Sunday September 8, 2019 Pancho Harrison

Theme: "Oh, It's You Again" - O is replace by U in each theme entry.

23. Kiss during a nature walk?: TRAIL BUSS. Trail boss.

35. Window installer's course of instruction?: PUTTY TRAINING. Potty training.

38. Jam component?: STUCK CAR. Stock car.

54. Charles Goodyear, notably?: RUBBER BARON. Robber baron.

 
70. Eccentric who has status in the community?: NUT WITHSTANDING. Notwithstanding.

88. Big galoot serving as first mate?: CAPTAIN'S LUG. Captain's log.

  
104. Dent in the hockey arena's protective shield?: PUCK MARK. Pockmark.

106. Cesar Millan specialty?: PUP PSYCHOLOGY. Pop psychology.

 
124. Measure of complacency?: SMUG INDEX. Smog index.

Total 9 entries, 7 with first word conversions. 2 with last word changes. So no-odd man out.

I must have caught something at the VA clinic or the big VA hospital on Thursday/Friday. Been sleeping a lot, still feeling lousy. Short write-up today.

Across:

1. "Righteous!" in the '90s: PHAT.

5. Capital of Turkey: LIRA. Sunday clue. Currency.

9. Speed deterrents: BUMPS.

14. Like cried-over milk: SPILT.

19. Apiece: EACH.

20. Fever with chills: AGUE. Poor Boomer is having the awful side effects of the Zometa infusion again. Chills being one of them.

21. Caver's cry?: UNCLE. One who caves.

22. Vaughan of jazz: SARAH. One of the favorite vocalists of Wendy's husband.

25. Showy parrot: MACAW.

26. Muse for Shelley: ERATO.

27. Protein-building acid: AMINO.

28. Matter basics: ATOMS.

30. First-year law student: ONE L. I read this book years ago. Exhausting read.

32. Has __: knows someone: AN IN.

33. Optimist's words: I CAN.

42. Creator of Horton the Elephant: SEUSS.

43. __ Paulo: SAO.

44. Life's work: CAREER.

45. Largish chamber group: OCTET.

47. Part-time player: SEMI-PRO.

51. __ standstill: AT A.

52. Rich kid in "Nancy" comics: ROLLO. The other "Nancy" character we see occasionally is SLUGGO.

57. Breather: LUNG.

59. Hurled weapons: BOLAS.

61. Breaks down: ROTS.

62. LiMu ___: bird in Liberty Mutual TV ads: EMU.

63. Tiny dividers: AMOEBAE.

65. Strikes lightly: TAPS ON. Like your apps.

68. Soothes: EASES.

74. Quaker in the woods: ASPEN.

77. Like most pretzels: SALTED.

78. Porcupines and prairie dogs: RODENTS.

82. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA.

83. Thriller writer Hoag: TAMI.

85. Four-door, usually: SEDAN.

87. Court filing: SUIT.

93. Site of Hercules' first labor: NEMEA. He slew the lion there.

95. Self-esteem: EGO.

96. Promising young actress: STARLET.

97. Café container: TASSE.

99. Narrow shard: SLIVER.

101. Its Jun. 2019 additions include "bae" and "yeesh": OED. We see BAE from time to time. Baby.

102. Cook-off dish: CHILI.

111. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM.

112. Deposed Iranian despot: SHAH. We also have 16. Tabriz native: IRANI.

113. Quod __ demonstrandum: ERAT.

114. Daggers of old: SNEES.

116. Shore thing for a sailor?: LEAVE.

120. Hanna-Barbera's __ Doggie and Doggie Daddy: AUGIE.

122. Cybercurrency: E CASH.

126. Cornered, in a way: TREED.

127. British county: SHIRE.

128. Domus Aurea builder of 64-68 AD: NERO.

129. Not mad: SANE.

130. Flippant: SASSY.

131. Calcutta wraps: SARIS.

132. Good name for a tuxedo cat: OREO.

133. Defib specialists: EMTS. Hence the clue for 115. Retired, as a prof.: EMER.

Down:

1. Animal rights gp.: PETA.

2. Damage: HARM.

3. Three-syllable berry: ACAI. Listen to this clip: ah-sah-ee.

4. Skating no-no: THIN ICE.

5. Black __: LAB.

6. Spiny lizard: IGUANA.

7. Auto body concern: RUST.

8. Greek fabulist: AESOP.

9. Misleading lead: BUM STEER. Sparkling fill.

10. Article in Spain's El Mundo: UNA.

11. Feud group: MCCOYS.

12. Infiltrators: PLANTS.

13. Betsy Ross, notably: SEWER.

14. Lincoln-to-Topeka dir.: SSE.

15. What "strikes deep," in Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth": PARANOIA. Another great fill.

17. Language for the Masses?: LATIN.

18. Barely-there beachwear: THONG.

24. Gym storage: LOCKER.

29. Is required to: MUST.

31. Some beams: LASERS.

34. Circus swinger: ACROBAT.

36. "Swan Lake" skirt: TUTU.

