Saturday, May 25, 2019, Daniel Nierenberg

Themeless Saturday by Daniel Nierenberg 

Today we celebrate that lovely "fruit of the vine" - National Wine Day.

Wine provides us so many cwd fills like TUN, CRU, OENO, PORT, ASTI, SEC, ROSE', NAPA, etc.

It also can be employed as a welcome reward in solving or for drowning one's sorrows for not solving. Hmmm... what vintage goes best with a Saturday Themeless Puzzle?

Our constructor today is Daniel Nierenberg who is working on his PhD in molecular biology,  Info on Daniel (Click on Read More). The empty cell you see below at 43 across/33 down shows you the location of my only error. DELORES seemed like a fine Cranberry to me and NAXES worked as well for an emery-rich Greek island. Buzz! Sorry, we were looking for an O. Thanks for playing Gary, we have some lovely parting gifts for you.

43. The Cranberries vocalist O'Riordan: DOLORES -  A now deceased lead singer for this group who was born in Ballybricken, Caherelly, Ireland in the east end of Limerick County

33. Greek island known for emery: NAXOS - The island of NAXOS is the red dot from where these emery rocks were taken

   Island of NAXOS                                    Emery rocks from this island 

Let's see what else Daniel has prepared for us in his puzzle lab today:

Across:

1. Golden __: RICE - Yeah right, I'm the only one who had _ _ _ E and put in RULE. Why this GMO rice is controversial

5. Soreness treatment: HEATING PAD - Ice first

15. Russian region rich in minerals: URAL - Nickel oxide, gold, platinum, chromite, coal , bauxite, talc, fireclay, etc. Probably no emery 

16. Marketeer in the 2016 film "War Dogs": ARMS DEALER - Movie trailer

17. It's to be expected: NORM.

18. Baroque chamber work: TRIO SONATA - J.S. Bach and his son C.G.E. Bach wrote many of these for usually two violins and a bass

19. Prefix meaning "within": ENDO - ENDORSE - EN (IN Latin for in or on) and DORSE (Dorsum - Latin for back)

20. Solo on-screen: HAN - Wanna go trick or treating?

21. Epithet for Tim: TINY.

22. Attended to barking dogs?: SAT - How sore feet became known as barking dogs

23. Bump-related: NODAL - NODAL corn root development as a function of planting depth

27. "One Time 4 Your Mind" rapper: NAS 

28. One may have its own tartan design: CLAN - Not just a SCOT

30. Adobe creation: ACROBAT.

32. Sitcom shoe salesman: AL BUNDY - Ed O'Neill as AL BUNDY and later as Jay Pritchett 

34. Fauvism pioneer: MATISSE - Named for les FAUVES (French for wild beasts) Read all about it

38. Lively dances in duple time: POLKAS - 96-yr-old MIL can still POLKA!

39. Lusters: SHEENS.

40. Test involving reading letters: EYE EXAM - No kids, 20/200 is very bad vision!  It means you need to be 20' away to see what a normal eye can see 200' away.

42. Considers closely: PEERS AT - See above

45. Trilogy, often: SAGA.

46. Super __: PAC 

49. Meal involving charoseth, a symbolic fruit paste: SEDER - A good bet for a cwd meal with five letters

50. Silent welcomer?: MAT - Ours

51. Narrow shore point: SPIT - Here are several

53. Boxer's statement?: ARF - Sandy wasn't a Boxer but as seen in this 1927 water color by Little Orphan Annie's creator Harold Gray, ARF was his only line

55. Drought-stricken: SERE - An old cwd friend

56. Place with flexible classes: YOGA STUDIO 

60. Get around?: COIL - The modus operandi for a Boa Constrictor 

61. Prying aid: CLAW HAMMER - A right and wrong way

62. "Radames' Letter" musical: AIDA - From Rice and Weber's broadway musical AIDA

63. Film genre named for a supporting performer: HORSE OPERA - Clever cluing for slang indicating Western Movies

64. Went like the wind?: BLEW.


Down:

1. Online role-playing game involving magical stones: RUNE SCAPE - Guiness recognizes it as the largest MMORPG (Massively Muliplayer Online Role Playing Game). I wonder if a player can 41. Change, briefly, as game software: MOD (modify) the game

