Saturday, Feb 25th, 2017, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q)

Blocks: 29

I always cringe when I see Julian Lim as the constructor for Saturday's puzzles, and it was looking pretty bleak at the beginning.  I did manage to get some solid fill in all the corners, was able to work through this challenge with only a half-cheat (I have the periodic chart app on my phone, so I looked that one up) and then it was just a matter of some healthy Wild-Ass Guesses.  Just a few too many proper names in the puzzle for me, but then again, they all filled with the crossings.   Not a terribly intimidating grid, two 9-letter fills on the inside and 8-letter corners

16. One way to serve fowl : À L'ORANGE - We have a duck farm near my place, and it's a stop on my UPS "Q" truck ( the town is Aquebogue )

 39. Herbal beverage : ANISE TEA

65. Name on many bars : HERSHEY'S

 3. Pepper with punch : JALAPEÑO - D'oh~!! Spelled it with an "H" to start

 And there you have a four-course meal....

Vay-Cay-ShON-WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Muslim veils : HIJABS

7. Curly's dad on "Sesame Street" : PAPA BEAR - I don't remember him

15. "For unto us a child is born" source : ISAIAH

17. "See?!" : "TOLD YA~!"

18. Counterbalanced, say : WEIGHTED - I had all but the first two letters, and tried "AR-ighted"....

19. Penn., for one : STA - I passed through Pennsylvania Station last weekend; came this close to staying for the Rangers/Capitals game in the Garden right above.  I love going in to New York City.

20. Thing to do with your fingers : SNAP - my first thought, but I hesitated

22. Attain, as great heights : SOAR TO

23. Brewmaster's need : HOPS

25. Plenty of horn? : KLAXON - got it off the "X", but went with a "C" and not a "K"

27. Payless box letters : EEE - Saturday cluing for a common fill

28. It often follows 12 : ONE PM - nailed it, tho I had AM, not PM

30. "Anthem for Doomed Youth" poet Wilfred __ : OWEN - the "W" was my last fill

31. Thirsts : YENS

32. Structure from the Arabic for "lighthouse" : MINARET - learning moment

34. Low bar? : DIVE - I was in one on Thursday to see a friend do her stand-up routine, but she went on too late - UPS comes early.  I did get to shoot some pool with a guy from one of the restaurants - man am I out of practice

36. Green machine : ECO-CAR - PRIUS did not fit

37. Some timeshares : VILLAS - I am friends with the nuns in my area, and they live at a "Villa"; there's usually a 12-step retreat there each spring and fall

41. Poet friend of author Ernest : EZRA - filled via perps

43. Point of view? : EYE LINE

44. Downtime? : FUNK

47. Like some ukuleles : OVAL

49. Many a group vacation photo, in slang : WEFIE - the expanded "Selfie"

50. 2008-'09 Japanese prime minister Taro __ : ASO - perps

51. __ chief : TRIBAL

53. Urquhart Castle's loch : NESS - four letters~? Good WAG

Hey, what's that in the lake~?

54. Created with : MADE OF

56. Ran : BLED

58. Cool : HEP

59. Rule broken by deities? : I BEFORE E - nailed it

61. Target of a whacking : PIÑATA

63. "Mad Men" actor John : SLATTERY - half perps, half WAG

64. Elicits : EDUCES

66. Acknowledge subtly : WINK AT

DOWN:

1. Strikes a chord : HITS HOME - ah, not a guitar clue; I love the chords of this song

And for the guitar players, a lesson

2. Kind of muscle contraction : ISOTONIC

4. First __ : AID

5. Canine sounds : BAYS - not ARFS

6. Osso buco cut : SHANK

7. Tree with green-skinned fruit : PAWPAW

8. Maugham's "Cakes and __" : ALE

9. Irritating growth : POISON IVY - oh, it's irritating alright

10. Chlorine's periodic table follower : ARGON - cheatcheatcheat

11. __ Men: one-hit wonders of 2000 : BAHA - vague recollection of this band

12. Carte part : ENTRÉE

13. Tatum O'Neal received her Oscar at it : AGE TEN - got it off ----EN

14. Overhauls : RE-DOES

21. Seas : A LOT

24. Best Actress after Field : SPACEK - made me change my AM to PM @28a.

26. Struck (out) : X-ed

29. "Yes!" singer Jason : MRAZ - another one up from the dredges

31. #3 on the 2016 Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list : YELLEN - of the Federal Reserve - her Wiki.  There's a Ms. Yellen on one of my UPS trucks who gets at least a box a day; Hey - we're going drone~!

33. Like 100 on most tests : ERROR FREE

35. Mountaineer's expectation : VIEW

Hey now....

38. Productivity-increasing trick, in modern parlance : LIFE HACK

40. Overlooks, as a fault : SEES PAST

42. Prefix with fauna : AVI

43. Airline to Eilat : EL AL

44. Starve, to Shakespeare : FAMISH

45. Worth keeping : USABLE

46. Tender turndown : NO, DEAR

48. Some retreats : ABBEYS

51. Sweet __ : TOOTH

52. Toon pursuing l'amour : Le PEW

55. Small salamanders : EFTS

57. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI

60. Trick ending? : ERY - trickery

62. One in an order : NUN - and a villa~!

Splynter

Friday, February 24, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: G, where shall you go? Of course, to the beginning!

