Saturday, Nov 9th, 2013, Norm Guggenbiller

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,W,X)

Blocks: 38

   This is a new constructor for me, but Norm's last LAT was this year in May.  As for the puzzle, lots of white on the first Across pass, but then some solid perp(endicular)s on the Down run filled in enough to go back and take some W.A.G.s.  Triple 9's in two corners and then a nifty little 4-way spiral of 9-letter words in the center, plus two 11-letter spanners intersecting two 11-letter climbers;

20A. Questionable strategy for a runner? : SMEAR TACTIC - Political office runners, that is

45A. Golf tournament display : LEADER BOARD - Lee Westwood is sponsored by UPS

11D. Bring up something sensitive : TOUCH A NERVE - Didn't quite "Nail It", more like I "pre-drilled" the hole for it - I pre-filled in "-N-E-S-S" for 29A, since a clue using "quality" usually implies this attribute

22D. Bodybuilding goal : SCULPTED ABS - I knew where this was going, but I started with SIX PACK, which was too short, then ROCK HARD, and that wasn't working.  So, for the ladies -

(dreaming) ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Long-odds track bets : PERFECTAS - I never understood horse racing bets - here's a link for anyone else who feels the same

10. Early launch rocket : ATLAS - some history

15. Marketing resource : EMAIL LIST - ends up in my SPAM folder

16. Gear part : TOOTH

17. Small-time : PENNY ANTE

18. All, in Assisi : TUTTO - like this?

19. Piece of work : ERG - Ah - not "ART"

22. Tastes : SIPS - had it in, took it out, put it back in

23. Kept from spreading : IN CHECK

24. Media __ : CIRCUS

27. Kind of colorful shirt : ALOHA - I wanted Hawaiian, but it didn't fit - never heard it called an aloha shirt before today

28. Bad blood : ODIUM

29. Stale quality : TRITENESS

33. Fire : ZEAL - Early on, I cannot tell if it's the "AXE" kind of fire, or this, the enthusiasm kind

34. A cup may be one : PRIZE - So where was my mind?  I had --IZE, and thought B-SIZE cup, C-SIZE cup, D-SIZE....oh, a trophy, like in hockey....

 35. Computer menu option : EDIT - gee, FILE, SAVE, UNDO, VIEW, COPY....

36. Polite assent : YES, PLEASE

38. Scrubber's target : GRIME

39. Comedian Fields : TOTIE - quick bio

40. Capitulate : CAVE IN - DAH~! I had giVE IN, which messed me up

41. Soil test measure : PH LEVEL

44. Reduce : PARE - my first thought, and yet one of my last fills

47. Cristal maker : BIC - Totally baffled me - Cristal is Champagne, the 'good stuff'; here the reference is to the pen from the company of disposable products

50. "__ Smith and Jones": '70s TV Western : ALIAS - IMDb

51. Available to order : ON THE MENU

53. "__ honest ..." : I'LL BE

54. Like a tense person's teeth? : SET ON EDGE

55. One who's doomed : TOAST - see 52D

56. Read impatiently : SKIP AHEAD - Like this scene ( @ 0:46 )?

DOWN:

1. Latino Muppet prawn : PEPE - Never heard of him, but I do recognize him

2. It calls for immediate attn. : EMERgency

3. Buzzed : RANG

4. "Jaws" omen : FIN - Na-num.

5. Mythological paradise : ELYSIUM - because Utopeea is not how you spell it

6. Woodworking devices : CLAMPS - ah, not LATHES
Na-num
7. They have points : TINES - they ARE points

8. Dog star : ASTA

9. Make safe for use, in a way : STERILIZE
Na-num Na-num
10. Diplomacy figure : ATTACHÉ - I went with LIAISON - BZZZT~!!!

12. Singer Lenya : LOTTE - recognize her in "From Russia With Love"

13. Where to see some old clothes : ATTIC

14. Culture __ : SHOCK
Na-num Na-num Na-num Na-num
21. Fed. security : T-NOTE

24. Conspiratorial : COZY - I went with CAGY - seemed more appropriate

25. French bean product? : IDEE - Frawnch for 'idea'

26. River inlets : RIAs
Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na~!
27. Come about : ARISE - like him?

29. Head out West? : TRAIL BOSS

30. Emmy winner Falco : EDIE

31. __ Valley : SIMI

32. Uzi predecessor : STEN

34. Actor Gallagher : PETER

37. Tennis shutout : LOVE SET

38. Floral-sounding Los Angeles suburb : GARDENA - down in the grey area on this map - never been to L.A.

40. Sonic server : CAR-HOP

41. Braid : PLAIT

42. First response to a call : HELLO

43. Former boxer Ali : LAILA - Daughter of Muhammad

44. Page of music : PATTI

46. Short run, for short : ONE K

47. Eliot title character : BEDE - Adam Bede - a WAG, since I was not sure of BIC

48. "Listen to Your Heart" singer in the musical "Young Frankenstein" : INGA - could have been IGOR for all I know - loved the movie, didn't know there was a musical

49. Prompted : CUED

52. "Big deal" : MEH - and a crossword solver's response to an answer that seems a bit of a stretch for the clue

Splynter

Friday, November 8, 2013, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Hum the Homonym Hymn

It is Friday, and JW is back with a fun 'sound alike' puzzle where the second word in each of the 5 theme answers is a four-letter word which sounds like the end of the first word, but spelled differently, all clued whimsically. A very classic Friday format, with a central theme answer bracketed by two others top and bottom. Once you get the gimmick the theme is easy and very helpful. The fill has enough 3 and 4 letter words to make it doable and enough 8- letter fill like ALL HEART, ELEVENTH, I HOPE I DO,  LAST NAME,  SIDE DRUM, TORI AMOS to make it a challenge. What I did not know lined up nicely by perp. It also is one letter short of a pangram (for the newbies: a puzzle containing all 26 letters) and I will not whine about the missing one. Instead let's dance...

19A. Stadium section for charity workers? : VOLUNTEER TIER. (13). Speaking of Tennessee, did anyone watch the CMAs the other night?

26A. Really old hardwood? : ANTIQUE TEAK. (11).  This is a little different since it has five letters sounding like four.

35A. Disney's "Bambi"? : WHITETAIL TALE. (13). Nice clue, as they were all whitetail deer; the quotation marks tell you it is not the character. Interestingly DEAR DEER are also sound alikes.

44A. "Merrie Melodies" theme song? : CARTOON TUNE. (11). Warner Brothers cartoons pop up again. I was looking for a specific song at first.

54A. Emperor Justinian as a young man? : BYZANTINE TEEN. (13). This is a little different as TINE has to be heard in context.  This EMPEROR is one of the most influential of all time.

Across:

1. Something to pass or lower : THE BAR. Not the easiest way to start; I have done both in my life.

7. Crocus kin : IRIS. I am not good at flower families.

11. Samosa veggie : PEA. How many three letter veggies are there? For Jeannie.

14. Biblical dancer : SALOME. The Dance of the Seven Veils. While associated with the Christian bible as the cause of John the Baptist's death, she is never mentioned in the New Testament. How about RITA? (6;30).

15. Item in a musician's kit : SIDE DRUM. Not familiar with this term; it appears to be another term for snare drum, which did not fit? My musical mavens, help!

17. Western, e.g. : OMELET. Time to break some eggs people.

18. Kind and caring : ALL HEART. A clear shout out to our own divine one.

21. Keats work : ODE. Are we Keats intensive or what these days? 25A. Keats' "Sylvan historian" : URN. One of the ODE ON poems.

23. Steam : IRE.

24. Calypso relative : SKA. More island music.

32. "Phooey!" : RATS. I love that this is placed next to...

34. Give a damn? : CURSE. I really enjoyed this misdirection.

41. Paralyze with dense mist, as an airport : FOG IN.

42. "Horse Feathers" family name : MARX. Now we get to horse around. Go Groucho.

50. One of two single-digit Yankee uniform numbers that aren't retired : SIX. Two being the only other one, but after 20 years of Derek Jeter, can it be far behind? Can you name all the retired numbers through 10? 1 was the hardest for me.

51. A, in Acapulco : UNA.

52. "Mazel __!" : TOV. Literally luck good. Schlemazel made famous by Laverne and Shirley is its opposite.

53. Ranch handle : TEX. Fun clue.

61. "That's my intention" : I HOPE I DO. A rare four word phrase.

62. Around the bend, so to speak : INSANE.

65. "Flavor" singer/songwriter : TORI AMOS. I really like complete names. LINK.(4:06).

66. Beat badly : PUMMEL. Rhymes with pommel sometimes.

67. Letters to the Coast Guard : SOS.

68. TV component? : TELEvision?

69. Quick : SPEEDY. "Quick Alka Seltzer" just did not sound great as a company mascot.

Down:

1. Chicken general? : TSO.

2. Boar's Head product : HAM. The masters of meat.

3. Like November, in a way : ELEVENTH. Month.

4. Simple tie : BOLO. Back when I first was in a courtroom, a young attorney from the panhandle of Florida appeared before a judge wearing a BOLO; the judge would not let him speak until he had on a 'proper' tie.

5. First name in flight : AMELIA. More H(e)art.

6. Library requirement : RETURN.  Who doesn't love Mr. BOOKMAN. (2:36).

7. "The wolf __ the door" : IS AT. A very common expression during the depression.

8. Get to : RILE.

9. Sit in traffic, say : IDLE.

10. Very, in Vienna : SEHR. Sehr gut, getting some German in.

11. Words of tribute : PRAISE.

12. Golden State motto : EUREKA. From the gold rush days followed immediately by

13. California Zephyr operator : AMTRAK.

16. "Law & Order: SVU" rank : DETective.

20. Bottom line : NET. Do they rhyme?

21. Word of possession : OUR.

22. Western challenge : DRAW. Is there any more famous? CLIP. (2:35).

27. Terse refusal : I CAN'T. Is this better than I won't?

28. Who, in Paris : QUI. Moi!

29. Item shortened at bitly.com : URL. This was totally beyond my computer knowledge.

30. Md. hours : EST. Eastern Standard Time in Maryland.

31. Cooperative group : TEAM. Go Dolphins.

33. Cake recipe word : SIFT. So many four letter cooking words, I had to sift through all of them in my mind to get this.

36. As well : TOO.

37. Massage beneficiary : EGO. Not pec or lat; ah well.

38. Its atomic number is 50 : TIN. Tinbeni gets shout outs on so many Fridays, and today, two. 56D. Bar order : NEAT.

39. Common sorting basis : LAST NAME.

40. Lakeside Pennsylvania city : ERIE.

43. Love letters? : XXX. OOO.

44. Ark units : CUBITS. Another ancient word, basically the length from the elbow (Cubitum in Latin) to the tip of your middle finger.

45. "As I was sayin' ..." : ANY HOO. I can hear our dear California coven using this phrase.

46. They may be straight : RAZORS. No un-pc jokes needed here. (Send to my email).

47. 4 x 4, briefly : UTE.

48. Policy at some restaurants : NO TIPS. Really!?! I have never eaten in one. And I am only part French Canadian.

49. Align carefully : EVEN UP.

55. Prefix with culture : API. Despite loving Sherlock Holmes books etc., the reference to bees (Latin APIS) would have escaped me without perps.

57. "The devourer of all things": Ovid : TIME. There is even a series of coffee mugs featuring Ovid quotes. LINK.

58. Statue of Vishnu, e.g. : IDOL. Indian deity.

59. Oenophile's criterion : NOSE. A quick recall of yesterday's wine theme.

60. __ Squalor: Lemony Snicket character : ESME. I do not know the books or Jim Carrey movie, but I did recall the short story. What does the Lemony mean in his name? Am I a Snicket?

63. Composer Rorem : NED. We get Ned often, so a TASTE of his music. (2:06).

64. English cathedral city : ELY.

I must stop putting off my trip to England; I will not put off my trip to a long week end. Enjoy and remember all the veterans including our own, Dennis and all you others who served.  Until next time, thank you Jeffrey and thank you all for reading. Lemonade out.