The Business: June 2015

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Puzzle Answers - Labyrinth - June 20-21, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - (SPOILER ALERT!)

I don't always solve the puzzle but when I do, it's on a sundae.

Labyrinth | by Mike Shenk

Across

Composer of the 1963 televised opera “Labyrinth” = MENOTTI
It comes straight from the horse’s mouth = NEIGH

Cross training goal = FITNESS
Set aside = ALLOT

Neapolitan, e.g. = ITALIAN
Four for Favre = DOWNS

Witty conversation = REPARTEE
Boarding site = GATE

“A Musketeer of great height and haughty countenance” = PORTHOS
Singer with the 2006 album “Songs from the Labyrinth” = STING

Sites for muezzins = MINARETS
Largest member of the brass family = TUBA

Treats with more leniency (3 wds.) = LETS UP ON
She pined for Narcissus = ECHO

Spa treatment = PEEL
Oscar nominee for “Tootsie” (2 was.) = TERI GARR

Mental workout = TEST
Sheets and pillowcases (2 wds.) = BED LINEN

10.

Rigging support = SPAR
Inflatable used in an emergency (2 wds.) = LIFE RAFT

11.

Unaffected = NATURAL
Focus of IBM’s Deep Blue computer = CHESS

12.

Choose a successor = ANOINT
Newspaper coupon section for example = INSERT

13.

Witty conversation = BANTER
Skylit courtyard = ATRIUM

14.

Mount Vernon is on its banks = POTOMAC
In-group outcasts = NERDS

Winding

Unwritten reminders = MENTAL NOTES
Herbal infusion for medicinal purposes = TISANE
Worst part of a performance or event = LOWLIGHT
Beginning = ONSET
Senescence = AGEDNESS
Quarry work = STONECUTTING
Inspiring disgust = ABHORRENT
Cream of Wheat, for example = FARINA
Corset’s cousin = GIRDLE
Jerks back in fear = FLINCHES
Makes balalaika music = STRUMS
Helps with the dishes = DRIES
Budget item? (Hype.) = RENT-A-CAR
Anathema to a Vulcan = EMOTION
Head honcho (2 wds.) = TOP BANANA
Beat a hasty retreat (2 wds.) = TURN TAIL
Entomologist’s specimen = BEETLE
Shoulder bag feature = STRAP
High point of many a village skyline = STEEPLE
Consequential = IMPORTANT
Apartment house worker = SUPER
Empty talk (2 wds.) = HOT AIR
Ouzo or pastis = APERITIF

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Puzzle Answers - 2 for Two- June 13-14, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - (SPOILER ALERT!)

Puzzle Answers - 2 for Two- June 13-14, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - (SPOILER ALERT!)

Skunk Party.

2 for Two | a cryptic puzzle by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon

Across

1. For a pointer, don’t start a litter of pigs = ARROW

litter of pigs = f[ARROW]

4. Sign on a score for scales transposed between two keys (2 wds.) = BASS CLEF

9. Count hard to believe? You betcha (2 wds.) = TALLY UP

hard to believe = [TALL] + you betcha = [YUP]

10. A river, isn’t that right?! = ARNO

[A] + [R]iver + isn’t that right = [NO]

11. Dorothy’s aunt, the one reported to work with studs = EMBOSS

Dorothy’s aunt = [EM] + the one reported [BOSS]

12. Harsh season’s ending for a wading bird = BITTERN

harsh = [BITTER] + seaso[N]

13. Vessel’s amount of gas: about empty = GALLEON

amount of gas = GALLON + [E]mpty

14. Native American playwright born in France = SHAWNEE

playwright = [SHAW] + born in France = [NEE]

16. Spread fertilizer around bit of myrtle = HUMMUS

fertilizer = [HUMUS] = [M]yrtle

17. See instructions = TOOOOOOT [T222T]

“Solvers who complete this puzzle may want to blow their own party horns.”

20. Market is quite peculiar, by the sound of it = BAZAAR

quite peculiar = bizarre {Homophone}

21. Convertible sleepers that can’t be matched = PEERLESS

SLEEPERS {Anagram}

22. A large wager—around half of it, though = ALBEIT

[A] + [L]arge + wager = [BET] + [I]t

25. Fan taking in live pop (2 wds.) = ROOT BEER

fan = [ROOTER] + live = [BE]

26. With fancy touches, young horse captures first in race = FRILLY

young horse = [FILLY] + [R]ace

27. Medicinal plant a couple of Henry VIII’s wives brought back = SENNA

a couple of Henry VIII’s wives = [ANNES] {Reverse}

28. A McAn shoe width that’s comfortable (2 wds.) = AT HOME

29. Family of singers wanders off = ANDREWS

[WANDERS] {Anagram}

30. When speaking, must have bumped in a way = KNEED

must have = [NEED] {Homophone}

Down

1. Chilling a needle (2 wds.) = AT EASE

[A] + needle = [TEASE]

2. Where to see shoppers returning a source of wool = LLAMA

where to see shoppers = [A MALL] {Reverse}

3. Odd outfield achievement: bee-catching = OFF BEAT

4. Pirate stated aloud price for corn on the cob? = BUCCANEER

price for corn on the cob = [BUCK AN EAR] {Homophone}

5. Center of vertebral canal giving the spine a chill = EERIE

vert[E]bral + canal = [ERIE]

6. Challenge American League amid bash (2 wds.) = CALL OUT

[A]merican + [L]eague + bash = [CLOUT]

7. One true stranger along the way (2 wds.) = EN ROUTE

[ONE TRUE] {Anagram}

8. Sources of footnotes, oddly = FONTS

foot = [FO] + notes = [NTS]

12. Accountant’s pager bearing 0-0-1000-1000 = BOOKKEEPER

pager = [BEEPER] + 0 = [O] + 0 = [O] + 1000 = [K] + 1000 = [K]

15. Grouse, attesting disbelief about piece of hearsay (2 wds.) = HEATH HEN

16. These fill new requirements for some wearers of shoes (2 wds.) = HEEL LIFTS

[THESE FILL] {Anagram}

17. Labor to reset a row of buttons on your computer screen = TOOLBAR

[LABOR TO] {Anagram}

18. A pound—one appearing in old England = ALBION

19. Marshaled a police action using a loudspeaker? = ARRAYED

20. Massage back second, with a cushion for the shoulder, maybe = BURSA

massage = [RUB] {Reverse} + [S]econd + [A]

23. Utter disapproval for the hard stuff = BOOZE

disapproval = boos {Homophone}

24. Announced “low, low” dress in an island style = MUUMUU

low = moo {Homophone}

Monday, June 8, 2015

Puzzle Answers - ROWS GARDEN- June 6-7, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - (SPOILER ALERT!)

Rows Garden | by Patrick Berry

When in Rome

Rows

A. Fast growers in the garden = MUSHROOMS

B. Stuff kept in cellars (2 wds.) = TABLE SALT

Item whose head can have a maximum width of 12.5 inches (2 wds.) = TENNIS RACKET

C. “No need to dress up” (4 wds.) = COME AS YOU ARE

Unfortunate side effect of xerostomia, or “dry mouth” (2 wds.) = BAD BREATH

D. Of the highest quality (Hyph.) = TOP NOTCH

The first one, issued in 1861, depicted Abraham Lincoln (2 wds., Hyph.) = TEN-DOLLAR BILL

E. He donated $1 billion to the United Nations, saying “A billion’s a good round number” (2 wds.) = TED TURNER

Irish landmark that supposedly bestows “the gift of the gab” when kissed (2 wds.) = BLARNEY STONE

F. Popular Christmas song of 1934 that never actually mentions the word “Christmas” (2 wds.) = WINTER WONDERLAND

Blue Cross competitor = AETNA

G. Exhausted runner’s asset (2 wds.) = SECOND WIND

Like some metaphorical glasses (Hyph.) = ROSE-COLORED

H. Real-life actress portrayed in the films “The Rat Pack” and “The Aviator” (2 wds.) = AVA GARDNER

Planet that’s visible in the night sky (2 wds.) = EVENING STAR

I. People whose success must be equaled, with “the” = JONESES

Veterans service organization whose creation was overseen by Theodore Roosevelt Jr.(2 wds.) = AMERICAN LEGION

J. 1974 hit song whose lyrics name-check Neil Young (3 wds.) = SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Broadway musical featuring the song “You Won’t Be an Orphan for Long” = ANNIE

K. They’re taken for parts (2 wds.) = SCREEN TESTS

Capital city of New Zealand, named for an English duke = WELLINGTON

L. “Strangers on a Train” actress who survived the sinking of the Andrea Doria (2 wds.) = RUTH ROMAN

Light Blooms

Rotating part of a tank = TURRET
Pointy tooth = CANINE
“...the Lord ___ away” = TAKETH
Penitent people make them = AMENDS
“Arabian Nights” sailor = SINBAD
Dish for serving soup = TUREEN
Consume sparingly, as food = RATION
Action seen by soldiers = COMBAT
Most populous U.S. native tribe = NAVAJO
Made a raucous sound = BLARED
Plays darts = THROWS
Art director’s creation = LAYOUT
Unwavering = STEADY
Giving a title to = NAMING

Medium Blooms

Sign up = ENROLL
Carpenter’s fasteners = SCREWS
“Catch you later!” (2 wds.) = SEE YOU
Shelled sea creature = MUSSEL
Fire-breather of myth = DRAGON
Hampton of jazz = LIONEL
Pre-1984 telecom giant, familiarly (2 wds.) = MA BELL
Like plants in offices = POTTED
Goes overboard on stage = EMOTES
High chair? = THRONE
Worker who steers steers = DROVER
Ritualistically recite = INTONE
Rebounds, as a billiard ball = CAROMS
World War I construction = TRENCH

Dark Blooms

Reacts to a friend’s faux pas = WINCES
German chancellor Merkel = ANGELA
Scissors wielder = BARBER
Do a slow burn = SEETHE
Jousting weapons = LANCE
Sift (through) = WINNOW
Retro roof attachment = AERIAL
Lawn pest that stings (2 wds.) = RED ANT
Pop singer Sheena = EASTON
Closed in on = NEARED