Saturday, Oct 26th, 2013, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 70 (misssing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

   How's this for an early Halloween scare???  My first look at the triple triple-15-letter spanners and I immediately ran for the DOWNS.  And that didn't help much.  Too many abbrs., names and vagueness to be of any good - at first.  The key to solving this construction, for me, was to go with my 'crossword instinct', meaning that the long answers would most likely end with E, S, T, R, etc. - and then, with my smattering of DOWN fill, I literally worked my way from the bottom up.  I'll admit to one bad cell (*), and I cheated and went to my analog dictionary for the spelling of 1A.  

The Spanners:

1. Wedding reception fare : HOT HORS D'OEUVRES - I missed the "U", and jumbled my "R" and "V"

16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy yesterday who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives.  Period.

17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT- GRANDNIECE

32. Certain cohabitant : DOMESTIC PARTNER - when I was in the Sober House, everyone would talk about their "S.O." - I thought it was a variation on a P.O. - parole officer.  Turned out to be their "significant other" - sounds pretty cold to me

37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST

38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little

53. Have a considerably negative effect on : MILITATE AGAINST - about the only one that is not a 'common phrase'

58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME

59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER

O~N~W~A~R~D~!

ACROSS:

18. Wrong : SIN

19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!

20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here

21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....

22. Chihuahua chatter : ARFs - eh, not YIPs

25. Rent-__ : A-CAR

28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE

29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.

39. Cobb and others : TYs

40. Get up : RISE

41. Scrapes (out) : EKES

42. Moments : SECs

43. One may be zapped : TV AD - I zap every one of them, because I watch everything from my DVR - and there's no one else in the UPS truck to spoil a show for me~!

46. Deuce follower : AD IN - advantage in - when the server is one point up after deuce on his/her opponent, and could take the next one and win - the Wiki if you really want to get confused

49. Cup part : BRIM

50. One of Can.'s Maritime provinces : P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island - one of those crossword instinct answers that does NOT end in E, S, T, R.

DOWN:

1. Crones : HAGS - I put in PALS, but that's cronies.

2. "Dallas" actor Katz : OMRI - IMDb

3. Bootleggers' foes : T-MEN - I put in FEDS to start

4. '70s Chinese leader : HUA - I defer to our very own C.C. for more on this (From C.C.: HUA brought Cultural Revolution to an end, for which I'm very grateful. He's Chairman Mao's handpicked successor.)

5. Huddle directive : ON TWO....

6. In order : RIGHT - and an anti-clecho 27D. Not in order : AMISS

7. Cattle drive concern : STRAY - I tried DINGO, but the word I meant to fill in was DOGIE

8. Spherical meas. : DIAMeter

9. Suffix with bass : OON - BassOON

10. Close : END - the verb

11. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN

12. Cancels : VOIDS

13. Penitent : RUER - The noun, in this case; I always think of the scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when I hear penitent

14. Old Roman cry : ECCE~!  Behold~!

15. Discard : SHED - Not TOSS, going with my instinct

21. Peak : CREST - hey, nice peaks

22. Liberal : AMPLE - quite ample

23. Takes in : REAPS

24. Alloy prefix : FERRO - "Iron", like in these fine examples

25. Pro : ADEPT

26. Pharmacy figure : CO-PAY and a semi-clecho with;

28. Bygone pharmacy fixture : SCALE

29. Preview opener? : SNEAK - sneak preview

30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección : OESTE - map

31. Sp. lasses : SRTAs

33. Tie, perhaps : SCORE - you bet your ASCOT I got this one~!

34. Like doughnuts : TORIC - OK, so I went with HOLEY - I had a very white grid....

35. "Not for me" : "I PASS"

36. Pointed, in a way : TINED

42. Marsh bird : SNIPE - STORK, EGRET~?

43. It may be inherited : TRAIT

44. Bounce : VIGOR - yes, she's got some 'vigor' to her....

45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon : AMANA

46. Intensifies, with "up" : AMPS

47. Skinny : DIRT - and the title of Mötley Crüe's biography

48*. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER - the "L" got me

49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel : BETH

50. Nabokov novel : PNIN - pronounced P'neen

51. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME - a WAG, since I have not, and do not care to see any of these movies - but it worked well with my E, S, T, R instinct

52. Anatomical passage : ITER - Latin for journey - I can see that

54. A spray might be used for one : TAN

55. Uru. neighbor : ARGentina, constructor Ned must like the area - see 30D.

56. Parlor work, briefly : TATtoo - and a chance for a music link

57. "Lord, is __?": Matthew : "IT I?"

Splynter

Friday, October 25, 2013 Jacob Stulberg

Theme: "And I quote..."

18. Start of a quote : A HEN IS ONLY

23. Quote, part 2 : AN EGG'S

40. Quote, part 3 : WAY OF

54. Quote, part 4 : MAKING

61. End of the quote : ANOTHER EGG.

16A. With 66-Across, author of this puzzle's quote : SAMUEL. and 66-Across. See 16-Across : BUTLER. 

Marti here, trying to fill Lemonade's shoes on a Friday.  Whoo boy, I sure struggled with this one. I took me almost twice my normal Friday solving time, and even when I finished it, there were some things I still didn't know (LEONA, EGAN, TREME, for instance.)

I believe this is Jacob's debut LAT puzzle, so, congratulations!

Across:

1. City SE of Milan : LODI. BAM! Right off the bat, I get sucker punched. Anyone else enter "Rome?" Map.

5. Station occupant : COP.

8. Extended stays : ABODES. I didn't like this clue. It should have referred to the obsolete meaning of the word.

14. Dept. with a sun on its seal : ENER.gy. Among other things...

15. Dish made in an oven called an imu : POI. Total WAG. But a learning moment.  The imu is basically a deep pit, with a wood fire in the bottom that is covered with fist-sized stones. The food is wrapped in leaves (to steam), placed into the pit, then covered with the dirt.  A rolled up palm leaf is often used to keep a vent open at the top of the pit.

17. Some museum work : OILS. Anyone object to the seemingly singular "work?"

20. Super stars? : NOVAE. I entered NOVA*, but knew enough to wait for perps before deciding on "S" or "E" for the last letter.  Alas, I did not know the perp.  Finally wagged the answer at the end and got it right.

22. Sitting setting : STUDIO. Cute clue.

25. "Hear, hear!" : AMEN.

26. Self-obsessed sort : FOP.

29. Grub : EATS.

31. Legal appurtenance? : ESE. Legalese.

32. Barbary __ : APE. Endangered species.

33. Medium : CHANNELER.

37. Rich dessert : TORTE. My house guests from Vienna brought me a Sacher Torte. And yes, they are extremely rich!

39. "Hold it!" : HALT.

42. "... 'Tis a pageant / To keep __ false gaze": "Othello" : US IN. Meaning, "It's a trick, to confuse us."

43. __ coffee : IRISH.

45. They can be wound up : NEUROTICS.

47. Green shade : PEA.

48. Hosp. readout : ECG. I always wonder if the middle letter will be E, K or C?

50. Incentives to cooperate : SOPS.

51. Tee sizes: Abbr. : SMS. Smalls.

52. "It's __!": ballgame cry : A HIT.

58. Goes right, e.g. : STEERS.

60. It sometimes results in a double play : LINER. I started entering LINE drive, but ran out of room.  Is it really called a liner?

65. Dominion : RULE.

67. NYC subway overseer : MTA. Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

68. Three-point B, say : TILE. In Scrabble, the letter "B" is worth three points. Hahtoolah and Irish Miss both knew that, though!

69. Shakespearean title character : ANTONY. and Cleopatra.

70. Handy skill for a gambler? : ESP. Yes, indeed!

71. Leave in : STET.

Down:

1. British singer/songwriter Lewis : LEONA. OK, Leona, you're on! 4:39

2. Source of some rings : ONION. Yummm!

3. Probe, with "into" : DELVE.

4. Feds concerned with returns : IRS AGENTS. And a clecho with 5-Down:

5. Pro concerned with returns : CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

6. Expressions of wonder : OOHS.

7. Two-figure sculpture : PIETA. If you see this in person, you will never forget the name of one of Michelangelo's most famous works.

8. Dramatic revelations : ASIDES.

9. Medieval helmet : BASINET. Another variant spelling, this time of "bascinet."

10. Novel that begins in the Marquesas Islands : OMOO. I had the last "O" so it was a WAG.

11. Bug for payment : DUN.

12. Member of the genus Anguilla : EEL. Freshwater eels.

13. Not straight : SLY.

19. Legion : NUMEROUS.

21. Richard of "A Summer Place" : EGAN. Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee also appeared in that film. I mostly just remember the song. 2:29

24. Worry : STEW.

26. Kurdish relative : FARSI.

27. __ nerve : OPTIC.

28. Hammer parts : PEENS.

30. More jargony : SLANGIER.

33. Salty bagful : CHIPS.

34. "Don Juan DeMarco" setting : HAREM. Starring Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway.

35. Bit of checkpoint deception : ALIAS.

36. Organ that may be caught : EYE.

38. Rural-urban transition area : OUTSKIRTS.

41. Sent by : FROM.

44. Missionary's target : HEATHEN.

46. Gem mined mostly in Australia : OPAL.

49. All smiles : CHEERY.

53. HBO series set in New Orleans : TREME. About the residents of the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans following the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

55. Greenland native : INUIT.

56. "Ally McBeal" lawyer : NELLE. Played by Portia de Rossi. Never watched it.

57. Welcome : GREET.

58. D-Day city : ST. LO.

59. York et al.: Abbr. : SGTS. Sergeant York.

61. Legal org. : ABA. American Bar Association.

62. One of the Poor Clares : NUN.

63. Memorable Giant : OTT. I know his first name is Mel.  And that's all I know, other than the fact that he's convenient crossword puzzle fill.

64. Orthodontist's concern : GAP.

Leaving you with my quote of the day:

"If every day is a gift, where do I go to return Mondays?"

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Good luck to all who attend tomorrow's  Crossword LA. Do say hello to our Wednesday sherpa Steve.