Tuesday, February 9, 2016 Kurt Krauss

Theme: NaCl - Four types of salt.

17. *Oft-minced bulb : GARLIC CLOVE. Garlic salt

24. *Laura Hillenbrand best-seller about a racehorse : SEABISCUIT. Sea salt

38. Recipe direction ... and a literal hint to what you can do to the starts of the answers to starred clues : ADD SALT

50. *Dry-climate landscape option : ROCK GARDEN. Rock salt.

62. *Olympic sport with a hollow ball : TABLE TENNIS. Table salt

Argyle here and I just want to be your salty dog.(2:08) A couple of learning moments plus four long climbers makes this Tuesday fairly easy yet entertaining. Well done.

Across:

1. Campaign display : POSTER

7. Tuber made into poi : TARO

11. Actor Beatty : NED

14. Give in : ACCEDE

15. Out for the night : ABED

16. Australian bird : EMU

19. Came in first : WON

20. Woman in a Beethoven piano title : ELISE

21. Oscar night rides : LIMOs

22. Classic sports cars : GTs

23. Absorbed : RAPT

26. Honest prez : ABE

28. Math comparison : RATIO

29. Sally Ride, e.g. : ASTRONAUT

35. Diarist Frank : ANNE

37. Island wreath : LEI

41. "Dig in!" : "EAT!". "Mangia!"

42. Celebrity : FAME

44. Statues, often : MEMORIALS

46. "Now you __ ... " : SEE IT

49. Fist-up call : OUT

54. Palms-down call : SAFE

58. Photo lab abbr. : ENL. (enlargement)

59. Dubai bigwig : EMEER. Alternate spelling.

60. "MASH" setting : KOREA

61. __ juice: milk : MOO

64. Company abbr. : INC. (incorporated)

65. Sheep's cry : BLAT. I'm more familiar with 'bleat' with sheep and "BLAT" from a horn.

66. Candy heart message : [BE MINE]. How long before this?

67. Shatner's "__War" : TEK

68. Backwoods possessive : YERS. Sorta goes with Salty Dog, don't it?

69. Rains ice pellets : SLEETS

Down:

1. Cell alternative : PAGER

2. Florida horse-breeding city : OCALA

3. Doc's order to a pharmacist : SCRIP

4. Early communications satellite : TELSTAR

5. Falco of "The Sopranos" : EDIE

6. TiVo button : REC

7. Actress Shire : TALIA

8. Manhattan Project creation : A-BOMB

9. "Au __": "Bye, Pierre" : REVOIR

10. Texas or Ukraine city : ODESSA

11. World's second largest island : NEW GUINEA

12. Showing strong feelings : EMOTIONAL

13. Kirsten of "Spider-Man" : DUNST

18. The Browns, on sports tickers : CLE. (Cleveland Browns football team)

24. Pop in the mail : SEND

25. Windy City commuter org. : CTA. Chicago Transit Authority. Chicago could have fit in yesterday.

27. __ constrictor : BOA

29. Landon who ran against FDR : ALF and was defeated soundly. Kansapedia article.

30. Opening set of TV series episodes : SEASON ONE

31. Hourly worker's device : TIME CLOCK

32. Fleet VIP : ADM. (Admiral)

33. Put into operation : USE

34. Scottish cap : TAM

36. Sci-fi staples : ETs. (Extra-Terrestrials)

39. Diving lake bird : LOON. Our crossword bird.

40. Capote nickname : TRU. Author Truman Capote.

43. It's a scream : [EEK!]

45. Picking-up-the-tab words : "IT'S ON ME"

47. Song words before "with a little help from my friends" : I GET BY

48. Husk-wrapped Mexican food : TAMALE

50. Pay : REMIT

51. Concrete-reinforcing rod : REBAR

52. Shoulder muscles, briefly : DELTs

53. Before, before : ERE

55. Golfer with an "army" : ARNIE Palmer.

56. Deceptive move : FEINT

57. Makes more bearable : EASES

60. Capsize, with "over" : KEEL. Since the keel is on the bottom of the boat, to keel over is not good.

63. Superstation initials : TBS. (Turner Broadcasting System)

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Belated Happy Birthday to dear Bill G! I'm terribly sorry that I missed your milestone on Jan 31 due to travel, Bill. How did you and Barbara celebrate? Cuban food again or what? Tell us about the menu.

Bill G & his grandson Jordan

2) Happy Birthday to our Saturday Stud Splynter, who turns 45 today. Splynter has been blogging for us since March, 2011. He only missed one or two Saturdays when he was sick. His dedication and commitment to the blog speak volumes of his character. Alas, I don't think that Blue Eyed Girl solves crosswords or reads our blog.

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 Kurt Krauss

Theme: DIVESTITURES, being the opposite of mergers, in which companies come together.  For today's theme, they come apart. To make sense of this, let's part with tradition and start with the unifier.

38 A. Went different ways ... or what each of six sets of circled letters literally represents : PARTED COMPANY.   Anyone who has an Ex or two can relate. But here, COMPANY means a profit oriented business organization.  In the grid, COMPANY names are bookends in the theme fill, PARTED by the central letters.   The letters in the names are indicated with circles in the grid.  If you didn't get them, then the whole thing was probably baffling.

18 A. WWI aircraft : TRIPLANE.  A fixed wing aircraft with three vertically stacked wing planes.  TRANE COMPANY makes heating and air conditioning units for homes.

20 A. They may coordinate with floor mats : SEAT COVERS.  Automotive interior accessories.  SEARS is a chain of department stores founded in 1886

29 A. Bedstead part : FOOT BOARD.  Bedstead is a word you don't see every day.  It is the framework that holds the box springs and mattress.  At a minimum, there will be a head board, FOOT BOARD and side rails of some nature.  FORD is a venerable maker of automobiles and light trucks.

45 A. In the opposite order : VICE VERSA.  Silly me.  I thought this was about DF poetry.  But no, it's a reversal.  You can call me collect and VICE VERSA the charges.  VISA is an American-based multi-national financial services company.  Per Wikipedia, they "do not issue credit cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers; rather, Visa provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products that they then use to offer credit, debit, prepaid and cash-access programs to their customers."   

58. Some deal closers : HAND SHAKES.  One of my musician friends just got stiffed on a HAND SHAKE agreement.  His advice, and I think our in-house legal staff would concur, is to always get it in writing.  HANES is probably best known for their undergarments, but they also make other types of clothing for men, women, and children.

62. Hit-by-pitch consequence : DEAD BALL.  Baseball.  DEAD BALL is a type of official time out, when the ball is not playable, and runners may not advance farther than they are forced.  In the hit-by-pitch situation, the hit batter is awarded first base.  A runner on that base advances to 2nd base, but no farther.  Runners on other bases stay put until play is again commenced.

Each company name consists of either 4 or 5 letters.  The 4 letter names are parted 2 and 2, while the 5 letter words are parted either 2 and 3 or 3 and 2 - as close to the middle as you can get.  The six theme entries are arranged symmetrically, with the unifier in the middle.  It's a pretty elegant construction.

Hi, Gang - Jazzbumpa here.  Let's see what else we can find.

Across:

1. Under the weather : LAID UP.  Ill and unavailable - probably in bed, laying down.  Thank you English language.

7. Like cotton candy : SPUN.  Cotton candy is spun sugar.

11. Fund-raising org. : PTA.  Parent Teacher's Association, with school fund raisers.

14. Provoke : INCITE.   From the Latin, in + citare, to arouse.

15. Subtle glow : AURA.

16. Trip segment : LEG.

17. Utopian : EDENIC.  Two versions of perfect, idealized existence.

22. Quarterback's target : END.   In American football, an eligible pass receiver.  Richard Rodgers is one for Green Bay.  I don't want to talk about it.

23. Payroll deduction : TAX.

24. Volcanic debris : ASH.  Last Thursday morning, crossword favorite Mt. Etna erupted, spewing ASH 10,000 feet into the sky.  The lava fountain was close to a mile high.  It was all over in less than an hour.

25. Big maker of chips : INTEL.   Computer innards.

27. Till compartment : ONES.   This had me scratching my head till I remembered that till was the cash register drawer, having separate compartments for different bill denominations.  Still seems a bit awkward.

33. MSN, for one : ISP.  MicroSoft Network is an Internet Service Provider.

36. Meander : ROAM.   Rove also fits.  Wander does not.

37. Under the weather : ILL.  Possibly LAID UP or laying down, and a genuine clecho.

42. Homer's path : ARC.  Where did Homer ROAM while writing the Odyssey?  Homer Simpson's path would likely take him to Moe's.  But the path of an air-borne struck baseball is an ARC, and a home run, aka HOMER, is one example.

43. Middle name on many patents : ALVA.   Thomas ALVA Edison [1947- 1931], holder of 1093 U. S. patents in a variety of technologies.  

44. BYU or NYU : SCH.  Brigham Young University and New York University are both Schools.

48. Modern address starter : HTTP.  HyperText Transfer Protocol, by which we communicate at The Corner and all over the net, represents the first 4 characters of a web-site address.

52. Tickle : AMUSE.  Have delightful fun.

53. __ in November : N AS.  Initially speaking.

56. Mama bear, in Madrid : OSA.  OSA, a bear, a female bear - En Español.

57. 1980s Peppard co-star : MR. T.  From the A-Team.

64. West Point students : CADETS.  At the U. S. Military Academy

65. Corner key : ESCape.  On our computer keyboard - but who would want to escape from The Corner?

66. Italian noble family : ESTE.  Dating from at least the 10th century, the elder branch produced German dukes, the British Hanover line, and Czar Ivan VI of Russia.  I read somewhere once that as early as the 12th century, European royalty was so inbred it was almost impossible to find someone to marry who wasn't a cousin.  These days if you're related to any European royalty, you're related to all of them.

67. Danish port named for a Norse god : ODENSE.  Denmark's 3rd largest city.  The name is derived from words meaning "Oden's sanctuary."  The site has been inhabited for over 4000 years.  The city celebrated its millennium in 1988.

68. Pen : STY.  For piggies.

69. Hammer-wielding god : THOR.  His name is derived from the same old Germanic root as our word thunder, and also gives us our name for the Day Thursday.

70. Got nervous, with "up" : TENSED.   In need of a massage or a stiff drink.  I like to relax by AMUSing myself with VICE VERSA. 

Down

1. Deliberately misinforms : LIES TO.  Why am I thinking of Pinocchio?

2. Like llamas : ANDEAN.   From the Andes mountains.  Though these new world humpless camel wanna-bes probably originated in the North American great plains 40 million years ago, they were gone from the homeland by the last ice age. 

3. Mountaineering aid : ICE AXE.  For chopping hand and foot holds.

4. Effort : DINT.  Originally a forceful blow, or the mark left by one, which does require some effort.

5. City in New York's Mohawk Valley : UTICA.    On RT. 90 between Syracuse and Albany.

6. Cowboy legend __ Bill : PECOS.   A fictional character of pseudo-folklore, invented by Edward O'Reilly and first published in Century Magazine in 1917.

7. Fill and then some : SATE.  Or simply filled to the maximum.

8. Run smoothly : PURR.  Like a well tuned engine.

9. "The Haj" novelist : URIS.  Leon.  This novel, published in 1984, relates the experiences of a Palestinian family caught up in the historical events of 1920's through the '50's.

10. Siesta : NAP.  En Español.

11. Often-fried tropical fruit : PLANTAIN.   Looks like an oversized banana.

12. With affection : TENDERLY.   Like this.

13. "Act your __!" : AGE.   Not me.  My motto is, "What I lack in youth, I make up for with immaturity!"

19. Fallon's predecessor : LENO.   Late night TV hosts.

21. TV channels 2-13 : VHF.  Very High Frequency.  Higher channels are Ultra High Frequency.

25. Computer debut of 1981 : IBM PC.  Needs no explanation.

26. Cholesterol initials : LDL.   Low Density Lipoprotein.   Lipoproteins transport lipids (fats, waxes, sterols) in the blood stream.  The High Density variety are more effective at moving cholesterol and fats.  The LDL's are more likely to allow these molecules to plate out onto the arterial walls causing atherosclerosis.  This gives rise to the confusing bad/good cholesterol concept.  You want to keep your LDL Low and your HDL High.   It's worth noting that - despite decades of misleading advertising - since cholesterol is produced in every cell of the body, there is absolutely no relationship between cholesterol in the blood stream and cholesterol in the diet.  Things that do matter are total fat intake, LDL (animal fat) to HDL (vegetable oil) ratio, and exercise.

28. Title for Noël Coward : SIR.   Like this flamboyant, witty English composer, playwright, singer and actor, I'd rather be knighted than benighted.

30. Seal-hunting swimmers : ORCAS.   Killer whales.

31. Valentine card hugs : O-O-O.  Symbolically speaking. ( O )

32. Flat hats : TAMS.

34. Barrel support : STAVE.

35. Soccer legend who turned 75 in 2015 : PELE.

38. Most like a schoolmarm : PRIMMEST.   It's "marm" that elicits the PRIM image, rather than a generic idea of a teacher

39. Precision : ACCURACY.  Sorry, but this is not ACCURATE.  ACCURACY is hitting the bull's eye. Precision is placing all your shots together, even if they miss the target.   A good shooter has both.

40. Device for binge-watching : DVR.  Digital Video Recorder.

41. "How relaxing!" : AHH.   Indulging in a 70A cure, perhaps.

42. Gardner of the silver screen : AVA.

46. Cornerstone abbr. : EST'D.   Established.

47. Furthermore : AND.  Also, too, additionally, to boot.

49. Arcade coins : TOKENS.  Did you ever present someone with an arcade coin of your esteem?

50. African threat : TSETSE.  Blood-sucking vermin and unpleasant carrier of sleeping sickness. It is refreshing to see the whole fly, though.

51. Got a C in, say : PASSED. Got by in a mediocre fashion.

54. Knotted neckwear : ASCOT.

55. Relief from the sun : SHADE.  Trees, umbrellas, tall buildings  .  .  .

58. Diner breakfast order : HASH.  With eggs, presumably.

59. Chorus line? : ALTO.    Alto is, of course, one of the voices.  A composer might write an ALTO part.  Line, though - that's a stretch, and I'm not fond of it.

60. Card or D'back : NLER.  National Leaguer in major league baseball.  One occasionally encounters NLER and it's counterpart ALER outside of crossword puzzles.  Though I love baseball,  I would like to not see them anywhere.

61. Yemeni seaport : ADEN.   On the gulf of Aden, the upper western arm of the Arabian Sea.

62. __ Moines : DES.   Originally, Fort DES Moines, the capital of Iowa and its largest city, nestled along the banks of the river for which it is named, possibly from the French for "River of the Monks."    

63. Wager : BET.

That wraps it up.  I had my nits, but overall, a pretty nice solving experience.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Cool regards!
JzB




P.S. Here's a bonus.  Since it's December 9th, and according to the song, it's OK to get that Christmas spirit into gear.   Happy Holidays!





Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Hahtoola, who has given us so many inspiring quotes on the days she visits the blog. How are you doing, Hahtoola? Traveled to any exotic places this year?

The Corn Poppy

Thursday, November 12th, 2015 Kurt Krauss

Theme: Six Servings - a veggie melange today. The circles reveal four jumbles and two anagrams thrown into the pot for good measure.

10A. Long-armed beasts : APES. Peas.

17A. Diamond heist? : STOLEN BASE. Beans.

23. Bare-bones staff : SKELETON CREW. Leeks. Here's a cheery bunch, courtesy of artist Ian O'Keefe:

47A. Divides, as lovers : COMES BETWEEN. Beets.

57A. Stereotypical bachelors' toys : SPORTS CARS. Carrots. You can have one of these McLarens for around $275,000 if you stick with the base package.

63A. He's fifth on the career home run list : MAYS. Yams. Second of the baseball-referencing themers. I know someone around these parts who didn't have any trouble there.

and the reveal:

35A. Dinner side, and what can literally be found in this puzzle's circles : MIXED VEGETABLES. Food! Here's some with a Thai flavor:

Hi everyone - Steve here with Kurt's challenge for the day. I definitely found this one crunchier than usual (and not because the vegetables were under-cooked!) - that middle top section almost did me in, egads! 

Any of you solving without circles might have been handicapped by their lack; once I'd tumbled to the theme they definitely gave me a leg-up with the trickily-clued STOLEN BASE when I was having conniptions up in the North Dakota/Minnesota area.

Let's see what else we can find to ponder upon:

Across:

1. Thin locks, as of hair : WISPS

6. League fraction : MILE. This was my first "what????" moment up here. I was fixated on sports league references. Finally, right at the end, the penny dropped. Three miles in a league. Here's the opening to Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade". Cheerful stuff.

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

14. Tin Pan Alley org. : ASCAP. Performing rights royalty collections agency. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Irving Berlin was one of the founders, which gives me the perfect excuse to have a little fun with Jeeves and Wooster.

15. "... but I play one __" : ON TV. Second "what?????" up here. Took a while, and had me doubting "EVE" - what word ends in "V"?

16. Lead-in for sci : POLI

19. Tiger Woods' ex : ELIN. Still crossword-current though.

20. Fresh from the oven : HOT

21. One may be tossed after a wish : COIN. I read "crossed" first, and wondered how you can cross one finger?

22. Rub the wrong away : ERASE. Nice clue - of course I read "wrong way" first. Something wrong with my eyesight today.

26. Painter who was a leader of the Fauvist movement : MATISSE. Familiar with the artist, unfamiliar with the movement.

29. "__ Ben Adhem" : ABOU. Who? Thank you, crosses. Title character of the Leigh Hunt poem, apparently.

