Thursday, April 7, 2011 Don Gagliardo

Theme: How would you have spelt it? Revealed in 51 Across: Spin, as a cue ball, and how to answer each starred clue in this puzzle?: PUT ENGLISH ON IT. The last word of each answer is how you would find it in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary).

20. *Not exactly a nightie: FLANNEL PYJAMAS. From India and SW Asia "paijama", The English changed ai to "y", and the US simply dropped the "i". As for the clue, sometimes a suggestion of something hidden can be more alluring than outright exposure...

24. *Scales are part of it: PIANO PRACTISE. Practice is the noun, practise is the verb, but Americans are in the practice of always using practice.

33. *Reinforced road traveler: STEEL-BELTED TYRE. From tire "equipment, dress, covering", a shortened form of "attire". The notion is of the tire as the dressing of the wheel. The original spelling was tyre, which had shifted to tire in 17c.-18c., but since early 19c. tyre was revived in Great Britain with the advent of the pneumatic rubber form and become standard there.

43. *Headquarters: CONTROL CENTRE. The -er, -re ending confusion can be traced to Noah Webster, who attempted to reform English spelling in the US.  Despite his efforts, we still kept words like acre (instead of aker), ogre, and theatre (classy or pretentious?) Across the pond, Johnson's dictionary is considered authoritative for the -re endings, and seems to be a source of national pride (don't quote Webster to them...)

Hi all, Al here. I have to say, today the theme helped a lot. The top was refusing to fill in, but after getting CENTRE, the other theme spelt words fell quickly which gave me just enough to start getting perps.  I'll let Don's notes (included at the end) speak for themselves.

ACROSS:

1. Fictional falcon seeker: SPADE. Sam, as played by Bogie.

6. Fictional falcon source: MALTA. The Maltese Falcon. I've never seen this movie, maybe it's time to finally chase it down. Today's geography lesson.

11. "The Sting" number: RAG. Music from the movie originally composed by Scott Joplin, arranged by Marvin Hamlish.

14. Much of Israel: NEGEV. Desert.

15. Provide with heat?: ENARM. Heat, as in weapons.

16. Shaft discovery: ORE. A mining shaft of course. Any other interpretation would probably have you running to a urologist...

17. Speak above the crowd?: ORATE. Both literally (loudly) and figuratively (on a soapbox). I'm not sure if I have those backwards...

18. Solitude: TIME ALONE.

22. Jack edged him out in the 1980 U.S. Open: ISAO. AOKI. Golf. Both names are common crosswordese clues and answers, but usually one clues the other.

23. Jumbo, say: SIZE.

31. Some time ago: ONCE. upon a time.

32. Screwball: LOON.

41. "__, 'tis true, I have gone here and there": Sonnet 110: ALAS.

42. Choice word: EENY. Meeny Miny Moe.

48. Pole or Croat: SLAV. Apparently we get the word slave from slav because of their history of being conquered and being sold into servitude.

50. Where parts of the '95 film "Higher Learning" were shot: UCLA.

58. Radical: EXTREMIST. By definition, one far from the norm, thus should not be construed as representative, yet human nature will try to force a pattern...

59. Bathroom sink fitting: P-TRAP.

61. Bathroom, across the pond: LOO. More bonus English.

62. Berry picked for an Emmy: HALLE.

63. Sister of Thalia: ERATO. Muses.

64. Stab: TRY.

65. Loper leader: INTER. Prefix clue. An interloper is a "self-interested intruder".

66. Easily colored synthetic: DYNEL.

DOWN:

1. Desk globe filler?: SNO. Really kind of boring unless Pixar interprets it.

2. Line to tear along: Abbr.: PERForated.

3. "I've Got __ in Kalamazoo": A GAL. A Glenn Miller oldie.

4. Suspect, maybe: DETAINEE. With all the airport security measures now, I think the terrorists did win...

5. "Given that ...": EVEN SO.

