Friday, June 13, 2014, Gareth Bain

Theme: How did the ANT get in here?

A week where ants showed up all over the place, and now they are at the heart of this Friday from Gareth. I am not expert on gridding, but this grid with the five theme answers set up as here, is to me the most common layout, and we all know add a letter, or a few letters or a word is a common theme convention. It is visually very pleasing with three ANTs added to the end of the second word, 2 added to the end of the first word (one at the central row). Overall, with many 3 or 4 letter fill this did not feel like a Friday, though there were some challenges like BELLOWS,  BUGABOO,  MINIBUS, ORIGAMI, SHAKEUP. HOSANNAS and the very difficult for me EUSTACIA. Well let's see the latest from across the Atlantic.

18A. Roadside sign for sticklers? : PEDANT XING. (10). Ped Xing (pedestrian crossing brings out the Pedant who often stops by to correct us all.

30A. Lower-class bovine? : COW PEASANT. (10). Cow PEAS show how much I do not know, as I have learned all about black-eyed peas (married an Alabama girl) and field peas. Anyway, you know GB will get animals in his grids one way or another.

36A. "Tarzan" character at an Imax? : GIANT JANE.(9). The Demi Moore character gets blown up on the big screen. LINK.(1:44). If you have never been to an IMAX theater, you should go, the experience of 3D movies is great.

46A. Coat waterproofing application? : FUR SEALANT.(10). I was a bit reluctant to accept fur seal because to me all seals have fur, but as this LINK shows more of what I do not know;  he is a veterinarian and will know these things.

57A. Spiders' talent show? : WEB PAGEANT. (10). Great visual, Gareth puts a nice spin on this clue; also timely as we have begun Pageant time with the Miss USA last weekend.
And the rather difficult reveal:

56D. Classic 1954 horror film whose title creatures have invaded this puzzle : THEM. I wonder how many of you ever have seen or heard of this movie? I grew up watching these creations. In addition to big stars, James Whitmore, Edmuns Gwenn, and James Arness, pre- Gunsmoke, the movies has Fess Parker and  Leonard Nimoy and William Schallert in uncredited appearances.

Across:

1. Album with the hit "Mamma Mia" : ABBA. I like an easy 1A fill.

5. They won't last : FADS. Nice simple clue.

9. Little bits : ATOMS.

14. Combat with seconds : DUEL. I could not find any good duels on June 13, with the July 11 Burr/Hamilton duel the closest. Maybe there is a crossword puzzle theme buried in there.

15. Sashimi fish : OPAH. Unlike Sushi, Sashimi does refer to the raw fish.

16. Shinto temple gateway : TORII. Along with baseball player Hunter, we see this fill yearly.

17. Look like a wolf : OGLE. I think this one should be "as" a wolf.

20. Bar round : ALES. Yay, Tin, booze clecho. 23A. Bar staple : GIN

22. One may be restricted : AREA. Never a good idea to ignore this sign when you are in a movie. See above.

24. Blood-typing letters : ABO.

25. Priest in 1 Samuel : ELI. This is another biblical story of a barren woman who is blessed with a child (Samuel) and the role of the priest of Shiloh. Meanwhile, the name ELI mean to ascend to G-d, with the Greek equivalent HELI, from which we get helicopter etc.

28. Yacht club hanging : OAR.

29. Homer's father, on "The Simpsons" : ABE.

33. Blue stuff : SMUT. Interesting word BLUE, it can mean off-color, like smut or blue humor, or it can mean rigidly moral as in the Blue Laws of Puritan New England (and my childhood).

34. Church cheers : HOSANNAS. More religious cluing, and a very nice alliterative clue.

35. "Respect" songwriter Redding : OTIS. Really popularized by ARETHA (2:30).

39. Jazzy style : SCAT.

41. "The Return of the Native" heroine __ Vye : EUSTACIA. A book by THOMAS HARDY; the latest Martha Grimes which I am now reading is set in "Hardy" country.

45. Comparative word : THAN.

48. Macklemore's genre : RAP. You all can listen on your own.

49. Bernina Range peak : ALP. marti, tell us more. please.

50. Bojangles' art : TAP. So many great links.

51. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. French for Saint.

52. Blotter letters : AKA. Also Known As. The police blotter.

53. Boxy transports : VANS.

55. Fix permanently : ETCH. I know etching is a permanent process, but fix?

61. Mata __ : HARI.

63. Lollapaloozas : LULUS.

64. Present day, for short : XMAS. A cute way to clue the holiday with some misdirection.

65. Land west of Nod, in Genesis : EDEN. Ruled no doubt by Wynken, Blynken. For crossword fans, the poem was written by Eugene Field who perhaps is most famous because his father represented Dred Scott before the Supreme Court, or maybe that is just a law school fact.

66. Tuckered out : SPENT. Such connotations....

67. Vacation sub : TEMP. Temporary employee.

68. Like a doormat : MEEK. Still waiting to inherit the earth.

Down:

1. Fuss : ADO. Along with ALEE, ASEA, APE, EDEN, ATE, ELI, AREA some very common fill used in this effort.

2. Cause of worry : BUGABOO. On the other hand this may the first appearance of this fill in the LAT.

3. Air delivery method? : BELLOWS. Am I the only one thinking about FedEx and Amazon's new drone service? You just don't see many blacksmiths any more.

4. On the quieter side : ALEE.

5. Fashion plate : FOP. Not a compliment,  the dictionary suggests it comes from the German foppen "jeer at, make a fool of." I defer to our many German experts.

6. Mimic : APE.

7. Opening word? : DADA. My first said DADA as his first word, my youngest was 'Pizza Hut'...go figure.

8. Rose of __ : SHARON. A nice CSO to our dear ARBAON. Another biblical reference in the puzzle from the Song of Solomon. The flower is actually an Hibiscus, which are common in So.Fla. Paired with a mini-clecho 9. Rose oil : ATTAR, which I know only from puzzle solving.

10. __ screen: medical test : TOX. Same derivation as inTOXicants and TOXic.

11. Art requiring a folder : ORIGAMI. Oh, one who folds...

12. Airport transport : MINIBUS.

13. Ring seal : SIGNET. Signet rings are not too popular anymore, and I thought the clue would make more sense as Seal ring, but it was still obvious.

19. Unlike Oscar Madison : NEAT. Are you Walter Matthau or Jack Klugman fans?

21. "Already caught that film!" : SEEN IT. Another English teacher's nightmare.

24. Weimar word of woe : ACH. I again defer to our German speakers, I recall there was some controversy.

26. Turner on a screen : LANA. Beautiful girl....

27. "Winning ... __ all-the-time thing": Lombardi : IS AN.Vince of Packer fame

31. Missionary's concern : PAGAN.This clue seems off as well, as Pagan rites, or beliefs might be a concern.

32. Starlike flower : ASTER.

33. Bargain : STEAL. Man, Jimmy Choo's for $500.00. What a steal!

35. Recorded, in a way : ON TAPE. An old way.

37. A moment ago : JUST. We just had that fill...

38. Like Phileas Fogg during much of his journey : ASEA.

39. Overhaul : SHAKE UP. I liked what this SONG (2:47) did.

40. Fit : CAPABLE.

42. Dishwasher brand : CASCADE. I wonder if Gareth gets a placement fee from them. Hmm, maybe we could start a new trend here to get constructors more money for their efforts.

43. Trisected : IN THREE. Often what happens to a pizza at my house.

44. Bolted : ATE. See more food.

45. Fishes, in a way : TRAWLS. I always associate this word with single people...

46. A ref may throw one : FLAG.

47. "Right after this show ..." : UP NEXT.

49. Captain's order : AVAST. A much misunderstood term. So I asked a GEEK.

54. "__ here" : SAME.

58. Many a bon mot : PUN. Where would we be without PUNS! How wonderful for John Lampkin to stop by and say hello.

59. '60s arena : NAM. Abbreviated clue begets abbreviated answer.

60. 1/48 cup: Abbr. : TSP. How many knew that there were 48 TSP in a cup of sugar?

62. Cartridge contents : INK. Well, my brain is running out of INK, so I guess it is time to say, do not be afraid, Friday the 13th is just another Friday of a great week where we had a puzzle from an old friend Jerome, one from our own discovery C.C. and Don G.. George Barany, John Lampkin and Mary Lou Guizzo stopping by and now finishing with GB. Happy Father's Day to all of us.

Friday, June 6, 2014, Frank Virzi

Theme: Beware of rip currents!

Well after you zipped through yesterday's puzzle and marti's fun write up, we have a more normal Friday with smaller word count, but with a visual theme. The reveal is in the middle of the grid, across, and the three theme answers in the Down clues, This requires the solver to read the hidden word from bottom to top, as TIDE is hidden in each of the three theme answers, and the letters are 'rising.'  We have had bottom to top theme answers before, so I do not expect this to be as polarizing a puzzle as last week, especially as the puzzle has so many 7,8 and 9 letter fill. ANILINE, ARIANNA, ARMADAS, DIETARY, VIRGINS, YES MA'AM, AVOIDING, INNATELY, PILSNERS, REMNANTS, ANNAPOLIS and DANDELION, three of which are new to the LA Times. Comparatively light on proper names, you all should have some fun here. This is Maryland's Frank VIRZI's third LAT, I blogged his first back in 2010, but he is obviously very prolific.

35A. Boat lifters found in this puzzle's three longest answers : RISING TIDES.(11).I like the definition of 'boat lifter' to be the rising tide; Alabama under Nick Satan was a rising tide, now we will see if they will ebb.

4D. Bank offerings : CREDIT LINES.(11). Many years ago these loans were unsecured, not any more. Picture reading from right to left and the TIDE emerges.

7D. Journalism bigwigs : MANAGING EDITORS. (15). I know our learned audience will help me understand the dynamic of the Managing Editor and the Publisher in a working newspaper.

26D. Journeys of discovery : EXPEDITIONS. (11). Another nice definition which required perp help, but as it was down, it was there.

Across:

1. Gush forth, as chimney smoke : BELCH. Really, how PC. As a child we had 24 hour smoke billowing  from the textile mill furnaces, I have read about smoke being belched out, but never seen it.  We lost our factories, the air was better but there were no jobs.

6. Coldplay gear : AMPS. bye bye, Gwyneth.  LISTEN.

10. Fix, in a way : SPAY. Never understood this euphemism; I certainly would not feel fixed, and would...

14. Foil : AVERT. any such plan, as it would ruin my...

15. Pace : GAIT. No desire to be an Unsullied, no thank you.

16. Old Milano moola : LIRE. Personally, being paid in Milano cookies sounds appealing.

17. Shakes, as a tail : LOSES. These days, with drones and tracking devices and gps in your phone, a detective's life sounds easier. It reminds me how with the advent of caller ID, television mysteries had to resort to the 'burner' phones to explain why they did not catch the bad guy when he called.

18. Capital on Chesapeake Bay : ANNAPOLIS, One of the new fill, and odd that no mention of the capital of Maryland, or the home of the Naval Academy ever appeared in a LA Times puzzle. How many love  the Maryland crabs from the bay?

20. Lost traction : SLID.

21. Drug initially studied for use in treating angina : VIAGRA. After hanging their clip boards of data gingerly for a while, it occurred to the Pharma that the other use might be profitable. Is it me, or was pairing with 21D. Vestal __: Roman flame tenders : VIRGINS a Freudian gesture from Mr. Virzi? More virgins? 33A. Carmelite, e.g. : NUN. The mountain from which they were founded. LINK.

22. To whom Ilsa said "I'll hum it for you" : SAM. She was so beautiful. (4:05).

23. Shying away from : AVOIDING.

25. Natural dye : HENNA. I was thinking about getting a Henna tattoo to freak my kids out, what with father's day coming up and all.

27. Advise : MENTOR. A favorite word and a lost art.

28. Nest egg item, for short : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

31. Spinoff of TV's "Hercules" : XENA. Lucy Lawless, what a great name!

32. Place for a cast : LEG. Not at the end of the movie.

34. Buckingham buggy : PRAM. The benefit of all the British mystery fiction is knowing what Steve grew up learning in person. A new Martha Grimes hit the stands yesterday. Welcome back Richard Jury.

38. Port near the Red Sea : ADEN.

40. Alumni directory word : NEE. Is this fair, or should it have said ALUMNAE directory word?

41. Chap : LAD.

42. Winter coat : RIME. Not related to:

43. Nursery supply : SOD. Not Desitin, or talcum powder.

44. Reply to "No, you couldn't have!" : I DID SO.

48. It was founded in Oxford in 1946 : MENSA. I did not know this, do I have to give up my membership?

50. From the start : INNATELY.

52. One-time connection : AT A. Not a connection that has been lost, but one that connects one and time.

53. White terrier, for short : WESTIE. They look odd. LINK.(2:48).

56. California's Mission Santa __ : INES. Not up on my California Missions but have been to many really old ones in Florida.

57. Aster relative : DANDELION. I did not know this. Wild Flower or WEED?

59. Schubert's "Eine kleine Trauermusik," e.g. : NONET. From the Latin meaning 9, as they require 9 instruments. Otherwise, JzB, please HELP!

60. Martial __ : ARTS.

61. French 101 infinitive : ETRE. être ou ne pas être.

62. Make nasty comments : SNIPE. The kind that hurt people. Clecho: 64A. Make nasty comments : CUSS. The kind where the words are unacceptable, but not necessarily mean.

63. GPS part: Abbr. : SYSTem. Global Positioning System.

65. From Nineveh: Abbr. : ASSYR. Eeeeek. Is this an abbreviation of Assyrian? Am I an Americ?  Assyria is now known as Iraq.

Down:

1. Fragrant fir : BALSAM. A common choice for Christmas TREE.

2. Develop gradually : EVOLVE.Like the various Corner blogging styles.

3. Sore spot : LESION. I like this clue/fill a lot and I am not sure why

5. Abbr. after Cleveland or Brooklyn : HTS. In my schools they came from Shaker Heights.

6. "Come __?" : AGAIN? I did not hear you.

8. Sign of engine trouble, perhaps : PING.

9. One billed higher than the rest : STAR. In my world they are called senior partners.

10. Traffic warning : SLO. Is it really worth removing the 'W?" Two days in  a roW?

11. Pale lagers : PILSNERS. My beer brewing sons would be very unhappy with this clue/fill. All Beer is either Lager (cold bottom fermentation) or Ale (warm top fermentation). Pilsners (named after the city in Czechoslovakia  where the style was created) are a form of lager, though most are golden in color. They are pale compared to the more robust lagers. Your basic Beck's, Heineken and the like are pilsners.

12. Author Huffington : ARIANNA. Her Huffington Post was bought by AOL for $315 Million; if interested you go to this LINK.

13. Polite assent : YES MA'AM. Many women under 35 find this greeting very offensive.

19. Tuba note : PAH. And its friend OOM.

24. Executes : DOES.

29. Track : RUT.

30. Dye-making compound : ANILINE.

35. Leftovers : REMNANTS. Hi honey, let's have some remnants for supper.

36D. Natal opening : NEOnatal.

37. Word from a crib : DADA. Or the now familiar TV staple, "get off my turf, mofo."

38. Seagoing forces : ARMADAS. The tale of the defeat of the SPANISH ARMADA in 1588 was a riveting one when I was in grammar school.

39. Like many supplements : DIETARY.

45. Hall of Fame pitcher Eckersley : DENNIS. Eck who went from being a successful starter to being a great reliever when he was traded to Oakland and manager Tony LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan. STATS. He started with Cleveland but was traded when his wife had an affair with another Cleveland player. He also was traded from the RedSox to the Cubs in the deal that brought Bill Buckner to Boston.

46. Nodding : SLEEPY. Which makes me want to go to bed, but then...

47. Bed denizen : OYSTER. if ever I wake up and find an oyster in my bed I am going to be livid.

49. Leave dumbstruck : AWE.

51. Dressing extreme? : NINES. Origin per askville: "Dressed to the nines, or dressed up to the nines are merely a version of the phrase that is applied to clothing. That is first cited in John C. Hotten's A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, 1859 as: 'DRESSED UP TO THE NINES', in a showy 'recherché' manner."

54. Monthly pmt. : ELECtricity. This is an extruded clue/fill as you do not pay your Elec, you pay the bill.

55. As found, with "in" : SITU. Latin, and familiar to all from the TV CSI type shows.

58. Source of addl. evening light : DST. Daylight Savings Time.

59. Surveillance org. : NSA. National Security Agency  A timely fill that keeps coming up in the puzzles and the news.

June is here, soon it will be summer and the days will start getting shorter again; in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this puzzle and have a pleasant week end. Father's Day is coming

Lemonade out.
  

Notes from C.C.:

1) The third Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 22, 2014  at The Landmark Center in Saint Paul. Please click here for more information. Now they have a short bio of each constructor.

 

2) JD emailed me these two wonderful pictures. She said:

"Yesterday (June 4 Wednesday) the coven had our yearly trek over to Dodo's, and had a lovely time. Dodo was in good spirits and seeing Lucina makes this trip extra special. We could have spent the whole afternoon, after a delicious lunch, chatting, but unfortunately the drive takes us 2 1/2 hours if we get on the road before the commuters.

BTW, Garlic Gal did a spectacular job of weaving thru the truck traffic and the back seat in her car was most comfortable. Couldn't even tell it was 92 outside with the AC."

L to R: Chickie, Lucina, Garlic Gal, JD, and Dodo.

 Dodo, who will be 89 years old this coming Oct

Friday, May 30, 2014, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Cross reference mania: "THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A..."

Wow, JW is back and delivering what I anticipate will be a much talked about, much loved and much hated puzzle.

First, by use of perps and intuition you must solve the cross-referenced 29A, 35A and 49A to get to the title of the song (story). Only then can you begin to solve the 8 things which this old lady swallowed. This puts a real premium solving all the perps, which were not all easy, though we do have a goodly amount of 3 and 4 letter fill to help get that done. I did not recall this SONG but in reading the article I do have a vague recollection of the Jeff Goldblum line in the movie. 81 words with an average length of 4.84 is not at all Friday like, but there are many new and interesting fill and some nice decent length ones like ADRENAL, AS BIG AS,  ELITISM,  EMPANEL, LAGASSE,  LIONESS,  MADDENS,  MARIANA,  MASCARA, TWO-TONE, HITS WITH,  STEM CELL. It was just a very odd puzzle for me to complete. The challenge  to the constructor to fit the refrain in the grid and then add each creature, in order as they are recited was daunting. I do not see any customary symmetry, but I am still so naive when it comes to gridding. Of course Friday is the day for experimentation and ingenuity, and this must have been fun if you knew the song. We will have some songs as well, enjoy.

29A. With 35- and 49-Across, start of a refrain whose ending words appear in sequence in the answers to starred clues : THERE WAS AN.(10).

35A. See 29-Across : OLD LADY WHO.(10).

49A. See 29-Across : SWALLOWED A. (10).

6A. *See 29-Across : FLY.(3). The rhyme has all these weird finishes, like here, "Perhaps she'll die."

17A *See 29-Across : SPIDER.(6).or here, "It wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her."

19A. *See 29-Across : BIRD. (4).

20A. *See 29-Across : CAT. (3).

58A. *See 29-Across : DOG.(3).

63A. *See 29-Across : GOAT.(4).

71A. *See 29-Across : COW.(3)

72A. *See 29-Across : HORSE.(5).

Notice the absence of short theme entry symmetry.

Across:

1. Whimpers : MEWLS. A word I associate with puppies and kitties.

9. Cooperative group : TEAM. My son works where there are no bosses, only team leaders.

13. Hindu nectar : AMRITA. Luckily, I started doing all the downs, so I had this from the perps as I had no memory of this Hindu (Sanskrit) version of ambrosia.

15. Suitor : BEAU. Are only men suitors?

16. Pierce player : ALDA. Hawkeye, Alan on M*A*S*H.

18. Pool equipment : RACK. Always fun excuse to LINK a pretty one.

21. High-tech card contents : MEMORY.I think my own internal one needs an upgrade.

23. Toned down : MUTED.

24. "Star Wars" saga nickname : ANI. From I the Phantom Menace, also known as baby Darth.

25. Web store icon : CART.

26. Quad Cities city : MOLINE. Davenport and Bettendorf. in Iowa; and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. Easy for some, but not for me.

27. French income : RENTE. The "E" makes this difficult because they call their government pension, "RENTE."

32. __ bloom: pond buildup : ALGAL. Algae.

33. Additionally : TOO.

34. San Jose Earthquakes' org. : MLS. Major League Soccer. World Cup in Brazil this year, and no Landon Donovan for the US.

41. Dough extruder? : ATM. Automated Teller Machine.

44. It may follow T. : REX. Nice CSO to all the dinosaurs out there reading this.

45. "Washington Week" moderator Gwen : IFILL. No politics, but I like IFILL as FILL.

54. Actress Raymonde of "Lost" : TANIA. Did not recall her, but I was not a big fan of the show. She has a bit of a Penelope Cruz look going on.

55. Withstood the ordeal : BORE UP. When it is good to be bored.

56. Matterhorn's range : ALPS. For his usual biographer, marti, a CSO.

59. "Just me," formally : IT IS I. An old debate in these parts.

60. Immature : CALLOW. I used to get in trouble questioning why they call kids immature or CALLOW YOUTH, which made no sense to complain about since they were just kids.

62. Article in El Diario : UNA.  One is Spanish; does anyone here keep a diary?

64. Decline : WANE.

65. Sign of fish : PISCES.

67. Youngest Brontë : ANNE. A very talented but  doomed FAMILY.

68. Chimps, e.g. : APES. Read all about our closest cousins HERE, no monkeying around.

69. Make a point of : STRESS. I cannot stress the importance of paying attention.

70. Prepare scallops, in a way : SEAR. Try some NOW?


Down:

1. Cosmetic product : MASCARA.

2. Put on a jury : EMPANEL. Back in the courtroom.

3. "On __": Stephen King memoir : WRITING.

4. Cover : LID.

5. Subject of recent medical research : STEM CELL. A little SCIENCE.

6. Dread : FEAR.

7. Like many doilies : LACY. I read this as "dollies" and could not think of a single lacy dolly. Well, there was

8. Guffaw : YUK.

9. Roman slate : TABULA. Latin, famous from TABULA RASA, meaning a clean slate.

10. Upper-class rule : ELITISM. People who read Latin and stuff.

11. Major endocrine gland : ADRENAL. More Latin, meaning to the renal.

12. Really ticks off : MADDENS. Only John is famous.

14. Field : AREA.

15. Stew basis : BROTH. Now there are a million stocks you can buy pre-made, see KNORR.

22. "Rocky III" actor : MR. T. Every fool 'no dat.

23. Do some yard work : MOW. and if we add an "E."

26. Call from a Persian : MEOW. Not the Shah, but a kitty.

28. Eastern "way" : TAO.

30. LAX listing : ETD. Estimated Time of Departure.

31. Mr. Rogers on a horse : ROY. Often partnered with DALE. 52D. Low-lying locales : DALES. Often partnered with hills, or CHIP.

36. Let go : DROP.

37. Kareem, formerly : LEW. Alcindor, of UCLA basketball fame.

38. Let go : AXE. I get this fill often.

39. Gives suddenly, as bad news : HITS WITH. Am I the only one who went to this...

40. Son-gun connection : OF A. I wonder when weapons replaced female dogs.

41. Comparable to, sizewise : AS BIG AS.

42. Like some sporty shoes : TWO TONE.

43. __ Islands: Guam locale : MARIANA.

46. Draft __ motor: gas furnace component : INDUCER.

47. Hunting 20-Across : LIONESS.A really extruded (yes I like the word) convoluted way of relating to the above CAT, but all cats hunt.

48. "Kicked-up Sandwiches" author : LAGASSE. He does a series of KICKED-UP stuff.

50. Bluegrass guitarist Flatt : LESTER.

51. Him, to Henri : LUI. Straight French.

53. The whole shebang : ALL.

57. Boston __ : POPS. Musical Interlude.

Since memorial day is actually tomorrow.

60. Mob boss : CAPO. Italian for captain.

61. From the top : ANEW.

64. Female in WWII : WAC. Women's Army Corps.

66. "No more seats" sign : SRO. Standing Room Only.

Well I know you all are glad to see me back on Friday, but keep your seats, hold the applause and hang on for the Saturday special presented by Splynter. Lemonade out.

Thursday, May 22, 2014, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Put an end to the fight.

Well I (Lemonade) am back, not on Friday, but pinch hitting for the ubiquitous Marti Duguay-Carpenter, who has asked me to explain her latest publication. The theme was readily apparent and seemed appropriate for me who used to be a trial lawyer and presented many closing arguments. The end of the three theme answers describe a minor dispute. I found this fun, though it seemed like a Wednesday with just a few clues toughened up. Or perhaps I just understand the divine miss m's mind...The difficulty for me was in some of the proper names, not all of whom came immediately to mind, but without any long deceptive fill, the puzzle was done in normal time. It features a great triple clecho in the middle, a mental tour of the Italian Alps and marti's wit. Let's see if the glove fits and how I acquit myself.

17A. "The Goodbye Girl" Oscar winner : RICHARD DREYFUSS.(15). You want to WATCH? (1:24) You cannot forget the second S.

29A. Short-muzzled dog breed : BULL MASTIFF (11). They are massive, over 50 kg.

46A. Futuristic car unveiled at the 1933 New York Auto Show : SILVER ARROW (11).

62A. Court wrap-up ... and what's hidden in 17-, 29- and 46-Across? : CLOSING ARGUMENT. I love when a unifier works this well.

ACROSS:

1. Kazantzakis title hero : ZORBA. The author of the Zorba the Greek and the Last Temptation of Christ. I did not recall the name, but what else starts ZORB_?

6. Singer James : ETTA. Supply your own favorite link.

10. Apple variety : iMAC.

14. "Water is life" brand : EVIAN. Interesting STUFF.

15. Bishop's rte. : DIAGonal. The chess piece not Tutu. 

16. Jet Propulsion Lab org. : NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

20. Classical theaters : ODEA. The plural of Odeum, from the Latin, which comes from Italy.

21. Private __ : EYE.

22. Has no obligation to : NEEDN'T.

23. Org. with an interlocking rings logo : IOC. International Olympic Committee.

25. Journalist Tarbell et al. : IDAS. The WOMAN was a very admirable journalist even if a bit of a muckraker.

26. CD precursors : LPS. Long Plays. 

35. Shoe box letters : EEE. When in doubt, trot it out.

36. Devoured : ATE UP. This one was a piece of cake.

37. French 101 word : ETRE. To be.

38. West Coast natl. monument since 2012 : FT. ORD. Monument? FT to start a word? This took a while.

40. Disney doe : ENA.

41. Times for action : D-DAYS. They are not just for war. Cute how this follows disney doe

42. Honorable : TRUE.

43. Rear : RAISE. Not where your minds were going?

45. Disappoint, with "down" : LET.

49. "... good witch, __ bad witch?" : OR A. Do you recall this scene (0:30) from Wizard of Oz

50. Part of Q.E.F. : ERAT. By now this should be in everyone's memory banks. More Latin.

51. Tourney pass : BYE. The French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros is coming close with the best getting 1st round byes.

53. Hallowed : SACRED. Just don't have a cow about this clue/fill.

56. __ alai : JAI. J also clued with a game down.

58. City on the Rhône : LYON.  In the Rhone-Alpes region, Very important ever since the Romans conquered Gaul. 

65. Puma rival : AVIA. Latin for a way.

66. Pull down : EARN.

67. Two-masted craft : KETCH.  My oldest brother is the sailor in my family, my only experience with a ketch was ketchup.

68. Stores in a large building? : MALL. Gee, I never thought about it being a single building.

69. Till opener : ROTO. Windhover, do you use one on your farm?

70. Iroquois foes : ERIES. Best know your native tribes.

Down:

1. Shutout score feature : ZERO.

2. "Ars amatoria" poet : OVID.  The Roman take on the Art of Love.  LINK.

3. It might be sticky or dirty : RICE. Interestingly the center of Asian and Mexican cuisine.

4. Religion founded in Persia : Bahá'í. One of the newest Judeo-Christian Muslim fusion religions. I think this is the religion of Vic Damone.

5. Actress Gasteyer : ANA. If you are a die hard SNL fan you will know this performer, or maybe you watch the odd show Suburgatory  which follows Modern Family.

6. Current event : EDDY. Tricky beginning to the triclecho, as eddys appear in water.  7. Current influence : TIDE. Still in the water. and, 8. Current observer : TAR. Our old sailor reappears.

9. Things to do : AGENDA.

10. Pest-ridden : INFESTED.

11. Irish revolutionary __ Gonne MacBride : MAUD. She was not in my memory banks; beyond Michael Collins, I know not much about Irish revolutionaries, especially since Branson wimped out.  READ.

