Saturday, January 5, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

A Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Jeffrey Wechsler

Today marks a very tasty holiday - National Whipped Cream Day that honors the 1914 birthdate of the man who invented the process of putting whipped cream in a spray can - Aaron "Bunny" Lapin (Lapin is french for rabbit). He named his product Reddi-wip and became fabulously wealthy by selling it and the valves necessary to make it work.

The most famous record album cover featuring whipped cream is at the bottom of this blog *

Seeing Jeffrey Wechsler and Saturday in the same sentence can put a crimp in your colon! I fared very well on this one as AUTODIDACT was my only real unknown. Others were unknown because Jeffrey really put the clue wrench on a few common fills. C.C.'s interview with Jeffrey

Below, our C.C. is the rose amid all the thorns that include Jeffrey second from the left.

Well, let's see what Jeffery has, uh, whipped up for us today (Hey, you had to see that coming!)

Across:

1. "Everything is ruined!": WHAT A MESS - This 11-second video is a salute to today's celebration and this clue!

10. Felipe's assent: SI SI  and 48. Panamanian pronoun: ESO.- "¡SI, SI, ESO es una gran pista!" (Yes, yes that is a great clue!)

14. Teacher and student in one: AUTODIDACT - From Greek AUTOS (self) and DIDASKEIN (learning). Bill Gates is the self-taught AUTODIDACT that leapt to my mind

16. On __ streak: A HOT  "C'mon ג‬ (Gimel)!"

17. Gray day feature: CLOUD COVER - Horrible this time of year, wonderful in August

18. Buds: PALS.

19. Red-and-white hat wearer: SANTA

20. Units: ONES.

22. Weed-gathering org.: DEA -  Drug Enforcement Agency. Since weed (do I need to say marijuana?) is legal in Colorado but not in Nebraska, there have been issues on the border

23. "Put your wallets away": MY TREAT - We've all had friends who seem incapable of uttering these words.

26. Rich beverage: NOG - Egg NOG is a hate/love beverage for most

27. They need receivers: PASSERS - Unfortunately PASSER Ben Roethlisberger's receiver had a microphone 

30. A parade may require one: DETOUR - A PSA for those of you in Hesperia, CA

32. Well-judged: SANE.

33. Word before stand or hold: WITH.

35. Snow __: WHITE.

36. Mounted, in a way: HUNG - These falling fractal lamps must have been HUNG very well because they do not hit the floor

37. Word from the Arabic for "friend": SAHIB.

39. Unemployed: IDLE.

40. Homophone for a word of permission: ALOUD - Library policy - "Talking ALOUD is not ALLOWED!"

42. Deceive on the ice: DEKE - Now that's a DEKE (decoy/feint)!!!

43. "Being so great, I have no __ to beg": "King Richard II": NEED - If Muhammad Ali had lived in Stratford on Avon...

44. Cattle drive figures: RIDERS - Famous cattle drive RIDERS of song

46. Timon of "The Lion King," e.g.: MEERKAT Timor and the show's meme

49. Back: ENDORSE.

51. USN bigwig: ADM - Husband Kimmel was demoted from Full ADM to Rear ADM and relieved of his Pacific Fleet command after Pearl Harbor. 

52. Bad lot: DOOM - Some people feel DOOMED because that is just their lot in life

53. Unskilled workers: PEONS - I hired 100's of "PEON" corn detasselers for 23 summers 

58. Hippie era activity: BE IN - One attended by 20,000 people

60. Site for old wheels: USED CAR LOT - Or a club for retired CEO's

63. Strike zone, at times: LANE - I'm sure Boomer has seen 3. Very much: A TON of these

64. Where love doesn't conquer anything: TENNIS GAME - Love is tennis scoring for zero and might come from l'œuf which is french for "the egg" which resembles a zero

65. Remove an apostrophe from, say: EDIT - My oak tree loses it's leaves late. Hmmm...

66. It may be the best thing to do when you're stuck: START OVER.

Down:

1. Their 1943 manual said, "Be Ready To Take Over": WACS - and the Woman's Army Corp did where they could 

2. Entertainment with swaying: HULA.

4. Praise extravagantly: TOUT - Do you buy something because some celebrity du jour is TOUTING it?

5. Cartoonist with an Edgar Award: ADDAMS - Some of his cartoon characters were used in TV's The Addams Family

6. Podium fixture: MIC - Testing, 1, 2, 3 testing

7. Tokyo, long ago: EDO - How EDO became Tokyo

8. Drinks it all in: SAVORS THE MOMENT and 9. View: SCENE - You would certainly SAVOR THE MOMENT with this view of the Champs de Mar from the top of the Eiffel Tower

11. "You could've fooled me": I HAD NO IDEA, I was just a 10. Patsy: SAP.

12. Exclusive source: SOLE OUTLET.

13. Words of concord: IT'S AGREED.

15. Step: TREAD  - or under the TREAD

21. Hearty fare: STEW.

24. Ornamental shrubs: YEWS - They frame the front of our house 

25. Common chord: TRIAD - Here are three TRIAD chords

27. '60s music conspiracy theory: PAUL IS DEAD - Of course McCartney is dead. If you play the song Revolution backwards you hear "Turn Me On Dead Man"

28. Dating clarification: ANNO DOMINI - Gregorian calendar today is Jan. 5, 2019 A.D. while the Islamic calendar it is Rabiʻ II 22, 1440

29. Smooth shift: SEGUE 

31. IBM's __ exhibit: THINK - I don't, uh, THINK I can make it

32. Like some big entrées: SHAREABLE - You might want two straws for this 10 lb. Souvlaki 47. Meal: REPAST.!

34. Backpack carrier: HIKER

38. Drones, e.g.: BEES - Drone BEES are males that have no stinger, do no work and only job is to mate with an unfertilized queen. Yeah, I can see several cheap jokes in there!

41. 1856 Stowe novel: DRED - Harriet's follow up on Uncle Tom's Cabin

45. Muzzle: SNOUT - A substantial MUZZLE on a substantial dog's MUZZLE

50. Specifications on vials: DOSES.

54. Cartesian connection: ERGO - Here it makes two connections 

55. Name of five Norwegian monarchs: OLAV.

56. Northwestern U.S. city: NOME - The high in Nome today is forecast to be -7˚F with a low of -1˚F. You might want to bring a sweater.

57. Analog of -ist: STER - Can a MOBSTER also be called a MOBIST?

59. 64-Across need: NET - Sometimes it gets in the way

61. 23andMe test subject: DNA.

62. Frequently complex traffic pattern: Abbr.: CIR - Round and round she goes...

*Here's that famous Whipped Cream LP cover!

Saturday, December 29, 2018, Ed Sessa

Lip Service Puzzle by Ed Sessa

As 2018 is nearly gone, the day of December 29 is designated as National Tick Tock Day. Think of all the things you intended to get done in this calendar year but have not yet completed. It is my intention to get my basement workbench cleaned up and organized before I plop down for my College Bowl Game (plus the Rose Parade) extravaganza coming up.

Well yesterday Lemon got a themeless Friday puzzle and today on themeless Saturday, Dr. Sessa, by way of Rich, has given us one that does have a theme. 

C.C. wrote me and asked if I saw a theme because of the cluing and somewhat closely related fills I made what I think is at least a somewhat tenuous connection to the fills. When C.C. wrote Ed, he replied that he was trying to even make the grid look like a smile. Do you see it? 😀

Now here is my take on the themers as I see them and the reveal:

17. Line erasers - PLASTIC SURGEONS can permanently fix the line of downturned lips into a SMILE

32. Necklines?: CAROTID ARTERIES - This droopy SMILE line can indicate a blocked CAROTID ARTERY

36. Title line after "Gray skies are gonna clear up": PUT ON A HAPPY FACE - Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh from Bye Bye Birdie on obtaining a SMILE

56. Echoic phrase from a WWI marching song: SMILE SMILE SMILE - All three fills are summed up by "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and SMILE, SMILE, SMILE". 

I hope you agree on my Saturday SMILE themeage, but now let's quit procrastinating on National Tick Tock Day and see what Dr. Sessa has prescribed for us. If your ailment requires devilish cluing, Ed has the correct R_X for you today!

Across:

1. Actor Omar with three NAACP Image Awards: EPPS - he won by playing a doctor in 45. Sites with masked workers, briefly: OR(S) with other masked people

5. 007's watch, in the later films: OMEGA - Here you can see the famous 007 trademark

10. Sent to, too: CCED - Carbon CopiED - usually an anachronism today

14. Independent African country since 1960: MALI - Recently, we have also had Niger, Burkina Faso and Gabon Find them?

`

15. Santa-tracking acronym: NORAD - Even in Asia 

27. Stores with a blue-and-yellow logo: IKEAS - See comment above

16. Jennifer of "Pride and Prejudice" (1995): EHLE - Here she is

44. Actress Aimée: ANOUK - Here she is

20. It carries a charge: ION.

21. Stable attendant: HOSTLER - Chapter 15 of Black Beauty is entitled The Old HOSTLER

22. Half an ouchie?: BOO - "Mommy, I got a BOO BOO!"

23. Despicable: ROTTEN.

25. Genre with ad images: POP ART 

28. NYC subway line: IRT - Interborough Rapid Transit 

31. "The Divine Comedy" division: CANTO - It has 100 CANTI (pl.) or sections 

35. Tablet since 2013: IPAD AIR - Another entry in the Apple stable

46. Timeworn: BANAL - We have many timeworn fills here but they are vital for constructors 

47. Delivered a screed: RANTED - Pro rasslers RANT to build up a gate

49. "Man is condemned to be free" philosopher: SARTRE - Jean Paul

50. Thou follower, often: ART.

51. Butler's classic line: YOU RANG - C'mon, no one is listening, do your best Lurch imitation 

55. Its first letter often means "more than one": HOV.

59. Smallville name: KENT - Even when he was a baby, Ma and Pa KENT knew their son was Super

60. Gay opening?: ENOLA - A new clue for Col. Paul Tibbets' Omaha-built B-29

61. Chrysler Building architect William Van __: ALEN - This iconic NYC building was the world's tallest for 11 months in 1930

62. Pointed at, perhaps: IDED - I witnessed a hit and run two weeks ago but I know I could never ID the guy who did it

63. "That's unfortunate": SO SAD.

64. Ford contemporary: OLDS - Charles King (l.) was a mentor to Ransom OLDS (c.) and Henry Ford (r.)

Down:

1. Based on observation: EMPIRIC - EMPIRIC evidence shows we landed a man on the Moon despite the loonies who say we didn't 

2. Two-bit boxer: PALOOKA - Even comic book characters pitched in during WWII

3. One with a rooting interest: PLANTER - Now this is a serious PLANTER

4. Short sibling?: SIS - My SIS is very short

5. Kitchen bulb: ONION.

6. Soft shoes: MOCS - MOCassins 

7. "... which __ was irksome to me": Shakespeare: ERST - Thy company, which ERST was irksome to me, (I used to hate you) Act V Scene III As You Like It

8. Three-part region, per Caesar: GAUL - "All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours GAULS, the third." Caeser, The Gallic Wars

9. Media industry worker: AD REP - TV's most famous AD REPS

10. Left of center?: CEE - Yes, CEE is on the left of the word Center

11. Greek-style yogurt brand: CHOBANI and 28. Site of an 11-Down yogurt plant, the world's largest: IDAHO - A $100,000,000 plant in Twin Falls, IDAHO

12. America, in Acapulco: EL NORTE  - Also Norteamérica and América del norte,

13. Autos advertised on "You Bet Your Life": DESOTOS - Grouch (:08)

18. It's a dirty look: THE STINK EYE - Kramer on the "looks" (:33)

19. Holders of staples: GROCERY BAGS - Gotta love this one

24. Confucian path: TAO.

26. Expected: PAR - Yup, this is a 1,000 yard PAR 7 in Seoul, South Korea

29. "M*A*S*H" role: RADAR.

30. Doesn't allow out: TRAPS - Like The Roach Motel

33. Draft choice: IPA - India Pale Ale


34. Pointer or point: TIP 

Giving a TIP                           The TIP of the sword

36. Hybrid jumping sport with a landing target: PARA SKI.

37. Lacking heat?: UNARMED - If you're "packing heat" you're carrying a gun. If you aren't then you're UNARMED

38. Survivor-take-all investment scheme: TONTINE - A lovely four minute scene about a slightly different TONTINE which is mentioned at 1:42

40. With 39-Down, unconventional: FAR and  39. See 40-Down: OUT 

41. End of a line in the sand, maybe: ANTHILL - I suspect this ANT TRAIL in Alaska will eventually end at an ANT HILL

42. Sang for an audience of one, sometimes: CAROLED - Even the lovely CAROLS of the season can become tiresome

43. Gridiron numbers: ELEVENS - Eleven on each side of the ball

48. Dispensed amounts: DOSES.

49. Winner of 82 PGA Tour tournaments: SNEAD.

52. "Don't think so": UM...NO.

53. Spanish waterways: RIOS - The RIO Paraná empties into the RIO de la Plata

54. Italian recipe word: ALLA - In the style of

57. Ford's Crown Vic, originally: LTD - Something Crown Vics are noted for

58. Foe of Chiang: MAO.

Now, get off the couch, chair, chaise or whatever and get that last 2018 project done on Tick Tock Day, starting with commenting on Dr. Sessa's puzzle: