Friday, August 7, 2015, Bruce Haight

Theme: The Key is on the Board

Three theme answers are common phrases with the first word replaced with the abbreviation for a word whose abbreviation appears on a standard computer keyboard. Does Apple had the same keys? Nope Option key.... Apple in 3 days. If only Bruce had worked in CAPS LOCK he would have managed all the abbreviations on the standard keyboard (ignoring stuff like NUM LOCK, PG DN on the little part). I did Bruce's first LAT, which had no E's as well as a Latin Pun, so this one seemed easy in comparison. My only stumbling block was the mental meltdown that left me grasping for AFTA, which was my last fill, coming from 'FRAID SO. Speaking of which, it was the seven letter fill, much of which was fun, that opened up the grid for me. ALABAMA,  ESTRADA, LA LAKER,  OIL HEAT,  OTHELLO,  PIG IRON, PRY OPEN,  SLED DOG,  TEAPOTS,  WHAT THE,  WIN BACK gave me footholds in each region.

17A. DVD extras, perhaps : ALTernate ENDINGS (10). Don't you wonder about a movie that has different endings filmed; make up your mind!

29A. Ones getting away often : ESCape ARTISTS (10). Is there artistry in escaping?

45A. Hardly team players : ConTRoL FREAKS (10). A term that emerged in the 60's.

58A. Place to see part of 17-, 29- and 45-Across : Personal Computer KEYBOARD (10). So all you had do was look down and you had the theme at your fingertips- literally!


Across:

1. Lamentations : WOES. Sounds religious. 50D. Sound of lament : SOB.  Safer than using the initialism.

5. Handle indelicately : PAW AT. I am sure the cats and dogs of the world would disagree; CED link away (manac where are you?).

10. Mennen skin product : AFTA. I do not use shaving products anymore.

14. That ol' boy's : HIS'N. With my wife's family from Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee, this was a gimme.

15. PABA part : AMINO. para-aminobenzoic acid, a natural ingredient in sunscreen no longer in favor.

16. Ready : PREP.

19. Allen contemporary : PAAR. Jack Paar replace Steve Allen on the Tonight Show when I was quite young and we had no television.

20. Court long shots : THREES. Three point shots in basketball; the most famous in Miami history...

21. Order : BOSS. I expect "around" to be around.

23. SEC concern : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

24. Wrenches : TEARS. I expect "from" to be around.

25. Wave catcher? : EAR. Sound waves; very tricky.

26. Aftermarket item : ADD ON.

28. "I've been __!" : HAD. A mini-theme? 33A. "Don't __" : ASK. And...48A. "What a kidder!" : OH YOU. 1D. "Huh?" : WHAT THE....or wtf in textspeak. 11D. "Hate to be the one to tell ya" : 'FRAID SO.

31. Letters from Greece : ETAS.

34. Jam ingredients? : AUTOS. Very tricky; traffic jam.

35. "Women and Love" author Shere : HITE.

37. Nurses at a bar : SIPS. Not your pick up target....

38. Hold forth : OPINE.

40. Shaver : LAD. Are you familiar with the 'little shaver?' 47A. Rap name adjective : LIL. Wayne?

41. Blathers : YAPS.

49. Some tees : XLS. Extra Large.

50. Old West transport : STAGE Coach. We took a ride in one at Old Sturbidge Village while up north in June? Any of our other New Englanders made that ride?

52. Modernist's prefix : NEO. Seems redundant.

53. Bracketology org. : NCAA. The process of rating the college basketball teams for March Madness.

55. More than gloomy : MORBID.

56. Yodeler's range? : ALPS. Not his/her vocal range but the mountain range. Do you yodel while skiing the Alps miss m.?

60. Parts of Polynésie française : ILES. The islands in Polynesia.

61. Alamogordo event : A-TEST. Not sure why I get so many references to bomb testing.

62. 19th-century novel with the chapter "How They Dress in Tahiti" : OMOO. Memo to self: Avoid Moby Dick comments!!

63. Novelist Jaffe : RONA. Many of her BOOKS became movies.

64. Fergie's given name : SARAH. This took a very long time because I thought of HER not HER.

65. Twinge : PANG. Jealousy?

Down:

2. Alternative to gas : OIL HEAT. We had an oil burning furnace in our home when I was growing up. We were shocked  to learn one winter in Fort Lauderdale that our office building had NO heating system at all.

3. "CHiPs" actor : ESTRADA. Poor Larry Wilcox gets no love.

4. Unpleasant look : SNEER. Nobody did that better than Snidely.

5. Inflates improperly : PADS. More deception; the expense account, not Tom Brady's footballs.

6. Cherbourg chum : AMI. Just French.

7. Recover : WIN BACK. Often the goal at a casino.

8. Wool variety : ANGORA. Do not get your rabbits and goats confused. READ.

9. Evict : TOSS.

10. Kindle download : APP. This was so easy I had trouble with it.

12. Brewing vessels : TEA POTS. Too much beer in my life, another easy one gone wrong.

13. They have strings attached : APRONS. Cute.

18. Super __: game console : NES. I loved playing Mario with my sons.

22. Suddenly became interested : SAT UP. And took notice.

25. Latin being : ESSE. From when we get essence.

27. Like a flibbertigibbet : DITSY. My favorite ONE. (4:00)

29. Peter, pumpkinwise : EATER. Talk about your weird poetry; luckily we have Owen and Moe.
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater
Had a wife, and couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.

30. Invades : RAIDS.

32. Imaginary playmate in a Neil Diamond title : SHILO.

36. For kicks : IN FUN.

37. Upscale retail chain : SAKS. Fifth Avenue.

38. "Then must you speak / Of one that loved not wisely but too well" speaker : OTHELLO. Love Shakespeare, feel bad for foolish Othello.

39. Jimmy : PRY OPEN.

40. Shaq, for eight seasons : LA LAKER. Now he and George Foreman are competing for the most commercials.

42. First state, in a way : ALABAMA. Alphabetically.

43. Smelting intermediary : PIG IRON. Did you know this HISTORY?

44. Iditarod sight : SLED DOG.

45. 1997 Nicolas Cage thriller : CON AIR.

46. Handicapper's option : EXACTA. Along with the Trifecta and the Pick 6, favorites of the gamblers. You pick the horse that finish 1/2, in order.

51. Company : TROOP. Still my favorite.

54. Frequent e-Filers : CPAS. Court papers are no almost all e-filed.

55. Bit of lore : MYTH.

57. Org. issuing nine-digit numbers :  SSA. Social Security Administration.

59. That, in Spain : ESA. how perfect a place to finish. I enjoyed this immensely. Thanks Bruce and for the rest of you Lemonade out.

Friday, July 31, 2015, Kurt Krauss

Theme: NESW? I am lost where do I go? It does not matter any direction will do, they all lead to home.

There are four pairs of theme answers along with the grid spanning 'hint'  40A. Like the answers to eight starred clues ... and a hint as to how to fill them in : OMNIDIRECTIONAL (15). The gimmick is you must read the fill in the direction of the of the words themselves. 93 theme letters is a big challenge so you can expect many short fill but we do get ANOMALY,  CITADEL,  COOLERS, LABORED, UNRESERVED  and the complete ET TU BRUTE. Of course as is often the case on Friday, many will not like the backwards words. The last KK I blogged in 2014 brought out many negative or Thumper comments. But which way do you prefer to make Fridays challenging? Obscurities? Originality? I thought this was relatively easy and I had fun. I like how the pairs also fit together, the first a clecho the others synaptic; let's peek at the answer sheet.

12A. *Ring punch : RIGHT HOOK (9). This was perps but it made sense when paired with 68A. *Ring punch : SSORC TFEL (9) Left Cross, another common boxing term. The fill must be read from right to left.  We read right to left in Hebrew.

19A. *Manhattan neighborhood : EAST HARLEM (10). This neighborhood known also as Spanish Harlem is not a place many go to visit. It is paired with 57A. *Liberia locale : ACIRFA TSEW (10) West Africa, which you have to read from West to East (right to left). This where I caught on as I know where Liberia is.

4D. *Animated TV series set in the Rockies : SOUTH PARK (9). This paired with 38D. *Challenge to Eiger climbers : ECAF HTRON (9) (North Face) which requires you to head North to understand the fill.

9D. *Promising : GNIMOC DNA PU (11). Up and Coming, which is paired with 23D. *Level-headed : DOWN TO EARTH (11) like all the themers they must be read in the direction of the words. If you had not understood the theme the letter progression GNI should have tipped the scales. I loved this pair.

Across:

1. Blesses : OKS. In retrospect this was easy, but I was thinking sneezing or religion.

4. Star Wars, initially : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative. Not the movie.

7. Go fishing : ANGLE. I floundered about looking for an answer but the bass I cod come up with is that it describes the angle of the pole and the line. Or maybe the angle of the hook? I hate to worm my way out of this, so help....

16. IQ test pioneer : BINET. Alfred did so much MORE.

17. Start of the line before "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" : ET TU BRUTE? This is Shakespeare's version where Cinna tries to justify killing Julius Caesar because Caesar was too popular. You can tell it is from a English writing because it mixes the Latin phrase with an English response.

18. Bluebloods : ELITE. New England and New York were filled with these types, Cabots, Lodges, Bushes, Roosevelts...

21. 1965 Sophia Loren comedy : LADY L.  What a cast. LINK (0:54).

24. Gas sign in green letters : HESS. Are there any left or are they all Speedway? I did not know Speedway was owned by Marathon until today.

25. Line of work: Abbr. : OCCupation. I find this an awesomely bad clue, but it is used regularly. There are many nice clues for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. HERE.

28. Year in Mexico : ANO. Spanish.

29. Talladega unit : LAP. An Alabama track on the NASCAR circuit.

31. Result of a 1955 merger : AFL-CIO.

34. Postseason game : BOWL. College football.

36. Pull in : MAKE. Money you make.

39. Treating poorly : BAD TO.

43. Role for Dustin : RATSO. Midnight Cowboy. His breakout role?

44. "The Bridge on the River __" : KWAI. Another wonderful movie.

45. Marquis de __ : SADE. How much do you really know about this man?

46. Chooses the window instead of the aisle? : ELOPES. Really cute airplane misdirection but it did not fool me.

48. Fraud watchdog org. : FTC.  Federal Trade Commission.

50. For each : PER.

51. Shade provider : DYE. Fun clue/fill misdirection.

52. Ness, for one : LOCH. Lake.

55. Castro and others : RAULS. Meh.

61. Don Diego de la Vega, familiarly : ZORRO. He will always be Guy WILLIAMS (not Madison, who played Wild Bill Hickock with Andy Devine) I am getting old! for me.

63. Frankness : UNRESERVE.

67. The Bradford kids of '70s-'80s TV, e.g. : OCTET. Who didn't love this FAMILY (1:02)

69. Milo of "Barbarella" : O'SHEA. He was in so many great roles. THIS (3:51) was not one of them. Jane was adorable.

70. Long time : EON.

71. Major : KEY.

Down:

1. Natural resource : ORE. Or not?

2. Young beaver : KIT. Be careful here....

3. Pepper, for one: Abbr. : SGT. All perps, cute clue.

5. Words before dances : DO THE. This was filled before I saw the clue but I am completely unaware of this phrase. Help.

6. Some furniture stores : IKEAS. Meh, the extra s....

7. Biblical brother : ABEL.

8. Juba's "White" river : NILE. This was my learning moment, I just do not know much about the Southern Sudan.

10. Betray, with "down" : LET. To me the act of betrayal is much more than letting down.

11. Juillet's season : ETE. French for July and Summer. 30D. Brest friend : AMI. More French.

13. One of three cartoon nephews : HUEY.

14. Little League precursor : T-BALL. and the semi-clecho 15D. Little League belts: Abbr. : HRS. Home runs.

20. Soweto's home: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa.

21. Toiled : LABORED.

22. Rule exception : ANOMALY. A wonderful word.

26. Stronghold : CITADEL. Also a college.

27. Beach party staples : COOLERS.

32. Govt. group that began in 1908 : FBI.

33. Where kip are spent : LAOS. No idea, but I do know Thailand uses Baht.

35. Sylvester's problem : LISP.

37. London's __ Gardens : KEW.

41. Fawn's mom : DOE. Yes, her name is Jane.

42. Tiny songbird : TIT. Always good for a link. I like it when the two MATCH.

47. Canon offering, briefly : SLR. SingleLens Reflex.

49. Dimin.'s opposite : CRESCendo.

53. Handy : OF USE.

54. Playground retort : CAN SO.

56. Mad as __ hen : A WET.  I could not find anything definitive as to the origin of this phrase.

58. Algonquian language : CREE.

59. Bit : IOTA.

60. Sun. message : SERmon.

61. Animal house : ZOO. Funny.

62. It turns out lts. : OCS. Lieutenants. Officer Candidate School.

64. Nats' former stadium : RFK. Baseball team that shared the park with the unnamed football team.

65. Symbol of peace : VEE. This always reminds me of Churchill, which reminds me that I am watching the Roosevelt mini-series while I ride the exercise bike. Such an interesting family.

66. Eastern Nevada city : ELY. An old stagecoach TOWN which I know only from puzzles.

Another Friday in the books and another month about to go away. We did get 5 Fridays this month so I must be tired. Thanks Kurt. Enjoy all. Lemonade out.

Friday, July 17, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

These: Where did you hide all of the Holes?

Keeping to our bi-weekly schedule, we have Jeffrey back this time with a missing word puzzle. In row 1, 8 and 15 (the beginning middle and end) we have a three word string, each 4,5,4; the clue is for a word ending in "HOLE" but the hole is missing. It is an interesting scientific conundrum, can a hole which is nothing be missing? There is much consistency to the grid though a few of the ___HOLE fill are two words rather than a single word. What makes the puzzle a delight is JW's fun reveal which points out that there are nine words that are not, but should be followed by HOLE. Other than that, it is another Friday with high word count and less than 5 letter average fill. The longer fill is varied including ABORTS, LESTER, NO SHOW, SECURE, SPLEEN, SUCCOR, TOO BIG, WADDLE, AM I BEAT, CAPSULE, GADGETS, LOCKS ON, REVERTS, SEVENTY, SLEDGES, BASE CAMP, PUNK ROCK, ORIGINALS, REMINDS OF, with many of them Jeffrey's customary two word fill.  Heck out the symmetry. The asterisks immediately warn the solver that the game is afoot, otherwise 1A would be discouraging. WORMHOLE opened my eyes. Lots of nice musical references; let's see how we all did.

1A. *It offers an ocean view : PORTHOLE(4). Well both ports and portholes do, so this was a hard start. PORTHOLE is written both as one and two words.

5A. *Hardware insertion point : SCREW HOLE (5). While completely avoiding all DF comments, this is one of the theme fill that takes two words, always I think.

10A. *Sci-fi shortcut : WORM HOLE (4). Like many, I learned of this method of travel through STAR TREK. Sorry for the ad, but I like the LINK (4:46).

38A. *Means of evasion : LOOPHOLE (4).  Did you know THIS?

40A. *Stephen Hawking subject : BLACK HOLE (5). Back to space, this time real science. LINK.

41A. *Orca feature : BLOWHOLE (4). This time the science is mammal anatomy. LINK.

67A. *Geologic danger : SINKHOLE (4). I learned about these when I moved to Gainesville and this limestone sinkhole attributed to the DEVIL.

68A. *Serengeti gathering place : WATERHOLE (5). I think in terms of watering holes, but MW says, " a small pool, pond, or lake used by animals for drinking" so what do I know?

69A. *Home security device : PEEPHOLE (4). I do not find these very helpful and they installed the one at work for much taller peep-le, but I do remember this SCENE (1:05).

And the reveal, which i am sure appealed at least to me and Moe and HG and the other golfers----especially this week of the Open Championship (or the British Open to some).
46A. Quick round ... and, collectively, what the answers to starred clues lack : NINE HOLES (9).

I liked it!

Across:

14. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. Discontinued in 2011, so...

15. Salad bar morsel : OLIVE. This was hard because I think of morsel as part of rather than a whole.

16. Domingo forte : ARIA. You do not have to like opera to like Placido. LISTEN (3:01).

17. Spectator sport since the Edo period : SUMO. Not something I knew but easily inferable.

18. Alpine air : YODEL. A stretch for me.

19. Checker, e.g. : DISC. It took me more than one pass to relate to the checker on a checkerboard being a disc.

20. "What an exhausting day!" : AM I BEAT! JW likes multiple word fill.

22. Pounding tools : SLEDGES. I did not need to be hit on the head with a hammer to get this one.

24. Veto : NIX.

25. Clay, nowadays : ALI. Easy unless you are a sculptor or into pottery.

26. Handy assortment : GADGETS.

30. "Terribly strange" age in Simon & Garfunkel's "Old Friends" : SEVENTY. They are both over seventy now.

34. ICU connections : IVS.

35. Medical unit : CAPSULE. I imagine those who did not like the earlier in the week capsule used as a clue for ROCKET, there will be debate about this clue/fill.

37. "__ you finished?" : ARE.

42. Terrible : AWFUL.

44. F1 neighbor : ESC. If you had to look at your keyboard was that cheating?

45. Makers of wood pulp nests : WASPS. John Lampkin showed us this PICTURE back in December.

49. Gets in one's sights, with "to" : LOCKS ON. As with a telescopic sight on your rifle.

52. Backslides : REVERTS to his/her old habits.

56. Cancels the launch : ABORTS.

57. Fasten : SECURE.

58. "Whip It" rockers : DEVO. Where are they NOW (0:16)?

59. Order outfit : HABIT. Nun too soon.

63. __ on the back : A PAT.

64. Monthly pmt. : ELECtricity bill.

65. Midway alternative : O'HARE. The two major Chicago airports.

66. Choice array : MENU. And the clecho, 43A. Choice array : LIST. 

Down:

1. "¿Qué __?" : PASA. The upside down question mark tells you it is Spanish.

2. Reproductive cell : OVUM. Eggs-actly.

3. Takes back to : REMINDS OF. Like my trip to my 50th high school reunion took me back to my childhood.

4. Goldilocks complaint : TOO BIG. Too hot?

5. Protein-rich bean : SOYA. Soy?

6. Blood __ : CLOT. Lots of Blood____fill- TYPE, TEST, LUST, BANK, LINE, MOON, but this is the first appearance of Clot.

7. Unburden : RID.

8. Anticipatory times : EVES. Twas the night before Christmas....

9. More than adequately : WELL. Oh my, you do that so well!

10. Swaying walk : WADDLE.  Don't make fun it is MEDICAL (1:36).

11. Art museum works, usually : ORIGINALS. There are some numbered prints, perhaps.

12. Increase : RISE.

13. Pro and mini : MACS. Apple computers, here I come. Did I answer why?

21. Business VIP : EXECutive.

23. Architectural projection : EAVE.

26. Colorado tributary : GILA. They meet on the other side of Arizona LINK.

27. State as accurate : AVOW.

28. Bar __ : TAB. Bar none I am sure this is Tin's favorite.

29. Petulance : SPLEEN. I guess someone venting his spleen can be petulant, but this was all perps.

30. Help : SUCCOR. A nice old fashioned word.

31. Yosemite grazer : ELK. I did not know this.

32. Stadium in St. Pete, with "The" : TROPicana. You know who has juice in Florida.

33. Landscaping shrubs : YEWS. I understand they like shade.

36. Obi, e.g. : SASH. So often OBI is the fill.

39. "Pure, stripped down" genre, per Tommy Ramone : PUNK ROCK. One of the originals.

41. Climber's refuge : BASE CAMP.

45. "__ Got Tonight": 1983 hit duet : WE'VE. He redid it with Dolly Parton.

47. Absentee : NO SHOW.

48. Sci-fi author/editor del Rey : LESTER. I used to read a lot of Science Fiction and Lester was one of many who came out of the 30's and pulp magazines. He was also a very successful editor and was the inspiration for one of the members of Isaac Asimov's Black Widowers.

49. Fills with cargo : LADES.

50. Division symbols : OBELI. These are just ÷.

51. Neo-pagan gathering : COVEN. A Cool CSO to our California group.

53. Nepal currency : RUPEE.

54. Big name in air conditioning : TRANE. I prefer this TRAIN.(4:52).

55. Everything but the liquor : SET UP. The juice, ice and sodas that Tin never uses.

60. Word associated with a light bulb : AHA.

61. Echolocation user : BAT. Using the sound bouncing off things instead of seeing. I know the feeling.

62. Steaming state : IRE. We leave as we came with a bit of misdirection which I hope did not leave anyone hot under the collar....

Well I am certainly getting accustomed to JW and his puzzles, so I had fun with this. I hope you did and enjoy the rest of the Golf while the rest of the sporting world rests. Lemonade out.

Friday, July 10, 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Order in the Court! Courtroom DRAMA?

A quick revisit from Mark Bickham who provided Sunday's 21x21. Mark is one of my favorites and this puzzle was happily easy for me based on the subject matter, but it is an odd one. Each of 4 common legal phrases is re-clued in witty fashion and then tied together with an equally deceptive but amusing reveal. I cannot tell if the terminology is tricky for those who do not have a legal background, so I am not sure if the puzzle will be hard for anyone, but it was a quicker than normal solve for me.  The 5 theme related answers use 67 letters, so like last week, we have lots of short fill to balance. Overall this one has a very un-Friday like average word length under 5 letters with lots of black squares. The few non-themers over 5- ALYSSA,  GROSSE,  LIED TO,  NATION,  SPEARS,  SUMMON, INSECTS, INTERNS, BEQUEATHS and  PRE-ASSIGN are okay, and none seem too obscure. Let's look at what happened.

