Saturday, February 10, 2018, Michael Wiesenberg

A SURE BET

Today's constructor is a man  from Calgary who wears many hats in the world of games. Michael is not only a masterful puzzle maker, he is also a renowned expert in poker. He made his living playing poker for 10 years before turning to technical writing in the computer field. C.C.'s 2009 interview with Michael

Here are some long fills that are always helpful on a Saturday excursion:

1. Empathetic words : I CAN RELATE

12. Disappointed observation : IT'S NOT HERE - and now a "I CAN RELATE" for my lovely bride

16. Revelation setting : ARMAGEDDON - One of its portents in Rev. 17  is a prostitute riding a seven-headed monster. Yikes!

10. Sitcom sidekick whose wife sometimes calls him by his last name : ED NORTON - You can hear Ralph call him NORTON throughout this all-time funny scene. You won't spend a funnier four minutes today!

11. Bit of bun flavoring : SESAME SEED - Do you remember this jingle  where "SESAME and SEED" were the next to last words? Many, many Americans knew this ear worm!

Now let's sit in and to see what else Michael has dealt us this week:

Across

11. RSVP part : SIL - Répondez S’IL vous plaít. Some say that nowadays no response to this implies you are attending

14. One may run for a week : PERSONAL AD - Yeah, they're lined up around the block!

15. Townshend of The Who : PETE

17. Olympus neighbor : OSSA (alternate name Kissova) - A four-hour drive

18. Put forth : SAY

19. Metro __ : AREA

20. Grounded : ON LAND - Huh?

22. Horoscope heading : SIGN

23. Wish for : DREAM OF

24. Subject for Linnaeus : BOTANY - His classification system works for animals too like our Lily

27. Relocate in, as after one's career : RETIRE TO - We are RETIRED TO where we grew up with no regrets. Dorothy was right.

28. Maternally related : ENATE - My love of crosswords is directly related to the ENATE side of my family 

29. "Dead Souls" novelist : GOGOL - A remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity and pomp. Ok, raise your hand if you have read this and let me get a count...

30. "Billions" network, briefly : SHO - Showtime 

31. Fake out : DEKE - The old "hidden ball" fake out

32. __ legend : URBAN - Nope, an URBAN legend according to Snopes.com 

33. Sugar source : BEET

34. Sugar suffix : OSE

35. Some pretenders : SNOBS - Prius owners? 😊

36. Membre de la famille : FRERE - Did anyone ever find out if Brother John was asleep  (Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous?)

37. Celebration honoring a saint : FEAST DAY - Feb. 10th is the FEAST DAY for St. Scholastica, Virgin

39. Crossed at a shallow spot : FORDED - Juilius Caesar FORDING the Rubicon

40. Rocky of song : RACCOON - A silly Beatle song

41. Munich title : HERR 

42. Home of Canada's Parliament : OTTAWA

43. Secular : LAIC - Acts performed by the laity

44. Phased-out refrigerant compound : CFC - ChloroFluoroCarbon was said to be a danger to the ozone layer

47. "__Language": 1993 comedy best-seller : SEIN - Yeah, that makes sense

8. Pierce portrayer : ALDA - Another sitcom legend

48. Ecstatic : BLISSED OUT - I guess if you can be STRESSED OUT...

51. Amor counterpart : EROS

52. Game with wagering restrictions : LIMIT POKER - Gee I wonder where a POKER reference came from. 😏

53. Three-part fig. : SSN - Mine starts with 507. Yours?

54. Bit of rifle range debris : EMPTY SHELL - Shirt seen on some shooting ranges

Down

1. Draft orders : IPAS - India Pale Ale'S

2. "Juno" actor Michael : CERA - Michael's character Paulie and Juno had a situation to deal with

3. Fighting group : ARMY

4. Govt. employer of mathematicians : NSA

5. Treatment for losing one's head? : ROGAINE - Reviews I read said it works for only a small part of the population

6. Going concern? : ENERGY

7. Like a full hold : LADEN and 35. Put in a hold : STOW- Like here in the Mayflower

9. Eastern way : TAO

13. In danger of being ticketed : LEAD FOOTED - You are busted!

15. Magnetic? : POLAR - Poles on the Moon are not magnetic

21. First name in astronautics : NEIL - His biography I recently read revealed him to be  a much better astronaut than husband or father

22. Stuff : SATE - Maybe I didn't need the large box of popcorn

23. "The Dance Class" painter : DEGAS - Impressionism at its best

24. Easy Street kin : BED OF ROSES - Mena Suvari in American Beauty (repeat from Argyle's Monday's puzzle)

25. Most bicycles : ONE SEATERS - Unless you're dating this girl name Daisy

26. Do something : TAKE ACTION

27. "Forbidden Planet" robot : ROBBY - 98% on Rotten Tomatoes

29. Punster's reward? : GROAN - But, he's a GROAN man!

32. Impossible : UNDOABLE

33. Cold reaction : BRRR - Heard outside the Super Bowl last week!

36. Grasping pair : FORCEPS

38. Input methods : SCANS - Here's a SCANNER I always have with me

39. Full of pluck : FEISTY - FEISTY O's manager Buck Showalter meets an equally FEISTY umpire. Oh yeah, Buck also got tossed out of the game

41. "Rumor __ ... " : HAS IT

43. Favor one side over the other : LIMP - A lot of us here know a) the character below with a LIMP, b) who the other characters are and c) the name of the show

44. Fountain choice : COKE - You might have to ask a jerk for one

45. Drive : FUEL - Going for the gold FUELS Olympic dreams 

46. PC key under Shift : CTRL

49. Airport in Peru's cap. : LIM

50. [Head slap] : DOH

All in, I'll bet that you liked Michael's puzzle. Call? 

DA GRID