6. Sky streaker: METEOR.

7. Deep blue: ANIL. The west indian shrub called the indigo plant, from which blue dyes are made.

8. Harpsichordist's aid: LAMP. I can only assume this is what the clue intended...

9. It has few pips: TREY. Playing card spots.

10. Key of Beethoven's Sym. No. 7: A MAJ. Second Movement (8:19)

11. Frosh assignment: ROOMIE. Often in the first year of college, you must stay in a dorm, and you can't always pick your own roommate.

12. Ball partner: ARNAZ. Lucy and Desi.

13. Sky honkers: GEESE. Did you ever notice that one side of their V formation is always longer than the other and wonder why that happens? It's because there are more geese on that side.

19. Lad's sweetheart: LASS. Scotland terms could be interpreted to be related to today's theme.

21. Hammock session: NAP.

24. Batt. terminal: POSitive. or NEGative.

25. NFL drive killer: INTerception in football.

26. Score very high on: ACE. As with an exam.

27. "This is __ sudden!": ALL SO.

28. Motel extra: COT.

29. Nail holder: TOE. A little tricky, and not my first thought.  Also, eww... but just a little.

30. Ill. neighbor: IND. Illinois and Indiana.

34. Data-sharing syst.: LAN. Local Area Network, connected computers, usually within a single building. Between buildings usually requires a WAN, Wide Area Network.

35. Lunch initials: BLT.

36. __ candy: EAR, and clecho: 40D. __ candy: EYE.

37. Renters, collectively: TENANTRY. Perhaps a bit archaic Middle English-like, and doesn't quite slide easily off your tongue, but at least it isn't boring.

38. Nevertheless: YET.

39. Time off, in mil. slang: RNR. Rest 'N Recreation

43. Yarn or bell, e.g.: CAT TOY.

44. Page-bottom directive: OVER.

45. Polish goal: LUSTER.  A disguised capitonym clue. "Hiding" it at the beginning of a sentence is a Thursday level of trickiness.

46. "The Shield" actress __ Pounder: CCH. Carol Christine Hilaria.

47. Made hasty altar plans: ELOPED.

48. Broke down, in a way: SPELT. Bonus theme-related English spelling.

49. Pyramid-shaped Vegas hotel: LUXOR.

52. Soda reportedly named for a bottle size: NEHI. One story is that the company founder sent one of his salesmen across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus to check out his competition in Alabama. The happy salesman returned to report that Alabama competition was only "knee-high". The other recurring story concerns the checking of bottle samples that were being considered for the new flavor line. Most of the drinks of that era were of the 6 or 7 ounce sizes. When the tall 9 ounce Nehi sample was set beside the competitors brands, the comment was made that the smaller bottles looked "knee-high" beside their new container.

53. Fed: G-MAN.

54. Happy tune: LILT. To "lift up".

55. Crow's-nest sighting: ISLE. On a Thursday, LAND was too simple.

56. Afghanistan neighbor: IRAN.

57. Thames gallery: TATE. More England references.

60. Capitol Hill mover: POL. Whenever I see this word, I think of Pol Pot...

Answer Grid.

Constructor's notes:

"It may be that this puzzle was inspired by a coworker of my wife, Barbara.  He is very English.  He solves my puzzles regularly and loves the diversion from his usual grind.  I have met others from England, and cannot help but marvel at their colorful phrases.  We walk our dogs in the snicket now.  I did not know the narrow, wooded glen was a snicket until the English neighbor told me so.  I cannot even find that word in an English dictionary, so who knows how many words are out there that are not even in print.  I have also marveled at the spelling changes from one language to the other.  The goal was to make as many kinds of substitutions as possible, and try to keep the word the same length.  I think I also tried for one-letter substitutions, but I cannot recall if I succeeded.  This puzzle will probably drive some people crazy at first, who think they got it right but find that it does not work out.  The unifier was important.  Fortunately there was a phrase that explains it all.  I wonder where that phrase, “Put English on it” comes from.  I used to hear people use it in reference to billiard shots.  I have even heard it on the golf course.  Does anyone know the origin of this phrase?" 

Here you go, Don:  Spin imparted to a ball, from French anglé "angled," which is similar to Anglais "English."

Al

Thursday, March 31, 2011, Steve Salitan

Theme: Take me out to the Ball Game, revealed in 62 Across: Its season starts today; its equipment starts the starred answers: BASEBALL.

1A. *One way to reach a superhero: BAT PHONE. I've been reliving my childhood lately, a newer cable channel called the HUB is re-running the old Batman TV series.

23A. *2008 Republican hopeful: MITT ROMNEY. I hope I don't catch (see what I did there) any flack for saying this; I'm uncomfortable now whenever a political clue comes along... It has been said that the biggest hurdle in his bid was that he is a Mormon: Both politics and religion controversy all rolled up in one single clue.

34A. *Roll-fed toy: CAP PISTOL. Speaking of childhood, anyone else remember hitting a whole roll of caps at a time with a hammer?

46A. *Musical about rock's 4 Seasons: JERSEY BOYS. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Hi all, Al here. I kind of rushed through this one today, and didn't even need to read all the clues; sorry about the brevity. The perps filled a lot of the answers in for me and I found myself going back to the grid thinking "where was that?" quite a bit. There were a few nice tricky clues, but to me, the thing that seemed to stand out most was the number of two-word answers.

ACROSS:

9. Blind slat: LOUVER.

15. Concurred about: AGREED ON.

16. Lower, for now: ON SALE. There was gonna be one there. We was gonna buy one anyway, so aren't you glad I got it . . .

17. Ogled: LEERED AT.

18. Skinned: PEELED.

19. One of two O.T. books: SAML. Clue and ans. both abbrs. 1 and 2 Samuel are part of the Hebrew Bible. The Book(s) of Samuel originally was a single text.

20. When Donne is done for the day?: EEN. Poetic evening.

21. Genesis outcast: EVE. Because Peter Gabriel wouldn't fit.

22. Go by: PASS.

27. Focus of some trips: EGO. Last week's star wars clue.

28. Justice Sotomayor: SONIA. First Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, serving since August 2009.

29. Unsatisfactory marks?: ACNE. Wanted to fill with DEES or EFFS.

30. Explain: CONSTRUE. I always construed construe to mean "understand". Guess I was always wrong...

32. Fiona, after Shrek's kiss: OGRESS. Before that, too, but only at night.

36. Fertilizer component: POTASH. Along with Nitrogen (first) and Phosphorus (second), potassium is the third number you see on a commercial bag.

39. "I can't explain it": NO REASON. Often the answer to: "Why'd you do that?

43. Imitated: APED.

44. Old 51-Across devices: ETNAS. Burners, along with 51A. Trial site, perhaps: LAB.

45. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper: APU.

49. Benjamin et al.: Abbr.: PVTS. Goldie Hawn movie, Private Benjamin.

50. Give pieces to: ARM. Gats, rods, heaters.

52. Jai __: ALAI. Basket = cesta. Ball = pelota, which travels at speeds up to 250 feet per second (170 MPH). Ouch. And I used to think it hurt to get hit with a racquetball.

53. "The Executioner's Song" Pulitzer winner: MAILER. Norman. The events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder.

55. Burlesque act: FAN DANCE.

59. Show up: ATTEND.

60. Some feelers: ANTENNAE.

61. Viewed to be: SEEN AS.

DOWN:

1. __ masqué: dance with costumes: BAL. A masquerade ball.

2. A good while back: AGES AGO.

3. Crime of betrayal: TREASON.

4. Stylish waves: PERMS.

5. Cad: HEEL. Cad is a shortening of cadet originally used of servants, then of town boys by students at British universities and public schools (though at Cambridge it meant "snob"). Meaning "person lacking in finer feelings". A heel is a "contemptible person," in U.S. underworld slang, originally "incompetent or worthless criminal," probably from a sense of "person in the lowest position."

6. "How peculiar": ODD.

7. Tishby of "The Island": NOA. Cute, but never heard of her...

8. Head M.D.?: ENT. Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders. Practitioners are called otolaryngologists–head and neck surgeons, or sometimes otorhinolaryngologists (ORL).

9. Horse warming up, say: LOPER. I misread this clue as house instead of horse.

10. Bridge opener, briefly: ONE NO. Trump.

11. Take for a chump: USE.

12. Chemical bonding number: VALENCE. The numeric portion of the charge of an ion whether it is positive or negative.

13. Winning numbers: ELEVENS. Craps. (Thanks, melissa)

14. Flights that often span two days: RED EYES. Late night plane trips. Another misread, I kept seeing "fights" instead of flights.

20. LAX posting: ETA.

22. Chest ripple: PEC.torals. Trying to be fair, for the ladies.

23. Transform eerily, in sci-fi: MORPH. A smooth transition from one shape or face to another, SFX trickery.

24. __ to one's neck: IN UP.

25. Link with: TIE INTO.

26. Donald's second ex: MARLA. Trump, Maples. Not bad for 46...

28. Coming and going spots: Abbr.: STAS. Stations. Always have to wait for perps to see if the third letter will be A or N.

31. Carloads: SCADS.

32. Others, in Oaxaca: OTRAS. Spanish.

33. Proceeds: GOES.

35. Sharp competitor: SONY.

36. Hefner garb: PAJAMAS.

37. Work: OPERATE.

38. Unhappy home inspection find: TERMITE.

40. African plain: SAVANNA.

41. Like some film effects: OPTICAL.

42. Sorority letters: NUS. 13th letter of the Greek alphabet. We are the knights who say "ni" (as in onion).

44. Flow back: EBB.

47. "The Vampire Diaries" heroine Gilbert: ELENA. On the CW network, which I apparently don't watch much of... Another unknown to me.

48. Play places: YARDS. Wanted to get "stage" to be plural with only five letters.

49. Secondary strategy: PLAN B.

52. Chick chaser?: ADEE. Suffix: Chickadee.

54. Quarterback Dawson: LEN.

55. "Super!": FAB.

56. Actress Gasteyer: ANA. From Saturday Night Live.

57. Some Windows systems: NTS. This should have an obsolete tag on it... But without it I can't do my favorite (geeky) Microsoft joke. There is Windows CE for compact devices (WINCE, what you do when you have to work with it), Windows ME (Millenium Edition, now also obsolete), and Windows NT (New Technology, but commonly called "Nice Try") Put those all together and you get CE ME NT, as hard as a rock and as dumb as a brick.

58. Epitome of slipperiness: EEL.

Answer Grid.

Al

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme, revealed in 55 Across: Decide once and for all, and what one can do to the ends of 17-, 22-, 36- and 47-Across: MAKE-OR-BREAK.

17A. Romantic evening components, perhaps: DINNER DATES. Ask someone out, break their heart.

22A. California Gold Rush staple: SOURDOUGH BREAD. Earn money, start eating a meal.

36A. Alien statutes: IMMIGRATION LAWS. Aliens, of course, meaning foreigners, rather than ETs from outer space. Make legislation, break a rule.

47A. Wurlitzer whirlers: JUKEBOX RECORDS. Make a musical recording, best a formerly unsurpassed accomplishment.

Hi all, Al here, with the honor of blogging a Thursday puzzle with a very well known co-author, at least well-known around this particular blogosphere anyway... I hope I don't have to spell it out for you all. There's a note at the end from said co-author which explains the structure of the theme better than I could.

ACROSS:.

1. Soaking spots: BATHS. The original meaning was to heat, not to immerse.  Bath, in Somerset England, was named because of its hot springs.

6. Mideast ruling family name: ASSAD. Syria.

11. Field call: CAW. Corn field, not sports.

14. Language that gives us "kayak": INUIT. Inupik Eskimo inuit "people," plural of inuk "man."

15. Abu __: DHABI. The richest city in the world.  Today's geography lesson. Fabulous architecture.

16. She played Beatrix in "Kill Bill": UMA. Thurman

19. Strain: TAX. To put a burden on...so the same meaning, really.

20. Reason-based faith: DEISM. A point of view that states a supreme being exists, but without interfering in human affairs, and without any organized religion.

21. Film in Cannes: CINE. French.

27. Watering hole: PUB. Where people gather and don't drink water, and 52A. 27-Across offerings: ALES.

28. 23-Down was one: Abbr.: SEN.ator with 23D. 2009 Peace Nobelist: OBAMA and also 49D. Homeland of 23-Down's father: KENYA.

29. "Able was __ ...": palindrome start: I ERE I saw Elba.

30. Try in court: HEAR.

32. Came around regarding: AGREED TO.

40. It can make a star shine: LEAD ROLE.

41. 4-Down titles: SRIS. An honorific prefix meaning "beauty" along with 4D. Gandhi, for one: HINDU.

42. Stadium take: GATE. Short for "gate money" collected from selling tickets.

43. Like sashimi: RAW. A sushi terminology and pronunciation guide.

46. Cause of star wars?: EGO. S.W. is not capitalized, so this does not refer to the movie nor Reagan's SDI.  Literally meaning in-fighting amongst actors because of their swollen sense of self-worth. Possibly clue-related to 2D. Darth, at one time: ANI. Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars movies.

53. Plant moisture buildup: EDEMA. A swelling, not necessarily limited to plants.

54. Quaint stopover: INN. Old English "inne" inside, within.

61. Hens do it: LAY.

62. Novelist Jong: ERICA. Fear of Flying, which wasn't about flying.

63. Blue Cross competitor: AETNA. Originally sold fire insurance, thus the "Etna" name to invoke the image of a fiery volcano.

64. Yellow __: SEA. Bonus geography lesson.

65. He passed Lou in 2009 to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader: DEREK. Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, baseball. I sense C. C.'s influence here...

66. Pulitzer writer Kidder: TRACY. The Soul of a New Machine, about Data General Corporation designing a new machine under high pressure and an impossible schedule so that they could compete with Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX. Set in the 70's.

DOWN:

1. Certain eBay click: BID.

3. Large cask: TUN. Originally 256 gallons, and related to the ton weight measure.

5. Directs: STEERS.

6. Attaches to the house: ADDS ON.

7. SeaWorld performer: SHAMU.

8. Did nothing: SAT.

9. Symbol of honesty: ABE. A political rarity.  He didn't like the nickname, though.

10. Bad-mouth: DIS. Shortening of "disrespect".

11. Sweetie pie: CUTIE. For the ladies...

12. Whirlpool brand: AMANA. Once owned by Raytheon, the inventors of the microwave oven way back in 1947. Home use wasn't available until 20 years later.

13. Like some slippery floors: WAXED.

18. Sally in space: RIDE. The first woman in space. I always think of this song when I see her name.

21. Anglers' baskets: CREELS. And they say men don't like wicker.

22. "So I was wrong": SUE ME. I was just watching Guys and Dolls again for the umpteenth time tonight...

24. Leslie Caron title role: GIGI.

25. Sub: HERO. Hoagie, grinder, blimpie, po' boy, others.

26. British weapon designed in Czechoslovakia: BREN. A light machine gun. The name was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed, and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory.

27. Three-time Masters champ Mickelson: PHIL. Golf.

31. Ruffles features: RIDGES.

32. Had: ATE.

33. Challenged: DARED.

34. Campfire base: TWIGS. Or steel wool connected to a battery...

35. __ buco: OSSO. Italian for "Bone with a hole", veal with vegetables, and wine sauce.

37. Snatch: GRAB.

38. __-Rooter: ROTO. That's the name, you just flush your troubles down the drain.

39. "A Clockwork Orange" narrator: ALEX. The main character. Anthony Burgess, writer, Stanley Kubrick, director of the movie adaptation, who left the final "redeeming" chapter from the book out of the movie, because it didn't feel like it "fit" with the rest of the story.

