Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Bruce Haight

The ESSENCE of S.  What happens when you add the letter S to the beginning and end of a common word?  You get today's rhyming puzzle puzzle!  Our constructor, Bruce Haight must like the letter "S".  His Friday puzzle also added an "S" to give us a sleepy-time puzzle.

 17-Across. Run out of pants?: LACK SLACKS.

Poor Peter Rabbit.  He is without slacks!

25-Across. Steal tent holders?: TAKE STAKES.

40-Across. Share sewing cylinders?: POOL SPOOLS.  These pool noodles are the closest I could find to a Pool Spool.

44-Across. Praise Guinness products?: TOUT STOUTS.

A Stout Man Touting Stout.

52-Across. Discuss cornfields?: TALK STALKS.

67-Across. Cook escargots perfectly?: NAIL SNAILS.

Across:

1. Singer Cyrus: MILEY.  //  1-Down. Long-distance runner: MILER.  I liked how Miley and Miler crossed.  Miley Cyrus (née Destiny Hope Cyrus; b. Nov. 23, 1992) has come a long way since her Hannah Montana days.

6. Captain with a whalebone leg: AHAB.  Captain Ahab is a fictional character in Moby Dick, the whaling novel by Herman Melville.  As the novel begins, we learn that the Captain had been on a previous whaling voyage and a great white whale had bitten off the Captain's leg, so he now depends upon a whalebone prosthetic.  Moby Dick is basically a revenge novel, where Captain Ahab is out to strike back at the whale.

10. Secretly sends an email copy to: BCCs.  As in Blind Carbon Copies.  Although the actual Carbon Copy is now obsolete, the abbreviation for it remains.

14. Cry of domination: I RULE!

15. Sensible: SANE.

16. "Well, hello there": OH, HI!

19. Dickens' Little __: NELL.  Little Nell is a character in The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens.  It is about a young orphan girl (Nell, of course), who lives with her grandfather in his shop.  The novel was published as a weekly series, and was a real nail biter for its readers.  Sort of like an old-timey Game of Thrones.

20. Airport approx.: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.  This is a crossword staple.

21. Vintage Ford: MODEL T.  Henry Ford is supposed to have said about the Model T that "any customer can have a car painted in any color that he wants so long as it is black."

22. Many a bagpiper: SCOT.  My sister plays the bagpipe.  This is not her.

23. Relaxation: REST.

27. Apt. units: RMs.  As in Rooms in an Apartment.

29. XV ÷ V: III.  Roman math.  15 ÷ 5 = 3.

30. For a specific purpose: AD HOC.

33. Remington rival: BRAUN.  Both company make electronic grooming tools.

37. Hamilton's bill: TEN.  I recently say a production of Hamilton.  Sadly, Lin-Manuel Miranda did not play Alexander Hamilton in the version I saw, but it was still fantastic!  Oh, and Alex is the face of the $10 bill.

42. Choose in a booth: VOTE.

43. Pharmacy tablet: PILL.  They come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

46. Benchmark: Abbr.: STD.  As in Standard.

47. Carb-loading meal: PASTA.  Yummers!  I particularly like squid ink pasta.

48. Fill in for: ACT AS.

49. Lap dog, briefly: POM.  As in a Pomeranian.  They are cute dogs.  My sister had one, but it was a nasty little thing.

51. Spot with saunas: SPA.

58. Kudrow of "Friends": LISA.  I was never a fan of Friends.  I don't think I ever watched an entire episode.  I found Lisa Kudrow's character particularly annoying.

62. Arouse, as an appetite: WHET.

63. Skin care brand: AVEENO.  //  And 73-Down: 63-Across rival: OLAY.  Aveeno is a brand of skin care products that is owned by Johnson & Johnson.  One of its active ingredients is derived from Oats, hence the name, which is a derivation of the Avena sativa, the scientific name for oat.  Olay is owned by Proctor & Gamble.  Aveeno is more of a total skin care line, whereas Olay is more of a facial line of skin care products.

65. Eminem genre: RAP.  Rapper Eminem is his professional name.  His given name is Marshall Bruce Mathers, III (b. Oct. 17, 1972).  He never looks very happy.

66. "You betcha!": YEAH!

69. Cut with a surgical beam: LASE.

70. Fish organ: GILL.

71. "Fiddler" busybody: YENTE.  Written as יענטאַ in Hebrew.  It's actually a Yiddish word, and was originally just a girl's name common in Eastern Europe.  It became synonymous with a busybody in the United States in the 1920s.

72. Yemen's Gulf of __: ADEN.

74. Medical pictures: X-RAYS.  So that's where my ring went!

Down:

2. Steaming mad: IRATE.

3. "Star Wars" creator George: LUCAS.  George Walter Lucas, Jr. (b. May 14, 1944) created Star Wars over 40 years ago.  Sequels and prequels are still being made.

