Friday, November 16, 2012, Gareth Bain

Theme: Animal groups; what kinds can you recall?

I never knew how many TYPES there are.

A very appropriate theme for our now graduated veterinarian friend from South Africa, and along with our own marti, a Friday regular. This one is tricky, as it is both an add on to change the meaning; and a sound alike for two of the answers, where a two word base phrase is used to create a new and witty two word phrase involving a type of animal. There may even be more layers here, but it is late and I am tired. Gareth blogs the LA Times, with his efforts at the Crossword Fiend . This young man really gave me a work out today, and it is much later than I expected, but I adored the simplicity of the theme, once I got going, though it took a while to parse WINE and UINE.  I loved all of the long fill and the 53 theme spaces, and the symmetry of 6/5 for the four outside theme answers. Of course long fill leads to lots of initialisms and other minor flaws, but the result is a real Friday joy.

17A. What makes a cat a cat? : FELINE DRIVE (11). For all you cat people and nothing to do with the symbol for Iron. Baseball perhaps for C.C. with a line drive.

25A. Bearish directors? : URSINE BOARD (11). All these names are from their Latin stems. The change from sign (board) to sine board slowed me down.

34A. Sea dog who's actually a wolf? : LUPINE TAR (9). So Ida Lupino was an Italian wolf? More baseball with  pine tar.

52A. Dogs who inspire artists? : CANINE MUSES (11). My favorite visual, maybe these guys...

59A. Deliverers of certain farm news? : EQUINE PRESS (11). Like I said the wine to uine was tricky. Another cute picture of horses with press passes in their hats.

Across:

1. Restraint at a rodeo : RIATA. I had trouble lassoing this answer.

6. Magnum ___ : OPUS. I really wanted PI, but the perps saved me.

10. Telegraph "T" : DAH.  The code from Mr. MORSE.

13. Respond to : ACT ON. The first of the two word teaser answers.

14. Receive with relish : LAP UP. The second. Very nice visual clue, especially meaningful for all of our furry friends.

16. Headline-making NYSE event : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

19. Pro at balancing: Abbr. : CPA. Ceritified Public Accountant. Not C Threepio.

20. Second-smallest st. : DELaware. Delathere? We love Rhode Island.

21. To date : YET.

22. Elevated church area : ALTAR. The place where many alter their lives.

24. Greek vowel : ETA. Big breakfast today.

28. State from which the Utah Territory was formed : DESERET. This may be a learning moment for many including me; interesting that this piece of HISTORY comes from our South African constructor.

30. Tarzan, for one : ADOPTEE. Also one I need lots of help to get, not thinking of the jungle family which took him in.

31. No longer in : DATED. Unmod?

32. Prefix with culture : AVI. Did everyone want to cram in AGRI? But when you are learning from a veterinarian, you get THIS.

33. Former word for former days : ELD. This is the price you pay for three nice 7 letter downs. Do not nit, it is real.

39. Calendar pg. : JANuary.

42. Texter's "Zounds!" : OMG. Oh My G-d.

43. Many a Johann Strauss work : POLKA.  Maybe you recall this tune from the old CARTOONS (2:44).

47. Muscle Shoals site : ALABAMA. The birthplace of much music including Sam Phillips, who started the careers of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. The recording studios there still produce hits. HISTORY (9:07).

50. Countless : UMPTEEN. What a great word.

54. Marshal at Waterloo : NEY. We have had this many times, and I finally remember his name.

55. "___ Schoolchildren": Tracy Kidder book : AMONG. Never heard of this BOOK.

56. Nancy Drew's beau : NED. Never read the books, but this was an easy guess. Julia's niece Emma.

57. Econ. measure : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.

58. San Francisco's ___ Hill : NOB.

64. Shakespeare title word : ADO. About nothing.

65. French income : RENTE. Guess what English word we get from this?

66. iComfort mattress maker : SERTA. iComfort? Really.

67. Shooting locale : SET. Film shooting, though there often is shooting during shootings if you like NCIS.

68. 1967 #1 hit "Somethin' Stupid," e.g. : DUET. A very odd SONG (2:39) for a man and his daughter, but her career needed a hit..

69. Former "NOVA scienceNOW" host Neil deGrasse ___ : TYSON. I learned all about him HERE (1:51). Don't be sorry if you forgot.

Wow, all beat up and we are just getting to the downs!

Down:

1. Churchill's "so few": Abbr. : RAF. Royal Air Force.  LINK.

2. Summer quencher : ICED TEA.  Is everyone happy? Three.

3. In any event : AT LEAST. Four.

4. Slave : TOIL.

5. Wilson of Heart : ANN. My favorite SONG (5:28) of theirs.

6. Least fresh : OLDEST. I even struggled with this for a while.

7. Story opener : PART I.

8. Org. managed by Scripps until 1982 : UPI. United Press International.

9. Soccer mom's ride : SUV. Sports Utility Vehicle.

10. Work with a steno : DICTATE. The first of a great seven letter stack. I guess I was a dictator at one point in my life.

11. Worn things : APPAREL. Worn, not worn out.

12. Accumulated to a fault : HOARDED. Your realize their is a TV show about hoarders, I opted for this less frightening ONE (3:36). They love 48D. Storage unit : BIN.

15. R&B singer Bryson : PEABO. COOL man.

18. Lake ___, Australia's lowest point : EYRE. This strange lake is often a desert (not to be confused with DESERTE) LINK.  Kazie, I will leave it to you to tell us the rest of the story.

23. Sever, with "off" : LOP.

24. Announcer Hall : EDD. The announcer fired by Jay Leno when he hired Stuttering John away from Howard Stern.

25. Language spoken in New Delhi : URDU. I am sure they speak it there, but it is the official language of Pakistan, while only recognized in 5 states in India. Or least that is what my Pakistani liquor store man told me..

26. Church section : NAVE. Not related to Naive.

27. Change, in a way : EDIT.

29. Unadon fillets : EEL. A Japanese portmanteau. It is UNAGI in a bowl DONBURI with rice.

32. Taiwanese-born Lee : ANG. The director.

35. Apple or pear : POME. From the Latin Pomum, which also gave us POMME en francaise.

36. Mosque leader : IMAM.

37. PDA add-ons : APPS. Applications.

38. Foolish talk : ROT.

39. Tropical birds that run on lily pads : JACANAS.  A bit of homegrown knowledge from our constructor who obviously loves ANIMALS.

40. Fashionable : A LA MODE. This is not just for ice cream. Five.

41. Hypothetical high-tech predator in Crichton's "Prey" : NANOBOT. A truly prolific writer but who often provides  frightening looks at the world. LINK.

44. Banks, e.g. : LENDERS. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

45. Abides by : KEEPS TO. Six.

46. "___ objections?" : ANY.

49. Steamed state : ANGER.

50. Online discussion venue : USENET. Your free GUIDE.

51. Assyrian's foe : MEDE. They joined up with the Babylonians to dooms the Assyrians.

53. Link : UNITE.

57. Like rainy London skies : GREY.

60. Logical abbr. : QED. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

61. Onetime Burmese statesman : U NU. Who knew U Nu, did you? I knew U Thant and fortunately this was all filed by the time I saw the clue, because I did not have a CLUE.

(From C.C.: Wiki said the Burmese U is like our "Mr.". Must be very common in their statesmen names.)

62. L.A. setting : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

63. ___ Mateo, California : SAN. If it is California it will be SAN.

Well this is what a Friday should be, lots of stuff and well worth the ride. See you after the holiday and my visit to my baby.

Peace out, Lemonade.

Thursday, November 15, 2012 Julian Lim

Theme: "One potato, two potato, three potato, four..."  Each of the theme entries ends with a word that could follow "potato."

17. Negotiator's assets : BARGAINING CHIPS. I love Lay's Salt & Vinegar potato chips!

25. Utterly squashed : FLAT AS A PANCAKE. Anyone for a potato pancake?

45. Easily identifiable teams, in casual games : SHIRTS AND SKINS.  I had "SHIRTS AND tails" at first. D'oh, what was I thinking? How about some nice baked potato skins?

Is anyone hungry yet?  I think the people in the unifier might be! And the unifier is:

58. 1885 Van Gogh painting (whose subjects may have appreciated the ends of 17-, 25- and 45-Across): THE POTATO EATERS.

Marti here for your Thursday amusement. The puzzle is just missing a Q for a pangram. Lots of sparkly fill, starting with the first one...

Across:

1. Elegant trinket : BIJOU. I meant literally - sparkly!

6. Yam or taro : TUBER. Our theme is also a tuber.

11. "Talk of the Nation" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.

14. Not proximate : APART

15. "The Princess Bride" kidnapper ___ Montoya : INIGO. No clue - needed every single perp. The role was played by Mandy Patinkin in the 1987 movie.

16. Rivière contents : EAU. French for "river" in the clue, and eau = "water."

20. Textbook updates, e.g.: Abbr. : EDS. Editions.

21. Pricey screens : HD TVS.  DH saw a 152 inch Panasonic HD TV, and is making plans to put an addition on the house...

22. Nuts for soft drinks : KOLAS

23. Stage signal : CUE

24. Synthesizer pioneer : MOOG. Robert Moog. I got turned on to classical music when I bought "Switched on Bach" in the 60s. 2:07

32. Come undone : GO APE

33. Be just too sweet : CLOY

34. Inkling : HINT

35. ___ Lopez: chess opening : RUY.  I have seen this one before, but I misspelled it as ReY at first.

36. Mickey D's breakfast item : SMALL OJ. Why Mickey D?  I was trying to think of a Mc-something!

39. In : MOD. Short for "modern."  I hesitated to fill it in, because I thought "mod" was a bit of old-fashioned lingo from the 60s!

40. Before, to the Bard : ERST

42. "Actually, that's not true" : I LIE

43. Reasons for returns : FLAWS

48. Shared currency : EURO. Currently shared by 23 countries, and used by over 320 million people.

49. Really quiet, in music : PPP. Pianississimo. I vow to get that word into a puzzle some day. Just look at all those S's!!

50. USS Missouri nickname : BIG MO. Total WAG.

52. Digital image unit : PIXEL

55. Through : VIA

61. Angkor ___: Cambodian temple : WAT. Beautiful!

62. Die (out) : PETER

63. Trio with notable beards : ZZ TOP. Ironically, the guy without a beard is named Frank Beard!

64. "Star Trek: DSN" role : ODO. A "Changeling" on the Deep Space Nine series.

65. Below-average Joe : SCHMO. I was off in the "coffee" direction for Joe at first...

66. Eternities : AEONS


Down:

1. Big screen pig : BABE. From the 1995 film.

2. Third-generation release of 2012 : IPAD. I have an iPad, iPod, iPhone, iMac and Macbook. But this still didn't appear without a few perps!

3. 24-Down containers : JARS. And 24-Down. Subway addition? : MAYO. From the sandwich chain, not the commuter rails.

4. Part of ILO: Abbr. : ORG. International Labour Organization, a UN agency.

5. Pacific-12 member, e.g. : UTAH UTES. And 7-Across. Pac-12 member, e.g. : UNIV.ersity.

6. Windshield application : TINT.

8. Some troughs : BINS. Again, a simple one that I just did not want to fill in at first.

9. It's usually broken before use : EGG

10. "You da man!" : ROCK ON

11. Author of "The Sandman" graphic novels : NEIL GAIMAN. Needed every single perp to get this guy's name.

12. Respected Smurf : PAPA

13. Muscovite, e.g.: Abbr. : RUSS.ian from Moscow.

18. Think tank product : IDEA

19. Cheap sauce : HOOCH. "Sauce" being the euphemism for "booze."

23. Keep from going higher : CAP. Like, "Put a cap on..."

25. Club with the motto "To Make the Best Better" : FOUR-H

26. Beset : LAY SIEGE TO

27. Milan's La ___ : SCALA. Actually, it is "Teatro alla Scala" in Italian.

28. Fully committed : ALL IN. Am I the only one who loves to watch the World Series of Poker? Check out this "all in" call that lost to a royal flush! 1:40

29. Traveled down the Grand Canal, say : POLED. Meh...

30. Has met before : KNOWS

31. JFK Listings : ETDS. Estimated Time of Departure(s). And then we have 38-Down. Named for a prez, Philly public square also known as Love Park : JFK PLAZA.

32. College srs.' tests : GRES. Graduate Record Exam(s)

37. Soup with a bento : MISO. A "Bento Box" is the epitome of Japanese take-out, usually delivered by Bento Drivers on bicycles.  I don't know if MISO soup is typical in a bento box, since it might be a little sloppy by the time it arrived at its destination?

41. Master card? : TRUMP. Of course, I was thinking in terms of the credit cards in my wallet.

44. Golf hole's edge : LIP. Husker G., how many times have you claimed "Paint!!" when your putt lipped out?

46. Uniformed forces : TROOPS. Celebrated on Monday this week!

47. WWI German vice admiral : SPEE. Total WAG. I had the "S*EE," and somehow I dredged it up from the dim recesses...

50. USAF stealth plane : B-TWO. I originally had B-Ten, but Angkor Eat and Ndo didn't make sense at 61 and 64-Across

51. "___ to do it!" : I HAD. ("Oh no, you di-ent!!")

52. Trail : PATH. Nailed it! I immediately thought of some hiking trails in the Alps.

53. Brangelina, e.g. : ITEM. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are a real "item" in the gossip columns.  Why did he ever leave sweet Jennifer?

54. Tic-tac-toe option : X OR O

55. Quash : VETO

56. Element in hemoglobin : IRON

57. Egyptian dangers : ASPS

59. Dick : TEC. "Detectives" are known as "Dicks"

60. Philosopher Mo-___ : TZE. 墨子  C.C. has explained to me that Cantonese has no "Z" word.  So I suppose this would become Mo-Tse in Cantonese. He studied Confucianism, but came to the conclusion that their philosophy was fundamentally flawed.  He developed his own philosophy of "Universal Love," so was probably the first Flower Child, right?

And that's it for this week!

Hugs,

Marti