Monday, June 20, 2016 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: At the Top of the Hour - For your busy commute.

20A. Lena Horne classic that begins "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky ... " : STORMY WEATHER

26A. Measure of a store's visitors : FOOT TRAFFIC

48A. Bright spot in tough times : WELCOME NEWS

53A. What a Geiger counter measures ... or, as two words, what the ends of 20-, 26- and 48-Across are : RADIOACTIVITY. Radio Activity

Argyle here. A text book Monday. Easy but not stupid easy with interesting themes. I do wonder if it is a new collaboration from Don and C.C. or has it been waiting in the wings. Another appearance of PETSIT makes me wonder.

Across:

1. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz : OPAL. October.

5. Frees (of) : RIDS

9. Russian ruler until 1917 : TSAR. Nicholas II.

13. Get a better mtge. : REFI. (refinance)

14. Take by force : USURP

16. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO. Prussian statesman.

17. Biting remark : BARB

18. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE

19. Auntie of Broadway : MAME. The original Broadway production starred Rosalind Russell.

23. Historic time : ERA

24. Earth tremor : SEISM

32. Tic-tac-toe win : OOO

34. Dryer screen buildup : LINT

35. German-born sex therapist, familiarly : DR. RUTH. PSA? She has her own YouTube channel.

36. Neither here __ there : NOR

37. Choir members : ALTOs

39. John, in Scotland : IAN

40. "All My Children" vixen : ERICA. Susan Lucci.

42. "Not so hot" : "MEH"

43. Tangerine kin : ORANGE

46. Subj. for nature lovers : ECOLogy

47. Before, to Byron : ERE

50. Sales talk : SPIEL

52. U.N. advocate for workers' rights : ILO. (International Labour Organization)

60. Tiny "smashing" target : ATOM

62. Gem measure : CARAT

10-Carat-Forever-Brilliant-Lab-Grown-Moissanite

 

63. __ of expertise : AREA

64. Works on the lawn : MOWS

65. Subway entrance : STILE. I tried STAIR first.

66. Fish home, at home : TANK

67. Game on horseback : POLO

68. Piped up : SAID

69. Grinds to a halt : ENDS

Down:

1. Planets, to poets : ORBS

2. Gardening moss : PEAT

3. Oversize coif : AFRO

4. Opera text : LIBRETTO. First of the four excellent long columns.

5. Poet Kipling : RUDYARD

6. "__ Mommy kissing ... " : I SAW. Santa doesn't kiss and tell ... unless it is Lois.

7. Sandy hill : DUNE

8. Madrid miss: Abbr. : SRTA. Señorita.

9. Marisa of "My Cousin Vinny" : TOMEI

10. Touring figure skating show : STARS ON ICE. Tinman approved use of _ _ _.

11. Emer. cash source : ATM

12. Caviar : ROE

15. Feed the neighbor's cat, say : PET SIT

21. "The A-Team" muscleman : MR. T

22. Actress Anne : HECHE

25. Milked animal, in kiddie-speak : MOO-COW

26. Olympic stadium centerpiece : FLAME

27. Mideast ships : OILERS

28. Hunting, catlike : ON THE PROWL

29. Common typeface : ARIAL

30. Old French money : FRANC

31. Practice fly ball, e.g. : FUNGO. Usually hit with a FUNGO bat. (1865-70, Americanism; of obscure origin)

33. Postgrad tests : ORALs

38. Spread, as seed : SOWED

41. Do over, as a kitchen : RENOVATE

44. They're dug up at digs : RELICS

45. Gave off : EMITTED

49. Yalie : ELI

51. "You are not!" rebuttal : "I AM SO!"

54. Cheerios grain : OATS

55. Opera showpiece : ARIA

56. Colombian city : CALI

57. Persia, now : IRAN

58. See to : TEND

59. Jabbers : YAKs. I dunno...they may have been yaking.

60. Rock band need : AMP

61. As well : TOO

Argyle

Sunday June 19th, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme:  "I Ching" - CHING is added to each theme entry.

