Friday, December 20, 2013, David J. Kahn

Theme: Arthur Wynne Tribute 2

Well after the earlier puzzle this week, I read up on the first puzzle and it really paid off.  For those of you who need to read more like I did, here is the LINK. Back when Mr. Kahn was introduced to us in 2010, C.C. advised that he was master at tribute puzzles 2010. This is only his second LAT since the Tribune Media switched, though he has 155 published NYT puzzles. I love how he included clues and fill from Mr. Wynne's classic effort. The inclusion of original grid spanners made this very interesting and solvable. I found it very easy, in places, and hard in others. Obviously some of what people knew 100 years ago was tricky but let's get on with the show.

The nine repeats:

1A. *A bar of wood or iron (one of nine starred clues/answers that appear here exactly as they did in the first crossword puzzle) : RAIL. (4). Not an easy start for me.

35A. *A talon : SERE. (4). Maybe this was common knowledge in 1913, but I never knew of this meaning for SERE.

62A. *To govern : RULE. (4) An easy one.

27D. *An aromatic plant : NARD.(4). Another old timey word I think; back when we began the current era, wiki says this plant was used as the base for an expensive perfume

35D. *Part of a ship : SPAR. (4). I will let our experts comment.

36D. *A bird : DOVE. (4).  This appeared twice in the 1st puzzle, and in this one 53D. *A pigeon : DOVE. (4).

39D. *The fibre of the gomuti palm : DOH. Certainly more interesting than Homer Simpson, but I did not know this fact. When the clue reappeared the reviewer said it was 'stupidly HARD.'

55D. *Opposed to less : MORE. Do you think we will get more Tributes tomorrow, the actual anniversary? Any thoughts?

The theme originals:

17A. Feature of the first crossword puzzle, seen in 56-Across on 12/21/1913 : SYMMETRICAL GRID. (15).

36A. Like the first crossword puzzle : DIAMOND SHAPED.(13).

56A. See 17-Across : THE NEW YORK WORLD. (15) Like many newspapers, long gone.

Across:

5. Assuming that : IF SO.

9. Disastrous : FATAL.

14. Dashiell Hammett dog : ASTA. A variation on the Nick and Nora Charles clues.

15. It may follow eleven : NOON. Once a day, actually.

16. Dumb : INANE. Ok, that comment was...

20. Red Cross supply : PLASMA. I wondered why they make TVs from blood stuff? Anyway, this is the 4th form of matter with liquid, solid and gas.

21. Fix, as a knot : RE TIE. Why are shoelaces always too long.

22. Opinion : SAY. This actually was not immediately apparent to me. I do not like 3 letter fill that takes time.

23. Letter string : BCD. Oops, two in a row.

25. Agent's clients : TALENT. They hope.

29. D.C.'s __ Mall : NATIONAL.

32. What some pros shoot : PAR. Do they have any indoor golf facilities in Nebraska like they do in Buffalo, HG?

33. Spice Girl __ B : MEL.

34. Pianist Templeton : ALEC. No clue but I like his bio as a pianist/satirist like this TUNE. (2:24).

39. Short warning : DON'T.

40. Quart, e.g. : UNIT. Of measure, here.

41. Speaker systs. : PAS. Public Address.

42. Ab __: initially : OVO. Literally from the egg. Less common then ab initio.

43. Reinforcing construction piece : STEEL BAR. Or a very tough place to get a drink.

45. Like some tea : HERBAL.

47. Not fast : EAT. Did this slow you down?

48. Site of the George W. Bush presidential library : SMU. Southern Methodist University. One of the few universities to ever receive the NCAA 'death penalty.' They are back playing, I think June Jones is their coach now.

51. Chan player : OLAND. We have spoken often about this Swedish actor, Warner.

54A. "The door's open" : COME IN. (6) A modern partial clue.

60. __ pants (baggy women's trousers) : HAREM. I will avoid the simple I Dream of Jeannie and use this LINK.

61. Youngest Wilcox child in "Howards End" : EVIE. A wonderful movie and CAST. (2:02).

63. New Eng. campus : UMASS. UCONN's onetime rival and where Bill Cosby got his PhD, in Amherst.

64. Go fast : TEAR. Are tearing through this solve?

65. Arabic for "commander" : EMIR. I did not know this.

Down:

1. Woodworking tools : RASPS. Woodworking is very relaxing.

2. Refuges : ASYLA. Oh oh, technically correct I guess. A Latin Plural.

3. "Possibly" : IT MAY. Or it may not.

4. Takes off : LAMS.

5. Whole : INTACT.

6. With 8-Down, as a welcome change : FOR. 8D. See 6-Down : ONCE.

7. "Bon __" : SOIR. Good night! I had so many others in mind.

9. Of a son or daughter : FILIAL.

10. Broadway supporter : ANGEL. Does anyone see this and not think of the wonderful play/move The Producers? The clecho: 44D. Broadway supporter : BACKER.

