Sunday July 10, 2016 Alex Bajcz

Theme: "Volumizing" - BODY is added to each theme entry.

23. Obstruct one's buddies during a hockey game? : BODY CHECK MATES. Checkmates.

32. Crimson Tide wrestler? : ALABAMA BODY SLAMMER. Boomer never heard of Alabama Slammer. I read the Wiki ingredients. He said "Oh, it sounds girly." His likes Manhattan on the rocks.

52. Snoop's job? : BUSYBODY WORK. Busy work.

69. Royal with a broadcasting award? : PRINCESS AND THE PEABODY. Princess and the Pea. PEABODY is not rooted in BODY, hence an ideal choice in letter addition/deletion/replacement gimmick.

88. Central garage item? : BODY SHOP LIFT. Shoplift.

104. Benchmark for a movie daredevil? : BODY DOUBLE STANDARD. Double standard.

119. Immunology-themed gala? : ANTIBODY SOCIAL. Anti-social.

When I read the title, I figured something would be added. BODY appeared rather earlier, so I had plenty of free letters.

 

March 21, 2013 is the last time we saw Alex Bajcz's byline. Since then he has had two puzzles published by the New York Times. But today is his very first Sunday grid. Congrats, Alex!  Bajcz is pronounced like "Badges", by the way.

Alex is bold with his grid design. Those paralleled 11's in the upper right and lower left are hard to pull off cleanly, esp since they're intersecting two long Across themers. I can probably do a paralleled 9's or 10's with one themer Across.  You rock, Alex!

Across:

1. Eliminate, as a vacancy : FILL

5. Chin-up muscle, briefly : LAT

8. Car window options : TINTS

13. Capital of Eritrea : ASMARA. Vowel aplenty.

19. "I've got it!" elicitor : IDEA

20. Peyton's brother : ELI

21. NSX automaker : ACURA

22. Cavatappi and such : PASTAS. Never heard of Cavatappi. Wiki says it's "an Italian word created by compounding "cava tappi", which literally means "tap extractor" (a corkscrew)".

26. Strapless accessory : CLUTCH. Consonant-rich. Was thinking of the strapless bras.

27. Norwegian for "sloping track" : SLALOM

28. Baking site : KILN. Not OVEN.

29. "Heat of the Moment" band : ASIA. Not AC/DC.

31. Scrape (by) : EKE

37. Movement suffix : ISM

40. One more time : ANEW

41. Brooding rock genre : EMO

42. Agree to a friending request : ACCEPT. Husker Gary is the first person who accepted my Friend Request. 

43. Talk : CHAT

45. Paneer cheese go-with : NAAN. Never had Paneer. You?

48. Los Angeles rarity : SNOW. Lucky!

50. "__ where it hurts!" : HIT 'EM

56. Nick time? : NITE

58. Payless box letters : EEE

59. Bio lab organism : MICROBE

60. Dublin-to-Blackpool dir. : ENE.  Already the E in place. Hence ENE. No NNE or  SSE dilemma.

61. Home of The Hague: Abbr. : NETH

62. Pres. and veep : LDRS (Leaders).

63. Elroy Jetson's best friend : ASTRO

65. It might be a mirage : OASIS. Have you had fresh dates before?

67. Pumps up : ELATES

74. Right-hand pages : RECTOS. Vs. VERSOS.

75. Tapped : CHOSE

76. Car buyer's choice : COUPE

77. Pocket rockets, in poker : ACES. Learned from doing crosswords.

78. Quaint contraction : 'TWAS

80. JFK speechwriter Sorensen : TED

82. Churro relative : CRULLER. I believe Churro came from China. We call it Youtiao. Youtiao & soy milk is the standard breakfast in Shanghai/Taiwan. Jayce love it.

86. Often laceless shoe : MOC. Drew a blank.

87. Bygone autocrat : TSAR

90. [What a snoozefest!] : SNORE

92. Watson outburst : I SAY

94. "Go __ Watchman": Harper Lee novel : SET A

95. 90 degrees from norte : ESTE. East. Then we also have NL WEST (96. Gp. including the Rockies).

98. Bk. fair organizer : PTA

100. Try to convince : URGE. Boomer just would not put an ad on our local Star Tribune for our one-day garage sale yesterday. Alas, it's a bust. Street signs were not enough. Craigslist did bring us a few visitors, including one persistent "Have you heard the good news.... " lady. Boomer said she's a Jehovah's Witness.

103. Beast of burden : ASS

109. One in a rack : RIB

 

110. Org. led by a Grand Exalted Ruler : BPOE

111. Three-and-out follower, in football : PUNT

112. Muss : TOUSLE

116. Relaxed : AT EASE

122. Eccentric sort : GEEZER. Always old. 

123. Compete in an impromptu "contest" : STARE. Got via crossed.

124. White House accounting gp. : OMB. OK, Office of Management and Budget.

125. Sleek : TRIM

126. Pointers : ARROWS

127. Varieties : TYPES

128. The G in LGBT : GAY

129. Round Table honorifics : SIRS

Down:

1. Tells tales : FIBS

2. Carrie Underwood, for one : IDOL. Fourth season winner.

3. Helen of Troy's mother : LEDA

4. 1992 Best Rock Song Grammy winner : LAYLA. Easy crossing.

5. Big name in 2008 financial news : LEHMAN

6. Lagunitas product : ALE

7. Pass by, as time : TICK AWAY

8. The Miracles' label : TAMLA. Never heard of it.

9. Promising "Are you available?" response : I CAN BE. Not YES I AM.

10. Baklava morsel : NUT

11. Walk all over : TREAD ON

12. Impertinent : SASSY

13. Math course for coll. credit : AP CALC. Very helpful clue.

14. __ Khan, online academy founder : SAL. I wanted ALY.

15. The NCAA's Spartans : MSU

16. Tried proving that one could : ATTEMPTED TO

17. Engaged in organized crime : RACKETEERED

18. One of Israel's 12 tribes : ASHER.  This stumped me last time.

24. Vending machine choice : COLA

25. Sister of Khloé : KIM

30. Witness' statement : I SAW IT

33. Sprees : BENDERS

34. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK. Easy crossings.

35. Need ice, maybe : ACHE

36. Soong __-ling: Madame Chiang : MEI. She's the youngest of the Soong Sisters. The middle sister Ching-Ling married Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The oldest sister married the then richest man in China. They were all educated here in the US.

Left to right:  Ai-ling, Ching-ling and Mei-ling.

37. Disarmament subj. : ICBM

38. Feng __ : SHUI

39. Gram. gender : MASC

44. Absolute rulers : TYRANTS

46. Leave speechless : AWE

47. "Stop! You're ruining everything!" : NO NO NO. Also 107. "So that's __?" : A NO. Probably should have gone with the Spanish year clue direction.

49. "Hold that thought" : ONE SEC

51. Like some breakups : MESSY

53. "Psycho" shower scene blood, actually : BOSCO. Good to know.

54. Beseeches : OBTESTS. Do you use this word in your daily life? I never heard of it.

55. Entertains with a bedtime story : READS TO

57. Capital since 2002 : THE EURO.  Does "The" feels unnecessary to you?

61. Bethesda medical agcy. : NIH

62. "Lady Marmalade" singer : LABELLE. I'm more familiar with this version.

64. Coveted statuettes : OSCARS

66. Fury and Silver of classic TV : STEEDS. Not HORSES.

68. Eagerly consume : LAP UP.  We also have 79. Watch (for) : WAIT UP. Tiny dupes like UP, AT, THE are OK.

69. London strollers : PRAMS

70. Keep tabs on the enemy : RECONNOITER. I always use RECON.

71. Ballpark vendor's cry : ICE-COLD BEER.  Sparkling 11.

72. Contented sounds : AHs

73. Diving duck : POCHARD. New word to me. We always get SMEW for this clue. Her eyes are red.

81. Vat filler : DYE. And 117. Nitrogenous 81-Down : AZO

83. Former L.A. Sparks All-Star __ Leslie : LISA. Amazing career.

84. Young newts : EFTs

85. Numbered rds. : RTEs

87. Drove, with "off" : TEED

88. Modern storage unit : BYTE

89. Nonhuman film substitute : STUNT DOG. Wow. I only know stuntman.

91. Letters after either Cowboy St. senator's name : R-WY. Goofy answer.

93. In spades : APLENTY

97. Gets serious : SOBERS

99. Have grand plans : ASPIRE

101. "Great" literary hero : GATSBY

102. Switch end : EROO. Switcheroo.

104. NW Portuguese city : BRAGA. Unfamiliar to me.

105. Talk oneself up : BOAST

106. Straws, e.g. : TUBES. Simple in retrospect.

108. Sources of tears : DUCTS. Simple in retrospect.

113. Popular assistant : SIRI. This lady gives me pause all the time, unless she's clued explicitly.

114. Private retreat : LAIR

115. Shade trees : ELMS

118. Be in a bee : SEW. Sewing bee.

120. Gentle attention-getter : TAP

121. "The Peruvian Songbird" Sumac : YMA

Happy Birthday to dear Don G, my talented mentor and close friend. Don has been quite busy with his piano projects, but continues to work with me and help me when he's free.