17A. Rating for a recap? : SUMMARY JUDGMENT (15). A recap is a summary; a rating is a judgment; a summary judgment is a legal term referring to the disposition of a case without a trial.

29A. Advice on paper size? : LEGAL COUNSEL (12). I do not use apple computers (at least not until the end of the month) but on all of my print functions, one of the decisions one must make is paper size, letter or legal. If you ask someone to suggest one...legal counsel is one phrase for the attorney.

44A. Dibs on kitchen space? : COUNTERCLAIM (12). Dibs is a great invention, like calling shotgun; while kitchens all have counters. A counterclaim is where a Defendant files an action against the original Plaintiff in a law suit.

58A. Displeased wave of the hand? : MOTION TO DISMISS (15). I can picture many famous hand wave dismissals, while a Motion to Dismiss is a pleading to end a case based sole on deficiencies in the language of the original complaint.

and the reveal:

36A. Fooled by one's imagination ... or, another way, what the four other longest puzzle answers are? : HEARING THINGS (13). All relate to matters which will go to a hearing before a judge.

Okay let's plunge in the rest....

Across:

1. Hybrid carriers : MULES. Great misdirection to begin Friday, if you did not think about cars you are smarter than I.

6. Hardly next door : AFAR.

10. Shelter gp. : SPCA. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a long HISTORY worldwide.

14. Functional : UTILE. One of those words that sounds like more trouble than it is worth.

15. Winter Olympics event : LUGE.

16. __ Mountains: European border range : URAL.

20. Start to state? : TRIstate. I just did the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania part after Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island part.

21. Land east of the Suez Canal : ASIA.

22. June portrayer in "Henry & June" : UMA. Do we like her or not? LINK. (1:28).

23. Trainees : INTERNS. We have a summer intern at the office this year. Her name is Stephanie, we now call her Charlie.

26. __ Pointe: Detroit suburb : GROSSE. An old COMMUNITY.

32. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers since 2010 : ABBA. This would have been hard except that the only bands I could only think of with four letters were ABBA and TOTO which was mentioned yesterday, and TOTO never made it to the hall.

34. Word with sick or cold : OUT. Out sick, or out cold.

35. Press : INK. A term I learned from reading where comments were made about how much ink did a story get.

41. __ au vin : COQ. Who makes this at home?  RECIPE.

42. Ornamental fish : KOI. let's not carp about what they are.

43. Stapes, for one : BONE. Earie?

49. Artist with the 2011 album "Femme Fatale" : SPEARS. A little glimpse of dear BRITNEY. (3:33).

50. Antennae holders : INSECTS. A very fun clue, hey John Lampkin.

54. Took in : ATE. Reminds me of this LIST.

55. Cooperate with in a caper : ABET.

57. Eggs : OVA.

63. Point-of-view intro : IMHO. In My Humble Opinion.

64. It may need cobbling : BOOT. I really like this one.

65. Shafts on the road : AXLES. Don't get cranky if you think they are actually above the road.

66. AAA part: Abbr. : ASSN.

67. Magazine filler : AMMO. Nice classic clue.

68. Erroll Garner classic : MISTY. Worth a LISTEN. (2:48)

Down:

1. "Can't you get someone else?" : MUST I?

2. Political surprise : U-TURN. I had trouble parsing this one. Flip flopping?

3. Cap : LIMIT.

4. Shade provider : ELM.

5. Source of shells : SEA. So simple, I was afraid it was wrong.

6. "Mistresses" co-star Milano : ALYSSA. She and ex co-star Shannen Doherty supposedly cannot be in the same room.

7. Big name in film : FUJI.

8. Río contents : AGUA. A River holds water (Sp.).

9. __ cell : RED. A clue out of the 50's and 60's when people saw communists everywhere.

10. Call : SUMMON. Sounds like a word to use with demons.

11. Designate in advance : PRE-ASSIGN.

12. Has the power : CAN.

13. Either of two space bar flankers : ALT. For the online solvers a gimme, but did you have to look?

18. Checked out of the store, with "up" : RANG.

19. Wise teacher : GURU.

24. Island off Tuscany : ELBA. I was able to get this.

25. Bottom : REAR. PC, PC!

26. Black-clad subculturist : GOTH. My youngest hung out with the goths in early high school, but i believe it was the girl goths who got him.

27. Sight, say : SENSE.

28. Image on Idaho's state flag : ELK.  If you want to see, LOOK.

30. Detective's skill : LOGIC. Elementary my dear Watson.

31. Song on a record : CUT. This used to be literally true.

32. Renoir's "Girl With __" : A HOOP. This was before they realized you could do the Hula with it.

33. Wills : BEQUEATHS. A bonus legal term.

37. A Clanton and a president : IKES. Quite the logical pair. IKE 1. IKE 2.

38. Fish-fowl link : NOR.

39. Sacred wader of ancient Egypt : IBIS. The Miami Hurricanes like this bird, which I did not know comes in red.

40. Seward Peninsula city : NOME. How many of the Corner have been to this Alaskan CITY?

41. Engine units: Abbr. : CCS. Cubic centimeters.

45. Turkey, for one : NATION. Fooled me at first.

46. Old Smartphone : TREO. I had a friend who loved hers, until Blackberry came along.

47. Betrayed, in a way : LIED TO.

48. Unwilling to stand up for : ANTI. Iffn you aint fer me, yer agin me.

51. Some are tightly wound : COILS.

52. Den focal point : TV SET. More from the 50s and 60's.

53. Impudent : SASSY.

55. Smashing target : ATOM. My favorite clue.

56. Mike holder : BOOM. Hand held.

58. Girl's name that's a verb spelled backwards : MIA. This is a really obscure clue; are there other possibilities?

59. Serene sounds : OMS. For those who meditate.

60. Org. with Kings and Wizards : NBA. National Basketball Association. And the free agent parade continues.

61. "I can't remember it, Miss Ilsa" speaker : SAM. Great movie.

62. 11th-century year : MXI. 1011, a kind of pun?

Thank you Mark B. and thank you all for tuning in. Hard to believe we are already in the second half of the year. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Belated Happy 45th Birthday to our Anon-T (Tony), the computer geek, foodie and an incredibly caring friend, on and off the blog. He also solves LA Times puzzle with his mother-in-law at times. So sweet!

 

Anon T, Giza, Feb 2014

2) Happy Birthday to my mentor and close friend Don G, who turns 61 years old today! We've collaborated on over 100 puzzles for various venues the past few years. The time and attention he's given me are truly unparallelled.

Don & his wife Barbie

Friday, July 3, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Take ST and then by magic you have

SC

Well I am back, two weeks have passed and Jeffrey Wechsler is back as well. This is a traditional letter substitution puzzle where the letter "T" following an "S" is removed from a common phrase and replaced with a "C" to create an amusing image, clued with humor. The first three have the change in the first word, the last two the last word. I love much of the fill, with only 69 words and an average length in excess of 5 letters, this is more of challenge. He puts many letters into the theme, also 69 (hmmm) which gives the puzzle an interesting look leaving little room for long down answers. He does have some so so fill but there are ALBINO,  DOES SO,  LOUVER,  MOLSON,  MOSEYS,  OPEN BY,  SPEARS,  TRYSTS,  TUGS AT,  WOOLLY,  ANTLERS,  DESIGNS, DRUM SOLO,  MRS. SMITH,  NOBLESSE, TRAINEES all worth the effort to uncover.  The theme generated some chuckles for me, you?

16A. Imperfect produce? : SCUFFED CABBAGE (14). Stuffed cabbage was a regular meal growing up, and the image of a damaged head of cabbage is cute.

23A. Nocturnal picket-line crosser? : SCAB IN THE DARK (13). Stab in the dark sounds ominous. For me this was the most tortured themer, but it works.

34A. Reconnaissance team? : SCOUTHEARTED MEN (15). Stouthearted men for some reason makes me think of Mel Brooks' Men in Tights.

48A. Result of a London tea cart mishap? : ROLLING SCONES (13). The picture of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards etc. watching their scones roll away is precious.

57A. Feature of a taped hardcore punk performance? : VIDEO SCREAMING (14). Video streaming is hot, but I think of other bands as the screamers.

Okay let's unwrap this baby:

Across:

1. 17th-century privateer : KIDD. All you wanted to know about WILLIAM who is not to be confused with the 15th Century pirate William Kyd.

5. Rock worth unearthing : ORE.

8. Military groups : UNITS. This took longer than it should.

13. About : IN RE. A gimme for those who studied Latin or the law.

14. Downtime for Mars? : PAX. Latin for peace, certainly a rest time for a war god.

15. Absorb : SOP UP. What the bread is for at the end of a really good meal.

19. Rob's "West Wing" role : SAM. Sam SEABORN. (2:24).

20. Domestic tearjerker : ONION. Tricky, but just cut them under water and you can stem the tears.

21. "__ Wedding": "The Simpsons" episode involving a fortune-teller : LISA'S. Easy to guess but the clue was not helpful.

26. Wild partner : WOOLLY. According to phrase finder. "This expression is of American origin and came into being to describe the 'wild' west of the country sometime after the Californian Gold Rush era of the 1850s."

28. __ Alamos : LOS. We had this test site recently.

29. Screening gp. : TSA. Transportation Security Administration.

30. Woodstock performer before Joan : ARLO. he was booed off the stage for refusing to sing Alice's Restaurant,  Ms. Baez was wonderful, and then the rains came.

31. Kid's comeback : DOES SO. Does not!!!

40. Romance novel features : TRYSTS. A lovely old fashioned word that makes cheating sound okay.

41. 1963 role for Shirley : IRMA. La DOUCE (2:15).

42. In the same way as : A LA. Some French for Splynter.

45. Defensive question : AM I? Your ami?

46. It merged with Coors in 2005 : MOLSON. They are all in trouble in the wake of the craft beer revolution.

52. __ Blades, Latin jazz star : RUBEN. No idea; what do you think?

53. Oater omen : NOOSE. Hang 'em High.

54. Uma's "Pulp Fiction" role : MIA. This movie always generates lots of differing opinions, I hated it, then I loved it.

60. Stage direction : ENTER.

61. Vital : KEY.

62. Relative of -ule : ETTE. french diminutive suffixes; tough clue, reversed I would not have gotten it.

63. Ruled quarters? : ROOST.

64. '60s campus org. : SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

65. Their Christmas feast included roast beast : WHOS. Jeffrey must love this family, as I had Cindy Lou Who two weeks ago.

Down:

1. Petruchio's request of Kate : KISS.

2. Empire whose last stronghold was conquered in 1572 : INCA. I missed the anniversary.

3. Ginger Baker specialty : DRUM SOLO. For Bruce, the late Teddy Mueller and all the others who have provided a beat to my life. WATCH (3:38)and listen.

4. Dict. entry : DEFinition. I slipped up on this for a while.

5. Ready for business no later than : OPEN BY.

6. Pizza cuts, essentially : RADII. Literally.

7. Halfway house resident : EX-CON.

8. Flash drive letters : USB. Universal Serial Bus.

9. Roi et reine, par exemple : NOBLESSE oblige. The Nobility.

10. "The drinks were on me" : I PAID. Not I-Pad.

11. Affects, as one's heartstrings : TUGS AT. Perry Como?

12. Divers' weapons : SPEARS.

17. Future yearling : FOAL. Newborn horsey.

18. Hunting lodge decoration : ANTLERS. From a dead deer.

22. Jamaican genre : SKA. Music.

24. Influence : CLOUT.

25. One taking coats, perhaps : HOST. So easy, in retrospect.

26. Used to be : WAS.

27. Tolkien terror : ORC.

31. Chanel creations : DESIGNS. From a time when hot Coco meant something.

32. Grain generally pluralized : OAT. Nobody can eat just one?

33. Ballet's Black Swan : ODILE.

35. Green workers : TRAINEES. Oh, than meaning of GREEN.

36. "Amazing Grace," e.g. : HYMN. We had a memorial service at my reunion with ended with this old stand-by.

37. Big name in pies : MRS. SMITH. What is your favorite?

38. Comic Philips : EMO.

39. Indian flatbread : NAN. 1 A or 2?

42. LAX stat : ARRival.

43. Adjustable door feature : LOUVER. We have lots of these and windows in SoFla.

44. Spooner of Spoonerism fame, for one : ALBINO. I did not know this, I went to school with two albinos, one in grammar school and one in college.

46. Walks unhurriedly : MOSEYS. Exactly my pace for solving puzzles.

47. Most fit to serve : ONE-A. The opposite of 4-F.

49. Engendered : LED TO.

50. Subjects of washday mysteries : SOCKS. What dryers live on.

51. Hollowed out : CORED.

55. Delighted by : IN TO. I am really in to JW's puzzles, I wonder if he will be back in two weeks again?

56. Quite a long time : AGES.

58. Scrap : ORT. A single oat? Not to be confused with Orc.

59. Copy cats : MEW. This is all CED needs for an hour's worth of cute kittens; enjoy all;  have great holiday, be careful with  the fireworks and remember to honor those who both made us free and keep us free.

It was great to be gone, see old friends and relatives, show my wife my childhood home, meet marti in person etc. but it is good to be back. Lemonade out.

Friday, June 19, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Get the "F" out of here!

Two weeks, so it must be time for another Jeffrey Jem. The concluding "F" in the final word in a known phrase is removed leaving a new phrase humorously but correctly clued. After all of the 'add a letter' puzzles, here we have one with a disappearing letter. I was most impressed that he found 5 such phrases and each of the resulting new ones are very evocative and reasonable. Like the comment C.C. made last Sunday about Melanie's W, I found it unfortunate we have the MFA/FLESH crossing leaving a single F in the grid. I see the problem since the placement of two of the theme fill restricted the choices, but in a perfect world...We have a nice mini-theme of singer songwriters, as well as many interrelated concepts. Not much in the way of long fill, ACCENT,  AUBURN,  EXCELS,  POLLEN,  SAVIOR,  SULLEN, UNREAL,  VENEER, ELEVATES,  SCENE TWO but plenty of road blocks. Let us get going....

18A. USDA-approved cheese? : LEGAL BRIEF (9). This is a theme and answer where you need the perps to get started with the first themer, but once you "see" the missing "F" it all makes sense.

24A. Query when a certain queen goes missing? : WHERE'S THE BEEF (12). This I found to be a particularly fair clue, because the Q is not capitalized leaving queen bee as one of a very limited few possible answers. I hope everyone remembers dear Clara Peller.

 40A. Plow one's recently purchased field?: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF  (15). Very nice use of the word LEA.

50A. Revolutionary as a successful businessman? : EXECUTIVE CHEF (12). Great visual of cigar smoking, beret wearing Che Guevera running a vape store in SoFla

62A. Improved sci-fi computer? : BETTER HALF (10). Well almost any computer not trying to kill the humans would be nice.

On that rather special note let us move on....

Across:

1. Activities for seniors : PROMS. High school, not for me and you.

6. Cinematographer's deg. : MFA. Master of Fine Arts.

9. __ Summer: U.S. Naval Academy training program : PLEBE. A logical guess.

14. "Service at the Speed of Sound" franchise : SONIC. We have them here, but I am more familiar with Freaky Fast.

15. Not just some : ALL.

16. Ran very slowly : OOZED. Sadly, I associate the word with wounds...

17. Selassie of Ethiopia : HAILE. This was once a regular in puzzles, but his fame has dimmed, but this week a comeback?

20. Actor's study, perhaps : ACCENT. Are you all as amazed as I am at how well non-Americans like Stephen "Bill" Moyer, Simon "Jane" Baker, Hugh "House" Lawrie and oodles more are so believable with their accents? They often practice on a  64D. Studio __ : LOT.

22. King David's predecessor : SAUL.  and some more bible, 11D. Book of __ : EZRA. This is the story of the first return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian diaspora and the rebuilding of the temple, and 31D. Genesis wife : LEAH. Along with her sister Rachel, she married Jacob.

23. Gothic novelist Radcliffe : ANN. A Friday obscurity, this reclusive AUTHOR was a Gothic pioneer.

27. Head of the Greek Titans? : TAU. Cute.

28. "I can't believe my eyes!" : UNREAL. Like many Gothic Novels.

32. Angled pipe : ELBOW. Almost right next to 39A. North Sea feeder : ELBE

36. Atomic theory pioneer : BOHR. What I know about this MAN was begun from reading Margaret Grimes' Inspector Jury mysteries.

43. Obi-Wan portrayer : ALEC. great actor, Mr. Guiness

44. Early romantic figure : EROS. The boy god.

45. Controlling chain : LEASH. Below LEA.

46. Morose : SULLEN.

48. Named period : AGE. So many un-PC thoughts....

57. Org. concerned with smog : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

60. Firm bosses : CEOS. Chief Executive Officers

61. One who delivers : SAVIOR. Not Jimmy John. Not my favorite clue/fill.

65. :50, another way : TEN TO. Ten 'til?

66. London __ : BROIL. I always marinate before the broiling. It is a matter of...

67. Source of pride : EGO.

68. Wrapped on a set : ENDED. On a movie, or tv series set. More show biz.

69. Family and economy : SIZES. I just love how companies change products from 32 oz to 28 oz, keep the price the same and think we are too stupid to notice the price increase. That is why our grocery stores now post the price per ounce,

70. Big top item : NET. Unless they are real daredevils, working without one is then the norm. That would show great...

71. Way : STYLE. Each blogger has a unique style.

Down:

1. "Baloney!" : PSHAW. Old timey expressions.

2. Orkin target : ROACH.

3. In abeyance : ON ICE. A non-CSO for Tin.

4. Track competitor : MILER. And, 53D. Relay or dash : EVENT. At the track meet.

5. Theatrical division : SCENE TWO. More show biz.

6. Wrong at the start? : MAL. The prefix, from the Latin meaning bad, e.g. LINK.

7. Crayola color renamed Peach in 1962 : FLESH.

8. Some microflora : ALGAE. Micro meaning tiny -flora plant

9. Floral dispersion : POLLEN. More flora(l). I love how these clues are together.

10. Part of an alley-oop play : LOB.

12. Flower children's gathering : BE IN. Been there....

13. "Gates of __": Bob Dylan song : EDEN. Not his biggest hit. 34D. "The Song of Old Lovers" songwriter : BREL Jacques. 51D. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard : COHEN. My mini-theme.
LINK 1. LINK 2. LNK 3.

19. Georgia rival since 1892 : AUBURN. A small town in Alabama but home to a national football power for years.

21. Org. that issues "Known Traveler" numbers : TSA. Transportation  Security  Administration

25. River floater : TUBER. Not a lost potato, but one of the memorable parts of going to law school in Gainesville, Florida.

26. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron : ERE WE.

"Maid of Athens, ere we part,
Give, oh, give back my heart!
Or, since that has left my breast,
Keep it now, and take the rest!
Hear my vow before I go,
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ."

29. Self-titled 1969 jazz album : ELLA. Always fun to showcase Ms. Fitzgerald. LISTEN. (4:29)

30. Five-spots : ABES. Five dollar bills. Who will be the woman on the $10?

32. LAX postings : ETAS. Estimated Time of Arrival.

33. Humdinger : LULU.

35. Rouen relative : ONCLE. Le mari de ma tante.

37. Valuable elemento : ORO. Gold!

38. Attacks : HAS AT.

41. Dental treatment : VENEER. Interesting that veneers were first used with wood and now we have porcelain ones for teeth, which were also wood at one time.

42. Improves : ELEVATES. Announcers are forever talking about athletes elevating their game, like LeBron, to the point where he....

47. Has no peer : EXCELS.

49. USO show audience : GIS.

52. Dictionary information : USAGE.

54. ___ Lou, Who girl who interrupted the Grinch's burglary : CINDY.

55. Travelocity option : HOTEL.

56. Slowly reduce : ERODE. Everything from rocks to confidence.

57. Recedes : EBBS. Well my energy is in fact...

58. Prefix with meter : PERImeter. This is a Friday usage, fer shure.

59. Familiar gamut : A TO Z.

63. Clip-on, maybe : TIE. I guess I am one of the few who still wears ties regularly, but no clip-ons. But it is time to move on, as another week comes to an end. Next time I see you all it will be summer and the days will be getting shorter. Hope you enjoyed our biweekly visit with JW, thanks Jeffrey; Lemonade out.

Friday, June 12, 2015, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Marketing 101: add an ad.

What a last 4 weeks with Jeffrey Wechsler, John Lampkin, and now Don and C.C. They had this Tea Party puzzle in April. It is only fitting that this team kick off the weekend of the Fourth Annual Minnesota Crossword set for this Sunday, the 14th, here at the Corner.

This time we have an add an AD to a recognizable two word phrase, with the first three added to the middle of the first word, the last to the beginning of the final word. While an outlier, I love the quote from Thelonious Monk. The rest of the puzzle has the now usual mix of deceptively clued facts or not too well known proper names which make the fill a challenge.  Some sparkle in the intermediate length answers like ATHENA, AUSTIN,  BROKAW,  CREEPO,  ESALEN,  MOROSE, SPARTA,   ELECTIVE, SPARE RIB, UPSTAGES with the use of some double words to make the challenge greater MUD PIE, SPOT ON, TONE UP, LADY DI, and  LIE AWAKE. Overall not an easy puzzle but a fun Friday.

17A. Sheep and cows grazing together? : MEADOW MIX (9). Meow Mix. A little cat food transforms to big animal fodder.

30A. Taking turns ranting? : TIRADE ROTATION (14). Tire rotation.

48A. Spy industry? : SHADOW BUSINESS (14). My favorite. Show business.

63A. Monk's "The piano ain't got no wrong notes," e.g? : JAZZ ADAGE (9). Jazz Age.

and the reveal:

60D. Court term, and hint to this puzzle's four longest answers : AD IN. It is cool how constructors see these phrases as the building block of a puzzle.

Across:

1. Oilman who once owned the New York Jets : HESS. He bought out his partners and hired Bill Parcells. LINK. Hess gas station recently became Speedway. What will happen to the trucks?

5. Voucher : CHIT. A very common fill.

9. "MacGyver" actor Dana : ELCAR. I recall this odd looking man, but confused the LC as CL for a bit.

14. "Happy Starts Here" food company : ALPO.  LINK. (0:15).

15. Something about us all? : AURA. Cute, about us not about us....

16. Lash of Westerns : LARUE. A different time and place. LINK.(14:36).

19. Latin clarifier : ID EST. i. e.

20. Rough projection : CRAG.

21. __ Flags : SIX. Theme parks.

23. Brand of coolers : YETI. No idea; are THEY big in Minnesota?

24. Chateau __ Michelle winery : STE.

25. "... the __ below / As hush as death ... ": "Hamlet" : ORB.

28. Chocolate dessert : MUD PIE. Cookies have taken over the RECIPES but as long as I get my coffee ice cream and hot fudge, I am happy. Not related to our fill from a few weeks ago.

34. Baleful : EVIL. We hit a sour patch here. Baleful is not a common word.

35. Sullen : MOROSE.

36. Char-Broil competitor : WEBER. We have to leave our grills out back as we have no open patios.

38. Last state to be admitted to the U.S. before the start of the Civil War : KANsas.

39. French toast : SALUT. Not the common "à votre santé."

44. Big Sur retreat : ESALEN. This institute was quite popular in the 60s and 70s; want to know MORE?

47. Morning co-host : RIPA. You think she works out?

52. Precise : SPOT ON. A very popular phrase these days.

53. Kung __ shrimp : PAO. Very food intensive grid. YUMMY? HATED?

54. Took sides? : ATE. Great deception, I love the choice of sides at Boston Market.(more food).

55. Lattice strip : LATH.

56. Nigerian culinary staple : YAM. I had no idea. LEARN. (food)

59. Tot's glassful : WAWA.

61. Diner unit : ORDER. (food).

67. Right wrongs : ATONE. As our major religious day is the one of ATONEMENT this could not be easier. I point out, it also parses as AT ONE, which also describes the goal of mankind to be AT ONE with each other and the divine. You remember the quote?

68. "Land for sale" sign datum : AREA.

69. Its logo uses Sweden's national colors : IKEA.

70. Trouble : NAG AT. I do not get this clue/fill.

71. Phoned : RANG. Ah the old days, when we rang people up.

72. Costner role : NESS.

Down:

1. Pork cut : HAM. and the nearby clecho 3A. Pork cut : SPARE RIB. A continuation of a food mini-theme.

2. Student's option : ELECTIVE. Most use these to find easy courses to pad their GPA.

4. Pop : SODA. Not father related, but the predominately Midwest concept for carbonated beverages.

5. Call in a field : CAW. From a crow haunting your corn field.

6. White noise, perhaps : HUM. HMM.

7. Tennessee state flower : IRIS. Had absolutely no idea but 4 letter flowers are limited. A rose by any other name?

8. Waiter at O'Hare : TAXI. Nice deception, slowed me a bit.

9. Country's __ Young Band : ELI. An example of what for me is an obscure proper name, though they are playing in Winsted, MN at the Winstock Country Music Festival tomorrow. No link, I could not find one without extensive ads.

10. Prince George's grandma : LADY DI. I wonder if she would have enjoyed being a grandmother?

11. Lowlife, slangily : CREEPO.

12. Southernmost 48-states capital : AUSTIN. Many people forget this is the capital of Texas, though I had a roommate born and raised there, so I knew.

13. Get even with again : RETIE. More deception, not revenge but a tying score. 37D. More than modify : REDO.

18. Prayer opener : O GOD.

22. Brief holiday? : XMAS. When I was young the use of this term was decried by the Church.

24. Ratatouille, for one : STEW. Do you use this RECIPE? My wife makes this not knowing it by name and using Thai Basil for a spark. (MORE FOOD!) Where is Steve?

26. "Losing My Religion" band : REM.

27. Longtime Rather rival : BROKAW. Tom and Dan, they replaced Brinkley and Cronkite.

29. Pac-12 team : UTES. Very original out in Utah.

31. Yard sale? : ALE. Really fun deception, and I did drink a yard of ale at the local German restaurant when I was at dinner with my sons and nephew.

32. P&G dental brand : ORAL B.

33. Get ripped : TONE UP. Most just say tone.


40. Prince __ of Ord, friend of Valiant : ARN. Crossword staple.

41. Act restlessly : LIE AWAKE. We have all had those nights.

42. Draws attention from, in a way : UPSTAGES. Often literally.

43. Zap : TASE.

45. Xperia maker : SONY. I am not familiar with this line of smart phones and tablets.

46. Surveillance org. : NSA. National Security Agency. No politics.

48. Ancient Laconian state : SPARTA. This is the southernmost part of Greece is Laconia (Λακωνία) now recognized as a regional unit with Sparta as a Municipality therein. The long time rivals of Athens named after....

49. Show-off : HOTDOG. Not food, but...

50. Goddess who advised Odysseus : ATHENA. Guess who?

51. "The Bridges of Madison County" setting : IOWA.

52. Plumbing brand : SLOAN. Just look around in the restrooms of your choice.

57. Open slightly : AJAR.

58. Actress Rooney __ : MARA. She was haunting in GIRL IN A DRAGON TATTOO. (3:50)

62. Like Gen. Shinseki : RETired. Very decorated soldier, with a troubled ending to his career. READ.

64. __ garden : ZEN. relax, we are coming to the end.

65. Turn sharply : ZAG. Which is sharper this or the ZIG?

66. __ in echo : E AS.


A fine way to finish the work week. Thanks Hard G and the incomparable C.C. Thanks a lot lemonade out

Notes from C.C.:

As Lemonade mentioned earlier, the fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Sunday. Please click here for more details. 

Don G and I teamed up again this year. Other constructors include George Barany, Victor Barocas (also our hard-working editor), the team of Andrea Carla Michaels & Jon Berman,  Michael David, Johanna Fenimore, David Hanson, David Liben-Nowell, Tom Pepper & Amy Reynaldo (Orange of the Crossword Fiend). 

rge Barany

Hope to see some of you there.

