Sunday, November 6, 2016 Kevin Donovan

Theme: "Following Up"- Up is added to the start of each familiar phrase.

23A. Profession for the principled? : UPRIGHT FIELD. Right field.

29A. Dr. Seuss, e.g.? : UPBEAT POET. Beat poet.

40A. Promising market indicators? : UPTURN SIGNALS. Turn signals. Bad streak last week.

65A. Toy trains for tycoons? : UPSCALE MODEL RAILROADS. Scale model railroads.

91A. What pillows may do, in a kids' room? : UPHOLD THE FORT. Hold the fort.

107A. Periods of distress? : UPSET TIMES. Set times.

113A. Outperform crew members in the ship play? : UPSTAGE HANDS. Stagehands.

I'm a bit surprised by the "Following Up" title. Normally the key word does not appear in the puzzle title.  

Rich and Kevin might have considered putting FOLLOWING UP as a reveal in the last Across entry. But then decided "Following Up" is better as a title.

Chunky corners in this grid. The upper left & lower right are easier to fill, as they're relatively sectioned off. The upper right/lower left are amazing work. Those 7x4 are just hard, esp when crossing two more long entries.

Across:    

1. Manchester United rival : ARSENAL. Gimme for our Steve.

8. __ En-lai : CHOU

12. Tool used in a box : BAT. Batter's box!

15. Film add-on : FEST

19. Perform again : REPRISE. Not RE-STAGE.

20. Next in line : HEIR

21. U.N. workers' agcy. : ILO

22. The snakes in Indiana Jones' "Why do they have to be snakes?" : ASPS

 

25. Exit quietly, in a Dylan Thomas poem : GO GENTLE. Helpful clue. You don't need to know the poem to obtain the answer.

27. Run ashore : BEACH

28. Bill collector : TILL. Not a person. Same with 9. Pair for date night : HEELS and 45. Grand Canal traveler : GONDOLA

 

31. Sask. neighbor : ALTA (Alberta)

32. Can't abide : DETEST

34. Small cells : AAs

35. Jockey competitor : HANES

36. __ code : BAR. Not BRO (56. Dude) code.

37. Get together on a ranch : HERD.  Tiny "together" clue echo with Also 52. Come together : GEL

39. Catlike : FELINE

47. Weather map depiction : AIR MASS

48. It's not always easy to get into : SHAPE. Thanksgiving is coming.

49. Not a soul : NO ONE. Should not have "Not" in the clue.

50. Tries earnestly (for) : GUNS

51. Piling on, say : ADDING

53. "The Librarians" channel : TNT. Never watched it. Good?

54. More than just cooks : CHEFS. With "More than" in the clue, I can never figure out what part of speech the answer should be.

56. Challenge for Homer : BART. Homer Simpson.

60. Put down : DERIDED

63. ORD posting : ETA

64. Equipped : ARMED

71. Phobias : FEARS

72. __ de mer : MAL

73. Resonator for a jug band bass : WASHTUB. Googled afterwards. Not familiar with Washtub bass.

74. No more than : ONLY

75. Nissan Stadium player : TITAN

77. "... 'tis not to me __ speaks": Romeo : SHE

78. Big name in Bible distribution : GIDEON. Learning moment for me.

83. Delicate : FINE

84. Totally lost : AT SEA

86. Aquarium fish : TETRA

87. Only NATO member with no standing army : ICELAND. Hey, I knew this trivia.

94. Newcomer : NOVICE

95. Nursery resident : TREE

96. Sun Tzu subject : WAR.  The Art of War. You wanted TAO?

97. Where to see stars : SPACE

98. Pursue relentlessly : DOG

99. "The Piano" extras : MAORIS. Great movie.

103. Buck : CLAM

110. Blew the whistle : SANG. Ratted out.

111. What oaks may provide : SHADE

112. Put back in : RE-INSERT

116. Love god : EROS

117. In the past : AGO. This "Bad Request" glitch is not specific to our new template. It happens to other blogs with Full Page comments format, including Rex Parker's.  George Barany got the same "Bad Request" when he hits the Preview & Post Your Comments button  there.

118. Biblical captain : NOAH

119. Crown coatings : ENAMELS

120. Holiday song closer : SYNE  "... for auld lang syne".

121. "Man on the Moon" group : REM

122. Ring jinglers : KEYS

123. Boxing's "Manassa Mauler" : DEMPSEY. I need "Jack" in the clue. 

 

Down:

 

1. First word in the Beach Boys' "Kokomo" : ARUBA. Gimme for all you Beach Boys fans.  

2. Drive off : REPEL

3. Lean-eater Jack : SPRAT

4. "Fear of Flying" author Jong : ERICA

5. Close at hand : NIGH. Not NEAR.

6. Smoke remains : ASH

7. Mail : LETTERS

8. Easter Island's country : CHILE. Boomer's bowling/golf buddy Jorge just went back to Chili. Their Monday morning traveling league has lots of guys in their late 80s/early 90s. Very inspiring. 

10. It may be checked at the station : OIL. Great clue also.

11. Pakistani language : URDU

12. Like a storied wolf : BIG BAD

13. Medicinal plants : ALOES

14. Senate garment : TOGA

15. Tree that typically has paddle-shaped leaves : FAN PALM. Also a new term to me.

16. Baltic republic : ESTONIA

17. Organs sometimes vented? : SPLEENS

18. African menaces : TSETSES. Our old buddy is back.

24. Tailor's concern : FIT

26. Old anesthetics : ETHERS. I don't know what my periodontist used on me. Powerful stuff. She told me "Let me know when you feel nice and numb". I chuckled.

30. Numbers to shoot for : PARS

32. "Forrest Gump" lieutenant : DAN

33. Compared to : THAN

36. Pop/country singer Lee and others : BRENDAS. I presume Kevin added a cheater to where S is, but the symmetrical part did not yield better fill.

38. Juice for PCs : ELEC

39. Features of many '50s-'60s cars : FINS

40. Ryder Cup team : USA. Winner this year.

41. Advanced deg. : PHD

42. Bit : TAD

43. Reuters competitor : UPI

44. Personal : INTIMATE

46. Celebrated : NOTED

47. Knowledgeable, in Nantes : AU FAIT

50. Move up the corporate ladder : GET AHEAD. My life in the corporate world was pretty fun.

55. "The Walking Dead" veterinarian : HERSHEL. Stranger to me. 

57. Org. for physicians : AMA

58. Wine choice : RED

59. QB stats : TDs

61. Leave a note for, maybe : REMIND

62. Morning phenomenon : DEW

64. Settler? : ARBITER. Nice clue.

65. Project Blue Book subj. : UFO. Never heard of the Project Blue Book.

66. Presidential souvenir : PEN

67. Mineo of "Exodus" : SAL

68. Shout : CRY

69. It may be coiled on a saddle horn : LASSO. Oh, OK.

70. Car nut : LUG. Wheel. I thought of Argyle, who's nuts about old cars.

75. Pitchfork part : TINE

76. What a ponytail partly covers : NAPE

79. OED info : DEF (Definition)

80. Ike's WWII command : ETO

81. Friend of Yossarian in "Catch-22" : ORR. Know the answer. Never read "Catch-22".

82. __ Geo: nature channel : NAT

83. Diamond surfaces : FACETS

85. The bad guys : THEM

87. Gets coverage for : INSURES. Huge increase for my insurance next year. Sigh!

88. Penny-colored : COPPERY

89. Vague answer, say : EVASION

90. Driving need : LICENSE. Also 91. Drive : URGE. Also 104. Guides for drivers : LANES. Love these clue echoes.

92. Suddenly caught on : TWIGGED

93. Possesses : HAS

95. Hand-played drum : TOM-TOM. Oh Hi, D-Otto and TTP! You're my favorite drums.

98. Sorrowful song : DIRGE

100. Test for purity, as gold : ASSAY

101. They're often taken orally : OATHS. Not PILLS.

102. Cellular messenger : RNA

103. Titleholder : CHAMP

105. Confuse : ADDLE

106. Not at all in order : MESSY. Our baseball cards look messy but they're all in some kind of order.  Hall of Famers. Stars (Lots of worthless Bonds/Sosa). Twins. Ex-Twins. Etc.

