Thursday, February 7, 2019

Saturday, February 9, 2019, Greg Johnson

Saturday Themeless by Greg Johnson


Here we are five days prior to Valentine's Day and we celebrate my wife's favorite food group - Chocolate. Therefore I got a jump on St. Valentine and combined my lovely wife's favorite confection with a sentiment I have maintained through 52 years of marriage.

Our constructor, Greg Johnson may have had some premonition about this as he had this clue today:


9. Flavor that pairs well with chocolate: MINT - I remember when these wonderful treats were 2 cents at the pay station in a restaurant or were free in an upscale eatery. 
Greg Johnson

44. Unchallenging: EASY - Today's puzzle, unlike most Saturdays, gave up the ghost in a hurry. Now let's see what else Greg, with his wistful expression, has for us today:



Across:

1. In honor of: AFTER - The VFW in my hometown is now named AFTER my friend who died in Vietnam and not the heroic WWI man who no one could remember

6. Site with a Pill Identification Tool: WEB MD - I wonder what this thing is...



11. Tried hard: STROVE.

12. More substantial: MEATIER.

14. Sea of Azov peninsula: CRIMEA - A war described as "notoriously incompetent international butchery"



15. When many photos are taken: AT SUNSET 

17. Some therapeutic applications: OILS A graphic Web Md warning

18. Didn't get in the way of: LET BE 



20. Brand with an orange-and-yellow bull's-eye trademark: TIDE

21. Conversation on the go: WALK AND TALK - One of many TV and movie 51. Metaphors, e.g.: TROPES - commonly used TV/movie devices



24. X or Z preceder: GEN.



25. Stella Artois product: LAGER - Their Super Bowl ad got good reviews. Sara Jessica Parker pronounced it "Stella Artwah" and Jeff Bridges said "Stella Artoes" 


26. Waiters stand in them: LINES - We waited in line for Ubers not taxis

28. Product of sugar and heat: CARAMEL - People sometimes disregard the middle A like the middle T in dentist

31. Real go-getter: DYNAMO - The motor below is really a electricity generating DYNAMO and could keep my laptop 36. Energized: AMPED up in a storm



32. Retrieved at an airport carousel: CLAIMED - I put a big pink strap around my black bag



33. Pet holdable in one hand: HAMSTER.

34. Critical sounds: HISSES - Appropriate melodrama response when villain appears

35. Took turns: ROTATED - Super Bowl sites are rotated among NFL cities. Next: Miami, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles

37. Cleanser compound: BORAX - Here's a pre-presidential pitchman



38. Saint, in Brazil: SAO.

39. What you'd better have if you miss work: A GOOD EXCUSE 

45. Highest Italian peak south of the Alps: ETNA - This map shows it as a lone white dot on Sicily 



47. Like yummy desserts, sooner or later: EATEN.

48. Fit to serve: ONE-A - I don't know if the Babe was ever ONE-A but he did register in 1917



49. Separate: DISCRETE 

53. Homicide official: CORONER - 85-yr-old David McCallum still plays the CORONER on NCIS 



54. Event associated with a blue moon: RARITY.

55. Concrete-reinforcing rod: REBAR - REROD works too

56. Kind of question: YES/NO - Yeah, I sent one as a 13-yr-old. She marked Yes!!




Down:

1. Heart chambers: ATRIA - The educated peeps here can find them below



2. Nonessential decoration: FRILL - Lipstick on a pig?

3. Siberian industrial center: TOMSK.



4. Big event lead-in: EVE

5. What John Wayne and Cary Grant weren't: REAL NAMES - Birthplace of Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa



6. Dinner party amenity: WET BAR - I'd prefer a taco BAR

7. Painter's aid: EASEL.

8. A/C letters: BTU - Our old HVAC cwd friend

10. Appoint: DESIGNATE - C.C. has DESIGNATED some great daily bloggers and me

11. Harbor hauler: SCOW - A garbage SCOW in NYC Harbor



12. Brand on Barbie boxes: MATTEL.

13. Cashed in: REDEEMED - Like Green Stamps

16. Stretching muscle: TENSOR - The TENSOR of the fascia lata in red



19. Trimmed, in a way: EDGED.

22. Bay Area city: ALAMEDA - The San Francisco Warriors play in the Oracle or Oakland/ALAMEDA Arena which is the oldest NBA venue.



23. Female R&B group with the '80s hit "I Miss You": KLYMAXX.

27. MIT part: Abbr.: INST- Hmmm... MASS or INST or TECH

28. Of concern to the Weather Channel: CLIMATIC - Our recent departure from CLIMATIC norms has been dramatic 

29. Twelve-step helper: AA SPONSOR.



30. Start the day: RISE.

31. Requirement for statistical analysis: DATA ENTRY - Not my dream job



32. Tried to catch: CHASED - She was CHASED but remained chaste

33. Massive group: HORDE.

35. Fan: ROOTER - This fan must have felt horrible when Bama got routed in the National Championship Game this year



37. Flat-topped straw hat: BOATER - Nobody wore one better than this guy



40. Davis with a recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy": GEENA - She was really hard-nosed in that role but GEENA and baseball, gotta love it!



41. Denver's __ Field: COORS - Playing at an elevation of 5,280 ft. can have it issues

42. Remove from the bulletin board: UNPIN

43. Take care of: SEE TO 

46. A football field is about 32% larger than one: ACRE.



50. Not take well: ROB - An oft-seen fun fill for larceny 

52. Female name that's a body part backwards: RAE - Here's both in this picture 



Now put down that Snickers and comment away: