Do you know that uneasy feeling you get when you're going down the first hill on a roller coaster? That's my feeling when I see a Jeff Wex puzzle anytime but doubly so on Saturday (See kitty on front right!)
Not to worry though, I had to dance around but earned an official "got 'er done"! DATA LIMIT did hold up the SW corner for a while until RATE became necessary.
A very striking looking grid that complements Jeff's always wonderful cluing!
Now let's see what one of our favorite crossword elves has for us on this Christmas eve eve:
1. With 1-Down, "Gadzooks!" : JUMPING and 1. See 1-Across : JEHOSAPHAT JEHOSAPHAT is a euphemism for Jesus or Jehovah and the phrase "By the shaking, jumping ghost of Jehosaphat" is first seen in the 1865 novel Paul Peabody
8. The Pleiades of myth, e.g. : SISTERS - My astronomy teacher called the Pleiades Constellation "The Shopping Cart"
15. Football's "Boomer" : ESIASON - Many feel he is the best Cincinnati Bengal QB ever. I'll bet our Boomer could beat him in an alley!
16. Oregon city named for a fur merchant : ASTORIA - John Jacob Astor's city is located very near the end of the line for Meriwether and William
17. Couldn't offer any justification : HAD NO GOOD REASON - C.C. ___ for letting me blog Saturday puzzles
19. Old Monterey Bay fort : ORD - Abandoned in 1994, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority is working on it
20. Lipstick marketing word : SMEARLESS
21. Sizing letters : SML - I know it's an old joke but...
24. "Music for Airports" producer : ENO - Musical wallpaper
25. "Understood" 39-Across : AYE
26. Sacha Baron Cohen persona : ALI G - He's either your cup of tea or you're like me
31. Law enforcement support org. : PBA - Patrolman's Benevolent Association not a bowlers organization
32. "Livin' La Vida __" : LOCA - Everyone was Living The Crazy Life with Ricky Martin in 1999
33. Like grapefruit : SOUR and they are to be avoided if you have bad 47. Blood test letters : LDL - Low-Density Lipoprotein numbers and are taking a statin
34. Seeks a better deal : HAGGLES and 42. Eco-friendly wheels : TESLAS - I wonder if you could HAGGLE on this $74,000 electric TESLA
39. Where to hear 25-Across : ASEA
40. One might be convincing : LIAR
41. Back again : FRO
45. __ Major : URSA - The constellation URSA MAJOR contains the asterism (Not constellation) The Big Dipper in its rump and tail
46. Hockey legend : ORR
48. Subtle "Listen up" : PSST
50. Data restriction on Twitter usage : RATE LIMIT - Not DATA
54. Camera initials : SLR
59. Piranhas, in Venezuela : CARIBES - A synonym
60. Part of the family group : IN A CLAN - That must be us!
61. As a group : EN MASSE - 15,000 of the 18,000 fans in Kansas City to see the lady Huskers win the national VB championship last week were Nebraska fans who went there EN MASSE
62. Bishop's purview : DIOCESE -We are in the "liberal" Omaha DIOCESE but in the Lincoln DIOCESE the sisters mostly still wear habits
Down
2. Fort Benning, e.g. : US ARMY BASE - It's centennial is next year
3. Knight time : MIDDLE AGES
4. Item wielded on "Chopped" : PAN - Competitive cooking shows are not on my menu
5. Equal start? : ISOs - ISOTHERMS from yesterday
6. Rich beverage : NOG - Much to the amusement of my wife and daughters, one year I seasoned EGG NOG with paprika and not nutmeg
8. "Soldier of Love" Grammy winner : SADE - (shah DAY) I only know her Smooth Operator
9. Mediterranean land : ISRAEL
10. Fuel in tins : STERNO - It lends an odd scent to every event where it is used.
11. Burns poem whose subject is "ugly, creepin" : TO A LOUSE - "Ye ugly, creepin', blast wonder, Detested, shunned by saunt an' sinner." Yikes!
12. Gaelic tongue : ERSE - Nollaig shona dhuit! (Merry Christmas!)
13. Lago feeders : RIOS - El RIO Lerma desemboca en el Lago de Chapala (The river Lerma flows into Lake Chapala)
14. Lacking : SANS
18. TAG Heuer competitor : OMEGA - If you can afford $500 ripped jeans...
22. Critical subject in Roman history : FALL
23. Natural emollient : ALOE
28. Like much museum art : NOT FOR SALE - I doubt they'll ever take haggle on the Mona Lisa
29. Small raiding bands : GUERRILLAS - We had 'em on our side 30. Unreliable, in a way : ERROR PRONE
35. Shopping mecca : GALLERIA - Is Amazon marking their demise?
36. Auction action starter : FIRST BID
37. Bonny one : LASS
38. Logician's "E" : ERAT - Makes sense to us math heads!
40. Flowering plant in the legume family : LUPIN
43. Improv staples : AD LIBS
44. Examples of bad driving : SLICES
50. Hurdles, for one : RACE - A track event for very brave people
51. "I am __ / More sinn'd against than sinning": King Lear : A MAN
52. School division : TERM - Granddaughter's TERM in Grenoble, France has ended and she is back in the U.S.A. after a life-altering few months
53. Rapper with the albums "Harlem World" and "Welcome Back" : MASE - His lyrics are many steps below profane
56. Aussie college : UNI - Shorthand for University
57. __ Schwarz : FAO - This FAO store where this scene from Big was filmed is now closed
58. TV monitor : FCC - Federal Communications Commission - Typical Jeff Wex cleverness!
And now a word from our bloggers...
DA GRID
Note from C.C.:
Happy 73rd Birthday to Misty, our sweet and caring friend. Here's a
picture of Misty and her husband Rowland. It was taken probably seven or
eight years ago. From what I read on Misty's Facebook post, they were
never apart during Christmas times. Thanks for being in our lives, Misty!