2. Steel, for one: IRON ALLOY.

3. Bridge site: CARD TABLE - Also fun cluing

4. Saint in a Brat Pack title: ELMO - Meh... 

5. Old ownership word: HATH - 30 days HATH September... 

6. Misjudgment: ERRANCY 

7. Key with all white notes: A MINOR - No sharps or flats in the key signature

8. Chicken general: TSO - All you need to know

9. Lab coat attachments: ID'S - Dr. Frankenstein probably didn't wear one

10. "The Matrix" hero: NEO - The producer wanted Sandra Bullock for the role but she declined and Keanu Reeves got the part

11. Thomas Wolfe alter ego Eugene: GANT - More

12. Bagel choice: PLAIN - ONION BAGEL was in our "OB-themed" Monday puzzle

13. Insurance giant: AETNA.

14. Horse-drawn wagons: DRAYS - Wagons for heavy loads usually without sides

24. Abbey title: DOM - On this Wine Day, what could be more appropriate than to mention the fine champagne developed by the Benedictine monk named Pierre Pérignon in the Champagne region of France who was a DOM in the Abbey of Hautvillers 

42. Water in a green bottle: PERRIER - Another French drink but from the Gard region of France

25. Humiliates: ABASES.

26. Metal-working tool: LATHE.

29. Heated quickly: NUKED - My popcorn is NUKED in the microwave

30. Certain agency goal: AD SALE - Mad Men showed this so well

31. Levels: TIERS.

35. Cooking agent in some Indian cuisine: SESAME OIL - We would not have all the ingredients in our cupboard for this Chatpatta Channa and Potato Salad

36. Hitchhike successfully: SNAG A RIDE - Not from me I'm afraid

37. Attorney's specialty: ESTATE LAW - They are supposed to solve heir problems

44. Text file with instructions: READ ME - Uh, probably not gonna...

46. "Fooled you!": PSYCH.

47. Ohno on skates: APOLO - Most medals won by an American winter olympian

48. Relaxing smoke for some: CIGAR - Elaine and Jerry relax 

52. Shooting marbles: TAWS - A shooter TAW among target marbles 

54. __ song: FOR A 

55. Sign of healing: SCAB.

57. Goose, e.g.: SHE - What's good for the Goose is good for the Gander

58. Asian path: TAO.

59. One making calls at home: UMP - There are those who want to use technology to take away some of those calls

On a personal note, celebrating with wine in late May is/was a tradition in my former profession. Some of the kids were even as excited as we teachers were to head out for summer. 😙

Saturday, April, 21, 2018, Daniel Nierenberg

THEMELESS SATURDAY PUZZLE BY DANIEL NIERENBERG

On this National Kindergarten Day Daniel Nierenberg has provided us a very worthy test. For me, Husker Gary, this is my fourth blogging effort on a Daniel puzzle - three Saturdays and one Friday. As is my M.O. on his puzzles, I employed the hunt and peck method until the NEAT/NUBIA "N" appeared and I was done!

Now, in honor of my lifetime friend Janet who is retiring after 35 years of teaching Kindergarten, let's see what word play Daniel has for us in our literary sandbox today:


Across:

1. Classic dramatic device: FATAL FLAW - The most famous FATAL FLAW in literature?

10. Demonstration of power, perhaps: N-TEST - A-Bombs and H-Bombs are both really N-(Nuclear) Bombs. One splits nuclei and the other fuses them together 

15. Winter carnival attraction: ICE PALACE - A beautiful ICE PALACE constructed in St. Paul, MN a half-hour drive from C.C.

16. Mythical myrtle-and-roses wreath wearer: ERATO - A vowel-rich crossword veteran muse of poetry 

17. Updated "What a shame!": THAT BITES

18. Cane-carrying Mr.: MAGOO and 14. 18-Across and others: TOONS. Did Mr. Peanut enter your thoughts?

19. Country E of Cyprus: SYR - SYRIA - too much in the news

20. Marsh growth: REED.

21. Beauty aisle brand: REVLON - A childhood memory of REVLON. Do you remember the show, this woman who won the big prize and what her category was? (*Answer below the grid)

22. Virus eponym: BARR.

23. Assigns new rankings to: RESEEDS - NCAA Basketball teams are RESEEDED just before the season-ending tournament 

24. Narrow types: BIGOTS - Norman Lear's Archie Bunker made us look BIGOTRY right in the face

27. Caravan components: CAMELS

28. Parting word: ADIOS

29. 1848 classic song about an Alabama-to-Louisiana traveler: OH SUSANNA - "With a banjo on my knee"

32. Court pros: REFS - These pro REFS did not see traveling here in this exhibition game.

33. Lingerie specifications: D-CUPS - It took 33. Waiting room site: DEPOT gave me the correct cup letter

34. Hair products: GELS - Mass use

35. Uris WWII novel: BATTLE CRY 

37. Harass: BESET

38. "Help me out, bro": BE A PAL

39. Nissan compact: SENTRA

40. Actor's dream: STARDOM.

42. Cleverly planned, as a trick: NEAT - Now this is a NEAT trick!

43. Warn, in a way: HISS AT

44. Territory with a palm tree in its seal: GUAM - I did not know Guam's flag or capital

45. Onetime JFK arrival: SST

48. Like some casks: OAKEN - We BIG 10 football fans know Purdue and Indiana play for the Old OAKEN Bucket each year

49. Fate of Peter's father, in kiddie lit: RABBIT PIE - I had no memory of this sad part of the story

51. Sections: AREAS - In 2003, the CIA officially acknowledged that AREA 51 exists

52. Dell gaming brand: ALIEN WARE - At the left is the $4,900 model for serious gamers, uh, not for me

53. Barista's offering: LATTE 

54. Intimidating psychological tactics: HEAD GAMES



Down:

1. Makes sense: FITS - Oh that's where it FITS

2. Hurting: ACHY.

3. Run like the wind: TEAR - What JH kids do going to lunch

4. Liable: APT

5. Research subjects: LAB RATS - Our staff and kids were LAB RATS for "Open Concept" classrooms back in the 70's. Retrofitting was expensive after the experiment failed miserably

6. Message disseminators: FLIERS - Is that why they make windshield wipers?

7. Not as punctual: LATER 

8. Justified serious studying for: ACED - Having ACED a test is usually done by serious studying (ROTE memorizing?)

9. Former NFL receiver Welker: WES - After at least six concussions from hits like this, he has retired

10. Sinestro and Professor Zoom, in their respective universes: NEMESES - Here's one, you can google the other if you like. BTW, I'd wager that dime comic is worth a few bucks these days.

11. Tour coordinator: TRAVEL AGENT - My TRAVEL AGENT arranged my trips to Florida with the kids but she also accompanied us because once we got there, she knew I ran the show

12. Home on a high cliff, perhaps: EAGLE'S NEST -  Martin Borman's gift of The EAGLE'S NEST retreat to Hitler high in the Bavarian Alps is now a cozy restaurant 

13. Rose: STOOD.

21. Important player in the founding-of-Rome story: REMUS - He was killed by his twin Romulus and hence the name of the city is...

22. Child-raising technique?: BOOSTER SEAT - Declining the BOOSTER SEAT was a landmark for our kids

23. Rough-sounding: RASPY - Joe Cocker's RASPY rendition of  the theme of this show

24. Wire sticker: BARB - Those BARBS on wire helped change ranches into farms

25. What a raised index finger may indicate: IDEA - A more prosaic use

26. Present often mailed: GIFT BASKET

27. Lout: CHURL - I've heard of/used the adjective CHURLISH

29. "Law of parsimony" philosopher: OCCAM - Another school of thought by the co-discoverer of the DNA molecule

30. Brewer, e.g., briefly: NLER - National LeaguER

31. Cinema pooch: ASTA - Nick and Nora's doggy

36. Matisse work featuring hand-holding: LA DANSE.

37. Wearing a grin: BEAMING

39. Skate home: SEABED - Talk about your masters of disguises

40. Skimboarding hazard: SHOAL - I hit a STONE at first on my figurative beach skimboard

41. Top prom wear?: TIARA - Amy's dream come true

42. Abu Simbel's region: NUBIA- The pharaonic temples then and now located in the village of Abu Simbel in the most southern Egyptian region of NUBIA

44. Severe blow: GALE - We've had them here all spring

45. Filter target: SPAM - Tons of this is made here in Fremont, NE

46. "Game of Thrones" address: SIRE - I've never seen the show but Thrones and S _ _ _ address. C'mon...

47. Screen-printing targets: TEES - With b/w TV, I never knew what the Superman TEE looked like until mom bought me one

49. Sound from a fan: RAH - Football fan

50. Lindbergh Line airline: TWA - Can you find The Lindbergh Line in two places in this picture? 

A lovely credo for National Kindergarten Day:

With all these lessons in mind, SHARE your comments, BE FAIR and PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS:

DA GRID

*

a) Show - $64,000 Question hosted by Hal March and sponsored by Revlon

b) Contestant - Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers

c) Her category - Boxing