JW returns with a simple add a letter to the start of a phrase to create a new one, with a humorous definition. As with any puzzle based on humor, YMMV. I was Greatly impressed at the inclusion of 2 grid-spanning fill that worked. I would guess one of the 15 letter fill popped in his head, and this puzzle followed. He also included some very sparkly fill: ROADSIDES,  I'LL GO NEXT,  RADIO DIAL and ONION DOME a term which I did not recall. I found a hidden treasure but that might just be a product of the pain killers. We will now examine all the evidence....

17A. Domestic shamelessness? : GALL IN THE FAMILY (15). The ground breaking TV SERIES (0:56) gets re-purposed with a an impudent definition clue.

26A. Near giveaway at the liquor store? : GIN FOR A PENNY (12). In for a pound...they do sell many of the airline size bottles at my local liquor store but no GIN and not for a penny.

41A. Fort Knox? : GOLD DOMINION (12). I doubt if Jeffrey had this BREWERY in mind when he chose Old Dominion as his seed phrase but I like the juxtaposition.

53A. Result of way too many leaves in the eaves? : GUTTER CONFUSION (15). This is my favorite themer, both the rhyme and the picture painted by the clue/fill. Maybe he started here?

Okay on to the rest...

Across:

1. Test in which contrasts are helpful, briefly : MRI. As this test  (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) has played an important part in my current disability, this was easy. I am allergic to the contrast dye.

4. __ stiff : SCARED. When words are derived from the sound we call it onomotapoeia. What should we call it when an  expression gives a great mental picture like this phrase?

10. Minor set-to : TIFF.

14. Huffington Post owner : AOL. This is true - since 2011 - but AOL was bought by Verizon in 2015 which last year bought Yahoo, also. 

15. Wedding offering : CANAPE. From the French word for SOFA.

16. Defunct food coating : ALAR. It was sprayed on apple trees to control the growth and color of the apples. Much debate about the 1989 scare.

20. Boundary : EDGE.

21. Legal tender with a torch : DIME, On the obverse? Reverse?

22. Dealer's offering : LEASE. Car dealer, not HIT ME for card dealer.

23. __ voce : SOTTO.

25. Body shop supply : SOLDER.

30. 2016 Billboard Top Artist : ADELE. She swept the Grammys as well.

31. Besides Linus, the only Nobel laureate in two fields : MARIE. Pauling: Curie. LINK.

32. Take badly? : ROB. Robbing requires use or threat of force. Nicely deceptive clue.

35. Alluring : SEXY.

36. Postgame staple : RECAP.

37. Candy __ : CANE.    



                                   








38. Feb. setting in Spokane : PST.

39. Artist at Giverny : MONET. This is where the ARTIST painted his most successful works. This is a very Friday type clue. I will always have a Monet/Manet block in my mind.

40. Opposite of 56-Across : NADIR. 56A Opposite of 40-Across : ACME.

13. Philosophers' group : SCHOOL. Similar to fish, but not as good for you.

46. "Cutthroat Kitchen" host Brown : ALTON.

47. Second name, perhaps : ALIAS.

48. "Zounds!" : EGAD. Two wonderful old words.

51. They're often tough to beat : ODDS. 45D. Request to a dealer : HIT ME. 50D. Forced bet : ANTE
.
57. Album contents : PHOTOS.

58. ENT's group : AMA.

59. Arcade trademark word : SKEE.

60. Part of many art museum names : MODERN.

61. Table support : LEG.

Down:

1. Ancient spell caster : MAGE.

2. Produce stand sites : ROADSIDES. We have a bunch in the Redlands is SW Miami-Dade, but all the ones in Broward are gone. Now they gather at farmers' markets.

3. "My turn" : I'LL GO NEXT.

4. Part of NSF: Abbr. : SCIence.

5. Telling it like it is : CANDOR.

6. Opposition leader? : ANTI. And later ANTE.

7. First name in Chicago politics : RAHM. Interesting - he was elected as Chicago's 44th mayor, while his mentor Mr. Obama was the 44th POTUS. LINK.

8. It's thrust in competition : EPEE. Love the soupçon of naughtiness in this clue. 

9. Phone button letters : DEF. Glue, I would prefer Mos.

10. Without aggression : TAMELY.

11. Zeus remains largely neutral during its narrative : ILIAD. A really odd way to get to these puzzle friendly letters.

12. "A dagger of the mind, a __ creation ... ": Macbeth : FALSE. Back with Macbeth for our Friday Shakespeare lesson.

13. Potatoes may be cooked in one : FRYER.  Pommes frites for Splynter.

18. Unloose : LET FLY. Quiz: Who said, "unloose the dogs of war?"

19. How stand-up comics usually work : ALONE. True but there have some great duos. I loved the Smothers Brothers.

24. Ring site : TOE.

25. Salon sound : SNIP,

26. [I'm shocked!] : GASP.

27. Enhance through change : AMEND. Big word in the law.

28. Showed impatience, in a way : PACED.

29. Poetry Muse : ERATO. You know all of the muses yet?

32. One moving with frequency? : RADIO DIAL. Another really fun clue, with the frequency pun.

33. Russian Orthodox church feature : ONION DOME. LINK. For our Cornerites.

34. City on the Aare : BERN.


36. Kaiser, for one : ROLL. Misdirection here is placement of the clue/fill.


37. Songs of Seville : CANTOS.




39. Maine road sign image : MOOSE.

40. Nothing : NIL.

41. Buffalo Bill feature : GOATEE. Oh yes!


42. Really loving : MAD FOR. My mental picture. LINK.


43. Generational tales : SAGAS.


44. Barnyard sound : CLUCK.

48. Verify the story of : ECHO. No idea what this clue/fill means.

49. Above the crossbar and between the uprights : GOOD. Not wide RIGHT!

52. Obstruction : SNAG. "Damn, our reno hit a snag!"  Do you watch Property Brothers.

54. Tach stat : RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.

55. SEAL's org. : USN. United States Navy.

Well we made it through another JW Friday and I had so much fun finding the never intended but exciting Buffalo mini theme. Call me crazy but call me. Thanks Jeffrey. Lemonade out.

Thursday, February 23, 2017 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Shh, I can hear you!  The reveal tells us what to look for in the circled squares ...

57A. Blog comment format usually interpreted as the word spelled by eight aptly circled puzzle letters : ALL CAPS

... and thus we find SHOUTING. I puzzled a little over the "aptly" in the clue, then realized that the eight circled letters each begin eight proper nouns, and thus are capitalized, even when we're not shouting.

The Dynamic Duo are back with a nice Thursday challenge, I struggled with the top-left and middle-left sections of the grid. The cluing was tricky and parsing out SANTA FE, AS EVER, MEANS IT and COUNTS ON was not easy. ARIOSOS was new to me too, but eventually the crosses brought it together for me, so it's all good.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Oldest U.S. capital : SANTA FE, New Mexico. It took me ages to see this - my mind was firmly fixated on the East or the South. It didn't help I couldn't stop seeing SAVANNA when I know it's not spelled like that and it was a capital during colonial times, before U.S. independence.

8. Spade creator : HAMMETT. Dashiel Hammett, author of the Sam Spade mysteries, most famously The Maltese Falcon.

15. Melodic movements : ARIOSOS. Thank you, crosses. I discover an arioso is a solo vocal piece in an opera or oratorio.

16. Ancient region now part of France : ALSATIA. So named when part of the Roman empire, now known as Alsace. The region has been subject to a fair bit of tug-of-war over the years, mainly between the French and the Germans. The food, wines and some of the customs have a distinctly Germanic feel.

17. Is serious : MEANS IT

18. Impulse conductors : NEURONS

19. Much toothpaste : GEL

20. U.S. neighbor : MEX. My neighbors to the south.

21. "Picnic" dramatist : INGE. William Inge won a Pulitzer Prize for drama for this play; Paul Newman's Broadway debut in 1953.

22. Letter between November and Papa : OSCAR. From the NATO phonetic alphabet. I always need to remind myself that it's ALFA, not ALPHA.

25. Singer's warm-up syllables : DOS

26. Indy-winning family name : UNSER. Al, Bobby and Al. Jr. have all recorded wins at the Indy 500.

27. Swears by : COUNTS ON

29. 66, e.g.: Abbr. : RTE. Get your kicks with the Rolling Stones.

30. Metaphor for jobs : HATS

31. Lav, in London : LOO

32. Singer Kitt : EARTHA

36. "... __ quit!" : OR I

37. Kind of bath : TURKISH

39. "Just like that!" : BAM! A certain television chef has made this something of a trademark. He says "Bam!", the audience claps. That's about all there is to it.

40. Sign-off words : AS EVER. I got fixated on some variation of OVER and OUT. Signing off, as a letter writer, not a radio transmission.

42. Director Lupino : IDA

43. Corny state? : IOWA

44. MSN, for one : ISP  Internet Service Provider. This seems to generate some discussion whenever the clue crops up, but MSN Dial-Up is still provided as a service to customers who cannot access broadband service.

45. "I'm good" : NO THANKS

47. Jazzy Jones : NORAH

50. Miracle Mets manager Hodges : GIL

51. Frozen fruit-flavored drinks : ICEES

52. Slanted piece : OP ED. Opinion pieces traditionally placed on the page opposite the editorials, hence the name.

53. Sounds at spas : AHS

54. 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee : ELO. Just now, really? I'd have assumed they'd been in for years. Accompanied this year by Yes, Pearl Jam and Journey.

55. Enchant : BEGUILE

61. Norse explorer : ERICSON. Waited for the cross to decide between a C and a K.

62. Daughter of Agamemnon : ELECTRA

63. End of a baseball game, usually : LAST OUT. If the home team scores the go-ahead run in extra innings, the game is over at that point. A game can also be called because of rain.

64. Like siblings : RELATED

Down:

1. __ Adams : SAM. Totally blanked on this one. Patch, Grizzly, Tony (you wouldn't know him, from English soccer) - all kinds of Adams. Finally, the penny dropped. Cheers!

2. "Who __ you kidding?" : ARE

3. Actress Vardalos : NIA. I've GOT to remember this one. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was wonderful.

4. Polynesian archipelago natives : TONGANS. Fixated on SAMOANS. 

5. State as fact : ASSERT

6. Impede, as a plot : FOIL

7. Guinness suffix : EST. Established 1759. Arthur Guinness was so confident of his business venture that he leased the land for his brewery on a 9,000 year term at 45 Irish Pounds per annum.

8. __ Her Way : HANES

9. "A Clockwork Orange" narrator : ALEX. Played by Malcolm McDowell in the movie version. Not everyone's cup of tea.

10. 2015 Big Ten champs: Abbr. : M.S.U. Michigan State football.

11. Siren's victim : MARINER

12. Waist-length jackets : ETONS. I stayed a night in Eton last year, home of the historic college. The students no longer wear the Eton jacket, they all wear tailcoats. The garment was dubbed a "bumfreezer" in school vernacular.

13. Faint trace : TINGE

14. Trademarked weapon : TASER

20. One-piece beachwear : MONOKINIS. Sneaky plural.

22. Former #1 golfer Lorena who hosts an annual Guadalajara LPGA event : OCHOA. She won the Women's British Open at the "home of golf", St. Andrews in Scotland. She retired to start an educational foundation in her home city of Guadalajara. 

23. Heads up : SOARS

24. Adorable one : CUTIE

25. Screen __ : DOOR

26. Four Corners state : UTAH

28. Openly enjoy, as soup : SLURP. Good manners in some Asian countries. I used to work with a Singaporean and I swear you could hear him eat soup two miles away.

29. Convened again : RESAT

33. Rib eye alternative : T-BONE. Food! My favorite steak is a bone-in prime rib with lashings of freshly grated horseradish.

34. Ethan of "Boyhood" : HAWKE. Never saw the movie, but didn't bat an eyelid here.

35. Gather up : AMASS

37. John who composed the "NBA on NBC" theme song : TESH

38. Much-followed star : IDOL

41. Gorge crosser : VIADUCT. This is the beautiful Ribbleshead railway viaduct on the Settle-to-Carlisle line in northern England.

43. Former Chrysler head : IACOCCA. I never know where to start spelling this one. Crosses help.

46. Early Jewish scholar : HILLEL

47. 116-year-old prize : NOBEL. We learned last week that the Pulitzer prize medal sports a profile of Ben Franklin (and according the the Pulitzer web site on the obverse, the reverse has "a husky, bare-chested printer at work, which sounds rather racy for such an august body). This eponymous medal has Alfred. And no "husky" printers to be seen.

48. Philip Glass' "Einstein on the Beach," e.g. : OPERA

49. Kelly's ex-partner : REGIS. Philbin and Ripa.

50. Belgian treaty city : GHENT

53. Jesus of baseball : ALOU. Nailed it! C.C. will be proud of me.

54. She, in Cherbourg : ELLE

56. Bar opening? : ISO- These weather-map contour lines. Had some lively weather in Los Angeles over the last couple of weeks.

57. __ Lingus : AER. Irish carrier. I'm flying United as usual this week. Quick out-and-back to Miami. It was a tad bumpy on the way into Denver and crossing Texas, those pesky isobars.

58. DIRECTV parent : AT&T. Grrr. AT&T and I have a difference of opinion over them switching me from uVerse to DirecTV.

59. Ante- kin : PRE-. Pre-boarding, ante-bellum, pre-screening, ante up - which to choose?

60. Bummed out : SAD

And bummed as I am, I think that just about does it for me. Here's the grid!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy 78th Birthday to Keith Fowler (Ol' Man Keith), who has his own Wiki page. Keith has been with our blog since 2009,  I'll never forgot your Blue Tits story, Keith!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017 Jascha Smilack

Theme: THE COLOR OF ANGER.  Each theme fill entry is two words, the first of which is a color. Notably, one color is missing from this exposition, but shows up both in the unifier, and elsewhere, as we will see - in disguise.

20 A. *Fictional road material : YELLOW BRICK.   From the Wizard of Oz, of course.

57 A. *Cola flavor : BLACK CHERRY.

Sugary

10 D. *One with noble lineage : BLUE BLOOD.  Presumably because, since they never had to do manual labor and led an indoor existence, their pale skin allowed the blue of veins to show through.

14 D. *Floral papal ornament : GOLDEN ROSE.  Despite growing up Catholic, I know nothing of this tradition.

26 D. *Chard, by another name : SILVER BEET.  I knew this was a green leafy plant in the beet family, but didn't know about the silver part, which refers to the white stalk.

33 D. Angrily ignoring the first half of the answers to starred clues? : SEEING RED.  Well, ignoring all the other colors somehow equates to seeing RED, but not GREEN nor VIOLET.  But, OK, let's just go with it.  The color of Magic, BTW, is Octarine.

UPDATE: As Owen pointed out in comments, each of the 2nd words in the theme describes a shade of RED, a subtlety that I completely missed.  This, to hijack a phrase, really ties the puzzle together, and adds an element of elegance.  Well done, Jascha!

High gang, JazzBumpa here to guide you through a late winter color tour.  Let's see if we can get through it without too much rancor.

Across

1. Spot for an AirPod : EAR.   Wireless headphone parking place.

4. Chowder morsel : CLAM.  Soup ingredient.

8. Moscow currency : RUBLE.  The Russian monetary unit for the last 500 years.  Currently equal to about 1.7 US cents.

13. Slept like __ : A LOG.  I wonder how that feels?

15. Color in a Spanish rainbow : ROJO.  Red, of course.  Irritably missing from the theme, but we have it here.

No es un arco iris

16. Religion of Basra : ISLAM.  Basra is a city in Iraq whose local economy is largely dependent on petroleum.

17. Corn Belt tower : SILO.  Here's an example in Maumee, a suburb of Toledo.

Not for sale

18. Latin I verb : AMAT.  Do I love this entry?  No, I do not.

19. Riyadh resident : SAUDI.  The capital and most populous city in the country.

23. Bookshelf bracket shape : ELL.  The "L" you say!

24. Of a battery terminal : ANODAL.  Specifically, the positive one.  Would it be an anodyne to say I'm positive?

25. Necessity for a game of Ultimate : FRISBEE.  This is the trademark for a flying disc, owned by the Wham-O toy company.  Points are scored by passing the disc to a team mate in the opponent's end zone

27. History class assignment : ESSAY.  A written paper on a specific topic.

30. Elec. or water : UTILity.

31. __ a clue : HASN'T.  I tried HADN'T first.  HAVEN'T also does not work.

34. Slangy pounds : QUID.  British money.  Even before Brexit they opted out of using the Euro.

36. Financial help : LOAN.

39. End __ : USER.

40. Tomato product : PUREE.

41. Preference indicator : VOTE.

42. Religious prefix : THEO-.

43. Grub : EATS.  Unattractive sounding vernacular.

44. Brought about : LED TO.  Preceded and caused whatever then ensued.

45. Tenerife, por ejemplo : ISLA.  Spanish Island.

47. Take the helm : STEER.  Direct the movement of a vehicle, in this case a ship.

49. Surface layers : VENEERS.   Generally decorative, as a fine wood over a less elegant wood.

52. Clogs from France : SABOTS.  Each one hollowed out of a single piece of wood.  Hence the word sabotage, meaning to wreck something by kicking with sabots.   I read once somewhere that the Luddites sabotaged weaving machinery by throwing sabots into the works, but that might be apocryphal.

56. Neurologist's order, briefly : EEG. The ElectroEncephaloGram detects electrical activity in the brain.

60. Pop-up foul-up : ERROR.  Baseball boo-boo, dropping a short fly ball.

62. Stereotypical family spoiler : NANA.  Grandmother, or, as some in our clan say, "Grandmom."

63. Pulitzer-winning novelist Jennifer : EGAN.  In 2011 her novel A Visit From The Goon Squad won the Pulitzer prize for fiction.

64. Renaissance painter __ della Francesca : PIERO.  Many of his paintings are on religious themes.

Discovery and Proof of the True Cross c. 1466 (160 Kb)

65. Minute quantity : DROP.  A drib, a drab or a TRACE.

66. Fish __ : TACO.   I had one once.  It was OK.

67. Family car : SEDAN.  Typical 2 or 4 door auto with front and rear seats.

68. __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy : SAXE.  Read all about it.

69. Homer's neighbor : NED.  Flanders from the Simpsons.  

Not Eddard Stark

Down

1. Class requiring little effort : EASY A.

2. Distant and then some : ALIEN.  Beyond the pale, perhaps.

3. Pal of Nancy, in comics : ROLLO.

Bushmiller

4. Barely advances : CRAWLS.  Makes slow, possibly steady progress. 

5. Big name in vision care : LOMB.  Along with Bausch.

6. Slightly open : AJAR. When is a door not a door?  When it is a jar.

7. Recurring theme : MOTIF.  As in music, literature or visual design.

8. Go out on a limb : RISK IT. Take a chance.

9. Stars and Stripes land: Abbr. : USA.  Mandatory.

11. Crock-Pot server : LADLE. For soups and stews.

12. French novelist Zola : EMILE. [1840-1902] Also a playwright, journalist and contributor to literary and theatrical realism.  Also a major figure in the exoneration of wrongly accused and convicted military officer Alfred Dreyfus.

21. Brewery kiln : OAST.  A drying oven.

22. Input for a refinery : CRUDE.  Petroleum.

28. Marine shade : AQUA.   Ocean blue - a hue tinged with green.

29. Portable Mongolian dwellings : YURTS.  Collapsable circular tents used by nomads.

31. Simple dwelling : HUT.  A simple, single-story dwelling, perhaps a step up from a YURT. 

32. Shade of gray : ASH.  Not all grays are created equal.  

35. Luck, pluck or duck ending : IEST.  Modifier degrees are positive, comparative, and superlative.  This illustrates the latter.

37. Part of D.A.: Abbr. : ATT.  District ATTorney.  Typically, a prosecutor.

38. Prefix with con : NEO-.  Referring to NEO-conservatism, which is distinguished by aggressively interventionist foreign policy, strong support for Israel, and hostility toward other middle-eastern regimes.

40. Shade of gray : PEARL.  A gray shade tinged with blue or green, having a pearlescent luster.

44. Jacob's wife before Rachel : LEAH.  Jake got snookered by Lebon, his mother's brother into marrying LEAH, Lebon's older daughter, when he was expecting to marry the younger sister Rachel, whom he loved.  Eventually he married Rachel as well.  Both of them bore him children, as did Zilpah, a servant that Leban had given to Leah.  

46. James with three NBA titles : LEBRON.  Not to be confused with Lebon, he was first loved and then hated by Cleveland fans.  Not sure what his status is now.

  

48. Tunnel out, maybe : ESCAPE.  As from prison or a PoW camp.

49. Many future presidents, as it turned out : VEEPS.   Vice Presidents.

50. Like "Stranger Things," e.g. : EERIE.  Weird and/or spooky.  The show is a Netflix original series concerning the searches for a 12- year-old boy who disappeared amid supernatural occurrences.

51. Metaphorical moments of time : SANDS.

53. Skin, but not bones : ORGAN.   A body part with a distinct structure that performs a specialized task.  From my brief on-line research, it seems that bones are considered to be organs.  Hmmmm  .  .  .

54. Kind of evidence : TRACE.  Some small incriminating quantity - only a DROP, perhaps.

55. Ecclesiastical council : SYNOD.  In modern usage, the governing body of a particular church.

58. Word of amore : CARA.  Italian term of endearment.

59. Fort with billions in bullion : KNOX.  Located near the Ohio River, south-west of Louisville.  

61. "... man __ mouse?" : OR A.  Challenging words.

That wraps it up.  We had some religion and politics in the fill, so please don't go there in the comments. Also, some colors outside the theme fill.  Did you color within the lines?  Hope after all this, you're not seeing RED.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, February 21 2017, Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

Theme: Lend Me Your Ears.

17. High-tech bookmark : INTERNET ADDRESS

28. Office gossip : WATER COOLER TALK
 
48. Right granted in the First Amendment : PROTECTED SPEECH

62. "Et tu, Brute?," e.g. : FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Melissa here. Love the four grid-spanners. No reveal clue today, but it's hiding in the answer to 62A. Very clever.

Across

1. One in a bad mood : CRAB





5. Diplomat's asset : TACT

9. Vatican-related : PAPAL

14. Memorization method : ROTE. Repetition.

15. Patron saint of Norway : OLAF. Not Olav.

16. Nimble : AGILE




20. African language group : BANTU

21. Winter bug : FLU

22. Cupid's counterpart : EROS

23. Safari beast : RHINO

26. Mystery writer whose Baltimore home is preserved as a museum : POE

35. Moved quickly, old-style : HIED

36. Meat inspector's org. : USDA

37. "Awesome!" : ZOWIE. Stumped me.

38. Office coffee holder, perhaps : URN

39. Hard-rock link : AS A

40. "O Sole __" : MIO. "The sun, my own sun."

42. 1965 march state: Abbr. : ALA





43. Gold or silver : METAL

45. Rainbow flag initialism : LGBT

47. Gillette's __ II razor : TRAC

51. Bubbly prefix : AER. Aerate.

52. Clapton classic : LAYLA

53. Gem from Australia : OPAL

56. Private eye : TEC. DeTECtive.

58. Go around in circles? : ORBIT

66. Pat down : FRISK

67. Inbox clogger : SPAM. NOAA discovered this perfectly preserved can of SPAM resting at the bottom of the ocean (4,947 meters) on the slopes of a canyon leading to the Sirena Deep in the Mariana trench.





68. Pamplona parlor : SALA. Spanish, a large room or hall to entertain guests.

69. Sight or hearing : SENSE

70. Wine city near Turin : ASTI

71. River of central Germany : EDER





Down

1. Bed with sliding sides : CRIB

2. Author Jaffe : RONA

3. Mail-routing abbr. : ATTN

4. Obviously embarrassed : BEET RED

5. Weigh station unit : TON

6. Pub offering : ALE

7. Science Diet product : CAT FOOD

8. Nonstick kitchen brand : T-FAL. French cookware - portmanteau of TEFlon and ALuminum.

9. Sketching tablet : PAD

10. Shake hands on : AGREE TO

11. Harbor strolling spot : PIER

12. "One more thing ... " : ALSO

13. Not as much : LESS

18. Industrial area of western Germany : RUHR

19. Play for a sucker : DUPE

24. Post-op areas, briefly : ICUs. Intensive Care Units.

25. Margarita option : NO SALT

27. Ricelike pasta : ORZO

28. Sound of a tree falling, say : WHUMP

29. Broadcaster : AIRER

30. __-one: long odds : TEN TO

31. Kappa follower : LAMBDA

32. Informed (of) : AWARE. I wonder why the (of) is needed here - since of could also follow AWARE.

33. Pale purple : LILAC

34. Stacy who played Mike Hammer : KEACH





39. Out of the wind : ALEE
41. "The __-bitsy spider ... " : ITSY

44. Completely flummoxed : AT A LOSS. I often hear "I am lost for words," instead of "I am at a loss for words." Doesn't make sense to me.

46. Easy-to-swallow meds : GELCAPS

47. Flowering hybrid with thorns : TEA ROSE. Wikipedia: Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. They were created by cross-breeding two types of roses, initially by hybridising hybrid perpetuals with tea roses.






49. Phased-out PC screens : CRTS. Cathode Ray Tubes.

50. Farm machine : PLOW

53. Does in, mob-style : OFFS

54. Whittle (down) : PARE

55. Idi of Uganda : AMIN

57. Big cat of film : ELSA

59. Actor Pitt : BRAD

60. Vegging out : IDLE

61. Many an Ivan, in old Russia : TSAR

63. Lute kin : UKE

64. Gained a lap? : SAT

65. "No more deets!" : TMI. "Too much information!" (Deets=details.)

Monday, February 20, 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: No Reveal Monday - A step above just a number sequence.

19. Panama Canal nickname: EIGHTH WONDER

34. When baseball closers usually shine: NINTH INNING

42. NYC thoroughfare that becomes Amsterdam at 59th Street: TENTH AVENUE

57. When time is running out: ELEVENTH HOUR

Argyle here. Missing: {JZ} The theme was easy enough so some of the fill was not. On balance, a good Monday.

Across:

1. Soothsayer: SEER

5. Quick fix for an elbow hole: PATCH

10. Underwater vessel: SUB

13. Cuba libre fruit: LIME

14. Lorena of LPGA fame: OCHOA. She played the Tour from 2003 to 2010.

15. Phony: FAKE

16. Votes in favor: YEAs

17. "My mistake": "SORRY"

18. Rice field draft animals: OXEN. Difference Between Ox and Buffalo(link)

22. Robotic maid on "The Jetsons": ROSIE

23. Inherently: BY NATURE

27. Where to find Lima and llamas: PERU

30. Like farm country: RURAL

31. Thanksgiving tuber: YAM

38. They're often big in showbiz: EGOs

40. Sparkle: GLEAM

41. "I'm hungry enough to __ horse!": EAT A

45. Vert. counterpart: HOR. (horizontal) 63A. TV signal part: AUDIO

46. Gandhi's land: INDIA

47. Garbage email: SPAM

49. "Get moving!": "STEP IT UP!". STAT, ASAP.

53. Wash or spin: CYCLE

60. Computer image: ICON

64. "Giant" author Ferber: EDNA

65. Four-sided campus area: QUAD. (quadrangle)

66. Extended families: CLANS

67. Cincinnati ballplayers: REDS

68. Tennis match segment: SET

69. Saintly rings: HALOs

70. "Garfield" pooch: ODIE

Down:

1. Not as forthright: SLYER

2. "Old MacDonald" letters: EIEIO

3. Webzines: E-MAGs

4. Mail again, as a package: RESHIP

5. Fancy-schmancy: POSH

6. Have __: freak out: A COW

7. Pulsate: THROB

8. Like grandpa's jokes, probably: CORNY

9. Contemporary of Mozart: HAYDN. "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." ~ Gemälde von Edouard Leon Cortes.

10. Jazz combo horn: SAX

11. Don Ho's instrument: UKE

12. "Gone Girl" co-star Affleck: BEN

15. Mint of money: FORTUNE. Don't be minting your own fortune; it's frowned upon.

20. High school junior, usually: TEEN

21. Merit: EARN

24. Dickens villain Heep: URIAH

25. Totaled, as a bill: RAN TO

26. "Pomp and Circumstance" composer: ELGAR. Sir Edward Elgar.

28. Capital of Latvia: RIGA

29. Sch. near the Strip: UNLV. (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

31. "Abominable" critters: YETIs

32. Insurance rep: AGENT

33. Paris newspaper Le __: MONDE

35. Golfer's starting point: TEE

36. __ Christian Andersen: HANS

37. "Still sleeping?" response: "I'M UP"

39. Regular payment: STIPEND. One you receive, not pay out.

43. Precipitation stones: HAIL

44. A pop: EACH

48. Rescued damsel's cry: "MY HERO!"

50. Enlighten: TEACH

51. Throat dangler: UVULA

52. Bicycle feature: PEDAL

54. Encrypted: CODED

55. Monday, in Le Mans: LUNDI

56. Use the delete key, e.g.: ERASE

58. El __: weather phenomenon: NIÑO

59. Throw away: TOSS

60. Mensa nos.: IQs. (intelligence quotient)

61. Billiards stick: CUE

62. Breakfast grain: OAT
 

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Santa Argyle, who just wrote his 748th blog post this morning. Argyle joined me a few months after I started and has been tirelessly guiding us every since. Off the blog, he's also my trusted advisor and sounding board. Thanks for being you, Santa!

Argyle, Jan 29, 2017

Sunday, Feburary 19, 2017 Derek Bowman

Theme: "Between the Covers" - Seven magazines are inserted into familiar phrases. The first two words in each theme entry form a familiar phrase as well.

23A. Some pool English? : SIDE SPIN EFFECTS. Side spin. Side effects. Spin is now a web magazine.

27A. Ballet phenom? : BREAK OUT DANCER. Break out. Break dancer. Out is focused on  LGBT.

40A. Regular stockings, as opposed to fishnets? : GARDEN VARIETY HOSE. Garden variety. Garden hose. Variety.

 

63A. 8 or 9, e.g.? : PRIME TIME NUMBER.  Prime time. Prime number.  Time.

70A. Snowfall during the Olympics? : WINTER GAMES COAT. Winter Games. Winter coat. Both Will Shortz and Mike Shenk worked for Games magazine at one time.

94A. Doghouses and scratching posts? : PET PEOPLE PROJECTS. People is inserted into "Pet projects". What are "Pet people?" though.  Pet owners?

112A. Goal for a teacher's pet? : GOLD STAR RECORD. Gold star. Gold record. I leafed through Star from time to time. In Touch and US Weekly have better paper quality.

119A. Subscription deal promos ... and a hint to this puzzle's seven other longest answers : 

MAGAZINE INSERTS

Despite eight long theme entries, this puzzle only has 138 entries. The top and bottom pair have a 8-letter overlap and the fill do not suffer. Amazing.

Our blog label suggests that this is Derek Bowman's first Sunday LAT. He did have a NYT Sunday in 2010.

XWord Info photo

Across:      

1. Mouth Healthy org. : ADA

4. Lineal beginner : MATRI. Got via crosses.

9. Gibbons, e.g. : APES

13. __ palm : BETEL. Not ITCHY.

18. Long and drawn-out, say : TORTUROUS. Describes my tooth trouble aptly.

20. Meredith Grey's half sister on "Grey's Anatomy" : LEXIE. Also got via crosses. She looks sweet.

22. 14th-century Russian ruler : IVAN I

 

25. "Save Me the Waltz" writer Fitzgerald : ZELDA

26. Vote in : ELECT

 

29. "The Fountainhead" author Rand : AYN

30. More agile : SPRYER. Spelling check prefers SPRIER.

33. Two by two : IN PAIRS

34. Shoebox letters : EEE

35. Chess pieces : MEN. Do any of you play chess? My Dad loved Chinese chess.

37. Holds (up) : PROPS'

 

49. Old DJs' assortment : LPs

51. Same, for starters : EQUI

52. Military wear, for short : CAMO

53. Courted : WOOED

54. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA. Brave girl.

55. One in a rib cage : LUNG

56. Sends out : EMITS

58. Shone : GLISTENED

61. "Fuller House" actor : SAGET (Bob) I wonder why the Olsen twins declined the opportunities.

 

66. Word for a lady : SHE, Nice new clue.

68. PC file extension : EXE

69. "Wish Tree" artist : ONO

79. "It's the Hard-Knock Life" soloist : ANNIE

83. Vulcans, for one : ALIEN RACE. Solid fill.

84. Biker's invite : HOP ON

86. Skip it : PASS. Not OMIT.

87. Gentle : KIND. So many kind souls in our blog.

88. Territories of a sort : TURFS

91. Writer __ Neale Hurston : ZORA

92. Samarra's land : IRAQ

93. Use (up) : EAT

 

98. White choice, familiarly : CHARD. Chardonnay. Not a wine drinker, This & CAB always stump me.

100. Deli option : RYE

101. Texting qualifier : IMO

102. Nickname in satirical music : WEIRD AL. Grid-friendly name.

106. Transferred to computer memory : READ IN

109. __ tai : MAI

116. DVD player option : EJECT

118. Paragon : IDEAL. Here is a picture of JD and Bob taken during their vacation a few weeks ago. So sweet.

122. Punk, e.g. : GENRE

123. Bologna bride : SPOSA. Learning moment for me.

124. Cry from Poirot : SACRE BLEU! We often see SACRE or BLEU. Nice to see the full exclamation.

125. Jane Austen specialty : IRONY

126. Cabinet dept. with an atom on its seal : ENER. And 127. Cabinet dept. first led by Hamilton : TREAS

128. Op-__ : EDS. Not ART.

 
 Down:

  

1. Hopelessly lost : AT SEA

2. Tatted covering : DOILY. Nothing TATTOO-related.

3. Eve who played the principal in "Grease" films : ARDEN

4. Exuberant review term : MUST-SEE

5. Dadaist Jean : ARP

6. Paris pronoun : TOI

7. Show for quick feedback : RUN BY. When in doubt about certain themes/fill,  I ask Argyle, D-Otto & Boomer.

8. Val d'__: French ski resort : ISERE. I recognize one name: ALPS.

9. Two before Charlie : ALFA. NATO alphabet.

10. Sneak a look at : PEEK INTO

11. Former pen pal? : EX-CON. Never tired seeing this type of clue.

12. Exercise done from a supine position : SIT-UP

13. Unusually strange : BIZARRE. Another sparkly fill.

14. Yet : EVEN SO

15. Powder source : TALC

16. Köln closing : ENDE. Just German for "End".

17. Defense attorney's challenge : LIAR

19. Gumshoe : TEC (Detective)

21. "¿Cómo __?" : ESTA

24. Eponymous physicist : FERMI (Enrico). Wiki says he is called "architect of the nuclear age",

28. Potluck fare : DIPs

31. What "p" may stand for : PENCE, OK, British Pound parts.

32. Completely make over : REVAMP

36. "TMI!" : EEW

38. Hatched backup : PLAN B. I lost a piece of extremely hard-to-remove old caulk strip to the wall on Thursday. It slipped inside and I could not get it out. I had no PLAN B. Just ignored it and re-caulked the whole bathtub with TTP's detailed instructions. Also chose the Vinegar option from this article. The bathtub looks great right now. There are still a few stubborn spots between the wall tiles that refuse to come clean. I'll try the Baking Soda option next Tuesday. Maybe it can remove the rust spot on our kitchen sink faucet as well.

39. Jag : SPREE

40. Comes together : GELS

41. Cyan relative : AQUA

42. Tolled : RUNG

43. Took in : DIGESTED

44. "The Kite Runner" boy : AMIR. Thank God for this boy. Otherwise, we'll need a "Var." mark.

45. Unleavened Indian flatbread : ROTI. I bet Steve makes his own at times.

46. Hindu mystic : YOGI

47. Place of control : HELM

48. Jon Arbuckle's dog : ODIE

50. __ City: Baghdad suburb : SADR

54. Tangy treat : LEMON PIE

57. Pirate shipmate of Starkey : SMEE

59. __-Cat : SNO

60. Sushi offering : TUNA. Thought of ROLL.

62. At that point : THEN

64. "All My __ Live in Texas": George Strait hit : EX'S

65. Support pro : TECH

67. Blunder : ERR

70. Waterskiing hurdle : WAKE

71. Hipbone-related : ILIAC

72. Closers often open it : NINTH. Inning.

73. Post-WWII commerce agreement : GATT. Replaced by WTO in 1995.

74. "... __ o' kindness ... ": Burns : A CUP

75. Only : MERE

76. Exude : OOZE

77. Each : A POP

78. Like some love affairs : TORRID. Normally don't end well.

80. DEA agent : NARC

81. Attends : IS AT. I prefer partial for this fill.

82. Law office abbreviations : ESQs

85. Supermodel Campbell : NAOMI

89. Empty storefront sign : FOR LEASE. Fresh fill.

90. Secret agent : SPY

94. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" singer : PRESLEY

95. Blue-pencil : EDIT

96. "Vive __!" : LE ROI

97. Generic trendsetters : JONESES. Keeping up with the Joneses.

99. "Oh, shucks" : AW DARN. Another fresh fill.

103. Super Bowl XXXIV champions : RAMS. 1999. I was still in China.

104. Hang : DRAPE

105. Incandescent bulb gas : ARGON

107. Young partner : ERNST. Oh, Ernst & Young.

108. "Be __ ... " : A DEAR

109. Haggard of country : MERLE

110. Didn't procrastinate : ACTED

111. Chorused "Who's there?" response : IT''S US

112. 1958 winner of nine Oscars : GIGI. This many? I watched the film a while ago. So so. 

113. Polish-German border river : ODER

114. Fallon's predecessor : LENO

115. Kingpin : CZAR

117. Bush in Florida : JEB

120. Curling surface : ICE

121. Second Amendment org. : NRA

C.C.