Monday May 20, 2019 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: OBIE (56. Theater award ... and a phonetic hint to the answers to starred clues) - Each theme entry is in the patter of O* B*.

 

17A. *Bread with a schmear: ONION BAGEL.

61A. *Annual Florida football game: ORANGE BOWL.
 

11D. *Coastal North Carolina resort area: OUTER BANKS.

24D. *Source of free drinks: OPEN BAR.

29D. *Séance prop: OUIJA BOARD.

Boomer here.

Bad weather here again.  I had to go Out Back to make sure rain had not damaged our garden.  Also on Thursday I went Out Bowling to defend my title in the Minneapolis 700 club 4 game tournament.  I started with 193-197-215 -- 605.  It was my first 600 set since the Big C damaged my back.  However my 4th game was only 157 and I placed 7th out of about 30 entries.

Across:

1. Like some private communities: GATED.  We have one of these in the metro area out by the famous Hazeltine Golf Club.  I am pretty sure that everyone living there is a multi-millionaire so we are not planning to move there. 

6. Really dull: DRAB.  I think that was the color of a '53 Dodge I once owned.

10. Second-year student: SOPH.  Since this is an abbreviation, shouldn't there be an abbreviated clue??

14. Ex-Yankee manager Joe: TORRE. Lots of career catchers seem to make the best managers.  I think it's because they can tell when a pitching change is necessary.

15. Goldberg who drew complex "machines": RUBE.

16. Make healthy: CURE.  Hormel Company of Austin Minnesota makes a Cure 81 Ham.  It is pretty good.  Much better than another Hormel product Spam.  Yuk.

19. __ Ant: tiny toon superhero: ATOM.  a cartoon by Hanna Barbera a long time ago.  Never gained the fame of Fred and Wilma. 

20. Therapy visit: SESSION. Add another "S" and you have a former Attorney General.

21. "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE.

23. Parody: SPOOF.

26. Fire engine signal: SIREN. A famous city in Western Wisconsin. My dad was born there, and my great uncle lived on a road, which is now named Burnikel Road.

27. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" singer Jim: CROCE.  Lot's of hits.  He had to say "I love you" in a song.

31. Can opener: POP TAB.  Wow. I am sooo old I remember when they first came out.  The tab came totally separated from the can.  Fishermen would open their beer and toss the tab into the lake where fish would eat them and die.  Finally a government agency in charge of fish killing litter told soda and beer makers to clean up their act.

33. Chief Greek god: ZEUS.

34. Mono successor: STEREO.  Yeah, I am old enough to remember the early ones.

36. __ Lingus: AER.

39. Somewhat: A BIT.

40. Hint of color: TINGE.

41. Escape key function: UNDO.  Also a function of a pull top on a can.

42. Friend of TV's Sheldon and Leonard: RAJ.

43. "For my next __ ... ": singer's intro: NUMBER.  And now, we have a group whose biting satire has gained popularity …. (Chad Mitchell at the Bitter End).

44. Pass over: SKIP. to my Lou

45. "Lawrence of __": ARABIA. A star studded cast including Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness, and Anthony Quinn.  The movie lasted almost 4 HOURS !!  Yup I am old enough to remember that one too.

47. "Beau __": GESTE.

48. Scheming group: CABAL.

50. Serious play: DRAMA.

53. Roberto or Sandy of baseball: ALOMAR.  They were brothers. Sandy Jr. was a catcher for a number of teams, (Not all at the same time.)  Robbie played second base mostly in Toronto and was voted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.

55. Deep regret: REMORSE.  I had a bit of deep regret that I decided to play golf last week.

60. Line through the middle of a circle: Abbr.: DIAM.

64. To be, to Balzac: ETRE.

65. Mexican's zilch: NADA.  Okay but I have heard many Americans use this word also.

66. Primary foe: RIVAL.  I watched Brooks make his rival Tiger look pretty bad last week.

67. Lincoln in-law: TODD.

68. From __: all-inclusive: A TO Z.

69. Take care of: SEE TO.

Down:

1. Classic Pontiac muscle cars: GTOS.  I never had one, but they made my Mustang look silly.  Sorry, no more Pontiacs from GM.