11. Paving substance : TAR.

12. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN I.

13. Took by the hand : LED.

18. Preserve, in a way : EMBALM. The concept of preserving dead tissue is kind of odd, don't you think?

19. Stick on : ATTACH.

24. Two-time Oscar winner Wiest : DIANNE. I linked her in Hannah and Her Sisters a few weeks ago.

26. Sporting weapons : EPEES.

28. Crowd at Lake Como? : TRE. Italian for three.

29. In order : NEAT. Just like Tin's scotch.

30. Number from the past : OLDIE. Not ETHER, a musical one.

31. Baby Ruth maker : NESTLE. N E S T L E S spells CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCLATE!! 

33. Unimportant : MINOR.

37. Not allow : OUTLAW.

38. "This Is 40" director Judd : APATOW. The modern king of sophomoric comedy.

43. "__ Lot": King novel : SALEM'S.

46. 2002 Alice Sebold best-seller "The Lovely __" : BONES.  made into a MOVIE.(2:43)/ Also a good cast.

48. Flu fighter : SERUM.

49. Pop's __ Vanilli : MILLI. The disgraced duo.

50. Hypnotized : UNDER.

52. Putin put-down? : NYET. A rare Russian word.

56. Calendar abbr. : THU.

57. One acting badly : HAM. A pork repeat from yesterday.

58. Time worth remembering : ERA.

59. Small inlet : RIA.

Well I hope you all enjoyed this look back in time, and let me know how you would do a tribute puzzle for this anniversary. Nice to see you again Mr. Kahn, stop by anytime. For the rest, Lemonade, off to to Denver and have happy holidays all.

Thursday September 16, 2010 David J. Kahn

Theme: SPORTS BARS (58A. Places where you can watch (and whose end can follow the ends of) the answers to starred clues) - A double-layered theme. All the two-word theme answers (with sports-relate clues) can be seen in SPORTS BARS, and the last word of each answer can also proceed BARS.

17A. *Powerful punch: RIGHT CROSS. Boxing/Cross bars. Found in luggage racks and soccer (and football) goals.

26A. *Where the tight end is positioned, in football lingo: STRONG SIDE. American Football/Side bars. An edge column on a web page, or SUV accessories that you can step on to enter the vehicle.

50A. *Shot pioneered by Wilt Chamberlain: FINGER ROLL. Basketball/Roll bars. A protective cage in a racing vehicle.

11D. *2010 St. Andrews competition: BRITISH OPEN. Golf/Open bars. Free drinks.

25D. *Wimbledon event: MEN'S SINGLES. Tennis/Singles bars. The "meet" market.

Al here.

As usual, ramped up for a Thursday. Seven names, tricky and several cross-referential clues, and a bit unusual. It seems to me that vertical theme answers in a weekday puzzle are seen less often than not. The constructor was able to intersect the two verticals with two horizontal ones and brought us a total theme squares of 60. Pretty dense.

David J. Kahn (Rich Norris is the taller one) is a constructor known for his tribute puzzles. He's made 140 puzzles for NY Times alone.

Across:

1. Piano pro: TUNER. You can't tuna piano, but you can tuna fish. And 49D. Needing a 1-Across: FLAT.

6. Fizzy drink: COLA. Sugar, caramel color, caffeine, phosphoric acid, high fructose corn syrup, coca extract, kola nut extract, lime extract, vanilla and glycerin. Notice that sugar is actually there twice, in first and fifth place. And whoever thought it was a good idea to drink phosphoric acid?

10. Kellogg School deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration. I'm guessing Kellogg that is part of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

13. UV ray absorber: OZONE. O-Zone is the Moldovan pop group responsible for this internet meme sung in Romanian.

14. x and y, perhaps: AXES. Graphing lines.

15. Blackberry lily, e.g.: IRIS.

19. "Still Life With Old Shoe" artist: MIRO. Joan. Psychedelic...

20. Together, in music: ADUE. For two musicians.

21. Ham: EMOTER. Bad acting.

23. Depict artistically: LIMN. Originally to "illuminate" manuscripts by adding artwork.

29. Polar buildup: ICE CAP.

31. Extremists: ULTRAS.

32. West pointers, sometimes?: VANES. Wind indicators, originally "fane" from Old English "fana", a flag, banner, or piece of cloth.

33. Sulky state: SNIT. Not a horse carriage, but supposedly related nonetheless. A sulky is a one-person conveyance, thus considered to be used by stand-offish people (because there wasn't room for two).

34. See 59-Down: SHOP. 59D. With 34-Across, country club feature: PRO. Pro Shop, where you buy golf equipment and supplies. Sports theme related clues

37. It prints many scheds.: IRS. Tax forms are called schedules. Latin schida: "one of the strips forming a papyrus sheet". Yes, that's about how old taxes are...

