Saturday, Dec 31st, 2016, Patti Varol & Doug Peterson

Theme: PV & DP

Words: 70 (missing K,Q)

Blocks: 30

Our third installment from this duo to close out 2016, and this time Patti gets 'top billing'.  A smattering of fills on my first pass, a few gaffes, a few WAGs, and I called it done - but no ta-DA~!  So I had to go back and check where I went wrong, though I was fairly certain it was in the spanner at 34a.; turned out I had another mistake at the proper name for 42a.   Oh well.  Finished within my personal allotted time, and now I am freezing as I compose the write-up; see 31a.  One 15-letter spanner, one 15-letter climber, two 12-letter fills, and paired 10s in the down corners;

34. First volume of a Beverly Cleary series : BEEZUS AND RAMONA - I recognized the author's name, but only the "Ramona" part from any titles

8. "You're skating on thin ice" : DON'T EVEN GO THERE - I had "eveR", since I had no idea about the 15-letter spanner crossing here

23. They're hard to put down : PAGE TURNERS - nailed it.  The last Page Turner I read was "The Racketeer" from John Grisham - now I am on to "The Broker".  I was reluctant to read his stuff because I knew the books revolved around lawyers (and frequently jails/prisons, too) the way Crichton's revolves around genetics, Patterson & Kellerman around murder mystery, etc. - but I am glad I started with "The Litigators", which was quite humorous

43. Comedy team staples : STRAIGHT MEN - I have heard this phrase, but couldn't think of an example - and then I read the list here at the Wiki, and I see quite a few I recognize - which includes James May from the British Top Gear series

2O1seveNWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Not much : JUST A TAD

9. "__ Weeks": classic Van Morrison album : ASTRAL

15. Caravaggio masterpiece that pictures Pontius Pilate with Jesus : ECCE HOMO - the painting

16. Raise : PARENT

17. Iconic building with "point" offices : FLATIRON - dah~! Not PENTAGON, tho I realize there would need to be the phrase "with THE" in the clue

18. Market array : BRANDS

19. What stars have : FAME - I tried EGOS

20. Specialty docs : ENTs

22. In order : TIDY

26. Dauntless : STOUT

29. Spray holder : VASE - ah - I forgot that a "spray" is kind of floral arrangement

30. Site of monkey business : ZOO

31. Get a winter coat? : ICE UP - I am afraid my apartment will ICE UP this weekend - we lost the furnace, which includes the hot water, and won't get repaired until Tuesday.  Always on a holiday weekend....

32. Part of an inheritance : GENE - ah, that kind of inheritance

33. River to the Severn : AVON - another good WAG

37. Cornerstone word : ANNO - I figured EST'D was not going to last

38. Hauls : LUGS - I had TOWS to start

39. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe : MAUER - filled via perps

40. Spectrum band : RED

41. 1969-'70 Broadway musical that ends with a fashion show : COCO

42. Brandt of "Breaking Bad" : BETSY - beSsy seemed just as likely - I have not watched a single episode of this show, but I got a Firestick for Christmas from my landlord, so I can watch everything now - but first I am making my way through "Burn Notice"

46. Benjamin portrayer : HAWN - Goldie, as in Private Benjamin; I was thinking BRAD or PITT, for Benjamin Button

47. Cries of surprise : O-HOs - oops, went with A-HAs

48. John follower : ACTS - Bible chapters

52. Fleet destroyed by the Protestant Wind : ARMADA

54. Ovid, for one : EPIC POET

56. More expensive : DEARER - started as DEEPER

57. Bought back : REDEEMED - Blue Öyster Cult song, too

Redeemed

58. Joshua tree habitat : DESERT - as for what got filled in first, I WILL NOT EVEN GO THERE

59. Tests using Snellen charts : EYE EXAMS

I can read line 7

DOWN:

1. Bridges of Los Angeles County : JEFF - once I changed my "building", this actor's name (and not a structure) occurred to me

2. Home of the Herb Alpert Sch. of Music : UCLA - I had the U and A

3. Hustle : SCAM - ah, the noun, not the verb

4. Head of the Sorbonne? : TÊTE - Frawnche

5. Sushi choice : AHI - made my PENTAGON wrong

6. Eagerly unwrapped : TORE AT - Not even a week ago - I got a Millennium Falcon Bluetooth music player

7. In with : AMONG

9. SFPD alert : APB

10. "Nausea" novelist : SARTRE - I recognize the name, but not much else - the Wiki

11. Express, say : TRAIN

12. Orbital maneuver : RENDEZVOUS - learned this word from reading the 'adapted' novel of The Empire Strikes Back - but I was about 9, and read it literally as ren-dez-vows

13. "Years of Minutes" author : ANDY ROONEY - good WAG with the "OO" in place

14. SFPD ranks : LTs

21. Resolute policies : STANDS

23. __ platter : PU PU

24. One working on keys : USER - computer keys

25. Wreck locator : SONAR - shipwrecks

26. When, in Act IV, Juliet drinks the potion : SCENE THREE

27. "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" : TEEN DRAMAS - never watched any of them

28. Taverna liqueur : OUZO

31. Structural pieces : I-BARS

32. Riata twirler : GAUCHO

33. Basic Latin word : AMAT - ah.  I had AMAS

35. Rough going : SLOG - popular Saturday Crossword descriptor

36. "Yes!" : AMEN

41. __ block : CINDER

42. Next to : BESIDE - the blue-eyed girl from some time back sat BESIDE me yesterday - my heart was galloping in my chest....

44. Clued in : AWARE

45. Glum : MOPEY

48. Crown : APEX

49. Food __: after-eating drowsiness : COMA - did not suffer this on either holiday this year

50. Come down hard : TEEM - like rain

51. FDA output : STDs - Tried RDAs first

52. Throw into the mix : ADD

53. "The lie that enables us to realize the truth": Picasso : ART - I think I just read this in a book on novel writing

Cubism, get it~?

