Sunday April 28, 2013 Julian Lim

Theme: "It'll Have to Do" - TLE is added to the end of each theme entry.

22A. Container for mystery meat? : SPAM BOTTLE. Spambot, which send out spam. That's why Captcha is used in our blog.

31A. Action scene in "True Blood"? : VAMPIRE BATTLE. Vampire bat.

49A. Courage of Manhattanites? : NEWYORK METTLE. New York Met.

71A. Cloak for a road trip? : HIGHWAY MANTLE. Highwayman.

92A. Reaction to an alarm? : RISING STARTLE. Rising star. 

102A. Baby's pre-vacation note to self? : PACK RATTLE. Pack rat.

 

3D. Venue for poetry readings in space? : SLAM SHUTTLE. Slam shut.

62D. Livestock kept between buildings? : ALLEY CATTLE. Alley cat.

Fun theme. Reminds me a bit of this BLE added NYT puzzle. And the theme set is tighter here, with TLE added to the second word only.

Also, fantastic grid design. Noticed how four of the theme entries intersect? I'd probably try a paralleled two 9's in the upper right and lower left corners, not 3. Julian Lim is so good. That's why our Lucina loves him!

Across:

1. Skip it : PASS

5. Jotting on a Post-it : MEMO

9. Lowest of the low : NADIR

14. Artist who was an admirer of Freud : DALI. He was? I know Dali and Mia Farrow were close friends. Surreal!

18. Partner : ALLY

19. Invites over : HAS IN

20. "Invisible Cities" author Calvino : ITALO

21. Well-versed in : UP ON

24. How some sleep : NAKED. Do you?

25. Nanny __: security devices : CAMS

26. Fiddled (with) : TAMPERED

27. Word repeated after "que," in song : SERA

28. Lure into crime : ENTRAP

30. Rapture : ECSTASY

34. Pakistani city : LAHORE. Capital of Punjabi.

35. Order to pounce : SIC 'EM

36. Like some personalities : DYNAMIC

37. Fluent speakers avoid them : UMs

38. Dull finish : MATTE. 72. Bright finish : GLOSS

39. Runner on snow : SKI. We went on a long nature walk yesterday. Still ice and snow on some lakes. 

41. Out of breath : SPENT

42. Ones giving marching orders: Abbr. : SGTs

44. Like NES video games : RETRO

45. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE. The organic food pioneer is Alice Waters. I used to confuse those two.

47. Opposite of exo- : ENDO

48. Hamilton's prov. : ONT. "Prov." sure helped.

52. Crew member : TAR. Sailor.

53. Topple : FALL OVER

55. Satan's little helpers : IMPS

56. Mil. decoration : DSM

58. Wrote with limited characters : TWEETED. Information overload.

59. Vineyard grape : PINOT

61. Assess flight risk, in a way : SET BAIL

65. Crossword heading: Abbr. : ACR (Across)

66. Weirdo : WACK

67. Panaceas : CURE-ALLS. Looks strange piled together.

68. Report card calamities : EFs.

75. __ Fáil: Irish "stone of destiny" : LIA. Our old puzzle used to feature this word often.

76. Villain's base : LAIR

78. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL. Eero's father.

79. High-ranked Atlanta school : EMORY

80. Bane for bugs : DEET

81. Wrapped up : ENDED

83. Windy City airport code : ORD

84. Water filter brand : BRITA

85. Pivotal : KEY

86. Paleness causes : ANEMIAS. Did not know this word is plurable.

88. __ Manor: "Batman" setting : WAYNE

89. High light? : BEACON. Great clue.

95. Two guys out to dinner, say : MAN DATE. Wanted BRO DATE.

96. Noted lawmaker : NEWTON. Law of gravity. I was thinking of DRACO-like lawmaker.

97. MLB credits : RBIs. Twins beat the Rangers yesterday, Bill.

98. Concert setup, briefly : PA SYSTEM

99. "Look no further than me" : I'M IT

100. Require : EXACT

104. What a ponytail covers : NAPE. "Do you know my name?"

105. River measure : WIDTH

106. "Coffee __?" : OR TEA

107. Earthenware pot : OLLA

108. Turned right : GEED. Gee = Right. Haw = Left.

109. Puréeing aid : SIEVE

110. Hardy's "Pure Woman" : TESS.  "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".

111. Drudge : PEON

Down:

1. Washed-out shade : PASTEL

2. Andean herd member : ALPACA

4. Diagnostician's clues : SYMPTOMS

5. Brit's bro : MATEY

6. Abbr. before a year : ESTD

7. Part of a GI's URL : MIL. For Military.

8. Late lunch hour : ONE. And 9. Late dinner hr. : NINE PM

10. __ 2600: old video game console : ATARI

11. Capital NW of Monrovia : DAKAR. Capital of Senegal. Click on the map. It'll enlarge.

12. Loire land : ILE

13. Passed on a 19-Down : RODE BY. 19. Silver in movies : HORSE. Lone Ranger's horse Silver.

14. Versatile roll : DUCT TAPE

15. Common rental : APARTMENT

16. California city name meaning "pretty knoll" : LOMA LINDA. Loma means "knoll" then. New to me.

17. Yard worker? : INSPECTOR. OK, Scotland Yard.

23. Is worthy of, as repeating : BEARS. It bears repeating that...

27. Hook underling : SMEE

29. Persian breads : NANS.  I always thought of NAN as Indian bread. Has no idea that the Iranians eat Nan too. Chinese Muslims call theirs Nang. Delicious.

31. In __ fertilization : VITRO

32. One may be supporting : ACTOR. Nice clue.

33. Queen's decree : EDICT

35. Dionysian reveler : SATYR

38. Asked to be stroked, perhaps : MEWED

39. Pursued one's dreams? : SLEPT. Sweet!

40. Press packets : KITS

42. Out of shape : SOFT. Huh? Never heard "Out of shape" expressed as "SOFT". Long winter here. I'm SOFT.

43. Eat like a chinchilla : GNAW

44. Stargazer's state : REVERIE

45. Supplies for Rambo : AMMO

46. Geriatrician's concern, with "the" : ELDERLY

49. V-shaped mark : NOTCH

50. Twisted : KINKY

51. First name in makeup : ESTEE. To me, this is their best product. Get this for your wife/girlfriend. They'll love you.

54. Cow patch : LEA

57. Wharton Sch. conferral : MBA

59. Played with, cat-style : PAWED

60. Alphabet addition? : ICAL. Alphabetical.

61. Kama __ : SUTRA

63. Rival of Bjorn : ILIE (Nastase)

64. Some srs.' source of stress : LSAT

66. Propeller noise : WHIR

67. Thou tenth : C-NOTE. Sometimes it's C-SPOT. Thou is Thousand here.

68. Webinars, e.g. : E-LEARNING. I guess we e-learn every day.

69. Mortgage acronym : FANNIE MAE. So is Freddie Mac.

70. Glancing blow : SIDESWIPE

73. Sophie player : MERYL. "Sophie's Choice". Pure talent.

74. Nitrogen compound : AMINE

77. Sent payment : REMITTED

80. What bad traffic sometimes comes to, with "a" : DEAD STOP

82. "The Flintstones" answer to Fido : DINO

84. Swings at home : BATS. Home plate.

85. Maasai Mara game reserve locale : KENYA

87. '60s-'70s veep and family : AGNEWS. Spiro Agnew.

88. Twist in agony : WRITHE

89. City about 300 miles from Baghdad : BASRA.  Iraq's  second largest city, after  Baghdad.

90. 1887 La Scala premiere : OTELLO. Based Shakespeare's "Othello".

91. Like the lion slain by Hercules : NEMEAN. Nemean lion.

93. __ union : TRADE

94. "Suburgatory" airer : ABC TV. Never watched "Suburgatory". Wiki says it's a portmanteau of "suburban" and "purgatory".

95. Nets : MAKES

98. Statistician's figs. : PCTs

101. It may be seen opposite VI : XII. Clock.

102. Nursery container : POT

103. "The Kids __ All Right": 2010 Best Picture nominee : ARE

C.C.

Friday, April 12, 2013 Julian Lim

Theme: STNIOJ SDRAWKCAB

17A. Extra effort : WOBLE [ELBOW] GREASE.

21A. "That's rich!" evoker : EENK [KNEE] SLAPPER.

40A. Take on responsibility : REDLUOHS [SHOULDER] THE LOAD.

57A. It usually involves rapping : PIH [HIP] HOP MUSIC.

And the unifier:

64A. Filing option, or what can be found in four long answers? : JOINT RETURN. The first word of each phrase is a synonym for a body part (specifically: joint) that "returns," or goes backward. Nice theme, and appropriate as tax deadline day draws near!

Just missing a Z for a pangram. Thankfully, most of the fill was fairly easy, but I still had a huge blank swath going down the west side of this puzzle for the longest time.  Every time I checked the down answers, it gave me jibberish for the beginnings of the theme entries. I bet I'm not the only one who did that.

Marti here, filling in for our fearless Friday fellow. Thanks for pinch-hitting for me yesterday, Lemony!

Across:

1. Least ancient : LATEST.

7. Some TVs : RCAS.

11. This second, briefly : PDQ. Pretty Da*n Quick.

14. Forward, to Fiorello : AVANTI. Italian. I am going to Italy this summer, and have been brushing up on my rusty Italian, so this was a gimme.

15. City SW of Buffalo : ERIE.

16. Christian sch. since 1963 : ORU. Oral Roberts University. And 61-Down. Kind of exam : ORAL.

19. Shoofly ___ : PIE. Really sweet southern dish made with molasses, and topped with a sugary crumble.

20. Skittish NBC show? : SNL. Saturday Night Live. Full of "skits."

23. Jellied item in British cuisine : EEL. I have linked this dish before. It's not a pretty sight.

25. "Days of Grace" memoirist : ASHE. Arthur finished it just a week before he died.

26. Relaxed : EASY.

27. GRE components : ESSAYS.

30. Doubter's question : IS IT?

32. Note promising notes : CHIT. Hands up for those who wanted IOUs? I read it first as "note-promising" notes, instead of "A" note that promises notes (money.)

33. Letter-routing letters : ATTN.

36. Big-eared flier of film : DUMBO.

43. Finish : USE UP.

44. It may be spare : ROOM.

45. "Progress through Technology" automaker : AUDI.

46. "Awesome!" : NICE. and 50-Across. Awesome, in a way : EPIC.

48. Original Speed Stick maker : MENNEN.

53. Used to be : WERE.

56. Giant of note : OTT (Mel)

60. Rock's ___ Fighters : FOO. THESE ARE MY FAMOUS LAST WOOORRRDS... 4:52

63. Maker of SteeL kitchen products : OXO. I have a lot of the Good Grips items, but didn't realize they also have other lines, including SteeL.

66. Beret, e.g. : CAP.

67. ___ Accords: 1993 agreement : OSLO.

68. Having trouble : IN A JAM.

69. Charles V's domain: Abbr. : HRE. Holy Roman Empire.

70. Light submachine gun : STEN.

71. Forgetful, maybe : SENILE. "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most..."

Down:

1. Murphy's and Godwin's, for two : LAWS. Murphy: "Whatever can go wrong, will." Godwin: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."

2. Shakespeare's flower? : AVON. Here's where I started suspecting something goofy at 17-Across. Of course we have seen "flow-er" referring to rivers many times, and I was sure this had to be AVON. But what the heck is WO*** GREASE??

