Saturday, Jan 7th, 2017, David Steinberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,X)

Blocks: 27

  Ouch.  Not a good way to start this year's Saturday puzzling.  I had a nearly blank grid after the first Across and Down passes, with "MOET" and BIC" my only fills; then I tried a few WAGs, and the bottom started to fill in.  Worked my way up the sides, where MAESTRO got me into the NE, but 24d. was a total blank - and so on came the red letters, and I have to call Fun SPONGE on too many answers - even ones I got ( I am looking at you, 55a.).  Argh~! - yet ironic that I finished within my personal time.  Oh - and one Google cheat - might as well own up to a complete crash and burn....Near perfect symmetry in the grid spoiled by fill that carried a cringe factor (*) too high.  Nothing longer than 8 letters;

2*. "100% juice smoothie" brand : ODWALLA - not a chance in millions was I getting this - California west coast thing, I guess

14. Investor's concern, familiarly : P/E RATIO - thought it was "----TAX" at first

39. Club attention-getter : PERFUME - ah that kind of club - there was once a fragrance named "Escape" that made me swoon; it's not the scent or the liquor that gets my attention now....

 43. CIA nickname : LANGLEY - Just finished "The Broker", John Grisham, featuring his CIA director Teddy Maynard, who's home base was frequently referred to as "Langley"

ONWARD~!
(redacted)

ACROSS:

1. "Easy!" : "NO SWEAT~!"

8. Scary high : BAD TRIP

15. Facebook co-founder Saverin : EDUARDO - my Google cheat; I am not on Facebook, and don't "tweet" either

16. Come by : ACQUIRE

17*. Soccer blunder : OWN GOAL - my dad would be so upset - he lived for soccer, and I never heard this phrase before

18. Arabian matchmaker : BREEDER - argh~!  Horse talk

19. Site of many '60s tours : 'NAM - ah, not a musical tour, as I was thinking

20. Spread out : SPLAYED - dah~!  Not ARRayed

22. MPG-estimating org. : EPA - I pondered this, and left it blank

23. Kiddie lit count : OLAF - not in my 'ute' - the Wiki

25. Provisions : TERMS

26. Eponymous 18th-century wine trader Claude : MOËT

27. Story featuring Paris : ILIAD - ah, the character, not the city

29. Govt. agency with domestic field divisions in 15 states : DEA - perps left me with D - A

30. Pacific island overrun by wild chickens : KAUA'I - I figured it was Hawaiian, but LANA'I was all I could think of

31. Original "SNL" cast member : RADNER - Gilda - got it once I had the --D--R

33. Godfather cocktail ingredient : AMARETTO - never had one; my first attempt had "----MIX"

35. Lump : GLOB - dah~! Not Blob

37. Wally who played himself in the "Taxi" episode "Latka's Cookies" : AMOS - never watched, but I can see the "Famous Amos" connection

38. Wine drink : SPRITZER

42. Forest weapon : ANTLER

46. Social group : PEERS - I tried CASTE

47. Wite-Out maker : BIC

49. Do away with : ERASE - hesitated on the first pass with this inkling

50. __ health : ORAL - I take good care of my teeth, but my gum is starting to bother me between my last two molars

51. Inexpensive vodka : POPOV - vodka was never my drink, so I pondered STOLI - 12 year anniversary tomorrow

53. Currently playing : ON TV

54. Draft letters : NFL - argh~! football sports draft

55*. Acid test supply : pH PAPER - I filled this in and said "no way"

57. "Wow!" : "GEE~!"

58. Colorful holiday candy : GUMDROP

60. First name in dognapping : CRUELLA - 101 Dalmatians

62. Stem (from) : EMANATE

63. Get gray gracefully : AGE WELL

64. Old Roman adviser : SENATOR

65. Early arrivals : RED-EYES

DOWN:

1*. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" genre : NEO-NOIR - got the NOIR from perps, but nothing made any sense

3. Raisin brand : SUN-MAID - ah, this company I know of

4. Reaction to a treat, maybe : WAG - oops, not "ARF"

5. Lover of Psyche : EROS

6. One way to cope : ADAPT

7. Sounded : TOLLED - I had ---LED; Called, Yelled~?

8. 2008 Poehler/Fey comedy : BABY MAMA

9. Real estate measures : ACRES - clecho with; 21d. Real estate measure : AREA - one outdoor, one indoor

10. Removed for a rules violation, briefly : DQ'ed - my online search pulled up dq'd, no "E" - short for disqualified

11. Day of the wk. : TUEsday - blank, I had a one-in-seven shot; give me a "U" and....

12. Weather : RIDE OUT - the verb, not the noun

13. Emphatic words : "I REPEAT"

24*. Obsessive young devotee : FAN GIRL - ugh.  Never heard the term - but it was a movie from last year

26. Baton holder : MAESTRO

WTF~?

28. Benching targets, briefly : DELTS

30. Greenland currency : KRONE

32. Waitress in the comic strip "Shoe" : ROZ

34. Doctors' org. : AMA - oooh~! A gimme~!

36. Certain jazzman : BE-BOPPER

38. They hold water : SPONGES - FUN Sponges do not

40. Quiche shunner, in an '80s best-seller : REAL MAN - ah, did not know it was a book - the Wiki

41. Longtime morning host : RIPA - made me take out STOLI

44. One-named "American Boy" singer : ESTELLE - almost all perps

45. Lets out : REVEALS

48. Wheels of justice? : COP CAR - har-har

51. A filter may be used to produce it : PHOTO

52. Edge : VERGE

55. Start to fall? : PRAT

56. Regretted : RUED

59. Some trial evidence : DNA

61. Rebus animal : EWE

Splynter

Saturday, May 21st, 2016, David Steinberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

 Somehow I sensed that there should have been an extra row or column in this puzzle, as Mr. Steinberg's last two offerings on Saturday were both expanded grids.  I moved through this one with relative ease, but got stumped at two Naticks, which kinda bummed me out.  Oh well.  Unlike those previous two, no spanners in today's construction, but triple 11-letter across and almost triple 9-letter downs in the corners;

17a. Whatchamacallit : THINGAMABOB - D'ya know I actually read the word "gewgaw" in a novel last week - I was so pleasantly surprised to see it because it justified the many times its appeared in crosswords, and I said "that's not a word"....

