Thursday, June 18th 2020 Adam Vincent

Theme: Kleptomania! This puzzle just can't stop stealing - and we're not talking about baseball:

17A. Steal from a box office?: LIFT TICKETS. Here's an unused box office one:

30A. Steal from a bar?: HOOK SHOTS. Kareem never hooked shots. He just sky-hooked a-plenty.

44A. Steal from a government database?: NICK NAMES. I didn't stop to think about this one, but now wonder as I come to write up the puzzle if this is British English?

What's interesting about the British "nick" is that you can be nicked (arrested) for nicking (stealing) and end up in the nick (jail). If your name is Nick, and you nick your finger in the larceny process, that just adds a whole new couple of dimensions to the sentence.

(The grammatical sentence, not the sentence handed down for nicking). Who says English isn't hard to learn?

59A. Steal from a beauty salon?: POCKET COMBS. I rarely, if ever, used a comb, I just washed my hair, toweled it dry and ran my fingers through it to "style" it. Lockdown locks now demand comb-use, otherwise I look like a deranged sheep as the day wears on. Plenty of product required, too, to calm things down.

I liked this theme from Adam, four synonyms and nothing to upset you in the theme or the fill. I might speculate this might be a tad on the easy side for a Thursday, but everyone's mileage will vary.

Let's see what we've got lurking in the chutes and ladders of the fill:

Across:

1. Actress Gillan of "Guardians of the Galaxy": KAREN. A nod to the gods of crosses right off the bad. No idea.

6. Has a frog in one's throat: RASPS

11. Caps Lock neighbor: TAB. SHIFT doesn't fit, and A isn't exactly long enough.

14. Texas tourist spot: ALAMO. All together now: "It's smaller than you thought it was when you got to visit". Unlike the Grand Canyon; nothing can prepare you for how deep and wide the canyon is.

15. Insistent comeback: IS TOO!

16. "It's __-win situation": A NO

19. Dress to the nines, with "up": TOG

20. Put away: EAT

21. Like a loud crowd: AROAR

22. Bellybutton type: OUTIE. -IE and wait for the crosses.

24. Sources of wisdom: ORACLES. The Delphi oracle is the most well-known. The minor oracles mutter about the unfairness of that.

26. Chincoteague horse: PONY. A breed of pony, of course we all knew that (shhh! - now I know that).

27. Clumsy: GAWKY

32. Ostrich cousin: RHEA. I didn't notice this on the way through, crosses filled it in for me.

33. Got together: MET

34. Sudoku digit: ONE. "Sudoku" is superfluous here.

35. Routine grounder, e.g.: EASY OUT

37. Timber-cutting tool: BROAD AX

41. Bird whose eye is in the Wise potato chips logo: OWL. Never heard of them. Pennsylvania-based, so that might account for it.

42. __ race: RAT

43. Field mouse: VOLE

48. Goddess trio, with "the": FATES. Your fate is assigned at birth by Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Alloter, and Atropos the Inflexible. What does the "alloter" do?

49. Workplace standards org.: O.S.H.A. I would have thought by now that OSHA wouldn't need the periods, but I guess with "org." in the clue, I should respect that.

50. Integer: NUMERAL. Like ONE.

52. Moves with the breeze: SWAYS

54. Grenoble greeting: SALUT!

55. Feed bit: OAT. I went for ORT first and had to have a bit of a re-think.

58. Top __: TEN

62. Syncopated work: RAG

63. Where van Gogh's second "Sunflowers" series was painted: ARLES. The first series was painted in Paris. If you're wondering which Van Gogh you've got hanging on your wall, a "Paris" painting shows the flowers lying around on the floor, an "Arles" painting shows them in a vase.

You might think he'd got himself together in Arles, vase-wise, but then one night he and his buddy Paul Gauguin happened to tie one on in an absinthe bar, which ended with angry words and Vincent chopping off his own ear with his razor.

Happy days.

64. St. Teresa's town: AVILA

65. Is for two?: ARE

66. Bobby pin target: TRESS. Tress comes up again within a week. I didn't elaborate on it before, as I thought it was a common term for a hank of hair, but there were some "what?" comments, so once bitten - tress = hair. I need to get my tresses attended to shortly.

67. __ Tots: TATER

Down:

1. Curly leafy green: KALE. People claim to love kale, but really, they don't.

2. Latin "others": ALIA

3. Rapids transit: RAFT. Nice clue.

4. Ambulance pro: E.M.T.

5. Official with a seal: NOTARY

6. Bounce: RICOCHET

7. Set the price high: ASK A LOT

8. Sound system: STEREO. Do people buy a "sound system" which is "stereo" anymore?  Maybe this should be clued with a "once" qualifier. I do very clearly remember my first stereo sound system. I put my headphones on and listened to my new "Dark Side of the Moon" album from Pink Floyd. I still remember my astonishment at hearing a different mix in each ear.

9. Cauldron: POT. Does anyone other than witches use cauldrons?

10. Mediocre: SO-SO

11. Many a clue in the TV series "Blindspot": TATTOO

12. Sanctify with oil: ANOINT

13. Pro golfer's disappointments: BOGEYS. I'm usually quite satisfied with a bogey. I start to sulk at the triple-bogeys.

18. Glass of public radio: IRA

23. Sudden, dramatic disruption: UPHEAVAL

24. "I heard you the last time": OKAY, OKAY!

25. Tennis garment: SKORT. Golf, too. I'd like to see a male golfer on the PGA tour wear one and see what the reaction was from the PGA. Male golfers on the European tour can wear shorts on a tournament-by-tournament basis according to the forecast temperature, but they still can't wear a kilt. Equality for the Scots and Irish! And skorts for men!

27. Higher ed. test: G.R.E.

28. "Yes!": AHA!

29. "Isle of Dogs" director Anderson: WES

31. __ Balls: former Hostess treats: SNO. Currently owned by "Apollo Global Management" which sounds about as appetizing as a private equity firm can.

33. Disney film based on a Chinese legend: MULAN

36. "Queen Sugar" cable station: OWN. Thank you crosses.

37. Unfounded: BASELESS

38. On the __: DOT

39. Tavern tankard: ALE

40. Simple signatures: X'ES. Also known in legal circles as "Signature by Mark". Yes, it's a thing:

42. New film versions: REMAKES

44. Cosa __: NOSTRA. "La Cosa Nostra", literally "our thing".

45. "Cross my heart!": I SWEAR

46. Coins returned: CHANGE

47. Brawn: MUSCLE

48. One of the haves: FAT CAT. "Fat cats have a heart attack" in this catchy 1984-inspired ditty from Muse.

51. Boring routine: RUT

53. Minor disagreement: SPAT

55. Leave unsaid: OMIT

56. Not all thumbs: ABLE

57. Deposed Russian ruler: TSAR

60. "Bobby Hockey": ORR. Bobby Orr retired. His number is retired. It's probably time he was retired from crossword duty too, there is literally no new way to clue his name. Yes, he was a great defenseman, but ...

61. Egg cells: OVA

And here, without further ado, is the grid. Have a great Thursday!

Steve

Sunday May 17, 2020 Adam Vincent

Theme: "Illegal Tender" -  Phrases are humorously rephrased as "what money".

22. Mad money?: STEAMED CLAMS. Fit for Jim Cramer.

28. Grant money?: WISHBONES.
 
40. Hot money?: BUFFALO BILLS. Hot money "is capital that investors regularly move between economies and financial markets to profit from highest short-term interest rates", according to Investopedia.

52. Ransom money?: SPRING ROLL.

76. Old money?: STALE BREAD.

87. Paper money?: EDITOR'S NOTES.
 
100. Bad money?: SOURDOUGH. What is bad money?

109. Smart money?: SHARP CHEDDAR.

Looks like this Adam's debut Sunday. Congratulations! A sparkly 140-worder to boot.

We've seen various money theme over the years, like this CASH UPFRONT puzzle. Adam added an extra complexity and difficulty to clues, which are all in- the-language "what money".


Across:

1. "Please stay": DON'T GO. And 19. "I swear!": NO LIE. 60. "What else could it be?!": DUH. 83. "What are you gonna do about it?!": SUE ME. Quite a few spoken phrases.

7. Fallopian tube neighbor: OVARY.

12. __ Beta Kappa: PHI.

15. Just peachy, in old slang: OKE. Never heard of Boomer uses this slang.

18. Tool for winter fishing: ICE SAW.

20. Royal problem?: PAIN. Royal pain.

21. Superhero sound effect: POW.

24. Lingerie brand: OLGA. The malls here will be reopened next Monday.

25. Chapter in history: ERA.

26. Close-knit team: CADRE.

27. Navel type: OUTIE.

30. Takes too much, briefly: ODS. Overdoses.

31. The OED's 21,728, e.g.: PAGES.

33. Australian rockers __ at Work: MEN.

34. Shoot for: AIM AT.

35. Voice below soprano: ALTO.

36. French toppers: BERETS.

39. NFL pass rushers, as a unit: D LINE. Defensive line.

45. They're used for emphasis: ITALICS.

47. Olympian Bolt: USAIN.

48. Bit of info: DATUM.

49. Nasty type: MEANIE.

50. Social media pic that may go viral: MEME.

51. Intrinsically: PER SE. Also the pricey restaurant.

56. Amtrak track: RAIL.

57. Talk Like a Pirate Day word: ARR.

58. Undoing: BANE.

61. Go head to head: VIE.

62. From sunup to sundown: ALL-DAY.

64. Afterwords: EPILOGS.

67. Greek goddess of wisdom: ATHENA.

69. Hawaiian staple: POI. I miss taro. Will venture out to that big Asian store once things get better here.

70. Gamer's complaint: LAG.

72. Arrived at, as a conclusion: DREW.

73. BuzzFeed reaction button: LOL.

75. Wears on: IRKS.

79. Dishes out incautiously: SLOPS. These umeboshi will be in my mouth next Saturday, hopefully.

81. Sister of Rachel: LEAH.

82. Mercedes-Benz sedan line: E CLASS.  Dennis' car. Not sure what class his is. We also have 17. Discarded old PCs, say: E WASTE.

84. Put on: STAGE.

85. Should really: HAD BEST.

89. Type of drum or dance: CONGA.

90. Cassock wearer: PRIEST.

92. Long, long time: AEON.

93. Heavenly body?: ANGEL. Great clue.

94. Bear in Baja: OSO.

95. Seder staple: MATZO.

97. Pres. when Sputnik was launched: DDE.

103. Hindu teacher: SWAMI.

105. Rumble in the Jungle setting: ZAIRE.

107. Celtic Sea land, to the IOC: IRL. Ireland.

108. Hard end?: WARE. Hardware. TTP's domain.

111. Wonderland drink: TEA.

112. "I would consider __ honor": IT AN.

113. Backwoods type: YOKEL.

114. Self-referential "Don't you think?": AREN'T I.

115. Fizzy prefix: AER.

116. Flyers' org.: NHL.

117. Witherspoon of "Wild": REESE.

118. African pest: TSETSE. Hey, full name.

Down:

1. '70s music genre: DISCO.

2. Pie slices, often: OCTAD.

3. Water and air, e.g.: NEEDS. Really dislike the hard water here in Minnesota. But the air is so clean. I often take pretty cloud pictures and make my friend Lesley jealous.

4. Peter the Great, e.g.: TSAR.

5. Strategy: GAME PLAN.

6. Be indebted to: OWE.

7. As expected: ON CUE.

8. Battery count: VOLTS.

9. Jai __: ALAI.

10. Ancient mariner's story, e.g.: RIME.

11. Positive answer: YES.

12. Besties: PALS.

13. Runner's __: HIGH.

14. Unfavorably: IN A BAD LIGHT. Partner with 63. Tina Fey's boss on "30 Rock": ALEC BALDWIN.

15. Feature of club nights for comic wannabes: OPEN MIC.

16. Main cast of "Parasite," e.g.: KOREANS. Just won Best Picture this year.

20. Finer-tipped: POINTIER.

23. Well-intentioned humanitarian: DO-GOODER.

28. Like a bairn: WEE.

29. Fried foods, vis-à-vis baked ones: OILIER. Popular breakfast fast when I grew up. Jayce loved You Tiao also.

32. Georgia airport code: ATL.

33. Dash in a spice rack?: MRS. Mrs. Dash.

35. Word rarely used without "far": AFIELD.

36. Living symbol of happiness: BLUEBIRD. "Blue birds singing a song. Nothing but blue skies from now on."

37. State tree of Massachusetts: ELM.

38. No-nonsense: STAID.

40. Undeserved punishments: BUM RAPS.

41. Rely heavily on: USE A LOT.

42. Hermanos, primas, etcétera: FAMILIA. Family. We also have 89. Bolivian bungalow: CASITA.

43. Ballet-inspired workout method: BARRE.

44. Oft-mispunctuated word: IT'S.

46. Time Person of the Year et al.: ANNUALS.

49. Compressed file format: MPEG.

51. Accounts __: PAYABLE.

52. Ski slope apparel: SNOWSUIT. Thought of Marti.

53. Stuff oneself silly: OVEREAT.

54. Connection: LINKAGE.

55. Pet control aids: LEASHES.

59. Tavern mugful: ALE.

65. Devices made largely obsolete by smartphones: PDAS.

66. NFL ref's review aid: SLO-MO.

68. Multinational hotel chain: HILTON. Hilton Xi'an.

71. Understand: GRASP.

74. Like many La Scala productions: OPERATIC.

77. Bookkeeper's book: LEDGER.

78. Ovarian hormone: ESTROGEN.

80. Rent: LET.

83. '60s protest gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

84. Big bores: SNOOZERS.

85. Special guest, perhaps: HONOREE.

86. Like many Cubist paintings: ANGULAR.

87. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO.

88. "__ me!": SEZ.

91. Sorta cousin: ISH.

95. Former fillies: MARES.

96. More than enough: AMPLE.

97. "__ We Almost Have It All": DIDN'T.

98. Mildly annoyed cries: DRATS.

99. Unnerving: EERIE.

101. Swear words?: OATH.

102. River through Orsk: URAL.

103. Pump, e.g.: SHOE.

104. Aftermath: WAKE.

106. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE.

109. Home of many 2010s refugees: Abbr.: SYR.

110. Magician's source of surprises: HAT.

C.C.

Monday, December 2, 2019 Adam Vincent

Theme: FOLLOWING ORDERS (39. Doing as told, in the military ... or what the starts of the answers to starred clues can literally have?) - The start of each theme entry can follow "order".

18. *Lucrative business: MONEYMAKER. Money order.

23. *Medieval entertainer: COURT JESTER. Court order.

54. *Hostel audience?: BACK PACKERS. Back order.

61. *Comedian's suppliers: GAG WRITERS. Gag order.

Boomer here.  C.C. said this is the LAT debut for Adam. Congratulations!

Well, we had to say goodbye and send Paul Bunyan's Axe back to Madison, Wisconsin.  P.J. Fleck's lingo changed from "Row the Boat" to "Pull the Sled".  If you had occasion to watch the game Saturday, you got to see the weather that Minnesota is expecting for the next three months.  But the other nine months are worth it.  Only 10 weeks until the groundhog peeks out for his shadow. 

Across:

1. Peruvian home: CASA.  Mi casa es su casa?

5. German philosopher who wrote "The Phenomenology of Spirit": HEGEL.

10. Microsoft Surface competitor: IPAD.  I have been able to live without one of these.

14. Chopped down: AXED.  What Wisconsin did to Gophers on Saturday.

15. Amazon assistant: ALEXA.  I have seen commercials but I don't need Alexa's help.

16. Italia's capital: ROMA.

17. Imperfection: FLAW.

20. Mai __: cocktail: TAI.  I have heard of these but I never had one.  Back in the day my call was a VO Manhattan on the rocks with cherry juice.  Now my call is Diet Pepsi.

22. Hard to erase, as markers: PERMANENT.  I thought it was a lady's hair style.

26. Ave. and tpk.: RDS.

27. Hard to believe: UNREAL.

28. Word with York or Jersey: NEW. " I read the NEWS today, Oh boy" (Beatles - "A Day in the Life") 

30. In shape: FIT.  Anybody own a FitBit?  C.C. and I have gone through about 5 cheap pedometers with disappointing results.

31. Forgetful moment: LAPSE.  I can't remember what LAPSE means.

35. First part of a play: ACT I.  I thought the first part of a play is to buy a ticket.

43. Mario Kart console, initially: SNES.  Gesundheit

44. "__, but no cigar": CLOSE.  Reminds me of when the County Fair used to come to town.  We could put a dime on a square and the carny would spin the wheel.  If our number hit we would win a pack of cigarettes!! We were about 13 years old.  If the number missed we were "close but no cigs" and we lost our dime.  

45. Pencil eraser, e.g.: NUB.

46. Christen, as a knight: DUB.  This is a golf term that I am familiar with.

49. Hurry up: HASTEN.  Dashing through the snow, with a football in my arms.

51. ISP option: DSL.

58. How chops or ribs are served: ON THE BONE.  Not in our home.  I buy boneless chops and ribs.

60. That girl: HER.

63. Modern in-flight amenity: WIFI.  Also in most malls.  We lost computer access due to a digging accident in the neighborhood last summer.  Had to go to a mall to keep in touch with all of you.

66. Earl __ tea: GREY.  I wonder who Earl Grey was??  Should I know him, is he a folk singer?

67. Etsy's biz, e.g.: ETAIL.  I heard that Costco's e-business server went down on Black Friday and it cost them $11,000,000 worth of business. Could be true. The news reported that there were "thousands" waiting for our Mall of America to open at 5:00 AM Friday.

68. Supply-and-demand sci.: ECON.

69. Cravings: YENS.  I don't have a YEN for Japanese money.

70. With a long face: SADLY.

71. Stink: REEK.

Down:

1. Campus eatery, for short: CAF.  At the University of Gophers, we called it Coffman Memorial Union.  They had vending machines on the basement floor.

2. Guns N' Roses frontman Rose: AXL.

3. Slow-moving coastal critter: SEA TURTLE.

4. Bothersome browser apps: ADWARE.  Bothersome, YES, Ridiculous?  A better term.

5. __ and eggs: HAM. Are the eggs green? I once owned a Dr. Suess book titled "If I Ran the Zoo."  It was autographed by the good doctor.  I met him at the San Diego zoo when I was too young to remember.  

6. Slip out to tie the knot: ELOPE.

7. Heredity units: GENES.  Mr. Hackman and Mr. Wilder.

8. Apply, as pressure: EXERT.

9. Joes who aren't pros: LAYMEN.

10. Persia, now: IRAN.  "If IRAN the Zoo said young Gerald McGrew, I'd make a few changes and here's what I'd do."

11. Rod for stirring a fire: POKER. Ante up!

12. Change for the better: AMEND.

13. Pub game: DARTS. This game has infiltrated the bar area of most of the bowling centers I frequent. 

19. Former filly: MARE.

21. Prefix for Venice's country: ITALO.  I'll have to check with my sister Connie.  She's been to Italy more than half a dozen times.

23. Perp's restraints: CUFFS.  I never got to wear them, but I remember when men's pants had them.

24. Bagel flavoring: ONION.  Also Chili, stuffing, and hamburgers.

25. "The Hunger Games" star, to fans: J-LAW. Jennifer Lawrence.

29. Roll of bills: WAD.  I thought a mouth of gum was in a wad.  I pay my bills and keep the green bills in my wallet.  I am pretty sure a wad would not fit.  Never had a wad to try.

32. Insta upload: PIC. Insta(gram).

33. NBC late-night weekend staple, familiarly: SNL.  I still miss Tina Fey.  But I am no longer up late on Saturdays so I do not know what I am missing.

34. Freudian focus: EGO.

36. Heart of the rink: CENTER ICE.  Wanna buy an "R"

37. More faithful: TRUER.

38. 13-digit pub. codes: ISBNS.

40. '60s hallucinogen: LSD.  LBJ took the IRT cross the USA, What did he see?  The youth of America on LSD,  Gimme a head with "HAIR".

41. Org. providing workplace safety posters: OSHA.

42. Attain: REACH.

47. Lyft competitor: UBER.  I suppose taxi companies are not too happy.  I heard that Uber stock is not doing too well. 

48. Bottle-fed tykes: BABIES.

50. Backyard chef's stick: SKEWER.  I used two of them in our Thanksgiving Turkey.

51. Pooch, to a tyke: DOGGY.  " How much is that Doggy in the window?"  Patti Page - maybe 65 years ago ??

52. Drum type: SNARE.  BONGO would have fit.

53. Three-star mil. officer: LT GEN.

55. Panna __: Italian dessert: COTTA.  Better clue maybe.  The Terra Cotta soldiers are sculptures depicting the armies of the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.  They are located in a museum in Lintong, Xi'an China.

56. Work with dough: KNEAD.  What the dough said to the baker -"As long as he kneads me".

57. Danger: PERIL.

59. "I-" rds., e.g.: HWYS.  I am someone who was a kid during Eisenhower's term.  I remember two lane highways across the country. General IKE promoted the "Interstate Highway System".  Probably the best asset to America in the last 70 years,  

62. Crafty: SLY. Stallone -- Who can forget "Rocky".

64. Hardly a friend: FOE.

65. Confident crossword solver's choice: INK.  Don't forget the "Wite Out",

Boomer