30. Shooting star, to some : OMEN

31. 1928 Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL. He won the very first Best Actor Oscar. (It was actually in 1929, but you could argue he won for his 1928 performances).

32. Early Beatle Sutcliffe : STU. He quit the band in Hamburg to go to art school, leaving the bass-playing duties to be picked up by the left-handed Paul McCartney. Sadly, he died a year later of a brain aneurysm.

40. Firm : SET

41. Reason for a tow job : REPO. Not a flat, as I first thought.

42. Literary governess : EYRE. Quick - name a literary governess who isn't Jane Eyre.

43. Controversial video game feature : GORE. Controversial? To whom?

44. Does a security job : SCREENS

51. Squirrel away : AMASS

52. Fruit discard : RIND. I used to eat orange rinds. I only did it because it annoyed my mom.

53. __ bath : MUD

56. Cost of living? : RENT

60. Eye rakishly : OGLE

61. Place to see crawls : POOL. The front and back varieties. A lot of people think the front crawl is called "freestyle". It's not, the freestyle race allows you to pick your own stroke, it just happens that everyone uses the front crawl because it's the quickest one.

62. Rock's __ Boingo : OINGO

64. Kennel sounds : YIPS

65. Graph lines : X-AXES. Looks odd in the grid, better with the hyphen.

Down:

1. Break-even transaction : WASH. Or, as the water-colorist replied when he was asked what he was putting on the paper - "It's a wash".

2. Comparative words : IS TO

3. Nae sayer : SCOT. The Scots recently voted "nae" in their referendum to leave the United Kingdom.

4. Frequent companion : PAL. I guess that means you can't pal around with an infrequent chum.

5. Dust motes : SPECKS. I like this crossing WISPS for no good reason.

6. Calder piece : MOBILE. I had no clue this gentleman was known as "The father of the mobile". That top section remained stubbornly blank for a long time.

7. Featherbrained : INANE

8. SFPD ranks : LTS. Police lieutenants. SFPD ain't got periods, so I'll leave them out of the answer. Annoyingly.

9. Memorable temptation victim : EVE

10. Brief outline : APERÇU. I know the word, in the sense that I can recognize it when I see it, and spell it, but I realized today that I didn't actually know what it meant. Now I do!

11. __ cap : POLAR. Aren't we missing the word "ice" here?

12. Beethoven's "Für __" : ELISE. I learned this on the piano when I was a kid. My mother loved it, so taken along with the orange peel eating, it was a wash.

13. Resilient strength : SINEW. I've never seen this in the sense of "possessing strength" before. I like it.

18. Anti votes : NOES

22. Name on a historic B-29 : ENOLA. Gay, the pilot's mom.

23. Cosecant's reciprocal : SINE

24. Teach, in a way : TAME

25. Final notice? : OBIT. Common enough in the shortened form not to need an abbreviation indication in the clue.

26. Kids' drivers, often : MOMS. Moms drive their kids. In return, orange-peel-eating kids drive their moms nuts.

27. Valéry's valentine : AMIE. Former president of France is Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. I hope it's his wife he's sending valentines to - his successor, François Mitterrand, famously had a string of mistresses.

28. Printed words : TEXT

31. It may need a boost : EGO

32. Roy Rogers' birth name : SLYE. He wasn't born "Roy" either. Franklin Slye.

33. Fork-tailed flier : TERN

34. Exploits : USES

36. Smeltery waste : DROSS. Smeltery? I think most people call 'em steelworks.

37. Hit or miss : VERB

38. Three-sided blade : EPÉE. It's only got one side when you get to the business end - the point.

39. " ... I've __ to the mountaintop": King : BEEN. Martin Luther King Jr's last speech. He was assassinated the next day.

43. Beaux __: noble deeds : GESTES. Note the pluralization of both words.

44. Ice cream designs : SWIRLS

45. Copper : CENT

46. Three-time 21st-century World Series champs : RED SOX. In 2004, most Bostonians would have doubted they'd ever live to see the day they won one, considering they hadn't won one since 1918. Chicago Cubs fans take heart.

47. Billiards shot : CAROM. Aha! I said. MASSE! That came out about two seconds later.

48. Greek finale : OMEGA. The last letter of the alphabet. Nice clue.

49. Virile : MANLY

50. Military unit : TROOP. Funny old word, troop. In the plural, it's ambiguous - compare "American troops" (a non-specific number) and "The army is sending 1,000 troops to .." (a very specific number). "Troops" is interchangeable with "soldiers", but "soldier" is not interchangeable with "troop". "A troop of soldiers" is some number more than a few. Confused much?

53. Tailless cat : MANX. From the Isle of Man.

54. Goad : URGE

55. British mil. decorations : D.S.O.S. Distinguished Service Orders. It's no use giving distinguished service if you're not an officer - you won't get this gong. Officers only. Weird.

57. Tom Clancy figure : SPY

58. Hawaiian dish : POI

59. Org. in Tom Clancy novels : C.I.A. I see what you did with 57A there.

And I think that's all I've got. Here's the grid:

Steve

Wedneday, November 4, 2015 Kurt Krauss

Theme:  DUPES.  The first word of each theme answer is a synonym for some kind of easily targeted victim.  

16 A. *Sneaky blow : SUCKER PUNCH.  A SUCKER is a gullible or easily deceived person.  The related PUNCH is a cowardly hit, often from behind, delivered to an unsuspecting opponent.  

55 A. *Peanuts : CHUMP CHANGE.  A CHUMP is a foolish or easily deceived person.  CHUMP CHANGE, aka peanuts, is an insignificant amount of money.  But, insignificant to whom?  YMMV.

10 D. *Place for brooding : PIGEON COOP.  Nice word play.  Brooding is the hatching of birds' eggs, and, in another context, thinking deeply about some troublesome matter.  A PIGEON is someone easily swindled, or the victim of a con man.  Cf Bernie Madoff.

26 D. *"Walkin' After Midnight" singer : PATSY CLINE. Ms Cline provides our theme song.  

A PATSY is someone taken advantage of, either by cheating or taking the blame for something. Again, YMMV, but for my money this is the only theme answer that really closely corresponds to the unifier fill.

35 A. Easy mark ... and a hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues : FALL GUY.   A scapegoat.   I don't really see a FALL GUY as an easy mark for a swindle - though all the other theme entries do fit that description.  So the whole thing seems a bit askew to me.  Or am I being too persnickety?

Hi Gang - JzB here, taking the FALL on another Wednesday.   My nits aside, this is a nicely constructed puzzle, with a pinwheel theme arrangement and the unifier in the middle.   Let's take a spin and see what else we can uncover.

Across

1. See-through kitchen supply : SARAN. Polyvinylidene chloride [PVDC] was discovered accidentally in 1933.  It makes a great kitchen wrap because of it's low permeability, even in a thin layer.  So it preserves freshness by keeping flavor in and moisture and oxygen out

6. Mythical king of the Huns : ATLI.  This guy, also known as Atilla, was a very real leader of the Huns in the mid-5th century.  He does appear as ATLI in Norse mythology hundreds of years later.

10. Kitchen spray : PAM.   Comes in 8 varieties.

Non-stick stuff

13. Flared dress : A-LINE.

Shaped like an A

14. Ancient Greek theater : ODEUM.  I thought it was ODEON.  Needed perp help.

15. Land in l'océan : ILE.  A French island.

18. Some kitchen appliances : GEs.  General Electric products.

19. Did a slow burn : SMOLDERED.

20. Passengers in flight, often : USERS.  I haven't flown in many years.  Can you use your electronic devices in the air?

22. Cyberspace marketplace : EBAY.

23. Snobbish : SNOOTY.   Said of those who look down their noses.

24. Chopper : COPTER.   

Lift and thrust supplied by rotors

27. Mount Hood's state : OREGON.

Things to do there

29. Prominent periods : ERAs.  History.

30. Keep the censor busy : SWEAR.  Use bleepable language.

31. The NBA's Kevin Love, e.g. : CAV.  I recognize the name, but not being up on NBA players didn't know if he was a CAValier or a MAVerick.

34. Alternative to dis? : DAT.  For this and THAT.  Pretty lame entry.

37. Dressing ingredient : OIL.  From olives, vegetables or seeds.

38. High rails : ELs.  ELevated trains, as in Chicago.

39. Bassoon cousins : OBOES.   Both are double reed instruments.

40. Vending machine buy : SODA.  

41. "Absolutely!" : YOU BET.   For sure!

43. Kicked off the flight : BUMPED.   So your seat can be given to someone more important.  Another reason not to fly.

45. Well-protected : SECURE.

47. Sweater outlet? : PORE.  Not a discount clothing store.  The opening in your skin from which perspiration exudes. 

48. Island nation near Sicily : MALTA.   Not YALTA, on the mainland of Crimea.

49. Get in the game : SEE ACTION.  Players who are not starters often get to SEE ACTION at some point in the game.

54. Form 1040 calc. : AGI.  Adjusted Gross Income.

57. Nickelodeon pooch : REN.  Along with Stimpy, who is alleged to be a cat.

REN is on the left

58. Spine-tingling : EERIE.  We should be safe now that we're past Halloween.

59. Hawaii or Alaska, on many a map : INSET.

60. Number before quattro : TRE.  French? Italian?  Why is "number" in English?

61. Editor's "Let it stand" : STET.   Ignore any correction or alteration.

62. Hoopster Archibald and rapper Dogg : NATES.  I'll admit I don't know these guys.  I had NATE Silver last Wednesday and resisted the urge to link to the song I composed and arranged for my grandson of the same name.  This time I'm FALLing for it.

Schoolcraft Jazz Band Chicago Tour - Spring, 2011

Down

1. Back talk : SASS. Rude and impudent.

2. Homecoming guest : ALUM.   One who graduated from the place of interest.

3. Affluent, in Andalusia : RICO.    Rich in Spanish.

4. Low socks : ANKLETS.

Low down high fashion

5. (If) required : NEED BE.

6. Together, musically : A DUE.  Literally, for two, from the Italian.  Taken to mean all the players with a given part, such as the first violins.  They often sit two to a stand, but that might just be a coincidence.

7. Watch over : TEND.   As livestock, children or a bar.

8. Director Jean-__ Godard : LUC.  Of whom I know nothing.  With the mythic ATLI, the cross became my natick.  Misspelling ODEON didn't help, either.  

9. "Can't wait to eat!" : I’M HUNGRY.

11. Watchful : ALERT.

12. Embarrassing, as a situation : MESSY.  

14. Nashville attraction : OPRY.   It's grand.  And old.

17. Bring up : REAR.   As children.

21. Great Lakes' __ Canals : SOO.  Located along the St. Mary's river between the upper peninsula of Michigan and Ontario, Canada, the canals connect Lakes Superior and Huron.

Bypasses a 21 foot drop

23. 10-time All-Pro linebacker Junior : SEAU.

24. Hand over : CEDE. As territory, to a superior force.

25. Taken by mouth : ORAL.  As medication.

27. Young hooter : OWLET.   An owl hatchling.  What were you thinking?

28. Rules, briefly : REGS.   Regulations.

30. __ gin fizz : SLOE.   The SLOE is the drupe of the blackthorn bush.   SLOE gin is made by soaking the drupe either in actual gin or cheaper grain neutral spirits.  Sugar is added to aid in the extraction, or corn syrup to get really cheap [and vile.]  The fizz is a drink made with this concoction,  plus lemon juice and carbonated water.  

