Saturday, Jun 6th, 2015, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  I was about to throw in the towel on this one, as the north refused to turn any color other than white....so I cheated; I changed to red-letter and discovered I had the wrong "Arabic word".  Figures.  But it at least gave me a chance to rethink the NE, and then it was a matter of Wild-Ass Guessing to get the NW to cooperate.  All in all, I thought the puzzle was a good challenge, though the proper names did throw a bit of a fun sponge into the mix.  I finished at exactly my personal allotted time, too.  Paired 9- and 10-letter corners, and two 11-letter spanners;

33. Quadrennial winter event since 1976 : PARALYMPICS - made me change some DOWN answers when "-LYMPICS" seemed more logical; more from the Wiki

40. Metaphorical target of a fruitless pursuit : SHINY OBJECT - the more I looked, the more it seems this is less of a "pursuit" and more of distraction; the reference is more like the phrase "curiosity killed the cat"; see the psychology here

o-n-
       Ooooh~!  Shiny~!

ACROSS:

1. "... and hid his face __ a crowd of stars": Yeats : AMID - starting off with a relatively vague quotation seems cruel and unusual

5. Farrier's tool : RASP - I know what a farrier does, but anvil and hammer didn't fit; SNIP did, tho

9. Word derived from the Aramaic for "my father" : ABBOT - dah~!  I figured it might be RABBI - and the "BB"s were right, but only one in the correct location - what is that, 20% or 40%, D-Otto~?

14. Whirl : PIROUETTE - thankfully, the letters the perps filled in made the spelling of this easier - I had --R-UE--E

16. Place, as cloth before surgery : DRAPE - I did consider this at first, but this is a really round-about clue for a 5-letter word

17. Talk big : BLOW SMOKE

18. Zealand natives : DANES - I tried MAORI

19. "Candy-colored clown" in Roy Orbison's "In Dreams," with "the" : SANDMAN

20. Butler, e.g. : SERVANT - the household position - not the character from Gone With The Wind

22. Cézanne's "Boy in __ Vest" : A RED - um, sure, OK

24. Isn't quite neutral : LEANS - different from yesterday's definition

25. Business : AFFAIR

29. Manchego sources : EWES - I was 100% positive about "WIRY", so this made for a sensible WAG

31. Copacetic : A-OK

35. "Piano is not my forte," e.g. : PUN - har-har

36. Orgs. with class issues? : PTAs

37. Command ender : EER - commandeer

38. Meter starter : PERI - I had PEDO-, and that was definitely 50% right; perimeter

39. Wi-Fi relative : LAN

44. Wapiti : ELK - knew this from doing crosswords

45. Dick Grayson, to Bruce Wayne : WARD - I grew up with the 60's campy version, but I did like the re-makes with Christian Bale; well, the first two

46. Sites of some runners : AISLES - I did consider SLEIGHS, but it didn't fit

47. Goaded, with "on" : EGGED - had it, changed it to URged, changed it back

49. '60s-'70s Japanese leader : SATO - perps

51. Prepare for baking : PRE-HEAT

53. Jeopardize : IMPERIL

58. Nirvana attainer : ARHAT - straight up definition; new word to me

59. Ace : HOLE-IN-ONE

61. Blue books? : PORNO - if this is the case, I like my entertainment to be "navy"

62. Opening numbers? : AREA CODES - very good; should have figured it out sooner

63. Indo-__ languages : ARYAN

64. Pastoral poem : IDYL

65. Indianapolis-to-Springfield direction : WEST - were you shocked to see FOUR letters in the answer~?  Narrowed down the choices, tho

DOWN:       

1. They may include yrs. and models : APBs - took too long to make the connection, but I was thinking about cars.  An "All Points Bulletin" - although I think a "BOLO" is more appropriate - "Be On the Look Out for a 2000 Dodge Status, license plate XYZ-1234~!"

2. "__ 18": Uris novel : MILA - I have seen this before, but my head was stuck on "Stalag 17" - both are stories of people and their Nazi Germany foes

3. Food Network's "__ Chef America" : IRON

4. Columnist Maureen : DOWD - 50% perps, 50% WAG

5. Emulate Liz Taylor ... regularly : REMARRY - Ironic that DIVORCE fit, too

6. Square things : ATONE - ah, the verb, not the adjective

7. NASDAQ unit : STK - meh.

8. Pepper trio? : PEES - PePPer

9. Deal with : ADDRESS

10. Price support? : BRAVA - the only thing that makes sense is this person; "BRAVO~!" for females

11. Stereotypical slipper? : BANANA PEEL

12. Like some software : OPEN SOURCE

13. Measuring device : TEST

15. FedEx competitor : US MAIL - OK, I did a UPS shout-out last week

21. What a conductor may conduct: Abbr. : ELECtricity - I wanted "ORCH"

23. "We'll see" : DEPENDS

25. Brandy flavor : APPLE

26. A virus may cause one : FATAL ERROR - in the world of computers

27. Walt Disney Concert Hall architect : FRANK GEHRY - I am familiar with this name, so the spelling did not bother me

28. Small power sources : AAs - batteries

30. Like an Irish wolfhound's coat : WIRY

32. Furrows : KNITS - think eyebrows

34. Israel's Iron Lady : MEIR

38. Retirement outfit? : PJs - good clue; I was in "IRA" mode

40. Smitten with : SWEET ON - I am still smitten by the blue-eyed girl; some day....

41. Words with baby or bad day : HAD A - I regularly have the "bad day" version - hopefully the "baby" part is in my future

42. Breakfast choice : OATMEAL

43. "Ed Wood," e.g. : BIOPIC

48. Kofi Annan's birthplace : GHANA

50. 1976 Spingarn Medal recipient : AILEY - never heard of this award, nor this person

51. Literary sobriquet : PAPA - that author dude, uh, what's his name, Ernest

52. Golden Triangle native : THAI

54. "There are liars ... __ to beat the honest men": "Macbeth" : ENOW - poetic "enough"

55. Tormented : RODE

56. Supermodel Sastre : INÉS - hey, two birds with one stone - her image and her legs - or is that one bird with two stones~?

Inés Sastre

ooh~! shiny~!

57. "__ we forget" : LEST

60. Chicago airport code : ORD - O'Hare, which was originally Orchard Field Airport; now I can see where they get code

Splynter

Friday June 5, 2105, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Wow, three every other week Fridays from Jeffrey, with each quite different. If this were a Rugby match JW would have scored big time. No puns here, adding "TRY" into known phrases to create new fill clued with lots of visual humor. Structurally, I initially thought the word count and blocks were more reminiscent of an early week puzzle, but then the 16 x 15 grid was revealed. This once again caused cheater squares for the central fill, and allowed the 16 letter grid spanners. There is lots of difficulty and some nice long entries to both slow you down and speed you up when they click. EASTERN, ONENESS , PAL JOEY, TASTING, PIG BARNS,  STAMP TAX are fun and many of the 6 letter fill, like NO DISC, TALESE, YE GODS, DOMINO and CITRUS are not overused.  With all this practice, I had a quick run with a good deal of the puzzle, with only the SE a bit of a slog. I also appreciated some of the little things, like cluing ____Box, followed by Box___, the CELL semi clecho, and an N.T., O.T. pair. Also the placement of the TRY is consistent, 1/3 end of first word  2/4 end of last word. I will stop talking and get to the puzzle.

19A. Scene when stores open on Black Friday? : ENTRY DASH (9) A quick reprise from yesterday, sort of. When I first started trying to do crossword puzzles on my own, instead of trying to horn in on my parents' solving efforts, ENS, EMS and ERS were very common fill. If you read the LINK it does not add the EN and EM are type face measures, which I would imagine is how the dashes got their name. I did make the mistake of going to a Best Buy one Black Friday morning.

31A. Superhero preparing to cook dinner? : FLASH IN THE PANTRY (16). There is a new TV series which was part of the basis of conflict between Sheldon and Amy. LINK. (1:00) Again, for me the visual is cool, a superhero cooking.

37A. Eclair big enough to share? : PASTRY DE DEUX (12). The 'step of two', or pairs ballet. LINK.(9:02). I wonder how big that eclair would need to be before it would be shared, as I do like a good one.

45A. Efficient wall decor for a steel vault? : MAGNETIC TAPESTRY (16). My favorite because the visual is so appealing with the ornate rug sticking by magnetism

62A. Just tempting enough ... and what 19-, 31-, 37- and 45-Across are? : WORTH A TRY (9).  The rare Friday reveal.

Across:

1. Was missing : LACKED. Not the easiest of 1A clues, but very fair.

7. Cell download : APP. If you do not have a smart phone, you probably do not know about the millions of available APPlications.

10. "The Wild Duck" playwright : IBSEN. I filled this confidently, though I have never heard of the play. We get a lot of this prolific Norwegian.

15. Inclusive term : ET ALII. I had the two Is from the perps, so I avoided the alia/alii question.

16. Engage in a bit of self-criticism : RUE. For me, this is one of those clues that ends up making sense, but ruing the day etc. I did not think was always self-criticism. No no? 48D. Rue family tree : CITRUS. This is really obscure, and an odd way clue the fruit especially with RUE as fill. Hopefully JW will let us know where this piece of arcane info came from. "Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae." wiki

17. Word on a résumé : VITAE. There is debate as to whether a CV can be considered a résumé. LINK since a Curriculum Vitae is comprehensive and a résumé by its name is a summary.

18. Item with pips : DOMINO. Since Gladys Knight did not fit, and I already had EINE and DIOS and this game is very popular in South Florida, the NW was going well.

21. "I believe in the absolute __ ... of humanity": Gandhi : ONENESS. The tricky use of ...obscures the entire quotation and any religious implication.

23. Investment initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

24. CPR provider : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

25. Certain rider : FARE. Do any of you all use UBER?

26. Boost, say : ASSIST.

29. Quill __ : PEN.

35. Yachting, perhaps : ASEA. An acceptable A word, that people actually use.

36. Relies (on) : LEANS.

42. Pub patron's words : A PINT. What musical has refers to a pint?

44. Pole-to-pole link : AXIS.

53. Tirana is its cap. : ALBania.

54. Blu-ray player error message : NO DISC.

55. Sandusky's lake : ERIE. CSO again!

56. N.T. book : JAS. James.

58. Comprehended : GOT. I got it!

59. Winery event : TASTING. It was at such an event that I met in person the irrepressible and golf talented Chairman.

65. "Move it!" : LET'S GO.

