Saturday, October 20, 2018, Lewis Rothlein

Themeless Saturday by Lewis Rothlein 

Tonight is International Observe The Moon Night sponsored by NASA. This NASA educator and you are all encouraged to go out and look at the second brightest object in our sky and Earth's only natural satellite. Here in Eastern Nebraska the Moon will rise shortly after 5 pm tonight and should be a magnificent sight after the Sun has set. I invite you to identify as many features of the lunar surface as you can, including, but not limited to, the magnificent Tycho crater and the Sea Of Tranquility that was visited by Neal and Buzz on July 20, 1969 - Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.

Today's constructor is Lewis Rothlein whose last puzzle appeared on August 28 of this year and was well-blogged by Steve. Lewis currently lives in Asheville, N.C. and teaches this course at UNC-Asheville. I wonder if I could take it online?

In a lovely note to me Lewis said he started doing crosswords a dozen years ago and constructing four years ago. His vocations include having been a magazine editor, a syndicated newspaper columnist (SF Chronicle) and an elementary school teacher. He added that he owned a yoga studio for 10 years and decided to stretch his mind with crosswords the way he was stretching his body with yoga.

Lewis's offering today stretched me especially in the SW. I will explain my perils with those fills as I blog this wonderful puzzle and prepare to look at the Moon tonight:

Across:

1. Name derived from a Kyrgyz word meaning "sea of islands": ARAL - A "big boy" clue for our old friend ARAL. The Kyrgyz word for sea of islands is "Aral-denghiz" which has lost much of its water between 1989 to 2014 as shown below

5. __ therapy: GENE - Not help for Messers Autry, Rayburn and Hackman

9. Food quality: SAPOR - A quality perceptible to the sense of taste

14. Makes a play for: MOVES IN ON - You'd have to be my age to remember the Everly Brothers lyrics, "Johnny is a joker that's a'tryin' to steal my baby" and the title of the song.

16. Patriotic nickname: U.S. OF A

17. Start of many a puzzle: ONE ACROSS - I commented there already

18. Enjoys a course: GOLFS - Just a minute, I have a tap in

19. Stopped using: KICKED THE HABIT 

21. Addie's husband in "As I Lay Dying": ANSE.

22. "Our acts make or __ us": Victor Hugo: MAR, "we are the children of our own deeds"

23. Fee: Abbr.: CHG - I wonder if Lewis has a Lab CHG for supplying crosswords for his class

25. "The Night They Invented Champagne" musical: GIGI.

27. Curved sword, to Brits: SABRE.

29. Elver, e.g.: EEL - At the bottom right of this cycle 

30. Bug: DEFECT - _ _ _ E C T cried out for INSECT and was my first roadblock. 

32. In a happy place: GLAD.

33. __ Fridays: TGI - We drive by one on our way to our favorite restaurants 

34. "Seriously?": IT IS  - IT IS? is synonymous and IT IS answers the question 


35. Hard-to-find items, to collectors: RARES - Do you really think this RARE, an 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar, just happened to walk into a Las Vegas Pawn shop?

37. Teller's output: YARN - Yeah my first teller first output was CASH. 40. "No more!": STOP IT, Lewis! 😉

38. Sydney's st.: NSW - The state of New South Wales is in Australia not Sydney in NEBraska's panhandle

39. Strong reaction: RISE - Some kids just want to get a RISE out of a teacher.  Good teachers follow the advice below

42. First cloned mammal: EWE - We all remember Dolly and I propose we clone C.C.

43. Increased: UPPED - Since becoming the Saturday blogger, I have UPPED my game and learned to be more 59. Quick to recover: RESILIENT 

45. Shaded: HUED - I have had a rose-HUED face from embarrassment on occasion 

46. Noël Coward, for one: SIR - S _ _ cried out for SPY which SIR Noël was during WWII. Churchill fought granting him a knighthood.

47. Proverbial team feature?: NO I 

48. Where Zeno taught: ELEA - On the west coast of current day Italy

50. Experimental vehicle: SELF DRIVING CAR - Hmmm... 

56. "Twilight" author Stephenie: MEYER - No idea, which did not help my SW ills

57. "Nurse Jackie" Emmy winner: EDIE FALCO - A lovely harvest of vowels

58. Compensate (for): ATONE  - A _ _ _ _  is not ALLOW. More SW issues! 

60. Wet: DOUSE - There was a time when this was a habit at Husker games

61. Spotted: SEEN  - Not PIED

62. Refusals: NOES - They all mean NO


Down:

