Saturday, Aug 9th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 74 (missing J )

Blocks: 35

   Mr. Bickham has been on a roll - one Saturday puzzle each of the last four months now, but this one beat me up pretty good - had to use red-letters, and went over my personal time limit, too.  However, unlike most Saturday strains that rattle my brains, this one was actually a pretty satisfying solve~!  A relatively simple mid-week-looking grid, with just two 9- and 10-letter climbers, it took several passes before the SW finally gave way, and the NW was last to fall.  Some fill;

17. Darby Conley comic strip : GET FUZZY - I like this comic strip

30. It's never right : ACUTE ANGLE - nor Obtuse, either

 70. What an apostrophe may stand for : NINETEEN- as in "Summer of '69"

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ON-ward~!!! (69a.)

ACROSS:

1. Setting in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH'S ARK - Dah~!  I had to dodge a whole 6-pack of V-8 cans when this finally dawned on me

9. Brightness measure : IQ TEST - LUMENS fit, and the "E" worked as well

15. Comer : ATTENDEE - I thought this was c-o-r-n-e-r, not c-o-m-e-r

16. Colorful attire : MUUMUU

18. It's just one thing after another : SERIES - yep

19. Marlins' div. : NLE - Baseball; I know they are in Florida, and that helped; National League East

20. Rock fan's subj. : GEOLogy - because "METAL" was too long....oh, that kind of rock

21. "Naughty!" : "TSK TSK~!"

22. Start of an addition : ALSO - so vague....

24. Controvert : NEGATE

26. Dark-eyed subculturists : GOTHS

28. Spot : ESPY

29. Opening at a long lecture? : YAWN - nice

33. Salon, e.g. : E-MAG

35. Move easily : SAIL

37. Cool __ : CAT - my brother's email address, though it's Kool Kat Kev, a moniker my uncle Ray gave him

38. "Candle in the Wind" dedicatee : LADY DI - MONROE fit, too - the song's original subject

40. Stat opposite : NO RUSH

42. Rear-end indicator : AFT - Indicator?  Here's what I have to say

43. Common crossword clue ending : ABBReviation

46. Attack : GO AT

47. 2001 Microsoft debut : XBOX

49. Tired-sounding veggie : BEET - Har-har~!

51. They often include materials : SPECS - Construction plans; here's the progress on my latest project

54. "A Touch of Class" actress Jackson : GLENDA - a WAG with GL--D- in place

56. Druids' sacred hill : TARA - A Saturday alternative to a "Gone With the Wind" reference; more here

57. Bald statement? : NO HAIR - OK, here's one for the ladies

60. Face with hands, maybe : DIAL

63. Composer Rorem : NED

64. Former associates : ALUMNI

65. Liability factor, in contracts : ACT OF GOD - I hope an Act of God strikes me, soon

67. Runs : BLEEDS - like colors in the wash

68. Cindy Lou's hometown, in kiddie lit : WHOVILLE - Nailed it, but that was about it on the first pass - "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"

69. Exhales during a physical? : SAYS "AH"

DOWN:

1. "Enough criticism!" : "NAG, NAG~!"

2. Verdi's penultimate opera : OTELLO

3. Substantiated : ATTESTED TO

4. Publishing nickname : HEFner - a WAG that stayed.  Hugh of Playboy fame

5. Unloose? : SNUG - Cute

6. Cutting tool : ADZE - Toyed with this for a long time, and then the "Z" from GET FUZZY came into play

7. Do a city planner's job : RE-ZONE

8. __ entry : KEYLESS

9. "But you need me!" : "I'M STAYING~!"

10. Pursuit : QUEST

11. Bomb : TURKEY - Not the bowling kind of turkey

12. Broadcast : EMIT

13. Tries to get money from, maybe : SUES

14. Certain canine : TUSK

23. "Goodness!" : "OH MY"~!

25. No. with a decimal : GPA

27. Actress Thompson : SADA

31. Used to be : WAS

32. Vowelless adjective : nth

34. Mumbo jumbo : GIBBERISH - love this scene

36. "Gigi" playwright : LOOS - Perps got me the "L"

38. Loose : LAX

39. Test center at Edwards, Calif., e.g. : AFB - Air Force Base - made me give up on MONROE

41. Hardly daydreaming : RAPT

44. Former Fed chairman Bernanke : BEN

45. 2012 war film remake : RED DAWN - IMDb on the original

48. Competition that includes motocross : X GAMES

50. Stress-reducing discipline : TAI CHI

52. Spicy cuisine : CREOLE

53. Bring down : SADDEN

55. Sarah Connor portrayer Hamilton : LINDA - Terminator 2: Judgement Day - nailed it - IMDb

57. Collars : NABS

58. Ceramic cooker : OLLA

59. Long in old politics : HUEY - all perps

61. Scores : A TON

62. Word with bird or nest : LOVE

66. Working out well? : FIT - I'm fit(ter) - lost 30lbs working two jobs this summer

Splynter

Saturday, Jul 19th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,Z)

Blocks: 26

    Who would we get today, I wondered; Brad, Doug, Mark...?  Ah, Mr. Bickham, with an enjoyable, but odd-looking puzzle today, having just a smattering of single blocks in the central part of the grid; low count, too.  It was not until I started on the Down clues that I noticed the FOUR climbers, and yet they were actually easier for me than some of the shorter fill.  Triple 10 corners, and two 8-letter answers on the inside.  I had to 'cheat' and turn on red letters to find one letter - the very first one.  First time for everything, I guess....the 4 climbers:

2d. ESPN talk show : OUTSIDE THE LINES - I don't watch ESPN, so this was a WAG based on sports more than the show itself

3d. Sport with end zones : ULTIMATE FRISBEE - I have played some Frisbee golf, but not this game, sort of like football meets basketball

12d. Best Picture of 1951, with "An" : AMERICAN IN PARIS - Never saw it, but with the few crossings I had, it came pretty easily

13d. Passive disapproval : SILENT TREATMENT - I'm not saying anything....get it?

O (may The Force be with me) nward~?

ACROSS:

1. Challenge for a comedian : TOUGH CROWD - First letter wrong?  Seemed OK having "Rough Crowd", but I missed "RHU" as the Holy 1d

11. Residencia : CASA - logical WAG; sounded Spanish for 'residence', so, Spanish for house

15. Uproar : HULLABALOO 

16. In : AMID

17. Lawlessness : UTTER CHAOS 

18. Solder : WELD - I can solder - wires and copper pipes.  I was asked a week or so ago if I knew how to braze brass; never did it

19. Fourier series function : SINE - Never heard the term fourier, but once I had --NE, I figured....more on the math from Wiki

20. D.C.'s __ Stadium : RFK - Renamed in 1969 after the assassination of Robert Kennedy; we had the Triborough Bridge renamed RFK Bridge here in NYC in 2008; not sure why it took 40 years....

