Friday, February 28, 2020 Mark MacLachlan

"BR EXIT"


18. Power of a Hummer?: UTE FORCE.  Brute force

23. Enormous card revealed at end of magician's routine?: ACE FOR IMPACT.  Brace for impact

38. Tattoo depicting the last woolly mammoth?: INK OF EXTINCTION.  Brink of extinction

47. Avian mascot on a refueling vessel?: OILER CHICKEN.  Broiler chicken

57. Hotel employee who only works one day a month?: IDES MAID.  Brides maid


68. Subject of a 2016 U.K. referendum, and a hint to five puzzle answers: BREXIT.  Parse it as BR Exit.

I liked this puzzle.  Drop the Br from the commonly known phrases and redefine the remnants.

Initially couldn't figure out any of the theme answers due to good cluing and a few crossing unknowns.   Then got IDES MAID but didn't think too much about it.   A few moments later, got BREXIT and then knew the game.   Add Br back in and fill in the rest of the common phrase.   Nice !

This is Mark's fifth puzzle.  One each year starting in 2016.   I looked back at each.

"C Battery" Sunday March 26, 2016

"Three Little Letters" Wednesday April 5, 2017

"Iron In" Friday September 28, 2018

"Code Crackers" Sunday July 14, 2019


Mark is a chemistry professor at the University of British Columbia.    Using my code cracking skills (not very refined), I see a pattern: 

• Add C (the chemical element symbol for Carbon).    
• Add Fe (the chemical element symbol for Iron).    
• Drop Br (the chemical element symbol for Bromine).  

Every other one of his puzzles is going to have wordplay based on an element symbol !


I don't recall the Friday puzzle and had no comments that day, but of the other three it appears I only aced one.   It would have been one for four if not for perp saves on  SPIFF,  ON THE DL,  ETOILE and SEN-SEN. 

Hope you had fun solving it !


Across:

1. Big divides: CHASMs.    Ideological divides: Schisms.

7. Vat sediment: LEES.   Dregs.  Speaking of remnants...

11. Swindler: CON.

14. Aid, as a fallen teammate: HELP UP.    And, 23D: Give a hand: ASSIST.

15. Munch Museum city: OSLO.  Dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.  The new museum opens in the fall of this year.

16. Crazy Eights relative: UNO.

17. Connected: ONLINE.

20. Greek group: FRAT.

22. Discreetly, in slang: ON THE DL.   Down Low.

27. Form fig.: SSN.

28. Fictional anchor Nessman: LES.

29. Goes apace: HIEs. 

33. "Your point being?": SOO.    An informal,  and perhaps confrontational or condescending  "What is your point ?"     Elongate so.    Why drag it out ?

34. __ 51: AREA.

36. The slightest bit: A TASTE.

41. Avoids: SKIRTs.   Sidesteps.

42. Muslim leader: IMAM.

43. Carol contraction: TIS.    No,  Tinbeni,  the lyrics to "Deck The Halls" do not have the verse,  "Tis the season to drink Stoli" but it does have a nice ring to it.

44. Immobilize with a charge: TASE.

45. "Moby-Dick" setting: SEA.   Hardly a favorite here.

46. Bullring bravo: OLE.

Ole wore both of his winter jackets when he painted his house last July.   The directions on the can said "put on two coats".

Sven says to Ole "I found dis pen, is it yours?"
Ole replies, "Don't know, give it here" 
He then tries it and says, "Yes it is"
Sven asks "How do you know?"
Ole replies, "Dat's my handwriting!"

53. Three on a match, they say: BAD OMEN.   Bad luck is what I knew.

56. Ikea purchase: SOFA.  Some of their brands include  Kivik, Ektorp, Klippan, Friheten and  Balkarp.  These are the kinds of words I would need if I were creating a crossword.   

59. Acted greenly?: REUSED.

63. It usually needs breaking: TIE.   Last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in an 8-way tie.   The final eight went 20 straight rounds of spelling without any errors.  The Bee simply ran out of predetermined words to sufficiently challenge these children.   Each co-champion took home the $50K first place prize.  The Bee is taking steps to reduce the number of entrants to the final, and searching for new lists of words that are even harder to spell.

What word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly ?   

64. 1968 self-named folk album: ARLO.   Arlo Guthrie, known for singing songs of protest and about social injustice. - Wikipedia.

65. Stands in a studio: EASELs.   Bob Ross used them on his program... 

66. Wrap up: END.   "That's a cut !"

67. Changes to green, say: DYEs.   Sounds Eco.

Down:

1. Comic Margaret: CHO.    Not my cuppa.

2. Egg producer: HEN.

3. The lot: ALL.   Lock, stock and barrel.   Everything. 

4. Calvin's spaceman alter ego, in comics: SPIFF.   Spaceman Spiff  at Fandom.

5. Literature Nobelist Alice: MUNRO.   "Munro’s stories reveal her as a consummate artist who is without question among the most accomplished masters of the short story."  - Nobelprize.orjg

6. Weapon for Goliath: SPEAR.    Asparagus, broccoli or pickle ?

7. Teammate of Babe: LOU.    Ruth and Gehrig, respectively.  Numbers 3 and 4 on their jerseys and on your Yankees lineup card.

8. Legally prevents: ESTOPs.

9. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

10. Cymbal sound?: SOFT C.

11. "Friday I'm in Love" band, with "The": CURE.    A British band that scored a top 10 pop hit with that song.   No idea.  Perps.

12. Saved, in a way: ON CD.  

13. Holiday song: NOEL.

19. "Ah, I see what you meant": OH, THAT.

21. Household cleaning brand: TILEX.

24. Dolphins Hall of Famer Larry: CSONKA.   Talk about brute force.   The big bruising fullback was the featured running back in the ball-control ground-game offense of Don Shula's undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.  Jim Kiick and fleet-footed Mercury Morris shared the halfback duties.

25. Japanese mushrooms: ENOKIs.

26. More substantial: MEATIER.

30. "Will this work for you?": IS IT OK ?

31. French star: ETOILE.   étoile definition is - a star or a pattern in the shape of a star. Merriam-Webster.

32. Longtime breath freshener: SEN-SEN.   Me too, Carrie, me too.

34. Back to a mate: AFT.   As in the stern (back) of a ship and a crewman (mate).

35. Dorm, briefly: RES.   Residential quarters.

36. Gasteyer of "SNL" (1996-2002): ANA.     What do Ana Gasteyer,  Jane Curtain,  Brad Hall,  Gary Kroeger,  Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Seth Meyers all have in common ?  They are all former members of SNL that attended Northwestern University.

37. Network for film buffs: TCM.  Turner Classic Movies.

39. Chocolatey Post cereal: OREOOS.

40. Apple models: IMACs.

45. Declining due to age: SENILE.

48. "Grr!": I'M MAD.

49. Comic Denis: LEARY.

50. Biblical mount: HOREB.

51. "The bad news is ... ": I FEAR.   Spellcheck can only do so much.  The user still needs to have a clue.   This one probably didn't make it out of the first round in the school's spelling bee.

52. It might have a champion: CAUSE.

53. Sound __: BITE.

54. Score after deuce: AD IN.

55. Monopoly card: DEED.

58. Mexican pair: DOS.  uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

60. __ roles: SEX.   Gender roles.

61. Inventor Whitney: ELI.    The History of Interchangeable Parts in the Industrial Revolution

62. Summer hrs.: DST.

Here's the grid:

Note from C.C.:

Just another reminder for the Cru Dinner again, which will be held on Friday, March 20, 2020 (6:00pm to 8:00pm) and officially kick off the 43rd ACPT. The space is limited, so please contact with Mike Alpern as soon as possible. Mike's email address is: alpernm@aol.com

Here is more detailed information.

Friday, February 7, 2020 Andrew Linzer

"SOCIAL GATHERINGS"


20. Soirée for woodchip manufacturers?: SPLINTER PARTY.    Splinter group just flew off my fingertips.  Bzzt !

26. Soirée for certain divers?: PEARL JAM.


37. Soirée for spreadsheet creators?: CELL RECEPTION.

47. Soirée for fake coin makers?: SLUGFEST.

55. Soirée for army enlistees?: PRIVATE AFFAIR.

LET'S SOIRÉE ! - The last word of each theme answer is a type of social gathering.  OK, slugfest is one word, but you get the idea.

This is Andrew's third LA Times puzzle.   His first was a Wednesday.    His second was a Thursday.     He's back to party with us on Friday ! 


Across:

1. Component of an Olympic bronze medal: ZINC.    The metals used in this year's Olympic medals have been primarily sourced from recycled electronics.   Japanese citizens donated over 6 million discarded and unused cell phones ! 

5. Off-road vehicle maker?: TONKA.

10. Peddle: HAWK.   First thought was sell.

14. Brand in a studio, maybe: IKEA.   Studio apartment.

15. Chooser's choice: EVENs.

16. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire: AGRA.   It was the first four letter city name that came to mind.   Never did think of a second city name...

17. Seats facing the altar: PEWs.

18. Alley button: RESET.    Boomer uses this button when the rack didn't set the pins down correctly.   He also uses it to clear the pins left standing after the prior bowler finished (e.g. after a third ball in the 10th frame.)

19. Genesis problem: RAIN.   CAIN was a problem too.    Just not with the perps in this puzzle.

23. Energized: AMPED.

25. Inspection: LOOK SEE.  Formal and then informal.

30. Govt. stipend: SSI.   Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes):

	It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income; and
	It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

31. Angel dust letters: PCP.   Phencyclidine (PCP) is a mind-altering drug that may lead to hallucinations (a profound distortion in a person’s perception of reality). - Drugs.com

32. Neural transmitter: AXON.

34. Powerful 2017 hurricane: IRMA.

41. Solo number: ARIA.

42. Gear for Lindsey Vonn: SKIs.   American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team.   She won four World Cup overall championships—one of only two female skiers to do so, along with Annemarie Moser-Pröll—with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012 - Wikipedia

As an aside, Lindsey and I both skied Garmisch.   She won multiple world competition level Super G and Downhill races there.  I won a bunny hill slalom competition among the other beginner students held at the Armed Forces Recreation Center there.   I'll lean on that as a conversation starter if I ever meet her.   Still remember the AFRCS instructor.  Glenna Bliss.  I believe she was a prior member of the US Ski Team.  

43. Service reward: TIP.

45. PETA concern: FUR.

50. Need for big dos: CATERER.

54. Spherical extremities: POLEs.

59. Green hue: LIME.   Not exactly lime, is it ?   But too cool to pass up.

60. Louvre Pyramid architect: IM PEI.   How I.M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramid Broke the Mold

61. Chatroom spammers: BOTs.    They've been pounding this blog lately, but most are routed to the moderation folder.

64. Manipulates: USEs.

65. Really funny ones: RIOTs.

66. City-circumventing road: LOOP.   Loop 610:

67. Hot message: SEXT.

68. American in Paris, perhaps: EX PAT.

69. One of 11 for Julia Louis-Dreyfus: EMMY.

Down:

1. 12345, for Schenectady, NY: ZIP.   Evan Kalish knows this.  Postlandia

2. Turner on a turntable: IKE.   Rolling Stone magazine ranked Ike and Tina Turner at # 2 of the "20 Greatest Duos of All Time" in 2015.  # 1 were the Everly Brothers.  I'd never heard of some of the duos.  

3. Times, at times: NEWSPAPER. 

4. Spirited toon?: CASPER.

5. Actress Hatcher: TERI.

6. "Top Chef" set piece: OVEN.

7. Building project for cranes?: NEST.

8. Get down to earth?: KNEEL.

9. First pro team to play on artificial turf: ASTROs.   It was 1965.   NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hit the first homerun in a spring exhibition game shortly after construction ended.   Dick Allen of the Phillies hit the first regular season homerun.   The natural grass died, and was replaced by the first iteration of Astroturf for the 1966 season.

10. Samurai ritual: HARAKIRI.   No images.   Doesn't pass the breakfast test.

11. Lab gelatins: AGARs.

12. Pen: WRITE.

13. GOOD Music record label founder: KANYE.    Kanye West created the GOOD Music record label in 2004.   It is a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams.

21. Cholesterol letters: LDL.   Waited to see if HDL (high-density lipoproteins - the "good" one), or LDL (low-density lipoproteins - the "bad" one).

22. Presume: POSIT.

23. Common 99-cent purchase: APP.

24. Hajji's destination: MECCA.

27. Potter's creation: JAR.

28. Plot lines: AXES.   Thought of  arcs at first , but that's more of story lines.

29. Imitates derisively: MOCKs.

33. "American Gods" author Gaiman: NEIL.   No idea.  Perps.

35. Traveler's overnight spot: MOTEL ROOM.   Waited to see if Motel or Hotel.

36. Seasoning seed: ANISE.   Anise, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor has similarities with some other spices, such as star anise, fennel, and liquorice. -  Wikipedia

38. Buoyant protection: LIFEVEST.

39. Actress Dern of "Twin Peaks": LAURA.

40. Sch. with a Harrisburg campus: PSU.   Penn State University.  

44. NBA stat: PTS.   Points.

46. Hang up the spikes: RETIRE.    Hung up mine in 2015.

48. 2.3, perhaps: Abbr.: GPA.    Grade Point Average.

49. Slight character flaw: FOIBLE.

50. 2.3, roughly: C PLUS.   Grade

51. Come up: ARISE.

52. Big name in stopwatches: TIMEX.   John Cameron Swayze told us, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and the TV ads seemed to prove it.


53. Compilation album add-on: REMIX.

56. Per item: APOP.

57. Spanakopita cheese: FETA.

58. Solidarity symbol: FIST.

62. First of a generic trio: TOM.   Tom, Dick and Harry.   Hi Tom !

63. Expert on bugs?: SPY.   Bugs are covert listening and recording devices.

Friday, January 24, 2020 Paul Coulter

"TURN DOWN SERVICE"


Let's go with the reveal first.

62. Hotel amenity, and a hint to three puzzle answers: TURN DOWN SERVICE.   At the end of three across answers, you have to read the intersecting down answer.   Very neat !

The theme entries:

16. (across) Blamed for personal advantage: THROWN UNDER THE B, with
18. (down) Clear: BUS.
THROWN UNDER THE BUS - Mark's clue nails it succinctly.    In business, politics, sports, personal relationships...  

31. (across) Punch with force, maybe: GIVE A FAT L, with
34. (down) Backtalk: LIP.
GIVE A FAT LIP - Nothing figurative here. 

44. (across) Chanoyu ceremony essential: JAPANESE T, with
46. (down) High __: TEA.
JAPANESE TEA. - This was hard for me because I didn't know what a Chanoyu ceremony was, but then looked at the other two theme answers and aha !   Changed my 46D from High def to TEA, and that also cleared up the stall where MOOLA belonged.

"The simple art of Chanoyu is really a synthesis of many Japanese arts with the focus of preparing and serving a bowl of tea with a pure heart." - Chanoyu   

You would think the genesis of this puzzle was the reveal TURN DOWN SERVICE, wouldn't you ?



Across:

1. Draft category: ONE A.   Actually, it's 1-A.

5. Crisply played, in mus.: STAC.   Music / Staccato.

9. Qatar's capital: DOHA.   Whatever happened to Doha Doc ?

13. Inflammation treatment: CORTISONE.   And 39. Ibuprofen brand: ADVIL.  Corticosteroids vs. NSAIDs

While we're on the subject, take the pain quiz.

15. Apple product: IPOD.

19. More mean: NASTIER.

20. Sci-fi helmsman: SULU.

21. Burdened: LADEN.

24. Portable chair: SEDAN.     Champagne glass: Coupe.

26. "Uno __": cantina request: MAS.    "One more" in Spanish.

27. Fundraising targets: ALUMNI.

29. Boar's mate: SOW.

35. Greatly beloved ones: GEMs.

38. He reunited with his fictional ex on Valentine's Day in 2011: KEN.   I assume with Barbie ?

41. Backboard attachment: RIM.

42. Place Sundance liked to see: ETTA.   Loved this clue / answer.  Etta Place

Life with the Sundance Kid

47. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr.: SSR.   Soviet Socialist Republic.

