Thursday, July 16 2020 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Sleuthing - use the reveal to hunt down the genre and thence the author:

58A. Literary genre often associated with the writer concealed in 16-, 32- and 40-Across: DETECTIVE STORY.

16A. A step up from a carport, perhaps: UNHEATED GARAGE. You probably don't need any heating in the garages in my neck of the woods unless you have a very delicately-dispositioned car. A/C perhaps if you're using it as a workshop.

32A. Limitation-of-freedom metaphor: BALL AND CHAIN. And a British slang word for a spouse (not exactly complimentary.)

40A. Ding-a-ling or ding-dong: ONOMATOPOEIA. What a great word, this is, and a treat to find it in the crossword. I wonder if this was the "seed" entry that gave Jeffrey the idea for the theme? I'm guessing it may have been.

Cool theme from Jeffrey, and I like how the reveal clues the genre to get to the author, a minor plot twist if you will. The construction is neat - a lot of both "themeage" and "stackage" give some satisfying larger areas of white space.

Let's have a tiptoe through the tulips and look at the fill:

Across:

1. Some munchies: CHIPS.

6. Asks to be excused, with "off": BEGS.

10. Latin initialism on a cross: IHS. I always thought it was INRI, but what do I know?

13. WWII riveter: ROSIE. Sun's Out, Guns Out! "We Can Do It".

14. Relating to body structure: ANATOMIC.

18. Come to terms: SETTLE.

19. Electronic dance music genre: TECHNO. This really is music you need to dance to.

21. Org. that's not lax at LAX: T.S.A. I think that's being generous to the T.S.A. They're not exactly gaffe-proof. Nice clue though.

22. Interval: LAPSE.

26. Space: GAP.

27. German brewing surname: STROH. Founded in Detroit in the 1850's. The company was taken over and broken up in 2000, but some of the brand names survive under new ownership.

30. Common Korean surname: LEE. Very common, about 15% of Koreans have the name. It is derived from the common Chinese name Yi, and shares the same character 李

31. Extremely dry: SERE.

36. Doubled, perhaps: GOT A HIT. Play ball!

39. Corrida figures: TOREROS. All matadors are toreros, but not all toreros are matadors. Also "toreador" was allegedly invented by Bizet for the opera "Carmen".

42. Zilch: NADA.

43. Greater N.Y. school: L.I.U. It looks like you have to be careful at one end of the soccer field not to paste yourself onto the wall, Looney Tunes-style.

44. Orchestra section: BRASS.

48. Chicago airport code: ORD. Orchard Field, originally, hence the odd acronym for "O'Hare".

49. "Golden Boy" playwright: ODETS. Oscar de la Hoya was nicknamed "Golden Boy" in his fighting days, now runs Golden Boy Promotions.

51. Hotel amenity: SPA.

52. President of Princeton, then the U.S.: WILSON.

55. Stride affectedly: SASHAY.

62. One happy to have no class?: GRADUATE. Its not just graduates who have no classes at the moment!

63. Arabian, for one: HORSE.

64. DE Dec. setting: E.S.T. Eastern Standard Time in Delaware in December. That's a lot of abbreviations packed into one small space.

65. What might take a while?: ERST. As in "erstwhile". Nice clue.

66. Fencing blades: EPÉES.

Down:

1. Pizza party leftovers: CRUSTS. Cold pizza for breakfast - lovely!

2. "Really": HONEST.

3. Eponymous goddess of a 1987 film flop: ISHTAR. This movie passed me by. I didn't miss much by the look of it, Roger Ebert wrote "Ishtar is a truly dreadful film, a lifeless, massive, lumbering exercise in failed comedy" and his compadre Gene Siskel remarked it was "shockingly dull" and "dim-witted".

4. Painter Mondrian: PIET.

5. Stop from leaking: SEAL.

6. Sweetie, in recent slang: BAE. I'll take a leaf out of Siskel's book and describe this as "dim-witted". It's a shortening of "baby" although "before anyone else" is claimed, although that's a "backronym".

7. Stop: END.

8. Joke: GAG.

9. Hawaii, e.g.: STATE.

10. Apple desktop: IMAC. I wonder how many iMacs are now sold other than to graphic designers?

11. A condition of maximum activity: HIGH GEAR. Not "top gear"? That says "maximum" to me. High gear just suggests a higher work rate.

12. Hypothetical account: SCENARIO. Interesting, I hadn't considered scenario to be hypothetical situation, but on reflection a scenerio can play out into reality. Good one to mull over.

15. Kate Brown is its gov.: ORE. Oregon.

17. Business card no.: TEL.

20. Bids first: OPENS.

23. Considered in full: ALL TOLD.

24. Tiny soup base: PEA. Odd clue, is pea the "base" of pea soup? I'd call it the main ingredient. And a pea isn't really tiny. I must be missing something here.

25. Mailed, as invites: SENT OUT.

28. "The Audacity of Hope" author: OBAMA.

29. "I'm amused": HA HA. Usually used sarcastically in my experience.

31. Gather wool from: SHEAR. There's a joke about a Kiwi and an Aussie sheep farmer involving "shearing sheep" which I won't say any more about.

33. Set ablaze: LIT.

34. Female ruminant: DOE.

35. Nursery item: CRIB.

36. First big song success for The Moody Blues: GO NOW. A song that's survived the test of time, methinks. Here's a reminder.

37. Positioned for ambush, as in many Westerns: ON A RIDGE.

38. Two-year-olds, say: TODDLERS.

41. Dessert choice: PIE.

45. Like sailors on leave: ASHORE. Unless you're serving on a shore-based station, and you go on a cruise for your vacation.

46. Spread out: SPARSE.

47. Agree: SAY YES.

49. At the proper moment: ON CUE.

50. Montreal-to-Boston dir.: S.S.E. I liked the compass-point-opposites we had a couple of weeks ago with a pair of NNE/SSW entries, but I guess we're firmly back to random-place-to-random-place clues. At least let's think about something to link the two place names together?

53. RBI or ERA: STAT. Baseball loves stats.

54. Venerable ref.: O.E.D. The Oxford English Dictionary. The day "bae" qualifies for an entry is the day that I cancel my (not-existent) subscription.

56. Queens tennis venue honoree: ASHE.

57. Where to get off: STOP. The great thing about the old Routemaster buses in London was that they had an open platform at the back so you jump on and off wherever you liked. Worked like a charm until some bureaucrats decided that it was dangerous, and you couldn't operate the bus with just a driver to collect fares as it forced passengers got on at a designated stop. Caused more congestion than you can imagine. Just a couple of years ago the Routemaster-style buses were reintroduced on certain routes.

59. Paving stuff: TAR.

60. "__ nothing new": IT'S. A rule if you're not sure about using an apostrophe with "it": "It's an apostrophe".

61. Nov. honoree: VET. Veteran's Day.

Well, there we have it. Here's the grid, and I just noticed 1A which reminds me to get a bowl of chips to crunch on with a beer.

