Monday February 22, 2021 Fred Piscop

Theme: "Really!"

17A. "Really!": SURE ENOUGH.

60A. "Really!": FOR CERTAIN.

11D. "Really!": I KID YOU NOT.

28D. "Really!": BY ALL MEANS.

Boomer here.  

These answers kind of remind me of the host of  "America Says" John Michael Higgins. "I'm not kidding!"  Any one of the teams has a chance to win fifteen thousand dollars!  "By all Means !" "Really!"

 

Across:

1. Hand-dyeing method: BATIK.

6. Alaskan malamute team's burden: SLED.  That would be a huge sled.  We kids had sleds our size and rode down a hill in Minnesota.  Not sure if they have sleds in Texas but the could have probably used them last week.

10. __ Field: Mets' home: CITI.   I believe Citi Field replaced Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows in 2008.  Both ballparks could seat over 55,000 patrons.

14. Lose strength: ABATE.  My bowling strength ABATED last week.

15. Attire for Caesar: TOGA.  A party for "Animal House"

16. Closely related: AKIN.  Shea is AKIN to Citi Field.

19. Pinball flub: TILT.  In the old days, my friends and I would play Pinball after bowling.  I was gentle and never tilted the game.  I had good money in the machine, three games for a quarter, and I wanted my money's worth.

20. Metal-shaping tool: STAMPER.  Sounds like the name of a rabbit in "Bambi"

21. Defame verbally: SLANDER.  With old age and health issues, I am too slender to SLANDER.

23. Fifth Avenue retailer: SAKS.  Minneapolis has three SAKS stores that I know about.  None are on Fifth Avenue.

25. Final word: SAY SO.

26. Even though: ALBEIT.

30. Low-cost and inferior: CHEAPO.  We have a CHEAPO record store in Minneapolis.  They buy and sell those vinyl things with a hole in the middle.

33. Early synthetic fiber: RAYON. Most of my stuff is real cloth.  RAYON is too thin for wear in the cold northland.

34. Pinch, as piecrust: CRIMP.

35. D.C.'s nation: USA. Today - Another paper that sometimes features a crossword from C.C.  Fred Piscop used to be the editor.

38. Kilt-wearing family: CLAN.  I don't remember the Beverly Hillbillies wearing kilts.

39. Hotel visitor: GUEST. We have not visited a hotel for over a year.  Cannot trust that crummy virus that's going around.

40. Soon, to a bard: ANON.

41. Rogue computer in "2001": HAL.

42. Uses a fireplace tool: POKES.  We have a fireplace in our basement.  I have not used it for many years.  Nasty to clean up the ashes.  I suppose the southern states homeowners wish they had one last week.  

43. Sci-fi robot: DROID.

44. Really rich: LOADED.  The San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis will be loaded since he signed a 14- year contract for 340 million $$$.  I thought baseball teams were hurting for cash since a short season with no tickets sold last year.

46. With dexterity: DEFTLY.

47. Davis Jr. of the Rat Pack: SAMMY.  Performed at the Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.  It's gone now.  I think it was in the area of the now popular Fashion Show Mall.  I visited the Sands Hotel a long time ago, however I never saw the show. 

49. Pig's meal: SLOP.  Sometimes it's Boomer's meal.

51. Source of maple syrup: TREE SAP.  Argyle used to send us maple syrup.

54. One of 12 at the Last Supper: APOSTLE.  The season is upon us.  The last supper occurs on the Thursday before Easter.

59. Straight from the mouth: ORAL.  I was not able to deliver my humor to my retired Graybar friends this year at the Orleans in Las Vegas.  Wait 'til next year, I'll be back!

62. Subside: WANE.

63. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.  Trivia - Cleveland is one of the three largest cities in Ohio that start's with a "C".  Can you name the other two?

64. Carried in a bag: TOTED.

65. The "S" in CBS: Abbr.: SYST.

66. Gets hitched: WEDS.

67. Reaches across: SPANS.  We have a favorite dam that spans the Mississippi up here.  We have walked across it many times. The Mississippi width is a relatively short distance north of Minneapolis.

Boomer, 8/11/2020

Down:

1. Deep choir voice: BASS.  That was me in the Benilde High School Glee Club.

2. Share a boundary with: ABUT.

3. "Gone With the Wind" estate: TARA.

4. Checklist detail: ITEM.  I bring a list to the grocery store but sometimes they are out or don't stock what I want.

5. Represses, as emotions: KEEPS IN.

6. Storied baby-bringing bird: STORK.

7. Gehrig in Cooperstown: LOU.  Gehrig played in 2130 consecutive games for the Yankees.  The record seemed unbreakable until Cal Ripken came along and went for 2632.

8. Dairy case dozen: EGGS. 45. Brunch fare made with 8-Down: OMELET.  Three eggs with a little milk whipped in.  Load with ham and cheese and fry it slowly.  Yum!

9. Roald who created Willy Wonka: DAHL.

10. Bit of shuteye: CATNAP.  This happens to me sometimes as I am watching one of the stupid game shows on TV.

12. Scrabble pieces: TILES.  What four letter word yields the highest point score ?

13. Emcee's lead-in: INTRO.

18. In apple-pie order: NEAT.

22. "Hurry!" on a memo: ASAP.  I am not known to hurry any more.

24. Windbags' speeches: SCREEDS.

26. One of two in McDonald's "M": ARCH.  C.C. and I once drove through Des Plaines, Ill. and stopped by the original Ray Kroc McDonald's there.  It's a showplace of the original McDonald's golden arches that were famous in the 1950s.  If your hungry you can get a three course meal at a brick McDonald's down the street from the original.  I think it may cost more than 45 cents though.

27. In __ land: spaced-out: LA LA.  The Original McDonald's is part of a museum in San Bernardino. just east of La La Land.  

29. A billion years, in geology: EON.

31. Tire leak sound: HISS.  Usually the tire does not leak.  It's the stubborn valve stem.

32. 911 responder: Abbr.: EMT.  Having worked for Graybar Electric for more than a few years, I sold thousands of feet of EMT.  Electrical Metallic Tubing, aka EMT pipe.

34. Pickled veggie: CUKE.  We keep trying to grow these in our small garden.  No luck ... Maybe this spring.

36. Gardener's bagful: SOIL.  Useful for growing cukes.

37. Warhol of pop art: ANDY.

39. Thor or Zeus: GOD.

40. Comics bark: ARF.  I prefer RUFF - Dennis the Menace.

42. Forks over: PAYS.

43. Kicks out of the country: DEPORTS.

46. Dimwit: DOPE.

47. Stashes in a hold: STOWS.

48. Assortment: ARRAY.

50. Shoe strings: LACES.  Got them on my bowling and golf shoes.  Tennis shoes use Velcro.

52. Not very many: A FEW.

53. Skin opening: PORE.  Sure, and if you hold your breath your PORES will close and bees cannot sting you.

55. Word on an octagonal sign: STOP.  Trivia - They used to be yellow.  Now they are all red.  In Minnesota, sometimes they get covered with snow but you must still stop for an octagon.

56. Brit's goodbye: TA TA.  I guess Harry and Meghan mumbled this a few years ago.

57. Legal claim on property: LIEN.

58. Comes to a halt: ENDS.  Just while I was finishing up here, I received one of those fake calls from someone stating that we ordered some huge $$$$ from Amazon.  That's what I wish would end. 

61. Get __ of: dump: RID.  We pay to get rid of garbage every week. Recycle every other week.

Boomer