Friday, October 8, 2021, Jennifer Lee and Victor Galson

 Title: Jack London presents The Call of the Wild

When I was growing up two of the books which I read which moved me were the above and its companion Novel WHITE FANG.

Jack London really made me feel I was in the mind of the both animals.

All of which has little to do with this second LAT puzzle publication by this COUPLE who were married April 3, 2021. Their first was here at the LAT in 2019 in a well received effort. Their other publications were earlier in the week puzzles one at the NYT, and I sense Rich put this here because he really liked the theme. It is a classic single definition for all of the themers, but with more room for creativity.  It also evidences that talent with the inclusion of sparkling MICDROP, ODD JOBS, CAL STATE, SLOTHFUL, BINGE WATCH and TATA FOR NOW. They are such a happy looking pair I hate to add a negative note but this does not play as a Friday puzzle with only 40 black squares, 52 three and four letter words leaving an average word length of less than 5 letters.  YMMV. 

17A. Call of the wild?: HOWLING WIND (11). The balance of a first word gerund and a second word noun carries through and made the theme special. 

27A. Call of the wild?: BABBLING BROOK (13). The puzzle also has classic symmetry- line 3/line 13 and line 6/line 10. To really appreciate the concept, it helps to anthropomorphize the nouns, picture the water babbling like a baby. 

43. Call of the wild?: WEEPING WILLOW (13). Here, out in nature - the wild - we have a tree crying.

58A. Call of the wild?: ROARING FIRE (11). We finish with our camp fire roaring at us, "more wood, more sticks."

Fun for me, but now on to the rest...

Across:

1. Nike competitor: ASICS. I always want to put a "B" in front, even their logo begs for something else.

6. "Don't mind __": IF I DO. FIDO jumped out, but there was no noble canine soliloquy to follow.

11. Popcorn buy: TUB. 

14. Shroud: CLOAK. This synonym works both for the noun and the verb.

15. Schlepped: TOTED. A bissel Yiddish.

16. Toon storekeeper who was once in a barbershop quartet: APU. The only toon storekeeper I know who also has a three letter name...

19. Kennel club category: TOY. This GROUP. I may be ready for an Affenpinscher...I have never had my affen pinched.

20. Postings at ORD: ETAS.

21. Some are considered essential: OILS. There is much debate about these as well but THESE appear on most lists.

22. Pair to wear: JEANS. I like the rhyme, this time.

24. Wielder of the hammer Mjölnir: THOR. At this point I consider Thor one of us based on the number of Corner appearnces he has made.

26. Sourdough unit: LOAF. Bread, man.

32. Popular chip: FRITO. Corn, man.

34. Arrests: NABS. Cheese and Peanut Butter? LINK.

35. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. The Greek letter ρ (rho) is used in math as a variable and in physics to represent density.

36. "Superman" surname: LANE. Fooled you, it is not Kent!

37. Vacancy sign: TO LET.  These SITES are enticing but if I rent our condo, then what do we need to pay for a place to live?

39. Uppity sort: SNOB. The word 'snob' is said to have arisen from the custom of writing “s. nob.”, that is, 'sine nobilitate,' after the names of children of untitled parents in certain English schools.

40. Person who's usually good?: EGG. Probably a humorous antonym of bad egg - “someone whose behaviour is reprehensible or irresponsible; a rogue.”

41. Informal title used seven times in "Bohemian Rhapsody": MAMA. Listen and count?

42. Chap: BLOKE. Cheerio! 

47. Zippo part: WICK. Not Keanu.

48. Barack's 2012 opponent: MITT.  There can be no real comments about this long term political fixture but here is a BIOGRAPHY.

49. Influencer's concern: BRAND.

51. New Orleans' __ Du Monde: CAFE. This New Orleans landmark and tourist destination, is known for its café au lait and beignets. It also is a CSO to many at the Corner.

53. Try to get the attention of: HAIL. Like a cab.

57. Chow down: EAT. So appetizing.

61. Story __: ARC. Entertainment products.

62. Heart, for one: ORGAN. Yes.

63. What captions can capture: AUDIO. For those who cannot hear or who prefer reading about the action.

64. "I've seen better": MEH. The call word of the Corner.

65. "Get Out" Oscar winner Jordan: PEELE. He has had a most interesting CAREER so far.

66. Endow, as with talent: BLESS.

Down:

1. Want a lot, with "for": ACHE. Baby, I ache for you...

2. Schedule space: SLOT. 

3. __ caucuses: IOWA. Part of the presedential selection process.

4. Sch. with 23 campuses: CAL STATE. HERE they are, not part of the University of California group.

5. What powderhounds do: SKI. Never hear the word, but powder hounds made it very inferable.

6. Celeb of the moment: IT GIRL. I see it in a more historical context.

7. Turkey, e.g.: FOWL. I do not think the clue is fair to this animal.

8. Medical suffix: ITIS. Meaning inflammation...

9. Super Bowl party site: DEN. Do people still have dens? Great room, family room?

10. Big part of the gig economy: ODD JOBS.This is a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.

11. Casual parting: TATA FOR NOW.

12. In the know about: UP ON. I finally stumbled upon this fill.

13. Bargains: BUYS.

18. Gamer more likely to get pwned: NOOB. A new player may be "pwned" wnich has origins in video game culture and is a leetspeak derivation of the word "owned", due to the proximity of the "o" and "p" keys.

23. Inner __: EAR. 

25. "Last Week Tonight" airer: HBO.

26. Pride letters: LGBT. Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transsexual.

27. Catch up on, in a way: BINGE WATCH. My new favorite way to watch TV. 

28. Relative challenge for some: IN-LAW. Mother-in-law?

29. Half a 2010s dance craze: NAE.

30. "Yeah, sure": OH OK.

31. Asian beef city: KOBE. Many fake kobe burgers sold in the US.

32. Passed (by) fast: FLEW.

33. Latest thing: RAGE. I think anger has been around for a very long time.

37. Drop precipitously: TANK. Often related to a team deliberately losing.

38. Texter's "Wow!": OMG.

39. Lazy: SLOTHFUL. Poor sloths get such a bad rap. There are many LAZY animals.

41. [I'm out]: MICDROP. In case you missed it yesterday in Joseph's write-up. it's back!

42. Classic sandwich, for short: BLT. PBJ last time?

44. One standing in an alley: PIN. For Boomer, sadly it is often the 10.

45. "Really, no damage": I'M FINE.

46. Property claim: LIEN. A little law reference for me.

49. Gymnastics event: BEAM. Jim?

50. Like a double rainbow: RARE. I wish I had my pictures organized as well as Robert as I have many double rainbow pics

51. Guinea pig's pad: CAGE. Poor little guys are not pigs and not from Guinea but they are particularly suited for MEDICAL RESEARCH.

52. Disappearing Asian sea: ARAL.

54. Staffer: AIDE.

55. Van Gogh subject: IRIS.

56. Some summer newcomers: LEOS. Babies born under the sign.

59. Resource in the board game Catan: ORE. So much MORE.

60. Dubious "gift": GAB. You get it from the Blarney Stone. Does the Blarney Stone work? The Blarney Stone is, well, a stone that's essentially said to have special powers. If you haven't heard of it before it might sound a bit strange, but kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give you “the gift of the gab”, or a persuasive speaking ability.

Gee, another week gone by and another write-up in the books. A nice Friday debut for this married couple team who can disect a puzzle and make it come to life. Please stop by and join our party. Thank you guys and thank you all who write and all who read. Lemonade out

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 80th birthday to dear Jayce (John), who speaks fluent Chinese and understands the little quirks of the language. Here's a picture of Jayce and his wife on their wedding day. 祝你生日快乐, Jayce!