Friday, February 22, 2013, Ed Sessa

Theme: Time to catch some zzzzs.

A very tight Friday, with some very challenging fill from one of our old pro constructors, for the newbies, here is his INTERVIEW. Today he has a letter/sound substitution where SSes, or the S sound is replaced with a double ZZ to create a new and rib tickling phrase. There was totally unknown fill but some nice ones like, DEN DAD,  DOTE UPON, I SEE YOU, O'LEARY'S, TROJANS, WIZENED and I clearly learned some new things like AGENA and HUTU, no to be confused with HULU. Anyway, enough, on to the show.

18A. North African prison wear? : CON FEZZES (9). (Confesses). Cute visual, though I doubt they really are given out in jails there; and I am not sure they call their convicts cons.

37A. Lint depository? : FUZZ POT.(7). (Fusspot). Another word broken in two to when the S sound is replaced with Z. We also call them fuss-budgets, but I do not know why. When my mother got her first washing machine, she thought the lint filter was some kind of cloth and kept putting it back. With the CON on top it would have been nice to have a police clue here.

59A. Really short haircut? : MICROBUZZ. (9). (Microbus). A very short haircut, or the vehicle of my generation.

3D. Dogcatchers? : MUZZLE MEN.(9). (Muscle men). Very conflicted visual of the mean dogcatcher muzzling the poor puppies.

33D. Ride a Russian statesman? : RAZZ PUTIN.(9). (Rasputin). The famous Mad Monk. Also a shout out to our own RAZZ who was an early contributor to the corner and does stop by now and then. RAZZ from Raspberry. Put your tongue back in.

Across:

1. Foxx who played Ray : JAMIE. I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Charles when he came and played at the music hall, but never met this ACTOR (1:33)  who won the Oscar for this role.

6. Place for shades : LAMP. Some cute deception for a simple fill, as I fist was thinking of glasses.

10. Hard-hitting sound : WHAP. So many choices...

14. Look embarrassed, maybe : BLUSH. "Man is the only animal which blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain.

15. "Metamorphoses" poet : OVID. The poet of love, who put together this 15 book mock-epic poem which features Cupid rather than the other Roman gods. Not to be confused with Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the meaning of which still bugs me.

16. He helped get Cassio demoted : IAGO. I do love my Shakespeare, but this character really bugs me, especially when I played Cassio in high school.

17. Carving tools : ADZES. Our first Z, but not the last.

20. Bring down to earth : RAZE. Literally down to the ground, as in tearing down a building.

21. "Rats!" : DANG. A good Southern US word.

22. Nancy Drew books pseudonym : KEENE. You might want to check out this LINK which tells you all you wanted to know and more. I had a Ned reference recently.

23. Disinfectant brand : LYSOL. This product has been around since the early days of Downton Abbey, where if only Ethel Parks had known of its other USES she might still be working there.

25. Scout leader : DEN DAD. Reminds me of our own Dr. Dad. Are these with the Cub Scouts? And, 36A. Rapper who founded Aftermath Entertainment : DRE. Another Dr. D.

26. Went on a date, perhaps : ATE OUT. Speaking of Lois' recent birthday, her DF comment on this almost salacious clue would be wonderful.

28. Soft material : SUEDE.  The original

30. Affectedly reserved : DEMURE. What a great definition.

31. Rugrat : IMP.

32. Trifle : DRIB. I found this clue a bit drab.

40. Bustle : ADO. Shakespeare again?

41. ___-Indian War : SINO. Of or relating to Chinese. This was likely a response to the grant of asylum to the Dalai Lama by India, and was fought in the Himalayan mountains.

43. It has some crust : PIE. Another fun clue for simple fill.

44. Makes more elegant, with "up" : RITZES. Not the crackers, but basis of this SONG.(2:03).

46. Pillages : LOOTS.

48. Storied swinger : TARZAN. Did you go ape over this clue, or think about Lois again?

49. Spot for a belt : TAVERN. Another nice one, I hope you did not waist time on any other answer.

52. "The Fox and the Crow" writer : AESOP. The fabled moral man, not the morel one..

53. Fugitive's invention : ALIAS. I think creation is more accurate.Oddly, AESOP is an alias.

54. Helper : HAND. All hands on deck.

56. Begin to dive : JUMP. Off the diving board or out of the plane, or off the boat?

61. "Today" anchor before Meredith : KATIE. Couric. This anchor. Thumbs up, or down?

62. Nasty : ICKY. Gentleman, do you remember the shuffle?

63. Case for pins and needles : ETUI. No not Brutus.

64. Chilling : ON ICE. Honey, is the champagne chillin'?

65. Take away : LESS. Not fish and chips but subtraction.

66. Capital of Estonia : EURO. Money honey; The Capital City is Tallinn which I bet very few knew.

67. Grant player : ASNER. Lou from Mary Tyler Moore comedy, who went on to his own serious show.

Down:

1. Old ski lift : J-BAR. Also a place in Davie where you drink, and a rare J for me.

2. Bisset's "The Mephisto Waltz" co-star : ALDA. This MOVIE (2:27)which I never heard of.

4. Phrase in a tot's game : I SEE YOU. Peek-a-boo.

5. Questioning utterances : EHS. Eh, exsqueeze me?

6. Nearby : LOCAL

7. Viva by Fergie fragrance maker : AVON. The power of the mighty dollar. She and hubby Josh Duhamel announced she is carrying their first baby.

8. Big name in artifacts : MING. Was this a much studied DYNASTY in China, C.C.? (From C.C.: Probably because of the porcelain. But Tang Dynasty garners  more interest. More than any other dynasty, Tang had the most influence on Japanese culture, esp architecture, tea custom and clothing.)

Tang Costumes

9. Adobe file format : PDF. Portable Documnet Format., this was on Jeopardy Champions and they all got it wrong, the backbone of my profession.

10. Old and wrinkled : WIZENED. But I earned every wrinkle!

11. Made indistinct : HAZED. I went away to prep school, so this word had a very different meaning.

12. Gemini docking target : AGENA. I did not know most of this LINK.

13. Sat : POSED. Has any of us worked as a painter's model? You don't have to say if you posed nude, but of course we want to know.

19. Barely got (by) : EKED. For those of us who barely eked out a living to survive college, a few dollars to be a still model, nude or not made sense.

21. Spoil : DOTE UPON. You can bet little Miss Charlotte will get lots of spoiling from me.

24. Turf mate : SURF. Love the rhyme.

25. Banished, in a way : DEPORTED. Immigration reform is not a good topic.

26. Counts (up) : ADDS. Simple and elegant.

27. Garr of "Mr. Mom" : TERI. One of my favorite comic ACTRESSES.(1:31).

28. Shoe store array : SIZES. Am I the only who thought of Al Bundy?

29. One crying foul : UMP. A baseball reference for C.C. and spring training which has begun.

34. Notion : IDEA. I had an inkling you found this easy.

35. Cap'n's mate : BOS'N. Also know as the BOATSWAIN..

38. Skin cream target : ZIT. Not to be confused with our earlier ZOT.

39. Tijuana relatives : TIAS. Spanish Aunts, not Spanish Flys.

42. Mrs. ___ cow : O'LEARYS. The scapegoat for the Chicago FIRE.

45. Insidious malware with a classically derived name : TROJANS. From the Trojan horse used to trick Troy by the Greeks. Not sure how they became the name of  condoms which keep things out rather than sneak them in.

47. Thereabouts : OR SO.

49. ___ Tigers: Sri Lankan separatists : TAMIL. Do you read this NEWS.?

50. Mrs. Kramden of Chauncey Street : ALICE. Most remember Audrey Meadows, "to the Moon Alice."

but she was the second actress to play the part.

51. NyQuil manufacturer : VICKS. I loved the TBBT with Sheldon, Amy and Vaporub.

52. WWII Italian beachhead : ANZIO.

54. Rwanda native : HUTU. This corner was really hard for me. I did not know any of this LINK.

55. Bleu shade : AZUR. French lesson of the day.

57. Chuck E. Cheese et al. : MICE. And Mickey and Minnie.

58. Review target : PEER. The process in graduate schools where the department members look over each other's shoulders.

60. Opie's great-aunt : BEE. Standing for B., not Beatrice.

61. Camping org. : KOA. Kampground of America.

Well, time to fold my tents and let you have control of your computers; I hope you enjoyed our time together with Ed and his handiwork. Thanks Dr. Sessa, and thank you all, and a continuing welcome to all the newbies who keep the rest of us on our toes, which for someone not ballet trained is hard.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, February 21, 2013 Ian Livengood and Jeff Chen

Theme: Tonsorial Treatment.

17A. *Squeaker : CLOSE SHAVE. They shave off the "C" for the next entry.

23A. *Fall in with the wrong crowd, say : LOSE ONE'S WAY. For the next one, they shaved the "E."

39A. *Kobe, notably : LOS ANGELES LAKER. And then, the "S" gets shaved.

50A. *"Voilà!" : LO AND BEHOLD. Oh dear, now the "L" gets shaved.

61A. *"Cantique de Noël," in the States : O HOLY NIGHT. Until all that's left is the lowly "O" in CLOSE. (Don't you hate it when the hairdresser starts gabbing with you, and you are left with a haircut that makes you look more like Yul Brynner?)

And the unifier:

48D. Tool used to give the starts of the starred answers a 17-Across? : RAZOR.

Fantastic theme, cleverly done.  Marti here, to look at what else is in store for us.

Across:

1. It's taken in court : FIFTH.

6. City founded by King Harald III : OSLO.

10. Silences, gang-style : OFFS.

14. Skateboarder's leap : OLLIE. A trick invented by Alan "Ollie" Gelfond in 1979, it is one of the first tricks most skateboarders learn. If you want to see how to do it, check out this video. 1:08

15. Pringle, e.g. : CHIP.

16. Brother of Fidel : RAUL.

19. Fanboy's mag : ZINE. It all started back in 1973 at a comics convention in Chicago. Get the story here.

20. ___ of Reason : AGE.

21. Exhort : URGE.

22. Make a fake of : FORGE.

27. Nurse : SIP. Not sure why "nurse a drink" came to my mind first...

28. KOA parkers : RVS. Kampgrounds of America are now full of Recreational Vehicles instead of tents.

29. Hopeful opening : I WISH.

31. Up on, with "of" : AWARE.

34. Trim : PARE.

36. Word with median or minimum : WAGE. In 1938, when minimum wage standards were first set, it was $0.25

42. Related : AKIN.

43. Redding who sang "These Arms of Mine" : OTIS. Not one of my favorites by him. But here's the obligatory link. 2:37

44. Agenda bullets : ITEMS.

45. Old saw : ADAGE.

47. "Mad Men" channel : AMC. It used to stand for American Movie Classics. But they are changing their programming, and the acronym is being de-emphasized.

48. Tach meas. : RPM. Revolutions per minute. You could get DIZZY watching this 45 RPM. 3:17

56. Daughter of King Triton : ARIEL. She was played by The Little Mermaid in a 1989 Disney film...

58. Composed : COOL.

59. Yokohama yes : HAI. はい

60. Kooky : ZANY.

64. Cause of a sniff : ODOR. Not "cold."  I have been lucky this year. No colds, but my allergies have been through the roof.

65. Three-piece piece : VEST.

66. Big name in paper : SCOTT.

67. Like many collectibles : RARE. Like a Topps '52 Mantle. Right, C.C.?  (From C.C.: Yes! To me, it's the Holy Grail of baseball card collectors.  T206 Honus Wagner is just an impossible dream.)

68. War god : ARES.

69. A/V component : AUDIO. The other component is video.

Down:

1. ___ point : FOCAL.

2. "Ooh, send me!" : I'LL GO. I read the clue, and couldn't get this song out of my head! 2:46

3. Northern sheets : FLOES.

4. McCourt memoir : 'TIS. I just mentioned this book a couple weeks ago.


5. Texter's giggle : HEE.


6. Yellowish shade : OCHRE. Like this.

7. Chases flies : SHAGS. Not swats.

8. Energetic types : LIVE WIRES. Nice fill!

9. Unlock'd : OPE.

10. Small pasta used in soups : ORZO.

11. Equal chance : FAIR SHAKE. More nice fill.

12. Mold, mildew, etc. : FUNGI.

13. "No ___ Till Brooklyn": Beastie Boys song : SLEEP. This is an equal opportunity blog, so I guess I am obliged to link this song....4:47

18. Enjoys the beach : SUNS. I wish I were back in Florida!!

22. "I feel I should tell you," briefly : FYI. For your information.

24. Trip to the dry cleaners, e.g. : ERRAND.

25. Pizza place : OVEN.

26. Commands reverence from : AWES.

30. Certain sample : SWATCH.

31. Arroz ___ Cubana: Spanish dish : A LA. Basically, it is a fried egg with rice smothered with tomato paste. If this were Monday, the clue would read "Chicken ___ King."

32. Restaurant pan : WOK.

33. Area conquered by Alexander the Great : ASIA MINOR. Modern day Turkey. Map.

34. Sch. whistle blower : P.E. TEACHER. I had PET______ and wondered if they were talking about obedience school!

35. 1996 Olympic torch lighter : ALI. Did not know that.

37. Ruby or topaz : GEM.

38. Hesitant utterances : ERS. And we also have 63-Down. Post-ER area : ICU. So don't hesitate, or you might end up in ICU!

40. Energetic : GOGO. Remember these boots?











41. Wedge in a mojito : LIME. Rum, mint, lime, sugar and club soda. What's not to like?

46. 100% : ALL.

47. With great skill : ABLY.
49. Big name in small bags : PRADA. With a big price tag, too.

51. Western loop : NOOSE.

52. Nimrods : DOLTS.

53. "That sounds bad!" : OH GOD. Or, "That feels soooo good!"

54. "Chicago Hope" Emmy winner : LAHTI. Christine. She played Dr. Kathryn Austin.

55. "Me, too" : DITTO.

57. Rochester's love : EYRE. Jane.  I'll have to re-read that one some day.

61. Eggs in a lab : OVA. Plural of ovum.

62. Cloak-and-dagger org. : NSA. National Security Agency. They even have their own comic book.

'Til next week, 'tis Marti, signing off!