Sunday July 14, 2019 Mark MacLachlan

Theme:  "Code Crackers" - The letters, as hinted by part of the theme entries, orderly spelled out FBI AGENTS.

23A. One way to enter a pool: FEET FIRST. The first letter of the word "Feet" is F.

29A. One end of a church key: BOTTLE OPENER. The opening letter of "Bottle" is B.

36A. Physical location?: MEDICAL CENTER. The very center of "Medical" is I.

54A. "Mobile" communications device used in law enforcement: DATA TERMINAL. The terminal letter of "Data" is A.

64A. Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" has one that includes cannon fire: BIG FINISH. The finishing letter of "Big" is G.

72A. 2012 Beyoncé hit with the repeated line "Say you'll never let me go": END OF TIME. The ending letter of "Time" is E.

81A. Summing-up words: IN CONCLUSION. The concluding letter of "In" is N.

102A. Guru whose opinions are trusted: THOUGHT LEADER. The leading letter of "Thought" is T.

110A. 2019 "Game of Thrones" event: SERIES FINALE.The final letter of "Series" is S.

Reveal entry:

120A. Govt. employees encoded by the nine other longest across entries in this puzzle ... and who might be called in to decode them: FBI AGENTS.

Fun gimmick from Mark.

Reminds me of the "DEAR JOHN LETTERS" puzzle I made of for the NYT a while ago. So I fully understood the amount of research and work he put into this grid.

Across:

1. College loan co-signer, maybe: DAD. None for me, thankfully. Chinese government paid all my college education.

4. Establish as law: ENACT.

9. Long-legged birds: WADERS.

15. Five-O nickname: DANO.

19. Before, poetically: ERE.

20. Prepare to surf: LOG ON.  Most Chinese use WeChat. Quite a few neat features.

21. Reunion attendee: ALUMNA.

22. King Harald's father: OLAV.

25. __ media: SOCIAL.

26. Film scene shot without interruption: TAKE.

27. Kenya's first prime minister __ Kenyatta: JOMO. No idea. Wiki says he was also Kenya's first president. He died in office in 1978.

28. Hydroelectric project: DAM.

31. Amazon assistant: ALEXA.

33. Abundant element in Earth's core: IRON.

35. Thingamajigs: DOODADS.

41. Humor: INDULGE. me.

42. Winans of gospel: CECE.

43. Most hip: COOLEST.

45. Supposed to arrive: DUE.

46. Spa sounds: AHS. And 49. Plotting chuckle: HEH.

51. Delta rival renamed in 1997: US AIR.

53. Moving aids: VANS.

60. Jack in a suit: KNAVE.

62. Initial Hebrew letter: ALEPH. We also had 39. 12th Jewish month: ELUL.

63. Mountain melody: YODEL.

68. Lose it: GO APE.

69. Matching game: LOTTO. Our old neighbor won $100,000. Lost them all, including his house.

71. Total, as a bill: RUN TO.

76. Slips through the cracks: OOZES.

79. Domingo, for one: TENOR.

80. One of Australia's six: STATE.

83. Thin coin: DIME.

86. Digitally approve: E-SIGN.

88. Game-winning line: OOO.

89. Hallelujah trio?: ELS. Halleluja. Just the letters.

90. Spanish article: UNA.

91. Sharp tingle, as of fear: PRICKLE.

95. Ford contemporary: OLDS.

98. Discount: CUT RATE.

107. Surname on Elm Street: KRUEGER (Freddy)

108. Chiwere-speaking native: OTOE.

109. Trial subject: CRIME. Even our local Star Tribute carried this story.

114. 45, in classic pop: RPM.

117. Well-behaved: GOOD.

118. Like many Horace works: ODIC.

119. Mexican madam: SENORA.

122. __ Reader: UTNE.

123. When Hamlet kills Polonius: ACT III.

124. Divider of pews: AISLE.

125. Word in many obituaries: NEE.

126. Collectible '90s caps: POGS.

127. Put away for later: STORED.

128. Kingdom: REALM.

129. Important stretch: ERA.

Down:

1. Kanye West label: DEF JAM.

2. Ring of color: AREOLE. 

3. Regarded: DEEMED.

4. 2003 holiday comedy: ELF.