23A. Job for the philharmonic's publicist? : ORCHESTRA PITCHING. Orchestra pit.

41A. Sign over a woodcarver's shop? : NOTCHING FOR SALE. Not for Sale.

 

83A. Country club mentors? : TEACHING CADDIES. Tea caddies.

106A. Crowding on the barbecue grill? : HAMBURGER BUNCHING. Hamburger bun.

 

16D. Marriage of theater performers? : BROADWAY HITCHING. Broadway hit. Two pairs of Down entries intersect two Across entries. Nice!

36D. Late-shift laundry job? : EVENING STARCHING. Evening star.

This is the kind of the theme I'd not have dreamed of, adding a rare 5-letter string to each theme answer. Jeffrey is very creative when it comes to letter(s) addition/deletion/replacement gimmick.

Total 96 theme squares. Very manageable.  Jeffrey went low with 138 words. Our average is 144. Low word count often produces some snazzy entries like TRUE/FALSE (19. Type of question) and MT. SHASTA (77D. Highest peak in the Calif. Cascades). It also produces some wobbly long fill like REPACKER (78D. One changing hotels, perhaps) and abundant  3-letter words (total 42). Constructors are risking it when they go over 40 3-letter on a Sunday grid.

For those Sunday-only solvers, I met with the great Jeffrey last Sunday at the MN Crossword Tournament. He was busy with the event, but we managed to talk a bit about our blog & puzzle-making. He's passionate about crosswords and we're lucky to enjoy his talent & hard work on a regular basis.

 

Left to Right: David Liben-Nowell, Cathy Long (David's friend), Tom Pepper, Jeffrey Wechsler, David Hanson & C.C.

Across:

  

1. H.S. equivalency tests : GEDs

5. Hold on : WAIT

9. Mollusk named for its earlike extensions : SEA HARE. Helpful clue.

16. Tool used at home : BAT.  Home plate. Also 48A. Reliever Robb with 314 career saves : NEN. 79A. Target Field player : TWIN

21. One responsible to an officer : PAROLEE. Simple in retrospect.

22. Narrow inlet : RIA

25. Hockey legend : ORR

26. Rock bands : STRATA. Great clue.

27. Made tracks : RAN

28. Essen-to-Leipzig direction, locally : OST

29. Chief justice before Hughes : TAFT. Got via crosses, despite the CHIEF JUSTICE puzzle I made with George.

30. Sun. message : SER

31. Where narcs may be found : ON A BUST. Not a fan of this type of entry. Or IN A JAR/CAN. 

34. Headline makers : MEDIA

35. Weaving components : WEFTS

38. Kitchen appliance : JUICER. Mine is Jack Lalanne. 

39. Nielsen unit : VIEWER

40. Michelangelo masterpiece : DAVID. Did you try PIETA first?

44. Cell users' concerns : OVERAGES. Not a word I use.

46. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones" : OONA

47. QB's stats : YDs

49. Side-to-side movement : YAW

50. Devon demolition work : RASING. Crossing 50. Refresh one's knowledge of, to a Brit : RUB UP. The latter is new to me.

54. Med. research agency : NIH

56. Much Arctic Ocean coastline : ASIA Also 93. North Atlantic perils : BERGS

58. "Don't even try" : IT'S FUTILE. Reminds me of Jeffrey's I WAS MAD a while ago.

61. Modern storage unit : CD FILE. Also new to me. I don't use CDs any more.

64. Heartless role for Jack Haley? : TIN MAN. Nice clue/fill.

66. Union grievance figure : ARBITER

67. "We've Got Tonight" duettist with Rogers : EASTON (Sheena). Wiki says it was a hit in 1983. Was 1983 memorable to you? We were able to eat meat once a week then.

