Thursday, August 22nd 2019 Winston Emmons

Theme: EPI-penned - the letters EPI appear in the theme entries as the reveal explains:

65A. Quake's origin, and a feature of the answers to starred clues: EPICENTER. Very common word on the news around these parts. There have been a few pretty big shakes over the last few weeks.

So we get:

17A. *Watch: TIMEPIECE

24A. *Jazzman Fats Waller, style-wise: STRIDE PIANIST.  I was not familiar with this term at all.

40A. *"Boulevard Montmartre" series painter: CAMILLE PISSARRO

Here's the boulevard "on a Winter's Morning":

52A. *Understand: GET THE PICTURE

Straightforward enough theme, nicely executed. Note that the "EPI"s in each theme entry are the middle three letters of each answer. I struggled a bit with the STRIDE/W.C. HANDY/AZO/DYNES region but the crosses eventually pulled it together.

Across:

1. Suggestions, informally: RECS. Recommendations, I presume.

5. Many 40-Across works: OILS. A cross-reference clue right off the bat to annoy those who don't like them!

9. Supplement: ADD TO

14. Monsieur's mine: À MOI

15. Champagne designation: BRUT. Driest of the champagnes. The others, from dry to sweet, are Extra Sec, Sec, Demi Sec and Doux. Some purests split "rut" into "Extra Brut", the driest, and "Brut Nature".

16. React to a loss: MOURN

19. Palestinian leader Mahmoud: ABBAS. Thank you, crosses

20. Childish comeback: ARE SO!

21. Increase, with "up": REV

23. Simian: APE

29. "St. Louis Blues" composer: W.C. HANDY. Unknown to me. A very influential musician, I come to find.

31. Huntsville's home: Abbr.: ALA. Handy briefly taught at the now-named Alabama A&M University near Huntsville, and quit when he found that a pipe-fitter made more money. See what I just learned?

32. Nitrogen-based dye: AZO. Another unknown.

33. Turow book set at Harvard: ONE L. "One L" refers to a first-year law student, not just at Harvard but all law schools.

36. Quaking tree: ASPEN

44. Krispy __: KREME

45. Room in una casa: SALA

46. __ bran: OAT

47. Corn unit: EAR

49. Sisters on whom "Little Women" was loosely based: ALCOTTS

57. It may be inflated: EGO

58. Not bright: DIM

59. Dreadlocks wearer: RASTA

62. Golfer with an "army": ARNIE. Arnold Palmer, nicknamed "The King". He was one of the first golf superstars with the arrival of televised tournaments.

68. Walks unsteadily: REELS

69. Make over: REDO

70. "Star Trek" creator Roddenberry: GENE. There's a building on the Paramount lot named for him. He's made them quite a bit of money over the years.

71. Sore throat cause: STREP

72. Word with dash or happy: SLAP

73. Novelist Ferber: EDNA

Down:

1. Female rodent, to Fernando: RATA. You need a gato to chase her off.

2. Arab chieftain: EMIR

3. Returns: COMES HOME

4. Afternoon break: SIESTA

5. Kimono sash: OBI

6. Anger: IRE

7. "Filthy" moolah: LUCRE. Is all lucre filthy?

8. Expensive: STEEP

9. Physicians' gp.: A.M.A.

10. Bio info: D.O.B.

11. City with the world's tallest building: DUBAI

12. Snares: TRAPS

13. Kickoff: ONSET

18. Dirty work?: PORN. Rich has been getting a little more lenient over the years with "acceptable" entries.

22. By way of: VIA

25. Object of much reverence: IDOL

26. Newton fractions: DYNES. This was part my problem area, crossing "STRIDE" and "HANDY".

27. Rueful word: ALAS

28. Voyager org.: N.A.S.A.

29. Eccentric: WACK

30. Überauthority: CZAR. What, he arrived in Russia in a ride service? Maybe Otis was a Lyftauthority?

34. "Learn about the UV Index" org.: E.P.A.

35. Pastel shade: LILAC

37. Voiced one's opposition: PROTESTED

38. Logician's "E": ERAT. "Quod Erat Demonstrandum", "QED".

39. Forget-me-__: NOTS

41. "How __ Your Mother": I MET

42. "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" memoirist Remini: LEAH. I remember hearing about the book, I never got around to reading it.

43. Brine has a lot of it: SALT

48. Signal to stop: RED

50. Virologist's goal: CURE

51. Creamsicle flavor: ORANGE. How funny, just last Friday I had my first "Orange Julius" at a Dairy Queen in Westminster Mall. It was surprisingly good!

52. Gets ready, with "up": GEARS

53. Long-billed wader: EGRET

54. Copier cartridge: TONER

55. Places to tie up: PIERS

56. Drive: IMPEL

60. Miss. neighbor: TENN.

61. Plane measurement: AREA

63. Martinique, par exemple: ÎLE. Caribbean island, part of the French West Indies. Here's La Plage des Salines - beautiful!

64. Clairvoyant's claim: E.S.P.

66. Journalist Tarbell: IDA

67. Steal, in slang: COP

I think that about does it for me today. Hasta la Jueves!

Steve

Friday, February 15, 2019, Winston Emmons

Title: Winston, I C what you did here.

We have a Friday add a letter theme presented in a pinwheel grid. This is our fourth puzzle from Winston (the name of my grandpuppy who turned 10 years old yesterday-picture below) and his second already this year. Today's feature is different than his earlier Friday, and I found pretty doable. I never heard of the Fugard play, but the rest filled in with just a few perps. I did learn a bit and enjoyed some of the longer fill like DELISTS,  EMANUEL, ANDRETTI,  SEAHORSE, ASSERTIVE, and STENCILED. So we are off...

16A. Social media buzz about Alfred E. Neuman?: MAD CHATTER (10). I have never been to a chat room. Mad HATTER is an Alice in Wonderland reference.

62A. Jalopy that still works?: GOING CRATE (10). Going RATE is an in the language phrase and CRATE is ok.

9D. Vegan regimen for a willowy look?: CATKINS DIET (11). The controversial ATKINS diet morphs into a flowering spike of trees such as willow and hazel.

22D. Trysting place?: CHEATING PAD (11). A simple HEATING pad becomes a den of iniquity.
With a reveal:

67A. Grade describing the four longest puzzle answers?: C PLUS (5).

Across:

1. Dip with a kick: SALSA. Not if you live with a Thai chef.

6. Highest: NTH.

9. Video segment: CLIP.

13. "A Lesson From __": Fugard play: ALOES.  New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best Play of the Year, in 1980, I think.  FUGARD was a South African and outspoken critic of Apartheid.

14. Electronic music effect: WAWA. My son, Devin. uses his wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) which is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah".

15. Helper: AIDE. Even if you are not in the Senate.

18. Labor: TOIL.

19. Montgomery-to-Macon dir.: ENE. I have made this drive.

20. Founded: BASED. The theory was founded on the assumption...

21. Tie feature: KNOT. Silly; they do not come with knots. Oh, I guess if you are wearing one.

22. Fiscal exec: CFO.

24. Removes from the exchange: DELISTS. Delisting occurs when listed security is removed from the exchange on which it trades. A stock may be removed from an exchange if the company for which the stock is issued is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the exchange. The criteria to remain listed on an exchange differs from one exchange to another. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for instance, if a security's price closed below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days then the exchange would initiate the delisting process.

26. It's not an equine: SEAHORSE.

31. Directed: RAN.

32. Forceful: ASSERTIVE.

34. "There's many __ 'twixt the cup and the lip": old proverb: A SLIP. The origin  STORY. It is cool in a semi-sad way.



38. About one-third of Earth's land area: ASIA. This is where the above story comes from, as well as my beautiful wife.

39. Slyly disparaging: SNIDE. My favorite.

41. Monopoly pieces: DICE. Who thinks of the dice as a piece?

42. Tops: BESTS.

44. Like some posters: STENCILED. This took many perps.

46. Windows competitor: iOS. iOS (formerly iPhone OS ) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the second most popular mobile operating system globally after Android.

