Monday, Oct 14, 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme: ON THE MONEY (59. Exactly right ... and where parts of 17-, 24- and 47-Across appear)

17. Toy component of a miniature cabin ($5): LINCOLN LOG.

24. One applying for a financial gift ($50): GRANT WRITER.

47. Popular Wyoming mountain resort ($20): JACKSON HOLE.

Boomer here.  

What a week!!  Twins are history and I don't think it matters because Houston would not like to play in 30 degree weather.  Since this blog covers most of North America, I wish to mention sympathy to those in Southern California who were damaged by the fires. Also to those up north from Fargo to Theodore Roosevelt National Park who were pelted with an October blizzard. Finally prayers and good wishes to Dennis in Florida who is undergoing a serious medical procedure.  

 

Now on to the puzzle.  Our constructor seemed to leave out the George Washington bill, the one to which I am most familiar.

Across:

1. Livens (up): PEPS.  Add an "I" and I am drinking one.

5. River through the Lake of the Ozarks: OSAGE.  "Oh SAGE" Thanksgiving is only about six weeks away.  My favorite spice in the Turkey stuffing.

10. GPS diagrams: MAPS.  Spell it backwards and you have that military meat from Austin, MN.

14. Teen heartthrob: IDOL.  Singer Billy with funny hair.

15. Rocker Eddie Van __: HALEN.

16. Tennis great Arthur who wrote "A Hard Road to Glory": ASHE.

19. Actor Gosling: RYAN.  How about Nolan who had about 324 wins and over 5000 strikeouts?

20. "__ suggestions?": ANY.

21. Mindless repetition: ROTE.  Hope you are not tired of pro athletes yet, but Kyle Rote was a wide receiver for the New York Giants.  My claim to his fame is we share the same birthday, (However not the same year of course.)

22. "You __ grounded!": ARE SO.

23. Jack Sprat no-no: FAT.  His wife could eat no lean.

27. "What __ state of affairs!": A SAD.

29. Frosty coating: RIME.  I did not know what it was called. We had a bit of RIME on our deck yesterday.  Winter comes early in Minnesota,

30. Par __: via airmail, in Arles: AVION.

32. Intend to say: MEAN.  Jesse Ventura used to call Gene Okerlund (wrestling sports caster) MEAN GENE.

34. WWII turning point: D DAY.

38. Doozy: LULU.  "To sir, with Love."

39. High-tech eye surgery: LASIK.  Too high tech for me, I need glasses to read the paper and the internet.

40. Self-defense spray: MACE.  Get this in your eye and I don't think LASIK will help.

41. Roach or termite: PEST.

42. Stuntman Knievel: EVEL.  I remember 1974 when the world was watching him to jump a motorcycle over the Snake River Canyon somewhere in Idaho.  I don't remember if he made it but he must have because he performed many jumps after that.

43. Like Cheerios, grain-wise: OATEN.  General Mills offices are near our home. I used to eat Cheerios but I have changed my attention to CHEX.

44. Fine-tune, as skills: HONE.

46. Author Rice: ANNE.

52. Myrna of "The Thin Man": LOY.  The "Thin Man" became a TV series in the late 50s. with Peter Lawford. Lawford was a brother-in-law of JFK and also a member of the so called "Rat Pack" who hung out at The Sands in Las Vegas.

55. High hairdos: AFROS.  Not to be confused with the Houston Team that is taking on the Yanks in the ALCS.

56. Greek "i": IOTA.

57. Simpson trial judge: ITO.  Ah yes, The most famous judge of the O.J. Simpson era.

58. Unfocused image: BLUR.  Maybe they should try LASIK.

62. First, in "Who's on First?": BASE.  What's on second, I don't know's on third.

63. Worse, as excuses go: LAMER.

64. "I, Claudius" role: NERO.

65. "__ girl!": ATTA.

66. Accomplishments: DEEDS.  Get as many Monopoly cards as you can.  Collect rent and win the game.

67. "No warranties": AS IS.

Down:

1. Seasoned rice dish: PILAF.

2. Patsy's "Ab Fab" pal: EDINA.  This would be a southwest suburb of Minneapolis.

3. Hairstyles named for an equine feature: PONYTAILS.  My older sister had one for years.  A common style in the 50s and 60s but I still see a few around today.

