Thursday, December 17th 2015 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Read all about it. Names of magazines begin each theme entry clued in a hilarity-ensues fashion.

20. Financial magazine tracking device? : FORTUNE COOKIE. Cookie in the web browser context. For any nerds out there, the original computing cookie actually was called a fortune cookie because it contained an embedded message.

37. Newsstand selling many a human-interest magazine? : PEOPLE MOVER. My local newsstand on Laurel Canyon sells about a million titles. I don't know how the owner keeps track of them all.

44. Keeping cool with a fashion magazine? : ELLE FANNING. Teen actress, and sister of the perhaps better-known Dakota.

59. Rolled-up news magazine drifting at sea? : TIME IN A BOTTLE. This was apparently a Jim Croce hit in 1972. I'm guessing it didn't make the charts in the UK as I'd never heard of it, and listening to it on YouTube I have to confess I don't think I missed much.

Good day, all! Steve here reporting from snowy Denver and feeling glad that I remembered to pack my gloves and scarf. Scraping the snow off the windshield isn't something that I have to do very often in Studio City!

A straightforward enough theme with some Thursday-level cluing misdirection. The middle-top section came last for me due to some biblical name amnesia and aforementioned clue-trickeration.

Let's see what else we can find.

Across:

1. Covenant : BOND

5. Poorest : WORST

10. Eldest son on "Bonanza" : ADAM. "Madam, I'm Adam".

14. Snack choice : OREO. If I had a dollar for every time I've filled this into a grid, I'd have .... a lot of dollars.

15. Eldest son of Cain : ENOCH

16. City ENE of Petaluma : NAPA. It's also WSW of Sacramento and NNE of San Francisco for the direction-trivia fans in our midst.

17. Musically off : FLAT

18. Stage __ : ACTOR

19. A four beats it : TREY. Here's aptly-numbered Trey Burke, Utah Jazz point guard.

23. Earliest stage : ONSET

24. Abbr. on a business card : TEL

25. Family guy : DAD

28. Credit card bill list : DEBTS. Odd clue - I'd say a credit card bill is a list of charges, not debts.

32. Development sites : UTERI. Not a word most people use pretty much - ever.

34. World currency org. : I.M.F. The International Monetary Fund.

40. Spring tide counterpart : NEAP. The spring tide is when there is the greatest distance between low and high tide. The neap tide is when there is the least difference.

42. Pleasant surprise : TREAT

43. Salon option : TINT

47. Wager : LAY

48. Green sauce : PESTO Food! What to make when you've got a shed-load of basil. Traditionally made with pine nuts, but these are so expensive nowadays almonds are often substituted.

49. Horse-drawn wagons : DRAYS. I enjoyed this. I used to live near Young's Brewery in London and they continued to deliver beer to local pubs by dray well into the 1980's. The horses were more economical over short distances than diesel-fueled trucks.

51. Golf bag item : TEE

52. One who helps break the case : RAT

55. Piece between steps : RISER. Do you know your nosings from your stringers? Staircases are fraught with specialist vocabulary.

64. Biblical preposition : UNTO. Topically "Unto us a child is born".

66. Pot boiler : STOVE

67. Camera feature : IRIS

68. Singer Redbone : LEON. Thanks, crosses. I need to "bone" up on my Cyprus-born Canadian/American ragtime/jazz singers.

69. Bygone : OLDEN

70. Au naturel : NUDE. Stop snickering at the back.

71. Deep-six : TOSS. Originally referred to a depth of six fathoms, or 36 feet. It was difficult to recover something from this far below the surface.

72. Dukes and barons : PEERS

73. Proofreading mark : STET

Down:

1. Smashing, in show biz : BOFFO. I love this word, and the various headlines in Variety magazine that spawn some great slang words: "Boffo at the B.O."

2. Synthetic fabric : ORLON. Fill in ON and wait for the crosses.

3. Verges on : NEARS

4. Like staccato notes : DOTTED "Dit dit dit dit dit dit ....."

5. Withdraw by degrees : WEAN. Tricky area for me here today. This and the next four downs caused some slow going.

6. Back in the day : ONCE. I tried "THEN" first, and along with trying OPEC below I was way off base.

7. Drilling gp. : ROTC. Parade ground drilling, not oil wells.

8. Hotfoot it : SCOOT

9. Sharp pang : THROE. Not often felt outside of crosswords. The plural is more likely to be encountered in day-to-day speech, and often misused. You need to be in the middle of something painful or unpleasant to be "in the throes of" that situation.

10. Not backing : ANTI

11. Big risk taker : DAREDEVIL

12. Gorilla, for one : APE

13. Possibly will : MAY

21. The Miners of Conf. USA : U.T.E.P. Nailed it! University of Texas at El Paso.

22. "Project Runway" host : KLUM. I know of Heidi, I don't know the show. A friend of mine occasionally provides security for her in Los Angeles, and describes her as completely down-to-earth and a pleasure to work for.

26. Sports spot : ARENA

27. Unscrupulous : DIRTY

29. __ blocker : BETA. Commonly taken to alleviate high blood pressure caused by misuse of the word "throes".

30. In a quandary : TORN

31. Lay out : SPEND

33. Preschooler : TOT

34. All thumbs : INEPT. There is no good reason that I can find why "ept" is not a word meaning "capable".

35. Fracas : MELEE

36. Some doo-wop voices : FALSETTOS. High ones.

38. Bestial hideaway : LAIR

39. Mount near Catania : ETNA. I didn't know where Catania was, but it didn't stop me from filling this in without a thought.

41. Like a preferred theory : PET

45. Diving judge's concern : FORM

46. Sandwich with tzatziki sauce : GYRO. Yum! Here-o, jeer-o, jire-o, whatever you like to call it.

50. Peaceful protests : SIT-INS

53. Notable author of animal tales : AESOP

54. Proof of ownership : TITLE

56. Walk like Jagger : STRUT. A little late in the expo for a music link, but I couldn't resist this one. Here's Maroon 5 and Christine Aguilera. Check out the interview clips with a very young Mick. If you're a Stones fan like me, be sure to look out for the documentary "Crossfire Hurricane" if you ever see it pop up on your TV listings.

57. Skip over, in speech : ELIDE

58. Pedometer button : RESET

60. Physics particles : IONS

61. Point of connection : NODE

62. State categorically : AVER

63. Uncle __ : BEN'S. I buy my rice in 10lb sacks from the Asian markets for about the same price as an 8oz box of the supermarket brands.

64. Final: Abbr. : ULT

65. Prefix with con : NEO. Although usually used to refer to a neo-conservative, the word actually is a trademark of the group who organizes an annual commercial interior design exposition. Who knew?

That's about it from me. Heading back to the warmer climes of SoCal after my brief dose of a Colorado winter. See you all next week!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

I'd like to introduce you to Adopt an Inmate, a cause Melissa has been championing the past two years. Read that article in Melissa's blog post. I can't tell you what a caring and inspiring sister Melissa is.

Wednesday, July 15th 2015 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Smells Like Teen Spirit

16A. Very best 64-Across? : TOP SECRET

23A. 64-Across that lasts forever? : LIFETIME BAN

37A. Receive one's 64-Across shipment? : GET THE AXE

56A. Last of a trio of 64-Across units? : THIRD DEGREE

64A. Theme of this puzzle : DEODORANT and a great excuse to kick the day off with some Nirvana.


Morning all! A fresh-scented foursome from Jeff today - a straightforward theme that I don't think needs any more explanation from me, so let's get straight into the rest of it.

Across:

1. Resort near Arapaho National Forest : VAIL. Not exactly a fill-in for the first entry, I had to wait for one cross - the "V" gave it away when I looked downwards.

5. __ cracker : SODA. RICE went in, RICE came out.

9. Feature of some hammers : CLAW. PEEN went in, PEEN came out. I started out with the crossword equivalent of the Hokey-Pokey.

13. Gun shop buy : AMMO

14. Valuable rocks : ORES

15. Appreciative cry : BRAVO

18. Like some casks : OAKEN. What's the difference between an oak cask and an oaken one? The latter sounds more archaic to me.

19. All worked up : IRATE

20. Go later than planned : RUN OVER. When meetings I'm in do this and I've got a plane to catch I get antsy. Today's meeting in Miami would have to seriously run late, I don't fly back to LA until Friday.

22. Trig. function : COS. We had a book of tables for stuff like this back in the good old days when I was at school. The book was handy for writing cheat notes in the back.

27. Sancho's "steed" : ASS. Don Quixote's sidekick. I dug around a little, but didn't find a name for Panza's ride. Any ideas anyone?

28. Weekly NBC offering : SNL

29. Recede : EBB

30. Movie director's challenge : EGO. I have a friend who is a movie director and he never has anything but good things to say about his stars. He's very modest, maybe his lack of ego rubs off on the cast.

31. Winter air : NOEL. A Christmas Carol. My sister was named "Carol" as she was born close to Christmas. She hated the name and changed it at the first opportunity she had.

33. Try a little of : SIP

35. Words to a waiter : ORDER

41. Reward for bravery : MEDAL

44. Devil : IMP

45. Battery unit : VOLT. I don't understand electricity. Friends think I'm joking when I plead complete ignorance about the whole process, but I've honestly never "got" it. Watts, Amps, Volts - no clue.

49. GI's break : R'N'R. Rest and Recuperation.

50. It has a small charge : ION. More of that electrical magic trickery.

53. Doctrine : ISM. Webster's Dictionary defines this as a word in its own right, not simply a suffix.

55. Seating designation : ROW. Window Seat A, Row 7 for me on the flight  out. Same seat on the way home.

59. Lyrical before : ERE

60. One using a bypass, maybe : AVOIDER

61. Bobby who "thumbed a diesel down," in a 1971 #1 hit : MCGEE

63. Result of a leadoff walk : ONE ON. Baseball reference. I'm now educated enough about the game that I can understand that there can be no other result from walking the leadoff batter.

67. Sailing through : ACING

68. Croquet surface : LAWN

69. Cinq et six : ONZE.  Mathématiques en français.

70. Jeweler Lalique : RENE. The James Oviatt building in downtown Los Angeles built in 1928 features a lobby with glass panels, glass elevator doors and a clock made by Lalique. Quite stunning

71. Peak near Messina : ETNA.

72. Knocker's target? : WOOD

Down:

1. Swiss Guard's station, with "the" : VATICAN. The Pope's ceremonial bodyguard.

2. Lovingly, in music : AMOROSO. I'm not sure how you'd interpret this musical direction. Swooningly? Bawling your eyes out because you've been dumped by your paramour? Tongue-tied like a teenager?

3. Standoff : IMPASSE

4. Didn't finish on top : LOST.

5. Humanities maj. : SOC. Sociology, I'm guessing.

6. Defenseman Bobby with many trophies : ORR. I can now confidently type "Boston Bruin Hockey Legend" without fact-checking due to encountering this gentleman in many crossword puzzles.

7. Mower maker : DEERE. I never think of this name without the preceding "John".

8. Not easily misled : ASTUTE

9. Have a jones for : CRAVE

10. Wet floor? : LAKE BED. Quite a few of the lake beds in California are dry floors now as a result of the drought.

11. Typical : AVERAGE

12. Finished on top : WON. Partner of 4D. It's not a clecho - it's more a clopposite.

15. Shouldered music source : BOOM BOX. It's been a while since I've seen or heard one of these things, thank heavens.

17. Sushi fish : EELS. All the fish I can think of off the top of my head aren't pluralized with an "S". Salmon, trout, pike, tuna ....

21. Highlighter tip : NIB

24. Research ctr. : INST. Here's the august Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

25. Move like a monarch : FLIT. Butterfly-like motion.

26. Hide-hair link : NOR

32. Airport on Flushing Bay, in itineraries : LGA. La Guardia in New York City. I think the United terminal has the worst food and refreshment choices of any airport I've ever been to.

34. Letter after upsilon : PHI. Learning the Greek alphabet is on my list of things to do. It's not very far up the list I confess, but I'll get to it sometime.

36. Sun. speaker : REV. Hopefully the sermon doesn't go on too long.

38. Saying "somethin'," say : ELIDING. Nice clue.

39. Kuwaiti ruler : EMIR

40. Church area : APSE

41. "I pity the fool" speaker : MR T. Originally his character Clubby Lang referring to Rocky Balboa in the movie "Rocky 3", later the title of his own reality show.

42. Upgrade : ENHANCE

43. Classic A&W restaurant : DRIVE-IN. Dating from 1920's California.

46. Marjoram kin : OREGANO. Marjoram is a little sweeter with a milder flavor.

47. Actor Lamas-Craig : LORENZO. Thank you, crosses. A famous daytime soap actor, apparently.

48. Contacted one's followers, nowadays : TWEETED. I have a Twitter account, but I've no idea why, I've never sent a single tweet.

51. Kooky : ODD

52. Speedometer part : NEEDLE. Fast enough for ya?

54. Staff note : MEMO

57. TV exec Arledge : ROONE. Thank you, crosses. ABC Sports and ABC News head who created "Monday Night Football", amongst other programming.

58. Extraordinary : GREAT

62. Brag : CROW

63. Dinghy propeller : OAR

65. Possess : OWN

66. Some trial evidence : DNA

That about wraps it up for today, so here's the grid!


Steve

Wednesday June 10, 2015 Jeff Stillman

Theme: WINGSPANS (56. Plane measures ... and, literally, what can be seen in the answers to starred clues) - WING spans across and bookends each theme answer.

18. *Health and prosperity : WELL-BEING

29. *It might require treatment with an EpiPen : WASP STING

36. *Dramatic way to go out : WITH A BANG

46. *Fabergé item auctioned for $9.6 million in 2002 : WINTER EGG

Boomer here.  I have been busy bowling, with little time to complete crosswords, although I occasionally expound cross words at those ten pins.  No 300 games this past season; only a 299 and 297 to brag about, but I did qualify for the National Senior Games in the bowling division coming to Minnesota in July.  The National Senior Games is a multi-sport competition for people over 50 years of age and is set up like the Olympic games.  I am having trouble buying in to all the hype but looking forward to the competition. 

On to the puzzle.  I noticed wings in a few answers, but could not see the centerfielder of the Washington Nationals anywhere.

Across:

1. Pundit's piece : OP-ED

5. Schoolmarmish : PRIM - a PROPER response

9. Something to draw before bedtime : BATH. Does one need a paper and crayon to "DRAW" a bath?

13. Skedaddles : FLEES

15. Four-ring-logo company : AUDI - So, is a three ring car called a "CIRCUS"?

16. Mélange : OLIO

17. Many a Wilde play : FARCE - Not a nice thing to say about Oscar.

20. Sparkly accessory : TIARA - A crowning clue.

22. Toughens : INURES

23. Pour like crazy : TEEM. Rain hard.

24. Glimmers : SHINES - They have glimmering shoe stands in Las Vegas.

27. Miss identification : NEE - A miss does not need a "nee" until she is married.

31. Skinny swimmers : EELS - Also a great golfer Mr. E.Els

32. Loophole : OUT - My clue would have been a pop up or strike three.

33. Wolverine portrayer Jackman : HUGH

34. Most reasonable : SANEST

38. Novelist Graham : GREENE

41. Homer's son : BART - What would a puzzle be without a Simpson?

42. Route word : VIA

45. Realizes : NETS - Found at both ends of a basketball court.

48. Manipulate : USE

49. Serious depression : CRATER - I might have clued "A view of the moon"

51. Cubemaster Rubik : ERNO

52. Exploratory spacecraft : PROBES

54. Make rhapsodic : ELATE

59. Word before box or card : IDIOT - I guess you have to be one to figure out this clue.

61. List catchall : ET AL - "How much breakfast did you have this morning, Caesar?

62. Slender wind : OBOE

63. Seamless transition : SEGUE - How do you spell the one that Paul Blart rode?

64. Remove from a manuscript : DELE - My spell check says this is not a word.

65. Road runner : TIRE - How about a coyote nemesis? beep beep!

66. Parks on a bus : ROSA

Down:

1. Hiker's spray brand : OFF - I think Cutter works better but it didn't fit the grid.

2. Flat highland : PLATEAU

3. Most spine-tingling : EERIEST

4. Put out the fire, pack up the tent, etc. : DECAMP - Rosemary's surname

5. Offer from Rover : PAW

6. Line on a Québec map : RUE - Did not get this one.  Why not Golden Girl McClanahan

7. Waiting at a light, perhaps : IDLING - I'll bet the U.S. wastes millions of gallons of gas per day doing this.

8. Eeyore creator : MILNE

9. Dutch South African : BOER

10. Property recipient, in law : ALIENEE

11. Adds holiday glitter to : TINSELS - Remember the old heavy stuff?  Then you are probably as old as I am.

12. Hardly a sharer : HOG - Also a Washington NFL football player of old.

14. Msg. from the pulpit : SER - I don't care for abbreviations

19. Clear tables : BUS - Why not just call it a Greyhound and leave the clueing to us.

21. Quick on the uptake : ASTUTE

23. Tango need : TWO

25. __ school : HIGH - How about "result of marijuana?"  Legal in several states.

26. Occupy : INHABIT

28. Ballpark fig. : EST - I don't care for abbrev.

30. Climb, in a way : SHIN - Come on, it's the front of an ankle!

31. Subj. including grammar : ENG - I don. care for ABB.

34. 1964 Nobel Prize decliner : SARTRE

35. Kitty starter : ANTE - It's a pot starter - cats have nothing to do with it.

36. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" director Anderson : WES

37. Destructive agent : BANE

38. Serengeti grazer : GNU - I never gnu that.

39. Time to catch one's breath : RESPITE

40. Neverending : ETERNAL

42. Reeling feeling : VERTIGO - I gnu this one

43. Like volcanic rock : IGNEOUS

44. Gone by : AGO

46. Sushi bar condiment : WASABI - This is strong stuff.  You need it to kill the raw fish taste.

47. Study hall occupant, often : READER - Or the guy who checks your meter.

49. "Blue Bloods" network : CBS - Also frequently on WGN

50. Transplant to a new container : RE-POT

53. Look up and down : OGLE

55. Fleur-de-__ : LIS

56. Get hitched : WED

57. Neither partner : NOR

58. Understand : SEE

60. It may be iced : TEA

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

1) Jazzbumpa (Ron) was scheduled to blog today, but his mom suffered a stroke on June 2. She's 94 years old, so Ron is quite worried about her future.

2) Spitzboov (Al) had an ambulatory surgery yesterday to repair an umbilical hernia.

Let's beam positive thoughts to them.

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Soupçons and Smidgeons, or five featured fractions!

17A. Abe's youngest son : TAD LINCOLN. The presidents have been getting a crossword work-out over the last couple of days or so. "Tad" was Abe's nickname for his son - he was "wiggly as a tadpole" as a baby.

25A. Exhortation from Santa, in Moore's poem : DASH AWAY ALL. Clement Clarke Moore's father was the Bishop of New York, and officiated at the inauguration of George Washington. More presidential trivia!

38A. Halls product : COUGH DROP.  I needed these last week, I get the mentholyptus variety.

54A. Late-inning substitute : PINCH HITTER. Tinbeni's our resident pinch-hitting specialist.

63A. Gets the unspoken message ... which includes one of five synonyms found in this puzzle's longest answers : TAKES A HINT. I rather like how the "hint" entry is literally a hint.

Today's Wednesday Workout courtesy of Jeff Stillman. A neat enough theme, and plenty of nice fill to enjoy along the way.

Let's get to the rest ...

Across:

1. Recitals showing promise : OATHS. I enjoy how "swearing an oath" can be a good or a bad thing, depending on context and circumstance.

6. A way off : AFAR

10. Big name in PCs : ACER. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these - I confess I thought the company was long-defunct.

14. Braid : PLAIT

15. Where to get a bite on the street : CAFE. One of the great pleasures in life is people-watching from a table at a Parisian pavement café over a cup of coffee.

16. Clue weapon : ROPE. I tried "PIPE" first, that didn't work out so well.

19. Friend on "Friends" : ROSS

20. West Point newbie : PLEBE

21. Latin phrase usually shortened : ET ALIA

23. Old hand : PRO

28. Wrestling maneuver : HOLD

30. Term of respect : SIR. Especially when a wrestler has got you in a full-nelson and is trying to dislocate both your shoulders.

31. "Liar!" in a playground : IS NOT

32. Nerdy types : DWEEBS

35. Target : GOAL

37. Shipping wts. : TNS. I'm guessing this refers to the tonnage of the vessel, not the cargo, but I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

41. NCR product : ATM. Does anyone else make them? NCR are certainly the crossword-friendliest.

44. Reed in a hall : OBOE. We seem to have seen a lot of oboes recently.

45. Stable rides for kids : TRIKES. Fun rides for adult too.

49. Whodunit surprise : TWIST. I spell "dunnit" with a double-n. It reads like "who dune-it" to me when the "n" is singled.

51. Org. with Eagles : B.S.A. Boy Scouts of America have Eagle Scouts. It took a moment for the penny to drop here - when I see "BSA" I think motorcycles, and when I see "Eagles" I think NFL.

53. Coin with 12 stars on its reverse side : EURO. The stars are often erroneously thought to represent the number of countries in the European Community or the members of the Eurozone - they don't.

58. Like some grins : WRY

59. Crate up : ENCASE. Ready for weighing and shipping per 37A.

60. Organisms of a region : BIOTA. A learning moment for me. I'll add it to my lexicon.

62. Not fer : AGIN

68. 53-Across fraction : CENT

69. Maui music makers : UKES. The crossword orchestra comprises ukes and oboes accompanying diva arias.

70. Lingerie fabric : SATIN

71. Envelope-pushing : EDGY

72. Huff and puff : PANT

73. Bard's "between" : TWIXT. Juliet: "Give me some present counsel, or, behold, 'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife"

Down:

1. Go (for) : OPT

2. __ française : A LA. I was surprised when I learned that "Service à la française" in a restaurant means that all the courses are served at once, rather than one at a time. "Service à la russe"describes the serial method. Who knew that Russia created this concept?  Not me.

3. Pond juvenile : TADPOLE. Wow, this is very close to breaking one of the cardinal rules of not duplicating an answer in a puzzle, especially as it crosses "TAD", which, as we've learned, was derived from TADPOLE. Maybe this was done intentionally but I'm a little uncomfortable with it. What do you all think?

4. "This Kiss" singer Faith : HILL

5. Kept in a pen : STIED

6. Tap into : ACCESS

7. __ Schwarz : FAO. Frederick August Otto founded the store in Baltimore.

8. CIO partner : AFL. Not CIO in the top-banana geek sense of the word. The Congress of Industrial Organizations.

9. Keep up on the issues? : RENEW

10. Neat arrangements : ARRAYS

11. Nuclear reactor need : COOLANT. I'm a little sketchy on the physics involved, but given a cocktail of carbon rods, enriched uranium and water, I'm voting for plenty of water.

12. Delta-zeta connection : EPSILON. The "Alphabet Song" is a little different in Greek. Or E-Z-er?

13. Seasons a bit more : RE-SALTS. My "Oh no, really?" of the day. You don't "re-salt" an under-seasoned dish, you add more salt. Straw poll - have you ever asked anyone to re-salt something? I've asked for salt, I've mentioned that a dish needs more salt, I've wondered if I've under-seasoned something - but- re-salt? Maybe a frozen road needs to be re-salted. Best I can come up with.

18. Pistons' org. : NBA. Detroit hoopsters.

22. Worker who gives people fits? : TAILOR

23. Honorary deg., perhaps : PH.D. Shaquille O'Neal earned his the hard way. That's a big gown.

24. Fracas : ROW

26. Uppermost : HIGHEST

27. Three-time MLB home run king : A-ROD. He gave what seemed to be a genuine apology yesterday regarding his suspension for PED usage.

29. Advent mo. : DEC

33. Voting enclosures : BOOTHS

34. Deli order : SUB

36. Word with modern or cave : ART

39. Mongolian expanse : GOBI

40. Key lime __ : PIE. Could this fill be anything else?

41. Free from strife : AT PEACE

42. Hurt suddenly, as a muscle : TWINGED

43. Preparing garlic, in a way : MINCING. I wallop my garlic cloves on the chopping board with the side of a chef's knife. It peels and minces them all in one go, and is thoroughly satisfying.

46. Persian Gulf native : KUWAITI

47. Make a faux pas : ERR

48. Traditional Asian sauce base : SOY.

50. Like a string bikini : SCANTY. Scanty bikinis and satin lingerie in the same puzzle? How salacious!

52. If all goes according to plan : AT BEST

55. Hopping mad : HET UP

56. Frozen Wasser : EIS. Just right to drop in your schnapps. Look away, Tinbeni

57. Holiday entrée : ROAST. Not just for holidays in my native UK. The Sunday roast was a traditional highlight of the week's meals.

61. Turn to slush : THAW

64. Letters in a police record : A.K.A. I was originally "also known as" "Stephen", my given name. My mother always refused to take a phone call asking for "Steve".

65. Novelist Kesey : KEN

66. Eighty-six : NIX

67. Explosive stuff : TNT. Boom! Trinitritoluene. Here's the recipe:

And with that I'm done! Here's the grid, with "TAD" causing me problems:

Steve

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Dark Matters - or who turned the light out?

17A. Rooftop energy generators : SOLAR PANELS. If there's one part of the country where it should be a no-brainer installing these it's where I live, Southern California.

27A. Removable denture : PARTIAL PLATE. You probably don't want to go and Google the images of one of these.

43A. Apollo 11 achievement : LUNAR LANDING. This was the first time that BBC Television broadcast live at night in the UK, so huge excitement for us kids. It was about 4AM GMT that Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder.

58A. Eidetic memory : TOTAL RECALL. A phrase-learning moment for me. Eidetic: "relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and detail, as if actually visible.". I'd resolve to use it in a sentence today but that's probably going to be a bit of a stretch.

35D. 17-, 27-, 43- and 58-Across begin with types of them : ECLIPSES

Oh wait - wrong kinds of Eclipse!

There, that's better.

Morning all - Steve here, with the pleasure of introducing Jeff's own "Game of Shadows". It took me a little longer than usual - I had to leave the NW corner alone and go back to it at the end. The "1919" reference at 1A had me thinking of the World Series scandal for some reason and it took every cross to stop me trying to shoehorn (!) "Shoeless Joe" in there somehow. Eventually sanity prevailed, but it wasn't an eidetic moment.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Subject of a historic 1919 sports deal, with "The" : BABE. The beginning of "The Curse" for the Red Sox.

5. Type of large TV : PLASMA. It's funny how quickly "hot" technology is superseded these days. Panasonic are closing their last plasma TV production facility this year.

11. Pre-LCD screen : CRT. Coincidence? It's LCD technology that's putting plasma out to grass.

14. Enthusiastic : AVID. TV tech mini-theme. Avid is also one of the world's leading manufacturers of TV post-production editing equipment.

15. Virgil epic : AENEID. Nailed it!

16. Informal greeting : HEY

19. Hieroglyphics snake : ASP. New-to-me clue which is much fresher than the "Nile biter" of yore.

20. Standard deviation symbol : SIGMA. Had to dig into my statistics class memory for this one.

21. Picked-up pickup, perhaps : REPO. Crosses filled this, I didn't see the cute clue until just now.

22. On the level : TRUE

23. Keats' "__ to a Nightingale" : ODE. The nightingale's song is a lovely part of the dawn chorus

24. Hopper : BIN

26. Markets : SELLS

31. Marseille menu : CARTE. Food! You'll find bouillabaisse on a Marseille menu. Now there's a handy crossword word, no?

33. College Football Playoff gp. : NCAA. We've seen a lot of this recently. It is a darn handy abbreviation though.

34. Image on a 42-Down, briefly : TAT. "If you're getting one, I'll get a tat too".

35. TV hillbilly __ May Clampett : ELLY. Thank you crosses. Before my (USA) time.

36. Looks toward : FACES

38. Opening night nightmares : PANS. Not bouillabaisse cook pots? Darn!

39. Lovey-dovey murmur : COO

40. Surrounding glow : AURA. The corona around a full solar eclipse could be described as an aura.

41. Peter or Paul : SAINT

46. Latin clarifier : ID EST. i.e. an additional explanation.

47. Fearful squeal : EEK

48. Dr.'s group : A.M.A. American Medical Association.

51. Medium rare : PINK. Food! You order a steak medium-rare, you order your lamb pink. Why? Because! If you're in Marseille you'd call it "à point". If you want to get thrown out of the restaurant and chased down the street by the chef brandishing a sharp knife, you'd order it well-done ("bien cuit") and then ask for ketchup.

52. Farrier's file : RASP

55. Restrict : LIMIT

57. Witness : SEE

60. Kin of -trix : ESS. I was trying to think of how to explain this to a family audience and decided I can't. So I'm left with "Dominatrix Goddess" which I think sums it up rather nicely.

61. Geometric figure with equal angles : ISOGON. I think I learned this today. I don't think I ever knew there was a word to describe a regular polygon beyond an equilateral triangle.

62. Sicilian rumbler : ETNA

63. AL and MO : STS. I've visited the fine states of both Missouri and Alabama.

64. Tropical fruit : PAPAYA. Food! I like Jeff's puzzles.

65. Peters out : DIES

Down:

1. Opera villain, often : BASSO. If he's deeply villainous, is he a basso profondo?

2. Skirt : AVOID

3. Poppycock : BILGE

4. Dutch export : EDAM. And a mighty fine export it is.

5. Mushy food : PAP. Aaaw, burst my Food! bubble. I put POI first.

6. Absorbed, as lessons : LEARNT. I think this is much more elegant than LEARNED, in a similar way that I prefer DREAMT to DREAMED.

7. Ill-fated Boleyn : ANNE

8. Ooze : SEEP

9. "Bloom County" reporter : MILO

10. They often adorn city buses : ADS

11. Fraud : CHARLATAN. Great word.

12. Consequential : RESULTANT

13. Prepares for printing : TYPESETS. Does anyone actually typeset any more with the disappearance of hot metal, or is the process of computer-based layout design still called typesetting?

18. Morocco's capital : RABAT. A short ocean voyage through the Straits of Gibraltar and a scenic cruise off the south-east coast of Spain and before you know it you'll be waving at Les Marseillaises eating bouillabaisse.

22. __ Aviv : TEL. At the opposite end of the Mediterranean from Marseille.

25. Filled with rage : IREFUL. Hmmm. Not convinced about this one.

26. Relaxing getaway : SPA

27. Get too personal : PRY

28. Peruvian of yore : INCAN

29. Big shot in the sky : ACE.  A fighter ace, like this one:

30. Glasgow gal : LASSIE

31. Least fair, in a way : CLOUDIEST. Weather-related.

32. State of seclusion : ALONENESS. Had ANONYMITY first, which fit with the A**N* that was already there.

37. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA. Parseghian has a star cluster named after him? Awesome! Go Irish! :)

38. Oinker : PIG

40. Museum filler : ART. I think the artists might be miffed to discover their masterworks are mere "filler".

42. Common 34-Across site : ANKLE

44. Query : ASK

45. Position strategically : DEPLOY

48. Cremona craftsman : AMATI. One day, I'm going to be able to unerringly fill this one in without waiting for perps, nor wondering if I'm confusing it with that darn bell town.

49. "Now We Are Six" author : MILNE. I will never forgive Disney for what they did to A.A.Milne's wonderful prose and verse and E.H.Shepard's whimsical illustrations.

50. Geography volume : ATLAS

52. Santa __: Sonoma County seat : ROSA. I'm heading up north for a few days of food and wine tasting at the Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival of Harvest in Santa Ynez this weekend. Food! Wine! Yay!

53. At the apex of : ATOP

54. The "Star Wars" films, e.g. : SAGA

56. Like most cupcakes : ICED. Tinbeni - call it "frosting" and you'll be fine

58. Helpful hint : TIP

59. Messenger __ : RNA

That's me done - hope you enjoyed the puzzle as much as I did. See you all next time!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Jayce, whose presence here on the blog is a huge comfort to me. Jayce speaks Mandarin Chinese and is married to a lovely lady from Hong Kong where Cantonese is spoken. 

Jayce is super observant and caring. His comment yesterday "You, Ron, great job again!" is a good example. Ron likes to write "I, Ron" when he sees IRON in a puzzle.

Click here for a few more photos of Jayce and his wife, both serious foodies like our Steve. Something is going on in Marseille :-)

Wedding Day

Friday, September 12, 2014, Jeff Stillman

Theme: Define this...how to build a puzzle.

A return to a variation of the definition puzzle, where one phrase is used as the clue for all theme answers and evokes varied fill but a punny second half is added to each clue to get the same fill but with different meaning. Each fill is a two word description of work on a house which might be on a blueprint, as well as a phrase clued with wit.  The really challenging part of the theme is the resulting different meanings of the words in the fill. I will let Splynter, our resident builder, discuss the various work involved in each construction creation. Once again, beyond the entertaining theme, the fill is mostly 3,4 or 5 letter words, leaving a non-Friday feel to the puzzle. We do have NEGATED,  PARAGON,  STIRRED, DES MOINES,  SERENADER to ponder on and much fun misdirection to ratchet the difficulty to a Friday level, so let us see what you all think of the latest from Jeff, adding to my string of Jeff(rey) puzzles to blog. JS has been appearing every month this summer. Very music intensive day, I hope there is something for everyone.

17A. Blueprint spec ... or, allowable hours for hound sounds? : BAY WINDOWS (10). The window of opportunity for the doggies to howl at the moon. 

24A. Blueprint spec ... or, job fit for a king's silversmith? : CROWN MOLDING (12). Molding a crown from silver is very different from the work of a mill worker.

48A. Blueprint spec ... or a '60s-'70s rock group conceding a poker hand? : FOLDING DOORS (12). We introduce the ill fated musicians who give up their hands in a card game, becoming a fancy way in and out.

58A. Blueprint spec ... or an MGM heartthrob's cousin from the Netherlands? : DUTCH GABLE (10). Poor Clark probably did not have any cousins in Amsterdam.

Across:

1. Short pants? : GASPS. I like a Friday starting with misdirection as long as it is not too obscure. This one popped immediately for me.

6. Boston or Chicago : BAND. Sure CITY may fit, but it is Friday; which do you like better?
BOSTON. (4:18)      CHICAGO. (7:24).

10. Sound of relief : PHEW. Finally, a direct clue.

14. Mendelssohn's Opus 20, e.g. : OCTET. This was written when he was 16! Be warned this is a 35 minute concert.

15. One-on-one sport : EPEE. Is Epee the sport or an event of the sport of fencing?

16. Con artist, for one : LIAR. Whatever happened to Jim Carrey and his career?

19. Naysayer : ANTI.

20. LeBron's Miami uniform number : SIX. This was how many championships he promised the city.

21. Mr. __!: old whodunit game : REE. I never played this one, only Clue,  but the name of this one is fun. LINK.

22. Initial : MAIDEN. Tricky, but fair; we had a Maiden solo publication this week for constructor Steve, so awesome. My favorite MAIDEN. 4:22.

27. The __, Netherlands : HAGUE. I just drafted a contract with a provision for dispute resolution by this BODY.

30. Regular TV show : SERIES.

31. Bestows : AWARDS.

33. __ splicing : GENE. Wire fits also.

34. "Top Gear" airer : BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation.

37. Gets ready for lunch, maybe : ZAPS. Ah, the handy microwave. My Thai friend calls it the 'wave.'

38. Scrub : ERASE. This was not an easy one for me, I needed perps to see where it was going.

40. "__ We Are": Estefan hit : HERE.

41. Look over : EYE.

42. "How now? __?": Hamlet, before mistakenly slaying Polonius : A RAT.

43. __ column : SPINAL. Doric and Ionic and Corinthian did not work.

45. Used a plane on : EVENED. Smoothed?

47. Useful quality : ASSET.

52. Tater Tots maker : ORE-IDA. Last week it was the ONEIDA tribe; you can see the choices constructors must make.

53. __ fault : TO A. A partial?

54. Words of agreement : I AM. A partial?

57. Improvisational style : SCAT. Listen to one of the BEST.(3:54).

62. Manuscript encl. : SASE. Self Addressed Stamped Envelope.

63. Shell competitor : ESSO. Standard Oil, now I remember.

64. Soul singer Adams : OLETA. More MUSIC. (3:53).

65. Begun: Abbr. : ESTD. Established.

66. Study, say : ROOM. The noun, not the verb.

67. Name on a Yorba Linda library : NIXON. Some HISTORY. I am looking forward to the PBS series about the Roosevelts.

Down:

1. Slew : GOBS. We are not killing, but have lots of them.

2. Berry rich in antioxidants : ACAI. They have gobs of anti-oxidants.

3. "Come Sail Away" band : STYX.

4. Service station? : PEW. Alliteration and misdirection, what makes Fridays so much fun.

5. Inflamed : STIRRED. 50 shades of grey? Gaga's current hair color?

6. Moistens, in a way : BEDEWS. Sounds like a word from a romance novel.

7. GI's mail drop : APO. Army Post Office.

8. Unfamiliar : NEW.

9. "State Fair" setting : DES MOINES. Filmed at least 4 times, this is from 1962. (1:33).

10. Crisscross patterns : PLAIDS.

11. Rajah's tongue : HINDI.

12. Downed : EATEN. Hmm, mine are more often drunk.

13. Twist and compress : WRING.

18. Revival prefix : NEO.

23. Sheltered, nautically : ALEE.

24. Contemptible ones : CURS. Good alliteration, but why?

25. Ruled out : NEGATED.

26. GI chow : MRES. Meals Ready to Eat. Another non-existent plural.

27. Cloud : HAZE. Makes sense if you think of your brain.

28. Out of town : AWAY.

29. Yawn : GAPE.

32. One who might play under a balcony : SERENADER. Romeo, wherefore art thou?

34. Uncle __ : BEN'S. I used to use their 90 second jasmine rice all the time.

35. "Up hill, down __ ...": Burns : BRAE. Not familiar with the POEM.

36. Bird was one, briefly : CELT. The briefly here is especially tricky because it suggests an abbreviation, and Larry was a Celtic fro many years.

39. Took its toll? : RANG. Last week knelled, this week tolled. Fun Friday cluing.

40. Kettle emission : HISS.

42. Ardent : AVID.

44. Ideal : PARAGON. Of virtue, of course.

45. Ready to be printed : EDITED.

46. Many a late '90s startup : DOT COM.

48. "Pippin" Tony winner : FOSSE. SING and DANCE. (7:26)

49. Ocean predators : ORCAS.

50. Numerical extreme : LEAST.

51. Circus sound : OOH.Ahh, I guessed correctly.

54. Goat with Iberian and Siberian species : IBEX.

55. Like some saxes : ALTO. Battle of the SAXES? (3:54).

56. Inconsequential : MEAN. Not familiar with that meaning of mean. I know it can signify cheap...

59. GI show gp. : USO. United Service Organizations Inc.

60. General on a takeout menu : TSO.

61. Will Smith title role : ALI. Muhammad Ali. Fine movie, interesting man. Ali appeared in a puzzle Jeff did last year where I AM was part of the theme.

Well, here we are again, finished with another Friday work out.  A nice tight theme and some expert cluing left me happy, now if I could only sing. I guess I am music intensive because, if you are in Denver tonight you can hear my son sing at Tennyson's Tap with the band Hangman's Hymnal. Lemonade out, but first- once again great job Steve.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our Steve, who's traveling on the road. Might be in Dearborn now. When was this photo taken, Steve? Did Herbalife sponsor your run or something?

Wednesday, August 6, 2014 Jeff Stillman

 Theme: OUT OF THIS WORLD.   The unifier says it all.  55 A. What 20-, 33- and 40-Across begin with : NASA PROGRAMS.  Since 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been responsible for the civilian space program, as well as for aeronautics and aerospace research.

20. Car that replaced the Marquis : MERCURY SABLE.  The Mercury Marquis was produced from 1967 to 1986.  The SABLE ran from 1986 to 2005, then reappeared in the '08 and '09 model years as the rebranded Montego.  NASA's MERCURY program ran from 1959 - 63, playing catch up after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, and went on to put Yuri Gagarin in orbit in April, 1961, 9 months ahead of John Glenn, thus beating NASA in this leg of the space race.

33. 1981 Moody Blues hit : GEMINI DREAM.

Project GEMINI included 10 manned flights in 1965 and '66, with the goal of developing space travel techniques to be used in the APOLLO program.

40. Rocky Balboa foe who became his friend : APOLLO CREED.  This character is loosely based on Muhammad Ali, fought Rockey in the first two movies, and didn't become his friend until the third.

The APOLLO project ran from 1961 through '72, and included 6 moon landings.  The first of these was APOLLO 11.  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility and walked on the lunar surface, while Michael Collins remained in orbit.  They returned with 47.7 pounds of samples.

This theme demands a theme song -- so, obviously:

Hi gang.  JzB here, flying rather high at the moment.  Let's launch into today's puzzle and see if we can soar.

Across

1. Cropped up : AROSE.  Figurative, not a launch.

6. "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar" folksinger : BAEZ.   Album title, not a song.

10. Alpine transport : T-BAR. Ski lift.  T or J - always need a perp.

14. Tester of Job's faith : SATAN.  That snake!

15. Uma's role in "The Producers" : ULLA.   Ulla Inga Hansen-Bensen-Yanson-Tallen-Hallen-Svaden-Swanson Bloom shows up to audition, long before Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom are ready to start casting.  By the end of the show, she and Leo run off to Rio and marry.

16. Spa amenity : ROBE.  So you needn't be naked.

17. Agreements from the pews : AMENS. 

18. Isl. of Australia : TASMania.   N.B. Abrvs

19. Class struggle? : EXAM.   Clever clue.  School test, not social strife.

23. Approves, in a way : INITIALS.   Brief sign-off on some activity.

24. Like a lummox : OAFISH.   Clumsy blunderer.  Don't be that guy.

28. Six-legged scurrier : ANT.   Not at a picnic today.

29. Moderately slow, in music : ANDANTE.

30. Bit of work : ERG. Mechanical work is the application of a force to move an object of some mass through some distance.  The erg is a tiny unit, one ten millionth of a Joule.  One of my profs jokingly defined it as the work done by one fly doing one push up.

36. Irritate but good : RILE.  When I RILEd my father, it was not good.

38. Guggenheim display : ART.  The museum, of course.

39. Carpal or tarsal starter : META.  METAcarpals are the bones in the hand, METAtarsals are the bones in the foot.

45. Animal house : DEN.   Would you see a movie called "DEN?"

46. Boardwalk locale : SEASIDE.  I was expecting something more specific, but ATLANTIC CITY doesn't fit.

47. Roy G __: rainbow mnemonic : BIV.   Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

49. Thing : ENTITY.  Straightforward synonyms.

50. Brown and Green, e.g. : SURNAMES.  True, but MEH!

57. One for the road : AUTO.  Of course, an auto travels on the road, so - for obvious reasons - this is not a libation.   Clever clue.

60. Solo, in a way : STAG.  As in going to an event unescorted.  After a brief episode, perhaps.

61. "Middlemarch" novelist : ELIOT.   Not T. S., but George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans.  Seems to have had a bit of an identity crisis.

62. Industry big shot : CZAR. More often a government agency big shot, but OK.

63. Fish-eating flier : ERNE.  The venerable sea eagle

64. __-car : RENT-A.  Transportation for hire, that you have to drive.

65. Where the River Liffey flows : EIRE.  Or Erin.  always need perps

66. Shaggy Tibetans : YAKS.  Long-haired central Asian herding bovids. The vast majority are domesticated.  The wild ones are at risk.

67. Herd member : STEER.  A bull calf that has been neutered.  In two to three years it grows to an ox.

Down

1. "Ditto" : AS AM I. Or, colloquially, "ME TOO!"

2. Japanese bowlful : RAMEN.  Noodles

3. Cheri of comedy : OTERI.  Best known perhaps for her time on Saturday Night Live in the late 90's, but also a veteran of many movies.

With her friend, Ginger

4. Inviolable havens : SANCTA.  Plural of SANCTUM, a private or holy place. The Free Dictionary approves of this usage.

5. Sequentially following : ENSUING.  like night and day. 

6. Rubber used in inner tubes : BUTYL. A copolymer of mostly butylene with a small amount of isoprene.  It is impermeable to air, and non-resilient.  It is also the base for most chewing gum. 

7. "There was __, they ca'd her Meg": Burns : A LASS.  Love forlorn, alas.

  There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg,
            And she held o'er the moors to spin;
    There was a lad that follow'd her,
            They ca'd him Duncan Davison.
    The moor was driegh, and Meg was skiegh,
             Her favour Duncan could na win;
    For wi' the roke she wad him knock.
            And ay she shook the temper-pin.

8. Movie lioness : ELSA.  Not Nala.

9. Big name on the ice : ZAMBONI.  The machine that resurfaces the rink between periods of hockey games.

10. Pre-Christmas destination for many : TREE FARM.  For the traditionalists.

11. Jack's hiding place : BOX.   Until you get him cranked up.

12. Court org. :  A B A.  American Bar Association. Law, not tennis

13. "Man on the Moon" band : R E M.  Very apropos selection by the band  from Athens, GA.

21. Give stars to : RATE.  Like restaurants and movies.

22. Cheryl of "Charlie's Angels" : LADD.   This LADD is a LASS.

Impishly Angelic

25. "__ a drink!" : I NEED.  Thirsty.

26. 52-Down, for one : STATE.  Of the Union, and the ENSUING but non-seqential

52.   Kennebunkport locale : MAINE.  City and State

27. Macho dude : HE MAN.   Why is there no corresponding SHE WOMAN?

29. Pre-deal payment : ANTE.  For a poker game, not a business arrangement.  Clever clue.

30. Take off the DVR : ERASE.  Remove from the Digital Video Recorder.

31. Go from green to red, perhaps : RIPEN.  As fruit.  But, in the case of  blackberries, when they're red, they're green. I am not making this up.

32. Rub it in : GLOAT.   Being a bad winner. 

34. Nutmeg spice : MACE. Inside the fruit of the nutmeg tree is the seed, which is partially covered with a lacy red aril.  When dried and  ground, the aril is the spice MACE.  The seed is the spice nutmeg, also usually used in ground form.

35. Like some vbs. : IRRegular.  A verb whose conjugation does not follow the typical patterns of the language is irregular.

37. "Hamlet" castle : ELSINORE.  Helsingør is a real place, on the northeast coast of the island of Zeeland in the east of Denmark.

41. "Kiss Me Deadly" rocker Ford : LITA.  From 1988, her most successful song.  As far as I know, it has nothing to do with the noir movie drama of the same name from 1955.

42. Homeric journey : ODYSSEY.   The epic 10-year-long journey of Odysseus [Ulysses to the Romans] returning home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, attributed to Homer, ca. 8th century B. C.

43. River through Spain : EBRO.  It flows from the north-east to the southwest, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

44. Round-trippers : DINGERS.  Baseball slang for home runs.

48. Shakespearean attendant : VARLET.  A man or boy acting as a attendant or servant.  I thought it was the guy who parked your car.

50. Hit the bottom of : SPANK.  A form of corporal punishment in which the buttocks of the penitent are truck, typically with the open hand.

51. Hard-to-ignore impulses : URGES.  If not controlled, can lead to SPANKing.

53. Chew the scenery : EMOTE. Overact, ham it up.

54. Red giant : S STAR.  Stars are categorized by their spectral characteristics.  The S class displays spectral bands from zirconium oxide, among other elements.

56. Gillette brand : ATRA.  Men's razor.

57. Blackjack 11-pointer : ACE.  Can be high for 11 points, or low for 1, at the player's discretion.  Face cards are 10 each.

58. Israeli weapon : UZI.  An open-bolt submachine gun, originally designed by Major Uziel Gal in the late 40's.

59. Pit goo : TAR.  Reference is to the tar pits of La Brea, CA.    I'll stoke some controversy by contending that La Brea Tar Pit is not redundant because La Brea is a place name, while a tar pit is a thing.

It's been a great week so far.  Today, I blogged this out of this world puzzle by Jeff, yesterday we saw my collaboration with C.C, Monday was Gloria's birthday, and on Sunday, I did this.  Not a perfect performance, I warbled a few notes, but I'm pleased with it.

Cool regards!

JzB