12d. Buddhism branch : MAHAYANA - I was curious, so I looked; here's the Wiki, and it led to the word "Dharma" which is this guitar player

 Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser

62. Amusing editor, at times : AUTO-CORRECT - some very hilarious results : WARNING~! Adult Contact - Content~!  Damn, auto-correct

36. Team member in "Moneyball" : ATHLETIC - I thought this was a Wall Street movie, but it's this one; I don't know what movie I was thinking about

ONE EARED~! (Damn auto-correct~!)

ACROSS:

1. Librarians might use them : HUSHED TONES

12. Lt. col.'s inferior : MAJor - I read this as "literary college's" inferior, so I put in "TAs".  Odd.

15. Sci-fi concept : ANTI-GRAVITY

16. Lovelace whom many consider the first computer programmer : ADA - Natick #1, with a proper name crossing a religious branch; "Ida"~?  "Ada"~?

18. Solo on-screen : HAN - this guy; I just finished reading "the making of Star Wars" and "the making of Empire Strikes Back"

19. Trail, perhaps : HUNT - the verb, not the noun; pondered PATH

20. Milky Way source : MARS - the candy bar

21. Camera product : IMAGE - yep, that's the output

23. Tablet container : ARK - historic tablets, not electronic ones

24. Coral Triangle tourist destination : BALI - Mali or Bali~??  I didn't get much help from the crossing

25. Left rolling in the aisles : SLAYED

26. Down a lot : TOPE - I shoulda known this; drinking to excess....

28. __ other : EACH

30. Robot starter : NANO - eh, more like NANO-bot, than robot

31. Pay dirt : ORE

33. Hassle : NUISANCE

35. First instrument for many : RATTLE - I still play the rattle, but it's made by Ludwig, and comes in several pieces

38. Icy Hot competitor : BENGAY

39. Keep secret : WITHHOLD

41. Sushi bar delicacy : ROE - dah.  Not AHI

42. __ pedal: guitar accessory : ECHO - I have a delay pedal, but not an echo, and I really, really want one.  I also have a chorus, distortion, and Zoom pedal, which has multiple effects built in, and there's a pedal accessory that allows me to create a  "wah-wah" effect with it.  I thought the answer might have been "WA-WA"

43. Slam offering : POEM - didn't get it; perps

45. Org. that monitors plants : OSHA - DID get it, the factory kind of plants

48. Nervous person? : NELLIE - har-har

50. Fail to beat the heat : MELT - the only "ice" found in Florida is that under the skates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now even in their Stanley Cup series

52. AIDS-fighting drug : AZT

54. Rough stuff : TWEED

55. Low-cost pub : ZINE - publication and magazine

56. "__ bien" : ESTA - dah~!  Not TRES

57. Storage unit? : BIT - computer storage

58. Vaping devices : E-CIGARETTES - the evolution of these things is incredible; very popular with the younger types at UPS

61. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "I" - fill in "AN", and wait....

63. Mo. for which tanzanite is a birthstone : DECember

64. Comics-derived danger alert : SPIDEY SENSE - well, I wasn't sure how to spell "Spidey", since I didn't read the comic book; I tried SpideE

my kind of spider sense

DOWN:

1. Yoga variety : HATHA - ooops, not ASANA

2. Fine after an accident : UNHURT - ah.  Not TICKET; my experience in one accident was that the other party involved crossed in front of me while I had right-of-way; he was given two tickets - the other for not wearing the seatbelt

3. Well-lit? : STINKO - well, I got it, but the "O" at the end was a bit meh. 

4. "Gimme a __" : HINT

5. Noodle variety : EGG

6. Certain queen's domain : DRAMA

7. Steamed cantina food : TAMALE

8. Like a certain female artery : OVARIAN - I didn't realize there were names for the smaller ones

9. Ink deliverers : NIBS - Dah~!! Not PENS

10. WWII arena : ETO - learned from crosswords

11. Basil's wife on "Fawlty Towers" : SYBIL - a WAG; I thought "sibyl" was the answer to 14D., but it didn't fit

13. Company offering many promotions : AD AGENCY - cute

14. Mystery woman : JANE DOE - Mystery no more~!!  I have found her, and this is what she looks like - I might have solved a LOT of criminal investigations, too~!!

22. Watches over : MANAGES

24. Where an engineer may retire : BERTH - Natick #2, the "E" did me in....I am not sure I get this; does this mean a train engineer and sleeping in a car on the train~?

25. Less forward : SHIER

27. Artery problem : POTHOLE - I got this; I was on a different wavelength from the first artery clue, this one referring to the highways into/from a city

29. Bear fruit? : CUB - oh, so witty

32. Secretly unite : ELOPE

34. Arrogant sort : SNOOT

35. Beverage used in Chinese cuisine : RICE WINE

37. "Eldorado" group : ELO - ah, the song Eldorado; Iron Maiden has a song with the same title

39. Soured : WENT BAD - straight up

40. Part-human mythological creature : DEMI-GOD - CENTAUR fit, too

44. Threat : MENACE

46. Get cracking : HASTEN

47. Ancient cacao bean traders : AZTECS

49. TED talk subjects : IDEAS

51. Encyclopedia Brown's first name : LEROY - perps

53. Discretion : TASTE

55. Italian tubes : ZITI - this helped out a lot in the SE

56. Sera is a form of it : ÊTRE - I pondered "DOSE", as in medical serum; turns out to be the conjugation of the Frawnche, and reminds me of this song

Wax Tailor, with Doris

59. Tea holder : CUP - so simple, I figured it had to be wrong

60. Halting syllables : ers....

Splynter

Monday, February 8, 2016 David Steinberg

 Theme: Musical Monday - Linking four bands today.

16A. Birds on United States seals : BALD EAGLES 

 

 

24A. Commonly multi-paned patio entrances : FRENCH DOORS

 

37A. Reptiles known for their strong jaws : SNAPPING TURTLES

 

 

46A. Bank transport vehicles : ARMORED CARS

56A. Musicians found at the ends of 16-, 24-, 37- and 46-Across : ROCK GROUPS

Argyle here.

Across:

1. Basil sauce : PESTO

6. Pops, to baby : "DADA"

10. Sacred assurance : VOW

13. Sound from a lily pad : CROAK

14. 88 or 98 automaker : OLDS. The Rocket 88.

 

15. Give a ticket to : CITE

18. Longing feeling : ACHE

19. Old photo hue : SEPIA

20. Started the poker kitty : ANTE'D

21. Explosion noise : [¡BAM!]

27. Hop out of bed : ARISE

29. More like a cad : RUDER

30. Send a racy phone message to : SEXT

31. Changed into : BECAME

34. Apt anagram of "aye" : YEA

40. Actor McKellen : IAN

41. Briefs, informally : UNDIES

 

42. 50-and-over organization : AARP. (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons)

43. Somber melody : DIRGE. I think some of the Doors work could be called 'rock dirge'.

45. Red-nosed "Sesame Street" character : ERNIE

51. Poetic nightfall : E'EN

52. Quicken offerings : LOANS. Now offering "Rocket Mortgages"

53. Reebok rival : ASICS. Sport shoes.

55. __ Spumante : ASTI. (Italian sparkling white wine)

61. Costa __ : RICA

 

62. Word for the calorie-conscious : LITE

63. Fertile desert spots : OASES

64. "I'm not impressed" : "MEH"

65. Arrived at second base headfirst, perhaps : SLID

66. Little songbirds : WRENS

Down:

1. Banned chem. pollutant : PCB. (polychlorinated biphenyl)A lot of it in my area.

2. Pitching stat : ERA. (earned run average)

3. South-of-the-border sun : SOL

4. Youngsters : TADS

5. Michael of "Caddyshack" : O'KEEFE. "No Coke"

6. "Git along" little critter : DOGIE. calf.

7. Edgar __ Poe : ALLAN

8. Pres. before JFK : DDE. Remember from Sunday?

9. Stubborn animal : ASS

10. Post-race place for a NASCAR winner : VICTORY LANE. February 21, 2016: Daytona 500.

11. Catchall check box : [OTHER]

12. Dandelions, e.g. : WEEDS

15. Kayak kin : CANOE

17. Earth Day mo. : APR. (April)

20. Poisonous snake : ADDER

21. Low operatic voices : BASSI

22. Sports venue with tiered seating : ARENA

23. Versatile, as a wardrobe : MIX AND MATCH

25. Shipping container : CRATE

26. Organic fertilizer : HUMUS. Not related to the chickpea mash, hummus.

28. Fuel additive brand : STP. (scientifically treated petroleum)

31. __-watching: TV viewing spree : BINGE

32. Put the kibosh on : ENDED

33. Movie SFX : CGI. (computer-generated images) Where would we be without it.

35. Tremble-inducing : EERIE

36. Trembling tree : ASPEN. Cute pairing.

38. Good vibrations, in the cat world : PURRS

39. Sticky road stuff : TAR

44. Ancient Aegean region : IONIA

 

45. Real-estate holding account : ESCROW

46. Smartphone wake-up feature : ALARM

47. Riveting icon : ROSIE

                 Ok, one more group but definitely not rock.
 

48. Desert plants : CACTI

49. Patronized a help desk : ASKED

50. Big truck : RIG

54. Zoom up : SOAR

56. Dr. Jekyll creator's monogram : RLS. (Robert Louis Stevenson)

57. Saudi Arabian export : OIL

58. "__ the Force, Luke" : USE

59. Confident crossword solver's tool : PEN

60. Escaping-air sound : SSS

 

Argyle

Saturday, Oct 17th, 2015, David Steinberg

Theme: 15 x 16

Words: 73 (missing Q)

Blocks: 30

  I was really excited to work on this puzzle, as I missed the 'extra' row from Mr. Steinberg's last Saturday contribution back on Feb 8th.  It was hard to miss the extra column this time, seeing that the top row is numbered 1-16....and, of course, there has to be triple spanner stacks in a grid from David on a Saturday.  Alas, the top stack refused to budge, and unlike that crossword from February, the 'shorter' crossings were of no help whatsoever for me today.  Blew up my personal time, and caved into Google for one of the longer answers, but that did not help get me any further along.  I also think that once I fried my brain trying to solve this beast, answers that should have been obvious were no longer clear.  Oh well.  Gotta take a beating once in a while to remind me that it's Saturday.  The spanners;

1. Really frighten : SCARE THE PANTS OFF

17. 2010 Eminem/Rihanna #1 hit with the lyric "Just gonna stand there and hear me cry" : LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - this was my Google; I like Eminem, but not all his stuff, and this one was not in my wheelhouse

18. "Despicable Me 2" company : UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

61. Elgar work with an as yet unsolved musical theme : ENIGMA VARIATIONS - never heard of it, but there were enough crossings to make this one plausible

65. Threat in Season 3 of "24" : BIOLOGICAL WEAPON - dah~!  I got the first word, but weapon was not forthcoming; got brain-locked on TOXIN and POISON

66. Ways to get high : EXTENSION LADDERS - this one, I got

 
               !
            ~    
          D       
        R            
      A                
   W                    
  N                        
O                            

ACROSS:

19. Something to grab : RIDE

20. Eponymous magazine founder Eric : UTNE - ugh - one of those answers I "knew", but it was not coming to me after the brain cells got tired

21. Ruler's domain? : ROOST - the "?" made me think tape measure ruler; getting caught up in a singular definition caused me all sorts of grief today

22. Barred furniture : CRIBS - I am moving into a new "crib" this weekend; sharing a house with Gary, a buddy of mine.  The house is on the water in a 'suburb' of Riverhead called Flanders - half way between UPS and the restaurants...I'm so excited

24. Finely contoured : SLEEK - the Porsche has some smooth curves, too

27. God, in a midrash : ELOHIM - total unknown - in fact, I have never heard of a midrash

30. Pickup spots? : SCRUFFS - again, I got slowed down thinking this was the truck definition of pick-up; this time, it's the neck of your pet, the 'optimum' place to pick them up

34. City with a Pumpkin Run classic car show : OCALA

36. Baguette surfaces : FACETS - argh~!  CRUSTS fit, since this is the definition I was stuck on; instead it's the diamond cut 

38. Angry Birds sequel setting : RIO - no clue here, either - don't have, don't play

39. Valuable deposit : LODE

40. From square one, to Severus : DE NOVO - this week, my Latin failed me

41. Shock : JOLT - ugh, I had BOLT, and did not get the ta-DA~!

42. One may be blonde : ALE

43. Hard : SEVERE

44. Fortune's 2012 Businessperson of the Year : BEZOS - the man behind Amazon

45. Badly deteriorated : FAR GONE

47. Complete : ENTIRE

49. Uber : ULTRA

51. Means : AGENT - meh

53. Grand Canyon ride : BURRO - because ASS, MULE and DONKEY didn't fit

56. Quantum theory pioneer : BOHR

59. GI chow : MREs

DOWN:

1. Musical connector : SLUR

2. Like certain parlor containers : CONIC - ugh.  I believe this is a vague hint at a funeral parlor's urn shape

3. Real page-turner? : AVID READER - I had "BOOK" for AVID, thinking "real", as opposed to an eReader

4. Wake-up call : REVEILLE

5. Nice time for toasting : ETE - I went with EVE, but I figured it was the Frawnche city of Nice

6. Robin's family : THRUSH

7. "I have broke your __ to say so!": "The Tempest" : HEST - ugh.

8. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN - ARGH~!  I went with ALEC (Guiness), and not Mr. McGregor

9. Doesn't measure up : PALES

10. Shakespearean cries : AYs - "I" got this via perps

11. News initials since 1851 : NYT - blasphemy being in the LAT puzzle

12. British classic cars : TOURERS - JAGUARS fit, but didn't jibe with my Googled answer; this word is just a straight fun-sponge

13. Typically 81-digit diversion : SUDOKU - Once I considered 9x9, this came to me

14. Omnium-gatherum : OLIO - a blend of real and fake Latin, meaning a miscellaneous collection.  I just discovered there's a heavy metal band of the same name

15. Verizon bundle : FiOS - filled this right in - and then took it out....

16. Film follower? : FEST - FilmFEST

23. Zookeeper's main squeeze? : BOA - har-har

25. Square, in '50s slang, as shown by a four-fingered gesture : L SEVEN

26. __-1: "Ghostbusters" car : ECTO - just about the only clue I was sure of

28. Should it happen that : IF EVER - or is this the new disease from Apple, the iFever~?

29. Locks in a paddock : MANE - ARGHHH~!  The hair kind of lock

31. Hard-hit liner, in baseball lingo : FROZEN ROPE - Put in TURF BURNER, and that was just a cluster***k of wrong letters

32. Spanakopita dough : FILO

33. They're often lit : SOTS - I knew this one

34. Norwegian saint : OLAF - i got the OLA- part, but had to wait to see if it was "V" or "F"

35. Fountain output : COLA - ice cream parlor this time

37. Fruit remnant : CORE

40. Depressed area? : DENT

41. Prolonged lament : JEREMIAD - seen this before in crosswords, but it was not coming to me

43. Builder of Jerusalem's First Temple : SOLOMON - total WAG

44. Worth writing home about : BIG

46. Fountain output : GURGLE - think water fountain

48. 1943 Pacific island battle site : TARAWA - new one here, too; you can see it just below the Marshall Islands on this map

50. The Bahamas' __ Islands : ABACO - also new to me; this one's at the top of this map

52. Barbershop part : TENOR

53. Actress Neuwirth : BEBE

54. OS X basis : UNIX

55. Shields may be used in one : RIOT

57. Operation Torch target : ORAN - DAH~!  Not Iran; the Wiki, which includes a map

58. Way up : HILL - meh, part II

60. Phishers' fodder: Abbr. : SSNs

62. DOJ pooh-bahs : AGs - Attorneys General at the Department of Justice

63. 180 degrees from I : VII - like this;

64. 2012 film bear : TED - I've been told to "see it"

Splynter

Thursday, January 15, 2015 David Steinberg

Theme: "Crop of the Cream"?

20. About whom Alice said, "... perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad" :
THE MARCH HARE.

29. Dirty politics : SMEAR CAMPAIGN.

44. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" event : DANCE MARATHON.

53. Dessert topper ... or a literal hint to what's hidden in 20-, 29- and 44-Across :
WHIPPED CREAM. 

Hmmm, I seem to have hit a pattern of hidden jumbled word themes lately. I guess WHIPPED is the hint that it is CREAM that gets all mixed up today.  Last week we had circles to help us out.  This week, we were on our own. I think I like it better this way, for a late-week puzzle. Your experience may vary.   


Across

1. Impresses big-time : WOWS. The Trans Siberian Orchestra WOWS audiences all over the world with their over-the-top laser light / pyrotechnics displays.

5. Aquarium growth : SCUM. Anyone else fill in "alga" without checking perps? ("Guilty.")

9. Development site : TRACT.

14. Desktop since 1998 : iMAC. Yep, that's what I'm typing on right now.

15. Cream-filled cake : HO HO. Nit: The brand name is Ho Hos. So one cake is a Ho Ho?

16. Try to pick up : HIT ON.  "I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"

17. __ mining : DATA. Read here why some supermarket chains put the beer next to the baby diapers.

18. Slaughter in baseball : ENOS. I knew the clue was referring to the guy named Slaughter, but do you think I could remember his first name?

19. Facebook posting : EVENT. Since when is a picture of your lunch an "event"?

23. Guffaw syllable : HAR.

24. PC heart : CPU. Central Processing Unit.

25. Doodlebugs and polliwogs : LARVAE.

33. Enjoyed a trail : HIKED.

35. Skin care brand : OLAY crossing 22-Down. Skin care brand : ALMAY.

36. Like many a joke : OLD. Did you hear the one about...? [Insert 23-Across here.]

37. "Gotcha, man" : I DIG.

38. Count : TALLY.

40. Baffin Bay sight : FLOE. They can be beautiful, but...

41. Molokai memento : LEI. My book club read MOLOKA'I by Alan [sic] Brennert.  Great book, but I wish he'd learn how to spell ALLEN.  ;-)

42. Game divided into chukkers : POLO.

43. Bleachers filler : CROWD.

48. Only vice president born in D.C. : AL GORE.

49. Word of feigned innocence : MOI? I associate the term with Miss Piggy.

50. Shares an email with : CCs. Shout out!

57. Bossa nova ancestor : SAMBA.

60. Agent's favorite sign : SOLD.

61. Ticklish Tyco toy for tots : ELMO. Nice alliterative clue.

62. Posture problem : STOOP. I wish I had a nickel for every time my mother told me to "Sit up straight!"

63. Bed covering : SOIL. Garden bed. Although on second thought, it could apply to my cat's beds. And, why is it that they love to jump up on the white coverlet when they come back inside with muddy paws??

64. Knighted Guinness : ALEC.

65. Ed Asner septet : EMMYS.

66. Trap, in a way : TREE.

67. Knight's neighbor : ROOK. Chess.


Down

1. Side to side? : WIDTH.

2. Beach near Utah? : OMAHA. Crucial targets during the allied invasion on the Normandy coast. Map.

3. Sport invented using boards and a clothesline : WATER SKIING. In 1922, Ralph Samuelson had a brilliant idea.

4. It may involve wiring : SCAM. and 12-Down, 4-Down : CON. I associate a police "wire" (microphone) with a "sting" operation, not so much a SCAM. [Update: Many scams include wiring money to the scammer, on the promise of receiving the millions of dollars that are waiting for you. ]

5. Mountain guide : SHERPA.

6. See eye to eye : CONCUR.

7. "This spells trouble!" : UH-OH.

8. __ pit : MOSH. Do they still do MOSH pits? "That was so '80s!"

9. Curative treatment : THERAPY.

10. Baseball's career save leader : RIVERA. (Siggghhh...more baseball.)

11. Had : ATE.

13. Big bang producer : TNT. Oh, not Chuck Lorre or Bill Prady?

21. Served to perfection? : ACED. Tennis serve.

26. Solo instrument for which six Bach suites were written : VIOLONCELLO. It was the precursor to the modern day cello.

27. Radiant : AGLOW.

28. Put the kibosh on : ENDED.

30. Eldest March sister : MEG. Gaaaah!  I filled in "Amy" at first.

31. Lemon or tangerine : COLOR.

32. The whole schmear : ALL.

33. Broom-__: comics witch : HILDA.

34. Perfectionist's goal : IDEAL.

38. Marisa of "The Wrestler" : TOMEI.

39. Mode lead-in : À LA.

40. Pendulum direction? : FRO. It only goes in two directions: to and fro.

42. "Could happen" : PERHAPS.

43. Smart : CHIC.

45. Drive rider : COWBOY. Cattle drive.

46. 2001 Audrey Tautou title role : AMELIE. It seems to have received high ratings on IMDb.

47. Take baby steps : TODDLE. I wanted "totter," but at least I checked the perps first.

51. Stan Lee had one in "The Avengers" (2012) : CAMEO. "Super heroes? In New York? Give me a break!" Watch here - he shows up at 5:12.

52. Clothes protector : SMOCK. Hands up for "apron" first?

54. Sibilant summons : PSST.

55. __ Tax: $15 Monopoly fee : POOR.

56. Derriere : REAR. A friend of mine sold pharmaceuticals in N.H., and spent the first month telling all the physicians that she was their new rep for the Derry area...

57. Coeur d'Alene-to-Sun Valley dir. : SSE.

58. Cabbage source? : ATM. Cabbage, dough, lettuce, moola, etc. etc. etc.

59. Palindromic tat : MOM. Surprisingly, very few guys get tats that say "Able was I ere I saw Elba."

That's all I got!
Marti

Note from C.C.:

I mentioned JD's New Zealand/Australia adventure yesterday, the Big Easy (George) sent me these two pictures. Which year did you visit the Down Under, George? 

Regarding the second picture, he said

"The 'Bride' and the 'Bride' that I captured a photo of in Wellington Botanical Gardens. I don't know if it was before or after the ceremony but neither of them were women."

Big Easy and his wife Diane

Thursday, May 29, 2014 David Steinberg

Theme: "Pawn Stars"

The reveal for this puzzle can be found at 38-Across. Game where the ends of the answers to starred clues are commonly heard : CHESS.

17-Across. *Aperture : LENS OPENING. The most important part of the game, where players set up their pawns and develop their pieces.

24-Across. *Words said between courses : KEEP YOUR FORK. Typically, this refers to a knight that attacks two different chess pieces.

The Knight Fork

46-Across. *It can be a painful reminder : REALITY CHECK. A direct attack on the opponent's king. It can be painful for a chess champion...

57-Across. *Sister's symbol : SORORITY PIN. When an opponent pins a piece, it means that the piece cannot move because doing so would expose another more valuable piece, like the king or queen.

11-Down. *Part of a class act : SCHOOLMATE. When a player is in mate (short for "checkmate"), it means that his king has no legal move, and he loses the game.

28-Down. *Place to see shell decorations : SAND CASTLE. A move done during the opening, where the king and rook swap sides. It can either be "long" (on the queen's side) where the rook moves three squares, or "short" (on the king's side) where the rook moves two squares:

Castle.

Six long theme entries, with four intersecting each other, plus a reveal in the center of the grid. I'm as impressed with David's puzzle as I would be watching Kasparov play against Karpov!

The rest of the fill was pretty straight-forward for a Thursday, with only a few misdirections. 

Across

1. Chain named for two oceans : A AND P. I was thinking islands here, not grocery stores. Plus, I had "AGs" at 4-down, so this was the last to fill. Officially, A&P is "The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company."

6. Diet guru Jenny : CRAIG. Kirstie Alley is back as the spokesperson.

11. Slender slider : SKI. Nailed it! (Did you think of the little hamburgers?)

14. Patch plant : BRIAR. If you fall into one, you may need to patch your pants.

15. Cuban dance : RUMBA. Salsa or mambo would also fit...

16. "The Lead With Jake Tapper" airer : CNN.

19. __ polloi : HOI.

20. Suffix with Senegal : ESE.

21. First American to orbit Earth : GLENN. And a clecho at 10-Down. First Russian to orbit Earth : GAGARIN.

22. Oak product ... or source : ACORN. "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow."

26. Email again : RESEND. Do you sometimes regret the fact that you sent it in the first place?

29. Pie perch : SILL.

30. Seed-bearing organ : OVARY.

31. Many a preadolescent : TWEEN. In modern usage it usually signifies a young girl who is "in-between" stages of life: "Too old for toys, too young for boys." But J.R.R. Tolkien used it to describe Hobbits who were post-teenagers: "At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three."

34. Hiker's reference : MAP.

37. Southernmost Ivy : PENN.

39. Bean used in falafel : FAVA. Served with veggies and tahini sauce - yummm!

Falafel

40. Call off : END.

41. Underground anchors : ROOTS.

42. Turning part : ROTOR. Remember these?

43. Mine find : COAL.

45. Like some partners : SILENT.

51. Atelier fixture : EASEL.

Rembrandt

52. Mission where Jim Bowie fell : ALAMO.

53. Hub WNW of LAS : SFO. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, San Francisco Airport.  

56. Mohawked muscleman : MR T.

60. In the infirmary : ILL.

61. Hold water : ADD UP.

62. Maudlin : TEARY.

63. Lao-__ : TSE.

64. Irritable : TESTY.

65. Fast-growing school's need, perhaps : ANNEX.


Down

1. Seaman descriptor : ABLE.

2. God with a vulture symbol : ARES. He had lots of other symbols: Spear, helmut, dog, chariot, boar and flaming torch.

3. Diamond group : NINE.

4. Trial VIPs : DAs. What was I thinking by putting in AGs???

5. Scion : PROGENY.

6. Walk on tiptoe : CREEP.

7. Like noses, at times : RUNNY. My allergies have been given a break with all the rain lately.

8. Kind of acid in proteins : AMINO.

9. Hebrew : Ben :: Arabic : __ : IBN.

12. Stock market giant? : KNORR. Soup stock, that is.

13. Confident way to solve crosswords : IN INK. Many Cornerites solve this way. I'm not so confident!

18. Earnestly appealed : PLED.

23. Grey Cup org. : CFL. Canadian Football League. Totally filled by perps.

24. "Show Boat" composer : KERN. I have linked "Ol' Man River" sung by Paul Robeson before.

25. Takes advantage of : USES.

26. It's often skipped : ROPE. Nope, "class" wouldn't fit.

27. __ number : EVEN.

31. Nevertheless, informally : THO.

32. Slippery, perhaps : WET.

33. Pothook shape : ESS.

35. Skin So Soft seller : AVON. It has been touted as a mosquito repellent, but DEET is the only thing that works for me.

36. Barbershop division? : PART.

38. Future stallion : COLT.

39. Traditional genre : FOLK. So many to choose from, but here is Woody Guthrie's classic "This Land is Your Land."

41. Gives a tongue-lashing : RAILS AT.

42. Cannoli cheese : RICOTTA.

44. World Cup cheer : OLE.

45. One usually keeping to the right : SEMI. Tractor Trailers are often prohibited from entering the passing lane.

46. Send in : REMIT.

47. British nobles : EARLS.

48. Barbecue venues : YARDS.

49. Influence : CLOUT.

50. Half-woman, half-bird monster : HARPY. Found in classical literature, and also in "The Game of Thrones."

The Harpy of Astapor

53. Bridge : SPAN.

54. Blaze : FIRE. Hey, C.C.! Loved your puzzle yesterday!

55. Jet-black gemstone : ONYX.

58. Flowery composition : ODE.

59. Kyoto currency : YEN. I have a yen to play some more...

…but my time is up!

Marti

Saturday, February 8, 2014, David Steinberg

Theme: None (With the quad-stacks 15's in the middle, this grid has 16 rows)

Words: 73 (pangram~!)*

Blocks: 36

   I have seen David's name before, but this may be his Saturday LAT debut; he collaborated on this SALMON puzzle that gave us fits, and a Friday puzzle with WATER "falling" in the clues.  I "LIKEN" (13d.) this one at about a Wednesday level - done in about half the time I normally allow myself to do a Saturday crossword; but as we've discussed here before, when you have triple- and quad-stacks, it tends to make the perp answers shorter, and therefore, easier.  There were two ten-letter words in the across, plus four nines 'perping' the quad-stack - impressive~!:

31A. Women seen standing at tables : DINER WAITRESSES

40A. Walmart advantage : ONE-STOP SHOPPING

41A. Attempts to best : COMPETES AGAINST

42A. Stretched, in a way : STOOD ON ONE'S TOES

on WA rd~!  ( to Seattle in the fall....)

ACROSS:

1. They're used in British puzzles : ZEDS - nailed it, but I figure most of you did, too

5. Peter Pan rival : JIF - and I was onto this clue, too - the Peanut Butter, not the character

8. "The X Factor" judge : COWELL (Simon) - my only mistake; I did not get my "Ta-DA~!" because I put in "P"owell first; no wonder "PAF" made no sense....

