Friday, August 19, 2016 Bruce Haight

Title: Another @##% circle puzzle to irritate Barry!

We take a journey with back to back Bruce Haight Fridays. My memories of going to the ocean and looking for stones to throw were brought back. This time he packaged his effort in a rare 14 x 16 grid with a total of 70 theme squares. The 14s are grid-spanners and with so many letters in themers, there is not much room for sparkle. We do get  AM FM RADIO and  SALMON ROE.  Once again I will begin with the very clever reveal which tells us we are looking for stones in the skipped parts of fill, in the circles.

58A. Leisurely lakeside activity, and a clue for the circled letters : SKIPPING STONES (14).

16A. Reason kept to oneself : ULTERIOR MOTIVE (14). Limestone  is a sedimentary rock that contains at least 50% calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Because sedimentary rocks are made of various types of sediments, the other 50% of a limestone rock could be virtually any other mineral. Limestone originates in wet areas which mean it could also be composed of shells and waste matter from organisms.

22A. Wig out : FLIP ONE'S LID (11). Fieldstone. This is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally. Collections of fieldstones which have been removed from arable land or pasture to allow for more effective agriculture are called clearance cairns.Coming from New England we know all about this. What movie comes to mind?

29A. Thorny thicket : BRIAR PATCH (10).  Birthstone. Am I the only one who always thinks about UNCLE REMUS?

42A. Johnny Olson catchphrase : COME ON DOWN (10). Moonstone. This is an alternate birthstone for June, but also a gem used by

48A. Bum rap : FALSE CHARGE (11). Flagstone. These flat stones are popular for making paths etc. so here is how to DIY.

Across:

1. "Anaconda" rapper Nicki : MINAJ. I am not sure why but I knew this MUSIC (4:49).

6. Sizable chunk : SLAB. Of roast beef? Or Nicki?

10. "Yuck!" : EWW. Ok, I agree. So does 63A. "Yuck!" : BLEH.

13. Carne follower, in Mexican fare : ASADA. Grilled beef.

14. Roll at the airport : TAXI. On the Taxiway.

15. Former Vietnamese emperor Bao __ : DAI. This man. LINK.

19. Barack Obama, astrologically : LEO. He has the same birthday as my step-son.

20. Old Venetian magistrate : DOGE.  You should recall THIS.

21. Boy in the first family : ABEL. All the men had four letters.

25. Country singer Clark : TERRI. The only Clark I recall is ROY, not this tall Canadian.

28. Cold weather word : TEENS. Down here that would be freezing.

34. 1953 automobile innovation : AM FM RADIO. Introduced by a Mexican Company. HISTORY.

35. Catch something : AIL. Nice simple misdirection.

38. Put away : ATE.  Nice simple misdirection.

39. Some caviar : SALMON ROE. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian and Black Sea (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). Depending on the country, caviar may also be used to describe the roe of other fish such as salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, carp,and other species of sturgeon.

43. West Indian sorcery : OBEAH. Hard to discuss this PRACTICE when we do not talk religion.

47. Young partner : ERNST. CPA firm.

53. Low-cost home loan org. : FNMA. Federal National Mortgage Association.

54. Lug : HAUL.

55. Letters left of center? : EPI. Cute...left of mean a prefix.

62. "If __ again I meet him beard to beard ... ": Shak. : EER. Rar lay I do not know well, Coriolanus.

64. Whiz : MAVEN. It's back.

65. Carefree syllable : TRA. La La.

66. Fun : JEST.

67. Sarcophagus holder : CRYPT.

Down:

1. Stake-driving hammer : MAUL.

2. Part of a chain : ISLE.

3. Defense acronym : NATO. He must like this oraganization. North American Treaty Organization.

4. Thirst quencher : ADE. Thanks for the CSO Mr. H.

5. Rattle : JAR.

6. Bend : STOOP. My thought

7. Slow passage : LARGO. Musical term.

8. Guitar players, slangily : AXMEN. More likely AXE (not maul)

9. Dust jacket info : BIOgraphy.

10. Safe to put away : EDIBLE. My favorite clue.

11. Encourage to score, as a base runner : WAVE IN. Maybe not these RUNNERS.

12. Brandishes : WIELDS.

17. First name in despotism : IDI. Amin.

18. Zap : TASE.

22. Set up : FRAME. Central plot to many tv shows.

23. NYC commuter line : LIRR. Long Island Railroad.

24. Ordinal ending : ETH. This is used to create ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers ending in -y, namely the multiples of ten (other than ten itself): 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90; e.g. twentieth, thirtieth.

25. TV sched. uncertainty : TBA. To Be Announced.

26. Aunt with a "Cope Book" : ERMA.

27. Divide : RIFT.

30. El __ : PASO.

31. Maroon 5 singer Levine : ADAM.

32. Counter square : TILE.

33. Lake of Lombardy : COMO. You like this little home?

35. Auto company founder Citroën : ANDRÉ. He was an interesting MAN.

36. Golf bag item : IRON.

37. Not the best of times : LOWS.

40. Universal donor's type, briefly : O NEG.

41. Uvula doc : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.

42. "Evita" role : CHE. Guevera.

43. Counterbalance : OFFSET. Time for the offset I?

44. Loan officer, e.g. : BANKER.

45. Twain's New York resting place : ELMIRA. This was the cemetery where his wife's family were buried. Twain lived in Connecticut and Mark Twain house is in Hartford. A high school classmate has written about the restoration and is still an ambassador. LINK.

46. "Make it snappy!" : ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

49. Country about 12 times longer than its widest point : CHILE.

50. Underwear brand : HANES.

51. Zero : AUGHT.

52. Literary monogram : RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson.

55. Green attitude? : ENVY. From the green-eyed monster in Othello. Twain also wrote of this. “It turned Brer Merlin green with envy and spite, which was a great satisfaction to me.” — A Connecticut Yankee.

56. Sound often not allowed? : PEEP. I do not want to hear a peep out of you!

57. "It __ Right": 1956 Platters' hit : ISN'T.

59. Lunchbox staple, familiarly : PBJ.

60. Cinephile's TV choice : TMC.  TCM? Or maybe AMC? The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime.

61. Tool sometimes used for steering : OAR.

Well this was fun, but I lost my write up and had to redo it all. Some changed, some did not but now it is time to wish you all well and best to all the Olympic athletes who have provided lots of entertainment. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Let's say Hello to Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn, who was born yesterday. She was 6 pounds 13 ounces,  20.25 inches long. Congratulations, grandma Melissa!

Friday, August 12, 2016, Bruce Haight

Title: Measured endings

Bruce is back and he tops JW's 4 grid spanners last week with 5, including the reveal. We see that the end of the 4 phrases are measures (each four letters) which wonderfully appear in order from INCH to MILE. With 75 squares accounted for, there was not much room for more, but we do get ENID O.K. (which was a bear to parse) AS IT IS and the lovely SWEAR WORD (how cools to sneak a swear word in the puzzle) and the entertaining  BAT SIGNAL. Bruce is becoming a regular here, so I hope you get on his wavelength. Let's look more closely... here

We will begin with the end...

57A. Finishes a task, and a hint to hidden words in this puzzle's four other longest answers : GOES THE DISTANCE (15).

17A. Strapped : FEELING THE PINCH (15). Maybe in ITALY?

23A. "Carefree Highway" singer : GORDON LIGHTFOOT (15). Listen.

37A. Island on which much of "Jaws" was filmed : MARTHA'S VINEYARD (15). I grew up not far from this ISLAND.

47A. Grin : BREAK INTO A SMILE (15). Maybe one like....or...





Well, take your pick, we must go to work to solve the rest....

Across:

1. Read the riot act : BASTE. This was a very hard place to start, as I had no idea of this definition and resisted the perps.

6. Like tightrope walkers : AGILE. Did you all watch the AGT where the man was struck by the flaming arrow?

11. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARIzona.

14. Physics Nobelist Schrödinger : ERWIN. He and Neils Bohr are very popular in crosswords. Here is a great discussion of his CAT.

15. Attendance count : NOSES.

16. Soft slip-on : MOC. Like ALUM last week a word that may have gone beyond being an abbreviation.

20. Baja bear : OSA. Spanish.

21. Two piece? : DUET. Nicely clued.

22. Paycheck abbr. : FICA. Federal Insurance Contributions Act - though contribution seems a bit out  of place.

28. Seasoned cookers : WOKS. Does the clue WOK for you?

29. Golfer McIlroy : RORY. Another 0 for major year...two in a row.

30. Eastern noodle : UDON. More Asian influence.

32. Clued in : AWARE.

34. What might make a ewe turn? : BAA. I LOVE, LOVE this clue.

41. Many a prof : PHD.

42. In base eight : OCTAL. Straight Latin.

43. First name in jazz : ETTA. James, not ELLA.

44. Con : ANTI.

45. Free ride : PASS.

54. "Do or do not. There is no try" speaker : YODA.

55. Hyatt competitor : OMNI. They have lots of golf courses including LA Costa in Carlsbad, California which I had the pleasure of playing many times. The caddies really helped.

56. Informal British address : GUV. Is this LINK accurate Steve? NC?

62. SEALs' org. : USN.

63. Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist : BORAT. Ali G., Borat or Bruno? ALL you need to know.

64. "... bombs bursting __" : IN AIR.

65. High pts. : MTS.

66. Bends with the breeze : SWAYS.

67. __ pitch : SALES.

Down:

1. Obscure : BEFOG.

2. Playground comeback : ARE SO. Same number of letters as AM NOT.

3. Censor's target : SWEAR WORD. Simple.

4. Up to, in ads : TIL.

5. City SSW of Wichita, KS : ENID OK.

6. Source of opera financing : ANGEL. In the earlier years they were called patrons.

7. "The Teflon Don" : GOTTI. The late mob boss, died in prison in 2002 at 62.

8. "More or less" equivalent : ISH. Ir-ish? Swed-ish? Jew-ish?

9. Casual wear biggie : LEE. I never can tell Lee from Wrangler, now I know why. Major players in US jeans include jeans companies such as Levi Strauss & Co (which owns brands like Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co and Denizen) and VF Corp (which owns Wrangler, Lee and Rustler brands), apparel brands such as Gap, American Eagle, Zara and H&M, and private label brands by major retailers like Wal-Mart Stores and JC Penny. Jeans world.

10. Debatable power : ESP.

11. Test that examines fetal DNA, briefly : AMNIOcentesis. The needle is enough to convince me women are stronger. My wife went through this.

12. "Fidelio" jailer : ROCCO. Beethoven's only OPERA.

13. Phased-out Apple messaging software : I CHAT. I never had any Apple products until recently and by now they switched to messenger.

18. They have their orders : NUNS. These constructors are making a habit of punny clues for nuns.

19. Questionable : IFFY.

24. "Cut that out!" : DON'T.

25. Holy __ : GRAIL. How could I resist this LINK.

26. 38-Down source : HORN.  38D. 26-Down sound : HONK. This seems a bit lazy.

27. Back into a corner, in a way : TREE.

30. One with a stay-at-home job? : UMP. Nice clue; JW and I used UMP as our fan friendly 1 across.

31. Code word : DAH. Morse code; not created by Inspector Morse.

32. Sean of "Rudy" : ASTIN. And Samwise Gamgee.

33. Penn. neighbor : W.VA.

34. Device that debuted in Detective Comics in 1942 : BAT SIGNAL. The signal first appears in Detective Comics #60, for any collectors out there.

35. Knack : ART. This is a tough way to clue this three letter fill.

36. Org. concerned with securing crowns : ADA. American Dental Association.

39. Dramatic start : ACT I. A really nicely put together clue.

40. Respectful rural response : YES'M.

44. Small power sources : AAAS.

45. Discouraging words : PANS.

46. "Given the circumstances ... " : AS IT IS. Ans so it goes.

