Friday, July 3, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Take ST and then by magic you have

SC

Well I am back, two weeks have passed and Jeffrey Wechsler is back as well. This is a traditional letter substitution puzzle where the letter "T" following an "S" is removed from a common phrase and replaced with a "C" to create an amusing image, clued with humor. The first three have the change in the first word, the last two the last word. I love much of the fill, with only 69 words and an average length in excess of 5 letters, this is more of challenge. He puts many letters into the theme, also 69 (hmmm) which gives the puzzle an interesting look leaving little room for long down answers. He does have some so so fill but there are ALBINO,  DOES SO,  LOUVER,  MOLSON,  MOSEYS,  OPEN BY,  SPEARS,  TRYSTS,  TUGS AT,  WOOLLY,  ANTLERS,  DESIGNS, DRUM SOLO,  MRS. SMITH,  NOBLESSE, TRAINEES all worth the effort to uncover.  The theme generated some chuckles for me, you?

16A. Imperfect produce? : SCUFFED CABBAGE (14). Stuffed cabbage was a regular meal growing up, and the image of a damaged head of cabbage is cute.

23A. Nocturnal picket-line crosser? : SCAB IN THE DARK (13). Stab in the dark sounds ominous. For me this was the most tortured themer, but it works.

34A. Reconnaissance team? : SCOUTHEARTED MEN (15). Stouthearted men for some reason makes me think of Mel Brooks' Men in Tights.

48A. Result of a London tea cart mishap? : ROLLING SCONES (13). The picture of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards etc. watching their scones roll away is precious.

57A. Feature of a taped hardcore punk performance? : VIDEO SCREAMING (14). Video streaming is hot, but I think of other bands as the screamers.

Okay let's unwrap this baby:

Across:

1. 17th-century privateer : KIDD. All you wanted to know about WILLIAM who is not to be confused with the 15th Century pirate William Kyd.

5. Rock worth unearthing : ORE.

8. Military groups : UNITS. This took longer than it should.

13. About : IN RE. A gimme for those who studied Latin or the law.

14. Downtime for Mars? : PAX. Latin for peace, certainly a rest time for a war god.

15. Absorb : SOP UP. What the bread is for at the end of a really good meal.

19. Rob's "West Wing" role : SAM. Sam SEABORN. (2:24).

20. Domestic tearjerker : ONION. Tricky, but just cut them under water and you can stem the tears.

21. "__ Wedding": "The Simpsons" episode involving a fortune-teller : LISA'S. Easy to guess but the clue was not helpful.

26. Wild partner : WOOLLY. According to phrase finder. "This expression is of American origin and came into being to describe the 'wild' west of the country sometime after the Californian Gold Rush era of the 1850s."

28. __ Alamos : LOS. We had this test site recently.

29. Screening gp. : TSA. Transportation Security Administration.

30. Woodstock performer before Joan : ARLO. he was booed off the stage for refusing to sing Alice's Restaurant,  Ms. Baez was wonderful, and then the rains came.

31. Kid's comeback : DOES SO. Does not!!!

40. Romance novel features : TRYSTS. A lovely old fashioned word that makes cheating sound okay.

41. 1963 role for Shirley : IRMA. La DOUCE (2:15).

42. In the same way as : A LA. Some French for Splynter.

45. Defensive question : AM I? Your ami?

46. It merged with Coors in 2005 : MOLSON. They are all in trouble in the wake of the craft beer revolution.

52. __ Blades, Latin jazz star : RUBEN. No idea; what do you think?

53. Oater omen : NOOSE. Hang 'em High.

54. Uma's "Pulp Fiction" role : MIA. This movie always generates lots of differing opinions, I hated it, then I loved it.

60. Stage direction : ENTER.

61. Vital : KEY.

62. Relative of -ule : ETTE. french diminutive suffixes; tough clue, reversed I would not have gotten it.

63. Ruled quarters? : ROOST.

64. '60s campus org. : SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

65. Their Christmas feast included roast beast : WHOS. Jeffrey must love this family, as I had Cindy Lou Who two weeks ago.

Down:

1. Petruchio's request of Kate : KISS.

2. Empire whose last stronghold was conquered in 1572 : INCA. I missed the anniversary.

3. Ginger Baker specialty : DRUM SOLO. For Bruce, the late Teddy Mueller and all the others who have provided a beat to my life. WATCH (3:38)and listen.

4. Dict. entry : DEFinition. I slipped up on this for a while.

5. Ready for business no later than : OPEN BY.

6. Pizza cuts, essentially : RADII. Literally.

7. Halfway house resident : EX-CON.

8. Flash drive letters : USB. Universal Serial Bus.

9. Roi et reine, par exemple : NOBLESSE oblige. The Nobility.

10. "The drinks were on me" : I PAID. Not I-Pad.

11. Affects, as one's heartstrings : TUGS AT. Perry Como?

12. Divers' weapons : SPEARS.

17. Future yearling : FOAL. Newborn horsey.

18. Hunting lodge decoration : ANTLERS. From a dead deer.

22. Jamaican genre : SKA. Music.

24. Influence : CLOUT.

25. One taking coats, perhaps : HOST. So easy, in retrospect.

26. Used to be : WAS.

27. Tolkien terror : ORC.

31. Chanel creations : DESIGNS. From a time when hot Coco meant something.

32. Grain generally pluralized : OAT. Nobody can eat just one?

33. Ballet's Black Swan : ODILE.

35. Green workers : TRAINEES. Oh, than meaning of GREEN.

36. "Amazing Grace," e.g. : HYMN. We had a memorial service at my reunion with ended with this old stand-by.

37. Big name in pies : MRS. SMITH. What is your favorite?

38. Comic Philips : EMO.

39. Indian flatbread : NAN. 1 A or 2?

42. LAX stat : ARRival.

43. Adjustable door feature : LOUVER. We have lots of these and windows in SoFla.

44. Spooner of Spoonerism fame, for one : ALBINO. I did not know this, I went to school with two albinos, one in grammar school and one in college.

46. Walks unhurriedly : MOSEYS. Exactly my pace for solving puzzles.

47. Most fit to serve : ONE-A. The opposite of 4-F.

49. Engendered : LED TO.

50. Subjects of washday mysteries : SOCKS. What dryers live on.

51. Hollowed out : CORED.

55. Delighted by : IN TO. I am really in to JW's puzzles, I wonder if he will be back in two weeks again?

56. Quite a long time : AGES.

58. Scrap : ORT. A single oat? Not to be confused with Orc.

59. Copy cats : MEW. This is all CED needs for an hour's worth of cute kittens; enjoy all;  have great holiday, be careful with  the fireworks and remember to honor those who both made us free and keep us free.

It was great to be gone, see old friends and relatives, show my wife my childhood home, meet marti in person etc. but it is good to be back. Lemonade out.

Friday, June 19, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Get the "F" out of here!

Two weeks, so it must be time for another Jeffrey Jem. The concluding "F" in the final word in a known phrase is removed leaving a new phrase humorously but correctly clued. After all of the 'add a letter' puzzles, here we have one with a disappearing letter. I was most impressed that he found 5 such phrases and each of the resulting new ones are very evocative and reasonable. Like the comment C.C. made last Sunday about Melanie's W, I found it unfortunate we have the MFA/FLESH crossing leaving a single F in the grid. I see the problem since the placement of two of the theme fill restricted the choices, but in a perfect world...We have a nice mini-theme of singer songwriters, as well as many interrelated concepts. Not much in the way of long fill, ACCENT,  AUBURN,  EXCELS,  POLLEN,  SAVIOR,  SULLEN, UNREAL,  VENEER, ELEVATES,  SCENE TWO but plenty of road blocks. Let us get going....

18A. USDA-approved cheese? : LEGAL BRIEF (9). This is a theme and answer where you need the perps to get started with the first themer, but once you "see" the missing "F" it all makes sense.

24A. Query when a certain queen goes missing? : WHERE'S THE BEEF (12). This I found to be a particularly fair clue, because the Q is not capitalized leaving queen bee as one of a very limited few possible answers. I hope everyone remembers dear Clara Peller.

 40A. Plow one's recently purchased field?: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF  (15). Very nice use of the word LEA.

50A. Revolutionary as a successful businessman? : EXECUTIVE CHEF (12). Great visual of cigar smoking, beret wearing Che Guevera running a vape store in SoFla

62A. Improved sci-fi computer? : BETTER HALF (10). Well almost any computer not trying to kill the humans would be nice.

On that rather special note let us move on....

Across:

1. Activities for seniors : PROMS. High school, not for me and you.

6. Cinematographer's deg. : MFA. Master of Fine Arts.

9. __ Summer: U.S. Naval Academy training program : PLEBE. A logical guess.

14. "Service at the Speed of Sound" franchise : SONIC. We have them here, but I am more familiar with Freaky Fast.

15. Not just some : ALL.

16. Ran very slowly : OOZED. Sadly, I associate the word with wounds...

17. Selassie of Ethiopia : HAILE. This was once a regular in puzzles, but his fame has dimmed, but this week a comeback?

20. Actor's study, perhaps : ACCENT. Are you all as amazed as I am at how well non-Americans like Stephen "Bill" Moyer, Simon "Jane" Baker, Hugh "House" Lawrie and oodles more are so believable with their accents? They often practice on a  64D. Studio __ : LOT.

22. King David's predecessor : SAUL.  and some more bible, 11D. Book of __ : EZRA. This is the story of the first return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian diaspora and the rebuilding of the temple, and 31D. Genesis wife : LEAH. Along with her sister Rachel, she married Jacob.

23. Gothic novelist Radcliffe : ANN. A Friday obscurity, this reclusive AUTHOR was a Gothic pioneer.

27. Head of the Greek Titans? : TAU. Cute.

28. "I can't believe my eyes!" : UNREAL. Like many Gothic Novels.

32. Angled pipe : ELBOW. Almost right next to 39A. North Sea feeder : ELBE

36. Atomic theory pioneer : BOHR. What I know about this MAN was begun from reading Margaret Grimes' Inspector Jury mysteries.

43. Obi-Wan portrayer : ALEC. great actor, Mr. Guiness

44. Early romantic figure : EROS. The boy god.

45. Controlling chain : LEASH. Below LEA.

46. Morose : SULLEN.

48. Named period : AGE. So many un-PC thoughts....

57. Org. concerned with smog : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

60. Firm bosses : CEOS. Chief Executive Officers

61. One who delivers : SAVIOR. Not Jimmy John. Not my favorite clue/fill.

65. :50, another way : TEN TO. Ten 'til?

66. London __ : BROIL. I always marinate before the broiling. It is a matter of...

67. Source of pride : EGO.

68. Wrapped on a set : ENDED. On a movie, or tv series set. More show biz.

69. Family and economy : SIZES. I just love how companies change products from 32 oz to 28 oz, keep the price the same and think we are too stupid to notice the price increase. That is why our grocery stores now post the price per ounce,

70. Big top item : NET. Unless they are real daredevils, working without one is then the norm. That would show great...

71. Way : STYLE. Each blogger has a unique style.

Down:

1. "Baloney!" : PSHAW. Old timey expressions.

2. Orkin target : ROACH.

3. In abeyance : ON ICE. A non-CSO for Tin.

4. Track competitor : MILER. And, 53D. Relay or dash : EVENT. At the track meet.

5. Theatrical division : SCENE TWO. More show biz.

6. Wrong at the start? : MAL. The prefix, from the Latin meaning bad, e.g. LINK.

7. Crayola color renamed Peach in 1962 : FLESH.

8. Some microflora : ALGAE. Micro meaning tiny -flora plant

9. Floral dispersion : POLLEN. More flora(l). I love how these clues are together.

10. Part of an alley-oop play : LOB.

12. Flower children's gathering : BE IN. Been there....

13. "Gates of __": Bob Dylan song : EDEN. Not his biggest hit. 34D. "The Song of Old Lovers" songwriter : BREL Jacques. 51D. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard : COHEN. My mini-theme.
LINK 1. LINK 2. LNK 3.

19. Georgia rival since 1892 : AUBURN. A small town in Alabama but home to a national football power for years.

21. Org. that issues "Known Traveler" numbers : TSA. Transportation  Security  Administration

25. River floater : TUBER. Not a lost potato, but one of the memorable parts of going to law school in Gainesville, Florida.

26. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron : ERE WE.

"Maid of Athens, ere we part,
Give, oh, give back my heart!
Or, since that has left my breast,
Keep it now, and take the rest!
Hear my vow before I go,
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ."

29. Self-titled 1969 jazz album : ELLA. Always fun to showcase Ms. Fitzgerald. LISTEN. (4:29)

30. Five-spots : ABES. Five dollar bills. Who will be the woman on the $10?

32. LAX postings : ETAS. Estimated Time of Arrival.

33. Humdinger : LULU.

35. Rouen relative : ONCLE. Le mari de ma tante.

37. Valuable elemento : ORO. Gold!

38. Attacks : HAS AT.

41. Dental treatment : VENEER. Interesting that veneers were first used with wood and now we have porcelain ones for teeth, which were also wood at one time.

42. Improves : ELEVATES. Announcers are forever talking about athletes elevating their game, like LeBron, to the point where he....

47. Has no peer : EXCELS.

49. USO show audience : GIS.

52. Dictionary information : USAGE.

54. ___ Lou, Who girl who interrupted the Grinch's burglary : CINDY.