1. Out of control: AMOK - Always sounds like AMUK to me

2. Pasta __: food brand: RONI - Rice-a-RONI was introduced in 1958, Noodle-RONI in 1964 and became Pasta-RONI in 1995

3. "__ plaisir!": AVEC - J'ai blogué ce puzzle avec plaisir (I blogged this puzzle with pleasure)

4. Auto fluid problems: LEAKAGES - What fluid is that on your garage floor?

5. Braces (oneself): GIRDS - Florida has had to GIRD their loins twice this hurricane season

6. Online reminders: E-NOTES.

7. It can tide you over: NOSH - How 'bout 9. Like many donuts: SUGARED.

8. Harmonious outfit: ENSEMBLE - Pronunciation? 

10. Tell __ story: elicit sympathy: A SOB - "Tell me again why you don't have your project done that I assigned 10 weeks ago"

11. Legal barrier: POLICE TAPE - You can have your own 1,000' for $19.29

12. How some survivalists live: OFF THE GRID - OFF THE LAND didn't cut it!

13. __ al-Khaimah: UAE emirate: RAS - In a very strategic location 

15. __ route: SCENIC 

20. Hound: HARASS - A questionable joke comes to my mind but I'll spare you.

24. Sparkle: GLINT - John Marshall forever changed the west when he saw the GLINT of gold flakes in a creek named for his boss  John Sutter on January 24, 1848

25. Sees through: GETS WISE TO - Too late, you voted for him/her

26. "Here's my advice ... ": IF I WERE YOU - A British comedy about a man and wife who change bodies and get a different 51. Viewpoint, metaphorically: LENS in the second act

28. Go along: AGREE - It's usually not a hill worth dying on!

30. Patronizes, with "at": DINES 

31. Word from the Greek for "three-footed": TRIPOD - I first learned this word in P.E. class 

36. Wannabes: ASPIRERS 

37. "I thought we were done": YOU AGAIN - Some in the above crowd follow the auditions from city-to-city despite being rejected

39. What animals do in the wild: RUN FREE - No more train rides for this elephant as Ringling Bros. retired all of them in 2015

41. Roger Goodell's gp.: THE NFL - The $30M dollar man who has tried to 44. Work out: DEVISE ways to keep players safer

49. Protest where people do and don't take a stand?: LIE IN - Ah, the 60's with John and Yoko

52. One from a penseur: IDEE - L'IDEE de Rodin était de faire une sculpture appelée "Le Penseur" (Rodin's idea was to make a sculpture called "The Thinker")

53. "Pinocchio" goldfish: CLEO - A charming example of Disney anthropomorphism starring CLEO and Figaro 

54. Often embarrassing outbreak: ACNE.

55. Doesn't keep: ROTS

56. __ money: MAD - He's not right all the time!

Before you try the "Down Dog" to honor our constructor or get out your binoculars and telescope for Moon viewing tonight, please take time to comment:

DA GRID

Friday, October 19, 2018 Craig Stowe

Title: STER the pot.

How funny, here I am writing up a Craig Stowe puzzle so soon after his Saturday. This is Craig's 20th  LAT publication, but his 11th in 2018!!!! Like I said, he has turned it on. I blogged the PUZZLE which was his debut in December 2015. Today, as befitting a Friday, features the impressive add, not 1 letter, not 2 letters, not 3 letters, but the 4 letters -STER- to common two word-phrases. We have seen this before from our Friday stalwart JW, but once again it is an impressive creation. And the inclusion of  À LA MODE,  COMPETE,  DATA SET,  ENOUNCE,  PARADOX,  RHOMBUS, CHEAP SHOT,  DERELICTS,  HORSEHIDE and  I'M ON A DIET shows the skill Craig has developed in less than 5 years. Okay, let's examine the result.

16A. Physician for Dickens' Miss Havisham?: SPINSTER DOCTOR (14). Do I play SPIN DOCTORs or explain the Great Expectations character? Spinster is such a fun old-fashioned word.

25A. Station for exercisers on wheels?: HAMSTER RADIO (12). If I were a hamster I would find this clue hurtful; these days HAM RADIOS are not that popular.

43A. Expert guard dog?: MASTER BARKER (12). MA BARKER was an infamous gangster head of a crime family. She and her son Fred were killed in Central Florida. 

56A. Cool cat's affectionate friends?: HIPSTER HUGGERS (14). Hip huggers fueled my adolescent fantasies along with mini-skirts.

On to the rest:

Across:

1. Trendy:  À LA MODE. Not only for pie and ice cream. We have a lot of French from our Canadian Constructor.

8. No longer outstanding: REPAID. "Does he still owe you money? No, he repaid me."

14. Catch-22: PARADOX.

15. "Am I the problem?": IS IT ME? One of the multi-word fill.

18. Morales of "Ozark": ESAI. This role is very far from his days on NYPD.

19. Canada's Buffy Sainte-Marie, by birth: CREE. She was born in Canada and was also a musical idol in my adolescent year when I listened to her, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez and so many more.

20. Math functions: SINES.

22. Fleur de __: sea salt: SEL. French - this means "flower of salt." Kazie, do you think it should be Sel de Mer?

23. Clever remarks: MOTS. Bon mots, also French. I guess this is all colloquial, perhaps influenced by Quebec?

24. Sedate: CALM.

29. Earth tone: OCHER. Ochre from yesterday or ocher is a natural clay earth pigment which is a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in color from yellow to deep orange or brown.

32. Ancient colonnade: STOA. Stoa, plural Stoae, in Greek architecture, a freestanding colonnade or covered walkway.

33. "Disgusting!": ICK.

34. Diamond figure: RHOMBUS. A square is also a rhombus.

37. Play seriously: COMPETE.

39. "... this night, being __ my head": Shak.: OER. Romeo and Juliet: ACT II, Scene 2
O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,
As is a wingèd messenger of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes
30Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

40. Hideout: LAIR. This was very big in the old Westerns and Adam West BATMAN.

42. Soft touch: PATSY. Last week, it was a sap.

47. Foil relative: EPEE.

48. Couple: DUAD. Another odd coincidence, as this was in Wednesday's puzzle and PK's post yesterday. That was its second appearance the first being in 2012.

49. Andean stew veggie: OCA.

52. Rapper Ice Cube's first name: O'SHEA. O'Shea Jackson Sr., known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Ice Cube initially gained recognition as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A.

54. Clothes to clean: WASH. Hi honey, I will do the wash tonight.

55. Zipcar parent company: AVIS. ZIPCAR is a car-sharing service, where you can rent a car for an hour or two, and pay by the minute or the hour. It is the response to the success of UBER, LYFT, and Airbnb.

59. Texas oil city: ODESSA.

60. State: ENOUNCE. Not in my vocabulary but an easy guess.

61. Waver: TEETER. Back and forth; cannot make up my mind.

62. Computer input: DATA SET. This is a collection of related sets of information composed of separate elements but can be manipulated as a unit by a computer.


Down:

1. Stained glass settings: APSES. A familiar church part also in Wednesday, right next door to ...

2. Slip: LAPSE. No, I am sure it was deliberate.

3. Type similar to Helvetica: ARIAL. One of many sans serif types.

4. Nail treatment: MANI. But no pedi?

5. Has too much: ODS.

6. One involved in a memorable "bubble": DOT COM. An insightful ARTICLE explaining the bubble and the burst.

7. Puts forth: EXERTS. Effort.

8. Tease: RIDE.

9. Juan's "that": ESO. Spanish one.

10. Selfies, e.g.: PICS.

11. Ancient region ruled by Athens: ATTICA. Some HISTORY.

12. Small portion explanation: I'M ON A DIET. Makes sense but not easy to get this multi-word fill.

13. Ones neglecting their duties: DERELICTS. I have only seen the word used to mean a person without a home, job, or property. I do know the term dereliction of duty, though.

17. Score marks: RESTS. Musical score.

21. Soul singer Robinson's debut album: SMOKEY. This was after he left the Miracles. LINK.

23. Material for Michelangelo's "David": MARBLE. David is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The STATUE.

25. Train bottom: HEM. Train on a dress; very tricky for a three letter fill.

26. Series-ending abbr.: ETC.

27. Pal of Piglet: ROO.

28. Stepped (up): RAMPED.

29. Words from a balcony: O ROMEO. This is the response to 39A.
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
35Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

30. Unsportsmanlike conduct: CHEAP SHOT. Some from FOOTBALL.

31. Baseball, in old slang: HORSEHIDE. Footballs were pigskins and baseballs...

35. Former Mideast gp.: UAR. United Arab Republic.

36. Member of the fam: SIB.

38. __ value: PAR. A securities term.

41. Control tower device: RADAR.

44. Mobile home?: TEEPEE. Cute, as you roll them up and go.

45. Hurried: RUSHED.

46. Islands VIP: KAHUNA. We do not often get Hawaiian words, this means a wise man or shaman.

49. Some Viking appliances: OVENS. Viking Range Corporation is an appliance company that manufactures kitchen appliances for residential and commercial use. Viking originated the "professional" segment of kitchen appliances with its introduction of the first professional-grade range for home use in 1987. wiki.

50. "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. In Greek, it is pronounced KIRKE. She was a goddess of sorcery (pharmakeia) who was skilled in the magic of transmutation, illusion, and necromancy. Not to be confused with CERSEI.

51. Plus: ASSET.

53. Kind of D.A.: ASST.

54. Diminish slowly, with "off": WEAR.

55. Líquido para café: AGUA.  Spanish two to finish language lesson.

57. "The Cocktail Party" monogram: TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM, was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic

58. Grasped: GOT. I hope you all grasped the theme and solved with a smile on your face.

A very nice Friday workout built around a solid theme with enough crunch to remind us it is Friday. Welcome back to Friday Craig, thanks for telling us of your life and keep them coming. Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 18th 2018 Roger & Kathy Wienberg

Theme Three-Card Monte - as the reveal tells us:

55A. Vegas device used literally in three puzzle answers: CARD SHUFFLER

Which leads us to:

20. They may be added to soup: SODA CRACKERS. I had a little bit of a mental block with this one - I wanted SALT, not SODA and so things wouldn't work too well in this area. The reveal put me straight.

32A. Recognition event: AWARD CEREMONY

40A. Camp activities: ARTS AND CRAFTS

A simple but slick theme with plenty of weight in the theme answers. Add to that a couple of 10-letter across entries and two 11's in the downs and that's a pretty weighty grid to fill around. Roger & Kathy have done a great job with the fill, there's nary a clunker in sight, and where there are some very common fill words, the cluing is often fresh. Excellent stuff.

Across:

1. Cartman on "South Park": ERIC. There are websites where you can make your own "South Park" avatar - this is one of mine from the start of a Premier League season a couple of years ago:

5. John follower: ACTS. New Testament of the Bible. The Acts of the Apostles follows The Gospel according to St. John.

9. European farewell: ADIEU

14. Default takeback: REPO

15. Formal agreement: NOR I. I can't stop parsing this as NORI, the dried seaweed wrapper for sushi rolls.

16. Two-time Argentine president: PÉRON. Interesting use of "two-time" here - Juan Péron actually served three terms as president, but two were consecutive from 1946-1952 and 1952-1955.

17. Famous __: AMOS

18. Keys for Elton: GRAND PIANO

22. Tennis' Open __: ERA

23. Smooth-talking: OILY

24. Fight: COMBAT

28. "25" album maker: ADELE

30. Federal URL ending: GOV

31. Lennon's lady: ONO

36. Prop for Frosty: PIPE

38. Crown installer's org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

39. Short strings?: UKES

45. Inventor's monogram: TAE. Thomas Alva Edison, natch.

46. Head for Vegas?: LAS

47. Carpenter's joint: MITER

49. Like Justice League members: HEROIC

51. Stub __: A TOE

53. Stroke that doesn't count: LET. Tennis serve that hits the net cord before landing in the service court. I noticed last year at Wimbledon that they no longer have judges sitting at the side of the net with the finger on the net cord. When did that stop?

58. Prime hotel time: HIGH SEASON

61. Assessment: LEVY

62. Comforting words: I CARE

63. Support at sea: MAST

64. Destructive Greek god: ARES

65. Genres: TYPES

66. Watch pair?: EYES

67. Sly attention-getter: PSST!

Down:

1. Rub out: ERASE

2. Rider on a shark: REMORA. I'd never heard of these guys before. They're not parasitic as they do no harm to the shark, other than hitch a free ride. They're not really symbiotic either, as the shark doesn't really get much benefit from having them around. The sharks just seem to enjoy the company.

3. Audio system connector: IPOD ADAPTER. I fitted one of these gadgets in my last car to supplement the AM/FM and CD options. Then I lost the iPod.

4. Cuban thing: COSA

5. Hotter: ANGRIER

6. Color named for a sea animal: CORAL

7. Detective role for Beatty: TRACY. Dick Tracy. Didn't Warren co-star with Madonna in that movie? I think that led to something of a fling between them.

8. Cleaning area: SINK

9. Say yes: APPROVE

10. Reason-based faith: DEISM

11. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA

12. Many ages: EON

13. Mattel game since 1992: UNO

19. Furnishings and such: DECOR

21. Root beer alternative: COLA. See "Dad's" below.

25. Proprietors for word lovers: BOOKSELLERS. I love bookstores. If you want to drop me off somewhere and know exactly where I'll be by the time you get back, however long that is, leave me at a bookstore.

26. Diarist Frank: ANNE

27. Elves' output: TOYS

29. Ram fans?: EWES. The Rams fans are all around here.

30. Camping stuff: GEAR

33. Root beer since 1937: DAD'S. You can buy an original, empty bottle on eBay right now for $15.

34. Epidemic-fighting agcy.: CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

35. You won't see one at Westminster: MUTT. You will at Westminster Cathedral, they have a Pet's Corner. Oh wait, Poet's Corner, slight difference.