47. Quaint words of resolve : BY GUM. By golly has never been used, by gum.

48. Place to rule : ROOST.

49. Paradises : EDENS.

50. "No more procrastinating!" : TODAY.

51. Passes over : OMITS.

52. Florida's Port St. __ : LUCIE. This may be a challenge for those who do not live or visit SoFla., as it is a CITY of about 180,000 people not known for much except being perhaps the most devastated by the real estate collapse.

53. '50s-'60s civil rights activist : EVERS. Hard to talk about this MAN and not be political, but then maybe human rights are not political?

58. "Angie Tribeca" airer : TBS. I have never watched this series from Steve Carrell, but it looks...

59. Methodology word : HOW.

60. Period : ERA.

61. Santa __, California : ANA.

Is everyone adapting to Bruce's cluing? Of course since Rich edits....did any of you read the flap over at the Fiend about a NYT puzzle where after being criticized by the posters, a constructor called out Will Shortz for changing the fill and clues in that corner?  And I thought the NYT was supposed to be the staid civilized place. Ah well I love this Corner, and thanks again Bruce and all of you. Lemonade out. Go USA; Michael Phelps is amazing. This is his 5th Olympics!!!!!!

Friday, August 5, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Music please JzB, use your

JW returns quickly and gives us another CSO puzzle, this one for our own Ron and his talented trombone. The use of a single clue for all theme answers is not uncommon, but Jeffrey brings it home with 4 themers that are all grid-spanners! He injects some nice 8 letter fill in the corner with two stacked long ones crossing a single down fill.  APPRISED,  SHUT OUTS, PARISHES,  RING TOSS,  IN SPIRIT and CASSETTE are the 8s, with triple 6s intersecting double 6s in the other corners. A very nice grid with very few short fill.

17A. Slide : MICROSCOPE MOUNT (15). Obviously sussing the theme is not an issue, but how the fill was going to become four different types of slides was the fun. We begin in the lab.

30A. Slide : PLAYGROUND CHUTE (15). Next we go back to our childhood.

45A. Slide : RUNNER'S MANEUVER (15). Of course the slide in baseball is an integral part of the game, reminding me of Dizzy Dean who said of Phil Rizzuto in the 1938 world series, "He slud into third."

59A. Slide : TROMBONE SECTION (15). How about the entire orchestra.

Across:

1. Without markup : AT COST. The big lie in the car business.

7. Informed : APPRISED. A big word in the law, as judges are fully apprised of the premises.

15. Like the Godhead : TRIUNE. Definition: consisting of three in one (used especially with reference to the Trinity).

16. Where flocks assemble : PARISHES. Parishes are flocks, or they are part of a parish, but they assemble in churches, chapels...

19. "Defending Liberty Pursuing Justice" org. : ABA. American Bar Association.

20. Org. for Sharapova and Kournikova : WTA. Women's Tennis Association...a dupe for you purists? Tricky using two Russian Tennis Pros.

21. Base or case closer : MENT. A suffix clue.

22. Exaggerates, as a résumé : PADS.

24. Follow : ENSUE.

27. Ref. with quarterly online updates : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

34. Respond to a failed delivery : RESEND. A Friday tortured clue.

35. Not your average joe? : LATTE. A really fun clue, especially if you know coffee is know as joe, as in a really good cup of joe. You ask WHY?

36. Video game hero with a kart : MARIO. I played and lost often when my boys were growing up.

39. "To wrap up ... " : IN SUMmation.

40. Epic including the Catalogue of Ships : ILIAD. The Catalogue of Ships (Ancient Greek: νεῶν κατάλογος, neōn katalogos) is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad (2.494-759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. WIKI.

41. Willing to take risks : DARING.

50. Shocked letters : OMG.

51. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia : ELENA. The three lady justices, again!

52. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. Learn the history of the nomenclature. International System of Units

53. Kit Carson House site : TAOS.

                                                                          LINK.

56. Texter's "Keep the rest to yourself" : TMI. Too Much Information.

58. Moo __ pork : SHU. The dicitionary says the name comes from the Mandarin mùxū, the fragrant flowering shrub Osmanthus fragrans (because the scrambled eggs in the dish resemble the shrub's blossoms in shape and color. It is a Northern Chinese dish, how about this RECIPE C.C., Barry G.?

64. Way to be there when you can't be there : IN SPIRIT.

65. Looked for a school, perhaps : SEINED. What a break that this word appeared in yesterday's puzzle; of course with a Friday twist in the clue.

66. Tape container : CASSETTE.

67. Jousting mounts : STEEDS. Not...

Down:

1. Bank smartphone offering : ATM APP. I had no idea there was an APP to find ATMs....

2. Type of chief or custom : TRIBAL.

3. Noisy bug : CICADA.

4. "In __ Time": Hemingway story collection : OUR.  An interesting HISTORY for Papa.

5. White fall : SNOW.

6. Quality control personnel : TESTERS.

7. Mil. mail drop : APO. One of three special Postal Addresses Army/Air Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), Diplomatic Post Office (DPO).

8. Unchallenging reading material : PAP. Comes from bland soft or semiliquid food such as that suitable for babies or invalids. This led to "reading matter or entertainment that is worthless or lacking in substance."

9. Specialized undergrad track : PREMED.

10. Frosty film : RIME.

11. Will go ahead as planned : IS ON.

12. Walter Johnson's career-leading 110 : SHUTOUTS. More baseball.

13. Yet, poetically : EEN. I am also confused by this meaning. Yet higher - even higher? I guess.

14. Summer hrs. : DST. Daylight Savings Time.

18. Boat better not rocked : CANOE.

23. Many a recent refugee : SYRIAN. No politics.

25. "Arise, fair __, and kill the envious moon": Romeo : SUN. Shakespeare is back with JW with one of my favorite scenes...
"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she."

26. Sturm __ Drang : UND. And in German, It was a literary MOVEMENT.

28. Incredulous rebuke : ET TU. And you too, Brutus?

29. Believe : DEEM. Another favorite word in judicial orders.

31. Amethyst source : GEODE, The inspiration (maybe?) for geodesic dome made famous by Buckminster FULLER.

32. "I Fall to Pieces" singer : CLINE.

33. Inhibition : HANG UP.

36. Catalan surrealist : MIRO. When I was little my uncle had a Miro print in his office. I thought it was silly.

37. Fund-raising target, often : ALUM. Go for it nitpickers, I know you want to be told to look for an abbreviation, rather than an accepted expression.

38. Fair game : RING TOSS. An unfair game at the fair. "The Ring Toss: The rings are just a hair wider than the neck of the target bottle or spike, ...and are made of hard plastic to facilitate extra bouncing. If the carny shows it can be done, you should suspect he's using a larger ring than you're given or that he scores by dropping it from directly overhead, a move that, like the Basketball Shoot, is virtually impossible from the player's position." LINK.

41. Broadband letters : DSL.

42. Gallic soul : AME. It would be better if you saw ÂME. 62D. Août season : ETE. We are in August, and it is summer. See how much easier it is with the accent.

43. Agitated blog posts : RANTS.

44. Muddled : IN A MESS.

46. One often has a golf course : RESORT.

47. Clear Eyes rival : VISINE. Eye drops and a CSO to one of the ones who are gone.

48. Seconded : ECHOED.

49. Hospital routines : ROUNDS. An important function at the hospital where a doctor goes round and visits his in patients. Also, part of grand rounds when the doctor has other doctors and medical students along to learn.

54. Tour gear : AMPS. Rock and roll tour.

55. Drama prize : OBIE. Off Broadway.

57. TV co-star of Hargitay and Belzer : ICE T. Again.

59. Spasm : TIC.

60. Usually single-stranded molecule : RNA. RiboNucleic Acid as opposed to the double helix of DNA.

61. Trivial thing : NIT. I wonder how he picked that clue?

63. Draw : TIE. Correct me if I am wrong, Steve or NC, but I believe in Cricket a tie and a draw are different.

Well another JW Friday; the long fill really helped leading to a fairly quick Friday. Hope you all had as much fun as I did. lemonade out.

Friday, July 29, 2016, John R. Obrien

Title: Unlock the shift key!

Mr. O'Brien breaks away from his pattern of one LAT in March each year with his first venture into the world of Fridays. The theme is very cute, all the theme clues are the numbers that would show if the shift key were not held down. In other words, &$& is 747, which is a Jumbo Jet. If you are doing the puzzle on paper, this is a real bear, but with the keyboard, I found it pretty fast for a Friday, but i do get paid for sussing Friday themes. The word distribution is more early week with no long fill except the theme and many 6 letter fill:  AMORAL,  NOMADS,  NOVENA,  OMELET, VERONA, LAYMAN,  ANODES and IN A FOG   are my favorites. The 8/12/15/12/8 pattern does not feel familiar but did yield 55 theme squares. I am not suggesting the puzzle was easy, there are lots of very hard clues and slight obscurities, but we got her done.

17A. &$&: JUMBO JET (8). 747 is the real clue.Did you FLY?

24A. @! : GAMBLING GAME (12). 21 (also known as blackjack). Do you PLAY?

40A. !&&^ : BROADWAY MUSICAL (15). 1776 is the clue. Do you REMEMBER?

52A. ** : KEYS ON A PIANO (12). 88 Do you wonder WHY?

66A. What was mistakenly held for four puzzle clues : SHIFT KEY (8).

Across:

1. Bozeman sch. : MSU. Montana State University. I think this is a highly regarded COLLEGE.

4. __ on the knuckles : A RAP. Generally administered with a ruler, sometimes even the sharp edge.

8. Hardly homebodies : NOMADS.

14. Black __ : OPS.

15. Protection in a purse : MACE.

16. Folded fare : OMELET. Another gift from the French chefs. LINK.

19. Romeo's home : VERONA. Cool, a Friday Shakespeare clue/fill, or two.... 49A. Cordelia, to Regan : SISTER.

20. Great way to walk : ON AIR. Did anyone else go here....Extra credit for naming both parents of the star.

21. Olympics event : RACE. Timely but vague.

23. Baseball statistic : HIT.

28. Ancient time-telling device : CANDLE. Really fun INFO.

31. Hastings Ismay was selected as its first leader in 1952 : NATO. The name sounds like bad pig Latin, and I  never heard of HIM. he was interesting and NATO was an easy guess based on the year.

32. It can come between Clinton and Rodham : NEE. Hillary Rodham Clinton, née Hillary Diane Rodham.

33. Quaint retail word : OLDE.

36. Last words? : OBITS. Well done, even if a bit depressing.

44. Zaire, nowadays : CONGO. HISTORY. Not the Belgian Congo.

45. Sommelier's concern : YEAR. Wine was just too easy. Clecho-61D. Sommelier's prefix : OENO.

46. Outback native : EMU.

47. Mild cheese : EDAM. Yes, but not soft, it is is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands. Edam ages and travels well, and does not spoil; it only hardens. These qualities (among others) made it the world's most popular cheese between the 14th and 18th centuries, both at sea and in remote colonies. (wiki).

57. Porter, for one : ALE. remember there are two basic types of Beer- ALE or LAGER. LINK.

58. Washington is prominent on them : ONES. Money, honey.

59. Property crime : ARSON. Burn baby, burn.

63. Like astronauts during liftoff : SEATED. HG, why?

68. Intact : ENTIRE.

69. Pamplona runner : TORO. The Bull, silly. he does not speak English in Pamplona.

70. Having four sharps : IN E. I defer to our musicians to explain.

71. Hoi polloi : MASSES. A Greek term, that became pejorative.

72. Like bachelor parties : STAG.

73. Bit of wit : MOT. French for word, part of the phrase "Bon mot."

Down:

1. Magic : MOJO. Defines as a magic charm, talisman, or spell. "someone must have their mojo working over at the record company" magic power.

2. Like web sites : SPUN. Cool deception, nit computer web but spider web.

3. Robert E. Lee's alma mater : USMA. United States Military Academy, Commonly referred to as West Point.

4. Unprincipled : AMORAL.  Nice explanation of the "A" as a negative prefix. LINK.

5. British rule in India : RAJ.

6. Biting : ACERB. Never seen in this form except in puzzles.

7. "She loves me" bit : PETAL.

8. Multi-day devotion : NOVENA. From the Latin for nine.

9. Kipling's "Follow Me __" : OME.

10. Nice view : MER. When a clue begins with Nice, it usually is hiding some French, like the owrd meaning sea.

11. It's heard coming and going : ALOHA.

12. Casual Friday material : DENIM.

13. Announce : STATE.

18. Texas city nickname : BIG D. Dallas.

22. Word on many a marquee : CINEMA.

25. Persian greeting : MEOW. Kitty cat not Iranian.

26. Classic muscle cars : GTOS.

27. Asian expanse : GOBI. The desert.

28. "Mad Money" network : CNBC. Jim Cramer.

29. Bubbly-textured Nestlé chocolate bar : AERO. Popular in England Steve? NC?

30. Light element : NEON.

34. Hardly an expert : LAYMAN.

35. Hall of Fame golf course architect Pete : DYE. Have you played ANY?

37. "Law &Order: SVU" actor : ICE T.

38. Unexciting : TAME.

39. Nasty campaign tactic : SLUR. Timely but verboten.

41. Quite a while : AGES.

42. Carroll's stammering self-caricature in "Alice in Wonderland" : DODO. A CSO to one of our own "Dodo: I say, you'll never get dry that way.
Alice: Get dry?
Dodo: Have to run with the others. First rule of a caucus race, you know.who has left us. "
More politics to avoid.

43. Celestial bear : URSA. Major, minor? Just Latin for bear.

48. Battery terminals : ANODES.

50. Befuddled : IN A FOG. been there often.

51. Put in folders, say : SORT.

52. Longtime "American Top 40" host : KASEM. Casey...did they ever bury him?

53. Justice Kagan : ELENA. One of the three.

54. "When You Are Old" poet : YEATS.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

55. Raid victims : PESTS.

56. Clapton's "__ the Sheriff" : I SHOT. But he did not shoot the deputy. The Bob Marley song...

MEANING

60. Dairy case option : SKIM. The nut milks are taking over.

62. Russian refusal : NYET. No.

64. Frank McCourt memoir : TIS.




65. Poetic preposition : ERE.

67. George's brother : IRA. The Gershwins, but you knew that.

I really enjoyed the creativity of the theme and all the Greek and Latin as well as some great cluing- Like web sites : SPUN  is my favorite. Welcome to Friday John; Lemonade out.

Friday, July 22, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Ah HA!

My Friday foil is back with an add a word edition that leaves us laughing. First, I had a blast working with Jeffrey in creating the Mel Brooks tribute puzzle. Mel certainly is one who can elicit much laugh-out-loud response. JW also has been concentrating on light-hearted themes, puns and and a good time had by all. I am getting very used to his style, his use of multiple word fill and his sense of humor. With 67 squares in the theme, and with three grid-spanners there are not many long sparkly fill, but he does squeeze in AVALANCHE,  WEB FOOTED,  THREE PUTT, and  BALD EAGLE.

17A. Convent seamstress' workshop items? : HABITS AND PIECES (15). I grew up near a convent and watched many nuns march on my street. They wore the full habit.

When my niece was three, and when she saw them walking, she asked who all the kings were.

24A. Enlightened kid? : BILLY BUDDHA (11). How cool is it that Monday's puzzle made this fill so much easier. This is my favorite theme fill--Billy Buddha...classic.

36A. Bichon Frise pack leaders? : THE FRENCH ALPHAS (15). A CSO to our now busy and hopefully rich marti who loves skiing the Alps.

48A. Sandwich in the desert? : SAHARAN WRAP (11). This seems the least inventive and most obvious pun, but perhaps the seed entry.
And the hint..(not a reveal)

57A. Request for relief, and a hint to the formation of this puzzle's four other longest answers :
I COULD USE A LAUGH (15). JW seems intent on making us laugh while we cry over some of the tougher clues.

Across:

1. It reportedly had an impact on beachgoers in 1975 : JAWS. But they forgot...

5. Pyle player : NABORS. The slackjaw picture link recently also made this easy. Raymond Burr's other half.

11. Seventh of 24 : ETA. I remembered that the greek alphabet had 24 letters.

14. Finished : OVER.

15. Got away from : EVADED.

16. Rented : LET. There were signs, room to let when I was child.

20. Viet Cong org. : NLF. National Liberation Front.


21. Zagros Mountains locale : ASIA. In Iran, a fact which I did not know, but the perps made it an easy guess.

22. Period in ads : NITE. A made-up word.

23. __ Paulo : SAO. Part of the 2016 Olympic controversy where Brazil will host 28 Olympic sports — including rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the International Olympic Committee in 2009. These sporting events will take place at 33 venues in the host city of Rio and at 5 venues in the cities of São Paulo (Brazil's largest city), Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília (Brazil's capital), and Manaus. Wiki. Also, 60D. Braz. neighbor : URUguay. Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, e-government,and is first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of the middle class and prosperity. Wiki.

28. Rodeo loops, essentially : NOOSES. How macabre.

30. Cranial projections : EARS. So soon after C.C. and Tony's puzzle.

31. Deca- minus two : OCTA. This should be "minus duo."

32. Goya subject : MAJA. She is back with or without her clothes. And 26D. Gulf of California peninsula : BAJA.

33. Not yet on the sched. : TBA. To Be Announced.

41. Resting place : BED. This was so obvious that it was hard.

42. Laudatory lines : ODES.

43. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO. I get him often, and I never tire of complaining about his performance at Woodstock.

44. Hindu sovereign : RANI. And,  4D. Indian honorific : SRI. There was much I did not know about this WORD.

45. Called : PHONED. Home?

52. Thom McAn spec : EEE.

54. Obstruct : CLOG. Another shoe clue?

55. Suffix for those who are flush : AIRE. Flush with money, honey, Billion....

56. To the point : PAT. Another Friday I do not completely get; maybe from the definition like in a pat answer..." having been already prepared and therefore said without thinking much about the question."Dictionary.

62. Alley end? : OOP. Hyphenated in the dictionary and the mini-theme of my write up.

63. Spanning : ACROSS. Sneaky crossword clue/fill.

64. WWII Normandy battle site : ST. LO.

65. "Life Is Good" rapper : NAS. A crossword regular.

66. Weakens : BLUNTS. Definition: 2. To make less effective; weaken: blunting the criticism with a smile. v.intr.

67. Historical Cheyenne rivals : UTES. Native American Tribes.

Down:

1. St. __ University : JOHNS. I know them from Big East basketball.

2. Dramatic influx, as of fan mail : AVALANCHE. A very convoluted clue.

3. Ducky? : WEBFOOTED. A very literal clue.

5. Mysterious monster, familiarly : NESSIE.  Do you Loch these monsters?

6. Fulfills a need : AVAILS.

7. Everyday : BANAL. Followed by...

8. Not everyday : ODD.

9. Commission recipient, often : REPresentative. Generally a sales rep.

10. Deterrent announced in 1983: Abbr. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.

11. Legendary Castilian hero : EL CID. I remembered the name from the Movie.

12. Effectiveness : TEETH. It is time they put some teeth into the helmet-to-helmet rule.

13. Bamboozled : AT SEA.

18. File extensions : TABS.

19. Loose __ : ENDS.

25. "Okey-doke" : YEAH.

27. River through Orsk : URAL. Twice this week.

29. Stumblebum : OAF.

31. Nev. option for pony players : OTB.  They shut down in New York, but are still out in the MECCA for gamblers.

32. Podium VIPs : MCS. Emcees, or Master of Ceremonies.

33. Green disappointment : THREE PUTT.  When Stenson three-putted the first green for bogey on Sunday, I thought that the pressure was going to get to him and Phil (who birdied) was going to get his second Claret Jug.

34. Image on cabbage? : BALD EAGLE. So many terms for MONEY.

35. Japan's largest active volcano : ASO. I really am not up on my knowledge of VOLCANOES.

37. Stormy ocean output : ROAR.

38. __ Valley: San Luis Obispo County wine region : EDNA. Nope, means nothing to me. CHAIRMAN?

39. Freudian denial : NEIN.

40. Legendary man-goat : PAN.

44. Old World Style sauce brand : RAGU. A cute old one.  LINK.

45. Vivaldi was ordained as one : PRIEST. Ordained kinda gives it away, but who knew? A puzzle with nuns and priests...How many of you recall that Vivaldi was known as "il Prete Rosso," or "the Red Priest?"  LINK.

46. Beset : HARASS.

47. Berliner's wheels, perhaps : OPEL. A German car.

48. Descendant : SCION. Also an automobile.

49. Heavy hitter in the light metals industry : ALCOA. Aluminum Company of America,

50. Court activity : HOOPS. Basketball...

51. Aired, as a sitcom : WAS ON. Endeavour which is set in the 60's, was on Sunday nights.

53. Value system : ETHOS.

58. Black __ : LAB. My son's dog is half black lab, half boxer. He is a big sweetie.

59. CXXX quintupled : DCL.

61. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU. Arizona State University,

I can't believe it is all over so soon. Welcome home Jeffrey after your foray into other days of the week. Also welcome to summer all; it is quite steamy here is So. Fla. Come visit. Lemonade out.

Friday, July 15, 2016, Samuel A. Donaldson

Title: Gunther Toody, where are YOU.

This Samuel A. Donaldson, has been with us since 2009 .  It is time for his annual LAT Friday, with his last one being a sound alike as well. He is on a roll with 3 NYT and a WSJ all recently.  With a background in tax law, you know he has a great sense of humor and this offering, where we replace the o͞o  sound with the ē sound does require imagination. The theme jumped out at me with the Tina Fey and knowing the T from ARTTEST  was correct. I love getting into the mind of our constructors and picture how a phrase like TEA FOR TWO (Tē for To͞o ) becomes a perfect reveal for this puzzle. As I have said often, for sound puzzles, the reveal is the 13D, and I loved this one.

There are also is much sparkle to the fill such as ART TEST,  THIS ONE,  VENTNOR,  ENSLAVE, ECHELON,  DUST RAG,  SET DATE,  KNEE PAD,  LAERTES,  I KNEW IT, COUNTS ON and IMPLANTS.  Let go to work.

17A. What Fey does in a mushy moment? : TINA MELTS (9). I eat lots of tuna melts.

24A. Ornamental ducks? : GARDEN TEALS (11). Garden tools are more needed than the gnomes.

36A. Model high schoolers? : FINE TEENS (9). Fine tunes has many meanings.

51A. Park statue that might have the real things perched on it? : STEEL PIGEON (11). Stool pigeons are very important to the police.

And the reveal:

60A. "No, No, Nanette" song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across : TEA FOR TWO (9).

Across:

1. Quads with wheels : ATVS. Four wheelers.

5. Perry of pop : KATY. So did I.

9. Two-iron, before golf club numbering : CLEEK. The whole SET.

14. Orator's prowess: Abbr. : RHEToric.

15. Der Spiegel article : EINE. And 65A. Der Spiegel rejection : NEIN.

16. Modicum : OUNCE. This was difficult for me as an ounce seems like more.

19. Forward : UNSHY. "I saw them come out and I saw that they were naked, unshy, beautiful, and full of grace, and I watched the naked women walk out of the sea.”― John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever

20. Sandal feature : T-STRAP. Jimmy Choo.

21. Work the room : MINGLE.

23. Long time : EON.

28. Blanket in a belt : SNOW. Another hard one to decipher for me. Snow belt?

30. Beefcake subjects : HUNKS. Familiar?

31. One given at a wedding : VOW. One or two.

32. Polo of "The Fosters" : TERI. Don't know the Fosters, only the Fokkers.

33. Provençal possessive : SES. No grammar error this time.

34. 1974 #1 country hit for Dolly Parton : JOLENE.

39. __ Pie : ESKIMO.

42. Slowing, on scores: Abbr. : RIT. Ritardando (or rit.) is an indication to gradually decrease the tempo of the music (opposite of accelerando). Wiki.

43. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G. No politics here.

47. Home office, maybe : DEN. Do people have dens anymore?

48. Quite cold : POLAR. Vortex anyone?

50. Number on a clapperboard : TAKE. The name of this device used in filming movies etc.

55. Sylvan Tolkien creature : ENT. Talking trees.

56. Airport snags : DELAYS.

57. Dreaded : FEARED.

59. Hit lightly : TAP ON. The start of the two word fill.

63. Sudden jerk : START.

64. Way off the highway : EXIT.

66. Second chances : REDOS. Do over did not fit.

67. "__ arigato": Japanese "thank you very much" : DOMO. Did you all think of this song?

68. Where el sol rises : ESTE. The sun rises in the east in Mexico also.

Down:


1. "Draw me" challenge : ART TEST. Two words.













2. Selective words : THIS ONE.I really overthought this one. A second two word fill in the downs.

3. Avenue next to Monopoly's Water Works : VENTNOR. Anyone still playing Monopoly?

4. Headliner : STAR.

5. __ straight face : KEEP A. Two words.

6. Come down with a bug : AIL.

7. Big blowup cause : TNT. Cute cluing, not an argument.

8. Sycophants : YES MEN.  Again. Sychophant, literally "one who shows the fig,"

9. Has faith in : COUNTS ON. Again.

10. Sudden movement : LUNGE.

11. Subjugate : ENSLAVE.

12. Command level : ECHELON. "the upper echelons of the business world"

13. Exam marking aid : KEY. I remember working as a TA using these to grade multiple choice test papers.

18. GQ or SI : MAGazine.

22. HP product : INKJET.

25. South Korea's first president : RHEE. Or was it RYU? This MAN.

26. Cleaning aid : DUST RAG. Again.

27. Baltic Sea country: Abbr. : SWEden.

29. Airport connection : WIFI. Really tricky but simple once you see it.

33. Joe Cool, sans shades : SNOOPY. Hmm, this should be SNEEPY?

35. Exam for a would-be atty. : LSAT. Really an exam for a would be law student.

37. Surgical installations : IMPLANTS. I am not in favor of these but I could not resist a LINK.

38. The Emerald Isle : EIRE.

39. Text tweakers, briefly : EDS. Editors can be tweakers, but in the puzzle world they do much more. If you think a clue is bad, it may not be the original thought of the constructor.

40. Appointment : SET DATE. Again.

41. Patella protector : KNEE PAD. We wore them back in my wrestling days. 2 wds.

44. Ophelia's avenger : LAERTES. How cool, some Shakespeare. Also his father...
“I dare damnation: to this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I’ll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.”

45. "Aha!" : I KNEW IT. I knee it?

46. Finish : GET DONE. Again.  Another thought came to mind. GET 'ER DONE.

49. Being handled by a broker : LISTED. Real estate broker; our closing business is doing very well as Florida real estate has recovered.

52. What Spanish Olympians go for : EL ORO. The gold.

53. Heading for : OFF TO. Off tee? Again.

54. Con beginning : NEO.

58. Former Education secretary Duncan : ARNE. No politics but a CONTROVERSIAL person.

59. Original D&D co. : TSR. Dungeons and Dragons

61. Outer: Pref. : EXO. The opposite of Endo.

62. Intent : AIM.

Well I know Sam aimed to please with this effort and I thought the theme was really tight with two "OO" and two "U" all transferring to well clued EE sounds. Some humor in the cluing/ fill. There was not much crosswordese, just real words and phrases. I had fun, and I hope you all did. Stop by and say hello Mr. D., as an active member of other blogs we would love to have your comments.

Lemonade out.

Friday, July 8, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Title: Shhhh the Js are coming!!!

C. C. has returned to the Friday wars with a different type of theme where common phrases which have the second word begin with "SH" it is replaced with a "J" and clued accordingly. I know I often complain that the letter J is left out of so many puzzles so of course I did love this effort, but naming it is was too hard. I loved all the long fill, much of it new and some of it learning moments. For example, we have AUTO PEN, INK SPOT,  COSSETS,  EASY JOB, BRETHREN,  MISNOMER,  IN MOTION, U. N. SPEECH, RED AS A BEET,  BEER O'CLOCK,  BIONIC LEGS,  I SMELL A RAT. What a great mix of cultural stuff. Well, speaking of culture, let's solve the puzzle.

17A. Art-loving athlete? : CULTURE JOCK (11). Going to college in 1965 after four years away at all boys boarding school was a definite culture shock.

31A. What you don't know about audio equipment? : RADIO JACK (9). You don't know Jack unless you go to the Shack.

47A. Difficult situation at Bed Bath  & Beyond? : PILLOW JAM (9). I have pillow shams on my bed and I am not embarrassed by them.

61A. Gem of a night out? : EVENING JADE (11). Evening shade just sort of sits there...I did love the show with BURT.

Across:

1. Wrap alternatives : PITAS.

6. Ill-fated Corleone hoodlum Luca : BRASI. A real mobster? According to wiki, Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and ex-bodyguard for the Colombo crime family.

11. TD scorers : RBS. Running backs.

14. Response to a raise : I'M OUT. Or I fold, or just muck your cards. Sound familiar from Wednesday?

15. Element #86 : RADON. Perp time.

16. Fish whose blood is poisonous to humans : EEL. Of course C.C. would know eel blood is poisonous to humans and other mammals, but both cooking and the digestive process destroy the toxic protein. The toxin derived from eel blood serum was used by Charles Richet in his Nobel winning research which discovered anaphylaxis (by injecting it into dogs and observing the effect). Wiki.

19. "Agnus __" : DEI.

20. Home of the annual Norwegian Wood music festival : OSLO.  Wonderful excuse for

21. Heineken symbol : STAR. . C.C. used this before LINK.  Do you remember the puzzle where all the companies that use a Star in their logo?

22. Quick : SMART. That boy is as quick as a whip!

24. Sign on a door : PUSH. P U then the perps.

26. Texas county bordering New Mexico : EL PASO. Did not know it was a County. Read a Lawrence Block mini-mystery where he was trying to rhyme El Paso.

28. "__ Irish Rose" : ABIE'S. The modern version had a really fun cast. Turns out may have married Bernie, but she loves Batya.

34. Chinese checkers, e.g. : MISNOMER. Really fun word, and again we see C.C. playing with her heritage. It is a German variation of an American game that has nothing to do with checkers.

36. Firm : STABLE.

37. Fruit juice brand : POM. Oo buys this regularly.

38. Break up : END IT. Now done by text, I understand.

40. Goddess sister of Selene : EOS. A few years ago, I has this goddess of the dawn many times. LINK.

41. World Heritage Site org. : UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization...followed by, inexplicably...

44. Ban delivery : U. N. SPEECH.  BAN Ki-moon is secretary general of the UN. (From C.C.: Ban! This is Rich's clue.)

49. Foreigner in "Taxi" : LATKA. The late great Andy Kaufman.

50. Greensboro Grasshoppers' baseball level : CLASS A. Leave it to C.C. to craft a Friday baseball clue. (From C.C.:  Rich's clue as well. Along with many others.)

51. Surprised sounds : OHOS.

53. Appreciative sounds : CLAPS.

54. Wine holders : VATS.

56. "The Ghost of Frankenstein" role : YGOR. Or maybe IGOR?

60. "Away From __": Julie Christie movie : HER. This heart wrenching story of a woman who is institutionalized by her husband due to advanced Alzheimer's disease, is based on a short story by Alice Munro who was in a recent Friday puzzle.

64. Turkish bigwig : AGA.

65. Sculpted trunk : TORSO. The human variety.

66. Chocolate-caramel candies : ROLOS.




I loved the juxtaposition





67. It ends 11/6/2016 in the U.S. : DST. Daylight Savings Time. First Sunday in November.

68. Evil figure : SATAN.

69. "No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough" speaker : EBERT.

Down:

1. __ de gallo : PICO. No self-respecting South Floridian could get this wrong. Spanish for "rooster's beak," pico de gallo is a relish made of finely chopped ingredients like jicama, oranges, onions, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and cucumbers, along with various seasonings. This condiment was so named because it was once purportedly eaten with the thumb and finger, an action that resembles a rooster's pecking beak. Food Network. Unlike salsa nothing is cooked.

2. Stern rival : IMUS.

3. Crossing cost : TOLL.

4. Signing facilitator : AUTOPEN. This 60 year old DEVICE.

5. Poker great Ungar : STU. Another sad STORY.

6. Members of a flock : BRETHREN.

7. Punjabi prince : RAJA. 23D. Woman whom Goya also painted clothed : MAJA. We have seen both versions here.

8. Flipped over : ADORED. Not a pancake, or mattress- a girl/boy?

9. A behavioral sci. : SOCiology.

10. Laundry challenge : INK SPOT. Use an alcohol based product, no longer hairspray.

11. Visibly embarrassed : RED AS A BEET. I love these two next to each other

12. Time for a cold one : BEER O'CLOCK. This is actually in the 2015 Oxford dictionary.

13. Skirt feature : SLIT.

18. Web feed document letters : RSS. RSS (Rich Site Summary; originally RDF Site Summary; often called Really Simple Syndication) uses a family of standard web feed formats to publish frequently updated information: blog entries, news headlines, audio, video. Wiki. Unknown to me.

25. Military support gp. : USO. Think Bob Hope.

27. Memory aids : LISTS.

28. Intensify : AMP UP. C.C. has clearly amp-ed up her game presenting more Friday and Saturday offerings.

29. Brain-controlled transportation devices : BIONIC LEGS. Two more exquisite fill.

30. "Something's fishy" : I SMELL A RAT. So cool.

32. Adversity, in the RAF motto : ARDUA. Per ardua ad astra. From adversity to the stars. Good to know some Latin. This was chosen in 1912 for the first royal flying corps.

33. "We R Who We R" singer : KESHA. I have only heard of her as Ke$ha. The song...

35. Catty remarks : MEOWS.

39. Actively operating : IN MOTION.

42. Hit, in a way : SLAP.

43. Mollycoddles : COSSETS. I only know this word from reading scads of British mysteries.

45. West Bank initials : PLO.

46. Not a hard nut to crack : EASY JOB. Seems like a random phrase and clue.

48. "Les Misérables" inspector : JAVERT. A great J word to finish.

52. EVINE Live competitor : HSN. Home Shopping Network. QVC just would not work.

53. Libya neighbor : CHAD. Think we will ever learn African Geography?

55. Archaeologist's handle : ANSA. My son has been on numerous digs but I have no clue what this means

57. Severe blow : GALE. Refers to winds blowing.

58. Pure propane's lack : ODOR.

59. Come to a halt : REST.

62. Intl. broadcaster since 1942 : VOA. Voice of America.

63. Hurdle for srs. : GRE. So many tests...

What an odd ride for me, so much to love, so much to confuse...maybe C. C. will stop by; if not I gave my best shot....Lemonade out.