66. Principle : TENET.

67. Dickens' "__ Mutual Friend" : OUR.  Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. Wikipedia.

68. Fountain offering : MALTED. I have not had one in years.

69. Minor surgery targets : CYSTS.

70. Old spy gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. LINK.

71. Heads (toward) : STEERS.

Down:

1. Started : LED OFF. The downs....

2. Like many Schoenberg compositions : ATONAL.

3. Cell component : CAMERA. I am old enough to still be amazed about the cell/camera and the quality of the immediate image you get.

4. Actors Kevin and Richard : KLINES.  LINK 1. Many great comedy movies. LINK 2. Three's Company. Not related.

5. Article in Der Spiegel : EINE. The German newspaper. 34A. Fresh, to a Frau : NEU. German 'NEW.'

6. Spanish deity : DIOS.

7. "__ you kidding?" : ARE.

8. Lock up, say : PUNISH.

9. '60s Moore role : PETRIE.

10. One of an academic octet : IVY. Can you name them all without looking? I bet Bill G. can.

11. Sit tight : BIDE.

12. Subject of a 1765 act : STAMP TAX. Isn't it fun when something you learned a million years ago pops into your brain.

13. Defunct carrier : EASTERN. Living in Florida, this was a gimme.

14. O.T. book : NEHemiah.

20. Woodworking tool : RASP.

22. More practical : SANER.

27. Vacation time : STAY. Not an easy parse for me.

28. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. Guy was a newspaper guy who later wrote books. "News, if unreported, has no impact. It might as well have not happened at all."
Gay Talese

30. FDR was once its governor : NYS. New York State.

32. Move it : HASTEN. Not my favorite word.

Hasten Jason
Get the Basin
Oops slop
Get the mop.

33. Violin attachment? : IST. How many started out thinking, what in the world do you put on a violin?

37. Farm houses : PIG BARNS. I never thought they had them, only a sty. but I grew up in Cow Country.

38. Cape named by Charles I : ANN. Explorer John Smith named all the capes using native American words, his King changed many; one was Cape Ann, which Charles named in honor of his mother Anne of Denmark. Wiki.

39. "__ Love": "Carmen Jones" song : DATS. For marti. Link. A sad story retold many times; Dorothy Dandridge did the 1954 movie.

40. Demand : EXACT.  SPOLIER ALERT!!!!!!!
The chief Sparrow exacted a stiff penalty from Cersei.

41. Decline : DIP. TV pundits love to speak of dips in the market.

42. Org. encouraging vaccination : AMA. I was tempted to put CVS, but knew better.

43. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" musical : PAL JOEY.

46. Inedible wrap : TOGA. Sari also fits.

47. Affirming retort : I DO TOO. Back again.

49. Wrap up : SETTLE. Your account?

50. Sibelius' "Valse __" : TRISTE. The Sad Waltz.  LISTEN. Classic.

51. Dead __ : RINGER.

52. "Holy moly!" : YE GODS.

57. Cancel the dele : STET. More historical crosswordese.

60. __ box : ALMS.

61. Box __ : SEAT.

62. NYC Freedom Tower locale : WTC. World Trade Center.

63. Nos. on driver's licenses : HTS. As opposed to wts.

64. Anniversary no. : YRS.

In the end, it was a workout but fun and I was pleased I got it all. Thanks again Jeffrey and all of you. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to TTP, who used to be very active on the blog. Busy with your golf league, pal?

2) Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Misty and her husband Rowland! Misty mentioned that she's going to make coq au vin for the special occasion. Let us know how it turns out.

Misty & Rowland 2009 (15th Anniversary Party)

Thursday, June 4, 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: "100 Pounds of Clay" 2:16

17-Across. Heavyweight who dethroned Sonny Liston : CASSIUS CLAY. First you take some CLAY,

25-Across. The London Eye, for one : FERRIS WHEEL...throw it on a WHEEL,

36-Across. Zesty meat coating : ORANGE GLAZE...coat it with a GLAZE,

50-Across. Beer-making device : BREWERS KILN...and cook it in a KILN.

And the reveal:

59-Across. Fictional wizard, and a hint to who would use the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across : HARRY POTTER. If you manage to come out with something useful or pretty, you are a POTTER! I liked the logical progression in the theme entries. Well done.


Across

1. Los Alamos projects : A-BOMBS.

7. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR. Khayyám. 

11. Shelter acquisition : PET. Oh, one acquired from a shelter...I thought it was something acquired for shelter, like a tent or an IRA.

14. Hat with a brim : FEDORA.

15. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO.

16. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Plural of ovum.

19. NASA transport : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.

20. Attacks : SETS AT.

21. Other, to Orlando : OTRA.

22. Happy hour site : PUB. "Bar" also fit.

28. Exception lead-in : UNLESS...

30. Memorable "Richard III" words : A HORSE, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

31. Disadvantaged : POOR.

32. One of the Mountain States : IDAHO.

35. Some hot rods : GTs. From the Italian Gran Turismo, they are not just hot rods. True "grand touring" cars have specific attributes to go along with the name.

40. Roulette option : ODD. "Red" also fit.

42. "Sorry" : I CAN'T.

43. Land of the banshee : EIRE.

46. Home of the NCAA's Wolf Pack : NEVADA.

48. "Tess" Golden Globe winner : KINSKI. Nastassja played the role so well.

54. Slew : TON.

55. Level, in London : RASE. Those Brits, I wish they'd learn to spell...  ;-)

56. Spelunkers : CAVERS.

58. Dash widths : ENs. Half as wide as an EM dash.

64. __ limit : AGE.

65. Assist badly? : ABET.

66. Words before "Happy New Year!" : ...TWO, ONE.

67. Kenan's TV pal : KEL. "Kenan and Kel" ran for four years on Nickelodeon. It was cancelled in 2000. Never saw it.

68. Chats : JAWS.

69. New York county on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. That sounds like an Air Force song: "Oswego, into the wild blue yonder..."


Down

1. Browns' gp. : AFC. American Football Conference. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences which make up the NFL.

2. Cole Porter's "__ Clown" : BE A. What movie was it from?

3. Takes too much, briefly : ODs. Overdoses.

4. Peat component : MOSS.

5. Legal filings : BRIEFS.

6. Browns, perhaps : SAUTÉS.

7. Word before nod or buzz : OSCAR.

8. Millionaire starter? : MULTI. Because "mega"-millionaire was too short.

9. Org. with a monthly Journal of Ethics : AMA. American Medical Association.

10. Kevin's "Tin Cup" role : ROY. Not one of Kevin Costner's finest movies.

11. Disruptive spirit : POLTERGEIST.

12. Tibetans call it Chomolungma : EVEREST. Learning moment, but easily inferable.

13. They may be hot : TAMALES. Nailed it!

18. Belarus or Ukr., once : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.

21. "Looky here!" : OHO.

22. Small seal : PUP.

23. Low número : UNO.

24. Circulation need : BLOOD VESSEL. I briefly toyed with a "publication."

26. Humorist Mort : SAHL.

27. "Hold it!" : WHOA.

29. Bobble the ball : ERR.

32. Market chain based in Chicago : IGA. With the red and white logo.

33. Room with a recliner : DEN.

34. Insurance fig. : AGT. Insurance agent.

37. Helper : AIDE.

38. Site of Mt. Mitchell, highest Appalachian peak : N. CAR. Did you skip over the abbr. of "Mt." in the clue?

39. __ master : ZEN.

40. Taking five or ten : ON BREAK.

41. Drive up the wall : DERANGE. and 53-Down. One climbing the walls : IVY.

44. "King Kong" studio : RKO.

45. Cologne article : EIN. It can mean "one" or "a/an." It can be easily confused with "eins," which is the number "one."

47. Blow away : AWE.

48. Heavy lifter, for short? : KLEPTO.maniac.

49. Aligned : IN ROWS.

51. Head-turner's hardware? : SCREW. I had a hard time aligning the clue with the answer, since I feel it's the screwdriver that does the head turning, not the screw.

52. Super Mario racers : KARTS.

57. Stash : STOW.

59. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I read it when it first came out, so this was a gimme.

60. Old sports org. with a red-white-and-blue ball : ABA. American Basketball Association. It merged with the NBA in 1976.

61. Piggy : TOE.

62. Writer's coll. major, often : ENG.lish

63. Vintage auto : REO.


And my work here is done...

Marti

Note from C.C.

Our California Coven & Lucina had their annual get-together yesterday. JD said:

"Here we are today in Pleasanton, CA: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina. Chris (Garlic Gal)  read a sweet email that she had received from Dodo (wish I had brought some of mine too). Then we toasted her and a life well lived."

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015

Wednesday June 3rd, 2015 Ed Sessa

Theme: Sheik's Peer Group - the ends of the six theme entries homo-phonically reveal the start of one of the Bard's most famous soliloquies

19A. *Split apart : IN TWO

20A. *Working, working, working : AS BUSY AS A BEE

35A. *1967 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy recipient : BOBBY ORR. Hockey's "Rookie of the Year" trophy presciently awarded to this Hall of Famer and Boston Bruins legend.

41A. *Half-hitch kin : SLIP KNOT. Pull the loose end to release it. 

56A. *"And it took long enough!" : ABOUT TIME TOO. On finishing the crossword?

59A. *Backup option : PLAN B. I once worked for a company that liked to have Plans C thru Z too, just in case. It was a tad tedious, to say the least.

and then all the way at the bottom, the hint:

48D. Speaker of the ends of the answers to starred clues : HAMLET

Royal Shakespeare Company 50th Anniversary UK Stamp

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;"

Talented chap, that Shakespeare bloke. So is Ed Sessa, come to that. I found this a little tricky for a Wednesday and took a little while to get a foothold, but then a couple of spirals around the grid and things started to fall into place. I enjoyed the POE/MAELSTRÖM connection, and could easily visualize a HAM ACTOR making a mess of HAMLET. Let's get into the details:

Across:

1. Gothic literature middle name : ALLAN. Mr. Poe.

6. Sound of relief : AAH.

9. Tells : BLABS

14. Olympus competitor : LEICA. Always need to wait for crosses with these - you've got Nikon and Canon as other possibilities.

15. Lobster __ Diavolo : FRA. Yay - Food! making an early appearance. The tomato-and-chilli Fra Diavolo sauce is Italian for "Brother Devil", so named because of the spicy heat.

16. Talked a blue streak : RAN ON

17. Violent whirlpool : MAELSTRÖM. Our 1A friend Mr. Poe wrote a short story in 1841 "A Descent into the Maelström" which captivated me when I read it as a child.

"I'm guessing this is not good"

22. Bashful : SHY

23. Per person : APIECE

24. Pinch : DASH

28. Part of Q.E.D. : QUOD. "Erat Demonstrandum" rounds out the phrase. Tada! in mathemetician-speak.

29. Asian holiday : TET. I'm sure there are more Asian holidays than this one, but it's a crossword-fave.

31. Transcript fig. : G.P.A.

32. Géorgie, to Georgette : ÉTAT. The French spelling of the State of Georgia. I learned in French lessons years ago that if you replace the "e-acute" at the start of a word with the letter "S", you'll often get closer to the English meaning of the word. Not a hard-and-fast rule, but it works in this case.

37. Sound : AUDIO

39. Game show prize : CAR

40. Long tales : SAGAS

43. With 64-Across, tax shelter since 1998 : ROTH

44. "Power" accessory : TIE. I used to wear a tie pretty much every day, but now businesses are much more relaxed about such things.

45. Updike's "Rabbit Redux," e.g.: Abbr. : SEQ. The sequel to "Rabbit, Run"

46. Longtime Saudi king : FAHD

49. Tater : SPUD. Food! I'm liking Ed's puzzle today.

51. Ancient Israeli fortress : MASADA. Crosses all the way.

53. Workout "washboards" : ABS. Let's ask USA Olympic sprinter Torri Edwards to illustrate what these look like:

62. Vibrator in the larynx : VOCAL CORD. My thought process here went "voice box .. no wait .. "vocal chord" ... no, what? ah! Got it!

63. Public opening? : JOHN Q. Does Mr. Public live in Peoria?

64. See 43-Across : IRA

65. Low-price prefix : ECONO- Yee-ha! Nancy Griffith extols the virtues of the Ford panel van.

66. Really cracks up : SLAYS

67. Volleyball barrier : NET

68. Carved emblem : TOTEM

Down:

1. Soprano Gluck and composer Mahler-Werfel : ALMAS. On the "I know this" scale of 1-10 I was was a solid zero. Thank you, crosses.

2. Chihuahua lead : LEASH. I was expecting something fiendishly Mexican-Spanish here. Nope.

3. Stretch out next to : LIE BY

4. Censorship-fighting org. : A.C.L.U.

5. Bahamas port : NASSAU. Port of Registration for many cruise liners.

6. Hiding under the covers : AFRAID

7. Tossed off the covers : AROSE

8. Poor choice to play 48-Down : HAM ACTOR. Good choice to play "Babe" though?

9. Creamy cheese : BRIE

10. Like Olympic pools : LANED. Also seems a darned long way from one end to the other when you're in the middle of sprint training.

11. Picnic invader : ANT

12. Moment of stage gratitude : BOW

13. __-Cat: winter vehicle : SNO

18. Proofer's find : TYPO

21. U.K. network, with "the" : BEEB. Fondly, the BBC - the British Broadcasting Corporation.

25. Disco phrase : A GOGO. The famous Whisky a Go Go nightclub here in Los Angeles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Pretty good for a building.

26. Nursery rhyme surname : SPRAT. Jack and his wife. We never learned Mrs. Sprat's first name. Maybe it was Jill, of "tumbling after" fame.

27. Strident : HARSH

28. Cotton swab brand : Q-TIP

30. "Conan" channel : TBS. Ted Turner's TBS, based in Atlanta was the first "Superstation" - the first basic cable channel to transmit programming via satellite, enabling it to be carried on cable networks in all 50 states by 1978.

32. Bridge positions : EASTS

33. Cup-shaped bloom : TULIP

34. "Cheers," across the Channel : ADIEU. I tried SANTÉ first. Bottoms up!

35. Ball striker : BAT

36. Play area : YARD

38. Endorsements : OK'S

39. Chicken-in-wine stew : COQ AU VIN. Food! I learned early to use the same wine you were planning to drink with the meal, rather than throw in some cheap stuff and hope it magically tasted great when it cooked out. I use a nice Californian Pinot Noir, the same primary varietal in French burgundy.

42. Movie clownfish : NEMO

46. One with money to burn : FAT CAT

47. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song : ADIA. This song is following me around on crossword Wednesday. No matter, it's a beautiful song.

50. Boy in an Irish song : DANNY. Here's the Irish Tenors

52. Target, for one : STORE

53. On __: reveling : A TOOT

54. Carried : BORNE

55. City destroyed in Genesis : SODOM. It's near-neighbor Gomorrah didn't fare too well either. As Danny Boy would have said "Begorrah, Gomorrah"!

57. Tailgaters' cookers, for short : BBQ'S

58. __ Domani: Italian wine brand : ECCO. I'm very familiar with the name and the label, although I don't believe I've actually tasted any. Marti?

59. Sleepover attire : PJ'S

60. Cyberyuk : LOL. Laugh Out Loud. Great clue.

61. "Just as I thought!" : AHA!

Time for me to shuffle off the crossword coil. Here's the grid:

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy birthday to our talented Owen! Thanks for the time and hard work you put into your poems. You bring smiles to many regulars and we're grateful for your presence.

Owen & his wife Brenda (Feb 28, 2009)

Tuesday, June 2, 2015 Mike Peluso

Theme:  SPIT IT OUT. The first word can precede TALKING.

4. *Round before the Elite Eight : SWEET SIXTEEN. Sweet talking. Elite Eight are the eight final teams in the NCAA regional finals or national quarterfinals.

6. *Ball carrier's maneuver depicted by the Heisman Trophy : STRAIGHT ARM. Straight talking.

26. *Two over par : DOUBLE BOGEY. Double talking.

23. Pundits ... and what the first words in the answers to starred clues literally are : TALKING HEADS

Four wrong answers snagged me until I got those untangled, aside from that, very do-able, just right for a Tuesday. 

melissa here.