4. Yellowstone grazer: ELK.  Don't mess with a Mama Elk and her baby.  There were some incidents of injury to people earlier this year.

5. Polite rural assent: YES'M.

6. Carne __: burrito filling: ASADA.  It's grilled beef, but the secret is in the marinading.

7. Czech diacritical mark: HACEK.  It looks like an inverted circumflex.  An example can be seen in the name of the city, Český Krumlov, which known for its beautiful castle.  I was there exactly 11 years ago today while visiting my cousin who lived in Prague.  For our blog readers, may I suggest The Book of Splendor, by Frances Sherwood.  It is a novel mostly about Prague, but some scenes take place in Český Krumlov.

8. Joint for a bracelet: ANKLE.

9. Outdoes: BESTS.

10. Tree in a tray: BONSAI.  This was my favorite clue of the puzzle.

I am Groot.

11. "Look at that!": CHECK IT OU!

12. Actress Sevigny: CHLOË.  Chloë Sevigny (b. Nov. 18, 1974), has been in a number of independent movies and cable TV series.  She's about to be in a new movie with Bill Murray and Adam Driver called The Dead Don't Die.

13. Delta deposits: SILTS.  More than you ever wanted to know about the Mississippi River Delta.

18. A great deal: LOTS.

24. Social media troublemaker: TROLL.  We occasionally get Trolls on the blog.  We try not to feed them.

26. Element #50: TIN.  Hey, Tin!  Come back, there is no Ice in today's puzzle!

28. Mic holders: MCs.  As in Master of Ceremonies.

30. Phone downloads: APPS.

31. "Finish that job!": DO IT!

32. Polite "Hang on": HOLD, PLEASE.

33. Chorus for the villain: BOOS.

34. Lopsided win: ROUT.

35. Utah ski resort: ALTA.

Looks like some rugged skiing.

36. Battleship initials: USS.  Commissioned ships and vessels in the United States are designed with USS, which stands for United States Ship.  Care to guess the name of this ship?

38. "At Last" vocalist James: ETTA.  She was my guest the last time I provided commentary for the blog.

39. Loch with monster stories: NESS.  Earlier this week, the BBC reported that the Loch Ness monster might be real.

41. Student advocacy gp.: PTA.  As in the Parent Teacher Association.

42. Outspoken: VOCAL.

45. One in a bar array: TAP.

47. U.K. leaders: PMs.  As in Prime Ministers.  Theresa May just resigned from her position as Prime Minister.  How will the United Kingdom select its next PM?

50. "In that case, fine": OK, THEN.

51. Govt. IDs: SSNs.  As in Social Security Numbers.

52. Choreographer Tharp: TWYLA.  In the 1960s, Twyla Tharp (b. July 1, 1941) formed her own dance company.

53. In first place: AHEAD.  You might be inclined to shout 13-Across if you win.

54. Latin ballroom dance: TANGO.  It takes two.

55. Be useful to: AVAIL.

56. Soprano role in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers": LEILA.  We recently saw a production of this at the Houston Grand Opera.

57. Green shade with an Irish name: KELLY.

59. Skater Slutskaya with two Olympic medals: IRINA.  Irina Slutskaya (b. Feb. 9, 1979), won a Silver Medal in 2002 and a Bronze Medal in 2006 in the Olympics.  She also a two-time World champion skater.

60. Like the ocean: SALTY.

61. Vaulted church areas: APSES.

The Apse of the Notre Dame Cathedral before and after the fire.

64. Black gemstone: ONYX.

68. Bubbly prefix: AER-.

 Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  I just read an 800-page history of the Scottish Enlightenment and, honestly, I may as well just start it again now, because I cannot remember a single thing.  I can barely remember where Scotland is.  ~  Hugh Laurie (né James Hugh Calum Laurie; b. June 11, 1959)

Friday, Jun 7, 2019 Bruce Haight

Process S

18. Paul Bunyan resting his eyes?: SLUMBER JACK.   Lumberjack

28. What a boring sermon might precipitate?: SLEEP OF FAITH.  Leap of faith.

48. Like lectures after a big meal?: SNOOZE WORTHY.  Newsworthy.

62. Unexpectedly mild storm?: SNORE EASTER.   Nor'easter.

Bruce's punny play today should subconsciously induce you to get some more rest as he leads common words and phrases with an S,  and changes spelling as needed.  Click on Process S above if you wonder about the theme title.

Across:

1. Leading trio: ABC.  "It's easy as 1,2,3 or simple as do-re-mi, a,b,c,1,2,3, baby you and me, girl."  Name the group.

4. Cheese made from cow's milk: GOUDA.  One of hundreds.

9. Space Invaders platform: ATARI.  Gaming has come along way from the original arcade style single player games like Space Invaders.  I read about colleges and universities offering programs and scholarships in eSports after Husker Gary commented about the college in his city.    Apparently UC Irvine has one of the most noted programs.

