Friday, January 17, 2014, Daniel Landman

Theme: Let's all cut gym class!! No more Phys Ed!

A letter extraction puzzle with PE removed from 4 in the language expression to reveal 4 new phrases clued with whims. This appears to be the first LAT effort for Mr. Landman, who did debut in the NYT on March 18, 2013. They did not give him any write up there, only a picture, so hopefully he will stop by and introduce himself. I was able to suss the theme without the reveal (which was a cute one) though I struggled a bit with 46A. "Sorry, the mayo is put on in advance"? both in solving and placing the missing PE. There was some freshness and interesting medium fill, ARTHRO, BOY TOY. PARFUM,  T-STORM, IN HIS HAT,  ON DAY ONE, HOT CEREAL and THIRSTILY. Lots of Ps in the solution but not a single PE. The puzzle inspired lots of real and imagined musical reference so we will see what you all think. Let's examine this Friday frolic from frigid Florida.

20A. Franken and Yankovic, for example? : PEALS OF LAUGHTER. (13).

Al Franken comedian turned POLITICIAN, elected as a senator in Minnesota (which also made Jesse the body Ventura governor) was a regular on SNL. Al Yankovic is famous for his song PARODIES. (3:30).

29A. Silver-tongued speaker? : SMOOTH OPERATOR. (12). This clue/fill gave me the theme as the song popped in head when I filled in ORATOR.

We get orator a lot in puzzles.

46A. "Sorry, the mayo is put on in advance"? : IT CAN'T BE HELPED. (12). A play on the old line, "Hold the mayo."

56A. "Heretics only" apartment building ad? : REPENT YE SINNERS. (13). Pompano has a few hotels that rent only to "sinners."

The unifier:

59D. Slangy denial, and a hint to 20-, 29-, 46- and 56-Across : NOPE. You have to parse it as NO PE.

Across:

1. Like some tricks : CHEAP. My CHOICE. (4:53).

6. Beatles nonsense syllables : OBLA. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, more music. Hmm, 16A. Sneeze syllable : CHOO.  Ah, I get it. 25A. Song syllable : TRA. A mini-theme?

10. Fighting : AT IT. So many ways to parse these sweet little letters.

14. Sporty Toyota made until 2002 : SUPRA. Any reason we care?

15. Met or Nat : NLER. Baseball fan.

17. Police record listing : PRIOR.

18. Unhappy parking lot discovery : DENT. Unless you a Red Sox fan, you are not referring to Bucky.

19. Soupçon : HINT. With just a soupçon of garlic.

23. Gp. currently chaired by Obama : NSC. National Security Council.

24. One-eighty : UEY. The never ending debate of spelling this car maneuver.

26. Union in D.C., e.g. : STAtion. Trains.

32. __ Men: "Who Let the Dogs Out" band : BAHA. Owen,  top these lyrics...

Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?

Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out ?

35. N.Y.C.-Quebec dir. : NNE. Quebec is closer to New England.

36. A dispersive one is commonly triangular : PRISM. The most famous one?

37. Carbon compound : ENOL. Solid crossword knowledge.

38. Avian abode : AERIE.

41. "Pinocchio" goldfish : CLEO.

42. Numerous, informally : LOTSA.

44. Longtime NBC staple : SNL. Saturday Night Live. Senator Franken?

45. Viewer : EYER. Meh, along with A words, my least favorite type of fill.

50. Wide shoe spec : EEE. Got no word, use letters.

51. Spanish bear : OSO. We get this one often as well.

52. Trattoria suffix : INI. Linguini, rotini etc.

53. A.L. West team, on scoreboards : LAA. Los Angeles Angels.

60. Abe or Dick : PREZ. Lincoln, Nixon. Now they are POTUS.

62. Emailer's "Then again ..." : OTOH. On The Other Hand.

63. Some kids : GOATS.

64. "The foundation of most governments": John Adams : FEAR. Those old guys sat around thinking and writing in those terms. LINK.

65. Novelist Jaffe : RONA. A Radcliffe girl, who died back in 2005.

66. Big name in printers : EPSON. Random, but it fits.

67. Designated driver's choice : COLA. really random, caffeine over booze.

68. Game in which the player is called the Stranger : MYST. If you do not want to see don't
WATCH. (3:21).

69. Navigation hazards : REEFS. In Myst?

Down:

1. Airer of debates : C-SPAN.

2. Pitches : HURLS.

3. Protestant denom. : EPISCopalian.

4. Buck tail? : AROO. Buckaroo.

5. Chanel No. 5 bottle word : PARFUM. As opposed to Eau de Cologne.

6. At the start : ON DAY ONE. Nice very fresh fill.

7. Sharp cheese : BLEU. Why is blue in French?

8. Rope quantity : LENGTH.

9. Joint: Pref. : ARTHRO.  Like in arthroscopic surgery.

10. Incentive for a warm bath : ACHE.

11. With great eagerness : THIRSTILY. Nice greedy word.

12. Fluoride, for one : ION. Fluorine is an element; fluoride is an ion or a compound which contains the fluoride ion.

13. Little kid : TOT.

21. Soprano Mitchell : LEONA. People made much fun of the soprano on Downton. I did not know this DIVA.

22. Protective cover : TARPaulin.

27. "Nothing __ here" : TO SEE. Familiar phrase with police and lookie lous.

28. Protective cover : ARMOR.

29. Dip option : SALSA. This is just the Spanish word for sauce, though most now associate the term with the spicy sauces.

30. To the point : TERSE. Yes.

31. Not straight : ARCED.

32. Contradict : BELIE.

33. Make __ of: jot down : A NOTE.

34. Breakfast option : HOT CEREAL. How many of you start your winter's day with hot oatmeal, or cream of wheat?

39. Where Yankee Doodle's feather ended up : IN HIS HAT. A song that ended up being an inspiration to the revolutionary troops, and was played at Yorktown when the British surrendered.

40. 1985 Malkovich film : ELENI. Not a well known film, which dealt with a mother's struggles in war time Greece. Never saw it, but it generated wildly disparate review.

43. Shortly : ANON. We have our own.

47. Bit of forecast shorthand : T-STORM. Thunder.

48. Certain young lover, facetiously : BOY TOY. Every cougar wants one.

49. Hang : LINGER. I did not like this definition.

53. Use temporarily : LEASE.

54. Bach's "The __ Fugue" : ART OF. This MUSIC. (4:49) He made me so nervous.

55. NBA and others : ASSNS. Associations.

57. Poet friend of T.S. : EZRA. Eliot and Pound.

58. A really long time : EONS.

60. Rank below cpl. : PFC. Private First Class.

61. Vintage roadster : REO. And I will end like I began, with this TUNE. (3:41).

Well we are done with another Friday and in the second half of January already, and we have 2 new LAT constructors already. Certainly no controversy with this grid, and a Friday unifier hint to make sure all get the theme. Thanks Daniel, and as we hit anniversary week next week, I want to thank not only C.C. for this blog but all of the hundreds who have created entertainment for us.  Lemonade out.

Friday, January 10, 2014, John Verel and Jeff Chen

Theme: Time for our typing lesson. LINK.

What a fabulous Friday from Jeff Chen and John Verel, who we first saw as a team back in April for John's debut. First, for those who do not know the term Pangram, it means containing all 26 letters. In addition to the theme, the puzzle itself is a pangram. The use of the old typing sentence is presented with a beautiful visual of the fox jumping as shown in the circled letters from bottom left to bottom right making an arc of the QUICK BROWN FOX with JUMPED OVER and LAZY DOG under the arc of the fox. Some of you may not like this form of puzzle, but it is awesome to me. In order to pull this off and still create a doable puzzle, the fill is pretty easy. For CED, MANAC and you truly visual people I offer:

20A. Only woman to win the top prize on "The $64,000 Question" : JOYCE BROTHERS. (13)Her category was boxing. 

23A. Like many a Magic Johnson pass :            NO LOOK. (6)

24A. Improvise :                                                                                                     WING IT. (6)

27A. Lee side: Abbr. :                                                                           CSA. (3) Confederate State of America.

29A. Actor Max __ Sydow :                                                                                      VON. (3)  A fine ACTOR. (1:19).

33A. Parts 1 and 4 of this puzzle's theme : THE. (3) Goes before both Quick and Lazy.

                                                                             37A. Objector : ANTI. (4)
                                                                                                                    40A. Some narcs : FEDS. (4)
41A. Puzzle theme, part 3 : JUMPS OVER. (9) This what revealed the theme to me when I saw this from perps.
                                            49A. First name in Disney villains : CRUELLA. (7). 101 times.
                                                                                           51A. Doo-wop staple :          ARMONY(7).
                                                                         66A. Mensa stats : IQS (3).
67A. End of this puzzle's theme : LAZY DOG (7).
                                                                                     68A. Quartet in a George Strait title :  EXS (3).

Reveal entry:

58A. This puzzle's theme is one : PANGRAM.

15 entries, 82 letters involved in the fill with a symmetrical picture. Wow. The grid has a left to right symmetry, by the way.


Across:

1. Word choice : EDIT. Okay so maybe not easy but a nice clue.

5. Singer with bandleader Xavier Cugat : CHARO. She was his much younger second wife replacing the adorable Abbe Lane.

10. City in Czechoslovakia? : OSLO. Really tricky...

14. Pro __ : BONO. Literally for good, in Latin. but it means for free in the legal world.

15. Macho guys : HE MEN. We also have  HU MAN below.

16. The whole kit and kaboodle : A TO Z. Would love to see this reversed in a puzzle one day.

17. Take delight (in) : BASK. He basked in the glory of scoring the winning touchdown.

18. Break down over time : ERODE.

19. Night music : TAPS. Dennis, SB is this an accurate HISTORY?

26. Homer's father : ABE. The Simpsons.

30. Brouhaha : ADO.

31. O. Henry quality? : LONG O. So tricky since the answer is always IRONY.

35. Astounds : DAZES. Jeff Chen who works as mentor to so many always astounds.

38. Blood line : AORTA. Cute clue.

44. Ersatz : PHONY.

46. Modern Persian : IRANI.

53. Sewer's bottoms : HEMS. With a needle, not where poop goes.

54. "The Murders in the __ Morgue" : RUE. Edgar Allan Poe's work credited with being the first mystery.