55. Volcano center? : CEE - VolCano

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 2nd, 2016, Patti Varol & Doug Peterson

Theme: Two Double Stacks

Words 68 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 27

Phew~!  This one was a toughie, yet upon reviewing it, there really wasn't a lot that couldn't be worked out - but I have to admit to one Google - the crossing of two proper names and some other vagueness in the SW slowed me down tremendously.  Nearly blank on the first passes, but a few educated WAGs at some longer fills gave me some toe-holds, and I was able to hammer out the remainder.  Two double stack spanners, tied to 11-letter fills, and a couple of paired 8's in the Down;

15. Like many a Beverly Hills party-goer :  

FASHIONABLY LATE - I think she's going to be fashionably late

17. Heeds sound advice : LISTENS TO REASON

46. Bird named for its large-scale migrations :  

PASSENGER PIGEON - I was curious, so I looked it up; I did not know they were extinct

49. DVD special feature, perhaps : ALTERNATE ENDING - I wanted alternatIVe, but the double "E" was messing me up; I couldn't see it for a while

~!

ACROSS:

1. Law school accrediting org. : ABA - looking back, this should have been a gimme (American Bar Association)

4. Current information source : TWITTER FEED - I am not on Twitter, nor Facebook - I get my news the old-fashioned way; rumor

18. Former seniors : ALUMS

19. Points for a piano tuner? : TINES - ugh.  The tool, not the person

20. "Murder in the First" airer : TNT

21. Crossword legend Reagle : MERL - should have gotten this on the first pass

22. Primed : READY

23. "Hogan's Heroes" setting, briefly : WWII - the show was before my time; I have been watching some "World War II in color" history on the AHC channel

24. Word with wash or wear : EYE - eyewash, eye wear

25. Zen teaching techniques : KOANS - I WAGed the "K"

26. "Aw, mom!" sound : GROAN

27. Zsa Zsa's older sister : MAGDA

28. "I think you'll like it!" : "TRY ONE~!"

29. Sweat inducer : SCARE

31. Desolate tract : WILDS

32. One good at figures? : SKATER - figure skater; I was on that wavelength

nice figure

33. Sea : BRINY - nope, not OCEAN

35. Mirren of "The Hundred-Foot Journey" : HELEN - this was my only ACROSS fill on the first pass

36. Thugs : GOONS - hockey players, in some instances

37. BART stop : SFO - OK, I took a stab at this one on the first pass, too; San Fransisco Airport on the Bay Area Rapid Transit

40. Hard to grasp : EELY - I went with this, then OILY came to mind

41. Complex : DENSE - I had TENSE; that's 100% 80% correct

42. Dutch word meaning "farmer" : BOER

43. Triple Crown stat : RBI - ooops, I was thinking horse racing, not baseball

44. "Tequila Sunrise" writer/director Robert : TOWNE - no clue, and the "W" was my last fill - but the "ta-DA~!" was there~!

45. Beverly Hills retreat : VILLA

50. Time for fluff pieces : SLOW NEWS DAY - I always find it a little contradictory when the 6 o'clock news spends 22 minutes talking about terrorist attacks, floods, riots, wages going down, taxes and gas prices going up, and then 2 minutes on the cute puppy that chases its own tail....

51. Soapmaker's supply : LYE - OK, I got this one on the first pass, too

DOWN:       

1. Lit : AFLAME

2. Castle wall : BAILEY - So glad I am a huge castle person; I knew this

It's hiding - think courtyard

3. Promise : ASSURE

4. All scores? : TIES

5. Wooed successfully : WON

6. Rather : INSTEAD

7. "Orphan Black" star Maslany : TATIANA - I really wanted to try this show out, but never got a chance to watch

nice figure

8. Govt. obligations : T-BONDS - another good guess

9. __ de los Timbales: Tito Puente's nickname : EL REY - I figured it was "king", but forgot the "El" part

10. Bakery output : RYES

11. Where Hollywood is: Abbr. : FLA - oh, that one - I'm sure a lot of our regulars got it

12. "American Sniper" director : EASTWOOD - I did not remember Clint did this one as well

13. Many British prime ministers : ETONIANS - graduates of Eton school

14. Tooth layer : DENTINE - ENAMEL was too short

16. Web page standard : HTML

22. "I copy" : "ROGER." - we were just talking about "Airplane~!" at the restaurant yesterday

23. Not straight, in a way : WRYLY - like some humor

25. Black on screen : KAREN - Before my time; I would have known Karen ALLEN

"We...are...not...thirsty"

26. They can be silly : GRINS

27. Bristol bro : MATEY - I am reading P.G. Wodehouse, a prolific writer his whole life, with a focus on English life - so this word pops up frequently.  I love his writing.

28. Interlace : TWINE - dah~! Not WEAVE

29. Its first national tournament was held in 1932 in Atlantic City : SKEE-BALL - I did not know this, but I tried "-BALL" at the end, and that helped hugely

30. Nymph who ultimately became the stars of Ursa Major : CALLISTO - I had an A - INSTEAD (6d.) - of O at the end; also a moon of Jupiter

32. Hillary aides : SHERPAS - oh. that Hillary.  The explorer, not the candidate - my housemate is tuned in to CNN 24/7 right now, and it's a bit much

33. Tied hats : BONNETS

34. Snow-White's sister, in Grimm : ROSE RED - found this; Disney making a movie

36. Trifle : GEWGAW - this has appeared in crosswords before, but it was just not coming to me

37. Été blazer : SOLEIL - Le Frawnche sun

38. Grand theft auto, e.g. : FELONY - since it's not capitalized, it's not the video game

39. Santa Ana's county : ORANGE

41. "Holy Sonnets" poet : DONNE - my Google - the Wiki

42. City NNE of San Antone : BIG D - Dallas, TX (colloquial names) Hi there, D-Otto~!

44. Arctic-to-Antarctica migrating bird : TERN - good guess off the "R"

45. Like clematis : VINY - I knew this was going to be something like "VINED"

47. Needle : SEW

48. Gravel designation : PEA - sizing

Splynter

Saturday, January 30, 2016 Doug Peterson & Patti Varol

Theme: None (90° Turn~?)

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 30

Phew~!  I feel I've not been doing so well lately with my regularly scheduled puzzles, and when my first pass through this one remained about as white as the ground around these parts last week, I figured I was in for another orthorunic beating.  Ironically, it was a Frawnche word (and a sports car) in the Down that helped me gain some traction, and despite a grid with one too many (OK, more like 7 too many) proper names*, I was able to wrap it up - alright, so I cheated on ONE....One 15-letter spanner crossing a 15-letter climber, and some brutal 8- and 6- letter corners - but I have to say, some clever non-fun-sponge cluing;

8. Acted insubordinately : TALKED OUT OF TURN - Once I filled the SE corner, I had enough to suss the "-ED OUT OF..." phrase, and guessed that the 'verb' was TALK

37. Mating setting : CHESS TOURNAMENT - and since we had TURN and "TOURN", I imagine it could make for a "theme"

I found some fascinating chess sets when I went looking for this image; I have always wanted to build my own set, and something original - both indoors and OUT.

 ~!

ACROSS:

1. Entry level? : AGE LIMIT - OK, a little 'meh' on the first clue; I was looking for something a little more clever, like "Ground Floor"

9*. "Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges" co-author : SCALIA

15. Big picture : PANORAMA - I finally saw Star Wars VII - in IMAX 3-D, so that was my thought on 'big picture'

16. Fly-fishing gear : WADERS

17. Wet blanket : BUZZKILL

18. Surfaces : ARISES - dah~!  I was trying to think of a synonym for a horizontal plane, but we're talking verb here

19. Purplish fruit : SLOE

20*. Robert Southey, notably : LAKE POET - my one Google; I had LAKE----, and I suppose if I wasn't feeling a personal urge to get this puzzle solved, I could have put some thought in, and maybe even tried a WAG

22. Got comfy : NESTED

24. Outlying areas : 'BURBS - I was thinking "URBS", yet (su)BURBS did not pop into my mind

27. Juanita's pal : AMIGA - ah.  I had a final "O", but then again, I should have seen it was not Juan but his sister....

30. Leg up : EDGE - legs~?  See 43A.

32. Carrying a grudge : SORE

33. Some trainees : CADETS

35. Fodder bit : OAT

36*. "O Were My Love __ Lilac Fair": Burns : YON

41. Lisbon greeting : OLA - good guess on my part

42. Invoice abbr. : AMounT

43. Forward, in Firenze : AVANTI - oops, had a final "E", and this is why;

LevantE pantyhose

44. Dump, perhaps : SELL - the last time "dump" was in the clues, it messed me up

46*. Michelle of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" : YEOH - the "Y" was my last fill

48*. Zollverein Industrial Complex city : ESSEN - Saturday crossword cluing for a common crossword answer - and I should have WAGed it right away

49. Set of closely related notes : TRIAD - very familiar with this "chord" formation; OK, my guitar cronies, get out your axes and tell my what song this intro, predominantly triads, is from

51. Measure of concern for aerobatic pilots : G-FORCE - waiting for the day this is clued as the good guys from the cartoon "Battle of the Planets"

53. Starbucks order : SOY LATTE

55. Beyond gross : RANK

59. __ call : CATTLE

61*. "Respect for Acting" writer : UTA HAGEN - this one I did get with just --HAG--, but then again, the name makes enough crosswords....

63. Bro : PAISAN

64. Empathize with : RELATE TO

65. Get promoted : ASCEND - pondered something like "RISE UP", but the "P" was not user-friendly

66. Tops in malice : NASTIEST

DOWN:

1. BOLO equivalents : APBs - Be On the Look Out, All-Points Bulletin

2. Caesarean section? : GAUL - har-har

3*. Footwear designer Angiolini : ENZO

4. Pharmacy buys : LOZENGES

5. Exasperate : IRK

6. Submits : MAILS - and a clecho; 26D. Submitted : SENT IN

7. "Gotta run!" : "I'M LATE~!"

9. __ meet : SWAP

10. Evergreen with edible pods : CAROB - ah, similar to cocoa - did not know they were 'evergreens'; I was thinking "what can you eat on a pine, spruce, cedar or yew~?"

11. Parting words : ADIEUs - more Frawnche; see 39D.

12*. Berlioz opera based on the "Aeneid" : LES TROYENS - more more Frawnche; "The Trojans"

13. Land where hurling reportedly originated: Abbr. : IREland - oh, uh, this kind of hurling.  I'm more familiar with the drunken stupor kind....

14. Beast in some fables : ASS

21*. Catherine's husband in "Wuthering Heights" : EDGAR - I know this Edgar

23. "Good __": Alton Brown show : EATS

25*. "Wuthering Heights" author : BRONTË - oops, went with ALCOTT

27. Buttonhole : ACCOST

28*. Composer of an incomplete Tenth Symphony : MAHLER

29. Romantic : IDEALISTIC - ah, not the "intimate" kind of romantic; I was trying to find a link to associate the two clue terms, but it was a little more convoluted than I expected

31. Site of Vulcan's workshop : ETNA - makes sense, but I went looking for a specific reference - found one here

34. Order in the court : STAY

38. 007's watch since 1995 : OMEGA - I'm annoyed that I missed "Spectre" in theatres; gratuitous image for C.C.