Cheers!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

Al Hollmer (Spitzboov) and I made today's Universal puzzle. You can solve it here.  It's edited by David Steinberg. The puzzle was years in the making. Thanks for the patience, Al!

Also go to USA Today for the "Front Wheels" (Wednesday 7/15/2020) puzzle Hahtoolah (Susan) and I created. It's edited by Erik Agard.

Friday, June 5, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: No more Montreal Canadians hockey club! No


Okay, That might be a stretch and not that helpful but my other choices were: ISO country code for Switzerland; Continuum hypothesis, in set theory; Cholesterol and so on. I could have just removed the first two letters of my last name, but not everyone knows my secret identity. Hi, like our first Friday in June, we begin this month with a puzzle from Jeffrey Wechsler. As always in addition to a theme with wit, there are some nice fill like, BECLOUD, BERATED (interesting how the "BE" beginning works so differently), GLUTTON, HIGH ART (JW's career as a curator)  IN A MEMO, LATE PASS, MADE A BID, OVERRIPE and PET HORSE.

18A. Result of severe yoga class over-registration?: THREE ON A MATCH (11). The mental picture of three enthusiasts sharing a single mat opens the mind to many possibilities.

30A. Jeweler's assurance about mounting one flashy gem?: IT'LL DO IN A PINCH (12). Pins and brooches just are not as popular now.

36A. Show whose wit is quicker?: BEAT TO THE PUNCH (12). This reminds me of shows like above.

52A. Dander-sensitive visitor's query at the doorway?: IS THERE A CATCH? (11). For HG, and all of the non-allergic cat owners.
And the rare Friday reveal.

45D. V-shaped cut ... or, in two parts, a hint to four long puzzle answers: NOTCH (5). Parsed as Not CH. I did not need it, and I wonder if this was JW or Rich's suggestion?

Across:

1. Italian sausage choice: MILD. These days everything in my home is a choice of spicy or Thai spicy.

5. Small amounts: BITS. I have to eat most meals in...

9. Texter's "Holy moly!": OMG. Oh My G(od) (oodness)!

12. As of today: TO NOW. I think "Up to now" but what do I know.

13. Code type: PENAL. Sounds obscene.

14. Batman after Michael: VAL. KEATON - KILMER. I never noticed the K symmetry.

15. Liszt creation: ETUDE. He wrote MANY.


16. Sister of Thalia: ERATO. Nine Muses. Muses. Calliope · Clio · Euterpe; Erato; Melpomene · Polyhymnia · Terpsichore · Thalia · Urania.

17. Brown URL suffix: EDU. The Ivy League school in Rhode Island.

20. Like many SSA payment recipients: RETired. Not mandatory, but you will be taxed if you make too much money.

21. Natural resource: ORE. Nice, simple fill. Paired with

22. Zion National Park sight: BUTTE. There are many to climb. Here is ONE.

23. Thin man of rhyme: SPRAT. Jack could eat no fat.

25. Automaker whose Rambler sales were likely aided by the 1958 hit "Beep Beep": NASH.


27. Swarms (with): TEEMS.

29. Part of RNA: RIBO. Ribonucleic acid (RNA), a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA. Dictionary.

33. Dallas suburb: PLANO. CSO to our Texans.

35. Asked for milk, maybe: MEWED. Kitty cat.

40. Words from Caesar: ET TU. Brutus!

41. Whale's mouthful: KRILL. Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "small fry of fish."

42. Gemini, e.g.: SIGN.

46. Musical with the song "Endgame": CHESS. This is way out of my musical knowledge and league.


48. Obvious flirt: OGLER. Ogling is not flirting; it is aggressive and invasive.

50. God in the Vatican: DIO. Italian word.

51. Slice (off): LOP.

55. U.K. singer Rita: ORA.


56. Volga-Ural ethnic group member: TATAR.

57. Alpine mont: BLANC.

58. Enterprise letters: USS.

59. Word before now and then: EVERY.

60. Heaven partner: EARTH. They are going dancing this Saturday.

61. __ Moines: DES.

62. Rockefeller Center muralist: SERT.


63. Tupperware parts: LIDS. Why don't they ever match?


Down:

1. Flying foe of Godzilla: MOTHRA. I watched this MOVIE alone in the basement of my Uncle's house when I was little.


2. Accustoms (to): INURES. This word is often seen in legal double talk.

4. Socially inept sort: DWEEB. First used in 1964. Why?

5. Dressed down: BERATED. There are 79 such "BE" words. 36D. Muddle, as one's judgment: BECLOUD.

6. How office directives may be relayed: IN A MEMO. Too often.

7. Leaving word: TA-TA. This is of British origin. The OED defines it as "nursery expression for 'Good-bye'".

8. Vegas array: SLOTS. Do your casinos still allow indoor smoking?

9. Like bananas used for bread, often: OVERRIPE. Yum.

10. Raised one's auction paddle, say: MADE A BID. Or played bridge or so many other choices.

11. Insatiable sort: GLUTTON. Even for punishment.

12. Wyoming's __ Range: TETON. The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately 40 miles in a north-south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line.

13. Felt-tip marker pioneer: PENTEL.

19. Microsoft Office component: OUTLOOK. We use that for the office.

24. Shellfish entrée: PRAWNS. Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs, some of which can be eaten.

26. Break: HIATUS. Spring hiatus does not seem as exciting.

28. Requiring less effort: SIMPLER.

31. Boomer?: TNT. Our Boomer - Tried 'N True.

32. Fresh, to a Fräulein: NEU. New. Nu?

33. Lucy, a Clydesdale, in the comic "Non Sequitur," for one: PET HORSE.  The horse is riding the Moose.

34. Tardy student's admission slip: LATE PASS. They bring the parent's note to the office and they are issued a 'late pass.'

37. Harness racer: TROTTER. Breeds that are used for flat racing include the Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Paint, and Appaloosa

38. Sophisticated paintings, say: HIGH ART. Do you see it?


39. Logical Queen: ELLERY. We are approaching the 100th anniversary of the creation of this character. Ellery Queen was created in 1928 when cousins Dannay and Lee entered a writing contest sponsored by McClure's magazine for the best first mystery novel.

43. Security desk request: ID CARD.

44. NFL team that doesn't play home games in the state it's named for: GIANTS. New Jersey - New York... meh. JW lives in New Jersey.

47. Locations: SITES.

49. Rise up: REBEL.

53. Store for future use: SAVE.

54. Court game word: ALAI. Jai will now leave on this note and hope you enjoyed the ride. I do not alai to you. Thank you, Jeffrey, and all who read and write. Lemonade out.

