Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Robin Stears

Theme:  Ate a picle, feeling sicle - now how about an icicle?  The fragment -ICLE is added as a suffix to four in-the-language phrases, yielding new, humorous constructions.  

20 A. Bond portrayer Daniel's BuzzFeed piece? : CRAIG'S LISTICLE.  The referent is James Bond actor Daniel CRAIG, who also starred in the Jon Favreau SF/Western mashup Cowboys and Aliens. A LISTICLE is an internet article presented as a numbered or bullet point list.  Since Daniel also starred in the incomprehensible Dream House, his could be a rank-ordered filmography.

26 A. Leftover bit of a physics experiment? : SPARE PARTICLE.  This is my favorite theme entry. A SPARE PART is an item kept on hand to replace a lost or damaged machine PART.  A PARTICLE in a physics experiment is generally something smaller than an atom - proton, neutron, quark, etc. SPARE PARTICLES might be used in subatomic games of bowling.

46 A. Ezine feature? : MODERN ARTICLE.  MODERN ART includes a variety of styles from the 19th century through the 1960's, including Bauhause, surrealism, impressionism, op art, etc.   A MODERN ARTICLE would be published in a modern venue like an Ezine, for sure.  But for my money, this entry is too close in surface meaning to the first one we encountered.

55 A. Beantown treat? : BOSTON POPSICLE.  Beantown is a common name for BOSTON, dating back to colonial times when local Puritans typically had a Sunday meal of previously prepared beans and brown bread, to avoid cooking on the sabbath.  With Summer drawing nigh, a POPSICLE is an inviting treat that the Puritans would probably have considered sinful.  

There's your theme, folks.  Hope you don't think its ICLE.

Hi, gang, Jazzbumpa here to provide a quicle tour.

1. Observe Ramadan, in a way : FAST.   Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, during which the faithful avoid [among other things] eating food between dawn and dusk.

5. __ and terminer: criminal court : OYER.  From the Anglo-French meaning "to hear and to determine."

9. Tapered fastener : SCREW.  Threaded, too.

14. Scratch the surface? : ETCH.   Engrave a surface by any one of several means.

15. Sub spot : DELI.  Big sandwiches there.

16. "Glee" club : CHOIR.  "Glee" is derived form the old English word for song.

17. "Sharknado" actress Reid : TARA.  I never saw this movie, but it's generally considered to be pretty bad.

Tara, on the other hand  .  .  .

18. Banish to Hades, say : DOOM.   The modern meaning is to be relegated to some horrible fate.  The Old English meaning is closer to "judgment."

19. Like most tarantulas : HAIRY.  These are hairy spiders to which I will not link.

23. That guy : HIM.  Some fella'.

24. Stay-at-home __ : DAD.  I went with MOM first.  Does that make me old?

25. Bonfire residue : ASH.   Any fire, really.

33. Yes, on Talk Like a Pirate Day : AYE.  Avast, matey!

34. Love god : EROS.  Greek mythology.

35. Seagoing mil. group : United States Navy.

36. "__ you!" : TOLD.  Rubbing it in.

39. Source of 20s : Automatic Teller Machine.

40. Icky buildup : CRUD.  A chunk of it is a CRUDICLE.

41. Sydney school : UNI.   Near as I can tell, this refers to the UNIversity of Sydney in Australia.  Maybe I'm missing something, but this entry seems to lack specificity.

42. Charlatan : FAKE.   An imposter - one who claims to be something he isn't, while typically on a quest for some type of personal gain.  Usage for this word peaked around 1940.

44. 18%, often : TIP.  I tip 20% minimum.  It's easier to calculate.

50. "Collages" novelist : NIN.   Unlike most of her other work, this is a dreamy, experimental novel with many characters wandering in space and time.

