Wednesday, June 12 2019, Tim Schenck

Theme:  BREAK THE BANK. Various words for "money" are strewn through each theme answer.

Ulan Bator residents: MONGOLIANS. MOOLA - sometimes spelled moolah.

20. Electrical unit: KILOVOLT. LOOT - often refers to stolen money or goods.

59. Bayou critter: CRAWFISH. CASH - the only word here for money that isn't slang.

61. Wedding party member: BRIDESMAID. BREAD - since bread was the traditional everyday necessity of life, to earn one's living was to earn one's bread, therefore bread became synonymous with money.

39. Share good fortune, as suggested in four sets of circles: SPREAD THE WEALTH. Sometimes the circles are not needed, but with this one, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have found the dough.

Across:

1. WCs: LAVS. Plumbing manufacturers often use the term "water-closet" to differentiate toilets from urinals. American plumbing codes still refer to a toilet as a "Water Closet" or a "WC". The Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary accepts "váter" as a name for a toilet or bathroom, which is derived from the British term "water-closet."

5. Rope fiber plants: HEMPS.

10. Shell game, e.g.: SCAM.

14. Hodgepodge: OLIO.

15. Wedding: UNION.

16. Somewhat, in music: POCO. Also a band from the '70's. Who knew they were still touring?

17. Blockhead: CLOD. Don't hear this word much any more.

22. "Citizen Kane" director: WELLES.

23. Fill with love: ENAMOR.

24. Flower part: SEPAL. A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms. Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom. 

 26. Philosophy suffix: ISM.

28. Antediluvian: OLD. "Of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood."

29. Talk, talk, talk: YAK.

32. Drive away: REPEL.

36. With the bow, in music: ARCO. "Arco (which is not an abbreviation) means to return to bowing after pizzicato (abbreviated pizz.) or col legno. Pizzicato means you pluck the strings with your fingers instead of using the bow, col legno using the wooden backside of the bow instead of the hairs."

38. "__ Lisa": MONA.

42. Ore bed: VEIN.

43. Multivitamin ingredient: IRON.

44. Compare: LIKEN.

45. Fielder's strong throw: PEG.

46. Cultural Revolution leader: MAO.

47. Recede: EBB.

49. Does some mending: DARNS.

51. Disaster area thief: LOOTER. Again with LOOT.

56. Gauguin's island retreat: TAHITI. Foul man, fine artist.

63. Inevitable outcome: FATE.

64. What Benjamin Button did backward: AGED.

65. Not windy: TERSE.

66. Side squared, for a square: AREA. Ohhhhh .... math.

67. Like Santa's cheeks: ROSY.

68. Eyelid woes: STYES.

69. Metallica drummer Ulrich: LARS.

Down:

1. Age of Enlightenment philosopher: LOCKE.

2. Do-or-die Texas Hold 'em bet: ALL IN. For Gilmore Girls fans, this phrase is not about poker.

3. String quartet instrument: VIOLA.

4. City destroyed in Genesis: SODOM.

5. Caters to: HUMORS.

6. Carbon compound: ENOL.

7. Freebies near the register: MINTS. Never turn down a mint.

8. Faddish '90s disc: POG.

9. Road maintenance vehicle: SNOW PLOW.

10. Mop target: SPILL.

11. Shade of black: COAL.

12. Proactiv+ target: ACNE.

13. What some proverbial stones don't gather: MOSS. I'll be hearing Bob Dylan all day in my head. How does it feel?

19. Detective's need: LEAD. Not clue.

21. "And there you have it!": VOILA and VIOLA (3D) in same puzzle.

25. Epoch in the Cenozoic Era: EOCENE.

27. __ of honor: MATRON.

29. Egg part: YOLK.

30. Get the pot going: ANTE.

31. Madeline of "Blazing Saddles": KAHN. So talented, she passed away in 1999.

32. "Let us know if you're coming" letters: RSVP.

33. Duel tool: EPEE.

34. Uptight type: PRIG. Funny word.

35. Bard's nightfall: E'EN. Contraction for evening.

37. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. Also the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. Looks like a p - ρ.

38. __ tai: MAI.

40. Nin and Frank: DIARISTS.

41. Macaroni shape: ELBOW.

46. Pal at the barbie: MATE. Not Midge or Ken.

48. Turbine parts: BLADES.

49. One of Sean Combs' stage names: DIDDY. Also Puff Daddy.

50. Hair-raising: SCARY.

52. Butcher shop byproduct: OFFAL. Entrails and internal organs. The Offal-Eater’s Handbook.

53. Sparkly crown: TIARA.

54. Perfume compound: ESTER.

55. Relatives of emus: RHEAS.

56. Lift up the slope: T-BAR.

57. Golden Fleece ship: ARGO.

58. Goes quickly, quaintly: HIES.

60. Ascend: RISE.

62. Bumped into: MET. Okay - but met seems more planned than unexpected.

Thursday, March 28th 2019 Timothy Schenck

Theme:

10D. *Italian pistols: BERETTAS. (Beret) In the early James Bond novels, his pistol of choice was a Beretta 418, but a firearm expert and a fan of the books wrote to Ian Fleming criticizing his decision as the weapon had no real stopping power. Fleming replaced the firearm with a Walther PPK in Dr. No.

11D. *A skeptic's wont: TO QUESTION (Toque) I was impressed that Timothy found a way to use the proper name for the tall chef's hat, among other styles.

28D. *Quaker Oats cereal with a naval officer on the box: CAP'N CRUNCH (Cap)

38D. *The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans it: TAMPA BAY (Tam). The bridge was involved in a tragic incident in 1980 when a freighter collided with it during a thunderstorm and brought down a large section.

38A. Partners of tails ... and what's found in the answers to starred clues: TOP HATS. See the picture of the royals below.

Happy Thursday, everyone, and I'm thinking a particularly happy Thursday for the constructor, as I believe this is his debut for the LA Times. The theme is simple, but nicely done. The theme entries are all in the downs so that the hat can sit "on top." as the reveal suggests.

[Edit: It's actually Tim's second LAT).

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Ancient gathering place: STOA

5. Warm place to chill: HOT TUB

11. "Waterfalls" pop trio: TLC. I know the song, I had no ideal that was the name of the group.

14. Medical breakthrough: CURE

15. Revolt: UPRISE

16. "That looks good!": OOH!

17. Dict. label: ABBR.

18. Not as nice: MEANER

19. Sine __ non: QUA. An "essential condition or necessary component" for you non-ancient Romans out there.

20. Impressive vocal quality: RESONANCE

22. Spew: ERUPT

24. Have a feeling: SENSE

25. Reason for a warm eye compress: STYE

26. Race town near Windsor Castle: ASCOT. Gentlemen are encouraged to dress formally for the annual Royal Ascot meet in June. Here's some royals being, well, royal at Royal Ascot. Prince Harry looks like he just got off a horse.

29. Information to process: DATA SET.         

32. "Sounds fair": DEAL

33. Berth place: MARINA

36. Greek cross: TAU

37. ChapStick target: LIP

39. Doctrine suffix: -ISM

40. The Stratford, in TV's "Newhart": INN. Here's the Waybury Inn in Vermont which was used in the show "acting" as the Stratford.

41. Pupil surrounder: AREOLA. Quiet at the back.

42. Frost lines?: POEM

43. Flatters: BECOMES

45. Masculine: MANLY

46. Cheats, with "off": RIPS

47. "__ always makes it better": Anne Burrell: BACON. I never heard her say it, but didn't take long to figure this one out.

50. Throat dangler: UVULA

52. Aboveboard: ALLOWABLE

56. Solder component: TIN along with lead, or silver and copper for lead-free solders, and commonly with a flux core.

57. Caviar source: BELUGA

59. Morsel on a shellfish platter: CLAW. Depends how big your crustacean is. The biggest lobster caught on record was a 44lb behemoth off Nova Scotia in 1977. Those claws are certainly not "morsels"!

60. Anti-apartheid org.: A.N.C. The African National Congress.

61. Landfall for Noah: ARARAT

62. Word before and after sweet: HOME

63. Part of a snarky laugh: HEH

64. Approvals: YESSES

65. Terminal info: E.T.A.S

Down:

1. Emotional trauma consequence: SCAR

2. Skin cream holder: TUBE

3. Poetic spheres: ORBS

4. Spray starch dispenser: AEROSOL

5. Likely to err, eventually?: HUMAN. You can be divine, and forgive though.

6. Hits theaters: OPENS

7. Vestige: TRACE

8. Spork prong: TINE

9. Finish, with "up": USE

12. __-garou: werewolf: LOUP. First mentioned in 60 B.C. by Roman author Petronius, so they've been around a while. Before the invention of firearms and silver bullets, they pretty much had the run of the place at full moon time. Apparently you can bludgeon one to death with a blunt silver object, but I'd prefer to keep my distance.
.
13. Facebook option: CHAT

21. Safety feature at a trapeze school: NET

23. Scandinavian rug: RYA. Thank you, crosswords past.

25. Seasonal visitor: SANTA

26. Stage surprise: AD LIB

27. River with 37 bridges in Paris: SEINE. I was going to tell you how many bridges cross the Seine in total, but when I went to Wikipedia I realized I'd be here all day counting them. Just know, there's a lot!

29. Retro phone part: DIAL

30. Conference room stand: EASEL. For the flip chart. Still a fixture in these days of whiteboards and flat-panel TVs.

31. Tot's ache source: TUMMY

33. Social customs: MORES

34. Imitates: APES

35. Letter before sigma: RHO

42. Grand style: PANACHE

44. Safflower __: OIL

45. Cut grass: MOW

47. Gets fuzzy: BLURS. Gets fuzzy, not Get Fuzzy:

48. Diet for some aquarium fish: ALGAE. The Siamese Algae Eater is described on one website as "easy to keep, and will eat anything put in the tank". I hope not, they'd eat all the plants, the other fish and the treasure chest if that was the case.

49. Paint layers: COATS

50. Arches National Park state: UTAH

51. Hollywood crosser: VINE. Here's the iconic Capitol Records tower seen from the intersection. There's a flashing light on the top of the mast which spells out "Hollywood" in Morse Code.

52. "Oh dear!": ALAS

53. Ink smudge: BLOT

54. Revered Tibetan: LAMA

55. Farm females: EWES

58. "Blood hath been shed __ now": Macbeth: ERE. On seeing Banquo's ghost.

"...The time has been

That, when the brains were out, the man would die,

And there an end. But now they rise again

With twenty mortal murders on their crowns

And push us from our stools. This is more strange

Than such a murder is."

I don't have a lot of sympathy for Macbeth - he didn't just push Banquo off his stool, he pushed him off his mortal coil.

And with that thought, here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, October 24 2018, Tim Schenck

Theme: IN GOOD SPIRITS

17A. Roadblocks: BARRICADES. SIDECAR. Cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

65A. Gambles in a church basement, maybe: PLAYS BINGO. GIBSON. Gin, dry vermouth, garnished with a pickled onion.

10D. Wawa and 7-Eleven: MINI MARTS. MARTINI. Never heard of Wawa - it is only in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. A MARTINI is made with gin or vodka and vermouth, garnished with an olive or a lemon twist.

36D. Captivating: ARRESTING. STINGER. Crème de menthe added to brandy.

25. With 38-Down, bar offering found in each set of circles: MIXED.

38. See 25-Down: DRINK.

Melissa here. Grokking this theme would be next to impossible without the circles, since the drink anagrams did not include all the letters in each theme answer. Sneaky and so clever.

Across:

1. Vote to accept: ADOPT.

6. Sincerely asks for: BEGS.

10. Vicki Lawrence sitcom role: MAMA.

14. Harley owner: BIKER.

15. "This is __ a test": ONLY.

16. Flower painted by van Gogh: IRIS. Beautiful.

19. Friendly: NICE.

20. Win the affections of: ENAMOR.

21. "__ lost!": GET.

22. Mental flash: IDEA.

23. Be rude to: SASS.

24. Doc's org.: AMA.

26. Good name for many a tree-lined street: ELM.

28. Energy: VIM.

29. Barely sufficient: MEAGER.

33. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-creator Fey: TINA. Love Tina Fey, but have never seen this.

37. Crossed (out): EXED.

39. Prepare, as Romano: GRATE.

40. Womb-related: UTERINE.

42. Crowd control weapon: RIOT GUN.

44. Part of TNT: NITRO.

45. Trace amount: DRIB. Thought to be a shortening of driblet.

47. Not tacit: SAID.

48. Ledger column: ASSETS.

50. Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir.: ENE.

51. Did nothing: SAT. Lots of people who sit in front of their computers would BEG to differ.

52. Calypso-influenced genre: SKA.

53. __ of March: IDES.

57. Minor argument: SPAT.

60. Baseball bat wood: ASH.

62. In the center: MEDIAL.

64. Airport idler: TAXI. Less and less, due to Uber and other ride-hailing apps, which are also impacting airport parking revenue.

67. Golfer's selection: IRON.

68. Easy gait: LOPE.

69. Winemaker with 1900 acres of vineyards in California: BOGLE. If you like beefy reds, their Old Vine Zinfandel is delicious.

70. __ a bell: sounded familiar: RANG.

71. Short-horned bighorns: EWES. Ewe can't pull the wool over their eyes.

72. Lid inflammations: STYES.

Down:

1. Clerics in un monastère: ABBES. French - monastery / abbot.

2. "Outlander" novelist Gabaldon: DIANA. First in an eight-part series. Adapted to a television series on Starz.

3. Gumbo pods: OKRAS.

4. Salon jobs: PERMS. Is that still a thing?

5. Crosby, Stills & Nash, e.g.: TRIO.

6. Fancy neckwear: BOA.

7. Final stage of a chess match: END GAME.

8. TV series with choreographed numbers: GLEE.

9. Word with metric or merit: SYSTEM.

11. Bone-dry: ARID.

12. Attic pests: MICE.

13. Topside, perhaps: ASEA. New to me, topside means "above the waterline."

18. Cowardly: CRAVEN.

27. Big name in small construction: LEGO. Cute. Parents know exactly what it feels to step on them barefoot. There's a funny haiku about this - google if you're not offended by curse words.

30. "Poker Face" Lady: GAGA.

31. Needle case: ETUI.

32. Tear to bits: REND.

33. Sushi option: TUNA. Any sushi lovers here? A Japanese Guide to Sushi Tuna. Between overfishing and mercury - it's hard to know what to eat anymore.

34. "For real?": IT IS.

35. Brooklyn NBA team: NETS.

41. Greek letter: IOTA.

43. Support group?: I-BEAMS. Nice clue.

46. Mold into a new form: RESHAPE.

49. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.

53. Senseless sort: IDIOT.

54. Shabby: DINGY.

55. Sharp-eyed hunter: EAGLE.

56. Astringent plumlike fruits: SLOES. In keeping with today's theme, what is sloe gin?

57. Prepare, as a 25-/38-Down: STIR.

58. Prefix with graph: PARA. Paragraph.

59. Neural transmitter: AXON.

61. Hoping for more customers: SLOW.

63. Drops off: EBBS.

66. "Amen!": YES.