Monday December 16, 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: LINES (68. Botox targets ... or what 17-, 28-, 45- and 60-Across all have) - Different lines are featured in the four theme entries

17. Screenwriter's creation: FILM SCRIPT.

28. Gucci or Versace, notably: FASHION HOUSE.

45. Grand Central, for one: TRAIN STATION.

60. Math student's plotting sheet: GRAPH PAPER.

Boomer here.

Christmas is coming and my former employer, Graybar Electric, from which I am a retiree, hosted a fine lunch at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN. This was a new location because a young lady and friend, assumed the promotion to District Vice President of the Minneapolis District last February. DVP's receive a private club membership of their choice. One of the Board of Directors from St. Louis attended and gave a long talk after the meal and let us know that the people that were hired to replace us are doing a helluva lot better than we ever did. 

C.C. and I were spiffed up for the occasion.

Across:

1. Be indecisive: WAVER.  I saw many of these during the MLB playoffs. I still am convinced that the Minnesota Twins started the Wavers of Homer Hankies in 1987.  

6. Crop-raising business: FARM.  Old MacDonald had one.

10. Tightly closed: SHUT. UP !

14. San Antonio landmark: ALAMO.  High up Santa Ana, we're killing your soldiers below, so the rest of Texas will know, and remember the ALAMO.

15. Almay rival: OLAY.  I think this is an European Rider Cup cheer.

16. Whittle (down): PARE.

19. Ferris wheel, e.g.: RIDE.  I think Coney Island is the biggest.  At least it made a GEICO commercial.

20. Oblong pastry: ECLAIR.  This is not a city in Wisconsin.  I think chocolate ones are the best.

21. Outback and Legacy autos: SUBARUS. We are still looking at a Santa Fe.

23. Outdoor gear giant: REI.

24. Chickadee kin: TITS.  I'll leave this one alone.

27. Beam of light: RAY.  A player on the Tampa Bay Team.

33. Nest egg letters: IRA. Was a tax haven until you get to 70 1/2.

35. Office sub: TEMP.  We have not been above 32 degrees here for a couple of weeks.

36. Poker pot pay-ins: ANTES.  Many games in the caddy shack when I was a kid.  Earned a pretty nice fee for eighteen holes and got to play free on Monday morning.

37. Leave high and dry: ABANDON.  I watched the Thanksgiving Day parade and they had A BAND ON.

39. "Are we on for the project?": IS IT A GO.  It is in Cribbage if you just have high cards.

41. Social slip-up: GAFFE.

42. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You __?": EVAH.

44. "Of course!": AHA.

48. Civil War side: Abbr.: CSA.  It's really difficult to remember a time when Americans fought other Americans.

49. Poker table giveaway: TELL.  I heard he shot an apple off his son's head.  Did the cell phone still work after that ??

50. Vanilla extract meas.: TSP.  Vanilla is good stuff.  I think you need more than a teaspoon.

53. "That's deplorable!": I HATE IT.  Thanksgiving dinner??  I did not HATE it, I ATE it.

57. Strange thing: ODDITY.

59. Supermarket section with a scale: DELI.

63. Sailors' patron saint: ELMO.

64. "That stings!": OUCH.

65. Partner of well: ALIVE.  ALIVE and WELL, Well, Well, Well.

66. Mathematician Turing: ALAN.

67. Have to have: NEED.  "As long as he NEEDS me."  Minnesota's own Judy Garland 1964.

Down:

1. Communion bread: WAFER.  My aunt, Sister Caroline used to make these in a convent in Clyde, Mo. Please don't call them wafers.  Most people I know call them hosts.

2. Wonderland visitor: ALICE.  "This is the story of Alice, told without any Malice.  Alice was very beautiful, ... Except for one little thing.  (Chad Mitchell Trio, of Course).

3. The 4 Seasons frontman Frankie: VALLI.  I hooked up with three other guys at Fort Campbell and we sang "Sherry" at the Top Five Club.

4. Jane Austen classic: EMMA.

5. Spanish-speaking Muppet: ROSITA.

6. Tit-tat link: FOR. FOR all we know.

7. "Thrilla in Manila" victor: ALI.  Yup, I was alive then.  I could not believe all the hype.  But I was never a boxing fan.

8. Knocks hard: RAPS.  Why not just ring the doorbell ?

9. "I'm up!": MY TURN.

10. Artificial bronzing product: SPRAY-ON TAN.  Never used it.  I use the sun streaming on the golf course.

11. Beauty salon focus: HAIR.  "She asked me why, Why I'm a hairy guy.  ... Stylin' , Streamin', Gleamin', Flaxen Waxen.  One of my favorite Karaoke numbers.

12. Pakistani tongue: URDU.

13. Many short-sleeved shirts: TEES.  Also many golf ball holders.

18. "The Count of Monte __": CRISTO.

22. Iranian faith featuring a 19-day feast: BAHAI.

25. Big place to surf: THE NET.

26. __ card: smartphone component: SIM.  I only have a dumb phone.

28. Stories by devoted readers: FAN FICTION.

29. Percocet, e.g.: OPIATE.  I took a little OXY when my back was hurting, but I quit it pretty quickly.

30. Great Salt Lake state: UTAH.  I've driven by that lake a number of times (On my way to Nevada to bowl).  I believe it is a wonder of the world.  It is huge and I believe it is over 4000 feet above sea level.

31. Genesis creator: SEGA.

32. That, in Toledo: ESO.

33. Letter-shaped beam: I BAR.  You may go to an I BAR, but you cannot get a drink.

34. Tennis rival of Roger, familiarly: RAFA.  I am not a great tennis fan, but this guy Mr. Nadal is very good.

37. Actor's rep.: AGT.

38. Like thick fog: DENSE.  I drove into this once in South Dakota, on my way to see Mount Rushmore.  I never got there because there was no way I would have been able to see it in the fog.  Maybe some day.

40. 1862 Tennessee battle site: SHILOH.  I read a book about this battle site many years ago.  Shiloh is near the Tennessee River and there is a memorial there.

43. Brewery vessel: VAT.  Sven says to Ole. "VAT are you doing ?"  Ole replies "None uff your business."

46. Former name of Vietnam's most populous city: SAIGON.  Now Ho Chi Minh City.

47. Longtime chum: OLD PAL.  "Can you imagine us years from today. sharing a park bench quietly, how terribly strange to be seventy."  (Simon and Garfunkel). 

50. Easy hoops shot: TIP IN.  Looks like our Gophers are in for a rough season.  I am not much of a hoops fan.

51. Tech mogul Jobs: STEVE.  He was Mr. Apple Inc. until he passed in 2011.

52. Combustible heaps: PYRES.

53. Thought: IDEA.  "If I only had a brain."  Never mind, we had all that last week.  

54. Land down under?: HELL.  I don't think that there are Angels there, but some motorcycle owners think there are. 

55. __ mater: ALMA.  Also a city in Wisconsin.  On the eastern shore of the Mississippi.

56. "T" on a test: TRUE.

58. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.

61. Top pitcher: ACE.  High ranking card.  Would like four on a draw poker machine.

62. Scholar's deg.: PHD.  Pronounced FUDD.

Boomer