Monday May 15, 2023 Gary Cee

  

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here. Constructor Gary Cee has given us an uplifting puzzle. Here is a link to a 2011 interview with Gary Cee posted by the wonderful C.C. Burnikel.

Today's theme is

Rise & Shine

Let's start with a happy song to put everyone in a good mood.

We have 4 themed clues:

17 Across. Cold War political symbol: IRON CURTAIN.

Winston Churchill's 1946 speech at Westminster College in Fulton, MO is said to have made IRON CURTAIN a household phrase. Alexander Campbell had previously used the phrase metaphorically in his 1945 book, It's Your Empire.  

Countries behind the IRON CURTAIN are shaded red.  more info

23 Across. Project announced as a test of public opinion: TRIAL BALLOON.

This is when a company or politician puts out feelers for how the public might respond to a new product, policy, idea, candidate, etc. We see these often as visual metaphors in political cartoons. The No Politics policy here on the Corner means you will have to Google your own examples.

48. Maryland-based daily paper: BALTIMORE SUN.  Hi Waseeley!

This newspaper was founded in 1837 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing.

59. Alabama team: CRIMSON TIDE.

Univ. of Alabama lore credits the team name to a 1907 football game. Birmingham's iron-rich soil turned Alabama's white jerseys red. A sportswriter wrote that the team played like "a CRIMSON TIDE." UA website

The reveal is perfectly centered in the grid:

38 Across. "On your feet!" courtroom command, and a hint to the ends of the answers to 17-, 23-, 48-, and 59-Across: ALL RISE.

CURTAIN, BALLOON, SUN, TIDE. ALL these things RISE.  

Next, I will attempt to RISE to the challenge of explaining the remaining clues.

Across:

1. Golden Globe, e.g.: AWARD.

6. Resounding success: SMASH.  This word has a lot of different uses -- some positive and some definitely not positive. In the entertainment world, it is used colloquially to mean something very successful.  Example:  Ke Huy Quan won a Golden Globe AWARD for his performance in the SMASH hit, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

11. Stubborn animal: ASS.  An ASS is what we consider a donkey, except that it is wild. Is it really fair to call a wild animal "stubborn" because it does not want to do what you want it to do?

average lifespan = 27-40 yrs.

14. Nissan crossover SUV: ROGUE.  This is a 5-passenger, mid-size AWD crossover vehicle first introduced for 2008.

15. Yellow parts of eggs: YOLKS.  Imagine if roosters laid eggs. There would be so many new dad YOLKS to crack you up.

16. Like carpaccio: RAW.  One of the biggest differences between beef carpaccio and tartare is that carpaccio is made from thinly sliced beef tenderloin while tartare is made from meat that has been minced.  

This tuna CARPACCIO has capers, limes, and red onions.

19. __-friendly: green: ECO.

20. "Life of Pi" director Lee: ANG.  Last Monday he was clued with Sense and Sensibility.

21. Aunt Bee's charge, in a classic sitcom: OPIE.  

OPIE decides to keep Aunt Bee (1:28 min.)

22. Newbie: TYRO.  ESP.

From Merriam Webster:  The word tyro is hardly a newcomer to Western language. It comes from the Latin tiro, which means "young soldier," "new recruit," or more generally, "novice." The word was sometimes spelled tyro as early as Medieval Latin, and can be spelled tyro or tiro in English (though tyro is the more common American spelling).

27. Harvest-ready: RIPE.

Nothing beats home-grown tomatoes!

30. Low-tech calculator: ABACUS.  

31. Smudge: SMEAR.  or  35 Down. Pat gently: DAB.

33. Satisfied paparazzi, maybe: POSED.  "Satisfied" is a verb here. Now I get it!

37. Self-mover's rental: VAN.

40. Singer Yoko: ONO.

41. Rank below cpl.: PFC.  An Army Corporal is an E-4 paygrade; whereas a Private First Class is an E-3. In case you were wondering, The Colonel is KFC.

42. Tusked hogs: BOARS.

43. Speaker Emerita Pelosi: NANCY.

45. Gift box trimming: RIBBON.  

cat presents

47. Butterfly catchers: NETS.

53. In __ of: LIEU.  

54. British peer: EARL.  Peerage is the body of peers or titled nobility in Britain. The five ranks of British nobility, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Until 1999, peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords and exempted from jury duty. Titles may be hereditary or granted for life.

55. Bit of back talk: LIP.  #teenagers

58. Rather strange: ODD.  ODDs are even strange people find others ODD.

63. Forensic drama franchise: CSI.

64. Physics Nobelist Marie: CURIE.  Marie Curie,  née Maria Sklodowska, was born in Warsaaw on November 7, 1867.  Nobel Prize website

65. Airplane walkway: AISLE.  and  67 Down. Airplane assignments: SEATS.

66. Daughter's brother: SON.  

Try not to overthink it.