2. Top-notch: A-ONE.  I have never had A One on my golf scorecard.  (Except when it precedes two other numbers in the total column.)

3. "Divergent" films heroine: TRIS.  Also Hall of Famer Mr. Speaker. NO I am not old enough to remember him.  I have only heard about him.

4. Greek god of love: EROS.

5. Actress Richards: DENISE.

6. Clog-busting brand: DRANO. I have heard it contains dangerous lye.  We use Liquid-Plumr.

7. "Area" floor covering: RUG.  We have several throw rugs in our home.  I think the big ones are called carpet.

8. Prez on a fiver: ABE. No I am not old enough to remember Abe, and neither are you.  But I have a lot of respect for his contribution to our country.  (Even though Mary Todd is known to throw potatoes at him).  Abe also replaced a Native American on the copper penny designed by Victor D. Brenner in 1909.

9. Pants holder-upper: BELT.  I took off a few pounds this past year so I might need a new one or two.  Sizes are confusing.  I ordered a couple from Dr. Leonard's and they were NOT the size that the catalog said.  I am not ordering blind through the mail any more, (except maybe baseball cards.)

10. Justice replaced by Gorsuch: SCALIA.  With all due respect to Neil, I think it should have been Judge Merrick Garland.

12. It's not poetry: PROSE.

13. Macho guys: HE MEN.

18. Jazz genre: BOP.  Reminds me of the restaurant in "Happy Days".

22. Regarding: AS TO. Two short words.

25. Valley __, Pa.: FORGE.  History was never my best subject, but this city is in the historical hall of fame.  A year or so after the Declaration of Independence, and after George III had time to digest it, George Washington led a large unit of brave men at Valley Forge and defeated a large number of men of the British Army. Now - the city is loaded with historical memories and a national park.   (NO I am not old enough to have been there.  I think I read about it in National Geographic.) 

27. Business magnate: CZAR.

28. Country star McEntire: REBA.  Mostly country music, I believe she has appeared at the Minnesota State Fair more than once.

30. Ill. winter hours: CST.  Minnesota is also on Central time.  I hate when the Twins are on the West Coast and games start around 9:00 PM - CST.

32. Equal: PEER.  If you PEER into the past you may see a Norwegian, PEER Gynt.

34. Ticket remnant: STUB.  Some stubs may fetch a few bucks.  I have 5 of the 1987 World Series stubs of the games I attended.  (Four at the Metrodome and one at Busch Stadium, St. Louis).

Boomer's World Series Stubs

35. Shy: TIMID.

37. Polish a manuscript: EDIT.

38. Dogie catcher: ROPE.

41. Take advantage of: USE.

43. Simba's mate: NALA.  "The Lion King's lady"

46. Smashed into: RAMMED.  I wonder why Dodge Trucks are called "RAM",  Have they been smashed into, or did they do the smashing.  Or maybe it is what happened to the Vikings last year when they visited Los Angeles.

47. Online players: GAMERS.  About the only thing I game on line is FreeCell Solitaire.

48. Military academy student: CADET.

49. Samuel of the Supreme Court: ALITO.  I respect our Supreme Court, but why does it take so long for them to make up their mind and why are decisions seldom unanimous?

51. Desi of "I Love Lucy": ARNAZ.  Yes, "I Love Lucy" was a great sitcom in the 50's and I am old enough to remember watching it on our 19 inch black and white console TV.  But then in the sixties, Desi did not love Lucy any more.

52. Bit of computer RAM: MEG.  No Dodge Truck there also.

54. Gossip columnist Barrett: RONA.  I am just not interested in Gossip.

57. Roam: ROVE.

58. Smack, as a fly: SWAT.  Special Weapons and Tactics.  I use them when I bowl.

59. Cockney greeting: ELLO.  Where the "H" is the "H"??

62. Stool pigeon: RAT.  James Cagney's favorite word.

63. Big fuss: ADO.  Adieu, Adieu my friends Adieu, yes Adieu.  I can no longer stay with you, Stay with you.  I'll hang my harp on the weeping willow tree, and may the world go well with thee.

Boomer