Tuesday, August 14, 2018 Jon Markman & Jeff Chen

"MLB CLOSERS"

16. N.L. West team's pests?: GIANTS ANTS.

22. N.L. East team's untruths?: PHILLIES LIES.

28. N.L. East team's parties?: BRAVES RAVES.

39. A.L. East team's cheers?: ORIOLES OLES.

46. N.L. Central team's pitchers?: BREWERS EWERS.

57. Ace relievers, briefly ... and a hint to 16-, 22-, 28-, 39- and 46-Across: MLB CLOSERS.

Loved this puzzle.  I think it was made a little tougher because the cities weren't named in the clues.  If you don't follow sports in general and professional baseball in particular, you may have had to work a little bit harder to get the solve. 

Across:

1. __ tag: game with infrared beams: LASER.

6. Make full: SATE.

10. Bro: BUB.

13. 10th-century Holy Roman emperor: OTTO I.  I believe one of his descendants lives in Roman Forest under an alias !

14. Letter-shaped fastener: T-NUT.

15. Restaurant list: MENU.

18. Martial __: ARTS.

19. Muddy pen: STY.

20. Not quite a B: C PLUS.

21. Illuminated from below, as a statue: UPLIT.

24. Reach: ATTAIN.

27. "Peachy-__!": KEEN.

32. Cry from a crib: WAH.

35. Sumptuous: LUXE.

36. Swelled head: EGO.

37. Metered ride: TAXI.

38. "You rang?": YES.

43. "Around the __": ESPN panel show: HORN.  Weekday program targeted at sports junkies,  with a cast of sports journalists opining and arguing about current sports events and sports headline stories.

45. Exercises, as power: WIELDS.

51. Dice throws: ROLLS.

52. Govt. security: T-BILL.  T-Bill Explained at Investopedia

53. Milne hopper: ROO.

56. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

59. "O.G. Original Gangster" rapper: ICE T.

O.G. Original Gangster was his 1991 album.  It is often referenced as one of the key factors in developing the genre of gangster rap.

A rapper turned actor, Ice-T plays Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Here shown with Mariska Hargitay who plays Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

60. Glimpse: PEEK.

61. Flat-package furniture stores: IKEAs.

62. Neither's partner: NOR.

63. "American __": Starz series based on a Neil Gaiman novel: GODS.  Never heard of it, but easy to perp in.

64. Nabisco wafer brand: NILLA.

Down:

1. Ships' records: LOGS. Spitzboov would know about these.

2. "They're __ again!": AT IT.

3. "Don't move, Rover!": STAY.

4. Ages and ages: EON.

5. "Sherlock Holmes" director Guy: RITCHIE.  Name looked familiar.  Was married to Madonna.

6. Slot in a stable: STALL.

7. Declare void: ANNUL.

8. Rwandan tribe: TUTSI.

9. Sci-fi visitors: ETs.

10. Cold War dividing line until 1989: BERLIN WALL.   Who famously proclaimed,  "I am a jelly doughnut !"  ?

11. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE. "Bad spellers of the world..."

12. Sculpted works: BUSTS.

15. Breakfast syrup type: MAPLE.

17. Manipulates politically: SPINS.

21. Exploits: USES.

22. Cover with asphalt: PAVE.

23. __ out a living: EKE.

24. With competence: ABLY.

25. Loyal: TRUE.

26. Financial adviser's suggestion: TAX SHELTER. Tax Shelter Explained at Investopedia

29. Outdoor gear brand: REI.  Recreational Equipment Incorporated. 

30. Earlier: AGO.

31. Encyclopedia bk.: VOL.

33. Chopped down: AXED.

34. King cobra warning: HISS.

37. On one's __: alert: TOES.

39. Mine contents: ORES.

40. Mil. time off: RNR. Rest and (Recuperation, Relaxation or Recreation).  Here's an image of a  booklet of unused scrip from my trip to Armed Forces Recreation Center Ski School Berchtesgaden for  a little R&R.   Learned Alpine skiing there.  Of course, went up to Obersalzberg to see the "Eagle's Nest" while there. 

41. Tom of "The Seven Year Itch": EWELL.

42. Beef cut: SIRLOIN.

44. Little hooter: OWLET.

Owl Owlets GIF from Owl GIFs

46. Really smart person: BRAIN.

47. Veg-O-Matic maker: RONCO.

48. Canonized pope known as "The Great": ST LEO.

49. Flowed back: EBBED.

50. Candle threads: WICKS.

53. Film spool: REEL.

54. __ hygiene: ORAL.

55. Legendary Greek mount: OSSA.  If you are going to climb it, consider stopping by REI to buy your ice axe, backpack and other hiking equipment.

57. Fuel efficiency stat: MPG.

58. Hit the slopes: SKI.

Abejo would like to pass along his CONGRATULATIONS to the Elk-McKean Little League team from Kane, Wilcox, JOHNSONBURG and Ridgway, Pennsylvania in making it to the Junior League World Series. Only 12 teams from around the globe make it this far. Elk-McKean plays tonight at 7C.   You can watch the games at upstream.tv

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Jake Halperin

"Break a Leg"

17. Rare baseball event: TRIPLE PLAY.

24. Antiterrorism legislation of 2001: PATRIOT ACT.

37. Nightlife sphere of activity: CLUB SCENE.

53. Race terminus: FINISH LINE.

62. Theater direction ... and a hint to 17-, 24-, 37- and 53-Across: STAGE RIGHT.

Hmm...

What about.... 65. Actor's part: ROLE ?    Shouldn't this have been part of the theme, and included in 62A ?   Or perhaps edited out ?

I don't know.  I only have a "bit part" to play in this production.  Let's "chew the scenery" while you think about it.

Across:

1. Knock for a loop: AMAZE.

6. "The jig __!": IS UP.

10. Wing measurement: SPAN.

14. The "N" of USNA: NAVAL.   Unites States Naval Academy.   Brief History

15. Beer-brewing mixture: MASH.

16. Taper off: WANE.

19. 28-Across (ONE), in German: EINS. In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus: Eins, zwei, g'suffa!


20. Troubling Nixon records: TAPES.

21. Supermarket walkways: AISLES.

23. Falafel bread: PITA.

28. Single: ONE.

29. Double-helix molecule: DNA.

30. Slake, as thirst: QUENCH.

31. Hardly current: PASSE.  Slake seems hardly current.

33. Bridges of Netflix's "Bloodline": BEAU.

36. Snob's "in the air" body part: NOSE.

40. "That sounds painful": OUCH.  Clecho at 40D.   Thought I broke bones when my footing gave way last Thursday.  Managed to land prone, but my legs didn't clear the scalloped concrete landscape edging.  Large bone contusions on my left femur (golf ball sized) and right tibia (half of a tennis ball) kept me off my legs until Saturday. 