5. Reason for being barred at a bar: NO ID.

6. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

7. Immense: COSMIC.

8. Blast cause: TNT.

9. Suspected: WAS ONTO.

10. Heaps: A LOT.

11. Tear channel: DUCT.

12. Czech track legend Zátopek: EMIL.

13. Cellular process affecting nucleotide sequences: RNA EDITING. New term to me.

14. Scene of some "Gunsmoke" action: SALOON.

15. College address ending: DOT EDU.

16. Actor born Alphonso D'Abruzzo: ALAN ALDA. Full name.

17. First of three Leslie Nielsen comedies, with "The": NAKED GUN.

18. Supervises: OVERSEES.

24. Venomous: TOXIC.

29. U2 frontman: BONO.

30. Whale group: POD.

32. Pitching staff star: ACE. Life is so fragile. You never know what's going on in other's life.

34. VCR button: REC.

37. Masseuse's target: ACHE.

38. Not sure (of): LEERY.

40. Hi-__ graphics: RES.

44. Munro pen name: SAKI. I wonder why he picked this name.

46. "Great minds think alike," e.g.: ADAGE.

47. Fire-suppressing gas: HALON.

48. Position: STEAD.

50. Med. care provider: HMO.

52. U.K. fliers: RAF.

53. They may be changed by judges: VENUES. Trial venue.

55. Place side by side: APPOSE.

56. Taking it badly?: THEFT. Fun clue.

57. Run in place: IDLE.

58. Modernist's prefix: NEO.

59. TV chef Brown: ALTON.

61. Love of antiques: VIRTU.

64. Renowned clown: BOZO.

65. Navel formation: INNIE.

66. Stand-up comic's seat: STOOL.

67. Lock __: come into conflict: HORNS.

70. Front-of-bk. list: TOC. Table of Content.

73. __ Bo: TAE.

74. "Just what I wanted!": IT'S PERFECT.

75. '70s Israeli prime minister: MEIR.

77. "Music for Airports" producer: ENO.

78. Move quickly: SCOOT.

81. Ruler unit: INCH.

82. Veg out: LOLL.

83. A piece of cake: DUCK SOUP. Love this fill.

84. More than familiar with: INURED TO.

85. Growing up: MATURING.

87. "Shoo!": GIT.

92. Brand with a pitcher-shaped mascot: KOOL-AID.

93. Bard's instrument: LUTE.

94. Freudian focus: EGO.

96. Mo. when Festivus is celebrated: DEC.

97. Beetle Bailey nemesis: SARGE.

99. Treats again, as a sprain: RE-ICES. Or hernia.

100. Grow older: AGE.

101. Actress Thompson and ice dancer Virtue: TESSAS.

103. Disney Beetle: HERBIE. Herbie the Love Bug.

104. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" singer Warwick: DIONNE.

105. Drama queen, e.g.: EMOTER.

106. View from Jidda: RED SEA.

111. Really digging: INTO.

112. Pinot __: NOIR.

113. Grammy winner India.__: ARIE.

115. Galileo's birthplace: PISA. Oh hello!

116. Strip __: MALL.

120. Away companion: FAR.

121. Rock in a setting: GEM.

 

Belated happy birthday to dear CanadianEh, one of the most insightful commenters on our blog. How did you celebrate this year, Eh?

Saturday, July 13, 2019, Greg Johnson

Themeless Saturday by Greg Johnson

Today celebrates the delight/bane of my existence - National French Fry Day. I've often said that if were no potatoes, I'd be many pounds lighter. (See fast food fries ratings just above the grid at the bottom of the blog)

As a matter of fact, there isn't much you can do to a potato to make it unpalatable to me. Well, If you put them under liver... 😖

I managed to sail right through Greg's pangrammatic puzzle with nary a potato necessary

Across:

1. It may be tuna-flavored: CAT FOOD 

8. Words spoken while pointing: THAT WAY - Assistance from a tuna lover

15. Places with tanks: AQUARIA.

16. Some Australians call it "chateau cardboard": BOX WINE - A fun new phrase for me

17. In a peculiar fashion: FUNNILY - Reminds me of last Sunday's LY puzzle

18. 1996 Olympics site: ATLANTA.

19. Most of pewter: TIN.

Periodic Table Composition of PEWTER

20. [Uh-oh!]: GULP.

