Thursday, October 15th 2015 Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Bacchanalian Brigade: Four inebriated entries:

17A. They're loaded : FILM CAMERAS. It's been quite some time since I had to do this - you always lived in trepidation that you'd somehow mess up and either expose the whole roll or shoot 36 frames and never get one on the emulsion:

29A. They're loaded : CROOKED DICE. I've been at craps tables in Las Vegas when I swore there was funny business afoot. In the unloaded light of day, of course it was just me being an appallingly bad gambler. The dice tumble where they may:

45A. They're loaded : BIG SPENDERS. Sadly, not me, probably because of the craps table behavior (see above).

61A. They're loaded : SIX SHOOTERS. Here's an 1882 Colt .44 - Did they mess up, was it meant to be a .45? It was made over 130 years ago, maybe the micrometers weren't so accurate back then. Or the gunsmith was loaded?

 

Good morrow! Steve here with a great mental workout from Marti - all kinds of head-scratching with the fill, and a really nice set of four theme entries, all 11's and no reveal other than the clechoes. The mid-Atlantic section was the one that had me staring down some white squares - EAMES and ENDEAR went in relatively easily, but the rest had me convinced I'd made a major goof until I caught on to the "they're not all single words" possibility and eventually C-NOTE, I.D. TAG and GE'S came to pass. Good stuff! And ....

Across:

1. Chinese secret society : TONG. C.C. might be a member, but of course she couldn't tell us if she was. Shhh!

5. Like many a rural road : SCENIC

11. "Big Blue" : IBM. We've seen Kubrick's "2001" rogue computer HAL quite frequently in the puzzles recently. Add one alphabet-count letter to HAL and you get - IBM.

14. Ancient concert halls : ODEA

15. Music industry underhandedness : PAYOLA

16. Call from a pasture : MOO

19. K+, e.g. : ION. An ionized potassium atom. My chemical knowledge is now officially exhausted.

20. Morning beverage choice, facetiously : UNLEADED. I'm totally defeated by the idea or purpose of decaffeinated coffee in the morning.

21. Dye source : HENNA. I dyed my hair with henna once or twice in my early twenties. Thankfully I realized that a rather jaunty orange wasn't a good look in the financial district in London.

23. Editor's mark : STET

24. Fla.-to-Cal. route : I-TEN

26. Former CNN host Alina : CHO. Thank you, crosses.

34. Terra firma : EARTH. Hmmmm. To me, Terra firma is dry land. Earth is the planet Earth, 90% of which is ocean and decidedly wet.

36. Wedding announcement word : NÉE.  Acute accent on the first "E" if you want to be particular about this.

37. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA. Who? Thank you, crosses. I'll let the poetic blog readers pitch in here.

38. One who may need an alibi : LIAR. For explaining why his pants are on fire?

39. Bar closing hr. : ONE A.M. Not in London (11PM) nor LA (2AM). Your mileage may vary.

41. Energy source : ATOM

42. Mediterranean tourist attraction : ETNA

43. Alley target : PIN. Boomer's milieu, not mine. I've been bowling a few times, I think if you described me as "Bambi on a frozen pond" I'd be flattered.

44. Give an address : ORATE

49. Some ranges : GE'S General Electric cooktops. (If you want to put something in my Christmas stocking, I'll take this one, thankyouverymuch - I'll cook you dinner). A little ironic that the burners are gas-fired though:

50. Crown of light : HALO

51. UFO-tracking org. : SETI. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Was the screen saver that we all so religiously downloaded and left running all night a hoax?

53. Carl Reiner's nine : EMMYS. Nine wins, six nominations. Not too shabby.

56. Take care of : ATTEND TO

60. Eastern way : TAO

64. Jungfrau, for one : ALP. Stunningly beautiful. I've skied parts of the mountain from Grindelwald.

65. Leveling tool : EVENER. OK, hold on - is this really a thing?

66. Carrier with only kosher meals : EL AL

67. Grant foe : LEE

68. Vacation destination : RESORT

69. Long ride : LIMO. This took me a while before the V8 moment! Great stumping for such a little word.

Down:

1. Vegan staple : TOFU

2. Role in the 2011 film "Thor" : ODIN

3. "Little" Dickens girl : NELL. I tried DORI first before I saw sense, realized it would be DORRIT and started over.

4. Olympic __ : GAMES

5. "The Blacklist" star : SPADER. Who he? More crosses to the rescue. This chap:

6. Woke up : CAME TO

7. Looked up and down : EYED

8. Neither partner : NOR

9. Stevedore's gp. : I.L.A. International Longshoreman's Association.

10. Left the tables for the night, with "in" : CASHED. It might equally be "cashed out" except it wasn't clued that way. Something I've rarely done in Vegas (see 27A above). I don't gamble much any more, I'm seriously bad at it.

11. "Let's do it!" : I'M IN. My bad call in Vegas. If you ever hear me say this, cosh me over the head and put me in my room.

12. Blessing : BOON

13. Pulitzer poet Van Duyn : MONA. I'm zero-for-two with poets today. Corner?

18. __ of the day: menu offering : CATCH

22. Make lovable : ENDEAR

24. Furniture store that sells frozen meatballs : IKEA

25. Swarm : TEEM

26. 69-Across user : CELEB

27. "The Pearl of the Antilles" : HAITI

28. Sumatran simian : ORANG

30. Upright : ON END

31. Attachment seen on a carousel : I.D. TAG. The section that caused me conniptions. The ID Tag on your luggage as it takes a few turns around the baggage carousel awaiting collection. They all look the same anyway.

32. 100 bucks : C-NOTE

33. Furniture designer Charles : EAMES

35. Inferior : TRASHY

39. Autobahn auto : OPEL

40. El __ : NIÑO. And a hoped-for wet-weather phenomenon here in Southern California. We have an El Niño forecast for this winter.

44. Bone: Pref. : OSTEO

46. Quarterback, at times : PASSER. Compare with scrambler, flushed-out-of-the-pocket-and-throwing-out-of-bounds-er, dumped on his ass-er, desperately-handing-off-to-the-running-back-er, hail-mary-intecepted-er and, finally, benched-er. Choose your own nominee for this honor.

47. Old Testament queen : ESTHER

48. Comeback : RETORT

52. Recon consequence : INTEL

53. List shortener, for short : ET AL. How about a list of Middle Eastern airlines? El Al, et al

54. Drake, e.g. : MALE. "Duck" didn't work. Here's the rapper Drake:

55. Pout : MOPE

56. "It came __ surprise" : AS NO

57. Sub assembly location : DELI. Chassis, U-boat shipyard and fabrication shop all wouldn't fit.

58. Theme park transport : TRAM

59. Aftenposten newspaper headquarters : OSLO. More facts about OSLO and IKEA today. We are truly turning into experts on Scandinavian trivia.

62. "__ Got You Under My Skin" : I'VE

63. Symbolic kisses : X'ES

And with symbolic kisses, I'll sign off with Marti's trademark {hugs} and the grid is all that's left.


Steve

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015 Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." No-one ever accused the dastardly Goldfinger of having a bullion heart, but that's exactly what connects all these theme entries, chemical symbol-wise.

19A. Home of the Green Bay Packers : LAMBEAU FIELD. AKA "The Frozen Tundra".

35A. "Northanger Abbey" author : JANE AUSTEN. This was her house, not far from where I went to school in Winchester:

45A. Bistro drink : CAFE AU LAIT. Add a pain au chocolat, a Parisian bistro terrace and some people-watching and you've got the world's best breakfast. You can also pretend to read "Le Figaro" for authenticity.

56A. Olympic action involving a bar : POLE VAULTING. Crazy antics atop a 16-foot fiberglass whiplash of death.

And the reveal:

17D. Kind nature, and, symbolically, what 19-, 35-, 45- and 56-Across have : HEART OF GOLD. Also, for sci-fi comedy fans, the name of the spacecraft powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series of books.

Well now - Steve here this first Wednesday in August with "our" Marti's quite excellent auric-themed puzzle. Note how the "AU" is centered in each answer and the down reveal entry intersects all the horizonal themers. That's some mighty fine constructin'. Top that off with some great fill and cluing and we've got ourselves a grand Wednesday.

The theme could count as a CSO to a Corner regular, but I'm not sure you can shout-out to yourself!

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Barbie maker : MATTEL

7. Dada pioneer : ARP. He called himself either Jean or Hans depending on which language he was speaking. This is my friend Jill's charcoal sketch of his "Torse des Pyrénées" sculpture:

10. Soviet air force acronym : MIG. I went through a MIR-er-um-no-MIG transmutation here. I didn't know it was an acronym - it comes from the names of the founders of the design bureau Микоян и Гуревич.

13. Melodic piece : ARIOSO. Thank you, crosses. Marti - does your knowledge of Italian help you with musical clues?

14. Source of Sun. inspiration : SER. Words from the Rev. Not too long, hopefully.

15. Life-altering words : I DO

16. Mississippi River explorer : DE SOTO. I remembered it! There's a De Soto Avenue not far from me, that's my aide-mémoire now.

17. Put to work : HIRE

18. Stock quote? : MOO

22. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA

25. Where to find a horse with no legs? : SEA

26. Outlaw Kelly : NED

27. Favre of the Green Bay Packers : BRETT. No stranger to 19A, he started at QB for 15 straight seasons from 1992 to 2007, before having an early mid-life crisis, decamping first for the New York Jets, and then the Packer's bitter rivals the Minnesota Vikings, and "retiring" twice along the way. He seems to have stayed retired now.

29. Evita's land: Abbr. : ARG. Don't cry for me.

31. Supply with more weapons : RE-ARM

38. __ code : AREA. 818 for me. Apparently that makes me a Valley Girl. Uh-huh, gag me with a spoon. Totally!

39. N.H. clock setting : EST

40. Chanted : INTONED

42. NFL snapper : CTR. Here's Jonathan Goodwin, the center for the San Francisco 49er's. Does wearing that uniform make him a red snapper?

43. Bistro awning word : CHEZ. Somewhere to enjoy your 45A.

47. Austrian state bordering three countries : TYROL. I learned to ski in the Tyrol many years ago. I also learned how to drink schnapps.

49. NFL positions : RGS. It's an NFL-fest today. Standard equipment issue for all playing that position (I hope):

50. Lovely, like a lass : BONNY

51. Cookie Monster eating sound : NOM

53. Poetic preposition : O'ER. How about this:

"With the ebon glass-fiber'd wand
in her grip held tight,
the 56A goddess arc'd
o'er the bar at such height,
falling softly to earth's bosom
afore e'en tis night".

Nah, I'll leave the poeticals to those of you who know what you're doing.

55. Equipment : GEAR

61. Brother of Peyton : ELI. Their pop, Archie, played QB for Ole Miss, and the campus speed limit is 18 MPH in honor of his number. Neat-o.

62. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD. Probably a good job you don't add the time as well. "ESTD MMDXLVI 9:00 EST"

63. "I'm clueless" : NO IDEA

67. Go pfft : DIE. Full disclosure. I had "DIS" here first, as in DISSING someone with a "pfft!". Of course DISS is the correct spelling, and I didn't notice that LISU at 58D didn't make any sense. So I got the dreaded "The puzzle is completely filled" (translation: "Yeah, you goofed, dingbat") message when I was done. You can see my hunt for the culprit in the grid at the bottom.

68. It's charged : ION

69. Stretched out on the beach : SUNNED. Lovely subtle part-of-speech clue. "Stretched" in the past tense sense, not the intransitive verb sense. Had me thinking for a while.

70. Promise from a shy person? : IOU. Nice! Shy in the "not quite enough" sense.

71. New Orleans-to-Detroit dir. : NNE

72. Put to work : ENGAGE. Clecho with 17A. All kinds of stuff going on today.

Down:

1. "Spy vs. Spy" magazine : MAD

2. Modern art? : ARE. Another great little clue/answer. Eventually the "verb" usage penny dropped.

3. "__ the year's midnight ... ": Donne : 'TIS

4. "You missed it" : TOO LATE

5. Spanish 101 verb : ESTA

6. Appears impressively on the horizon : LOOMS. Usually in a bad way. Icebergs, slab-sided rusty tankers, battleships, Godzilla, Mount Doom and what-not.

7. Where most live : ASIA

8. "M*A*S*H" episode, now : RERUN. RETRO went in, TRO came out.

9. Favor : PREFER

10. Silent ape : MIME. Why aren't mimes particularly original? Because they can't think outside the box.

11. "American __" : IDOL

12. Like no news? : GOOD

20. Make it big in Hollywood : BE A STAR

21. Bean sprout? : IDEA. Lovely clue/answer. Food! Well, the clue was. I'm making pad thai tonight.

22. Goal : OBJECT

23. Like many tabloids : TRASHY

24. Tenant : RENTER

28. Mai __ : TAI

30. 64-Down research subject : GENE SET. Used in gene set variation analysis, as everybody knows. Well, as everybody knows who just Googled it like me. Thank you, crosses.

32. Obscure : ARCANE

33. Light-sensitive eye layer : RETINA

34. Saint Stephen, e.g. : MARTYR. My patron saint. December 26th is his Saint's day, for those of you who pay attention to such matters.

36. Mom's bro : UNC

37. PBS funder : NEA. National Endowment for the Arts. Lovely people.

41. Name : DUB

44. Temperate __ : ZONE

46. Lumberjack's trade : LOGGING. I can't resist.

48. Hippie happening : LOVE-IN

52. Layer of stones : MASON

54. Shampoo instruction : RINSE. Then, apparently, repeat. In other words "use twice as much product as you  need to, thank you very much".

56. Mani counterpart : PEDI

57. Mishmash : OLIO. One of my personal crossword faves - C.C. patiently explained the difference between OLEO and OLIO to me when I first started reading this blog,

58. Stead : LIEU. Ha! I had "DIS" in lieu of "DIE"! How apropos.

59. "Cure Ignorance" online reader : UTNE. I didn't even see this until I got here, so thank you, crosses.

60. Doohickey or whatchamacallit, e.g. : NOUN. Very neat. Another of the day's fun clues.

64. "CSI" evidence : DNA

65. Brain scan, for short : EEG. I'm starting to finally get all the "E-something-G" stuff straight.

66. Citrusy drink : ADE.

Here's the grid. I'll get my coat.

Steve

Tuesday, May 19, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: What you don't want your panties in - Again, the reveal is in the clue. Re-imagine a common thing as a group of people.

17A. Bunch of builders? : ERECTOR SET

55A. Bunch of valets? : PARKING LOT

10D. Bunch of contortionists? : ELASTIC BAND

24D. Bunch of cryptologists? : DECODER RING

Argyle here. Bunch of Corner constructors? ( ?????  )

Across:

1. Netherlands dairy export : EDAM

5. Needle : TEASE

10. Car designer Ferrari : ENZO. 19-Across. Ferrari, e.g. : AUTO

14. O'Hara plantation : TARA

15. Hunt of "As Good as It Gets" : HELEN. Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear and a Brussels Griffon. (no Westie)

16. Café au __ : LAIT. (French for "coffee with milk")

20. Salty expanse : SEA

21. Peter, Paul and Mary, e.g. : TRIO

22. White terrier, familiarly : WESTIE

24. Finished : DONE

25. "He __ Heavy, He's My Brother" : AIN'T

26. Derby drinks : JULEPS. The Belmont Jewel is the official drink of the Belmont Stakes. Created by mixologist Drew Revella, this drink is made with small-batch bourbon shaken with pomegranate and lemonade.

29. Talking heads : PUNDITS

32. Adidas rival : ASICS

33. Magazine unit : PAGE

34. Bloke : CHAP

36. Gambling town at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas : RENO

37. Found new digs : MOVED

38. Sonny & Cher surname : BONO

39. Took to court : SUED

40. Phone button abbr. : OPER. (operator)

41. Historic Vegas hotel, with "the" : SANDS

42. Before-marriage contracts, briefly : PRENUPS. (prenuptial agreement)

44. Mix at a party : MINGLE

45. Like Santa's cheeks : ROSY. Juleps and Jewels, ho, ho, ho!

46. Cottage cheese lump : CURD. deja clue.

47. South Dakota's capital : PIERRE

50. Boarding pass information : GATE

51. Boxing stat : KOs. (knock out)

54. Not pro : ANTI

58. Tend to a pressing task : IRON. Clever misdirection.

59. Not from Earth : ALIEN

60. Soccer superstar : PELE

61. Bumper defect : DING. DENT slowed me up.

62. Scatterbrained : DITSY

63. Sewer's row : SEAM

Down:

1. Hot times in Cannes : ÉTÉs. (French for "summer")

2. Take a chance : DARE. And one that does, is a DARER.

3. Word with gray or play : AREA

4. Scottish name prefix : MAC

5. Rose protectors : THORNS. Let not the fear of the thorn keep you from the beauty of the rose.

6. Like many a Poe story : EERIE

7. Too : ALSO

8. "What'd I tell you?" : "SEE!"

9. Woven together : ENTWINED

11. Ship-related: Abbr. : NAUT. (nautical)

12. Pasta that sounds like two letters : ZITI. (zee tee)

13. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE

18. Sporty sunroofs : T-TOPS

23. Finish : END

25. Wood shop tool : AUGER. Ahh, the ice augers are all put away.

26. Cookie holders : JARS. My favorite.

27. Run out of : USE UP

28. Ship with staterooms : LINER

29. Lays down blacktop : PAVES

30. Bit of beach footwear : THONG

31. Mortgage-issuing inst. : S AND L. (savings and loan association)

33. Flanders Fields flower : POPPY

35. One in a model's repertoire : POSE

37. Computer user's accessory : MOUSE PAD

41. Warning to pull over : SIREN

43. Swe. neighbor : NOR. (Sweden/Norway)

44. Crime on the Bounty : MUTINY

46. Bakery array : CAKES. CED specialty.

47. Picked up the tab : PAID

48. Crucifix inscription : INRI. Latin "Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum" ("Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews").

49. Prince William's alma mater : ETON

50. Spunk : GRIT

51. Swiss surrealist Paul : KLEE

Black Columns in a Landscape, 1919

52. "Return of the Jedi" dancing girl : OOLA. Lives on in crosswords.

53. Wineglass feature : STEM

56. __ Baba : ALI. A poor woodcutter who discovers the secret of a thieves' den.

57. High-tech rte. finder : GPS. deja clue.

Argyle

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: GOING POSTAL - The first word can precede STAMP.

17. Inevitable future event : DATE  WITH DESTINY. Date stamp. 

22. Slicing-dicing appliance : FOOD  PROCESSOR. Food stamp.

39. What an ant can't move, in song : RUBBER TREE PLANT. Rubber stamp. 

51. 1983 Murphy/Aykroyd comedy : TRADING PLACES. Trading stamp.

60. Philatelist's pride, and what the first words of 17-, 22-, 39- and 51-Across can be : STAMP COLLECTION. 

A first class puzzle from Marti - we should really letter have it. Did you hear about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it.

Melissa here.

Across:

1. Letters in a bachelor's ad : SWM. Single white male.

4. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M. Bette Midler.

9. Carried on, as war : WAGED

14. "Caught you!" : O-HO

15. Chilling : ON ICE

16. Words of sympathy : I CARE

20. Partner of crafts : ARTS. Beautiful style of architecture.

21. Love, in Roma : AMORE. Italian. 

In the kitchen with love

28. Drag to court : SUE

29. Audiophile's components, collectively : STEREO

31. Glitzy wrap : BOA

34. Applies messily : DAUBS. I tried slops - daubs seems dainty to me. I looked it up. I was wrong.

38. Idi of Uganda : AMIN

43. Ottoman title : AGHA. Wiki.

44. Two under par : EAGLE

45. Prefix with classical : NEO

46. Like glee club music : CHORAL. Tried cheery first.

49. Ques. response : ANS

57. Has __ up one's sleeve : AN ACE

58. Killer whale : ORCA

66. Divining deck : TAROT

67. Attorney general under Reagan : MEESE

68. Debate side : CON

69. Agricultural coupling devices : YOKES

70. Possible "How'd you hurt your knee?" response : I FELL. Aw.

71. Mimic : APE

Down:

1. Baking __ : SODA

2. Fishing spot : WHARF

3. "Eureka" in California, e.g. : MOTTO. This prompted me to look up Oregon's state motto, where I currently live. Alis Volat Proprils (She Flies With Her Own Wings). I like it. What is your state's motto?

4. Work on a lawn : MOW

5. Pasta suffix : INI. Fettuccini.

6. Shankar gave George Harrison lessons on one : SITAR

7. Jerk : SCHMO. Schmuck.

8. French red wine : MEDOC. New to me.

9. Most knowing : WISEST

10. Play part, or play a part : ACT

11. Happy, in Le Havre : GAI. French - I had no idea. Shore excursion near Paris.

 

12. Directional suffix : ERN. Western.

13. Susan of "The Partridge Family" : DEY

18. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS

19. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. 

23. "Bro!" : DUDE. Don't taze me, Dude. Doesn't have the same ring.

24. Bartlett or Bosc : PEAR

25. Notary's imprint : SEAL

26. TV financial maven Suze : ORMAN

27. French queen : REINE, French word for "queen," not the name of a French queen.

30. Not duped by : ONTO

31. Bric-a-__ : BRAC

32. Should, with "to" : OUGHT

33. Detest : ABHOR

35. All-purpose vehicle, for short : UTE. Utility vehicle.

36. Push-up top : BRA

37. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEGment

40. Silents siren Theda : BARA

41. Israeli airline : EL AL

42. Clinton transportation secretary Federico : PENA

47. Makes fit : ADAPTS. See above.

48. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC. Looks a little like Lenny Kravitz.

 

50. Loch Lomond local : SCOT

52. Mother of Ashley and Wynonna : NAOMI. The Judds.

53. Treble symbol : G CLEF

54. Martinique volcano : PELEE

55. "All My Children" vamp : ERICA

56. Baskin-Robbins utensil : SCOOP

59. Green Gables girl : ANNE

60. Muddy pen : STY

61. Eastern "way" : TAO

62. Old couples carrier : ARK. Clever.

63. Stooge with bangs : MOE

64. Night class subj. : ESL

65. Animation collectible : CEL

Pardon me while I get back to googling Lenny Kravitz ....

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Our beautiful Melissa is back! She will be blogging once a month. Melissa took a long break from the blog to take care of some family matter. She's sorely missed.

  

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Crack the Code - The first word of each theme entry can be 'cracked'.

17A. Chinese course in a bowl : EGG DROP SOUP. Food! Chicken broth, beaten eggs, pepper for seasoning, scallions to garnish.

25A. Reason to skip the Skippy : NUT ALLERGY. More food! I prefer Laura Scudder's Crunchy peanut butter. I put Marmite on mine, not jelly.

35A. Classic cop show catchphrase : BOOK 'EM DANNO. Lt. McGarret's closing line on many a "Hawaii 5-0" episode.

49A. Browse on Madison Avenue, say : WINDOW SHOP. Oddly, I don't associate Madison Avenue with retail stores. I'd be on Fifth Avenue.

and the reveal:

56A. Begin working, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across : GET CRACKING

Steve here and yay! for another blogger-constructor puzzle today from Marti. A neat theme, some freshness in both the theme entries and the fill and enough misdirection in the cluing for a solid Wednesday. Let's look at the rest.

Across:

1. Source of fine wool : ALPACA. I waded straight in with MERINO and then had to wade back and towel off.

7. Flotation device : VEST

11. 24-hr. banking service : ATM. When my bank in England installed their first ATM way back when, they put it inside the building which rather defeated the purpose. In those days the bank opened at 10AM and closed at 3PM. The tellers would take their lunch break at the same time as the rest of us, so they had half the staff available at the busiest time of day. Brilliant.

14. Thingamabob : DOODAD

15. "__ the Woods" : INTO. Meryl Streep garnered an Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the 2014 movie adaptation.

16. La Mancha Mrs. : SRA. Spanish Señora

19. Elton John's title : SIR

20. "Vive __!" : LE ROI. Literally "Live the King!" Seems odd that the French don't need a "Long" first.

21. Milk source : TEAT

22. Assuage : EASE

29. Plastered : LIT

30. Believer's suffix : -IST. As cruciverbalists, we believe in Marti and the other constructors to produce great puzzles.

31. One working in a studio : PAINTER

32. Like a ballerina : FLUID

34. 38th-parallel land : KOREA. One half is most definitely not like the other.

39. Enjoys a bistro, with "out" : DINES

40. Set of moral precepts : ETHIC. I didn't know this referred to a plurality of precepts.

43. Hanukkah toy : DREIDEL

46. Expected : DUE

48. "Don't think so" : NAH

51. Excellent : A-ONE

52. Tequila sunrise direction : ESTE. On my 18th Birthday, my friends took me out and forced a rather astonishing number of Tequila Sunrises into me. I had absolutely no idea which way the sun came up the next day.

53. Siouan speakers : IOWAS

55. Director Ang : LEE

62. P.O. delivery : LTR. My Post Office now delivers packages on Sunday. No letters though.

63. Without restraint : AMOK

64. Serengeti heavyweights : RHINOS. Heavy indeed - white rhinos can grow to more than 5,000lbs.

65. Help-wanted sign? : S.O.S.

66. Word on some family business signs : SONS. Let's have some music from Mumford and Sons

67. "Gracias" reply : DE NADA

Down:

1. Fruity drink : ADE

2. Fuel for the fire : LOG

3. Faddish '90s disc : POG. The name comes from POG (Passionfruit, Orange, Guava) bottle-caps originally used to play the game in Hawaii. I wonder if the 5-0 guys played between "book 'em" action.

4. Confuse : ADDLE

5. Part of TLC : CARE, of the Tender, Loving kind.

6. Festoons : ADORNS

7. Call on : VISIT

8. "Small Craft on a Milk Sea" musician : ENO

9. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU

10. Tank or tee : TOP

11. Claim with conviction : ASSERT

12. Emergency priority system : TRIAGE

13. Saint Agnes, e.g. : MARTYR. The story isn't pretty. I'll spare you the details.

18. Sulk : POUT

21. One living in a studio : TENANT. Can't you buy your own studio?

22. Keebler spokesman : ELF. I had no idea - crosses all the way for me. At least it wasn't a long way.

23. Feel poorly : AIL

24. Bump, as a toe : STUB. Can you stub your finger? I once stubbed my index toe so hard while wearing flip-flops in a darkened medieval church in the Canary Islands that I cracked the bone. I don't think my language was church-appropriate.

26. Like two peas in __ : A POD

27. Croft of video games : LARA

28. Holder of a collateral loan : LIENEE. Wow, never heard this before.

30. Enthusiastic yes : I DO I DO

33. Table salt additive : IODIDE I OD I DE? I was still chuckling about LOG/POG and came across this pair with 30A that me laugh out loud. I'm easily amused.

34. Irish rd. sign abbreviations : KMS. Irish Miss - when did the change happen? I had no idea the Emerald Isle was now metric - can you still get a pint? It's still a long way to Tipperary, but it sounds longer in kilometers.

36. "... Yorick! I __ him, Horatio" : KNEW. Alas, poor chap.

37. Slippery ones : EELS

38. "That's terrible!" : OH NO

41. "Atonement" novelist McEwan : IAN. An immensely-talented writer.

42. Ally of Fidel : CHE

43. Lives : DWELLS

44. Meet, as a challenge : RISE TO

45. Signs up for : ENTERS, as in a competition

46. Bouncer's post : DOOR

47. __ mobility : UPWARD

50. Sticks figures : HICKS. AKA Goonies from the Boonies?

51. Invite for a nightcap, say : ASK IN. A "nightcap"? Yeah, right ....

54. Throb : ACHE

56. Fun time : GAS. As in "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Let's have ourselves some Keef and Mick.

57. Punk rock subgenre : EMO. I linked Green Day the last time this came up. I've used up my music links for the day.

58. Exaggerated homework amount : TON

59. "Barefoot Contessa" host Garten : INA. More Food!-related content, she of Food Network fame.

60. Agree quietly : NOD

61. Govt. procurement agency : G.S.A. The jolly General Services Administration.

Here's the grid and stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Steve

Thursday, April 9, 2015, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Now where did I hide my dope?

Another treat for me as marti and I have switched so I can blog her Thursday effort. It seems particularly timely as I have recently returned from visiting my son who lives in Denver. Denver has now added a new dimension to its nickname of mile high city. As a child of the sixties, it is very strange to walk around and see the marijuana shops. Anyway, on to the puzzle. It involves hiding a word (DOPE) which spans two-word fill. In the first three the break is D OPE, with the last DO PE. Not an expert on Thursday word length, but we do have a less than 5 letter average. Aside from theme answers, the longest fill is 6 letters, featuring DROWSE,  ENGULF,  HOODOO, NOVELS,  OBJECT,  OWED ON,  SEVERE,  SPIRAL,  SPONGE,  TAIPAN,  TENONS and ZEALOT. She was nice enough to include a J. So let us dance....

18A. Genre that often includes a ballet : GRAND OPERA. am familiar with the TERM generally but I am not as high brow as miss m.

23A. TV teaser before the first commercial : COLD OPENING. Another TERM I do not know, but it was easily inferred.

37A. James Bond and others : FIELD OPERATIVES. Wiki prefers the TERM Field Agents.

52A. "Great" 1975 Redford role : WALDO PEPPER. I actually was glancing through the various clues when I saw this one, immediately put in the answer and saw the Theme and went back to fill the rest. This MOVIE character may have been based on a real pilot who died flying in a movie.

And the reveal:

58A. Skinny, so to speak, or what's hidden in 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across : INSIDE DOPE (10)  A perfect reveal, as the DOPE is on the inside of the theme answers. An interesting slang word, the SKINNY on skinny.

Now for the skinny on the rest....

Across:

1. "That's terrible!" : OH NO.

5. Like some stockings : MESH. Oh my, Splynter?

Easy for them to say

9. Guck : SLIME. It reminds me of this scene from a slime MOVIE.

14. Windfall : BOON.

15. "The Salt-N-__ Show" : PEPA. The answer was easily inferable as I know the group but never heard of the SHOW.

16. Trojan War figure : PARIS. Now a name for the ladies, but this was a ladies man who stole away Helen from her Greek husband leading to war and the great measure of female beauty- the millihelen.

17. Roman god of the sky : JOVE. By Jove, I knew it was not Jupiter.

20. Utopias : EDENS.

22. Excited, with "up" : WOUND. Picture children with too much candy in them .

26. Côte d'Azur sight : MER. The sea in French. Not to be confused with 12D. Orbiter for 15 years : MIR. It seemed that it lasted longer. LINK.

29. Lean-__ : TOS.

30. Nasser's confed. : UAR. United Arab Republics. marti likes her initialisms.(#1).

31. Harsh : SEVERE. Winter 2014-5 in NE?

33. Swamp : ENGULF. I was thinking like the Everglades, not being swamped.

36. Bone-dry : ARID. I like the clue.

42. Open org. : USGA. United States Golf Association. (#2) See, I told you.

43. Second book in Clavell's "Asian Saga" : TAI-PAN. Not be confused with 61D. One might keep you from seeing the show : PAN. Of the SERIES of Books, I think SHOGUN is the most famous.

44. Fanatic : ZEALOT.Another interesting WORD which is appropriate for the season.

47. One-up : TOP.

48. Time zone word: Abbr. : STD. Standard as opposed to daylight.

51. Buddhist branch : ZEN.

56. Free-for-all : MELEE.A fun word

57. Savanna heavyweight : RHINO.

63. Lined up, with "in" : A ROW.

64. Movers' challenge : PIANO.

65. Degree holder : GRADuate.

66. Without : SANS.

67. Choose to join : OPT IN.

68. Ages and ages : EONS.

69. Choice word : ELSE.


Down:

1. Protest : OBJECT.

2. Jinx : HOODOO. Again? Who cursed me?

3. King output : NOVELS. Probably she means Stephen, not Don or Martin Luther nor Elvis.

4. Upright : ON END.

5. EPA sticker stat : MPG. Miles Per Gallon (#3).

6. Adverb in odes : E'ER.

7. Produce : SPAWN.

8. Capital NE of Vientiane : HANOI.

9. Quick learner : SPONGE.

10. "Dragnet" force, briefly : LAPD. Los Angeles Police Department (#4).

11. Rage : IRE.

13. Spanish "that" : ESA.

19. Pressures for payment : DUNS.

21. Ting or ping : SOUND. Ting?

24. When doubled, a South Pacific capital : PAGO. The capital of American Samoa, PAGO PAGO has nothing to with a volcano in Papua, New Guinea named Pago, which may or may not...

25. Blow : ERUPT.

26. First name in game shows : MERV. Griffin, responsible for both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

27. Iroquoian people : ERIE. Do we have any Native Americans reading this?

28. Cabs and syrahs : REDS. No Cincinnati to commemorate the baseball season? Oops, marti does not like baseball.

32. "You're So ___": 1973 #1 hit : VAIN

33a. Carrier that doesn't fly on the Sabbath : EL AL.

34. Where to hear maas and baas : LEA. Paa!

35. Popular chip : FRITO. Corn chips which led to nacho chips.

37. __ bass : FUZZ. A musical interlude; the effect can be from the amp or a pedal.
xxxx

38. Words of understanding : I SEE.

39. Eddie __, detective involved in the actual "French Connection" : EGAN.His OBITUARY.

40. Each : A POP.

41. Slender candle : TAPER. Finally, the TAPER from BG's April Fool's Day post.

45. Was in debt regarding : OWED ON.

46. Yarn : TALE. You may spin one but it will not make a scarf.

48. Fusilli shape : SPIRAL. A fun pasta.

Twist and shout

49. Mortise partners : TENONS. We have had this debate before.

50. Nod : DROWSE.

53. Pigeon's place : LEDGE.

54. Golden, in Guadalajara : DE ORO.

55. Full moon, e.g. : PHASE.

56. Thigh-high attire : MINI.
More for Splynter?

58. 2010 GM financial event : IPO. Initial Public Offering (#5).

59. Little bite : NIP.

60. Did nothing : SAT.

62. Magazine VIPs : EDS. Editors.

Well Lemonade thanking marti for the chance to explain her work, and  now I'm on my way to create a new recipe to prepare food with matzoh, though the fusilli and Cecile both look yummy.

Friday, March 13, 2015, Marti DuGuay Carpenter

Theme: "Scooby Doo, where are you?"  "He is over here,  suffering from Rhotic Replacement."

A whimsical marti Friday offering, where the single letter R is added to the beginning of a phrase and hilarity ensues. As soon as I solved 17A, I could hear Scooby in my head, and wondered if Scooby and Rover were the inspiration. Another Friday from a Corner denizen, another Friday the 13th puzzle blogged by Jason, and much fun for me. It is hard to concentrate as I am thinking with Scooby in my head. Unlike Steve's effort last week, we have many 3,4 and 5 letter fill and average word length only 4.79. We do have some sixes and sevens APHIDS, BESTOW, DIET R C, ENGAGE, MEANIE, UGANDA, CORRUPT, FOLIAGE, ITERATE, WENT APE,  but the cluing is fair with little obscurity. We have the use of initialisms rather than an overrun of abbreviations, and no need for a reveal. let's take a peek.

17A. Allowance for food, vet visits, etc.? : ROVER BUDGET(11). This quickly revealed the theme, though I wonder if younger people relate to Rover as typical dog name? I have seen overbudget as one word, a hyphenated word and two words. For symmetry sake I am going with two words.

23A. Bedtime for bats? : RAFTER HOURS (11). Even with the theme, this took many perps before I got to the bats sleeping in the rafters. After hours also seems can be one word. I like the wordplay as the image of a rafter hours club for bats came to mind.

40A. Threw a tantrum at ballet school? : RAGED GRACEFULLY (15). Well I do think all of the senior crowd here are aging well, but I had this IMAGE  (6:17) brought to mind.

50A. Decisive "Star Wars" victory? : ROUT IN SPACE (11). The outlier, with a three word phrase used. Perhaps Rout Rin Space? Somehow Pigs in Space came to mind.

63A. Answer to "What did people listen to during the Depression, señor?"? : RADIOS, AMIGO (11). This is such an interesting fill, as we not only change the pronunciation of the word, but the language. I would imagine radios were a luxury back in the 30s. I guess my friends it is time to say good bye to the theme and dissect the rest of miss m's masterpiece.

Across:

1. Principal introduction? : VICE. Vice-principal.

5. Ladybug lunches : APHIDS. I remember growing up with all the different flowers my father had in our yard, and the battle against the aphids, and the fun ladybugs who always had to be sent flying home.

11. Handle for a chef? : STU. This actually took me a bit as I started with sou (SUE?), even though I know it is SOUS Chef. So a lawyer's daughter would be named....

14. "Yikes!" : EGAD. marti works this word into many of her puzzles.

15. Bully : MEANIE.

16. '60s-'70s news focus, informally : NAM.

19. Old sports org. using colorful balls : ABA. American Basketball Association. When the NBA merged them out of existence they did not keep the red, white and blue ball, but they did keep the three point basket. I did not remember that former Knick great David Albert DeBusschere was one time commissioner of the ABA. He also pitched a shut out for the Chicago White Sox.

20. Place to play : ARENA. For ABA and NBA teams. The Heat play at American Airlines Arena, and what an odd year this post LeBron year has been.

21. PC key : ALT.

22. Some execs : CFOS. Chief Financial Officers.

27. Annual New England attraction : FOLIAGE. For me this was the beginning of a mini-theme. 36A. First Poet Laureate of Vermont : FROST. Robert Frost was still alive and active in my youth, appearing at the JFK inauguration. The Road Not Taken well worth a read. 13D. It has a med school in Worcester : UMASS. "Wooster" is a town familiar to me from my childhood. 27D. Maine forest sights : FIRS. At least she did not link Joyce Kilmer. I think marti has been snowed in too long this winter. It was nice to 'visit' New England.


31. Mutt : CUR.

32. "__ a traveler ...": "Ozymandias" : I MET. More POETRY, but NIT alert!! in the poem it is spelled traveller by Shelley. Right NC, Steve?

33. Dolts : OAFS.

43. You might wake up to one : SNORE. This was hard to follow.

44. Satirist once dubbed "Will Rogers with fangs" : SAHL. He was the voice of the 60's. I grew up listening to Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, as well as Bob Newhart on LPs.

45. Heavily sit (down) : PLOP. Fizz?

46. Draft choice : ALE. Not a selection in the upcoming NFL draft, but what is on tap, which looks like....

48. Lost it : WENT APE.

55. Eclectic online reader : UTNE. Do any of you all go to this oft referenced site?

56. Slime : GOO.

57. Treacherous type : VIPER. Some alliteration.

62. Beads on blades : DEW

66. Poetic preposition : ERE. Some alliteration.

67. Landlocked African country : UGANDA. In South America it is Bolivia.

68. When some ties are broken, briefly : IN O.T. (OverTime) I not understand at first.

69. Clear : RID. And its opposite....

70. Grant : BESTOW.

71. Part of CSNY : NASH. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Down:

1. "Up in the Air" Oscar nominee Farmiga : VERA. Her videos just do not pass the breakfast test.

2. Aircraft pioneer Sikorsky : IGOR. He pioneered many aircraft and is especially known for his work perfecting the rotary helicopter. He spent most of his adult life in Connecticut, where I had the pleasure of meeting him when I was a child.

3. Give in : CAVE. Such a tricky little clue/fill but I did not.

4. Ideal world : EDEN.

5. Diplomatic VIP : AMBassador?

6. Little, in Lille : PEU. Frawnche.

7. Went after : HAD AT.

8. Hastings hearth : INGLE. Friday fireplace words.

9. Tab alternative : DIET R C. R C Cola, the other cola.

10. Play area : SET. Not where children play, but where one puts on a play.

11. Muddled situation : SNAFU. Situation Normal, All F****** Up.

12. Fife-and-drum corps instrument : TABOR. We just had this in marti's January 29, 2015, Thursday puzzle which I blogged for her.

18. Avis adjective : RARA. This bird is not so rare in crossword puzzles. See Monday.

22. Crooked : CORRUPT. Perhaps this is a New England reference as well?

24. Awestruck : AGOG.

25. They might cause jitters : FEARS.

26. Snit : HUFF. For tV trivia nuts, LINK (1:58) for football fans LINK (2:08)

28. Arabian sultanate : OMAN.

29. Toy for an aspiring architect : LEGO.

30. Repeat : ITERATE. So reiterate is re-repeating.

34. DOT agcy. : FAA. Federal Aviation Administration is now faced with regulating drones.

35. The "e" sound in "tandem" : SCHWA. Have we discussed this enough?

37. Ceramic pot : OLLA.

38. Dinner on the farm, maybe : SLOP.

39. Enter, in a way : TYPE.

41. Where to nosh on a knish : DELIcatessen.

42. Wire service?: Abbr. : ELECtricity. My favorite fill.

47. Captivate : ENGAGE. Her smile ....

49. St. Petersburg's river : NEVA.

50. More boorish : RUDER.

51. Comic Cheri : OTERI. An SNL graduate who did not appear on the 40th reunion.

52. Single : UNWED. I often have lots of unweds in my wallet.

53. Some floats : SODAS. Root beer anyone?

54. Essence : POINT.

58. "Let's do it!" : I'M IN.

59. Cóctel fruit : PINA. Pineapple.

60. They may be inflated : EGOS. Not around here.

61. Author who created Zuckerman : ROTH. This alter-ego for the the author appears in many of Roth's novels really epitomizing what I learned in college that myth is reality and reality is myth.

63. Barbecue seasoning : RUB. The simplest, pepper for steak au poivre.

64. Prefix with meter : ODO. More from Monday.

65. Carpenter's tool : SAW. How is the work coming Splynter?

Well I am out of words, so it is time for me to shuffle off; thanks marti. Lemonade out.