43. Brussels-based defense gp.: NATO.

44. Clear data from: ERASE.

48. Like a damaged atmospheric layer: OZONIC.

50. Letter after pi: RHO.

52. World Series org.: MLB. Major League Baseball.

Full 2018 MLB Predictions at FiveThirtyEight.com

56. Smear, as paint: DAUB.

57. Narrow waterway: STRAIT.

58. Coins of 59-Down: RIALS.

60. All-encompassing: A TO Z.

66. Narrate: TELL.

67. Celebrated chef Ducasse: ALAIN.  I had to read the Wikipedia article on him. That should help the next time his name appears in a puzzle.

68. Intuit: FEEL.

69. Canadian gas brand: ESSO.

70. Big Apple 52-Acr. player: NY MET.

Down:

1. Colony insect: ANT.

2. Tennis great Navratilova: MARTINA.

3. Takes to the skies: AVIATES.  Dudley does this !

4. Frank of avant-garde rock: ZAPPA.

5. Magazine with the column "Ask E. Jean": ELLE.

6. Little devil: IMP.

7. Dinner course, to Heinrich: SALAT.  Recipes for Authentic German Salads

8. TWA rival: US AIR.

9. Body structure: PHYSIQUE.

10. Equal or Splenda: SWEETENER.

11. Italian pal: PAISANO.

12. "Bel Canto" novelist Patchett: ANN.  I had to read the Wikipedia article on her. And the one about the book.  That should help the next time her name appears in a puzzle.

13. Video game letters: NES.  Nintendo Entertainment System

18. Little League broadcaster: ESPN.  One of many amateur and professional sports programs broadcast by the "Worldwide leader in Sports."   ESPN.com is their online portal.

Wilbur Charles, to atone for my July 24th embedding the video of Aaron Boone of the Yankees hitting the dramatic 2003 Game 7 ALCS walk-off home run that eliminated the Boston Red Sox, I offer the following ESPN.com article link:  This just might be the best Red Sox team ... ever 

22. Singer Rawls: LOU.

23. Jack-in-the-box sound: POP !  goes the weasel.

25. Limerick's rhyme scheme: AABBA.

26. Emails a dupe to: CCs. The electronic carbon copy.  And a CSO to our Blog Leader !

27. First word of numerous Grisham titles: THE.   I'd say so.   The list:

1. 1991 - "The Firm"
2. 1992 - "The Pelican Brief"
3. 1993 - "The Client"
4. 1994 - "The Chamber"
5. 1995 - "The Rainmaker"
6. 1996 - "The Runaway Jury"
7. 1997 - "The Partner"
8. 1998 - "The Street Lawyer"
9. 1999 - "The Testament"
10. 2000 - "The Brethren"
11. 2002 - "The Summons"
12. 2003 - "The King of Torts"
13. 2004 - "The Last Juror"
14. 2005 - "The Broker"
15. 2006 - "The Innocent Man"
16. 2008 - "The Appeal"
17. 2009 - "The Associate"
18. 2010 - "The Confession"
19. 2011 - "The Litigators"
20. 2012 - "The Racketeer"
21. 2016 - "The Whistler"

Miller, Erin Collazo. "The Complete John Grisham Book List." ThoughtCo, Jun. 27, 2018, thoughtco.com/john-grisham-book-list-362085.

29. Md. neighbor: DEL.  Regular reader Bluehen hails from the state with the fastest Internet speeds in the country,  no sales taxes, and according to Kiplinger ratings,  the top state for retirees in terms of economy, crime, demographics, and overall tax rates.

The Delaware River and the Delaware Bay both predate the name of the state. In 1610, English naval officer Samuel Argall named the bodies of water after the governor of Virginia, Thomas West, the 12th Baron De La Warr.

25 Delightful Facts About Delaware 

Use the + - buttons to zoom in and out.  


32. German veal dish: SCHNITZEL.  Wiener Schnitzel,  Kartoffelsalat und Bier !

34. Approximate fig.: EST.

35. Oak-to-be: ACORN.

38. Not pure: UNCHASTE.

39. Opposite of paleo-: NEO.

40. "That sounds painful": OOF.  The sound of the air expelled from my lungs when I fell.  The good news is that the house is almost done.   A couple of small sections of wall and the trim paint on the windows remain.

41. Action film weapon: UZI.

42. Bring comfort to: CONSOLE.

45. Composite dental filling material: AMALGAM.  There are safer choices.

46. Flavored icy drink: SLUSHIE.

47. Recede, as a tide: EBB.

49. Syr. neighbor: ISR.

51. Often hyperlinked word: HERE.

54. Low-cal beers: LITES.

55. Tilted type: Abbr.: ITALS.

56. Newspaper frequency: DAILY.

59. Tehran's land: IRAN.

61. Clog front: TOE.  The shoe, not an obstruction.

63. Mop & __: cleaning brand: GLO.

64. Blasting letters: TNT.

Time to Exit...Stage Left


Here's the grid:

Tuesday, July 31, 2018 David Poole

"BREAD AND BUTTER"

21. *LeBron's sport: BASKETBALL.  Breadbasket (or bread basket), and butterball

32. *Insect used in genetic research: FRUITFLY. Breadfruit and butterfly

56. *Glazed morning snack: DOUGHNUT. Bread dough and butternut.

66. *Form a queue: LINE UP. Breadline and butter up

42. Primary source of income ... and words that can precede the two parts, respectively, of the answers to starred clues: BREAD AND BUTTER.

Across:

1. Muslim veil: HIJAB.

6. Behind us: PAST. 

10. Fashion's de la Renta: OSCAR.

15. Self-__: personally mindful: AWARE. I find it joyous to watch babies become self-aware.

16. Trade show: EXPO.  Dash-T is going to a couple.  Continuing education in the security trade.  He's stoked.  

17. Eclipse shadow: UMBRA.

18. Synagogue scroll: TORAH.

19. Paella morsel: CLAM.

20. In poor taste: TACKY.

24. Cereal mix: MUESLI.

27. NASDAQ locale: WALL ST. The NASDAQ Composite Index is up over 12% this year.

31. Play a part: ACT.   Paraprosdokian: "We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public."    Old Man Keith could teach aspirants a thing or two about how to play a part.  

37. Hither partner: YON.  Hither and Yon.  Here and there (and everywhere).  Scattered.

38. Plural medical suffix: OSES.

40. NYC gallery district: SOHO.  South of Howstun.  Huestun is in Texas.

41. Lewd material: SMUT.  None here please.

47. Part of town, in slang: NABE. Neighborhood

48. Street: ROAD.

49. Branch of mechanics concerned with forces in equilibrium: STATICS.  Balanced forces.

52. Loving: ADORING. 

55. Frying liquid: OIL.

59. Watery expanse: SEA.

60. Fracas: MELEE.

62. Hammer head: PEEN.  The round part of a machinist's hammer, which is also commonly known as a "ball peen hammer."   Ball peen hammers are harder than carpenter hammers, and are used in metalworking, versus the claw hammers that are used in carpentry and woodworking. 

63. Blender selection: SPEED.  Was thinking of a setting, e.g. mince.

65. Diva's delivery: ARIA.

68. Teen anti-DWI gp.: SADD.   Students Against Destructive Decisions

69. Didn't stay: LEFT.

70. Of a battery terminal: ANODAL.  Understanding Anodal and Cathodal Stimulation

71. Small ocean landmass: ISLE.

72. Mid-month date: IDES.

73. Pathetically tiny, as a sum of money: MEASLY. Paltry.  A pittance.  Meager.  Like today's review.  Sorry folks, exhaustion and fatigue plagued me this week.  Should have called for a sub.

74. Tourney ranking: SEED.  Used in some sports tournaments that use playoff brackets, such as tennis and basketball.  Teams or players are first ranked (seeded) and then placed in the brackets. The NCAA's "March Madness" basketball tournament would be a prime example.

Down:

1. Boater or bowler: HAT.

2. "Letters From __ Jima": 2006 film: IWO.

3. Pickle container: JAR.   In baseball parlance, a pickle is when a base runner is caught between bases in a rundown, and most likely will be tagged out.

4. Many Yemenis: ARABs.

5. On __ of: for: BEHALF.

6. Quarter of a bushel: PECK. Picked plenty of pecks in the strawberry fields back home with other 13 and 14 year olds.  Think we either got a nickle or a dime for each peck picked. 

7. Wheel connection: AXLE.

8. Squabble: SPAT.

9. Mausoleum: TOMB.

10. Expenditure: OUTLAY.

11. Word before fry or potatoes: SMALL.  Small fry and small potatoes.  Both phrases have the same idiomatic meaning: insignificant.

12. Network with its HQ in Ottawa: CBC.   Hello to Canadian Eh and OAS !  CBC stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

13. 18-Across holder: ARK.

14. Bit of sunlight: RAY.

22. Title of respect: SIR.  A few other examples:  Herr in German,  señor in Spanish,  Pan in Polish,  Vážený pane in Czech,  Gospod in Slovenian, and also Sir in Slovak.   Thank you Google Translate.

23. Hole-making tool: AWL.

24. Chinese chairman: MAO.  Saddened when Chairman Moe said he would be leaving the blog for a while. 

25. State school near L.A.: UCSB.  University of California, Santa Barbara.  I believe Picard knows this area and school very well. 

26. Immortality: ETERNAL LIFE. 

28. Tick-borne illness named for a Connecticut town: LYME DISEASE.  A fellow 'shroomer got this really bad.  Ended up in the hospital and then couldn't work for over a year.   Since then, I make sure to blouse my pants and douse myself with Deet when traipsing through the woods chasing the elusive morels.

29. Mouth-puckering: SOUR.

30. Explosive for Wile E. Coyote: TNT.

33. Springsteen's "Born in the __": USA.

34. Physicist's particle: ION.

35. Divinity sch. degree: THD.  Doctor of Theology.

36. Watch chain: FOB.

39. Senate position: SEAT.

41. Lead actress: STAR.

43. Put up with: ABIDE.

44. Art style seen in Miami's South Beach: DECO.

45. Pakistani language: URDU.

46. Friendly horn sounds: TOOTS.

49. Horn of Africa native: SOMALI.

50. Like big wedding cakes: TIERED.

51. Flat on one's back: SUPINE.  A good starting point for lower back exercises.

52. Once-a-year flower: ANNUAL. 

53. Pine dropping: NEEDLE.

54. Wandered (about): GADDED.  Gadded makes me think old-timey,  of rich Victorians, or the Roaring Twenties, Great Gatsby-like.  

57. Italian salami city: GENOA.

58. Obeys: HEEDS.

61. Diner grub: EATS.

64. Three-pronged Greek letters: PSIs.

66. Beat a hasty retreat: LAM.  As a verb, in the sense of escape.

67. Tissue layer: PLY.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018 Jeff Eddings

"STUCK IN A RUT"

20A. *Opposes in an election: RUNS AGAINST.

39A. *Welcome news for potential borrowers: RATE CUT.

11D. *Brit's traffic circle: ROUNDABOUT.  One word.  Also, a song by Yes.

29. *"Word on the street is ... ": RUMOR HAS IT.   Also, a movie with Jennifer Anniston, and a song by Adele that you can listen to while reading about the 2017 Westminster Best in Show winner of the same name.  BTW, this busy Edgerton, WI girl won in February, and had a litter of 8 in October, 2017.

Desper-otto reported that this video won't play on Blogger. Channel3000.com  WISC-TV, Madison, has disabled the video from playing on sites other than YouTube.  You can still press the play button, and then click "Watch this video on YouTube"


57A. Trapped by mundanity ... and hint to the answers to starred clues: STUCK IN A RUT.   "You'd like to get your creative juices flowing, but it seems someone left an empty juice bottle in the fridge."

Jeff Eddings gives us a "quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" type of puzzle today.

Across:

1. River through Kazakhstan: URAL.

 NASA image of the URAL River Delta

5. Brewpub orders: BEERS.

10. Upper limbs: ARMS.

14. Expose: BARE.  A child finally cried out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" in Hans Christian Anderson's The Emperor's New Clothes

15. Blue shades: AQUAS.

16. Chess piece that can't move diagonally: ROOK.

17. Big stars often have big ones: EGOS.

18. Apply, as liniment: RUB IN.  Or harp on, as in incessantly.

19. Apple from Japan: FUJI.
The most-purchased fresh apple varieties in the U.S. are:
    1) Gala
    2) Red Delicious
    3) Fuji
    4) Granny Smith
    5) Honeycrisp
    6) Golden Delicious
    7) McIntosh
    8) Pink Lady
    9) Braeburn
    10) Ambrosia

23. Wordless "okay": NOD.

24. Put gas into: FUELED.  Oops, had to correct from FilLED.

25. Assistance: AID.

27. Shabbily dressed: IN RAGS.

30. High behind a cold front, e.g.: AIR MASS.

Air Masses in the U.S.

