Husker Gary LA Times Cwd: March 2021

Saturday Themeless by Mary Lou Guizzo

Today our constructor is Mary Lou Guizzo. She and her retired science teacher husband met at Dayton University and now live in Oakwood, OH which is a suburb of Dayton. Last time she told us: I am a retired medical technologist with a Specialty in Blood Banking (SBB). I’ve worked in hospitals, private labs and the Community Blood Center for many years. She further said she knew of C.C. and knows our moderator is a "rockstar constructor!" Here's what she told me about this puzzle:

Mary Lou and Grandson

Thanks for your kind words Gary. Glad to hear you enjoy the photography as well as the puzzles (Husker: I see her pix on FaceBook). They both make me look at the world in a different way and serve as good diversions. A shout out to my husband who helps me in both these endeavors.

I was happy to feature two strong women in this puzzle, GRETA THUNBERG and the NOTORIOUS RBG aka Ruth Badger Ginsburg. It's not easy to pave the way in perilous circumstances and times, but they have both done that well and with such grace.

To answer your question about the clues, roughly 20% are different, with 80% being the same or very similar to my submitted clues. I hope the solvers have enjoyed the puzzle and it has brought them some respite during these trying times.

Best,

Mary Lou

Husker Gary Addendum: When I saw the clue/fill 21. Impish: ELFIN - I asked Mary Lou if she would mind if I referred to her as ELFIN. She got a big laughed out of that said "go ahead!"

Across:

1. Wrap up: SWATHE - Changing a noun SWATH to a verb by adding an "E" like cloth and clothe. Here's a Corflex universal sling has also been SWATHED

7. Game-watching, maybe: ON SAFARI.

15. "Y Is for Yesterday" sleuth Millhone: KINSEY - Our frequent cwd author and her female sleuth

16. One skilled at spelling: SORCERER - or his apprentice

17. __ of: address words: IN CARE.

18. Rocky time?: STONE AGE - MOUNTAIN (standard time) didn't cut it

19. Slow-witted Bergen puppet: SNERD.

20. 8-Down, e.g.: BIO and 8. 2015 best-selling 20-Across: NOTORIOUS RBG - A clever play on rapper NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

22. Boo follower: HISS - The Harbor Playhouse Melodramas will cue you in

23. Key contraction: OER - "O'ER the land of the free..." Renee Fleming nailing the last word of this Francis Scott Key phrase at Super Bowl XLVIII

24. "Likewise": SAME.

25. Elect: OPT - What did you OPT for at 4. Nicholas II et al.: TSARS or CZARS?

26. Attributive term: ALA - Today's puzzle is ALA Guizzo!

28. One presented for payment: IOU.

31. Driver's aid: TEE.

32. Legal show for 40 years, with "The": PEOPLE'S COURT - It's biggest fan!

36. Youngest-ever "Time" Person of the Year: GRETA THUNBERG.

39. Formal seizure: CONFISCATION - I confiscated some interesting items as a teacher over the years

41. Tyke: TOT.

44. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU - STU quit the band to go study art. The Beatles put him on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. He is to the extreme left peeking over a blue hat.

45. "The Last Jedi" villain Kylo: REN - Here ya go!

46. Sticky substance: GOO - Yeah, I'm the only one who put TAR

47. Pique: WHET - "The design of the restaurant PIQUED my curiosity and the aromas WHETTED my appetite."

49. Tennis strategy: LOB - How 'bout a between-the-legs LOB shot?

51. Brits' luxury cars: JAGS - In Britain, the full name has three syllables

52. Singer who founded a sewing company: ISAAC - Did he invent the sewing machine?

54. Seasonal drink: NOG.

55. "Romeo Must Die" star: JET LI.

56. Riviera resort, briefly: ST TROPEZ - French major granddaughter says the two T's kind of blend together into SAN TROPAY

58. President, at times: VETOER - FDR leads the league with over 600 VETOES

59. "__ Wins By a Hare": Bugs Bunny cartoon: TORTOISE.

60. Dog on a bun: WEENIE.

61. Throw that anticipates the receiver's timely arrival: SPOT PASS - QB, "I'm throwing this PASS to that SPOT so be ready!

62. Puck: SPRITE - I'll bet you recognize this 14-yr-old who played Puck in the 1935 production of A Midsummer's Night Dream without looking at his name at the bottom of the picture

Down:

1. Business concerned with going downhill: SKI SHOP.

2. Jets' home: WINNIPEG - NHL not NFL

3. Great-grandmother, say: ANCESTOR

5. Round up: HERD.

6. Word with chart or color: EYE - Here's a CHART on EYE COLOR

7. Actor Davis: OSSIE - OSSIE and wife Ruby Dee

9. Full house sign: SRO - Not so much these days

10. Bad marks: ACNE

11. Touches: FEELS.

12. Co-Nobelist with Rabin and Peres: ARAFAT.

13. Ruling period: REGIME.

14. The "I" in "E.I. du Pont": IRENEE - Éleuthère IRÉNÉE du Pont

20. Hot air: BOASTFULNESS - My speed bump! B _ A S T F U _ N _ _ _ sure looked like BLAST FURNACE to me.

26. Some saxes: ALTOS.

27. Listed in Liverpool?: LEANT - I wrote to Mary Lou to make sure I had this right and she agreed that Listed is the past tense of List (usually heard as a listing or leaning boat) and LEANT is a British past tense for LEAN, hence the Liverpool reference. Very cool clue!

29. Cup fraction: OUNCE - My science lab never strayed into the labyrinth of English measures. How many milliliters are there in a liter is infinitely easier than how many ounces are in a cup.

30. NFL coach Meyer: URBAN - URBAN has not coached in the NFL yet but will this year. He leaves a very successful but checkered past in the college coaching ranks. 38. Modern-day checking suggestion: GOOGLE IT if you must

33. Chest muscle, briefly: PEC and 34. Phi follower: CHI and 35. Vietnamese festival: TET - Familiar cwd puzzle veterans.

37. Pasta order: RIGATONI.

40. "Nuh-uh!": NO SIREE - Ya gotta have some miles on your tires to remember this song.