14. Swing adviser: PRO.  A golf pro, aka a PGA professional.

15. Come clean: OWN UP.  Fess up, or cop to,  as was in Michael Wiesenberg's Saturday puzzle that Husker Gary blogged.

16. More cold and wet: RAWER.  Weather.

17. Play critic?: REF.   A referee on the field of play, such as in football or soccer.   A nice misdirection.  I wonder if there are eRefs in eSports gaming ?

20. They might be cracked: SAFES.   Safecracker is often yegg in crossword puzzles.

22. Pool tactic: MASSE. 

23. Sushi garnish: ROE.  Fish eggs.

24. Highly season, as eggs: DEVIL.   Is roe ever deviled ?    History.com gives us The Ancient History of Deviled Eggs

26. Head for the hills?: ASCEND.  Climb.

32. Opposite of stiff: TIP.  Loved this one, too.   Even with bad service, I'd leave something on the table.

33. Belgian city in 1917 headlines: YPRES.  Famous WWI battle site.

34. Region bordering Mex.: SO CAL.   Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes.  So Cal is the land of 10,000 quakes.

38. Project Mercury chimp: ENOS.   The USSR had sent Yuri Gagarin into orbit earlier.  The US took a more conservative approach, not wanting to risk a human life.   Enos died less than a year later of unrelated causes.

40. Helpless numbers?: SOLOS.   You are on your own.

42. Ask: POSE.   Query, inquire, question...

43. "Same here": ME TOO.

45. '70s TV talk show: DINAH.   Dinah Shore, of course.

47. Suzuki's Quadracer, for short: ATV.   Didn't know this, but it was easy to figure out.   I read that prior to the introduction of the Quadracer, the sport all terrain vehicle market was dominated by three wheel ATV's.

 Milestone Suzuki models that changed the sport

51. NFLer who was a 2017 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year honoree: JJ WATT.  This guy is a phenomenal athlete on the field for the Houston Texans.   He's also a class act away from the game, using his celebrity for charitable work that has raised millions to help those in need.

54. Cuffed, old-style: SMOTE.  A learning moment.   I did not know that the second definition of cuff was to strike someone with an open hand.

55. Attention: EAR.  Give me your attention for a moment.

56. Drifters: HOBOS.  Sometimes you can find drifters under the boardwalk, down by the sea. Having some fun, people walking above.  Falling in love.

60. Celebrations with nos.: B-DAYS.  Numbers / birthdays

65. Prefix with -bar: ISO.  You'll hear isobar on The Weather Channel frequently as storms roll in.

66. Pronged: TINED.  As in a fork or a rake.

67. "Fingers crossed": I HOPE.  Wish for luck.

68. Case study?: LAW.   A case study is a detailed examination, but if you study cases, you are probably in law school or in the profession.   Sue me for malfeasance if you disagree.

69. "Love Story" author: SEGAL.   Perps.  Saw the movie with Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal, but didn't read the book.

70. __ bar: TAPAS.   Have never been.  Will go one day.

71. Part of GPS: Abbr.: SYS.   Global Positioning System.   Owned by the United States.  Operated by the US Air Force.

Down:

1. Financing figs.: APRs.  Annual Percentage Rates.   Truth in lending.

2. Depression Era sight: BREADLINE.   And soup kitchens.  

3. Morning aroma source: COFFEE POT.

4. Spewing dirt?: GOSSIPY.   Like a yenta.

5. Night __: OWL.   Shout out to a number of our regulars !  As they say, if the shoe fits, wear it.  While we're at it, let's have a shout out to the early birds here.    What is your chronotype ?

6. One for the money?: UNUM. E. pluribus unum.   It means "Out of many, one."

7. Russian legislative body: DUMA.  Russian studies are not my bailiwick.  But I gather it is sort of like a combination of the US Congress and the departments of the executive branch.

8. LAPD messages: APBS.    Los Angeles Police Department / All Point Bulletins.

9. Stops: ARRESTS.  Clever wordplay.   For instance, a spark arrestor stops (arrests) potentially flammable exhaust particles (sparks) in outdoor equipment and machines that have combustion engines.  Like on that Suzuki Quadrunner, or on a chainsaw.

10. __ Boston: luxury hotel: TAJ.

11. Clued in: AWARE.

12. Drone job: RECON.  Plenty of drones in the air over the flooded rivers, fields and towns after the record rainfalls in May.  

13. Miffed: IRKED.  Some of the golfers in my league have been miffed that the carts have been limited to cart paths only.  The fairways, especially the low lying areas, have been waterlogged. One nearby private course hasn't opened for play yet.

19. Morales of "Ozark": ESAI.  A fine actor that has gained additional fame in crosswords due to his vowel friendly first name. 

21. "The serpent deceived me" speaker: EVE.  The story can be read in Genesis.

25. Cuts: LOPS.

27. Cut of meat: CHOP.

28. Curtail: STEM.

I love those three in row.  Cuts, Cut and Curtail. Lops, Chop and Stem.  How slick was that ?

29. Tolkien hero: FRODO.  From J.R.R. Tolkein's trilogy.   I read the books.   Never saw the movies.

30. Start of a seasonal Spanish greeting: FELIZ.   Feliz navidad.  Prospero año y felicidad.  Merry Christmas and a prosperous year filled with happiness.  The words from the very popular and enduring Christmas song by José Feliciano.

31. Together: AS ONE.   United.   How about a little Rhapsody in Blue ?



35. Metaphorical influence: COATTAILS.  Early in my career a first line manager told me he was riding the second line's coattails to the top.   It was the first time I'd heard the word used in that sense.

36. According to the proverb: AS THEY SAY.  The answer wasn't apparent by the clue alone, and the perps did the lion's share of the work for me.  As they say, good things come to those who wait.

37. Duty: LEVY.  Tax.

39. Cub slugger: SOSA.  Sammy.   For certain,  a polarizing figure,  but ...

"...Many believe he and Mark McGwire helped put baseball on the map again in a resurgent 1998 season that helped make the strike of 1994/95 an afterthought.  Count me among that group, as well.

He deserves all the credit in the world.  People would show up to Wrigley just to see Sosa run out to the right field bleachers and camera bulbs flashed by the thousands every single time he came up to the plate for the better part of a decade.  Waveland was sometimes so packed with ballhawks that there wouldn't be room to walk."  -  Tony Andracki  nbcsports.com.

41. Cuts: SAWS. Clecho back to 25D.

44. Officially injured, in previous baseball lingo: ON THE DL.  Disabled List.

46. Men of La Mancha: HOMBRES.   Today's Spanish lesson.   La Mancha is a region of Spain. Cervantes wrote his classic novel Don Quixote de La Mancha about a man from La Mancha that lost his sanity, aspired to live the life of a chivalrous knight, and among other things, tilted at windmills.

49. Siouan people: OTOE.  The Otoe-Missouria Tribe history.  Until reading that article, I did not know that the state of Nebraska gets its name from two Otoe-Missouria words which means “water flat.”

50. Hot __: ROD.


51. Kids: JESTS.  Hey you jests !  Get off of my lawn !

52. __ and Jack, 2019 Gap acquisition: JANIE.  Not familiar, but I gather from a few quick reads that they are purveyors of fashionable clothing for children 0 to 6 years of age.

53. "Guess again": WRONG. 

57. Tempt: BAIT.

58. Org. concerned with plants: OSHA. Actually, any private workplace, and most public workplaces as well, but I liked the misdirection.

59. "Hold it right there!": STOP.  Halt ! Avast ! Freeze !

61. Scatters in a field: SOWS.

63. Blues-rocker Chris: REA.   We sometimes get actor Stephen. 

64. Radon-regulating org.: EPA.

Thursday, February 28th 2019 Bruce Haight

Theme: Pun like a Pirate Day - the five theme answers all have a nautical punning groove going on:

17A. Spot to spread out a ship's map, maybe?: BRIDGE TABLE. The map of the ship itself, not a chart. Those already have a chart table to be spread on.

25A. Sailors dealing with a ship's cargo?: HOLD HANDS

37A. Awesome things near the front of a ship?: BOW WOWS

47A. Backwards glance on a ship?: STERN LOOK

57A. Strength measure of the ship cook's spirits?: GALLEY PROOF. Technically, a galley proof is a proof that's been printed out. Electronic versions are "uncorrected proofs", but no-one's going to argue if you call it a galley. Interesting that "galley" is also a type of ship in keeping with the nautical theme. Here's a Roman one;

I found this a little tougher going than the usual Thursday, it took me a little while to get a foothold in the top half, but then things started falling into place. I liked the puns by and large, I think HOLD HANDS was my favorite.

The grid is nicely done with the stacked 8's in the downs at the NE and SW and the fill is fresh and lively. Nicely done.

However, I do have one major gripe today, but we'll get to that in due course.

Across:

1. Hornet and Matador: AMCS. I didn't know this and needed all the crosses. 1970's vehicles manufactured by AMC.

5. Tech-savvy school gp.: A.V. CLUB. The Audiovisual Club.

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

14. Fail to save one's skin?: MOLT. Nice clue, this one, it made me laugh.

15. Bring back to the firm: REHIRE

16. 35-state Western org.: O.A.S. The Organization of American States. All 35 independent states in the Americas are members of the organization.

19. "The Racer's Edge": STP. Originally, it stood for Scientifically-Treated Petroleum. Who knew?

20. "American Gods" actor McShane: IAN. He also starred in a gentle BBC comedy-drama Lovejoy in the 80's, he played the eponymous roguish antiques dealer.

21. Shell material: NACRE

22. Milk by-product: WHEY

23. Yale's Mr. Yale: ELIHU. Nailed it! Thank you, Crosswords Past.

28. Most warm: NICEST

30. Barbershop staple: RAZOR. I talked myself out of YAZOO, I was thinking along the musical lines at first.

31. Industry mogul: CZAR

32. Seedy abode: RAT HOLE. The first flat I lived in in London was above a sweatshop and had no hot water. A rooster lived next door, and the landlord would drop off a pound of bacon, a loaf of bread and two dozen eggs each week so that he could claim he was running a B-and-B (no rent control). We had breakfast, so we're a B-and-B? I moved, eventually, but after a lot of early-morning awakenings from the rooster. I was broke. I was working two jobs (marine insurance filing clerk by day, bartender in an Irish pub by night) but it still a struggle. We've all been there.

36. Sushi choice: EEL

38. Sweetie, in slang: BAE. Short for "babe" or "baby". I don't think you call someone a "bae", you describe someone as your "bae". I think. Check with your nearest teenager.

41. Snore: SAW LOGS

42. Numerous: MANY

43. Gave one's word: SWORE

45. Often recyclable tech products: EWASTE. Electrical or electronic devices.

51. Adams who shot El Capitan: ANSEL I have an Ansel Adams print in my home office of the memorial at Manzanar. He took some wonderful photographs of the camp and the internees.

52. Tiny parasites: LICE

53. Secluded valleys: GLENS

55. __ Lanka: SRI

56. Imaginepeace.com artist: ONO

60. Ref's call: TKO. I tried OUT first, was wrong.

61. "Her cheeks are rosy, she looks a little nosey" girl in a 1962 #1 hit: SHEILA. I'd never heard of this song by Tommy Roe. I'd never heard of Tommy either. This contributed to my gripe, of which more at the bottom.

62. Like crazy: A LOT

63. Sun, in Ibiza: SOL

64. Use a combine: THRESH

65. Soccer followers?: MOMS

Down:

1. Restaurant review factor: AMBIENCE

2. Get all preachy: MORALIZE

3. Kind of psychology: CLINICAL

4. Criterion: Abbr.: STD

5. Neighborhood: AREA

6. Climbing plant: VETCH. Part of Swansea City's old soccer ground, Vetch Field, was quite fantastically re-purposed to a wild flower haven when the club outgrew the facilities and moved to a new stadium. Usually these spaces are redeveloped for commercial or mixed-use properties. Kudos to Swansea for preserving some of the open space.

7. One-named "Hollywood Squares" panelist: CHARO

8. Defamation in print: LIBEL

9. Web address: URL

10. Spelling event: BEE

11. "Jeepers, I wouldn't think of it!": GOSH, NO!

12. Not for kids: RATED R. Be careful with R-RATED and RATED-R - I went with the former initially.

13. 2018 awards event hosted by Danica Patrick: ESPYS

18. African herd: GNUS. What do you call a herd of wildebeest that arrive two hours before midnight? The Ten O'Clock Gnus. I'll get my coat, thank you, I'm here all week.

22. GPS navigation app: WAZE. Is this a first in the LA Times? I can't find another reference.

24. QE2 designation: HER. I wanted "HMS" first. I was wrong. The QE2 was an ocean, later a cruise liner, owned by Cunard, based in Southampton. Her predecessor, the Queen Mary, is permanently-moored in Long Beach. We stayed on board a couple of years ago. My family went to wave her off from Southampton on her final voyage. I never thought all those years later I'd be staying on the ship in California. You never know what life will bring.

26. Drift off: DROWSE

27. Dutch artist Frans: HALS. When I was a kid, we had a print of "The Laughing Cavalier" in our entry hallway - odd because we had very few, if any, prints hanging on the wall. My mother said she "liked his smile".

29. Gardening tool: TROWEL

33. Punching tool: AWL

34. With 42-Down, like some bobsleds: TWO-man or four-man bobs.

35. Harley Davidson's NYSE symbol: HOG

37. Stable environment?: BARN

38. Jazz improv highlight: BASS SOLO. The drum solo is usually a good time to head to the bar for a refresher.

39. Waiting area: ANTE ROOM

40. Some cosmetic procedures: EYE LIFTS

41. Hot under the collar: SORE

42. See 34-Down: MAN

43. Hammered: STINKO. Drunk, badly (and slangily) - in the UK we were "paralytic" - not that I ever was, obviously.

44. "No hard feelings, dude": WE COOL Used in Pulp Fiction, one of my all-time-best-favorite movies. Not to everyone's taste.

46. Winged stinger: WASP

47. Vegas attraction: SLOTS. Took me a while to talk myself off STRIP.

48. Rubberneck: OGLER. Now this presumes that there is a noun for a rubbernecker - oh, wait, there is! It's "rubbernecker". To rubberneck is the verb. One demerit point for this.

49. Stan's slapstick pal: OLLIE. Abbott and Costello. No, wait - who's on first? Laurel and Hardy.

50. Naval bases?: KEELS. Nice clue, made me think a while.

54. Gloating word usually repeated: NYAH. Not NAH? I'm not a fan of these "spell it how you like" words. See also AHH/AAH.

57. Setting at 0 degrees long.: G.S.T.. So her we arrive at my gripe. I'm assuming that GST is supposed to be an abbreviation for Greenwich Standard Time, but that's the problem. The time at the zero meridian is Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT. The only reference to "Greenwich Standard Time" I can find is a source on the web that says it's the time zone in Iceland and Liberia, but when you search "Iceland Time Zone" it comes up as GMT. Ditto for Liberia, furthermore neither of which are on the zero meridian. So I'm calling this out as wrong. If SHEILA had been a little less obscure, maybe I wouldn't have minded so much, but this left me with a DNF, I just couldn't see past GMT.

58. "This is so relaxing!": AHH! Could equally be spelled AAH!

59. West Coast athlete: RAM. Los Angeles NFL player.

And to the victor, the spoils. Not me today, I was done in by GST, SHEILA and spell-it-how-you-like AHH.

Here's the grid!

Steve

Thursday, February 14 2019 Bruce Haight

Theme: Tool Box - all the answers around the edge of the puzzle are tools, as the reveal explains:

35A. Takes a casual drive ... and a literal description of 10 puzzle answers: TOOLS AROUND

In clockwise order, starting from the top left:

1A. Queen, e.g.: RULER. Measure twice, cut once.

6A. Fell for the joke: BIT.

9A. Put away for future reference: FILE. I'm terrible at filing; if I file something away I'm almost guaranteed to forget about it.

16D. Work (out) with effort, as an agreement: HAMMER ... closely followed by ..

45D. Swindle: CHISEL

63A. Fire __: DRILL

62A. Spied: SAW

61A. Laryngitis symptom: RASP

37D. Polo need: MALLET

1D. Wi-Fi conduit: ROUTER. Any network, as a matter of fact, not just a wireless one.

Nice theme from Bruce today. Even with the puzzle completed it took me a few beats to notice all the tools around the edge of the puzzle, I was looking for entries with a tool wrapped "around" the word at first. The trick of this theme is to clue the entries other than referencing the tool itself. The only one which comes close to breaking this rule is the MALLET entry - a polo mallet is very close to the tool.

Some fresh entries in the fill including TURNOVERS, USB DRIVES, CK ONE and UPRATE. Let's see what else we've got to discuss:

Across:

13. ArkivMusic.com purchase: OPERA. "The source for classical music" according to their website.

14. Sch. with a Tempe campus: A.S.U. Arizona State.

15. Flooded: AWASH

17. "Little Book of Mind-Power" author: URI GELLER. Didn't take long to guess this one once the UR was in place. Huckster of the highest order, this chap. Pretended to bend spoons all with the power of his mind.

19. Battery inventor Alessandro: VOLTA. I wonder why "volt" dropped the final "a"? After all, Ohm and Ampère kept their last letters. We should be told.

20. Stand food: TACO

21. Danish city named for a Norse god: ODENSE. Not ODESSA then, as I confused myself.

23. Place for a shot: ARM

24. Gate info: E.T.A. Estimated Time of Arrival. An aircraft arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time is considered to be "on time". Incidentally, departure time is when you push back from the gate, so as long as you're off the gate, you've departed on time, even if you then spend an hour getting de-iced and another hour waiting in line to take off.

25. Conversation stumbles: ERS, along with ahs, ums and fillers "you know", "kind of" and all the other irritants.

26. Gives the nod: OK'S

27. Hasty escape: LAM. Interesting, I'd not seen the verb form like this before, I was more familiar with "on the lam".

28. Superman specialty: RESCUE

30. Wrigley Field feature: IVY. Baseball's famous Chicago landmark. If a ball gets stuck in the ivy, it's ruled a double; a runner at first can't advance beyond third base.

31. Like beds in cleaned hotel rooms: MADE

32. Peter of "9-1-1": KRAUSE. Crosses all the way. He's been seen a lot on TV, but I don't think he ever crossed my path of consciousness:

34. Tunisian currency: DINAR

37. Bearings: MIENS

39. Casual eatery: BISTRO

40. Ending to avoid?: -ANCE. I'm not a big fan of these types of fill, neither the suffix nor the prefix variants. There's a prefix example at 59A also.

41. Interject: ADD

42. Touchdown site: TARMAC

46. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH

47. Shooting initials: SLR

48. "Jeopardy!" record-setter Jennings: KEN

49. Spa emanation: AAH

50. Source of some '60s trips: LSD

51. 1840s-'50s home to Liszt: WEIMAR

53. End of an old boast: VICI

54. Military camp: ÉTAPE. Specifially, a place to camp after a day's march. Étape is also used to describe a day's stage in a cycle race, particularly le Tour de France.

56. Luxury accommodations for bigwigs: VIP SUITES

58. Church offering: TITHE

59. Prefix with warrior: ECO-

60. 1960 Wimbledon champ Fraser: NEALE. More crosses. I'd never heard of this chap, but he's got a very impressive grand slam tournament record, not just at Wimbledon. He won the men's singles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, doubles at all four majors, and mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. Not bad for an amateur!

Down:

2. Raise from three to four stars, as a hotel: UPRATE. I like the word. I've seen it used more in a performance-improvement context, but it works for me here too.

3. Classic cameras: LEICAS

4. So: ERGO. Cogito, Ergo sum. I think, therefore (so) I am.

5. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE. I know her from the crosswords now. Her music isn't really to my taste, but I'm sure Carly Rae doesn't care.

6. Gets thinner on top: BALDS. Balds? Nope, doesn't work for me. "He is balding" sure. "He balds?" Not likely.

7. "So THAT's what's going on here!": I SEE

8. Hoops goofs: TURNOVERS. I was trying to make AIR BALLS work somehow.

9. BFFs: FAVES

10. __ Jima: IWO

11. Space cadet's world: LA LA LAND. "And the Oscar goes to ......" Ooops!

12. Erik of "CHiPs": ESTRADA

18. Cosmetics giant: L'OREAL

22. What's up?: SKY. Cloudy skies here today.

25. Pierre's bills: EUROS

29. Designer fragrance: CK ONE. Calvin Klein cologne.

30. "To repeat ... ": I SAID ...

31. Trivial: MINOR

33. PC storage options: USB DRIVES. I tried "STICKS" first, that didn't work out so well.

34. "Hands of Stone" boxer Roberto: DURAN

35. Fortune 500 IT company: TECH DATA. I know I should have, but oddly I've never heard of this outfit. For a company with revenues last year of $37bn, that's quite a surprise.

36. Frisky whiskered critters: OTTERS. Clever, too. They've been seen to use stones as tools to open shellfish.

38. Excited: IN A STIR

41. Tap outflow: ALE

43. Tiki bar cocktail: MAI TAI. Second Thursday in a row that we're drinking mai tais.

44. Small battery: AA CELL

47. Win the first four World Series games: SWEEP. The last time it happened was 2012 when the Giants swept the Tigers.

48. "Whammo!": KAPOW!

52. Flaky mineral: MICA

53. Contender: VIER. "She is vying for the title".

55. Acidity nos.: PHS

57. German conjunction: UND. "Donner und blitz", thunder and lightning.

Here's the grid, colorfully identifying the theme entries around the edge, and with that I'm done.

Steve

Friday, January 18, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Letter sounds

One of our regular Friday contributors is back with a puzzle, which I expect will be debated. The clues give you a hint of what is going. For example, the "B" in 17 A is read as "BE" which makes "EZR" the interpretation "EASIER." Once you get the idea then the puzzle is not too difficult for a Friday. But you need to get the push from the crosses. We have had various letter sound puzzles before, but none quite like this one. I related to 4 of the themers, but I struggled with sounding out JQZ. Which is a significant fill because it was the cornerstone of making this puzzle a pangram using three of the least used letters. Of course, once I sussed the sound, it was one so obvious. There really are so many types of HOT TUBS, I like the fact that the clue with a letter/word let us know the fill will also need the same. With two grid-spanners and 29 other blocks used in the theme, it is awesome to also get  COZUMEL, ERITREA, HURTLED, I LOST IT, MENORAH, ONEONTA, PETTILY, PLATOON, SENEGAL, and SILENT C. Heavy on geography again. Damn, I wish I had studied harder.

17A. Likely to B surprisingly difficult: EZR SAID THAN DONE (15). Easier said than done is something that is easy to suggest, but much more difficult to make happen. Like keeping CED's cats of the furniture.

23A. One might Q Shamu: NML TRAINER (10). Q - cue. An animal trainer worked with Shamu who was the first killer whale (orca) which appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s.

38A. U can soak in one: JQZ HOT TUB (9). Jacuzzi jets provide serious therapeutic benefits. 

54A. Something to C at Carnegie Hall: PNO RECITAL (10). "Piano" was only easy to grok because of the word recital. Of course, there is only one way to get to Carnegie Hall for a PIANO RECITAL.  Practice!

61A. Possible reason Y lights get turned off: NRG CONSERVATION (15). Energy conservation is a political subject these days. I pass.

Across:

1. Figura de __: Spanish skating move: OCHO. The figure eight which is a skating move translated to Spanish. A CSO to our dear departed Clear Ayes and a winsome friend Robin.

5. Besides: ALSO.

9. Cut back a lot: SKIMP. Skimp and save. No comment considering the times.

14. It might not be proper: NOUN. An oldie but goodie clue/fill combo.

15. Secular: LAIC. Adjective for the lay = non-cleric.

16. Edmonton athlete: OILER. The greatest, Wayne Gretsky, started there.

20. __ space: OUTER. Could be inner, also.

21. Spring bloom: IRIS. The iris family is closely related to the lily and amaryllis families, differing from them in having three stamens rather than six. A shout out to our representative from Delaware.
A repeat from yesterday - clued differently.                                                   
22. __-fa: set of musical syllables: SOL. Do re mi ...

26. Cycle starter: TRI. Here in So.Fla. the look like this...

27. Place to drive from: TEE. A CSO to Gary and George and more.

28. Not irr.: STD. A standard clue/fill.

29. Affirmative reply: YES I AM. No, I am not.

32. "The Aviator" (2004) Oscar nominee: ALDA.

34. Buffoons: OAFS.

37. "The fool __ think he is wise ...": "As You Like It": DOTH.  Will S. two days in a row.
As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 2: "The fool doth think he is wise but the wise man knows himself to be a fool"

41. Biblical hunter: ESAU. As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.

43. It was originally called a "Biscuit": OREO. Since its maker was the NAtional BIScuit CO., this should not be a surprise. When the cookie was first introduced in 1912, it appeared as an Oreo Biscuit, which changed in 1921 to Oreo Sandwich.

44. They're mostly on the phone: APPS. I like this clue/fill though no hint to it maybe being an abbreviation.

48. Bygone predators: T-REXES. I still find this scene captivatingly frightening.

50. Long-legged runner: EMU.

52. Bulldog booster: ELI. Yalie from Jeopardy Thursday night.

53. Component of a sweep, maybe: WIN.

58. Downed: ATE.

59. Countenance: MIEN.

60. Lenya of "From Russia With Love": LOTTE. Quite a lady.

65. They're changed on the road: GEARS. Like 44A, I loved this very nice clue for simple fill.

66. Sandwich staple: TUNA. I am a fan.

67. Frequently: A LOT.

68. French greeting: SALUT. A French shalom.

69. Reach: SPAN. Fighters have their's measured.

70. Out of __: SYNC.

Down:

1. College town WSW of Albany: ONEONTA. Another shout out to upstate New York contingent.
The COLLEGES. Geography 1.

2. Island resort near Cancún: COZUMEL. Cozumel is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. G 2.

3. Went like a runaway train: HURTLED.

4. It's a start: ONSET. Again, simple but tricky.

5. Lord of the ring?: ALI.

6. Brit's bud: LAD. Steve, still used?

7. Sub (for): SIT IN. A CSO to Gary.

8. Earthy tone: OCHRE. This is an earthy pigment containing ferric oxide, typically with clay, varying from light yellow to brown or red. Also, OCHER is acceptable.

9. Juniors, maybe: SONS. In families, not schools.

10. Razz: KID.

11. "My temper got the best of me": I LOST IT.

12. Holiday candle holder: MENORAH. It is much more than that. LINK.

13. Heat at a meet, for short: PRELIM. Preliminary round.

18. LAX landings: ARRS.

19. Opposite of stuffy: AIRY.

24. Entire range: A-TO-Z.

25. Shoshone Falls state: IDAHO. They are higher than Niagara. LINK. G 3.

30. Academic address ending: EDU. EDUcation.

31. Nagano noodle: SOBA. Soba noodles are Japanese noodles that are made from buckwheat flour.  Their nutty flavor works well as a base for stir-fries and salads. Oo like them in soup.

33. "Iliad" warrior: AJAX. I had one red betta and I named him Ajax. See above.

35. Behind: FOR.

36. Handle the wheel: STEER.

39. Ont. neighbor: QUE. Ontario - Quebec. G 4.

40. Heavy reading?: TOME.

41. Coastal East African country: ERITREA. G 5.             

  ↢ West Africa                                                    East Africa  ↣

42. Coastal West African country: SENEGAL. G 6.

45. In a small-minded way: PETTILY.

46. Army outfit: PLATOON.

47. Bit of obscenity?: SILENT C. A witty way to hide the answer. No controversy here from me.

48. Musical saw sounds: TWANGS. You decide.

49. Bias: SPIN. Doctor?

51. Pauley Pavilion Pac-12 team: UCLA. Where the basketball team plays.

55. Fits one within another: NESTS. Nesting dolls are back.

56. Best: ONE UP.

57. Frat letters: IOTAS.

59. Guinness book adjective: MOST.

62. French vineyard: CRU.  A vineyard or wine-producing region in France. 2. A grade or class of wine: premier cru.

63. Biological chain letters: RNA. Ribonucleic acid is a polymeric molecule implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.

64. Moving aid: VAN.

Speaking of moving, it is time for me to be moving on. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thanks, Bruce and all of you who read our words.

                                                   Bonus geography from our trip.