Across:

1. Tostitos dip : SALSA

6. #, in music : SHARP

11. Swabbing need : MOP

14. Makes furrows in fields : PLOWS

15. Universal donor's group : TYPE O

16. Sports drink suffix : ADE

17. Roof overhangs : EAVES

18. Check the total of : RE-ADD.  Tried ADDED first.

19. Musician's booking : GIG

20. Gallic gal pal : AMIE.  Tried LASS first.

21. Paving goo : TAR

22. Adorable ones : CUTIES

24. Thor Heyerdahl's raft : KON-TIKI. I had no idea of this interesting story.

26. Lady of Lisbon : DONA. Portuguese title of address equivalent to Mrs. or Madam.

27. Beijing skyline haze : SMOG. Awful.

28. Home of the Raiders : OAKLAND

32. Video game brother : MARIO

35. High, in the French Alps : HAUT

37. Swiss painter Paul : KLEE. Very recognizable and colorful style.

38. Green card in the credit world : AMEX

39. Wild guesses : STABS

40. Brainchild : IDEA

41. Breathe heavily : PANT. Tried GASP first.

42. Hair clipper brand : WAHL

43. Twist into knots : GNARL. Tried BRAID first.

44. More vertical : STEEPER

46. Periodical with a URL : E-MAG

48. Oater actor Jack : ELAM

49. Chess pieces that move only diagonally : BISHOPS

53. Venus, e.g. : PLANET

56. Dress for success, with "up" : TOG.  If this is common crosswordese, I didn't remember. So out of practice.

57. Gardner of mystery : ERLE. 

58. Old nuclear agcy. : AEC

59. Repair, as faulty software : DEBUG

61. Morocco's capital : RABAT

62. Pixar collectible : CEL

63. Loon kin : GREBE

64. Official command : EDICT

65. Nonstandard product-tracking no. : SKU. Stock Keeping Unit.

66. College paper : ESSAY

67. "Bone" prefix : OSTEO

Down:

1. Command to Fido : SPEAK

2. "Drive Happy" rental company : ALAMO

3. "Good __": 1966 Young Rascals hit : LOVIN

5. Biblical mount : ASS

7. Martha of "Some Came Running" : HYER. 1959 Movie.

8. Therapists' org. : APA. American Psychological Association.

9. Revolutionary soldiers : REDCOATS

10. Middle-of-nowhere town : PODUNK

11. Star-struck trio? : MAGI.  Nice clue.

12. Drooly toon dog : ODIE

13. Cribbage pieces : PEGS

21. Bout decision : TKO

25. Texter's "I think ..." : IMO. "In My Opinion."

29. "M*A*S*H" star : ALDA. Hawkeye Pierce. IMO, Radar is the most endearing character. 

30. At no time, in poems : NE'ER.  Fare thee well, for ne'er shall we meet again ...

31. Negotiation ender : DEAL. Sneaky clue.

32. Plans (out) : MAPS

33. Amo, amas, __ : AMAT

34. Philosopher Descartes : RENE

36. Contented sigh : AAH

39. Cool weather clothes : SWEATERS

43. Fun time : GAS

45. Telethon promise : PLEDGE

47. Russian fighter : MIG

50. Heavenly path : ORBIT

51. "Peyton __" : PLACE

52. Spat : SET-TO. Got hung up here, thinking of Spat as a verb. The first T, crossing RABAT was my last to fill in. 

53. Lobbying orgs. : PACS

54. Scallion kin : LEEK

55. First Amendment defender: Abbr. : ACLU

56. Oom-pah maker : TUBA

60. Wanna-__: pretenders : BE'S

61. Popular Roaring Twenties auto : REO

melissa

Monday, June 1, 2015 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: The TRUTH... shall turn you LOOSE; set you FREE to be LIBERATED and UNBOUND.

20A. Coin-counting machine input : LOOSE CHANGE

33A. Capitalist principle : FREE ENTERPRISE

40A. Feminist : LIBERATED WOMAN

56A. Yet-to-be-covered volume : UNBOUND BOOK

RABBIT, RABBIT. Argyle here with the latest from Gail and Bruce. My alternate title was "Going Commando...".

Across:

1. Scrubbing Bubbles target : SCUM. Commercial.

5. Medical research goal : CURE

9. Faked on the ice : DEKED

14. Walking aid : CANE

15. "Up and __!" : AT 'EM

16. Somber verse : ELEGY. Not the eulogy but may be heard at the same service.

17. "What's going __ there?" : ON IN. Kids are too noisy or too quiet; same question.

18. Knock down, as an old house : RAZE

19. Russian river : VOLGA

23. Chaney of horror : LON

24. "Gracias" response : DE NADA. "It was nothing"

25. Dawdle : DALLY

27. Annoys : IRKS

30. Respond to with loud laughter : ROAR AT

37. Tesla Motors co-founder __ Musk : ELON. Occasional visitor to the Corner.

38. Former California fort : ORD, on Monterey Bay.

39. Sanctuary recess : APSE

45. Mall divisions : STORES

46. Say "Be careful" to : WARN

47. Chocolaty concoction : COCOA

49. Cupcake toppings : ICINGS

54. Spot for a seaweed wrap : SPA. Not a sushi bar?!

59. Stable youngsters : COLTS

61. Floating ice mass : BERG

62. Yours, in France : A TOI

63. Kate's sitcom friend : ALLIE. (1984–1989)

64. Jigsaw puzzler's starting place : EDGE

65. Upward slope : RISE

66. Southwestern plateaus : MESAs

67. Belgian river : YSER

68. Zipped : SPED

Down:

1. Admonish : SCOLD

2. Paddled boat : CANOE

3. Group for ones in labor? : UNION. Cute clue.

4. Brilliant bunch : MENSA

5. Vehicle maintenance : CAR CARE

6. Canyonlands National Park site : UTAH

7. Exiled Shah Mohammed __ Pahlavi : REZA. A rare trip to a Monday.

8. Edit, as text : EMEND

9. Come to light : DEVELOP

10. Jeff Lynne's symphonic rock gp. : ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)

11. Morning TV host : KELLY RIPA. Looker 1

12. "Leggo my __!" : EGGO

13. Actress Cannon : DYAN. Looker 2

21. Singer Brickell married to Paul Simon : EDIE. Looker 3

22. Teri of "Mr. Mom" : GARR. Looker 4

26. Former California NFLer : LA RAM

28. Secure shoelace feature : KNOT

29. Scatter : STREW

31. Part of LPGA: Abbr. : ASSN. (association)

32. Collarless shirt : TEE

33. Move like a moth : FLIT

34. Autodialed campaign messages : ROBO-CALLS

35. Juan's January : ENERO

36. Old Norse poetic work : EDDA

37. Chicago transit trains : ELs

41. Disqualifies (oneself), judicially : RECUSES

42. "You have __": obstetrician's news : A SON

43. Old laundry-squeezing device : WRINGER

44. How some data is backed up : ON CD. (Compact Disc)

48. Cloister : ABBEY. I just borrowed the first five seasons of "Downton Abbey"; should keep me busy for awhile.

50. Letter-shaped girders : I-BARS. Commonly called an I-beam.

51. Upshot of poor service : NO TIP

52. "Duck, duck" follower : "GOOSE"

53. Maneuvered among moguls : SKIED

54. Bogus offer : SCAM

55. Flag holder : POLE

57. Ref. works that take up a lot of shelf space : OEDs. (Oxford English Dictionary)

58. Try to convince : URGE

60. Familia member : TIA. Your Spanish aunt or Tinbeni's Tia Maria.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) For those who were not able to make the Indie 500, you can now solve the puzzles at home. Please click here for details. The amazing constructors are: Erik Agard, Evan Birnholz, Peter Broda, Neville Fogarty, Andy Kravis and Finn Vigeland. All are NYT published constructors. Several are our LAT constructors also.

2) The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Saturday. Please click here for more details. Don G and I teamed up again this year. Hope to see some of you there.

Sunday May 31, 2015 Jason Mueller

Theme: "Ms." - All theme entries are women with M* S* initials.

22A. "Silkwood" star : MERYL STREEP. She's a natural.

28A. "Frankenstein" author : MARY SHELLEY

 

37A. Counselor Troi portrayer on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : MARINA SIRTIS. Deanna TROI, who appears in our crossword often. I did not know her full name though.

52A. Tennis star with five Grand Slam titles : MARIA SHARAPOVA. Contending for French Open right now.

61A. Host of a spin-off of "The Apprentice" : MARTHA STEWART. She's aging so beautifully.

77A. Toon with a pacifier : MAGGIE SIMPSON

84A. Early advocate of birth control : MARGARET SANGER

98A. 1995-2001 "SNL" regular : MOLLY SHANNON

111A. "Mighty Aphrodite" Oscar winner : MIRA SORVINO. She speaks Chinese.

  

120A. Jean Brodie creator : MURIEL SPARK. Learning moment for me.

I don't see Jason Mueller's name in our blog record. Must be his debut. Congratulations! 

Simple but fresh theme. And Jason gave us 10 theme entries. A total 122 squares. The highest I blogged this year. It's an incredible achievement for a rookie constructor.

 

Across:

    

1. Straw __ : POLL. The Iowa Straw Poll has lost relevance.

5. Immunization letters : DPT. Wiki says it stands for "Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), and Tetanus."

8. Duped in a good way? : CC'ED. Indeed.

12. __ Zero : COKE

16. They have Red Velvet and Watermelon varieties : OREOS. I knew this! All constructors search hard for fresh clues.

18. Many a surfer : AOLER

20. Norse trickster : LOKI

21. Chennai's continent : ASIA. India, to be exact.

24. Zira and Cornelius, in a 1968 film : APES. Planet of the Apes.

25. Auction units : LOTS

26. ATM necessity : PIN

27. Women's World Golf Rankings sponsor : ROLEX. I love my Timex.

 

31. Polish-German border river : ODER

33. Hunters' outfits, briefly : CAMOS

35. Seaman : TAR

36. Different : ELSE

40. Conditional words : IF SO

42. Pin surface : MAT. Wresting.

45. Costa del __ : SOL

46. Film franchise with a mammoth named Manny : ICE AGE. This stumped me last time.

48. Place : SITE

49. Nonlethal weapon : TASER

 

56. Chemical ending : INE

57. Oregon __ : TRAIL. Our Montana was there a few years ago.

60. Flashing light : STROBE

66. Flashiest : LOUDEST

70. Arab VIP : EMIR. EMIR & OREO have such convenient letter combo.

71. Point to pick : NIT

72. __ mater : PIA. Brain membrane. New to me.

73. "To Kill a Mockingbird" sibling : JEM

74. West Point inits. : USMA

75. Bygone : DEFUNCT

 

80. Nod : DROWSE

82. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" author : KESEY (Ken). I did not like the movie. Too much.

83. Hosp. test : EKG

90. Pasadena parade posies : ROSES

92. "Permit Me Voyage" poet : AGEE. Did not know James Agee was a poet as well.

93. Hercules bicycle model : ROADEO. New to me also.

94. Billings-to-Helena dir. : WNW

95. Brown in Calif., e.g. : GOV. Jerry Brown. Our governor is Mark Dayton. His great-grandfather founded Dayton's (now Target).

96. Get ready : PREP

105. Engrave : ETCH

107. Asian sash : OBI

109. Colonial diplomat Silas : DEANE

110. McGwire rival : SOSA. Sad. All our boxes of Sosa/McGwire/Bonds cards. Worthless.

115. Discontinued P&G toothpaste : GLEEM

117. Back talk : LIP. And 128. Back talk : SASS

118. "Crossword Clues 'M,' __" : ALEX (Trebek). I just did not think of "Jeopardy!".

119. Plan for losing : DIET. This got me again.

123. Port, for one : WINE. And 127. 123-Across category : REDS

124. To be, in Paris : ETRE. I miss the food. And the lovely Etam shops.

125. Utter : SHEER

126. Bottled spirits : GENII

129. Moroccan city of one million : FES. Thought it's spelled as FEZ.

130. NCAA part: Abbr. : ASSN

Down:

1. Cheerleader's accessory : POMPOM

2. Frozen food brand : ORE-IDA. Boomer loves their tater tots.

3. Loewe's lyricist : LERNER

4. See 79-Down : LOY. And 79. With 4-Down, "The Thin Man" co-star : MYRNA

 

5. "The Sound of Music" song : DO-RE-MI

6. Hammer used to test reflexes : PLEXOR. New word to me.

7. Summer top : TEE

8. Santa __ : CLARA

9. Legal protection : COPYRIGHT. Clothing industry does not have much protection. You can't use others' labels, but OK to copy the design.

10. __ out a living : EKES

11. Menu listings : DISHES. Not computer menus.

12. Judgments : CALLS

13. Italian source of the melody for "It's Now or Never" : O SOLE MIO. "My Sunshine".

14. Toy with a tail : KITE

15. Like pie? : EASY. I never got into pies.

17. 35mm camera type : SLR

18. Map site : ATLAS

19. Turntable stat : RPM

23. Trojans' region, familiarly : SOCAL. USC Trojans.

29. Confused : AT SEA

30. "Strange Magic" gp. : ELO

32. Ascend : RISE

34. Agitate : STIR. I tried Marc Maron's WTF podcast because he had a longer version of  his interview with Terry Gross. I like him better now. Fresh Air also ran the interview, but it's heavily edited.

  

38. Irangate figure : NORTH (Oliver)

39. Here, to Henri : ICI

41. Bold : FEARLESS

43. Four-wheeler, for short : ATV

44. Leaves in a bag : TEA. My favorite. Loose leaf Jasmine Tea.

47. __ D.A. : ASST

48. Went faster : SPED UP

49. Like some tests : TIMED

50. "I Got __": Jim Croce hit : A NAME

51. Font flourish : SERIF

52. Diamond need : MITT. Paul Molitor makes me believing again!

53. Pale ___ : ALE

54. Certain sharer : ROOMIE

55. __ Dhabi : ABU

58. Acrimony : RANCOR

59. So to speak : AS IT WERE. Nice 8-letter fill.

62. Slog : TRUDGE

63. New Deal org. : WPA. Works Progress/Projects Administration

64. 2008 bailout beneficiary : AIG. They're big in Guangzhou, which is not my hometown, Gary. I grew up in Xi'an.

65. Cleaning aid : RAG

67. Massachusetts quartet : ESSES

68. Fire sign : SMOKE

69. Sharp tastes : TANGS

73. Taunt : JEER

76. Charlton Heston once led it: Abbr. : NRA. I knew this trivia also.

77. Phoenix suburb : MESA

78. He bested Adlai : IKE

81. Breaks on the road : STOP-OVERS

84. E-__ : MAG. Not fond of this clue.

85. Earlier : AGO

86. Spooner, for one : REVEREND

87. Mgmt. : ADMIN

88. Opposite of paleo- : NEO. I hope you're not into Paleo Diet. What's the lifespan for cavemen?!

89. Winner's prize : GOLD

91. Has title to : OWNS

94. Cheese shape : WHEEL

96. Mac alternatives : PCs

97. Scholarship founder : RHODES

99. Fictional symbol of brutality : LEGREE (Simon). "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

100. Elis : YALIES

101. Show of scorn : SNEER

102. Ryan and Bushnell : NOLANS. Nolan Bushnell founded Atari.  Nolan Ryan never had a perfect game.

103. God wed to his sister : OSIRIS

104. Place setting item : NAPKIN

106. Strains : TAXES. Verb.

108. Nibbles : BITES

111. Bryn __ College : MAWR

112. Netman Nastase : ILIE

113. Moreno with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards : RITA

114. Meditation syllables : OMS. My landlord in Shanghai meditated every evening, with his incense and chants. Then he started to drink. He probably found more peace in these strong  drinks.

116. Flavor enhancer : MSG

121. TV dial letters : UHF

122. Princess' bane : PEA

The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Saturday. Please click here for more details.

C.C.