14. Picked locks : AFRO - nice misdirection; hair, not doorknobs

15. Classified letters : EOE - Equal Opportunity Employer

16. God in a temple : ADONAI - a little Wiki for you

17. Lesson __ : PLAN

18. Double shot, say : STIFF DRINK - today marks 9yrs, 1month

20. Many an Urdu speaker : PAKISTANI

22. Appropriate : TAKE - the verb -  "uh pro pri ATE", not "uh PRO pri ate"

23. Rankled : ATE AT

24. Common desktop icon : TRASH CAN - mine's the PC recycle bin

27. QB's stat : ATTempts - there will be no more of these in the 2013-14 NFL season

30. Math group : SET

43. Italian article : UNA

44. MDCLIII ÷ III : DLI - Roman math; 1653/3 = 551

45. Stock problem : STAMPEDE - I had a feeling this was "live" stock, and not Wall Street stock

50. Georgia retreat : DACHA - ah, that Georgia

55. Ending suggesting wealth : AIRE - MillionAIRE, BillionAIRE

56. State treasury : EXCHEQUER - nice fill; gets the 8pts for the "X" and 10 for the "Q"

59. It's used in dashes : GARLIC SALT

62. 51-Down resident : ARAB

63. Old-fashioned "Neat!" : GROOVY

64. Starting to burn : LIT

65. Quail collection : BEVY

66. Looked bored : YAWNED

67. Spinner : TOP

68. Drinks from a stand : ADES

DOWN:

1. Posthumous 1995 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee : ZAPPA - brilliant musician, but I could never get into his music

2. Key of Shostakovich's "First of May" : E FLAT - guess what~! I HAD the "E" to start - so I did NOT have to wait~!

3. Pond swimmer : DRAKE - not to be redundant, since it's followed by;

4. The duck in Disney's "Peter and the Wolf" : SONIA

5. Bon mot : JEST - Frawnch

6. Jot : IOTA - I have heard this before - the smallest Greek letter, thus something miniscule; technically, the word "JOT" is IN IOTA, since there's no "J" in Latin

7. Artful action : FEINT

8. Stimulating substance, briefly : CAF - Caffeine, as in your coffee this A.M.

9*. "That's weird" : ODD - *it's ODD that I have an ODD number of words in a Saturday grid*

10. Net __ : WORTH - my net worth is not within an iota of anything like "-AIRE"

11. Giant with 17,468 vacuum tubes : ENIAC - The computer; short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer

12. Sri __ : LANKA

13. Make an analogy : LIKEN

19. From the horse's mouth : FIRST HAND

21. Turned on : STARTED UP

25. Skylight insulation material, perhaps : AEROGEL - Never heard of this stuff being used in skylights, but it is highly effective in reducing thermal transmission

26. Words from one about to take over : STEP ASIDE

28. Black and blue, say : TWO-TONE - more deception, since "BRUISED" fit, too

29. Provençal spreads : TAPENADES - M-W online says: a seasoned spread made chiefly with mashed black olives, capers, and anchovies - I'll pass....

31. JAMA readers : DOCs - I went to the DPM this week - the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, who diagnosed my heel pain as "Plantar Fasciitis"; it started bothering me in my first week of UPS driving, and I finally had to have something done.  Now I have a foot brace I wear at night, and orthotics coming in two weeks - I can't wait to walk properly again~!

32. How some NBA games are resolved : IN OT - also in the NHL; the Rangers went INto Over Time last night, then on to the shoot-out, and beat Pittsburgh 4-3

33. Fictional captain : NEMO - of the Nautilus, in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

34. Hockey Hall of Fame nickname : ESPO - Phil Esposito, one-time Boston Bruin and NY Ranger who helped start up the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning

35. Short retort : "IS SO~!"

36. Rain in scattered drops : SPIT

37. __-Indian War : SINO

38. Bay State motto starter : ENSE - Here's some interesting facts about Massachusetts

39. Friday et al.: Abbr. : SGTs - Sergeant Joe Friday of Dragnet

45. Needing a lift, maybe : SAGGY - boy, it's a good thing this wasn't followed by 48d.~!

46. Papal headgear : TIARA - I thought it was called a MITRE; I did not know about this piece of adornment

47. Common keyboard symbol : ARROW - we just had this discussion on keyboards last week

48. Winter __ : MELON - I like these winter melons - not SAGGY~!  How come THIS isn't in the Olympics?

49. Glorify : EXALT

51. Jordanian city : AQABA

52. Back to normal : CURED

53. Start of a nautical order : HEAVE - Spitzboov could share more

54. Chain with roast beef Mighty Minis : ARBY'S

57. Muse of history : CLIO

58. Start of many addresses : HTTP - the HyperText Transfer Protocol of website addresses

60. "__ had it!" : I'VE

61. Dancer Charisse : CYD

Splynter

Friday, December 13, 2013, Michael Wiesenberg and David Steinberg

Theme: Down is up, lets spawn.

Another visual challenge saved for our Friday delight, and a collaboration between wunderkind David Steinberg, and the very interesting Michael Wiesenberg. Well we have 2 mountains to climb (right Spitzboov), as there are five (5) types of Salmon  (72 across, which I think should refer to both 3 and 41 down) which are presented in the down clues, reading from bottom to top with the reveal the unique pattern of these fish to go against the current to return to where they began to continue the cycle of LIFE. Other than the trickery, this did not feel like a Friday, lots of words, many 3 and 4 letter ones, with some interesting 7s, like CARRERE, CHORIZO, CRIPPLE, INDIANA,  SEE ALSO and TOWERED. I know the Corner has had an intense and very negative response to the use of trickeration in fill, so I am curious how you all react to this one. Let us see where this duo led us.

72A. Creature known for 3-Down : SALMON. (6)The other pink meat. Read all about them. LINK.

3D. With 41-Down, 72-Across phenomenon that's graphically demonstrated five times in this puzzle : SWIMMING.(8) 41D. See 3-Down : UPSTREAM. (8)  SWIMMING UPSTREAM.

9D. Type of 72-Across : EYEKCOS. (7) SOCKEYE. The red salmon of the Pacific Northwest.

18D. Type of 72-Across : OHOC. (4) COHO. Very popular type which is found all over the US and in all of the Great Lakes including Michigan. Silver salmon.

21D. Type of 72-Across : DAEHLEETS. (9) STEELHEAD.  Steelhead salmon are ocean going while steelhead trout are freshwater fish.

45D. Type of 72-Across : KOONIHC. (7) CHINOOK. The King salmon, they are the largest of the Pacific salmon growing up to 100 pounds.

47d. Type of 72-Across : MUHC. (4) CHUM. The dog salmon from the teeth it has during spawning which resemble canines.

whew, that is lot of theme stuff...

Across:

1. 1994 movie based on an androgynous "SNL" character : IT'S PAT. Not one of my favorite TRAILER. (1:31).

