Friday, Jun 7, 2019 Bruce Haight

Process S

18. Paul Bunyan resting his eyes?: SLUMBER JACK.   Lumberjack

28. What a boring sermon might precipitate?: SLEEP OF FAITH.  Leap of faith.

48. Like lectures after a big meal?: SNOOZE WORTHY.  Newsworthy.

62. Unexpectedly mild storm?: SNORE EASTER.   Nor'easter.

Bruce's punny play today should subconsciously induce you to get some more rest as he leads common words and phrases with an S,  and changes spelling as needed.  Click on Process S above if you wonder about the theme title.

Across:

1. Leading trio: ABC.  "It's easy as 1,2,3 or simple as do-re-mi, a,b,c,1,2,3, baby you and me, girl."  Name the group.

4. Cheese made from cow's milk: GOUDA.  One of hundreds.

9. Space Invaders platform: ATARI.  Gaming has come along way from the original arcade style single player games like Space Invaders.  I read about colleges and universities offering programs and scholarships in eSports after Husker Gary commented about the college in his city.    Apparently UC Irvine has one of the most noted programs.

14. Swing adviser: PRO.  A golf pro, aka a PGA professional.

15. Come clean: OWN UP.  Fess up, or cop to,  as was in Michael Wiesenberg's Saturday puzzle that Husker Gary blogged.

16. More cold and wet: RAWER.  Weather.

17. Play critic?: REF.   A referee on the field of play, such as in football or soccer.   A nice misdirection.  I wonder if there are eRefs in eSports gaming ?

20. They might be cracked: SAFES.   Safecracker is often yegg in crossword puzzles.

22. Pool tactic: MASSE. 

23. Sushi garnish: ROE.  Fish eggs.

24. Highly season, as eggs: DEVIL.   Is roe ever deviled ?    History.com gives us The Ancient History of Deviled Eggs

26. Head for the hills?: ASCEND.  Climb.

32. Opposite of stiff: TIP.  Loved this one, too.   Even with bad service, I'd leave something on the table.

33. Belgian city in 1917 headlines: YPRES.  Famous WWI battle site.

34. Region bordering Mex.: SO CAL.   Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes.  So Cal is the land of 10,000 quakes.

38. Project Mercury chimp: ENOS.   The USSR had sent Yuri Gagarin into orbit earlier.  The US took a more conservative approach, not wanting to risk a human life.   Enos died less than a year later of unrelated causes.

40. Helpless numbers?: SOLOS.   You are on your own.

42. Ask: POSE.   Query, inquire, question...

43. "Same here": ME TOO.

45. '70s TV talk show: DINAH.   Dinah Shore, of course.

47. Suzuki's Quadracer, for short: ATV.   Didn't know this, but it was easy to figure out.   I read that prior to the introduction of the Quadracer, the sport all terrain vehicle market was dominated by three wheel ATV's.

 Milestone Suzuki models that changed the sport

51. NFLer who was a 2017 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year honoree: JJ WATT.  This guy is a phenomenal athlete on the field for the Houston Texans.   He's also a class act away from the game, using his celebrity for charitable work that has raised millions to help those in need.

54. Cuffed, old-style: SMOTE.  A learning moment.   I did not know that the second definition of cuff was to strike someone with an open hand.

55. Attention: EAR.  Give me your attention for a moment.

56. Drifters: HOBOS.  Sometimes you can find drifters under the boardwalk, down by the sea. Having some fun, people walking above.  Falling in love.

60. Celebrations with nos.: B-DAYS.  Numbers / birthdays

65. Prefix with -bar: ISO.  You'll hear isobar on The Weather Channel frequently as storms roll in.

66. Pronged: TINED.  As in a fork or a rake.

67. "Fingers crossed": I HOPE.  Wish for luck.

68. Case study?: LAW.   A case study is a detailed examination, but if you study cases, you are probably in law school or in the profession.   Sue me for malfeasance if you disagree.

69. "Love Story" author: SEGAL.   Perps.  Saw the movie with Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal, but didn't read the book.

70. __ bar: TAPAS.   Have never been.  Will go one day.

71. Part of GPS: Abbr.: SYS.   Global Positioning System.   Owned by the United States.  Operated by the US Air Force.

Down:

1. Financing figs.: APRs.  Annual Percentage Rates.   Truth in lending.

2. Depression Era sight: BREADLINE.   And soup kitchens.  

3. Morning aroma source: COFFEE POT.

4. Spewing dirt?: GOSSIPY.   Like a yenta.

5. Night __: OWL.   Shout out to a number of our regulars !  As they say, if the shoe fits, wear it.  While we're at it, let's have a shout out to the early birds here.    What is your chronotype ?

6. One for the money?: UNUM. E. pluribus unum.   It means "Out of many, one."

7. Russian legislative body: DUMA.  Russian studies are not my bailiwick.  But I gather it is sort of like a combination of the US Congress and the departments of the executive branch.

8. LAPD messages: APBS.    Los Angeles Police Department / All Point Bulletins.

9. Stops: ARRESTS.  Clever wordplay.   For instance, a spark arrestor stops (arrests) potentially flammable exhaust particles (sparks) in outdoor equipment and machines that have combustion engines.  Like on that Suzuki Quadrunner, or on a chainsaw.

10. __ Boston: luxury hotel: TAJ.

11. Clued in: AWARE.

12. Drone job: RECON.  Plenty of drones in the air over the flooded rivers, fields and towns after the record rainfalls in May.  

13. Miffed: IRKED.  Some of the golfers in my league have been miffed that the carts have been limited to cart paths only.  The fairways, especially the low lying areas, have been waterlogged. One nearby private course hasn't opened for play yet.

19. Morales of "Ozark": ESAI.  A fine actor that has gained additional fame in crosswords due to his vowel friendly first name. 

21. "The serpent deceived me" speaker: EVE.  The story can be read in Genesis.

25. Cuts: LOPS.

27. Cut of meat: CHOP.

28. Curtail: STEM.

I love those three in row.  Cuts, Cut and Curtail. Lops, Chop and Stem.  How slick was that ?

29. Tolkien hero: FRODO.  From J.R.R. Tolkein's trilogy.   I read the books.   Never saw the movies.

30. Start of a seasonal Spanish greeting: FELIZ.   Feliz navidad.  Prospero año y felicidad.  Merry Christmas and a prosperous year filled with happiness.  The words from the very popular and enduring Christmas song by José Feliciano.

31. Together: AS ONE.   United.   How about a little Rhapsody in Blue ?



35. Metaphorical influence: COATTAILS.  Early in my career a first line manager told me he was riding the second line's coattails to the top.   It was the first time I'd heard the word used in that sense.

36. According to the proverb: AS THEY SAY.  The answer wasn't apparent by the clue alone, and the perps did the lion's share of the work for me.  As they say, good things come to those who wait.

37. Duty: LEVY.  Tax.

39. Cub slugger: SOSA.  Sammy.   For certain,  a polarizing figure,  but ...

"...Many believe he and Mark McGwire helped put baseball on the map again in a resurgent 1998 season that helped make the strike of 1994/95 an afterthought.  Count me among that group, as well.

He deserves all the credit in the world.  People would show up to Wrigley just to see Sosa run out to the right field bleachers and camera bulbs flashed by the thousands every single time he came up to the plate for the better part of a decade.  Waveland was sometimes so packed with ballhawks that there wouldn't be room to walk."  -  Tony Andracki  nbcsports.com.

41. Cuts: SAWS. Clecho back to 25D.

44. Officially injured, in previous baseball lingo: ON THE DL.  Disabled List.

46. Men of La Mancha: HOMBRES.   Today's Spanish lesson.   La Mancha is a region of Spain. Cervantes wrote his classic novel Don Quixote de La Mancha about a man from La Mancha that lost his sanity, aspired to live the life of a chivalrous knight, and among other things, tilted at windmills.

49. Siouan people: OTOE.  The Otoe-Missouria Tribe history.  Until reading that article, I did not know that the state of Nebraska gets its name from two Otoe-Missouria words which means “water flat.”

50. Hot __: ROD.


51. Kids: JESTS.  Hey you jests !  Get off of my lawn !

52. __ and Jack, 2019 Gap acquisition: JANIE.  Not familiar, but I gather from a few quick reads that they are purveyors of fashionable clothing for children 0 to 6 years of age.

53. "Guess again": WRONG. 

57. Tempt: BAIT.

58. Org. concerned with plants: OSHA. Actually, any private workplace, and most public workplaces as well, but I liked the misdirection.

59. "Hold it right there!": STOP.  Halt ! Avast ! Freeze !

61. Scatters in a field: SOWS.

63. Blues-rocker Chris: REA.   We sometimes get actor Stephen. 

64. Radon-regulating org.: EPA.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019 John-Clark Levin & Jeff Chen

"Tiny Bubbles"

4. It's often worn with a hood and mortarboard: ACADEMIC ROBE.  10^-6 or 0.000001

10. Computer screen array: DESKTOP ICONS.  10^-12 or 0.000000000001

25. Longtime late-night host: CONAN OBRIEN.  10^-9   or 0.000000001 

26. Don Ho's signature song ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: TINY BUBBLES.


The circled answers are three of the twenty metric system "unit prefixes" used in the International System of Units (SI).   The prefixes are used for multiples or  fractions of the seven base units of measurements, which include second for time, meter for length, kilogram for mass, etc.   In case you missed the news, big changes occurred yesterday, May 20, 2019 as the redefinition of the base units went into effect.

However, the theme is Tiny Bubbles, and we have:

• Microbubbles - Used in biomedical imaging and for targeted drug delivery.
• Nanobubbles - Change the characteristics of water molecules, with widespread potential uses.
• Picobubbles - Being studied to improve extraction in phosphate production.  

Who knew ?  I only knew of microbubbles, and that led me to see if there were indeed, nanobubbles and picobubbles. 

If you aren't buying in, just count all of those zeros in the SI unit prefixes as Tiny Bubbles.

Moving on...

Across:

1. Fur-protesting org.: PETA.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

5. Criminals, to cops: PERPS.  Perpetrators.   Perps, to cruciverbalists:  perpendicular answers.

10. Idiotic: DUMB.

14. With, in France: AVEC. 

15. Paying careful attention: ALERT.

16. Biblical twin: ESAU.  The hirsute one that sold his birthright.

17. California county known for vineyards: NAPA.

18. JFK Library architect: I.M. PEI.  As you are aware, he died last week at 102.  Jackie Kennedy chose an unknown architect named I.M. Pei to design the Kennedy Library

19. Talked like a rat?: SANG.

20. Shoe brand with a three-stripe logo: ADIDAS.

22. Jabbing rudely: POKING.

24. Rescue helicopter: MEDEVAC.

26. Something for serving the English breakfast?: TEA TRAY.

27. Spanish hand: MANO.  Anatomy.  Mano a Mano: hand to hand. 

28. Crushing on: INTO.  Adoring on, or idolizing. 

29. Fronton game word: ALAI.  Didn't know the word fronton.  Had the clue been "Cesta game word" jai alai would have come to mind.   As it was, perps provided the answer.   If you are looking for a venue where you can watch a match, here's a list:  Frontons in the USA

32. Like about-to-be-toppled dominoes: ON END.

34. Surreptitious summons: PSST.

38. Branded wares, informally: MERCH.  Merchandise.

40. American gymnast Raisman with three Olympic gold medals: ALY.  Three Golds, Two Silvers and a Bronze in Olympic competition:

41. Magazine name: TITLE.  Caught me thinking of masthead names. 

42. Preface, briefly: INTRO. 

43. Tip of a quill: NIB.

44. Ensure the win: ICE IT.

45. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO.  Shakespeare.  That's about all I know about it. 

47. Send to iCloud: UPLOAD. 

49. "Doctor Who" airer, familiarly: THE BEEB.    "...a nickname originally coined by Peter Sellers...and popularised by radio DJ Kenny Everett."

50. Smoothie maker: BLENDER.

52. Gained altitude: ROSE.

53. "Survivor" faction: TRIBE.  If interested, here's a list of the tribes of "Survivor" through the years.  I think I've watched perhaps a total of 10 minutes of it in the 38 "seasons" it has been on TV.  They must average about two seasons a year, since Wiki tells me it has been on since 2000.   Apparently it's a very popular reality series.