68. Marx collaborator : ENGELS. Heroes when I grew up.

69. Dodgeball taunt : YOU MISSED. Never played Dodgeball.

71. Twice tetra- : OCTA. 8.

72. Long-running NBC comedy : SNL

73. Self-described toon "dust magnet" : PIG PEN. "Peanuts".

74. Snitch : RAT

76. Engine room noise : HUM

77. "I pity the fool" speaker : MR. T

81. "A kind of library," to Borges : PARADISE. Unfamiliar with the saying. 

90. Symposium group : PANEL

91. Unexpected twist : SPRAIN. Not plot twist.

92. Raise : PARENT

94. Modern break-ins : HACKS

95. To whom Alice said, "Why, they're only a pack of cards" : HERSELF. Unexpected clue.

97. Stylish '60s Londoner : MOD

98. Liniment target : ACHE

99. Half a drum : TOM. This "Half a drum" solved a nagging problem for me yesterday. I just could not understand what the guy was talking on a YouTube clip, neither could Boomer. The "Half a drum"  came back to me in a few minutes.

100. Half of MXII : DVI. All crosses. I was not going to calculate.

101. Ring combo : ONE TWO

105. __ slope : SKI

111. High end of many a scale : TEN. On a scale of 1 to 10...

112. "The poetry of reality": Dawkins : SCIENCE. Jeffrey likes quote clues.

113. Initiates, as a conversation : STRIKES UP

114. Uru. neighbor : ARG

115. "Dylan & __": 1989 rock album collaboration : THE DEAD. Also unfamiliar to me. Bob Dylan. The Grateful Dead.

116. Song : TUNE

117. "Nice" Laurel and Hardy predicament : MESS. Got via crosses as well.

Down:

1. Car in a '60s hit : GTO

2. Goes astray : ERRS

3. Air line : DUCT. Loved the clue as well.

4. Very, in Mannheim : SEHR. A bit more challenging than TRES.

5. Doesn't use efficiently : WASTES

6. Vow site : ALTAR

7. Lod's land: Abbr. : ISR

8. Remove, as a coupon : TEAR OUT

9. Strength-building food of comics : SPINACH. Have any of you tried water spinach? So good.

10. Snack on : EAT. And 12. Snack cake brand : HO HOs

 11. Line on a globe : ARC

13. High-profile group : A-LIST

14. Flat charge : RENT. We've seen [Flat rate] clue before.

15. Med. recording : EEG

17. Control tower vista : AIRFIELD. There's one a few miles from our home. 

18. Raw beef dishes : TARTARES. This is plurable? Irish Miss likes steak tartare.

20. Dedication to a saint : FEAST DAY

24. Fast-spreading emotion : PANIC

29. Driving areas : TEES

32. "Cursed __ that did so!": "The Tempest" : BE I. Gluey entry. By the way, Bei means "North" in Chinese. Jing means "capital". So Beijing means "northern capital". 

33. Caterer's vessel : URN

34. Landmark case name : MIRANDA

35. Signals to try to score : WAVES IN

37. Christmas buy : FIR

38. __ A. Bank Clothiers : JOS. None in our neighborhood.

39. Beethoven opener? : VON. Ludwig van Beethoven.

40. Give : DONATE. Grateful for all constructors/volunteers who donated time and puzzles to the MN Crossword Tournament, esp Jeffrey.

41. Mature eft : NEWT

42. Ill-fated ones : GONERS

43. Golden Gate phenomenon : FOG

45. Investors' goals : GAINS

51. Grisham's "__ to Kill" : A TIME

52. Protest tactic : SIT IN

53. Martinique et Réunion : ILEs

55. "In that case ... " : IF SO

57. "I heartily agree" : AMEN

59. Adage : SAYING

60. Cleft-tongued critter : FROG. I never paid attention to frog's tongue.

61. Fragrant conifer : CEDAR

62. Chinese water garden staples : LOTUSES. Subjects of many Chinese poems. It stands for purity & tranquillity. Here are two plants Irish Miss sent to me back in March. The  frosty nights killed the third one. Do you know their names?

63. Paint choice : ENAMEL

65. What "can be yours ... if the price is right!" : ALL THIS. 7-letter partial.

70. Important times : ERAs

73. Etui item : PIN

75. Obsolescent music source : TAPE DECK

80. Take the gold : WIN

81. Guinea pig, for some : PET

82. Patriotic org. : DAR

84. Food to celebrate with : CAKE. Sorry for the Z crossing yesterday, Dave! Thanks to all who solved my puzzle and gave me valuable feedback. Yes, FermatPrime, I have two more in queue.

85. "Kiss of life," briefly : CPR

86. Small batteries : AAs

87. Saved from obscurity, with "up" : DREDGED

88. Probe : DELVE

89. Leading : IN FIRST

93. Sports journalist Bernstein : BONNIE

95. Pal : HOMIE

96. Nestle securely : EMBED

97. Express bereavement : MOURN

99. Measurer of rpm : TACH

102. Movie about giant ants : THEM. The poster looks too scary.

103. Impudent : WISE

104. Burden : ONUS

106. 33rd pres. : HST. Did you know the answer immediately? I know JFK was the 35th, then counted back.

107. A, in Arles : UNE

108. Red Seal label company : RCA. Wiki says RCA Red Seal is a classical music label. Jeffrey loves classical music.

109. Heating stat : BTU

110. New car feature, for short : GPS

C.C.

Saturday, Jun 18th, 2016, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,K,Q)

Blocks: 29

 I bounced back from last week's disaster pretty well with Mr. Sessa's latest, even though it did not look promising to start - but I have to admit to one Google in the NE. Again the grid was replete with proper names, but I was pleased with myself for getting some of the longer fill right off, and that gave me some traction in the other corners - big chunky corners of 8x5s and nearly 9x6s, and two 9s and two 10s in the Down as well.  The two "B" climbers;

9. Britain's Yeoman Warders, familiarly : BEEF EATERS - I knew the term "beef eaters", but not the 'proper' name for the now ceremonial royal guard - the Wiki

 27. Some house-to-garage links : BREEZEWAYS - nailed it

 

(~!)

ACROSS:

1. Alaska's Alaskan Malamute, for one : STATE DOG - It fit, so I went with it

9. Have rounds all around : BAR HOP - The "P" showed via perps early, so I pondered "something - UP"....bzzzt

15. Locks maintenance : HAIRCARE - tresses or transportation for ships~?

16. Tennyson's "lily maid of Astolat" : ELAINE - my one cheat....the Wiki

17. Volcanic glass : OBSIDIAN - nailed it

18. Omitted from a speech? : ELIDED

19. Calms : ALLAYS - I had --LA-S, and was tempted to go with RELAX(e)S - har-har

20. Spells out : DEFINES

22. __ United: English soccer team : LEEDS - my dad was a Manchester United fan

23. Serious order shortage? : MELEE - stared at this too long, then the V-8 can flew; when a riot breaks out, there's little order to be found

24. Ideal: Abbr. : STD

26. Where Andorra is : IBERIA - nailed it, but then SPAIN didn't fit at the true clecho; 36a. Where Andorra is : EUROPE, so I contemplated ESPANA - dah~! Europe is too easy~!

28. __-American : AFRO

29. Picketing displays : PLACARDS

33. Iranian city known for its carpets : TABRIZ - OK, so I went with PERSIA, which IS  Iran, I know....

35. Rest : REPOSE

37. Ascribe (to) : IMPUTE - one of a few new words for me today

38. Few are chosen : SURNAMES - ah.  Clever.

40. Hamlet : DORP - went down the four-letter list; TOWN, BURG, BURB - but this one is new to me; it's Dutch

41. "Moulin Rouge" (1952) co-star, familiarly : ZSA-ZSA - once I had a "Z"....

43. Storm dir. : ENE - total WAG, considering the combinations, but this one always fits best

44. __-wip : REDDI - I knew that the "ready" part was spelled wrong, but never noticed the "H" was missing from the other half

45. Underhanded undertaking : THEFT

50. Bonus : THROW-IN

52. Southwestern native : PUEBLO - oops, not NAVAJO

53. Hyphenated frozen food brand : ORE-IDA - I like mini-taters

54. Ear-piercing : OVERLOUD - what do you wanna do with your life~?!?!?

I wanna rock

56. Analgesic rub : BENGAY - this was in another Saturday puzzle not too long ago

57. Gave the business : TORE INTO

58. Auto options : SEDANS

59. Blows : EXPLODES - I just watched the "Lego Movie", which was really funny in parts - Batman especially - but the explosions were done with the blocks, too, and I can only imagine the work that went into them - the ocean waves, too

The Kra--gl-e~!

DOWN:

1. Marine hazard : SHOAL - ah.  Not sToRM

2. China setting : TABLE

3. Theater access : AISLE

4. F-A-C, e.g. : TRIAD - musical reference; I got it, but only because I play guitar; leave off the open e string from the chord below, and you have F-A-C.  I've been toying with this song, which has really great power chords

5. One barely working? : ECDYSIAST - this is new to me, too - according to Dictionary, it's a euphemism for stripper - one "bare"ly working....

6. Place of honor : DAIS - or the pole, if you're part of the previous clue's working class

7. __ pro nobis : ORA - also a learning moment; "pray for us"

8. Pair in many languages : GENDERS - um....

10. "Hyperbole and a Half" blogger Brosh : ALLIE - all perps and a WAG

11. __ check : RAIN

12. Avoids being seen by : HIDES FROM

13. Private sign? : ONE STRIPE

14. __ XING : PED

21. "The Good Wife" crisis manager Gold : ELI - I don't watch the show - IMDb

23. Rx : MEDication(s)

25. Drops off : DOZES

28. Yellow Pokémon species that ultimately evolves to Alakazam : ABRA - total unknown; and the "B" was my last fill

29. Roaring group : PRIDE - Lions, get it~?

30. What "love is like," in a 1960s hit : LEMON TREE - before my time; I can't justify posting it here along with Twisted Sister - so here's a link

31. Take in : APPREHEND - ah, not the ALTER clothing kind

32. No small feat : COUP

34. Bare : AU NATUREL - I think a woman is sexier in clothing

38. Bad news metaphor : SAD NOTE - and on a "Sad Note", the hockey season is over, and unfortunately, the trophies were awarded to the "wrong" players....just one Ranger fan's opinion....

39. Eponymous weapon : UZI

42. Star Wars, initially : SDI - Space Strategic Defense Initiative - I do that all the time....

44. Godzilla ally, at times : RODAN - how I miss those Saturday afternoon matinees

46. Prefix with tropic : HELIO

47. FDR bought the first one in 1941 : E BOND - "war" bonds - the Wiki

48. Champagne holder : FLUTE

49. Kerfuffles : TO-DOS - more MELEE

51. University of Latvia locale : RIGA

52. Lineup member, hopefully : PERPetrator, not the perpendiculars of crossword fame

53. Delivery pros : OBStetrician - I had "OB-" early, so it was not UPS

55. __ populi : VOX

Splynter

Note from C.C.: 

I made today's Daily Celebrity Crossword. You can click here (Washington Post site) to solve online if you're not on Facebook. The puzzle is co-edited by Amy Reynaldo (Diary of a Crossword Fiend) and Trip Payne (3-letter ACPT champion). The grid is smaller than our weekday puzzle, only  13*13.

Let me know how long it takes you to solve or where your trouble spots are.

Friday, June 17, 2016 James Sajdak

Title:  STAND  what's going on?

           DO YOU

Remember those Wacky Wordies we all have solved over the years like:

Well James has done a masterful job weaving this device into a Friday puzzle. Using the adverb "Literally", he places the first part of an in-the-language phrase literally beneath the second part to induce the preposition UNDER which completes a theme phrase using the same number of letters in both as you can see in the grid below. 

And, oh yeah, having the first word in the phrase appear later in the puzzle and the last word requiring a cross reference adds to the BOTTOMS UP amusement/torment. Fiendish - Today thy name is Sajdak! Very cool! 

Husker Gary here pinch-hitting for Lemon and I give this puzzle  

Now let's see what else is hidden in our puzzle and not

Theme Entries: 

#1 GETS UNDER FOOT

15. See 18-Across : FOOT

18. Literally, forms an obstruction : GETS

FOOT

GETS

Yes, he "Literally" can!!

#2 THROWS UNDER THE BUS

19. See 23-Across : THE BUS

23. Literally, sacrifices to save one's own neck : THROWS

THE BUS

THROWS

With Photoshop, you can do this figuratively, uh, not "Literally"! 

#3 PLACES UNDER ARREST

56. See 61-Across : ARREST

61. Literally, books : PLACES

ARREST

PLACES

The most famous in moviedom?

Didn't Dirty Harry also

COVER

WORK

#4 LIES UNDER OATH

62. See 66-Across : OATH

66. Literally, commits perjury : LIES

OATH

LIES

You ain't foolin' her!

...and the reveal:

36. Toaster's words, and a hint to solving eight puzzle answers : BOTTOMS UP - Meryl probably got an Academy Award Nomination for this line!

Across

1. Liner : SHIP - Some captains don't like it when they are called boats. Spitz?

5. Hope __ : CHEST

10. Shred of evidence? : DNA

13. A, to Bach : EINE - Even a cultural philistine such as I knows EINE kleine Nachtmusik 

14. "I wanna do it" : LEMME

16. Turkish warlord : AGHA

17. Physicist's proposed particle : AXION - Count me as physics teacher who has never heard of this word

21. Camps : ROUGHS IT - Holiday Inn Express is ROUGHING IT for us

24. Pod opener : TRI

25. RV chain : KOA

26. Chou En-__ : LAI

27. Like adobe : EARTHEN

30. Publicity : INK - "Say whatever you want, just spell my name right!"

31. Sundance's love : ETTA - The real ETTA Place and Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh)

33. Blackguard : CUR

34. Touch, for example : SENSE - My iMacPro can SENSE how many fingers are on the TOUCHpad

40. Fills : SATES

43. __ grass : OAT

44. World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki : ISAO - He's got a lovely bunch of vowels!

48. Soul seller : KIA - When visiting South Korea, the Pope chose a modest, made-in Korea KIA Soul and admonished clergy who drive big, expensive vehicles

49. 1972 Olympics city : SAPPORO - The last Olympics where wooden skis were used to win a gold medal

53. Beantown landmark, with "the" : PRU - The 52-story PRUdential building's parking is much cheaper, a 20 min. walk to Fenway and easy to find after the game

54. Rile : IRK

55. End of August? : INE

58. Blocks : PREVENTS

63. Tin Pan Alley gp. : ASCAP

65. Mr. Bean's car : MINI - Mr. Bean, his MINI and Teddy!

67. Onetime NPR host Hansen : LIANE

68. Settled : PAID

69. "The Conspiracy Against Childhood" author LeShan : EDA

70. Itzhak Perlman choice : STRAD

71. Tart fruit : SLOE


Down

1. City named for a Duwamish chief : SEATTLE - Wise words from Chief SEATTLE 

2. Snub : HIGH HAT

3. Come into : INHERIT - He that troubles his own house shall INHERIT the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. Proverbs 11:9

4. R&B singer Bryson : PEABO - Definitely worth a "google"

5. One to admire : CLASS ACT - C.C. is the embodiment of this sentiment 

6. Spell : HEX

7. Mideast monarch : EMIR

8. Like some operators : SMOOTH

9. Academic status : TENURE - A teacher with TENURE is hard to fire

10. Supple leather : DOESKIN

11. Whims : NOTIONS - "The Witt Store." Your place for notions, sundries, gewgaws and baubles Columbus, GA, c. 1953 . Who's says no one ever uses the word gewgaws?

12. On the line : AT STAKE

15. String next to E? : FGH - String of letters in the first song for many of us. I had the fill correct but struggled before I understood it!

20. Former NHL defenseman Krupp : UWE - UWE Von Schamann was a Sooner field goal kicker that never failed against the Huskers

22. Infomercial cutlery brand : GINSU - I never liked that shoe!

28. It's frustrating to be in one : RUT

29. Scout group : TROOP

32. Actor Vigoda : ABE - Barney Miller's Phil Fish and The Godfather's Salvatore Tessio

35. Center opening : EPI

37. Davis of "Do the Right Thing" : OSSIE

38. Tiananmen Square honoree : MAO - Translation of the writings?

39. Lacking, with "for" : STRAPPED

40. Stick on a slope : SKI POLE

41. Blitz : AIR RAID

42. Break on "Downton Abbey" : TAKE TEA - What?? TEA TIME is not right?

45. Reduced-price offering : SPECIAL

46. Hall of "Coming to America" : ARSENIO - 69% on Rotten Tomatoes

47. Unlikely, as a chance : OUTSIDE - or a variation using the theme

50. Historical records : ANNALS

51. Watch a friend's dog, say : PET SIT

52. The NBA's Magic : ORL

57. Cloverleaf branches : RAMPS - The Pregerson Interchange in L.A.

59. Old tape type : VHS

60. Bad mark? : SCAR

64. Santa __, California : ANA

Now it's time for others to comment, so they shouldn't delay and get (yes this is addictive)

Thursday, June 16th 2016 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: Eeew! Bug assault!

17A. Bug : LISTENING DEVICE. The glass-against-the-wall ploy doesn't work, despite what you see in the movies.

26A. Bug : PROGRAM FAULT. I've been responsible for a few of these. The very first program I ran at school went into an infinite loop. It was a portent of things to come. Apple have a sense of humor with their street address:

44A. Bug : VIRAL ILLNESS. Just a 24-hour flu, if you're lucky.

57A. Bug : VOLKSWAGEN MODEL. We had a clashing pink purse/yellow VW Bug last week.I'll spare you the repeat imagery.

What a great puzzle from Bruce and Gail. I really take my hat off to a weekday puzzle like this that is nothing but fun, and challenging to get through. I stared down the top-middle before the simplest fill (SOD) finally unlocked it for me. Bravo, guys. Thanks for the workout.

Across:

1. Alpine racing obstacle : GATE. Two poles on the course you have to ski between. Wouldn't it be fun if it was an actual gate that you had to stop and open, or leap over? (Be careful to close it behind you).

5. Whisks : BEATS

10. Thought-provoking : DEEP

14. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN

15. Prenatal test, for short : AMNIO. -centesis. Tough choices when faced with this one.

16. Former "Fashion Emergency" host : EMME. Who? Crosses for me.

20. Industrial Revolution power source : STEAM

21. Kilt wearer's refusal : NAE. I was expecting "NO UNDERWEAR" and mercifully ran out of space.

22. Destructive insect : BORER

23. Bering Sea port : NOME. As the locals say "There's no place like Nome".

25. Invigorates : ROUSES

31. Cocoon and Posturepedic : SEALYS. Confident "aha!" and "SEELYS: went in. A later correction with a crossing tempered my hubris. Thank you, OARS.

32. Parks in American history : ROSA

33. Cuba libre ingredient : RUM. I loved the RUM, COKE and LIME clechos here. Great mini-theme.

36. Confident : SURE

37. Flags down : HAILS

39. Cuba libre ingredient : COKE. Lovely. See 33A

40. Decorates with Angel Soft, briefly : TPS. Charmin in my house. I don't know exactly how much a roll costs, but I'm not about to throw it around the neighborhood.

41. "Now that you mention it ... " : WELL .... Generally not a good start. Be diplomatic.

42. Places for French lessons : ÉCOLES

46. Backless furniture : STOOLS

49. Pallet piece : SLAT

50. Put up with : ABIDE. A word with two senses - literally "live (with)". In the pejorative sense in this case "I can't abide this person". But also in the hymn of hope sense "Abide with me". This is traditionally sung before the kick-off of the English soccer cup final in London each year. I'm not sure how the tradition started, but it's pretty cool to hear 80,000 people singing the last stanza of each verse.

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me

Hold now your Word before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. 

51. One to hang with : PAL

53. Pro shop set : IRONS. I have Taylor Made irons. I didn't buy them in the Pro shop though - cheaper online! The US Open starts today - I'm in a for-fun pool to pick a team of ten golfers to win the most prize money between them. My ten are: Day, McIlroy, Spieth, Garcia, Fowler, Matsuyama, Snedeker, Reed, Berger and Knox.

60. 4-F's opposite : ONE-A

61. Intense : ACUTE

62. Cuba libre ingredient : LIME. Lovely. See 33A.

63. Part of a wine list : REDS

64. Migratory birds : GEESE

65. It's measured in inches : SNOW. Stop sniggering at the back. Plenty of this in Nome.

Down:

1. Some square dancers : GALS. Guys the other 50%, or so.

2. Settled on a branch : ALIT

3. Zap : TASE

4. Involve in a complicated way : ENTANGLE. Nice!

5. Negative decree : BAN

6. "8 Mile" rapper : EMINEM. An amazing talent. Whether or not hip-hop is your thing, I love this track. Probably rated R for language.

7. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. Who?

8. Buster Brown's dog : TIGE. No idea. Contributed to a blank section for quite some time.

9. Ground cover : SOD. This little three-letter "oh!" finally unlocked the whole top-middle section for me. What a great construction key.

10. Deeply religious : DEVOUT

11. Dubai dignitaries : EMIRS

12. Link between speakers : EMCEE. Was vaguely on the right track with SEGUE but vague doesn't cut it. Corrected.

13. Reviewers of academic essays : PEERS.

18. Atlanta university : EMORY

19. Scary name in 2014 news : EBOLA

24. Kitchen gadgets : MASHERS. I have forks. Over the years I've discarded gadgets in favor of simpler and more efficient tools. Herb mincers? Garlic presses? Mashers? Pah. They use up space and are usually troublesome to clean. Big-Assed cleaver! Fork! Now you're talking.

25. Five-time NBA MVP Bill : RUSSELL. Tried WALTON first and was left with an empty square.

26. Wordless summons : PSST!

27. Do another stint : RE-UP

28. Couple in a dinghy : OARS. Corrected my miss-spelt SEELY/SEALY from earlier.

29. Superfluity : FRILL. I flat-out LOVED this clue. How many times have we seen "superfluous" and never given the other forms of the word a passing thought? Fantastic. Made my day.

30. Moviefone parent co. : AOL. Amazing who ends up being owned by whom. No doubt it will be different next year.

(Below were added later: Original write-up from 30-D went missing)

33. Othello or Iago : ROLE. From the play.

34. Hula strings : UKEs

35. Difficult spot : MESS

38. __ carte : À LA

39. Instrument panel array : CONTROLS

41. Cunning : WILES

43. Adjuster's concern : CLAIM

44. Beverages sometimes made from potatoes : VODKAs

45. Archipelago parts : ISLETs

46. Relish : SAVOR

47. Chophouse choice : T-BONE. Nice pairing.

48. Quieted, in a way : OILED

51. Rate : PACE

52. Reason for cold compresses and extra blankets : AGUE

54. Chief god of Asgard : ODIN

55. Literary sea captain : NEMO

56. Large quantity : SLEW

58. Sign of a canine excitement : WAG

59. Bridal bio word : NÉE

I'm in Milwaukee for a couple of days, so just checked the wonderful state of Wisconsin off my bucket list. The weather here is better than back in LA - not often you can say that, I wager.

And .... here's the grid. No circles!

Steve