4. Utah luggage tag initials: SLC.  Salt Lake City,  I've been through there a few times on I-80.  They sure have a big lake there.  Bigger than all Minnesota lakes except Superior I suppose.

5. "Dear God!": OH LORD.

6. Reindeer reins holder: SANTA.  My church had a priest named Father Santa.  He transferred to Michigan, but at Christmas he got lots of mail.

7. Filmmaker Woody: ALLEN.

8. Former Prizm maker: GEO.  Interesting history, the car was a joint venture with GM and some Japanese automakers.  I think Chevy took it over in the early 2000s but it did not last long.

9. London lang.: ENG.  When I was a young American, I thought "English" was a foreign language.

10. Guy wearing a ring, perhaps: MARRIED MAN.

11. Until now: AS YET.

12. New moon, e.g.: PHASE.  This word comes up in electricity all the time.  Your home is probably single phase, but three phase is for the bigger power users.

13. Mexican title: SENOR.

18. Church keyboard: ORGAN.  My church replaced ours with a piano.  Not my favorite.

22. Escort's offer: ARM.

25. Oregon or Chisholm: TRAIL.  I wonder how many "TRAILS" are in the U.S.

26. Bat one eye: WINK.

28. Place to eat Seoul food: SOUTH KOREA.  I get it, a play on words.  I know I am constantly guilty of it.  Sorry.

30. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.

31. Saturn SUV: VUE.  This was replaced by the "Outlook", but now I think Saturn has been swallowed up by GM and you have to go to Chevy to get an SUV.

32. Expert: MAVEN.

33. Language suffix: ESE.  Minneapolis to Lake Superior compass direction.

35. Starts of many news stories: DATELINES.  Also known as "Breaking News" which is every report on MSNBC, CNN, and FOX (less Shepard Smith).

36. Expert: ACE.  A great start to the game of 21 aka Blackjack.

37. Strong desire: YEN.  Japanese money.  It takes a whole bunch to equal a U.S. dollar.

39. Jay of late-night TV: LENO.  Used to be on "Tonight", now his show is in a garage.

43. Late hr. to turn in: ONE AM.  This is when I get up to take pills, but I am back in the sack by 1:01 AM.

45. CIA forerunner: OSS.  WWII era, Office of Secret Services.

46. Changes: ALTERS.

47. __ the Hutt of "Star Wars": JABBA.  Star Wars of the future.  If this were in the stone age, Fred Flintstone might holler "Jabba Jabba Dooo".

48. Note after G: A FLAT.  I almost had "A FLAT" when my tire picked up a nail last Spring.

49. Pizza feature: CRUST.  I used to make and bake pizzas.  We called the base a crust but it was not crusty.  Not like the frozen kind you get at the Grocery store.

50. Blackjack request: HIT ME.  A dangerous move with 15 or 16.

51. __ and aahed: OOHED.

53. Comical Cheri: OTERI.

54. Up-and-down toys: YO-YOS.  Everyone had a "Duncan" when I was a kid.  We could make them sleep or go "around the world".

59. Ancient: OLD.  I am not there yet, but getting close.

60. Dumfries denial: NAE.

61. Words before roll or streak: ON A.  Could be a bowling term for XXXXXXX.

Boomer

Sunday October 13, 2019 Kevin Salat

Theme: "Flip the Switch" - ON and OFF change positions.  

22A. Lectured about links?: SPOKE ON THE CUFF. Spoke off the cuff

47A. "We have that in stock," e.g.?: ON HAND REMARK. Offhand remark.

70A. Extra-base hit, likely?: FLY OFF THE WALL. Fly on the wall.

91A. Fake modeling material?: KNOCK OFF WOOD. Knock on wood.

117A. Let go of a factory workers unit?: LAID OFF THE LINE. Laid on the line.

32D. Guidebook for throwing a shot?: ON PUTTING. Off-putting.

60D. Stage hog staying sober?: HAM OFF RYE. Ham on rye.

Three Off to ON, Four On to OFF. One more will be an even switch.

Grid design can be deceiving at times. I thought this is a 140-worder, a few spots just feel so chunky.