32. Trusted underling : AIDE.   A good one might make you a nice cocktail.

33. Prince who inspired Dracula : VLAD.  Posthumously named "The Impaler."

35. Loser only to a straight flush : FOUR ACES.   Poker hands.

Or these guys

36. Calais cleric : ABBE.   French abbot

40. "The Bartered Bride" composer : SMETANA.

42. Away : OUT.  As in OUT of the office, or OUT of town.

43. Former U.K. carrier : BOAC.   British Overseas Airways Corporation, formed in 1940 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Limited.  In 1974 it was combined with British European Airways to form British Airways.

44. Mischievous boy : URCHIN.   Or girl.

45. Snazzy-looking : SMART.  Sharply dressed.

46. Ready and willing : EAGER.  Let's go!

47. Love-crazy Le Pew : PEPE.  Possibly the most DF cartoon character.

Both a skunk and a wolf

49. "Absolutely!" : SURE.

50. Give out : EMIT.  As the sun's rays or a skunk's odor.

51. Scientific acad. : INST.  Academy and Institute.

52. Architectural S-curve : OGEE.   Commonly an S curve, but more generally, any profile with a reverse bend.

Gothic

53. Fishing gear : NETS.  Rods, reel, bait, pole, hook, lure  .  .  .

56. Riled (up) : HET.   Past tense of heat, in dialect.  First known use was in 1909.

Well, that wraps it up.  I had a nit or two, but overall, a pretty good outing.

I learned while doing the Boston Globe puzzle on Sunday that the British term for a sucker is a LOLLY.  So - would someone who silences a dupe in London be a LOLLY GAGGER?   No - wait - that's the other kind of sucker - hard candy on a stick.  So, never mind.

I'll just show myself the door.

Cool regards!
JzB

Friday, July 31, 2015, Kurt Krauss

Theme: NESW? I am lost where do I go? It does not matter any direction will do, they all lead to home.

There are four pairs of theme answers along with the grid spanning 'hint'  40A. Like the answers to eight starred clues ... and a hint as to how to fill them in : OMNIDIRECTIONAL (15). The gimmick is you must read the fill in the direction of the of the words themselves. 93 theme letters is a big challenge so you can expect many short fill but we do get ANOMALY,  CITADEL,  COOLERS, LABORED, UNRESERVED  and the complete ET TU BRUTE. Of course as is often the case on Friday, many will not like the backwards words. The last KK I blogged in 2014 brought out many negative or Thumper comments. But which way do you prefer to make Fridays challenging? Obscurities? Originality? I thought this was relatively easy and I had fun. I like how the pairs also fit together, the first a clecho the others synaptic; let's peek at the answer sheet.

12A. *Ring punch : RIGHT HOOK (9). This was perps but it made sense when paired with 68A. *Ring punch : SSORC TFEL (9) Left Cross, another common boxing term. The fill must be read from right to left.  We read right to left in Hebrew.

19A. *Manhattan neighborhood : EAST HARLEM (10). This neighborhood known also as Spanish Harlem is not a place many go to visit. It is paired with 57A. *Liberia locale : ACIRFA TSEW (10) West Africa, which you have to read from West to East (right to left). This where I caught on as I know where Liberia is.

4D. *Animated TV series set in the Rockies : SOUTH PARK (9). This paired with 38D. *Challenge to Eiger climbers : ECAF HTRON (9) (North Face) which requires you to head North to understand the fill.

9D. *Promising : GNIMOC DNA PU (11). Up and Coming, which is paired with 23D. *Level-headed : DOWN TO EARTH (11) like all the themers they must be read in the direction of the words. If you had not understood the theme the letter progression GNI should have tipped the scales. I loved this pair.

Across:

1. Blesses : OKS. In retrospect this was easy, but I was thinking sneezing or religion.

4. Star Wars, initially : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative. Not the movie.

7. Go fishing : ANGLE. I floundered about looking for an answer but the bass I cod come up with is that it describes the angle of the pole and the line. Or maybe the angle of the hook? I hate to worm my way out of this, so help....

16. IQ test pioneer : BINET. Alfred did so much MORE.

17. Start of the line before "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" : ET TU BRUTE? This is Shakespeare's version where Cinna tries to justify killing Julius Caesar because Caesar was too popular. You can tell it is from a English writing because it mixes the Latin phrase with an English response.

18. Bluebloods : ELITE. New England and New York were filled with these types, Cabots, Lodges, Bushes, Roosevelts...

21. 1965 Sophia Loren comedy : LADY L.  What a cast. LINK (0:54).

24. Gas sign in green letters : HESS. Are there any left or are they all Speedway? I did not know Speedway was owned by Marathon until today.

25. Line of work: Abbr. : OCCupation. I find this an awesomely bad clue, but it is used regularly. There are many nice clues for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. HERE.

28. Year in Mexico : ANO. Spanish.

29. Talladega unit : LAP. An Alabama track on the NASCAR circuit.

31. Result of a 1955 merger : AFL-CIO.

34. Postseason game : BOWL. College football.

36. Pull in : MAKE. Money you make.

39. Treating poorly : BAD TO.

43. Role for Dustin : RATSO. Midnight Cowboy. His breakout role?

44. "The Bridge on the River __" : KWAI. Another wonderful movie.

45. Marquis de __ : SADE. How much do you really know about this man?

46. Chooses the window instead of the aisle? : ELOPES. Really cute airplane misdirection but it did not fool me.

48. Fraud watchdog org. : FTC.  Federal Trade Commission.

50. For each : PER.

51. Shade provider : DYE. Fun clue/fill misdirection.

52. Ness, for one : LOCH. Lake.

55. Castro and others : RAULS. Meh.

61. Don Diego de la Vega, familiarly : ZORRO. He will always be Guy WILLIAMS (not Madison, who played Wild Bill Hickock with Andy Devine) I am getting old! for me.

