Sunday, July 24, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Title: Getting Connected 

Our lovely leader has made a fun puzzle whose gimmick was finding two-word phrases where the first word ended in US and the second word started with a B. This yielded the now ubiquitous computer connection acronym of USB (Universal Serial Bus).  Our crafty constructor C.C. also hid the reveal in the very last clue in the puzzle:

120. PC connection found in this puzzle's eight longest answers : USB

Husker Gary here and I am, as Lemon put it once, sherping for C.C. and revealing that I needed the reveal because

128. "I'm an idiot!" : DOH!

The back of this PC shows many common connection options including  6 USB ports

Theme  Fills:

21. Omaha Steaks Private Reserve product : ANGUS BEEF - I'm sure you've got a great steak outlet 20 min from your house  like I do!

27. 2009 recession response : STIMULUS BILL - Staying apolitical, I'll let you decide if it works for you

14. Sacred conviction : RELIGIOUS BELIEF - Staying areligious, I'll let you decide if it works for you

43. Gillette razor for women : VENUS BREEZE -  Gel Bars obviate the need for shaving cream, I read.

92. Eponymous explorer of the Aleutians : VITUS BERING - A 1981 Russian stamp honoring the 300 birthday of Bering  in Denmark. He joined the Russian Navy  in 1704

111. Department of Commerce division : CENSUS BUREAU - Very interesting projection from the Bureau

119. Apple Store support station : GENIUS  BAR- Sheldon, in Big Bang Theory, said this job devalues the word GENIUS and is as mundane as a toll booth operator or waitress 

42. Not something to kid about : SERIOUS BUSINESS

Let's see other connections our brilliant Minneapolis friend has for us:

Across

1. Abbr. for an unfilled slot : TBA

4. Limber : AGILE

9. Literally meaning "stick," it's the first word in a California city named for a 1,000-year-old redwood : PALO - PALO (Stick) Alto (Tall). Learning for me.

13. Bowler's edge : BRIM -  My favorite bowler donner and doffer 

17. Hotfooted it : RAN

18. Merged oil giant : MOBIL

19. Contentious encounter : RUN IN

20. Soft leather : SUEDE - Why were Carl and Elvis so sensitive about these?

23. "Love it!" : I LIKE

24. Dealt __: devastated : A BLOW

25. One doing a bank job? : PERP

26. Protest topics: Abbr. : RTS and 35. Folk legend Joan : BAEZ - She famously sang We Shall Overcome in support of Civil RTS

29. #1 thriller on AFI's "100 Years...100 Thrills" : PSYCHO - As we learned here recently, Bosco was used for blood

31. Stepped to the plate : BATTED

32. Thick carpet : SHAG

33. Bloomingdale's rival : SAKS

36. Mom in the woods : DOE

37. Boiling state : IRE - Different from 49 Across's scale

40. Start to sing? : ESS

47. Hustle : SCOOT

49. Celsius, e.g. : SWEDE - Not a SCALE. It's recently been around 37˚C here. Ugh!

51. Blond shade : ASH

52. Try to quiet, as a persistent squeak : REOIL

54. Jamaican spirits : RUMS

55. Caesar's land : TERRA - 200 years after Caesar, Ptolemy made this map of the world and TERRA Incognita

56. Poorly paid workers : PEONS

59. Parks on a bus : ROSA - The only tired I was, was tired of giving in

60. Best Play, e.g. : ESPY - This year's winner was the Packer's Hail Mary pass to beat the Lions

61. Morphine is one : OPIATE

63. Sailor's guardian : ST ELMO

65. Easygoing sort : TYPE-B

67. Dockside activity : STOWING

69. Shower with flowers, say : WOO by a 94. Steady : BEAU?

70. Incline to a higher level : SLOPE UP - This is a modern day picture of what is called the Music Box Stairs in LA. I'll bet you remember famous comedy team that used them in a 1932 movie and what they were moving up these stairs.

73. Let loose : UNTIE

74. "Knock that off!" : STOP IT - Rare is the parent who hasn't uttered these words!

77. Artemis' twin brother : APOLLO

78. Private place? : BASE

80. Subj. for a future vet : ANAT

82. Enclose, as livestock : PEN IN  Now wait a minute...

84. Work outfits for many : SUITS - It started that way in teaching but has devolved into Goodwill chic

85. Pop foursome formed in Stockholm : ABBA

86. E! Online subject : CELEB

88. "Get it?" : SEE - Edward G. Robinson said "SEE" but not "Yeah, SEE"

89. Development areas : UTERI

90. Unfocused images : BLURS - Does  this 48. Give you the willies : CREEP OUT?

96. Oft-chewed item : FAT

97. "You got it!" : YES - The rain in Spain does stay mainly in the plain!

98. Children's advocate LeShan : EDA

100. Will of "The Waltons" : GEER - Grandpa Walton

101. Indian bread : NAAN

103. Shakespearean deceiver : IAGO - Edwin Booth as IAGO in 1871. Yup, he was that guy's  brother

105. Bewhiskered test subject : LAB RAT 

107. Cue : PROMPT

114. Look good on : FIT

116. Taverna sandwich : GYRO - Here ya go...

117. Type of daisy : OXEYE

118. Readily available : ON TAP

121. Basilica recesses : APSES

122. Can't stop loving : ADORE

123. Itty-bitty bits : ATOMS

124. Periodontist's org. : ADA

125. Like many a cause : LOST

126. Madre's hermanos : TIOS - Mi madre tenía tres hermanos (Mom had 3 brothers). Por lo tanto yo tenía tres tíos (Therefore, I had 3 uncles)

127. Brightest star in Cygnus : DENEB

Down

1. "The Sound of Music" family name : TRAPP

2. Ruinations : BANES

3. Ticked off : ANGRY

4. Morning hrs. : AMS

5. Lose it all : GO BROKE

6. "Yeah, right!" : I BET

7. Polygraph blips, perhaps : LIES - "Yes, I'll still respect you in the morning!"

8. Tolkien race member : ELF

9. Prize administered by Columbia University : PULITZER

10. Cartoon style : ANIME

11. Party headed by Netanyahu : LIKUD - Hebrew for consolidation

12. First-year J.D. student : ONE-L

13. Two-time Masters champ Watson : BUBBA - After winning $1.6M at the 2012 Master's, "plain eating" BUBBA celebrated that night at a Waffle House leaving a $148 tip

15. Much-loved star : IDOL

16. Kitten cry : MEWL

19. Cowboy singer Tex : RITTER

20. Military bands : SASHES

22. Lines at Walmart? : UPC'S - I miss prices on items a little

27. 9-5 automaker : SAAB

28. Troop entertainment gp. : USO - In season 10, they made it to M*A*S*H 4077

30. Dig in : HAVE AT IT

31. Air rifle ammo : BB SHOT

34. Easy A, say : SNAP

36. Paine and Hugo, philosophically : DEISTS - Reading Paine's Age Of Reason might challenge your RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

38. Lopsided win : ROMP - The Husker's undefeated 1995 National Champions  41. Won every game : SWEPT in 12 ROMPS

39. Crafts website : ETSY - For a long time, I wanted this to be E-[something] that made sense

40. These, to Luis : ESTOS

44. Puts to work : USES

45. Architect Saarinen : EERO - I'll bet you recognize this wonderful EERO design

46. Madhouse : ZOO

50. Close in : DRAW NEAR 

53. Clapton classic : LAYLA

57. Eye of __: "Macbeth" witches' ingredient : NEWT - Let me be the first...

58. Regatta racer : SLOOP

62. Pioneering computer : ENIAC - Only one Scrabble letter above 1 point

64. Wear a long face : MOPE - Advice to Washington Senators from the Broadway stage - You gotta have hope, Mustn't sit around and MOPE!

66. Lifestyle website targeting female millennials : POPSUGAR 

68. Palais des Nations locale : GENEVA

71. Extreme : ULTRA

72. Assume as fact : POSIT

74. "Ignore this change" : STET - "Forget 87 and put Fourscore and Seven back in"

75. Many a Sunday magazine : INSERT 

76. Coliseum section : TIER

78. Crib sheet user : BABY

79. __-bodied : ABLE

81. Baba or a boxer : ALI

83. "Fat chance, Friedrich!" : NEIN

87. Sources of irritation : BUGBEARS - Nowadays, Dungeons and Dragons heavies 

91. Seamless changes : SEGUES

93. Colorful wrap : SERAPE - Not a Muumuu as it turns out

95. Part of a preschool schedule : NAP TIME

99. Peruvian pair : DOS

102. Yuletide drinks : NOGS - For years mom made this for me at Yuletide because she thought I loved it. Uh, not so much.

104. Until now : AS YET

105. Day after dimanche : LUNDI - "Subway, Work, Sleep" "Like a typical Monday" 

106. Mischievous droid, familiarly : ARTOO - The surname is DETOO

108. "Sorry about that" : MY BAD

109. Home of Velázquez' "Las Meninas" : PRADO - Madrid Museum

110. Holy scroll : TORAH

111. Its burning is a major source of Beijing smog : COAL

112. Fair : EXPO

113. Place for a row : BOAT

114. Big bash : FETE

115. Aware of : IN ON

119. Roam (about) : GAD

Now for some CHIVALROUS BANTER from the GRACIOUS BUNCH that frequent this littleftype Kool-Aid word stand of ours:


GRID:

Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Jerry Eldstein

Title: NOR ANY DROP TO DRINK

Jerry's wonderful Wednesday-level puzzle combines a famous line from Coleridge's poem of the ill-fated, albatross-slaying sailor and eight, count 'em, eight phrases that can be formed when WATER precedes both words of two word theme fills. WATER, WATER everywhere indeed! Very impressive to this land lubber!

