Wednesday, November 30, 2016, Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

TITLE: AT THE TURN - Holes 1 - 9 are said to be the "front nine" in golf. Being at the turn means you've finished the front nine and are heading for the "BACK NINE", holes 10 - 18 and that is where Gail and Bruce are taking us today

Gail and Bruce have given us this theme by not only hiding the word NINE but spelling it backwards in three long fills as you can see in the grid below. 

Here is their reveal: 

59. Take on holes 10 through 18 ... and a hint to a letter sequence hidden in 17-, 27- and 45-Across : PLAY THE BACK NINE

There is a golf apparel business shop with that name in its logo.

The actual theme fills with the ENIN motif are:

17. Stock in company producing solar panels, e.g. : GREEN INVESTMENT - Perhaps one day we can invest in a Solar-Powered charging station for electric cars like this one at the University of Iowa. It will charge 40 cars/day for a 30 mile run.

27. Exonerated by the evidence : PROVEN INNOCENT - He was "found not guilty" not "PROVEN INNOCENT"

45. Standing hospitable offer : OPEN INVITATION - Our lovely, though too infrequent, blogger Chef Wendy has this house on Kauai. She has told me that Joann and I have an OPEN INVITATION to visit her and use the bedroom on the right side of this picture.

Resident golf hacker Husker Gary here, ready to holler FORE and hit the cwd links with Bruce and Gail:


Across

1. Rough guess : STAB 

5. Company that developed the first aluminum teakettle : ALCOA

10. Pre-coll. catchall : ELHI - Not a favorite word with this veteran educator, but waddaya gonna do?

14. Words of lament : AH ME

15. Inventive types? : LIARS 

16. Wild way to run : RIOT

20. California rolls and such : SUSHI - "SPICY TUNA ROLLS" was in Mark Diehl's Saturday puzzle

21. Bud holder? : KEG

22. Touch-and-go : RISKY - Two girls trying to emulate Tom Cruises's entrance in RISKY Business.

23. Swell treatment : ICE - Tin, would you at least put ICE on a bad ankle?

25. Cato, for one : ROMAN

33. Single : LONE 

34. Suggested actions : DO'S - A DO and a DON'T for Uggs

35. Wish for : DESIRE

37. In-flight fig. : ALT - Altitude

38. Jack's value, sometimes : TEN - Pair it with and ace and you're good to go!

39. Spearheaded : LED

40. Fixture that may have claw feet : TUB

41. Closed in on : NEARED

43. Fish that can swim backwards : EEL

44. A.L. West pro, informally : STRO - Some people like to call the Huskers the Skers. I'm about as big of a fan of that as I am of ELHI.

48. Five-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ledecky : KATIE

49. Church-owned Dallas sch. : SMU

50. Moth-__ : EATEN


53. "Inside Politics" airer : CNN - Their final pre-election poll was as errant as most others

55. Initial stage : ONSET - It's hard to believe that just a year ago near the formal ONSET of this past election we were really interested in the Iowa Caucuses.

62. Vacation spot : ISLE

63. Nemesis : ENEMY

64. Canal past Rochester : ERIE

65. Far from friendly : COLD - Maybe most faculties aren't as COLD to sub teachers as they are indifferent

66. Parceled (out) : METED

67. Frees (of) : RIDS


Down

1. Loses firmness : SAGS

2. No __ traffic : THRU - This sign might work as well

3. Former Iowa Straw Poll city : AMES

4. Dwelling fit for a queen : BEEHIVE - She's right there...

5. Boxer Laila : ALI

6. Website offering : LINK

7. Stalactite sites : CAVERNS

8. Home of college football's Ducks : OREGON

9. Mule's father : ASS

10. White-coated weasels : ERMINES

11. Golf ball positions : LIES - First rule in golf - "Play it where it LIES"

12. Sound of frustration, often : HONK

13. __-bitty : ITTY

18. Good-natured : NICE

19. Copied, in a way : TRACED - I hated it when I TRACED in books like this

24. Called the whole thing off : ENDED IT

26. Early assembly-line autos : MODEL T'S - You could have one any color you wanted EXCEPT black for the earliest ones. Years later, Ford figured out that using only black paint was cheaper and speeded up the process.

27. Arrange : PLAN

28. Logger's contest : ROLEO

29. Ready to draw, as beer : ON TAP

30. Physics particle : ION - Has an excess or deficiency of electrons

31. Capone cohort : NITTI

32. Cape Cod community : TRURO

36. Black, in verse : EBON

38. Studio renter : TENANT

39. Sweet-smelling garland : LEI

42. Typed in again : REKEYED - My specialty (curse)

43. 50-50 wager : EVEN BET - I know the Sunday LA Cwd is carried in fewer newspapers and so this is a repost of an image from my comment on Gail's solo Sunday puzzle. Two punters died this summer in a car crash, one from Nebraska and one from Michigan State. The Big Ten minted this coin to be used in the 50-50 coin toss before each game.

44. Knockout : STUNNER

46. __ Creed : NICENE

47. Wild way to run : AMOK

50. Large-scale : EPIC

51. "One more thing ... " : ALSO - One of his catchphrases

52. Towering : TALL

54. Put a handle on : NAME

56. Apple Watch assistant : SIRI

57. Oklahoma city : ENID

58. Driving needs? : TEES - Apropos for a golf-themed puzzle day

60. Clothes line : HEM - HEM lines and the stock market

61. Dancer Charisse : CYD

Well after finishing the BACK NINE, I think I'll head for the clubhouse and let you TEE off with your comments!

Sunday, November 20, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: MELEE - C.C. has a clever Sunday offering for us today where she chooses compound words or two-word phrases where the word FREE could be appended to the front of each word of the compound word or either word in the phrase and give another common phrase. The reveal below uses yet another common phrase to tie the whole thing together. Wow!

111. Fracas, and a hint to both words in the answers to starred clues : FREE FOR ALL - Also what a baseball disagreement can become

23. *Retail enticement : TRIAL OFFER - Also FREE TRIAL and FREE OFFER - Caveat Emptor!

29. *Western nickname : SILVER STATE - Nevada or...

       FREE SILVER - A big political issue around 1900

      FREE STATE - A big political issue around 1860

54. *Mall rarity at Christmas : PARKING SPACE or

     FREE PARKING - A familiar game place

     FREE SPACE - Part of another game

47. *Reporter's credential : PRESS PASS or

     FREE PRESS - An underpinning of our democracy

     FREE PASS - Be our guest

76. *Like much farm decor : COUNTRY STYLE

     FREE COUNTRY 

     FREE STYLE 

83. *Many sandwiches are made for it : LUNCH TIME 

     FREE LUNCH - Caveat Avis

     FREE TIME - What to do, what to do?

100. *Airport employee : TICKET AGENT or

     FREE TICKET

     FREE AGENT - Lou Brock's anti-trust suit against MLB opened the way for baseball players to               become FREE AGENTS

Husker Gary here to shepherd you through the rest of C.C.'s fun puzzle:

Across

1. Relaxes on the porch, say : ROCKS

6. Character set : CAST - This CAST of then-unknowns from The Outsiders went on to do pretty well! How many do recognize?

10. "Some girls with a snuffle / Their tempers are uffle" poet : NASH

14. Pest control brand : ORKIN

19. Digs in the snow : IGLOO

20. Many a woman, vocally : ALTO

21. "Homeland" actress Miranda : OTTO

22. Revolutionary diplomat Silas : DEANE - First American diplomat to France

25. Cassandra's prophecy : DOOM She was a 33. Expert in futures? : ORACLE but gift came with the curse that no one would believe her

26. Ill-fated energy company : ENRON

27. Peaceful and relaxed : ZEN

28. "Word is ... " : I HEAR

31. Chipotle option : TACO

35. __ buco : OSSO - Milanese specialty of veal shanks

36. Foe of Rocky : BORIS - With accomplice Natasha Fatale

37. Desert or tundra : BIOME

38. Longoria of "Telenovela" : EVA

39. Org. in some le Carré novels : KGB - Do you recognize their leader from 1986 - 1991?

42. Federal Reserve chair Yellen : JANET

43. Supplied, as a forgotten line : FED TO

44. Sitarist Shankar : RAVI - An associate of Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles

46. Skin : PEEL

49. Pollen source : STAMEN

51. Annual stage award : OBIE - The 2016 OBIE winner for Best New American Play off Broadway

52. Auction ender? : EER

53. Outer: Pref. : ECT

56. Contend (with) : GRAPPLE

59. Thus far : AS YET

60. Friend of Claudius I : HEROD

61. Seedy digs : RAT TRAP

64. Quite a journey : ODYSSEY - I'd say so!

67. "Whoop-de-doo" : OH FUN

70. Bolt on the track : USAIN - The fastest man on Earth

72. Comes into view : APPEARS

79. Goliath, to David : FOE

80. It might have the family name on it : MAT

81. Coastal raptor : ERNE

82. Make public, in a way : UNSEAL - The original Warren Report was not to be UNSEALED for 75 years but now the rest will be revealed next year

86. Raggedy dolls : ANNS

87. __ review : PEER

88. Mower handle? : DEERE

90. Devoured : EATEN

91. Born, in Bordeaux : NEE

92. Brick-shaped candy : PEZ

93. __-mouthed: inclined to curse : POTTY 

94. Brown in the kitchen : ALTON - Even on South Park

95. NYC line with a Babylon branch : LIRR

97. Bluffing words, perhaps : I RAISE

99. Thick slice : SLAB

103. Forearm bones : RADII

106. Mauna __ : LOA - Maybe not the best place to build a house

109. Moronic : INANE

110. Chipotle option : MILD

113. GoPro competitor : NIKON

114. Sneaker brand : AVIA

115. Muddy ground : MIRE

116. One lacking roots : NOMAD

117. Crockpot dishes : STEWS

118. Min. divisions : SECS

119. Assist in a gym : SPOT

120. "Ciao!" : SEE YA


Down

1. High-end hotel : RITZ

2. Grimm meanie : OGRE

3. The dot-com boom coincided with much of it : CLINTON ERA

4. Org. for the great outdoors : KOA

5. Seeks earnestly : SOLICITS

6. Free Wi-Fi provider, often : CAFE - It must be everywhere now (Another FREE)

7. __ Romeo : ALFA

8. Sports testing subjects : STEROIDS - Hmmm...

9. A.L. East team : TOR

10. "Ixnay" : NO DICE

11. Island ring : ATOLL - After nuclear bomb testing on these there's not much left AT ALL

12. Kiln, e.g. : STOVE

13. Sweet spot? : HOME - HOME is the place that when you have to go there, they have to take you in

14. Black Sea resort : ODESSA - Turns out, there's a lot of 'em here too beside Texas.

15. Property owner's income : RENTS

16. Where to find flat beer drinkers? : KARAOKE BAR - Love the cluing. Probably not many "sharp" drinkers there

17. Tied, briefly : IN OT because they were 38. Tied : EVEN

18. Endangered state bird : NENE

24. Sounds of discovery : O HO'S - "Hey, my candy bar melted when I walked by the microwave magnetron. Hmmm..."

29. Indian pastries : SAMOSAS

30. __ eyes : ROVING - Author George Axelrod posted that this is when they start

32. Lover of Aphrodite : ARES

34. Poppycock : ROT

36. More Spartan : BARER - My first college dorm room couldn't have been BARER

37. Cream : BEST

40. "It's what you do" insurance company : GEICO

41. Run : BLEED - No red shirts in wash with your white ones!

42. Picture file acronym : JPEG

43. Aspect : FACET

44. Gathered (in) : RAKED - Literally here

45. Peaceful relations : AMITY

46. Robin Williams title role : POPEYE

48. Trapper's prize : PELT

50. "You'd like this" : TRY ONE - They're FREE!

54. Tropical fruit used in salsas : PAPAYA

55. Smith of Fox News : SHEP - Smith

57. Trims in the garden : PRUNES

58. Huff and puff : PANT

62. Charlotte __ : RUSSE

63. Daisylike bloom : ASTER

65. Rhone tributary : SAONE - Pour moi une nouvelle rivière (A new river for me)

66. Building guideline : SPEC

67. Large amount : OCEAN - "It's gonna take an OCEAN, Of calamine lotion"

68. Mezzo Marilyn : HORNE

69. Carnival treat : FUNNEL CAKE

71. Volunteer's phrase : I'LL DO IT

73. Question of responsibility : AM I TO BLAME

74. Cheap collegiate cupful : RAMEN - An average bag costs $0.13. You could have 3 of these per day for for a year's total of $142.65

.75. WWII submachine gun : STEN

77. Media mogul Murdoch : RUPERT

78. Santa __ Valley: California wine region : YNEZ

79. Violent anger : FURY - Also Saturday morning TV for this Baby Boomer

83. "Go for it!" : LET 'ER RIP

84. Rowdy sorts : HELLIONS

85. "Ciao" : TATA

89. Some "Doctor Who" creatures : ETS

92. Hogs the mirror, say : PREENS - No mirror required here

93. Zoo animals with Chinese names : PANDAS

94. "Yeah, right!" : AS IF

96. "No duh!" : I KNOW

97. Cry of surrender : I GIVE 

98. Museum piece : RELIC

100. Anchovy containers : TINS - People packed into Aluminum containers

101. Part of A.A. Milne? : INIT

102. Latin trio part : AMAS

104. Flying start? : AERO

105. OFF! ingredient : DEET

107. Aveeno rival : OLAY

108. "The Aviator" Oscar nominee : ALDA - Leo DiCaprio didn't want him to play the villainous part at first because Alan was too nice.

111. Radio settings : FMS

112. Sushi roll topping : ROE

Having navigated my write-up, you are now FREE to comment at WILL