Friday, November 14, 2014, Steve Salmon

Theme: I loved this puzle (sic). It was awsome (sic). I had to fight with my computer to stop the correcting of the theme answers.

I believe this is the LAT debut of Mr. Salmon (the other pink meat) who has created a few NYT over the years. The five theme answers each have a common spelling mistake where a letter is omitted. How many of these do each of you get wrong? The missing letters can be silent in speech so they do not trigger an immediate sense of error. Initially I tried to make a secondary (meta) answer from the missing letters but can only come up with the anagram RUNGS from the missing letters, and there is no ladder tie in, so I guess they are just letters missing from misspelling. I do like the symmetry of theme 1/3/5 all missing a double letter and 2/4 missing a new letter. Another puzzle with many cheater squares (8) but a Fridayish word count and some nice words like ALLEGRO, ECUADOR, GLISTEN, OLD SALT, TIMPANI, AUGUSTAN, EYELINER, IN BACK OF, OFF RAMPS.
Okay, let's cast our lines and see what we catch...

17A. Making flush : EMBARRASSING (11). I often forget the double R, which in itself is....

32A. Feature of some jellyfish : FLUORESCENCE (11). If you can remember the element FLUORINE (at. no. 9) you will spell this one correctly. The only fishy clue.

24A. Pushy : AGGRESSIVE (9). RUG? Needed perp help.

46A. Administration : GOVERNMENT (9). I recall kids in school making this error, but the way the word is said is regional and some pronounce the "N" (me fore example) so this one was tricky. Listening to the news, I hear the word without the N as the dominant rendition.

52A. This puzzle's five longest answers are common ones : MISSPELLINGS (11). For a moment I was looking for a 5th (albeit 6th) misspelling, tricked by the reveal also being part of the theme. I thought that was great.

Across:

1. Arguing : AT IT. Can you believe the juxtaposition of this multi-dimensional fill with...

5. Colored part of the iris : AREOLA. A word this Corner associates with a woman and a lily.

11. Fold call : BAA. Cute poker misdirection.

14. Ho Chi __ : MINH. The life and times of this REVOLUTIONARY  present an interesting historical lesson.

15. Caribbean stopover : NASSAU. Our back yard, here in So. Fla.

16. Munic. official : Alderman. Most cities now have commissioners or councilmen but the ABBREVIAION is accepted.

19. Army E-5, e.g. : NCO. Non-Commissioned Officer.

20. You can usually see right through them : PANES. Nice misdirection.

21. Country named for its location : ECUADOR. Meaning 'of the Equator' in Spanish; I do not know where the term equator comes from though it sounds like it has a common stem with equal. The COUNTRY is a bit of an enigma with a socialist democracy.

23. Picnic contest gear : SACKS. Such as the ones used in the three-legged race.

26. Signs : INKS. LeBron inked his deal to go back to Cleveland.

27. Son, to Sartre : FILS. Simple French.

28. London gallery : TATE. We have seen this fill often, and maybe Steve and NC can share some personal moments at the Tate.

29. Obit bit : BIOgraphy. Which might be about...

30. Exiled Amin : IDI.

31. Test area : LAB.

37. Things to consider : IFS. Nice clue.

38. Golf club part : TOE. I do not associate the word with golf, though obviously I have hit it off the toe of a club. I found this one hard.

39. Thanksgiving staple : YAM. Are yours candied? Or are they sweet potatoes?

42. Instant : JIFF. Does Jiffy really need an abbreviation?

44. Suffix indicating absence : LESS. meaningless clue.

45. Blend : MELD. Pinochle anyone?

48. Selling points : MALLS. Modern misdirection.

49. Seasoned seaman : OLD SALT. I presume from the saltiness of the Ocean.

50. Willies-causing : EERIE.

51. Broadcast : AIR. Radio and TV.

56. Island loop : LEI.

57. Pre-WWII pope : PIUS XI. I do remember XII. Roman numerals.

58. Adopted great-nephew of Claudius : NERO. A great way to learn about these two and other Roman Emperors is watching this PBS series as I did back in the 70's. More Roman fill.

59. Initials seen at Indy : STP. They say it was named for Scientifically Treated Petroleum, and became famous when endorsed by Andy Granatelli and his driver Mario Andretti. I like Standard Temperature and Pressure.

60. Drinks daintily : SIPS ON.

61. Expected 2015 MLB returnee : A-ROD. He has made it clear he wants back on the Yankees and he has a contract. Imagine, you lose Jeter but  get A-rod.

Down:

 1. __ Zion Church : AME. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. I had this before or I would not have been able to answer; a Friday piece of knowledge. LINK.

2. Symphonic set : TIMPANI. Fancy name for kettle drums used in orchestras.

3. Behind : IN BACK OF. Literal.

4. Response to a helper : THANKS. So simple.

5. Literary collections : ANAS.
an·a ¹  (n, än)

n. pl. ana or an·as

1. A collection of various materials that reflect the character of a person or place: definitive ana of the early American West.

2. An item in such a collection.

6. Dorm minders, for short : RAS. Resident Advisers.

7. Sicilian capital? : ESS. The Capital "S" at the beginning of the word.

8. Willows for wickerwork : OSIERS. A botanical fact and a Friday word as well.

9. Camelot weapon : LANCE. King Arthur had to be careful of his wife to be sure she did not Lance a lot.

10. Like the works of Virgil and Horace : AUGUSTAN. A Golden Age of LITERATURE. Another reference to old Rome.

11. Crook : BANDIT.

12. Nook : ALCOVE. Not a cranny.

13. Worship : ADORE.

18. Attorney's thing : RES. More Latin.

22. Easy __ : AS ABC. We just had "as pie."

23. Jacob, to Esau, for short : SIBling.

24. Hill helper : AIDE. Refers to Capitol Hill and the aides to the Senators, etc.

25. What icicles do in the sun : GLISTEN.

27. Douglas and others : FIRS. Oh Tannenbaum, almost time for the tree shopping.

31. Sediment : LEES. Not to be confused with TRUB. Despite my children's involvement in the beer and wine industry, I did not know this TERM.

33. "__ Little Ironies": Thomas Hardy collection : LIFE'S. never read them.

34. Some exits : OFF RAMPS. Not 'of framps', relating to one of Peter Frampton's guitars.

35. Run to : COST. Took me a long time to get to, how much is repairing my car going to run to.

36. Goth makeup : EYELINER. My youngest hung out with some of these young ladies in High School.

40. Score direction : ALLEGRO. I will let JzB explain this slowly.

41. HMO group : MDS. Medical Doctors.

42. City SW of Chicago : JOLIET. Somehow I always associate this city with the old Untouchables TV series.

43. ICU hookup : IV DRIP. Intravenous Drip. More Latin meaning within the vein.

44. Eases : LETS UP.

45. Place with berth rights : MARINA. An old puzzle pun.

46. Shootout successes : GOALS. In Hockey and Soccer to settle ties after overtime.

47. Mid-11th-century year : MLIII.

48. Harris of "thirtysomething" : MEL. One of the early big ensemble cast dramas.

50. Tiger's ex : ELIN. I gave her pictures last time.

53. Ltr. afterthoughts : PSS. More Latin, Post Scriptum.

54. Outside: Pref. : EXO.

55. Astrodome field's lack : SOD. What a convoluted clue for grass.

Well we have lots of Latin, and old Roman, two Roman numerals and a consistent theme and some challenging fill. Sounds like what a Friday should be. Thanks for coming our way Mr. S. and thank you all for being here. Lemonade out.