Theme: LABOR DAY (64. September
2, 2019 ... and what the first words of the answers to starred clues
commemorate) - The first word can follow LABOR.
17A. *New Year's Eve headwear: PARTY HAT. Labor Party,
40A. *Billiards stick: POOL CUE. Labor pool.
11A. *Ground out on which the fielder needn't tag the runner: FORCE PLAY. Labor force.
35A. *Great Britain's flag: UNION JACK. Labor union.
Boomer here.
Greetings
all. Wishing you a restful holiday. Why do the call it Labor Day and
then give 3/4 of the country the day off work? But most of all, I am
sure most of you will join me in wishing safety and free of damage to
Lemonade and all who may be in the path of Dorian along the Southeastern
shoreline of our country.
Across:
1. Grazing area: LEA. In Southern Minnesota we have a small city named Albert Lea, named after a famous soldier and surveyor in the 19th century.
4. Islamic mystic: SUFI.
8. Would rather have: PREFER. I would PREFER an easier clue.
14. Rock concert gear: AMP. Okay, I know what turns up the volume, but to me an AMP will always be a measure of electricity.
15. Mellowed in a cask: AGED. Or me in a townhouse.
16. Novelist __ de Balzac: HONORE.
19. Offshore driller: OIL RIG. Maybe Desper-otto can tell us if they are still doing this. I remember BP having a problem in the Gulf of Mexico.
20. Loses speed: SLOWS.
21. Absorbed: RAPT.
23. Treats with a cold pack: ICES. I have been treating aches and pains with a heating pad. I am ready to try ice.
24. Weather-affecting current: EL NINO. I think I still have that Storm bowling ball.
26. Vinyl record feature: GROOVE. " Lookin' for fun and feeling Groovy " Paul and Art.
28. Building sites: LOTS.
We have lots of building sites here in Brooklyn Park. Many town homes
and condos are reaching for the sky. We may get two Reps after the 2020
census.
30. Comprehensive: IN DEPTH.
33. France, under Caesar: GAUL. GAUL is a bit of a questionable name for a country. Sounds like Gall and in Gallbladder.
36. "And __ what happened?": THEN.
38. Relative via marriage: IN-LAW.
39. Sprint: RUN. Many are preparing to run in 2020.
42. "SNL" alum Poehler: AMY. Don't know her, but we have Ms. Klobuchar in the running, plus I have a younger sister named Amy also.
 |
| Amy Poehler |
43. City near Syracuse: UTICA.
45. "Trees," for one: POEM. "I wish that I could only see a poem as lovely as a tree." It would not look like the tired old ash tree in our yard.
46. Parting words: BYES.
47. Compound cry of dissatisfaction: BOO HISS. Not hearing this too much at Target Field this year. We will see how our Vikings do soon.
49. Agile: SPRY.
51. Common workday starting hr.: NINE AM.
53. OSHA's "S": SAFETY. Occupational Health.
57. Indian royal: RAJA.
59. Powerful engine: V TEN.
Have not seen one of them ever. I think a Rolls Royce or a Packard may
have had one back in the thirties. I think BMW may have tried it in
the past also.
61. Patty Hearst's SLA alias: TANIA.
62. Florida fruit: ORANGE. Speaking of which, I hope Dorian does not ruin the crop.
66. "Hannibal" villain: LECTER. 44. Italian wine favored by 66-Across: CHIANTI.
67. Jacob's twin: ESAU.
I am not a big bible toter, but this story is really strange. Jacob
killed his twin Esau apparently to fool his blind father and gain a
birthright.
68. Outfielder's asset: ARM. A high batting average would be helpful also.
69. Muslim ascetics: FAKIRS.
70. Sunrise direction: EAST. If you travel west 12,000 miles you get to the far East.
71. ___ Bo: fitness system: TAE.
Down:
1. Moment of forgetfulness: LAPSE.
I notice that since I got older I have had many forgetful moments. Now
I know what they are called. I hope I don't forget it.
2. Online shopping mecca: E-MALL. C.C. does a bit of online shopping. Saves on gasoline.
3. Cook's protection: APRON. We have one at the end of our driveway.
4. Refuses: SAYS NO. "You say YES, I say NO, you say WHY, and I say I don't know. Hello, Goodbye.
5. "That stinks!": UGH. This could be an acronym for an Under Ground Home. Might be useful this week in Florida.
6. Fright: FEAR.
7. Suitcase tie-on: ID TAG. And yet Airlines still lose them.
8. Kind of "Star Trek" torpedo: PHOTON.
9. King, in France: ROI.
10. Give some pep to: ENLIVEN. Remember a breakfast cereal called "Pep"? Then you are old enough to eat Grape Nuts.
12. Canal across New York: ERIE. There's that Great Lake again. Must be superior to the others.
13. Rules, briefly: REGS.
18. Woven fabric: TWILL. Wow! I have not seen TWILL fabric since Pep was a cereal.
22. Harry and William of England: PRINCES.
Without the "S" - this Purple Rain guy is a Minnesota icon. There is a
museum in a Southwest suburb of Minneapolis. Even the Twins had a
Prince night where they gave away purple stuff.
25. Enzo's eight: OTTO. I have heard of OTTO Von Bismarck. Not sure if the capital city of North Dakota was named after him.
27. Slobbery comics pooch: ODIE.
Jim Davis created Garfield and this dog. The reason I remember this is
that we had a Lithonia lighting rep Named Jim Davis that called on Graybar, and we used
to call him ODIE.
29. Frequents, as a store: SHOPS AT.
31. Get under control: TAME.
32. Interstate rds.: HWYS.
I think the Interstate highway system that was initially created by
Dwight Eisenhower was a great idea. We have an I-35W in Minnesota that
could have been planned better though. A few years ago a bridge (and a
bunch of cars) fell into the Mississippi River, They rebuilt the bridge, and now they have a big
mess downtown while they add a few lanes.
33. Vittles on the trail: GRUB. J.K Simmons, (The State Farm ad guy) used to call lunch "GRUB" when he was Emil Skoda on "Law and Order".
34. Prefix with correct: AUTO. It does it by itself.
37. Symphonic rock gp.: ELO.
40. Ache: PAIN. You name it, I got it.
41. Infield quartet: UMPS. In the majors only. Lower divisions get by with one or two.
46. Substantially: BY FAR.
48. Cuts off, as diplomatic ties: SEVERS.
50. Inform on: RAT OUT.
52. Big fight: MELEE. NHL season is right around the corner.
54. Continue until: END AT.
55. Jewel-studded topper: TIARA.
56. "I did good!": YAY ME.
57. Massage deeply: ROLF.
A treatment. I am surprised that there is no commercial on TV -- "Ask
your doctor if ROLFING is right for you." Or why doesn't Joe Namath let
you know that Medicare does not cover Rolfing.
58. Rectangle measure: AREA. Lengths times Width
60. Mission Control org.: NASA.
63. Olympic country code alphabetically just before GHA: GER.
65. Music majors' degs.: BAS.
Last Word. I woke up Saturday morning to learn that Valerie Harper
passed away. Of course I always liked the Mary Tyler Moore show because
they pretended it was in Minneapolis even though the only Minneapolis
scenes were Mary walking along Lake of the Isles, and tossing her hat on
Hennepin Avenue. Valerie played Rhoda Morgenstern well, and earned a
few Emmy awards. But my newspaper informed me that Valerie was
diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013 and given about three months to
live. Six years later it caught up with her. Thank you for setting an
example for me, Rhoda. Now rest in peace.
Boomer
