Friday, August 26, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Oh U! Where did U go now?

Rich really is making my life easy with JW and Bruce dominating the Friday landscape. They have many stylistic similarities which makes sussing the theme easy. The first themer jumped out at me, I saw the gimmick of removing the letter "U" to create a new fill with a witty clue. JW has put together a consistent theme with each two word fill having a second word which is a five letters with the "U" in the middle that is removed (missing). That took extra effort. We on the other hand  get a bonus Friday reveal. We have lots of foreign languages, multi-word fill and Friday trickery. All in all, a good time. We have some very sparkly fill: CARHOPS, AREOLAE, A TAD OFF, ARM BONE, BEVELED, BOASTED, CASUAL SMILE and GET A SHOT OFF. (Were you put off by the two offs?)

17A. Fishing spot for vacationing Londoners? : BRITISH POUND (11). What is the difference between a Pond and a Lake?

20A. Legwear for air travelers? : BOARDING HOUSE (12). Like this imagery...Splynter, ok?

54A. 007 returning from assignment? : HOMEWARD BOUND (12). Bond, James Bond.

60A. Vacant look? : STERILE GAUZE (11). A very Sterile clue.

And the centrally placed grid-spanning reveal...
39A. Retirement party remark ... or a homophonic hint to four long Across answers : YOU WILL BE MISSED (15).

Across:

1. Sonic employees : CARHOPS.

8. Shrinking section at Barnes & Noble : CDS. I have not bought one in years.

11. Bit of wit : GAG. Palindrome.

14. Anatomical rings in irises : AREOLAE. I cannot find our seminal picture that C.C. links. Latin.

15. Earth-moving tool : HOE. No Don Imus humor here, please; especially not next to Areolae and...

16. Reproductive cells : OVA. Latin.

19. Upset, with "over" : TIP. Think apple cart...verb not adjective.

22. Ruff stuff : LACE. Think ruffle..

New                                                                         Old

25. Lacking : FREE OF.

26. Not quite right : A TAD OFF.

30. Until now : SO FAR.

33. P replacers, in some lineups : DHS. This clue is just a tad off, as the Designated Hitter only replaces the Pitcher in the batting order, not the lineup. But then again the lineup is the batting order. I have successfully confused myself.

34. Woman's name meaning "white" : BIANCA. Shakespeare anyone?
"I am no strumpet; but of life as honest
As you that thus abuse me."

38. Smooth, perhaps : PAVE.

42. Epps of "House" : OMAR.

43. Computer conveniences : MACROS. We use word perfect for legal docs and macros are a necessity.

44. [That's kinda funny] : HEH. Heh...

45. Sylvester's genus : FELIS. Latin: Felis catus.

47. Radius, e.g. : ARMBONE. A subtle shout out to me, as that is the bone which has the oblique fracture.

49. "The Great Escape" setting : STALAG. A classic movie, which inspired the music and perhaps Hogan's Heroes. POW camp. German short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager.

53. Lots : A TON.

59. "... __ quit!" : OR I!

64. Toondom's Phineas, to Ferb : PAL. I never have seen this SHOW.

65. Strauss' "__ Heldenleben" : EIN. Strauss was also a very famous conductor, but he does not seem very happy.

66. Like the edges of some mirrors : BEVELED.

67. Dodge City-to-Topeka dir. : ENE.

68. Mining supply : TNT. Explosive idea.

69. Talked big : BOASTED.

Down:

1. Waiter at a stand : CAB. Trickeration.

2. LAX stat : ARRival.

3. Bonn : König :: Lisbon : __ : REI. German : Portugese: KING

4. Place of rapid growth : HOTBED.

5. Miscellany : OLIO. The word of the Corner. And, 57D. Muffin go-with : OLEO.

6. "¿Qué __?" : PASA. Spanish.

7. Very, in Vienna : SEHR.  I grew up hearing, "sehr gut."

8. "Carmina Burana" performers : CHOIR.

9. "It tolls for thee" poet : DONNE. To CA and all of you...
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

10. Wetlands grasses : SEDGES.

11. Beat the buzzer, say : GOT OFF A SHOT. JW loves his multi-word fill. And basketball? 21D. Court action : HOOPS.

12. National alternative : AVIS. Rental car companies, not airports.

13. Show wonder : GAPE.

18. Email attachment : PDF. While we create in word perfect, we send out Portable Document Format.

22. After "Our" and with 54-Down, title for the Virgin Mary based on an 1871 apparition : LADY OF. 54D. See 22-Down : HOPE. Between the politics and the religion this is a hard one to blog. LINK.

23. Where many strikes are called : AT HOME. Baseball.

24. Subtle come-on, perhaps : CASUAL SMILE. Like below.

27. Geisha accessory : OBI. Sash, like above.

28. Thin coating : FILM.

29. WWII White House dog : FALA. FDR's dog.

31. Johnson & Johnson brand : AVEENO. They make nice products but the name reminds me of the haunting Hebrew prayer, "Our Father, Our King."

32. Hard-working "little" folk tale critter : RED HEN. A LINK for all of our teachers.

35. "30 Rock" network : NBC.

36. Michael of "Arrested Development" : CERA.  A very busy career, I loved JUNO and SUPERBAD.

37. __ vincit omnia : AMOR. If you know Latin, then you know love conquers all. 50D. Forum language : LATIN.

40. Work on a novel : WRITE. Sounds like fun....

41. System of thought : ISM.

46. Carpenter's array : SAW SET. I was not impressed with this fill until after I was done. I checked and found 492 million links! I will those let who can, explain it all.

48. Access requirements : BADGES. I used to have many of these. LINK.

51. "__ you done yet?" : AREN'T.

52. E. Berlin's land : GDR. German Democratic Republic.

55. African city on the Mediterranean : ORAN. In Algeria and more geography I do not know.

56. Romaine relative : BIBB. Lettuce pray, or is that religion.

58. St. Petersburg's river : NEVA. New to me. READ?

61. Space bar neighbor : ALT.

62. What's found in central Arizona? : ZEE.

63. Byrnes of '50s-'60s TV : EDD. An early TV heart throb.

Then    Now

Speaking of now, it is time for me to post and await your pleasure. Thanks again for the show Jeffrey, and thank you all for watching. Lemonade out.

Thursday, August 11th, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: A bunch of crazies - Five mad synonyms begin each theme entry:

20A. Toon with the catchphrase "You're despicable!" : DAFFY DUCK. He's evolved a little since 1937:

27A. With "The," Julius Kelp, in a 1963 movie : NUTTY PROFESSOR. Written by, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. I'm guessing there wasn't a lot of argument on the set.

34A. Alfred E. Neuman trademark : SILLY GRIN. Mad Magazine gap-toothed "cover boy".

46A. Dr. Seuss book about an odd time of the week : WACKY WEDNESDAY

56A. Riding crop relative : BUGGY WHIP. Or what you get when you take dessert cream in a can on a picnic?

Morning! A quintet of themers - all adjectives, all five letters and all synonyms. The final BUGGY was new to me, I'd never heard the term used in that context. I'm more familiar with the creaky computer code meaning.

It did cross my mind that a CRAZY entry might be a little more mainstream, but I'm guessing BUGGY must be more in-the-language than I thought.

The NE corner had me stumped for the longest time. I eventually stared it down, but it took way longer than is normal for me; it's  always nice to be challenged. Tricky cluing for TEAM USA, APRICOT and SETTERS; indecision between CREEDS and CREDOS and not seeing any of the cross entries had me sweating.

Let's see what else we've got today:

Across:

1. They don't last long : FADS

5. Little biter : GNAT

9. Take the role of : ACT AS. With ACH already in place, I started with ADOPT, which contributed to my NE corner travails.

14. Introductory French infinitive : ÊTRE. To Be. Hamlet's favorite French verb.

15. Girl in a Manilow song with "a dress cut down to there" : LOLA. From the Copacabana Club in New York City, named for the beach in Rio.

16. Left Bank lunch choice : CRÊPE. More uncertainty here. I was ruminating whether another city had a Left Bank (I'm more familiar with the Parisian "Rive Gauche") and if we were in France why neither "soupe" nor "salade" worked with my "ACH". A geographical oddity, the Left Bank is actually on the south side of the river in central Paris.

17. Gas, for one: Abbr. : UTIL

18. Fossey subjects : APES

19. Crux : HEART.

22. Send out : EMIT.

23. Trainer's command : SIT

24. Wing, perhaps : ELL

25. Offer as proof : ADDUCE. I don't think I knew this. The word looks familiar now I see it, but it was my final fill.

31. Restful place : SPA

32. Struggling sea : ARAL. Struggling in the sense that it's disappearing. The same is happening with a number of lakes here in California. Just yesterday, the British "Guardian" newspaper carried this story about Eagle Lake.

33. Cadillac model : ATS. Not STS then.

39. "Shameless" network, in TV listings : SHO. Showtime. I don't think about this any more, it just goes straight in.

42. Old Venetian judge : DOGE. He had a nice, modest abode, the old judge. No over-indulgence here. Two beds, 1 1/2 baths.

43. Special __ : OPS

51. Is of use to : AVAILS

52. Source of confidence : EGO

53. Copyright data: Abbr. : YRS. As in © 2015, 2016

55. Shore bird : TERN. Oh, so not TEAL.

59. "Granted" : SO I DO. "So you think I blog every Thursday? Granted, but I might need a stand-in every now and again".

61. Algerian coastal city : ORAN. Nice looking place. Second largest city after the capital Algiers.

62. __-Tahoe Airport : RENO. I got delayed here on the way back from a meeting in Reno with the manufacturers of most of the video gaming machines you find in Reno, Las Vegas and other gambling resorts. To kill some time I played a few hands of video poker on one of their machines, and before I knew what was happening I'd lost $100. I didn't get the business either, just to add insult to injury.

63. Wing, perhaps : ANNEX

64. Gp. joined by Croatia in 2009 : N.A.T.O.

65. 2012 Best Picture : ARGO

66. Welling up : TEARY

67. Cassini of fashion : OLEG. He created the "Jackie Look" for the First Lady.

68. Glimpse : PEEK

Down:

1. Extended conflicts : FEUDS

2. Gets : ATTAINS

3. Rise slowly, as smoke : DRIFT UP

4. Lifestyle magazine : SELF. I'd never heard of this publication, but then I don't think I'm exactly the target demographic.

5. "With pleasure!" : GLADLY

6. Tropicana option : NO PULP. I like the pulpy grapefruit juice personally.

7. Guinness on screen : ALEC

8. Job : TASK

9. "__ du lieber!" : ACH. My only entry in the NE for some considerable time.

10. Doctrines : CREEDS

11. Stars and Stripes squad : TEAM USA. Tricky.

12. Nectar source : APRICOT. Tricky.


13. British cruciverbalists : SETTERS. Tricky! Usually called "constructors" here in the US. The marquee London Times cryptic puzzle appears anonymously, others newspapers use pseudonyms for the setters.

21. "__ Brutus says he was ambitious": Antony : YET

25. Way off : AFAR

26. Section with a slicer : DELI. I was thinking along the lines of a kitchen tool before the penny dropped.

28. Positions for Ph.D. students : T.A.S

29. Like daisies : RAYED. Crosses filled this in for me. Here's a bee visiting:

30. Cousin of edu : ORG. URL suffix.

35. Pastoral poem : IDYL

      But when that moan had past for evermore,

The stillness of the dead world's winter dawn

Amazed him, and he groan'd, "The King is gone.''

And therewithal came on him the weird rhyme,

"From the great deep to the great deep he goes."

 

From "Idyls of the King: The Passing of Arthur" - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

36. Some temperature extremes : LOWS

37. Soft drink ord. : LGE.

38. Subtle assent : NOD

39. Goes after, as a fly : SWATS AT

40. Hors d'oeuvres server's suggestion : HAVE ONE! I put in HAVE TWO! initially, I guess a reflection of what I'd like to hear!

41. Ancient instrument with finger holes : OCARINA. I had no idea that this was a thing:

44. Sign at the register : PAY HERE

45. Shot source : SYRINGE

47. More comforting : KINDER. I can't stop seeing the German "child" with this word. It's like the candelabra/kissing picture - once you see one, it's hard to see the other.

48. Void : NEGATE

49. Seasonal quaff : EGG NOG

50. Vegan staple : SOY

54. Frighten, as a horse : SPOOK

56. U2 frontman : BONO. A little late for a musical link, but here's one of my favorite ballads from "The Joshua Tree" album.

57. Russia's __ Mountains : URAL

58. Food truck offering : WRAP

60. Oil giant, on the NYSE : OXY. Occidental Petroleum Corp.

I think that should do it for me today. It's a 56D.

Steve

Oh - and heeeeeere's the grid!

Friday, August 5, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Music please JzB, use your

JW returns quickly and gives us another CSO puzzle, this one for our own Ron and his talented trombone. The use of a single clue for all theme answers is not uncommon, but Jeffrey brings it home with 4 themers that are all grid-spanners! He injects some nice 8 letter fill in the corner with two stacked long ones crossing a single down fill.  APPRISED,  SHUT OUTS, PARISHES,  RING TOSS,  IN SPIRIT and CASSETTE are the 8s, with triple 6s intersecting double 6s in the other corners. A very nice grid with very few short fill.

17A. Slide : MICROSCOPE MOUNT (15). Obviously sussing the theme is not an issue, but how the fill was going to become four different types of slides was the fun. We begin in the lab.

30A. Slide : PLAYGROUND CHUTE (15). Next we go back to our childhood.

45A. Slide : RUNNER'S MANEUVER (15). Of course the slide in baseball is an integral part of the game, reminding me of Dizzy Dean who said of Phil Rizzuto in the 1938 world series, "He slud into third."

59A. Slide : TROMBONE SECTION (15). How about the entire orchestra.

Across:

1. Without markup : AT COST. The big lie in the car business.

7. Informed : APPRISED. A big word in the law, as judges are fully apprised of the premises.

15. Like the Godhead : TRIUNE. Definition: consisting of three in one (used especially with reference to the Trinity).

16. Where flocks assemble : PARISHES. Parishes are flocks, or they are part of a parish, but they assemble in churches, chapels...

19. "Defending Liberty Pursuing Justice" org. : ABA. American Bar Association.

20. Org. for Sharapova and Kournikova : WTA. Women's Tennis Association...a dupe for you purists? Tricky using two Russian Tennis Pros.

21. Base or case closer : MENT. A suffix clue.

22. Exaggerates, as a résumé : PADS.

24. Follow : ENSUE.

27. Ref. with quarterly online updates : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

34. Respond to a failed delivery : RESEND. A Friday tortured clue.

35. Not your average joe? : LATTE. A really fun clue, especially if you know coffee is know as joe, as in a really good cup of joe. You ask WHY?

36. Video game hero with a kart : MARIO. I played and lost often when my boys were growing up.

39. "To wrap up ... " : IN SUMmation.

40. Epic including the Catalogue of Ships : ILIAD. The Catalogue of Ships (Ancient Greek: νεῶν κατάλογος, neōn katalogos) is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad (2.494-759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. WIKI.

41. Willing to take risks : DARING.

50. Shocked letters : OMG.

51. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia : ELENA. The three lady justices, again!

52. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. Learn the history of the nomenclature. International System of Units

53. Kit Carson House site : TAOS.

                                                                          LINK.

56. Texter's "Keep the rest to yourself" : TMI. Too Much Information.

58. Moo __ pork : SHU. The dicitionary says the name comes from the Mandarin mùxū, the fragrant flowering shrub Osmanthus fragrans (because the scrambled eggs in the dish resemble the shrub's blossoms in shape and color. It is a Northern Chinese dish, how about this RECIPE C.C., Barry G.?