Across:

1. Expert's nugget: PRO TIP.

7. Seaside eatery: CLAM BAR. Never been to a clam bar.

14. Relative challenge for some: IN-LAW. Real "relative".

19. Stand-up sort: MENSCH. So many on our blog.

20. Filmmaker for whom a Golden Globe award is named: DEMILLE. Also 127. Academy bestowals: OSCARS.

21. Part of TNT: NITRO.

24. Got out of the pen: SPRUNG. Jail. And 81. Sentence structure?: CELL.

26. 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan: SATO. Wiki says he "brought Japan into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974." He died in 1975.

27. Gram opening: INSTA. Instagram.

28. Word on a towel: HIS.

29. Icky stuff: GOO.

30. __-cone: SNO.

33. Portable preparedness kit: GO BAG.

35. Rang: TOLLED.

37. 2019 NCAA hoops champ: UVA. And 34. 37-Across conf.: ACC.

38. Start of a few choice words?: EENIE.

40. World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena: OCHOA. One of my favorite LPGA players.

42. Big discount events: FIRE SALES.

45. Fabric flaws: RIPS.

46. Govt. health org.: CDC. And 66. 46-Across HQ city: ATL.

49. Uniformed "O Canada" singer: BLUEJAY. And 52. Maple syrup base: SAP.

51. Prom coif: UPDO.

53. Oktoberfest vessel: STEIN.

54. Balaam's mount: ASS.

55. "In memoriam" piece: OBIT.

59. Adjust the length of: RE-HEM.

63. Peach center: PIT. Tried a few white peaches this year. So sweet.

64. "Cabaret" film director: FOSSE.

66. Spanning: ACROSS.

68. Foo Fighters frontman Grohl: DAVE.

69. "__ dreaming?": AM I.

73. Guys: MEN.

74. Frog hangout: POND.

76. Like many awards: ANNUAL.

77. Similarly named rival of a video game plumber: WARIO. Arch-rival of Mario.

78. PDX : Portland :: __ : Chicago: ORD.

79. Heavenly body?: ANGEL.

82. Wetland: FEN.

83. Tips politely: DOFFS. Hat.

85. Complainer who won't quit: NAG.

87. Dressed: CLAD.

89. Fundraiser: BENEFIT.

97. Round number?: PAR. Nice clue.

98. Obama Education secretary Duncan: ARNE.

99. Specialized market segment: NICHE AREA.

100. Big name in grills: WEBER.

102. Utah's __ Canyon: BRYCE.

103. Do brunch, say: EAT. Not a Chinese tradition.

104. Maze navigator: LAB RAT.

106. Cara of "Fame": IRENE.

108. Yet, in poetry: EEN.

109. "That was ages __": AGO.

110. Law firm fig.: ATT.

111. Brief affair: FLING.

113. XL, for one: SIZE.

115. Work intermittently (in): DABBLE.

122. Intel-gathering mission: RECON.

123. Premier League powerhouse: ARSENAL. Quite a few soccer fields in our area. 

124. Syrian city: ALEPPO.

125. Rainbow-shaped: ARCED.

126. Has no wrong answers, say: GETS AN A.

Down:

1. Downing St. VIPs: PMS.

2. Union __: REP.

3. "Blueprint for a Sunrise" artist: ONO. Wiki says it's a "concept album of experimental feminist rock". She looks like a Chinese empress here.

4. Chiding sounds: TSKS.

5. Frigid time: ICE AGE.

6. ID card feature: PHOTO. Do you all have a real ID?

7. New Orleans summer hrs.: CDT.

8. Bethlehem university: LEHIGH.  Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (Thanks, billocohoes~)

9. "Absolutely!": AMEN.

10. Prop for an emcee: MIC STAND.

11. Olive pursuer of comics: BLUTO.

12. Sprouts source: ALFALFA. I only like beansprouts.

13. Call the game: REF.

14. First to hear the news: INSIDERS.

15. Little bites: NIPS.

16. P.O. delivery: LTR.

17. Peppery salad green: ARUGULA. Aldi has a spinach & arugula mix.

18. Convinced: WON OVER.

23. Twerp: NOBODY.

25. "Find out": GO ASK.

28. __ mentality: HERD.

30. NBA's Nikola Jokic, e.g.: SERB. Not familiar with him.

31. "Lost in Yonkers" playwright: NEIL SIMON.

36. "Hamilton" creator __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.

39. "Aha!": I SEE.

41. "I'm such a klutz!": OOPS.