22. Money: TENDER - something tendered or offered, especially money, as in payment. 1535–45; earlier tendre, noun use of Anglo-French tendre to extend, offer. 

23. Golden __: ALES - Here ya go

25. Original "Jeopardy!" announcer: PARDO - Even this poor video quality brings back fond memories of Don PARDO and Art Fleming (:39)

27. It's put on: GARB and 1. Garment commonly seen in Morocco: CAFTAN - Hasbro will sell you an Indiana Jones villain wearing GARB known as a CAFTAN

28. Rock bottom: NADIR - NADIR in poetry

30. Sugar __: BEETS.

32. CV section: BIO - Writing a BIO in your Curriculum Vitae 

33. Two-thirds of 900?: ZERO ZERO - The other third is a 9

35. Place to go in London: LOO - A public LOO where you can, uh, go on a London street

36. One hanging around near the church entrance: GREETER.

39. Matching 401(k) contribution, e.g.: JOB PERK.

41. "Everybody Hurts" band: REM - A nice listen

42. Drink served in two states?: ICE WATER - Physics Phun! Here we see water in two of its states - solid and liquid

44. "__ recall ... ": AS I.

45. Title for Juan Carlos I: EL REY  - Juan Carlos I fue EL REY de España desde 1975 hasta 2014 (Juan Carlos I was the king of Spain from 1975 - 2014)

46. Pony Express employee: RIDER - The phrase "Orphans preferred" says something about this job

50. Sugar __: CONE 

52. Words on perishables: USE BY - Once that time strikes, my lovely bride pitches it no matter what 

54. The printed one doesn't include specials: MENU.


55. Massages: KNEADS - One kitty KNEADS another

57. Eccentric: KOOK.

59. Waiter at a stand: CAB 

60. Weak: LANGUID - A synonym was used in  the broadcast phrase "Wound my heart with monotonous LANGUOR" which signaled the French Underground that D-Day was imminent  

62. Fruit, so to speak: OUTCOME - Deeds are FRUITS, words are only leaves.

64. Territory within another territory: ENCLAVE -  Le Petit Senegal in Harlem, Manhattan

65. Walk all over: TREAD ON - South Carolinian Christopher Gadsen's Revolutionary War flag 

66. Heinz Field athlete: STEELER.

67. Elves, in some cases: HELPERS.


Down:

2. Constellation whose name is Latin for 51-Down: AQUILA and 51. Mexican flag bird: EAGLE.

3. Stored in a cask: TUNNED - I suppose if it's stored in a TUN... 

4. Agitate: FAN - Every group has someone who tries to FAN the flames of an argument 

5. Not a copy: Abbr.: ORIG.

6. Prepare to show some muscle: OIL UP 

7. Some farmhands: DAY LABORERS 

8. Not yet on the sched.: TBA.

9. More than eager: HOT TO TROT.

10. Semi bar: AXLE.

11. Bluegrass characteristic: TWANG.

12. Like some watches: WINDABLE - I've had them but can't remember the last time I wound a watch

13. Situated toward the front: ANTERIOR - The ACL is in front of the PCL below

14. High school memento: YEARBOOK.

21. Top suit: PREZ - Suit is vernacular for management 

24. What "L" may indicate: SIZE - I just love this joke!

26. Nightclub VIP's spot: DEE JAY BOOTH.

29. Fix, as laces: RETIE.

31. Not at all wasted?: SOBER - Ah the many synonyms for being drunk

34. Unlikely to be out and about: RECLUSIVE - Time magazine's Top 10 most RECLUSIVE celebrities

36. Crowlike birds: GRACKLES - FINALLY they have mostly left our yard! They are big, noisy bullies that arrive around the first day of spring and leave around the first day of summer. Our little birds now have a chance at the feeders and our sunflower chip bill will go down

37. Sonorous: RESONANT - My RESONANT voice was a great asset for me in my teaching career 

38. High standing: EMINENCE.

40. Proper partner: PRIM.

43. Word with day or end: WEEK.

47. Solve, as a cipher: DECODE - Perhaps the most famous DECODER was Alan Turing in Hut 6 at Bletchley Park

48. Win over: ENAMOR.

49. 17th-century Flemish painter: RUBENS - Lovely Christina Hendricks of AMC's Madmen is said to have a RUBENESQUE figure

53. "'A' - __ Adorable": Perry Como hit: YOURE.

