Sunday December 8, 2013 Jean O'Conor

 Theme: "Drollery" - ERY sound is added to each familiar phrase, resulting spelling changes in a few theme entries.

 23A. Rush hour traffic reporters? : ARTERY CRITICS. Art critics.

 36A. List that includes "full," "round" and "wide"? : LIP GLOSSARY. Lip gloss.

 

 56A. Foes with bows? : ARCHERY ENEMIES. Arch-enemies.

 77A. Reason for a strange smell coming from the trunk of the car? : GROCERY NEGLECT. Gross neglect.

95A. "Chantilly Lace" and "Blue Velvet"? : FINERY TUNES. Fine-tunes.

114A. Group of sweet-talking experts? : FLATTERY PANEL. Flat panel.

3D. Hasty remark? : CURSORY WORD. Curse word.

69D. Food for thought? : BRAIN CELERY. Brain cell.

Two of the theme entries have second word altered. Two of the theme entries are in plural form. So no odd man out in the theme set. Consistency is very important in theme entry selection.

This puzzle only has 138 words. 144 is always the magic number to me.

Across:

1. Tex-Mex casserole : TACO PIE. Has anyone tried Korean taco?

8. Woodworking tool : LATHE

13. Where tie-dyeing may be done : AT CAMP

19. Came to : EQUALED

20. Phylicia of "The Cosby Show" : RASHAD. Won Tony for "A Raisin in the Sun".

21. Muse of comedy : THALIA. We often see her sister ERATO.

22. Foster : NURTURE

25. Confrontation-ending device : TASER

26. What the Tin Man had : NO HEART. He thought he didn't have.

28. Krypton, for one : RARE GAS

29. Like some contracts : ORAL

31. More than cool : RAD

32. Diplomatic office : EMBASSY

34. Like auxiliary vbs. : IRR.  Like "Be", in many languages. Chinese "Be" is the same for  you, I, we, etc. All Chinese verbs are.

39. Hardly rah-rah : TEPID

43. One-named "I Do!" singer named for a Jackson : TOYA. OK, named after La Toya  Jackson.

45. National No Socks Day month : MAY. May 8. New trivia to me.

46. 13 for Al, e.g. : AT NO. Aluminum.

47. Music genre heard in the film "The Big Easy" : ZYDECO

48. Ticket seller's query : HOW MANY

50. Happy : GAY

52. Rival of 56-Down : DDE. 56. Rival of 52-Across : AES. No-clue clues. I like when one of the cross-referenced entries is clued. The other can be "Rival of ? -Across/Down".

54. H.S. offering : DEG

55. Makes up (for) : ATONES

61. Kitchen gadget : CORER

62. Activity center : BEEHIVE

63. Lacquered metalware : TOLE

64. "Then ..." : AND SO

65. Tony's portrayer on "NYPD Blue" : ESAI. Very irrational when it came to his ex-wife.

66. Adjective for a 93-Across : OLDE. And 93. Quaintly named lodging : INNE.

68. Ready to bloom : IN BUD

72. Certain girder : I-BAR

74. More like a mountain road : SNAKIER. And 85. Like a dirt road vis-à-vis pavement : DUSTIER

76. MLB exec Joe : TORRE

81. Commercially, it started in the U.S. around the time of the Boeing 707 launch : JET AGE. Never heard of this term. Are we still in this age?

82. Pal of Harry and Hermione : RON. Just for Jazzbumpa!

83. Second-century date : CLI. 151.

84. NFL scores : TDs

86. Exceedingly : EVER SO

89. Pentagonal plate : HOME. Home plate.

92. Fr. neighbor : BEL (Belgium)

94. "__ the Beat": 1982 hit for The Go-Go's : WE GOT

99. No. after a dot : CTS. Oh, money.

100. Divulged : SPILLED

102. Hockey legend : ORR

103. Love-crazy Le Pew : PEPE

105. Go along with : AGREE TO

108. Make an error on, as a check : MIS-DATE

111. Early 20th-century Oklahoma boom town : TULSA

116. Pittsburgh skyscraper builder : US STEEL

118. Baseball's Posey : BUSTER. 2012 National League  MVP. For our River Doc. Hondo follows the Giants also.

119. Hun king: ATTILA

120. Pension collector : RETIREE

121. Guides : STEERS

122. Nos from Nikita : NYETS

123. Jules Léotard and Amelia Bloomer, for two : EPONYMS. It can refer to people after whom things are named or  things that derived from people.

 

Down:

 

1. It's pitched : TENT

2. Blue shade : AQUA

4. Genre featuring big hats : OATER

5. Deer or elk, sometimes : PLURAL. So irrational. They can be counted, why can't they take plural forms?

6. Court suffix : IER. Courtier.

7. Adam's first home : EDEN

8. Texas border city : LAREDO

9. Hollywood canine : ASTA

10. What's left : THE REST

11. Clinton imitator on "SNL" : HARTMAN (Phil)

12. Big name in ice cream : EDY

13. Gillette razors : ATRAS

14. Dry : THIRSTY

15. Having good night vision : CAT-EYED

16. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G

17. Flaky mineral : MICA

18. Hand at dinner : PASS. Please hand/PASS me the wild rice.

20. 1986 Indy champ : RAHAL (Bobby). I don't follow racing. Is the Letterman/Rahl team good?

24. Supercomputer maker : CRAY. Drew a blank, TTP!

27. Wild revelry : ORGY

30. Depicts in words : LIMNS

33. "Homeland" terrorist Nick : BRODY. JD likes the show. Read more here. Fascinating series.

34. Ivy League city : ITHACA

35. Encourage with cheers : ROOT ON

37. Fork over : PAY

38. Greet with two letters? : SAY HI. Great clue.

40. Cab starter : PEDI. Pedicab.

41. Slush Puppie maker : ICEE

42. Shepherds, perhaps : DOGS

44. Inclined to forget : AMNESIC

47. Greek known for paradoxes : ZENO.  The guy from Elea.

49. Oxygen-dependent organism : AEROBE

50. Stubborn stain : GREASE

51. Sore : ACHING

53. Thwart : DETER

 

57. Called forth : EVOKED

58. Bits of antiquity : RELICS

59. Privileged classes : ELITES

60. "Amahl and the Night Visitors" composer : MENOTTI

62. New Hampshire state mineral : BERYL. Minnesota does not have one. See here. Just learned from D-Otto's comment last week that we don't have State dog either. What's wrong with us? So cold here right now. I thought of Dr. Zhivago & Lara while walking through the thick snow & biting wind last Thursday night to attend a party.

67. Lt. Columbo, e.g. : DET

70. Pressing : URGENT

71. Some farm machinery : DEERES

73. Gas station acronym : ARCO

75. Trim to fit : ALTER

77. Sprouted : GREW

78. Travel randomly : ROVE

79. 10 C-notes : ONE G

80. It's nothing to Nero : NIHIL

81. Cocktail with a sprig of green : JULEP

85. Scout group : DEN

87. Prize ribbon feature : ROSETTE

88. Noted gatekeeper : ST. PETER

90. Almost out of gas : ON EMPTY

91. Try to make peace : MEDIATE

92. Actor Reynolds : BURT. Of course I thought of RYAN first.

95. Señorita's blossom : FLOR (Flower)

96. Alpine tunes : YODELS

97. Merry refrain : TRA LA

98. Gets busy with : SETS TO

101. Anatomical canals : ITERS. Learned from doing xwords.

104. Applied (for) : PUT IN. Tricky clue for me. Tricky tense too.

105. Homes for B-52s, briefly : AFBs

106. Superfluity : GLUT

107. Demolish, in Dorset : RASE

109. Bad mood : SNIT

110. __-et-Loir: French department : EURE. According to Wiki, Eure-et-Loir is named after the Eure and Loir rivers.

112. Come across as : SEEM

113. Many microbrews : ALES

115. TV chef Martin : YAN. He was born in Guangzhou also. The real Cantonese food is very light. Fresh veggie, fresh seafood, lightly steamed or sauteed. Most restaurants have live fish, snakes, etc. You pick what you want, the chef will then cook for you..

117. Pennant race mo. : SEP

Today we celebrate the birthday of Jazzbumpa (Ron),  who always gives us all he has every time he blogs. Click here for more pictures of his talented grandchildren. Amanda the ballet dancer spent a week with the Rockettes this past summer. Nate is a great baseball player.

(Updated later. Click here for 3 updated pictures Ron just sent to me.)
 

Gloria & Ron

In the yard: Gloria, Lauren, Josh, Me, Abby.

Happy 80th Birthday to Misty's husband Rowland as well! Hope it's an extra sweet day for both of you.

C.C.

Friday, August 16, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: Bee all that you can Bee, one clue will do.

Well it is Friday and we are presented with our second consecutive Friday single clue, five theme answer puzzle. This is our 4th puzzle from Ms. O'Conor (Don't you want to get her a second N?) since her first published LAT in January. It is impressive watching new constructors get going once they the first one is in print. Structurally, this is a classic Friday, low blocks and word count, and longer words, as well many new or infrequently used clues. Some of the nice fill that jumped out for me included ONE CARAT,  RED SAUCE, GETS USED TO,  TURKEY TROT; these multiple word answers made the solving a challenge in places, but let us compare our answers.

17A Buzz: BEEHIVE HUM.(10). When I first saw this answer, I thought maybe it was going to have "HO" removed from every clue. Our onomatopoetic fill.

24A Buzz: LATEST RUMOR.(11). Many local news channels call their gossip segment the BUZZ.

33A Buzz: ASTRONAUT ALDRIN.(15). The second man to walk on the moon and the feistiest of all out astronauts. LINK. He is now promoting the colonization of Mars.

46A Buzz: ARMY HAIRCUT. (11). This is my meh  theme clue, as really aren't they really called buzz cuts?

54A Buzz: COFFEE RUSH. (10). I imagine more of us will think of alcohol as the cause of a BUZZ.

Across:

1 Preppy clothing brand: IZOD. Alligators and ex-partner of Lacoste.

5 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year: JETER. He is trying to come back,  but 17 years have passed very quickly.

10 __ club: GLEE. Who would ever believe this would become a hit TV show. Also, a reminder of the price of fame, with the suicide of this young man and the contestant from the Bachelor.

14 It’s frowned upon: NO NO.

15 Slangy event suffix: ORAMA. Saleorama, cyclorama; not one I use or hear anymore, not to be confused with OBAMA.

16 Forever and a day: EONS.

19 Just as it should be: TO A T. One which can be hard to parse, what is a toat, does it rhyme with goat?

20 Patterned cotton cloth: CALICO. With this audience a Tabby would have been more popular.

21 Words said with an eagerly raised hand: ASK ME. I recall more, Me, Me, Me.

22 Three-time Boston Marathon winner Pippig: UTA. A change from  Ms. Hagen. I wonder how many of our New England contingent recall her, and her giving new meaning to the winner trotting HOME.

27 Monopoly player?: CARTEL. This was a struggle because, as intended, all I thought about was the game.

29 __ Palace: CAESARS. My favorite casino. 35 black.

30 Kona cookout: LUAU.

31 Dome cover: TOUPEE. You see so many terrible toppers, are there no mirrors?

39 Some discount stores: K-MARTS. They are closing their stores slowly in Florida.

40 Squeal: TELL. My father was very strict in punishing any one of us who squealed on our brothers.

41 Fixes the weatherproofing on, say: RESEALS.

44 Vicky in the Nixon White House: POODLE. I only recall Checkers, the Cocker Spaniel.

49 Pre-1991 atlas initials: SSR

50 She played Ninotchka: GRETA. Garbo. The movie was pitched because the haughty, aloof actress laughed often in the movie.

51 Moon of Jupiter: EUROPA. One of four big moons, but the astronomers now have counted 67 MOONS

53 Coal-rich valley: SAAR. This is information I learned doing the LAT.

58 Quito questionnaire catchall: OTRO. Other in Spanish. Capital of Ecuador.

59 Treads the boards?: SURFS. This was really tricky, as the phrase is so attached to actors in the theater in my mind.

60 Bounce back: ECHO. How appropriate for an all CLECHO themed puzzle.

61 Thomas who drew Santa: NAST. An extremely influential political cartoonist who did redesign Santa. LESSON.

62 Hush-hush hookup: TRYST. I just love this word, as it makes clandestine romance sound so fun.

63 They hold the answers: KEYS.

Down:

1 Schubert’s unfinished “Symphony No. 8 __ Minor”: IN B.

2 Saldana of recent “Star Trek” films: ZOE. They are making an Avatar 2. She was Uhura in the ST remake.

3 Like some diamonds: ONE CARAT. How big were your engagement rings ladies?

4 Qatar’s capital: DOHA. How cool, a shout out to our Doc.

5 Good-humored: JOVIAL. More Santa?

6 Put up: ERECT. Nope, not going there.

7 Chevy K5 Blazer, since 1995: TAHOE. Do you ever wonder who picks the car names?

8 Swift-running bird: EMU. For all the golfers out there, Tom Morris and his CADDIE.

9 Push firmly: RAM.

10 Learns to cope with: GET'S USED TO. Such an odd string of letters until you break them up.

11 “No hands!” lead-in: LOOK MA. The bicycle ritual.

12 Enthrall: ENAMOR. I am not in love with using an "EN" clue and an "EN" fill.

13 Beer-flavoring compounds: ESTERS. I need one of my brewing boys to write this, but I will let you read this LINK if you are interested.

18 __-et-Vilaine: French department: ILLE. and 37D Misfortunes: ILLS.

21 Tottering: AREEL: An A word!

22 Pac-12 school: UCLA.

23 Cross-shaped letters: TAUS. The Greek T.

25 Rabbits’ tails: SCUTS. A Gareth Bain type of clue; all stubby tails like rabbits and deer are called SCUTS. Also the Santa Clara college Rugby team are known as the SCUTS.

26 Taberna snack: TAPA. Spanish, we have our Taberna here in Hialeah, the word is like our Tavern and if you do not know, TAPAS are like snacks or appetizers.

28 Ragtime round dance: TURKEY TROT. I hope you are up on your dances from the 20's.(2:56).

31 Tibia neighbors: TARSI. The seven bones in the ankle which connect the leg (Tibia) to the foot.

32 Dead to the world: OUT.

34 Home of ConAgra Foods: OMAHA. Another Corner shout out, this time to the golfing legend HG.

35 Simba’s love: NALA. Can you feel the Love TONIGHT? (3:32).

36 Marinara, e.g.: RED SAUCE.

38 Nat or Phil: NLER.

41 Teases relentlessly: RAGS ON. Another tricky multiple word fill.

42 List of slips: ERRATA. Coincidental Steve?

43 Window washer’s concern: SMEARS. I would worry only about the scaffolding and falling.

44 Least spoiled: PUREST. Who among us?

45 Chiwere speaker: OTOE. A new clue for a staple, all perps.

47 Toss back into the hot oil: REFRY. Beans!

48 Perp’s bracelets: CUFFS. The other perp and his handcuffs, if he gets caught.

52 Nursery sch.: PRE-K.

54. Manitoba hrs. CST. Manitoba is just west of Ontario and is in the Central time zone.

55 “__ House”: CSNY hit: OUR. Took me a while to translate Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

56 Reserved: SHY. Yup, me too.

57 5-Down laughs: HOS. Second week in a row for this fill in a Friday puzzle, but I was feeling psychic after my BEEHIVE (HO) HUM thought.

Well we managed another one, and really diverse cluing, not too many proper names, not too many obscurities, but lots of different areas, which should give you all something to talk about and CED plenty of topics for linking. This has been a fun mostly easy week, and I hope you enjoyed this one. Thank you Jean and all of you old and new posters.

Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Doha Doc, originally Vegas Doc who is now in Doha (no easy beer)  for a business assignment. 

Thursday, June 27, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: "Bag it!"

20. *Polite words showing little interest : NOT MY CUP OF TEA. Unless it's Earl Grey. Right, Abejo?

32. *Words often heard after "Welcome" : YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Also, a cute movie starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

41. *Verbal gamesmanship : TALKING TRASH. Sports stars are really good at it.

55. *Metaphorical boundary : LINE IN THE SAND. Here's one.

And the reveal(ers):
59. With 62-Down, certain...and where to find the ends of the answers to the starred clues : IN THE
and
62-Down. See 59-Across : BAG.

The ends of the theme entries could each be found in a bag: TEA BAG, MAIL BAG, TRASH BAG and SAND BAG. Neat!

Across:

1. Worked a wedding, perhaps : DJ'ED. All I could think of was  the "Wedding Crashers."

5. Film on water : SCUM. Had it, took it out, scratched my head, put it back.

9. Worker with a whip : TAMER. Because "trainer" wouldn't fit...

14. Jackknifed, say : DOVE. Anyone else think of tractor-trailer trucks?

15. What you may do when you snooze? : LOSE.

16. Like Silas Marner before finding Eppie : ALONE.

17. Flow slowly : SEEP.

18. Conversant with : UP ON.

19. Cap'ns' underlings : BOS'Ns. Short for "boatswain." He is the senior crewman on deck.

23. Ready to sire : AT STUD. On our tour of the Lippizaner stables, I saw several studs looking like they were ready...

25. Forbid : OUTLAW.

26. Overly : TOO.

27. Be a bad omen : BODE ILL.

31. RB's units : YDS. Running Backs in football are measured by the yards they gain on each play.

35. Chamber opening? : ANTE. Antechamber.

36. Humerous Margaret : CHO. Not a big fan, so I won't give her a link. (It's my write-up, and I can do whatever I want!)

37. Landed : ALIT.

46. Old flier : SST.

49. Enlarge, as a blueprint : RESCALE.

50. Égotiste's pronoun : MOI. French - it's all about "me."

51. Ready for : OPEN TO.

53. City on the Somme : AMIENS. Just north of Paris. Map.

60. Scull crew : OARS.

61. Names : DUBS.

64. Mule and whitetail : DEERS.

65. Balanchine bend : PLIE. George Balanchine is known as "The father of modern ballet."

66. Canon ending? : ICAL. Canonical. I guess non-Mac users wouldn't know that this is Apple's calendar app.

67. Peacock's gait : STRUT. Some women are just soooo hard to impress. 0:55

68. Law firm letterhead abbreviations : ESQS. Esquires.

69. Lines from the heart? : EKGS. Abbr. for Electrokardiogram, the German spelling of the term. Both EKG and ECG are in common use.


Down:

1. Smile specialist's deg. : DDS. Doctor of Dental Surgery.

2. Morning pick-me-up : JOE. Java, mud, battery acid, rocket fuel, mojo, jitter juice, caffeine fix...

3. Smooths : EVENS OUT.

4. Where to get a ticket to ride : DEPOT.

5. "___ Millionaire": 2008 Best Picture : SLUMDOG. Great movie!

6. Column filler : COPY. Not "data," but a newspaper column.

7. Biennial games org. : USOC. United States Olympic Committee.

8. List : MENU.

9. Bulgur salad : TABOULI. Yummm!

10. Up in the rigging : ALOFT.

11. To a large degree : MOSTLY.

12. Ball team, e.g. : ENNEAD. Group of nine.

13. Corrects in wood shop : RESAWS. My motto is always, "Measure twice, cut once." Splynter?

21. ___ top : TUBE. For the guys.

22. Old-time actress Negri : POLA. She lives on in crossword puzzles.

23. "Back ___!": "Same here!" : AT YA.

24. Bugs, for one : TOON. Nice misdirection.

28. Places to tie up : DOCKS.

29. Set of moral principles : ETHIC.

30. "___ roll!" : I'M ON A.

33. Hardly a rookie : VET.

34. "Knots Landing" actress ___ Park Lincoln : LAR. All perps.

38. Certain November also-ran : LAME DUCK.

39. Will occur as planned : IS ON.

40. The one here : THIS.

42. Most pretentious : ARTIEST.

43. Trotsky of Russia : LEON. He once had an affair with artist Frida Kahlo.

44. Ones resting on a bridge : GLASSES. Great clue!

45. Vivaldi motif : TEMA. "Theme," in Italian. I guess I can link his most famous one. 42:00

46. Infants don't eat them : SOLIDS. I had Steaks, then SaLaDS before SOLIDS appeared.

47. Parlor instrument : SPINET.

48. Backpacker, often : TENTER.

52. '60s rockers' jacket style : NEHRU. Popularized by The Monkees and The Beatles, but it was never worn by Nehru!

54. Many a low-budget film : INDIE.

56. Engage in frequent elbow-bending : TOPE.

57. Dutch artist Frans : HALS. One of my favorite Dutch painters. (Other than Rembrandt, of course!)

58. La Salle of "ER" : ERIQ. All perps.

63. Mercedes roadsters : SLs. From the German "Sport Leicht" ("Sport Lightweight"). First used on the Gullwing.

That's it from me for this week!

Hugs,
Marti

Sunday May 5, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: "Hack-er" - ER is hacked from the end of each theme entry.

23A. Oatmeal? : MORNING PAP. Morning paper. Poor Spitzboov! He's having pap every morning.

25A. Smooth con man's tool? : NATURAL FIB. Natural fiber.

34A. Victoria's Secret ad? : UNDERWEAR DRAW. Underwear drawer. Mine are like this. I don't fold them.

47A. New member of the faith shaking things up? : CATALYTIC CONVERT. Catalytic converter. 

61A. Soup kitchen scene? : EVERYONE AND HIS BROTH. Everyone and his brother.

81A. Skewed priority? : DISLOCATED SHOULD. SHOULD is a noun here? Dislocated shoulder.

90A. Foot pain location? : AROUND THE CORN. Around the corner. So, as someone mentioned last Sunday, we have yellow corn, red corn, white corn, CORN is still not plurable?

107A. Edam? : CHEESE BURG. Or STAD. Cheese burger.

109A. Tired of watching "Downton Abbey"? : SERIAL NUMB. Serial number.

Nice title. I think this is Jean O'Conor's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations! 

Two of the Across entries OPERA HOUSE (20A. Venice's La Fenice, for one) and HORSE SENSE (111A. Good thinking) have the same letter count as two of the theme entries. Since neither has ? mark in their clues, so solvers should not mistaken them for theme entries.

When theme entries are all placed in Across, constructors tend to have long Down entries and cap the maximum letter count of their Across non-theme entries to avoid any confusion. Normally they're shorter than the shortest theme entry.

 

Across:

1. Roasting aid : BASTER

7. Monopoly token introduced in 2013 : CAT. Did you nail it, Dave? 70A. Token replaced by 7-Across : IRON

10. Preserve, in a way : SALT

14. Hardly eye-catching : DRAB

18. Fifth-century plunderer : ATTILA. The Hun.

19. Woodcutter Baba : ALI

26. Bridge : SPAN

27. Building sites : LOTS

28. Roman statesman : CATO. "The Censor".

29. Refer (to) : ALLUDE

30. Bit of climbing gear : PIT-ON

32. Words before DVD : OUT ON

33. Celebrity entourages : POSSES

38. People at the supermarket counter? : MAG. People magazine.

39. Fifth of a century : SCORE

40. Fictional barber Sweeney : TODD

41. Leeds leave-taking : CHEERIO

46. "Don't reckon so" : NAW

52. Pisa's river : ARNO

54. Exhilarating : HEADY

55. Makes better : HEALS

56. "You're looking at her" : I'M IT

57. Queen dowager of Jordan : NOOR. What if she remarries?

59. Unstable particle : MUON. PION, KAON, no difference to me.

60. Felicity : BLISS. Oh, I loved Felicity.

68. Jordan's only port : AQABA. Another U-less Q.

69. Award-winning 2012 film thriller : ARGO

71. Hill of "Psych" : DULE. His face looks familiar.

 

72. Tickle : AMUSE

74. One to ten, say : SCALE

77. German one : EINS

84. Soft slip-on : MOC

85. Bee student : SPELLER

86. Wave to from the curb, maybe : HAIL

87. Courtmate of Elena and Ruth : SONIA (Sotomayor). This love letter Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband Marty wrote to him shortly before he died is so moving.

89. Drying-out problem : DTS

94. Café : BISTRO

98. Orly arrival : AVION

99. Subject of the 2008 biography "The Man Who Made Lists" : ROGET

100. Kutcher of "No Strings Attached" : ASHTON

101. Marathon prep run : TEN K

102. "Wuthering Heights" setting : MOOR

104. Befuddled : ASEA

112. Diplomatic VIP : AMB (Ambassador)

113. "Katie" host : COURIC

114. Diamond datum : STAT

115. Stag, e.g. : DEER

116. Spot markers? : X'ES

117. Collectible Fords : EDSELS

Down:

1. Cries from Emeril : BAMS

2. On : ATOP

3. Attach to the luggage rack, say : STRAP DOWN

4. Less resonant : TINNIER

5. Hillary Clinton, e.g. : ELI

6. Dwindled alarmingly : RAN LOW

7. Cook, for one: Abbr. : CAPT. Captain Cook.

8. "Ah, me!" : ALAS

9. Handicapper's help : TIP

10. Beethoven's "Pathétique," e.g. : SONATA

11. "Bridesmaids" co-producer Judd : APATOW. Look at his beautiful family. They're all in "This is 40".

12. Show you know : LET ON

13. 1989-'90 Broadway one-man show : TRU

14. American Girl collection : DOLLS

15. Chaka Khan's original band : RUFUS. Learning moment for me.

16. Remark to the audience : ASIDE

17. Nice infants : BEBEs

21. Wyoming natives : ARAPAHOS

22. Chlorine or fluorine : HALOGEN

24. Used up : GONE

28. Like cottage cheese : CURDY. Never used this word before.

31. III, in modern Rome : TRE

32. "You'd never guess, but ..." : ODDLY

34. Pres. Carter's alma mater : USNA

35. Cape Fear's st. : N. CAR

36. Congratulatory contraction : ATTA (boy/girl)

37. Place for a hog? : ROAD. Oh, road hog.

38. Mid-century year : MCCL. 1250. Non-clue clue to me.
 

42. Archfiend : EVIL ONE

43. Send in : REMIT

44. Gaeilge, to its speakers : IRISH. I only know Gaelic.

45. Baseball's Mel and Ed : OTTS

47. Bok __ : CHOY. The secret to delicious bok choy is the soy sauce, right, Jayce? Has to be the sweet kind.

48. Flying prefix : AERO. 63. Suffix with 48-Down : NAUT

49. Clunk cousin : THUD

50. The "I" in I.M. Pei : IEOH. Totally irrational Cantonese spelling. In Mandarin, Ieoh is spelled as Yu. Pei was born in Guangzhou, where Cantonese is spoken.

51. "Pleeease?" : CAN I

53. Seaman's 12:30 : ONE BELL. For Spitzboov/D-Otto (Shocked at your Chronicle picture. But, what can you do?)

58. "Chopsticks __ fork?" : OR A

59. Phone button letters : MNO. 6.

60. Fella : BRO

61. Provide with gear : EQUIP

62. Triple-meter dance, in Dijon : VALSE. I forgot. We had this before.

64. Language that gave us "clan" : ERSE

65. Like much wine and cheese : AGED

66. Houseplant spot : SILL

67. Raised on a farm : BRED. Hello, PK!

68. Totals : ADDS

72. Flammable solvents : ACETONEs

73. Bar in a brown wrapper : MARS. Dark brown.

74. Snowboarding gold-medalist White : SHAUN
 

75. Bit of change : COIN
 

76. Word sung after midnight : AULD. Was not thinking of New Year's Eve.

78. "Can't really say" : I'M NOT SURE.

79. "The Third Man" genre : NOIR

80. Digitize, in a way : SCAN

82. Antique grayish-pink shade : OLD ROSE. Like the color of these beads.

83. Trembled : SHOOK

87. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEG

88. Father of the river gods : OCEANUS. You'd think it's Poseidon.

90. Reluctant : AVERSE

91. Lookalike : RINGER

92. Enterprise counselor : TROI.  "Star Trek".

93. Ancient odist : HORACE. Roman lyric poet.

94. Baroque musical dynasty : BACHS

95. Has sex appeal : IS HOT. For Splynter.
 

96. He-Man's twin sister : SHE-RA

97. Statistical tool first used to monitor the quality of stout : T-TEST. Well, Lemonade & Abejo & Windhover might know this. I have no idea.

98. Hum __ : A TUNE

102. Cultural idea that may go viral : MEME. DFN (Did Not Finish) is a meme on our blog. Everyone just adopted it in quick fashion.

103. Round bodies : ORBS. Hello, "Round body"!

105. First Best Actor Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL

106. Basics : ABCs

108. Soil holder : BED. Flower bed.

109. Adderley's instrument : SAX

110. City close to Ben-Gurion Airport : LOD

C.C.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: All in a year's work or As ye sow, so shall ye reap.  Five common two-word phrases not specifically with agriculture in common usage, the first word of which is a verb in context, and figuratively an agricultural reference.  In its literal sense, each of these agri-words can be used as either a noun or a verb.  Collectively, they represent phases of the growing season, and a portion of a farmer's labor throughout the year.

 17A. Deal with, as a stack of dull paperwork : PLOW THROUGH  Chug, plug and grind until the task is done.  Then it's Miller time, I suppose.  A plow is an implement for breaking up the soil in preparation for what follows.  As a verb, to plow means to use a plow for its intended purpose.

 24A. Investor's initial support : SEED CAPITAL  The initial funding used to get a new business going.  A seed is a flowering plant's unit of reproduction, or, more formally, "a ripened plant ovule containing an embryo."  As a verb, it means to sow the land by spreading seeds.

 33A. Create an incriminating trail : PLANT EVIDENCE  Place [false?] evidence in a place where it is likely to be found.  A plant, according to the Free Dictionary, is "Any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae characteristically producing embryos, containing chloroplasts, having cellulose cell walls, and lacking the power of locomotion."  Evidently, whoever wrote this definition knows nothing about Triffids.  As a verb, "plant" means to stick on of these organisms in the ground in hopes that  it will grow.

48A. How long to shop, on a spree? : TILL YOU DROP.  I've never understood recreational shopping.

 55A. Autumn lunar phenomenon : HARVEST MOON.  This is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.  These nights it might have romantic implications, but in the not so distant past, farmers took advantage of this bright moon to work long hours bringing in their crops.  The product of this labor is the HARVEST, and as a verb describes this action.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa driving the combine.  This may be the first time we've seen Jean O'Conor in action.  Let's find out what sprouts for us today.

Across:

1. "Now I understand" : GOT YA.  Slang

6. Congressional proceedings airer : C-SPAN.  I have actually watched this.  Once or twice.  For a few minutes.

11. Much-studied flavor enhancer : M S G MonoSodium Glutamate.   Does not taste good by itself, but mixes well with many other flavors if used in small quantities.

14. Wilt : DROOP. Sag, slump.

15. Foodie's words for subtle flavoring : A HINT.  A hint of MSG might be just about right.

16. Pint filler : ALE.  Excellent idea.

19. Rocky prominence : TOR.  Probably of Celtic origin.

20. One may be rolled up : SLEEVE.  Preparatory to getting down to work.  I always think of this guy.

21. Galsworthy's "The Forsyte __" : SAGA.  A series of stories about a new money upper crust extended British family, written between 1906 and 1921.

22. One of a chair pair : ARM.  But only if it's an armchair.  The only other thing I can think of with four legs and two arms is a centaur. They are not compatible with chairs, but can be used for bare back riding.

28. Very disagreeable : BEASTLY.   Brutish, brutal, nasty, unpleasant.  Centaurs might qualify.

30. Singer Björk's birthplace : ICELAND.  Here she is.  I have no idea.  Really.  Can you HARVEST anything from this?

31. Cosby's "I Spy" co-star : CULP.  In over 50 years of TV acting Robert Culp made hundreds of appearances in a variety of different programs.

32. Tour de France stage : ETAPE.  Just plug in the French word for "stage."  I think it means one day of the tour.

39. Bring up : RAISE.  As in children, an issue for discussion or a point of order.

40. Simple beds : COTS.

42. Montana neighbor : ALBERTA. To the north, eh.

45. Defining quality : ESSENCE.

50. AM frequency meas. : KHZ.  KiloHertZ

51. Bidding site : E-BAY.

52. Screwball behavior : ANTICS.  Here is a fine example.

54. Kitty's love in "Exodus" : ARI.  Could he have been portrayed by Sal Mineo?

60. Checker on a board, say : MAN.  Such sexism. Game board pieces are never female.  In chess, even the queen is a man.

61. French clerics : ABBES.  Not to be confused with 21A nor 56D.

62. Duck : ELUDE.  Evade or avoid, not go under.

63. Tallahassee-to-Tampa dir. : SSE. South-southeast.

64. Bank job : HEIST.   Actually, any robbery.  When somebody asked Willy Sutton why he robbed banks, he replied, "Because that's where the money is."  (1:28 at the clip)

65. Flighty : DITSY.  Silly or foolish.  But in tracking it down I learned that there is also a thing called a "ditsy print," evidently meaning small scale scattered multi-directional design motifs.

Down:

1. National econ. yardstick : GDP  Gross Domestic Product.  The total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year.

2. Fla. NBA team : ORL.  The Orlando Magic.

3. Like overly tight clothing : TOO SMALL  But it's still a fashion statement.

4. Cry of pain : YOWL.  I wanted OUCH

5. H.S. exam for college credit : AP TEST Advanced Placement

6. "Wayne's World" co-star : CARVEY.  Dana.

7. Did a smith's work : SHOED a horse

8. More, musically : PIU.   I see PIU mosso on music sometimes.  I means "more movement" = quicker tempo.

9. Filmmaker Lee : ANG.  Do The Right Thing

10. Math degree : NTH.   Clever misdirection.  The Nth degree is some unspecified higher power.

11. "Hakuna __": "The Lion King" song : MATATA.  What, me worry?

12. Maxwell House's "Good to the last drop," e.g. : SLOGAN  Classic commercial.  No extra charge for gratuitous rudeness.

13. Spiro's successor : GERALD.  Vice presidents Agnew and Ford.

18. Obedience school command : HEEL.  Sit. Stay. Sic 'em.

21. "Shh!" : SILENCE.  My dad used to say, "Keep it down to a dull roar."

22. Preschool song opener : A B C [etc]  But it took Big Bird to teach us how to pronounce it.

23. Enlist again : RE-UP.  Typically in the armed forces.

25. Bank lead-in : CITI.  CITIbank is the commercial banking division of CITIgroup, the 3rd largest bank holding company in the U.S.  Probably too big to fail.

26. Military sch. : ACAD.  Academy.  Note abrv in cl & ans.

27. Animated Le Pew : PEPE.  The always amorous skunk.

29. In an economical manner : SPARELY.  If by economical you mean cheap.

32. Celebration before the celebration? : EVE.  Twas the night before  .  .  .

34. Not (a one) : NARY.  .  .  . a creature was stirring.

35. Jackson 5 brother : TITO.  Along with Jackie, Jermain, Marlon, and that other one.  What was his name?

36. Rebekah's eldest : ESAU.  No, that ain't it.  Who saw what ESAU saw?

37. Goes kaput : CONKS OUT.  Stops working, as a machine.

38. Make an engraving : ETCH.  Remember those Engrave-a-sketch toys?

41. "__ who?" : SEZ.  More slang, SEZ I.

42. First-stringers : A TEAMS.

43. Some October babies : LIBRAS.   The 7th sign of the Zodiac, between 180 and 207.25 degrees of celestial longitude, or Sept 23 to Oct 23 on the calendar.

44. He replaced Ken as Barbie's beau from 2004 to 2006 : BLAINE.  But then Barbie and Ken got back together.  And I missed it all.

45. Actor Borgnine : ERNEST.  I remember him from 60's TV.

46. They're often stewed : SOTS.  Drunkards.  Prunes wouldn't fit

47. Was nasty to : SPITED.  Was deliberately hurtful or offensive.

49. Barry and Brubeck : DAVES.  Brubeck just died last month, one day short of 92.  Here is one of his gentler songs.

53. Mid 10th-century year : CMLI.  951.  According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Elfeah, Bishop of Winchester, died on St. Gregory's mass day.

55. "A likely story!" : HAH.  Really, he did.

56. 16th prez : ABE.  Honest!

57. Slugger's stat : RBI.  Runs Batted In.

58. Gorges oneself (on) : O.D.S  OverDoses. Borrowed from medial terminology

59. Napoleonic marshal : NEY (Michel).  I can never remember this guys name.

Well, I'll call this a bountiful harvest, and now I'm gong to call it a night.

Cool Regards!

JzB