Last Sunday's crossword was titled "Company's Coming." The welcome mat remains out for today's crossword, "Warm Reception," by Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel. It includes these eight phrases:
Hidden: OUTOFSIGHT
Astrological sector: ZODIACSIGN
Bathroom safety feature: SHOWERMAT
Gardener's purchase: SEEDPACKET
Town gathering place: COMMUNITYCENTER
Source of many breaking stories: YAHOONEWS
Purpose of some government credit: TAXRELIEF
Fixture on many a cattle drive: CHUCKWAGON
"Breath of fresh air -- or, literally, what the last word of the eight long answers can be" is WELCOMEADDITION.
A "welcome packet" is a small package containing various combinations of welcome letters, contracts, pamphlets, newsletters, activities calendars and other information. Welcome packets are often given to new employees or to new residents of a gated community or nursing home. A further explanation is at
http://highdollardesigner.com/whats-in-your-welcome-packet/"Alberta resort town" is BANFF. The city was named in 1884 by Canadian Pacific Railway President George Stephens after his birthplace in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The origin of the name is uncertain. It might come from the Scottish Gaelic
buinne, which means "a stream" or it might come from
Bean Naomh, which means "Holy woman." The Virgin Mary is depicted on the Scottish town's coat of arms.
"Titicaca, por ejemplo" is LAGO, which is not used in English. "Amer. currency" is USD, which stands for "United States dollar," but that is an awkward answer. "This is disgusting" is BLEH, which is an awkward answer. Based on the many times Charlie Brown uttered that word in the
Peanuts comic strips, I believe it is spelled "Bleah." "Visiting the Getty Mus., say" is INLA, an awkward clue
and an awkward answer. "Manhattan or Queens, briefly" is BORO. Do New Yorkers really abbreviate "borough" that way? I have no idea but BORO is a very awkward answer.
"Maker of Candy Buttons" is NECCO. Necco is the New England Confectionery Company in Revere, Massachusetts. I remember buying those candy buttons when I was a child -- and at least a third of them would have little shreds of paper still attached after I peeled them off the long paper strip. I also remember Fizzies, Walnettos, Pixy Stix, Lik-M-Aid, root beer barrels, candy cigarettes, candy necklaces, cinnamon toothpicks and those tiny liquid-filled wax bottles. All those things helped keep dentists in business!