43. New Jersey's state tree: RED OAK.

44. Top server: ACER.

45. Burrowing marsupial: WOMBAT. The wombat lives across the seas/Among the far Antipodes./He may exist on nuts and berries,/Or then again, on missionaries; /His distant habitat precludes/Conclusive knowledge of his moods,/But I would not engage the wombat/In any form of mortal combat. -- Ogden Nash

47. Puts in the can?: JAILS.

48. Radii neighbors: ULNAE. Both Latin plurals.

50. Volleyball great Gabrielle: REECE.

51. More elusive: RARER.

55. Dr.'s study: MED. Abbrevs in clue and answer.

56. Were now?: ARE. Present tense.

57. Cassis apéritif: KIR. Blackcurrant liqueur topped up with white wine.

58. Seventh Greek letter: ETA.

59. Mandela's org.: ANC. African National Congress.

60. Mary __ Ash, cosmetics company founder: KAY. Pink Cadillacs for the top sales people.

Answer Grid.

A note from C.C. about today's puzzle:

This puzzle was accepted last November. Don and I tried to engage MAKE & BREAK in a different context in each theme entry. We also felt it was necessary that certain ending words in the theme answers be plural to consistently apply MAKE  & BREAK. Gridding was a bit of challenge due to the theme phrase length  & the letter combination in JUKEBOX RECORDS. The wonderful clues for STAR ROLE & EGO are Rich's creation.

Don was very open to the idea of collaborating on puzzles. He feels that the process is inspirational for both sides, no matter the experience of either. It is fun to see the evolution of thought processes as they are explored through e-mail exchanges. I am very lucky to have him as a Lao Shi (teacher).

Al

Thursday, March 17, 2011, Bruce Venzke

Theme: Air-raising. All four theme answers are in turn clue definitions for the (same) answer to 53 Down: Clue for 17-, 26-, 45- and 60-Across: LIFT.

17A. BRITISH ELEVATOR.

26A. FOOTWEAR INSERT.

45A. BOOST IN SPIRITS.

60A. HITCHHIKERS RIDE.

Hi all, Al here. I guess this makes it as a Thursday crossword because it contains a second, third, and fourth meaning of a word, which you usually see late in the week as a clue, one where you can't just pop in the first answer that comes to mind. I started writing this explanation and struggled with it to the point where I started confusing myself in the attempt to be clear. Let's hope I got this right:

HOMONYMS sound alike, spelling may be either the same or different.

HOMOGRAPHS are spelled alike, sound may be either the same or different.

HOMOPHONES sound alike but have different spellings.

HETERONYMS are spelled alike but sound different.

So, In the theme today for all four cases, LIFT is both a homonym and a homograph, but not a homophone, nor a heteronym. As a side note, heist is related to hoist, because both are the action of something being LIFTed.

ACROSS:

1. Bingo call: B-TEN. Typically there are 75 numbers in play so, "under the B" could be 1-15. However there is a 90 number variant that would make it be between 1-18.

5. Gordon __: Michael Douglas's "Wall Street" role: GEKKO. 1987 Best Actor Oscar.

10. One may require stitches: GASH.

14. German import: AUDI.

15. Slangy negative: IXNAY. Pig Latin for NIX.

16. Control: RULE. The measuring stick is the source for the verb in the sense of to "guide on the straight correct path", with "rule of thumb" appearing somewhere along the way.

20. Fairy tale ender: AFTER. As in "and they all lived happily ever after."

21. Amazement: AWE. From Old Norse agi "fright".

22. Early surgery aid: ETHER. But highly flammable, and with side effects such as nausea and vomiting.

23. Talking with one's hands?: Abbr.: ASL. American Sign Language. Those with delicate sensibilities about language should not click this link, but it is quite well done, with over 1.5 million views and only 207 dislikes.

25. Ante-: PRE. A prefix for a prefix, for example: antecedent (to go before).

34. Washington's Grand __ Dam: COULEE.  Here's a crossword staple, Arlo Guthrie.

35. Fierce anger: RAGE.

36. Carnival city: RIO. I'll spare you from linking to Duran Duran...

37. Old, in Oberhausen: ALTE. German.

38. "Good heavens!": EGADS. and 51D. "Gadzooks!": YIPE. Gad being a euphemism for God.