55. Travelocity option : HOTEL.

56. Slowly reduce : ERODE. Everything from rocks to confidence.

57. Recedes : EBBS. Well my energy is in fact...

58. Prefix with meter : PERImeter. This is a Friday usage, fer shure.

59. Familiar gamut : A TO Z.

63. Clip-on, maybe : TIE. I guess I am one of the few who still wears ties regularly, but no clip-ons. But it is time to move on, as another week comes to an end. Next time I see you all it will be summer and the days will be getting shorter. Hope you enjoyed our biweekly visit with JW, thanks Jeffrey; Lemonade out.

Friday June 5, 2105, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Wow, three every other week Fridays from Jeffrey, with each quite different. If this were a Rugby match JW would have scored big time. No puns here, adding "TRY" into known phrases to create new fill clued with lots of visual humor. Structurally, I initially thought the word count and blocks were more reminiscent of an early week puzzle, but then the 16 x 15 grid was revealed. This once again caused cheater squares for the central fill, and allowed the 16 letter grid spanners. There is lots of difficulty and some nice long entries to both slow you down and speed you up when they click. EASTERN, ONENESS , PAL JOEY, TASTING, PIG BARNS,  STAMP TAX are fun and many of the 6 letter fill, like NO DISC, TALESE, YE GODS, DOMINO and CITRUS are not overused.  With all this practice, I had a quick run with a good deal of the puzzle, with only the SE a bit of a slog. I also appreciated some of the little things, like cluing ____Box, followed by Box___, the CELL semi clecho, and an N.T., O.T. pair. Also the placement of the TRY is consistent, 1/3 end of first word  2/4 end of last word. I will stop talking and get to the puzzle.

19A. Scene when stores open on Black Friday? : ENTRY DASH (9) A quick reprise from yesterday, sort of. When I first started trying to do crossword puzzles on my own, instead of trying to horn in on my parents' solving efforts, ENS, EMS and ERS were very common fill. If you read the LINK it does not add the EN and EM are type face measures, which I would imagine is how the dashes got their name. I did make the mistake of going to a Best Buy one Black Friday morning.

31A. Superhero preparing to cook dinner? : FLASH IN THE PANTRY (16). There is a new TV series which was part of the basis of conflict between Sheldon and Amy. LINK. (1:00) Again, for me the visual is cool, a superhero cooking.

37A. Eclair big enough to share? : PASTRY DE DEUX (12). The 'step of two', or pairs ballet. LINK.(9:02). I wonder how big that eclair would need to be before it would be shared, as I do like a good one.

45A. Efficient wall decor for a steel vault? : MAGNETIC TAPESTRY (16). My favorite because the visual is so appealing with the ornate rug sticking by magnetism

62A. Just tempting enough ... and what 19-, 31-, 37- and 45-Across are? : WORTH A TRY (9).  The rare Friday reveal.

Across:

1. Was missing : LACKED. Not the easiest of 1A clues, but very fair.

7. Cell download : APP. If you do not have a smart phone, you probably do not know about the millions of available APPlications.

10. "The Wild Duck" playwright : IBSEN. I filled this confidently, though I have never heard of the play. We get a lot of this prolific Norwegian.

15. Inclusive term : ET ALII. I had the two Is from the perps, so I avoided the alia/alii question.

16. Engage in a bit of self-criticism : RUE. For me, this is one of those clues that ends up making sense, but ruing the day etc. I did not think was always self-criticism. No no? 48D. Rue family tree : CITRUS. This is really obscure, and an odd way clue the fruit especially with RUE as fill. Hopefully JW will let us know where this piece of arcane info came from. "Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae." wiki

17. Word on a résumé : VITAE. There is debate as to whether a CV can be considered a résumé. LINK since a Curriculum Vitae is comprehensive and a résumé by its name is a summary.

18. Item with pips : DOMINO. Since Gladys Knight did not fit, and I already had EINE and DIOS and this game is very popular in South Florida, the NW was going well.

21. "I believe in the absolute __ ... of humanity": Gandhi : ONENESS. The tricky use of ...obscures the entire quotation and any religious implication.

23. Investment initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

24. CPR provider : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

25. Certain rider : FARE. Do any of you all use UBER?

26. Boost, say : ASSIST.

29. Quill __ : PEN.

35. Yachting, perhaps : ASEA. An acceptable A word, that people actually use.

36. Relies (on) : LEANS.

42. Pub patron's words : A PINT. What musical has refers to a pint?

44. Pole-to-pole link : AXIS.

53. Tirana is its cap. : ALBania.

54. Blu-ray player error message : NO DISC.

55. Sandusky's lake : ERIE. CSO again!

56. N.T. book : JAS. James.

58. Comprehended : GOT. I got it!

59. Winery event : TASTING. It was at such an event that I met in person the irrepressible and golf talented Chairman.

65. "Move it!" : LET'S GO.

66. Principle : TENET.

67. Dickens' "__ Mutual Friend" : OUR.  Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. Wikipedia.

68. Fountain offering : MALTED. I have not had one in years.

69. Minor surgery targets : CYSTS.

70. Old spy gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. LINK.

71. Heads (toward) : STEERS.

Down:

1. Started : LED OFF. The downs....

2. Like many Schoenberg compositions : ATONAL.

3. Cell component : CAMERA. I am old enough to still be amazed about the cell/camera and the quality of the immediate image you get.

4. Actors Kevin and Richard : KLINES.  LINK 1. Many great comedy movies. LINK 2. Three's Company. Not related.

5. Article in Der Spiegel : EINE. The German newspaper. 34A. Fresh, to a Frau : NEU. German 'NEW.'

6. Spanish deity : DIOS.

7. "__ you kidding?" : ARE.

8. Lock up, say : PUNISH.

9. '60s Moore role : PETRIE.

10. One of an academic octet : IVY. Can you name them all without looking? I bet Bill G. can.

11. Sit tight : BIDE.

12. Subject of a 1765 act : STAMP TAX. Isn't it fun when something you learned a million years ago pops into your brain.

13. Defunct carrier : EASTERN. Living in Florida, this was a gimme.

14. O.T. book : NEHemiah.

20. Woodworking tool : RASP.

22. More practical : SANER.

27. Vacation time : STAY. Not an easy parse for me.

28. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. Guy was a newspaper guy who later wrote books. "News, if unreported, has no impact. It might as well have not happened at all."
Gay Talese

30. FDR was once its governor : NYS. New York State.

32. Move it : HASTEN. Not my favorite word.

Hasten Jason
Get the Basin
Oops slop
Get the mop.

33. Violin attachment? : IST. How many started out thinking, what in the world do you put on a violin?

37. Farm houses : PIG BARNS. I never thought they had them, only a sty. but I grew up in Cow Country.

38. Cape named by Charles I : ANN. Explorer John Smith named all the capes using native American words, his King changed many; one was Cape Ann, which Charles named in honor of his mother Anne of Denmark. Wiki.

39. "__ Love": "Carmen Jones" song : DATS. For marti. Link. A sad story retold many times; Dorothy Dandridge did the 1954 movie.

40. Demand : EXACT.  SPOLIER ALERT!!!!!!!
The chief Sparrow exacted a stiff penalty from Cersei.

41. Decline : DIP. TV pundits love to speak of dips in the market.

42. Org. encouraging vaccination : AMA. I was tempted to put CVS, but knew better.

43. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" musical : PAL JOEY.

46. Inedible wrap : TOGA. Sari also fits.

47. Affirming retort : I DO TOO. Back again.

49. Wrap up : SETTLE. Your account?

50. Sibelius' "Valse __" : TRISTE. The Sad Waltz.  LISTEN. Classic.

51. Dead __ : RINGER.

52. "Holy moly!" : YE GODS.

57. Cancel the dele : STET. More historical crosswordese.

60. __ box : ALMS.

61. Box __ : SEAT.

62. NYC Freedom Tower locale : WTC. World Trade Center.

63. Nos. on driver's licenses : HTS. As opposed to wts.

64. Anniversary no. : YRS.

In the end, it was a workout but fun and I was pleased I got it all. Thanks again Jeffrey and all of you. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to TTP, who used to be very active on the blog. Busy with your golf league, pal?

2) Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Misty and her husband Rowland! Misty mentioned that she's going to make coq au vin for the special occasion. Let us know how it turns out.

Misty & Rowland 2009 (15th Anniversary Party)

Friday, May 22, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Add an E, and listen carefully. Sounds like JW is back punning away.

A quick return visit to Friday from Mr. Wechsler, with another punny effort, where the first word of each them answer is transformed by the addition of an “E” creating a sound-alike with a completely different meaning to the word and to the resulting phrase.  This effort is a classic-looking Friday with word count down and average word length in excess of 5 letters. Lots of original fill, with the NW corner featuring a beautiful stack of three new fill for the LAT (A TALL ONE, TIE BOLTS and SCRUPLES) crossing ALBUMEN. The SE has the new JOY OF SEX, little used ABORTIVE and YOU DA MAN, crossing the brand new GOLF TAN. To fill a grid with this much originality must be a dramatic amount of work. The theme fill are all funny and the I enjoy the visual look of the puzzle, which has many blocks also has lots of open squares. He does use two cheater squares to accommodate the two 14 letter themers in the 10-14-14-10 pattern, rather than the more common 10-13-13-10. He includes fill from many generations and interests which added to my enjoyment. How about you?

18A. Chorus of cows? : MOOED MUSIC (10). (MOOD Music). You think they practice in unison? LINK. (1:37).

25A. Environmentalist priests? : COLLARED GREENS (14). (COLLARD Greens). A stretch but I really like the play on COLLARD.

41A. Assessed penalties against nonconformists? : FINED THE WAYOUT (14). (FIND the WAY OUT). The trickiest, because you have to parse WAYOUT as defining an unconventional person.

53A. Barbie after a bit too much bubbly? : WINED UP TOY (10) (WIND-UP Toy). I am familiar with liquored up, not so much wined up, but then I might have been more impatient in my youth.

Across:

1. H.S. concerns : SATS. Scholastic Achievement Tests. I think the world is finally getting away from the idea that standardized tests are a predictor of anything. 56D. H.S. subject : ENGlish.

5. Place to pick up a kitten : SCRUFF. I will leave it to the cat experts to pick the link of a mother carrying her baby by the scruff of the neck.

11. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" threat : ASP.

14. Psych ending : OTIC. Just what the clue tells you-psychotic.

15. They may be seen on slides : AMEBAE. Many ways to spell this crossword staple.

16. Black __ : SEA.

17. He dethroned Carnera in 1934 : BAER. Max, who along with brother Buddy was a successful fighter. Max is probably more famous for losing to James J. Braddock, the Cinderella Man

20. Egg component : ALBUMEN. Reminds me of the old FOLK, POLK joke.

22. Make : REALIZE. I guess he means profit.

23. Relaxed pace : LOPE.

24. Cubist Fernand : LEGER. I am not familiar with this ARTIST.

31. Way to get a deal started : ANTE. card deal. Another quick turn around from yesterday's theme.

32. Cajuns' 18th-century ancestors, for example : EXILES.  Spicy READING?

33. Disarray : MESS.

34. Burkina Faso neighbor : BENIN. One of many African nations I have heard the name and know precious little else.

35. Noisy nesters : JAYS. Blue Jays are amazing. I have a tie just like that.

39. Apologia's opposite : TIRADE.

40. Mitch Miller's instrument : OBOE. From the early 60's, did you SING-A-LONG?

45. Rio Grande feeder : PECOS. Rivers; the Pecos being famous from all the oaters we see in puzzles. Black Bart, the meanest SOB west of the Pecos!

46. "Suit the action to the __ ... ": Hamlet : WORD. Loves me some Shakespeare. Cool phrase.

47. Slightly : A LITTLE.

50. Shade on the links? : GOLF TAN. Fun clue, and if you look at the farmer's tan both the men and womenb golfers have, you can enjoy this clue.

55. __ Valley: Reagan Library site : SIMI. A gimme to the left coasters.

57. Like some Olympics milieus : ALPINE. Skiing marti?

58. Actor Peters of "American Horror Story" : EVAN. The only character in all of the EPISODES. Never seen it.

59. Paris' Pont __ Arts : DES. French - PONT Italian PONTE. Both mean bridge. The Paris one is a pedestrian bridge and the des just means of.

60. PLO chairman before Mahmoud : YASSER. ABBAS succeeded ARAFAT.

61. Spinoff of TV's "Hercules" : XENA. People love her for her X.

Down:

1. Buckwheat noodle : SOBA. Use your noodle in cooking NOODLES.

2. Bar order : A TALL ONE. I used to order these all of the time. LINK.

3. Industrial fasteners : TIE BOLTS.

4. What con artists lack : SCRUPLES. I wonder why they say 'artists.'

5. " __ thing" : SAME. Different day.

6. "Seriously?!" : C'MON.

7. __ Speedwagon : REO. The GROUP (3:50).

8. Outstanding, in slang : UBER. I am go under on the uber.

9. Lose energy : FADE.

10. The Muses, e.g. : FEMALES.

11. Give, as a job : ASSIGN.

12. Captures : SEIZES.

13. Bankers Life Fieldhouse athlete : PACER. More basketball for you marti; they did not make the playoffs this year.

19. To whom Chance said, "You're not workin' as many bees these days" : ULEE. You say BEE, I say ULEE.

21. __ culpa : MEA.

25. Rotating piece : CAM. Do not get shafted.

26. Bridge call : REBID.

27. Apply : EXERT.

28. Shore seen on TV : DINAH. Burt Reynolds' old girl friend and a true friend to the LPGA.

29. Ice-skate, say : GLIDE.

30. Fix up : RENEW.

35. 1972 Alex Comfort best-seller, with "The" : JOY OF SEX. Link.

36. Unsuccessful : ABORTIVE.

37. "Awesome job, bro!" : YOU DA MAN. The really common yell at a golf tournament.

38. Wimbledon unit : SET. Tennis anyone?

39. High school concern : TEST DAY.

41. Like Lewis' Aslan : FELINE. in Narnia.

42. Baker's variety : ICINGS. Lick the bowl. This one even tinman can tolerate.

43. Importance : NOTE. Easier with "of."

44. Punching tool : AWL.

45. Emulated a 41-Down : PAWED. Not to be confused with mawed.

48. 2003-'11 Brazilian president, familiarly : LULA. hard to comment with no politics, but LINK a can.

49. "House" actor : EPPS. Omar.

50. Out of the park : GONE. Baseball, it's going, going, gone! A home run!

51. Open hearing, in law : OYER. Still heard in some courtrooms.

52. Historic voyager to Hispaniola : NINA. Ah, Chris Columbus and his ships.

54. "__ the gift to be simple ... ": Shaker song : 'TIS. Not as exciting exit song, but here it is. Coincidentally, I lived in Ann Lee Cottage in high school. LISTEN. They were very simple people, but since they were celibate, they were very crafty. They needed to find something to do with their hands.

I had an exceptionally good time; some originality, some variety and some humor. Great way to start a holiday week end. Thank you Jeffrey. Do not forget to honor all who have died serving our nation, but also enjoy. Lemonade out.

Friday, May 8, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Cast your bread upon the water and out comes a pun puzzle.

Well after marti had another puzzle run with Jeffrey ending last Thursday, he is back to Friday with a puzzle right up my carbohydrate loving alley. As we discussed earlier in the week with the WHERE/WARE/WEAR/WERE  sound, a puzzle based on sound-alike humor can be under-appreciated by those who speak very differently from the constructor. For me, while 16 across was easy, I do not say 'HALLA' I use the "CHHH" sound, so the HOLIDAY transfer was not there, but it really did not slow me down. All of the puns require some regional accent but I found them all very entertaining, especially in the context of the limited field of types of bread. Jeffrey fills out the theme with two grid-spanners (my guess is RYE sense of humor was the inspiration) and a built-in reveal which I did not need. The rest is fairly straight-forward with lots of 6's and a couple of 7s and 8s. The list is ACTION, ARARAT,  HANNAH,  LOOK TO,  MISHAP,  NOISES,  OOLALA,  OPPOSE, ORANGE,  PASTOR,  RAMMED,  RIYADH,  ARCHAIC,  BETIDES, ARRANGED, ERIC IDLE, with some also returning fill from recent puzzles. It played like a Thursday for me.

16A. Good feelings during Jewish bread celebrations?:  CHALLAH DAY CHEER (15).  HOLIDAY Cheer was enough for me to get his idea, if you have not had French Toast made from Challa you are missing a real treat.

25A. Cautionary tale about Greek bread? : PITA AND THE WOLF (14). PETER and the Wolf is a crossword regular (see yesterday)  and the boy who cried wolf still gets much play. My favorite of the fill, if not of the bread. Pita is so thick.

45A. Baker of only one type of Indian bread? : NAAN CONFORMIST (14). NONconformist. Is there a variation in saying NAAN? I like it infrequently.

62A. Ability to laugh at deli bread ... and at three other answers in this puzzle? : RYE SENSE OF HUMOR (15). WRY Sense of Humor. I grew up with caraway seeds.

 I cannot think of any English muffin, brioche, croissant, baguette or focaccia pun so on to the rest.

(ooo, maybe something about a CROSS AUNT?!?)

Across:

1. Flock leader : PASTOR. Not of sheep...no religion no politics, no picture of Tammy Faye. This was easier because of yesterdays clue/fill.

7. Old : ARCHAIC. What a nice old word.

14. Film genre : ACTION. When asked who the best present day action movie star is, Dolph Lundgren suggested perhaps it is this STAR.

15. Co-creator of the Rutles, a parodic band : ERIC IDLE. The parodic addition seems unnecessary.

18. iComfort maker : SERTA. SEALY has the same number of letters. Anyone else tempted to put in APPLE?

19. Spiritualist's sighting : AURA.

20. Greek peak : OSSA. I do not associate Greece with snow; this is near Mt. Olympus?

21. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer : LIN. The now almost forgotten Jeremy is replaced by MAYA.  Not to be confused with 40A. Draw, as a portrait : LIMN.

23. Newspaper thickener : ADS. Especially on Sundays.

33. Scores : MANY.

34. Big opening : MAW. Usually associated with a voracious animal's mouth.

35. Calf neighbor : TIBIA. Muscle and bone.

36. Scraps : ORTS. Those little leftover pieces of food, I think from German. Not to be confused with 49A. Conquistador's treasure : ORO. Spanish for Gold.

37. Commandment word : SHALT.

41. Home of minor league baseball's RubberDucks : AKRON. A cool unknown. LINK. Damn, Styx is playing there tonight.

43. Friend of Eeyore : ROO. Kanga's little one in Pooh's world.

44. Signs of island hospitality : LEIS. The bad double entendres are too easy.

50. Decorative swimmer : KOI. They often look like huge goldfish but are variations of Carp.

51. Mont Blanc, par exemple : ALPE. Fill for marti.

55. "A good deed __ ever forgot": "Huckleberry Finn" : AIN'T. Unremembered but easy fill.

57. Blush cause : SHAME. "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to."  Mark Twain,

65. Planned : ARRANGED.

66. Hit with force : RAMMED.

67. Happens to : BETIDES. Another great word from the past, often with woe, "One of these was punctuality and woe betide anyone who arrived late in school without a very good reason for being so." Fraser, Christine Marion NOBLE BEGINNNINGS

68. Fight : OPPOSE.

Down:

1. D.C. fundraisers : PACS. Political Action Committees are already gearing up for 2016.

2. Pine : ACHE. Not the tree, the yearning.

3. Take the lead : STAR.

4. Slope : TILT.

5. "C'est magnifique!" : OO LA LA. Linda.

6. Genetic messenger : RNA.

7. Ancient landing spot : ARARAT. We had this Mount back in a Gareth Thursday in April.

8. King Saud University city : RIYADH. Did you remember where the H goes?

9. Speculative bond rating : CCC. Oh my, not a good bond, but an extra C shout out for the Corner?

10. Jaunty greeting : HI HO. Be careful...

11. Summer quaffs : ADES. A CSO; thanks JW!

12. Martinique et Réunion : ILES. We have volcanoes and islands this week.

13. Michael of "Arrested Development" : CERA.

15. URL ending : EDUcation.

17. Disney's Montana : HANNAH.    THEN.       NOW.

22. Pet food creator Paul : IAMS. The story. LINK.


24. Place for quiet, at times : SET. Quiet on the set! Rolling!

25. Yukon warmer : PARKA. Last week ANORAK, this week...

26. Mural beginning : INTRA. I was playing intramural tag football when Kennedy was shot.

27. 1980s-'90s heavyweight champ : TYSON. He was not impressed with PACQUIAO MAYWEATHER fight, and consumers have filed a class action LAWSUIT based on the undisclosed shoulder injury.

28. Grumpy, say : DWARF. More Disney; or not Disney

29. Hesitant thought : WILL I. or won't I?

30. Theatrical honors : OBIES. Off Broadway. (OB)

31. Control, in a way : LIMIT.

32. Followers : FANS.

33. Halloween effect : MOAN. I hope more often than that in your home.

38. Seek guidance from : LOOK TO.

39. Brand for greenskeepers : TORO. Lawnmowers etc.

42. Sgt., for one : NCO.

46. Grand Marnier flavor : ORANGE. A shout out to Amy?

47. Malfunction indicators, perhaps : NOISES. When you start your car and you hear things it often leads to a ...

48. Thing gone wrong : MISHAP.

51. Many an 8-Down native : ARAB.

52. Harp relative : LYRE. Back after LYRA yesterday.

53. Sassy : PERT.

54. Actor Morales : ESAI. He is crossword staple.

56. Composer Rorem : NED. He is crossword staple also.

58. Hardest part : HUMP. Get over the....

59. It's used in rounds : AMMO.

60. Springfield watering hole : MOE'S. Speaking of rounds...CSOs abound for our Chairman.

61. Paris : terre :: Bonn : __ : ERDE. Earth.

63. Word with game or point : END. Which we are near....as we pace...

64. Not to : FRO. Cute

When  you have a bread puzzle you are bound to have some crumby clues (LMAO), but I had a fine time and one of my faster Fridays. Damn, I am missing Styx, lemonade out.

Thursday, April 30, 2015 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Got Glue?"

Three different takes on the act of sniffing.

20-Across. [sniff] : I'VE CAUGHT A COLD. In my case, I'm sniffling because of allergies.

37-Across. [sniff] : THIS IS REALLY SAD. All right, fess up. How many of you cried at the end of "Steel Magnolias"?

56-Across. [sniff] : WHAT'S THAT SMELL? Does your S.O. hold the milk up to your nose and ask if you think it's still good?

I have blogged Jeffrey's puzzles so often, that I can finally spell his name without looking back at the puzzle information. ;-)

Across:

1. Bit of plankton : ALGA. Nailed it. ("This is gonna be a piece of cake!")

5. Venus and Mars : ORBS. ("Ummm...")

9. Actress Thompson of "Veronica Mars" : TESSA. ("Uh-oh, I'm in trouble...")

14. Small deer : ROES. I wasn't thinking in the plural!

15. Roman numerals may be seen on one : DIAL. My first thought. But I held off because everything else up north was pretty blank for a while.

16. Coveted annual honor : OSCAR. Took a minute, but it came to me.

17. Very aware of : TUNED IN TO.

19. Caroler's wear, often : SCARF.

22. Sun. speech : SER.mon.

23. Expressive music genre : EMO.

24. Sport fishing quarry : MARLIN. I found lots of clips on you tube, but this one was just crazy scary to me. 3:19

26. Way around London : TRAM. I noticed immediately that "double-decker bus" would not fit.

28. Debatable skill : ESP.

30. Manner of speaking : TONE.

31. Rueful : GRIEVOUS.

36. Shepherd's __ : PIE. I still remember the delicious shepherd's PIE that my grammar school cook used to serve.

41. "Jingle Bells" contraction : O'ER.

42. Some road signals : BLINKERS. The car's blinkers, or the yellow blinking light?

43. Desertlike : ARID.

45. Otoscope user, for short : ENT. I never knew that Tolkien's giant trees used otoscopes?  ;-)
(Ear Nose and Throat doctor)

46. Hurricane __ : LAMP.

50. Knock it off : DESIST.

52. Inflation meas. : PSI. Pounds per Square Inch.

55. "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) star Wasikowska : MIA. She and Johnny Depp were very good in this version.

60. Botch : MISDO.

61. Cockpit option : AUTO PILOT.

62. Expensive : STEEP.

63. Not at all pleasant : GRIM.

64. NYC-to-Montauk system : LIRR. Long Island Rail Road.

65. Frauds : SHAMS.

66. Barnyard meal : SLOP.

67. Cocker spaniel of film : LADY...and the Tramp.


Down

1. Recording __ : ARTIST.

2. Vent opening : LOUVER. Nit.  The louver is what covers or exposes the vent opening.

3. Canis and Felis : GENERA. Your generic dog and cat.

4. "Give me __" : A SEC.

5. Disgust : ODIUM.

6. "Don't Pass Me By" songwriter : RINGO.

7. Bad thing to take in Vegas? : BATH.

8. Pinball machine feature : SLOT. Ah yes, you never get to use all the other features until you put your coin in the SLOT.

9. 1900 Teatro Costanzi premiere : TOSCA. Nailed it. Rome's original opera house.

10. Go with : ESCORT.

11. Food often served seared : SCALLOPS. I just made those the other night, and served them with a balsamic reduction. Yumm.

12. Autonomous region of Italy : SARDINIA. There were five choices.

13. Dog's declaration : ARF.

18. Actor Daniel __ Kim : DAE. Remember him from Hawaii Five-O?

21. Pharmaceutical container : AMPULE.

25. Grant factor : NEED.

27. Classic two-seated roadsters : MGs.

28. It happens : EVENT. Because "S**T" was too short.  ;-)

29. Overcharge : SOAK.

32. Barbecue morsel : RIB.  Mmmm...it's getting to be that time of year, when we use our favorite 52-Down. Cookout site : PATIO.

33. The Skerries in the 39-Down, e.g. : ISLETS. And 39-Down. View from Liverpool : IRISH SEA.

34. Yeats' home : ERIN.

35. Camera shop offering, briefly : SLR.

37. "The Wind in the Willows" figure : TOAD.

38. Legalese adverb : HEREWITH.

40. Fashion monogram : YSL. Yves St. Laurent.

44. Crown jewels item : DIADEM.

47. First name in aviation history : AMELIA.

48. Upper-class address : MILORD.

49. Insignificant : PALTRY.

51. Conductor's calls : STOPS.

53. Tread heavily : STOMP.

54. NetZero, e.g.: Abbr. : ISP.

57. Puts (out) : TAGS.

58. Throw hard : HURL.

59. Paper or pepper source : MILL.

60. Ed.'s pile : MSS. Manuscripts. The second "S" is not just the plural of the abbreviation.  It follows the rule of doubling the last letter of the abbreviation, similar to using "pp" for the plural of "pages."

