Friday, August 2, 2019 Jeffrey Wechsler

Defining Cricket


17. Cricket: GAME WITH WICKETS.

25. Cricket: WIRELESS SERVICE.

45. Cricket: DISNEY BUG JIMINY.

59. [Crickets]: AUDIENCE SILENCE.

Four gridspanners !

Across:

1. Center of the Milky Way?: CARAMEL.   Thought this might be about the candy bar and not the galaxy, but the use of THE Milky Way, rather than A Milky Way made me wait for a couple of perps.

8. Calder creation: STABILE.  Alexander Calder.  Here's a pic of his 53' Flamingo 50 ton stabile in front of the Miles Van Der Rohe designed Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

15. First state, in a way: ALABAMA.   If the states are listed in alphabetical order.   That wasn't my first thought when reading the clue.

16. Journey's end: ARRIVAL.

19. Once, in olden days: ERST.

20. 2000 Bell Atlantic acquisition: GTE.  The birth of Verizon.

21. Slashed pronoun: HE / SHE.   I struggled with this one.   I had the ending HE, and so I tried a beginning SHE, then a nonsensical HER and a HIM.  Not surprisingly nothing fit until, as Steve says, "The penny dropped".  D'OH !

22. Suspect: PRESUME.

33. Seed-to-be: OVULE.

34. LAX calculation: ETA.  Los Angeles Airport / Estimated Time of Arrival.  Not that you needed me to spell it out...  Oh, by the way, the X means nothing.   It's just a filler so the airport code has three letters.

35. Energy source: ATOM.  Incredible reactions when harnessed.  Atom Ant was a mid '60s Hanna Barbera cartoon.   He was incredibly strong.  Of course, so was Mighty Mouse and Underdog.

36. They might help you change your position: WANT ADS.   One place you might visit if you are looking for a job.

39. Prepare for coating, as aluminum:  ANODIZE.

41. Within: Pref.: ENTO.  ENdO wouldn't work this time.  You must rely on the perp to get the third letter correct.

42. Land of Freud: Abbr.: AUS.  I completed a puzzle the other day and the clue was, 'Birthplace of Freud".   It needed 7 letters and I confidently entered Austria.   The perps didn't support that, and it soon worked out that the answer was Moravia.  That answer sent me to the internet.

Both are correct.  Moravia was part of the Austrian Empire in the year of his birth, 1856.   The area of Moravia became part of Czechoslovakia in 1918 with the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  When Czechoslovakia broke up in 1993 to become the Czech Republic and Slovakia,  the Moravia region became part of the Czech Republic. 

44. Scrooge: MISER.

49. Beat by a hair: NOSE OUT.  Edge.  Made me think of a photo finish horse race.

50. Wheat species that's also a British past tense: SPELT.   Not fooled.  Wheat belt farmers like PK would know this.

54. Article in Bonn: DER.   All nouns in German are either masculine, feminine or neuter.  The little word in front, the article, will tell you the gender.  Another tidbit ?    As you know, in English, only proper nouns are capitalized, but in German, ALL nouns are capitalized.   

Here are the German definite and indefinite articles:

der - the (masculine)
die - the (feminine)
das - the (neuter)
ein - a (masculine and neuter)
eine - a (feminine)

Thank you Rocket Languages for the lesson.

Your challenge when solving a crossword is to recognize the gender, but like a number of Spanish clues that don't give you a hint (compare the clue "Other, in Spanish" to the clues, "Juan's other" or "Juanita's other")  you are going to have to get the perp to be correct.   Or get lucky.

55. Fraternity activity: RUSH.   "He doesn't always listen to RUSH, but when he does, the whole neighborhood does too".

63. Like answers that lower test scores: IN ERROR.

64. Pre-owned item: USED CAR.  A specific answer to a general clue.  Friday worthy.

65. Top-rated TV show of 1984-'85:  DYNASTY.   Who shot JR ?   Oh wait, that was Dallas.  This was prime time show designed to be competition to Dallas, and it eventually worked.

66. WWII vessels: PT BOATS.  Patrol Torpedo.  Saw my first one watching McHale's Navy.

Down:

1. Source of tweets ... or growls: CAGE.   Another very good Friday clue that required creative thinking.

2. Defunct fruit coating: ALAR.  The FDA approved the spray that was used on apple trees (and cherries) to regulate growth so the apples didn't ripen and fall to the ground too early.  A few years later, questionable EPA testing and a questionable 60 Minutes feature story incorrectly terming it a pesticide raised significant public awareness that it was a carcinogenic.  Public concern (deemed "hysteria" by many, but especially the apple growers) created the "Alar Scare" that caused the manufacturer to withdraw the product.

3. Barrels into: RAMS.

4. Help the bad guys: ABET.

5. Big mouth: MAW.

6. Political refugee: EMIGRE.

7. Barista's output: LATTES.  Didn't we have LATTE ART recently as the answer ?

8. Understood: SAW.  Tried got first.  No bueno.

9. Start to cycle?: TRI.   I had to go from one wheel to three wheels to complete this answer.

10. Many a Middle-earth combatant: ARCHER.  When I see Middle-earth, I think of J.R.R Tolkein. You ?

11. Eco-friendly carrier: BIKE.  Clever.  Bicycle, and arguably, motorcycle when compared other motorized vehicles.

12. Composer Charles: IVES.


13. Plastering strip: LATH.

14. Other than this: ELSE.

18. 1946 Literature Nobelist: HESSE.  Perps.  Don't know how a person could answer this based on the clue alone, unless they were were a literature expert.  It is Friday.

22. __ bargain: PLEA.

23. Sports gp. that originally had "Lawn" in its name: USTA.  I usta play tennis.  Got smoked in the very first tournament I entered.   It was a small town contest run by the parks department.  Still have the Wilson T2000.

24. Nasty: MEAN. Ilie Nastase's nickname was Nasty, but I think that was a bit unfair. He was no shrinking violet.  That's for sure.  But he wasn't nasty.

25. Knocked the socks off: WOWED.

26. Grand Prince of Moscow, 1328-'40: IVAN I.

27. Litters' littlest: RUNTS.  Easy to think the response would be singular.

28. John of music: ELTON.  Sir Elton.


29. "Barbarella" director Roger: VADIM.   I saw the movie but didn't think much of it.  Kinda goofy. Would never have got this without the M in JIMINY.   And four others.

30. Formal identification: IT IS I.  Formal, in the sense that it is the grammatically correct response. Nice clue.

31. Deceive: COZEN.  To trick or cheat, or obtain by deception.  There's a large law firm in Philly called Cozen O'Connor that has probably had to bear the brunt of many jokes.

32. Board at one's fingertips: EMERY.

37. How "The Banana Boat Song" begins: DAY O.  Why was this song popular ?


38. Fills in: SUBS.  Substitutes.  Husker Gary is apt to fill the void when a teacher needs time off.

40. Drop: OMIT.

43. Soft leather: SUEDE.

46. Takes the stage: ENTERS.  Thespians, musicians, emcees, comics, public speakers etc.  They all strive to take the stage.

47. Becomes harder to afford: GOES UP.   What goes up, must come down.   Spinning wheel, got to go 'round.


48. Legal scholar: JURIST.

50. Came out with: SAID.

51. Inconsequential: PUNY.  Not of significant concern.  Mere.

52. Early banishment site: EDEN.

53. Pre-Euro currency: LIRA.

55. Start from scratch: REDO.

56. Donald, to Huey, Dewey and Louie: UNCA.  Comic strip vocalization of uncle.  The characters are a Walt Disney production.

57. "Get lost!": SCAT.

58. "... nor shall ever see that face of __ again": Lear: HERS.

60. Excluding: NOT.

61. Shout: CRY.

62. Syr. neighbor: LEB.  Syria and Lebanon.

Friday, July 26, 2019, Joe Schewe

Title: There is no "I" in "team" or this theme.

Joe is back for his fifth LAT publication, his first Friday and second 2019 publication. The concept is simple - remove the letter "I" from the first word of a two word in the language phrase and then clue the result for maximum humor. The icing on the Friday cake is the puzzle has both the puns created by removing the letter and a punderful reveal - 63A. Minimal red-removing amount ... and a phonetic hint to four long answers: ONE EYE DROP (10). So you drop one "I" to get the theme. The puzzle is a bit of an homage to our dear editor, who penned this Sunday Puzzle back in 2000.

There is some fun fill such as AMHERST, CISTERN, ELECTEE, MANATEE, OPEN-AIR, RENT OUT, SO AND SO, SOCKETS, TEENAGE, and UNDERGO. Nothing else new to the puzzle world, so let's get on with it. (BTW this is my Friday, we do every other- Lemonade).

17A. Airline category for hombres?: SEÑOR CLASS (10). The "I" disappears from the Senior Class which airlines still mention but no longer discount.

25A. Run in prison?: CON OPERATED (11). Here the I in "COIN" leaves.

37A. Sculptor, at times?: NOSE MAKER (9). This missing I made for the most amusing fill for me. Noise to Nose - very cute.

53A. VIP at royal banquets?: CHEF OF STATE (11).

And since I already gave the reveal, on to the rest.

Across:

1. Promotional giveaways: COMPS. COMPlimentaryS. Freebies.

6. Hard-to-sell wheels: HEAP. I believe it signifies a car ready for the scrap HEAP.

10. Muscles in a flex-off: PECS. Pectorals - chests.

14. Illusory pictures: OP-ART. Optical.

15. __ rug: AREA.

16. Mélange: OLIO. A favorite C.C. word.

19. Colorado's __ Verde National Park: MESA. Go see it. The LINK.

20. It's as low as it gets: NADIR. Apogee is the highest point.

21. Handy bag: TOTE.

23. USPS delivery: CTN. An abbreviation for a carton.

24. Fast no more: EAT.

28. Battle (for): VIE.  Old French: to challenge, provoke from the Latin invītāre to entertain, invite.

29. Menlo Park, N.J., notable: TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.

30. Surgical tools: LASERS. I had YAG laser capsulotomy after my cataract surgery.

31. Bellicose god: ARES.  Clearly not an airhead. MYTHOLOGY

33. "__ the night before ... ": TWAS. And all through the blog...

36. Gregg user: STENO. Gregg is a system of shorthand used by many secretaries including all of the ones I employed when I practiced law.  Or a stenographer is a person who makes a written verbatim record using a unique shortened writing style called “steno” on a steno machine.

40. Old Nick: SATAN. Yes, the coach of Alabama football.

43. Massachusetts Bay city: LYNN. Was this a Natick for you?

44. "Little we see in Nature that is __": Wordsworth: OURS.
LINK.

48. Code of silence: OMERTA. Sicilian.



50. Freight weight: TON.

52. Born, in Bordeaux: NEE. Just French that used universally for the birth name of a woman.

56. Chain letters?: DNA. Cute clue; it has been a while since I received a chain letter, though I see many attempts on Facebook.

57. Author Kesey: KEN. And LSD pioneer. He is most famous for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. It reminds me of orange sunshine and purple owsleys.

58. Piece of farm equipment: PLOW?

59. Limited message: TWEET. Nope, I am not falling into that trap.

61. Historic periods: ERAS.

66. USAF NCO: TSGT. "TSgt" in informal parlance, is the sixth enlisted rank (pay grade E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant.

67. Gray's subj.: ANATomy.

68. Uninterrupted movement: SEGUE. Seg-way in its Italian root form.

69. Bit of choreography: STEP.

70. Youngster: TYKE. Etymology: 14th Century: from Old Norse tīk meaning bitch. What?

71. Govt. security: T-NOTE.

Down:

1. NYSE listings: COS. Companies.

2. Like outdoor theaters: OPEN AIR.

3. Dugong relative: MANATEE. Both manatees and dugongs, nicknamed "sea cows", are slow-moving herbivorous (mostly) marine mammals that belong to the Sirenian animal order.

4. Encourage: PROD. That is harsh. Probably a parent who is...

5. Rigid: STRICT.

6. Actor Holbrook: HAL. A wonderful actor who is famous for his portrayal of Mark Twain who is still with us as a 94-year-old.

                                                                 LINK

7. Sister of Euterpe: ERATO. The Nine Muses were: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, and Calliope. The word museum also comes from the Greek Muses.

8. Writer with lessons: AESOP. A fabulous answer.

9. Soft shade: PASTEL.

10. Little dog: POMeranian.

11. Winner at the polls: ELECTEE. I do hate the EE words.

12. Water storage tank: CISTERN. A fun word.

13. Blankety-blank type: SO AND SO. A wonderful fill, usually dirty so and so.

18. Certain Slavs: CROATS.

22. Clear: ERASE.

24. Girl rescued by Uncle Tom: EVA. Uncle Tom's Cabin

26. Staircase post: NEWEL.

27. Member of MLB's 2017 champions: ASTRO. Watch the series.

32. 24-Across greedily: SNARF. An odd word. They suggest it either comes from the sound one makes eating quickly, or from its cousin scarf and snack combined.

34. Acker of "The Gifted": AMY. LINK.

35. Nick working at night?: SANTA. A little Nickolodeon reference.

38. Good way to go out: ON TOP.

39. __ pine: KNOTTY. My childhood bedroom was knotty pine panels.

40. Light bulb holders: SOCKETS.

41. UMass town whose third letter isn't pronounced: AMHERST. I know many who say the "H" but they are wrong.

42. Like many new drivers: TEENAGE.

45. Experience: UNDERGO.

46. Charge to occupy: RENT OUT.

47. Red or Black: SEA.

49. Financially sound: AFLOAT.

51. Having collected the least dust: NEWEST. Meh.

54. Corleone brother: SONNY.

55. Fine-tune: TWEAK. Miley Cyrus?

60. Fall locale: EDEN. Wonderful misdirection, fall from grace the garden of Eden.

62. Indy letters: STP.

64. Automne follows it: ETE. En Francais.

65. Protest leader?: PEE. Urine charge of this clue CED.

I hope you all enjoyed your morning Joe. I did and maybe Joe will stop by and say hello and tell us a story. See you all in August. Lemonade out.

Friday, July 19, 2019 Jeffrey Wechsler

Breeding Assignment

Jeffrey mates a leading B to the first word of common phrases that start with an R... to a homophone R word... and creates new life with these phrases and definitions.  Breed 'em and weep.  Or laugh, as I did.

17. That necessary morning cup of coffee?: BREWED AWAKENING.   Rude Awakening.

24. Prepare some fish for frying?: BREAD HERRINGS.   Red Herrings.

44. Good nickname for Stephen King?: BRAIN OF TERROR.   Reign of terror.

58. Part of the Hulk's healthy diet?: BRUTE VEGETABLES.    Root vegetables.


I first tried my hand at it with "rags to riches" and came up with "Boasts about personal wealth" for "brags to riches" but the spelling doesn't change, so although it rhymes it's not a homophone and not consistent with Jeffrey's lead.  

How about "Crumple new bills ? for "Break in the money ?"  That might work.   How about "Male chauvinist's belittling comment about a confident, busty woman ?"   Rest assured that I could never make it as a constructor.   Hats off to those with the wordsmith skills.


Let's examine some of the other clues and answers.

Across:

1. Martial arts move: CHOP.   First thought was kick.

5. Lawrence with an eponymous college: SARAH. No idea.  Sarah Lawrence College

10. Oppressive atmosphere: PALL. An air of gloom

14. Dynamic opening: AERO.    The top 10 most aerodynamic production cars.    I guessed the Teslas and the Prius, but not the Alfa that Dash - T's wife drives.   Top aerodynamic production cars.

15. British Columbia neighbor: IDAHO.

16. Court contemporary of Bjorn: ILIE.   First name in the clue, first name in the answer.   Tennis courts.  Borg and Nastase.  Borg beat Nastase in the 1976 Wimbledon men's final.   In more recent news, Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in this year's men's final.

20. Persevere, with "on": SOLDIER.   Having the tenacity to keep going despite the obstacles.

21. Great Society era, with "the": SIXTIES.

22. [There's another doc]: ENC.   Enclosure.   A reference, often in the footer area of an introductory page, that alerts you that there are more documents in the mailer or folder.     There were tons of enclosures in the mailer when I did a ReFi mortgage by mail with Norwest Bank in the mid 90's.  Plus a lot of sticky note arrows telling us where to sign and date.

23. "The X-Files" subjects: ETs.   Extra-Terrestrials.   I learned from crosswords that they eat Reese's Pieces.

31. Nashville awards org.: CMA.   Country Music Association.

33. Very: REAL.     

34. Baku native: AZERI.   Baku is the capital city of Azerbaijan.   "The modern ethnonym "Azerbaijani" or "Azeri" refers to the Turkic peoples of Iranian Azerbaijan and Republic of Azerbaijan. They historically called themselves or were referred to by others as Muslims, Turks, Turkmens, Persians, or Ajams" - Wikipedia.

"Local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton; surface and underground water are polluted by untreated municipal and industrial wastewater and agricultural run-off"  - CIA World Factbook.

Not in our travel plans.  

35. Decided in court: RULED.

38. Show set in Vegas: CSI.  Crime Scene Investigation.   There's a long-running German crime / drama series I enjoy that runs on the MHz channel.   It's called Tatort, which translates to Crime Scene.  I have to read the subtitles to understand most of it.  There's a lot of $10 words in German, like Tatortermittlung, which translates to Crime Scene Investigation.

39. Discontinue: SEVER.

40. Theater area with no seats: AISLE.   Freshness in the clue for a common crossword fill.

41. Work with an Ethiopian princess: AIDA.   Verdi's opera.

43. Lea feeder: EWE.

48. Cedar Rapids campus: COE.   A liberal arts college named for one of the early donors.  Wikipedia tells me that the man that invented CorningWare,  S. Donald Stookey  was an alumni of Coe College.

49. __ canto: BEL.   Italian for beautiful singing or beautiful song.  Various definitions.

50. Truly enjoy something: EAT IT UP. 

54. Most beneficent: KINDEST.    Like L. Frank Baum's Glinda. 

60. Lot measure: ACRE.   There are 640 of them in a Section.   A quarter-quarter section is 40 acres. 640/4 and the resulting 160/4 = 40,  which is how far it was from our house to the next neighbor when I was growing up.   Well, except for the high school vice principal.   She lived directly across the street.  I had to mind my P's and Q's.  

61. See some sorority sisters, say: REUNE.   I've seen this word most often in crosswords.

62. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters":  OLGA.

Oh, this is the Chekhov.  Sounds the same, but spelled differently than the Star Trek character.

63. "__ Cassius has a lean and hungry look": YOND.

64. Belgian expressionist James: ENSOR.    Last Friday, I got the answer ENSOR ("Former CNN journalist David") because of the 5 perps.    This time I had 4 of the 5 perps and I missed it.   Didn't get the S in GUS.   D'oh !

65. Oenology datum: YEAR.   Wine related.  As in Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, 1973. 

Down:

1. Many have meters: CABS.  Taxicabs. 

2. Sub: HERO. Grinder, hoagie.

3. Russian city: OREL.   Did not know, but as Abejo would say, "Four perps and I got it".   This city is also spelled Oryol in English.

4. Ground material: POWDER.    In spices like chili and cinnamon powder, talcum in baby and cosmetic powders, in fireworks and ammunition as gunpowder, et alia.  

5. Cognac cocktail: SIDECAR.   Never had one, but recognized the drink name with a few perps.

6. Month after Shevat: ADAR.   Guessed ADAR and built around it.    It's the one month on the Hebrew calendar that comes immediately to mind.   Elul if pressed for another.   IDAHO gave me the needed confidence.

7. Cold and damp: RAW.  Similar to dank and clammy, but more bitter due to the cold.     Unlike the Arizona weather in the summer.   Hi, Lucina !  Hello, Yuma !  You too, CartBoy !    It's pretty warm right now in much of the rest of the country.

8. Signs of solutions: AHAs.   Or TADAs.   

9. Apt to use more corn?: HOKIER.  I used to be addicted to the hokey-pokey.  But then I turned myself around.  Hey, that was almost Boomer-esque !  

10. Wee: PINT SIZE.

11. Et __: ALII.  "Et alii (masculine), et aliae (feminine) or et alia (neuter), in all cases meaning and others. Mixed-gender groups would use et alii".  - Wiktionary

12. Black Friday likelihood: LINE.

13. Durability metaphor: LEGS.   Usually with has, as in  "That story has legs and we're going to be hearing about it for a long time".    You have to be on your toes and knuckle down as you solve Jeffrey's puzzles, or he'll make your head swim and pull the wool over your eyes.   But if you keep a stiff upper lip and your nose to the grindstone, you can get the upper hand.

18. German article: EINE.    A.

19. Epic film budget line: EXTRAS.   Along the lines of Ben-Hur, with a cast of thousands.

24. Model material: BALSA.    A very light,  yet strong,  hardwood.  It was an answer on Jeopardy!   last week.

25. Dunkin' Donuts option: DECAF.  Coffee flavor without the caffeine.  Not my cup of tea.

26. Is charismatic: HAS IT.  The "it" factor.   The It Factor Quiz

27. Omit, in speaking: ELIDE.

28. "Not happening": NEVER. A different take on never:


29. Expanded: GREW.

30. Royal address: SIRE.

31. Food often served with a mallet: CRAB.    A restaurant in San Antonio features a crab and mallet.

I just checked their prices.  The Snow Crab is now 23 and  the King Crab is now 32, but the Lobster is still 24.

32. Naturalist John: MUIR.

36. Drew out: ELICITED.

37. Indicate: DENOTE.

42. Settler?: ARBITER.   Are arbiter and arbitration arbitrary?

45. Haydn's includes 106 symphonies: OEUVRE.   Complete body of work. 

46. "General Hospital" Emmy winner Sofer: RENA.  Don't remember her, but I remember Luke and Laura.  Yeah,  I watched it for the better part of one year during college.   It was a girlfriend thing.

47. Member of an exclusive network: OLD BOY.    In England.  Not to be confused with a Good Old Boy network in the southern US.   Both can loosely be defined as "who you know and have ins with" but the Old Boy network in England largely stems from relationships and ties to prestigious universities, such as ETON and Oxford.    A new learning for me.

50. Major success of the dot-com bubble: EBAY.  ebay 

51. Oil acronym: ARCO.   Atlantic Richfield Company.   We had the Atlantic gas stations here and there when I was growing up in the Youngstown Pittsburgh area.   Then they became ARCOs, and soon thereafter were retrofitted as other gas station chains. 

52. Dice roll, say: TURN.


53. Hammer part: PEEN.  Only on a few of the many hammer types.  55 Types of Hammers – The Ultimate Guide

54. Numbers game: KENO.

55. Cosmo rival: ELLE.

56. Phantasy Star Online publisher: SEGA.   An online Role Playing Game (RPG). 

57. Bygone dynast: TSAR.   In my mind, the spelling for the hereditary Russian rulers should be TSARs.    The spelling for business leaders and heads of departments should be czars, such as "Energy Czar William Simon".   When solving crosswords, I follow that self-created rule unless the perps force a change.  Rich seems to have the same proclivity.

59. Mouse in Disney's "Cinderella": GUS.    The intersection of Gus and Ensor did me in today.    If I ever knew of this little fellow, I forgot.



And with that, here's the grid:

Friday. July 12, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Even STRANGER THINGS, Eleven's little brother Nine.

Bruce offers us a 15 x 16 puzzle where the theme is the grid which contains 72 words and uses only 9 letters in the alphabet!!!!!!!!!
We do have a reveal- 64A. Country spelled with the only nine letters used in this puzzle's answers: SINGAPORE (9). Gimmick puzzles can be a lot of fun but seldom have such perfect reveal. I was very impressed by the skill required to bring this home while maintaining the left/right symmetry. The only cheater squares are the three on each side of  SINGAPORE. The puzzle allowed for such sparkly fill as APENNINES, APPEASING, ENGAGES IN, PING PONGS, ASIAN PEARS, and REGRESSION. No doubt some of the fill was a bit obscure, but the final result was all doable once you understood you did not need any alphabet runs. We have some music, some tv, some food.... well it is time to work.

Across:

1. Getaway spots: SPAS. This was a good start for me.

5. Prefix with phobia: AGORA. Initially, I had left this blank, but when I had filled ARGO and ANGORA, I came back put AGORA in. I did not quite get the theme at that point, but it made sense.

10. 2012 Best Picture: ARGO. Ben Affleck.

14. Subside: EASE.

15. Place to start an IV: PREOP. Do you think it needs a hyphen? Pre-op. Nicely misleading clue because I was trying to decide where they were sticking me.

16. Accessories: GEAR.

17. Yeats' birthplace: ERIN. WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS appeared in a comment this week. Not only a well-respected poet, but he was also very proud of his Irish heritage.

18. Dissect in class, in a way: PARSE. A common crossword concept.

19. "To share, or not to share?" food brand: EGGO. No waffling on this answer.

20. Butters up, maybe: PRAISES. Unless it is your waffle...

22. Long-haired cats: ANGORAS.  This BREED.

24. Prefix with -gon: NONA. This is geometry -a plane figure with nine straight sides and nine angles.

25. Zip: NONE. Hmm, next to each other.

26. Fill in: APPRISE.

29. Wintergreen family herb: PINESAP. This is any of several yellowish or reddish parasitic or saprophytic herbs (genus Monotropa) of the wintergreen family resembling the Indian pipe. It has nothing to do with the SAP from a pine.

32. Once called: NÉE. For a female.

33. Assigning to, as blame, with "on": PINNING.

35. Multitude: SEA.

36. Hoppy brew, briefly: IPA. India Pale Ale. Very hoppy.

37. Search tools: ENGINES.

38. Apple platform: IOS.

39. Formal addressees: SIRS.

41. Factions in "West Side Story": GANGS.

42. Word in family business names: SONS.

43. Former CNN journalist David: ENSOR. I no longer watch any national news but seems like a NICE man.

45. Misunderstanding metaphor: GAP.

46. Pick up: SENSE.

47. Bird seen in only one state: NENE. CSO to our Hawaii readers.

49. Letters near zero: OPER. If you remember the classic telephone.

51. Germane: APROPOS.

54. Like some doubts and injuries: NAGGING.

58. Polish for "dumplings": PIEROGI. Food.

59. Less experienced: GREENER.

60. Football's "Boomer": ESIASON. A HOF quarterback, sort of.

61. Inflation-indexed U.S. savings bond: SERIES I. What is FOR SALE now.

62. __ Marino: SAN.

63. W-2 info: SSN.

Down:

1. Trickle: SEEP.

2. Last of three Catherines: PARR. She was an interesting woman, and here is a LINK to a wonderful historical website.

3. Far East fruit: ASIAN PEARS. This looks like an apple but tastes like a pear and is available in the street markets in Thailand and some large Asian markets here in Florida. Many of the fruits named in this THAI FRUIT LINK are grown in Homestead. Just be careful of the Durian.

4. Ranking: SENIOR. My card says "senior assistant" meaning I am old.

5. Settling down: APPEASING.

6. French fat: GRAS. Foie gras...a delicacy that extends back thousands of years, based on a rather barbaric CUSTOM.

7. Anthem word with an apostrophe: O'ER the ramparts we watched...

8. Parks in American history: ROSA.

9. Corno Grande's range: APENNINES. A complete unknown despite talking with my son and d-i-l about their time in Italy, but nothing here. Geography is clearly my weakest subject.

10. Early personal milestone: AGE ONE. Weird phrasing.

11. Word in medicine that sounds bad but is often good: REGRESSION. Another word that goes both ways - sometimes good, sometimes bad. re·gres·sion (rē-gresh'ŭn), such as shown:
1. A subsidence of symptoms.
2. A relapse; a return of symptoms.

12. Infatuated: GAGA.

13. Spanish medals or metals: OROS. Spanish Gold.

21. Take potshots: SNIPE.

23. Loud ringers: GONGS.

26. Biscotti flavoring: ANISE. Alphabetically first, but man they make many FLAVORS.

27. Jacques of PBS' "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home": PEPIN.
I did not know this SERIES or M. Pepin       

28. Does: ENGAGES IN.

29. Goes back and forth: PING PONGS. A nice visual clue.

30. Long periods: AEONS.

31. So yesterday: PASSE.

34. 1493 Lisbon arrival: NINA. HEADLINE.

40. Only Mexican state that borders Baja: SONORA.

42. Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. I really did not know his first name. Listen.

44. They get carried away: REPOS.

46. "Night Moves" singer: SEGER. Listen and watch.

48. Scrubbed, as a launch: NO GO.

50. Cut back: PARE.

51. Parrots: APES. Funny, two animals used to mean imitates.

52. City on the Arno: PISA. You can see the river through the town.

53. Hold back: REIN. You need to control your joy at getting this Friday puzzle.

55. Supermodel Sastre: INÉS. This was the last of the total unknowns for me. She is quite pretty and more. Sorry for the removed info.

LINK

56. Loch of note: NESS. No Eliot for Boomer.

57. Silly look?: GRIN. Yes, what my face looks like now that I made it to the end.

Bruce always delivers some fun and creativity, and today was a classic. I feel blessed to do Friday puzzles because they are so diverse and this was an incredible challenge to create without making it clunky. Thanks, Bruce. Lemonade out.

Friday, July 5, 2019 Derek Bowman

Thoroughbred Racing

Three grid spanners in the middle give us a thoroughbred racing mini-theme.  Nothing else that I could see.   

32. New York city with a historic race course: SARATOGA SPRINGS.

37. 2015 Triple Crown winner: AMERICAN PHAROAH.

38. California race that's a stepping-stone to Kentucky: SANTA ANITA DERBY.

As a 3 year old, American Pharoah won the Kentucky, Derby, then the Preakness and Belmont to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown.  He ended his career with a 9-1 record and became the only horse in history to win the "Grand Slam" of thoroughbred racing when he won the Breeders Cup Classic.

He also won at Santa Anita as a 2 year old in the FrontRunner Stakes,  but didn't he didn't run in the Santa Anita Derby.   The FrontRunner Stakes has been renamed the American Pharoah Stakes in the horses's honor.

His only loss came in Saratoga Springs at the Travers Stakes.   


Across:

1. Jimmy Choo shoe brand co-founder Mellon: TAMARA.    No idea, but it is Friday.  Thank you perps.   

7. Athlete's feint: HEAD FAKE. 

15. Cast out: EXILED.

16. Dander, e.g.: ALLERGEN.

17. "Sadly, that's not the case": ALAS, NO.

18. Not just requested: IMPLORED.  Beseeched.  To my ears, implored sounds more modern than beseeched.

19. Duff Beer server: MOE.  The Simpsons

20. Gives the go-ahead: OKs.

21. Sources of renewed energy: NAPS.  Our friend WikWak must have a lot of energy.  I think I'm going to follow his model and see if it works for me.

22. "Who, me?": MOI.   Miss Piggy was famous for asking, "Moi ?"

24. Wise teacher: GURU.

26. Pull (out): OPT.

28. Historic time: ERA.

29. Unified: ONE.

30. Muse with a lyre: ERATO.

39. Minute Maid Park player: ASTRO.    Astro Alex Bregman was MVP in last year's All Star game.  His 10th inning home run put the AL'ers ahead of the NL'ers 7 to 6.   His Astro teammate George Springer followed with another round tripper as an insurance run. and the AL won the game 8-6.    In 89 games, the AL leads the summer classic 44-43-2.    That's pretty even.   Also pretty even ?  Runs scored in the All Star games.  The AL leads 769 to 767.  Tuesday, July 9th will be the 90th game.  It would be neat if the NL won by 2 runs.

40. Denver-to-Omaha dir.: ENE.

41. Completely: ALL.

42. Talks acronym: TED.  Technology, Entertainment and Design.

43. Country in a Beatles title: USSR.   It's where I learned B.O.A.C.


45. 1992-2001 Expos manager Felipe: ALOU.

48. Boom source: TNT.

49. "__ Baby Baby": 1965 Miracles hit: OOO.  Smokey Robinson will be playing in Temecula tonight at the Pechanga Summit.   Tickets for the 8 PM concert are $39,  but you might do better if you Shop Around.



51. Has a revelatory experience: FINDS GOD.

54. Many city workers live in one: SUBURB.

57. Like Greenpeace, e.g.: ANTI NUKE.

58. 2017 biopic about a figure skater: I TONYA. Tonya Harding.


59. "Good Day Sunshine" album: REVOLVER.


I also especially like Got To Get You Into My Life from the same album.

60. Called for: NEEDED.   Despite the fact that the Rum Swizzle called for crushed or pebble ice, Tinbeni ordered it straight.

Down:

1. Spot to drink: TEA.

2. Rose of rock: AXL.


3. '80s-'90s Heat home: MIAMI ARENA.

4. Additionally: ALSO.

5. Go back to the table: RENEGOTIATE.

6. Hubbub: ADO.

7. Very short poem: HAIKU.  CSO to our occasional visitor Haiku Harry.

8. Stately trees: ELMS.

9. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP.   Been there.    You can not only see Austria from it, you can straddle both countries while doing it.  It is the tallest of the Alps in Germany.   The Zugspitze is not the tallest in Austria though.   That claim belongs to the Grossglockner, which is the second highest of all the Alps, trailing only Mont Blanc.    Just as the Zugspitze shares two countries, so does Mont Blanc, with France and Italy sharing the mountain.  

10. With 44-Across, "Summertime Sadness" singer Lana: DEL. And 44. See 10-Down: REY.   Never heard it before, but the video has 185M views, so either it's popular or there have been some bots at work.


11. It's off the ground during a wheelie: FRONT TIRE.

I would guess circa 1967.

12. Asian shrine city: AGRA.

13. Word with watch or time: KEEP.   Also for quiet and still.

14. Stops: ENDS.

20. Pizza seasoning: OREGANO.

22. Flat-topped lands: MESAS.  Buttes, plateaus...

23. Slangy event suffix: ORAMA.

25. Reverse, for one: UNO CARD.    One of the action cards, of which there are 5 or 7,  depending on your game deck.   There are 4 reverse cards.  You can only use the reverse card if you are playing it on a card of the same color, or on another reverse card.

 UNO RULES

26. Harry Potter and Tom Sawyer: ORPHANS.

27. Procession plan: PARADE ROUTE.

30. 1930s Rhine/Zener experiment: ESP TEST.

31. Circa: ON OR AROUND.

33. Painter's work area: ART STUDIO.  Atelier.

34. Singer DiFranco: ANI.

35. Cape Cod feature: GABLE.

36. With pause, perhaps: SHYLY.

43. Anesthetized: UNDER.

45. A long way off: AFAR.

46. Queue (up): LINE. 

47. Being broadcast: ON TV.

48. Tip in Vegas: TOKE.

50. Orchestras tune to one: OBOE.

52. "Weekend Update" show: SNL.

53. Bloke's address: GUV.

54. Offense: SIN.

55. Manhattan part: RYE.

56. Disobedient, to Fido: BAD.

Friday, June 28, 2019, Michael Paleos

Title: Ten-hut!

Michael Paleos

is a new constructor who already has an NYT and a WSJ publication under his belt. Why he keeps them there I do not know, but it isn't for me to judge. The New York Times was October 24, 2018, and the reveal and puzzle were great. The WSJ on May 9 of this year also had a really fun reveal. Today, we are presented with a reveal that hints at the solution but lets us work at the solve. The rest of the fill is very gettable, but you have to unravel 38A. Splitting with one's group ... or a hint to the theme found in four puzzle rows: BREAKING RANKS (13). First, you need to understand that ranks are military ranks. The next hint is that the military ranks are hidden 4 different across rows. Then you need to picture the military ranks split into two pieces like...

1A. Pickle: DILEMMA paired (7) with 8A. Important biblical river: JORDAN (6) which together gives us a MAJOR. Then knowing the rule of symmetry we go to the very last row and find:
67A. Oregon city where Nike was founded: EUGENE(6) paired with 68A. Comes back: RALLIES (7) which together gives us a GENERAL. Now to find two more rows...you can quickly discard rows 2 and 3, but behold! Row 4 has the delightful pairing
18A. Rundown: RECAP (5) paired with 19A. IMPURE: TAINTED, which together gives us CAPTAIN.  Then go up 2 rows from the bottom to maintain the grid symmetry and locate 56A. High wind: PICCOLO. (7) Very tricky, a high wind instrument paired with 59A. "M.O." rapper: NELLY (5) which gives us COLONEL. And now you know how I solved the puzzle. Michael needed many "cheater"(helper?) squares to make this work, 8 in all which are shown with a pink sign in the black squares in the grid.       

                                                                                                            The stacks of seven and six in the top three and bottom three rows were impressive and the theme was so close to being elegant if he could only have had the Captain Major Colonel General appear in order. There lots of common fill but also he squeezed in AIR ASIA,  ECOTOUR, ICELAND, PICANTE, CABLECAR, DEADLOCK,  RETAPING, and the timely and controversial ROE V. WADE. Now that my write-up is all out of control, let us examine the rest.

Across:

14. Whale-watching excursion, say: ECOTOUR. I found this definition of ECOTOURISM: “Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past, and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local peoples.”

15. It's about 80 miles SW of Buffalo, N.Y.: ERIE, PA. Major (pun intended) to our Erie folk. Do you this BILLIONAIRE?

16. Hot and spicy: PICANTE.

17. Only Jet who was a Super Bowl MVP: NAMATH. The Jets along with the Tampa Bay Bucs and New Orleans Saints have each played in and won 1 Super Bowl.

21. Photo lab abbr.: ENLarge.

22. That, south of the border: ESO. Spanish, man.

24. Food additive: DYE.

25. Something you can stand to lose: LAP. Not a racing lap, the one that goes away when you stand.

28. Lyric tributes: ODES.

30. Med. school subject: ANATomy.

32. Name on a banana sticker: DOLE. This multinational company is at the forefront of growing ORGANIC FRUIT.

33. Winery cask: TUN. I like the definition: an imperial measure of capacity, equal to 4 hogsheads. Cutting the quantity in half each time, volumes were measurement went as follows: tone (tun), butt/pipe, hogshead, barrel, kilderkin, and firkin. While working at a start-up brewery my son reintroduced the firkin as a part of both brewing and sales.

35. Iconic San Francisco sight: CABLE CAR. This is not just a sight, it is a really fun way to get around the city and not get totally worn out by the hills. LINK.

41. Landmark 1973 decision: ROE V. WADE. Now it is all politics.

42. Oxford, to Oxonians: UNIversity.

43. Pay to play: ANTE. Poker and other gambling card games.

44. Mideast seaport: ADEN. Again no comment, but you can watch.

46. Natural floor covering: MOSS.

50. __ green: PEA. Or green pea.

51. __Kosh B'gosh: OSH. My boys were dressed in this children's clothing manufacture when they were young.

53. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI. I hope you remember this from two weeks ago. He was a French King.

55. Something you might grab in a hammock: NAP. Also, the sides to keep from falling off.

61. "Okay, that makes sense now": AH, I SEE.

63. Budget carrier headquartered near Kuala Lumpur: AIR ASIA.

65. Scammer: CONMAN. Sexist, it can be a con woman.

66. Nordic Council member: ICELAND.

Down:

1. Hinge (on): DEPEND.

2. It's pointy and cold: ICICLE. They look very pretty at first.

3. "Livin' la Vida __": LOCA.

4. Military day's march: ÉTAPE. This is a place where troops camp after a day's march, or the march itself.

5. Many a fed. holiday: MONday.

6. Chop meat: MUTTON. This was tricky because in the US we think only of lamb chops or beef, pork and veal as chop meat.

7. Calculation often using pi: AREA.

8. Spinning __: weaving innovation: JENNY. The STORY of this invention and its impact on the industrial revolution.

9. Provide an address: ORATE.

10. Frosty coating: RIME.

11. Stalemate: DEADLOCK. I am not sure why but I had trouble with this dead-heat being the last to fall away.

12. Fitting: APT.

13. "You're dreaming": NAH.

18. Speed Wagon make: REO. The Reo Speedwagon was a very creative vehicle from Mr. Olds and his Reo company. REO Speedwagon was a band.

20. Aid in reuniting a lost suitcase with its owner: ID TAG.

23. Coffee brand with an orange cap: SANKA. It was all there was for decaf for years unless you wanted to drink grain like Postum.

26. Word of regret: ALAS.

27. __ se: PER.

29. L.A. Clippers owner Ballmer: STEVE. I love that he could be called Steve "Basket" Ballmer, but he is much MORE.

31. Blemished, in a way: ACNED. Meh.

32. Commonly blue fabric: DENIM. Levi Strauss started with Canvas because the miners needed strong pants to hold their gold.

34. Motor City org.: UAW. United Auto Workers.

36. Musical Mars: BRUNO. Two for one. 41D. Cardi B genre: RAP.

37. Office PC nexus: LAN. Local Area Network.

38. Fillet's lack: BONE.

39. Recording over: RETAPING.

40. Panhandle state: IDAHO.

45. Beethoven's Third: EROICA.

47. Browsing, nowadays: ONLINE.

48. Tortilla shell fillers, perhaps: SALADS. When? okay, there is lettuce and tomato along with the        cheese and meat, but really, just salad?



49. Special Stratego piece: SPY.

51. Broad expanse: OCEAN.

52. A co-star might steal one: SCENE.

54. Taken together: IN ALL.

57. "Woe __!": IS ME.

58. Villain's hideout: LAIR.

60. Morales of "NYPD Blue": ESAI.

61. Great service?: ACE.

62. Astros, on sports tickers: HOUston.

64. Shinto, for one: Abbr.: RELigion.

You already have the grid above so don't be greedy. Welcome Mike and I hope you stop by and say hello. I enjoyed reading your comments when your NYT was published. Lemonade out.

Friday, June 21, 2019 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

THAT'S A WRAP !

17. That's a wrap: GIFT BOX COVERING.

27. That's a wrap: TERRY CLOTH ROBE.

44. That's a wrap: ROLLED SANDWICH.

60. "That's a wrap!": END OF A FILM SHOOT.

Bruce and Gail tossed us a softball today, wrapped in a tight little package.    That's ok by me.  

Across:

1. It's sold in bars: SOAP. 

5. D-Day invasion city: ST LO.   Saint-Lô

9. Live: DWELL.

14. Willing follower?: ABLE.   Often preceded by Ready.

15. Forked over: PAID.  Remitted.

16. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE.

20. Make more flavorful: SEASON.    There's a right way, and a wrong way.   Too little and too much are subjective.   I tend to be a little heavy handed with seasoning.   When things go wrong,  the fine folks at Cook Country offer the following suggestions:

• If your food is too salty, add an acid or sweetener such as vinegar; lemon or lime juice; canned, unsalted tomatoes; sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
• If your food is too sweet, add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herb; dash of cayenne; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.
• If your food is too spicy or acidic, add a fat or sweetener such as butter, cream, sour cream, cheese, or olive oil; sugar, honey, or maple syrup.

21. Poet's preposition: ERE.

Ere I salted, I brined.

What was I thinking ?

My blood pressure was up,

Was I out of my mind ?

(I'd better leave the verse to Owen).

22. Fascinated by: INTO.

23. Opposite of hence: AGO.

25. Gym shorts go-with: TEE.   We always played shirts and skins in gym class.  That was before co-ed.

Speaking of high school, I read the other day that my high school recognized five valedictorians in the graduating class.  I understand that having more than one valedictorian would be a school decision.  But is it common now to have more than one ?  Doesn't five seem excessive ?

35. Bushy-tailed canines: FOXES.  A neighbor posted this picture of this fox family on her deck.  She captured them at just the right moment.  Mama knows exactly where to look.

36. Eat-on-the-street places: CAFES.  Dining Al Fresco.  The Filling Station in St Charles, IL.

37. What an amateur may turn: PRO.

38. Like some audiobooks: ON CD.

39. Goes from site to site: SURFS.  Web surfer.  Hand up.

40. School for a prince: ETON.  Prince William and Prince Harry are but two of the many famous Etonians.

41. Beehive State athlete: UTE.  Utah Ute.   In honor of the American Indian tribe.

42. Start a court contest: SERVE.    It took a moment on Saturday to realize that Craig Stowe's answer ACERS for the clue "Great service providers" was in the context of tennis.   I agreed with Jerome's observation in the comments,  "... willing to bet that no tennis player has ever used the word."

43. Radiates: EMITS.   "Who glows ?  Just say ____ "

47. Ike's WWII arena: ETO.   European Theater of Operations.

48. Italian god: DIO.   Ronnie James Dio was a New Hampshire born guitarist and vocalist that became the lead singer of Black Sabbath after they fired Ozzy Osbourne.   Prior to that, he and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame formed the heavy metal band Rainbow.


49. Made it up: LIED.  Prevaricated.

52. Find fault to a fault: NAG.

55. Evades: SKIRTS. 

63. Frequent genre for composer John Williams: SCI-FI.   Science Fiction.   I paused after filling the answer.   I knew Schifrin (Lalo) from doing crosswords.  But I had never heard of a composer named Scifi.    Then I read the clue again and saw "genre for" instead of "frequent composer for John Williams."

64. Bay, play or gray follower: AREA.

65. Kurylenko of "Quantum of Solace": OLGA.  Starred opposite of Daniel Craig in the movie.


66. Identity __: THEFT.  Reduce your risk with these tips.

67. Provoke: ROIL.

68. Mulching material: PEAT.

Down:

1. Loses elasticity: SAGS.   Physics. 

2. "Hamilton" award: OBIE.    Off Broadway awards.  The 2015 Obie Award for Best New American Theatre Work. 

3. Opposite of Zulu?: ALFA.  The opposite ends of the phonetic alphabet.

4. They're often adopted: PETS. 

5. Like angel food cake: SPONGY.   Light and airy.

6. Strain: TAX.  Burden.

7. Bothersome bugs: LICE.  

8. Reason to use Febreze: ODOR.  The science behind why it works, according to the manufacturer.

9. Salon supply: DYE.

10. Not as trusting: WARIER.

11. Author Hilderbrand: ELIN.    Romance novelist.

 You can read about her at her website.

12. Dust bunny component: LINT.   Dust bunny is such a pleasant name.   Makes you not want to vacuum. 

13. Danish brick: LEGO.  Clever clue for a favorite toy across the world wide.   In case you too  thought Bruce and Gail were looking for the Danish word for a brick, and then wondered what is was, it's mursten.

18. Male razorbacks: BOARS.  I can't help but think about the University of Arkansas when I see Razorbacks.  It's the mascot of their sports teams.

19. Iconic Chevys: VETTES.   The debut model was in 1953 and had 150 horsepower.  The only options were an AM radio and a heater.    The new eighth-generation Corvette was seen in camouflage in April in Times Square.    Formal announcement is next month on July 19th.

   Here's a recent slideshow of the iconic car through the years:

America’s Sports Car: The History of Corvette

24. Goes down, so to speak: OCCURS.

26. Reactions to missing things: EHs.   In the US, eh is sometimes vocalized when you would like something repeated, as in # 6 in the chart below.

In Canada, eh is a versatile interjection added to the ends of sentences and "... is a distinctive part of Canadian English":

EH IS CANADIAN, EH?: USAGE, FUNCTIONS AND THE IDENTITY CRISIS OF EH

Canadian Eh, that looks like a pretty good summation,  eh?

27. 2013 role for Johnny Depp: TONTO.   Controversy ensued.

28. Get all A's: EXCEL. 

29. Common hummingbird feeder color: RED.    The birds are attracted to the bright color.

30. Cocoon dweller: LARVA.


31. Cause resentment: OFFEND.

32. __ disc: eye part: OPTIC.  

33. Stock: BROTH.

34. Quite a stretch: EONS.

35. Common par: FOUR.  Because on the typical 18 hole golf course, there are 4 par 3s,  4 par 5's, and the other 10 holes are par 4s.

39. Resort near Flagstaff: SEDONA.

40. Former Radiohead label: EMI.    Electric and Musical Industries until 1971.   Radiohead is an English rock band   

42. Financially secure: SET.

43. "Star Wars" critters: EWOKS.

45. Started: LED OFF.  On June 13th,  leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber led off the game against the Los Angeles Dodger's ace Clayton Kershaw with a first pitch home run.


46. Dreary: DISMAL. 

49. Out of concern that: LEST.

50. Rainfall measure: INCH.

51. Singer Brickell: EDIE. Notably of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. She is the spouse of Paul Simon.


53. Miles away: AFAR.

54. Copter's forerunner: GIRO.

56. 2007 Applebee's acquirer: IHOP.

57. Part: ROLE. Fred VanVleet played his part superbly in the Toronto Raptors NBA Championship run, and hit a clutch 3 pointer in the waning minutes of their game 6 championship clinching victory. Fred is from nearby Rockford, IL, and, as PK noted Tuesday,  played four years of college ball for the Shockers of Wichita State.  He was a basketball force in his college days, leading the Shockers to an undefeated season and deep into the NCAAs, but remained undrafted.  Toronto took a chance on him.  Wise move.

58. Costume made from a sheet: TOGA.  "Was it over when Dean Wormer put the Deltas on probation ?"  TOGA, TOGA !

59. Sports page entry: STAT.

61. Require no alteration: FIT.

62. Honolulu Airport wreath: LEI.

 That's a wrap:  END OF REVIEW.  

Friday, June 14, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: To B E or not to B E.

Our resident Shakespeare aficionado uses the letter B and E to wrap around the last word of an in the language phrase. He even provides us with a reveal that is a bit obscure, but it is a Friday. 38A. Also ... and, in three parts, a hint to the four longest Across answers:  BESIDES (7). The three parts are "B" "E" and "SIDES." This advises you that B and E are on the sides of words. Even with 56 theme spaces, the puzzle is chock full of long fill and new fill to add to his always tricky cluing. Example of the great fill are DIGITAL,  MADISON,  PALED AT,  TAVERNA,  UNTIMED, FIRST BASE, OBSERVANT,  CALAMITOUS and FRONT TEETH.
He has some foreign language stuff, some sports, some geography, some poetry, some music...well you can see for yourselves.

17A. Best Custard Enhancement award?: THE GOLDEN  BRULEE (15). We start with a grid spanning fill built off of the Golden Rule. My favorite of the themers.

28A. Eve's incentive not to eat the apple?: ADAM'S BRIBE (10). Adam's Rib is also a biblical reference unless you think only of

46A. Whom to interrupt to end a couple's tedious conversation?: EITHER BORE (10). I like this one a lot also. 

61A. Description of a consistent ogre?: THE SAME OLD BRUTE (15). JW does not get in a RUT unless cranking out fun puzzles that are challenging can be considered a rut. 

Across:

1. Chem lab array: ACIDS. My chemistry classes never trusted us to get near the acids.

6. Grainy side: PILAF. Rice, the one staple in my Oo dominated diet.

11. Pixar SFX: CGI. Computer Generated Imagery has been around in some form since 1974. A LIST of favorite movies.

14. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Another PEOPLE whose history is filled with the results of Imperialism and ethnic incompatibility.

15. Defense concern: ALIBI. Alibis like eyewitnesses are not very reliable.

16. Orbital section: ARC. Both in the sky and near your eye.

20. Like moves in casual chess games: UNTIMED. Is the time lessened the better you are? I have never played with timers.

21. Overly orotund orator: GASBAG. Aren't you happy that OROTUND wasn't the fill?

22. Sacred symbol: TOTEM.

24. Pro __: TEM.

25. Romeo's partner?: ALFA. Another Shakespeare misdirection from our Will S. quote master.

33. "Free to Be... You and Me" co-creator Thomas: MARLO. She gathered the celebrities and put together the book which also became a PLAY.

35. Information: DATA.

36. See 13-Down: TEA. Paired with 13D. With 36-Across, summer drink: ICE. No Lemonade this week.

37. Sette minus sei: UNO. Italian for 7 - 6.

41. Minn. neighbor: ONT.

42. Jose's opening?: SAN. Can you see? Nope, California. Do you know the way?

43. Je ne __ quoi: SAIS. The French expression, used in America par example: There's just been a certain je ne sais quoi about the hue that many can't quite put their finger on.
— Donna Freydkin, Allure, "How Beyoncé and Rita Hazan Chose the Perfect Blonde Hair Color for Bey's On the Run II Tour," 29 Aug. 2018.

44. Keyboard offering: ETUDE. We had our discussion of this recently.

50. Part of NAACP: Abbr.: ASSN.

51. Roadwork supply: TAR.

52. Israeli desert: NEGEV. Half of the land in Israel. LINK.

54. Big improvement over a mop, for short: WET-VAC. Just what the name sounds like. A new clue/fill introduced by JW.

57. Was horrified by: PALED AT. This fill also is being introduced in the entire mainline puzzle world today!

63. "Take a load off": SIT.

64. Stealthy fighter: NINJA.

65. Result of a leadoff single: ONE ON. Baseball.

66. "Feh!": UGH.

67. Wyoming county: TETON. Think Grand! Some DF HISTORY.

68. Aggressive stingers: WASPS.


Down:

1. Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. Attu Island is so far west, it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the westernmost of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, even farther west than the Hawaiian Islands.

2. "All the Way" lyricist: CAHN. I wish I had remembered the C a few puzzles ago. A classic Sinatra tune.

3. "__ a traveller from an antique land": "Ozymandias": I MET.
"Ozymandias" is regarded as one of Percy Bysshe Shelley's most famous works. In antiquity, Ozymandias was an alternative name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Shelley wrote the poem in friendly competition with his friend and fellow poet Horace Smith (1779–1849) who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the same name.

4. Like most selfies: DIGITAL.

5. Cinematographer's option: SLOMO. A portmanteau of SLOw MOtion.

6. Fraudulently increased: PADDED. The bill, the expense account, the bra, the damages and many more.

7. Martinique, par exemple: ILE. A French island, clued in French.
JW has used this a few times; it was first used in the NYT by Martin Schneider on a Sunday, Mar 14, 1999

8. CNN host Lisa: LING.

9. Their logo has a mirrored letter: ABBA. I do like their movies.

10. Diamond corner: FIRST BASE. This is only the second time this fill has graced an LA Times puzzle; it was introduced by our own Steve Marron in his solo debut PUZZLE in 2014.

11. Disastrous: CALAMITOUS. Very nice sparkly long word which JW introduces to the LAT. It has appeared only once in an NYT in 2010.

12. Novelist Iles: GREG. A very popular multi-genre AUTHOR. I have read only The Bone Tree so far. I may try more.

18. "__ Smile Be Your Umbrella": LET A. Jeffrey was feeling musically nostalgic this week.

19. Designated driver alternative: UBER.

23. "The Federalist Papers" co-author: MADISON. President 1.
It is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.

25. What jesters do: AMUSE.

26. Mostly private Hawaiian island: LANAI. Many here know Hawaii better than I do.

27. Incisors: FRONT TEETH. Another fill introduced to both LAT and NYT today.

29. Like Lear, ultimately: MAD. More Shakespeare.

30. Notre-Dame honoree: Abbr.: STE. Saint in French.

31. Switchback features: BENDS. This was the hardest for me to parse since I never heard the term switchback before. The definition is - a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill.

32. Moth-__: EATEN.

34. Paying attention: OBSERVANT. I hope you have been paying attention today because this grid is just loaded with the good stuff.

39. Stirrup location: EAR. Did you bone up on your anatomy?

40. Bro, say: SIB.

45. Spot to sip ouzo: TAVERNA. It is all Greek to me.

47. Kentucky Derby showpieces: HATS. There are some nice horses there as well.

48. Change the itinerary: REPLAN.

49. "Great Scott!": EGAD. Perry White?

53. Nudge: ELBOW. Rude!

54. Fillmore was the last president who was one: WHIG. He is buried in Buffalo with both of his wives. President 2.

55. Lisette's BFF: AMIE. French.

56. You can see Lincoln on one: CENT. President mini-theme. Number 3.

58. Club payments: DUES.

59. On: ATOP.

60. Second-ranked pinochle cards: TENS. A fun GAME that I played when I was young.

61. Nashville sch.: TSU. Tennessee State University.

62. Eye in most of Iberia: OJO. Spanish.

Well, we done did it again. Fabulous fill JW. I leave you with this LINK as we observe Flag Day 242 years after the flag was chosen. Thank you all -  now go and get ready for Father's Day. For which I give you this Dad Joke. (A Dad joke is an embarrassingly bad joke, often read through the eyes of a dad's lack of comedy).

My friend was a very indecisive rower. He could not pick either oar.