37. Two-syllable foot: IAMB.

38. Milan's La __: SCALA.

39. Stride pianist Art: TATUM. Unfamiliar with "Stride" style.

40. Seventh planeta: URANO. Spanish or Italian?

41. Wad in a pocket: ROLL.

46. Formal jacket feature: COATTAIL.

47. Ready to proceed: SET.

48. JFK but not SFO: PRES.

49. "La Dolce Vita" setting: ROME.

50. Responsibility: ONUS.

53. MGM co-founder: LOEW.

55. Expands: BROADENS.

56. City on the Rhine: BONN.

58. Code carrier: GENE.

60. Satirist Mort: SAHL.

64. Carl's Jr. bread: BUN.

66. L.A. setting: PST.

67. Notre Dame figs.: STES.

68. Terminate: END.

69. A month of Sundays: AGES.

71. Schools of thought: ISMS.

72. Apothecary's weight: DRAM.

73. "Rhinoceros" playwright: IONESCO. Unknown to me.

74. Basics: ABCS.

75. Politician's pursuit: SEAT.

76. Bearded Smurf: PAPA.

79. New, in Nicaragua: NUEVA.

80. Clemson athlete: TIGER.

81. Baby carrier?: STORK.

83. Colorful tee: TIE-DYE.

84. Tiny farm worker: ANT.

86. Thought-provoking: DEEP.

89. Prizes on the mantel: TROPHIES.

90. Brewpub orders: ALES.

91. Gas or elec.: UTIL.

92. Rainy day wear: GALOSHES.

94. Acid neutralizer: ALKALI.

98. Symptom: SIGN.

100. Colossal: IMMENSE.

102. Cuban dance: CHA CHA.

103. Gasbag's bagful?: HOT AIR.

105. On the fence: UNSURE.

106. H.S. exams: PSATS.

107. "Star Trek" officer who famously kissed Kirk in 1968: UHURA.

108. Novelist's output: PAGES.

109. Pungent salad green: CRESS.

110. __ question: YES NO.

117. Rock's Queen + __ Lambert: ADAM. "America Idol" runner-up years ago.

118. Let off steam: VENT.

119. Former flames: EXES.

121. Big name in ice cream: EDY.

123. Indian title: SRI.

125. Half a musical doll?: GOO. The Goo Goo Dolls.

C.C.

Saturday, September 7, 2019, Erik Agard

Themeless Saturday by Erik Agard

Perhaps you remember constructor Evan Kalish and his Postlandia web site from August 9. Evan's hobby of collecting pictures of post office from all over this country has amassed him over 30,000 pix.

Today we honor the men and women who staff those facilities and deliver our mail faithfully despite any and all weather conditions. Our carrier is a hard working woman whose muffler announces her arrival two blocks away. She even gets out of her truck and puts the mail in our box when it is blocked by vehicles who should not be there.

Today's constructor is Erik Agard. I have wrestled with Erik's incredibly tough puzzles at his website - Glutton For Pun and thought today's offering would equally tough but I did manage a fairly fast (22 min) journey and had a good time in the process. I also had some electronic exchanges with Erik about the contents of this puzzle and delighted in his mostly terse but pithy replies to me.

Enjoy this fun exchange between Erik as a Jeopardy champion and Alex Trebek.

There's no jeopardy involved if you tried Erik's clever puzzle:

Across:

1. Peak of early 2000s cinema: BROKEBACK - The "Peak" Erik was referencing was the Mountain in the title of what some called a groundbreaking movie 

10. Martin Sheen's first name at birth: RAMON.

15. Doesn't honor: RENEGES ON - Native Americans were familiar with this idea

16. Blow away: AMAZE.


17. "Let's rock and roll!": IT'S GO TIME - When Jerry Seinfeld upset Lloyd Bridges as Izzy Mandlebaum, this was Lloyd's response:

18. Actor Max von __: SYDOW - His IMDB

19. Verb that sounds like a letter: ARE.

20. Holders of leaves: TEABAGS which might hold 29. Contents of some 20-Across: CHAI tea

22. Rank aboard the Enterprise: Abbr.: ENS - ENSign Pavel Chekov was a navigator on Captain Kirk's Enterprise

23. Turbine blade: ROTOR - Wind turbine ROTORS being transported are a common sight on our highways

25. Moved, as a movie camera: DOLLIED - 

27. "Claws" star __ Nash: NIECY - Yikes!

31. Get choppers: TEETHE - This time of an infant's life can make a parent a 32. One up, barely: SLEEPY HEAD.

36. Oozy substances: GOOS.

37. Prefix for "six": HEXA - These HEXAgon tiles can make for a lovely 2. Nostalgi-cool?: RETRO look

38. Class with no struggles: EASY A - Football players populated these classes when I was in college

39. Unwieldy thing: HULK 

40. British boxer Khan: AMIR - Here 'ya go

41. Album info: LINER NOTES - The LINER NOTES on this album by these four lads has a price tag well into five figures

43. Talking points?: ROSTRA - The point at which FDR delivered his "Day Of Infamy" speech was from behind one of the more famous ROSTRA in history

45. Role for which Liam got an Oscar nod: OSKAR 

46. Show ardor: ENTHUSE.

48. Occupied: IN USE - When in Rome...

52. IPA, say: ALE.

53. About 5, for coffee: PH LEVEL.

57. Humanities degs.: BA'S.

58. Enjoy a season in a day, perhaps?: BINGE - Can you watch an entire season of The Sopranos in a day?

60. Therapy subjects: AVERSIONS - No therapy will cure my lovely bride of her AVERSION to her 6. __ noire: BETE  (a thing thoroughly detested) - roller coasters

62. Run onstage?: EMCEE - I have run many a program as an EMCEE

63. Wrap up: TERMINATE.

64. Judges: DEEMS.

65. Duty for the bereaved: ESTATE TAX


Down:

1. Patch plant: BRIAR - Please don't throw me in!

3. Beginning: ONSET.

4. Pabst dispenser: KEG - My TAP proved to be dry


5. Journey with strokes?: EGO TRIP - Everyone who provided Johnny Manziel with strokes for his EGO TRIP as a college quarterback quickly abandoned him when he was an NFL flop

7. Gobi locale: ASIA - In China and Mongolia

8. Search high and low: COMB 

9. Apt eye rhyme for "bread": KNEAD - An "eye rhyme" is two words that are spelled similarly but pronounced differently. Bread and KNEAD meet that criteria and since you obviously must KNEAD bread dough the "eye rhyme" is apt. When I asked Erik if that was his clue or Rich's, he responded ‾\_(ツ)_/‾

10. Fight in the sticks: RASSLE

11. 2019 Emmy nominee Adams: AMY.

12. Escaped: MADE IT OUT - Many athletes have MADE IT OUT of horrible home lives via sports

13. Polar environmental concern: OZONE HOLE - Is it healing?

14. Paper departments: NEWS DESKS.

21. Approached nightfall: GOT DARK.

24. In the world: ON EARTH

26. Looney Tunes surname: LEGHORN - Foghorn was modeled after this fictional Southern politician from the Fred Allen Show. This pretend Senator refused to ever wear a "Union suit" or drive through the Lincoln Tunnel when he visited New York City and he claimed to drink only out of Dixie cups.

28. Metaphorical margin of victory: EYELASH.

30. Having only two answers: YES NO - Many a fragile adolescent psyche hung in the balance with this YES/NO questionnaire 

32. Fight over covers, perhaps?: SHARE A BED - I've done this for over 52 years with equitable cover sharing

33. Citrusy flavor: LEMON LIME 

34. "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very __ is an act of rebellion": Camus (attributed): EXISTENCE - A credo for many a revolutionary

35. Votes for: AYES.

42. Succeeds to the max: NAILS IT.

44. Sri Lankan currency: RUPEES - This house in Sri Lanka can be yours for Rs. 37,000,000 (Rupees) or $206,000

47. Send to cloud nine: ELATE.

49. WWII sub: U-BOAT - Pole Marian Rejewski, Brit Alan Turing, and others at Bletchley Park, broke the Nazi Enigma code to help shut down the horrible U-BOAT damage 

50. Gift list addressee: SANTA.

51. Cape Ann's county: ESSEX - Cape Ann is a rocky cape with towns Rockport and Gloucester about 40 miles NE of Boston 

54. Nights before: EVES.

55. Rapper Lil Uzi __: VERT - If you feel your life is bereft of vulgarity, violence and misogyny, google his lyrics

56. Singer Franklin, Aretha's elder sister: ERMA - The Franklin girls and their Dad

    ERMA                       C.L.                        ARETHA 

59. Opal, for one: GEM.

61. Suffix with salt: INE.

Try to remember to say something nice to your postal carrier today or this week.

Friday, September 6, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Football season is here once again as is

One of my Friday regulars, Bruce Haight is back with his position paper on the NFL. All five of the themers are two-word phrases with the second word representing a football player's role. The clues all mention football players but the fill has an alternate meaning totally unrelated to the sport. It would have been super cool if he could have presented the offensive line in order, but hey I am feeling greedy. As always he fills in the blanks with some fun words and phrases like PANACHE, TAKEN TO, CLAM ROLL, FLIED OUT,  I AM TOAST, and ON COURSE. Well luckily DORIAN did not stay on course to destroy us, so let's solve a puzzle.

18A. Philanthropic football player?: GIVING BACK (10). I like the pseudo alliteration

24A. Football player who's PR-savvy?: MEDIA CENTER (11). Do people still have these central places for TV, music, DVDs, etc?

36A. Football player with a line?: FISHING TACKLE (13). Football players don't usually use a line, though form one.

50A. Football player with management skills?: BUSINESS END   (11). I associate that phrase with the barrel of a pistol.

57A. Football player at the beach?: COAST GUARD (10). I grew up near the Coast Guard Academy and was going to go there for college until they learned how blind I really was.

Across:

1. Source of seasonal color: LEAF. One of the things I miss about New England.

5. Like bubble baths: SUDSY. Silly.

10. Golfer at Royal Troon, often: SCOT. I want to go in the spring.

14. "I'm buying!": ON ME.

15. "America" soloist in "West Side Story": ANITA.

16. It parallels a radius: ULNA. He is trying hard to trick you, mathematics people.

17. Hot spot: OVEN. Not for a computer or a cellphone.

20. Varieties: KINDS.

22. "Diana" singer: ANKA.

23. Stooge Howard: MOE. We all miss Chairman Moe and his contributions.

27. Head for the hills: RUN.

28. Spots: ADS.

29. Groovy cousin: RAD. More like an evil nephew.

30. Usher: ESCORT.

32. No different from, with "the": SAME AS. Same old, same old.

35. "One more thing ... ": ALSO. Remind you this?

40. Work out ahead of time: PLAN. Oo is a planner, I am not.

41. Appropriate: SEEMLY.

42. Targets: AIMS AT.

45. Fjord kin: RIA. Water, water everywhere.

46. Book jacket info: BIOgraphy.

49. Goal feature: NET. Soccer (futbol) basketball and more.

54. Hubbub: ADO.

55. Fictional hunchbacked helper: IGOR. Eegor, or Eyegor?

56. Like many windows: PANED. Also many bad puns - pained ones.

61. It's abuzz with activity: HIVE. Who doesn't love bee humor?

62. Cover for an ear: HUSK. And corny humor!

63. Ending with poly-: ESTER. Want a cracker.

64. Chills: ICES.

65. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.

66. Monopoly stack: DEEDS.

67. Friend of Mary Poppins: BERT. Dick Van Dyke.

Down:

1. Start of a kid's show-offy cry: LOOK MA. Seen in many professional sporting events.

2. Painfully wished one had: ENVIED.

3. Changes, as a law: AMENDS.

4. Luxury handbag brand: FENDI. This BRAND.

5. Give somewhat: SAG.

6. Start to cycle?: UNI.

7. Backless sofa: DIVAN. This is a long low sofa without a back or arms, typically placed against a wall.

8. Period of work: STINT. Meh.

9. "Sandman" or "Joltin' Joe": YANKEE. CSO to Tinman.

10. Long sandwich: SUB. A mini-clecho with...

11. Seafood sandwich: CLAM ROLL.

12. Headed the right way: ON COURSE.

13. Fallen for: TAKEN TO.

19. Long-nosed fish: GARS.  Gar, any of seven species of large North American fishes of the genera Atractosteus and Lepisosteus, in the family Lepisosteidae. Gars, which are related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei, is confined chiefly to freshwater, though some of the species descend to brackish or even saltwater.

21. Joe's 2008 election counterpart: SARAH. I have almost forgotten her. Governor PALIN?

25. Lingerie item, briefly: CAMI. LINK.

26. Blissful settings: EDENS. Our garden is growing here.

31. Like dried mud: CAKY.

32. Govt. IDs: SSNS.

33. Time of one's life?: AGE.

34. Harsh: STERN. Howard?

36. Hit one that was caught on the warning track, say: FLIED OUT. Baseball for C.C.

37. Acknowledgment of being sunk?: I AM TOAST.  Slang meaning "a goner, person or thing already doomed or destroyed" is recorded by 1987, perhaps from the notion of computer circuits being "fried."

38. Parisian friend: AMIE. Just French.

39. Hold tight: CLASP.

40. Pizazz: PANACHE. What a fun word, meaning flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

43. Barely more than not at all: A BIT.

44. Pulled: TUGGED. Carol Burnett's ear?

46. "No fighting, now": BE NICE.

47. "The nerve!": I NEVER.

48. Weird to the max: ODDEST.

51. Drunkard: SOUSE.

52. Ticked off: IRATE.

53. Indian title of respect: SAHIB. This is a word of Arabic origin meaning "companion". As a loanword, it has passed into several languages, including Persian, Kurdish, Turkish,[1] Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Somali.

58. Reggae relative: SKA.

59. Wine choice: RED. White? Rosé?  Another Moe, CSO.

60. No and J: DRS. The Bond movie and the basketball player.

We are past our first hurricane scare in two years, and now the days are getting shorter but the puzzles are not. I really like the rotation of Friday constructors that Tom and I get to discuss. Now if we had a couple of female creators, it would be in balance. Be well all. Lemonade out.

Thursday, September 5th 2019 Kristian House

Theme: Two's Company or an enemy! Two-handed games, let's go look:

17A. *Brain trust member: MASTERMIND. Fun game, you try to match the colors and order of four hidden pegs set by your opponent. "Mastermind" is also a long-running quiz show in the UK; the first few seasons were won by university professors, diplomats and such. Then Fred Housego, a London taxi driver, stormed the competition, he won and became a popular figure appearing on TV and radio. Even though he was an emerging media star he still continued to drive his cab.

22A. *Nixon's cocker spaniel: CHECKERS. Not many alternative clues for this one. The only one I can think of is too "British". (the Prime Minister's "official" country residence). Why the PM needs a country residence is beyond me.

38A. *Influential record company named for co-founding brothers Leonard and Phil: CHESS. A great story and anyone lovers of R&B or Rock 'n Roll will know Chess Records. Interestingly, they also had a subsidiary label "Checker" - shame it wasn't the plural to match 22A.

This is their release "Rocket 88" with Jackie Brenston, a single generally accepted as the first "Rock and Roll" release

50A. *Playful question spoiled by caller ID: GUESS WHO? Also guess who:

"Knock knock!
Who's there?
To!
To who?
No, it's to whom.

60A. *The USS Iowa, e.g.: BATTLESHIP. The game used to be simple, played on graph paper, and calling out squares to your opponent, but it's got a little more complicated, battery powered and unnecessary. Does there have to be an app for everything? The battleship "Iowa" found a home here in Southern California in San Pedro harbor.

11D. With 28-Down, words to a cheater ... or an honest hint to the answers to starred clues: TWO CAN PLAY ...

28D. See 11-Down: ... AT THAT GAME

This was nicely done. The five theme entries were clued without any reference to the games, and the down reveal was a nice surprise when it all came together. Great job by Kristian and a lot of fun fill to round things out.

Across:

1. Isla surrounder: AGUA

5. Real cutup: JOKER

10. Italian volcano: ETNA. There's another four-letter volcano in Italy in the Lazio region, Vico, and Lake Vico occupies the caldera,it's  safe to say it hasn't blown its top for quite some time, if it does all that water would be giving Rome a hot shower.

14. TV series that had flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple timelines: LOST

15. Kemper of "The Office": ELLIE

16. Truant GI: AWOL

19. Meander: ROVE

20. Afflicted with illness, say: STRICKEN

21. Gastric woe: ULCER

25. PC key: ALT

26. Reel Big Fish music genre: SKA

29. Pigs out (on): ODS

30. Flying frenemy of Godzilla: RODAN. "Frenemies" because they usually start out fighting each other in the movies, then team up to defeat a bigger threat to them both.

32. "Beaten" ways: PATHS. Because "Sado-masochistic lifestyle" doesn't quite fit.

34. One who is rotten to the core?: BAD APPLE

37. Quartet member: ALTO

40. Serb or Croat: SLAV

41. Went over again and again: REHASHED

43. Razz: TEASE

44. Geometric given: AXIOM. I thought "postulates" were geometric and "axioms" algebraic, but since I pretty much sucked at high school mathematics so who am I to question the experts?

45. Ox tail?: -IDE

47. Hankering: YEN

48. Toward the stern: AFT

53. 2010 Supreme Court appointee: KAGAN

55. Shows derision for: SNEERS AT

59. Boast: BRAG

62. Toon mail-order company: ACME. He'd get quicker delivery and free returns with Amazon Prime today.

63. Be of use to: AVAIL

64. Sty sound: OINK

65. Swamp stalk: REED

66. "Aw, fudge!": NERTS!

67. Corddry of TV's "Mom": NATE. Crosses all the way, as is my wont with TV-related clues.

Down:

1. Help for the needy: ALMS

2. Animal on the Cubs' 2016 World Series rings: GOAT. I've been to the original Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan Avenue. Simple enough place, cold beer and the "cheezborgers" of Saturday Night Live fame.

3. Space Race inits.: U.S.S.R.

4. Room often with a slanted ceiling: ATTIC

5. Pulled quickly: JERKED

6. Early Mexicans: OLMECS

7. "Hogan's Heroes" colonel: KLINK

8. German article: EIN

9. Crimson, e.g.: RED

10. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL

12. Original: NOVEL

13. At the ready: ALERT

18. Heart sonograms, familiarly: ECHOS

21. Food safety agcy.: U.S.D.A.

23. Paleozoic and Cenozoic: ERAS

24. Retina cells: RODS

26. Exchange barbs: SPAR

27. Curly cabbage: KALE

31. Church area: APSE

33. The Cardiff Giant, notably: HOAX. A great story. The hoax was exploited by one David Hannum, who coined the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute" when he discovered people were paying to see a copy of the giant, created by P.T. Barnum. Hannum sued Barnum, but the case was dismissed by the judge who ruled that Barnum had just faked a fake.

Look him up on Wikipedia. I'd post the picture here, but some of delicate dispositions might be alarmed by the naked giant's nether regions. If the giant is ten feet tall, his well-sculpted "wedding tackle" is around a foot. He puts Michelangelo's "David" to shame.

34. __ Bath & Beyond: BED

35. Zap with a beam: LASE

36. Equally matched: EVEN

38. __ En-lai: CHOU

39. Iron-rich blood pigment: HEME. Slowly figured this out from the related words - hematoma, hemaglobin and so on. In UK English, we complicate matters, originally using the dipthong spelling "hæma..." and then, completely true to the "why don't we complicate spelling?"  edict, the expanded "haema".

42. Portent: SIGN

43. Giggly sound: TE-HEE

45. "Don't you agree?": ISN'T IT?

46. Resides: DWELLS

48. 1556-1605 Mogul emperor: AKBAR

49. Screwball comedy: FARCE

51. Celestial red giant: S-STAR

52. Director Welles: ORSON

54. Like good Scotch: AGED. It never goes bad, unlike wine aged too long, but it disappears, evaporating into the ether, the annual 2% loss known as "the angel's share". That's 29 million gallons of Scotch evaporating out of the barrels of Scottish distilleries every year. Those angels are having a PAR-TEY!

56. LaBeouf of "Transformers" films: SHIA

57. Informal contraction: AIN'T

58. Toll rd.: TPKE. The geek in me knows it as an acronym for Threshold Public Key Encryption.

60. Prohibition: BAN. A good job it didn't happen in Scotland otherwise those angels would have to go find something useful to do.

61. "__ Maria": AVE

That's about it, I think. Music link posted? Check. Picture embedded? Check. Random story about the UK? Check! Grid? Here it is. Check!

Steve

Wednesday, September 4, 2019, Julie Berube

Theme: Easy as ABC

15A. Chemist's garb: LAB COAT.

25A. Apples on teachers' desks: MACBOOK PROS.

47A. Soccer powerhouse from Spain: FC BARCELONA. Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a Spanish professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

63A. Bony thoracic structure: RIBCAGE.

3D. Curios assortment: BRIC-A-BRAC.

35D. ISP service: WEB ACCESS.

Melissa here. Circles nearly every Wednesday lately, I think they're kind of fun.  This one contains a complete set of six ABC anagrams. It's uncommon to see theme answers in both across and down - nicely done Julie Berube, apparently making her debut on the corner.

Across:

1. Devices at one's fingertips: TABLETS. Not iPhones.

8. Bowl over: AWE. Not wow.

11. Old NCAA football ranking sys.: BCS.

14. Music genre for Ladysmith Black Mambazo and King Sunny Adé: AFRO POP. Paul Simon used Ladysmith Black Mambazo on his Graceland album.

17. __ kick: martial arts maneuver: SCISSOR.

18. Adriatic country whose flag has a double-headed eagle: ALBANIA.

20. Pen pal greeting?: OINK. Nice.

22. Impudent: PERT.

23. Split __ soup: PEA.

28. "The Wire" actor Idris: ELBA.

30. Very thin: SKINNY.

31. Floorboard-ruining insects: TERMITES.

33. 2005 slasher film sequel: SAW II.

38. Rather cross: IN A SNIT.

39. Some losers: DIETERS. Haha.

41. Food truck fare: TACOS.

42. Tiny organisms: MICROBES.

43. 18-Across capital: TIRANA. Perped it.

46. Premier League soccer team, to fans: MANU. Manchester United.

52. "Middle" note: CEE.

53. Flowery rings: LEIS.

54. Young newts: EFTS.

55. Epidemic-fighting agcy.: CDC. Centers for Disease Control.

57. Prohibited: ILLEGAL.

59. Go along with: AGREE TO.

64. Place setting item: UTENSIL.

65. Eastern principle: TAO.

66. __ object: SEX. Haven't seen this in a while ...

67. Waters near the South Pole: ROSS SEA. Off the cost of Antarctica. Beautiful images of "the most pristine piece of the ocean left on Earth."

Down:

1. Some grad students: TAS. Teacher's Assistants.

2. Org. with Colts and Broncos: AFC.

4. Take a beating: LOSE.

5. __ salts: EPSOM.

6. In addition: TOO.

7. Toothed wheel: SPROCKET.

8. Post-rehab support group: AL-ANON.

9. Bit part: WALK ON.

10. Retreat, as the tide: EBB.

11. Ugly mistake: BONER.

12. Tahrir Square city: CAIRO.

13. Sports data: STATS.

16. Abner drawer: CAPP.

19. Corp. bigwig: CEO.

21. Venerated bird in ancient Egypt: IBIS.

23. __ four: teacake: PETIT.

24. Justice Kagan: ELENA.

26. Italian bubbly: ASTI. Sparkling wine.

27. Bandleader Kay known as "The Ol' Perfessor": KYSER. Wikipedia.

29. Playground comeback: AM SO.

32. Orch. piece: INSTR. Instrument.

34. Nuclear energy source: ATOM.

36. Dancer Castle: IRENE. She danced with her husband Virgil on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They were famous as the originators of the one-step and the turkey trot.

37. Magazine copy: ISSUE.

39. "Jurassic World" beast: DINOSAUR.

40. Volunteer's words: I CAN.

42. Brewer's supply: MALT.

44. Film franchise with a saber-toothed tiger named Diego: ICE AGE.

 45. Involuntary, as a reaction: REFLEX.

47. Tease: FLIRT.

48. "Queen of Salsa" Cruz: CELIA. Cuban singer and the most popular Latin artist of the 20th century.

49. "The Hobbit" hobbit: BILBO.

50. "Wait __!": A SEC. Wait up!

51. Lots of land: ACRES.

56. Sanctuaries: DENS.

58. Oxygen or hydrogen: GAS.

60. Classic muscle car: GTO.

61. Make fast: TIE.

62. Lisbon greeting: OLA.

Note from C.C.:

Here are two new pictures of Melissa's sweet grandkids Jaelyn and Harper. You can see past pictures of them here. Jaelyn has such curious and expressive eyes.