Thursday, January 24th 2019 Roger & Kathy Wienberg

Theme:

62A. Clothing accessory, perhaps ... or what you can see in each of four groups of circles?: BELT BUCKLE

No getting around this one - you need the circles to see the theme. We have four belts - conveyor belt, Orion's belt, money belt and asteroid belt, all of which are "buckled" down, across and then back up in the grid.

I take my hat off to constructors who pull off this kind of puzzle - it's not just a question of fitting your theme entries into the grid and then filling around them, it's a whole step up in the craft. Roger & Kathy nailed it today.

Orion's Belt:

After Orion, and this week's blood super wolf moon, let's go hunt down to what else we've got:

Across:

1. It can cause a bad trip: LSD

4. Renders speechless: AWES

8. Late-night host with an orange-blimp running gag: CONAN. In the "industry" news this week for announcing a 30-minute slot of his show, rather than the full hour.

13. Show of hands: VOTE

14. Some Pequod crewmen: HARPOONERS. What a great word to find early on the journey today.

16. Tapped pic: ICON. Only if you've got a touchscreen of some kind.

17. Many Bach compositions: ORGAN MUSIC. Quick! Think of a J.S.Bach fugue! I betcha a dollar to a donut it was this one here

18. Sources of "Family Feud" answers: SURVEYS. "And the survey said ......"

20. Soccer officials: REFS. Much-maligned around the world. Not as maligned as the NFL official who didn't throw the flag for pass in the Rams - Saints game on Sunday. I don't think he should plan a trip to New Orleans for a while.

21. Till this moment: AS YET

22. Utah lily: SEGO

23. Hush-hush org.: NSA. There's a few "orgs" today. Shout 'em out as you see 'em.

26. Rebuffed, with "off": BRUSHED

29. Mob scenes: RIOTS

31. In bygone days: AGO

33. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores: IKEA

34. Does penance (for): ATONES

35. Clothing line: SEAM

37. Go-aheads: YESES. Could be YESSES, but two esses won out here over three.

39. Eye layer: UVEA

40. Say: FOR ONE. Might be hard to see this - when you're explaining something - "Take that crossword, say - it's a good theme" - "Take that crossword, for one, it's a good theme". I found it harder to explain than to solve. I probably made a complete mess of it.

42. Hops hot spot: OAST

44. "Things Are Fine in Mount __": Charley Weaver book: IDY. My last fill. Thank you, stab-in-the-dark gods.

45. Augment: ADD TO

46. Unborn: IN UTERO

48. Scale members: RE'S. Yuck, sorry. Do's, Re's, Me's, Sol's .... Nope. Not having it.

49. Preserves, in a way: CANS

51. Baton-passing event: RELAY, Baton-dropping, most embarassingly.

54. Switch partner: BAIT. and Switch.

55. Makes moist: DAMPENS

57. Electrical generator: ALTERNATOR

61. "The Matrix" actress Carrie-__ Moss: ANNE. Anyone called Carrie Anne cannot match up to my criush - Carrie Anne Inaba

63. Cupcake decorator: ICER

64. Andean shrubs: COCAS

65. Little piggies: TOES

66. Nero Wolfe creator Stout: REX. Who? What?

Down:

1. Center of power: LOCUS

2. Panels illustrating film scripts: STORY BOARDS. I loved the long downs. This was a cracker to start.

3. High capital: DENVER. A mile, plus or minus, high. I stayed in a hotel there (shame on me, the name escapes me) who had the one-mile marker next to the elevators on the ground floor.

4. "Hey, sailor!": AHOY

5. General concerns?: WARS

6. Unit of work: ERG

7. Let off: SPARED

8. Solace: COMFORT

9. Responsibility: ONUS

10. Wii forerunner, briefly: NES

11. Onassis nickname: ARI. stotle.

12. Foreign policy advisory gp.: NSC

13. Plastic choice: VISA. Mastercard,, Discover and Amex could have fit, but only AMEX might have snuck in there.

15. 100 sawbucks: ONE G. One Grand = 100 tens.

