margin: EDGE.

117. Energy metaphor: GAS.

118. "Unbelievable" rock band: EMF.

119. Celestial lion: LEO.

 

C.C.

Saturday, March 23, 2019, Kyle Dolan

Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

Today we celebrate National Chip and Dip Day. Perhaps we should have celebrated this occasion on Super Bowl Sunday but anything this delicious can stand on its own merit,

Many of the dips I saw online had guacamole and I just haven't developed that taste for that. My plebeian tastes prefer the common combination at the end of this write-up.

Toady's constructor  is Dr. Kyle Dolan and it has been my pleasure to blog three previous puzzles he authored here at our word stand! 

As his title would indicate, Kyle's puzzles are full of innovation and fiendish cluing coupled wonderful stacked 9's in the NW and SE!

Across:

1. Source of moving fare: FOOD TRUCK - When we were in Portland, Oregon we were stunned by the many, many FOOD TRUCKS downtown for lunch

10. Each of its chapters is called a "sura": QURAN - This alternate spelling of KORAN eventually entered my consciousness and opened up QUEEN in  10. Artist with the 2016 album "Lemonade," to fans: QUEEN BEY. I filled the cells but had to Google to obtain this reference to BEYONCE

15. Georgian Bay is part of it: LAKE HURON.

16. Fifth sense?: UMAMI - The 5th sense of taste that has been in our puzzles several times lately

17. "Regardless ... ": AT ANY RATE.

18. Park with an "Innoventions" museum: EPCOT  - A EPCOT portmanteau familiar to me

19. Humanities subj.: PSY.

20. Small white toy: MALTESE - Aha, Kyle, you didn't fool me!

22. Time of expectation: EVE.

23. Old Route 66 city: TULSA - Kind of a big deal there

24. Solution: ANSWER.

26. Flag of Chicago quartet: STARS - Who knew?

THE CHICAGO CITY FLAG

29. Mainland Africa's smallest nation: GAMBIA - The bizarre history of Gambia's formation and shape

31. Decorated one: HERO 

32. Pot seen in a bar: BEER BELLY - Sometimes indelicately called a "pot gut"

35. Charges up: EXCITES - THAT'S their, uh, charge

37. Whitewater sight, perhaps: KAYAKER.

39. Sit out: TAKE A PASS.

41. Lock fixers: GELS - Locks of hair

42. Maker of Oikos Greek yogurt: DANNON - Granola on top makes it more palatable to me

43. Big Ten team since 2014, familiarly: TERPS -  The TERPS and the Huskers joined in the same year

44. Actually being: INESSE - Latin for Contain, Embody, Include 

46. Match.com results: DATES - My daughter met a lot of frogs there before her ideal man came along

49. Brief storage unit: MEG - See the accompanying table

50. "The Murder Room" author: P.D. JAMES - New author for me

52. Red choice: CAB - In the seventeenth century in southwestern France, an accidental breeding occurred between a red CABernet Franc grape plant and a white Sauvignon Blanc grape plant produced the most popular grape among American red wine drinkers: CABernet Sauvignon.

55. Up: AWAKE.

57. In agreement with the party: ON MESSAGE - Senators and Representatives, abandon your own opinions before you take your seat

59. Jackie's predecessor: MAMIE - Here they are with their spouses and the Prime Minister of Japan and his spouse in 1961

60. Posted: STATIONED - My dad was STATIONED in The Panama Canal Zone during WWII

61. Place: STEAD - During the Civil War, rich men could pay to have others go in their STEAD as a substitute 

62. Egg sources: HEN HOUSES 


Down:

1. Controversy: FLAP - Any activity these days seems to generate a political FLAP

2. Stable diet: OATS - Lunch for Trigger and Silver

3. "Agreed": OKAY.

4. Show watcher's room: DEN - Wow!

5. Gland essential to T cell maturation: THYMUS  - All you need to know

6. Pastoral: RURAL and 7. Range with one end in Kazakhstan: URALS - How do you people who say RULE instead of ROOR AL pronounce this mountain range that divides Europe from Asia? 😏

8. Weekend getaway: COTTAGE - Ah, the destination not the trip

9. Hopping joint?: KNEE - My grandchildren hopped up on my KNEE many times

11. One verifying a tag: UMP - Verified!

12. 20km Summer Olympian: RACE WALKER - One foot must always be in contact with the ground

13. "Don't make __!": A MOVE.

14. Fertilizer ingredient: NITER - NITER is KNO3 below

21. Ballroom dances: SAMBAS - MAMBO, TANGO, SAMBA

23. Three-horse carriages: TROIKAS - A TROIKA ride at Pavlovsk Palace Park in St. Petersburg, Russia

25. Preserved fodders: SILAGES - Testing  a SILAGE pit is a common practice in Nebraska

26. "__ Came in Through the Bathroom Window": Beatles: SHE - Paul wrote this song about a fan who broke into his house.  Wanna hear?

27. One might include an emoji: TEXT - I 💘 to TEXT 😊

28. Dance Dance Revolution, e.g.: ARCADE GAME - 14 seconds of it on Big Bang

30. Sacred chests: ARKS - Indiana Jones and Sallah find the ARK of the Covenant (the MacGuffin) in this fun movie

32. More than brushed back: BEANED - Hit a home run, stand at the plate and watch it leave the ball park? This could happen to you the next time you're up!

33. First NHL player with a 100-point season, familiarly: ESPO - Phil ESPOsito has been a starter on the cwd hockey team for years!

34. Site with many pans: YELP - A pan is a bad review. A YELP review of our favorite Omaha restaurant

36. State-of-the-art 1970s bike: TEN SPEED - A coveted possession at that time

38. __ feed: online news aggregator: RSS - Rich Site Summary - RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually.

40. Slowish tempo marking: ANDANTE - Griegg's famous passage from Peer Gynt played ANDANTE

43. One of Corleone's capos: TESSIO - Here Abe Vigoda playing Salvatore TESSIO asks for mercy after betraying the family in The Godfather

44. 10-Across preachers: IMAMS.

45. Unaccustomed to: NEW AT

47. Jordan's capital: AMMAN - 31/4 hr drive from Tel Aviv

48. Effectiveness: TEETH - Texting while driving violations will only be effective when TEETH are put into its enforcement 

51. Rib: JOSH.

52. Recycled items: CANS.

53. "Permit Me Voyage" poet: AGEE - A 1939 compilation of poetry by James Agee. I am much more familiar with Tommy AGEE of the '69 Amazin' Mets!

54. Flower holders: BEDS - Ours will hold forth soon, duly protected from the rabbits

56. Hyundai competitor: KIA - The 2019 Hyundai and KIA below. I don't know which is which. 😁

58. Paltry quantity: SOU - Je n'ai pas un SOU sur moi (I haven't got a penny on me)

Time for my low brow chip and dip while you comment:

Just a "Z" short of a Pangram