Thursday June 24, 2021 Alex Bajcz

Our constructor for today is Alex Bajcz (pronounced like "badges") who last appeared here March 19th, 2018, reviewed by Lemonade.  As we will see, Alex has his fingers in a lot of pies having published in the NYT, WSJ, as well as here on the Corner.  Here is a more complete list of his constructions on his website.  But you will also notice that he has a day job - that of a Plant Ecologist at the Drew University P.R.U.N.E Research Lab (Plant Reproduction in (Un)Natural Environments).  Here is a picture of Alex giving a “lesson” on blueberry reproductive ecology to blueberry growers at Blueberry Hill Farm:
 

Among his other interests Alex, is an expert in a programming language called R.  I'm familiar with scores of programming languages, but as my cockney relatives would say, "I never 'eard of it!".  I gather that it has a lot of powerful tools for processing statistical data.

Today he will give us a lesson in 4 other pies he has his fingers in.  The themers contain hints as to what he's baking up, enclosed in the fill circles (here highlighted in RED). 

17A Cornell's main campus overlooks it: CAYUGA LAKE.  I believe this calls for a CSO to Irish Miss, Spitzboov, and Ray - O.  Which one of you is closest?

23A. Home to more than 425 US wineries: SONOMA COUNTY.  Not the VALLEY, but the COUNTY wherein it lies.  Looks like it might be close to JayCe and GarlicGal.

33A. "V." novelist (1963): THOMAS PYNCHON. 

46A. Ham, pepper and green onion dish: DENVER OMELET.

As I'm sure by now the AROMAS of the themers have clued you in to the reveal:

54A. Pie-making scraps ... and what this puzzle's circles represent?: APPLE CORES.  I'm not sure I'd call them "scraps", but rather delicious Crossword FILLING consisting of 4 different types of APPLES.  I've already given away where two groups of Cornerites might buy these apples locally.  The remaining two are ROME apples from Ohio (hands up anyone?) and SPY apples, also from Upstate New York. SPY apples have the additional distinction of having been recognized by the USPS in commemorative stamps issued in 2013.  Clockwise from the top left we have: SPY, GOLDEN DELICIOUS, BALDWIN, and GRANNY SMITH apples:
 

Here's the rest of the filling:

Across:
1. Measuring tools: TAPES.  Both my parents were crafts people.  My mother was a seamstress who used tapes for the fitting and alteration of suits, dresses, gowns, furs, you name it.  My father was a carpenter who used tapes to measure wood.  He would always say "Measure it twice, cut it once".

6. They're often removed for the National Anthem: HATS.

10. Those in charge: Abbr.: MGMT.  Geeks usually call them "suits".

14. "Same for me": AS AM I.

15. "Or __ what?!": ELSE.  A response to an ULTIMATUM.

16. "Unfortunately ... ": ALAS.  The bad news.  Which do you want first?

19. TV heroine whose name is derived from the Greek for "stranger": XENA.  This is where we get our word XENOPHOBIA, or "fear of foreigners".  The heroine in the clue was Xena: Warrior Princess, played by Lucy Lawless, a New Zealand actress.  DW and I have not seen her in Xena, but we have seen her in a new Aussie series playing the retired detective Alexa Crowe, whose old boss keeps hitting her up for free consulting in My Life is Murder.  Season 2 is currently being filmed in New Zealand. Alexa is also an expert in the operation and maintenance of German coffee makers.

20. Adorns playfully, for short: TPS.  I got this with perps, but I'm still not sure what it means.  Is "to toilette paper" now a verb?

21. "The Maltese Falcon" genre: NOIR.  It starts to get dark in the evening here on the Corner, when the groaners begin to run out.

22. Marvel's Stark: TONY. The IRON MAN.  Here's but one of many portals into the Marvel Universe.  Be careful not to venture in too far!

27. It's fun to skip them: STONES.  I showed one of my grandsons how to skip stones when he was about 5, and then we had to do it for at least the next hour.  It can be a highly addictive behavior!
 

