Saturday, Jul 6th, 2013, Bill Thompson

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,J,V,X)

Blocks: 26

  Now that's what I call a Saturday grid~!  Triple 8's and 6's in the across AND down corners, with a grid spanner, AND a grid climber, to boot~!  Mr. Thompson was last seen here over a year ago with his "Box Set"; I have not had the "39A".  Completely intimidating, but with a few educated fills from crossword experience and a lot of WAGs, I did get this one done, and in a relatively short time.  Here's the 15-letter answers:

35A. Film based on junk science, say : SCHLOCKUMENTARY - anyone think of an example~?

8D. Biased interview features : LOADED QUESTIONS

And some of the others;

36D. Licorice stick in a pit : CLARINET - HA~!  I get it~!

 

And I am guessing some of you are wondering what happened with miss Home Depot?

63A. Premature plot giveaways, e.g. : SPOILERS - can't tell you now....have to wait to the end~!

Oscar-November-Whiskey-Alfa-Romeo-Delta~!

ACROSS:

1. Onetime college All-Star football game : HULA BOWL - Once I had HU--, I WAGed the rest

9. "Hasn't scratched yet!" cleanser : BON AMI

 

15. Song played at the 1920 Olympics when music for the Italian national anthem could not be found : "O SOLE MIO" - one of the educated crossword fills

16. Enmity : ANIMUS

17. Colorful headwear : BANDANNA - the second (er, third) "N" got me; I went with BANDANAS, since headwear could be plural

18. Sorbetto alternative : GELATO - oops~! put in GelatI

19. Sister : NUN - I have a friend, Sister Barbara, in the "Friends of Bill W." clan - she is a character, let me tell you; I used to joke that she could get thru the "Third Step" (the one about God) easier, because she has the 'hot-line' somewhere in the nuns' Villa....

20. Blitzes, in old football lingo : RED DOGS - I did not know this; it was mostly perps for me

22. RSA neighbor, in the Olympics : ZIMbabwe - map

23. Grizzlies, in Granada : OSOs

25. Not at all swank : SEEDY

26. "He who hath many friends hath __": Aristotle : NONE - this is my take on people who go around claming they have 763 "friends" on Facebook - I am probably the last 42yr-old who still does not have a presence there; I am trying to get my H.I. business a page - anyone help me with that?

27. Did some farm work : BALED

29. "Crusade in Europe" memoirist, initially : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower, seemed like a good choice to me (I also had D-E....)

30. "Bouquet of Sunflowers" painter : MONET

 

31. Have a life : ARE

33. More unsettled : QUEASIER - as in one's stomach

39. Delight : PLEASURE

40. Czech sci-fi play : RUR - Nailed it, but not saying much; crossword standard

41. Pulls down : EARNS

42. Fire proof : ASH - had a bonfire while the English family was here; the next day the neighbor complained the smoke was getting in his house; too bad his windows are closed with the A/C units runnning....

44. Like infant fingers : PUDGY

48. First Nations tribe : CREE

49. Skirts that come in bell and pancake styles : TUTUs - not my kind of skirt, as you know

51. Insignificant : MERE

52. Rx instruction : t.i.d. - ter in die, Three Times a Day

53. Pros : ARTISTS

55. Decline : SAG

56. Strand, in a way : ENISLE

58. "Absolutely!" : "OH YES I DO~!" - ooh, four-word answer~!

60. Wrap again, as an ankle : RETAPE - ah, I had REBAND, and I knew it wasn't quite right

61. Cared for : NURTURED

62. Cut and dried? : STYLED - hair-dos; Lilia had a ponytail today....


DOWN:

1. Mingle (with) : HOB-NOB - and I did so with her last evening....

2. 1992 Dream Team chant : USA~! USA~!

3. Cambodian leader ousted by the Khmer Rouge : LON NOL

4. City pol. : ALD. - This filled in via perps; I have never heard this term, either

5. Support : BEAR - Could have been beaM, too, which is what I had

6. Exeunt __: stage direction : OMNES - All go off stage - hey~! my high school Latin came in handy~!

7. Breathless : WINDED

9. Like some jeans : BAGGY - not FADED, like Lilia's....

10. People : ONES - the "ones" over there

11. Cipher : NIL - well, it's a stretch, but with the absence of "0" in Roman times....more here

12. Vast rainforest : AMAZONIA - AMAZON was too short; then the -IA filled, and the V-8 can flew....

13. Bounty rebel : MUTINEER - Mutiny on the Bounty - not the paper towel

14. Equality of measure : ISOMETRY

21. Concert hall : ODEUM

24. Pirate's hunting ground : SEA LANE

26. Medicine show elixir : NOSTRUM - "a medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness" - Merriam Webster

28. Refuse : DROSS - Ooh, I was close - I went with DREGS - a noun and not a verb

30. Put on one's big-boy pants : MAN-UP - Like this commercial~?

32. Old coin with an accented first letter : ÉCU - another "educated crossword experience"

34. Poetic adverb : E'ER - went with o'er first

35. Haunting images : SPECTERS - here's a song from "Spectres", Blue Öyster Cult

37. Trait determinant : HEREDITY

38. Brat topper : KRAUT - ah, the food; I was thinking "TIARA", as in Toddlers & Tiaras

43. Keep under wraps : HUSH UP

45. Really fancy : DESIRE - the verb, to fancy - as I do Lilia

46. Teacher, during exam week : GRADER

47. "Mercy me!" : YE GODS~! - so? so? what happened at HD~?....

49. Stuck up? : TREED - stuck, UP, in a tree~!

50. Prefix in a Dow trademark : STYRO - Dow the chemical company, and their extruded polystyrene foam

53. Suisse peak : ALPE - just the "European" spelling for Alp

54. "Contact" acronym : SETI - Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence - and another BÖC song~!

57. Baseball's Bando : SAL - I leave it to you, C.C. (Wiki talks. He let Paul Molitor go!)

59. Oporto-to-Lisbon direção : SUL - straight up Portuguese for south

OK - Home Depot & Lilia....Um, well, the conversation went really well, and while Lilia was mixing my paint, she was telling me all about being Russian, and living in New York....so when I asked if she would like to carry on this conversation over coffee, she said....
she was married.

DAH~!  I couldn't believe it.  Two years.  BUT - then she says, "give me your number, and when I go out with my friends, I'll call you" - apparently, her hubby is not much of a party guy.  We will see....

Splynter

Friday, July 5, 2013, Robyn Weintraub

Theme: FREE THROW LANE, the ultimate Clecho..

In basketball the rectangular area under and away from the basket is known as the KEY, which is our clue for all four theme answers. Last week I was not sure how to present the theme, today it presents itself.  If you want to know more about BASKETBALL and the court, click the link. You can read about our constructor HERE. This our third from Robyn who had two Monday LATs and two others published by the NYT. This is a classic "same clue for all themes fill" puzzle with 4  long fill, two 13s and two 14s. As befitting a Friday there was difficulty and some wit, but overall I enjoyed her Mondays more. I actually like FREE THROW LANE better than the PADLOCK OPENER which seems arbitrary (why pad not regular lock?) but I have never made a puzzle so it might be a foolish suggestion, but for me if you do this big clecho (by now all you newbies understand the term our Dennis coined and had been approved by the official URBAN DICTIONARY), you need to have some tricky and fun theme fill. Well let us take a slow post Holiday walk into Robyn's mind.

20A. Key : PADLOCK OPENER.  (13). A simple literal fill.

27A. Key : ANTHEM LYRICIST. (14). Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer who wrote the Star Spangled Banner after watching the British bombard Fort McHenry. LINK.

42A. Key : MAP EXPLANATION. (14).Where they tell you one inch equals ten miles.

50A. Key : FLORIDA ISLAND.  (13). Also spelled Cay. Have you ever driven to Key West? Hemingway's influence is still strong.

Across:

1. Break the rules : CHEAT. We begin with a rule breaker.

6. "___ difference" : SAME. An odd phrase which probably comes from same thing, no difference..

10. Apothecary's measure : DRAM. When I was young pharmacists still made most of the things they sold, based on a Doctor's instruction and drams are the common measure. Since then big Pharma took over making medicines.

14. Refuse : SAY NO. To drugs.

15. Buck : CLAM. Idioms for money.

16. Quite : OH SO. All perps but if you think, oh so good, then it fits.

17. Update, perhaps : AMEND. Pleadings are amended all of the time. Not to be confused with EMEND.

18. Ingredient from the garden : HERB. We need to get Herb out of the garden and to get a job.

19. "Copacabana" guy who "went a bit too far" : RICO.

His name was Rico, he wore a diamond

He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancin' there

And when she finished, he called her over

But Rico went a bit too far, Tony sailed across the bar

23. Eye-catching wrap : BOA. I hope you have never been hit in the eye with one of these as they are swung around; it stings.

25. ___-tzu : LAO. The founder of Taoism? It reminds me of Tuesday's video and COW TSE TONGUE.

26. Exorcism targets : DEMONS. Anyone read Dan Brown's new book?

31. Keep happening : RECUR.

32. Some tributes : ODES. Can someone write an ODE to this oft used clue?

33. Gus ___, subject of the 1951 biopic "I'll See You in My Dreams" : KAHN. No memory of the man, a famous Lyricist (mini-theme?) or the movie. His music is part of the Liberace MOVIE.

34. Touch type? : MIDAS. Golden, and very tricky.

36. Treaters of boxers : VETS. Yes the woof woof kind, a shout out to the prolific Gareth Bain. Wonderful animal sleeping video Dennis. More of the puzzle going to the dogs, 23D. Lab output? : BARK.

40. ___ novel : DIME. Read WIKI.

41. Three-time NFL MVP : FAVRE. Brett. He also was in a movie, remember?

47. Joseph Kennedy's middle daughter : EUNICE. She married R. Sargent Shriver. As well as being the mother of Maria, Arnold's ex-wife; this Kennedy started the Special Olympics.

48. Mark Thackeray, to his students, in a 1967 film : SIR. Really too obscure for me, but once revealed by perps I knew the ROLE.(0:20).

49. Fleur-de-___ : LYS. I always think of this lily as LIS.

54. Hip bones : ILIA. This is becoming a popular fill.

55. Calamine target : BITE. Insect ones usually, also used for poison ivy.

56. Went a-courting : WOOED. Old fashioned clue and old fashioned fill.

59. Period of sacrifice : LENT.

60. War god : ARES. Three weeks in a row?

61. ___ football : ARENA. It is their season for this indoor game. This odd indoor spring/summer football did give us this QB.

62. Feminine suffix : ETTE. Like Smurfette.

63. 6-Down rooms : GYMS. and, 6D. Hogwarts, e.g. : SCHOOL. All schools have gymnasiums, right?

64. Golf scorecard word : YARDS. In the US, the length of each hole is shown in yards.

Down:

1. Lee side: Abbr. : CSA. Confederate States of America. If you have three letter fill this tricky, it is all good, as we usually are bombarded with leeward and alee, and to slip in a Robert E. was well done.

2. Seuss title food : HAM. Green Eggs anyone?

3. 44-Down accessory : EYE PATCH. and 44D. 3-Down wearer : PIRATE. Arrgh.

4. Wintour of fashion : ANNA. This designer, editor and all around in VOGUE woman.

5. One prone to falling : TODDLER. This is a sweet and somewhat poignant clue as Charlotte now stands.

7. Smart ___ : ALEC.

8. A, ideally : MARK.

9. Personifies : EMBODIES.

10. "The Sound of Music" song : DO RE MI. Classic Julie Andrews SONG.(4:51).

11. Large-horned mammals : RHINOS. Twice this week, it must be mating season.

12. Trip up : ASCENT. Nicely done, a trip UP, not a tripup.

13. Othello et al. : MOORS. Do any of us recall who they were?  A learning LESSON?

21. Flee : LAM. Another repeat.

22. Push-up targets : PECS. Pectoral; like young Arnold?

24. Most fit for duty : ONE A. Draft status.

28. Fifth-century invader : HUN. Attila anyone?

29. Feature of bluegrass singing : YODEL.

30. Nutritional stat : RDA.

34. Hodgepodge : MIXED BAG. There are a POTPOURRI of answers here.

35. Calvin of comics, for one : IMP. Really, Calvin is a sweetheart, it is Hobbes who keeps getting him in trouble.

36. Large vessel : VAT. Not for the sea, but for holding stuff.

37. Superhero's nemesis : EVIL DOER. Really?

38. Metal-measure word : TROY. If you had an ounce of sense you got this easily; the reason for the variant spelling of LIS. We could have had Deanna, well actually we could not.

39. D.C. bigwigs : SENS. Senators.

40. Prefix with liter : DECI. My least favorite liter. 1/10 th of a liter, or about 3.3 ounces. Only a good measure if you are visiting Casa Incognito.

41. Like some unfocused looks : FARAWAY.

42. Popular '80s-'90s do : MULLET. Billy Ray Cyrus anyone?

43. Consecrate, in a way : ANOINT. Before or after washing the feet?

45. Take stock of : ASSESS.

46. Zip : NIL. No comment, zilch, zero, nada, rien.

47. System used for most returns : E-FILE. Income tax returns not bad purchases. E-filing has come to the courts and man is it a mess.

51. Well-ventilated : AIRY. Yes the family room is quite well ventilated.

52. Two stars, maybe : ITEM.

53. Asta's "mom" : NORA. Myrna Loy.

57. English fin : END. French FIN (sounds more like fan) from which we get finsih, which I almost have, but we have to come full circle as we started with a cheat and now we have someone to deal with that.

58. Court VIPs : DAs. District Attorneys.

Well if anyone is out there after the rare Thursday holiday, I hope you enjoyed the show and see you next time. Lemonade leaving you with a memory from my youth when we used to drive 26 miles to go to this DELI. Thanks Robyn.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to another lovely Linda in our blog!  Like our LaLaLinda, this Linda is also very caring and thoughtful.  She still shows up on the blog occasionally.

This picture is from Linda's 50th wedding anniversary in 2011. She said then:

"Being a non-traditionalist, I chose lavender, pink and white as my color theme. Those were our wedding colors. The cake topper is the original one.  Note the photo at lower left of us cutting the first cake"