Friday, August 17, 2018, Paul Coulter

Title: Breaking out the creatures.

PC makes a rapid return with this very creative 'reorganize the word' theme. As an added bonus each separation results in a living being.  The themers are set out in a pinwheel pattern, with wonderful consistency, as 1, 3 and 5 have an animal appear with 2 and 4 revealing bugs. Really well done. This is not an easy solve, but if you remembered the people in AVATAR are called NA'VI the whole puzzle falls in place. We have had many puzzles where the reveal was dependent on reparsing a word, but I do not recall one like this one. The hard part, of course, is that the clue does not inform as to the fill directly. The fill is just the pieces that together make a real word. The challenge of the concept left little room for much long fill, but we do get AMASSES  ROSEATE ROUTINE SMOTHER and TRISECT.

17A. Alien reptile in "Avatar"?: NA'VI  GATOR.(9). NAVIGATOR. This word is derived from the identical Latin word Navigator. Na'vi came from the mind of James Cameron; I loved the MOVIE. You think Cameron was thinking about the Navy?

42A. Pest that's gotten into the cheese?: BRIE  FLY (7). BRIEFLY. Brie was named from where it was first made; briefly from the Latin BREVE, which also gave us brevity. 

68A. Long-eared mascot of an L.A. newspaper?: TIMES  HARE (9). TIMESHARE. I love this CSO to the publisher, though I doubt a rabbit is the mascot of the paper. Most have decided timeshare is a waste of money, but the business still thrives.

11D. Tiny insect that casts spells?: COVEN  ANT (8). COVENANT. They both derive from the Latin word "convenire", which is a contraction of "com venire" or "come together". The words convene (to come together at an appointed place and time) and convent (a home for nuns) also have the same root. various. I love the imagery of some ants getting together inside a pentagram. 

41D. One of a group of feline predators?: GANG  LION (8). GANGLION.  Another wonderful mental picture of lions wearing leather and tats hanging out by their hogs.  It all has nothing to do with a structure containing a number of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber. I have a ganglion cyst on my shoulder. Oo plays with it and considers it her 'toy.'

On that bizarre note on to the solving. 

Across:

1. Amendment dealing with states' rights: TENTH. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." No politics.

6. Hobby shop buy: KIT. A CSO to former hobby shop impresario and longtime Corner fixture DENNIS.

9. Longtime Wall Street name: SACHS. Goldman Sachs is major and controversial diversified investment company which was led by founder Marcus Goldman and his son-in-law SAMUEL SACHS. No politics.

14. Spanish month: ENERO. January.

15. Draft pick: IPA. Not a sports clue, but draft beer and India Pale Ale.

16. Outfielder Mike who finished first (twice) or second (three times) in 2012-2016 A.L. MVP voting: TROUT. This excellent PLAYER is not related to one of my favorite Detroit Tiger players of the past Dizzy Trout.

19. Snake, e.g.: RIVER. This water often winds its way into a grid.

20. Racks up: AMASSES.

21. Corpulent: OBESE. Or perhaps - fat, overweight, plump, portly, stout, chubby, paunchy, beer-bellied, heavy, bulky, chunky, well upholstered, well padded, well covered, meaty, fleshy, rotund, broad in the beam, tubby, pudgy, beefy, porky, roly-poly, blubbery, corn-fed. Cruel or not?

23. Connecting point: NODE.

24. "Bad Moon Rising" band, initially: CCR. Credence Clearwater Revival.

                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BmEGm-mraE

26. First of a series: OPENER.

29. Small amount: TRACE. Made famous by CSI.

31. Worked the soil: HOED. Be careful there Mr. Imus.

33. Shopper stopper?: SALE.  Who doesn't love a good rhyming clue?

34. TV schedule abbr.: TBA. To Be Announced.

36. Buttonhole, say: SLIT.

38. Affirmative action: NOD. Cute.

39. Bit of horseplay: GAG. For three letters, this was tricky.

44. Castilian kin: TIO. Uncle. Spanish.

45. GP gp.: AMA. American Medical Association for General Practitioners.

46. Mex. miss: SRTA. Senorita. Spanish.

47. Jr. and sr.: YRS.

49. Brass component: ZINC. Brass is a metallic alloy that is made of copper and zinc.

51. Bit of swearing: OATH.

53. Slate et al., for short: EMAGS.

57. Merchant ship flotilla: ARGOSY. 1. a large merchant ship, esp. one with a rich cargo. 2. a fleet of such ships. 3. an opulent supply or collection. Not a word I use.

59. Ring bearer: EAR. Cute misdirection.

61. Baker: OVEN. More misdirection as it is, after all,  the oven that bakes it.

62. Sprite flavor: LEMON. I knew Paul liked some of my write-ups, and it is great to be in one of his puzzles - oh it wasn't for me?

64. Stage bit: ROUTINE.

66. North African site of a 1943 conference: CAIRO. An echo of last week's WWII conferences.

70. Stun: SHOCK.

71. "We've exceeded seating capacity" sign: SRO.

72. Gauge: METER.

73. Chief Justice after Marshall: TANEY. Two very influential jurists, and members of a very exclusive group. There have only been 17 CHIEF JUSTICES compared to 45 Presidents. No politics.

74. It's big in London: BEN. Clock humor.

75. Salad green: CRESS. We have this word going back to 2008 when C.C. did all the blogging. LINK.


Down:

1. Letter?: TENANT.  This is also cute but is not a real word, as it is the landlord who has an apartment to let-  "chiefly British: to offer or grant for rent or lease let rooms."

2. Captivate: ENAMOR. Derived from the French, AMOUR. Love.

3. Area 51 locale: NEVADA. The true STORY.  Or if you prefer...

4. Cut into three equal parts: TRISECT. BI = 2. TRI = 3.

5. Keeps to oneself: HOGS.

6. Lawn gnomes, e.g.: KITSCH. Not to be confused with brownies. Infra. Kitsch is considered to be in poor taste but appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.

7. Snapchat had one in Mar. 2017: IPO. Initial Public Offering. Stock offering, actually pioneered by Goldman and Sachs, I think.

8. Poi source: TARO. Do you think a Hawaiian dish made from the fermented root of the taro, which has been baked and pounded to a paste sounds yummy?

9. Antibiotic target: STREP. Streptococcus bacteria. A nasty little guy a threat not only to your throat.

10. Crops up: ARISES.

12. Peach, e.g.: HUE. Hey you, what your hue, Hugh?

13. Orch. section: STRings.

18. Old nuclear agcy.: AEC. We had this recently.

22. __ harm: BODILY.

25. Promising: ROSEATE. Picturing the world through rose-colored glasses.

27. Wells race: ELOI. Always nice to have an excuse to post a pic of Yvette Mimieuz.

28. Make over: REDO.

30. Drops off: EBBS. And flows.

32. Brownie, in folklore: ELF. This was unknown to me. The most well-known and loved house elf in folklore is the Scottish Brownie. A brownie or broonie, also known as a brùnaidh or gruagac. The Brownie is a small male creature, between one and two feet tall, who takes up residence in a deserving family's home and is helpful. They were the precursor to Alexa and other modern household helpers. Various sources.

35. Dry gulch: ARROYO.

37. Rubber in a boot?: TYRE. Boot being British for the trunk of a car where you keep your spare "tire."

39. __ Strip: GAZA. Gaza is a densely populated strip of land that is mostly surrounded by Israel and peopled almost exclusively by Palestinians. Israel used to have a military presence but withdrew unilaterally in 2005. Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire before it was occupied by the United Kingdom (1918–1948), Egypt (1948–1967), and then Israel, which in 1994 granted the Palestinian Authority in Gaza limited self-governance through the Oslo Accords. Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been de facto governed by Hamas, which claims to represent the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian people. Various sources. No politics.

40. "The Kite Runner" boy: AMIR. A very powerful and disturbing book and movie. A must watch, but no politics.

43. "Give __ rest!": IT A.

48. Overwhelm: SMOTHER.  A little daily double of mayhem, with...

50. Strong-arm: COERCE.

52. Mark of "NCIS": HARMON. When I first watched NCIS, initially it seemed like a mediocre cop show, as some have suggested. Now having watched all 15 seasons with Oo I see the skill of the writers who are putting forth a family drama, with all kinds of interesting twists and turns of personality.

54. Do the Wright thing?: AVIATE. I did not say it was not a real word, it just sounds funny to me. Now on the popular list.

55. Types: GENRES. I learned the word from watching movie reviewers.

56. Nasty smiles: SNEERS. Snidley Whiplash had my favorite sneer.

58. Idaho's __ Mountains: SMOKY. This chain is part of the Rocky Mountains and not to be confused with the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

Idaho                      Tennessee
↞                            ↠






60. Fluke-to-be: ROE. Roe is fish eggs, and Fluke is a fish.
All Fluke Are Flounder but Not All Flounder Are Fluke. Generally speaking, left-side up flounder are flukes, and right-side up flounders are called flounders.  That sounds easy enough to remember, but it gets worse.  Flukes are also called “summer flounder,” and flounder, or right-side fish, are called “winter flounder.”

63. Black-box analyzers: Abbr.: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.

65D. Camp Pendleton letters: USMC. United States Marine Corps.

66. K.C. hours: CST. Central Standard Time.

67. "Caught you!": AHA. We all have our AHA moments here, as well as ones that inspire...

69. Rage: IRE.

I hope you have all put aside any anger in your lives and felt the joy of solving another fun but challenging puzzle from Paul. There was lots going on but in the end, we came to the end. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Here are two pictures of Lemonade's lovely granddaughters Charlotte and Harper. Lemonade said, "Charlotte is in real kindergarten" now. Click here for more. 

 

 

Friday, August 10, 2018, Chuck Deodene

Title: G where is my twin?

Chuck Deodene is back after another absence, bringing my third Friday opportunity to blog his work. Chuck was first published in the NYT back in 1994, and we saw him initially in 2009. This time he takes two-word phrases with the first word ending with  "G" and the second word beginning with a "G." He then excises the G from the second word and clues the result with amusing consequences. The phrases have nothing in common either before or after the removal of the letter.  The tricky part is noticing that there is a "G" missing. Our brains like FILLING IN THE BLANKS. With 5 themers, 55 squares of theme it is impressive to see added fill CHANGEUP, DEVALUED, EMOTICON, RADIO SET, SHINBONE, and TAG ALONG. Off to see the wizard,,,

18A. Passion for quilt filling?: BATTING GLOVE (11). My grandmother and one of my first cousins quilted. I do not know much about it. LINK. I was a pitcher and did not use a batting glove.

24A. Contest among bank customers?: SAVING GRACE (10). In the US, we are not very good at saving money WORLD MAP but we are not the worst. A saving grace is a good quality or feature in a person or thing that prevents them from being completely bad or worthless. Ageing's one saving grace is you worry less about what people think about you.

38A. Segment of a clogging contest?: STOMPING GROUND (13). I have not been to a competition but have seen a performance each year at the TASTE OF TAMARAC and do not know how many rounds in the CONTEST. Do you have a place where you regularly spend time; a favorite haunt?

51A. Airline passenger's arrival malady?: LANDING GEAR (10). There is a real malady known as AIRPLANE EAR, which is not related to the landing gear.

59A. Female observer?: LOOKING GLASS (11).  Interestingly, a looking glass is a mirror which is often the best friend (worst enemy) of a lass. 

Across:

1. Staples buys: PCS.  We begin with Personal Computers.

4. Pooh-pooh, with "at": SCOFF. This may derive from an Icelandic word skaup. "The superstition of science scoffs at the superstition of faith." Short Studies on Great Subjects by James Anthony Froude.

9. Author Stieg Larsson, for one: SWEDE. He died before his famous trilogy became movies LINK.

14. Deduction cry: AHA. The V-8 moment.

15. "While I've got your attention ... ": OH SAY can you see?

16. Big name in seating: EAMES. This COUPLE designed the eponymous lounge chair.

17. Zip on a field: NIL. A very common score in international football mtches.

20. Fall cause: TRIP.

22. Not heard before: NEW. A new clue for old fill.



23. 1945 summit site: YALTA. So much controversy and so much fallout from this CONFERENCE. 33A. "The buck stops here" president: TRUMAN. He took over for the POTSDAM Conference.

27. __ Road Ensemble, group initiated by Yo-Yo Ma: SILK. Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he began to learn about the historical Silk Road, recognizing in it a model for productive cultural collaboration, for the exchange of ideas and tradition alongside commerce and innovation. A truly global effort. various.

29. Portaged craft: CANOE. Portage or portaging is the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a portage. wiki.

30. Needing no Rx: OTC. Over The Counter.

32. Stick in a hall: CUE. Pool hall.

36. Baloney: HOOEY.

41. Jokhang Temple city: LHASA. The Jokhang, also known as the Qoikang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery and Zuglagkang, is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.

42. Words spoken with one's hand raised: A TOAST. L'chaim.

43. Corp. bailed out in 2008: AIG. American International Group.

44. Auction set: LOT. Moment of LEARNING.

46. Made hands of: DEALT. Card playing.

49. Swatting target: GNAT.

55. Grass unit: BLADE.

57. Yield from una mina: ORO. A Spanish Gold Mine.

58. Laser-cut, perhaps: ETCH. There is so much I do not KNOW.

62. __ jump: SKI.

63. Unexpressed: INNER. Remember Bradshaw and his inner child?

64. Pulitzer poet Conrad __: AIKEN. Conrad Potter Aiken was born in Savannah, Georgia, on August 5, 1889. When he was a small boy, his father killed his mother and committed suicide himself, a tragedy that had a profound impact on Aiken’s development. He was raised by a great-great-aunt in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard in 1912, the same period as T. S. Eliot and E. E. Cummings. He won his Pulitzer Prize in 1930, for his Selected Poems.

65. Work hard (for): GUN.

66. Aboveboard: LEGIT.

67. Handle: SEE TO.

68. Ajar, in verse: OPE. I 'ope this does not catch on, even though I like to keep my mind ope'.


Down:

1. Suit part: PANTS.

2. Former French president: CHIRAC. This MAN.

3. DNA sample source: SALIVA. I did the ancestry spit on a stick; results were too vague.

4. Sound with tears: SOB.

5. Pitcher's surprise: CHANGEUP. The changeup is the staple off-speed pitch, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed coupled with its deceptive delivery is meant to confuse the batter's timing. When I was in high school I was a pitcher, and after my best game - a one-hit shutout - the opposing players came up to me to congratulate me on my amazing changeup. I threw all fastballs, just not as fast as they expected.

6. Kitchen brand: OSTER.

7. Mufti issuance: FATWA. Fatwa, in Islam, is a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law given by a qualified legal scholar (known as a mufti). wiki. Rabbis do the same thing in Judaism.

8. "Here's the scoop" letters: FYI. For Your Information.

9. Tokyo-based game company: SEGA.

10. They're thin at budget motels: WALLS.

11. Email adornment: EMOTICON. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ ಠ_ಠ ¯\(°_o)/¯ ( ﾟдﾟ)

12. Weakened, as currency: DEVALUED.

13. Legal add-on: ESE.

19. Siberian freeze-out?: NYET.

21. Mottled equines: PINTOS. PINTO the HORSE.

25. Routine: NORMAL.

26. Crichton novel set in Africa: CONGO.

28. Longboat in Florida, e.g.: KEY. Such beautiful beaches in this AREA.

31. Singled out: CHOSEN.

34. Mazda two-seater: MIATA. A red one sits in the condo parking lot.

35. Hexapod worker: ANT. Six legs.

37. Cause of a blinking "12:00": OUTAGE. A power outage that is.

38. Tibia: SHINBONE. Best I can do.

39. Emulate a little brother, maybe: TAG ALONG.

40. Ham's creation: RADIO SET. Ham radio is back so soon.

41. Tarry: LAG.

45. Author Robert __ Butler: OLEN. “I'll never stop believing it: Robert Olen Butler is the best living American writer, period.” — Jeff Guinn,  LINK. So many books I have never read..

47. Unhands: LET'S GO.

48. Affix to a corkboard: TACK-UP.

50. Castmate of Doohan and Nimoy: TAKEI.

52. "Cross my heart!": NO LIE.

53. Male on a pond: DRAKE. DUCK!

54. View from Schönburg Castle: RHINE. A really cool PLACE.

56. Gossip: DIRT.

59. Diminutive, diminutively: LIL. Abner?

60. Main delivery: GAS. Directly from the gas main.

61. Cold-sounding product prefix: SNO. Cone?

Well, that was a blast. Sometimes simple is good, and and I enjoyed the solve. August is sliding by and I will see you next Friday if the CDR. Lemonade out.

Friday, August 3, 2018, Paul Coulter

Title: Sounds like a punny puppy.

Paul makes a quick turn around after his Thursday last week,  this time featuring humor as the primary theme. The basics- take a breed of dog and pair it with a sound-alike word that creates a funny image. Then clue them all with "Dog who loves..." With only 40 squares of theme and no reveal, we have a variety of longish fill - EPISODE, ITERANT, MANDALA, MONOPOD RAINOUT, TREATER, BREATHER and INERRANT.  As we will discuss, ITERANT and INNERANT are both very much Friday words. We have some sports, some music, some food, some French, Italian and Spanish, lots of fun for me. Let's go.

17A. Dog that loves a burger topping?: ONION BEAGLE (11).  The ONION BAGEL often dresses up the lox and cream cheese with onion and tomato. Spitz, am I right the word bagel comes from a German word for bracelet?

29A. Dog that loves a winter sport?: HOCKEY PUG (9). Hockey and the PUCK are our first sport of the puzzle and the basis of this punny pup. Ice hockey and its various precursor games utilized balls until the late 19th century. By the 1870s, flat pucks were made of wood as well as rubber. At first, pucks were square. The first recorded organized game of ice hockey used a wooden puck, to prevent it from leaving the rink of play. wiki.

49A. Dog that loves to play in the rain?: MUD POODLE (9). A poodle playing in a mud puddle is a pretty cool image, especially if it a white one. 

65A. Dog that loves spaghetti?: PASTA COCKER (11). The use of a PASTA COOKER rather than merely boiling water may seem extreme, but a Cocker Spaniel eating spaghetti is a great image.

On to the solve.

Across:

1. Indian state bordering Bhutan: ASSAM.

6. Pasture sound: BLEAT. And the clecho 34A. Called from the pasture: BAAED.

11. Cheese go-with: HAM. Sorry, this was hard for me.

14. Fiji neighbor: TONGA. Geography 2.

15. Asperity: RIGOR. Fun five letter word, but I never thought of them as synonyms.
Asperity-harshness of tone or manner. Rigor-severity or strictness.  Dictionary.


16. Trick taker, often: ACE. Bridge, spades, hearts, etc. and a repeat fill from yesterday.

19. Mme., in Madrid: SRA. A little Spanish, literally.

20. Blueprint: MAP. We have two so far today.

21. Loved ones: DEARS.

22. Colorless: ASHEN.

24. Repeating: ITERANT. Ah, here we are; we have all heard people reiterate and probably iterate, but the definition repeating; iterating; as an iterant echo? I love this quote from George Sand, “Iteration, like friction, is likely to generate heat instead of progress.”

26. "__ Day": chapter in the '50s "The Thin Man" TV series: ASTA. What an odd way to clue the dog, but perhaps a bonus dog fill.

28. Noel: CAROL. A little early Christmas.

36. Bearish?: URSINE. If you remember the frequent URSA major/minor, this is easy.

37. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte: RAE. This diminutive DIVA goes all the way back to Car 54 where are you?

40. Barbecue, say: BROIL.

42. "As if!": NOT. A popular phrase from the 80s.

43. Equanimity: APLOMB.

46. Vacant, as an apartment: UNLET. Let's undo this un-answer.

51. Green pair, often: PUTTS. Par is determined by an estimated 2 putts on every green.

55. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO.

56. Cancellation of a sort: RAINOUT. Common in baseball.

58. Bit of statuary: TORSO.

61. Undercover cops' gear: WIRES. Did you all watch the WIRE?

63. Part of un giorno: ORA. Day and Hour in Italian. Buon Giorno!

64. Brown, e.g.: IVY. Out of my league.

68. Born, in Brest: NEE. French.

69. Vast quantity: OCEAN.

70. Socially active sort: DATER. My meh of the day.

71. Triage ctrs.: ERS.

72. Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred: DURST. Then and now.

73. Black shade: EBONY. No Ivory today.


Down:

1. Very minute: ATOMIC.

2. Beethoven's "Moonlight," for one: SONATA. Clecho 44D. 27, for Beethoven's "Moonlight":  OPUS.

3. Inveterate critic: SNIPER. That sounds harsh, but then I think of Gibbs.

4. Back: AGO.

5. Hindu meditation aid: MANDALA. A mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल, maṇḍala; literally "circle") is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe. In common use, "mandala" has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe. wiki.

6. Rest: BREATHER.

7. Pinocchio, at times: LIAR. And now a star of TV commercials.

8. Arachnid's hatching pouch: EGG SAC. All you need to KNOW.

9. Verizon subsidiary: AOL.

10. Generous bar buddy: TREATER. Not my favorite clue/fill.

11. Chop finely: HASH. Dictionary says to chop (food, such as meat and potatoes) into small pieces.

12. Real estate unit: ACRE.

13. Signify: MEAN.

18. Oscar winner Kingsley: BEN. 35 years ago. 1983 OSCAR.

23. Comes out with: SAYS.

25. Take badly?: ROB. A repeat but fun.

27. "Hamlet" prop: SKULL. Our very brief Will S. reference this week for Friday after yesterday's double dip.

30. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty: O'DOUL.  Hewas so much MORE than just a very successful baseball player and manager.

31. One standing at the end of a lane: PIN. More sports, and a CSO for Boomer.

32. A, in Acapulco: UNO.

33. Acquire: GET.

35. Brothers' keeper?: ABBOT. Cute clue, as the head of the monks.

37. Zodiac critter: RAM.

38. Toon storekeeper: APU. The Simpsons, not a favorite here. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is an Indian Immigrant settled in Springfield.

39. Antiquity, in antiquity: ELD.

41. Perfectly correct: INERRANT. This has a religious meaning, basically infallible but also has a meaning from astronomy : 1650s, in reference to "fixed" stars (as opposed to "wandering" planets), from Latin inerrantem (nominative inerrans) "not wandering, fixed (of stars)," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + errans, present participle of errare "to wander, stray, roam, rove" (see err). Meaning "unerring, free from error" is from 1785.

45. One-legged camera support: MONOPOD. Tripod- three. Mono- one.

47. Netflix installment: EPISODE. They are going after the world of entertainment since streaming began working and you did not have to wait for a disc in the mail.

48. 252 wine gallons: TUN. That is about what my friend drinks annually.

50. Divining rod: DOWSER.

52. Grew fond of: TOOK TO.

53. Deep dish: TUREEN. Generally to serve soup. LINK.

54. Like a cloudless night: STARRY.

57. NRC forerunner: AEC. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Atomic Energy Commission.

58. Food sticker: TINE. Generally more than one on your fork.

59. "Your turn": OVER.

60. Bakery selections: RYES. It is so hard to find a good rye bread in the south.

62. See __ an omen: IT AS.

66. Prefix with pressure: ACU. Not to be confused with APU.

67. Hack: CAB.  You wonder why? Hack short for "hackney cab," which referred to a carriage for hire drawn by a hackney, or an ordinary horse -- leading to the use of "hack" to mean "writer for hire," and the word "hackneyed," which means cliche-ridden. The use of "hacker" to refer to a computer user dates back to the mid-1970s.

Wow, that was work and fun; so much to say, so little time. Thank you, Paul our own PC constructor, and you the readers and writers. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:
 

Happy birthday to Jaelyn's beautiful grandma Melissa, creator of Adopt an Inmate project and our faithful Wednesday Sherpa. Melissa's compassion, tenacity and and adventurous spirits continue to inspire me. She is also a deeply spiritual person, always so calm and cool. Have a beautiful day, dear Melissa!

Friday, July 27, 2018, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Hide a noun, hide a verb.

Jeffrey uses the contrasting meanings of the verb -  to put out of sight, and the noun - the skin of an animal, to create a puzzle where synonyms of the noun are hidden in the theme fill. To accomplish this we once again are presented with a 15x16 puzzle. It all is tied up with a ribbon with a wonderful reveal in another classic 3/5/8/11/13 placement of themers. The bigger size allows for additional wonderful sparkly answers such as INCLINE, IT SEEMS, LATCHES, ORDERED, BEDSPREAD, MERCURIAL, NON-PUBLIC, and SPRING DAY. As always with Jeffrey on Friday, there are very difficult sections, but the overall puzzle, the wit and the head slap moments are a joy.

18A. "Bummer!": THAT'S KIND OF A DRAG (16). SKIN gets right to the heart of the animal hide.

24A. An unquestionable fact: THE GOSPEL TRUTH (14). The trading in pelts was very important for the trek west in our nation's history. A pelt is a skin and fur together. 

39A. Hershey's collectible: COCOA TIN (8). We associate coat with domesticated animals like horses and dogs, and generally not removed. 

53A. Pressing feeling: SENSE OF URGENCY (14). Fur can be either be still attached or removed and made into an article of clothing. 

And the reveal, 

62. What words concealed by the other four longest Across answers do ... and also, what each of them is: HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT (16). Hide is usually cured skin and hide and go seek is a game we all have played.  The clue is perfect. 

Across:

1. Bar rooms?: JAILS. BY making this two words, we get this punny clue.

6. Organic jewelry source: AMBER. Made most famous by Jurassic Park.

11. Nation west of Mumbai: OMAN. There are many countries west of Mumbai but Oman is directly across the Arabian Sea.  I do not know my geography but I can now find Thailand.

15. Part of a John Williams quintet: OSCAR. A most amazing COMPOSER.

16. High-end German appliance brand: MIELE. I never heard of this COMPANY.

17. Overhaul: REDO.

21. Harmony: SYNC. You want some?

22. Odds partner: ENDS. This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning “short leftovers of some material” (such as lumber or cloth) (dictionary).

23. Bench press target: PECtoral. Your chest muscle.

30. In the past, once: ERST. We just had this archaic word on July 2, 2018.

31. Nutritional abbr.: RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.

32. Northern terminus of I-79: ERIE. Yeah guys, a big CSO.

33. Operatic villains, often: BASSI. More than one bass voice.

36. Veto, in Vienna: NEIN.

37. Actress Meyer of "Johnny Mnemonic": DINA. I remember this ACTRESS first from an early superhero show BIRDS OF PREY  but she has worked steadily the last 25 years. For whatever reason, two roles I recall were as a Dominatrix on CASTLE and a Madam interested in Gibbs on NCIS.

38. Matterhorn, e.g.: ALP. Wheel of Fortune had their Switzerland trip this week.

43. Field concerned with fields: Abbr.: AGRiculture. I think this is a debut for this witty clue.

44. Alexa counterpart: SIRI.

46. Fishing hole site: POND.

47. Kept from squeaking: OILED.

49. Sweater fabric: KNIT. Is this a fabric? Oh, damn that was a nit!

50. What may come to those who wait: TIP. Another example of a creative wit.

51. "... that struts and frets his hour __ the stage": Macbeth: UPON. I look forward to JW's quotes from Shakespeare. This quote was very inferrable but the passage is wonderful. Act V, Scene V.
"The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

57. Salon application: GEL. Did you know that it was in 1929 a British company invented Brylcreem  This became the market leader in hair styling products in both the U.K. and the U.S. during the following decades. In the 1960s, modern hair gel was invented in the United States, by what would later be renamed the Dep Corporation. (wiki)

58. Rancor: BILE.

59. Get rid of: LOSE.

67. West of Gotham City?: ADAM. Gotham City was/is the fictional home of Batman, played in the 60s camp version by the late Adam West.

68. Privileged group: ELITE.

69. Western __: UNION.

70. Giant great: MAYS. The say hey kid!
Baseball legend.

71. How many commute: BY CAR.

72. What Italians may use to commute: VESPA. A little clecho especially if the car is a Fiat.


Down:

1. Notes: JOTS. Another unexpected verb - synonym.

2. Grayish: ASHY. Defined as of a pale grayish color; ashen. "the ashy shadows of the mountains"

3. "__ even!": I CAN'T. I can’t even is an emotional exclamation in response to an event. Its abrupt ending implies something is too amazing, frustrating, surprising, exciting (or any other adjective imaginable) to handle, which renders a person speechless because they’re so incredulous

4. Gate closers: LATCHES.

5. Yearbook gp.: SRS. Seniors.

6. Self-affirming query: AM I NOT. The expression “aren’t I” is often used in place of “am I not”, particularly in conversational speech. Example 1 (incorrect usage): “I’m going with you on vacation, aren’t I?”
Although the use of this phrase is widespread, it is atrocious English that could be considered equivalent to “you is”, a phrase which most educated people abhor (although for some reason, these same people have no qualms about saying “aren’t I”). The correct form of the sentence in Example 1 is as follows:  Example 2 (correct usage): “I’m going with you on vacation, am I not?”

7. Watches: MINDS. The young-uns.

8. Something fit for a king?: BEDSPREAD. King sized bed, very cute.

9. Symphonic rock gp.: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

10. Call the game: REF.

11. Called for takeout, say: ORDERED.

12. Fickle: MERCURIAL. Mercury went retrograde Wednesday, for those who care.

13. Org. promoting fluoridation: ADA. American Dental Association.

14. Rich quaff: NOG.

19. Pub inventory items: KEGS.

20. Proper: APT.

25. "South Park" kid: ERIC.

26. Find better words, say: EDIT.

27. Civil rights theorist Guinier: LANI. A most accomplished Yale Law graduate working at HARVARD.

28. Trace amount: TINGE.

29. Got wind (of): HEARD.

33. Luxuriates: BASKS.

34. Dior dress: A-LINE.

35. Amy Lowell poem of a "fresh-washed and fair" time: SPRING DAY. The poem is made up of 5 parts of the day, with Bath first, and opening line, " The day is fresh-washed and fair, and there is a smell of tulips and narcissus in the air."

36. Private: NON-PUBLIC.

40. Eye-related prefix: OPTO. For example, the optometrist.

41. Salon product: COIF.

42. Common lunch hour: NOON.

45. "Indications are ... ": IT SEEMS.

48. Lean: INCLINE.

51. More nasty, as weather: UGLIER.

52. Hammer part: PEEN. 
54. Yale figure: ELI.

55. Gear for a gaucho: RIATA.



56. Meditative ones: YOGIS.

60. Small business: SHOP.

61. Mediterranean mount: ETNA. The Sicilian mountain.

62. Baked __: HAM. Very random.

63. Director Lupino: IDA. This actress became a pioneer for female DIRECTORS.

64. S.D. neighbor: NEBraska. CSO to HG.

65. Work at: PLY. Like a trade.

66. Cherokee, e.g.: SUV. Jeep.

Wow, July is almost over and August is on the horizon. Always fun to finish Friday with Jeffrey. Thank you all.

Friday, July 20, 2018, Bruce Haight

Title: There is no "I" in  TEAM and no ME in this "puzzle"!

Bruce returns to the Friday stage with a letter extraction effort. Seeing the commonality for this theme was very tricky as the remaining words- GAS, ROO, CODY, and  E.T.S do not help. This is why he included the reveal which I hope was enough to get you going. I enjoyed the whole effort very much. To make all of this happen, he uses a 16 column grid and has two grid spanners resulting in a grid only an X away from a pangram. With 4 theme fill and a reveal, he uses the customary 3rd/13th row, with a word in the middle. And the extra words in the bigger format allowed for such fun fill like AS A TEAM,  BAR SEAT, BIG ASKS, KEEPERS,  ON A DIET, OSMOSED, QUE PASA,  ROADIES, ROSE TEA, SEASIDE, TRINITY, and WIG SHOP. So let's see what it all added up to.

18A. Torch fuel?: GAMES OF THE OLYMPIAD (16). The Olympic torch starts the Games and this puzzle.

25A. Tragedy involving a Milne character?: ROMEO AND JULIET (12). You have to love seeing that taking the ME out of ROMEO left ROO, the baby kangaroo in the Winnie the Pooh stories. ROO and Juliet was a fun image.

37A. Drawing by Buffalo Bill?: COMEDY SKETCH (9). You need to recall his last name was Cody and work backward to get this one.

53A. Spectator sport aboard a UFO?: WRESTLING MEETS (12). This one was hard knowing the gimmick, as picturing E.T. wrestling took some imagination.

And the reveal

61A. "No comment!" ... and a hint to four puzzle answers: LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS(16). A very fair reveal. 

Across:

1. Looking to start something new, maybe: BORED. I hope this did not leave any of you bored.

6. Syria's Bashar al-__: ASSAD. Obviously to discuss this man would involve politics.

                                                                          LINK.

11. Ed. promoters: PTAS. Parent Teacher Associations.

15. Combined: IN ONE. The first of much multi-word fill.

16. Some Strads: CELLI. I did not know Stradavarius made a Cello, but you can still BUY one.

17. Minor overhead?: URSA. Our astronomy clue of the day.

21. Refreshing drinks: ADES. Yea me. There is a "me" in this puzzle, it is a CSO.

22. Georgetown athlete: HOYA. The team name is derived from the mixed Greek and Latin chant "Hoya Saxa" (meaning "What Rocks"), which gained popularity at the school in the late nineteenth century. The name "Hoyas" came into use in the 1920s.

23. Is not wrong?: AIN'T. Is not = ain't.

24. Rest, in a way: SIT.

29. Things to hang onto: KEEPERS.

31. Suffer: AIL.

32. Can opener: TAB. Sadly, this brings to mind the recent demise of this teen idol.

                                                                               LINK.
33. Reserved: STAID.

34. Noble title: EARL.

36. Sylvia of jazz: SYMS. I have no memory of this SINGER who died while performing at the Oak Room at the Plaza. Apparently, she was a favorite of Sinatra.

41. Spit spots, for short: BBQS. This is what I think of.

44. Smidge: IOTA.

45. "In what way?": HOW SO?

49. Greek cross: TAU.

50. Decline: SAG.

51. Amp transporters: ROADIES. Some of my favorite people were the workers who made rock and roll work.

57. Whale group: GAM. I read the definition (rare) a school of whales, porpoises, or dolphins. I have always thought of this word from noir detective fiction book covers. Hey Splynter.

58. Fix, as a toy: SPAY.  Poor puppy.

59. A pop: EACH.

60. Gulf Canada alternative: ESSO.

65. Facility: EASE.

66. 1951 Reagan co-star: BONZO.

67. Cell terminal: ANODE. Not A NODE, but it is...

68. Slightly: A TAD.

69. Burden-bearing beasts: ASSES.

70. Supported, as a weak ankle: TAPED. It does not have to be weak.


Down:

1. Major requests: BIG ASKS.

2. Losing purposely: ON A DIET.

3. Floral brew: ROSE TEA. My mother, may she rest in peace worked as an OB-GYN nurse for many years and recommended this tea for her patients for its HEALTH BENEFITS.

4. Son of Seth: ENOS. Grandson of Adam reappears a few weeks after being in a Friday JW. C.C. clued using Mr. Slaughter of baseball.

5. Dict. offering: DEFinition.

6. Ones bringing blessings?: ACHOOS. I like this clue/fill even if it is been done many times before.

7. "Later!": SEE YA.

8. "McSorley's Bar" artist: SLOAN. I did not remember the ARTIST but do the BAR.

9. From A to Z: ALL.

10. Handy initials: DIY. Do It Yourself. Not I.

11. Star __: PUPIL. This was so random, but it was already filled by the perps.

12. Fundamental doctrine of Christianity: TRINITY. Three in one.

13. Together: AS A TEAM. I love this being in this puzzle.

14. Down: SAD.

19. Superhero with a hammer: THOR.

20. Spike __: railroad worker's tool: MAUL. This word is back again in a new context.

25. More than fix up: RE-DO.

26. Take the plunge: DARE.

27. Dump: JILT.

28. "Conan"channel: TBS. Does anyone watch him any more?

30. Snaps: PICS.

34. No. from a builder: ESTimate.

35. Sometimes called, for short: AKA. Also Known As.

36. Booted, say: SHOD.

38. Lifebuoy competitor: DIAL. Soap.

39. Classic Yankee nickname: YOGI. Mr. BERRA.

40. Chuck alternative: CHAS.

41. "Incidentally," in texts: BTW. By The Way.

42. It's often a high chair: BAR SEAT. Barstool is the more common term and it has only been clued before as "Stool typically (or often).

43. Granada greeting: QUE PASA. A reference to this Spanish CITY.

46. Top secret store?: WIG SHOP. The idea is that you do not let people know you are wearing a wig- a secret about your top. Witty.

47. Coast: SEASIDE.

48. Diffused through a membrane: OSMOSED. Do we all remember OSMOSIS from high school?

50. Ophthalmologist's concern: STYE. This common infection in the eyelid normally does not require a specialist, as most styes do not require medical care and tend to go away on their own,

51. Right-hand pages: RECTOS. We have had this TERM recently.

52. Second emperor after Nero: OTHO. I only know this obscure man from my oldest son's education. Otho was Roman emperor from January to April 69 CE. Immediately after the assassination of Galba, Otho, the governor of Lusitania, was proclaimed emperor by the army. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.

54. Backed up: SAVED.

55. Bright signs: NEONS.

56. First-aid kit item: GAUZE.

60. Sicilian tourist attraction: ETNA.

61. Field: LEA.

62. Finance deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration.

63. Sister of the moon goddess Selene: EOS. There was a time when I had this goddess of the DAWN often in my Friday write-ups.

64. Thick: FAT. A tough way to end.


Bruce never disappoints; he makes us work but entertains as we go. We are already a month into summer, and more than halfway through 2018. Wow. Thank BH and all of you. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.: 

Our Chicago Crossword Corner regulars met for lunch yesterday. Abejo said they "had a great time and gabbed for nearly four hours."

  

Left to Right: Abejo (Bradley), WikWak  (Chuck), Madame DeFarge (Janice) and TTP  (Tom)

Friday, July 13, 2018, Jim Quinlan

Title: Is that Splynter I see back in brown? No, it is just UPS.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Mr. Quinlan is back for his 4th LAT and second Friday. I had the pleasure of blogging the debut of this middle-school teacher here in April 2015. He quickly had his first NYT that May. His most recent here was last October which featured controversy about his fill FIVE-O and the introduction of a celebrity solver RB. Jim who has been kind enough to stop by and clarify his work, uses a Friday staple - add letters. Today the trigram UPS, which is confirmed in a reveal. With 63 letters in the theme, there was not much room for long sparkly fill but I SAY SO, IT IS SO (?), ODD LOT, TEE HEE, BEER CANS  and UNLISTED added to the challenge.
I hope none of you all (Y'awl?) have ever had a package stolen from your porch; as Splynter was wont to say, ON*WARD*

18A. Calendar model's argument?: PINUPS POINT (11). I doubt that it is easy to pinpoint an argument a calendar model was putting forth.

24A. Ones who curry favor in Cannes?: FRENCH KISS-UPS (13). French kissing is nice, but ass kissers are not. 

41A. Booms in the poultry industry?: CHICKEN UPSWINGS (15). Thank Buffalo for the modern importance of the lowly chicken wing. 

51A. Northern New York gallery, say?: UPSTATE MUSEUM (13). The TATE is a CSO to our British brethern. 

And the reveal:

61A. Package on the porch ... or what's been brought to 18-, 24-, 41- and 51-Across: UPS DELIVERY.

Across:

1. Adobe extension: PDF. Portable Document Format is a keystone to all modern law work, for saving, transmitting,  and studying documents, eliminating the incompatibility of word perfect (the favorite of legal writers) and word.

4. Food: EATS.

8. Formal affirmation: IT IS SO. This must be the appropriate response to Captain Jean Luc Picard.

14. Amazement: AWE.

15. "Logan" superheroes: X-MEN.

16. Bib, essentially: NAPKIN. One I would not have thought of, but it is true.

17. Cooking acronym: PAM. Learning moment! PAM is a cooking spray currently owned and distributed by ConAgra Foods. Its main ingredient is canola oil. The name PAM is an acronym for Product of Arthur Meyerhoff. Wiki.

20. First word of The Beach Boys' "Kokomo": ARUBA. The first stanza.
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go, Jamaica...

22. David Caruso starred in the Miami version: CSI. It crashed and burned after 10 seasons and 232 episodes. Before that, in 2006, BBC News published an article stating that CSI: Miami was the world's most popular television series, featuring in more countries' top ten rankings for 2005 than any other series. BBC online.

23. __ periculo: at my own risk: MEO. This is inferable from the clue, sort of. Just Latin- periculum = danger. Friday challenge.

29. Jackie portrayer on "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.

30. Spike TV, once: TNN. The Nashville Network.

31. He finished hosting "The Tonight Show" 12 years before Fallon was born: PAAR. Jack.

34. Tool points: NIBS. I think of pens not tools.

37. Long past: OLDEN.

44. Wrap label: SARAN. When we were kids we had Alcoa Aluminum foil, Cut-rite wax paper and Saran. In 1949, it became the first cling wrap designed for commercial use. It was sold for household use in 1953. SC Johnson acquired Saran from Dow in 1998. SC Johnson had some concerns about the safety of PVDC and subsequently took steps to eliminate it from Saran's composition. The popularity of the product, as well as sales, suffered as a result. If you’ve noticed recently that Saran isn't much different than Glad or Reynolds products, that’s why.

45. Isaac's eldest: ESAU.

46. Extended tale: SAGA.

47. "Just joking!": NOT. Popular response for  while.

49. Narrow cut: SLIT.

57. Latin lover's word: AMO. I love you.

58. Cup holder?: BRA. Cute, and then 66A. Main man: BRO.

59. Seller of spots: ADREP. Advertising Representative.  Like Mad Men.

67. Snicker: TEE HEE.

68. Anticipatory times: EVES.

69. Beauty preceder?: AGE. Age before beauty. The phrase is often given as part of a supposed exchange between the U.S. writer, politician and diplomat Clare Booth Brokow, who later became Clare Boothe Luce, and Dorothy Parker. It is said that, in the archetypal circumstances for uttering the phrase, that is, while holding a door open for Parker, Brokow said "Age before beauty". Parker's reply was "Pearls before swine".

70. Small stock purchase: ODD LOT.  Mulitples of 100 shares of stock is the normal lot.

71. Pudding starch: SAGO.

72. Amount realized: NET.

Down:

1. Smurf with a red hat: PAPA.  I think he was a derivative from the seven...

2. Fictional miner: DWARF.

3. Longest human bone: FEMUR.

4. Open a satellite shop, say: EXPAND.

5. Bizet's buddy: AMI.

6. Base __: TEN.

7. Moved furtively: SNUCK.

8. Demand: INSIST.

9. One in a pub lineup: TAP.                                                      21D. Six-pack makeup: BEER CANS.

10. Google's was in 2004, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering.

11. Be very thrifty: SKIMP. Skimp and save or is it SCRIMP?

12. Trig functions: SINES. So many and so far in the past in my life.

13. In the know about: ON TO.

19. Penultimate Greek letter: PSI. Which leads me to...

25. Picture at Cannes: CINÉ. From the Greek κῑ́νημα (kī́nēma) which means movement from which we also got kinetic.

26. "Die Lorelei" poet: HEINE. Heinrich - born Harry.  The first stanza-
Ich weiss nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Dass ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

27. __ day: school contingency: SNOW.

28. Not in the book: UNLISTED.

31. Cubicle fixtures: PCS.

32. "I got it!": AHA.

33. It's all around you: AIR. I always say money is like air, it really only is important when you have none. I am not sure who I stole that from.

35. School __: BUS.

36. Unavoidable jerk: SPASM. I always wondered what that guy's name was.

38. What might reveal the answer to "Who's your daddy?": DNA.

39. Custard base: EGG.

40. Org. that abhors leaks: NSA.

42. Windsor, for one: KNOT.  I learned this STYLE before my teens.

43. "Star Trek" lieutenant: SULU.

48. Smartphone alternative: TABLET. We are a two tablet family; Oo seldom leaves home without hers.

50. Parental words of finality: I SAY SO. But why? Because...

51. Decided on a diamond: UMPED. A baseball clue for C.C.

52. Sat: POSED.

53. Start to cycle?: TRI.

54. Wasp nest sites: EAVES. I am allergic to bees but I was more afraid of the damn wasps.

55. __ Dictionary: URBAN.

56. Road sign with a double-tailed arrow: MERGE.

57. One on a driveway: AUTO.

60. One who works with feet: POET. I am an Iambic pentameter fan.

62. FedEx alternative: DHL.

63. Want ad abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.

64. Actress Gabor: EVA. Green Acress is the place to be...

65. Gas pump spec.: REG.

Tough day at work yesterday; I hope you enjoy this effort and have a great weekend. Thank you JQ and all of you. Lemonade out.