55. Stud farm stud: SIRE.

56. Latin art: ARS.

57. Not yet sleeping: STILL UP.

59. Chicago ballplayer: CUB.


60. Show on which Tina Fey co-starred for six seasons: SNL. 

61. Cooks' prep tools: PEELERS.

62. India pale __: ALE.

63. "Yo!": HEY !

64. Bar tender in Tokyo?: YEN.  Two words for the currency clue rather than the singular word for an occupation.

65. For instance: SAY.  FREX, as JzB would abbreviate FoR EXample.

66. Blanc who voiced Bugs: MEL.


Down:

1. Former Delta rival: PAN AM.  Never flew Pan Am, but was a Delta frequent flyer member.  The only thing I got from them in return was lost and misrouted luggage at Hartsfield.   Still have my card

2. Give the slip: EVADE. 

3. Lukewarm: TEPID.

5. Italian chum: PAISANO. 

6. Massachusetts state tree: ELM.   They also have a state rock.  It's called Plymouth. And a state cream pie and terrier dog, both called Boston.

7. U.S. House member: REP.

8. Cursor beginning?: PRE.  Precursor - a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.

9. Grad student's income: STIPEND. 

11. Delta rival, as it was once known: US AIR.  US Airways, nee Allegheny Airlines, merged with American Airlines.   I remember the expansions of Pittsburgh International in the 70s and 80s, largely to support Allegheny / US Air.   TWA was the other major carrier that had a hub at Pittsburgh.

12. Exodus food: MANNA.

13. Glitch-ridden, as software: BUGGY.   Hopefully the bugs are caught in Beta Testing.

21. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.

23. Bread grain: OAT.

29. "What __ missing?": AM I.

30. "Stormy Weather" singer: LENA HORNE.


31. In a naive way: ARTLESSLY.

33. Giants QB Manning: ELI.  The New York Giants of the National Football League.

35. Stabilizer for movie shooters: STEADICAM.   Invented by Garret Brown.  He also invented Skycam, "the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events."

 Description

36. Outmoded calculator: SLIDE RULE.

37. Hanoi New Year: TET.

39. Sharpen: HONE.

41. Shower wall piece: TILE.

46. Divan kin: SETTEE.

48. Thorax membrane: PLEURA.  More anatomy.  Thank you perps.   The Crossword Corner's  resident physician wouldn't need to look these up, but I had to.  The last anatomy class I had was in high school...

• Thorax - "the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen, including the cavity enclosed by the ribs, breastbone, and dorsal vertebrae, and containing the chief organs of circulation and respiration; the chest.
• Pleura - "each of a pair of serous membranes lining the thorax and enveloping the lungs in humans and other mammals."

49. Garbage: TRASH. 

51. Defy authority: REBEL.

54. __-at-ease: ILL.

57. MI6 agent: SPY.

58. "Gangnam Style" musician: PSY.   The video, if you care to watch it.   Now with 3,349,033,725 views and counting.   That's 3.349 billion  (10⁹⁾  or 3.349 gigaviews,  if one were to use the SI unit prefix.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019 Mark McClain

B.C.

16. *Privates' training site: BOOT CAMP.

5. *Unlimited budget, figuratively: BLANK CHECK.

10. *Uris WWII novel: BATTLE CRY.

29. *System with only ones and zeros: BINARY CODE.

35. *Picture-taking Brownie: BOX CAMERA.

63. Apparent setting for a two-letter comic strip suggested by the answers to starred clues: STONE AGE.

Across:

1. Part of an urban fleet: CAB.

4. Recipe amt.: TBSP.  More or less, to (your personal) taste.   Except in most baking, where measurements should be precise. 

8. Eva of "Green Acres": GABOR.

13. Tire filler: AIR.

14. Part of a Basque ball game name: ALAI.   We saw Basque last Thursday with 20A clue/answer:  San Sebastián beachgoer?: BASQUE IN THE SUN,  followed in the comments by:
  
 Haiku Harry said...
     Tall Jai Alai guy sucked.
     Teammates suggested, he play
     BASQUEtball, instead ...

As OKL would say, "The prescience of the blog..."

15. Deli counter staple: SALAMI.

A Guide to Italian Salami, Charcuterie and Cold Cuts

18. Very cold: ARCTIC.

19. Soothing succulent: ALOE.

20. Forever, it seems: NO END.


22. Aptly named autopilot in "Airplane!": OTTO. Crossword Shout Out !

23. Similar to: LIKE. Akin.

24. Oscar winner Winslet of "The Reader": KATE. Saw Winslet and 4 letters, entered Kate.

25. Chum: PAL.

26. Fourth quarter mo.: DEC. December. diciembre in Spanish. décembre in French.

28. Big brass: TUBA. High ranking military officers would not fit. 

30. MPG-testing org.: EPA.  Standard MPG disclaimer: "Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle."  

33. Surprise attack: AMBUSH.

36. "__ Brockovich": ERIN.

37. Swindle: CON. Cheat.

38. Framed in the darkroom for artistic effect: CROPPED.  Crossword constructor, pianist, composer, naturalist and photog extraordinaire John Lampkin has contributed over 1000 images to BugGuide.Net.   He caught this Fungus Beetle crawling over another one:

40. Nearly obsolete golf club: ONE IRON.    It's really tough to hit this club consistently.   The one iron, along with the two iron, three iron, four iron and sometimes even the five iron, are increasingly being replaced by hybrid golf clubs, especially among amateur players.   It's becoming increasingly rare for even the best players in the world to carry a one iron in the bag.

42. Word after trail or party: MIX.

43. On the rocks: ICED.  "What is, How Tinbeni never orders his drinks ?" said James Holzhauer to Alex Trebek.

45. Diamond-shaped pattern: ARGYLE.   Scott, you are dearly missed.

46. "Outta here!" PC key: ESC.

47. Kitchen gadget brand: EKCO.   Kitchamagigs.   Founded in Chicago in 1880, the Edward Katzinger Co was one of the earliest manufacturers of kitchen utensils and products.   The name change to EKCO Products Co. was in 1945, and by the 1950's was producing every conceivable pan, gadget and utensil. - WIKICONIC and The Encyclopedia of Chicago.

48. Campaigned: RAN.

49. Throw in: ADD.

51. Courtroom fig.: ATTY.  Figure / Attorney.

53. Santa Anita data: ODDS.   

57. Prefix for half of Earth: HEMI.   Northern and Southern, as determined by the Equator,   or Eastern and Western,  defined by the Prime Meridian.   I guess it depends on how you want to divide it.   So much divisiveness in the world today. 

59. Acid used in cooking oil: OLEIC.

60. Hilarious routine: RIOT.

61. Removed the pull tab from: OPENED.

65. Calm: SERENE.   25 minutes outside of Lake Tahoe is a place called Serene Lakes

"Serene Lakes, a time warp of a Sierra mountain resort..."

66. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.

67. Hoops net holder: RIM.

68. Mail-order pioneer: SEARS.  Sears was a mail-order watch business starting in 1886,  but Montgomery Ward was the mail-order pioneer 14 years earlier in 1872,  offering a varied 163 items in his first mail-order catalog. 

69. Have to have: NEED.

70. "I did it!": YES.    Yes, I mowed the wet lawn between rainstorms last Wednesday.  It had to be done.  Then had to mow again Sunday afternoon.

Down:

1. Conspiratorial group: CABAL.

2. Garlicky sauce: AIOLI.

3. Trout's home: BROOK.

4. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

6. Popular Girl Scout cookie: SAMOA.  According to girlscouts.org:

• Thin Mints. ^®
• Caramel deLites^®/Samoas. ^®
• Peanut Butter Patties^®/Tagalongs. ^®
• Girl Scout S'mores. ^®
• Do-si-dos^®/Peanut Butter Sandwich.

7. Lab tube: PIPETTE.  A slideshow: From Beakers to Volumetric Flasks

8. Narrow, bony fish: GAR.

9. Metal industry giant: ALCOA.

11. Drop from a list: OMIT.

12. Puerto __: RICO. 

15. Down in the dumps: SAD.

17. Prepared to drive, in golf: TEED UP.   Better to be teed up than teed off.

21. Prefix with surgery: NEURO.

25. Bakery-café chain: PANERA.    Pane (Italian for bread) and era (time).    Panera = Bread time.

27. Spotted: ESPIED.

31. Health club amenity: POOL.

32. Green Gables lass: ANNE.  The classic children's novel.

33. Wile E. Coyote vendor: ACME. 

34. Open __: scans for the claustrophobic: MRIs.

39. Window sticker: DECAL.  I'd pay the full MRSP shown on this sticker for a Gran Turismo Omologoto.

 See the full sticker here

41. Pay no heed to: IGNORE.

44. Loves to a fault: DOTES ON.

50. Informal eatery: DINER.

52. Book cover info: TITLE.

54. Personal journal: DIARY.

55. Wayward calf: DOGIE. 


56. Flower supporters: STEMS.

57. Hefty Cartwright brother: HOSS.  Played by Dan Blocker.   At 6'4" and weighing 300 pounds, hefty seems an apt physical description.   14 pounds at birth. 

 Bonanza Cast Trivia Facts 

58. Olympic weapon: EPEE.

 Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online 

59. Tribute in verse: ODE.

62. Nav. rank: ENS.  Naval / Ensign.   I learned that a naval flag is also known as an ensign.

64. Actor Beatty: NED.

Note from C.C.:

Say hello to Melissa's granddaughter Harper Rose! Look how excited her bigger sister Jaelyn is! 

Melissa's brother Rick is also coming home this coming Friday. What an ordeal for him and his family, esp Melissa.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

"SHIP WRECKS"

18. Performances by Chippendales dancers: STRIP SHOWS.

23. Jubilation: HIGH SPIRITS.

38. Slam-dancing area: MOSH PIT.

50. Right now: AT THIS POINT.


61. Sea disasters, and a hint to what's literally hidden in 18-, 23-, 38- and 50-Across: SHIPWRECKS.

Ship gets jumbled, or wrecked, so to speak, in this latest offering from Bruce and Gail. 

Across:

1. Campaign donation orgs.: PACS. Political Action Committees

5. Actor's nickname heard in the song "Key Largo": BOGIE. The lyric is,  "We had it all.  Just like Bogie and Bacall."    "Here's looking at you, kid."


10. Be in sync (with): JIBE.

14. Airline that doesn't fly on Shabbat: EL AL.  "El Al is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems to protect its planes against surface to air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft." - Wikipedia

15. Diarist Nin: ANAIS.   "We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are." – Anais Nin. 

16. Spoken: ORAL.

17. "The Beverly Hillbillies" daughter __ May: ELLY.    Jed's daughter.   A tomboy and an animal lover, here shown with one of her "critters."

20. Sidekick: PAL.  Batman and Robin, Wyatt and Doc, Snoopy and Woodstock

21. McJob worker: PEON.

22. Le frère d'un père: ONCLE.  French.  The brother of a father: Uncle.  That's according to Google Translate.   Perps solved it for me.  Wilbur would have known it.

27. Beach shade: TAN.  You might end up paying for all of that free UV exposure.

28. Nods off: SNOOZES.

32. Squash underfoot: STEP ON.   Someone posted a picture of a stink bug on Nextdoor, asking what it was.  74 responses came in with similar advice:   Don't (squish, squash, step on, stomp on, crush, smash) them.  Some recommended vacuuming, while others advocated spraying them with everything from Lysol to peppermint spray.   One guy said he swallowed one that was in his coffee.

35. "Law & Order: __": SVU.   Special Victims Unit.  The long running NBC series was recently renewed for a 21st year.  Corner favorite is # 1.

36. Snack: NOSH.

37. Dallas hoopster, briefly: MAV.   Dallas basketball player, unabbreviated: Maverick.

41. Kilt wearer's "no": NAE. 

42. Like thrift shop items: USED.

44. Pitchfork target: HAY.   You need the right tool for the job.   Pitchforks are excellent for spreading hay,  turning over the mulch pile, cleaning out the horse stall and more.  When paired with torches and an angry mob, pitchforks are effective at cornering a monster in an old mill, and then burning it down.

45. Began, as a hobby: TOOK UP.

47. Phil Collins' longtime band: GENESIS.  Live from Wembley.


49. Serious fwy. violation: DUI.  Driving Under the Influence.  Other acronyms ?  DUIL, DWI, OWI, OUI...   

55. Digging tool: SPADE.  

58. Art community NNE of Santa Fe: TAOS.   In New Mexicos's high desert.  View or order the visitor's guide here.

59. Pinup's leg: GAM.  The internet tells me that gam comes from Middle English gamb leg, which came from Old French gambe, which came from Late Latin gamba, meaning leg of an animal.   I'd wager that James Holzhauer knew that.     The History Of Pin-Up Girls

64. Top-drawer: A ONE.

65. Shameful symbol in a Hawthorne novel: RED A.   Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter, set in Puritanical Massachusetts.   About social shaming and and stigmatizing a few centuries ago.   Now there are plenty of social media apps for people that feel the need to publicly focus their attention on others.  

66. E-cigarette's lack: ASHES.   They still have nicotine, an addicting drug.

67. Novelist Victor: HUGO.  Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

68. Ballet title bird: SWAN.    2 hours for your listening and viewing pleasure.


69. "Family Ties" mom: ELYSE.  Portrayed by Meredith Baxter.   Baxter Birney at the time.

70. Store securely: STOW.

Down:

1. Sound from a nest: PEEP.

2. Quran deity: ALLAH.

3. Declare all debts resolved: CALL IT EVEN.

4. Devious: SLY.

5. Wrigley Field corners: BASES.   First and third base are called the corners (of the infield). Technically, since the bases form a square, second base and home plate are also corners.  They're just not called corners in baseball.  Third base is called the "hot corner" so if you ever see that as a clue and the answer is five letters, enter THIRD.

6. Winning: ON TOP.  The St Louis Cardinals are on top of the National League Central Division and are currently projected to have a 6% chance of winning the World Series.

7. Bouquet __: herb bundle: GARNI.  More French.  Garnished bouquet.  Google Translate not needed.

8. Square root of IX: III.  Math with roman numerals.

9. Seer's "gift": ESP.  Extra Sensory Perception.  A hallmark of psychic charlatans.

10. Either "J" in J&J: JOHNSON.

11. Camaro __-Z: IROC.   A well written article from a dealership in Albany, NY about the legendary Chevrolet Camaro. 

12. Turn on the waterworks: BAWL.  Blubber. 

13. Apart from this: ELSE.  Meaning different in this sense.

19. __ speak: SO TO.   "You use so to speak to draw attention to the fact that you are describing or referring to something in a way that may be amusing or unusual rather than completely accurate." - Collins Dictionary.    Speaking metaphorically.   As in the ships in this puzzle are wrecked, so to speak. 

21. __ Penh: PHNOM.  Cambodia's capital.

24. Lack of continuity: GAP.  Turning the switch to the off position creates a lack of continuity in a simple electrical light circuit.  Those free electrons can't jump from valence shell to valence shell to complete the path when the switch is open. 

25. Answer the invite, initially: RSVP.   Repondez S'il Vous Plait.   LMOA;  Left a Message On your Answering machine.

26. Alaskan native: INUIT.

29. Nodding off: ZONKING OUT.

30. Jacob's twin: ESAU. 

31. Herding dog name: SHEP.   Apropos. 

32. Too sure of oneself: SMUG.

33. Subdue with a zap: TASE.

34. Like an extremely well-pitched game: NO HIT.

35. Short, moneywise: SHY.  You wouldn't get the moneywise helper on a Friday or Saturday LA Times puzzle.

39. Window framework: SASH.  An obi for glass.

40. Disturbances: TO DOs.

43. Like many a successful poker player: DEADPAN.  Expressionless, or of a singular expression.

46. "Certainement!": OUI.   More French.  More Google Translate.  More perp help.  It means certainly.   Makes sense.

48. Crock-Pot dinner: STEW.  The crackpot chef tried to roast prime rib in the crock-pot.  It resulted in a stew, but no one complained.

51. Like wool, for many: ITCHY.   Abejo, has the poison ivy cleared up ?    And BTW,  belated Happy Anniversary !

52. "For goodness __!": SAKES.  I thought it was for Pete.  Either way, it's a euphemism used as an expression of frustration , exasperation or annoyance, but in the case of goodness, also for surprise. The speaker's tone inflection and body language will tell you more.  

53. Rustler-chasing group: POSSE.  I think of The Ox-Bow Incident, starring Henry Fonda.

54. Dance that "takes two": TANGO.  The last one was in Paris.  Did you see it ?  It was rated X when it came out in '72, recut and rereleased and rated R in '81, and then rerated NC-17 in '97.   I've never seen it, but I remember there was a controversy about it when it came out.

55. The Baltics, once: Abbr.: SSRS.  Soviet Socialist Republics

56. "Close call!": PHEW. 

57. Verdi opera: AIDA.  Set in Egypt.

60. Catty utterance?: MEOW.

62. Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __: RAE.  No idea.

63. Bilingual subj.: ESL. English as a Second Language

64. Massage reactions: AHs.

Notes from C.C.:

To those who can't post on the blog with their iPhone, Blogger Forum mentions that "This issue might be related to high privacy settings on your browser.

Go to your Safari -> Settings -> Privacy -> uncheck "Prevent cross-site tracking."

Please let me know if that works for you. 

As for Android phone users, please email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you have problem posting on the blog.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Robert Fisher

4 Parts of the Hand

17. Small plucked instrument: THUMB PIANO.

24. New York region, or its narrow bodies of water: FINGER LAKES.

33. Tropical tree leaf: PALM FROND.

51. Fluttering pitch: KNUCKLE BALL.

58. Popular necktie knot ... and a hint to the starts of 17-, 24-, 33- and 51-Across: FOUR IN HAND.


Especially for you Desper-otto, in case you've forgotten how:


How many years has it been ?

Across:

1. Barcelona buddy: AMIGO.

6. Scattered, as seeds: SOWN.  Sown and strewn. 

10. Rifle filler: AMMO.  A young Desper-otto and his pal Nate used their pea shooters on a pile of sand that was destined for a stucco finish on a nearby house.   Sprouts appeared on the walls.  Fortunately for the young lads, it was only the scratch coat.  

14. Hopeless case: GONER.  He might have been a goner if that sand was used in the finish coat.

15. Fast-food legend Ray: KROC.  Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers - The history as  summarized on the McDonald's website.

16. Enjoy a comic book, say: READ. 

19. Fall back (on): RELY.

20. "__ Been Awhile": Staind song: IT'S.  The genre is post-grunge, alt-metal. 


21. Columnist Landers: ANN.

22. Israeli president, 2007-2014: PERES.   Shimon Peres.

23. Blackjack card: ACE.

27. Petit or grand crime: LARCENY.

29. Docking fee: MOORAGE.  The verb moor (make fast, secure) and the suffix age (belonging to, relating to) creates the word moorage, which can be either the place where you moor or the fee for mooring.  Just make sure your hawser is large enough. 

30. Hog's nose: SNOUT.  A pig, not a hog, but you get the point.

31. Objective: AIM.

32. Fisher-Price product: TOY.

38. Busy IRS month: APR.  Internal Revenue Service /  April.

41. Not at home: OUT.

42. China's Zhou __: ENLAI.

46. Doesn't miss a thing: SEES ALL. 

49. Forbes publisher Forbes: MALCOLM.    He was fond of saying that he was loaded with "sheer ability, spelled i-n-h-e-r-i-t-a-n-c-e."

53. Dainty taste: SIP.

54. Gelatin dish: ASPIC.    Spaghetti-Os aspic with Vienna Sausage.  None for me, thanks !

55. Slugging legend Mel: OTT.  MLB Hall of Famer that played for the NY Giants for 22 years.  A great article about the legend.

56. Canonized Fr. female: STE.  Abbreviation of sainte, the feminine form of saint. 

57. Slimming surg.: LIPO.  Surgery / Liposuction.

62. Cookie cooker: OVEN.  The appliance, not the individual, which could be baker.

63. Big on: INTO.

64. Vital heart line: AORTA.

65. "Bill & __ Excellent Adventure": TEDS.   "High school slackers Bill and Ted travel back in time to assemble historical figures for their history class presentation."  - Wikipedia

66. Cap'n's underling: BOS'N.  Contractions of Captain and Bosun.

67. Wyoming's __ Range: TETON.

 Mental Floss - 10 Facts About Grand National Park

Down:

1. Ten-percenter: Abbr.: AGT.  Agent.  Talent and booking agents typically get 10 %.

2. Native American in a Cooper title: MOHICAN.  About James Fenimore Cooper.  We had a regular here that legally changed his name to one of the author's lead characters - Natty Bumpo. 

3. Not yet born: IN UTERO.  Latin, meaning in the womb.

4. Precious stones: GEMS.

5. Mars or Venus: ORB.  Most often in poetry.  I may have first heard orb used this way in the lyrics of a couple of songs on The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed album.

6. Like teenagers in the comic strip "Zits": SKINNY.  No idea, but the perps said it had to be.

7. Chimp kin: ORANG.  Monkeys have tails.  Chimpanzees and orangutans are great apes.  Tailless.

8. Was victorious: WON.

9. Sgt. or cpl.: NCO.  Sergeant / Corporal: Non-commissioned officer.

10. Unpaid debt: ARREAR.

11. Kalahari mongoose: MEERKAT.  The Kalahari Resorts are in the Wisconsin Dells, Sandusky, and the Poconos. 

12. Source of machismo, perhaps: MALE EGO. 

13. Epic journey: ODYSSEY.  My friend is going to take the Astro.  Thinking about a used Sienna even though I like the styling of the Odyssey a little more.  Mini vans are so versatile.  I have to order a Soccer Mom sticker for the back window.

18. Tylenol target: PAIN.

22. Gaza Strip gp.: PLO.  Group /  Palestine Liberation Organization

23. Capp and Capone: ALs.   Kaline and Hrabosky would have thrown many off, but not Boomer and Hondo. 

24. Greek cheese: FETA.

25. Mideast ruler: EMIR.

26. NFL analyst Tony: ROMO.  14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys as a QB, and now partnered with Jim Nantz as the color commentator of NFL games broadcast by CBS.

28. Trophy shape: CUP.

31. Toward the tiller: AFT.  Nautical terms.

34. Hang around: LOLL.  Loiter.

35. Grand Canyon animal: MULE.

36. "Little" Dickens girl: NELL.

37. Org. hacked at its Watergate offices: DNC.  Organization / Democratic National Committee

38. Require much (of): ASK A LOT.

39. Lost in thought: PENSIVE.

40. Signed on for another tour: REUPPED.

43. Skill rarely practiced now: LOST ART.

44. Not aligned with: ALIEN TO.

45. Little rascal: IMP.

47. Descendants: SCIONS.

48. "Best in Show" org.: AKC.  Organization / American Kennel Club

49. __ of honor: MATRON.

50. High: Pref.: ALTI.    Like in the ten dollar word altiloquence,  meaning lofty, pompous speech.   Or as in altimeter or altitude.

52. Boxing matches: BOUTS.

56. Horse's footwear: SHOE.   Fit to size by a farrier.

58. Innocuous falsehood: FIB.

59. Musician Yoko: ONO.

60. __ King Cole: NAT.

61. "The Da Vinci Code" author Brown: DAN.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Lee Taylor

"Bird Idioms"

Each of these idioms feature members of our avian friends.  The meaning of each idiom is well-defined by its clue.  Simple and elegant.  

20. Farewell performance: SWAN SONG.

26. Squinter's wrinkles: CROWS FEET.

44. Hidden danger: BOOBY TRAP.

56. Easy-peasy task: DUCK SOUP.

10. Keen-sighted sort: EAGLE EYE.

36. Big fat zero: GOOSE EGG.



Bonus birds in the fill:

12. Seagull kin: TERN.

56. Jackknifed into the pool, say: DOVE.   Well, when pronounced differently, it is a bird.  Dove is a heteronym:  Dove DUV- a bird; DOEV- jumped off.  

Across:

1. "The Big Bang Theory" network: CBS.    The Corner has a number of fans of this sitcom.  Sometimes seen as TBBT in clues and comments. 

4. Uncertain: IFFY.   I was a little iffy about the theme until I recognized that the theme answers were all idioms, and that tern and dove were just bonus birds.

8. Peek at someone else's test answers, say: CHEAT.   

13. River to the Caspian: URAL.

15. Where to find a hero: DELI.  I liked this clue / answer, despite it being so evident.

16. Rental document: LEASE.

Guidance offered to University of Montana students

17. Opera songs for one: SOLI.

18. Part of: IN ON.

19. Ready for action: EAGER.   Eager beaver is another animal kingdom idiom.

22. Award-winning sci-fi author __ Ellison: HARLAN.  The name is vaguely familiar.  This NY Times article provided a little insight.

23. Chess match finale: END GAME.  The point where I usually lost or conceded.

24. Summer camp craft: CANOE.

25. Neuter: DESEX.

30. Done with employment: Abbr.: RET.

32. Cathedral recess: APSE.

33. Go off course: YAW.   Aviators, sailors and seamen probably use this word more often than the rest of us.  Where's Dudley ? 

34. Lively Irish dances: JIGS.  Irish Miss won't be doing jigs anytime soon given her current foot ailment.

37. "Steppenwolf" writer Hermann: HESSE.

39. Lyre-playing emperor: NERO. 

40. "Much __ About Nothing": ADO.

41. Broadway partner of Rodgers: HART.  He later partnered with Hammerstein.

42. Reuben bread: RYE.

47. Honey-colored: AMBER.

51. Big rigs: SEMIs. 

Reader's Digest - The Most-Used Noun in English

52. Track's inside track: LANE ONE.

54. Songs of praise: PAEANS.

57. Sports stadium: ARENA.

58. Jellystone Park bear: YOGI. 


59. Actor Miller of "Justice League": EZRA.   He played "The Flash"


60. Watchful period: VIGIL.

61. Keen: AVID.

62. Sets eyes on: SEES.

63. Lawn-trimming targets: EDGES.

64. Ballpoints: PENS.

65. Banned insecticide: DDT.   The CDC's National Biomonitoring Program:  Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Factsheet

Down:

1. Used "colorful" language: CUSSED.  Perhaps it is not a sign of a limited vocabulary.

2. "Doctor My Eyes" singer Jackson __: BROWNE.


3. Light lunches: SALADS.

4. Strong suit or weak sauce: IDIOM.  This had me going until the perps helped.  We have a bevy of idioms today. 

5. African desert fox: FENNEC.  New to me.

The smallest of all canids

6. Criticize harshly: FLOG.

7. Yang complement: YIN.

8. Purify: CLEANSE.

9. Find out about: HEAR OF.  Marvin Gaye used another idiom to tell us how he found out she loved some else.


11. Between ports: ASEA.

14. Won't go away, as an odor: LINGERS.

21. __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy: SAXE.  The dukedom ended in 1918.   It began in 1826.

22. Mooring rope: HAWSER.   New term for me.  Spitzboov and Jinx would know.

24. Foes of robbers: COPS. 

27. Many a reggae artist: RASTA. - a member of the Rastafarian religious movement. Rastafarians have distinctive codes of behavior and dress, including the wearing of dreadlocks, the smoking of cannabis, the rejection of Western medicine, and adherence to a diet that excludes pork, shellfish, and milk.

28. Corn serving: EAR.

29. Romantic dinner complement: TWO.    Cute clue.

31. "To clarify ... ": THAT IS.    "I meant ..."

34. Quick punch: JAB.

35. Swearing-in words: I DO.

38. Drops the ball: ERRS.

39. Formidable opponents: NEMESES.

41. Church books with many notes: HYMNALS.

43. Sudden pull: YANK.

45. Small skullcap: BEANIE.

 I think he doesn't care for the one in the middle.

46. Connect to an outlet: PLUG IN.

48. Drank to excess: BOOZED.

49. Hardened (to): ENURED.

50. Dinner, say: REPAST.  late Middle English: from Old French, based on late Latin repascere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + pascere ‘to feed’.   The word was more commonly used in the 1800s.

53. Corrosive compounds: ACIDS.

54. Cover with asphalt: PAVE.

55. Like the Mojave: ARID.

58. Chatter: YAP.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 John Lampkin

"ANT COLONY"

17. *Employee insurance coverage, briefly: WORKERS COMP. 

60. *Unmanned aerial attack: DRONE STRIKE.

11. *Hotel bed choice: QUEEN SIZE.

32. *Persist despite difficulty: SOLDIER ON.

46. Symbolic Egyptian snake, which includes the start of a hint to the answers to starred clues: ASP.

Look at the hind end of this ant:

"The Crematogaster genus of ants has a cute heart-shaped gaster which gives it one of its common names, the Saint Valentine’s Ant."  - John Lampkin

After noticing worker,  drone,  queen and soldier as answers in the starred clues,  I first thought "Bees" but I had never heard of soldier bees.    John threw me for a loop with ASP.    What does ASP have to do with bees ?   At that point, I paid attention to the circles and reread the reveal.   ANT COLONY might have been hard to spot without the circles.

Clever puzzle and design.   I like how ANT COLONY is arranged so that it represents a mound.  We had plenty of fire ant mounds in the pastures and yards in Central Texas.  Dang things were so hard to get rid of.   It was like playing Whac-A-Mole.

    
Across:

1. "Star Wars" warrior: JEDI.  All you want to know and more at Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki.

5. Treaded winter vehicle: SNO-CAT.  

11. "Proven," in proofs: QED.  Quod Erat Demonstrandum.  Latin, from the buzzwords used by great Greek mathematicians,  such as Euclid and Archimedes.

14. Laptop brand that sounds like a top tennis player: ACER.  Cure clue.

15. Pays homage to: HONORS.  Pays respect to.

16. Prefix with corn or cycle: UNI.  As a preteen, my gangly friend Brian became an accomplished unicycle rider in our hilly little town.   He turned out to be a pretty good basketball player on our high school team. 

19. It may be bruised: EGO.   8 Ways to Overcome a Blow to Your Ego

20. Blight-stricken tree: ELM.  A fungal disease spread by bark beetles.   "This disease is not of Dutch origin, but because early work on the disease was done by Dutch pathologists in the 1920s, the disease has been called Dutch elm disease (DED)." - Morton Arboretum

21. Deceived: LIED TO.

22. Lo __: noodle dish: MEIN.  Lo mein - soft boiled noodles.  Chow mein - crispy fried noodles.

23. Church officers: DEACONS.  Not germane to the clue for any other reason than Deacon is in it:


25. "Valley of the Dolls" author Jacqueline: SUSANN.  A best selling book about three pill-popping women.   It was later adapted into a movie of the same name.

27. Animal that can learn sign language: APE.

28. Parting site in Exodus: RED SEA.

30. "Who's there?" response: IT'S ME.  Pretty song:


33. Rank above maj.: COL.  Major /  Colonel.   Colonels have two grades in the Army.  "Light"(Lieutenant Colonel - grade O-5, silver oak leaf insignia) and "Full Bird" (Colonel - grade O-6, silver eagle insignia).

36. Makes an effort: TRIES.

37. Small store: SHOP.   My parents small store was in a 6600 sq. ft. two story building my dad and his contractor buddies built.  Antiques, Furniture Stripping & Refinishing.  That's why I can tell people I used to be a stripper.

38. Serious no-no: TABOO.   Women's fragrance: Tabu.

40. Poet Pound: EZRA.

41. Be under the weather: AIL.

42. 11 p.m. personality: NEWSMAN.  10 p.m. Central. 

44. Mentalist's "gift": ESP.   Every Single Perp was not required for this initialism of Extrasensory Perception.

45. Installs, as a minister: ORDAINS.  Ordains, as a deacon:  Deacons.

47. Sound like an ass: BRAY.  I'm not touching this one.

49. Blu-ray buy: DISC.   lu- added to bray above.

50. Quick breaths: GASPS.

54. "To reiterate ... ": I REPEAT.

57. Like sunset-silhouetted scenery: REAR LIT.  A photog like John Lampkin knows how to get the perfect shots .

59. Golfer's goal: PAR.   Unless you are a tour player.   Then you are looking for birdies or better.  Canadian Corey Conners qualified last Monday to play in the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.  He birdied six of nine coming in on Sunday to win the tournament.  It was the first time in the last 9 years that a Monday qualifier won a PGA Tour event.

62. From __ Z: A TO.  An idiom for beginning to end. 

63. Shrek's kiss made Fiona one for good: OGRESS.

64. Hint of the future: OMEN.  I don't believe in them. 

65. Home in the woods: DEN.   I'd prefer a cabin.

66. Treating kindly: GOOD TO.

67. Sunset direction: WEST.  On this planet.  I assume the same for the others in our solar system.

Down:

1. Ranted (at): JAWED. It's baseball season. So many great clips to choose from.   Let's look at this blast from the past for a good example of a couple of guys that jawed at each other:


2. French school: ECOLE.

3. Skin care prefix: DERMA.

4. Annoy: IRK.

5. Sacred place: SHRINE.  I wonder if the PGA Tour players had time to stop by the Alamo, and perhaps stroll along the River Walk.

"San Anto"

6. Carrots, for snowmen: NOSES.

7. Like one's prized music collection, perhaps: ON CD.

8. Small water birds: COOTS.  Thank you perps.  An internet search tells me they are closely related to the moorhen, which didn't really help me.   A group of them is known as a covert or a cover.    I don't remember when I was first told that girls had cooties, but  I asked my mom and she said it wasn't true.   We didn't have the internet back in those days.  

9. Big name in canned meat: ARMOUR.   Hormel too. 

10. Baking soda amt.: TSP. 

12. Amtrak employees: ENGINEERS.

13. "My Heart Will Go On" singer Celine: DION.   The theme song from Titanic:


18. Flee to wed: ELOPE.

22. Mexican mother: MADRE.

24. Sleep in a bag, maybe: CAMP.

26. Gig component: SET.

29. "Pronto" letters: ASAP.

30. Japanese golf great Aoki : ISAO.  Isao Aoki with Arnold Palmer.  

I had the exact same clue and answer on March 20th, 2018.  Here's the exact same picture and comments:

He credits watching Arnold Palmer for giving him the inspiration to pursue a golfing career.

"Isao Aoki only plays with golf balls marked with the number 5.  That number is pronounced “Go” in Japanese and it also represents the worst score he wants to make."

He was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.  Source - World Golf Hall of Fame.

31. Hardly the best: THIRD RATE.

33. Sounds like a crow: CAWS.

34. Docs who deliver: OBs.  Obstetrician. 

35. Bausch partner: LOMB.

38. On a scale of one to __: TEN.

39. Sculler's need: OAR.

42. "Please don't bite me!": NICE DOG.

43. Persistently worry: NAG AT.

48. Peter of Peter, Paul & Mary: YARROW.   Friend and fellow Cornell student Leonard Lipton wrote a poem in 1959 that Peter Yarrow put into lyrics for this 1962 song that had nothing to do about smoking marijuana or other drug use. - paraphrased from Wikipedia.  Our own Bill G went to Cornell. 


51. Snail trail: SLIME.

52. Colorado's __ Peak: PIKES.   Aaron Kaufman of the Discovery Channel's Fast N' Loud narrates this short clip of him racing up Pikes Peak a few years ago in his '63 Falcon. 


53. Cardiologist's implant: STENT.

54. Apple tablet: IPAD.

55. Jason's ship: ARGO.  He was searching for the Golden Fleece.  Greek mythology.   Not my cuppa, but here is an article that shed some light on the story line and players involved.   I had no idea that Hercules was an oarsman on the Argo.

56. Lawn mower brand: TORO.    I keep thinking about replacing my old John Deere rider.   It's a yellow deck STX-38.  It was built to last and it has.   Faithful service for nearly 30 years. 

57. Take a load off: REST.

58. Exxon, formerly: ESSO. 

61. Homer's neighbor: NED.  Homer Simpson and Ned ("Okilly-dokilly!") Flanders.

Here's the grid !

Notes from C.C.: 

1) Lovely grid, John!

2) So what did you shoot yesterday, TTP?  80s?

3) Dear Agnes (Irish Miss) had to spend 5 hours in the ER yesterday due to the excruciating foot pain from the fall she suffered a few weeks ago. She's going to see her GP tomorrow and an orthopedic doctor soon. It's been tough few weeks for Agnes, who lives alone. Please send positive thoughts and love to Troy, New York!