19. Place for pins and needles: ETUI

22. Salts, say: SEASONS

23. King's philosophy: NON-VIOLENCE

24. Jousting mount: STEED. Poor buggers. They already weigh two tons and then there's armor plate and a knight who matches them for mass on top. A long day for a horse at the jousting. Footnote - the terms of my 99-year leasehold flat in London explicitly forbade me from organizing jousting tournaments. I also was not allowed to keep coal in the bath. I was on the second floor. What the coal restriction was about, I have no idea. The Duchess of Camden was the freehold owner, bless her.

25. Test for purity: ASSAY

27. Scottish isle: SKYE. 

Sail, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, 

"Onward" the sailors cry. 

Carry the man who's born to be king, 

over the sea to Skye"

28. Half a giggle: HEE

30. Letters for short people?: IOU

31. Equidistant: AS FAR. I was back and forth on this one. Quite aptly, I suppose - I was back one way, forth the other way, as far from the middle each trip

32. Sparkly stone: GEODE. I remember this thinking of a battery shorting out in a shower of sparks - Anode, Cathode .... yay Geode!!!!

34. Boss' backup: Abbr.: ASST. 

36. Witty remark: MOT. Can it be witty just being a mot? I think bon mot.

38. __ de toilette: EAU

41. Strict diet restriction: NO CARBS

43. __ paper: TERM

46. Whole: INTACT

47. Get to work again: REPAIR

50. Japanese aborigine: AINU. Or Did I say I got my DNA results last week? 77% Irish, 19% English/Welsh and 2% each French and Norwegian. My friend was 100% 蝦夷.

52. Subsidiary structure: ANNEX. Attached to the ell? We should be told.

53. Belgian river: YSER

54. Phi __ Kappa: BETA

55. Dish (out): DOLE

56. Son of Zeus and Hera: ARES

57. TV network with much Shondaland programming: ABC. Shondaland is the production company that co-produces shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

58. Summer sign: LEO. I'm either a Virgo or a Libra, depending on which version of my birth certificate you believe.

59. Solace for a sad BFF: TLC. This was weird. TLC was a lot earlier than BFF-speak. 60's - two-thousand-teens mash-up. I liked it.

60. Ref's ruling: TKO. Technically, a Technical Knock-Out.

Power to the People!

Steve

Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Kevin Christian & Abbie Higashi

"BOB"   - The first letter of each of the theme answers.

17. Relative of "The pen is mightier than the sword": BRAINS OVER BRAWN.

25. Rear-window alert about an infant: BABY ON BOARD.

43. Dog show award: BEST OF BREED.

54. Arizona stadium renamed Chase Field as a result of a financial merger: BANK ONE BALLPARK.

56. Short haircut, and a hint to 17-, 25-, 43- and 54-Across: BOB.

Bonus:  The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.  We have a crossword pangram today; every letter of the alphabet is used !

Please welcome Abbie Higashi on her LA Times Crossword debut, as she teams with Kevin Christian to give us this fun puzzle.   This is Kevin's 28th appearance on the LA Times Crossword stage.  

Across:

1. Whopper inventors: LIARS.   On April 1st, 1998, Burger King took out a full page ad in USA Today, and announced it would start serving the left-handed Whopper.   The burger contained the very same ingredients but it was rotated a full 180° to better suit and offer a better grip on the bun to the left-handed consumer. In addition, all the condiments were also rotated.  Can you guess what happened ?  

6. Toss of a coin: FLIP.   Supposedly truly random as to whether it will land heads or tails, but a caught coin has a 1 % greater chance of showing heads if it started out heads up, and a 1 % greater chance of showing tails if it started out tails up.  This according to a UCSB article on a Stanford paper, DYNAMICAL BIAS IN THE COIN TOSS.  

10. Trick: FLAM.  A lie or hoax, a deception.

14. Bosc relative: ANJOU.   Pear Varieties From Anjou to Williams

15. "Doctor Zhivago" heroine: LARA.


16. Himalayas locale: ASIA.

20. Census datum: SEX.  Jinx, the answer is Male or Female, not Yes.

21. Tear: RIP.  The clue/answer made me think of Rip Torn.

22. Levy that led to a 1773 "party": TEA TAX.   In fact, the tea tax had been around for six years.  It was the 1773 Tea Act that gave the the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies that was the final straw.   

