Theme: COFFEE BREAK (36. Midmorning work time-out, and a hint to this puzzle's circles)
1) ESPRESSO: 17. Gets an A on, as a test: ACES. And 18. Bench __: exercise: PRESS And 19. Red sky at morning, to a sailor: OMEN.
2) LATTE: 21. Darjeeling and oolong: TEAS. And 22. Fire stirrers: POKERS.
3) MOCHA: 57. Japanese wrestling: SUMO. And 59. Half a Latin dance: CHA.
4) CAPPUCCINO: 60. Put __ on: limit: A CAP. And 61. Fashion designer Emilio: PUCCI. And 63. Christmas carol: NOEL.
Boomer here. This theme is more complicated than our normal Mondays.
It's a Federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, if I did I am sorry to repeat. On April 4, 1968, I was called to emergency duty that evening to the Fort Campbell Army Hospital. There were riots (mostly off post) and bloodied soldiers were delivered by ambulance to the emergency room. I know Memphis must have been worse. Fort Campbell was about 250 miles from Memphis but the pain was felt all over Tennessee.
Across:
1. Drains of strength: SAPS. Drains from maple trees also. Argyle used to send us a small bottle of maple syrup.
5. Hoops player: CAGER. Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo. (Simon and Garfunkel)
10. Immortal Middle-earth dweller: ELF. Speaking of Argyle, Santa's helper, an elf, maybe helped him with the syrup.
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| Argyle, 1960, fifteen year old and a Freshman. Class of '63. |
13. Suffix with switch: EROO. Switcheroo will be made in managers for the Astros and Red Sox.
14. Gladiator's realm: ARENA.
15. Henry __, who had six marriages: VIII. This guy was terrible, I think he weighed over 400 lbs. He also got into an argument with the Pope and decided to start his own church. He beheaded two of his six wives and treated the other four terribly.
20. Long. crosser: LAT.
24. Writer Wharton: EDITH. Remember Edith Bunker? Archie kind of treated her like Henry VIII treated his wives, however he did not behead her.
26. "Indubitably!": YES.
28. Hawk's nest: AERIE.
29. Shrinks back: RECOILS. I remember the first time I fired a 20 gauge shotgun. I thought my arm was going to fall off.
31. Like a student arriving ten minutes after the bell, as opposed to five: TARDIER. Seems like a made-up word for later.
33. "Golly!": GEE. Whiz
34. Greek cross: TAU.
35. Old PC component: CRT. Cathode Ray Tube. I don't know what they use now, but it's faster and better.
40. Santa __ winds: ANA. "High up Santa Ana we're killing your soldiers below, so the rest of Texas will know, and remember the Alamo." I remember the Kingston Trio version.
42. Convert (hide) into leather: TAN.
43. Dada pioneer Jean: ARP. Not to be confused with the old retiree club. I joined for awhile but it did not seem worth it.
44. Roasted holiday birds: TURKEYS. We had one at Thanksgiving, That was enough thank you.
47. Clickbait links, e.g.: TEASERS. I did not realize they were called clickbait. I never click on the ads at all. Lately Subaru is spending their ad budget.
51. Movie critic, when giving stars: RATER. We are not big movie fans. Lately C.C. is clicking on raters to see who has the best buffet.
52. As well: TOO.
54. Religious belief: TENET. Henry VIII created his own.
55. Hider's location-revealing words: IN HERE.
64. Toy building block: LEGO. These are great. I have mentioned the monstrosity at our Mall of America.
65. Sir __ Newton: ISAAC.
66. Word-of-mouth: ORAL.
67. Bear's shelter: DEN. I thought it was a house that Goldilocks ate porridge, tried out the beds and broke a chair.
68. Chili con __: CARNE. Reminds me of Jackie Gleason's buddy Art Carney aka Ed Norton who worked in the sewer.
69. Moistens: WETS.
Down:
1. Putty, for example: SEALER.
2. Video game area: ARCADE. A good Facebook friend of mine in the suburb where I used to live has an arcade business. I used to visit there frequently when he had pinball games. Now everything is electronic and I am too old to play.
3. Written in verse: POETIC.
4. Sailor's "Help!": SOS. Also a steel wool pad.
5. Flowing garb for Batman: CAPE. To the Batcave, Robin.
6. Orderly arrangements: ARRAYS. "The Wizard of Oz" was going to cast Mr. Bolger as the Tin Man but when someone found his shoes near the corn field the director must have said "Those are Rays".
7. Sextet after the golden rings: GEESE. I think you mean golden eggs. Ask Aesop.
8. USN rank: ENS. Yes Sir !!
9. Abrasive tool: RASP. Works better than sandpaper, but do not use it on your bowling ball.
10. Brought to mind: EVOKED.
11. Funny five-line verse: LIMERICK. There was a young girl from St. Paul. Who went to a newspaper ball. Her dress caught on fire ... and burnt her entire -- front page, sports section and all.
12. More passionate: FIERIER.
16. Newspaper leaflet, say: INSERT. We get them all the time. Usually the first thing that goes into the recycle bag. Sorry.
21. Porch pirate, for one: THIEF. Our porch pirates are squirrels. I don't feed them but they use our deck to get to the next door lady, who puts out a buffet
23. Rowboat mover: OAR. Gently down the stream.
25. Like takeout food: TO GO.
27. Wild guess: STAB. I usually have to STAB a lot at crosswords.
30. Southpaw: LEFTY. "Poncho needs your prayers it's true, say a few for LEFTY too. He only did what he had to do. And now he's growin' old". Willie Nelson
32. Surrounding glows: AURAE.
34. Decalogue number: TEN. Number of pins in the deck
36. Rome's Punic Wars foe: CARTHAGE.
37. Toward sunrise: EAST. East is east, and west is west and the wrong one I have chose. "Buttons and Bows" Yes I am old enough to remember Dinah Shore. "See the USA in your Chevrolet."
38. Muse of poetry: ERATO.
39. Church recess: APSE. That has something to do with the roof. My church does not have a recess. We have to stay for the whole hour. Doesn't matter though, the playground is full of snow.
40. On __ basis: for testing purposes: A TRIAL. I am going to try an old plastic ball next Thursday. Bowling center is too cheap to put much oil on the lanes. Ball hooks too much - last Thursday I left 9 splits and went away mad.
41. Characterized by subtle distinctions: NUANCED.
45. Not turn off: KEEP ON. Yes, we are keeping the furnace on this time of year.
46. Be wrong: ERR. A baseball term. Check with the Astros or Red Sox.
47. Bird on a Froot Loops box: TOUCAN. These look great on boxes and ads. I have never seen a real one.
48. "Sing another one!": ENCORE. Okay "Lucy Baines, she is no Jackie but then who complains. She may be tacky but she was the brains behind our foreign policy. Who else but Lucy could it be."
49. Warm up, as leftovers: REHEAT. It's never quite as good on the second day.
50. Hems and haws: STALLS. Rest rooms at the ball park and airports.
53. Grouchy Muppet: OSCAR.
56. Large-scale tale: EPIC.
58. Computer devices bearing little resemblance to their real-life namesakes: MICE.
62. Can. neighbor: USA. We hear this chant at the Olympics
63. "It's __ or never": NOW.
My best wishes to our friend Irish Miss. Wishing you a quick recovery.
Boomer
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| Agnes' 11 Rings |
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| Boomer's 8 Rings (300 and 299 Games) |
Here is the obit of Agnes' sister Anne. Thanks for the link, Al.