48. Big name in auto racing: ANDRETTI. Mario and his sons.

49. Chicago mayor since 2011: EMANUEL.  This MAN.

53. Addams cousin: ITT. A Hairy clue.

54. Actress Helgenberger: MARG. From China Beach to CSI.

55. Case, often: DOZEN. Beer, soda and a clecho with 69A. Case, for example: Abbr.: SYNtax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Nothing to do with 29 Down. Or as the majority has voted, it was a little play on words using the "for" to tell you that CASE is a SYNONYM for example. I am tired and like the old Burger King Commercial - you can have it your way.

58. Hanoi holiday: TET.

61. Radar readout feature: BLIP.

65. "Frozen" princess: ELSA.

66. Grandson of 33-Down exiles: ENOS. do we all know this biblical figure now?

68. Marsh plant: REED. I think of them from the Bible and Moses. The clecho. 47D. Marsh plants: SEDGES.

70. Permissible: LICIT. For once not illicit.

Down:

1. Matching: SAME.

2. Jackson of country: ALAN. My Thai wife listens.

3. Pay dirt: LODE.

4. Holding-on period?: SEC.

5. 49-Down remnant: ASH.

6. Expos, now: NATS. The Washington Nationals.

7. Rough material: TWEED.

8. Taking more time, probably, as a test: HARDER.

10. Ford Field team: LIONS. Sorry to all their fans, but DETROIT is not a successful team.

11. Nitwit: IDIOT.

12. Trapper's collection: PELTS.

14. Athletic org. founded by Billie Jean King: WTA. Women's Tennis Association. LINK.

17. Ends prematurely: ABORTS.

23. Pro: FOR.

25. Mike Trout's team, on scoreboards: LAA. Los Angeles Angels. The angels angels.

26. Swedish auto: SAAB. The car is now GONE.

27. Latin I verb: ESSE. To be or not to be, that is the question.

28. Craigslist caveat: AS IS. Also very important in Real Estate purchases and law.

29. Sloth and the like: SINS. Some say there are 7 deadly ones, but that would be religion.

30. Musical narrated by Che: EVITA. Hard to beleive this is more than 20 years ago.

33. Paradise: EDEN. More Bible.

35. Rhythmic cadence: LILT.

36. Tracy Marrow's stage name: ICE-T.

37. Salon offering: PEDI. How many of the men out there have had one or more? I have taken the cure.

40. Outcome: ENDING.

43. Trifling amount: SOU. French penny, basically.

45. Old PC monitor: CRT. Cathode Ray Tube.

49. Eventual 5-Down: EMBER.

50. "Atlantic City" director Louis: MALLE.  A very famous and controversial film DIRECTOR who went from shooting underwater with Jacques Cousteau to many sexually themed movies like Pretty Baby. He was married to Candice Bergen.

51. Stand: ARISE.

52. More than a little silly: LOONY. Etymology: also loonie, looney, luny, "crazy; silly and eccentric," 1853, American English, short for lunatic, but also influenced by loon (n.2) and perhaps loon (n.1), the bird is noted for its wild cry and method of escaping from danger. As a noun by 1884, from the adjective. Slang loony bin "insane asylum" is by 1909. Looney left in reference to holders of political views felt to be left-wing in the extreme is from 1977. Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. studios' animated cartoon series, dates from 1930.

56. Angels Landing's national park: ZION. The angels are obviously a hearty group. MORE.

57. Nation borders?: ENS. Nation. The absence of the 's was the giveaway.

58. Soothing application: TALC. Unless you use it on your body in a personal way. LINK.

59. Notions case: ETUI. This has become quite popular again.

60. Acid __: TEST.

63. Half of D: CCL. Roman numeral math...glue.

64. Hudson Riv. engineering school: RPI. We end with a common CSO to our Corner friends. Cool.

My Winston as a puppy and then him now He is a boxer black lab mix













I think I did it again; hope you enjoyed my tour and Winston's creation. I  await your comments. Lemonade out.

Monday February 4, 2019 Winston Emmons

Theme: NO NO (59. Forbidden thing, and what each of four long answers is?)

  

20. Misdeed exculpation: NO HARM NO FOUL.

29. Done tidily and without stress: NO MUSS NO FUSS.

46. Precisely: NO MORE NO LESS.

56. Exercise mantra: NO PAIN NO GAIN.

Boomer here.

I noticed that there were ten (count'em) TEN "nos" in today's puzzle.  I believe that is a no no.  I hope you all had a great Groudhog Day and if you missed the Bill Murray movie, I think it was on 6 cable channels Saturday. We had a typical Minnesota week this past 7 days, but I also noticed that a huge section of the country had the same.  We got about 30 below on Tuesday and Wednesday, then a thaw on Saturday and Sunday.  

Exploding toilet tank & Frozen noodles

My bowling was postponed due to weather last Monday and Thursday was not the best or worse. 

Last but not least, condolences to the L.A. Rams.  They played a pretty good game but were scratched by the Superb Owl and upended by the Brady Bunch.  I was disappointed by the commercials.  Although nothing will ever compare to Betty White playing football with Abe Vigoda. Shame on Budweiser for hiring someone to sing "Blowin' in the Wind" while trying to sound like our Minnesota native Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan.  I have listened to Mr. Dylan for years and that was not his voice in the Bud Commercial.
 

Across:

1. Gather in a pile: AMASS. I go every Sunday but we don't pile into the church.

6. City transport: BUS. Add an "S" and you may have a fuse.

9. Assume the role of: ACT AS.

14. Dashed in the direction of: RAN TO.  Sounds like a role for Sylvester Stallone.

15. Fireplace remnants: ASH.  Once there was a tobacco store in a mall in Minnesota.  The proprietor was George Ash. The name of the store was Ashes. Really! You could bring in your pipe and sample his stuff.

16. Baseball's home __: PLATE.  Yeah, but it is made of rubber, and not the shape of  a glass or ceramic plate.

17. Military decoration: MEDAL.  Everyone who serves gets one or two, however a bronze star or silver star is special.

18. China : cha :: U.S. : __: TEA.  "Cha for two and two for cha"

19. Resistance member: REBEL.  Johnny Yuma was one.

23. Garden product word: GRO. Really have never seen this.  But be careful with "Roundup"

26. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA.  If you have money in one, it is not taxable … yet.

27. Ages and ages: EON.  Should it not be "EONS" ?

28. Word after photo or black: OPS.  Reminds me of Donald Sutherland in "JFK"

33. Skillful: ADEPT.

34. Early riser?: SUN.  I notice it does not rise so early in winter.  Maybe Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow.  Then we will only have 5 weeks and 6 days of winter left.

35. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.  My sister Barbara was a HUGE Hugh O'Brian fan.

39. Bedouin abode: TENT.  How much is Five T plus Five T. 

40. Takes out the sloop: SAILS.  Beach Boys sailed on the Sloop John B.

42. Classic cookie: OREO. The favorite treat of Crossword constructors everywhere.

43. Mediocre: SO SO.  The favorite denial of my wife, C.C.

44. Suffix with alp: INE.  If you have not yet heard, Minnesota's favorite woman ALPINE skier, Lindsey Vonn has announced retirement.

45. Models for some Adam and Eve art: NUDES.

50. Texter's "I believe": IMO.

53. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI.

54. Badminton partition: NET.

55. Originally called: NEE.  Maybe too many three letter answers ??

60. Minotaur's island: CRETE.  This was a question in Saturday's Pogo Trivial Pursuit.

61. Overtime cause, in sports: TIE.  Also neckwear of which I have thirty, and wear one or two per year.

62. Seashore: COAST.  This is C.C.'s favorite soap bar.  I like Irish Spring.

66. Brother of Moses: AARON. Also the surname of Hank who hit 755 MLB home runs.  Coincidentally, now there is AARON Judge who may approach Hank's record someday.

67. Right-angled pipe shape: ELL.  Generally 90 degrees.

68. Came to a conclusion: ENDED.

69. Slope: SLANT.

70. Prefix with -lexic: DYS.

71. Gives medicine to: DOSES. We covered this last week.

Down:

1. Pitcher's asset: ARM. And probably a million dollar home and a BMW.

2. West of "My Little Chickadee": MAE.

3. Plus: AND. "Two AND two are four, four AND four are eight. AND what did you learn in school today, dear little boys of mine?"  (Tom Paxton)

4. Ollie's partner: STAN. Oh how I loved the reruns of Laurel and Hardy when I was a kid.  When I visit a friend in the hospital, I always bring hard boiled eggs and nuts.