7. 2013 Culinary Hall of Fame inductee : EMERIL. Yes, I am sure we all sat waiting for this event. Who knew it even existed. LINK.

13. Dwarfed, with "above" : TOWERED. When I was 6 and about 3 feet tall, I went with my father to pick up my mother from her job as a nurse at the hospital, and we ran into an intern who was  6'8" dressed in scrubs. I thought the Jolly Green Giant had come to life.

15. Nonspecific journal opening : DAY ONE.

16. Severely damage : CRIPPLE.

17. Cross-referencing phrase : SEE ALSO. In writing brief and memoranda of law, we use many of these types of references, See e.g., see supra....

19. Tailors' work : HEMS. Trying to work a HAW reference in here somehow.

20. Work with freight : LADE.

22. Kosher deli snack : KNISH. I must dispute this clue, as a pastry filled with meat, or potato or vegetable is a side dish, not a snack.

23. Wet tract : MIRE. We have been swamped with this fill lately. Don't let it bog you down.

25. Smart guy? : ALEC.  Guiness?

27. Prefix with con : NEO.

28. Old ring leader? : ALI. Cute clue for Muhammed.

30. Language that gave us "galore" : ERSE. All perps.

32. Course-prep course : HOME-EC. Nice use of the different meanings of 'course'.

34. Computer operating system with a penguin mascot : LINUX. Surprisingly, the first appearance in an LAT.

36. Name : CHOOSE. Tricky cluing, which is accurate but hardly my first thought.

38. Hanging aids : PEGS.

39. '80s-'90s legal drama : LA LAW.

40. Zap : NUKE.

44. Ice Capades performer : SKATER. Hey CA, wherever you are....

46. One who has class? : PUPIL. Obviously they are students of the pun.

47. Bone tissue : MARROW.

50. Right on el mapa : ESTE. Spanish for east.  el mapa?

52. Friend of Frodo : SAM. Wonderfully portrayed by Sean Astin, Gomez Addams' son.

53. Diminutive suffix : ULE. Like CapsULE. For once not ULEE,

54. Taking care of business : ON IT.

56. Part of Q.E.F. : ERAT. Same middle word, Quod Erat Faciendum.

58. Board : HOP ON. Woo, woo!

60. Common auto engine : V-SIX.

62. Hyde Park vehicle : PRAM.  What a Nanny drives.

65. Tapas bar sausage : CHORIZO. Want to TRY?

67. Tia who voiced Nani in "Lilo & Stitch" : CARRERE. Didn't we just see beautiful Tia, the Wayne's World babe?

69. Quiver carrier : ARCHER.

70. State on Lake Michigan : INDIANA. Plus Illinois, Wisconsin and of course Michigan.

71. __ Sutton, Bond girl in "A View to a Kill" : STACEY. Played by TANYA ROBERTS, (2:19) who also was one of Charlie's Angels briefly and played Sheena, the female Tarzan.

Down:

1. Hankering : ITCH. Not scratch but yearn.

2. Ran like the dickens : TORE.

4. Mountain Dew bottler, informally : PEPSI. originally Brad's Drink.

5. Dada pioneer : ARP.

6. Note handler : TELLER. At the bank handling all of those federal reserve notes.

7. 1958 Pacer, e.g. : EDSEL. No idea what the clue means but it filled in quickly.

8. Ginnie __ : MAE. The articulation of GNMA, Government National Mortgage Association established in 1968 to provide a way for banks to sell their loans and then use the money to make new loans, etc. etc to fuel home financing and sale.

10. Reddish mount : ROAN.

11. Queued up : INLINE.

12. One paying a flat fee : LESSEE. The old FLAT =Apartment misdirection.

14. Narc's agcy. : DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration.

24. Morgan of comics : REX. The venerable strip featuring Rex Morgan MD.

26. Self-help website : eHOW.  Never heard of IT.

28. Sight from the Brenner Pass : ALP. Hi Warti.

29. Excuse, sometimes : LIE. The dog ate it.

31. Skedaddle : SCAT.

33. List of options : MENU.

35. BOAC destination in a Beatles hit : USSR.

37. Some crew members : OARS. The ones who do all the work in CREW, the sport.

39. Aeration target : LAWN. HG, don't you hate it when the aerate the greens?

42. Optima or Soul : KIA.

43. Common street name : ELM. Tough to pin down, a slippery clue.

46. __ diem : PER.

48. Island farewells : ALOHAS. Hello Hawaii.

49. News show staple : REPORT.

51. Natives of Paris and Odessa : TEXANS. Yes, we in America have borrowed my many European city names. Paris is one of the most common appearing in 26 states.

55. "It floats" soap : IVORY. When I was little and being bathed, the floating soap was a thing of awe.

57. National Poetry Month : APRIL. Owen, did we know this?

59. Seal hunter : ORCA.

61. "Vous êtes __": Paris map words : ICI. "You are here" en francais. No clecho for me.

63. Italian river : ARNO.

64. Bell curve center : MEAN. Like her friends MEDIAN and MODE. I figure it is feminine since it has curves.

66. Zombie leader? : ZEE. The first letter.

68. Old vitamin bottle no. : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.

Well I think you all have reached your RLW, reasonable lemonade write up, so I will head back to the world and wish you all a very happy and safe Friday the 13th. (Yes my name is Jason and the movies are so 'special' to me). Thanks David and Michael and all of you.

Lemonade

Notes from C.C.: 

As we all learned from yesterday's puzzle that crossword will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Dec 21, 2013, I'd like to mention a book I just read: The Centenary of the Crossword by John Halpern, known as "Paul" from The Guardian.

Who knew prisoners in Sing Sing were provided with crosswords in the 1920s? Fascinating snippets of crossword history. I also enjoyed reading the section on crossword setters/constructors and editors, esp LA Times Daily Crossword editor Rich Norris who does not give interviews often. I actually pulled out the Dan Naddor "Word Chain" blog post while reading Rich's words. I've never solved a cryptic puzzle, so I found the "How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords" chapter very informative and educating. 

You'll also find in the book Marti's 5 favorite clues. Also two from today's co-constructor David Steinberg. Please click here  for more information. Great read!