39. With, on le menu : AVEC

40. Car with a trident emblem : MASERATI

45*. "Tao Te Ching" sage : LAO TSE

47. Spot in the afternoon : HOT TEA - I got the TEA part; the HOT part was not obvious

50*. Subject of the Robert Shelton biography "No Direction Home" : DYLAN

52. Rational and irrational numbers : REALS

54. Generate interest, in a way : LEND

56*. Miracle Mets star : AGEE - a good WAG

57. Has to spend : NETS - tough to grasp the clue's concept at first, but the answer ties it all in

58. Stomach trouble : KNOT - not ACHE - 100% 100% wrong

59. Pro with schedules : CPA

60. Wireless keyboard inserts : AAs

62. Outline in the Arby's logo : HAT

Splynter

Saturday, Mar 28th, 2015, Kevin Christian and Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing V, X, Z)

Blocks: 33

  Man, I thought this one was going to crush me.  In the end, I had to cheat - two items, but it was worth it.  The SE corner had some genuine screw-ups on my part, which slowed me down something fierce.  Lots of white-wash in the top half as well, which left me discouraged - but then, a glimmer of hope~!  Triple 9-letter corners made up the longest answers; 

15a. Spider producer : ALFA ROMEO - lots of car manufacturers make a "spider", but this company seems to be most closely associated with the style.  Did you hear about the UK Top Gear presenter getting fired~?  I'm not sure I'm watching next year....

17. 54-Down cause, in modern jargon : FAT FINGER - Funny.  This should have clued me in that my 54d. "MEMO" was wrong

 58a. Little League game ender, perhaps : MERCY RULE - Some "baseball" for C.C.; I had "--- BUNT", and that wasn't making any sense - the Wiki

32d. Where billabongs flow : AUSTRALIA - not the clothing line - a new word for me; the Wiki

oh, and -

44a. What some authority figures wear? : THE PANTS - "Let me tell you, I'm the one who wears the pants around here~!

Game - ON -ward~!

ACROSS:

1. Discouraged : SCARED OFF

10. Father of Reuben, in Genesis : JACOB - OK, I cheated.  I had to look this one up.

16. __ Bowl: Boston College won the last one in 2000 : ALOHA

18. Samurai without a master : RONIN - I recalled this from an "X-Files" episode

19. Sell the scene : EMOTE

20. __ Air : BEL

22. Have more than enough : O.D.  ON

23. Mtge. application datum : SSN

24. Hayek of "Frida" : SALMA

26. Meld : FUSE

27. Shafts, so to speak : RAW DEALS - as in "they gave me the shaft"

30. Court pos. : CTR - meh.

31. Hillshire Brands predecessor : SARA LEE

34. "Bad idea" : "NAH"

35. Skosh : TAD

36. High-protein grain : QUINOA - OK.  I cheated here, too - I was pretty sure "QUINCE" was wrong, but the "OA" was not coming to me

37. Great Plains tribe : LAKOTA - oops, not Dakota

39. Sch. whose marching band played on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" : USC

40. Spray-making co. : FTD - ah.  I did not know these arrangements were called "sprays"

42. Golden Globe nominee for "Tommy" : DALTREY - Roger, from The Who

43. Second-most populous Afr. country : ETHiopia

46. God in 56-Across : ARES

48. Past : OF OLD

49. K.C. setting : CST - OK, I thought Kansas City was in MDT; sorry, my mid-west friends, I thought you were further west....

52. Item on a carhop's tray : MALT

53. Fox's leg? : GAM - my kind of clue~!

54. Reno-__ Intl. Airport : TAHOE

56. It concludes with Hector's funeral : ILIAD

61. __ mentality : SIEGE - I am familiar with "herd" mentality, but I have not "heard" this phrase

62. Yosemite attraction : EL CAPITAN - Old Faithful did not fit; besides, it's in Yellowstone....

63. "Blade Runner" actor Rutger __ : HAUER

64. "Days," for one : SOAP OPERA - my mom calls her favorite daytime drama "Days", in reference to "Days of Our Lives"

DOWN:       

1. Gun holders : SAFES - ugh, took W-A-A-A-Y too long to figure out the "F"

2. Bucks : CLAMS - money slang

3. River in a Burns poem : AFTON - mostly perps

4. Great quantity : RAFT - r-aft and aft-on

5. City with a Penn State campus : ERIE - educated WAG

6. Get into : DON - Pondered "DIG" here, but we're talking clothes, not 'style'

7. Surprise letters : OMG - Text-speak for "Oh My God~!"

8. Ineffective : FEEBLE

9. Court leader : FOREMAN

10. Shake up : JAR - I got jarred in my hockey game this past Wednesday; I made the save on the guy who crashed the net, but I still have the headache

11. Hard to reach : ALOOF

12. Copper, notably : CONDUCTOR - the "T" from TAD led me to try "---- METAL" - bzzzt~!

13. Jack Nicklaus Museum campus : OHIO STATE - I WAGed "STATE" from TAD as well, and this worked

14. Time to celebrate : BANNER DAY - WAGed "DAY" from TAD, too~!

21. Dream state? : LA-LA LAND - shout-out, Linda~!

24. Misfit '70s sitcom character : SWEATHOG - Mista Kotter~!

25. Power chaser? : ADE - Powerade, the sports drink

27. Bolted : RAN

28. Up : ALOFT - ugh.  RISEN~? AWAKE~? ALIVE~? Nope.

29. Old will? : SHALT - Thou will not covet...

31. Easily appalled : SQUEAMISH - BANG~! Got it with just "---M--H"

33. "The Three Musketeers" antagonist : RICHELIEU - mostly perps

38. Ring concerns: Abbr. : KTS - dah~!  I had KOs, the boxing kind of ring, not the engagement type

41. Vilifies : DEFAMES - ooops, not ASHames

42. Indian lentil dish : DAL - all perps; last week, we had VORTEX cross with TEX; this week, it's DAL and DALtrey

45. Asian citrus fruit : POMELO

47. Part of a process : STAGE

49. Drag racing safety feature : CHUTE

50. __ system : SOLAR - DAH~!! Put in HONOR, and that blew up the whole corner; I was 40% correct

51. "Lovergirl" vocalist __ Marie : TEENA - WAG & perps

54. Paper slip : TYPO - Dah-dah-dah~!  Not MEMO; should have known it was wrong with the cross-referenced 17a.

55. "What __!": "I've been swindled!" : "A RIP~!"

