Theme: FIRECRACKER (59. Fourth of July noisemaker ... and the
function of the black squares in lines 3, 6, and 10) - FIRE is broken up
in 3 different ways.
16. Half-__: rhyming coffee order: CAF and 17. Closing line after presenting an argument: I REST MY CASE.
28. Nebula Award genre: SCI-FI And 30. One way to get caught: RED-HANDED.
47. North American evergreen: BALSAM FIR And 50. Say "I do" without the ado: ELOPE.
Boomer here.
I hope all of you are having a great three-day weekend. I am taking the day off with you. No VA appointments on this holiday. I think our city has a fireworks show, but we are usually sleeping by that time.
Across:
4. Girl __ Cookies: SCOUT. I like the chocolate mint ones.
9. Journalist Swisher: KARA.
13. "My man!": BRO. He ain't heavy, he's my BRO.
14. Alpha __ Alpha sorority: KAPPA. I thought it was "Phi Beta ____"
15. Lubricated: OILED. I cannot believe the price of an oil change these days.
19. Elsie the Cow's dairy brand: BORDEN.
21. "Questions welcome": ASK ME. I don't know. Ask someone else.
22. Ireland, to the Irish: EIRE.
23. "The Dancing Class" painter Edgar: DEGAS.
26. Cedar Rapids state: IOWA. Cedar is a tree, Rapids is a spot
in a river, and IOWA is only famous once every four years when they try
to pick a president.
32. Silky fabrics: SATINS.
34. Island home of the Hana Highway: MAUI. Over 700 square miles, a big section of Hawaii.
35. Magazine VIPs: EDS. Mr. Sullivan and Mr. R. Murrow.
36. Pinches pennies: SCRIMPS. Pinch 500 and you may buy a gallon of gas.
38. "Now I get it!": AHA.
41. Holier-__-thou: THAN.
42. Scheduled: SLATED. Twins are done with Guardians for awhile. I wish they would change up their Pigpen ....... I mean bullpen.
51. Quaint "once": ERST.
52. Lets up: EASES. I wish our hotter than normal Minnesota weather would ease up.
54. __ and proper: PRIM.
55. Fatherly nickname: POPPA. There are restaurants called Poppa(s).
57. Hide-and-seek hideout: CLOSET. No room to hide in mine.
62. "That hurt!": OOF. Do not move my left arm! Thanks.
64. Future DAs' exams: LSATS.
65. Member-owned grocery stores: CO-OPS. Farmer-owned chicken houses.
66. Actress Thurman: UMA. Odd first name.
67. Eclectic online digest: UTNE. Utah or Nebraska.
68. Arizona's __ National Forest: TONTO. Lone Ranger's buddy.
69. __-Mex cuisine: TEX. A lot seems to go wrong in that state.
Down:
2. Coffee bean variety: ARABICA. We buy coffee that is already ground. Not sure what bean it is.
3. "Pursue your dream!": GO FOR IT. Green under 200 yards away? GO FOR IT!
4. Slide on an icy road: SKID. Yup, icy road season is just a few months ahead here.
5. Was concerned: CARED.
6. First game of the season: OPENER. Baseball is here. Football openers are coming soon.
7. Emotional highs: UPS. Delivery company.
8. Body ink, for short: TAT.
9. Begin to take effect, as medicine: KICK IN. Football openers are coming soon.
10. Dessert menu phrase: A LA MODE. I scream for ice cream!
11. Mended for a second time: RE-SEWED.
12. Citrus drink suffix: ADE. Lemon, Orange, or Kool.
15. Yiddish laments: OYS.
18. Songs made by mixing two songs: MASH-UPS.
20. Mortgage adjustment, for short: RE-FI. It could cost you these days.
22. Twisty letter: ESS. SSS.
24. Some spring babies: GEMINIS. Twins.
25. Driver at the Oscars: ADAM. We live close to A DAM on the Mississippi. It's where we get some of our electric power.
27. Commercials: ADS. The Game Show channel has a ton of them.
29. Lead-in to "gram" in social media: INSTA.
31. Ideological gap in Congress: AISLE. And they don't seem to get along too well.
33. Bagel spread: SCHMEAR.
37. Nadal of tennis, familiarly: RAFA.
38. Actor Vigoda: ABE. And President Lincoln.
39. Plucky member of an orchestra?: HARPIST.
40. Losing candidate: ALSO-RAN. Elections are coming this fall.
43. European peaks: ALPS. Biggest and highest range in Europe.
44. Left in a big hurry: TORE OUT. Many puzzles are TORE OUT and mailed to friends,
45. Perfect example: EPITOME.
46. Rep.'s opponent: DEM. Elections are coming this fall. oops I already said that.
48. Tampa Bay city, familiarly: ST PETE. ERSBURG
49. __ with: take into consideration: RECKON. I RECKON NOT!
53. Was out: SLEPT. Gotta do this only on my right side for now.
56. Some HP products: PCS.
58. "In that neighborhood" phrase: OR SO. Twins need ten relief pitchers OR SO.
59. Wintertime bug: FLU.
60. Do something: ACT.
61. Dove sound: COO. Say it twice and it's a different bird.
63. Number on older business cards: FAX.
Boomer
