Monday, March 13, 2017

Friday March 17, 2017, Paul Coulter

To celebrate St. Paddy's day, here's a beautiful version of When Irish Eyes Are Smilin' by the second generation Irish tenor who was a foil for Jack Benny for years. It makes for lovely background music!


Now, for sure and begorrah, let's be gettin' down to the puzzle!


TITLE: BACK TO FRONT

On this St. Paddy's Day, Lemon has put himself on the injured reserve list and C.C. has brought me, Husker Gary, up from the minors to take the mound.


Paul's lovely offering dredges up memories of a recent Sunday puzzle I blogged where I also put the grid at the top. In that puzzle a word was put IN the middle of a silly phrase and had to be repositioned to the front to make sense. Today Paul forces us to take the last word of a silly phrase and transport it to the front to make a single, familiar word. 


Obviously the puzzle needed no reveal, so here are the theme entries

16. Laboratory scam? : SCIENCE CON/CONSCIENCEJiminy's counsel to Pinnochio took a while to sink in

28. Snubbing a testimonial? : TRIBUTE DIS/DISTRIBUTE - A good passer is called a good DISTRIBUTOR




45. John Deere rep? : TRACTOR PRO/PROTRACTOR - For some reason kids often ask for a compass when they really want a PROTRACTOR



61. Ordinary law office employee? : NORMAL PARA/PARANORMAL - JoBeth Williams confronts a PARANORMAL creature in Poltergeist 



Let's see what else our Literary Leprechaun has for us today


Across


1. "Oopsy" : MY BAD

6. Grand Prix component : ESS - Curve, here's one





9. In things : FADS - Joann, where's my Nehru jacket?

13. Adult insect : IMAGO - I've only heard it here


14. Prefix with data : META - It seems someone has lots of this on all of us


15. Subject preceder : IN RE



18. Saves, say : STAT - Usually accrued by soccer and hockey goalies 


19. Challenge : CALL OUT - Matt Dillon faced one of these at the start of every episode

20. Like some flushes : ACE HIGH


22. Missed the mark : ERRED


24. Spike TV, once : TNN - The Nashville Network


25. Nile threats : ASPS


33. Take for a while : LEASE

35. B to C, e.g. : SEMITONE





36. Call off : END


37. Something shared on a plane : ARMREST - Sound right?

40. Pres. when Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided : DDE - Ike

41. "The Social Contract" author : ROUSSEAU - Jacques - "What wisdom can be greater than kindness?"

43. Hindu ascetics : YOGIS - Did any of them catch for the Yankees?

48. Old Nair rival : NEET

49. "You betcha!" : YEP

50. Mozart opera ending : TUTTE - Cosi Fan TUTTE (Women are like that). Like what?

52. Spendthrift : WASTREL



56. Hospital test : MRI SCAN - I just listened to talk shows on my iPhone

60. Large deep-water fish : OPAH







63. Actor Auberjonois : RENE - Fr. Mulcahy in the 1970 movie M*A*S*H


64. Relaxed : EASY

65. Refresh, as a cup of coffee : TOP UP - Is this also a Mardi Gras tradition?

66. Participants in some awkward meetings : EXES

67. Case breaker, perhaps : DNA - Uh, Number 2, you might wanna have a seat

68. Flower holders : STEMS - Not a vayse or a vahze






Down

1. Category for non-recurring pd. bills : MISC


2. 1979 disco classic : YMCA




3. Payment that's posted : BAIL - Remember who sponsored The Bad News Bears? Now you can order a jersey!

4. Eternal : AGELESS - Dick Clark's middle name for years

5. Philanthropist, e.g. : DONOR

6. Common Market letters : European Economic Community

7. Ancient colonnade : STOA

8. Sacred sites : SANCTUMS

9. Stocking stuff : FISH NET - Maybe Splynter will have some for us tomorrow

10. Not backing : ANTI

11. Party pooper : DRAG


12. First family member : SETH 

14. Poet's concern : METER

17. Short : CURT

21. Being : ENTITY

23. Throw into turmoil : DISRUPT

25. On the ball : ALERT

26. Monterrey title : SENOR


27. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting : PADUA - The Montana Shakespeare In The Park Troupe chose a different setting but used Elizabethan English (mostly) 

32. Notice from Shakespeare? : SEEST - Didst thee SEEST the setting for Taming Of The Shrew cameth ere?

29. Obsessive idea metaphor : BEE - Busy as a...


30. Caravan assembler : DODGE - The original minivan - 1984

31. Common Sundance entry : INDIE

34. Time for eggs : EASTER

38. Worked on, as a cold case : REOPENED - They haven't REOPENED the Cain and Abel case. How many witnesses could there have been?

39. Fold, spindle or mutilate : MAR

42. Crop cutters : SCYTHES

44. Buck : ONESPOT - Really?

46. Gin __ : RUMMY - Remember this Bond Villain who cheated at Gin RUMMY using a spy with binoculars and an earpiece? 

47. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA - No, descartar la OTRA tarjeta (No, discard the other card)

51. Slopes : TILTS

52. Had on : WORE 


53. Top : APEX

54. Fit to be tried : SANE - Two psychiatrists testified as to whether this Omaha man was SANE enough to stand trial for his four murders.

55. Student's request : LOAN 

57. Vacation spot : CAPE

58. Jack-in-the-pulpit family : ARUM

59. Gets caught off guard : NAPS

62. The ANC's country : RSA - Republic of South Africa





Now before you start celebrating reasonably (let your conscience be your guide), how 'bout some comments:








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