Friday, September 18, 2020, David van Houten

 Title: I AM what I AM 

I begin with wishing all those who will celebrate the Jewish New Year, starting this evening at sundown, Shana Tovah-שנה טובה. I renew my prayer for Abejo for a return to health.

I am neither Popeye nor a sailor man, but I am your guide through this add a bigram at the end of a phrase puzzle. Similar to my last Friday blog, this looks like a Tuesday with some hard clues added into to make it a Friday. The word count, average word length, and newness all bespoke an earlier in the week puzzle. It had charm and some trickiness, so here we go, first recognizing some nice long fill ADMIRALS, TERRIBLE, BASSINETS,  and UNDAMAGED.

Then to the theme:

20A. Nickname for the first Web user?: INTERNET ADAM (12). This a good guess for the first human in cyberspace. 

34A. General Motors toy?: BABY GRAND-AM (11). The piano becomes a toy car long out of production.

41A. Cheese snack for the road?: DRIVERS EDAM (11). My favorite phrase, though I do not believe EDAM is the choice of truck drivers. It is a semi-hard Dutch cheese originating in the town of Edam in the province of North Holland. It is made with part-skim milk.

55A. Hangover ... and a hint to 20-, 34- and 41-Across: MORNING AFTER (12). The last time I saw Jane Fonda in person was at a promotional party for this Movie. Good times.

On to the rest.

Across:

1. Sit tight: BIDE. Your time.

5. Lucy who played Watson on "Elementary": LIU. She was an interesting character; Angeline Jolie's first husband was not.

8. 10-Down instrument: PIPES. 10D. Part-goat god: PAN.

13. Isn't with more people?: AREN'T. Very cute, assuming more people speak English correctly.

15. Miller of "Room Service": ANN.

16. Winner of four FIFA World Cups: ITALY. Who can forget the headbutt by the star from France?

17. French toast part: SANTE. Speaking of France, Health!

18. Baby goat: KID.

19. Arc lamp gas: XENON. A xenon arc lamp is a highly specialized type of gas discharge lamp, an electric light that produces light by passing electricity through ionized xenon gas.

23. California peaks, with "the": SIERRAS. Extending more than 250 miles (400 kilometres) northward from the Mojave Desert to the Cascade Range of northern California and Oregon, the Sierra Nevada varies from about 80 miles wide at Lake Tahoe to about 50 miles wide in the south.

24. Peace, in Russian: MIR. Did you know that 21 September is the International Day of Peace? Here are 35 ways to say PEACE.

25. Pen name: BIC. I like this simple misdirection

28. Family nickname: SIS. I never had one, never will. I do call my Thai s-i-ls Sister.

29. Benjamin Hoff's "The __ of Pooh": TAO. If you like your philosophy taught this WAY.

30. Japanese wrestling: SUMO. Derived from Old Japanese verb 争ふ (sumapu), modern 争う (sumau, “to contend, resist, compete

31. Middle of summer?: EMS.

37. Stylish flap: LAPEL. Flap indeed.

39. Tarzan's Cheeta, for one: APE. Chimpanzees are part of the APE family.

40. Evasive maneuver: DODGE. Or an out of production car.

44. Until now: YET.

45. Vogue rival: ELLE. A magazine for stylish people. 

46. Volume-increasing addition, usually: ESS. Absolutely no idea.

47. Small untruth: FIB. Rhymes with rib.

49. Mall __: RAT. Or the MOVIE. 

50. Japanese yes: HAI. How funny; I did a "say it in many languages" for yes years ago. I bet we can find it now with our enhanced search engine.

51. Pitcher's malady: SORE ARM. Local resident TOMMY JOHN had an arm surgery named after him.

57. "Death of a Salesman" family name: LOMAN. Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy.

60. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO.

61. SoFi Stadium NFLer: LA RAM. Oops, no, not part of the theme.

62. Winner of 15 Grammys (2009-2017): ADELE.

63. Fort Worth sch.: TCU. Texas Christian University.

64. Snail trail: SLIME.

65. Loser to Roosevelt and Truman: DEWEY.  He came close. There are advantages for incumbents. 

66. Remained idle: SAT. This write-up involves much sitting at the computer.

67. Keep: LAST. Comments?

Down:

1. Foundation: BASIS. There are many synonyms for each.

2. Afghan's neighbor: IRANI. More geography.

3. Al __: DENTE. Didn't he blog Thursdays here years ago?

4. Goes into: ENTERS.

5. Land O'__: dairy aisle brand: LAKES. My brand of choice and home of Boomer and C.C.

6. Competitive: IN IT. Still in the mix.

7. Intact: UNDAMAGED.

8. "Cars" maker: PIXAR.

