Friday, February 22, 2019, Patti Varol

Title: Does a male deliver your mail?

Today Rich's assistant Patti provides the entertainment with a very consistent homonym puzzle. 5 in the language phrases are repurposed using their sound-alike equivalent with humorous results.  This is my seventh trip as the guide for a PV puzzle, one of more than 30 she has published in the LAT. All five themers are four-letter words ending "AIL" replacing the "ALE."  WHALE is the outlier, as it is five letters. The puzzle does not feel like a Friday, with 78 words which average less than 5 letters each. It has some non-theme glitter like ATHEIST, EGOSURF, FLITTED, MULCHES, PADLOCK, SIDE BET, CAROL KANE, and  KALE CHIPS. There are some challenging words, some unknown directors, and a few that were hidden to me as clued, but lo and behold it is done, so time to discuss.

17A. Totally rad electric guitar performance?: KILLER WAIL (10). After last Saturday's WHALE tribute by HG, we start with a nice guitar solo. BOBBY BARTH.

23A. Emergency bucket on Dior's boat?: CHRISTIAN BAIL (13). Christian Dior has a hole in his boat which he needs to BALE the water and becomes the Welsh actor who has been Batman and Dick Cheney on screen but is HIMSELF accepting his awards.

37A. Jib made of clothing labels?: TAG SAIL (7). When I was a child, my grandmother worked in a tag factory, where they made all the labels used to show at a Tag SALE.

51A. Where to find more beach toys?: BEYOND THE PAIL (13). Beyond the PALE  a rather negative concept changes to evoke an idyllic scene by the ocean.

60A. Impressive New York zoo peacock display?: A BRONX TAIL (10). This is my favorite as the cult classic A BRONX TALE, a dark movie becomes a lively display at the famous Bronx Zoo.

Across:

1. Information desk sign: ASK ME. I do not see that often, my favorite is below.

6. Sits in a cellar, say: AGES. Wine, it was Chairman Mao's birthday recently.

10. Chuckleheads: SAPS. I have not heard the phrase chucklehead in years.

14. Yuletide name: CLAUS.



15. Philanthropist Wallace: LILA. Co-founder of the READER'S DIGEST. Do you remember her?

16. Grammy-winning rapper: ICE-T. Tracy Lauren Marrow reappears. HG one.

19. Short copy?: DUPE. Cute.

20. Upper bod muscle: PEC. Bod tells you it is an abbreviation. It also is a word not popular any longer IMO.

21. Poor Richard, really: BEN. I did not know Mr. Franklin well enough to call him Ben, I do like to look at him in my wallet.

22. Brusque: TERSE.

27. Nonbeliever: ATHEIST.

29. Shoreline flood protection: DUNE. According to the Waikato Regional Council, sand dunes protect our shorelines from coastal erosion and provide shelter from the wind and sea spray.

30. Caper film event: HEIST. What is your favorite of all time?

31. Actor Danson: TED. Again a repeat from Husker's Saturday.

32. Dessert chain with Cotton Candy Freeze: TCBY. The Country's Best Yogurt.

36. Travel guide: MAP.

41. SE state: ALAbama.

42. "When all __ fails ... ": ELSE. People say THIS many ways.

44. "Let 'er __!": RIP. Speaking of ripped...

45. Zac of "Baywatch": EFRON.

47. Error: GOOF.

49. Master piece?: PADLOCK. Very cool clue.  This fill has never appeared in the LA Times and referencing the lock company MASTER  was brilliant.

55. Expunge: ERASE.

56. Mahershala of "True Detective": ALI. This is his BIOGRAPHY.

57. IMAX purchase: TKT.

59. X-ray, Yankee, __: ZULU.  Your cheat sheet.

64. Phone button abbr.: OPER.

65. X-ray units: RADS. The rad is a unit of absorbed radiation dose , defined as 1 rad = 0.01 Gy = 0.01 J/kg.

66. Starbucks size: VENTI. We have had this discussion recently.

67. Double __ Oreos: STUF. We have had this discussion recently.

68. "If you don't mind?": MAY I.

69. In other words, in Caesar's words: ID EST. Not Sid, but one of the Emperors speaking Latin.


Down:

1. "Crikey!": ACK. I do not see these as synonymous. My SOURCE.

2. Berth place: SLIP. A nice sound alike pun/clue.

3. Healthy snack: KALE CHIPS.  That claim is being DEBATED.

4. Puts a cover on, as a bed: MULCHES.  A bed of flowers, again, cool misdirection. These are probably healthy as well,  just as tasty, but too high in fiber.

5. Jargon suffix: ESE.

6. Astros' MLB division: AL WEST.

7. Really big: GIANT.

8. "The House With a Clock in Its Walls" director Roth: ELI. I have not seen this movie, but would never have known the DIRECTOR even if I had. His work seems promising.

9. "On the Road" narrator: SAL. Sal Paradise was the central character in Jack Kerouac's anthem to the post-World War II freedom of the open road.

10. Secondary wager: SIDE BET. There are various situations where this occurs. Side bets can involve any topic, such as a bet on a sports game occurring at the same time as the poker game or a bet on a piece of trivia that players are arguing over. However, usage is traditionally confined to bets that in some way involve occurrences in the poker game.

11. Integra maker: ACURA.

12. "For every generation" soft drink: PEPSI. Do you like the new Steve Carrell commercial?

13. 1943 penny metal: STEEL. Copper shortage due to WWII.

18. Hitting stat: RBIs. Runs Batted In.

22. Paramount Network, once: TNN. The NASHVILLE NETWORK became Spike TV before the recent switch to its current name.

24. "Norma Rae" director: RITT. Another DIRECTOR I do not know. Sally is back after also seeing her in this part in HG's Saturday.

25. Writer's block breakthrough: IDEA.

26. German wheels: AUDI.

27. Words of lament: AH ME. Ask me?

28. Marsh duck: TEAL.

31. Cough syrup meas.: TSP. Abbreviations.

33. Actress who plays Kimmy Schmidt's landlady: CAROL KANE. Her role in TAXI will always be what my memory of her is, I have never watched the new show.

34. Allied group: BLOC. Bloc is also back.

35. Jerk: YANK.ee? Next to...

38. "Sunday Night Baseball" analyst, familiarly: A-ROD.

39. One often taking a bow: GIFT. Ah, bow not bow!

40. Helen of Troy's mother: LEDA. The STORY is much more complicated than that clue/fill suggests.

43. Try to find oneself?: EGOSURF. I still do not know this term, but it is in the OED and was introduced to us by Brad Wilber on Saturday, Mar 27, 2010, here at the LAT. I also said then I did not know the concept while commenting on a rare JzB Saturday write-up.

46. Made moth moves: FLITTED. A very cute clue also.

48. Half and half: ONE. Another time a simple clue adds up as something other than for coffee.+

49. House speaker after Ryan: PELOSI. No apolitical way to comment on this.

50. Neat as __: A PIN.

51. Amazon founder: BEZOS. How will his FEUD with the National Enquirer turn out? For 500 million, I might have married him.

52. Blow one's stack: ERUPT.

53. Ivy in Conn.: YALE U. Glue.

54. Resistant to cold, as plants: HARDY. Such a versatile word.

58. Small songbirds: TITS. Snicker, snicker.

60. Parka sleeve: ARM.

61. "Listen, ewe!": BAA. Sheep humor.

62. Income tax Amendment: XVI. "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The origin of the income tax on individuals is generally cited as the passage of the 16th Amendment, passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913; however, its history actually goes back even further. During the Civil War Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861 which included a tax on personal incomes to help pay war expenses.

63. Hammered: LIT. There are endless synonyms for this (maybe I shouldn't mention that after the last week kerfuffle); here are SOME.

Patti is a pro, though puzzle still did not seem like a Friday even with the hard clues and other obstacles, but I had a great time. I hope you did, but either way, thank you for being here. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

Malcolm told me that Fermet Prime (Lorraine) stays at the Northridge Hospital, but is expected to be released on Saturday. I'll call her later today. Malcolm talked to her yesterday and said  "She’s a bit groggy because of the pain-killers she’s on". Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday, February 15, 2019, Winston Emmons

Title: Winston, I C what you did here.

We have a Friday add a letter theme presented in a pinwheel grid. This is our fourth puzzle from Winston (the name of my grandpuppy who turned 10 years old yesterday-picture below) and his second already this year. Today's feature is different than his earlier Friday, and I found pretty doable. I never heard of the Fugard play, but the rest filled in with just a few perps. I did learn a bit and enjoyed some of the longer fill like DELISTS,  EMANUEL, ANDRETTI,  SEAHORSE, ASSERTIVE, and STENCILED. So we are off...

16A. Social media buzz about Alfred E. Neuman?: MAD CHATTER (10). I have never been to a chat room. Mad HATTER is an Alice in Wonderland reference.

62A. Jalopy that still works?: GOING CRATE (10). Going RATE is an in the language phrase and CRATE is ok.

9D. Vegan regimen for a willowy look?: CATKINS DIET (11). The controversial ATKINS diet morphs into a flowering spike of trees such as willow and hazel.

22D. Trysting place?: CHEATING PAD (11). A simple HEATING pad becomes a den of iniquity.
With a reveal:

67A. Grade describing the four longest puzzle answers?: C PLUS (5).

Across:

1. Dip with a kick: SALSA. Not if you live with a Thai chef.

6. Highest: NTH.

9. Video segment: CLIP.

13. "A Lesson From __": Fugard play: ALOES.  New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best Play of the Year, in 1980, I think.  FUGARD was a South African and outspoken critic of Apartheid.

14. Electronic music effect: WAWA. My son, Devin. uses his wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) which is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah".

15. Helper: AIDE. Even if you are not in the Senate.

18. Labor: TOIL.

19. Montgomery-to-Macon dir.: ENE. I have made this drive.

20. Founded: BASED. The theory was founded on the assumption...

21. Tie feature: KNOT. Silly; they do not come with knots. Oh, I guess if you are wearing one.

22. Fiscal exec: CFO.

24. Removes from the exchange: DELISTS. Delisting occurs when listed security is removed from the exchange on which it trades. A stock may be removed from an exchange if the company for which the stock is issued is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the exchange. The criteria to remain listed on an exchange differs from one exchange to another. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for instance, if a security's price closed below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days then the exchange would initiate the delisting process.

26. It's not an equine: SEAHORSE.

31. Directed: RAN.

32. Forceful: ASSERTIVE.

34. "There's many __ 'twixt the cup and the lip": old proverb: A SLIP. The origin  STORY. It is cool in a semi-sad way.



38. About one-third of Earth's land area: ASIA. This is where the above story comes from, as well as my beautiful wife.

39. Slyly disparaging: SNIDE. My favorite.

41. Monopoly pieces: DICE. Who thinks of the dice as a piece?

42. Tops: BESTS.

44. Like some posters: STENCILED. This took many perps.

46. Windows competitor: iOS. iOS (formerly iPhone OS ) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the second most popular mobile operating system globally after Android.

48. Big name in auto racing: ANDRETTI. Mario and his sons.

49. Chicago mayor since 2011: EMANUEL.  This MAN.

53. Addams cousin: ITT. A Hairy clue.

54. Actress Helgenberger: MARG. From China Beach to CSI.

55. Case, often: DOZEN. Beer, soda and a clecho with 69A. Case, for example: Abbr.: SYNtax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Nothing to do with 29 Down. Or as the majority has voted, it was a little play on words using the "for" to tell you that CASE is a SYNONYM for example. I am tired and like the old Burger King Commercial - you can have it your way.

58. Hanoi holiday: TET.

61. Radar readout feature: BLIP.

65. "Frozen" princess: ELSA.

66. Grandson of 33-Down exiles: ENOS. do we all know this biblical figure now?

68. Marsh plant: REED. I think of them from the Bible and Moses. The clecho. 47D. Marsh plants: SEDGES.

70. Permissible: LICIT. For once not illicit.

Down:

1. Matching: SAME.

2. Jackson of country: ALAN. My Thai wife listens.

3. Pay dirt: LODE.

4. Holding-on period?: SEC.

5. 49-Down remnant: ASH.

6. Expos, now: NATS. The Washington Nationals.

7. Rough material: TWEED.

8. Taking more time, probably, as a test: HARDER.

10. Ford Field team: LIONS. Sorry to all their fans, but DETROIT is not a successful team.

11. Nitwit: IDIOT.

12. Trapper's collection: PELTS.

14. Athletic org. founded by Billie Jean King: WTA. Women's Tennis Association. LINK.

17. Ends prematurely: ABORTS.

23. Pro: FOR.

25. Mike Trout's team, on scoreboards: LAA. Los Angeles Angels. The angels angels.

26. Swedish auto: SAAB. The car is now GONE.

27. Latin I verb: ESSE. To be or not to be, that is the question.

28. Craigslist caveat: AS IS. Also very important in Real Estate purchases and law.

29. Sloth and the like: SINS. Some say there are 7 deadly ones, but that would be religion.

30. Musical narrated by Che: EVITA. Hard to beleive this is more than 20 years ago.

33. Paradise: EDEN. More Bible.

35. Rhythmic cadence: LILT.

36. Tracy Marrow's stage name: ICE-T.

37. Salon offering: PEDI. How many of the men out there have had one or more? I have taken the cure.

40. Outcome: ENDING.

43. Trifling amount: SOU. French penny, basically.

45. Old PC monitor: CRT. Cathode Ray Tube.

49. Eventual 5-Down: EMBER.

50. "Atlantic City" director Louis: MALLE.  A very famous and controversial film DIRECTOR who went from shooting underwater with Jacques Cousteau to many sexually themed movies like Pretty Baby. He was married to Candice Bergen.

51. Stand: ARISE.

52. More than a little silly: LOONY. Etymology: also loonie, looney, luny, "crazy; silly and eccentric," 1853, American English, short for lunatic, but also influenced by loon (n.2) and perhaps loon (n.1), the bird is noted for its wild cry and method of escaping from danger. As a noun by 1884, from the adjective. Slang loony bin "insane asylum" is by 1909. Looney left in reference to holders of political views felt to be left-wing in the extreme is from 1977. Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. studios' animated cartoon series, dates from 1930.

56. Angels Landing's national park: ZION. The angels are obviously a hearty group. MORE.

57. Nation borders?: ENS. Nation. The absence of the 's was the giveaway.

58. Soothing application: TALC. Unless you use it on your body in a personal way. LINK.

59. Notions case: ETUI. This has become quite popular again.

60. Acid __: TEST.

63. Half of D: CCL. Roman numeral math...glue.

64. Hudson Riv. engineering school: RPI. We end with a common CSO to our Corner friends. Cool.

My Winston as a puppy and then him now He is a boxer black lab mix













I think I did it again; hope you enjoyed my tour and Winston's creation. I  await your comments. Lemonade out.

Friday, February 8, 2019, Andy Morrison

Title: Have you ever met a meta?

Along with REBUS CROSSWORD PUZZLES, I do not believe Rich accepts META PUZZLES. But if you like this concept, you will like this debut puzzle from Andy Morrison. The META is revealed at 37A. Literal and figurative hint to four puzzle answers: MISSING LINK (11) which defeats the meta aspect but gives you a taste of the challenge. We get there with:

18A. Boxing academy?: FLIGHT SCHOOL (11). FIGHT CLUB was a successful movie, but FLIGHT School is where you go to learn to fly an airplane. Here we remove the "L".

30. Optimist's hopeful list?: GREAT PLAINS. We have many here who live in the GREAT PLAINS, but how many make Great PLANS? The "I".

48A. Wild party in Dallas?: TEXAS RANGER. We may be too old to know the Urban Dictionary Definition of RAGER : A larger gathering usually of high school or college students where massive amounts of alcohol are consumed, but with many in the Corner from Texas, we know about all kinds of TEXAS RANGERS.

58A. Literary alliance?: WRITER'S BLOCK (11). A BLOC is defined as a combination of countries, parties, or groups sharing a common purpose.

A Writer's Block is the bane of all authors.

And there you have the four letters which make up the MISSING LINK. But you will not be missing any links here. You also were treated lots of sparkle with ARSENIO, GARBAGE, GENUINE, IN A SPIN, MACABRE, MIDWEEK, EPHESIAN, ICE WATER, CHAMBERMAID and  PACKAGE DEAL

Very impressive Andy.


Across:

1. Yukon supplier: GMC. General Motors makes this full-sized or bigger SUV.

4. __ pants: HAREM. Didn't every one of my age think of this image?

9. Scorned lover of Jason: MEDEA. Thank you
for the shout out Andy, but she was my wife and
killed our children just because I was dumping
her for a Corinthian princess.
If you believe Euripides.

14. Aptly, it rhymes with "spa": AAH. Feels so goood.

15. CNN correspondent Hill: ERICA. never watched her. She is on the right.


16. Big period: EPOCH. Is a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics. Often the backdrop of 43A. Sword-and-sandal feature, e.g.: EPIC.

17. TV trailblazer: RCA.

20. Loud noises: BAMS.

22. "There, there," e.g.: SOLACE. A Quantum?

23. One at the top of the order: ABBESS.  This is a woman who is the head of an abbey of nuns. They are an order.



26. Whirling: IN A SPIN. Perhaps this MUSIC. My granddaughter and her class sang this along with a Christmas carol at her winter show.

33. "Othello" role: IAGO. The epitome of a bad man.

34. Pamphlet ending: EER.

35. Have __ for: A YEN.

36. Colorful bird: MACAW.

41. Field supervisor: COACH.

44. Turkish title: AGA.

47. Award using spelled-out initials: OBIE. Off Broadway.

51. Wednesday, to be exact: MIDWEEK. In German it is Mittwoch.

53. Souvenirs: TOKENS.

54. Plays ball: AGREES.

57. Musical collaboration instruction: A DUE. An Italian misdirection. LINK.

63. A, in Aachen: EIN. I knew there was German coming.

64. Senate staffers: AIDES. No politics, but a quick look at Senate staff JOBS.

65. Coke or Pepsi: BRAND. I stopped drinking soda long ago but was always a Coke person.

66. Young Darth's nickname: ANI. Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader when he gave in to the dark side, but he was a nice boy.

67. Bright: SMART.

68. Hindu mystics: YOGIS. My most recent Lyft driver was a self-proclaimed "Yogi Guru."

69. Ballet composer Delibes: LEO. I had never heard this NAME. Of course, he died 128 years ago so he has not been in the news much. Maybe he was very good.

Down:

1. Refuse: GARBAGE. The classic refuse/refuse heteronym clue.

2. Poe genre: MACABRE.

3. Title servant in a 1946 Paulette Goddard film: CHAMBERMAID. This screenplay was written by the incomparable BURGESS MEREDITH who later married Paulette.

4. Mag mogul: HEF. The late Hugh Hefner, the ultimate playboy.

5. Home of the 2001 World Series champs, on scoreboards: ARIzona. The SERIES.

6. Eighteen-wheelers: RIGS. My brother-in-law was a truck driver for years following in his father's footsteps.

7. Call back?: ECHO. Nice clue.

8. Only deaf performer to win an Oscar: MATLIN.

9. Waikiki, to surfers: MECCA.

10. Recipient of a New Testament epistle attributed to Saint Paul: EPHESIAN.

11. __-wop: DOO. Two songs in particular may lay claim to being the "first" to contain the syllables "doo wop" in the refrain: the 1955 hit, "When You Dance" by The Turbans, in which the chant "doo wop" can be plainly heard; and the 1956 classic "In the Still of the Night" by The Five Satins, with the plaintive "doo wop, doo wah" refrain in the bridge.

12. Prefix with conscious: ECO.

13. Calder Cup org.: AHL.  It is Hockey, Eh! LINK.

19. Without: SANS. This is one of the French words we have taken over.

21. Vast expanse: SEA.

24. Tuck away: STASH.

25. 1974 CIA spoof: S*P*Y*S. I have had this Donald Sutherland - Eliot Gould attempt to capitalize and the success of M*A*S*H.

27. Discounted combo: PACKAGE DEAL.

28. Supermarket chain: IGA.

29. "__ is the winter of our discontent": Shak.: NOW. Our Friday Will quote, this one from Richard III, Act I, Scene 1.
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

31. Luau ring: LEI.

32. Architect's addition: ANNEX. Why an architect?

36. Start to manage?: MICRO.

38. Summer refresher: ICE WATER. Sorry Tin.

39. College admissions fig.: GPA. Grade Point Average.

40. Document with bullets: LIST. My boss loves bullets in lists, me- not so much.

41. Cousin of org: COM.

42. Band of Tokyo?: OBI. Obi-Wan Kenobi?

45. Sincere: GENUINE.

46. Hall of fame: ARSENIO. He faded since he took on Johnny.

48. Puerto Rico, e.g.: Abbr.: TERRitory.

49. Barely makes it: EKES BY.

50. Handle preceder: AKA. "Also known as," usually listed as a/k/a.

52. Discharge: EGEST. An obvious anytonym of INGEST if you know Latin, but still an unpleasnat wor.

55. Iberian river: EBRO. Memorize the European rivers!

56. Metallic waste: SLAG.

58. Lived: WAS.

59. Basket border: RIM. Why a basket?

60. Early civil rights activist __ B. Wells: IDA. It is a sad statement for the US that she is known for opposing lynching of black men in the 1890's. LINK.

61. Covert maritime gp.: ONI. Office of Naval Intelligence.

62. Cred. union offerings: CDS.

I thought this was a really fine debut puzzle with some challenge, some fun and some learning experience for both solver and constructor. Thank you Andy and all of you who read and especially those who comment. Lemonade out.

Friday, February 1, 2019, David Alfred Bywaters

Title:  Want a fun night? You can bet on Texas hold'em.

DAB is back for his first Friday of the New Year on the first one in February. White Rabbit White Rabbit. Today we are presented with the addition of the word/trigram "ALL" to some common phrases.  Once again symmetry and 1/4 with ALL added to the first part and 2/3 added to the second. Two are grid-spanners. We are also given a Friday gift of a reveal. With a passel of 3 and 4 letter fill, you had to expect some very challenging cluing which for me started with 1 Across. The entire North took me much more time and I needed some perps and some educated guesses to get going. The fill was not obscure, but the cluing was difficult to parse. He worked AGENDAS, DELIGHT, RANCHES, RIPENED, MELANGES, and TIDE POOL into the puzzle to give some sparkle. Lots of excuses to link music so enjoy.

17A. Up-tempo music lover's aversion?: BALLAD INFLUENCE (15). If you just read the black letters you see BAD INFLUENCE is the base phrase, with ALL added to create an amusing picture of someone changing the station on the radio when a ballad comes on. Cool.

30A. Large garlic relative?: BIG SHALLOT (10). The shallot is a type of onion with its close relatives - garlic, leek, chive, and Chinese onion. Nero Wolfe was a fictional BIG SHOT who used shallots with his chef Fritz Brenner.

48A. Classical dance minus the lifting, throwing, and such?: SAFE BALLET (10). This is pretty funny picturing old people doing ballet. It's a SAFE BET not many would watch. I wonder if the connection to the "ALL IN"  bet got this puzzle started?

62A. Genetic determinants of Southern linguistic variations?: Y'ALL CHROMOSOMES (15). This is also very cute - morphing Y CHROMOSOMES into a Southern accent.

and the reveal:

73A. Totally committed, and a hint to four puzzle answers: ALL IN (5).

On to the rest

Across:

1. They may be scraped off in bars: FOAMS. The one below promotes Guinness. I had to work my way back to get this.

6. Hamlet's "A little more than kin, and less than kind," e.g.: ASIDE. It is Friday so we must have Shakespeare. Today, it is not so much a quotation as it is a convention which Will used extensively where the characters speak directly to the audience.

11. Cut short: BOB. You have to first understand he is referencing HAIRSTYLES.


14. Atlas box: INSET. This also was not difficult except it hid from me for too long, as atlases all have those insets showing cities etc. I was looking for some device called an "atlas box."

15. Got a lode of: MINED. Notice the spelling - it is not "load" but "lode."

16. Half a pair: ONE. Reminiscent of Monday's Half and half: ONE

20. Tune: AIR. I had forgotten this meaning. Thank you blog mates for all your help. I guess it comes from an anglicization of ARIA.

21. Pond fish: KOI. Koi (鯉, English: /ˈkɔɪ/, Japanese: [koꜜi]) or more specifically Nishikigoi (錦鯉, [ɲiɕi̥kiꜜɡoi], literally "brocaded carp"), are colored varieties of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens

22. Sticks in: ADDS. Your two cents?

23. Meeting organizers: AGENDAS. Not the people but the program.

27. Belg. neighbor: GER.

29. Oil-yielding Asian tree: TUNG. Tung oil, also known as China Wood Oil, Lumbang oil, Noix d'abrasin (fr.) or simply wood oil, is made from the seed kernels of the Tung tree (Aleurites fordii and Aleurites montana, family Euphorbiaceae). (woodwork details). FRIDAY HARD.

