Showing posts with label Greg Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg Johnson. Show all posts

Monday, September 9, 2019

Saturday, September 14, 2019, Greg Johnson

Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Greg Johnson 

Today we celebrate an item that goes by many different names depending on where you live. Around here we call this a sub sandwich but I know it is also called a hoagie, grinder, poor boy, hero or what have you. I really like them but when I get one for my lovely bride and I to split, I can only have black olives put on my end.

Today's constructor is our old Saturday friend Greg Johnson. I include his grid at the top of the write-up because two triple-stack grid spanners looks pretty cool to me! Those ninety cells filled in pretty quickly and gave me a fast finish time when coupled with what seemed to be a lot of familiar fill for this solver.


O.K. let's see what Greg, like Jimmy Johns, has delivered for us today:

Across:

1. Suggestion for stress relief: TAKE SOME TIME OFF - Coupled with the next clue



16. Enjoying a solo walk in the woods: AT ONE WITH NATURE - I never felt this more than in the Oregon Redwoods, some of which have been growing for thousands of years

17. It makes a good point: PENCIL SHARPENER - One Redwood can make 50,000,000 pencils to be sharpened

18. Big boat: ARK - The bible said Noah used gopherwood not redwood

19. Needs to remit: OWES - Thus endeth the redwood references 

20. Trick: CON.

21. Yellowy insides: YOLKS.

24. Farm structures: PENS - My wife lived on a farm where pigs quarters were call a PEN, never a sty

25. Enters unnoticed: SLIPS IN.

28. Paratha roti ingredient: GHEE (highly clarified butter) What is the difference between a roti, naan, paratha and chapati?



31. Showed joy, ironically: WEPT - An emotional response either way

32. Tricky hoops move that's often an assist: NO LOOK PASS - More commonly seen in basketball (hoops) but Patrick Mahommes uses this in football



37. In the past: AGO.

38. Supporters: RETINUE - He always had a lovely one



39. Summary usually including a photo: BIO.

40. Treatment for dry skin: BODY BUTTER - There doesn't seem to be any in my medicine cabinet

42. It's just above street level: CURB - I just loved this clue

43. Road game: I SPY - with my little eye...

44. Ancient French region: ALSATIA (old name for Alsace) For more than 300 years, from the Thirty Years' War to World War II, the political status of Alsace was heavily contested between France and various German states in wars and diplomatic conferences.

46. Summer hire: TEMP - I hired over 300 "TEMPS" in the summer to work in the cornfields for 23 years

49. Check for fit: TRY ON.

50. Chemical suffix: IDE.

51. Vegas hotel with an operatic name: ARIA - I had A _ _ _  and AIDA neither worked for fill nor existed as a hotel

54. Hosp. tubes: IVS.

56. Pasta for vegetarians: MEATLESS LASAGNA 

62. "Pass": I'M NOT INTERESTED - At one time I had several "friends" try to get me into Amway

63. Scopes Trial site: DAYTON TENNESSEE - Like me, John Scopes was a substitute teacher and he wasn't sure he even taught evolution but agreed to be a test case for the ACLU. He was prosecuted by Nebraska's most famous politician William Jennings Bryan, was found guilty and fined $100 (which was later reversed on a technicality).


Restored Court Room In DAYTON, TENNESSEE
Now A Tourist Attraction

Down:

1. Dancing suitable for radio: TAP - Cool clue! You can hear the rhythm (which I lack).

2. Put away: ATE.

3. Hawaiian coffee district: KONA - This part of the Big Island has many coffee growing areas that offer tours and tastings not far from our cwd friend Mauna Loa.


4. Protect from theft, in a way: ENCRYPT - If somebody wants to break your code badly enough...



5. High-end watches: SEIKOS.

6. Barn __: OWL.

7. Appropriate prefix for an embezzler?: MIS - MISappropriation is a fancy euphemism for what Bernie Madoff did.

8. Guiding beliefs: ETHOS.

9. Spring harbinger: THAW - A sudden THAW this past spring was a component in our disastrous spring floods

10. Memo opener: IN RE - The "IN" is omitted but the sentiment is real


11. Guides with scales: MAPS.

12. Tanning time on the Riviera: ETE - Knowing the French word for summer is de rigueur  in Crosswordland

13. Smidgen: OUNCE - A smidgen of prevention is worth a lot of cure

14. Trademarked refrigerant: FREON - The EPA has mandated that the manufacture of FREON must be halted by 2020

15. Decorative greenery: FERNS.

22. Pregame managerial decision: LINEUP - This 1961 LINEUP was powerful. Can you name the Yankees pictured here with the number of HR's they hit that year? (*Answer at bottom of write-up)



23. Complicated: KNOTTY - Along with being Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel was also a political cartoonist as seen in this 1942 example



24. Cheerleader's asset: PEP.

25. Makeup-applying aid: SWAB.

26. Toy brand with a Taj Mahal set: LEGO - $370 at Amazon



27. 2001 Apple debut: I POD - I still have mine but don't 28. Approach: GO NEAR it anymore 

29. Like most labor rates: HOURLY.



30. Squeak (out): EKE.

33. Short stories?: LIT.

34. Border on: ABUT.

35. "Hey" assistant: SIRI - I could say this into my iPhone, "Hey, SIRI, what's the name for a four-letter Japanese noodle?" She would probably suggest UDON or SOBA

36. Polite-to-slurp Japanese noodle: SOBA All you need to know

38. NFL ball carriers: RBS - Besides Running Backs, the NFL has QBs, FBs, HBs, DBs and CBs (Pluralizing acronyms)

41. Pup squeak: YIP.

42. Solicit support from, as voters: CANVASS - Part of my granddaughter's job



45. "Indeed": SO I SEE.

46. Hardly outgoing: TIMID.

47. Swelling: EDEMA Is using ice to reduce EDEMA the wrong thing to do?

48. Not-so-nice sort: MEANY.

49. Sample: TASTE - Don Fanucci had a different way of saying he wanted a TASTE of illegal activity 



51. Vocal range: ALTO.

52. Bit strap: REIN 



53. "And __ it ironic": Alanis Morissette lyric: ISN'T - A fun listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc
55. Mil. ranks: SGTS - Friday, Bilko, Schultz, Snorkel, Stryker...

57. Day care attendee: TOT

58. Super Bowl IV MVP Dawson: LEN.

59. Valiant's boy: ARN.

60. Formerly named: NEE.

61. Drink suffix with Power: ADE.



Order a sub to be delivered and then comment on Greg's puzzle. 

*Yankee LINEUP (l to r) was Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard, Moose Skowren, and Johnny Blanchard.

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: