Friday February 6, 2015, Paul Coulter

Theme: Where can I hide the theme?  On the edges...

This puzzle was easier to fill than to discuss, especially to a crowd that does not like cross-referential cluing. (Sorry Barry G.). Each outside edge of the puzzle consists of three (3) four (4) letter fill, where the first and third fill together are the clue for the middle word. When combined, words 1+3  create a compound word, hence the reveal COMPOUND FRACTURE i.e., the compound word is fractured (broken) into two pieces. This was a hard Friday for me, and I hope you all stuck with it because there were lots of learning moments. This appears to be a debut LAT for a very active poster on puzzle blogs, so welcome Paul.

1A. Predicament : BOAT (4) a very tricky clue (in the same boat, being the easiest way to explain clue/fill) paired with 9A. Mutual fund charge : LOAD (4) (funds are no load, front load, or back end loaded) gives the clue for 5A.  Boatload: *1-/9-Across : HEAP which describes how much trouble you would be in if you did not see this gimmick.

73A. "Easy to be Hard" musical : HAIR (4) paired with 75A. Business : LINE (4) leaves the compound word clue for 74 A. Hairline: *73-/75-Across : THIN (4) as in a hairline fracture.

1D. Overdue, as pay : BACK (4) paired with 53D. Converse : TALK (4) produces the clue for 29D. Backtalk *1-/53-Down : SASS (4).

16D. Stern : HARD (4) paired with 64D. Reactor part : CORE (4) results in  the clue for : Hardcore: 39D. *16-/64-Down : AVID such as the fans for the Patriots or AC Milan, the soccer club.

The reveal is also cross-referential:
32A. With 49-Across, bad break ... and what each answer to a starred clue creates vis-à-vis the answers that define it : COMPOUND (8) 49A. See 32-Across : FRACTURE (8). A Compound fracture of a bone, as opposed to a simple clean break. (Hence bad break).

Add to the fun, the very difficult pair 62D. With 29-Across, Balkan city on the Danube : NOVI. 29A. See 62-Down : SAD.  Novi Sad according to wiki is  the second largest city in Serbia, the administrative seat of the province of Vojvodina and of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.

This is a very odd and very hard Friday, it seems like it should be easy with forty 4 letter fill, but the short ones like ABU, ARA, ELAH, AMUR  and the few long ones like  TONSURE, TREATED, TRUSTER , AMARETTI,  AVE MARIA, HEREFORD and RARE COIN were not gimmes.

I can hear all the grumbling, but when you consider he found 4 compound words which clued 4 letter fill, with each compound word 8 letters long that broke into 4 letter parts, and was revealed by two 8 letter reveals, the math is awesome. The architecture is very impressive. On with the show.

Across:

13. Up to it : ABLE. I was able and I finished without cheating, but it was work.

14. Prefix with plasm : ENDO. Already the ECTO/ENDO debate.

15. 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient : OPRAH. I did not recall but the OP___ had to be.

17. Nocturnal critter : COON. Aside from any politically unacceptable existence, is the reference to 'critter' enough to evoke the regionally popular abbreviation?

18. Source : ROOT. Of all evil?

19. Adams' "Nixon in China," for one : OPERA. I had LOAD, LOOSENS and OPP and wondered about OP--- over OP---. I have heard of but not listened to this work.

20. Handled vessel : KETTLE. Finally a stout clue.

22. Pouches : SACS.

24. Orch. section : STRings. JzB, is this abbreviation ever used as a notation in preparation for a concert?

25. Site of unexpected change? : SOFA. Wonderful clue/fill. So evocative and misleading.

27. Didn't trick, maybe : TREATED.

34. Prayer set to music by Schubert and Gounod : AVE MARIA.

36. Choice to sleep on : SERTA. Of course SEALY also fits.

40. Diva highlights : SOLI. In Latin the plural of a word ending in O (SOLO) can become I.

41. Distillery founder John : DEWAR. A CSO to Tin and all of our scotch drinkers.

44. "Ray Donovan" star Schreiber : LIEV.

45. Aptly named bird : SWIFT.  LINK.

47. Italian almond cookies : AMARETTI.

52. British pen pal's last letter? : ZED. A nice misdirection as this replaces our American ZEE as the last letter of the alphabet.

53. Part of a Buddhist monk's ordination : TONSURE.

56. Ridge just below the surface : REEF.

58. "Father of," in Arabic : ABU. I had the pleasure of portraying Auda Abu Tayi, who along with the Lawrence was a hero of the Arab revolt. He had married 28 times, which may explain why he has no fear going into battle.

59. Identical : SAME.

61. Place where cheap shots are a good thing : CLINIC. Wonderful clue, especially now during flu season.

65. Allow to attack : LET AT. I nominate this as my meh clue, while accurate, it does not sound like a real phrase.

67. Dagwood's annoying little friend : ELMO. A new/old clue for this fill.

69. Inflict on : DO TO. Others.

70. 1985 Chemistry co-Nobelist Jerome : KARLE. Really hard for me. Embarrassed to say I had NO IDEA.

71. "Avatar" race : NA'VI. I hope no one blue this easy clue.

72. Always : EVER. Always and forever and more.

Down:

2. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE. JzB, please explain again.

3. Bushels : A LOT.

4. Pitchers' places : TENTS. Very difficult to suss, especially with 1A a tough fill, but when I understood the theme and backed into BOAT, this made sense as one pitches a tent.

5. White-faced cattle breed : HEREFORD. I grew up driving by large herds of cows, who were the weather forecasters of my youth.

6. Roxy Music co-founder : ENO. Brian has become a staple.

7. Stirs : ADOS.

8. Knish filling : POTATO. No doubt most popular knish thought kasha and meat are also out there.

9. Unfastens : LOOSENS. This was the key word in loosening up the North and getting me the theme, along with....

10. Up and down, say: Abbr. : OPPosites.

11. "Give it __" : A REST.

12. Puccini's "Vissi __" : D'ARTE. An ARIA from Puccini's Tosca. If you listen, read the comments if you like to see debate about Opera, I love that it crosses 19A.

21. Like "la vida" in a Ricky Martin hit : LOCA. An odd duplication as VISSI is Italian for "I lived" and vida is "life" in Spanish.

23. French vineyard : CRU. Staying in romance languages, Alex, we have a French WORD, and then another.

26. Gallic girlfriend : AMIE. And another. 38A. Idée source : TETE.

28. Jane Eyre's charge : ADELE. Like ELMO above, the popular singer gets replaced by an old clue last seen here in a marti puzzle I blogged in 2013.

30. Declare : AVOW.

31. Where to find a hero : DELI. A common pun in the xword world.

33. Play with, in a way : PAW AT. Something for all our cat lovers.

35. Irritates : MIFFS.

37. Cheese holder : RITZ. This one cracked me up.

42. Russia-China border river : AMUR. Nope, no idea.

43. Numismatist's find : RARE COIN. Since coins are their interest...

46. Reliant soul : TRUSTER.

48. Casting aid : REEL.

50. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA.

51. Bind : CEMENT. Your friendship?

54. West Indian folk religion : OBEAH. I know of voodoo and santeria but not this GROUP.

55. __Sweet: aspartame : NUTRA.

57. Friend of Che : FIDEL. A recent picture is being shown on Television purporting to show a healthy Fidel.

60. Where Goliath was slain : ELAH. We recently debated the use of a sling versus sling shot, but where did it happen? HERE.

63. Rte. through Houston : I-TEN. I-Twenty, I-Forty all major E to W routes

66. Will Smith title role : ALI.

68. DIII doubled : MVI. For all you Roman math scholars...

A very long uphill battle, that some will love and some will hate, but welcome Paul; come share your commentary at this the friendliest blog on the web. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Yellowrocks asked if Lucina wore a wimple the other day. Here are two pictures of what Lucina's veil looked like when she was a Sister of the Precious Blood Community. You can click here for a clearer image. She was with her sister and her mother in the second picture.

Thursday, January 29, 2015, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Can you saw a sawbuck for me?

For the younger generation, a sawbuck is a ten dollar bill. This derived from the Roman Numeral X meaning ten, which looks like one end of a sawhorse. C-note meaning a hundred is also from the Latin. Anyway, marti has taken the word TEN and broken between two adjacent fill which are all clued by the first clue, cross-referentially- a variation on the break a word theme like we saw yesterday from Jeffrey Wechsler. Yesterday was an outie, and today is an innie. There is a double symmetry of the break 1/3 having t/en and 2/4 te/n. with 1/4 10 letters and 2/3 9 letters. The reveal is a central gridspanning 15. The fill is heavy on 5 letter words, some of which are tough like ERISA, ICAHN and TABOR and there are some nice 7-8 letter fill such as AMNESIA, CD RATES, EERIEST, HASTIER, NICE DOG, ROB ROYS, BREAD BIN, STAY HERE, many of which required work. Pinch hitting for marti, so let's get to work.

14A. With 15-Across, accounting unit : DEBIT. 15A. See 14-Across : ENTRY. Our system of mathematics, and accounting are based on the base 10. (10 in the theme).

29A. With 31-Across, anathema : BETE. 31A. See 29-Across : NOIRE. We have had bete noire before clued before as bete___?(8/12/14) and _____noire?(9/30/14). (9 in the theme). Aren't you all glad we had this word Tuesday?

44A. With 47-Across, some receivers : TIGHT. 47A. See 44-Across : ENDS. Rob Gronkowski is the New England Patriots star receiver. LINK. (0:29)(9 in the theme).

65A. With 66-Across, National Book Award-winning novel by Don DeLillo : WHITE. 66A. See 65-Across : NOISE. I did not know the book, but I knew the theme. (10 in the theme).
and the reveal
37A. Question about change, which hints at the hidden feature of four two-part puzzle answers : CAN YOU BREAK A TEN? (15).

Across:

1. Some portrait frames : OVALS. I had some trouble with this beginning even though I have a big oval frame in my living room holding a picture of my mother with her brothers when she was little.

6. Noble __ : GASES. Back on track.

11. Singsong syllable : TRA. Well, Lah di dah!

16. Like some aces : RED. So many different kinds of aces- cards, tennis, air warfare, tests....

17. Manage : SEE TO. I always think of,,,

18. Walking __ : ON AIR. What TV show theme music?

19. Sound after a satisfying swig : AAH. How cool that this is next to...

20. Scotch cocktails : ROB ROYS. The Scotch version of a Manhattan, it was named by a bartender at the Waldorf after a Broadway play about the Scottish hero, RECIPE.

22. Zenith : ACME.

23. "I won't hurt you" : NICE DOG. This was all perps,

26. Not as deliberate : HASTIER. This was hard, though once filled makes sense.

28. Toothbrush-endorsing org. : ADA. American Dental Association.

32. Worlds : REALMS. A word I got used to from watching my sons playing video games.

35. __ legend : URBAN. We have urban legends, dictionaries, even cowboys; where is the love for suburbia?

42. Blue Grotto locale : CAPRI.

43. "Ramona and Beezus" co-star Gomez : SELENA. Another STAR (1:41) created by Disney?

49. Set-__ : TOS.

50. Malady in the 2000 film "Memento" : AMNESIA. I could not remember what this movie was about.

52. Like the best occult films : EERIEST.

55. It's about a foot : SHOE. Sock fits this misdirection as well.

56. Yield figures : CD RATES.

58. Figure under a line : SUM.  Simple visual.

59. Fife-and-drum drum : TABOR. From the same Latin root where we get Tambourine.

60. Two cents : INPUT. Cute clue/fill.

64. Bardic before : ERE. The Bard?

67. "M*A*S*H" titles : LTS. Lieutenants. Actually they had lots of majors and captains there.

68. Private : INNER.

69. Mount : STEED. A horse is a horse, of course...

Down:

1. Pigs out (on) : OD'S.

2. Center of gravity? : VEE.  Tricky.

3. Presidential nickname : ABE.

4. Petrol unit : LITRE. You see, they do not say gasoline, so...

5. Gave up a seat : STOOD. So simple, but the political aspect slowed me. In the UK, they stand for Parliament, I think, even more confusing.

6. One of six British kings : GEORGE. I am still waiting for King Ringo.

7. Year in Tuscany : ANNO. Year in Italian, the same word as Latin.

8. "Wait for me" : STAY HERE.

9. Pension law signed by Ford, briefly : ERISA. Employee Retirement Income Security Act

10. Jordan neighbor: Abbr. : SYRia.

11. Gillette razor : TRAC II. Along with ATRA, regular crossword stuff.

12. Hole enlarger : REAMER. hard to remain pc with this clue/fill.

13. Cleave : ADHERE.

21. Comes to the surface : BOBS UP.

22. Harsh-sounding, to some : ATONAL. And MUSIC (2:16)  to others.

23. Traffic stopper? : NARC. Drug traffic. A classic miss m deception.

24. Notion : IDEA.

25. "Elf" actor : CAAN. ACTOR James, not to be confused with 51D. Corporate raider Carl : ICAHN. This was easy for me, but this MAN may not be as well known unless you have worked in the investment world. Both names are variations of the Hebrew family name Cohen.

27. Shoshone Falls river : SNAKE.

30. Shroud city : TURIN.

33. Chinese evergreen : LYCHEE. Nuts to these obscure clues.

34. Zoo security features : MOATS.

36. Droopy-eared hound : BASSET. Do you all remember this early TV star? LINK. (1:18)

38. Wonderful container? : BREAD BIN. Sounds British; the clue should be Wonder-ful (Wonder bread)?

39. Bordeaux bean? : TETE. A French reminder, but still no answer as to why the head /brain is called 'bean.'

40. "The Dukes of Hazzard" officer : ENOS. A break from the biblical reference, played by Sonny Shroyer, a former FSU football player like Burt Reynolds. His character became so popular they had a spin-off called Enos.

41. Tammany Hall caricaturist : NAST. Perhaps the most famous political cartoonist in America.

44. Mortarboard frill : TASSEL.

45. "That upset me!" : I'M HURT.

46. Speakers of Tolkien's Noldorin language : GNOMES. I very much enjoyed both the Hobbit and the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but was completely unaware that the Noldorin Elves were originally called Gnomes, but what eles starts GN? READ?

48. Costing more : DEARER. "Oh, dear, that's too dear, dear."

53. Jockey's handful : REINS. Cute, evocative clue.

54. "This __ a drill!" : IS NOT. A scary set of words.

57. Mechanical repetition : ROTE.

59. Prefix with light or night : TWI. Rhymes with...

61. "Easy as __!" : PIE. No, but a doable Thursday, don't you think?

62. Wear and tear : USE.

63. Former Ohio governor Strickland : TED. I am not sure what is special about this one term GOVERNOR, but it is time to go anyway.

Here is some insight into the puzzling mind of our own marti:

We were at a local restaurant when DH asked the waitress, “Can you break a ten?” I seem to count words like some people count sheep, and immediately realized that could be a 15-letter unifier. So I toyed with the idea, and had the devilish idea to break the word “ten” across two entries.  But that meant the paired entries would have to be cross-referenced. (Sorry BarryG, but it wouldn’t work any other way!!)

As always it is great to blog a marti puzzle,  she includes so many whimsical bits, and once I remembered to not write Friday in the title, it all went well. Thanks for  reading and enjoying a marti jeudi (play day) and now you can look forward to her Friday write up. Lemonade out.

Friday, January 23, 2015, Sam Buchbinder

Theme: Sure Auric, we will be happy to make some gold paint for you; we will just add gold to the base.

The periodic table symbol for Gold (AU) is inserted in existing phrases to create new and entertaining fill. Two phrases have the AU added to the final word, at the end thereof; one added to the end of the fist word; and the final before a one letter phrase. Mr. Buchbinder, who is 28 and a teacher had his debut in the NYT August 19, 2014. There are two gridspanning theme answers. As marti pointed out yesterday, the big challenge for a theme is establishing symmetrical theme fill. 15, 10, 10, 15 is a common format; here we have the central reveal also at 9 letters, giving 59 in the theme. As a result we have many 3 and 4 letter words, but there are also some nice 7 letter fill to make this a Friday, such as BIG DATA,  CURTAIN, DRIVE-IN, FEATURE, HAN SOLO,  IT’S TRUE, NEUTRAL, OBJECTS, ONE EACH, SYNERGY, TRAPEZE, TRUCKER . Welcome to our world Sam.

16A. Striking painting of paddles, net and ball? : PING PONG TABLEAU (15). Ping pong table and crowd the plate are both sports references. I like the visual of the painting, but this fill does not really change the meaning of the phrase in the same way the two of the other themers change their phrases.

23A. Extraordinary northern bird? : SPECIAL AUK (10). We go from a cereal to one of our favorite crossword birds.

46A. Alaskan insects? : JUNEAU BUGS (10). June bugs might emigrate to Alaska and be Juneau bugs, I guess.

55A. Overdevelop a high plain? : CROWD THE PLATEAU (15). A baseball reference really transformed.

34A. Mythological figure who touched 16-, 23-, 46- and 55-Across? : KING MIDAS (9). The poor man could not eat or fool around.

Across:

1. "Mad Men" productions : ADS. Madison Avenue Admen.

4. Bark elicitor : SPEAK. I love the simplicity of this clue.

9. Lax : SOFT. The modern parent?

13. Force (open) : PRY.

14. Close-fitting dress : SHEATH.

15. Powerful dept.? : ENERgy. Pun one.

19. Uber : VERY. German. Our first clecho 48D. Uber : ULTRA.

20. Facebook button : LIKE. How many of the Corner use FB? A show of hands?

21. Truncation abbr. : ETCetera.

22. Austin of "Knot's Landing" : TERI. She had lots of HAIR.

26. Statistician's challenge : BIG DATA. Computers have created an exponential increase in data.

28. Plot component : ACRE. Misdirection two. Land, not a novel.

29. "__ thoughts?" : ANY.

30. Reasonable : SANE.

32. Purim heroine : ESTHER. A wonderful story. LINK.

36. Available : ON HAND.

39. Anthony Hopkins' "Thor" role : ODIN.

40. Channel for old films : TCM. Turner Classic Movies.

43. Noodle : BEAN. Interestingly I can find no references to why bean means brain or head. I just know in baseball throwing at the head is a "bean ball" and people are rewarded for "using the old bean."

44. "I'm not kidding!" : IT'S TRUE.

51. Chief Justice Warren : EARL. Appointed by Dwight Eisenhower, he led a court which drastically reformed the interpretation of individual rights.

52. Subjects of some conspiracy theories : ETS. Extra Terrestrials.

53. Specks on cartes : ILES. Carte is French for "MAP."  Along with 9D. Sprinkling on French fries? : SEL, (which means salt) and all the EAU words, I might guess Sam likes French.

54. Enthralled : RAPT. Do I have your attention yet? I want to warn you, I have a...

60. It may be cautionary : TALE.

61. "I shall be late!" speaker of fiction : RABBIT. WATCH? (2:00). Oh how punny?

62. Letter director : ZIP. Code.

63. Narrow opening : SLOT. Started with SLIT, picturing some of Splynter's favorite dresses.

64. Indo-__ languages : ARYAN.

65. Nixon has two : ENS. Not ears, or eyes, but the letters. Misdirection three.

Down:

1. Angry Birds, e.g. : APP. I know this but have never actually seen it.

2. "Happy Days" setting : DRIVE IN.

3. Cooperative action : SYNERGY.

4. "Dexter" airer, for short : SHOwtime. Anyone watch the entire series?

5. Write : PEN.

6. Scout rank : EAGLE.

7. Top story : ATTIC. At 11? Nope of my house, misdirection 4. So we get the clecho two 11D. Top story : FEATURE.

8. Uniform material : KHAKI. Urdu?

10. Free sample limitation : ONE EACH. Do you think you can pay for your Sam's Club, COSTCO etc membership just from eating the free samples?

12. Cab driver? : TRUCKER. At least the answer was not TAXIER.

14. One of a pair of Mad adversaries : SPY.

17. Off the __ : GRID.

18. Arthur of "The Golden Girls" : BEA.

22. Sched. uncertainty : TBA. To Be Announced.

23. Witness __ : STAND. In the US we sit so it all sounds silly.

24. Sharp feeling : PANG.

25. Rowing beneficiaries, for short : LATS. Latissimi dorsi. Side back.

27. Z-zebra link : AS IN. I doubt that will be Sue Grafton's choice.

31. Dashboard Confessional's genre : EMO. No idea. Still rock and roll.

32. Changes, in a way : EDITS.

33. Without : SANS. A French word now accepted in English.

34. Rosebud's owner : KANE. Orson Welles' sled.

35. "Cool, man!" : I DIG. Maynard G. Krebs.

36. Things : OBJECTS.

37. __ color : NEUTRAL.

38. Fictional pilot with the iconic line, "Laugh it up, fuzzball" : HAN SOLO. I told you last week Star Wars references were coming.

40. Circus staple : TRAPEZE. With the greatest of ease....

41. Sun block : CURTAIN. Meh.

42. "The Producers" screenwriter Brooks : MEL. Too many wonderful scenes and movies to link.

45. Milk dispenser : TEAT. We had the the bird TIT, the idiot BOOB and now we actually have a milk dispenser. Udderly amazing.

47. Help : AID.

49. "The View" alum Joy : BEHAR. The word BEHAR is Hebrew for on the mount.

50. Milk carton words : USE BY.

54. Snitch : RAT.

56. 18th Amendment opposer : WET. This was the Prohibition Amendment. Our HISTORY.

57. Cops' org. : PBA. Patrolmen's or Police Benevolent Association. Unions for the police.

58. Harvard grad Jeremy who's now a Laker : LIN. Made a brief splash with the Knicks, signed to big money by the Rockets, and now exiled to the Lakers.

59. Rises : UPS . Man, ending on a downer.

Well another Friday in the record books, I had fun. I hope you all did and for those who do not wake up to 70 degrees and sunny, stay warm. Lemonade out.

Friday, January 16, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: C C senor.

In the never ending CSO's in the world of the LAT, our feerless leader gets her puzzle from Julian Lim, who lives in Singapore. Normally, Julian's puzzles are very hard for me, but this one was just hard enough for a Friday, with a low word count, and the theme, once revealed really helped relieve the stress. The letter "C" is added to the beginning of first and last word of a known phrase or name to create a new and completely unrelated phrase. 3 are two word phrase; 1 has a proper  name, both before and after. I saw no other hidden agenda here, and the reveal which we usually do not get was not a slam dunk reveal so it is a Friday. We have some fun 6 letter fill HONCHO, PHOBIA, PORTIA, PSYCHO, SCROLL, SMOOCH and some longer sparkle BELABOR, GOLIATH, DIES IRAE, DOVETAIL , EMOTICON and NICE SHOT


18A. Jar for leafy vegetable storage? : CHARD CROCK (10). This is difficult on so many layers; first you need to know that CHARD is a leafy vegetable. I hear it mostly as Swiss Chard, and it is called Spinach in South Africa but it is the leafy part of a type of beet. The leaf is quite healthy. HARD ROCK  is a developer of hotels, casino etc., here they have partnered with the Seminole Tribe.

24A. Actor Jackie's pet fish? : CHANS CARP (9).  We usually see the ARTIST as Jean Arp, founder of Dada, but in German he was Hans. Jackie Chan has had a successful career as a comedic martial arts expert. I was surprised to read that he had done a porno.

50A. Emulate an inveterate swindler? : CON AND CON (9). On and On we go.

57A. Vessel with limited space? : CRAMPED CUP (10). I did not get (r)amped up about this fill, I guess it runneth over.
And the hint:

37A. Opine ... or create four long answers in this puzzle? : ADD ONE'S TWO CENTS. This is not a simple reveal because the symbol for cents, while a C, is really ¢.

Across:

1. Sardine cousin : SHAD. These are both generic names for types of herring.

5. "My take is ..." : I'D SAY. The Millennial phrase.

10. Princess from Amphipolis : XENA. If you need the whole STORY.

14. Iota : MOTE. Little things.

15. One-up : OUTDO.

16. "Head With Pipe" artist Nolde : EMIL. No idea.

17. Watchable, in a way : ON TV.

20. 2000s World #1 female golfer : OCHOA. She came, she conquered, she retired; her CAREER. I remember when she came out of Arizona and played the futures tour winning 3 of the 10 events she played. We obviously have some who like the LPGA because we also have 49A. With 60-Down, only South Korean World Golf Hall of Fame inductee : SE RI. 60D. See 49-Across : PAK. She changed the face of golf with her success inspiring the Asian world of golf.

22. Nurture : REAR.

23. Word with cake or break : TEA. Any other day would have CUP added.

27. "__ Love" (Maroon 5 hit) : THIS.

29. Smoking, perhaps : HOT. Interestingly next to another sexist measure of females....

30. Half a score : TEN. Ladies and gentleman, please let us know who think is a TEN.

31. 1959 novel in whose film version Mary Crane became Marion Crane : PSYCHO. Still one of the most unsettling movies of all time. I love that the P crosses with 31D. Psychologist's concern : PHOBIA though some may suggest it is an impermissible dupe of fill/clue... If you have not seen it and are squeamish, do not watch.

33. Giant : GOLIATH. This guy slings back into our radar.

36. Rabbit's friend : POOH. Can you bear any more Winnie references?

41. Literary __ : LION. This was a struggle, while it is  a term I have heard (Mailer was a literary lion) I needed perps to get started.

42. More than hammer home : BELABOR. Very nice fresh fill, which I will not say too often.

43. Video game segments : LEVELS. I do remember  the thrill of new levels back in the days of playing pac man in the bar.

45. Jr.'s jr. : III. The kids are often called Tre.

46. Spot for a soak : SPA.

53. Small songbird : TIT. We must have a GREAT picture.

54. Work on a canvas? : SPAR. Excellent misdirection, not a painting but in the boxing ring.

56. Unfortunate : SORRY.

61. Bard's verb : DOTH. A soupçon of Shakespeare.

62. "See Dad Run" star : BAIO. Scott. Never heard of it.

63. Steer snagger : REATA.

64. Mishmash : OLIO. Along with morel, the word that defines Crossword Corner.

65. TripAdvisor alternative : YELP. My oldest uses their review all of the time for restaurants.

66. "No worries" : IT'S OK.

67. White side, maybe : SLAW. Really, I always have carrots and purple cabbage in mine.

Down:

1. More than peck : SMOOCH.

2. Head __ : HONCHO. Comes from Japanese hanchō squad leader, from han squad + chō head, chief. We got it from returning servicemen. Han Solo?

3. Besides : AT THAT.

4. Plymouth's county : DEVON. This area has an interesting HISTORY.

5. Org. with a multi-ring logo : IOC. International Olympic Committee.

6. "No __!" : DUH.

7. Whitewater figure : STARR. Ken. No politics, just a LINK.

8. Pitcher? : AD REP. One who 'pitches' i.e. gives a sales pitch.

9. Green sage : YODA. Now that Episode VII is in the works I am sure we will see more Star Wars references, though Yoda is dead?

10. Survey taker, at times : X'ER. I guess this means one who x'es, checks boxes. A complete meh.

11. Text clarifier : EMOTICON. Since people do not talk and only text, you need some idea of the facial expression to get meaning of the words.

12. Compliment on a course : NICE SHOT. Gary, I am sure your golf game will be ready.

13. Antacid brand word : ALKA. My old pal...

19. Old PC monitors : CRTS. Cathode Ray Tubes.

21. Martin's start? : ASTON. Bond, James Bond.

25. Hollywood glitterati : CELEBS. Eh.

26. Sambuca flavoring : ANISE. Licorice anyone?

28. On a sugar high, say : HYPER.

32. Quaker Honey Graham __ : OHS.

33. Toast, with "a" : GONER.

34. U.S.-U.K. separator : ATLantic.

35. "Truth is more of a stranger than fiction" writer : TWAIN. One of the great minds of all time with a true way with words.

37. The works : ALL.

38. Second section of Verdi's "Requiem" : DIES IRAE.

39. Fit nicely : DOVETAIL.

40. Quarters, e.g. : COINS. So simple, but...

44. Daffy Duck has one : LISP.

46. Move on a screen : SCROLL. To the finish?

47. Shakespearean heiress : PORTIA. My weekly dose of Will. Who said it better?

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:"

 

48. "But I digress ..." : ANY HOW. I am an any way man, Drat.

50. Trainee : CADET. Not just in the service.

51. Marine predators : ORCAS. Whale of a good answer.

52. Bygone birds : DODOS. CSO!

53. Mango tango smoothie server : TCBY. This Can't Be Yogurt. Cousin of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

55. Prefix with cardial : PERI. The sac where the heart truly is.

58. Post-spill need : MOP.
Hasten jason
Get the basin
Oops plop,
Get the mop.

59. __-Aztecan languages : UTO.

I do not think it is going out on a limb to say that this was a challenge in places; well I had fun I hope you did. Lemonade out.

Friday January 9, 2015, Frank Virzi

Theme: If you go to Chicago you must add the ELL to your plans.

Frank is back to Friday in 2015, and his first since his coincidental LEM ON ADE puzzle two days after my birthday. This is a sound rather than a visual challenge, with the last word in a common phrase altered by adding an ELL sound to create a new last word. The difficulty in constructing was enhanced by the themers all being grid spanners. Some nice 6 letter fill like DC AREA, GETS UP, I DO I DO, LYRICS and SITS ON as well as some sparkly longer ones: SHINERS, UPLIFTS, EINSTEIN, HIDEAWAY, DIET PEPSI, TRIES HARD.  As with all punny themes, you need to find humor, and I did. Let's take a look.

17A. "Pardon my sword fight"? : DON'T MIND IF I DUEL  (15). 'Don't mind if I do' is the phrase that transforms. I sussed the theme here, always good on a Friday to get the theme early.

26A. "The good news: mostly A-OK. The bad news: __"? : TEN PERCENT AWFUL (15). 'Ten percent off...'

47A. Tool for putting a Ping-Pong ball in orbit? : LAUNCHING PADDLE (15). 'Launching pad.' My favorite of the theme, as the image in my brain is cool.

62A. Big affair for E.T.? : ALIEN LIFE FORMAL (15). 'Alien life form.'  Another fun visual, and my way of always remembering the spelling of Allen's name.

Across:

1. Like some restrictive dinners : STAG. Men only, dearie. Very un-pc.

5. Andrew of "Melrose Place" : SHUE. He played Billy Campbell I am told by wiki, but I knew he has a famous older sister.

9. First, for now : AHEAD. Yes, the 5 horse was there at the top of the stretch, but...

14. Strives : TRIES HARD. Also an un-pc term when parents use this phrase to describe their disappointing child.

16. Brewery prefix : MICRO. Not to be confused with CRAFT brewery. Who would ever guess I would end up knowing about beer?

19. Refuses to release : SITS ON. I assume this clue is in the context of information, though this pic came to mind.

20. "Lifts the spirits" gp. : USO.

21. Eau Claire-to-Green Bay direction : EAST. They will all be going in that direction for the big game against Dallas, Sunday at 1:05PM, EST. The Dallas/Green Bay match-ups of the 60's were awesome. Back at the 'frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.'

22. All-purpose rides : UTES. I have never heard a person in real life use this term.

24. Ocean predator : ORCA.

33. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE. She has apparently supplanted Norma and Charlotte in puzzledom. I was introduced to this Canadian by Gareth in 2013.

34. Start of some Texas city names : SAN. And some California cities as well.

35. Mrs. Robinson's daughter : ELAINE. A Friday clue for this name, though the actress should be remembered, quite the face. Coo coo ca choo.

36. Milo of "The Verdict" : O' SHEA. He died this past year.

39. Play about Capote : TRU.

41. With an __: mindful of : EYE TO

42. Words : LYRICS. Nice new fill.

44. Okla. campus with a Prayer Tower : ORU. For newer solvers, the fact that OKLA. is an abbreviation is a clue that the answer is also an abbreviation.  Oral Roberts University.

46. Author Yutang : LIN. A very interesting MAN; I wonder what he was thought of in the China of C.C.'s childhood? A Friday name. (From C.C.: Probably because Lin spent most of his time in the US, his essays were not featured in our school books then. Actually most people with relatives in the US suffered during Cultural Revolution.)

51. Boer village : STAD. From their Dutch German heritage. I am sure Gareth Bain could give a more complete perspective on these people.

52. Monthly pmt. : ELECtricity.

53. Boom holder : MAST. Not a microphone.

56. Court : WOO. Not where judges hang out.

58. "Magic Hour" author Susan : ISAACS. I did not know that book, but I love the book and movie Compromising Positions. LINK. Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia were great.

65. McGwire broke his record : MARIS. Roger whose 61 home run record went the way of Mark McGuire's bat during the dawning of the steroid age. Roger ended as a beer distributor living in Gainesville.

66. "Love every sip" sloganeer : DIET PEPSI.

67. Concert venue : ARENA.

68. Poems of praise : ODES.

69. Memo demand : ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

Down:

1. Stylebook entries: Abbr. : STDS. Standards. Like this  GUIDE.

2. Picard's counselor : TROI. She's back.

3. "__ No Sunshine": Bill Withers hit : AIN'T.

4. Averts a knockout : GETS UP. Such a simple answer. Paired with 5D. Fight souvenirs : SHINERS. Not what you buy at the concession stand.

6. Solo in space : HAN. Episode VII is on its way.

7. Source of khaki? : URDU. The word, not the cloth.

8. New Jersey township with the motto "Let There Be Light" : EDISON. Thomas Alva will live on always, especially in puzzles.

9. "Moi?" : AM I? Which is often the clue in French.

10. Retreat : HIDEAWAY. My recollection was THIS. My parents loved Broadway musicals which helped with 48D. "My Cup Runneth Over" musical : I DO, I DO. Mary Martin and Robert Preston, 1967.(6:53).

11. S.A. country at 0 degrees latitude : ECUAdor. Odd, once again. Last time we learned that the name came because it is at the Equator.

12. Father of Phobos : ARES. The Greek who who gave us our word PHOBIA.

13. Fool : DOLT.

15. Whacked, biblically : SMOTE.

18. Strong suit : FORTE. Fort or fortay?

23. "Beat it!" : SCAT. For all the non-lovers of cats.

25. NASCAR's Yarborough : CALE.

26. Chat room persona non grata : TROLL. Don't feed the trolls.

27. GPA booster : EASY A.

28. Big name in Indian politics : NEHRU. And jackets.

29. With 30-Down, a former name of Minute Maid Park : ENRON. We just had this referenced last week.

30. See 29-Down : FIELD.

31. No later than : UNTIL.

32. Freetown currency : LEONE. Freetown, the capital is used to clue the Leone, the capital of Sierra Leone.

37. Matthau's "I.Q." role : EINSTEIN. This odd movie with Meg Ryan.

38. Passbook abbr. : ACCT.

40. Drive : URGE.

43. Loosely worn garment : SHAWL. My youngest son's girlfriend knitted one for Oo for the holidays.

45. Buoys : UPLIFTS. Girls ? Up____?

49. "The Fox and the Grapes" writer : AESOP. Fabulous fox fable.

50. Beltway environs : DC AREA.

53. Household nickname : MAMA. No Papa today.

54. Apple application no longer in use : ALAR.

55. Filly's father : SIRE. DAM this was easy.

57. "The Wizard __" : OF ID. The same number of letters as OZ. Coincidence? I think not. LINK.

59. Cranks (up) : AMPS. From amplifier, or the original ampere?

60. Julio's home : CASA. Some Spanish for Lucina et al.

61. Faux pas : SLIP. And of course, French for Splynter.

63. Org. whose seal includes an eagle perched on a key : NSA. So much controversy in 2014.

64. Really big shoe : EEE. I must end with this.

Frank V. thanks for the ride. Enjoy all. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Let's meet the real Big Easy, whose witty and funny comments often make me smile. Big Easy is a volunteer at a New Orleans PGA event and he gets to meet Ernie Els every year. He's one of the lucky few to have the locker room access. Now we know his beautiful wife Diane "can't eat any beans or black-eyed peas without rice."

Big Easy and his wife Diane

2) Marti sent me this incredible picture. She said:

"I made a Raw Veggie Christmas Tree for my party last week (left side of my sideboard).  The styrofoam "tree" was covered with kale, and then the veggies were anchored with toothpicks. It really was cute, but I had bought way too much kale from the local farm stand that is famous for it.  I have only had kale in salads or as a garnish, but the owner told me that you can cook it, just like any other "green."  I know you like veggies, so thought you might like the recipe I found from Bobby Flay. It was absolutely delicious, and I am going to insist on kale instead of spinach as my "go-to" side dish from now on!! (See recipe here)

Friday, January 2, 2015, John Lampkin

Theme: You had to be a big shot didn't ya. LISTEN. (4:03)

I ended the year with John Lampkin, and I begin with another from the clecho king. This time the theme seems simple, the second word, or second part of a known word or phrase is a synonym for boss. The clecho part is that each are clued with "TOP" meaning the best or the boss. The grid is filled with sparkly stuff like  AT FAULT, AURORAS, BAD CALL, DOLLS UP, HAYSEED, I’M TOAST, SPARROW, SPEEDOS, TEARFUL, COPY DESK and SUSPENSE.

17A. Top horticulturist? : BUSHMASTER. This SNAKE breaks into parts for the theme. It is part of the viper family.

27A. Top orthopedist? : BONEHEAD. Any bonehead know orthopedists deal with bones.

36A. Top dairyman? : CREAM CHEESE. Like wheel below, this one needs a "Big" before it to project the same meaning as the rest of the theme.

47A. Top entomologist? : FLYWHEEL. You had to know John would get something buggy into the grid. A flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed. Energy is transferred to a flywheel by applying torque to it, thereby increasing its rotational speed, and hence its stored energy. Conversely, a flywheel releases stored energy by applying torque to a mechanical load, thereby decreasing the flywheel's rotational speed. per wiki.

Picture and captions from John Lampkin: 

I don't pretend to be a FLY WHEEL myself, but I do enjoy photographing them! This bee-mimic Robber Fly captured a beetle and landed on my friend Doug's pant leg. The other members of our group who were 20 feet away were wondering why I was photographing Doug's crotch. Anything for a shot.

57A. Top cinematographer? : FILM LEADER. The TERM is also about movies but I did not know it.

Across:

1. Like Sherlock's game : AFOOT. An A word that is really used, and for a detective story lover, this was a great way to start.

6. Jerk : BOOB. This meaning for the word boob has long been supplanted by the slang word for female breast, which makes JL's intersecting 6D. Museum work : BUST so amusing. The king of the cross-reference strikes again. I found the clue/fill slowed me down big time.

10. Medical ending : OSIS. For some reason HALITOSIS popped into my head, even though HYPNOSIS, OSMOSIS and TUBERCULOSIS are clearly more common.

14. Sierra Nevada tourist attraction : TAHOE. A truly awesome place to visit with the mountains, the lake and the casinos.

15. Bruin's home : UCLA. This took much longer than it should have, perhaps a product of growing up near Boston, though my first answer was CAVE.

16. Leave in a bad way : DUMP. Ah the heartbreak of it all. Any great stories of broken romances? 35D. Like some goodbyes : TEARFUL.

19. East in Ecuador : ESTE. How odd that of all the Spanish speaking countries, JL picked Ecuador. We have clients involved in a big project there.

20. Puncture opening? : ACUpuncture.

21. Lay : PUT. Not sure, Lay Down?

22. Main signal : SOS. In this case the bounding main of the open seas.

24. "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity" writer : POE. An interesting and tragic figure. You can read more HERE.

25. Less inclined to ramble : TERSER.

29. Get a leg up ... and down : STEP.

30. Pearl Buck heroine : OLAN. How lucky can I get, we just had this.

32. Playground retort : CAN SO. Can not.

33. Comparable to a beet : AS RED.

35. Private meetings : TRYSTS. Well usually private and naughty.

38. Emulates a fan : ADORES.

40. Lessen : ABATE.

41. Go __ : TO POT. Or Colorado?

42. Rosa's rosa, e.g. : FLOR. Is this flower in both Spanish and Italian?

43. Cut, in a way : ETCH.

49. Homburg kin : FEDORA. Hats off to John, who actually wears hats for getting this fill in the grid.

51. City VIP : ALDerman.

52. Lamp opening? : ELL. The letter, silly.

53. Cannes confirmation : OUI. Must have some French for Splynter.

54. Even so : YET.

55. Applications : USES.

60. Verdant : LUSH. Usually associated with growing things.

61. "Young Frankenstein" Fräulein : INGA. The incomparable Teri Garr and her knockers.

62. "If only!" : I HOPE.

63. I-76 in Penn., e.g. : TPKE.

64. Handy : NEAR.

65. "Good Lord!" : OH GOD.

Down:

 1. Chances for a walk in the park? : AT BATS. Some baseball misdirection as the park is the ball park. It is safe to say John likes to be misleading, as in another baseball clue 27D. Mistake at home, perhaps : BAD CALL.

2. Tap : FAUCET. So simple but I started out struggling in the NW corner.

3. "And I'm Cleopatra" : OH SURE. followed by...

4. Awed response : OOH. Now if the next clue were Buckeye state, we would have quite a progression. We also have 59D. Spa sound : AHH.

5. Home of Arizona State : TEMPE. I have quite a few cousins who got degrees there.

7. Calendar pg. : OCTober.

8. Nellie __, character in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books : OLESON. This was all guesswork.

9. Low-grade peer : BARON. Downton Abbey will be back soon.

10. Lyric tribute : ODE.

11. Film genre : SUSPENSE.

12. "My goose is cooked" : I'M TOAST. Two cooking references. Two I references.

13. Small trunks : SPEEDOS. Joe Manganiello anyone?

18. Dawns : AURORAS. Better than my old friend Eos.

23. It may be told in anger : SECRET. 34D. Rage below the surface : SEETHE. 46D. More than dislike : HATRED. Mini-theme? Hmm, some issues JL?

26. Field chirper : SPARROW.

28. Yokel : HAYSEED. Fun fill.

31. Apollo 11's Eagle, briefly : LEM. Thanks JL for the CSO.

36. News editing site : COPY DESK. Where is our newswoman? Do they still have these.

37. Starz rival : HBO. Is this still an initialism for Home Box Office?

38. Liable : AT FAULT. Florida has no fault divorce and car insurance.

39. Dons fancy duds : DOLLS UP. Fun phrase.

42. One may be in your lap : FELINE. The perfect clecho for the Corner. For CED.

44. One may be in your lap : TOY DOG. For Manac.

45. Sleazeball : CREEPO. So many variations of the word creep, but I did not know this one.

48. Puckish : ELFIN. Just watched the final of the Hobbit Trilogy. Filled with Elves who were not ELFIN. I also rewatched ELF for Christmas.

50. Farm sequence? : EIEIO. Old MacDonald would be proud of so many O words.

53. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough" poet : OMAR.

56. Ship, to the captain : SHE. On the bounding main.

58. JFK alternative : LGA. Three letter airport codes. MSY, MCO, ORD are trickier to suss.

Well another year has begun with a challenging but doable Friday (only 74 words and 34 blocks, so we had to work hard). Thank all for the good wishes after my wedding and have a great year.

Lemonade out.

Friday, December 19, 2014, John Lampkin

Theme: Wherefore ARt thou AR?

Man what more could a guy ask for: marti, followed by C.C., followed by a John Lampkin special. I am in blogger heaven. Good thing this is not November 19. Letter removal puzzles require the result to be entertaining and John does not disappoint. CRIER PIGEON, MINAMALIST T, BROOM BRAWL (featuring witches) and PILL TO POST all evoke (see 49A) very funny images to me. The rest of the fill is loaded with stuff like CAPITOL, ECLIPSE, EXPORTS, ONE EYED, OOMPAHS, ORIGAMI, SPARE ME, TOENAIL, HOOFED IT, I’M NO FOOL. John always slides in some insects and some music, so lets play.

20A. Easy mark with a sob story? : CARRIER PIGEON (11). Someone who is a sucker for a crying female. Carrier pigeons are in retirment now, and should not be confused with this long gone COUSIN.

54A. Shirt that hardly covers anything? : MINIMALIST ART (11). Which would you rather have: Skimpy T-shirts

or

10D. Ruckus at a coven? : BARROOM BRAWL (10). Broom being the un-PC way to refer to witches. We have our California coven here at the Corner; hello ladies.

28D. Very small pharmaceutical mail order? : PILLAR TO POST(10). Yes, mailing a single pill sounds silly, but with the price of some of the new drugs, it might just make sense. I recall the announcers at the Gillette Friday Night Fights used the term  "he was battered from 'Pillar to Post.'"
And the hint
67A. Noble gas, and a homophonic hint to how this puzzle's four longest answers are formed : ARGON (5).  AR is GONE from each phrase. Regional accents may make this more difficult.