57. Aachen article : DER

59. Onetime Hertz owner : RCA

60. Tube top : CAP - ah, not the clothing

Splynter

Friday, October 31, 2014, Doug Peterson

Theme: A, that's a wrap.

One word of a common phrase is wrapped in As, with an A inserted at the beginning of the word, and an A inserted at the end of the word. Doug has been a prolific and skilled constructor for the past 12 years, and was among the early INTERVIEWS C.C. did after the change to LAT puzzles. He was very forthcoming and helpful. Doug also edits and collaborates with others. Doug does many themeless puzzles, but this version of add a letter was fun with the added layer of complexity adding both beginning and end. Not a crusher Friday, and some nice long non-theme answers like I’LL PASS, BAD PATCH, GOTTA RUN, MEAL TIME, RAIN DROP, all of which are compound fill. Multi word fill seems to be the focus here, but most were not obscure. Well I see the bat-signal so it is time to save Gotham and solve the puzzle.

17A. *Media member with a curly tail? : PRESS AKITA, (10). Press kit + AA=

25A. *With 50-Across, travel guide that touts Oranjestad's worst hotels and restaurants? : ARUBA THE. (8) 50A. See 25-Across : WRONG WAY (8). Rub the Wrong Way becomes a travel guide from hell.

38A. *"Whatever you say, wise goddess!"? : ALL RIGHTY ATHENA. (15). All right then, let's read about this GG. LINK.

 61A. *Refrigerator on the front lines? : AMANA OF WAR. (10). I like this one best
And the reveal.

64D. Smallish batteries, and a hint to how the answers to starred clues are formed : AAS.(3).

Across:

1. Common telenovela theme : AMOR. Spanish soap operas are all about LOVE.

5. Travel needs for many : VISAS. Another area I know very little about.

10. Lose, in a Vegas game : BUST. Isn't it odd how this repeat fill can be both so sad and so nice?

14. Amplify, in a way : MIKE. I have heard the phrase 'mike-up' so I guess this makes sense, but it took a while.

15. Not available : IN USE. Also known as Occupied, Occupado.

16. Fit : ABLE.

19. Word with barn or storm : DOOR. I think we have a puzzle where DOOR was the hidden end to the theme answers.

20. Sorceress jilted by Jason : MEDEA. Well, thanks for the CSO, but she was not a nice WOMAN . With the mini-theme: 67A. Legendary galley : ARGO. Galley is a type of ship (I linked recently that discussion) and this was Jason's.

21. "Not interested" : I'LL PASS.

23. Seahawks' org. : NFC. National Football Conference. Interesting, especially as they began in the AFC.

26. "Time to split!" : GOTTA RUN. Modern shortspeak spelling.

30. Ore. setting : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

31. José __: frozen Mexican food brand : OLE.

32. Sitar selections : RAGAS. Read all about IT. Raga to Ragga to Reggae?

34. Santa __ Mountains: coastal California range : CRUZ. West Coast Warriors, you want to expand?

42. In-land link? : LA LA. This may have begun with bedtime music but as a phrase is attributed to Los Angeles and the attitudes there.

43. Henie on the ice : SONJA. Back again so soon? Never forget Carol.

44. Grammy-winning "We Are Young" band : FUN.

45. Cybernotes : IMS. Instant Messages.

48. Six, for many : MEAL TIME. Sadly here in So.Fla, this is when the second shift eat dinner.

54. "King Kong" studio : RKO. Radio-Keith-Orpheum.  HISTORY.

55. Franklin's note : HUNDRED. It is all about the Benjamins.

56. "Cheers," e.g. : TOAST.

60. Qatari potentate : EMIR.

65. In __ parentis : LOCO. A hark back to last week's Latin exercise, "in the place of parents."

66. What a shin guard protects : TIBIA.

68. __ school : PREParatory. Been there.

69. How-to units : STEPS.

70. Actor Gosling : RYAN. We end this part with this face: His eyes do not match, but don't tell Eva.

Down:

1. Digital clock toggle : AM/PM.

2. Squishy area : MIRE. I enjoy the Ocean Spray commercials in the bog in Maine.

3. Didn't deny : OKED. Tricky, as I was thinking verbal assent.

4. Feel offended by : RESENT. Context, as it looks just like RESENT.

5. Itinerary word : VIA. More Latin.

6. India __ : INK.

7. Fashion designer Anna : SUI. For me a mostly unknown DESIGNER who reminds me of C.C. Only because of Target have I heard her name.

8. Buzzing with activity : ASTIR. A word!

9. Close securely : SEAL UP.

10. Run of lousy luck : BAD PATCH. I guess if you fix your clothes and do a bad job might be where this phrase meaning a run of bad luck comes from?

11. Threat to a WWII destroyer : U-BOAT. A German submarine.

12. Splash clumsily : SLOSH. People who are sloshed often splash clumsily.

13. Clipped : TERSE. All perps, but reasonable in retrospect.

18. Trip to see the big game? : SAFARI. Really nice mis-direction, no Super Bowl here.

22. Birth announcement abbr. : LBS. Lesbian Baby Sister? Oh, pounds.

24. Climbing challenge : CRAG.

25. Subject for da Vinci : ANATOMY.

26. One may go into an empty net : GOAL. Very common in Hockey where teams pull the goalie in the last minute when down.

27. Earthenware pot : OLLA.

28. Bluff betrayer : TELL. The TV popularity of poker seems to be waning, though I think everyone learned about 'tells' from watching the World Series of Poker, Rounders etc.

