Sunday, Feb 12, 2017 Ed Sessa

Theme: "First Things First" - The first word can follow "First".

 

23A. Trust builder? : ESTATE PLANNER. First estate. The clergy.

31A. Result of losing two points, perhaps : LOVE- THIRTY. Unfamiliar to me. Common Tennis term?  First love.

52A. Concern for gardeners : FROST WARNING. First frost. No change of meaning on "frost" here.

75A. Wriggler on a hook : NIGHT CRAWLER. First night.

92A. Teacher's bane, at times : CLASS CLOWN. First class.

104A. Mozart's "The Hunt," for one : STRING QUARTET. First string.

37D. Any one of the NFL's top 25 career scoring leaders : PLACE KICKER. First place.

 

40D. They're spoken in anger : CHOICE WORDS. First choice.

I don't recall seeing a word that can precede/follow type from Mr. Ed. First for me.

Ed Sessa, Xword Info

Ed is one of those few constructors who are experts at building both themed and themeless puzzles. This Sunday puzzle showcases his skills nicely. Lots of sparkly long fill in this 140-worder with 8 themers.

Across:

1. Unflappability : APLOMB.. Fantastic start.

7. Responds to an alarm : AWAKES

13. Bliss : ECSTASY. Love this word as well.

20. Counterman? : GEIGER. Gimme for veteran solvers. Geiger counter,

21. On deck : UP NEXT

22. "Raging Bull" fighter : LAMOTTA (Jake). We also have 38. Descendant of the English Bulldog : BOXER

25. Clink : SLAMMER . 24. See 25-Across : PEN

26. Sent messages, before faxes and email : TELEXED. What's the first time you had internet access? 1999 for me.

27. Bit of body art : TAT. "Bit" indicates an abbreviated answer.

29. Julia of "Legends of the Fall" : ORMOND. First encounter with this actress.

30. Meat cut : LOIN

35. Convey : IMPART

39. Son of Donald : ERIC

40. Shares an email with : CCs

43. Pigeon hangouts : SILLS. Not COTES/COOPS.

44. Voice of TV's Fat Albert : COSBY. Not a welcome name.

45. Get online shopping help, say : HAVE A CHAT. Had an interesting experience with a company based in China last year. Asian sizes tend to be smaller, hence the online chat.

47. Sports org. with three major divisions : NCAA. Division I, II and III.

48. Student of Socrates : PLATO

49. Hired car : TAXI

50. TV exec Arledge : ROONE

51. Tolkien monster : ORC

55. Protest gone bad : RIOT. Still sad about the 1989 protest/riot.

56. Piggy : TOE

57. Gambling game : LOTTO

58. Veers : ZAGs

59. Pound units : OUNCES

61. Urban of country : KEITH. Happy couple.

63. Rooting area : STY. Great clue.

64. Shot with English : MASSE. Give it some English (spin),

65. Reach by schooner, say : SAIL TO

67. Canal through Oneida Lake : ERIE

69. Half of a record : B SIDE

71. Trap that's spun : WEB

74. Gremlins, e.g. : AMCs

 

78. __-Wan Kenobi : OBI

79. Some price changes : HIKES. Minnesota is giving a 25% relief on the health insurance hikes last year, D-Otto!

81. Whoop-de-__: lively parties : DOOs

82. WWII issue : E BOND

83. Suffix with Jumbo : TRON

84. Glacial expanses : ICE SHEETS

86. Night noise : SNORE

87. Edge along : SIDLE

88. Happy hour sponsor : BAR

89. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI. I confused this range with Altai. That Wiki articled mentioned Chinese mountain range Tian Shan, meaning "Mountain of Heaven". Tian = Heaven. Shan = Mountain.

90. Refrigerant trade name : FREON

91. Troubles : NAGS AT

 

94. Celebrity : FAME

95. Like Jack and Jill, ultimately : FALLEN

98. __ lepton: physics particle : TAU. Stranger to me. We also have 68. P-like letters : RHOs

99. Fiber source : OAT BRAN. Never had it or any bran. I have a question, Steve. In this Jamie Oliver clip, did he use our old-fashioned rolled oats? Judging by the time, they seem to be steel-cut oats in sliced pieces.

102. The littlest bit : ONE IOTA

109. Verify : CONFIRM

110. Colored tee, perhaps : TIE DYE

111. Bawled (out) : REAMED

112. Aflutter : IN A FLAP. Got via crosses.

113. Hill group : SENATE

114. Border maintainers : EDGERS. Not GUARDS.

 Down:

1. Time of one's life : AGE

2. Fruit fly or gnat : PEST

3. Loser's ad word : LITE

4. Nebraska city named for a Native American tribe : OGALLALA. I just noticed the Sioux tribe name is spelled Oglala. Always thought it's Ogalala.

5. Streakers in showers : METEORS. Smiled at this clue.

6. Withdrawal in 2016 headlines : BREXIT. Great fill/clue as well.

7. "Should __ acquaintance ... " : AULD

8. FDR program : WPA. Always need crossing help.

9. Gothic novelist Radcliffe : ANN

10. Understanding : KEN. Beyond my ken/understanding.

11. Oxford college : EXETER

12. Classic Fender guitar, briefly : STRAT. Gimme for Bill G/Splynter.

13. Golfing countryman of Player : ELS. Gary Player was in our 3M tournament last year. Quiet.

14. Unit of heat : CALORIE

15. Diminutive two-seater : SMART CAR

16. "Pinball Wizard" opera : TOMMY. Drew a blank.

17. Spherical opening? : ATMO

18. WWII British firearm : STEN

19. Spot to spot Spot : YARD. The art of cluing, Irish Miss!

28. WWII alliance : THE AXIS

31. Was beaten by : LOST TO

32. U-shaped river bend : OXBOW

33. "Oy __!" : VEY

34. Monte of Cooperstown : IRVIN. Old timer. I don't think we have any of his original cards.

35. Schoolyard argument : IS NOT

36. Itsy-bitsy : MICRO

38. Bit of braggadocio : BOAST. Poor Boomer lost all his matches to a 80-year-old on Friday night. He always tries hard though, but the nerve pain sometimes is unrelenting.

41. Transport for Chingachgook : CANOE. Got via crosses. "The Last of the Mohicans". 

42. Editors' marks : STETS

44. Quilter's need : CLOTH

45. Dangle : HANG

46. Pedal problems : CORNS. I sure was not thinking of "foot".

48. Subatomic particle : PROTON

49. Serving convenience : TRAY

52. Flutter by like a butterfly : FLIT

53. Templo Mayor builder : AZTEC

54. Driven to act : GOADED

60. Tablet buyer, usually : USER. And 94. 60-Down's info source : FAQ

62. "It's nobody __ business" : ELSE'S

63. Poses : SITS

64. Pooh creator : MILNE

65. Ahmedabad address : SAHIB. Wiki says that "In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as the best city to live in in India".

66. Livorno lady friend : AMICA. vs. Amico.

67. Hard one to work with : EGOTIST

69. Thick-furred primate : BABOON

70. Like court testimony : SWORN

72. Virus first identified in Zaire : EBOLA

73. IQ test pioneer : BINET (Alfred). Learned from doing crosswords.

76. Thoughts : IDEAS

77. Extend one's Self? : RENEW. Self magazine.

80. Petroleum produced from rock fragments : SHALE OIL

83. Jazz standard that became an LSU fight song : TIGER RAG. Guessable. LSU Tigers.

85. Hyundai compact : ELANTRA. Word without meaning.

86. "No seats" letters : SRO

87. Performed a ballroom dance : SAMBAED

90. 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug : FLUTIE

91. The great outdoors : NATURE. Getting warmer here. So happy to walk outdoors again.

92. Site of an ascent : CLIFF

93. Playbill listings : CASTS

95. Central points : FOCI

96. In short order, in verse : ANON

97. Dunham of "Girls" : LENA

99. Ornate arch : OGEE

100. My way : AT ME. Can you give me an example of how the clue matches the answer?

101. __-do-well : NE'ER

103. Band accessory : AMP

105. Neurotic toon pooch : REN. Ren & Stimpy,

106. Potato source: Abbr. : IDA (Idaho)

107. Paper read on the LIRR, perhaps : NYT

108. Cardinal points, briefly? : TDs. Arizona Cardinals.

Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, a die-hard Red Sox fan. Linda still reads our blog faithfully, but health has prevents her from posting daily. Your presence is very much missed here, Linda!

C.C.

Saturday, Feb 11th, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

   First things first - I wanted to say thank you for all the Birthday comments on Thursday - I had the time to review them because I was buried under 8" of snow - I always get snow on my Birthday~! And I have an answer to a question from one of the comments at 5d today.  Anyway, on to today's puzzle - another from our gracious host, C.C., and for the second week in a row, a pretty easy one for me.  I did not get my "ta-DA~!" because of one crossing, but I found it without having to cheat.  Odd looking grid with two black corners, leaving us with triple 10s in the Across, and almost triple 9s in the Down;

 1. Bar line : "WHAT'S ON TAP~?" - because "What's your sign~?" didn't fit

12. Poker telecast equipment : POCKET CAM - none of these at our table 

32. They're high on the Scoville scale : HABANEROS - nailed it.  The pungency 'hotness' scale of chilis

63. "That'll never work!" : "ROTTEN IDEA~!"

oh, it'll work alright....

lONleyWARD~

ACROSS:

11. They're sometimes black : OPerationS

14. Question at an alumni gathering : "REMEMBER ME~?"

15. Word with leg or elbow : ROOM - planes and trains

17. "Looking at all sides ... " : "IN FAIRNESS..."

18. Real estate unit : ACRE

19. Tijuana addr. : SRA

20. Nada : Nogales :: __ : Reims : RIEN - some alliteration, too

21. Phone user : TALKER - oops, not CALLer

23. County in Ulster : TYRONE

in the middle of the yellow

25. Some broken pegs, or where they're found : TEES - clever; I had no clue to start with

27. Multi-purpose shortening : ETC.

28. Cooler tenant : CON - cooler as in jail, the clink, ETC. - although ICE was a good thought; straight clecho with 31. Cooler tenant : THIEF

29. Crew tools : OARS - got it

30. 4-Down in France : THE - circumreferential with; 4. 30-Across in America : TEA

34. Pot addition : ANTE - two weeks in a row I'm in the black at the poker table~! I pulled four 6's in one hand - and nothing wild

35. Patriot target : SCUD

36. Went berserk : HAD A FIT - oops, I filled in HAD AT IT

38. Sushi bar appetizer : EDAMAME

40. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON

41. "__ Yankees" : DAMN - such language~!

43. Feet in a meter? : IAMBS - I tried BEATS

44. Title of respect, in Tokyo : SAN - ah, yes, Daniel-san

45. Bug zappers? : SERA - the stomach and flu kind of bugs

46. Ed. basics : RRR - the three "R"s; reading, (w)riting, 'rithmetic

47. "Major Crimes" network : TNT

48. Green Smoke product : eCIG - I think I'll get one with the money from my B-day; the new car stinks of cigar with the windows closed in the winter

49. Misbehaves : ACTS UP

53. Take back : RECALL - here's my mistake; I had recaNT, which messed up my SW

55. Mark for good : ETCH

57. Old televangelism letters : PTL

58. Second-largest Middle East country : IRAN - behind Saudi Arabia, but I was surprised to see Yemen at #3 - I guess Turkey is not considered part of the area

59. Wipe out : ANNIHILATE

62. Scrapple ingredient : PORK

64. Waves home : SEA - and another pure clecho with; 24. Waves home : OCEAN

65. Cell notice : EMAIL ALERT - my first thought, but I hesitated

DOWN:

1. Slap spot : WRIST

2. Edsel's father : HENRY - Ford Motor Company men

3. "Making AIDS History" org. : amfAR - american foundation for AIDS Research

5. Brand in many a Moscow mule : SMIRNOFF - I got it, but I didn't know why - turns out, it's a drink
Hey - Wilber Charles, that's "Sloth", from Bill W., St 6, 12 & 12~!

6. "The Barefoot Contessa" Oscar winner Edmond : O'BRIEN

7. Island goose : NENE - official bird of the state of Hawaii

8. 1776 battleground : TRENTON - got it from half perps

9. Morning hrs. : AMs - my AM yesterday was not a good one - my 'private' road did not get plowed, and I could not get to UPS. 

10. Bugged : PESTERED

11. Like some wills : ORAL

16. Car in a King title : MERCEDES - Ah, this book, from Stephen King.  I thought it was a reference to "Lord Won't You Buy Me", but that's Joplin

22. Biblical beast : ASS

26. All gone : EATEN

31. Busy Las Vegas area : THE STRIP

33. "Whatever" : "I DON'T CARE."

34. Arcade giant : ATARI - I had two memorable Birthdays - the first one being back in Fifth Grade, when I had just two friends come over - but it snowed as bad that night as it did this year; thought it was canceled, but the moms brought them over in the storm, and we played Atari 2600 all.  night.  long.

35. Sting : SMART

37. "Well, well!" : "I DECLARE~!"

39. Carrier to Beijing : AIR CHINA - semi-shout out to our host~!

42. Fuchsia cousin : MAGENTA

45. Pommes frites seasoning : SEL - salt

46. Weisz of "The Constant Gardener" : RACHEL - I liked her in "Constantine"

50. Soil mover : SPADE

51. Absolute : UTTER

52. Kilt fold : PLEAT

54. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA

56. Arboreal Amazon monkey : TITI

This is what I did on my Birthday

60. Georges, par exemple : NOM - Frawnche, name

61. Tiny, in a tiny way : LI'L

Splynter

Friday, February 10, 2017, Alex Eaton-Salners

Title: What Shakespeare really meant

Today we have our third LAT puzzle from Alex who had his debut here in NOVEMBER and this month he had his NYT debut (2-2-17) and WSJ (2-4-17). I have read his constructor notes for the NYT, LINK, but he gave no personal information. He did show an incredible amount of work and attention to his creative process. My research suggests he is an attorney in California working as in house counsel specializing in intellectual property. I guess words are his business and his pleasure.

For someone new to creating puzzles, he includes lots of fresh fill such as HALOGEN,  OCARINA, MAGELLAN,  EQUALING, SHOT CLOCK,  BERING SEA, NEAT AS A PIN and ATTENDANCE

The theme is deceptively straight forward as the clue continuity of each being a play by Shakespeare leaves the solver only needing to find a literal definition of the title.

18A. "As You Like It"? : ACCORDING TO TASTE (15). Or as Splynter would say, "chacun à son goût."

28A. "Hamlet"? : SMALL VILLAGE (12). I think of the Pied Piper.

47A. "Twelfth Night"? : JANUARY FIFTH (12). This is outlier, as this play deals with January 5 frivolity and the other fill has nothing to do with the play..

60A. "A Midsummer Night's Dream"? : AIR COOLING SYSTEM (15).This was the hardest for me but the perps got me in the right direction.


Across:

1. New : FRESH. A nice way to begin, making us all happy.

6. Word on a movie ticket : ADMIT.

11. Great white cousin : MAKO. You need to be up on your SHARKS.

15. Like a gymnast : LITHE. Hard to find anything that is not inappropriate.

16. In perfect order : NEAT AS A PIN. An old timey phrase.

20. Thai currency : BAHT. Married to a Thai woman. this is a complete gimme. They are currently about 35 to a dollar.

21. "Night" author Wiesel : ELIE. A survivor and a man to admire. LINK. He died last year.

22. Summertime treats : ICEES.

23. Berkeley sch. : CAL. An abbreviation clue begets an abbreviation fill. I beleive this is Alex's Law School Alma Mater..

25. Moby-Dick, e.g. : ALBINO. The white whale! Sharks and whales-cool.

32. Bing provider : MSN. Part of the Microsoft family.

35. Fluorine or chlorine : HALOGEN. The dictionary tells us any of the elements fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine, occupying group VIIA (17) of the periodic table.

36. Santa __ : ANA.

37. State tie of New Mexico : BOLO.

38. Name on the cover of "Fear of Flying" : ERICA.  The BOOK. It is the Fifty Shades of Gray of my generation.

39. __ shui : FENG. Also popularized in he 70s.

41. Fix, as a road : RE-TAR.

42. Bill : BEAK. Bird.

43. Web help source : FAQ.

44. Simple wind : OCARINA.



46. Animal in some fables : ASS.

49. What a round increases : BAR TAB. Fun clue, very Friday.

50. Vied (for) : RAN.

51. Diarist Nin : ANAIS. Her name assures her crossword immortality.

54. Island festivity : LUAU.

56. Great Sphinx site : GIZA.

64. It's taken in schools : ATTENDANCE. More good clue/fill.

65. Take care of : SEE TO. It always reminds me of Jean Luc.

66. Go slowly : SEEP.

67. Some expirations : SIGHS. A $20.00 word as the clue.

68. High priests : LAMAS.


Down:

1. Lipo target : FLAB.

2. Costa __ : RICA.

3. Drawing toy in "Toy Story" : ETCH.

4. One keeping track of court proceedings? : SHOT CLOCK. Excellent deception, I was listening to a basketball game on the TV in the other room, otherwise this might have been too hard.