68. Drive off: REPEL.  Were you thinking golf balls ... cars ... cattle ... nails ... a fundraiser???

Bonus:  You can cook with them, too!  (the plants--not the mosquitos)

Down:
1. Opera highlight: ARIA.  Here is a very well-known ARIA:

The Magic Flute – Queen of the Night (3 min.)

Mozart; Diana Damrau, The Royal Opera

2. Threadbare: WORN.

3. On tenterhooks: AGOG.  

4. "Let's get out of here!": RUN.  I cannot verify if this is true, but I saw one website that said "Let's get out of here" is the 2nd most often used stock phrase in movies, after "I love you." This is a 2:35 min. montage of "Let's get out of here" clips. They go fast. See how many movies you recognize.

5. Architectural Digest subject: DECOR.  

May 2023 issue

6. Damascus location: SYRIA.  

7. Road trip stopover: MOTEL.  

Don't stop at this one!

8. __ carte menu: À LA.   (of a menu or restaurant) listing or serving food that can be ordered as separate items, rather than part of a set meal.

9. Hit the slopes: SKI.

10. QVC alternative: HSN.  Both are TV shopping channels.

11. "May I speak now?": ARE YOU DONE.  Putting the reveal in the center of the grid enabled Gary Cee to give us four 10-letter, vertical fills. I especially appreciate that work in a Monday puzzle!  (See also 12D, 28D, and 29D.)

12. Immune from criticism: SACROSANCT.  

(Adj.) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

13. Require smelling salts: SWOON.  

Lauren Bacall shows us how it's done.

18. Wire service co.: UPI.  United Press International

22. Doting affection, briefly: TLC.  Tender Loving Care

23. English breakfast, for one: TEA.  At first I fell for the diversion and could not see how one cup of tea could stand in for a full English breakfast. Then I remembered that English Breakfast is a black TEA blend.

BTW, my favourite part of an English breakfast is the tomato.  DH cooks a tomato for me when he makes his eggs.

24. Foundation: BASIS.  Here's one Ray-O style:

Players at 1st, 2nd, & 3rd .... BASIS loaded

Happy birthday, Ray-O-Sunshine!! 🎂

25. Five-spots: ABES.  Does anyone call these "Abes"??? 

26. Carrying freight: LADEN.  LADEN was the MW Word of the Day last Wednesday. Does anyone else get their daily emails?

27. Invitation letters: RSVP.  

28. "Regrettably, yes": I'M AFRAID SO.

29. Tentatively on the schedule: PENCILED IN.  

32. Bar mitzvah official: RABBI.

33. Dallas suburb: PLANO.  From the (assumedly non-biased) PLANO Chamber of Commerce:

What started as a small, quiet farming community. Plano has transformed into a city known across the country for our smart people, amazing quality of life, and strong job market. Plano is home to roughly 284,579 residents, several Fortune 1000 companies, and more than 10,000 businesses.

34. Bobby of the Bruins: ORR.  A hockey player familiar to XWD solvers.

36. Word with Beach, Beastie, and Backstreet, in band names: BOYS.  Good Monday clue!

The Beach BOYS sing Good Vibrations on The Ed Sullivan Show (1968).

composed by Brian Wilson; lyrics by Mike Love; iconic "California sound"

39. Weaver's device: LOOM.

44. Journalist Curry: ANN.  Ms. Curry was born 19 Nov. 1956 in Guam. No relation to 64A.

46. AC power unit: BTU.  A British thermal unit is a measure of the heat content of fuels or energy sources. It is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of liquid water by 1 degree Fahrenheit at the temperature that water has its greatest density (approximately 39 degrees Fahrenheit).

48. Allied groups: BLOCS.

49. Send payment: REMIT.

50. Simplifies: EASES.

51. "We're full" B'way sign: SRO.  "B'way" is short for "Broadway" and "SRO" is short for "Standing Room Only".

52. Like the "funny bone" nerve: ULNAR.  

today's anatomy lesson

55. Invisalign side effect, perhaps: LISP.  an alternative to metal braces

56. At a standstill: IDLE.

57. Banana throwaway: PEEL.  What happened to the banana who got a sunburn?  He PEELed.

59. Keeps in the email loop: CCS.

60. Regret: RUE.

61. Golden yrs. fund: IRA.

62. Cravat or ascot: TIE.  

Here is the grid:

I'll see you next week, 

Interview with Gary Cee

I mentioned earlier this year that Gary Cee's EYE OPENER is one of my favorite puzzles in 2010. Amazing interlocking of theme entries.

Gary only started constructing in 2007, but he already had 8 puzzles published by the NY Times alone. Today is Gary's 4th puzzle for the LA Times.

What's the inspiration for today's theme and what were the other theme candidates you also considered?

I pulled up to a traffic light and saw a bumper sticker that included the words "the wrong way." A common phrase is "rub the wrong way" or "rubs the wrong way," which was a nice 15 to go through the middle of this grid. So I went to work to find theme answers that included or broke up s-b-u-r and came up with today's theme answers.

I adored the theme entry intersection in your last EYE OPENER puzzle. I'm curious: Were CAFFEINE & NICOTINE parts of your original theme entry consideration or did they just come up in your filling process?

Gotta be honest, I totally lucked out on that one in the fill.

What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

I'm the program director and afternoon host at 101.5 WPDH in New York's Hudson Valley. I've been here for 8 years and was previously at WLIR on Long Island. I'm the author of 'Classic Rock,' a coffee-table book released in 1995 that's still available from online book retailers. Grew up in Patchogue, Long Island, but now I live in LaGrangeville, just east of Poughkeepsie.

I started making puzzles in 2007 as a hobby, and got a ton of rejections before being accepted first by Will, then by Rich.

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, gridding or cluing?

I'm not a patient person by nature but I've learned to become much more patient in the gridding process. That's the part I spend the most time on.

What makes a puzzle special to you? What kind of theme & fill fascinate you?

Anything funny and clever, I suppose. Lively vocabulary, fresh fill, clues that make me laugh, etc.

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors do you find most inspiring?

I do the NYT puzzle every day, but Friday and Saturday are very tough for me. My favorite constructors are Patrick Berry, who's been the most inspiring, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Joon Pahk, and Matt Ginsberg.

What would we be surprised to know about you?

I'm trying to finish writing a symphony!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Gary Cee

Theme: Dizzy - Yes, you'll be dizzy too if you watch all these spinners.

63A. Ride around ... or what the ends of 18-, 24-, 39- and 55-Across can do : GO FOR A SPIN

18A. Superfluous individual : FIFTH WHEEL

24A. Compilation of wacky outtakes : BLOOPER REEL

39A. Summer blouse : HALTER TOP

55A. Olympian's achievement : WORLD RECORD

Argyle here. We're rolling like a wheel. Some nice tall columns in the corners. Gary Cee interview here.

Across:

1. Drain problem : CLOG

5. GI sought by MPs : AWOL

9. Jewish authority figure : RABBI

14. Fallon's predecessor : LENO. The Tonight Show.

15. "Get a __!" : LIFE

16. Estate measures : ACRES

17. Like single-malt scotch : AGED

20. Food from heaven : MANNA

22. Long-necked bird : EMU

23. Ivy League school : YALE

28. Pioneer Carson : KIT

29. PC key near Z : ALT. I looked.

30. Eastern path : TAO. The way.

31. Police warnings : SIRENS. Get out of the tao.

33. Some deli breads : RYEs

35. Part on the stage : ROLE

38. Stable female : MARE

42. Steer clear of : SHUN

44. iPhone voice-activated app : SIRI

45. Hunk of bacon : SLAB

49. Like many warm sweaters : WOOLEN

51. Snaky fish : EEL

53. Miner's discovery : ORE

54. Little terror : IMP

59. Have to have : NEED

61. Flight connection word : VIA

62. Capital of Senegal : DAKAR

67. Single : LONE

68. Occupied : [IN USE]

69. Currency symbolized by € : EURO

70. Coffee holders : MUGS

71. Fax forerunner : TELEX

72. Zipped : SPED

73. Editor's "Leave it in" : STET

Down:

1. Seaside eatery : CLAM BAR

2. Within the law : LEGALLY

3. Without variation, musically : ONE NOTE

4. "Please tell me that's not true" : "GOD, NO!"

5. Sitcom E.T. : ALF. (Alien Life Form)

6. PlayStation 3 rival : Wii

7. Put on the market : OFFER

8. "I'll handle this" : "LET ME"

9. Word before data or deal : RAW

10. In need of aspirin : ACHY

11. Crashing wave : BREAKER

12. Direct route : BEE LINE

13. Lands in the sea : ISLETS

19. Shades : HUES

21. Abbr. in many an urban address : APT. (apartment)

25. __ of Sandwich : EARL

26. Tree anchors : ROOTS

27. Airport waiter : LIMO

32. Performs hip-hop music : RAPS

34. Synagogue : SHUL. Easy for some, perpable for others.

36. Polynesian wreath : LEI

37. Blundered : ERRED

40. From square one : ANEW

41. Concert ticket info : TIER

42. "__ to Watch Over Me" : SOMEONE. The Incomparable Ella.

43. Optimistic : HOPEFUL

46. "Watch it!" : "LOOK OUT!"

47. Orchestrate : ARRANGE

48. Recuperation advice : BED REST

49. Proceed without preparation : WING IT

50. Smoked salmon : NOVA. Nova Lox: This lox, which comes from Nova Scotia, is actually cold-smoked after the curing or brining process. ~ www.thekitchn.com

52. Showed the way : LED

56. Hemingway's "The Sun Also __" : RISES

57. Really enjoy, as praise : LAP UP

58. Allays the fears of : CALMS

60. Prescription amount : DOSE

64. Bills coach Ryan : REX. Easy for some, perpable for others.

65. Wrath : IRE

66. Buddy of Wynken and Blynken : NOD. The Poem

Argyle

Saturday January 22, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 28

Themeless puzzles often feature triple stacks, today we have four triple stacks of 10s in each quadrants:

1A. Vacation destination : RESORT AREA

15. Like some avian plumage : IRIDESCENT. What's this bird? Such brilliant colors.

17. Almighty : OMNIPOTENT

63A. Special treatments : RED CARPETS. Like what Hu Jintao got during his State visit. J, X, Z are quite common in Chinese names.

69A. Urban runoff cause : STORM WATER. And RAIN (38. 69-Across source).

67A. Voters : ELECTORATE

12D. It helps maintain posture : MUSCLE TONE

13D. Silk Road component : TRADE ROUTE. Silk Road is the most well-known trading route in Ancient China.

14D. Like some fast planes : SUPERSONIC

28D. Point maker : SCRATCH AWL. Gimme for Splynter/Jerome.

29D. "That's news to me!" : I HAD NO IDEA. Loved the answer. I say it so often.

30D. Existing at the beginning : PRIMORDIAL

Also a couple of symmetrically placed 9s:

34A. Three-time Grammy Award winner for comedy : CHRIS ROCK. Always confuse him with Chris Tucker.

44A. Michigan city where the first Domino's Pizza opened : YPSILANTI. Jazzbumpa mentioned this city once. Wikipedia says it's named after a Greek hero named Ypsilanti.

Quite a few cross-references in the grid, a hallmark of Barry's themeless.

Across:

11. Invoice nos. : AMTs

16. Sikh leader : GURU. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sihkism.

18. Rush order : ASAP

19. Café container : TASSE. French for "cup" . And 55. 19-Across prefix : DEMI. Demitasse. "Half cup".

20. Union requirement : DUES. Was thinking of marriage union and I DOs.

22. Letter run : CDE. No help from the clue. So many choices.

23. Aid for making columns : TABS

26. Flu treatment, at times : INHALER

28. Sample, in a way : SIP

31. Flights : LAMS. Lots of groans last time when lam appeared as a verb.

33. Challengers : DARERS

37. "Same here" : ME TOO

39. Popular toast : SKOAL. Scandinavian toast. Gan Bei in Chinese.

41. Morning or evening, e.g. : NOUN. Nice clue.

42. Let in : ADMIT

46. One- to ten-yr. investments : T-NOTES

48. First name in architecture : EERO (Saarinen). Architect of the Gateway Arch.

49. Org. that included the Benelux countries : EEC (European Economic Community). No idea. Is this a forerunner to EU?

50. Waist management items : CORSETS. Ha ha, I actually read it as "waste management".

52. Big mouths : MAWS

54. Covered up : HID

57. Holly portrayer : BUSEY (Gary). "The Buddy Holly Story" is pretty good.

61. Court edge : AD IN (Advantage In). Tennis court.

66. Sport : WEAR

68. Singing syllables : LA LA

Down:

1. With 7-Down, something read during a lecture? : RIOT. 7. See 1-Down : ACT.. Riot act.

2. First name in humor : ERMA (Bombeck)

3. Some are deadly : SINS. Deadly sins.

4. Lyric poet : ODIST

5. Nullifies : REPEALS

6. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken. The pronunciation of TSO is very similar to the Cantonese F word.

8. Marsh stalk : REED

9. Lecture reaction, perhaps : ENNUI. Could picture a smiling Husker Gary.

10. Be present : ATTEND

11. Turkish bigwig : AGA

21. Bedroom accessory : SHAM

24. They need tending : BARS. Tending bars. And 25. Like some 24-Down : SMOKY. State-wide smoking ban here.

27. Play area : ARENA

32. Reach : SCOPE. Noun "Reach".

35. FDR, HST, etc. : INITS

36. 1985 National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee : KASEM (Casey)

40. Former Maltese currency : LIRA. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says they started using Euro in 2008.

43. Miffed, with "off" : TEED

45. Uncultivated : LOWBROW

47. Roughly 35-cubic-foot measures : STERES. Classic crosswordese.

51. Silvery food fish : SMELT

53. Old Toyota : SUPRA. Interesting for Japanese to use a Latin-rooted name.

56. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.

58. Pants part : SEAT

59. Usher ending, once : ETTE. Usherette. Un-PC now I suppose.

60. River of Flanders : YSER. Flow to North Sea.

62. Gp. with many pieces : NRA. Why are guns called pieces?

64. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" band, briefly : CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Got via crosses.

65. Bill source : ATM

Answer grid.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned on the blog that Lemonade was compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Unfortunately his computer crashed and his extensive notes can't be recovered. Below is a short list of my favorites:

Rhyme Time: April 27, 2010 by Pete Muller and Sue Keefer. Rhyming two-word common expressions that contain a body part. Excellent set of 8 theme entries.

The First Thirteen: July 4, 2010 by John Lampkin. Resonated with me due to my American citizenship exam & the subsequent swear-in ceremony. Timeless theme. High educational value. Intricate grid design.

OFF TO A FAST START: July 21, 2010 by Dan Naddor. Theme entries start with a synonym of FAST. Not a standard punny Naddor, but I loved the unifier and had fun with the puzzle.

DC COMICS: October 12, 2010 by Meredith Ito (I'm the editor", Rich Norris): DC are the initials of the four comics in the grid. Just an outstanding unifier.

ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT: November 25, 2010 by Don "hard G" Gagliardo. All the edge answers can follow "ELECTRIC". Unusual, original concept, like most of Don's themes. Who can forget his L-BARs?

EYE OPENER: Dec 29, 2010 by Gary Cee. Gorgeously designed grid with intersecting theme entries. A beauty.

I'd love to hear which ones impressed you the most.

C.C.

Wednesday December 29, 2010 Gary Cee

Theme: After our discussion on themes yesterday, and despite other temptations, Eye-yi-yi, I'll just go with the unifier, EYE OPENER. For the asterisked clues, the first word of a common two-word answer can precede the word "EYE," yielding a totally different type of two-word phrase. Lots of times these are RIB TICKLERS, but today they're pretty straight forward.

17A. *Unquestioning devotion : BLIND FAITH. Belief in something, in the absence of evidence, or even disregarding contrary evidence. Don't get me started. BLIND EYE: What the devotee turns to the imperfections of the object of his devotion.

63A. *Knee-slapper : RIB TICKLER. An amusing joke or story that gets your ribs moving with a series of tee-hees. RIB EYE: A boneless, well-marbled steak, cut from the top of a standing rib roast. Cf. 23 D!

10D. *Pitchers and tumblers : GLASS WARE. The clue defines them very well. Vessels made of glass, suitable for transporting libations to and from the table, and thence to the lips. GLASS EYE. A non-functional ocular prosthesis: an artificial EYE made of GLASS, the best material for this application. Sammy Davis Jr. had one. Since I'm an EYE GLASS WEARER, I was tempted to go with the childhood taunt "FOUR EYES" for the theme, but, alas, "EYE" only shows up once - in the unifier.

34D. *Like treatment for visiting dignitaries : RED CARPET. It is literally rolled out for heads of state, and at gala celebrity events. Less formally, it indicates giving someone an unusually high level of hospitality. RED EYE: An overnight flight from point A to point B, implying discomfort and lack of sleep, hence the RED EYES. Probably not the usual means of transportation for someone about to walk the RED CARPET.

And, of course, the unifier, 38 A. A 5- or 40-Down ... or what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : EYE OPENER. This has a few different meanings. The first is a startling revelation that gets one to see something in a new and unanticipated way. (Those with unquestioning devotion are immune.) The second is an alcoholic drink consumed early in the day, presumable to get one up and at 'em. Third, the stimulants in 5 and 40D. But, here, it also uses a common cross-word trope to cleverly indicate that the beginning of each theme answer can precede "EYE."

The below two entries are symmetrically & related to the theme:

5D. Joe's stimulant : CAFFEINE. A bitter tasting crystalline xanthine alkaloid which occurs in the beans, leaves, and fruits of some plants, notably coffee, aka JOE.

40D. Smoker's stimulant : NICOTINE. Another plant alkaloid, found in the nightshade family, and another clecho! It is what causes tobacco addiction.

Hi gang, It's JazzBumpa, with a tumbler of ginger ale at my elbow. Glenkinchie will come a little later. I don't recognize Gary Cee's byline. This puzzle was a lot of fun, and seemed pretty fresh to me, despite a few common entries. I've been anticipating AGLET for a long time, but don't recall seeing it in a puzzle before. The pinwheel theme answer arrangement is uncommon, as is placing the unifier in the center of the grid intersecting other theme answers.

Across:

1. Sound return : ECHO. I was thinking of investment returns. Now I have my eye open for clechoes!

5. Suspension bridge support : CABLE. Here is an example I get to drive across going to and from visiting my mother.

10. Obtain forcibly : GRAB

14. Miller, for one : BEER. I thought it would be a teller of a Canterbury Tale. But the miller was drunk, so it kind of fits.

15. Shoelace tip : AGLET. For some odd reason, I love this word. "Mom, they're tying the whole world together!"

16. Stubbs of the Four Tops : LEVI. News to me. But he might have just what you need.

19. Scored 100 on : ACED. Perfect!

20. Bozo : GOOF. Or a clown.

21. "When the smog clears in California, UCLA," e.g. : PUN. Sheesh. I read right through this and didn't get it.

22. Hitchcock title : SIR. Good night! I didn't know that. Nice misdirection for the director.

23. Dice-rolling game : YAHTZEE. I haven't played this game in years, and don't recall liking it very much.

26. The King or Prince : POP STAR. A royally clever clue. I think we had Jacko, the King of Pop not too long ago. Prince is the artist formerly known as "The artist Formerly known As Prince," which makes him the once and future Prince, I suppose. Never was a big fan of either. Feel free to provide links in comments.

29. Repugnant reaction : UGH. Not now. I just took a sip of the Glenkinchie!

30. Pound sounds : YIPS. Rhyme time for puppy noises.

32. Treatment plant input : SEWAGE. Now -- UGH!

33. Tie up, in a way : MOOR. I have no idea why this caused me a problem. Maybe our boaters can explain the origin if this word.

35. Home of Duke U. : N CAR. The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina, a beautiful part of the world with a lot of traffic. Note Abrv. n Cl. & Ans.

37. Looks bad, comparatively : PALES. Someone or something can PALE in comparison. But - no politics - moving right along . . .

41. Parisian daily, with "Le" : MONDE. Lucky guess. No idea where in Le Monde it came from.

44. Singer Amos : TORI. Never paid any attention to her. Here is a song for the season.

45. Latin 101 verb : ESSE. Stock fill.

49. Signs into law : ENACTS. Rumor has it that making law is like making sausage. If you won't ask, I won't tell.

51. Pool room supply : RACK. It's that triangle-shaped thingie that you put all the balls into, then take away so you can hit them.

53. Amigo : PAL. That's right friendly!

54. Reaches : ATTAINS. I always like it in those old westerns when the bad guy pulls out his gun and says, "Attain the sky."

56. Chesapeake Bay city : NORFOLK. Just across the James River is Hampton, where my step son Tom used to live. Now, home is in FLA, and he should be back there by Friday.

58. Televise : AIR. Hmmm. Don't they also AIR radio broadcasts? And 36D. Aired again : RERAN. Is it a clecho if the clue echoes an earlier answer, or just an inelegance?

59. Physicians' org. : AMA. The American Medical Association. Note Abrv.

61. Precisely : TO A "T." Sometimes it's just a "T" and sometimes it's a "TEE." Either way, the origin is disputed.

62. Fall : DROP. I always think of the stock market drop in the FALL of '29.

67. Green climber : VINE.

68. Title owner of a sitcom bookstore : ELLEN. Beats me. I haven't watched sit-coms in 30 years.

69. Homeland of the folk-singing Clancy Brothers : EIRE. Always need perp help to decide between EIRE and ERIN.

70. Two out of three, say : MOST. Is the GLASSWARE MOST full or MOST empty?

71. Teacher's directive : SEE ME. It means (s)he wants to talk. Hope it's something you want to hear.

72. Pringles-like Lay's product : STAX. I really cannot understand what justifies the existence of the Pringle, let alone a competitive product from a company that makes real chips.

Down

1. Flow back : EBB. Like the tide.

2. Place to see Bugs? : CEL. Gary got me here. A CEL is a transparent sheet that animation figures are drawn on. CEL is derived from celluloid, a plastic made from cellulose. Today, the CEL is a relic, due to CGI.

3. Dwarfs' song : HEIGH-HO. Spelling this was a guess. Disney stopped using CELS in 1990, but this was long before.

4. Self-contradictory afterthought : OR NOT. I'm never sure if I should say this, OR NOT.

6. Turkish authority : AGA. If you can't do it, the AGA KAHN.

7. Plane, in a control tower : BLIP. On a radar screen.

8. Relax : LET UP. Or ease up, stop applying so much pressure.

9. Cultural group : ETHNOS. Per the Free Dictionary, "people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture."

11. Conservatory event : RECITAL. Typically a solo musical performance by a singer or instrumentalist.

12. Like Joe? : AVERAGE. He just an average Joe - but he's also a clecho!

13. Bridge action : BID. The action is an auction, and the players get to bid for the contract. Suits me!

18. Half asleep : DOZY. Pretty much the same thing as DROWSY.

23. "De-lish!" : YUM. RIB EYE, anyone?

24. Gone by: AGO. Long ago, in a galaxie far, far away . . .

25. Theme park acronym : EPCOT. Disney's "Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow." I can never remember that.

27. Toon Le Pew : PEPE. An amorous pole cat with an accent.

28. Hi-__ graphics : RES. For good pictures of THINGS!

31. Flavor : SAPOR. I think we've been disconcerted in the past by SAPID. This looks like the root of all SAPIDITY. SAPOR is the quality of a substance to produce flavor. A hungry insomniac might want a saporific soporific to get DOZY.

39. Bigfoot cousin : YETI. A very distant cousin, since bigfoot is from North America, and the Yeti lives in the Himalayas. Though sometimes he can be found in a CEL with Bugs.

41. "Give __ holler!" : ME A. Give me an "H" . . . That's not very good. My bad. I mean ME A CULPA.

42. Province bordering four Great Lakes : ONTARIO. One of the lakes has the same name. Which Great Lake does it not touch?

43. League of __ : NATIONS. "Distinguished gentlemen" wouldn't fit.

46. What a "Me and My Shadow" singer might be : SPOTLIT. In the lime light, so to speak. Here we have the star of yesterday's theme and the man with a glass eye.

47. Mineo in movies : SAL. He was a singer, too

48. Mountain lion prey : ELK. Pretty ambitious snack, if you ask me, but probably a lot of YUM!

50. Catches : SNARES. Or some drums.

52. Ray who said, "It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun" : KROC. Ray Kroc founded McDonald's. To him I say, "That's a crock!"

55. The parenthesis in :-) : SMILE. Your basic emoticon.

57. Counterfeits : FAKES. We call them ERSATZ.

60. Competent : ABLE. Having a useful skill. One of Adam's sons was competent. The other was ABEL.

62. Pet physician's deg. : DVM. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Note Abrvs. They do not belong to the AMA.

64. Pro __: for now : TEM. Like a committee, PRO TEM, usually set up for a single purpose and dissolved when the task is complete.

65. Pitcher's stat : ERA. 'Nother Abrv. Earned Run Average.

66. Oscar winner Harrison : REX. He was a fair lady's man.

Answer grid.

That was fun and interesting. Hope you liked it too.

Cheers!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Today we remember Dan Naddor, who passed away last year today. Dan gave us total 30 puzzles in 2010, according to Rich's LAT info, which will be published here this coming Friday.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 Gary Cee

Theme:

A jolly good morning to you all. Steve here filing this dispatch from the other side of the pond in old Blighty. I can hear Big Ben chiming each quarter-hour, so I couldn't be much more central in Central London. Unfortunately I'm not going to make it back for Thanksgiving - can one of you save me some turkey?

 A smooth Wednesday from Gary Cee today. The reveal helped me with 42A when the "connection" between the theme entries became apparent.

Let's dig a little deeper.

20A. Cartoon quitting-time shout : YABBA DABBA DOO! We can all relate at some time or other to Fred Flintstone's trademark yell.

35A. Fins wearer : SCUBA DIVER. One of the best acronyms ever, and invented by a Frenchman too - wonders will never cease.

42A. Bookmarked link, say : WEB ADDRESS. I need bookmarks for bookmarks I've got so many. 

And the reveal:

57A. Phone line difficulty ... and what literally appears four times in 20-, 35- and 42-Across : BAD CONNECTION. Hello? Hello? What? You're breaking up - I'll call you back! Comes in very handy sometimes, I do confess.

Across:

1. Unit price word : EACH

5. Gets ready to travel : PACKS

10. Game where 3-Down are used : GOLF

14. Org. concerned with privacy laws : A.C.L.U. The American Civil Liberties Union.

15. Pasta product suffix : -ARONI. Quibble Alert - it's Rice-a-Roni and Pasta Roni, so I think we're irons here.

16. Aroma : ODOR.

17. Ticket remnant : STUB. Or many torn shreds like so much confetti when it's a parking ticket you discover on your windshield.

18. Speed __ : DEMON

19. H-hour relative : D-DAY

23. Lay into : ASSAIL

24. Group of four : TETRAD. A learning moment for me today. I know I must have seen this in crosswords before, but it's never stuck. Hopefully now it will.

27. "__ Misérables" : LES.

29. "Odds __ ..." : ARE

30. J. Geils Band record label : EMI. Electric & Musical Industries, Ltd. in case you're wondering where the name comes from.

31. Swaddling clothes wearer : BABE

38. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. Minnesota Twins legend had his number 6 retired by the club.

C.C. & Oliva, Sept 15, 2011

40. Letters before a pen name : AKA. Nothing in the clue to indicate an abbreviation - has "Also Known As" moved beyond needing the periods in the shortened form?

41. Cardiologist's insertion : STENT

45. Soup can painter Warhol : ANDY

46. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL. Why do I always put "Eel"? I've had to correct it often enough, you'd think I'd know by now.

47. Gaming cube : DIE

48. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs. Extended Play 7" vinyl. Say that to anyone born after 1980 and they will have no idea what you're talking about. Two on each side. This first official Beatles EP release is still the biggest-selling in UK pop history.

50. Sound system : STEREO. Not a lot of point playing the EP above on your stereo - it was only released in glorious mono!

52. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO

61. Word from the flock : AMEN. Baaaaaaa!

63. "Today" anchor Hill : ERICA. I needed the crosses for this, somehow I never seem to watch the Today show (nor remember the names of TV anchors!)

64. Good listeners : EARS

65. Barber's nape sprinkle : TALC

66. Starter course : SALAD

67. Stake in a pot : ANTE

68. It's not a true story : MYTH

69. "__ Dream": "Lohengrin" aria : ELSA'S. There's a nice version here from Bayreuth

70. Harbor skyline feature : MAST

Down:

1. Class that requires little effort : EASY A

2. Play the role of : ACT AS

3. Certain pro's selections : CLUBS. The link with 10A helped narrow this one down quickly.

4. When repeated, an enthusiastic shout : HUBBA. When I saw this crossing with Yabba I was expecting to find Bubba, Jabba and all kinds of others.

5. Table tennis tools : PADDLES. We called 'em bats at home. Ours had cork on one side and sandpaper on the other.

6. Field : AREA

7. Brush partner : COMB. I don't own any hair-styling tools, I just wash it, towel it off and comb it with my fingers. Some people say lazy, I say efficient.

8. Gearshift topper : KNOB. I'm renting a car here in London today, so I'll be experiencing this feature. Most rental cars in the UK are stick-shift, adding to the drama of sitting on the wrong side of the car to drive on the wrong side of the road.

9. "My Way" singer : SINATRA

10. Dramatic no-show : GODOT. The production I saw many years ago had Estragon and Vladimir act the entire play whilst standing up to their necks in large Grecian urns. It turned "Waiting for Godot" into "Waiting for "Waiting for Godot" to finish, PLEASE!".

11. Roulette bet choice : ODD OR EVEN

12. Mauna __ : LOA. Always need two crossing letters to distinguish from Mauna Kea

13. Cook in oil : FRY

21. Be unwell : AIL

22. Good ones don't go unpunished, so they say : DEEDS

25. Change for the better : AMEND

26. Below the belt : DIRTY. A low blow in boxing. Somehow it's OK to pummel a fellow about his cranium until he blacks out, but pop him one in the nether regions and that's a cardinal sin.

28. "Eek!" inducer : SCARE. Wanted Mouse, then Snake, then Sc .. ummm ... oh! Scare!

29. Take down a peg : ABASE

31. Pitney's partner : BOWES. Funny how the mind works, I had confidently filled in PRATT and couldn't figure out why nothing else would fit with it, then I went back and re-read the clue. "Whitney" doesn't look anything like "Pitney." How strange.

32. Colorful warning, often : ALERT. Usually Red. I've never seen a Blue or Green alert.

33. Evangelical hot spot : BIBLE BELT

34. Señora Perón : EVA.

36. Hawaiian strings : UKE

37. "Make __ good one!" : IT A

39. Put two and two together : ADDED. Was hoping for "Made Five", but not enough room.

43. Bishop's jurisdiction : DIOCESE. Is there a different between a Diocese and a Bishopric?

44. Goes viral, say : SPREADS. If you want an ear-worm today, click this link for a viral YouTube video that's had more than 700 million views. If you've had enough Korean dance music for a while, just skip over it.

49. [Not my typo] : SIC. What happens if SIC itself is a tpyo (sic). You'd have tpyo (sci) (sic) (sic) or something .. awesome!

51. Italian alternative : RANCH

53. Mr. T's group : "A" TEAM

54. Jungle vine : LIANA. I like this word for no good reason.

55. Basis of civil lawsuits : TORTS

56. First sign : ONSET

58. Like much family history : ORAL

59. Lofgren of the E Street Band : NILS. I always think that Keith Richards is Nils Lofgren's "Picture of Dorian Gray"

Nils

Keef

60. March Madness org. : N.C.A.A. The National Collegiate Athletics Association also administer other events besides this basketball tourney.

61. Brief bread source? : A.T.M. I love how "PIN number" and "ATM machine" are often part of the same sentence and both have redundancies - "I went to the automatic teller machine machine but forgot my personal identification number number".

62. Possibly will : MAY

That's all from me, other than to slip in a brief "Huzzah" that the Fighting Irish are back - ranked Number 1 for the first time since 1993!  The ND London campus is very close by my hotel, so please indulge me with this picture we took yesterday!