23. Morass: BOG.

24. 2000 election dangler: CHAD.

30. "__ Sera, Sera": QUE.  The song and scenes from The Man Who Knew Too Much:


33. "See ya later!": I'M OFF.

34. Altar neighbor: APSE.

35. Ahi, for one: TUNA.  Yellowfin. 

36. __ avis: RARA.   Latin.  Through time, from rare bird to strange bird to peculiar person, to a unique person or thing.   Dennis Rodman ?

37. Wooden storage container: CRATE.

38. Mental acuity: WITS.

39. Former Russian ruler: CZAR.  Czar rule lasted over 400 years in Russia.  Here's the Top 10 list

40. Frau's mister: HERR.  Damen and Herren are on some doors in Germany.  Good thing for the images to teach foreigners that Da Men use the one marked Herren.

41. Nest for an eaglet: AERIE.

42. In a lather, with "up": HET.

45. Small salamander: NEWT.

46. Show curiosity: ASK.

47. Melodious piece: ARIOSO.   Let's have some more J.S. Bach...


50. God in the Vatican: DIO.

51. Dust jacket blurb: BIO.

58. Play opener: ACT I.   After DIO and BIO,  wanted an answer of maybe RIO or TIO.   

59. Nano or Shuffle: IPOD.

60. Bravery: VALOR.

61. Lugosi of "Dracula" fame: BELA.     Halloween is right around the corner.

62. Keep __ on: observe: TABS.

63. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

Down:

1. Chocolate dogs: LABS.


2. Pertaining to, on memos: INRE.

3. Early competitor of Mr. Clean: AJAX.   Mr. Clean - 1958.   Ajax - 1947.

4. Versailles royal: ROI.

5. Movable sports car top: SUNROOF.   Not sure why sports car is specified.  Anyway, sunroofs slide open and moonroofs tilt open a little bit.  40 % of all new cars sold in 2017 had either a sunroof or moonroof. 

6. Intentional fall, in basketball: FLOP. In basketball, a flop is an intentional fall by a player after little or no physical contact by an opposing player in order to draw a personal foul call by an official against the opponent. - Wikipedia.


7. British washroom: LAV.

8. Choler: IRE.

9. 100-yard golf hole, say: PAR THREE. No Par 4s or 5s on this local 9 hole course:

10. Capacitance unit: FARAD.  So named in honor of Michael Faraday.

11. Future JD's exam: LSAT.  Doctor of Jurisprudence / Law School Admission Test.

12. Old Sony brand: AIWA.

13. Tailless cat: MANX.  The cat from the Isle of Man.


18. Omen: SIGN.

19. Rosary feature: BEAD.

23. How landslide victories are won: BY FAR.

24. Fidel or Raúl: CASTRO.

25. Tree whose sap is used in a soft drink: BIRCH.  Never had one, but I read that Birch soda is commonly found in New England and Newfoundland.

26. Dazzle: AMAZE.

27. Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist: BORAT.

28. Least furnished, as a room: BAREST.

29. Eye-bending paintings: OPART.

30. 24 sheets of paper: QUIRE.

31. Free from bonds: UNTIE.

32. Slacked (off): EASED.

35. Dance provocatively: TWERK.

37. What a dog will do with a bone: CHEW ON IT.

41. Exculpate: ABSOLVE.

43. Kiss from Carlos: BESO.

44. Epic __: disaster: FAIL.

45. Finnish electronics giant: NOKIA.

47. Basic rhyme scheme: ABAB.

48. Speed competition: RACE.

49. Part of IBM: Abbr.: INTL. International Business Machines.

50. Barq's rival: DADS.   Root Beers.  A&W, Hires, Mug, IBC etc. 

51. Block of hay: BALE.

52. Press: IRON.

53. Gumbo vegetable: OKRA.

55. Radon-regulating org.: EPA.

57. Bro: PAL.   

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave, who has entertained us for so many years with his fun links.

Happy Birthday to our foodie Blue Hen also! Here is his "Cheater Risotto".