34. Pan-fry: SAUTE.

35. Boy band *N__: SYNC.

37. Ill-fated Genesis son: ABEL.

38. Point: AIM.

42. Tokyo-born Yoko: ONO.

43. River near the Royal Shakespeare Theatre: AVON.

45. Hockey legend Gordie: HOWE.

 "Mr. Hockey"

46. "It's __-see!": rave review: A MUST.   Abejo's wife made the costumes for the school district's staging of  Les Misèrables  last Thursday through Sunday evenings.

48. Tile type: CERAMIC.

50. Sudden bursts: SPATES.  Think in terms of cluster, outbreak, wave, flurry, rush, deluge and the like.  Contrast to the phrase "In spades" which means having an abundance of, or high quality of.

51. "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" network: HBO.

52. Simpson trial witness Kato: KAELIN.

 "An extremely angry Milwaukee Brewers fan"

55. Report card no.: GPA.

62. Take a break: REST.

64. Ladybug food: APHID.

65. Apple discard: CORE.

66. Opera solo: ARIA.

67. Yankees' manager Aaron: BOONE.   Also, the hero of the deciding game 7 in the 2003 ALCS.


68. Olympics sled: LUGE.

69. Fiddle (with): FUTZ.

70. Kisses and cuddles, in British slang: SNOGS. I have difficulty solving British-style crossword puzzles, mainly because of the format, the clues, the words, and the spellings.  

71. Former spouses: EXES.  All of George Strait's live in Texas.  That's why he resides in Tennessee.


Down:

1. App that arranges a lift but not a Lyft: UBER.  Husker Gary is a big fan.

2. Pasta sauce brand: RAGÚ.  Pasta sauce is often called gravy in many Italian homes and some restaurants.  A ragù is a meat based pasta sauce. 

3. Elvis __ Presley: ARON.  Aron on the birth certificate, Aaron in the official Mississippi state records, and also Aaron on his gravestone.

4. Phrase on a heart-healthy food label: LESS FAT.

5. Flat-bottomed boats: BARGES. Or say, ways to enter a room or conversation, uninvited.

6. __ sign: =: EQUAL.

7. Jazz great Blake: EUBIE.

8. Weather-related Native American ceremony: RAIN DANCE.

9. Nine-digit IDs: SSNS.

10. Boxer's sound: ARF.  Whadda ya get when you start cross-breeding Great Danes and Bulldogs ?  My neighbor has one, and I love him. Good boy !


12. Magic charm: MOJO.

13. Icy road risk: SKID.

21. Hole-making tool: AUGER.

22. __ Heels: UNC team: TAR. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

26. "__ little teapot ... ": IM A.  short and stout,

27. Soul singer Hayes: ISAAC. Won an Academy Award for the Theme From Shaft.  I found out later that he also wrote Soul Man:


28. Easily duped: NAIVE.

31. Post-op area: ICU.

32. Get a feeling: SENSE.

33. Schedule openings: SLOTS.

35. Order lots of: STOCK UP ON.

36. Source of pliable wood: YEW.

40. Sushi tuna: AHI.

41. Easy putt: TAP IN.  Our golf league rules expressly state that, "You must putt it in"  but it's not unusual to see certain players commonly taking increasingly distant putts as a "gimme." 

44. Slap cuffs on: NAB.

47. Slap cuffs on: MANACLE. Just saw that clue somewhere.  Clecho. 

49. Jun. and Jul.: MOS.

50. Microscope inserts: SLIDES.

53. "Bless you" prompter: ACHOO.

54. Just making, with "out": EKING.

55. Court great Steffi: GRAF.

56. Ecuador neighbor: PERU.

 Peru at Lonely Planet

58. Bar bills: TABS.

59. Gravy thickener: ROUX.

60. Encourage: URGE.

61. Shirts from concerts: TEES.

63. Toon devil: TAZ.  The cartoon Tasmanian Devil:


via GIPHY

and the real Tasmanian devil:


via GIPHY




Here's the grid:

Tuesday, July 17, 2018 Craig Stowe

"FLIP SIDES"

17. *Air Force topper: FLIGHT CAP.

24. *Subconscious revelation: FREUDIAN SLIP.
The police aren't here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder.  - Richard Daley

39. *Solution for an itchy Spot?: FLEA DIP.

52. *Escapes: FLIES THE COOP.

63. Opposites, and what the answers to starred clues literally contain: FLIP SIDES.

Across:

1. Excites, with "up": AMPs,   and clecho   33. Excite, with "up": REV.

5. Programs opened with a fingertip: APPs.

9. Furtive attention-getters: PSSTs.

14. When doubled, a fish: MAHI.

15. Computer folder item: FILE.

16. Musical eightsome: OCTET.

19. Go halfsies: SHARE.

20. Creator of the Hundred Acre Wood: MILNE.  Did you read that the original 1926 illustration of the Hundred Acre Wood sold last week for £430,000 ?  That's just short of $570,000.   

21. Onetime comm. giant: ITT. 

23. Concerning: INRE.

28. Unethical: IMMORAL.

31. __ brûlée: custard dessert: CREME.

Burnt Cream

32. Wild hog: BOAR.  Steer clear.  Unless you are packing heat and are disease-resistant.  They're often very big,  can be aggressive, and they are smart. Destructive too, as they attempt to sate their insatiable appetites.

A Message from the USDA

35. Up to now: AS YET.

38. Pipe shape: ELL.

42. __-Magnon: CRO.    Neanderthal fossils were discovered in the Neander Valley of Germany in 1829, and a few years later in 1868, the Cro-Magnon fossils were discovered near the village of Les Eyzies, France.  Nice summaries from the Smithsonian. 

43. Honking birds: GEESE,   and  57. Cacophony: NOISE.     "Watching huge flocks of Snow Geese swirl down from the sky, amid a cacophony of honking, is a little like standing inside a snow globe."


45. Cookie container: TIN.  Adult beverage container: TIN

46. Woman in a family tree: AUNT.  Tia in Spanish,  Tante in German. 

47. Armada: FLEET.  You can rent a Nissan Armada at Hertz.  They have a fleet of these large 8 passenger SUVs.  You might not want to drive one in England.  I've read that armadas are not very well-received there.

50. Eurasian grasslands: STEPPEs.

The Steppe

55. Beat really fast: RACE.

56. "Gimme a __": SEC.

61. Not up to the task: INEPT.

66. Ford replaced him as VP: AGNEW.  Getting a lot of air time lately in the LA Times puzzles.

67. Folded Tex-Mex treat: TACO.  The Tejanos first created the fusion of American and Mexican cuisines.  You can get Tex-Mex food pretty much anywhere in the United States.   Even when you go into authentic "Mexican" restaurants, you'll probably see Tex-Mex items on the menu. A Palate Pleasing Union.

68. Daily paper material: NEWS.

69. Back in style: RETRO.

70. Underworld river: STYX.  Or the progressive rock band that originated in Chicago and made it big in the '70s and '80's.   Disagreements among the members about the musical direction the band should take, along with creative and competitive tensions, led to their eventual breakup.   Still, they had 16 Top 40 singles, 8 of which were Top 10.  This was their only # 1.   It's more of a soft/pop rock sound.


71. Stun with a police gun: TASE.

Down:

1. Radio switch: AM FM.

2. Landlocked African country: MALI.

3. Three-time Masters champ Mickelson: PHIL.

Phil addresses the media at the Scottish Open

4. Formally accept, as a delivery: SIGN FOR.

5. Toward the stern: AFT.

6. Camera shot: PIC.

7. Kilt pattern: PLAID.

8. __ tank: SEPTIC.    It’s a cafeteria for bacteria

9. Neg. opposite: POS. 

10. Deep divides: SCHISMs.

11. Hockey trophy: STANLEY CUP.

 22 Things You Might Not Know About the Stanley Cup

Relinking in case you missed it on the March 27th, 2018 review.  The Washington Capitals got past the Penguins and won it this year.  First time to win it all.  13 playoff appearances.  

12. Purple-haired twin on "The Simpsons": TERRI.

via GIPHY

13. Brew: STEEP.  I enjoy a good brew, but the charge for some imported beers and ales can be comparatively steep.

18. German gent: HERR. German language honorific, equivalent to Mister in English.

22. Shingle sealant: TAR. The black strip covered by film on the bottom a composition shingle is asphalt. Rather than tar, asphalt roof cement should normally be used on composite shingle roofs around penetrations or other areas where a sealant is needed. 

25. Royal wedding guest, perhaps: EARL.

26. Peter Fonda's beekeeper: ULEE.   Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 4). 

27. Tide type: NEAP.  4 letters for tide type ?  - EAP and check the crossing clue. 

28. "__ your pardon": I BEG.  "I never promised you a rose garden.  Along with the sunshine, there has to be a little rain sometimes."  The flip side of that single was "Nothing Between Us" according to Wikipedia.

29. Spy story staple: MOLE.

30. Like evildoers: MALEFICENT.  Pernicious behavior. 

34. Laundry tub: VAT.   Wash, wring and rinse, in one easy-to-use setup !

 Grandma's method

36. Shore bird: ERNE.

37. Youngsters: TOTs. 

39. Charges for members: FEEs.

40. Part of DJ: DISC.   I got to play DJ last Tuesday while reviewing Bruce Haight's "DJ SET" puzzle. 

41. Really enjoying, as a hobby: INTO.

44. Unexpected hit: SLEEPER.

46. Name officially, as to a position: APPOINT.

48. Sci-fi invaders: ETs.

49. Robberies: THEFTs.

51. Seemingly forever: EONs.

52. Monastery figure: FRIAR.

53. Jessica of "American Horror Story": LANGE.   Never saw the movie or program.  Knew who she is.

Jessica Lange on FANDOM

54. Panache: ECLAT.  Flamboyance,  ostentatiously showy,  like Liberace.

58. Thought: IDEA.

59. Hems, but doesn't haw: SEWS.    To hem and haw means to dither, to speak hesitantly, usually because one is unprepared to speak or is attempting to avoid saying something in particular. Hem and haw is also used to mean to be indecisive.  Hum and haw is the British equivalent.  Grammarist.com

60. To be, to Brutus: ESSE.

62. Word before time or piece: TWO.

64. Like an "if looks could kill" look: ICY.   Very unfriendly. Unwelcoming. 

65. Quaint curse: POX.   Elizabethan Oaths, Curses, and Insults    "Five hundred years ago, little in life moved more quickly than a trotting horse. With no media to fill the day, there was nothing but space for song and speech. Elizabethans took a delight with language, weaving together terms to form stinging phrases of wit."

That's enough for now.   Catch you on the flip side.  

Tuesday, July 10, 2018 Bruce Haight

"DJ Set"

18. Ideal occupations: DREAM JOBS. Job recruiters promise them.

20. Scrambled words newspaper game: DAILY JUMBLE.  Disorganized units of language in a game format, with a helpful illustration.

38. Fashionably ripped denim: DISTRESSED JEANS.  Often expensive.

55. Copier malfunction: DOCUMENT JAM.  Always annoying.

59. Off-color humor: DIRTY JOKE.  Mostly bawdy.

50. Track mix for a party, and what the five longest Across answers comprise: DJ SET.  Disc Jockey playlist selections.

Bruce struck a chord today. 

I was pleased to meet WERV FM 95.9 "The River" DJ Scott Mackay while golfing in the Ronald McDonald House charity golf outing a couple of weeks ago.    Great guy and a good golfer.  95.9 "The River" is the station I listen to in the mornings.   And today I get to play DJ.  Hope you'll find a song or two to like in my playlist.
 
Across:

1. Chatting online, for short: IM'ing.  Instant Messaging.  User to user communication on PCs, versus texting and messaging apps on mobile phones.  The terms are used somewhat interchangeably.

6. Little troublemakers: IMPS.

10. Invitation letters: RSVP.  "Répondez s'il vous plaît"    Victor Barocas had both S'IL and VOUS in Sunday's crossword that C.C. reviewed.

14. Indiana hoopster: PACER. The top Indiana Pacers of all time.

15. Like frat brothers: MALE.

16. Keep __: persist: AT IT.  Don't stop. 


17. Fast train in the Northeast: ACELA.  Amtrak's flagship train service.  The name is a derivation of acceleration and excellence.

22. Crosswalk user, briefly: PED.  Pedestrian.


23. Prodigal __: SON.

24. Garden tools: HOES.

25. Hosp. drips: IVS.

27. Vaudeville bit: GAG.

28. Car music source: FM RADIO.  FM (No Static At All) "is a complex jazz-rock composition driven by its bass, guitar and piano parts" by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.  The song was written as the title track for the movie FM.   Some claim the movie was the basis for the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.  In the movie, a group of DJs take control of L.A. radio station QSKY in protest of having to play more commercials.  


32. Baghdad native: IRAQI.

35. Mystical glow: AURA.

37. Eyeglasses glass: LENS.  The new glasses are helping.

41. So totally gross: ICKY.  How I felt at the end of each day last Friday and Saturday after staining the house and the deck railing for 10 hours.

42. Fencing sword: EPEE.

43. "Therefore ... ": AND SO.   I received this advice when first starting a stint as a guest instructor:
1) Tell them what you are going to tell them,
2) Tell them,  and then
3) Tell them what you told them.

44. Matthew and Mark wrote two of them: GOSPELS.

46. Pained cries: OWS.

47. Gave lunch to: FED.

48. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.   "...from 1929 to 1937 he produced the paintings which made him the world’s best-known Surrealist artist.  He depicted a dream world in which commonplace objects are juxtaposed, deformed, or otherwise metamorphosed in a bizarre and irrational fashion."

50. Ike's monogram: DDE.

53. Medical ins. plan: HMO.

61. Get ready to hit the road: GAS UP.


62. Chicago paper, familiarly: TRIB.  The Chicago Tribune, the flagship newspaper of the one-time Tribune Company.  

63. Sign of the future: OMEN.

64. "__ you ready yet?": AREN'T. 

65. November honorees: VETS.

66. Get fresh with: SASS.

67. Moth-eaten: TATTY.

Down:

1. Apple tablets: IPADS.

2. Chinese gambling mecca: MACAO.  The "Las Vegas of Asia."

Perhaps Las Vegas should be called the "Macao of the United States" ?

3. Strand at the ski lodge, maybe: ICE IN.

4. Women's basketball analyst Fortner: NELL.  USA Basketball Women's National Team coach on the 1996 Olympics Gold Medal team, and then Head Coach of the 2000 Olympics Gold Medal team.   Now an ESPN analyst.  Summary info on Wikipedia.

5. It may be a result of stress, some say: GRAY HAIR.

6. "My luck HAS to change!": I'M DUE.


7. Quaint schoolteachers: MARMS.

8. Roman commoner: PLEB.

9. __ the deal: SEAL.

10. Indian friend of TV's Sheldon: RAJ.

11. Comes to a complete halt: STOPS DEAD.

12. Vague feeling: VIBE.   "The DJ was central to the ritual of 1970s dance culture, but the dancing crowd was no less important, and it was the combination of these two elements that created the conditions for the dance floor dynamic.  A good DJ didn't only lead dancers along his or her... preferred musical path, but would also feel the mood of the dance floor and select records according to this energy (which could be communicated by the vigor of the dancing, or level of the crowd's screams, or sign language of dancers directed towards the booth).  This communication--described by Sarah Thornton, in her early analysis of late 1980s and 1990s dance culture, as "the vibe"--amounted to a form of synergistic music-making in which separate elements combined to create a mutually beneficial and greater whole." Beyond the Hustle...

13. Condition once called "shell shock," for short: PTSD.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  National Institute of Mental Health information

19. Israel's Golda: MEIR.

21. Trot: JOG.

26. "Donna" singer Ritchie: VALENS.


DJ Bob Hale, who was the MC for the concert, agrees that the coin flip was between Allsup and Valens.

27. One usually dressed for success: GQ TYPE.    A smartly dressed, well groomed and mannered man.   GQ magazine, a Conde Nast publication,  was formerly Gentlemen's Quarterly, promoted as  "The latest tips and advice for men on style, grooming, fitness, best products, travel destinations and more."

28. Liberate: FREE.

29. Alfred E. Neuman magazine: MAD.


30. Road trip stopovers: INNS.

31. __ buco: veal dish: OSSO.

32. Beatnik's "Gotcha!": I DIG. I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it. Oh, let's dig it. Can you dig it, baby?


or:



33. Puerto __: RICO.

34. Ignores warnings to behave, say: ASKS FOR IT.

35. Once-sacred snakes: ASPS.

36. Employ: USE.


39. Long, thin fish: EEL.

40. Talking endlessly to: JAWING AT.

45. Whirlpool: EDDY.  Could have been clued as twangy guitarist Duane ___ .  Here's a 1986 remake of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn. 


46. Fútbol fan's cry: OLE.  Little chance chance for a mondegreen in the lyrics of this one.

48. Noblemen below princes: DUKES.

49. Chorus from the pews: AMENS.

51. Intimidate: DAUNT.

52. Running on __: EMPTY.


53. RCA product: HDTV.

54. Swampy area: MIRE.

56. Spanish eyes: OJOS. 


57. Deep sleep: COMA.


58. "Sharknado" actress Reid: TARA.

60. Atlanta-based cable channel: TBS.  Turner Broadcasting System. 

Note from C.C.

Owen has started a Jumble blog, please click here for your daily discussions.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 Jeff Stillman

"Fee-fi-fo-fum"

21. In good spirits: FEELING FINE.

31. Natural source of paper or rope: FIBER PLANT.

42. Center of attention: FOCAL POINT.

54. Gridiron goof: FUMBLED BALL.

67. N.Y. or S.F. athlete known for the beginnings of 21-, 31-, 42-, and 54-Across?: GIANT.

"Behold food, good to eat, sufficient for my hunger!"

Across:

1. Harry Potter's forte: MAGIC.  Did Harry have some magic beans ?

6. USAF officer: MAJ.

9. Some spouses: WIVES.

14. Susan's "All My Children" role: ERICA.  Susan Lucci played the role of Erica Kane for 41 years on the daytime soap.  

15. Memorable time: AGE.

16. Has __ up one's sleeve: AN ACE.

17. Antisocial type: LONER.

18. Term start?: MID.

19. Swamp snapper: GATOR.

20. Mantra syllables: OMS.

24. Cause one's stomach to turn: NAUSEATE.

26. Monthly util. bill: ELEC.

27. Goof up: ERR.

28. Off the straight and narrow: WAYWARD.  Like Jack, who stole from the Giant.  The band is from Topeka.


36. Actress Vardalos: NIA.  Winnipeg born Nia in an interview with Katie Couric in 2002.

37. Not hurting for space: ROOMY.

38. Heavenly body: ORB.

39. Less extroverted: SHIER.  My sister had a horse that shied away from me.

Wouldn't the comparative "more shy" be shyer, and the superlative form be shyest ?

"Both versions are acceptable in today's standard English. In the 2002 CGEL page 1581: Monosyllabic dry and shy are optionally exceptions to the y-replacement rule, allowing either y or i before the suffix: dry ~ dryer/drier ~ dryest/driest and shy ~ shyer/shier ~ shyest/shiest." English StackExchange.  CGEL

41. QB's stat: ATT. Quarterbacks / Attempts.  We often have TDS (Touchdowns) as an answer for QB's stat.

44. Japanese straw mats: TATAMIS.  13 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Tatami.  I only knew two.

47. One-eighty on the road: UEY.

48. Patron saint of Norway: OLAF.

49. Read a clock: TELL TIME.

57. Bedevil: VEX.  "Make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters." - Oxford English Dictionaries.  I like "especially with trivial matters" in the definition.  To me, vex is a slightly milder reaction than irk.  Ire is toward the anger end.  Don't like seeing ire and irk clued as if they were synonymous.

58. Treat like a pariah: AVOID.  Shunned ?

59. Maris, to "the Mick": ROG. Nicknames.  New York Yankee baseball stars Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.

60. Afghan's neighbor: IRANI.

62. Attend the homecoming game, say: REUNE.  Intransitive verb.  Back formation from reunion according to Merriam Webster and others. 

63. Inseparable: ONE.

64. Things to shun: NO-NOS.  Deserts are to be shunned if you want to lose weight.  They are no-nos.  Taboos for children are often called no-nos.  In baseball slang, a no-hitter is called a no-no.   Even Meghan Markle has a list of no-nos now that she's a Royal Duchess.  Also see 40D Hoyt.

65. Use at the table: EAT ON.

66. Pricing word: PER.

Down:

1. Honeydew or cantaloupe: MELON.

2. Pleasant smell: AROMA.

3. Infomercial knife: GINSU.


4. Sign in a hotel hallway: ICE.

5. Regular Martha's Vineyard arrival: CAR FERRY.

6. "Glengarry Glen Ross" playwright David: MAMET.

7. Nimble: AGILE.

8. Obi-Wan, for one: JEDI.

9. Like a happy dog's tail: WAGGLY.  Google site search tells me this is a debut for WAGGLY here at the Corner.

Making new friends.

10. Shortly, informally: IN A FEW.

11. 1960s ecumenical council of the Catholic Church: VATICAN II.

12. MBA subject: ECON.

13. Dry as a desert: SERE.

22. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.   "It was dry as a desert in Tombstone on that fateful day. Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan and Doc strode purposefully to the OK Corral.  Johnny Ringo and Ike Clanton saw the Earps and Holliday coming."    Wait, let me start over.  "It was a dark and stormy night..."

23. Tidy: NEAT.

25. "I __ to recall ... ": SEEM.

28. Connecticut Sun's org.: WNBA.  One of twelve professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association.  

29. Nothing, in Nice: RIEN.

 

Nice is just up the coast from Cannes, and SW down the coast from Genoa, Italy.


30. Tavern missile: DART.

31. Greek campus group: FRAT.

32. Itty bit: IOTA.

33. Reach the lowest level: BOTTOM OUT.

34. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" novelist Anita: LOOS.

 "... an extraordinary, barbed genius of the silent era, Hollywood and Broadway"

35. Eyebrow shape: ARC.

39. Grade school subject: SPELLING.

40. Axton of country: HOYT.   Wrote the "No No Song" popularized by Ringo Starr.  Also wrote "Joy To The World"  and  "Never Been to Spain", popularized by Three Dog Night.

42. Marching band wind: FIFE.

43. Slow period: LULL.

45. White mouse, e.g.: ALBINO.

46. "On the Waterfront" co-star Karl: MALDEN.   w/ Michael Douglas during The Streets of San Francisco days.

49. Steakhouse order: T-BONE.   Tenderloin on one side of the bone, and strip steak on the other side.  The porterhouse is really just a T-Bone steak cut from the rear of the sirloin, so it has a larger tenderloin section. 

50. Itching to go: EAGER.

51. The first Mrs. Trump: IVANA.

52. Runners occupying bases: MEN ON.  Ducks on the pond.  The Cubs had three ducks on the pond (bases loaded) with nobody out in the bottom of the third against the Twins on Saturday.  They plated all three to tie the game.

53. Have life: EXIST.  Are.

54. Cab cost: FARE.

55. Optic layer including the iris: UVEA.

56. Go down: DROP.

61. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI.  His dad was XIII.  Became the King of France at the ripe old age of four years and eight months when his dad died in 1643.  Reigned for 72 years.  Then his grandson XV took the reign.  XV arranged the marriage of his grandson XVI to Marie Antoinette.  XVI took over in 1774, and was to become the last ROI of France.

XIV established absolute monarchical rule in France, appeased the nobles, consolidated powers, started a lot of wars, signed a lot of treaties, increased France's turf in Europe,  and improved France's standing in the world power rankings.  He had his architects and builders rehab his dad's hunting lodge and turned it into the Palace of Versailles.  

France seemed to get a pretty good R.O.I. on XIV as ROI.   But over the course of about 150 years of absolute monarchical rule, things weren't going so well for the people of France, perhaps especially under the rule of his successors.    It all culminated in the French Revolution, the ending of the monarchy, the beheading of XVI and Marie in 1793, and the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Enough of that.  On to the grid !

Tuesday, Jun 26, 2018 Mike Peluso

"FINAL APPROVAL"

20. "Fast Times" school (Japan): RIDGEMONT HIGH.    Hai  はい

35. 2014 U.S. Women's Open champion (France): MICHELLE WIE.  Oui

42. North Atlantic stretch with no land borders (Mexico): SARGASSO SEA.  Sí

56. Permission from the big boss ... and a hint to the ends of 20-, 35- and 42-Across (in the country indicated): FINAL APPROVAL.

You have permission.  

Across:

1. Tug or ark: BOAT.

5. First assembly instruction: STEP A.  Aren't assembly instructions most often numbered ?

10. Mt. Rushmore's state: S. DAK.

14. Gas brand on the Trans-Canada Highway: ESSO. This one is in Ladysmith, BC.

 15. Word before basin or wave: TIDAL.

16. Actress Taylor: LILI.

 Lili Taylor at IMDb

17. "Now!" letters: ASAP.

18. Summer month in Argentina: ENERO.   January.  "Argentina is in the southern hemisphere, thus the seasons occur during the opposite months from Europe and North America. Spring arrives around November; January and February mark the peak summer months and March is the end of summer when children return to school." - Bradt Travel Guides.

19. "__ something I said?": IS IT.

23. South Korean capital: SEOUL.

24. Bootlegger's gin container: BATHTUB.  Bootleggers, bathtub gin, and grape bricks during the Prohibition....   "One wine brick company, with a barely disguised hint, wrote on the packages of its product: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn to wine.” 

27. Drag racer's fuel, briefly: NITRO.  Nitromethane.  World's fastest 1/4 mile Top Fuel speed:


31. Do penance: ATONE.

32. Actress Thurman: UMA.

38. Hip-hoppers Salt-N-__: PEPA.

40. Two under par: EAGLE.

41. Dexterous: DEFT.  Neatly skillful and quick in one's movements.  Origin: Middle English: variant of daft, in the obsolete sense ‘meek’. - Oxford Dictionaries.    

"Apparently, deft and daft shared a sense of "gentle, and becoming" in Old English. Their different pronunciations (which only later formalized into spellings) experienced different metaphorical extension in Middle English. Deft continued to develop the meaning of "skillful".
But daft seems to have experienced systematic semantic deterioration from "mild-mannered" (1200), to "dull and awkward" (1300), and eventually to "foolish and crazy" (1500) under the added influence of the third word daffy. "  - English Stack Exchange

45. Fleur-de-__: LYS.

46. Ohio natives: ERIEs. 

47. Skin care prefix: DERMA.

49. Counts up: TALLIES. 

"...Since fingers are somewhat limited to 10 , a new invention was introduced – the tally system (earliest known proof of that is from around 35 000 B.C.). The tally system revolves around scratches on sticks, rocks or bones. The number of scratches represents the number of items counted – five birds would be represented by five scratches, seven mammoths would be represented by seven scratches etc. The “modern” tally system, which we’re still using in this day and age, organizes the scratches (tallies) into groups of five – four vertical scratches and one diagonal (that is drawn across the vertical ones). Eventually, tallies were replaced with more practical symbols – numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...) – which are in wide use today." Mathemania -Counting

52. Thinning atmospheric layer: OZONE.

60. "Let's go!": C'MON.

62. "Chicago" actress Zellweger: RENEE.

63. Crass: RUDE.

64. Arctic chunk: FLOE.

65. News article intros: LEDES.  Origin in the 1950s as an alteration of lead, first used in instructions to printers, in order to distinguish the word from text to be printed.  Now lede is mainly journalism jargon for the introductory portion of a news story—or what might be called the lead portion of the news story.  We've had LEDE before in the LA Times crossword puzzles. Once.  Sept 22nd, 2017. Irish Miss was the only one of the regulars that knew it.  Did you remember it from last time ?

66. Tiger Woods' ex: ELIN.

67. Frying liquids: OILS.

68. Prefix with foam: STYRO.

69. Vaccine fluids: SERA.

Down:

1. Chicago NFL team: BEARS.   99 seasons.  Record (W-L-T): 749-579-42.   New head coach Matt Nagy and quarterback Mitch Trubisky are looking to lead the Bears to an NFC North title and the playoffs.  Their biggest rivalry is with the Green Bay Packers, who currently have the lead at 96–94–6.  It is the longest rivalry in the NFL, having started in 1921.  

2. Actor Davis: OSSIE.

3. Pollo __: Latin American grilled chicken dish: ASADO.

4. Cruise/Kilmer action film: TOP GUN.

5. Education acronym for four fields of study: STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

6. Ex-Yankee Martinez: TINO.  Constatino.  

A key component of the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 NY Yankees World Series Championship teams.  They lost in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamonbacks, or he would have garnered a 5th World Series ring.

7. Genesis garden: EDEN.

8. Medicare option: PART B.

9. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.

10. Snubbed: SLIGHTED.

11. Kitchen cloth: DISH TOWEL.

12. Boxer Laila: ALI.

13. Do-it-yourselfer's buy: KIT.

21. Single __: tournament format, briefly: ELIM. Single Elimination.  The loser of the match or game is out.  The NCAA's "March Madness" tournament is an example.

22. Slanted type: Abbr.: ITAL.

25. Bring together: UNIFY.

26. Sugar sources: BEETS.

28. Deadlocks: TIES.

29. Some TVs: RCAs.

30. 1977 George Burns film: OH GOD.

32. Unexpected victory: UPSET.  Happens fairly frequently in the early rounds of the single elimination March Madness basketball tournament.

33. Stiller's comedy partner: MEARA.


34. Springtime prank: APRIL FOOL.

36. Ultimatum word: ELSE.

37. Sideways glance: LEER.

39. Facial wrinkles: AGE LINEs.

43. F-foxtrot link: AS IN.

44. Latin love: AMOR.

48. Islands west of Portugal: AZORES.  "The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, are an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. The islands are characterized by dramatic landscapes, fishing villages, green pastures and hedgerows of blue hydrangeas."

Guide to the Azores

50. British peers: EARLs.

51. Icy winter weather: SLEET.

53. Developing egg: OVULE.

54. Apex's opposite: NADIR.

55. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA.  She was also an answer in Saturday's LA Times Crossword.  The clue was "John Paul's successor."   Saturdays can be so tough.

57. Mayberry's Sheriff Taylor: ANDY.

58. Look intently (at): PEER.

59. Durango dinero: PESO.


60. Corp. money manager: CFO.  Chief Financial Officer.  What is a 'Chief Financial Officer - CFO' ?  - Investopedia

61. Mid-11th century year: MLI.  M = 1000,  L = 50,  I = 1,  thus MLI  =  mid-11th century year 1051.   Viking descendant William of Normandy was building and consolidating powers at the time, and strategically married the more noble Matilda of Flanders.   In 1066, he conquered England, became known as William the Conqueror and was the first Norman King of England.  Two of their sons - William II and Henry I - ascended to the throne as King of England.   The English word for agreement at the time was yea, and before the 1600s,  yes was often used only as an affirmative to a negative question.

That's a wrap.  Wait, one more link: How to say yes in many different languages.