C.C.

Thursday, March 21, 2013 Alex Bajcz

Theme: Covert OPs

20A. Hot sauce ingredient : TABASCO PEPPER.

27A. Vox populi : PUBLIC OPINION.

43A. Genre artist of mid-18th century Europe : ROCOCO PAINTER.

49A. Stinger? (and what's literally found in 20-, 27- and 43-Across): UNDERCOVER COP.

I missed Alex's debut puzzle on February 1st, since I was on the beach in Florida with no Wi-Fi. There are not many ways to split a three letter word, but all three phrases are in the lingo, so it felt pretty easy for a Thursday. And even though there were several unknown names, the crossings were all solid.  Marti here for your regular Thursday programming.

Across:

1. ___-minded : CIVIC. Nice palindromic word.

6. Skating team : PAIR. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China won the pairs competition at the 2010 Olymics. This is why. Performance around 5:30, then the judging. Total 10:58

10. Strong desire, with "the" : HOTS. What screen idol do you have the hots for?

14. Caught this morning : FRESH. Fresh clue!

15. "Look ___ when I'm talking to you!" : AT ME.

16. Auth. of many snarky blog somments : ANON. Don't feed the trolls.

17. "Scrubs" head nurse : CARLA. Played by actress Judy Reyes.

18. Nurses : SIPS. So was your mind still on Carla?

19. "___ 911!": police series parody : RENO. Never saw the show.

23. Beret-sporting revolutionary : CHE. Guevara.

25. Operation Overlord vessel, for short : LST. Code name for the invasion of Normandy, where many Landing Ship, Tanks were put into service.

26. Concerto standout : SOLOIST. I don't think this one has been linked before. For you, Jazzbumpa!

30. Monstrous : OGRISH. Yes, it's a real word. So is ogrism, which leads me down a whole different path...

31. Off ___: sporadically : AND ON.

32. NBAer who tweeted "I'm about to retire" in 2011 : SHAQ. Shaquille O'Neal. And he did.

33. Wrinkly toy : PUG. Awwww...

34. Silver-tongued : GLIB.

38. No later than : UNTIL.

41. British blame game? : CLUEDO. Never heard of the British version of Clue.

45. Men's department fixture : TIE RACK.

47. Vessel near the desserts : URN. Coffee urn.

48. Droop : SAG.

52. Produced fiction? : LIED.

53. Say and mean : AVER.

54. Slapstick sidekick : OLLIE. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were probably the best slapstick comedy team, ever.

57. "House," in Inuit : IGLU.

58. Suckling spot : TEAT. I feel sorry for the little guys on the bottom.

59. Favors, with "toward" : LEANS.

60. Fanfare : POMP...and circumstance.

61. Woody's son : ARLO.

62. "Tearin' Up My Heart" band : 'N SYNC. They officially broke up about eight years ago, but live on in crosswords.

Down:

1. Compound once used as aerosol propellant: Abbr. : CFC. Chlorofluorocarbon.

2. NPR's "Science Friday" host Flatow : IRA.

3. Anatomical column component : VERTEBRA.

4. Land in el agua : ISLA.

5. Dry French wine : CHABLIS. I prefer Sauvignon Blanc.

6. Target in the end zone : PASS TO. Now that Wes Welker has defected to the Broncos, Tom Brady will have to find someone else to PASS TO in the end zone.

7. System ending? : ATIC. Systematic.

8. Eliciting awe : IMPOSING.

9. Plead in court, say : RESPOND.

10. Whaling weapon : HARPOON GUN.

11. Bowler's target : ONE PIN. Boomer!

12. Strengthens : TONES. Does anyone use an XBox for exercising? My personal trainer in the video is a real b*tch...

13. Sound from the bull pen : SNORT. Well, I guess it would depend if they were winning or losing the baseball game...(^0^)...snort

21. "The Nazarene" author Sholem : ASCH.  Sholem Asch (1880-1957) seems to have offended Jewish people everywhere with the trilogy, which also included "The Apostle" and "Mary."

22. Belgian prime minister Di Rupo : ELIO. Never heard of him.

23. Coast Guard noncoms : CPOs. Chief Petty Officer (s).

24. Jackman of "Les Miserables" (2012) : HUGH.

28. Sloshed : LIQUORED UP.  You should have 18-Acrossed those drinks!

29. São ___ : PAULO.

33. Examine, as produce : PICK OVER.

35. "Game on!" : LET'S PLAY.

