Tuesday, June 18, 2019, Jeff Stillman

Something's Rotten in Puzzledom!  The last word of each theme answer can describe something that has SPOILED, or gone bad.

20-Across. *  Do something in a whole new way: BREAK THE MOLD.

While we don't want mold on our food or in our houses, Penicillin mold actually has therapeutic benefits.

34-Across.  *  Clever twists in a story: NEW WRINKLES.

41-Across *  Depressed, colorfully: IN A BLUE FUNK.

51-Across.  Movie reviewer's warning ... or what the last words of each starred answer can be?:  SPOILER ALERT.

Across:

1. Gallery event: SHOW.

George Rodrigue (Mar. 13, 1944 ~ Dec. 14, 2013)

5. 24 Hours of Le __: auto race: MANS.  The Le Mans is an auto endurance event.  The 87th race took place just this past weekend ~ Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, June 16, 2019.  Fernando Alonso's  Toyota team won for the second consecutive year.

9. Out in front: AHEAD.

14. __ Field: Mets' ballpark: CITI.

15. Frantically: AMOK.  Amok also a style of steam cooking in southeast Asia.  It is a traditional dish in Cambodia.

16. Prom queen's crown: TIARA.  Also the headgear of married royals, or maybe not.

17. Geological age: AEON.  A long, long time.

18. 10-Down princess: RANI.  //  And 10-Down: Diwali celebrant = HINDU.  Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and is a very important celebration.

19. Chipped in a chip: ANTED.  Think of playing a game of poker.

23. Chinese-born architect I.M. __: PEI.  I.M. Pei (né Ieoh Ming Pei; Apr. 26, 1917 ~ May 16, 2019) died just last month at age 102.  He was a very innovative architect.

24. Semisoft cheeses: GOUDAs.  Gouda is a mild cheese from the Netherlands, often wrapped in red wax.

28. Accomplish: ATTAIN.

31. Fish caught in pots: EELS.

33. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.  Also the brand of a very expensive, luxury pen.

36. Sched. uncertainty: TBA.  As in To Be Announced.  It could just as easily have been TBD, which stands for To Be Determined.

37. Club used for chipping: IRON.  As in a golf club, not to be confused with a Flat Iron, which could help with today's WRINKLES.

38. Narc's org.: DEA.  As in the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is housed within the United States Department of Justice.

39. "Beauty __ the eye ... ": IS IN.

40. Line of work: Abbr.: OCC.  As in an Occupation.

45. Teachers' org.: NEA.  As in the National Education Association.

46. Like dried soil: CAKY.  More often this would be spelled as Cakey, but both are acceptable.

47. Dictation takers: STENOs.  Short for Steographer.  This is probably an occupation that is pretty much obsolete now.  There are still court reporters, but even they used electronic recordings.

48. Bourbon __: STREET.  New Orleans' most infamous street.

50. Summer in Lyon: ÉTÉ.  Today's French lesson.

58. "Prince Valiant" queen: ALETA.  Prince Valiant was a comic strip created in 1937 set in the days of King Arthur's England.  Apparently, Aleta was the love interest of Prince Valiant.

61. Most burger meat: BEEF.  Non-beef burgers are becoming trendy.

62. Scottish hillside: BRAE.  Today's Scottish lesson.

63. Trig function: COSEC.  Raise your hand if you remember all the trig functions from high school geometry.  Cosec is the abbreviation for Cosecant.  It's the reciprocal of sine.  I'm sure that clears things up.

64. Slight advantage: EDGE.

65. Not supportin': AGIN'.

66. Smooth and glossy: SLEEK.

67. Shock, as a perp: TASE.

Anatomy of a Taser®.

68. Doofus: DOLT.  Anyone else remember the old Goofus and Gallant cartoons instructing children on manners?  Goofus was a Doofus.

Down:

1. Natural wound protection: SCAB.

2. Yesterday, on the French Riviera: HIER.  More of today's French lesson.  Today is aujourd'hui, and tomorrow is demain.

3. Native Nebraskan: OTOE.

4. Capture the first piece in chess, typically: WIN A PAWN.

5. Bond order: MARTINI.  Shaken, not stirred.

6. Indian nurse: AMAH.  This word used to be a crossword staple.

7. __ of the above: NONE.

8. Take off the top: SKIM.

9. Completely flummoxed: AT A LOSS.

11. Consume: EAT.

12. "We __ Marshall": 2006 football drama: ARE.  Matthew McConaughey was one of the stars in the movie.

13. Pop: DAD.

21. Actor Dullea of "2001" films: KEIR.  The name Keir Dullea (b. May 30, 1936) did not immediately come to mind, but he played the astronaut Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

22. Look at creepily: OGLE.

25. Nissan brand relaunched in 2013: DATSUN.

26. One lacking pigment: ALBINO.  When I was in grade school, we learned about Snowflake, the albino gorilla.  He lived in the Barcelona zoo from the time he was a youngster until his death in 2003.  He was believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death.

27. Swats on the rear: SPANKS.

28. Negatively charged particles: ANIONS.

29. Half a sestet, in an Italian sonnet: TERCET.  According to Webster, a Tercet is "one of the two groups of three lines forming the sestet in an Italian sonnet".  All clear?

30. Like a good-sized garage: TWO CAR.  Is your garage attached to your house, or a stand-alone?

31. Barely manage: EKE BY.

32. Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL.

35. Fargo's state: Abbr.: N. DAK.  As in North Dakota.  The 1996 movie, Fargo, however, actually took place in Minnesota.

39. Words of regret, perhaps: I FEEL BAD.  The opposite of how James Brown felt.

41. Treatment for swelling: ICE PACK.

42. Defense acronym: NATO.  As in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

43. Highway toll, e.g.: USER FEE.

44. Soul singer James: ETTA.  Etta and I have become good friends.  This is the third time she has been my guest when it's my turn to provide blog commentary.

49. Lauder with fragrances: ESTÉE.  Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1906 ~ Apr. 24, 2004), was the founder of the cosmetics company that bears her name.

52. "Fat chance": I BET!

53. Mother of Castor and Pollux: LEDA.  They're all Greek to me.

54. Hosp. brain tests: EEGs.  As in the ElectroEncphaloGraphs.  These tests can detect electrical activity in the brain and are useful in diagnosing such things as brain tumors, strokes, and sleep disorders.

55. "Logically, then ... ": ERGO.

56. Train wheel guide: RAIL.

57. Camp shelter: TENT.  Roughing it in the wilderness.

58. Window cooling units, briefly: A/Cs.  As in Air Conditioners.  

59. "Gr8 joke!": LOL.  Textspeak.

60. Legal conclusion?: -ESE.  As in Legalese.

Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  Every great film should seem new every time you see it.  ~ Roger Ebert (né Roger Joseph Ebert; June 18, 1942 ~ Apr. 4, 2013)

Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Bruce Haight

The ESSENCE of S.  What happens when you add the letter S to the beginning and end of a common word?  You get today's rhyming puzzle puzzle!  Our constructor, Bruce Haight must like the letter "S".  His Friday puzzle also added an "S" to give us a sleepy-time puzzle.

 17-Across. Run out of pants?: LACK SLACKS.

Poor Peter Rabbit.  He is without slacks!

25-Across. Steal tent holders?: TAKE STAKES.

40-Across. Share sewing cylinders?: POOL SPOOLS.  These pool noodles are the closest I could find to a Pool Spool.

44-Across. Praise Guinness products?: TOUT STOUTS.

A Stout Man Touting Stout.

52-Across. Discuss cornfields?: TALK STALKS.

67-Across. Cook escargots perfectly?: NAIL SNAILS.

Across:

1. Singer Cyrus: MILEY.  //  1-Down. Long-distance runner: MILER.  I liked how Miley and Miler crossed.  Miley Cyrus (née Destiny Hope Cyrus; b. Nov. 23, 1992) has come a long way since her Hannah Montana days.

6. Captain with a whalebone leg: AHAB.  Captain Ahab is a fictional character in Moby Dick, the whaling novel by Herman Melville.  As the novel begins, we learn that the Captain had been on a previous whaling voyage and a great white whale had bitten off the Captain's leg, so he now depends upon a whalebone prosthetic.  Moby Dick is basically a revenge novel, where Captain Ahab is out to strike back at the whale.

10. Secretly sends an email copy to: BCCs.  As in Blind Carbon Copies.  Although the actual Carbon Copy is now obsolete, the abbreviation for it remains.

14. Cry of domination: I RULE!

15. Sensible: SANE.

16. "Well, hello there": OH, HI!

19. Dickens' Little __: NELL.  Little Nell is a character in The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens.  It is about a young orphan girl (Nell, of course), who lives with her grandfather in his shop.  The novel was published as a weekly series, and was a real nail biter for its readers.  Sort of like an old-timey Game of Thrones.

20. Airport approx.: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.  This is a crossword staple.

21. Vintage Ford: MODEL T.  Henry Ford is supposed to have said about the Model T that "any customer can have a car painted in any color that he wants so long as it is black."

22. Many a bagpiper: SCOT.  My sister plays the bagpipe.  This is not her.

23. Relaxation: REST.

27. Apt. units: RMs.  As in Rooms in an Apartment.

29. XV ÷ V: III.  Roman math.  15 ÷ 5 = 3.

30. For a specific purpose: AD HOC.

33. Remington rival: BRAUN.  Both company make electronic grooming tools.

37. Hamilton's bill: TEN.  I recently say a production of Hamilton.  Sadly, Lin-Manuel Miranda did not play Alexander Hamilton in the version I saw, but it was still fantastic!  Oh, and Alex is the face of the $10 bill.

42. Choose in a booth: VOTE.

43. Pharmacy tablet: PILL.  They come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

46. Benchmark: Abbr.: STD.  As in Standard.

47. Carb-loading meal: PASTA.  Yummers!  I particularly like squid ink pasta.

48. Fill in for: ACT AS.

49. Lap dog, briefly: POM.  As in a Pomeranian.  They are cute dogs.  My sister had one, but it was a nasty little thing.

51. Spot with saunas: SPA.

58. Kudrow of "Friends": LISA.  I was never a fan of Friends.  I don't think I ever watched an entire episode.  I found Lisa Kudrow's character particularly annoying.

62. Arouse, as an appetite: WHET.

63. Skin care brand: AVEENO.  //  And 73-Down: 63-Across rival: OLAY.  Aveeno is a brand of skin care products that is owned by Johnson & Johnson.  One of its active ingredients is derived from Oats, hence the name, which is a derivation of the Avena sativa, the scientific name for oat.  Olay is owned by Proctor & Gamble.  Aveeno is more of a total skin care line, whereas Olay is more of a facial line of skin care products.

65. Eminem genre: RAP.  Rapper Eminem is his professional name.  His given name is Marshall Bruce Mathers, III (b. Oct. 17, 1972).  He never looks very happy.

66. "You betcha!": YEAH!

69. Cut with a surgical beam: LASE.

70. Fish organ: GILL.

71. "Fiddler" busybody: YENTE.  Written as יענטאַ in Hebrew.  It's actually a Yiddish word, and was originally just a girl's name common in Eastern Europe.  It became synonymous with a busybody in the United States in the 1920s.

72. Yemen's Gulf of __: ADEN.

74. Medical pictures: X-RAYS.  So that's where my ring went!

Down:

2. Steaming mad: IRATE.

3. "Star Wars" creator George: LUCAS.  George Walter Lucas, Jr. (b. May 14, 1944) created Star Wars over 40 years ago.  Sequels and prequels are still being made.

4. Yellowstone grazer: ELK.  Don't mess with a Mama Elk and her baby.  There were some incidents of injury to people earlier this year.

5. Polite rural assent: YES'M.

6. Carne __: burrito filling: ASADA.  It's grilled beef, but the secret is in the marinading.

7. Czech diacritical mark: HACEK.  It looks like an inverted circumflex.  An example can be seen in the name of the city, Český Krumlov, which known for its beautiful castle.  I was there exactly 11 years ago today while visiting my cousin who lived in Prague.  For our blog readers, may I suggest The Book of Splendor, by Frances Sherwood.  It is a novel mostly about Prague, but some scenes take place in Český Krumlov.

8. Joint for a bracelet: ANKLE.

9. Outdoes: BESTS.

10. Tree in a tray: BONSAI.  This was my favorite clue of the puzzle.

I am Groot.

11. "Look at that!": CHECK IT OU!

12. Actress Sevigny: CHLOË.  Chloë Sevigny (b. Nov. 18, 1974), has been in a number of independent movies and cable TV series.  She's about to be in a new movie with Bill Murray and Adam Driver called The Dead Don't Die.

13. Delta deposits: SILTS.  More than you ever wanted to know about the Mississippi River Delta.

18. A great deal: LOTS.

24. Social media troublemaker: TROLL.  We occasionally get Trolls on the blog.  We try not to feed them.

26. Element #50: TIN.  Hey, Tin!  Come back, there is no Ice in today's puzzle!

28. Mic holders: MCs.  As in Master of Ceremonies.

30. Phone downloads: APPS.

31. "Finish that job!": DO IT!

32. Polite "Hang on": HOLD, PLEASE.

33. Chorus for the villain: BOOS.

34. Lopsided win: ROUT.

35. Utah ski resort: ALTA.

Looks like some rugged skiing.

36. Battleship initials: USS.  Commissioned ships and vessels in the United States are designed with USS, which stands for United States Ship.  Care to guess the name of this ship?

38. "At Last" vocalist James: ETTA.  She was my guest the last time I provided commentary for the blog.

39. Loch with monster stories: NESS.  Earlier this week, the BBC reported that the Loch Ness monster might be real.

41. Student advocacy gp.: PTA.  As in the Parent Teacher Association.

42. Outspoken: VOCAL.

45. One in a bar array: TAP.

47. U.K. leaders: PMs.  As in Prime Ministers.  Theresa May just resigned from her position as Prime Minister.  How will the United Kingdom select its next PM?

50. "In that case, fine": OK, THEN.

51. Govt. IDs: SSNs.  As in Social Security Numbers.

52. Choreographer Tharp: TWYLA.  In the 1960s, Twyla Tharp (b. July 1, 1941) formed her own dance company.

53. In first place: AHEAD.  You might be inclined to shout 13-Across if you win.

54. Latin ballroom dance: TANGO.  It takes two.

55. Be useful to: AVAIL.

56. Soprano role in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers": LEILA.  We recently saw a production of this at the Houston Grand Opera.

57. Green shade with an Irish name: KELLY.

59. Skater Slutskaya with two Olympic medals: IRINA.  Irina Slutskaya (b. Feb. 9, 1979), won a Silver Medal in 2002 and a Bronze Medal in 2006 in the Olympics.  She also a two-time World champion skater.

60. Like the ocean: SALTY.

61. Vaulted church areas: APSES.

The Apse of the Notre Dame Cathedral before and after the fire.

64. Black gemstone: ONYX.

68. Bubbly prefix: AER-.

 Here's the Grid:

I'll leave you with a QOD:  I just read an 800-page history of the Scottish Enlightenment and, honestly, I may as well just start it again now, because I cannot remember a single thing.  I can barely remember where Scotland is.  ~  Hugh Laurie (né James Hugh Calum Laurie; b. June 11, 1959)