49. Waste time: DAWDLE.

50. __ store: APP.

53. Many an Indian: HINDU.

57. Green: MOOLA.   Both slang for money.

58. Game with two secret passages: CLUE.   No clue on this answer based on the clue alone.   Never played it; don't know much about it.    Didn't know there were secret passages.   But, with C from ACT, -. U from PULSE, and E from EYES, what else could it be ?   C-UE.

60. Advice: COUNSEL.   Advice, advise, counsel and council.    Simple nouns and verbs that can easily be confused.   Only one of the four works as both a noun AND a verb.   Which one ?

67. They can make you better, briefly: MEDs.   Medicines, like Aleve and Advil.

68. Basically: IN ESSENCE.

69. Annoyance: PEST.

70. Do, for example: NOTE.   Trickery.   The musical note.     '...Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are used to name notes the same way that the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, and B are used to name notes in English." - Wikipedia.

71. Cutty __: SARK.   The famous fast clipper sailing ship built in Scotland in 1869, now residing in dry dock at Greenwich, London as a museum ship.   Some fifty years after her construction, the Scotch whisky was created and named after her.    The ship was named for the short skirt worn by the witch in the Robert Burns poem Tam o' Shanter. 

Down:

1. Fall mo.: OCT. Month / October

2. Kabuki kin: NOH.

3. Give the wrong change, say: ERR.

4. Acts of reparation: ATONEMENTs.

5. IRS IDs: SSNs.   Internal Revenue Service / Social Security Numbers.

6. Talks up: TOUTs. Talks down: Calms.

7. Musical in which FDR is a character: ANNIE.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Here's the famous scene:

8. Gave up: CEDED.    Gave down: See 23(D).

9. Board mem.: DIR.   Member / Director.

10. Expresses a preference (for): OPTs.

11. Blah: HO-HUM. Meh.

12. "A Passage to India" heroine: ADELA.   Adela Quested - SparkNotes

14. "Lemme!": I WANNA.

17. Age relatives: ERAs.   A distinct period of history. eg, The Dinosaur Age or the Ice Age.   Thomas Paine wrote The Age of Reason.

21. Delay: LAG.

22. Not quite identical: ALIKE.   Like fraternal twins.

23. Comforter: DUVET.   What is the best down for a duvet ?   Hungarian goose down ?   Icelandic Eiderdown ?    Best Downs for a Good Night's Sleep

25. It's often served with nutmeg: NOG.   Here served in a coupe:

28. "... __ woodchuck could chuck wood?": IF A.   "Hey you dang woodchucks!   Quit chucking my wood !"    BTW, in the Geico Sequels run off, the Racoon commercials are comfortably ahead.

30. Subjects of European trials during the Renaissance: WEREWOLVES.

32. Wd. ending in -less: ADJ.   Adjective.   The part of speech.    This clue stumped me for way too long, and that was with AD- in place !   After finally getting enough letters to see JAPANESE at 44A, it became clear. D'OH !

33. FDR power plan: TVA. Franklin Delano Roosevelt / Tennessee Valley Authority.  The TVA at History.com 

36. Botch: MISDO.   Act wrongly.

37. Common sense?: SMELL.    Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense.  "The most important political tract of the Revolution was written not by a lawyer or university-educated philosopher, but by a former corset maker."

40. Bloke: LAD.

43. It may be tapped into a tray: ASH.

45. Parents, usually: NAMERs.

48. P.R. part: RICO.   Puerto Rico.

50. Appear: ACT.

51. Fluff, as pillows: PLUMP.   The history of fluff.

52. Blender button: PUREE.    The first button I pushed was pulse, but the blend(er) of crossing clues didn't agree.

54. Hopeless: NO WIN.

55. "Beats me!": DUNNO.

56. Up in the air: UNSET.    Not yet decided. 

59. Aims: ENDs.   Had eyes first.  Don't know why.

61. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko: SESE.

63. It ends shortly after 1-Down: DST.   Daylight Savings Time

64. __ moment: IN A.

65. "Bad Moon Rising" band, briefly: CCR.    Creedence Clearwater Revival.


66. "A rat!": EEK.


Check your answers against this grid:

Friday, January 10, 2020 Joe Deeney

"Joint Ventures"


18. Joint venture?: ORTHOPEDIC OFFICE. 

28. Joint venture?: PRIVATE PRISON.

47. Joint venture?: MARIJUANA SHOP.

62. Joint venture?: FURNITURE FACTORY.

Four types of  joints. 

Two maintenance guys were smoking a joint and offered to share some of it with me.  I don't partake, so I declined.  Besides, I really don't care to be around high maintenance people. 

Across:

1. They may be counted: SHEEP.  A study by Oxford showed that counting sheep doesn't help you fall asleep.  It has the opposite effect.  So unless you are a worried shepherd...

6. "Masterpiece" airer: PBS.   Home of Dour Downton Abbey.

9. Hideaway: LAIR.

13. Disinclined: LOATH.   Inclined: Predisposed.

14. One in the script: LINE.  

16. Tribal leader: ELDER.

21. Neon tips?: ENs.   "N or n is the fourteenth letter in the modern English alphabet. Its name in English is en (pronounced /ˈɛn/), plural ens."  - Wikipedia.

22. "C'mon, play along": BE A SPORT.  As in,  "C'mon, play along.  Be a sport,  and quit the crabbing every day about the clues and answers."  

