We have another visual puzzle, with the theme fill presented updside down, so you need to read from the bottom to the top. All five themers are very popular cocktails, and to add to the degree of difficulty in constructing, Stu uses only mixtures beginning with the letter "M." Oddly we do see the inimitable martini. This is a wonderful CSO to Tinbeni and my bartending son who works at Poka Lola Social Club in Denver mixing up amazing yummies like the CLOVER CLUB. 2oz Plymouth Gin, .5oz dry vermouth, .5oz raspberry syrup and.75oz lemon juice. Also timely after we had the SAZERAC last Saturday.
This is our second puzzle from Stu who appeared here in 2014. He does have 10 NYT publications, the last two in 2017. There are as always on Friday some challenging cluing and some very fun fill like A BIT ODD, BEATS IT, DELIVER, ONE MORE, SARANAC SESAMES, SLIM JIM (my favorite) SOLACES (James Bond) TOPMOST, TWO PAIR and YES OR NO. He then puts these sparkly fill in the difficult triple stack patterm in each corner.
4D. Tequila, triple sec and lime juice : ATIRAGRAM (9). MARGARITA has become a favorite cocktail. ent
10D. Champagne and orange juice : ASOMIM (6). MIMOSA along with the Bloody Mary are the Brunch drinks here.
21D. Bourbon, water, sugar and garnish : PELUJTNIM (9). MINT JULEP is the drink of choice at the Kentuck Derby. Anyone here follow the richest race in thorobred racing last Sunday at Gulfstream Park here in So Fla?
36D. Whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters : NATTAHNAM (9). MANHATTAN was the drink of choiceof my brother's f-i-l.
44D. White rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water and garnish : OTIJOM (6). MOJITO has become quite popular is our bars.
And the reveal:
59A. Bar exhortation ... and a hint to how to answer five puzzle clues : DRINK UP (7). The drink names are read UP, from bottom to top.
Across:
1. __ Lake, village near Lake Placid : SARANAC. There are advantages to growing in the Northeast with lots of relatives, some of whom went to this LAKE .
8. Skedaddles : BEATS IT.
15. Somewhat off : A BIT ODD. Fridays usually have many multiple word fill.
16. "Choose!" : YES OR NO. See I told you.
17. Come through : DELIVER.
18. Poker holding : TWO PAIR. A dangerous hand.
19. A or O : ALER. This simple glue fill took longer than I expected.
20. Easy pace : LOPE.
22. Clipper trio : MASTS. The ship not the basketball team.
23. "Ninja Scroll" genre : ANIME. I did not know the movie, but my kids watched lots of anime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6_N4mQBos
25. Domain introduced in 2001 : BIZ.
26. Rod Stewart's "__ May" : MAGGIE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2CQ0FvAZuw
29. Shuttle site : LOOM. You want to learn to WEAVE? Or play in the dirt? 40A. Fertile soil : LOAM.
31. Affirmative act : NOD.
34. Outlying community : EXURB. From about 1955, a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families. (MW).
35. Tesla, e.g. : AUTO. This also took way too long to parse.
36. "Not a chance" : NOPE.
37. "Zorba the Greek" Oscar winner Kedrova : LILA. I liked the movie, did not recall the actress.
38. Bottom of a food chain? : MCJOB. A new way to clue.
39. Abruzzi bell town : ATRI. This LINK starts
"At Atri in Abruzzo, a small town
Of ancient Roman date, but scant renown..."
41. Picasso output : ARTE.
42. Mar. honoree : ST PAT. March 17, St. Patrick's Day.
43. "r u kidding?!" : OMG. An exclamation of surprise.
44. Team that pulls for you : OXEN. Attempted sports misdirection.
45. Like an earworm : CATCHY.
46. Peugeot's 208 or 308, e.g. : GTI.
47. Tony winner Menzel of "Wicked" : IDINA. I had the pleasure of watching her perform as Elphaba on Broadway in July of 2005 with my sons. It was awesome.
49. Feature of many a Hawaiian restaurant : LANAI. Defined: porch, veranda. We have many in SoFla.
52. Cast off : EMIT.
53. Olympian queen : HERA.
57. Lock-picking tool : SLIM JIM. It is two words. I am sure the car thieves love they can buy at Walmart with DIRECTIONS.
61. Highest : TOPMOST. It is one word.
62. Consoles : SOLACES. An encore appearance.
63. Bun seeds : SESAMES. Don't forget the special sause.
64. Request at a bar : ONE MORE. Bonus alcohol fill.
Down:
1. Actress Thompson : SADA. The mother in the successful TV series Family.
2. Doomed shepherd : ABEL. Also a second 2018 appearance.
3. Irk : RILE.
5. Sweet Potato Awareness Mo. : NOV. Who decided this? Who cares?
6. Emperor relative : ADELIE. Great misdirection- Penguins. LINK.
7. Jewel box item : CD-ROM. Defined: a thin plastic case for a CD or DVD — called also jewel case. I only knew jewel case.
8. Eight bits : BYTE. Not a dollar in the modern world.
9. "Ick!" : EEW.
11. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ. The Topaz became the State Gem in 1969 (Utah Code). It is a semiprecious gem found in Beaver, Juab and Tooele counties of Utah. But again, who cares.
12. Mmes. across the Pyrenees : SRAS. French to Spanish.
13. Down but not out : IN IT.
14. Rocky hills : TORS.
24. Bird's bill : NIB. and maybe 51D. Bites playfully : NIPS.
25. Bonehead : BOOB. Hmm, is this 31D. Sometimes offensive, briefly : NOT PC.
26. __ Yello : MELLO.
27. Assumed truth : AXIOM. I was actually a math major when I began college.
28. Soviet labor camp : GULAG.
30. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE.
32. Dr. Phil was her frequent guest before getting his own show : OPRAH. Even Oprah makes mistakes.
33. Eros or Eos : DEITY.
35. Real estate parcel : ACRE.
38. Dress style : MAXI.
42. __ Salvador : SAN. San/El what else is there?
45. Pomelo relative : CITRON. My wife is on a big POMELO kick to help my body recover from last year. The CITRON is an part of Jewish ceremonies for Sukkhot. See below for Oo and the pomelo rind.
46. Beta follower : GAMMA. Α α alpha, άλφα; Β β beta, βήτα;
Γ γ gamma, γάμμα
48. Playground comeback : DID SO.
49. Amphibious assault transports, for short : LSTS. Landing Ship, Tank - LINK.
50. Botanical balm : ALOE.
52. 911 response gp. : EMTS.
54. Kitchen gadget brand : EKCO.
55. One with second thoughts : RUER.
56. Abbey area : APSE.
58. British author's conclusion? : ISE. As opposed to IZE.
60. Terre dans la mer : ILE. Frawnche, as Splynter would say.
A tight puzzle with some challenge. February is on the March. Thank you Stu and all of you whoe read and write. Lemonade out.
As I promised, here is the grid and Oo getting the most out of Pomelo...
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| I do not know why the "J" in mint julep or the "t" in St. Pat have been bleached out. |
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