Friday, April 29, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Cereal killer on the loose...

Wow! Three JW puzzles in succession and each one a completely different look. Today is totally silly, taking a single letter out of a cereal name to create a very foolish sounding concoction. If he had some deep meaning for the theme I missed it. I found this just plain fun. Lots of substantial and original fill with some Friday words interspersed and his usual multiple word fill. PARFAIT,  ON A RIDE,  LAVORIS,  FLORIST,  I'LL HIDE,  CLEANER, SETTERS, TRADE IN,  PLANARIA, DERRIERE,  INCHOATE,  ROPE KNOT, ON RECEIPT and  ARTICHOKE are all great. So get your milk, and pull up a chair.

18A. Knockoff cereal? : FROSTED FLAKES (12). They're grrrreat.

28A. Cold cereal? : PUFFED RICE (9). Tasted like air.

37A. Recalled cereal? : FROOT LOOPS (9). Pure sugar.

48A. Prohibited cereal? : RAISIN BRAN (9). The healthy alternative.

57A. Mystery cereal? : SHREDDED WHEAT (12). The classic.

Across:

1. Did a gondolier's job : POLED. Venice (Vennis) anyone?

6. Wedding planner's contact : FLORIST. I loved our wedding flowers.

13. Like antique watches : ANALOG. Not digital.

15. Freshwater flatworms : PLANARIA.  Ucky but interesting to study WORMS.

16. Hiker's challenge : RAVINE. A deep narrow steep-sided valley, esp one formed by the action of running water.

17. Caboose : DERRIERE. Not of the train, but of the body. French.

20. Swift's medium : AIR. Tom Swift?

21. Runner in the Alps : SKI. Nice misdirection.

22. Expire : CEASE.

26. "And if __, no soul shall pity me": King Richard III : I DIE. They did not pity RIII even after Shakespeare tried to help. RGIII anyone?

32. Charged wheels : TESLAS. Electric cars.

35. With 24-Down, course for future pundits : POLI. 24D. See 35-Across : SCI. Political Science.

36. Hägar creator Browne : DIK.

40. "Get off the stage!" : BOO. Hiss.

43. Corrida figure : TORO. The bull.

44. Philosophers' subject : ETHICS.

51. "Ex's & Oh's" singer King : ELLE.

52. MetLife competitor : AFLAC. Insurance companies.

53. Span of note : ERA.

56. Court mulligan : LET. The odd tennis do over on your first serve.

62. Disorganized : INCHOATE. Really more unformed than disorganized, especially in the law.

65. Emmy-winning role for Julia : ELAINE Benes.

66. Mooring hitch, for one : ROPE KNOT. As opposed to a rope loop?

67. More thoughtful : KINDER.

68. Deal on a lot : TRADE IN.

69. Round components, maybe : BEERS. Whew, half done, let me get this round.

Down:

1. Baskin-Robbins offering : PARFAIT. I never knew they had these.

2. Enjoying the amusement park : ON A RIDE.

3. Brand that's swirled, not swallowed : LAVORIS. From my childhood; kids in school drank it for the alcohol content. Scope really derailed this brand, I think.

4. Eero Saarinen and others : ELIS. More references to Yale University; he graduated from their school of architecture in 1934.

5. They're forbidden : DON'TS.

6. Little nipper : FLEA. Too many choices.

7. Frolic : LARK.

8. How some deliveries are paid : ON RECEIPT. COD?

9. Brought up : RAISED.

10. Choler : IRE.

11. Mr. Bumble, to Oliver Twist : SIR.

12. __ Bo : TAE.

14. "The Big Bang Theory" figure : GEEK. Rhymes with 25D. "That's scary!" : EEK. 54D. Be offensive, in a way : REEK. Did you watch GOT and the REEK?

15. Freebie from Adobe : PDF. Portable Document Format.

19. Go down : DIP. Love these two together.

23. Prop up : AID.

27. Middle-earth figure : ELF.

29. __ point: with limitations : UP TO A. A partial?

30. Rock's __ Fighters : FOO. When Cobain died, his drummer founded THEM.

31. Penguin's perch : FLOE. Sorry Tin, but it is ice.

33. Edible thistle : ARTICHOKE. Man there is so much more to this thistle (say that fast) than just using it as part of a dip. It has HEART. We miss you marti.

34. "Just another minute" : SOON.

38. Spheroid : ORB. JW tends to bunch his threes to get long fill in the other direction.

39. Ewe or sow : SHE.

40. It may be wired : BRA.

41. Boor : OAF.

42. Peanut product : OIL.

45. Offer to a potential seeker : I'LL HIDE. I did love hide and seek in the back yard.

46. Dry __ : CLEANER.

47. English and Irish : SETTERS.

49. Like some beauty contest winners : SASHED. JW used this image recently.

50. Neighbor of Homer : NED. Flanders on the Simpsons.

55. Response to a heckler : AD LIB.

58. Indian royal : RANI.

59. "The most private of private schools," to Hugh Laurie : ETON.

60. Rizzoli of "Rizzoli & Isles": Abbr. : DETective.

61. Decrease : WANE.

62. NYC subway : IRT.  Interborough Rapid Transit was a private company until bought by the city in 1940.

63. "__ will I" : NOR. Talk about your obscure clue/fill combos. Am I missing a famous quote?

64. IRS employee : CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

Back from a wonderful brief vacation in Denver with both sons, dil and granddaughters. This lighthearted effort is just what I needed coming back on short rest. I hope you had fun and enjoy the rest of April. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great photos from Lemonade's Denver trip.

My day started with this

Friday, April 22, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: You begin please,  Auntie Em.

JW our resident Friday wizard of puz is here with back to back puzzles. Today he presents us with a vertical challenge in which EM is added to four 2 word phrases, changing the meaning and clued for whimsy. Each theme answer and the reveal are in Down answers. Overall I found this easier once I gave in to the theme existing only in the Downs. The two symmetrical grid spanners surround two 12 letter fill with a 9 letter reveal which mirrors 1 down.  This tantalized me for a bit with the ME therein thinking maybe there was going to a reverse fill of some sort. But it made no sense, so I moved on knowing it was not part of the theme.

The grid is an unusual one, and checking the NYT database (I do not know of one for the LAT) it is unique. The double sevens bracketing the 15 letter theme fill and triple sixes under a seven in the SW and NE corners with a bunch of stacked three letter fill. The longer non-theme fill is typical JW with many multiple words. IN A CAGE,  ESCORTS,  UP TO NOW,  SCENE VI, GROANER, STORMED IN. HOME ALONE. EURO COINS.  Okay off we go....

3D. Lining with raised decorations? : EMBOSSING AROUND (15). My least favorite, while the underlying phrase is fun (bossing around) and embossing is a fine transformation, I do not get lining or AROUND.

6D. Mideast leader's personal CPA? : EMIRS AUDITOR (12). This however is very cute and the IRS auditor goes to work in Saudi Arabia.

22D. Snoopy starting a trip? : EMBARKING DOG (12). Simple and sweet.

11D. Insurance for royalty? : EMPRESS COVERAGE (15). Press coverage is a basketball term that may not be familiar to all, but the perps were very fair.

36D. Robber's demand ... or what to do to solve four long puzzle answers? : STICK 'EM UP(9). Again, with all the three letter fill this overall was not hard.

I also want you to watch for classic clues/fill from the Greek/Roman world.

Across:

1. "For __ had eyes, and chose me": Othello : SHE. Sweet Desdemona begins our Friday journey.

4. Utterly failed at : BLEW. A somewhat modern usage.

8. With great urgency : DIRELY. The dire wolves are back Sunday!

14. Gobbler : TOM. What cool trivia; I learned from the interweb only the adult male turkey makes the gobble, gobble sound. The adult male is called the "tom" turkey. The female or hen turkey makes a gentle clucking or clicking sound. The hen never gobbles.

15. Blue-skinned deity : RAMA. Interesting HISTORY. But why  BLUE? Worth a read.

16. Ferrous sulfate target : ANEMIA. A form of iron used for iron deficiency anemia.

17. Fed. financial agency : OMB. Office of Management and Budget works for the President.

18. "Metamorphoses" poet : OVID. I studied this WORK in Latin, a very influential piece.

19. How pooches' smooches are delivered : DAMPLY. Cute especially if you like dogs and have been slobbered.

20. Model T contemporary : REO. Named after Mr. Olds. Then, 33D. Bygone small car : GEO.

21. "The Iliad" subject : WAR.We also have this important Greek TOME.

22. Goes with : ESCORTS. No DF here.

23. Ancient theater props : MASKS. More from the Classics.

25. Added result : SUM.

27. Bellicose deity : ARES. More from the classics. Ares is the Greek god of war, one of the Twelve Olympian gods and the son of Zeus and Hera.

28. Pitcher of milk? : ELSIE. For Borden.

29. It may include a model, briefly : APB. All Points Bulletin. Presumably a make and model of car.

30. Pumped item : GAS.

31. "Now!" : DO IT.

32. Storm consequence : OUTAGE. Power, phone and cable.

34. French possessive pronoun : SES. In French this to me is outright wrong; ses is a possessive adjective that must be attached to a noun. The possessive pronouns in French are like 45D. Yuma : Yours :: Toulouse : à ___ : TOI. In English the pronouns and the adjectives are the same word. Of course this is all from memory from 55 years ago, so Kazie, C. C. tell me if I am wrong...the adjectives.

my                   mon     ma mes
your                 ton       ta         tes
his, her, its son      sa         ses
our                 notre    notre nos
your               votre    votre vos
their                 leur     leur leurs

37. Priceline options : INNS. They hired Shatner back.

38. Have a special place for : ADORE.

39. __ work: menial labor : SCUT. This comes either from the Irish word for meaningless or maybe the medical profession.

40. Batt. terminal : NEGative.

41. Plastered : STINKO.

42. Amos with eight Grammy nominations : TORI.

43. "Castle" producer : ABC. About to be cancelled.

46. Ruination : HAVOC. It is listed as a synonym but not my first thought.

47. __-dieu : PRIE.

48. Take responsibility for : OWN. Another modern usage, I guess from the old saying own up to.

49. Hair care brand since 1930 : BRECK. You remember this Breck girl?

50. Pun, sometimes : GROANER.

52. Motor Trend's 1968 Car of the Year : GTO. By Pontiac. My brother's was blue.

54. Eggs on toast, perhaps : ROE. Fish eggs, silly. Oh, you were not...

55. Diverted : AMUSED.

56. Dutch export : EDAM. Cheese again.

57. Desired result : AIM.

58. Swiss city, to most locals : GENEVE. Geneva to the rest of us.

59. The Taj Mahal, e.g. : TOMB. It is a mausoleum with a specific tomb as its inspiration, I think. LINK.

60. African bovine : GNU. Bearded....

61. Turns out to be : ENDS IN. This was really a struggle.

62. Elements in vital statistics : AGES.

63. Dubious communication method : ESP.

Down:

1. Entered angrily : STORMED IN.

2. Huge holiday film : HOME ALONE. Where are you Macaulay? This is more than 25 years old.

4. Window-shop : BROWSE.

5. Kilauea sight : LAVA.

7. Singles group, e.g.? : WAD.  Funny, especially with other meanings aside from  "a large amount of paper money, usually in a wallet or pants pocket. Sometimes referred to as "a wad of dough.'"

8. June honorees : DADS.

9. Visiting the vet, maybe : IN A CAGE.

10. Suckerfish : REMORA. These hitchhikers....

12. Light melodies : LILTS.

13. Appreciative shouts : YAYS.

24. They encourage modeling : KITS.

26. As yet : UP TO NOW.

32. Word with meal or cake : OAT.

35. Change overseas, maybe : EURO COINS. They introduced a new one last week. LINK.

39. George Clooney, for one : STAR.

41. When in Act I Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle : SCENE VI. Double Shakespeare this week.

44. Slants : BIASES.

46. Cold War threats : H BOMBS.

47. Spin docs : P R MEN.

50. "Eleni" author Nicholas : GAGE.

51. Perfect place : EDEN. If you like gardens.

53. Not that exciting : TAME.

56. H-like letter : ETA. The seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, only the capital looks like ( Η, η).

Eta is an anagram of eat: i will be eating well this week end at the annual seder that begins the Passover holiday with my family all in attendance. Meanwhile, I hope you ate up JW's latest, which included no yeast so it is kosher for Passover. Until next time, Lemonade out.

Friday, April 15, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Where R you?

JW is back in my backyard with a truly ambitious effort, built around a simple theme...take the letter "R" out of a word in a phrase and clue with hilarity. Package this in a 68 word grid with all kinds of fun fill. Quad sixes in the NW and SE Corners mixed in with double 7s over grid spanning theme fill make for a really cool puzzle. Locating two sixteen letter phrases that become  funny phrases when you remove an R is an amazing find.  Only one R per phrase, and all are removed.The 6-7-8 fill include some wonderful stuff like CABANA, AVOCET,  REVERE,  CREDOS,  DEMEAN,  MY DUST, BAD LEAD,  ADAGIOS,  TAVERNA,  ON A AND E,  CHAUCER,  NELLIES,  TIE GAME, TRIES IT and  ASSAYER. As always, some of his choices are two or more words.  Let's get 'er done.

17A. Oath sworn in a kosher kitchen? : ABOVE ALL DO NO HARM (15). Some Greek, as this hearkens to the Hippocratic Oath for Physicians but it is a popular misconception that the phrase "do no harm" is a part of the oath. Jews do not eat pork products so "do no ham" is true. The rumor about WalMart advertising is not, it was a Greenwich Village deli.

27A. Double-dealing in Delhi? : INDIAN CORN (9). I am sure there are con men in India as well. The corn was a colorful part of childhood.

32A. Cutthroat entrepreneur? : BUSINESS CARD (11). How many of you keep anyone's business cards anymore? CAD is such an old fashioned word.

38A. Demand from a Stooge fan? : SHOW ME MORE (9). A wonderful CSO to our Chairman.

54A. "Stir-frying is an option, too"? : I COULD USE THE WORK (15). Another delightful phrase emerged. We do not own a wok.

The final element of the skill JW has, is the placement of the R that is removed, as each one is in the last word of the phrase, and is the third letter in a four letter word. HAM, CON, CAD, MOE and WOK make such an appealing set of three letter words.

Across:

1. Not as available : SCARCER. Not the easiest for 1A, but fair.

8. Red herring, to a cop : BAD LEAD. Police depend on leads from the public in many investigations, enhanced in modern days by all the cameras.

15. Athens eatery : TAVERNA. I love me a good Greek TAVERNA especially the tzatziki, spanakopita and souvlaki.

16. Where to view "Duck Dynasty" : ON A AND E. This has an attractive letter string but is hardly fair as the network always uses the ampersand. Do you think puzzles should include ampersands?

19. Hightailed it : RACED.

20. Le Mans law : LOI. A French word for Law.

21. Great Plains tribe : OSAGE. One of the Native American tribes loved by CW puzzlemakers.

22. 9-Down opener : ENERO. Spanish for January

23. '50s pres. candidate : AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson. ran agains DDE twice.

25. Long of "Third Watch" : NIA. This actress has WORKED.  She is on the left.

26. New Year's Eve get-togethers? : DATES. Meh.

30. "A symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal": Steinbeck : WAR. The LINK.

31. Old knives : SNEES. We have this 5 or 6 times a year.

36. Pool option : CRAWL. Back again, a stroke popular in swimming.

37. Six-time '70s Dodger All-Star : CEY. Ron, the Penguin, was part of a great Dodger infield, and then lead the Cubs to a rare NL championship series appearance.

40. Unyielding : SOLID. When an irresistible force...














45. Lobbying gp. : PAC.

46. Neighbor of Turk. : SYRia.

47. Place to play : ARENA. Hence this GAME .

48. Riches : LUCRE. Often called filthy...

51. Deg. for drillers : DDS. Doctor of Dental Science.

53. Unyielding : STERN. Often not irresistible

57. Nervous __ : NELLIES. Comes from the description of anxious race horses.

58. No-win situation : TIE GAME.

59. Doesn't back away : TRIES IT. Vague Friday cluing, but doable.

60. Gold rush figure : ASSAYER. Very important for they told you if you really found the gold.

Down:

1. Was googly-eyed : STARED. This and scarcer were a hard beginning for me. I think of this as what Kanye looks like when he sees Kim's booty...

2. Place to bring a suit : CABANA. Bathing suit; a gimme for a Floridian.

3. Wading bird : AVOCET. Pretty BIRD.

4. Put on a pedestal : REVERE. more Kanye and Kim?

5. Beliefs : CREDOS. From the Latin.

6. "Bambi" doe : ENA. Spoiler alert, she is in the sequel.

7. Award-winning political cartoonist Ted : RALL. No clue. he apparently won a Pulitzer, but he is hard to link in a non-political blog.









8. Word with able or full : BODIED. Sailor? Wine? Kim?

9. Munich : Jahr :: Madrid : __ : ANO: Fort Lauderdale: YEAR,

10. "Hawaii Five-O" nickname : DANO.

11. Landlocked Asian nation : LAOS. I think it is the only four letter one; all I can think of are Mongolia and Kazakhstan which may only exist in Ali G's mind.

12. Heightened : ENHANCED.  Ribbed for her pleasure?

13. Slow movements : ADAGIOS. We have lots of musical clues and many musicians as constructors and solvers.

14. Insult : DEMEAN. I didn't mean to demean.

18. Some bank files : LOAN RECORDS. I prefer Loretta's records.

24. 1980 Oscar winner who portrayed Loretta : SISSY. Spacek who also was the original Carrie. She did all of her own singing in the movie.

27. Actor McKellen : IAN. So many great roles.

28. Mandela's org. : ANC. African National Congress.

29. Exhibition funding gp. : NEA. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Yes another mistake on my part filled in NEA and never read the clue. Thanks anon. I liked seeing it with ENA, btw.

30. Trickery : WILES. Generally related to feminine.

32. Cabbage family member : BROCCOLI. A nephew I think.

33. Detroit labor org. : UAW. United Auto Workers.

34. Letters in personal columns : SWM. Single White Male, or perhaps swimmer who does the front crawl in his freestyle event.

35. Get : SEE. ironically perfect for a puzzle.

36. First poet interred in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner : CHAUCER.

38. Immobilize, in a way : SPLINT.

39. Something to eat in a Western? : MY DUST. While I ride off into the sunset.

40. Miss America contestants' array : SASHES.






41. Salsa brand : ORTEGA.

42. Room to maneuver : LEEWAY.

43. Where to emulate the natives : IN ROME, do as the Romans do; pinch.

44. More unpleasantly moist : DANKER.

49. Dominate : RULE.

50. Some Ivy Leaguers : ELIS. Yale gets more love than all the rest combined.

52. Words with limit or trap : SET A. Is this a dreaded partial?

55. Agnus __ : DEI.

56. It's in many poems : 'TIS. The anagrammatic reference even dupes the '. For both Will S., JW and I, let's end with ....Sonnet 110.

"Alas, 'tis true I have gone here and there

And made myself a motley to the view..."

Happy April 15, you have until Monday to file your taxes. Really enjoyed this one as much as I have any of JW's efforts. Lemonade out.

Friday, April 1, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: An ENIGMA wrapped in a mystery hidden in a puzzle.

Appropriate for our 2016 April Fool's Day offering, JW gives us the letters of the word ENIGMA scrambled and hidden in known phrases. He accomplishes this with a 15x16 grid to allow for three (3) grid spanning 16 letter theme answers. He finishes with a sophisticated reveal, 60A. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : ENIGMA VARIATIONS (16). The renowned British COMPOSER based his variations on his family and friends.

The bigger grid allows for some nice non-theme long fill like GO CARTS,  TREKKIE, TRADED AT, THIS IS HE,  HORN SOLO,  HAM ON RYE,  GET A CASE,  PRETENSE, WAR GAMES,  and STAY HERE. I guess I am getting used to his puzzles because this took me about 4 minutes to solve, I hope you had fun. Let's look it over....

17A. Reprimand to one not picking up : YOU'RE MAKING A MESS (16). Straight cluing for the phrases hiding the ENIGMA.


22A. Rail transport landmark : STEAM ENGINE (11). Fulton?

39A. Minuteman, e.g. : LONG RANGE MISSILE (16).

49A. "How surprising!" : IMAGINE THAT (11).
and the aforementioned reveal:
60A. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : ENIGMA VARIATIONS (16).

Across:

1. Pâtisserie cake : GATEAU. A term used in Britain for cake as well.

7. Sold for, as a stock : TRADED AT. Each stock transaction has a buyer and a seller, hence the concept of trade - money for shares.

15. Derby racers : GO CARTS. Well nit parade ahead...I think this refers to the soapbox derby, but the TERM is spelled wrong, sort of.

16. Taps, essentially : HORN SOLO. Man, I see a crossword theme here...HORN/HAN; JW?

19. Pound denizen : MUTT.

20. Biblical birthright seller : ESAU. Poor man was tricked.

21. Oldest of the gods, in Plato's "Symposium" : EROS. This is said by Phaedrus; not my area of expertise but this SUMMARY might help.

26. At a minimum : NO LESS. You will give me your attention, I will accept no less.

27. Swimmer's option : CRAWL. Also known as freestyle. Other choices are back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly.

32. Invite : ASK.

35. Game winner : OOO. If you are playing tic-tac-toe.

36. Lunch order : HAM ON RYE. JW really loves multi-word fill.

42. Smoke and mirrors : PRETENSE. make believe.

43. "The Soul of a Butterfly" memoirist : ALI. Laila's daddy.

44. Essen article : DER.

45. Concluded, with "up" : SEWED.

46. First 12 children of Gaia and Uranus : TITANS. Can you name them?

54. Light, colorwise : PALE.

58. Chanel No. 1? : COCO. Cute TV misdirection.

59. Columnist Barrett : RONA. See RONAN below.

65. Exercises displaying great strength : WAR GAMES.

66. Conventioneer with antennae, perhaps : TREKKIE.

67. "Don't budge!" : STAY HERE. Stay put sounds more familiar, but this works.

68. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. I have had this GUY before on Friday.

Down:

1. Exit : GO OUT.

2. Intense : ACUTE. Compared to chronic.

3. Design for some MacDonalds : TARTAN. Much more complicated than I knew. LINK.

4. Poetic "previous to" : ERE.

5. Its slot always pays : ATM. They have lots of them in the casino so you can feed the other machines.

6. Winner of all three tug-of-war medals in the 1904 Olympics: Abbr. : USA. Easy guess.

7. Formal phone call response : THIS IS HE.

8. Journalist son of Mia Farrow : RONAN. An interesting young MAN with uncertainty in his life.

9. Debate : ARGUE.

10. Some evidence : DNA. No DNA tests for Ronan and Woody.

11. Carlisle Cullen's wife in the "Twilight" series : ESME. This CHARACTER.

12. Evil follower? : DOER. Is Esme evil? Never watched the movies.

13. And : ALSO.

14. Word with coin or ring : TOSS.

15. Places to clean and press : GYMS. Nice misdirection but I go to the Gym.

18. Powder room containers : KEGS. Not the bathroom, the armory.

23. Tied up : MOORED.

24. Online finance company : E-LOAN. Never heard of this COMPANY.

25. Hard-to-miss signs : NEONS. They even have a Museum in Las Vegas.

27. Trig function : COSINE.

28. Hosp. personnel : RNS.

29. Like much of Australia's interior : ARID.

30. Noah of "The Librarian" TV films : WYLE. I really enjoy the show and FLYNN.

31. Look wrong? : LEER. Wrong look perhaps...

32. Reichenbach Falls setting : ALPS. Famous for a FALL.

33. Teed off : SORE. Not golf this time, anger.

34. "I __ it!" : KNEW. No you did not!

37. Stradivari's tutor : AMATI. MAYBE or MAYBE NOT.

38. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

40. Co. merged into Verizon : GTE. 64D. Part of 40-Down: Abbr. : TELephone.

41. Start one's law practice : GET A CASE. (Get and GTE) only if you are a litigator.

47. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR.

48. Hit : STRIKE.

49. Caesarean section? : I CAME. Really fun clue, I came, I saw I conquered. Veni, vidi, vici.

50. Mayflower figure : MOVER. The company. LINK.

51. Errant golf shots : HOOKS. Sometimes you need to hook the ball.

52. Musical with "jr." and "KIDS" versions for young performers : ANNIE. I had no idea of the existence of these variations.

53. Shock, in a way : TASE.

54. Church lineups : PEWS. Cute.

55. Gross subj.? : ANATomy.

56. Capital of Turkey : LIRA. The old money misdirect.

57. Like French toast : EGGY.

61. __-jongg : MAH.

62. Addams family member : ITT. Cousin.

63. Altar constellation : ARA.

Well did you find this to be a puzzling puzzle?  The theme is a variation of a quotation from Winston Churchill in a 1939 radio broadcast  "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest."  Still a factor in the world...I hope you enjoyed the return of JW and spring. Lemonade out.

BTW I did not finish in 4 minutes, but it is April 1st.

Friday, March 18, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: If you don't snooze, you lose, you need to catch those zzs.

JW in back-to-back Friday appearances. Today he inserts  'ZZ' into expressions and clues the result with levity. Of course using double Zs requires lots of z words so there is some very challenging fill. Much of the non-theme long fill is rarely if ever used including REAL BAD,  ADRIAN I,   JIMENEZ,  GALLONS, RADIOED, CERAMIC, ZAMBIAN, LIBERIA, ERODING, GARTERS, AN EARFUL, SEA TO AIR. There are some complete unknowns for me (ATWOOD, JIMENEZ etc.) The triple sevens in the NW and SE make for an interesting grid with only the 13 letter themers requiring some cheater squares. The humor is clear in all the theme fill, with Semper Fizz my favorite. Well, you gave mixed reviews last week; let's look at this week.

18A. Syncopated gaits? : JAZZY WALKS (10). A Jaywalker ups his game by dancing to the music.

33A. Rube Goldberg machines, e.g.? : DIZZY PROJECTS (13). Rube Goldberg was famous for his unnecessarily complex machines, like the beginning to Elementary. He was a CARTOONIST, inventor and so much more. The choice of the DIY (do it yourself) phrase is awesome.

36A. Impress around the green? : CHIP AND DAZZLE (13). More cartoons with those lovable CHIPMUNKS and maybe the golfers recall this shot. LINK.

55A. Cocktail that never goes flat? : SEMPER FIZZ (10). Semper is Latin for always so the joke is great and the shout to Dennis and our other marines is nice.

Across:

1. Indian bigwig : RAJA.

5. Short club : CUDGEL. I may be a day late but this is an example.

11. With 28-Across, was read the riot act : GOT. 28A. See 11-Across : AN EARFUL.

14. Find the right words, say : EDIT. Puzzles clues are often more than 50% changed by editors.

15. With 54-Across, common dorm room phenomenon : UNMADE.  54A. See 15-Across : BED.

16. 55 million-member service org. : AAA. American Automobile Association.

17. Treaty subject : ARMS. Salt I from last week.

20. Bit of duplicity : LIE.

21. Broadway choreographer for "Chicago" : FOSSE. His CAREER. People forget he was a dancer first.

22. Fr. address : MLLE. Not a street but to a young lady, mademoiselle.

23. Zulu or Kikuyu : BANTU.

25. Called the tower : RADIOED. I only thought of this.

32. Sack stuff : GUNNY. Want to know WHY?

35. Like tandoori cuisine : ASIAN.

44. Annoyance : PEEVE. Many keep them as pets.

45. Like some naval missiles : SEA TO AIR.

46. Holdup bands? : GARTERS. Nice challenging Friday clue and excuse to link for Splynter....

48. Gym dance in "West Side Story" : MAMBO.

49. Genesis twin : ESAU. Jacob is his conniving brother.

50. Dumpster habitués : FLIES. I did not know until last Sunday that DUMPSTER was a trade name.

58. Helpful, if impersonal, voice : SIRI. Not to Raj. WATCH.

59. Nous minus moi? : TOI. Us minus me equals you in French.

60. Fill with passion : ENAMOR.

61. "Game of Thrones" actor __ Glen : IAIN. Sir Jorah Mormont.

62. F1 neighbor : ESC.

63. Margaret Atwood's homeland : CANADA. Eh! She is accomplished. LINK.

64. Hitch : SNAG.

Down:

1. Desperately : REAL BAD. I wanted that new car....

2. Eighth-century pope : ADRIAN I. Yo, another random Pope? No, a rather significant ONE.

3. 1956 literature Nobelist Juan Ramón __ : JIMENEZ. A celebrated Spanish poet, but not in my ken. I am sure Clear Ayes could have told us much.

4. Cadillac compact : ATS.

5. King dog : CUJO. Not a nice puppy.

6. Some, in Sevilla : UNAS.  Spanish: Un and una mean 'a,' and unos and unas mean 'some.' 

7. Neutral areas, briefly : DMZS. We grew up with DeMitiliarizedZones on the news nightly.

8. Star attachment? : GAZER.

9. Name on an ice cream container : EDY. And a way to buy...11D. Dairy case choices : GALLONS.

10. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW.

12. Headliner in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show : OAKLEY. Annie.

13. Shocked, in a way : TASED.

19. Something made by millionaires? : A MINT. Where millions are made as well.

21. " ... a tale / ... full of sound and __": Macbeth : FURY. Our Shakespeare quote of the day. Sound and fury has become a phrase meant to signify a whole lot of nothing.
'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.' -- Macbeth

24. Whirling toon : TAZ.  The cartoon Tasmanian Devil. I have had him on Friday before.

26. Meeting staple : AGENDA.

27. French noble : DUC. Duke.

29. Bad news from the professor : F PAPER.  I wonder how and when grading A-F started?

30. __ Major : URSA. The constellation that holds the big dipper. Latin for Bear.

31. Butcher's cuts : LOINS.

34. Ming dynasty art source : JADE. Clecho. 36D. Ming dynasty art source : CERAMIC.

37. Excited : HET UP.

38. "__ gotta run!" : I'VE.

39. Date night destinations : ATMS. B's cost money! (Babes?)

40. Suffix with proto- : ZOA.

41. Lusaka native : ZAMBIAN. Not up on my African CAPITALS.

42. Africa country whose official language is English : LIBERIA. I now know that this was Africa's first republic, founded in 1822 as a result of the efforts of the American Colonization Society to settle freed American slaves in West Africa. The society contended that the emigration of blacks to Africa was an answer to the problem of slavery and the then prevalent perception of the incompatibility of the races. This settlement dates back to 1847. If you want you can read MORE.

43. Whittling away, as support : ERODING.

44. Former Toyotas : PASEOS. More Spanish, and a short lived sporty car of the 90's.

46. Beau __ : GESTE. A character in a P.C. Wren book and many movies, it also is French for grand gesture.

47. Trekkie, e.g., for short : S F FAN. Science Fiction Fan.

51. Capital south of Quito : LIMA. Ecuador and Peru.

52. Sportswear brand : IZOD. The complete HISTORY.

53. Biblical scribe : EZRA. He was part of the first return to Jerusalem and the return of the Torah to the Holy Land. LINK.

56. 1957 Treaty of Rome org. : EEC. European Economic Community, precursor to the European Union.

57. Genetic messenger : RNA.

58. Member of the fam : SISter.

Wow, that was a workout. I do enjoy JW 's creations very much and appreciate his humor and consistency;  having blogged so many that I think I can see where the puzzle is headed when I begin solving a JW Friday. Hope you enjoyed your St. Paddy's Day.  Spring is near. Lemonade out

Friday, March 11, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Pull up a chair and sit a spell at my table.

We are back to having a Friday JW challenge and this one is a visual that really demands having the circles. The reveal; 61A. Item graphically depicted by this puzzle's circles : TABLE, advises that you are looking for a representation of a table. The letters in the circles describe a type of table. You must do this on paper or a site with circles. The six tables, running in three sets of pairs West to East are: BACCARAT-DRESSING, PARLOR-DINNER, DRAFTING-BILLIARD.  The top two pair of tables and bottom two are 4 across with three down legs, while the middle are four by two. We have triple seven stacks in every corner and have a total of 19! seven letter fill. PC CARDS,  DRONE ON, SPOILER,  PER DIEM,  TARTARE, HESSIAN, ABETTOR, ORIENTS,  PACKS ON,  HE'S A MAN,  CODEINE,  POOL BOY, LOFTING, LOAF TIN, GILLIAN,  CARTING, UNITARD,  OLD GAGS and. REBINDS. No fill is more than seven letters. JW still likes multi-word fill, so let's see what he did to fool you today.

Across:

1. Notebook memory devices : PC CARDS. We start with a tricky phrase. A PC Card (previously known as a PCMCIA card) is a credit card-size memory or I/O device that fits into a personal computer, usually a notebook or laptop computer. Probably the most common use of a PC Card is the telecommunications modem for notebook computers. Per whatis.techtarget.com.

8. "The butler did it," maybe : SPOILER. Alert, poor Carson.

15. Tuna preparation : TARTARE. The latest RECIPE.

16. Revolutionary War mercenary : HESSIAN. The German mercenaries hired by the British.

17. Getaway driver, e.g. : ABETTOR.

18. Sets right : ORIENTS. This was hard, though accurate when you think align or position (something) relative to the points of a compass or other specified positions.

19. Suitor : SWAIN. An old timey word, which in keeping with Jerome's comments  derives from Old Norse sveinn ‘lad.’

20. Sediment : DREGS.

21. War on Poverty org. : OEO. Office of Economic Opportunity, part of LBJ's Great Society.

23. __ Chess: video game : WII. Their promotion, ""Wii sounds like 'we,' which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii."

24. Gains quickly, as weight : PACKS ON.

28. Opening track on Madonna's album "I'm Breathless" : HE' S A MAN.

33. First name in folk : ARLO.

34. Book after Micah : NAHUM. The prophets. LINK.

36. Simba's mate : NALA. Lion King.

37. Fruit cocktail ingredients : PEARS. I like the cherries, but there were never enough.

39. Little troublemaker : IMP. He's coming back soon. LINK.

40. __ child : INNER. Bradshaw was a smash for a while.

41. Symposium group : PANEL.

42. Children's author Asquith : ROS.  ASQUITH is an important name in British political history but Ros does CARTOONS and kiddie books.

43. Raison __ : D'ETRE.  Similar to one's mission in life, literally French for "reason to be."

44. Attack : ASSAIL.

46. Aids to sure footing : CLEATS. Important for football, both kinds.

47. Employee with a skimmer : POOL BOY. Apparently a number of movies have been about this profession. This ONE is supposed to be fun starring Hercules.

51. Sputnik reporter : TASS.

55. Target of blue sky laws : FRAUD. Securities laws which require many layers of disclosures for both registered and unregistered  shares. They are enacted by the states.

56. Egg holders : SACS.

60. __ chamber : ECHO.

62. Tennis legend : ASHE. Arthur.

63. Bakeware item : LOAF TIN. I use them more for meat loaf than bread.

65. David's "X-Files" co-star : GILLIAN. Duchovny and Anderson.

67. Sanitation service : CARTING. Huh? Here we call those bulk pick up days.

68. Gym suit : UNITARD.Oh, we did make fun of them, but had to wear them to wrestle. Ours were not so creative.

69. Inducers of more groans than guffaws : OLD GAGS.

70. Strengthens the spine of : REBINDS.

Down:

1. Educational gp. : PTA. Parent Teachers Association.

2. Fleet on the street : CABS. Nice imagery.

3. J. follower : CREW. This retailer started as a catalog store.

4. "__ girl!" : ATTA.

5. Pi and others : RATIOS. Nice clue.

6. Lecture boringly : DRONE ON.

7. Sun. delivery : SERmon.

8. "Nurse Jackie" network, in TV listings : SHOwtime. Edie Falco again this week.

9. Fixed expense : PER DIEM. Fixed in the sense of being for a day. Latin.

10. Underworld deity : OSIRIS. Know your Egyptian gods.

11. "Of course" : I SEE.

12. Duck tail? : LING. Cute and better than half a Panda.

13. Greasy spoon sign word : EATS.

14. OR personnel : RNS. Registered Nurses.

22. Studio caution : ON AIR. Twice this week.

23. Gives a Dixie lickin' : WHUPS.

24. __ al pomodoro: Tuscan soup : PAPPA.  I like soups. RECIPE 2.

25. Regions : AREAS.

26. Blood groups? : CLANS. Tricky.

27. Former country on its own peninsula : KOREA. The two countries were created by the post-WWII power brokering of the US and the Soviets when they stripped the country from Japan.

29. Year abroad : ANNEE. More French.

30. Wide swimmer : MANTA. I have a video of me petting them last summer.

31. Warn : ALERT.

32. Rhinoplasty concerns : NARES. Just the Latin plural of Naris, the nostril.

35. Aetna offering : HMO.

38. Omission, say : SLIP.

40. How casual thoughts are offered : IDLY.

45. Hitting up : LOFTING. The best golf shot of my life was a 60 degree over a tree landing on the green at La Costa. After watching me play mediocre golf all day, my caddy was amazed.

46. Tylenol 3 component : CODEINE. A natural part of the poppy, the name is derived from the Greek word kodeia (κώδεια) for "poppy head".

48. Sumatran swingers : ORANGS.

49. Curie workplace : LAB. Madame.This Polish born chemist/physicist was a trly amazing person.

50. Durum wheat cereal : BULGUR. I think these are two different kinds of wheat, but then I never ate my Wheaties.

51. A T & T e.g. : TELCO.

52. "His nose ... is like __ of fire": "Henry V" : A COAL. JW gets his Shakespeare.

53. Broken piece : SHARD. 58D. White option, briefly : CHARDonnay. I prefer the beet clue.

54. Generous feature? : SOFT G. A simple but effective deception.

56. 1972 missile pact : SALT I. From memory, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

57. Like India and Pakistan : ASIAN. The 26th annual Asian Festival at Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead this past week end was great. This GROUP with a full complement of 18 drummers wowed us and the rest of the crowd there.

59. FedExes : SENDS.

64. __ Maria : TIA.

66. Bldg. where much research is done : LIBrary.

Welcome back to Friday JW and thank you for another creative work. Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead everyone and we will see you next week. Lemonade out.