Sunday, October, 15, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: EATS UP

Husker Gary here, reporting  on the Sunday Edition of Puzzles With C.C. Today our peerless leader has given us a nice gimmick where the circles you see below in the puzzle contain hidden EATS that are running UP the grid:

Her reveal is not in the puzzle but rather in the title of EATS UP. Clever and fun.

Here are the Theme Answers where I decided to picture the inclusive activity as I'm certain you're familiar with the EATS that I will put in black boxes:

3. Track activity, to Brits : MOTOR RACING

6. Lava : MOLTEN ROCK - Who would be stupid enough to run up MOLTEN ROCK? Wait a minute...

11. "Lucky Guy" was her last play : NORA EPHRON - Famous for her "Chick Flicks"

14. Minnesota's annual one is held in Falcon Heights : STATE FAIR - It's about an hour's drive south of C.C.'s house

38. Time-out at work : COFFEE BREAK - Even in France

72. Boston Marathon Expo display : RUNNING GEAR - How 'bout strobe lights for visibility? 

76. "Tsk tsk" : THATS A PITY - One option

78. Pet shelter's concern : ANIMAL CARE - Too much?

82. Topper made from the jipijapa (hee pee HAH puh) palm : PANAMA HAT - The leaves of the palm with this beautiful flower

Now let's feast on the rest of C.C.'s bounteous word banquet:

Across  

1. Octopus octet : ARMS

5. Pro-__: fundraisers : AMS - Hey if you're Matt Lauer and playing in a PRO-AM, you're pretty happy to get paired with Michelle Wei!

8. Looks over quickly : SCANS

13. "Hey, you!" : PSST

17. Backyard raft : POOL FLOAT

BORZOI

20. Russian wolfhound : BORZOI and 12. PBS "Science Kid" : SID made up my one bad cell as I went with a Y instead of the I. 

21. Jazz home : UTAH - NBA team

22. "Just kidding" : NOT REALLY

23. On deck : ABOARD

24. Pasta sauce brand : RAGU - Created by Alberto Alvisi, the cook for the Cardinal of Imola, in the late 18th century 

25. Pandora genre : EMO

26. Annoyed : NETTLED

28. The Heart of Dixie: Abbr. : ALA 

29. They have strings attached : KITES

30. Comparable to a beet : AS RED

32. Gave the once-over : EYED

33. Driver's reservation? : TEE TIME - Also a putter's reservation

35. Run the country : REIGN

37. CDs and LPs : REC'S - We don't have an LP player anymore but I think our CD player works

40. Like two peas in __ : A POD

41. Supplied in a comedy skit, as straight lines : FED - Nobody did it better than George

44. The Pac-12's Golden Bears : CAL

45. LAX abbr. : ARR

47. Pitch indicator : NOTE - Knowing the NOTE doesn't mean you can 79. Carry __: sing on pitch : A TUNE

49. Supply with fluid : HYDRATE 

51. Safari runners? : MACS - As you can see, I am using the Safari Browser to blog this puzzle on my MacBook Pro

52. The puck stops here : GOAL - It's dangerous and scary when they go into the stands

54. Reasons for missing school : FEVERS

56. Article in Der Spiegel : EINE

57. Pink Floyd label : EMI

58. Iridescent shell lining : NACRE (NAY ker) - It can be beautiful

59. Biceps, for one : FLEXOR - Each FLEXOR requires an extensor

60. Soho stroller : PRAM

61. Perfect __ : TENSE

63. "The Piano" actor : KEITEL

65. Like a locked bathroom : IN USE

67. "Mmm, delish!" : SO GOOD - Yeah, that's what I thought of first too!

69. Japan is in it : FAR EAST

71. Fire starters : SPARKS

75. Team up : UNITE

77. Brand for cold sores : ABREVA



80. Was visibly moved : WEPT - Shortest verse in the Bible

83. Begin successor : SHAMIR - Yitzahk SHAMIR

85. Harry's love : GINNY - Harry Potter's main squeeze

87. Negative link : NOR

88. "Dies __" : IRAE - A true vet of the crossword wars

89. Tell the teacher : TATTLE

90. Where the Indus flows : ASIA - From the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea 

91. Org. for the Sky, the Stars and the Sun : WNBA

92. Went wild : RAN RIOT - New to me but makes sense


94. Sign of approval : SEAL - The siding on my house has this famous SEAL of approval

96. Chum, in Cherbourg : AMI

97. __ Majesty : HIS

98. Pueblo pronoun : ESA

99. -ish, after a number : OR SO 

101. Old theaters : RKOS - It appears a lot of sailors are at the RKO in Rochester, NY in 1964 to see Ensign Pulver

103. Firing offense? : ARSON

105. Big Sky Brewing Company home : MONTANA - I wonder if our blogger Montana has had a Big Sky product during the drought up there

108. PC key used in combinations : CTRL - I was wearing out CTRL+ALT +DEL when was was using PC products

110. Zoo keepers : CAGES

113. Lasting marks : SCARS - Some are not visible

115. Bench for a flock : PEW

116. "Casablanca" setting : MOROCCO - This is how Bogie could seem as tall as Ingrid Bergman in that setting

118. Kaplan Test Prep focus: Abbr. : GRE - Graduate Record Exam

119. "Funny joke!" : HA HA

120. Loud insect : CICADA - We have had a noisy fall with them






122. Flat across the pond? : APARTMENT - 

125. Classic game consoles : ATARIS - Pong was very addictive when it came out

126. "This looks bad for us!" : WE'RE TOAST

127. Shelter adoptees : PETS - Our Lily's former home

128. Heat-resistant glass : PYREX

129. Drops at dawn : DEW

130. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE  - Said to be his most famous painting and the one most indicative of his style. Yeah, I knew that! 😏


Down

1. Temporary lack of inspiration? : APNEA - C.C. at her clever best! Inspiration here, of course, means breathing in

2. Shangri-La offerings : ROOMS

4. 35mm camera type : SLR

5. Wings, in zoology : ALAE - Plural of ALA (wing)

7. Like miso, typically : SALTY

8. Cry out loud : SOB

9. Many a University of Zagreb student : CROAT

10. Augusta National shrub : AZALEA - The AZALEAS at Augusta tell you spring is here!

13. Holiday in the month of Adar : PURIM

15. Guru : SAGE - Here's one (see the subtitle) that has a house 30 min. from me

16. As a result : THUS - Sic Semper Tyrannis (THUS always to tyrants)

18. Luxury handbag : FENDI - I know C.C. likes nice purses

19. President between Harrison and Polk : TYLER - He became president when Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison) died a month into the office

20. Spoiled : BAD

27. Adam's garden : EDEN

29. Captain of the Adventure Galley : KIDD - Captain KIDD's boat was called the Adventure Galley or simply the Adventure

31. Sushi fish : EELS

34. Former FAO Schwarz parent : TOYS R US

36. Lady of pop : GAGA

39. Outstanding : STELLAR - There's this lady in Minneapolis who is a STELLAR puzzle constructor 

42. Sicilian hot spot : ETNA

43. View as : DEEM


44. Engraved jewelry item : CAMEO which is an  124. 44-Down shape : OVAL

46. Perfect game, e.g. : RARE FEAT - Baseball fans will immediately think of Don Larsen in 1956

48. Adam's love : EVE

50. Run over : REPEAT

51. Team covered at amazinavenue.com : METS - It's been a while since the METS have been amazin' 

53. Princess with a twin brother : LEIA

55. Permit to leave : EXIT VISA

58. Night light : NEON

62. Sotomayor replaced him : SOUTER - There's an ideological struggle rather than a legal one when replacements are named 


64. Mobile home : TRAILER - This would seem to be a tough city in which to sell mobile homes

66. Fix, as a pet : SPAY

68. Twist : DISTORT

70. Genesis creator : SEGA

73. Drawer openers : KNOBS

74. Toxin fighters : SERA

80. Finish line : WIRE

81. Mound stats : ERAS

84. K2 and Hood: Abbr. : MTS

86. Wax Ready-Strips maker : NAIR

91. "Easy there!" : WHOA

93. Charged bits : IONS

95. Bonkers : LOCO

100. Garage capacity : ONE CAR - Barely...

102. Juice bar freebie : STRAW

104. "Dilbert" creator Adams : SCOTT

106. Doctoral hurdles : ORALS

107. In the know : AWARE

109. Drew (in) : ROPED - I don't think I could be ROPED into buying the painting below

111. Max of Dadaism : ERNST - He and ERTE were only one year apart in age but their art seemed far apart

112. Sicilian seven : SETTE

113. Hit the mall : SHOP

114. Way into the mountain : CAVE

116. More, to Miguel : MAS - After being taunted by Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran reportedly said NO MAS and quit

117. Backstage staff : CREW

120. Limit : CAP

121. Fort in New Jersey : DIX - One M*A*S*H episode had all the crew pose for a picture to try to convince Klinger's mother that he was at Fort Dix not Korea 

123. Toon bartender Szyslak : MOE

After you ATE UP C.C.'s puzzle, let's hear your savory comments:

Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

TITLE: Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Bruce and Gail have given us a fun and straightforward Wednesday exercise with five theme fills and no reveal necessary. As the title indicates their five themers were two-word phrases where the first syllable of the first word began with an N and a T for the third letter, In between Bruce and Gail have inserted the vowels in sequential order. Pretty cool!

Theme Answers

17. Innate talent : NATURAL APTITUDE - I'm gonna say Samuel Rashevsky had this when he played and beat these masters at eight-years-old in 1920

22. Broadcaster's transmission to affiliated stations : NETWORK FEED - Fewer and fewer people are taking the NETWORK FEED and are watching over the, uh,  NET

39. Sharp-smelling air pollutant : NITROGEN DIOXIDE - NO2 is a big contributor to this smog over Mexico City

49. Hardly any time at all : NOTHING FLAT - He was there quickly but Arriba means Hooray, so he must have gotten great joy in running. BTW, this is not a slogan for a plastic surgeon.

60. With "The," Tchaikovsky work that ends with "Waltz of the Flowers" : NUTCRACKER SUITE - So that's NUTCRACKER when it is danced in Milan

NAT asked, "Am I a NUT or will this fun puzzle NET NOT one NIT? Here is the balance of this just right Bruce and Gail puzzle.


Across

1. Lower in price : LESS - Are you really shopping for the lowest price for this?

5. Try : TASTE

10. Nutmeg spice : MACE - Different parts of the same seed (not a nut)

14. Actor La Salle : ERIQ

15. Crams, with "up" : BONES

16. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV

20. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK

21. Shuttle flight phase : REENTRY - Phase when the Columbia disaster occurred

25. "My gal" of song : SAL

26. Carpentry joints : MITERS

31. Barbecue accessory : SPIT - Ya couldn't think of a better name? 


35. "I Put a Spell on You" singer Simone : NINA

38. Full range : GAMUT - Bruce and Gail ran the GAMUT of vowels (okay, not Y but...)

42. Writer of tales with talking animals : AESOP 

43. Dental alternatives to pastes : GELS - Even for our 4-legged friends -->

44. Angers : IRES

45. Fireplace inserts : GRATES

47. Springfield presidential library nickname : ABE - Honestly!

56. Legendary Rhine siren : LORELEI - I have cruised on the Rhine but did not hear the Siren Song

59. Cruller coating : GLAZE

63. Physics particle : ATOM

64. French term of endearment : CHERE - Mon CHÈRE, passons à la suite de Casse-Noisette (My dear, let's go to the (same as in Italian above) Suite?

65. List component : ITEM

66. Tiny sound : PEEP

67. County near London : ESSEX - Home to Southend-on-Sea, Colchester and Chipping Ongar


68. Mil. medals : DSCS - 70 years later the country presented the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously to Lt. Donald Schwab of Hooper, NE. His son Dr. Terry Schwab accepted. 






  Down

1. Russian Revolution leader : LENIN - "I'll take Russian Leaders for $2,000, Alex." "The answer is, 'Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was referring to this when he chose Lenin as a pseudonym.'"  "What is the Lena River?" "Correct!"

