Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Norfleet Pruden

Theme: On your Marx, get set  .  .  .  Three long answers are common, in-the-language phrases doubling as movie titles.  These movies star a band of brothers.

20 A. Shenanigans: MONKEY BUSINESS.  Mischievous or deceitful behavior.  Also, a 1952 movie staring Carey Grant, Marilyn Monroe and Ginger Rogers.

But more to the point, this 1931 movie featuring the aforementioned siblings.

In either case, you can find the entire movie on Youtube.

37 A. "Nonsense!": HORSE FEATHERS.  An expression of disagreement, disbelief or frustration. Also, another epic on the silver screen, this time from 1932.

53 A. Nabisco product whose package formerly displayed circus cages: ANIMAL CRACKERS.  Small cookies in the shapes of zoo and circus animals, available since 1902.

And, sure enough, yet another movie title, from 1930.

66 A. Surname of the stars of 20-, 37- and 53-Across: MARX.  Groucho [Julius,] Harpo [Arthur,] Zeppo [Herbert] and Chico [Leonard.]  A fifth brother. Gummo [Milton,] never appeared in any of their movies.  [Wikipedia]

Across:

1. Sow chow: SLOP.  Unspecified liquid or semi-liquid kitchen scraps as an alternative to Purina Swine Chow.

5. Sport with clay disks: SKEET.  The disks are propelled in the air as shooting targets.

10. "House Hunters" channel: HGTV.

14. Kind of curriculum: CORE.  A set of common courses required of all students, irrespective of their major.

15. Mural prefix: INTRA-.  Literally "within the walls," referring to sport or other competitions among students of a single institution.

16. Nécessité for a soufflé: OEUF.  French eggs.

17. Food thickener: AGAR. A gelatinous material extracted from red seaweed.

18. Anti-wrinkle option: BOTOX.  A drug prepared from botulism toxin used to treat certain muscular conditions, and to remove facial wrinkles.

19. Hearty bowlful: STEW.  A meal of meat and vegetables cooked together in broth.

23. Wrinkly little dog: PUG.  A small breed with a deeply wrinkled face.  Any irony with 18 A?

24. Gore and Green: ALS.  AL Gore is a Viet Nam war veteran, former Representative in Congress, Senator, Vice President and presidential candidate.  AL Green is a singer and ordained minister who has led a complicated and eventful life.

25. Defunct supermarket chain that once had nearly 16,000 stores: A AND P.  Originally the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.  they went out of business in 2015, after 156 years.

27. Lines on a list: ITEMS.

29. Thick slice: SLAB. As bacon, concrete or marble.

32. Break bread: EAT.  Together with other people.  Evidently, the referent is the Last Supper.

33. Adds bubbles to: AERATES.

36. Tropicana Field MLB team: RAYS.  Last year they won 90 games and finished 3rd in the powerful AL East division, behind the Red Sox and Yankees.

40. Cry under a pop fly: MINE.  So that other fielders will back off and avoid a collision.  Except for a weird 2 games series that the Mariners swept from the A's in Japan last week, the regular season starts for the rest of MLB tomorrow.  The Tigers open at Toronto, 3:37 pm local time.

41. Shiraz resident: IRANIAN.   Shiraz is the 5th most populous city in Iran.  It has been a population center since at least 2000 B.C.  This week, torrential rains have lead to devastating flooding and several fatalities.

42. Find a job for: USE.

43. Organic compound: ENOL. More common in crosswords than in chemistry labs, probably.

44. Freeways and parkways: ROADS.  Thoroughfares.

48. Store in a queue for printing: SPOOL.

50. Like some pkgs.: PPD. Post Paid or Pre Paid.  [???]

52. India-born author Santha Rama __: RAU. [1923-2009]  Author of several books.

58. Soon, long ago: ANON. It can be traced back to the 11th century, meaning "in one" indicating "right away."

59. Baby's ailment: COLIC.  Frequent extended episodes of crying in small infants, with no identifiable cause.

60. Oodles: LOTS.  Non-specific large quantity,

61. URL connection: LINK.  Direction to an internet site, not to be confused with a sausage unit.

62. Tiny amount: TRACE.  Non-specific small quantity.

63. Beekeeper played by Peter Fonda: ULEE.

64. Deck quartet: ACES.  A deck of cards has four cards of equal rank, in each of four suits.

65. Underground home of the Ninja Turtles: SEWER.  Never watched them

Down:

1. Shrimp dish: SCAMPI.  Large shrimp sautéed in garlic and butter.

2. Leave a chat room, say: LOG OUT.  Or LOG OFF.  Need perps.

3. Grand Marnier flavor: ORANGE.  A blend of Cognac, essence of bitter orange and sugar.

4. Central __: "Friends" coffee house: PERK.

5. Female oracle: SIBYL. A so-named single prophetess in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. located somewhere in Anatolia.  After that time SIBYL became a title and there were several found in various locations.

6. Drawer handles: KNOBS.  Suitable for pulling.

7. Words to a traitor: ET TU.  From when Caesar was sectioned.

8. Love god: EROS.  From Greek mythology, the son of Aphrodite, not to be confused with the too-cutesy, cherubic renaissance representations of his Roman counterpart, Cupid.

9. Roll to the runway: TAXI.  The motion of an airplane while on the ground.

10. Biblical prophet: HOSEA.  From the 8th century B.C.  He was often viewed as a prophet of doom.  Hence the expression: "No waya, Hosea!" But his messages often contained a promise of restoration.

11. Comes close to: GETS  NEAR.  Approaches

12. When general U.S. elections are held: TUESDAYS.  In November.

13. Ex-GIs' gp.: VFW.  Veterans of Foreign Wars.

21. Makes less difficult: EASES.  Alleviates, mitigates, assuages.

22. Catch red-handed: NAB.  This expression goes back to 15th century Scottish law, referring to catching a murderer in the act.

26. Qt. halves: PTS.  Mind your P[int]s and Q[uart]s.

28. Stable mother: MARE.  Horse mom.  Mental and emotional condition may vary.

29. Base runner's ploy: STEAL.  In baseball, attempting to advance a base while the ball is being pitched.  A risky maneuver that can be rewarding.

30. Like tough economic times: LEAN.  Indicating that there is little opportunity to improve the situation by trimming.

31. Wine province near Turin: ASTI.  Purveyor of bubbly spirits.

34. Free __: carte blanche: REIN.  Unfettered freedom of action or expression.  Kind of like what I have here.

35. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.

Those were the days

36. City that aptly rhymes with "casino": RENO.  Casino city.

37. From Latin America: HISPANIC. Relating to country of origin in Spanish-speaking Central, or South America and the Caribbean, regardless of ethnicity.

38. Like a typical therapy session: ONE ON ONE.  A meeting or encounter between two individuals.

39. Capital of Canada?: HARD C.  If you can't say anything nice  .  . .

40. Juilliard subj.: MUS.  The Julliard School is located in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan.  In addition to MUSic, it also offers degree programs in theater and dance.

43. Shade tree: ELM.

45. Colorful ring: AREOLA.  A small, circular colored area.  I'll leave google image searching to the curious.

46. Quick mover: DARTER.

47. English Channel county: SUSSEX.  On the eastern part of the southern coast, along the English Channel, due south from London.

49. Sty chorus: OINKS.  The singing of swine.

50. Haggling focus: PRICE.  Negotiating a deal.

51. Indiana NBA player: PACER.  At 45-29, they are currently third in the Eastern Conference, behind the Raptors and 76ers.

54. Show parts: ACTS.  Acts are further divided into scenes.

55. Handed-down stories: LORE.  Historical knowledge, traditions and stories, generally passed from person to person by word of mouth.

56. Crab's grabber: CLAW.

57. "America's Got Talent" judge Heidi: KLUM.

Areola-free image

58. Miss. neighbor: ALAbama.  A southern state located mostly between Georgia and Mississippi.  From my observation, it's mostly forest.

Thus endeth another Wednesday.  Having left my Marx, I will now bid you adieu.

Cool regards!
JzB

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Ed Sessa

Theme: Well, there was this guy  .  .  . and this other guy  .  .  .   Or - What's in a name? Famous men's names are linked across and within theme entries, from the generic to the specific.

First the generic:

18 D. Generic guy: TOM.
34 D. Generic guy: DICK.
50 D.  Generic guy: HARRY.
These are generally considered as a collective, referring to any guy you're likely to run into.  So to encounter every TOM, DICK and HARRY separately here made it a little hard to suss.  Of course, these given names could have been clued in a variety of other ways.  But with this theme, it's important to clue them this way, leaving them, in a sense, open ended.

67 A. 18-, 34- __ 50-Down: AND.  To bring them all together

As an aside, the most common names for boys born in 2018 were Jackson,  Liam, Noah, Aiden, Caden, Grayson, Lucas, Mason, Oliver and Elijah.  The old expression might need to be reconsidered, because nowadays, every Tom Dick and Harry is named Jackson, Liam or Noah.

Then the specific:

20 A. After 18-Down, actor/golfer combo: ARNOLD PALMER.  So we get the actor TOM ARNOLD [b 1959] and the golfer ARNOLD PALMER [1929-2016].  Tom's first wife was the now increasingly unhinged Roseanne Barr.  He is currently getting divorced from his fourth wife.  At some point you might just as well quit.  ARNOLD PALMER was, and remains, an icon in the world of golf.  Once, at his Bay Hill golf club, I had lunch with him.  Granted, we were at different tables, at opposite ends of the room, but we were eating together.  Or at least at the same time. His name could also have been clued as a soft drink made by mixing lemonade and iced tea.

37 A. After 34-Down, crime writer/poet combo: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.  Here we have DICK FRANCIS [1920-2010], a former steeplechase jockey whose novels focus on crime in the world of British horse racing, along with FRANCIS SCOTT KEY [1779-1843] who composed the poem Defense of Fort M'Henry in September, 1814, after witnessing the battle there.  It was soon set to music, and became our unofficial national anthem.  This was made official by an executive order from President Wilson in 1916. There are good reasons why the third verse is never sung.

55. After 50-Down, president/novelist combo: TRUMAN CAPOTE.  This gives us the 33rd President [1945-1933] of the U. S., HARRY TRUMAN [1884-1972] and author TRUMAN CAPOTE [1924-1984.] President Truman implemented the Marshall Plan, benefiting Western Europe after WW II and was involved in establishing NATO.  TRUMAN CAPOTE was a novelist, playwright and actor.  At least 20 of his works have been made into movies.  The best known are probably Breakfast a Tiffany's and the non-fiction murder story In Cold Blood.

Hi Gang.  JazzBumpa here.  As you can probably tell, I had a hard time figuring out how to characterize and deal with this clever and unusual theme.  Proper names, in general, are not top notch fill.  But when they become the theme, it's a whole new ball game.  And Ed has given the idea - quite literally - a new dimension.  So - kudos for that.  Let's see what else we have.

Across:

1. Cascades peak: SHASTA.  A currently inactive [but who knows?] volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Northern CA,  with a max. elevation of 14, 179 ft.

7. Cap'n's aide: BOS'N.   A contraction of boatswain, also known as the chief petty officer.

11. Classic British sports cars: MGs.  The Initials of Morris Garages.  MG is the marque for vehicles marketed as such by its parent company, Shanghai based SAIC Motors.

14. Character builder?: AUTHOR. A writer, in this case of fiction stories, where each character ought to be built of relatable human characteristics. Unless that character is Ramsey Bolton.

15. __ Domini: ANNO.  Latin for "in the year of our Lord," designating the most recent 2019 years of human history.  This idea has its own complicated history which the interested reader may perhaps pursue at one's leisure.

16. Vein contents: ORE.  Mining for minerals

17. Not yet proven: THEORETICAL.  Sometimes the theoretical can yet be proven.  All it takes are extraordinary capability and decades of single-minded devotion.

19. __ drop: MIC.  I have a mental block about pronouncing mic as Mike.  Anyway, the expression refers to a literal or figurative gesture at the end of a speech or performance indicating triumph.

22. Wrestling duo: TAG TEAM.  A two person wrestling team, only one of which is in the ring at any given time.  A replacement can only be made if the one in the ring can physically touch, or TAG, his partner.

25. Innocent: NAIVE.  Due to lack of experience with all the pitfalls, travails and villains one encounters in the real world.

26. Charlottesville sch.: UVA. University of Virginia.

27. Like a cool cat: HEP.  From Wikipedia: Hipster or hepcat, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed poverty, and relaxed sexual codes.

30. Edible root: BEET.  When it comes to borscht, you can't beet soup!

31. Depended (on): RELIED.

35. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.  Entrance areas or central courts of buildings or complexes that are either open roofed or glass covered.  I once had the opportunity to crawl around on one with a glass roof.  And, yes, I am acrophobic.  Good times.

42. Worthy of a standing O: SOCKO.  Stunningly effective or successful.

43. Pay for one's crime: DO TIME.  Go to prison.

44. Suisse peak: ALPE.  Une montagne en Français.

47. Sisters, say: KIN.  It's all relative.

48. Spam holder: TIN.  A metal can containing [presumably] food stuffs.

49. "American Horror Story" actress Paulson: SARAH. Never watched it.

From season 1

51. Contents of a teacher's key: ANSWERS.

59. TV buying channel: HSN.  Home Shopping Network

60. Host of a Friars Club event: ROASTMASTER.  Portmanteau of ROAST and MASTER, modeled after "toastmaster, " to designate an MC at a comedy roast, in which a person is honored by being the butt of pointed jokes.

64. One of a comic trio: MOE.  Along with Larry, Curly, and Shemp.  I know - that makes 4.  Sometimes life ain't easy.

65. Invite feedback?: RSVP.  Formal request to respond to an invitation.

66. Nissan sedan: ALTIMA.  A mid-size sedan.

68. Votes for: YEAS.  All opposed say Nay.

69. Oppressive ruler: DESPOT.  A ruler with absolute power.  Power corrupts.

Down:

1. Minded the kids: SAT.  As in baby sat.

2. "What the?!": HUH.  Eh?

3. Pigged out, say: ATE.  Too much.

4. Little pig: SHOAT.  Especially one who was newly weaned.

5. Yankee manager before Girardi: TORRE.  Joe [b 1940] ranks 5th in MLB history with 2326 wins as a manger.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

6. __ rock: Queen genre: ARENA.  I did not know this was actually considered a genre of pop music.  Music designed to be played in large spaces before large audiences.

7. Attend to a leaking boat: BAIL.  Scoop water out of the boat with buckets.  Might be a losing battle.

8. How some data is stored: ON CD.  Increasingly less likely these days.

9. Sound made using two fingers: SNAP.  There's more than one way to do it.

10. "The Dark Knight Trilogy" director Christopher: NOLAN. [b 1970]  An English film director, screen writer and producer who holds duel British and American citizenship.

11. Family nickname: MOMMIE.

12. Mourn: GRIEVE.  Emotional distress.

13. It's not for everyone: SECRET.  Keep it under your hat.

21. Canadian brewery: LABATT.  Founded in 1847 by John Kinder Labatt in London, Ont.  Now part of international conglomerate Inbev.

22. Steak metaphor seen on menus: TURF.  Along with SURF.  What wine goes with that?

23. State with conviction: AVER.  Or AVOW.  Always need perps.

24. Charity event: GALA.  A social event with entrtainmnet.

27. Wears: HAS ON.  Is clothed with.

28. "There's more" letters: ETC.  List shortener.

29. Jab to keep them dogies rollin': PROD.  For cattle.

32. Slacks measure: INSEAM.  The seam from the crotch to the bottom of a pant leg, or its length.

33. Prefix with car: ECO.  ECoCAR is a competitive event in which engineering students design and build advanced vehicles with leading edge technologies.

36. "How was __ know?": I TO.  Somebody tell me.

38. Maneuver through moguls: SKI.  This short video shows how to do it.

39. Flier on a string: KITE.

40. Mideast mogul: EMIR. A clecho, and a different sense of the word mogul, here meaning an important or powerful person.

41. Strong desires: YENS.  Urges.  I thought about going to Japan, but didn't have he YEN to travel.

44. Bronchial disorder: ASTHMA. A chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways.

45. "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary: LARSON.  [b.1950]  Seeking to avoid what he termed "the graveyard of mediocre cartoons, he retired at the beginning of 1995 at age 44.

Found here

46. Tended to topiary: PRUNED.  Selected trimming away of branches from trees or shrubs.

51. Germane: APT. Appropriate or suitable to the situation.

52. Desert wanderer: NOMAD.  One with no permanent home, traveling from place to place to find fresh areas for livestock grazing.

53. Like many bad jokes: STALE.  Old and used up.

54. Bridge positions: WESTS.  Positions at the bridge table are named for the four main cardinal directions.

56. Bridge position: NOSE.  Another clecho, and another sense of the word bridge.

More here, if you're nosy

57. Vena __: major blood line: CAVA.  Either of two veins returning deoxygenated blood to the heart.

58. Sacred symbols on pyramid walls: ASPS.  The depiction of an Egyptian cobra.

61. Reward for waiting: TIP.  Not for Godot, unless he has arrived and is at the table where you are serving.

62. Confessional music genre: EMO.  Similar to punk, but having more complex arrangements, typically dealing with angst and other deep emotions.

63. Maze scurrier: RAT.  In a laboratory.

That wraps it up for another Wednesday. Good puzzle.  I didn't have any nits.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Cool regards!
JzB

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 George Jasper

Theme: THIS IS REALLY CONFUSING, MAN!  And would be even more so if you didn't get the circles in your grid.  Each quartet of circles - and there are five such - contains letters which, when read properly, spell out a synonym for "some guy."  At first glance, the letters appear to be mixed up; but, as we shall see later, there is a bit more to it than that. The circles occur, two each, in adjacent rows, and all contiguous, so there are ten theme- related entries, plus a unifier.

1 A. Gaping mouths: MAWS.  From the Old English word for stomach.
14 A. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE.  Holocaust survivor and author of 57 books.
Together they give us the letters of MALE, who, if adult and human, is a man.

5 A. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" composer: DUKAS. Paul [1865-1935] Composer and music critic who was intensely self-critical and destroyed many of his own works.
15 A. Official mandate: EDICT. A decree issued by someone in political or religious authority.  The Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. proclaimed religious tolerance and stopped the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
DUDE stems from the late 19th century, indicating a dandy.  Now it seems to be mostly used ironically, or in contempt.

48 A. Large goblet: CHALICE. Typically a wine vessel, used in a Christian ritual.
54 A. Bamboo lover: PANDA. Genetic studies reveal that it is a true bear that differentiated from other ursine stock about 19 million years ago. Bamboo is the major portion of it's diet, but it will eat just about anything.
CHAP refers to any man or boy, not to be confused with the winter-time condition of my chops.  Evidently derived from chapman, a 16th century designation for a peddler.

58 A. Military expert, say: STRATEGIST. one responsible for formulating and implementing an action plan to achieve some goal.  This involves defining the goal, determining an action plan and mobilizing resources.
63A. Language of Pakistan: URDU.  A variant of Hindustani also having official status in Nepal and 6 States of India.
A STUD is a man who is believed to have above average sexual prowess.  This is no doubt derived from animal husbandry, where a STUD is a male domestic animal used for breeding.

62 A. Canadian fliers: GEESE.

65 A. Govt.-backed bond: T-NOTE.  The T stands for the U. S. Treasury, which issues 3 types of securities, all of which can be broadly characterized as bonds. T-Bills have maturities of 4. 13, 26 and 52 weeks. T-NOTES currently have maturities of 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years. Long bonds mature in 30 years.

And the centrally located, grid-spanning unifier -- 37 A. Typical MLB pitching alignment, and a hint to this puzzle's circles: FIVE MAN ROTATION.  Most professional baseball teams have 5 starting pitchers who routinely appear in a specified order, though this can be disrupted by injuries or other considerations.  And this tightly nails down the theme - there are five different synonyms for a MAN, and each set of four letters is to be read in a clockwise fashion, starting at the upper left - hence the "rotation."

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here.  I'm not overly fond of circled letter themes, but they seem to be firmly entrenched in the crossword world, so here we are.  This one is thematically rich and well executed.  Let's take a spin through the rest of it, and see if George has thrown us any curve balls.

Across:

10. States in an outdated atlas: Abbr.: SSRS.  Soviet Socialist Republics, the once great [or perhaps just pretty good, or maybe not at all] Communist Russian Empire.

16. Analogous (to): AKIN. Related in some way, or of similar character.

17. One way to ride a horse: SIDE SADDLE. This awkward mode of travel was started by Princess Anne of Bohemia in 1382 when she made her way across Europe to marry King Richard II.  After that event, the practice spread, so to speak, and it became vulgar for a lady to ride astride a horse. I have to wonder why she didn't ride in a carriage.  Anyway, according to legend, the ride of Lady Godiva took place at least a century earlier, so depictions of this type might be more or less accurate.

19. Stereotypical pooch: FIDO.  The name is derived from the Latin word meaning "faithful."  The eponym for all subsequent FIDOS was a real dog who lived up to his name in an amazing and extraordinary manner.

20. D.C.'s Pennsylvania, e.g.: AVE.  This route runs for 5.8 miles within Washington D.C.  Notable sites include the White House, the Capitol Building and the John Phillip Sousa Bridge.

21. Named, briefly: IDED.  Identified.

22. Shop talk: LINGO.  The jargon or argot specific to a particular subject or group of people.

23. One in a hundred?: SENATOR.  Somewhere on Pennsylvania AVE. about 1.2 miles from the White House at 1600, we can find the Capitol, where these people are supposed to be working.  It appears that this building has no actual numbered street address - or, at least, none that I can find.

25. Cafeteria worker's cover: HAIR NET.  Worn to prevent contaminating food.  It is also part of formal attire for females in dressage and other varieties of horsing around.  The oldest known evidence of use is from the 3300-year-old grave of a Danish girl.

27. Affleck of "Gone Girl": BEN.  Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt [b 1972] is an American actor and film maker.  He has received two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

28. "Downton __": PBS show: ABBEY.  A period drama set in Yorkshire, England and spanning from 1912 to 1926. It has received numerous nominations and awards.

29. Dramatic opening?: ACT I.

32. Many an emailer: AOLER.  Are there many AOL users these days?  Aren't most of us G-mailers?

34. '50s political monogram: DDE.  Dwight David Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, and then President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

41. Train stopping at every sta.: LOC. Local, as opposed to express, which makes few intermediate stops.

42. They turn litmus paper red: ACIDS.  Litmus is a water soluble dye mixture extracted from certain lichens. It exhibits a color change depending on the acidity or alkalinity of a solution to which it is exposed, turning red in the presence of an acid, or blue in the presence of a base.

43. Does impressions of: APES.  Mimics.

44. Grazing groups: HERDS. As of cattle, frex.

46. "Gimme a __": SEC.  A short time increment.

50. "Haven't the foggiest": BEATS ME.  I really have no idea.

55. Alternative to fries: TOTS.  'Tater TOTS.  Grated potatoes that are formed into a shape and deep fried.  They were invented in 1953 to use up the left over slivers of sliced potatoes.  Waste not, want not, I guess.

56. Korean automaker: KIA.

57. Script fraction: LINE. An actors line in a play or movie.

61. Sun Devils' rival: UTES.  Arizona State and Utah University sports teams, respectively.

64. Riverbank residue: SILT. A fine mineral material deposited by running water.

66. "Freeze!": STOP.  Halt!

Down:

1. Small plateaus: MESAS.   Table land formations - literally table in Spanish.  These are flat topped hills with steep cliff sides.

Monument Valley

2. Still in contention: ALIVE.  Still having a chance.

3. Alleviate traffic on, perhaps: WIDEN.  As a thoroughfare.

4. "Told you": SEE.  Rubbing it in.

5. Exactly right: DEAD ON.  Completely and precisely correct.  I'm not able to trace an origin.

6. Milk source: UDDER.  The mammary gland in cattle, sheep, goats, etc.

7. 10-time NBA All-Star Jason: KIDD. [b 1973] In his 19-year career he played for Dallas [twice], Phoenix, New Jersey and New York.  He has since coached the Nets and Bucks.

10. "On Language" columnist: SAFIRE.  William Lewis SAFIRE  [1929- 2009] American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speech writer.

11. Barely enjoy the pool?: SKINNY DIP.

Look before you leap

12. First Homeland Security secretary: RIDGE. Tomas Joseph RIDGE [b 1945] was a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and governor of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001.  He was the Secretary of Homeland Security from Jan. 2003 to Feb. 2005.

13. Condescending one: SNOOT.  I'm guessing because this one looks down her/his nose at others.

18. Place: SITE.  A specific location.

22. First sign of fall: LIBRA.  Zodiac sign, typically from Sept. 32 to Oct. 23.

24. Rose's Broadway beau: ABIE.  ABIE's Irish Rose was a  play that debuted on May 23, 1922 and ran for 2327 performances.  It was made into movies in 1928 and 1946.  The premise involves a young Irish Catholic woman who marries a Jewish man over the objections of their famiies.

25. Saintly glows: HALOS. Generally represented as a circle of light above or behind the head of a sacred peron.

26. Drive the getaway car, say: ABET.  Assist in the commission of a crime.

29. Partner of 30-Down: AFL. American Federation of Labor.

30. Partner of 29-Down: CIO. Congress of Industrial Organizations.  The organizations combined in 1955 after a long estrangement.  Together, they are made up of 55 national and international unions, representing over 12 million active and retired workers.

31. Remote choice: TV CHANNEL. Make your selection from the vast wasteland.

32. Ouzo flavoring: ANISE.  Pimpinella anisum, a flowering plant native to the eastern mediterranean regions with a flavor similar to licorice.

33. MDW : Midway :: __ : O'Hare: ORD.  The 3 letter codes for two Chicago area airports.  Some explanation here.

35. Anonymous Jane: DOE.

36. Peyton Manning's four?: ENS.  He has 4 N's in his name to my mere one.  I detest these self-referential clues.

38. Educator Montessori: MARIA.  Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori [1870-1952] was an Italian physician and educator, and eponym for a specific philosophy of education.

39. Adapter letters: AC/DC.  This is definitely not in my wheelhouse.  You can read about it here.

40. Delicate handling: TACT.  Adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.

45. Firstborn: ELDEST.  Of a group of siblings.  My baby sister will be 66 this summer.

46. Parlor piece: SETTEE.  Typically a seating place for two, with slimmer profile than a sofa.

47. Let up: EASE.  Become less intense, serious or severe.

48. Just above average: C PLUS.  The high end of mediocrity.

49. One side of Hispaniola: HAITI.  The other side of the island is the Dominican Republic.

50. Talk oneself up: BOAST.  Talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's abilities, possessions and accomplishments

51. School uniform part, perhaps: SKIRT. Why are they always plaid?

St. Rita School, Sierra Madre, CA

52. Foul up: MISDO.  Looks odd as a present tense verb form.  Action word for a schlemiel or evil-doer.

53. Thoroughly enjoy: EAT UP.

55. Early smartphone: TREO.  Nineteen different models were released between 2002 and 2008.

58. Rank above cpl.: SGT. Corporal and Sergeant military ranks.

59. Coffee break time: TEN.  In the morning.

60. Mercury astronaut Grissom: GUS.  Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom [1926-1967] was one of the seven original National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury astronauts.  He was a veteran of WW II and the Korean War, and an Air Force test pilot who received several awards, including the Congressional medal of Honor.  He died, along with fellow astronauts White and Chaffee, in a command module fire on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral.  There were many lethal hazards and design flaws in the cock pit and in the conduct of the pre-launch test that took their lives.

That's a sad note to end on, but reality can be that way sometimes. The rest of the puzzle was enjoyable.

Cool regards,
JzB signing out.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: THE TANGLED STRAP.  Each theme entry has circled letters spanning two words, which, when untangled can spell the word STRAP, though I might have that backwards.

17. Does really well, for a weekend golfer: SHOOTS PAR.  Each golf hole has a par rating, between 3 and 5 strokes, depending on tee to green length.  Typical par for 18 holes is 72. The letters of STRAP occur at the end of the phrase.

22. "Next time's for real": JUST PRACTICING.  I practice a lot, but have a hard time coming up with a real life situation where one might utter these words.  There are, however, memes that use the phrase, if you care to look for them.  The letters of STRAP span the two words, and are internal.  Same as in the next two entries.

36. Cardiologist: HEART SPECIALIST.  A specific kind of medical doctor. 

46. Jewish deli meat: KOSHER PASTRAMI. Read all about it.

56. "America's Got Talent" judges' concern: STAR POWER.  That elusive combination of poise, talent, stage presense, sex appeal and a certain je ne sais quoi, perhaps. Here, the letters occur at the beginning of the phrase, offering a nice symmetry, where the first shall be last, and the last first.

58. With 62-Across, handyman's assortment, and a hint to what's in each set of circles: LOOSE.

62. See 58-Across: PARTS.  Here we have a rare two-part unifier, in which it is revealed that the circled letters represent a scrambled word, as indicated by the suggestive modifier LOOSE, and that STRAP is PARTS. 

Very thematically rich array, with a central grid spanner, two others just a letter short, and even the shorter entries having nine letters each. And the final - central - initial placement of the circled letters is an elegant touch.

But there are a couple problems.  First, LOOSE PARTS does not appear to be an in-the-language phrase meaning what the clues suggest. Or, if it is, I'm failing to find any evidence of it.   Instead, it indicates a group of resources that provide children with an intellectually stimulating outlet for creative play.

Second - and this might be just a nit - but KOSHER PASTRAMI can also be parsed this way, with the PARTS not straddling both words.  Is anyone else bothered by this?

Hi gang, It's JazzBumpa, perhaps in an overly-critical mood.  Grab your STRAPS and PARTS and lets see what we can uncover.

Across:

1. Area with pews: NAVE.  The central area of a church.

5. It's saved for a rainy day: TARP.   Covering to protect the infield of a baseball stadium from rain.

9. Monster party: BASH.  A better than average party, with more excitement or better accessories.

13. Constrain: HEM IN.  Enclose something, or prevent it from moving.

14. Singer Adams: EDIE.  Her husband was Ernie Kovacs.

Having way too much fun

15. Spanish "this": ESTA.  Literal.

16. In first place: AHEAD.  At the head of the pack.

19. Sophs, come Sep.: JRS.  2nd and 3rd Yr students, respectively.

20. "Who Dat Girl" rapper __ Rida: FLO.  It's on You Tube, if you're interested.

21. Corkscrew pasta: ROTINI.  Descriptive name - Italian for "spirals.".

Anybody hungry?

26. Hurry, old-style: HIE.  To rush or hasten, from Old English hīgian "strive, pant", of unknown origin.

27. Leaf-clearing tool: RAKE.  To clean them up when they fall in the Fall.

28. Hairy spider: TARANTULA.   I refuse to post a picture.

33. It stings: BEE.  I was always told that if I leave it alone then it will leave me alone.  Opinions?

40. Energy unit: ERG.  A minuscule unit of energy equal to 10⁻⁷  Joule.  An erg is the amount of work done by a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one centimeter.  One of my college profs described it as the amount of energy exerted when one fly does one push up in one second.

41. Looks through, as a keyhole: PEERS INTO.  Sounds sneaky.

42. Tennis immortal: ASHE.  Arthur [1943 - 1993]  He won 3 grand slam titles and retired in 1980.

45. Spanish "that": ESA.  Also literal

53. Learn from A to Z: MASTER.  Have complete knowledge and facility in some activity or endeavor.

54. Little newt: EFT.  It's a strange life cycle

From water to land to water again

55. Bloke: GUV.  Types of British slang for a man.

60. Latvian seaport: RIGA. Latvia's capital, on the Baltic sea at the mouth of the Daugava River.

61. De __: again: NOVO.  Anew, from the beginning.

63. Cocktail garnish: PEEL.  Typically of an orange or lemon

64. Gets the picture: SEES.  Comprehends.  Not necessarily a visual reference.

65. Keep up (with): STAY.  Be like an electrician, and  STAY on top of  current events.

Down:

1. '60s jacket style: NEHRU.  The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with a mandarin collar, and with its front modeled on the Indian achkan or sherwani, a garment worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964.   [Wikipedia .]

Fashion statement

2. "What __!": "Ick!": A MESS.  A situation or thing in a condition of disarray, and possibly unsanitary.

3. By way of: VIA.  From the same word in Latin meaning "way" or "road."

4. See 28-Down: END.  But, as you can see we still have a ways to go. Vide infra.

5. Musk's electric car brand: TESLA.  Named for this guy.

Sales of this model to begin next year

6. Limited in scope, as a committee: AD HOC.  Latin, literally, "to this, " designating a committee assembled for a specific purpose.

7. Grande opening: RIO.  Together these words make the name of a border river separating Texas from several Mexican States.  Lame clue.

8. Illinois city that symbolizes mainstream America: PEORIA.

But will it play there?

9. Lifelong pal: BESTIE.  From Best Friend.

10. Clinton's first Defense secretary: ASPIN.   Leslie Aspin, Jr. [1938 - 1995] was a representative from Wisconsin from 1971 to 1993, and Defense Secretary from January, 1993 to February, 1994.

11. Sporty Ford, to devotees: 'STANG.  Mustang.  I am not familiar with this slangy abbrv. but I guess it's real.

12. Big name in spydom: HARI. Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod [1876 - 1917] better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and executed by firing squad in France. [Wikipedia]

13. Pilgrimage to Mecca: HAJJ.  This takes place in the last month of the year, something all Muslims are expected to complete.

18. Clock sound: TOCK.  Or TICK

20. Guitar neck features: FRETS.  Metal strips inserted into the fingerboard to divide it into fixed segments.  Each fret represents one semi-tone in standard western equal tempering.  If you don't know about tempering and tuning systems, believe me, you are far better off.

Don't fret - it's just music

23. Whaling direction: THAR.  Evidently meaning "there."

Cetaceans don't get any privacy

24. Pub order: PINT.  Half a quart, or 0.473 liter.

Is anybody thirsty?

25. Copy on a transparent sheet: TRACE.

28. With 4-Down, fairy tale's last words: THE. Vide supra.  Anyway, I thought it was "They lived happily ever after."  But hang on; we're still not finished!

29. Fizzy prefix: AER-.  Indicating something to do with air, in this case inducing bubbles.

30. Tattered cloth: RAG.  

31. Word with class or case: UPPER.  UPPER class indicates having lots of money, irrespective of actual classiness. [Funny how that works.] Upper case indicates THIS KIND OF LETTERING.

32. Blues legend John __ Hooker: LEE.

Classic

33. Storage container: BIN.  Of Celtic origin, via Old English, indicating a container of no specific type.

34. Approximate fig.: ESTimate.

35. WWII arena: ETO.  European Theater of Operations.

37. "__ my case": I REST.  An indication that you [believe that you have] done enough to prove your point, and no more argument is necessary.  The origin is from courts of law, indicating that an attorney has finished presenting her case to the judge and/or jury.

38. Exec's hire, perhaps: ASST.  Assistant.  N.B. Abbrv.

39. "Tell the truth!": LIAR.  A command presumably issued with no sense of irony to someone you don't believe.

42. Starlike: ASTRAL.  From the Latin astrum, meaning "star."  Relating to actual stars in the sky; or to a supposed nonphysical realm of existence to which various psychic and paranormal phenomena are ascribed, and in which the physical human body is said to have a counterpart.

43. Fox News anchor Smith: SHEP.  [b 1964] He serves as the channel's chief news anchor and as managing editor of the breaking news division.

44. Wading birds: HERONS.  There are 64 known species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns.

I got this pic of a great blue heron on the grounds where my mom was in hospice in 2015.

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

From Bethesda

47. Missouri river: OSAGE.   A 276-mile-long tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri, draining a mostly rural area of 15,300 square miles.

48. "Pet" irritation: PEEVE.  We all have one, right?  My petty pet PEEVE is gratuitous verberization - the morphing of perfectly fine nouns into completely unneeded verbs.  "Parenting" frex.  Grrrrrrr!   What's yours?

49. High dos: AFROS.  Hair dos, a la Jackson Five.

50. Greek marketplace: AGORA.  A public space used for assemblies and markets.

51. Smelling of mold: MUSTY.  A damp, vaguely unpleasant odor associated with mold, mildew or decay.

52. Lithographer James: IVES. [1824 - 1895]  He oversaw the business and financial side of the Currier and Ives print-making firm.

53. No. on a new car window: MSRP.  Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

57. Misery: WOE.  Great sorrow or distress.

58. CD predecessors: LPS.  Differently formatted discs for recording and playback of music or other audio presentations.

59. Breakfast grain: OAT. A cereal grain, Avena Sativa, grown for its seed.  It is suitable for both humans and livestock.

On that nutritious note, our journey ends.  A very well constructed, thematically rich puzzle, though I had my nits.  Hope it gets your Wednesday off to a good start.

Cool regards, 
JzB

Wednesday, January 23, 2019 Roland Huget

Theme: Every Snowflake Is Different!  What I love about this claim is that it is not testable.  In today's puzzle, the claim is that for each multi-word theme entry, every letter is different.  This is testable, so let's get our deerstalker hats and magnifying glasses and have a go at it.

20 A. 2011 Steve Carell romcom: CRAZY STUPID LOVE.  Careful inspection confirms that each letter is, indeed, unique.  I am not a fan of the genre.  The presence of Jennifer Aniston in a movie's cast is enough to make me say, "No, thanks," no matter how cute she is.  But this movie has Julianne Moore supported by an all-star cast.  I'm actually rather fond of this flick.

34 A. Rickety abode: TUMBLE DOWN SHACK.  Not a phrase you're likely to encounter in daily conversation, but the meaning is clear enough. Reminds me of my mom's humble beginning in rural south-east Ohio. Searching through all the rooms - and even the outhouse - I was unable to find even one duplicated letter.  So far, so good,

41 A. "Stop whining!": DON'T BE SUCH A WIMP.  Do WIMPS duplicate letters?  Not here they don't! Not on my watch! Does this phrase foster toxic masculinity? I'll just leave that as food for thought.

53 A. Neither 20-, 34- nor 41-Across has any: REPEATED LETTERS.  Is it my hyper-active sense of irony that notes the repeated Rs, Es and Ts in the unifier?  Well - be that as it may, we do have a clever and unique theme, aptly described, with four grid-spanning entries, and that is only a J and a Q away from being a pangram. Yes, I also love run-on sentences.

Hi, Gang.  Inspector JazzBumpa here looking under cushions and dusting for prints.  Let's see what we can find.

Across:

1. Soft ball: NERF.  A toy brand created by Parker Brothers and now owned by Hasbro.  The product line is mostly foam-based items, like balls and weaponry.  Mostly harmless, I suppose.

5. Berkshire Hathaway headquarters city: OMAHA.  A multi-national conglomerate run by Warren Buffet.  Note the repeated A.

10. Greenish-yellow pear: BOSC.  A European cultivar that originated in France, now grown in many locations in Europe and North America.

14. Mine, in MontrÈal: AMOI. They speak French there.  I visited the city once, back in the early 80's.  It was wonderful.

15. Chicano rock band Los __: LOBOS.  It means The Wolves.

16. "Enchanted" girl in a 2004 film: ELLA.  Not your typical RomCom.

17. Hors d'oeuvre cracker: RITZ.  Nabisco product introduced in 1934, the depth of the depression, to offer their customers "a bite of the good life."

18. Lose tautness: DROOP.  Sag, limply hang down.

19. Logician's error, maybe: LEAP.  One step should lead logically to the next.

23. Slangy affirmative: YEH. Unhuh.

24. Light beam: RAY.  Heavy beams are used in construction.

25. Poseidon's realm: SEA.  In Greek mythology, the god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.  Horses?  How did they get in there?  Anyway, He was one of the most ill-tempered, moody and greedy Olympians.

28. Lav, in Bath: LOO.  Comfort station, to be delicate.

30. Zero in: AIM.  Focus attention on something.

31. Federal bldgs. with mailboxes: POS.  Post Offices.  Though I imagine other Fed bldgs. might also have mailboxes.

38. Diva's time to shine: ARIA.  Solo vocal feature in a longer musical work such as an opera or oratorio.

39. Savings plan inits.: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

40. Fair-haired sci-fi race: ELOI.  One of two post-human races of the far distant future in The Time Machine, from 1895 by H. G. Wells

46. Chinese menu surname: TSO.  Generally speaking.

47. Put away: EAT.  Consume at the dinner table.

48. Pine-__: cleaning brand: SOL.  A registered trade mark of Clorox.  From its inception in 1929 until 2016 it contained pine oil.  Then the product was cheapened to increase profitability.

49. Old Nintendo game console: Abbr.: NES.  The classic Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1985.

50. UFO pilots, supposedly: ETS.  Extra-Terrestrials.  I suspect they took one look at us, shook their hairless, crenellated heads, and just kept on going.

51. Nintendo game console: Wii.  The letters don't stand for anything.  Instead, the two lower case is are intended to represent gamers together, reinforcing the "we" pronunciation of the item's name

62. Similar in nature: AKIN.  Derived from the word "kin" meaning related by blood.

63. Online biz: E-TAIL.  Electronicized retail.  Is this a portmanteau?

64. Compete for the America's Cup: SAIL.  This Cup is the prize awarded to the winer of a race between yachts, so named because the original winner in 1851 was the schooner America.  Any qualifying yacht club can challenge the current cup holder, at a place and time determined by mutual agreement.  The winner retains the cup until defeated.

65. Fish catchers: NETS.

66. Art class subjects: NUDES.   Unclothed models.

67. Stubborn sort: MULE.  A sterile beast of burden, bred from a male donkey and a female horse.  By extension, a person who acts as stubborn as one.

68. Aussie greeting: G-DAY.  Short mouth for "good day."

69. Part of LED: DIODE.  An electrical component that only allows current flow in one direction.

70. Marked for deletion: EXED. X marks the spot - and not in a good way.

Down:

1. DEA operative: NARC. The Drug Enforcement Agency employs NARCotic agents to enforce the relevant laws.

2. House of Saud bigwig: EMIR.  A title for various rulers of Arabic Muslim countries.

3. Duty roster: ROTA.  Derived from the Latin word for wheel.  I imagine this might indicate that the jobs rotate.  But I'm just guessing.

4. Like soda pop: FIZZY.  Bubbly, due to carbonation.

5. Part of a comfort simile: OLD SHOE.  I found a proverb I wasn't familiar with: "Old shoes are easy, old friends are best."  So, an OLD SHOE is something or someone you are unquestionably at ease with.

6. Mad Magazine cartoonist Drucker: MORT.  He was born in 1929, started with Mad Mag in 1956 and continued with them for 55 years.  I loved Mad when I was a kid, and his satirical drawings of pop culture icons was a part of it.

7. Leigh Hunt's "__ Ben Adhem": ABOU.  A poem with a sweet message, that you can read here.

8. Earring style: HOOP.  A round dangling ornament.

Too much of a good thing?

9. "Take two __ and call me ... ": ASPIRIN.  Cliched expression representing being shrugged off by an uninterested doctor.

10. Kind of dancer: BELLY.

A brief how-to video

11. Breakfast spread: OLEO.  An ersatz butter substitute made from vegetable oil, also called margarine.

Also a jazz standard written by Sonny Rollins in 1954, to the same chord progression as the Gershwin classic tune I've Got Rhythm.

12. Balkan native: SLAV.   Members of an Indo-European ethnolinguistic group.  There are three geographic sub-groups, Eastern, Western and Southern.  Balkan natives are in the Southern sub-group.

13. Superman accessory: CAPE.  Dracula, too - but not always a good idea.

21. Holler: YELL.  Produce a loud vocalization.

22. Beaver creations: DAMS.

25. Town, in Germany: STADT.  Literal.

26. Irish banknotes: EUROS.  Unaffected by Brexit, Ireland remains in the E. U.

27. Protein-building acid: AMINO.  An organic compound containing both amine and carboxylic acid functionality. These are active groups that can react with each other, and therefore build long chain molecules.  Due to its alternating vowels and consonants, it is also a frequently useful building block for crosswords.

29. Poet with dedication?: ODIST.  One who writes an ode - a lyric poem, usually in an elevated style, in the form of an address to a particular subject.  I suppose some dedicatio is required to achieve this.

30. Military plane acronym: AWACS. Airborn Warning and Control System - designed to detect various kinds of vehicles at long distances and perform command and control functions in a battle engagement.

31. McCain's running mate: PALIN.  'Nuff said.

32. "__, all ye faithful ... ": O COME.  Opening of a famous Christmas carol.

33. Decides not to attend: SKIPS. As a school class or social event.

35. Baseball club: BAT.  The smooth, tapered wooden club used to strike the ball.  An ambiguous clue, since an organized team is also called a club.

36. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist: ORU.  Oral Roberts University, an interdenominational Christian university founded in 1963, and named for its founder.

37. Use an axe on: HEW.  Chop.

42. Test version: BETA. A software version with a limited distribution for testing, prior to public release.

43. London area that includes Canary Wharf: EAST END.  You can read about it here.

44. "Is there another way?": HOW ELSE.  Searching for alternatives.

45. Landed: ALIT.  Descended from above.

50. Itty: EENSY.  Teeny tiny.

52. Answer at the door: IT'S ME.  Truthful, no matter who says it.

53. Pealed: RANG.  Loudly, as in a bell in a bell tower.

54. Scratched (out): EKED.  Got by with difficulty.

55. Pocket bread: PITA.  From the Greek word for a pastry.  In this context, a flat, hollow, unleavened bread that can be split open and filled.

56. Small decorative case: ETUI.  From an Old French word meaning: something shut up, as a prison; then by the 17th century, a small container.

57. Carpentry groove: DADO.  A flat, parallel-sided groove cut into a board so that it may be attached to the edge of another board.

58. Wasn't honest: LIED.  Made an intentionally false and misleading statement.

59. French waters: EAUX. Literal.

60. Stir up: RILE.  Early 19th century variant on ROIL, meaning to aggravate, bother, annoy, or make water muddy by disturbing the sediment.

61. Malamute's burden: SLED.  The malamute is a large domestic dog bred for strength and endurance to haul heavy loads, and therefore dog SLEDS.  It is closely related to the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Husky, but not the Canadian Eskimo dog nor the Greenland dog.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  And true to the theme, every answer was unique.

Cool Regards,
JzB