Friday, December 19, 2014, John Lampkin

Theme: Wherefore ARt thou AR?

Man what more could a guy ask for: marti, followed by C.C., followed by a John Lampkin special. I am in blogger heaven. Good thing this is not November 19. Letter removal puzzles require the result to be entertaining and John does not disappoint. CRIER PIGEON, MINAMALIST T, BROOM BRAWL (featuring witches) and PILL TO POST all evoke (see 49A) very funny images to me. The rest of the fill is loaded with stuff like CAPITOL, ECLIPSE, EXPORTS, ONE EYED, OOMPAHS, ORIGAMI, SPARE ME, TOENAIL, HOOFED IT, I’M NO FOOL. John always slides in some insects and some music, so lets play.

20A. Easy mark with a sob story? : CARRIER PIGEON (11). Someone who is a sucker for a crying female. Carrier pigeons are in retirment now, and should not be confused with this long gone COUSIN.

54A. Shirt that hardly covers anything? : MINIMALIST ART (11). Which would you rather have: Skimpy T-shirts

or

10D. Ruckus at a coven? : BARROOM BRAWL (10). Broom being the un-PC way to refer to witches. We have our California coven here at the Corner; hello ladies.

28D. Very small pharmaceutical mail order? : PILLAR TO POST(10). Yes, mailing a single pill sounds silly, but with the price of some of the new drugs, it might just make sense. I recall the announcers at the Gillette Friday Night Fights used the term  "he was battered from 'Pillar to Post.'"
And the hint
67A. Noble gas, and a homophonic hint to how this puzzle's four longest answers are formed : ARGON (5).  AR is GONE from each phrase. Regional accents may make this more difficult.

Across:

1. What Rudolph used to be called : NAMES. A semi clecho. 41. 1960 Olympic gold medalist Rudolph : WILMA.

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

6. One in a wild bunch? : OAT. Sowing anyone?

9. Beatles song syllables : OBLA. Does this parse  OHHB LAHH, or OOOO BLAH?

13. Pilot : AVIATE. JL, really?

15. Baseball letters : RHE. Runs Hits and Errors on the scoreboard. JL is the undipsuted King of Clechos, as is seen here.

16. Baseball's Hershiser : OREL. He works in the booth now. A repeat fill with totally diferent clue.

17. Baseball champs of 2013 : RED SOX. So many years of futility followed by such success, I wonder if Joe Maddon can do that for the Cubs?

18. "What do you take me for?" : I'M NO FOOL. I/ME today, a minI theme? 31A. Part of a team observation : NO I. Just two weeks after I used this as part of my name for marti's Friday puzzle. 7D. Woeful words : AH ME. 32D. "I've heard enough" : SPARE ME. (Also, s CSO to Boomer). 38D. "No real damage" : I'M OK.

22. Trail terminus: Abbr. : OREgon. Sounds like ARGON? I wonder if terminus refers to the fact the Oregon Trail ends in Oregon, or that Trail is added to the end of Oregon?

23. British pop singer Lewis : LEONA. She won X-Factor.

24. Expressionist painter LeRoy : NEIMAN. I think football made him famous. See the SITE.

26. Habitat for some ibexes : ALPS. You run into many, marti?

29. Coke go-with : RUM.

30. Balkan native : SERB. I wonder if they serve rum and coke in Serbia?

32. Fine groove : STRIA.

34. Salt's output : YARNS. Sailors love to spin them.

37. It's seldom total : ECLIPSE. Unless it is of the HEART. GLEEFUL.

39. Digital filer's target : TOE NAIL. Devlish misdirection with digital referencing the 'digit" i.e. toe, for all you pedicure experts.

42. Cape Cod catch : SCROD. It is baaack!

44. Intl. commerce group : WTO. World Trade Organization. 14D. International commerce components : EXPORTS.

45. One-third of a WWII film : TORA. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War. (Wiki). Interestingly, the screen play credits both American and Japanese authors.

47. Wind often affects it : AIM. Yes, in shooting, golf etc.

48. Joy : GLEE. Nene Leakes is/was on Glee.

49. Calls to mind : EVOKES.

51. Some future fliers : PUPAE. larvae, pupae, John loves dem bugs, see below for more.

53. Hint : TIP. Do not try giving your server a hint.

59. Didn't ride : HOOFED IT. Archie Goodwin was always hoofing it from the old brownstone and leaving the Heron in the garage.

61. Hamper : HOGTIE.

62. "... we fat all / creatures __ to fat us": Hamlet : ELSE. I love this scene where the King asks Hamlet where Polonious is, and is told he is at supper, the king asks where Polonious is eating his supper and Hamlet replies:
                                                

Not where he eats, but where he is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service—two dishes, but to one table. That’s the end.

63. Roger or Brian of music : ENO. There will alway be music in John's puzzles as there is in his soul.

64. Bundle up on the farm : SHEAVE. A perfect winter misdirection.

65. Speedometer reading, e.g. : RATE.

66. Margarita condimento : SAL. salt in Spanish.


Down:

1. Buster? : NARC. The question mark is your clue to the clue as it means one who busts.

2. Affirm as true : AVER.

3. Noon in Paris : MIDI. Time for a Midi? Mini or maxi? Skirted that issue.

4. Stands by an artist : EASELS. Only thing I think of

5. Put away : STORE.

6. Folding craft : ORIGAMI.

8. Dovetail sections : TENONS. Splynter, hope you get some rest.

9. Punch line? : OOF. See cartoon.

11. The first Mrs. Arrowsmith : LEORA. From the eponymous Sinclair Lewis book. She was played by Helen Hayes in the movie.

12. Kind of wrench : ALLEN. Actually it is a Hex Key, but Allen manufacturing from Hartford seems to have cornered the market.

19. Like some picture cards : ONE EYED. I think we had Jacks recently.

21. Gets used (to) : INURES.

25. Land with a red, white and green flag : IRAN. Man there are a lot of them. LINK. I should have paid more attention when watching...

26. Over : ANEW. Starting over- starting anew? Not easy JL.

27. Point sets, in math : LOCI. Bill G., this is all yours.

33. Court : ATRIUM. Noun, not a verb.

35. Time in ads : NITE.

36. Sour fruit : SLOE. Not in a Singapore Sling.

40. Marching band lows : OOMPAHS. Oh those TUBAE! 50D. String quartet part : VIOLA.  two violins, one cello and a viola. John Lampkin is  an accomplished piano player, teacher and composer.

43. Hill building : CAPITOL.

46. Dramatic devices : ASIDES. Shakespeare anyone?

48. Counter man : GEIGER. Har har.  It actually is the Geiger–Müller counter. LINK.

49. It's a real knockout : ETHER. Har har, though knockout drops were Chloral hydrate (please insert intelligent comment scientists).

52. Wahine's greeting : ALOHA.

55. Two-time Atlantic crosser of 1493 : NINA. I did not know this tidbit.

56. __ party : STAG. Most bachelor parties are stag; my first wedding had one but it was boooring.

57. DVR option : TIVO. How are they doing now that cable, dish people provide the DVRs?

58. Adult, at one time : TEEN. Being a teen is 7 years for each of us on the calendar, a lifetime for most males.

60. Commission : FEE. FIE FO FUM.  I finish with an introduction to some of the photography of our multitalented constructor John Lampkin, who takes the best bug pictures even if bugs are yucky. He also offers his commentary. See you after Christmas, Happy Chanukah to those who light the candles. Lemonade out. Here are pictures and words from JL. Thanks John for the puzzle and more.

For 51 Across – PUPAE

This Armyworm caterpillar (seen head downwards) had been parasitized by a very tiny braconid wasp. She had stung the caterpillar laying dozens of eggs. The eggs  hatched and the wasp larvae ate the caterpillar from the inside out avoiding all vital organs toward the head end. The wasp larvae then crawled out through the caterpillar’s skin and formed the white fuzzy pupae  sticking out of the caterpillar.  The caterpillar was still alive when I shot the pic. My Florida naturalist friend Karen Finch, bless her,  took everything home in a jar and hatched out the wasps to confirm our ID. Since parasitized larvae like this Armyworm nearly always die, braconid wasps can be an eco-friendly control of garden pests like Tomato Hornworms.

Total lunar eclipse I shot as a time-lapse from my yard at 3:33 am, December 21, 2010. 

From Wikipedia: The eclipse was the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern Winter Solstice (Southern Summer Solstice) since 1638, and only the second in the Common Era

 

 

Friday, December 12, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Let's Corner the market on old poets.

The good news, my minor in college was English and I took many poetry classes. The bad news, I do not recall titles of anything, books,  poems, songs...This took longer than any Friday in months, and I was so excited to have a C.C. to blog after last week's marti masterpiece. Of course what could be more fitting than the creator of Crossword Corner creating a puzzle about a Corner.  Each of the four in this puzzle has two very famous poets intersecting by the first or last letter of their last names, with a central reveal, surrounded by four cheater squares to make it a grid-spanner of sorts. The works selected appear to be picked because they are not the most famous work of the author, thereby making this Friday a real work out.

There may be some confusion of so much long fill that exceeds or equals the length of  theme answers. EVICTED, MEDICAL, NEGLECT , IMPURITY, PAGANINI, RED ADAIR, SIPOWICZ, SMASH HIT, THE ALAMO, LENGTHENS and NESPRESSO.  These mix old and new knowledge continues to amaze me, considering where C.C. grew up. Sit back and enjoy as the puzzle is stuffed with information.

1A. He wrote "The Eve of St. Agnes" : KEATS. Not his most famous POEM. Poor man died at 25 of Tuberculosis..
1D. He wrote "Summer of Love" : KILMER. Another POEM I do not know from Joyce who wrote TREES. Kilmer was an American killed in Europe by a sniper's bullet in World War I at age 31.

9A. He wrote "Halloween" : BURNS. Here we go again, another POEM I no nothing about. This Scotsman lasted until he was 37, having fathered 14 children along the way.
 13D. He wrote "The Cloud" : SHELLEY. Percy Bysshe Shelley was a contemporary of Keats, he wrote this POEM and also died young, at 29 in a sudden storm. His death is the subject of speculation. His second wife was Mary Godwin, who wrote Frankenstein.

40D. He wrote "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" : SERVICE. Robert Service, the Canadian Poet is a bit of an outlier, as this POEM is one of his most famous. He lived to be 82.
67A. He wrote "Ash Wednesday" : ELIOT. I do not know this POEM either, though I admire some of his work. He lived until 76.

49D. He wrote the "Odes" : HORACE. Like Service, this is a  famous collection of POEMS by Horace who was very popular in Rome with the early Caesars. He lived until 72.
69A. He wrote the "Convivio" : DANTE. This is an unfinished work which includes POEMS in the books. The estimate he lived about 55 years.

and the reveal (hint)
38A. Westminster Abbey attraction, and one of four in this puzzle : POET'S CORNER.

Across:

6. Avid fan : NUT. The online etymology dictionary tells us, "be nutts upon "be very fond of" (1785), which is possibly from nuts (plural noun) "any source of pleasure" (1610s), from nut (q.v.)."

14. "That's it for me!" : I QUIT. A simple but elegant fill with a QU in the middle.

15. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH. Really? Kosh B'Gosh, we live in Osh? Occupational Safety and Health not good enough for C.C.? I do not know the country or the CITY.

16. "My FBI" author Louis : FREEH. I cannot remember the spelling of his name. LINK.

17. Drew : LURED. I could not picture this answer. I wonder if Drew Carey would be popular as Lured Carey.

18. Cohort of Curly : MOE. A CSO to our own Chairman, also 20A. Red Guard leader : MAO.

19. Perch, at times : LEDGE.

21. 1970s radical gp. : SLA. So much hard work, I started with SDS.

23. Literary assortment : ANA. We had this a month ago (11/14/14) and I even can point to a previous C.C. PUZZLE which used this fill.

25. The whole shebang : ALL.

26. Peut-__: maybe, in French : ETRE. Perhaps it means maybe.

28. Lace place : EYELET.

30. "Small Wonder" state: Abbr. : DELaware. This was one of those educated guesses that make solving go faster.

31. Five-pound Staples package, typically : REAM of paper. You can do your office workout now.

32. Stellar spectacles : NOVAS. Naturally I started with NOVAE.

33. Show anxiety, in a way : PACE.

34. Music publisher sold to Universal in 2007 : BMG. This says it was sold to SONY in 2008? LINK. Bertelsmann is sill very active.

36. Foreign matter : IMPURITY. Nicely phrased.

40. Blockbuster : SMASH HIT. Don't you love fill that has ___HH__.

42. Backup key : ESC. I think of UNDO.

43. Some hosp. scans : EEGS. ElectroEncephalagrams.

44. Pentathlon equipment : EPEES. One of the five events of the competition.

46. Sundance Film Festival state : UTAH. Robert Redford's home.

50. Nutritional stat. : RDA. Recommended daily allowance.

51. Battery terminals : ANODES. Cathodes anyone?

52. Maker of the Power Max HD snow blower : TORO. Two weeks in a row, one from marti one from C.C., hmmm.

53. Chablis, e.g. : VIN. Please no whining about foreign words, especially after the Coc au vin discussion.

54. Sydney's state: Abbr. : NSW. New South Wales.

55. Rocky hellos : YOS. Cute deception.

57. Old Egypt-Syr. alliance : UAR. United Arab Republic.

58. Finishing touch of a sort : ICING. On the cake...

60. Swear words : I DO. And I will very soon. Hmm, yesterday also....

62. West African capital : ACCRA. Ghana, along with Nigeria, a hotbed of internet scams.

64. Support aids : CANES.

65. Tough mutt : CUR. Wki says  it is thought to be short for the Middle English curdogge, which derives from the word curren, meaning to growl.

66. Designer Mizrahi : ISAAC.

68. Intro to zoology? : ZEE. I am sure those who live by the ZED hate this clue.


Down:

2. Regard as the same : EQUATE.

3. Night light sight : AURORA. If you have never seen the Borealis...

4. No-win situation : TIE. Kissing your sister.

5. Mfg. guidelines : STDS. Standards.

6. Deli request : NO MAYO. Most delis I saw growing up never even had mayonnaise on hand.

7. Private entertainers, briefly? : USO. United Service Organizations Inc. LINK.

8. Texas Revolution battle site : THE ALAMO.

9. A neighbor : B-FLAT. Do musical clues move you?

10. Script add-on : URE. Scripture.

11. Legendary firefighter : RED ADAIR. Oil well fires. Interesting MAN.

12. Pay no attention to : NEGLECT.

22. Stretches out : LENGTHENS.

24. Coffee-making portmanteau : NESPRESSO. This mash up word comes from Nestlé and Espresso.

27. Raise in relief : EMBOSS. I was relieved when I filled this in.

29. Bounced : EVICTED. Literally?

33. Like jigsaw puzzles : PRECUT. Of course this is true, but not what I thought of.

35. "So what" : MEH. A shout out to all of us.

37. Young __ : UNS.

38. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso : PAGANINI. A taste of his work.

39. Franz' "NYPD Blue" role : SIPOWICZ. The character is so famous, it has its on WIKI PAGE. I recall the Beverly Hills Buntz days, as well.

41. Kind of research : MEDICAL.

45. Pooh pal : EEYORE. My favorite from Milne.

47. Froot Loops mascot : TOUCAN. Do all remember that his name is SAM.

48. Ancient docking site : ARARAT.

51. Apprehension : ANGST. Such a great consonant progression.

56. Declared : SAID. People need to do more saying and less declaring.

59. Recent: Pref. : NEO.

61. __ process : DUE.

63. Gray side: Abbr. : CSA. Confederate States of America.

Well I feel really lucky to get to blog Marti and C.C. in consecutive weeks. I look forward to all the poetry from the Corner in response.

Lemonade out.

Friday, December 5, 2014, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: There is no "I" in Team unless you put it there.

A variety of in the language phrases where the first word ends in "ER" but is not a comparative word, have an "I" added to make each a new phrase comparing things. Finding words ending in "ER" that are not descriptive like STRONGER or FATTER was the key to set up this return to Friday from our old friend marti. I feel like John Wayne cast in a new western, back in the saddle again. I really like all the visuals from the theme answers. We have many letter words and initialisms and a slew of intermediate fill such as AIRSEA, APOLLO, CAMERA, C CLAMP, DERIDE,  ENTIRE, ICEAGE, KIGALI, NUTMEG, SHABBY, ELECTEES and PORTABLE to keep all of us on our Friday toes. So let me know your initial reaction to this latest from the mind of our divine miss m.

17A. Baseball, vis-à-vis jai alai? : POKIER GAME (10). (POKER GAME) I guess the word relates to slow poke, where someone or something moves slowly. I guess I learned this word HERE.

27A. GE range, vis-à-vis an Easy-Bake toy? : TOASTIER OVEN (12). (TOASTER OVEN).

44A. SpongeBob's underwear, vis-à-vis Mickey's? : BOXIER BRIEFS (12). (BOXER BRIEFS) Since Bob is square, this makes perfect sense. I changed to this style of underwear 15 years ago. TMI?

59A. Jeep, vis-à-vis a Cadillac? : BUMPIER CAR (10). (BUMPER CAR). The suspension certainly is not intended for a smooth ride in a Jeep.

Across:

1. SEC nickname : BAMA. Nick and his Crimson Tide need only to survive a mediocre Missouri team to make it to the first final four.

5. Seating choice : AISLE.  Yes, now that I am no longer young this is my seat of choice.

10. Skills : ARTS. A practitioner of the secret ways.

14. Islamic leader : IMAM.

15. What recon may provide : INTEL. Cyberspeak for intelligence data; not related to 26A. "Hooked on Bach" company : KTEL.

16. Famille member : PERE. Father in French, only tangentially related to 39A. Hemingway and others : PAPAS.

19. Award for Jessica Tandy : OBIE. The theater award for Off-Broadway (OB=obie) performances, I think started by the Village Voice.

20. Poetic preposition : ERE. I hope you did not err here.

21. Short time, shortly : NSEC. Now if you had not read the author, the next two fill would tell you this is created by our marti who loves these type words. She did a puzzle themed by them, and who does not love a good C Clamp?  I cannot find any support for N-SEC, which I assume is for nanosecond. Wiki and the dictionaries say the abbreviation is ns. Or maybe there are more kinds of seconds that I do not know, being very limited in my scientific knowledge.

22. Wood shop tool : C CLAMP.

24. Scoff at : DERIDE. Hmmm....maybe I can work this word into my comments.

33. Spread : STREW.

36. "A Challenge for the Actor" author : HAGEN. We usually get UTA as we did yesterday.

37. Commercial ending? : IZE. Commercialize. Something Ms. Hagen did not do with her craft.

38. Appear dramatically : LOOM. Though she often did this.

40. Letters on a cross : INRI.  Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. Like this puzzle, there is no letter "J" in Latin, so this phrase translates to Jesus of Nazarene King of the Jews. Pontious Pilate is credited with attaching this name.

41. Tulsa sch. : ORU. Oral Roberts University.

42. Shell rival : MOBIL.

43. Ryan of "Bones" : O'NEAL. Ryan as a fun ex-con and father of Temperance Brennan.

47. __ block : CITY. Luckily the perps were solid because my mind went to LEGO.

48. Certain evergreen seed : NUTMEG. Coming from Connecticut helped here.

52. One taking a shot : CAMERA. Really clever cluing.

55. Grub : EATS. A cowboy reference?

57. One or more : ANY.

58. "Sin City" actress : ALBA. She is always worth a look. LINK. (1:49)

62. Buck : STAG. The message learned in this AD.

63. Its second movement translates to "Play of the Waves" : LA MER ('The Sea' in French). This orchestral WORK from Debussy was hidden from me for a long while, each answer I had was lamer than the first.

64. First name in design : COCO. Chanel. No baseball player clue for marti.

65. Socks : HOSE. Unless you consider the Pale Hose?

66. Delight : ELATE.

67. Hill workers : ANTS.

Down:

1. Human, e.g. : BIPED. Walking on two legs.

2. Love abroad : AMORE. Italian.

3. Auto attachment? : MAKER. Automakers are scrambling to recall all the vehicles with the deadly airbags.

4. "__ being unreasonable?" : AM I.

5. Like some rescues : AIR SEA.

6. "Picnic" playwright : INGE. He wrote  PLAYS and screenplays.

7. Mus. direction : STACcato. JzB?

8. 10-Down vehicle : LEM. Thanks for the CSO, from this Lunar Excursion Module. Excursion on the Moon is such a cool concept.

9. Ins : ELECTEES. Not the outs.

10. Mission program : APOLLO. The promise JFK made to the world.

11. Self-named sitcom : REBA. Gone but not FORGOTTEN. (6:10)

12. Cut : TRIM.

13. Percolate : SEEP.

18. Fund : ENDOW. The lifeblood of private universities and schools come from alumni endowments.

23. Large Hadron Collider acronym : CERN. This may be Friday, but this clue is too misleading, as the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The name CERN is derived from the acronym for the French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire. The combination of the secondary nature of the relationship and it being a French acronym seem very unfair, but I confess I had it filled before I saw the clue. I had to google to get the information. How many of you knew CERN? I like learning new things, but one level at a time.

25. It's checked when it's done : ITEM.

26. Capital of Rwanda : KIGALI.  I did not recall this. MAP.

28. Inferior : SHABBY. A Friday answer for sure.

29. Piglike animal : TAPIR. I think I linked this picture before.

30. Grape site : VINE. This clue/answer grew on me.

31. Poet friend of T.S. : EZRA. Pound, not a friend of mine.

32. 10-Down first name : NEIL. Armstrong.

33. Challenging roommate : SLOB.

34. 1989 Lawn-Boy acquirer : TORO.

35. Gravy base : ROUX. I regret that my mother did not teach me her gravy secrets.

39. Easily moved : PORTABLE.

40. Part of MIT: Abbr. : INSTitute.

42. Yom Kippur War prime minister : MEIR. Golda, her HISTORY.

43. Helpful : OF USE.

45. Film with Manny the Mammoth : ICE AGE. Never seen any of them.

46. Complete : ENTIRE.

49. "Heart of Georgia" : MACON. It literally is the in the center of the state. LINK.

50. Sign into law : ENACT.

51. Wrap relatives : GYROS. Eat up guys.

52. Get money for : CASH.

53. "__ Rhapsody": Brahms vocal work : ALTO. Showing off her musical taste, sorry marti, I do not know this PIECE.

54. Many CEOs have them : MBAS. Masters of Business Administration.

55. Stone of "The Help" : EMMA. Is she a redhead? Her mouth always looks a little off to me.

56. Miffed, with "in" : A PET. Never heard of this IDIOM.

60. Flier with Chicago H.Q. : UAL. United Airlines

61. Kelly Clarkson label : RCA. Radio Corporation of America. 

I am not sure why I would care what record company she is signed to, but this was filled before I saw the clue so it did not matter. As always, marti delivered a nice challenge and wit and education.

The end of the year looms near so get ready for whatever holiday(s) you celebrate. Lemonade out.

Friday, November 28, 2014, Mike Peluso

Theme: Country puns.

Four common terms containing a country name as a descriptive adjective, are modified into amusing new version that sound alike but have very different meanings. This is the first Friday pangram in a long while and my first from Mike in a long while as well. As with many of his works, lots of 4 and 5 letter fill with some interesting medium words like IS INTO,  OAXACA,  PEG LEG,  SEANCE, AT WORST,  EQUINES, TEXAS TEA, UNALLIED. I know you are worn out from cooking, smiling at relatives and eating, so on with the show.

20A. WWII personnel from Rio? : BRAZILIAN WACS (13).  The base phrase is Brazilian Wax, referring to the complete removal of pubic hair. The HISTORY of the term is debatable, but it may just be that the indigenous tribes that were there before European were one of the Asian strains which grow very little body hair.

25A. Yoko Ono, in spirit? : JAPANESE BEATLE (14). The destructive Japanese Beetle does in fact come from Japan, which has more natural beetle predators to limit their damage. Not to be confused with the German Beetle.

46A. Andalusian plains? : SPANISH STEPPES (14). (Spanish Steps in Rome are must see according to my traveling son. LINK).  Steppe is defined as "one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia." (MW).

52A. Brussels-born lumberjack? : BELGIAN LOGGER (13). Belgian Lager beer. They produce over 700 kinds of beer in Belgium, but most are ales. READ.  Either of my sons can answer this one better than I. I did stand in line to buy the Trappists' Westveleran XII when it came out.

Across:

1. Cream, for one : TRIO. The band not the milk by product.

5. Old lab burners : ETNAS. I will let our scientists get into a BUNSEN vs. ETNA discussion.

10. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role : TESS. First name of actress = first name of character.

14. Teeny bit : IOTA.

15. Repeat exactly : QUOTE.

16. Bar __ : EXAM. February 1974.

17. Wii alternative : XBOX. gaming systems.

18. Prefix with marine : ULTRA.

19. Lawless role : XENA. Nicely phrased; Lucy will live on so people can find an X to grind into a puzzle.

23. Reds, on scoreboards : CINcinnati.

24. French pronoun : CES. Their.

33. EPA standard : AQI. Air Quality Index.

34. 1986 Best New Artist Grammy winner : SADE.

35. Kingdom : REALM.

37. Accumulate : RUN UP. Think of your bar tab.

40. Rio maker : KIA.

41. Leader's prerogative : SAY SO. He has the last word.

42. Place for sweaters? : SAUNA. Rather indelicate... sweat-ers.

43. Place Sundance liked : ETTA. Classic clue misdirection as her name was Etta Place, and the clue masks the capital letter which would have exposed the answer by having the word first in the progression.

45. Illegal turn, maybe : UIE.

50. Joseph Smith's denom. : LDS. Latter Day Saints.

51. __ hours : WEE. Where you could often find my sons playing the Wii.

59. It's done in parts of Switzerland : FINI. French misdirection; c'est fini.

60. Giant or Titan, briefly : NFLER. With the ever increasing size of footballers, this is becoming a doubly true clue.

61. VIII squared : LXIV. Roman math, reminds me LINK. (2:47).

63. Der __: Adenauer epithet : ALTE. Old one.

64. Island tubers : TAROS.

65. Foil relative : EPEE.

66. Techie, stereotypically : NERD.

67. Wrigley brand : ORBIT. This is my gum of choice.

68. Fishing leader? : GONE.

Down:

 1. B'way pickups : TIX.

2. Former Virginia senator Charles : ROBB. Married one of LBJ's daughters and despite rumors and scandals, they are still together.

3. "Like __ not ..." : IT OR.

4. Veracruz neighbor : OAXACA.

5. Some dams : EQUINES. Horsies.

6. Rock's Jethro __ : TULL. Very distinct sound.

7. Claim of innocence : NOT I.

8. Gillette brand : ATRA.

9. Medium setting : SEANCE. Not on your electric razor, but where the psychic's work.

10. Jed Clampett's discovery, in a sitcom theme song : TEXAS TEA. LINK in case you want to memorize the song.

11. Suit : EXECutive.

12. Without : SANS. A French word incorporated into our language.

13. "He'll hae misfortunes great an' __": Burns : SMA. small.

21. Cab cousin : ZIN, Cabernet and Zinfandel.

22. Erodes : WEARS.

25. Shakes : JARS. I guess...

26. Blue shades : AQUAS.

27. Betty Grable, e.g. : PIN UP. very popular with our boys during WWII, I have read.

28. Benefits : SAKES. For all of our sakes, I hope you sussed this.

29. WWI first lady Wilson : EDITH. Woodrow's second wife and the President after his stroke.

30. Pulsates : BEATS.

31. Easy two-pointer : LAYUP.

32. Dinsmore of children's books : ELSIE. No clue, all perps. LINK.

36. Duff Beer seller : MOE'S. Mo' Simpsons and a CSO to our own Chairman.

38. Neutral : UNALLIED.

39. Ohio-based consumer products giant, familiarly : P AND G. Proctor & Gamble.

44. In the most dire circumstance : AT WORST.

47. Has a passion for : IS INTO. Also, 59D. Buff : FAN. He is a car buff was popular when I was a kid

48. Wave checker: abbr. : EEG. Electroencephalogram. brain waves.

49. Stereotypical pirate : PEG LEG. My ex-wife hated that as a nickname.

52. Venom : BILE. One of the first 4 elopements.

53. __'acte : ENTR. French for between.

54. Hardly close : AFAR.

55. Union-mgmt. mediator : NLRB. National Labor Relations Board.

56. Sainted pope called "the Great" : LEO I.

57. Nat, before 2005 : EXPO. Base ball teams, one in Montreal which is now in Washington, both abbreviations.

58. It was nothing for Louis XIV : RIEN. More simple French, and bi-lingual pun.

62. Vacation starter? : VEE. First letter in the word, and the last clue in the puzzle. Still recovering from all the tryptophan in the turkey. Relax and enjoy, thank Mike and thank you C.C., Argyle, JzB, Steve, marti, Splynter and each and everyone of you.
Lemonade out.

Friday, November 14, 2014, Steve Salmon

Theme: I loved this puzle (sic). It was awsome (sic). I had to fight with my computer to stop the correcting of the theme answers.

I believe this is the LAT debut of Mr. Salmon (the other pink meat) who has created a few NYT over the years. The five theme answers each have a common spelling mistake where a letter is omitted. How many of these do each of you get wrong? The missing letters can be silent in speech so they do not trigger an immediate sense of error. Initially I tried to make a secondary (meta) answer from the missing letters but can only come up with the anagram RUNGS from the missing letters, and there is no ladder tie in, so I guess they are just letters missing from misspelling. I do like the symmetry of theme 1/3/5 all missing a double letter and 2/4 missing a new letter. Another puzzle with many cheater squares (8) but a Fridayish word count and some nice words like ALLEGRO, ECUADOR, GLISTEN, OLD SALT, TIMPANI, AUGUSTAN, EYELINER, IN BACK OF, OFF RAMPS.
Okay, let's cast our lines and see what we catch...

17A. Making flush : EMBARRASSING (11). I often forget the double R, which in itself is....

32A. Feature of some jellyfish : FLUORESCENCE (11). If you can remember the element FLUORINE (at. no. 9) you will spell this one correctly. The only fishy clue.

24A. Pushy : AGGRESSIVE (9). RUG? Needed perp help.

46A. Administration : GOVERNMENT (9). I recall kids in school making this error, but the way the word is said is regional and some pronounce the "N" (me fore example) so this one was tricky. Listening to the news, I hear the word without the N as the dominant rendition.

52A. This puzzle's five longest answers are common ones : MISSPELLINGS (11). For a moment I was looking for a 5th (albeit 6th) misspelling, tricked by the reveal also being part of the theme. I thought that was great.

Across:

1. Arguing : AT IT. Can you believe the juxtaposition of this multi-dimensional fill with...

5. Colored part of the iris : AREOLA. A word this Corner associates with a woman and a lily.

11. Fold call : BAA. Cute poker misdirection.

14. Ho Chi __ : MINH. The life and times of this REVOLUTIONARY  present an interesting historical lesson.

15. Caribbean stopover : NASSAU. Our back yard, here in So. Fla.

16. Munic. official : Alderman. Most cities now have commissioners or councilmen but the ABBREVIAION is accepted.

19. Army E-5, e.g. : NCO. Non-Commissioned Officer.

20. You can usually see right through them : PANES. Nice misdirection.

21. Country named for its location : ECUADOR. Meaning 'of the Equator' in Spanish; I do not know where the term equator comes from though it sounds like it has a common stem with equal. The COUNTRY is a bit of an enigma with a socialist democracy.

23. Picnic contest gear : SACKS. Such as the ones used in the three-legged race.

26. Signs : INKS. LeBron inked his deal to go back to Cleveland.

27. Son, to Sartre : FILS. Simple French.

28. London gallery : TATE. We have seen this fill often, and maybe Steve and NC can share some personal moments at the Tate.

29. Obit bit : BIOgraphy. Which might be about...

30. Exiled Amin : IDI.

31. Test area : LAB.

37. Things to consider : IFS. Nice clue.

38. Golf club part : TOE. I do not associate the word with golf, though obviously I have hit it off the toe of a club. I found this one hard.

39. Thanksgiving staple : YAM. Are yours candied? Or are they sweet potatoes?

42. Instant : JIFF. Does Jiffy really need an abbreviation?

44. Suffix indicating absence : LESS. meaningless clue.

45. Blend : MELD. Pinochle anyone?

48. Selling points : MALLS. Modern misdirection.

49. Seasoned seaman : OLD SALT. I presume from the saltiness of the Ocean.

50. Willies-causing : EERIE.

51. Broadcast : AIR. Radio and TV.

56. Island loop : LEI.

57. Pre-WWII pope : PIUS XI. I do remember XII. Roman numerals.

58. Adopted great-nephew of Claudius : NERO. A great way to learn about these two and other Roman Emperors is watching this PBS series as I did back in the 70's. More Roman fill.

59. Initials seen at Indy : STP. They say it was named for Scientifically Treated Petroleum, and became famous when endorsed by Andy Granatelli and his driver Mario Andretti. I like Standard Temperature and Pressure.

60. Drinks daintily : SIPS ON.

61. Expected 2015 MLB returnee : A-ROD. He has made it clear he wants back on the Yankees and he has a contract. Imagine, you lose Jeter but  get A-rod.

Down:

 1. __ Zion Church : AME. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. I had this before or I would not have been able to answer; a Friday piece of knowledge. LINK.

2. Symphonic set : TIMPANI. Fancy name for kettle drums used in orchestras.

3. Behind : IN BACK OF. Literal.

4. Response to a helper : THANKS. So simple.

5. Literary collections : ANAS.
an·a ¹  (n, än)

n. pl. ana or an·as

1. A collection of various materials that reflect the character of a person or place: definitive ana of the early American West.

2. An item in such a collection.

6. Dorm minders, for short : RAS. Resident Advisers.

7. Sicilian capital? : ESS. The Capital "S" at the beginning of the word.

8. Willows for wickerwork : OSIERS. A botanical fact and a Friday word as well.

9. Camelot weapon : LANCE. King Arthur had to be careful of his wife to be sure she did not Lance a lot.

10. Like the works of Virgil and Horace : AUGUSTAN. A Golden Age of LITERATURE. Another reference to old Rome.

11. Crook : BANDIT.

12. Nook : ALCOVE. Not a cranny.

13. Worship : ADORE.

18. Attorney's thing : RES. More Latin.

22. Easy __ : AS ABC. We just had "as pie."

23. Jacob, to Esau, for short : SIBling.

24. Hill helper : AIDE. Refers to Capitol Hill and the aides to the Senators, etc.

25. What icicles do in the sun : GLISTEN.

27. Douglas and others : FIRS. Oh Tannenbaum, almost time for the tree shopping.

31. Sediment : LEES. Not to be confused with TRUB. Despite my children's involvement in the beer and wine industry, I did not know this TERM.

33. "__ Little Ironies": Thomas Hardy collection : LIFE'S. never read them.

34. Some exits : OFF RAMPS. Not 'of framps', relating to one of Peter Frampton's guitars.

35. Run to : COST. Took me a long time to get to, how much is repairing my car going to run to.

36. Goth makeup : EYELINER. My youngest hung out with some of these young ladies in High School.

40. Score direction : ALLEGRO. I will let JzB explain this slowly.

41. HMO group : MDS. Medical Doctors.

42. City SW of Chicago : JOLIET. Somehow I always associate this city with the old Untouchables TV series.

43. ICU hookup : IV DRIP. Intravenous Drip. More Latin meaning within the vein.

44. Eases : LETS UP.

45. Place with berth rights : MARINA. An old puzzle pun.

46. Shootout successes : GOALS. In Hockey and Soccer to settle ties after overtime.

47. Mid-11th-century year : MLIII.

48. Harris of "thirtysomething" : MEL. One of the early big ensemble cast dramas.

50. Tiger's ex : ELIN. I gave her pictures last time.

53. Ltr. afterthoughts : PSS. More Latin, Post Scriptum.

54. Outside: Pref. : EXO.

55. Astrodome field's lack : SOD. What a convoluted clue for grass.

Well we have lots of Latin, and old Roman, two Roman numerals and a consistent theme and some challenging fill. Sounds like what a Friday should be. Thanks for coming our way Mr. S. and thank you all for being here. Lemonade out.

Friday, November 7, 2014, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Are you feeling N T?

Four in the language phrases with words beginning with "ST"  are transformed by changing the T to N. This is a more traditionally structured Friday, with only 72 words, and average word length in excess of 5 letters. It does have however 10 "cheater squares" and 42 blocks in all which is an awful lot of black in a puzzle. There are three cheaters in the NW and SE corner and 2 at each end of the central answer POTSTICKERS.

JW who has returned to constructing with the enthusiasm of a very young man has me puzzled not by the puzzle but by the grid. The theme answers were not immediately obvious, but SNORES opened the door for me, along with lots of down fill. There was almost none of the usual filler fill with only NEE and ALI very common. The midrange included BLOWS IT, CREEP IN, FUR COATS, PEACE NOW, BYPLAY, TOO LOW and BUMMER. continuing the trend to multiple word fill.

Okay let's solve this.

16A. Why the kids can hardly sleep at night? : MOM AND POP SNORE (14). In So.Fla. there always seem to be new people willing to open a mom and pop store to compete with Walmart and Costco.

25A. With 49-Across, motto for Jessica Fletcher? : SHE SNOOPS. (9). 49A. See 25-Across : TO CONQUER. (9). She Stoops to Conquer. This 1773 PLAY requires some Friday memory, though the perps made it relatively painless. I think my kids studied it in their high school theater; Goldsmith was popular with them.

36A. Chuckles over a small kitty? : POT SNICKERS.(11). This was the tricky, awkward one, having to think of the gambling term "kitty" and its synonym "pot." Pot Stickers became the rage here as appetizers in the 90s. Maybe C.C. will give us more insight. (From C.C.: We call them Jiaozi in Xi'An. Traditional food for Chinese New Year's eve. You can get frozen Jiaozi/Potstickers/Dumplings/Gyoza at Trader Joe's. Their Thai veggie Gyoza are so good.)

59A. Acerbic opinion piece? : SNEERING COLUMN(14). I like the fill, but steering column did not excite.

Across:

1. Chronicles : ANNALS. I wanted Narnia or Riddi[c]k.

7. File extension : TAB.

10. Double Down sandwich maker : KFC. I had forgotten about this monstrosity which uses chicken breasts instead of bread with two kinds of cheese and bacon in the middle.

13. Space-sharing bud : ROOMIE. How many of you have had to share a living space as an adult with someone other than family?

14. She-bear, in Sevilla : OSA. Spanish A = feminine, O = masculine.

15. Gang leader? : OUR. Fun misdirection, but young solvers may have no idea about this group.

19. Privy to : IN ON.

20. When Iago acquires Desdemona's handkerchief : ACT III. This is the easy one as 6 spaces can only be Act III.

21. Apple's Tim Cook, e.g. : CEO. Chief Executive Officer. Not quite as famous as Jobs. Wonder if he thinks he is one of the...

23. Some intellectuals : NERDS.

27. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" musical : GREASE. The role originated with Carole Demas, but I  remember OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN. (2:48). It is interesting to read the list of actors who played DANNY.

29. Net letters : EMAIL.

30. Pampas rider : GAUCHO.

35. 13 for Al, e.g. : AT. NO.  Atomic Number.

39. Mensch lead-in : UBER. Wow a discussion of Nietzsche and his PHILOSOPHY should ensue.

41. How some bars may be set : TOO LOW. This so cool because UBERMENSCH challenged man and mankind to strive for more.

42. Commercial center : PLAZA.

44. Skewered fare : KEBABS. My preferred spelling.

54. Malted ingredient : SYRUP. Milk shakes.

55. Come up short : OWE.

56. Beaverlike rodent : NUTRIA. Sounds more like a non-sugar sweetener, but these large river rats have damaged the Louisiana marshlands.

58. Apple or pear : POME. MW says it is a fleshy fruit (as an apple or pear) consisting of an outer thickened fleshy layer and a central core with usually five seeds enclosed in a capsule. From the Latin POMUM (fruit) from which the French get POMME (apple), and of course POMME DE TERRE (fruit of the earth = potato).

62. Bromide, e.g. : ION. You can STUDY this on your own.

63. "The Soul of a Butterfly" memoirist : ALI. Our boxing poet. Some QUOTES.

64. Took out : ERASED. An alternative to rubbing out.

65. Couple : TWO. This seemed almost too easy.

66. Society page word : NEE.

67. Source of much salon noise : DRYERS.

Down:

1. Preparing for combat : ARMING.

2. Lunchtime meeting : NOONER. More like lunchtime assignation.

3. "Uncle!" : NO MORE.

4. Activist/heiress Hearst : AMANDA. How cool the day after the surreal Castle, we get the incredibly lucky great-granddaughter who is not only rich, she went to prep school in Connecticut and is 5'3" and a part-time model

5. Jeremy of the Lakers : LIN. The one time darling of the Knicks and Harvard has landed in LA to play with Kobe. How is that going?

6. "Homicide: Life on the Street" actor Jon : SEDA. He was lucky enough to give up boxing before it rearranged his face. He now works on Chicago PD.

7. Zipper part : TOOTH.

8. Easy __ : AS PIE. This puzzle was not easy as pie, the compound word answers always are a bit of a challenge. ASPIC made no sense.

9. Underpinnings : BASIS.

10. Kitchy-__ : KOO. Again so easy, it was hard.

11. Valuables often stored : FUR COATS. For the three days a year you can wear them in So.Fla.

12. Enter surreptitiously : CREEP IN. Creepy.

17. Lenovo IdeaCentres, e.g. : PCS. Personal Computers.

18. Lowest stripe : NINE. This filled from the perps with both Ns being part of the T to N theme, but it took a few minutes to understand that the clue relates to pool (billiard) balls, where 1-8 are all solid colors and 9-15 are all striped in American pocket billiards.

22. Akershus Fortress city : OSLO. All perps.

24. U.S. Army E-6 : SSGT. Staff Sargent.

26. Co-star of Hugh on "House" : OMAR. Mr. Epps; a Thursday night ritual with many friends.

28. Captain's heading : EAST. Go east young man?

31. 108-card game : UNO. My grandmother loved this game.

32. 1955 labor merger gp. : CIO. Congress of Industrial Organizations merged with American Federation of Labor in 1955, an event I did not understand but recall.

33. Gastric acid component, to a chemist : HCL.

34. "I heard you the first 10 times" : OK OK. Enough already.

36. Antiwar organization based in Tel Aviv : PEACE NOW. This GROUP, has high hope.

37. Rice-shaped pasta : ORZO. A fun food and you can make THIS but use Thai basil for zest.

38. Pastoral moms : EWES. Really fun clue.

39. Not more than : UP TO. I will pay...

40. Fails utterly : BLOWS IT. Blow is such a versatile word, but I could not find the history of this phrase. Often accompanied by 47D. "Sorry, dude" : BUMMER

43. __ of Cleves : ANNE. She was the lucky 4th WIFE of Henry the VIII, whom he found so unattractive he never consummated the marriage, which saved her life.

45. Action on the side : BY PLAY.

46. Shake awake : AROUSE. So which arouses you 1 (4:01) or 2  (4:41)?

48. Whiles away : SPENDS.

50. Arabic religious text : QURAN. Transliterating from a different alphabet is such a slippery slope; I am trying to understand the Thai alphabet, and explain the Hebrew alphabet.

51. Functional : UTILE.

52. Els with tees : ERNIE. The Big Easy from RSA.

53. Oil facility : RIG.

57. Got 100 on, say : ACED.

60. Roxy Music co-founder : ENO. Brian, more known for his elevator music left the GROUP early on.

61. #4 at Boston Garden : ORR. Along with number 4 for the New York baseball Giants (Mel OTT) this name will always be a handy fill word.

Well another Friday in the books, another joyride for me. It was not too easy and not too hard. Thanks Jeffrey, again. This was a fun way to prepare for more parties for sweet Charlotte this weekend.  Have a great November all. Lemonade out.

Friday, October 31, 2014, Doug Peterson

Theme: A, that's a wrap.

One word of a common phrase is wrapped in As, with an A inserted at the beginning of the word, and an A inserted at the end of the word. Doug has been a prolific and skilled constructor for the past 12 years, and was among the early INTERVIEWS C.C. did after the change to LAT puzzles. He was very forthcoming and helpful. Doug also edits and collaborates with others. Doug does many themeless puzzles, but this version of add a letter was fun with the added layer of complexity adding both beginning and end. Not a crusher Friday, and some nice long non-theme answers like I’LL PASS, BAD PATCH, GOTTA RUN, MEAL TIME, RAIN DROP, all of which are compound fill. Multi word fill seems to be the focus here, but most were not obscure. Well I see the bat-signal so it is time to save Gotham and solve the puzzle.

17A. *Media member with a curly tail? : PRESS AKITA, (10). Press kit + AA=

25A. *With 50-Across, travel guide that touts Oranjestad's worst hotels and restaurants? : ARUBA THE. (8) 50A. See 25-Across : WRONG WAY (8). Rub the Wrong Way becomes a travel guide from hell.

38A. *"Whatever you say, wise goddess!"? : ALL RIGHTY ATHENA. (15). All right then, let's read about this GG. LINK.

 61A. *Refrigerator on the front lines? : AMANA OF WAR. (10). I like this one best
And the reveal.

64D. Smallish batteries, and a hint to how the answers to starred clues are formed : AAS.(3).

Across:

1. Common telenovela theme : AMOR. Spanish soap operas are all about LOVE.

5. Travel needs for many : VISAS. Another area I know very little about.

10. Lose, in a Vegas game : BUST. Isn't it odd how this repeat fill can be both so sad and so nice?

14. Amplify, in a way : MIKE. I have heard the phrase 'mike-up' so I guess this makes sense, but it took a while.

15. Not available : IN USE. Also known as Occupied, Occupado.

16. Fit : ABLE.

19. Word with barn or storm : DOOR. I think we have a puzzle where DOOR was the hidden end to the theme answers.

20. Sorceress jilted by Jason : MEDEA. Well, thanks for the CSO, but she was not a nice WOMAN . With the mini-theme: 67A. Legendary galley : ARGO. Galley is a type of ship (I linked recently that discussion) and this was Jason's.

21. "Not interested" : I'LL PASS.

23. Seahawks' org. : NFC. National Football Conference. Interesting, especially as they began in the AFC.

26. "Time to split!" : GOTTA RUN. Modern shortspeak spelling.

30. Ore. setting : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

31. José __: frozen Mexican food brand : OLE.

32. Sitar selections : RAGAS. Read all about IT. Raga to Ragga to Reggae?

34. Santa __ Mountains: coastal California range : CRUZ. West Coast Warriors, you want to expand?

42. In-land link? : LA LA. This may have begun with bedtime music but as a phrase is attributed to Los Angeles and the attitudes there.

43. Henie on the ice : SONJA. Back again so soon? Never forget Carol.

44. Grammy-winning "We Are Young" band : FUN.

45. Cybernotes : IMS. Instant Messages.

48. Six, for many : MEAL TIME. Sadly here in So.Fla, this is when the second shift eat dinner.

54. "King Kong" studio : RKO. Radio-Keith-Orpheum.  HISTORY.

55. Franklin's note : HUNDRED. It is all about the Benjamins.

56. "Cheers," e.g. : TOAST.

60. Qatari potentate : EMIR.

65. In __ parentis : LOCO. A hark back to last week's Latin exercise, "in the place of parents."

66. What a shin guard protects : TIBIA.

68. __ school : PREParatory. Been there.

69. How-to units : STEPS.

70. Actor Gosling : RYAN. We end this part with this face: His eyes do not match, but don't tell Eva.

Down:

1. Digital clock toggle : AM/PM.

2. Squishy area : MIRE. I enjoy the Ocean Spray commercials in the bog in Maine.

3. Didn't deny : OKED. Tricky, as I was thinking verbal assent.

4. Feel offended by : RESENT. Context, as it looks just like RESENT.

5. Itinerary word : VIA. More Latin.

6. India __ : INK.

7. Fashion designer Anna : SUI. For me a mostly unknown DESIGNER who reminds me of C.C. Only because of Target have I heard her name.

8. Buzzing with activity : ASTIR. A word!

9. Close securely : SEAL UP.

10. Run of lousy luck : BAD PATCH. I guess if you fix your clothes and do a bad job might be where this phrase meaning a run of bad luck comes from?

11. Threat to a WWII destroyer : U-BOAT. A German submarine.

12. Splash clumsily : SLOSH. People who are sloshed often splash clumsily.

13. Clipped : TERSE. All perps, but reasonable in retrospect.

18. Trip to see the big game? : SAFARI. Really nice mis-direction, no Super Bowl here.

22. Birth announcement abbr. : LBS. Lesbian Baby Sister? Oh, pounds.

24. Climbing challenge : CRAG.

25. Subject for da Vinci : ANATOMY.

26. One may go into an empty net : GOAL. Very common in Hockey where teams pull the goalie in the last minute when down.

27. Earthenware pot : OLLA.

28. Bluff betrayer : TELL. The TV popularity of poker seems to be waning, though I think everyone learned about 'tells' from watching the World Series of Poker, Rounders etc.

29. Words of disgust : UGHS.

33. Holiday song closer : SYNE. Scottish for 'since.'

35. S&L offering for homeowners : REFInance.

36. Word on the Great Seal of the United States : UNUM. And still more Latin, E Pluribus.

37. Novelist Grey : ZANE. Great writer of westerns.

39. Shower harbinger : RAIN DROP.

40. Cracked open : AJAR. When is an A word not an A word.

41. Have words with : TALK TO.

46. Dept. head : MGR. Manager.

47. Workout garb : SWEATS.

49. Beyond reasonable limits : TOO FAR. All right this time you went too far!

50. Young wolf : WHELP. I used to love reading Jack London's books.

51. One may be going around : RUMOR. better than the flu.

52. Ready if required : ON ICE.

53. Not turn away : ADMIT. Not turn away, oh as in they had to turn away thousands who went to see Taylor Swift at Times Square.

57. Not right : AWRY. And then everything went awry.

58. Multigenerational tale : SAGA. Not related to RAGA.

59. Suffix with Jumbo : TRON. A shout out to the scrappy KC Royals.

62. Mount Rushmore figure, familiarly : ABE.

63. Tang : NIP. Nope, no idea.

Well this is the last day of this month; remember to turn your clocks back on Sunday, and enjoy the extra sleep. Thanks Doug P. always good to see your work; also thanks for an amazing performance by Madison Bumgarner. Lemonade out.