Friday, November 29, 2019

QOD:  You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.  ~  C.S. Lewis (né Clive Staples Lewis; Nov. 29, 1898 ~ Nov. 22, 1963)

Thursday, November 28, 2019 / Thanksgiving

QOD:  The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.  ~  William Blake (Nov. 28, 1757 ~ Aug. 12, 1827), English poet

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

QOD:  Statesmen should remember that they have been elected to persuade and to lead, and not just to accept as fixed the momentary moods and pernicious prejudices of the public.  ~  Stanley Hoffmann (Nov. 27, 1928 ~ Sept. 13, 2015), Austrian-born historian

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

QOD:  We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists.  To sow, we must open our hands.  ~  Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. Nov. 26, 1931), Argentine recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize

Don't Go Away Mad, Just GO Outside!  Each two-word theme answer begins with the letter G and ends in O, hence the word "GO" is on the "outside" of each answer.

17-Across. Transmission specification: GEAR RATIO.  How to determine Gear Ratio:

25-Across. Stockholm-born three-time Best Actress nominee: GRETA GARBO.   This Swedish actress never actually said, "I want to be alone."  According to her, she said, "I want to be let alone."

Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; Sept. 18, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1990)

36-Across. Longtime New Year's Eve bandleader: GUY LOMBARDO.  Guy Lombardo (né Gaetano Alberto Lombardo; June 19, 1902 ~ Nov. 5, 1977), was a Canadian-born musician.  In 1924, he formed the Royal Canadians along with his brothers.  He began his tradition of playing big band music on New Year's Eve in 1929.  His band could be heard on this date for the next 47 years ~ first on radio, then finally in the late 50s on television.

50-Across. Video game series with a Warriors of Rock edition: GUITAR HERO.

And the unifier:

59-Across. Leave the house ... and a literal feature of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across: GO OUTSIDE.

Across:

1. Cigar residue: ASH.

4. "West Side Story" sides: GANGS.

9. Cul-__: dead-end street: DE-SAC.

14. Versatile truck, for short: UTE.

15. Head off: AVERT.

16. Oven emanation: AROMA.

19. Divided island of Southeast Asia: TIMOR.  The island is divided between East Timor and Indonesia.

20. Fielder's mishap: ERROR.  Think baseball.

21. Irish watering hole: PUB.  The Best Irish Pubs according to the Irish Post.

23. Trucker on a radio: CB-ER.

24. Catch one's breath: REST.

28. Barfly: SOT.

29. Run out of juice: DIE.

30. Weekend show with Aidy Bryant, to fans: SNL.  Aidy Bryant (née Aidan Mackenzy Bryant; b. May 7, 1987) is an American comedian who has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2012.

31. "Dig in!": EAT.

32. Actress Berry: HALLE.  Halle Berry (née Maria Halle Berry; b. Aug. 14, 1966), is probably best known for her role in the 2001 movie Monster's Ball, which also starred Billy Bob Thornton.

34. Real estate units: ACRES.  Some Acres are Green.

39. Dalmatian marks: SPOTS.  This dog breed can actually trace its roots to the Dalmatia region of Croatia.  Can you Spot the Dalmatians on the book's cover?

41. Skin irritations: SORES.

42. PC key near Z: ALT.  The Alt key, or optional key, is used to change the function of another pressed key.  //  And 54-Across. Escape key function: UNDO.

43. Partners for mas: PAs.  Ma and Pa Kettle were a bit before my time, but I remember hearing about them.

46. Terminate: END.

47. Suffix with Brooklyn: -ESE.  As in Brooklyese, the dialect of speech associated with Brooklyn.

53. Dashing style: ELAN.  A crossword staple.

55. Comfy footwear: MOC.

56. Leave the chair: STAND.  Here's a chair with its stand.

57. Secret Service role: AGENT.

62. Rodeo rope: REATA.

63. Bring together: UNITE.

64. Gp. that isn't gun-shy: NRA.  As in the National Rifle Association.

65. Welles on-screen: ORSON.  Orson Welles (né George Orson Welles; May 6, 1915 ~ Oct. 10, 1985), is probably best known for his role as Charles Foster Kane in the 1941 movie, Citizen Kane.  The character of Kane was believed to have been modeled after the San Simeon Castle Builder of 3-Down: William Randolph HEARST.

