Sunday, August 2, 2015. C.C. Burnikel

Theme: ALL SQUARE. In the words of those two great American philosophers, Huey Lewis and Sponge Bob, It's Hip To Be SQUARE. 

You had to be pretty sharp to get hip to the theme that the eight long horizontal fills were all SQUARE in shape! C.C. is very interested in how many will suss out the theme with no reveal. Couple that with her usual clever cluing and you have a wonderful Sunday adventure! Now let's get SQUARED up and see where we finish.

23. Refrigerator message : STICKY NOTE - A 3M staple. These are 3" x 3"

25. Fight spot : BOXING RING - Somewhere between 16' x 16' and 25' x 25'. 

38. Pastime that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 : CROSSWORD PUZZLE - Today's was 21 cells x 21 cells, just like Melanie Miller's ET puzzle last Sunday

54. One of a game's 100 : SCRABBLE TILE - Here they are, each 3/4" x 3/4"

80. Picnic purchases : PAPER NAPKINS - Usually 6" x 6"

93. Soup toss-ins : SALTINE CRACKERS - These washed down with tea were mom's cure for upset tummies. These are 2" x 2"

110. Audiophile's collectible : ALBUM COVER - I wore this record out when I was a ute. 12" x 12"

113. Place to find a mate? : CHESS BOARD - Professional tournament boards are 18" x 18". Can you see White's one move checkmate?

Now for the not so SQUARE fills:

Across       

1. Palms in your hands : PDAS - Smart phones have replaced them and lots of other devices!

5. Used Google Wallet, say: PAID - Having paid, you are now SQUARE

9. Washington or Ford : ACTOR - Denzell and Harrison e.g.

14. __ shot : SLAP - The start of one

18. Event before a closing : SALE - I know a store that had a closing SALE for two years

19. Bug : ANNOY

21. Milan-based fashion house : PRADA - What the devil wears

22. Duel measure : PACE  - Hamilton and Burr were back to back, strode ten PACES, turned and shot. Hamilton got second place

27. Toe preceder? : TAC - I had to let TIP go. In War Games, the computer had to learn that some games have no winners, including  Tic TAC Toe and Global Thermonuclear Warfare 

28. Really hot : ON A TEAR - Let it ride!

30. Attach, in a way : PIN - Tail on the donkey e.g.

31. Fair attractions : RIDES - You game? Me either!

32. Ball standout : BELLE 

34. Weasel relative : STOAT - A group of STOATS is a "caravan".  You're welcome.

36. Barfly : SOT

37. Spinner? : PR MAN - No, no no! That wasn't a gaffe, what my candidate meant was...

45. Agree to another tour : RE-UP - A military tour

46. Campus bigwig : DEAN

47. Surfing mishap : WIPE OUT - Also the most famous rock 'n roll drum riff?

48. __ Center: L.A. skyscraper : AON

49. "X-Men" actor McKellen : IAN

50. Yellowstone sight : ELK

51. Hi-__ monitor : RES 

52. SFO info : ARR - ARRIVAL. Some say the O in SFO stands for San FranciscO, some say San Francisco/Oakland and some say it stands for nothing

53. "The Long, Hot Summer" director : RITT - 1958 classic where Martin RITT directed Mr. and Mrs. Paul Newman in this movie the year they got married

58. Last courses : DESSERTS - Bad guy get their just deserts

60. Buy from : SHOP AT

61. 2000 MapQuest acquirer : AOL

62. Morph- ending : EME - Smallest grammatical unit in a language

63. Too cute, in Chelsea : TWEE - Just like our Brit Steve!

64. Not real : ERSATZ - Is oleo ERSATZ butter?

67. "Raging Bull" Oscar winner : DE NIRO - Some say De Niro and Scorsese's best work

69. Attention : CARE

71. __-wop : DOO

72. CBS hit set in Vegas : CSI - ...and Miami and NY...

74. License : PERMIT

78. Tour of taverns : PUB CRAWL - A sometimes dangerous 21st birthday exercise

83. Any one of a 1963 all-brothers Giant outfield : ALOU - Jesus, Matty and Felipe on Hondo's team!

84. Enjoy some courses : EAT

85. Bodega pronoun : ESA - In slang, ESA is a word for Spanish "homegirl"

86. Big name in lip balms : EOS - Cute container

87. Med. checkup initials : LDL - Low Density Lipoprotein - Bad cholesterol

88. N.Y school overlooking the Hudson : RPI - The fightin' Redhawks of Rennsellaer Polytechnic Institute

89. Expanse : STRETCH - We once drove the STRETCH from Cheyenne to Yellowstone. Not much to see.

91. Downward movements : SAGS - The less said the better

92. Award named for a Muse : CLIO - For excellence in advertising, design and communication 

96. Invitee : GUEST - Even anon's are welcome GUESTS here and add to the mix even when snarky or rude

97. Pink label : RCA - We don't have any of her music. Do you?

98. Cockamamie : INANE

99. Lover of balance and harmony, so they say : LIBRA

100. Like TV's "Wayward Pines" : EERIE

103. Swabbie : GOB - American sailor. Origin unknown

105. Where most people get into hot water : BATHTUB

108. __-K : PRE

115. Puffed-up : VAIN - In your You're So Vain, Carly has claimed she is is talking about a composite of three men

116. Track bet : PLACE - If you bet $2.00 for American Pharoah to PLACE (come in second) in the Belmont Stakes, you won $2.80

117. Unit of purity : KARAT - 18K gold is 18/24 or 75% gold and 25% other metals to make it more durable

118. Move with a mouse : DRAG

119. "Anything __?" : ELSE - "Will that complete your order?" is now McDonald's version

120. Its mascot uses fowl language : AFLAC - Ubiquitous insurance duck

121. Seasoned salts : TARS - Some more GOBS

122. Blue-bottled vodka : SKYY

Down

1. "Over here!" : PSST

2. Records concern : DATA BREACH - In 2014, Target and these

3. 2013 Literature Nobelist : ALICE MUNRO - No clue

4. Instant : SEC

5. Two-time U.S. Open winner Stewart : PAYNE - A natty dresser and fine gentleman who died at 42 in a plane accident

6. Actress Paquin : ANNA - Once again, no clue but perps to the rescue

7. How some games are won, briefly : IN OT - Overtime 

8. Spoils : DOTES ON - What? You think we're spoiling our kitty?

9. SFPD alert : APB - All Points Bulletin.

10. Midriff-revealing wear : CROP TOP - A public service to those of you who didn't know what one was...

11. Airport arrival : TAXI - How a pilot gets to the gate at SFO or a passenger can get to SFO on the road

12. Asgard head : ODIN - Asgard is one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology

13. Tried to win, with "for" : RAN - Lifelong Minnesotan Harold Stassen RAN for president 10 times between 1940 and 2000

14. Quick squirt : SPRITZ

15. Set, as a trap : LAID - The best LAID plans of men and mice...

16. Troubling spots : ACNE - Ah, one of the many vagaries of my ute

17. Spots for coats : PEGS

20. First Literature Nobelist from Ireland : YEATS - William Butler YEATS

24. German city, to Germans : KOLN - Not Cologne 

26. Tiler's need : GROUT

29. City SSE of Santa Fe : ROSWELL - Home of the International UFO Museum 

33. Tablet holder : LAP

35. "__ man should have money in his head, but not in his heart": Swift : A WISE

36. Eggs on : SPURS - I don't know if American Pharoah's jockey used spurs but he used his whip 32 times in the home stretch at the Kentucky Derby

37. Goody two shoes : PRISS

38. One taking a selfie : CELL - Now you can use a selfie stick

39. Casino chip collector : RAKE - They RAKE in a lot more than they push out!

40. Software instruction file : READ ME - I don't

41. __ Tracey, one of the original Mouseketeers : DOREEN - She wasn't Annette but still...

42. Rumble in the Jungle setting : ZAIRE - They used the 25 Across SQUARE

43. Lenya of "From Russia With Love" : LOTTE - My LOTTE LENYA is a name in Mack The Knife

44. Tolkien tree giants : ENTS 

46. Ownership consequences, often : DEBTS

51. Carnival city : RIO - Probably won't find a 37 D PRISS in their parade (finally found a picture modest enough to display)

53. Edit a lot : REWORK - Rich's job here. Either with a scalpel or a chainsaw ;-) 

55. Brief glance : APERCU - In a sentence - "Gaston Boissier, L'Afrique (1895), is a picturesque but somewhat superficial APERCU of the principal Roman ruins." Again, you're welcome.

56. Less adorned : BARER - What many other Carnival pictures I found were!

57. Passion tea maker : TAZO

59. Throat condition : STREP

62. Singer Adams : EDIE - Mrs. Ernie Kovacs and cigar pitcher

65. Pop-up producer : ADWARE - nasty stuff

66. Pre-Aztec Mesoamerican : TOLTEC

68. "None for me" : I PASS

69. Mea __ : CULPA - A husband's Latin motto!

70. Hot and bothered : ABOIL

72. Game show with a Red Light Challenge : CASH CAB 

73. Place for peels : SPA

75. Milwaukee Brewers' home : MILLER PARK - Looks like a theme park from I-94

76. Disorderly : IN DISARRAY

77. Letter-shaped opening : T-SLOT

78. 3, 4 and 5 : PARS - The USGA says any hole longer than 691 yards is a PAR 6 and there are hardly any of them 

79. MetLife competitor : AETNA

80. Praline piece : PECAN

81. Back : REAR

82. Nutmeg-flavored quaffs : NOGS

89. Order to attack : SIC 'EM

90. Area south of SoHo : TRIBECA - Triangle Below Canal Street

91. "What did I tell you!" : SEE THAT

92. Baby panda : CUB

94. Holy threesome : TRIUNE - Often used as another name for the Holy Trinity

95. Talent : KNACK

96. "Shadow Dancing" singer Andy : GIBB

99. Craves, with "for" : LUSTS - Even Jimmy Carter admitted to looking at women with LUST in his heart

100. Gutter locale : EAVE - I had Boomer's LANE first

101. Carrier with a King David Club : EL AL - Every passenger is interviewed before boarding

102. Jeter's 1,311, briefly : RBIS - Runs Batted In. Some now write RBI since Runs is already plural. 75 RBI sounds odd to us old, er, veteran baseball fans

103. Holey pursuit? : GOLF - A Par 6? Holey Moley!! 

104. Track : OVAL - Here's a banked OVAL - no SQUARE here!

106. Vindictive goddess : HERA

107. Onetime Russian monarch : TSAR - 1917 was their swan song

109. Liable to snap : EDGY

111. Nos. expert : CPA - Only they speak fluent IRS

112. __ hall : REC

114. Pigs out (on), for short : ODS - Get those Fritos out of sight!

Like Teddy Roosevelt in the early 20th century, C.C. has given us a SQUARE DEAL on this enjoyable Sunday exercise. Was anyone else surprised she didn't include a certain SQUARE  that is 90' x 90' with rectangles at three corners and a pentagon at the fourth? I'll bet she gave it some thought. 

Saturday, Aug 1st, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,W,X)

Blocks: 27

  Ta-DA~!!!  This one was a real pleasure to solve - and yes, I am biased because I was able to solve it without cheating, Google, and red-letters - but it did not look promising to start.  A lot of white on the first pass both across and down, but then a few common words/phrases made sense, and they worked, too.   A tad too many vague clues, and a few proper names - two very nearly creating a Natick - but my one-letter guess was correct and thus....Ta-DA~!!  Triple 11- and almost triple 9-letter corners with two pairs of 9's crossing in the middle section;

7d. Golden Grain Company creation : RICE-A-RONI - been popular lately on Saturday; a little company history

31a. DO holder : OSTEOPATH - well, I figured it was a "Doctor of" something, and then the perps helped me out

36. Common literary technique : SYMBOLISM - like the bad guy in the black hat

Raiders of the Lost Ark

32. Watch : TIMEPIECE - simple, and clever - verb~? noun~?

O - N - W - A - R - D ~ !

ACROSS:

1. Verne vision : SPACE TRAVEL - Pondered SUBMARINE and TIME TRAVEL; both too short

12. Refrain bit : TRA

15. Jurassic time : MESOZOIC ERA - Pondered DINOSAUR AGE

16. What "8" may mean: Abbr. : AUGust - very nearly got me again - and timely, considering it's the first of the month today; the "rabbits" are 5 clues below

17. Programmer's line : INSTRUCTION

18. The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf. : KSU

19. Spectra 70 computers : RCAs

20. Projection room inventory : REELS - early WAG

21. Org. with a rabbit in its logo : PETA - Playboy did not fit, and technically, it's a magazine, not an organization - would PETA protect these 'animals'~?

22. Critical : KEY

23. Main parts : LEADS - such as those filled by 56a.

24. Phillies pitcher Hamels : COLE - total unknown; my one-letter guess was "C"; I'm sure C.C. nailed it

25. Earth : TERRA

26. Dietary restriction : NO MEAT

28. Patron saint of dancers : VITUS - ah - so "St Vitus Dance" from Black Sabbath is a little play on words....

33. 1996-'97 NBA Rookie of the Year : IVERSON - so not into basketball, this was mostly perps

35. Breakup words : "IT'S OVER"

38. It's good in Puerto Rico : BUENO

39. Like some European scenery : ALPINE - followed by a clecho....

40. Monument Valley scenery : MESAs

42. Dark times, to poets : E'ENs - evenings

43. Speechless miner of fiction : DOPEY - ah. a Dwarf, that is

44. TV debut of 2000 : CSI

47. Unadorned : BARE

48. Confute : BELIE

49. Second Amendment subject : ARMS - oops, not GUNS

50. Links letters : PGA - couldn't be PAR or TEE

51. Teacher of skills : TRADE SCHOOL - I have an Associate's Degree from Island Drafting in Amityville, NY, essentially a trade school for AutoCAD and electronics

53. Unavailable, say : OUT

54. Shortest way : DIRECT ROUTE

55. Width measure : EEE - seems odd to see this in a Barry Silk puzzle

56. Film heroes, often : STEREOTYPES

DOWN:       

1. Unsportsmanlike look : SMIRK - not SNEER

2. Overseas coppers : PENCE - coinage, as in Britain; sort of clecho with; 48d. One in a lift, maybe : BRIT - other words, like bonnet, boot and lorry

3. Evaluate : ASSAY

4. Sacks on bases : COTS - ah, not a baseball clue; I was thinking getting tagged out for attempting to steal

5. Book before Neh. : EZRa - I have a contractor friend named Ezra

6. One seeing the sights : TOURER - because tourIST didn't fit

8. Substituted for : ACTED AS

9. Conceals : VEILS

10. Psyche's beloved : EROS

11. Data-sharing syst. : LAN

12. Go : TAKE LEAVE - had it, took it out, put it back in

13. Seriously weathered, as old cars : RUST-EATEN

14. Contents of el mar : AGUA

21. Stuffy : POMPOUS

23. Course units : LESSONS - I looked into Delaware Tech in Dover; I even have my schedule worked out for the Fall, but I'm going to have to delay until the Spring; a new car is first order.  Considering the Dodge Dart if the Toyota A-BAT is not out soon

24. Oregon Coast Music Festival setting : COOS BAY - the "C" seemed most sensible

25. Wind farm sight : TURBINE - I've been there, remember~?

26. Take in : NET - not NAB

27. "Comin' __ the Rye" : THRO - I WAGed INTO, ONTO, and that sort of helped.  Never heard of this poem/song

28. Dow 30 company : VISA - I had the "A", but it was not much help; Actually, I did not know what made up the DOW 30 -interesting - the list

29. Quakers play in it : IVY LEAGUE - I tried AAA first, not knowing that U Penn was the school being referred to

30. Not extreme : TEMPERATE

34. Ring cheer : OLÉ

37. Do a slow burn : SMOLDER

41. Minds : SEES TO - made me change my "SEE" at 26d. 'take in'

43. Mary __: ship in a Hammond Innes novel : DEARE - perps

44. Laryngeal concern : CROUP - ah, not CROAK; that's 100% 60% correct  ;7)

45. Clobbered : SMOTE - as in "smited"

46. Key chain : ISLES - took a moment to dawn on me

47. Letters seen under antlers : B.P.O.E. - The Wiki

49. Main call : AHOY - the bounding main, that is

51. Raiders' successes, briefly : TDs - The Oakland Raiders of the NFL

52. Old PC component : CRT - cathode ray tube - the screen that usually had a burn-in from the program most often used

look familiar~?

Splynter

Friday, July 31, 2015, Kurt Krauss

Theme: NESW? I am lost where do I go? It does not matter any direction will do, they all lead to home.

There are four pairs of theme answers along with the grid spanning 'hint'  40A. Like the answers to eight starred clues ... and a hint as to how to fill them in : OMNIDIRECTIONAL (15). The gimmick is you must read the fill in the direction of the of the words themselves. 93 theme letters is a big challenge so you can expect many short fill but we do get ANOMALY,  CITADEL,  COOLERS, LABORED, UNRESERVED  and the complete ET TU BRUTE. Of course as is often the case on Friday, many will not like the backwards words. The last KK I blogged in 2014 brought out many negative or Thumper comments. But which way do you prefer to make Fridays challenging? Obscurities? Originality? I thought this was relatively easy and I had fun. I like how the pairs also fit together, the first a clecho the others synaptic; let's peek at the answer sheet.

12A. *Ring punch : RIGHT HOOK (9). This was perps but it made sense when paired with 68A. *Ring punch : SSORC TFEL (9) Left Cross, another common boxing term. The fill must be read from right to left.  We read right to left in Hebrew.

19A. *Manhattan neighborhood : EAST HARLEM (10). This neighborhood known also as Spanish Harlem is not a place many go to visit. It is paired with 57A. *Liberia locale : ACIRFA TSEW (10) West Africa, which you have to read from West to East (right to left). This where I caught on as I know where Liberia is.

4D. *Animated TV series set in the Rockies : SOUTH PARK (9). This paired with 38D. *Challenge to Eiger climbers : ECAF HTRON (9) (North Face) which requires you to head North to understand the fill.

9D. *Promising : GNIMOC DNA PU (11). Up and Coming, which is paired with 23D. *Level-headed : DOWN TO EARTH (11) like all the themers they must be read in the direction of the words. If you had not understood the theme the letter progression GNI should have tipped the scales. I loved this pair.

Across:

1. Blesses : OKS. In retrospect this was easy, but I was thinking sneezing or religion.

4. Star Wars, initially : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative. Not the movie.

7. Go fishing : ANGLE. I floundered about looking for an answer but the bass I cod come up with is that it describes the angle of the pole and the line. Or maybe the angle of the hook? I hate to worm my way out of this, so help....

16. IQ test pioneer : BINET. Alfred did so much MORE.

17. Start of the line before "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" : ET TU BRUTE? This is Shakespeare's version where Cinna tries to justify killing Julius Caesar because Caesar was too popular. You can tell it is from a English writing because it mixes the Latin phrase with an English response.

18. Bluebloods : ELITE. New England and New York were filled with these types, Cabots, Lodges, Bushes, Roosevelts...

21. 1965 Sophia Loren comedy : LADY L.  What a cast. LINK (0:54).

24. Gas sign in green letters : HESS. Are there any left or are they all Speedway? I did not know Speedway was owned by Marathon until today.

25. Line of work: Abbr. : OCCupation. I find this an awesomely bad clue, but it is used regularly. There are many nice clues for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. HERE.

28. Year in Mexico : ANO. Spanish.

29. Talladega unit : LAP. An Alabama track on the NASCAR circuit.

31. Result of a 1955 merger : AFL-CIO.

34. Postseason game : BOWL. College football.

36. Pull in : MAKE. Money you make.

39. Treating poorly : BAD TO.

43. Role for Dustin : RATSO. Midnight Cowboy. His breakout role?

44. "The Bridge on the River __" : KWAI. Another wonderful movie.

45. Marquis de __ : SADE. How much do you really know about this man?

46. Chooses the window instead of the aisle? : ELOPES. Really cute airplane misdirection but it did not fool me.

48. Fraud watchdog org. : FTC.  Federal Trade Commission.

50. For each : PER.

51. Shade provider : DYE. Fun clue/fill misdirection.

52. Ness, for one : LOCH. Lake.

55. Castro and others : RAULS. Meh.

61. Don Diego de la Vega, familiarly : ZORRO. He will always be Guy WILLIAMS (not Madison, who played Wild Bill Hickock with Andy Devine) I am getting old! for me.

63. Frankness : UNRESERVE.

67. The Bradford kids of '70s-'80s TV, e.g. : OCTET. Who didn't love this FAMILY (1:02)

69. Milo of "Barbarella" : O'SHEA. He was in so many great roles. THIS (3:51) was not one of them. Jane was adorable.

70. Long time : EON.

71. Major : KEY.

Down:

1. Natural resource : ORE. Or not?

2. Young beaver : KIT. Be careful here....

3. Pepper, for one: Abbr. : SGT. All perps, cute clue.

5. Words before dances : DO THE. This was filled before I saw the clue but I am completely unaware of this phrase. Help.

6. Some furniture stores : IKEAS. Meh, the extra s....

7. Biblical brother : ABEL.

8. Juba's "White" river : NILE. This was my learning moment, I just do not know much about the Southern Sudan.

10. Betray, with "down" : LET. To me the act of betrayal is much more than letting down.

11. Juillet's season : ETE. French for July and Summer. 30D. Brest friend : AMI. More French.

13. One of three cartoon nephews : HUEY.

14. Little League precursor : T-BALL. and the semi-clecho 15D. Little League belts: Abbr. : HRS. Home runs.

20. Soweto's home: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa.

21. Toiled : LABORED.

22. Rule exception : ANOMALY. A wonderful word.

26. Stronghold : CITADEL. Also a college.

27. Beach party staples : COOLERS.

32. Govt. group that began in 1908 : FBI.

33. Where kip are spent : LAOS. No idea, but I do know Thailand uses Baht.

35. Sylvester's problem : LISP.

37. London's __ Gardens : KEW.

41. Fawn's mom : DOE. Yes, her name is Jane.

42. Tiny songbird : TIT. Always good for a link. I like it when the two MATCH.

47. Canon offering, briefly : SLR. SingleLens Reflex.

49. Dimin.'s opposite : CRESCendo.

53. Handy : OF USE.

54. Playground retort : CAN SO.

56. Mad as __ hen : A WET.  I could not find anything definitive as to the origin of this phrase.

58. Algonquian language : CREE.

59. Bit : IOTA.

60. Sun. message : SERmon.

61. Animal house : ZOO. Funny.

62. It turns out lts. : OCS. Lieutenants. Officer Candidate School.

64. Nats' former stadium : RFK. Baseball team that shared the park with the unnamed football team.

65. Symbol of peace : VEE. This always reminds me of Churchill, which reminds me that I am watching the Roosevelt mini-series while I ride the exercise bike. Such an interesting family.

66. Eastern Nevada city : ELY. An old stagecoach TOWN which I know only from puzzles.

Another Friday in the books and another month about to go away. We did get 5 Fridays this month so I must be tired. Thanks Kurt. Enjoy all. Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 30, 2015 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Fifty Shades of Grey"

20-Across. Defiant challenge : TRY STOPPING ME.

32-Across. Would-be immigrant's concern : ENTRY STATUS.

40-Across. Nashville VIP : COUNTRY STAR.

50-Across. Romance novel staple, another word for which is aptly hidden in 20-, 32- and 40-Across : SECRET MEETING. I love it when the reveal perfectly describes the theme, as this one does.  Jeffrey seems to like these hidden word themes, and I get to see him a lot in this Thursday spot. Lots of fun clues in this one, that got a chuckle from me when I figured them out.


Across

1. Each : A POP. I love filling in 1-A immediately.

5. Subtly cruel : CATTY. Meowwww.

10. Stock items: Abbr. : MDSE. Merchandise.

14. Couch potato's aid : TIVO.

15. Bizarre : OUTRE. Way out there.

16. Severely damaged sea : ARAL.

17. "Think you can manage?" : FEEL UP TO IT?

19. Beatle George's Indian friend : RAVI. Harrison and Shankar.

22. Dishevel : MUSS.

23. Matzo's lack : YEAST. Ironically followed by:

25. Approach to a landing? : RISER. Stairs, but it also describes YEAST.

28. Grass plot around a sundial, in "Jabberwocky" : WABE. So-called by the characters in the poem, because it goes way before and way behind the sundial.

Twas bryllyg, and ye slythy toves

Did gyre and gymble in ye wabe:

All mimsy were ye borogoves;

And ye mome raths outgrabe. 

31. __ chi : TAI. Not to be confused with chai tea.

35. Believer's suffix : ISM.

36. Binding oath : I DO. Only about 50% of the time, it seems.

37. "__, With Love" : TO SIR. One of my favorite Sydney Poitier movie. Also a hit song by Lulu.

38. Comprehend : SEE.

39. Scand. country that borders Russia : NOR. I wanted Fin. first.

43. Commercial suffix with wheat : ENA. Before she left for work every day during the school year, my mother would make a big pot of WheatENA, Maypo, Cream of Wheat, or Oatmeal. I still love all of them!

44. Antlered deer : HART.

45. Hops driers : OASTS.

46. Aqua __: corrosive acid : REGIA. "Royal water," or nitro-hydrochloric acid is so-called because it can corrode the noble metals gold and platinum.

48. X-rated stuff : SMUT.

56. Part of RNA : RIBO. I wanted to put in "acid," but thought that probably wasn't it because of the clue for 46-Across.

57. Watergate figure : DEEP THROAT. Anyone remember the brouhaha caused by the movie of the same name?

59. Barbara of "Mission: Impossible" : BAIN. Remember Cinnamon Carter?

60. Bottled-up sort? : GENIE. Fun clue!

61. On a break, say : IDLE.

62. Rustic accommodations : INNS. Out of the way spots for TRYSTS?

63. Old Norse texts : EDDAS.

64. Con's confines : CELL.


Down

1. Org. regulating explosives : ATF. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

2. Painter Mondrian : PIET. I owned a Mondrian minidress in the 60's.

3. Concluded : OVER.

4. Nylon, for one : POLYMER.

5. Egyptian Christians : COPTS.

6. Road runners : AUTOS. Another fun clue!

7. Trans Am roof option : T-TOP. This is the Hurst style T-TOP.

8. Road __ : TRIP.

9. "Snowman" in a fur coat : YETI. Yesterday, he was a mysterious mountain climber!

10. Homer's beloved : MARGE.

11. Ones earning play money? : DRAMATISTS. See what I mean? Here's another great clue!

12. Helps by arriving early, with "for" : SAVES A SEAT.

13. Priest who mentored Samuel : ELI. All perps.

18. Unreasonable interest : USURY. Loved this clue, too!

21. Scientific Bill et al. : NYES.

24. Ski race equipment : TIMERS. Huge V8 moment - I was all over poles, skis, goggles, helmets....

25. "The Bucket List" director : REINER.

26. Bali citizen : INDONESIAN.

27. Container seen above seats : STORAGE  BIN. "Luggage" bin just wasn't working with any of the perps...

28. "The Weavers: __ That a Time!": folk documentary : WASN'T. I remember their version of "Guantanamera."

29. Quarreling : AT IT.

30. Third U.S. VP : BURR.

33. Ancient portico : STOA.

34. Band commitment : TOUR.

40. Sear : CHAR.

41. "__, I do adore thee": Shakespeare : YOUTH.

42. Swiftian : SATIRIC.

47. Screen array : ICONS.

48. Old photo tone : SEPIA.

49. Deals (out) : METES.

51. A Möbius strip has just one : EDGE.

52. Upset, with "off" : TEED. Not me.

53. Fix : MEND.

54. Joint : NODE.  Oh, I was thinking of something you smoke.

55. Chutzpah : GALL. Love that word, "chutzpah." Does it come from Yiddish?

56. Box score stat : RBI.

58. Business card no. : TEL. I think it would have been fun to clue this as "No-tell mo-___.""

T-t-t-hat's all, folks!
Marti

Note from C.C.:

Here is a great picture of Windhover (Larry) and Lucina. Lucina said "I was visiting a friend in the Convent so that explains the religious items in the background."

Windhover & Lucina

Wednesday, July 29th 2015 Ian Livengood

Theme: Identified Flying Objects - as the hint clue tells you, the start of each theme entry spends some time airborne.

18A. Online intrusion : POP-UP WINDOW. Browsers can now block these annoyances, so not so bothersome any more.

24A. Complicated material, metaphorically : ROCKET SCIENCE. What do rocket scientists call it?

51A. 1981 Burt Reynolds film, with "The" : CANNONBALL RUN. Pretty sure I never saw this. If I did it was unmemorable.

60A. Early chronicler of the '50s-'60s civil rights movement : JET MAGAZINE. New to me, but then again I'm not exactly their target demographic.

and to tie it together:

40A. Sponsor's purchase ... or what the starts of 18-, 24-, 51- and 60-Across can have : AIR TIME

Hola, compadres. Steve here with July's final Wednesday. I found this to be trickier than the normal midweek fare. A few proper name unknowns that I needed the crosses to crack, a little misdirection here and there with the cluing, and the theme which seemed oddly un-thematic - to me it fell a little flat. A pop-up (fly ball), a rocket, a cannonball, and a jet (airplane) don't seem to be related by very much except that they spend time in the air, which is the theme. Fair enough, I suppose.

Moving right along:

Across:

1. Pretense : ACT

4. Dissatisfied diner's decision : NO TIP. Wow, you've got to be very dissatisfied to leave no tip at all. Remember folks, if there was something wrong with the food or the meal wasn't to your taste, it's not the server's fault.

9. God of Islam : ALLAH

14. To's opposite : FRO

15. Dry-__ board : ERASE. I attended a meeting once in a new conference room that didn't have the whiteboards in place, but the markers were all there. The presenter thought the wall was dry-erase and wrote all over it. It wasn't.

16. Run off : LEAVE

17. Stereotypical rodeo nickname : TEX

20. "Downton Abbey" character Lady __ Crawley : EDITH. Crosses. I watched Season One but couldn't recall the name.

22. "Get it?" : SEE?

23. Helpful contacts : INS

29. Be a debtor of : OWE TO

30. Places to stand and deliver? : DAISES. This is a word I'm pretty sure I have never used. "We're going to need two or three daises for all these speakers". Nope, I can't see me ever saying that.

33. They can call you out : UMPS. Two baseball references today.

36. Garden alignments : ROWS

38. Busch Gardens city : TAMPA. I don't go to theme parks. Rollercoasters scare me half to death. The first time I rode Colossus out here in Los Angeles I almost burst into tears. I was 35.

39. Walter Scott's title : SIR

42. Slender fish : EEL

43. Base exercise : DRILL.I used to enjoy drill on the parade ground during basic training in the reserve. People thought I was strange. They still do.

45. Way : MODE

46. Skort revelation : KNEE. Odd clue. All the skorts I've seen reveal a good deal of thigh too.

47. Heroic son of Aphrodite : AENEAS. Defender of Troy, demi-god and legendary founder of Rome, although Romulus and Remus might have something to say about that.

49. In a damp manner : WETLY. Here's another word I'm not sure I've used. "He came in wetly from the rain". Doesn't really have the right ring to my ears.

56. Voice vote call : AYE

58. Is laid up with : HAS

59. Outscores : BEATS

65. Messy abode : STY. Check out this posh one in Kent, England.

66. Snorkeler's haunt : ATOLL

67. Letter before lambda : KAPPA. I still need to learn the Greek alphabet. I haven't made much progress.

68. Common break hour : TEN

69. Laundry setting : RINSE

70. Fall faller : ACORN

71. Episodic story line : ARC. Some sources say that "episodic" and "arc" story lines are two distinct styles. Here's an in interesting discussion if you have a few minutes.

Down:

1. Hunting : AFTER. In the "I'm coming after you" sense.

2. System of belief : CREDO. I had CREED first until I saw that "EE-ITH was getting me nowhere

3. Like biohazards : TOXIC

4. One saying uncle? : NEPHEW.

5. Galeón load : ORO. I guess I didn't know I knew the Spanish word for "Galleon". I did know the Spanish word for "gold" though.

6. Brew dispenser : TAP

7. Terre Haute sch. : I.S.U. Indiana State, home of the Fighting Sycamores (I'm not kidding).

8. Soft drink with a red-white-and-blue logo : PEPSI

9. Put off : ALIENATE. I was thinking along the "prevaricate" lines at first.

10. Spy thriller writer Deighton : LEN. "The Ipcress File" is one of his best known. He writes cookery books too.

11. Romeos : LADIES MEN. I had the "L" and started entering "LOTHARIOS". I'm not sure what stopped me, it just didn't feel right.

12. Cosmetic titan : AVON. Final fill for me. My mind went blank and I couldn't think of a single cosmetics company.

13. Fells with an ax : HEWS

19. Nursery intruder : WEED. Great clue.

21. Bout enders, for short : TKO'S

25. Garr of "Young Frankenstein" : TERI

26. Blizzard, e.g. : STORM

27. Chisholm Trail community : COWTOWN. Abilene, for example, at the end of the trail.

28. Org. in many a spy thriller : C.I.A.

31. Olympian's weapon : EPEE. I got stuck on the "Gods of Olympus" train of thought and couldn't get off it for quite some time.

32. Black Friday event : SALE

33. Beef inspection org. : U.S.D.A.

34. Muddy spot : MIRE

35. Bill Bradley's alma mater : PRINCETON. I had the ETON part and couldn't get past thinking about the English school. Something's definitely wrong with my brain today.

37. Cassette half : SIDE B. We've had the argument before about whether anyone says "Side B" as opposed to "Side Two".

40. "Gilligan's Island" co-star : ALAN HALE. Thank you, crosses.

41. Prefix with carpal : META

44. Green span : LEA

46. NASCAR racer Busch : KYLE. He has a racing brother called Kurt, so needed to wait past the first "K". He must feel right at home when he goes to Tampa.

48. Fly in the ointment : SNAG

50. Maine mail order giant : L.L.BEAN

52. Japanese port : OSAKA. Busy place on the island of Honshu.

53. Dreadlocks wearer : RASTA. Time for some Bob Marley.

54. Say : UTTER

55. Backstreet Boys contemporaries : 'N SYNC. Not my cup of tea. Very successful and all seemed to be nice folk

56. Open a little : AJAR

57. Mysterious mountain climber : YETI

61. Chicago Fire's org. : M.L.S. Major League Soccer, in case you don't know.

62. Efron of "Neighbors" (2014) : ZAC

63. Financial pg. debut : I.P.O. Little bit of a clumsy "there's an abbreviation in the clue" here.

64. "Ask Me Another" airer : NPR. Apparently no longer an abbreviation.

Here's the grid, and my work here is done.

Steve