9. Tabloid twosome: ITEM.

11. "Evil Woman" gp.: ELO.

12. Example, for instance: Abbr.: SYN. Very nice misdirection.

14. Adjective for Alexander's day, in a Judith Viorst kids' book: TERRIBLE.  THE BOOK

21. Mars rover org.: NASA. Did any of you watch AWAY with Hilary Swank?

22. Couture giant: DIOR.

25. Mac: BUDDY.

26. It might be spitting: IMAGE. Cute.

27. Dancer companion: COMET. Reindeering on your parade?

29. Varieties: TYPES.

30. __-cone: SNO.

31. Ranking member, as in a village: ELDER.

32. Actress Gibbs of "The Jeffersons": MARLA.

33. In need of mopping up: SPILT.

35. Baby beds: BASSINETS. It has been so long since I had a baby in my home, I had forgotten this word. They were wonderful when you did not want to leave your room to comfort a baby.

36. Military leaders: ADMIRALS.

38. Portentous time: EVE.

42. Bring up: REAR. Raising.

43. In __: confused: A FOG. All too often these days.

48. Come about: BEFALL. I see that as backward.

50. Dear: HONEY. So many sticky appellations.

51. Pig feature: SNOUT. Modern snout?

52. Naturally lit courtyards: ATRIA. Open areas.

53. Paper quantities: REAMS. 500 sheets.

54. Big Apple sports mascot: MR MET. Another appearance of the ball headed one.

55. Tom or bull: MALE. There are also many synonyms here.

56. Ancient Cuzco resident: INCA. Did they eat couscous there? So much HISTORY.

57. Bloke: LAD. Steve, I miss you already, though MalMan and Chairman Moe are doing great work.

58. Wordsworth wrote one to duty: ODE. Would you like some extensive COMMENTARY?

59. Pound sound: MEW. Do they really take cats to the pound?

I still am trying to adjust to the new rules to create a write -up but it is still fun to fight my way through the process. I hope we are still entertaining. Thanks, David. Lemonade out.

Friday, April 3, 2020, David Van Houten

Title: Let's go to the movies.

David is back for his second LAT publication. I blogged his debut in January. This time he adds to a one-word movie title and clues the new phrase with a reference to the movie chosen. A simple and tight theme. Just as with last week's puzzle which TTP blogged, this grid is more similar to an early week effort with no long fill outside the theme. The most striking thing is that the puzzle is just an "M" short of a pangram. So...

20A. Never heard of a 1996 Robin Williams movie?: DON'T KNOW JACK (12). This MOVIE is the first of two Diane Lane movies that David has chosen.

37A. "You grabbed the wrong Stephen King movie"?: THAT'S NOT IT (10). This MOVIE is not for you if you do not like horror.

43A. Essay about a 2015 Christina Applegate movie?: ON VACATION (10). This MOVIE is the second generation of Griswolds travels.

58A. Start a 2001 Keanu Reeves movie?: PLAY HARDBALL.(12). This MOVIE which was an early effort of Michael B. Jordan.

Across:

1. "Get outta here!": SCAT. Various theories of the ETYMOLOGY.

5. Snatch: GRAB. 28A. Have a sudden inspiration?: GASP.

9. Give up: QUIT.

13. Sweater outlet?: PORE. We have a friend who suffers from Hyperhidrosis. A classic use of the homonym misdirection.

14. Concerning kidneys: RENAL.

16. Annapolis sch.: USNA. United States Naval Academy

17. "Roots" author Haley: ALEX.

18. Actress Graff: ILENE. You may know her work but not her NAME. She has been a puzzle regular since 2003.

19. Ain't fixed?: ISN'T. Cute.

23. Wipes away: ERASES. My mind immediately went HERE.

24. Juegos Olímpicos prize: ORO. Spanish for Olympic Games and Gold.

25. Road crew's supply: TAR.

31. Sexually attractive: NUBILE. One of my favorite words when I started chasing women. Definition of nubile. 1: of marriageable condition or age nubile young women. 2: sexually attractive —used of a young woman a nubile starlet.

33. Magical phrase starter: ABRA. Cadabra.

39. The Parthenon, e.g.: RUINS.

41. Cry from a card holder: UNO.

42. Roof worker: TILER.

46. Fallon's predecessor: LENO. Do they really hate Jimmy Fallon?

47. __ symbol: STATUS.

48. Ancient queen, familiarly: CLEOpatra.

50. Immigrant's subj.: ESL. English as a Second Language. I am eternally grateful for this course.

51. Rap name contraction: LIL. 66A. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. 56D. Better, to a rapper: ILLER. Urban dictionary...iller
adj: more ill, better, sweeter, cooler.

