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DECEMBER 2023.05

By Pete Wascher
Across
Just sample a drink
"A state's legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and practical functioning of the political process permits it to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office." --____ ________ earlier ruling. (now a SCOTUS justice) --newsweek.com/****-*******-could-strike-death-knell-donald-trump-1853993
Non-responsive
Appear
CE synonym
ID to CO direction (abbrev.) --google.com/maps
New technology fraught with possibilities and danger (2 words, initials)
This year is almost gone. Not all our friends and family____ it. (completed) --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10233869170532028&set=gm.7358655917501408&idorvanity=351244381575965
Foolish, stupid person --google.com
Coming out altered my professional trajectory--"there are certain rooms that I haven't been in since--but I think my career became much richer". --Matt Bomer, gay, married, father of _. (number) --nytimes.com/2023/12/20/arts/television/matt-bomer-maestro-fellow-travelers.html
Possessive pronoun
Grunt
Feint, ploy --thesaurus.com
Sick
"This _________ season I wish you joy The wonder in every girl and boy I wish you gladness, the one thing sure Have good friends and family gathered near . . . ." (holiday) --Michael W. Smith's "All Year Long"
Mug slogan: "No ______, No Workee" --pinterest.com/pin/910430880904724566/
Approve
Correspondence
"I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, 'Merry Christmas to all and to all _____ ______.'" (fair treatment, rhyming, 2 words) --KC, FB, 12/25/23. --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1046183216712819&set=gm.1531279140747099&idorvanity=768831826991838
Jump, Charge, Spark--some of the names of the batteries in Santa's new hybrid ______ (toy-delivering vehicle) --"Baby Blues" cartoon, 12/24/23
1/2 of the bible (abbrev.)
Its resolution calls for aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip “at scale". (org.) --timesofisrael.com/**-taps-gaza-humanitarian-director-after-**sc-resolution-calling-for-aid-at-scale/
Between KA and WI --google.com/maps
Alphabetical vowel sequence
Badly off course
Before (prefix) --dictionary.com
"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever." --Carl _____. (astronomer) --FB, 12/20/23
". . . hang a shining star upon the highest _____ and . . . ." (branch) --"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," by Rosemary Clooney.
". . . My baby's in London town And I'm wishing he right here, L A seems to get me ____ this time of year . . . ." (depressed) --Hadda Brooks' "LA Christmas Blue"
Quiet please!
Dedication
Woodcutter --findwords.info
"When caught between two evils I generally pick the one I've never tried before." _____ West. --imdb.com/name/nm0922213/quotes/
Vowel sequence alphabetically
A political "Karen" (i.e., white, well-off woman who feels exempt from, or is oblivious to, normal behavior): entered the U.S. as a "high IQ" category immigrant; as first lady, traveled to the southern US border wearing an "I don't care" coat, toured Africa in white-hunter garb, reportedly said "Who the fu*k cares about White House Christmas decorations?", deconstructed the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Rose Garden, added a tennis court to the WH grounds that no President has ever used; at the National Archives, an org. contesting ownership of documents with her husband, welcomed new immigrant citizens as her husband lobbies against them. (first name)
Blvd.
Fey or Turner --famousbirthdays.com/names/
Adage, proverb --google.com
XX/V
Third person form of "am"
Short sleep to recuperate
Other 73 ACROSS form
Early caroling group (?): "The ________ _____", as portrayed on the famous Bayeux Tapestry (2 words) --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6877188975669044&set=gm.7358611640839169&idorvanity=351244381575965
Take off
Scraping tool
Healthcare professional authorized to perform diagnostic tests, administer medications, and educate patients on how to manage their health after treatment. (initials) --goodwin.edu/enews
Slurp
"Christmas trees are just regular trees that decided to become fabulous ____ ______" (female impersonators, 2 words) --FB, 12/21/23
1 of the 2 states bordering the most other (8) --google.com/maps
Queer
Never been done before (2 words)
Seek elected office
Its name comes from the Overhill Cherokee capital that thrived 1721-30. (state, abbrev.) --Wikipedia
___ Dawn, "The Color Purple" actress, daughter of Tommy Chong (of Cheech & Chong), ex-wife of actor Thomas Howell --https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/
Come into view
Western hemisphere continent (initials)
Brag
Ilk
I was raised to be humble and not worldly about looks, but, "having said that, I make sure to moisturize". --____ _____, actor. --nytimes.com/2023/12/20/arts/television/****-*****-maestro-fellow-travelers.html
BMI = 30+ --betterhealth.vic.gov.au/tools/
__ and behold --google.com
Centers
Also
In the neighborhood (2 words) --findwords.info/term/
Political cartoon: "For Christmas, I would like my soul back." --________ with MAGA hat, on Santa's lap. (animal, emblem) --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1042992490365225&set=gm.1528197001055313&idorvanity=768831826991838
Lubricate
Light strong metal (abbrev.)
