Saturday, May 5th, 2012, Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 28

Plenty of 63D. "D'oh~!" moments for me today. A pleasant offering from Mr. Peterson; lots of clues that made me think, plus a few write-overs. A good-looking grid with triple 9's in the across, triple 8's in the down, and two 'cheater squares' to add to this week's 'blogversation'. Two 12-letter spanners that are 24D., 'hardly easy' to fit;

33A. Evidentiary home movie studied by the Warren Commission : ZAPRUDER FILM - Abraham Zapruder, the man who captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with his home-movie camera in Dallas, Nov. 22nd, 1963. Seed entry?

41A. Programs for quick studies : CRASH COURSES - first "D'oh" moment for me - stared at this one for too long.

On - WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. St. Basil's Cathedral locale : RED SQUARE - my next "D'oh" moment, as I was thinking "Basil" is a British Isles kind of name - yet I know this place...

10. "Whereupon ..." : AND SO...

15. What Henry taught Eliza : ELOCUTION - "My Fair Lady", "Pygmalion"

16. Diner choice : BOOTH

17. Rash : HOT-HEADED

18. Did stable work : SHOED - MUCKED didn't fit

19. Heaps : A PILE - meh, I had "PILES", and it wasn't working out

20. Forever, it seems : AGES - Not "EONS"

22. Arctic explorer John : RAE

23. Good-hearted : BENIGN

25. Building with a dome : ROTUNDA - CAPITOL fit, and it has both a DOME and a ROTUNDA, but....

28. Snorkel, e.g.: Abbr. : SGT - Crossword regular, Sergeant

29. Shell mover : OAR - another "D'oh" moment, was stuck on 'shell game', and considered "rat" as the answer....but we're looking for this

32. Angora goat fabric : MOHAIR - and another "D'oh" moment, as I was trying to "59A." Cashmere, Kashmir, and Kasmir in there....

36. Short-term funding source : ATM - Fresher clue for this old answer

39. Site of regular slopping : PIG FARM - ah, you guessed it, I wanted PIG STY, needed another letter....

40. Soap component : LYE

44. Hoodwink : TAKE IN - Like in a Shell Game

45. Catch on : SEE

46. AMEX, e.g. : MKT - stock exchange 'market';  a learning moment for me

49. Indulged in to excess : OVERDID - yep, I overdid the beer (1D.)

51. Aglow in the gloaming : TWILIT - such eloquence, pronounced "TWY-lit", and yet the word looks like an insult - "you Twilit~!!!"

54. Morass : FEN - I tried MUD first, seemed sensible

55. Michael of "Juno" : CERA

58. Colleague of Clarence and Ruth : ELENA - Supreme Court justices;  is this 'annotated'~??

59. Squeeze : WRING - yeah, I get it, but I think of these "compressions" as being different from each other....

62. Target for some keglers : CANDLEPIN - kegler, from German "to bowl", is a perfect score of 300 in American bowling, or 12 straight strikes - isn't Boomer a bowler ??? (From C.C.: Yes. In fact, Boomer just had 9th perfect game two days ago. To me, kegler = bowler.)

64. Dandy's accessory : ASCOT

65. Like many bibliographies : ANNOTATED

66. Bagpipes and saxes : REEDS - not HORNS or WINDS

67. Overdrawn account? : FISH STORY - well said~!

DOWN:

1. Recovery locale : REHAB - been there, done that....

2. Gets together quietly? : ELOPES

3. Prone to spoiling : DOTING - grandparents, not grapes

4. "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" : SCHLITZ - despite my 1D. stay, I never actually had Schlitz, go figure

5. Wouk captain : QUEEG - The Wiki, for those who would like to see more

6. First name in acting instruction : UTA

7. "O patria mia" singer : AIDA

8. "Walkabout" director Nicolas : ROEG - one of those "constructor friendly" names

9. Rear-__ : ENDER

10. Chiseled muscles : ABs

11. Masked drama : NOH - Japanese theatre

12. Epitome of deadness : DOORNAIL - Dead Horse wouldn't work here

13. With regularity : STEADILY

14. "My heavens!" : OH DEAR ME

21. Cheddar's county : SOMERSET - Today's map

24. Hardly easy : NO PICNIC

26. Self-titled jazz vocal album of 1958 : TORME

27. Old dial letters : UHF - TV dial, remember those?



30. Castor and Pollux sailed on it : ARGO

31. Chaka Khan's old group : RUFUS - I do not remember "Rufus"; I grew up with Chaka, and this song

34. Plant pest : APHID

35. Provoke : DARE

36. Pearl Harbor attack, e.g. : ACT OF WAR

37. Pass over : TRAVERSE

38. Act friendly : MAKE NICE

42. Source of Sun. light? : SER

43. Flirt with, in a way : SMILE AT

47. Pick-up artist? : KLEPTOmaniac, a thief; one who uses the "five-finger discount"

48. More minuscule : TINIER

50. Joltless joe? : DECAF - none for me, thanks, I like my coffee with kick

52. Painful paintball mementos : WELTS - and HOW~!! Stings like a mo***f'er

53. Early personal computer maker : TANDY

56. Mumbai royal : RANI

57. Journalists Compton and Curry : ANNs

60. Show boredom : NOD - needs "off" to make more sense, really

61. Alfa Romeo sports cars : GTs

63. Head-slapper's cry : "D'oh~!" - Homer Simpson, and his now dictionary-worthy expression

Answer grid.

Now go out and have your tequila with salt, and your Coronas with lime - do one for me

Cinco De Mayo ~!!!

Splynter

Friday, May 4, 2012, David Poole

Theme: Ta Da! Each of the the five theme answers use a sound alike progression from T to D to create a new and thought-provoking witty answer. The long vowel sounds are all different. David has been one of the regular contributors to both LAT and NYT, and his November 5, 2010 work was my first write up as full-time Friday. This is his first of 2012, and continues his interesting use of language. I found the puzzle a challenge both from some Friday words, and the stacking of non-theme answers with the theme. But as a math guy I think it all adds up in the end. Or maybe it is a TouchDown (TD) when we finish.

14A. Weaponry etiquette? : CODE (COAT) OF ARMS. Long O. I got the theme right away, or so I thought...

19A. Corpulent corpuscle? : WIDE (WHITE) BLOOD CELL. Long I. My favorite, as you all should know by now, I loves me some alliteration, and two (2!) great words.

34A. Fanatical bakers? : KNEAD (NEAT) FREAKS. Long E. Also a fun image, in the kitchen, maybe Alton Brown.

53A. Warning sign at a kiddie pool? : WADE (WAIT) UNTIL DARK. Long A. Okay this cute also.

61A. Built the perfect case? : SUED (SUIT) TO A TEE. Long U. Oh goody, a theme answer to remind everyone how much they love lawyers.

No Knead for a unifier, so let's wade in and do the rest.

Across:

1. Track posting : ODDS. Yes, I have been known to bet so this was a good start. And also, a mini clecho 46A. Track transaction : BET

5. Iran and Iraq are in it : ASIA. First thought was OPEC but a glance at the downs had me wait.

9. Fernando's hideaway : CASA. Another deferred answer, hmmm.

13. Pickup on a corner, maybe : FARE. By a taxi cab, not from cruising West Hollywood.

17. Fiber-yielding plant : FLAX. So many choices, more waiting.

18. Receiver improvised in WWII foxholes : CRYSTAL SET. Boom, then came this answer with exactly the same number of letters. I knew I was right about this RADIO, but it was not a sound alike and had no T to D, isn't there a rule? Plus if he wanted to be punny he might have tried Comedian Billy's performance.

21. 1990s-2000s TV attorney : MCBEAL. Ally played by Calista Flockhart, Mrs. Indiana Jones. The show had a nice ensemble cast.

23. Acidity nos. : PHS. A clue to balance the grid.

24. Mets' div. : NLE. Ouch, National League East.

25. Cast a spell on : CHARM. Were YOU? (4:29)

26. Some HDTVs : LGS. The brand name, or the size?

28. Floral cluster : POSY. A really nice old fashioned word. Less than a bouquet?

29. [Not a typo] : SIC. This Latin guy is starting to follow me around, thus we should not forget.

30. Self-defense, e.g. : PLEA. The law related clue of the day.

32. "The Soul of a Butterfly" memoirist : ALI. he really did float like a butterfly and sting like a bee and almost killed me at LAX, by accident.

38. Dadaism pioneer : ARP. Now a classic clue.

39. Ramadan ritual : FAST. Every day until sundown.

40. Frat party purchase : KEG. Beer Pong anyone?

43. When Canada Day is : JULY. Hmm, fireworks in July, wonder where they got that idea? Mr. Poole still lives in Canada, I believe. David?

47. Strongroom : VAULT. As opposed to the weakroom where you keep the toilet paper?

49. A Gabor sister : EVA. The Green Acres Merv Griffin sister.

50. Miss Piggy accessory : BOA. She is a snappy dresser. LINK.

52. "Hudson Hawk" actor : AIELLO, great in this weird Bruce Willis film, Willis also has 6 letters, MOVIE.

57. Did wrong by : ILL TREATED. Nice long confusing fill, and mirror for CRYSTAL SET.

58. Comes to the rescue : AIDS.

62. Bolt holder : T-NUT. Right after suit to a TEE.

63. For the missus : HERS.

64. Direction de Marseille à Grenoble : NORD. Our French lesson, guess? Non? North!

65. They often clash : EGOS. Luckily this never happens here at the Corner, speaking of which time to run for home.

Down:

1. Not quite right : OFF. Okay, I can hear what you all are thinking....

2. Indian lentil stew : DAL. No idea of this DISH but snappier than Texas airport. Anyone know any good lentil jokes?

3. Downside : DRAWBACK. Another nice and long fill.

4. More glamorous, as a car : SEXIER. Like this LINK?

5. Picking up in tempo, in mus. : ACCELerate.

6. Ending for ab or ad : SORB. Yes, it really goes both ways.

7. Bucolic poem : IDYL. I never have finished Tennyson's Idylls of the King. I have finished most of

8. ___ Fables : AESOP'S.

9. Math subj. : CALCulus. Remember he is a math guy.

10. Prefix for element #33 : ARSENO. Of or relating to Arsenic, I am sure all the mystery readers knew this one; anyone buying Ace Atkins writing Spenser?

11. Gets a whiff of : SMELLS. Wow a literal clue.

12. "Never Gonna Give You Up" singer Rick : ASTLEY. No idea, and missed the whole Rickrolling FAD.(3:36)

15. Texter's "conversely" : OTOH. On The Other Hand I learned this one.

16. They're fleeting : FADS. Oops, anyway; time is fleeting. (4:03).

20. Piano string vibration control : DAMPER.

21. Roast VIPs : MCS. Master of Ceremonies, the host.

22. Psi preceder : CHI. Learn your Greek alphabet.

26. Directed : LED.

27. Faux pas : GAFFE. Another cool word. Like faux pas, French.

28. Suffix with Water, commercially : PIK. A waterpik pic?

31. Overtake on the track, in a way : LAP. I think this is the month Dale junior breaks through.

32. '50s pres. candidate : AES. Adlai E. Stevenson. My earliest political memories, he was an"egghead" and "divorced." Ucky. Since he and Ike were both bald, I thought they were both eggheads.

33. The Western Dvina flows through it : LATVIA. If you knew this, you did not grow up in the US. I have many clients from Riga, but ...

35. Aye offset : NAY.

36. Scoundrel : RAT. An impressionist's DREAM. (1:00).

37. Staying in the shadows : SKULKING. So many nice long words.

41. Bracket shape : ELL. Oh what the 'ell, they can't all be long.

42. '60s-'70s muscle car : GTO. My eldest brother had a 1968. Gran Turismo Omologato, a Pontiac creation of DeLorean among others.

43. Like most seder celebrants : JEWISH. We had many who were not this year out of our 20+.

44. Heat transfer coefficient, in insulation : U-VALUE. The test is Tuesday.

45. Certain kitchen server : LADLER. The one who wields the ladle?

46. WWII Philippine battleground : BATAAN. Als the site of the beginning of the horrible death march.

48. Fizz up : AERATE. Time to offset that mood with a bubbly clue.

50. Composer Bacharach : BURT. Very prolific WRITER.(3:27).

51. Basie's "___ 'Clock Jump" : ONE'O. We have linked this a few times.

52. Went on to say : ADDED. Yes, that is what I am doing.

54. BWI listings : ETDS. Estimated Times of Departure from Baltimore Washingtom International.

55. "Suffice ___ say..." : IT TO.

56. Immodest look : LEER. Now we are talking...

59. Couple : DUO.

60. MA and PA : STateS, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, the double caps are the recognized form of abbreviation for states now.

Answer grid.

Well good golly Miss Molly, we are done for another Friday. Limonāde714 saying enjoy the spring, play in the pool after you finish this Poole effort.