66. Hall of Fame pitcher Ryan: NOLAN.  Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (b. Jan. 31, 1947), had a 27 -year career in major league baseball.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

67. Corn serving: EAR.

Down:

1. Hole-making tools: AUGERS.  Scary looking tools!

2. Den music system: STEREO.

3. San Simeon castle builder: HEARST.  See 65-Across.

William Randolph Hearst (Apr. 23, 1863 ~ Aug. 14, 1951)

4. Teri of "Young Frankenstein": GARR.  Teri Ann Garr (b. Dec. 11, 1944) was so funny in Young Frankenstein.

5. Gardner of the silver screen: AVA.  Ava Gardner (née Dec. 24, 1922 ~ Jan. 25, 1990) was one of Frank Sinatra's wives.  Her first marriage was to Mickey Rooney, then she married Artie Shaw.

6. Badminton divider: NET.

7. Beef: GRIPE.

8. Strong ales: STOUTS.

9. Not dis?: DAT.

10. CNN journalist Hill: ERICA.  Erica Ruth Hill (b. July 20, 1976) was the co-anchor of Weekend Today for several years.

11. Mariachi's hat: SOMBRERO.

12. One-celled swimmers: AMOEBAE.  Anatomy of an amoeba.  For a 1-celled critter, it sure has a lot of parts.

13. Orange veggies: CARROTS.  Anyone remember Captain Kangaroo and Bunny Rabbit?

18. Hogwash: ROT.

22. Keep out: BAN.

25. Fish organ: GILL.

26. Move, in realty ads: RE-LO.

27. Shone with a nearly blinding light: GLARED.

29. Pampering place: DAY SPA.  A nice place to be pampered.  Many day spas, however, can be very pricy.

32. Simple shelter: HUT.

33. Ambulance letters: EMS.  I initially tried EMT, for Emergency Medical Technician.  Unfortunately, that gave me Tores for Skin Irratations (41-Across).

35. S&L offerings: CDs.  As in Certificate of Deposits.

36. Looked through a home remodeling magazine, perhaps: GOT IDEAS.

37. Transvaal settler: BOER.  Transvaal is a province of South Africa.  The word Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans noun for farmer, and refers to the Dutch and Huguenot population that settled in South Africa in the late 17th century

38. Florence's river: ARNO.

The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno in Florence, Italy.

39. Arizona cactus: SAGUARO.

40. Tool that unclogs using suction: PLUNGER.

44. Chair part for elbow resting: ARM.

45. Feudal Japanese military ruler: SHŌGUN.  It's also the title of a novel by James Clavell.

47. "Seinfeld" regular: ELAINE.  The character of Elaine was played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (b. Jan. 13, 1961).  She wasn't a very good dancer.

48. Former Justice __ Day O'Connor: SANDRA.  Sandra Day O'Connor (b. Mar.. 26, 1930) was the first female United States Supreme Court Justice.  She was nominated to the High Court by President Ronald Reagan.  She replaced Potter Stewart on the Court.  When she retired in 2006, after having served no the Court for nearly 25 years, Samuel Alito replaced her.

49. Make beloved: ENDEAR.

51. Lone Ranger's pal: TONTO.  The Lone Ranger ran on television from 1949 to 1957.

52. Affordable, in brand names: ECONO.  As in the Econo-Lodge.

53. Sci-fi beings: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrestials.

56. British firearm acronym: STEN.  I didn't realize that the STEN gun was an acronym.  It is named after its designers: Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield, the government's rifle and arms factory in London's Borough of Enfield. 

58. Color like khaki: TAN.

60. Black gold: OIL.

61. Hagen of Broadway: UTA.  Uta Thura Hagen (June 12, 1919 ~ Jan. 14, 2004) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists.  To sow, we must open our hands.  ~  Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. Nov. 26, 1931), Argentine recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize

Monday, November 26, 2019

QOD:  Greed is a basic part of animal nature.  Being against it is like being against breathing or eating.  ~ Ben Stein (né Benjamin Jeremy Stein; b. Nov. 25, 1944), American comedian and political commentator

Sunday, November 24, 2019

QOD:  To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of being, is the only end of life.  ~  Baruch Spinoza (Nov. 24, 1632 ~ Feb. 21, 1677), Dutch-Jewish philosopher