5. 2013 Spike Jonze movie : HER. I enjoyed the film. And the parody:

6. Deep blue : ANIL.

7. Stage of grief : DENIAL.

8. Explorer who named the Pacific Ocean : MAGELLAN. Read all about it. LINK.

9. Tech sch. that filed for bankruptcy in 2016 : ITT. ITT Technical Institute was a for-profit technical institute with approximately 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States. All ITT Tech campuses were closed as of September 6, 2016, and on September 16, 2016, ITT Tech filed for bankruptcy. Wikipedia. Is there more to the STORY?

10. Eastern way : TAO. Last week Yao.

11. Collision repair franchise : MAACO.

12. Alcove near the chancel : APSE.

13. Tool in a legendary electricity experiment : KITE. An interesting Ben Franklin reference.

14. Singles : ONES.

17. "Goosebumps" series author : STINE. R.L., he had a cameo in the movie.

19. Dig : DELVE.

24. Simple marine plant : ALGA.

26. City on the Penobscot River : BANGOR. A CSO to Hahtoolah - our quotation queen.

27. Food chain letters : IGA. Very popular in rural Alabama and Georgia this was  founded in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance.

28. Biblical queendom : SHEBA. All perps and much confusion. .

29. Chincoteague females : MARES. My LEARNING moment.

30. Jennifer Garner spy series : ALIAS.

31. Swaddled one : INFANT.

32. Theme : MOTIF. Cool, next puzzle idea I have I will think of it as a motif.

33. Pitch : SLANT.

34. Singer Jones : NORAH.

37. Pribilof Islands locale : BERING SEA.

40. Totaling : EQUALING.

41. Tennis nickname : RAFA.  Nadal lost to Federer in the Australian final. It has been an awesome rivalry. LINK.

43. Remote : FAR.

45. Montana player : CYRUS. Hannah - Miley.  I get her as fill often.

47. Fleece finder : JASON.Well hello Alex- a full fledged major CSO!

48. Lots : A BUNCH.

49. __ curls : BICEP.

51. Some batteries : AAAS.

52. When to call, in ads : NITE. Really? NOW, now now!

53. Commedia dell'___ : ARTE.

55. A long time : AGES.

57. Newsworthy couple : ITEM.

58. Sixth in a series : ZETA.

59. Israeli author Oz : AMOS.

61. Takes too much, briefly : ODS.

62. "Love Story" composer Francis :LAI.  This COMPOSER.

63. Fashionable initials : YSL. We  leave on a fashion note. Please stop by and chat Alex and thank you for your work. YVES was an interesting man. YSL embraced his work even after being fired.

Alex also embraces the challenge of creating an intriguing crossword; hope you enjoyed the ride. Thanks Alex, and all who read.

Lemonade out.

Thursday February 9 2017 Alan DeLoriea

Theme: "He who hesitates is last" - Mae West

17A. War film with a cast of 60-Across? : APOCALYPSE LATER. Apocalypse Now. Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War release. And a perfect excuse for some dramatic background music from Richard Wagner.

28A. Newspaper with a staff of 60-Across? : USA TOMORROW. USA Today is missing one staff member, the crossword editor. Allegedly.

44A. 1969 hit song by a group of 60-Across? : NEXT MAGIC MOMENT. "This Magic Moment" passed me by unnoticed. Research tells me that the song was originally recorded in 1960 by Ben E. King and the Drifters, then Jay and the Americans took it to Number 6 in the Billboard Chart in 1969. There it has lain, untroubled by history, until today.

which leads us to

60A. Off-putting sorts? : PROCRASTINATORS. Great word. This has also sat, dusty and forgotten by crossword constructors since an appearance in the New York Times back in 1976. Welcome back!

Yay Thursday! Time for me to focus on the work I'm meant to get done this week. But first - there's a crossword to finish.

Welcome also to today's constructor Alan DeLoriea and an LAT debut. He also debuted in the NYT back in December, so a nice two-fer, considering how long it takes for a puzzle to actually appear in print. A quick Google reveals that he's one of the West Coasters among us, and he plays scrabble.

Three grid-spanners and one 10-letter theme entry means the grid has mirror symmetry, not the usual rotational, so that's a little different. "Now/Later", "Today/Tomorrow" are a solid couple of theme pairs. "This/Next" requires a little more thought and the addition of "week" or "month" etc. to fully come to life. There is quite a lot of three-letter fill, but there's some sparkly longer stuff to offset that.

Good effort!

Let's see what else catches the eye:

Across:

1. Subj. for a non-native speaker : ESL. English as a Second Language. Some native speakers could do with a refresher class, I swear.

4. __-top: Beatles' style : MOP

7. Much of "Star Wars" FX : CGI. Special Effects/Computer-Generated Imagery. I was blown away when I saw the first movie in the theater (or theatre?) back in England in 1978.

10. Clumsy type : OAF

13. __ Michele, 8-Down co-star : LEA. Good morning, cross-referenced clue. Thank you, eventually, perps.

14. "The Princess Diaries" princess : MIA

15. Tetris shape : ELL

16. Sporty truck, briefly : UTE. I can't help but think of "My Cousin Vinnie" and chuckle when I see this word.

21. "Rock and Roll All __": Kiss hit : NITE. Paul Stanley played my first guitar shortly after it was given to me as a present. Well, he picked it up, showed me an "E" chord and gave it back to me. My girlfriend at the time worked for the record label and he dropped by for drinks at a party we had just after New Year.