56. Brother of Jacob : ESAU. CW staple.

57. Plan for the future, briefly : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

62. Kenya's cont. : AFRica.

63. Kansas City football analyst Dawson : LEN. A star in the AFL for the Chiefs.

64. Mother-of-pearl source : ABALONE. A nice new word.  All you wanted to know and MORE.

65. Wasted : LIT. So many ways to get there so many ways to describe it.


Down:

1. Recede : EBB. His hairline was ebbing? Buddy Ebsen?

2. Snow : DO A JOB ON

3. Mouthing off : INSOLENT.

4. Izu Islands locale : TOKYO. Is this where JOE (0:39) lives?

5. Rear view : CHEEKS. Shocking! 22D. Rear : HIND. Splynter?

6. Trumpeter Alpert : HERB. And the Tijuana Brass. LISTEN. (2:44)

7. Latin lover's word : AMOR. Just Latin.

8. Second effort : REDO.

9. Ring combo : ONE TWO. Another form of 2nd effort. More boxing.

10. Like Cheerios : OATEN. My meh word.

11. Daydream : STARGAZE. Two great long fill, this with

12. Asymmetric : LOPSIDED. What is the opposite of this word?

13. Wt. units : OZS. Ounces.

21. Chanel No. 1? : COCO. The designer, who died on January 10, 1971. Her STORY.

23. "The Lion King" queen : NALA. The name is used in ancient Hindu lore; she is the deuteragonist in the story (now there is a CW word!). Also the initials of the National Association of Legal Assistants.

25. Mix in a bowl : TOSS.

28. Upon : ATOP. Not A to P.

29. No : VETO.

32. Classic action figures : GI JOES.

34. They may be game winners: Abbr. : HRS. Home Runs.

36. Slopeside sight : A-FRAME.  Popular in ski country.

38. Kind of nitrite or nitrate : AMYL. A cousin of ethyl and methyl?

39. Nike competitor : AVIA. Talk about RUNNING around.

42. Not in the bk. : UNListed. Phone book.

43. Mess up : ERR. I am extra human these days.

44. Trig, for calc, often : PREREQuisite.

45. 43-Downers? : HUMANS. To forgive?

47. "Deal's off'' : NO SALE.

48. Up the creek : IN A FIX.

49. Dog topper : CHILI. Or perhaps a fox? Not on my frank...

50. Dino, Desi & Billy drummer : ARNAZ. They were cute.

51. Judean king : HEROD. There many using that name.

52. Mongol tents : YURTS. A piece of knowledge solely derived from doing CW puzzles.

55. "This could get __" : UGLY.

58. Bud : PAL.

59. "Law News Now" journal publisher: Abbr. : ABA. American Bar Association.

60. Year abroad : ANO.  Without the tilde it is Portuguese, with =Spanish for year.

61. Storage unit : MEG.abyte.

This was a very enjoyable outing for me, especially when I saw the "BRO" to make the theme.  Jeff is amazing, with his mentoring, his work on the XWord website, writing puzzles and books. Kudos. Until next time,  stay warm: Lemonade, Thanks Jeff and John.

Friday, January 3, 2014, Ed Sessa

Theme: Before and After Bridge

Well it is Friday and time to present another way to hide the theme, this time with 4 sets of answers paired together where the answer to the the first fill needs BRIDGE added to the end to make sense of the clue/fill and the second part of the pair needs BRIDGE to precede the answer to complete the fill. The puzzle certainly made me aware of how many different meanings BRIDGE has. Without asterisks or other hints, locating and sussing the theme was quite difficult, even with the reveal. This is my third write up of Mr. Sessa, who has been one of the steadiest and most prolific constructors with about 30 LAT and 21 NYT in the past few years. The puzzle did not have much long fill, but the 7s and 8s were good. ARTISTE, CANTEEN,  CORRODE,  COURSES,  IN TOTAL,  MACABRE,  NOODGES, STERNUM, COIN CASE,  INTEGRAL. The cluing was hard, so I'd best get to work unraveling....

14A. Stream crosser : FOOT. (4) (Footbridge).  and 16A. Sets of 13 cards : HANDS. (5). (Bridge hands).

24A. 1990 Newman/Woodward drama : MR AND MRS. (8) (Mr and Mrs Bridge). Never heard of this MOVIE (2:46), despite the cast, it only grossed $7 million; but knowing I was looking for BRIDGE from footbridge, this made sense, then I later saw the reveal, then 26A. Overcome a significant difference : THE GAP (6) had to be (Bridge the Gap).

54A. Oral prosthesis : DENTAL. (6) (Dental bridge). With implants, they may disappear. 56A. Spock and Uhura, e.g. : OFFICERS. (8) (Bridge officers). Notice how the length of the fill flip flops to maintain symmetry.

66A. Place for spectacles : NASAL. (5) (Nasal bridge) The bridge of your nose. 67A. Military fortification : HEAD. (bridgehead). I am not sure if it is intentional or not, but footbridge and bridge head which are the symmetrical 'hidden' theme answers, are the only ones which are a single word. Securing the end of a bridge in war has always been Military STRATEGY.

The reveal:

52D. Apt word to substitute for each of four black squares to make sense of the across answers on either side of them : BRIDGE. That made everything as clear as mud.

Across:

1. Creepy thing : MOSS. What a tough way to start, after giving up on bugs, and ghouls, I thought of IVY then VINE; 1 down not being easy made this a challenging beginning.

5. Oft-used PC key : ESC. How do you guess between ESC, ALT and DEL? Really hard with SOLAR and LUNAR both fitting.

8. Karel Capek genre : SCI FI. We have had various references to this AUTHOR before, usually because he coined the word ROBOT. This was a gimme for Owen, but for the rest of us,  I knew this was not going to be a speed run.

13. "O.G. Original Gangster" rapper : ICE T. I do not know rap, and it is getting harder to find links without long ads, so we travel to Poland for this VERSION. (2:58). Along with ICE CUBE, he has made the transition to mainstream TV.

17. Residential plot : ACRE. Even this was tricky as so few houses are built on this large a lot.

18. Sweeping target : FLUE. Chimney sweeps...we have to work for every letter today.

19. Prologue : INTRO. Finally, and some may nit about it not suggesting an abbreviation.

20. Hindu collection : SUTRA. I know we have all heard of the Kama Sutra, but there is MORE.

22. Performer : ARTISTE.

29. Promise : ASSURE.

30. Doc who treats snorers : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.

32. Lake __ College, near Cleveland : ERIE.

33. Wrong treatment : MISUSE. I had trouble seeing this definition.

35. Tree knot : GNARL.

36. 1957 Treaty of Rome org. : EEC. European Economic Community. This TREATY was a step on the way to the current European Union.

39. Consume : EAT. Placed nicely next to...

40. Consumer's guide, briefly : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance. I never had an allowance.

42. Caustic chemical : LYE.

43. It may be pulled at a gym : GROIN. As opposed to your leg in conversation.

45. Bring up to speed : INFORM.

48. V __ Victor : AS IN.

49. Road warning : SLO. I do not like this sign, but the fill is legitimate.

50. Lit at the table, perhaps : FLAMBE. People and flames....

58. Become rusty : CORRODE.

60. "Shaddap!" : CAN IT! My New England upbringing always taught me, "You eat what you can, and what you can't, you can."

61. Muse of poetry : ERATO. More popular than lady gaga and miley combined.

63. Mythical maneater : OGRE. Musical interlude. ONE. (4:25).

65. Sit tight : BIDE.

68. Fly off the handle : RAGE. Many of us have had to deal with rageaholics in life.

69. Inscribed pillar : STELE. This has become a CW staple, we saw it at the end of November here..

70. Sneaky : SLY.

71. Sch. level : ELEM.

Down:

1. Noxious gas : MIASMA. I am more familiar with its use as to noxious atmosphere; a Friday word.

2. Comes to pass : OCCURS.

3. SmartSurface mattresses : SERTAS. Interesting that SEALY has the same number of letters as SERTA.

4. Rib cage part : STERNUM.  From the Greek Sternos. This finally got me started.

5. Valedictorian's nightmare : EFF. Man, is this where I get to link the EFF  word pics?

6. __ eclipse : SOLAR. Lunar/solar...

7. Soup-to-nuts listing : COURSES. Four courses is about the most I can handle.

8. Turkish for "skewer" : SHISH. Sheesh, we should know this from all the Kebab (kabob?) we eat.

9. Hiker's container : CANTEEN. Hydrate.

10. Vital : INTEGRAL.

11. New Deal initials : FDR. Do I need to spell this one out?

12. Prefix meaning "equal" : ISO.

15. Asian festival : TET. To most my age inextricably associated with the Vietnam War.

21. Brody of "The Pianist" : ADRIEN. Wonderful, sad, moving movie.

23. TV cousin : ITT. The Addams family.

25. Phoenix suburb : MESA.

27. Light : AIRY.

28. Soccer superstar : PELE. His legend lives on in the CW world.

31. Maker of the Super Soaker : NERF. Unrelated by I recently heard this SONG.(3:57).

34. Monthly exp. : UTILities.

35. Enticing kitchen aroma : GARLIC. A shout out to our Gilroy girl.

36. "Gosh!" : EGAD.

37. Scots Gaelic : ERSE.

38. Place for petty cash? : COIN CASE. Like alliteration, but struggled a bit here.

41. Tip : DOFF. My cap at this one.

44. Taken together : IN TOTAL.

46. Nags : NOODGES. From Yiddish nudyen (to pester, bore), from Polish nudzic. The word developed a variant spelling 'nudge' under the influence of the English word 'nudge'. A cousin of this word is nudnik (a boring pest). First recorded use: 1960. Per wordsmith.

47. Saint-Saëns' "Danse __" : MACABRE. A Halloween staple, seen HERE (7:18) from a visual perspective.

49. Camera letters : SLR. Single Lens Reflex.

51. Lowly : MENIAL.  Followed by...

53. Value : ESTEEM.

55. Play __ in : A ROLE.

57. Born in the wild : FERAL. I guess this is accurate but I think of feral as a domesticated animal living in the wild.

59. "How lovely!" : OOH. AHH, we are almost done and these three letter ones helped.

61. Annapolis grad. : ENSign.

62. Squealer with a tale or a tail : RAT. Lovely use of language.

64. Market freezer name : EDY. Because Breyer's never fits.

Well, here is another year upon us, and almost time for the Corner's anniversary, as C.C. pointed out, and so many responded on the 1st. I hope this one did not keep you late night solvers up too late, and I look forward to opinions hearing from all the readers, the lurkers, the regulars, the now and agains, and the long lost. Peace out and may 2014 be the best yet.

Lemonade.

Note from C.C.:

Husker Gary just updated his brilliant Crossword Corner map. Click on it for a clearer view. Please contact Gary (gschlapfer@gmail.com) if you want to be added or removed from the map. Thanks for the hard work, Gary!

Friday. December 27, 2013, Mike Peluso

THEME: CAR POOL TUNNEL SYNDROME*
Pun times in the LA Times.

This is our 29th from Mr. Peluso since conversion, and my first since December 23, 2011. Mike is a retired teacher/principal who gave us some insight in this INTERVIEW in 2009. Please take note in the comments section, where C.C. responds to Linda's suggestion about C.C. constructing puzzles. Anyway, back to today, we have 4 theme answer where common phrases are replaced by sound-alike ones using automobile brand names, clued by model names for each car company. I bet Barry G. and Dennis found this one easy. It took me a bit to suss out some of the theme answers, but they helped make the solve go well. The rest is standard Friday with some obscure and difficult patches and some fun word combinations. I like the overall cluing very much. let's see what you all think.

20A. Facilities on a 911? : PORSCHE POTTY. (13). (Porta potty). First you need to know the 911 and not be distracted by 9/11. Then you need to pronounce the car name Porsha (listen LINK) (0:03).

36A. Oater pal in an A3? : AUDI PARDNER. (11). (Howdy pardner). Again, the sound OWDI not AWWDI, makes this extra hard.

43A. Tales of a 9-3? : SAAB STORIES. (11). (Sob stories). I guess most know how to pronounce Saab, but the 9-3 may be quite unknown.

57A. Relative in a 370Z? : NISSAN NEPHEW. (13). (Niece and Nephew). This was the odd one out for me and the hardest to understand; I knew Nissan, having had a 260Z for years, but it took perps to see where this was going, especially having to break it into two words.

Across:

1. 1967 White House groom : ROBB. CHUCK who married Lynda Bird Johnson and became a governor and Senator.

5. "Erin go __" : BRAGH.  Loosely, Ireland forever.

10. Swedish singer Jenny : LIND. I  learned of the Swedish Nightingale from watching the old Maverick tv series.

14. Thus : ERGO.

15. Former Dodger first baseman James : LONEY. Not a star, really pretty obscure,  except perhaps for Tin, as Loney has resurfaced in a Tampa Bay Ray uniform.

16. Sharp : ACID. All perps, I guess like acid tongued.

17. Windows alternative : UNIX. An operating system.

18. Microwave brand : AMANA. Followed immediately with...

19. Microwave : NUKE.

23. Florida University named for a pope : ST. LEO. I imagine this was another gimme for Tin, as it is up the road near Tampa. For this rest you probably need to READ the history.

24. Eroded : ATE AWAY.

28. Follow : TRAIL. Another tricky clue, following behind...

32. Place to play : ARENA.

33. 13-Down predecessor : HST. Harry S. Truman; the S does not stand for anything.

39. Other, overseas : OTRA. Spanish 1.

41. Boston drummer Jeff et al. : NEALS. I guess on Friday you do not need a second one, like Patricia, but not many would know this drummer. I loved Boston but never heard his name.

42. Peruse : SCAN.

46. Pay stub abbr. : HRS. How many hours was that?

47. Für whom Beethoven wrote a bagatelle : ELISE. Always worth a LISTEN. (2:58). Also, 49D. Beethoven's Opus 20, for one : SEPTET. MORE.

48. Marks of approval : SEALS. Started with 'stars' until I saw 52D.

50. Corolla competitors : ALTIMAS. Foreshadowing the final theme fill.

53. Mexicali-to-Tijuana dirección : OESTE.

61. Electric weather phenomenon : BOLT. The answer came to me like bolt from the blue (still marveling at C.C.'s clue/fill yesterday).

64. Cornered : AT BAY. Eh, I see this as the opposite of each other.

65. Roll on a tarmac : TAXI. I know airports have taxiways and runways, but I do not know where the term comes from? Corner?

66. Hives, e.g. : RASH.

67. Spiked cakes : BABAS. My friend Ruth used to make the best Rum Cake; I could not resist this LINK. Mari?

68. Verve : ELAN.

69. Velázquez offerings : ARTE. More Spanish and I guess trickier than Laugh-in Johnson.

70. Whooping __ : CRANE. Cough also fit.

71. Heist haul, to a hood : TENG. I spent way too much time looking this up and never found it but the perps were sound. We usually have reference to Mao. (From C.C.: Parse it as TEN G, 10 Grand)(From L: duh!, silly me).

Down:

Speaking of down, DOWNTON ABBEY is back January 5. If you have already watched season 4 during its run in England, I hope you liked it.

1. Opts for another hitch : RE-UPS.

2. "... however, I may be all wet" : OR NOT. "I am absolutely certain you said that dear, or not."

3. Speakeasy socializer : B-GIRL. I guess the B is for bar, as they were the girls trying to get you to buy them fake drinks to add to the profits, while you got drunk.

4. "Complete series" DVD purchase, say : BOX SET.

5. Flat : BLAH.

6. 1960 Olympics city : ROME. The first one I remember, with Wilma Rudolph and Cassius Clay.

7. Take __: drop off : A NAP.

8. Italian seaport : GENOA. I cannot think of a salami pun, help?

9. Hilton rival : HYATT.

10. ID holders : LANYARDS.  A pretty one from CHINA.

11. Hosp. area : ICU. Intensive Care Unit. 2 years + since my 9 day visit.

12. Peace ender? : NIK. Peacenik.  popular in the anti-war years.

13. 33-Across successor : DDE. I had Jenny, so this was easy.

21. ESPN baseball analyst Alex : CORA. Another very obscure baseball reference to an ex-Dodger (Bill G., you also getting these?) who I only know because he went to the U.

22. Shed thing : TEAR. It took me a while to abandon pictures of a small building.

25. Shakespearean servant : WENCH. A lovely word.

26. "Dark-brow'd sophist, come not __": Tennyson : ANEAR. Drat, even successful poets use A words. I never like Alfred's work, Owen?

27. They may be spun : YARNS. Tales, though my son did buy his new gf some yarn as she loves to knit. Mixes well with 31D. Taletellers : LIARS.

29. Reunion attendee : AUNT. Somehow she is always the one to be there.

30. Logical beginning? : IDEOlogical.

33. Book after Daniel : HOSEA.

34. One way to buy time : STALL. I wonder who gets paid when you 'buy' time?

35. Character piece? : TRAIT.

37. Jeté relative : PLIE. Ballet moves.

38. Cruising : ASEA. See: an A word.

40. Potent licorice-flavored liqueur : ABSINTHE. Now legal once again. Promise Me.

44. Rig : SEMI.

45. Gin flavoring : SLOE.

51. Easy __ : AS ABC.

52. Red giant : S-STAR. Please re-explain all the star categories.

54. Oil source : SHALE. Which probably can be found in Texas.

55. Odessa native : TEXAN. On the way to El Paso.  They love rock and roll.

56. Any of several fictional multimillionaires : EWING. Speaking of oil and Texas, J.R. and family. I really like how Mike uses the related but un-referenced clues.

58. "The Winner Takes It All" quartet : ABBA. I also enjoyed this letter combination next to

59. Mumbai bread : NAAN. A poetic couplet to me.

60. NASDAQ competitor : NYSE.

61. Source of support : BRA. Like the double letters above, the DOUBLE D  Challenge (4:18), Dennis?

62. Lock insert : OAR. or Key?

63. D-Day lander : LST. Landing ship tanks.

Wow, another year done for me here. Thanks all. I hope your holidays and new year are great. Mr. P. thanks for the workout. As for the puzzle title...

When I got a new job that required me and my co-workers who rode to work together take US 1 under the New River, I found I was developing an odd pain in my elbow by the time we reached the office. I finally went to the doctor and he told me I had...*

CAR POOL TUNNEL SYNDROME.

Ouch and a Happy New Year to all.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.

Happy Birthday to dear Dudley, our handsome pilot.

Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana

Dudley and his wife at their Block Island wedding in 2008

Click here to see a few more photos of Dudley. They were taken during Montana's visit to Northeast on September.

Dudley, tell us what's the most exotic place you've flew to.

Friday, December 20, 2013, David J. Kahn

Theme: Arthur Wynne Tribute 2

Well after the earlier puzzle this week, I read up on the first puzzle and it really paid off.  For those of you who need to read more like I did, here is the LINK. Back when Mr. Kahn was introduced to us in 2010, C.C. advised that he was master at tribute puzzles 2010. This is only his second LAT since the Tribune Media switched, though he has 155 published NYT puzzles. I love how he included clues and fill from Mr. Wynne's classic effort. The inclusion of original grid spanners made this very interesting and solvable. I found it very easy, in places, and hard in others. Obviously some of what people knew 100 years ago was tricky but let's get on with the show.

The nine repeats:

1A. *A bar of wood or iron (one of nine starred clues/answers that appear here exactly as they did in the first crossword puzzle) : RAIL. (4). Not an easy start for me.

35A. *A talon : SERE. (4). Maybe this was common knowledge in 1913, but I never knew of this meaning for SERE.

62A. *To govern : RULE. (4) An easy one.

27D. *An aromatic plant : NARD.(4). Another old timey word I think; back when we began the current era, wiki says this plant was used as the base for an expensive perfume

35D. *Part of a ship : SPAR. (4). I will let our experts comment.

36D. *A bird : DOVE. (4).  This appeared twice in the 1st puzzle, and in this one 53D. *A pigeon : DOVE. (4).

39D. *The fibre of the gomuti palm : DOH. Certainly more interesting than Homer Simpson, but I did not know this fact. When the clue reappeared the reviewer said it was 'stupidly HARD.'

55D. *Opposed to less : MORE. Do you think we will get more Tributes tomorrow, the actual anniversary? Any thoughts?

The theme originals:

17A. Feature of the first crossword puzzle, seen in 56-Across on 12/21/1913 : SYMMETRICAL GRID. (15).

36A. Like the first crossword puzzle : DIAMOND SHAPED.(13).

56A. See 17-Across : THE NEW YORK WORLD. (15) Like many newspapers, long gone.

Across:

5. Assuming that : IF SO.

9. Disastrous : FATAL.

14. Dashiell Hammett dog : ASTA. A variation on the Nick and Nora Charles clues.

15. It may follow eleven : NOON. Once a day, actually.

16. Dumb : INANE. Ok, that comment was...

20. Red Cross supply : PLASMA. I wondered why they make TVs from blood stuff? Anyway, this is the 4th form of matter with liquid, solid and gas.

21. Fix, as a knot : RE TIE. Why are shoelaces always too long.

22. Opinion : SAY. This actually was not immediately apparent to me. I do not like 3 letter fill that takes time.

23. Letter string : BCD. Oops, two in a row.

25. Agent's clients : TALENT. They hope.

29. D.C.'s __ Mall : NATIONAL.

32. What some pros shoot : PAR. Do they have any indoor golf facilities in Nebraska like they do in Buffalo, HG?

33. Spice Girl __ B : MEL.

34. Pianist Templeton : ALEC. No clue but I like his bio as a pianist/satirist like this TUNE. (2:24).

39. Short warning : DON'T.

40. Quart, e.g. : UNIT. Of measure, here.

41. Speaker systs. : PAS. Public Address.

42. Ab __: initially : OVO. Literally from the egg. Less common then ab initio.

43. Reinforcing construction piece : STEEL BAR. Or a very tough place to get a drink.

45. Like some tea : HERBAL.

47. Not fast : EAT. Did this slow you down?

48. Site of the George W. Bush presidential library : SMU. Southern Methodist University. One of the few universities to ever receive the NCAA 'death penalty.' They are back playing, I think June Jones is their coach now.

51. Chan player : OLAND. We have spoken often about this Swedish actor, Warner.

54A. "The door's open" : COME IN. (6) A modern partial clue.

60. __ pants (baggy women's trousers) : HAREM. I will avoid the simple I Dream of Jeannie and use this LINK.

61. Youngest Wilcox child in "Howards End" : EVIE. A wonderful movie and CAST. (2:02).

63. New Eng. campus : UMASS. UCONN's onetime rival and where Bill Cosby got his PhD, in Amherst.

64. Go fast : TEAR. Are tearing through this solve?

65. Arabic for "commander" : EMIR. I did not know this.

Down:

1. Woodworking tools : RASPS. Woodworking is very relaxing.

2. Refuges : ASYLA. Oh oh, technically correct I guess. A Latin Plural.

3. "Possibly" : IT MAY. Or it may not.

4. Takes off : LAMS.

5. Whole : INTACT.

6. With 8-Down, as a welcome change : FOR. 8D. See 6-Down : ONCE.

7. "Bon __" : SOIR. Good night! I had so many others in mind.

9. Of a son or daughter : FILIAL.

10. Broadway supporter : ANGEL. Does anyone see this and not think of the wonderful play/move The Producers? The clecho: 44D. Broadway supporter : BACKER.

11. Paving substance : TAR.

12. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN I.

13. Took by the hand : LED.

18. Preserve, in a way : EMBALM. The concept of preserving dead tissue is kind of odd, don't you think?

19. Stick on : ATTACH.

24. Two-time Oscar winner Wiest : DIANNE. I linked her in Hannah and Her Sisters a few weeks ago.

26. Sporting weapons : EPEES.

28. Crowd at Lake Como? : TRE. Italian for three.

29. In order : NEAT. Just like Tin's scotch.

30. Number from the past : OLDIE. Not ETHER, a musical one.

31. Baby Ruth maker : NESTLE. N E S T L E S spells CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCLATE!! 

33. Unimportant : MINOR.

37. Not allow : OUTLAW.

38. "This Is 40" director Judd : APATOW. The modern king of sophomoric comedy.

43. "__ Lot": King novel : SALEM'S.

46. 2002 Alice Sebold best-seller "The Lovely __" : BONES.  made into a MOVIE.(2:43)/ Also a good cast.

48. Flu fighter : SERUM.

49. Pop's __ Vanilli : MILLI. The disgraced duo.

50. Hypnotized : UNDER.

52. Putin put-down? : NYET. A rare Russian word.

56. Calendar abbr. : THU.

57. One acting badly : HAM. A pork repeat from yesterday.

58. Time worth remembering : ERA.

59. Small inlet : RIA.

Well I hope you all enjoyed this look back in time, and let me know how you would do a tribute puzzle for this anniversary. Nice to see you again Mr. Kahn, stop by anytime. For the rest, Lemonade, off to to Denver and have happy holidays all.

Friday, December 13, 2013, Michael Wiesenberg and David Steinberg

Theme: Down is up, lets spawn.

Another visual challenge saved for our Friday delight, and a collaboration between wunderkind David Steinberg, and the very interesting Michael Wiesenberg. Well we have 2 mountains to climb (right Spitzboov), as there are five (5) types of Salmon  (72 across, which I think should refer to both 3 and 41 down) which are presented in the down clues, reading from bottom to top with the reveal the unique pattern of these fish to go against the current to return to where they began to continue the cycle of LIFE. Other than the trickery, this did not feel like a Friday, lots of words, many 3 and 4 letter ones, with some interesting 7s, like CARRERE, CHORIZO, CRIPPLE, INDIANA,  SEE ALSO and TOWERED. I know the Corner has had an intense and very negative response to the use of trickeration in fill, so I am curious how you all react to this one. Let us see where this duo led us.

72A. Creature known for 3-Down : SALMON. (6)The other pink meat. Read all about them. LINK.

3D. With 41-Down, 72-Across phenomenon that's graphically demonstrated five times in this puzzle : SWIMMING.(8) 41D. See 3-Down : UPSTREAM. (8)  SWIMMING UPSTREAM.

9D. Type of 72-Across : EYEKCOS. (7) SOCKEYE. The red salmon of the Pacific Northwest.

18D. Type of 72-Across : OHOC. (4) COHO. Very popular type which is found all over the US and in all of the Great Lakes including Michigan. Silver salmon.

21D. Type of 72-Across : DAEHLEETS. (9) STEELHEAD.  Steelhead salmon are ocean going while steelhead trout are freshwater fish.

45D. Type of 72-Across : KOONIHC. (7) CHINOOK. The King salmon, they are the largest of the Pacific salmon growing up to 100 pounds.

47d. Type of 72-Across : MUHC. (4) CHUM. The dog salmon from the teeth it has during spawning which resemble canines.

whew, that is lot of theme stuff...

Across:

1. 1994 movie based on an androgynous "SNL" character : IT'S PAT. Not one of my favorite TRAILER. (1:31).

7. 2013 Culinary Hall of Fame inductee : EMERIL. Yes, I am sure we all sat waiting for this event. Who knew it even existed. LINK.

13. Dwarfed, with "above" : TOWERED. When I was 6 and about 3 feet tall, I went with my father to pick up my mother from her job as a nurse at the hospital, and we ran into an intern who was  6'8" dressed in scrubs. I thought the Jolly Green Giant had come to life.

15. Nonspecific journal opening : DAY ONE.

16. Severely damage : CRIPPLE.

17. Cross-referencing phrase : SEE ALSO. In writing brief and memoranda of law, we use many of these types of references, See e.g., see supra....

19. Tailors' work : HEMS. Trying to work a HAW reference in here somehow.

20. Work with freight : LADE.

22. Kosher deli snack : KNISH. I must dispute this clue, as a pastry filled with meat, or potato or vegetable is a side dish, not a snack.

23. Wet tract : MIRE. We have been swamped with this fill lately. Don't let it bog you down.

25. Smart guy? : ALEC.  Guiness?

27. Prefix with con : NEO.

28. Old ring leader? : ALI. Cute clue for Muhammed.

30. Language that gave us "galore" : ERSE. All perps.

32. Course-prep course : HOME-EC. Nice use of the different meanings of 'course'.

34. Computer operating system with a penguin mascot : LINUX. Surprisingly, the first appearance in an LAT.

36. Name : CHOOSE. Tricky cluing, which is accurate but hardly my first thought.

38. Hanging aids : PEGS.

39. '80s-'90s legal drama : LA LAW.

40. Zap : NUKE.

44. Ice Capades performer : SKATER. Hey CA, wherever you are....

46. One who has class? : PUPIL. Obviously they are students of the pun.

47. Bone tissue : MARROW.

50. Right on el mapa : ESTE. Spanish for east.  el mapa?

52. Friend of Frodo : SAM. Wonderfully portrayed by Sean Astin, Gomez Addams' son.

53. Diminutive suffix : ULE. Like CapsULE. For once not ULEE,

54. Taking care of business : ON IT.

56. Part of Q.E.F. : ERAT. Same middle word, Quod Erat Faciendum.

58. Board : HOP ON. Woo, woo!

60. Common auto engine : V-SIX.

62. Hyde Park vehicle : PRAM.  What a Nanny drives.

65. Tapas bar sausage : CHORIZO. Want to TRY?

67. Tia who voiced Nani in "Lilo & Stitch" : CARRERE. Didn't we just see beautiful Tia, the Wayne's World babe?

69. Quiver carrier : ARCHER.

70. State on Lake Michigan : INDIANA. Plus Illinois, Wisconsin and of course Michigan.

71. __ Sutton, Bond girl in "A View to a Kill" : STACEY. Played by TANYA ROBERTS, (2:19) who also was one of Charlie's Angels briefly and played Sheena, the female Tarzan.

Down:

1. Hankering : ITCH. Not scratch but yearn.

2. Ran like the dickens : TORE.

4. Mountain Dew bottler, informally : PEPSI. originally Brad's Drink.

5. Dada pioneer : ARP.

6. Note handler : TELLER. At the bank handling all of those federal reserve notes.

7. 1958 Pacer, e.g. : EDSEL. No idea what the clue means but it filled in quickly.

8. Ginnie __ : MAE. The articulation of GNMA, Government National Mortgage Association established in 1968 to provide a way for banks to sell their loans and then use the money to make new loans, etc. etc to fuel home financing and sale.

10. Reddish mount : ROAN.

11. Queued up : INLINE.

12. One paying a flat fee : LESSEE. The old FLAT =Apartment misdirection.

14. Narc's agcy. : DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration.

24. Morgan of comics : REX. The venerable strip featuring Rex Morgan MD.

26. Self-help website : eHOW.  Never heard of IT.

28. Sight from the Brenner Pass : ALP. Hi Warti.

29. Excuse, sometimes : LIE. The dog ate it.

31. Skedaddle : SCAT.

33. List of options : MENU.

35. BOAC destination in a Beatles hit : USSR.

37. Some crew members : OARS. The ones who do all the work in CREW, the sport.

39. Aeration target : LAWN. HG, don't you hate it when the aerate the greens?

42. Optima or Soul : KIA.

43. Common street name : ELM. Tough to pin down, a slippery clue.

46. __ diem : PER.

48. Island farewells : ALOHAS. Hello Hawaii.

49. News show staple : REPORT.

51. Natives of Paris and Odessa : TEXANS. Yes, we in America have borrowed my many European city names. Paris is one of the most common appearing in 26 states.

55. "It floats" soap : IVORY. When I was little and being bathed, the floating soap was a thing of awe.

57. National Poetry Month : APRIL. Owen, did we know this?

59. Seal hunter : ORCA.

61. "Vous êtes __": Paris map words : ICI. "You are here" en francais. No clecho for me.

63. Italian river : ARNO.

64. Bell curve center : MEAN. Like her friends MEDIAN and MODE. I figure it is feminine since it has curves.

66. Zombie leader? : ZEE. The first letter.

68. Old vitamin bottle no. : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.

Well I think you all have reached your RLW, reasonable lemonade write up, so I will head back to the world and wish you all a very happy and safe Friday the 13th. (Yes my name is Jason and the movies are so 'special' to me). Thanks David and Michael and all of you.

Lemonade

Notes from C.C.: 

As we all learned from yesterday's puzzle that crossword will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Dec 21, 2013, I'd like to mention a book I just read: The Centenary of the Crossword by John Halpern, known as "Paul" from The Guardian.

Who knew prisoners in Sing Sing were provided with crosswords in the 1920s? Fascinating snippets of crossword history. I also enjoyed reading the section on crossword setters/constructors and editors, esp LA Times Daily Crossword editor Rich Norris who does not give interviews often. I actually pulled out the Dan Naddor "Word Chain" blog post while reading Rich's words. I've never solved a cryptic puzzle, so I found the "How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords" chapter very informative and educating. 

You'll also find in the book Marti's 5 favorite clues. Also two from today's co-constructor David Steinberg. Please click here  for more information. Great read!