36. Trail: PATH

37. Requiem Mass hymn word: IRAE. Dies Irae, or "Day of Wrath".

41. They're assumed: ALIASES

42. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE

43. Bottom lines: AMOUNTS

44. Feudal estate: FIEF

48. John Wick portrayer: REEVES. My neighbor Keanu.

50. Natural clay pigment: OCHRE

51. Evaluate: ASSAY

52. More of that: THOSE

54. Secret rendezvous: TRYST

56. Title for Helen Mirren: DAME. "Der ain't nuttin' loik ..."

57. Flutter: FLAP

58. Baseball stat: HIT. Plenty of hits at this time of year. My Dodgers hoping for one better than last year, but have to get past the Brewers first! 5-1 tonight, so 3-2 in the series ...

59. Standoffish: ICY

60. Mountain pass: GAP

Wow - tempus fugit - time to call it a wrap!

Steve

Wednesday, October 17 2018, Frank Virzi

Theme: A Touch of Class - The last word of each phrase is also the name of a university. All are research universities.

17. 2005 reality show featuring Whitney Houston: BEING BOBBY BROWN. Private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island.

23. '60s sitcom portrayer of Cathy Lane and her "identical cousin": PATTY DUKE. Private, non-profit, research university located in Durham, North Carolina.

38. Ginger-ale-and-grenadine "cocktail": SHIRLEY TEMPLE. State-related university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

55. Chinese menu standard: FRIED RICE. Private research university in Houston, Texas.

62. Where social graces are taught, and what 17-, 23-, 38-, and 55-Across each has: FINISHING SCHOOL.

Melissa here. Interesting, from Wikipedia: "The term finishing school is occasionally used, or misused, in American parlance to refer to certain small women's colleges, primarily on the East Coast, that were once known for preparing their female students for marriage. Since the 1960s, many of these schools have closed as a result of financial difficulties stemming from changing societal norms, making it easier for women to pursue academic and professional paths not open to previous generations."

Sad fact: In too many states, it costs more to house a prisoner for one year than one year of university tuition. One example.

Across:

1. Recurring theme: MOTIF.

6. Contemporary of Dashiell: ERLE. Hammett and Stanley Gardner, mystery writers. Both contributors to pulp genre publication Black Mask magazine.

10. Apple debut of 1998: IMAC.

14. Childish retort: I DO SO.

15. Group of two: DUAD. Makes sense, but I don't think I've ever seen or heard this word. Googled "how to pronounce duad," and found at least three different ways (audio clips). Cambridge dictionary doesn't have an entry at all.

16. Santa __: Sonoma County seat: ROSA. California and Florida both have Santa Rosa Counties - but according to Wikipedia, only Florida's Santa Rosa is a County Seat.

20. War on Poverty org.: OEO.

21. "In that event ... ": IF SO.

22. Kipling python: KAA. From The Jungle Book.

27. Spin, as a baton: TWIRL.

29. "The Simpsons" storekeeper: APU.

30. Leb. neighbor: SYR.

31. Looks up to: ESTEEMS.

33. Show of rural respect: YES'M.

35. Army NCO: SGT. Non-commissioned officer.

37. Little piggy: TOE. Cute.

43. 1988 noir remake: DOA. 1949 Film Noir classic, public domain, full length avail on YouTube.

44. Ewe, say: SHE. Cute.

45. Website with business reviews: YELP.

47. Supple: LISSOME.

51. Many a microbrew: ALE.

53. One in the middle of Knoxville?: VEE. I still get fooled by these sometimes.

54. FDR and JFK: INITS. Initials.

58. Announcer Hall: EDD. Jay Leno's announcer on The Tonight Show from 1992 to 2004.

59. Protein-rich food: TOFU.

61. Wish undone: RUE.

68. McFlurry cookie: OREO.

69. Start of a hymn: O GOD.

70. Creeps-inducing: EERIE. Timely for October.

71. Arms of a starfish: RAYS.

72. Over and above: Abbr.: SYNS.

73. Silvery little fish: SMELT.

Down:

1. Will Smith sci-fi series: MIB. Men in Black.

2. Laudatory piece: ODE.

3. French pronoun: TOI.

4. "You're lying!" in a playground: IS NOT. Is too!

5. "Old" old-fashioned sorts: FOGEYS.

6. Old name for Tokyo: EDO.

7. Cube creator: RUBIK. I had a classmate in HS who learned to speed-solve - was impressive to watch.

8. Bio class cost: LAB FEE.

9. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDYS.

10. Like the vb. "be": IRR. Irregular.

11. Red Sox star Betts: MOOKIE.

12. Like angry bees: A SWARM.

13. Lock sites: CANALS. A lock is is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.

18. Pro wrestling throw: BODY SLAM.

19. Deepest level: BOTTOM.

23. Shell out: PAY.

24. Jungle swingers: APES.

25. Rear: TUSH.

26. Impulse: URGE.

28. Tearful: WEEPY.

32. Team with the most Super Bowl victories: STEELERS.

34. Central spot: MIDST.

36. TV host Pennington and Hall of Famer Cobb: TYS.

39. Places to perch: ROOSTS.

40. Bangkok native: THAI.

41. Big name in denim: LEVI.

42. Power co. product: ELEC.

46. Peruvian capital?: PEE. Nice clue.

47. Commit perjury to protect: LIE FOR.

48. Former Indian prime minister Gandhi: INDIRA.

49. "Dog Day Afternoon" director Lumet: SIDNEY.

50. Crude model used for public ridicule: EFFIGY.

52. Elicits: EDUCES.

56. Long sentence: RUN ON.

57. Turn a midi into a mini, say: RE-HEM.

60. Cries of discovery: OHOS. Okay.

63. Platform for Siri: IOS.

64. Mdse.: GDS.

65. Malachite, e.g.: ORE.

66. Many a Monet: OIL.

67. Permit: LET.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Kevin Christian & Abbie Higashi

"BOB"   - The first letter of each of the theme answers.

17. Relative of "The pen is mightier than the sword": BRAINS OVER BRAWN.

25. Rear-window alert about an infant: BABY ON BOARD.

43. Dog show award: BEST OF BREED.

54. Arizona stadium renamed Chase Field as a result of a financial merger: BANK ONE BALLPARK.

56. Short haircut, and a hint to 17-, 25-, 43- and 54-Across: BOB.

Bonus:  The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.  We have a crossword pangram today; every letter of the alphabet is used !

Please welcome Abbie Higashi on her LA Times Crossword debut, as she teams with Kevin Christian to give us this fun puzzle.   This is Kevin's 28th appearance on the LA Times Crossword stage.  

Across:

1. Whopper inventors: LIARS.   On April 1st, 1998, Burger King took out a full page ad in USA Today, and announced it would start serving the left-handed Whopper.   The burger contained the very same ingredients but it was rotated a full 180° to better suit and offer a better grip on the bun to the left-handed consumer. In addition, all the condiments were also rotated.  Can you guess what happened ?  

6. Toss of a coin: FLIP.   Supposedly truly random as to whether it will land heads or tails, but a caught coin has a 1 % greater chance of showing heads if it started out heads up, and a 1 % greater chance of showing tails if it started out tails up.  This according to a UCSB article on a Stanford paper, DYNAMICAL BIAS IN THE COIN TOSS.  

10. Trick: FLAM.  A lie or hoax, a deception.

14. Bosc relative: ANJOU.   Pear Varieties From Anjou to Williams

15. "Doctor Zhivago" heroine: LARA.


16. Himalayas locale: ASIA.

20. Census datum: SEX.  Jinx, the answer is Male or Female, not Yes.

21. Tear: RIP.  The clue/answer made me think of Rip Torn.

22. Levy that led to a 1773 "party": TEA TAX.   In fact, the tea tax had been around for six years.  It was the 1773 Tea Act that gave the the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies that was the final straw.   

23. Morass: BOG.

24. 2000 election dangler: CHAD.

30. "__ Sera, Sera": QUE.  The song and scenes from The Man Who Knew Too Much:


33. "See ya later!": I'M OFF.

34. Altar neighbor: APSE.

35. Ahi, for one: TUNA.  Yellowfin. 

36. __ avis: RARA.   Latin.  Through time, from rare bird to strange bird to peculiar person, to a unique person or thing.   Dennis Rodman ?

37. Wooden storage container: CRATE.

38. Mental acuity: WITS.

39. Former Russian ruler: CZAR.  Czar rule lasted over 400 years in Russia.  Here's the Top 10 list

40. Frau's mister: HERR.  Damen and Herren are on some doors in Germany.  Good thing for the images to teach foreigners that Da Men use the one marked Herren.

41. Nest for an eaglet: AERIE.

42. In a lather, with "up": HET.

45. Small salamander: NEWT.

46. Show curiosity: ASK.

47. Melodious piece: ARIOSO.   Let's have some more J.S. Bach...


50. God in the Vatican: DIO.

51. Dust jacket blurb: BIO.

58. Play opener: ACT I.   After DIO and BIO,  wanted an answer of maybe RIO or TIO.   

59. Nano or Shuffle: IPOD.

60. Bravery: VALOR.

61. Lugosi of "Dracula" fame: BELA.     Halloween is right around the corner.

62. Keep __ on: observe: TABS.

63. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

Down:

1. Chocolate dogs: LABS.


2. Pertaining to, on memos: INRE.

3. Early competitor of Mr. Clean: AJAX.   Mr. Clean - 1958.   Ajax - 1947.

4. Versailles royal: ROI.

5. Movable sports car top: SUNROOF.   Not sure why sports car is specified.  Anyway, sunroofs slide open and moonroofs tilt open a little bit.  40 % of all new cars sold in 2017 had either a sunroof or moonroof. 

6. Intentional fall, in basketball: FLOP. In basketball, a flop is an intentional fall by a player after little or no physical contact by an opposing player in order to draw a personal foul call by an official against the opponent. - Wikipedia.


7. British washroom: LAV.

8. Choler: IRE.

9. 100-yard golf hole, say: PAR THREE. No Par 4s or 5s on this local 9 hole course:

10. Capacitance unit: FARAD.  So named in honor of Michael Faraday.

11. Future JD's exam: LSAT.  Doctor of Jurisprudence / Law School Admission Test.

12. Old Sony brand: AIWA.

13. Tailless cat: MANX.  The cat from the Isle of Man.


18. Omen: SIGN.

19. Rosary feature: BEAD.

23. How landslide victories are won: BY FAR.

24. Fidel or Raúl: CASTRO.

25. Tree whose sap is used in a soft drink: BIRCH.  Never had one, but I read that Birch soda is commonly found in New England and Newfoundland.

26. Dazzle: AMAZE.

27. Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist: BORAT.

28. Least furnished, as a room: BAREST.

29. Eye-bending paintings: OPART.

30. 24 sheets of paper: QUIRE.

31. Free from bonds: UNTIE.

32. Slacked (off): EASED.

35. Dance provocatively: TWERK.

37. What a dog will do with a bone: CHEW ON IT.

41. Exculpate: ABSOLVE.

43. Kiss from Carlos: BESO.

44. Epic __: disaster: FAIL.

45. Finnish electronics giant: NOKIA.

47. Basic rhyme scheme: ABAB.

48. Speed competition: RACE.

49. Part of IBM: Abbr.: INTL. International Business Machines.

50. Barq's rival: DADS.   Root Beers.  A&W, Hires, Mug, IBC etc. 

51. Block of hay: BALE.

52. Press: IRON.

53. Gumbo vegetable: OKRA.

55. Radon-regulating org.: EPA.

57. Bro: PAL.   

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave, who has entertained us for so many years with his fun links.

Happy Birthday to our foodie Blue Hen also! Here is his "Cheater Risotto".

Monday Oct 15, 2018 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: PRIVATE HOUSES (33. Most suburban residences... or, in a military sense, the ends of 17-, 24-, 46- and 55-Across)

17. Bedding structure for kids: BLANKET FORT.

24. Place for people with nothing to hide?: NUDIST CAMP.

46. "Theft" on a diamond: STOLEN BASE.

55. Secretary of Defense, for one: CABINET POST.

Boomer here.  

The Whiz Kids had won it, Bobby Thompson had done it, and Yogi read the comics all the while.  "Talkin' Baseball" with Terry Cashman.  Baseball is my favorite sport, especially this time of year, and although this C.C. puzzle is from the L.A. Times, I have to admit that I am rooting for the Brewers.  C.C. and I attended a Twins Brewers game at Miller Park some years back. Great stadium and foods!

Across:

1. Largest city in the Bahamas: NASSAU.

7. Beauty chain with a salon inside each store: ULTA.  We have a mega shopping center near our home and there is a Ulta store. A bit pricey though.

11. High-level H.S. classes: APS.

14. Takes in or lets out: ALTERS.  "And the times, They are a changing" (Dylan)

15. Not at all far: NEAR.

16. Milked animal: COW.  Would you believe that goat's milk is consumed more than Cow's in the world?

19. Pirouette pivot point: TOE.

20. Approx. takeoff hrs.: ETDS.  Acronym in a crossWORD puzzle ??

21. Patronize Airbnb: RENT.  "Trailers for sale or rent." Roger Miller

22. "Fine with me": SURE.

23. Sight organs: EYES.

26. Clinton opponent Dole: BOB.  They asked him once "Briefs or boxer shorts"  His answer - "Depends".

27. Fawn's mom: DOE.  A deer, a female deer, Ray a drop of golden sun ...

28. Partner of hearty: HALE.  Mr. Irwin of the PGA.  Won a lot of senior events also, but now he usually appears as a legend,  (With Jack and Lee)

29. Snake with a tight grip: BOA.  You can bet Cleopatra's ASP.

30. Otherwise: ELSE.

32. "It's freezing out here!": BRR.  Winter is coming up here in the North.  But I'd rather freeze for a couple of months than be invaded by a hurricane.

38. Crime family head: DON.  Former Dodger great, Mr. Drysdale.

39. Captains' diaries: LOGS.  I wonder if you have to log in to read them.

40. Bro, to a sis: SIB.

42. Liquor amount downed in a gulp: SHOT.  Trust me, I know guys that can gulp more than a shot.

44. Mango leftover: PIT.

45. Burst into tears: CRY.  The Yankees had to CRY UNCLE to the Red Sox, and the Yankee fans CRIED all the way home.

50. Bohr or Borge, by birth: DANE.

51. Evacuation center beds: COTS.  Actually there were plenty of these cots in the military locations mentioned in the basic theme of this puzzle.

52. Cyprus currency: EURO.

53. MIT Chapel designer Saarinen: EERO.

54. Tiny crawler: ANT.  They amaze me in where they build their homes underground.

58. Floral luau wear: LEI.

59. "Sin City" actress Jessica: ALBA. Got a Golden Globe for "Dark Angel"

60. Impassive: STOLID.

61. Clairvoyant's claim: ESP. Another acronym ??

62. Genuine: REAL.

63. Provides food for, as a party: CATERS.  So, in Idaho, do they Cater Taters?

Down:

1. Catch: NAB.

2. Hoops pass to a high flier: ALLEY-OOP.  The man in the funny papers we all know.

3. Regulatory legal association: STATE BAR. Lawyers pass this kind of bar, Not sure about the other kind.

4. Mails: SENDS.  "You OOhh send me" Sam Cooke.

5. Torah cabinets: ARKS. Noah's boat - 300 cubits.

6. Take advantage of: USE.

7. Like a ravenous cat: UNFED.  Someone did not watch the Chewy.com commercials.

8. Téa of "Madam Secretary": LEONI.

9. Fruit pastries: TARTS.

10. Paintings, sculpture, etc.: ART.  Mr. Linkletter of "Kids say the darndest things."

11. Bona fide: ACTUAL.  I think Bona Fide means "In good faith" in Latin

12. Words of self-pity: POOR ME.

13. Win every game: SWEEP.  Brewers did it to the Rockies in the NLDS

18. Most sincere: TRUEST.  No relation to Tess.

22. Accident mementos: SCARS.

23. Flow back: EBB.  The Tide flows back, unless you are using it to wash your clothes.

24. Ryan with seven no-hitters: NOLAN.  Hard to believe this pitcher had over 5000 strikeouts, yet lost 292 games.  (Yeah but he won 324)

25. Rocket booster's push: THRUST.

27. Dedicate, as time: DEVOTE.  "Up 'til then I'll always be..devoted to you" Don and Phil.

31. Snakelike fish: EEL.  I still don't think an eel is a fish.  How about a water snake ?

32. Bacall's love, familiarly: BOGIE.  My favorite golf hole score is bogey.

34. Objects of adulation: IDOLS.

35. Boards, as a bus: HOPS ON.

36. Leafy salad green: ESCAROLE.

37. Emphatic military denial: SIR NO SIR. I was at the VA this week getting a CT Scan, and the physician assistant called me "Sir",  I said "You don't have to call me sir, I was an enlisted man."  I think they are still chuckling.

41. ''Till next time'': BYE. "Bye, Bye, Love"  Don and Phil again.

42. "Sticks and __ may break ... ": STONES.  Many years ago, I think around 1963, I took a date to Excelsior amusement park, near Reggie's Danceland. Admission to Reggie's had been doubled to $3.00 each so we did not enter, but stayed in the park. We found out later that the price was raised because the band was from England.  Yup, you guessed it - we passed on seeing the Rolling Stones.

43. Inside track info: HOT TIP.

46. Deli counter weighing device: SCALE. Doe, a deer, a female deer, Ray a drop of golden sun...

47. Writer Zora __ Hurston: NEALE.

48. Forrest's shrimp-loving friend: BUBBA.  Sergeant Skinner of "In the Heat of the Night".

49. Sans-serif font: ARIAL.

50. Train station: DEPOT.  De Pot is now legal in many states.

53. Jazz singer Jones: ETTA.

55. Compact __: CAR.

56. PC key to the left of F1: ESC.  How many of you had to look at your keyboard to confirm?

57. NFL scores: TDS.  One of these days the answer will be FGS.

Boomer