Friday, May 15, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: PSST- S said to T

Like in the old days, Jeffrey is back for his every other Friday publication. Another simple but consistent theme; words which end SS are reparsed with the ending ST. Themers 1 and 4 have the first-word change, 2 and 3 the last word. As usual, the puzzle is filled with much sparkly fill  AIRLINE, ALL HERE, APPLIES, ATTIRED, DIES OUT, ENCHANT, I CAN SAY, MAHALIA, MR. RIGHT, PASSION, PONTOON, SAD TIME, STRAFED,  THE RACK, and TREAT AS. As with much of his efforts, the ones in ORANGE are being introduced to the LAT today. First the theme...

16A. Furniture maker's designated stock of wood?:  CHEST PIECES (11). CHESS pieces.

31A. Accommodate Simba at one's hotel?: TAKE A WILD GUEST (14). Take a wild GUESS.

36A. Foggy playground vista?: A SWING AND A MIST (14). A swing and a MISS. Some baseball for C.C.

57A. Shipment of nautical parts?: MAST TRANSIT (11). MASS transit.

Next,

Across:

1. 911 pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

4. Like a certain elevated plane: ASTRAL. There are SEVEN planes.

10. Tack on: ADD.

13. "Ain't interested": NAH. Steve, is this American or from across the pond.

14. Present and accounted for: ALL HERE.

15. Word with honey or mud: PIE. I like Key Lime and my personal favorite

18. Bench press target: PECtoral.

19. Silent star of early talkies: HARPO. Another Marx on our card.

20. Like the Grinch: MEAN.

21. "Sing it, Sam" speaker: ILSA. The actual quotation.

22. Frightens: ALARMS.

24. Cherished activity: PASSION. Puzzling is one of my passions.

26. "Well-played!": NICE. Nothing French here.

27. Notable period: ERA.

30. Indigenous Alaskan: ALEUT a member of a people inhabiting the Aleutian Islands, other islands in the Bering Sea, and parts of western Alaska.

35. What may float your boat: PONTOON.

43. Be compatible: FIT IN.

44. __ Speedwagon: REO. The car, the band?

45. Rent-__: A-CAR.

46. A real keeper, romantically: MR RIGHT. Unless you are Diane Keaton.

49. Rant: TIRADE.

51. Bard's "Bummer!": ALAS. Shakespeare I.

52. Lack of impediments: EASE.

55. 1492 vessel: PINTA. Name the other two.

56. Brand "choosy moms choose," in ads: JIF.

59. Gender-neutral pronoun: ONE.

60. Not naked: ATTIRED. Hmm.

61. Professional org. since 1847: AMA. American Medical Association.

62. Old Glory hue: RED. White and blue.

63. First word of Dorothy's last line in Oz: THERE'S. No place like home. But is it really two words?

64. "I'm interested": YES. Meh.

Down:

1. Fascinate: ENCHANT. I like the old TV series GRIMM.

2. 1966 self-titled gospel album: MAHALIA. Ms. JACKSON.

3. Emotionally stressed, after "on": THE RACK. I do not think of it as an emotional stressor.

4. Swiss peak: ALP.

5. Poor, as odds: SLIM. And none.

6. What you might be in the Bible?: THEE. There is a Jason in the Hebrew Bible. READ.

7. Summary: RECAP.

8. Place for games: ARENA.

9. "__ Misérables": LES.

10. Submits one's résumé: APPLIES.

11. Wanes: DIES OUT.

12. Pour into a carafe: DECANT. Time to learn

14. Quark place: ATOM.

17. Binge: SPREE.

21. Alcatraz, for one: ISLE.

23. Affix, as a shoulder patch: SEW ON.

25. Spa amenity: SAUNA.

28. One may be given at a 29-Down: RING.

29. See 28-Down: ALTAR.

32. Acting like: APING.

33. "Ta-da!": DONE.

34. Title character who is never onstage: GODOT. I am still waiting to meet him.

36. Delta, for one: AIRLINE.

37. Fired on from above: STRAFED.

38. Units for gamers: WIIS.

39. County including the Muir Woods sequoias: MARIN.

40. "They've authorized me to report ... ": I CAN SAY. Too much politics.

41. Period of mourning, e.g.: SAD TIME. Understatement.

42. Regard to be: TREAT AS.

43. Key of two Beethoven symphonies: F-MAJOR.
Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral", Op. 68 (1808)
Symphony No. 8, Op. 93 (1812)

47. Baskerville Hall landscape: HEATH. Back again.

48. "Things sweet to __ prove in digestion sour": "Richard II": TASTE.
JOHN OF GAUNT- Act I - Scene 3
Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour.
You urged me as a judge, but I had rather
You would have bid me argue like a father.

50. Air 2 or Pro: iPAD.

53. Move a bit: STIR.

54. To be, in Bordeaux: ETRE. Or not...more Shakespeare.

57. Calisthenics aid: MAT.

58. High-__ image: RES. Or Hi-Def.

Wow, what a week. Internet issues, and a tough week with my eye doctor, but we survived. Fun times with JW. Be careful, be safe. Lemonade out.

Friday, May 1, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Y did we wait so long?

It is May Day as well as being a new month. WhiteRabbit. After an absence, our all-time Friday puzzle maker is back. Jeffrey has offered a traditional add-a-letter for humor theme. The letter is "Y." To which all I can say is Y Not? Of course, there are always added layers to his work. 1) Each vowel in the word to which the Y is added changes its sound from short to long. 2) The first two change the "I", the next two change a "U."  3) The first two have the change in the beginning of the phrase, the next two in the last word. And he continues to stuff the grid with much sparkly fill. APROPOS, CLEAVER,  FLORIST, HOSTESS, SOMALIA, TIME LAG, HAIRINESS, and LIMEWATER which makes its LAT debut.

18A. Escargot gatherer's bounty?: SLIMY PICKINGS (13). Escargot is snails and they really do leave a slimy trail as they travel. They also make a loud pop when you step on one after heavy rain.

21. Harvest worker needing a bath?: THE GRIMY REAPER (14). A bit of a downer clue both before and after the Y.

40A. Much ado about nothing?: ARTIFICIAL FURY (14). Jeffrey sneaks in a Shakespeare reference. The Fur has led to an odd SUBCULTURE.

44A. Successful gem seeker's cry?: THERE'S THE RUBY (13).
More Shakespeare, the original comes from Hamlet. "To die, to sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub.

On that note, on to the rest.

1. Declare: ASSERT.

7. Domestic power connection, briefly: AC PLUG. Alternating current. DISCUSS.

13. Large envelope: MAILER. I think Boomer's stream of conscious comments have gotten to me. How else can I explain this?

14. One working on arrangements: FLORIST. This fooled me the first time I saw it.

15. Feature of communication with space probes: TIME LAG. I leave this topic for HG to explain better but will give you all this LINK.

17. Relevant: APROPOS. A morphed word from the French. 
20. Quebec neighbor: MAINE. A CSO  to Hahtoolah and our Canadian readers.

