Friday, April 26, 2013, Jim Holland

Theme: Punning around the world.

Each of the four theme answers takes an existing phrase with a geographic reference and uses a sound alike replacement to create a new and humorous phrase. We have two grid spanners and two fourteen letter fill, symmetrically with the 15's a country beginning with "S" and the 14's with a "G" so the theme is full. This is the second puzzle from Mr. Holland that I recall, with a Sunday last year as his LAT debut. I found this to be a comparatively easy puzzle, with many early week characteristics, word length, etc. but still some very challenging fill. Let's take a walk through this Holland Tunnel.

17A. One lingering in Edinbugh? : SCOTTISH TARRIER (TERRIER).(15) I learned what I know about Scotland from reading Ian Rankin and M.C. Beaton. Any Hamish MacBeth fans?

27A. Some Athenian physicians? : GREEK ORTHO DOCS (ORTHODOX).(14). I had to bone up on my Greek to get this one.

50A. Berlin sidewalk writing? : GERMAN CHALK LIT. (CHOCOLATE) (14). Lit being literature makes it all work.

64A. Fancy singles event in Stockholm? : SWEDISH MEET BALL.(MEAT BALL) (15). Are we foreshadowing Elin?  I thought this was very cute, with all kinds of punny potential.

On with the show.

Across:

1. ___ squad : VICE. Anybody see the MOVIE? (0:58).

5. Sharp fasteners : BRADS. Little shiny guys, not Pitt.

10. Line of movement : PATH. I like this clue.

14. In a while : ANON. I learned this from Shakespeare.

15. Go back to the beginning, in a way : RESET. Time to hit the reset button on life.

16. Spread unit : ACRE. Not butter, or cream cheese but a ranch.

20. Hoglike mammals : TAPIRS. Not quite a potbellied pig.

21. "I could ___ horse!" : EAT A. Don't you love the juxtaposition of the hog and the eating a horse?

22. Touch : DAB. Does anyone not think of

23. Stravinsky's "The ___ of Spring" : RITE. JzB. a few bars please. LINK. (4:42).

25. DX ÷  V : CII. 510 divided by 5 = 102. The Roman math you all requested.

26. "___ a ripoff!" : IT'S.

32. Black gold : OIL. Texas tea.

33. Big Bird buddy : ELMO.

34. DOD subdivision : NSA. Department of Defense oversees the National Security Agency.

35. Really feel the heat : BAKE. A favorite past time here in the sunny south.

37. Plus : AND.

39. Carpenter's tool : RASP.

43. CD conclusion? : ROM. Read Only Memory.

46. Charge carriers : IONS. My first read, I though it said change...

49. Fury : IRE.

54. Valiant son : ARN. Funny, I linked Prince V last week for his haircut.

55. Heavenly altar : ARA. Like this ONE.

56. Hockey Hall of Famer Mikita : STAN. Gew up with Stan and Bobby Hull leading the Blackhawks.

57. Sum (up) : TOT. Total; you get the impression Rich changed the clue here and forgot about 18D. 57-Across's wheels : TRIKE which requires a different tot to ride his tricycle.

58. Personal time? : NITE.?? Up to you all.

60. Some govt. investments : T-NOTES. In between T-bills and T-bonds. Medium term maturities.

67. New coin of 2002 : EURO Time flies.

68. One may work with a chair : TAMER. Looks funny without the Lion attached.

69. Vivacity : BRIO. A puzzle word all should know.

70. Church section : APSE. Even Mrs. O'Hair would have known this one.

71. Angling banes : SNAGS. When you go fishing and your line gets caught.

72. Oh's role in "Grey's Anatomy" : YANG. Sandra playing Cristina.

Down:

1. Humongous : VAST. Man, I wish it were the other way around.

2. Worshipper of the Earth goddess Pachamama : INCA. No clue, but perped itself easily. Who's your pachamama?

3. Condo cousin : CO-OP. Co-operative apartment and the precursor to condo living. Nothing to do with Gary.

4. Complete : ENTIRE.

5. British university city : BRISTOL. In the grand tradition of British subtlety, it is called Bristol University. Where are all of our Brits? Steve did you scare them away?

6. Legal issue : RES. The Latin for things.

7. "Off the Court" author : ASHE. Arthur the tennis professional, who tragically died young from AIDS contracted from a blood transfusion before the threat was widely known.

8. Separate : DETACH.

9. Post : STATION.

10. Links standard : PAR. A golf term that has become an in the language concept for everything.

11. Like citrus fruit : ACIDIC. Looks funny, opposite of BASIC?

12. They might make cats pause : TREATS. Love the sound pause/paws.

13. Chef's array : HERBS. Are you an ERB or HERB person?

19. Military surprises : RAIDS.

24. First name in humor : ERMA. Bombeck, a literal first name. We also have Emma below.

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.” ― Erma Bombeck.

27. Tar : GOB. Sailor.

28. Sea inlet : RIA. More crosswordese.

29. One who observes a fraternal Hour of Recollection : ELK. The BPOE CODE

30. Source of invigoration : TONIC. These days our tonics are energy drinks, not celery based.

31. One leaving a wake : OAR. You have to picture an oar slicing through the water.

36. Mess up : ERR. Do not forget to forgive. OAR/ERR?

38. Self-recriminating cries : DOHS. The Simpsons' influence is pervasive.

40. Have a health problem : AIL. I have a cough and stuffy nose from the climate adjustments.

41. Hindu title : SRI. Like Mr. from the Sanskrit.

42. Sweetie : PET. Are you all offended by people calling you sweetie?

44. Muscat native : OMANI.

45. Some Roman Catholics : MARISTS. Followers of MARY.

47. Babbles : NATTERS. Remember the Nabobs?

48. Perspective : SLANT. I often wondered why these have become synonymous. My only guess is that it comes from art, where the slant of shadows is used to create distance perspective. I am sure someone will enlighten me.

50. Mature : GROW UP. Not likely.

51. Adds to the database : ENTERS. That is why the job is known as data entry.

52. ___ Detroit: "Guys and Dolls" role : NATHAN. My youngest played in his high school's version.

53. Like some tree trunks : KNOBBY. And many knees.

54. Having no clue : AT SEA.

59. Peel on "The Avengers" : EMMA. One wonderful inspiration in the 60's, Diana Rigg, she is now playing the dowager of the Tyrells on Game of Thrones.

61. King who succeeded 59-Down : TARA. This was a devilishly clever clue, because King made you think the clue was misplaced, but  Linda Thorson was hired as Tara King to replace Diana Rigg.

62. Swedish model Nordegren in 2004 nuptial news : ELIN. Tiger's erstwhile wife. Makes you want to hire a nanny.

63. Tough going : SLOG. I guess you guys managed to slog through the last few links.

65. Buck's mate : DOE. A deer, a female deer...

66. Hosp. test : EEG. So many tests Electroencephalography.

Well my last April effort for this year, and  now I must go. Thanks for tuning in and taking time to say hello. Until next week, Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Steve, our Wednesday blogger, took part in Marbles' LA Tournament last Sunday. He said:

"The competition was fun - there were about 25 people at the Los Angeles event (there were eight or so locations across the country). Eric Maddy was the winner - apparently he was 11th at the 2010 ACPT. He's a pretty intense character! There were three puzzles with a 20-minute time limit and the winners of the three rounds faced off in the final. I completed the first in about 10 minutes, the second in 15 and was a solid DNF on the third. I tried the final puzzle for fun and I'd filled in possibly an eighth of it when Eric finished - I don't think I'm cut out for speed-solving. It was fun, though."

Left to Right: Bill Farhood, Eric Maddy, JT Williams

You can't see Steve clearly here. He's in purple shirt, sitting next to Eric Maddy.

You can see him clearly here:

Steve, Notre Dame London Campus, Nov 2012

Friday, April 19, 2013 Gareth Bain

THEME: I swear, I am so mixed up.

The second word of a fairly clued two-word phrase is chopped up (anagram-med) into a mild curse, which is revealed in the middle of the across clues. What makes this so impressive is even knowing more than 50 cuss words, I could not come up with another anagram, heck I tried.  RATS I so wanted that gold STAR. A workout by one of regular young constructors  our South African veterinarian friend Gareth Bain, who doubles as a blogger of the LAT on Amy Renaldo's Crossword Fiend site. The anagrams were simple, except 59A, which took a bit because it is not 4 letters like the others. It begins as a geography-centric puzzle, which is always hard for Americans. Tricky, but lots of short words and lots of blocks and even a J. I always have a good time with a GB original.

