Saturday, October 22, 2016

Sunday, October 23, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: POSSESSION 

This wonderful C.C. Sunday puzzle, which she told me is her favorite of the year, is clever on many levels. As I sometimes do, I decided to put the grid at the front of the write-up to better display her the intricacy of her work. Her gimmick is revealed in the lengthy clue of 


52. Ownership claim ... and a hint to the relationship of each answer to a starred clue to a word it intersects : IT'S MINE


As you can see below she intersected an entire word (clued with an *) with the front or back part of a multiple word phrase. The icing on this word cake was that the stand-alone word required adding an 'S so that the conjoined phrase made sense and truly showed the title of "IT'S MINE". Wow!




Stupid me barged through this exercise oblivious to the juxtaposition of two words that are connected (darn trees do block the forest). When I ran across the reveal, I laughed out loud and quoted that great American philosopher Homer Simpson by exclaiming, "Doh!"


Coupled with C.C.'s always fiendish/clever cluing this was truly a great time. She said it was a very difficult construction but we all benefit from her efforts.


Let's take a look at her possessive pairing genius:


5. *Second-longest reigning British monarch : VICTORIA and 22. Ill-kept confidence : OPEN SECRET yield VICTORIA'S SECRET by making the first word possessive and using the second word in OPEN SECRET. Wearing items from here might guarantee you will have a very OPEN SECRET...




9. *First of all? : ADAM and 24. Seasonal drink : APPLE CIDER yield ADAM'S APPLE by making ADAM possessive and using the first word in APPLE CIDER. This is the Laryngeal Prominence on the thyroid cartilage that is usually much more prominent in men.




75. *Noted WWII lifesaver : SCHINDLER and 39. Consequence of the telemarketing boom : NO CALL LIST yield SCHINDLER'S LIST. (I think you have the idea). I only made it halfway through this powerful movie and left after a scene with children.



42. *English surgeon Henry : GRAY and 44. Vet student's workplace : ANATOMY LAB  yield GRAY'S ANATOMY. Here is Henry's original drawing of the larynx with the Thyroid Notch/Adam's Apple




93. *First human woman, in Greek myth : PANDORA and 117. Specialized slicing tools : BOX CUTTERS yield PANDORA'S BOX that of course contains all the evils of the world. It appears that Pan might be shopping at 
VICTORIA'S SECRET




Now for I. Indiana home for Jackson 5  - GARY and II. Court ruling without a trial - SUMMARY JUDGEMENT which yield GARY'S SUMMARY:


Across


1. Twinkler : STAR



5. Block from the White House : VETO - C.C.'s original clue was Block from Obama and Rich modified it. I like 'em both


9. Sunburn salve : ALOE


13. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS
OTROS también les encantará este rompecabezas (Others will also love this puzzle)


18. Almond __: candy : ROCA - I have learned that this is a thing




19. Like jeggings : TIGHT - Standard clothing in schools today


20. Fist bumps : DAPS - A more complicated DAP




21. Talked a blue streak? : SWORE


26. Tossed a bone to : PLACATED


27. Playground retort : AM SO - Are not, AM SO, Are not, AM SO, ad nauseum


28. Up-to-the-minute : LATEST


29. "I never __ purple cow ... ": Burgess : SAW A - "I'd rather see one than be one"


30. New Mexico county bordering El Paso : OTERO and 27. Chicago's __ Center : AON. Natick for me -I chose unwisely at their crossing for my standard one bad Sunday cell 