108. Fabric flaw : TEAR

109. Finished : SUNK. Not DONE.

111. Piece of fiction : SHAM

114. "The Tell-Tale Heart" author : POE

115. Peoria-to-Gary dir. : ENE

C.C.

Saturday, Nov 5th, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!

Words: 72 (missing H,J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

Another fine puzzle from our Crossword Corner Hostess~!  She has been prolific with her constructions, having two in August, three in September, and four in October for the LA Times alone.  I would like more time to work on my own grids, personally.  Today's offering was a bit heavy on the proper names, but nothing that the perp(endiculars) couldn't help me solve. Triple 8-letter down corners, 9-letter across corners, two climbers of 10 letters and one spanner;

35a. Movie with the subtitle "Dawn of Justice" : BATMAN V. SUPERMAN - I am burned out on the whole superhero movie thing; I enjoyed the Batman Begins series, tho I did not care for #3, and I never got into "X-men", "Iron Man", or any of the others....just not my thing - here's the Wiki on this 2016 release

5d. Classic access provider : OPEN SESAME
 

30d. Sale restriction : ONE DAY ONLY

Want that delivered in one day~?

ACROSS:

1. Money-saving characters : PROMO CODE

10. Complaints : BEEFS

15. Fade : LOSE POWER

16. Pitfall! platform : ATARI

17. Hunt object : EASTER EGG

18. For real : LEGIT

19. "Break Free" singer Grande : ARIANA - I don't know about her music, but I do know about her legs~!

20. Benihana founder Rocky __ : AOKI

22. USN officers : LTs - put in the "S" and waited

23. Early 20th-century first family : TAFTS - Ford was the only other 20th century four-letter name, and he came too late.  As for President Taft, the truth about his bathtub

24. Wine commonly served chilled : ASTI - I pondered "NOIR", but since I am not a wine person, I left it alone

25. Institute in whose logo the first letter is a stylized question mark : SETI

26. Snorting scene : STY - some alliteration for us

27. Hosp. test : EKG - again, filled in the "E" and "G" then waited

29. Flier with a large bill : TOUCAN - Pelican was too long; the "---CAN" part filled via perps, and I started wondering....

31. Most Hong Kong Airport travelers : ASIANS

34. "Fab!" : NEATO - had it, took it out, put it back in

39. First-stringers : A-TEAM

40. Greetings from American Greetings : eCARDS - I did consider this, but let it slide

41. Showtime title vigilante : DEXTER - my buddy Mike keeps harping on me to watch this series - and I have the first season on DVD

43. BBC World Service alternative : VOA - this is "news" to me; filled via perps.  The Wiki

44. Loyal follower? : IST - loyalist

47. Enemy of un ratón : GATO - Spanish rats and cats

48. Part of un drame : ACTE - Frawnche drama and acts

51. Grapevine planter? : YENTA - I thought it would be something along the lines of "rumor"

53. 2012 British Open champion : ELS - Ernie, the popular crossword golfer

54. Work on a bone : GNAW

55. "Time, Love and Tenderness" singer : BOLTON - I did not know he was the lead singer of a classic 70's hard rock band called "Blackjack" - the Wiki

56. More ready, in a way : RIPER

58. Weathering : RIDING OUT

60. Duck : EVADE - AVOID~? ELUDE~? Had to wait

61. Refreshing espresso drink : ICED LATTE - man, I toyed with putting "--LATTE" in, but hesitated

62. Software giveaways : DEMOS

63. Historic sewer : BETSY ROSS - the Truth about the US Flag

DOWN:

1. Kilt features : PLEATS

2. Find really funny : ROAR AT

3. Harden : OSSIFY

4. Used for a rendezvous : MET AT

6. "Around the World in 80 Plates" co-host Cat : CORA

7. Red state verb : OWE

8. Big name at the Musée d'Orsay : DEGAS - he had a thing for women's legs, too

The Ballet Class

9. Rye blight : ERGOT - oops, thought it was "A"RGOT

10. Denpasar's island : BALI - total WAG

11. Dog days in Haiti : ÉTÉ

12. Big bird watcher : EAGLE-CAM

13. Quiche cousin : FRITTATA

14. Audits : SITS IN ON

21. Parts for a model : KIT - I loved to build car kits when I was a kid; still have about 4 that I have not finished in a closet somewhere

24. Tequila plant : AGAVE

25. Court figures : SUERS

28. Blood : KIN

31. REO Speedwagon guitarist Dave : AMATO

32. Situation Room gp. : NSC - filled via perps

33. Sophisticated : SUAVE

35. Nagged : BADGERED

36. Completely dominated : ATE ALIVE

37. Cellphone annoyance : TEXT SPAM - new term for me, tho I have had one or two text messages that were essentially Spam

38. Expert : PRO

42. Took off : RAN

44. Completely : IN TOTO - and now we have Latin to add to the 'foreign' language answers

45. Dark drafts : STOUTS

46. Tours relatives : TANTES

49. Suriname native : CARIB

50. Now and again? : TWICE - har-har

52. "Enigma Variations" composer : ELGAR

54. Hurdles for srs. : GREs - Graduate Record Examinations

55. eBay action : BIDS - I was thrown by the plural/singular, but then if you think "action" as a noun, it works

57. Tokugawa shogunate capital : EDO - I suppose this would have been my guess, but it filled via perps before I even read the clue

59. Crime solver: Abbr. : DETective

Splynter

 
Note from C.C.:

Here is a message from Alex Boivert:
 
"We recently launched Crosswords LA 2016 - an online "tournament" entirely for charity. Fro a small fee, you can purchase a puzzle pack, solve the competitive puzzles within, and submit your times and scores (honor system!) for friendly comparison. Even if you choose not to submit your scores, you can purchase eleven fun puzzles - and know that *all the money* (minus PayPal fees) will be donated to the wonderful Reading to Kids charity.

The Five tournament puzzles were made by top Southern California constructors (Alex Boivert, Rich Norris, Doug Peterson, David Steinberg and Patti Varol) and the six  bonus puzzles are from a variety of puzzle luminaries (Matt Gaffney, Joon Pahk, Brendan Emmet Quigley, Alex Boivert and Doug Peterson). One of the bonus puzzles (by Peter Muller) is a contest crossword - solve it and submit the answer to mail@crosswordnexus.com by December 15 to have a chance at winning a year's subscription to the Indie puzzle service of your choice.

Thanks and happy solving!

Alex"

Friday, November 4, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: It's election time, please call the Spin Doctors! Interesting that this group was mentioned Monday.

I will keep this politically correct, adding no SPIN of my own. A truly non-partisan puzzle, or is it? JW gives us another example of adding to an existing phrase to create a new and amusing fill. Today, it is four letters (the word SPIN). JW has really come up with so many ways to present the add a _ _ _ that I wonder what could be next. He also infused this puzzle with some very excellent non-theme entries such as NON-MOTILE,  SNOW ANGEL, STEP-PARENT,  SO THIS IS IT,  ONE NO TRUMP, LORGNETTES.

17A. Vito Corleone talking bobblehead? : RASPING DOLL (11). Rag doll gets Marlon Brando's voice.

22A. Goal of a holistic chiropractor? : SPINE HARMONY (12). Well-advertised dating site E-Harmony gets well adjusted.

38A. As a group, emulate Popeye? : BE SPINACH LOVERS (15). We beach lovers get to eat spinach also.

50A. Maiden aunt mascot? : TEAM SPINSTER (12). maiden aunt and spinsters probably are no longer PC terms, and the TEAMSTER's union isn't what it used to be.

And the reveal
59A. Enjoying the new car ... or what four puzzle answers are literally doing : TAKING A SPIN (11).
Really well played as they all take on a spin.

Well I hope your head is not spinning so we can get to work on this fun Friday.


Across

1. Start of something : ESS. Something. So simple it becomes tricky.

4. Know-it-all : BRAIN
.

9. Sticky roll : TAPE. Not food....

13. Title car in a Ronny + the Daytonas hit : GTO.

14. Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment," e.g. : FRESCO. Per wiki:
The Last Judgment, or The Final Judgement (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale), is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo executed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity

15. Australian export : OPAL. And dear Kazie.

16. Like Gen. Powell : RETired.

19. N.T. book before Phil. : EPHesians come directly before the Phillipians. These are two of the epistles ascribed to Paul.

20. Denver-to-Wichita dir. : ESE.

21. Oppressive atmosphere : MIASMA. What a fun word which we have not had since marti was doing Thursdays.

26. Renewal notice feature, briefly : SASE. Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.

27. Like a well-written mystery : TAUT. But hopefully not tautological.

28. Hammer user's cry : SOLD. At the auction!

32. Payment in Isfahan : RIALS. In Iran, old Persia.

LINK

35. Chem. and bio. : SCIS.

37. Drift (off) : NOD.

41. Singer DiFranco : ANI. Some music...

42. Pop : SODA.

43. TV oil name : EWING. The show finally died when JR (Larry Hagman) died.

44. "The Good Wife" figs. : ATTS.

46. Fabric rib : WALE.

48. Its home version debuted at Sears in 1975 : PONG. At Sears?

54. Israeli prime minister after Barak : SHARON.

57. "__ Gotta Be Me" : I'VE.

58. Way to go: Abbr. : RTE. Nice, was thinking atta boy.

62. Great Basin native : UTE.

63. Saharan : ARID.

64. Hydrocarbon gas : ETHENE. I did not know this was the official NAME for ethylene.

65. Rx item : MED.

66. Inheritance factor : GENE.

67. Tends : LEANS.

68. Humanities maj. : PSYchology. My major in college. My youngest as well, who recently asked, "Dad how could you let me major in psychology?

Down:

1. Way out : EGRESS.

2. Mike or Carol on "The Brady Bunch" : STEP-PARENT. As are my wife and I. She got to be an instant grandmother.

3. "I guess the moment has finally arrived" : SO THIS IS IT. Not sure, but this was my thought.

4. Impetuous : BRASH.

5. Find a new table for : RESEAT. More glue.

6. Nile slitherer : ASP. Another big week for this snake.

7. It's here in Paris : ICI.

8. Anchored for life, as barnacles : NON-MOTILE. A really fun five dollar word.

9. Word in morning weather forecasts : TODAY'S.

10. Mil. mail drops : APOS.

11. It faces forward in a stop sign : PALM. very cerebral.

12. Big name in jazz : ELLA.

14. Like IHOP syrup : FREE. Really?

18. Alabama Slammer liquor : GIN. This is tricky, it has sloe gin, but no plain gin. But SLOE is made with gin.

23. Type of tide : NEAP.

24. Troublemakers : RASCALS.

25. Often : MUCH.

29. Bridge bid : ONE NO TRUMP.

30. Glasses with handles : LORGNETTES. What a fun fill.  For sale on Amazon.

31. One working on a bridge: Abbr. : DDS. Dental humor.

33. Fleur-de-__ : LIS. The flower of the lily is very important in French and English heraldry, religion and apparently in post-Katrina New Orleans.

34. What a kid is prone to make in winter? : SNOW ANGEL.

36. Farm mom : SOW. She does not say....

38. Pastoral call : BAA.

39. Early exile : ADAM.

40. Ones with clout : VIPS.

45. Variable distance measure : STRIDE. I love the dictionary
1. a long step in walking.
2. (in animal locomotion) the act of progressive movement completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position as at the beginning.

47. Hand-held allergy treatment : EPIPEN. Timely clue after all the recent scandal.

49. Insatiable : GREEDY.

51. Very long time : EON.

52. Political columnist Molly : IVINS. She was a very quotable woman, but it was mostly politics.
“Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist, once asked a group of women at a university why they felt threatened by men. The women said they were afraid of being beaten, raped, or killed by men. She then asked a group of men why they felt threatened by women. They said they were afraid women would laugh at them.”
― Molly Ivins, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?

53. Island bird named for its call : NENE. Hawaiian Goose.

54. Doe beau : STAG. My eyes first saw "Doe Bean" Therefore I missed the rhyme.

55. Long-eared critter : HARE. Lots of animals in  today's grid.

56. Similar : AKIN.

60. Snacked : ATE.

61. __ Na Na : SHA. I had never heard of them until seeing themat Woodstock. 47 years ago.

Well we had lots of music today of all kinds, so I will leave you trying to remember to set your clocks back Sunday morn. Thanks JW and all of you. A ride back in time.

Thursday, November 3rd 2016 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Rocky Horrors, or Let's do the Time Warp. Allow the reveal to explain:

52A. Period needed to fulfill a request ... and a hint to words hidden in three long puzzle answers : TURNAROUND TIME. 

The turnaround time for getting your car repaired when rats have chewed the main wiring harness to bits is three weeks. The dealer just called me to tell me my car is finally ready.

20A. Goal for some college-bound students : EARLY ADMISSION. (Day.) A higher percentage of early applications to the top schools result in admissions, vs. regular applications.

34A. Record-setting slugger in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame : SADAHARU OH. (Hour.) He olds the world lifetime home run record with 868. Like Babe Ruth, he started his career as a pitcher.

41A. Ocular organs of cephalopods, say : CAMERA EYES. (Year.) We have camera eyes too - apparently the octopus's version is superior to ours as the optic neve doesn't penetrate the retina, causing our blind spot in each eye.

Two genuinely obscure theme entries here (for me at least). It might be World Series fever time, but if you're going to throw me a fastball, a breaking ball, a curveball, a slider, a change-up and a knuckleball all in one baseball clue, you'd better be sure that the crosses are solid.

I'm also not a squid squint expert, so once again, please give me some help!

Fortunately, Mary Lou and Rich are good at this stuff, made tougher by the fact that five of the crosses intersect the two theme entries, Bravo!

Even when I'd filled in Mr. Oh, I simply couldn't parse his name. SADA HARUOH was my best guess, so I went to go look him up.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Workbench gadget : CLAMP

6. Antlered beast : STAG

10. Glasses, in ads : SPEX. In comics, usually the X-Ray variety. I'd post you a punk rock link to the quite appalling Poly Styrene who had  her 15 minutes of fame with the band X-Ray Spex in 1970's London. I quite liked them at the time, but the passage of time has not done them any favors.

14. Popular depilatory : RAZOR. Occam makes a reliable brand, I hear.

15. Campaign staffer : AIDE

16. Rochester's bride : EYRE

17. Part of the soft palate : UVULA

18. Lady of the knight : DAME

19. Concussions generally aren't visible on them : MRI'S

23. "What was __ was saying?" : IT I

24. Tie __ : ONE ON

25. Rat Pack member : LAWFORD. Peter. JFK's brother-in-law among other things.

29. Growing concerns? : FARMS

33. Like a used hibachi : ASHY

38. General on a menu : TSO. Never tried this concoction. Anyone?

39. Gadgets : DEVICES

40. One of 34-Across' 2,170 : R.B.I. Runs Batted In. I guess you'll get a ton of these when you hit a boatload of homers in your career.

43. Aspirin target : PAIN

44. Nocturnal carnivore : HYENA

45. Perambulates : STROLLS

47. Piece of cake : CINCH. Tried CRUMB, was wrong.

51. Poet's contraction : O'ER

Gliding o'er all, through all,

Through Nature, Time, and Space,

As a ship on the waters advancing,

The voyage of the soul—not life alone,

Death, many deaths I'll sing.

Walt Whitman.

58. Homey : COZY

59. Pack firmly : TAMP

60. "__ making this up" : I'M NOT

61. Spigot issue : DRIP

62. Site with tech reviews : C-NET

63. Trilateral trade agreement, briefly : NAFTA. North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico, USA and Canada.

64. Tag line? : COST

65. Grinder : HERO

66. Speed units : KNOTS. Nautical miles per hour. The yacht I used to charter from Marina Del Rey would make somewhere around eight knots in a good sailing wind across to Catalina Island if the sails were trimmed just right. There's formula to calculate the maximum hull speed of a yacht, you can't just keep getting faster.

Down:

1. Mötley __ : CRUE. Should be pronounced "murt-ly" if we're going to pay attention to the umlaut, but of course we don't.

2. Fiery flow : LAVA

3. Bleu hue : AZUR. The French Riviera between Toulon and the Italian border is also known as the Côte d'Azur. The first time I saw it I couldn't believe a sea could be so blue, Growing up in England, I thought all seas were gray.

4. Placate : MOLLIFY

5. Beseech, as a deity : PRAY TO

6. Anti-DWI gp. : SADD. Tried MADD first, natch!

7. Venetian valentine message : TI AMO. This is a serious declaration in Italian.

8. Ones in charge, for short : ADMIN

9. Sixth-day Christmas gift : GEESE. A-laying. That's a lot of omelets just after Christmas.

10. Workshop : SEMINAR

11. One who likes to light up? : PYRO

12. "__ go bragh!" : ERIN. "Ireland Forever".

13. Chooses, with "in" : X'ES

21. Two-front, as a Coast Guard rescue : AIR-SEA.

22. Divans : SOFAS

25. Trunk piece : LATCH

26. Put a value on : ASSAY

27. Words before "Yeah, you!" : WHO, ME?

28. Brubeck of jazz : DAVE

30. Like much of New York : RURAL. Not "URBAN" then. Steady on there, Turbo!

31. Company with a longtime travel guide : MOBIL

32. They often have guards : SHINS

35. Self-help letters : D.I.Y.

36. Super-duper : ACES. I suppose that "aces" can mean "Super-duper" but I can't find a reference anywhere. Accept and move on.

37. 1959 Ben-Hur portrayer : HESTON. I think all that I remember of this movie is Charlton yelling "heYAR heYAR" at his horses in the chariot race.

39. Let out gradually : DRAIN

42. Use an Enigma machine, say : ENCRYPT

43. "Black Swan" Best Actress Oscar winner : PORTMAN. The very talented Natalie. Many people think she's related to British actor Eric - she's not.

46. Bad bottom line : RED INK

48. "No prob!" : NATCH!

49. Origami staple : CRANE. According to Japanese lore, if you fold 1,000 cranes in a single year, you will be granted a wish (or eternal good luck, depending on who you believe).

50. Reason to trot : HOMER. 868 reasons, in Oh-san's case as we heard earlier.

52. Corrida beast : TORO. Food! Oh, no, wait - that's tuna belly. Darn.

53. Israeli weapons : UZIS

54. Until : UP TO

55. Scoop : INFO

56. Suffragist Lucretia : MOTT. Her maiden name was Coffin, and her uncle, Mayhew Folger, was a whaling boat captain who found the last living "Mutiny on the Bounty" mutineer on Pitcairn Island. The things we learn.

57. RR station predictions : ETA'S

58. Govt. health org. : C.D.C. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Someone forgot the "P" in the abbreviation.

Oh look - here's the grid creeping up on me. I'd better skedaddle before I get flattened by it.

Steve