Sunday, November 27, 2016 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Do Stuff" - GEL spans across each theme entry.

23A. Breakfast item : SAUSAGE LINK. I enjoyed my leftover yam/apple for breakfast, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

33A. Bus station compartment : STORAGE LOCKER

43A. Decorative outdoor fixture : CARRIAGE LAMP. Did not know there's a term for it.

60A. Category including spacing and margins : PAGE LAYOUT

77A. Vehicle usage record : MILEAGE LOG

92A. Curbside check-in freebie : LUGGAGE LABEL. I just call it "Luggage tag".

98A. Broadway director's concern : STAGE LIGHTING

117A. "American Graffiti" director : GEORGE LUCAS. I thought young Jay Leno was in this movie. But Wiki says no.

 

Reveal:

118D. Styling product hidden in eight long puzzle answers : GEL

 

Very consistent. All *GE L*. Not many workable phrases for the *G EL* pattern, as in NOTHING ELSE.

Gail likes to put a couple of themers in Down slots. Not this time. Across all the way. The fill is quintessential Gail, smooth and clean. There's a quiet elegance in all of her puzzles.

Across:     

                                                                                                                                                       

1. Udon cousin : SOBA. We all have our sweet spot. Asian food is mine.

5. Not at all : HARDLY

11. Poker pro's concern : ODDS

15. Weather the storm : COPE

19. Latin 101 verb : AMAS. You love.

  

20. Albéniz piano work : IBERIA. Unfamiliar with the composer.

21. Petty of "A League of Their Own" : LORI

22. Mind matter : IDEA

25. Lackluster : DRAB. Not DULL.

26. Let it all out : VENT

27. Blade holder : SHEATH

28. Heavy ref. : OED. Kids these days probably never use a "heavy" dictionary.

29. Ancient manuscripts : PAPYRI

31. Gridiron figure : YARDAGE. Golf too.

39. Bar menu heading : REDs

41. Zilch : NIL

42. "Do __?" : I DARE. Not I CARE.

49. TV awareness-raiser : PSA

52. Action film props : UZIs. Named after the designer Uzi Gal, according to Wiki.

53. Cookie shaped like two of its letters : OREO

54. Throw a feast for : REGALE

55. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner : TUTU (Desmond)

56. Handled bag : TOTE

57. Started war? : DEALT. Card game.

59. Serious trend : RAGE

62. Like some speeches, it seems : ENDLESS. Not those TED Talks. I really like Derek Siver's "How to Start Movement". Only three minutes

64. Ruffle feathers, so to speak : MAKE MAD

65. Tells : SAYS TO

66. Musical with the song "Willkommen" : CABARET. Got via crosses.

69. Collie collar danglers : ID TAGS

74. Fugitive : RUNAWAY

76. Left hanging : STOOD UP. He stood her up.

81. Coil on a reel : HOSE

84. "That's a fact!" : NO LIE!

85. Comparison words : AS AN. Wise as an owl.

86. Room access : HALL

87. Masonry mixture : MORTAR

89. Streamlet : RILL

90. "Leaving Las Vegas" co-star : SHUE (Elisabeth). Not a movie I want to see.

91. Decorates mischievously, for short : TPs

94. Yankee manager before Girardi : TORRE (Joe)

96. Sports statistic : WIN. Slight clue/answer dupe with 83. "College GameDay" number : STAT

97. One way to get dinner : TO GO

 

104. Not just bargain : DICTATE. Also got via crosses.

109. How many raises are given : YEARLY. "How many" is seldom is one phrasal unit in this type of clue.

110. Anger : IRE

112. Mason of "The Goodbye Girl" : MARSHA

113. Restrain : CURB

116. Cause to fluctuate : SWAY

119. Kolkata's locale : ASIA. I'm used to the Calcutta spelling.

120. Paddock parent : SIRE. I read it as "Padlock". Paddock is a new word to me.

121. Mental wherewithal : ACUMEN

122. Construction site sight : CONE

123. Mannerless sort : BOOR

124. Till stack : ONES

125. "He loves me" pieces : PETALS

126. Hot times abroad : ETEs

Down:

1. Fresh : SASSY

2. Home of Heartland of America Park : OMAHA. Vowel-rich. Hence its frequent appearance.

3. Outdoor clothing entrepreneur Eddie : BAUER

4. Mideast president elected the same year as the younger Bush : ASSAD. So long.

5. Overdrive : HIGH GEAR

6. Presidential nickname : ABE

7. Transfer to a new city, briefly : RELO

8. Sits on the line : DRIES. I like this clue also.

9. Godiva alternative : LINDT

10. Shaggy-haired bovine : YAK. It's said that Tibetans drink up to 60 small cups of Yak Butter Tea a day. Simple recipe: tea, butter, salt & hot water. Give it a go, D-Otto. It's good for the upper body strength :-) Silicon Valley's Bulletproof Coffee was inspired by this drink.

11. Lifetime chum : OLD PAL. This blog will turn nine on Jan 28, 2017. You guys are now my old pals. We're growing old together.

12. Biker's headgear, maybe : DO-RAG. We also have 64. National Bike Month : MAY

13. Sun blocker : DRAPE

14. Legendary prophet : SIBYL. "Prophetess" would have made it easier.

15. Serving on a jury, e.g. : CIVIC DUTY. Never served on a jury. You?

16. Elevated lines? : ODE

17. Waterman product : PEN. Never heard of this pen brand.

18. Work on a course : EAT

24. Early gaming name : ATARI

30. French royal : ROI

32. Craftsman outdoor tools : EDGERS

34. Generous offer : ON ME

35. Swindle, in slang : RIP. Don't even think of GYP, not PC to be in our crossword.

36. Instrument that doesn't need tuning : KAZOO. Got via crosses.

37. "Un Ballo in Maschera" aria : ERI TU. This is a difficult clue. We normally have "It was you" or "Verdi" hint.

38. Zero out, say : RESET

40. Sonic Dash publisher : SEGA

43. They may be cracked : CODES. This works for SAFES as well.

44. Sports venue : ARENA

45. Prepared : READY

46. Big wheel's wheels : ROLLS. Rolls-Royce.

47. Internet connectivity annoyance : LAG. So what's your Download speed? Ours is about 23.

48. IPA component : ALE

49. Sound of the Northwest : PUGET. Puget Sound. Nice clue.

50. Champagne flute feature : STEM

51. Café order : AU LAIT

55. Leave, with "off" : TAKE

58. Colorful pet store purchase : TETRA

60. Something to shoot for : PAR. Boomer had two birdies this year, both on par-3 holes.

61. Supplement : ADD ON

63. Looked for : SOUGHT

66. Heads and tails : CALLS

67. Illegal mil. status : AWOL

68. Paper or plastic : BAG

70. Irish lullaby start : TOO-RA. "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral". I drew a blank.

71. Surprise in a skit : AD LIB.  Also got via crosses.

72. Duplicity : GUILE

73. Period of time : SPELL

75. Minimum-range tide : NEAP

76. Poseidon, e.g. : SEA GOD. Here is a good explanation on why Chinese say "Oh, my mother!" instead of "Oh, my God!" when surprised.

77. Ketch pair : MASTS

78. Seemingly can't lose : IS HOT

79. Linney of "The Savages" : LAURA

80. Athlete's supplement : ENERGY BAR. Also 88. Training routines : REGIMENS. Both great fill.

81. Fail to share : HOG

82. AA or AAA : ORG. Nice clue as well.

87. Short bond? : MUNI. Municipal bond.

92. Hammered : LIT

93. From around here : LOCAL

95. Big shoes to fill? : EEE. Last time this clue tricked me.  

96. "But of course!" : WHY YES

99. Catcher on the range : LASSO

100. Director Allen who was dubbed the "Master of Disaster" : IRWIN. Don't recall this name.

101. Look daggers (at) : GLARE

102. Birthday card rack subsection : NIECE

103. Tiling job supply : GROUT

105. Mutual agreement : TRUCE

106. Site of the Princess Margaret Stakes : ASCOT. Named after Princess Margaret.

107. Macbeth, when the play began : THANE

108. Alleviates : EASES

111. "At Wit's End" author Bombeck : ERMA. I often confused her with that cookbook author IRMA.

113. Zin kin : CAB (Cabernet)

114. "Always by their side" org. : USO

115. River in Spain : RIO

117. Lack of continuity : GAP

 

C.C.

Saturday, Nov 26th, 2016, Mark Diehl

Theme: "Rough Diehl"

Words: 66 (missing J,K,Q,W,Z)

Blocks: 22

Phew~!  I solved it.  Did not look good.  Admit to one "post-fill Google", and two red-letter cheats.  Ran over my personal allotted time in less than two minutes.  I am calling this one a win.  The fateful double whammy of chunky corners tied into two double stacks of 15-letter spanners, and this one was going to be a total blank, or at best a slog, as far as I could tell - and the only reason I was able to get through this brutally brilliant construction was due to the fact that I had a streak of proper names that I knew were definitively correct; I put "*"s next to those clues.  The lowest block count I have ever seen in a 15x15 grid, with 26 being the next closest; add to that the fact that in my opinion, there was no 'meh' fill, and I have to admire this one from Mr. Diehl.  The four spanners, and the bonus 13-letter central climber;

15. Loaded : AS RICH AS CROESUS - my Google; I had the name part via crossings, and I checked to see if there was a "financial" connection to this person - the Wiki

17. Side dish in a sauce : CREAMED POTATOES - my small family decided on ordering Thankgiving dinner, and we got creamed potatoes instead of mashed - I liked them, but mom and bro did not

50. Cub, for one : NATIONAL LEAGUER - and World Series winner after 108 years

53. Saint-Exupéry classic : THE LITTLE PRINCE - asteroids are involved - the Wiki

16. Sushi bar selection : SPICY TUNA ROLL - not a fan of uncooked fish, but I am familiar with the selections being some type of "roll", which helped

dONeWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Renewable fuel source : BIOMASS

8. Licorice-flavored liqueur : SAMBUCA - I had "FIRST DOG" for 8d., which made this hard to see, but I am rather "familiar" with this cordial

18. Rashness : HASTE

19. Came across by chance : LIT ON - I had HIT ON

20. Sch. that moved from the Mountain West Conf. to the Big 12 in 2012 : TCU - all perps

21. Prefix with analysis : META - meta-analysis, but in this case, a hyphenated prefix

22. Odd page, normally : RECTO - nailed it; I also know what the frontispiece is

23. Critter with tusks : BOAR

24. Barley wine, e.g. : ALE - argh~! How did I not get this~!? I had no clue

25. First child of Henry VIII to survive to adulthood : MARY I

26. Rummy : SOUSE - the second definition of the word is "drunkard"

27. Leaf producer : NISSAN - oh so clever misdirection; the ECO-friendly car

and a romper image, too~!

29. Like stucco : TEXTURED

31. Lavish supply : PROFUSION

33*. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN

36*. Author Huxley : ALDOUS

40*. "The Empire Strikes Back" director Kershner : IRVIN - seen here to the right of Geroge Lucas on the "Dagobah" set

41*. "Tell It to My Heart" singer Taylor __ : DAYNE

43. One abroad : UNE - oh, the number one, missed the misdirection

44. Béchamel base : LAIT - Frawnche for milk

45. Easing of govt. control : DEREGulation

46. Bingo call : B TEN - oops, I tried "TWO B" and "B TWO" first

47. Nature-nurturing org. : EPA

48. State of Österreich : TIROL

49. California's __ Bay : MORRO - perps, and a Natick with Marv at 59d.

54. Caustic solution : SODA LYE

55. Sells off : DIVESTS

DOWN:

1*. King pen name : BACHMAN - this is the name that appears on the novel "Thinner", the first one I ever read from "him"

2. Beersheba native : ISRAELI

3. Euripides tragedy : ORESTES

4. Japanese two-seater : MIATA - another car

5. Top : ACME

6. Miss : SHE - Dah~! I had "ERR", that kind of "miss"

I won't miss this kind of miss

7. British potter James known for Brown Betty teapots : SADLER

8. FDR's Fala et al. : SCOTTIES - not FIRST DOG; took a while to realize we needed a breed here

9. Film beeper, familiarly : ARTOO - Detoo, R2-D2, also a part of the Empire Strikes Back - and other films....

10. Complaint : MOAN

11. Jump in the pool? : BET - my poker game moved up one day this week

12. Bob Hope venue : USO TOUR - I figured it was "USO-", but 'venue' threw me

13. Mark of a shark : CUE CASE - a hustler, a pool hall billiards shark; I have two cases myself

14. Guaranteed : ASSURED

22. Didn't stop talking : RAN ON

23. Destined : BOUND - I suppose I was destined to finally find a new vehicle - here I am at the restaurant with my new old Dodge Caravan

25. Muir Woods' county : MARIN

26. It's a wrap : STOLE

28. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT

30. Yangtze tributary : XIANG

32. Form a political union : FEDERATE

33. Solo pianists often provided music for them : SILENTS - my new old Dodge Caravan came with a cassette player, and I have been listening to myself and friends who've made and sent me audio tapes, and this piece was on one of them;

the dexterity really starts at the 5:00 mark

34. Cheyenne allies : ARAPAHO - half filled via perps

35. Worked with props? : AVIATED - har-har~!

37. Beats to the finish line : OUTRUNS

38. Stoop-shouldered, say : UNERECT - OK, a little "meh"

39. Many in España : SEÑORES

42. Raised the roof : YELLED

45*. __ Moore: Hormel brand : DINTY

46*. '30s-'50s filmdom nickname : BOGIE - Humphrey Bogart - and featured in the song Key Largo, a song that got a lot of "muzak" air time, and I did not know who the singer was

oh, so tacky

48. Hard labor : TOIL

49. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Levy : MARV

51. Waterfront gp. : ILA - International Longshoreman Assoc.

52. Prefix with Pen : EPI

Splynter

 

Notes from C.C.:

1) Cool picture, Splynter, Nice to see you again.

2) Here are a couple great photos from Lemonade's Asheville Family Vacation. You can see more here.

 3) Here is Jayce's Yam/Apple recipe. I already tried last night. I used two medium-sized Asian sweet potatoes like below. Very dense & sweet. One big Honeycrisp & one medium Fuji. Coconut butter instead of regular button. It was fantastic. The kitchen smelled amazing. 

Friday November 25, 2016 Francesca Goldston

Theme: No No (71A. Taboo that hints at this puzzle's theme) - No is deleted from each theme entry.

20A. "Am I clear, George?"? : CAN YOU HEAR ME, W? Can you hear me now? George W. Bush.

28A. "Okay, so it's THAT dictionary"? : AH, WEBSTER. Noah Webster.

48A. Former space sports group? : MIR LEAGUE. Minor league.

58A. Little Spanish range? : POCO MOUNTAINS. Pocono Mountains.

  

C.C. here. Saw no draft from Lemonade when I got up. Let's hope all's well with him.

I'll just outline clue/answers. Will work on the content immediately.

(Updated now. Thanks for the patience)

This seems to be the debut puzzle for Francesca Goldston. Congratulations!

We don't always have a reveal entry in addition/deletion puzzle. I like when there is, since it provides a solid rational for the change.

Across:        

1. "It's not easy to __": Five for Fighting lyric : BE ME. Unfamiliar with the singer or the song.

5. Sun, for one : G STAR. Guilt of using this entry myself. Quite a few ? STAR options.

10. Omegas, in the electrical world : OHMS

14. Field beasts : OXEN

15. Manual : HOW TO

16. Central points : FOCI. Another I-ending plural 23. Incitements : STIMULI

17. Jack Blum's "Meatballs" character : SPAZ. Unknown to me. Despite its clue, a bit surprised to see SPAZ in a LAT grid.

18. House work? : OPERA. Opera house.

19. Work meas. : FT LB (Foot-Pound)

24. Wonderstruck : IN AWE

27. Manuscript mark : STET

 

32. 9, often: Abbr. : SEP. What's your favorite month? I associate Sept with romance due to Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes. Persimmons. Pomegranates.

34. Have something : AIL. Not EAT.

35. Symbols of elusiveness : EELS

36. Govt. stipend provider : SSI

39. "The Ten Commandments" (1956) director : DEMILLE. This year's Cecil B. DeMille Award honored Meryl Streep.

42. AAA offering : RTE

43. It's near the funny bone : ULNA

45. Reaction to a 71-Across : TSK

46. Embarrassing marks : EFs

 

51. Nursery buy : LOAM

54. Roosevelt feature partially carved on Rushmore : SPECS. Oh, eyeglasses.

55. Jordan River outlet : DEAD SEA

62. "Oops!" : OH OH

64. Sneeze, say : REACT

65. Tilted position : CAN'T. Why "Tilted?" (Correction: CANT as a titled angle is new to me. Thanks, TTP/Argyle.)

66. Mexican bread : PESO

67. Early anesthetic : ETHER

68. New __ : AGER

69. Winter Olympics jump : AXEL

70. Loud : GAUDY. I bought this pink bag at our flea market over 10 years ago. Boomer said it's too loud. But the design, the leather & the feel are just perfect.(Lucina, sorry for the typo!)

C.C. & Lucia, 2012

Down:

1. Certain pears : BOSCs

2. Americans in Paris, maybe : EXPATS. I guess you can't call me a Chinese expat, since I'm an American citizen now. Congrats to your son-in-law, JD!

3. Be dead serious : MEAN IT

4. Biology subjects : ENZYMES

5. Halloween costume : GHOUL

6. Cary's love interest in "Houseboat" : SOPHIA (Loren). Gimme for Irish Miss. Cary Grant is her crush.

7. Too precious, in Portsmouth : TWEE. Wiki says "Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England". Also "the birthplace of author Charles Dicken".

8. Quattro competitor : ATRA

9. Ocean output : ROAR

10. Cause of hurt feelings : OFFENSE.

11. Sticky spot : HOT WATER. Great fill.

12. Ligament commonly injured in football : MCL. OK, Medial Collateral Ligament.

13. Ted, to Bobby : SIB. The Kennedys.

21. Exposed : OUTED

22. Sci-fi pic series : MIB (Man in Black)

25. Temporary skin damage : WELT

26. Gaelic tongue : ERSE

29. Narrowly defined verse : HAIKU

30. Wheaton who played Wesley on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : WIL

31. Women's issue : ELLE. D'oh, magazine issue.

33. Org. that opened a Bob Barker building in 2012 : PETA. New trivia to me.

36. Tidy amounts : SUMS

37. Tongue problem? : SLIP. Slip of the tongue.

38. At peace : IN REPOSE

40. Stir-fry sprinkle : MSG. Debunked that it causes headache.

41. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E FLAT. Always have to wait.

44. "The anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life": Shaw : ALCOHOL. Got via crosses. 

47. Recycle item : SODA CAN

49. User's way out : ESC

50. Brought out : EDUCED

52. Panini cheese : ASIAGO. Jayce, can you give us your yam apple cinnamon recipe? I never tried yam & apple combo before.

53. Skin Bracer maker : MENNEN

56. Contest form : ENTRY

57. The Jetsons' dog : ASTRO

59. The Snake R. forms part of its eastern border : OREG. I thought Snake River is in Colorado.

60. Prefix with physics : META

61. Kalanikupule's kingdom : OAHU

62. German grandpa : OPA. Grandma is Oma.

63. Evil eye : HEX

C.C.

Thursday, November 24th, 2016 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: The Puzzle That Keeps On ..

1A. Giving __ : ADVICE

17A. Giving __ : PERMISSION

40A. Giving __ : CONSENT

63A. Giving __ : DIRECTIONS

71A. Giving __ : THANKS. I assume this is the reason for all the "giving" today.

11D. Giving __ : ASSISTANCE

25D. Giving __ : LESSONS

27D. Giving __ : BLOOD

29D. Giving __ : ABSOLUTION

33D. Giving __ : BIRTH

Happy Turkey Day!

A thumping 74 theme squares in this one. With themage this heavy in a 15x15 with 36 blocks, that leaves a challenge to fill the remaining white squares cleanly without the whole thing feeling forced. I confess I didn't really enjoy this experience. There's nothing to relate the theme entries to each other except for the fill-in-the-blank clue unless there's some meta-element to the puzzle that I've missed.

Given there are ten fill-in-the-blank clues in the theme, I'd have tried very hard not to have any more of those in the puzzle, but there are another three in the across set.

Throw in an unhealthy dose of IT A/EWW/OHO/AS I/PHI/PSIS/TNPK/EPI/ISM/OTS/PYS and I'm feeling more BLAH than anything else. I'm not sure the "Thanksgiving" payoff was really worth the stuffing that went into this.

Alrighty then! I got that off my chest. I'm having a few days of downtime in Mexico this week. Here's the sunrise this morning while I was walking on the beach - now I know where the namesake tequila cocktail got its name. Cheers!

Let's see what else we've got going on:

Across:

7. High ick factor reaction : EWW

10. "Misery" co-star : CAAN

14. Title teen in a '90s-'00s sitcom : MOESHA. Passed me by. Thank you, crosses. The last episode aired back in 2001.

15. Key letter : PHI. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity is a key. Of course it is.

16. Regarding : AS TO

19. General __ chicken : TSO'S

20. Actor who gave up wearing his trademark gold jewelry after Hurricane Katrina : MR T.

21. Kingston Trio hit with the line "He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston" : MTA. Fresh in the memory from 1949.

22. Stew : AGONIZE

24. While : SPELL

26. Places to unwind : SPAS

27. Boring : BLAH

30. Eggs from the sea : ROE

31. Can opener : POP TAB

34. Chad neighbor : LIBYA

36. Coveted award : OSCAR

38. "__ said earlier ... " : AS I

39. Brief game deciders? : OT'S. Overtimes. Just one in the NFL, as many as it takes in college football until there's a winner.

42. "Morning Edition" airer : NPR

43. "So that's your game!" : OHO!

44. Williams of "Happy Days" : ANSON. "Potsie" portrayer.

45. Ref. to a prior ref. : OP. CIT. "Opere citado" - "In the work cited"

47. Put one over on : DELUDE

49. '60s-'70s protest subject : 'NAM

51. __-savvy : TECH

52. "Battle Cry" author : URIS

53. A lot : SCADS

55. Make a pretrial determination : SET BAIL

58. Sch. with a Shreveport campus : L.S.U. Louisiana State.

59. Longtime Richard Petty sponsor : STP. The second-longest sponsor-driver relationship in motorsports.

62. Samoan port : APIA

66. Sign gas : NEON

67. Outback bird : EMU

68. They have many arms : OCTOPI

69. Trait transmitter : GENE

70. Hound : DOG

Down:

1. Clock radio toggle : AM/PM. Not AM/FM.

2. Evil end? : DOER

3. Dial on old TVs : VERT. Vertical Hold. I couldn't find an image of the control, but I did find the packaging for a spare.

4. Believer's suffix : -ISM

5. Congo River area denizen : CHIMP. Not worthy of the full "chimpanzee" today?

6. Spring festival : EASTER

7. Center opening : EPI-

8. "Hold on!" : WHOA!

9. Flying statistic : WINGSPAN

10. Afternoon refresher : CATNAP

12. Including everything : A TO Z. The London street atlas was the A-Z. Everyone had an A-to-Zed before Google Maps made it all a little, sadly, obsolete.

13. Difference in a close race : NOSE

18. Oater settings : SALOONS

23. Iberian coastal city : OPORTO. From whence "port" wine.

24. Retiring : SHY

28. Like ballerinas : LITHE

32. Cold mold : ASPIC

35. New England's only National Park : ACADIA. OK, now I know.

37. Traditional Jerusalem site of the Last Supper : CENACLE. New to me. It doesn't look like it's ever been used in the LAT crossword before (nor the NYT), so I imagine it might be new to a few of us.

41. Not close at all : ONE-SIDED

46. Bookie's spread units: Abbr. : PTS. Points. The points spread in gambling to even out the betting on the favorite and the underdog.

48. Suave : URBANE

50. Michigan State's Sparty, e.g. : MASCOT. Imagination at work in the mascot-naming stakes. Not.

54. How a couple might go for dinner? : DUTCH. 

55. Squealed : SANG

56. Olympian's blade : ÉPÉE

57. Prom rental : LIMO

59. "It's next on my list" : SOON

60. East-west Mass. artery : TNPK

61. Penultimate Greek letters : PSIS. Right before Omegas. I suppose.

64. Decorator's suggestion : RUG

65. Call-day link : IT A

And .. I'm calling it a day with this one. My Tequila Sunrise awaits! If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a happy and safe one!

Steve

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 Lonnie Burton & Nadine Anderton

Theme:: CLAMS UP  (24. Figuratively, stops talking ... or, literally, what are hidden in this puzzle's four longest answers)  - CLAM goes up in these four entries.

3D. Bell-shaped graphic : NORMAL CURVE. I did not know there's a term for this shape.

8D. Treat in a box with a circus wagon design : ANIMAL CRACKER. Like this? I never had Animal Crackers.

17D. District attorney's filing : FORMAL CHARGES

 

26D. Dissatisfied sorts : MALCONTENTS. You can be sure that constructors tried but could not find one more entry where MALC span across two words like the other three.

C.C. here. 

The blog record shows that this is the second puzzle we got from Lonnie Burton & Nadine Anderton. Their last puzzle had an anagram gimmick.

For this type of Up/Down theme, all the theme entries are placed in Down slots for visual effect. Construction-wise, it's no easier or harder than our normal puzzle. Same.

Across:

1. Temporary shelter : TENT

5. Boeing product : JET

8. Blue hue : AZURE. Rather a scrabbly top edge.

13. Decor finish? : ATOR. Drecorator.

14. Mediocre : SO SO. I noticed this morning that Blogger changed the link color in the Comments section. I much prefer the previous solid blue. You can't see, but our internal Draft title color and label color are changed also. The label is now gray. Hard to read. Sigh! Read the last comment for our Bad Request glitch. I reported the issue on Nov 2. Hard to believe it takes Google engineers so long to solve a problem, but the bland/double post glitch we face when we write the blog have been going on for months. The font size bug remains unsolved. So be tolerant when you see a typo in our write-ups, as every post is produced with efforts.

15. Stuffy-sounding : NASAL

16. Comparatively frugal : THRIFTIER

18. Apple products : IPODs. Trimmed down my Podcasts to 15.

19. Prepares to sail, maybe : UNMOORS. Spell check does not like this word.

20. Common fall hiree : TEMP

22. Extinct emu-like bird : MOA

23. Campus military org. : ROTC. Not such org in our campus. We did have Youth League. Its members were groomed to be Communist Party members.

25. Member of the flock : LAYMAN

29. Word with light or shade : LAMP

31. Idle : LOLL

33. Tavern offering : ALE

34. For example : SUCH AS

36. Baldwin of "Beetlejuice" : ALEC. I really liked the SNL debates.

37. Go beyond fudging : LIE

38. Same old same old : USUAL

39. Tussaud's title: Abbr. : MME. Never been to a Madame Tussauds. You?

40. Tried to outrun : RACED

42. Poetic contraction : E'ER

43. NFL sportscaster Collinsworth : CRIS. The guy on left. "Do you believe in miracles?"

45. Sticks for drum majors : BATONs

46. Mo. or Miss. : RIV. I had RI?, just could not believe the answer.

47. Rwanda native : HUTU

48. Desktop graphic : ICON

49. "Word Freak" author Fatsis : STEFAN. Forgot. We had him before.

51. President between Tyler and Taylor : POLK

53. To boot : TOO

56. More than annoys : IRES. Wish it were IRKS. 

58. Name of 14 popes : CLEMENT

60. Mimicry : APING. I tried APERY first.

63. Sign, as a contract : ENTER INTO

65. Actress Zellweger : RENEE

66. Looked at : EYED

67. Store in a hold : STOW

68. Finishing nails : BRADS

69. Poll fig. : PCT (Percent)

70. "Around the Horn" channel : ESPN. We just had AROUND THE HORN last Saturday.

 

 Down:

1. Jazz pianist Art : TATUM

2. Prefix with musicology : ETHNO. Wiki says "Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it". A mouthful.

 

4. Charlie's Angels, e.g. : TRIO. And 52. 4-Down plus five : OCTET

5. Support beam : JOIST

6. L.A.-to-Tucson dir. : ESE

7. Legal wrong : TORT. Also 34. Plaintiffs : SUERS

9. Speedy : ZAPPY. I've only used ZIPPY. Not ZAPPY. 

10. "Force Behind the Forces" tour gp. : USO

11. "Totally cool, dude!" : RAD

12. Raised railroads : ELs

14. Barbershop bands? : STROPS. Nice clue.

21. Couture magazine : ELLE. Elle China used to be my guilty read.

27. Not of this world : ALIEN

28. Prerequisites : NEEDS

30. "Caught you!" : AHA

32. Spanish cheer : OLE

35. Start of a fitness motto : USE IT. We also have A TO (41. Words on Volume One, maybe)  & IN A (62. __ nutshell). Normally partials are limited to 2 for a 15*15.

39. Cambridge univ. : MIT

44. Mystic character : RUNE

45. Handed the check, say : BILLED

50. Cited, in a way : FINED

54. In first place : ON TOP

55. "All or Nothing" boy band : O-TOWN. Unfamiliar to me.

57. Leak slowly : SEEP

59. __-en-scène: stage setting : MISE

60. Wall St. trader : ARB (Arbitrager)

61. Pricing word : PER

64. Home of LGA and JFK : NYC

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Thanks for hanging out here every day. I enjoy your daily puzzle comments, musings, limericks, quotes, silly picture links, recipes,  advice & banters.

I want to say "Thank you" to Rich, Patti, their test solvers, fact checker, all LAT constructors. Thank you for another year of entertainment and education.

Also big "Thank you" to my blogging team: dear Santa Argyle, Melissa, Gary, Ron, Steve, Lemonade & Splynter. Week after week, year after year, their commitment and dedication remain unchanged.  They blog when they're traveling. They blog when they're under the weather. They blog when the blog is glitchy. They give each puzzle its deserved attention and analysis. Total pros!

D-Otto does not blog regularly, but he's always there for me and this blog. Always gives me quick and reliable feedback. TTP is another behind the scenes hero, who saved us out of the Google Hell a few years ago and continues to help me with every Blogger glitch.

My thanks also goes to Agnes (Irish Miss) and all my puzzle collaborators, thanks for the trust and opportunities!

I'm so grateful that you're in my life.