Thursday, August 8th 2019 Roland Huget

Theme: Dennis Rodman - he created so many random news stories during his career, he seems a good theme title

17A. Annual e-tail sale event: CYBER MONDAY

25A. Expensive gift: DIAMOND RING. Here's one currently on eBay for $155,000 from Illinois. They don't say if you get free postage, I'm not bidding if I have to pay USPS. Pah.

38A. Old West wanted poster figure: REWARD MONEY

51A. Apollo craft: LUNAR MODULE. Lunar Excursion Module officially, but we'll LEM, or I mean LET that one go.

61A. Ideal deck-shuffling goal ... and a hint to a hidden word, and how it appears, in the four other longest answers: RANDOM ORDER, Surely random disorder? I think I see the point, but the reveal fell a little flat for me.

Simple enough theme from Roland, but still a lot of challenge to work through. I think we would all have navigated this one safely.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Shelves for cooking: RACKS

6. Image problem, briefly: BAD P.R.

11. Navy letters: USS

14. Muscat native: OMANI

15. Catherine of "Best in Show": O'HARA

16. Water source: TAP. English! Faucet now.

19. Good Grips gadget brand: OXO. I have an OXO can opener. Best I've ever had. Bed, Bath and Beyond - take your 20% off coupon and get one, I'm sure you've got a pile of coupons. I tell them they should just knock 20% off all the prices and save themselves the cost of printing and mailing the coupons.

20. Distrustful: LEERY

21. Any of six classic Clue cards: WEAPON. What are they? The candlestick seems a little bludgeon-y. There! I just invented a word!

23. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello": 'ERE. With a candlestick?

28. Folded snack: TACO. Food! I made carnitas al carbon tacos with two salsas, crema, queso and pico de gallo at the weekend. I think I passed out in a food coma.

30. Put away: HID

31. Shock, in a way: TASE

32. Sliced very thin: SHAVED. Food! I'm loving this today. Shaved truffles? Go lightly ...

35. Substantial: SOLID

41. Soprano Fleming: RENEE. Thank you, crosswords past.

42. Log on to: ACCESS

45. Barely go (through): SEEP. Hmmm. Not sure about this clue. Seep to me means slowly, not a struggle to get through a gap.

48. Like a favored project: PET

50. Govt. workplace watchdog: OSHA

56. "The Fountainhead" author Rand: AYN. I read this years ago, it was a long read. I rarely give up on a book, but this one was a challenge.

57. Build up: ACCRUE

58. Raptor's grabber: TALON

60. E'en if: THO'

66. Call someone by the wrong name, e.g.: ERR. I do this all the time, all the memory games I play just don't help. I've called long-term girlfriends the wrong name at random times. That usually doesn't go over well.

67. Outrage: ANGER

68. Small change in a small bank: PENNY

69. Catch: SEE

70. City on the Rhone: LYONS. I stalled on this one for a while, I've been to Lyon a number of times - as far as I know, unless there is another similar-named city on the Rhone, the city is called LYON. A quite beautiful place with great food. I first went there when I was 17 and was hitchhiking through France. I got dropped off at midnight by a little park where I pitched my tent. I woke up in the morning and found that I was camped on a traffic circle in the middle of the rush hour. A Gendarme drove up and told me to get the hell out of there :) I'd be happy to be corrected, about the spelling, but I'm calling this entry a rare mistake.

71. Ham it up: EMOTE

Down:

1. Big bird of myth: ROC

2. Adams of HBO's "Sharp Objects": AMY. No clue, thank you crosses.

3. Iconic San Francisco transport: CABLE CAR. Fun to ride up and down the hill from downtown to Fisherman's Wharf. Amazing that the old technology works just fine!

4. Tot's perch: KNEE

5. Fathered: SIRED

6. "Take that!": BOOYAH!

7. "Kung Fu" actor Philip: AHN. Another one, thank you crosses.

8. Pops: DAD

9. Decapod on a menu: PRAWN. I'm not sure I knew they had ten pods, whatever a pod is. I need to go and research this.

10. Like starfish: RAYED. I've love to explain this one, but I have no idea why a starfish is "rayed" - is it sunbathing? We need to explore Google.

11. Ideal place: UTOPIA

12. Battle of Hastings combatants: SAXONS. The home side. The Away team the Normans, sneaky buggers, invented shooting people in the eye with arrows. Then made a tapestry out of it. Oh well, that's why my DNA is 17% North-West French.

13. Dish cleaner: SPONGE. Whirlpool Dishwasher didn't fit.

18. Orthopedist's pic: MRI

22. Like the Empire State Building: ART DECO. Funny, I don't think of the Empire State Building as Art Deco. The Chrysler Building, yes.

23. Presumed UFO crew: E.T.'S

24. Cheering word: RAH!

26. Transgression: MISDEED

27. 2016 Tony winner Leslie __ Jr.: ODOM. Crosses again! I'd be all over (figuratively!) the basketball player.

29. Like a bogey: OVER PAR. Now this was interesting. I had the "O" in place and went for "ONE OVER". There's a lot of common letters, so unpicking the mistake wasn't straightforward.

33. Romano cheese source: EWE. Sheep. Cheese.

34. Singer Fogelberg: DAN

36. Mauna __: LOA. KEA also, so if you have the "A" wait for a cross.

37. Fortune rival: INC. Money magazines. I don't read them, maybe I should.

39. Seized wheels: REPO

40. Ambiguous response: YES AND NO

43. Short: SHY.Shy of a dollar, a dime ... short of the check.

44. Japanese title of respect: -SAN. I'd clue this as a suffix, as you don't use "SAN" alone. A man or a woman - Steve-san in my case, Zhouquin-san in C.C.'s case.

45. Roofing pieces: SLATES

46. Trick-taking card game: EUCHRE. I learned this game from some Mid-west friends. I knew I had it nailed when I "went alone" and won every trick. So much fun. My friend Laura from Illinois is an Euchre magician, just don't bet when you go up against her.

47. Recital bonus: ENCORE

49. Private teachers: TUTORS

52. Like much of Idaho: RURAL

53. Nasty type: MEANY

54. Hightail it: LAM

55. Hitch on the fly: ELOPE.

59. Utah city on I-15: OREM. Thank you, crosswords past. On the subject of Utah, when I drove to Las Vegas recently on I-15 from LA, the miles were shown to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. What was odd was that the SLC mileage was pasted over with a new number. Did it move? There were at least 10 mileage boards that I passed with an "amended" mileage.

62. Private aid prog.: NGO. I ddn't even see this while I was filling in the grid. A Non-Governmental Organization.

63. Spot for a recliner: DEN

64. Tolkien creature: ENT. A tree, who specializes in tonsil infections, stirrup problems and sinus infections ... no, wait ....

65. Manhattan liquor: RYE. Whisky, bitters, sugar and a twist of orange.

And on that happy note, Slainte!

Here's the grid!

Steve

Thursday, August 1st 2019 Jack Murtagh

Theme: Clueless in Los Angeles - but step down and find the unclued related theme entry!

20A. Court address: YOUR + 25A. -: HONOR

18A. World's largest lizard: KOMODO  + 23A -: DRAGON

53A. Percussion piece: SNARE + 57A. -: DRUM

55A. Shotgun type: DOUBLE + 62A. -: BARREL. One of my favorite movies is Guy Richie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Here is Vinnie Jones, who was a professional football player in England before he moved to acting. Trust me, he was pretty much the same on the field as he was in his movie persona:

The reveal tells us:

40A. Instructions for fire safety ... or for completing four puzzle answers: STOP DROP AND ROLL

Great puzzle - you fill in the first part of the theme entry - then you run out of space, but what? Drop down a square and fill in the second word, unclued. So that takes care of the "STOP" and "DROP" in the reveal, but what is this? A ROLL - Honor roll, Dragon roll (sushi, yay!), drum roll and barrel roll. Woo-hoo! A great puzzle from Jack, there is much to like in this one. I think this might be Jack's first puzzle in the LA Times, so Huzzah! for that.