And the hopelessly addicted have even turned it into a competitive sport:
 

29. Modern test of humanity: CAPTCHA.  Since when did we start getting "humanity" tests?  With the arrival of computers of course.  CAPTCHA stands for the Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. CAPTCHAs are tools you can use to differentiate between real users and automated users, such as bots who might co-opt them to run spam nets.  Hand up if you thought that the narrator of the video sounded like a bot!:

 

However I have a nit to pick with the use of the phrase "Turing test".  The generally accepted definition for the term Turing Test "is a method of inquiry in artificial intelligence (AI) for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being."  BTW I'm skeptical that we'll ever reach Ray Kurzweil's "singularity", a hypothetical "tipping point" at which computer "intelligence" surpasses that of humans.  Computers, like all tools, are mechanisms for the concentration of power. IMHO the "singularity" is the ultimate power grab by the Technocracy.

30. Sushi fare: EEL.  I love sushi, but UNAGI (Eel) is very fatty and I find it hard to digest.

31. Spicy cupful: CHAI.  Read all about it from a registered dietitian.  Click the  Jump to Recipe button if you don't want all the foodie stuff.

32. Big name in chips: LAY.  As a hypertensive, I prefer Utz No-Salt Potato Chips, made in Hanover, PA, just up the road from where I live.  The only problem with them is that you CAN eat the whole bag:
 

38. Std. paper size: LTR.

39. "Typee" sequel: OMOO.   TYPEE and OMOO published in 1846 and 1847 respectively, are based on Melville's  experiences in the South Pacific. 

 40. Set a price of: ASK.

41. College schedule entries: CLASSES.

43. They're tapped in spring: MAPLES.  A CSO to CanadianEh!  Maple sugaring is such a labor and energy intensive process that I've always wondered how people can make a living at it.  Perhaps they make enough money to support this labor of love when the "sap isn't rising" in Spring, Summer, and Fall.  Helen and Scott Nearing made a living from it, as they describe in a remarkable book that I read many years ago called Living the Good Life first published in 1973.

48. Conks out: DIES.

49. Binge to excess, as a TV show: OD ON.  If you have an addictive personality, steer clear of LINE OF DUTY on Prime.  DW and I binged our way to the last season and now find that we actually have to WAIT for the new episodes, that are being released only once a week.  I'm running out of fingernails.

50. Mobile __: APP.

53. Appliance appendage: CORD.  First support question in the troubleshooting decision tree: "Is it plugged in?"

57. V-day note sign-off: SWAK.  Clever clue I thought.  I immediately thought of VJ Day 1945 when my parents were married in England.  But this note is from someone to his/her Valentine 💕, Sealed With A Kiss.  Of course I'm sure my parents sealed their marriage with a KISS!

58. Slide cry: WHEE.  A whole lotta' slidin' on the Corner today.  See also 26D.

59. Creative nuggets: IDEAS.

60. Tolstoy's Karenina: ANNA.  I confess to not having read this 800 page novel, considered near the pinnacle of Western literature. A hand up from anyone who has?  There are several film and TV versions based on it.  DW and I saw and enjoyed the 1977 BBC version staring Nicola Pagett, which I believe is still available on YouTube.  It consisted of ten 50-minute episodes, and so was able to include more of the original plot than some adaptations.  Perhaps the most famous of all the adaptations is the 1935 film staring Greta Garbo.  The film was ranked #42 on the American Film Institute's list of AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions.

61. Swirl: EDDY.  An EDDY is a circular current of water.  Eddies swirl in different directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres due to a phenomenon known as the CORIOLIS EFFECT

noun

 Physics

an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force ) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.

from the Oxford Languages dictionary

62. Part of LCD: LEAST.  No not Liquid Crystal Display, but rather Least Common Denominator.  Today's math lesson:

 
Down:

1. Statesman's asset: TACT.

2. PDQ: ASAP.

3. Uses Venmo, say: PAYS.  I use Paypal, which owns Venmo, and have generally found it easy to use and reliable.  However I did have one experience in the early days of the pandemic where an overseas company was able to compromise it using a cleverly designed website.  I'd say how, but that would be tellin'.  Here is a comparison of Venmo vs PayPal ( CAVEAT:  I've not vetted the reviewer,  theBalance.com, so who can say whether they're on the level?  You can't trust anybody these days, except for Cornerites of course!).   A CSO to Anon -T, who might actually have something intelligent to say about this subject.  But then he's probably got enough sense not to say anything about it!