29. Words of disgust : UGHS.

33. Holiday song closer : SYNE. Scottish for 'since.'

35. S&L offering for homeowners : REFInance.

36. Word on the Great Seal of the United States : UNUM. And still more Latin, E Pluribus.

37. Novelist Grey : ZANE. Great writer of westerns.

39. Shower harbinger : RAIN DROP.

40. Cracked open : AJAR. When is an A word not an A word.

41. Have words with : TALK TO.

46. Dept. head : MGR. Manager.

47. Workout garb : SWEATS.

49. Beyond reasonable limits : TOO FAR. All right this time you went too far!

50. Young wolf : WHELP. I used to love reading Jack London's books.

51. One may be going around : RUMOR. better than the flu.

52. Ready if required : ON ICE.

53. Not turn away : ADMIT. Not turn away, oh as in they had to turn away thousands who went to see Taylor Swift at Times Square.

57. Not right : AWRY. And then everything went awry.

58. Multigenerational tale : SAGA. Not related to RAGA.

59. Suffix with Jumbo : TRON. A shout out to the scrappy KC Royals.

62. Mount Rushmore figure, familiarly : ABE.

63. Tang : NIP. Nope, no idea.

Well this is the last day of this month; remember to turn your clocks back on Sunday, and enjoy the extra sleep. Thanks Doug P. always good to see your work; also thanks for an amazing performance by Madison Bumgarner. Lemonade out.

Sunday March 9, 2014 Doug Peterson

Theme:"Incidental Music" - Musical notes are orderly added to the start of each theme answer.

23A. Donut lover's discipline? : DOZEN MEDITATION. Zen meditation. My landlord (a Buddhist) in Shanghai chanted in front of burning incense every day. His meditation.

32A. Kicking back with the drones? : RESTING LIKE A BEE. Sting like a bee.

41A. Japanese soup, apparently? : MISO, IT SEEMS? So it seems. I love the simple  Wakame & Tofu miso.

67A. So-so joe? : FAIRISH COFFEE. Irish coffee. Ha ha, Avg Joe!

 

74A. Bangle, often? : SOLID BRACELET. ID bracelet.

99A. Snorkeling area patrol unit? : LAGOON SQUAD. Goon squad.

106A. Broadcaster who goes on and on and on? : TIRING ANNOUNCER. Ring announcer. I met Gophers' announcer Dick Jonckowski at Twin Cities Sports Collectors' Club banquet 2 weeks ago. He was an AWA Wrestling ring announcer sometime ago.  Look at his bobblehead collection.

122A. "Water that poor plant before all the leaves dry up!"? : DOUSE IT OR LOSE IT. Use it or lose it.

What a delightful theme from Doug Peterson! Nothing heavy metal related. Doug loves heavy metal noise :-)

Doug Peterson

The fill is incredibly clean, Doug's hallmark. He's one of the very limited few constructors who can make Monday/Tuesday puzzles, themeless puzzles & Sunday grids. Rich Norris, Patrick Berry, Jeff Chen & Liz Gorski are the other few that come to mind. Who else?

Doug is also a fast solver. Look at here. He's currently 14th. See Rich Norris & Patti Varol? LAT rocks!

Across:

 

1. Campfire residue : ASH

4. Volkswagen sedan : PASSAT. And 21. Four-ring-logo company : AUDI. Owned by

Volkswagen.

10. Speak for yourself? : BRAG. Got me!

14. Office __: Staples rival : DEPOT

19. Suffix with señor : ITA. Senorita. Like our -ette, feminizing.

20. Outfielder who had a single-season record 262 hits in 2004 : ICHIRO. With the Mariners then. Love this Ichiro stretching picture.

22. Hidden repository : CACHE

26. C.S. Lewis lion : ASLAN

27. Symbol of steadiness : EVEN KEEL

28. School-wk. start : MON. And 72. Honoree on the third 28-Across in Jan. : MLK

29. Shell lobbers : MORTARS

31. Copy editor's mark : DELE

36. Emulate Eminem : RAP

39. "CSI" actor George : EADS. I can never remember his name. Quite handsome.

40. Literature Nobelist Canetti : ELIAS

46. Gander, e.g. : MALE. Trick clue.

47. Player with earbuds : IPOD. So what's your favorite podcast? Mine is  Fresh Air.

51. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA

52. Dustin's "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO

53. One of a hotel room pair : TWIN

55. Medina native : SAUDI

56. Feeling sluggish : LOGY. I think I learned this word from another Doug P puzzle.

58. Defunct '80s gridiron gp. : USFL (United States Football League)

60. Recipe quantity : ONE CUP

63. Missile stabilizer : FIN. Learning moment to me.

64. Shinbone neighbor : KNEECAP

70. Forbidden : TABOO

73. Squiggly diacritic : TILDE. The stuff in Jalapeño.

79. Julius and Augustus, e.g. : CAESARs

83. Blubber : CRY

84. Haile Selassie followers : RASTAs

85. De Matteo of "The Sopranos" : DREA

87. Many a Royal Troon golfer : SCOT. Held a few British Opens. JD visited St Andrews last year.

88. Be on the same page : AGREE

90. State secrets? : BLAB. Nice clue. Verb "State".

92. Longhorn rival : AGGIE

95. Baton Rouge sch. : LSU

96. Romney's 2012 running mate : RYAN (Paul)

97. 1/640 of a square mile : ACRE

102. __ cotta : TERRA. Some of you saw these terra-cotta warriors in person. The biggest tourist draw in Xi'An.

