Sunday December 21, 2014 Mike Peluso

Theme: "It's a Start" - A? is added to the start of the second word of each theme entry. The ? repeats the starting letter of the original phrase, so essentially "A" sound is inserted.

25A. Speech at a revival? : TENT ADDRESS. Tent dress.

27A. Variety of stars on a clear night? : COSMIC ARRAY. Cosmic ray. Four of the phrases have ARR structure.

 

56A. Only matchmaker in town? : LONE ARRANGER. Long Ranger. (Lone Ranger! Thanks, Owen!) My parents' marriage was arranged, so were the marriages of all my three aunts and uncle. Zi You Lian Ai (Free Choice of Romantic Love) came to us in early 1980s. Quite a western concept then.

83A. Approval from above? : HEAVEN ASSENT. Heaven-sent.

 

114A. St. Louis tourist? : ARCH ARRIVAL. Archrival.

119A. Rap sheet listing? : BACK ARRESTS. Backrests.

36D. Ambush during a "wrestling" match? : THUMB ATTACK. Thumbtack. Three of the original phrase are one-words. No odd man out.

41D. Extra clothes? : SPARE ATTIRE. Spare tire.

Just when you think the letter addition/deletion/alteration options are exhausted, Mike came up with this creative approach.

The grid is expertly laid out. Mike places 6 theme entries Across and 2 Down. He also makes sure his longest non-theme entries are shorter than his shortest theme entries.

Also, no cheater square (very difficult to achieve on Sundays) and only 67 black squares.

Across:

1. Anjou relative : BOSC. I loved the juicy pears Don G sent me via Harry & David.

5. Sleeveless garment : VEST

9. Chimú conquerors : INCAS

14. Give credit for : OWE TO

 

19. Russian city near the Ukraine border : OREL. Go eat a worm if you miss this city again. Our third encounter with it this week. See it?

20. Will-wisp connector : O'- THE

21. Fed. security : T-NOTE

22. Preferences : LIKES

23. Black Sea region : ASIA MINOR. Four of Mike's 9 non-theme entries intersect.

 29. Indulged : CATERED TO

30. 1969 Three Dog Night hit : ONE. I got via crosses. I just kept thinking that annoying "Who Let the Dogs Out" song. The Baha Men.

31. Alley prowler : TOM. Poor D-Otto!

32. Protected whale : SEI. It's not clued as "Italy six" because we also have SEIS (3D. Ocho menos dos) in the grid.

33. Scand. kingdom : NOR (Norway)

34. Neaten again, as a mustache : RE-TRIM. I just had my hair trimmed again yesterday. 2 inches off, as usual. Some day I'll get courageous and cut it really short like Marti's.

37. Putting up : ERECTING

40. "Sorry to hear that" : SO SAD

44. Essen exclamation : ACH

45. Primary : MAIN

47. Metz milk : LAIT

48. Grand venue : OLE OPRY. Feels like a partial to me.

50. Tag announcement : YOU'RE IT

52. Transp. to the Hamptons : LIRR (Long Island Rail Road)

53. Like Vivaldi's "Spring" : IN E. I filled in IN?, then waited.

54. First name in spydom : MATA

55. "My treat" : ON ME

60. Angling tool : ROD

61. Ora pro __ : NOBIS. Pray for us.

63. Gershwin's "Rialto Ripples," e.g. : RAG. Difficult clue for me.

64. Gobi abode : YURT. Look at this polling yurt.

65. Missouri NFL team : CHIEFS. Oh, Kansas City Chiefs.

67. "... some kind of __?" : A NUT

69. Rum __ Tugger: "Cats" character : TUM

71. More, on a score : PIU. Tricky little word.

72. Prefix with decimal : HEXA. Oh, another six.

73. Send with an email : ATTACH

75. Mosque leader : IMAM

77. Hush-hush maritime org. : ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). Navy's CIA. Not well-known, but important.

79. Bit of mischief : ANTIC

82. Word with bird or call : CAT

87. Aleutian island : ATKA. And 120D.  Nautical rope : TYE. Both gimmes for Spitzboov. ONI too, of course.

88. Financial pros : CPAs

90. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE

91. Buck ending : AROO

92. Like trees in the wind : SWAYING

94. Badminton item : RACQUET. Lovely 7-letter entry.

96. Query indicating betrayal : ET TU

97. Mil. addresses : APOs

98. Sturgeon delicacy : ROE

99. Invite to one's penthouse, say : ASK UP

100. Club for a short par-3, perhaps : NINE IRON. Nailed it, though I need at least a 7 iron for a short par-3.

 

103. Cunning : SHREWD

105. I problem? : EGO

107. Frau, across the Rhine: Abbr. : MME

108. That, in Tampico : ESA

109. Eastern path : TAO. Or DAO in Mandarin.

 

110. Bart Simpson catchphrase : AY, CARAMBA. Sparkling!

121. Heathrow lander : AEROPLANE. And 1D. Former Heathrow lander : BOAC. British Overseas Airways Corporation.Read more here. It ceased existence in 1974 but merged with another airline and became today's British Airways.

122. Raise : BREED

123. No-brainer course : EASY A

124. Milieu for Sharks and Penguins : RINK. For JD & Splynter.

125. Nevada city on I-80 : ELKO. We have an ELKO in MN also. They have a big flea market.

 

126. Literature Nobelist Gide : ANDRE

127. Expensive : STEEP

128. Barrie baddie : SMEE

129. School official : DEAN

Down:

2. About : OR SO

4. Din : CLAMOR

5. Message medium : VOICE MAIL

6. View from Catania : ETNA. I did not know Catania. Wiki said it's the "second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy".

7. Edit, in a way : SHORTEN. What Rich does to my clues. I'm not a wordy person, but sometimes I can't express what I want to say concisely.

8. Intense fear : TERROR

 

9. __-bitty : ITTY

10. Shreveport-to-Little Rock dir. : NNE

11. Vanity : CONCEIT

12. Reach : ATTAIN

13. It may be saved : SEAT. I thought of FILE first.

14. Grayish-pink color : OLD ROSE. Stumped me last time it appeared in our puzzle. I'd like to be a red rose in my next life. You? What kind of flower do you want to be?

15. Teletype machine area : WIRE ROOM. New term to me. We need our newswoman PK back.

16. Barely managed, with "out" : EKED

 

17. Try out : TEST

18. Bologna bone : OSSO

24. Villainous "Austin Powers" alter ego : MINI-ME. I don't like his picture. Please don't link.

26. Wide-screen TV spot : DEN

28. Florida's __ Island : AMELIA. Never heard of it. I thought it's named after Amelia Earhart. Nope.

32. Saddle attachment : STIRRUP

34. Synthetic silk : RAYON

35. Budget prefix : ECONO

 

38. Have in stock : CARRY

 

39. Old game show prop that contestants didn't want to hear : GONG. I'll try Gong Li next time. Rich probably will change the clue. He might not if he sees this picture. Gong Li is the most recognizable actress in Asia.

42. Fromm's "The __ Loving" : ART OF. Have any of you read the book?

43. Twosomes : DYADS

46. "Use __ lose ..." : IT OR

 

49. Freeloader : LEECH

51. Isabella, por ejemplo : REINA

52. Pea, e.g. : LEGUME

 

53. Pitched properly : IN TUNE

57. Indigenous : NATIVE. Xi'an has it own dialect. Much easier than Cantonese but outsiders can't understand it.

58. Melodious piece : ARIOSO. Rooted in Aria.

59. Ostrich's cousin : RHEA

62. Similar items : SUCH

66. Slangy veto : IXNAY. Zippy 5-letter entry.

68. More than just this : THESE

70. Dugong relative : MANATEE

73. Gulf of Guinea capital : ACCRA

74. __ bar : TAPAS

76. Cuban patriot José : MARTI. Hey, our Marti got a rare shout-out! Thanks, Mike.

78. Javert's rank: Abbr. : INSP.  Javert is that jerk inspector in ' "Les Misérables".

80. "You don't have to tell me" : I KNOW

81. Behind bars : CAGED

84. Business letter abbr. : ATTN

85. More like a lemon : SOURER

86. Like some golf penalties : TWO-STROKE. Hate when this happens. One stroke is enough.

89. Narrow victory : SQUEAKER

93. B-flat equivalent : A-SHARP

95. Go from coach to business, say : UPGRADE

96. As one : EN MASSE

97. Angels' home : ANAHEIM. Mike's team is Mariners.

101. "What a long day!" : I'M BEAT

102. Glitzy winter event, with "the" : OSCARS

104. Muddied : ROILED

106. Crew member : OAR

110. "The Winner Takes It All" singers : ABBA

111. It may be spun, in more ways than one : YARN. Indeed.

112. Kept in the loop, briefly : CC'ED. Oh me!

113. Mil. rations : MREs

114. Ominous letters after "See me" : ASAP. I had ??AP very early on.

115. Secretary of Education Duncan : ARNE

116. Low-lying area : VALE

117. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA

118. Spanish province or its capital : LEON. No idea. But its Google images are gorgeous.

Congratulations to Lemonade, who's getting married today. Lemonade has been blogging for us since March 2010. I can count the days he missed his write-ups. So happy to see him find his soul mate and settle down.

Friday, November 28, 2014, Mike Peluso

Theme: Country puns.

Four common terms containing a country name as a descriptive adjective, are modified into amusing new version that sound alike but have very different meanings. This is the first Friday pangram in a long while and my first from Mike in a long while as well. As with many of his works, lots of 4 and 5 letter fill with some interesting medium words like IS INTO,  OAXACA,  PEG LEG,  SEANCE, AT WORST,  EQUINES, TEXAS TEA, UNALLIED. I know you are worn out from cooking, smiling at relatives and eating, so on with the show.

20A. WWII personnel from Rio? : BRAZILIAN WACS (13).  The base phrase is Brazilian Wax, referring to the complete removal of pubic hair. The HISTORY of the term is debatable, but it may just be that the indigenous tribes that were there before European were one of the Asian strains which grow very little body hair.

25A. Yoko Ono, in spirit? : JAPANESE BEATLE (14). The destructive Japanese Beetle does in fact come from Japan, which has more natural beetle predators to limit their damage. Not to be confused with the German Beetle.

46A. Andalusian plains? : SPANISH STEPPES (14). (Spanish Steps in Rome are must see according to my traveling son. LINK).  Steppe is defined as "one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia." (MW).

52A. Brussels-born lumberjack? : BELGIAN LOGGER (13). Belgian Lager beer. They produce over 700 kinds of beer in Belgium, but most are ales. READ.  Either of my sons can answer this one better than I. I did stand in line to buy the Trappists' Westveleran XII when it came out.

Across:

1. Cream, for one : TRIO. The band not the milk by product.

5. Old lab burners : ETNAS. I will let our scientists get into a BUNSEN vs. ETNA discussion.

10. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role : TESS. First name of actress = first name of character.

14. Teeny bit : IOTA.

15. Repeat exactly : QUOTE.

16. Bar __ : EXAM. February 1974.

17. Wii alternative : XBOX. gaming systems.

18. Prefix with marine : ULTRA.

19. Lawless role : XENA. Nicely phrased; Lucy will live on so people can find an X to grind into a puzzle.

23. Reds, on scoreboards : CINcinnati.

24. French pronoun : CES. Their.

33. EPA standard : AQI. Air Quality Index.

34. 1986 Best New Artist Grammy winner : SADE.

35. Kingdom : REALM.

37. Accumulate : RUN UP. Think of your bar tab.

40. Rio maker : KIA.

41. Leader's prerogative : SAY SO. He has the last word.

42. Place for sweaters? : SAUNA. Rather indelicate... sweat-ers.

43. Place Sundance liked : ETTA. Classic clue misdirection as her name was Etta Place, and the clue masks the capital letter which would have exposed the answer by having the word first in the progression.

45. Illegal turn, maybe : UIE.

50. Joseph Smith's denom. : LDS. Latter Day Saints.

51. __ hours : WEE. Where you could often find my sons playing the Wii.

59. It's done in parts of Switzerland : FINI. French misdirection; c'est fini.

60. Giant or Titan, briefly : NFLER. With the ever increasing size of footballers, this is becoming a doubly true clue.

61. VIII squared : LXIV. Roman math, reminds me LINK. (2:47).

63. Der __: Adenauer epithet : ALTE. Old one.

64. Island tubers : TAROS.

65. Foil relative : EPEE.

66. Techie, stereotypically : NERD.

67. Wrigley brand : ORBIT. This is my gum of choice.

68. Fishing leader? : GONE.

Down:

 1. B'way pickups : TIX.

2. Former Virginia senator Charles : ROBB. Married one of LBJ's daughters and despite rumors and scandals, they are still together.

3. "Like __ not ..." : IT OR.

4. Veracruz neighbor : OAXACA.

5. Some dams : EQUINES. Horsies.

6. Rock's Jethro __ : TULL. Very distinct sound.

7. Claim of innocence : NOT I.

8. Gillette brand : ATRA.

9. Medium setting : SEANCE. Not on your electric razor, but where the psychic's work.

10. Jed Clampett's discovery, in a sitcom theme song : TEXAS TEA. LINK in case you want to memorize the song.

11. Suit : EXECutive.

12. Without : SANS. A French word incorporated into our language.

13. "He'll hae misfortunes great an' __": Burns : SMA. small.

21. Cab cousin : ZIN, Cabernet and Zinfandel.

22. Erodes : WEARS.

25. Shakes : JARS. I guess...

26. Blue shades : AQUAS.

27. Betty Grable, e.g. : PIN UP. very popular with our boys during WWII, I have read.

28. Benefits : SAKES. For all of our sakes, I hope you sussed this.

29. WWI first lady Wilson : EDITH. Woodrow's second wife and the President after his stroke.

30. Pulsates : BEATS.

31. Easy two-pointer : LAYUP.

32. Dinsmore of children's books : ELSIE. No clue, all perps. LINK.

36. Duff Beer seller : MOE'S. Mo' Simpsons and a CSO to our own Chairman.

38. Neutral : UNALLIED.

39. Ohio-based consumer products giant, familiarly : P AND G. Proctor & Gamble.

44. In the most dire circumstance : AT WORST.

47. Has a passion for : IS INTO. Also, 59D. Buff : FAN. He is a car buff was popular when I was a kid

48. Wave checker: abbr. : EEG. Electroencephalogram. brain waves.

49. Stereotypical pirate : PEG LEG. My ex-wife hated that as a nickname.

52. Venom : BILE. One of the first 4 elopements.

53. __'acte : ENTR. French for between.

54. Hardly close : AFAR.

55. Union-mgmt. mediator : NLRB. National Labor Relations Board.

56. Sainted pope called "the Great" : LEO I.

57. Nat, before 2005 : EXPO. Base ball teams, one in Montreal which is now in Washington, both abbreviations.

58. It was nothing for Louis XIV : RIEN. More simple French, and bi-lingual pun.

62. Vacation starter? : VEE. First letter in the word, and the last clue in the puzzle. Still recovering from all the tryptophan in the turkey. Relax and enjoy, thank Mike and thank you C.C., Argyle, JzB, Steve, marti, Splynter and each and everyone of you.
Lemonade out.

Sunday June 22, 2014 Mike Peluso

Theme: "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" - Long E sound is changed into short O or "Ah" sound.

23A. Clancy explaining the spelling of his name? : THERE IS NO "I" IN TOM - There is no "I" in team. Tom Clancy would have confused me if he did explain so.

38A. Victoria's Secret seasonal line? : SUMMER BRAS. Summer breeze.

64A. Trading Clue, Monopoly, Life and Boggle? : FOUR-GAME SWAP. Four game sweep. World Series.

75A. Monastery grounds? : LAND OF THE FRA. Land of the free.

98A. Bathrooms decorated in denim? : LEVI'S JOHNS. Levi's Jeans.

116A. Character in "Satanic Star Trek"? : SPOCK OF THE DEVIL. Speak of the devil.

17D. Gorgeous farm gal feeding the pigs? : SLOPPING BEAUTY.  Sleeping Beauty.

49D. Stain left by a pool disinfectant? : CHLORINE BLOTCH. Chlorine bleach.

 

I hope I got the theme correctly. Sound change gimmick is always hard for me. I don't have problem with consonants or long vowel sound. It's those short ones that bother me, esp short E and short A. I pronounce "bad" & bed" the same.

 

Mike Peluso is a language expert. He taught French, German, Spanish and Latin at high school level. 

 

Today's grid is hard to fill. Look at the 18 7-letter entries alone! 6 pairs are stacked along the edges, intersecting at least 3 answers of 6-, 7- or 8- letter long. And a 140-worder. You rock, Mike!

The clue for  PASS GO (19D) should be "Round the Boardwalk corner". Cruciverb has "Round the Broadway corner". 

 

Across:

1. Favoring Mideast unity : PAN-ARAB. I wanted PRO-ARAB, but 2D said "No" immediately.

8. Jungle chopper : MACHETE

15. Creator of a cocky hare : AESOP

20. One who stole from thieves : ALI BABA. Also China's biggest e-commerce company.

21. Like spring jackets : UNLINED

22. __ fast one : PULL A

25. Walks heavily : PLODS

26. Costa __ : RICA

27. It's nothing to Hollande : RIEN. It's human nature to sin. God can't help us.

28. B followers : CDE

29. Blue gem, briefly : LAPIS

30. Provo neighbor : OREM

31. CXXII x V : DCX. 610.

32. 1978 film based on a Harold Robbins novel : THE BETSY. Never saw the film.

36. Square problem? : PEG. Nice clue.

37. Many OCS grads : LTS (Lieutenants)

40. Soup with a bento : MISO. You won't find Miso soup inside a Bento box though. Bento is for cold food. Miso is hot.

41. Run on : GAB

44. Sonora Mrs. : SRA

45. Like adobe : EARTHEN

47. One leading a Spartan lifestyle : ASCETIC

51. Barely move : INCH

54. Serenaded : SANG TO

57. Distinguished types : SCHOLARS

59. Bite-size appetizer : PUPU.  Pu-pu platter.

62. Treasury secretary under Clinton : RUBIN (Robert). From Wiki: He received more than $126 million in cash and stock during his tenure at Citigroup. 

63. Bear's cry : SELL

69. Photo lab process: Abbr. : ENL

70. First album in a Green Day trilogy : UNO. News to me. The ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré! trilogy.

71. Pro Football Hall of Famer Nagurski : BRONKO. Unknown figure.

72. Chances to golf with Mickelson or McIlroy : PRO-AMS. Yes to Mickelson. What a  gentleman!

73. Salty assent : AYE. The sailor "salt". And 34D. Salt : TAR

74. La Méditerranée, e.g. : MER

77. I'm-here link : OUTA. I use "outta".

78. Susan's "All My Children" role : ERICA

80. Sailing, perhaps : ASEA

81. Attacker of Athens, per Plato : ATLANTIS

83. Type A, often : DYNAMO

85. Reddish horse : ROAN

88. [Headslap] : SILLY ME!

89. Spewed out : EGESTED

93. Itinerary word : VIA

95. Nevada city on US 50 : ELY. What's it famous for?

96. Melville title starter : MOBY

102. Four in a gal. : QTS. I did not see the . after gal.

105. Rose of rock : AXL. Of Guns N' Roses.

106. Cabbage side : COLE SLAW

107. Word with order or reel : GAG

109. Exec : SUIT

110. Rhone tributary : SAONE

112. Prez, to GIs : CIC. We just had this in Splynter's post yesterday: Commander In Chief.

113. Latin 101 verb : ESSE

114. Mozart's "__ kleine Nachtmusik" : EINE

115. Choir voices : ALTOS

120. Legal decrees : DICTA

121. Tiny stinger : FIRE ANT

122. How many a management group is trained : AS A TEAM. Oh, I read "How many" as a unit. Don't. Split it. 

123. One of Israel's 12 tribes : ASHER

124. Spoons : CUDDLES

125. "Don't beat around the bush!" : YES OR NO

Down:

1. Keep the beat? : PATROL. Another nice clue.

2. "Sugar Lips" trumpeter : AL HIRT

3. Holiday visitors, perhaps : NIECES

4. Garfield's middle name : ABRAM

5. Nunavut's __ Strait, named for an explorer : RAE. Named for John Rae.

6. "__ in the hand ..." : A BIRD

7. ABCs : BASICS

8. Subatomic particle : MUON

9. Singer DiFranco : ANI

10. "Hot enough for ya?," e.g. : CLICHE

11. Block : HINDER. Deluge in our area due to the excessive rain. Luckily the plumber arrived in time last week, otherwise, our basement might be totally flooded.

12. 1976 airport raid site : ENTEBBE

13. Formula One racer Fabi : TEO

14. Oilers, on NHL scoreboards : EDM (Edmonton)

15. Be relevant : APPLY

16. Faulkner vixen Varner : EULA. So hard to remember her name.

18. Many playlist entries : OLDIES

24. Connecting point : NEXUS. Or what's in D-Otto's hand.

32. Still destroyer : T-MAN. I googled and found out "Still" refers to the "Distilling device".

33. Many a presidential term, historically : ERA. Clinton era, e.g.

35. Bygone fliers : SSTS

39. It may be done on one foot : MRI. I was thinking of some tricky Yoga maneuver. Can you do this, Marti?

40. File __ : MENU

41. Natural sci. : GEOL

42. The pond, in the U.K. : ATL

43. Former Nigerian secessionist state : BIAFRA. No idea. Wiki said it existed from 1967 to 1970, "taking its name from the Bight of Biafra (the Atlantic bay to its south)".

46. Strings with pedals : HARPS

47. Fictitious : ASSUMED

48. Attraction for shutterbugs : SCENERY

50. Sing like Bing : CROON

52. One for whom Apr. is the cruelest month? : CPA. Fun clue.

53. Disgruntled word : HUMPH

55. Father of Tulip Victoria : TINY TIM. Never heard of Tulip Victoria.

56. Like most fleet cars : ON LEASE

58. __ Islands: Malay Archipelago group : SUNDA. So, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Bali, Timor are all part of the chain. Good to know.

60. Mari de la mère : PERE. Mari = Husband.

61. Lady Liberty's land, proudly : US OF A

65. Bygone theaters : RKOs

66. Menial helper : GOFER

67. __ and all : WARTS

68. Charlotte __ : AMALIE. Capital of the Virgin Islands.

71. Find fault with : BLAME

76. Eastern ideal : TAO. Literally "way". Spelled as "Dao" in Mandarin.

77. No more than : ONLY

79. Sly : CAGY

82. Every one : ALL

84. Scandinavian capital : OSLO

86. Declare frankly : AVOW

87. Biomedical research agcy. : NIH

90. __ Aviv : TEL

91. Apple consumer : EVE. I like this clue also.

92. Strife : DISCORD

94. Teen phase, often : ANGST

96. Israeli desert fortification : MASADA. I bet this is a gimme for Hahtoola, Yellowrocks  & Lucina.

97. Wood sorrel genus : OXALIS. We had this before. Some articles says it's tart and tasty, and that the Algonquin Indians considered it an aphrodisiac.

99. Cut through : SLICED

100. Canine predator : JACKAL

101. Walk casually : SASHAY. Hi there Lucina!

102. Shake : QUIVER

103. Strategic WWII island in the Northern Marianas : TINIAN. Total stranger to me.

104. High seas patron : ST. ELMO

106. Activist Chavez : CESAR

108. Monogamous waterfowl : GEESE

109. Take care of : SEE TO

111. Take heed : NOTE

113. Young newts : EFTS

116. Army E-7: Abbr. : SFC

117. More, on a score : PIU. Italian for "more".

118. 1300 hours : ONE

119. German article : DAS

Hope to see some of you at the third Minnesota Crossword Tournament this afternoon.

  

C.C.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 Mike Peluso

Theme: Precious Stones - The start of each theme entry can follow "diamond" to create a sparkle-related noun.

Hi gang! Steve here with Mike P's latest.  Pretty smooth sailing; I didn't see the theme until the reveal which gave me that nice "Oh! I see!" moment.

17A. *Computer logic game named for a warship : MINESWEEPER. Diamond Mine. Pre-internet, this was one of the biggest PC-based time-vampires (Solitaire was the other).

24A. *Loose-leaf organizer : RING BINDER. Diamond Ring

37A. *Upscale golfwear brand : CUTTER AND BUCK. Diamond Cutter. The immensely-talented Annika Sorenstam was one of their most famous pitch-people.

46A. *Recruiting specialist : HEADHUNTER. Diamond Head. This seems to be the odd man out of the theme entries as it's the only one not directly related to the gemstone itself - it's a volcanic cone overlooking Waikiki beach in Honolulu.

58A. Phoenix-based ballplayer, and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : DIAMONDBACK. Arizona's team. Quick, C.C. - excluding the ambiguous Yankees and Mets, how many other Major League Baseball teams are named for their state, not their city?
(From C.C.: 8? How do you classify the Twins then? It's named after the Twin Cities.)

Tidy enough theme and no trip-ups or gaffes for me, as smooth sailing as a Wednesday could be. What else caught my eye?

Across:

1. Elevators, in Leeds : LIFTS. Gimme, for me. I lived in Leeds when I was a little kid. The city's major department store, Schofield's, had a lift operated by an attendant; thrilling for a 5-year old.

6. Milo of "Ulysses" : O'SHEA.

11. Squelch : GAG

14. Classic soap : IVORY. I was thinking along the "Days of Our Lives" lines first.

15. Complete, for short : THORO

16. Gold, in them thar cerros : ORO. Loved this clue.

19. Novelist Umberto : ECO

20. Place to pick up litter? : PET STORE

21. "__ better to have loved ...": Tennyson : 'TIS

23. Radical '60s gp. : SDS. "Students for a Democratic Society" group. The original was dissolved in 1969; it formed anew in 2006.

29. Electrical measure : OHM. Physics geek joke: Resistance is Futile (if <1 Ω)

31. Formal talk : LECTURE

32. Blue shade : AQUA

34. Fed : G-MAN

36. Elevator innovator : OTIS. I can't recall if he made the Leeds lift; it was a long time ago!

40. Indochina country : LAOS

41. Elevated for driving : TEED

42. "Draft Dodger Rag" singer Phil : OCHS. I knew the singer, didn't know the song.

43. Entertainer : ARTISTE

45. Durable wood : ASH

49. eHarmony.com abbr. : SWM. Single White Male. Seems it should be "caucasian" these days.

52. Leaves at Starbucks? : TEA

53. Like herb gardens : AROMATIC. Herb. Erb. No, I still can't say "erb".

56. Serious hwy. violation : D.U.I. What's the difference between "Driving Under the Influence" and "Driving While Intoxicated"? Some states seem to have one, some the other.

61. NASDAQ debut : I.P.O. Initial Public Offering of stock in a company, aka Get Rich Quick for a few.

62. Like some seals : EARED

63. Minolta competitor : LEICA

64. Mark, as a survey box : X-IN

65. PowerPoint unit : SLIDE

66. WWII surrender celebration : V.E. DAY. Cue street parties and public displays of affection. This coming Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings on D-Day, 1944.

Down:

1. Favors one side : LIMPS. Because "crooked match-fixing referee" doesn't fit.

2. Like some college walls : IVIED

3. Assortment in a formatting menu : FONTS

4. Cuatro menos uno : TRES. Math class en español today.

5. Fed. Reserve, for one : SYST. The banking system in the U.S. There are 12 Federal Reserve banks identified by the letter/number combination on the banknote. A1 is Boston, L12 is San Francisco. I learned them all when I moved here for no good reason.

6. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI

7. Polished look : SHEEN

8. Old school dance : HOP

9. Before, to Blake : ERE

10. __ valve: heart part : AORTIC. The other three are the mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary. Quick research shows that "mitral" has appeared once in the LAT crossword back in 2007. The others are still eagerly awaiting their debut. Aortic leads the pack with a mighty ..... two, including today.

11. Splits the tab : GOES DUTCH. Do the Dutch "Go English" and do they have a couple of pre-battle drinks to get "English Courage?".

12. Welding flash : ARC

13. Slime : GOO

18. Fishhook attachment : WORM

22. Communicating regularly : IN TOUCH

25. Endocrinologist's concern : GLAND

26. Give a little : BEND

27. Estrada and Satie : ERIKS. Cue some relaxing piano music from M. Satie.

28. Legal thing : RES

29. Slim, as chances go : OUTSIDE

30. Bowler, e.g. : HAT. When I first started work in an office in London's financial district, the "City gent" uniform was pinstripe suit, furled umbrella, old school tie and a bowler hat. Within about five years, no-one was wearing one anymore.

32. Without __ in the world : A CARE

33. Entry at Bartleby.com : QUOTATION.  “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.” - Stephen Sondheim.


34. There's always a hole in one : GREEN. Pithy play on words with "hole in one".

35. West of Hollywood : MAE

38. Caesarean rebuke : ET TU

39. Fenway team, on scoreboards : BOS. The Red Sox.

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

44. Oakleys or Ray-Bans : SHADES. Seems a little odd that there's no "slangily" clue modifier here, but no hesitation with the answer.

45. Elvis' middle name : ARON

47. Under control : TAMED

48. Cut into : ERODE

49. Unemotional : STAID

50. Book of Shadows religion : WICCA. Thank you, crosses.

51. Emmy-winning sportscaster Jim : MCKAY. Funny, I'm a sports nut and I don't think I've heard of this gentleman.

54. 16th-century yr. : MDLV. or 1555 if you prefer. I amused myself mightily a couple of weeks ago by coming up with a 15x15 crossword composed entirely of roman numerals, then C.C. did some digging and found out that it had been done before by Peter Gordon under the heading "The World's Worst Crossword". Dang!

55. Have __ in one's bonnet : A BEE

56. New Jersey fort : DIX. The Romans would call it Fort 509.

57. Press initials : U.P.I. Washington-based news bureau United Press International.

59. Suffix with adverb : IAL. Magisterial, e.g.

60. The 58-Acrosses, on scoreboards : ARI. Cute finish tying into the theme with the final down. Arizona.

Note from C.C.:

Mike's puzzle today was accepted way before my  DIAMOND HEAD was published last Dec. I had been eagerly waiting to see how Mike tackled his grid. We both had 5 entries, but Mike had a tough 13-letter in the middle. I had an easy grid spanner. Noticed how our first three theme entries had the same clue numbers?

Sunday Feb 16, 2014 Mike Peluso

Theme: "Kidding Pool" - Y in each familiar phrase is changed into ING.

22A. Taking inventory at the Tropicana plant? : ORANGE COUNTING. Orange County.

39A. Miniature golf with clowns and windmills? : SILLY PUTTING.  Fun clue image. Silly putty.

57A. Boxer catching flies? : SHAGGING DOG. Shaggy dog. Fly balls.

81A. Making bad wagers? : UGLY BETTING. "Ugly Betty" is produced by the beautiful Salma Hayek.

98A. Part of a supermarket uniform? : BAGGING PANTS. Baggy pants. Despite the extreme cold weather here, some kids still drop their baggy pants. Drives me crazy.

119A. Nocturnal animal in a hammock? : ROCKING RACCOON. "Rocky Raccoon". Beatles song.

 

30D. Putting Tonka Trucks in the attic? : TOY STORING. "Toy Story". Woody!

53D. Gently tossing rifles? : GUN LOBBING. Gun lobby. 

Five changes occur in the second word, 3 in the first word. No odd man out. 

There are a few straying Y's in the theme entries. We would not have got the fun phrases had Mike excluded them from his choices.

Very smooth fill. Love those 6's (28) and 7's (14).  Stacked 6's are not easy to fill cleanly, esp if they're quad-stacked & crossed by more stacked 6's and 7's, like Mike's upper right & lower left corners.

Across:

       

1. Two-time '90s US Open champ : EDBERG (Stefan). 1991 & 1992.

7. Red-hot sauce : TABASCO. Sure a hot entry.

14. Studio sign : ON AIR

19. __ Patri: hymn : GLORIA

20. Bunker portrayer : O'CONNOR (Carroll)

21. Frolic : PRANCE

24. Tattered : RAGGED

25. Name on a tablet : BAYER. Aspirin.

26. OR hookups : IVs

27. Most thick, as fog : DENSEST

28. Rogers contemporary : AUTRY (Gene)

32. Laser pointer battery : AAAA

34. Mark successors : EUROS. Oh, German mark.

36. Inter __ : ALIA

37. "This might not be good" : UH OH. So, Don in PA, what did you do when you lost the electricity and internet connection for so long? Read lots of books?

38. Electees : INs

42. Like thrift store bread : DAY OLD. Thrift stores have bread? I go there for sports memorabilia mainly.

44. '60s-'70s Mets coach Eddie : YOST. No relation to Ned.

46. Gp. that funds psychiatric drug testing : NIMH. Stumper. National Institute of Mental Health. 

47. Black or white drink : RUSSIAN. Nice clue.

49. Seriously harms : MAIMS

52. __ Tamid: synagogue lamp : NER. Saw this before. Forgot.

53. Indian state : GOA. Wiki said it's India's smallest & richest state.

56. In-flight stat : ALT

60. Fly off the handle : ERUPT

62. Traveling with the band : ON TOUR

64. Manet's "__ at the Folies-Bergère" : A BAR. The picture looks familiar, not the name though.

65. Score : TWENTY

66. Iberian river : EBRO

68. Listing : ATILT

71. Equipment for 74-Across : SKATE. And 74. Lake Placid Olympics star Eric : HEIDEN

73. Role for Ingrid : ILSA. "Casablanca".

76. "I could __ horse!" : EAT A

78. Emphatic rebuke : NO NO NO

80. Bedding : LINEN

84. ASCAP alternative : BMI. Broadcast Music, Inc

87. H.S. subject : ENG

88. Bandleader Brown : LES

90. Vega of "Spy Kids" : ALEXA. Stranger to me also. She looks sweet.

91. Late riser : LIE-ABED

93. Jai __ : ALAI

95. Hamburger's one : EINS. Not the burger. People from Hamburg.

97. In a scary way : EERILY

104. Brief afterthoughts : PSS

106. Law school tyro : ONE L

107. Gallic phone greeting : ALLO. It's just "Wei" in Chinese.

108. Sunset dirección : OESTE. Is it pronounced the same as "West"?

109. Old draft deferment : TWO A

111. Rims : EDGES

112. Panama relatives : BOATERS. Hats.

114. __ polloi : HOI

116. Alphabetical list : INDEX

118. Tab function : INDENT

125. __ sale : ESTATE. I just love this lower left corner. So clean!

126. Tiny dividers : AMOEBAE. Or AMOEBAS.

127. Sailor's omen : RED SKY

128. Ruins : DOOMS

129. Lessees : TENANTS. Hope Marti's tenants treasure her hard work.

130. Braves' div. : NL EAST

 

Down:

1. __ trip : EGO

2. MSRP poster : DLR. OK, Dealer.

3. Flowing scarf : BOA

4. Coastal raptor : ERN

5. Cathy who played Pan : RIGBY. Drew a blank. Peter Pan.

6. Earth goddess : GAEA

7. No challenge at all : TOO EASY

8. Upscale Honda : ACURA

9. Rocker __ Jovi : BON

10. Debate side : ANTI

11. Whine : SNIVEL

12. Roman Republic official : CONSUL

13. Dot follower : ORG

14. Setting for "The Plague" : ORAN

15. Badgers : NAGS AT

16. Seraphim and cherubim, to Giovanni : ANGELI. Plural of Angelo, right?

17. Strands at Chamonix, perhaps : ICES IN

18. Sale indicator : RED TAG

21. Suppose : PRESUME

23. Photo lab color : CYAN

27. Armstrong's admission : DOPING. I was so disappointed in Lance, Jayce.

28. Actress Lindley : AUDRA. Was she a gimme to you?

29. Ryder competitor : U-HAUL

31. Frat letters : RHOS

33. Very, in scores : ASSAI

35. Rembrandt van __ : RYN

38. Pocatello native : IDAHOAN

40. Autobiography featuring Ike : I, TINA

41. Tossed : THREW

43. Lean : LIST

45. Texter's "Yikes!" : OMG. I bet Steve passed by this sign a few times. I had an "OMG, can they say that?" moment when I saw it. Those Chinese characters just mean "Happy Ending". So blatant.

48. Astro ending : NAUT

50. Old British roadsters : MGBs

51. Pierre's home: Abbr. : S DAK

54. Declines, with "out" : OPTS

55. "Back __!" : AT YA

58. "Peer Gynt Suite" composer : GRIEG (Edvard)

59. Praying figure : ORANT. Learned from doing Xwords.

61. Corral, with "in" : REIN

63. Connection point : NODE

65. Converses, e.g., slangily : TENNIES. What's your favorite sneaker brand?

66. Actress Jennifer : EHLE. Crazy spelling. I guess Zhouqin looks crazy to you too.

67. '60s counterculture event : BE IN

69. Like an unreal land? : LA LA. Hi there, LaLaLinda! Creature, too. So glad both of you are back.

70. "Until next time," in IMs : TTYL (Talk to You Later)

72. Slave : TOIL

75. Zhou __ : ENLAI. Loved him. No one compares to him.

 77. Red as __ : A BEET

79. Fancy molding : OGEE

81. Grammarians' concerns : USAGES

82. Live : EXIST

83. Bronze shade : TAN

85. Brawl : MELEE

86. Poems describing rustic life : IDYLS

89. The United States, in Nuevo Laredo : EL NORTE. The north.

92. Controversial infielder : A-ROD. Drafted by the Mariners, Mike's team.

94. Tape speed unit: Abbr. : IPS. Inches per Second.

96. Eager learners, metaphorically : SPONGES

98. Coddled : BABIED

99. King in "The Tempest" : ALONSO

100. "My pleasure!" : GLAD TO

101. Cheerleaders' cheer : GO TEAM

102. Where batters are seen : AT HOME

103. Recent rightist : NEOCON. Oh, I just told you last Sunday that I liked Washington Post. I did not know that they have a paywall. I was informed earlier this week that I used up my free Feb articles already.  Stupid NBC. Now Bill G and I can't bond.

105. __ City, Iraq : SADR

110. Be victorious in : WIN AT

111. Office component : EXCEL

113. Rhinitis docs : ENTs

115. Company name that begins with its founder's initials : IKEA

117. Merit : EARN

119. Singer? : RAT. Very clever clue. Sing-er.

120. Arabic "son of" : IBN

121. Start of a beginner's piano scale : C D E

122. Spanish she-bear : OSA

123. Signs off on : OKs

124. Big Apple news initials : NYT

I think Marti is going to attend this year's ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle Tournament). Anyone else on our blog? Don't miss the Friday night Cru Dinner organized by the super nice Mike Alpern. You'll meet lots of constructors & fellow solvers. Click here for more photos & the buffet dinner menu. Jicama in the salad, Hahtoola!

C.C.

Friday. December 27, 2013, Mike Peluso

THEME: CAR POOL TUNNEL SYNDROME*
Pun times in the LA Times.

This is our 29th from Mr. Peluso since conversion, and my first since December 23, 2011. Mike is a retired teacher/principal who gave us some insight in this INTERVIEW in 2009. Please take note in the comments section, where C.C. responds to Linda's suggestion about C.C. constructing puzzles. Anyway, back to today, we have 4 theme answer where common phrases are replaced by sound-alike ones using automobile brand names, clued by model names for each car company. I bet Barry G. and Dennis found this one easy. It took me a bit to suss out some of the theme answers, but they helped make the solve go well. The rest is standard Friday with some obscure and difficult patches and some fun word combinations. I like the overall cluing very much. let's see what you all think.

20A. Facilities on a 911? : PORSCHE POTTY. (13). (Porta potty). First you need to know the 911 and not be distracted by 9/11. Then you need to pronounce the car name Porsha (listen LINK) (0:03).

36A. Oater pal in an A3? : AUDI PARDNER. (11). (Howdy pardner). Again, the sound OWDI not AWWDI, makes this extra hard.

43A. Tales of a 9-3? : SAAB STORIES. (11). (Sob stories). I guess most know how to pronounce Saab, but the 9-3 may be quite unknown.

57A. Relative in a 370Z? : NISSAN NEPHEW. (13). (Niece and Nephew). This was the odd one out for me and the hardest to understand; I knew Nissan, having had a 260Z for years, but it took perps to see where this was going, especially having to break it into two words.

Across:

1. 1967 White House groom : ROBB. CHUCK who married Lynda Bird Johnson and became a governor and Senator.

5. "Erin go __" : BRAGH.  Loosely, Ireland forever.

10. Swedish singer Jenny : LIND. I  learned of the Swedish Nightingale from watching the old Maverick tv series.

14. Thus : ERGO.

15. Former Dodger first baseman James : LONEY. Not a star, really pretty obscure,  except perhaps for Tin, as Loney has resurfaced in a Tampa Bay Ray uniform.

16. Sharp : ACID. All perps, I guess like acid tongued.

17. Windows alternative : UNIX. An operating system.

18. Microwave brand : AMANA. Followed immediately with...

19. Microwave : NUKE.

23. Florida University named for a pope : ST. LEO. I imagine this was another gimme for Tin, as it is up the road near Tampa. For this rest you probably need to READ the history.

24. Eroded : ATE AWAY.

28. Follow : TRAIL. Another tricky clue, following behind...

32. Place to play : ARENA.

33. 13-Down predecessor : HST. Harry S. Truman; the S does not stand for anything.

39. Other, overseas : OTRA. Spanish 1.

41. Boston drummer Jeff et al. : NEALS. I guess on Friday you do not need a second one, like Patricia, but not many would know this drummer. I loved Boston but never heard his name.

42. Peruse : SCAN.

46. Pay stub abbr. : HRS. How many hours was that?

47. Für whom Beethoven wrote a bagatelle : ELISE. Always worth a LISTEN. (2:58). Also, 49D. Beethoven's Opus 20, for one : SEPTET. MORE.

48. Marks of approval : SEALS. Started with 'stars' until I saw 52D.

50. Corolla competitors : ALTIMAS. Foreshadowing the final theme fill.

53. Mexicali-to-Tijuana dirección : OESTE.

61. Electric weather phenomenon : BOLT. The answer came to me like bolt from the blue (still marveling at C.C.'s clue/fill yesterday).

64. Cornered : AT BAY. Eh, I see this as the opposite of each other.

65. Roll on a tarmac : TAXI. I know airports have taxiways and runways, but I do not know where the term comes from? Corner?

66. Hives, e.g. : RASH.

67. Spiked cakes : BABAS. My friend Ruth used to make the best Rum Cake; I could not resist this LINK. Mari?

68. Verve : ELAN.

69. Velázquez offerings : ARTE. More Spanish and I guess trickier than Laugh-in Johnson.

70. Whooping __ : CRANE. Cough also fit.

71. Heist haul, to a hood : TENG. I spent way too much time looking this up and never found it but the perps were sound. We usually have reference to Mao. (From C.C.: Parse it as TEN G, 10 Grand)(From L: duh!, silly me).

Down:

Speaking of down, DOWNTON ABBEY is back January 5. If you have already watched season 4 during its run in England, I hope you liked it.

1. Opts for another hitch : RE-UPS.

2. "... however, I may be all wet" : OR NOT. "I am absolutely certain you said that dear, or not."

3. Speakeasy socializer : B-GIRL. I guess the B is for bar, as they were the girls trying to get you to buy them fake drinks to add to the profits, while you got drunk.

4. "Complete series" DVD purchase, say : BOX SET.

5. Flat : BLAH.

6. 1960 Olympics city : ROME. The first one I remember, with Wilma Rudolph and Cassius Clay.

7. Take __: drop off : A NAP.

8. Italian seaport : GENOA. I cannot think of a salami pun, help?

9. Hilton rival : HYATT.

10. ID holders : LANYARDS.  A pretty one from CHINA.

11. Hosp. area : ICU. Intensive Care Unit. 2 years + since my 9 day visit.

12. Peace ender? : NIK. Peacenik.  popular in the anti-war years.

13. 33-Across successor : DDE. I had Jenny, so this was easy.

21. ESPN baseball analyst Alex : CORA. Another very obscure baseball reference to an ex-Dodger (Bill G., you also getting these?) who I only know because he went to the U.

22. Shed thing : TEAR. It took me a while to abandon pictures of a small building.

25. Shakespearean servant : WENCH. A lovely word.

26. "Dark-brow'd sophist, come not __": Tennyson : ANEAR. Drat, even successful poets use A words. I never like Alfred's work, Owen?

27. They may be spun : YARNS. Tales, though my son did buy his new gf some yarn as she loves to knit. Mixes well with 31D. Taletellers : LIARS.

29. Reunion attendee : AUNT. Somehow she is always the one to be there.

30. Logical beginning? : IDEOlogical.

33. Book after Daniel : HOSEA.

34. One way to buy time : STALL. I wonder who gets paid when you 'buy' time?

35. Character piece? : TRAIT.

37. Jeté relative : PLIE. Ballet moves.

38. Cruising : ASEA. See: an A word.

40. Potent licorice-flavored liqueur : ABSINTHE. Now legal once again. Promise Me.

44. Rig : SEMI.

45. Gin flavoring : SLOE.

51. Easy __ : AS ABC.

52. Red giant : S-STAR. Please re-explain all the star categories.

54. Oil source : SHALE. Which probably can be found in Texas.

55. Odessa native : TEXAN. On the way to El Paso.  They love rock and roll.

56. Any of several fictional multimillionaires : EWING. Speaking of oil and Texas, J.R. and family. I really like how Mike uses the related but un-referenced clues.

58. "The Winner Takes It All" quartet : ABBA. I also enjoyed this letter combination next to

59. Mumbai bread : NAAN. A poetic couplet to me.

60. NASDAQ competitor : NYSE.

61. Source of support : BRA. Like the double letters above, the DOUBLE D  Challenge (4:18), Dennis?

62. Lock insert : OAR. or Key?

63. D-Day lander : LST. Landing ship tanks.

Wow, another year done for me here. Thanks all. I hope your holidays and new year are great. Mr. P. thanks for the workout. As for the puzzle title...

When I got a new job that required me and my co-workers who rode to work together take US 1 under the New River, I found I was developing an odd pain in my elbow by the time we reached the office. I finally went to the doctor and he told me I had...*

CAR POOL TUNNEL SYNDROME.

Ouch and a Happy New Year to all.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.

Happy Birthday to dear Dudley, our handsome pilot.

Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana

Dudley and his wife at their Block Island wedding in 2008

Click here to see a few more photos of Dudley. They were taken during Montana's visit to Northeast on September.

Dudley, tell us what's the most exotic place you've flew to.