Saturday, Oct 31st, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: Happy Halloween~!

Words: 70 (missing X )

Blocks: 27

  We last saw today's constructor on a Saturday way back in January; I mention this not only because it's true, but I had just returned from upstate NY where my friend Garry has his wind- and solar-powered cabins - and this weekend I move into his house in Flanders. As for the puzzle, I was hoping it would not be too much of a brain-drain.  Gave myself a pat on the back for getting thru most of the gird, but it was a WAGfest in the NW.  Triple 9's crossing triple 7's in the corners are make for one of the worst kinds of grid - it usually means proper names/two-word answers/extreme vagueness;

1. Reaction to a piece of cake : NO PROBLEM - I seriously considered "YUM YUM YUM" because I had the "M"; I also pondered "LET THEM", as in "eat cake"

29. Amazon visitor's need : WEB ACCESS - hmmm, which Amazon~? The River, or the "go-to" online site for shopping~?

46. "Sure, let's!" : "I'M UP FOR IT~!"

60. Attempt : HAVE A GO AT - user-friendly vowel/consonant grouping; have a "goat~?"

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

10. Ustream offering : NET TV - oops, not VIDEO

15. Hyperlink feature : UNDERLINE - frequently seen in email addresses, between parts of names; john_doe@crossword.com

16. Missouri River city : OMAHA

17. Qatar-based broadcaster : AL JAZEERA - the Wiki (From C.C.: I think this underline is what 15A refers to, right, TTP/D-Otto?)

18. Equate : LIKEN

19. Org. concerned with pedagogy : NEA - $2 word for the method of teaching

20. Parliament : London :: Storting : __ : OSLO - sounded Scandinavian

21. "As if I care!" : "BITE ME~!"

22. Blending aid, briefly : CAMO - short for camouflage, Frawnche for "smoke in the face"

24. Not high : SOBER - 3,949 days and counting

26. Some univ. proctors : TAs

27. Balances (out) : EVENS

32. Make easier to eat, as fruit : DESEED

34. Noted source of rubies and sapphires : SRI LANKA

35. French vineyards : CRUS

37. Rank quality : ODOR - my first thought was about smell, but I ended going with ONE-A....bzzzt~!

38. Like some courses : REQUIRED

42. Cannonball consequence : SPLASH

48. Knighted conductor : SOLTI

49. "'I __ you liked your drink,' sez Gunga Din" : 'OPE

50. Confines : CAGES

52. Farm food : SLOP

53. Ford model : TAURUS

56. Senate minority leader : REID

58. Otolaryngologists, e.g.: Abbr. : DRs - long word for a short abbr.

59. Patronized, in a way : ATE AT

62. It's open at the end of the fall : CHUTE - ah, parachute - at least you hope it's open at the end....

63. Cattle site : OPEN RANGE

64. Works with keys : TYPES

65. Microbrewery product : WHEAT BEER - ooh, I was close with CRAFT beer

DOWN:

1. Far from clear-cut : NUANCED

2. Like some new mothers : ON LEAVE

3. "Death Comes to Pemberley" author : P.D. JAMES - utter WAG from mostly perps; a link to her website

4. "In Dreams" actor : REA - we saw him last week

5. Ingredient in some Italian wedding soup : ORZO - the little bits of pasta; I like the little bits of meatball; interesting fact about the soup's name origin here

6. Approve : BLESS

7. Hide : LIE LOW - oops, not LAY low

8. Covers up, in a way : ENROBES - I like when confectioners "enrobe" their treats in chocolate

9. Word of apology : MEA - we also saw this last week

10. __ me tangere : NOLI - Latin for "touch me not" - new to me - some history

11. Put out : EMIT

12. Stop for a bit : TAKE TEN

13. 1994 Jim Carrey film : THE MASK

14. Samuel Barber opera : VANESSA - WAG

21. Intertwines : BRAIDS - pondered SPOONS first

23. Like some hotel room coffeemakers : ONE CUP - I had one in my room when I stayed in Delaware

25. River from Cantabria to Catalonia : EBRO - ha-HA~! Nailed it from crossword experience~!

28. Finishing stroke : SERIF - TAP-IN (golf) fit, too, but it wasn't working for me

30. Old cobblestone road sounds : CLOPS

31. Mexican novelist Fuentes : CARLOS - WAG and perps

33. Large pigs : DUROCS - new to me; I only know this Durock

36. Shot contents : SERA - ah, the needle kind of shot

38. Babysitter's reading, at times : RIOT ACT - LULLABY and WANT ADS fit, too

39. Therapist's asset : EMPATHY - I pondered "GOOD EAR" to start

40. What waiters often do : QUEUE UP - those who wait; I spent 90mins in DMV to register my van yesterday - with no signal for my cell phone

41. The "rh" in "rhapsody," e.g. : DIGRAPH

43. Wrapping words? : "ALL DONE~!"

44. Cloud function : STORAGE - the web-based servers kind of cloud; RAINING did fit, tho

45. Cool cat : HIPSTER

47. Tube : TEE-VEE

51. Italian town with a biannual horse race : SIENA - perps

54. Give stars to, say : RATE - OK, how would you rate her~!?

55. Salt Lake City team : UTES

57. Dash : DART

60. wiki__: collection of online manuals : HOW

61. Jaw : GAB

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Crosswords LA puzzles are available here. $8 for the whole pack plus some bonus puzzles. All proceeds go to Reading for Kids charity.

Friday, October 30, 2015, Don Gagliardo

Theme: Who wants cake, or maybe a 7 layer theme?

I would like each of you to write up the theme , which I understand but do not know how to express. First we have a reveal early on with 16A. What each successive starting word of the answers to starred clues is to the starting word that precedes it : SYNONYM (8). We then get our first starred clue/fill, 19A. *Popular clubs : HOT SPOTS (8) but it tells us nothing because first we need a 'successive' clue which we get immediately with 20A. *Ty Cobb specialties : STOLEN BASES (11) and the light bulb goes off because HOT and STOLEN both mean something purloined. But here is the twist, the next pair is STOLEN and TAKEN from 31A. *Dressed down : TAKEN TO TASK (11) with STOLEN now a verb. 38A. *Didn't allow to remain in, as political office : REMOVED FROM (11) gives us TAKEN/REMOVED.  We  then have REMOVED/DISTANT from 46A. *It's ancient history : DISTANT PAST (11)  and we finish with DISTANT/COLD as in the b!@#$ acted so DISTANT. 50A. *They might be knocked down in a bar : COLD ONES (8) And to a second reveal of the brilliant ladder Don Hard G has built we have 56A. What the start of 50-Across is to the start of 19-Across : ANTONYM (8) which reminds us we have gone from the HOT to the COLD and from SYNONYM to ANTONYM. Awesome! 76 letters are theme related! And then he manages to work in AT LEAST,  CREATOR.  HAIRNET,  OVER PAR,  PATIENT, PINHEAD, SCIORRA,  SEASIDE, ASTINS, CHEAPO, EPILOG, HOOPLA, ON TIME, PANAMA SHANTY, SKYLIT,  SOBERS, and TOUPEE. I am worn out and have not even begun....

Across:

1. Birdbrain : PINHEAD.  Clecho 46D. Birdbrains : DOPES.

8. Crummy : CHEAPO.

14. Annabella of "Jungle Fever" : SCIORRA. This ACTRESS born in Connecticut has had a very successful career in both movies and TV.

15. Producer : CREATOR. Literally true, but I found the connection slow to come to mind.

17. Equestrian's head cover : HAIRNET. There is always something new to LEARN.

18. Newscaster Lindström : PIA.

24. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA. 4D. Hullabaloo : HOOPLA.  Really fun word and the equally fun.  54D. Hamlin's caveman : OOP.

25. Valuable extraction : ORE.

26. Pros with schedules : CPAS. IRS 1040 e.g.

30. Save : BUT.

35. Closing words : EPILOG. I never have used this spelling.

37. Hut : SHANTY.Has bad connotations.

42. Trouble : AIL.

43. Barely come (through) : SEEP.

44. Box "b" on a W-2: Abbr. : EIN. Employer Identification Number.

45. Magazine that published advance excerpts from Stephen King's "Firestarter" : OMNI. This was a fine MAGAZINE.

55. Like bogeys : OVER PAR. These days almost all the holes.

60. Playing the waiting game : PATIENT.

61. Resort site : SEASIDE.

62. Pass : ELAPSE.

63. Minimally : AT LEAST.

Down:

1. Some email enders : PSS. I have never used PS or any variation in an email.

2. Dangerous, in a way : ICY. Cold.

3. Writer who said "The only abnormality is the incapacity to love" : NIN. Anais was born  Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell, of Cuban descent.  LINK.

5. Els with clubs : ERNIE. More golf.

6. Ancient Indo-European : ARYAN. Quite the HISTORY

7. Hydroelectric facility : DAM.

8. Pack up : CRATE. As a verb.

9. Five-time world champion skater Carol : HEISS.  More ICE, but I think even  Tin allows it for skating. A quick memory of our dear departed Clear Ayes and all our figure skaters who have come and gone.

10. 1994 Costner role : EARP. Wyatt.

11. 5 for B or 6 for C : ATNO. I think the clue needs at least a 'shortly' as neither B nor C as atomic symbols are actually abbreviations.

12. Orpheus, for one : POET.

13. Scraps : ORTS.

15. Elect : CHOSEN. This time not a verb.

19. Leaping critter : HARE. 36D. __-eared : LOP.  You like Lola?

20. Sleeps it off, with "up" : SOBERS.

21. Theatrical piece? : TOUPEE. Nice misdirection especially near HARE.

22. As scheduled : ON TIME. Airlines now over state time so they can appear on time.

23. __ choy : BOK.  A versatile vegetable.  LINK.

26. Windy City travel org. : CTA. I never have used Chicago transit.

27. Colombia neighbor : PANAMA.

28. Actors John and Sean : ASTINS. If you ever wondered why Samwise Gamgee did not look like Gomez Addams, they are not biologic father and son. It is a complicated STORY.

29. Naturally bright : SKYLIT. How many of you have a skylight in your home? I am in a second floor apartment, so...

31. Good, in Hebrew : TOV.  Yom tov.

32. Golden __ : AGE. Of comic books?

33. Musical org. based in Kawasaki : TSO.

34. Electrical measure : OHM.

39. Much of Nevada : DESERT.

40. Emotional spells : FITS. Is this now an un-pc term?

41. Strand under a microscope : RNA. Ribonucleic acid.

45. Resist : OPPOSE.

47. Silly : INANE.

48. Good-sized combo : NONET. Nine pieces.

49. Wreck big time : TOTAL. I had one car totaled when I was broadsided.

50. Deal : COPE.

51. Roundish : OVAL. ...ish.

52. "__ Smile Be Your Umbrella" : LET A. Who ever did it better?

53. Boring type : DRIP. A 1950s term.

56. Arkansas governor Hutchinson : ASA. How many obscure ASAs are there?

57. Actress Vardalos : NIA. My big fat Greek wallet after her success. We have this new Greek restaurant near our place and we want to eat there but whenever we walk over there are no customers...

58. Abbr. near a tee : YDS. Yards, as most of you read this I am in another charity golf tournament.

59. Assembled : MET. As opposed to a New York Met. Baseball in 50 degree weather....

A classic Don Hard G. Friday, so well put together. Have a safe Halloween and set your clocks back and enjoy the extra hour.

Lemonade out

1 P

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