18A. *Celebrating the big five-oh, say : MIDDLE AGED.(10) Anagrams to EGAD.

23A. *Small museum piece : OBJET D'ART.(9) Becomes DRAT. A little American French.

53A. *Dancer with many fans : SALLY RAND. (9)  DARN. She appears in many of Max Allen Collins historical mysteries, along with her famous fans, as opposed to her many fans. Love the play on words.

59A. *Profit factors : COST PRICES.(10). The tricky one because it is not 4 letters, CRIPES, and the fill does not roll off my tongue.

and the unifier:

37A. What the answers to the starred clues end in, in more ways than one. MINCED OATHS. (11). Minced meaning chopped, which like twisted and many others is the sign that an anagram is required.

Across:

1. Their first parts are geog. indicators : SSNS.  If you did not know, the first three of the Social Security Number is based on where it was issued.

5. Her last film was "Two-Faced Woman" : GARBO.

10. Newspaper page : OP-ED. I am not opening this controversial door again.

14. Injure, in a way : CLAW. I am not sure our vet friend had cats in mind,  and I bet you all have been clawed..

15. ___ dome : ONION. An obvious architectural TERM, but one I did not know I knew.

16. Denpasar's island : BALI. It is the site of their airport.

17. ___ mentality : HIVE. We must learn from the honey BEES.

20. ___-Locka, Florida : OPA. The also have an airport.

21. Sum, sometimes : I AM. (Soom), the Latin for I am.

22. Country across the sea from Eritrea : YEMEN. Across the Red Sea (happy belated Passover) before you get to Ethiopia.

27. Oil-rich African country : GABON. One of the surviving pieces of French Equatorial Africa, a small rich place.

29. City on the Rhone : LYONS. More geography, it is called  LYON in French which made this extra hard, though the clue was in English, so....

30. "___ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" song : LARA'S. Very pretty TUNE (3:18).

32. Tram contents : ORE. As it is taken from the mine, they load the trams.

33. Hog : sow :: rabbit : ___ : DOE. Reminds me of the LSAT. A word animal clue.

35. Freak (out) : WIG.

36. Court cry : OYEZ. Also sometimes, OYER et TERMINER. It stems from the old days when judges travelled to the courts and the people had to be advised the court was there. More law stuff, 46D. Put forth without proof : ALLEGE. Sounds bad, but you allege what the facts are in a complaint and then prove them at trial.

40. Pigeon-loving Muppet : BERT. I missed this whole phase.

42. Fjord cousin : RIA. Bodies of water.

43. ___ Victor : RCA. Do you recall his name?

44. Bargainer with GM : UAW. United Auto Workers.

45. LeVar's "Roots" role : KUNTA. Kinte.

47. Bender : BINGE.

51. Icky coating : GRIME.

55. Its young are called crias : LLAMA.  Gotta love the CAMELIDS. Our vet always gets some of his specialty in the puzzles. Also, 6D. Member of a large kingdom : ANIMAL.

57. Rock's ___ Lobos : LOS. Sing along,  LA BAMBA.(3:05). (More animals, wolves here).

58. Touch clumsily : PAW. So when she said he was pawing her, it was the clumsiness that mattered. (Animal paw?).

62. Siouan tribe : IOWA.

63. ___ d'amore : OBOE. I do not know much of the OBOE of LOVE. JzB? LINK. (2:49).

64. Terse observation : ADAGE. Interesting clue, as I think of the word like aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim, proverb, not just terse. Terse seems unfriendly.

65. W.S. winner in four of the last five years : NLER. baseball World Series being dominated by the National League, lately.

66. Flex : BEND.

67. Leafy recess : BOWER.

68. Pirate played by Laughton : KIDD. He played the CAPTAIN.(3:17) He seemed a bit foppish to be blood thirsty.

Down:

1. Art movement : SCHOOL. Like the Pointillists.

2. Elude : SLIP BY. His youth eluded him.

3. Code talkers' tribe : NAVAJO. Did you all see/like this MOVIE? (2:19).

4. 5-Across's home: Abbr. : SWEden.

5. Lose it : GO MAD.

7. Clear : RID.

8. Spa specimen : BOD. y?

9. Lacking siblings : ONLY. Child?

10. President with a B.A. from Columbia : OBAMA.

11. Shoulder-length hair styles : PAGEBOYS. Like this?

12. The "you" in the 1968 lyric "Gee I think you're swell" : ELENORE. The spelling gave away this TUNE.(2:32)

13. Imitated : DID. Frank Caliendo did John Madden so well. Sorry to hear that Pat Summerall died.

19. Brain tests, briefly : EEGS. ElectroEncephaloGramS.

21. "Put up your dukes, then!" : IT'S ON.

24. Break up : END IT.

25. Statistician's input : RAW DATA. GIGO.

26. Common folk group : TRIO. Kingston anyone?

28. ___ Perce tribe : NEZ. Not related to the eye glasses.

31. Seaweed extract : AGAR. A wonder of the world for cooks and scientists LINK.

34. Beige relative : ECRU. Can any of the guys tell them apart?

36. Atheist activist Madalyn Murray ___ : O'HAIR. She was always being talked about when I was young as the founder of the first organized Atheists. She led to the banning of prayer in schools and was eventually murdered. LINK  (2:21). We will not talk religion or politics here, but when she died my father's words rang in my head during her funeral. "All dressed up and no place to go."

37. Dennis the Menace neighbor : MR. WILSON. Now living somewhere in Boca Raton.

38. German opener : EINS. One in German.

39. Super Fro-Yo sellers : TCBYS. This Can't Be Yogurt.

40. Eat at : BUG. This clue irritated me. In fact it 49D. Ate (at) : GNAWED at me. A tense clecho.

41. Drop zone? : EAR LOBE. OK GB, explain this one, drops meaning earrings?

45. Dole's running mate : KEMP. Former Buffalo Bill quarterback Jack. Lots of athletes make it to politics. How many do you know?

48. City SE of Roma : NAPOLI. Italian for Naples.

50. "___ Scissorhands" : EDWARD. Johnny Depp, ladies? No, okay NOT JOHNNY DEPP.(3:29).

52. Checked for the last time? : MATED. I am not sure if this is a pun on the state of matrimony, or just a reference to the game.

54. Like one who is 52-Down : LOSER. I repeat, I don't know....

56. Fast horse : ARAB.

59. Pen's mate : COB. (oops, don't we have MATED above?) Of course he is speaking of swans

 

where the adult male is a COB and the female is a PEN.  He then ends with. 62A. Pen filler: INK. to enhance the confusion, I love it.

60. Brief commitment : I DO. With such a high divorce rate, brief may be the operative concept.

61. Crow's croak : CAW. And alliteration clue to fill, nice.

Well it is great to be back to Friday, even though blogging marti is always a treat. Gareth is also much fun and a very pleasant young man, willing to answer questions. While you are reading this, I am getting ready to get on airplane to Buffalo  which to me is now Charlotte's ville, current home of my granddaughter. See you all next week.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, April 11, 2013, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Don't tense up, and pass the participle

Each of the 4 theme answers takes the first word of a two- word phrase and by adding D or ED creates past participles used adjectivally (fun for all our teachers!) in a new and whimsical phrase, the resulted first words all synonyms of "tired". Hey, marti did it not me. Each time the meaning of both words in the original phrase are changed completely. A simple, but fun theme, that was harder to describe than to suss. Lemonade sitting in for miss m, as she is too shy to review and praise her own work, So as Flip Wilson said, We are here to seize her berry.  not praise it. (Bill G, they were much kinder to you than to me when I posted some of mine). On we go.

20A. Post-marathon sounds? : FATIGUED PANTS. (13). Military style morphs into the breathing challenge after 26 miles.

37A. Golfer's outdated set of clubs? : TIRED IRONS. (10). See how the addition of the little "D" changes everything.

43A. Casualty of an all-night poker game? : POOPED DECK. (10). Now we see the added "ED." No Viagra jokes here, and no bathroom humor, provide your own..

55A. Problem for Sherlock when he's run out of tobacco? : EXHAUSTED PIPE.(13). Interesting two theme clues are car related.

Across:

1. Gives pieces to : ARMS. We begin with the subtle use of "piece" meaning a gun.

5. Space-saving abbr. : ET AL.

9. Academy teacher : PLATO. Not just any one, but THE ACADEMY.

14. Leak slowly : SEEP. These days, ideas seldom seep into my brain.

15. Prep, as apples for applesauce : PARE. Generally using a paring knife. Why not say Peel? Paring is more precise? Nothing like TARE.

16. Didn't despair : HOPED.

17. Support girder : I-BAR.

18. Teatro alla Scala highlight : ARIA. The famous Opera house.

19. From days gone by : OF OLD. Did anyone else see this as O Fold for minute? (This is one).

23. Salon supply : GEL.

24. Scottie's relative : WESTIE. The West Highland White Terrier, marti resolved the Scottie issue.

27. ID theft target : SSN. Social Security Number.

30. Wined and dined : REGALED. Treated like a king.

34. Messenger ___ : RNA.

35. Bygone depilatory : NEET. Nair wins, nair wins!

39. Egyptian leader between Gamal and Hosni : ANWAR.  This Nobel Prize winner. LINK, Killed in 1981.

41. MIV ÷ II : DII. One way to divide the Romans.

42. Pester, puppy style : NIP AT. Marti is using the Dan Naddor like short word combos to make the puzzle harder.

46. "___ be young again!" : OH TO. See. I told you she was.

47. SFO posting : ARR.ivals.

48. Welcome sight for early explorers : DRY LAND. Land Ho!

50. Poetic dusk : EEN.

51. "Thy Neighbor's Wife" author : TALESE. A nice GUY.

53. Ill-fated fruit picker : EVE. Cute clue, and more apple reference.

62. Eastern adders? : ABACI. Back again so soon?

64. Smart : CHIC. pronounced Sheak. (Avoiding 1940s condom humor).

65. Corp. money mgrs. : CFOS. Chief Financial Officers.

66. Sax range : TENOR.  I knew marti would get us to the SAX talk.

67. Rolling rock : LAVA.

68. Berlusconi's bone : OSSO. Italian

69. Is without : HASN'T. There are the haves and the have nots, I was explaining to one of my Y-chromosome deficient friends, there are the Ys and the Ynots.

70. One bounce, in baseball : A HOP. Not an A word, but more commonly a one hopper.

71. Kids : TOTS. Would they taste the same if they were called Tater Kids?

Down:

1. "A likely story!" : AS IF. Another one.

2. Country's McEntire : REBA. Have they canceled this SHOW? (2:39)

3. Crux : MEAT. The heart, the gist, you get the idea.

4. Bit of mistletoe : SPRIG. If athletes get athlete's foot, do astronauts get missile toe?

5. Dress uniform decoration : EPAULET. From the French for shoulder, which comes from the Latin Spatula. Do you ladies want to go back to the 80's when your shoulders were so padded?

6. Empty-truck weight: TARE. Per wiki: The word tare originates from the Middle French word tare "wastage in goods, deficiency, imperfection" (15, from Italian tara, from Arabic tarah, lit. "thing deducted or rejected," from taraha "to reject" usually TARE WEIGHT.

7. Desertlike : ARID. You need an extra R for your underarm.

8. Route to an illogical conclusion : LEAP.

9. Expressed an opinion on "The Dan Patrick Show," say : PHONED IN. I debated this as a theme answer for a while.

10. Many converted apartments : LOFTS. Especially in big cities.

11. Sign of omission : APOSTROPHE. Sin of commission. Cool clue.

12. ___ Aviv : TEL. No way, I am not saying a word.

13. Like some socks after laundry day : ODD. I am on a 7 month win streak.

21. Whence BMWs : GERmany. marti just wanted to be back on the autobahn heading to the Alps.

22. Floored : AWED. As opposed to awwed.

25. Hard-wired : INNATE.

26. Crayola Factory's Pennsylvania home : EASTON. Also the birthplace of heavyweight champ, Larry Holmes.

27. Get testy with : SNAP AT. An another.

28. Madrid madam : SENORA. Be careful.

29. City whose average elevation is below sea level : NEW ORLEANS. Hence not a good place to be in a hurricane.

31. Dizzy with delight : GIDDY. This comes from the same German root word which we got our word G-d, as dizzy people were thought to be possessed.

32. Prospero's spirit servant : ARIEL. From Will Shakespeare's The Tempest. Study THIS.

33. High-end camera : LEICA. I wonder if JL likes this kind or the Nikon.

36. Borrow money from : TAP.

38. ___ Grande : RIO. River great.

40. Prophetic attire worn by most doomed characters on the original "Star Trek" TV show : RED SHIRT. The guest role was usually very short if they had on red.