3. Carving area : TABLESIDE. I am a sucker for Bananas Foster prepared TABLESIDE.

4. It's bigger than the neg. : ENL.argement.

5. Unwavering : STEELY.

6. Buster Brown's dog : TIGE.

7. Causes a stink : REEKS.

8. Collide with : CRASH INTO.

9. Where the slain roll? : AISLES. Hahahahahahahaaaaa...you slay me, Julian!

10. "I ___ beautiful city...": Dickens : SEE A. You may be more familiar with the ending of this quote: "It is a far, far better thing that I do..."

11. Dad : POPPA.

12. Preserves, in a way : DRIES. Think "dried fruit."

13. Editor's request : QUERY. Rich only accepts theme queries for Sunday puzzles. For the rest of the the week, he requires a completed grid with clues.

18. Genetic letters : RNA. I really wanted to enter this, but EEN* SLAPPER just didn't seem plausible for 21-Across.

22. Prone to snits : PETULANT. I was getting into a snit by this time...

24. Grab a sandwich, perhaps : EAT LUNCH. This one beat me up and stole my lunch money, so I had nothing left to buy a sandwich with.

27. 65-Down shade : ECRU. And 65-Down. Darken in a salon : TAN.

28. Women : SHES. meh.

29. ___ Miguel: Azores island : SAO. In the North Atlantic. Map.

31. Suffix with ox- : IDE.

34. Like many a brisk 45-minute walk : THREE MILE. I usually do two miles on the treadmill in 1/2 hour. So this is just about right.

35. General on a menu : TSO. Hello, ol' friend!

37. View from Tokyo : MOUNT FUJI. Nice view, with a hat made of lenticular clouds..

38. Wished : BADE. Past tense of "bid."

39. Valhalla chief : ODIN.

41. Reuters competitor : UPI. United Press International.

42. "I wonder..." : HMM.

47. Breakfast cereal magnate : C.W. POST.

49. With 50-Down, when modern mammals emerged : EOCENE. And 50-Down. See 49-Down : EPOCH.

51. "Brave" studio : PIXAR. I vaguely remembered seeing commercials for this movie, so knew it was an animated film.

52. "Fingers crossed" : I HOPE. By this time, I was hoping I would be able to finish the puzzle!

54. Bad sentence : RUN ON. Because "life" is too short.

55. Round no. : EST.imate.

58. Parts of la cara : OJOS. La cara = "face" in Spanish. Ojos = "eyes." Al Martino got it right.

59. 1978 Booker Prize recipient Murdoch : IRIS. Dame Iris Murdoch, for her book "The Sea, the Sea."

62. "I got it" : ON ME. (Sorry, not today. Someone stole my lunch money...)

See you next week in my usual Thursday seat!

Hugs,

Marti

Saturday, Mar 2nd, 2013, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 32

 Julian Lim's Saturday grids usually intimidate me, and this one looked to be no different.  But there were just enough solvable short answers, and I surprised myself with how fast I finished.  Big blocks of white in every corner, triple 8's and 6's, with one grid spanner;

37A. "Whatever" : I DON'T REALLY CARE - You know she's not happy with you if all she has to say is "whatever"....

Also - 10D. "It's hard to tell" : I CAN'T SAY, and 53D. Answer from the unwilling : NOT I

And some other long answers of note;

11. Long-haired pet : PERSIAN CAT - my brother has one, not this cute, named Sherlock

 

27. "Straight Outta Compton" genre : GANGSTA RAP - N.W.A., Ice Cube's original act, so you can pretty much figure out what N.W.A. stands for....here's a link to something less gangsta, but still rap - "ain't outta Compton..." @3:24 - WARNING: strong lyrical content~!

O   N   W   A   R   D   ~   !   !   !

ACROSS:

1. Installment in a modern series : WEBISODE - Episode didn't fit, but once the "W" was there, 'modern' now made sense

9. Thing to be cracked : CIPHER

15. Loge : OPERA BOX

16. Purchase provider : ICE AXE - ah, that kind of purchase; the one with 'grip'

17. Olympic winner : MEDALIST - first long fill for me

18. Hero with a memorable yell : TARZAN - This was my first thought, but I wouldn't necessarily call him a "hero" per se

19. Bird that dines on stingers : BEE-EATER - well, it makes sense, and followed by:

20. Bug : INSECT

21. PC debut of 1981 : MS-DOS

23. Leans : TILTS

24. Truffles, e.g. : FUNGI

28. Unit in una zona residencial : CASA - I am guessing Spanish, for a "house" in the residential zone; I went bar-hopping with the guys tonight (I was the Designated Driver, so my sodas were "free"), and my buddy Bob has the last name Casa

30. Most suitable for service : ONE-A

31. In danger of snapping : UNBALANCED

39. 1959 Cornelius Ryan best-seller about the Normandy invasion, with "The" : LONGEST DAY

41. Keister : SEAT

42. Prepare for a game, as Jenga blocks : STACK

43. They may generate interest: Abbr. : ACCounTS

50. "Hysterical" : HA-HA-HA - HEY~!!! That's MY line~! (OK, HAR-HAR is mine )

52. On balance : ALL IN ALL - great fill

57. God wed to his sister : OSIRIS - a little Egyptian history, for those who care

58. Rather wicked : DIABOLIC - DEMONIC was too short

59. Say : REMARK - UTTER was too short

60. Not barred : ADMITTED - ALLOWED was too short

61. Good guys? : ADEPTS - AD-epts, the noun

62. Many characters on "The L Word" : LESBIANS - I didn't think this word would fit; not sure why.  Never seen the show, but I knew what the "L" stood for

DOWN:

1. Place of development : WOMB

2. It has about a 35-inch blade : EPEE

3. Saint who wrote the earliest history of England : BEDE

4. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE

5. Sub base? : SALAMI - Sub, Hero, Hoagie

6. Bye lines? : OBITS - I said "bye" to my dad Jan 12th; we did not publish an obituary

7. Did a nurse's job : DOSED

8. Version's beginning? : EXTRO - In psychology, extroversion is focusing one's attention on things outside the self; I am a Type 5 (with a 4 wing) thinker with INtroversion tendencies

9. One of U.S. banking's Big Four : CITI - Citigroup, along with JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo; they hold 39% of customer deposits in 2009 per Wiki; My money is with Chase, and I have WF stock.

12. Nut-producing tree : HAZEL - PECAN would fit, but I had the "L" from TILTS already

13. Like some change : EXACT - not LOOSE

14. Uses Zipcar, say : RENTS - never heard of them but I have heard of: 40A. Its Nasdaq symbol is CAR : AVIS

22. Milan's La __ : SCALA

24. Keep from happening : FOIL - another word for EPEE, too

25. Wreck : UNDO

26. Light element : NEON

29. She has your back : ALLY

31. __ Major : URSA

32. Modern entertainment : NET TV - I am investing in NETFLIX this weekend, I believe

33. Maleficent : BAD

34. Vena __ : CAVA - : any of the large veins by which in air-breathing vertebrates the blood is returned to the right atrium of the heart; Merriam Webster

35. "Fast Food Nation" author Schlosser : ERIC - had the "C", seemed like a perfectly good Wild-Ass Guess to me

36. Work area : DESK - mine has the back ends of four brown trucks....

38. Top choice : TEE SHIRT - and 46. 38-Down option : V-NECK

42. Apparel for the slopes : SKI BIB - Marti, got one or two?  Do they match the Jimmy Choos?  I like ski bunnies - so cute in their tight little outfits

43. Now, in Nogales : AHORA

44. Checked out badly? : CASED - Like watching the bank before the heist

45. Ring : CHIME

47. Seven-time French Open winner : NADAL - LENDL fit, too, bit I have no clue who has won what in tennis....

48. Fail to say : ELIDE - consonants, that is

49. Simoleons : CLAMS - Had MOOLA to start; money slang

51. Petitions : ASKS

54. Medicine Hat's prov. : ALTA - Map

55. Homeowner's burden : LIEN - Well, so is the LAWN

56. Some TV screens : LCDs - Liquid Crystal Displays

Splynter