23. A toddler may be put down for one: NAP. 

24. Curtails, with "in": REINS.

26. Of inferior quality: EL CHEAPO.  Pseudo Spanish. 

31. Winter Olympics event: LUGE.   "Luge is one of the most dangerous sports in the Olympic games, and the athletes who race down an icy, high-banked track at speeds typically up to 90 mph are a special breed."   daredevils !   Most of us won't drive that fast in a vehicle equipped with airbags.

32. Programming pioneer Lovelace: ADA.   Nailed it.   Her mother believed in rigorous study.  Her father was a poet.  Read all about it at Biography.com by clicking her name.

33. Hustle: MOTOR.  Verb.  Informal.   Run or move as fast as possible.

37. Combustion residue: ASH.   Combustion fuel: Ash. Or Oak, Hickory, Elm etc.

38. Like the object of an "Aww!": ADORABLE.   So passé.  Now it's totes adorbs !  If you wanna be a cool cat daddy-o, you gotta dig the new kings jive.   Can the lip and focus your audio, or you'll be swinging in squaresville.   Totes = totally.  Adorbs = adorable.   YMMV.

42. U.K. singer Rita __: ORA.   Would you like a frozen margaRITA ORA classic margarita ?  Wait, never mind.  I was channeling Boomer there for a moment.  Anyway, from what I read, she's very popular in the U.K. 

43. Food packaging abbr.: NET WT.   Net weight.

45. Cause of some royal sleeplessness: PEA.    Just add another mattress.

46. Salt Lake City team: UTEs.    The college team.  The professional basketball team in Salt Lake City is the Jazz.

52. Coastal evergreen: SAND PINE.    Pinus clausa     Florida, and a little bit of coastal Alabama.

55. Character usually seen in 41-Down (LA NIÑA):  TILDE.    An image of an adorable little Latina ?   No, the diacritical mark to tell you how to pronounce a letter.

56. Nail: ACE.

57. Pink drink: ROSÉ WINE.   There's another of those accent marks.

59. "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very __ Day": 2014 film: BAD.   A Disney film. Anyone see it ? 


65. Trauma pro: ER DOC.   Emergency Room Doctor.  With just the D in place, I tested for medic.  No go.  Don't know why I was thinking about the battlefield. 

66. Timbuktu's land: MALI.

67. "Stronger" rapper West: KANYE.

68. 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE.  Arthur.

69. Coddling, briefly: TLC.  The Learning Channel.   Tender Loving Care.

70. Place: STEAD. 

Down:

1. Plum used to flavor spirits: SLOE.

2. Jazz band staple: HORN.   The Utah Jazz periodically play the Charlotte HORNets in pro basketball.   In fact, the Jazz will be hosting the Hornets tonight at the Vivant Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.

3. Adheres to a healthy diet: EATS RIGHT.

4. E. African land: ETH. iopia.   The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.   You will be tested on this in a future crossword puzzle.  The currency is the Birr, just in case that comes up some time.

5. It commonly involves spiders: PHOBIA.

1. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders.
2. Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes. 
3. Acrophobia – The fear of heights. 
4. Agoraphobia – The fear of open or crowded spaces. 
5. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs. 
6. Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightning. 
7. Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces. 
8. Mysophobia – The fear of germs. 
9.  Aerophobia – The fear of flying.
10. Trypophobia – The fear of holes.

YMMV on the order of the above.    I found some links that listed the top phobias by state.   Most rankings were based on internet search queries, and state results seemed to vary by year.   I guess that's to be expected using that type of methodology.   Here's one: Common Fears by State

6. "I'd love that!": PLEASE DO.

7. Auction action: BIDS. 

8. Last-second online auction participant: SNIPER.   New to me.   A brief article  from eBay.

9. Moved out: LEFT HOME.

10. Furry TV ET: ALF.   Alf  (né Gordon Shumway; b. October 28, 1756) is the nickname (based on  Alien Life Form) of an extra planetary visitor who followed an amateur radio signal to Earth from the planet Melmac.   Be careful WikWak ! 

The series lasted about 4 years.  It was very popular in Germany.   During the series run, a place in Germany named Alf had municipal signs stolen so many times they had to have extras made and stored in reserve.  The municipality also created replicas and offered them for sale to curb the thefts.  

11. Tony winner Menzel: IDINA.   Thrice nominated.   She won in 2004 for her role in Wicked.    DW saw it in Chicago with her gal pals.   I tended the farm.   I best know Idina Menzel from crosswords and for the Top 10 song,  "Let It Go" from the Disney animated film, Frozen, in which she voiced the character of Queen Elsa. 

12. Summarize: RECAP.   As a speaker, tell them what you told them.  As a listener, tell them what you heard.  Key takeaways.

15. Food recall cause: E. coli.  Escherichia coli.

17. Auctioned wheels: REPO.   Repossessed automobiles sold at auction.  You don't actually own the automobile until you get clear title.   Lenders have repo clauses in the loan agreements to reclaim the asset for payment failure and loan default.  Some lenders may repo for failure to provide adequate insurance. 

19. Fivesome: PENTAD.   This pentad is known as the Greek Church.  It's said to be the hardest of all splits to pick up.  As all bowlers know, splits happen.

20. Tolkien brutes: ORCs.

25. Halloween __: EVE.   I've never heard of Halloween Eve as a thing.  Heard of Halloween.  Heard of All Hallow's Eve.  Different names for the eve of All Saint's Day, right ?  Halloween Eve would be like eve of the eve.  Is it a thing ?    Oh well, it's a crossword puzzle, and it perped right in. 

27. "Reflection" musician Brian: ENO.   Understanding The Importance Of Brian Eno

28. Map out: PLAN.

29. Subterfuge: RUSE.

30. It's expected: PAR.  On the golf course.  It's incredibly easy to get par and more on every single hole, but the goal is to get par or less.

34. As much as possible: TO THE BONE.   Very much, or thoroughly.  "I couldn't get to the clubhouse in time; I got soaked to the bone from the sudden downpour. "

35. "Wonderfilled" cookie: OREO.

36. Coarse file: RASP.  Coarse voice:  Coach Orgeron of the LSU Bayou Bengals has one.

38. Not without ramifications: AT A PRICE.   "Yes, we can add those additional features", the project executive said.  He quickly added, "At a price", knowing full well that this customer had a history of using "unclear communications" and "customer satisfaction" complaints to get more than was bargained for.  PEs and PMs call it scope creep.  Contract terms and conditions need specificity,  with special focus on deliverables.  Ask Jinx.  He teaches this stuff.   

39. "The Problem with __": 2017 documentary about racial stereotypes: APU.


40. Blissful: BEATIFIC.   Wanted Edenlike, but quickly ruled it out.

41. Pacific weather phenomenon: LA NIÑA.   All you wanted to know and more:  El Niño and La Niña: Frequently asked questions

44. Iraq war issue, briefly: WMD.   Weapons of Mass Destruction.

46. Currency mkt. money: USD.   United States Dollar.

48. Real hoot: RIOT.

49. "To recap ... ": IN SUM.   Didn't we just have that word in an answer ?

50. Boo: JEER AT.   Increasingly common fan interaction with players, coaches, owners and teams.

51. Smart set?: ALECKS.   Loved this clue / answer.

52. Cautious: SAFE.

53. Automaker whose current models end in X: ACURA.   Fooled me.  The Tesla Model X came to mind. 

54. "The Big Bang Theory" crowd: NERDs.

58. "Actually ... ": WELL.

60. "Game of Thrones" girl __ Stark: ARYA.   As Abejo would say, "Four perps and I had it."   I never watched Hunger Games of Thrones.

61. Turned green, say: DYED.

63. Japanese drama: NOH.


64. Skin pic: TAT. Picture / tattoo.

Here's the grid so you can check your answers:

Wrong grid.  Here's the real grid so you can check your answers:

Friday, December 27, 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

"I, uh..."

17. A vat, some cloth, etc.?: DYER NEEDS.   Dire needs.

24. One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew?: MAYAN SWEEPER.   Mine sweeper.

38. Apothecary's concern?: PHIAL MANAGEMENT.    File management.  As Canadian Eh would tell us, phial is just another name for vial.

47. Large cat romantically interested in opposite-sex large cats?: STRAIGHT LION.   Straight line.

60. Surprisingly genteel outbreak of lawlessness?: CIVIL RIOT.   Civil right.


Had to ask for help to get the theme on this one.   The common phrases follow the 5 theme answers.   Just not sure that I agree about 17A, but the others all change a long I sound to an uh sound.  Dyer and Dire sound like the same pronunciation to me. 

Across:

1. Stop lying: RISE.   Get out of bed, perhaps.

5. Suburban expanse: LAWN.

9. Comes impressively into view: LOOMs.

14. One may be pitched to a publisher: IDEA.

15. Canal that helps connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic: ERIE.   Excellent story and photos in this PBS article.

16. Capital SSW of Damascus: AMMAN.   The capital of Syria is Damascus.  The capital of Jordan is Amman.  The currency of Syria is the Syrian Pound.   The currency of Jordan is the Jordanian Dinar.

19. Surprise in a bottle: GENIE.  

20. Shade tree: ELM.

21. Jazz saxophonist __ Cobb: ARNETT.   No idea.   He was known as "Wild Man of the Tenor Sax."  JzB probably nailed it.    I would have known war correspondent Peter Arnett.

23. Angle or angler's necessity: LINE.   LurE first.  Should have paid attention to both parts of the clue.

26. Not from around here: ALIEN.


29. Any of four palindromic emperors: OTTO.    I wonder if any of them were nicknamed Desper ?

30. Gels: SETs.

31. Moody: IN A PET.    I read that "in a pet" can mean a fit of peevishness, sulkiness, or anger.

35. Object of podiatric study: TOE.

41. Serious misdeed: SIN.  

42. Not on the fence: OPTING.

43. Túpac Amaru, e.g.: INCA.   Perps.  There was a rapper named Tupac Shakur, so Tupac struck a bell.  Amaru did not. 

44. Beige look-alike: ECRU.

46. Big celebrations: FETEs.

53. Oxen group: TEAM.   The yoke's on them.

54. Ex __: out of nothing, in Latin: NIHILO.   Thank you perps.

55. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.

58. Make over: RENEW.   A variant for the typical redo.

62. Being dragged behind: IN TOW.   There goes Jinx !

63. Largest human joint: KNEE.

64. Not doing anything: IDLE.

65. No longer hip: PASSE.   Huey Lewis sang to us that "It's hip to be square."

66. Fax button: SEND.

67. Like some pockets: DEEP.   Deep pockets are required for the fitted sheets on some thicker mattresses.   In your gums, they are bad for the health of your teeth.   And as we all know, it's another term for being financially well off.

Down:

1. Lift: RIDE.

2. Pastoral verse: IDYL.    Hey !   What happened to the other L ?   Either way, after listening to some pronunciation clips, it sounds like idle or idol to me.  

3. Appear: SEEM.

4. Facial projection: EAR.

5. Not sure (of): LEERY.

6. Sports venue: ARENA.

7. Increase in girth: WIDEN.

8. Fits one within another: NESTs.   Nesting dolls, boxes, bowls, tables, measuring spoons... What else ?

9. Hang back: LAG.

11. Capable of anything: OMNIPOTENT.   A powerful word.

12. Nearly half of New England: MAINE. 

13. Express contempt: SNEER.

18. Indian bread: NAAN.

22. With 10-Down, breakfast choice: TWO EGG, and 10-Down: See 22-Down: OMELET.   Two egg omelet.   How adding cheese, diced ham, green bell peppers and onions ?

24. Tableland: MESA.   Devils Tower, pictured at 9A, is considered a butte, not a mesa.

25. Suffix with cigar: ETTE.

26. Egyptian serpents: ASPS.

27. City near Provo: LEHI.   I've never been to Utah.  I thought the 4 letter city near Provo was Orem, since that is what we most often see in crosswords.  People from the state are called ?????

28. Nomadic sorts: ITINERANTS.   Nailed it with the IT start.

31. Call into question: IMPUGN.

32. Member of the 2019 World Series champs: NAT.   The Washington Nationals.

33. Request from a Midwestern cheerleader, maybe: AN I.    Take your pick from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, or Iowa State.    I watch when the Ohio State marching band dots the i.   I haven't heard any college cheers where the name is spelled out.  High school, yes.

34. God with a flute: PAN.   Didn't know Jean Pierre Rampal or James Galway from a couple of puzzles in the last few weeks, but Pan was a gimme.

36. Barely at all: ONCE.  Sometimes, barely at all is once too often.

37. LAX postings: ETAs.

39. Actress Petty: LORI.   No idea.   But then I learned she played Geena Davis's little sister in "A League of Their Own"


40. Comportment: MIEN.

45. Hitchcock was known for them: CAMEOs.   Here's 20 of the documented 39, but I couldn't spot him in a few.


46. Deluded one: FOOL.

47. Denude: STRIP.

I would have loved to see the clue simply as Delude, followed by Denude, but it was still fun.

48. Singer __ Marie: TEENA. The "Ivory Queen of Soul" here singing  "Square Biz"

"In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that caused momentary seizures for the rest of her life." - Wikipedia

49. 2006 "American Idol" winner Taylor __: HICKS.   Nailed it with Taylor.   DW is a fan of Idol.

50. Yours, once: THINE.

51. Animate: LIVEN.

52. Sheepish admission: I LIED.   Until I finally decided to stop lying and get out of bed.

55. Assistant: AIDE.

56. Cobbler's concern: SOLE.   You can get sole year round from New England fishmongers, and you can probably find an old-timey cobbler to resole your shoes if needed.

57. Dance part: STEP.

59. "SmackDown" org.: WWE.    World Wrestling Entertainment.   SmackDown is a brand for this professional wrestling and sports entertainment corporation.

61. Unburden: RID.

You can also check your answers here:

Friday, December 13, 2019 Victor Barocas

Time to Trim That Tree !

17. "O Tannenbaum" and others?: PINE NUMBERS.   Pin Numbers.   I mostly use four of them, all between 0 and 9.  Seems like too few possibilities.   

24. One trying to photograph a partridge during the holidays?: PEAR SHOOTER.   Pea shooter.   So quaint.  Wish it were now.

38. Muchacho working with wood?: ELM NINO.   El Nino.  Perfect clue / answer agreement with Muchacho / El Nino.

50. Boob tube yule log residue?: ASH SEEN ON TV.   That's just funny !  One channel airs continuous loops of "It's a Wonderful Life", another of "A Christmas Story", and another of "The Yule Log" from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.  A television tradition.

60. Do some holiday decorating ... and what you need to do to four puzzle answers to produce familiar phrases?: TRIM THE TREE.

The Pine, Pear, Elm and Ash trees all need to drop a letter in Victor's imaginative creation, rather than the now more commonly accepted meaning of "trimming a tree",  as in adorning.

More commonly accepted of course, unless you are old-school and still relish in the final pruning of the tree you and your family have just hewn from the local Christmas tree farm. 

Across:

1. Innocents: LAMBs.

6. Uncool crime?: ARSON.    Literally and figuratively.

11. "That cracks me up!": LOL.  Laugh Out Loud

14. Video game giant: ATARI.   Early successes were Pong,  Asteroids and Missile Command.

15. Old-school: RETRO.

16. Leave breathless: AWE.

19. Resting place: INN.

20. Meal in a pot: STEW.

21. Meal in a pot: SOUP.   Loved the consecutive clue duplication.

22. Styx home: HADES.   They're not from Hades.  They are from Chicago.   You may not recognize their name, but you would most likely remember so many of their hit songs from the '70s and '80s.

27. Submerge: ENGULF.

30. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY.   "Multilevel marketing" just seems to reek of a pyramid scheme to me.  Caution flags go up. 

31. Most Belgraders: SERBs.  Belgrade, Serbia.

32. Playing with a full deck: SANE. 

34. Free game version, perhaps: DEMO.

37. This answer's consonant count, aptly: TWO.   Creative clue.

41. Title for Jagger: SIR.   Mick Jagger. 

42. NRA member?: ASSN.    National Rifle Association

44. Actress Skye: IONE.   Her father was Donovan, perhaps best known for mid '60s pop hits  Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow. 

45. Barely leading: UP ONE.

47. Lacrosse need: STICK.   La crosse is of French Canadian origin.  It literally means crooked stick.

49. Finds exciting: IS IN TO.
 
53. Fail to match: CLASH.     Like plaid pants and a striped shirt.   Or, The Clash.  "The only band that matters."   An English band that you may recall from the song "Rock The Casbah" 

54. Air Force prog. that first admitted women in 1969: ROTC.   Reserve Officer Training Corps.

55. Sworn statement: OATH.

59. Like rappers Jon and Wayne: LIL.   Spotify now lists over 8,000 artists with “Lil’” or “Lil” at the beginning of their name. 

63. Monopoly abbr.: AVE.   Mediterranean Avenue, Baltic Avenue, Oriental Avenue, etc.

64. "Biography" channel: A AND E.

65. Toroidal bread: BAGEL.

66. Victorious shout: YES.

67. "Understood": ROGER.

68. Fair-haired: BLOND.

Down:

1. Track count: LAPs.

2. Fighting: AT IT.

3. Clydesdale feature: MANE.   Perhaps Clydesdale was chosen on the off chance that someone might not know of the famous horses.   But I would say that the most significant feature of the Clydesdale is their massive size.     In the area where I grew up,  there are various breeds of heavy horses still being used for farm labor, especially by the Amish and Mennonites.   We called them Pennsylvania draft horses or just draft horses,  regardless if they were Belgian, Percheron, or Clydesdale.

4. Craft beer server: BREW PUB.    Budweiser was hardly a craft beer when August Busch Jr. presented his father with the famous hitch and first case of beer after the repeal of Prohibition.  Busch Sr. saw the marketing potential and had the team sent by rail to NY and New England, delivering cases of beer to both Alfred E Smith and Franklin D Roosevelt.  The rest, as they say, is history.

5. Serious code-breaking?: SIN.

6. Strong suit: ARMOR.   The deck of cards clue had me thinking of card games.

7. Picture puzzle: REBUS. 

8. Zimbalist of "Remington Steele": STEPHANIE.    The show launched the career of Pierce Brosnan.      

9. Hockey legend: ORR.   Bobby.   His primary role on the ice was as a defenseman, but he twice led the NHL in scoring.  He scored the game winning goals in each of the two Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup victories in the early '70s.  He remains the only defenseman to have ever won the scoring title. 

10. Reason for an empty seat: NO SHOW.

11. Saw: LAID EYES ON.   Have you seen the Peloton  "The Gift That Gives Back" commercial ?   Struck me as cringe worthy.    I found it on YouTube and the comments were not favorable, and then comments were disabled as the story went viral. 

Then Ryan Reynolds hired her for a commercial for his Aviation Gin product.   In this take, she's having a different perspective after receiving a Peloton from her husband.  I love how her girlfriends are trying to figure out what to say and how to help her.  

12. "For sale by" sign poster: OWNER.    Obvious, but cute.   Gives me an idea for a practical joke to pull on a buddy.

13. Spyglass part: LENS.

18. Its Space Command has HQ in Colorado: USAF.  

23. Not much at all: A TAD.

25. Otherwise: ELSE.

26. Sign to interpret: OMEN.

27. Cuban pronoun: ESTA.   

28. Latest: NEWS.

29. Financial report line: GROSS SALES.

32. Caterpillar's exhalation in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland": SMOKE RING.   I didn't specifically remember.    Looked it up later.    The caterpillar was lazing on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah pipe.  

33. Andy's doll pal: ANN.   The Raggedy siblings.

35. 36-Down flavor: MINT.  

36. Classic cookie: OREO.    Anyone ever try a mint flavored Oreo ?

39. Tiny parasites: LICE.

40. Drive from power: OUST.

43. Unnamed degrees: NTHs.

46. Indispensable: PIVOTAL.

48. Fictional title country in a 1987 film: ISHTAR.   Roger Ebert said,  "It's not funny, it's not smart and it's interesting only in the way a traffic accident is interesting."  He gave it one star.

49. Foot fraction: INCH.   Foot fracture ?   You'll probably need the special boot.  Been there, done that.  

50. Still in the game: ALIVE. 

51. __ plume: NOM DE.   A pen name or pseudonym.

1. David John Moore Cornwell ?
2. Charles Dodgson ?
3. Eric Arthur Blair ?
4. Stanley Lieber ?
5. Samuel Clemens ?

52. River swimmer: OTTER.   Eric "Otter" Stratton became a successful Beverly Hills OB/GYN after leaving Farber. 

53. Art class medium: CLAY.

56. Ship to Colchis: ARGO.  Perps.

57. Many a gamer: TEEN.   Our language evolves.  Before video games and RPGs, # 2 was # 1.

1. 
   

   a person who plays video games or participates in role-playing games.
2. 
   

   North American (especially in sports) a person known for consistently making a strong effort.

       Similar to a gamer, calling a basketball player a baller is a compliment.

58. Kept: HELD. 

61. '90s Indian prime minister: RAO.   Perps.

62. Recede: EBB.    Reseed: Sow (again).

PSA - Speaking of the clue at 2D.  Fighting:

A flu shot is your best protection.

Check you answers here: