Saturday, Nov 25th, 2017, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing Q,X)

Blocks: 37

Some nice cluing deception today, with about a half dozen of them fooling me.  We last heard from Mr. Johnson in July, and this is #5 for his LA Times Saturday constructions.  No Google, no red-letters, and I wrapped this one up in half of my personal allotted time.  Today's grid reminds me of a Christmas package bow, with two pairs of central 11-letter spanners and climbers, with a pinwheel of four 10-letter fills surrounding;

7. Engine part often connected to a flywheel : CRANKSHAFT - I was thinking the other end, as in CLUTCH PLATE, which didn't fit

38. Shaking one's head, maybe : FRUSTRATED - This is me; I was hoping to get a head start on saving for a house now that I make better money with the new job, and then my landlord tells me two weeks ago that he's selling the house; now I am under the gun to get a place to live.  I did find the perfect "fixer-upper", so say a prayer that I can find the money to afford it. 

27. Desk accessories : NAMEPLATES

29. Some partners' workplaces : LAW OFFICES - NEWS CHAIRS fit, but I didn't think that was right; still, most broadcasts featured two people bringing the nightly news; growing up, I remember Roger Grimsby and Bill Beutel on Ch. 7 

 Hoping your news is good news....

ChO7NeWsARD~!

ACROSS:

1. __ cord : SPINAL - extension and umbilical cord did not fit.  SPINAL Tap~!

7. Considered, with "on" : CHEWED - oops, not STewed

13. Leader of the track : PACE CAR - my mind was on foot race to start

15. "To the end of the block! C'mon!" : "RACE ME~!"

16. Immediate slap shot after receiving a pass, in hockey : ONE-TIMER - this one was right in my wheelhouse, and a great play to see in any hockey game

Alex Ovechkin may be the best at this

18. Biology notebook doodle : AMOEBA - good WAG, but then again, most doodles look like amoebae

19. __ Mahal : TAJ

20. Parsons School sketches : DESIGNS - "parson" made me think "deacon", and it fit - I even tried to find a "sketch" of a "deacon"

22. __ Kan: Alpo rival : KAL

23. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR - filled via perps

25. Brought along : TOOK

26. Plural contraction : WE'RE - not gonna take it~?

30. Blue ghost in Pac-Man : INKY - the others were Blinky, Pinky and Clyde

31. Recycling center debris : GLASS SHARDS - Sssss - and the new job contributes mightily towards this

33. Opposite of hastens : SLOWS - had it, took it out, put it back in

34. Gets under control : TAMES

35. "This doesn't concern you" : STAY OUT OF IT

37. Order of encyclopedias : A TO Z - oh, well, duh - So easy, it was hard for me to see

42. Cook seen on TV specials : DANE - ah, not a 'cook', but Dane Cook, the comedian

43. Cut down : FELL - not HEWN

44. Cover on the street : PAVE - another deception; I was thinking news team, again

45. GI grub : MRE - Meals, Ready-to-Eat

46. Like the most substantial sum : TIDIEST - I didn't think LARGEST was going to stay, but maybe the "-EST" would

49. Social post : PICture

50. Leaning to the right, in a way : ITALIC - ah, nothing political, just political

52. Cheese from the Italian for "sheep" : PECORINO - Italian 'sheep' is pecora; I thought it might be something "ovine"; Bzzzt

54. Entertain lavishly : REGALE

55. Strength : POTENCY

56. Puts up : ERECTS - curious that potency should be followed by erects....

57. Golfer's short irons : WEDGES - OK, I tried EIGHTS

DOWN:

1. 100% correct : SPOT ON - only if it's 100% 100% correct, right D-otto~?

2. Southernmost location in continental North America : PANAMA - ah, NORTH America, not US America; I tried to figure out what is the last place you can visit in Florida before you hit the Keys - and isn't Panama in central America~?  Meso-America~?  Doesn't matter, here's Van Halen~!!!

Panama

3. It may delay river traffic : ICE JAM - LOG was not going to work with my hockey one-timer

4. Realize : NET - dah~! not GET

5. Sour : ACID

6. "That's so weak!" : LAME - I find "Sour" for "Acid" a bit lame

8. Stage embarrassments : HAMS

9. Prefix with tourist : ECO

10. Time off for many : WEEKENDS

11. Boards a ship : EMBARKS

12. Dallas plaza in 1963 headlines : DEALEY - I did not know this; the website

14. Lead-in to a promise : REST ASSURED

17. Gets out of control : RIOTS

21. Calls it a night : GOES TO SLEEP

24. Do some window maintenance : REGLAZE

26. Evidence-gathering device : WIRETAP

28. Tactic : PLOY

32. "The Kite Runner" boy : AMIR - filled via perps

33. Pre-metalworking period : STONE AGE

35. First course : STARTER

36. Spring festival focus : TULIP - couldn't see this with HEWN in the way

37. Esteem : ADMIRE

39. Recording : TAPING - I still refer to my DVR shows as ones that I "taped"

40. Show clearly : EVINCE

41. Red herrings, perhaps : DECOYS

46. Arcade game ender : TILT - pinball, not Pac-Man

47. Harbor hauler : SCOW - made me change my golf club; from an 8-iron to a wedge

48. Handy bag : TOTE

51. "Hotel du __": Anita Brookner novel : LAC

53. Light color : RED - traffic light, clever; not the 'tone' or intensity of the color

Splynter

Saturday, Jul 1, 2017, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,W,X,Z)

Blocks: 44~!

Second Saturday in 2017 for Mr. Johnson - and despite a slow start, I ended up breezing through today's offering.  I reviewed his puzzle from March 25th, and also his debut back in 2013, just to see if there was any reference to him being Australian - which has been a topic of his clues/answers these last two constructions.  None that I could see.  Unusual grid design, sort of a backwards "S" ( or is that "Z"~? ), which again strands us in corners and little to work with getting into the others.  Lots of long across answers, which leaves us with nearly 60% more down clues and answers;

14a. Elaborate sci-fi costume component : FULL BODY MAKE-UP - big fan of the show "Face Off" on SyFy, and much as I like making movies, make up was not one of my strong points - but I certainly would like to try

46a. Spicy meatless dish : VEGETABLE CHILI

24a. Australian Stock Horses, perhaps : POLO PONIES - enough downs to figure this out

36a. They may be excuses : SOB STORIES

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Annual July 1 celebration marking the 1867 signing of the British North America Act : CANADA DAY - the "DAY" part appeared via crossings, and then it was a sensible WAG being that it was North America

10. Some Australian carvings : ABORIGINAL ART - "ART" showed, so I figured this was another sensible WAG

16. Supermarket count : AISLES - ITEMS was too short - and appears at 21d.

17. Old Andorran currency : PESETA

18. Arrive : GET IN - first thought, but hesitated

19. Dickensian denouncement : BAH~!

22. Guided : LED

23. Get out of Dodge : FLEE - in my case, I have to get IN the Dodge to get out of Dodge - my Grand Caravan, that is

28. Annex : ADD - oops, not ELL

29. Yusufislam.com musician : CAT STEVENS

30. Having a short cut : BOB-HAIRED

31. Like home, say : FOUR-LETTER - yes, but it's such a pleasant four letter word

33. Hang (around) : PAL

37. Didn't miss, as a bus : MADE - I didn't miss my putt on the 3rd hole last Wednesday, and as a result, had my first birdie - yay~!

38. "Gr8 joke!" : LOL

39. Unisex nickname : SAM - I tried "PAT"

40. 4/8/74 record breaker : AARON - half perps, half WAG

41. Brie who played Trudy on "Mad Men" : ALISON - half perps, half WAG

45. Home Depot work apparel : APRONS - I used to don one (Don Juan~?) when I was a kitchen designer back in 2002

50. Legacy Hartsfield-Jackson tenant : DELTA AIRLINES - looked like one of those "huh??" clues until I had half the crossings, again

51. Thinking indicator : LONG PAUSE - ah, not LIGHT BULB (which connotes "idea"), not HOUR GLASS (like the Microsoft icon)

DOWN:

1. Beardie, for one : COLLIE

2. Former senator Specter : ARLEN

3. Twizzlers pieces : NIBS

4. Ancient history adjective : AGO

5. Completed : DID

6. This, that or the other : ANY

7. Not soaked yet : DAMP

8. Winglike parts : ALAE - first of a couple 'plural' misdirections (no "S" ending)

9. Centuries-old Asian wool sources : YAKS

or this one~?

10. Off-topic : AFIELD

11. Out of order : BUSTED

12. Catch from the pier : REEL IN

13. Learners, hopefully : TUTEES

15. Shoulder protection : PADS - "singular" clue with a plural answer

16. Imaging company once big in film : AGFA - the Wiki

19. Bugs : BOTHERS

20. Ancient French region : ALSATIA

21. It flies off store shelves : HOT ITEM

24. Artist Picasso : PABLO

25. Netanyahu's predecessor : PERES

26. CBer's punctuation : OVER - always reminds me of the movie "Airplane!"

27. Friend of Homer : NED - Flanders~!

29. "Harold and Maude" co-star Bud : CORT - perps

30. Mover of many : BUS - ah, not "ARK"

31. Misled : FOOLED

32. Do a favor for : OBLIGE

33. Sentence ender : PAROLE - good one - not PERIOD

34. Head turner : ADONIS

35. It helps you focus : LENS - ah, a singular noun with an "S" ending~!

36. Many a Balkan : SLAV

37. Nautical : MARINE

40. Plant-ruining genus : APHIS

42. Make believable : SELL

43. Palindromic fellow : OTTO - and a clecho;

44. Palindromic bread : NAAN

45. Rights org. : ACLU

47. Lunch holder : BAG

48. In most mammals, the upper one has a groove called a philtrum : LIP - ha~! I knew this

49. Memorable time : ERA

Splynter

Saturday, Mar 25th, 2017, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

Words: 66 (missing J,Q,U,X)

Blocks: 32

   This is Saturday puzzle number three from Constructor Greg, and I looked at my review from his last contribution, and fared better this week than on that one back in Oct of last year.  As usual, it did not look good on the first Across pass, but there were some winning moments in the Down run, and then little by slowly the rest filled in, with a few missteps, and a few WAGs.  Though I did notice a healthy lack of proper names - the ones that were in the crossword I knew.  Odd looking grid with a low word count, crossing 11- and 9-letter words with two 10-letter words in there, too;

10d. Conventional : STEREOTYPIC - I'm looking for the "-AL" on the end, still

28a. Firebrick cooker : PIZZA OVEN - there's a stack of  two sitting out back of the restaurant waiting to get cleaned up for sale

24d. When needed : AS NECESSARY

40a. Points at and yells, perhaps : THREATENS

O N (W) bo A R D game S ~ !

ACROSS:

1. Hot-button subject in journalism : MEDIA BIAS - it's all biased, as far as I can tell - I don't watch the news

10. It may be on a dog : SLAW

14. Sacred Aboriginal landmark : AYERS ROCK - knew what we were looking for, took a moment to remember the name of the "rock"

15. Tendency : TIDE

16. Like a meeting of the minds? : TELEPATHIC - har-har

18. "__ so ... " : EVEN

19. Jefferson Davis' org. : CSA

20. "Barefoot Contessa" host Garten : INA

21. Still : AT REST - I got caught in a "still....(and yet....)" loop, so I went with "AT BEST"

23. Best Director between Soderbergh and Polanski : HOWARD - once "-OW---" filled in, I took a guess;  he won for "A Beautiful Mind" in 2001 (or 2002, depending on the source)

25. Unnatural register : FALSETTO - the Bee Gees, and this group's lead singer....caution; "raunchy~!"

 I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness

27. Remove : ERASE - I hesitated, thought this was too easy
 
29. "Nebraska" star : DERN - filled via perps

30. Become twisted : CONTORT

31. "Told you" : "SEE~?"

32. Bygone : OLDEN

33. Congressional approval : YEA

36. Ceremonial cup : CHALICE - Stanley fit, too

38. Settled : PAID

43. Petrol purchase : LITRE

44. White wine grape : RIESLING - dah~!  I see this enough at the restaurants to have gotten it without crossings, you'd think

45. Looked good on : BECAME - yes, the sweater  looks good on her

very becoming

46. Attaches, as a new deck : ADDS ON
 

47. Costumer's suggestion : WIG

48. Edge : LIP - or RIM~?

49. Land shaped by erosion : MESA

50. Fall behind : GET IN A HOLE

54. It sticks out in the water : PIER - FIN was too short

I can hear the music....

55. Model rocket components : NOSECONES

56. Order to stop : STAY - not HALT

57. Common college consequence : EMPTY NEST

DOWN:       

1. __ set : MATCHED - the "C" was in there from CSA, and so I proudly entered ereCtor.  Bzzzt~!

2. Demolition candidates : EYESORES

3. Its only counties are Kent, New Castle and Sussex : DELAWARE - well, this is embarrassing - I was thinking somewhere in Britain, and it turns out to be the US state I just visited last weekend....I was, uh, in, uh, New Castle, I think....

4. Steaming state : IRE - ah, state of mind, not US state

5. Hopeful's term : ASPIRE

6. Ford or Chevy : BRAND - SEDAN~?  Too many "wait and see" clues today

7. Ninth in a series : IOTA - figured it was Greek, good WAG

8. Cry over spilled Milch? : ACH - Das German for milk

9. Waxed sports equipment : SKI - equipment and singular 'ski' doesn't quite jibe for me

11. NFL games, e.g. : LIVE TV

12. Holiday hymn opener : ADESTE - Fidelis

13. Took place : WENT ON - as a show/performance

17. Folded Italian fare : CALZONE - spell check does not like this word....

22. Pre-revolution bigwig : TSAR - oddly, this one, too

25. Bit of successful research : FINDING - used as a noun in this case - I believe that's called a gerund

26. Ancient pyramid builders : AZTECS

28. Wind-borne grains : POLLEN

30. An inch of snow, e.g. : COATING - oops, not DUSTING - that's being from NY, I think

34. What one might do after a broken date : EAT ALONE - I always eat alone - don't need a broken date for that

35. Credit card bonus : AIR MILES - I drove to Delaware - 239 miles, and at one point was getting 26.1mpg in the Dodge Grand Caravan - I didn't think the computer could calibrate that high....

37. Light ring : HALO

39. Superior, of all five : DEEPEST - I had one of the "E"s, so a good WAG

40. Walks heavily : TRAMPS

41. "Quick, get that out of sight!" : "HIDE IT~!"

42. Indian Ocean arm : RED SEA

43. What's left : LEGACY

45. Stanford-__ test : BINET - the Wiki

47. Fleeting puff : WISP

51. Storm dir. : ENE - healthy WAG - can only be a certain grouping of N,E,S,W

52. Pig thief of rhyme : TOM

53. Sweetie : HON

Splynter 

Saturday, Oct 8th, 2016, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 30

This is the second Saturday puzzle I have blogged from today's constructor, and upon reviewing that last one (back in Nov. 2015), I read that my solving experience was much the same today - and I recognize this as a pattern with all crossword authors; no matter whose name is at the top of the grid, I seem to have the same struggles and successes with their contribution.  Like that puzzle a little under a year ago, I was able to get through 75% of the puzzle clue-by-clue, but then I ran into self-inflicted spelling/WAG mistakes, and did myself in - no ta-DA - so it was red-letter to the rescue.  Oh well.  Triple 9-letter Across corners, and stacked 9's and 10's crossing a pair of 10-letter climbers;

9. Not woody, to a botanist : HERBACEOUS - I had HE-B---- and just filled this in, not that I knew it was right, but it sounded right

26. Jefferson and others : VIRGINIANS - my first thought, but I waited on perps

1a. Decorative border : HEMSTITCH - too many thoughts to start; clothing, home decor, gardening~?....so I waited

55a. Formal choice : SILK DRESS - add a 44d., and you get this....

33a. One of ten in the Kentucky Derby : FURLONG - I took surveying as part of my construction technology classes in college, and I am always fascinated by the origin of distances and lengths - the Wiki

22d. Black arts practitioner : WARLOCK - "Crowley" fit, but didn't work with the crossings

O.M.G-ward~!

(see below)

ACROSS:

10. Business investment? : SUIT

14. Regardless : IN ANY CASE

15. Black-and-white vegetarian : PANDA - and a semi-clecho with....

16. Black-and-white : POLICE CAR

17. One putting two and two together : ADDER

18. Exit discreetly : SLIP OUT

19. Ivory, e.g. : BAR SOAP

21. Unannounced, as a quiz : POP

22. Beyond silly : WACKO - I tried INANE

23. Corroded : EATEN

26. Protect against harm, in a way : VACCINATE

30. It's about 40.5 for Pittsburgh, Pa. : N.Lat - I got it,  but only because I am aware that LI is roughly on the 42nd North Latitude

31. Inspiration for a red shade : FIRE ENGINE

32. Tirana is its cap. : ALBania

34. "Gr8 joke!" : LOL - at first I didn't get the G-R-8 hint, but then the V-8 can flew....

35. Classroom no-no : CALLING OUT - I pondered CLASS CLOWN, but class can't be in both clue & answer

37. Where le nez is : TÊTE - Frawnche, nose and head

38. Typical ham feature : THEATRICS - ah, the CLASS CLOWN kind of 'ham'

39. More twisted : WRYER

40. Cleared the room, perhaps : STUNK - here's where the problems began; stAnk, stInk - and I don't care for "stunk", so it didn't occur to me

41. Inc. magazine subject : CEO - I tried BUS.  first

42. A museum in Pesaro, Italy, marks his birthplace : ROSSINI - my DOWN crossings had me change this from GALILEO to GALILEI to CASSINI - and I was really pleased with my first 42d. fill

45. Alternative histories : "WHAT IFS"

49. Possible response to "I raise" : ALL IN - I got into a card game with some AA friends last Saturday night, and I am back at it tonight.  The buy-in was $20, and I took one pot that was fairly decent, then lost paired 10s and 8s to 3 threes....I went "all in" and ended up "all out" of money - but I had something to do on a Saturday night for a change - worth every penny of $20

50. Words seen before a dollar sign : AMOUNT DUE - all my bills are paid online

52. Filmmaker's __ light : KLIEG - I am ashamed to admit this did not come to me, but then again, we used softbox lighting on the movie set I worked on, not these

53. Only you : NO ONE ELSE - O.M.G. - the blue-eyed girl has re-entered my life - in the most bizarre way possible.  If you are curious, email me - I can't divulge the details here....

54. Casual food : EATS - as in diner signs and such

DOWN:

1. Swinging joints? : HIPS - har-har

2. Organic compound : ENOL - we had this recently

3. Landlocked African country : MALI

about 23 N Lat

4. Fragment : SNIPPET

5. Business VIP : TYCOON

6. Freeze : ICE UP - Look away, Tin - two weeks in a row~!

7. Careful handling : TACT

8. Union foe in the 19th cen. : CSA

10. Tearjerker : SAD SONG

11. Command following "Oops!" : UNDO - think computers; I have frequent "oops" moments with AutoCAD and Photoshop

12. Flash, maybe : IDEA

13. Weather protection : TARP - baseball winds down as hockey starts up

15. Downtown challenge : PARKING

20. Reason for a misunderstanding : ACCENT

23. Make law : ENACT

24. Quran deity : ALLAH - makes me think of this song from Van Halen, with Dave's "religious" philosophy (@2:40)

25. Stand with a leaf : TABLE - clever way to misdirect, but I did not fall prey, since I have been regularly refinishing leaf tables

27. Dancer posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 : AILEY - did not know this one - filled via perps

28. Govt. issue : T-NOTE

29. Pot-using sportsman : EELER - learned doing crosswords

31. 2K, say : FUN RUN - meh.  I had FUNRA- from my stAnk fill, and just couldn't see what we were looking for

33. Tailor's service : FITTING - ...but then this made sense, so GALILEO had to go

36. Many Aberdeen residents : LASSIES - for some reason, I was thinking Texas, but that's Abilene ( though there IS an Aberdeen in Texas ) - we're talking Ireland instead

37. Harness racer : TROTTER - another good WAG on my pert

39. Withdrew gradually : WEANED

41. Piece : CHUNK

42. Casino tool : RAKE - well, Cassini gave me "CAGE", and that seemed reasonable

43. Paella cooker : OLLA

44. Clothing opening : SLIT

45. Clothing material : WOOL - bonus image this week

46. Off : IDLE

47. Bellyache : FUSS

48. Gets it : SEES

51. "Excusez-__" : MOI - and finish avec les Frawnche

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Jayce, my patient puzzle collaborator and friend. Thanks for understanding me the way you do, Jayce! Thanks for being here for all of us. Cooking Trader Joe's Chicken Gyoza in your honor today, but no miso for broth.

Jayce, June 2013, Santa Barbara

Thursday, May 19th, 2016 Greg Johnson

Theme: Growing Pains - the circles reveal a squad of squabblers.

17A. Overindulged oneself : WENT TO TOWN. Tot. Going to town on tots can result in a Captain Morgan-sized hangover.

22A. Communications feature since the 1870s : QWERTY KEYBOARD. Tyke. Deliberately designed to slow people down to reduce typewriter lever jams. The French have AZERTY, for reasons known only to themselves. Odd folks, that Gallic lot. You know what the French can't do? Type "TYPEWRITER" using only the top row of letter keys. Mwaaahaaahahhaaa. They're SO missing out.

34. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" duettist : KIKI DEE. Kid. I saw her at a free concert in London's Hyde Park in the 70's along with Steve Hillage, supporting Queen. I don't recall a lot about her set though. Here's the production-values-challenged video of the hit with Elton John. Catchy tune,admittedly. Here I am - twenty-thousandth dot from the right middle tree. And it didn't rain! Yay!

44. "Looks pretty good, huh?" : WHAT DO YOU THINK? Youth. Or "yute" per Joe Pesci in "My Cousin Vinnie". The scene where Marisa Tomei is called as an expert witness is one of my all-time movie favorites.

and the reveal:

52. Psychology subject ... and what's contained in this puzzle's circles : INNER CHILD. Something to channel.

Morning! Tongue-in-cheek with my theme name today, I'm sure all the lovable little darlings in this puzzle are quite angelic.

Mostly smooth sailing for me today, a couple of rip currents in the Pacific North West caused me some momentary unease, but the ship came through without undue distress. I thought a pangram was on the cards when QWERTYK showed up, but it wasn't to be - we're missing an F and a Z. Let's see what else we do have:

Across:

1. Toddler coddlers : MAMAS

6. Office stock : PENS

10. Port container : CASK. Originally old brandy barrels to help preserve Portuguese wine on the voyage to England.

14. What's made "just in case" : EXTRA. I wanted "PLAN B" here, but as much as I wanted it, I didn't get it.

15. Follow : OBEY, Aye, aye, Captain!

16. Eclipse, to some : OMEN

19. It may sweep you off your feet : WAVE

20. "Me too" : DITTO

21. Sleeper's malady : APNEA. A couple of months ago in San Diego I had a meeting with the company who invented the sleep apnea breathing devices. In their lobby they have an array of disembodied mannequin heads wearing examples of the technology through the years. It looks a little weird.

26. Breakfast choices : JUICES

27. Spot for breakfast : NOOK

28. El __ : PASO

29. They're usually covered by grilles : AIR VENTS

33. __ out a living : EKE

37. WWII battle site, for short : IWO. Iwo To, or Iwo Jima in English. Sulfur Island.

38. Just beginning to develop : GERMINAL

40. Emailed a dupe to : CC'ED. We cc C.C. on blog-related emails.

41. Research ctr. : INST.

42. White of the eye : SCLERA. Not CORNEA then, as I confidently filled in first, in spite of being totally wrong.

49. 1945 meeting site : YALTA. Churchill, Stalin and FDR met to carve up post-WWII Europe. See how well that turned out for everyone.

50. Stern with a bow : ISAAC

51. __ marker : MILE. When you reach the first one in a marathon, you gleefully think "Great! Only 25 more of these, tack on 365 yards at the end and we're done!".

57. Rapper with the debut album "Trouble" : AKON. Who? I'm sure I should know Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, but I don't.

58. Porch torch type : TIKI

59. Sun: Pref. : HELIO-. Greek root. Helio Castroneves isn't Greek, he's a Brazilian race car driver in the IndyCar series. He looks like he gets a lot of sun though.

60. Common allergen : NUTS

61. Right on an atlas : EAST. Unless you hold it upside down, or get the Australian edition.

62. A bit off : ASKEW

Down:

1. Litter attention-getter : MEW

2. Hefted tool : AXE

3. Hood, for one: Abbr. : MTN. Mount Hood in Oregon. I've flown over it a few times on the way to Seattle, it looks like a perfect snow-capped cone.

4. Like Radio City Music Hall : ART DECO

5. "The Daily Show" device : SATIRE

6. Where wee ones go : POTTY

7. Waiting room read : E-BOOK

8. Just out : NEW

9. Case, for instance: Abbr. : SYN. Nice clue! Parse it as "Case" for "Instance", and you'll see one is a synonym of the other.

10. Ranch hand : COWPOKE

11. Its website has a range finder : AMANA. Oh! Cooktops and kitchen equipment. Got it. Clever.

12. Divide into parts : SEVER. I got a new cleaver recently. Two pounds of severe severing steel sharpness. I'd better be careful with this bad boy. Finger (currently still attached) shown for scale.

13. Prep, at a pizza parlor : KNEAD

18. Mel and Ed with World Series rings : OTTS

21. Not subject to, as suspicion : ABOVE

22. Fault product : QUAKE. Plenty of these in my neck of the woods.

23. More learned : WISER

24. Plains "Queen Wheat City" : ENID

25. Days long gone : YORE

26. Photo file format : JPEG. "Joint Photographic Experts Group". It's a "lossy" compression algorithm - "lossy" because when the image is re-opened it has lost some definition. If you keep re-saving a JPEG you'll notice the quality degrading.

29. Feel poorly : AIL

30. Tidy (up), facetiously : NICEN. Not sure I've used this term. Facetiously though?

31. Dance provocatively : TWERK. No, I'm not going to link Miley Cyrus.

32. Pop : SODA

34. Cousin of "-ish" : KINDA

35. __ many words : IN SO

36. Pop's Perry : KATY

39. Things on strings : MITTENS. Hand up for my mother sewing my gloves onto a ribbon and threading them through the sleeves of my coat. Lost glove drama instantly averted. Playground lost cred instantly achieved.

40. Played-out sayings : CLICHES

42. Ratings unit : STAR

43. Ballroom dance : CHA CHA

44. Longtime Rolling Stones bassist Bill : WYMAN. Keith Richards claimed that Bill was only allowed to join the band because he owned an amplifier. Reading Keith's autobiography it's pretty apparent that he didn't think too much of the "walking bass".

45. 17-syllable work : HAIKU

Help me. I am trapped

in a Haiku factory.

Save me, before they 

46. Divvy up : ALLOT

47. Down and dirty noises : OINKS

48. "Can you __ in a sentence?" : USE IT. Not only a spelling bee clarification question, but the litmus test of crossword construction.

52. Relative of "-ian" : -ITE

53. Actress Peeples : NIA. Useful crossword name. I'm not really familiar with the her work.

54. Kind : ILK

55. One of a rat's pack? : LIE

56. Financial measure, with "the" : DOW

And .. here's the grid, circles 'n all.


Steve

Saturday, Nov 28th, 2015, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

Upon review of the years gone by, I see that Mr. Johnson has been a consistent Tuesday contributor to the LA Times crosswords - but today he's given us a great challenge for a Saturday.  Non-standard grid, nicely symmetrical, with triple 7-letter corners.  I picked my way through this one clue by clue, and I eventually got a foothold in some places, and that allowed me to WAG a few.  Alas, I ran into one cell that just wouldn't fill in, and that was because of "spelling" mistakes on my part - so I went red-letter to see where I went astray.  Anyway, we had two spanners, and one 11-letter climber;

17a. Remote setting : MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

58a. Spanish-style home decor : TERRACOTTA TILES

18d. 1995 film in which Sean Connery played King Arthur : FIRST KNIGHT - good movie - and Julia Ormond is beautiful

'Tis the seas-on-ward~!

ACROSS:

1. Furniture support : SOFA LEG - he means this kind of leg....

8. Hard-to-find hardware? : SPY-CAMS

15. Learned : ERUDITE - the adjective, not the verb

16. Side trip guide : AREA MAP

19. __-Pak subcontinent: Asian region : INDO

20. Homework initials? : DIY - Do It Yourself; Home Depot has Do-It-HERself classes; we are about one day away from finishing up the house project - did the siding today

21. Like some backup files : ON CD

22. Top dog : NUMERO UNO

27. Cutesy plea for affection : KISS, KISS

30. Eye site : POTATO

34. Bird that will swim but not fly : EMU

35. Pound, e.g. : UNIT - dah~!  Not POET - 25% correct

36. Upset state : DISMAY

37. Letters associated with z's? : REM - Rapid Eye Movement sleep; I had a full-on sensory dream of a cat pawing me and then lying down on my back one afternoon while I napped; I asked my room-mate, and he said there was never a cat in the house - I looked it up on the dream interpretations site, and it's associated with feminine sexuality - damn, I hope so~!

38. Tetanus symptom : LOCKJAW

40. Former "NFL Today" sportscaster Cross : IRV

41. Train for firefighting : RAPPEL

43. 2014 Wales summit host : NATO

44. Iowa campus : COE

45. Refusal of hospitality, often : INSULT

46. Thief's target : IDENTITY

48. Literary legionnaire : BEAU GESTE - frequently in crosswords, but I did not know much more about the story until today - more here

50. Salinger heroine : ESME - Nailed it - but again, seen in a lot of crosswords

53. Golden ratio symbol : PHI - ah, like "Pi" for, well, 3.14159....in this case, it's 1.61803 - more here

54. It may be crunched : DATA - my one corner that messed me up

63. Treaty topic : TEST BAN

64. Dress uniform adornment : EPAULET

65. Reuse productively, as trash : UPCYCLE - new word for me - and my spell-check; the word "repurposed" has gained some traction around here

66. Dish from the Italian for "foam" : SPUMONI - Dah~!!  I put in spumATi, so I was all screwed up down here

DOWN:   

1. Trailer leader : SEMI - the tractor part

2. "Out __?" : OR IN

3. Hunter with a distinctive laugh : FUDD - Elmer, that is

4. Supplements : ADD-ONS

5. Small in a small way : L'IL 

6. Juillet's time : ÉTÉ - Frawnche

7. Like the Spaceship Earth sphere : GEODESIC

8. Panasonic subsidiary : SANYO

9. Supporting : PRO

10. "Dismal" tree in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" : YEW

11. Partnership : CAHOOTS

12. "You said it!" : "AMEN~!"

13. Standup comic Maron : MARC

14. Earned a citation? : SPED - har-har

23. Lute family member : UKULELE

24. Company that merged with Konica : MINOLTA

25. Screen alert subjects : UPDATES - always seems to be Adobe Flash Player

26. Firm denial : NO, I WON'T

27. Gymnast Strug : KERRI

28. "Let me explain ..." : "I MEAN..."

29. Collection areas : SUMPS - oops, not Dumps - but that was 80% correct

31. Firenze friends : AMICI

32. Typically 78-card deck : TAROT - I have a deck, but have not looked at it in years

33. Exasperated cry : "OY VEY~!"

39. Burmese gems : JADEITES

42. Time for significant changes : PUBERTY

47. Yawn inducer : TEDIUM

49. Barely ahead : UP ONE - oops, not ONE UP

50. Incredulous accusation : ET TU - Brute~?

51. Flow slowly : SEEP

52. Richie's mom, to Fonzie : Mrs. C

55. Téléphone greeting : 'ALLO

56. Mock election voter : TEEN

57. Product of white Muscat grapes : ASTI

59. Easy as __ : ABC - oops, not PIE

60. "East of Eden" son : CAL

61. Galaxy download : APP - Galaxy, the Samsung Smart Phone (or tablet; I have one)

62. Two before 53-Across : TAU

Thanks to all who comment, especially for those who comment on my Saturday postings.  Thank you, too, to C.C. for the opportunity to be able to blog here in the first place~!!!

Splynter

Tuesday, December 30, 2014 Greg Johnson

Theme: Pack it in - Four containers that can be packed.

17A. Stunt pilot stunt : BARREL ROLL

24A. Quaint dating-and-dining event : BOX SOCIAL. Was there one in "Music Man"?

49A. Man cave celebration : CHEST BUMP

59A. Social agency employee : CASE WORKER

Reveal entry:

38A. Moving company service, and what the starts of 17-, 24-, 49- and 59-Across may be used for : STORAGE

Argyle here. Time to pack up another year. Solid Tuesday.

Across:

1. Heavy book : TOME

5. High-end Honda : ACURA

10. Roof edge : EAVE

14. Shepard who hit golf balls on the moon : ALAN

15. In a huff : UPSET

16. Headed for overtime : TIED

19. __ d'oeuvre : HORS

20. Still in the store : UNSOLD

21. Kanga's creator : A.A. MILNE

23. Cuba libre liquor : RUM with coke and some lime.

26. Quite a few : A LOT

28. Buddhist sect : ZEN

29. Singing syllable : TRA La La

30. Like a stage performance : LIVE

31. Eye-roller's reply : "I BET"

33. Mess makers : SLOBS

37. Microbrewery brew : ALE

40. Japanese carp : KOI

41. Remove insulation from : STRIP. From wires.

43. __ stick : POGO

44. You can see Lincoln on one : CENT

45. Aunt, en español : TIA

47. No longer burning : OUT

48. Bailiff's cry : "OYEZ"

53. Cease : END

54. Hold : POSSESS

55. Obtain via threats : EXTORT

58. Actress Kudrow : LISA

62. "Fly-Fight-Win" org. : USAF

63. Tequila plant : AGAVE

64. Winery prefix : OENO

65. Eyelid problem : STYE

66. Videos that go viral, e.g. : MEMEs

67. Rhône-Alpes city : LYON

Down:

1. "Forbidden" perfume : "TABU"

2. "The Good Earth" mother : OLAN

3. NASA's Curiosity, e.g. : MARS ROVER

4. Along the way : ENROUTE

5. "__ Lang Syne" : AULD

6. EMT procedure : CPR

7. Troupe for the troops: Abbr. : USO

8. Enjoy some downtime : RELAX

9. "Finally!" : "AT LAST!"

10. Guided by good : ETHICAL

11. Garlicky mayo : AIOLI. Mayo with attitude.

12. Actress Bloom of "High Plains Drifter" : VERNA. And of "Animal House".

13. Eponymous Ford : EDSEL. Eponymous is something or someone that gives its name to something else.

18. Shade source : ELM

22. Code creator : MORSE

24. Charlie Parker jazz genre : BEBOP

25. Like old-time schoolhouses : ONE-ROOM

26. Cry of dismay : "ALAS!"

27. Happy tune : LILT

28. Skin blemish : ZIT

32. Prepare to advance after a fly ball : TAG UP

34. "Roger that!" : "OKEY-DOKEY!"

35. Femur, e.g. : BONE

36. __ bath: therapeutic soak : SITZ

38. Rancor : SPITE

39. Picked up : GOT

42. "You can come out now" : "IT'S SAFE"

44. Word before group or freak : CONTROL

46. '70s-'80s scandal that inspired "American Hustle" : ABSCAM

49. Academically above average : C-PLUS

50. Raise, as a flag : HOIST

51. College application part : ESSAY

52. Meter reading : USAGE

53. Prefix with skeleton : EXO

55. Meadow females : EWEs

56. Gambling town near Tahoe : RENO

57. 1982 Disney sci-fi flick : "TRON"

60. "Casablanca" piano man : SAM

61. Night before : EVE. Hoist the party flag. We have a barrel of rum and case of ale. Also, some Tia Maria, tequila and find some wine for the oenophiles. Don't forget the hors d'oeuvres. Do the Hustle. Maybe strip later(nothing tabu) and sing some lilts. Tra La La. Play it, Sam. Play "Auld Lang Syne".

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here is a picture of Dudley and his wife from their Nantucket voyage last Saturday. He said "It was taken for us by a passing airport employee, a kind hearted fellow, at sunset when we were preparing to leave. Marti helped me edit the frame a bit (she’s clever like that)."

Thursday, July 3, 2014 Greg Johnson

Theme: Going Postal

Let's begin with the reveal:

36-A. What the answers to starred clues are comprised of : US POSTAL CODES.

The 2-letter postal codes of states are formed into common words and phrases. There are duplicates, but without looking at a map, do you know which ones are missing? (I immediately saw one glaring omission…)

14-A. *Approach : CO/ME NE/AR.  Colorado, Maine, Nebraska, Arkansas

16-A. *Overly ornate : FL/OR/ID. Florida, Oregon, Idaho

24-A. *Messing with one's head : MI/ND GA/ME. Michigan, North Dakota, Georgia, Maine

49-A. *Tom Wolfe coinage for the 1970s : ME DE/CA/DE. Maine, Delaware, California, Delaware

62-A. *Drink of the gods : NE/CT/AR. Nebraska, Connecticut, Arkansas

63-A. *Simple forecasting aid : WI/ND VA/NE. Wisconsin, North Dakota, Virginia, Nebraska

5-D. *Sell weaponry : DE/AL AR/MS. Delaware, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi

39-D. *Appalachian resource : CO/AL MI/NE. Colorado, Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska.

I don't think I would have guessed this theme in a million years without the reveal!  But at least I was able to fill the entire thing in without any lookups. From a constructor's viewpoint, this was an especially difficult type of theme to create. Competing 6- and 8-letter entries necessitated asterisks to differentiate the theme entries.

I can understand why TX was omitted...but here's a challenge: Find your state that was omitted, and come up with a valid word or phrase that includes it, along with at least two other postal codes. (***See spoiler at bottom of this post)

Across:

1. Just the right amount of tight : SNUG. (See 61-down)

5. Hip-hop's Run-__ : DMC. From the 80's. Never heard of them, but evidently they were very influential to the genre.

8. Significant : OF NOTE.

17. Beef at the dinner table : RIB ROAST. and 34-Across. Butcher's offering : T-BONE. Are you getting hungry yet?

18. Provoke : FOMENT.

19. Sports drink suffix : ADE.

20. Healing aid, briefly : TLC. Tender loving care.

21. Some August babies : LEOs.

22. Cyrus the Great's domain : PERSIA. Here is an interesting timeline map that goes from 8000 B.C. to modern Iran. 1:10

28. Right in an atlas : EAST.

29. Author Dahl : ROALD. We have had him many times before.

31. Cease, with "off" : LAY.

32. High-tech debut of 1981 : IBM PC.

40. Dressing vessel : CRUET.

41. "Oh, yeah!" : BOO-YA.

42. Minor concern, maybe : AGE. HaHa, "minor" in this case being one who is under-aged.

43. In a way, informally : SORTA.

45. Cries of pain : YOWS.

52. "60 Minutes" first name : LESLEY. Stahl. I like her style.

Lesley Stahl

54. Choice usually made secretly : VOTE.

55. Minute measures: Abbr. : CMs. Centimeters.

56. Rehab concern, familiarly : DTs.

57. Like old videos : GRAINY.

60. Zealous to the extreme : WHITE HOT.

64. Eucharist plates : PATENS.

65. Suffix for Brooklyn or Manhattan : -ITE.

66. "Lemme __!" : AT 'EM.


Down

1. Tough spot : SCRAPE.

2. "I'm stumped" : NO IDEA.

3. Earthy colors : UMBERS. Had to look at perps to decide between ochres and UMBERS.

4. Angela Merkel's country: Abbr. : GER.many. This was a gimme.

6. Like the days of the week, in Span. : MASC.uline. WAG. I know very little Spanish, but with four letters, I guessed it would not be "fem." But now that I think of it, I could have gone with "neut."

7. Old PC component : CRT. Cathode Ray Tube.

8. Transgress : OFFEND.

9. __ insurance : FLOOD.

10. Asian menu assurance : NO MSG.

11. Gold or silver source : ORE.

12. Pie holder : TIN. My pies are baked in a pie plate. I associate a pie TIN with frozen ones.

13. D.C. summer setting : EDT.

15. "The Little Red Hen" denial : NOT I.

21. Short, for short : LI'L.

23. Michael of R.E.M. : STIPE. Should I link? Not a fan, so I'll let someone else who likes them pick their own.

24. Gruesome : MACABRE.

25. Hand lotion ingredient : ALOE.

26. __ best friend : MAN'S.

27. Major TV logo : EYE.

Eye logo

30. Go (for) : OPT.

33. AI game competitor : BOT. Artificial Intelligence. BOTs are considered NPCs (non-player characters.)

34. Play (with) : TOY.

35. Annual celebrations, casually : B-DAYS. Does C.C. know yours? Send her a note - she remembers everything!

36. Impulse : URGE.

37. Took to court : SUED.

38. Housing plan unit : LOT.

40. Rotating piece : CAM.

43. Half-goat creatures of myth : SATYRS.

44. Lines of praise : ODE.

I would write a nice ODE to our Owen,

Perhaps pen a Pindaric type poem.

But alas I cannot.

A limerick’s all I got.

And, besides, I have to get goin’!

46. Dated : OLD HAT.

47. Sloppy kiss : WET ONE. Garfield just really doesn't appreciate them.

48. Nervous __ : SYSTEM.

50. Cybernotice for a party : E-VITE.

51. Late-night host O'Brien : CONAN.

53. Business sign abbr. : EST'D. Established.

55. IOU : CHIT.

57. Econ. yardstick : GNP.

58. "In Dreams" actor Stephen : REA. Did not remember this guy.

59. Fake being : ACT.

60. Doughboy's conflict, briefly : WWI.

61. Actress Mendes : EVA.

I laughed when I read this quote from her:
"I wanted to be a nun when I was very little. Well, that was until my sister told me that they don't get paid. Then I went off that idea quickly."
(Aren't you fellows glad that nuns don't get paid?)

***My missing state was MA.  So, my word was DE/MA/ND.

That about wraps it up for me this week!
Marti