Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Debbie Ellerin

"Cookies"

Debbie drops these baked goods into our thoughts to sweeten our day.

16. Bed buyer's concern: COMFORT, and 17. Still on the plate: UNEATEN.   FORTUNE cookie.

23. "Oliver Twist" criminal: FAGIN, and 25. "Sommersby" star Richard: GERE.  GINGER cookie.

45. Bump up against: ABUT, and 47. Coastal flock: TERNS.  BUTTER cookie.

53. Massage technique meaning "finger pressure" in Japanese: SHIATSU, and 55. Stocking attachments: GARTERS.  SUGAR cookie.

34. With 36-Across, mass-produced ... and what each of four black squares in this puzzle is?: COOKIE CUTTER.

Across:
1. Far from homogeneous: DIVERSE.

8. Fight back: RESIST.

14. Threatening: OMINOUS.

15. Red hot chili pepper: CAYENNE.  Add a half-teaspoon or more to your next batch of chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies.  Don't knock it until you try it. 

18. Suffix for Gator: ADE.  Gatorade.  Developed by researchers at the University of Florida.

19. Like cactus-friendly climates: ARID.   The Prickly Pear is the official state plant of Texas.

Tender cactus leaves (nopalitos) are nutritious substitutes for green beans, okra, squash, and bell pepper. Its top production occurs in the summer months when other vegetable plants are out of season. Texas Cactus Council

20. "__ making a list ... ": HE'S.

21. Family guy: SON.

26. Deeply absorbed: RAPT.

27. Clickable pic: ICON. 

Anonymous T borrowed this familiar image to use as the desktop ICON for a Windows program he wrote for use by C.C.'s blogging team.   The program eliminated repetitious pre-blogging work.  Great job Anon T !   Thanks again !

28. Skippy rival: JIF.

Jif vs Skippy

29. Roadie's load: AMP.

30. San Antonio Spurs coach Popovich: GREGG.

PK would know he's called "Pop" or "Coach Pop"   He is the longest tenured coach in the NBA and in all major sports leagues in the United States.   He has a record-setting 21 consecutive winning seasons, and has won 5 NBA Championships as the head coach of the Spurs.

31. Worth having: OF USE.

37. "Spun" tales: YARNS.  Madame Defarge knows about yarns that do not include dubious amounts of exaggeration. 

38. Arm bone-related: ULNAR.

41. News letters: UPI. 

42. Trike rider: TOT.

43. Having no slack: TAUT.

44. Soft French wheel: BRIE. Why Some Cheeses Come in Wheels and Others in Blocks

48. Blues-rocker Chris: REA.

49. Somerhalder of "The Vampire Diaries": IAN.

IMDb Entry on Ian Somerhalder

50. Two in a row?: OARS.

51. Prompt on stage: CUE.

59. Rodeo ropes: LASSOES.

60. Massachusetts site of Phillips Academy: ANDOVER.  Prestigious university prep school that is named in many rankings as the best high school in the country.  About $54K/yr if you can get your child or grandchild accepted.   I scanned the alumni list.  Didn't get past the B's.  The Bush's,  Bill Belichick, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Humphrey Bogart...  although the Casablanca actor was expelled.

61. This one or that one: EITHER.

62. Dangerous wave: TSUNAMI.


Down:
1. Bashful pal: DOC.  They of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs

2. Texter's "If you ask me": IMO.

3. Vigor's partner: VIM.

4. "Terrible" French kid: ENFANT.  "Enfant terrible, which literally means "terrifying child" in French...could be anyone - young or old - whose behavior shocked others. Now the term is also often applied to young, successful newcomers who shock or scare old-timers with their new approaches, easy successes, or disregard for tradition."   Paraphrased from Merriam Webster.

5. Crucifix: ROOD.

6. Foolproof: SURE FIRE. "What's a sure fire way to fail your driving test ?"


7. Guinness suffix: EST.

8. Carted off to jail: RAN IN.

9. Looked at closely: EYED.

10. "The __ is calm tonight": "Dover Beach" opening: SEA.  Summary and Analysis

11. Coming up: IN THE FUTURE.

12. Show contempt: SNEER.  Emotional body language - Sneer explained

13. Present perfect, for one: TENSE.

15. Saving one's bacon?: CURING.  Fun clue. 

19. Really excited: AGOG.

21. Polynesian nation: SAMOA.

22. One who strikes while the iron is hot: OPPORTUNIST. 

24. Top pitcher: ACE. Nat Max Scherzer 7W - 1L,  1.78 ERA,  104 SO, 0.85 WHIP.  Those are ACE stats.

25. Birthday present: GIFT.

26. Risqué: RACY.

28. Soup du __: JOUR.


30. Essence: GIST.

32. Vintage hue on a photo app: SEPIA.

33. Scary-sounding lake: ERIE.

35. Nautical speed unit: KNOT.

36. Cross-sectional X-rays: CATSCANS.

38. Development site: UTERUS.

39. Metallica drummer Ulrich: LARS.

40. Woman with a habit?: NUN.

44. Nantes native: BRETON.

Nantes is a city on the Loire river and is the capital of Brittany, a region of  France. 

Bretons are an ethnic group located in this region.




45. Flier's window alternative: AISLE.

46. Iranian faith: BAHAI.

47. Stun gun brand: TASER.

50. Winnebago relative: OTOE.

Native Heritage Project - Oto Indians

52. Pakistan's national language: URDU.

54. Mt. St. Helens output: ASH.

55. Mobster's piece: GAT.

56. "2 Fast 2 Furious" actress Mendes: EVA.   Eva and partner Ryan Gosling

57. Sleep acronym: REM.  "Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep, REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, distinguishable by random/rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied with low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly." Wikipedia.

58. Indian title: SRI.  "...a polite form of address, like "mister" in English, or as an epithet for the names of Hindu deities."  Yogapedia

Here's the grid: