Thursday, September 27th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme:  Golf Fever - it's the Ryder Cup beginning tomorrow, Tiger's back to winning ways, and we have an aptly-timed theme for this Thursday.

1A. *Top selection: TEE SHIRT. You can't wear a t-shirt to play golf on most courses in the UK, they're very sniffy about dress code. You used to not be able to wear sneakers, but now that all the latest golf shoes look like sneakers, it mush be causing must angst and "what is the world coming to?" wailings from the old buffers in the clubhouse.

Nike have recently been dressing Tiger and Rory McIlroy in collarless shirts - I wonder if they'd be tossed off the course? I highly doubt it.

22A. *Preliminary sketch: ROUGH OUTLINE

36A. *Overly defensive stance: BUNKER MENTALITY. Bunkers on golf courses were originally natural depressions in the links that sheep used to scratch out to huddle from the wind whipping in over the dunes.

45A. *Newbie: GREEN RECRUIT

63A. *Stud poker element: HOLE CARD. From whence "ace in the hole".

and the unifier:

54D. What a sequence of single strokes from the start of each starred answer to the next often adds up to: PAR.

So, on a par-4 golf hole, you skew a tee shot into the rough, muscle it out into a bunker, splash a sand wedge onto the green and make the putt. Not a bad par save.

I once played a par 4 when my ball never even touched the grass. I teed it up, drove straight into a bunker, found a greenside bunker with the next shot and chipped straight into the hole without touching the green. Sheer fluke. I bought drinks.

Nice go from Jeffrey, slick work with the stacked 8's and 6's top and bottom and solid themage. Nothing particularly to cringe about in the fill either.

Let's examine further:

Across:

9. Bring pleasure (to): APPEAL

15. Horror film line that usually gets its speaker in trouble: I'LL GO SEE

16. With conviction: FIRMLY

17. Final Yahtzee roll, e.g.: LAST TURN. Took me a moment. The player who rolls "Yahtzee" has the final roll of the game.

18. Defies: FLOUTS. One of those words often mis-replaced, in "flouts" case by "flaunts".

19. Omaha-to-Milwaukee dir.: ENE

20. Epidermal flaw: ZIT

21. Its practice doesn't make it perfect: LAW. Odd clue, I think I must be missing something punny about "perfect" law?

28. Cowboy leggings: CHAPS

30. Quite small: WEE

31. __ culpa: MEA. My bad!

32. Indian noblewoman: RANI

33. Utopia: EDEN

35. Degrees of creativity, briefly: BFA'S. Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. Two or more of these degrees are BFA's, two or more degree holders are Bachelors of Fine Arts - what would they be - B's.F.A? We should be told.

39. Track calculation: ODDS

40. Very long time: EONS

41. Support for a stroller: CANE

42. Seminarian's subj.: REL. Not nuclear physics? I'm surprised.

43. __ bran: OAT

44. Stun gun brand: TASER

49. Kareem, once: LEW. Lew Alcindor, UCLA basketball legend. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as an LA Laker.

50. Interoffice PC connection: LAN. Local Area Network.

51. Vehicle that really moves?: VAN

54. Canal zone: PANAMA

57. "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" trilogy author: ANNE RICE. I'd not heard of the trilogy, but it didn't take me long to slot her name in. I read her "Interview with a Vampire" and loved it.

60. Video game figure: AVATAR

61. Agonize about: STEW OVER

62. Deal with a bounced email: RE-SEND

Down:

1. Roofing unit: TILE

2. Vigorous spirit: ELAN

3. "Got anything __?": ELSE

4. Mil. three-striper: SGT.

5. High on the Scoville scale: HOT. Chili heat scale. I've got some fresh ghost peppers in the fridge, I chop them wearing latex gloves. They are not to be messed with!

6. Rodeos, e.g.: ISUZUS. Made me pause for a few seconds. It's an SUV from Isuzu.

7. Equip anew: RE-RIG. A couple of "re"-dos today.

8. Back nine opener: TENTH. More golf!

9. Wealthy: AFFLUENT

10. "Ecce homo" speaker: PILATE. "Behold the man".

11. Hunt stealthily: PROWL. Here, Kitty Kitty!

12. Source of lean red meat: EMU.

13. PC key: ALT

14. Fleur in heraldry: LYS. Lys vs. Lis. Let the debate re-begin.

22. Assigns relative value to: RANKS

23. Mayberry kid: OPIE

24. 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Terrell: OWENS. Known simply as "T-O" for a lot of his career.

25. "It's just a scratch": I'M FINE. I remember reading a quote from a claim form submitted to an Australian auto insurance company. "I told the other motorist I was not injured, but on removing my hat I discovered I had fractured my skull". There's stoic for you.

26. Not as messy: NEATER

27. "Nothing to it!": EASY

28. Less refined: CRUDER

29. Deal with: HANDLE

33. Put on quite an act: EMOTE

34. Cubs' digs: DEN

35. Heck of a party: BLAST

36. Swedish tennis great: BORG. Björn. He was fast around the court. I hear he was "Björn To Run".

37. Astern: REARWARD

38. Amazon berry: ACAI

43. Kind of band: ONE-MAN

44. Mine feature: TUNNEL

46. Please mightily: ELATE

47. Be at loggerheads: CLASH

48. Cost: RAN TO

51. Brawny rival: VIVA. I get Brawny from Costco. They do the job for me. I do go through a lot of them, though.

52. Big name in PCs: ACER

53. Bookish sort: NERD

55. Thoroughfare: Abbr.: AVE.

56. "Life Is Good" rapper: NAS. Grammy Award-nominated album in 2013.

58. Farm girl: EWE

59. Dungeons & Dragons bird: ROC. Muscle car: I-ROC. Fast food billionaire: KROC. LA-based music station: K-ROQ.

Rocking or not, here's the grid!

Steve

Friday, September 14, 2018, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Laugh kookaburra laugh.

Once again we are presented with a 16 x 15 puzzle by the incredible Jeffrey Wechsler. We have another sound puzzle designed to amuse as much as baffle. In the first and third theme fill, it is the first word that is re-purposed with a sound-alike word that is clued with humor as the objective. I think the puzzle evolved from PRAISE ON ONE's MIND which is what necessitated the 16 width of the puzzle. Jeffrey then built a symmetrical and consistent theme with the first word of themer one and three being the sound alike and the last word in two and four. Also, to show how much thought JW puts into his puzzles, we have an exchange of the "A" sound to "AI" from a different word that makes the sound. In theme one,  "EY" becomes "AI"; in two A-E becomes AI;  in three "EIGH" becomes "AI" and in 4 "AY" is replaced with "AI." Solid and consistent.

There are some misdirections like -  Late bloomer: ASTER and Edible bulb: ONION. Then he confused me with some puzzlers like - Slight suggestion:  TINGE or Certain octet member: PLANET. With 58 theme squares the long fill was limited to I SWEAR IT,  MAMMALIA, SAINT KITTS and STAY IN STEP all very sparkly. So without further ado.

18A. Complimentary thoughts?: PRAISE ON ONE's MIND (16). Preys on one's mind is the base phrase.

25A. Subtitle for "Further Adventures of Jack and Jill"?: BEYOND THE PAIL (13). Beyond the pale is the base phrase here. Its HISTORY, suggesting it is related to impale. 

45A. Reason to open another register?: WAIT REDUCTION (13). Weight reduction is this base phrase. 

62A. Rate hike at a tanning salon?: ULTRA-VIOLET RAISE (16). Ultra-violet rays this time. 

Across:

1. Mortify: ABASH. This was a more popular word when I was young.

6. Late bloomer: ASTER. This hearkens back to D-O's comment last week, which I mis-remembered as "I can't tell my aster from a hole in the ground." I am not as subtle.

11. Education basic: MATH. 'Rithmatic.

15. Starbucks order: MOCHA. They combine rich, full-bodied espresso with bittersweet mocha sauce and steamed milk, then top it off with sweetened whipped cream.

16. Laughing, say: MERRY.

17. Et __: ALIA.

21. Half a Caribbean federation: SAINT KITTS. St. Kitts is the larger of the 2 Caribbean islands that comprise the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis.


22. Breitling competitor: OMEGA. Watches.

23. Where some long drives begin: TEE. Golf.

24. Certain octet member: PLANET. In our solar system.

32. U.K. singer Rita: ORA. She is back quickly.

33. Like the sticks: RURAL. Where people live surrounded by trees etc. The best-known reference to 'the sticks' meaning woodsy America, in any newspaper, was the 'Sticks Nix Hick Pix' headline in Variety, 17th July 1935. This was a famously succinct expression of the opinion that 'people in the backwoods [sticks] aren't interested [nix] in films [pix] about rural [hick] issues'.

34. Tentative statement: I MAY. This clue brought to mind this ear worm...

38. Collaborative website: WIKI. An easy go to; not always right but always there.

40. Classic slot images: LEMONS. Three CSOs in-one!

41. Emanation: AURA.

42. "He that hath no beard is __ than a man": Shak.: LESS. This was not said by Shaquille (Shaq) but is from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, said by Beatrice.
“He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man. He that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.”

43. Battery post: ANODE. Not cathode.

44. Capt.'s heading: NNW. And back at sea 54A. Flotilla locale: OCEAN. This interesting sounding word which reminds me of floating (the words may be related), can also be in rivers. LINK.

50. Lean (on): DEPEND.

53. Balloting time: Abbr.: NOV. Coming soon to a polling place near you.

55. Keep up (with), as fashion trends: STAY IN STEP. This was very difficult for me, even though once filled seemed easy, though keep in step sounds more familiar. This also the name of a spinal cord injury support web-site.

64. Goa garment: SARI.

65. Edible bulb: ONION.

66. Macabre fiction middle name: ALLAN. EAP also makes a quick reprise here.

67. State of France: ÉTAT. The word in French, known from État Unis and coup d'état.

68. Some red marks: WELTS.

69. Knish purveyors: DELIS. Some HISTORY.

Down:

1. Stage flankers: AMPS.

2. When doubled, one of the Leeward Islands: BORA. Bora Bora is one of the LEEWARD ISLANDS.

3. Trendy berry: ACAI.

4. "Way of the gods" belief: SHINTO. Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan's major religion alongside Buddhism. wiki.

5. Get a move on: HASTEN. Jason.

6. French mine: À MOI. Not gold or silver.

7. Posted: SENT.

8. Display, with "out": TROT.

9. Sea eagles: ERNS.

10. White alternative: RYE. Bread, not anything controversial.

11. Class for dogs and cats: MAMMALIA. Mammals are the vertebrates within the class Mammalia, a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles by the possession of a neocortex, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands. wiki. Yes - Mamma is Latin for booby!

12. "Guardians of the Galaxy" figure: ALIEN.I wanted Groot.

13. Slight suggestion: TINGE. This was very tricky.

14. Attacked: HAD AT. Then...40D. Attacked, with "into": LAID. Be careful...

19. Squeezed (out): EKED.

20. Arias, usually: SOLI. The plural of solo.

24. Comrades: PALS.

25. Postseason game: BOWL. In American college football.

26. Historic canal: ERIE. CSO again.

27. Runs on: YAKS.

28. Nottingham's river: TRENT. It has a bridge.

29. Laugh producer: HUMOR.

30. Undercut: ERODE.

31. Comprising standard glazing: PANED. Windows often are made up of panes, which get there by the action of installing windows.

35. Local bond, briefly: MUNI. Municipal bond interest is tax free.

36. The Ponte Vecchio spans it: ARNO. This is the bridge.

37. [What a bore!]: YAWN. Hey, I am trying here!

39. "Scout's honor!": I SWEAR IT. I do!

46. Kendrick of "Pitch Perfect" films: ANNA. 780 milihelens.

47. Meter, e.g.: UNIT.

48. "Heart of Darkness" author: CONRAD. A short novel by Joseph Conrad, about Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities. The contrast between the rich white men and the natives and Marlow's disillusionment with Kurtz is the darkness.
LINK.

49. Deal in electronics?: TV SALE. Such a random clue/fill.

50. Put out: DOUSE.

51. Eye-popping display: ECLAT. Similar to Elan.

52. Ancient Jordanian archaeological city: PETRA. Petra is a famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert. Dating to around 300 B.C., it was the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom. Accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq, it contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the "Rose City."

55. Trig function: SINE. We have our math cornerites to expand, or expound.

56. Labor: TOIL.

57. Oodles: A LOT.

58. Hungers: YENS.

59. Prepare for sowing: TILL.


60. Actor Morales: ESAI. As Boomer says, the vowels are there.

61. They're often secured at tellers' windows: PENS. Do ther chains really help? They go at least back 50 YEARS.

63. Commitment: VOW.

Well I vow to be back again next week ITCDR. Thank you JW and all who read and comment, and a continuing wish for a Happy, Healthy and Sweet year for all.

Thursday, September 6th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme:

The reveal tells you what to look for...

35A. Impediment to creativity ... and each set of puzzle circles: WRITER'S BLOCK

... and we find, clockwise in each circled block, beginning in the NW: Bradbury, Lawrence, Chandler, Voltaire, Gordimer and Morrison. That's Ray, D.H. (or T.E.), Raymond, no first name, Nadine and Toni to give them all their full monikers. The latter two I have not read, the others I have.

Tough to pick a favorite, but I did find T.E. Lawrence's "The Mint" fascinating. If you have ten minutes to spare today, please enjoy this excerpt from the book. Glorious writing. If your heart isn't beating furiously reading about the race with the airplane, better check your emotional pulse!

Back to the crossword, I'm looking for a connection between the six authors but nothing jumps out unless there's some fiendish meta that I'm missing (quite likely, actually!)

This grid extends the recent sixteen-squares-on-one-side (SSOOS?) Thursday trend, and also features a very clever theme in the "block" shape of each author. Jeffrey's a master at themes, this one is no exception. Let's see what the fill held in store:

Across:

1. Seething: ABOIL

6. Jaguar weapons: CLAWS. My Jaguars had weapons - break down at every opportunity. One to drive, one in the shop.

11. Half a dance: CHA. Cha. (Cha?)

14. Stinger ingredient: BRANDY. Classically made with cognac and white crème de menthe. Cheers!

15. Superman player Cavill: HENRY

16. "The Last Jedi" villain Kylo: REN. Thank you, crosses. No Stimpy clue today? Nice for a change.

17. Alpine airs: YODELS

18. Broken out, in a way: ACNED

19. Days gone by, in days gone by: ELD

Once adown the dewy way a youthful cavalier spurred with a maiden mounted behind him, swiftly passing out of sight, recalling to the imagination some romance of eld, when the damosel fled with her lover.

1891 - Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country

20. Capital on the Volga: RUBLE. Capital as in "money" for anyone new to this game.

21. Suppress, as a story: SIT ON

22. Punching tools: AWLS

23. Suffix with fruct-: OSE

24. Hall of Fame manager Stengel: CASEY. He managed both the Yankees and the Mets. I think the HOF nomination came more from his exploits with the former rather than the latter.

25. Sal of "Exodus": MINEO

26. Waters down: WETS

28. Taiwanese PC brand: ACER

29. Rita awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom: MORENO. And ... cue the music!

30. Hankering: ITCH

32. Depilatory cream: NAIR. Tried NEET first, was wrong. Not sure where I came up with that one. Wiki has it as an acronym for "Not in Employment, Education or Training" referring to young people without a job.

34. Historic span: Abbr.: CEN. tury

38. Big letters in family-owned supermarkets: IGA. Founded as the Independent Grocer's Alliance.

40. Troubadour's strings: LUTE

41. Uncle __: BEN'S. A crime against humanity.

42. Codes of conduct: MORALS

44. Christian with style: DIOR

46. Venerated one: IDOL

50. Adorkable types: NERDS. I LOVE "adorkable". What a great language we have in English.

51. Lets off steam: VENTS

52. JFK posting: ETA. I haven't been to JFK for a while, United stopped flying into there a few years ago. All their NYC flights go through Newark now, with the exception of some regional services into La Guardia. What was the point of this story? I miss the ride into Manhattan past the World's Fair remnants.

53. "Psych" finale?: -OSIS

54. Is after: SEEKS

55. Field mice: VOLES. I didn't know voles were mice. Good to know for the next time I meet one.

57. Area 51 craft: UFO

58. Singer with Lawrence: GORMÉ. Wild, stab-in-the-dark guess for me. Husband and Wife duo.

59. Accept, with "for": SETTLE

60. Greek org.: SOR. Sorority. I drove up Hilgard Avenue by UCLA last week, it's also known as "Sorority Row" from all the sorority houses there.

61. Lyft passenger: RIDER

62. Difficult tasks: TRIALS

63. Hosp. parts: E.R.S

64. Mideast bigwigs: EMIRS

65. Will Rogers prop: LASSO

Down:

1. Work up: AROUSE

2. Risky proposition: BAD BET. Risky? Downright dumb if you ask me.

3. Turow biographical title: ONE L. Harvard Law School calls first year students "one l's"

4. Not working: IDLE

5. Fleur-de-__: Quebec flag image: LYS

6. Poolside chair: CHAISE

7. Debate equipment: LECTERNS

8. Get under one's skin: ANNOY

9. Small songbird: WREN

10. Letters on a Qantas baggage tag: SYD. Sydney airport. I've been there, I don't recall much about it though (the airport that is, not the city!). I recall the Qantas lounge was nice, I flew out of Sydney to Auckland en route back home to LA.

11. Like many tees: CREW NECK

12. Greek: HELLENE. I knew "hellenic", now I know "hellene" too.

13. "... et cetera": AND SO ON. These entries can be difficult to parse. There's a few good examples today, look at 38 and 54D too.

14. How some tickets may be sorted: BY ROW

21. Scented pouch: SACHET

22. Put on: AIR

24. Plant in many Road Runner cartoons: CACTUS

25. Dunderhead: MORON

27. What Marcie calls Peppermint Patty: SIR. I needed this to unlock "ITCH" - I couldn't get away from "ACHE".

29. Distance runners: MILERS

31. Cultivates: TILLS

33. Monastic figures: ABBOTS

35. Golden State team: WARRIORS

36. Christ the __: Rio landmark: REDEEMER. An iconic sight. I got a great view of it flying into Rio's Santos Dumont domestic airport from Sao Paulo the last time I was out there. SDU is right on the ocean and slap-dab next to Sugarloaf, so it's hard to beat the view out of the airplane window.

37. Crime show with several spin-offs: CSI. The purists might have wanted to try to avoid "crime" in the clue as "crime", albeit abbreviated, is part of the answer. Doesn't ruffle my feathers though.

38. "You obviously can't depend on me": I'M NO USE

39. Fetches: GOES FOR

43. Most junk mail: ADS

45. Comic book personnel: INKERS. They draw the outlines. Other folk color them in. With crayon, and their tongue sticking out of the side of their mouth. Just kidding, some of my best friends are in comics and animation.

47. Change symbols, in math: DELTAS. The difference between "this" and "that".

48. Opera with Desdemona: OTELLO. I had a brain futz and tried OFELIA first. What was that all about?

49. Alters with a light touch?: LASES. Laser shaping, reshaping or surgery.

51. 48-Down composer: VERDI

54. "__ told": "That's the rumor": SO I'M

55. Designer Wang: VERA

56. Name in boxy cars?: OTIS. Mr. Elevator. Nice clue.

58. Higher ed. test: G.R.E.

59. Cardinal's letters: STL. St. Louis, on scoreboards.

And, as the stoics would say, "grid and bear it", so here it is!

Steve

Friday, August 24, 2018, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Can I have your cherry?

It may be Friday, but we are today faced with creating a SUNDAE. As the link explains there are debate and a history about this American creation, but there can be no debate about the one put together by our own Jeffrey Wechsler both verbally and visually. We had an expanded grid yesterday and  JW has also used this vehicle for his creative horizon lately with the 15 x 16 grids. This allows for more words especially sparkly like LAPPED UP,  SCENARIO,  SPARSELY,  THAT IT IS,  HARD WINTER, and  SCRATCHPAD. In this iteration, we have 36 three letter words, and 22 with four letters. Both of which are unusually high for a weekday puzzle, as are the 46 blocks. The theme fill is not symmetrical (thought the puzzle does have left-right symmetry).  Jeffrey also places a circle around a single letter in each themer and starting from the top down they spell (Ta-Dah) SUNDAE. That was the icing on the cake (I loved mixed metaphors!). Also, with all the theme fill clued only by 64-A, it is a very much circular solve. Obviously, with theme fill ranging from 4-16 letters, we are outside any of the old conventions which say the theme fill should be the longest words. I wish JW would stop by or write C.C. on this unique creation. On to the rest.

18A. *See 64-Across: MARASCHINO CHERRY (16). The cherry on top is both literal and figurative. They are an integral part of an American ice cream sundae. The term "cherry on top" refers to the Maraschino cherries on top of the ice cream sundae. wiki. HISTORY.

24A. *See 64-Across: NUTS (4). Toast and roughly chop your favorite nuts. Walnuts are a popular choice for sundaes, but just about any nuts will taste great. Cashews and almonds are two popular choices. You can even buy slivered almonds and save yourself the chopping. Various recipes.

34A. *See 64-Across: WHIPPED TOPPING (13). You want to make your own?  THREE WAYS. Notice that to avoid a dupe Jeffrey could not use Whipped Cream with Ice Cream. 

41A. *See 64-Across: HOT FUDGE (8). I like this RECIPE from the Smitten Kitten.

51A. *See 64-Across: FRUIT SAUCE (10). There are so many but how about STRAWBERRY?

64A. *Foundation ingredient of a treat built upward in the answers to starred clues and spelled downward in the circles: ICE CREAM (8).  If you want the entire dessert HOMEMADE have fun, and please share your personal stories.

I am hungry, but we must press on...

Across:

1. Smartphone call record, say: LIST. How often do you clear your history?

5. Wet-Nap unit: PACKET.

11. Utterly beyond repair: SHOT.

15. Part of a foot: ARCH. Not an inch.

16. St. Clare's town: ASSISI. Her STORY.

17. Carrie who was a friend of Susan B.: CATT. Carrie Chapman Catt was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States                                                                    Constitution, which gave U.S. women                                                          the right to vote in 1920.

21. "Shove off!": BEAT IT.

22. Summer footwear: SANDAL. Not in Florida, it is a year-round phenomenon.

23. Suggestion: TIP. Especially in the 10th at Gulfstream.

28. Rudder-controlled movement: YAW. An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing; and roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail. wiki.

29. Beckett's "Endgame" has one: ACT. This play sounds boring, but it was written in French and Samuel Beckett was the one to translate into English, so I guess he liked it.

30. 7-Up moniker: UNCOLA. This AD was brilliant. The link is for CED.  Not to be confused with 53D. Take the top off: UNCAP.

32. Narrow inlet: RIA.

37. Strikes lightly, as a window: TAPS AT. What light through...

38. Sexy: EROTIC.

40. Rap sheet letters: AKA. Also Known As.  This term is used in much more than criminal law; if you buy a house and borrow money you will sign a name affidavit with all of your akas.

46. SFO info: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.

47. Sci-fi good guys: JEDI.

49. Prove equal (to): RISE. To the occasion.

50. Take quickly: GRAB.

56. Christian official: DEACON. In Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches an ordained minister of an order ranking below that of the priest.

59. Laundry convenience: HAMPER. My sweet wife just went shopping at Big Lots to find one that had wheels so I can get the laundry back and forth to our laundry room here at the condo.

63. Alpine retreat: INN.

69. Guitar, slangily: AXE. Originally, the first band I negotiated a record deal for was named ALIEN and then along came a movie, so they became AXE (3:23).

70. Needle part: EYE.

71. Really enjoyed: LAPPED UP. Kitties like Ice Cream too.

72. Little bit: TAD.

73. Spotted: SAW.

74. How farmland is populated: SPARSELY. A word that fascinated me when I was young. We grew up near lots of farmland.

75. Dr.'s group: HMO.

Down:

1. Country kid?: LAMB. Nice literal but still deceptive.

2. See 56-Down: IRAE. 56D. With 2-Down, Latin hymn: DIES. Very common in the CWP world.

3. Doodle site: SCRATCHPAD. My brother Barry was a frustrated Peter Max.

4. "Precisely so!": THAT IT IS. Instead of the all too popular 'it is what it is'.

5. Formal agreement: PACT. Any of you have blood brothers/sisters?

6. Grill remnants: ASH.

7. TV forensic series: CSI. Crime Scene Investigation. Changed television and the real world of investigations.

8. Many holiday guests: KIN.

9. Anka's "__ Beso": ESO. Spanish for "that kiss."

10. Involuntary motions: TICS.

11. Plot outline: SCENARIO. I am surprised there has not been a tv series with this as a title.

12. Seasonal frontier challenge: HARD WINTER. Still a challenge.

13. José's "other": OTRA. Spanish.

14. Texter's sign-off: TTYL. Talk To You Later.

19. Hardly a gulp: SIP.

20. Loft bale: HAY.

24. Philadelphia-to-Albany dir.: NNE. Back to the Trailways bus station.

25. Golden State sch. in Davis: UCD. Univesity of California Davis.

26. Young one: TOT.

27. __-mo: SLO. Is it worth the abbreviation to take off a single letter?

29. Open one's eyes: AWAKE.

30. Plotting: UP TO.

31. Take down __: A PEG. Peg Slay, where are you?

33. Emotional distress: AGITA. Is it stress or a heartburn?

35. Half a tuba sound: PAH. OOM?

36. Tense beginning?: PRE. PREtense. Beginning to end. 68D. Stamp addition?: EDE. Stampede.

37. Jersey casino, with "The": TAJ.

39. Bus alternative: CAB.

42. Half of hexa-: TRI. Twice.

43. Able-bodied: FIT.

44. Initials on American vessels: USS. United States Ship; it's a ship, not a boat.

45. Org. concerned with meth: DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency.

48. "Stan Against Evil" airer: IFC.  Formerly called: Independent Film Channel (1994–2014)

50. Shining example: GEM.

52. Deeply disturbs: ROILS. This also means agitates.

54. Big name in moving: U-HAUL. U-Haul is an American moving equipment and storage rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945.

55. Like TV's "Batman": CAMPY. Adam West was amazing.

57. "May It Be" co-songwriter: ENYA. A song which was written for the Lord of the Rings movies. Enya wrote music, Roma Ryan studied the languages created by Tolkien and wrote the lyrics in English and Quenya. There are two lines with phrases written in Quenya. The first, Mornië utúlië, translates to "Darkness has come." Mornië alantië translates as "Darkness has fallen."

58. Once more: ANEW.

60. Hiking spot: PATH.

61. Final, for one: EXAM.

62. Correct, in a way: REDO.

65. Org. dealing with brownfields: EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a brownfield as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant".

66. EMT proficiency: CPR. Emergency Medical Technicians do Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

67. High-__ monitor: RES. Abbreviation of resolution.

This was a very hard but satisfying solve. The double sixes on top of the grid-spanning Maraschino Cherry; Lapped Up and Sparsely supporting the ICE CREAM- wonderful. As you all know I also love visual grids.  The solve started very slowly hindered by the circular cluing (Barry G. where are you?) but the payoff was great. I look forward to your comments and the rest of the weekend. Thanks, Jeffrey, Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

I'm so happy to share with you these three beautiful pictures from Nina, "Inanehiker" on our blog. Nina is a doctor and her "Team Argyle" comment was extremely helpful in gathering our support for Argyle during his final days.

Nina said:

"It's been a crazy few weeks with my mom breaking her hip a few weeks before my son Sam's wedding.  Nice to have the Corner crowd have my back.

Here are a few pics: from the wedding and my mom who is headed home on Saturday from rehab - yay!"

Nina's Mom

Nina and her husband

Sam's Wedding

Thursday, August 9th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: ISLE BE BACK - The Terminator's description of today's theme:

16A. Lombardy skiing destination: THE ITALIAN ALPS. Lanai. Lombardy has all sorts going for it, Milan, great food & wine, Lake Como, skiing. No wonder it's beyond my retirement budget. I blame George Clooney for jacking up the prices.

22B. One of many standing in a Mexican bar: TEQUILA BOTTLE. Bali. The tequila would work well in my 48A restaurant "CANTINA BURRATA" below.

36A. Gene Autry Easter song critter: PETER COTTONTAIL. Crete. Unknown critter for me. Another letter-by-letter fill.

48A. Carl Orff opus: CARMINA BURANA. Aruba. Completely unknown to me. I had ***INA BUR*NA at one point, and decided it had to be a restaurant called CANTINA BUR*** and then BURRATA didn't fit. I didn't know the work, but I certainly know "O Fortuna" from the opus. Here's conductor Simon Rattle giving the Berlin Philharmonic the full eyebrow treatment.

Then the reveal:

58A. Vacation spots found in each set of puzzle circles: ISLAND RETREATS. 

Lawks-a-mercy, this was a toughie! I did a speed warm-up with the monthly puzzle in the United Airlines in-flight magazine (a pre-Shortz NYT reprint) and then cracked my knuckles for a quick JW Thursday jaunt. 70 minutes later, I'm still not done. That ALBI/CARMINA/ACS/LAVISH/BRUSHY perfect storm almost did for me. Finally, FINALLY teased it out. That "Congratulations" Mr. Pencil box was never so welcome. Cracking stuff.

Let's see what else gave me wounds to lick this week:

Across:

1. Kvetch's phrase: OY GEVALT! What? Right off the bat. I should have seen the omen for bad things to come.

9. Obstruct: DAM UP. JAM UP? No.

14. Military award phrase: FOR VALOR. This is the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. John Randolph "J.R." McKinney. I never knew him nor met him, but his memorial page came up when I was searching for a suitable image to post. He was also awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman's Badge (the, "See, I Been there") during the Pacific campaign in WWII. He passed away aged 76 in 1997. Thank you for your service.

15. Cut out for marriage?: ELOPE

18. Feed bit: OAT

19. "Can I get a word in here?": AHEM?

20. Addams cousin: ITT

27. Merged comm. giant: G.T.E.

29. Large garden ornament: URN

30. Viewed warily: EYED

31. Looks down on: DISDAINS. This caused me a huge problem. I know "DISTAINS" and so "TEN**" was just not revealing a fabric. I stared down that section for a loooooong time. Finally, I thought that maybe it might be a "D". I looked up DISTAIN after I was done, and apparently it's archaic. That ages me quite precisely, I guess.

34. Gas __: TAX

41. Extreme degree: NTH

42. Moot point: NON-ISSUE

43. Toulouse-Lautrec's birthplace: ALBI. Pretty place. This is the Pont Vieux ("Old Bridge"). I like the French literalism. Which begs the question, why isn't he called "Albi-Lautrec"? Toulouse is a good 74Kms away. We should be told.

46. Like -trix, at times: Abbr.: FEM.

47. Brief "I think": IMO

54. "Law & Order: __": SVU. Special Victims Unit, apparently.

55. Boy of la casa: NIÑO

56. Farmers' business: Abbr.: INS. I like the commercials, the always jaunty "We are Farmers, bam-de-bam, bom, bam-bam-bam". The spokesperson in the commercials, actor J.K. Simmons is a regular patron of my local Italian restaurant. It's tough not to sing the hook line when he walks in.

64. Stand out: SHINE

65. Behind closed doors: IN SECRET

66. Publicizes showily: HYPES

67. Car named for a small warship: CORVETTE

Down:

1. Many times o'er: OFT

2. Pirate song snippet: YO, HO! 

Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest — 

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! 

Drink and the devil had done for the rest — 

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! 

Robert Louis Stevenson

3. Classic circus adjective: GREATEST

4. Site with clickable RSVPs: EVITE

5. Industrial-sized tank: VAT

6. Helen Keller is on its st. quarter: ALA.

7. Brief chuckle: LOL. Brief, as in abbreviated. Nice clue. First instincts here are HAH! or HAW!

8. Dry run: TRIAL

9. Cygnus' brightest star: DENEB

10. Budget rival: ALAMO

11. Gretchen of "Manchester by the Sea": MOL. I think I saw the movie, but either I gave up on it halfway through, fell asleep or it just didn't register.

12. Presumptuous: UPPITY

13. Mortar's partner: PESTLE. Seems obvious when you fill it in, but my first thought was "BRICKS", closely followed by military ballistics. Considering I used my pestle and mortar more often than bricklaying or aerial bombardment, I wondered why I struggled.

17. Revelation reaction: AHA!

21. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. Gimme. One of my favorite shows, and favorite hosts. He's so classy. Never a bad word to say about anyone.

23. Ice cream buy: QUART

24. "Spenser: For Hire" actor: URICH. I tried URIAH first. Yep, that worked just great.

25. __ particular order: IN NO

26. Student's backpack burden: TEXTS. TESTS/TEXTS. I was wrong at first.

27. Econ. indicator: G.D.P.

28. Exec's accessory: TIE

32. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. I spent about 40 minutes on these nine or ten squares. Paid off in the end, although I'm sure the guy next to me on the plane was wondering if I was trying to solve by sheer stare-down tenacity.

33. RR stop: STN. 

34. Copier need: TONER

35. Jungian archetype: ANIMA

37. Stir-fry staple: TOFU. I use the extra-silky type in pad thai noodles. Tip - pour boiling water over it to drive out the moisture before you fry it. Counter-intuitive I know.

38. Buddha statues, Japanese silk prints, etc.: ASIAN ART

39. Periodic table suffix: -IUM

40. Celestial feline: LEO

43. Carrier products, briefly: ACS. Aircraft from a carrier? AC voltage carried by your power utility company? Appellation d'origine contrôlée wines imported by Robert Carrier? Questions, questions.

44. Profuse: LAVISH

45. Like some hillsides: BRUSHY. Not GRASSY, then. Darn.

49. Ludicrous: INANE

50. Array just before an odometer reaches 100,000: NINES

51. "So?": AND

52. __ acid: BORIC

53. Family member: NIECE

57. Dele canceler: STET

59. Cup rim: LIP

60. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO. Elevators, Roxy Music and U2. Versatile guy, and very useful in crosswords.

61. Original D & D company: TSR. One day, one day I'll remember this.

62. Prepare to drag: REV. As in your engine, before your drag race. Here's the famous start to the race in Grease, filmed here in LA on the not-exactly-bucolic river bed under the 6th Street Bridge.

63. Sault __ Marie: STE.

The seatbelt sign has been on for most of the ride across the country today. I call it "trampolining" when you're bouncing up and down. Amazing the internet cable doesn't get disconnected, eh?

And it's Sierra Tango Echo Victor Echo signing off from 37,000 feet, or 11,280 meters, give or take, in Euro-money.

Here's the grid:

Friday, July 27, 2018, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Hide a noun, hide a verb.

Jeffrey uses the contrasting meanings of the verb -  to put out of sight, and the noun - the skin of an animal, to create a puzzle where synonyms of the noun are hidden in the theme fill. To accomplish this we once again are presented with a 15x16 puzzle. It all is tied up with a ribbon with a wonderful reveal in another classic 3/5/8/11/13 placement of themers. The bigger size allows for additional wonderful sparkly answers such as INCLINE, IT SEEMS, LATCHES, ORDERED, BEDSPREAD, MERCURIAL, NON-PUBLIC, and SPRING DAY. As always with Jeffrey on Friday, there are very difficult sections, but the overall puzzle, the wit and the head slap moments are a joy.

18A. "Bummer!": THAT'S KIND OF A DRAG (16). SKIN gets right to the heart of the animal hide.

24A. An unquestionable fact: THE GOSPEL TRUTH (14). The trading in pelts was very important for the trek west in our nation's history. A pelt is a skin and fur together. 

39A. Hershey's collectible: COCOA TIN (8). We associate coat with domesticated animals like horses and dogs, and generally not removed. 

53A. Pressing feeling: SENSE OF URGENCY (14). Fur can be either be still attached or removed and made into an article of clothing. 

And the reveal, 

62. What words concealed by the other four longest Across answers do ... and also, what each of them is: HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT (16). Hide is usually cured skin and hide and go seek is a game we all have played.  The clue is perfect. 

Across:

1. Bar rooms?: JAILS. BY making this two words, we get this punny clue.

6. Organic jewelry source: AMBER. Made most famous by Jurassic Park.

11. Nation west of Mumbai: OMAN. There are many countries west of Mumbai but Oman is directly across the Arabian Sea.  I do not know my geography but I can now find Thailand.

15. Part of a John Williams quintet: OSCAR. A most amazing COMPOSER.

16. High-end German appliance brand: MIELE. I never heard of this COMPANY.

17. Overhaul: REDO.

21. Harmony: SYNC. You want some?

22. Odds partner: ENDS. This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning “short leftovers of some material” (such as lumber or cloth) (dictionary).

23. Bench press target: PECtoral. Your chest muscle.

30. In the past, once: ERST. We just had this archaic word on July 2, 2018.

31. Nutritional abbr.: RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.

32. Northern terminus of I-79: ERIE. Yeah guys, a big CSO.

33. Operatic villains, often: BASSI. More than one bass voice.

36. Veto, in Vienna: NEIN.

37. Actress Meyer of "Johnny Mnemonic": DINA. I remember this ACTRESS first from an early superhero show BIRDS OF PREY  but she has worked steadily the last 25 years. For whatever reason, two roles I recall were as a Dominatrix on CASTLE and a Madam interested in Gibbs on NCIS.

38. Matterhorn, e.g.: ALP. Wheel of Fortune had their Switzerland trip this week.

43. Field concerned with fields: Abbr.: AGRiculture. I think this is a debut for this witty clue.

44. Alexa counterpart: SIRI.

46. Fishing hole site: POND.

47. Kept from squeaking: OILED.

49. Sweater fabric: KNIT. Is this a fabric? Oh, damn that was a nit!

50. What may come to those who wait: TIP. Another example of a creative wit.

51. "... that struts and frets his hour __ the stage": Macbeth: UPON. I look forward to JW's quotes from Shakespeare. This quote was very inferrable but the passage is wonderful. Act V, Scene V.
"The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

57. Salon application: GEL. Did you know that it was in 1929 a British company invented Brylcreem  This became the market leader in hair styling products in both the U.K. and the U.S. during the following decades. In the 1960s, modern hair gel was invented in the United States, by what would later be renamed the Dep Corporation. (wiki)

58. Rancor: BILE.

59. Get rid of: LOSE.

67. West of Gotham City?: ADAM. Gotham City was/is the fictional home of Batman, played in the 60s camp version by the late Adam West.

68. Privileged group: ELITE.

69. Western __: UNION.

70. Giant great: MAYS. The say hey kid!
Baseball legend.

71. How many commute: BY CAR.

72. What Italians may use to commute: VESPA. A little clecho especially if the car is a Fiat.


Down:

1. Notes: JOTS. Another unexpected verb - synonym.

2. Grayish: ASHY. Defined as of a pale grayish color; ashen. "the ashy shadows of the mountains"

3. "__ even!": I CAN'T. I can’t even is an emotional exclamation in response to an event. Its abrupt ending implies something is too amazing, frustrating, surprising, exciting (or any other adjective imaginable) to handle, which renders a person speechless because they’re so incredulous

4. Gate closers: LATCHES.

5. Yearbook gp.: SRS. Seniors.

6. Self-affirming query: AM I NOT. The expression “aren’t I” is often used in place of “am I not”, particularly in conversational speech. Example 1 (incorrect usage): “I’m going with you on vacation, aren’t I?”
Although the use of this phrase is widespread, it is atrocious English that could be considered equivalent to “you is”, a phrase which most educated people abhor (although for some reason, these same people have no qualms about saying “aren’t I”). The correct form of the sentence in Example 1 is as follows:  Example 2 (correct usage): “I’m going with you on vacation, am I not?”

7. Watches: MINDS. The young-uns.

8. Something fit for a king?: BEDSPREAD. King sized bed, very cute.

9. Symphonic rock gp.: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

10. Call the game: REF.

11. Called for takeout, say: ORDERED.

12. Fickle: MERCURIAL. Mercury went retrograde Wednesday, for those who care.

13. Org. promoting fluoridation: ADA. American Dental Association.

14. Rich quaff: NOG.

19. Pub inventory items: KEGS.

20. Proper: APT.

25. "South Park" kid: ERIC.

26. Find better words, say: EDIT.

27. Civil rights theorist Guinier: LANI. A most accomplished Yale Law graduate working at HARVARD.

28. Trace amount: TINGE.

29. Got wind (of): HEARD.

33. Luxuriates: BASKS.

34. Dior dress: A-LINE.

35. Amy Lowell poem of a "fresh-washed and fair" time: SPRING DAY. The poem is made up of 5 parts of the day, with Bath first, and opening line, " The day is fresh-washed and fair, and there is a smell of tulips and narcissus in the air."

36. Private: NON-PUBLIC.

40. Eye-related prefix: OPTO. For example, the optometrist.

41. Salon product: COIF.

42. Common lunch hour: NOON.

45. "Indications are ... ": IT SEEMS.

48. Lean: INCLINE.

51. More nasty, as weather: UGLIER.

52. Hammer part: PEEN. 
54. Yale figure: ELI.

55. Gear for a gaucho: RIATA.



56. Meditative ones: YOGIS.

60. Small business: SHOP.

61. Mediterranean mount: ETNA. The Sicilian mountain.

62. Baked __: HAM. Very random.

63. Director Lupino: IDA. This actress became a pioneer for female DIRECTORS.

64. S.D. neighbor: NEBraska. CSO to HG.

65. Work at: PLY. Like a trade.

66. Cherokee, e.g.: SUV. Jeep.

Wow, July is almost over and August is on the horizon. Always fun to finish Friday with Jeffrey. Thank you all.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: The Great Park Adventure.  The Theme answers in this unusual grid can be combined with the word PARK to yield a meaningful phrase.  The brilliant aspect to it is that the sense of the word PARK is different in each instance.  Let's have a look.

1 D. *It may be political: SCIENCE.  Political SCIENCE is a field of study.  Whether it is an actual SCIENCE is a debate I will not engage at this time.  And politics is outside the limits of discussion on this blog, so caution is advised.  A SCIENCE PARK or RESEARCH PARK is a location where organizations devoted to the study of various aspects of SCIENCE are clustered.

6 D. *Period in the Age of Reptiles: JURASSIC.  This period lasted 46 million years, from 201 to 145 million years ago, when it was succeeded by the Cretaceous Period.  It began with a major extinction event which wiped out over half of all species known to have existed at that time. Two additional, but less severe, mass extinctions happened during the period. JURASSIC PARK is a science fiction movie, based on a book of the same title by Michael Crichton, in which dinosaurs are cloned from the DNA in fossilized remains, and much mayhem ensues.  There are several sequels in the franchise.  The subject PARK is a cross between a theme PARK and a nature PARK, but since it's used as a fiction title, I'll grant it it's own category.

11 D. *New Orleans time zone: CENTRAL.  The continental U.S. has 4 time zones, Eastern, CENTRAL, Mountain and Pacific.  This zone contains all of 9 states, and parts of 6 others.  CENTRAL PARK is located in Manhattan, New York City.  I'm sure it's the best known of New York's municipal PARKS, and was surprised to learn it is only the 5th largest.  It was established in 1857 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.  I also went to CENTRAL Catholic High School in Toledo many decades ago, but that's off topic.

13 D. *Deep __: SOUTH.  This is a geographic and cultural region of the southern United States, not necessarily defined by state boundaries.  Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas are generally included, along with all or parts of other neighboring states.  SOUTH PARK is an animated TV show for adults, set in the fictional eponymous city, that features satire via dark, surreal humor on a variety of mature topics.

15 D. *Main idea: THEME.  The major topic of a talk, written work or exhibition.  A THEME PARK is an amusement park with a unifying idea or setting.  The Disney PARKS spring to mind. 

And, of course, the unifier -- 54A. Completes a road test maneuver ... or the answers to starred clues, as arranged: PARALLEL PARKS.  This is a parking maneuver in which the vehicle ends up parallel to the street edge or curb.  I used to be pretty good at this, but cannot remember having done it in many, many years.  In this uniquely designed grid, all the above mentioned PARKS are oriented vertically and parallel to each other.  And, as a no-extra-charge bonus, the puzzle is also a pangram, with 6 letters occurring one time each.  IMHO, this is quite stellar.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa in the driver's seat.  Let's take a cruise through the rest of this puzzle.

Across:

1. Moo __ pork: SHU.  Sounds like it should be beef, and actually can also be either that or chicken.  This is a northern Chinese dish of stir fried meat, onions and eggs, wrapped in thin pancakes and served over rice.

4. Low-level employment: MCJOB.  Had this entry the last time I blogged.  A lousy job with low pay and limited prospects.

9. Starz competitor: TMC.  The Movie Channel.  These are cable channels featuring movies as regular programming.

12. Police: COPS. Slangily.

14. Sweet text: I LUV U.  Because I LOVE YOU has way too many letters.  Possibly influenced by the 1965 Tony Award winning play and resulting 1967 movie romantic comedy LUV.  Or maybe not.

15. "No argument": TRUE.  I agree; amen brother.

16. "Don't make __ hard!": IT SO.  Somehow, I always manage to avoid the easy way.

17. Drew (in): LURED. Was attracted to.

18. Backwoods possessive: HIS'N.  Well, y'all, I ain't so sure 'bout this'n.

19. "__, Brute?": ET TU.  Big Julie's lament, when he was done in by his friends for being too ambitious.

20. Some ski lifts: T-BARS. These are devices which push the skier up the slope by providing a bar on which to sit or lean.

21. "It is the __, and Juliet is the sun": Romeo: EAST.  In this bright metaphor, Romeo refers not only to Juliets's beauty, but also suggests that her affection has relieved the darkness of his rejection by Rosaline.

22. "How cool!": NEATO.  Well done, Will!

24. Former JFK lander: SST. Super Sonic Transport - commercial passenger aircraft that traveled faster than the speed of sound.  The last flight was in 2003.

25. "Burnt" pigment: UMBER.  Raw UMBER is a brown earth pigment containing oxides of iron and manganese.   Heat transforms this into the more richly colored red-brown burnt UMBER by dehydrating the iron oxide.

26. Comic strip woman who married Irving: CATHY.

27. Baja bear: OSO. Spanish is spoken in Baja California.

28. Mac: FELLA.  Just some guy.

29. Language suffix: -ESE.  Englandese, Germanese, Francese.  This isn't working.

30. Prefaced: LED INTO.  Preceded whatever ensued.

33. Au pair's subj.: ESL.  A foreign person who provides housework and/or baby sitting services in exchange for room and board.  So that person might study English as a Second Language.

34. Many Olympic events: RACES. Running, swimming, various down-hill events

35. Wolfs (down): SCARFS. Gobbles, devours.

40. Vistula River city: KRAKOW.  Second largest city in Poland, and an academic, cultural and artistic center that dates from the 7th century.  Early settlements there go back to the stone age.

46. Chef's hat: TOQUE.  Does the hat matter as much as what's under it?

47. Little untruth: FIB.

50. Ewe-ish?: OVINE.  Does this one have Jeffrey feeling sheepish?  How wool we ever know?

51. Uncertainty: DOUBT.   Maybe; maybe not.

52. Master: ACE.  Someone who exhibits excellent skills.

53. Medieval weapons: MACES.  A MACE is a heavy club with a metal hear and spikes.

57. Game before the finals: SEMI. Game involving the last four eligible teams.  The winners move on to the finals.

58. Doughnut finish: GLAZE.  A mixture of confectioner's sugar in milk, applied to a fresh donut and allowed to dry.. 

59. Analogy words: IS TO.  A is to B as Y is to Z.

61. __ II razor: TRAC.  A double-bladed razor.

62. One wearing gloves to work: BOXER.  An athlete who engages in pugilistics.

63. Poolroom array: CUES.  Sticks used to strike the CUE balls.

64. Tax form IDs: SSNS.  Social Security Numbers.

65. Pipsqueak: TWERP.  An insignificant silly and annoying person.

66. Omar of "House": EPPS. [b 1973] American actor, rapper, song writer and record producer.

Down:

2. Starbucks purchases: HOT TEAS. Alternatives to coffees.

3. Lake Placid, vis-a-vis New York City: UPSTATE.  A place or area farther north, from the coast, or at a higher elevation from one's present location.

4. Jazz vibraphonist Jackson: MILT. [1923 - 1999] His nickname was "Bags."

5. Spritzer mixer: CLUB SODA.  Carbonated water with either potassium carbonate, potassium sulfate or both added to enhance flavor.

7. Intimation: OVERTONE.  A subtle quality, implication or connotation.

8. Blossoms-to-be: BUDS.  a BUD is a growth element on a plant that develops into a leaf, flower or shoot.

9. Subject to court judgment: TRIABLE.  Able to be put on trial.

10. Common paella ingredients: MUSSELS.  Edible marine bivalve mollusks.

23. Skinny toon Olive: OYL.

25. Mysterious craft: UFO. Unidentified Flying Objects, typically suspected of being of extra-terrestrial origin.

31. Stammering sounds: ERS.  Along with ems and ums.

32. Disapproving sound: TSK.  Tongue clucking sounds.

35. Criterion: Abbr.: STD.  Standard, or benchmark against which something may be judged..

36. Craftsmen paid by the barrel?: COOPERS.   They make and repair barrels and casks.

37. Atlantis dweller of comics: AQUAMAN.  I mis-read this as Atlanta dweller, and was vary confused.  He first appeared in MORE FUN COMICS #73 [November, 1941]; then in the late 50's became a founding member of The Justice League.

38. Protocols: RUBRICS.  Statements of policies, purpose or action.

39. Greek cheese: FETA. A Greek white cheese made from the milk of ewes or goats.

41. Tomato variety: ROMA.  A firm, meaty, flavorful tomato, suitable for canning and making paste and sauce.

42. Greed: AVARICE.  Extreme covetous materialism.

43. Creates, as a fuss: KICKS UP.

44. Ragtime dance: ONE STEP.  Shortest direct route from A to B?  With possible KICKING UP.

45. Director Craven: WES.  Best known for horror films of the slasher variety.

47. Uncultivated, as farmland: FALLOW.  Plowed, but left unsown, to restore fertility as a part of crop rotation.

48. Mountaineer's aid: ICE AXE.  Item used by climbers to cut footholds in the ice.  It has a fead with one flat and one pointed end, and a spike on the foot.

49. Richard of "Law & Order: SVU": BELZER. [b 1944] American actor, author and comedian.

55. Pride parade letters: LGBT.  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered.  The initialism has been adopted as self-identification by those so described, and is intended to emphasize the the diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures.

56. Heist puller: PERP.  The original meaning of a term [that we have adopted here for some fell purpose of our own] is as the PERPETRATOR of a crime, i.e. the guilty party.

57. City map parts: Abbr.: STS.  Along with Aves. Blvds. and Pkwys.

60. CIA predecessor: OSS.  Office of Strategic Services, founded in 1942 to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all armed forces branches.  other functions included the use of propaganda, subversion and post-war planning.  It was dissolved by President Truman in 1945, and it's functions assigned to other agencies.  In 1946 the Central Intelligence Group was formed by the Presidnet.  The National Security act of 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency, which then took up OSS functions.

Having completed our maneuver, we are now safely PARKED at the finish line of this UNPARALLELED puzzle.  Hope you enjoyed the excursion.

Cool regards!
JzB

Wednesday, July 4, 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Buried Treasures.  Highly desirable, indeed, coveted items are concealed in multi-word answers.  Let's look first at the unifier to see what kind of hidden words we should look for.

53 A. They're "presented" in 20-, 28- and 46-Across: ACTING AWARDS. They'll be identified in the theme entries below - "presented," yes, but in an obscure way.

20 A. "What a terrifying experience!": I WAS SO SCARED.  We've all had those moments.  You know what yours are.  Twenty-four OSCARs are presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science for acting and various other categories of artistic and technical excellence.

28 A. "Love to everyone!": GIVE THEM MY BEST.  Lots of affection to spread around.  The EMMY awards are presented at various times throughout the year for excellence in television by three different organizations -  the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

46. Leave the firm to work solo: GO OUT ON YOUR OWN. Do you have that entrepreneurial spirit?  The TONY awards recognize excellence in Broadway plays.  They are presented at an annual ceremony in New York by the American Theater Wing and the Broadway League.

Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa on center stage today, a bit surprised to not see an Independence Day theme.  But we do have a fine entry by Jeffrey.  So let's read this script down and see if we can act on it.

But first - come on, it's the 4th of July, so this is mandatory.

Who doesn't love the Muppets?

OK - back to business.

Across:

1. Error: SLIP.  Starting off with a mistake.  Did somebody miss a cue or forget their lines?

5. Place for a panel: DAIS.  A low platform for a lectern, seats of honor or a throne. STAGE also fits.

9. Chemistry lab fluids: ACIDS.  Solutions of pH less than 7, capable of neutralizing alkaline materials by donating a proton or accepting an electron pair.  Sorry for going all geeky on you.  Long ago I was a chemist.

14. "Gray's Anatomy," for one: TOME.  A large, heavy or scholarly BOOK [which also fits, BTW,] not the like-named TV drama.

15. Austen novel: EMMA. A comedy of manners set in Regency England.  The eponym considers herself to be a match-maker, and misadventures ensue.

16. Four-page sheet: FOLIO.  This is one of three page-related meanings indicated by this word.

17. Wilson of "Father Figures": OWEN. Actor, producer and screen-writer who received an OSCAR nomination for best screen play for co-writing The Royal Tannenbaums with Wes Anderson

18. Ground corn, e.g.: MEAL.  The edible portion of ground grain.

19. "Poems are made by fools like me" poem: TREES.  By Joyce Kilmer.

I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; 

A tree that looks at God all day, 

And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 

A tree that may in Summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair; 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 

Who intimately lives with rain. 

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree.

23. __ Major: constellation: CANIS.  Had the sky bears last week, along with Orion the Hunter.  Today, it's going to the dogs.  This is the big one, Orion's hunting dog, Laelaps.

