Sunday June 30, 2013 Elizabeth C. Gorski

Theme:"PH Balance" - P & H bookend each theme entry.

23A. 11-part documentary with the episodes "Caves" and "Deserts" : PLANET EARTH

 

37A. "Peanuts" Halloween setting : PUMPKIN PATCH. Remember John Lampkin's Pumpkin puzzle?

68A. Yamaha seat, perhaps : PIANO BENCH

71A. It can help you put on a coat : PAINT BRUSH

100A. Soapbox delivery : PUBLIC SPEECH. And 107A. 1942 Cooper role : GEHRIG (Lou). The Pride of the Yankees. "... today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" is one of the best public speeches. 

121D. Fruity pastry : PPRUNE DANISH

33D. Hybrid language : PIDGIN ENGLISH

 

35D. A former ace might be one : PITCHING COACH

 

Simple theme today. Liz Gorski's NYT puzzles often have an extra layer of visual involved. She's a true artist. 

She's also a brilliant clue writer. Rich probably changed only a few words of her clues.

 

Across:

1. Sixth-day creation : ADAM

5. Iraqi port : BASRA. Sinbad's hometown.

10. Exchange : SWAP

14. Supermodel with a Global Chic collection : IMAN. Never tried her products, but I'm aware of the line.

18. Jared of "Lonely Hearts" : LETO

19. Places of worship : ALTARS

21. Kent State state : OHIO

22. Upscale : TONY

25. Lopsided win : ROMP

26. Trumpeter, e.g. : SWAN. Trumpeter swan. Wiki said it's "the heaviest bird native to North America and is, on average, the largest extant waterfowl species on earth."

27. Motorcade wheels : SEDANS

28. Flea market transactions : RE-SALES

30. Meager : SCANTY

32. Happy outdoorsman? : CAMPER

34. Grafton's "__ for Malice" : M IS

35. "The Little Sparrow" : PIAF (Edith)

36. "My Cousin Vinny" Oscar winner : TOMEI (Marisa)

42. E. African land : ETH (Ethiopia). Has any of you dined at the Red Rooster?

44. Year-span separator : EN DASH

47. After-dinner drink : PORT

48. Noodlehead : SCHMO. The SCHMO in our association has a garage sale almost every week. 8 bikes on his lawn yesterday! He called those who complained about him "Racist". And 94D. Downsizing event? : DIET. Not yard sale, you SCHMO!

49. Quaint writer : QUILL

51. Despondency : GLOOM

53. Personal quirk : TIC

54. Resort NE of Los Alamos : TAOS

55. __ Reader: eclectic magazine : UTNE

56. "Beats me!" : I DUNNO

58. Fancy pillowcase : SHAM

61. Blast cause : TNT

62. "Let __!": "Move on!" : IT GO

63. Power dept. : ENER

64. __-pah band : OOM

66. Personal ltrs. : INITS. How many letters in your name? Mine has 15 and quite scrabbly.

75. Italian fashion center : MILAN

76. Get takeout, say : EAT

78. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE (William)

79. Visiting the Getty Center, briefly : IN LA

80. Turkish honorific : AGA

82. NASA hire : ENGR

84. Landing strip : TARMAC

86. Britney's ex, in tabloids : K-FED. He was her backup dancer at the beginning. J-Lo's current boyfriend is her backup dancer as well.

87. Long lunches : SUBS

89. Schlep : LUG

91. "... farm, __" : E I E I O

92. Aptly named novelist : READE (Charles)

93. "Dust Tracks on __": Zora Neale Hurston autobiography : A ROAD

95. Apple product : iPOD

97. Bank ad number : CD RATE. Ultra low.

99. El Al home: Abbr. : ISR

103. Humidor item : CIGAR

105. Radio host John : TESH

106. __ Balls: Hostess snack food : SNO

109. Hospitality : WARMTH

112. From now on : ANYMORE

114. Iron target : ANEMIA

118. Berry touted as a superfood : ACAI. This always stumps some on our blog. Super friendly letter combo, so you'd better commit it to your memory.

119. Org. with part of a prominent statue in its logo : ACLU

123. It may be ear-to-ear : GRIN

124. Wild way to run : RIOT

125. Doddering : SENILE. I often wonder if Deep Throat revealed his identity willingly.

126. Sussex streetcar : TRAM

127. Dover delicacy : SOLE

128. Breadbasket bunch : PATS

129. Parts of goblets : STEMS

130. It often takes place in a bar : JOKE

Down:

1. Skier's mecca : ALPS

2. Editing mark : DELE

3. Hardly at all : A TAD

4. Rainier's locale : MONACO. Oh, I was thinking of Mt. Rainier. Not the prince.

5. Cricket players : BATSMEN

6. Bass in a glass : ALE. Bass ale.

7. It may be glassy : STARE

8. Less common : RARER

9. Dance and such : ARTS

10. Touchy subject : SORE SPOT

11. Villagers below Mount Crumpit : WHOS.  Dr. Seuss.

12. Goal : AIM

13. Visits on a whim : POPS IN

14. "Believe you me!" : IT'S A FACT. Never said "Believe you me".

15. Cut : MOWN

16. Constitutional subj.? : ANAT. Great clue.

17. Abbr. on Manhattan mail : NY, NY

20. SeaWorld headliner : SHAMU

24. Tooth coating : ENAMEL

29. Tired : LIMP

31. They may be used for emphasis : CAPS

36. Doohickey : THINGAMABOB. Nice entry.

37. Sound unit : PHON. So is SONE.

38. Reality TV matriarch Jenner : KRIS. Grandma to North West.

39. Ethical complaint : THAT'S UNFAIR

40. "Hurry!" : C'MON

41. Olympics city, e.g. : HOST

42. Furnish : EQUIP

43. Everyone, in orchestral scores : TUTTI

45. Noted Mayflower passenger : ALDEN (John)

46. Origin : SOURCE

50. "Spanglish" actress Téa : LEONI

52. Phone button sequence : MNO

57. Alley in comics : OOP

59. Pay (up) : ANTE

60. Will Smith film series, briefly : MIB (Men in Black). And 104D. Will Smith's role in 60-Down : AGENT J. Tommy Lee Jones is Agent K.

63. "Personal Witness: Israel Through My Eyes" author : EBAN (Abba)

65. Injured badly : MAIMED

67. Playground ride : TRIKE

69. Grand __ Opry : OLE

70. Bowler, for one : HAT. Nailed it.

72. Lead __: EPA concern : IN AIR

73. Flexible Flyers, e.g. : SLEDS

74. Recent "SNL" regular Bill : HADER

77. Inventor's monogram : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.

80. Urgent acronym : ASAP. Hurry up to Home Depot, while you're still young.

81. Trusted adviser : GURU

83. College hoops coach with 876 victories : RUPP ( Adolph). Gimme for PK. I drew a blank. Rupp Arena is named after him.

85. Really funny : RICH

88. Grueling workplace : SALT MINE. Yet salt is so cheap.

90. Freaks out : GOES NUTS

92. Capital west of Winnipeg : REGINA

96. Turn down : DENY

98. Cross words : TIRADES. Another great clue.

101. Note in a D major scale : C SHARP

102. Free stuff : COMPS

107. Weight room sound : GRUNT

108. "__ Meenie": Kingston/Bieber song : EENIE

109. Wits : WAGS

110. High opening : ACRO

111. Track boundary : RAIL

112. Tremendously : A LOT

113. Holders of buried treasures : ORES. Love it. Hard to come up fresh clues for ORES.

115. Joan of art : MIRO

116. "Winter's Tales" author Dinesen : ISAK. Only know her "Out of Africa".

117. Words of lament : AH ME

120. Org. in Clancy novels : CIA

122. Spreading tree : ELM

C.C.

Saturday, Jun 29th, 2013, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing C,F,Q,W)

Blocks: 30

   Mark's "hair styles" puzzle appeared on Sunday, June 2nd, so he has "bookends" for the month~!  Again, we have a non-intimidating grid, with the long answers inside the edges - seems to be a new trend in Saturday puzzles....although we do have triple stacks of 2-9's and a 10-letter word top and bottom.  Some of the notables;

19. Powerful military tactic : BLITZKRIEG - "Lightning War"

53. Clownfish host : SEA ANEMONE - Can you "find" Nemo~?

32. "Halo: Reach" and "Kinect Adventures!" notably : X-BOX GAMES

 

26. High point in 1980 news : Mt. St. HELENS - Great fill, with 5 consonants to start

O+N+W+A+R+D = 75

ACROSS:

1. "Dad Is Fat" author/comedian Gaffigan : JIM - One of my favorite comedians, he's also acted in Law & Order, too

4. Wipe away __ : A TEAR - ugh, an "A" word

9. More popular song, usually : SIDE A - ugh, ANOTHER "A" word

14. Not getting by the censors : UNAIRABLE

16. How some errors are shown : IN RED

17. Tough taskmasters : MARTINETS - this filled in mostly via perps, and so I had to look it up; essentially, that's the definition - one who is a strict disciplinarian, especially military

18. Panache : STYLE

21. Basic Latin verb : ESSE - "to be"

22. Big cheer : OLÉ

23. Giant Giant : OTT - Crossword Baseball standard

24. Greenstreet co-star in "The Verdict" (1946) : LORRE - not the Paul Newman version

26. Letters above WXYZ : MNO - I semi-cheated, and looked at my house phone to save time

27. Team Frisbee game : ULTIMATE - I prefer Frisbee Golf to this game

30. Place cheek by jowl : JUXTAPOSE - I love this word

34. Pocket protector? : MISER - I was thinking "GUARD", as in the QB pocket in football, but in this case, it's a metaphor for money

35. Altar attire : ALBS - ah, not GOWN

36. Dog seen with Kvack the duck : SNERT - Hagar the Horrible, in comic strips

38. Signs of affection : X O X O - hugs and kisses in letters and cards

39. Bad marks : BLOTS

41. Some auditors : I.R.S. AGENTS

43. Tuba relatives : SAX HORNS

45. '60s pop group __ Bravos : LOS

46. Eponymous California museum founder : GETTY

47. Brighton beer, briefly : BEV - all perps; thought it was "IPA" at first

48. Mo. in which Caesar was born : JUL - this is odd; he is credited with reform of the calendar, which prior to JULIUS Caesar, did not contain JULY and AUGUST; so how could he be born in July?

51. Caspian feeder : URAL - map, at the top

56. Staycation locales : HOMES - "Stay-at-home" vacations becomes "staycations" - My Aunt and Cousin are here from England; we went to my brother's house for a BBQ last night, and tonight we are having a bonfire.  Here's the pic I took of them; Ann, Brother Kev, Mom, and Carole

58. Kakadu National Park site : AUSTRALIA - map, at the top

59. Admits customers : OPENS

60. What many tests measure : RETENTION

61. "The Glass Bead Game" author : HESSE

62. Places for runners : SLEDS - ah, not LANES

63. Couple in "Annie" : ENs - did not fool me;  a-N-N-i-e

DOWN:

1. Egg size : JUMBO - My queen size Sleep Number bed came Wednesday; in the store, I 'selected' 45 as my number - now I am experimenting at home

2. Collectively : IN ALL

3. Women's magazine __ Claire : MARIE

4. Cardinals' home : ARIZONA - Baseball for C.C.  - OOPS~! This is the football team~! (Splynter)

5. Warm-weather wear : TANK TOPS - today we will go with one for the guys, and one for the gals

6. "I would rather eat a golf ball than see this movie again" writer : EBERT - we just had his B-day puzzle~!

7. Voices in il coro : ALTI

8. Property flippers, e.g. : RESELLERS

9. Family gal : SIS

10. Blends : INTERMIXES

11. When many grazing animals migrate : DRY SEASON

12. Fish without pelvic fins : EELS

13. Chick follower? : ADEE - chickadee

15. Morticia's cousin : ITT - Love the theme - earworm~!

20. Nabbed : GOT

25. Glass part : RIM - ah, not CUP

27. Mouse movers : USERS

28. Droid message : TEXT

29. "__ Turannos": E.A. Robinson poem about a complex marriage : EROS

30. Ring tactics : JABS

31. "The Producers" bombshell : ULLA

33. No spring chicken : ON IN YEARS

37. Bearing gifts? : TALENTED

40. One on a liquid diet? : SOT

42. Controls : GOVERNS

44. Some NFL linemen : RTs - Right Tackles

47. Vigorously denounce : BASTE

48. Voight's actress daughter : JOLIE - Took me a moment to recall that Angelina is Jon's daughter

49. Strike caller : UNION - Today is my 3-year anniversary working at the UPS terminal - no strikes in my future; UPS seemed WAY too happy to give us what we asked for in the new contract; I expect to be full-time by the end of August, and not as a driver - I passed the test, but passed on the position; my Home Inspection license arrived the day that Mark's last puzzle was posted.

50. Lists in a regatta : LEANS - List is the nautical term for not being on an even keel

51. "Oops!" : UH-OH

52. Sheet in a regatta : ROPE - more nautical terminology

54. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author : AUEL

55. Framing item : MAT - I thought CEL first; this is this

57. Compass dir. : SSE

Splynter  - Hey, I'm down to 193lbs from sweating at UPS~! (C.C.: Way to go! Meet Me in St. Louis for 4D!)

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Barry G, whose posts I look forward to every morning. Barry's comments are consistently constructive. I value very much WBS (What Barry Said/Says).