36. Coconut product : IDEA. HaHa, "coconut" as a slang term for "head" here.

37. McEnroe rival : BORG. John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

39. Tar Heel St. : N. CAR. North Carolina Tar Heels.

40. Improvisational piece : TOCCATA. From the Italian "to touch." Here is a famous one, attributed to Bach.

41. Gideon Fell creator John Diskcon ___ : CARR.  Subject of more than 20 detective stories by Carr.

42. Apt vehicle in a presidential motorcade? : LINCOLN. Nice clue.

43. Furniture wood : RED ELM. It is beautiful wood for cabinetry.

44. ___ Rico : PUERTO.

45. Dutch export : TULIP.  Tulip service?

46. Covent Garden architect Jones : INIGO. Oh my, I just got INIGO Montoya etched into my brain, and now there's another one?

50. Scaloppine meat : VEAL. I like VEAL piccata, too.

51. Fútbol cheers : OLES.

55. Resting place : INN. "Mausoleum" just wouldn't fit...

56. "I didn't mean to do that" key : ESC.ape.  Time for me to slip out the back door. See you next week!

Hugs,

Marti

Friday, February 1, 2013, Alex Bajcz

THEME: Oh Gee, no G.

Each of the four theme answers modifies an existing phrase by removing "G" from the first word of the phrase, and then using a sound alike for the remaining letters. A slight variation on last week's punny theme with each of the four changed words losing the beginning G. We have two 10 letter and two grid spanning fill, all of which present nice visual pun humor. The constructor appears new, and other than it perhaps being a man from Orono, Maine (self shout out?) who wants Dunkin Donuts to stop using styrofoam cups, I know nothing about him. Some nice long non-theme fill like PATROLMAN, ARMSTRONG, ARMOR PLATE, etc., I will let you all discuss the rest. So let's see what this Black Bear has left in our woods,

21A. British bathroom plant? : (G) LOO (GLUE) FACTORY.(10). Does everyone call factories "plants?". Some alliteration to start our theme day.

34A. Review July 4th festivities? : (G) RATE (GREAT) BALLS OF FIRE.(15).  The rock and roll CLASSIC (1:48) by Jerry Lee Lewis, the only surviving member of the Million Dollar Quartet. He came and played at the Music Hall in Gainesville back in the 70s, A real thrill to watch him play and to meet him

41A. Headline about rudeness in the House of Lords? : (G)EARL (GIRL) INTERRUPTED. (15). Perhaps it was the Earl of Grantham with his maid Jane. I am only two episodes behind now. I did enjoy this MOVIE.(2:50), but the scenes are very disturbing.

54A. Academy for special operatives? : (G) RAID (GRADE) SCHOOL. I would have clued it as Academy for Exterminators.

And the unifier,

70A. Weightless state, and a hint to 21-, 34-, 41- and 54-Across : ZERO Gravity. Actually there are a number of non-theme "G"s in the grid. Is that GGGGGrrrreat?  We do not have J,K,Q,V,W,or X.

Across:

1. F. Scott's spouse : ZELDA.  I really enjoyed this MOVIE.(2:04)

6. Major NCAA 8-Down : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference,  the home of Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State as well as Florida State and Miami. 8D. Sports div. : CONFerence.

9. Buff : TONED. ladies?

14. Homer work : ILIAD. Not Simpson's job at the nuclear plant, but the 9th Century BCE author of this tome and the Odyssey. The books chronicle the tales of Achilles, the Trojan War etc. Among the earliest extant epic poems.

15. 2014 World Cup final site : RIO.  The official SITE. The prelims will be played all over Brazil.

16. Home of the NCAA's Black Bears : ORONO. The state university of Maine, and a shout out to our own Mainiac and Hahtoolah.

17. One keeping a beat? : PATROLMAN. Wicked clever clue, can't beat it, you should drum it into your head..

19. Portsmouth pop : PATER. The Latin for father. Mater, pater, very snobby.

20. Narrow strip : SLAT.

23. Center of attention : STAR. Our sun is a star. The clecho, 38A. Center of attention : IDOL.

25. At that point : THEN.

26. Medical office responses : AHS. Open your mouth and say....Less invasive than "Cough." Just worry when he has hands on both shoulders.

29. Bass player's tool : AMPlifier. Only if he plays the electric bass.

30. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN E. 

31. Wriggly swimmer : EEL.

39. Man on a mission : AGT. Agent like 007.

40. Disney duck princess : OONA. Not Mrs. Chaplin but a cave woman Duck introduced into the Donald Duck saga. Remind anyone of a famous caveman in comics?

