Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 Thomas Takaro

Theme: "Your Eyes Become You" - I is replaced by U in each theme entry.

23A. Traffic jam? : MUDDLE OF THE ROAD. Middle of the road.

33A. Serve leftover rolls? : RECYCLE BUNS. Recycle bins

42A. Dispute over young flowers? : BUDDING WAR. Bidding war.

59A. Last pat? : THE BUTTER END. The bitter end.

68A. Coin-making tool? : PENNY PUNCHER. Penny-pincher.
 
84A. Mediocre deli item? : DULL PICKLE. Dill pickle.

93A. Mallard's beard? : DUCK VAN DYKE. Dick Van Dyke.

107A. Pair of vehicles in a plot? : TWO CAR COLLUSION. Two-car collision.
 
15D. Viking descendant on a rampage? : NORMAN MAULER. Norman Mailer.

59D. "Don't forget the rubber disk"? : TAKE YOUR PUCK. Take your pick.

This puzzle has 10 theme entries, occupying total 120 squares. Very heavy in themeage. I don't think I've blogged a 120-themer before.

Rich's minimum requirement is 84. Tough to fill a grid cleanly when the theme entries have over 100 squares. 120 is much much tougher, hence the 88 black squares.

This is also Thomas's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations!

Across:
       
1. Ball stars : DEBS

5. Baseball's Hammerin' Hank : AARON. And 30. 5-Across broke his record, with "The" : BABE. Home run record. 715. That ball must be in Cooperstown. We also have 67. Giant of a Giant : MAYS (Willie)

10. Latin foot : PES

13. Cline portrayer in "Sweet Dreams" : LANGE (Jessica)

18. It comes from the head : IDEA

19. Bunkum : TRIPE

20. Meter preceder : ALTI

22. Thrown for __ : A LOOP

26. __ Rossi: Gallo brand : CARLO

27. View from Anchorage : DENALI

28. What may be intended by inadvertent wordplay? : NO PUN. No pun intended.

29. Theater giant? : IMAX

30. Verdi's "Un __ in maschera" : BALLO. Meaning "A Masked Ball". Learning moment for me.

37. "__ news?" : ANY

38. "It's Only a Paper Moon" composer : ARLEN. I need Harold in the clue.

39. Watch : EYE

40. Bay Area county : MARIN

47. Below average : SUBNORMAL

51. Rescue squad initials : EMS

52. "What should __?": dieter's quandary : I EAT

53. Totally lost : AT SEA

54. Boating implements : OARS

55. Goose cooked in its own fat, say : CONFIT. I don't think I've ever had goose. Duck yes.

57. Takes another tack : VEERS

58. Night in Nantes : NUIT

62. Low areas : DALES

63. Hawaiian non-natives : HAOLES. Just remember it as A HOLES.

64. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge : NOR

65. Grammarians' concerns : USAGES

67. Strong sharks : MAKOs

72. Words before "of rules" : A SET

73. Beaded counters : ABACI. Mine was pretty heavy.

75. Sealy alternatives : SERTAs

76. Ma playing music : YO YO. See the three white Chinese characters? Ma Yo-Yo. Chinese put surname first.

77. Bell sounds : DONGS

78. Traveler's option : RAIL

79. Filing tool : TAB

82. Some travelers put them on in winter : SNOW TIRES

87. "__ Gold": Fonda film : ULEE'S

88. Green Giant orb : PEA

90. Letter-shaped 95-Down opening : F-HOLE. And 95. Instrument with two 90-Acrosses : VIOLA

91. Birdie plus one : PAR

99. Agreements : YESES

100. Some dadaist art : ARPs. Jean Arp.

102. Fear-inducing : HAIRY

103. Not acceptable : UNCOOL

105. Made level, with "up" : TRUED
  

112. Vanzetti's partner : SACCO. I forgot. We had this before.

113. Price-slashing event : SALE

114. Eight-related : OCTAL

115. Island near Corsica : ELBA
 
116. Westernmost Canadian territory : YUKON

117. Confident ending? : IAL. Confidential.

118. Italian's "That'll do!" : BASTA

119. Similar : AKIN
  
Down:
 
1. Darken : DIM
 
2. School URL ending : EDU

3. Garden area : BED

4. Like polo ponies : SADDLED

5. Davidson College's NCAA conference, for most sports : A-TEN. Googled afterwards. Atlantic 10 Conference.

6. Like a crowd in full voice : AROAR

7. Go through hastily, as drawers : RIFLE

8. Vision-related : OPTIC

9. Bk. after Ezra : NEH (Nehemiah)

10. Prisoner's reward : PAROLE

11. Take off to get hitched : ELOPE

12. Outfielder Rusty who played for four different expansion teams : STAUB.  A la Wiki, the four expansion teams are: Astros, Expos, Mets and Rangers. You have to be a baseball fan to come up with this clue angle.

13. Place to swim, in Paris : LAC. Lake.

14. Jai __ : ALAI

16. __ Heights: disputed Mideast region : GOLAN. Somehow Golan Heights and Al-Qaeda were frequently covered in the daily 5-minute international news segment when I lived in China, the latter was just called "The Base". Boomer never heard of Al-Qaeda until 9/11.

17. Powerful adhesive : EPOXY

21. SSA-issued info : ID NUMBER

24. Actress Téa : LEONI

25. Suffix with consist : ENCY. ENCE works also.

 
31. Lily family member : ARUM

32. Honorary law degs. : LLDs

34. "You bet __ boots!" : YER

35. Grandmas : NANAs. 婆婆 (Po Po) or 奶奶 (Nai Nai) in Northern China. Different in Cantonese or other regions.

36. Welcome sign for concert promoters : SRO

41. Early metalworking period : IRON AGE

43. Sorrowful mother of legend : NIOBE

44. Group of related species : GENUS. And  96. Joshua tree's 44-Down : YUCCA

45. Float on the breeze : WAFT

46. Having a spat : AT IT

47. WWII firearm : STEN. I learned from doing crosswords.

48. Broken in : USED

49. Sign of spring : ARIES.  Perfect clue for ROBIN.

50. WWII carriers : LSTs

53. Some printer labels : AVERYS

55. Cartoon components : CELs

56. Game with yellow balls : TENNIS
 

60. Nocturnal hunter with a distinctive call : HOOT OWL

61. Mets sports commentator Darling : RON

62. Morse code tones : DAHS

63. Is attired in : HAS ON

65. Preposition often shortened to one syllable : UNTIL

66. Skull covering : SCALP

68. Window __ : PANE

69. Drs.' orders : ECGs

70. Biodiverse South American country : PERU

71. River to the Caspian : URAL

73. "Later, Louis!" : ADIEU

74. Sour red soups : BORSCHTS. Did not know this soup can be pluralized.

79. Ring outcomes, briefly : TKOs

80. Everyone, in Essen : ALLE

81. Fliers with stingers : BEES

83. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Ted Talks. I just love Derek Sivers' first Ted Talk.

84. Father figure : DAD

85. "Nice Work __ Can Get It": 2012 Broadway musical : IF YOU

86. Handler with a self-named Netflix talk show : CHELSEA. Close friend of Jennifer.

88. Package : PARCEL

89. Irish New Ager : ENYA

91. Cline of country : PATSY

92. Pianist Claudio : ARRAU. Chilean pianist. We also have 94. Japanese piano maker : KAWAI
  

97. Half hitch and bowline : KNOTS

98. Showiness : ECLAT

101. Vino __: dry wine : SECO

104. Southwestern pot : OLLA

106. Author DeLillo : DON. "White Noise".

108. Hijack, e.g. : ROB

109. Sort : ILK

110. Wrap for Cio-Cio-San : OBI. "Madama Butterfly".

111. Indian flatbread : NAN

 

   

Happy birthday to Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crossword. I suspect today's STAUB clue is Rich's. He always tries to add interesting trivia, fun and humor to all the clues. Often half or more clues of our daily puzzles are Rich's hard work. 

Last time when I had STATE FAIR, Rich changed my [Place to see giant produce] clue to [Minnesota's annual one is held in Falcon Heights]. It brought a big smile to my face. Lots of clever clues you guy like in my grids are from Rich. He's just an incredibly generous and encouraging editor. We're so lucky. I'm very lucky.

PS: I forgot to mention that our Melissa was married yesterday. She left her beloved job in California a few years ago and moved to Oregon. Since then, she's been totally committed to Adopt an Inmate project, working long hours and going through incredible difficulties alone. Best wishes on your new journey, dear Melissa!

Left to Right: Melissa's daughter, Melissa's mom Barbara B, Melissa

Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Thomas Takaro

Title: I CAN'T GET NO... 

Thomas has given us a fun mid-week puzzle which was a pleasure to solve. However, like the cartoon below, the gimmick evaded me and then hit me OUT OF left field!

Every starred answer was a two word phrase to which OUT OF can be added to either word and make two more common phrases. Very nice.

The fill went very smoothly with only this proper noun speed bump on the way

11. Tony-winning actress for "Miss Saigon" : LEA SALONGA - A name we had recently and I had already forgotten but it solved itself.

THEME ANSWERS, (plus adding OUT OF to first word):

18. *Cubicle, e.g. : WORK SPACE - becomes OUT OF WORK and OUT OF SPACE. - Conducting research while OUT OF WORK?

27. *Singing skill that enables good phrasing : BREATH CONTROL - OUT OF BREATH and OUT OF CONTROL - Breath holding is now a sport called Static Apnea. Here German Tom Sietas beats Brazilian Ricardo Bahia

45. *Number after a circled "c" : COPYRIGHT DATE - OUT OF COPYRIGHT and OUT OF DATE - In Canada, books are OUT OF COPYRIGHT 50 yrs after the author's death. That's January, 2015 for Ian Fleming

60. *Unobstructed view : SIGHT LINE - OUT OF SIGHT and OUT OF LINE - Less is more.

...and the reveal

69. Lacking, and what can go with each word in the answers to starred clues : OUT OF - This silly 1920's song tells of the vendor who is OUT OF bananas!

Now, before I am OUT OF time...

Across

1. Greek played by Anthony Quinn : ZORBA

6. Small plateau : MESA

10. Slick-talking : GLIB - Have I got a lemon car for you!

14. "That is to say ... " : I MEAN

15. Channel showing many games : ESPN

16. Sommelier's prefix : OENO - What he probably won't tell you

17. Incessantly : NO END

20. Kids' racing vehicles : GO KARTS

22. Chicken __ king : ALA - A high school favorite of mine when served on homemade biscuits

23. Prefix with pass or plus : SUR

24. Cultural funding org. : NEA

25. Mottled : PIED

26. MGM motto word : ARS

32. Get an __: ace : A ON

33. Casino gratuity : TOKE - Short for TOKEN of appreciation

34. Overseer : BOSS - The dealer above must call out "TOKE for the dealer" and tap the table to satisfy the pit BOSS that he or she is not stealing.

37. Harbor protectors : JETTIES - The Bussleton JETTY in Western Australia is well over a mile long and has its own railroad

39. "Vitruvian Man" artist : DA VINCI - Robert and Sophie find her dead grandfather in the Louvre posed as the Vitruvian Man at the beginning of The DA VINCI Code

42. Pacific Rim continent : ASIA

43. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI - "All women behave the same"

44. Jupiter or Mars : GOD

50. EPA pollution std. : AQI

52. Wetland plant : REED

53. Capri suffix : OTE - CAPRIOTE - A resident of the beautiful island of Capri or a conical hat worn by Spanish Clerics. Yeah, I know what they look like.

54. Bit of wordplay : PUN

55. Aviation stat. : ALT - At an ALT of ~50 miles, the sky starts to turn black and you are on the threshold of space


56. "Flags of Our Fathers" setting : IWO JIMA - The Marine Memorial is a sculpture of the raising of the flag on IWO JIMA's Mt. Suribachi and is just "a stone's throw" north of Arlington National Cemetery

63. Inn postings : RATES

64. Cosmopolitan rival : ELLE

65. Gold diggers' objectives : ORES

66. First in a line of Russian princes : IVAN I - 14th century Grand Duke Of Moscow

67. River crossed by Charon : STYX

68. Old or Wild follower : WEST - A 9-part series that tells all you need to know about The West and how it was won/stolen. It may not make you feel very proud.

Down

1. Zest : ZING - "ZING, ZING, ZING went my heartstrings"

2. Melville novel set on Tahiti : OMOO - His second novel - a sequel to Typee and four years before the one about that big fish, uh, mammal

3. Really stink : REEK

4. Split fruit? : BANANA - ~800cal but...

5. Mario who won IndyCar races in four different decades : ANDRETTI

6. Sussex stable area : MEWS - A row of houses or apartments converted from stables. Now you know as much as I do.

7. Anka's "__ Beso" : ESO - This has been a frequent visitor this spring


8. Common sports injury : SPRAIN - The Morris Boot is a way to ice 'em down and still be somewhat mobile

9. Short sock : ANKLET - When you don't need the boot

10. Rep. group : GOP

12. Run up, as debts : INCUR - $19,000,000,000,000 and counting here in the U.S.A. Your share is ~ $61,290.

13. Afrikaans speakers : BOERS

19. Iraq's __ City : SADR

21. Western border lake : TAHOE - Or a humongous SUV




25. "The Purloined Letter" writer : POE - Dupin replaces The Purloined Letter with a fake

27. Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly : BAJA - BAJA California is the home of my best friend from school (I'd say ELHI if I didn't despise that word)

28. Small deer : ROES - A Eurasian deer

29. With allure : ENTICINGLY

30. Bank statement listings: Abbr. : CKS - I can't be out of money, I still have some CKS!

31. Japanese sash : OBI


35. Edinburgh native : SCOT - Edinburgh native Stu Sutcliffe quit the Beatles to pursue an art career. They did however, picture him on this famous cover - Far left, third row from the top. I doubt that he got any royalties.

36. Agree (with) : SIDE

38. Eastern spiritual path : TAO

39. One may be fetching : DOG

40. __ of hands : A SHOW

41. Director De Sica : VITTORIO - Did you see his academy award winner Il Giardinao dei Finzi-Contini? Me either.

43. Spanish hero El __ : CID

46. Start to fall? : PRAT - A PRAT fall by Patrick Swayze in Ghost

47. Soccer penalty card color : YELLOW

48. Make more time for hobbies, say : RETIRE - Yeah, like crossword puzzles

49. "Here we go again" feeling : DEJAVU - Didn't I just blog a puzzle recently...

50. Cathedral areas : APSES 

51. Blanket that's often hand-sewn : QUILT

56. Superlative suffix : IEST

57. "Do __ once!" : IT AT


58. Less, musically : MENO - With (Un) slightly (poco) less (MENO) motion (mosso) as you see here

59. "Not a chance!" : AS IF - AS IF I knew what Un poco meno mosso meant!

61. Bad spell : HEX

62. Game console letters : NES


Now for some comments from you that hopefully are not OUT OF whack:

The Grid

Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 Thomas Takaro

Theme: Sound or Silence. Each theme entry begins with a different duration definition in musical notation.

17A. Sandwich option : WHOLE WHEAT BREAD. A bar's worth of note or rest. When I was taught music back in the UK this was known as a semibreve.

32A. 13-mile race : HALF MARATHON. Minim in Manchester

 41A. Equine sprinter : QUARTER HORSE. Crotchet in Croydon

59A. It prohibits cruel and unusual punishment : EIGHTH AMENDMENT. Quaver to the Queen

and

1A. See the 67-Across clue : REST You can have whole, half, quarter or eighth rests ...

67A. It can follow the starts of 17-, 32-, 41- and 59-Across : NOTE And whole, half, quarter or eighth notes.

You'd better be up on your music and your rather obscure miscellany today. In the former category we have the themers, plus ASSAI, DAL SEGNO and TACET. For the latter we have RAILLERY, ARENDT, ITZA, RAWER, BASTA, CUERS and MULETEER. I find it interesting that the first five words in that list have all been used previously in puzzles constructed by Rich himself. As far as I can see, MULETEER has never appeared in the LAT before (nor the NYT either).

What is a sixty-fourth note called in England? I'm glad you asked - it's a hemidemisemiquaver.

1A gets the cross-referenced-clue-dislikers off on the wrong foot today and I'm not sure it actually adds much as opposed to just going with a straight clecho. The one theme entry I don't particularly care for is 59A. The other three are fractional units, or the unit itself, but that last one is number eight in a list.

I don't usually pay a lot of attention to solving times, but this one was close to 15 minutes, and for me that's a long time for a Wednesday.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

5. Suitor's purchase : ROSES

10. Geological age : AEON. Handy vowel progression for a constructor.

14. Major follower? : -ETTE. Are you allowed to have these any more? They're probably called Majorpersons now.

15. Like the accent on "passé" : ACUTE

16. Proofer's catch : TYPO

20. Good-humored banter : RAILLERY. Charlotte Bronte used this word in Jane Eyre in 1847. I'm not sure it's been used since.

21. Superstore division : AISLE

22. Mandela's org. : A.N.C. The African National Congress.

23. Wrath : IRE

24. Very, in music : ASSAI. I'll take your word for it. Maybe one of our resident musical experts can tell us the difference between, let's say, allegretto assai, molto allegretto and allegro?

26. Rats, gnats and brats : PESTS

28. Loads : A LOT

29. E. Berlin's land : G.D.R. I stopped myself after filling G-E- and then paid attention to the significance of the "E" modifier in the clue. East Berlin was the capital of the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War.

36. Prefix with European : INDO

39. Words on Alice's cake : EAT ME. She was far too polite to reply "Bite me".

40. Chichén __: pyramid site : ITZA. Located in Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula.

44. Home of the NFL's Rams : STL. St. Louis. I looked sideways at this with one eyebrow raised. I'd be OK with the "on scoreboards" kind of modifier, I'm not sure I like it as a straight abbreviation.

45. High spot : ACME

46. Indian region known for its tea : ASSAM

50. Goldman's son-in-law and partner : SACHS

52. Share of the profits : CUT

54. Poke one's nose (into) : PRY

55. What we have here : THESE

57. Borax-transporting driver : MULETEER. As I mentioned at the top, I think this is the first time the word has appeared in the LAT crossword. I don't really get the "Borax" part of the clue though - mule teams move more than just borax, and borax is not moved solely by mule teams.

62. Coastal bird of prey : ERNE

63. Met event : OPERA. Nice logo.

64. More: Abbr. : ADDL.

65. Sign that stands out : NEON

66. Old West trackers : POSSE

Down:

1. Bundle up again : RE-WRAP

2. Natural gas component : ETHANE

3. Unemotional types : STOICS

4. Spill the beans : TELL

5. Less experienced, as a recruit : RAWER. Another rarity. Personally, I'd say "more raw", this comparative form seems clumsy somehow.

6. Natural earth shade : OCHRE

7. Chop __ : SUEY. Food! Finally something to sink my teeth into. A made-in-America "Chinese" dish.

8. DFW posting : E.T.A. Fill in ET and wait for the perp. Dallas/Fort Worth airport covers an area larger than Manhattan, second in size only to Denver. I've missed connections in both places.

9. Arrange dishes and utensils on : SET

10. Skylit lobbies : ATRIA

11. Ophthalmologist's concern : EYESIGHT

12. Australian gem : OPAL. The national gemstone down under.

13. Botanical junction : NODE

18. Woman in a "Paint Your Wagon" song : ELISA. Sung by Clint Eastwood in the 1969 movie version. I'll spare you the link.

19. Enzo's "Enough!" : BASTA! This doesn't fall into the "common Italian" bucket for me. Perhaps Marti uses this quite frequently towards the end of dinner?

24. San Antonio mission : ALAMO

25. More achy : SORER.

27. Hammer-toting god : THOR

28. The Beatles' "I __ Walrus" : AM THE. From the "Magical Mystery Tour" album. Get your dose of 60's psychedelia here.

30. Donut box qty. : DOZ.

31. Genetic letters : R.N.A. Fill in "NA" and wait for the perp. There were three of these for me today.

33. One who won't let go : LEECH

34. Produces produce : FARMS

35. Associations : TIES

36. Educ. testing data : I.Q.S

37. Bolt partner : NUT

38. Repeat symbol, in scores : DAL SEGNO. This thing. I never knew it had a name.

42. "Be silent," in music : TACET. Wouldn't it be easier to just leave the score blank? It's all very confusing, this music malarkey.

43. Filled to the limit : SATED

47. Maker of brief briefs : SPEEDO. Thankfully, most of the guys at my swim club now wear bicycle-short-style jammers rather than briefs.

48. Political philosopher Hannah : ARENDT. Crosses all the way. I had to look her up - I'm not up on my German-born political theorists.

49. South Carolina's __ Beach : MYRTLE

51. Sickly looking : ASHEN

52. Offstage aides : CUERS. I'm not buying this. Folks backstage that give an actor a line are called prompters, and that line is a prompt, not a cue. A cue comes from an action or an event, usually on stage. The cue for Antigonus to "Exit, pursued by a bear" in "A Winter's Tale" is the appearance of the bear. I'd be off that stage in a cloud of dust.

53. Forearm bones : ULNAE. My final "wait for the perp" fill after ULNA.

55. Babysitter, often : TEEN

56. Charter, as a bus : HIRE

57. Fr. wives : MMES. Madames in France.

58. Eliot Ness, e.g. : T-MAN

60. Bounce : HOP

61. GI's address : A.P.O. Army Post Office.

And ... here's the grid. I'm heading east to Washington D.C. today for a meeting tomorrow. It better have warmed up, I don't do winter!

Steve

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Thomas Takaro

Theme: Hike through a vowel progression.  Five four-letter words of the form H_CK serve as the theme clues, where the successive clues use all the vowels, in alphabetical order, to fill in the blank.  The unusual feature here is that the theme relates to the clues, and not the answers. An uncommon approach, but I think we've seen something like it before.  Maybe?

17A. Hack : TAXI DRIVER.  Or a political columnist, such as  .  .  . no, we won't go there.

23A. Heck : ANNOYED OATH. I believe this is a euphemism for H-E-double hockey sticks.

37A. Hick : BACKWOODS NATIVE.  Like the Beverly Hillbillies.

45A. Hock : EQUINE ANKLE.  Or bovine, or porcine, or anything pawned.

57A. Huck : BUDDY OF TOM.  Finn and Sawyer, respectively.

Hi, gang.  JazzBumpa here.  Let's see what the HECK is going on.

Across:

1. Gem : JEWEL.  Precious stone.  Do you think she's a gem?

6. At least three : A FEW.  When do we get into several and many?

10. Early late-night host : PAAR.  Jack.  PAAR or PARR; I can never remember. IIRC, he got in big trouble for making a toilet joke on TV. Those were such innocent times.

14. Doctoral exams : ORALS.  For PhDs.

15. "__ Las Vegas" : VIVA.  Elvis movie and song.

16. Comstock __: Nevada silver deposit : LODE.  Recognized this right away. Seems like I've always known this, but have no idea how or why.

19. Weapons, in Latin : ARMA. Could this be where our words ARMS and ARMY come from?

20. Ocular woe : STYE.  I know it all too well. Apply warm, moist compresses at the first sign, and you can avoid a lot of travail later.

21. Abu Dhabi's fed. : U. A. E.  Their Federation is the United Arab Emirates.

22. Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC.

26. Suitable for marriage : NUBILE.  According to the Free Dictionary, derived from the Latin nubere, to take a husband.

30. Eat too much of, as junk food : O.D. ON.  Over Dose - We've seen this before

31. "I'm on __!" : A ROLL.  That's what the butter said.

32. More navy than teal, say : BLUER.  Shades of meaning.

34. Duck foot feature : WEB.  What would the actor who played the Detective from Dragnet say if the duck stepped on a spider's silken creation?

40. Radical '70s gp. : SLA. The Symbionese Liberation Army operated from 1973-5 and kidnapped Patty Hearst.  I'm not sure if they had an actual radical ideology, or were just a bunch of opportunistic thugs.

41. Charlotte __: dessert : RUSSE.  A cold dessert of Bavarian cream set in a mold lined with ladyfingers. Sounds yummy.

42. Columnist Abigail Van __ : BUREN. The pen name of Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips, who passed away in January at the age of 94.  In real life, she was the twin sister of Ann Landers, the pre-existing pen name taken over by Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer in 1955, following the death of the originator, Ruth Crowley. Pauline's column started in 1956, and caused a long estrangement between the two twins.

43. Grief counselor's subject : LOSS.  I've been averaging about one funeral per month since last Fall.

44. Nobelist Camus : ALBERT.  French Nobel Prize winning absurdist author.

50. Stalin era prison : GULAG. We know this word because of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's non-fiction book, "The Gulag Archipelago," which won a Nobel Prize in 1970.  Back to back Nobility.

51. Common letters in an email address : AOL.  America On Line.

52. Tennis legend : ASHE.  Arthur.

56. Rice-A-__ : RONI.  The San Fransisco treat.

60. Depot postings, briefly : E.T.A.'s  Estimated Times of Arrival.

61. Sneaker brand : AVIA.

62. Long-legged flier : CRANE.

 Image Source

63. For whom the bell tolls : THEE.  John Donne told us this in a well known poem, which is actually an excerpt from this longer work.

64. Quaint "Listen!" : HARK.  Appropriate, though, when angels are singing.

65. Office cartridge contents : TONER. For the laser printer.

Down:

1. Writes on one's palm, say : JOTS. Can be handy at odd moments in interviews or speeches.

2. Q.E.D. word : ERAT.  The entire phrase is "quod erat demonstrandum," meaning "which had to be demonstrated".  Bit of an upgrade from "Eureka!" I suppose.

3. Like begonias : WAXY.  The leaves has a shiny appearance, as if waxed.

4. "A Jew Today" writer Wiesel : ELIE. He also wrote 56 other books, and gives the puzzle a Noble Prize Hat Trick.  Or is it a trifecta?

5. "Dropped" drug : LSD.  Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.  I never tried it.  Those who did were advised to "tune in, turn on and drop out."  Seems rather nihilistic.  If the three-letter abbrv. looks a bit odd, that's because it actually comes from the German "Lysergsäure-diethylamid."  Säure is the German word for acid.

6. Like doves and hawks : AVIAN.  Relating to birds, not warfare

7. Danno's outfit, familiarly : FIVE-O.  From the TV show Hawaii Five-O.

8. 25-Down resident, for a time : EVE.  She got into some sort of difficulty for inappropriate munching and consorting with reptiles.  Snakes and snacks - never a good combination.

9. Wouk's "The Winds of __" : WAR.  Concerns WW II.

10. Set aside time for : PLAN ON. Saw a good quote today: "Expectations are future disappointments."

11. Vital blood vessel : AORTA.  If I tell you this is an artery, would you think me vain?

12. Fess up : ADMIT.  Back in grade school, the nuns called it "owning up."

13. Arrive at : REACH. 

18. Mystical old letter : RUNE.  These consisted mainly of straight segments suitable for inscribing in stone.  They were used in Germanic languages from around the 2nd century A. D. until gradually being replaced by the Latin alphabet from about 700 on.

22. Cute as a button : ADORABLE.  Like kittehs, I suppose.

23. Bad way to get it : ALL WRONG.  I've done that.

24. Brooklynese pronoun : YOUSE.  As in the phrase "YOUSE GUYSES."

25. Genesis place : EDEN.  It was nice while it lasted.  I always wondered if EVE didn't get a bum rap.

26. Takes into custody : NABS.

27. Russia's __ Mountains : URAL. ARAL is the sea -- see?

28. Resort north of the Keys : BOCA Raton. Doesn't "Rat's Mouth" sound so much nicer in Spanish?

29. Type : ILK.  Remember the old days of ILK writers?  They didn't even have spel czek. Or did I stumble into some variety of ALL WRONG?

32. __ nova : BOSSA. Literally, "New Trend." A Brazilian aesthetic and musical movement from the 50's and 60's.

33. Church based in SLC, Utah : LDS. The Church of the Latter Day Saints is headquartered in Salt Lake City.

34. Speaker-to-stereo link : WIRE.

35. Always : EVER.

36. Crooked : BENT.

38. Yorkshire river : OUSE.  YOUSE guyses EVER been there?

39. Oleo holder : TUB.  The soft variety comes in a tub.

43. Get together (with) : LIAISE.  The noun form, LIAISON refers to communication, cooperation, working together, but also to adultery.

44. Get together (with) : ALLY. To unite or form a connection. (But not in an alley.)  Here the noun and verb forms are spelt the same, but pronounced differently.  You alLY with an ALly.  Also, note the contiguous clechos.

45. Long-legged flier : EGRET.  A feathered friend to complete our second pair of clechos.  Also sounds like the name of a wilding girl who was kissed by fire.

 Image Source

46. Repeated, like Poe's raven : QUOTH.  "Nevermore."

47. Forearm bones : ULNAE. Along with the femurs. Funny thing is, at the elbow, they both join the humerus.

48. It's the pits : NADIR.  This means the lowest point of some sequence or trajectory.  Curiously, it came into English from Arabic, around the 15th century.

49. "You press the button, we do the rest" camera company : KODAK.

52. High hair : AFRO. Retro, except for Cornel West.

53. Slugger Musial : STAN. The Man played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 until 1963, missing the 1945 season when he was drafted into the Navy.  On Sept. 11, 1963 he became a grandfather for the first time, and hit a home run in his first at-bat that day.  On September 29, the day of his retirement, he recorded two base hits, the same total as on his first day in the Majors, Sept 1, 1941. Statistician Bill James rates him as the 10th greatest player of all time.

54. Use a whetstone on : HONE.  Sharpen.

55. 911 situation: Abbr. : EMER. Emergency.

57. Scrooge's scoff : BAH. Also, humbug!

58. Charlottesville sch. : U. VA.  University of Virginia.

59. Mo. for opals : OCT.  Opal is the birth stone for October.

Well, there you have it: quite a nice puzzle with an unusual feature, clechos, lots of prize winners, a fresh feel, and it's just a Z away from a pangram.

Cool regards!

JzB

Friday, May 11, Thomas Takaro

Theme: It's FFriday not TThursday! Each of the four theme answers are Expressions in which "TT" is replaced by "FF." The classic letter transposition but two for the price of one. The reveal at the end is there just in case. This is our second puzzle from Mr. Takaro, and it is filled with lots of new clue/fill and an amusing bunch of phrases. We have last seen him in February, 2011 and he is my fifth puzzler to have his first LAT 2012 fall on Friday. Let's see:

20A. Legume polisher? : PEANUT BUFFER (BUTTER). First you have to recall peanuts are not nuts. My mind went to a bad place with Mr. Peanut and his fluffer, made my heart flutter.

28A. Singer Al after a jog? : PUFFING (PUTTING) GREEN. More golf and the singer famous for Let's Stay Together.

48A. Reptiles won at fundraisers? : RAFFLE (RATTLE) SNAKES. My Favorite visual, " Imagine Jack's surprise when he got home and opened his prize..."

56A. Cubicle reorganization? : SPACE SHUFFLE (SHUTTLE). And the hint:

70A. Punching tool ... or, read differently, a hint to 20-, 28-, 48- and 56-Across : F IS T. Parsing the word is key to the key. My problem with this as the hint is there are many "T"s in the puzzle and only the double ones become F.

Across:

1. Losing casino roll : CRAP. Well drat, I guess I picked the wrong week to give up cursing!

5. Motorola's Droid __ phone : RAZR. The latest version of Motorola's signature phone.

9. Smart way to think? : TWICE. Or not if you believe this SONG.(3:00)

14. Probate determination : HEIR. Our law clue out of the way.

15. Case for tiny scissors : ETUI. We have had this word a few time already for this decorative case or box.

16. Time to strike : H-HOUR. Not familiar with this term, but it makes sense, D-Day, H-Hour.

17."Guess the joke's __" : ON ME. Every Friday, like clockwork.

18. Rory McIlroy's game : GOLF. Golf's number 1, for now. He had an okay day Thursday.

19. Lightens : EASES. Like loads.

23. Play matchmaker for : SET UP. Are any of our couples the product of a set up? Not me, ever.

24. "Mad Men" revenue : AD FEES. The award winning AMC SHOW.(0:59).

33. Prefix with gram : ANAgram. A true CW puzzle delight. Mr. TAKARO is A RAT, OK?

36. City known for its cheese : PARMA. HOW TO.(5:11)

37. Country rocker Steve : EARLE. No clue, he sings is all I know and appeared on 30 Rock.

38. Matter of opinion : POLL. An appropriate clue in this election year.

40. Powerfully built : BEEFY. Ladies?

42. Level : TIER. There, there dear; I know we did not get good seats but don't cry.

43. First sign, astrologically : ARIES. Really? Jeannie who has a birthday Sunday is an Aries I think. HBDTY.

45. She played Addie in "Paper Moon" : TATUM. Ryan's little girl and McEnroe's ex.

47. Advance teaching deg. : EDD. Better than Kookie Byrnes?

51. Where to take it from? : THE TOP. No, we are not going back to 1A, we march on!

52. Civil rights org. : NAACP. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; isn't CP very un-PC?

61. Expand, as a compressed file : UNZIP. Carol, Lois, Jeannie; where are you when the puzzle calls your banes?

64. Mélange : OLIO. A very useful word and easier to spell than miscellany. Reminds me of OLEO, MARGARINE and BUTTER, a melange à trois.

65. Logic lesson verb : ERAT. I get it already, QED!

66. Soft leather : SUEDE.

67. Plasma bits : IONS. I cannot get the link to stay, but it is physics and both interesting and a little gross.

68. Variable quantity : SOME. Not too many, not too few.

69. Didn't go on : ENDED. Yes, the acrosses did not go on...

71. Sugar and spice amts. : TSPS. and everything nice, right ladies?

DOWN:

1. Preps for the chef, say : CHOPS. I love when someone chops the veggies when I cook.

2. Soprano Fleming : RENEE. Not your typical Opera STAR.

3. Go for : AIM AT. A nice naddorish two word answer, tricky to suss.

4. Celeb wedding feature, often : PRE-NUPtial. Is it love or is it money? More reason to not do domestic cases.

5. U.S. Army unit : REGimenT.

6. Minimal step : A TO B. Followed immediately by:

7. Phonetic alphabet ender : ZULU. Along with, 63D: Down-under 10-point game tile : ZED.

8. 9-Down solo : RIFF. 100 greatest? LINK.

9. U2 guitarist : THE EDGE. At WORK (1:23) riffing.

10. Dock pest : WHARF RAT. Do you like The Grateful Dead or this sculpture?

11. Island in the Aegean : IOS. This is one of the Cyclades, which is the island chain where my oldest worked a dig one summer.

12. Prompt : CUE. Showbiz, here we are.

13. EMS destinations : ERS. Emergecny Room (s).

21. "__ and away!" : UP UP. Many a broadcaster uses this when calling a home run (baseball for you sports haters).

22. Smoke, slangily : FAG. was the popular term when I first smoked in the 60's. We got the term from the British, right Steve? Nice Cuppa? Not to be confused with 29D. "Neato!" : FAB.

25. Weird : EERIE. Followed by another EE favorite...

26. Fished with pots : EELED.

27. Bergen dummy : SNERD. MORTIMER. (1:50) Candice Bergen's dad and one her "brother's."

30. Wrings one's hands, say : FRETS. Do not fret dear, I will buy you a guitar.

31. "Let me try that again ..." : I MEAN. What I am trying to say...

32. Three-nation pact of the '90s : NAFTA. North American Free Trade Agreement, US, Canada and Mexico.

33. Estranged : APART. my wife and I are...

34. "Don't Know Why" singer Jones : NORAH. Special talent, daughter of Ravi Shankar, Mr. Sitar, but much prettier to look at and LISTEN TO. (3:59).

35. Biography subtitle : A LIFE.

39. Sailor's port : LEFT SIDE. Yay!

41. Laugh syllable : YUK. This is an actual dictionary word, yuk yuk.

44. Fed, in a way : SLOPPED. Soo eee, pig pig pig.

46. Bistro window posting : MENU. More and more have no prices in the window.

49. Clean Air Act org. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

50. Alarmed to the max : SAFEST. I was thinking of being alarmed...

53. Puffy dos : AFROS. and Puffy don'ts LINK

54. Workshop tool : CLAMP.

55. "__ Dragon": 1977 Disney film : PETE'S. LINK. (4:42) 35 years already, wow.

57. Hair affair : COIF. Time for rhyme.

58. Sci-fi race : ELOI. No Yvette today.

59. Wrongs : SINS, Getting all religious, with a very nicely clued 62D. One in an order : NUN.

60. Run the show : HOST. Today you are all my guests at C.C.'s Corner.

61. Make the most of : USE. Hopefully I made the most of this Friday frolic, and you are all filled with fun. It all went too quickly, another case of premature elucidation, I am afraid. Until next time your man Friday...

Answer grid.

λεμονάδα επτακόσιες δεκατέσσερις. Hint λ is a lambda.

Lemonade

Notes from C.C.:

1) Huge congratulations to Mangesh Ghogre & Todd Gross for their Wall Street Journal debut today. Mangesh is an investment banker. He said having a puzzle published by WSJ is "incredible moment for me". You can go to Cruciverb and click/solve the puzzle on the right sidebar.

3) Mangesh is also featured in this week's edition of Open. Read here.

Monday, February 7, 2011 Thomas Takaro

Theme: About Face - The four grid-spanning entries end with a word for a part of your face.

17A. New perspective: FRESH PAIR OF EYES

25A. "Doesn't bother me a bit": "NO SKIN OFF MY NOSE"

43A. Listen very carefully: PRICK UP YOUR EARS. Not easy for us to do but open a snack around a dog and you will see ears pricking up.

57A. How the poor live: FROM HAND TO MOUTH

Argyle here. It's all or nothing day. We go from fifteen letter entries down to six letter entries. The majority are five(26) and four(32) and only lacking a Q from being a pangram. Makes an interesting start for the week.

Across:

1A. Steve of Apple: JOBS and 1D. Bezos of Amazon: JEFF. Steve Jobs is the co-founder of Apple. Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon.

5. Snug, as jeans : TIGHT

10. Agile : DEFT

14. Old-fashioned exclamation : "EGAD!"

15. One-way street sign symbol : ARROW

16. Draft classification : ONE A

20. Turkish topper : FEZ. Cheese fez. Congratulations, Green Bay.

21. U.S., French and Australian tournaments : OPENS. Wimbledon isn't usually called an Open but a Championship instead.

22. Hurdles for future attys. : LSATS

23. Emissions watchdog org. : EPA

24. "Dites-__": "South Pacific" song : MOI. Song.(1:31)

34. Deathly white : ASHEN

35. Did electrical work : WIRED

36. Roman peace : PAX. Pax is the Roman goddess of peace. Irene is the Greek Goddess of Peace

37. Inst. of learning : ACAD.. Academy.

38. "__ the loneliest number": '60s song lyric : ONE IS. Song(3:07) by Three Dog Night.

39. First name in jeans : LEVI

40. Word after box or cable : CAR

41. Burst of growth : SPURT

42. '90s candidate Ross : PEROT

46. Section of L.A.? : LOS

47. Commercial suffix with Water : PIK. For dental care.

48. __ Dei: lamb of God : AGNUS

51. Prophets : SEERS

54. Barfly : SOT

60. Rivers, to Rosita : RIOs. Spanish.

61. __ cum laude : MAGNA. With great praise; an honor added to a diploma or degree for work considered greatly above average.

62. Hummus holder : PITA, Anybody have this at their Super Bowl party?

63. Grand Ole __ : OPRY

64. Thrown weapon : SPEAR

65. Put in the overhead bin : STOW

Down:

2. Grimm baddie : OGRE

3. Folksinger Joan : BAEZ

4. '60s militant gp. : SDS. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

5. New York's __ Zee Bridge : TAPPAN. Over the Hudson, north of the city. Image.

6. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE. (Day of Wrath).

7. Boyish smile : GRIN. So what's a girlish smile?

8. __ d'oeuvre : HORS. M,m,m,m More snacks.

9. Seesaw complement : TWO

10. Knocks off : DOES IN

11. "Only Time" New Age singer : ENYA. Clip.(3:31)

12. Pedal pushers : FEET. Alliterated misdirection.

13. Soviet news source : TASS

18. "Come on, let's go for a ride!" : "HOP IN!"

19. Bank robber "Pretty Boy" __ : FLOYD

23. Barely made, with "out" : EKED

24. Lyon ladies: Abbr. : MMEs. French.

25. Civil rights org. : NAACP. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

26. Acting award : OSCAR

27. Lamb Chop creator Lewis : SHARI. Lamb Chop was a glorified sock puppet.

28. Admit it : OWN UP

29. Flaming : FIERY

30. Corn chip : FRITO. Are we out of dip?

31. Verdi work : OPERA

32. Really enjoy, as food : SAVOR

33. Some turnpike ramps : EXITS

38. Magnum __: great work : OPUS

39. Onion relative : LEEK. Probably could make dip with it.

41. Smidgen : SKOSH. I wonder if this is a regional word.

42. Bender of rays : PRISM

44. Bumbling : CLUMSY

45. Hubbub : UPROAR

48. Jackson 5 hairdo : AFRO

49. Golf club part : GRIP. "Grip it and rip it!"

50. American-born Jordanian queen : NOOR. Image.

51. Piece of cake : SNAP

52. Outskirts : EDGE

53. Sicilian smoker : ETNA. Volcano.

54. One of a deck's foursome : SUIT. Deck of cards.

55. Maestro Klemperer : OTTO. German conductor and composer widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.

56. Melting period : THAW

58. Early hrs. : AMs

59. Covert __: spy missions : OPs. Operations.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great photos Sallie took last Friday when she and her husband Gerry met with fellow Naples resident Grumpy & wife Wilda and the visiting Spitzboov & wife Betty.