64. Way to be there when you can't be there : IN SPIRIT.

65. Looked for a school, perhaps : SEINED. What a break that this word appeared in yesterday's puzzle; of course with a Friday twist in the clue.

66. Tape container : CASSETTE.

67. Jousting mounts : STEEDS. Not...

Down:

1. Bank smartphone offering : ATM APP. I had no idea there was an APP to find ATMs....

2. Type of chief or custom : TRIBAL.

3. Noisy bug : CICADA.

4. "In __ Time": Hemingway story collection : OUR.  An interesting HISTORY for Papa.

5. White fall : SNOW.

6. Quality control personnel : TESTERS.

7. Mil. mail drop : APO. One of three special Postal Addresses Army/Air Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), Diplomatic Post Office (DPO).

8. Unchallenging reading material : PAP. Comes from bland soft or semiliquid food such as that suitable for babies or invalids. This led to "reading matter or entertainment that is worthless or lacking in substance."

9. Specialized undergrad track : PREMED.

10. Frosty film : RIME.

11. Will go ahead as planned : IS ON.

12. Walter Johnson's career-leading 110 : SHUTOUTS. More baseball.

13. Yet, poetically : EEN. I am also confused by this meaning. Yet higher - even higher? I guess.

14. Summer hrs. : DST. Daylight Savings Time.

18. Boat better not rocked : CANOE.

23. Many a recent refugee : SYRIAN. No politics.

25. "Arise, fair __, and kill the envious moon": Romeo : SUN. Shakespeare is back with JW with one of my favorite scenes...
"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she."

26. Sturm __ Drang : UND. And in German, It was a literary MOVEMENT.

28. Incredulous rebuke : ET TU. And you too, Brutus?

29. Believe : DEEM. Another favorite word in judicial orders.

31. Amethyst source : GEODE, The inspiration (maybe?) for geodesic dome made famous by Buckminster FULLER.

32. "I Fall to Pieces" singer : CLINE.

33. Inhibition : HANG UP.

36. Catalan surrealist : MIRO. When I was little my uncle had a Miro print in his office. I thought it was silly.

37. Fund-raising target, often : ALUM. Go for it nitpickers, I know you want to be told to look for an abbreviation, rather than an accepted expression.

38. Fair game : RING TOSS. An unfair game at the fair. "The Ring Toss: The rings are just a hair wider than the neck of the target bottle or spike, ...and are made of hard plastic to facilitate extra bouncing. If the carny shows it can be done, you should suspect he's using a larger ring than you're given or that he scores by dropping it from directly overhead, a move that, like the Basketball Shoot, is virtually impossible from the player's position." LINK.

41. Broadband letters : DSL.

42. Gallic soul : AME. It would be better if you saw ÂME. 62D. Août season : ETE. We are in August, and it is summer. See how much easier it is with the accent.

43. Agitated blog posts : RANTS.

44. Muddled : IN A MESS.

46. One often has a golf course : RESORT.

47. Clear Eyes rival : VISINE. Eye drops and a CSO to one of the ones who are gone.

48. Seconded : ECHOED.

49. Hospital routines : ROUNDS. An important function at the hospital where a doctor goes round and visits his in patients. Also, part of grand rounds when the doctor has other doctors and medical students along to learn.

54. Tour gear : AMPS. Rock and roll tour.

55. Drama prize : OBIE. Off Broadway.

57. TV co-star of Hargitay and Belzer : ICE T. Again.

59. Spasm : TIC.

60. Usually single-stranded molecule : RNA. RiboNucleic Acid as opposed to the double helix of DNA.

61. Trivial thing : NIT. I wonder how he picked that clue?

63. Draw : TIE. Correct me if I am wrong, Steve or NC, but I believe in Cricket a tie and a draw are different.

Well another JW Friday; the long fill really helped leading to a fairly quick Friday. Hope you all had as much fun as I did. lemonade out.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Jeff Wechsler

TITLE: OO, OO, OO, OO, OO, OO

Joe E. Ross's signature phrase as Gunther Toody from Car 54 Where Are You? serves as prolog for Jeff's wonderful Wednesday puzzle where he has six entries that start with OO, four across and two down. Jeff's amazing incorporation of six of them at a Wednesday level further impresses this humble blogger.


Jeff Wex has also requested "that this puzzle, based on its theme, should be dedicated to Lemonade's wife, Oo".  I am happy to do so!!

Husker Gary here, gladly summarizing a puzzle with a lot of OOMPH!

Theme Entries

17. Butterfingers' comment : OOPSY DAISY - A variant of Upsy Daisy that is said when a child stumbles or is being lifted. Or before and after this...

23. Comet-filled region of space : OORT CLOUD - Far out, man!

48. Chinese beverage literally meaning "black dragon" :  OOLONG TEA - After withering, rolling, shaping and firing

54. Plays it like Cary Grant : OOZES CHARM - Of Zoltan Karpathy, Professor Higgins proclaimed, "OOZING charm from every pore, he oiled his way across the floor"

11. Wonka worker : OOMPA LOOMPA - Don't they seem to be a little creepy?

23. Expressions of delight : OOHS AND AAHS - C'mon, you know you say it!

Across

1. Fast-arriving letter : E-MAIL - After face-to-face, my preferred method of communicating 

6. Leaping parasite : FLEA

10. Verne protagonist : FOGG - Nemo in the sub, FOGG in the balloon

14. "It Happened One Night" director : CAPRA - I could watch it again today!

15. Equestrian strap : REIN

16. Collected knowledge : LORE

19. See 22-Down : AMIN and 22. With 19-Across, Oscar-winning Forest Whitaker role : IDI - A completely despicable man

20. Numerous centuries : EON

21. "Win one for the __": Reagan : GIPPER 

27. Have more birthdays : AGE - The only thing worse than AGING is not AGING

28. Circuit components : DIODES

30. "Ah, Wilderness!" playwright : O'NEILL - Notice the top-billed actor in this Broadway cast

32. Needed Advil, say : ACHED

33. Investor's concern : LOSS

34. Little bit : IOTA

37. Interfere (with) : MESS

38. Soda purchases : COKES

39. 1980s surgeon general : KOOP - Apropos on an OO day!

40. Education orgs. : PTA'S

41. Take ten : REST

42. "Philadelphia" director Jonathan : DEMME - Stereotypical director activity where DEMME is setting up a shot for Philadelphia

43. "Whatever your heart desires!" : NAME IT

45. "Always," in a military slogan : SEMPER

46. Imogene's comedy partner : SID

50. Saws : ADAGES

52. Juillet's season : ETE

53. Brunch, e.g. : MEAL - As long as there's bacon...

61. Pearl Harbor site : OAHU

62. Headed for overtime : TIED - Talk about your overtimes!

63. Very dangerous : TOXIC

64. Staff mem. : ASST

65. Bit of river turbulence : EDDY

66. The Washington Monument's 897 : STEPS - Climbing these is no longer permitted but the record is 6.7 minutes set in 2007

Down

1. Green start? : ECO

2. Red Guard leader : MAO

3. Waze or Uber : APP

4. Agcy. with collectors : IRS

5. Like a parfait : LAYERED - Poirot often uses the word "Parfait" (Perfect) on the eponymous British TV Series when his "little grey cells" have made a discovery

6. Old Belgian currency : FRANC

7. Tourist gift on 61-Across : LEI

8. Stuttgart cubes : EIS

9. "Care to take a stab at the answer?" : ANY GUESS - Can you guess the 6-letter word (not 5-letter as posted earlier) that connects these four pix? (*Answer below by grid)

10. Kerfuffle : FLAP

12. "Peer Gynt Suite" composer : GRIEG

13. Bromance or romcom : GENRE

18. Fiji has three : DOTS - Or tittles

24. Ukrainian port : ODESSA

25. Regards with anticipation : LOOKS TO

26. Starting point : ONSET

28. Soggy : DAMP

29. "O.G. Original Gangster" rapper : ICE-T - First hip-hop album with the warning you see 

31. "... just as I am" : LIKE ME

33. Trompe __ : L'OEIL - French for Trick the eye. I love these chalk drawings that do just that 

35. Weighty volume : TOME

36. Mimic : APER

38. Chimney cleaner's target : CREOSOTE

42. Becomes aware of : DETECTS

44. "The Simpsons" beer server : MOE

45. PD ranks : SGTS - It was interesting to see SGT Joe Friday pre and post Miranda Rights 

46. Polynesian nation : SAMOA

47. Planning session fodder : IDEAS

49. Hard up : NEEDY

51. Excess : GLUT

55. Suffix with fact : OID - Here's one from the King Of FACTOIDS!

56. Zoo opening in London? : ZED

57. What a red "H" often indicates : HOT

58. Bunyan tool : AXE

59. __ Van Winkle : RIP

60. Mic wielders : MCS

A scout troop's short a child, Krushchev due at Idewild, LA Crossword comments where are you?

*CHANGE

THE GRID

Friday, July 22, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Ah HA!

My Friday foil is back with an add a word edition that leaves us laughing. First, I had a blast working with Jeffrey in creating the Mel Brooks tribute puzzle. Mel certainly is one who can elicit much laugh-out-loud response. JW also has been concentrating on light-hearted themes, puns and and a good time had by all. I am getting very used to his style, his use of multiple word fill and his sense of humor. With 67 squares in the theme, and with three grid-spanners there are not many long sparkly fill, but he does squeeze in AVALANCHE,  WEB FOOTED,  THREE PUTT, and  BALD EAGLE.

17A. Convent seamstress' workshop items? : HABITS AND PIECES (15). I grew up near a convent and watched many nuns march on my street. They wore the full habit.

When my niece was three, and when she saw them walking, she asked who all the kings were.

24A. Enlightened kid? : BILLY BUDDHA (11). How cool is it that Monday's puzzle made this fill so much easier. This is my favorite theme fill--Billy Buddha...classic.

36A. Bichon Frise pack leaders? : THE FRENCH ALPHAS (15). A CSO to our now busy and hopefully rich marti who loves skiing the Alps.

48A. Sandwich in the desert? : SAHARAN WRAP (11). This seems the least inventive and most obvious pun, but perhaps the seed entry.
And the hint..(not a reveal)

57A. Request for relief, and a hint to the formation of this puzzle's four other longest answers :
I COULD USE A LAUGH (15). JW seems intent on making us laugh while we cry over some of the tougher clues.

Across:

1. It reportedly had an impact on beachgoers in 1975 : JAWS. But they forgot...

5. Pyle player : NABORS. The slackjaw picture link recently also made this easy. Raymond Burr's other half.

11. Seventh of 24 : ETA. I remembered that the greek alphabet had 24 letters.

14. Finished : OVER.

15. Got away from : EVADED.

16. Rented : LET. There were signs, room to let when I was child.

20. Viet Cong org. : NLF. National Liberation Front.


21. Zagros Mountains locale : ASIA. In Iran, a fact which I did not know, but the perps made it an easy guess.

22. Period in ads : NITE. A made-up word.

23. __ Paulo : SAO. Part of the 2016 Olympic controversy where Brazil will host 28 Olympic sports — including rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the International Olympic Committee in 2009. These sporting events will take place at 33 venues in the host city of Rio and at 5 venues in the cities of São Paulo (Brazil's largest city), Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília (Brazil's capital), and Manaus. Wiki. Also, 60D. Braz. neighbor : URUguay. Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, e-government,and is first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of the middle class and prosperity. Wiki.

28. Rodeo loops, essentially : NOOSES. How macabre.

30. Cranial projections : EARS. So soon after C.C. and Tony's puzzle.

31. Deca- minus two : OCTA. This should be "minus duo."

32. Goya subject : MAJA. She is back with or without her clothes. And 26D. Gulf of California peninsula : BAJA.

33. Not yet on the sched. : TBA. To Be Announced.

41. Resting place : BED. This was so obvious that it was hard.

42. Laudatory lines : ODES.

43. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO. I get him often, and I never tire of complaining about his performance at Woodstock.

44. Hindu sovereign : RANI. And,  4D. Indian honorific : SRI. There was much I did not know about this WORD.

45. Called : PHONED. Home?

52. Thom McAn spec : EEE.

54. Obstruct : CLOG. Another shoe clue?

55. Suffix for those who are flush : AIRE. Flush with money, honey, Billion....

56. To the point : PAT. Another Friday I do not completely get; maybe from the definition like in a pat answer..." having been already prepared and therefore said without thinking much about the question."Dictionary.

62. Alley end? : OOP. Hyphenated in the dictionary and the mini-theme of my write up.

63. Spanning : ACROSS. Sneaky crossword clue/fill.

64. WWII Normandy battle site : ST. LO.

65. "Life Is Good" rapper : NAS. A crossword regular.

66. Weakens : BLUNTS. Definition: 2. To make less effective; weaken: blunting the criticism with a smile. v.intr.

67. Historical Cheyenne rivals : UTES. Native American Tribes.

Down:

1. St. __ University : JOHNS. I know them from Big East basketball.

2. Dramatic influx, as of fan mail : AVALANCHE. A very convoluted clue.

3. Ducky? : WEBFOOTED. A very literal clue.

5. Mysterious monster, familiarly : NESSIE.  Do you Loch these monsters?

6. Fulfills a need : AVAILS.

7. Everyday : BANAL. Followed by...

8. Not everyday : ODD.

9. Commission recipient, often : REPresentative. Generally a sales rep.

10. Deterrent announced in 1983: Abbr. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.

11. Legendary Castilian hero : EL CID. I remembered the name from the Movie.

12. Effectiveness : TEETH. It is time they put some teeth into the helmet-to-helmet rule.

13. Bamboozled : AT SEA.

18. File extensions : TABS.

19. Loose __ : ENDS.

25. "Okey-doke" : YEAH.

27. River through Orsk : URAL. Twice this week.

29. Stumblebum : OAF.

31. Nev. option for pony players : OTB.  They shut down in New York, but are still out in the MECCA for gamblers.

32. Podium VIPs : MCS. Emcees, or Master of Ceremonies.

33. Green disappointment : THREE PUTT.  When Stenson three-putted the first green for bogey on Sunday, I thought that the pressure was going to get to him and Phil (who birdied) was going to get his second Claret Jug.

34. Image on cabbage? : BALD EAGLE. So many terms for MONEY.

35. Japan's largest active volcano : ASO. I really am not up on my knowledge of VOLCANOES.

37. Stormy ocean output : ROAR.

38. __ Valley: San Luis Obispo County wine region : EDNA. Nope, means nothing to me. CHAIRMAN?

39. Freudian denial : NEIN.

40. Legendary man-goat : PAN.

44. Old World Style sauce brand : RAGU. A cute old one.  LINK.

45. Vivaldi was ordained as one : PRIEST. Ordained kinda gives it away, but who knew? A puzzle with nuns and priests...How many of you recall that Vivaldi was known as "il Prete Rosso," or "the Red Priest?"  LINK.

46. Beset : HARASS.

47. Berliner's wheels, perhaps : OPEL. A German car.

48. Descendant : SCION. Also an automobile.

49. Heavy hitter in the light metals industry : ALCOA. Aluminum Company of America,

50. Court activity : HOOPS. Basketball...

51. Aired, as a sitcom : WAS ON. Endeavour which is set in the 60's, was on Sunday nights.

53. Value system : ETHOS.

58. Black __ : LAB. My son's dog is half black lab, half boxer. He is a big sweetie.

59. CXXX quintupled : DCL.

61. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU. Arizona State University,

I can't believe it is all over so soon. Welcome home Jeffrey after your foray into other days of the week. Also welcome to summer all; it is quite steamy here is So. Fla. Come visit. Lemonade out.