4. Aussie runner: EMU.  This bird seems to catch up with me every time I blog.

5. You need a password to do it: SIGN ON.  While we're on the topic of security ... I've got scores of "strong" passwords and a 20 page document to keep track of them all.  What a mess.  See 29A for more on this mess.  A CSO to anybody who has found a good way to deal with this problem.

6. Chariot-riding god: HELIOS.   The Greek god of the sun, a guardian of oaths, and the god of sight.  The "Colossus of Rhodes", a 108 foot high statue of Helios stood from 280 - 226 BC overlooking the island of Rhodes, before being destroyed by an earthquake.  It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Colossus of Rhodes
artist impression 1880

7. Wake-up call?: ALARM.  May simply be the clock that wakes you in the morning, or a metaphor for "trouble is brewing".  We seemed to have had a lot of those in the last few decades.

8. Judgy sound: TSK.

9. Notice: SEE.

10. Crank to 11, say: MAX OUT.

11. Actress with the most Oscar nominations without a win: GLENN CLOSE.  Eight as of this writing.  But she HAS won three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.  She's has the distinction of being tied with Peter O'Toole for missed Oscars, she's still alive, and there is still time!

12. "I really appreciate it!": MANY THANKS.  Is Elvis still in the building?

13. Org. using wands: TSA.  But they've got stiff competition from the other IBM:
 

18. Top-notch: A ONE.

22. Focus of discussion: TOPIC. I have to admit to a tendency to go off this from time to time, e.g. ...

23. On one's own: SOLO.  As in an operatic aria.  Here is a performance by soprano Angela Gheorghiu of Puccini's aria Vissi d'arte from the opera Tosca.  The absolutely saddest opera I know.  I actually heard Ms Gheorghiu sing it just today (well 6/19/21) in a rebroadcast from Covent Garden.  :
 

24. Hurting: ACHY.  It may be your aching back, or it may be your heart:
 

25. "Thief" star James: CAAN.  As we learned last Saturday, he has an actor son named Scott, one of the stars of the reboot of Hawaii 5-0,

26. Cry on a slide: YAY.  See 58A!

27. "Chill!": SETTLE DOWN.  I'll have to try "Chill!" on my youngest grandsons.  SETTLE DOWN doesn't work.

28. Capital north of Doha, Qatar: TEHRAN IRAN.  TEHRAN is in North central IRAN, closer to the Caspian Sea than the Persian Gulf.  The latter body of water to the South is named for Persia, the old name for Iran. The Persian Empire was an ancient civilization, dating back to Paleolithic times.  It is ironic that the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great brought an end to the Babylonian Captivity in 538 BC, freeing the Israelites and helping them rebuild their nation.  Today the nations of Iran and Israel are in a state of perpetual cold war.

Tehran, Iran

31. USCG rank: CPO.  Chief Petty Officer.

34. Noted receiver of tablets: MOSES.  That is the Prophet MOSES, the most important in figure in Judaism and important to many other Western religions as well. The tablets MOSES received on Mt. SINAI are sometimes call the DECALOGUE, but are more commonly known as THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.   As depicted in this painting by Rembrandt, Moses later smashed the tablets upon finding that, in his absence, the Israelites had been worshiping a golden calf, a violation of the First Commandment:
 

The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany

35. USA part: Abbr.: AMER.  The United States of America.  Here is the USA flag:
 

The Stars and Stripes

36. Just passable: SO SO.  Meh.

37. Screeching __: HALT.

38. Calculator feature, for short: LCD.   Now it's Liquid Crystal Display.  More than you'll ever need to know about the technology.  Here's what they look like:
 

42. Smirnoff competitor: SVEDKA.  Apparently this vodka is cheap and fruity and doesn't YELP very well; the hangovers are reportedly terrible.

43. Olympic swimming event: MEDLEY.  Also a series of musical numbers, e.g. a SUITE.  Handel's Water Music wasn't a swimming event, but it did involve floating down the Thames River to entertain King George I.  Given that it involved two barges, one for the King and a second for Handel, and keeping 50 musicians in tune on open water, the first performance of the work can certainly be described as an olympian effort:
 

44. Burn soother: ALOE.

45. Write (in) tentatively: PENCIL.

47. Scooter kin: MOPED.  Looks like the PEDALS have become obsolete.

50. Region: AREA.  It can cover a lot of territory.

51. Podded veggies: PEAS.

52. Hissed "Yo!": PSST.

53. Its last official capital was Richmond, Va.: CSA.  Confederate States of America.

54. Wonder: AWE.  Shucks!

55. Prof.'s holding: PHD.  A CSO to all the PhD's on the Corner!

56. Laudatory work: ODE.  For example Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn.
 

Here's the grid:
 

waseeley

And special thanks to my Dear Wife for her Eagle Eyed proof reading!

Cheers,
Bill

Friday, March 9, 2018, Alex Bajcz

Title: Sounds like fun.

Alex B. makes his second 2018 appearance and his first Friday since his debut in 2013. That one also had sound alike fill. Here the premise is simple - one word in a known phrase is replaced with its homonym and clued for maximum comedic effect. Unlike some puzzles depending on pronunciation, there really should not be any regional complaints about the word choices. I enjoyed the choices and the rest of the puzzle.

20A. What Darwin did aboard the Beagle? : WRITE OF PASSAGE (14). RITE of passage,  a French term innovated by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep in his work Les rites de passage, "The Rites of Passage." The Beagle is particularly notable for carrying the naturalist Charles Darwin on her second voyage. The voyage played a pivotal role in the formation of Darwin's scientific theories on evolution and natural selection. Wiki et al.

25A. London supermarket sections? : BRITISH AISLES (13). British ISLES birthplace of our Steve, Nicecuppa, Truebrit and others at the corner. There are MANY.

48A. Tie shoes professionally? : KNOT FOR PROFIT (13). NOT for profit, the silliest one. I suppose a manservant -valet - might be one who knots for profit.

55A. Lacking a critical watch-making supply? : OUT OF HOUR HANDS (14). Out of OUR hands, the most clever as you need both minute hands and hour hands to make an analog watch.

There is a boatload of sparkly fill, CHAFE AT,  LAFITTE , MODULES,  NOT NICE, AIR LANES, TEST RIDE, GREAT STUFF and ICE SKATING. Let us solve/

Across:

1. In need of mopping: SPILT. My childhood refrain from the sweet boys at school:
Hasten Jason, Get the basin. Oops slop, get the mop. There is more to the song.

6. Apple app mostly replaced by Messages: i CHAT. iChat is a discontinued instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for use on its Mac OS X operating system

11. Clock std. : GST. Not sure about this one; maybe Greenwich Standard Time?

14. Some plankton: ALGAE. Yummy for a whale tummy.

15. Iconic Vivien Leigh role: O'HARA.

16. 2014 World Cup Final host: RIO. The site of the World Cup and the Olympics.

17. Bungles: GOOFS.

18. Stable moms: MARES. Really fun misdirection.

19. "What is THAT?" : EEK. A mouse. HMM.

23. Far from fresh: TRITE.

24. Reduced to crumbs, perhaps: EATEN.

30. Behaved like a lovestruck heart: RACED.

31. Lakeside temperature gauge? : TOE. Also useful in catching water mocassins.

32. End: STOP.

35. Love interest for WALL-E: EVE.

36. Word that may follow a president's name: ERA.

39. Carrier merged with Delta since 2010: NWA.

41. Game with Reverse cards: UNO. My grandmother loved playing cards, cribbage when I was young, and as she got older she fell in love with UNO.

42. '50s sitcom name: DESI. Arnaz.

44. Something to wrestle with: ARM. You want to WATCH.

46. Figure out: INFER.

52. Walking aid: STAFF. We have so many here with canes or sticks, including yours truly, I use
a collapsible tartan cane.

54. Distributed: DEALT.

60. Hitter's stat: RBI. Runs Batted In.

61. Sometimes plucked instrument: CELLO. Clecho- 8D. Plucked instrument: HARP.

62. Dorothy, to Em: NIECE. Aunty 'Em.

64. Common base: TEN.

65. Impulses: URGES.

66. Showman's talent: ECLAT. This back, can ELAN be far behind?

67. Braz. neighbor: ARGentina.

68. Flirt: TEASE.

69. "Voting Rights Trail" terminus: SELMA. Want to read this STORY.

Down:

1. Sink: SAG. Two weeks in a row.

2. Slam (into) : PLOW.

3. Movie lab helper: IGOR.

4. Battle of New Orleans pirate: LAFITTE.

                                                                          Laffite

5. Short Golf drive? : TEST RIDE. The Volkswagon model.

6. Insect with eyespots on its wings: IO MOTH. I hope John Lampkin stops by with insight.

7. Be irritated by: CHAFE AT.

9. Region: AREA.

10. Academic hanger : TASSEL. Cute clue.

11. "Nice work!" : GREAT STUFF.

12. Onslaught: SIEGE.

13. Symbolic yet insubstantial: TOKEN.

21. München cubes: EIS. Even in German it probably upsets Tin.

22. RSVP holders: SAES.  I know it as SASE. But I guess they are not providing any stamp.

25. Word after well or ill: BRED.

26. Techno club event: RAVE. I never understood the rave; wrong generation.

27. Winter recreation: ICE SKATING. I enjoyed the skating this year at the winter Olympics.

28. Solar wind particle: ION.

29. Use a needle: SEW.

33. R.E.M.'s "The __ Love" : ONE I.

34. Cargo pickup site: PORT.

37. Ubiquitous rodent: RAT. I hope not.

38. Warning sound, perhaps: ARF.

40. Southwest routes: AIRLANES. The Luv airline.

43. Recon target: INFO. I wanted INTEL.

45. Interchangeable components : MODULES.

47. Mean: NOT NICE.

49. Lumber remnant, in Liverpool: OFFCUT. Definition of offcut. chiefly British. : something that is cut off (such as a waste piece of lumber).

50. Ascended again: REROSE. Meh.

51. "Blast it!" : PAH. Definition: an exclamation used to express disgust or contempt.

52. Wavering word: SORTA.

53. Potato or yam: TUBER.

56. "Try this": HERE.

57. Contemporary of Nadia : OLGA. Korbut.

58. Computer giant: DELL.

59. In retrospect, it may have sounded too good to be true: SCAM. If it does it is.

63. SFO posting : ETA. Airport code for San Francisco.

Do not forget to change your clocks Sunday and enjoy the extra sunshine. At least those who live in sunny climes. Thank you Alex and all who read. Lemonade out.

Saturday, January 20, 2018 Alex Bajcz

THE DOCTOR IS IN

A nice Saturday (corrected) workout supplied by Alex Bajcz (rhymes with badges). He did his B.S. and M.S. in Michigan and then, true to his crossword lineage, got his Ph.D. in, wait for it, ORONO, ME in Ecology and Environmental Science. It can't be more perfect than that. Here we see that Alec has scaled the 852' peak of Norumbega Mountain in Acadia National Park (more crosswordese) in Maine. I wonder if he had OREOS while at the summit. 😏


Husker Gary here at his Saturday post! l had to test many areas before I got one of these for a good start in this challenging exercise.

Here two things in my life that served as long fills and proved to be helpful:

18. Company that pioneered metal drivers in golf : TAYLOR MADE - They dominate my golf bag

23. Thing to get one's claws into : SCRATCHING POST - One of Lily's topped with her favorite perch

Let's now explore the rest of the delightful word environment Alex has proposed for us:

Across

1. Color in the brown family : ECRU 

5. Dusty trail figure : PARD(ner) - I imagine he might be dusty after a month on a cattle drive

9. Board that decides without voting : OUIJA - Didn't you always accuse someone else of pushing the planchette (yes, that is what it is called)?

14. Flow hindrance : CLOT - The cause of death for Jimmy Stewart

15. Not expected : UNHERALDED - If you follow college football, you know UNHERALDED University of Central Florida had an undefeated season and the Huskers then hired their coach for $5M/year

17. Duck-like bird : COOT -  or Today's blogger : Old ____

19. Perrier units : LITERS - I prefer my water not sparkle

21. Only one fed. holiday falls on it annually : THU - Oh yeah, it's when Macy's has a parade, the Lions play football and Black Friday is the next day! 😏


22. A hockey player may check with one : HIP

27. Often-glazed delicacy : ROAST HAM

28. Tail of a cartoon dog? : DOO - Ruh, roh if you didn't know Scooby DOO!

29. Actress __-Margret : ANN - This Swedish beauty  does not like being called Ann or Annie Olsson

30. Hosp. areas : ERS - You find DRS in ERS and ORS

31. Lake Itasca, vis-à-vis the Mississippi : SOURCE 

35. Out indefinitely : IN A COMA

38. Certain landing aid : PONTOON - Very handy if you're landing a plane on Lake Itasca

39. Sara Roosevelt's maiden name : DELANO - Sara and her little boy Franklin in 1893

40. Gordon Shumway's title alias, in a sitcom : ALF - I have never ALFED

41. "I didn't need to know that" : Too Much Information - Do you want to hear about my operation? 52. Strong denial : I DO NOT

42. Book after Exod. : LEV - Google the 76 things LEVITICUS prohibits. Some people have cherry-picked from the list to justify their beliefs

43. Settled things : MEDIATED

46. They go on until dawn : SLUMBER PARTIES - One of the rigors of having daughters

50. More at the end? : IER

51. Many a boat, to its skipper : SHE - In Latin ship means Navis which is  a feminine word

54. Fulfill, as a promise : MAKE GOOD ON - He did MAKE GOOD ON his famous promise!

58. Advanced : LENT 

59. Pac-12 student : OREGON DUCK - My cousin's brother is the head BB coach at OREGON where the DUCKS play on this very distinctive court

60. Colon, in analogies : IS TO - Did you ever take the Miller's?

61. Parachute fabric : NYLON

62. Bldg. units : APTS - With our new $300M chicken plant being built, our city is proposing to build over 200 APTS across the street from us.

63. Pipe organ component : STOP - Wow! That's a lot of 'em!

Down

1. O.T. book : ECCL - Pete Seeger turned this lovely passage into a hit song called Turn, Turn, Turn

2. Fancy enamelwork : CLOISONNÉ - (Kloy zuh nay) - Enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin metal bands, fixed edgewise to the ground. I had no idea but it's beautiful!

TIME OUT - Think of something you absolutely hate doing! Now insert that in the blank below.

3. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - ____ is about as fun as a ROOT CANAL

4. Says : UTTERS

5. Tries to pick up : PUTS THE MOVES ON and 33. Flirts with : COMES ONTO. A little mini-theme, Alex? 😏

6. Political commentator Navarro : ANA - Okay, if you say so.

7. Drummer's creations : RHYTHMS - Our crossword friend here provided RHYTHMS for a fairly popular group of British lads.

8. 2010 Commonwealth Games host city : DELHI - After gaining independence in 1950, India remained in a loose association called the Commonwealth

9. One making a splash? : OAR

10. Rail stop between Stuttgart and Munich : ULM

11. State in both the Pacific and Mountain time zones : IDAHO - Same for Oregon in that area

12. "A __ Fury": "Star Wars" DVD segment : JEDIS

13. More than competent : ADEPT

16. They may involve cheap shots : ROUNDS OF DRINKS - It was so hot on the day I got my hole-in-one that the ROUNDS OF DRINKS only cost me $50 ($20 tip for attendant) because most everyone else had gone home

20. Urban omnivore : RAT

24. Word of amore : CARA - Jay Black of Jay And The Americans still getting it done at 72 with fabulous CARA MIA!

25. Mob hiree : GOON - Luca Brasi, Don Corleone's GOON, wound up "sleeping with the fishes"

26. Show displeasure : POUT - Better not... 

27. Carefully timed operation : RAID

32. Worst of the worst : ROTTENEST

34. Lover of Geraint : ENID - Welsh folklore reworked by Tennyson 

36. Bad state for sailing : CALM - Blush, I first put IOWA!

37. Seat for a priority boarder : ONE-B - It takes good eyes to see that on this 767 that is an aisle seat in first class 

38. Part of a bargain, maybe : PLEA - 97% of Federal cases wind up with the accused entering a PLEA of guilty for a reduced sentence

40. Hyper : AMPED UP

44. "__ be a shame if ... " : IT'D

45. Mediterranean sauces : AIOLIS 

46. Do only what he says : SIMON - 
"SIMON says put up your hand!"
"Now put it back down!" 
"Aha, you're out!" 😛

47. "Rescue Me" star Denis : LEARY and 48. "Did I do that?" TV nerd : URKEL and 49. Sitcom with a 1974 wedding episode : RHODA. Three TV series that did not make it into our living room

53. Sporty car roof : T-TOP - Moviedom's most famous?

55. A big one might be fragile : EGO - See Bandit above

56. Geometric suffix : GON - C.C.'s  favorite pentaGON

57. Eighth mo. in the old Roman calendar : OCT 

Now you guys can tell the Doctor where it hurts:

DA GRID

Saturday, Oct 7th, 2017, Alex Bajcz

Theme: "We don't need no stinkin' Bajcz"

Words: 68 (G,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

I did not recognize the author, so I reviewed his constructions based on the blog - discovered his name is pronounced "badges" - and found out Alex has had three puzzles for the LA Times; a Sunday last year, plus a Thursday, and a Friday from 2013 - ironic that the 'theme' that Friday was "No "G"", and today we have no "G" again.  Struggled through this one, had just enough to take some WAGs in places, and ultimately stayed away from Google - though there were plenty of obscure clues today.  I did have to turn on red-letters - I filled in the whole grid, but got no 'ta-DA~!'; and a strange grid we had, to boot; sort of a fourteen-letter pinwheel design.  The longer answers;

22. Classic : QUINTESSENTIAL - I looked at what Google thinks of as the "quintessential" rock song and rock group, and I had to disagree - but then again, I also noticed that Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser of  Blue Öyster Cult did not make Rolling Stone magazine's top 100 guitarists list....and he's been playing live for 40+ years.  What's your opinion of rock's quintessential~?

45. Pass for now : TAKE A RAIN CHECK

5. Break down : BURST INTO TEARS

16. Stereotypical doo-wop garb : LEATHER JACKETS - this is what comes to mind for me, having grown up in the 80's - WARNING~!  I never realized the language in this ditty

Greased Lightnin'

Four ON the floor WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Chimpanzee relative : BONOBO - there was no way that MONKEY was going to be correct, but the -ON--- was enough the get started in the NW

7. "Teen Wolf" airer : MTV - oops; one red-letter oversight - I had "S"TV because my presidents appeared on STreetS

10. One on a sting operation? : WASP - wasn't fooled on this one

14. You'll need a lift to use one : SKI RUN - couldn't get it to jibe with my early DOWN fills, so I ended up changing them

15. "Madam Secretary" star : TEA LEONI - one of the few proper names I knew

17. Have grand ambitions : ASPIRE - I aspire to be the best Property Manager at the winery that officially hired me on Thursday - which coincided with my last day at UPS....and I walked out of there with not a word said to me by anyone, after 7 years with the company.  Not even a lousy donut.  The only person to shake my hand was one of my four drivers, and he still thinks I'm coming back

18. Deal maker : SALES REP

19. Pronoun for Catherine de' Medici : ESSA - I tried SRTA first

21. Mariner's home : SEATTLE - baseball for C.C. - and hockey is here for me~!

26. Peels off, perhaps : UNSTICKS - oops.  My DOWN crossing left me with unstiNks, and around here, sometimes if you "peel one off", it leaves a "stink"

27. Revolutionary icon : CHE

28. Mideast capital once called Philadelphia : AMMAN - I tried ASSAD, who happens to be the president of Syria, not the place in Jordan; the Wiki

29. Prima __ : FACIE - learned from watching Law & Order; the 'evidence' is true unless proven otherwise

31. They might be set in windows: Abbr. : ACs - Air Conditioners

34. Included in the game : DEALT TO - as in cards; I have lost every week for about six months now; there's almost no point in going to play

36. Canal treatment fluid : EAR DROP - that kind of canal

38. Not irreg. : STD

39. Made waves, in a way : OARED

41. House Lannister member on "Game of Thrones" : JAIME - so many people tell me I would love this show, but I have only seen one episode

42. Basses' sect. : STRings

43. First period of the Mesozoic Era : TRIASSIC - filled via perps

48. Script used by ancient Minoans : LINEAR A - learned from doing crosswords; in fact, I believe back then I screwed it up by leaving it as "lineara", and not breaking it down; the Wiki

49. Oft-layered item : CAKE

50. Share of ownership : INTEREST

52. Renew one's strength : REST UP - I get to rest up for three days before the new job starts

56. Trial area : TEST SITE - think bombs

57. Automaker Bugatti : ETTORE - filled via perps

1910 - I have the hot Wheels version

58. Freezer brand : EDY'S - something IN the freezer, not the unit's manufacturer

59. Stereotypical corny joke teller : DAD - ah, not "HAM"

60. Tin ear, to a pathologist : ASONIA - I really thought it would be a-Tonia, but the DOWN had to be correct; tone deaf, from the Latin "a-" and "sonorus", 'sound'

DOWN:

1. Jamboree-on-the-Air org. : BSA - my buddy Ed was a Boy Scouts of  America troop leader

2. Accepts : OKs

3. Something in the air : NIP

4. With a hotel, avenue whose rent is $550 : ORIENTAL - man, I racked my brain to come up with this one without Google, trying to mentally picture the Monopoly board; this is the 'second' group, the light blue squares which also includes Vermont and Connecticut

6. Request for a small delay : ONE SEC - I had "---TEN", which made sense, except there's no word to put in front of TEN to make any sense

7. Some are named for presidents: Abbr. : MTs - ah, mountains, not streets

8. Flirt : TEASE

9. Spanish autonomous community or its capital : VALENCIA

10. Little white breed, affectionately : WESTIE - one of those "awww" inspiring breeds

West Highland Terrier

11. Vital circulation aid : AORTA

12. Fisherman's knot : SNELL

13. Lead Clue weapon : PIPE - and five other original weapons; the rope, the gun, the knife, the candlestick, and the wrench - with three out of six, I guess blunt force trauma was the choice for murder back then

Miss Scarlet in the conservatory~?

20. Put on one's wish list : ASK FOR

22. Outdoor lecture sites : QUADS - college grounds, not muscle groups....

23. Like some unreasonable requests : UNMET

24. "Your noble son __": Polonius : IS MAD - Hamlet

25. Issuer of three-part nos. : SSA - the administration that deals in social security #s

30. Comedian __ the Entertainer : CEDRIC - OK, I knew this one, as well

31. Surface : ARISE

32. Lewis Black, e.g. : COMIC - um, and this one, too

33. Barely a blip : SPECK

35. "American Pie" actress : TARA REID - OK, I forgot this one

37. Makes a break for : DASHES TO

40. Zeta-theta go-between : ETA

42. '50s-'60s country singer McDonald : SKEETS - now this guy I'd never heard of - the Wiki

44. How land is measured : IN AREA

45. Like rakes : TINED - I first read this as "little" for some reason

46. Pacing, maybe : ANTSY - good guess based on the "Y" being there from EDY'S

47. Many a reggae artist : RASTA

48. Beer case word : LITE

51. Mosby on "How I Met Your Mother" : TED

53. Homework amount? : TON - "man, I got a ton of homework to do~!"

54. Ocean State sch. : URI - been a popular crossword school lately

55. Princess' bane : PEA - still trying to get my mom to understand "Peapod", the online home delivery service from Stop N' Shop supermarkets

Splynter