I had no clue regarding the theme until I noticed that I'd filled in "DRUM" with the crosses, and I just guessed at SNARE. Then I looked at a mostly empty grid, and realized what we were dealing with. I love the unlocking the secret of a puzzle, and this one is up there with my favorites. I respect the creative thought that goes into these. Thanks, Jack, you had me bemused for quite some time. Bravo! - Or, as I have learned from watching the great Tour de France this year - "Chapeau"! *

Across:

1. Digital unit: BIT. Bits, bytes, megabytes. No-one thought of terabytes back in the day, that was science fiction. I have a 2TB hard drive to back up my computer, it's the size of Post-It pad and cheap enough to make Captain Kirk's eyes water. We'll come back to the Post-It note at some point, fascinating history for the iconic 3M product.

4. Play the part of: ACT AS

9. Paintball attire, for short: CAMO. I have camo shorts. I think at one point we all did. No longer a fashion item, I wear them hiking (stealth mode so that I don't get eaten by mountain lions).

13. Cry from a card holder: UNO!

14. Religious leader: CLERIC. I didn't really consider a cleric a leader, I thought he/she would be way down on the totem pole, but I guess a flock, and he leads them.

16. Made man?: ADAM. Made from clay, if I recall correctly. Eve was made with clay and a rib?

17. Home for the holidays, say: OFF. I'm off. Actually, not yet, I still have a puzzle to go.

19. Rooftop spinner: VANE. If it's spinning you've got some serious weather heading your way. Buckle up!

22. FDR job-creating program: WPA

27. Catchers with pots: EELERS. Slippery little buggers - have you tried to catch one with your hands?

28. Like the Avengers: HEROIC

31. Twice DVI: MXII. I miscalculated this and ended up with CODEC which I was sure was correct. Nope. Buzzer!

32. Z preceder: A TO. This was a head-scratcher until I parsed it out. A to Z. There's a town near me called Azusa - it was founded as an industrial manufacturing town - they made everything "from A to Z in the USA."

33. Pancake at a seder: LATKE

36. Longtime Sweethearts maker: NECCO. Hands up everyone who has handed out a Love Heart in school! I gave one to Laura. The pain of unrequited love.

43. Marx forte: HUMOR. Not "Communist Revolutionary Theory"? OK, my bad. Not enough squares.

44. Kim and Kourtney's sister: KHLOE. I hate that I know this.

45. Bundle of cash: WAD

46. Toy with a tail: KITE

48. "Spill it": TELL ME

50. Bassett of "American Horror Story": ANGELA. Crosses all the way. I'm sure she's a great actress in a great movie, but never blipped on my radar.

56. Zing: PEP

61. Where Georgia is: ASIA. I struggle with the Europe/Asia divide, it seems very arbitrary

65. Mineral resource: ORE

66. Move: SELL

67. Cocktail garnishes: OLIVES. Why did I go with LEMONS first? That did not work at all. If I order a martini, I get a Gibson - onions, not olives, in my defense.

68. A long time follower?: AGO. "A long long time ago, I can still remember how the music used to make me smile". Let's sing along with Don McLean. I'm sorry you have to click through a couple of ads, but on a side note, why did the post have a picture of Bob Dylan?

69. Scoundrel: HEEL

70. "Aida" setting: EGYPT

71. Dawn phenomenon: DEW. Sundown also, there is a dewpoint in the evening too. That's when it hurts your plants, when you get dew that freezes overnight.

Down:

1. Elevate: BUOY. "Boy" in English-English, Boo-eey in American English. I think after 25 years I prefer the latter.

2. Scoop: INFO. 

3. Curds in cubes: TOFU. Food! Mine goes into Pad Thai noodles. Pour boiling water onto the cubes to dry them out - I know it's counter-intertuitive but it works. Then add them to the wok.

4. "Oy!": ACK!

5. High-capacity vehicle?: CLOWN CAR Colorful, and a nightmare for anyone with coulrophobia:

6. Record time?: TEMPO. Is 33/45/78 a tempo? I'm showing my age, everything now is a download. Damn, I'm old.

7. Like noisy fans: AROAR. I suppose so. Still doesn't beat Grantland Rice's "Under a blue-gray sky, the four horsemen of the apocalypse rode again". Sports journalism at its finest.

8. Vicious on stage: SID. The Sex Pistols. I won't link a song, not everyone's cup of tea. I saw them in a basement room in a pub in North London before Sid joined the band, and boy, I have to say they were talented, they caught the moment and caught lightning in a bottle.

9. High-and-mighty: CAVALIER

10. Wise words: ADAGE

11. Regal home: MANOR. Regal? Not so sure, regal means royal. Lords of the Manor were certainly elevated in society, but not royal.

12. Warning signs: OMENS

15. Book form that replaced the scroll: CODEX. Featured in "The Da Vinci Code". And I couldn't remember the spelling.

21. Pi follower: RHO

24. Team in a seasonal verse: REINDEER

26. Boring contraption: OIL DRILL. Hmm. Oil Drill? Not sure that's a thing. "Can you bring me an oil drill"? Said on-one, ever.

28. Diner dish: HASH

29. Words to a backstabber: ET TU! More like a front-stabber if you read the text. I'll give this one a pass.

30. Part of a Clue accusation: ROOM. Colonel Mustard, Candlestick, Library. It's always the blunt instrument that gets you.

31. "Iron Chef America" creation: MEAL. Food! Nice clue. Mystery ingredient, five courses. Just don't get me started on Alton Brown who is the biggest charlatan in food shows, period. I wouldn't trust him to judge my cooking as far as I could throw him, and that's not a long way.

34. Casino gratuity: TOKE. Learning moment. I've tipped the dealers cash or tokens, but never thought of it as a "toke". I must consign that to the memory banks.

35. Canadian road sign letters: KPH, Don't go too fast, eh?

37. Monk's hood: COWL

38. Quahog or geoduck: CLAM. A geoduck is one heck of a clam.

39. Renaissance faire word: OLDE

41. Sphere used to capture a Pikachu, say: POKEBALL. Now this one I need some help with. My brother-in-law is a huge Pokémon Go fan, I'd ask him but he's old enough to know better. What is the sphere thing? It filled itself in.

42. "Zip it!": NOT A PEEP!

47. Fitness portmanteau: TAE-BO. Taekwondo and Boxing. Apparently.

49. Was in charge: LED

50. Small recipe amount: A DASH. Food! I tend to use a couple of dashes.

51. Long time follower?: NO SEE. Clecho with 68A. Nicely done.

52. Chicanery: GUILE

53. Rosemary unit: SPRIG. "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" Plenty of food! today.

54. Brazen: NERVY

58. "Ice __ Truckers": TV reality series: ROAD

59. Impulse: URGE

60. Cry that may mean "I'm out of tuna!": MEOW! Poor kitty.

63. Microbrewery output: ALE

64. WWII craft: LST. Landing Ship, Tank, I believe.

*I learned that the French also "take their hat off" to someone to show respect. They just abbreviate it to "hat" - hence "Chapeau"!

That's it from me today, here's the grid!

Steve

Thursday, July 25th, 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme Clean Sweep - all the theme entries are phrases containing the name of a detergent, to wit:

17A. Detergent sold around Yankee Stadium?: BRONX CHEER. Hopefully none aimed at this puzzle.

27A. Jingle for a detergent ad?: SURF MUSIC. What better excuse for a summer blast with the Beach Boys from 1963?

38a. Detergent for fishing equipment?: NET GAIN

47A. Directors in charge of a detergent?: DASHBOARD. The outlier regarding the theme. One word, not two.

63A. Detergent for seasonal cleaning?: SPRING TIDE. Quickly - which tide is higher, the spring or the neap?


So, I have to say I found this a struggle, the center section especially. I stared it down eventually, but it really was a challenge, so kudos to Paul for the assignment. The cluing was tough, but there were a couple of entries which were, to my mind, so obscure to be worthy of my new acronym SNOE (Said No-One, Ever). We'll come to those in due course.

That being said, the theme was fun, and some nice long downs to tie things together. Let's go and explore:

Across:

1. Diet food phrase: NO-FAT. Heavens. What a horrible idea! I look at the fat content of everything I eat, but no fat? No flavor.

6. Puny pencil: STUB

10. __ gin fizz: SLOE. I used to make sloe gin back in the UK. You pick a basket of sloe berries in the winter, prick them all over with a needle (takes a while!) and infuse them with a couple of pints of gin or more. A few weeks later you uncork the bottles and yay! Sloe Gin!

14. Ancient market: AGORA

15. Long Island Iced Tea coloring provider: COLA. I tried COKE first against my better instincts.

16. Double-decker checker: KING. Checkers. Two makes a king. Is it three that makes a queen?

19. Village People megahit: YMCA. I saw them perform at Dodger Stadium on a July 4th after the game. They still had it!

20. Good to go: SET

21. Put up: HOUSE. Soft "S" if you're wondering.

22. Fell off: EBBED

23. Title characters, typically: LEADS. As in actors.

25. Tetris shape: ELL. I've seen Tetris, never played it. I can see how it could get addictive.

26. Chicken __: KIEV. Food! A classic recipe - chicken breast stuffed with parsley, garlic and butter and fried in breadcrumbs. Certainly not NO-FAT. We should be less sniffy about the "old school" food, this one is delicious. Just don't eat it every day.

33. Stuck, with "down": BOGGED

35. Game official: REF

36. Mediterranean tourist site: ETNA. Yay! A clue that doesn't talk about Sicily or "spewer".

37. "Go team!": RAH!

41. Same old routine: RUT

42. __ sax: ALTO

44. Charge: FEE

45. Large sea ducks: EIDERS. Those of the popular "down". I hope we leave them alone now and use synthetic breast feathers. I don't need to be kept warm that badly.

50. Junior prom attendee: TEEN. Isn't a senior prom attendee a teen too? I've never been to a prom, but aren't seniors teens too?

51. G.I. chow: M.R.E. Meals, Ready to Eat. Also "Meals Rarely Enjoyed" or "Meals Rejected by the Enemy".

52. "Snowy" bird: EGRET

54. No-sweat class: EASY "A"

57. Copier of old: MIMEO. I tried XEROX first against all common sense. I circled around this puzzle for quite a while filling in odds and ends here and there. This mis-step didn't help.

59. Member of the fam: SIB. Ling.

62. Quickly down: CHUG

65. Kon-Tiki Museum city: OSLO. I do want to go to Oslo, just so I can visit the crossword museums - the Nobel library, the Kon-Tiki museum, I think there are a couple of other destinations too.

66. Acorn droppers: OAKS

67. Three on a par-five, say: EAGLE. Golf, two under par. Or "Turkey Eagle" if you watch the ads for State Farm Insurance with Ricky Fowler. He's a funny chap, on a par with Peyton Manning in the celebrity commercial actor stakes.

68. Hard on the ears: LOUD

69. Military outpost: BASE

70. Composition for nine: NONET. Playing a nice-piece on a tightrope? No Net.

Down:

1. Bags: NABS

2. Fantasy brute: OGRE

3. Stage illumination: FOOTLIGHTS. This was fun, I noodled around with FLOODLIGHT, SPOTLIGHTS and others before the crosses started to help me out. I was an electrician with an amateur theatre company in London and lit a lot of productions. I blew myself off my stool in the lighting booth once when my cunningly-rigged stage telephone shorted out the lighting board mid-performance (it was a dress rehearsal, so no harm done). My hair was only slightly singed. Don't mess around with 220 volts and 30 amps. I picked myself up off the floor. I only missed one lighting cue as I patted myself on the back. There was a funny smell in the lighting booth for a few days, I think it was my charred hair.

4. Prince Valiant's son: ARN. Why did I think this was HAL?

5. Many an offshore bank account: TAX HAVEN

6. Go downhill fast: SCHUSS. The tuck position. If you're watching the Tour de France, watch tomorrow's stage 19 in the Alps, and watch the riders schuss on the downhills. They are crazy, I've come off a bike at around 25 MPH and it hurts. These guys are doing around 50.

7. __ the line: TOES

8. Film beekeeper: ULEE

9. Keep out: BAR

10. Color named for a natural phenomenon: SKY BLUE

11. Spot for a nest: LIMB. There are sparrows nesting in a street sign outside my door right now. Two chicks have been born. A lot safer inside a steel street sign than perched on a tree branch.

12. A while back: ONCE

13. "Good grief!": EGAD!

18. Atlantic catch: COD. A great fish, now slowly recovering from the over-fishing of the 70's and 80's. The UK and Iceland went to a "soft" war over the fishing grounds in the North Atlantic. A couple of warning shots were fired by British frigates in the so-called "Cod Wars".

22. Stately tree: ELM I had OAK first until 66A put paid to that idea.

24. Brain scan, for short: EEG. I need to consign the difference between EKG, ECG and EEG to memory. That one letter in the middle held me up for a long time

25. __ White, Jennifer Hudson's role in the film "Dreamgirls": EFFIE. Thank you crosses, I saw and enjoyed the movie, but the name escaped me.

26. Fluffy-eared critter: KOALA. I was trying to think of the fluffy guys in the movie who turn nasty (when they get wet?). Then I saw the light. I still can't remember what they were called, and a Google search "movie critters who get wet" doesn't help.

28. Pushy type: URGER. SNOE. First one.

29. "V for Vendetta" actor Stephen: REA

30. It may have an arrow: STREET SIGN

31. Store, as ashes: INURN. Quicky following on from 28D. My second SNOE of the day.

32. Title pets in a Lilian Jackson Braun mystery series: CATS. Have you seen the trailer for the new CATS movie? It's so creepy I had nightmares. Two questions - why does Helen Mirren's character wear a fur coat, when she's got fur underneath? And - why do the female cats have boobs? We should be told.

33. Thin nail: BRAD

34. "Moll Flanders" novelist: DEFOE. A lot of deep digging in the memory banks for this one.

39. Cause of a brewed awakening?: TEA. I get the wordplay here, but I think this is a stretch, even for a tea-drinker like me.

40. Ammonia component: NITROGEN

43. "Heavens!": OH MY GOD!

46. Snider of Twisted Sister: DEE. A great band who became popular in the 1980's. Go search for them on YouTube, you'll find some entertaining videos on there.

48. Sports __: BRA. In my youth I sang a version of "Rawhide" that was amusing to my ears: "Round 'em up, move 'em in, head 'em up, squash 'em down ... Sports Bra!". You have to understand I was young and foolish :)

49. End: DEMISE

53. High-ranking off.: GEN. General. Don't watch the commercials, they are all terrible.

54. Earth Day subj.: ECOL. ogy.

55. "Understood": AH, SO! SNOE, unless they are playing a cod Chinese character in a terrible movie.

56. "Mr." on a sci-fi bridge: SULU. Star Trek chap. I'm pretty sure he never said "Ah, So, Captain". I might be wrong, but somehow I doubt it.

57. Film-rating org.: M.P.A.A. The Motion Picture Association of America. I read an article recently about the British equivalent, and what now informs their ratings. I'd risk upsetting the mild-mannered amongst our Cornerites if I was too detailed, but apparently some "things" no longer consign your movie to the 18+ category as long as they inform the story.

58. Bothers: IRKS

60. Like much chitchat: IDLE. Isn't all chitchat idle? I thought that was the definition.

61. Borscht vegetable: BEET

63. Blubber: SOB

64. Confucian path: TAO

And ... we get to the grid after a long and winding road. Hope you had fun with Paul's puzzle.

Steve

Thursday, July 18th 2019 John-Clark Levin & Jeff Chen

Theme: Could I get the scam on the side? As the diner said to the huckster.

The reveal tells us what to look for:

54. Freelance for extra income ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues: SIDE HUSTLE. The first or last word is the hustle, depending on which side of the grid the entry is placed.

16A. *Goof off: FOOL AROUND

24A. *Mecca for sci-fi and superhero fans: COMIC CON. A lot of the attendees take it pretty "seriously", quite the colorful crew:

29A. *Trace-amount precipitation: SNOW FLURRIES. Thankfully rare in Los Angeles. I did my share of cold back in the old country. I'd not heard of "snow" in the context of a hustle before.

39A. *Object of Jason's quest: GOLDEN FLEECE. I always think of the skeleton-fighting scene from the movie "Jason and the Argonauts". Not bad special effects for 1963.

46A. *Make flashy modifications to: TRICK OUT. There's a whole culture of auto trick-outery here in Southern California.

This looks to be the second LAT collaboration between John-Clark and Jeff, the first was just back in May, and very enjoyable this was too. Entertaining theme, fun fill and some nice cluing and misdirection. Let's see what jumps out:

Across:

1. Like challah bread: EGGY

5. Obligations: DEBTS

10. Pistons' org.: N.B.A.

13. Broadway seductress: LOLA. From the musical "Kinky Boots". The Broadway production went dark this April after more than 2,500 performances. The impressarios got their money back on that one!

14. Threepio's pal: ARTOO. Star Wars droids, as we all know.

15. Take the show on the road: TOUR

18. Stunt legend Knievel: EVEL. His son, Robbie, continues the family tradition.

19. Suit parts: VESTS. Could be COATS or PANTS so wait for some help from the crosses.

20. Gross sales, on an income statement: TOP LINE

22. Juices up: FUELS

25. Jessica of the "Fantastic Four" films: ALBA

26. Mysterious power: ESP.

28. Votes against: NOES

33. Burden: TAX. Don't get me started.

34. Co-star/co-creator Issa __ of HBO's "Insecure": RAE. No clue, thank you crosses. I used to get HBO as a "bonus" when I switched providers, but I never watched anything on there, so I cancelled when my free trial was done.

35. Prefix with -gram: ANA. I find it disappointing you can't make an anagram out of anagram. I'm going to start a company called "Garmana" just so there is one.

36. Quick drink: NIP

42. Oil cartel: OPEC

44. Commotion: ADO

45. __ Stefani, returning coach on "The Voice": GWEN. She's great, I loved the third No Doubt album "Tragic Kingdom". Here's the breakout single.

49. Puts on Facebook: POSTS

50. Alerts on the road: HONKS AT. Generally not an alert, more a frustration-reliever.

51. Often-dystopian conflict: WW III

53. "Er, I'd rather not": UM, NO

58. Start of D-Day?: DEES. Two "D"s begin "D-Day". Nice clue.

59. Like Navy SEALs: ELITE

60. Run like heck: TEAR

61. Nursery roll: SOD

62. Intuit: SENSE

63. Watson who played Hermione in Harry Potter films: EMMA

Down:

1. Sprite: ELF

2. Muck: GOO

3. Car storage spot: GLOVE BOX. Very nice, took me a while to see the misdirection here.

4. Sonia Sotomayor's alma mater: YALE LAW

5. Pub flier: DART

6. Greek Cupid: EROS. No more Eros lessons, I think you've all got it now. Class dismissed.

7. Approx. 1,055 joules: B.T.U. British Thermal Units. Rule Britannia!

8. Depp's "Lone Ranger" role: TONTO

9. Genesis city of sin: SODOM

10. Beginner: NOVICE

11. __ Aires: BUENOS. A city on my bucket list to visit. I've worked for companies with an office there, but never managed to swing a trip.

12. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Harold Arlen was a musical machine - he wrote the melodies for many, many songs. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th Century's No. 1 song by RIAA and the National Endowment for the Arts.

15. AT&T and Verizon: TELCOS. I think AT&T might be considered a little more than a telco with the acquisition of DirecTV and the takeover of Time Warner.

17. Pack animal: ASS

21. __ gland: organ that secretes melatonin: PINEAL

22. Extreme diet: FAST

23. Forearm bone: ULNA

24. Life-saving proc.: C.P.R. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Long desscription for something you need in a hurry. Thank you, abbreviations.

26. Mideast airline: EL AL

27. Took to court: SUED

30. Monastic garments: FROCKS. I call 'em cassocks, but what do I know?

31. South African capital: RAND

32. Recon target: INFO

36. One may trend on Twitter: NEWS ITEM

37. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE T. The NYPD's Special Victim's Unit is the basis for this version of the franchise.

38. Pilot products: PENS. I've got one next to my laptop as we speak. I love the thin stylus and free-flowing ink.

39. Sticky-toed lizards: GECKOS

40. Wear (away): EAT

41. Chanel fragrance for men: EGOISTE. Seems to be missing a "T" and adding an "E", but that's what you get with product names. I suppose "EGOTIST" doesn't send many positive connotations.

42. Words that begin the line before "Deny thy father and refuse thy name": O ROMEO!

43. Determined precisely, with "down": PINNED

46. Dull sounds: THUDS

47. Caravan stops: OASES

48. Functional: UTILE

49. More, on a score: PIU. Learning moment for me, I think. I know I'm going to forget about it in about 30 seconds time, but at least I've seen it now.

51. Dampens: WETS

52. Roller coaster cry: WHEE! Not me, the only coaster that doesn't scare me to death is the one I put my cocktail on.

55. Racket: DIN

56. Quick flight: LAM. Nice misdirection, I was on the "short HOP" track at first.

57. Eventful chapter: ERA. The penny dropped, I was thinking of novels at first.

Here's the grid in all its "edgy" detail, and I think I'm out of blog.

Steve

Thursday, July 11th 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme: The Byrds Songs - what better to celebrate a nice punning puzzle with a reminder of Roger McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker?

I'm assuming I don't have to explain the puns, they're pretty obvious, so let's call out the theme entries and move on.

17A. Devious nestling's cry?: CHEEP TRICK. Here's Cheap Trick for color (or black and white in this picture, darn).

27A. Early-rising duck's call?: QUACK OF DAWN

46A. Prizeworthy cornfield sounds?: CAWS CÉLÈBRE. Not sure about the definition in the clue here. "Prizeworthy" doesn't ring true. Controversial or unpopular in my dictionary.

62A. Elegant dove's murmur?: COO DE GRÂCE. Filling up my quota of diacriticals here.

I was interested to see that two of the four punning entries had been used before - no knock on Paul´s elegant puzzle, but both had appeared in the NYT, granted 20 years apart, but the most recent was 2017. I like how Paul pulled everything together with the aviarian theme though. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Red ink list: DEBTS

6. Editor's "never mind": STET

10. Fast one: SCAM

14. Naturally lit courtyards: ATRIA

15. Mex. title: SRTA. Senorita. Not just Mexico, any Spanish-speaking country.

16. Roughly: OR SO

19. Word on diet food packaging: LITE

20. Like a coach after a rough game, maybe: HOARSE

21. Marriott-owned hotel chain: SHERATON. Marriott and Hilton have pretty much acquired every other hotel chain on the planet.

23. Sets, as a price: ASKS

24. Div. won by the Braves 13 times: N.L.E. Atlanta of the National League East.

26. Besmirch: TAR

32. __ Maria: TIA. I tried AVE first, which didn't work so well. A non-religious friend of mine works with some parochial schools, and was reading a hymn sheet. She asked me why "Avenue Maria" was part of a prayer.

35. Big bully: BRUTE

36. Protected at sea: ALEE

37. Counselor: ADVISER

39. Watch for money, usually: BABYSIT

42. Four-time Grammy winners Kings of __: LEON. I decided not to link one of my favorite songs of theirs - it has the s*x word in the title, and I didn't want to upset anyone.

43. Backspace over: ERASE

45. Hosp. areas: O.R.'S My first full-time job out of high school was as a cleaner in the county hospital. I'm not sure how many O.R's and E.R's I cleaned up. That was a good education for a precocious 17-year-old. It certainly taught me a couple of life lessons.

49. Amigo: PAL

50. Letters from the Civil War: CSA

51. Mine bonanza: LODE. Is there a father lode? I know there's a mother one.

55. Skated on thin ice: RAN A RISK

59. Look into again, as a cold case: REOPEN

61. Brought into play: USED

64. Many a retired thoroughbred: SIRE

65. "It __ up to me": ISN'T

66. Catcher's interference, in baseball rules: ERROR

67. Kit Carson House site: TAOS

68. Throw away: TOSS. Nicely proximate to TAOS.

69. Nostalgically fashionable: RETRO

Down:

1. Russian country house: DACHA

2. Cultural spirit: ETHOS

3. Work stoppage?: BREAK

4. Elaborate cake layers: TIERS. I guess "elaborate" because a tier needs to be stacked on something?

5. Easy marks: SAPS

6. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr.: S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic.

7. Split into thirds: TRISECT. Quite an uncommon word, but perfectly logical.

8. Inscribe: ETCH

9. Start liking: TAKE TO

10. Astronomical time period: SOLAR DAY. The time it takes for a planet to rotate on its axis so that the sun appears in the same place in the sky. 24 hours on Earth, 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds on Mars.

11. Lit __: CRIT

12. In the matter of: AS TO

13. Kohler rival: MOEN

18. Academic goal: TENURE

22. Churchill's "so few": Abbr.: R.A.F. The Royal Air Force. "Per Ardua Ad Astra". I'm sure you all know the full quote:

"Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few".

25. Bay leaf source: LAUREL

27. Moon and Starr of the NFL: QB'S. Nice clue. Warren Moon and Bart Starr. Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to the first two Superbowl wins. He passed away recently, in May.

28. Skewered fare: KEBABS. I wait for crosses, as "KEBOBS" is equally valid. Also "KABOBS/KABABS".

29. "And another thing ... ": ALSO

30. 2003 Masters champ Mike: WEIR. A Canadian leftie, winning the Masters was the highlight of his career.

31. Brings home: NETS

32. Locker room sprinkle: TALC

33. Brain wave: IDEA

34. Admit frankly: AVOW. I had "AVER" first which slowed me down a little.

38. To a great degree: IN SPADES

40. Equally hard to find: AS RARE

41. Contest where participants stand for a spell: BEE. Is the National Spelling Bee done? What, eight joint winners after the organizers ran out of words this year? It seems a little silly now, especially with all the professional coaching that seems to be compulsory to give the kid a chance to compete. Let's just call it a day and move on.

44. Figures: RECKONS

47. Elevator __: CAR

48. Bring out: ELICIT

51. He played Ugarte in "Casablanca": LORRÉ. ¨He goes strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorré, contemplating a crime¨.

52. Eyeball benders: OP ART. I posted an example of this a couple of years ago, and spent the night with my eyes spinning and I couldn't sleep. Google at your own (pleasure) risk.

53. HGTV topic: DECOR

54. Two before marzo: ENERO. Spanish months, January and March.

55. Reddish shade: RUST

56. Where to find Java: ASIA. Also, my kitchen, with a pound of Blue Mountain coffee brought back from Jamaica. I use it sparingly, it's delicious but expensive.

57. Student of Seneca: NERO

58. Just all right: SO-SO

60. Hungarian wine region: EGER. Not one of the most well-known regions, but some nice reds are produced there. You need to be careful, a lot of the wineries load up the wines with a ton of alcohol, not the most subtle approach.

63. Rehab symptom, for short: DT'S. Delirium Tremens, or visions of pink elephants and the shakes, much the same that anyone would experience watching the latest Disney remake of "Dumbo". What were they thinking?


Well, that about wraps up another Thursday from me. Here's the grid and I'll get my coat.

Steve

Thursday July 4th, 2019 Ed Sessa

Theme: Death and ... taxes. The inevitable turns up today to celebrate July 4th. Maybe an odd choice but ...

17A. Meets unexpectedly: BUMPS INTO. Sin Tax. Excise levied on products the experts in the know think you shouldn't be buying. Tobacco, alcohol, etc. What about cheese?

23A. Works with one's private tutor, say: TAKES A LESSON. Sales tax. Getting out of hand here in California. We already have one of the highest ....

34A. Emergency run-through opening: THIS IS JUST A TEST. ... state taxes in the Union.

46A. Utah's state tree: QUAKING ASPEN. I'd never heard of the tree - well, the "quaking" part. We quake when the gas tax is increased, it seems like every budget. Pretty trees though ...

56A. Income-reducing inequity, or what can be found in the four other longest puzzle answers: HIDDEN TAX. I like the "inequity" part of the clue. Tax Freedom day was April 16th this year - the day you stop paying taxes to the Government and start making money for yourself.

Fun theme from Ed, and as usual, a nice grid, tight theme and pleasant fill. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Settle for leftovers: EAT IN

6. "A revolution is not a dinner party" statesman: MAO

9. Additions to the staff: HIRES. Deductions from the staff: FIRES. Admirable symmetry. Happier to be a hire than a fire.

14. Petting zoo critter: LLAMA. These buggers are nasty, I'm not sure they're really petting zoo candidates, they bite and have an amazing ability to spit.

15. Wayfarer's stop: INN

16. Lexus rival: ACURA

19. Connecting waterway: CANAL

20. Rock band need: AMP. I'd say "amps". Famously, the Rolling Stones brought the bass player Bill Wyman into the band because he owned an amp. I don't think Keith Richard liked him a whole lot, in his autobiography he mentioned Wyman twice - when he joined the band and when he quit. That's about 40 years of total anonymity, which seems unfair.

21. Board game with rooms: CLUE. Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick. Fun game.

22. Woo with a tune: SING TO

25. Emily Dickinson's hometown: AMHERST. Most of her work was never seen until her death, and even then was heavily edited.

28. Longtime nighttime host: LENO

29. Bread brushed with ghee: NAAN. Food! I usually stick to chapatis with Indian food, the naan are very filling.

30. Zipped: SPED

31. Feathery wrap: BOA

39. Tennis' Andy Murray's title: SIR. Wimbledon started this week, so very apt. By the way, it's "Wimbledon" with a "D", not "Wimbleton". Thank you.

40. Bud: CHUM

41. Sign of holiness: HALO

42. Facial tissue?: SKIN

43. Opposite of engagement: BOREDOM

50. When many workdays start: AT NINE. Mine usually kicks off at six - timezone issues with head office.

51. Said, "The dog ate my homework," probably: LIED. I'd love to know what the reaction is if your dog really ate your homework and you tried that excuse?

52. Notable period: ERA

55. Church offering: TITHE. Is it 5% of what you make? Seems a lot.

58. Fake handle: ALIAS

59. Many a Monopoly sq.: AVE. From memory, the British Monopoly board has only one - Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square. When I visit London, my go-to hotel is on that street.

60. "Live at the Acropolis" keyboardist: YANNI. Who? Thank you, crosses.

61. Takes it easy: RESTS

62. "Let's do it!": YES!

63. Mild oath: EGADS!

Down:

1. Idris of "Luther": ELBA

2. College benefactor: ALUM

3. Pack (down): TAMP

4. Little dickens: IMP

5. Brickyard 400 acronym: NASCAR. I just saw an interview with Tony Stewart on Dan Patrick's Audience Network show. He was asked "What p*sses you off?" and after the "How long do we have?" response, he said, as the show was taped in LA - "Anyone that drives a Prius", I had to give a golf clap to that response.

6. Courtly dance: MINUET

7. Pays for a hand: ANTES. Poker. Ante up, people.

8. Middle name adopted by John Lennon: ONO

9. Mexicali mansion: HACIENDA

10. "Just you watch me": I CAN SO. Hopefully not ending in tears.

11. Steps up a ladder: RUNGS

12. Poetry Muse: ERATO

13. Place for a makeover: SALON

18. Sorts: ILKS

22. Icy forecast: SLEET

23. Change for a 50: TENS

24. "Heidi" setting: ALPS

25. Armadillo meal: ANTS

26. When repeated, fish on a menu: MAHI

27. Tresses: HAIR

30. Dim __: traditional Chinese food: SUM. I think we had a discussion about this a couple of weeks ago. The last time we were in the UK, we found a dim sum restaurant with a completely gluten-free menu, to the delight of my friend who can't eat wheat. It was worth every bite.

31. Spot on a sweater?: BEAD

32. Peace Prize city: OSLO

33. Minute matter: ATOM

35. Gross quality: ICKINESS

36. Stand out: SHINE

37. Freud contemporary: JUNG

38. If so: THEN

42. Schusser's topper: SKI HAT "Schuss" is the downhill ski tuck position, not turns, just get down as fast as you can.

43. They're usually not hits: B-SIDES. I think the Beatles might argue this, some of their b-sides were more successful than the "A"'s. Here's an example! 

44. Columnist's page: OP-ED

45. Overnight flight: RED-EYE. I've experienced plenty of these, absolutely horrible, I refuse to fly red-eyes as much as possible

46. Saudi Arabia's neighbor: QATAR

47. Of practical value: UTILE. I Like this word, and resolve to use it more often.

48. Voices against: ANTIS

49. Vibrant: ALIVE

52. Italian peak: ETNA

53. McNally's mapmaking partner: RAND. Did you know that Mason and Dixon, who plotted the line, were both British? One was a mapmaker, the other an astronomer.

54. Geometric reference line: AXIS

56. __ fever: HAY

57. Scraggly horse: NAG

I think that might be it from me today. Under a time-crunch, so maybe not a lot of color today, for which my apologies. However, here's the grid with some theme-color to make up for it.

Steve

Thursday, June 27th 2019 Bruce Haight

Theme: Corporate Takeover - the theme entries are clued punningly as commercial operations:

16A. Place to get gifts?: PRESENT COMPANY. "Present company" seems tied to the word "excepted" in my mind. Anyone else?

24A. Place to get fireplace equipment?: POKER DEALER. Disney's "Toy Story 4" is in theaters shortly and apparently features the poker-playing dogs from the movie "Up".

35A. Place to get movie actors?: EXTRA FIRM. Food! As in extra firm tofu, I use it for my pad thai noodles.

49A. Place to get laundry detergent?: ALL BUSINESS. I rarely see ALL on the shelves on my shopping forays. Is it exclusive to Walmart?

57A. Place to get help with estate planning?: PASSING CONCERN. A problem that keeps soccer coaches awake at night. Did anyone else think the England v. Cameroon game in the World Cup was one the most bizarre sports events you've ever witnessed? Quite strange.

And to the summary!

Enjoyable puzzle from Bruce. It was a pretty much left-to-right and top-to-bottom solve for me, I was firmly on the Haight wavelength today. I caught myself entering "PASSING COMP .." and then realized it must be something else, it was too similar to 16A and didn't make sense in the context of the theme.

All the theme entries are fresh, but the fill less so - maybe that's why there wasn't a lot holding me back. The puzzle is only the "Z" short of a pangram - I wonder if Bruce tried to find a place to slot one "Z" in there somewhere?

Let's go and look at what catches the eye:

Across:

1. "Welcome to Kauai!": ALOHA!

6. Channel bobber: BUOY. Pronounced "BOY" in the UK. Makes as much sense as "BOO-EE" here in the US.

10. Persian for "crown": TAJ

13. "Service at the Speed of Sound" fast-food chain: SONIC. I've never been in one, they're relatively scarce here in California, and we already boast the king of all burger chains - In N Out. If you've got a couple of spare minutes, check out the late, great Anthony Bourdain describing the glorious food item that is the In N Out burger.

14. Tolstoy title name: ANNA

15. Moment or way lead-in: IN A

19. Web statistic: HITS

20. Cruet contents: OIL. A cruet set always seemed so posh to me when I was a kid, something that exotic people had on their dining table. We had salt, (white) pepper and a bottle of malt vinegar.

21. "Yay me!": I RULE!

23. French friend: AMI

27. Hedy of Hollywood: LAMARR. She wan't just a pretty face - she and co-researcher and composer George Anthiel were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for their wartime work developing radio guidance systems.

29. Stick with a boat?: OAR

30. Singer DiFranco: ANI

31. Roman fountain: TREVI

32. "Rebel Yell" singer Billy: IDOL

34. Grasp, in slang: GROK. Well known around these parts referring to when you finally see the theme in a puzzle.

38. Put up with: BEAR

41. Techniques: WAYS

42. Liver spreads: PATÉS. Food! You could leave the accent out and have a collection of bald heads.

46. Prefix with catastrophe: ECO-

47. Online help page: FAQ

48. "My turn": I'M NEXT

53. Shopkeeper who by his own admission sells "surprisingly expensive" penny candy at the Kwik-E-Mart: APU. 

Customer 1: I need one twenty-nine cent stamp.

Apu: That's a dollar eighty-five.

Customer 2: I want two dollars worth of gas, please.

Apu: Four-twenty.

Martin: How much is your penny candy?

Apu: Surprisingly expensive.

54. Silent performers: MIMES

55. Oz. or lb.: AMT. I tried QTY first, but it looked a little odd.

56. "Instinct" star Cumming: ALAN. A very talented stage, film and TV actor, as well as performing in cabaret.

61. Park it, so to speak: SIT

62. Slope overlooking a loch: BRAE. Alan Cumming would know this, he's Scottish. Did you know there are five inlets named as lochs around Pearl Harbor?

63. Speak formally: ORATE

64. Pair of allies?: ELS. Nice clue. Two "L"s.

65. "G'day" addressee: MATE, followed closely by "Throw another shrimp on the barbie while I shout us all stubbies".

66. Put on the back burner: DEFER

Down:

1. It can cover a lot: ASPHALT. Another nice clue. I'm always tempted to put an extra H in there ... ASHPHALT - then it looks wrong and out it comes.

2. "Dallas" production studio: LORIMAR. I couldn't believe I didn't hesitate on this one. "Dallas" was enormously popular in the UK. The BBC caused all kinds of rumpus among the traditionalists when they announced the shooting of J.R. on the prime BBC news broadcast after the episode was aired.

3. Former: ONE-TIME

4. Sound neither an actor nor a hiker wants to hear: HISS.

5. Top fighter pilot: ACE

6. Dyeing art: BATIK

7. "I give up!": UNCLE!

8. Peace activist Yoko: ONO. Beatle fans on one or other side of the Yoko divide should enjoy this picture published today of John and Paul during the recording of "Abbey Road", taken by Paul's wife Linda. He says "... it reminds me that the idea we weren’t friends is rubbish. We were lifelong friends, our relationship was super-special." which might put paid to the notion that Yoko was instrumental in the breakup of the band.

9. Thanksgiving veggie: YAM

10. Royal topper: TIARA. Wasn't sure about the "royal" part here. Anyone can wear a tiara.

11. Ring-shaped: ANNULAR

12. Host of a "garage" show since 2014: JAY LENO

17. Jordan's Queen __: NOOR

18. Berth place: PIER

22. Composer Satie: ERIK. Here's "Gymnopédie No.1" beloved of unimaginative ad agencies all over the world.

24. __ fixe: PRIX

25. They may be pitched: ROOFS

26. Spanish surrealist: DALI

28. Say with conviction: AVER

32. Mosul native: IRAQI. I'm never quite sure about the middle east cities, I know I should be ashamed. IRANI/IRAQI  to me means "wait for the crosses".

33. Calendar square: DAY

34. FBI agent: G-MAN

36. Christmas poem contraction: 'TWAS

37. Tach nos.: RPMS. I wanted REVS, but the crosses I had already completed wouldn't let me.

38. Ray: BEAM

39. Total or partial event: ECLIPSE

40. Outlook alternative: AOL MAIL. Is this still a thing? I suppose it is. My first email address was with Compuserve, later acquired by AOL. In the early days, you couldn't choose your own email address, it was your 10-digit Compuserve account number. Mine was something like 11287.84913@compuserve.com. Hardly memorable.

43. One steeping in a cup: TEA LEAF

44. One-sided, in legal proceedings: EX PARTE

45. Huge surprise: STUNNER

47. Complain: FUSS

48. Analogy words: IS TO. There's a whole existential debate about analogies that I began to read and fell down the rabbit hole that is the Internet. I emerged an hour later with my head spinning with examples from linguistics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, anatomy and other areas I can't wrap my head around. I'll stick to "like" as evidenced in a Washington Post competition entry: "Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever." Wonderful.

50. Conquers: BESTS

51. Pester: NAG AT

52. One sporting a mic: EMCEE

56. "Back forty" unit: ACRE

58. Tech giant that sold its PC division to Lenovo: IBM. Lenovo have done a pretty good job with the tech acquisition. My last three work laptops have all been Lenovos. My personal laptop is a Chromebook, to the chagrin of my techie chums. I love it (I'm writing this blog on it as we speak).  I've not found anything I can't do on this that I did on the PC.

59. New Deal agcy.: N.R.A. The National Recovery Administration.

60. Drift (off): NOD

Well, the puzzle didn't make me nod off, so huzzah! for that. Here's the grid, "one Z short of the pangram." Do you have any expressions for someone not "quite there"? The British have "One sandwich short of a picnic", the Australians "two bricks short of a full load" (or "he's got kangaroos loose in the top paddock" which has to be my all-time favorite, but not quite fitting this theme).

OK, as you were, back to business. Here's the grid.

Steve

Thursday, June 20th 2019 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Seasonal Scrambles - each theme entry has a scramble of one of the seasons hidden in it, as the reveal explains:

59A. What happens tomorrow ... and a hint to this grid's circled letters: CHANGE OF SEASONS. We move from spring to summer on Friday.

17A. Brief CV: SHORT FORM RESUMÉ. Summer.

24A. Make music with one's mouth closed: HUM A TUNE. Autumn.

36A Dessert potables : PORT WINES. Winter.

52A. Some facial decor: LIP RINGS. Spring.

Cool theme, I like how the seasons follow each other rather than just appear randomly. My daughter has a LIP RING which I was rather startled by the first time I saw it, but it's grown on me. PORT WINE is my favorite go-to with the cheese plate after dinner. SHORT-FORM RESUMÉ I'm not so sure about, but I did like the overall challenge here. Solid crosses for a lot of proper names. I wonder if Peter suggested to Rich when to run this puzzle and changed the reveal clue accordingly.

Across:

1. Hogwarts professor played by Rickman: SNAPE

6. Monk style: BEBOP. Nice misdirection. I was trying to think of another word for "tonsure" when I saw the light. Thelonious Monk.

11. "It's __-win situation": A NO

14. Groovier part of a 45?: SIDE A. How many grooves are there on a standard 45? Two, one on each side.

15. Achille __: hijacked liner: LAURO

16. Baseball commentator Darling: RON. New to me. Crosses solved it for me.

20. Ristorante rice dish: RISOTTO. I can just hear Gordon Ramsay say "Two Wellingtons, one spaghetti and one perfect risotto".

21. Votin' no on: AGIN

22. The geographic center of the 48 states is in it: KANSAS. I need to look this up. I'd like to know exactly where. In the UK, it's somewhere in Leicestershire, I think, 70 miles from the sea. For a reasonably large country, 70 miles from getting wet is not a long way away.

27. Decide that one will: ELECT TO

29. Cargo unit: TON

30. Spanish article: LAS

31. __ deck: cruise ship feature: LIDO. There's a Lido pool in Paris on the Seine. I've swum in it. Not sure that was the best idea I've ever had.

32. System starter?: ECO

34. "Paper Moon" pair: O'NEALS. Ryan and daughter Tatum.

39. Quarterly Nielsen ratings periods: SWEEPS. The sweeps are getting less important. Nielsen survey a week's worth of watching broadcast TV every quarter to set the price of advertising for the next three months on any given show. The problem is - cable. Nielsen don't survey cable, so if you are watching ESPN or HBO you don't count. Have you been watching the World Cup? Fantastic soccer.

42. Wind up: END

43. Free of charge: COMP

47. Ranch nickname: TEX

48. French pronoun: TOI. The 

50. They may hold rosés: CARAFES. I hope you spotted the E-ecute in the clue. I missed it at first, and was off on the VASE trail, Then I looked again.

55. Katmandu native: NEPALI

56. Hard to watch: UGLY

57. Indentations: NOTCHES
. I
64. "Lord, is __?": IT I

65. Under-the-sink fitting: P-TRAP

66. Get ready to refinish: STRIP

67. Writer Rand: AYN. We've had Ayn Rand and Anne Rice today. Completely different writers, but I've enjoyed reading both of their work. I think "Interview with the Vampire" was one of the most stunning novels I've ever read.

68. Some globe users: SEERS

69. With great passion: HOTLY

Down:

1. Old conscription agcy.: S.S.S.

2. Bethesda-based medical org.: N.I.H. I had to look this one up after I solved the puzzle, I think this might be a tad obscure?

3. Gussied up: ADORNED

4. Sub need: PERISCOPE. Hard to steerwithout one. You tend to bump into things.

5. Preoccupies a lot: EATS AT

6. Moral flaw: BLOT

7. Terra firma: EARTH

8. Disappoint, in slang: BUM OUT

9. 1967 NHL Rookie of the Year: ORR. One of the most famous photo in sports is Bobby Orr scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal being tripped while celebrating the win. It is quite wonderful.

10. "The Tell-Tale Heart" writer: POE

11. Salad green: ARUGULA. Called "Rocket" in England, if you ever get a menu and wonder.

12. Insignificant: NOMINAL

13. Zen harmony: ONENESS. There's a spooky commercial running now about ginger beer and oneness, not sure if I like it.

18. Boy who may be adopted: FOSTER SON

19. Took a load off: SAT

22. Kenan's Nickelodeon pal: KEL. Completely clueless about this one.

23. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala __: ALI

25. Van Morrison hit with the line "A fantabulous night to make romance": MOONDANCE. Let's hear from Van the Man.

26. Writer Rice: ANNE

28. Thanksgiving mo. in Canada: OCT. I have a Canadian friend here in LA who hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner in October. It's great, we get to eat turkey twice in two months. I cook turkey at Easter too - it's not particularly traditional, but our family always had an Easter turkey.

33. Fall behind: OWE

35. Reaches after getting away, as a safe haven: ESCAPES TO

37. __-FREE: contact lens solution: OPTI. Thank you crosses, no clue.

38. Forbes rival: INC Well good luck to INC's circulation numbers. Never heard of you.

39. Lesser Antilles isl. country: ST. LUCIA. A beautiful spot in the Caribbean.

40. Ponderous: WEIGHTY
.
41. Clarify: EXPLAIN. I used to work with a guy who would say "Let me 'splain you". it got to be quite a joke.

44. Qualifying phrase: OF A SORT

45. "Hacksaw Ridge" director Gibson: MEL

46. Tire letters: PSI. I think my tires are 32/24 on the front and back,

49. Brush aside: IGNORE

51. Go over again: REHASH. Usually no point. Accept and move on.

53. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Why do I always want to fill in RJN?

54. As of yet: SO FAR

58. Cookbook amts.: TSPS. I messed up yesterday smoking chicken. The cookbook called for 1 tbsp on wood chips, I decided more is better, and used two. Bad idea. All you can taste is smoke.

60. Modern rte. finder: G.P.S. Not Google Maps? I use my Garmin GPS sailing, but on-the-road navigation is firmly in the hands of Google.

61. Tour de France time: ÉTÉ I love the TV coverage of the Tour de France. This year will be bittersweet as Paul Sherwen, one of the the co-commentators and one of the voices of the Tour passed away this year from heart failure at the young age of 62. I was shocked when I heard the news.

62. Zilch: NIL

63. Make like a mole: SPY

And the grid:

Steve

Thursday, June 13th 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fore! I mean Four! Four kinds of golf clubs hidden in the theme entries:

16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.

24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".

34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.

48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.

And the reveal:

56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...

... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?

Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Across:

1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:

Episodic television is interesting, especially if there are multiple seasons. A well-written series has one overarching story arc, each season an arc of its own, and each episode a mini-arc.

5. Wild pig: BOAR

9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD

13. Winter expense: HEAT

14. Soothing botanical: ALOE

15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*

19. Brouhahas: TO DOS

20. Semi unit: TON

21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.

22. "Really?": THAT SO?

26. Sinful habit: VICE

27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS

29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.

30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.

31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!

32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.

40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE

41. "Really": TRUE

42. Pigeon sound: COO

43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.

46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.

47. Zebra's mother: MARE

51. Concert venues: ARENAS

53. "__ the Walrus": I AM

54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA

55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH

60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.

61. Word with fishing or party: LINE

62. Con's room: CELL

63. Many profs: PHD'S

64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.

65. Guessing game: I SPY

Down:

1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.

2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.

3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE. 

4. Virile dudes: STUDS

5. Night fliers: BATS

6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!

7. Main arteries: AORTAS

8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW

9. Scout group: DEN

10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.

11. Not as tame: WILDER

12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.

17. "You missed it": TOO LATE

18. Suffix with elephant: -INE

22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.

23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.

24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER

25. Sweetie: DEAR

28. Cigar remnants: ASH

31. Serengeti antelope: GNU

32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI

33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.

35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR

36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...

37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP

38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.

“When I buy a new book, I always read the last page first, that way in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.” 

When Harry Met Sally

39. "Here __ nothing": GOES

43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.

44. Toast topic: HEALTH

45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.

46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE

47. Blends well: MESHES

49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".

50. Lab containers: VIALS

52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":

55. Bowls over: AWES

57. __-relief: BAS

58. Genetic letters: DNA

59. Underhanded: SLY

*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.

I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!

Steve

Thursday June 6th 2019 Stu Ockman

Theme Unoften Opposites - all the theme entries are unusual antonyms:

22A. Rarely used antonym of harmless: NOCUOUS. Innocuous. These fine gentlemen make up the metal band Nocuous. I'll check 'em out on YouTube and report back.

33A. Rarely used antonym of disheveled: KEMPT. Unkempt.

39A. Rarely used antonym of unidentified: ONYMOUS. Anonymous.

46A. Rarely used antonym of crude: COUTH. Uncouth.

57A. Rarely used antonym of cruel: RUTHFUL. Ruthless.

5D. Rarely used antonym of bumbling: GAINLY. Ungainly.

50D. Rarely used antonym of friendliness: COOLTH. Warmth.

What a great idea this puzzle is. I had a lot of fun figuring out the unknowns in the theme entries, new to me were NOCUOUS, ONYMOUS, RUTHFUL, GAINLY and COOLTH. Oddly enough, as I'm typing this, Google has highlighted all the theme entries as "unknown" to its spell-checker. They might like to have a chat to Webster's and the OED and see if they can use their word lists.

With the theme entries not being the longest in the grid, and no asterisks or reveal, then it's the common cluing that sets you on the rights track of what to look for.

Having enjoyed the antonyms, let's see what else we've got to talk about:

Across:

1. Fourth of eight: MARS. The Planets. Let's have some background music courtesy of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and "Mars" from "The Planet Suite" by Gustav Holst.

5. Classic Pontiacs: GTO'S

9. "Shrek" ogress: FIONA. I've never figured out why Shrek has a Scottish accent.

14. Colorado-based sports org.: U.S.O.C. The United States Olympic Committee.

15. Boomers' lobbying group: AARP

16. Equally hot: AS MAD

17. Ousted Iranian: SHAH. The last incumbent of "The Peacock Throne".

18. Flat-package furniture retailer: IKEA. Put it together, realize you've got one piece upside-down or back-to-front and take it all apart and start over.

19. Me.-to-Fla. highway: US ONE

20. Greek: HELLENE. From whence "hellenic".

24. Serve as a foundation for: UNDERLIE

26. Text titter: HEE

27. Grab the tab: PAY. 

28. Quick, speculative stock transaction: DAY  TRADE

36. Jorge's hand: MANO

37. Nae sayer: SCOT. We've seen this clue before, but it still makes me smile.

38. Mets' div.: NLE. MLB's National League East.

42. Inc. cousin: LLC. Incorporated, and Limited Liability Company.

43. Bullring bravos: OLÉS

45. Time line units: ERAS

48. Entrée topped with pineapple rings: BAKED HAM. Yeek! That's a throwback.

50. Tuna holder: CAN

51. Fizzy prefix: AER-ated.

52. Sticker on organic produce: ECO-LABEL. Voluntary labeling. Green Stickers, for example on appliances, are compulsory.

61. American Girl product: TOY DOLL

62. Very, in music: ASSAI. "Allegro Assai" - "Get your skates on, we've got to finish this song before we get booed off the stage".

63. British peer: EARL

65. Rossini's "Largo al factotum," e.g.: ARIA. I can see the Aria hotel from my window, I'm in Las Vegas. C.C. has a couple of pictures of her in front of the hotel. There are some fantastic restaurants inside.

66. Blown away: IN AWE

67. Pinch at the table: SALT

68. Space: ROOM

69. Small songbirds: LARKS

70. Dash gadget: TACH. I've got one on my dashboard, but I don't pay any attention to it. I did when I drove a stick-shift, but now it's just there for fun, my car makes all the decisions on when to change gear.

71. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTÁ. The formal or respectful way to ask "Yo, wassup?"

Down:

1. __ pork: Asian dish: MU SHU. Food!

2. Pale with fright: ASHEN

3. Wonka creator Dahl: ROALD

4. Drag: SCHLEPP

6. "Star Trek" actor: TAKEI

7. Vein glory?: ORE. Nice clue.

8. Life time: SPAN. Another nice clue, some fun ones today.

9. Tap: FAUCET. Ah, a nice reminder of me British roots, fank you, Guv'ner.

10. Publishers, e.g.: ISSUERS

11. Melville novel: OMOO

12. Half an Orkan farewell: NANU. Robin Williams' great entrance onto the grand stage. "I am Mork, from Ork; I come in peace - Nanu Nanu". I think it's like "aloha" - it's both hello and goodbye.

13. Fruity drinks: ADES

21. Poet's muse: ERATO. I know this, but I went with ERATA for no good reason. The perp eventually corrected my mistake.

23. "Such a tease!": OH YOU! This always reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when he forgets his new date's name. He resorts to "Oh, you!".

25. Sushi bar finger food: EDAMAME. Food! My local sushi bar serves them with sea salt and togarashi. Yum.

29. Years in España: AÑOS

30. Gp. with a "Know Your Rights" web page: ACLU

31. Simpleton: DOLT

32. Sharply outline: ETCH

33. Gearshift topper: KNOB

34. Scat legend Fitzgerald: ELLA

35. Submissive: MEEK

36. Vidal's Breckinridge: MYRA

40. India's first prime minister: NEHRU

41. Like the skin of most fish: SCALY. I looked up the list of scale-less fish, out of interest. There's some pretty scary ones in that community.

44. Seattle NFLer: SEAHAWK

47. How some risks are taken: ON A DARE. Usually very stupid ones, uploaded to YouTube.

49. Goes against: DEFIES

53. PC key combo for "copy": CTRL-C

54. New York City divisions, informally: BOROS. I surprised myself that I didn't hesitate over this one.

55. "The Waste Land" poet: ELIOT

56. Peruvian grazer: LLAMA

57. Amtrak track: RAIL

58. Annapolis inst.: U.S.N.A. United States Naval Academy, natch.

59. Ruler until 1917: TSAR

60. "__ we forget": LEST. Lest us not forget on this "Day of Days" - the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings on June 6th, 1944.

64. Battery size: AAA

Update on Nocuous, the band. I listened to one of their tracks on YouTube, and discovered that their musical genre is "black metal". Per the good folks at Wikipedia:

"Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms."

Probably not the most melodious track I've ever heard, but I kinda-sorta liked it. I was the 86th hit on the post, a little short of the best-to-date 6.2 billion views of "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi. I'm sure they'll catch up eventually.

Here's the grid, and I'll get my coat.

Steve

Notes from C.C..:

Here are three pictures of Melissa's granddaughters Harper and Jaelyn and their parents. So beautiful!