Saturday, Jul 13th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

  July 13, 2013, and a Silkie~!  Lots of two-word answers, and a whole bunch of person & place names today from our Mr. Silk.  I did really well with this one, but I had "help" on clues like 38A.  Triple 9's & 5's, and 8's & 6's in the downs, reminds me of these ancient patterns.  Two climbers, 12 letters long;

6D. Study of extraterrestrial life : ASTROBIOLOGY

21D. Chain reaction metaphor : DOMINO EFFECT - nailed it, with little in the way of perps

and some others of note;

17A. Lock-related nickname : CARROT TOP - Red heads, that kind of lock; you would not catch me calling HER 'carrot-top'

38A. Seat of New York's Nassau County : MINEOLA - HEY~! A Lawn Guyland shout-out~!  All I know of Mineola is that it's a stop on the LIRR on the way to the Garden for Ranger games

34D. Home to the Big 12's Cyclones : AMES, IOWA - I had amesio-a, and it just looked wrong, especially in the "down" position

ON

    WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Free-of-charge transactions? : CASH SALES - no credit card needed

10. Summers of old? : ABACI - F&X%R$PHT@TH ~!  Got me again; sum-mers....

15. Meet : INTERSECT

16. Shrimplike critters : KRILL - anyone remember this movie?

18. Jellyfish kin : CORAL

19. Aftershave additive : ALOE

20. Hot : RILED

22. Squat : ZERO - as in Diddly-squat

23. It determines 28-Across: Abbr. : D.O.B. - Date of Birth; with 28A. Number based on 23-Across : AGE - one of those circular clue pairs that irks BarryG

24. Become compost : ROT

25. Alley roamer : TOM - ah, not CAT

27. Reduce in intensity : DIM - ah, not EBB, not DIE

29. Flow out : EBB - oh, there it is~!....and a clecho follows;

30. Flow out : EMANATE

32. Comics patient of Dr. Liz Wilson : ODIE - Garfield comic strip

33. ADHD drug : RITALIN

34. Immortal college coach Amos __ Stagg : ALONZO - all perps

37. Sue Ann __, Betty White's role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" : NIVENS

40. Sanctified : HOLY

41. "The Lion in Winter" queen : ELEANOR

42. Ref. with about 600,000 word-forms : OED - Oxford English Dictionary

43. "Speak up" reactions : EHs?

46. Actor Mineo : SAL - Crossword staple

47. Massage target : EGO - oooh, very good

48. Deg. requiring workshops : MFA - Master of Fine Arts - I wanted to go to college for Film Making; lots of workshops; writing, lighting, camera work, editing, and a movie as a final project; I have not given up yet, and I have some screen credit to my name - worked on a movie in Cincinnati OH in 1997, and then again for the 48-hr film project 6 years later

49. Intend : AIM

50. Endnote abbr. : IBID

52. Jazz musician __ Lateef : YUSEF

54. "It was nothing" : I TRY

55. Ready to draw : ON TAP - not "ITCHY" ( as in trigger finger )

57. "You got lucky" mutterer : SORE LOSER

59. Eloi girl saved from drowning by the Time Traveller : WEENA - I saw "The Time Machine" on TV a few months ago; 60's science fiction

60. Cabinet department : EDUCATION

61. Deck out : ARRAY

62. General at the Alamo : SANTA ANNA

DOWN:

1. Shrill insect : CICADA - L.I. did not get hit this cycle; I think we were too far north this time

2. Like slide rules : ANALOG

3. Flash producer : STROBE

4. Present : HERE

5. Sign of an overflow : SRO - Standing Room Only

7. "That's enough" : LET IT BE

8. EPA science : ECOLogy

9. Brother of the Apostle Andrew : ST. PETER

10. Lab org.? : AKC - Another crossword fooler - LABrador, that is, and the American Kennel Club

11. Tito's real name : BROZ - The Wiki

12. Large terrier : AIREDALE - This puzzle is going to the dogs....

13. Allergy-treating brand : CLARITIN

14. Broken mirrors, to some : ILL OMENS

24. Defensive team's goal line to 20 yard line, in football lingo : RED ZONE

26. Dahl's precocious title girl : MATILDA

31. Sub group : NAVY

32. Top status : ONE A

35. Comic strip set in Arkansas : LI'L ABNER

36. 53-Down size : ONE LITER and; 53D. It makes a fizz fizz : SODA

39. Gets excited : AROUSES

40. Dramatic game winner : HOME RUN - ah, some baseball for C.C.

43. Doesn't go out, maybe : EATS IN

44. Employ : HIRE ON

45. Atlanta suburb : SMYRNA

51. Bill who created José Jiménez : DANA - WAY before my time; The Steve Allen Show

54. Smidge : IOTA - ioWa and ioTa

56. Visit the cashier : PAY - with Discover this time?

58. MLB's Halos, on scoreboards : L.A.Angels - More Baseball

Splynter

Friday, July 12, 2013, John Lampkin

Theme: Author, Author. Write me a pun.

Another intricate web spun by a true renaissance man John Lampkin, who flexes his intimate knowledge of music, amusement and creepy crawlies to create a really challenging Friday fracas. (Bill G., look what you and your kerfuffling has done!). The four theme answers are set in pairs, two across and two down with a fifth entry in the middle; they each take in the language phrases/words and with a new clue create new phrases where the second word in each is a form of writing creating the first level of puns. The melange of clechos, and twisted definitions made this quite the kaleidoscope. While there may be one or two groaners, the overall fill is wonderful, with some nice intermediates like AS IT WERE, COLD FEET, HOMESPUN, KNEE DEEP each of which interesects another of the 8 letter fill with the awesome knee deep/cold feet and new ways to clue some others. Let's get to it.

17A. Article about a bottle of whiskey?: FIFTH COLUMN.(11). I read all about the threat of the fifth column in Great Britain, France and the US in the 30's and 40's. LINK. John gives us the more benign discussion of why is booze sold in 1/5 of a gallon container rather than the more common 1/4 gallon, also known as a quart.

62A. Essay for grammar class? : PERIOD PIECE.(11). A write up about proper usage of a period might not be too interesting, but I am sure one about commas will always start debate.

41A. Autobiography?: I BOOK. I-BOOK becomes a book about the author. Multiple layer pun.

11D. Report on the site of the Humpty-Dumpty tragedy?: WALL PAPER.(9). My favorite and the one which revealed the theme. Like the other down clue, JL takes a word and splits in two to reveal the new and silly answer.

34D. Drama about Trigger? : HORSE PLAY.(9). By making both of the down theme answers derived from a single word, JL added another layer of symmetry to his work. While I love Roy Rogers, it is creepy to picture Trigger stuffed and on display (not that play?). Did I mention I liked the horse which portrayed Silver in the new Lone Ranger movie?

Across:

1. '90s-'00s first baseman Martinez : TINO. Man, I thought I was going to breeze through this puzzle as I just watched on Wednesday night, a local Miami Marlin telecast where the new Marlin hitting coach and former Yankee star was interviewed. Then to make sure I was right, I did 1 down, and it was a college my Uncle went to.....

5. Batter like the wind : BUFFET

11. Best in a game : WIN. Best the verb, not the noun. Notice how John has Tino, batter and Win all across the top.

14. Whole thing, or its part : UNIT. The team was an effective unit, or each unit was part of the team?

15. Maroon : ENISLE. I fought this one for a while, but where do people get marooned? Gilligan's mountain?

16. Old ring leader? : ALI. More splitting words and not hairs; a ring leader, not a ringleader. He was the Greatest.

 

19. Bar in the shower : LUX. As soon as I had the L, I had it because what other soap is three letters with an L? It also begins the clechomania. 29A. Bar in the kitchen : OLEO. Give him a pat on the back for working this pair in.

20. Blowup cause : TNT. Another dynamite deception.

21. Prefix with bound : EAST. This was another one I did not have much faith in until the Tada. I kept remembering this very obscene SCENE.(1:23). No nudity, but the language is very coarse, please do not view if offended by bad language and imagery.

22. Loud salute : SALVO. Twenty-one guns make a lot of noise.

24. Bird's-eye view provider : SKYCAM. You see them hanging there is all the sporting events. VIEW.

26. Folksy : HOMESPUN. Like Will Rogers or the Prairie Home Companion.

31. Composer/conductor Boulanger : NADIA. No Comăneci for JL, but the creator of THIS, (19:37), as well  as "teacher" of Aaron Copland, Quincy Jones, Piazzolla, Michel Legrand, Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass, Ginette Neveu and so many more...(various sources).

32. Macy's competitor : KOHL'S. I love this store, where you can buy dress shirts, towels, coffee makers and more all at great prices. The store began as a grocery chain in Wisconsin, but in the last 10 years it has expanded into 49 states. The family bought the basketball team I think.

35. Black, to Jacques : NOIR. Just love the rhyme in the clue.

37. Hardly a back rd. : TPKE. Abbreviated clues mean abbreviated ans.

40. Walked : TROD. This took a while even though it is a simple word.

42. Unwanted growth : WEED. I wanted WART, well actually I never wanted a wart but I was thinking of on the body like...oh never mind.

43. One born unfree : SERF. Unfree; great clue.

44. Beaver's expletive? : DAMN. Dam, he is probably right.

45. Antarctic phenomena : BERGS, this and its partner, 53A. Antarctic phenomenon : ICE CAP were extremely difficult for me and I spent way too much time in the southwest corner as I was trying to put in the more esoteric. mirages, parhelia, halos, arcs, midnight sun

46. They can make good impressions : SEALS. Like the old days where wax seals were on everything, and lawyers used silver to seal all deeds.

48. Start to get going : STIR. Not a creature was stirring. How are you Creature? And, 57A. Get going : HOP TO.

50. Seriously involved : KNEE DEEP. We will not speculate as to what substance JL had in mind...

58. Downwind : ALEE. Not Ann from the Shakers, not Robert, just another crossword staple.

60. Put in service : USE. Notice how this juxtaposes the next clue

61. Service-related: Abbr. : MILitary.

66. That niña : ESA. Spanish.

67. Faddish : TRENDY.

68. King with a notable nape : LION. JL is my main man here.

69. King of Spain : REY. More Spanish.

70. Den piece : SETTEE. Put your buttee on my..close to the Lion answer to add to the fun...

71. They evolved from wasp-like ancestors : ANTS. You can see the resemblance in this wonderful picture form the photographic artistry of our John Lampkin. Notice the ant grooming the ambush bug reveling in its kill.

Down:

1. New England school with a campus in the French Alps : TUFTS. This research University should be familiar to our New England group as it sits in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts. My Uncle did a study on bird anatomy while there.

2. Indelibly : IN INK. The way certain arrogant solvers do their puzzles.

3. Peachy-keen : NIFTY. This whole puzzle.....

4. Cooperstown's Mel : OTT. I was playing in my head the Gary Cooper scene, as Lou Gehrig, where he says he is the luckiest man in the world, when Mel reappeared..

5. Evolved into : BECAME. I did not want to put this in, with 10D. Became anxious : TENSED, which I had filled first...it really did make me all tense.

6. Juan's "some" : UNOS. Yes, un poco mas. I do not speak Spanish.

7. Laundry challenge : FILTH. So many five letter laundry problems, stain, grime...In GB they call the police the filth.

8. Seminoles' sch. : FSU. In keeping with my luck in solving, Florida State University in Tallahassee (known as the girls college to U. of Florida grads) is the alma mater of son one and his bride and we do know Seminole. My favorite casino.

9. Certain leaf beetle's target : ELM. More insect trivia, though this pic is not John's.

12. Candy heart message : I LUV U. It is safe to tell someone you luv them because by spelling it wrong you are released from all promises.

13. "___ in China": John Adams opera : NIXON. Another composer from John who also composes. Watch.(6;33) I wonder what they thought in China. C.C.? (From C.C.: Nixon is very well respected in China due to his groundbreaking visit.)

18. Makes sound : HEALS. Extra tricky right next to a musical "sound' clue.

23. So to speak : AS IT WERE. Fun phrase.

25. Cause of a sudden withdrawal : COLD FEET. I knew 'her husband's key in the door' would not fit.

27. Shallot relatives : ONIONS. I enjoy the discussion of the various members of the onion family set out by Rex Stout in his Nero Wolfe books.

28. Dog-ear, e.g. : MARK. I would never mark my place by dog earring a book; it must hurt the page. You could tell if Wolfe liked a book by how he marked his place.

30. Hoping to score : ON BASE. Where is Dennis now that we need his comments; a nice little baseball clue slipped in. Those were impressive eyes.

32. Valuable rock nos. : KTS. karats, followed by 33D. Rock with promise : ORE. and 59D. Rock band? : LODE.

36. Tuba player's mantra? : OOM. Oh, pah, he takes the standard OM and makes it fit music.

38. Suds holder : KEG. After seeding our mind with thoughts of soap, he flashes this beer reference to make a three letter fill a bit of a challenge.

39. Mag wheels? : EDS. Magazine and editors. Another use of word play.

41. Like a bump on a log : IDLE. Did your parents say to you, "Well don't just sit there like a bump on a log."

45. ___ curls : BICEP. 2 days a week for me, using dumbbells.

47. Accepts, as a resolution : ADOPTS. If you do minutes for corporations, you see every resolution that passes is adopted.

49. Eye-popping shirt : TIE DYE. I think he meant it this way.

50. ___ Rouge : KHMER. With this letter progression I am surprised we do not see more of this horrible BUNCH which got its name from all the red blood it shed in Cambodia.

51. Tumult : NOISE. There you go Bill G.

52. Manet's medium : PAINT. Sometimes, I really hate doing puzzles. I spent way too long trying to adjust OILS or impressionism into the fill when the answer emerged, I wanted to...

54. Bring up to speed : CUE IN. This for me was the eh, but maybe I just do not know it.

55. Race site for 300+ years : ASCOT. I am sure John knew they are RACING this week end. It was founded 302 years ago by Queen Anne.

56. Rounded hand-tool parts : PEENS. I think I can HAMMER this concept home.

63. Previous to : ERE. The only fill needing no comment. Oops, too late.

64. IRA part: Abbr. : RETirement.

65. Dockworker's gp. : ILA. And our parting shot, International Longshoremen's Association.

Well along with composing, traveling to take pictures, lecturing, playing music,  studying all kinds of flying things, it is a pleasure to have Mr. Lampkin back to leave us a summer present. Thanks JL and thank you all for watching this weeks episode. (JL, no J?)

Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy 83nd Birthday to dear Sallie, who is bravely fighting cancer. Click here if you missed the Naples Corner gathering pictures.

Every time someone on the blog says "Happy Belated Birthday to ....", I'll think of Sallie, who taught us the correct form is "Belatedly Happy Birthday to ....!"

Interview with Tom Pepper

Tom Pepper made one of the most creative puzzles earlier this year. Please click here if you have not solved the puzzle. Spoiler alert: Here is a wonderful write-up by the super-fast Howard Barkin.

Today is Tom's LA Times debut. He has had 2 puzzles published by the NY Times. You'll all like him when you meet with him in person, trust me! He is Minnesota Nice. (Added later: Please click here (George Barany's website) for more information on the puzzle).

  Left to Right: Tom Pepper, Marcia J. Brott, Victor Barocas, David Hanson, DK
&  Andrea Carla Michaels

I'm so in love with your "Executive Decisions" puzzle. How did the idea come to you and how long did it take you to complete the grid?  

Thanks, C.C.  It started out as a list of the presidents on the faces of U.S. coins.  The first problem: that's boring.  The second problem: the Mint had recently started making commemorative dollar coins with all the presidents on them, which I didn't know until I was already knee-deep in the puzzle.  So I gave up on that idea.  But I really liked the gimmick part of the grid, and I had put a lot of effort into making it work, so I noodled on it more, and came up with a better context for it. (I'm being intentionally vague in case someone reading this wants to dig it out of the BEQ archives and solve it.)  I wish I had logged my hours on that puzzle.  I think I'd be shocked at the number.  I'm sure it's over 100.
 

What are the other theme answers you also considered but discarded for today's BUGS puzzle?  

My original effort had seven themers: HIDDENMIKES, FLUS, OBSESSIONS, ELMERSNEMESIS, PCGLITCHES, IRKS, and ORIGINALVWS ... but all that theme caused the fill to suffer greatly, so I scaled back to five--only HIDDENMIKES from my original grid survived to the end.  Surprisingly, I never came up with a good answer for the most common usage of bugs: those creepy-crawly things.
 

Tell us a bit about your background. What prompted you to make your first crossword?   

Grew up in MN. College in Oregon (Go Ducks!). CPA. MBA. Finance guy. So numbers are my work, words are my play time.  I'd solved crosswords on and off for years, and made a few (horrible) birthday/Christmas puzzles for family and friends along the way.  But two years ago, when my second daughter left the nest and I had all this time on my hands, I bought Crossword Compiler as a birthday present to myself and added "Get a crossword puzzle published somewhere" to my bucket list.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?  

Good question.  It's kind of euphoric when a clever theme idea or a fabulous, never-used clue comes to mind, but it doesn't happen that often, so theme development and cluing are usually more work than pleasure for me.  But once I get a theme framed up, it's hard to pull me away from the filling process.  Filling a puzzle is solving a puzzle in itself.  I stay up way too late some nights "solving the puzzle."  You're probably thinking that sounds like an addiction ... and you're probably right!

  

What kind of themes and fill appeal to you and what are the ones you try to avoid in your grids? 

The best theme answers make you smile as you fill them in.  I like puns, re-parsing of words, current slang ... and the edgier (without going over the edge), the better.  I try to avoid the words people complain about in the blogs.  A lot of them are 3-letter answers, so I try to minimize the number of 3-letter words when creating a grid.  I'm working on a puzzle right now where the theme answers go around the edge--it's the last time I'm going to try that!  Way too difficult working from the outside in.

You mentioned that you have some 1960s baseball cards. What's the most cherished card in your collection and what's the one card you'd like to own someday? 

I was a big Willie Mays fan, and I like the purple color on his 1965 card, so while it's not the most valuable, it's my favorite.  (Tony O's 65 card is purple too--another favorite!)  The cards I'd like to own (again) are the dozen or so I gave away back in the '80s to a kid I was babysitting who wanted to start collecting.  I know my 1965 Mantle card was one of them.  He told me the next day he'd looked them up and they were worth $400.  I had no idea.
 

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?  

I enjoy my time volunteering as a tutor to East African adults one night a week, and as a teacher of a 12-week class through the National Alliance on Mental Illness for family members of people living with a mental illness.  And I love to play golf, play Boggle, and travel.

Thursday, July 11, 2013 Tom Pepper

Theme: "Those Creepy Crawly Things" (Thanks, Tom, for supplying me with the title!)

No unifier is necessary for this type of theme. Each of the theme entries is a different definition for the common clue:

17. Bugs : HIDDEN MIKES. I had hidden wires at first.

23. Bugs : BEETLE CARS. I thought this was going to be a literal definition at first.

37. Bugs : SOFTWARE DEFECTS.

48. Bugs : ELMER'S BANE. Bugs Bunny, of course!

59. Bugs : DRIVES CRAZY.

I really enjoyed this puzzle. Sometimes definition type puzzle have strained theme entries, to fit within the constraints of the grid size, and to come out symmetrical.  But all five of these entries felt like normal phrases. There was some fun stuff in the fill, too. So let's get to it.

Across:

1. Shake, as one's tail : ELUDE. Oh,  I was sooooo thinking of this. 2:30

6. Apple polisher : TOADY. From the 16th c. "toad-eater." Fascinating story here.

11. "Ri-i-ight!" : HAH. Hah! Nailed it! And a clecho at 25-Down. "Ri-i-ight!" : AS IF.

14. Patient's share : CO-PAY. It seems to be more and more the "lion's" share lately...

15. Els only about six feet above the ground : ERNIE. I love golf, and enjoy watching ERNIE Els, a.k.a. "The Big Easy."  (BTW, he is actually 6'3".)

16. Big name in kitchenware : OXO.

19. Animation collectible : CEL.

20. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO.

21. Carnation spot : LAPEL.

22. Booked solid : BUSY.

26. Says it isn't so : REBUTS.

29. Annual Queens sports event : US OPEN. Tennis, not golf. It is held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and runs from August 26-September 9 this year.

32. Seals, as a deal : ICES.

33. One may be given to a detective : ALIBI.

36. ___ diet : ON A.

41. "Don't Bring Me Down" rock gp. : ELO. Listen here. 4:04

42. Hits the trail : HIKES.

43. Mongolian tent : YURT.

44. Try to better understand, as difficult prose : RE-READ.

46. Bandleading brothers' name : DORSEY. Tommy and Jimmy.

52. Moo juice : MILK.

54. Lofty nest : AERIE.

55. Get-up-and-go : VIM.

58. Kerfuffle : ADO. I want to see the word "kerfuffle" in a crossword...

62. X, at times : TEN.

63. "Peer Gynt" playwright : IBSEN.

64. Lincoln's side : UNION.

65. Withered woman : HAG. (Hey, I'm not all that withered...)

66. With 67-Across, San Diego Zoo attraction : GIANT. and 67-Across. See 66-Across : PANDA.

Down: (...worth repeating.)

1. Letter before Foxtrot : ECHO. Have you memorized your NATO phonetic alphabet yet?

2. Pork purchase : LOIN.

3. Bridesmaid's coif : UPDO.

4. "American ___!": animated sitcom : DAD. While I was doing this write-up, the show came on TV and I suffered through it, just so I could report to you. My report? .... judge for yourself.

5. Ornamental embroidered hole : EYELET.

6. Bait : TEMPT.

7. Projecting window : ORIEL.

8. Popular tat spot : ANKLE. Bicep also fits. Just sayin'...

9. Conk out : DIE.

10. "It's a go!" : YES!

11. Words before disappearing, perhaps : HOCUS POCUS.

12. Fires : AXES.

13. First word from Robin : HOLY. Holy You Tube!

18. Laddie's turndowns : NAES.

22. "My man!" : BRO.

23. Pedestal sculpture : BUST. Like this?

24. 8 or 64, e.g. : CUBE.

26. Choir support : RISER.

27. Place for élèves : ECOLE. French for "students" and "school"

28. Any day now : BEFORE LONG.

30. ___ nous : ENTRE. "Between ourselves..." ("Keep it confidential.")

31. Vile : NASTY.

33. Object of Indy's quest : ARK. Indiana Jones and the "Raiders of the Lost Ark."  (Why, all they had to do was look on top of Mt. Ararat!)

34. Sea side : LEE. Nice misdirection.

35. Tags on bags : IDS. Identification tags are about the only things many airlines still give away for free.

38. Impact sound : WHAM!!

39. Camp staffer : AIDE.

40. Rochester's bride : EYRE. Plain Jane.

45. Antlered critter : ELK.

46. Place of honor : DAIS.

47. Like small coffeemakers : ONE CUP.

49. Madame Gorbachev : RAISA. She died in 1999 of leukemia. In 2009, Mikhail made an album titled "Songs for Raisa" made up of old Russian love songs. Who says the Russians are cold-hearted??

50. Atomic number for nitrogen : SEVEN.

51. Bush adviser Scowcroft : BRENT.

52. It has roots and branches : MATH. Great misdirection!

53. Think tank output : IDEA.

55. Unable to merely walk past a mirror, say : VAIN.

56. Brand that once sported a reptile : IZOD.

57. Flying talker : MYNA.

59. "Get it, man?" : DIG?

60. Slugger's stat : RBI. I am finally getting the hang of this: slugger = Runs Batted In, pitcher = Earned Run Average. And then we have : 61-Down. Transfer ___ : RNA. Runs Not Allowed. (^0^)

Have a great week, everyone. See you next Thursday!

Marti

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 Joel D. Lafargue

Theme: CUES AND CUDGELS.  Each theme entry ends in a synonym for a round stave or pole.

20A. Member of a "joint" military group : CHIEF OF STAFF. A decision maker with a walking stick.  Two disparate meanings of the word STAFF.

28A. Franklin invention : LIGHTNING ROD. A conductive metal pole fixed to the top of a building and grounded to deflect the energy of a lightning strike.  In slang, a person or thing that draws a lot of criticism.

Photo source and more info

46A. Make a relay race connection : PASS THE BATON.  A relay is a race run in segments by a team of runners.  Passing the BATON, which is just French for stick, from runner to runner is the connection between the race segments. 

Source

 55A. Cocktail accessory : SWIZZLE STICK.  A small skewer used to hold garnishes and stir a drink, so named for the Rum Swizzle, the national drink of Bermuda. Bottoms up!

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here. I didn't recognize Joel's byline, but a quick Google search indicates he's been at it since at least 1988.  It looks like this is his 5th LA Times entry since this blog started.  Let's see if he passes the baton smoothly, or uses it to beat us up.

Across:

1. Urban rails : ELS.   Elevated trains.

4. "__ life!" : THAT'S.  Sinatra.

9. Self-satisfied : PROUD.

14. 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year __ Gasol : PAU.  He played with Memphis until 2008, and since then with the Lakers.

15. Put back to zero : RESET.  Back to square 1.

16. Total : RUN TO.  Kind of an odd phrase, but legit.

17. " ... book by __ cover" : ITS.   It's what's inside that makes the difference.

18. Author Jong : ERICA.  Is she still afraid of flying?

19. Many times : OFTEN. 

23. "__ evil ..." : SEE NO.  At least when I cover my eyes.

24. Time of one's life : ERA.  Nice word play.  An ERA is a notable time span. The time of one's life is a notable event.

25. Pub. of an oft-quoted journal : AMA.  American Medical Association.

33. Full of mischief : DEVILISH.  But not usually in a malicious way.

36. Like much of King's work : EERIE.  I wonder if Stephen King ever wrote a weird story about an eagle's nest near the shore of a Great Lake?

37. Verbalized sigh : ALAS.  Woe is me.

38. Buddhist shrine : STUPA.  Here is where Joel got out the cudgel and gave me a sharp rap between the eyes.  The word comes from Sanskrit and literally means "a heap."  The shrine is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics and used as a place of meditation.

41. Injured, in a way : TORE.  A muscle or ligament.  Sounds awful.

42. Jazzman Jackson and cartoonist Gross : MILTS.  MILT Gross was a popular American cartoonist from the 20's through the 40's.  MILT Jackson was a vibes player discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in 1946 who was an original member of the modern jazz quartet in 1952, and went on to record well into the 80's. Milt.

44. More easygoing : MELLOWER.

49. Kalamazoo-to-Cincinnati dir. : SSE. South by South East. Wouldn't be a very good movie title.

50. Billion-year span : EON.  A bit more than the time of your life

51. Waits : BIDES.  I can't BIDE my time that long.

59. Traditional Islamic garment : BURQA. It's like wearing tent.  The "Q" threw me.

62. Dough raiser : YEAST. Not a fund raiser, though both involve bread.

63. One of the Khans : ALY.  Not AGA.  Needed perp help.

64. Words before "Gave proof through the night" : IN AIR.  I hope we all know what song this is.

65. Clerical residence : MANSE.

66. Short snooze : NAP.  I haven't had one in a while.

67. Incessantly : NO END.  Sometimes ON END, and that never seems right.

68. Like one's big brother : ELDER.  I wonder if this is how my little sister thinks of me.  I don't think I'll ask.

69. Chowed down : ATE.  Or, perhaps, devoured.

Down:

 1. "Lawrence of Arabia" and others : EPICS.  The story, not the man.

2. Bat maker's tool : LATHE.  A small theme echo, perhaps.
 

3. "Wake Up, Little __" : SUSIE.  The Everly Brothers, from back when I was a pre-teen
 

4. Girl Scouts emblem : TREFOIL.  French for three leaves, it's a stylized clover image with three profiles superimposed.  Also a cookie.

 

Image Source

5. Protagonist : HERO.  Is a protagonist sandwich made with provolone?
 

6. "Yeah, like that'll happen!" : AS IF. Sarcasm.
 

7. Sleuths, briefly : TECS. 
 

8. New York's __ Island : STATEN. 
 

9. Hardly G-rated : PROFANE.
 

10. Win by trumping, in bridge : RUFF.  That is the correct word.  If you say, "I trumped it," some stuffy bridge player will look at you funny.
 

11. Que. neighbor : ONT.  Quebec and Ontario, Canadian provinces.
 

12. Beehive State native language : UTE.  And eponym for the state.  Nice cluster of Native American words.
 

13. Put on : DON.  As in, gay apparel.
 

21. Doesn't need to be drafted : ENLISTS.  Two ways to get into the armed forces.
 

22. Bush spokesman Fleischer : ARI.
 

25. One-way sign shape : ARROW.
 

26. Wavy pattern : MOIRE.  Looks MOIRE less like this.

Source

 

27. "Doe, ___ ..." : A DEER.  I still hate that awful song.
 

29. APO mail recipients : GI'S.  American military service personnel.
 

30. FDR's successor : HST. Harry S. Truman was president after Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  The S didn't stand for anything.  It's true, man.
 

31. Opposable digit : THUMB.  But I've never been opposed to THUMBS.
 

32. Start the assignment : GET ON IT.  I associate these words with "right away."
 

33. Moistens : DAMPS. Dampens - sure; DAMPS - I dunno.  Looks like gratuitous verberization.
 

34. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. He invented the sewing machine.  HOWE 'bout dat!
 

35. Ballroom dance, in Burgundy : VALSE.  Waltz, in Brooklyn.  Ravel.
 

39. Green veggie : PEA. Comes in a pod.
 

40. Flight stat. : ALT.  Altitude.  Not the usual 3 letter flight abbrv.
 

43. Wine list presenter : STEWARD.   Why did I want sommelier?
 

45. Maine dish : LOBSTER.  Another nice word play. I've never been to Maine, but I did have LOBSTER in Rhode Island.
 

47. __ polloi : HOI.  Greek to me, meaning "the many," and used in English to insultingly denote the unwashed masses comprising about 47% of the population.
 

48. Digestive protein : ENZYME. A protein molecule that acts as a catalyst in digestive processes.
 

52. Rigg who played Mrs. Peel : DIANA.  Of course. Now Lady Olenna Tyrell, as you can see at the photo source link.

 

 Source

53. Brilliance : ECLAT. A learning moment.  It comes into English via Old French.
 

54. Internet calling service : SKYPE.  The next best thing to being there.
 

55. One of 16 in a 4x4 tile: Abbr. : SQ. IN.  Square Inch - simple - no?  But here is where Joel beat me severely about the head and shoulders with a sheleighly.  Having missing the "Q" in BURQA there was no way I could make sense of SKIN for this fill, no matter how hard I SQINted.
 

56. Enthusiasm : ZEAL. But my ZEAL did not wane.
 

57. Catch, as a fish : LAND.  Can you LAND a fish if you're in a boat?
 

58. Being, to Brutus : ESSE.  Latin.
 

59. Storage receptacle : BIN.  As, the dust bin of history.
 

60. Colorful card game : UNO.  Good game to play with the grand kiddies.
 

61. Actress Charlotte : RAE.  Edna Garrett, from  the TV sitcoms "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life", which I never watched.

Well, I'm a bit bruised, but survived.  Time to take some acetaminophen and head for bed. How did you do?

Cool Regards!

JzB 

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Don "Hard G", my very gifted, patient and generous mentor & friend!

Don & his lovely wife Barbie