Wednesday, February 26, 2014, Bryan W. Young and Jeff Chen

Theme: TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO. Not necessarily over the river, but definitely through the woods, where we encounter THE BIG BAD WOLF in hot pursuit of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD.  Don't be alarmed if you had trouble finding them.  The forest provides lots of hiding places. [Full disclosure: I had to get help from C. C. to spot them.]  

Rich themage, and tight construction, as all of the WOLF's entries are the first words of two word answers (or first part of a compound word), hugging the left margin, and our heroine's entries are the second words of two word answers, hugging the right margin. Note also that from top to bottom, our antagonist's and protagonist's answers alternate. Unusual placement for some theme entries, along with a short letter-count for some of them makes this a bit hard to suss; but high marks for creativity in executing this difficult and original theme. Add in perfect alternating symmetry between the two answer types, and we have a very elegant execution.

16. "Blackadder" network : THE BBC.  British Broadcasting Company

26. Head honcho : BIG CHEESE.   Slang for top dog.

42. Unsavory sort : BAD EGG.  Can one spoil the whole crate?

 53. Borzois, e.g. : WOLFHOUNDS.  Top dog?

Source

20. Impressionist whom Mel Blanc labeled "The Man of a Thousand Voices" : RICH LITTLE.  I found an example that's not political.

 35. Show shame, perhaps : GET RED.  Blushing, when you can't suss the theme.

48. Driving with abandon : JOYRIDING. An automotive pleasure cruise.  Couldn't find an appropriate clip.

63. Prominent Ore. peak : MT. HOOD.  A stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon, formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast.  It's last major eruptive period was about 200 years ago. Note abrv. in cl. & ans.

Hi Gang, JzB here. Let's grab our borzoi and see if we can make our way through this forest without getting lost or consumed.  But first, today's theme song.

 Across:

1. McCarthy's dummy friend : SNERD.  Edgar Bergen's pals Charlie and Mortimer.  Here they are with a LITTLE-free impersonation.
 
6. Baltic, e.g. : SEA.  Water you talkin' about?

9. Cougar : PUMA.  Mountain lion, not that other kind.

13. Canadian dollar coin nickname : LOONIE.  Named for the loon on the reverse of its dohller coin.

 

 Source

14. "I threw away my golf shoes when I got a hole in one," e.g. : PUN.  Double meaning word play

15. Computer operating system : UNIX.  Apple's OS X  is a variant.

17. Hosp. heart exam : ECG.  Electro- Cardio Gram

18. Medicinal dose : PILL.  Alternative to a spoonfull.

19. Cutie pie : DOLL.  Like Nancy Wilson.

23. Baltic feeder : ODER.   Does this river smell funny?

25. "... a __ / By any other name ..." : ROSE.  Would still be surrounded by thorns.

30. Tolkien's talking trees : ENTS.  They aren't actually trees. They just look like them.  But not in this forest.

33. Equal: Pref. : ISO.  -bar, -metric, -tonic, -mer, etc.

34. "The Mod Squad" cop : LINC.   He's the man in the middle.

Source

37. Smudge : BLUR.

39. '60s jacket style : NEHRU.

Source

41. UFO-tracking org. : SETI.  Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

44. Respectful address : MA'AM.

46. From, in some European names : VON.  Like the von Trapp family.

47. Star witnesses? : MAGI.  Clever.  They followed yonder star.

50. Hispaniola, por ejemplo : ISLA.  Spanish island, for example.

52. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA.  Famous for her poetry and many love affairs.

57. Gratify : SATE.  Like a basket of goodies, perhaps.

61. Put out : EMIT. 

62. Low numero : UNO. Also a card game, which could have been cited to avoid the Spanish

 65. Wither in the sun : BAKE.

66. Porter's "__ De-Lovely" : IT'S.  Like this DOLL.

67. B beater : A-MINUS.  Making the grade

68. Raised : BRED.  Like a Borzoi.

69. Look at : EYE.   Ogle the DOLLS.

70. Super Bowl XLVII player : NINER. San Francisco Forty-Niner. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31.

Down:

1. Area below Greenwich Village : SOHO.  Lower Manhattan area South of Houston St.

2. Sleigh ride song : NOEL. Here we go a-caroling.

3. As a whole : EN BLOC.  I'll bet you have never said this in casual conversation.

4. Kid : RIB. Like an elbow poke there.

5. Making pronouncements : DECREEING.

6. A writer may work on it : SPEC.  Speculation - writing a piece without a contract, in the hope of selling it.

7. Trick-taking card game : EUCHRE.  Pronounced Yooker.  Popular game in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.  People from other parts of the country might never have heard of it.

8. Prefix meaning "English" : ANGLO.

9. Portable shelters : PUP TENTS.  For your young borzoi.

10. Curriculum part : UNIT.

11. Grain grinder : MILL.

12. Rod in a hot rod : AXLE.  Keeps the wheels from falling off.

13. Letters on some Brit. letterheads : LTD. For Private Limited Liability Corporation.  Its shares may not be sold to the public.

21. Dancer Castle : IRENE.  She and her husband Vernon were the best known ballroom dancers of the early 20th century, and appeared in films and musicals.

22. Oracle's opening : I SEE.  Did you see this coming?

24. UPS competitor : DHL.  Shipping, transport, and import-export services company.

26. Lettuce variety : BIBB. A type of head lettuce with a loose arrangement of leaves, known for its sweet flavor and tender texture.

27. Imam's faith : ISLAM.

28. Fondue choice : GOUDA. A Big Cheese!

29. Knucklehead : SCHMO. Typical Yiddish insult beginning with SCH-.  Originally an idiot or cuckold.

31. "Three Coins ..." fountain : TREVI.  In Rome.

32. Resolute about : SET ON.  RED was SET ON getting to Granny's

35. Reserve soldier : GUARDSMAN.  This took a lot of perp help.

36. Minor dent : DING. As in your fender

38. Put a bad present to good use : RE-GIFTED.  If "put to good use" means "got rid of."

40. Like daisies : RAYED.

Source

43. Lillian of the silver screen : GISH.  Her movie career spanned 1912 to 1987.

45. Musical key abbr. : MIN.  Minor.  Here's an example from a major composer. Note the shift into major from 1:43 to 1:57 in this 3 minute clip.

48. Smart-looking : JAUNTY. Sometimes, I'm dumb looking, like when I can't suss the theme.

49. Enter quickly : DASH IN.

51. Character in "Donald's Nephews" (1938 cartoon) : LOUIE.  Along with Huey and Dewey

53. 5'7" Spud who won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk contest : WEBB.  At 5'7", he's one of the shortest players in NBA history.  His career lasted from 1985 to '98.

54. "Rubáiyát" poet : OMAR. Per Wikipedia, Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Abu'l-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm al-Khayyām Nīshāpūrī was a Persian polymath, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, and Islamic theology.  Busy guy.

55. Enjoy : LIKE. 

56. Bouquet : NOSE. Aroma.

58. Top-of-the-line : A-ONE.  Better than A-minus.

59. Visit with a guide : TOUR.  Like this guided tour through the forest.

60. Money mgrs.? : EDS.  Money Magazine Editors.  Sneaky.

64. Texter's "I didn't need to know that!" : TMI.  Too Much Information.

The theme was a tough nut to crack, and the long down fill further complicated the matter.  But still, a well-constructed, fun solve.  Hope you enjoyed it. Jeff Chen, of course, is a wily veteran who showed up in a collaboration when I last blogged two weeks ago. Looks like this might be Bryan Young's first L.A.T. entry.

Cool Regards

JzB