36. Striped animal: TIGER.

38. South side?: GRITS. A very cute Friday misdirection. I recall my first breakfast in Gainesville.

39. Time to mark: ERA.

40. Employed: IN USE.

41. Negative prefix: NON. Essential?

42. Amazon business: E-TAIL.

44. Disney Store collectible: CEL. It is back with no clue controversy.

45. Weakling's lack: BRAWN.

47. Performed well enough: DID OK. An odd string of letters at first glance.

51. Sign of elimination: DELE.

52. Wise __: MEN.

53. Matured: RIPENED.

55. Siamese, nowadays: THAI. A CSO to my sweet bride. I also have had only one cat and it was a Siamese.

58. One seen on most 46-Down: COW. 46A. 58-Across homes: RANCHES. Not on the farms.

61. Bar valve: TAP.

68. Vietnamese soup: PHO. Phở or pho (UK: /fɜː/, US: /fʌ, foʊ/, Canada: /fɒ/; Vietnamese: [fəː˧˩˧] (listen)) is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat, primarily made with either beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). Chicken is GAI in Thai.

69. Irritant: PEEVE. Often kept as a pet.

70. Drudges: TOILS.

71. Polish off: EAT.

72. Good thing to have: ASSET.



Down:

1. It's petty but misleading: FIB.

2. Brahms' "Variations __ Theme of Paganini": ON A. Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35, is a work for piano composed in 1863 by Johannes Brahms, based on the Caprice No. 24 in A minor by Niccolò Paganini. wiki.

3. Comm. system with hand motions: ASL. American Sign Language.

4. Mixtures: MELANGES. I know that definition, but I also know that Melange, often referred to as simply "the spice", is the name of the fictional drug central to the Dune series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In the series, the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe is melange, a drug that gives the user a longer life span, greater vitality, and heightened awareness;

5. Serious: STAID.

6. "Moi?": AMI. Again, while they are both French words (Me and Male Friend) I cannot say I understand.

7. Set, as the sun: SINK. A personal CSO to our Gulf of Mexico Cornerites.

8. Collection of spies?: INFO. They collect it.

9. Make happy: DELIGHT.

10. Email suffix: EDU.

11. Investor's alternative: BOND. Stocks or...

12. Like most '80s-'90s commercial music: ON CD.

13. Winged collectors: BEES. They collect pollen.

18. Uninteresting: DRAB.

19. Countess' spouse, perhaps: EARL. The wife of a substantive peer is legally entitled to the privileges of peerage: she is said to have a "life estate" in her husband's dignity. Thus a Duke's wife is titled a "Duchess", a marquess's wife a "marchioness", an earl's wife a "countess", a Viscount's wife a "Viscountess" and a Baron's wife a "Baroness." England does not have Counts.

23. Storage areas: ATTICS.

24. Old U.K. coin worth 21 shillings: GUINEA. Learn about British CURRENCY.

25. Swallow up: ENGULF.

26. Lighthouse output: SIGNAL. We have some nice ones in Florida including one we toured. LINK.

28. Facilitated: EASED.

31. Unhappy utterance: GROWL.

32. Everyone, to some believers: SINNER.

33. Oppressively heavy: LEADEN.


34. Colorful songbird: ORIOLE. I always looked forward to seeing these beauties return in the spring.

35. Rapped: TALKED.

37. Hasidic teacher: REBBE. This is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word rabbi, which means "master, teacher, or mentor". Like the title "rabbi" it refers to teachers of Torah or leaders of Jewry.

43. Quahog's quarters: TIDEPOOL. A quahog is a clam but a clam isn’t necessarily a quahog. Steamers are clams but they aren’t always steamed, in fact, fried clam strips can be made from steamers. Cherrystones are bigger than little necks but smaller than quahogs and they are all clams.

49. Oscar winner Jannings: EMIL. He won the first Oscar in 1929. LINK.

50. Puente of mambo fame: TITO. This PERFORMER.

54. Noodles: PASTA.

55. Class: TYPE.

56. "Yeah, that's funny": HA HA.

57. Tons: A LOT.

59. Tram loads: ORES. That is how they transport the ores from the mine.

60. Masterminded, as a complex plan: WOVE. "What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."  Sir Walter Scott.

63. Many an IRS employee: CPA.

64. Made the acquaintance of: MET.

65. Thickness measure: MIL. This is one-thousandth of an inch.

66. __ Gold, Alan Cumming's "The Good Wife" role: ELI.

67. U.S. ID: SSN. Social Security Number.

February 1, 1945, was the day my parents married - here they are on their 25th anniversary. Love them.

February is here and we have 5 Fridays done and David has joined the ranks of the 2019 entertainers. There was some serious difficulty in the solve, but it all came out in the end. Thank you, DAB and all who read.

Friday, January 18, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Letter sounds

One of our regular Friday contributors is back with a puzzle, which I expect will be debated. The clues give you a hint of what is going. For example, the "B" in 17 A is read as "BE" which makes "EZR" the interpretation "EASIER." Once you get the idea then the puzzle is not too difficult for a Friday. But you need to get the push from the crosses. We have had various letter sound puzzles before, but none quite like this one. I related to 4 of the themers, but I struggled with sounding out JQZ. Which is a significant fill because it was the cornerstone of making this puzzle a pangram using three of the least used letters. Of course, once I sussed the sound, it was one so obvious. There really are so many types of HOT TUBS, I like the fact that the clue with a letter/word let us know the fill will also need the same. With two grid-spanners and 29 other blocks used in the theme, it is awesome to also get  COZUMEL, ERITREA, HURTLED, I LOST IT, MENORAH, ONEONTA, PETTILY, PLATOON, SENEGAL, and SILENT C. Heavy on geography again. Damn, I wish I had studied harder.

17A. Likely to B surprisingly difficult: EZR SAID THAN DONE (15). Easier said than done is something that is easy to suggest, but much more difficult to make happen. Like keeping CED's cats of the furniture.

23A. One might Q Shamu: NML TRAINER (10). Q - cue. An animal trainer worked with Shamu who was the first killer whale (orca) which appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s.

38A. U can soak in one: JQZ HOT TUB (9). Jacuzzi jets provide serious therapeutic benefits. 

54A. Something to C at Carnegie Hall: PNO RECITAL (10). "Piano" was only easy to grok because of the word recital. Of course, there is only one way to get to Carnegie Hall for a PIANO RECITAL.  Practice!

61A. Possible reason Y lights get turned off: NRG CONSERVATION (15). Energy conservation is a political subject these days. I pass.

Across:

1. Figura de __: Spanish skating move: OCHO. The figure eight which is a skating move translated to Spanish. A CSO to our dear departed Clear Ayes and a winsome friend Robin.

5. Besides: ALSO.

9. Cut back a lot: SKIMP. Skimp and save. No comment considering the times.

14. It might not be proper: NOUN. An oldie but goodie clue/fill combo.

15. Secular: LAIC. Adjective for the lay = non-cleric.

16. Edmonton athlete: OILER. The greatest, Wayne Gretsky, started there.

20. __ space: OUTER. Could be inner, also.

21. Spring bloom: IRIS. The iris family is closely related to the lily and amaryllis families, differing from them in having three stamens rather than six. A shout out to our representative from Delaware.
A repeat from yesterday - clued differently.                                                   
22. __-fa: set of musical syllables: SOL. Do re mi ...

26. Cycle starter: TRI. Here in So.Fla. the look like this...

27. Place to drive from: TEE. A CSO to Gary and George and more.

28. Not irr.: STD. A standard clue/fill.

29. Affirmative reply: YES I AM. No, I am not.

32. "The Aviator" (2004) Oscar nominee: ALDA.

34. Buffoons: OAFS.

37. "The fool __ think he is wise ...": "As You Like It": DOTH.  Will S. two days in a row.
As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 2: "The fool doth think he is wise but the wise man knows himself to be a fool"

41. Biblical hunter: ESAU. As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.

43. It was originally called a "Biscuit": OREO. Since its maker was the NAtional BIScuit CO., this should not be a surprise. When the cookie was first introduced in 1912, it appeared as an Oreo Biscuit, which changed in 1921 to Oreo Sandwich.

44. They're mostly on the phone: APPS. I like this clue/fill though no hint to it maybe being an abbreviation.

48. Bygone predators: T-REXES. I still find this scene captivatingly frightening.

50. Long-legged runner: EMU.

52. Bulldog booster: ELI. Yalie from Jeopardy Thursday night.

53. Component of a sweep, maybe: WIN.

58. Downed: ATE.

59. Countenance: MIEN.

60. Lenya of "From Russia With Love": LOTTE. Quite a lady.

65. They're changed on the road: GEARS. Like 44A, I loved this very nice clue for simple fill.

66. Sandwich staple: TUNA. I am a fan.

67. Frequently: A LOT.

68. French greeting: SALUT. A French shalom.

69. Reach: SPAN. Fighters have their's measured.

70. Out of __: SYNC.

Down:

1. College town WSW of Albany: ONEONTA. Another shout out to upstate New York contingent.
The COLLEGES. Geography 1.

2. Island resort near Cancún: COZUMEL. Cozumel is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. G 2.

3. Went like a runaway train: HURTLED.

4. It's a start: ONSET. Again, simple but tricky.

5. Lord of the ring?: ALI.

6. Brit's bud: LAD. Steve, still used?

7. Sub (for): SIT IN. A CSO to Gary.

8. Earthy tone: OCHRE. This is an earthy pigment containing ferric oxide, typically with clay, varying from light yellow to brown or red. Also, OCHER is acceptable.

9. Juniors, maybe: SONS. In families, not schools.

10. Razz: KID.

11. "My temper got the best of me": I LOST IT.

12. Holiday candle holder: MENORAH. It is much more than that. LINK.

13. Heat at a meet, for short: PRELIM. Preliminary round.

18. LAX landings: ARRS.

19. Opposite of stuffy: AIRY.

24. Entire range: A-TO-Z.

25. Shoshone Falls state: IDAHO. They are higher than Niagara. LINK. G 3.

30. Academic address ending: EDU. EDUcation.

31. Nagano noodle: SOBA. Soba noodles are Japanese noodles that are made from buckwheat flour.  Their nutty flavor works well as a base for stir-fries and salads. Oo like them in soup.

33. "Iliad" warrior: AJAX. I had one red betta and I named him Ajax. See above.

35. Behind: FOR.

36. Handle the wheel: STEER.

39. Ont. neighbor: QUE. Ontario - Quebec. G 4.

40. Heavy reading?: TOME.

41. Coastal East African country: ERITREA. G 5.             

  ↢ West Africa                                                    East Africa  ↣

42. Coastal West African country: SENEGAL. G 6.

45. In a small-minded way: PETTILY.

46. Army outfit: PLATOON.

47. Bit of obscenity?: SILENT C. A witty way to hide the answer. No controversy here from me.

48. Musical saw sounds: TWANGS. You decide.

49. Bias: SPIN. Doctor?

51. Pauley Pavilion Pac-12 team: UCLA. Where the basketball team plays.

55. Fits one within another: NESTS. Nesting dolls are back.

56. Best: ONE UP.

57. Frat letters: IOTAS.

59. Guinness book adjective: MOST.

62. French vineyard: CRU.  A vineyard or wine-producing region in France. 2. A grade or class of wine: premier cru.

63. Biological chain letters: RNA. Ribonucleic acid is a polymeric molecule implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.

64. Moving aid: VAN.

Speaking of moving, it is time for me to be moving on. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thanks, Bruce and all of you who read our words.

                                                   Bonus geography from our trip.

Friday, January 11, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Y?

Jeffrey gives us a substitution puzzle, where LE is replaced by Y. Which seems like a random concept, until you see the wit that inspired the choice. Each of the fill is a very funny play on words. Once again he uses the expedient of adding a column to create a 15 x 16 grid. The seed entry is likely one of the grid-spanning fill; my guess is  NEEDY IN A HAYSTACK, but that is just a guess. 66 theme squares are a challenge and limit some of the fill, but we still get  ASKED OF, THEATRE, AQUARIAN, COAT TREE, TICKETED and TRAINS IN.

18A. Indigent ones hiding among bales?: NEEDY IN A HAYSTACK (16). You are more likely to have an indigent person hide in your haystack than a needle anyway.

29A. Holders of poor-taste gifts?: TACKY BOXES (10). For all the fisher people a tackle box is needed. I think a bad gift can come in a nice box. 

35A. Result of smashing a piñata during a hurricane?: CANDY IN THE WIND (14). A very amusing image of candy flying everywhere with Elton JOHN in the background.

44A. Script for an absurdist play?: BATTY LINES (10). Battle lines are drawn but hopefully not quartered.

59A. Concept for creating difficult crossword puzzles?: TRICKY DOWN THEORY (16).  Trickle Down Theory of economics is a political hot topic. So no COMMENT.

Across:

1. Old gas station freebie: MAP. It has been a long time since free maps were given out. In fact, there are MANY things no longer at gas stations.

4. One holding all the cards?: WALLET. A wonderfully deceptive clue.

10. "__ run!": GOTTA.

15. Texter's cautioning letters: IMO. In My Opinion.

16. Take to the skies: AVIATE. We had this clued last August by Paul Coulter, as Do the Wright thing?

17. "The Phantom of the Opera" setting: PARIS. The Paris Opera (French: Opéra de Paris; French) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra.

21. Like much ordinary history: UNTOLD. Who cares what people ate for lunch on October 10, 1975.

22. Japanese volcano: ASO. Nice to see a fill other than LOA or KEA. Aso volcano has produced more explosive eruptions than any other volcano in the world. Aso is a caldera about 12 miles (20 km) in diameter. The first documented eruption in Japan was at Naka-dake in 553.

23. Long walk: HIKE. To get to the top of the volcano, I guess. Ask JOE.

24. Author Jong: ERICA.

25. Ascended: GONE UP.

28. Stark in "Game of Thrones": NED. Birth name Eddard played brilliantly by Sean Bean, I liked him also in the Frankenstein Chronicles.



31. Must: HAS TO.

33. Presidential nickname: ABE.

34. Type of pitcher: RELIEF. Not to drink from but for baseball.

41. Food industry headgear: TOQUES. We have seen many clues for this chef's hat.

42. Barrel contents: OIL. Sometimes.

43. __ cuisine: HAUTE. From the French for high dinging. For years the French chefs (many of whom wore toques) were considered the world's best and their culinary schools as well. Not so much anymore.

51. PHL stat: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival. Crossword glue.

52. Calls: PHONES. Verb, not noun.

54. Lavender asset: AROMA. Do you like the SMELL?

55. Gillette brand: ATRA.

57. Like Dorothy Parker's humor: WRY. The original use for the adjective wry was to describe something that was bent or twisted, so a sprained ankle could be described as "a wry ankle." Wry humor and wry wit both describe a sense of humor that is a little twisted from the norm. JW?

58. Pollen site: STAMEN.

63. Gaucho's tool: REATA.

64. Gift to an audience: ENCORE. An odd concept when the crowd is demanding it.

65. "Road to __": Hope/Crosby film: RIO.

66. Wee, jocularly: EENSY. The eensy weensy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. Then the eensy weensy spider went up the spout again.

67. Ancient eponymous advisor: NESTOR. Eponymous because the word has become, like kleenex a generic term for a wise man. He was a Greek leader who appeared in the Iliad, now noted for his wisdom and his talkativeness, both of which increased as he aged. These days, a nestor is not necessarily long-winded, but merely wise and generous with his advice.

68. Ernie with irons: ELS. Golf.

Down:

1. Stately dance: MINUET.

2. Ancient Egyptian deity: AMEN-RA. He was a god in whom Amen and Ra were combined: the god of the universe and the supreme Egyptian god during the period of Theban political supremacy.

3. How one might wax, but not wane: POETIC. 32D. 3-Down pugilist: ALI.
There live a great man named Joe
who was belittled by a loudmouth foe.
While his rival would taunt and tease
Joe silently bore the stings.
And then fought like gladiator in the ring.

4. Ambush: WAYLAY.

5. Passionate: AVID. Like Gary and his golf, or Picard his picture taking.

6. Architect Maya __: LIN. American architect and sculptor concerned with environmental themes who is best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed when she was only 21 and at Yale. The daughter of intellectuals who had fled China in 1948,

7. 2002 W.S. champs, nowadays: LAA. Los Angeles Angels.

8. Hydrocarbon gas: ETHANE.

9. Kids: TEASES.

10. Traveler's aid, briefly: GPS. Global Positioning System.

11. Censor's target: OATH. Bad words, not hand on the bible. Swearing not swearing.

12. Prepares for, as a profession: TRAINS IN. I miss the old days with apprentices.

13. Cited on the road: TICKETED. Always a bad feeling getting stopped.

14. Required from: ASKED OF.

19. Harbor sight: DOCK.

20. The Gershwins' "Embraceable __": YOU. One of the most recorded songs of all time by so many different artists. I picked...

25. Arid Asian region: GOBI. In the desert,  you do not see many...

26. Pair in a field: OXEN. But you do hear ...

27. "Is it ever hot today!": PHEW.

30. Hudson and James: BAYS.

34. Count (on): RELY.

35. Foyer convenience: COAT TREE.

36. Winter birth, perhaps: AQUARIAN.

37. Commonly hexagonal hardware: NUT. A hexagonal nut is a type of metal fastener that has six sides. Most nuts are cut in a hexagonal shape since it seems to be the easiest shape to grasp.

38. Not superficial: DEEP.

39. Purse relative: TOTE.

40. Pop radio fodder: HITS.



41. London's Old Vic, for one: THEATRE. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre, in 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, although by that time it was already known as the "Old Vic". wiki.

44. Corporate source of the Elmer's Glue logo: BORDEN.  It has been 80 years since 1939 when Borden introduces the iconic bull, Elmer, as the husband of their spokes cow, Elsie. The pair spends their first few years of marriage appearing in print ads espousing the many virtues of Borden dairy products.

45. Random individual: ANYONE.

46. Agitation metaphor: LATHER. Working up a...

47. Wrath, in a hymn: IRAE. Dies Irae.

48. "When!": NO MORE. From the concept of, "say when" to stop.

49. "Bam!" chef: EMERIL. I do not see Mr. Lagasse much these days.

50. Some HDTVs: SANYOS. On December 21, 2009, Panasonic completed a 400 billion yen ($4.5 billion) acquisition of a 50.2% stake in Sanyo, making Sanyo a subsidiary of Panasonic. Then, in 2011, Sanyo became a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic.

53. 1-Acr. marking: HWY. On the free map, you no longer get.

56. Book after John: ACTS. I do not have the books of the New Testament memorized but the King James version lists these in ORDER.

58. Minute Maid Park player, to fans: STRO. A Houston Astro.

60. Jewelry giant: KAY. They are owned by the British Company Signet Jewelers Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry and Zales.

61. Lavs: WCS. Water Closets. The famous Jack Paar joke that caused him to walk off his show. The STORY.

62. "Just kidding!": NOT. I really loved when this was popular. Not!

It is time to say goodbye after another wonderful Wechsler window into the wild world of words. It was nice to have JW back on Friday. Look forward to all of your comments and coming back next week. Lemonade out.

Friday, January 4, 2019, Brian Herrick

Title: This debut is his BEST effort.

Happy New year from Friday and we begin 2019 with a new constructor. We are back to themes with the maiden effort from our fourth constructor named Brian. I guess I should welcome him with this Link. Welcome, Brian. Today we have three themers and a two-part reveal. It is another missing word puzzle, as close to a rebus as Rich Norris allows -so far. With 49 theme squares, we are given lots of longer fill. ADD ONTO, AMOROUS, ASSUMES, DRUNKEN, EGOLESS, EMERALD, LEONARD, MAGENTA, PIE SHOP, RIHANNA, SENDERS, SORROWS, and STRIPES which I like better than Sunday's stipes. Nice triple-stacked 7s in each corner, but some very challenging fill. I await your reaction.

17A. Give it the old college try: DO ONE'S LEVEL BEST (11).

27A. Benchmarks on the way to mastery: GOOD BETTER BEST. (10).

41A. "Please don't expect any more from me": I'M TRYING MY BEST. (10).

40D. With 51-Across, Sinatra classic, and a hint to completing three puzzle answers: THE BEST. (7)

51A. See 40-Down: IS YET TO COME (11). Time to let Frank sing us into the solve. 

Across:

1. Logician Turing: ALAN. A very important figure in the birth of computers and computers science who sadly was driven to suicide for the way he was treated as a gay. LINK.

5. 15-Across protagonist: RIPLEY. Sigourney Weaver was this character in  15A. 1986 sci-fi sequel: ALIENS.

11. HMO group: MDS.

14. Try out, briefly: DEMO.

16. Exist: ARE.

19. Spray __: GUN. Not my first or second thought but real. They have changed from when I was spraying the roses in my father's garden to keep the aphids away.

20. It's no exit: ON RAMP.

21. Start of a cheer: SIS. Boom bah- cheerleading chant, originally (1867) an echoic phrase imitating the sound of a skyrocket flight ( sis ), the burst of the fireworks ( boom ), and the reaction of the crowd (bah). Dictionary.com.


22. Await judgment: PEND. Judges wait all the time.

23. Woman in the Book of Ruth: NAOMI. She was the mother-in-law to whom Ruth, the Moabite,  pledged her life after her husband died. "And Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave thee and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Another puzzle coincidence after early week comments.

24. Sailing pronoun: SHE.

25. "Much appreciated," in Munich: DANKE. Thanks in German.

26. Aligned: TRUE. Carpentry term.

29. Pigs out (on): ODS.

30. One may be rolled out in a stadium: TARP.

31. Plenty: OCEANS. Very vague, if ultimately correct. I was oodles for tow long.

32. Lip-thrusting look: POUT.

33. N.Y.C. part: YORK.

34. Make even smoother: RESAND.

37. N.W.A rapper __-E: EAZY. This PERFORMER died young, after starting out with ICE CUBE and Dr. Dre, from Compton, California.

38. Posed: SAT.

43. Comedian Daniel: TOSH.

44. Start of an old late-night intro: HERE'S.

45. Daybreak deity: EOS. I used to get this fill regularly.

46. "It's __ than I thought": WORSE.

47. Nothing like wetlands: ARID.

48. Screech __: OWL.

49. Garden of Eden protector: CHERUB. The first mention of cherubs is found in Genesis 3:24: "He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." Var.

50. Carpet feature: NAP.

53. Phillies' div.: NLE. What a convenient set of letters.

54. Effective deal maker: CLOSER. No politics.

55. Amazes: AWES.

56. Eight minutes of the average sitcom: ADS. Out of a 30-minute show.

57. Puts up: HOUSES.

58. "Hey, you!": PSST.

Down:

1. Expand, as a residence: ADD ON TO. My father built an addition to our house in the late 50s to have a larger kitchen and a family room with a pool table.

2. Conductor Bernstein: LEONARD. One of the first American born conductors to achieve worldwide fame, 2018 was his centennial year.

                                                                 LINK

3. Lovey-dovey: AMOROUS.

4. Generic: NONAME.

5. Filing aid: RASP. A coarse file, or a hoarse voice, which could mean you are...

6. Down with something: ILL.

7. Mrs. Lovett's business in Broadway's "Sweeney Todd": PIE SHOP. It was the filling that was so filling. The PLOT.

8. Imposed: LEVIED. Like a fine or taxes.

9. NBA center __ Kanter: ENES. I understand liking the letters but a  center for a bad team who is no longer a STARTER?

10. Fashion initials: YSL. Yves is back.

11. Purple shade: MAGENTA. The queen wears this color.

12. Like a bar free-for-all: DRUNKEN. Or noodles.

13. Emailers: SENDERS.

18. Old U.K. record label: EMI.

22. Luxury watch brand __ Philippe: PATEK.

24. Database function: SORT.

25. Rail against: DECRY.

27. Catalonian architect Antoni __: GAUDI. Catalan architect, whose distinctive style is characterized by freedom of form, voluptuous color and texture, and organic unity. Gaudí worked almost entirely in or near Barcelona.  LINK. A total learning moment.

28. See 12-Down: BOOZY.

30. "Hamilton" got 11: TONYS.

32. Trimmed: PARED.

33. Orange tubers: YAMS.

34. "Rude Boy" singer: RIHANNA. Performed at a concert in RIO one of my old law partners is involved in setting up. LINK. Some profanity.

35. May birthstone: EMERALD.

36. 1981 Bill Murray military comedy: STRIPES. One of the many hilarious comedies which Harold Ramis wrote in which Bill Murray appeared. How many can you name?

37. Small-headed?: EGOLESS. An odd clue/fill combination.

38. Sad subjects: SORROWS.

39. Takes over the duties of: ASSUMES. Responsibility.

42. What diets and beauticians may promise, with "a": NEW YOU.

43. It covers the end of the foot: TOE CAP. I guess you can buy a piece of material (such as leather) covering the toe of a shoe and reinforcing or decorating it

46. "__ cares!": WHO. I do.

48. Nobel Peace Prize city: OSLO.

49. Hubs: Abbr.: CTRS. Centers.

51. German I: ICH. An excuse to link the outrageous EDDIE IZZARD. The link is obscene and filled with controversy but damn funny.

52. Fore site?: TEE. A golfing pun to end our journey.


A new year, a new constructor and your same old Friday sherpa. It was a challenging puzzle; the theme was easy but it was still lots of work. I hope you enjoyed the puzzling puzzle. Lemonade out.