After the fall of the USSR, government deregulation in the U.S. rose making the U. S. "a good bet for oligarchs to _______ money". (hide) --heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-26-2023
Sounds like "err", with the same letters
Give _ ___ of approval (2 words) --anagrammer.com/crossword-clues/
C/L
Borden Dairy Company's 138 ACROSS --Wikipedia
Checkmark, crown, bitten apple, e.g. (abbrev.) --google.com
_______ investment in real estate gets greater scrutiny starting January 1 with the Corporate Transparency Act. (outside) --heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-26-2023
Large, luxurious boat
St. Elias, Elbert or Massive (abbrev.) --google.com/search?sca_esv=594290971&sxsrf=AM9HkKnuGFtJVKWcZrBynFzwea_FDfh87g:1703795528706&q=University+Peak+(Alaska)&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAE2PsW_TQBTGsUur5NJW5VApGIaoC4Ulie04dphK1QpQq6K2IDbLPl_Ojp1zenadXiYG2KvuSIgZdasQExsS_AGMHRALrCyMhNRns_3e0_e-73uVmdVqY9Boos6Qtr5KU255vbaRszpOaDNnveWPs5wRshJP7PuqWWh4yLi4tVVfsNZWdaFBoe4NcjYS7tkitx_xtNQkmuD_u9lZwoRnq20J__bouF_4pCnqFT25TwsN14ySPbNkJm7bbhYW3QixrFITDkVuPzsW_l7zcKCK33sjc5wz8XR34l_5x6HGRH0TWczNuaNqqIg97vT90jIVscjUE6vcj43CXuuzYs864lYbUD4SdUJkTGqCy7ds0rLyQR1y4ob5oB2GajbMB0PjkS0y9GbL8gsm3M1FOolMYpTnBhFe7TE9pEhUYTb7z0pTv0uf5NrSzz8X15Vz-fT9l2_SmQyu7scshStgdpd5mMFFZR4ADycIUy-gBJ5JoLqP04N4KnsrwTcSWNqO4wRHfA9HToq9gxhaYG6TpkHK4YJSA9NEC3VGTaW-ChZevr59Y1m1f3--D6s1Q_3x6vzXwbWHHy42Tj8-uAMfg9rUfyf2gh6HXWiC6g4euJgluz14F4CNOIowSoOYwlvKClhuoGLRGMRHNHUCmnTlNXl15kSW4AtQ2Tqil_pt-ATUQ9RtEBwT5gx9Xlx0cYQzZ6pSivJLyiKYn5Tf2N3b3LKfr--5AFTA3CMcED8dy5Ur8-9mbz6jQTYpN9HXn2InrK-tR04SOvdO5qS_mnks_MwDAAA&sa=X&lei=htuNZY-CGOmIkPIPuImDgAI
Rhymes with "cheap" and means the opposite --findwords.info/term
Down
MI to MO direction (abbrev.) --google.com/maps
Pro bono ad (3 words, initials)
Born (Fr.)
Dorothy's auntie
Metro area surrounded by Santa Ana and Santa Gabriel mountains (initials) --google.com/search?q=mountains+around+*+*+map&oq=mountains+around+l+a+map&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQIRgWGB0YHtIBCDU5MTdqMGo5qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#vhid=Vw3gbVe5IbvAYM&vssid=3981:-Z_nJNVckMVaIM
"Being happy is to stop being a victim of problems and become an actor of your own story. It's like walking through deserts outside of yourself, but managing to find an _____ deep in your soul." (watering hole) --Pope Francis. --Michele Cinelli, FB, 12/25/23
Hwys.
You and I
Civil Engineering --abbreviations.com
Placido Domingo, Bob Hope, Steven Spielberg, George H. W. Bush, Paul Getty (title) --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honorary_British_knights_and_dames#Arts_and_entertainment
> a fib
Aced
Lord, dame, doctor, e.g.
German river, its dam famously bombed in WWII --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Free of the Disney copyright in 2024 and enters the public domain. (character name, 2 words) --"The Desert Sun," 12/26/23, p. A8
Workout motto: "Sweat is just ___ crying" (body fuel) --facebook.com/photo?fbid=7767463229949889&set=pcb.7767467003282845
Has the world's largest oil and gas fields (state) --FB, 12/27/23
Freudian concept
$300B, the estimated value of ________'s central bank assets frozen in Western banks as a result of that nation's war with Ukraine. (nation) --nytimes.com/2023/12/21/us/politics/******n-assets-ukraine.html#:~:text=The%20more%20than%20%24300%20billion,access%20to%20its%20international%20reserves.
On the condition that . . .
Sun
Winter mo. in the southern hemisphere
Costing $30M to make, lost out to "Tom Jones", which cost $1M, for 1963's Best Picture Oscar. --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=371806448739494&set=a.170697792183695; imdb.com/list/ls034703871/
Not as wet as mist but denser
47 ACROSS's southeastern neighbor --google.com/maps
To be determined
The "Triple Crown" hiking path that doesn't touch a foreign country (initials) --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=817518460386060&set=a.651321070339134
A cardio exercise
"Sadness is caused by ____________. The more you understand certain things, the more you wish you didn't understand them." (smartness) --Charles Bukowski. --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1040500973783488&set=a.738361360664119
El.
College in Bloomington (initials)
______ vehicle sales up 76%. (power combo) --Edmunds.com. --"The Desert Sun," 12/24/23, p. A9
Previously
"You are the universe, expressing itself as a _____ for a little while." (man/woman) --Eckhart Tolle. --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1319650495454389&set=a.1036770583742383
“What we obtain too _____, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.” (easily) --Thomas Paine. --heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-25-2023
Fuss
Response to pain
Period of mourning (Judaism) --findwords.info/
"Later!" (Sp.)
Sudan to Iraq direction (abbrev.) --google.com/maps
Between AL and SC --google.com/maps
Fit of pique, huff --google,.com
And (Lat.)
Out-of-control group
National social fraternity (initials)
Alphabetical vowel sequence
Make a mistake
Nile vipers
Have sex with --google.com
32,000 ounces
Sticky, pad, book, post-it, e.g.
Japanese currency
"We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust with souls made of flames, we are just stars that have ______ _____." (human monikers, 2 words) -- Nikita Gill. --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=918325633353382&set=a.186445489874737
Critical or mocking in an indirect or sarcastic way --google.com
64 DOWN, e.g.
Smart indicator (2 words, initials)
Between MS and OK --google.com/maps
Respiratory Rate --abbreviations.com
The only continent controlled by a single country. --FB, 12/26/23
Small two-winged fly --google.com
In 1983, the year of the film's release, the Hershey Company's profits rose 65% due to the prominent placement of Reese's Pieces. (film's title) --Wikipedia
All seats taken (3 words, initials)
Refugee (2 words, initials)
Partially (prefix) --google.com; "St. Elmo's Fire," "Ghost," "G.I. Jane" actress (first name) -- Wikipedia
Bumper sticker seen on a Tesla: "Bought it before we knew how _____ he is." (terrible) --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10231155357684067&set=gm.7373393036027696&idorvanity=351244381575965
".. . he [Trump] can’t be on the ballot or have write-in votes for him counted." --________ Supreme Court ruling. (state) --msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-team-trumps-reaction-********-ruling-rcna130559
Land transport sys.
The DeSantis campaign has entered _______ care. (final) --nytimes.com/2023/12/24/us/politics/desantis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IU0.xjYO.T0s9T1TUON4H&smid=url-share
115 DOWN's S. O.
The attempt of the Republican-dominated Texas legislature to write its own immigration laws "is in part a partisan attempt to whip up a political advantage in 2024. It is also a sign of a political ________ that recognizes it cannot win control of the national government through democratic means". (small group) --heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-20-2023
Milk Of Magnesia --abbreviations.com
Football score, for short
"You are ____"
Wager
Alphabetical vowel progression
Banks, Els, buddy of Muppet Bert --findwords.com
Miracle machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs nothing to run and builds itself --facebook.com/photo/?fbid=200112216493977&set=a.118013831370483
Highest apartment
(CCLI) (II)
Midget of the litter
Ascend --merriam-webster.com
Fate
Mom synonym
Pathway (abbrev.)
COO synonym