53. Like some numerals: ARABIC.

61. Rattle: FAZE.

64. Flower girl, perhaps: NIECE.

65. Paella pot: OLLA.

67. Unsettled states: SNITS.

68. __ fee: USER.

69. Sainted historian: BEDE. An interesting HISTORY.

70. Backbone or spine: GRIT. Or 25D. Words on a spine: TITLE. Definition 2 for "spine": the part of a book's jacket or cover that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outward when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's name.

71. Weight allowance: TARE.

Down:

1. Garden tool: SPADE.

2. Rainbow flag component: COLOR. There are others.

3. Fan belt?: ARENA. Belt indeed.

4. Messages sent from cells: TEXTS.

5. Is amused by: GRINS AT.

6. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELOcates. Not an easy time for these sellers either.

7. From the top: ANEW.

8. Scruggs' strings: BANJO. A musical interlude.

9. Nestlé product suffix: QUIK. Suffix?

10. Initials before a state's name, sometimes: USS. Navy.

11. Imaret, say: INN. Miriam-Webster tells us that this is an inn or hospice in Turkey. I have some friends from Istanbul, but they have not taught me that word.

12. Bit of ink: TAT.

15. Profits (from): LEARNS.

21. Brew holder: KEG. A CSO to my beer brewing and selling family.

22. Matter: COUNT.

26. 1979 sci-fi classic with three sequels and two prequels:  ALIEN.

27. In style again: RETRO.

29. Close: SHUT.

30. Go to pieces: PANIC. My certain reaction if I spent much time with Sigourney Weaver.

32. Bubble, in a way: BOIL. To me-
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.

33. Emanated (from): AROSE.

34. Diamond strategies: BUNTS. No baseball yet.

35. Same-state opponent, often: RIVAL. Auburn/Alabama. Florida/Florida State/Miami.

36. Future doc's subj.: ANATomy.

38. Plane, e.g.: TOOL. Not up in the air, but...

40. Racing craft: SCULL.

44. Chinese and Indians: ASIANS. And so many more.

45. Most closely related: NEAREST.

49. Chicago airport code: ORD. O'Hare originally named Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field opened in 1942. Midway (MDW) opened in 1926.

52. Not true: LYING.

54. Give or take: ABOUT. Circa.

55. Modeling wood: BALSA. This WOOD is a CSO to our Canadian friends.

57. Shannon's county: CLARE. Learn MORE.

58. Townshend of The Who: PETE. More music.

59. Son or daughter, often: HEIR. Rather macabre.

60. When Juliet says, "Go ask his name": ACT I. Our Friday Shakespeare reference.

61. Little lie: FIB. Such an absurd concept.

62. Frequent winner: ACE. This leads us to the end...

63. British jazz element?: ZED. The middle Zs.

There you have it, the first Friday of April and some fun stuff that shouldn't have over-worked your stressed brain. Be careful, be safe. Wash your hands, gargle with warm saltwater. Thank you for being a cyber family I can count upon. Lemonade out.

Friday, January 17, 2020, David Van Houten

Title: A tribute to our own Melissa B. As we hold our noses and hear the sound change.

This is the LAT debut for Mr. Van Houten, who did have a puzzle published in the David Steinberg's Universal crossword October of last year. Here is the LINK to the FIEND write-up. Oddly we have had a spate of "B" puzzles but this one is not intended as a letter substitution but as a sounds-sort of-like puzzle. The rest is not a typical Friday with many 3/4 letter words. and not a great deal of new fill. But it was fun. We do have some longish fill BECAUSE,  LOOSENS,  HEAD COLD,  RAT'S NEST, and TROTTING and some

17A. What dogs do to set a tempo?: BARK TIME (8). I like this visual, with a Boston Terrier leading the band.

24A. Bartender's lager-serving skill?: BUD SLINGING (11). Mudslinging was an old fashioned political strategy.

40A. Convenience for a fish traveling around the city?: BASS TRANSIT PASS (15). Mass transit...

52A. Annoyed answer to "How's your jobless roommate working out?"?: BUMS THE WORD (11). "Mum's the word" means to keep silent or quiet. Mum is a Middle English word meaning 'silent' and may be derived from the mummer who acts without speaking.

And the reveal:

65A. Malady that accounts for four Across puzzle answers: HEAD COLD.

That was the beginning, then came...

Across:

1. "__ Is Betta Than Evvah!": 1976 R&B album: ETTA.

5. "Disgusting!": UGH.

8. "The Real Housewives" series airer: BRAVO. Do you WATCH?

13. Sprat's choice: LEAN. Jack was an early Keto supporter.

14. Slice of pizza?: ZEE. Did you fall for this?

15. Consuming: EATING. True but not my first thought.

19. One making amends: ATONER. Another literally correct fill, but even during Yom Kippur I would not use this word.

20. __ dog: ALPHA. A 2007 movie

21. Uproars: DINS.

23. Miler Sebastian: COE. Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 meters gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. Take that Frank Shorter.

28. "Just __": BECAUSE. Did the quotation marks help you solve?  DO you prefer ELVIS; DIDO; or, JANE's ADDICTION?

32. Creepy glance: LEER.

33. Word said with a sigh: ALAS.

34. School subj.: SCIence.

36. Self-service bar offering: SALAD. That is a cop-out

44. Join: ENTER.

45. Excavation: DIG. My oldest has been on 4 so far, three in Italy and one in Greece.

46. Green subj.: ECOLogy.

47. Barflies: SOTS.

50. Works free: LOOSENS.

56. Beer choice: IPA. India Pale Ale.

57. Prefix with byte: TERA.

58. Name on Re-Nutriv cosmetics: ESTEE. Lauder.

63. Sport played on a variety of surfaces: TENNIS.

68. V-8, for example: ENGINE. Not a canned juice.

69. 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee: ORR.

70. Brest bestie: AMIE. A mixed-language alliteration. Brest is a port city in the Finistère département in Brittany.

71. Mild oaths: DANGS. Perhaps from 1781 (in Sophia Lee's comedy "A Chapter of Accidents," which was acted first in 1780), a minced euphemism for damn.

72. Feed bit: OAT.

73. Coffee __: BEAN.

Down:

1. Italy's Isola d'__: ELBA. On April 11, 1814,  Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.

2. Blue-green shade: TEAL. Teal is a blue-green color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the common teal —which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head.

3. Cover during a delay: TARP. Baseball.

4. Pharaoh's symbol: ANKH.

5. Gun designer __ Gal: UZI. The Israeli machine gun designer.

6. Beloved person: GEM. A stretch, but the perps were fine.

7. Follows: HEEDS.

8. Babies leader?: BEANIE. Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. Notably, the toys are stuffed with plastic pellets rather than conventional soft stuffing, giving Beanie Babies a flexible feel.

9. Total mess: RAT'S NEST. A place of great clutter or disorder. Also, our techies can explain the meaning of this for computer wiring etc.

10. Words on the first of a set, perhaps: A TO-.

11. Leonardo's birthplace: VINCI. That is where the Da Vinci comes from.

12. Situation after a leadoff double: ONE ON. Baseball.

16. One of the Bradys: GREG. Barry William Blekhorn

18. House of Dana fragrance: TABU. It has an interesting history. The first fragrance of the house was Tabu, created by Jean Carles 1932. ... Before creating Tabu, he was instructed to make a fragrance for a whore (‘un parfum de puta’).

22. Down (with): ILL.

25. Old map abbr.: USSR.

26. Octa- plus two: DECA. Silly.

27. Sour __: GRAPES.

28. 1995 Oscar-nominated animatronics film: BABE. I really loved this film. WATCH.

29. Pizazz: ELAN.

30. Credits heading: CAST.

31. Rate: ASSESS.

35. Like Brahms' Symphony No. 2: IN D. Sorry, maybe JzB will explain.

37. Tie (up): LACE. Your shoes, not your significant other.

38. "... __ is given": Isaiah: A SON. We Corner bloggers do not comment on religious issues, but for those who want a different perspective, I will provide this LINK.

39. PC connections: DSLS. Digital Subscriber Lines are a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines.

41. Palomino pace: TROTTING. I like the alliteration.

42. Missile site: SILO.

43. Hunchbacked assistant: IGOR.

48. Dissertations: THESES. It seems fitting next to...

49. Preacher's msg.: SERmon.

51. Binged (on): ODED.

52. Quick meal: BITE.

53. Capsize: UPEND. Tricky.

54. Japanese comics: MANGA. We have seen this often recently. My favorite.

55. Large mackerel: WAHOO. If I were Boomer, I would say it reminds me of WAHOO MCDANIEL but is just a FISH.

59. Union member's nemesis: SCAB. I thought it was an acronym, but it is from Middle English (as a noun): from Old Norse skabb ; related to dialect shab (compare with shabby). The sense ‘contemptible person’ (dating from the late 16th century) was probably influenced by Middle Dutch schabbe ‘slut’.

60. Great work: TOME.

61. Academy award-winning director Kazan: ELIA. An impressive but controversial DIRECTOR.

62. Fall site: EDEN. The fall of man with snakes and not apples.

64. Diarist Anaïs: NIN.

66. History book chapter: ERA.

67. Fine print, say: ART. A little humor to finish the grid.

I hope you had a fine solve and some hope for the future with MLK day Monday. Welcome DVH and be well all. lemonade out/