22. Reckon : 'SPOSE

23. Custardy dessert : FLAN Food! Flan is grande in Mexico.

24. Thrown for a loop : DAZED

26. Cool, once : HEP. Can't you still be a hep cat? I know you'd have to be wearing a zoot suit and playing sax, but still ..

27. Campus groups : FRATS

31. Dough for ramen? : YEN. Nicely done. Some of these: ¥ for a bowl of these:

 
Food! I've been learning some of Masaharu Morimoto's recipes recently, including making your own udon noodles for ramen.

32. Square __ : ONE

33. Traveler's aid : VEHICLE

37. "Hamlet, thou art slain" speaker : LAERTES. Act V, sc ii. There was so much jiggery-pokery going on in that scene (as well as Osric making a nuisance of himself) that it was difficult to keep track. I believe Queen Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and Hamlet (appropriately) shuffled off the mortal coil in that order. Rosencrantz, Guildernstern, Ophelia and Polonius had already beaten them to the Pearly Gates. Cracking stuff.

42. Political __ : ARENA

43. Big name in big tractors : DEERE

50. Write in code? : PROGRAM. Come on over and help me with my Linux shell scripting. Please.

51. Actress Ramirez of "Grey's Anatomy" : SARA. More crosses - thanks very much.

55. __ d'Alene : COEUR. Nailed it (finally)!

56. Mideast sultanate : OMAN

63. Pie choice : À LA MODE. It's always a sneaky task trying to parse this with a few missing letters. I'm always looking for a fruit or savory filling.

64. Like bread knives : SERRATE. I wanted SERRATED. I'm sure the usage is fine, but I would never describe a knife as "serrate" - I'd say "serrated", incorrectly as it turns out. Learning moment. Here are my knives - the serrate is third from the left next to the cleaver and the boning knife. The cleaver cost me $16 from an Asian restaurant supply store, weighs 2lbs and makes you feel like a bad-ass when you're chopping stuff with it.

65. Well-to-do : MONEYED

66. Unpredictable : ERRATIC

Down:

1. Twisty-horned antelope : ELAND. Twisty robber-baron and founder of Stanford? LELAND

2. Photo app effect : SEPIA

3. Founder of Taoism : LAOTZU. My last fill was the "A" as LEA was unknown. I just couldn't pull the correct spelling out of my memory banks. LAO looked better than LEO so that's what I went for.

4. Sport for Ronda Rousey, for short : MMA. Mixed Martial Arts. Her reputation's taken a bit of a beating(!) after the last couple of fights. I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of her though.

5. Aromatherapy array : OILS

6. Outmoded public convenience : PAYPHONE. It's amazing how quickly these things have disappeared. I'm not sure I'd be able to remember how to use one.

7. Center of moral corruption : CESSPOOL

8. TV show with mashups : GLEE. Never seen the show. The mashups are well known though. Check out YouTube.

9. Down with something : ILL. My first thought went with the modern parlance "in favor of" then I talked sense into myself.

10. Wanted one : OUTLAW

11. Bothered a lot : ATE AT

12. Fronded plants : FERNS

18. Mediocre marks : CEES. I'm not a big fan of these "grade" fills, especially when pluralized. I'd have tried to find something else.

19. Sonnet, e.g. : POEM

20. Do maintained with a pick : AFRO. Strictly speaking, shouldn't it be 'Do?

25. Kids' summer activity : DAY CAMP

27. "Another word for nothin' left to lose," in a Joplin hit : FREEDOM. "Me and Bobby McGee" and a classic. She never sang it at Woodstock, contrary to what a lot of people think. She only recorded it a few days before she sadly passed away.

29. __ Aviv : TEL

30. Genetic messenger molecule : RNA

33. The Scooby gang's Mystery Machine, e.g. : VAN. All together now: "Mr. Jenks!!!" "And I'd 'a gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you darned kids!"

34. Ode preposition : 'ERE. As the cockney Grecian Vase thief said to his accomplice "'ere, 'ode on to this while I go back fer the uvver one".

35. Spell : HEX

36. QB's mishap : INT. I still can't get over Sunday's "Big Game".

38. Dream state letters : R.E.M. Rapid Eye Movements; not dreaming about Michael Stipe.

39. Technical foul signal, in basketball : TEE. "Tee him up Ref!"

40. West ender? : -ERN

41. Place : SET. So wait, a place setting is a place placing? Or a setting setting? English is a great language.

45. Centipede home? : ARCADE. Atari video game from the '80s.

46. Stimulated : GOOSED

47. "Oh, now __ it!" : I GET

48. All-in-one vacation : CRUISE

49. Eliot's weaver : MARNER. Silas. I'm not sure the book would go over too well if it was written and published today.

51. Canned meat used in Hawaiian cuisine : SPAM. Food! I love Spam musubis. My Japanese "Auntie" Satchi makes them at Christmas.

52. "The Good Dinosaur" dinosaur : ARLO. Crosses. Mr. Guthrie gets a rest today.

53. Reddish horse : ROAN

54. Source of cartoon explosives : ACME. Made me laugh. Wile. E. Coyote was a good customer of theirs.

56. Other, south of the border : OTRA. Down Mexico Way. Canadian Eh! might argue this one.

57. Castle defense : MOAT

58. Basic class with easels : ART I. Funny, after my question regarding LATIN I last week, now we see another "I". I always thought it was "101", but then again I never went to school here.

59. Tiny time pd. : N-SEC. A nanosecond. Tiny indeed. 1 nanosecond:1 second:31.71 years.

61. Siegfried collaborator : ROY. Their performance days were pretty much over when Roy was bitten by one of the tigers and almost died.

62. PDX info: Abbr. : ARR. Arrivals into Portland International Airport. The terminal is famous for the carpet design; the original was replaced in 2015; swatches of the original carpet being sold off to the public. The last time I was in PDX I was changing planes on my way home from Seattle to LA in a torrential rainstorm in a little turbo-prop puddle-jumper. We deplaned outside the terminal, I dripped a lot onto the new carpet when I finally got inside. Here's the old (left) and new side-by-side:

And with a carpet swatch, I think that wraps up this one! Heeeere's the grid!

Steve

(I just noticed that if you blur your eyes, the grid looks like a Teddy Bear with a "Sting" 80's spiked haircut. And I promise I've not been smoking anything.)

Notes from C.C.:

1) Steve, grids with left/right symmetry tend to have funny looks. Re rice balls, did we miss an important event in your life?

2) Happy Birthday to dear Splynter (Richard), who turns 46 years old today. Splynter started blogging for us since March 2011 and only missed one Saturday when he was sick. He's this dedicated to our blog and readers. We're so lucky.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 Peg Slay

Theme: Commercial Opportunity.  The two-word theme entries have no surface connection, being mere vehicles to hold the letters of the concept theme entries.  These letters are circled, and if you didn't get the circles, the theme might be tough to suss.  There is a unifier though, so let's start with that.

33. Program interruptions literally demonstrated by this puzzle's four sets of circles : STATION BREAKS.  This is a pause between broadcast programs, when a transmitting station can identify itself and slip in a few commercials.   As we will see, each theme entry holds a type of station, spelt with its first and last few letters.  Thus the STATION is BROKEN within the entry.

17 A. World-class : FIRST RATE.  Something world class or FIRST RATE is as good as it gets. And our first break gives us a FIRE station - a place where the FIRE fighters reside between calls, and keep their vehicles and equipment.

In Dallas

23 A. Mantilla material : SPANISH LACE.   A Mantilla is a lace or silk lady's scarf worn over the head and shoulders.

The Mantilla Company

A SPACE STATION is an artificial satellite used as a base for off-planet activities.

49 A. It may be shaped on a wheel : POTTER'S CLAY.  An iron-free earthy material, consisting mainly of hydrated aluminum silicates that is plastic when wet, but hard when fired, used to make pottery and decorate ceramics.

The PLAY STATION is a video game console developed by Sony.

55 A. Sacred lily of ancient Egypt : BLUE LOTUS.   This is a water lily containing the psychoactive alkaloid apomorphine.   It was important in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology.

Wikipedia

A BUS STATION is a terminal building where long-distance buses arrive and depart.

Hi Gang - Jazzbumpa STATIONED here to guide you through today's puzzlement.  We have four quite different types of STATION, split out for our edification and enjoyment.  Let's see what else there is.

Across

1. Blowout victory : ROMP.  A game where one team scores a lot, and the other not so much.  I was hoping for one the other day; but, alas, 'twas not to be.

5. Airline mentioned in the first line of the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." : British Overseas Airways Corporation.  Here's Paul.



9. Taj Mahal city : AGRA.

13. Old Renault : LE CAR.   The U. S. marketed version of the Renault 5, sold here from 1976-83.

14. Cold, in Cádiz : FRIO.  Spanish.

15. Mark as important : FLAG.  Not the first definition you'd think of, but valid.

16. Like most triangle angles : ACUTE.  An angle of less than 90 degrees.  An angle of exactly 90 degrees is a right angle.  At greater than 90 degrees,  it is obtuse, rather like Mr. Armstrong, below.

Cute!

19. Glass manufacturing dioxide : SILICA.   This is what is commonly known as sand.  Common window glass also contains oxides of sodium and Calcium, together comprising about 25% of the batch.  Though both are ceramics, this material is quite different from POTTER'S CLAY.  It is also different from Mrs. TESH. [Vide infra.]

Sellecca

21. Bk. read at Purim : ESTHer.   A festival held to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews.

22. Sports doc's scan : Magnetic Resonance Image.

25. Univ. dorm overseers : RAs.  Resident Advisors.

26. "__ the fields we go ... " : O'ER.  To Grandmother's house.

27. Codebreaking org. : National Security Agency.

28. Dream up : CONCOCT.  Create, devise, fabricate.

30. One inch = one foot, e.g. : SCALE.  As in maps or modeling.

32. Seals, as a deal : ICES.  To secure the deal.  I guess because ice was fluid, but is now solidified.

38. Not quite place : SHOW.  In horse racing - win, place, and SHOW are betting protocols.  the terms refer to the first, second, and third place finishers, respectively. 

39. California's San __ Zoo : DIEGO.

40. Rubs elbows (with) : HOB-NOBS.

44. Kids' recess game : TAG.

45. Time of yr. for new growth : SPRing.

48. She raised Cain : EVE.   Not very well, though, in the original dysfunctional family, since he grew up to be a fratricide.

52. Legal thing : RES.   From Latin.

53. Thickening agent : AGAR.  A gelatinous polysaccharide substance obtained from red algae.

54. African desert : SAHARA.  Lots of SILICA there.

58. Allow to pass : LET IN.

59. Architect Saarinen : EERO.  From Finland, known for his neofuturistic designs.

60. Composer who was a CBS reporter : TESH.  John [b 1952] Former sportscaster, now a composer, performer, and radio and TV personality.

61. Bay and gray followers : AREAS.  Referring first to the region around San Fransisco Bay, and then to something less certain.

62. Uno y dos : TRES.  1 + 2 = 3, En Español.

63. Concerning : AS TO.  Regarding.

64. Spoon's escape partner : DISH.  From the same nursery rhyme as the musical feline, the out-of-this-world acrobatic bovine and the cackling canine.

Down

1. Means to an end : RECIPE.  Odd way to think of it, but a recipe is something designed to achieve a certain outcome, so OK.

2. Pertaining to the eye : OCULAR.  From Latin.

3. Marseille morning : MATIN.  Hence, a morning prayer service is called Matins, though not likely to be offered to EOS, these days. [Vide infra.]

4. Police unit : PRECINCT.  A section of the city, as defined for police purposes.

5. Fave texting bud : BFF.  Best Friend Forever.

6. Projecting window : ORIEL.  Bay and bow windows are common types.  Perhaps useful for viewing orioles.

7. Respiratory cavity : AIRSAC.  Per this definition, an alveolus.  Birds have several other AIR SACS in their bodies.

8. Bulk-purchase club : COSTCO.  If you see something you like there, buy it now.  Next week, it may be gone forever.  BTW, their pumpkin pies are awesome.

9. Kilimanjaro's cont. : AFRica.

10. Genre that influenced Prince : GLAM ROCK.  Pop music style from the U.K. in the 70's featuring outrageous costumes, make up,  hair styles and glitter.

11. Hectic lifestyles : RAT RACES.

12. Biased targets of the Gray Panthers : AGEISTS.  Age discriminators.

13. Rodeo need : LASSO.  Loop on a rope.

18. In that case : THEN.  Indicates what follows.

20. Extremely, musically : ASSAI.  Accompanies and intensifies a tempo marking.

24. Angelic ring : HALO.  It's like a sunburst behind the head.

29. "Later!" : CIAO.  Informal exclamation at meeting or departure, coming via Italian schiavo [I am your slave] and relating back to the Latin word for slave, sclavus.

30. Like logs : SAWN.  Having been cut with a saw.

31. Bitter __ : END.  A nautical term, referring to the end of a rope to which an anchor is attached.  If that is reached, then the water is too deep for anchorage.

33. Snow remover : SHOVELER.  The person, not the tool.

34. Without a doubt : TO BE SURE.  Of a certainty.

35. Tasting menu portion : BITE.  A nibble.

36. Brings up : REARS.  Refers to nurturing a child until full grown.  Other senses of the word indicate cultivating plants, raising animals, rising to great heights, or - of a quadruped - raising up on its hind legs.

37. Sandwich filling for a lacto-ovo vegetarian : EGG SALAD.  Unlike vegans, they will consume eggs and dairy.

38. Frozen dessert : SHERBET.  A fruity frozen confection, and a sure bet to please.

41. Play-of-color gem : OPAL.

42. South American capital : BOGOTA.

43. Australian sextet : STATES.  I was thinking of kangaroos, opals, Vegemite, platypuses, The Great Barrier Reef and Crocodile Dundee, but could not find a way to express all that in 6 letters. So, instead, we have Western Australia, Northern Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Wikipedia

45. Lists of nominees : SLATES.

46. Persona non grata : PARIAH. Any social outcast, originally, the lowest caste in southern India.

47. "__ Hope": '70s-'80s soap : RYAN'S.  The Irish immigrant Ryan family owned a bar in New York city, and had several upwardly-mobile adult children.  This is already more than I knew about it. 

50. Have faith : TRUST.

51. French darling : CHERI.   No matter how you spell it.

56. Dawn goddess : EOS.  Perhaps one of the most ancient deities in human history.

Rise and shine

57. HBO competitor : SHO.  Showtime - premium cable channels.

Well, that's the end of this show.  Hope it didn't BREAK you.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, February 7 2017, Gerry Wildenberg


Theme: Big Deal. Two word phrases beginning with the letters B and D.

17. Zero or one : BINARY DIGIT. Bit is short for binary digit, the smallest unit of data in a computer. As Alan Watts said, “is you is, or is you ain’t?”


52. July 14, in France : BASTILLE DAY. French National Day formally called la Fête Nationale, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution. Dickens writes about it in his masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities. 

11. Thirteen : BAKER'S DOZEN. Why?


25. Performer who shimmies and uses finger cymbals : BELLY DANCER.

29. Like little, glittering eyes ... and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's four longest answers : BEADY

Get it? Bee-Dee. Nice.

Melissa here. Only two complete unknowns for me, and lots of fun and interesting fill.

Across        


1. Gownlike Roman garment : TUNIC

6. Like teary eyes : MOIST. The Science Behind Why People Hate the Word 'Moist.'


11. Sculpted physique, briefly : BOD


14. Sky blue : AZURE


15. Asteroids game company : ATARI


16. Actor Vigoda : ABE. Another talented person the world lost in 2016.

 19. Japanese carp : KOI


20. Trunk of the body : TORSO


21. Orchard rows : TREES


23. Internet destination : WEBPAGE


27. Good Housekeeping publisher since 1911 : HEARST


28. Pilot Earhart : AMELIA


29. Leaning-on-the-horn sounds : BLARES


31. Hawk's claw : TALON


32. Wintry temps : TEENS


33. NYG rival in the NFC East : DAL. Dallas Cowboys.


36. Pinball excess : TILT


37. Mountain bleaters : GOATS


38. Ball-and-mallet game : POLO


39. Foxy : SLY


40. Business convention handouts : CARDS


41. Clods : BOZOS. Haha.


42. __ Wilson, who played Sam in "Casablanca" : DOOLEY


44. Peaceful : SERENE


45. Sports venues : STADIA


47. Original star of "Star Trek" : SHATNER. William.


48. Bedding : LINEN


49. Promised : VOWED


51. __ de Triomphe : ARC. View.


58. Golf ball holder : TEE


59. Hodgepodges : OLIOS


60. Eat away at : ERODE


61. Lith. or Est., once : SSR


62. Graphs' horizontal reference lines : X-AXES. Horizontal line on a graph.


63. "Billions & Billions" author Carl : SAGAN. Pale blue dot.
 

Down

1. Indent key : TAB


2. Submachine gun named for its designer : UZI


3. Religious school teacher, perhaps : NUN


4. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA


5. Free from doubt : CERTAIN


6. Madrid mother : MADRE


7. Bluesman Redding : OTIS


8. "Othello" schemer : IAGO


9. __ Lanka : SRI


10. Giggles : TITTERS


12. Thin woodwinds : OBOES


13. Jefferson, religiously : DEIST. Thomas Jefferson’s religious beliefs.


18. Lotus position discipline : YOGA


22. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte : RAE


23. Light bulb units : WATTS


24. Online letters : EMAIL


26. "The __ thickens!" : PLOT


27. Brinker on skates : HANS. Unknown for me, a novel first published in 1865 by Mary Mapes Dodge. Also, the name of a budget hotel in Amsterdam, with a hilarious website. “The hotel that couldn’t care less, but we will try.”


30. "I'm game" : LET'S


32. Ripped : TORE


34. Without assistance : ALONE


35. Hard luck case : LOSER


37. Big party : GALA


38. Shipping route terminus : PORT


40. Vending machine feature : COIN BOX


41. Subordinate church officials : BEADLES. “Official of a church or synagogue." New to me.


43. Poem of praise : ODE


44. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poet Silverstein : SHEL


45. Blind strips : SLATS


46. Goodyear products : TIRES


47. Ham go-with : SWISS


49. Powerful engine : V-SIX


50. Oklahoma native : OTOE


53. In the style of : ALA


54. Historical period : ERA


55. Pooch : DOG


56. Oral health org. : ADA. American Dental Association.

57. Japanese currency : YEN

Monday, February 6, 2017 Jake Braun

Theme: Synonyms

54. Virtually zero, and where the ends of 20-, 32- and 43-Across are literally situated: NEXT TO NOTHING. That means they start with a synonym for zilch.

20. Player who shoots par regularly: SCRATCH GOLFER. Zero handicap.

32. Floppy disk backup device: ZIP DRIVE. Nil.

43. Ballad for a valentine: LOVE SONG. Zero score in tennis.

Argyle here. No complaints.

Across:

1. Most musicals have two: ACTS

5. Start to faceted or purpose: MULTI

10. Modern organizers, for short: PDAs. (personal digital assistant)

14. Countenance: MIEN

15. In front: AHEAD

16. Wine prefix: OENO. Vowel friendly.

17. First chip in the poker pot: ANTE

18. Football with scrums: RUGBY

19. Songwriter Kristofferson: KRIS

23. Malted relative: SHAKE

24. Magnolia State school, familiarly: OLE MISS. University of Mississippi.

27. Baseball misplays: ERRORS

31. Calendar page: MONTH

35. Forest official: RANGER

36. Angsty rock genre: EMO

37. Michelangelo statue: PIETA

39. R&B's __ Hill: DRU. Such costumes!

40. Changes gears: SHIFTS

46. Start of a Poitier film title: TO SIR, WITH LOVE.

47. Seek ambitiously: ASPIRE

48. O. Henry works: STORIES. Easy to overthink this one.

50. Mexican dip: SALSA

58. Slick-talking: GLIB

60. Jokes and such: HUMOR

61. Cupid: AMOR

62. Save for binge-watching, say: TIVO

63. '50s nuclear trial: A-TEST

64. Dressed in: WORE

65. River of Hades: STYX

66. Barcelona babies: NENEs

67. Joint commonly replaced: KNEE

Down:

1. Accumulate, as a fortune: AMASS

2. Easy-peasy task: CINCH. This puzzle?

3. Aquarium fish: TETRA

4. Moved stealthily: SNEAKED

5. Artist Chagall: MARC

6. "Nah": "UH UH"

7. __ Mason: investment giant: LEGG. Founded in 1899 as a brokerage firm in Baltimore, MD.

8. No-nos: TABOOs

9. Poem of rustic life: IDYLL

10. Critters hunted with a hugely popular 2016 mobile app: POKÉMON

11. Heroic exploits: DERRING DO

12. Young Darth's nickname: ANI

13. Distress signal at sea: SOS

21. La. or Dak., once: TERR. (Territories)

22. Disaster relief org.: FEMA. (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

25. Titanic rear end: STERN

26. "So what" shoulder gesture: SHRUG. meh.

28. Fabric flaws: RIPS

29. Egg: Pref.: OVI

30. Fishing line holders: REELS

32. Thin citrus peels: ZESTS

33. Words spoken by a sweater?: "I'M HOT"

34. Plant responsible for much itching: POISON IVY

35. Sitarist Shankar: RAVI

38. High side: TOP

41. Locomotive furnace: FIREBOX

42. Cereal coveted by a silly rabbit: TRIX

44. Former "formerly": ERST

45. Seattle football pro: SEAHAWK

47. Sharp as a tack: ASTUTE

49. Wharton's Frome: ETHAN

51. Chihuahua citrus fruit: LIMÓN. (Spanish for "lemon") Tricky.

52. Boring lecture, for example: SNORE

53. Share the same opinion: AGREE

55. Dark clouds, perhaps: OMEN

56. Aroma detector: NOSE

57. Leftover bits: ORTs

58. Classic sports cars: GTs. No particular make.

59. Set fire to: LIT

Argyle