Arf

24. Fitting: APROPOS. Apropriate, apt, timely.  From French, meaning "on that subject."

32. Summer on the Seine: ETE.  A French season that is not tarragon.

33. Sch. term: SEM.  Short or long, a school term is a semester.

34. Author Joyce Carol __: OATES. [b. 1938] Author of over 40 novels, and many plays, short stories, novellas and poems.

35. Arctic deer: CARIBOU.  Also known as reindeer, they are native to all sorts of arctic and sub arctic terrain in Europe, Siberia and North America.

38. Org. providing creature comfort?: ASPCA.  American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  Be kind to your hunting dog.  Or caribou.

42. Sue Grafton's "__ for Lawless": L IS.  Her alphabet mystery series started with A is for Alibi.  I lost interest around D.

43. "Cats" monogram: T S E.  Thomas Sterns Elliot.  Jellicle Cat comes from his infant niece's attempts to say "calico cat," or perhaps it was "dear little cat."  Some things are uncertain.

50. Run: OPERATE.  Be in control of.

51. "There is __ in the affairs of men": Brutus: A TIDE. "  .  .  .  Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."  Sounds like an opportunist to me.

57. Sprint, e.g.: TELCO.  Telecommunications Company.

60. Bearded critter: GOAT.  I wanted a GNU, the the news is - that didn't fit.

61. Picket fence piece: SLAT.  Aka -- picket.  If you are keenly interested, this vid might be fascinating.  Otherwise, it might cure insomnia.

62. First-stringers: A-TEAM.  The best ones we have.

Soldiers of Fortune

63. Quasimodo creator: HUGO.  Victor [1802 - 1885] One of the best known French novelists.  Q is The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  His other famous work is Les Miserables.  Two of my grandsons were in a youth production of the musical a few years AGO.  Watching them die at the barricade was wrenching.

64. Head, in Le Havre: TETE.  French.  I have no head for French.

65. Muckety-muck: NABOB.  A person of conspicuous wealth or high status.  Sometimes used ironically about one who overestimates himself.

66. Lose one's cool: SNAP.  Throw a fit.

67. River of central Germany: EDER.  A 177 Km long tributary of the Fulda, a 220 KM long tributary of the Weser, a 281 Km long river which flows through Bremen and empties into the North Sea at Bremerhaven.  From this port my Hungarian grandmother came to America, lo, these many years past.

Down:

1. Unlikely to become overwrought: STOIC.  One who does not show emotion, named for the 3rd century B.C. Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium.  This was a philosophy of personal ethics based on logic and an unwillingness to give in to the passions of the moment, with a view towards fairness and justice.

2. Like a McJob, typically: LOW WAGE.  Also with few prospects, for which the worker is typically over-qualified.

3. "This is serious!": I MEAN IT.  Not joking, this time.

4. Thoughtful: PENSIVE.  Long ago I saw a movie that had a snippet of dialog that went something like this --

He: You look pensive.
She: No.  I was just thinking  .  .  .

Don't remember what movie it was.

5. Sales rep's aid: DEMO.  A working model or example, used to demonstrate the product

6. Iowa college city: AMES.  Iowa State U. is in AMES, which is about 30 miles north of Des Moines.

7. All-in-one Apple desktop: I-MAC.  Computer.

8. Arabic for "peace": SALAAM.

9. Door holder's words: AFTER YOU. 

10. Andalusian city: CORDOBA.  In southern Spain, this area has been occupied since Neaderthal times. The city originated as a Roman settlement, then was a center of Muslim culture from the 8th century until it was recaptured by Christian forces in 1236.  It is the hottest city in Europe with an average high temperature of 37 C [99 F] in July and August.

11. Martinique, par exemple: ILE.  An island in the Lesser Antilles.

12. Quit working: DIE.  Said of batteries and machinery.  I quit working almost a decade ago, and am still alive.

13. Coast Guard pickup: SOS.  An international code signal indicating great distress and an urgent need for help, used especially by ships at sea.

21. Chicago-to-Chattanooga dir.: SSE. South-southeast.  Maybe even add in another south.

Screenshot from Google Maps

22. LP's 33 1/3: RPM.  Spin [or should I say "swirl"] rate of Long Playing phonograph records, in Revolutions Per Minute.

25. Adoptee from the 38-Across, perhaps: PET.  An animal taken into a person's home to live.

26. Sugar suffix: -OSE.  Glucose, dextrose, fructose, etc.  I wasn't able to track down the origin with only minimal effort, so we can all wonder why.

27. GPS lines: STS.  Streets.

29. Safety org. with "Travel Tips" blog posts: TSA.  Transportation Security Administration.

30. Part of HMS: HER. The other parts are "Majesty's" and "Ship," because the Queen owns the navy.

31. First name in American poetry: EMILY.  Dickenson [1830 - 1886]

Ample Make This Bed

Ample make this bed.

Make this bed with awe;

In it wait till judgment break

Excellent and fair.

Be its mattress straight,

Be its pillow round;

Let no sunrise' yellow noise

Interrupt this ground.

- Emily Dickenson

35. Ancient underground tunnel: CATACOMB.  Originally, a subterranean cemetery, with recesses for tombs, as constructed by the Romans. Less strictly, any similar underground construction.

36. Sci. course: BIOlogy.

37. Stillwater sch.: OSU.  Oklahoma State University, not THE O. S. U.

38. In the past: AGO.  Derived from an obsolete Middle English verb used to indicate the passage of time.

39. Absorb, with "up": SOP.  As a sponge, or slice of bread.

40. "The Tell-Tale Heart" author: POE. Edgar Alan [1809-1849.]  The story of a murder, committed for no known reason, as told by the murderer, who wants us to think he is sane.

41. Mai tai liqueur: CURACAO.  It is flavored with the dried peel of the laraha, a bitter orange native to the Lesser Antilles island for which the drink is named.

43. How food may be salted: TO TASTE.  A lot or a little - your choice.

44. Moved like a dust devil: SWIRLED.  A dust devil is a well-formed, generally harmless whirl-wind a few meters wide with an upward thrust. It is formed when a pocket of warm surface air rises through cooler air above it.

45. Last chance to catch a live show: END DATE.  The date on which something comes to a close.

47. Baseball legend Mel: OTT. [1909 - 1958] Right fielder for the New York Giants from 1926 to 1947; 6-time National League home run leader; All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons; inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1952.

48. Paddock sounds: NEIGHS.  Horses, not whispering.

49. Like fish in ceviche: RAW.  This dish is popular in the Pacific coastal regions of Latin America.  The fresh fish is cured in citrus juices and spiced with peppers, and other seasonings such as onions and cilantro.  It must be prepared and eaten fresh, since it is not cooked.

52. Fragrant compound: ESTER. Formed by the reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid.  Low molecular weight ESTERS are usually pleasantly fragrant.  They commonly occur in the essential oils of plants, and are responsible for the aromas of fruits.

54. Soup or salad: NOUN.  Maybe it's just me, but I find this type of reflexive clue to be profoundly annoying.

55. Wildly enthusiastic (over): GAGA.  Are you enthusiastic?

They have way too much fun

56. Surmounting: ATOP.  On top of.

57. Khaki kin: TAN.  Colors, not fabrics.

58. Landing hr. calculation: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival.

59. Isr. neighbor: LEBanon.  To the north.

Well, not surprisingly, I had my nit, but this was still a fine and fun outing from Jeffrey.

I'll close with some musical selections from last Thursday's concert when your humble trombonist performed with the Plymouth Community Band at Kellogg Park.  This program is traditional for the last performance before the 4th of July, and draws, by far, the largest audience of the Summer.  Videos courtesy of my Lovely Wife.

Cool regards - and have a happy and blessed holiday.

Liberty Fanfare and the National Anthem

America the Beautiful, Olympic Fanfare and Armed Forces Salute

And - to counter-balance that bit of foolishness at the top --

The Best Sousa march EVAH!