56. Serving two purposes: DUAL.

58. "Goofy Greats" record label: KTEL - This commercial brings back memories

 
61. Essen article: DER  - Dies ist DER vorletzte Hinweis (This is the penultimate clue)

63. Hat for an Angel: CAP - Many think the Angel under this CAP is today's best MLB player. His name is at the bottom of this blog *

After digesting this LA Times ranking of fast food fries, you can move on to comment:

* That California Angel is Mike Trout 

Friday. July 12, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Even STRANGER THINGS, Eleven's little brother Nine.

Bruce offers us a 15 x 16 puzzle where the theme is the grid which contains 72 words and uses only 9 letters in the alphabet!!!!!!!!!
We do have a reveal- 64A. Country spelled with the only nine letters used in this puzzle's answers: SINGAPORE (9). Gimmick puzzles can be a lot of fun but seldom have such perfect reveal. I was very impressed by the skill required to bring this home while maintaining the left/right symmetry. The only cheater squares are the three on each side of  SINGAPORE. The puzzle allowed for such sparkly fill as APENNINES, APPEASING, ENGAGES IN, PING PONGS, ASIAN PEARS, and REGRESSION. No doubt some of the fill was a bit obscure, but the final result was all doable once you understood you did not need any alphabet runs. We have some music, some tv, some food.... well it is time to work.

Across:

1. Getaway spots: SPAS. This was a good start for me.

5. Prefix with phobia: AGORA. Initially, I had left this blank, but when I had filled ARGO and ANGORA, I came back put AGORA in. I did not quite get the theme at that point, but it made sense.

10. 2012 Best Picture: ARGO. Ben Affleck.

14. Subside: EASE.

15. Place to start an IV: PREOP. Do you think it needs a hyphen? Pre-op. Nicely misleading clue because I was trying to decide where they were sticking me.

16. Accessories: GEAR.

17. Yeats' birthplace: ERIN. WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS appeared in a comment this week. Not only a well-respected poet, but he was also very proud of his Irish heritage.

18. Dissect in class, in a way: PARSE. A common crossword concept.

19. "To share, or not to share?" food brand: EGGO. No waffling on this answer.

20. Butters up, maybe: PRAISES. Unless it is your waffle...

22. Long-haired cats: ANGORAS.  This BREED.

24. Prefix with -gon: NONA. This is geometry -a plane figure with nine straight sides and nine angles.

25. Zip: NONE. Hmm, next to each other.

26. Fill in: APPRISE.

29. Wintergreen family herb: PINESAP. This is any of several yellowish or reddish parasitic or saprophytic herbs (genus Monotropa) of the wintergreen family resembling the Indian pipe. It has nothing to do with the SAP from a pine.

32. Once called: NÉE. For a female.

33. Assigning to, as blame, with "on": PINNING.

35. Multitude: SEA.

36. Hoppy brew, briefly: IPA. India Pale Ale. Very hoppy.

37. Search tools: ENGINES.

38. Apple platform: IOS.

39. Formal addressees: SIRS.

41. Factions in "West Side Story": GANGS.

42. Word in family business names: SONS.

43. Former CNN journalist David: ENSOR. I no longer watch any national news but seems like a NICE man.

45. Misunderstanding metaphor: GAP.

46. Pick up: SENSE.

47. Bird seen in only one state: NENE. CSO to our Hawaii readers.

49. Letters near zero: OPER. If you remember the classic telephone.

51. Germane: APROPOS.

54. Like some doubts and injuries: NAGGING.

58. Polish for "dumplings": PIEROGI. Food.

59. Less experienced: GREENER.

60. Football's "Boomer": ESIASON. A HOF quarterback, sort of.

61. Inflation-indexed U.S. savings bond: SERIES I. What is FOR SALE now.

62. __ Marino: SAN.

63. W-2 info: SSN.

Down:

1. Trickle: SEEP.

2. Last of three Catherines: PARR. She was an interesting woman, and here is a LINK to a wonderful historical website.

3. Far East fruit: ASIAN PEARS. This looks like an apple but tastes like a pear and is available in the street markets in Thailand and some large Asian markets here in Florida. Many of the fruits named in this THAI FRUIT LINK are grown in Homestead. Just be careful of the Durian.

4. Ranking: SENIOR. My card says "senior assistant" meaning I am old.

5. Settling down: APPEASING.

6. French fat: GRAS. Foie gras...a delicacy that extends back thousands of years, based on a rather barbaric CUSTOM.

7. Anthem word with an apostrophe: O'ER the ramparts we watched...

8. Parks in American history: ROSA.

9. Corno Grande's range: APENNINES. A complete unknown despite talking with my son and d-i-l about their time in Italy, but nothing here. Geography is clearly my weakest subject.

10. Early personal milestone: AGE ONE. Weird phrasing.

11. Word in medicine that sounds bad but is often good: REGRESSION. Another word that goes both ways - sometimes good, sometimes bad. re·gres·sion (rē-gresh'ŭn), such as shown:
1. A subsidence of symptoms.
2. A relapse; a return of symptoms.

12. Infatuated: GAGA.

13. Spanish medals or metals: OROS. Spanish Gold.

21. Take potshots: SNIPE.

23. Loud ringers: GONGS.

26. Biscotti flavoring: ANISE. Alphabetically first, but man they make many FLAVORS.

27. Jacques of PBS' "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home": PEPIN.
I did not know this SERIES or M. Pepin       

28. Does: ENGAGES IN.

29. Goes back and forth: PING PONGS. A nice visual clue.

30. Long periods: AEONS.

31. So yesterday: PASSE.

34. 1493 Lisbon arrival: NINA. HEADLINE.

40. Only Mexican state that borders Baja: SONORA.

42. Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. I really did not know his first name. Listen.

44. They get carried away: REPOS.

46. "Night Moves" singer: SEGER. Listen and watch.

48. Scrubbed, as a launch: NO GO.

50. Cut back: PARE.

51. Parrots: APES. Funny, two animals used to mean imitates.

52. City on the Arno: PISA. You can see the river through the town.

53. Hold back: REIN. You need to control your joy at getting this Friday puzzle.

55. Supermodel Sastre: INÉS. This was the last of the total unknowns for me. She is quite pretty and more. Sorry for the removed info.

LINK

56. Loch of note: NESS. No Eliot for Boomer.

57. Silly look?: GRIN. Yes, what my face looks like now that I made it to the end.

Bruce always delivers some fun and creativity, and today was a classic. I feel blessed to do Friday puzzles because they are so diverse and this was an incredible challenge to create without making it clunky. Thanks, Bruce. Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 11th 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme: The Byrds Songs - what better to celebrate a nice punning puzzle with a reminder of Roger McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker?

I'm assuming I don't have to explain the puns, they're pretty obvious, so let's call out the theme entries and move on.

17A. Devious nestling's cry?: CHEEP TRICK. Here's Cheap Trick for color (or black and white in this picture, darn).

27A. Early-rising duck's call?: QUACK OF DAWN

46A. Prizeworthy cornfield sounds?: CAWS CÉLÈBRE. Not sure about the definition in the clue here. "Prizeworthy" doesn't ring true. Controversial or unpopular in my dictionary.

62A. Elegant dove's murmur?: COO DE GRÂCE. Filling up my quota of diacriticals here.

I was interested to see that two of the four punning entries had been used before - no knock on Paul´s elegant puzzle, but both had appeared in the NYT, granted 20 years apart, but the most recent was 2017. I like how Paul pulled everything together with the aviarian theme though. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Red ink list: DEBTS

6. Editor's "never mind": STET

10. Fast one: SCAM

14. Naturally lit courtyards: ATRIA

15. Mex. title: SRTA. Senorita. Not just Mexico, any Spanish-speaking country.

16. Roughly: OR SO

19. Word on diet food packaging: LITE

20. Like a coach after a rough game, maybe: HOARSE

21. Marriott-owned hotel chain: SHERATON. Marriott and Hilton have pretty much acquired every other hotel chain on the planet.

23. Sets, as a price: ASKS

24. Div. won by the Braves 13 times: N.L.E. Atlanta of the National League East.

26. Besmirch: TAR

32. __ Maria: TIA. I tried AVE first, which didn't work so well. A non-religious friend of mine works with some parochial schools, and was reading a hymn sheet. She asked me why "Avenue Maria" was part of a prayer.

35. Big bully: BRUTE

36. Protected at sea: ALEE

37. Counselor: ADVISER

39. Watch for money, usually: BABYSIT

42. Four-time Grammy winners Kings of __: LEON. I decided not to link one of my favorite songs of theirs - it has the s*x word in the title, and I didn't want to upset anyone.

43. Backspace over: ERASE

45. Hosp. areas: O.R.'S My first full-time job out of high school was as a cleaner in the county hospital. I'm not sure how many O.R's and E.R's I cleaned up. That was a good education for a precocious 17-year-old. It certainly taught me a couple of life lessons.

49. Amigo: PAL

50. Letters from the Civil War: CSA

51. Mine bonanza: LODE. Is there a father lode? I know there's a mother one.

55. Skated on thin ice: RAN A RISK

59. Look into again, as a cold case: REOPEN

61. Brought into play: USED

64. Many a retired thoroughbred: SIRE

65. "It __ up to me": ISN'T

66. Catcher's interference, in baseball rules: ERROR

67. Kit Carson House site: TAOS

68. Throw away: TOSS. Nicely proximate to TAOS.

69. Nostalgically fashionable: RETRO

Down:

1. Russian country house: DACHA

2. Cultural spirit: ETHOS

3. Work stoppage?: BREAK

4. Elaborate cake layers: TIERS. I guess "elaborate" because a tier needs to be stacked on something?

5. Easy marks: SAPS

6. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr.: S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic.

7. Split into thirds: TRISECT. Quite an uncommon word, but perfectly logical.

8. Inscribe: ETCH

9. Start liking: TAKE TO

10. Astronomical time period: SOLAR DAY. The time it takes for a planet to rotate on its axis so that the sun appears in the same place in the sky. 24 hours on Earth, 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds on Mars.

11. Lit __: CRIT

12. In the matter of: AS TO

13. Kohler rival: MOEN

18. Academic goal: TENURE

22. Churchill's "so few": Abbr.: R.A.F. The Royal Air Force. "Per Ardua Ad Astra". I'm sure you all know the full quote:

"Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few".

25. Bay leaf source: LAUREL

27. Moon and Starr of the NFL: QB'S. Nice clue. Warren Moon and Bart Starr. Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to the first two Superbowl wins. He passed away recently, in May.

28. Skewered fare: KEBABS. I wait for crosses, as "KEBOBS" is equally valid. Also "KABOBS/KABABS".

29. "And another thing ... ": ALSO

30. 2003 Masters champ Mike: WEIR. A Canadian leftie, winning the Masters was the highlight of his career.

31. Brings home: NETS

32. Locker room sprinkle: TALC

33. Brain wave: IDEA

34. Admit frankly: AVOW. I had "AVER" first which slowed me down a little.

38. To a great degree: IN SPADES

40. Equally hard to find: AS RARE

41. Contest where participants stand for a spell: BEE. Is the National Spelling Bee done? What, eight joint winners after the organizers ran out of words this year? It seems a little silly now, especially with all the professional coaching that seems to be compulsory to give the kid a chance to compete. Let's just call it a day and move on.

44. Figures: RECKONS

47. Elevator __: CAR

48. Bring out: ELICIT

51. He played Ugarte in "Casablanca": LORRÉ. ¨He goes strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorré, contemplating a crime¨.

52. Eyeball benders: OP ART. I posted an example of this a couple of years ago, and spent the night with my eyes spinning and I couldn't sleep. Google at your own (pleasure) risk.

53. HGTV topic: DECOR

54. Two before marzo: ENERO. Spanish months, January and March.

55. Reddish shade: RUST

56. Where to find Java: ASIA. Also, my kitchen, with a pound of Blue Mountain coffee brought back from Jamaica. I use it sparingly, it's delicious but expensive.

57. Student of Seneca: NERO

58. Just all right: SO-SO

60. Hungarian wine region: EGER. Not one of the most well-known regions, but some nice reds are produced there. You need to be careful, a lot of the wineries load up the wines with a ton of alcohol, not the most subtle approach.

63. Rehab symptom, for short: DT'S. Delirium Tremens, or visions of pink elephants and the shakes, much the same that anyone would experience watching the latest Disney remake of "Dumbo". What were they thinking?


Well, that about wraps up another Thursday from me. Here's the grid and I'll get my coat.

Steve