Saturday, Apr 23rd, 2016, Doug Peterson & Patti Varol

Theme: DP & PV

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  It's like déjà vu all over again~!  This duo had a Saturday offering just three weeks ago.  When it came up today, I thought I signed in to the wrong date.  Unlike that last grid, this has only one spanner, plus a 13-letter climber, four 10-, and two 9-letter fills as well.  I also smoked through this one in near record time, and without any look-ups or red-letter cheats.  The long answers;

35a. Side with waves : CRINKLE-CUT FRIES - I like my fries close to burned

15d. Bug on the road : CLASSIC BEETLE

sha-na-nOn-WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Loves to solve, say? : ANAGRAM - excellent way to start off a crossword puzzle - we all loves to solve, don't we~?  I got the misdirection immediately

8. Mavens : SHARKS

14. Sudden and swift : METEORIC - like a rise to fame

16.* Company that annually honors "Women of Worth" : L'OREAL

17. Batter's dream : MEAT BALL - never heard the term; I am sure C.C. knows all about this

18.* 2015 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee : O'MEARA

19. Action figures? : ODDS - har-har

20. 1954 film based on the short story "It Had to Be Murder" : REAR WINDOW

22. Four-time Australian Open winner : AGASSI

24.* LBJ theater : 'NAM - a few apostrophe answers this week *

25. Key of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 : E FLAT - ha-HA~!  I put in " _ FLAT" and waited on perps~!

27. Fix, as a toy : SPAY - oh, clever.  I went with MEND, but this refers to the 'toy' dog

29. Kisser : YAP - not GOB

32. Weapon with a nock : ARROW

33. Subatomic particle : PION - I WAGed MUon, and that was 100% 50% correct

34. Former Italian statesman Moro : ALDO - perps and WAGs

38. Rapper Nate : DOGG - According to Wiki, he's a cousin of "Snoop"

39. Obligation : DEBT

40. Copious : AMPLE

41. Second-century date : CLI - well, I threw in "C", and waited

42. Sister of Dakota : ELLE - filled in via perps; I know Dakota was the little girl in the remake of "War of the Worlds", but forgot she was the little girl in "Man on Fire", too.  She's grown up....

43. Got up : AROSE

44. Dig for hard-to-get clams? : DUN - I gotta tell ya, I just don't get this.  I thought "ATM" was a clever answer, but no

46. Harder to hold : EELIER - and then I nailed this one

48. "Ocean's 11" co-star : DEAN MARTIN - ah, the original.  I am a big fan of the remake, personally

51. Dog with a typically blue-black tongue : CHOW - I knew this because my room-mate in Cincinnati Ohio had one - the dog, that is....

55. They often drive people home : RBI MEN - more baseball

56. Leave alone : LET SLIDE - I parsed this as Lets Lide, and it didn't jive

58. Check : ARREST

59. Tangled up : ENSNARED - clecho with; 42. Tangle up : ENMESH - having the answers both be "EN" words seems a bit borderline

60. Sturm und Drang novelist : GOETHE - I was curious; the Wiki

61. Fusible alloys : SOLDERS - I am constructing a bathroom in the house, complete with Jacuzzi.  Nice.  I am going to build a copper manifold - using solder.  After I install that in the crawlspace, I'm running PEX to the fixtures.  So far, so good.

Not me

DOWN:

1. Shell collection : AMMO - well, I had the "A", so I went with this, tho I do not see an abbrvtn in the clue

2. Grant factor : NEED

3. Ever so slightly : A TAD

4. Plays nice : GETS ALONG

5. Deprive : ROB

6. Dormant Turkish volcano : ARARAT - I knew it was the landing site of Noah's Ark, but not that it was a volcano

7. Quite a distance : MILES - great name for your chauffeur, too

8. Yawn-inducing : SLOW

9. Corny stuff : HOMINY

10. Staples Center, e.g. : ARENA - home of the LA Kings from the NHL

11. Statement before taxes are dealt with? : READ MY LIPS - and a direct quote in this song from Megadeth;

George Bush @ 2:42

12. Pecan pie syrup : KARO - I got this - and I don't bake

13. Popular side : SLAW

21. Remove roughly : RIP OUT - like, say, splynters~!!!

23. Rubberneck : GAWK - viz. 15d.

25. Tasmanian-born Flynn : ERROL - first Flynn I thought of

26. Appliance brand owned by Electrolux : FRIGIDAIRE - didn't know this fact, but the word fit....

28. Pangolin snack : ANT - whoa~!  I have never heard of or seen this animal before - now I want one - and we have an ant problem in the house, too

30. Oscar winner for "Skyfall" : ADELE - gratuitous image for C.C.

31. Ask : POSE

32. "Rock or Bust" band : AC/DC - perps got me A - - C; pretty much a gimme for me

33. Kitchen tool : PEELER

34. Like jousters : ARMOR-CLAD

36. Cholesterol letters : LDL

37. What's on the menu : FARE

43.* "You're lyin'!" : AIN'T SO

45. Yet to be fulfilled : UNMET

47. Legal claims : LIENS

48. Main __ : DRAG - Squeeze and Street didn't fit

49. The Aragón feeds it : EBRO - see map, below

50. It may precede a deal : ANTE

52. Bring on : HIRE

53. River to the Baltic : ODER - see map, below

 and nearly another anagram, too

54. Forms a union : WEDS

57. Show with Kenan Thompson, briefly : SNL

Splynter

Friday, April 22, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: You begin please,  Auntie Em.

JW our resident Friday wizard of puz is here with back to back puzzles. Today he presents us with a vertical challenge in which EM is added to four 2 word phrases, changing the meaning and clued for whimsy. Each theme answer and the reveal are in Down answers. Overall I found this easier once I gave in to the theme existing only in the Downs. The two symmetrical grid spanners surround two 12 letter fill with a 9 letter reveal which mirrors 1 down.  This tantalized me for a bit with the ME therein thinking maybe there was going to a reverse fill of some sort. But it made no sense, so I moved on knowing it was not part of the theme.

The grid is an unusual one, and checking the NYT database (I do not know of one for the LAT) it is unique. The double sevens bracketing the 15 letter theme fill and triple sixes under a seven in the SW and NE corners with a bunch of stacked three letter fill. The longer non-theme fill is typical JW with many multiple words. IN A CAGE,  ESCORTS,  UP TO NOW,  SCENE VI, GROANER, STORMED IN. HOME ALONE. EURO COINS.  Okay off we go....

3D. Lining with raised decorations? : EMBOSSING AROUND (15). My least favorite, while the underlying phrase is fun (bossing around) and embossing is a fine transformation, I do not get lining or AROUND.

6D. Mideast leader's personal CPA? : EMIRS AUDITOR (12). This however is very cute and the IRS auditor goes to work in Saudi Arabia.

22D. Snoopy starting a trip? : EMBARKING DOG (12). Simple and sweet.

11D. Insurance for royalty? : EMPRESS COVERAGE (15). Press coverage is a basketball term that may not be familiar to all, but the perps were very fair.

36D. Robber's demand ... or what to do to solve four long puzzle answers? : STICK 'EM UP(9). Again, with all the three letter fill this overall was not hard.

I also want you to watch for classic clues/fill from the Greek/Roman world.

Across:

1. "For __ had eyes, and chose me": Othello : SHE. Sweet Desdemona begins our Friday journey.

4. Utterly failed at : BLEW. A somewhat modern usage.

8. With great urgency : DIRELY. The dire wolves are back Sunday!

14. Gobbler : TOM. What cool trivia; I learned from the interweb only the adult male turkey makes the gobble, gobble sound. The adult male is called the "tom" turkey. The female or hen turkey makes a gentle clucking or clicking sound. The hen never gobbles.

15. Blue-skinned deity : RAMA. Interesting HISTORY. But why  BLUE? Worth a read.

16. Ferrous sulfate target : ANEMIA. A form of iron used for iron deficiency anemia.

17. Fed. financial agency : OMB. Office of Management and Budget works for the President.

18. "Metamorphoses" poet : OVID. I studied this WORK in Latin, a very influential piece.

19. How pooches' smooches are delivered : DAMPLY. Cute especially if you like dogs and have been slobbered.

20. Model T contemporary : REO. Named after Mr. Olds. Then, 33D. Bygone small car : GEO.

21. "The Iliad" subject : WAR.We also have this important Greek TOME.

22. Goes with : ESCORTS. No DF here.

23. Ancient theater props : MASKS. More from the Classics.

25. Added result : SUM.

27. Bellicose deity : ARES. More from the classics. Ares is the Greek god of war, one of the Twelve Olympian gods and the son of Zeus and Hera.

