Friday, August 23, 2013, Matt Skoczen

Theme: En-word and upward! An homage to Splynter?

Geez, I hope you understand 'EN' sounds like ON; we don't need anybody being Paula Deaned. So after a one week hiatus, Matt S. is back with a variation on the single definition theme, using French phrases, beginning with EN, with second part a five letter word,  all in common usage in the US. A classic 12, 14, 14, 12 four theme answer grid. Some hard work in places, but it all went pretty smoothly. Now we will see how many Matts drop by today. Let us start deciphering...

17A. En masse : ALL TOGETHER. (12). Each fill is literal.

27A. En vogue : STYLISH IN PARIS. (14). We get our French reference, not a reveal but certainly a hint.

47A. "En garde" : GET READY TO DUEL. (14). Not sure why the quotation marks unless it is because it is said out loud, more a fencing than a shoot out term.

62A. En route : NOT YET THERE. (12). Are we there yet? Yes we are ready for the rest of the story.

Across:

1. Like some cooked hot dogs : PLUMP. Of course, YUMMY.(0:33).

6. Monopoly property after Illinois : B AND O. A nice change from old Athletics's Third Baseman Sal.

11. It may be pale : ALE. and an immediate clecho, and a double beer reference.

14. It may be pale : LAGER.  You could do a whole puzzle with this one clue with fill like New Englander's face, and sea shells and Lindsay Lohan.

15. Old Detroit-to-Seattle hwy. : US TEN. Tricky, my first thought was 'Usten, we have a problem.'

16. Approval of a sort : NOD.

19. Rundown ender : TAG. Baseball clue, where a runner is trapped in between bases.

20. Mr. Ma : YO-YO.

21. Words with hunch : ON A.

22. Calm : PACIFY.

24. Mount where Moses saw the promised land : NEBO. It is in JORDAN.

26. Jogging technique? : MEMO. Interesting, this is the beginning of memory, which is what is being jogged here.

33. Thunders : BOOMS.

34. Quirky : ODD.

35. Sleeping bag site : TENT. Which usually ends up leaving you...

36. Cold and damp : RAW. Not the ideal vacation for an...

37. Like many a social climber : ELITIST.

41. Keep-secret link : IT A. If they went they would keep it a secret.

42. Sports shoe brand : AVIA. I think it is now the official sneaker of Walmart.

44. Walk-___ : ONS. Non scholarship athletes trying out for the team.

45. Honest Abe's dad, in comics : ABNER. We are having a renaissance in interest in AL CAPP and his comic strip.

51. Brief briefs? : BVDS. Like Kleenex, this brand name became synonymous with the tighty whitey we alll wore, The name according to the wiki world comes from Bradley, Voorhees & Day, the three founders. The companyas bought by Fruit of the Loom was gobbled up by Mr. Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway.

52. Aging issue : RUST. Not so much for me, but I worry about Tinman.

53. Took in : HOUSED.

56. Shuttle, perhaps : BUS.

57. David's longtime partner : CHET. Huntley Brinkley Report, what I grew up watching.

61. Keats subject : URN. How bad is your social life that you write a poem to an Urn?

65. ___ loss : NET.

66. Hits with force : SWATS.

67. Subs : HEROS. You might think this refers to the sandwich also called Hoagie and Grinder, but in our world it refers to HG and others who work as substitute teachers and become heroes to their classes.

68. Also : TOO.

69. Commencement : ONSET.

70. Apparel : DRESS. So when we don our gay apparel, it is a dress.

Down:

1. Coach's call : PLAY.

2. Composer Schifrin : LALO. He did Dirty Harry, Bullitt and so many more.

3. Like some moods : UGLY.

4. Broadway, for the theater industry : METONYM. I bet all of our teachers knew this CONCEPT. If you did not the cross with NEBO was tough.

5. 11-Down opposite : PRO. and 11D. 5-Down opposite : ANTI.

