Wednesday April 5, 2017 Mark MacLachlan

Theme: THREE LITTLE LETTERS.  Each theme entry begins with a three letter combination that is repeated, in order, at the end of the entry.  The closest I could come to a theme song is Three Little Words, Eight Little Letters.  Sometimes you just have to make do.  Take three minutes to give it a listen.

Hi Gang, JzB here, as you have probably already guessed.  The Three Little words in the song are: "I love you." A bit of trivia I picked up researching this post is that it was also the name of a 1950 movie about Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. the guys who wrote the song. Ironically, they didn't like each other very much.  My last blog also involved letters in threes.  Maybe this is my new assignment.  Let's delve into the theme. 

17 A. *Process of electron gain or loss : IONIZATION.  Chemistry or Physics?  Either way, I get a charge out of it.  Yes, I'm positive!

24 A. *Beneficial substance in berries : ANTIOXIDANT.  Chemistry or Biology?  Oxidation is a process that might or might not involve IONIZATION.  Either way, an ANTIOXIDANT protects something else from being oxidized by getting oxidized itself.  Greater love no molecule hath!

34 A. *Eating : INGESTING.  Taking something, such as an ANTIOXIDANT into the body, by swallowing or absorption.  Yet another physical process.

48. A *London subway system, with "the" : UNDERGROUND.   Here we have a place about which I know very little.  Maybe Steve can help.  It is the main setting of Neil Gaiman's strange novel Neverwhere, in which people lost from normal society find an existence in an alternate reality.

57 A. Each answer to a starred clue begins and ends with identical ones : THREESOMES.  A group of three people or things doing something together.  What they are doing here is acting as bookends.  What else can we find?

Across

1. Chickens (out) : WIMPS.  Usually a noun, but one may WIMP out, so OK.

6. Lay eyes on : ESPY.  This word, ultimately of germanic origin, comes to us via Old French.  I remember my college German Professor remarking that Old French was Latin spoken badly by Germans.  Compare to "spy." 

10. Judge's setting : BAIL.  Not a location, but a quantity of money set by the judge, paid to assure that an accused person does not run off.

14. Like kindling when lit : AFIRE.  Flaming A-word.

15. Advil target : ACHE.  Analgesic for pain relief.

16. Insulate, as a jacket : LINE.  Install a layer of lining for added warmth.

19. Killer whale : ORCA. Aquatic predator.

20. Cereal with lemony lemon and orangey orange flavors : TRIX.  As I recall, they're for kids.

21. Falling-out : RIFT.  Can't we all just get along?

22. Bryn Mawr undergrads : WOMEN.  This is a women's liberal arts college named for the Pennsylvania town in which it is located.  The name means "Large hill" in Welsh.

23. Have a bawl : SOB.  "Clever clue," he cried.  

26. Lacking the skill : UNABLE.   We all have our limits.

28. Not as much : LESS SO.

29. Katy who voiced Smurfette in "The Smurfs" : PERRY.  I did not know that.

30. "Jeopardy!" creator Griffin : MERV.  Nor that.

33. Takes off the shelf : USES.  If one is able.

37. At the center of : AMID.  Surrounded.

40. Compete in a sack : RACE.  The infamous sack race.

41. Lets up : EASES.

45. Asian rice porridge : CONGEE.  Never heard of it.  Is it congealed?

47. Show up : ARRIVE.  Make an appearance.

52. Bus. card info : TELephone number.

53. Highly recommends : TOUTS.

54. "Monday Night Countdown" airer : ESPN.  All sports, all the time TV network.

55. Cruciverbalist Reagle of "Wordplay" : MERL.   We all knew this - right?  What you might not have known is that he retained all rights to his puzzles, and was thus able to make a living exclusively from puzzle construction.   Sadly, he passed away in August, 2015 from a sudden onset of pancreatitis.

56. Danish shoe company : ECCO.  A family-owned company founded in 1963.    They opened their first retail outlet in 1982.  Products, now including other leather goods, are sold in 14,000 sales points in 88 countries.

59. Big bunch : SLEW.  Derived from the Irish word sluagh, mid 19th century.

60. Golf game spoiler : RAIN.  Baseball, too.

61. Sailor's "Halt!" : AVAST.

62. Gull relative : TERN.  Shore birds.

63. Start of a preschool song : ABCD.  Four little letters?  Probably not.  Nor this one, I'm guessing.

64. __-Bismol : PEPTO.  Pink stuff for an upset tummy.

Down

1. Watches late TV until a teen comes home, say : WAITS UP.   Probably impatiently.

2. "From my perspective ... " : I FOR ONE.  

3. Hotel room amenity : MINIBAR.  Contains small, overpriced liquor bottles.

4. Amount to pay in Calais : PRIX.  The French price.

5. "__ who?" : SEZ.  Users of American slang, that's who.

6. Absorb the loss : EAT IT.  More American slang, for taking a financial loss.

7. "The Martian" genre : SCI-FI.  Science fiction.

8. Snapchat upload : PHOTO.  Pictures.

9. Nikkei index currency : YEN.  Japanese money

10. Diabetic's concern : BLOOD SUGAR.  The amount of glucose present in the blood stream.  Values outside the normal range can indicate a medical condition.

11. High behind a front, e.g. : AIR MASS.  A body of air with horizontally uniform temperature, humidity and pressure.

12. Holy smoke : INCENSE.  A substance burned for it's sweet aroma.  As the clue indicates, it is often associated with solemn religious ceremonies.

13. Campsite shelters : LEAN-TOS.    Simple structures composed of a slanted roof-wall, with or without 2 side walls.  The fourth side is open, generally oriented away from the prevailing winds. 

18. Former Education secretary Duncan : ARNE.   Does anybody remember this man who served from 2009 through 2015?  Does anyone know for sure which name goes first or last?  It goes like this: ARNE Duncan.

22. Golfer Michelle : WIE.   [b 1989] She announced she was turning pro a week before her 16th birthday, and joined the PGA tour in 2009.  Here are some highlights from last year.

24. Kirk __, first movie Superman : ALYN.  He appeared in serialized Superman movies in 1948 and 1950.

25. Last Super Bowl won by the Giants : XLVI.    The game was played on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.    Eli Manning was the MVP as the Giants beat the Patriots 21-17.

27. Capital of Barbados : BRIDGETOWN.  Located at the southwest corner of this island nation.  I had no clear idea of where Barbados is.  It is the eastward-most of any island in that part of the world.

30. "Tell __ story" : ME A.  Once upon a time . . .

31. PC key : ESCape.

32. MapQuest output: Abbr. : RTE.  Way Frm Pt A to Pt B.

35. Oldest Brady boy : GREG.  Played by Barry Williams

36. Geeky sort : NERD.

37. Most severe : ACUTEST.  In this sense, experienced to an extreme degree.   Is this word the awkwardest?

38. Accessory for Mr. Peanut : MONOCLE.

39. Ambien, vis-à-vis sleep : INDUCER.  It aids in falling asleep, but not in staying there.  But still can cause residual drowsiness the following morning.

42. Webpage index : SITE MAP.

43. "Into Thin Air" peak : EVEREST.  Book and movie of the same name that attempt to recreate the disastrous events of a climb that occurred on May 10, 1966.

44. Does business with : SELLS TO.   Or buys from.

46. Workplaces for LPNs : ERS. Licensed Practical nurses and Emergency Rooms.

47. Green Gables girl : ANNE.  An 11-year-old orphan girl mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister team who were expecting a boy to help on their Prince Edward Island Farm, in Lucy Montgomery's 1908 novel.  The story has been adapted many times into movies and plays.

49. Post-op therapy : REHAB.

50. "Hamlet" courtier : OSRIC. A superficial, shallow and insincere plotter.

51. Flip over : UPEND.

55. Bit of chess action : MOVE.  Almost - but not quite - always involves a single piece at a time.

57. __-la-la : TRA.  Sing-song syllables.

58. Con man's target : SAP.  An easy mark.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope all your letters are lining up.

Cool Regards!
JzB

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Irish Miss, our loving & witty Agnes, who cares a lot about everyone on our little corner.

Eileen (sister of Agnes) & Agnes

2) Happy Birthday also to Abejo (Bradley), who's always busy volunteering for various causes. Abejo is Persian for "beer". Bradley worked in Iran for a few years.

Bradley and his Tuba, Church Fat Tuesday Event

Sunday March 27, 2016 Mark MacLachlan

Theme:  "C Battery" - C is added to each theme answer, changing spellings as needed.

23A. Film monster at a construction site? : CRANE OF TERROR. Reign of terror.We also have DESPOT (28. Unrestricted ruler).

39A. Peat moss heist? : NURSERY CRIME. Nursery rhyme.

44A. Double without a seatbelt? : UNSECURED CLONE. Unsecured loan. Notice all the C's are added to the start of one word in each themer? Consistency!

69A. Exclusive editing websites? : WIKI CLIQUES. WikiLeaks.

92A. Marx feature? : CRAZED EYEBROWS. Raised eyebrows. Groucho Marx.

96A. Garden center bulk purchase? : CASE OF SPADES. Ace of spades.

114A. Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes? : CRY ON THE CROCS. Rye on the rocks. Double-action entry, like last Friday's PRISM.  Double-action entry often placed as the last themer for maximum effect.

I think this might be our Mark MacLachlan, a chemistry professor at the University of British Columbia. This is his debut puzzle. Huge congratulations!

I had a sense of what the theme might be after I glanced at the puzzle title. Spelling change gimmick is much more challenging than the simple adding/deleting letter approach. You need to be very imaginative.

There are four nice sets of triple-stacked 7's, two of the sets cross another 7  & 8.  The grid does also have lots of 3-letter entries (38).

Across:

1. Fads : MANIAS

7. They were introduced to Western pop music during the British Invasion : SITARS. Instruments, not singers as I first thought.

13. Quantities like mass and volume : SCALARS. New word to me.

20. Earth pigment : SIENNA

21. Slow movement : ADAGIO. Ad-agio, Italian for  "at ease".

22. Hamlet's friend : HORATIO

25. Subject for Dumbledore : ALCHEMY. Dumbledore is the headmaster of the Hogwarts.

26. Plane staff : CREW

27. Kitchen top : LID

30. Govt. intel org. : NSA

31. Co-star of "Suspect" (1987) : CHER. Never saw the movie. 

32. Author Rand : AYN

33. Spanish eye : OJO

35. Confine, as on a farm : PEN IN

37. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA. Hello, old friend!

38. Civil War prez : ABE

48. Sticks often with curved tops : CANES

49. Ones having a bite : EATERS. Thought of Da Fan Tong Jayce.

50. Former "Daily Show" correspondent Samantha : BEE. Now she has her own show.

51. Recipe words : A DASH. Partial.

54. Vietnam's last emperor Bao __ : DAI. No idea. Dai is the same as Chinese Da, meaning "big".

55. Update the machinery : RETOOL

57. Bagel topper : LOX. Barry G's breakfast staple. Hope you're getting better, Barry.

59. Apprehensive of : FEARING

61. Art opening? : POP. Pop art.

64. Reason to call the landlord : NO HEAT. Arbitrary phrase.

66. Something in the air : NITROGEN. Nice clue.

67. "Return of the Jedi" dancer : OOLA. This has become a gimme.

71. Adored speaker : BOSE. "Adored" because it's a popular brand?

72. Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation : THE CHAOS. Complete stranger. Read here.

74. Not dressy : CASUAL

75. Part of PST: Abbr. : STD

76. Historic metropolitan district : OLD TOWN. I lived in the old town part of Guangzhou & loved very much the neighborhood.

77. Miss piggy? : SOW.  Great clue. I did read it as "Miss Piggy".

78. Astronomer Celsius : ANDERS. Did not know Celsius' given name.

82. Time, e.g., briefly : MAG

83. Iraqi port : BASRA

85. French pen name : BIC. French for "pen"? I wanted NOM. (Updated: BIC is French. Thanks, D-Otto. Never knew that.)

86. Research : GO INTO

90. "... __, mean, fightin' machine!": John Candy in "Stripes" : A LEAN

99. Carbohydrate ending : OSE

100. "Dinosaur Train" watcher : TOT. Easy guess.

101. WWII German minesweeper : R BOAT. No idea, Spitzboov. I only know U-boat and E-boat.

102. 6, on a phone : MNO

103. __ instinct : GUT

104. Riot squad spray : MACE

105. Munich lament : ACH

108. Tree in a tray : BONSAI. Well, nobody outdoes Dave for birthday cake links. But look at these two bonsai trees I found, Dave!

110. Breakfast morsel : OAT

111. Prying : NOSY

112. Go before : PRECEDE

119. Ursa Minor star : POLARIS

120. Interfere : MEDDLE

121. "Real love __ me through": Steve Winwood lyric : TO PULL. A rare 6-letter partial.

122. Matching tops worn together : TWIN-SET

123. Franklin writings : ESSAYS

124. Large furniture chain : ASHLEY. Drew a blank. I don't think we have one in our neighborhood.

 

Down:

1. Advanced math deg., in Canada : M.SC. OK, Master of Science.

2. Carrier with a Shanghai hub : AIR CHINA. Nailed it. The flag carrier in Taiwan is called China Airlines. There was no direct flight from Taiwan to mainland China until 2003. You had to fly to Hong Kong first.

3. Qatar locale : NEAR EAST

4. __ peace : INNER

5. Yet again : ANEW

6. Brazil map word : SAO

7. Observed, maybe : SATIN

8. Fingered : ID'ED

9. Sailor : TAR

10. Cabinet dept. : AGR. We see ENER more often.

11. Aldi supermarket juice brand that translates to "river of gold" : RIO D'ORO. No idea either. Helpful "river of gold" hint.  I go to Aldi weekly. Never saw this brand though.

 

12. Ticked : SORE

13. Machine shop tool : SHAPER

14. Groups of bats or beavers : COLONY. Oh, I only associate ants with colony.

15. Northernmost freshwater fish : ARCTIC CHAR. Steve might have had it. Not me.

16. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH

17. UMass's conference : A-TEN. Alright, Atlantic 10 Conference. 

 

18. Edges : RIMS

19. Tofu source : SOYA. Trader Joe's has the best extra-firm Tofu. They also have the best veggie Jiaozi (Gyoza). I recall TTP mentioned that his wife likes their shrimp Gyoza.

24. Handbill : FLYER

29. 1994 film set on a bus : SPEED. Loved the film. I watched the Cantonese version.

 

31. Game with a rope : CLUE

32. "Perched upon __ of Pallas": "The Raven" : A BUST. Partial.

33. Fairy tale opener : ONCE

34. Summer mo. : JUL

36. Org. for marksmen : NRA

38. 43,560 square feet : ACRE

40. Junk food, in ads : SNAX

41. Dyes used for blue jeans : INDIGOS

42. Most Grinch-like : MEANEST

43. Digitally endorsed : E-SIGNED. Also 46. Nook downloads : E-BOOKS. Do any of you use Audible.com?

45. Bard's "always" : E'ER

47. Home of Humayun's Tomb : DELHI. Unfamiliar with the tomb.

52. Off the beaten path : AFIELD

53. Puts in rollers : SETS

56. Dip ingredients : ONIONS

57. Award-winning courtroom drama : LA LAW

58. Elevator innovator : OTIS

60. Hold up : ROB

 

61. Chesapeake Bay feeder : POTOMAC

62. "C'est magnifique!" : OOH LA LA

63. Telethon commitments : PLEDGES

65. Maker of Cage golf shoes : ECCO. Boomer just got a much-lighter Big Bertha from 2nd Swing. He thinks he's going to hit straighter and 20-30 yards farther.

66. Subtlety : NUANCE

68. Be on a role? : ACT

69. Trumpet sound : WA WA

70. "Brokeback Mountain" actor : QUAID (Randy). Never saw the movie. The plot is so moving.

73. Schmoozers : HOBNOBBERS

77. 1986 Starship chart-topper : SARA. This got me last time.

79. Spew out : EGEST

80. Obi-Wan's attire : ROBE

81. Title of honor : SIR

84. Tax audit needs: Abbr. : RCPTS

85. Smooch from Sofía : BESO. For Bill G.

87. Absolutely no one : NOT A SOUL. Can you think of a clue without using "no"?

88. Type of engine or oil : TWO-CYCLE. New concept to me as well.

89. Bone: Pref. : OSTE

91. Fizzy prefix : AER

93. Looks up to : ADMIRES

94. __ garden : ZEN

95. What "comes but once in a lifetime": Longfellow : YOUTH

97. "Jamie" reader : FOODIE. What is "Jamie"? Anything to do with Jamie Oliver?

98. Most stable : SANEST

103. Defense secretary before Panetta : GATES (Robert)

104. Transform, in sci-fi : MORPH

105. iCal entry : APPT. Gary must use his iCal app often.

106. Bad avian omen in much mythology : CROW

107. Prefix with port : HELI

109. Peak : ACME

110. Just : ONLY

111. Sgts. and cpls. : NCOS

113. Discharge : CAN

115. NFL stat : YDS

116. "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA. Ditto.

117. Greek vowel : ETA

118. Cagey : SLY

I've been enjoying Peter Gordon's Newsflash Crosswords the past few years. His entries and clues are super current and full of fun trivia. MERRICK GARLAND appeared in Peter's grid two days after he was nominated for the Justice post. Please click here and back his project if you love crosswords and news. You'll love each handcrafted gem from him.

C.C.