THEME FILL:

26. Oil conduit : PIPELINE - One of which, runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez in Alaska or

WATER PIPE - A conveyance for a buzz

or

WATER LINE  - What has been receding behind Lake Mead during the SW drought

31. Electricity source : POWER PLANT - What is inside Hoover Dam that uses the waters of Lake Mead or

WATER POWER - a rough idea of what happens inside Hoover Dam

or WATER PLANT - A facility that makes your water potable

42. Reaganomics term : SUPPLY SIDE - Economic system where government gets less money and private enterprise gets to keep more or

WATER SUPPLY - What can be threatened when these run too much in dry years

or WATER SIDE - A great San Antonio location

47. Primary entrance : MAIN GATE - A Disney Park front door or

WATER MAIN - They can be spectacular when they break

or WATERGATE - Enough said!

17. With 59-Across, words from a fictional mariner ... and a hint to both parts of 26-, 31-, 42- and 47-Across : WATER WATER and 59. See 17-Across : EVERYWHERE

Now let's sail on to see what else Jerry has cast upon our crossword waters:

Across

1. Pricey : STEEP - Who ever thought water would cost more per gallon than gas?

6. Place for a chicken : COOP

10. Herring prized for its roe : SHAD

14. Use a lectern : ORATE

15. A fan of : INTO

16. Tortilla snack : TACO

19. Any minute now, to a bard : ANON

20. Tampa-to-Jacksonville dir. : NNE - It's 198.4 miles

21. Frosty coat : HOAR - A HOARY engraving from our poem du jour of the crew and that bird

22. Fern-to-be : SPORE

23. Criticize sneakily : SNIPE - Here it is usually to criticize anonymously

28. Chef's tool : SPATULA

30. Fire, or fire-fighting tool : AXE - Or Gene Simmons' bass

34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS - He almost drowned on the second Mercury mission

37. Incriminate with false evidence : FRAME - Did OJ ever find the real killer?

38. __-Locka, Florida : OPA - Originally Opa-tisha-wocka-locka

39. Emaciated : GAUNT

41. Messy spot : STY

44. __ Kan: Alpo rival : KAL

46. Fit as a fiddle and tough as nails : SIMILES - The one about me ends ...as a rock

52. Exams for would-be attys. : LSATS

53. Shore eagles : ERNES - Our old cwd friend and a surprise prey

54. Object of worship : IDOL

56. Dick's wife, twice : LIZ

58. __-Seltzer : ALKA

62. Safe document : DEED

63. Left : GONE

64. Conundrum : POSER 

65. They may be split or tight : ENDS - Pretty easy to discern

66. __ buco: veal dish : OSSO

67. Make a mess of : MISDO - Okay


Down

1. Seeded : SOWN - Some consider the SOWER atop Nebraska's capital to be, uh, controversial when its image is transferred to our sesquicentennial license plate

2. Convey : TRANSPORT

3. Completely eroded : EATEN AWAY 

4. Nice season? : ETE - Je n'étais pas dupe! (I was not fooled!)

5. Part of 60-Down : PER - My sister typed over 100 words PER minute 50 yrs ago. I once got half that.

6. "Ta-ta" : CIAO

7. Coming up next : ON TAP

8. Ferrell's "SNL" cheerleading partner : O'TERI

9. __ favor: Pedro's "please" : POR

10. Paper clip alternative : STAPLE - Also an alternative for stitches

11. Onetime capital of French Indochina : HANOI

12. Oak nut : ACORN - "Gee! Ahma tree!", exclaimed the mathmatically mature ACORN.

13. Charity, say : DONEE - I would think the DONEE receives the charity

18. Puppy : WHELP - Dura-WHELP makes a box for them

22. Masters and Johnson subject : SEX - Their research revealed sexual intimacy could last well beyond 70. Could, mind you!

24. Agenda line : ITEM

25. Partner of simple : PURE

27. First lady after Lady Bird : PAT

28. Suntan lotion numbers, briefly : SPFS

29. Baseball's Matty or Felipe : ALOU

32. Droid download : APP

33. Snoozes : NAPS

34. Free from blame : GUILTLESS - or from  35. Not wanted : UNDESIRED calories?

36. Fr. holy women : STES

39. Places with rings and horses : GYMS - In Lego Land

40. Massive land mass : ASIA

42. Gp. that kidnapped Patty Hearst : SLA

43. Big name in pharmaceuticals : LILLY - And for our kitty

44. Works on, as dough : KNEADS

45. Top prosecutors: Abbr. : AGS - Attorneys General

47. Maryland's Fort __ : MEADE - Named for the the Union Commander at Gettysburg

48. "Over the Rainbow" composer Harold : ARLEN - Some MGM execs wanted it cut from the movie because they thought it slowed down the pace

49. Signed in pen : INKED

50. DVR devices : TIVOS

51. Blissful places : EDENS

55. Treat often split : OREO - Found nestled among these most common cwd answers

57. Nothing : ZERO

59. __ trip : EGO

60. Typing meas. : WPM

61. __ polloi : HOI - Ah, ya gotta love the classics!

Wisdom, wisdom everywhere and plenty for us to read. Let those unfiltered comments rip!

The Grid