63. Frankness : UNRESERVE.

67. The Bradford kids of '70s-'80s TV, e.g. : OCTET. Who didn't love this FAMILY (1:02)

69. Milo of "Barbarella" : O'SHEA. He was in so many great roles. THIS (3:51) was not one of them. Jane was adorable.

70. Long time : EON.

71. Major : KEY.

Down:

1. Natural resource : ORE. Or not?

2. Young beaver : KIT. Be careful here....

3. Pepper, for one: Abbr. : SGT. All perps, cute clue.

5. Words before dances : DO THE. This was filled before I saw the clue but I am completely unaware of this phrase. Help.

6. Some furniture stores : IKEAS. Meh, the extra s....

7. Biblical brother : ABEL.

8. Juba's "White" river : NILE. This was my learning moment, I just do not know much about the Southern Sudan.

10. Betray, with "down" : LET. To me the act of betrayal is much more than letting down.

11. Juillet's season : ETE. French for July and Summer. 30D. Brest friend : AMI. More French.

13. One of three cartoon nephews : HUEY.

14. Little League precursor : T-BALL. and the semi-clecho 15D. Little League belts: Abbr. : HRS. Home runs.

20. Soweto's home: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa.

21. Toiled : LABORED.

22. Rule exception : ANOMALY. A wonderful word.

26. Stronghold : CITADEL. Also a college.

27. Beach party staples : COOLERS.

32. Govt. group that began in 1908 : FBI.

33. Where kip are spent : LAOS. No idea, but I do know Thailand uses Baht.

35. Sylvester's problem : LISP.

37. London's __ Gardens : KEW.

41. Fawn's mom : DOE. Yes, her name is Jane.

42. Tiny songbird : TIT. Always good for a link. I like it when the two MATCH.

47. Canon offering, briefly : SLR. SingleLens Reflex.

49. Dimin.'s opposite : CRESCendo.

53. Handy : OF USE.

54. Playground retort : CAN SO.

56. Mad as __ hen : A WET.  I could not find anything definitive as to the origin of this phrase.

58. Algonquian language : CREE.

59. Bit : IOTA.

60. Sun. message : SERmon.

61. Animal house : ZOO. Funny.

62. It turns out lts. : OCS. Lieutenants. Officer Candidate School.

64. Nats' former stadium : RFK. Baseball team that shared the park with the unnamed football team.

65. Symbol of peace : VEE. This always reminds me of Churchill, which reminds me that I am watching the Roosevelt mini-series while I ride the exercise bike. Such an interesting family.

66. Eastern Nevada city : ELY. An old stagecoach TOWN which I know only from puzzles.

Another Friday in the books and another month about to go away. We did get 5 Fridays this month so I must be tired. Thanks Kurt. Enjoy all. Lemonade out.

Sunday April 5, 2015 Kurt Krauss

Theme:  "Seeing Stars" - All theme entries are in the pattern of "Superb"+ noun, and are all clued as "Five-star" + noun.

23A. Five-star auctioneer? : BEST SELLER. I went to a barn auction once. So noisy. Had no idea how the owner had so many mini baseball bats (all stadium giveaways).

25A. Five-star bridal accessory? : MODEL TRAIN

36A. Five-star Ponzi scheme? : GREAT PYRAMID. We have a local Ponzi guy named Tom Petters, who owned Polaroid for a few years.

46A. Five-star pageboy? : PRIME CUT

65A. Five-star secluded getaway? : FIRST-CLASS CABIN. Lovely.

83A. Five-star flugelhorns? : TOP BRASS

93A. Five-star spiel? : PERFECT PITCH. Reminds me of Tony Robbins.

 

111A. Five-star competition? : IDEAL MATCH. Happy that Badgers won yesterday.

113A. Five-star headgear? : SUPER VISOR. Massive change from the original theme entry. I do rather like the result.

Last week we have 7 themers. This week 9. With the same theme squares, 9 is harder to grid than 7.  

Kurt Krauss must be a baseball fan. Look at these few entries:

10A. Houston ballplayer, for short : STRO. Astros. Our Vikings are called Vikes by some.

115A. Dodger manager before Mattingly : TORRE (Joe). I have lots of Don Mattingly cards.

8D. Nickname for baseball's Durocher : THE LIP. Leo Durocher. He used to argue with the umpires.

13D. 1993 A.L. batting champ John : OLERUD. He wore a helmet playing defense.

Also 89A. Tuxedo accessory : DICKEY. OK, not clued baseball-wise, but I bet R. A. Dickey was in Kurt's/Rich's mind.

Across: 

1. Ranted (at) : RAILED

7. Texter's "Oh, I should also mention ... " : BTW

14. Building blocks : LEGOS

19. Picador's target : EL TORO. "The bull".

20. "Bingo!" : AHA!

21. One might get caught off base : AWOL

22. "Waterworld" orphan girl : ENOLA. I forgot. Rich used this clue last month in a Barry Silk themeless. He does not use the same clue in the same month.

 

27. About to explode : IRATE

28. Like NASA and FEMA : ALL-CAPS

30. Clear up : RESOLVE

31. __ death: repeat too often : DO TO

32. Longest river in France : LOIRE

33. Sonata, e.g. : OPUS

35. They're hung by drivers : UIES. Sometimes it's UEYs.

40. Explosive experiment : A-TEST

41. Thai appetizers : SATAYS. With peanut sauce. By the way, JJM, I did not find your favorite Hot Giardiniera Relish at our local Walmart. I did get a bottle of Mezzetta Hot Mix. I then chopped the mix finely, added minced olives and made my own soon-to-be-world-famous C.C. Hot Giardiniera.

