Friday, October 7, 2011, Pete Muller

Theme: C before E, must go, Gee.. We have a substitution puzzle where phrases containing a word ending in CE, replace that word with one ending in G instead. Merriment ensues. I loved the unifier, which took a perfectly good expression, G-FORCE (parsing it as "G for CE") and reshaped into the theme for this effort. I thought LAG and RAG were too similar, but the puzzle was fun and not too easy nor too hard. Like porridge on a cold morning. Until this puzzle, we have exactly one puzzle a year from Mr. Muller, always in July. Well, as your resident acronym ace, I am back from the cold wet north, to unscramble this Friday feast.


20A. Boast à la Donald Trump : BRAG FOR IMPACT. BRACE FOR IMPACT is the starter phrase. I am so glad we do not see much of Donald lately.

26A. "Our overly fussy friend has a point"?: THE PRIG IS RIGHT. THE PRICE IS RIGHT, yo Bob Barker. Like seeing old timey PRIG resurface.

43A. Joplin piece about modern weaponry?: NUCLEAR ARMS RAG. NUCLEAR ARMS RACE. Scott Joplin worte ragtime music, like you heard in the Sting.

50A. Delay from an 18th-century English ruler?: QUEEN ANNE'S LAG. QUEEN ANNE'S LACE. The plant is pretty.

And the unifier;

64A. It's zero in free-fall—and, put another way, a hint to how the four longest puzzle answers were formed : G FORCE. This must be parsed G FOR CE, to help understand the the G is being replaced.

On to the show:

Across:

1. Puts a little too close to the flame: SINGES. Well we are all off to a hot start.

7. Does away with: OFFS. Yes, our mob loving culture has embraced this word. Also, 53D. Named names: SANG, like Sammy the Bull.

11. Spirit: PEP. Yes, this why they are called pep rallies.

14. Set straight: ORIENT. Where do you side on the debate with orientate?

15. Narrow space: SLIT. We have had this one often, so I guess we need this IMAGE.

16. Pay add-on: OLA. PAYOLA; I imagine many of you are too young to recall the scandal with radio DJ's accepting bribes to play certain records in the 50's. And, 24A. Malt finish?: OSE. MALTOSE. One of the many sugars, sweety.

17. Where many changes occur: CABANA. Cabana or cabaña is the place near beaches or pools where people don beachwear, nice clue.

18. August: MAJESTIC.

22. Patriot Act protesters: Abbr.: ACLU. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION. Here we go again.

25. Goddess of motherhood: ISIS. Time for our LESSON.

31. Wasikowska of "The Kids Are All Right": MIA. Want to meet this CELEBRITY?(4:00)

32. "Trinity" novelist: URIS. Leon is on a little roll these days.

33. Union agreement: I DO. The marriage union.

34. Fiber source: OAT BRAN.

36. Illegal pitch: SPITTER. Just as gross as it sounds, banned by baseball in 1920, it was last legally thrown by Wisconsin native Burleigh Grimes in 1934.

40. "Have some": EAT. In a Jewish household, it is always, "eat, eat."

41. Kid on "The Cosby Show": THEO. The one male child of the Huxtables played by MALCOM-JAMAL WARNER.(4:28).

42. Big name in '40s-'50s Argentina: EVA. Mrs. Peron, don't cry for her.

47. Went under: SANK.

48. Emulate Eminem : RAP. Nice alliteration.

49. Irascibility: BILE. This cross was tricky, with the SB.

55. LA and MI, but not DO or RE: US STATES. My favorite clue, great confusion.

56. Gas up?: AERATE. Also tricky, no cars and no flatulence.

59. NRC predecessor: AEC. The Atomic Energy Commission was replaced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

60. It can get you credit in a store: VISA.

61. Shrink, in a way: NARROW.

62. "The __ of Pooh": '80s best-seller: TAO. I had forgotten this silly book.

63. "Right away, Mammy": YES'M. Mammy? UnPC?

Down:

1. Religious org., perhaps: SOC. The org. tells you it is an abbreviation, this time for SOCIETY.

2. George's lyricist: IRA. The brothers Gershwin.

3. Show little interest in, as food: NIBBLE AT. I like the word NIBBLE.

4. Get ready for action GEAR UP.

5. Sicilian resort: ENNA. Unfamiliar with this place.

6. Unaccompanied: STAG.

7. Biology text topic: OSMOSIS. I used to sleep on my Biology text book, gathering my knowledge by osmosis.

8. Roadside attention getters: FLARES. Like THESE?

9. Water brand named for its source: FIJI.

10. Dam up: STEM.

11. Fertilizer substance: POTASH. Want to learn about Potassium salts and other ORGANICS?

12. Draw forth: ELICIT.

13. Treaties: PACTS.

19. Water source: SPIGOT. Same number of letters as faucet.

21. Surround with dense mist: FOG IN.

22. Spherical opening?: ATMO. ATMOSPHERICAL.

23. Hirsute pet: CHIA. Not really, it is leafy not hairy.

27. Like the sticks: RURAL.

28. Sizzling: IRATE.

29. More fleshy, perhaps: RIPER. You think?

30. Under the weather, e.g.: IDIOM. An expression, likely from seasickness.This comes again from a maritime source. In the old days, when a sailor was unwell, he was sent down below to help his recovery, under the deck and away from the weather.

35. Anouilh play made into a Burton/O'Toole film: BECKET. Wonderful FILM.(4:46)

36. It's not always easy to get into: SHAPE.

37. "Tootsie" Oscar nominee: TERI GARR. She now is fighting MS, but I will always remember her from this SCENE. (0:24).

38. Assessment, for short: EVAL. EVALUATION.

39. Popular trend: RAGE. This reminds me of Joon and his struggles and triumph today; what he knows amazes me, and what he does not also amazes me.

41. Pontiac muscle car: TRANS AM. Not the Firebird?

43. Sartre work: NAUSEA. This was Jean-Paul's first published novel, and really set out the existential philosophy which attracts so many college juniors.

44. Paris-based cultural org : UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Really, is that enough?

45. "Gunsmoke" star: ARNESS. He and his brother, Peter Graves from Fury and Mission Impossible entertained us for years.

46. Popular purveyor of stromboli: SBARRO. At every food court, started by a family from Brooklyn named, yes, SBARRO.

47. Zipp : SQUAT. I prefer diddly squat.

51. Deep blue: NAVY.

52. Play to __: A TIE.

54. Two pages: LEAF. It is both sides of the page.

57. Front-of-bk. list: TOC. Really, one more? TABLE OF CONTENTS.

58. Cote girl: EWE. I guess this is a reference to the little known people of the IVORY COAST? (From C.C.: silly EWE! Sheep shelter "Cote".)

Answer grid.

Well, another week gone. A puzzle with no French, no law and no beer, nothing to complain about. I wish you all a happy healthy year, as some of us will be disappearing to atone for all our sins. Until next time.

Lemonade

Wednesday July 13, 2011 Pete Muller

Theme: ALL TOLLED. vowel progression in the last word of each theme answer.

17A. Men's clothing category : BIG AND TALL

22A. 1993 military directive : DON'T ASK DON'T TELL

33A. Bad thing to be caught with at work, with "a" : HAND IN THE TILL

46A. Wears greatly : TAKES A HEAVY TOLL

54A. Rock and roll band whose lead singer often played flute solos : JETHRO TULL

Melissa here.

all fun phrases to see in a puzzle, with two grid-spanners. must have been challenging to come up with them - can you think of any other phrases that end in T*LL and are 9 to 15 letters in length?

Across:

1. Pop singer Jackson : JANET. nipple-gate.

6. Create a cobbler : BAKE. yum.

10. Rubella symptom : RASH

14. Tabriz resident : IRANI. had to look it up.

15. Astonishes : AWES

16. Pelvic bones : ILIA. should be a gimme by now.

19. 53-Across et al: GEM. and 53A. Translucent stone : OPAL

20. Harmonizing groups : CHOIRS. clear ayes & barry g., anyone else?

21. Sushi bar spirits: Var. : SAKIS. usually see sake.

26. Building supporter : JOIST

27. Orbital extreme : APOGEE. the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it. (perigee is the point nearest.) see?

28. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON.

29. Sony portable since 1984 : DISCMAN. dinosaurs now.

38. Seers : ORACLES

39. Large loafer letters : EEE. cute.

41. Droll comic Wright : STEVEN. funny guy.

44. Overfamiliar : BANAL. needed a few perps to get this.

51. Small streams : RILLS. did not know this term.

52. Prized statuettes : OSCARS. gimme. grammys and emmys wouldn't fit.

58. Musical Horne : LENA

59. Snack with a removable top : OREO. new clue for an old friend.

60. Dutch export : TULIP. so pretty. dennis's favorite flower, as i recall.

61. Shuteye aids? : LIDS. hee.

62. Exxon, previously : ESSO

63. Serene spots : EDENS. thought oases first.

Down:

1. Sail at the front : JIB. i know nothing about sailing, but this was still a gimme.

2. Jackie's "O" : ARI. nice clue.

3. Pester : NAG.

4. Passes, as legislation : ENACTS

5. Grunt's helmet : TIN HAT. if he only had a heart.

6. Javanese hand-dyed fabric : BATIK. beautiful.

7. Prize : AWARD

8. Kutcher's "That '70s Show" role : KELSO. have never seen this show, but it's well known trivia.

9. Alien's subj. : ESL

10. Trattoria tubes : RIGATONI. more yum. from the Italian word rigati, which means 'ribbed' or 'lined.'

11. It's tapped in a pub : ALE KEG. was tricky with both words.

12. Black as night, e.g. : SIMILE

13. Bother : HASSLE

18. Lavish parties : DO'S. not sure i've heard it used that way.

21. Mar. honoree : ST. PAT. saint patrick's day - great excuse for a party.

22. Party spinners, briefly : DJ'S. and 57A. 22-Down's vinyls : LP'S

23. "I'm really impressed!" : OOOH

24. Simone of jazz : NINA

25. When repeated, squeals : NAMES. such a tricky clue. 'names names,' as in the huac hearings. several good movies made about the subject: guilty by suspicion with robert de niro, citizen cohn with james woods, and the front, with woody allen (don't click if you're offended by bad language).

29. Beloved princess : DIANA. her absence was sad at prince william's wedding.

30. "Monsters, __" : INC

31. Cardinal letters : STL. is that the official abbreviation on the scoreboard?

32. Friend of Fidel : CHE. fidel castro and ernesto “che” guevara.

34. "Animal Farm" et al. : NOVELLAS. longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.

35. Work code subject : DRESS. dress code.

36. Letterman rival : LENO.

37. Sharon of "Boston Public" : LEAL. another show i've never seen, have never heard of this actress.

40. Pipe shape : ELL

41. Leisurely walk : STROLL

42. Republic of China capital : TAIPEI

43. Bond girl Britt of "The Man With the Golden Gun" : EKLAND

44. Without thinking : BY ROTE. rote memory.

45. Like some retired racehorses : AT STUD

47. Gardeners, at times : HOERS

48. __ Park, Colorado : ESTES

49. Allergic reaction : ACHOO. bless you.

50. Alt. spelling : VAR. alternate / variant.

54. Java : JOE. coffee.

55. Gran- suffix : ULE. granule.

56. Architect Maya __ : LIN. did not know the name of this woman who, at age 21, designed the vietnam veteran's war memorial.

Answer grid.

Melissa

Thursday July 22, 2010 Pete Muller

Theme: RECYCLED PLASTIC (60A: Useful waste, what's literally hidden in 17-, 25- and 46-Across). - The letters of the word PLASTIC are anagrammed and recycled into a portion of the other three theme answers. In Cryptic crossword, recycled/shuffled signal anagram gimmick.

17A. State of the Union, say: POLITICAL SPEECH. Is this truly informational, or was it ever? Or just another chance to listen to party claims and rhetoric from both sides? As a kid, these always irked me. There were only three channels back then and all of them preempted their regular shows for this. And then just when you thought it was over, the other side got equal air time to rebut. Of course now, with all the cable channel choices, you can just watch something else rather than doing something good, like reading a book instead.

25A. Military tradition: HOSPITAL CORNERS. Tightly tucked sheets for a neat appearance. These make me claustrophobic. I have to have my feet free to move. How about you? Do you prefer being tucked in tight?

46A. Looney Tunes genre: SLAPSTICK COMEDY. Also animation. I guess I always associated slapstick only with live actors, so this threw answer me for awhile.

Al here.

It's kind of a tricky theme, so that's why it is spelled out as one of the answers, you wouldn't get it otherwise. Well, maybe Jerome might... This is the kind of clue you would get for an English Crossword answer, an instruction to rearrange letters. Knowing the theme didn't help me at all, because all the letters I needed were the other ones that weren't part of the word plastic. The last to fall for me today was the middle east, and I had two black marks there. The rest was pretty tough too, more like a Friday, I thought. The jump from Wednesday to Thursday seems to me to be more steep than the one from Thursday to Friday.

Across:

1. NASDAQ debuts: IPOS. Stock market Initial Public Offerings, the first time a stock can be bought.

5. Silly: APISH. The word silly has roots in German: selig "blessed, happy, blissful". It moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent", to "harmless," to "pitiable", to "weak", to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish". Here it just means acting like a monkey.

10. '60s-'70s pitcher nicknamed Blue Moon: ODOM. John. Supposedly given to him by a schoolmate because his face was so round.

14. Attic-dweller of '70s-'80s TV: MORK. Robin Williams role, a spin-off show from a Happy Days appearance.

15. Home of a mythical lion: NEMEA. A beast eventually killed by Heracles (Hercules). It could not be killed in a usual fashion because its golden fur was impervious to attack. It could only be killed by shooting it or stabbing it in the mouth.

16. Admonition to Nanette?: NO NO. A musical comedy, made into films in 1930 and again in 1940, No No Nanette contains the song Tea for Two, which we just recently had as a puzzle answer.

20. Miniature surveillance gadget: SPYCAM.

21. Rear ends of a sort: CABOOSES. From M.Du. kambuis "ship's galley," from Low Ger. kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck;" probably a compound word whose elements correspond to English cabin and house.

22. What there oughta be: A LAW.

24. Skirmish: ROW. the "ow" here is pronounced like the "ou" in ouch. Of uncertain origin, but perhaps related to rousel "drinking bout", a shortened form of carousal.

33. Sch. with a Narragansett Bay campus: URI. University of Rhode Island.

34. Odin's group: AESIR. Norse gods.

35. Tuned to: SET AT. As with a radio station.

36. Word with mala or bona: FIDE. In bad or good faith.

38. Works in a Catalonian museum: DALIS. Salvadore.

40. Classico competitor: RAGU. Spaghetti sauces.

41. Element 100 eponym: FERMI. Enrico Fermi, who worked on the development of the nuclear reactor, had Fermium named after him. Fermium was discovered in the aftermath dust of the first hydrogen bomb test.

43. Betty Crocker salad topping: BAC-OS.

45. Crosswalk sign word: PED. No abbreviation clue due to common use? Or because that is the way it literally appears, perhaps.

49. Eastern tongue: LAO. Official language of Laos. Also called Laotian or Isan.

50. It might be a close call: SAFE. Baseball.

51. Japanese golfer in the World Golf Hall of Fame: ISAO AOKI. So many vowels...

56. Make a connection (with): LIAISE. Back formation from French liaison (union, binding together). Said to be a coinage of British military men in World War I.

62. Leafy veggie: KALE. Has powerful antioxidant properties, high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium, kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Also contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Supposed to taste better after the first frost.

63. Merge: UNITE.

64. Scot's vacation site: LOCH.

65. Insult: SLUR.

66. Try to persuade, with "with": PLEAD.

67. Sean's mom: YOKO. Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono.

Down:

1. Troublemakers: IMPS.

2. Info: POOP. Military slang. The rich fertile result of the brass passing down their wisdom through to the lower echelons.

3. French touchdown site: ORLY. Airport

4. Alpine wear: SKI CAP.

5. Like many short films: ANIMATED.

6. Workout target: PEC. Pectoral muscles. For the ladies.

7. Jobs creation?: IMAC. Steve Jobs, Apple computer.

8. "The Fugitive" actress Ward: SELA.

9. Easy-Bake Oven maker: HASBRO.

10. Used car selling point: ONE OWNER.

11. Performs: DOES.

12. Singly: ONCE.

13. Mineralogist Friedrich: MOHS. Namesake of the Mohs scale, to compare mineral hardness (scratching one with another).

18. Two-time Oscar nominee Shire: TALIA. Adriannn! from Rocky and Connie Corleone in the Godfather.

19. Standard partner: POORS. You rarely see the names for the S&P index spelled out like this.

23. Horseradish relative: WASABI. It's green and hot, a Japanese condiment. A lot of products here that claim to be Wasabi are actually just dyed horseradish. Real wasabi is difficult and expensive to grow and harvest.

25. Blows: HUFFS. And puffs. I wonder why the big bad wolf never enlisted the kool-aid man

26. Cantilevered window: ORIEL.

27. Libya's Gulf of __: SIDRA.

28. Not a deep purple: LILAC. This is Deep Purple.

29. Pains in the neck: CRICKS. I really wanted a different leading consonant here...

30. Bivouac: ETAPE. A military encampment where a day's stores are kept.

31. Wreaked havoc, as a battle: RAGED. In the manner of a Berserker.

32. Prepare, in a way: STUDY. For a test.

37. Strike target: EMPLOYER. Unions, not baseball.

39. Of questionable repute: SO-CALLED.

42. First name in sci-fi: ISAAC. Asimov. Prolific writer, more than 200 books in his lifetime, also wrote mysteries, fantasy, and non-fiction in the form of popular science. Also was a professor of biochemistry at Boston University.

44. Balkan capital: SOFIA. Bulgaria.

47. Install needed equipment: TOOL UP.

48. Like five per cent, to a server: MEASLY. An "insulting" tip amount.

51. Nettles: IRKS.

52. Sea World clapper: SEAL.

53. First Amendment advocacy gp.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

54. __ Ration: KEN-L. Dog food brand.

55. Romeo's last words: I DIE. O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. — Thus with a kiss I die.

57. "Am __ late?": I TOO. Yes, Juliet. Yes you are too late. And now you're late, too.

58. Twisted: SICK.

59. Comeback: ECHO.

61. Harper Valley org.: PTA. Song written by Tom T Hall, performed first by Jeannie C Riley. Made into a movie, and then a TV series starring Barbara Eden, after she lost her magical genie (I dream of Jeannie) powers.

Answer grid.

Al

Thursday July 2, 2009 Pete Muller

Theme: INNER EAR (38D: Balance organ that's literally found in the answers to starred clues)

20A: *1979 Sister Sledge hit: WE ARE FAMILY

30A: *Look for clues: NOSE AROUND

46A: *"Fatal Attraction" costar: ANNE ARCHER

57A: *Military treatise written by Sun Tzu: THE ART OF WAR

11D: *Decorators' suggestion: AREA RUG

Great theme. All EAR's are split between two words. Normally the unifying entry has no symmetrical partner, so I was surprised by the Down AREA RUGS entry.

I got THE ART OF WAR earlier on. Then read the clue for the tie-in 38D and noticed the organ EAR organ immediately. So I was able to filled in the other EAR's. Otherwise, I would not have got ANN ARCHER. I could only remember Michael Douglas and Glenn Close.

I like the "clue" clues in today's puzzle:

30A: *Look for clues: NOSE AROUND

36A: Clue on a weapon: PRINT

3D: Problms in ths clue: ERRATA. Both "Problems" and "this" are spelled incorrectly.

All in all, a zaftig puzzle, only 32 blocks (sometimes we have 44). Alluringly plump!

Across:

1A: Lieu: STEAD. Nice to have a gimme start.

6A: Start of a 10-Down address: HTTP. And WEB (10D: Blogger's milieu)

10A: Shakes indicating affection, perhaps: WAGS. Dogs. Cute clue.

14A: With 26-Across, city in southern Brazil: PORTO ALEGRE (26A: See 14-Across). Literally "Happy Port". See the red arrow. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says it's the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil.

15A: Operatic number: ARIA. "Number" = "song". Sometimes it's just numb-er: stuff that numbs you. Like "Dentist's number?" for OPIATE.

16A: Diamond stats: ERAS. Baseball diamond. And BAT (53A: Come to the plate)

17A: Robin's weapon: ARROW. Easy guess. Robin Hood. Initially I thought it might refer to Batman's Robin.

18A: Kemo __: SABE. The Lone Ranger.

19A: Longtime pageant host Parks: BERT. First encounter with this guy. His hair is rather thick.

23A: Trailers, e.g.: ADS. Movie trailers. Great clue.

25A: Delay: LAG. I hate internet LAG.

28A: Hormel product: SPAM. Hormel is based in MN. They used to sponsor Twins' bobbleheads.

33A: Indian state bordering Bhutan: ASSAM. The yellow region. Famous for ASSAM tea.

35A: Cheap cigar: STOGIE. Shortened from Conestoga, rural region near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. So-called because it's favored by drivers of the Conestoga style of covered wagons first made there, according to dictionary.

39A: Bellicose Norse god: TYR. Tuesday is named after him. Same pronunciation as "tear". I bet TYR did not tear up easily.

41A: Actress Kudrow et al.: LISAS. Kudrow plays the goofy Phoebe in "Friends".

42A: Justice replaced by Samuel in 2006: SANDRA. Justice O'Connor is an avid golfer.

44A: Melville's first novel: TYPEE. Oh, I did not know it's his first novel.

48A: "Gosh darn it!": RATS. Is this Taco Bell still closed?

52A: Toyota until 2006: CELICA (1970-2006). Wikipedia says CELICA is derived from Latin word coelica, meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".

58A: Pasture: LEA. Have not seen LEI for a long time.

56A:Wall St. purchase: SHR (Share).

60A: React to sad news: WEEP

62A: 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE. Timely Wimbledon reference.

64A: Inland Asian sea: ARAL. It's shrinking.

65A: "__ Rock": 1966 hit: I'AM A. Simon and Garfunkel song. I like their "Scarborough Fair" the most.

66A: Jon of "Two and a Half Men": CRYER. Got the answer from Down fills. Have never seen "Two and a Half Men". So the other man is Charlie Sheen.

67A: Thatcher, politically: TORY. The British Conservative party. Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister, is of Labor Party. Churchill is a TORY too.

68A: Street asset, briefly: CRED. Street CRED.

69A: Wiesbaden's state: HESSE. Wiesbaden is the capital of HESSE. Wikipedia says Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name literally means "meadow baths".

Down:

1D: Gives rise to: SPAWNS. Awesome word, with only one vowel.

2D: Shredded: TORE UP

4D: Origin suffix: ATOR. Originator. I wonder if any constructor has tried to clue ALLY as "Origin suffix". Originally.

5D: Wooden connector: DOWEL. Nailed it today.

6D: Tries: HAS A GO AT. Also nailed this multiple word answer.

7D: Lode carrier: TRAM

8D: Leg bones: TIBIAE. The plural can also be TIBIAS.

9D: Spanish stew: PAELLAS. OK, I suppose you can call them stew.

12D: Fragrant flower: GARDENIA. Just learned that the flower is named after Alexander Garden (1730–91), an American physician. Boy, now I look at flow-er, I see river. That's what Rich Norris does to me.

13D: Retd. Air France fliers: SSTS. I like this new clue. "Retd. British fliers" would be a great clue too, since Concordes flew from London Heathrow (British Air) & Paris (Air France) to JFK.

21D: They may be diehards: FANS

22D: Seuss's king of the pond: YERTLE. I forgot. YERTLE the Turtle.

27D: More like a well-made s'more: GOOIER. Can't stand marshmallow.

29D: "Deal or No Deal" host: MANDEL (Howie). Melissa just mentioned that he has germ phobia too.

31D: Rocker Patty who married John McEnroe: SMYTH. No idea. They don't look like a couple.

32D: __ Moines: DES. And Des Moinesian.

34D: The Bosporus, e.g.: STRAIT. Also known as the Istanbul STRAIT, the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. Approximately 19 miles long. Unknown to me.

36D: Non-commercial TV ad: PSA (Public Service Announcement). PSA also stands for Professional Sports Authenticator, the world's largest sportscard authentication service. See PSA at the very top?

37D: South American spread owner: RANCHERO. New word to me. A good way to clue ERO then. We seem to see EERO (Architect Saarinen) or EROO (Switch ending) often.

40D: Reuben holder: RYE BREAD

43D: Antiquated: ARCHAIC

45D: Rear end: PRAT. Pratfall. Carol has been using this word a lot in her comments lately.

47D: Roman emperor: CAESAR. "Veni, vidi, vici".

49D: Unfailingly: ALWAYS

50D: Flirts with: TEASES

51D: 1964 Nobel Prize decliner: SARTRE. He was probably jealous and angry that Camus got Nobel earlier (1957).

54D: Spelunker's aid: TORCH. spelunker is a great word.

56D: Hit hard: SWAT. Babe Ruth, Sultan of the SWAT. So tell me, why should Babe RUTH be in the Hall of Fame? He drank a lot during his days when drinking was not allowed. Mark McGwire used steroid when it's legal to do so.

58D: Sighed line: AH ME. Misread the clue as "Signed line".

59D: Warning to the gallery: FORE. Golf. I was once hit hard on my left arm. The guy did not shout "FORE".

61D: Practice: PLY. Wrote down TRY first.

Answer grid.

C.C.