Saturday, Jul 8th, 2017, Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

Our last construction from Mr. Donaldson was one co-authored with Brad Wilber in October last year; prior to that, he had a Saturday dating back to 2009.  No hang-ups during the solve for me, a few proper names and some odd 'rare' words, but overall a fun puzzle. Chunky corners, only 4 three-letter words, and a friendly "get-there-from-here" grid which included single nines, paired nines and a couple of 10-letter answers;

30a. Riding in the far-left lane, perhaps : CARPOOLING

Check out the next door neighbor over the fence

37a. Producer who developed "The Jeffersons" : NORMAN LEAR

 EARWORM~!

12d. "No need to be scared of me" : I DON'T BITE - hard.  Or maybe you like being bitten....?

29d. Big storm : NOR'EASTER - where I live today, this type of storm and a full moon could lead to flooding.  Scary.

StO(n)p WA(rd)ffling~!

ACROSS:

1. Gone for the summer, perhaps : AT CAMP - Figured it was school related, and started with AT HOME, which was close

7. Elegant pool entrance : SWAN DIVE - I was thinking we were looking for a noun like 'diving board', not the 'action' of entrance; I had a diving board go out on one of my trucks yesterday - there's no limit to what we will ship these days....

15. Jet Ski competitor : SEA-DOO - I knew SKI-DOO would not fly, but I was close

16. NFLer from 1982-'94 : L.A. RAIDER

17. Trick : TRIP UP

18. Last of Sophocles' Theban plays : ANTIGONE

19. Off-base : ERRANT

20. Post-sunburn phase : PEELING

21. Midway game : RING TOSS - ah, not SKEE BALL

23. Number of hills di Roma : SETTE - knew the answer was "seven", but spelling it was....

24. "30 for 30" documentary series airer : ESPN

25. Touch with gauze : DAB AT

27. They may be fake : TANS - my favorite fake tan look

34. NYSE debut : IPO - New York Stock Exchange, Initial Public Offering

35. "Ciao Italia" chef Esposito : MARYANN - perps

36. Cable co. acquired by AT&T : TCI

39. Ocean hazard : REEF

40. Unalaska native : ALEUT

41. Blocking action : VETO

43. Performs surgery on, in a way : LASES

45. Braised chicken dish : COQ AU VIN - we've seen this before on Saturday

49. Runner with big eggs : OSTRICH

51. Final syllable : ULTIMA

52. Lobster sensors : ANTENNAE

53. Otis of elevators : ELISHA - I did not know his first name - his Wiki

54. Men's department fixtures : TIE RACKS

55. Forwarded : SENT ON

56. Decorative herbs : PARSLEYS - spell check is not happy, but it's OK with me

57. Training aids : TREATS - ah, dogs

DOWN:

1. Michaelmas daisy : ASTER

2. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI - filled via perps

3. Memorial rocks : CAIRN - oops, not STELE

4. Much magazine content : AD PAGES - well, I knew it was AD 'something', or 'something' AD(s), but PAGES took a while

5. Goes up : MOUNTS

6. Coke holder : POP-TOP CAN - "Coke" seems a little too specific - I can get Diet Dr. Pepper in a pop-top can, too - or is the author trying to throw us off with the "gram" type of coke~?

7. High-fives, e.g. : SLAPS

8. Ebb : WANE

9. Crafts in Cancún : ARTES

10. Attached by pounding : NAILED ON - I was close, had NAILED TO

11. Technology catchall : DIGITAL - I'm not a huge fan of all these companies that jumped on the Apple bandwagon and offer their products with "i-something" names; did you hear about Apple's new make-up line~? It's called iShadow.

13. Retaliation : VENGEANCE

14. Word of relative time : ERE - I had ERA, and did not get my "ta-DA~!"

22. Jam : SNARL

26. "What a long week!" : TGIF - Thank God It's already past July 4th, as far as I am concerned

27. Turner of music : TINA

28. Michael Corleone's first wife : APOLLONIA

31. Reuben setting : RYE - ah, had me confused at first

32. Finnish distance runner Nurmi : PAAVO - OK, I cheated - I Googled this answer to get a foothold in the middle

33. For the asking : ON REQUEST

35. __ instinct : MATERNAL

38. Summons (up) : MUSTERS

39. Dancer's program : ROUTINE

42. Like one looking down on his neighbor? : TALLER

44. On account of : SINCE

45. Musical whose plot involves a two-person tournament : CHESS - I had "-HE--", and this seemed like a logical WAG.  The game I conceived went with me again to Delaware last weekend and I worked out the details with Mike as a two-player version; now I need to get some people together and try it with four players

46. Windows 7 precursor : VISTA - I'm still with XP, and content - but Firefox has stopped supporting the software.  Gonna have to cave at some point to the "future"

47. Cry from one on a streak : I'M HOT - also got lessons from Mike on how to really play Texas Hold'em, since he gets out to the Dover casinos once in a while

48. Asian breads : NAANS

50. Like dried mud : CAKY

52. Novak Djokovic's org. : ATP - sounds like a tennis name to me

Splynter

Note from C.C.: 

I'm sad to let you know that Leah (Chickie on our blog) lost her husband Bill on July 6th. Chickie was very active on our blog for many years. She and Bill just celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary last month. You're in our thoughts, Chickie.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017 Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: here is it is in full.

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

20. 2010 Best Picture Oscar winner : THE KING'S SPEECH.

27. Become born-again, perhaps : GET RELIGION.

37. United Nations gathering : GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

44. Self-publishing option : VANITY PRESS.

The theme fill contain some of the key words of the specified rights, and the unifier seals the deal.

52. Source of the freedoms found at the ends of this puzzle's four other longest answers : FIRST AMENDMENT.  Of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Well, here we have the two things that we do not discuss here - politics and religion. We do need to report on and discuss the content of the puzzle - and most particularly the theme - but let's all please respect the spirit of the ground rules.  The theme is well timed, coming during the week of Memorial Day.

So, let us ASSEMBLE our wits, PRESS on, and SPEAK FREELY about the rest of this puzzle.

Across

1. Resorts with body wraps : SPAS.  Saunas, towels and robes.

5. Hook-shaped ski lift : J-BAR.  

9. Canon setting : F STOP.  The ratio of a camera's focal length to the diameter of its aperture, hence a dimensionless number relating to lens speed.

14. Formal agreement : PACT.  Treaty, deal, settlement.

15. Deep sea predator : ORCA.  AKA killer whale

16. PEN/Faulkner, for one : AWARD.   Recognition for achievement.

17. Wastes away : ATROPHIES.  Withers, shrives, shrinks.

19. Beantown team : CELTS.  Pro basketball.

22. Env. insert : ENClosure.

23. Former Mississippi senator Trent : LOTT.  Was in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1988, then in the Senate from 1989 to 2007.  In 2008, opened a lobbying firm with former Senator John Breaux.  Careful, now.  More politics.

24. Post-J.D. degree : LLM.  Legum Magister, Latin for Master of Laws.  [In Latin the plural of a word is abbreviated by repeating the initial.]

33. Ready for a kick, with "up" : TEED.  In football, a kick off is generally executed with the ball placed on a kicking tee.

35. Society page word : NEE.   From the French word for "born," generally referring to a married woman's maiden name.

36. City bonds, for short : MUNIS.  Municipal Bonds are securities issued by a local authority to finance a capital project.  The are frequently exempt from federal taxation.

41. Layer with a hole : OZONE.  An upper atmospheric layer. 

42. Pocatello sch. : ISU.  Idaho State University.  Their mascot is Benny the Bengal.

43. "The Da Vinci Code" priory : SION.  Well - this is confusing.

48. Health products chain : GNC.  General Nutrition Center.

49. One who may converse in Erse : GAEL. Gaelic person from Ireland or Scotland. 

50. Top bond rating : AAA.  Indicating the highest degree of credit worthiness.

59. Argue with : JAW AT.  

60. One selling wheels : CAR DEALER.   "Wheels" being vernacular for a vehicle.

61. Online party notice : E-VITE.  A portmanteau of electronic and invitation.

62. Pelee Island's lake : ERIE.  Located in Canadian waters, but for me, this hits close to home.

63. Zilch : ZERO.  Nada, nuthin'.

64. Decreases in strength : WANES.   Or any other measurable characteristic.

65. Phone-answering asst. : SEC'Y.  Administrative Assistant.

66. Social sci. major : ECONomics.  The flip side of the political coin.

Down

1. Cross words : SPAT.  An argument.

2. Way to go : PATH.  A route from point A to point B.

3. Farm fraction : ACRE.  Land area measure.

4. Feed with fuel : STOKE.  Specifically, solid fuel, as coal.

5. WWE wrestler in the film "Trainwreck" : JOHN CENA.  No idea.

6. Naval lockup : BRIG.   Jail on a ship.

7. Pocket rockets, at the poker table : ACES.  A holding of pocket aces in the game of Hold 'em.

8. Fight, in the sticks : RASSLE.  Wrestle, in the city.

9. Video chat option : FACE TIME.  Proprietary Apple app.

10. Trees with fragrant sap : SWEET GUMS.

11. Gymnast's powder : TALC.   Used to absorb moisture and as a dry lubricant.

12. Straight: Pref. : ORTH.  From the Greek.

13. Troopers' gps. : PDs.  Police Departments.

18. Troubling engine sound : PING.

21. D.C. figure : POLitician.

24. No. 2 at the statehouse : LT. GOV.  Lieutenant Governor.

25. Talk show host who won "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2015, familiarly : LEEZA.  Gibbons.

26. Runners occupying bases : MEN ON.  They want to go home, but often do not get there.

28. No. in a contacts list : TELephone.

29. Broadcast again : REAIR.

30. With a lot at stake : IN BIG.   As a wager or financed deal.

31. Rub __: lubricate : OIL ON.

32. "Bye Bye Bye" boy band : NSYNC.  Mainly popular in the late 90's

34. Bad-mouth : DENIGRATE.  Disparage, belittle, denigrate.

38. Samples again, during cooking : RETASTES.  This entry feels awfully strained, and not especially in the language.

39. Memphis-to-Mobile dir. : SSE.   Tennessee to Alabama.

40. "The Partridge Family" actress : SUSAN DEY.  [b 1952]

Stock photo

45. To date : YET.  Up to now.

46. Pre-curtain call : PLACES.  Everyone get into position.

47. "Smooth Operator" singer : SADE.

51. Floor : AMAZE.  Frex: I was floored by that revelation.

52. Broad bean : FAVA.  Pairs well with a nice Chianti.

53. Triumphant shout : I WIN.

54. Stable mother : MARE.  Just horsing around.

55. Old Norse explorer : ERIC.  When you get exiled for being too obnoxious even for the Vikings to put up with, you might as well go sight seeing.

56. Util. bill : ELECtricity.

57. Detective Wolfe : NERO.  Created by Rex Stout.

58. 1982 sci-fi film with a 2010 sequel : TRON.

59. Passover observer : JEW.  Start with politics, end with religion.  Passover commemorates the Israelites departure from ancient Egypt.

Well, folks, that wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope you were able to exercise your freedoms and still get through the puzzle without too many arguments.

Cool Regards!
JzB

May 26, 2017, Friday, Samuel A. Donaldson

Title: Give them the finger!  Link.

Sam (not from TV) Donaldson is back for my third time to blog his work. A really creative grid with only 32 blocks and the likely controversial theme content 11-4-9-4-11. The unwritten rule about theme fill being the longest fill...well I bet some will object. For me, the central fill makes that rule seem silly for this puzzle.

Mr. D. also worked a bunch of fun stuff into his grid like OX TEAM, SIN TAX,  OLD VIC, KAVNER, SAL SODA, TABULAR,  ACREAGE, DESK SET, OPEN TOE,  ALTIMAS,  PLATYPI, KEPT FIT,  ODDBALL, REISSUED, VAN DAMME...this puzzle is a keeper.

17A. Prioritizes self-interest : LOOKS OUT FOR (11). Looks out for number one is a very popular phrase, both by those in favor and opposed.

34A. Championship team cheer : WE'RE (4). We're number one! The puzzle blogging family!!!

35A. Words needed to complete four puzzle answers : NUMBER ONE (9). The oddly placed reveal that made this an awfully easy Friday.

38A. "Let's Make a Deal" choice : DOOR (4). Being home 24/7 I managed to see a few minutes of Wayne Brady as Monty Hall....I quickly closed door number one.

58A. Object of a serious hunt : PUBLIC ENEMY (11). Is is me, or have they stopped publicizing the FBI 10 most wanted list (and the public enemy number one)?

Across: 

1. Smelling __ : SALTS.

6. Olympic racers : LUGES. This was made tricky by the author.

11. Paving goo : TAR.

14. Dispatch boat : AVISO.  Here is the HISTORY.

15. Unpleasant chores : SLOGS. Vague.

16. Missile from Venus? : ACE. Nice deception- Venus Williams, a tennis service.

19. Sports __ : BRA. More Venus?

20. Levy on liquor : SIN TAX.

21. Printed again : REISSUED.

23. Dedicated works : ODES.

24. Nicholas and Peter : TSARS.

26. Buck : CLAM. Old fashioned words for money.

27. Matched office accessories : DESK SET.

29. Alternative to throwing out : STORAGE.

31. Spots : ADS.

32. Treat roughly : MAUL.

40. Square placed on a square board : TILE. Scrabble anyone?

41. Scaled diagram : MAP.

44. Stayed in shape : KEPT FIT. Venus?

47. Eccentric : ODD BALL.

49. Not free, with "for" : A FEE.

50. Bygone "SNL" rival : MAD TV. Not a real rival.

52. "At Last" singer James : ETTA. A classic. I love this.

53. "Timecop" star : VAN DAMME. He is still working. LINK.

55. Diamond mine? : I GOT IT. Great baseball misdirection. When I was 6 or 7, in a family game a pop-up was hit my way. I yelled, " I got it, I got it, I think I got it!" Family was in stitches.

57. Fanatic : NUT.

60. "Evil Woman" band : ELO.

61. __ Gay : ENOLA. Isn't time to put this trivia out to pasture?

62. "It's __!": "We've been tricked" : A TRAP.

63. Numbered rd. : RTE.

64. Aired anew : RERAN.

65. Vermouth bottle name : ROSSI. The bottle I remember.

Down:

1. Grill-cleaning solution : SAL SODA. Not to be confused with Baking soda.

2. Ducked : AVOIDED.

3. Nala, notably : LIONESS. Lion King.

4. "Shame!" : TSK TSK.

5. McGwire's 1998 rival : SOSA. Mark and Sammy - baseball, number 3.

6. Team with a live tiger mascot : LSU. A gimme for Susan, Big Easy, Boo and others.

7. UHF component : ULTRA. Ultra High Frequency.

8. Fetching employees? : GOFERS. Those who fetch- go for.

9. Altruist's opposite : EGOIST. Deducible.

10. Ukr. and Lith., formerly : SSRS. The U made them united.

11. Like spreadsheets : TABULAR. Reminded me of  these BELLS.

12. Plot : ACREAGE. Easy if you do real estate.

13. Name for a help file : READ ME.

18. Ones working together on a farm : OX TEAM. Sorry Sam, but my meh of this puzzle.

22. Slope of loose stones : SCREE. Similar to talus...yeah that helps. My unknown even after filling with perps.

25. Concert souvenir : STUB. I used to save my backstage passes.

28. Blue character : SMURF.

30. Possessed : OWNED. No exorcist needed.

33. Umpire's call : LET. Tennis.

35. Famous : NOTED.

36. Laugh-a-minute sort : RIOT.

37. It was originally established as the Royal Coburg Theatre : OLD VIC. The HISTORY.

38. Fallback provision : DEFAULT.

39. Showing off a pedi, perhaps : OPEN TOE.  You think SPLYNTER?

41. Shouldn't be ignored : MATTERS. It....

42. Nissan models : ALTIMAS.

43. Duck-billed mammals : PLATYPI. Latin plural -us leads to -i.

44. Julie who voices Marge Simpson : KAVNER. Rhoda's little sister.

45. Not susceptible : IMMUNE.

46. Emmy winner Jeffrey of "Transparent" : TAMBOR. I loved him as Hank.

48. Suspect : BE ON TO.  Onto?

51. Street of mystery : DELLA. She worked for Perry.

54. Mimic : APER.

56. Reverse, e.g. : GEAR.

59. Creator of Q and M : IAN. Fleming and he also created Bond, James Bond.

RIP Roger Moore, you were a fun Bond. Slowly trying to get back in shape, and this work out helped. Samuel made me work for the solve and it was a great . Hope you enjoyed the puzzle and all have a great Memorial Day. My oldest granddaughter has a dance recital to highlight my week end.
Thanks Mr. D. Lemonade out.

Saturday, Oct 22nd, 2016, Brad Wilber & Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,Z)

Blocks: 32

   Brad Wilber is a familiar name, but I did not recognize the co-author today - he has contributed several times to the LA Times, mostly Fridays.  The grid itself looked like a typical weekday puzzle, not so intimidating.  I forgot to set the clock, but I do believe I went over my allotted personal time.  The triples on the left and the crossings of the names in the SE slowed me down, again, and had to guess for most of them.  Triple 10-letter corners in the Down, and a pair of 11-letter climbers crossing a pair of 9's;

8. They may provide track details : SLEEVE NOTES - I filled this in, but did not make the connection - I was thinking "track" as in horse racing, not albums/CDs

 back half of a sleeve from a 1985 album

29. Turning point? : USE BY DATE - har-har

23. Signs of infrequent cleaning : DUST BUNNIES

 you might not want to look too closely

44. Line after Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!" : "ET TU, BRUTE~?" - the whole phrase

O.N..W...A....R.....D......~!

ACROSS:

1. Rose of rock : AXL - of Guns N' Roses fame

4. Incidental catches by South Pacific tuna fishermen : OPAHS

9. Mall Santa, probably : TEMP

13. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - the "-dontic" part helped me out

15. "Finding Dory" studio : PIXAR - "Finding Nemo" characters return

16. Reject : PUSH ASIDE - ah, the verb, not the noun. 

17. As expected : ON CUE - strange.  I nailed this.

18. Roundup group : STEERS - POSSE was not long enough

19. When the French fry? : ÉTÉ - Frawnche summer

21. Terrible's two : ARs - the two "R"s of teRRible

22. Presented an invention? : LIED - clever

24. Compared with : VIS-À-VIS - from the Frawnche for face to face

26. Canada's highest peak : LOGAN - OK, I cheated.  I looked at a list of mountains in Canada

31. World leader whose name shares its last four letters with a state : OBAMA - this was my first guess, since it had occurred to me in the past that Obama and Alabama had the common ending

32. Together : SANE - Oh, that kind of together

33. "South Park" kid : STAN - or KYLE~!?  I went with STAN, then switched, and then switched back

34. Station that employed Lou Grant : WJM - before my time; perps

35. WWI hero portrayed by Gary Cooper : SGT. YORK - again, before my time

38. Bond yield: Abbr. : INTerest

39. Creepy look : LEER - I saw your wolfish look yesterday, Lemonade

41. Not much at all : A BIT - SOME~?  A FEW~?

42. Golfer with an "army" : ARNIE - R.I.P.

46. Longtime Indiana senator Dick : LUGAR - perps and two WAGs

47. Hall of Fame outfielder Richie of the '40s-'50s Phillies : ASHBURN - perps and two WAGs

48. Automaker that introduced headlight wipers : SAAB - oops, not AUDI, but I was close

50. Last pres. born in the 19th century : DDE - not sure if we were looking for a short name, or initials.  At first I had was "E" in the middle, since I misspelled the Frawnche crossing

51. Dr. for women : GYNecologist

52. Cold-stricken : RHEUMY - Dah~!  Not CHILLY - that's 33.33% 100% correct, tho

56. Coventry coolers : GAOLS - argh~!  I was stuck looking for some sort of drink to 'cool' off.  This is the clink, the brig, the gulag, the pokey....

58. Corfu locale : IONIAN SEA - my "OMA" WAG was a big help here

61. Impressive lineup : ARRAY

62. "A Room With a View" author : E.M. FORSTER - his Wiki

63. Final crossing? : STYX

64. Nixon-Brezhnev missile pact : SALT I

65. Approved : OK'D - again, had it, took it out, put it back in

DOWN:

1. Some dadaist works : ARPS - ooo, close, I went with ARTE

2. Cross off : X OUT

3. Shake, as a tail : LOSE - when you are 14d.

4. Ovoid winds : OCARINAS

5. So five minutes ago : PASSÉ

6. Young Darth's nickname : ANI - Anakin Skywalker

7. Victimized : HAD

9. __ can : TIN

10. Dig action : EXCAVATING

11. Senegal neighbor : MAURITANIA - I got it, but don't ask me how I knew it

12. Common computer manual step : PRESS ENTER

14. Running, with "on" : THE LAM - a Blue Öyster Cult song~!

15. Browning field : POESY - I had a feeling POEMS was not going to last

20. River through Umbria : TIBER

25. Break fillers : ADS

26. Focus of an EPA phasedown introduced in 1973 : LOW LEAD GAS - I tried "NON" at the start, but it was not jibing for me

27. Curiosities : OBJETS D' ART - more Frawnche - we got hit hard today~!

28. Mathematical approach to military strategy, say : GAME THEORY

30. "Speak!" : "SAY IT~!"

36. Chess luminary Kasparov : GARRY - Larry, Barry, Garry, I tried them all

37. Much of Botswana : KALAHARI - SAHARAN did not fit - because I was too far north

40. Barbecue seasoning : RUB

43. 17th-century Flemish painter : RUBENS

45. Film Warren commissioned? : BUGSY - I had the "--GSY" part, so I hardly read the clue

49. Hilarious : A RIOT

53. "Teach __ number our days": Psalm 90 : US TO

54. Like doormats : MEEK - I like this door mat

more funny ones here

55. Sale area : YARD - ah, took a moment.  I like "yard saleing"

57. Negligent : LAX

59. Medical suffix : OMA - a cancerous growth/tumor

60. Org. with Colts and Cowboys : NFL - and a gimme to end the day

Splynter

Friday, July 15, 2016, Samuel A. Donaldson

Title: Gunther Toody, where are YOU.

This Samuel A. Donaldson, has been with us since 2009 .  It is time for his annual LAT Friday, with his last one being a sound alike as well. He is on a roll with 3 NYT and a WSJ all recently.  With a background in tax law, you know he has a great sense of humor and this offering, where we replace the o͞o  sound with the ē sound does require imagination. The theme jumped out at me with the Tina Fey and knowing the T from ARTTEST  was correct. I love getting into the mind of our constructors and picture how a phrase like TEA FOR TWO (Tē for To͞o ) becomes a perfect reveal for this puzzle. As I have said often, for sound puzzles, the reveal is the 13D, and I loved this one.

There are also is much sparkle to the fill such as ART TEST,  THIS ONE,  VENTNOR,  ENSLAVE, ECHELON,  DUST RAG,  SET DATE,  KNEE PAD,  LAERTES,  I KNEW IT, COUNTS ON and IMPLANTS.  Let go to work.

17A. What Fey does in a mushy moment? : TINA MELTS (9). I eat lots of tuna melts.

24A. Ornamental ducks? : GARDEN TEALS (11). Garden tools are more needed than the gnomes.

36A. Model high schoolers? : FINE TEENS (9). Fine tunes has many meanings.

51A. Park statue that might have the real things perched on it? : STEEL PIGEON (11). Stool pigeons are very important to the police.

And the reveal:

60A. "No, No, Nanette" song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across : TEA FOR TWO (9).

Across:

1. Quads with wheels : ATVS. Four wheelers.

5. Perry of pop : KATY. So did I.

9. Two-iron, before golf club numbering : CLEEK. The whole SET.

14. Orator's prowess: Abbr. : RHEToric.

15. Der Spiegel article : EINE. And 65A. Der Spiegel rejection : NEIN.

16. Modicum : OUNCE. This was difficult for me as an ounce seems like more.

19. Forward : UNSHY. "I saw them come out and I saw that they were naked, unshy, beautiful, and full of grace, and I watched the naked women walk out of the sea.”― John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever

20. Sandal feature : T-STRAP. Jimmy Choo.

21. Work the room : MINGLE.

23. Long time : EON.

28. Blanket in a belt : SNOW. Another hard one to decipher for me. Snow belt?

30. Beefcake subjects : HUNKS. Familiar?

31. One given at a wedding : VOW. One or two.

32. Polo of "The Fosters" : TERI. Don't know the Fosters, only the Fokkers.

33. Provençal possessive : SES. No grammar error this time.

34. 1974 #1 country hit for Dolly Parton : JOLENE.

39. __ Pie : ESKIMO.

42. Slowing, on scores: Abbr. : RIT. Ritardando (or rit.) is an indication to gradually decrease the tempo of the music (opposite of accelerando). Wiki.

43. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G. No politics here.

47. Home office, maybe : DEN. Do people have dens anymore?

48. Quite cold : POLAR. Vortex anyone?

50. Number on a clapperboard : TAKE. The name of this device used in filming movies etc.

55. Sylvan Tolkien creature : ENT. Talking trees.

56. Airport snags : DELAYS.

57. Dreaded : FEARED.

59. Hit lightly : TAP ON. The start of the two word fill.

63. Sudden jerk : START.

64. Way off the highway : EXIT.

66. Second chances : REDOS. Do over did not fit.

67. "__ arigato": Japanese "thank you very much" : DOMO. Did you all think of this song?

68. Where el sol rises : ESTE. The sun rises in the east in Mexico also.

Down:


1. "Draw me" challenge : ART TEST. Two words.













2. Selective words : THIS ONE.I really overthought this one. A second two word fill in the downs.

3. Avenue next to Monopoly's Water Works : VENTNOR. Anyone still playing Monopoly?

4. Headliner : STAR.

5. __ straight face : KEEP A. Two words.

6. Come down with a bug : AIL.

7. Big blowup cause : TNT. Cute cluing, not an argument.

8. Sycophants : YES MEN.  Again. Sychophant, literally "one who shows the fig,"

9. Has faith in : COUNTS ON. Again.

10. Sudden movement : LUNGE.

11. Subjugate : ENSLAVE.

12. Command level : ECHELON. "the upper echelons of the business world"

13. Exam marking aid : KEY. I remember working as a TA using these to grade multiple choice test papers.

18. GQ or SI : MAGazine.

22. HP product : INKJET.

25. South Korea's first president : RHEE. Or was it RYU? This MAN.

26. Cleaning aid : DUST RAG. Again.

27. Baltic Sea country: Abbr. : SWEden.

29. Airport connection : WIFI. Really tricky but simple once you see it.

33. Joe Cool, sans shades : SNOOPY. Hmm, this should be SNEEPY?

35. Exam for a would-be atty. : LSAT. Really an exam for a would be law student.

37. Surgical installations : IMPLANTS. I am not in favor of these but I could not resist a LINK.

38. The Emerald Isle : EIRE.

39. Text tweakers, briefly : EDS. Editors can be tweakers, but in the puzzle world they do much more. If you think a clue is bad, it may not be the original thought of the constructor.

40. Appointment : SET DATE. Again.

41. Patella protector : KNEE PAD. We wore them back in my wrestling days. 2 wds.

44. Ophelia's avenger : LAERTES. How cool, some Shakespeare. Also his father...
“I dare damnation: to this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I’ll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.”

45. "Aha!" : I KNEW IT. I knee it?

46. Finish : GET DONE. Again.  Another thought came to mind. GET 'ER DONE.

49. Being handled by a broker : LISTED. Real estate broker; our closing business is doing very well as Florida real estate has recovered.

52. What Spanish Olympians go for : EL ORO. The gold.

53. Heading for : OFF TO. Off tee? Again.

54. Con beginning : NEO.

58. Former Education secretary Duncan : ARNE. No politics but a CONTROVERSIAL person.

59. Original D&D co. : TSR. Dungeons and Dragons

61. Outer: Pref. : EXO. The opposite of Endo.

62. Intent : AIM.

Well I know Sam aimed to please with this effort and I thought the theme was really tight with two "OO" and two "U" all transferring to well clued EE sounds. Some humor in the cluing/ fill. There was not much crosswordese, just real words and phrases. I had fun, and I hope you all did. Stop by and say hello Mr. D., as an active member of other blogs we would love to have your comments.

Lemonade out.

Friday, April 17, 2015, Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: Add a letter, add a pun and stir.

Four in the language phrases which have a word beginning with "W" are re-imagined by adding a "T" before the "W" and creating a soundalike, but differently spelled word. So we have a bit of add a letter and a bit of a punfest. This is our 10th LAT from the mind of Mr. Donaldson, who is a law professor with a fondness for tax law (coincidence this is tax week and his 2014 was published in April?) as well as a frequent visitor to other crossword blogs. His last effort here was a really fun letter substitution where we changed X to G and the meaning changed from prurient to pure. He was first published in the  NYT in 2008, with 16 under his belt there. You can read all about him in the 2009 interview which is linked to the right.

The puzzle sets up as a more conventional Friday based on word length and blocks, with some nice non-theme fill like FELT HAT,  SEASIDE, LAKE ERIE,  ONE FIFTH,  PEDIGREE,  TEA LEONI, CREAM SODAS, ERIC KARROS. He had told C.C. he like compound answers so see how many you find. Anyway, let's take a ride together. The combination with two gridspanners and humor and as well as picking the right words is hard to flesh out, so let me know what you think.


16A. Nail the Miley Cyrus impression? : TWERK LIKE A CHARM.(15). WORK like a charm mean it does well (like magic?) and we all know twerking. right? PG13 (2:18)

24A. Permanently deleted electronic message? : SHREDDED TWEET. (13) Shredded WHEAT.

41A. Minor trade adjustment? : BUSINESS TWEAK.(13)Business WEEK magazine.

55A. "The spasm preceded the other symptoms, Doc"? : TWITCH CAME FIRST. (15). WHICH came first, the chicken or the egg?

ACROSS:

1. Year in which Salieri was born : MDCCL. I did not recall this Italian composer who also was a teacher to some very famous pupils. LINK. This made for a tough start.

6. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame : OTIS. No elevator here, this sweet clue.

10. Sports __ : BRA. Any more famous than this picture?

13. Key artery : AORTA.

14. Seattle's __ Place Market : PIKE.. A little home field clue for Sam who lives there.

15. Hazmat suit hazard : TEAR. Tear not tear; defeats the whole purpose.

19. "Madam Secretary" star : TEA LEONI. She has many failed tv shows.

20. "Family Feud" source : SURVEY. "Survey says...."

21. Stately tree : ELM.Stately Elm by Robert Hinshaw

Elm once clad in gold
   Has shed its colorful cloak
       Awaits winter storms
         Bare limbs lifted heavenward
            As if in supplication.

22. "... __ the set of sun": "Macbeth" : ERE. Shakespeare or not, three letters it is going to be ere.

23. Disney title girl from Hawaii : LILO.

30. Cinch : SHOO- IN. Nice fill.

32. "Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!" poet : POE. Lenore. LINK.

33. GPS suggestion : RTE. Route.

34. Prod : NUDGE.

35. Michaels et al. : ALS. The sports announcer from the 1980 miracle Olympic Hockey broadcast and now voice of MNF.

36. End notes? : OBITS. Like this clue/fill as well.

38. Pay extension? : OLA. Payola. Radio scandal from my childhood.

39. It goes around in winter : FLU. Sad but true.

40. Antarctic transport : SNO-CAT. Logical if unknown.

45. Majestic quality : HALO.  Angelic?

46. Playboy nickname : HEF.

47. Kentucky Colonels' org. : ABA. About the fifth time I have gotten the old American Basketball Association.

50. "The Caine Mutiny" Oscar nominee : BOGART. Wonderfully acted movie. Also a synonym of
25D. Be selfish about, in a way : HOG.

53. Genealogical record : PEDIGREE. We think more about animals but it applies to people as well.

57. Used to be : WERE.

58. Hendrix hairdo : AFRO.

59. Royal __: scheduled 2016 British Open site : TROON. St. Andrews this year. LINK.

60. Unmatched : ODD. Fooled me. I luckily do not lose many socks in the wash.

61. The Taj Mahal, e.g. : TOMB. I was taught it was man's greatest erection for woman.

62. Garden plant that thrives in shade : HOSTA.

Down:


1. Lackluster finish : MATTE. Also tricky adding to the rough start for me.

2. Wooden pin : DOWEL. But this was easy....

3. Vanilla treats : CREAM SODAS. This was not easy,  but really nice fill.

4. Key not used alone : CTRL. Computer key, duh!

5. Bass Islands locale : LAKE ERIE. A CSO to our own.

6. Wrote an essay, maybe : OPINED.

7. Polynesian carving : TIKI. This is part of a CULTURE.

8. Turner of entertainment : IKE.

9. Vacation area : SEASIDE. How quaint.

10. Oregon State athlete, for short : BEAVers. In this age of pc sports team names, this animal does live on the edge.

11. Rather red : RARE. Nice alliteration and misdirection for 4 letter fill.

12. Legion : ARMY.

15. Lose illegally : THROW. The college basketball scandal of the 50's another from my youth.

17. Winner of six David di Donatello acting awards : LOREN. The ageless beauty....

18. __ film : CULT.

23. Some August babies : LEOS. My father was one.

26. Low grade : D PLUS.

27. Fox commentator who was the 1992 N.L. Rookie of the Year : ERIC KARROS. One of many failed Dodger first baseman since Gil Hodges.

28. Singer James : ETTA. Time for another LISTEN. (3:00).

29. Try : TEST. My patience?

30. Self-appointed expert : SNOB.

31. Online TV giant : HULU.  Their story. LINK.

35. Moreover : ALSO.

36. Common liquor purchase, once : ONE FIFTH. It is 1/5 of a gallon. Now the bottles are 750ml.

37. Scary squeezer : BOA. Alliteration again.

39. Homburg, for one : FELT HAT. Bah.

40. Nobel, for one : SWEDE. A Friday misdirection.

42. "__ when that happens" : I HATE.

43. Buster? : NARC. Another misdirection, nice!

44. Tough syndicate : THE MOB. Next to the narc?

48. Get drunk : BESOT.

49. Insurance giant : AETNA. This unlocked the entire corner for me.

50. USAF stealth plane : BTWO. I will leave commentary to all of our flyboys.

51. Due : OWED.

52. Prepare, as for action : GIRD. Ah, the loins. GIRD GIRO, so close.

53. Chicken __ : PARM. Hmm, do you serve Chicken Parmigiana, or chicken parmesan?

54. Early copter : GIRO. Easily infer-able but I find no reference to this other than as AUTOGIRO.

56. One may be a CPA : CFO. Chief Financial Officer.

Well another Friday done with lots to talk about, Sam stop by and give us some insight. Enjoy all; lemonade out.

Friday, April 25, 2014, Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: This is no PG-13 puzzle.

We have a letter replacement puzzle with the change from the highly controversial X-rating to the family friendly G-rating. We have asterisks and a reveal which made this seem as awfully easy theme for a Friday. There are many proper names, some difficult, but what makes it special is the phrases chosen to have the final letter of the second (all 3-letters long) of a two word phrase replaced, all begin as somewhat salacious in nature and emerge as completely harmless with the G ending. The rest of the puzzle has much in the way of fun fill, especially longer ones like BEAN BAGS, IN UNISON, ESPECIALLY, PIZZA SLICE, SEMI-ANNUAL ZERO MOSTEL, CHEAP THRILL, MIRACLE MILE.  Mr. Donaldson has been published often in the NYT as well as being a regular  contributor at Crossword Fiend though he has published no puzzles in the LAT since 2011. Here is the interview C.C. did back when. LINK.

8. *Scarlet letter? : SIN TAG (6). Most people are lucky they do not really collect a SIN TAX, and as I said I reread Scarlett Letter recently...meh.

20A. *Rio jokester? : BRAZILIAN WAG. (12). If you are familiar with BRAZILIAN WAX you can understand why it is x-rated. I chose not to link the VIDEO and was fascinated to learn the practice goes back 6 or 7 thousand years.

33A. *Law against certain intra-family marriages? : OEDIPUS REG. (10). I am sure you all know the STORY of Oedipus REX. Likely not related to REX PARKER, NY Times puzzle blogger.

38A. *Game disc on the farm? : CHICKEN POG. Chicken is one of many POX diseases, and it was thought at one time they all had sexual transmission links. POGS were popular when my kids were little.

48A. *Fighter running on tequila? : MARGARITA MIG.  The Russian fighter jet. I hope the pilots are not fueled by alcohol. Margaritas often lead to partying and who wants a drunken bomb dropped...

And the reveal,  59A.  Like the answers to the starred clues before they were edited : X-RATED.

Across:

1. Sputnik letters : CCCP. The Cyrillic letters for SSSR look like our Latin letters CCCP.

5. Insert : ADD.

14. "Hello, I didn't see you there" : OH HI. My first misstep, as I wanted "Oops." made me question CCCP for a second.

15. Tax-advantaged vehicle : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

16. Like unmiked orators, maybe : HOARSE. Mr. Ed being often a hoarse horse, of course.

17. Collins contemporary : BAEZ. Judy and Joan, my first thought was Joan Collins. One of my favorite concerts was watch Joan Baez perform at Tanglewood. I could not find that performance, so... LINK. (4:45).

18. Like some sales : SEMI-ANNUAL. Like Macy's white sale.

22. Part of a black suit : SPADE. Sometimes I enjoy feeling stupid, as all I thought of were suits of clothing and Sam Spade before the playing card misdirection caught me.

23. It may be packed : GUN. Cute, and fits well with Sam Spade. How many of our readers pack heat?

24. Grand squared : MIL. 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000. Mil not an abbreviation but a colloquialism.

27. General of Chinese cuisine : TSO.

28. "Bueller? Bueller?" actor Stein : BEN. Jimmy Kimmel's uncle.

29. "Die Lorelei" poet : HEINE. Lorelei was pictured as the temptress on the rock.

31. Shaver brand : WAHL.

35. First-century Judean monarch Herod __ : AGRIPPA.  Grandson of Herod the Great, and friendly with Caligula.

37. Portion portion : SUB-PART. Lawyers love sub-folders, sub-parts, sub-sections.

40. Prefix with morph : ECTO. And its brother ENDO.

41. Healthy greens : KALES. The KALE SMOOTHIE is the most popular drink at Whole Foods market here.

42. Storage unit : BIN.

43. Muscle prone to tears, briefly : ACL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament. One of the 4 major knee ligaments.

44. Fashion monogram : YSL. Yves St. Laurent.

45. A long way : FAR.

46. Waffle __ : FRIES. I really wanted IRONS, this was obscure, but it could have been Curly___ and I would have been no better off.

52. Tevye-playing Tony winner : ZERO MOSTEL. As old timers may remember I did get to see Topol in his farewell tour as Teyve. Zero's son Josh was/is also a comedian.

55. Prom rental : LIMO.

56. Inverse trig function : ARCSIN. Interesting to see SIN twice in the grid even if the words and sound are so different.

57. Spreading tree : ELM. Most New England elms were devastated by Dutch Elm Disease when I was growing up, thought the one is this painting will last forever.

58. Foreign attorneys' degs. : LLBS. In the US the degree is a Juris Doctor, a doctorate degree requiring a completed undergraduate degree. My father went into a program where he never received a college degree only his LLB in the 30's. The "LL." of the abbreviation for the degree is from the genitive plural legum (of lex, law). Creating an abbreviation for a plural, especially from Latin, is often done by doubling the first letter (e.g. "pp" for "pages"), thus "LL.B." stands for Legum Baccalaureus in Latin. It is sometimes erroneously called "Bachelor of Legal Letters" to account for the double "L".

60. Call for help : SOS. I just love the term"backronym." LINK.

61. "Uh-huh" : YEAH.

Down:

1. Georgia county planned to be the 2017 home of the Braves : COBB. This is where Marietta is located, and is named after an old Senator, not Ty.

2. Blackens : CHARS.

3. It doesn't provide lasting enjoyment : CHEAP THRILL. Dennis, they are playing our song. Immediately followed by a quickie...hmmm.

4. Quick lunch, perhaps : PIZZA SLICE. Cute clue.

5. Window alternative : AISLE. Airplane seats, not house related.

6. German crowd? : DREI. Three is a crowd even in German.

7. Broken : DAMAGED.

8. Gymnast Johnson who was a "Dancing With the Stars" winner : SHAWN. I wonder if this show is popular enough to consider this a fair clue.   WATCH. (4:37) BTW his name is Hough.

9. Inner Hebrides isle : IONA. Off the coast of Scotland, it is also the name of a College in NY. In Hebrew the name means dove.

10. Da __, Vietnam : NANG. A name I only know from the War.

11. Play about Capote : TRU.

12. Hard-rock link : AS A.

13. Crystallize : GEL. As an idea it is a common expression, but logically are gels crystalline? J E L L OH NO!

19. How a chorus may sing : IN UNISON. Hopefully.

21. Vow on a stand : I DO. "do you solemnly swear...?"

24. Site of Los Angeles' Museum Row : MIRACLE MILE. I do not know that are, only the one in Coral Gables.

25. Like krypton : INERT. Without the capital K, Superman is not involved.

26. Not a __ stand on : LEG TO.

28. Contoured chairs : BEAN BAGS. What a classy description for a very cheap item.

29. Connecting flight site : HUB.

30. In particular : ESPECIALLY.

31. Nonsensical : WACKY. Are cluing favorite.

32. Ottoman nobility : AGHAS.

33. Ajar, poetically : OPE. There is no 'ope for this clue.

34. Curly-tailed canine : PUG. Funny looking guys.

36. Soccer stat : PKS. Penalty kicks. And an appropriate shout out for our regular and her many imitators.

39. 1979 World Series champs : PIRATES. Random even for a baseball fan such as myself; though I recall the Mazeroski home run in 1960, nothing about 1979 stands out in my mind unless it was the Sister Sledge , "We are family." (3:34) team..

43. What life imitates, so it's said : ART.

45. Fern leaf : FROND. Also from Palm trees.

46. Festival features : FILMS.

47. 1994 film king : SIMBA. Lion King anyone.

48. Very : MOST.

49. Grenoble gal pal : AMIE.

50. Move shortly? : RELO. Perfectly regular clue, but I for one do not like the fill.

51. "My stars!" : GOSH.

52. Either of two stubborn Seuss characters : ZAX. Not in my wheelhouse.

53. Go off : ERR. I think of this meaning more yelling at someone., "I went off on my secretary when she brought me a plain latte."

54. Early 'N Sync label : RCA. Radio Corporation of America. I went to grammar school with one of the Sarnoff children. he did not light up the screen.

Well chugging along through early spring, which has hung on giving us some spectacular weather, we will be back in May.  Some obscure proper names, but it is Friday; enjoy the week end all

Lemonade 714 out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Kazie, who has been faithfully contributing to our blog since the summer of 2008. Over the years, she has shared with us many photos from her overseas trips. Kay speaks fluent French and German.

Kay and her husband Barry on Tamborine Mountain, overlooking Brisbane