Saturday, Jan 24th, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 37

  I would have to say I did a 43a. on this puzzle - but I did actually finish, with just one cheat, and one bad cell.  I consider it a victory.  A rare grid structure, with a high block count and a pair of central staircases of 4,5,6,7,7,8-letter words, but the ambiguous and nebulous cluing made this one a real grind.  Always the case with Mr. Lim on Saturday.  Two climbers of 12 letters and two spanners of 13;

6d. One of an elite eatery trio : MICHELIN STAR - I did not get this until I read that there's only "three" stars given out; technically, you can actually get zero, but that's not very elite....

18d. Subject of a 1996 holiday craze : TICKLE ME ELMO - DAH~!!! the --MEEL--- in the middle just messed me up; I went to Google and typed in "1996 holiday craze" and he came up; I was taking shots at him upstate

22a. Run using water, as a plant : HYDRO-ELECTRIC - ah, that kind of plant; at first I was thinking of the "roots and leaves" kind, and yes, those do run, using water, but....

35a. Greeting words : NICE TO MEET YOU

ONWrrrrrD~!

ACROSS:

1. Meg, to Jo : SIB - no clue to start, but I surmised it would be "SIS" or something - a Little Women reference

4. Lighter : LAMP - ummm, meh

8. Fashion first name : COCO - Chanel; I was born one month after her death

12. Cathedral feature : CRUCIFIX - ummm, yeah, but I can find that in a local church, too - I was thinking more like PIPE ORGAN, which didn't fit

14. "Frère Jacques," e.g. : CANON - a musical canon, referring to the "in a round" style of singing;   hey - two birds with one stone~!

Frère Jaques on Pipe Organ

15. Heartfelt class? : AEROBICS

16. Dismiss, in a way : WAVE AT - meh.  I would wave OFF to dismiss

17. Adopted : RAN WITH

18. Daughter of Oceanus : TELESTO - there's more about the Saturnian moon on the internet than the mythology

19. Monopoly acquisition : DEED

20. Installments : EPISODES

24. Unsettled items : I.O.U.s

25. Gets absorbed : SINKS IN

26. Lightweight boxer? : PUP - Har-har~! Boxer, the dog breed

27. Redcap's workplace: Abbr. : STN

28. "__ Down In Darkness": Styron novel : LIE - Perps, all perps

29. Little projectiles : BBs - we shot Elmo with a .22

32. Hardly keeps cool : SEES RED - I was seeing the red of his fur....or is that Stoat?

34. Rock __ : SALT

37. Like some pasta : HOME-MADE

38. Full of vitality : GO GO

39. Filing aid : DIVIDER

40. Call before a head-to-head contest : EN GARDE

43. Reacted to a sock : REELED - yep, this puzzle punched me in the gut

44. Fruit sometimes fried : PLANTAIN - I had the "P", but still struggled to think of a fruit - then the V-8 can flew

45. City on the Rhone : ARLES - I threw in ESSEN, which was only 20% correct

46. Like some fancy stationery : EMBOSSED

47. Forest coat : MOSS

48. "Walkabout" director Nicolas : ROEG - just an 'ugly' clue/fill; more here

49. Many boomers: Abbr. : SRs - Baby-boomers, who are well on into Senior Citizen status now

DOWN:

1. Plastic surgeon's concern : SCAR - scaB?  The crossing didn't help

2. "Roger that" : "I READ YOU" - always reminds me of this scene - "Do you like movies with gladiators?"

3. Reduced to ashes : BURNED UP

4. Drive in the bedroom? : LIBIDO - cute

5. Words with throw or have : A FIT - ugh; throw yes, have, meh. Just MHO

7. Spots for private shoppers?: Abbr. : PXs - Private, Army style

8. Gave : CAVED IN

9. "Almost ready!" : "ONE SEC~!"

10. Covers : COATS - like paint

11. More than not sure about : ONTO - implying some sort of shadiness

13. Quails : COWERS - ah, the verb, not the bird

14. Nutritionist's unit : CALORIE

16. Lincoln Center locale : WEST SIDE - I had ----S-D-, and it kinda came to me; had to guess EAST or WEST

21. Sword's superior? : PEN - "The PEN is mightier than the SWORD~!"

22. Not square : HIP - your social quality

23. Venerable : ESTEEMED

27. Forms a new state : SECEDES - had it, spelled it with two "C"s, took it out, put it back in

29. Aquatic plant that reduces erosion : BAY GRASS - Total WAG from "B------SS"; in fact, it was not until the write-up that I actually noticed it did not change

30. More rare, in a way : BLOODIER - ah, like your steak

31. __ Redman, Gary Sinise's role in Stephen King's "The Stand" : STU - I thought it was SYD, but then "nice to meet you" had to be correct

32. Like expressions? : SIMILES - an expression using the word "like"; 'her eyes are like pools of water'

33. Fuel __: reactor component : ROD - nuclear reactors

34. Rabbit predators : STOATS - new clue for the old "ermine/mink kin" answer.  I found this video of a stoat hypnotizing a rabbit

35. They have plots : NOVELS - yes, they do

36. Traditional beverage : EGG NOG

37. Prefix meaning "sacred" : HIERO - so, Hieroglyphs are sacred carvings, eh?

39. Scotch serving : DRAM - thank God it was not three letters~!

41. Local theater, informally : NABE - short for "neighborhood" (ney-bər-hoo d)

42. Purposes : ENDS

44. __ se : PER - Latin, "in itself"

Splynter

Friday, January 23, 2015, Sam Buchbinder

Theme: Sure Auric, we will be happy to make some gold paint for you; we will just add gold to the base.

The periodic table symbol for Gold (AU) is inserted in existing phrases to create new and entertaining fill. Two phrases have the AU added to the final word, at the end thereof; one added to the end of the fist word; and the final before a one letter phrase. Mr. Buchbinder, who is 28 and a teacher had his debut in the NYT August 19, 2014. There are two gridspanning theme answers. As marti pointed out yesterday, the big challenge for a theme is establishing symmetrical theme fill. 15, 10, 10, 15 is a common format; here we have the central reveal also at 9 letters, giving 59 in the theme. As a result we have many 3 and 4 letter words, but there are also some nice 7 letter fill to make this a Friday, such as BIG DATA,  CURTAIN, DRIVE-IN, FEATURE, HAN SOLO,  IT’S TRUE, NEUTRAL, OBJECTS, ONE EACH, SYNERGY, TRAPEZE, TRUCKER . Welcome to our world Sam.

16A. Striking painting of paddles, net and ball? : PING PONG TABLEAU (15). Ping pong table and crowd the plate are both sports references. I like the visual of the painting, but this fill does not really change the meaning of the phrase in the same way the two of the other themers change their phrases.

23A. Extraordinary northern bird? : SPECIAL AUK (10). We go from a cereal to one of our favorite crossword birds.

46A. Alaskan insects? : JUNEAU BUGS (10). June bugs might emigrate to Alaska and be Juneau bugs, I guess.

55A. Overdevelop a high plain? : CROWD THE PLATEAU (15). A baseball reference really transformed.

34A. Mythological figure who touched 16-, 23-, 46- and 55-Across? : KING MIDAS (9). The poor man could not eat or fool around.

Across:

1. "Mad Men" productions : ADS. Madison Avenue Admen.

4. Bark elicitor : SPEAK. I love the simplicity of this clue.

9. Lax : SOFT. The modern parent?

13. Force (open) : PRY.

14. Close-fitting dress : SHEATH.

15. Powerful dept.? : ENERgy. Pun one.

19. Uber : VERY. German. Our first clecho 48D. Uber : ULTRA.

20. Facebook button : LIKE. How many of the Corner use FB? A show of hands?

21. Truncation abbr. : ETCetera.

22. Austin of "Knot's Landing" : TERI. She had lots of HAIR.

26. Statistician's challenge : BIG DATA. Computers have created an exponential increase in data.

28. Plot component : ACRE. Misdirection two. Land, not a novel.

29. "__ thoughts?" : ANY.

30. Reasonable : SANE.

32. Purim heroine : ESTHER. A wonderful story. LINK.

36. Available : ON HAND.

39. Anthony Hopkins' "Thor" role : ODIN.

40. Channel for old films : TCM. Turner Classic Movies.

43. Noodle : BEAN. Interestingly I can find no references to why bean means brain or head. I just know in baseball throwing at the head is a "bean ball" and people are rewarded for "using the old bean."

44. "I'm not kidding!" : IT'S TRUE.

51. Chief Justice Warren : EARL. Appointed by Dwight Eisenhower, he led a court which drastically reformed the interpretation of individual rights.

52. Subjects of some conspiracy theories : ETS. Extra Terrestrials.

53. Specks on cartes : ILES. Carte is French for "MAP."  Along with 9D. Sprinkling on French fries? : SEL, (which means salt) and all the EAU words, I might guess Sam likes French.

54. Enthralled : RAPT. Do I have your attention yet? I want to warn you, I have a...

60. It may be cautionary : TALE.

61. "I shall be late!" speaker of fiction : RABBIT. WATCH? (2:00). Oh how punny?

62. Letter director : ZIP. Code.

63. Narrow opening : SLOT. Started with SLIT, picturing some of Splynter's favorite dresses.

64. Indo-__ languages : ARYAN.

65. Nixon has two : ENS. Not ears, or eyes, but the letters. Misdirection three.

Down:

1. Angry Birds, e.g. : APP. I know this but have never actually seen it.

2. "Happy Days" setting : DRIVE IN.

3. Cooperative action : SYNERGY.

4. "Dexter" airer, for short : SHOwtime. Anyone watch the entire series?

5. Write : PEN.

6. Scout rank : EAGLE.

7. Top story : ATTIC. At 11? Nope of my house, misdirection 4. So we get the clecho two 11D. Top story : FEATURE.

8. Uniform material : KHAKI. Urdu?

10. Free sample limitation : ONE EACH. Do you think you can pay for your Sam's Club, COSTCO etc membership just from eating the free samples?

12. Cab driver? : TRUCKER. At least the answer was not TAXIER.

14. One of a pair of Mad adversaries : SPY.

17. Off the __ : GRID.

18. Arthur of "The Golden Girls" : BEA.

22. Sched. uncertainty : TBA. To Be Announced.

23. Witness __ : STAND. In the US we sit so it all sounds silly.

24. Sharp feeling : PANG.

25. Rowing beneficiaries, for short : LATS. Latissimi dorsi. Side back.

27. Z-zebra link : AS IN. I doubt that will be Sue Grafton's choice.

31. Dashboard Confessional's genre : EMO. No idea. Still rock and roll.

32. Changes, in a way : EDITS.

33. Without : SANS. A French word now accepted in English.

34. Rosebud's owner : KANE. Orson Welles' sled.

35. "Cool, man!" : I DIG. Maynard G. Krebs.

36. Things : OBJECTS.

37. __ color : NEUTRAL.

38. Fictional pilot with the iconic line, "Laugh it up, fuzzball" : HAN SOLO. I told you last week Star Wars references were coming.

40. Circus staple : TRAPEZE. With the greatest of ease....

41. Sun block : CURTAIN. Meh.

42. "The Producers" screenwriter Brooks : MEL. Too many wonderful scenes and movies to link.

45. Milk dispenser : TEAT. We had the the bird TIT, the idiot BOOB and now we actually have a milk dispenser. Udderly amazing.

47. Help : AID.

49. "The View" alum Joy : BEHAR. The word BEHAR is Hebrew for on the mount.

50. Milk carton words : USE BY.

54. Snitch : RAT.

56. 18th Amendment opposer : WET. This was the Prohibition Amendment. Our HISTORY.

57. Cops' org. : PBA. Patrolmen's or Police Benevolent Association. Unions for the police.

58. Harvard grad Jeremy who's now a Laker : LIN. Made a brief splash with the Knicks, signed to big money by the Rockets, and now exiled to the Lakers.

59. Rises : UPS . Man, ending on a downer.

Well another Friday in the record books, I had fun. I hope you all did and for those who do not wake up to 70 degrees and sunny, stay warm. Lemonade out.