Saturday, Aug 25th, 2012, Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 37

I do believe that this is Jeff Chen's first themeless (Saturday) puzzle - at least for the LA Times. In fact, we last saw Jeff with his Aug 8th "L.A." puzzle, and his well done "VW" women's initials puzzle in July - and this means he has "batted for the cycle", having a puzzle published every day of the week; S, M, T, W, T, F, and now S. Two grid spanners,

14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings

47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!

and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:

12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?

51A. Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components : CHESS BOXING - never heard of this; requires skill in both areas - chess and boxing, in alternating rounds....I'll bet the later rounds of chess get harder with each left hook you take....

On~ward Orthorunicans~!

ACROSS:

1. Bout with padded weapons : PILLOW FIGHT - can't say I have ever participated, and I was married to a woman with a young child, too; I would like it to be "all out" and have the feather stuffing strewn all over the place~!

16. Score direction: Abbr. : RITARDando - Gradual slowing of the tempo

17. Gull-like bird : TERN

18. Island food in a bowl : POI

19. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer : STYNE - a WAG, but the perps took care of 80% of the fill; I would have to say this one was a Natick for me, crossing nuiT, and a clecho with 9D - how's that for cramming in some CW blog phrases?

20. Some shooters, briefly : SLRs - Cameras, that is

21. Go on (one's way) : WEND

22. Certain hustler's tools : CUES

23. Setting for Ariadne : MAZE - Daughter of Minos - from the labyrinth myth

24. Observation after "Clean your room!" : IT'S A MESS~!!!

29. Pea family trees : CAROBS

31. Student's supper spot : COMMONS

32. "Oh no!" from Poirot : MON DIEU - French

33. Showed contempt for : SPAT AT

34. Where Daniel was thrown : LION'S DEN - First line here, from one of my favoritest bands Monster Magnet

35. Sellout signs : SROs - Standing Room Only

36. President under whom Texas was annexed : POLK - Hey, four letters and a president~! Another clecho, too; 43D. 34th pres. : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower

37. "__ be in England ...": Browning : "OH TO"

38. Goggle : GAWK

39. Fragment : SHARD

44. Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA - 'Golden Girls' foursome

45. Bartlett relative : BOSC

46. Whistled at, perhaps : HAILED - oh, for a cab, not those legs.... see below

50. Characterized by extremes : FEAST OR FAMINE - seems that way in carpentry; now that I am involved in a large project, everyone seems to need some work done~! (BTW, I am not complaining~!)

DOWN:

1. __ hose : PANTY - ah, Jeff, pantyhose, the perfect clue/ans for me; have to restrain myself and pick just one image~!

2. "Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait": AT&T ad tagline : "IT CAN" - pretty harsh commercials, but then again, what I see here on the roads of Long Island is far more terrifying....

3. BP unit : LITRE - British Petroleum, and the English spelling

4. Hard to look at, in a way : LOUD - like this outfit

5. Words with diet or dime : ON A

6. Turkey features : WATTLES - seen here

7. Circulars : FLIERS

8. Sikorsky and Stravinsky : IGORs - 'copters and composers

9. '50s-'60s title detective whose show's theme was composed by Mancini : GUNN - Earworm~!

10. Breakfast choice : HAM

11. Figure with two legs askew : TRAPEZOID



12. Matin preceder : NUIT - Ugh, morning & night

13. Queen's mate : DRONE BEE

14. Button on older phones : PRS - the other 'odd' one was WXY



15. Razz : KID

20. Figure (out), in slang : SUSS - Dah~! I left this one out of my little run at 19A~!

21. Districts : WARDS - Did any of you like the movie "District 9"~?

22. Lincoln's place? : CENT



23. Author of the novel "Doctor Faustus" : MANN

24. Suffix with robot : ICS - RobotICS

25. Of the best quality : TOP SHELF

26. "Everyone's a comedian" : SMART ALEC

27. Kid's retort : AM TOO

28. Extinct kiwi relatives : MOAs

29. One who's at home on the range? : COOK

30. Nearest star to Pluto : SUN - Duh~! I thought "hey, Alpha Centauri is no closer to Pluto than to Earth at 4.37 light years....oh wait....