21. 2015 destination of the Dawn space probe : CERES - One of two proto-planets in the asteroid belt; more from NASA

22. Edge : RIM

23. Bird that grew as tall as 12 feet : MOA - went with "ROC" - only 33.3% right, but this time, my "O" counts, D-otto~!

25. Stranded, perhaps : ICED IN

27. City NE of Amsterdam : EDAM - filled via perps

29. Cry of dismay : OH DEAR - Tried OH GEEZ, but couldn't think of a color with Z besides Azure...oh those eyes...

31. Place with a seat: Abbr. : CTY - CounTY

33. Charm : FETISH - The first definition refers to 'an object regarded...as being the embodiment...of magical powers'; I am more familiar with the psychological definition.... who me~?  a fetish~!?

35. Reflect : MEDITATE

37. "Dumb and Dumberer" actress : OTERI - The third installment is due in Nov this year

38. Profs' aides : TAs - Teaching Assistants

39. "Jazz in Silhouette" composer : SUN RA - Perps and a WAG; more here

40. Blood typing concern : Rh FACTOR

42. Former Canadian film awards : GENIES - another thing that went through a renaming process; once called the "Etrogs"

43. Debussy subject : MER

44. Vistula River city : KRAKOW

46. Biol. branch : ANATomy

47. Smooth cotton fabrics : LISLEs

49. __ crawl : PUB - ah, the days gone by....

51. Scoreboard fig. : PTs

52. Piano bar standard : MISTY - "Play Misty for me...."

53. Asian festival : TET

55. Good earth : LOAM

57. "Walk __": 1964 hit : ON BY

58. One of Sophocles' Theban plays : OEDIPUS REX

61. Stagger : REEL

62. Bond holding? : DRY MARTINI - excellent 'misdirection'; gratuitous Daniel pic for C.C. - are you shaken, or stirred, C.C.? (From C.C.:  Stirred! Thanks, Splynter. Email Me Maybe, Daniel?)

63. "Gotcha" : "I SEE" - Dr. Venkman's response to Dean Yager

64. Some finals : ESSAY TESTS
       
DOWN:

1. There's a holy one every yr. : THU - I just learned it's Maundy Thursday, tho I have heard this term before

4. Singer Campbell : GLEN - Here's the only song I know; I had the 45, and played it til it skipped; "like a...like a...like a...."

5. Sultan's group : HAREM - Got it....the answer, not the women

6. Ottawa-based media org. : CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corproation

7. Spirited : RAH-RAH

8. Norwegian saint : OLAF

9. Wielders of weapons called bowcasters : WOOKIEES - I just noticed that the word is spelled W-O-O-K-I-E-E - being in the down position, I was thrown off by the "I" and two "E"s...

10. Cuts : DOs - Haircuts kind of Dos

11. Emulated a rook : CAWED - Rook, the bird, not the chess piece; I am building a "rook table", and ran into an interesting problem - so now I have a question for the math whizzes on the blog here - see below

14. Puts together : ADDS

21. Berry hue : CERISE - had to dredge this word up from the depths

22. Change for the better : REFORM

24. Excited cry : "OOH~!"

26. Heel : CAD

28. Sorvino of "Mighty Aphrodite" : MIRA

30. Old bread, briefly : D-MARK - Deutsche Mark until the Euro in 2002 - that kind of bread

32. Bakers' buys : YEASTS - Dah!  Not doughs; but I guess they would MAKE those, wouldn't they....

34. Not well : SICKLY - Considered AILING

36. __ salad : TUNA

38. They're often busy at breakfast : TOASTERS

41. Square root of nove : TRE

42. D.C. school named for a president : GWU - A school?  In D.C.?  Named for a president?   Such a novel idea~!

45. Kia model : OPTIMA

48. Panache : STYLE -

50. Divulge, with "out" : BLURT

52. Memento __: reminder of mortality : MORI

54. Slow Churned ice cream : EDY's

56. Bone: Pref. : OSTE

58. Tribute of a sort : ODE

59. Yield a return : PAY

60. They follow the nus : XIs

 Splynter

 - The math problem - I designed the base of my Rook Table with a slope, and essentially, it's just crown moulding installed at the bottom, not the top.  I have a compound sliding mitre saw, but I was shocked to find that the two angles for the cuts ( bevel, mitre ) are NOT what I thought.  I had to go online to find them, because I couldn't do the math - so who here understands the math behind the numbers?

Saturday, June 14th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,W,X,Z )

Blocks: 36

    I usually cringe when I see Mark's name on the title of a Saturday LAT puzzle, but my first pass garnered some results, so I was encouraged and kept going.  The SW corner, however, did me in, and I had to use red-letters to find my mistake.  Oh well.  Awkward set of blocks today, left us with a stair pattern in the middle, and the SW and NE corners dangling from just two crossings.  Triple 10's and 9's, and two 10-letter climbers on the inside;

10. High-flying group : JET-SETTERS

27d. Classic spy comedy : MEN IN BLACK - Um, spy comedy?  I guess the comic book might have been more of a spy comedy, but I really love the movies with Tommy Lee Jones & Will Smith.  My personal favoritest scene below; Vincent D'Onofrio should have gotten an Oscar for playing a "bug" wearing an "Edgar suit".  Brilliant.

31d. Early invasion participant : THE STONES - Argh~!  Now I get it - British Invasion; I was thinking it was THISTINES, and was going to Google if there was even a tribe or civilization of that name; PHILIstines, yes, but.... I think I would have tied it to the next clue/answer, too

32d. Dive : HONKY-TONK - Musical interlude - and I am NOT a Stones fan, but I just learned how to play this riff on the guitar while looking for the link; it's a pain because it's open G tuning, not standard

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Screwdriver parts : VODKA AND O.J. - as a carpenter, I was curious to know if this was going to be the drink or the tool

11. __ Dea: Roman fertility goddess : BONA

15. Like John Cage's music : AVANT GARDE - Don't know John Cage, but I do know what Avant Garde means - Frawnche

16. Numerical column : ONES - tried TENS to start

17. Order with hot milk : CAFE AU LAIT - Straight up Frawnche, "coffee with milk"

18. Off-rd. rides : ATVs

19. Sour fruit : SLOE - LIME, UGLI(?)

20. Eponymous furniture designer : EAMES - Some design and creativity here

21. Cassowary cousin : RHEA

22. Frequent service station attendant? : SELF - there are a few places around here where they pump gas for me, and I actually don't care for it; I like to try for the 'perfect pump'

24. Some council members : ELDERS - WAG

26. South Pacific island nation : SAMOA - another WAG

30. Sweet and sour : TASTES - and yet a third WAG

31. Article in some modern music : THA' - I went with "TRA", and that got me started; can't say I know anything with "Tha" in the song or the group's name

34. 15-Across Irish playwright : BECKETT - the only Beckett I know is Det. Kate Beckett, from "Castle" - love that show

36. Prefix with fauna : AVI

37. Vert. opposite : HORizontal

38. Artless : NAIVE

39. Boy toy? : KEN - HAR-HAR~!!!

40. Student of Elves, in Tolkien : ENT - Three letters?  Tolkien?  Go with ORC or ENT

41. Twins, at times : SISTERS

43. Vocal stumbles : ERs....

44. View from a lodge : SKI RUN - I knew we were looking for some sort of snow reference

46. __ Adams Wilderness: Sierra Nevada region : ANSEL - educated WAG

48. Georgia-born Hall of Famer : TY COBB - the last "B" filled, and that gave it away for me

49. Shooter's ammo : PEAS

52. Emperor before Vitellius : OTHO - Short-lived reign; the Wiki

53. Pliés may precede them : LEAPS - Ballet/dance moves

58. Mountain transport : T-BAR - I tried TRAM, was 50% correct

60. Breakfast __ : NOOK

61. Write tongue twisters, perhaps : ALLITERATE - Owen, if you would, please~!

63. 1980s speed skating gold medalist Karin : ENKE - Link

64. San José resident : COSTA RICAN - took a second to parse this; the capital city of the Meso-American nation, not the city in Cali

65. Tube lineup : SKED - Tube short for television, SKED short for Schedule

66. Rustic building material : KNOTTY PINE - I dig castles and the look of stone; some wood is nice, but overdone it reminds me too much of a coffin

DOWN:

1. Short suckers? : VACs - Vacuums; I tried LOLS for lollipop first

2. Places to run : OVALS

3. "Platoon" Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor : DAFOE

4. Prepares for an engagement? : KNEELS

5. One-time bridge : AT A - One AT A time kind of bridge.  V-8 can, duck~!!!

6. Feverish chills : AGUE

7. "The Lion King" character : NALA

8. Nip at a bar : DRAM - A SHOT is a bit more than a 'nip', I guess

9. Dog of comics : ODIE - Garfield's drooling buddy

11. College __ : BOARDS

12. Crooked : ON THE TAKE

13. Not once : NEVER EVER

14. Ninjas, perhaps : ASSASSINS

23. Swell : FAB - I tried FAT first

25. Short muscle? : LATissimus dorsi

28. Tuberous Andean plants : OCAs - Learned from doing crosswords

29. Guard dog breed : AKITA

33. Edible thistle : ARTICHOKE - Did not know it was a "thistle"

35. Not odd : EVEN - gimme

41. Nautilus, e.g. : SUBmarine

42. Michaelmas mo. : SEP

45. Cheated : ROOKED - new to me

47. Deliver a rant : LET RIP

50. Eastern adders? : ABACI - we've seen this before; abacus pluralized, and ADD-ers

51. Black Mass idol : SATAN - I had a package yesterday for one of my UPS trucks, and its shelf No. was 6666 - I told the driver he had to go to hell to deliver it; he said he was already there....

54. North Carolina school : ELON

55. And : ALSO

56. Pennsylvania school : PITT

57. "Now!" : STAT - Dah, not ASAP

59. Peace Nobelist Cassin : RENE - filled in with Perps

62. Brew finish : ERY - BREWery - I went to the Brickhouse Brewery last night with my buddies, and then dinner at Bobbiques

Splynter

 
Note from C.C.:
 
Happy 45th wedding anniversary to dear JD and her husband Bob! I bet a big party is planned for today.

Saturday, May 17th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V)

Blocks: 28

  Today's puzzle from Mark had lots of clues that were right up my alley, and I thought I was going to cruise to a quick end - but then the SE corner just wouldn't fill in - and I had to switch to red-letter to see what mistakes I made.  When I did, I was disappointed with myself for not giving it more time....oh well.  Triple-9 pinwheel design with a couple of 10's on the inside, and one grid climber;

8. Inducing a nod, perhaps : DULL AS DISHWATER

and some of the other long fill;

29. Heavy metal band with the album "The Final Frontier" : IRON MAIDEN - One of the first (and best) bands I ever got into; even more interesting is that my favorite guitar player in the band, Adrian Smith, did a solo project, "Adrian Smith & Project", which featured:

38. __ Starkey, longtime drummer for The Who : ZAK - Ringo Starr's son, who appeared on the A.S.a.P. album "Silver & Gold"

38. BOLO clarification, perhaps : Z AS IN ZEBRA - Great fill; two non-connected "Z"s; Police term for "Be On the Look-Out"

Ugh, guess I have to move onward :>( ....

ACROSS:

1. Outlaw : DESPERADO

10. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - Educated WAG with a couple of letters in place

15. Lady of the Lake's gift : EXCALIBUR - NAILED it - love this Monty Python scene (@ 1:05)

16. Web-footed animal : OTTER - Tried GOOSE first

17. Term popularized by physicist John Wheeler : BLACK HOLE

18. Spring sound : BOING - A WAG that stayed

19. Fully prepared : RIPE

20. Alice's chronicler : ARLO - The Alice of the 'restaurant', not 'Through the Looking Glass' - Arlo Guthrie

21. Italian nobleman : CONTE

22. Presidential nickname : ABE - Went with "IKE" first

23. Member of a bygone empire : INCA

24. 23-Down competitor : KAL-KAN - X-ref with; 23d. "Home 4 the Holidays" adoption sponsor : IAMS - Dog foods

25. Scottish John : IAN - John, Sean, Ian, Jan, Yanni

26. Sketch : SKIT - anyone else throw in "DRAW"?  Too easy for Saturday

28. Club alternative : BLT - The club sandwich, that is

33. Convergence points : FOCI

34. Some iPods : NANOs - I have a 30GB that I use every morning at UPS

35. It fell in 2001 : MIR - Russian space station

36. Heifetz contemporary : ELMAN - Violinists; more here

37. Old school : ETON - ah, an actual school, not a decription of how one "does things"

40. A, in Austria : EIN

41. Mass producer : BACH - Nice misdirection; mass as in church, not a production company

42. 16-symbol system, for short : HEX - Had no idea; 0-9 + a-f; the Wiki

43. Gets a C, say : DOES OK

45. TV musical host in four decades : WELK - Lawrence~!

47. Like a slim chance, oddly : FAT - Yes, how ironic

50. Egyptian signs of life : ANKHs

51. Latvian, for one : BALT - a bit meh for me

52. Unite by treaty : ALLY

53. Family nicknames : NANAs - I WAG-ed MAMAS, and was 60% right

54. Old Bethlehem sight : STEEL MILL - Ah, Bethlehem PA, that is

56. Coeur d'__ : ALENE - Idaho

57. Where the wild things are : MENAGERIE

58. Forbidden looks : PEEKS - Tried LEERS

59. Gestation period : TRIMESTER

DOWN:


1. "Everybody Loves Raymond" wife : DEBRA - Ray's wife

2. Book inscription abbr. : EX LIB - Latin, Ex Libris - "From the books of..."

3. Dream follower : SCAPE - Dreamscape. Not "ALARM"....I am pretty good at recalling my dreams

4. Duel unit : PACE

5. Order member : ELK

6. "Take a Bow" R&B singer : RIHANNA

7. Test options, at times : A, B, OR C - Another great fill

9. Breyers __ Cookies & Cream : OREO

10. Beginning Cub Scout : BOBCAT - Everything you need to know, here;   I was not a Boy Scout, Cub Scout or Bobcat

11. "Tragedy is __ for the living to gain wisdom": RFK : A TOOL

12. Smelly prank : STINK BOMB

13. Airport pickup : RENTAL CAR

14. San Martín was its liberator : ARGENTINA - half perps, half WAG

24. People : KIN

25. Advised of : IN ON

27. Skin lotion brand : KERI - I once dated a Kerry, and I was mocking her with this brand's slogan, which went "Keri, is so very..." and ironically, she threw the next phrase at me, which is "Rich, in emollients" - and Rich is MY name

29. New parent's complaint : I NEED A NAP

30. Thinking : RATIONALE

31. Making a proposal, perhaps : ON ONE KNEE - not any time soon

32. Non-PC purchase : iMAC - I am PC

33. Show off, in a way : FLEX

36. O.T. book before Daniel : EZEKiel

39. Blues or Blue Jackets : NHL TEAM - All me~!  I was hoping the Blue Jackets of Columbus OH would defeat the Penguins, but it didn't matter - my Rangers took care of a second PA team in 7 games.  Montreal next.  LET'S GO RANGERS~!!!

41. Big shots : BOSSES

44. Beef cut : SHANK

46. 1985 Malkovich movie : ELENI - never saw it; IMDb

47. Trifle (with), as an idea : FLIRT - I flirted with an idea for three weeks, and it turned out to be a mistake

48. '80s sitcom title woman : ALLIE - I put in "MAUDE", which ended in '78....oops.  "Kate and Allie", never watched the show

49. Seat of Texas' Smith County : TYLER

51. Realty ad abbr. : BSMT - I require a 'basement' as I carry on my search for my own house - need a place to play the drums

52. City near Des Moines : AMES - Name two cities in Iowa....

55. T size : LGE - T-shirt

Splynter

Saturday, Mar 1st, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

    Eerie - I sensed we were getting a Mark Bickham puzzle yesterday....and he did not disappoint~!  This one was another white-wash to start (and hopefully not an omen to us NE dwellers come Monday), but in the 'hunt and peck' style of crossword solving, I got through to the "Ta-DA~!" in just over my allotted time.  Two grid-climbers paired with two 11-letter climbers, two triple-10 corners, and two inner triple 10's, to boot~!   Phew~!  Some of our longer fill:

1a. Title puppet dragon of '60s-'70s kids' TV : H.R. PUFNSTUF - a children's show just before my time, from Sid & Marty Krofft; they also produced the Krofft Supershow, which IS what I watched on Satuday mornings; it featured a segment called Wonderbug, which featured a character named C.C.~! (OK, it was a guy, but....)

3d. Chevrolet Camaro cousin : PONTIAC FIREBIRD - the Flaming Chicken, and one of my all-time favorite cars - the '77 version - I think it had the coolest rims, ever. And I grew up with Knight Rider, not Smokey and the Bandit~!

11d. Party person : POLITICAL LEADER - ah, not the "PAR-TAY" kind of party

12d. To summarize : IN A NUTSHELL

22d. It precedes the late news : PRIME-TIME TV

29d. Fictional threat to secret-keeping : X-RAY VISION - I did not give enough weight to the "fictional" part of the clue; I stared at -RAY-ISION (and in the down, it's even harder) for way too long; it's only when I tried TEX at 28a. that the V-8 can nearly clubbed me

63a. Highly rated individuals? : LOAN SHARKS - HAR-HAR~!! - I've seen enough TV crime drama to know that the interest is usually usury

ONWARD  rabbit  ONWARD  rabbit  ONWARD  rabbit  ONWARD
bunny bunny foot foot ONWARD

ACROSS:

11. Trading place : PIT

14. Supercilious : ABOVE IT ALL

15. Angular : BONY - I was going to link a picture of a skinny model, but they're too disturbing, even for me

16. Ristorante offering : MINESTRONE

17. Words after take or gain : A LAP - my first guess, but "take a lap" didn't seem right to me

18. Experience slightly : TASTE

19. Senseless : ASININE

21. Bee: Pref. : API - as in APIarists, also known as a beekeepers

23. One-eighties : UIES - short for U-Turns, but oh, which spelling to go with? I tried UEYS to start - BZZZT~!

25. Back porch luxury : HOT-TUB - I have been in a back porch hot tub; the porch was part of a house on a ski resort; quite an experience to relax outside at night surrounded by snow AND in your swim suit

26. Lady's love : TRAMP - the Disney movie

28. Bandleader Beneke : TEX - I went down the alphabet list; teD, tiM, toM, but stopped....

30. Ravel's "Gaspard de la __" : NUIT

31. Tiny parasites : LICE - nice - the plural got me; I went with NITS, but that's a crossword parasite

32. Alarms : SCARES

34. Oshkosh hrs. : CST - Winnebago county, Wisconsin and Central Standard Time - for another week, that it's CDT

36. Alternative to satellite : AM/FM

37. Name of eight popes : URBAN - and one New Zealand-born country music star

38. Lionized actor? : LAHR - Bert Lahr, who portrayed The Cowardly Lion

39. 30% of venti : SEI - A WAG, but I did know it was foreign numbers

40. Characteristic of some jacks : ONE-EYE

41. Zeno's home : ELEA

42. Hunter's setting : TRAP

44. "Slumdog Millionaire" star __ Patel : DEV - the "V" was my last fill

45. Comeback : RALLY

46. Frank : WIENER

48. In __: unmoved : SITU

50. 2002 British Open champion : ELS

51. Words spoken while stretching, perhaps : I'M BORED - ah, that type of stretching; I do healthy stretches before work and playing hockey

53. Old Toyota model : SUPRA

55. Tara of "American Pie" : REID - I thought it was this girl, but she's Alyson Hannigan

56. Great Plains dweller : PRAIRIE DOG - all I needed was the "G" at the end to make an 'educated' WAG

60. Raison d'__ : ÊTRE

61. Historical transition point : END OF AN ERA

62. Movie format : DVD

DOWN:

1. Omelet ingredient : HAM - Mark BickHAM~?!?

2. Diamond stat : RBI - for some reason, I was looking for a pitcher's stat on this clue, but diamond refers to anything baseball; I know there are a few of you out there who are keyed up for the new season

4. Iris holder : UVEA - DAH~!!! The eye part, not a VASE for the flowers (and that's fl-OW-ers, not Fl-OH-ers)

5. Spill the beans : FESS UP

6. Tucci's "Road to Perdition" role : NITTI - all PERPS

7. Rep in the city : STREET CRED - REPutation, and CREDibility

8. Eastern path : TAO

9. Prismatic bone : ULNA

10. Bygone Crayola shade : FLESH

13. Laid-back : TYPE-B - I'm OK with NOT being "Type-A"

15. Xhosa's language group : BANTU - complete WAG; well, I did have the "T"

20. Accelerator particles : IONS

21. Country album? : ATLAS - cute; no music here

24. "Can Do!" group : SEABEES - from the US Navy's Construction Battalion, or "CB"s

27. Part of an org. : MEM

32. Overhead light? : SUN - D-oh~!!! This took WAY too long for me to fill

33. From Okla. City to Tulsa : ENE

35. Airline conveniences : TRAYS

38. Pastoral place : LEA

40. Letters under TUV, perhaps : OPERator, on the old dial phones

43. Battery post : ANODE

45. Indonesian currency : RUPIAH - OK, I cheated - I have a MONEY table in my dictionary, and since I had R-P--H, I looked, and there it was - and yes, from Indonesia, no less~!

46. Condé Nast technology magazine : WIRED

47. Sicken : REPEL

49. Bailiwicks : TURFS - my one 'meh' answer for the day; I would have preferred some vague clue about artificial grass

52. Popular 1958 spy novel : DR. NO

54. "General Hospital" Emmy winner Sofer : RENA

57. Nabokov novel : ADA

58. Where "Shazbot!" is a curse : ORK - from the TV show Mork & Mindy

59. Natural __ : GAS

Splynter Splynter Splynter Splynter Splynter Splynter Splynter

Note from C.C.:

There are still spots left for the Cru Dinner on Friday March 7, 2014.  Please click here for more information. The dinner traditionally kicks off the ACPT and is a great opportunity to meet with constructors and fellow solvers.

I think you can still attend the dinner without being a ACPT competitor, right, Mike Alpert? Can our Splynter go there? (Mike is the organizer of the Cru Dinner.)

Brendan Emmett Quigley, Mike Alpert, Tyler Hinman

Saturday, Jan 18th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,U)

Blocks: 31

   I get very dismayed when I see Mr. Bickham's name listed as the constructor on the crossword,  because I find his Saturday puzzles to be very difficult to solve.  While today's grid has a very cool look to it, there was also a LOT of white, and my first pass did not yield much.  BUT - as is always the case, by plugging away, and throwing a few WAGs in, I was able to complete it.  There was a technical glitch,  so forgive me for typos and omissions.  Two grid spanners:

17a. Traditional Austrian dish : WEINER SCHNITZEL - I started to fill in VIENNA SAUSAGE, but that just wasn't working with the down answers that I knew were correct

56a. Annual People feature : SEXIEST MAN ALIVE - Adam Levine of "The Voice" and Maroon 5 fame was the winner in 2013 - very racy pic here

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Lake Titicaca forms part of its border : BOLIVIA - oh, what a name~! map

8. Rug treatment : SHAMPOO - for both the carpet and the toupée versions

15. Demanding attention : EXIGENT

16. Performing a spiritual ritual : CENSING - the wafting of the thurible - I just learned something

19. Promise that doesn't always work out : I DO - I did, but now I don't; maybe....

20. Baby blues, e.g. : PEEPERS - I have blue eyes; the hostess at the Italian restaurant has gorgeous ones - she's so adorable, I'm thinking about "I DO" again

21. Half a Gabor? : ZSA-zsa

22. It can help you avoid ads : TIVO - or your local cable company's DVR, which is just about the only way I'll watch television these days

24. _____ Gras : MARDI

25. Swabber's aid : PAIL - I thought we might get our "Q" with Q-tip, the cotton swab, and the "U" on the DOWN side

26. Bohemia native : CZECH - could be from right here on Long Island, too~!

28. Food often served in chains : PIZZA - not links, as in sausage

29. Cry upon arriving : HERE I AM~!

32. Breezes (through) : WALTZES - tough, but entertaining clue/answer

34. Anabaena or chlorella : ALGA

35. Andean root vegetables : OCAs

36. Cyclist's wear : SPANDEX

39. Milky : WHITISH

43. Patty Hearst's SLA alias : TANIA

44. "Pearly Shells" singer : DON HO - now that I think about it, this should have been an easy WAG

45. Prophetess in Luke : ANNA - Saturday cluing for a common name

46. Conforms : JIBES

51. Fresh-mouthed : PERT

52. Way to go: Abbr. : RouTE

53. More than just enthusiastic : FANATIC

55. Mark, as a ballot : X IN

59. Didn't need instructions : KNEW HOW - I'm a "Type 5"; even if I do KNOW HOW, I still read the instructions - which came in handy doing a laminate floor last year; the installation for the larger tile style requires the longer side to be tapped into place, not the shorter one

60. Christmas eave sparklers : ICICLES - Did NOT fool me - I saw the "a" in the homonym eve

61. Straightforward demand : YES OR NO ?

62. Banks, e.g. : LENDERS

DOWN:

1. Entrance : BEWITCH - DAH~!! totally fooled by this en-TRANCE, not EN-trance; I was looking for a doorway that ended in ---ITCH

2. Discolor, as banana peels, e.g. : OXIDIZE

3. Be postponed for later attention : LIE OVER - meh; I think of LIE OVER as in airports

4. Engine starter: Abbr. : IGNition; too bad there was no way to deceive us with "KEY"

5. #2 : VEEP - The "V.P."

6. Directed against a thing, to lawyers : IN REM - Lemonade?

7. Clueless : AT SEA

8. TV listing : SCHEDule; TV is technically an Abbr.

9. '50s-'70s Montreal Canadiens star ____ Richard : HENRI - brother of Maurice, the "rocket"; this led Henri, younger, to be nicknamed the "pocket-rocket"

10. Spanish cordial : ANIS - anise in English

11. Colo. hours : MST - Mountain Standard Time

12. Dash : PIZZAZZ - Scrabbly fill

13. It fits all, so they say : ONE SIZE

14. Crazy Horse and Red Cloud : OGLALAs - according to Wiki, one of seven subtribes of the Great Sioux Nation

18. "Kiss of life", briefly : CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - and I spelled it correctly without looking it up~!

23. "1984" location : OCEANIA - or Eddie Van Halen's backyard, if you're thinking about this 1984

25. Rest area visit : PIT STOP - I had PI-S-O- , and thought....naw, can't be

27. "Broom-____": comic strip : HILDA

28. Geometric pattern : PLAID

30. Gray : AGE - put it in, took it out, went back in

31. Nth degree : MAXimum

32. Blow away : WOW

33. Rhine whine : ACH~!

36. 2004 Stiller title role : STARSKY & Hutch - IMDb; Owen Wilson as Hutch, but even better was Snoop-Dogg as Huggy Bear

37. Pro-V hair care brand : PANTENE

38. Takes over : ANNEXES

40. Banished : IN EXILE - better than "ENISLE"

41. McGovern's running mate : SHRIVER

42. Sex appeal : HOTNESS

46. Bourne of Ludlum's novels : JASON - I saw a fourth book at the Salvation Army last week; almost bought it for $.99

47. Apart, in a way : IN TWO

48. "... like THAT!" : BAM~!!!

49. .biz biz : ETAIL - I like the redundancy

50. "____  I Don't Have You" : 1959 hit : SINCE - I would link the Guns N' Roses version for Slash's great opening guitar work, but Axl ruins the rest of the song

53. NHL Player's Association director Donald : FEHR - Oh, I know this name all too well for the fiasco from last season, and its shortened schedule

54. "Am I my brother's keeper?" speaker : CAIN

57. Iconic Japanese island, familiarly : IWO Jima

58. PC monitor type : LCD

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Blue Iris (Susan), who was a school nurse for many years. Hope you're doing well, Susan!

Thursday, November 14, 2013 Mark Bickham

Theme: "Homophonic Letter Strings"

18. *Make it not hurt so much : EASE THE PAIN. "E E E E"

23. *Marching order : EYES FRONT. "I I I I"

36. *Has unfinished business with the IRS : OWES BACK TAXES. "O O O O"

51. *Entice with : USE AS BAIT. "U U U"

58. *Sagacious : WISE AS AN OWL. "Y Y Y Y"

53. MLB team, familiarly (and what's missing from the sequence found in the answers to starred clues?) : THE As.

I can't think of any common phrase that begins with Aze (with the "long A" sound), can you? So the unifier is the perfect cop-out, IMHO.  Lots of fun clues with plenty of misdirection that kept the V8 can busy. Let me show you what I mean...

Across:

1. Moll's leg : GAM. Well, OK. This one was easy, but just wait...

4. Word after fire or power : DRILL.

9. Like some wedding dresses : LACY. Sexy was my go-to choice here.

13. Biblical priest who trained Samuel : ELI.

14. Zellweger et al. : RENEES.

16. Together, in music : A DUE.

17. Architect's add-on : ELL.

20. Tre times due : SEI. Italian "three times two."  Bill G., can you help me with the answer here? (^0^)

21. Bark relative : YIP. Oh man, I was thinking tree bark.

22. IHOP array : SYRUPS. I wanted "stacks."

26. Type of cranial nerve : OPTIC.

28. Role for John Cho in "Star Trek" : SULU.

29. Jets and others : TEAMS. Because NFLers wouldn't fit...

31. __ nutshell : IN A.

32. Mex. neighbor : USA.

34. Motor extension? : OLA.

35. At any time : EVER.

40. Spot on the tube : TV AD.

41. Good buddy : BRO.

42. Play about Capote : TRU.man.

43. Ran across : MET.

44. Film critic Jeffrey : LYONS. Did not know him. All perps.  He agrees with the Tomatometer 0% of the time on "Rotten Tomatoes"?

46. Long haul : TREK.

49. __ de Chine: light fabric : CREPE. This wedding dress doesn't look LACY or sexy!

54. Eggheads : BRAINS.

56. Govt. surveillance group : NSA. National Security Agency.

57. PTA meeting site : SCH.ool. Abbr. in the clue gave me the hint.

60. __ out: barely make : EKE.

61. Aleutian island : ATKA. Population 61 !  Map.

62. Faunae counterparts : FLORAE.

63. Grassy area : LEA.

64. Harness part : REIN.

65. Yeats' "The Wild __ at Coole" : SWANS. I did not know this poem, but it was a WAG…I didn't think Yeats would wax poetic over "geese" or "ducks."

66. Many AARP The Magazine readers: Abbr. : SRS. Seniors.

Down:

1. Silly sorts : GEESE. Ahh…here's our geese!

2. Strike zones? : ALLEYS. Boomer! (Bowling alleys.)

3. Social setting : MILIEU.

4. Mr. Holland portrayer : DREYFUSS. I thought Richard Dreyfuss was brilliant in "Mr. Holland's Opus."

5. Put on again : REAIR. I had "Re-don."  D'oh!! TV, not clothes...

6. Hip joint : IN SPOT. Hip, meaning "cool" or "trendy." Great misdirection!  I really wanted "pelvis" but it just wasn't working...

7. Author Harper : LEE. "To Kill a Mockingbird."

8. Conversation opener : LET'S TALK. "Come here often?" wouldn't fit.

9. Drink à la Fido : LAP UP. Anyone else for "slurp"?  Show of hands?

10. Capable of change : ADAPTIVE.

11. Cookbook categories : CUISINES.

12. Nikkei Index currency : YEN.

15. Lacking the required funds : SHY. Tricky little clue for a three-letter answer.

19. Winged god : EROS.

24. Turned around : SLUED.

25. Opponents of the '60s-'70s New Left : NEOCONS. Neoconservatives. I won't get into politics...

27. Golf, for one : CAR. Another really tricky clue for a three-letter answer. VW model.

30. Simpsons creator Groening : MATT.

33. "Eight Is Enough" wife : ABBY.

35. Bedroom community : EXURB.

36. Orthodontic concern : OVERBITE.

37. Ride the wake, say : WATER SKI. Ya mean, they do it on water, too???

38. Awakenings : AROUSALS.

39. Some auction transactions : ART SALES.

40. "Movies for movie lovers" network : TMC. The Movie Channel. I always get TMC and TCM mixed up, and I watch them both.

44. "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" speaker : LEIA. She was talking to Luke, and I think she probably regretted those words… 0:28

45. Isabel Allende title : SENORA.

47. Stands for things : EASELS. See? See?  I told you there was tons of misdirection in the puzzle.

48. Any of the top 25 NFL career scoring leaders : KICKER.

50. Song of praise : PAEAN. Trivia fact: When the USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea in 1968, they forced Captain Bucher to write a confession. He penned, "We paean DPRK, we paean their great leader Kim Il Sung."  What the North Koreans didn't know, was that he was using "Paean" as a homophone of "pee on," instead of singing their praises!

52. Egyptian dam : ASWAN.

55. Bad check letters : NSF.

58. Card game for two, usually : WAR.

59. "What are you waiting for?!" : NOW! I am done…

Til next week!
Marti

Saturday, Oct 5th, 2013, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,V)

Blocks: 32

   This was one of those puzzles where perseverance wins the day.  Many proper names had me stumped for a while, with that creeping feeling that I was gonna give in to Google - BUT - a few Wild-Ass Guesses (WAGs) and some slight changes to my first guesses, and Ta-Da~!!  We had us a grrreat grid spanner today, with a little mis-direction:

35A. At sea : DISCOMBOBULATED - I so wanted "ON THE BOUNDING MAIN", but I needed two more spaces; I like this word; I have not gotten discombobulated on my first UPS driving route - but wait til they move me to a different one for Christmas, when I'm looking for house numbers in the dark....

And some tricky triple 10-letter corners;

5A. Site of many rolls : CRAPS TABLE - bakery? fat farm? oh, got it

16A. One of Sophocles' Theban plays : OEDIPUS REX

57. Showmanship : RAZZMATAZZ - ZZ's~!!!

61. Trooper relative : ISUZU RODEO - not a state trooper; we've had this automotive ruse before....note the License Plate~!

ON WAAG~!

ACROSS:

1. "The Matrix Reloaded" actress Pinkett Smith : JADA - even though I have not seen the movie, there's not too many "Pinkett Smiths" that I know of....

15. Asian sea : ARAL - crossword staple

17. Brought up : BRED - I was stuck on REARED, SIRED, and then tried BORE

18. "Been there" : "I CAN RELATE"

19. Walked to the gangplank, say : SAW OFF - past tense of SEE off - and if you're on the gangplank, I hope it doesn't get SAWN OFF

21. One in a rack, maybe : SKI - um, yeah, one of these can be found in a rack, too....

22. Edible Andean tubers : OCAs

23. Cindy Bear's boyfriend : YOGI - DAH~!  I did not know this

24. It may be thrown in : THE TOWEL

26. Less enthused : SOURER

28. Strauss' "__ Rosenkavalier" : DER

29. Toss up : LOB

31. Duke Frederick's daughter in "As You Like It" : CELIA - OK then

33. Bowl, e.g. : ARENA

40. Nerdy : UNHIP - ah, not WEIRD

41. 1978 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year : LOPEZ - Nancy Lopez, once married to baseballer Ray Knight

42. Ristorante suffix : INI - RotINI, LinguINI, etc.

43. N.C. State is in it : ACC - the Atlantic Coast Conference - sports

46. Former Prussian province : SAXONY

49. "Give me a break!" : "OH PLEASE~!"

52. Buck back? : AROO - BuckAROO

53. When Annie sings "Maybe" : ACT I - Put in "ACT", and wait; in truth, it can really only be "I" - maybe "V"; ever seen "X"?

54. Skit site, for short : SNL - I put this in, then took it out; my last fill via perps

55. Saturate : IMBRUE

60. "__ girl!" : ATTA

62. Common subject in "The Far Side" : COWS - here's one, and a link to more

63. Bit of bun flavoring : SESAME SEED

64. Granny __ : KNOT - Dah~!  I was stuck on "SMITH"

DOWN:

1. Short blows : JABS

2. Decks out : ARRAYS - I put in ARORNS, not realizing that this is NOT how you spell ADORNS

3. Dismantled Korean automaker : DAEWOO - every now and then I see this logo on cars; some Wiki on the company

4. Older brother of designers Vasco and Rodolfo : ALDO GUCCI - Once I had ALDO ---CI, the V-8 can flew

5. Lock arrangement : COIF - Hair locks; didn't fool me, but I tried UPDO to start

6. Cam button : RECord - on your camcorder

7. Recipe phrase : A DASH - DAR~! an "A" phrase; I was looking for BLEND, SAUTÉ, etc.

8. Edged with shears, as cloth : PINKED - Nailed it - mom is a seamstress, and owns PINKING shears

9. Elf : SPRITE

10. Calendar abbr. : TUEsday - take your pic; seven days, twelve months; or wait for perps; when the "E" showed, that narrowed it down a LOT

11. Comparatively base : AS LOW

12. Place for an allergy alert : BRACELET - ah, and a good one, as well

13. Not to mention : LET ALONE

14. They used to be together : EXES

20. Warm-colored gem : FIRE OPAL

24. Oakland paper, familiarly : TRIBune - a WAG

25. Degree hurdle : ORAL EXAM

27. Titular Wes Craven street : ELM - The TITLE "A Nightmare on Elm Street"; titular had me thinking about "racks" again

30. Harmful : BAD

32. 2011 Huffington Post acquirer : AOL - America OnLine, once part of Time Warner - more here

34. Fayetteville athlete : RAZORBACK - Arkansas

35. SADD focus : DUI - not DWI - not "while intoxicated", but "under the influence"

36. Never : IN NO CASE

37. Noble pets of imperial China : SHIH TZUs - looks funny in the DOWN

38. Admired speaker : BOSE - I thought this might be a mis-direction; not an orator, but a woofer/tweeter; could have been POLK, too

39. __ tree : UP A

44. Brother of Lucrezia Borgia : CESARE

45. Epic poem divisions : CANTOS

47. Antiviral brand : NORTON - Computer virus software

48. Couple's address : YOU TWO - "Oh, you two, get a room~!"

50. Pie not served for dessert : PIZZA - dinner last night

51. Noddy Holder's rock group : SLADE

53. Onassis et al. : ARIs

55. __ Center: former N.J. Nets home : IZOD

56. Word with Side or End : EAST - EAST side, EAST end

58. Ornamental flower : MUM - I thought this might be the answer, but it filled via perps anyway

59. Series finale : ZEE - EX, WYE, ZEE - what a great way to finish~!

Splynter

  For those who are wondering, I did three days of UPS driver training with a supervisor last week, and then this week my first day was TUEsday - and they sent me out, alone, with 162 stops.  Most seasoned guys go out with that many this time of year.  Not a good day.  But the rest of the week the stops came down, and I got better with the names and numbers.  However, there was an 'incident' about 4 stops from the end of today's run; a woman mowing her grass next to the stop sign I was at chipped up a rock, and it shattered the glass of the open door on the right side of the truck - four inches to the right and it could have beaned me; had to drive back to the center with a thousand shards of safety glass falling to the floor.

Saturday, Jun 29th, 2013, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing C,F,Q,W)

Blocks: 30

   Mark's "hair styles" puzzle appeared on Sunday, June 2nd, so he has "bookends" for the month~!  Again, we have a non-intimidating grid, with the long answers inside the edges - seems to be a new trend in Saturday puzzles....although we do have triple stacks of 2-9's and a 10-letter word top and bottom.  Some of the notables;

19. Powerful military tactic : BLITZKRIEG - "Lightning War"

53. Clownfish host : SEA ANEMONE - Can you "find" Nemo~?

32. "Halo: Reach" and "Kinect Adventures!" notably : X-BOX GAMES

 

26. High point in 1980 news : Mt. St. HELENS - Great fill, with 5 consonants to start

O+N+W+A+R+D = 75

ACROSS:

1. "Dad Is Fat" author/comedian Gaffigan : JIM - One of my favorite comedians, he's also acted in Law & Order, too

4. Wipe away __ : A TEAR - ugh, an "A" word

9. More popular song, usually : SIDE A - ugh, ANOTHER "A" word

14. Not getting by the censors : UNAIRABLE

16. How some errors are shown : IN RED

17. Tough taskmasters : MARTINETS - this filled in mostly via perps, and so I had to look it up; essentially, that's the definition - one who is a strict disciplinarian, especially military

18. Panache : STYLE

21. Basic Latin verb : ESSE - "to be"

22. Big cheer : OLÉ

23. Giant Giant : OTT - Crossword Baseball standard

24. Greenstreet co-star in "The Verdict" (1946) : LORRE - not the Paul Newman version

26. Letters above WXYZ : MNO - I semi-cheated, and looked at my house phone to save time

27. Team Frisbee game : ULTIMATE - I prefer Frisbee Golf to this game

30. Place cheek by jowl : JUXTAPOSE - I love this word

34. Pocket protector? : MISER - I was thinking "GUARD", as in the QB pocket in football, but in this case, it's a metaphor for money

35. Altar attire : ALBS - ah, not GOWN

36. Dog seen with Kvack the duck : SNERT - Hagar the Horrible, in comic strips

38. Signs of affection : X O X O - hugs and kisses in letters and cards

39. Bad marks : BLOTS

41. Some auditors : I.R.S. AGENTS

43. Tuba relatives : SAX HORNS

45. '60s pop group __ Bravos : LOS

46. Eponymous California museum founder : GETTY

47. Brighton beer, briefly : BEV - all perps; thought it was "IPA" at first

48. Mo. in which Caesar was born : JUL - this is odd; he is credited with reform of the calendar, which prior to JULIUS Caesar, did not contain JULY and AUGUST; so how could he be born in July?

51. Caspian feeder : URAL - map, at the top

56. Staycation locales : HOMES - "Stay-at-home" vacations becomes "staycations" - My Aunt and Cousin are here from England; we went to my brother's house for a BBQ last night, and tonight we are having a bonfire.  Here's the pic I took of them; Ann, Brother Kev, Mom, and Carole

58. Kakadu National Park site : AUSTRALIA - map, at the top

59. Admits customers : OPENS

60. What many tests measure : RETENTION

61. "The Glass Bead Game" author : HESSE

62. Places for runners : SLEDS - ah, not LANES

63. Couple in "Annie" : ENs - did not fool me;  a-N-N-i-e

DOWN:

1. Egg size : JUMBO - My queen size Sleep Number bed came Wednesday; in the store, I 'selected' 45 as my number - now I am experimenting at home

2. Collectively : IN ALL

3. Women's magazine __ Claire : MARIE

4. Cardinals' home : ARIZONA - Baseball for C.C.  - OOPS~! This is the football team~! (Splynter)

5. Warm-weather wear : TANK TOPS - today we will go with one for the guys, and one for the gals

6. "I would rather eat a golf ball than see this movie again" writer : EBERT - we just had his B-day puzzle~!

7. Voices in il coro : ALTI

8. Property flippers, e.g. : RESELLERS

9. Family gal : SIS

10. Blends : INTERMIXES

11. When many grazing animals migrate : DRY SEASON

12. Fish without pelvic fins : EELS

13. Chick follower? : ADEE - chickadee

15. Morticia's cousin : ITT - Love the theme - earworm~!

20. Nabbed : GOT

25. Glass part : RIM - ah, not CUP

27. Mouse movers : USERS

28. Droid message : TEXT

29. "__ Turannos": E.A. Robinson poem about a complex marriage : EROS

30. Ring tactics : JABS

31. "The Producers" bombshell : ULLA

33. No spring chicken : ON IN YEARS

37. Bearing gifts? : TALENTED

40. One on a liquid diet? : SOT

42. Controls : GOVERNS

44. Some NFL linemen : RTs - Right Tackles

47. Vigorously denounce : BASTE

48. Voight's actress daughter : JOLIE - Took me a moment to recall that Angelina is Jon's daughter

49. Strike caller : UNION - Today is my 3-year anniversary working at the UPS terminal - no strikes in my future; UPS seemed WAY too happy to give us what we asked for in the new contract; I expect to be full-time by the end of August, and not as a driver - I passed the test, but passed on the position; my Home Inspection license arrived the day that Mark's last puzzle was posted.

50. Lists in a regatta : LEANS - List is the nautical term for not being on an even keel

51. "Oops!" : UH-OH

52. Sheet in a regatta : ROPE - more nautical terminology

54. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author : AUEL

55. Framing item : MAT - I thought CEL first; this is this

57. Compass dir. : SSE

Splynter  - Hey, I'm down to 193lbs from sweating at UPS~! (C.C.: Way to go! Meet Me in St. Louis for 4D!)

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Barry G, whose posts I look forward to every morning. Barry's comments are consistently constructive. I value very much WBS (What Barry Said/Says).