DR. FLUDZINSKI IS ON CALL TODAY
He had a friend who knew Will Shortz, introduced Pawel to Will and after that Dr. Fludzinski took up the challenge of constructing crosswords with his first one being a 9/18/11 Sunday LA Times puzzle. Pretty impressive.
Pawel's license plate tells you both where he lives and about what one of his passions is.
I earned a "got 'er done" in Pawel's challenging weekend offering but those of you familiar with The Family Circus, might recognize that the path I took resembled this circuitous route as the boys in the cartoon frequently take in getting from point A to point B. BTW, this also resembles my path in the grocery store.
Pawel's puzzle was anything but a, uh, bitter pill to swallow and I am going to start with his long fills which were so helpful once a few of their cells were filled.
19. Jesse Owens, e.g. : OLYMPIC ATHLETE - HOAX ALERT! Hitler never did congratulate Jesse for his 1936 Olympic wins, as Jesse expected, but this 2013 photoshopped image made the internet rounds. Jesse did feel snubbed in that FDR never contacted him in any way to acknowledge his tremendous accomplishments.
50. Canine epithet : MAN'S BEST FRIEND - 'Nuff said! 😀
5. Real estate investment strategy : FLIPPING HOUSES - Tarek and Christina starred in Flip or Flop on HGTV. His job was negotiations and labor and hers was some decorating but mainly simply looking photogenic. They're divorced but are still on the show together.
16. Voting bloc term used by Nixon and Trump : SILENT MAJORITY - Howard Beale's fabulous call to arms for this group in 1976's Network
Now let's see what Dr. Fludzinski has prescribed for us in the balance of his puzzle:
Across
1. Bundles together, as wheat : SHEAFS - One SHEAFS wheat into SHEAVES
7. EPA concern : AQI - Air Quality Index Check the AQI where you live now
10. Cab alternative : UBER - I've sung their praises here
15. Choral extreme : BASS NOTE - The E♭Paul Robeson hits in Old Man River on the word "jail" is listed as a "Notable low note"
17. Predestine : ORDAIN - ...do ORDAIN and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
18. Countermeasure : ANTIDOTE - Milking venomous snakes is the first step to producing an ANTIDOTE
22. Part of NAFTA: Abbr. : AMER - North AMERican Free Trade Agreement
23. Rats along the Rhine? : ACH - ACH du lieber! Ich habe gerade eine Ratte gesehen! (Oh my God, I just saw a rat!)
26. Rage : IRE
27. Where snowbirds flock in winter? : SUNBELT
34. Cheap smoke : STOGIE
35. Stick : CLING
39. Five-book collections : TORAHS - The first 5 books of the Jewish Bible are such a collection
41. Serious betrayals : TREASONS - Here is a famous group committing TREASON
43. Henry VIII's third : SEYMOUR - Jane SEYMOUR came between Anne Boleyn and Ann of Cleves but died with her head intact.
43. Henry VIII's third : SEYMOUR - Jane SEYMOUR came between Anne Boleyn and Ann of Cleves but died with her head intact.
45. Kunal Nayyar's role in "The Big Bang Theory" : RAJesh Koothrapali - You either know this or don't care
46. Ultra-secret org. : NSA - National Security Agency
48. Winged figure of myth : EROS
58. Having an accent : STRESSED - "CON flict" is mostly a noun while "con FLICT" is mostly a verb
59. Speedily : AT A RUN
60. Astronomical dist. : LT YR - LighT YeaR
61. Slight opening? : ESS - Slight
62. End zone quartet : PYLONS - If the ball is inside or touches one of the PYLONS at the corners of the end zone, it's six points!
Down
1. Wave off : SHOO
2. Fling : HURL
4. __ apple : ADAM'S
6. Year-ending ceremony participants : SENIORS
8. Airline with a kangaroo on its logo : QANTAS - QANTAS on the left and on the right...? *Answer at the bottom of the write-up.
9. Common canal site : ISTHMUS
12. Kitchen finish? : ETTE
13. "Pioneer Woman" cookbook writer Drummond : REE - Ree's show is a favorite of my wife's
20. Backups' backups : C-TEAM
23. Bank nos. : ACCTS
24. Techie on "24" : CHLOE - Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Jack (Kiefer Sutherland seem to be having a hard day on "24"
25. Hirsute : HAIRY
28. __ Heath: Thomas Hardy setting : EGDON - It is said that EGDON Heath was as much a part of The Return Of The Native as the characters
29. They have their pride : LIONS
32. So to speak : IN A MANNER
33. Verbal deftness : WIT
42. Winter cap feature : EAR FLAP - Found on a certain hunter of a "cwazy wabbit"
44. Piece maker : REESES - M & M's turned down being in ET and REESES pieces cashed in
51. Off the mark : AWRY - Where best laid plans of men and mice can go
52. EPA issuances : STDS - STanDardS
53. Iberian river : EBRO - For 32€, you can be outfitted to do this on a five mile stretch of the EBRO River in northern Spain
54. Truth or consequences, e.g. : NOUN - Pretty tricky, Pawel!
55. Aykroyd and Patrick : DANS