28. Pitcher of milk? : ELSIE. For Borden.

29. It may include a model, briefly : APB. All Points Bulletin. Presumably a make and model of car.

30. Pumped item : GAS.

31. "Now!" : DO IT.

32. Storm consequence : OUTAGE. Power, phone and cable.

34. French possessive pronoun : SES. In French this to me is outright wrong; ses is a possessive adjective that must be attached to a noun. The possessive pronouns in French are like 45D. Yuma : Yours :: Toulouse : à ___ : TOI. In English the pronouns and the adjectives are the same word. Of course this is all from memory from 55 years ago, so Kazie, C. C. tell me if I am wrong...the adjectives.

my                   mon     ma mes
your                 ton       ta         tes
his, her, its son      sa         ses
our                 notre    notre nos
your               votre    votre vos
their                 leur     leur leurs

37. Priceline options : INNS. They hired Shatner back.

38. Have a special place for : ADORE.

39. __ work: menial labor : SCUT. This comes either from the Irish word for meaningless or maybe the medical profession.

40. Batt. terminal : NEGative.

41. Plastered : STINKO.

42. Amos with eight Grammy nominations : TORI.

43. "Castle" producer : ABC. About to be cancelled.

46. Ruination : HAVOC. It is listed as a synonym but not my first thought.

47. __-dieu : PRIE.

48. Take responsibility for : OWN. Another modern usage, I guess from the old saying own up to.

49. Hair care brand since 1930 : BRECK. You remember this Breck girl?

50. Pun, sometimes : GROANER.

52. Motor Trend's 1968 Car of the Year : GTO. By Pontiac. My brother's was blue.

54. Eggs on toast, perhaps : ROE. Fish eggs, silly. Oh, you were not...

55. Diverted : AMUSED.

56. Dutch export : EDAM. Cheese again.

57. Desired result : AIM.

58. Swiss city, to most locals : GENEVE. Geneva to the rest of us.

59. The Taj Mahal, e.g. : TOMB. It is a mausoleum with a specific tomb as its inspiration, I think. LINK.

60. African bovine : GNU. Bearded....

61. Turns out to be : ENDS IN. This was really a struggle.

62. Elements in vital statistics : AGES.

63. Dubious communication method : ESP.

Down:

1. Entered angrily : STORMED IN.

2. Huge holiday film : HOME ALONE. Where are you Macaulay? This is more than 25 years old.

4. Window-shop : BROWSE.

5. Kilauea sight : LAVA.

7. Singles group, e.g.? : WAD.  Funny, especially with other meanings aside from  "a large amount of paper money, usually in a wallet or pants pocket. Sometimes referred to as "a wad of dough.'"

8. June honorees : DADS.

9. Visiting the vet, maybe : IN A CAGE.

10. Suckerfish : REMORA. These hitchhikers....

12. Light melodies : LILTS.

13. Appreciative shouts : YAYS.

24. They encourage modeling : KITS.

26. As yet : UP TO NOW.

32. Word with meal or cake : OAT.

35. Change overseas, maybe : EURO COINS. They introduced a new one last week. LINK.

39. George Clooney, for one : STAR.

41. When in Act I Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle : SCENE VI. Double Shakespeare this week.

44. Slants : BIASES.

46. Cold War threats : H BOMBS.

47. Spin docs : P R MEN.

50. "Eleni" author Nicholas : GAGE.

51. Perfect place : EDEN. If you like gardens.

53. Not that exciting : TAME.

56. H-like letter : ETA. The seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, only the capital looks like ( Η, η).

Eta is an anagram of eat: i will be eating well this week end at the annual seder that begins the Passover holiday with my family all in attendance. Meanwhile, I hope you ate up JW's latest, which included no yeast so it is kosher for Passover. Until next time, Lemonade out.

Thursday, April 21st, 2016 Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: Fruit B-olio. Scrambles begin the theme entries:

18A. *Unit in a bowl : LUMP OF SUGAR. Plum. It's the UK's Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday today. She takes two lumps of sugar in her tea.

39A. *Website for do-it-yourselfers : WIKIHOW. Kiwi. For a while in the 90's, you couldn't order an entrée in a restaurant without it arriving with a kiwi fruit garnish, or compôte, or drizzle, or glaze, or something. Sanity finally prevailed.

61A. *Fast pace : MILE A MINUTE. Lime. I've got one in my drink as we speak. I just took delivery of a new car, and was startled to discover that it can do rather more than a mile a minute - the top speed is listed as 155 MPH. Yikes.

3D. *Skinflint : CHEAPSKATE. Peach. Seeing the word "peach" always triggers my memory of "Each Peach Pear Plum - Here Comes Tom Thumb" - a book I used to read to my daughter when she was little.

31D. Tasty mélange ... and a literal hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues : MIXED FRUIT. Olio.

Suitably crunchy Thursday from Gerry - I had quite a few blank areas after the first pass, and the theme reveal wasn't helping, but then a couple of missteps corrected (PELTS/PEELS and MOHR/MORA) and things fell into place. I'm always impressed by how constructors come up with the puzzle themes, and how to make the theme work, and this one is a great example of across-and-down organization. Good stuff. Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. "Grey's Anatomy" airer : ABC

4. Skins to remove : PEELS

9. Non-shaving razor name? : OCCAM. I always have to look up what Occam's Razor actually states. I can never remember it. Repeat after me: "Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected."

14. Scrooge word : BAH. Humbug.

15. Brilliance : ÉCLAT. Is a stroke of brilliance a coup d'éclat? *drops mic*

16. San Antonio landmark : ALAMO. The car rental lot at the airport. No?

17. Roger Clemens, for one : ACE

20. Layered rock : SHALE

22. "Sorry, we're full" sign : SRO. Not quite full if there's still Standing Room Only.

23. Test release : BETA. Pre-release phase for software. When I was coding we called the pre-beta a "smoke test" - you'd see if the program caught fire when you ran it.

24. Glimpse : ESPY. If you catch sight of a sports award you might espy an ESPY.

25. Make fun of : JEER AT

27. Sportscast staple : SLO-MO

30. Set boundaries : DELIMIT. This took a while to parse "set" as a verb rather than a noun.

34. Tour de France, e.g. : BIKE RACE

37. Nikon competitor : LEICA

38. LAX datum : ETA. My ETA at LAX on Friday is 10:05PM - end of a long week.

42. Gen-__ : X-ER. "ED" didn't fit, "SCI" was a class I took in England and doesn't exist here (third period on Monday morning, I can still remember the timetable). X-ER finally dawned on me.

43. Don't bother : LET BE. Close enough for a quick link to Sir Paul.

45. Exercise result, all too often : SORENESS

47. Rose support : TRELLIS

50. Made the last move, in a way : MATED. Here's the "Fool's Mate" moves on the chessboard. Checkmate in two moves:

1. f3 e5

2. g4? Qh4#

 
Ooops.

51. Later years : OLD AGE

53. Degs. for writers : MFAS. Masters of Fine Arts.

56. Weakness : FLAW

59. Look over : EYE

60. Sherlock Holmes enemy Colonel Sebastian __ : MORAN. I really wanted MORIARTY but I ran out of squares.

65. One in Paris : UNE

66. Tart : ACERB. Like the lime in my drink.

67. David's role on "Frasier" : NILES. Great character played by David Hyde Pierce.

68. Chemical ending : -IDE

69. Eponymous trailblazer Chisholm : JESSE. The Texas-to-Kansas cattle trail.

70. Davis of "A League of Their Own" : GEENA

71. Thrice, in Rx's : TER. I never remember these. Marti would have eaten this clue for breakfast. I miss her (hugs) on a Thursday.

Down:

1. Belittle : ABASE

2. Family with several notable composers : BACHS

4. Athlete nicknamed "O Rei do Futebol" : PELÉ. "The King of Football" in Portuguese. The Brazilian great. I love the story of the Scottish team (Partick Thistle) coach, who, upon learning that his striker was concussed and "didn't know who his was", responded "Tell him he's Pelé and put him back on".

5. Old French coin : ECU

6. Name of more than 5,000 U.S. streets : ELM. Plenty of Nightmares.

7. Sign of forgetfulness : LAPSE

8. Kept in reserve : STORED

9. Western defense gp. : O.A.S. The Organization of American States. I didn't know this was a thing.

10. Neckwear denoting affiliation : CLUB TIE. Here are three members of the MCC (the founding body of English cricket) at Lord's ground in London, proving that an august organization doesn't necessarily exhibit the best judgment in color coordination. The tie is nicknamed "the scrambled egg".

11. Zoo sight : CAGE

12. Latin 101 word : AMAT. AMA- and wait for the cross.

13. UCLA Bruins coach Jim : MORA

19. A conspicuous position, with "the" : FORE

21. Singer Lovett : LYLE. Could have been golfer Sandy, prone to yelling 19D, and also being Scottish, AKA a ...

25. College athlete : JOCK

26. Completely incorrect : ALL WET. A new one for me. I'd never heard this phrase before.

28. "Big Brother" creator : ORWELL. The wonderful novel "1984", not the execrable reality series.

29. Le cinquième mois : MAI. Portuguese and French today. The fifth month. Janvier, Février, Mars, Avril, MAI. Thank you, high school French classes.

32. Secures, as a victory : ICES

33. Sailors : TARS

34. Corn __ : BELT

35. Road to the Forum : ITER. Seems to be familiar, it's cropped up a few times lately.

36. Mixgetränk cube : EIS. Oh, add German to the language mix today. Mixed Drink. Which is what my lime is in.

40. Strikes may cross it : HOME. C.C. undoubtedly nailed this one. Home Plate. Strike Zone. Baseball. STRIKE THREE! I love dramatic umpires.

41. Man-mouse connector : OR A. Are you?

44. Fall noisemakers : BLOWERS. Fall? Not here in LA - year-round.

46. Verne captain : NEMO.

48. As above, in a footnote : IDEM. Compare and contrast with ibid. Your essays are due by Friday, please.

49. Saw : SAYING

52. Lamp output, if you're lucky : GENIE. "And ix-nay on wishing for more wishes".

54. "Intervention" channel : A AND E

55. Expression for Ozymandias : SNEER. I love this poem. Shelley's masterwork:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said—"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . .Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

56. Key of the first two Brandenburg Concertos: Abbr. : F MAJ - -M-- and wait for the crosses!

57. Bothersome bugs : LICE. Eew.

58. Pub quaffs : ALES

60. Southwestern sight : MESA

62. Fiver : ABE. Mr. Lincoln gets the $5 bill.

63. Suffix with glob : -ULE

64. Half a score : TEN. Or two Abes.

And ..... here's the grid.

Steve

Wednesday, April 20, 2016 Clive Probert

Theme: Since FDR is in the grid: CIVIL CONSERVATION CORPS -  or - Do you C the C's I C?  Or, 1.5 x our gracious hostess.  Near as I can tell, that's it. Three-word themers, all with the initial letter C.  Though the middle one is a grid spanner, and the other two fall only one letter short, seems like a rather thin theme concept.

20. Part of the Three Little Pigs' chant : CHINNY CHIN CHIN.  As in, not by the hair of.  Here it is, if you have a spare 8 1/2 minutes.



37. The "Original Formula," soda-wise : COCA COLA CLASSIC.  New COKE fizzed.  No extra charge for the additional 2 C's.

54. Provincetown rental : CAPE COD COTTAGE.  Ours is on the south-west shore of Black Lake.

Not sure what else can be said about it.  Let's proCede and C what we can C.

Across

1. Jellied garnish : ASPIC.  Natural gelatin derived from meat stock, aka glop.

6. Northwestern pear : BOSC.  European variety grown in the NW U.S.

Kinda golden looking

10. Farm youngster : CALF.  Or COLT or LAMB.

14. Good, in Granada : BUENO.   Spanish. Foreign language fill is often indicated by alliteration.

15. Chorus syllables : LA-LA.   Tra followers.

16. Give __ to: approve : A NOD.

17. Trader for whom a northwest Oregon city was named : ASTOR.  John Jacob.

18. __ impasse : AT AN.  I've been there

19. Texas flag symbol : STAR.  

Lone Star State

23. Baby beaver : KIT.

Easy to assemble?

24. Mouse-spotter's shriek : EEK.

25. Extremely well-pitched : NO HIT.  Baseball!

26. Gray shade : ASH.

Hair dye

27. Multilayered, as cakes : TIERED.  Or theater seating.

30. Clean Air Act administrative gp. : Environmental Protection Agency, established in 1970.

33. Heads, in slang : NOBS.   

Up Jack got, and off did trot 
as fast as he could caper; 
to old Dame Dob, 
who patched his NOB
with vinegar and brown paper.

36. Persian Gulf cargo : CRUDE.  Oil

41. "__ go!" : GOTTA.  I'm outa here - but not for a while.  My work here is not yet done.

42. French 101 verb : ETRE.   To be.

43. Pot contents : TEA.  We have a cup of TEA mid-afternoon most days.

44. Bakes, as 50-Acrosses : SHIRRS.   Word derived form the name of the flat bottomed dish in which EGGS were traditionally baked.

Ask me if I'm shirr, but don't egg me on

46. "Star Wars" staples : ETs.  Many varieties of Extra-Terrestrials in those movies.

48. Exit poll target : VOTER.  We'll just do a grand jeté around the politics, and move right along.

Gravity?  What gravity?

50. Breakfast food : EGG.  Cereal doesn't fit.  I'm SHIRR.

51. "Pow!" : BAM.  Bat Man or Emeril - your choice.

57. Roast, in Rouen : ROTI.

58. Antelope Island state : UTAH.  The bee hive state.

59. Lesson at the end : MORAL.  As in Aesop's fables.

60. Arabian Peninsula port : ADEN.   Probably handles some of that CRUDE.

61. Went by skateboard : RODE.   Why skateboard?  Car, bus, SUV, moped, trained mule, Conestoga wagon  .  .  .

62. Take in : ADOPT.  As an orphan.

63. Get one's feet wet : WADE.

64. Mesozoic and Paleozoic : ERAS.  Geological time spans.

65. Slangy craving : JONES.  Gotta have it.

Down

1. One way to be taken : ABACK.

2. Japanese finger food : SUSHI.   Items of vinegar-flavored, cold cooked rice that accompany raw fish, vegetables or EGGS.  SHIRR enough!

3. __ four: teacake : PETIT.  Meaning "small oven," since that's where they were often made, next to the main oven.

4. Privy to : IN ON.  Knowledgeable of.

5. Eye part : CORNEA.   The transparent layer covering the front of the eye.

6. Subject for Stephen Hawking : BLACK HOLE.  Astronomy.

7. Promise : OATH.  

8. Killed, as a dragon : SLAIN.

You go, girl!

9. Is unable to : CAN NOT.  Killing dragons is hard!

10. Supermarket employees : CASHIERS.   Ring 'em up!

11. Like the Sherman Act : ANTI-TRUST.   Anti-monopoly legislation designed to promote competition in industry, passed into law in 1890.

12. Deal with interest : LOAN.  Most bankers find loans to be quite interesting.

13. New Deal pres. : FDR. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president.  

21. Basic question type : YES / NO.

22. Spanish girl : CHICA.

28. Falco of "Oz" : EDIE.   And "The Sopranos,"and "Nurse Jackie."

29. Prefix with pod : DECA-.  Denoting 10-legged critters, an order of crustaceans that includes crayfish, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.   What - no love for squids?!?

30. They record beats per min. : ECGs.  Electrocardiograms check the electrical activity of the heart.

31. Friend of Tigger : POOH.   

Once in a while someone amazing comes along and here I am

32. Switched on : ACTIVATED.

34. Compete in a box : BAT.   Batter's box, the designated place to stand while batting - more baseball.

This kid has hit 8 dingers already.

35. Braking sounds : SCREECHES.   Indicating the linings are worn.

38. Medication used for dilating pupils : ATROPINE.   Also a toxic alkaloid found in nightshade, mandrake and jimson weed.

39. Bistro offering : CARTE.   A French menu.

40. "Unhand me!" : LET GO.  

45. Tie tightly : SECURE.

47. High-ranking NCO : SGT MAJ.  Sargent major, the highest NCO rank in the U.S. Army or Marines, above master sargent and below warrant officer.  

49. Turbine blade : ROTOR.   They go round and round.

51. Industry honcho : BARON.

52. Wide open : AGAPE.

53. Runs down the mountain, maybe : MELTS.  As snow in the Spring.

54. Musical finale : CODA.   From the Italian word for tail.  Often it is an addendum to a formal musical structure containing different but similar and compatible musical content.  

It works like this

55. Man Ray genre : DADA.   Man Ray [1890- 1976] was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in France.

A visual pun

56. Commotion : TO DO.  As in hockey playoffs.

57. Wet behind the ears : RAW.    Expressions indicating someone lacking experience.

OK. All done.  I SHIRR had a BUENO time.  How about you?