38. "Spartacus" Oscar winner: USTINOV. Peter. A 50 year old movie.

41. Mined matter: ORE.

42. Sitcom pal of Fred: DESI. Arnaz and Mertz, I Love Lucy.

44. Shades that fade in fall: TANS. Suntans. This threw me for a bit wondering how brown leaves could fade any further.

45. Bond trader's phrase: AT PAR. Selling a bond at the same price it was issued. Bonds make money by paying dividends.

47. Not completely: IN PART.

49. Admirals' concerns: FLEETS. Enema, enemy, both to be feared.

53. Knife of yore: SNEE. Snickersnee?

54. Like "ASAP" memos: URGENT. Being cynical here, but urgency create by a memo seems to be something created artificially rather than something that is a real emergency...

55. Beer-making aid: OAST. For drying hops.

57. Kerouac's Paradise et al.: SALS. Salvatore Paradise is the "narrator" of On The Road by Jack Kerouac.

64. "Don't change it": STET. Anyone miss this "standing" crossword answer?

65. Liver nutrient: IRON. The liver stores a multitude of substances, including glucose (in the form of glycogen), vitamin A (1–2 years' supply), vitamin D (1–4 months' supply), vitamin B12 (1-3 years' supply), iron, and copper.

66. Bother persistently: NAG AT.

67. Curly shape: ESS.

68. "Forget about it": NOPE.

69. Like an evening in a Frost title: SNOWY. "Whose woods are these, I think I know..."

Down:

1. Rocky hill: TOR. From Old English "torr" for tower (of rock).

2. Weapon designer __ Gal: UZI. Uziel Gal, born Gotthard Glas.

3. Nutmeg-topped drink: NOG. Earliest record from 1690s, “old, strong type of beer brewed in Norfolk,” of unknown origin. Now a sweetened dairy-based drink whipped with eggs and spiked with various alcohols. Does anyone drink it "plain" (or even at all?)

4. Add pizazz to: ENHANCE.

5. Like many a volunteer: Abbr.: RETD. Retired (so they have time on their hands?)

6. Wedge-shaped mark: CARET. A circumflex, atop the "6" key.

7. Kitchen gadgets brand: OXO.

8. Haitian seaport __ Cayes: LES.

9. Be convinced about: ASSENT TO.

10. Cocktails similar to a Buck's Fizz: MIMOSAS. Champagne + orange juice but combined in different proportions. Grenadine may also be added, but is not an "official" ingredient.

12. Made public: AIRED.

16. Peeved: SORE. and 23D. Really, really 16-Down: LIVID. And 51D. Really 16-Down: IRATE.

18. Where some signs change: CUSP. Latin cuspis: pointed end, (as with a tooth) is the imaginary line which separates any two signs of the zodiac. The Leo/Virgo cusp dates between August 19 and 26, so people born in that range are said to have characteristics of both.

22. Retail VIP: MGR. Manager.

24. Sympathetic words: I CARE.

27. Meet unexpectedly: RUN INTO.

28. Actor Ken and others: OLINS. Sometimes clued with Lena, no relation.

30. Barry Bonds's alma mater, briefly: ASU. Arizona State University.

33. Fab Four member: STARR. Since we just had this recently, I filled it without hesitation, and it was right...

35. Wax eloquent: ORATE. Latin oratus, pp. of orare "pray, plead, speak before a court or assembly". Maybe I'm imagining a connection to orale, (clued as papal fanon), which is part of the vestments the pope wears during a pontifical mass. Fanon also relates to fane (the VANE answer earlier) as a piece of cloth.

36. As such: PER SE.

39. Gets going: STARTS IN.

40. Batman before George: VAL. Val Kilmer was in between Michael Keaton and George Clooney.

43. Consumes: INGESTS.

46. Treaty subject: TEST BAN.

48. Reliever's spot, for short: PEN. In baseball, a relief pitcher warms up in the bullpen.

50. Hoo-ha: FUSS. Perhaps an alteration of force, or imitative of bubbling or sputtering sounds, or from Dan. fjas "foolery, nonsense." No further comment on slang meanings for Hoo-ha, I wouldn't want to cause a fuss...

52. Ben player on "Bonanza": LORNE. Ben Cartwright was played by Lorne Greene (Lymon Himon Green).

56. Payroll figs.: SSNS. Figures, social security numbers.

60. Rider of Dinny the dinosaur: OOP. Alley Oop, the caveman comic strip. Never mind that dinosaurs and cavemen didn't live at the same time.

61. In days past: AGO.

62. Untrained: RAW. As in a military recruit.

63. Place to serve slop: STY. Old English sti, stig "hall, pen". Is that why they're called "mess" halls?

Answer Grid.

Al

Note from C.C.: Urban Dictionary has approved and published my submission of Dennis' definition of "blitch" (a blend of blog and glitch). Please visit here and thumb up #4. Thanks.