Saturday, Apr 12th, 2014, John Lieb

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,Q,X)

Blocks: 27

     This would be a second LAT solo puzzle from Mr. Lieb, who had a Sunday back in 2012, right after C.C.'s B-day.  The last puzzle we saw from John was a duo with David Quarfoot this past Thanksgiving.  Today's offering got done only with a huge number of W.A.G.s on my part, and there was quite a few names dropped, and some 'strange' fill, too.  Triple 9's and 8's in the corners, with two 12-letter spanners;

39a. Emma Frost portrayer in "X-Men: First Class" : JANUARY JONES - and a proper name

31. One of the moveable feasts : EASTER SUNDAY - Timely - and we just had a moveable feasts puzzle

oooooonnnnnnwwwwwaaaarrrrrddd~~~~~!!!!

ACROSS:

1. Extremely lame, in slang : WEAK SAUCE - new phrase to me; my last fills in the grid were the "S" and "U" - starting off with a 'strange' fill....

10. "The Zoo Story" dramatist : ALBEE - and continuing with a proper name

15. One with breaking news : ANCHORMAN

16. Conger cousin : MORAY - Eels

17. African kingdom : SWAZILAND - Africa #1

18. Lite-__: classic Hasbro toy : BRITE - some of these Lite-Brite works of art are over the top; WARNING~!; some racy content

19. 3 part? : ARC - when you write the number '3', it has two arcs

20. Do followers : RE MI - musical D'oh~!, not a hair "do"

21. Ad lib : WING IT

22. Scott who played the lead in 1976's "Bugsy Malone" : BAIO - proper name

24. Maintain the status quo : SIT PAT

26. Cádiz cycle : ANO - one year, and a semi-clecho @ 60a. Month abroad : ENERO - technically, the second "January" in the puzzle

27. Old Colgate competitor : IPANA - 5 letters, and an old toothpaste? 

29. Spam producer : 'BOT - computer spam; Hormel makes the meat kind

30. "Splendor in the Grass" screenwriter : INGE - proper name

35. Mitty creator : THURBER - proper name

38. As you like it : TO TASTE

 

41. Backwoods possessive : HIS'N - and HERS'N~!!?!?

42. Letters before P, perhaps : V.S.O. - found on Cognac, Very Superior Old Pale

43. State tree of Texas : PECAN - leaming moment; nailed it, D-otto?

47. Sch. where chapel service attendance is mandatory : ORU - Oral Roberts Univeristy

48. Silk-spraying movie monster : MOTHRA - ah, used to love those Saturday afternoon monster movies

51. It only makes sense when it's broken : CODE - "It only makes cents when broken" is a dollar

52. Oil sources : OLIVES

54. Wine quality : NOSE

56. Collection to burn : CDs - Dah~!  Fooled me

57. High fliers : KITES

58. Traumatic expression : ACTING OUT

61. Klondike product with a shell : CHOCO-TACO

62. V-shaped fortification : REDAN - The Wiki; I should have known this; I am a huge castle lover - I get a calendar every year....

63. Postgame finger-pointer : SORE LOSER

DOWN:

1. Hot stuff : WASABI - The "I" from IPANA was in the odd, last position here, but then the light bulb shown brightly

2. Swaddle : ENWRAP

3. Mimosa family member : ACACIA

4. AM radio abbr. : kHz - the Frequency at which Amplitude Modulated radio broadcasts (as in your car) is between 535-1605 kilohertz

5. Liszt's "Harmonies du __" : SOIR

6. City on the Rhone : ARLES - anyone else try "ESSEN" first? ( I just checked; it's on the Ruhr )

7. One of the five basic taste sensations : UMAMI - another 'strange' one; the Wiki; from the Japanese, for "delicious taste"

8. "Am I seeing things?" : "CAN IT BE?"

9. Intention : END - Dah~! Not AIM

10. Extent : AMBIT

11. Bereft, old-style : LORN

12. Outlaws : BRIGANDs

13. Causing agita : EATING AT

14. Good way of seeing : EYE-TO-EYE

21. Nicklaus rival : WATSON - Jack and Tom, two respected golfers - and proper names

23. Kind of lead a closer often has to protect : ONE RUN - so baseball has arrived for 2014; I am keyed up for the Stanley Cup playoffs in hockey now

25. __-Novo: Benin's capital : PORTO - Africa #2

28. "Rubáiyát" rhyme scheme : A A B A - more 'strange'

30. "Soon" : "IN A SEC~!"

32. Electronic control mechanisms, briefly : SERVOS

33. Tabloid scoop : TRYST

34. Sun Bowl Stadium coll. team : UTEP - More Texas; University at El Paso

35. '80s Shatner cop show : T. J. HOOKER - never watched it; still think he's "Captain Kirk"

36. Mr. Clean's lack : HAIRLINE - well, I knew it was HAIR something, or something HAIR

37. Not appropriate : UNSUITED

40. He played Harold in "Harold & Kumar" films : JOHN CHO - proper name

44. Winter warmers : COCOAs

45. Cite as proof : ADDUCE

46. Counselor at Troy : NESTOR - proper name

48. Elementary particle : MESON - too complicated when I checked the Wiki

49. Centrifuge component : ROTOR

50. "Cold __": 1977 hit for Foreigner : AS ICE - Run, Tin, Run~!

53. First name in fashion : VERA - Wang, proper name

55. Hydroxyl compound : ENOL

58. Short coolers? : ACs - Air Conditioners; around here, it's mostly "A/C", but I have heard some people call it "AirCon"

59. Pontiac co-designed by John DeLorean : GTO

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 23rd, 2013, John Lieb & David Quarfoot

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 29

     Started out really well, but this one crushed me and good - nothing really difficult word-wise, but the cluing was so vague that red-letters came up early, and even that wasn't good enough. John Lieb has appeared here before; C.C. mentioned David Quarfoot as one of the top themeless constructors. 

John Lieb

David Quarfoot

Pinwheel grid design of 9-letter and 8-letter corners, and nothing longer.  No spanners, and as discussed before, when you get a 15-letter answer, it usually opens the puzzle up a bit.  Some answers of note;

1. Holiday portmanteau : TURDUCKEN - The combination of a turkey, duck and chicken, one stuffed inside the other - have to say I have not tried this dish yet....

13. Kyoto-based entertainment company : NINTENDO - They make the Wii console, too - I tried the golf, and it just frustrated me; bowling was more enjoyable

35. Minor obstacle? : BABY GATE - Oh, so good~! Took a long time for anything in the south to take shape for me....now, if I can just work this thingy here, and then slide that over there....

63. Stud revelations : HOLE CARDS - Poker; oh, THAT kind of stud; it annoys me when I get into a mindset, then stay trapped inside - I was thinking 2x4 framing lumber and males the whole time.  Hole Cards are the two you're ( usually ) dealt face down to start a hand

$F%X&#ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

10. Turned up : ON END - ugh, that kind of turned "up"

15. Hoops situation involving a bonus free throw : ONE AND ONE - Basketball, when a player is fouled (?) - not my game

16. Odds, essentially : RATIO

17. Tennessee's state reptile : BOX TURTLE - Aww

18. Pointless : INANE

19. Mental health org. : APA - well, I figured it was an "A - A" group, the "P" is for Psychological, and here's a music link

20. Longest-serving Dodger coach Manny : MOTA - echo (echo)(echo) "...now batting - Manny (Manny)(Manny) Mota (Mota)(Mota)

21. Puts forth : POSITS

22. Bucks : GELT - Money slang

24. Like some sins : MORTAL - Yay~! I got one~!

26. Holiday serving : LEG - Oh so vague....I can think of a better clue for this;

27. Dental crown alternative : ONLAY

29. People magazine Sexiest Man Alive of 1999 : GERE - I started with gOre - Um, that's not right

30. Harmonia's daughter, in Greek myth : INO

31. Vituperate : CURSE AT

34. Menu option : UNDO - Just had this - SEND, EDIT, VIEW, FILE, etc

35. Program, perhaps : BOOKLET

38. Chaac, to Mayans : RAIN GOD -various spellings

40. Looking frightened : ASHY

41. Pretend, in a way : LIP SYNC

43. NCAA year-end games system : BCS - Bowl Championship Series - the Wiki; My buddy Mike is in Philly this weekend, I worked too late to go; next weekend he starts a whirlwind tour of the East Coast NFL and college games to promote his new "Quarterback Touchdown" game

44. Word with sugar or spice : MILL - Sugar Mill, Spice Mill - took forever to see this; again, I got stuck on Spice GIRL, and Sugar PILL

45. Put in : ELECT - Ugh, that kind of  "PUT"

49. Slangy agreement : YAH - Yea, Yep, just keep at it

50. Common hand span : OCTAVE - I am bruised on the forehead from the V-8 can; the hand can span the keys of a keyboard, which is an octave ( 13 keys )

53. Catch in pots : EELS - DAR~! Seen it before, couldn't remember

54. Receives : GREETS

56. Shakespearean "over there" : YONDer - Poetic

58. Go on : YAK

59. Doddering : ANILE - SEnile, yes, Anile, no.  Denile is not just a river in Egypt

60. Cut : EDITED OUT

62. Sign of emptiness : TO LET - as in apartments for rent; the one at mom's house has finally been filled, and the guy seems OK - let's see what happens Dec 1

64. Toponymic dairy items : EDAMS - toponymic meaning name derived from a place; in this case, the Dutch cheese

65. Summer TV offering with a "Jaws of Steel Collection" DVD : SHARK WEEK - I am pleased to say this one did actually come to me, sort of a logical educated WAG; I do not care for the show; not a big fan of sharks - they are cool, but I like

DOWN:

1. Lesser Antilles island : TOBAGO

2. Sealed : UNOPEN - meh

3. Old drugstore chain : REXALL - I tried READES, and it got me part-way there

4. "Can't Help Lovin' __ Man" : DAT

5. Word on a bill : UNUM - E Pluribus Unum - Latin; 'One from Many'

6. Storage medium : CD-ROM

7. Actor Yaphet __ of "Midnight Run" : KOTTO - also Parker in Alien (on the right in the image) - what was the cat's name?  Anyone?

8. Swell : ENLARGE - I started with ENGORGE - say, where's my mind?

9. Formerly : NEE

10. Yankee foe : ORIOLE - baseball for C.C.

11. Some flatbreads : NANS

12. Selling using servers : ETAILING - "E" word; online shopping, and Cyber Monday happens to be "BLACK MONDAY" at UPS

14. Acts altruistically : DOES GOOD

21. Bash, affectedly : "PAR-TAY~!"

23. Tasteless : TACKY - like the preceeding answer?

25. Rushes : TEARS - tAres, not tEErs

28. Co-star of Steve in "The Magnificent Seven" : YUL

32. They may be dug up : RELICS - had it in, took it out, put it back in

33. Circus elevator : STILT - D-oh~!  Took W-A-A-A-A-Y too long to get

34. Godfather, sometimes : UNCLE

36. Academy affirmation : OSCAR NOD - great clue/answer

37. 1985 #1 hit for Ready for the World : OH SHEILA - I grew up with the song, but didn't recall the artist's name

39. Like Vivaldi's "Spring" : IN E - put in the "IN" and wait....

42. "Imagination Taking Shape" sloganeer : PLAY-DOH - Great slogan, too~!

44. Church compositions : MOTETS

46. Kiddie lit character with a detachable tail : EEYORE - Learning moment; I did not know this

47. Composer Debussy : CLAUDE

48. Reproachful warning : TSK TSK - my biggest "MEH" of the day

51. "There!" : VOILA - I definitely did not get my "Ta-DA~!!" on this puzzle

52. Join : ENTER

55. He or I, e.g. : ELEMent - way cool clue that did not fool me; Helium and Iodine

57. Sea level? : DECK - I had DOCK, which stumped me for the longest time; I was thinking dry land - sailors (tars, etc.,) might have been on the ship's deck wavelength

60. Half-hearted responses : EHs

61. Crow cousin : DAW

Splynter

Sunday July 1, 2012 John Lieb

Theme: When Worlds Collide - The "World" in each theme entry is replaced by another word. (Correction: World can precede and follow the below green-highlighted word in each theme entry.)

24A. View from much of the Oregon coast? : WATER WITHOUT END. Water world. World Without End, the Ken Follett novel JD/Lemonade loves. I think Haltool is a fan too.

36A. What Ceylon, Siam and Upper Volta are nowadays? : DEAD TO THE ATLAS. Dead to the World. World Atlas.Irish Miss/Lucina might know this book.

51A. List of The Duke's films? : WAYNE'S HISTORY. Wayne's World. World history.

68A. Double eagle in a PGA event? : SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE TOUR. Shot heard 'round the world. Bobby Thomson's home run. "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!". World tour.

89A. Battleship game setting? : SEA OF WARCRAFT. SeaWorld. World of Warcraft.

101A. Hank Aaron's 715th home run, at the time? : BRAVE NEW RECORD. Brave New World. Aaron was with the Braves at the time (1974). Plus, it's indeed a brave record, as he received lots of hate mail and even death threats. I like this clue a lot. World record.

119A. Pneumatic tube in a drive-thru? : WONDER OF THE BANK. Wonder of the World. World bank.

I think this is John Lieb's LA Times debut. And a Sunday. Congratulations! What a wonderful achievement.

Love the fill today. Lively and clean. The clues are entertaining too, esp these few:

106A. Character in "Scooby-Doo"? : HYPHEN. Got me.

11D. Lemon aids? : TOWS. Not something eye-related to aid our Lemonade.

44D. Runner down under? : STYX. River of Hades.

Across:

1. Spruce (up) : SPIFF. And 101D. Strengthened, with "up" : BEEFED

6. Employees with many perks? : BARISTAS. I sure was not thinking of coffee when I read "perks".

14. 45 holder : SLEEVE

20. Mother-of-pearl : NACRE. This and ETUI are two crossword words I learned very early on.

21. Intimate : ONE TO ONE

22. Really well-off : LOADED. So shocked Katie Holmes is divorcing Tom Cruise. They were such a happy couple.

23. "You __ big trouble, mister!" : ARE IN

26. Kid-friendly, in a way : RATED G

28. Country singer who was an 8-year-old "Star Search" contestant : RIMES (LeAnn). Did not know this trivia.

29. Yank : TUG

30. Delight at the comedy club : SLAY. Who doesn't like Louis C.K.?

31. Site of the first cover-up? : EDEN. Nice clue. Fig leaf cover-up.

32. Rise: Abbr. : INCR

34. He appointed Sandra to the Supreme Court : RONALD (Reagan)

41. Racetrack sounds : NEIGHS

45. Comic Amsterdam : MOREY. Of "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

46. Board-certified talk show host : DR. OZ. Google shows he's certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

47. Attribute : TRAIT

48. Pop-up ads, e.g. : COME-ONS

55. Do impressions of : APE

56. Wrong : NOT SO

58. 2002 Streisand album : DUETS. See the cover. Another unknown to me.

59. Latin law : LEX

60. "Bohemian Rhapsody" addressee : MAMA. Not my favorite Queen's song.

62. Browning and more : POETS

66. Carp cousins : DACES. Carp is a popular food fish in China.

76. Tall, dark and handsome : MANLY.What? I always associate MANLY with just masculine. Macho guy, not necessary "Tall, dark and handsome".

77. Actress Zellweger : RENEE

78. Sheet of stamps : PANE

79. Subside : EBB

82. Petal picker's word : LOVES

84. "It follows that ..." : AND SO

88. With it : HIP

94. Spicy stews : RAGOUTS

96. "Fun, Fun, Fun" car : T-BIRD. The Beach Boys.

97. Savvy about : ONTO

98. Possessive in many church names : PAUL'S. St. Paul's, right?

99. Triangular soil deposits : DELTAS

108. __ Domini : ANNO

109. Samoa's largest city : APIA. And capital.

110. "The Cosby Show" son : THEO

113. U.K. award : OBE. Order of the British Empire.

114. Oro y __: Montana's motto : PLATA

117. Alaska's __ Sound : NORTON. Never heard of it before, Spitzboov!

123. Intertwines yarn : KNITS

124. "Later, dude" : I'M GONE

125. High standing : EMINENCE

126. "Star-cross'd" lover : ROMEO. Why Star-cross'd rather than "Star-crossed"?

127. Battle of Thermopylae victor, 480 B.C. : XERXES. I bet Jayce nailed this one. The Persian king in "300". He creeps me out.

128. Utter failure : DISASTER

129. Trim : ADORN

Down:

1. Trapped : SNARED

2. Float site : PARADE

3. Lipton product : ICE TEA. Now I'm used to its D-less form.

4. Facebook request : FRIEND ME. Man, you can waste lots of time there.

5. Repel, with "off" : FEND

6. Katniss's weapon in "The Hunger Games" : BOW. Has any of you read or watched "The Hunger Games"?

7. Lawless state : ANARCHY

8. Hang up the spikes : RETIRE

9. Paparazzi's target : ITEM

10. Ticked off : SORE

12. Singer DiFranco : ANI

13. Scrapes : SET-TOS

14. The 1973 Mets' "Ya Gotta Believe!," e.g. : SLOGAN. Coined by Tug McGraw, father of Tim
McGraw.

15. Hoover's wife : LOU. I don't know. But isn't LOU a man's name?

16. Humbly apologizes : EATS DIRT

17. Pulitzer-winning biographer Leon : EDEL. This entry appeared a lot a lot in the old Wayne R. Williams puzzle. Always clued as "Henry James biographer".

18. __ cava : VENA

19. Vortex : EDDY. Hi there hockey nut Vortex!

25. Barbarian : HUN

27. "Buon __": Italian greeting : GIORNO. Italians are so passionate. Asians are rather reserved.

33. Explosive trial : N-TEST

34. Flattened : RAZED

35. "Decisions, decisions ..." : LET'S SEE

37. Homer, for one : TOON

38. Oral health org. : ADA

39. "__ and stop me!" : TRY

40. Horror star Chaney : LON

42. London lockup : GAOL. I often wonder if Splynter's English has a slight British accent.

43. Bring aboard : HIRE

48. "Overhead" engine parts : CAMS

49. Moonfish : OPAH

50. It might be cc'd : MEMO. I don't like G-mail. It doesn't show clearly whether an email is CC'ed to others.

51. Cord under a tarp : WOOD. I don't get this clue. (Added later: firewood. Thanks for the answer, everyone.)

52. Abrupt : SUDDEN

53. Word with gas or oil : HEAT

54. Dry skin tip-off : ITCH

57. More agile : SPRYER. Sprier feels more right to me.

61. Dough-dispensing convenience, briefly : ATM

63. Overcharge, say : ERR. I wonder what makes a Tom Ford lipstick so expensive. It doesn't feel special to me, except the package.

64. Turf __: common football injury : TOE

65. Important star : SUN

67. Gas additive brand : STP

69. Like some kindergarten programs : HALF-DAY

70. Plenty, in verse : ENOW

71. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison.

72. Clutter-free : NEAT

73. Iolani Palace site : OAHU. JD visited the Palace before.

74. Condo, e.g. : UNIT

75. Set components : REPS

79. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD

80. Nixon confidant Rebozo : BEBE

81. Judge's setting : BAIL

83. Disdain : SCORN

85. Haggard : DRAWN

86. The lord in "The Lord of the Rings" : SAURON. For Jazzbumpa.

87. Stare at rudely : OGLE

90. Like many faithful adherents : ORTHODOX

91. Genetic material : RNA

92. Off-rd. ride : ATV

93. One who isn't with us : FOE

95. Movie props? : OSCAR NOD. Great answer.

98. Hail Marys, often : PENANCE

100. Future ferns : SPORES

102. Floating : NATANT. New word to me. Natant

103. Cigar brand that comes in grape and peach flavors : OPTIMO. Did not know this. But I was shocked to find an cigarette ad in our Sunday's Parade magazine a few weeks ago.

104. Violent protester : RIOTER

105. Ted of "CSI" : DANSON

107. "Game of Thrones" airer : HBO

110. Chocolate caramel bar : TWIX

111. Parcheesi destination : HOME. Never played Parcheesi.

112. Rocket scientist, e.g.: Abbr. : ENGR

114. Frat letters : PHIS

115. Jazzy Horne : LENA

116. Fivers : ABES

118. Cajun staple : OKRA. I saw Okra chips in our local grocery store the other day. Looks tasty.

120. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : ENE

121. "Ew, I didn't need that mental picture!" : TMI

122. Plunk preceder : KER

Answer grid.

Thanks for the nice birthday wishes yesterday! I won't be here next weekend due to a big family reunion out of the town. Steve will guide you through next Sunday's puzzle.

C.C.