And that's it from me for now. Your turn!
Marti

Thursday, April 16, 2015 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "What the L?"

36. Furniture designed for portability ... or, what are found in this puzzle's circles : FOLDING CHAIRS.

We have a LAWN, SEDAN, DECK, BARBER, WINDSOR and ROCKING chair in the grid. All of them appear in an "L" shape, simulating a folded chair. Although LAWN, DECK and BARBER chairs can literally "fold,"  the reveal is only a figurative description of the folded chairs in our grid.

Jeff Wechsler's grids always seem to grab my eye, so it seems he has accomplished his goal with at least one solver.  Here is what he said when I asked him about the inspiration for this one:
"As happens with many puzzle themes, I don't really know where that "creative spark" comes from.  Often, the concept is simply derived from a word or phrase that suddenly strikes me as potential theme material. I have recently been interested in themes with a visual element (such as the smiling face in my January 1 puzzle).  When the term "folding chairs" appeared, the thematic light bulb went off, and I started to compile types of chairs.  I then determined which were generally amenable to a puzzle grid, where it would be most practical to "fold" them, and where to position them in the grid. " 

Way to go, Jeff!

Across

1. Determination : WILL. I WILL finish Jeff's puzzle, I WILL finish Jeff's puzzle, I WILL finish...

5. One often schmeared : BAGEL.

10. Get entangled (with) : MESS.

14. "It depends" : I MAY...hate myself in the morning.

15. Have __ for news : A NOSE.

16. Ended a flight : ALIT. I read this as "Ended a fight" at first.  (Note to self: Make appt w. eye doctor...)

17. Blue : DOWN.

18. Suppress : SIT ON.

19. George Lucas group : JEDI.

20. Semiprecious stone : ONYX.

21. Sends out : EMITS.

22. Roast's roost : OVEN.

23. 2014 U.S. Women's Open champ : WIE. Michelle. Not only can she play golf, she's gorgeous.

...(I hate her.)

24. Hamlet, for one : DANE.

25. Succumb to pressure : CRACK.

26. Choose not to pick? : STRUM. Guitar.  Fun clue.

29. Bit of cheering : RAH.

31. __ kwon do : TAE.

32. Tiff : ROW.

34. Computer outlet supply : MICE. And a clecho at 28-Down. Computer outlet supplies : MODEMS. I wonder why MICE wasn't clued in the plural as well?

35. Bruin legend : ORR.

40. Swung thing : BAT.

41. Winged god : EROS.

42. Alf and Mork, briefly : ETs.

43. Aegean Airlines hub, on itineraries : ATH.ens.

44. Dauphins' play area : MER. The answer is the French word for "sea." I was thinking of the French "heir-apparent" when I saw "dauphin."   But the clue actually refers to the French word for "dolphin," and, as it turns out, showed that I was on the right track.

45. Really beat : STOMP. Hands up for "tromp" at first?

49. Relatives of emus : RHEAS. Emus are native to Australia, while RHEAS are from South America.

51. Exchange : SWAP.

55. Frito go-with? : LAY. My first thought. But..nah, that can't be right? But, yeah - it was!

56. Muppet with a unibrow : BERT.

57. Hosiery shade : BEIGE. [sigh] For Splynter.

58. Unusual : RARE.

59. "__ la Douce" : IRMA.

60. Playground denial : AM NOT! ("You are too a booger-face!!")

61. "Metamorphoses" poet : OVID.

62. Operation Solomon carrier : EL AL. It was a covert Israeli military operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel during the destabilizing issues surrounding Ethiopia in 1991.

63. Symbol of authority : BADGE.

64. "See you around!" : CIAO.

65. Word sung on New Year's Day : SYNE.

66. Belgian expressionist James : ENSOR. I needed the ENS** to remember this one.

67. 46-Down, for one : KING. And 46-Down. Eleventh-century Scandinavian leader : OLAV II.


Down

1. Isolated lines, in typesetting : WIDOWS. And orphans. Paragraph-ending or -beginning lines that appear at the top or bottom of a page.

2. Go-getter's phrase : I'M ON IT.

3. Many a character on "The Good Wife" : LAWYER.

4. Web browser since 1992 : LYNX. Developed at the University of Kansas, and still in use.

5. Derived from, with "on" : BASED.

6. Jungian concept : ANIMA. The personification of feminine psychological tendencies within a man. (The animus is the personification of masculine psychological tendencies within a woman.)

7. Was accepted as a member : GOT IN.

8. Abstruse : ESOTERIC.

9. Eye part : LENS.

10. Significant : MAJOR.

11. Vertical shuttle : ELEVATOR. Not invented by Otis - he simply invented the braking system that made them safe. They have been used for thousands of years.

12. Auxiliary seating units : SIDE CARS.  SIDE CARS are also drinks made with Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice.

13. Really tough puzzle, say : STINKER. Surely not this one!

25. Has an ace up one's sleeve : CHEATS. I think of it as simply having an advantage!

27. Healthcare.gov, for one : URL.

30. Workout woe : ACHE. Yep, been there, done that!

33. Telegram : WIRE.

34. British sports cars : MGs.

36. Like some advice : FATHERLY.

37. 2008 love triangle film, with "The" : OTHER MAN.

38. Viking : NORSEMAN.

39. Follower's suffix : IST.

40. The first ones were introduced in blonde and brunette in 1959 : BARBIES. Mine was blonde. Yours?

47. Contralto Anderson : MARIAN. She was the Rosa Parks of the concert world.

48. Half-wild Asian canine : PYE-DOG. I dredged this answer up from who knows where!

50. "And thereby hangs __": Shak. : A TALE. Fool's words in "As You Like It."

52. They may be measured in knots : WINDS. I thought it was very interesting that WINDS formed the vertical back of the WINDSOR chair, which can also be a knot!

53. Disco era term : A-GO-GO.

54. Pan on Broadway : PETER. Nice misdirection! Were you thinking of a bad review?

57. Immortal Yankee, with "The" : BABE. Ruth.

58. Sway : ROCK. on!!

Marti, out.

Friday, March 20, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: PeePee time.