2. Backspace, perhaps : ERASE

3. Occupy, as a desk : SIT AT - What I could never do when I taught.

4. __ Valley, Calif.: 1960 Winter Olympics site : SQUAW - At this Olympics, Jean Vuarnet became to first person to win gold on metal skis instead of traditional wood

5. Sched. uncertainty : TBA

6. Big name in ISPs : AOL - Didn't everyone in America get at least one of these free disks in the 90's?

7. Wolf (down) : SNARF

8. Conical shelter : TEPEE - I had a geography prof who had women in our class put up a TEPEE as was done by many Native-American cultures as seen in this depiction of Blackfeet. BTW, that wouldn't fly at this house 

9. Regard highly : ESTEEM

10. Damon of "We Bought a Zoo" : MATT

11. Blue sky color, in Calais : AZUR

12. Showman Buffalo Bill : CODY - He built a great house in North Platte, Nebraska called Scout's Rest Ranch

13. Morn's counterpart : EVE

18. Bygone theaters : RKOS - Can you find the RKO symbol on this poster for what is called "America's greatest movie"?

19. Spectrum shade : INDIGO - ROY G BIV

23. Jingled : RANG

24. __ light: filming tool : KLIEG

27. Roll along the runway : TAXI - Returning to the gate after TAXIING is disheartening 

28. Qatari ruler : EMIR

29. Far from polite : RUDE

30. Some Fr. martyrs : STES - Women should be eligible to be priests, cardinals and popes not just STES (Saints)

31. Unexpected obstacle : SNAG

32. Harbor sight : PIER

33. "__ deal!" : IT'S A

34. Run leisurely : TROT

36. Storm direction: Abbr. : NNE - Nor'easter!

37. Dwight's opponent : ADLAI - I loved when ADLAI, as JFK's U.N. Ambassador, told the Russians he was willing to wait "until hell freezes over" for their answer on misses in Cuba.

40. Swiss army knife tool : OPENER - Wait a minute, oh, there it is!

41. Copyright pg. ID : ISBN - The International Standard Book Number for this book by our talented editor Rich Norris is 1402775806

46. Comfort in grief : SOLACE

48. Flan ingredients : EGGS

50. Computer repair experts : TECHS - Remember those guys you made fun of in school? 

51. Backpacking activities : HIKES

52. Transmission lubricant : FLUID


53. Milks, in Marseilles : LAITS - Quatre grandes bouteilles de LAIT (Four large bottles of milk)

54. Tenochtitlán native : AZTEC

55. Abounds (with) : TEEMS

56. Minstrel's instrument : LUTE

57. Plains native : OTOE

58. Law gp. that now only uses horses for ceremonial events : RCMP - RCMP member Dudley Do-Right's horse was named, uh, Horse

60. Go out for a bit? : NAP

61. Ode preposition : ERE

62. "Toy Story" dinosaur : REX

The Grid:

Comment at wall, I mean well, I mean will:

Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Thomas Takaro

Title: I CAN'T GET NO... 

Thomas has given us a fun mid-week puzzle which was a pleasure to solve. However, like the cartoon below, the gimmick evaded me and then hit me OUT OF left field!

Every starred answer was a two word phrase that began with a word that when prefaced with the phrase OUT OF makes another common phrase. Very nice.

The fill went very smoothly with only this proper noun speed bump on the way

11. Tony-winning actress for "Miss Saigon" : LEA SALONGA - A name we had recently and I had already forgotten but solved itself.

THEME ANSWERS, (plus adding OUT OF to first word):

18. *Cubicle, e.g. : WORK SPACE - becomes OUT OF WORK - Conducting research while OUT OF WORK?

27. *Singing skill that enables good phrasing : BREATH CONTROL - OUT OF BREATH - Breath holding is now a sport called Static Apnea. Here German Tom Sietas beats Brazilian Ricardo Bahia

45. *Number after a circled "c" : COPYRIGHT DATE - OUT OF COPYRIGHT - In Canada, books are OUT OF COPYRIGHT 50 yrs after the author's death. That's January, 2015 for Ian Fleming

60. *Unobstructed view : SIGHT LINE - OUT OF SIGHT - Less is more.

...and the reveal

69. Lacking, and what can go with each word in the answers to starred clues : OUT OF - This silly 1920's song tells of the vendor who is OUT OF bananas!

Now, before I am OUT OF time...

Across

1. Greek played by Anthony Quinn : ZORBA

6. Small plateau : MESA

10. Slick-talking : GLIB

14. "That is to say ... " : I MEAN

15. Channel showing many games : ESPN

16. Sommelier's prefix : OENO - What he probably won't tell you

17. Incessantly : NO END

20. Kids' racing vehicles : GO KARTS

22. Chicken __ king : ALA - A high school favorite of mine when served on homemade biscuits

23. Prefix with pass or plus : SUR

24. Cultural funding org. : NEA

25. Mottled : PIED

26. MGM motto word : ARS

32. Get an __: ace : A ON

33. Casino gratuity : TOKE - Short for TOKEN of appreciation

34. Overseer : BOSS - The dealer above must call out "TOKE for the dealer" and tap the table to satisfy the pit BOSS that he or she is not stealing.