32. Take advantage of : MILK

34. Like the Atkins diet : LOW CARB

36. Leisurely walks : PASEOs

37. "Memoirs of a Geisha" prop : OBI - our Crossword sash

38. State runners: Abbr. : GOV'TS

39. Highly seasoned pheasant stew : SALMI

40. Used for cover : HID IN - remember this hiding spot?

41. During : ALONG

42. Russo of "Tin Cup" : RENE

45. Supporting part : BASE

46. Fraud : HOAX

48. Cry of derision : HAH~!!!

49. Fiscal VIP : CFO - oops, not CPA

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are two great pictures from Yellowrocks' 2009 trip to Costa Rica (Sorry for the error earlier). The first is of her and her son Alan. The second is of her and their guide & driver.

Friday, August 24, 2012, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

THEME:

A rhyme for Clear AYES. Each of the four themes answers are two word phrases which are sound alikes for a word ending with IZE. What makes this even more special, hearti accomplishes this feat with each second word a different spelling of the sound of "IZE." The two word phrases also end and begin with the same letter to preserve the sound. This is another wonderful glimpse into the punny, funny mind of our dear marti. Naturally she begins with a ski reference. let's start on our downhill run.....

17A. Trendy ski area? : POPULAR RISE.(11) (POPULARIZE) We all wanted a particular resort, until the perps cleared that hurdle.

26A. Monogrammed neckwear? : ALPHABET TIES. (12) (ALPHABETIZE). I have some shirts, but no ties with initials.

45A. Red, blue and green food colors? : STANDARD DYES. (12) (STANDARDIZE) My favorite.

61A. Indicators of royal contentment? : QUEENS SIGHS. (11) (QUEENSIZE). I cannot decide if this really one word or two, but you should have the theme by now anyway.

no unifier so we are going to go....

Across:

1. Where a canary sings : PERCH. We're off.

6. Loser's catchphrase : NO FAT. Ah, that kind of loser, a dieter.

11. Blackjack variable : ACE. This word has so many meanings, from military fighter pilots, to a golfer's hole in one, a test well taken...

14. Last Olds model : ALERO.

15. Living proof : PULSE. Love this clue, it is literal but very tricky as they do check the pulse to see if the victim is still living.

16. Test to the max : TAX. Did this puzzle TAX your brain?

19. Front-end protector : BRA. Like THIS?

20. Assumed name: ANONYM. The less famous Pseudonym.

21. Diamond offense: SPITBALL. Baseball diamond; a pitch outlawed in the 30's.

23. Skelton's Kadiddlehopper : CLEM.

25. Tried to hit : SHOT AT.

31. Levi alternative : LEE. I love this AD. (1:00)

32. Mini successors? : NANOS.

33. Henhouse : COOP.

37. Scout's honor : AWARD. Cute boy scout pun.

39. Pub. with more than 100 Pulitzers. : NYT. Home to Will Shortz and others.

40. Serengeti heavyweight : RHINOceros.

41. Nonproductive : IDLE. Not around here, too much to do.

42. More than strange : EERIE.

44. Watch faces, briefly : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

49. Lesser partner : JUNIOR. A law firm staple.

52. Southern cuisine staple : PONE. See, made from corn.

53. Trucker's view : OPEN ROAD. A shout out no doubt to my recent exploits in the 26' Penske for 1991 miles, thanks m.

56. "Same old, same old": NO NEWS. Is good news?

60. Airport 100+ miles NW of PIT: CLE

63. Tease: KID. I am serious, I like this clue.

64. GI's home : U.S. OF A. My home too.

65. Ready and then some : EAGER. I am getting excited about the Down clues now, I can smell them

66. Mud bath site : STY. Not a SPA, devious.

67. Itty-bitty : EENSY. This is from the SIMS (2:26) video game.

68. Impedes : SLOWS. I hope all these tricks have not slowed anyone down too much.

Down:

1. Literary nickname : PAPA. Hemingway; since I grew my beard one of my lawyer friends want me to go to Key West and enter the contest.

2. The Phoenix of the NCAA's Southern Conference : ELON. My very first comment on this blog was about schools whose mascots did not end in "S." I also worked closely with a graduate of this fine institution.

3. Forfeited wheels : REPO.

4. Exercise unit : CRUNCH. The word makes my abs hurt; personally I would rather have a candy bar.

5. Pilgrimage destination : HOLY LAND.

6. "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" airer : NPR. Wonderful show; let's go BEHIND THE SCENES.(8:00)

7. Relative of mine : OURS. Really well done, misdirection, not a relative hers, well sort of...

8. Yes-or-no decision method : FLIP. The coin.

9. Original home of the Poor Clares : ASSISI. We have had this information a few times.

10. Raise canines? : TEETHE. Not in kennel but in your young child's mouth; also a pun on raising Cain.

11. Ready to swing : AT BAT. Baseball for C.C.

12. Sarkozy's wife ___ Bruni : CARLA. A FIRST LADY?

13. Put on a pedestal : EXALT. As I am sure Mr. Sarkozy does for Carla.

18. Low life? : AMEBA. I LOVE THIS! I am abandoning douche bag as my favorite insult and going to AMEBA (var.).

22. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" artist : BOSCH. I knew this because I read books by MICHAEL CONNELLY.he also appears often on CASTLE.

24. Teen Spirit deoderant brand : MENNEN. Never heard of this PRODUCT.

26. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI. I am so glad we saw this alternative to JAI___ recently.

27. Bawdy : LEWD. My kind of clue!

28. Series of rings : PEAL. Not like Mari, but in the bell tower.

29. Played around (with) : TOYED. Marti clearly was toying with us with these clues.

30. Letter shaped shoe fastener : T-STRAP. Like Mary Janes; not to be confused with G-strings.

34. Like some garage floors : OILY.

35. Almost never, maybe : ONCE. Oddly, this reminded me of the Rock Hudson line from a movie with Doris Day, where he explains to Tony Randall that Ms. Day's character is a Demi-virgin: tried it once and did not like it.

36. Pea jackets : PODS. Another nice misdirection if you know what a Pea Coat is.

38. Amber, for one : RESIN. made famous in the Jurassic Park movie and book.

40. Caroling consequences : RED NOSES. Nice visual.

43. Pressing needs? : IRONS. Again, a double clue.

46. Twisting force : TORQUE.

47. Stimulate : AROUSE. Did my BRA pic arouse anyone?

48. First stage of grief : DENIAL. Or are you all from Egypt and swim in the river.

49. Serious players : JOCKS. Also a strap word; hmm a mini theme maybe.

50. Like Mount Rushmore at night : UPLIT. Nothing to do with UPSKIRT, but like this

51. High maintenance : NEEDY. Five letters, hell, it had to be PEGGY, my first wife!

54. Many ages : AEON.

55. Dict. entries : DEFS. Definitions.

57. Food fought over in old food ads : EGGO. Leggo my eggo.

58. "Man, it's hot!" : WHEW. Yes, it is but we are almost done.

59. Red gp. : SSRS. Okay enough of this clue!

62. Rejection : NAY. Please do not go away mad, just time to go away.

Answer grid.

Once again a fun Friday romp in Marti's world; watch out for Isaac and get ready for Monday's party.

Until next time I leave you with this SONG. (2:38)

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few wonderful pictures from Spitzboov's Navy reunion trip last week to Groton, CT. I just love the third picture of him and his lovely wife Betty.

Thursday, August 23, 2012 Richard F. Mausser

Theme: Where in the world...?

17A. Cairo's location? : FIFTY ACROSS. Why, it's 50A. "Aida" setting : EGYPT!

61A. Havana's location? : SEVEN ACROSS. And that would be 7A. It's east of Yucatán : CUBA

11D. Jerusalem's location? : TWELVE DOWN. Of course, we find 12D. Mount Carmel locale : ISRAEL

28D. Lima's location? : THIRTY DOWN. And finally, we go to 30D. Cole Porter's Indiana hometown : PERU

Fun theme, with a word search to find the locales hinted at by the theme entries. I loved this unique theme, using crossword locations to find geographical locales!

Marti here. I got back from the races in Saratoga, unpacked, then re-packed to go down to the Cape for a few days. I got home late in the evening, just in time to sort out the rest...

Across:

1. Chandelier danglers : PRISMS. One prism on my antique Viennese chandelier cost me $25 to replace...At that rate, I could sell the chandelier and pay off the mortgage!

11. Nervous reaction : TIC

14. Prophet in Babylon : DANIEL

15. Short mystery writer? : ANON. HaHa!! loved this clue.

16. Evergreen State sch. : WSU. Washington State University. And 18D. 16-Across mascot : COUGAR

19. Miss a fly : ERR. I assume that would mean, missing a fly ball in baseball??

20. Get licked by : LOSE TO.

21. Place to fill a flask : CHEM LAB. Not my first thought on this one!

23. She played Honey in "Dr. No" : URSULA. Andress. This chick.

25. Flood zone structure : LEVEE

26. Letters followed by a colon : HTTP

29. [I'm in trouble!] : GULP

31. Neuter, as a stallion : GELD

32. Backrub response : AAH

33. Short race : DRAG. I never could understand this sport...seems like a waste of good rubber, to me!

35. "Holy Toledo!" : EGAD

37. More succulent : JUICIER

39. Breakfast in a bar : GRANOLA

42. Red herring : RUSE

43. Paint ineptly : DAUB. Like this one?

44. Walked away with : WON

45. Two-timers : RATS

47. Briquettes, e.g. : FUEL. Charcoal briquettes used to fuel the grill...

49. Exclusively : ONLY

52. Texas slugger Cruz : NELSON.

55. Where some manners are important : BEDSIDE

57. Sports negotiating group : OWNERS

60. "Need ___ on?" : I GO. Why...I must!

64. Blue ___ : LAW. Blue Laws mostly have to do with the prohibition of alcohol sales on Sundays...but in Illinois, it also relates to car sales! (Go figure!)

65. Sheet music symbol : CLEF

66. Bit of roller coaster drama : PLUNGE. Yikes!

67. Hosp. worker : LPN. Licensed Practical Nurse.

68. Help with an answer : HINT. I could have used a few when solving this one!

69. It has 100 seats : SENATE

Down:

1. Common email attachment format : PDF. Portable Document Format.

2. Support bar : RAIL

3. What FAQs offer : INFO

4. Shows interest : SITS UP

5. Filmmaker Russ : MEYER. He is best known for his low-budget sexploitation films that featured campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women. Sounds like he would fit right in on this blog!

6. Mattress supports : SLATS

7. Caboose, for one : CAR

8. Petroleum giant that merged with Chevron in 2005 : UNOCAL. New to me.

9. Hogwash : BOSH

10. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL. Stunning photographs!

13. Kept in check : CURBED

22. Fox of "Transformers" : MEGAN. You like her?

24. Big galoot : LUG

26. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I haven't read it (yet). You?

27. Upsilon preceder : TAU

33. Bad-mouth : DIS

34. Diver's domain : REEF

36. Debatable "gift" : GAB

38. Crescent moon points : CUSPS

39. Tank unit : GALLON

40. "OMG, too funny!" : LOL. "Laugh Out Loud!"

41. "___ volunteers?" : ANY

43. What makes an amp damp? : DEE. Did the clue fool you?

45. Send a new invoice to : REBILL

46. Marital challenge, perhaps : AGE GAP. Oh, I don't know...some of my best husbands were older than me!

48. Rugged : UNEVEN

49. Like many an extra-inning game : ONE RUN

51. Former CBS head Laurence : TISCH. Needed all the perps for this one!

53. Trades : SWAPS

54. Réunion attendee : ONCLE. French for "uncle".

56. Lunch spot : DELI

58. Novelest Jaffe : RONA

59. USAF rank above senior airman : SSGT. Staff Sergeant.

62. Newt, once : EFT

63. Make sure : SEE

Answer grid.

Until next Thursday,

Hugs!
Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Tinbeni! I'm raising my mug of soy milk, Cheers!