Friday, April 6, 2012, Jack McInturff

THEME: LET us give thanks. Each of the theme answers is a two word, in the language phrase with LET appended to the second word, and clued in a wonderful wacky way. This is our 4th puzzle this year from Jack. When I last blogged his work in January, I reminded you all that he started constructing when he was 73. A very compact, concise puzzle, with humor and misdirection. Let us see the latest from our octogenarian.

17A. PricewaterhouseCoopers, e.g.? : BUSINESS TRIPLET. I wonder if these three companies which are now one ever ride the ACELA when the go out to visit their clients?

25A. Original Roanoke settlement? : VIRGINIA HAMLET. This one was hard and without the theme I would never have tried this answer, I was trying to fit in BIG LICK VIRGINIA and it would not. Do you all prepare a Ham for Easter; I will be making brisket and potato pancakes along with other goodies for tonight's first SEDER.

41A. Actress failing to live up to expectations? : FALLING STARLET. Do you recall this SONG? (2:30). A Mel Torme contemporary, Perry ended up living in Jupiter, Florida where he and Burt Reynolds became good friends.

54A. Bit of style in one's blood? : FASHION PLATELET. My favorite one, as I love good serologic humor, especially knowing platelets do not carry DNA and probably don't even match their socks.

Across:

1. TWA rival : PAN AM. I have had this fill twice in the last month, link your own Christina Ricci pic.

6. Med. care providers : HMOS. Health Maintenance Organization here we go again...

10. Frequent ESPN subject : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

14. Amtrak express : ACELA. A high speed train in the Northeast; how many of our group have ridden this rail?

15. Four-star : A-ONE. More than just a steak sauce.

16. Bee, for one : AUNT. This LADY from the Andy Griffith Show.Bet you thought it was BEA.

20. Fitting : APT. How apt the next clue is a shout out to my beer making boys.

21. Hops heater : OAST. I think this is where Horace Greeley told Adolph Coors to go.

22. Tweaks, say : ADAPTS. When did tweaking become a good thing?

23. Aqua Velva alternative : AFTA. Or you could have gotten a SLAP in the face.

24. German GM subsidiary : OPEL.

31. Football Hall of Fame locale : CANTON. Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for 3 reasons: First, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association); second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city. Per wiki.

32. Title acquired at church, perhaps : MRS. Not Rev. or Fra.

33. Losing line : OXO. In Tic Tac Toe ano win situation; in a letter, not so bad.

34. Reacted to a dealer's request : ANTED. Ante with the "E" pronounced sure looks like it would bug some.

35. Used to be : WAS. Or What Annette Said.

36. "It Wasn't All Velvet" autobiographer : TORME. I do get Mel pretty often, enjoyed him on NIGHT COURT, (2:55) fog and all. I promise I did not...

38. Caustic stuff : LYE.

39. Goal : AIM. I aim to please, but we have slowed. Please relax.

40. Blew up : SAW RED. In French it is VOIR ROUGE.

45. Gives support to : AIDS.

46. Toon wisecracker : BUGS. What is up, Doc?



47. __ center : CRISIS. It is also C.C. like the Corner, hmmm.

50. Get useful material from : MINE. No, you can't have it is mine!

51. Lyric poem : ODE. A true crossword staple. and the beginning of an "O" fest; 57a. Venetian arch shape : OGEE. The design was taken from the Arab world; and 58A. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Never heard of this city, but it was a pleasant change from the baseball clue: Hershiser.

59. Toss out : EVICT. One of the hard parts about doing foreclosures.

60. Goes after : SUES. Damn lawyers!

61. Unlikely track winners : NAGS. This term for a old beat up horse goes back to the 1500's, but no one knows why.

62. Hamburger helper's reward? : DANKE. Wonderful clue with alliteration, misdirection and humor.

Now time for.

Down:

1. Out-of-favor sunscreen ingredient : PABA. PARA-AMINOBENZOIC ACID is also taken internally as a cure for many ailments though its safety and efficacy is questioned inside or out.

2. Lingerie size : A-CUP. Well it is a common size, how about KEIRA.

3. Robin's digs : NEST. Not Hood, red breast. Or maybe Colorado for or flying nurse. Hey fishy.

4. Ring icon : ALI. Did I tell the story of where he almost killed me with his Rolls at LAX?

5. Graham, for one : MAN OF G-D. BILLY Not to be confused with BILLY.

6. __ II: 1961-'99 Moroccan king : HASSAN. Affectionately know as a "RUTHLESS DESPOT."

7. Almost all : MOST. Wow, almost in the clue?

8. Mich. neighbor : ONTario.

9. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS. The real plural is seraphim. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy, though these winged creatures look more like demons to me.

10. Incendiary gel : NAPALM. A bad memory along with agent orange.

11. "I Spy" co-star : CULP. Starred with Bill Cosby which he talks about in this INTERVIEW.

12. "Joy is __ of love by which you can catch souls": Mother Teresa : A NET. A semi shout out to my fellow south Floridian from the saint with whom I share a birthday.

13. Many "Suits" characters: Abbr. : ATTS. I have never ever seen this abbreviation for attorney anywhere but in CW.

18. Avoid restaurant crowds, perhaps : EAT IN. I like how this leads into and thereby adds to the misdirection of

19. It may be half-baked : IDEA.

23. Prado pictures : ARTE. Spanish museum, Spanish word for art.

24. Lock inserts : OARS. No not keys! This was the part of the puzzle I found tricky.

25. Sonya's uncle, in an 1899 Moscow premiere : VANYA. One of Anton Chekhov's plays.

26. Maker of some drivers : INTEL. The KING of the processing world.

27. Muslim leaders : IMAMS. Most similar to the role of the Rabbi.

28. "Casablanca" actor : LORRE. A wonderful STORY.

29. Strawberry, e.g. : EX-MET. But for drug woes, Darryl Strawberry might have been one of the all time greats in the game of baseball.

30. Pigeon tail? : TOED. Pigeontoed. Cute add on.

31. Range rover : CALF. Another misdirection with alliteration.

35. English court attire : WIGS. Still? Nice Cuppa? Steve?

36. Singled out : TARGETED.

37. Big-eyed birds : OWLS. Like Peter Lorre.

39. Words that replace details : AND SO ON. Had a hard time getting "soon" out of my head.

40. Place to relax : SAUNA. Well a hot time for all.

42. Coquette's asset : LASHES. Eyelashes for batting, not a whip for a dominatrix.

43. Rare clock number : IIII. Amazingly, I blogged the last PUZZLE which had this timeless concept, and Mel Torme was there too.

44. Govt. notes : T-BILLS. Notes and Bonds all have the same number of letters, be patient.

47. Fiscal execs : CFOS. They sometimes deal in 44D.

48. Milan meat sauce : RAGU. Back for another taste.

49. "So that's how it is" : I SEE. Well a little visual for me, as I usually do not..

50. Video CD file format : MPEG. Like JPEG for pictures.

51. Big name in chemicals : OLIN. They were Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation when I was growing up.

52. House addition : DECK. great misdirection clecho with 53D. Room addition : ETTE. Roomette.

55. Gp. with many arms : NRA. Arms, as weapons, get it, get it?

56. "On the Waterfront" Oscar winner __ Marie Saint : EVA. This ACTRESS has been around for 8 decades, which is how old I feel after this work out.

Answer grid.

Enjoy any holiday you may have and hope to see you all next time.

Okay have a fun Friday it is Lemonade signing out.

Thursday, March 1, 2012 Jack McInturff

Theme: Ole !!  Five phrases beginning with words that could follow the word "bull":

17A. *Competitive business concern: MARKET SHARE. I would love to see a bull market once more...

22A. *Done with one's stint, maybe: HEADED FOR HOME. I am not bull-headed.  I'm just sure that I'm always right...

35A. *Arctic racer: DOG SLED. I think a bull dog makes an adorable pet!

38A. *Lewis Carrol, for one: PEN NAME. Uh-oh...I'm treading on unfamiliar territory when I talk about the baseball bull pen!

47A. *Make fit: WHIP INTO SHAPE. Modern "sport" bull-whip crackers claim that the original bull whips never touched the livestock.

And the unifier:

53A. Informal chat, and based on the starts of the starred answers, this puzzle's title: BULL SESSION

MartRx here, just shooting the bull on another Thursday puzzle. By the time you read this it will be the first of the month, so "rabbit, rabbit!!"

Across:

1. Huge: JUMBO. Gi-normous wouldn't fit.

6. Capital of India: RUPEE. New Dehli wouldn't fit...

11. Source of some Genesis attire?: FIG. "I don't give a fig, Adam!"

14. ___ flu: ASIAN. "Swine" fit, but it was wrong...(Are you starting to get the picture, of how this one started out for me???)

15. Aromatic compound: ESTER. Was Ester Williams aromatic? (Just kidding - I know it's "Esther". But, it's tough to make a joke about aromatic compounds...)

16. Wash. neighbor: ORE. Ore, a type of mineral.

19. Farm butter?: RAM. HaHa. Funny punny clue. A ram often is a "butt-er".

20. Big wheel's wheels: LIMO. Can you picture a CEO on one of these?

21. Crunchy candy components: NUTS. Sometimes you feel like a ...

(...sometimes you don't!)

28. Woody: SYLVAN

29. Fancy cases: ETUIS. Fancy crosswordese. In the plural, yet.

30. Circumnavigating, perhaps: ASEA

31. Deep chasm: ABYSS

32. Bit of horseplay: GAG

40. Whatever: ANY

41. Isolated: ALONE

43. Ken of "thirty something": OLIN. Third from the right.

44. Leonardo's love: AMORE. Da Vinci left his serving woman "a black cloak of good stuff, with a fur edge"... I don't think he loved her very much.

45. Notable 2007 communications release: iPHONE

50. Raised: BRED

51. Sigh of relief: ALAS

52. Striking scarf: BOA

60. Part of a yr.: QTR

61. Licorice-flavored seed: ANISE. You either love licorice, or you hate it. DH gags every time he smells it...

62. Horror film locale: ELM ST. Does anyone in this corner live on Elm St.?

63. Part of a match: SET. Not "tip"...tennis match.

64. Storage areas: HOLDS. On boats.

65. Emotional substance: DEPTH

Down:

1. Pickle: JAM

2. "Psych" airer: USA

3. Fallen orbiter: MIR. Russian space station which was de-orbited on March 23, 2001.

4. Layered Turkish pastries: BAKLAVAS. Nut and honey-soaked phyllo. Yumm!

5. Five Nations tribe: ONEIDA

6. Patch, as a lawn: RE-SOD

7. Show to a seat, slangily: USH. Ugh.

8. Class-conscious org.?: PTA. Parent Teacher Association.

9. Musket end: EER. "Musket-eer"

10. Poetic preposition: ERE. "I was young ere I became a musketeer..."

11. Discussion venue: FORUM.  They had lots of discussions at the Roman one.

12. Really mad: IRATE

13. Masterpieces: GEMS

18. "Untouchable" feds: T-MEN. I'm pretty sure this means "Treasury Men", but feel free to correct me!

21. Signs of resistance: NOs. Also, signs of the "Terrible Twos". Why is "no" the first word they always learn?

22. Chinese green tea: HYSON. Also known as "Lucky Dragon" tea.  It is made of tightly rolled young leaves that unfurl when brewed.

23. Ode's counterpart: ELEGY. Odes are written with enthusiasm and praise, while an elegy is written in a sad tone, mourning for the deceased.

24. Only mo. that can begin and end on the same day: FEB. Interesting clue. This year, February ended (yesterday) on a Wednesday, and began on a Wednesday - and it's possible only in a leap year!

25. Like universal blood donors: O TYPE.  I wanted "O Negs", as they are the only truly "universal" blood donors.

26. Bait-and-switch, e.g.: RUSE. I chuckled at this clue, as it brought back memories of my first puzzle, with the theme answer BAIT SWITCH ("Worm change?")

27. Word on a boondocks towel?: HIS'N.

28. Tony winner Thompson: SADA. She won it for her role in "Twigs", a play in four vignettes.

31. Decorate: ADORN

32. Double-time dance: GALOP. A forerunner of the polka.

33. Nitrogen compound: AMINE

34. Heredity unit: GENE

36. Dorm room accessory: LAMP. Bunk, desk, cell, 'frig, iPod...

37. Morlock prey: ELOI

39. "Piece of cake": NO HASSLE. I'm not sure why the clue is in quotes here. "No hassle" sounds like an adjective to me, not a declarative sentence...

42. Green table divider: NET. Ping pong table.

44. First or financial follower: AID

45. Barbados, e.g.: ISLE

46. Stopped gradually, with "out": PHASED. I wasn't stopped gradually by this answer (out).

47. Kept in touch: WROTE. ...or, texted.

48. Core: HEART.

49. Havens: OASES

50: Patio parties, briefly: BBQs. I thought we were approaching BBQ season, but today's snowstorm has put that idea on hold for a while...

53. Word of annoyance: BAH. Humbug!

54. Game with Reverse cards: UNO.

55. "Her name was Magill, and she called herself___": Beatles lyric: LIL...But everyone knew her as Nancy...

56. It's illegal to drop it: LSD

57. Sitter's handful: IMP

58. Dusseldorf direction: OST. "East", in English. But in Dusseldorf, they speak German.

59. High degree: NTH. Did you think "PhD"? It's always a toss-up, but the perps had already given me this one.

Answer grid.

Thanks for stopping by this bull moose party today!

Hugs,

Marti

Note from C.C.:

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2) Please bookmark this page (Chicago Tribune) to solve LA Times in old format.

Wednesday Feb 8, 2012 Jack McInturff

theme: back seat driver

17A. *Vaudeville headliner : TOP BANANA. from wikipedia: Originally, the phrase "Top Banana" was coined by comedian and Vaudeville Performer Harry Steppe" banana seat.

24A. *Count Basie's theme song : ONE O'CLOCK JUMP. basie used it as his closing song for over fifty years. a jump seat is a seat in a vehicle or aircraft that can fold up out of the way.

39A. *Too-small quantity : DROP IN THE BUCKET. an idiom meaning a small, insufficient amount. a bucket seat is contoured to hold one person.

50A. *1959 Monroe classic : SOME LIKE IT HOT. classic billy wilder film. the only seat here that is not an actual seat - an expression meaning a high-pressure situation.

63A. What many sports cars lack, and, in a way, what the ends of the starred answers are: REAR SEATS

melissa here.

pretty straightforward theme, but i needed the unifier to figure it out, as i was trying to connect the first words instead of the last. i thought this puzzle had a pretty broad range of obscure and gimme clues - but maybe it's just me, i'm a little rusty.

let's see how this goes, i've been suffering the animosity of inanimate objects, and the internet connection at the new digs is a tad unstable. i'm just gonna type reeeeeeeeeeeelllly fast and see what happens. fortunately, i can type faster than i can think.

Across:

1. Organic fuel : PEAT. decomposed plant material, also used as fertilizer. environmentally controversial. interesting wiki page.

5. Beggar's returns : ALMS. money or charity given to the poor.

9. Out-and-out : TOTAL. "that movie was an out-and-out flop."

14. Soprano Gluck : ALMA. okay well that is out-and-out obscure. my first thought was it must be some character from the soprano's ... except gluck doesn't sound very italian, does it? turns out alma gluck was a soprano recording artist, who died in 1938. oh, that alma gluck. her second husband was violin virtuoso efrem zimbalist, father of actor efrem zimalist, jr. (77 sunset strip), who was the father of stephanie zimbalist.

15. Tree nursery? : NEST. cute.

16. Winnebagos' kin : IOWAS. again, a little obscure. indian tribes.

19. Actress Kelly : MOIRA

20. Anaheim team, to fans : HALOS. baseball. see the halo?

21. Splotch : BLOB. "it creeps, it crawls, it eats you alive! the splotch! somehow just doesn't sound as frightening.

23. Fishing gear : NET

28. Garment border : HEM

29. Michael of "Caddyshack" : O'KEEFE. he played caddy danny noonan.

32. Marbles competition : MIBS. i think you might have to own a hobby shop to know this. what i found online was that a mib is the target in a marble game, and a mibster is a person who plays marbles.

36. Get out in the open : AIR. air that dirty laundry.

38. Singsong syllables : TRA LA

43. Open mic performer, often : COMIC. my favorite comic.

44. Bruins legend : ORR. bobby. hockey.

45. "My love __ a fever, longing still": Shakespeare : IS AS.

46. Deeply rooted : INBRED

48. Gandalf portrayer McKellen : IAN. lord of the rings.

57. "Go team!" : RAH

59. Well out of range : AFAR

60. It may be captioned : PHOTO

61. Hoover rival : ORECK

66. Bench clearer : MELEE. visually evocative clue.

67. Pitcher Pettitte with a record 19 post-season wins : ANDY. yankees / astros.

68. Out of the cage : FREE

69. Less hardy-looking : PALER

70. Early Iranian : MEDE. finally remembered this.

71. "America's Next Top Model" host Banks : TYRA

Down:

1. Logical start? : PATHO. pathological.

2. Online mortgage broker : E-LOAN

3. More than enough : AMPLE.

4. It's not done : TABOO. it's done, it's just not supposed to be done.

5. "State of Wonder" novelist Patchett : ANN. author of bel canto.

6. Country expanse : LEA

7. "A Fuller Spectrum of News" network : MSNBC. never heard of it.

8. Bit of rhubarb : STALK

9. Middle of nowhere, metaphorically : TIMBUKTU. great album.

10. Hugs, symbolically : OOO

11. Cult classic of 1990s TV : TWIN PEAKS

12. It passes between Swiss banks : AARE. it's a river, love this clue.

13. Would-be One L's hurdle : LSAT. one l is a first year law student, lsat is the law school admission test.

18. Author Sholem : ASCH. controversial, polish-born, jewish-american writer, 1880-1957.

22. Eye of el tigre : OJO. spanish for eye.

25. Tilt : LEAN

26. Fail to mention : OMIT.

27. Overseas thanks : MERCI. french.

30. Lab coat speck? : FLEA. labrador, another great clue.

31. Chow : EATS

32. Year Elizabeth I delivered her "Golden Speech" : MDCI. 1601. sure, i knew that, didn't have to look it up or anything. "The Golden Speech has been taken to mark a symbolic end of Elizabeth's reign, one which is widely considered one of the Golden Eras of England's history."

33. Caddie's suggestion : IRON. i work with a lot of caddies. that's all i'm going to say about that.

34. Jaw-dropping news : BOMBSHELL

35. Veep before Gerald : SPIRO. agnew.

37. Letter after pi : RHO

40. Motel convenience : ICE MAKER

41. "Gymnopédies" composer Satie : ERIK

42. Scot's bluff : BRAE

47. Dict. offering : DEF

49. Small bites : NIPS

51. NFLer until 1994 : LA RAM. los angeles rams.

52. Castle with many steps? : IRENE. dance steps. early 20th century ballroom dancer.

53. Museum concern : THEFT

54. White with age : HOARY. hoarfrost = white ice or snow crystals.

55. Weasel-like swimmer : OTTER

56. Where captains go : TO SEA

57. Frolic : ROMP

58. Field of expertise : AREA

62. GPA reducer, usually : CEE. grade point average.

64. Put in : ADD

65. Deli choice : RYE

Answer grid.

melissa

Friday, January 20, 2012, Jack McInturff

Theme: I will B Ceeing you later. Each of the five theme answers are phrases with the last word having a “B” replace the “C” in the original phrase, creating a rib tickling new phrase. I always enjoy this 81 year old constructor, who had his first puzzle published when he was 73. You newbies might want to read his INTERVIEW. And away we go...

17A. Adelaide altercation?: AUSTRALIAN BRAWL, Hi KZ, from OZ, did you learn to swim with the Australian Crawl?

31A. Beginning poet?: GREEN BARD. I wonder if Shakespeare would be able to a Green Card to work in the US?

39A. Fight over the last quart of milk?: DAIRY BATTLE. Being lactose intolerant, no chance, but I do like them Cattle.

46A. One always talking about his MacBook Air?: APPLE BORE. A very accurate image of Apple users, and does bring to mind my favorite APPLE CORE.

63A. Can't color the sky, say?: DOESN'T HAVE A BLUE. I do not have a clue why he did not use AZURE.

And the unifier, which did not help me:

62D. Handle user, and a hint to this puzzle's theme: CBER.

ACROSS:

1. Certain lymphocytes: T-CELLS. Made famous during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

7. Clumsy sort: LUG. I wanted OAF, but I got LEI'd so I was okay.

10. Kind of signal: BUSY. A cute but almost obsolete concept.

14. Had none left: RAN OUT. Just when he had to go on stage his jokes were gone.

15. Ajman and Fujairah, for two: EMIRATES. One of the seven principalities which make up the UAE; unlike the more familiar Abu Dhabi or Dubai, AJMAN has problems.

19. "Are we ready?": IS IT A GO? TAGO?

20. Pose: SIT. Have anyone here had a painting done?

21. Relay part: LEG. Racing.

22. Singer's yeshiva boy: YENTL. Barbra's MOVIE. (3:15).

25. Samoa's capital: APIA. Pretty.

29. Joint acct. info: SSNS. Social Security Numbers.

34. Jazz __: ERA. Age, Era. Tomato tomato.

37. Keen on: INTO. Man she was really into the Smashing Pumpkins.

38. Pince-__ glasses: NEZ. French for nose. Also an Indian tribe.

42. ESP, e.g. : PSI. This LINK.

44. Palm starch : SAGO. This is a basic food of the southwest Pacific area, where it is used in meal form to prepare soups, cakes, and puddings. See Melville.

45. Exhaust: USE. Use up?

49. Court team: Abbr.: ATTS. Attorneys, but the ATTY, is the preferred abbreviation.

53. Org. at 11 Wall St.: NYSE. New York Stock Exchange.

54. Rubs the right way?: ROLFS. Named after IDA.

57. Big Apple subway div.: IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit.

58. Sneeze, cough, etc.: AIL.

61. Certain college member: ELECTOR. The antiquated Electoral College, too much politics.

68. Stuff in the back: APPENDIX. In the back of the book, not the body.

69. Soaks: STEEPS. Tea bag, or tea bagging?

70. Cleaning challenge: MESS. Yes, I am not very good at this, my excuse being my poor vision.

71. Date: SEE. Why I wonder?

72. Swarms: HORDES. Not bees.

and then:

DOWN:

1. Gets behind: TRAILS, like in the polls; immediately followed by 2D. Things to get behind: CAUSES; all these behinds and I cannot talk politics. Dennis, WH, help me. Buckeye, Crockett, where are you when I need you?

3. Naval officer: ENSIGN. I am now hooked on NCIS.

4. Early 2000s Senate minority leader: LOTT.

5. Virginia's __ Caverns: LURAY.

6. Life time: STAGE. Really, it is just a stage I am going through, just very slowly.

7. Island welcome: LEI. Where are our Hawaiian friends? Mahalo.

8. Emma's portrayer in "The Avengers": UMA. 11D. Hagen of Broadway: UTA. Don't you just love a man who gets these two in so close together

9. Wins a certain card game: GINS. Gin Rummy, not 'and Tonic'.

10. Drink listing: BAR TAB. I had how many GINS?!?

12. Alter, maybe: SEW.

13. Fashion monogram: YSL. Yves St. Laurent

16. Slugger's stat: RBI. For you KZ, baseball, Runs Batted In.

18. Pine: LONG. Very tricky for a simple clue as TREE also has 4 letters.

23. Bridge renamed for RFK in 2008: TRIBORO. Spanning the Harlem River, the Bronx Kill, and the Hell Gate (part of the East River), the bridges connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and The Bronx via Randall's Island and Wards Island, which are joined by landfill. (WIKI).

24. Olin of "Alias": LENA. A Swedish actress who has done everything from TV's Alias to a role in this great MOVIE. (2:30).

26. Glass piece: PANE. Window pane.

27. Wrath: IRE. Don't get angry if there is some crosswordese fill.

28. Wood-smoothing tool: ADZ. You must memorize this one.

30. Place for buoys and gulls: SEA.

32. Words spoken before the Senate: ET TU. And you, Brutus? By poor dying Julius.

33. Have-__: disadvantaged: NOTS.

35. Gentle slope: RISE. A bunny run, hearti?

36. __ League: ARAB.This has 22 countries, and none of the old UAE as members.

39. Market fluctuations: DIPS. All peaks and valleys in the Stock Market, not the produce market.

40. Wolf Frankenstein shoots him, in a 1939 film: YGOR. The SEQUEL (0:40).

41. Green span: LEA. A nice erudite federal reserve pun.

42. Trash, in a way: PAN. A bad review, not garbage; well sometimes garbage.

43. Alias user: SPY. This MOVIE? (1:21).

47. Landlord's fileful: LEASES.

48. Mtn. stat: ELEV. ation.

50. Like nobility: TITLED. Milady...

51. Band on the road: TROUPE. A french word co-opted and used synonymously with troop and company.

52. Burnout cause: STRESS.

55. Crayola color renamed Peach in 1962: FLESH. Yes finally colored people would appear in different colors. No politics, just fact.

56. Cold War defense acronym: SEATO. Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

59. B&B: INN. This will always be Brandy and Benedictine to me, rather than Bed and Breakfast.

60. Fords of the past: LTDS. Ford made lots of them, mostly big behemoth cars like the Galaxie 500 and the Crown Vic.

63. Impede : DAM. Dam, some of these clues impeded my solving and writing. I was such and eager beaver.

64. Unlock, in verse: OPE. "Ere Heaven shall ope' her portals ...": Byron.

65. Mini-albums, briefly: EPS. Extended Plays.

66. Make haste: HIE. One of those great English words that has so many Homonyms, Hi, High, Heigh, and of course HAI.

67. Fire: AXE. A pretty dramatic word for termination, which I guess is pretty final sounding as well, and the name of the band, and a perfect place for me to exit.

Answer grid.

A real honor to be a part of this group and to prepare the last write up of year 4. An exciting time here at the corner, a wonderful week of puzzles continues, and hope to C you all next time. B good.

Lemonade

Saturday, Dec 24th, 2011 Jack McInturff

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 33

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all ~!! This is not Jack FROST nipping at your nose, but Jack McInturff nipping at your noggin - or is that egg-nog doing that???

I just checked to see when we last saw Jack McInturff, and he gave us our Thanksgiving Eve puzzle, too - now he is here with our Christmas Eve puzzle, and I do believe it is his first Saturday puzzle, tho he has given us Sundays before. I have to admit, this was the first time I went to Google to find an answer because I got stuck in the NE corner, and it was due to my mistake of thinking SGTS was the E-7 rank; more at 10D....

Anyway, this one was tough, and I cheated, but what can I say....triple 9's and 8's in a pinwheel fashion, with those frustrating one word clues, and some deception as well. I do like the early morning brain battle.

Onward ~!

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen ~!

Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen ~!

ACROSS:

1. Totally : STONE COLD

10. Rigs on the road : SEMIs

15. Annual All-American Soap Box Derby site : AKRON, OHIO - I knew this answer, but couldn't recall the city, so I put in OHIO, and waited....

16. Old French capital? : FRANC - how funny is this??? I was stuck on SOU and ECU for so long from doing crosswords, that FRANC totally eluded me until I changed my 10D answer

17. One may be marching : BRASS BAND

18. Keyboardist who founded Return to Forever : COREA - did not know this; I am sure JazzB was "HIP" to him; a little clip for you

19. Rembrandt van __ : RYN - I WAGed at RIN, should have known it was a "Y"; also 32A. Rug with a long pile : RYA - standard in crosswordese

20. Certain protests : SIT-INs - or bed-ins, as done by our last clue/answer

22. "Friends" actress, familiarly : JENnifer Aniston, my personal fave from a show I did NOT watch

23. Spread __ : EAGLE

26. Pmt.-lowering option : RE-FInance

27. Lacking a partner : ODD - as in socks, not people....ah.

28. Blessed event? : SNEEZE - by not reading this as Bless -ED, I was able to nail it

30. Italy's Como, per esempio : LAGO - Italian for Lake

33. Fancy layer : GILT - UGH ~! This one stumped me, and had to go letter cycling before the "G" made sense in both across and down....

35. "__ out!" : YER - not GET, which also has the central "E"

36. Giant in a 2000 merger : AOL - America On Line, did not know this (From C.C.: The AOL./Time Warner merge. Debacle.)

37. 1980s Screen Actors Guild president : ED ASNER - boy this guy gets around in crosswords, doesn't he!?!? Such user/solver-friendly letters, and his 'full' name

40. "The Complaint of Peace" essayist, 1521 : ERASMUS

42. Eastern Med. country : LEBanon

43. Ophelia's niece, in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" : EVA

44. TV Stone Age pet : DINO - the Flintstones "dog", so to speak

45. Court figs. : D.A.s - District Attorneys, part of the LAW side of LAW & ORDER, a favorite TV show of mine

46. Lacking : SANS - French, 'without'

48. Town across the Connecticut River from Springfield, Mass. : AGAWAM - map

52. Ring support : OLE - AH ~!! The cry from the crowd ~!! The ring being the bullfight

53. Baker's meas. : TSPs

55. Puck's eatery : SPAGO - not in my wheelhouse - this place

56. Veep before LBJ : RMN - A WAG, tho I knew he was in politics for a long time, Richard Milhous Nixon

57. Candy heart phrase : BE MINE - I tried being cute with "I LOVE U"

59. Gnarly : RAD - Helps to have a teenager in one's life for this kind of language - in my case it was my generation that typically found "cool" things to be Gnarly, and RAD - but I never said either word unless I was trying to be sarcastic - think Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

60. Big name in insurance : AETNA

62. One of two in a historic 1869 Utah meeting : IRON HORSE - Dah ~!!! I knew it was the two trains meeting at Promontory Summit, but STEAM TRAIN didn't fit, nor LOCOMOTIVE

65. "Sharky's Machine" author : DIEHL - this guy; WAGed the "H"

66. Classroom concern : TARDINESS

67. Wee hr. : ONE A.M. - I am DONE at UPS as of 9am this morning - spent all week getting up at 12 midnight for a ONE A.M. shift, getting out at 9-10am. How about you Dennis? Are you 0 & 1 w/u now?

68. Deliberate : SLEEP ON IT - De-li-BER-ate, as in a jury, not De-LIB'rate, as in an intentional act

DOWN:

1. Buffalo skaters : SABRES - Hockey Hockey Hockey ~!! My Rangers beat their Winter Classic rivals the Philadelphia Flyers, once again, this time 4-2. The outdoor game is a week from Monday, and New Year's Eve is an alumni (there's some CW for you) game of the retired types - should be a lot of fun, yes eddyB ~?

2. "Tumbleweeds" cartoonist : T.K. RYAN - good way to get a four-consonant word in the grid, with T-K-R-Y - this guy and his strip

3. Fruit in a knock-knock joke : ORANGE - OK, OK, I wanted Banana, and you get 'em both~!

4. Negatives : Nos

5. Cannes duo : ENS - ah, not the French number, but the two "N"s in the word caNNes

6. Picnic trash : COBS - Corn centers, leftover

7. 2011 Canadian Open champ Sean : O'HAIR - golf, this guy

8. Architectural support : LINTEL - A steel L-bar that spans a masonry opening over a window or door, e.g., and carries the weight of the load above; also decorative, as in this instance

9. "Chariots of Fire" executive producer : DODI FAYED - more famous for his romantic link and death with Princess Diana

10. E-7 Army personnel : SFCs - the killer for me, a Sergeant First Class - my friend Jim is in the Army, has about 6 years left, and the last I heard, he was an E-6, and deployed to Afghanistan; I wonder if he got holiday leave....

11. Ranch closing? : ERO - Ranchero

12. Mint family herb : MARJORAM

13. "Help me" : I NEED YOU - too long to fit on a candy heart ???

14. Checkout counter newspaper fodder : SCANDALS - Aww, I wanted UFO IS GOD, or something much more investigative - I was looking for that scene from MiB where they "check the hot sheets", the supermarket tabloids

21. Gulf of Guinea country : NIGERIA

24. Staying power : LEGS - ah, yes to say "it has legs" means it (or they) will last - all I want for Christmas is these two hot legs

25. Web issues : EZINES - hey, I don't mind the E- or A- words, but I am getting tired of all the I- things you can buy these days; I am getting rid of my i P.O.S. for Christmas

29. Raise : ELEVATE

31. Asian swingers : ORANGs - Primates, but I thought they didn't do much in the trees

34. Sends : TRANSMITS

37. Poe poem written at the time of the California Gold Rush : EL DORADO - here

38. Cardplayer's request : DEAL ME IN

39. Type of ballot : ABSENTEE

41. Suds source : SOAP - not FOAM, and not BEER

47. Cochlea shape : SPIRAL

49. Underground home : WARREN


50. Two-time U.S. Open champ : AGASSI - tennis

51. Unassuming : MODEST

54. Nighttime disturbance, at times : SNORE

57. Healer : BALM

58. Cologne conclusion : ENDE - more French, I believe (C.C.: German for "end".)

61. New Deal home loan gp. : NHA - Here's a great site that lists all of them, I think

63. Trendy : HIP

64. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO - not a fan

Answer grid.

I have one last 2-hour shift at UPS at 7am today, sorting overnight Air packages, and then I am back to my regular schedule on Tuesday

- yea ~~!!!!

Splynter