30. Chewbacca trait: HAIRINESS.

31. Club usually numbered: IRON. A CSO for our Golfers, Big Easy, Husker Gary and so many more.

33. Frisée is its curly variety: ENDIVE. I am not a fan.

34. Digestive aid: SALIVA. I need whenever I eat any type of endive.

36. Your alternative: ONE'S.

37. Flavored thirst quencher: LIMEWATER. This is an aqueous solution of slaked lime, used in medicine, antacids, and lotions, and to absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Nothing to do with the lime juice and water my wife gives me in the morning.

43. Study aids: NOTES.

52. Butcher's staple: CLEAVER. I am not keen on this choice, but I guess it related to the usage of a regular and important part or feature of something. The black dress was an enduring staple of Diana’s wardrobe.

54. Horn of Africa country: SOMALIA. Traditional Somali food is determined by a socioeconomic context. In a nomadic settlement, camel or goat meat and camel or cow milk are common staples.

55. Little Debbie competitor: HOSTESS. The showdown.

56. Blinker, e.g.: SIGNAL. Which almost no one in Florida uses.

57. Many a Sunday magazine: INSERT.

58. Kindly: PLEASE. Let's go to the downs.

Down:

1. Tsp. and tbsp.: AMTS. All abbreviated measures.

2. Sloop feature: SAIL. This is a one-masted sailboat with a fore-and-aft mainsail and a jib. Or...

3. __ Valley, Calif.: SIMI. Home of the Reagen library. A cost of living index above 100 means Simi Valley, California is more expensive. Simi Valley's cost of living is 149.9, almost 50% higher.

4. Pre-K follower: ELEM. I do not care for the fill, nor the clue. Kindergarten follows Pre-k.

5. Be dependent: RELY. A negative way to look at it.

6. Kisser: TRAP. Shut your trap or I will bust you in the kisser!

7. Type of skiing: ALPINE. Would you like to learn? Visit Montana (hi Darlene) or try THESE.

8. Natural light refractor: CORNEA. CSO to me.

9. Sophisticated rock genre, briefly: PROGressive.
Progressive rock (often shortened to prog or prog rock) is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."

10. Kissers: LIPS. See above.

11. It offered soldiers Hope: Abbr.: USO. Just prior to the onset of America’s involvement in World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to unite several service associations into one organization to lift the morale of our military and nourish support on the home front. Those entities – the Salvation Army, Young Men’s Christian Association, Young Women’s Christian Association, National Catholic Community Services, National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board - became the United Service Organizations or, the USO.

12. Some hot rods: GTS. GranTurisimos.

14. Muslim ascetics: FAKIRS. A Muslim religious ascetic or religious mendicant, especially one who performs feats of magic or endurance. Origin of fakir. From Arabic faqīr.

16. Easy putt, in casual golf: GIMME. I can hear all the players practicing.

19. Low isles: CAYS. A cay (also spelled key; both pronounced alike as "key" English pronunciation: /kiː/) is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral and situated on top of a coral reef. The English word cay comes from the Spanish word cayo and this from the Taíno word cayo meaning "small island". Go visit Cay West.

21. Religious prefix: THEO. HISTORY.

22. Big-name in animation: HANNA. More than you ever wanted to know about the Hanna-Barbera legacy.

23. Down for a pillow: EIDER. Somehow this makes perfect sense next to...

24. Mill fill: GRIST. This is the grain that is ground to make flour.

25. Snake or Gila: Abbr.: RIVer.

26. Analogue for -like: INE. The fun part is that this suffix has two distinct pronunciations. LINK. Unless you are British or maybe Canadian? Eh?

27. Rice dish: PILAF. Not in my house. We have jasmine rice, sweet rice, sticky rice, and blue rice.

28. Verdi baritone aria: ERI TU. Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball) is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi.

29. Relative of Fido: ROVER.

32. "You ain't gwyne to drink a drop--__ single drop": Twain: NARY. I am unfamiliar with the passage, though I have read HUCKLEBERRY FINN many times.

34. Word with lion or horse: SEA. Oo's mother's great-great-grandson's name translates to SEA.

35. Leather punch: AWL. A well-timed CSO to

37. Gallon's 3.785: LITERS. Almost another Canadian CSO, but spelled wrong.

38. Summer treats: ICES. Not for our missing Tinbeni.

39. They may drift over valleys: MISTS.

41. "You have some crust!": I NEVER. Well! I never! I hear Groucho Marx telling Margaret Dumont, "With your face, you never will!"

42. It may have many ashes: FOREST. A slight misdirection.

44. Nickname for Esther: TESS. I did not know: Tess is a given name, typically a diminutive form of Theresa or Esther.

45. __-watch: continue viewing a show you no longer like: HATE.
I have not heard of this term to watch (a television program) for the sake of the enjoyment one derives from mocking or criticizing it. It makes no sense to me.

46. ICU or ER site: HOSP.ital.

47. Expressionist painter Nolde: EMIL. My only UNKNOWN.

48. All the __: popular: RAGE.

49. Radius neighbor: ULNA. Arm bones.

50. Slant: BIAS.

51. School since 1701: YALE. It has a long HISTORY if you want to read up.

52. X as in Xerxes: CHI. It is all Greek to me.

53. Chaney of film: LON. There have been two. The father born LEONIDAS  and his son Creighton, who became LON Chaney Jr.

How nice to start the new month and the gradual return to business with a 66 word !?! puzzle from Jeffrey. Be careful, be safe. lemonade, not out in hibernation.

Thursday, March 26th 2020 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Peanuts and Crackerjack - it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame!

17A. *Mechanical plaything: WIND-UP TOY. I remember the disappointment as a kid when you overwound the toy and it never worked properly afterwards.

25A. *Dark as can be: PITCH-BLACK. Something along these lines. It's funny, if you Google "pitch-black" you'll find a few of these pictures:

35A. *Duke led one: SWING BAND. Duke Ellington. I was led astray by the school in North Carolina with my thinking at first, then I saw the connection. Let's Take the "A" Train

52A. *Nursery rhyme arachnophobe: MISS MUFFET. She was fond of cottage cheese, evidently, but not such a big fan of the spiders.

61A. Ump's call, often based on a sequence found in the answers to starred clues: STRIKE ONE!

Fun theme from Jeffrey today. The stats put this puzzle firmly in the "Monday" category, but the cluing is tricky in some places hence the Thursday time-slot. Let's take a quick tour.

Across:

1. Puts at ease: CALMS

6. Pinot alternative: CAB. Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are perhaps the best known, but there are quite a few other pinots and cabs.

9. Something about a painting?: FRAME

14. Ryan of "Paper Moon": O'NEAL

15. Brouhaha: ADO

16. Paint choice: LATEX

19. __-garde: AVANT

20. Ambulance gp.: EMS. Emergency Medical Services.

21. Quick inhalation: GASP

22. Horseshoe-shaped letter: OMEGA

23. Pennant __: RACE. Quite a lot of baseball references today. C.C. will be happy.

28. Patronizes, in a way: STAYS AT

30. "Insecure" actress/writer Issa __: RAE. Thank you, crosses.