51. Chest-beating beast : APE.

52. Marked, as a ballot : XED.

60. Real pip : BEAUT.  A Beauty - can be intended literally or sarcastically.

61. Trompe l'__ : OEIL.  An optical illusion in France.

62. Online urban music magazine : VIBE.  Where one might read a LISTICLE or other MODERN ARTICLE.

63. Actress Woodard : ALFRE.

Interview

64. Mantel piece : VASE.  An open container, often decorative, suitable for holding flowers or uncle Henry's ashes.

65. Molecule component : ATOM.  Made up of sub-atomic PARTICLES.

66. Perp subduer : TASER.  A weapon that fires electrical probes to deliver a debilitating shock.

67. Help for the poor : ALMS.  From Old English, via late liturgical Latin, and ultimately tracing to Greek roots indicating both money and compassion.

68. What's going on : NEWS.  Indicating new information obtained via a print, video, or on-line medium.

Down

1. Sell for : FETCH.   A hot item might FETCH a pretty penny.

2. Game company formerly named Syzygy : ATARI.  I did not know that.

3. Beats it : SCRAMS.  Makes one's self scarce.

4. Asian language with 44 consonants : THAI.  ODDS ARE that's more than I can pronounce.

5. "Probably ... " : ODDS ARE.  A favorable bet.

6. Shoppe descriptor : YE OLDE.  Of course we all know that the "Ye" is really "The" with the initial consonant sound rendered by the rune "thorn" (Þ, þ)  rather than the digraph "Th."  The rune was often represented with a slanted slash coming from the right rather than the closed loop, hence the similar appearance to the modern letter "Y."

7. Weena's race, in "The Time Machine" : ELOI.  Occasionally, the other race - Morlocks - would eat them.  In the 1960 movie version, Weena was played by Yvette Mimieux.

Tasty?

8. What swish shots don't touch : RIMS.  A basketball shot that gets nothing but net.  Still only 2 points, but more pleasing to the eye and ear.

9. Flaky metamorphic rocks : SCHISTS.  Mica, talc and graphite are examples.

10. Joanie's love : CHACHI.   Played by Scott Baio, opposite Erin Moran's Joanie Cunningham from the TV show Happy Days and later it's spin-off featuring them.

11. Bubble and churn : ROIL.  Agitate something physically, and by extension emotionally.  If one become red-faced dong this, it is known as a ROIL flush.

12. Green land : EIRE.  The Emerald Isle, notably not the location of the Emerald City.

13. Seinfeldesque : WRY.  A la the humor of the TV show about nothing.  

21. Wagga Wagga welcome : G'DAY.   This is a city in New South Wales, Australia, Mate.

22. Starchy tuber : TARO.   A perennial tropical plant cultivated for its starchy tuber.

27. Shock absorber : PAD.  A thick section of soft material.

28. Saint at a gate : PETER.   In Matthew 16: 13-19,  Jesus renames Simon son of Jonah as PETER, and gives him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

29. Operational branch : ARM.  A subgroup dedicated to a particular purpose.

30. Mongrel : CUR.  Mutt.

31. "Geaux Tigers" SEC school : Louisiana State University.   Faux-French influenced slogan.

32. Wind down or wind up : END.   Slang terms "for bring to a close."  But a pitcher's wind up or winding up a spring-actuated mechanical device, such as the toy we will met shortly, gets things going.  One more reason to love the English language.   

36. Belly, to a tot : TUM.   Possibly derived from stomach.

37. Sean Lennon's middle name : ONO.   After his mum.

38. Jack-in-the-box flipper : LID.  Child's box-shaped toy with a crank used to start the action by winding up, and ends with a clown figure popping out through the LID.

39. Police blotter letters : Also Known As, indicating the use of an alias.

40. Lowest-ranking NCO : CPL.   Corporal is the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer.

42. Fried corn cake : FRITTER.   Any of several deep-fried, batter coated items, such as fruit, vegetables, or even meat.

43. __ Domini : ANNO.   The Year of our Lord, presumably starting with the birth of Jesus Christ, indicating a dating system that originated in the early middle ages.  But somewhere along the line, there was a mistake.  Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, who died in 4 B. C.

44. Has a few : TIPPLES.   Indulges in alcoholic beverages, and not as in 44A..

45. Treats, as a sprain : ICES.  Tin Man - note here an acceptable use for ice; to reduce swelling of a muscle injury.

47. Make certain : ENSURE.   Why do we have this word, along with "assure" and "insure?"  They came into Old English from Norman French, so that's who I blame.

48. Lao-tzu's philosophy : TAOISM.   Meaning the way, path or principle.  Greatly simplified -- living in harmony with all that exists.

49. Whip up : EXCITE.   As a crowd, or mob.

53. Fight (through), as a crowd : ELBOW.   Not so gently nudging others out of the way.   Not very TAOIST.

54. Considers : DEEMS.    Tracing back to an Old English root meaning to judge, the same as DOOM.

55. Composer Bartók : BELA.  Hungarian composer (1881 - 1945).  The shortest clip I could find (6:20) is is setting of Romanian folk songs for violin and piano.

56. Klutzes : OAFS.   An OAF is a stupid, uncultured or clumsy person.  Strangely, the word traces back to the old Norse word for elf.   The original meaning was "elf's child" [I'm assuming changeling,] later "idiot child," later still, how we use it today.

57. Stellar phenomenon : NOVA.   A cataclysmic nuclear explosion occurring on a white dwarf star.

58. Ring out : PEAL.   Specifically, the ringing of bells.

59. Nobelist Pavlov : IVAN. (1849 - 1936)   Russian psychologist famous for his work on classical conditioning.

60. Ball club : BAT.  You might think of a sports team, but that is a clever misdirection, and doesn't fit.  In baseball, the ball is clubbed with the BAT.   The example below is from a couple years ago.  Miggy seems to have his stride back, and has done something similar a couple times in the last week.




There you have it, a wandering in space and time, including a couple excursions into the English of our past, a dystopian view of the far future, a dollop or so of French, and finally back to current reality with some down-to-earth baseball.  Despite my earlier criticle nits, a pretty nice journey.

Cool regards!
JzB

Friday, Dec 18, 2015 Robin Stears

 Theme:  Igpay Atinlay

Aha!  It's this year's Christmas present from Obinray Earsstay.  She tweeted last year at this time, “It's just not Christmas unless we push our bodies to the brink of alcoholism and diabetes.”  Now there's a woman who gets it!  You can visit her for more examples of her quirky sense of humor.

As I was working this one, knowing I was going to have to 'splain it to you guys, I kept scratching my head.  What does OVERSTAY have to do with chocolate?  And in what world does EASTBAY mean “savage?”  The perps demanded that those answers be correct.  I finally came to the reveal:

 58a.  What four puzzle answers need to be written in:  PIG LATIN...and the V8 can came flying.   Utecay!

17a.  Big name in chocolate:  OVERSTAY (Stover, as in Russell)

21a.  Savage:  EASTBAY (Beast)

35a.  Loot:  UNDERPLAY (Plunder)

52a.  Lay waste to:  ASHTRAY (Trash)

Let's see what other presents Robin put under our tree...

Across:

1.      ___ appeal:  SNOB

5.       “The Girls Next Door” co-creator, for short:  HEF.  Hugh Hefner.

8.       Torus-shaped gaskets:  O-RINGS. Per Wiki:  In geometry, a torus (plural tori) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle.  But you knew that...

14.      Lift one's spirits:  TOPE.  If you lift them too often.

15.      Pay dirt:  ORE

16.      Secure again:  RESEAL. [Meh]  I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

19.      Against:  CONTRA. In another time (and what seems like another world), the CONTRAs battled the Sandinistas for control of Nicaragua.

20.      Crème de ___:  MENTHE. Because “la Crème” was too long and “Cacao” was too short.

22.      NATO member since 2009:  ALB.  No, not American League Baseball, but the country, ALBania.  Remember, we went to war against them in Wag the Dog.

23.      Says “y'all,” say:  ELIDES.  “Resides in Texas” was way too long.  DRAWLS would have worked, though.

26.      Time of one's life:  AGE

27.      Reunion group:  CLASS. “Aunts” would have fit, too.

29.      Beats Electronics co-founder:  DRE  (See 42d.)

30.      Danube tributary:  ILLER

 Those are the Allgäu Alps in the background – beautiful area of southern Bavaria.

32.      Early 20^th-century poet ____ Crane:  HART. No idea.

33.      Layer:  PLY.  Let's see the hands of those who confidently wrote HEN.

34.      The Beatles, e.g.:  IDOLS.  Tried BRITS first.

38.      IQ test name:  BINET.  I remember those standardized Stanford-BINET tests from my ute.

40.      Abu Dhabi is its cap.:  UAE.  United Arab Emirates.  I was there in the '80's.  I asked about a Stephen King novel in a bookstore, and was told, not so politely, not to mention that name there.  Okey dokey...

41.      Sounds from toys:  ARFS.  Wasn't fooled.

45.      “_____ run!”:  GOTTA.  Or as JzB puts it, IMBO.

46.      AC/DC song with the words “I'm dynamite”:  TNT.  Easy enough to suss.

47.      Road challenge:  GLARE

48.      Pharm. drop-offs:  RXS

49.      “WarGames”  computer.  JOSHUA.  Should have remembered that.  Didn't.

51.      Muscle mag subject:  PEC.  Mag indicates it'll be an abbrv.

55.      Biblical escape obstacle:  RED SEA.  “Holy Moses, Batman!”

57.      Get hot under the collar:  SEE RED.  Could be tough to parse. RED dupe.

60.      March:  PARADE

62.      Bluster:  RANT

63.      Treat badly:  STEP ON

64.      El ___:  CID.  Spanish hero played by Charleton Heston with a cast of thousands.

65.      Energy units:  ERGS. Hello again, old cw friend.

Down:

1.       Acid producer:  STOMACH.  Should have been easy enough to guess.  Wasn't.

2.       “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” for one:  NOVELLA.  Some might recall a minor movie.

3.       Spot for free spirits:  OPEN BAR.  Nailed it.

4.       Friend of Mary Poppins:  BERT.  All perps.

5.       Monopoly buy:  HOTEL

6.       Big time:  ERA

7.       Early 2000s “SNL” standout:  FEY.  Tina.

8.       “Blackfish” creatures:  ORCAS.  Political documentary.  Nuff sed.

9.       Model T contemporaries:  REOS.  Named for Ransom Eli Olds.  Many people think the Oldsmobile was named for him.  Correctomundo!

10,      “____ that special?!”:  ISN'T . Made famous by Dana Carvey.

11.      Court surprise:  NET BALL.  Tennis, I'm guessin'.

12.      Parking places:  GARAGES

13.      Buffy, for one:  SLAYER

18.      Tom Jones' “____ a Lady”:  SHE'S

21.      Shoebox letters:  EEE

24.      Between jobs:  IDLE

25.      Rehearsals:  DRY RUNS

28.      Double's job:  STUNT. Stunt-double in the movies.

30.      Wash. neighbor:  IDA  (Washington/Idaho)

31.      Steadfast:  LOYAL

33.      Wash. hours:  PDT.  The same Wash., not D.C.

34.      Key for Debussy?:   ILE.  Debussy was a French composer, and a key is an island.

36.      Teachers' org.:  NEA.  Standard crosswordese.

37.      Buddha's Noble Eightfold ____:  PATH.  Perps to the rescue.

38.      Choice ballpark location:  BOX SEAT

39.      “I found what you're looking for!”:  IT'S HERE

42.      Drake or Nelly:  RAP STAR.  If you say so.  Actually, I had first perped it as RAPSTER, but “Bluster” = RANT, not RENT, straightened me out.

43.      Letting go: FREEING

44.      Cosine reciprocals:  SECANTS.  Thank you, high school trigonometry.

45.      Comprehends:  GRASPS

46.      Stocking stuffer:  TOY.  Tried TOE first.

47.      Certain Celt:  GAEL.  There are several Celtic languages.  GAELic is one of them.

49.      Will Smith's second son:  JADEN.  Just how were we supposed to know that?

50.      Goaded:  URGED

53.      Sting, perhaps:  TRAP.  Narcotics sting.

54.      Modernize:  REDO

56.      Have the gumption:  DARE

58.      ___-Man:  PAC.  Many a squandered hour in my younger days...

59.      In this emplacement:  ICI. More French.  Shouldn't “In this” also have been in French? Oh, well...

That'll do it for me.  Glad to have had the opportunity to fill in today.  Lemonade will be back next week with his Christmas Special, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.  Desper-otto signing off.

Note from C.C.:

I would like to tell you about two coupled puzzles by my neighbor Steve Bachman (with some help from George Barany):  Wit and Wisdom, as explained further on this bachblog post. Even if you don't have time to try these puzzles, click on Steve's name for his inspirational personal story.

Friday July 18, 2014, Robin Stears

Theme: Does this puzzle go both ways?

In another variation of the letter substitution puzzle, Robin removes the letter "H" from some common phrases and inserts an "IT" in its place, and the resulting new phrases are skillfully clued. The clincher is the very witty reveal which reparses Switch Hit  to Switch H IT. As you all know by now, for me the reveal is critical to the enjoyment of this style of puzzle, and I love IT!  Robin has been with the LAT for many years going back to this PUZZLE She also is active on Twitter, and commenting on puzzles as well as having her own SITE promoting her puzzles and some books she has authored. This puzzle for me had the feel of a Friday with a low word count, no classic crosswordese and some fun 7 and 8 letter fill. ACETONE, ADOPTEE, ASUNDER, CELESTE, FERRARO, ROBERTS, CHATROOM, ETRUSCAN, LOIS LANE, SUGAR PEA.


17A. Imp who annoys the webmaster? : SITE DEVIL. (9) SHE DEVIL transformed. Odd to see this paired with its homonym as part of the theme.

24A. Security group at a protest? : SIT IN GUARDS. (11) SHIN GUARDS an appropriate fill for World Cup time, harkens back memories of college in the 60's.

34A. Quote from "Guerrilla Warfare"? : CITE GUEVARA. (11) CHE GUEVERA was another major player in the 60's media.

49A. Improved Gemini missile? : BETTER TITAN.(11)  BETTER THAN is a bit of a flat phrase but we are being consistent with a rocket from 60s. If you grew up when I did, or watched the movies you will remember the launches of the Gemini capsules. And the reveal,

57A. Swing both ways, and a literal hint to how four puzzle answers were created : SWITCH HIT.

Across:
        
1. 1980s Vicki Lawrence TV role : MAMA. The much younger Vicki played Carol Burnett's mother first on Carol's variety show and then on MAMA's FAMILY.(6:12).

5. Baylor University site : WACO. Where RG III and Brittney Greiner starred.

9. Cul-__ : DE SAC. We do not always want to use literal translations of French phrases incorporated into English. Not to be confused with 18D. Make potable, as seawater : DESALT.

14. Org. created in Baghdad in 1960 : OPEC. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

15. Emperor after Galba : OTHO. He was one of the 4 in the year of 4 Emperors, which I learned about from my Classics studying son. No operation or salad named for this one.

16. Taken : IN USE. I doubt the movies would have done very well with this title.

19. Person of influence : MOGUL. If you ever wondered, the name comes from the Great Mogul, Mughal emperor of India after the conquest of 1520s,

20. Steel plow pioneer : DEERE. A company built on a very simple premise. HISTORY.


21. Amy Adams' "Man of Steel" role : LOIS LANE. Why do the movies and TV shows always get it wrong; Lois is a brunette and Lana Lang the red-head. Once again a ginger.

23. "Baudolino" author : ECO. Author Umberto is becoming a favorite of constructors.

27. Mondale's running mate : FERRARO. Geraldine, if you forgot.

29. Cheesecake ingredient? : GAM. Pulp fiction word for an attractive female leg, probably from the Italian Gamba. Splynter are you out there? A classic.

30. Fondle : PET. Sounds weird.

31. Tasteless : BLAND. Ah, tasteless, not tasteless.

33. "Where __ you?" : WERE. A bad question to ever here from your SO.

38. Cheers : RAHS.

40. "On the Record" host Van Susteren : GRETA. No way to link this Fox news star without it ending up in political discussion.

41. Mozart's "L'__ del Cairo" : OCA.

42. Humanities degs. : MAS. Master of Arts

45. Oliver Twist, e.g. : ADOPTEE. Not my first or second thought.

52. __ mission : ON A. A Gemini one?

53. Ancient Po Valley dweller : ETRUSCAN. With a son who majored in Roman Archaeology, the pre-Roman Italian people  is another gimme.

54. Classics, e.g. : I-PODS. I am too old to understand this. (From C.C.:  This refers to iPod Classic model.)

56. Underground network : ROOTS. This clue/fill will grow on you.

60. CD alternative : T-NOTE.

61. Fleming and McKellen : IANS. An Odd Couple? James Bond and Magneto? Or Gandalf?

62. Hawk's foe : DOVE. A very vocal comparison from the 60s when the Vietnam War raged.

63. Certain car carriers : SEMIS.

64. Span. miss : SRTA.

65. Hip follower? : STER. This is an accepted suffix (mob, trick etc.) even if you do not like this type of fill. My personal favorite is easy. LOB. Anyway, hipsters abounded in the 60s.

Down:

1. Rapper Yasiin Bey, formerly : MOS DEF. I know him only from his films, certainly not his most recent name. He was born Dante Terrell Smith. Not a 60s reference.

2. Pricing word : A PIECE.

3. Astronomer's sighting : METEOR.

4. Aspire maker : ACER. Computer.

5. Distress : WOE.

6. Beach transp. : ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.

7. It may be seen on a dog : CHILI. Funny.

8. Chinese tea : OOLONG. Did you know the HISTORY? It ties into the ...

9. Chinese dish served on small plates : DIM SUM. An odd sort of Clecho.

10. __ Gay : ENOLA. I think it is time this clue was dropped.

11. Edible pod : SUGAR PEA. These are a form of snow or snap pea, not a sweet pea.

12. In bits and pieces : ASUNDER. Divorced anyone?

13. Pizza-For-One maker : CELESTE. A CSO to my son's MIL.

22. Supermarket letters : IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.

25. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE.

26. Half a patio pair : TONG.

28. MLB stats : RBIS. It should never be "RBI's" as the plural is Runs Batted In, still RBI, you can have 10 RBI.

32. Grooved on : DUG. here we go back to the 60s; I am home.

33. Trendy sandwich : WRAP. So last year.

34. Place to practice netiquette : CHAT ROOM.

35. Latin 101 word : ERAT.

36. Sacred Hindu text : VEDA.

37. Not accented, as syllables : ATONIC.

38. 1955 Fonda role : ROBERTS. Hey MISTER. (2:18) A wonderful romp with Hank Fonda, Jimmy Cagney, Bill Powell and a young Jack Lemmon (no relation).

39. Polish remover ingredient : ACETONE.It is where the smell comes from. If you smell that in someone's breath get them immediately to a hospital as it is likely caused by diabetic ketosis. Or too many orange certs.

42. Diddles (around) : MESSES. Not my first thought, nor likely Dennis'.

43. Hyperbola part : ARC. Not an exaggeration.

44. Equilibrium : STASIS.

46. One of Goldilocks' complaints : TOO HOT.

47. Vitamin K source : ENDIVE.This is the one vegetable I do not like.

48. __ egg : EASTER.

50. __-frutti : TUTTI. We have to go here: LINK. (2:05).

51. "__, truth is the first casualty": Aeschylus : IN WAR. Another topic I will avoid for non-political political reasons.

55. Third degrees? : PHDS. Philosophiae Doctor(s). Nice misdirection BA-1, MA-2, PhD-3.

58. Bank acct. entry : INTerest.

59. PC-checking org., at times : TSA. Transportation Safety Administration.

Another Friday in the record books, the  Open Tournament from Royal Liverpool is here to amuse us and of course in So.Fla. We have sun and have rain. Thanks Robin and thanks Corner.

Enjoy all. Lemonade out.