Friday June 5, 2105, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Wow, three every other week Fridays from Jeffrey, with each quite different. If this were a Rugby match JW would have scored big time. No puns here, adding "TRY" into known phrases to create new fill clued with lots of visual humor. Structurally, I initially thought the word count and blocks were more reminiscent of an early week puzzle, but then the 16 x 15 grid was revealed. This once again caused cheater squares for the central fill, and allowed the 16 letter grid spanners. There is lots of difficulty and some nice long entries to both slow you down and speed you up when they click. EASTERN, ONENESS , PAL JOEY, TASTING, PIG BARNS,  STAMP TAX are fun and many of the 6 letter fill, like NO DISC, TALESE, YE GODS, DOMINO and CITRUS are not overused.  With all this practice, I had a quick run with a good deal of the puzzle, with only the SE a bit of a slog. I also appreciated some of the little things, like cluing ____Box, followed by Box___, the CELL semi clecho, and an N.T., O.T. pair. Also the placement of the TRY is consistent, 1/3 end of first word  2/4 end of last word. I will stop talking and get to the puzzle.

19A. Scene when stores open on Black Friday? : ENTRY DASH (9) A quick reprise from yesterday, sort of. When I first started trying to do crossword puzzles on my own, instead of trying to horn in on my parents' solving efforts, ENS, EMS and ERS were very common fill. If you read the LINK it does not add the EN and EM are type face measures, which I would imagine is how the dashes got their name. I did make the mistake of going to a Best Buy one Black Friday morning.

31A. Superhero preparing to cook dinner? : FLASH IN THE PANTRY (16). There is a new TV series which was part of the basis of conflict between Sheldon and Amy. LINK. (1:00) Again, for me the visual is cool, a superhero cooking.

37A. Eclair big enough to share? : PASTRY DE DEUX (12). The 'step of two', or pairs ballet. LINK.(9:02). I wonder how big that eclair would need to be before it would be shared, as I do like a good one.

45A. Efficient wall decor for a steel vault? : MAGNETIC TAPESTRY (16). My favorite because the visual is so appealing with the ornate rug sticking by magnetism

62A. Just tempting enough ... and what 19-, 31-, 37- and 45-Across are? : WORTH A TRY (9).  The rare Friday reveal.

Across:

1. Was missing : LACKED. Not the easiest of 1A clues, but very fair.

7. Cell download : APP. If you do not have a smart phone, you probably do not know about the millions of available APPlications.

10. "The Wild Duck" playwright : IBSEN. I filled this confidently, though I have never heard of the play. We get a lot of this prolific Norwegian.

15. Inclusive term : ET ALII. I had the two Is from the perps, so I avoided the alia/alii question.

16. Engage in a bit of self-criticism : RUE. For me, this is one of those clues that ends up making sense, but ruing the day etc. I did not think was always self-criticism. No no? 48D. Rue family tree : CITRUS. This is really obscure, and an odd way clue the fruit especially with RUE as fill. Hopefully JW will let us know where this piece of arcane info came from. "Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae." wiki

17. Word on a résumé : VITAE. There is debate as to whether a CV can be considered a résumé. LINK since a Curriculum Vitae is comprehensive and a résumé by its name is a summary.

18. Item with pips : DOMINO. Since Gladys Knight did not fit, and I already had EINE and DIOS and this game is very popular in South Florida, the NW was going well.

21. "I believe in the absolute __ ... of humanity": Gandhi : ONENESS. The tricky use of ...obscures the entire quotation and any religious implication.

23. Investment initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

24. CPR provider : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

25. Certain rider : FARE. Do any of you all use UBER?

26. Boost, say : ASSIST.

29. Quill __ : PEN.

35. Yachting, perhaps : ASEA. An acceptable A word, that people actually use.

36. Relies (on) : LEANS.

42. Pub patron's words : A PINT. What musical has refers to a pint?

44. Pole-to-pole link : AXIS.

53. Tirana is its cap. : ALBania.

54. Blu-ray player error message : NO DISC.

55. Sandusky's lake : ERIE. CSO again!

56. N.T. book : JAS. James.

58. Comprehended : GOT. I got it!

59. Winery event : TASTING. It was at such an event that I met in person the irrepressible and golf talented Chairman.

65. "Move it!" : LET'S GO.

66. Principle : TENET.

67. Dickens' "__ Mutual Friend" : OUR.  Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. Wikipedia.

68. Fountain offering : MALTED. I have not had one in years.

69. Minor surgery targets : CYSTS.

70. Old spy gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. LINK.

71. Heads (toward) : STEERS.

Down:

1. Started : LED OFF. The downs....

2. Like many Schoenberg compositions : ATONAL.

3. Cell component : CAMERA. I am old enough to still be amazed about the cell/camera and the quality of the immediate image you get.

4. Actors Kevin and Richard : KLINES.  LINK 1. Many great comedy movies. LINK 2. Three's Company. Not related.

5. Article in Der Spiegel : EINE. The German newspaper. 34A. Fresh, to a Frau : NEU. German 'NEW.'

6. Spanish deity : DIOS.

7. "__ you kidding?" : ARE.

8. Lock up, say : PUNISH.

9. '60s Moore role : PETRIE.

10. One of an academic octet : IVY. Can you name them all without looking? I bet Bill G. can.

11. Sit tight : BIDE.

12. Subject of a 1765 act : STAMP TAX. Isn't it fun when something you learned a million years ago pops into your brain.

13. Defunct carrier : EASTERN. Living in Florida, this was a gimme.

14. O.T. book : NEHemiah.

20. Woodworking tool : RASP.

22. More practical : SANER.

27. Vacation time : STAY. Not an easy parse for me.

28. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. Guy was a newspaper guy who later wrote books. "News, if unreported, has no impact. It might as well have not happened at all."
Gay Talese

30. FDR was once its governor : NYS. New York State.

32. Move it : HASTEN. Not my favorite word.

Hasten Jason
Get the Basin
Oops slop
Get the mop.

33. Violin attachment? : IST. How many started out thinking, what in the world do you put on a violin?

37. Farm houses : PIG BARNS. I never thought they had them, only a sty. but I grew up in Cow Country.

38. Cape named by Charles I : ANN. Explorer John Smith named all the capes using native American words, his King changed many; one was Cape Ann, which Charles named in honor of his mother Anne of Denmark. Wiki.

39. "__ Love": "Carmen Jones" song : DATS. For marti. Link. A sad story retold many times; Dorothy Dandridge did the 1954 movie.

40. Demand : EXACT.  SPOLIER ALERT!!!!!!!
The chief Sparrow exacted a stiff penalty from Cersei.

41. Decline : DIP. TV pundits love to speak of dips in the market.

42. Org. encouraging vaccination : AMA. I was tempted to put CVS, but knew better.

43. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" musical : PAL JOEY.

46. Inedible wrap : TOGA. Sari also fits.

47. Affirming retort : I DO TOO. Back again.

49. Wrap up : SETTLE. Your account?

50. Sibelius' "Valse __" : TRISTE. The Sad Waltz.  LISTEN. Classic.

51. Dead __ : RINGER.

52. "Holy moly!" : YE GODS.

57. Cancel the dele : STET. More historical crosswordese.

60. __ box : ALMS.

61. Box __ : SEAT.

62. NYC Freedom Tower locale : WTC. World Trade Center.

63. Nos. on driver's licenses : HTS. As opposed to wts.

64. Anniversary no. : YRS.

In the end, it was a workout but fun and I was pleased I got it all. Thanks again Jeffrey and all of you. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to TTP, who used to be very active on the blog. Busy with your golf league, pal?

2) Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Misty and her husband Rowland! Misty mentioned that she's going to make coq au vin for the special occasion. Let us know how it turns out.

Misty & Rowland 2009 (15th Anniversary Party)