6. ___ Aires : BUENOS.

7. Movie clue sniffer : ASTA. The Thin Man cast is also big time crossword  fodder.

8. Last in a theoretical series : NTH.

9. Places for diving boards : DEEP ENDS.

10. Feature of many highways : ON RAMP. Well, I think 'many' might just be an understatement, since if you do not have an ON (not EN) ramp how would you ever get ON (not EN)?

12. Just sit around : LOAF. Nice contrasting fill back to back.

13. Not at all calm : EDGY.

18. Mongolian expanse : GOBI.

23. Layer : COAT. Like of paint.

25. Choice word : ELSE. Give me the money, or...

26. Skirt length : MIDI. Not my favorite, but...

27. Dry Italian wine : SOAVE.

28. Specifically : TO WIT. Here we actually have more wit than that

29. ___-totsy : HOTSY. Like this, 601 San Pablo Ave  Albany, CA 94706,  for our left coasters.  LINK.

30. French royal : REINE. With an "E" it is the Queen, without the "E" it is a kidney.

31. Mil. gathering? : INTEL.ligence.

32. One in the lead : STAR.

33. Talk big : BRAG.

38. Encumber : LOAD DOWN. Low down on the down load?

39. Unaffiliated voters: Abbr. : INDS. Independents.

40. Small boys : TADS. A cruel tricky synonym for LADS. Not to be confused with 63D.

43. Wall St. figures : ARBS. Arbitragers.

46. Bungle badly : BUTCHER. Man the last thing I want is my butcher to be a bungler with all those big knives.

48. All things considered : EVEN SO.

49. Most sincere : TRUEST.

50. Boot : OUST.

53. Pursuit : HUNT.

54. Three-part snack : OREO. Top middle and bottom, or Twist, lick and chew?

55. Golden rule word : UNTO. Others...

56. Information unit : BYTE.

58. "___, kitty kitty!" : HERE.

59. Mythological archer : EROS. I have graduated from the dawn to love.

60. 1994 Shirley MacLaine title role : TESS. A finishing run of "T" words. LINK. (2:22).

63. Some univ. staff : TA'S. Teaching Assistants. My youngest was one but they hardly made him feel like staff.

64. Divinity sch. degree : TH D. Doctor of Theology.

Well another Friday in the record books, I  pray you enjoyed the show. Time to go see my Charlotte. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to the Scotch-loving Tinbeni!

Thursday, August 22, 2013 Jeff Stillman

Theme:  The"Ump"

Common phrases ending in "amp" are changed to "ump."

17A. Glowing sugar cube? : FLUORESCENT LUMP. Fluorescent lamp.

26A. Campaign to raise mailing fees? : POSTAGE STUMP. Postage stamp.

44A. Easy strikeout victim? : BATTING CHUMP. Batting champ.

57A. Wedding song for Ivana or Marla? : THE LADY IS A TRUMP. "The Lady Is a Tramp." Classic Frank and Ella. 3:51

Jeff gives us a grid with only ten 3-letter words and a slew of 4-5 letter ones.  Nothing stood out for me in the longer fill.

Marti here, to see what else is on the menu today.

Across:

1. Diana's companion : DODI. Fayed and Princess Diana.

5. Off-the-wall play : CAROM. I usually associate the word with billiards.

10. "...baked in ___" : A PIE. Four and twenty blackbirds, that is.

14. An awfully long time : AGES.

15. Meter reading : USAGE.

16. Without : SANS. Who shot the serif?

20. Electrical pioneer whose last known U.S. patent was for a helicopter-plane : TESLA.

21. A soprano one has short strings : UKE. Pretty tune. 2:02

22. Team competition : RELAY.

23. Ant who sings : ADAM. I forgot about this ant. 3:18 Not to be confused with this ant:

25. Some film-book relationships : TIE-INS. Like a newly-published edition of the book that has the movie poster on its cover.

31. Upper arm bones : HUMERI. [Update 7:30 AM: Some papers listed the clue as "Forearm bones. That would be an incorrect answer]

32. Cyclotron bits : IONS.

33. Convenience store convenience : ATM.

36. Clinches : ICES.

37. Polynesian porch : LANAI.

39. Tennis coups : ACES.

40. Cow or sow : SHE.

41. Tax that funds Soc. Sec. : FICA. Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax.

42. More patrician : NOBLER.

46. Field of plants? : BOTANY. Nice misdirection.

49. Regarding : AS TO.

50. Somewhat inclined : ATILT. Aaaaah...

51. Outback runner : EMU.

53. Goof : ERROR.

60. Mall map word : HERE. "You are here."

61. Discourage : DETER.

62. Cheeseboard choice : EDAM.

63. While lead-in : ERST. Erstwhile.

64. Spring for lunch : TREAT.

65. Lairs : DENS.

Down:

1. Bonkers : DAFT.

2. People-watch inappropriately : OGLE.

3. ___ ex machina : DEUS. Literally, Latin for "God from machine." A story ending that is highly improbable, and is used to extricate the characters from a seemingly inescapable situation. Like many Harry Potter books, or even the ending of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, when Sam and Frodo are rescued from Mt. Doom by eagles.

4. Cuts off : ISOLATES.

5. Stick for breaking, at times : CUE. Breaking the rack, that is. Not breaking over each others' heads in a pool room brawl!

6. Take for granted : ASSUME.

7. Rooftop accessory : RACK. I was on top of the house, not the car.  But here's another type of rack you might enjoy...

8. Decorative molding : OGEE.

9. "Eight ___ Out": 1988 baseball movie : MEN. About the 1921 scandal when the Chicago White Sox arranged with underworld gamblers to throw the World Series. [Update: The date of the World Series was 1919. The trial took place in 1921.]

10. In the arms of Morpheus : ASLEEP.

11. Eighth-century pope : PAUL I. 757-67 A.D.

12. Jude Law's "Cold Mountain" role : INMAN. Nicole Kidman's sweetheart in the film. Good story.

13. July awards show, with "the" : ESPYS. Nice change from "Catch sight of" clue. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly award. (Deja vu, all over again!)

18. Speed demon's undoing : RADAR.

19. Cuts back : TRIMS.

24. Gymnast's asset : AGILITY.

25. Open D and open G, for guitars : TUNINGS. Ugh. I would have tried to get Husker G's MUSINGS to go in there.

26. Frat letters : PHIs.

27. Smart remark? : "OUCH, ...that hurts!" From a stinging pain, not some sass.

28. Barrie buccaneer : SMEE. Captain Hook's right-hand-man (since he didn't have one of his own...)

29. Old Testament peak : SINAI.

30. ___ fault : TO A.

33. Scopes Trial gp. : ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union. They offered to defend anyone who had been accused of teaching evolution.

34. Swarm : TEEM.

35. Auto ad no. : MSRP. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

38. Tread the boards : ACT.

39. Couldn't stomach : ABHORRED.

41. Slice competitor : FANTA.

vs.

43. Santa's reindeer, e.g. : OCTET.

44. Balanchine's field : BALLET. A peek into his methods. 2:31

45. Vertigo symptom : NAUSEA.

46. Get clean : BATHE.

47. Survey choice : OTHER.

48. Levels : TIERS.

51. Observer : EYER.

52. Itty-bitty bug : MITE.

54. Uncivil : RUDE.

55. Sultanate whose flag features two swords and a dagger : OMAN.

56. Tach nos. : RPMs.

58. Banned pesticide : DDT. Dichlorodiphenyltriclhoroethane.

59. Works in a gallery : ART. The stuff on the wall, not the verb.

That's it for this week!

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Here is a sweet picture of JD and her grandson Truman on his first day to first grade yesterday. Click here to see more pictures of Truman, who is going to be 6 years old next week.