12. NCAA member?: Abbr. : ASSN.

13. Play group : CAST.

18. Saw again : RECUT. That saw!

19. Words said in passing? : YEAS. Legislation for example.

24. O.T. book after Amos : OBADiah is not one of the famous PROPHETS. The history is interesting.
                    
25. Damage : IMPAIR. A  tricky definition.

26. Some jabs : LEFTS.

27. Lab dish inventor : PETRI. Named for the German bacteriologist who invented it.

28. Capital city on the Han River : SEOUL. You know your Korean Geography? 

1. The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amrok, Tuman, and Nakdong rivers. Wikipedia

30. Ogle : LEER AT. Looking at the Moon?  For SPLYNTER

31. Like some eclipses : LUNAR.

32. Author Calvino : ITALO. I am unfamiliar with this Italian author who was born outside of Havana, Cuba. READ.

33. Fritter maker : FRYER. I wonder if the food is related to the wasting of time.

34. Pisa party : FESTA. More Italian, I guess marti is back in Europe, in her mind.

39. About-face : REVERSAL.

41. Like early morning links : DEWY. HG, I bet you like the dewy morning fairways.

44. Pulitzer-winning Ferber novel : SO BIG. This Novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925, and was made into a MOVIE 1:03 in 1932.

47. "... harken __ die": Tennyson : ERE I. From the poem "Œnone" by a poet whose work I have never appreciated. Perhaps our resident rhymer has better things to say.

48. Portrayer of Wawa and Litella : RADNER. Gilda, who died so young. Post your favorite from her SNL days.

52. Film composer Bernstein : ELMER. Not to be confused with Leonard, no relation, Berstein. Elmer did so many wonderful movie scores like  The Magnificent Seven, The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ghostbusters, The Black Cauldron, and The Rookies. He finally won an Oscar for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

53. Phishing lure : SCAM. Internet scamming.

54. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Mr. Edison.

55. Slinky, e.g. : COIL. I was unpacking some stuff my boys left behind and was quite distressed to see theirs had rusted.

56. Lawn game projectile : JART. Thanks for the J, miss m, you seem to like the pointedly dangerous game.

57. River under the Ponte Vecchio : ARNO. More Italian, literally the 'Old Bridge' crosses the Arno at its narrowest point and goes back many centuries.

59. Mountain legend : YETI. 

60. Grimm start : ONCE upon a time. Anyone watch that show?

61. Unspecified degrees : NTHS.

63. Agcy. concerned with the federal fiscal outlook : GAO. Government Accountability Office

64. Island strings : UKE.  Not strings of islands, hey to our old Hawaiians. 

Well Maud and Italo and some others slowed me down, but hopefully you did not stumble. the good news is that you have marti's puzzle today and her write up tomorrow.  All that and amazing it is already time for Memorial Day; be safe and do not speed. L714, out. 

Friday May 9, 2014 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Run on thoughts.


JW makes the move from Thursday to Friday this week with a complicated and ingenious (not igneous, see below) group of phrases clued with Canadian cities (EH!) mashed together with a word or phrase to create a new phrase that almost makes sense. Doing this all from Canadian cities is great, and gives you some idea how puzzles are born. I would guess at some point the sound of  HALI FAX MACHINE popped in his head and he was off to the creative races. The rest of the puzzle has some difficult clues, but with the longest non-theme answers 7 letters (many of which were fun- DIORITE, ECHELON, FANTAIL, IN LIMBO, ROAD TAX, TELECOM,  WEIRDOS and  WIMPISH) I found this to be a very doable puzzle. I would think Mr. Wechsler, who I have blogged before,  must have strong ties to Canada as I do not know many USA citizens who can name the Canadian provinces and major cities; I just learned he published his first NY Times in 1969, his second in 2009 - 40 years later. I would love to hear the story of the delay. So here we go...thanks for lending me JW, marti.

17A. TV fare in Quebec? : MONTREALITY SHOW. (15). Reality TV has taken over the world because they can pay so much less, even in Canada. I enjoy Montreal both from my family history and the people. They do however drive even worse than Floridians. This is the odd one as the REAL changes sound.

31A. Communication device in Nova Scotia? : HALIFAX MACHINE. (14).  My favorite and what I guess is the seed answer. Are fax machines going the way of beepers?

39A. Tool storage convenience in Manitoba? : WINNIPEG BOARDS..(14). All I really know is that the Blue Bombers play there in the CFL and the Jets in the NHL. Who doesn't hang tools on a pegboard in the garage?

60A. Throat ailment in Alberta? : EDMONTONSILITIS.(15). The most impressive run on. Wayne Gretzky taught me all I know about Edmonton.

Across:

1. Kate, to Petruchio : WIFE. The Taming of the Shrew. Loves me some Shakespeare.

5. Works on walls : ART. Cute, hard to be too tricky with a three letter fill. CLECHO! 50D. Works on walls : OILS. Hanging on them, in museums etc. Tricky 2.

8. Apportioned, with "out" : METED. A favorite of judges meting out justice.

13. Prayer leader : IMAM.

14. Sandwich staple : RYE. I thought of ham first, go figure. And, 6D. Thick-pile rug : RYA. This traditional Scandinavian rug was an unknown.

15. Bring forth : ELICIT.

20. Contributes : PUTS IN. His two-cents worth.

21. Spacewalk initials : EVA. Extra-vehicular activity.

22. See 2-Down : HERE. A backwards cross-reference. 2D. With 22-Across, "See ya!" : I'M OUTTA.

23. Marseilles : -euse :: Madrid : __ : ITA. Feminine endings in French and Spanish.

24. "Pensées" author : PASCAL.  This is a really interesting LINK.

26. "... if I tell thee __, spit in my face": Falstaff : A LIE. More Will.
FALSTAFF

Nay, that’s past praying for. I have peppered two of them. Two I am sure I have paid, 

two rogues in buckram suits. I tell thee what, Hal, if I tell thee a lie, spit in my face, 

call me horse. Thou knowest my old ward. Here I lay, and thus I bore my point. 

Four rogues in buckram let drive at me.

27. Move a bit : STIR.

29. Very long time : EON.

30. Teammate of Hubbell : OTT. A new clue for Hall of Famer Mel.

37. Friend of Huck : JIM. Not Tom....

38. One working at home : UMP. A baseball reference for C.C. Tricky 1.

47. Psychotic Chihuahua : REN. A mini-theme? 52A. Reprimand often given while pointing down : BAD DOG.

48. Theban queen of myth : INO. Goody, some MYTHOLOGY. Really, all perps.

49. Boss's command : DO IT.

55. Thin-rail bridge : AS A.

56. "Get a __!" : GRIP.

57. Sea urchin roe, in sushi bars : UNI.  Time to learn. LINK.

58. Without restraint : WILDLY.

63. Additionally : TO BOOT. Weird sounding phrase. Per wiktionary:

Etymology

From Middle English to bote (“something added to, addition”), from Old English tō bōte (“to boot, besides, moreover”). More at boot.

(idiomatic) moreover, on top of that, besides, also.

My boyfriend is funny, and a pretty good cook, to boot.

64. DDE, e.g. : GENeral. Eisenhower.

65. Speedy shark : MAKO. Want to know WHY?

66. Get to the bottom of : SOLVE.

67. Weaken : SAG.

68. Powerful team : OXEN.

Down:

 1. Like some chickens : WIMPISH. People not farm animals. Tricky 3.

3. Split and flattened, as shrimp : FANTAIL. Want to know HOW?

4. Personnel providing CPR : EMTS. Emergency medical technicians

5. Olympic venue : ARENA.

7. Vonage, for one : TELECOM. Better answer than Phone Co.

8. Osmium or rhodium : METAL.

9. English cathedral city : ELY. I am sure Steve can tell you all about this PLACE.

10. Actress Campbell of TV's "Martin" : TISHA. Need a pic?

11. Rank : ECHELON. Really fun word, but not my first or second thought.

12. Igneous rock on which the Code of Hammurabi is inscribed : DIORITE. Like Sheldon, I know no GEOLOGY.

16. Brief statement, by necessity : TWEET. I do not tweet and based on their stock performance I am not alone.

18. Grave statement, briefly? : RIP. Funny? Rest In Peace. Tricky 4.

19. The Donald's first ex : IVANA. How cool she is next to...need a pic?

25. Questionnaire datum : SEX. In taking the PSAT a classmate answered, "I wish!"

28. Rembrandt van __ : RIJN. Need a pic?

32. Fiver : FIN. Old timey slang like sawbuck.

33. "Who, me?" : AM I? Not sure I understand completely...

34. Furry youngster : CUB. Maybe.

35. Gp. for GPs : HMO. Health Maintenance Organization.

36. Apple product : iPAD.

39. Eccentric types : WEIRDOS. Who does not love a puzzle with wimps and weirdos.

40. Undetermined : IN LIMBO.

41. Liszt's instrument : PIANO. Want to LISZTEN? (9:46).

42. Some games have multiple ones : ENDINGS. Are we talking  marriage here?

43. Neptune, e.g. : GOD. Semi-clecho 62D. Neptune's realm : SEA.

44. Toll, basically : ROAD TAX. They put tolls on the Florida Turnpike to pay for the construction, now 50 years later they are just taxing drivers, especially all you lovely tourists.

45. Take a dim view of : DISLIKE.

46. Doesn't quit : STAYS ON. After the merger....

47. Synonym eponym : ROGET. Really cute clue.

51. Wire holder : SPOOL.

52. Monument Valley sight : BUTTE. Not a shout out to dear Montana, but to the formation on the Utah-Arizona border. LINK.

53. Short : OWING. I was short on my rent, not just vertically challenged.

54. Original boss of Sara and Nick on "CSI" : GIL Grissom. need a pic?

59. Long ride? : LIMO. Tricky 5.

61. Four-day weekend time, for many: Abbr. : NOV. Thanksgiving.

As with all of Mr. Wechsler's puzzles there were lots of fun clue/fill combinations and just enough spice to name it a Friday. I want to wish all a very Happy Mother's Day and off to golf in a charity tournament. Lemonade out.