104. Singer Tennille : TONI

105. The "t" in Crete? : TAU. Just their T.

112. Farm Belt state : IOWA

116. Swallowed one's pride : ATE CROW

117. MD workplaces : ORs

118. Item kept near brushes : PAINT CAN. Poor Marti must be tired to see those cans.

121. Name on many video games : MARIO

126. Fallback option : PLAN B

127. "And don't forget ..." : ALSO

128. Break : RECESS

129. "__ Maria" : AVE

130. "The Playboy of the Western World" dramatist : SYNGE (John). Not familiar with the play or the author.

131. Scrabble two-pointers : DEES

132. Enthusiastic : RAH-RAH

133. Folk hero Kelly : NED

Down:

1. Gave a ride, say : AIDED

2. Log cabin warmer : STOVE

3. Eye color : HAZEL

4. Best of health, figuratively : PINK.  Also Victoria Secret's lingerie line.

5. Climber's goal : ACME

6. Hosiery variety : SHEER

7. Move furtively : SIDLE

8. D-backs, on a sports ticker : ARI

9. Typical "Yo Gabba Gabba!" viewer : TOT

10. Relay sticks : BATONS

11. Feeling sorry about : RUING

12. Stir : ADO

13. Cheap saloon : GIN MILL

14. Beltway region, briefly : DC AREA

15. Taiwan's locale : EAST ASIA. This missing Malaysian Airlines is so mysterious. Could it be hijacked somewhere?

16. Programming class setting : PC LAB

17. Orchard Field, today : O'HARE

18. Keyed up : TENSE

24. Año opener : ENERO

25. In the thick of : AMIDST

30. Great Depression migrant : OKIE

33. Take to the airport, say : SEE OFF

34. Floppy topper : TAM

35. Most pleasing to Jack Sprat : LEANEST

37. Bubble filler : AIR

38. Sch. meeting group : PTA

41. Cereal go-with : MILK

42. Weights, when pumped : IRON

43. Judicious : SAGE

44. Zombielike states : STUPORS

45. Suffix with lion : ESS

46. Skimpy skirt : MINI. And 91. Skirt companion : BLOUSE. Try it, it's not easy to find a pretty Blouse & Mini picture, Dave!

48. Powder __ : PUFF

49. Patient of Dr. Liz : ODIE. I drew a blank of Dr. Liz.

50. Enjoy a meal : DINE

54. Got the job done : WORKED

55. Fine china name : SPODE. LENOX also has 5 letters.

57. High-elevation enigma : YETI

59. San Diego suburb whose name means "the table" : LA MESA. Very helpful clue.

61. Loop site : CHICAGO

62. Pac-12 school : UCLA

65. Core group : CADRE

66. "Take a Chance on Me" quartet : ABBA

68. Down with something : ILL

69. Come clean, with "up" : FESS

71. Muffin stuff : OAT BRAN. I don't eat any bran stuff. Or brown rice.

74. Dueling memento : SCAR

75. Unrestrained party : ORGY

76. Constellation named for an instrument : LYRA

77. NASCAR Hall of Famer Yarborough : CALE

78. Like some flaws : TRAGIC

80. Scopes Trial gp. : ACLU

81. Historic Parks : ROSA. Noticed P is capitalized.

82. Simple earring : STUD

86. Psych 101 topic : EGO

89. Hard to resist : ENTICING

93. Mtge. feature : INT

94. Panamanian pronoun : ESA

97. 2012 Best Picture : ARGO

98. Crustacean used in Cajun cuisine : CRAWDAD. I don't think I've had any authentic Cajun food.  (From Marti: I chuckled when I saw CRAWDAD in the grid today. Here is a picture of a Crawfish Boil we had down in Florida with friends from New Orleans.  It was the gen-u-ine thing!)

100. "Barbara __": 1960s hit : ANN

101. Bails : QUITS

103. Dress like a justice : ENROBE

104. Statue subjects : TORSOS

106. Packs down : TAMPS

107. Land of the Apennines : ITALY

108. Showed again : RE-RAN

109. Futile : NO USE

110. Period in history : EPOCH

111. More valuable, possibly : RARER. Like the Mickey Mantle rookie card.

113. Giant squid's home : OCEAN

 114. Give up : WAIVE

115. Paid to play : ANTED

119. Rick's flame : ILSA. "Casablanca".

120. Light bite : NOSH

123. Ringside cheer : OLE

124. Clearance rack abbr. : IRR

125. Genteel gathering : TEA

C.C.

Saturday, February 1st, 2014, Doug Peterson

Theme: DP

Words: 72 (missing F,J,Q)

Blocks: 30

  Mr. Peterson is flying solo this Saturday, and while this was a challenging and solvable puzzle, there were too many proper nouns crossing people and places, which takes the enjoyment out of it, at least for me.  Heavy corners today with triple 7's, and triple 6's on the walls.  In the middle we have two 12-letter and 2 9-letter spanners;

19A. Sub : HERO SANDWICH - slightly redundant in my neck of the woods; if I said I was "going for a hero sandwich", my friend's would ask me if I was OK. 

34A. "Arrow-maker's daughter" in a Longfellow poem : MINNEHAHA - I had no clue, but once I had MINNE----, I recalled hearing this name somewhere.  According to Wiki, she's 'another' popular individual in MN

44A. Subject of weekly ratings : TV PROGRAM

55A. Where Superman made his debut : ACTION COMICS - well, I started with MARVEL COMICS, and I am sure aficionados would cringe at the thought - Action was originally published under Detective Comics; it's how we come to have DC Comics today

onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Sign with a sting? : SCORPIO - I gave this one a moment, considered "road" signs, then decided to move on - and just as I clicked to the next clue, the astrology meaning popped into my head, and the V-8 can flew

8. Anatomical blade : SCAPULA - I gave no moment to this one - had to wait on perps; oddly, there were quite a few answers that eluded me this week, and looking back, I am ashamed to admit it. 

15. Key keys for many secretaries : HOME ROW - A,S,D,F <-> J,K,L,; - my typing skills have come from AutoCAD, and keeping a daily journal on the computer for the last 9 years; on my laptop, there's literally an indent on the left end of my space bar, the "A" has worn off its key, and I still have trouble hitting comma, period, colons and quotes

16. "Guess again!" : NO SIREE~! - well then, I'll choose HOSIERY~!

17. Stacked : IN A PILE

18. Free-spirited locale? : OPEN BAR - free = open, spirits = alcohol; the local locale of the blog is Villa Incognito

21. Yahoo! rival : MSN - Microsoft Network - Internet and Email providers; yep, I went with AOL to start.

22. Bar order : RYE - Dah~! Went with ALE first

23. Certain tributes : ODES

27. Fitness brand : AVIA - my first instinct was this fill, but I had AOL in already; this meant "AA" for 4d., and that looked wrong

30. Big name in Tinseltown tittle-tattle : TMZ - Again, this was my first fill instinct; I call it  'hype' news; I can't stand the commercials, never mind the show.  Learning moment; TMZ stands for Thirty-Mile Zone, the 'studio zone' of Hollywood. 

32. Soften : RELENT - neatly followed by:

37. Score directive : LENTO - If the next word was ENTOMB, that'd be really cool.  Well....

38. __ Arizona : USS - I stared at this way too long; it took the middle "S" before the "Duh" hit me

39. Three-time McDonald's LPGA Championship winner : SE-RI PAK - Crossing Iolanthe, Dr. Zhivago and Elko is just brutal, period. 

41. Like the vb. "have" : IRRegular - that's strange; I use the word "have" pretty regularly (From C.C.: Irregular conjugation here.)

42. Loser's metaphor : SHIRT - "lost my shirt when the market crashed"

46. Make lovable : ENDEAR

48. Bolted down : ATE

49. Well-sinewed : ROPY - I went with WIRY to start

50. Face-to-face contest : DUEL - meh, not really - they're about 20 paces apart, at least using pistols.  I can see getting in close using swords, but my mind was stuck on boxing, and even chess

51. Cousin of com : ORG - DAH~!  I put in EDU, since NET wasn't going to work, nor BIZ, but for some reason, ORG completely eluded me. When I first read the clue, I thought it said c o r n , not com

53. Bud abroad : AMI - Frawnch

61. Red wood, perhaps : HOT COAL - I can walk on hot coals - of course, my shoes are ON

64. Asana accessory : YOGA MAT - I had --AT at the end, was thinking "asada", or grilled "meat", so this one took a while to appear

65. Martha's Vineyard paper since 1846 : GAZETTE

66. Train : EDUCATE

67. Like some Thanksgiving turkeys : TRUSSED - ah, not STUFFED

68. Old-fashioned messages : TELEXES

DOWN:

1. With 63-Down, toy from Tibet : SHIH ; 63. See 1-Down : TZU - First and last; paired clues for bookends

2. Froyo holder : CONE - we have a Frozen Yogurt place in town, but in my head, I see it as "Fro-Yo" ; froyo looks like the Spanish word for a kitchen accessory

3. Old Persian poet : OMAR

4. Pro with a tow truck : REPO MAN

5. Uptight type : PRISS - D'oh, I went with PRUDE, slowed me down

6. Gilbert and Sullivan operetta that satirizes Parliament : IOLANTHE - Never heard of this, so after I filled it in using perps, I went to Wiki

7. "Children of Men" star Clive : OWEN

8. White : SNOWY - This was just a downright awesome one-word Saturday clue/answer

9. Staples staple : COPIER - TONER, PAPER, PENCILS didn't fit, and I was AT Staples today - again, the obvious did not occur to me

10. "Hold on __!" : A SEC

11. Source of a slow leak, perhaps : PINHOLE

12. Sub finisher? : URB - SubURB - I went with ARU first -  SubARU

13. Bucolic spot : LEA

14. __ Arann: Irish carrier : AER - Again, seems obvious now that I am done

20. Physician married to Tonya Gromeko : DR. ZHIVAGO

24. "A Bronx Tale" director : DE NIRO

25. Lead on : ENTRAP

26. Dark 'n' __ (rum and ginger beer cocktail) : STORMY

27. Kept occupied : AMUSED

28. Four-armed deity : VISHNU

29. Favorable track position : INSIDE - I'm on the inside track to being recalled to drive for UPS; I've been back on the pre-load side since Jan 10th.

31. Outlet : MART

33. Nevada city : ELKO

35. Verb in first-year Spanish : ESTA

36. Patient request: Abbr. : APPT

40. Trio preceding an exchange : AREA CODE

43. Tightens, as a corset : RELACES

45. Sign of displeasure : GRIMACE - I put GRUMBLE in first; 57% correct

47. Take a turn : ROTATE

52. Beside oneself : RILED

54. Heavy hitter : MOGUL

56. Storable sacks : COTS - ah, that kind of sack

57. It may be heard in Orel arguments : NYET - Russia, that is; I was stuck on the OrAl we had Wednesday, and thought it was a biblical reference

58. Theater giant? : IMAX

59. " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" co-star Blanchett : CATE

60. Some Fr. martyrs : STEs

61. Lic. number : HGT - I started with D.O.B., which didn't help. The abbr in the clue told me it couldn't be AGE, then a-ha~! either WGT or HGT

62. Shell mover : OAR - dah~! that kind of shell

Splynter(ed), from Wednesday's 11d.