Thursday, January 31st 2019 Ed Sessa

Theme: Snow Day - the theme comes from the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening":

19A. With 63-Across, ending lines of a poem by 72-Across: AND MILES TO GO

63A. See 19-Across: BEFORE I SLEEP

and the unifier:

72A. Poet who used the starts of 24-, 41- and 55-Across to describe the woods: FROST. Robert Frost, of course. The anniversary of his death was on Tuesday, I wonder if that had anything to do with the puzzle appearing this week?

This then kicks off a new set of theme answers:

24A. Alice Sebold novel, with "The": LOVELY BONES

41A. Harmful spells, in the Potterverse: DARK ARTS

55A. Really cool place?: DEEP FREEZER

Slick puzzle from Mr. Sessa. I was impressed with how the reveal of the author's name sent you back to look at the three seemingly-unrelated entries.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

You might also have noticed that the grid is stretched to 16x15 to accommodate the 12-letter theme entries at 19A & 63A.

There's a couple of nice long downs to tie this all together. I enjoyed the solve today; I couldn't recall the final lines of the poem and so had to unpick those entries letter-by-letter. Let's see what else we can find:

Across:

1. Word that appears four times in a 1963 film title: MAD. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. If I listed the stars credited, I'd be here until Christmas. There's a lot.

4. Roof tiles: SLATES

10. Deadens, as a piano string: DAMPS

15. Media agcy.: U.P.I. United Press International, UNIPRESS in the days of reporting news via telegram.

16. Roadster in the Henry Ford Museum: MODEL A. The museum is wonderful, I had the opportunity to visit a few years ago when I was doing some business with Ford in Dearborn. My rental car on that trip was a fire-engine red VW Jetta. I was actually embarrassed when I drove onto the parking lot - my highly-visible car was the only non-Ford or Lincoln to be seen for miles.

17. How sardines are packed: IN OIL I prefer them packed in brine, the fish is oily enough already.

18. Mythical bird: ROC

21. Hydrocarbon group: ALKYL. The "Y" almost had me stumped, I could not for the life of me remember the crossing "YEGG". I stared it down in the end with an alphabet run.

23. 1995-2006 New York governor George: PATAKI

27. The W in kWh: WATT. Kilowatt Hours.

31. Athlete's peak performance: A GAME

32. Wines and dines: REGALES. I didn't associate this at all. I'd use "regale" to describe telling an entertaining story. I didn't know the alternative definition.

34. Thrill: BANG

36. Credits list: CAST

39. Place for spectacles: ARENA

40. __ Navy: discount retailer: OLD

44. Gen-__: X'ER. Roughly speaking, born from the mid-60's thru the 70's between the boomers and the millennials.

45. Like universal blood donors: O TYPE. Shouldn't it be TYPE O? You don't have an "A Model" Ford or a "Type E" Jaguar. Just sayin'

47. Nantes notion: IDÉE. French.

48. Drill parts: BITS

49. Symbolized: TOKENED. This is my clunker of the day.

52. Roof features: EAVES

54. WWI battle river: YSER

60. "Indubitably!": IT IS SO!

62. Hot pot spot: STOVE

68. __ Van Winkle: RIP

69. Tolkien ringbearer: FRODO. All Sam Gamgee seemed to say in the movies was "Mr. Frodo! Mr. Frodo!" It got a little wearisome.

70. Tell: RELATE

71. Sheep's call: BAA

73. Old-Timers' Day VIP: EX STAR. Hmmm. Not convinced by this one either.

74. Unspecified amount: ANY

Down:

1. Diego Rivera creation: MURAL. According to Wikipedia, his full name is Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez. Not sure quite how accurate that is, but I'm repeating what I read. Amazing artist.

2. Speed skater Ohno: APOLO

3. "Mary Poppins" and "Mary Poppins Returns" actor: DICK VAN DYKE. I wonder if his cockney accent has improved in the new movie? It was pretty shocking in the original.

4. Component of the "at" sign: SMALL "A"

5. Chaney of horror: LON

6. Toss in: ADD

7. Beat: TEMPO

8. Cuban boy in 2000 headlines: ELIAN

9. One curing meat: SALTER. When I've got my salting boots on, I use Prague Powder #1, aka "pink salt". Pastrami and Irish bacon. Yum!

10. Saucer, e.g.: DISK. I went for DISH at first, which made a very odd-looking NYC mayor at 23-across.

11. Like many '60s-'70s protests: ANTI-WAR

12. __ juice: MOO. Cow's milk.

13. Trough guy: PIG. Very nice clue

14. Road sign caution: SLO. SLO - MISSING "W" AHEAD.

20. Move gently: EASE

22. Safecracker: YEGG. With the Y cross in ALKYL, came close to foxing me.

25. Initial disco hit?: Y.M.C.A.

26. Smokey, for one: BEAR

28. 1964 Anthony Quinn role: ALEXIS ZORBA. Here's a nice rendition of the famous dance, unsuccessfully attempted by Greek taverna-tourists ever since. It seems to be a law in tourist towns in Greece that the taverna plays this at least twice a night.

29. Religious belief: TENET

30. Dynasts of old Russia: TSARS. TS or CZ? Wait for a cross.

33. What H, O or N may represent: GAS. Hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

34. Pirate riches: BOOTY

35. Choir group: ALTOS

37. __ lift: SKI

38. Tiny bit: TAD

41. Lair: DEN

42. Great Barrier __: REEF. You might as well print the letters with the grid for this one. The same might be said for SKI LIFT too.

43. Hot streak: TEAR

46. Stretches: PERIODS

48. Sweet root: BEET. Sweet? I'd call them more peppery than sweet.

50. Actress Falco: EDIE

51. Itch: DESIRE

53. Evening star: VESPER. The planet Venus when it appears in the evening sky. The Romans named the morning incarnation of Venus as "Lucifer" even though they recognized it was the same celestial body. The Vesper is also the cocktail that James Bond orders "shaken, not stirred". Gin, vodka and Kina Lillet.

56. Southend-on-Sea's county: ESSEX. Easy for me, probably not for the majority of you. Dick Van Dyke's cockney character would call it "Sarf-end"

57. Focus group surveys: POLLS

58. Water brand: EVIAN

59. Give back: REPAY

61. Harness race pace: TROT

63. Fave pal: BFF. Bestie or"Best Friend Forever".

64. Be in the wrong: ERR

65. Egg __ yung: FOO. Foo! I mean Food!

66. "Mangia!": EAT!

67. Zeta follower: ETA. The initial reaction is that zeta is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, but it's not by a long way - a long way from omega.

With that, stick a fork in me, I'm done. Here's the grid:

Steve

Saturday, December 29, 2018, Ed Sessa

Lip Service Puzzle by Ed Sessa

As 2018 is nearly gone, the day of December 29 is designated as National Tick Tock Day. Think of all the things you intended to get done in this calendar year but have not yet completed. It is my intention to get my basement workbench cleaned up and organized before I plop down for my College Bowl Game (plus the Rose Parade) extravaganza coming up.

Well yesterday Lemon got a themeless Friday puzzle and today on themeless Saturday, Dr. Sessa, by way of Rich, has given us one that does have a theme. 

C.C. wrote me and asked if I saw a theme because of the cluing and somewhat closely related fills I made what I think is at least a somewhat tenuous connection to the fills. When C.C. wrote Ed, he replied that he was trying to even make the grid look like a smile. Do you see it? 😀

Now here is my take on the themers as I see them and the reveal:

17. Line erasers - PLASTIC SURGEONS can permanently fix the line of downturned lips into a SMILE

32. Necklines?: CAROTID ARTERIES - This droopy SMILE line can indicate a blocked CAROTID ARTERY

36. Title line after "Gray skies are gonna clear up": PUT ON A HAPPY FACE - Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh from Bye Bye Birdie on obtaining a SMILE

56. Echoic phrase from a WWI marching song: SMILE SMILE SMILE - All three fills are summed up by "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and SMILE, SMILE, SMILE". 

I hope you agree on my Saturday SMILE themeage, but now let's quit procrastinating on National Tick Tock Day and see what Dr. Sessa has prescribed for us. If your ailment requires devilish cluing, Ed has the correct R_X for you today!

Across:

1. Actor Omar with three NAACP Image Awards: EPPS - he won by playing a doctor in 45. Sites with masked workers, briefly: OR(S) with other masked people

5. 007's watch, in the later films: OMEGA - Here you can see the famous 007 trademark

10. Sent to, too: CCED - Carbon CopiED - usually an anachronism today

14. Independent African country since 1960: MALI - Recently, we have also had Niger, Burkina Faso and Gabon Find them?

`

15. Santa-tracking acronym: NORAD - Even in Asia 

27. Stores with a blue-and-yellow logo: IKEAS - See comment above

16. Jennifer of "Pride and Prejudice" (1995): EHLE - Here she is

44. Actress Aimée: ANOUK - Here she is

20. It carries a charge: ION.

21. Stable attendant: HOSTLER - Chapter 15 of Black Beauty is entitled The Old HOSTLER

22. Half an ouchie?: BOO - "Mommy, I got a BOO BOO!"

23. Despicable: ROTTEN.

25. Genre with ad images: POP ART 

28. NYC subway line: IRT - Interborough Rapid Transit 

31. "The Divine Comedy" division: CANTO - It has 100 CANTI (pl.) or sections 

35. Tablet since 2013: IPAD AIR - Another entry in the Apple stable

46. Timeworn: BANAL - We have many timeworn fills here but they are vital for constructors 

47. Delivered a screed: RANTED - Pro rasslers RANT to build up a gate

49. "Man is condemned to be free" philosopher: SARTRE - Jean Paul

50. Thou follower, often: ART.

51. Butler's classic line: YOU RANG - C'mon, no one is listening, do your best Lurch imitation 

55. Its first letter often means "more than one": HOV.

59. Smallville name: KENT - Even when he was a baby, Ma and Pa KENT knew their son was Super

60. Gay opening?: ENOLA - A new clue for Col. Paul Tibbets' Omaha-built B-29

61. Chrysler Building architect William Van __: ALEN - This iconic NYC building was the world's tallest for 11 months in 1930

62. Pointed at, perhaps: IDED - I witnessed a hit and run two weeks ago but I know I could never ID the guy who did it

63. "That's unfortunate": SO SAD.

64. Ford contemporary: OLDS - Charles King (l.) was a mentor to Ransom OLDS (c.) and Henry Ford (r.)

Down:

1. Based on observation: EMPIRIC - EMPIRIC evidence shows we landed a man on the Moon despite the loonies who say we didn't 

2. Two-bit boxer: PALOOKA - Even comic book characters pitched in during WWII

3. One with a rooting interest: PLANTER - Now this is a serious PLANTER

4. Short sibling?: SIS - My SIS is very short

5. Kitchen bulb: ONION.

6. Soft shoes: MOCS - MOCassins 

7. "... which __ was irksome to me": Shakespeare: ERST - Thy company, which ERST was irksome to me, (I used to hate you) Act V Scene III As You Like It

8. Three-part region, per Caesar: GAUL - "All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours GAULS, the third." Caeser, The Gallic Wars

9. Media industry worker: AD REP - TV's most famous AD REPS

10. Left of center?: CEE - Yes, CEE is on the left of the word Center

11. Greek-style yogurt brand: CHOBANI and 28. Site of an 11-Down yogurt plant, the world's largest: IDAHO - A $100,000,000 plant in Twin Falls, IDAHO

12. America, in Acapulco: EL NORTE  - Also Norteamérica and América del norte,

13. Autos advertised on "You Bet Your Life": DESOTOS - Grouch (:08)

18. It's a dirty look: THE STINK EYE - Kramer on the "looks" (:33)

19. Holders of staples: GROCERY BAGS - Gotta love this one

24. Confucian path: TAO.

26. Expected: PAR - Yup, this is a 1,000 yard PAR 7 in Seoul, South Korea

29. "M*A*S*H" role: RADAR.

30. Doesn't allow out: TRAPS - Like The Roach Motel

33. Draft choice: IPA - India Pale Ale


34. Pointer or point: TIP 

Giving a TIP                           The TIP of the sword

36. Hybrid jumping sport with a landing target: PARA SKI.

37. Lacking heat?: UNARMED - If you're "packing heat" you're carrying a gun. If you aren't then you're UNARMED

38. Survivor-take-all investment scheme: TONTINE - A lovely four minute scene about a slightly different TONTINE which is mentioned at 1:42

40. With 39-Down, unconventional: FAR and  39. See 40-Down: OUT 

41. End of a line in the sand, maybe: ANTHILL - I suspect this ANT TRAIL in Alaska will eventually end at an ANT HILL

42. Sang for an audience of one, sometimes: CAROLED - Even the lovely CAROLS of the season can become tiresome

43. Gridiron numbers: ELEVENS - Eleven on each side of the ball

48. Dispensed amounts: DOSES.

49. Winner of 82 PGA Tour tournaments: SNEAD.

52. "Don't think so": UM...NO.

53. Spanish waterways: RIOS - The RIO Paraná empties into the RIO de la Plata

54. Italian recipe word: ALLA - In the style of

57. Ford's Crown Vic, originally: LTD - Something Crown Vics are noted for

58. Foe of Chiang: MAO.

Now, get off the couch, chair, chaise or whatever and get that last 2018 project done on Tick Tock Day, starting with commenting on Dr. Sessa's puzzle:

Friday, December 14, 2018, Ed Sessa

Title: Fooey, we do not need them both. Why do we have PH and F both for the /f/ sound? The Greek letter φ (phi) started it. In Classical Greek this was pronounced as an aspirated [pʰ], which the Latins wrote as ph when they borrowed the words from Greek. Later this sound changed into an [f] in both Greek and Latin, and was passed as such into French, and then into English. Once the idea that ph was pronounced [f] was established, it spread to a few other areas, as well. Borrowings from Hebrew and other Semitic languages sometimes use ph, especially since the Hebrew letter פ can be [p] or [f] depending on context. (or depending on Ashkenazi versus Sephardic language) Vietnamese regularly uses ph for [f], because the modern Vietnamese orthography was designed by the French.

Hello everyone; hopefully, you are happy to see the puzzle author, our once again prolific retired Dr. Ed who plays beautifully and amusingly with sounds. In a very consistent theme, where F becomes PH, then PH - F, F - PH, PH - F and finally F - PH to complete the perfectly symmetrical and consistent theme. I loved the reversing of the PH/F F/PH as the puzzle gimmick, but I began looking for the A, also. To make the theme work, Ed had to widen the grid and place his grid-spanning central fill with a cheater square on each side to make this all work. Friday, home of the 16 x 15 grid. Also, it is the home of  IT WORKS. SLAMS ON, DOMESTIC, HOT WIRES, iPOD-MINI,  and UNION MAN. Ed is a pro, so let us appreciate this effort.

19A. Paramount paramour?: ALPHA ROMEO (10). ALFA Romeo automobiles.  Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. I had the hardest time of thinking past Paramount Pictures and the many leading early stars developed there, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid.

24A. Greek goddess carrying a pick?: AFRODITE (8). APHrodite, was the ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess Venus, with whom she was extensively syncretized.

36A. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers: PHUN WITH FONICS (14). A magnificent double-header which was stolen from Fun with Phonics both switched.

51A. Online scammer's tool?: PHISH NET (8). Fishnet will always bring to mind dear Splynter and his ladies. Can you name this lady? Anyway, PHISHING is not nice.

56A. Dispensers of horse pills?: FARMACISTS (10). PHarmacists might not find this amusing, but I do.

Across:

1. O on a stand, say: ISSUE. I am not sure I have the slightest idea what this means; music? My wife? Opposition?

6. "Pokémon: The Series" genre: ANIME. I like it when clues have their accents.

11. Ceremonial exchange: I DOS.

15. "The Nightmare Room" series author: STINE. R.L. who created the GOOSEBUMPS  phenomenon. Here is an INTERVIEW. The man has written an amazing number of BOOKS.

16. Misses without exception: WOMEN. Be careful Dr.Ed, gender is no longer that simple.

17. Dirty work?: PORN. I will not follow that thought up here.

18. Scuba diver's destination: WRECK. If you want to try, you can read THIS.

21. Sandwich title?: EARL.  As with the author of this ARTICLE, I grew up listening to Dusty Dick Summer on WBZ. He is a nice man with whom I have corresponded.  There is one named for 24A.

22. Watches kids: SITS. Interesting how this word developed, as little of the process involves sitting.

23. Sit tight: BIDE. Don't have a cow, but this does seem like an avoidable immediate dupe.

26. Applies with force, as brakes: SLAMS ON. I filled before reading the clue and was trying to think of a Samson reference that would make sense.

29. Jelly bean-munching president: REAGAN.

30. Color gradation: HUE. I didn't know they even went to school.

31. Modest acknowledgment: I TRY. If you do not laugh, at least...

32. Wolverine relative: WEASEL. Wait just one darn minute, you mean THIS is related to THAT? But what about HIM?

35. In the cooler: ON ICE. Not poured over ice, Tin, so this okay. Maybe you keep your chocolate there.

40. Some satellites: MOONS. Defined as a celestial body orbiting another of larger size

41. Back up anew: RESAVE.

42. European wine area: ASTI.

43. Mend, perhaps: SEW.

44. iHeartRADIO fare: OLDIES. All types of music, really.

49. Inventor's cry of success: IT WORKS.! Eureka!

53. Jones of film, familiarly: INDY.

54. Motley: PIED. The motley piper?

55. Real estate unit: ACRE.

59. Bop on the bean: BRAIN.

60. Bulb in a balloon?: IDEA. I like the alliteration, but this was tough. This EXPERIMENT? Or

61. Boffo Moffo performances: ARIAS. A bit misleading use of the rhyme for a wonderful song by

62. "No more for me": I'M SET.

63. Cap'n's mate: BOS'N. Boatswain is back.

64. Stroke in a parlor: MASSE. Billiard, not beauty, nor even massage.

65. Boxing family: BAERS. Maximilian Adelbert Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American boxer who was the World Heavyweight Champion from 14 June 1934 to 13 June 1935. His fights were twice (1933 win over Max Schmeling, 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) rated Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee and had an occasional role on film or television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer Jr.

Down:

1. Start of an oath: I SWEAR. To uphold the Constitution...

2. Attack from above: STRAFE. If you have a plane and a machine gun.

3. __ Nevada: brewery: SIERRA. We went to their brewery in North Carolina in 2016

4. Clear, as a drain: UNCLOG. Long haired wives...

5. Reaction to a mouse: EEK. Scaredy cat wives...

6. Anticipate: AWAIT.

7. "A Walk in the Woods" actor: NOLTE.

8. Rowdy rug rats: IMPS.

9. "I couldn't care less": MEH. A classic Corner word.

10. Facilitate: ENABLE.

11. Early Apple audio player: iPod MINI.

12. Made at home: DOMESTIC. Not imported.

13. Mineral source: ORE.

14. __-Caps: candy: SNO.

Mini Nonpareils

20. Coastal inlet: RIA.

22. Tendon: SINEW. As nouns, the difference between sinew and tendon is that sinew is (anatomy) a cord or tendon of the body while tendon is (anatomy) a tough band of inelastic fibrous tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment.

25. Occurs to, with "on": DAWNS.

26. Early antibiotic: SULFA. Sulfonamide is a functional group that is the basis of several groups of drugs, which are called sulphonamides, sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs. The original antibacterial sulfonamides are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group.

27. Fictional flesh-eaters: ORCS. Orcs eat all manner of flesh, including men and horses, and there are frequent hints of cannibalism among Orcs. Grishnákh, leader of the Mordor Orcs, accuses Saruman's Uruks of eating Orc-flesh, which they angrily deny.

28. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.

30. Sly chuckles: HEHS. Heh heh.

33. Buenos __: AIRES.

34. Crock-Pot dish: STEW.

35. First-year law students: ONE LS. Thanks to Mr. Grisham.

36. Nutter Butter Cereal maker: POST.

37. Starts without a key: HOTWIRES.

38. True-blue teamster, say: UNION MAN. I was shop steward when I had my grocery store job.

39. Dumpty-shaped: OVOID. Humpty.


40. English R and B singer Ella __: MAI. She is an unknown for me, but sounds promising.

                                                                       LINK.

43. Overhead stadium equipment: SKYCAM.

45. Greg's sitcom wife: DHARMA. Jenna Elfman has not done much since, but Thomas Gibson had a good run on Criminal Minds.

46. To be safe: IN CASE.

47. More spooky: EERIER.

48. Angioplasty implants: STENTS.

50. Nutritional no.: RDA. Recommended Daily Amount.

51. Greek breads: PITAS.

52. "Steppenwolf" author: HESSE. Herman.

54. Greek letters: PSIS. We started with PHIS, now this Ψ.

56. Little lie: FIB.

57. It may be about nothing: ADO. Muchly.

58. 401(k) relative, briefly: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

59. Food collector, at times: BIB.  Until I had grandchildren, I was unfamiliar with these high tech bibs. Much neater.

Well, we have come to the end of another visit together. I am having such fun on Fridays, with so many skilled and creative and witty constructors pumping out puzzles. Now with a few more females in the mix and I am set. Thank you Dr. Ed and all who read and write. lemonade out.