44. Author Follett : KEN

45. E.U. member : SWE

 

49. "Big four" record company : EMI

51. Leather ending : ETTE. Leatherette.

53. 0.0000001 joules : ERG

56. 1953 Pulitzer-winning dramatist : INGE (William)

57. "SNL" alum alongside Hartman and Carvey : NEALON (Kevin)

59. Thinks better of it : DARES NOT

61. Once called : NEE

62. Go-to guy : MAIN MAN. Argyle is my main man then. On and off the blog.

64. Cigar size : ROBUSTO

69. CNN news anchor __ Paul : CHRISTI. Looks familiar. But I don't recall her name.

72. Baronial headpiece : CORONET

73. Hardly around the corner : FAR

76. Put under : ETHERIZE

78. Knocks on : RAPS AT

79. Purina product : ALPO

80. Qing Dynasty general of culinary fame : TSO. Don't be surprised if you can't find General Tso's Chicken in China.

81. Deutschland donkey : ESEL. So surprised to see this word.

82. Slip-__: shoes : ONs

86. Backstabber : RAT

87. Acquisition transaction, briefly : LBO (Leveraged Buyout)

90. Carried on : RAGED

99. Times to get ready : EVES. And 108. Break for mom : NAP TIME. Tiny clue/answer dupe. Hard to avoid in a 21*21.

100. Five-O booking agent : DANO

101. Golden : AURIC

102. Magi origin : EAST

106. Mythological hybrid : CENTAUR. Part-man, part-horse.

110. Trumpeter Louis : PRIMA. Another stranger to me.

116. Bad end : DOOM

117. Like some phone nos. : UNL. Unlisted.

118. Designer McCartney : STELLA. Paul McCartney's daughter.

119. Related maternally : ENATE. "Related paternally" is AGNATE.

120. Massachusetts motto opener : ENSE. Learned from doing crosswords.

121. The Carolinas' __ Dee River : PEE

122. Strengths : ASSETS

Down:

1. Bridge action : RE-BID

2. Last Olds made : ALERO

3. Where __ : IT'S AT

4. Pick 6, for one : LOTTO GAME. Lovely long answer.

5. Language that gave us "galore" : ERSE

6. __-eyed : DOE

7. Cast selection? : BALLOT. Great clue.

9. Shout during a charge : WAR CRY. Battlefield charge.

10. Native corn porridge : SAMP. Never used this word. Same as grits I suppose, D-Otto.

11. Couple : TWOSOME

12. Hot __ : ROD

14. "Why don't we!" : LET'S

15. Coming or going : EN ROUTE

16. Deke victim : GOALIE. My favorite, of course!

Splynter the Goalie

17. Tapenade ingredients : OLIVES

18. Least likely to blow : SANEST

24. Like a fantasy land? : LA LA. La La Land. Hi there, LaLaLinda!

26. Beethoven's "__ Adieux" sonata : LES

29. Bubbly beginning? : AER.  As in "Aerator", adding air to the fish tanks.

34. Yearned : PINED. Did you ever meet with that Philly girl again, TTP?

37. Manhattan part : RYE. The drink.

38. Bailout key : ESC

39. Like, with "to" : AKIN

40. Slightly : A WEE BIT

41. Remedy from a doctor? : SPIN. Spin doctor.

42. "Alfred" composer : ARNE

43. Buster Brown's dog : TIGE

45. Photographer's accessory : STROBE. And 91. Fashion photographer Richard : AVEDON. He's incredible. Tina Brown brought him to the the New Yorker in 1992.

47. Fitting most people : UNI-SIZE. Like helmets.

48. Home on the range : TENT

49. Hebrew for "skyward" : EL AL

50. Rainier, for one : MONACAN

52. Port on Italy's "heel" : TARANTO. Any of you been there?

53. Some dashes : ENS. Or EMs.

54. "Balderdash!" : ROT

55. Flip side of Ronny & the Daytonas' "Hot Rod Baby" : GTO

58. Station for film buffs : AMC

60. Nearest star to Earth : SUN

62. Not see properly : MISREAD

63. Whistler, e.g. : ARTIST. This lady's son.

65. Old cry of disgust : FIE

66. Illegal payments : SOPS

67. Mortarboard sporters: Abbr. : SRs

68. A wall may need a second one : COAT. Fun clue.

69. This, in Toulouse : CET. Gosh, I've forgot most of what I learned. How is this different from Ceci?

70. Brooklyn __, N.Y. : HTS

71. Density symbol, in physics : RHO

73. Criticism : FLAK

74. Abbey nook : APSE

75. Looking up : ROSY

77. Actress Barkin : ELLEN

78. Rain protection : ROOF

79. Bow-and-arrow sets : ARCHERIES. Spell check does not like the plural form.

84. Wash. summer hrs. : PDT

85. Lighter name : BIC

86. Remedy for a freeze : RE-START

88. Back-to-back '90s Super Bowl champs : BRONCOS

90. Reel off : RECITE. My dad could recite every line of Mao's Little Red Book. He learned how to write his name only after he joined Chinese Army.

92. Family subdivisions : GENERA

93. Strut : PARADE

94. "The Purloined Letter" monogram : EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)

95. Dices : CUTS UP

96. Godhead, for one : TRIUNE

97. Blemish : PIMPLE

98. Java Freeze brand : ICEE

100. Doo-wop syllable : DUM. Thank crosses.

103. United divider? : AISLE. United Airlines.

104. Young salmon : SMOLT

105. "__ Bulba": Gogol novel : TARAS

107. On the safer side : ALEE

109. World-weary words : AH ME

110. Ryan and Benjamin: Abbr. : PVTS (Privates)

112. Big load : TON

114. Golfer Ernie Els' homeland : RSA. JD visited his winery there.

Happy Birthday to Irish Miss, our gentle & kind Agnes. Agnes always asks & follows up on the blog whenever a regular has some health, job or family issue. She also writes me privately whenever a regular is missing for quite some time (like Owen, PK and Jayce). We're so lucky to have a caring and attentive friend like Agnes.

Eileen (sister of Agnes) & Agnes, Nov 22, 2013

Happy Birthday also to Abejo (Bradley), who's always busy traveling and volunteering for various good causes. Brad worked in Iran for a few years before the Shah was toppled. Abejo is Persian for "beer". Brad loves and is very knowledgeable about beer. Oh, gardening too.  He's a master gardener.

Bradley and his Tuba, Church Fat Tuesday Event