Saturday, Oct 12th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing X)

Blocks: 27

 OH, the deception~!  I had so many good answers that were wrong, and at one point, I thought for sure I was going to have to go Googling, but just a few minor tweaks and I was almost perfect; one bad cell - at two crossing names - a WAG that ZAGged and did not ZIG.  Oh well.  We did not have any spanners or climbers, but a pretty pinwheel gave us two 9's and fourteen 8's:

1D. Monument on the Yamuna River : TAJ MAHAL - beautiful - a visit is on my 'to-do' list

18A. The Joker or The Penguin : EVIL-DOER - I know who they are - BAT FOES? nah. 

35D. Hwange National Park setting : ZIMBABWE - I did have ----BWE, which pretty much narrowed my choices down

54. How World Series winners celebrate : ELATEDLY - don't ALL winners celebrate in such a fashion?  I think Mr. Silk put this one in just for C.C.~!

ACROSS:

1. Home to Iran's Iron Age Museum : TABRIZ - Early on, I tried TEHRAN, TIGRIS, and finally TABRIJ - because JOE sounded like a Muppet - maybe not a ballet Muppet....

7. Like some closet findings? : SKELETAL - nice twist; SKELETON was just not going to work

15. Time's 1986 Woman of the Year : AQUINO - the only news I could recall from 1986 was the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - now a TV movie; Corazon Aquino was the first woman president of The Philippines

16. Float, in a way : LEVITATE - had to wait on perps

17. Mix up : JUMBLE - jOSTle was not getting me closer to done; does your paper carry the "JUMBLE" puzzle?

19. Steep-angle shot : MASSE - my first fill; a billiards shot struck down on the cue ball

20. Kuala Lumpur native : MALAYSIAN - DAH~!  Not TAIWANESE

21. Sailor's direction : AFT

22. Hero who first appeared in 1912 : TARZAN - oh, right

24. Needle point? : SSE - C.C. got me with this one in her puzzle - the needle of a compass, that is

25. Hustles : HIES

27. Card, e.g. : NLer - Ugh, more deception; a Cardinal, in the N.L. Central division - apparently, they are still playing in October - sorry, C.C., hockey is on....

28. Shorten, maybe : ALTER

30. Jellyfish relatives : ANEMONES

32. Year in Nero's reign : LVI - 56 in Roman times

33. University of Wyoming city : LARAMIE - Argh~! Not Cheyene ( OK, so I was missing an N )

34. Guatemalan currency, or the colorful bird it's named for : QUETZAL

38. Capital of 35-Down : ZEE - D'oh~!  I was so sure that this was money 'capital' that I never looked twice. The Capital letter in  ZIMBABWE. 

39. Ratatouille ingredient : ZUCCHINI - #$%^~!  Not RED BEETS - I don't cook, OK?

40. Quaker in the woods : ASPEN - the tree, because PENN did not fit

43. Next in line : HEIR - I had to send up a V-8 can alert....England now has the top three; Charles, William, and now George - hey, I'm 100% English, so I might be on this list somewhere....

44. Revival figs. : EMTs - oh, for the love of....THAT kind of revival - the ones that don't end up as "skeletons" - Emergency Medical Technicians

45. STARZ competitor : SHO - premium TV channels; Google has just made internet viewing on your HDTV easier

46. Tapped trees : MAPLES - had it, then tossed it for "HONEY" (q.v. 34D.)

48. Risk : BET

49. Waits : SITS TIGHT - I heard this a lot growing up

52. Bit of wisdom : PEARL

55. Jazz pianist Hancock : HERBIE - I first heard him (and the art of record 'scratching') on this tune

56. Not anymore : NO LONGER

57. Like some biblical boarders : IN TWOS - Rrrr - I put in PAIRED

58. Play areas : THEATERS

59. Directs : STEERS - Wow - this and bum STEER in the same grid....

DOWN:

2. Maker of FlavorSplash beverages : AQUAFINA - Pepsi's bottled water

3. Piece of crummy advice : BUM STEER

4. Kids : RIBS - Nope, not TOTS

5. Sound, maybe : INLET - Aw, man, I live on a SOUND, so I don't think of it as an INLET - but it does have a lot if inlets in it

6. Ballet-dancing Muppet : ZOE - JOE, MOE, I took a guess

7. Lowlifes : SLEAZES

8. Defensive fiber : KEVLAR

9. 2-Down alternative : EVIAN

10. Water __ : LILY - Not gonna say a word

11. LAX listings : ETDs - departures, not arrivals this time

12. One seeking the way? : TAOIST

13. Not tense : AT EASE

14. "Camelot" lyricist : LERNER - filled in via perps

20. 1957 R&B chart-topper inspired by a schoolteacher : MR. LEE - The Bobbettes

23. Hall of fame : ANNIE - Annie Hall - movie from the same year as Star Wars; I tried Monty Hall, of Let's Make a Deal

26. Urban air problem : SMAZE - Smoke and Haze

28. Paris preposition : AVEC - "with" in Frawnch

29. Graceful : LITHE

31. It might be a warning : OMEN

32. Money : LUCRE

34. Bee output : QUILT - Geez, a quilting bee

36. Preceding : ANTERIOR - I hear this in a mostly in a medical sense, meaning "in front of"

37. Dragging : LISTLESS

39. Gentle breezes : ZEPHYRS

40. Agreement : ASSENT

41. 1862 battle site : SHILOH

42. Distillery waste : POT ALE - used for animal feed

43. 1980s middleweight champ : HAGLER - "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler - the Wiki

46. One in a humming swarm : MIDGE

47. Beat : SPENT

50. Column-lined walkway : STOA - it's all Greek to me

51. Fair sight : TENT

53. Deco pseudonym : ERTE - I like Art Deco, like the Chrysler Building; some other details of that era

55. Presley's "__ Latest Flame" : HIS - There's one guy who calls me "Elvis" at UPS - and I had to trim my sideburns down a LOT to become a driver.  

 Splynter

Note from C.C.:

For those who missed my write-up last Sunday, please check here to see our Saturday Stud Splynter in action. Can you identify him in the clip? 177.

Friday, October 11, 2013, Marti Duguay-Carpenter and Jerome Gunderson

Theme: KKKKKKKKKK. marti and Jerome strike us out swinging.

Avoiding any politically incorrect references, I had lots of fun with my Friday friend, collaborating with our very own Jerome Gunderson and producing their punishing puzzle; this is clearly their MAJOR METIER. A refreshing and rather less difficult Friday, filled with humor (dark and otherwise) and NOT a definition puzzle. I also have to thank Jerome for all the "J" words, because I am pretty sure they did not come from miss m. While add a letter is not a new theme, the pictures painted from merely adding a "K" to the end of the three letter word ending in "UN", the last word in an in the language phrase is well done. The symmetry of each lastword being _UNK elevates this from a mere add a letter.  It entertains me that unk also means unknown....

20A. Buff ancient ruler? : ATTILA THE HUNK. (13). By far my favorite theme answer, Revealed the theme early on; great visual.

28A. Own a few James Brown albums? : HAVE SOME FUNK. (12). Not my favorite tune from JB, but it FITS. (4:52).

49A. Leaps over an oily mud puddle? : JUMPS THE GUNK. (12). Reminds me of the classic Fonzie jumping the shark, and sharknado. and see 27D.

59A. Beef baloney? : HAMBURGER BUNK. (13). Not a bed made from meat, but a bunch of hooey.

to work....

Across:

1. Auto club offering : TOW. Not being a great typist, I often type TOW when I mean TWO. These days the car insurance policy and the credit card have eliminated my need for AAA.

4. Gregory Peck role : AHAB.  Not my first thought; he starred in the 1956 version, WATCH (3:11). Two interesting things about that version, first Orson Welles as Rev. Mapple and  second, Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay. After seeing the theme, with Attila, I wanted this to be ATTICUS, but it did not fit. And do not forget to Call me...45D. Crewman for 4-Across : ISHMAEL.

8. Foster on a screen : JODIE.  I remember her from The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

13. Stretches of history : ERAS.

15. He actually played the lyre : NERO. Yes, but it would ruin the "he fiddled while Rome burned" pun. Lyre jokes are saved for lawyers.

16. Amherst sch. : UMASS. An old rival from my UConn days. The institution where Bill Cosby earned his PhD.

17. Two-time NBA MVP Steve : NASH. The Canadian passing wizard now with the Lakers. CLIP. (2:50).

18. Component of ocean H2O : NACL. Aye, the salt please.

19. Lawn game using lobbed missiles : JARTS. They are no longer pointed javelins.

23. Attorney general before Thornburgh : MEESE. Did you all miss Ed?

24. Yank's foe : REB.

25. Dudes : HES.

33. Fez, e.g. : HAT.  I could not fit in WILMER. Do you think Raj is the 21st century version?

36. Bankruptcy factor : DEBT.

37. Polynesian island nation : SAMOA. If you ever visit Fort Lauderdale, whether you look me up or not, go to the MAI KAI restaurant and watch their Polynesian show. People always go back for the show, the drinks and because...they want SAMOA.

38. "Break __!" : A LEG. An old Theater SUPERSTITION of unknown origin, or maybe too many origins.

40. Fare named for its shape : T-BONE. Steak.

43. Fabric quantity : BOLT. My grandfather was a retired tailor, so we grew up with many bolts of cloth around the house.

44. Mother of three French kings : JOAN I. My big UNKNOWN, though perped easily.

46. Shiny fabric : LAMÉ. Not a lame answer,

48. Arctic coast explorer : RAE. We have had this explorer with the nice vowels before. LINK. I think in a Sunday puzzle in March or May of this year. On Mondays and Tuesdays we get Charlotte.

53. DSL user's need : ISP. Internet Service Provider.

54. Mao's successor : HUA.  GUOFENG.  Mao supposedly wrote: "With you in charge, I'm at ease" (Ni ban shi, wo fang xin 你办事我放心).

55. Sticky-footed lizard : GECKO.

64. Botanist's category : FLORA.  This actress was unique, while her little sister was one of a bunch. Who are they?

66. Dweeb : NERD.

67. Size measure : AREA.

68. Competitor's dream : TITLE. To win the title of ....the Open Championship?

69. A bit off the ground, "up" : TEED. Golf, as opposed to ____off.

70. Sound like an ass : BRAY. Oh this is so tempting...

71. Bobbin : SPOOL. Like I said, my grandfather was a tailor.

72. Ketel One competitor : SKYY.  Never tried this brand.

73. NFL stats : YDS. Yards.

Down:

1. Common break hr. : TEN AM.

2. Speak : ORATE. See 70 across.

3. Refuse : WASTE. Tricky, do not refuse to consider refuse.

4. "Pitch Perfect" co-star Kendrick : ANNA.

5. Summer phenomenon : HEAT. in Miami, we consider the HEAT a year round phenomenon; right LeBron?

6. Curved support : ARCH.

7. Short jacket : BOLERO.

8. Concession stand candy : JUJUBES. My nickname as a small child; my mother would give me a handful and I would hold on tight, and fall asleep. I loved how they made the extra effort to make the candy fruit shaped. LINK.

9. Easternmost Arabian Peninsula country : OMAN.

10. "Dr. Strangelove" feature : DARK HUMOR. Really awesome satire for the TIME. And the ironic inclusion of 26D. __ Gay : ENOLA.

11. Adherent's suffix : IST.

12. Start to stop? : ESS. Nice word play. First letter in "stop".

14. With 52-Down, grilled fare : SHISH. 52D. See 14-Down : KEBAB. Some reason reminds me of the boys from New Zealand. Notice the entries are symmetrical.

21. Take control : LEAD.

22. Bottom line? : HEM. Not last week's A LINE.

27. Ray in the ocean : SKATE. Hmm, they are cousins to each other and sharks. Next to....

29. Boxer's attendant : VET. Not Ali, but your woof woof. Another Gareth B. reference.

30. Fall back : EBB.

31. It's a wrap : STOLE. Oh my, the combined wit of these two professionals...I am sure they each contributed half to this puzzle. I guess I can say that this is marti  a 50% wit, then.

32. "Terrif!" : FAB. Back in the 60s.

33. Pilgrim to Mecca : HAJJI.

34. Diamond clan : ALOUS. Felipe, Matty, Jesus and Moises. Baseball.

35. Trophy case memento : TEAM PHOTO.

39. Econ. measure : GNP. Gross National Product.

41. Bug : NAG.

42. Earthbound bird : EMU.

47. Tech sch. grad : ENGR. Engineer.

50. Slow boat : TUB. They are named from the shape, and boat came before the bath.

51. Hangs around the house? : HAUNTS. Loved this clue. And this VERSION. (7:48).

56. Pungent Thai dish : CURRY. Yum.

57. Play with, as clay : KNEAD. Most kids need to knead.

58. Gives the go-ahead : OKAYS.

60. First name in folk : ARLO. You newbies have not heard my Arlo at Woodstock rant, but....

61. Cause wrinkles, in a way : REEK. The clue should have been " Tortured servant in service to House Bolton" 

62. Joel of "Wicked" : GREY. Son of Catskills legend Mickey Katz and father of Jennifer, who is married to Clark Gregg, now in the new Shield TV series.

63. Water whirled : EDDY.

64. Some mil. bases : FTS. Forts.

65. Edge : LIP. A familiar usage for golfers, who are forever leaving putts on the lip.

Well, I am on the edge of getting out of here for the long holiday weekend after a really entertaining joint effort from two of our wittiest, wisest word warriors. Lemonade wishing you all a great Columbus weekend and clear sailing. Thanks Jerome and Marti.