Sunday June 19th, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Across:

  

1. H.S. equivalency tests : GEDs

5. Hold on : WAIT

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

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

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

22. Narrow inlet : RIA

25. Hockey legend : ORR

26. Rock bands : STRATA. Great clue.

27. Made tracks : RAN

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

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

30. Sun. message : SER

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

34. Headline makers : MEDIA

35. Weaving components : WEFTS

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

39. Nielsen unit : VIEWER

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

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

46. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones" : OONA

47. QB's stats : YDs

49. Side-to-side movement : YAW

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

54. Med. research agency : NIH

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

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

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

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

66. Union grievance figure : ARBITER

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

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

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

71. Twice tetra- : OCTA. 8.

72. Long-running NBC comedy : SNL

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

74. Snitch : RAT

76. Engine room noise : HUM

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

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

90. Symposium group : PANEL

91. Unexpected twist : SPRAIN. Not plot twist.

92. Raise : PARENT

94. Modern break-ins : HACKS

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

97. Stylish '60s Londoner : MOD

98. Liniment target : ACHE

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

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

101. Ring combo : ONE TWO

105. __ slope : SKI

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

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

113. Initiates, as a conversation : STRIKES UP

114. Uru. neighbor : ARG

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

116. Song : TUNE

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

Down:

1. Car in a '60s hit : GTO

2. Goes astray : ERRS

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

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

5. Doesn't use efficiently : WASTES

6. Vow site : ALTAR

7. Lod's land: Abbr. : ISR

8. Remove, as a coupon : TEAR OUT

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

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

 11. Line on a globe : ARC

13. High-profile group : A-LIST

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

15. Med. recording : EEG

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

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

20. Dedication to a saint : FEAST DAY

24. Fast-spreading emotion : PANIC

29. Driving areas : TEES

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

33. Caterer's vessel : URN

34. Landmark case name : MIRANDA

35. Signals to try to score : WAVES IN

37. Christmas buy : FIR

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

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

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

41. Mature eft : NEWT

42. Ill-fated ones : GONERS

43. Golden Gate phenomenon : FOG

45. Investors' goals : GAINS

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

52. Protest tactic : SIT IN

53. Martinique et Réunion : ILEs

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

57. "I heartily agree" : AMEN

59. Adage : SAYING

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

61. Fragrant conifer : CEDAR

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

63. Paint choice : ENAMEL

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

70. Important times : ERAs

73. Etui item : PIN

75. Obsolescent music source : TAPE DECK

80. Take the gold : WIN

81. Guinea pig, for some : PET

82. Patriotic org. : DAR

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

85. "Kiss of life," briefly : CPR

86. Small batteries : AAs

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

88. Probe : DELVE

89. Leading : IN FIRST

93. Sports journalist Bernstein : BONNIE

95. Pal : HOMIE

96. Nestle securely : EMBED

97. Express bereavement : MOURN

99. Measurer of rpm : TACH

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

103. Impudent : WISE

104. Burden : ONUS

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

107. A, in Arles : UNE

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

109. Heating stat : BTU

110. New car feature, for short : GPS

C.C.