Tuesday, Jun 26, 2018 Mike Peluso

"FINAL APPROVAL"

20. "Fast Times" school (Japan): RIDGEMONT HIGH.    Hai  はい

35. 2014 U.S. Women's Open champion (France): MICHELLE WIE.  Oui

42. North Atlantic stretch with no land borders (Mexico): SARGASSO SEA.  Sí

56. Permission from the big boss ... and a hint to the ends of 20-, 35- and 42-Across (in the country indicated): FINAL APPROVAL.

You have permission.  

Across:

1. Tug or ark: BOAT.

5. First assembly instruction: STEP A.  Aren't assembly instructions most often numbered ?

10. Mt. Rushmore's state: S. DAK.

14. Gas brand on the Trans-Canada Highway: ESSO. This one is in Ladysmith, BC.

 15. Word before basin or wave: TIDAL.

16. Actress Taylor: LILI.

 Lili Taylor at IMDb

17. "Now!" letters: ASAP.

18. Summer month in Argentina: ENERO.   January.  "Argentina is in the southern hemisphere, thus the seasons occur during the opposite months from Europe and North America. Spring arrives around November; January and February mark the peak summer months and March is the end of summer when children return to school." - Bradt Travel Guides.

19. "__ something I said?": IS IT.

23. South Korean capital: SEOUL.

24. Bootlegger's gin container: BATHTUB.  Bootleggers, bathtub gin, and grape bricks during the Prohibition....   "One wine brick company, with a barely disguised hint, wrote on the packages of its product: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn to wine.” 

27. Drag racer's fuel, briefly: NITRO.  Nitromethane.  World's fastest 1/4 mile Top Fuel speed:


31. Do penance: ATONE.

32. Actress Thurman: UMA.

38. Hip-hoppers Salt-N-__: PEPA.

40. Two under par: EAGLE.

41. Dexterous: DEFT.  Neatly skillful and quick in one's movements.  Origin: Middle English: variant of daft, in the obsolete sense ‘meek’. - Oxford Dictionaries.    

"Apparently, deft and daft shared a sense of "gentle, and becoming" in Old English. Their different pronunciations (which only later formalized into spellings) experienced different metaphorical extension in Middle English. Deft continued to develop the meaning of "skillful".
But daft seems to have experienced systematic semantic deterioration from "mild-mannered" (1200), to "dull and awkward" (1300), and eventually to "foolish and crazy" (1500) under the added influence of the third word daffy. "  - English Stack Exchange

45. Fleur-de-__: LYS.

46. Ohio natives: ERIEs. 

47. Skin care prefix: DERMA.

49. Counts up: TALLIES. 

"...Since fingers are somewhat limited to 10 , a new invention was introduced – the tally system (earliest known proof of that is from around 35 000 B.C.). The tally system revolves around scratches on sticks, rocks or bones. The number of scratches represents the number of items counted – five birds would be represented by five scratches, seven mammoths would be represented by seven scratches etc. The “modern” tally system, which we’re still using in this day and age, organizes the scratches (tallies) into groups of five – four vertical scratches and one diagonal (that is drawn across the vertical ones). Eventually, tallies were replaced with more practical symbols – numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...) – which are in wide use today." Mathemania -Counting

52. Thinning atmospheric layer: OZONE.

60. "Let's go!": C'MON.

62. "Chicago" actress Zellweger: RENEE.

63. Crass: RUDE.

64. Arctic chunk: FLOE.

65. News article intros: LEDES.  Origin in the 1950s as an alteration of lead, first used in instructions to printers, in order to distinguish the word from text to be printed.  Now lede is mainly journalism jargon for the introductory portion of a news story—or what might be called the lead portion of the news story.  We've had LEDE before in the LA Times crossword puzzles. Once.  Sept 22nd, 2017. Irish Miss was the only one of the regulars that knew it.  Did you remember it from last time ?

66. Tiger Woods' ex: ELIN.

67. Frying liquids: OILS.

68. Prefix with foam: STYRO.

69. Vaccine fluids: SERA.

Down:

1. Chicago NFL team: BEARS.   99 seasons.  Record (W-L-T): 749-579-42.   New head coach Matt Nagy and quarterback Mitch Trubisky are looking to lead the Bears to an NFC North title and the playoffs.  Their biggest rivalry is with the Green Bay Packers, who currently have the lead at 96–94–6.  It is the longest rivalry in the NFL, having started in 1921.  

2. Actor Davis: OSSIE.

3. Pollo __: Latin American grilled chicken dish: ASADO.

4. Cruise/Kilmer action film: TOP GUN.

5. Education acronym for four fields of study: STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

6. Ex-Yankee Martinez: TINO.  Constatino.  

A key component of the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 NY Yankees World Series Championship teams.  They lost in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamonbacks, or he would have garnered a 5th World Series ring.

7. Genesis garden: EDEN.

8. Medicare option: PART B.

9. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.

10. Snubbed: SLIGHTED.

11. Kitchen cloth: DISH TOWEL.

12. Boxer Laila: ALI.

13. Do-it-yourselfer's buy: KIT.

21. Single __: tournament format, briefly: ELIM. Single Elimination.  The loser of the match or game is out.  The NCAA's "March Madness" tournament is an example.

22. Slanted type: Abbr.: ITAL.

25. Bring together: UNIFY.

26. Sugar sources: BEETS.

28. Deadlocks: TIES.

29. Some TVs: RCAs.

30. 1977 George Burns film: OH GOD.

32. Unexpected victory: UPSET.  Happens fairly frequently in the early rounds of the single elimination March Madness basketball tournament.

33. Stiller's comedy partner: MEARA.


34. Springtime prank: APRIL FOOL.

36. Ultimatum word: ELSE.

37. Sideways glance: LEER.

39. Facial wrinkles: AGE LINEs.

43. F-foxtrot link: AS IN.

44. Latin love: AMOR.

48. Islands west of Portugal: AZORES.  "The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, are an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. The islands are characterized by dramatic landscapes, fishing villages, green pastures and hedgerows of blue hydrangeas."

Guide to the Azores

50. British peers: EARLs.

51. Icy winter weather: SLEET.

53. Developing egg: OVULE.

54. Apex's opposite: NADIR.

55. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA.  She was also an answer in Saturday's LA Times Crossword.  The clue was "John Paul's successor."   Saturdays can be so tough.

57. Mayberry's Sheriff Taylor: ANDY.

58. Look intently (at): PEER.

59. Durango dinero: PESO.


60. Corp. money manager: CFO.  Chief Financial Officer.  What is a 'Chief Financial Officer - CFO' ?  - Investopedia

61. Mid-11th century year: MLI.  M = 1000,  L = 50,  I = 1,  thus MLI  =  mid-11th century year 1051.   Viking descendant William of Normandy was building and consolidating powers at the time, and strategically married the more noble Matilda of Flanders.   In 1066, he conquered England, became known as William the Conqueror and was the first Norman King of England.  Two of their sons - William II and Henry I - ascended to the throne as King of England.   The English word for agreement at the time was yea, and before the 1600s,  yes was often used only as an affirmative to a negative question.

That's a wrap.  Wait, one more link: How to say yes in many different languages.

Sunday November 5, 2017 Mike Peluso

Theme: "Gridiron Glossary" - Football terms are re-phrased.

23A. Goose's medical concern? : LOSS OF DOWN. Geese seem to be here year-round now.

25A. F? : FALSE START. Creative clue.


45A. Ginger cookie factory statistic? : SNAP COUNT

69A What results from failure to stop at a deer crossing? : DELAY OF GAME. We saw two deer last time when we walked at Springbrook. They also have wild turkeys.

91A. So-so haul in the fishing industry? : FAIR CATCH

110A Home security system at no cost? : FREE SAFETY. Quite a few ADT signs in our neighborhood.


114A. "Hamlet" in progress? : PLAY ACTION
 
32D. Prohibited courtroom procedure? : ILLEGAL MOTION

35D. Unpleasant singles bar come-on? : OFFENSIVE LINE

Re-phrasing is one of my favorite theme types. You don't need to be a fan to solve the puzzle, though your enjoyment will be enhanced if you're into football or golf or other sports. Mike Peluso is a Seahawks fan, by the way.


Mike also arranged his theme entries nicely, placing 7 in Across and the two 13s in Down slots. Great design for a 9-themer.

Across:    

1. Museum curators' degs. : MFAs

5. Considers : DEEMS

10. "Ain't happening" : NOPE. Also 28. Ain't right? : AREN'T. So is IS NOT.


14. Hobbyist's knife : X-ACTO. Owned by Elmer's.

19. 1814-'15 exile site : ELBA

20. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI. I mentioned last time that he protected many from being persecuted during Culture Revolution. Read here to see how he helped the last wife of the last Chinese emperor.

21. Pats on the table : OLEO. Not on our table.

22. Tiger Woods has won a record 21 of them : ESPYs. Of course I was thinking of tournaments. Not that I can think of any. 
 
27. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jerry : SLOAN. Wiki says "Sloan had a career regular-season win–loss record of 1,221–803, placing him third all-time in NBA wins at the time he retired. Sloan was only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 victories and is one of two coaches in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with one club (the Utah Jazz)...."

30. Hastings head : LOO. Hastings is also a county here in MN.

31. Two-element tubes : DIODES

33. Energetic mount : STEED

34. One of Jupiter's Galilean moons : EUROPA. The only other Jupiter moon I know is LEDA.

38. Woody's son : ARLO

39. Ones with will power? : HEIRS. Nice clue.

41. Discontinued allergy brand : ACTIFED. Never heard of this brand.

42. Sundae topping item : WALNUT. Brain food.
 
49. Brut alternative : AFTA

50. What "L" may mean: Abbr. : LGE

51. Fared reasonably well : DID OK

53. Melodious : ARIOSE. Or ARIOSO.

55. Short albums, for short : EPs

56. Crystalline rocks : GEODES

58. __ to go: eager : RARIN'

60. Troubling spots : ACNE. Saw ACNES in a puzzle once and had to ask Argyle and D-Otto.

62. Longtime Priceline pitchman : SHATNER

64. Cries over : LAMENTS

66. Perp stopper : TASER

68. Beer ingredient : MALT

72. "__ le roi!" : VIVE

73. Equally irate : AS MAD

75. Male escorts : GIGOLOS. Learned this word from "American Gigolo".

76. Kenny Rogers quartet : EX-WIVES. Crossing 71. Joe Namath, notably : EX-JET. Tiny dupe. Also 14. Crosses off : X'ES OUT.

78. Socks : HOSE

79. Subject for Archimedes : LEVER

80. Convince using flattery : CAJOLE. Nice fill.

81. Window sill item : POT. Love my pot of rosemary. So good with roasted potatoes.

82. Yellow Teletubby : LAA LAA

85. Kitchen gadget : CORER

86. Hasty departure : LAM

89. Enthused : AVID
 
94. Raising a ball, with "up" : TEEING

96. "Il Trovatore" heroine : LEONORA. Also 101. Verdi title bandit : ERNANI. Both learning moments for me.

98. Stop before surgery : PRE-OP

100. Pesky biter : GNAT

102. Invigorate Dry Spray maker : ARRID

104. Soprano Fleming et al. : RENEEs. Also 57. James and Jones of jazz : ETTAs

107. Private eye : TEC

108. Manila envelope feature : CLASP

109. Infamous fictional motel : BATES. That's a scary movie.
 
119. Martini partner : ROSSI
 
120. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.

121. Long-legged fisher : EGRET

122. Sein, across the Rhine : ETRE. I did not know the the meaning of Sein, "to be" in German.

123. Lessen : ABATE

124. Swiss capital : BERN

125. DEA activity : RAIDS

126. Connecticut senator Chris : DODD. Former.
  

Down:
 
1. 2-Down's boss : MEL. And 2. 1-Down's sitcom employee : FLO

3. Crunch targets : ABs

4. Hairstyling legend : SASSOON. Here is one of their ads in China.

5. Friday creator : DEFOE (Daniel)

6. Hyphen relative : EN DASH

7. North Carolina university : ELON

8. Cavernous opening : MAW

9. Rat Pack leader : SINATRA

10. Like some bank services : NO FEE

11. Chan portrayer : OLAND (Warner). Charlie Chan.

12. Bombard : PELT

13. Daybreak deity : EOS
 
15. Oregon port : ASTORIA

16. Auditing pro : CPA

17. Norse war god : TYR. MARS in Roman.

18. Opposite of west, in Dortmund : OST

24. Stale : OLD

26. Puts into office : ELECTS

29. Court defendant: Abbr. : RESP (Respondent)

31. Bore : DRAG
 
33. Go down : SINK

36. Tardy people, to some : PET PEEVE. You won't ever find Boomer late. He's always a few minutes earlier, rain or snow.

37. Courtroom figs. : ADAs

38. Leatherwork tool : AWL

40. Those, in Oaxaca : ESOS
 
41. "Is that __?" : A NO

43. Hokkaido noodle : UDON. I love seafood udon. 

44. Helped through a tough time, with "over" : TIDED

46. Tend to : CARE FOR

 47. Letter-shaped gaskets : O-RINGS

48. Utah range : UINTA. Looks like a great hiking spot. I recall Dave linked this clip once. I reached all the peaks.

52. Loosening of govt. standards : DEREG

54. Take in : EAT
 
58. Duracell competitor : RAYOVAC

59. Whac-__ : A-MOLE

61. Nitpick : CAVIL

62. Wee, in Dundee : SMA

63. Discuss in detail : HASH OVER
 
64. California-based shoe company : LA GEAR

65. Feature of a no-holds-barred campaign : SMEAR. Politics can be so ugly.

67. Legal thing : RES
 
70. Actress Palmer : LILLI
 
74. Costa __ Sol : DEL

77. Eroded : WORE

80. Pacific salmon : COHO. Huge.

81. Ashen : PALE

83. Toto hit that mentions Kilimanjaro : AFRICA. Helpful hint.

84. Routing org. : AAA

85. Included in the email loop, briefly : CC'ED
 
87. Santa __: dry winds : ANAs

88. Corp. big shots : MGT

90. Proof of paternity, perhaps : DNA TEST

92. Loan figs. : APRS. Annual Percentage Rate.

 93. The Beatles' "Day __" : TRIPPER

95. Spewed : EGESTED

97. Baby's first garment : ONESIE

99. Implored : PRAYED

102. Not leave as is : ALTER

103. Belted tire synthetic : RAYON
 
105. La Floride et La Virginie : ETATS. Interesting, states are all feminine. I think Mike speaks fluent French.


106. Japanese chip maker : NEC

108. Turn over : CEDE

109. Adriatic port : BARI

110. Monastery title : FRA
 
111. Carl's director son : ROB. Mel Brooks mentioned in a interview that he and Carl Reiner meet every day. They love watching movies together and chatting. 

112. Conductor __-Pekka Salonen : ESA

113. It's not a bad lie : FIB. I was picturing a golf ball in an uphill lie. Definitely not a bad lie. Easy to hit.


115. JFK alternative : LGA

116. Simpson trial judge : ITO
 
117. Command from a maj. : ORD. OK, order.

118. Actor Beatty : NED

Thursday April 20 2017 Mike Peluso

Theme: Clecho Cluster - two closely-related pairs of clues.

17A. Breakdown : CATEGORIZED LIST. Like my monthly spending report from BofA. I won't tell you how each category breaks down, but I'm sure you can guess that "Food!" is a significant slice of the pie chart.

25A. Breakdown : ENGINE FAILURE. In all the flying I've done I've thankfully only experienced one engine failure - on a 737 climbing out of Las Vegas. There was a "pop" sound and the plane seemed to slide backwards for a second. Caused a few raised eyebrows, but no-one was heard to ...

42A. Break down : WEEP IN ANGUISH.

55A. Break down : CHEMICALLY DECAY. Aluminum 26 has a half-life of 720,000 years, whereas the isotope Aluminum 29 has a half-life of 6.6 minutes. I have absolutely no idea why.

Fun offering from Mike today. The theme is nicely done; the grid has eight "cheater squares" (Rich calls them "helper" squares) but four of them are the result of the two 13-letter entries so you can't do anything about those. There's some lively fill, two or three new words for me and some canny cluing to keep us on our toes. Throw in a smattering of French, Spanish and Portuguese and it all adds up to a good Thursday challenge. Let's see what jumps out.

Across:

1. Prepare for a car trip : GAS UP

6. Sack : BAG

9. Swedish autos : SAABS. The company went out of business in 2012.

14. Nearly half of New England : MAINE. With GAS UP atop MAINE I was looking askance at some odd letter progressions for the downs but it all came good in the end.

15. In the fashion of : A LA.  For example, the cajun dish Blackened Catfish a la Mer. Food!

16. St. __ Fire : ELMOS

20. Orlando-to-Miami dir. : S.S.E.

21. Hosp. staffer : L.P.N. Licensed Practical Nurse.

22. Ebbs : ABATES

23. Ready : SET

24. Corrida cry : OLÉ!

32. Island near Java : BALI

34. 1945 conference city : YALTA. Where Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill carved up post-war Europe.

35. Snitch : RAT

36. Leche, across the Pyrenees : LAIT. Your café con leche in Spain turns into café au lait in France.

37. "The Fall" novelist : CAMUS

38. Italian beach resort : LIDO. This was my last fill. I couldn't remember RADO and I wasn't sure of the actor URICH so I had to stare this one down. We had an open-air swimming pool in the town where I grew up called The Lido, so something jogged my memory regarding the source of the name.

39. Chicago destination, on airline tickets : ORD. O'Hare was originally named Orchard Field, hence ORD.

40. Higgs particle : BOSON. A Higgs Boson walks into a bar and asks everyone to join in an act of penitence. "What are you doing?" asks the barman. "Giving mass."

41. Object of devotion : ICON

46. Balderdash : ROT

47. Angel dust, initially : PCP. Phencyclidine. I knew this! From the movie "Trading Places", just to be quite clear.

48. Round drill : TREPAN. I think this was new to me - it looks vaguely familiar so perhaps I've seen it before. I find it's a pretty scary-looking piece of surgical equipment.

51. Purpose : USE

52. Clothing dept. letters : SML Small, Medium, Large sizes.

58. It may cause a financial crisis : PANIC

59. Coral __ : SEA. Site of a pivotal naval battle in the Pacific War in 1942.

60. Fast Bolt : USAIN. The world's fastest man holds the world records for both the 100m and 200m sprint.

61. Long range : ANDES. Nice clue! The range is 4,350 miles long from Venezuela in the north to Chile in the south.

62. Half a score : TEN

63. Ltr. holder : P.O. BOX

Down:

1. Acadia and Terrain : GMCS. SUV's.

2. Remote inserts : AAAS. Batteries for your remote control.

3. Location : SITE

4. Article in Arles : UNE

5. Pirate stereotype : PEG LEG. Avast, me hearties!

6. Amish project : BARN

7. Louisville slugger? : ALI. Another nice clue. Muhammad Ali hailed from Louisville.

8. Mediterranean strip : GAZA

9. Missouri State Fair city : SEDALIA. I confidently entered ST. LOUIS when I had the "S" and was singing "Meet me in St. Louis, meet me at the fair" to myself. Then I discovered I was wrong.

10. 2009 Verizon acquisition : ALLTEL. I don't recall these folks. They were headquartered in Little Rock so that might have something to do with it.

11. Lyon gal pal : AMIE. Funny coincidence with Arles also appearing in a clue today - I got a flyer for a Lyon to Arles wine-tasting river cruise with my wine shipment yesterday.

12. Company leader : BOSS

13. Erstwhile flier : SST

18. __-Free: contact lens solution brand : OPTI. Thank you, crosses.

19. WWII torpedo launchers : E-BOATS

23. Foul mood : SNIT

25. Neglect to say : ELIDE. Another nice clue.

26. Tanzanian border lake : NYASA. I went windsurfing on this lake when I visited Malawi years ago. There are both hippos and crocodiles in the water, so you need to focus on not falling in!

27. Irish statesman de Valera : EAMON. His career had mixed reviews.

28. Heaved : FLUNG

29. "Vega$" actor Robert : URICH

30. Rolex competitor : RADO. Must try and remember this name.

31. 007's alma mater : ETON. 007's creator, Ian Fleming went to Eton. His housemaster disapproved of many things, including "his attitude, his hair oil, his ownership of a car and his relations with women." Not bad for someone yet to turn 18.

32. Lose a big lead in : BLOW

33. Bern's river : AARE

37. Cold + Flu maker : CONTAC

38. Speech therapy subject : LISP. I had speech therapy as a kid to try to correct a stammer that I developed when I was six. It didn't help at all. I finally began to get it under control in my twenties.

40. "Ali" and "Milk," e.g. : BIOPICS

43. Early arrival : PREMIE

44. Daisy preceder : UPSY

45. Got slick after sleet : ICED UP

48. "More __ a Feeling": Boston hit : THAN. Classic ballad. Little late in the blog for a music link but it's too good to miss.

49. Tear : REND

50. Tweed lampooner : NAST. Boss Tweed of the Tammany Ring as portrayed by Nast in 1871.

51. __ Bator : ULAN. One of my school friends was recruited into the British Secret Service. She found it "quite fun" until they wanted to post her to Ulan Bator. Mongolia wasn't quite what she had in mind so she quit.

52. Wound protection : SCAB

53. Spring month in Porto : MAIO. Our Portuguese lesson for the day.

54. Forest feline : LYNX

55. Tax pro : CPA. I hope we all met the tax day deadline this week.

56. Loser to Meade at Gettysburg : LEE

57. That, in Barcelona : ESO. Home of the amazing Sagrada Familia Church. "Que *** es eso?" It's still not finished.

Just time to post the grid, and I think I'm done!

Steve

Thursday, August 4th, 2016 Mike Peluso

Theme: Cross-Referenced Circle Chicanery

The reveal:

33A. With 43-Across, acting like an unscrupulous contractor ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : CUTTING

43A. See 33-Across : CORNERS

Clockwise from the northwest corner, we find the nicely alliterative SEVERS, SHAVES, SLICES and SHEARS highlighted by the circles. If you don't get circles in your publication and you don't like cross-referenced clues, then this puzzle won't win your personal popularity contest.

With O'ER, E'ER and E'EN I was looking for EBON to complete a poetic quad-fecta (Yay! New word!) but we capped out at three. I have to say that there did seem to be a preponderance of bitty three-letter fill today. Let's see what else we've got going on:

Across:

1. Retro photos : SEPIAS. Suitably stern-looking gentleman in this one:

7. Condescends : STOOPS

13. Tympanic membrane : EARDRUM

15. Half a notable San Francisco intersection : ASHBURY. Hippie central at the corner of Haight.

16. Heavy marble : STEELIE. We called 'em something different in England - "dobber" springs to mind but it was many years ago that I last used one.

17. Worried about : SWEATED

18. Brandy letters : VSO. Very Superior Old. Often followed followed by "P" for "Pale".

19. Some grad students : TA'S. Apparently in middle school you are now a "paraprofessional".

21. P.O. boxful : ENVS. Envelopes stuffing your post office box. Most of the mail I get stuffed into my mailbox is junk.

22. One of a divided trio? : DEE. Three "D"s in "divided".

24. Like some room fresheners : PINEY

26. Anthem contraction : O'ER

28. Lucid : SANE

30. Tony winner Martin in the 2013 "Pippin" Broadway revival : ANDREA. No clue. Thank you, crosses.

32. Cargo wts. : TNS. Tons. I'm not sure if I've seen this abbreviation before - "t" is more common.

35. Prom dress material : TAFFETA

37. They may be crunched : ABS

38. Bollywood star Aishwarya __ : RAI. No clue. Thank you, crosses. Here she is:

39. Curaçao cocktails : MAI TAIS. Rum, curaçao and lime juice. Cheers!

47. RR schedule listing : STN.

48. Land on a lake? : REEL IN. Nice clue. Landing a fish.

50. Psyche's beloved : EROS

51. Letters on old TV dials : UHF. Ultra-High Frequency. I remember these things. I recall UHF was where the local channels lived, VHF was where the other stuff was. We only had four channels in England for the longest time. I grew up with two, went to three when the BBC introduced color TV on VHF and finally Channel Four added the second commercial channel. You didn't really need a remote - there was not much channel-hopping between the two primary channels (the publicly-funded BBC and the commercially-funded ITV).

52. Strainer : SIEVE

53. For time eterne : E'ER

54. "Girls" creator Dunham : LENA. Dug up from the deep recesses.

57. "There's __ in ... " : NO I

58. XL squared : MDC 40 x 40 = 1600. I still can't figure out how the Romans did math. "Borrow X and carry VII". Hopeless.

60. Old Buick : LE SABRE

62. Indian spiced drink : CHAI TEA

66. Wearing, with "in" : ATTIRED

67. Lots of shots : SALVOES

68. Juiced-up Roadsters? : TESLAS. A colleague of mine owns one. He lives in Texas, I thought he'd get some stick from the oil industry folks, but he says no-one's been mean to him yet.

69. Breastbones : STERNA. Really? I've never, ever had the need to use this word.

Down:

1. French possessive : SES. His, her or its plural possessive. Parisians love to tell you that you should use "son" instead of "ses" when the vowel begins with a consonant. I love to tell them that all their vines are grafted onto Californian rootstock after the phylloxera virus devastated their vineyards in the 1860's.

2. Take in : EAT

3. Hinder : PREVENT

4. Ominous date : IDES. March got a bad rap. The other nine ides didn't have such an ominous cloud looming over them.

5. Patron of Alice's : ARLO. Arlo Guthrie's song. If you can put up with 18 minutes of it, here's your link.

6. __ generis : SUI. Unique. Why use one English word when two Latin ones will do?

7. Louisville-to-Nashville dir. : SSW

8. Fare-well bridge : THEE

9. Scottish resort town known for its whisky : OBAN. In 2011, about $10,000's worth of fireworks were ignited all at once due to a computer glitch. The show was originally planned to last 30 minutes, it was all over in less than 60 seconds. Classic!

10. Defeat at the polls : OUTVOTE

11. Gift : PRESENT

12. Barrett of Pink Floyd : SYD

14. Doling (out) : METING

15. Declare : ASSERT

20. Furthermore : AND

22. Mil. bravery medal : D.S.C. Distinguished Service Cross. One notch down from the Medal of Honor.

23. Evian, par exemple : EAU

24. Colorful flowers : PANSIES

25. The very beginning, figuratively : YEAR ONE

27. Pretoria's land: Abbr. : R.S.A. Republic of South Africa.

29. Virginie, to Eugénie : ÉTAT. State.

31. A long way away : AFAR

34. Support beam : I-BAR

36. Penalty for wrongdoing : FINE

39. The Bulldogs of the SEC : M.S.U. Mississippi State University.

40. Game player : ATHLETE

41. Overruns : INFESTS

42. Fished with a net : SEINED. Fished with a seine net, like this:

43. Study of government : CIVICS

44. Meccano construction set : ERECTOR. The "Erector" brand is now being retired after the company was purchased by Meccano in 2000.

45. 1973 Court decision alias : ROE vs. Wade.

46. Old map abbr. : S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic

49. One of the fire signs : LEO

55. Attach, in a way : NAIL

56. Magical opening : ABRA-cadabra

58. Beer ingredient : MALT

59. Act like a loon? : DIVE.

60. Map coordinate: Abbr. : LAT. Latitude.

61. Legal thing : RES. More Latin.

63. Possesses : HAS

64. Poetic dusk : E'EN. More poetry.

65. Simile center : AS A. As happy as a clam in the sand where no-one's digging.

I'm back in LA this week. I was asked last week how many miles I fly each year - it varies, but never less than 50,000; usually quite a bit more. I'm up to about 45,000 so far in 2016. United puts your name on a plane if you hit the 10 million mile lifetime mark, I'm a LONG way from that milestone, thank goodness. I'd rather have my sanity and my home life than a 777 called "Steve".

Aaaand - here's the grid.

Steve

Sunday, June 26, 2016 Mike Peluso

Theme: "Vice Versa" - Long I sound is changed into ER sound.
 
27A. Optimal payment arrangements? : THE BEST OF TERMS. The best of times. Two more tiny THE's in 111A. It has finals in June : THE NBA. 4D. "Terror has no shape" sci-fi creature : THE BLOB

42A. Mideast cry of despair? : ARABIAN NERTS. Arabian Nights. Ali Baba.

67A. Gems kept in inventory? : STOCK PEARLS. Stockpiles.
 
96A. Like one brandishing a Super Soaker? : NERF WIELDING. Knife-wielding. I googled and found out that Super Soaker is a Nerf water gun brand.

114A. White stallion at school? : SILVER LEARNING. Silver lining.

15D. Reason for cowboy unemployment? : NOTHING TO HERD. Nothing to hide.

55D. Coquette education? : FLIRT TRAINING. Made me smile. Thought of dear Splynter, who's actually very shy. Flight training.

Two sound changes occur in the front. Five at the back. Two multi-word answers. Five two-word entries. No odd man out. Consistency!

Mike also started his first theme entry in Row 4 rather than the conventional Row 3.  I'm going to experience this design myself. 

I'm completely in awe of puzzle title, so aptly describing the theme gimmick. Genius! 
   
Across:  

1. Offed, biblically : SMOTE. Funny how SMITTEN is the only form we still use today.

6. Matter : COUNT

11. Big D school : SMU

14. Exchanges from centers : SNAPS. Football. I had to ask Boomer.
  
19. Dash dials : TACHs

20. Canadian skater Brian : ORSER. Quite a few names in this grid.

21. Mother __ : HEN

22. Forum garments : TOGAE. More often TOGAS.

23. Butt ends : ASHES

24. New car option : LEASE

25. Like some exercises : ISOMETRIC. See here for definition. New to me. I do know plank & Russian Twist though.

30. "Sugar Lips" trumpeter : AL HIRT

31. Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey, e.g. : EARL.Gimme for a few blog regulars.

32. Some hosp. areas : ORs

33. Fifth-century pope : LEO I

34. "Spare me the specifics" : TMI

35. Black-and-white predator : ORCA

37. Eight-time Coty Award winner : BEENE (Geoffrey). Fashion award. Got via crosses as well.

38. Bigwig : HONCHO

 

47. Response to a sinking feeling? : SOS. I thought this might be sinking a putt. Nope.

49. Radiate : GLOW. And 115. Radiate : EMIT

50. Finalize, with "up" : SEW

51. Lining fabric : FLEECE

52. Yorktown __, N.Y. : HTs

53. Scrabble 8-pointer : J-TILE. Easy J crossing with JOT (53D. Write (down).

54. In the sky : ALOFT

56. Lorre's "Casablanca" role : UGARTE.  No memory of this guy. I did like the movie though.

59. Yelled excitedly : WHOOPED. Never used the word as a verb.

61. Election figure : POLLSTER

64. Tic-tac-toe loser : OOX

65. Writer: Abbr. : AUTH

66. Govt. benefit : SSI

 

71. Attention : EAR

74. Bring up, or something to bring up : REAR. Bring up the rear. Great clue.

76. Want ad letters : EOE

77. "Apollo 13" co-star : ED HARRIS

80. Trustbusting period : TAFT ERA

83. Berra famously jumped into his arms during the 1956 World Series : LARSEN (Don). The only perfect game in World Series.

86. Defiant retort : I DO SO

87. Egglike : OVATE

88. Morse code bit : DIT. Not DAH.

90. Senses, as trouble : SMELLS

93. Diarist Anaïs : NIN

94. Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee : MEIR

95. __ culpa : MEA

99. Area for growth? : BOTANY. Nice clue also.

101. Heavy hammers : MAULS. New to me.

103. Santa Monica landmark : PIER

104. It's charged : ION

105. Inactive : IDLE

106. Jump shot shape : ARC

107. Former VOA overseer : USIA (United States Information Agency). Tiny US dupe with 8. "Wild Blue Yonder" mil. branch : USAF

118. "In Rainbows" Grammy-winning rockers : RADIOHEAD. Via crosses as well.

120. One-celled critter : AMEBA. Amoeba is more common.

121. City west of Youngstown : AKRON

122. __ in itself : AN END. Easier when the partial is clued at the back: [Put ___ to (finish)].

123. Madre's hermana : TIA

124. Like forks : TINED

125. New Hampshire college town : KEENE. We had this a couple months ago.

126. Unkempt : MANGY. And 12. Most unkempt : MESSIEST

127. Spots : ADs

128. Stiff collars : ETONs

129. Maritime birds : ERNEs

Down:

1. Assert : STATE

2. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : MASHA. IRINA also has 5 letters.

3. Brownish shade : OCHER

5. Latin 101 verb : ESSE

6. Monk associate : COLTRANE (John). Thelonious Monk. I was picturing a real monk.

7. Double Stuf treats : OREOs

9. Tweeting site : NEST. Always a fun clue.

10. Sapling : TREELET. Thanks for identifying my two Agnes plants, TTP. Now I'm eager to see how that English Ivy spreads. Maybe I should put the polka dot plant back to a pot. They look prettier this way.

11. Peres of Israel : SHIMON

13. Digit in diez : UNO. diez = ten.

14. Mariner's patron : ST. ELMO

16. Farming prefix : AGRI

17. Au __ : PAIR

18. Shakers, but not movers : SECT. Great clue.

26. Compulsory British subject : MATHS. I still can't believe what happened.

28. L.A.'s environs : SoCal

29. Roger of "Cheers" : REES

36. Breakups : RIFTS

37. City near Anaheim : BREA

39. Pace : CLIP

40. With 109-Down, uncommon eagle : HOLE. 109. See 40-Down : IN ONE. On a par 3 hole. Mike often posts stunning golf course pictures on his Facebook. He must play lots of golf.

41. Due : OWED

42. "Stat!" relative : ASAP

43. HR dept. concerns : RELOs

44. Base runners : AWOLs

45. Introduction to science? : NEURO, Neuroscience.

46. Heart test: Abbr. : ECG

48. Warren Commission subject : OSWALD. Oh, Lee Harvey Oswald.

52. Numerical prefix : HEXA. Six.

57. Rodeo competitor : ROPER

58. Ring site : TOE

60. Sudden silence : HUSH

62. Peter or Paul : TSAR. Not SAINT. Fantastic clue.

63. It retired its spokesbaby in 2014 : E*TRADE

68. Breton or Gael : CELT

69. Ukulele wood : KOA. Learning moment for me.

70. Take more People : RENEW. Magazine.

72. Quaker Oats product suffix : A-RONI

73. "Mr. Mojo __": repeated words in The Doors' "L.A. Woman" : RISIN'

75. Rare shoe width : EEE

78. United choice : AISLE. Another great clue.

79. Lennon work : SONG

80. Pyramid, to Tut : TOMB. Big "D'oh!"

81. Economical Chevy : AVEO

82. __ accompli : FAIT

84. Latvia and Estonia, once: Abbr. : SSRs

85. "Unbelievable" band : EMF

89. Diamond hit : I AM I SAID. Unfamiliar with the song.

91. Watches one's mouth? : LIPREADS. To me, "one's" always refers to oneself. But you read other's mouth to lipread, right?

92. Canon competitor : LEICA

95. Chatty bird : MYNAH

96. Empty : NULL

97. Improve, as one's game : ELEVATE. This "one's" works perfectly.

98. More smashed : DRUNKER. Sounds weird in ER/EST form.

100. Opposite of a star : NOBODY

102. Avia competitor : ADIDAS

106. Truman veep Barkley : ALBEN. I googled, then found out I had googled him before.

108. Sound during a chase : SIREN

110. Actress Moorehead : AGNES. Hello, Irish Miss!

111. Rail vehicle : TRAM

112. Maui's scenic __ Highway : HANA. So pretty.

113. Paradise : EDEN

116. Ashcroft's predecessor : RENO

117. One leaning against a garden fence : RAKE. Not a person.

119. Greek vowel : ETA

Happy 51st Anniversary to dear Spitzboov (Al) and his wife Betty!