32. Dance partner : ESCORT


34. Mr. or Mrs. : ABBR and 
83. Country on St. George's Channel : IRE.


36. Hard-to-imagine period : EON


37. It's charged : ION - Here are two atoms becoming charged IONS and voila - Sodium Fluoride



38. Winds up or winds down : ENDS


45. Talks like Daffy : LISPS


47. Mo. town : ST.L. - Sorry ST.L., the Rams belong in L.A.


48. Like a paddling surfer : PRONE


49. With 113-Across, "Funeral in Berlin" author : LEN and 113. See 49-Across : DEIGHTON 


50. Waikiki wingding : LUAU


51. Sounded nostalgic about : SIGHED AT - One man's lament




55. Tiger, e.g. : CAT


56. Churchill, notably : ORATOR - "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" May 1940


58. Curaçao cocktail : MAI TAI


60. American Red Cross founder Barton : CLARA 


62. Prankster's missile : WATER BOMB



64. "Popeye" pirate : SEA HAG 


66. Racing Unsers : ALS


68. Zen garden piece : STONE  and 74. Potted dwarf : BONSAI - I feel peaceful just looking at it




69. Match made in heaven : SOUL MATES

71. Kept from squeaking : OILED


73. Lifesaver, initially : EMT


77. Sticks figure : YOKEL


79. Drive-thru burger chain whose name has two hyphens : IN-N-OUT


81. Make a home : RESIDE


82. Squat : NIL - Nuttin' 




84. Summary : OVERVIEW


86. It has Air, Mini and Pro versions : I-PAD


88. Part of a circ. : SEG(ment)


89. Fervently wishes : PRAYS


91. Stooge with a bowl haircut : MOE - MOE's younger brother Curly replaced their brother Shemp  in the trio 


92. Center of Florida? : EPCOT


94. Govt. guidelines : STDS


95. Name on the 1984 album "My Kind of Country" : REBA


96. Cologne cooler : EIS - Ich möchte keine EIS in meinen Scotch (I don't want any ice in my scotch) Tin?


97. NYC commuter letters : MTA


98. Thunder sound : PEAL


100. Pains : THROES


103. Courier and Roman : FONTS - or a seasonal one




105. King with a pipe : COLE


108. Very destructive : LETHAL


111. Nursery cry : MAMA


115. 1990 #1 rap hit : ICE ICE BABY 


119. Chugged, say : DRANK


120. Links seen at pga.com : URLS - Electronic links not grass ones


121. Doctoral candidate's hurdles : ORALS - Not intimidating at all


122. Furry sci-fi creature : EWOK


123. Huffy states : SULKS


124. Duma vote : NYET - Nyet, Nyet Nannette!


125. Lose intensity : WANE


126. Prevent : DENY



Down


1. Letters connected to theater capacity : SRO - Sure, you can get some SRO tix to see the Cubs in their first World Series in 71 years!



2. Collectible baseball card brand : TOPPS  - C.C. gave me a George Brett TOPPS card that is prominently displayed in my sunroom 


3. Boston-to-D.C. rail service : ACELA


4. Took off : RAN AWAY


6. Blue heron kin : EGRET


7. Peter Benchley thriller : THE DEEP 


8. Giants great Mel : OTT - A 1933 Doudney Mel OTT rookie card will set you back $532




10. Slip : LAPSE


11. Facing : OPPOSITE - Our crossword friends, recto and verso, are opposite/facing pages


12. Bilingual subj. : ESL


13. Award declined by George C. Scott : OSCAR - Goldie Hawn shrieked, "Oh my God, the winner is George C. Scott!" She knew he had said he would not show up.


14. Company with a blue bird logo : TWITTER


15. Used Lyft, say : RODE


16. Mining haul : ORES


17. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT - File under Learned/Forgot


19. Leaves for a Chinese dinner : TEA


23. Line crosser : SCAB - A 2000 movie with a more gentle name for football SCABS who crossed a union line



25. SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON


31. Carlo __: wine brand : ROSSI


33. Money immediately available : COLD CASH


35. Book jacket entry : BLURB


40. It's in our genes : DNA 



41. Disappeared from view : SET


42. Looks really happy : GLOWS


43. Upgrade, as on Yelp : RERATE


46. Send for : SUMMON


47. Type of massage : SHIATSU


48. Student advocacy gp. : PTA


50. Folk tales : LORE


53. Earth goddess : GAEA


54. Subj. with unknowns : ALG




57. Approaching the hour : TEN TO


59. Coarsely insulting, as language : ABUSIVE


61. Vice squad incursions : RAIDS


63. Classic for which Pavarotti won a Grammy : O SOLE MIO


65. Frenzied : HECTIC


67. Did some farm work : SEEDED - The Sower on top of the capital in Lincoln, Nebraska




70. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI


71. Lacking width and depth : ONE-D


72. Worst of the worst : DREGS


74. Drink, in Dover : BEV


76. Hot : IRATE


78. Foreman stat : KO'S


80. Have a loan from : OWE TO


82. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR


85. *Memorable 1968 role for Mia : ROSEMARY'S - Somethin' ain't right with that BABY




87. Treat on a stick : POPSICLE


90. "Really, Captain Obvious?" : YA THINK?


94. Scheduled : SLOTTED


96. Perry's creator : ERLE - Stanley Gardner


97. CalArts degree : MFA - Maybe not the best degree to find a job


99. Eight, to Mozart : ACHT - He wrote his first symphony when he was ACHT


101. Street fare seekers : HACKS - aka Taxis. Named for Hackney Cabs in Britain. Hackney is the name for a horse suitable for driving or riding




102. Luxurious fur : SABLE - Wearing this fur can be risky

104. Bonnie or Clyde : TEXAN


106. Lerner collaborator : LOEWE


107. Company with an ironically crooked logo : ENRON - Many pensions at Nebraska Natural Gas disappeared with them


108. Shadow targets : LIDS




109. Beige shade : ECRU


110. Marsh duck : TEAL


112. Computer game title island : MYST


114. Gloomy fellow : GUS



116. Ballerina's hairdo : BUN


117. Tool for Cupid : BOW


118. Hawk's domain : SKY


Now it's time for I. McGuffey book - READER and II. Viewer's opinion - AUDIENCE FEEDBACK which yield READER'S FEEDBACK: