Saturday, Dec 12th, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Ol' Blue Eyes"

Words: 71 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  Well, our Mr. Friday puzzle-constructor makes a rare appearance on Saturday, and carries on with a theme, too~!  A left-right symmetrical grid, with triple 7-letter corners and two "spanners" of 9-letters that are part of the theme.  I wonder if Jeffrey originally tried to work "blue eyes" into the lower left corner at 64a....A few proper names slowed me down, and some misdirection had me off to a slow start, but I did get the "ta-DA~!" - only after I went back and corrected one bad cell.  So, the theme answers;

1. 8-Across member born 12/12/1915 : SINATRA - Frank - his Wiki - I was born in NJ, too~!

Frankie calls the shots

8. Group formed in the '50s : RAT PACK

26. 1-Across hit : THAT'S LIFE

52. 1-Across hit : HIGH HOPES
 

Carry - on - ward ~!

ACROSS:

15. Threatening : OMINOUS

16. Friendly : AMIABLE

17. Super Bowl XXXIII team : FALCONS - I can never remember, and the Roman numerals don't help; waited on perps - I can hardly remember who played in last year's Stanley Cup, once the Rangers were eliminated....

18. New Amsterdam landowner : PATROON - ah, like those who once owned a part of upstate NY that Spitz and I know well....

19. 1958 Pulitzer-winning author : AGEE

20. Moves slowly : SEEPS - or OOZES~?  Had to wait, but the last "S" went in

22. Youngest of the musical Gibb brothers : ANDY - WAG; the others are Barry, Robin and Maurice - these three known together as the "Bee Gees" - the Wiki

23. Antarctica's __ Sea : ROSS - I knew this, but it took R--S for it to come to me

24. Popular side : FRIES - ah, side dish, got it

25. Road Runner cartoon background element : MESA

29. Keep down : OPPRESS - dah~!  Not SUpress or REpress

32. Show of condescension : SNICKER

36. Longtime CBS journalist Charles : KURALT - my one bad cell; don't know how I thought OCAY was OKAY

37. Lament : GRIEVE

38. Part of the Maldives : ATOLL - um, yeah, part....

39. AAA TripTik alternative : GPS - I don't care which one you use, just try not to be "lost" in front of me when driving....

42. Ameliorates : EASES

43. Diner's exclamation : YUM - had no clue at first; then I tried M M M - that's a mere 33%

44. Quick drink : SHOOTER - she didn't bartend where I used to drink....

47. "I feel thee __ I see thy face": Keats : ERE

48. Notice : SPOT

50. Vent emanations : ODORS - not GASES

51. Game in which the player is called the Stranger : MYST - I made it through some of the first game, but it takes a lot of mental concentration to figure it out - there's also a sequel, Riven

55. Woman's name meaning "heavenly" : CELESTE - pretty; I have three names I'd like to give my girls - if I ever have kids....

58. "Garbage in, garbage out" subject : BAD DATA

62. Rainy U.S. capital : OLYMPIA - Washington state - and a place I'd like to live, because it rains a lot

63. Equipped : ENDOWED

64. Innocent-looking : DOE-EYED

65. Dusk : DAY'S END - not EVENING....and not DAY SEND, as I first read it

DOWN:

1. Until now : SO FAR - argh~! Not AS YET

2. Insect stage : IMAGO - DaH~! Not LARVA

3. Longtime radio/TV announcer Wendell __ : NILES - perps and WAG

4. Inherited, perhaps : ANCESTRAL

5. Overly : TOO

6. Malfunctions, as a watch : RUNS FAST - I had GOES FAST, but I was fairly certain the theme was SINATRA

7. Makes a case for : ASSERTS

8. Alpine rescue maneuvers : RAPPELS

9. Getting together : AMASSING

10. Small songbird : TIT

11. Slide subjects : PARAMECIA

12. Have __ to pick : A BONE

13. Oafs : CLODS

14. One of its official languages is Swahili : KENYA

21. Bordeaux : glace :: Berlin : __ : EIS :: London : ice  (look away Tin~!)

27. "__ Kitchen": Gordon Ramsay show : HELL'S - I did watch it for the first season or two

28. Personnel manager, at times : FIRER

29. Approves of : OKAYS

30. Something to do with dukes? : PUT UP - "put up yer dukes~!"

31. PSA, say : PROMO

33. Nurse Ratched creator : KESEY - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - which swept the "big five" Oscars - there were only two other movies to do so, and I was shocked to find out about the 1991 winner

34. Activist Medgar : EVERS - perps and WAG

35. Go back to zero : RESET

39. Divinity : GODHEAD

40. "Oh, bother" speaker : POOH

41. Pulsed, as light show effects : STROBED

45. Restrict : HOGTIE

46. Miró's birthplace, to Miró : ESPAÑA - Spain, to us locals....is it me, or has the Frawnche dropped off~?

49. Motif : THEME - rarely found in a Saturday puzzle

51. Early PC system : MS-DOS

53. Traveling game : I SPY

54. Rapids feature : EDDY

55. Marine oil source : COD

56. Symphonic rock gp. : ELO

57. Pipe cleaner : LYE

59. Knock the socks off : AWE - this style knocks MY socks off

60. X, sometimes : TEN

61. Say further : ADD

Spot on yesterday, Lemonade - my condolences to you as well

Splynter

Tuesday, December 1, 2015 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Tribute - to Woody Allen

1A. With 69-Across, filmmaker born 12/1/1935 who directed and wrote five films in this puzzle : WOODY and so 69-Across. See 1-Across : ALLEN

18A. With 59-Across, 1980 film by 1-/69-Across : STARDUST and so 59-Across. See 18-Across : MEMORIES

27A. 2011 film by 1-/69-Across : MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

33A. 1971 film by 1-/69-Across : BANANAS

36A. 1973 film by 1-/69-Across : SLEEPER

45A. 1995 film by 1-/69-Across : MIGHTY APHRODITE

Rabbit, rabbit! Argyle here with a rare Tuesday appearance by Jeffrey Wechsler. Woody is 80 years old today. I won't even try to list all of his accomplishments.

Across:

6. Apparel : GARB

10. Sacramento's state, briefly : CAL. (California)

13. "Most certainly!" : "INDEED!"

15. Language that gave us "khaki" : URDU. Urdu is historically associated Hindustan.

16. Spanish she-bear : OSA. (el oso(m))

17. Look that way : SEEM TO

20. Suffers from : HAS

21. Sneaky tactic : RUSE

23. Kosher : LEGIT

24. Diagnostic machine : IMAGER. But not the operator?

26. Make __ for: argue in favor of : A CASE

31. Being kept cold : ON ICE

32. Sardinian six : SEI

42. Junio, por ejemplo : MES. Spanish month of June.

44. Low voice : BASSO

52. Like a softly blowing fan : ON LOW

53. Nincompoops : MORONS

54. Windy City airport : O'HARE

55. One of the deadly sins : LUST

56. Camp bed : COT

61. Camden Yards ballplayer : ORIOLE. Baltimore, MD.

64. Spanish gold : ORO

65. Sit for an artist : POSE

66. Have a place to call home : RESIDE. A place to hang your hat.

67. "__ the ramparts ... " : O'ER. "O, Say" yesterday. Any more and we will have to stand up.

68. Figure (out) : SUSS

Down:

1. Genie's offer : WISH. Three wishes is standard.

2. Most fit for service : ONE A

3. Keats works : ODEs

4. __ Bums: Brooklyn Dodgers nickname : DEM. (them)

5. "Despite that ... " : "YET ... ". (and yet...)

6. Tailor's inserts : GUSSETS

7. Major thoroughfares : ARTERIES

8. Nutritional meas. : RDA. (Recommended Dietary Allowance)

9. Sack material : BURLAP

10. Mountain lion : COUGAR

11. Birthplace of St. Francis : ASSISI. Assisi is a town and comune of Italy in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. Now you know.

12. Coffee drinks with steamed milk : LATTES

14. Hip-hop headgear : DO-RAG

19. Prefix meaning "ten" : DECA

22. "That's awful!" : "UGH!"

24. Ancient Peruvian : INCA

25. Personal bearing : MIEN

27. Unruly group : MOB

28. Words before flash or jiffy : IN A

29. Cacophony : DIN

30. Zip, in soccer scores : NIL

34. Novelist Tan : AMY. Her best-known work is The Joy Luck Club.

35. Smooth, as a transition : SEAMLESS

37. Black, to a bard : EBON

38. "CSI" actor George : EADS

39. Tire pressure meas. : PSI. (pound per square inch)

40. S.C. clock setting : EST. (Eastern Standard Time)

41. Fish eggs : ROE

43. Husbands and wives : SPOUSES

45. Cow sound in "Old MacDonald" : MOO MOO here and a moo moo there.

46. Response from another room : "IN HERE"

47. Supermodel's allure: Var. : GLAMOR

48. Prefix with scope : HORO. (horoscope)

49. Annoying types : TWERPS

50. Info on a store door: Abbr. : HRS. (hours)

51. Helicopter component : ROTOR

56. Slinky shape : COIL. Ah, the things we learn on the blog.

57. Merrie __ England : OLDE

58. High schooler, typically : TEEN

60. Letters that promise payback : IOU

62. Stephen of "The Crying Game" : REA

63. Alcatraz, e.g: Abbr. : ISL. (island)

Argyle

Friday, November 27, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Aces are asses!

Our bi-weekly JW Friday takes phrases which include "ACE" and replace those letters with "ASS" to create new and fun fill. We have two changes in the first word and two in the last to preserve the consistency of the theme. The non-theme fill is predominately 5 letter words, but  we do have IT'S BAD, SALINE, SEIZES, SONATA, GOES LONG, MAN APART, IN ONE'S POWER,  PANAMA CANAL featuring Jeffrey's trademark multi-word fill. Not a Black Friday clue in the bunch but you should "sale" through this one.

I hope you all enjoyed your Turkey; I enjoyed these dolls.



20A. What lawn care products promise? : AMAZING GRASS (12). The HYMN (4:29).

27A. Four-legged baseball mascot? : ASS OF DIAMONDS (13).  Does anyone else recall this baseball ASS (0:53).

47A. Young woman working with delicate fabric? : CHANTILLY LASS (13). And a PONYTAIL (2:26).

54A. Forget to press an elevator button? : PASS THE FLOOR (12). Damn, I hate when that happens.


Across:

1. What icons often stand for : APPS. Computer clue 1.

5. Crossword constructions : GRIDS. Really enjoy the clue/fill.

10. Stand-up fare : GAGS. Comedians.

14. Wrath, in a hymn : IRAE. Powerful DIES IRAE (1:46).

15. Music source : RADIO. My wife listens in the car and the house.

16. 2015 All-Star relief pitcher Darren : O'DAY. This Baltimore ORIOLE has been lights out and did go to the University of Florida in Gainesville.

17. 1959 British Motor Corp. debut : MINI. A total guess, but they work sometimes.

18. Negative particle : ANION. Last week I had ANODE.

19. Ice cream brand : EDYS.

23. Reference library array : TOMES.

24. Sylvester's "Rocky" co-star : TALIA. She is 69.

33. "Dancing With the Stars" airer : ABC. Did you all watch Bindi win? More networking? 13D. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYStem.

35. Genre of Vasarely's "Zebras" : OP ART.

36. With 12-Down, Smithsonian aviation exhibit : ENOLA. 12D. See 36-Across : GAY. I hear this exhibit bombed.

37. Paella morsel : CLAM.

39. Short-tailed weasel : STOAT. Little guys are dangerous.

41. Work on an ear? : GNAW. Of corn I hope.

42. Daughter of Eurydice : DANAE. This mythological miss has been painted nude scores of times. LINK.

44. Quran deity : ALLAH.

46. Strauss' "__ Heldenleben" : EIN. it is 50 minutes LONG.

50. Way of seeing things : SLANT. Not, 67A. Set on the bias : TILT.

51. Terminate : LAPSE. This seems like a stretch.

59. Teal relative : AQUA.

62. Natural detergent : BORAX. 20 Mule Team?

63. "Victory is mine!" : I WON. "I win" sounded better.

64. Contentment indicator : PURR. The engine of your car?

65. Word on Old West wanted posters : ALIVE. Dead or....

66. Bottom lines : NETS.

68. Staples of Byzantine architecture : DOMES.

69. Once, once : ERST.

Down:

1. Target : AIM AT.

2. Top-quality : PRIMO.

3. Its lowest toll ever was 36 cents, charged in 1928 to a swimmer : PANAMA CANAL. Can you believe they charged a swimmer?

4. Suddenly stops working, with "up" : SEIZES.

5. Family nickname : GRAN.

6. Took its toll? : RANG.

7. Beatnik's "Understood!" : I DIG. Maynard G. Krebs?

8. Schiaparelli competitor : DIOR. Fashionable.

9. Beethoven's "Waldstein," e.g. : SONATA.

10. Tries for a bomb, in football : GOES LONG. Goes deep slowed me down.

11. Contribute : ADD.

21. "That __ cool!" : IS SO.

22. Identical : SAME.

25. Manageable without assistance : IN ONE'S POWER.

26. Two-time loser to Dwight : ADLAI. When you lose more than once you are famous, lose only once and they forget.

28. Special __ : OPS.

29. __ flaw : FATAL.  More secret Shakespeare as this is the basis of the Tragedies.

30. Oddly amusing : DROLL.

31. Volta's birthplace : ITALY. He gave us the volt. LINK.

32. Cut : SAWN.

33. Rock group from Sydney : AC DC. 

34. Malaise, with "the" : BLAHS.

38. 2003 Vin Diesel movie, with "A" : MAN APART.

40. Jazz bassist Wilkenfeld : TAL. No idea. Apparently the GREATEST.

43. Very active volcano : ETNA.

45. Better __ : HALF.

48. "Things are looking grim" : IT'S BAD. Typical Jeffrey.

49. Hospital solution : SALINE.

52. Covers with carbon particles : SOOTS. Really JW?

53. Dadaism pioneer : ERNST.

55. One way to fly : SOLO. Han we are waiting for December 18!

56. Cut back : TRIM.

57. "The ... dog will __ his day": "Hamlet" : HAVE. Poor Hamlet at Ophelia's funeral.

58. Former union members? : EXES. Marital union, nice...

59. Fitting : APT.

60. On the __ vive : QUI. Some French for our linguists, cunning or otherwise. LINK.

61. Destination in a window : URL. Computer window. We end with computer 2. Great symmetry.

I hope the tryptophan from the Turkey helped you all to rest up and clear your minds for this Friday feature. Thanks Mr. Wechsler, and again thank you all for tuning in. Lemonade out.

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