Across:

1. What Rudolph used to be called : NAMES. A semi clecho. 41. 1960 Olympic gold medalist Rudolph : WILMA.

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

6. One in a wild bunch? : OAT. Sowing anyone?

9. Beatles song syllables : OBLA. Does this parse  OHHB LAHH, or OOOO BLAH?

13. Pilot : AVIATE. JL, really?

15. Baseball letters : RHE. Runs Hits and Errors on the scoreboard. JL is the undipsuted King of Clechos, as is seen here.

16. Baseball's Hershiser : OREL. He works in the booth now. A repeat fill with totally diferent clue.

17. Baseball champs of 2013 : RED SOX. So many years of futility followed by such success, I wonder if Joe Maddon can do that for the Cubs?

18. "What do you take me for?" : I'M NO FOOL. I/ME today, a minI theme? 31A. Part of a team observation : NO I. Just two weeks after I used this as part of my name for marti's Friday puzzle. 7D. Woeful words : AH ME. 32D. "I've heard enough" : SPARE ME. (Also, s CSO to Boomer). 38D. "No real damage" : I'M OK.

22. Trail terminus: Abbr. : OREgon. Sounds like ARGON? I wonder if terminus refers to the fact the Oregon Trail ends in Oregon, or that Trail is added to the end of Oregon?

23. British pop singer Lewis : LEONA. She won X-Factor.

24. Expressionist painter LeRoy : NEIMAN. I think football made him famous. See the SITE.

26. Habitat for some ibexes : ALPS. You run into many, marti?

29. Coke go-with : RUM.

30. Balkan native : SERB. I wonder if they serve rum and coke in Serbia?

32. Fine groove : STRIA.

34. Salt's output : YARNS. Sailors love to spin them.

37. It's seldom total : ECLIPSE. Unless it is of the HEART. GLEEFUL.

39. Digital filer's target : TOE NAIL. Devlish misdirection with digital referencing the 'digit" i.e. toe, for all you pedicure experts.

42. Cape Cod catch : SCROD. It is baaack!

44. Intl. commerce group : WTO. World Trade Organization. 14D. International commerce components : EXPORTS.

45. One-third of a WWII film : TORA. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War. (Wiki). Interestingly, the screen play credits both American and Japanese authors.

47. Wind often affects it : AIM. Yes, in shooting, golf etc.

48. Joy : GLEE. Nene Leakes is/was on Glee.

49. Calls to mind : EVOKES.

51. Some future fliers : PUPAE. larvae, pupae, John loves dem bugs, see below for more.

53. Hint : TIP. Do not try giving your server a hint.

59. Didn't ride : HOOFED IT. Archie Goodwin was always hoofing it from the old brownstone and leaving the Heron in the garage.

61. Hamper : HOGTIE.

62. "... we fat all / creatures __ to fat us": Hamlet : ELSE. I love this scene where the King asks Hamlet where Polonious is, and is told he is at supper, the king asks where Polonious is eating his supper and Hamlet replies:
                                                

Not where he eats, but where he is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service—two dishes, but to one table. That’s the end.

63. Roger or Brian of music : ENO. There will alway be music in John's puzzles as there is in his soul.

64. Bundle up on the farm : SHEAVE. A perfect winter misdirection.

65. Speedometer reading, e.g. : RATE.

66. Margarita condimento : SAL. salt in Spanish.


Down:

1. Buster? : NARC. The question mark is your clue to the clue as it means one who busts.

2. Affirm as true : AVER.

3. Noon in Paris : MIDI. Time for a Midi? Mini or maxi? Skirted that issue.

4. Stands by an artist : EASELS. Only thing I think of

5. Put away : STORE.

6. Folding craft : ORIGAMI.

8. Dovetail sections : TENONS. Splynter, hope you get some rest.

9. Punch line? : OOF. See cartoon.

11. The first Mrs. Arrowsmith : LEORA. From the eponymous Sinclair Lewis book. She was played by Helen Hayes in the movie.

12. Kind of wrench : ALLEN. Actually it is a Hex Key, but Allen manufacturing from Hartford seems to have cornered the market.

19. Like some picture cards : ONE EYED. I think we had Jacks recently.

21. Gets used (to) : INURES.

25. Land with a red, white and green flag : IRAN. Man there are a lot of them. LINK. I should have paid more attention when watching...

26. Over : ANEW. Starting over- starting anew? Not easy JL.

27. Point sets, in math : LOCI. Bill G., this is all yours.

33. Court : ATRIUM. Noun, not a verb.

35. Time in ads : NITE.

36. Sour fruit : SLOE. Not in a Singapore Sling.

40. Marching band lows : OOMPAHS. Oh those TUBAE! 50D. String quartet part : VIOLA.  two violins, one cello and a viola. John Lampkin is  an accomplished piano player, teacher and composer.

43. Hill building : CAPITOL.

46. Dramatic devices : ASIDES. Shakespeare anyone?

48. Counter man : GEIGER. Har har.  It actually is the Geiger–Müller counter. LINK.

49. It's a real knockout : ETHER. Har har, though knockout drops were Chloral hydrate (please insert intelligent comment scientists).

52. Wahine's greeting : ALOHA.

55. Two-time Atlantic crosser of 1493 : NINA. I did not know this tidbit.

56. __ party : STAG. Most bachelor parties are stag; my first wedding had one but it was boooring.

57. DVR option : TIVO. How are they doing now that cable, dish people provide the DVRs?

58. Adult, at one time : TEEN. Being a teen is 7 years for each of us on the calendar, a lifetime for most males.

60. Commission : FEE. FIE FO FUM.  I finish with an introduction to some of the photography of our multitalented constructor John Lampkin, who takes the best bug pictures even if bugs are yucky. He also offers his commentary. See you after Christmas, Happy Chanukah to those who light the candles. Lemonade out. Here are pictures and words from JL. Thanks John for the puzzle and more.

For 51 Across – PUPAE

This Armyworm caterpillar (seen head downwards) had been parasitized by a very tiny braconid wasp. She had stung the caterpillar laying dozens of eggs. The eggs  hatched and the wasp larvae ate the caterpillar from the inside out avoiding all vital organs toward the head end. The wasp larvae then crawled out through the caterpillar’s skin and formed the white fuzzy pupae  sticking out of the caterpillar.  The caterpillar was still alive when I shot the pic. My Florida naturalist friend Karen Finch, bless her,  took everything home in a jar and hatched out the wasps to confirm our ID. Since parasitized larvae like this Armyworm nearly always die, braconid wasps can be an eco-friendly control of garden pests like Tomato Hornworms.

Total lunar eclipse I shot as a time-lapse from my yard at 3:33 am, December 21, 2010. 

From Wikipedia: The eclipse was the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern Winter Solstice (Southern Summer Solstice) since 1638, and only the second in the Common Era