37. Harbor protectors : JETTIES - The Bussleton JETTY in Western Australia is well over a mile long and has its own railroad

39. "Vitruvian Man" artist : DA VINCI - Robert and Sophie find her dead grandfather in the Louvre posed as the Vitruvian Man at the beginning of The DA VINCI Code

42. Pacific Rim continent : ASIA

43. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI - "All women behave the same"

44. Jupiter or Mars : GOD

50. EPA pollution std. : AQI

52. Wetland plant : REED

53. Capri suffix : OTE - CAPRIOTE - A conical hat worn by clerics in Spain (similar to KKK head regalia) or a resident of the beautiful island of Capri

54. Bit of wordplay : PUN

55. Aviation stat. : ALT - At an ALT of ~50 miles, the sky starts to turn black and you are at the threshold of space


56. "Flags of Our Fathers" setting : IWO JIMA - The Marine Memorial is a sculpture of the raising of the flag on IWO JIMA's Mt. Suribachi and is just "a stone's throw" north of Arlington National Cemetery

63. Inn postings : RATES

64. Cosmopolitan rival : ELLE

65. Gold diggers' objectives : ORES

66. First in a line of Russian princes : IVAN I - 14th century Grand Duke Of Moscow

67. River crossed by Charon : STYX

68. Old or Wild follower : WEST - A 9-part series that tells all you need to know about The West and how it was won/stolen. It may not make you feel very proud.

Down

1. Zest : ZING - "ZING, ZING, ZING went my heartstrings"

2. Melville novel set on Tahiti : OMOO - His second novel - a sequel to Typee and four years before the one about that big fish, uh, mammal

3. Really stink : REEK

4. Split fruit? : BANANA - ~800cal but...

5. Mario who won IndyCar races in four different decades : ANDRETTI

6. Sussex stable area : MEWS - A row of houses or apartments converted from stables. Now you know as much as I do.

7. Anka's "__ Beso" : ESO - This has been a frequent visitor this spring


8. Common sports injury : SPRAIN - One way to ice 'em down and still be somewhat mobile

9. Short sock : ANKLET - When you don't need the boot

10. Rep. group : GOP

12. Run up, as debts : INCUR

13. Afrikaans speakers : BOERS

19. Iraq's __ City : SADR

21. Western border lake : TAHOE - Or a humongous SUV





25. "The Purloined Letter" writer : POE - Dupin replaces The Purloined Letter with a fake

27. Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly : BAJA - BAJA California is the home of my best friend from school (I'd say ELHI if I didn't despise that word)

28. Small deer : ROES - A Eurasian deer

29. With allure : ENTICINGLY

30. Bank statement listings: Abbr. : CKS - I can't be out of money, I still have some CKS!

31. Japanese sash : OBI


35. Edinburgh native : SCOT - Edinburgh native Stu Sutcliffe quit the Beatles to pursue an art career. They did picture him on this famous cover - Far left, third row from the top. I doubt that he got any royalties.

36. Agree (with) : SIDE

38. Eastern spiritual path : TAO

39. One may be fetching : DOG

40. __ of hands : A SHOW

41. Director De Sica : VITTORIO - Did you see his academy award winner Il Giardinao dei Finzi-Contini? Me either.

43. Spanish hero El __ : CID

46. Start to fall? : PRAT - A PRAT fall by Patrick Swayze in Ghost

47. Soccer penalty card color : YELLOW

48. Make more time for hobbies, say : RETIRE

49. "Here we go again" feeling : DEJAVU - Didn't I just blog a puzzle recently...

50. Cathedral areas : APSES 

51. Blanket that's often hand-sewn : QUILT

56. Superlative suffix : IEST

57. "Do __ once!" : IT AT


58. Less, musically : MENO - With (Un) slightly (poco) less (MENO) motion (mosso) as you see here

59. "Not a chance!" : AS IF - AS IF I knew what Un poco meno mosso meant!

61. Bad spell : HEX

62. Game console letters : NES


Now for some comments from you that hopefully are not OUT OF line:

The Grid