Sunday June 5, 2016 Paul Coulter

Theme: "Hybrid Crossings" - Each Down theme entry crosses the hybrid word it forms. Like so:

22A. Without 3-Down, artful deception : SMOG (Smoke + Fog) AND MIRRORS. 3D. Driving hazard : FOG. Original phrase is "smoke and mirrors"'

37A. Without 32-Down, stinging insects : ORANGE (Yellow + Red) JACKETS. 32D. __ alert : RED. Yellow jacket. 

52A. Without 30-Down, separate matter altogether : MULE (Horse + Donkey) OF A DIFFERENT COLOR. 30D. Critter orchestrally imitated in Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite" : DONKEY. Horse of a different color.  Both DONKEY and SPOON intersect two themers.

 

73A. Without 76-Down, arrive where one must decide between options :

COME TO A SPORK (Spoon + Fork) IN THE ROAD. 76D. Aid in a stirring experience : SPOON. Come to a fork in the road.

 90A. Without 90-Down, be evasive : SKORT (Skirt + Shorts) THE ISSUE. 90D. Golfer's garb : SHORTS. Skirt the issue. = Skort.

110A. Without 100-Down, classic children's novel : CHARLOTTE'S BLOG (Web + Log)  100D. Shipboard account : LOG. Charlotte's Web.

Heavy themage. Grid spanners are OK for 15*15, but somehow they're tougher to deal with for a Sunday puzzle. And Paul has added pressure of making the intersection work.

You might think those Down themers are short and won't present too much problem for the constructor. But they must intersect with the hybrid words. FOG cannot cross the O in MIRRORS. RED can not cross the E in JACKETS.

Brilliant construction. I'm totally in awe.

Across:       

1. Personal ad abbr. : SWF. The movie is scary.

4. Dry and crack : CHAP

8. Film rating org. : MPAA

12. Muse of comedy : THALIA. Needed crossing help.

18. 1986 Gene Hackman film : HOOSIERS. What's your favorite Gene Hackman movie?

20. Paths for three-pointers : ARCS

21. "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" genre : ROM-COM

 

24. Gone : USED UP

25. Usher's creator : POE. Googled afterwards. Not familiar with the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher".

26. Actress Hatcher : TERI

27. Left end? : IST. Leftist.

28. "The X-Files" extras : G-MEN. Normally a clue for ETS.

29. Shallow crossing point : FORD

31. Dress : ENROBE

33. Cocktail hour array : DIPs. Was picturing drinks.

34. Prefix meaning "bee" : API

 

41. Bit of public relations deception : SPIN. Also 70. Trickery : DECEIT

42. Discussion group : PANEL

44. Ran quickly : DARTED

45. Others, on the Orinoco : OTRAS. Or OTROS.

46. Revealing, as some gowns : BACKLESS. So pretty.

49. Name again : RE-APPOINT

57. Maker of ProX skin products : OLAY. Gimme for ladies.

58. Where balls are often caught : MIDAIR

59. Catch but good : NAIL

60. Engine part : CAM

61. "The Waste Land" monogram : TSE

63. The King : ELVIS

65. "Errare humanum __" : EST. Latin for "to err is human".

66. Poll no. : PCT (Percent)

69. Ratted : TOLD

72. Field of study : AREA

80. Original model : ARCHETYPE. Great entry.

81. It counts : NEATNESS. Not abacus.

82. Gave a darn : CARED

83. Lazy : OTIOSE. Not a word I use.

88. Repeated phrase in Ecclesiastes : A TIME. Stumped me.

89. Latin wings : ALAE

94. U.K. award : OBE. Or MBE.

95. Vulnerable bone for a catcher : SHIN

96. Uncommon : SCARCE

97. Poet Silverstein : SHEL

101. Valhalla VIP : THOR

102. Cholesterol initials : LDL

103. "Momo" author Michael : ENDE.  Have any of you read the book?

106. Winner's medalla : ORO

107. Unlike golf, as a rule : INDOOR. We had a indoor driving range near Fleet Farm. Gone now. Also 98D. Stroked into the cup : HOLED

 

114. Absolute ruler : DESPOT

115. Native Rwandan : HUTU

116. Religious dissensions : HERESIES

117. Little hooters : OWLETS

118. Blood type, briefly : O NEG

119. Giant great : MAYS (Willie). Quite a few baseball references in this puzzle.

120. Poem originally performed with music : ODE

Down:

1. Stubby-legged Capp critter : SHMOO. Forgot. We had him before. Wiki says "Shmoos are delicious to eat, and are eager to be eaten."

2. Beau : WOOER

4. Theater : CINE

5. "The Birds" actress : HEDREN (Tippi)

6. Strong-__ : ARMING

7. Telepathy, e.g. : PSI. I don't get it. I wanted ESP.

8. Popular chocolate treat : MARS BAR

9. Defend from attack : PROTECT

10. Spanning: Abbr. : ACR (Across)

11. Biblical beast : ASS

12. One-ups : TRUMPS

13. Takes to the cleaners ... or cleans : HOSES. Great clue.

14. "Right on!" : AMEN

15. Readout using polarized light, briefly : LCD

16. Chit : IOU

17. Band aid : AMP. Great clue also.

19. Rested, in a way : SAT

22. Sunscreen letters : SPF

23. Spanish wine region : RIOJA. Got via crosses.

28. "Scram!" : GIT

33. Pfeiffer of TV's "Cybill" : DEDEE. Sister of Michelle Pfeiffer.

34. Patriots' Day month : APRIL

35. Bench site : PIANO. Piano bench.

36. Orch. component : INSTR. OK, instrument.  Gluey entry.

38. Move, to a Realtor : RE-LO

39. Hebrew leader? : ALEF. First Hebrew letter.

40. LPGA star Cristie : KERR. She's Boomer's favorite LPGA player.

41. Happy hour seat : STOOL

42. Zahn of TV news : PAULA. Lots of names in Downs. Besides the above HEDREN, KERR, DEDEE, we also have 50. Actress Bening : ANNETTE. 54. Three-time Masters winner : FALDO (Nick). 56. Former NBA center Dampier : ERICK. 75. Hal of the 1985 World Champion Kansas City Royals : MCRAE. 77. Czech hockey player Nedved : PETR. 78. Lukas of "Witness" : HAAS. 110. Comic Margaret : CHO. Korean CHO is same as Chinese Zhao or Chao (as in Elaine Chao).

43. "That shut her up like __": Tennessee Williams : A CLAM

45. Footnote abbr. : OP. CIT.

46. Bowl game star, briefly : BMOC. "Big Man on Campus"

47. Like some service : SAME DAY

48. Reagan prog. : SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

51. Fund-raising gps. : PTAs

53. Chemical suffix : IDE

55. Half a sawbuck : FIVER

61. Schlepped : TOTED

62. Place for a coin : SLOT. Boomer was solving the NYT crossword in our local paper, then told me that Will Shortz made a big mistake in the clue for GRANT [50s president]. He said Grant's presidency was in 60s and 70s. Ha ha.

64. Tre + tre : SEI

66. Preface : PROEM. Not INTRO.

67. Break off : CEASE

68. Small amounts : TADs

69. Little laugh : TEHEE

71. Setting for Dickens : INN

72. __ Army: links group : ARNIE'S. Finally met with Jack Nicklaus last summer. He was so easygoing.

73. Tree with pods : CACAO

74. GUM rival : ORAL B

79. Disbelieving accusation : ET TU

84. Words said while stretching, maybe : IT'S LATE. Great clue/fill.

85. Non-Rx med : OTC DRUG. Four consonants in a row.

86. Formal will : SHALL. Got me last time.

87. Always, in verse : E'ER

 

91. White wine aperitif : KIR

92. Summer cooler : ICE TEA. I've started to use ICE TEA rather than ICED TEA. Easy to say without the extra D in ICED.

93. Halter? : SENTRY. Halt-er.

95. Photograph : SHOOT

 99. Uneven, as a leaf's edge : EROSE

 

101. Drink too much : TOPE

104. Odd couple? : DEES. The two letters.

105. Letter with curves : ESS

107. Altar avowal : I DO

108. Green : NEW

109. Internet access letters : DSL

111. Follower of Attila : HUN

112. Omega, to a physicist : OHM

113. Many a Wikipedia article : BIO

Happy Birthday to dear TTP, who saved this blog from Google Hell a few years ago. TTP is a computer expert, also a sports nut. He has astonishing knowledge on baseball & football & bowling. He and his wife are avid golfers and gardeners. TTP also does his own home improvement projects. He's also a great cook. Now, Dave, find that perfect cake!

C.C.

Friday February 6, 2015, Paul Coulter

Theme: Where can I hide the theme?  On the edges...

This puzzle was easier to fill than to discuss, especially to a crowd that does not like cross-referential cluing. (Sorry Barry G.). Each outside edge of the puzzle consists of three (3) four (4) letter fill, where the first and third fill together are the clue for the middle word. When combined, words 1+3  create a compound word, hence the reveal COMPOUND FRACTURE i.e., the compound word is fractured (broken) into two pieces. This was a hard Friday for me, and I hope you all stuck with it because there were lots of learning moments. This appears to be a debut LAT for a very active poster on puzzle blogs, so welcome Paul.

1A. Predicament : BOAT (4) a very tricky clue (in the same boat, being the easiest way to explain clue/fill) paired with 9A. Mutual fund charge : LOAD (4) (funds are no load, front load, or back end loaded) gives the clue for 5A.  Boatload: *1-/9-Across : HEAP which describes how much trouble you would be in if you did not see this gimmick.

73A. "Easy to be Hard" musical : HAIR (4) paired with 75A. Business : LINE (4) leaves the compound word clue for 74 A. Hairline: *73-/75-Across : THIN (4) as in a hairline fracture.

1D. Overdue, as pay : BACK (4) paired with 53D. Converse : TALK (4) produces the clue for 29D. Backtalk *1-/53-Down : SASS (4).

16D. Stern : HARD (4) paired with 64D. Reactor part : CORE (4) results in  the clue for : Hardcore: 39D. *16-/64-Down : AVID such as the fans for the Patriots or AC Milan, the soccer club.

The reveal is also cross-referential:
32A. With 49-Across, bad break ... and what each answer to a starred clue creates vis-à-vis the answers that define it : COMPOUND (8) 49A. See 32-Across : FRACTURE (8). A Compound fracture of a bone, as opposed to a simple clean break. (Hence bad break).

Add to the fun, the very difficult pair 62D. With 29-Across, Balkan city on the Danube : NOVI. 29A. See 62-Down : SAD.  Novi Sad according to wiki is  the second largest city in Serbia, the administrative seat of the province of Vojvodina and of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.

This is a very odd and very hard Friday, it seems like it should be easy with forty 4 letter fill, but the short ones like ABU, ARA, ELAH, AMUR  and the few long ones like  TONSURE, TREATED, TRUSTER , AMARETTI,  AVE MARIA, HEREFORD and RARE COIN were not gimmes.

I can hear all the grumbling, but when you consider he found 4 compound words which clued 4 letter fill, with each compound word 8 letters long that broke into 4 letter parts, and was revealed by two 8 letter reveals, the math is awesome. The architecture is very impressive. On with the show.

Across:

13. Up to it : ABLE. I was able and I finished without cheating, but it was work.

14. Prefix with plasm : ENDO. Already the ECTO/ENDO debate.

15. 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient : OPRAH. I did not recall but the OP___ had to be.

17. Nocturnal critter : COON. Aside from any politically unacceptable existence, is the reference to 'critter' enough to evoke the regionally popular abbreviation?

18. Source : ROOT. Of all evil?

19. Adams' "Nixon in China," for one : OPERA. I had LOAD, LOOSENS and OPP and wondered about OP--- over OP---. I have heard of but not listened to this work.

20. Handled vessel : KETTLE. Finally a stout clue.

22. Pouches : SACS.

24. Orch. section : STRings. JzB, is this abbreviation ever used as a notation in preparation for a concert?

25. Site of unexpected change? : SOFA. Wonderful clue/fill. So evocative and misleading.

27. Didn't trick, maybe : TREATED.

34. Prayer set to music by Schubert and Gounod : AVE MARIA.

36. Choice to sleep on : SERTA. Of course SEALY also fits.

40. Diva highlights : SOLI. In Latin the plural of a word ending in O (SOLO) can become I.

41. Distillery founder John : DEWAR. A CSO to Tin and all of our scotch drinkers.

44. "Ray Donovan" star Schreiber : LIEV.

45. Aptly named bird : SWIFT.  LINK.

47. Italian almond cookies : AMARETTI.

52. British pen pal's last letter? : ZED. A nice misdirection as this replaces our American ZEE as the last letter of the alphabet.

53. Part of a Buddhist monk's ordination : TONSURE.

56. Ridge just below the surface : REEF.

58. "Father of," in Arabic : ABU. I had the pleasure of portraying Auda Abu Tayi, who along with the Lawrence was a hero of the Arab revolt. He had married 28 times, which may explain why he has no fear going into battle.

59. Identical : SAME.

61. Place where cheap shots are a good thing : CLINIC. Wonderful clue, especially now during flu season.

65. Allow to attack : LET AT. I nominate this as my meh clue, while accurate, it does not sound like a real phrase.

67. Dagwood's annoying little friend : ELMO. A new/old clue for this fill.

69. Inflict on : DO TO. Others.

70. 1985 Chemistry co-Nobelist Jerome : KARLE. Really hard for me. Embarrassed to say I had NO IDEA.

71. "Avatar" race : NA'VI. I hope no one blue this easy clue.

72. Always : EVER. Always and forever and more.

Down:

2. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE. JzB, please explain again.

3. Bushels : A LOT.

4. Pitchers' places : TENTS. Very difficult to suss, especially with 1A a tough fill, but when I understood the theme and backed into BOAT, this made sense as one pitches a tent.

5. White-faced cattle breed : HEREFORD. I grew up driving by large herds of cows, who were the weather forecasters of my youth.

6. Roxy Music co-founder : ENO. Brian has become a staple.

7. Stirs : ADOS.

8. Knish filling : POTATO. No doubt most popular knish thought kasha and meat are also out there.

9. Unfastens : LOOSENS. This was the key word in loosening up the North and getting me the theme, along with....

10. Up and down, say: Abbr. : OPPosites.

11. "Give it __" : A REST.

12. Puccini's "Vissi __" : D'ARTE. An ARIA from Puccini's Tosca. If you listen, read the comments if you like to see debate about Opera, I love that it crosses 19A.

21. Like "la vida" in a Ricky Martin hit : LOCA. An odd duplication as VISSI is Italian for "I lived" and vida is "life" in Spanish.

23. French vineyard : CRU. Staying in romance languages, Alex, we have a French WORD, and then another.

26. Gallic girlfriend : AMIE. And another. 38A. Idée source : TETE.

28. Jane Eyre's charge : ADELE. Like ELMO above, the popular singer gets replaced by an old clue last seen here in a marti puzzle I blogged in 2013.

30. Declare : AVOW.

31. Where to find a hero : DELI. A common pun in the xword world.

33. Play with, in a way : PAW AT. Something for all our cat lovers.

35. Irritates : MIFFS.

37. Cheese holder : RITZ. This one cracked me up.

42. Russia-China border river : AMUR. Nope, no idea.

43. Numismatist's find : RARE COIN. Since coins are their interest...

46. Reliant soul : TRUSTER.

48. Casting aid : REEL.

50. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA.

51. Bind : CEMENT. Your friendship?

54. West Indian folk religion : OBEAH. I know of voodoo and santeria but not this GROUP.

55. __Sweet: aspartame : NUTRA.

57. Friend of Che : FIDEL. A recent picture is being shown on Television purporting to show a healthy Fidel.

60. Where Goliath was slain : ELAH. We recently debated the use of a sling versus sling shot, but where did it happen? HERE.

63. Rte. through Houston : I-TEN. I-Twenty, I-Forty all major E to W routes

66. Will Smith title role : ALI.

68. DIII doubled : MVI. For all you Roman math scholars...

A very long uphill battle, that some will love and some will hate, but welcome Paul; come share your commentary at this the friendliest blog on the web. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Yellowrocks asked if Lucina wore a wimple the other day. Here are two pictures of what Lucina's veil looked like when she was a Sister of the Precious Blood Community. You can click here for a clearer image. She was with her sister and her mother in the second picture.