5. Single singer: SOLOIST.  Yes I was, in the Benilde High School Glee Club.  My best was Poor Old Charlie on the "MTA".

6. WWII Philippine battleground: BATAAN.  Very tough duty.  My father served there as a medic.

7. Manipulative sort: USER.

8. Causing disgrace: SHAMEFUL.

9. Cooks' protective wear: APRONS.

10. Sheet music symbol: CLEF.

11. Forbidden: TABOO.

12. Consumed eagerly: ATE UP.

13. Disposes of on eBay: SELLS.  "She sells sea shells on the sea shore".  Say it 5 times really fast.

21. 60-min. periods: HRS.  Hank Aaron and Aaron Judge's stats. 

22. Subjects, usually, in grammar class: NOUNS. "Twas' the night before Christmas and all through the house..  NO UNS was sleeping, not even a mouse.  And not even Talullah's brudder in law and he's a rat."

23. Bitty biters: GNATS.  The DC MLB Baseball team is sometimes called the Gnats.

24. Show with horses and bulls: RODEO.

25. Warning signs: OMENS.

30. Model Kate married to Justin Verlander: UPTON.  Pitchers get all the girls.

31. Willow twig: OSIER.

32. South Korea's capital: SEOUL.

36. Elizabeth of cosmetics: ARDEN.

37. Creator of yummy "pieces": REESE.  Creator of yummy Yankee stories, Pee Wee.

38. Entourage: POSSE.

40. Do what he says or you lose: SIMON.  Simon says "The words of the profits are written on the subway walls,"  and Garfunkel says , "And tenement halls."

41. Made sacred, as with oil: ANOINTED.

45. Observed: NOTICED.

47. "Murder on the __ Express": ORIENT.  Minneapolis story.  Years ago Northwest Airlines was "Northwest Orient" now it's known as "Delta".  Big airlines get swallowed up by bigger ones.

48. Marx co-author: ENGELS.

49. Cultural funding org.: NEA.

50. Machu Picchu builders: INCAS.  Remember Jimmy Durante ?  Inca Dinka Do.

51. Point of a fable: MORAL.

52. Wagner work: OPERA.  Spend a night there in 1935 with the Marx Brothers. Were Groucho, Zeppo, Chico and Harpo their real names??

57. Huge amount, as of homework: A TON.  Load 16 of them and Whaddaya get.  Another day older and deeper in debt.  Was "Tennessee his real first name"?

58. Slick, like a garage floor: OILY.  If your oil pan leaks and you don't get it fixed you may deserve to slip on your garage floor, after you buy a new engine.

63. Spots on television: ADS. "Spots" is very kind.  Some last over a minute and all are BORING !

64. Understand: SEE.

65. NFL scores: TDS. A scant one in this years big game.

Boomer

Friday, May 25, 2018, Winston Emmons

Title: Anagrams bug me!

So John Lampkin, my favorite entomologist, what do you think? Hope to see you soon. We have what I believe is the second LAT for Winston Emmons who debuted on Agnes' birthday last month. We have a very consistent insect anagram theme, with what was for me,  an unnecessary and weak reveal. This was an odd solve for me, as it is part of an ongoing déjà vu. I feel like I wrote this blog before. Oh well, as is the recent trend, a Friday without any long words other than the themers with SOMEDAY, TAVERNA, CONSISTS, and PACIFIER as the added features.  There is a lot of humor in the theme phrases and impressive skill in picking the ones that work that are both real anagrams and insects.
So here we go...

20A. Competition among insects?: GAME OF HORNETS (13). Game of THRONES.

29A. Rule by generations of insects?: GNAT DYNASTY (11). TANG Dynasty.

47A. Tiny but impressive insect?: HECK OF A MITE (11). Heck of a TIME.

57A. Deceptiveness of insects?: FLEAS PRETENSE (13). FALSE Pretense. 

And the little reveal, 

56D. Ones that have infested four puzzle answers: PESTS.

Across:

1. Actress Gilbert of "The Big Bang Theory": SARA. More famous from Roseanne, where she first worked with Johnny Galecki. They DATED?

5. "Lucky Jim" author: AMIS. The first novel of KINGSLEY.

9. "Be silent," in scores: TACET. Musical scores (as a direction) indicating that a voice or instrument is silent.

14. Stagecraft aid: PROP. Clecho- 65A. Stagecraft arrangements: SETS.

15. Email category: SENT.

16. House: ABODE.

17. App opener: ICON. Click on the icon.

18. Director Preminger: OTTO. This Austrian born DIRECTOR and actor was a major influence on Hollywood and film noir.  He was a big deal when I was young.

19. 66-Across, e.g.: VENUE.

23. 2000 NBA MVP: O'NEAL. If you did not know or have forgotten, look at the statistics for SHAQ in the 2000 playoffs. He is one of the GOAT in basketball. Kobe was averaging 15 points a game.

24. Part of ENT: EAR. Nose and Throat are the rest.

25. Cartesian conclusion: I AM. Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. This is Dualism, as explained by Rene Descartes.

28. Pit stuff: TAR. Brea.

34. City north of Memphis: CAIRO. Memphis, city, and capital of ancient Egypt and an important center during much of Egyptian history. Memphis is located south of the Nile River delta, on the west bank of the river, and about 15 miles (24 km) south of modern Cairo

35. "The Lord of the Rings" actor: ASTIN. Samwise Gamgee became a fan favorite as played by Astin.

36. Brand once pitched by Garfield, oddly: ALPO. It was for their CAT FOOD so it was not so odd.

39. Fabric-dyeing technique: BATIK. Batik is a "resist" process for making designs on fabric. The artist uses wax to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth, leaving "blank" areas in the dyed fabric. The process, wax resist then dye, can be repeated over and over to create complex multicolored designs. A complicated tie-dye. Various.

42. "¿Cómo __?": ESTA. Hi Lucy, hope you feel all better.

43. Macy's competitor: SEARS. Really?

45. Minneapolis suburb: EDINA. When I started reading this blog, this was common fill. In fact, it appears in a PUZZLE from just over 10 years ago. As you can see the comments and the cast have changed. I think it was how I learned C.C. lived in Minnesota.

50. One on first?: WHO. The complete routine.

53. "__ tu": Verdi aria: ERI. Sung by a 27-year-old. LINK.

54. Fairy queen of folklore: MAB. You may need to READ this article.

55. Bee-related: APIAN.

62. Gathered intelligence: SPIED.

64. Israeli carrier: EL AL.

66. Barclays Center, for one: ARENA.  Clecho 2- 67A. Barclays Center team: NETS.Basketball in Brooklyn.

68. Cherry or pear: TREE.

69. Inclined to ramble: WORDY. Oops, was this here to shut me up? Just don't...

70. Stun, in a way: TASE. me, bro!

71. In __: aligned: SYNC.


Down:

1. Peg in a cask: SPIGOT. My ex-wife hated her name being shortened to Peg.

2. One of two tarot card groups: ARCANA. I am not up on Tarot, having learned fortune telling from my French grandmother using a regular deck of cards.

3. Small-space renter: ROOMER. I was thinking of storage units.

4. Sleep disorder: APNEA.

5. Starting: AS OF. May 25, 2018.

6. "Breaking Bad" contraband: METH.

7. Enthusiastic about: IN TO.

8. Saved: STORED.

9. Greek restaurant: TAVERNA. Greek: ταβέρνα is a small Greek restaurant, similar to a tavern, that serves Greek cuisine. Who does not love tzatziki: yogurt with cucumber and garlic purée, used as a dip?

10. Help badly?: ABET. I think we have seen this before, but it is still cute misdirection.

11. Is made up: CONSISTS. Not fabricated, but fabricated.  Needed an"of."
1. to make by art or skill and labor; construct:
2. to make by assembling parts or sections.
3. to devise or invent (a legend, lie, etc.).
4. to fake; forge (a document, signature, etc.).

12. Vanderbilt domain: EDU. The domain for Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

13. Where many a drive begins: TEE. Some golf for HG and others.

21. Memorable first name in Olympic gymnastics: OLGA. Ms. Korbut.

22. Vote against: NAY.

26. Arguing: AT IT.

27. Mimic on a perch: MYNA.

30. Pen part: NIB.

31. Coach Parseghian: ARA. He won NCAA football titles with Notre Dame; how long will puzzle solvers remember this man? Lou Holtz is already fading.

32. Tribal symbol: TOTEM.

33. Whaling, say: ASEA.

34. Ireland's largest county: CORK. Didn't we have this recently? See déjà vu.

36. Tennis legend: ASHE. Arthur appears often on Friday.

37. Lascivious look: LEER. In this modern environment, not a good idea.

38. Binky: PACIFIER. My youngest used to keep one in his mouth and one in each hand.

40. Uganda's Amin: IDI. The last King of Scotland is back.

41. Modeling enthusiast's purchase: KIT. A CSO to past participants?

44. Eventually: SOMEDAY.

46. Picked-up: NEAT.

48. Runway safety org.: FAA.  Federal Aviation Administration.

49. Away: ABSENT.

50. Vintage locale: WINERY. Cute clue, not an old location.

51. Hurry: HASTEN. Hasten Jason...

52. "Hold on": ONE SEC. This is one of those phrases which should be banned, it is never just one second.

58. Advance: LEND. Dad, can I get an advance on my allowance?

59. Court bargaining chip: PLEA. I guess the prosecutor uses the offer of a plea as a bargaining chip.

60. "Darn!": RATS.

61. Otherwise: ELSE.

62. Adage: SAW. Most often seen as "old saw."

63. Ace: PRO.

An interesting trek with lots of proper names and some intriguing Friday cluing. I think we will be seeing more of Winston who has been published in the CHE and WSJ. I also can "see'  comments from WE. Thank you, and thank all who read the Corner. Lemonade out.

Thursday, April 5th 2018 Winston Emmons

Theme: No RE-veal - common phrases get a RE- tacked onto the beginning for a punning new phrase. No reveal entry in the puzzle.

20A. Meal owed to President Clinton? : REPAST DUE BILL

28A. Employing echo in audio? : REVERB USAGE. Here's a reverb - pretty, eh?

48A. Rules for righting wrongs? : REDRESS CODE

58A. Mail about system improvements? : REFORM LETTERS.

This looks like an LAT debut for Winston, so congratulations if it is! There's been a couple of debutants recently. I found one puzzle from Winston in the CHE, and one in Wall Street Journal, so he''s not a total rookie.

Enjoyable theme - some punning puzzles come across as groan-worthy, and not in a good way. This one was nice - the original phrases are solidly in the language, and the modified ones are fun. Some nice longer downs and the rest of the fill smooth. A good job all round.

Let's see what attracts attention;

Across:

1. Farm unit : BALE. I was tempted with ACRE, but resisted diving straight in.

5. "Uh, don't forget about me ... " : AHEM

9. Selling point : ASSET

14. Soon, quaintly : ANON. I'm not sure if this sounds quaint:

I see that you will start carving me anon, and take me to Monmouth's camp in sections.

Micah Clarke 

Arthur Conan Doyle 

15. Diamond corner : BASE. The diamond misdirection always gets me, I was thinking facets and what-not.

16. Busch Gardens city : TAMPA. Tried MIAMI at first, thought about it, took it out. There used to be one in Van Nuys, near to where I live now.

17. USAF plane for small runways : STOL. Short Take-Off and Landing. VTOL ones can go straight up.

18. Word of proof? : ERAT Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

19. Video game based on a film, e.g. : TIE-IN

23. Help : ASSIST

24. __ bran : OAT

25. PC-to-PC system : LAN. Local Area Network.

32. River to the North Sea : ELBE. A North Sea river pair today, there's another one waiting further down.

36. "Blue Bloods" rank: Abbr. : DET. Detective.

37. Devotee : ADORER. Not a fan of the word, but it's valid. I'd never use it in conversation though.

38. Northeast gubernatorial family name : CUOMO. Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York since 2011, which I where I happen to be sitting right now high above Lexington Avenue, and his father, Mario, who held the same office for three terms.

40. Paris café brew : THÉ. Tea. The elegant sounding "une tasse de thé" doesn't have the same ring to it as "a nice cuppa" to my English ears. Nice Cuppa from the Corner will agree.

42. African antelope : ELAND

43. Get in : ARRIVE

45. "__ Believer": Monkees hit : I'M A. Composed by Neil Diamond and first recorded in 1966 by The Monkees. Mickey Dolenz sang the lead. Catchy little ditty. I can't figure out how Davey Jones manages to dance like that. It looks like his top half is disconnected from the bottom half, and his legs are independently wealthy.

47. __-bitty : ITTY

51. WWII general : DDE. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

52. Map abbr. : RTE.

53. Bun, for one : HAIRDO

62. Like gymnasts : AGILE. That's an understatement

64. Camping stuff : GEAR

65. Every which way : AMOK

66. Wash cycle : RINSE

67. One-named supermodel : EMME

68. Nutrition bar with a crescent moon in its logo : LUNA. Seems logical.

69. Like pet hamsters : CAGED

70. Conciliatory gestures : SOPS

71. North Sea feeder : YSER Partner entry to 32A

Down:

1. Southeastern Iraqi port : BASRA

2. Dealer's requests : ANTES. "Ante up, fellas!" Poker dealer's call.

3. Circuitous routes : LOOPS

4. Zhou of China : EN LAI

5. Helped in a job, perhaps : ABETTED. Slow to see "job" in the larceny sense, rather than a work task.

6. Difficult : HARD

7. Biblical brother : ESAU. There's few of these four-letter biblical brothers. Wait for the crosses.

8. Comet fragment, perhaps : METEOR

9. State of mind : ATTITUDE

10. Proceed easily (through) : SAIL

11. Sense something's amiss : SMELL A RAT

12. Prefix with center : EPI-

13. "The Joy Luck Club" novelist : TAN. Amy Tan. She co-wrote the screenplay of the movie adaptation released in 1993.

21. Georgia, once: Abbr. : S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic.

22. Syrup-soaked cake : BABA

26. Ticket __ : AGENT

27. Dweebish : NERDY

29. Pro with a tabletop scale : VET. This stumped me for a while. I was trying to think of a three-letter word for an assayer.

30. System of moral values : ETHIC

31. Most piano sonatas : SOLI

32. Bluemountain.com product : E-CARD. My mind was firmly on the Jamaican coffee track, so this one was slow to emerge.

33. Drew : LURED

34. Adjacent to : BORDERING. Amazingly, neither this nor OVERFEED have appeared in any of the major puzzles, or at least since the Cruciverb web site began archiving the puzzles.

35. Mideast potentate : EMIR

39. Stuff at mealtime : OVERFEED

41. My Chemical Romance genre : EMO. Three-letter music genre? Fill it in and move on.

44. __ perpetua: Idaho motto : ESTO. "Let it be perpetual". Please let the Idaho Gold potatoes be perpetual too. I love 'em.

46. Sticks : ADHERES

49. Worsted fabrics : SERGES

50. Consume : EAT

54. Amalfi Coast country : ITALY

55. Romulus' twin : REMUS. Nice proximity to Italy, above. The wolf-raised brothers whose story tells of the founding of Rome by Romulus after he indulged in a spot of friendly fratricide because they couldn't agree which of the Seven Hills they should build on.

56. Source of some overhead footage : DRONE

57. Heroic Schindler : OSKAR

59. "What __ could it be?" : ELSE

60. Brief reminder : MEMO

61. "__ Unto My Feet": longtime CBS religious program : LAMP. I've never heard of the show, and I also had never heard the phrase. Combined with an unknown model where I forst wanted "ELLE" for no good reason, this was my final fill.

62. Circle part : ARC

63. Italian actress Scala : GIA

And finishing up with grid - here it is! Back to LA this afternoon, home sweet home. Well, for two days anyway!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Irish Miss, our loving Agnes, the life of our Crossword Corner! I finally got to talk to Agnes on the phone two weeks ago, after tons of email exchanges over the years.  Her voice is so young and reassuring. She's given me invaluable feedback and advice on various issues. I'm so lucky to have you on our blog, Agnes!

Eileen (sister of Agnes) & Agnes

2) Happy Birthday also to Abejo (Bradley), our Amazon guy who's always volunteering for various causes. Abejo is Persian for "beer". Bradley worked in Iran for a few years.

Madame DeFarge and Abejo, 11/15/2017