Friday, November 29, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

"Turn of Phrase"


17. Plumbing expert?: DRAIN BRAIN. 

25. Cub Scout meeting refreshment?: PACK SNACK.

30. Candlemaker's choice?: WICK PICK.

45. Zookeeper's job, at times?: BEAR CARE.

51. School sports upset: JOCK SHOCK.

64. Inflated thread-count scam?: SHEET CHEAT.

Swap the words in the answers to get the real phrase.   I have no idea what a pick wick is, but a few references say it is a pick like tool used for raising the short wick in an oil lamp.

Across:

1. Fit together: MESH.

5. Explodes: POPS.

9. Sources of shade: ELMS.    So elms throw shade ?  They seem more stately than that.

13. Lope opening?: ANTE.   "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play."   Except, of course, they're really not antelope.  They're pronghorn.   Kind of like buffalo v. bison.  Commonly accepted misnomers.

14. Pacifies: CALMS.

16. "The disease of kings": GOUT.    I once had to see a backup doctor when mine was away.   My sprained wrist was misdiagnosed as gout.    Gout is now on my record at the hospital.  

19. Tasmania's highest peak: OSSA.   Didn't we just have Abel Tasman last week ?  Or was it in a link from Lemonade ?  Anyway, Mount Ossa is as high as Denver, CO.

20. Lively movements: RONDOS.  Help me get her out of my heart   Sounds like the definition of a rondo to me.   The refrain.   Yes / No ?

21. Snare: TRAP.

23. Idiosyncrasy: TIC.

24. Break up: END IT.    Cause ending it is hard to do.

27. Mex. neighbor: USA.

29. Robbery: HEIST.

35. Food distribution giant: SYSCO.   The world's largest.  Headquartered in Houston. 

38. Instrument named for an animal part: HORN.   Love the opening of this song.

39. Name related to Marge: PEGGY.    I tried Midge.  My Aunt Peg would have been disappointed.

42. __ beer: NEAR.   Tried one once.

43. Two-run homer situation: ONE ON.

47. United Kingdom language: SCOTS.  One of three native languages spoken in Scotland today.

50. Private __: EYE.   A gumshoe.   A detective.   A dick.    Have you ever seen The Bank Dick starring W.C. Fields as Egbert Sousé, "...a drunk who must repeatedly remind people in exasperation that his name is pronounced "Sousé—accent grave over the 'e'!", because people keep calling him "Souse" slang for drunkard" ? 

54. Kosher deli offering: LATKE.    They tasted a lot like potato pancakes to me too, Yellowrocks.

59. Place for a slip, perhaps: ICE.    Cute clue.

60. Cry of pain: YOWL.     Tried yelp.   Painful reviews.

61. Drawing tool: SIPHON.    Nice wordplay in the clue.   Loved it.

62. Give temporarily: LEND.   First instinct was loan.  Waited for another letter from a perp.

66. "I did it!": TADA.    No melodic tada at WaPo like we had at the Mensa site.

67. Like cornstalks: EARED.

68. Wight, for one: ISLE.    The Isle of Wight is just south of England.

69. Highbrow, perhaps: SNOB.

70. Pugilistic victories, briefly: TKOs.    Technical knockouts

71. Prized: DEAR.

Down:

1. Familia member: MADRE.    Esposa de su padre.   As Hahtoolah would quip, today's Spanish lesson.

2. Company whose failure brought down an accounting firm: ENRON.   Arthur Anderson.

3. Remain in force: STAND.   e.g. The judge's gag order will (remain in force) (stand).

4. Alpine protagonist: HEIDI.   Johanna Spyri's Swiss miss

5. Banned pollutants: PCBs.    Polychlorinated biphenyls

6. Tool secured by tholes: OAR.    Typically mounted on the gunwales

7. Oro y __: Montana's motto: PLATA.

8. Taint: SMIRCH.

9. Psych 101 subject: EGO.

10. Drifting, possibly: LOST AT SEA.

11. Bach's bailiwick: MUSIC. 

12. Neat pile: STACK.

15. Treacherous type: SNAKE.   "Instead you lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin' " - Keep on Loving You - Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon.

18. Still in bed: NOT UP.   But not necessarily asleep.

22. Pitchfork-shaped letters: PSIs.

25. Walk or run: PACE.

26. Timberlake's former band: NSYNC.   Justin Timberlake. 

28. Liquid sample: SIP.

30. Question of identity: WHO.   Who Are You is an album and song by English rockers The Who.

31. It carries a charge: ION.

32. Orchestral climax: CRESCENDO.   There are two in The Beatles A Day in the Life.

33. Rap: KNOCK.  

34. Cold War agcy.: KGB.   Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti - Committee for State Security

36. Sleeper or diner: CAR.  

37. Smeltery supply: ORE.

40. Nerd: GEEK.    It's all geek to me.

41. Happy fan's word: YAY.   

44. Intrusive: NOSY.

46. Natural history museum item: RELIC.

48. 56-Down's opposite: THOSE.   And, of course,   56. 48-Down's opposite: THESE.

49. "I'm not impressed": SO WHAT.   "Big whoop"

51. Stuns at the altar: JILTs.   Maggie Carpenter left three grooms at the altar before the big city columnist came to town to investigate.  Name the movie.

52. Eel's element: OCEAN.

53. Counter tender: CLERK.   Be harsh. 

55. Ladybug prey: APHID.    I read that each ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day.

57. Eucalyptus eater: KOALA.    Heartwarming story last week about the lady that saved the koala from the fire in New South Wales.

58. Put in: ENTER.  

61. Norms: Abbr.: STDs.    Who says, "The standard is the standard ?"   Don't rack your brain unless you are an NFL fan.  NFL Article from 2015

63. Apply with care: DAB.    And the initials of today's constructor !

65. Fair-hiring letters: EEO.   Equal Employment Opportunity.

Here's another place to check your grid:

Note from C.C.:


Here's a picture of Bill G's granddaughter Bella enjoying the rain. Good to see you back in blue, Bill! Thanks for persevering through the login troubles.

Friday, November 22, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Come right in - no queue here.

Jeffrey is back on schedule with me and delivers another of his letter substitution puzzles. The letter "W" replaces "QU" in a varied group of common phrases. To understand how his mind must work, you need to think of the sound of "QU." From the dictionary, "quick/kwik/." So he is just removing the "k."
As I solved it seemed he was going for another group where all of the switched letters preceded the same vowel, but that was not to be. Instead, he ramped up the difficulty by adding some very original fill and his usual witty cluing. His long non-theme fill shows three introductions, highlighted in BLUE and one second-appearance highlighted in GREEN. He packs all of this into a 70-word gem. AIR TANK,  ALGIERS, ALL TAKEN, APHELION, MAGNOLIA, TIRE CARE, TRAIN SET and TSUNAMIS are his sparklers.

16A. Colbert et al.?: WITS FOR THE NIGHT (15). JW, which comes first, the idea of QU to W or does a specific fill pop into your head?

29A. Part of a candlemaker's design process?: WICK DECISION  (11). I am glad he didn't clue this with a reference to this MOVIE. Definitely R-rated for violence.

34A. Outdoor wedding guests on a steamy day?: WILTING PARTY (11). When my son married they chose June in Florida for an outdoor wedding at the Miami Botanical Gardens. Oops.

51A. What a hiker might do after a nap on the trail?: WAKE IN ONE'S BOOTS (15). I always take mine off before sleeping in the forest.

Across:

1. New England's only National Park: ACADIA.  In Maine.

7. Eponymous explorer of Australia: TASMAN. I do not think ABEL TASMAN was much of a devil, just an explorer.

13. Pressure sensors attached to buoys are parts of their warning systems: TSUNAMIS. A learning moment.


15. Recorded, in a way: ON TAPE.

18. Useful thing: ASSET.

19. Additionally: TOO.

20. Coastal raptor: ERNE. Also known as the SEA EAGLE. They are a link to the Dinosaurs but not vegetarians.

21. Something to file: NAIL. Why do we file files but don't nail nails?

22. Frond source: PALM. There are a lot of old fronds of mine here.

23. With 53-Down, maxim: OLD. 53D. See 23-Across: SAW. A proverb or maxim, as in "Mom's always repeating the old saw, "Haste makes waste". This term uses saw in the sense of saying, and old in the sense of wise rather than old-fashioned.

25. Ob-__: GYN. A CSO to my dear departed mother who worked in that field for 50 or so years.

26. Jacket fabric: DENIM.

27. First name in a 2010s first family: MALIA. Means "Mary" in Hawaiian. Perfect for a Hawaiian born father.

31. Subarctic forest: TAIGA. Taiga, also called a boreal forest, biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees, found in northern circumpolar forested regions characterized by long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation. Who knew?

33. Hawke of "Boyhood": ETHAN. Two weeks ago, it was ETHAN ALLEN.

38. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Somewhere was not in the title, and it was written specifically for the movie. Harold Arlen only wrote the music but this is a classic sung by so many. HISTORY. Judy Garland's version is embedded in the link.

39. Bowling venue: ALLEY. Another CSO to Boomer and TTP.

40. PD alert: APB. It has taken me a while to adjust to PD not meaning PUBLIC DEFENDER. With all the police procedurals on TV, I finally got it.

43. Understand: GET. Thee to a nunnery.

44. Oil equipment: RIGS.

45. "Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself" org.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

46. Meditation goal: CALM.

49. Keurig Dr Pepper brand: BAI. "Bai's mission is to share the powerful antioxidant goodness of coffee's superfruit and always move toward optimum, healthy living." I missed the $18,700,000,000.00 acquisition by Keurig in 2018. Their list of brands is very impressive and hard to avoid. LIST.

54. December decor: WREATH. It's beginning to smell a little like Christmas. The trees are already out for sale and it isn't even Thanksgiving.

55. Gift with tracks: TRAINSET. We took the family on a BRIGHTLINE train ride, and my 2-year-old grandson loved the ride. He now owns a beginner train set.

56. Absinthe herb: FENNEL. Traditional absinthe is made of anise, fennel, and wormwood (a plant), and various recipes add other herbs and flowers to the mix. Did you hallucinate when you tried it?

57. Chocolates, e.g.: SWEETS.

Down:

1. "You've heard this from me before ... ": AS I SAY. Over and over again.

2. Replaces a dancer: CUTS IN.

3. Adams with negatives: ANSEL. This PHOTOGRAPHER.

4. Bonkers: DAFT. Two old terms for mentally unwell.

5. "Here's a thought," briefly: IMO. In My Opinion.

6. Reef diver's need: AIR TANK. Most divers use scuba tanks filled with simple compressed air (filtered and dehumidified).

7. Sock part: TOE.

8. Prince Harry's aunt: ANNE. Elizabeth II's  children are Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

9. Ado: STIR. About nothing?

10. Early Mississippi flag symbol: MAGNOLIA.

11. Farthest-from-the-sun orbital point: APHELION. The perihelion is the point on the orbit of a planet or comet that is closest to the sun. The point on the orbit farthest from the sun is the aphelion. The speed of a body in the solar system is greatest at the perihelion and least at the aphelion.

12. Monarch catcher: NET. Butterflies. Hey- double CSO to John Lampkin, who was the constructor that introduced APHELION to the crossword world as well as teaching us about butterflies.

13. Country music sound: TWANG.

14. Unexcitable: STOLID.

17. Marseille man: HOMME. French.

22. Pie-topping nut: PECAN. A perfect almost Thanksgiving fill.

24. Newscaster Rather: DAN.

26. Invitation to eat: DIG IN. More Thanksgiving.

27. Daydreaming Walter: MITTY. 1947

2013


28. Wan: ASHY. Pale, white.

29. Bic's __-Out: WITE. Oh, gee.

30. First known asteroid: CERES. Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system.

31. Car manual topic: TIRE CARE.

32. Like the seats in an SRO performance: ALL TAKEN. Somewhat tortured way to get there.

34. Funny one: WAG.

35. She never went to 50-Across ceremonies: GARBO. 50D. 1954 Honorary Award for 35-Down: OSCAR.

36. Flexible: PLIANT.

37. North African capital: ALGIERS.

40. Confront boldly: ACCOST. You need to careful these days.

41. China pieces: PLATES. Not Hong Kong and Mongolia.

42. Pop: BURST. My sons never call me burst.

45. Together: AS ONE.

47. Corned beef order: LEAN.

48. Tiny insect: MITE. All you did not want to know about these arachnids. Mites are not actually insects but belong to the related class Arachnida, which also includes spiders, scorpions, and ticks. The major morphological differences between mites and insects are found in the number of major body parts and the number of legs.
LINK.

50. "Hamilton" award: OBIE. Off-Broadway.

51. Scrabble-like app, briefly: WWF. Words With Friends.

52. Puckish org.?: NHL. Punishing pun dropped here.
Before we go, I must go back to my early life and remember this date in 1963 when the history of this country was changed forever. Not a perfect man but a memorable one. RIP.

Always a pleasure to be the caddy for our prolific Friday legend. I

hope you had as much fun as I did and thanks for your views and your words. We all exist only because of you who read. Happy 

THANKSGIVING!

Lemonade out!

Friday, November 15, 2019 Joe Deeney

" What's My Line ? "


16. Clothes line?: HOW DO I LOOK ?

24. Tag line?: YOU'RE IT.

37. Border line?: PASSPORTS PLEASE.

46. Pick-up line?: WHERE TO ?

59. Defensive line?: I DIDN'T DO IT.

Joe constructed last Saturday's themeless.    If you aren't a Saturday solver, take a few moments to read Joe's comments.    Now, back to today...   A fairly easy Friday, don't you think ?   Let's call that a confidence builder.

Also, did you notice ?  Joe gave us a pangram !

Across:

1. River past the Museo Galileo: ARNO.

5. Wipe out: ERASE.

10. "Antiques Roadshow" airer: PBS.    I like how they show old clips from earlier seasons, updated with the currently appraised values. 

13. Half of rock's '60s "it" couple, per Time: CHER.   The other half would be Sonny.

14. "I've got this": LET ME.    Martin "Marty" Crane was the pragmatic and salt-of-the-earth father to psychiatrist sons Frasier and Niles Crane on the sitcom Frasier.

In the episode, "A Tsar is Born" they take a clock to the Antiques Roadshow and learn of its history.

15. Chipotle serving, casually: GUAC.   Eat This, Not That - Worst Chipotle Menu

18. Approximately: OR SO.

19. County bordering London: ESSEX.    British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is from Essex.

20. Ingredient in arròs negre, a squid-and-rice dish: INK.   Never saw the clue.

21. Pursuit: QUEST.   Do you recall Jonny Quest ? 

22. Solidified: FROZE.

26. Able-bodied: HALE.

28. Green of "Casino Royale": EVA.    The first of the Daniel Craig Bond movies.

30. Iraq War danger: Abbr.: IED.   Improvised Explosive Device.

31. "The Wire" antihero __ Little: OMAR.   No idea.   Wikipedia tells me The Wire is an American crime drama television series broadcast by the cable network HBO.

32. Think back to: RECALL.

34. Gym surface: MAT.   I wanted a wood at first.  Oak or Ash.

40. Vague ending: ISH.

41. Bilingual Muppet: ROSITA.  No idea, but the perps helped.

42. MD's diagnostic tools: MRIs.  Magnetic Resonance Imagings

43. Big bird: EMU.   More from Sesame Street.   This Big Bird is an oversized canary.

44. Relative of Da and De: VON.    Surname prepositions.  e.g. Oscar de la Renta.  Or,   El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.   Or the von Trapp family from the Sound of Music.  Da is Portuguese, often seen in names such as da Silva, da Costa, da Bears etc.

45. Leaning: BIAS.

50. Rte. with a Lake Michigan ferry crossing: U.S. TEN.   U.S. 10.    The S.S. Badger
 

52. Times New __: ROMAN.

53. Health care provider: Abbr.: LPN.   Licensed Practical Nurse

55. "Set Fire to the Rain" singer: ADELE.

58. Beyond regulation play, briefly: IN OT   In Overtime.

61. WWII Axis general: TOJO.

62. Kansas Army fort: RILEY.   Home of the Big Red One.    The 1st Infantry Divison.   The 1st Infantry Division Museum is at Cantigny Park in nearby Wheaton, Illinois.  

63. Slaughter on the diamond: ENOS.

64. Asian honorific: SRI. Indian honorific.

65. Neglected: SEEDY.

66. Grant's opposite: DENY.

Down:

1. Overexertion symptom: ACHE.

2. Frat letters: RHOs.

3. Ironic "This should come as no surprise ... ": NEWS FLASH.

4. Ones stocking up: ORDERERs.   Whoa !  A buyer ?  Stocking up for resale,  or stocking up on consumables ?   That's my best guess.   I'll bet blog reader Montana stocks up for the winter in case the highways become impassable.

5. Lilly of drugs: ELI.

6. Bullpen staff: RELIEVERs.  

7. Loads: ATON.

8. Like the air around a campfire: SMOKY.

9. "What's THAT?": EEK.

10. Applesauce, e.g.: PUREE.

11. Low singers: BASSI.   Singers (being plural) told me it would end in the I.

12. "Waverley" novelist: SCOTT.    The Waverley Novels - Sir Walter Scott

15. Squash, for one: GOURD.  Versus gored. 

Bet he wished he'd picked a different sport. Perhaps squash ?

17. Big name in spatulas: OXO.    I like the ergonomic grips on their kitchen utensils.

21. Put down: QUELL.

23. Reset: ZERO OUT.

25. Crankcase reservoirs: OIL PANS.

26. Kachina carver: HOPI.

27. Reddit Q&A sessions: AMAs.  Ask Me Anything

29. When Prospero says, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on": ACT IV.   Filled in ACT and waited.

33. Blew away: ASTOUNDED.

34. Ford carrier in the mid-'70s: MARINE ONE.   Wasn't firing on all cylinders as I tried to recall Ford car models...  until I got enough perps to see Marine One.   President Gerald Ford, of course.

35. Tibet's place: ASIA.

36. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role: TESS.   Juila Roberts played Tess Ocean, divorced wife of Danny Ocean, played by George Clooney.

38. Guys who spin: PR MEN.   Started with DJ Men spinning records, and ended with Public Relations men spinning the conversation.

39. Like some war correspondents: EMBEDDED.    Or videos in this blog.

43. Poetry Muse: ERATO.   OwenKL has been struck by the poetry muse.  Ditto for Chairman Moe, Haiku Harry and Limerick Larry.

46. Court directives: WRITS.

47. Esteem: HONOR.

48. Heart Eyes or OK Hand: EMOJI.    Definitely needed perps, and then it was, "Aha, now the clue makes sense !"

49. "Yesterday," today: OLDIE.    Nailed it.   From falling in love to the heartache,  Beatles style:

"Eight Days A Week"
Oh, I need your love, babe
Guess you know it's true
Hope you need my love babe
Just like I need you

"I Feel Fine"
Baby's good to me, you know
She's happy as can be, you know
She said so
I'm in love with her and I feel fine

"Ticket to Ride"
I think I'm gonna be sad
I think it's today, yeah
The girl that's driving me mad
Is going away

"Yesterday"
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

51. Bit of body art: TAT.   Tat or ink.

54. Stack: PILE.

56. Safari sight: LION.

57. Online marketplace: ETSY.    Started with eBay. 50 % wrong.

59. Returns home?: IRS.    Great clue. The Internal Revenue Service is where you send your tax returns.

60. Big Apple team, on crawl lines: NYY.    NY and wait for the perp.  Could have been G, J, or M and possibly others. Sports news crawl lines.

Check your grid here:

Friday, November 8, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: To B? Yes!

A quick turn around for me with another Friday JW special. This is an add a letter puzzle with the simplicity and consistency that are hallmarks of his work. "B" is added to the first word of the 1st and 3rd theme fill and to the last word of the 2nd and 4th. The resulting fill is very amusing and clued to enhance the humor. But the touch that makes this a Jeffrey creation- each word that has the added letter originally started with a "U." This is the least used of the vowels, so I guess it was chosen to make the puzzle more of a challenge to create. In our afternoon at the airport, we did not discuss this puzzle, but he did mention challenging himself. While I did not discuss the changed clues, I did ask about a few. As always, Jeffrey has variety and some Will Shakespeare, as well as much fun sparkle like: ADULATE, BANK JOB, CRUELLA, ETERNAL, FLEECED, GO BELOW, HINGE ON, HOWARDS, LAST ONE, MODESTY, RETORTS, SANDFLY, and READ A POST which is introduced to the LAT here.

17A. Total confusion at the creamery?: BUTTER CHAOS (11).  This is a fun image with all kinds of slapstick being churned up.

30A. Foot condition seen in oaters?: WESTERN BUNION (13).  The slight outlier, as the pronunciation of the added B-word is changed. I was in my 40s before I knew a bunion is a painful bony bump that develops on the inside of the foot at the big toe joint.

35A. Comparison of a motorcoach to all other travel options?: BUS VERSUS THEM (13). I also think this is pretty funny.

52A. Barista's occupational hazards?: COFFEE BURNS (11). Our local Starbucks staff are more careful than that.

 Across:

1. Long-nosed fish: GAR. Gar, is any of seven species of large North American fishes of the genera Atractosteus and Lepisosteus, in the family Lepisosteidae.

4. Took to the cleaners: FLEECED. A subtle CSO to me and the Golden Fleece.

11. With 29-Down, anticipates potential trouble: HAS. 29D. See 11-Across: AN OUT. The escape route.

14. Burns wrote one on a louse: ODE.  This POEM talks about how we are all equal to a louse.

15. "After this, no more questions": LAST ONE. Is this your clue Jeffrey? See how demanding I am now that he cooperated once. JW's response:  My clue: When it’s gone, you’re left empty-handed. 

16. Tahiti, to Gauguin: ILE. French.

19. Actor Cage, casually: NIC. He changed his name to Nicolas Cage (no H, just like his birth name Nicolas Coppola) after the comic book anti-hero LUKE CAGE who you may not know.

20. Avoided a family affair, perhaps: ELOPED. Very nice clue/fill.

21. Fabled beast: ASS. I wonder which one this refers to? Buridan's Ass?

22. Golden __: AGER. That's us, baby.

23. Carefree adventure: LARK. Not sure why, but this popped into my head. 

24. Little tunneler: ANT. Hey, John Lampkin how are you?

25. "The L Word" co-creator Chaiken: ILENE. I did not know of this successful PRODUCER with a varied background from the Fresh Prince of Belair to Empire and Stumptown.

26. Giant among Giants: OTT. A nice clue for some old-time crossword glue.

27. Alicia Keys record label: RCA. Who really knows or cares? I think she is very talented and attractive but who buys records?

29. Without markup: AT COST.

34. Checked the latest blog entry, say: READ A POST. A nice CSO to each and every one of you.

39. Gershwin classic: SWANEE. The PERFORMANCE is very un-pc.

41. Ike's WWII command: ETO. European Theater of Operations. (Thank you anon. Sometimes I forget what I am doing. Comes with age)

42. Prefix with laryngology: OTO.

43. Throws the game: TANKS. No doubt written for all the Dolphin fans. Of course, they ruined their perfect season by beating the Jets last Sunday.

44. O'er and o'er: OFT. Archaic synonyms.

46. Thunderstruck: AWED.

47. Synagogue storage cabinets: ARKS. Where the Torahs stay when not in use. A nice one at our synagogue.

48. T'ai __: CHI. Tai chi, short for T'ai chi ch'üan or Tàijí quán, is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training, its health benefits, and meditation.

49. Compassionate words: WE CARE. Do you really?

51. TX library honoree: LBJ. There are a few.

54. "Don't Bring Me Down" gp.: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

55. Fur-loving de Vil: CRUELLA. Do you like the Emma Stone version?

56. "Who __?": New Orleans Saints chant: DAT. The entire chant is: "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" "Who dat" may also be used as a noun, describing a Saints fan.

57. Lee follower: REB. R.E. LEE, makes sense.

58. Beach pest: SANDFLY. Rhymes with...

59. "You __ devil!": SLY.

Down:

1. Visit the engine room, perhaps: GO BELOW. A CSO to Spitzboov and others.

2. Put on a pedestal: ADULATE. A word directly from Latin meaning to fawn over, praise (someone) excessively or obsequiously. It probably is not as familiar to your ear as ADULATION but it is the same thing.

3. Sharp answers: RETORTS. Which has nothing to do with TORTS? How can we re-tort anyway? Nero Wolfe solved one of his cases when the young killer fell for, "So have they taught you how to draft a tort yet?

4. Head for the hills: FLEE.

5. Frying medium: LARD. Two weeks in a row with pork fat.

6. It's NW of QWERTY: ESC. Literal look at the keyboard.

7. Allen of Vermont: ETHAN. Furniture guru? A fellow Connecticut boy, Ethan Allen was born in 1738 in Litchfield, Connecticut. He fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He shares his BIRTHDAY with the Corner. 

8. "See the ___ clear'd, and then we will depart": "King Henry VI": COAST. JW's weekly Will Shakespeare clue. Act I, Scene 3.

Lord Mayor of London.

See the coast clear'd, and then we will depart.

Good God, these nobles should such stomachs bear!

I myself fight not once in forty year.

9. Grandson of Adam: ENOS. Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: אֱנוֹשׁ ʾĔnōš; "mortal man." Son of Seth.

10. __ Arc, Arkansas: DES. The obscure Friday clue. Thank you for the perps.

11. Require for success: HINGE ON. Hinge is back without any dating app.

12. Ones from afar: ALIENS. Another interesting word that can mean someone from 50 miles away in Mexico or from light-years away on Alpha Centauri.

13. It may be hard to keep: SECRET. Generally bad for all involved.

18. State hwy., often: TPK. Turnpike. For you young'uns an expressway, especially one on which a toll is charged.

22. "Jo's Boys" author: ALCOTT. I recently reread Little Women, but not any of the sequels.

24. "Storage Wars" network: A AND E. Arts and Entertainment kept only its acronym.

25. "I speak the truth": IT IS SO. Make it so is more familiar to me.

27. Brand munched by E.T.: REESES. Pieces. We all know that during the production of E.T., Amblin Productions approached Mars, Inc. about a possible tie-in between M and Ms and the film. For whatever reason, Mars said “No” to the proposition.

28. Want badly: CRAVE. Want some M and Ms?

31. Boxer's boxers: TRUNKS. Cute clue. Is it your clue Jeffrey? I’m pleased to say that this is my clue.  I’m quite happy that Rich used it.  However, moving on... 

32. Gold __: BAR. Very random- -BUG, CUP, BAR... this is not mine. I loved "[Where a priest and a rabbi might share a joke?]." Too many words? 

33. Agitated: UPSET.

35. Many a heist: BANK JOB.

36. E.M. Forster's "__ End": HOWARDS. No apostrophe.

37. Opposite of momentary: ETERNAL.

38. Reason for a cover-up?: MODESTY.  Do you all recall BLAISE?

39. Less fresh: STALER. Meh.

40. Emulate a nightingale: WARBLE. Maybe "(of a person) sing in a trilling or quavering voice."

44. "Whoop-de-doo": OH FUN.  Is this serious or sarcastic?

45. Played a piccolo-like instrument: FIFED. (verb) ARCHAIC -play the fife.

46. Needle front?: ACU. This was very hard to parse. Once the lightbulb came on with acupuncture, it seemed so right.

48. "Downton Abbey" countess: CORA.

countess cora

49. Deftly: WELL.

50. StubHub parent: EBAY. They bought the ticket exchange company for $310,000,000.00 in 2007. Now the PLAN has changed.

52. IV units: CCS. Also measured in mLS, milliliters. They have a one to one ratio. These are cousins of milihelens, for those who remember.

53. 2003 holiday film: ELF. We end with an early Christmas reference to a new classic.

I had a very nice time as we were led on a wonderful JW treasure hunt, unlocking little gems along the way. The solve took a bit longer than usual but I did keep distracting myself, chasing down rabbit holes. We are supposed to get our first "cold spell" nothing in the 80s! Life is hard. Thank you, Jeffrey and all who read. Lemonade out.

Friday, November 1, 2019, Ed Sessa

White rabbit, white rabbit, and enjoy (?) Dia de les muertos

Title: It is ok DO, you didn't miss it, there is no theme today.

I heard a whisper we would have some repeat of the Friday mini-theme puzzle and my first puzzle back in the country appears to be such. Still being a bit jet-lagged, I do not remember the author of the first themeless Friday here, but I believe it was this year. While today's effort from Dr. Ed includes various pop culture references, the specific MAD MAGAZINE double-bill is key today.

30. One on many covers since 1954: ALFRED E NEUMAN. His complete (?) HISTORY. Paired with 17D. 30-Across catchphrase: WHAT ME WORRY?  Thus creating a mini-theme for this Friday themeless.

Without the constraint of a theme, there is much sparkly fill packed into this puzzle, highlighted by the introduction of grid spanner  THE NEWLYWED GAME paired with the classic TEENAGE WEREWOLF. The grid is then fattened up with ANOTHER, LAGASSE, SAPHEAD, SPEEDER, SPRUCED, TREACLE, AVON LADY, NAP TIMES (also a LAT debut word), OPEN AREA and PRETRIAL.
Let me know what you think of this addition to our rota.

Across:

1. Kia sedan: OPTIMA. The last car I owned and drove was an Optima and I enjoyed it very much.

7. Nincompoop: SAPHEAD. This is a TERM I have never heard. Of course, since it has only been around since 1691...

14. Made dapper, with "up": SPRUCED. Speaking of sap, its history likely has little to do with the TREE.

15. Syrupy stuff: TREACLE. A CSO to Steve and all our UK readers, this LINK makes it all make sense.

16. 1957 title role for Michael Landon: TEENAGE WEREWOLF. The original trailer...

18. Lays to rest: INTERS.

19. Recipient of unearned income, perhaps: HEIR.

20. Teammate of Babe: LOU. Ruth: Gehrig.

21. Lash with a bullwhip: LARUE.

22. Like jawbreakers: HARD. Well duh!

23. Mountain __: soft drinks: DEWS. A gratuitous way to get the S in.

24. "Wheel" deal: TRIP. Wheel of Fortune.

25. November honorees: VETS. Coming soon to a calendar near you.

26. Range rovers?: POSSE. Very fun clue; followed by...

27. Sub mission site: SEA. Don't ignore the space.

28. Law __: FIRM. Why are there no law pillow tops?

29. Mekong River native: LAO. This river is the 12th longest river in the world and the 7th longest in Asia. It flows through six countries: China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We visited the Golden Triangle last year. The Mekong is on the right.

35. Showed the way: LED.

36. Cry: WAIL.

37. Some govt. hospitals: VAS. Veteran's Administrations.

39. Eponymous musical revue of 1978: EUBIE.  Eubie BLAKE was a born musician who continues to learn and entertain.

42. Downsides: CONS.

43. 1995 comet spotter Thomas: BOPP. He, along with another amateur astronomer, Alan Hale, spotted the now named Hale-Bopp Comet.

44. In a tussle: AT IT.

45. 10-year-old adventurer who was 7 when she debuted in 2000: DORA. Her movie appeared in a puzzle here recently.

46. Group taking power by force: JUNTA.

47. Sink: SAG.

48. Othello, for one: MOOR.

49. Lacking color: PALLID.

50. Show that has appeared in various versions for six decades: THE NEWLYWED GAME.

53. "Pork fat rules!" chef: LAGASSE. Early Emeril. +

54. Smokey's target: SPEEDER. Remember?

55. One way alternative?: ANOTHER. Or?

56. Square-burgers server: WENDY'S. The third mega-successful fast-food chain was founded by a high school dropout who began life as an adopted child. HISTORY. Dave moved to South Florida and became an important figure in children's education and the rights of the adopted. He also was a genuine and friendly man.

Down:

1. Place to go fly a kite: OPEN AREA. If you believe Charlie Brown, it doesn't matter. There will be a kite eating tree waiting for you.

2. Like some hearings: PRE-TRIAL. In litigation almost every hearing is either pre or post-trial.

3. Cause of purring?: TUNE-UP. Not a furry friend but the practice of adjusting the automobile engine. MODERN MECHANICS.

4. Words of sympathy: I CARE.

5. Parts of gigs: MEGS.

6. Lemon finish: ADE. Talk about your straight to the point CSO; thank you, Dr. Ed.

7. Follows directions?: STEERS. Nice misdirection about the joy of driving.

8. Ban competitor: ARRID. Under-arm deodarants.

9. One in a jury box: PEER. From the British common law, and now a debated concept. Who are your peers?

10. Equivocate: HAW. Hmm, no hem?

11. They give lessons in French: ECOLES. Just the French word for school.

12. Permits: ALLOWS.

13. Neutralize: DEFUSE. We need more people who will be successful in defusing all the conflicts in the world.

14. Uplifting things: STILTS. A very nice visual of one of two poles each with a strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking.

22. Trail mix?: HERD. More nice misdirection; not a snack.

23. Marvel doctor: DOOM. Did anyone dress up as Victor von Doom for Halloween this year?

25. Competed: VIED. Middle English, short for envien, from Anglo-French envier to invite, call on, challenge, from Latin invitare to invite

26. Simon with songs: PAUL.

28. __ ride: FREE.

29. Waikiki neckwear: LEIS.

31. Move like a hummingbird: FLIT.

32. Pan pooch: NANA. Did anyone dress up as Peter Pan this year?

33. Peripatetic bell ringer: AVON LADY. Did anyone dress up as the Avon Lady?

34. Breaks for sitters: NAP TIMES.

38. "The Blacklist" star: SPADER. He is a wonderful actor who has matured as he has aged. I still watch, even after all the reveals.

39. Calif. barrio region: EAST LA. In this country, it is the Spanish-speaking quarter of a town or city, especially one with a high poverty level.

40. Jazz fan?: UTAHAN. Basketball.

41. Problem in an ensemble: BIG EGO. Lebron James?

42. Tailgating sight: COOLER.

43. Stuck out: BULGED.

45. Seek out water: DOWSE. There is still time to learn this ancient practice. LINK.

46. Actor/rapper Smith: JADEN. Son of Will and Jada.

48. Dovetail: MESH.

49. First name in smelly romantics: PEPE. M. LePew.

51. __ Geo: cable channel: NAT. Or a World Series champ.

52. Denver-to-Vegas dir.: WSW. Don't tell my son the way.

I am back from Thailand, still discombobulated but happy to have Dr. Ed ease me back into puzzle blogging. Have a wonderful November working toward Veteran's Day and then Thanksgiving and sneaking up on my 5th anniversary. Thank you, TTP for your double duty and all who read the Corner. Lemonade out.