31. Enero, por ejemplo: MES

32. Foil alternative: EPÉE. The first of three answers with "É" today.

33. Rock's __ Supply: AIR. They still tour (at least when touring is something you can do). Here's their best-known hit.

34. Campus suffix: EDU

40. Keeps in the email loop: CC'S

43. Comprehend: SEE

44. Litter's littlest: RUNT

47. Chef's dish words: À LA

48. Med. country: ISR.

49. Web page banners: HEADERS

55. Barter: SWAP

56. Cause friction: CHAFE

57. Be up against: ABUT

59. Diner slice: PIE

60. Scoville unit food: CHILI. I've been on the hunt recently for dried smoked ghost peppers, I finally found them on Amazon. A ghost pepper clocks in at over a million Scoville heat units. A jalapeño is around 4,000. I like spicy food!

63. Muscle beach bro: HE-MAN

64. Bedazzle: AWE

65. When left turns are rarely allowed: ON RED. A guy ran a red light last Friday and totalled Jill's car. She wasn't badly hurt, thank God, "just" a couple of broken ribs, bruising, burns from the airbags and shock. The car came off badly, but thank heavens for German engineering.

66. Off-mic comment: ASIDE

67. Furry foot: PAW

68. Fills up: SATES

Down:

1. Hides in fear: COWERS

2. Do some work at Pixar: ANIMATE

3. Protective camera piece: LENS CAP

4. Sore: MAD

5. Whack over the wall: SLUG. More baseball. Jeffrey must be a fan.

6. Keep a Persian company, perhaps: CAT-SIT

7. Take in, as a Persian: ADOPT. I laugh when I hear people say that they "rescued" a cat or a dog. I tell them they just got a free pet from the shelter.

8. Huck Finn, for one: BOY

9. Served blazing: FLAMBÉ

10. "Bolero" composer: RAVEL

11. In the ballpark?: AT A GAME. It really is baseball season today. It must be something to do with the fact that there's no sports going on at the moment.

12. Intimidated: MENACED

13. Interoffice no.: EXT.

18. Bear whose bed was too hard: PAPA

22. Maureen of "Rio Grande": O'HARA

24. Focuses on, as the catcher for signals: EYES

26. Bed with sliding sides: CRIB

27. Sunflower St. school: K.S.U. Kansas State U, home of the Wildcats.

29. Patch, perhaps: SEW

33. Ticket price determinant, at times: AGE

36. A single Time?: ISSUE

37. Soft ball: NERF

38. New Deal agcy.: N.R.A. National Recovery Administration. I had to look that up, I'm not sure I knew what it stood for.

39. Outfit: DUDS

40. Engine part: CAM

41. Trite expressions: CLICHÉS

42. Bento box selection: SASHIMI. Food!

45. Jazz festival site: NEWPORT. Where Bob Dylan went electric and caused all kinds of wailing and teeth-gnashing among the folk-nerds.

46. One learning the ropes: TRAINEE

48. "Nothing's wrong": I'M FINE

49. Bar mitzvah language: HEBREW

50. Notions case: ETUI. Thank you, Crosswords Past.

51. Races round the bases: SPEEDS. Play ball! Again!

53. Caesar __: SALAD. Food! Caesar Cardini is credited with inventing this dish in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico. If you make it at home, don't use those store-bought croutons, make your own. Tear the bread from a french loaf or similar into chunks, give them a light coating of olive oil and maybe some garlic powder and roast them in the oven.

54. Mufti's proclamation: FATWA

58. 17 of Laila Ali's wins, for short: TKO'S. I love Laila Ali. She's a great cook too, she won celebrity "Chopped" and she's back on the show again right now. 24 fights, 24 wins, 21 by TKO's or knockouts. She doesn't look any the worse for wear either!

60. "__-ching!": CHA

61. Weaken: SAP

62. "Bambi" doe: ENA

And I think that about wraps it up for me today. Keep well!

Steve

Friday, February 21, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Another shellfish offering from JW.

This is the first 2020 LAT puzzle from our own hero Jeffrey. He had gone 23 months straight being published here. I spoke to him about the month off; he was a bit crabby and really clammed up like an oyster protecting a pearl when I tried to push him. An ex-roommate call them "shell food." She was cute. Anyway, I have no clue how to work lobster into my sentence so I will quit while I can. (BTW this is all a product of my imagination as we did not talk about the LAT absence and he has been expanding his sales venues. JW is very gracious).  I did learn the are three types of shellfish, Crustaceans, Mollusks (which I knew) and ECHINODERMS  which was an unknown term. This puzzle is also a learning experience because as you see, the theme begins in row 4; not the usual 3. C.C. has commented on the need for this when you have four long themers in a puzzle. Because this puzzle involves "sounds like" it is a special challenge for C.C. and other ESL people.

As with 99% of Jeffrey's creativity, much is based on humor. It also showcases his use of words with DRY NOSE,  NOT OPEN, ONE ACRE, SATCHEL, ETHERNET, POULTICE, EXCERPTING and WE HAVE MORE as bonus fill. The three in this COLOR are all introduced to the LAT here. There is an inordinate number of initialisms. How much fun you have will depend on your sense of humor. I had a fine time, so let us look at the theme.

20A. Offering in shellfish worship?: PRAWN SACRIFICE (14). A PAWN SACRIFICE is a common tactic in chess.

 29A. Shellfish massage?: MUSSEL RELAXER (13). MUSCLE RELAXER changes into an image of hundreds of tiny guys walking on your back.

38A. Good name for a budget shellfish dealer?: SHRIMP AND SAVE (13). SCRIMP AND SAVE is an expression that has been around for hundreds of years


52A. Like one who exchanges texts with a shellfish?: WHELK  CONNECTED (14). This was the hardest because even though WELL CONNECTED is a common phrase, WHELK is not well known. Similar to CONCH which we have in Florida which are warm water herbivores. Whelks are eaten in England, Italy, and Japan and are cold water carnivores.

Time to move on to the rest of the puzzle. We hope you enjoyed the marine lesson.






Across:

1. "... morning roses newly wash'd with __": Petruchio: DEW.
I really enjoy JW having Shakespeare in almost all of his puzzles.
"I’ll attend her here
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain
165She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.
Say that she frown; I’ll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly washed with dew.
Say she be mute and will not speak a word;
Then I’ll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence." Taming of the Shrew

4. Jacket stories: BIOS. Book jackets.

8. Caused trepidation: SCARED. From the Latin meaning trembling.

14. Phoenix-to-Albuquerque dir.: ENE.

15. O'Neill's daughter: OONA. She married Charlie Chaplin and has a granddaughter with the name.

16. "Happy Days" diner namesake: ARNOLD. Mr. Miyaki started out as an Arnold.



17. Networking technology: ETHERNET. This is a traditional technology for connecting wired local area networks (LANs), enabling devices to communicate with each other via a protocol -- a set of rules or common network language.

19. Jalopy sound: RATTLE. Hence- rattletrap.

22. Mississippi sight: LEVEE. "Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die"

23. Storage furniture: CHESTS.

24. "__-haw!": YEE. A junction in Florida or a Mikasuki word for wolf. Recently almost entirely DESTROYED.

25. Expanse: AREA.

26. Word often preceded by a leader's name: ERA. Roosevelt Era. Reagen Era.

35. Perfect place: UTOPIA.

37. "Modern Family," e.g.: SITCOM. A classic PORTMANTEAU - situation comedy.

42. "Catch you later": BYE.

43. Traditional knowledge: LORE.

44. Rate for records, briefly: RPM. Revolutions per minute are the number of turns in one minute. It is a unit of rotational speed or the frequency of rotation around a fixed axis. 33, 45 and 78.

47. High spirits: GAIETY. Not so much anymore.

50. Hit the big time: GO PRO. See below.

55. One of an infant's pair: BOOTIE. If he has two mothers?

Oh, you mean







56. Sore application: POULTICE. Do any of you use these ancient APPLICATIONS?

57. City adjoining Champaign, Illinois: URBANA. Not part of Chicago. LINK.

58. Began, as a co.: ESTD.

59. Fourth bk. of the Jewish Torah: NUMbers. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

60. U.S. IOUs: T-NOTES.

61. Relative of -ity: NESS.

62. Fast sports cars: GTS. Gran Turismos. The Maserati sound recorded on a GoPro camera.

Down:

1. With intensity: DEEPLY. I love my wife deeply.

2. Dinner menu item: ENTREE. A five-course meal can include a soup, an appetizer, a salad, an entree, and a dessert.

3. Merchant's assurance during a sale: WE HAVE MORE.

4. Carried: BORNE. Mostly like a burden.

5. They're charged: IONS. An old pun.

6. Land parcel size: ONE ACRE.

7. Bag with a strap: SATCHEL.

8. Bollywood costumery: SARIS.


9. Modeling, say: CRAFT. I am not crafty but my cousin Janine is great.

10. They're not with you: ANTIS. If you aren't with me, you are agin' me.

11. Uniform education org.?: ROTC. Very nice clue.

12. Bardot was on its cover at age 14: ELLE.

Can you guess which one is 14-year-old BB?



13. Golfing pres.: DDE. Dwight David Eisenhower loved golf and Arnold Palmer.

18. Lea grazer: EWE. But not me.

21. __ admiral: REAR.  HISTORY.

25. "Don't delay!" letters: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

26. Taking parts of: EXCERPTING. Kind of like scrapbooking, but not.

27. Early initials in American cars: REO. Ransom E. Olds.

28. Certain limb: ARM.

30. News agcy. since 1958: UPI. United Press International.

31. __City: computer game: SIM. I had a lot of fun playing this game with my kids and their friends.

32. In __: actual: ESSE. A bit of Latin.

33. YouTube star __ Marie Johnson: LIA. This is an odd story.

34. Honda FourTrax, e.g.: Abbr.: ATV. All-Terrain Vehicle.

35. Very active port?: USB. Universal Serial Bus.

36. Genesis pronoun: THY.

39. Baldwin of "30 Rock": ALEC.

40. Closed: NOT OPEN.

41. Vet's concern, perhaps: DRY NOSE. The TRUTH.

45. Like many hobby shop mat boards: PRE-CUT.

46. Surfing equipment: MODEMS. Internet surfing.

47. Hint: GET AT.

48. Dior design: ALINE.

49. Some big box stores: IKEAS.

50. Neuters: GELDS. OUCH!

51. Canadian Thanksgiving mo.: OCTober. CSO to our Northern posters. It has a mixed PAST. The mention of the Mi’kmaq also hits home, as my 0.4 percent indigenous heritage is credited to that tribe.

52. Well-used: WORN.

53. Vagrant: HOBO. Now we just call them the homeless.

54. "Dang!": NUTS.

55. Objection: BUT.


Wow, what a week. I am beaten. Finishing with Jeffrey and his humor is wonderful transition to the weekend. Thank you all for reading and writing. Lemonade out.

Friday, December 6, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Change the channel?

We are back under the magic spell of the creative mind of Jeffrey Wechsler. For this opus, he has combined two favorite themes - letter substitution and sound-alike. Of course, his goal is humor with the cluing. He pulls it all together with a very classic grid-spanning reveal smack dab in the middle [etymology is a bit vague- LINK] of the puzzle. Since JW's mind works differently than most, I am not sure what came first, the "T" changing to "V" or the sound changes in the new phrases. Such is the joy of solving. As is usual with JW,  he builds a consistent grid with the change in the first word in themer 1/5 and the second word for 2/4. Overall, the puzzle is not one of his most difficult ones with many 3 and 4 letter-fill to keep the solving going. He does add GYM SHOES, VANTAGES and SALES SLIP and introduces LINE C and PAPARAZZO to our vocabulary list. JD, if you are solving, do you still keep a list?
The theme:

17A. Street stand with full permits?: LEGAL VENDOR (11). Legal TENDER is the base phrase.

23A. "Who wants to visit Muscle Beach?"?: VENICE ANYONE (12). TENNIS anyone. Venice Beach California.

45A. Dumps litter in the woods, e.g.?: VEXES RANGERS (12). Baseball's TEXAS Rangers.

57A. King's pulse, BP, etc.?: ROYAL VITALS (11). Royal TITLES.
And the reveal:

37A. Got ready to binge-watch ... or a hint to phonetic changes in four puzzle answers: SWITCHED ON THE TV (15). A classic "reveal" that clearly inspired the creation of the puzzle.
On to the specifics:

Across:

1. Skip: BYPASS. Not the easiest of starts, but straight forward once you see it. The word has morphed from simply not doing something (I will bypass dessert) to become a significant medical term and procedure.

7. Say good things about: LAUD. Straight from the Latin laudare: to praise. We get our academic cum laude but not Lauderdale. More Latin ahead.

11. Umami source, briefly: MSG. MonoSodium Glutamate. We have discussed this new taste sense recently.

14. City grid feature: AVENUE. Perps are streets, among others.

15. Detective's need: INFO. A bit unfair as the phrasing does not suggest an abbreviation, but CLUE.

16. "So there it is!": AHA. Our moment. And ANA and ONO.

19. Filch: ROB. Played by Dick van Dyke when he was young.

20. Tee preceder: ESS. ARR ESS TEE

21. Sufferer cleansed by Jesus: LEPER. Too clearly a religious topic but you can find it in the KJV, Mark 1:40-45

22. See 35-Down: GIRL. 35. With 22-Across, proud parent's cry: IT'S A. One of two for those who hate this paired fill.

26. AFC South athletes: TITANS. With their new "star" quarterback- Ryan Tannehill.

29. Sen. Warren, e.g.: DEM. Senator - Democrat,

30. "... for none of woman __ / Shall harm Macbeth": BORN. Act IV, Scene 1
MACBETH
Had I three ears, I’d hear thee.

SECOND APPARITION

Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

31. Receipt: SALES SLIP.

40. Shutterbug who bugs: PAPARAZZO. The singular of Paparazzi and the topic surrounding the death of Princess Di.

41. Brewer's kiln: OAST. Will Owen host a poem about a boast from a brewer's oast to be read coast to coast?

42. VW Golf model: GTI.

43. Considered to be: SEEN AS.

51. Stout choices: ALES. Some beer punning.

52. Violate a truce: REARM.

53. Onetime part of Portuguese India: GOA. There much to learn about Portuguese Estado da Índia

56. Drug injector: PEN. Linked to 18D. 56-Across prefix: EPI.

60. Tokyo-born artist: ONO.

61. Group with pledges: FRAT.

62. "Quit it!": ENOUGH.

63. Was the boss of: RAN.

64. Numbers game: KENO. Sid Caeser in a Chevy Chase Vacation Movie, or

65. Pinball wizard's reward: REPLAY.

Down:

1. Farm storage unit: BALE. Not related to Christian.

2. First name in couture: YVES. St. Laurent.

3. Categorizes: PEGS.

4. Carrier with Tokyo HQ: ANA. All Nippon Airways.

5. In a dark mood: SULLEN. Morose,  dour, hostile, churlish, petulant, somber, gloomy, ugly, glum, surly, grumpy, bad-tempered, cheerless, crabby, cross, cynical, dismal, dull, fretful, gruff.

6. Winning slot machine line: SEVENS. More gambling. Hmm JW lives near Atlantic City?

7. Where to claim a W-4 head-of-household allowance: LINE-C.
Form W-4 2020
Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Enter Personal Information
(a) First name and middle initial Last name
Address
City or town, state, and ZIP code
(b) Social security number
▶ Does your name match the name on your social security card? If not, to ensure you get credit for your earnings, contact SSA at 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov.
(c) Single or Married filing separately
Married filing jointly (or Qualifying widow(er))
Head of household (Check only if you’re unmarried and pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying individual.)

8. Author Gide: ANDRE. An Essayist and Novelist I read in college both in English and French. You might like his WORKS or at least his perception. "It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not."

9. Airborne mystery: UFO.

10. Palme __: film award: D'OR. From the 72nd Cannes Film Festival

11. Super __: MARIO. The co-star of the great NES games. I wonder why they are not the Super Luigi Brothers?

12. Cut off: SHORN. I always think of Samson.

13. Gothic architecture feature: GABLE. Yes, they use Clark's picture on all the throwback buildings.

22. Fitness training apparel: GYM SHOES. I am not sure if shoes are in fact apparel. Look at a mall map for example. It's broken down into Men's Apparel, Ladies Apparel, Children's Apparel, Shoes, and depending on the size of your mall accessories (such as handbags, baby equipment, and jewelry).

If you look at it from a big box store perspective, such as Wal-Mart or Target, shoes are located in a completely separate area away from their core fashion. Men's shoes are never in the men's department for example. Also promotionally, if Target were to have a sale on apparel, such as 25% off all summer fashion, it would never include footwear unless it was explicitly stated.

23. Superior positions: VANTAGES. Ad?

24. Port SSE of Sana'a: ADEN.

25. Source of tweets: NEST. Not the one from Google, but nature.

26. Culinary meas.: TBSP.

27. "Field of Dreams" locale: IOWA. It is in Dubuque County, Iowa, near Dyersville.


28. Vacation option: TRIP.

31. "__ who?": SEZ. Sez me!

32. Hatchet relative: ADZ. An axlike tool, for dressing timbers roughly, with a curved, chisellike steel head mounted at a right angle to the wooden handle.

33. John in Albert Hall: LOO. So why is the term for bathroom in Britain? One theory - when emptying chamberpots out the window, British servants warned passersby in the street below with the shout “Gardez l'eau!” (French for “Watch out for the water!”), which was pronounced “gardy loo” in Britain and later shortened to “loo.”

34. Steakhouse order: LEAN. Sounds to me more like a corned beef or pastrami order.

36. Low mil. ranks: PVTS. And parts of a Howard Stern book title.

38. Old PC monitors: CRTS. Cathode Ray TubeS.

39. '60s musical: HAIR. A musical that began in 1968 reflected the hippies and anti-war and NUDITY! Still talked about, it was a show that impacted Broadway and mainstream counter-culture.

43. Sommelier, e.g.: SERVER. In America often called the Wine Steward.

44. White weasel: ERMINE.  White weasel, while alliterative, does not sound appealing. Popular in the pre-PETA days and appearing twice this week in the LAT.

45. Steam, for one: VAPOR. Hence vaping.

46. John Paul's successor: ELENA. Justice Stevens and Justice Kagan. Not Popes.

47. Element from the Greek for "strange": XENON. Also, Xenophobia.

48. Indo-__ languages: ARYAN. How many have watched MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE on AMAZON? Tiny spoiler alert.

49. "Peachy!": NEATO. Keen!

50. 128 fl. oz.: GAL. Right next to...

53. Conquest for Caesar: GAUL. "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est." Six years of Latin should not go to waste.

54. Lingerie brand: OLGA. This is a deja vu moment for me, but perhaps I saw their products while shopping at Kohls with my wife.  LINK. I was sure it had just been in a puzzle here as clued.

55. Grayish: ASHY. We have many variations of this word lately.

57. '60s A.G.: RFK. Robert F. Kennedy was the Attorney General of the US-appointed by his brother.

58. Natural resource: ORE. A natural resource is defined as a resource that cannot be replaced in our lifetime. They include metal ores, fossil fuels, earth minerals, and in some in certain situations groundwater

59. Word with dollar or dog: TOP. Once again we reach the bottom of the puzzle, but come out on top from a very entertaining roller coaster ride.

We have had a great week of weather. Not quite cold enough for a fireplace, but we had fun with the grandkids at their firepit. I hope you all weathered the storm and slalomed your way through Jeffrey's latest opus. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy 82nd birthday to dear Lucina, who's been with our blog for over 9 years. Lucina travels to CA often and has met with a few of our blog (ex) regulars.

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015 

Friday, November 22, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Come right in - no queue here.

Jeffrey is back on schedule with me and delivers another of his letter substitution puzzles. The letter "W" replaces "QU" in a varied group of common phrases. To understand how his mind must work, you need to think of the sound of "QU." From the dictionary, "quick/kwik/." So he is just removing the "k."
As I solved it seemed he was going for another group where all of the switched letters preceded the same vowel, but that was not to be. Instead, he ramped up the difficulty by adding some very original fill and his usual witty cluing. His long non-theme fill shows three introductions, highlighted in BLUE and one second-appearance highlighted in GREEN. He packs all of this into a 70-word gem. AIR TANK,  ALGIERS, ALL TAKEN, APHELION, MAGNOLIA, TIRE CARE, TRAIN SET and TSUNAMIS are his sparklers.

16A. Colbert et al.?: WITS FOR THE NIGHT (15). JW, which comes first, the idea of QU to W or does a specific fill pop into your head?

29A. Part of a candlemaker's design process?: WICK DECISION  (11). I am glad he didn't clue this with a reference to this MOVIE. Definitely R-rated for violence.

34A. Outdoor wedding guests on a steamy day?: WILTING PARTY (11). When my son married they chose June in Florida for an outdoor wedding at the Miami Botanical Gardens. Oops.

51A. What a hiker might do after a nap on the trail?: WAKE IN ONE'S BOOTS (15). I always take mine off before sleeping in the forest.

Across:

1. New England's only National Park: ACADIA.  In Maine.

7. Eponymous explorer of Australia: TASMAN. I do not think ABEL TASMAN was much of a devil, just an explorer.

13. Pressure sensors attached to buoys are parts of their warning systems: TSUNAMIS. A learning moment.


15. Recorded, in a way: ON TAPE.

18. Useful thing: ASSET.

19. Additionally: TOO.

20. Coastal raptor: ERNE. Also known as the SEA EAGLE. They are a link to the Dinosaurs but not vegetarians.

21. Something to file: NAIL. Why do we file files but don't nail nails?

22. Frond source: PALM. There are a lot of old fronds of mine here.

23. With 53-Down, maxim: OLD. 53D. See 23-Across: SAW. A proverb or maxim, as in "Mom's always repeating the old saw, "Haste makes waste". This term uses saw in the sense of saying, and old in the sense of wise rather than old-fashioned.

25. Ob-__: GYN. A CSO to my dear departed mother who worked in that field for 50 or so years.

26. Jacket fabric: DENIM.

27. First name in a 2010s first family: MALIA. Means "Mary" in Hawaiian. Perfect for a Hawaiian born father.

31. Subarctic forest: TAIGA. Taiga, also called a boreal forest, biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees, found in northern circumpolar forested regions characterized by long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation. Who knew?

33. Hawke of "Boyhood": ETHAN. Two weeks ago, it was ETHAN ALLEN.

38. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Somewhere was not in the title, and it was written specifically for the movie. Harold Arlen only wrote the music but this is a classic sung by so many. HISTORY. Judy Garland's version is embedded in the link.

39. Bowling venue: ALLEY. Another CSO to Boomer and TTP.

40. PD alert: APB. It has taken me a while to adjust to PD not meaning PUBLIC DEFENDER. With all the police procedurals on TV, I finally got it.

43. Understand: GET. Thee to a nunnery.

44. Oil equipment: RIGS.

45. "Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself" org.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

46. Meditation goal: CALM.

49. Keurig Dr Pepper brand: BAI. "Bai's mission is to share the powerful antioxidant goodness of coffee's superfruit and always move toward optimum, healthy living." I missed the $18,700,000,000.00 acquisition by Keurig in 2018. Their list of brands is very impressive and hard to avoid. LIST.

54. December decor: WREATH. It's beginning to smell a little like Christmas. The trees are already out for sale and it isn't even Thanksgiving.

55. Gift with tracks: TRAINSET. We took the family on a BRIGHTLINE train ride, and my 2-year-old grandson loved the ride. He now owns a beginner train set.

56. Absinthe herb: FENNEL. Traditional absinthe is made of anise, fennel, and wormwood (a plant), and various recipes add other herbs and flowers to the mix. Did you hallucinate when you tried it?

57. Chocolates, e.g.: SWEETS.

Down:

1. "You've heard this from me before ... ": AS I SAY. Over and over again.

2. Replaces a dancer: CUTS IN.

3. Adams with negatives: ANSEL. This PHOTOGRAPHER.

4. Bonkers: DAFT. Two old terms for mentally unwell.

5. "Here's a thought," briefly: IMO. In My Opinion.

6. Reef diver's need: AIR TANK. Most divers use scuba tanks filled with simple compressed air (filtered and dehumidified).

7. Sock part: TOE.

8. Prince Harry's aunt: ANNE. Elizabeth II's  children are Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

9. Ado: STIR. About nothing?

10. Early Mississippi flag symbol: MAGNOLIA.

11. Farthest-from-the-sun orbital point: APHELION. The perihelion is the point on the orbit of a planet or comet that is closest to the sun. The point on the orbit farthest from the sun is the aphelion. The speed of a body in the solar system is greatest at the perihelion and least at the aphelion.

12. Monarch catcher: NET. Butterflies. Hey- double CSO to John Lampkin, who was the constructor that introduced APHELION to the crossword world as well as teaching us about butterflies.

13. Country music sound: TWANG.

14. Unexcitable: STOLID.

17. Marseille man: HOMME. French.

22. Pie-topping nut: PECAN. A perfect almost Thanksgiving fill.

24. Newscaster Rather: DAN.

26. Invitation to eat: DIG IN. More Thanksgiving.

27. Daydreaming Walter: MITTY. 1947

2013


28. Wan: ASHY. Pale, white.

29. Bic's __-Out: WITE. Oh, gee.

30. First known asteroid: CERES. Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system.

31. Car manual topic: TIRE CARE.

32. Like the seats in an SRO performance: ALL TAKEN. Somewhat tortured way to get there.

34. Funny one: WAG.

35. She never went to 50-Across ceremonies: GARBO. 50D. 1954 Honorary Award for 35-Down: OSCAR.

36. Flexible: PLIANT.

37. North African capital: ALGIERS.

40. Confront boldly: ACCOST. You need to careful these days.

41. China pieces: PLATES. Not Hong Kong and Mongolia.

42. Pop: BURST. My sons never call me burst.

45. Together: AS ONE.

47. Corned beef order: LEAN.

48. Tiny insect: MITE. All you did not want to know about these arachnids. Mites are not actually insects but belong to the related class Arachnida, which also includes spiders, scorpions, and ticks. The major morphological differences between mites and insects are found in the number of major body parts and the number of legs.
LINK.

50. "Hamilton" award: OBIE. Off-Broadway.

51. Scrabble-like app, briefly: WWF. Words With Friends.

52. Puckish org.?: NHL. Punishing pun dropped here.
Before we go, I must go back to my early life and remember this date in 1963 when the history of this country was changed forever. Not a perfect man but a memorable one. RIP.

Always a pleasure to be the caddy for our prolific Friday legend. I

hope you had as much fun as I did and thanks for your views and your words. We all exist only because of you who read. Happy 

THANKSGIVING!

Lemonade out!