Friday, April 16 2021, Mark MacLachlan

Theme: "There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes"

TGIF! Hello Cornerites and welcome to the blog. I chose today to inform, delight, and entertain you as best I can for the next 10 minutes or so. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

First the inform: this was by far the hardest puzzle I've had to solve, not only as your blogger du jour, but perhaps ever. It kicked my skinny white (61-Across. Beast of burden:) ASS.

Second, the delight:

Third, the entertain: (go ahead and take your time; I could only find 6)

On to the puzzle: Today's constructor, Mark MacLachlan, "shifted" into (42-Down; Fifth, often, for a manual transmission:) TOP GEAR on this puzzle straight-away. I must've been having one of those evenings where my brain was in "reverse", as I didn't immediately get either (1-Across; Annie Lennox, e.g.:) SCOT, nor (1-Down; Snooze loudly:) SAW LOGS. I can always sense when a puzzle and I have no connection, and it's usually in the NW Corner. So after a lot of white space I finally looked up several clues to give me a toe hold, and eventually figure out this crossword puzzle. I got the "AHA" moment when I saw the (56-Across; Sign of deceit, and a phonetic hint to four puzzle answers:) "SHIFTY EYES".

All four entries have anagrammed words which change the meaning of the punned clue to a more familiar phrase, merely by shifting the letter "I". Didn't see that coming? Well, please read on . . .

16-Across. Cycling route for Broom Hilda?: WITCH TRAIL. Shift the "EYE" (phoenetic sound for the letter "I") in the word "TRAIL" and you complete the more recognizable phrase, "WITCH TRIAL".

Might this be the WITCH TRAIL she was referring to?

23-Across. Romantic locales for Miss Piggy?: DATING STIES. Put the "I" before the "T" in the word STIES (plural of "STY") and the word "SITES" appears. DATING SITES such as Zoosk, Tinder, eHarmony, Match dot com, et al, are the 21st Century's way of getting folks together, hopefully for romance. The piggies below aren't Muppets characters but they do look like they're in love!!

32-Across. Place to harvest your deepest secrets?: DIARY FARM. Shift the "I" with the "A" in DIARY and the word DAIRY appears. I've heard of a DAIRY FARM, but a DIARY FARM? This clue and solve seemed the "stretchiest" of the four, but it fits. I don't know why but DIARY FARM reminded me of this joke (I found a clean version)

48-Across. Equipment for identifying genuine island wreaths?: LEI DETECTOR. Shift the "E" and the "I" in LEI and the familiar LIE DETECTOR appears. This and 23-Across "tied" for the best of the four entries, IMO. And whilst the image below doesn't use the "DETECTOR" portion of the pun, I thought it appropriate! Wonder if their eggs are already "dyed" for Easter, e.g.?

There's more fill that needs an "I" examination . . . and I'm the lucky blogger today!

Across:
5. Phishing, say: SCAM. Since the puzzle's reveal is a homophone why not have one of the early clues be one as well? Had anyone here heard of the word "phishing" before the end of the last century? Moe-ku:

The band known as Phish
Jams like Jerry Garcia.
A Grateful Dead SCAM?

9. Start of many a "Jeopardy!" answer: WHO?. "Please state your answer in the form of a question" was a familiar piece of advice to the contestants playing "Jeopardy".

12. College fund-raising targets: ALUMS. ALUM-NI maybe. ALUMS? I'm gonna pull the grammar card on you, MacLachlan! And if I didn't Yellowrocks would! Here is what grammarly dot com has to say: "Alumni is always the plural. You have alumnus and alumna — or if you don't like gender discrimination, alum — to cover your singular noun bases. Alumnus for a male, alumna for a female, alumni for a group of males or mixed gender, and alumnae for a group of females". I couldn't find ALUMS as a plural for a group of college graduates. . .

However, had Mark used this reference I'd be OK with it: ALUMS: colorless astringent compounds that are a hydrated double sulfate of aluminum and potassium, used in solution medicinally and in dyeing and tanning

14. Flag bearer: POLE. Literally:

15. Crack from the wind, perhaps: CHAP. Wow! This clue and answer had me bamboozled! When I saw the clue this image appeared in my temporal lobe:

18. Instrument featured in "Waltz of the Flowers": HARP. OBOE also fits the letter count. But Tchaikovsky's piece from the Nutcracker features the HARP. Enjoy!

19. Old DJ's array: LPS. Long Playing RecordS. Though most used '45's I think. How about my original image of the Eagles "Take it to the Limit" (Side A) and "Lyin' Eyes" (Side B)?

20. Taper off: ABATE. Moe-ku:

You have just three casts
With a worm; then it becomes
An ABATED bait

21. One-up: OUTDO. Moe-ku:

If two hair stylists
Compete, would you then say they'd
OUTDO their updo's?

22. Bread grain: OAT. I prefer RYE and had that pencilled in for quite awhile

25. Maker of a fine cheddar?: GRATER. Cute clue. On Tuesday we had CHEESE GRATER as part of the "Shift Gears" entries. Did you hear that folks in Wisconsin use the term "Make America GRATE" when referring to their eponymous cheddar cheese?

27. Result of a missed deadline, maybe: LATE FEE. I always equate "LATE FEE" with the charge a library imposes when you forget to return a book on time . . .

28. Eye affliction: STYE. Moe-ku (and a reference to 23-Across):

Miss Piggy's eyes were
Infected after her date.
She got a sty STYE.

29. Sheer linen fabric: TOILE. I actually knew this one, but don't ask me why!

31. Pre-1991 map letters: SSR. Soviet Socialist Republics

36. Part of a Braille character: DOT. Lots of DOTS

39. Like many dad jokes: STALE. I had CORNY and then SILLY before STALE fit. FTR, my "Dad jokes" are not STALE, but they are, sometimes, "fresh"!

40. Italian wine hub: ASTI. ASTI Spumante is a sparkling wine from that region in Italy and is almost always sweet. Where is it you ask? Here, with the ALPS in "repose" . . .

44. Logically flawed: INVALID. IN-VAL'-ID vs IN'-VUHLID: in this case the heteronym chosen by cluing is IN-VAL'-ID

46. Hit, as the gas: STEP ON. Mazda's commercials implore us to STEP ON it. Zoom, zoom!

51. Dungeons & Dragons genre, briefly: RPG. I had no clue. Never played Dungeons & Dragons though I know of it. So Role Playing Game was a complete WAG (Wild Ass Guess)

52. Hungarian mathematician Paul: ERDOS. Paul Erdős (note the umlaut over the "O") (born 26 March 1913 – died 20 September 1996) was a renowned Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. You knew that, right?

53. Frodo's home, with "the": SHIRE. From "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy

54. Wine statistic: AGE. AGE, as in the period from the vintage year (actual year of the grape's harvest) to when the wine is "ready" for drinking. Some wines "AGE" better than others and is due in part to the grape varietal used (and where it grows), and the winemaker's vinification process. A CSO to yours truly as the blog's resident sommelier

As a side note, I used to buy wines that would AGE gracefully for years, maybe decades. But now that I am at a fairly "advanced" AGE (68) I don't even buy green bananas anymore!!

55. Baskerville Hall setting: MOOR. Baskerville Hall is the ancestral home of the Baskerville family. The place is an impressive manor located in Devonshire, England. Some say it's haunted. The word "MOOR" means: "a tract of open uncultivated upland; a heath". This?

58. Beast of burden: MULE. "Clecho" with 61-Across. "Moe" info: "ASS vs MULE: An ASS is either a male or female donkey. A MULE is the result of breeding between a male donkey and a female horse

59. Massage deeply: ROLF. Massaging technique named for its "inventor", Ida Rolf. Ida Rolf was re-invented in the 1977 movie "Semi-Tough" starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristoffersen, and Lotte Lenya as "Clara Pelf". I've posted the video clip of Reynolds getting "pelfed", but if you really want to know about the ROLF technique, click here

60. Workout output: SWEAT. I would imagine that actor Reynolds had a SWEAT or two as he anticipated Lenya's next move during the ROLF/PELF scene

62. Needs to settle: OWES. Hmm. OK it's Friday so the cluing should be a bit tougher. Of course I was thinking that "settle" meant to come to rest. Did I mention before that this was one of the hardest puzzles I've ever solved?

63. Drops the ball: ERRS. CELEBRATES NEW YEAR'S EVE was too many letters to fill this small area . . .

Down:
2. Some website images: CLIP ART. Is it one word or two? CLIP ART looks better to my "I" than CLIPART. But I digress . . . guess what folks? We use CLIP ART in our blogs! Clip art are simple pictures and symbols made available for computer users to add to their documents. But once again, my brain's temporal lobe thought up this image and I am pretty sure that "clippers" had a role:

3. Linger longer than, as a welcome: OUTSTAY. I've heard both OUTSTAY and OVERSTAY, but either way, as Ben Franklin said, "Fish and houseguests smell after three days . . ."

4. Film buff's choice: TMC. Turner Classic Movies

5. Jack in a rhyme: SPRAT. "Jack SPRAT would eat no fat, his wife would eat no lean . . ." or something like that

6. Kinkajou cousin: COATI. First off, it would've helped to know what a Kinkajou is! Wikipedia says: "The kinkajou is a tropical rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, and the ringtail and cacomistle. It is the only member of the genus Potos and is also known as the "honey bear". And now you know

How about a Moe-klu?

Certain Israeli's
ROLFing practice has the name:
"Ida's Kinkajou"

OY!

7. Sci-fi subject: ALIEN LIFE. WHO doesn't remember the most eponymous Alien Life Form from the 1986-1990 TV sitcom?

8. First name of two Spice Girls: MEL. Wikipedia says: "The Spice Girls are an English pop girl group formed in 1994. The group comprises Melanie Brown, also known as MEL B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm, MEL C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham née Adams ("Posh Spice")

9. Hypotheticals: WHAT IFS. Are there hypothethicals in Jeopardy? For example, ANSWER: "The speed of light." QUESTION (as posed by a contestant): "WHAT IF I say, 'very fast'??

10. Monster Angus Thickburger seller: HARDEE'S. HARDEE'S is a "fast-food" restaurant chain that started as a single facility by Wilbur Hardee in Greenville, NC in 1960. Wikipedia has lots more info than I can type here. FTR, I worked at one of their restaurants in York, PA in the summer between my sophomore and junior year in college. Minimum wage then was $1.65 per hour I think . . .

11. Adversary: OPPOSER. Our visit from the Thesaurussaurus

13. Protect from light: SHADE. I sure hope that no one will "throw" SHADE at me!!

15. Certain jumper's need: CHUTE. Or the equally familiar PARACHUTE. Both are acceptable, but why would you jump out of a perfectly safe airline, e.g.??

17. Way up the slope: T-BAR. Moe-ku:

Ski slopes in England
Are busy at 4:00 PM.
Long lines at T-BAR

Are my "dad jokes" getting a bit too STALE right now??!!!

21. KitchenAid competitor: OSTER. I wanted another Moe-ku (OSTER Oyster) but I'm done for today! Here is an OSTER appliance CLIP ART I found:

24. Apple variety: GALA. GALA apples are a hybrid that originated in New Zealand back in the 1930's. It is one of the more popular varieties and is one I almost always buy. Of course the "clue" today had me thinking of PDA's, and I had IPAD/IPOD/IMAC in mind. Each found their way into the puzzle before I realized it was an orchard fruit variety. Anybody else fall for that?

26. Rocker Nugent: TED. TED Nugent (Theodore Anthony, by birth) gained fame first as a lead guitarist for the band he formed called The Amboy Dukes, but is best known for his solo work. Here is a sample of his guitar prowess:

29. Convention center attraction: TRADE SHOW. If I had a nickel for every TRADE SHOW I attended or worked during my 35+ year career . . . I'd have about $5!!

30. Olive __: OYL. This became a "SHIFTY EYE" for me in a different way . . . I had this answered as OIL (with an I) at first

33. British __: ISLES. Wow, this clue seemed quite easy actually. One of the few spots I filled before cheating

34. Fighting: AT IT. My sister (older) and I were always AT IT when we were kids; we are much more cordial now

35. Astronaut Jemison: MAE. MAE Carol Jemison (October 17, 1956 - ) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Wikipedia. Love this quote:

36. Word from the Greek for "two assumptions": DILEMMA. Another word I looked up to get a foothold on the Western border of the puzzle. DILEMMA: early 16th century (denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavorable alternatives): via Latin from Greek dilēmma, from di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise’. Caught between a rock and a hard spot, perhaps? Or maybe this:

37. Oppressive: ONEROUS.

38. Tube tops?: TV IDOLS. Once again, the "literal" clue appeared - "tube top" - as in the strapless clothing item worn by women; followed closely by the plastic lid one might find on a tube of toothpaste. But it wasn't until I found INVALID (the key "perp") before I knew that "tube" meant the slang word for television, and that "tops" meant stars or IDOLS. Meh. Maybe if they clued it "boob tube tops" I'd have had a chance of getting it the first go around . . .

41. Device that delivers a coat: SPRAYER. I liked this clue! And since we recently had a painting job to do that required a base "coat" (which we applied with a SPRAYER) it was crystal clear

43. Downs: INGESTS. Third person present. INGESTS means to take into the body (food, drink, e.g.) by swallowing; could also mean (with regards to information) "absorbing". As in "they spent their day by INGESTing the contents of the Encyclopedia Brittanica

45. Cherish: ADORE. Another "oldie but goodie":

46. Type: SORT. Got this straight away, too. Dunno why but it just seemed to "fit"

47. Part of a full house, maybe: TREYS. Look carefully: which is the better hand?

49. Easter Island's country: CHILE. Another gimme. See map here. Scroll to show just how far off of the coast of CHILE this island "LEIS". About 2,000 miles I reckon

50. Little disputes: TIFFS. Most of the time when my sister and I were "AT IT" we were having TIFFS

56. Box office sign: SRO. Standing Room Only

57. Female in a field: EWE. This cleu was "meh" for me. EWE?

The Grid: (72 words and 36 blocks - very difficult)

Comments??

Friday, February 28, 2020 Mark MacLachlan

"BR EXIT"


18. Power of a Hummer?: UTE FORCE.  Brute force

23. Enormous card revealed at end of magician's routine?: ACE FOR IMPACT.  Brace for impact

38. Tattoo depicting the last woolly mammoth?: INK OF EXTINCTION.  Brink of extinction

47. Avian mascot on a refueling vessel?: OILER CHICKEN.  Broiler chicken

57. Hotel employee who only works one day a month?: IDES MAID.  Brides maid


68. Subject of a 2016 U.K. referendum, and a hint to five puzzle answers: BREXIT.  Parse it as BR Exit.

I liked this puzzle.  Drop the Br from the commonly known phrases and redefine the remnants.

Initially couldn't figure out any of the theme answers due to good cluing and a few crossing unknowns.   Then got IDES MAID but didn't think too much about it.   A few moments later, got BREXIT and then knew the game.   Add Br back in and fill in the rest of the common phrase.   Nice !

This is Mark's fifth puzzle.  One each year starting in 2016.   I looked back at each.

"C Battery" Sunday March 26, 2016

"Three Little Letters" Wednesday April 5, 2017

"Iron In" Friday September 28, 2018

"Code Crackers" Sunday July 14, 2019


Mark is a chemistry professor at the University of British Columbia.    Using my code cracking skills (not very refined), I see a pattern: 

• Add C (the chemical element symbol for Carbon).    
• Add Fe (the chemical element symbol for Iron).    
• Drop Br (the chemical element symbol for Bromine).  

Every other one of his puzzles is going to have wordplay based on an element symbol !


I don't recall the Friday puzzle and had no comments that day, but of the other three it appears I only aced one.   It would have been one for four if not for perp saves on  SPIFF,  ON THE DL,  ETOILE and SEN-SEN. 

Hope you had fun solving it !


Across:

1. Big divides: CHASMs.    Ideological divides: Schisms.

7. Vat sediment: LEES.   Dregs.  Speaking of remnants...

11. Swindler: CON.

14. Aid, as a fallen teammate: HELP UP.    And, 23D: Give a hand: ASSIST.

15. Munch Museum city: OSLO.  Dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.  The new museum opens in the fall of this year.

16. Crazy Eights relative: UNO.

17. Connected: ONLINE.

20. Greek group: FRAT.

22. Discreetly, in slang: ON THE DL.   Down Low.

27. Form fig.: SSN.

28. Fictional anchor Nessman: LES.

29. Goes apace: HIEs. 

33. "Your point being?": SOO.    An informal,  and perhaps confrontational or condescending  "What is your point ?"     Elongate so.    Why drag it out ?

34. __ 51: AREA.

36. The slightest bit: A TASTE.

41. Avoids: SKIRTs.   Sidesteps.

42. Muslim leader: IMAM.

43. Carol contraction: TIS.    No,  Tinbeni,  the lyrics to "Deck The Halls" do not have the verse,  "Tis the season to drink Stoli" but it does have a nice ring to it.

44. Immobilize with a charge: TASE.

45. "Moby-Dick" setting: SEA.   Hardly a favorite here.

46. Bullring bravo: OLE.

Ole wore both of his winter jackets when he painted his house last July.   The directions on the can said "put on two coats".

Sven says to Ole "I found dis pen, is it yours?"
Ole replies, "Don't know, give it here" 
He then tries it and says, "Yes it is"
Sven asks "How do you know?"
Ole replies, "Dat's my handwriting!"

53. Three on a match, they say: BAD OMEN.   Bad luck is what I knew.

56. Ikea purchase: SOFA.  Some of their brands include  Kivik, Ektorp, Klippan, Friheten and  Balkarp.  These are the kinds of words I would need if I were creating a crossword.   

59. Acted greenly?: REUSED.

63. It usually needs breaking: TIE.   Last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in an 8-way tie.   The final eight went 20 straight rounds of spelling without any errors.  The Bee simply ran out of predetermined words to sufficiently challenge these children.   Each co-champion took home the $50K first place prize.  The Bee is taking steps to reduce the number of entrants to the final, and searching for new lists of words that are even harder to spell.

What word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly ?   

64. 1968 self-named folk album: ARLO.   Arlo Guthrie, known for singing songs of protest and about social injustice. - Wikipedia.

65. Stands in a studio: EASELs.   Bob Ross used them on his program... 

66. Wrap up: END.   "That's a cut !"

67. Changes to green, say: DYEs.   Sounds Eco.

Down:

1. Comic Margaret: CHO.    Not my cuppa.

2. Egg producer: HEN.

3. The lot: ALL.   Lock, stock and barrel.   Everything. 

4. Calvin's spaceman alter ego, in comics: SPIFF.   Spaceman Spiff  at Fandom.

5. Literature Nobelist Alice: MUNRO.   "Munro’s stories reveal her as a consummate artist who is without question among the most accomplished masters of the short story."  - Nobelprize.orjg

6. Weapon for Goliath: SPEAR.    Asparagus, broccoli or pickle ?

7. Teammate of Babe: LOU.    Ruth and Gehrig, respectively.  Numbers 3 and 4 on their jerseys and on your Yankees lineup card.

8. Legally prevents: ESTOPs.

9. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

10. Cymbal sound?: SOFT C.

11. "Friday I'm in Love" band, with "The": CURE.    A British band that scored a top 10 pop hit with that song.   No idea.  Perps.

12. Saved, in a way: ON CD.  

13. Holiday song: NOEL.

19. "Ah, I see what you meant": OH, THAT.

21. Household cleaning brand: TILEX.

24. Dolphins Hall of Famer Larry: CSONKA.   Talk about brute force.   The big bruising fullback was the featured running back in the ball-control ground-game offense of Don Shula's undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.  Jim Kiick and fleet-footed Mercury Morris shared the halfback duties.

25. Japanese mushrooms: ENOKIs.

26. More substantial: MEATIER.

30. "Will this work for you?": IS IT OK ?

31. French star: ETOILE.   étoile definition is - a star or a pattern in the shape of a star. Merriam-Webster.

32. Longtime breath freshener: SEN-SEN.   Me too, Carrie, me too.

34. Back to a mate: AFT.   As in the stern (back) of a ship and a crewman (mate).

35. Dorm, briefly: RES.   Residential quarters.

36. Gasteyer of "SNL" (1996-2002): ANA.     What do Ana Gasteyer,  Jane Curtain,  Brad Hall,  Gary Kroeger,  Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Seth Meyers all have in common ?  They are all former members of SNL that attended Northwestern University.

37. Network for film buffs: TCM.  Turner Classic Movies.

39. Chocolatey Post cereal: OREOOS.

40. Apple models: IMACs.

45. Declining due to age: SENILE.

48. "Grr!": I'M MAD.

49. Comic Denis: LEARY.

50. Biblical mount: HOREB.

51. "The bad news is ... ": I FEAR.   Spellcheck can only do so much.  The user still needs to have a clue.   This one probably didn't make it out of the first round in the school's spelling bee.

52. It might have a champion: CAUSE.

53. Sound __: BITE.

54. Score after deuce: AD IN.

55. Monopoly card: DEED.

58. Mexican pair: DOS.  uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

60. __ roles: SEX.   Gender roles.

61. Inventor Whitney: ELI.    The History of Interchangeable Parts in the Industrial Revolution

62. Summer hrs.: DST.

Here's the grid:

Note from C.C.:

Just another reminder for the Cru Dinner again, which will be held on Friday, March 20, 2020 (6:00pm to 8:00pm) and officially kick off the 43rd ACPT. The space is limited, so please contact with Mike Alpern as soon as possible. Mike's email address is: alpernm@aol.com

Here is more detailed information.

Sunday July 14, 2019 Mark MacLachlan

Theme:  "Code Crackers" - The letters, as hinted by part of the theme entries, orderly spelled out FBI AGENTS.

23A. One way to enter a pool: FEET FIRST. The first letter of the word "Feet" is F.

29A. One end of a church key: BOTTLE OPENER. The opening letter of "Bottle" is B.

36A. Physical location?: MEDICAL CENTER. The very center of "Medical" is I.

54A. "Mobile" communications device used in law enforcement: DATA TERMINAL. The terminal letter of "Data" is A.

64A. Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" has one that includes cannon fire: BIG FINISH. The finishing letter of "Big" is G.

72A. 2012 Beyoncé hit with the repeated line "Say you'll never let me go": END OF TIME. The ending letter of "Time" is E.

81A. Summing-up words: IN CONCLUSION. The concluding letter of "In" is N.

102A. Guru whose opinions are trusted: THOUGHT LEADER. The leading letter of "Thought" is T.

110A. 2019 "Game of Thrones" event: SERIES FINALE.The final letter of "Series" is S.

Reveal entry:

120A. Govt. employees encoded by the nine other longest across entries in this puzzle ... and who might be called in to decode them: FBI AGENTS.

Fun gimmick from Mark.

Reminds me of the "DEAR JOHN LETTERS" puzzle I made of for the NYT a while ago. So I fully understood the amount of research and work he put into this grid.

Across:

1. College loan co-signer, maybe: DAD. None for me, thankfully. Chinese government paid all my college education.

4. Establish as law: ENACT.

9. Long-legged birds: WADERS.

15. Five-O nickname: DANO.

19. Before, poetically: ERE.

20. Prepare to surf: LOG ON.  Most Chinese use WeChat. Quite a few neat features.

21. Reunion attendee: ALUMNA.

22. King Harald's father: OLAV.

25. __ media: SOCIAL.

26. Film scene shot without interruption: TAKE.

27. Kenya's first prime minister __ Kenyatta: JOMO. No idea. Wiki says he was also Kenya's first president. He died in office in 1978.

28. Hydroelectric project: DAM.

31. Amazon assistant: ALEXA.

33. Abundant element in Earth's core: IRON.

35. Thingamajigs: DOODADS.

41. Humor: INDULGE. me.

42. Winans of gospel: CECE.

43. Most hip: COOLEST.

45. Supposed to arrive: DUE.

46. Spa sounds: AHS. And 49. Plotting chuckle: HEH.

51. Delta rival renamed in 1997: US AIR.

53. Moving aids: VANS.

60. Jack in a suit: KNAVE.

62. Initial Hebrew letter: ALEPH. We also had 39. 12th Jewish month: ELUL.

63. Mountain melody: YODEL.

68. Lose it: GO APE.

69. Matching game: LOTTO. Our old neighbor won $100,000. Lost them all, including his house.

71. Total, as a bill: RUN TO.

76. Slips through the cracks: OOZES.

79. Domingo, for one: TENOR.

80. One of Australia's six: STATE.

83. Thin coin: DIME.

86. Digitally approve: E-SIGN.

88. Game-winning line: OOO.

89. Hallelujah trio?: ELS. Halleluja. Just the letters.

90. Spanish article: UNA.

91. Sharp tingle, as of fear: PRICKLE.

95. Ford contemporary: OLDS.

98. Discount: CUT RATE.

107. Surname on Elm Street: KRUEGER (Freddy)

108. Chiwere-speaking native: OTOE.

109. Trial subject: CRIME. Even our local Star Tribute carried this story.

114. 45, in classic pop: RPM.

117. Well-behaved: GOOD.

118. Like many Horace works: ODIC.

119. Mexican madam: SENORA.

122. __ Reader: UTNE.

123. When Hamlet kills Polonius: ACT III.

124. Divider of pews: AISLE.

125. Word in many obituaries: NEE.

126. Collectible '90s caps: POGS.

127. Put away for later: STORED.

128. Kingdom: REALM.

129. Important stretch: ERA.

Down:

1. Kanye West label: DEF JAM.

2. Ring of color: AREOLE. 

3. Regarded: DEEMED.

4. 2003 holiday comedy: ELF.

5. Reason for being barred at a bar: NO ID.

6. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

7. Immense: COSMIC.

8. Blast cause: TNT.

9. Suspected: WAS ONTO.

10. Heaps: A LOT.

11. Tear channel: DUCT.

12. Czech track legend Zátopek: EMIL.

13. Cellular process affecting nucleotide sequences: RNA EDITING. New term to me.

14. Scene of some "Gunsmoke" action: SALOON.

15. College address ending: DOT EDU.

16. Actor born Alphonso D'Abruzzo: ALAN ALDA. Full name.

17. First of three Leslie Nielsen comedies, with "The": NAKED GUN.

18. Supervises: OVERSEES.

24. Venomous: TOXIC.

29. U2 frontman: BONO.

30. Whale group: POD.

32. Pitching staff star: ACE. Life is so fragile. You never know what's going on in other's life.

34. VCR button: REC.

37. Masseuse's target: ACHE.

38. Not sure (of): LEERY.

40. Hi-__ graphics: RES.

44. Munro pen name: SAKI. I wonder why he picked this name.

46. "Great minds think alike," e.g.: ADAGE.

47. Fire-suppressing gas: HALON.

48. Position: STEAD.

50. Med. care provider: HMO.

52. U.K. fliers: RAF.

53. They may be changed by judges: VENUES. Trial venue.

55. Place side by side: APPOSE.

56. Taking it badly?: THEFT. Fun clue.

57. Run in place: IDLE.

58. Modernist's prefix: NEO.

59. TV chef Brown: ALTON.

61. Love of antiques: VIRTU.

64. Renowned clown: BOZO.

65. Navel formation: INNIE.

66. Stand-up comic's seat: STOOL.

67. Lock __: come into conflict: HORNS.

70. Front-of-bk. list: TOC. Table of Content.

73. __ Bo: TAE.

74. "Just what I wanted!": IT'S PERFECT.

75. '70s Israeli prime minister: MEIR.

77. "Music for Airports" producer: ENO.

78. Move quickly: SCOOT.

81. Ruler unit: INCH.

82. Veg out: LOLL.

83. A piece of cake: DUCK SOUP. Love this fill.

84. More than familiar with: INURED TO.

85. Growing up: MATURING.

87. "Shoo!": GIT.

92. Brand with a pitcher-shaped mascot: KOOL-AID.

93. Bard's instrument: LUTE.

94. Freudian focus: EGO.

96. Mo. when Festivus is celebrated: DEC.

97. Beetle Bailey nemesis: SARGE.

99. Treats again, as a sprain: RE-ICES. Or hernia.

100. Grow older: AGE.

101. Actress Thompson and ice dancer Virtue: TESSAS.

103. Disney Beetle: HERBIE. Herbie the Love Bug.

104. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" singer Warwick: DIONNE.

105. Drama queen, e.g.: EMOTER.

106. View from Jidda: RED SEA.

111. Really digging: INTO.

112. Pinot __: NOIR.

113. Grammy winner India.__: ARIE.

115. Galileo's birthplace: PISA. Oh hello!

116. Strip __: MALL.

120. Away companion: FAR.

121. Rock in a setting: GEM.

 

Belated happy birthday to dear CanadianEh, one of the most insightful commenters on our blog. How did you celebrate this year, Eh?

Friday, September 28, 2018, Mark MacLachlan

Title: Ironing in, not out.

Welcome to my first write-up of fall and the third LAT for another Mark making his mark in puzzledom. They say you should write about what you know, and Mark is a professor from Canada as was revealed in his DEBUT here. His specialty is chemistry, more specifically Materials Chemistry, Supramolecular Chemistry, Nanomaterials, Porous Materials, Polymers, Cellulose. In today's challenge we have FE (the chemical symbol for Iron) added to the first word in three two-word phrases and explained in a well chosen reveal. Two are 2 grid-spanners, giving us 54 spaces in the theme. This is an example of less is more; instead trying to squeeze in more theme fill, we have a nice balanced puzzle. Mark also used the periodic table in his first NYT publication. In addition to the themers, we have some nice long fill. ARMLOAD, E-READER, GALILEO, GARDENS, OLD SALT, ON EMPTY, INNER EAR and SAFE BETS.  On to the theme...

17A. Bronzed My Little Pony figurines?: HOOFED ORNAMENTS (15). I have had two cars with nice hood ornaments, a Jaguar. That one was stolen. I also bought a Cadillac for my then wife with a nice gold one. That was stolen. This is my favorite image of themeres.

27A. Hawkers of thin cookies?: WAFER MONGERS (12). You have 2 meanings: denoting a dealer or trader in a specified commodity. e.g. "fishmonger"; or, a person who promotes a specified activity, situation, or feeling, especially one that is undesirable or discreditable. "rumormonger." War mongers are worse.

45A. Balls for cats?: FELINE DANCES (12). My wife loves line dancing, but this was very hard because I was thinking about play toys for kitty cats, not them dancing.

58A. GNC offering, and a chemical hint to three long puzzle answers: IRON SUPPLEMENTS (15).

Across:

1. Dishonor: ABASE. An old word, like last week's abash.

6. Stored in a cask, say: AGING. For our oenephiles.

11. Stick in the water: OAR. A nice clue/fill combo.

14. __ panel: SOLAR.

15. Violet in a bed: PANSY. Now this is a stretch, they may be cousins but they are not the SAME.

16. Itsy-bitsy: WEE. Teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini.

20. Sport with electric weapons: EPEE. A very common fill, but there are details you may not know. READ UP.

21. Auto pioneer: OLDS. Ransom E.

22. Nota __: BENE. Nota bene is a Latin phrase meaning 'note well'. The phrase first appeared in English writing c. 1711. Often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature, the phrase is Latin for "note well" and comes from the Latin roots notāre and bene. wiki.

23. Golden Age TV star: BERLE. Old time TV from when I was too young to have a TV.

25. Test subject with whiskers: LAB RAT. The term is ofr the actual rats and those who work there.

31. Give an address: ORATE.

32. Wobbly table stabilizer: SHIM. This is a wedge (or something) to fill up (a space)

33. Home run path: ARC. Even a line drive home run has a bit of arc.

36. Seasoned seafarer: OLD SALT. An actual position in our NAVY, did you know?

39. Renaissance immortal known as the "Father of the Scientific Method": GALILEO. Rather like the terms the greatest or the father of, inventor of the scientific method is an attribute that has been applied to a myriad of scholars down through the ages, Aristotle, Archimedes, Ibn al-Haytham, Galileo, Bacon (both Roger and Francis), Descartes and Newton are just some of the more prominent historical figures who invented the scientific method. Makes for kind of a crowded field doesn’t it?
LINK.

41. It might go for a buck: DOE. Such a deer clue.

42. "__ arigato": Japanese "thanks a lot": DOMO.

44. Without a break: ON END.

48. Celebrity socialite: IT GIRL. Not my cup of tea, but you can see a  RETROSPECTIVE.

51. Openly display: EXUDE. He exuded unflapable confidence.

52. Noble gas: NEON.

53. In the thick of: AMID.

54. Took off: ROSE. A rose by any other name; the shares of Google took off.

62. Letters on a returned check: NSF. Non-Sufficent Funds.

63. What drama queens do: EMOTE.

64. Hall partner: OATES. Some MUSIC.

65. Composer's choice: KEY.

66. 2018 awards event hosted by Danica Patrick: ESPYS. Did you watch? Not me.

67. Sneak preview, say: PROMO.


Down:

1. Tennis great with three Grand Slam titles: ASHE.

2. Jazz Age toon: BOOP.

3. Wound application: ALOE.

4. They're low-risk: SAFE BETS.

5. "... __ the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. Our Friday quick Shakespeare quote. Act I, Scene 1.

“That will be ere the set of sun.”

6. Landmark Manhattan theater: APOLLO.



7. Marvin __: GARDENS. A yellow property in monopoly. Marven Gardens is a portmanteau derived from Margate City and Ventnor City, because it lies on the border of Margate City and Ventnor City in Atlantic City. Wiki.

8. Holiday and Days: INNS.

9. Surveillance org.: NSA. National Security Agency

10. Floor hockey venue: GYM.

11. Titlist?: OWNER. Sugar Ray Leonard owned three different titles.

12. Blue Cross rival: AETNA.

13. Trip odometer control: RESET.

18. Colgate feature: DORM. Not the makers of the toothpaste, but the college. Hamilton, N.Y., was still a frontier settlement in 1817 when 13 men met to found the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York. The university eventually was named Colgate in grateful recognition of the nearly 70 years of interest and service shown by members of the Colgate family.

19. Wanes: EBBS.

24. It may be loaded with books: E-READER. I like the clue, it is both literal and fun.

25. Luke's sister: LEIA. They were twins, don't you know?

26. Laundry unit: ARMLOAD. Eh.

27. Misnomer for a modern golf driver: WOOD.

28. Name on the "Alice's Restaurant" album: ARLO. I have railed on him for years.

29. Gradually get tired: FADE.

30. Paris Agreement subj.: GHG. If you are not up on your environmental issues, this about Greenhouse Gases.

33. Baldwin brother: ALEC. Alec Baldwin (born 1958); Daniel Baldwin (born 1960); William Baldwin (born 1963) and Stephen Baldwin (born 1966).

34. Artist Magritte: RENE.

35. Some UPS deliveries: CODS. Not the tasty whitefish, but Cash On Delivery.

37. Put one's feet up: LOLL.

38. "More than I wanted to know": TMI. Too Much Information.

40. Cochlear transplant site: INNER EAR. A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, which make sounds louder, cochlear implants do the work of damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain. Various.

43. Bad way to run: ON EMPTY.

45. Sawyer's pal: FINN. Tom and Huck.

46. Kicks out: EXILES.

47. Surfer's greeting: DUDE. When my youngest was an early teenager, I had to forbid him to use that term.

48. Confident way to solve crosswords: IN INK. Somewhat stubborn and arrogant but it feels good when your get 'er done.

49. Compact: TERSE. Sorry, I just cannot do a terse write-up.

50. Mickey's pal: GOOFY.

53. For one: A POP.

55. Aware of: ON TO.

56. Apple stalk: STEM. I did not know the stem is also called the pedicel or stalk.

57. ExxonMobil trading name: ESSO. It is a trading name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. The name is an acronym for Eastern States Standard Oil, a post-Standard Oil-breakup company that started as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and as it acquired other Standard Oil-heritage companies, they shortened it in 1932.

59. Date: SEE.

60. Brief interjections: UMS.

61. Challenge for a stylist: MOP.  1 : an implement made of absorbent material fastened to a handle and used especially for cleaning floors. 2 : something that resembles a mop especially : a thick mass of hair.


We traveled all over and I had fun without swearing, which is always good on Friday. Thank you Mark  and keep those chemicals coming. Come by and say hello. Happy birthday Harper and many more. Lemonade out.

P.S. I have been debating if a bigger grid would be a good thing; what do you think?