43. Char: SEAR.

44. Energetically excited: AMPED.

46. Cooking oil option: CANOLA. Canola field is pretty.

48. Poor spirits?: HOOCH. Oh, I like this clue.

50. Sec: JIFF.

51. Good to have around: USEFUL.

54. All together: AS ONE.

56. Prepared, as beer: BREWED.

57. Waterloo resident: IOWAN.

58. Ruler until 1917: TSAR.

61. From then on: EVER SINCE.

62. Patch: MEND.

63. Rollin' stone, in a Motown classic: PAPA. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

65. What collaborators should be in: SYNC.

67. Small burger: SLIDER.

71. Edie of "The Sopranos": FALCO.

72. Fish-eating bird: LOON.

75. Academy Award winner Dame Judi __: DENCH. I still have not figured out why Rich sometimes uses __ in the clue, esp when the actress is so famous.

80. Limnologist's subject: LAKE. Never heard of limnologist.

82. Wither away: FADE.

84. Funhouse reaction: FEAR.

86. Commit a hoops no-no: GOALTEND. Read more here.

88. Good times to build sand castles: LOW TIDES.

89. Least adorned: BAREST.

90. Many a "Freaks and Geeks" character: TEEN.

91. Manipulate digitally: KNEAD.

92. Falls for someone who's married?: NIAGARA. Good old clue.

93. Red __: fictional sub: OCTOBER.

94. __ party: FRAT.

95. American Heart Mo., aptly: FEB. Valentine's Day.

96. Armed conflict: WARFARE.

97. What "/" may mean: PER.

101. Ardent enthusiast: BIG FAN.

102. Frames around smartphone displays: BEZELS. The middle one is bezel-less. The screen looks bigger.

105. Top-tier: A LIST.

107. Mandarin hello: NI HAO. Literally "you good".

110. Lotion ingredient: ALOE.

112. Hendryx of the "Lady Marmalade" trio Labelle: NONA. We had her before.

114. Util. supply: ELEC.

116. Include covertly, briefly: BCC.

117. Online gaming annoyance: LAG.

118. St. Pete's place: FLA.

119. Beer choice: IPA.

120. "Code Switch" airer: NPR.

121. Dawn goddess: EOS.

Dennis is going to have a full open-heart surgery at the JFK Medical Center (Atlantis, Florida) next Tuesday Oct 15, 2019. The operation is quite risky as they need to replace both valves.

Dennis jokes that he is always a risk-taker and loves new adventures, but this is quite a battle. The surgery is long and the recovery is longer. Tough for someone who's always on the go.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Stay tough, Dennis!

Dennis

Saturday, October 12, 2019, Erik Agard

Themeless Saturday by Erik Agard

Today we take another fun spin on Jeopardy Champion Erik Agard's puzzle-mobile. Two triple vertical stacks of 9's and triple horizontal rows of 8's are so impressive!

This is a nice article about Marylander Erik (graduate of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Springs)


Across:

1. Online gay dating site: GRINDR - Here ya go

7. Bridge accessory: SCORE PAD.

15. Electrically overhaul: REWIRE - It took me an hour to REWIRE a lamp three weeks ago. Now I could do it in five minutes!

16. ProvenÁal olive-and-capers spread: TAPENADE - Its name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapenas. French major granddaughter says ProvenÁal used in clue is an archaic name for the adjective Provençal describing things from the Provence area in SE France

17. Many: A LOT OF.

18. Bent: APTITUDE - My APTITUDE for math and science led to a 42-yr career (BENT OUT OF SHAPE was our Thursday gimmick)

19. Legal end: BAN - It doesn't seem to be a good time to be starting a Vape business 

20. Eponymous German bacteriologist: PETRI - Here is the discoverer of penicillin, Alexander Fleming, holding a PETRI dish like the one he used in making his momentous find

22. Nuzzled: NOSED.

23. Relative of "You go!": ATTA- Many "over and above" things I did as a teacher garnered me an "ATTA Boy" but no cash

25. Yogurt-based condiment: RAITA - How to make one type. Yes, I saw it is an anagram of our cwd rope friend

27. Contents of some weekly organizers: MEDS - They can get complicated

30. Forensic workplace: DNA LAB - DNA testing exonerated this Idaho man and convicted the actual perpetrator. 28. "Alas ... ": SADLY he spent 20 years in jail before the truth came out