44. De Matteo of "The Sopranos" : DREA. Also, of the short lived JOEY. Finally moved to Wisteria Lane. WATCH (0:54) if you dare.

45. Patella : KNEECAP. I am getting HYALGAN shots in my knees.

49. Netflix rental : DVD.

52. Sentence finisher? : EX-CON. They let you out when you finish, nice clue.

54. Florida attraction : EPCOT. Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

56. Kareem's coll. team : UCLA. Actually, he was still Lew Alcindor in his UCLA days when he helped John Wooden become king of the hardwood.

57. Deposed ruler : SHAH.

58. Modern recorder : TiVO.

59. "Given that..." : IF SO. And the last.

60. Chime in at a blog : POST. A shout out to all of you!

61. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS.

62. Olympics entrant: Abbr. : ATHlete.

63. Actress Arthur : BEA. Maude or Golden Girl take your pick.

Well it's an extreme pleasure to get back to marti's work; there was a while I was blogging her at least once a month, but now that she is famous, and jetting all over we have to be grateful for what we get. Curious what you all thought, so I will shut up and read. I hope we have an exciting Masters. Congratulations Lady Huskies for your 8th NCAA basketball title. So amazing to me that these kids want to live in Storrs, CT. I did not not even when I was in school there.

L. out.

Note from C.C.:

Hope some of you could attend Marbles' 5th Annual Crossword Tournament. Click here for details.

Friday, April 5, 2013, Ned White

Theme: A Spoonful of wacky words makes the Friday go down.

We are back in the wild world of spoonerisms, where mixing up word phrases leads to hilarity. There is an additional undercurrent of the sound "ICK" but I am not sure how that can be incorporated into the theme but the sound is all over the fill. I found this to be a comparative speed run for a Friday with lots of short fill, but also humor and some inventive cluing. This is our second LAT puzzle from Mr. White who has had 5 Saturday and 1 Friday published in the NY Times, which makes the solving of this surprising, or maybe I was just lucky. Let's get to work.

　

17A. Falk and Fonda after mud wrestling? : ICKY PETERS. (10). Picky Eaters transformed into two Hollywood types writhing in the muck. I suppose a clue "diseased organs" would not pass the breakfast test.

24A. Overzealous peach eaters? : PIT NICKERS.(10). Nit pickers, like our own divine miss m., get confused and steal their fruit treats.

39A. Oils a deck of cards? : SLICKS UP THE PACK. (15) Picks up the slack.

51A. Security images of an armed robbery? : STICK UP PIX. (10) 5, 6 pick up sticks. Are two pick ups in a row okay? I know they are if you are visiting Honey Boo Boo.

63A. Gal idolizing actor Matthew? : PERRY CHICK. (10). We all know it is Joey who gets to Cherry Pick the girls not Chandler. Anyone watch GO ON? (3:00).

Across:

1. Org. where weight matters : WBA. World Boxing Association, one of the many association which oversee professional boxing, a sport on the way out.

4. Ancient Ephraimite's home : ISRAEL. We are not talking about Mr. Zimbalist and his FBI show, but one of the lost TRIBES.

10. Pasture calls : BAAS. Baas, maas, eh.

14. "Ben-___" : HUR. More ancient Israel, but moved up to Roman times.

15. Caterer's supply : STERNO.

16. Succotash bean : LIMA. Mixed with corn.

19. Since : AS OF.

20. Overhead views : SKIES. Very literal.

21. "You got me" : NOT A CLUE. Well actually, you have the clues even if you cannot solve them.

23. Hawaiian coffee : KONA. Named after an area on the big island, an interesting history. LINK>At the base of 68A. Mauna ___ : LOA.

26. Treated, as a patient : SEEN. These days, you are lucky to even get looked at, let alone actually treated by a doctor. Shout to one of our own.

28. Midwinter Asian holiday : TET. I hope no one finds this reminder offensive.

29. Tin ___ : EAR. When I was in high school, I was admonished to only lip sync because of my tin ear.

32. Packs in a hold : LADES. We have had this word and the related bills of lading often.

35. End notes? : OBIT. Cute clue for a sad subject.

43. Office specialist : TECH.

44. Lost, as a tail : SHOOK. Having read too many detective stories, this was very easy.

45. Storm maker of yore : GEO. The automobile.

46. CIA predecessor : OSS.

49. Falls back : LAGS.

56. Salon choice : UPDO.

60. Nine to three, say : MULTIPLE. 3X3 = 9

61. Heart conditions? : ACHES. Also, misdirection, especially those of us who have more conventional diagnoses. I read a study today which says a broken heart might actually lead to a heart attack!

62. Inter ___ : ALIA.

66. Scratch : CLAW.

67. Pathetic to the max : LAMEST.

69. Wolverine sneaker brand : KEDS.

70. '50s tankers? : EDSELS. More good use of clue deception, as this model tanked from day 1, with horse collar grill I guess everyone said neigh.

71. Bungle : ERR. Bungle is just a fun word.

　

Down:

1. Roux-making tool : WHISK. Or maybe use a SPATULA? (4:59)

2. Chichester chap : BUCKO.

3. "Catch-22" actor : ARKIN. Wonderful book and MOVIE (4:32). He became Yossarian. The link is to the final scene so do not watch if you want to see the movie from the beginning.

4. Net profit makers, briefly : ISPS. Not NET profit, but INTERNET (net). Creative.

5. Sault ___ Marie : STE.

6. Like many a mil. officer : RETired.

7. Ain't right? : AREN'T.we special.

8. Subject of the 2005 book "Conspiracy of Fools" : ENRON. One of our many corporate disasters.

9. Snapped : LOST IT. Some of the Saturday Silkie's get me close, luckily we have Splynter to pick up the pieces.

10. Driveway improvement : BLACK TOP.

11. Flier's request : AISLE. Makes gong to the bathroom easier, but you do get beat up by all the carry on luggage.

12. Illicit affair : AMOUR. I confess

13. Hotel amenities : SAFES..you believe you have the only key?

18. They're all for it : YEAS. (Pronounced yays) which makes the English language so much fun as we also have, 24D. Casserole veggies : PEAS.

22. Nail : ACE. Nailed it! C.C.'s favorite.

25. River near Karachi : INDUS.. One of the seven sacred RIVERS.

27. Buckskin source : ELK. I did not know this.

29. 1970s-'80s self-improvement course : EST. This controversial SEMINAR.

30. Bar supply : ALE. And the clecho 37D. Bar supply : ICE.

31. "Coney Island" documentarian Burns : RIC.. Has he become as famous as his brother Ken? IMDB.

33. Bk. before Philippians : EPHesians. This BOOK.

34. Gimlet spec : STOLI. I guess it means specification and Stoli is a premium Vodka.

36. Snare : BAG. From the old days, where hunters literally bagged the little creatures.

38. Ring decision : TKO. Technical Knock Out.

40. Southeast natives : CHOCTAWS. Yes she really was part Choctaw.

41. Barnum's Fiji mermaid, for one : HOAX. Piltdown Man anyone? Howard Hughes autobiography?

42. Hosp. readout : EKG.

47. Cross-country need, perhaps : SKI. marti, you have a spare pair?

48. Lithe : SUPPLE

50. Similar things : SUCH.  And such

51. Act of love, or hostility : SMACK. Cute clue, and accurate in so many ways.

52. Veil material : TULLE. pronounced tool, named for a city in France, it is really fine netting, which sounds a lot less classy than a veil.

53. Epic with more than 15,000 lines : ILIAD. Arma virumque cano.

54. Respond to a charge : PLEAD.

55. Salon choices : PERMS.

57. Franco finale? : PHILE. Francophile. Not as familiar as the Anglophile, but I am sure there are some out there who want to be considered French. Mais oui! Not a reference to the dead Spanish leader, who probably still gets an occasional reference on SNL.

58. Designer's concern : DECOR.

59. Schindler of "Schindler's List" : OSKAR. It took me years to watch the movie.

61. Treads the boards : ACTS.

64. R&B artist Des'___ : REE. My learning moment, but already in by way of perps. I knew the SONG (4:00) but not the artist. I did have a silver Siamese named Desiree, but she did not sing.

Well another journey together complete, and we are ending a week in April, which I find amazing. I thank Mr. White for his effort and hope you are all prepared for the long stretch with no holidays until Memorial Day. Here we wait for our snow birds, who begin leaving now.

Peace out

L.

 

Notes from C.C.: Happy Birthday to dear Irish Miss!

Happy Birthday to Abejo also!