40. Humdinger: LULU.

41. Relieve (of): RID.

42. Pencil remnant: STUB.

43. Legal-sized fish: KEEPER. Take your pick.

48. Neighbor of Nev.: ORE. Nevada, Oregon. Pronounced like "Or-ee-gn", and the locals appear to get a bit territorial if you pronounce it like the ending of a geometric shape.

49. Reggae singer Kamoze: INI. New to me...

50. Big name in food service: SYSCO. Restaraunt supplier.

53. Brine-cured delicacy: LOX. Smoked salmon.

55. Remove forcibly: EXPEL. Related: repel, dispel, propel, from latin pellere "drive".

63. Andy Taylor's son: OPIE. Little Ronnie Howard from Mayberry, RFD.

64. Submit taxes, nowadays: E-FILE.

65. Kong's kin: APES.

66. Guam, for one: Abbr.: TERRitory. Today's geography lesson.  Very close to the center of the map, you can see the Caroline Islands.  Guam is just above that.

67. 50s experiment, briefly: H-TEST. Off to the right on the same map as Guam are the Marshall Islands.  Look just above that to see Bikini.  The Bikini Atoll is where the test was detonated.

68. Longings: YENS.

DOWN:.

1. Cake with a kick: BABA. au Rhum.

2. Horse racing surface: TURF.

3. Cut, perhaps: EDIT.

4. Nick at __: NITE. "Family" cable channel, reruns and sitcoms.

5. Dogfaces, briefly: GIS. Usually only infantrymen were called that.  Slept in pup tents, stayed in foxholes, wore dog tags, ordered around like a dog.

6. Yoga instruction: EXHALE.

7. Had no doubts about: KNEW.

8. Leafy vegetable: KALE.

9. Santana's "__ Como Va": OYE.

10. Irritates, with "on": GRATES.

11. One may have an agt.: AUTHor.

12. Fruit used to flavor gin: SLOE.

13. Bavarian mister: HERR.

18. Really peeved: IRATE.

19. Fogg's creator: VERNE. Phileas Fogg, Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne.

24. Honeybunch: SWEETIE. What my wife calls me when she is not happy.

25. What might be used when a bomb is hurled on a field?: PIGSKIN. A long pass in football, or a scene from The Mouse That Roared.

26. Port closing?: FOLIO. All your personal investments summarized in a portfolio.

27. Show up: OUT-DO.

28. Flamenco exclamation: OLE. Bravo.

29. Bedouins, e.g.: ARABS. Arabic badawin "desert-dwellers," an already pluralized form of badawi. Silly to pluralize it again, but that's English for you.

30. "Really cool!": RAD. Shortening of "radical".

31. Break out, as violence: ERUPT.

32. Ticks off: RILES.

33. Organized string of gigs: TOUR.

34. Atkins diet taboo: CARB. So close, but too far in the wrong direction with meat. Excess protein is broken down into sugar and urea, which places stress on the kidneys and doesn't really solve the stored fat problem long term.

39. Pistol: GUN. and 50D. Used a 39-Down: SHOT.

40. Island welcome: LEI.

42. Old Detroit brewery name: STROH.  Bottoms up on St. Paddy's Day. (Link wasn't working, so I replaced it. And yes, I know the new one isn't Stroh's)

44. Lakeshore natives: ERIES.

46. World Cup sport: SOCCER.

47. Digital dots: PIXELS. Individual component makeup of pictures, shortened to pics, then pix, a Variety magazine word.

52. Swizzle: STIR. Swizzle of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of switchel "a drink of molasses and water" (often mixed with rum.)

54. Haggard's "__ from Muskogee": OKIE. Even back when times were simpler, people were still resisting change.

56. See-through, in comics: X-RAY. An old advertisement for the unwary, whose money would soon be departed.

57. Meerschaum or brier: PIPE.

58. Genesis locale: EDEN.

59. Subtraction word: LESS.

61. Half a devious laugh: HEH.

62. Living in Ariz., maybe: RETired.

Answer Grid.

Al