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, April 19, 2016 Bruce Haight

 Theme: F-F

17. Maximum impact : FULL FORCE

21. Get dizzy : FEEL FAINT

34. Close pal : FAST FRIEND

43. Healthy, with "in" : FINE FETTLE

58. Beach footwear : FLIP FLOPS

66. Achilles' heel : FATAL FLAW

4. Office cabinet document holder : FILE FOLDER

9. British Invasion nickname : FAB FOUR

32. Six for you, six for me, e.g. : FIFTY-FIFTY

44. On the house : FOR FREE

Argyle here. Underwhelmed by the theme but overwhelmed by the execution of said theme. Ten theme entries covering ninety squares.

Across:

1. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen" : "AS IF ..."

5. "That's clear now" : "I SEE"

9. Honored with a big bash : FETED

14. New Jersey or California city : LODI.



population 24,136



            

15. French champagne maker founded in Germany : MUMM. The French confiscated all of the Mumm's property, although they had lived in Champagne for almost a century before World War I, because they had never become French citizens.

16. Bakery lure : AROMA

19. Olympic racer since 2008 : BMXer. More trouble in Rio.

20. Staggering dizzily : AREEL

23. "__ out!" : FAR

25. Suffix with switch : EROO

26. DJ's stack : CDs

27. Accessory for note-taking : MEMO PAD

31. __ Wiedersehen : AUF. "until we see again"

33. Lang. of Florence : ITAL. (Italian)

40. Slush __ : FUND. Often used to pay for monkey business.

41. JFK overseer : FAA. (Federal Aviation Administration)

42. Food Network's "Beat Bobby __" : FLAY. Is it worth watching?

47. IRS agent : T-MAN

48. Ukr. neighbor : ROM. (Ukraine/Romania)

49. Softball of a question : EASY ONE

51. Little newt : EFT

54. Pokes fun at : RIBS

57. Baseball : ump :: football __ : REF

61. British elevators : LIFTS

65. What the suffix "phile" means : LOVER

68. Stood : AROSE

69. Italian automaker since 1899 : FIAT. Check out the front seat facing backwards!

70. Melt fish : TUNA

71. Tentative bite : TASTE

72. Airing, as a sitcom : ON TV

73. Safecracker : YEGG. Just one of the retro entries.

Down:

1. __ Romeo: sports car : ALFA

2. Like lemons : SOUR

3. Doing nothing : IDLE

5. Texter's "If you ask me" : [IMO]. "in my opinion"

6. Browse websites : SURF

7. Oscars host, e.g. : EMCEE. (master of ceremonies(MC)

8. Mideast VIP : EMEER. One of several spellings.

10. Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

11. Poisonous : TOXIC

12. Correct, as text : EMEND

13. Game that drives home a point? : DARTS. (2:45)

18. Envelope part : FLAP

22. Pumpernickel buy : LOAF

24. U.K. fliers : RAF. (Royal Air Force)

27. Annoy : MIFF

28. Storage case for tiny scissors : ETUI

29. "Death in Venice" author Thomas : MANN. A novella first published in 1912.

30. Senseless : DAFT

35. Posed : SAT

36. Bit of folklore : TALE

37. Giggly Muppet : ELMO

38. Tandoori bread : NAAN

39. Physics unit : DYNE

45. Disney's "__ and the Detectives" : EMIL. From an old German story. Wiki

46. Place for a hoop : EAR

50. Get bought up quickly : SELL

51. Key above D : E FLAT

52. Fauna's partner : FLORA

53. Records for later, in a way : TIVOs

55. Super, at the box office : BOFFO

56. Where rain falls mainly on the plain : SPAIN

59. Bothersome insect : PEST

60. Doc's "Now!" : "STAT!"

62. Santa's access : FLUE. Sure.

63. Zesty flavor : TANG

64. Loot : SWAG

67. Off-road transport, briefly : ATV. (all-terrain vehicle)

Argyle

Monday, April 18, 2016 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Simian set-up - The last word of the unifier can precede the last word of the indicated phrases.

60A. It more or less coincides with 2016 on Chinese calendars ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : YEAR OF THE MONKEY

16A. Ready to admit customers : OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Monkey business. It was a Howard Hawks film in 1952 with real monkeys, no monkey business. (mischievous or deceitful behavior)

38A. Outfit for the slopes : SKI SUIT. Monkey suit, slang word for a tuxedo.

10D. Seller's come-on : FREE TRIAL. Monkey trial. Scopes

34D. Snickers and Milky Way : CANDY BARS. Monkey bars, aka, Jungle gym. Found on playgrounds everywhere.

Argyle here. An ambitious if somewhat ambiguous offering from C.C. to start the week. The use of circles instead of stars seems odd as does 29-Across clue/answer. Nice to see the two grid spanners and the two long columns, as well as the center of the pinwheel being used.

Across:

1. "That was close!" : "PHEW!"

5. Fictional whale hunter : AHAB

9. Dying-out sound : [PFFT!]

13. Affectionate email closing : LOVE

14. Farmer's place, in song : DELL. Hi-ho, the derry-o.

15. Cuisinart setting : PUREE

19. Al __: firm, as pasta : DENTE. (firm to the bite)

20. "Splish Splash" singer Bobby : DARIN. A far cry from Mack the Knife

21. Inexact no. : ESTimate

22. Baseball card figs. : STATS

24. Skillful : ADEPT

26. Blot up the moisture on : PAT DRY

29. Like a perfect game : NO-RUN. While a perfect game IS a no-run game, so are many others that are far from "perfect".

32. Cinderella's horses, after midnight : MICE

35. "I __ you one" : OWE

36. Like wolves : LUPINE

37. Springsteen's "Born in the __" : USA

40. TV program breaks : ADs

41. Cocktail party bite : CANAPÉ

43. Envoy's bldg. : EMB. (Embassy)

44. Thicken, as cream : CLOT

45. Many-headed monster : HYDRA

46. Potato or rice, e.g. : STARCH

48. Gulf of Aden republic : YEMEN

50. False name : ALIAS

53. Texter's "Hang on a minute" : [BRB]. (Be Right Back)

55. Super-fun party : BLAST

58. Planet attacked in some sci-fi films : EARTH

63. Fortune-teller's deck : TAROT

64. Coke, e.g. : COLA

65. Like a 2-2 game : TIED

66. "What __ is new?" : ELSE

67. Wait on the phone : HOLD

68. Memo starter : IN RE

Down:

1. Walk with difficulty : PLOD

2. Crosses one's fingers : HOPES

3. The World Series, e.g. : EVENT

4. Came unglued : WENT APE

5. Hue and cry : ADO

6. Buffalo group : HERD

7. "Dark Angel" actress Jessica : ALBA

8. Movie disk format : BLU RAY

9. "I used to be a banker but I lost interest," e.g. : PUN

11. Come clean, with "up" : FESS

12. Dry run : TEST

15. Pesto ingredient : PINE NUT

17. Brine-cured Greek cheese : FETA

18. Vicious of the Sex Pistols : SID

23. Tend, as a fire : STOKE

25. Dad : POP

27. SADD focus : DWI. Students Against Destructive Decisions, formerly Students Against Driving Drunk.

28. Put back to zero : RESET

30. Bring to ruin : UNDO

31. Hornet's home : NEST

32. "__ obliged!" : MUCH

33. Words to an old chap : "I SAY ... "

36. Sign of many an October baby : LIBRA

38. Program that sends unsolicited messages : SPAMBOT

39. Thurman of "The Producers" : UMA

42. "__ you nuts?" : ARE

44. Wine in a straw-wrapped bottle : CHIANTI

46. Grab : SNATCH

47. 1963 Liz Taylor role : CLEO

49. Helper for Santa : ELF. I'd rather have Liz.

51. "Argo" actor Alan : ARKIN. Got enough A's?

52. T-bone source : STEER. Talk about going to the source!

53. Computer memory unit : BYTE

54. Genuine : REAL

56. "Beat it!" : "SHOO!"

57. Be a snitch : TELL

59. Jekyll's alter ego : HYDE

61. Lobster eggs : ROE

62. Fuming : MAD

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) I finally figured out why Rich put circles in this puzzle (no circles in my original submission). My original reveal clue for YEAR OF THE MONKEY is  [2016, on Chinese calendars, and a hint to the ends of answers to starred clues]. As you can see, I made a big mistake in putting part of the answer in the clue. Thanks for fixing my goof, Rich!

2) Constructor Todd Gross took these pictures while he visited the Bellagio in Feb. He said they had an elaborate display celebrating Chinese New Year there. Thanks for the pictures, Todd!

3) Wish Bluehen a successful hip surgery today! You're my our thoughts and prayers, pal.