A return to Friday for another of my favorite regular constructors, Jeffrey Wechsler, who gives us five two word phrases, with the first word ending in P and the second starting with P but one of the Ps is eliminated. Gratuitously for my write up I have chosen the P at the beginning of the second word as the eliminated letter. For me, the key to all letter adding or subtracting is the wit in the reveal and here is a really fun one. If I had been eating SPLIT PEA SOUP I would have spit pea soup. I started out with a bit of trouble only because the HUMAN BRAIN has such adaptive qualities that I read STRIPOKER, as if both Ps were present. There have been so many studies of this phenomenon, it was cool to see it as the basis of a puzzle. So what did one P say to the other P? "Time to split, man." The grid also has incorporated the reveal and one themer in the downs, which I always like. Lots of workable but challenging fill EARTHEN, HAD A KID, OLD WEST, WREATHE, APPARENT, GET A BITE, HARRISON, HOOSIERS and some shorter fun words ADDLED, BURROW, CANTOR, OCTAVE, ORIENT, PARSEC, SCATHE, URANIA.

A nice balance with some crunch to make you earn the Ta Dah.

17A. Where shirts may be lost? : STRIP POKER (9). I like the double entendre of the clue/fill as you can lose your shirt, literally and lose your shirt figuratively playing poker.

32A. California Marine Corps base : CAMP PENDLETON (12). OOH RAH. What do our resident marines think of its ban?

39A. Realm of some self-help books : POP PSYCHOLOGY (12). My undergraduate degree.

62A. Update : KEEP POSTED (9). I now recognize KYP, in texting. (Keep You Posted).

13D. Travel agent's suggestions : TRIP PLANS (8). My least favorite of the theme, but needed to balance the reveal.

35D. Soup variety, and a feature of five puzzle answers : SPLIT PEA (8). As mr. Gleason would say, And away we go....

Across:

1. Shoot the moon : GO BIG. This was real challenge as well, because it has so many meanings, and I mostly associate with Hearts where you must take all hearts and the Queen of Spades.

6. "Say from whence / You __ this strange intelligence?": Macbeth : OWE. Not my favorite play, but:

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.
By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis.
But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman, and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence, or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you.

9. Word of possibility : MIGHT.

14. MDX maker : ACURA. An SUV.

15. __ Pacis: altar of Peace : ARA.  This EDIFICE. PAX, was the Roman goddess of peace, from whence we derive Pax Vobiscum.

16. Tough test metaphor : A BEAR.

19. Dish man? : PETRI.  An interesting  STORY about a very cultured man.

20. Measurement for Sagan : PARSEC. Carl is back. Twice. 58A. Muse for Sagan : URANIA. A bit of a scientific mini-theme with the Galileo reference. This amusing MUSE.

21. One sending out bills : ATM. Automated Teller Machine. Nice deception.

23. Field guard : TARP. More fun cluing, for the tarpaulin protecting the baseball diamond.

24. Bolivian president Morales : EVO. A member of an Indigenous Tribe in Bolivia as well as a Coca farmer. LINK.

25. Denounce unmercifully : SCATHE. I do not go in for the Rex Parker tendency for scathing reviews.

27. Natl. debt unit : BILlion. Sadly trillion is the real answer.

28. Mountain __: soft drinks : DEWS. There are many kinds.

30. White : ASHEN.

31. Galileo's birthplace : PISA. His BIOGRAPHY.

35. Snowboarding gold medalist White : SHAUN.

38. Begins : OPENS. Our write begins with a made up theme/name.

45. Easy pace : LOPE.

46. Idle colleague : PALIN. No Sarah but Monty Python and Fish Called Wanda star MICHAEL. Nice Eric Idle misdirection..

47. Conan Doyle, for one : SCOT. The damn Scott's Lawn commercials have ruined it for me.

51. "Love __ Rose": Neil Young song : IS A. Neil got bashed for his CSNY work.

52. At sea : ADDLED. Not out on the ocean but confused.

54. LAX stat : ARRival.

55. Fade out : TIRE which describes how I feel about...

57. Film with six sequels : SAW.

60. Equals : PEERS.

64. Kovacs of early TV comedy : ERNIE.

65. Tao follower? : ISM. Taoism.

66. "JFK" director : STONE. Oliver.

67. Late bloomer? : ASTER. They bloom in the fall.

68. Skid row woe : DTS. Delirium Tremens, the shakes.

69. Prepares for recycling : SORTS.

Down:

1. Suddenly inspired : GASPED. Along with the equally confusing 5D. Is visibly thunderstruck : GAPES. These words do confound me.

2. Staff span : OCTAVE. Musical staff.

3. Underground shelter : BURROW.

4. Camera component : IRIS.

6. Sturdy tree : OAK.

7. Encircle : WREATHE. Not a usage to which I was familiar, but of course it makes sense.

8. Like 3-Downs : EARTHEN.

9. Place for an X, perhaps : MAP. It marks the spot.

10. "That's dubious" : I BET. The tone must be sarcastic.

11. Go for lunch, say : GET A BITE. Not related but see 41D. Started one's family, casually : HAD A KID.

12. President who signed the Sherman Antitrust Act : HARRISON.  Benjamin who was the grandson of William Henry and president before and after Grover Cleveland. This ACT. Shall we break up Apple?

18. Razor man? : OCCAM. It is simple, it really is.

22. Patch : MEND.

26. Venomous snake : ASP.

29. Informal pardon? : 'SCUSE. Is this supposed to be English?

31. 1666 London fire chronicler : PEPYS. A glimpse into the past with his DIARY.

33. "__ luck?" : ANY. Luck had nothing to do with it.

34. Two-by-four source : LOG. Simple, elegant.

36. Classic 1986 sports movie : HOOSIERS.

37. Obvious : APPARENT.

40. Makers of many skeds : CPAS. I am sure accountants use it but I do not like 'sked.'

42. Grey area? : OLD WEST. Zane Grey that is.

43. Small, made smaller : LIL.

44. Get ahead of : ONE UP.

48. Fixture at Rosh Hashanah services : CANTOR. At all services.

49. Put on course : ORIENT.

50. Masonry and such : TRADES. One of my mother's brothers taught masonry at trade school in Brooklyn, Connecticut.

53. Metallic waste : DROSS.

56. City on its own lake : ERIE. A shout out to our own.

59. In the matter of : AS TO.

61. Sun. delivery : SERmon. Ecumenical equal time for the Church.

63. Acute care initials : EMS. Emergency Medical Services.

Thank you Jeffrey, I had a really good time. I hope you and all the others have a great week end at ACPT, and I hope everyone has a great spring. Lemonade a bit under the weather signing out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Welcome back, Gary! What Irish Miss said yesterday: You were missed and no more setbacks allowed! Now we need Yellowrocks to check in.

 

2) Happy Birthday to Commander Al (Spitzboov), a blog regular whose loyalty, friendship and advice I've been relying on the past few years. Al served in the Navy Reserve for over 20 years and retired as Commander. You can click here for more pictures of Spitzboov, Betty  and Argyle at the Washington County Fair last August.

 Spitzboov and Argyle with John (Deere)

 
3) Happy Birthday to John28man as well. The lady in his avatar picture is his wife. They were in a restaurant in Vienna, Austria.