46. Mucky place : STY. Is mucky really a word? Yucky too. 

47. Actress West : MAE. She was an original who wrote many of her own lines. CLIP.(1:52)

48. Tool for some summer Olympians : OAR. I bet they are used by the ones who row.

49. Barnyard beast : ASS. It is a real burden to not say something nasty.

50. Home in the woods : LAIR. Do all world animals live in the woods? 

52. Summer sunset hour : NINE. It is interesting how that varies from time zones and proximity to the equator.

58. Kuala Lumpur locale : ASIA. So easy, but it took a bit. 

62. Long bones : ULNAS. So many choices, even fingers are long bones; they are longer than they are wide.

63. Musician for whom New Orleans's airport is named : ARMSTRONG. Symbol is still MSY. The great LOUIS. 

65. Attack from all sides : SIEGE. Hmm, attack? 

66. Big name in casual wear : LEE. Just ask Bret Favre.

67. Thomas associate : ALITO. Two of the nine current US Supreme Court Justices.

68. Gave quite a shock? : TASED. This too was from GAINESVILLE.(2:24).

69. In support of : FOR.

Down:

1. Closes, in a way : ZIPS. Especially if you use Ziploc products.

2. Mideast carrier : EL AL. The Israeli airline used to a very common fill.

3. Rocker Ford : LITA. She has done some powerful SONGS (4:39) after starting out along with Joan Jett and others in a made to fit band, the Runaways when she was a teenager.

4. The maximum score with three of them is 180 : DARTS. The center bull's eye is only 50 points, so it from the the triple 20, that you can achieve the highest score. Now explain why 3 darts and we know all.

5. Fuss : ADO. But do not make a big deal about it.

6. Bank truck protector : ARMOR PLATE. Nice 10 letter fill.

7. "Bye!" : CIAO. Chow chow? Those Italians do like to eat.

9. Show with a "Just Desserts" spin-off : TOP CHEF. My dessert would be chocolate covered....

10. Grandstand, say : ORATE. Ehh; to me as a stand alone, the word means either to show off, or a place people sit to watch a game. 

11. Absolutely none : NOT ONE IOTA. Another long fill.

12. Steven Chu's Cabinet dept. : ENERgy. As far as I know, he is the only cabinet member to ever have won a Nobel Prize.

13. Small craft : DORY.  A handsome craft, it is hunky-dory.

18. Andean creature : LLAMA.

The Lama

 The one-l lama,
 He's a priest.
 The two-l llama,
 He's a beast.
 And I will bet
 A silk pajama
 There isn't any
 Three-l lllama.*- Ogden Nash

Of course in Boston, a big fire can e a three alllamah.

22. "...___ additional cost!" : AT NO. Yes, clues revealed and free poetry.

24. Looseleaf divider feature : TAB.

26. Pisces follower : ARIES.

27. Went after : HAD AT.

28. They may have twists : STORY LINES. A nice clue for a simple answer.

30. Hubble, for one : ASTRONOMER. Mote than a telescope, we have EDWIN.

32. Maritime birds : ERNES.

33. Has followers : LEADS.

35. 90-degree turn : ELL.

36. Clothing catalog choice: Abbr. : LGE.

37. Top-drawer dresser : FOP. The REVEAL.

42. "My aim was off" : I MISSED.

43. Buster : NARC. Never in a million years without the perps, even though the clue/fill are straightforward with one who busts (buster) being a narc.

44. Roller coaster guides : RAILS.

45. Spigoted vessel : URN. The coffee ones, not the Grecian or the one with Aunt Agatha's ashes.

51. Bit of wisdom : ADAGE.

53. Baseball Hall of Famer Combs : EARLE. Probably the least known of the Yankees dynasty in the 20's but he was a great BALLPLAYER. Not related to Robert Crawley.

54. Deteriorate, in a way : RUST.

55. Et ___ : ALIA.

56. Word seen twice on some dairy cartons : HALF. Do you us Half and Half or powdered stuff?

57. Dipped cookie : OREO. Got milk? I am lactose intolerant.  These two are the dairy section of the puzzle.

59. Évian evening : SOIR. The place in France where night is SOIR with rhymes with NOIR, black

60. Excited by : INTO. I am into words.

61. Dumbfounded : AGOG. They often leave me dumbfounded?

64. Toon devil : TAZ. Tasmanian devils are assimilating.

Well we are off on a new month (January is gone!) today is the anniversary of both my parents and grand parents; time to get ready for Phil. Lemonade out.