Friday, November 20, 2015, Jascha Smilack

Theme: Re-imagine and laugh

It has been five years since we last saw this Harvard grad here at the corner. I did not remember much except his distinctive name. His two publications in the LAT back in 2010 were both add on themes, but this is played strictly for laughs with three phrases clued with amusing recasting of the meaning of the words. There are only three themers so there is room for some other long fill, but instead Jascha chose to create a Friday pangram. We do have fresh fill like BURQUA, QUOTABLE,  WIZARDRY ARCSIN, SPUDS, HYPOS,  JARGON. If you get the humor you will have fun.

20A. One keeping tabs on the best man? : TOASTER TIMER (12). Best man proposes a toast....the phrase sounds a bit forced.

36A. Portrait artist at a gym? : SWEATER DRAWER (13). The guy with his pad watch the people sweat and making pictures.

53A. Coach for a newspaper employee? : PRINTER TONER (12). Back in the gym getting the little printer in shape.

Across: 

1. Traditional Islamic garment : BURQA. No politics.

6. Big fish : OPAH. We had this fish in a Bruce Haight in October that I blogged.

10. Literary group? : ARTS.

14. On the bad side (of) : AFOUL. He ran afoul of his in-laws.

15. Brazos River city : WACO. Two weeks in a row.

16. Skin malady : CHAP. Half a shout out to me.

17. Primus or Helena, in a classic play : ROBOT. Another R.U.R. reference.

18. Tan relative : ECRU.

19. Cord for Ford, perhaps : TYPO. Cute and much better than an old Gerald campaign slogan.

23. Preserve, in a way : ENCASE.

26. Strict : SEVERE.

27. Feed, but not food : VERB.Really nice misdirection.

28. Ready to pick : RIPE.

32. Court period: Abbr. : SESSion.

33. Abbr. in a footnote : ET AL.

34. Of a battery terminal : ANODAL. Cathodal?

41. Tank type : SEPTIC.

42. Optimist's words : I CAN.

44. Frequent fliers : JETS.

47. Where to see decorative nails : TOES.

48. Defense choice : ZONE. This answer works both for football and basketball.

49. Biblical prophet : SAMUEL. WIKI.

51. Roma's home : ITALIA.

57. Jamaican fruit : UGLI.

58. Bucks' pursuits : DOES. A little sex for a Friday as the deer become dear.

59. Augment : ADD TO.

63. Off : DO IN.

64. Impedes, with "up" : GUMS. a four letter word!

65. Haunted house sound : CREAK.

66. Start of a run, maybe : SNAG. Nylons not exercise.

67. Big show : EXPO.

68. Sources of shots : HYPOS. Hypodermics.

Down:

1. Shut out : BAR.

2. Mars rover? : UFO.

3. Fleece : ROB. Golden?

4. Like Twain and Wilde, e.g. : QUOTABLE. Nice misdirection.

5. Chorus section : ALTOS.

6. Is short : OWES. I am short.

7. Agreement : PACT.

8. One of 640 in a square mile : ACRE. How many in a section?

9. Quite a while : HOURS. Eh.

10. Prone to heavy market trading : ACTIVE. Stock market.

11. Poet's stock-in-trade : RHYMES. Shout out to Owen and where are you Chairman?

12. Narrows : TAPERS.

13. Fern seed : SPORE.

21. Gas up? : AERATE. AIR

22. Palo Alto-based automotive company : TESLA. Go SEE.

23. First lady? : EVE. Used before but cute.

24. Has left to spend : NETS. Not gross.

25. Dad or fish preceder : CRAW. Very southern.

29. Clumsy : INEPT.

30. City south of Lisboa : PORTO.

31. Murphy who voices Donkey in "Shrek" : EDDIE.

35. Inverse trig function : ARCSIN.

37. Plus : ASSET.

38. Potter's specialty : WIZARDRY. Not ceramics but Harry.

39. Earth sci. : ECOLology.

40. Indian royal : RANI.

43. "Great Public Schools for Every Student" gp. : NEA.

44. Tongue : JARGON.

45. Victim of Iago : EMILIA. Her maid, his wife. Our Friday Shakespeare.

46. What some forks are used for : TUNING. Nice deception.

49. Taters : SPUDS.

50. Overhang : LEDGE.

52. Show : TEACH. We have many here at the Corner.

54. Béchamel base : ROUX. For all our cooks and Louisiana denizens.

55. Sub : TEMP. HG is our resident expert at working as a SUBstitute teacher.

56. Bone, to Benito : OSSO. Straight Italian

60. Bank statement abbr. : DEPosit.

61. Lao Tzu principle : TAO. We have discussed before but if you want you can READ.

62. Sanctions : OKS. The nice meaning of the word,

Sorry, still dealing with sick brother. Remember thanksgiving is coming and let's take time to thank C.C.  for the Corner and the joys of life. Lemonade out.

Friday, November 13, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: You do what in your spare time?

Jeffrey is back with a very fun puzzle which recognizes the great possibilities of our language by taking famous people who have a first name that is the ending of a profession and mashing them into an answer. I would guess the seed fill was APOTHECARY GRANT, but they all are so cool.  I find this one of his wittiest creations to date.  I thought of one more profession that worked  and immediately forgot. Jeffrey uses two authors and two performers. We also get two "7 space 7" as top and bottom to the grid. There are also many nice 7 letter fill like ACTUATE, ATTUNES, BENEFIT, BORSCHT, CHICHEN, ETCHERS, I'LL STOP,  IT'S BEST, OCEANIA,  and VW JETTA.  We get some odd abbreviations, some very fun cluing and a Friday workout that was not a hair-puller. Another Friday the 13th so be careful out there.

17A. Classic leading man who moonlighted at a pharmacy? : APOTHECARY GRANT (15). Unlike Nathan Fillion this is ruggedly HANDSOME.

25A. Pulitzer-winning writer who moonlighted in a nightly news studio?: WEATHERMAN  WOUK (14).  He wrote so many great BOOKS.

44A. Actor who moonlighted in a brass band? : TRUMPETER BOYLE (14). An actors ACTOR.

57A. English author who moonlighted at LensCrafters? : OPTICIAN FLEMING (15).  New glasses? Try, Bond, CARTER BOND.

Across:

1. Set into motion : ACTUATE. A Friday word to start.

8. Golf alternative, briefly : VW JETTA. Funny but a stretch as the answer JETTA by itself is more accurate.

15. Red bowlful : BORSCHT. Not many northern Jewish families did not make beet  borscht when I was a kid. Served cold with hot potato was yummy.

16. __ Itzá: Mayan ruins : CHICHEN. Mexican Pyramids

19. Second of 24 : BETA.  Greek has 24 letters in their Alphabet.

20. L.A. Kings' org. : NHL. National Hockey League.

21. Management : SUITS.

22. Fiji's region : OCEANIA. Did you KNOW?

32. Saying that often goes without saying : AXIOM.

33. Breaks down : SOBS.

34. One with a handbook : USER.

36. Tony winner Huffman : CADY. Loved The Producers. Do not know her name.

37. Bolshoi outfit : TUTU. We have  a ballet studio in our back yard, fun.

38. Kitchen bar : OLEO.

39. "I'd strike the sun if it insulted me" speaker : AHAB. The Captain's reply when Starbuck tells him how stupid it is to seek vengeance from a animal acting on instinct.  "Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me." Interesting inclusion as Wouk wrote the Caine Mutiny.

43. Folklore threats : OGRES.

47. Makes complementary (to) : ATTUNES.

48. "Here Come the __": 1945 college comedy : COEDS.

52. Actor Stephen : REA. The Crying Game

53. 18-Down competitor : AVIS. Car rentals.

61. Enhances in the kitchen : SEASONS.

62. "That's my recommendation" : IT'S BEST. After many many Fridays, I am now looking for JW's multi word fill; it really helps.

63. Reply to "That's enough!" : I'LL STOP. See.

64. Pool workers : TYPISTS. Tricky, old fashioned and not true anymore.

Down:

1. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : AB AB. Is this all the Shakespeare we get today? First four lines...
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date

2. Bear up : COPE.

3. Moderate pace : TROT.

4. Open org. : USTA. United States Tennis Association.

5. "__ du lieber!" : ACH.

6. From that place : THENCE. A word very important in surveys, and legal descriptions which are metes and bounds.

7. Rembrandt and Picasso, at times : ETCHERS. I knew nothing of their etchings.

8. Obsolescent family room fixture : VCR. Someday I will get all the tapes of my kids on DVD....

9. Justification : WHY. And the equally famous why not?

10. Puzzle sometimes framed : JIGSAW. Loved the clue, I know very serious jigsaw people.

11. Hose shade : ECRU.

12. Southeast Asian language : THAI. A CSO to my sweet wife who had her birthday yesterday.

13. Garden party protection : TENT. And the clecho...

14. Garden party intruders : ANTS.

18. 53-Across competitor : ALAMO. More rental car; I use Enterprise.

22. Resistance unit : OHM.

23. Collar : NAB.

24. A-listers : INS. And the outs.

25. City SSW of Dallas : WACO. Home of Baylor University.

26. Praise to the heavens : EXALT.

27. To help, to Henri : AIDER. The French looks like English, sorta. Pronounce AY-DAY

28. Piece of toast? : TO YOU. E.G. Happy Birthday...

29. Expenditure : OUTGO.

30. Activity of great interest? : USURY. A good one. Too much interest, in most states there are laws; Florida 18 or 25% but you can read the LIST to see where your state sits..

31. __ One: vodka brand : KETEL.

35. Scam : RUSE. I think of ruse an element in a scam.

39. Proper : APT.

40. In a lather, with "up" : HET. Is this three times this month?

41. Words with take or lose : A TURN.

42. Fund-raiser : BENEFIT.

43. Like "fain": Abbr. : OBSolete. Archaic. But also OBScure.

45. Poe of the Baltimore Ravens, for one : MASCOT.

46. Certain agent's area : REALTY. Big money here; 6% of a million dollar sale is $60,000.00.

48. Mozart title starter : COSI Fan Tutti.

49. General Motors subsidiary : OPEL. German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany.

50. Substitute in a list : ETAL.

51. Ph.D. hurdle : DISSertation.

53. Both, at the start : AMBIvalent about this clue?

54. Contests : VIES.

55. Smithsonian, e.g.: Abbr. : INST. Home for Bones.

56. PD ranks : SGTS. Like Joe Friday.

58. Italian diminutive suffix : INO.

59. Venom transmitter : ASP. Meh.

60. Arguable ability : ESP. Extra Sensory Perception.

Thanks for the ride Jeffrey and thank all of you who came along for the write up.  Lemonade out.

Harper at 6 weeks

1 A

2 C

3 T

4 U

5 A

6 T

7 E

8 V

9 W

10 J

11 E

12 T

13 T

14 A

15 B

O

R

S

C

H

T

16 C

H

I

C

H

E

N

17 A

P

O

T

H

E

C

18 A

R

Y

G

R

A

N

T

19 B

E

T

A

20 N

H

L

21 S

U

I

T

S

22 O

C

E

A

23 N

24 I

A

25 W

26 E

27 A

28 T

H

E

R

M

A

N

W

29 O

30 U

31 K

32 A

X

I

O

M

33 S

O

B

S

34 U

S

E

35 R

36 C

A

D

Y

37 T

U

T

U

38 O

L

E

O

39 A

40 H

41 A

42 B

43 O

G

R

E

S

44 T

R

U

45 M

P

E

T

E

46 R

B

O

Y

L

E

47 A

T

T

U

N

E

S

48 C

49 O

50 E

51 D

S

52 R

E

A

53 A

54 V

55 I

56 S

57 O

P

T

I

C

58 I

59 A

N

F

L

60 E

M

I

N

G

61 S

E

A

S

O

N

S

62 I

T

S

B

E

S

T

63 I

L

L

S

T

O

P

64 T

Y

P

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T

S