32. Volumes on devices: EBOOKS.

34. Cheeks asset: GLOW.

35. Lose juice entirely: DIE.

38. Sci-fi science: ALIEN TECHNOLOGY - The premise of the movie Independence Day was that gov't scientists were studying ALIEN TECHNOLOGY at Area 51

41. Palindromic observance: TET.

42. Imprecise words: OR SO.

43. Stand-up comic Boosler: ELAYNE - A funny minute with ELAYNE

44. Words of denial: I WASN'T 

46. Was upheld on appeal: STOOD - After a review, an NFL referee can say a call has STOOD, been confirmed or been overturned

47. Radio letters: AM FM - In my yute, our car radios only had AM but those of us of a certain age will recognize the Conelrad symbols in case of emergencies

50. Many of the characters in the 2018 film "Smallfoot": YETIS.

52. Italian cabbage?: EURO - This is slang for money. Real Italian cabbage is Cavolo Italiano

53. Part of UCSD: DIEGO - The Geisel Library at the University of California at San DIEGO

55. Radical cousin: NEATO - The fill predates the cluing by quite a bit

57. Cheese go-with: MAC.

58. Handy annuals: ALMANACS - Here's one from the year I was born

60. It was created in Philly in 1792: US MINT.

62. Small tuft: PLUMELET - The PLUMELET (feather) in Forest Gump had wonderful symbolism

63. White, to Juan: BLANCO - A fun song about Una Paloma BLANCA - The White Dove (I know the fill is masculine BLANCO but this is a fun song)

64. Persistent: TIRELESS.

65. Unifying alloy: SOLDER - U.S. - Sodder. U.K. - Sohl' der. Why?

Down:

1. Park it: GRAB A SEAT.

2. Sympathetic: RELATABLE - I would call Tom Hanks the most RELATABLE actor in Hollywood

3. Defiant refusal: I WON'T DO IT.

4. Micromanager's excess: NIT - In a recent response to me, a professional person hoped my "weekend went GOOD" and said "she was giving me a PEAK at fees her institute charges". I did 9. Go (for): OPT to not correct her

5. Fall: DROP.

6. Direct: REFER - My doctor REFERRED me to a wonderful Omaha surgeon rather than trust our local hospital

7. Competitions in which batting is forbidden: STARING CONTESTS - Anyone batting their eyes loses

8. Goalpost look-alike: CAPITAL H.

10. Control during riding: REIN.

11. Lay to rest: ENTOMB.

12. Meaning of two vertical lines, at times: PAUSE.

13. Put in later: ADDED - If you buy M*A*S*H DVD's, you can choose to leave off the ADDED laugh track which I would elect to do

14. Done things: DEEDS.

21. Tiny bit: TAD.

24. Wound application: ALOE.

26. Without help: ALONE.

29. Informal "Dig?": Y'KNOW - Another ' from Erik and a very annoying speech idiom

31. Base runners?: AWOLS - Sgt. Hulka chews out Pvt. Ringer after Winger goes AWOL from the base, which was Camp Arnold, in Stripes

33. Deviate: STRAY.

35. "Excu-u-use me!": DO YOU MIND - He made it famous (:07)

36. "Learning [is] the kind of __ distinguishing the studious": Bierce: IGNORANCE - I always say that I am smart enough to know how little I know

37. Triangular chart user: EYE DOCTOR - People in 2020 will be surprised to learn that 20:20 vision is normal not perfect vision

39. Basic natures: ESSENCES.

40. Having a timing problem: LATE - Rude

44. "Let's": I'M GAME - A fourth apostrophe fill for our good friend Erik today

45. Familia member: TIA - ¿Todos los demás tienen una TIA loca en su familia? (Does everyone else have a crazy aunt in their family?)

47. Change for the better: ADAPT - When in Rome...

48. __ Vanilli: MILLI - Their lip-synching fraud of someone else's performance came out when the track stuck while they were "singing" on stage

49. Big bone: FEMUR.

51. Theater buff's collection: STUBS - Decorate a coffee table with them

54. Turow memoir: ONE-L.

56. Parliament : London :: Storting : __: OSLO - Norway's parliament, the Storting, meets in this building

59. Pale __: ALE.

61. Not bien: MAL - ¡El rompecabezas de Erik es bien, no está MAL! (Erik's puzzle is good, not bad!)

Comments welcome: