Saturday, May 18th, 2013, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,V,Z)

Blocks: 34

   We have us a non-Saturday looking grid today - but there was a grid climber in the center, which I did not see at first glance.  I actually worked this one faster than yesterday's, which is unusual, since I have been historically stumped by Mr. Lim's end-of-week bruisers.  So, to the long fills;

7D. Words of dread : I SHUDDER TO THINK

26A. Impatient cry : I CAN HARDLY WAIT

42A. Order in an oater : REACH FOR THE SKY - Oater being a Western "shoot 'em up" flick

On-Ward~!

ACROSS:

1. Faraday's field: Abbr. : ELECtricity - Good start, if you knew the scientist; I bought one of these flashlights for Christmas - no batteries~!

5. Paris is in it : ILIAD - Not France, or any other location; the character

10. __ champêtre: garden party : FETE - seems logical, now that the perps filled it in

14. Love letters? : XOXO - Found at the bottom of Valentine's cards, etc

15. Exploits : CASHES IN ON

17. Bali specification : C-CUP - Nailed it - even the cup size, for some reason

18. It's more acceptable when it's self-mocking : ETHNIC JOKE - "How do you get a...." -HEY- not here....too 'blue' (see below)

19. Danish director von Trier : LARS - IMDb

20. NBC's usual "Must See TV" night : THUrsday

21. Flight segment : RISER - stairs, that is - the vertical board between treads

22. Clerical garment : ALB

23. Way to spread the green? : SEEDAGE - yeah, but I wanted SEEDING, and a clecho -

31. Green : MONEY

32. Shade tree : ELM - especially when it's "green"

33. About, legally : IN RE

35. Single __: tournament type : ELIMination - It's best-of-seven in the NHL

36. Kinky dos : AFROs

38. LaBeouf of "Holes" : SHIA - Didn't see this movie, but I did like Eagle Eye

39. Mollycoddle, with "on" : DOTE

40. Code word : DIT

41. United nations, perhaps : BLOCS - meh

46. Bleep, say : EDIT OUT

47. Stew staple : PEA - any other three-letter ingredients you can think of?

48. 5-Across poet : HOMER

52. "... by good __, yonder's my lord": "Timon of Athens" : HAP

53. Isn't serious : KIDS

54. Started to shoot : OPENED FIRE

57. Crowning : ATOP

58. Conversation barrier : BUSY SIGNAL

59. Hana Airport's island : MAUI - detailed map; airport code HNM

60. Federal inspection org. : OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

61. Invite for : ASK TO

62. Old, in Oldenburg : ALTE

DOWN:

1. Hollered : EXCLAIMED

2. Regional asset : LOCAL COLOR - the local color of today's blog is, um, red....

3. One with a long commute, probably : EXURBANITE

4. Arresting characters : COPS

5. Poolside refresher : ICE TEA - not gonna say it....

6. Form foam : LATHER - DAH~!  I plan to build my own home using Insulated Concrete Forms, and so I was stuck in that frame of mind to start

8. Philip __, first Asian-American film actor with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star : AHN - IMDb #2

49. With 9-Down, conspiratorial group in "The Da Vinci Code" : OPUS  9. See 49-Down : DEI - you either knew this, or you did not read Dan Brown; when his next book, "Angels & Demons", again with 'Robert Langdon' as the main character came out, I made this; there is another movie coming out for "Lost Symbol"

10. Vanua Levu's archipelago : FIJI - map

11. Slaughter with a bat : ENOS

12. Vegas tip : TOKE - straight up definition, but not the one I'M familiar with

13. Cabinet dept. with an Office of Science : ENERgy - WAG

16. Bad thing to have loose : SCREW - Thought about "CANNON", too

23. Recoil : SHY

24. Prefix meaning "other" : ALLO - we just had Allosaurus

25. Treadmill settings : GYMS - ah, not RPMs, which didn't seem 'right' to me; we need the actual setting for the piece of equipment

27. Valley where Hercules slew a lion : NEMEA

28. Where fliers walk : AISLE - the aisle in an airplane, that is

29. Recuperating at the Royal London : IN HOSPITAL - my mom was just "in hospital", as she had a stomach virus, and needed IV FLUIDS - hey, that would make a good fill....

30. Covered in bling, say : TRICKED OUT - usually in reference to one's 'ride'

34. "No sweat!" : EASY AS PIE - lots of multi-word answers today

36. Child psychologist's concern, briefly : ADHD - here's the Wiki; if you ask me, this modern sound-byte, smart phone, subliminal advertising, video game world we live in is the direct cause of the 'disease'

37. Minnie Mouse's peke : FIFI

41. Antioxidant food preservative : BHT -for the scientific mind

43. Demeter's Roman counterpart : CERES - Goddess of agriculture/grain crops - hence, 'cereal'

44. Find hilarious : ROAR AT

45. Swamp tree : TUPELO - here I thought it was a city in Mississippi

48. Down Under swagman, in the States : HOBO - learning moment for me

50. Fit well : MESH - I had MELD to start

51. "Oíche Chiún" singer : ENYA - upon re-reading the clue, with EN-A filled in, seems pretty obvious now

53. Hindu god of desire : KAMA - as in the Kama Sutra - and C-cups....

55. Miércoles, por ejemplo : DIA - Spanish "day", Wednesday, by example

56. Three-pt. plays : FGs - Field Goals, and if I am not mistaken, this is in both football and basketball

Splynter

Friday, May 17, 2013, Jeff Chen and Loren Smith

Theme: PARTing is such sweet sorrow. You all were unanimously un-receptive to my bedtime story pun, but I never quit, and you all know I loves me some Shakespeare.

We have an extremely intriguing and fun offering, with tremendous themeage, straight forward cluing,  but if you did not get the gimmick, this could be hard. This appears to be another Jeff Chen mentoring puzzle, and the theme answers which are marked, 10 of them!!!! (plus a reveal)  all words which appear after PART is removed form a word or phrase. The brilliance is each residue is a stand-alone word or phrase. We also have the unusual aspect of a  theme starting  at 1A. While I am not getting any faster (actually slower) as a solver, I now can see themes quickly, and after getting to 10 across which obviously was relating to the Michigan State SPARTANS, I realized some form of letter removal was in order. a RAMPART and a PARTRIDGE in a pear tree later, I was on my way. Some were really challenging, but most of the puzzle was easy for a Friday. They did squeeze in some nice fill like GET BACK AT, SKIN TIGHT, DON SHULA and  MAKES OUT, and it is time for me to shut up and get to it.

1A. *Defensive fortifications : RAMPARTS. (4) O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming, And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air...

5A. *Noel bird : PARTRIDGE.(5). One of the many birds of the 12 days of Christmas.

10A. *East Lansing athletes : SPARTANS.(4). For you left coasters who love UCLA, I fell in love with college football watching Walt Kowalczyk lead MSU to victory in the 1956 ROSE BOWL.

23A. *After delivery : POSTPARTUM.(6). Postum (LINK) being a slightly obscure coffee alternative from before the art of caffeine extraction was perfected. I bought some after my heart problems and decided I would rather not. Postpartum blues are an ongoing mystery and a sad matter.

25A. *Baggage holder : COMPARTMENT, (7). One of the trickier ones to suss since it is a single word.

50A. *Go separate ways : PART COMPANY.(7). In this case a word is removed. Since we also have ENDED IT, I hope Jeff or his mentee did not have a recent break up.

52A. *School celebration : CLASS PARTY. (6) One word becomes two.

65A. *Bestowed : IMPARTED.(4) More tech stuff, I MED= Instant Messaged.

66A. *Crumbled : FELL APART.(5) Again one becomes two.

67A. *Opt in : TAKE PART..(4) When you opt in to a program, you take part in it. A whole word is deleted, leaving only TAKE. Could have been tricky to suss if you were thinking "partake."

and the reveal:

35A. 2006 Scorsese film, and a hint to answering this puzzle's starred answers : THE DEPARTED. (11).

Wonderful CAST. (2:21).

Across:

14. Verbal jabs : FLAK. Even worse than nit picking.

15. Face-to-face finals : ORALS. I wonder what Dennis and Lois would have said to this in the old days.

16. School that celebrates George III's birthday : ETON.

17. With 61-Down, Elton John duet partner : KIKI. 61D. See 17-Across : DEE. This SONG.(4:52).

18. Vestige : RELIC. So my appendix is a relic?

19. "___ Angel": Mae West film : I'M NO.

20. Texted "Let's just be friends" : ENDED IT. How cold is that? Some aspects of technology seem awful.

22. Supports : IS FOR. 

27. C-3PO, for one : DROID. My smartphone's cousin.

28. Nincompoop : SCHMO. My old phone's cousin, and a foreshadowing of 49A. Capp chap : ABNER, who had to deal with the SHMOO.

30. Dawn goddess : EOS. I had a run of EOS on Fridays earlier this year.

31. Snug as ___... : A BUG. In a rug. I hate bugs.

32. "Eureka!" : AHA. The moment. Now in the dictionary, and on TV.(0:30)

33. Third-qtr. period : AUGust. Tricky even if simple.

39. Airer of many Cary Grant films : TCM. Turner Classic Movies.

40. Staycation benefit, for short : RNR. From the military, Rest aNd Recreation. I  imagine Dennis has some stories, but we are all so PC now we will not hear them here.

41. Tattled : TOLD.

44. NYC's Penn, e.g. : STAtion.

47. Clean : LEGIT.

53. Dug the experience, with "up" : ATE IT.

54. Loser's demand : REMATCH. Especially boxers.

57. Cartoonist Lazarus : MELL, He drew Miss Peach and Momma.

58. Like some forces : NAVAL

59. Many a Kirkuk resident : KURD. This one almost had its way with me.

62. ___-dieu : PRIE. The kneely thing with the desk top.

63. Calm : STILL.

64. Tissue additive : ALOE. Goodbye to the first half. (Think French accent).

Down:

1. ___ Stadium, home of D.C. United : RFK. Robert Francis Kennedy.

2. Bard of boxing : ALI. Muhammad.

3. Discerns : MAKES OUT. So many other clues, but no link for this one, even if it is next to....

4. Like wet suits : SKIN TIGHT. Like THIS? Or THIS?

5. Composer of the 2005 opera "Our Town" : ROREM. Did you know the SCORE?

6. More than put out : IRED. SEE was removed for me in this fill.

7. "The Persistence of Memory" artist : DALI. Looks like he had a good time creating this one.

8. Bug : GLITCH. Oh that kind of bug.

9. Exit key of a sort : ESCape.

10. Quake : SEISM. I knew about seismology but never thought of this as a stand alone.

11. Charge for cash : ATM FEE. Nailed it.

12. "Ain't gonna happen!" : NO NO NO. A thousands times NO. Don't you hate fates like that? Especially when there are....

13. Corral chorus : SNORTS. Had NEIGHS for a second.

21. Turkey : DUD. Oh that kind of Turkey.

22. Response to "Raise," maybe : I'M OUT. Lots of these tricky word combos.

23. iPhone, e.g. : PDA. Personal Digital Assistant.

24. Eyeball : ORB. A sign he will win the Preakness too? Sad we cannot ask. Starting on the rail, oh oh. Maybe Rosie will be the first female jockey to win a triple crown race. Bet it.

26. Astrologer Sydney : OMARR. Because Kimmleman would not play in Peoria.

28. Ella, stateside : SHE. Translation.

29. Tyrrhenian Sea resort : CAPRI. Off of the Naples side of Italy.

32. Pitchers : AD MEN. So it is not pouring a drink or throwing a baseball.

34. Take revenge on : GET BACK AT. Another of the clever multi-word fill.

36. Showy display : ECLAT.

37. Hill inhabitant : ANT.

38. Coach of 1972's undefeated Dolphins : DON SHULA. A real gimme for the sofla crowd, as he is still on TV a lot and has tons of restaurants.

42. Guitarist Paul : LES. Mr. electric guitar. ENJOY.(2:11).

43. Wine choice : DRY. I am getting sec of all these wine clues.

44. Shellfish entrée : SCAMPI. Shrimp was my first thought.

45. For the full time : TO TERM. Both of my boys were premies.

46. 2001 French title heroine : AMELIE. Watch this  MOVIE.(1:29).

48. Use a Hula-Hoop : GYRATE. No Elvis this time.

49. Cockpit abbr. : ALTitude.

51. Accumulated, with "up" : PILED.

52. Easter lily : CALLA. Marti must have known this was coming yesterday. Hey Fermat.

55. Superhero's target : EVIL.

56. Place for an anchor store : MALL. But how many people really need anchors? Does it do better than the scotch tape store?

58. Check prob. : NSF. The dreaded Not Sufficient Funds.

60. Seoul soldier : ROK. Republic Of Korea. This was filled by the perps or I would not have seen it.

Speaking of not being seen, I think it is time for me to slip away until next time. A hearty thanks to JC and Ms.(Mr.?)  Smith for the presentation and to all of you who have made it this far in reading my ramblings, which are over until next time. Summer is almost upon, but winter is coming.

L.

Note from C.C.:

Here are two wonderful photos of dear Sallies, who is going to celebrate her 83rd birthday on July 12, 2013.  Sallie's two sons (one lives in MN, one in NY) and her husband Gerry celebrated Mother's Day this year a few days earlier at a restaurant in Naples. Stay strong, Sallie, we're all here for you!

Thursday, May 16, 2013 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "I WANT CANDY" 1:49

18-Across. Where Cal Ripken's consecutive game record was set : CAMDEN YARDS. I just linked this stadium a couple weeks ago. And I actually remembered it!

24-Across. Color named for a bird : CANARY YELLOW. My favorite.

40-Across. "Calm down!" : CONTROL YOURSELF. Straight from the Dalai Lama's mouth.

50-Across. Taxing period, usually : CALENDAR YEAR. Some years are more taxing than others...

62-Across. Immature 20-something, say : CALLOW YOUTH.

"Youth is wasted on the young." 

George Bernard Shaw.

And if you didn't get the theme by now, there is a reveal to help:

69-Across. Sweet, or, read another way, a hint to five long puzzle answers : CANDY, or "C" AND "Y". Each phrase consists of two words, beginning with those two letters.

Marti here. Pretty straightforward theme, and some interesting fill made this an enjoyable puzzle for me. Let's see why.

Across:

1. Big head : EGO.

4. Fancy dance : BALL.

8. Bad hair day feature : FRIZZ. Like this?

13. Hauler's unit : TON. I'll have sixteen of those, please. 2:33

14. Beatnik's dough : BREAD. Does the dough have to be cooked before it becomes bread?

16. French name meaning "born again" : RENEE. We often see "nee" in x-words, but I never connected the name RE-NEE to being born again. Cool!

17. Day off from sch. : HOL.iday.

20. Brief mea culpa : I DID. (it?)

22. Candidate list : BALLOT.

23. Repair quote: Abbr. : EST.imate.

27. Showy lily : SEGO. I thought of fermatprime with her blue calla lily.

28. "Godmother of Punk" Smith : PATTI. Doesn't sound very "punk" to me. 3:38.

32. Back in time : AGO. Disco Ago-go?

33. Bitter : ACIDIC. Like LSD?

39. Ray or Flay : CHEF. Two of my favorites on The Food Network. Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay.

43. Ristorante menu word : ALLA. I like to BBQ alla Flay.

44. Pitch add-on : BLENDE. Pitchblende, source of Uranium.

45. ___ Khan: Rita Hayworth's husband : ALY.

46. Peaceful scene : IDYLL.

48. Newspaper section : ARTS.

57. Scary snake : ASP.

60. Copy room supplies : TONERS.

61. Plucked strings, in Padua : ARPA. You are probably familiar with this.

65. Vampire's alter ego : BAT. "Die Fliedermaus" ("The BAT") is one of my favorite operettas by Strauss.

66. Sap : DRAIN.  I was going in the other direction: Patsy? Chump?

67. Actress Dickinson : ANGIE. She was a big hit with the guys in the 70's. I wonder why?

68. Profitable rock : ORE. Like pitchBLENDE.

70. Hyphenated IDs : SSNs. Soc-ial Sec-ur-i-ty Num-bers.

71. Cadillac luxury sedan : XTS. "Car and Driver" review.

Down:

1. Personal creed : ETHIC.

2. Reliable : GOOD AS GOLD. and 31-Down. Not reliable : IFFY.

3. Like many magazines, nowadays : ONLINE ONLY.

4. "East Enders" airer : BBC. British Broadcasting Corp., or "The Beeb," as we have come to know and love in xword puzzles.

5. Sheikdom in a jazz standard : ARABY. Fats Waller did it as good as anyone. 3:08

6. WWII Air Force general Curtis ___ : LEMAY.

7. Minestrone server : LADLE. Anyone else want Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi"?

8. Grill on a stove : FRY TOP.

9. Blues-rocker Chris : REA. Lots of music today!

10. Brief words? : IN RE. Legal brief, that is.

11. Heart of a London puzzle? : ZEDS.  In the US, we call them "zees."  Do Brits "catch some zeds" when they need a nap?

12. Joie de vivre : ZEST.

15. Wooded valley : DELL.

19. Lon of Cambodia : NOL. Marshal Lon Nol led the coup against Sihanouk in 1970.

21. NYC's ___ Hammarskjöld Plaza : DAG.

25. Guffaw : ROAR. I love to guffaw - it's good for what ails you!

26. "My best soldiers": MacArthur : WACS. Women's Army Corps.

29. Loge : THEATER BOX.

30. Knows the difference between : TELLS APART.

32. Beneficial berry : ACAI.

34. Picnic discard : COB.

35. Peaked : ILL. Do you pronounce it peekt or pee-kid?

36. Turn blue, perhaps : DYE. If you are really peaked.

37. Physicist's particle : ION.

38. Chewed-over material : CUD.

41. Soapstone, mostly : TALC.

42. Place for stragglers : REAR.

47. Rte. for many a red-eye : L.A. - TO - N.Y. Anyone have a hard time figuring out what a "LATONY" was? (From C.C.: Thanks, Marti, I googled LATONY afterwards and could not make any sense of it!)

49. Handwoven rug : RYA.

51. Vile : LOW.

52. Former member of the Irish band Clannad : ENYA. Another song for today.

53. Old Dodge compacts : NEONS.

54. What dispensaries dispense : DRUGS.

55. Sean who played a hobbit : ASTIN. He played Frodo's friend Samwise Gamgee.

56. Has status : RATES.

57. ELO relative? : AC-DC. Cute comparison! You get your pick of songs here: Electric Light Orchestra 4:21 or AC-DC. 4:15

58. Paretsky who writes V.I. Warshawski detective novels : SARA. Detective novels are not on my reading list, so this was all perps.

59. Think ahead : PLAN.

63. Trunk cover : LID.

64. Blokes : HES. I didn't even see this entry as I was solving...and that's a good thing.

That's all for now. See you next week!

Hugs,

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy 92nd birthday to Jazzbumpa's amazing mother! Jazzbumpa (Ron) took this photo last Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful celebration today!

Mother's Day, 2013

This is another great picture from her birthday last year. Click here to read Ron's musing.