Saturday, February 8, 2020, Ed Sessa

Saturday Themeless by Dr. Ed Sessa

After only three weeks, Dr. Ed is back again and his distinctive grid immediately caught my eye.  His 10/13/15 horizontal top rows were mirrored with his 15/13/10 bottom row (TERRACE LEVEL?) in this 64-word puzzle. The bottom such trio was much more helpful but as usual Dr. Ed's R_x helped mitigate some of the gloom of this dreary, winter season here on the Great Plains. I wonder if the fill dictated the grid or the grid dictated the fill. Maybe the good doctor will enlighten us.

Avoid Walgreens today and get your elixir direct from the Sessa enclave on Sanibel Island, FL (a spoonful of crossword helps the medicine go down):

Across:

1. "We're done here": CASE CLOSED.

11. Wit: FACETIOUSNESS - How hard can she throw that club?

14. Lead-in for an old saw: AS THE SAYING GOES - "Hell hath no fury..." (see above)

16. Bio lab preparation: STAIN 

17. Star associated with Venus: SERENA - The tennis star sisters

18. It may be taken before a vote: POLL 

19. Reality: FACT.

23. __ Stadium, home to the 49ers: LEVIS and 48. Word with box or dome: SKY - Here's a SKYBOX at LEVIS Stadium

24. Wild fruit is a feature of it: PALEO DIET - A diet that emulates our hunter-gatherer ancestors

27. Unadon fish: EELS - A classic Japanese dish consisting of steamed rice topped with filets of EELS (Unagi).

28. Manufacturing statistic: NEW ORDERS 

30. Either co-author of Curious George books: REY.

31. Ward of "FBI": SELA - A beautiful and frequent crossword law enforcement visitor

32. Clubs for Cubs: BATS - In 1932

34. Movement-controlling pedal: GAS - 42. Fill up again: REPLENISH - How hard you push the pedal determines how often you have to REPLENISH the GAS

37. Decides when: SETS A DATE - My granddaughter Emma has SET A DATE of January 2021 for her wedding after Colten popped the question in Estes park

40. Aphrodite's love child: EROS - Another cwd All Star

44. Opposite of original: TIRED.

46. Baseball's Maglie and Bando: SALS - If you're interested - Maglie - Bando

47. TurboTax pros: CPA'S - My tenth year using this instead of a CPA

49. Tequila sources: AGAVES.

51. Short-legged lizard: SKINK - Cute?

52. Song title line after "once, twice": THREE TIMES A LADY - A very nice musical respite

57. Basements, to Realtors: TERRACE LEVELS - This apartment building units are Upper Floor, Main Floor and, uh, TERRACE LEVEL

58. Sources of sprays: NEBULIZERS - The only way my poor asthmatic brother got through his childhood

Down:

1. Andorra's only official language: CATALAN - "I am a citizen of Andora" is "Sóc ciutadà d’Andorra" in CATALAN and "Soy ciudadano de Andorra" in Spanish

CATALAN is the first language of 38% of Andorrans

2. Victim of Paris: ACHILLES - I think we all know where Paris is aiming to kill ACHILLES 

3. Understood: SEEN.

4. "Men in Black" gp.: ETS and 5. "Men in black" gp., some say: CIA - Aliens and spooks

6. Myrna who played Nora Charles: LOY.

7. Sí, across the Pyrenees: OUI - When those ANDORRANS cross the Pyrenees into France 

8. Figs. with two dashes: SSN'S.

9. Tannenbaum topper: ENGEL - In Deustchland, "Our Christmas tree has an angel on top" becomes  "Unser Tannenbaum hat einen ENGEL an der Spitze"

10. Master's award: DEGREE - I've got one of those 

11. Depth-of-field setting: F-STOP.

12. To any extent: SO EVER.

13. Declining in later years: SENILE - MIL's Dementia and Alzheimers issues have dominated our last few months

14. Slithery danger: ASP.

15. Back-talking: SASSY.

19. Bit of deception: FOOLER - If Penn and Teller can't figure out how a magician does a trick on their TV show, the magician is called a FOOLER, wins a cheesy FU (Fooled You) trophy and gets to appear in their Las Vegas show. Sample

20. Marketing fees: AD RATES - The AD RATE for the Super Bowl I was $37,000 for thirty seconds. This year for Super Bowl LIV, it was over $5M for the same time 

21. "El Cantar de mío __": Castilian epic poem: CID - The Song Of My CID (Lord or master)

More Spanish Geography

22. Minor league game?: TEE BALL - This minor is serious about using a TEE in this league game

25. Farm animals that sound like trees: EWES - Yews/EWES

26. Sports news highlights: TRADES - The most lop-sided TRADES in history

29. Hockey Hall of Famer Mikita: STAN - One of a few STANS we get here

33. Exacting sort: STICKLER 

34. Try to say: GET AT.

35. Correctly: ARIGHT - Have you ever said something stupid and then had to set things ARIGHT with a sincere apology? Me too!!

36. Like a June day, to Lowell: SO RARE.

38. Where many get manis: SPA.

39. Observations: ESPIALS - A natural collection of ESPYING efforts

41. The U.S. Naval Academy is situated at is mouth: SEVERN - Two weeks ago, Evan Kalish clued Annapolis as the second city in an alphabetic list of state capitals.

43. Piano duet quartet: HANDS - These four hands had a beautiful Top 40 Hit in my yute

45. Caterpillar rival: DEERE.

50. Whack: STAB - I'll take a STAB/Whack at it!

51. Act with a rainy day in mind?: SAVE.

53. Hosp. area with few visitors: ICU.

54. "AGT" judge __ B: MEL - She storms off the show dramatically by throwing water in Simon's face during a taping of America's Got Talent 

55. Singer in the Whiffenpoofs, e.g.: ELI.

56. Slangy states?: SEZ - Mike Royko's book

I'm thinking of going off to pack to take up Dr. Ed's invitation of three weeks ago for any of us to visit him on Sanibel Island. You can comment while I get out my suitcase.

Friday, February 7, 2020 Andrew Linzer

"SOCIAL GATHERINGS"


20. Soirée for woodchip manufacturers?: SPLINTER PARTY.    Splinter group just flew off my fingertips.  Bzzt !

26. Soirée for certain divers?: PEARL JAM.


37. Soirée for spreadsheet creators?: CELL RECEPTION.

47. Soirée for fake coin makers?: SLUGFEST.

55. Soirée for army enlistees?: PRIVATE AFFAIR.

LET'S SOIRÉE ! - The last word of each theme answer is a type of social gathering.  OK, slugfest is one word, but you get the idea.

This is Andrew's third LA Times puzzle.   His first was a Wednesday.    His second was a Thursday.     He's back to party with us on Friday ! 


Across:

1. Component of an Olympic bronze medal: ZINC.    The metals used in this year's Olympic medals have been primarily sourced from recycled electronics.   Japanese citizens donated over 6 million discarded and unused cell phones ! 

5. Off-road vehicle maker?: TONKA.

10. Peddle: HAWK.   First thought was sell.

14. Brand in a studio, maybe: IKEA.   Studio apartment.

15. Chooser's choice: EVENs.

16. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire: AGRA.   It was the first four letter city name that came to mind.   Never did think of a second city name...

17. Seats facing the altar: PEWs.

18. Alley button: RESET.    Boomer uses this button when the rack didn't set the pins down correctly.   He also uses it to clear the pins left standing after the prior bowler finished (e.g. after a third ball in the 10th frame.)

19. Genesis problem: RAIN.   CAIN was a problem too.    Just not with the perps in this puzzle.

23. Energized: AMPED.

25. Inspection: LOOK SEE.  Formal and then informal.

30. Govt. stipend: SSI.   Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes):

	It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income; and
	It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

31. Angel dust letters: PCP.   Phencyclidine (PCP) is a mind-altering drug that may lead to hallucinations (a profound distortion in a person’s perception of reality). - Drugs.com

32. Neural transmitter: AXON.

34. Powerful 2017 hurricane: IRMA.

41. Solo number: ARIA.

42. Gear for Lindsey Vonn: SKIs.   American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team.   She won four World Cup overall championships—one of only two female skiers to do so, along with Annemarie Moser-Pröll—with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012 - Wikipedia

As an aside, Lindsey and I both skied Garmisch.   She won multiple world competition level Super G and Downhill races there.  I won a bunny hill slalom competition among the other beginner students held at the Armed Forces Recreation Center there.   I'll lean on that as a conversation starter if I ever meet her.   Still remember the AFRCS instructor.  Glenna Bliss.  I believe she was a prior member of the US Ski Team.  

43. Service reward: TIP.

45. PETA concern: FUR.

50. Need for big dos: CATERER.

54. Spherical extremities: POLEs.

59. Green hue: LIME.   Not exactly lime, is it ?   But too cool to pass up.

60. Louvre Pyramid architect: IM PEI.   How I.M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramid Broke the Mold

61. Chatroom spammers: BOTs.    They've been pounding this blog lately, but most are routed to the moderation folder.

64. Manipulates: USEs.

65. Really funny ones: RIOTs.

66. City-circumventing road: LOOP.   Loop 610:

67. Hot message: SEXT.

68. American in Paris, perhaps: EX PAT.

69. One of 11 for Julia Louis-Dreyfus: EMMY.

Down:

1. 12345, for Schenectady, NY: ZIP.   Evan Kalish knows this.  Postlandia

2. Turner on a turntable: IKE.   Rolling Stone magazine ranked Ike and Tina Turner at # 2 of the "20 Greatest Duos of All Time" in 2015.  # 1 were the Everly Brothers.  I'd never heard of some of the duos.  

3. Times, at times: NEWSPAPER. 

4. Spirited toon?: CASPER.

5. Actress Hatcher: TERI.

6. "Top Chef" set piece: OVEN.

7. Building project for cranes?: NEST.

8. Get down to earth?: KNEEL.

9. First pro team to play on artificial turf: ASTROs.   It was 1965.   NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hit the first homerun in a spring exhibition game shortly after construction ended.   Dick Allen of the Phillies hit the first regular season homerun.   The natural grass died, and was replaced by the first iteration of Astroturf for the 1966 season.

10. Samurai ritual: HARAKIRI.   No images.   Doesn't pass the breakfast test.

11. Lab gelatins: AGARs.

12. Pen: WRITE.

13. GOOD Music record label founder: KANYE.    Kanye West created the GOOD Music record label in 2004.   It is a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams.

21. Cholesterol letters: LDL.   Waited to see if HDL (high-density lipoproteins - the "good" one), or LDL (low-density lipoproteins - the "bad" one).

22. Presume: POSIT.

23. Common 99-cent purchase: APP.

24. Hajji's destination: MECCA.

27. Potter's creation: JAR.

28. Plot lines: AXES.   Thought of  arcs at first , but that's more of story lines.

29. Imitates derisively: MOCKs.

33. "American Gods" author Gaiman: NEIL.   No idea.  Perps.

35. Traveler's overnight spot: MOTEL ROOM.   Waited to see if Motel or Hotel.

36. Seasoning seed: ANISE.   Anise, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor has similarities with some other spices, such as star anise, fennel, and liquorice. -  Wikipedia

38. Buoyant protection: LIFEVEST.

39. Actress Dern of "Twin Peaks": LAURA.

40. Sch. with a Harrisburg campus: PSU.   Penn State University.  

44. NBA stat: PTS.   Points.

46. Hang up the spikes: RETIRE.    Hung up mine in 2015.

48. 2.3, perhaps: Abbr.: GPA.    Grade Point Average.

49. Slight character flaw: FOIBLE.

50. 2.3, roughly: C PLUS.   Grade

51. Come up: ARISE.

52. Big name in stopwatches: TIMEX.   John Cameron Swayze told us, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and the TV ads seemed to prove it.


53. Compilation album add-on: REMIX.

56. Per item: APOP.

57. Spanakopita cheese: FETA.

58. Solidarity symbol: FIST.

62. First of a generic trio: TOM.   Tom, Dick and Harry.   Hi Tom !

63. Expert on bugs?: SPY.   Bugs are covert listening and recording devices.

Thursday, February 6th 2020 Robert Wemischner

Theme Back to Front - each theme entry reverses direction.

20A. Parvenu's business venture?: UPSTART STARTUP

25A. Quarterback's nonchalant move?: OFFHAND HAND-OFF. As demonstrated by Penn State QB Antony Morelli to RB Austin Scott.

42A. Down Under withdrawal?: OUTBACK BACKOUT

48A. TSA agent's perfected search technique?: DOWN PAT PAT-DOWN. I've had more than my share of these in my time.

A very neat theme from Robert, and going by the blog history this is his LA Times debut. I don't see him in any of the other major publications, so congratulations if this is indeed the first.

A quick Google search turns up a gentleman here in Los Angeles who is an accomplished pastry chef, cookbook author and lecturer on the culinary delights that are the dessert course. Are they one and the same?

Let's look and see what we've got to chew on in the fill!

Across:

1. Diamond problem: FLAW

5. Plush carpet: SHAG

9. Test versions: BETAS

14. Feminist poet Adrienne: RICH

the thing I came for:

the wreck and not the story of the wreck

the thing itself and not the myth

the drowned face always staring

toward the sun

the evidence of damage

worn by salt and sway into this threadbare beauty

the ribs of the disaster

curving their assertion

among the tentative haunters.

From "Diving into the Wreck" (1972)

15. It's partially submerged: HULL. I tried HULK at first but that led to the odd-looking GKUT. Happy coincidence with the extract above!

16. Valuable violin: AMATI. Could be "STRAD" so wait for some confirmation.

17. Italian wine region: ASTI. If you only do crosswords, you'd think this was the only wine region in Italy. Strictly speaking, Asti isn't a wine region, it's part of the Piedmont region and a DOCG.

18. Founder of Edom: ESAU. Thank you, crosses.

19. R2-D2 or BB-8, e.g.: ROBOT. or Droid. Both characters from "Star Wars", the former much more familiar than the latter.

23. Beantown NHL nickname: ESPO. Boston Bruins legend Phil Esposito.

24. "__ whiz!": GEE

32. Vague time period: WHILE

33. Spots for AirPods: EARS. Fun clue. AirPods are those wireless Apple earbuds. Personally I'd rather have my earbuds connected, so I don't lose one or drop one down a drain (and I would!) They're also ferociously expensive.

34. One may be decorated for the holidays: FIR

35. Sprightly: AIRY

36. Marmalade bits: RINDS

38. __ Ren, "Star Wars" villain: KYLO. More "Star Wars". Completely unknown to me, but the crosses were sound.

39. Trig. function: COS. I remember SOHCAHTOA from my high school math days, but I've no idea what the significance of the cosine being a function of length of the adjacent side of the triangle over the hypotenuse. It was terribly important when I was 15, but I've not really needed it since. The hypotenuse does feature in a rather jolly Gilbert and Sullivan song, here rendered by the English National Opera.

40. Aloha State bird: NENE

41. Plumlike fruit: SLOES

46. Disney doe: ENA, or "Aunt Ena" as she is known in the movie.

47. It's just over a foot: SHIN

55. Tropical porch: LANAI

56. Murdoch who received the 1978 Booker Prize for "The Sea, the Sea": IRIS. It could have been Rupert, as his tabloid empire published as much fiction as the entire history of Booker prize nominees and winners combined and still continues to do so.

57. "What's the big __?": IDEA

58. Habituate: INURE

59. Retail outlet: MART

60. Mattress option: KING

61. Zaps: TASES

62. Neverland pirate: SMEE

63. What this puzzle does here: ENDS. I like this, but it's an item for friendly argument. In numerical order, indeed it's the last clue, but in the common style of across, then down, then the end would be LIT in this puzzle. My puzzle ended with DENEB when the crosses helped me out.

Down:

1. German spouse: FRAU. Could be "HERR" so don't jump to conclusions.

2. Speech therapy target: LISP

3. Tries to look: ACTS

4. Plant leaf pest: WHITEFLY

5. Himalayan guide: SHERPA

6. "Prizzi's Honor" director or actress: HUSTON. Anjelica, the actress, and father John, the director.

7. Word of regret: ALAS, poor Yorick!

8. Excess: GLUT

9. Scrubby wastelands: BARRENS. This as a verb noun was new to me. I'm familiar with "barren wastes" as an adjective. Mark this one down as a learning moment.

10. Chewed the scenery: EMOTED

11. Perfume that sounds forbidden: TABU. Apparently, it "features a dazzling mixture of jasmine, narcissus, rose, ylang-ylang and amber notes." So now you know. Suitably dazzled.

12. Surmounting: ATOP

13. "Pull up a chair": SIT

21. Arthur in the International Tennis Hall of Fame: ASHE

22. Seaweed-based thickeners: AGARS

25. Buckeye State sch.: OHIO U. They're the Bobcats, the Buckeyes, with something of  a lack of imagination, are Ohio State, or THE Ohio State University, as they like to style themselves.

26. Leading: FIRST

27. Brightest star in Cygnus: DENEB

28. Taken in: HAD

29. "All Because __": 2005 U2 song: OF YOU. Not one of their best-known tracks, but the video is a lot of fun.

30. Steakhouse order: FILET

31. Picked dos: 'FROS

32. Dr Pepper Museum city: WACO. I've been to the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta. It was oddly very interesting.

36. Postgame postmortem: RECAP

37. Skin pics: INK

38. Yukon gold rush region: KLONDIKE

40. Au pairs: NANNIES

41. Burlesque bit: SKIT

43. "'__ the Jabberwock, my son!'": Carroll: BEWARE  "... Beware the Jabberwock, and shun the frumious bandersnatch." What a great flight of fancy that poem is.

Interestingly, in some published versions, the line is "Beware the Jabberwock, and shun. The frumious bandersnatch". I'll try to find a copy of the manuscript to check this one out, but I suspect the period is a mistake because the first line of each verse is capitalized per the convention of the day.

"Beware the Jabberwock and shun

The frumious bandersnatch".

44. Have great plans: ASPIRE

45. Pure: CHASTE

48. Mike's "Wayne's World" co-star: DANA. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.

49. Obligation: ONUS. Sometimes a burden. If it's an obligation it's on us.

50. Gets in the crosshairs, with "at": AIMS

51. Disneyland transport: TRAM

52. Norse god: ODIN

53. Make (one's way): WEND

54. Old horses: NAGS. Old horses never die, they just say "neigh".

55. Put a match to: LIT

... and I think that pretty much wraps it up. An enjoyable debut from Robert. Here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, February 5, 2020, MaryEllen Uthlaut

Theme: GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

17. Compact: MAKEUP CONTAINER.

39. Compact: FORMAL AGREEMENT.

62. Compact: SMALL AUTOMOBILE.

Three grid-spanning theme answers, all with the same clue. Most of the fill was gettable, thankfully. The English language is full of words that have multiple, sometimes unrelated, meanings.

Across:

1. Twinings products: TEAS. Can never remember now many n's in this brand name. Speaking of tea brands, I've noticed that tea brands seem to have changed over the years. Specific flavors that I've had for years just don't taste the same.

5. Wolf pack leader: ALPHA. Alpha dog.

10. Oft-misused pronoun: WHOM. Grammarly.

14. Hall of Famer Donovan, first woman to coach a WNBA championship team: ANNE. 2011 interview.

15. One-piece dresses: SARIS.

16. Georgetown athlete: HOYA. The Georgetown Hoyas are the athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University in college sports. The team name is derived from the mixed Greek and Latin chant "Hoya Saxa" (meaning "What Rocks"), which gained popularity at the school in the late nineteenth century.

20. Outshine: ECLIPSE.

21. Codgers: GEEZERS. Funny word.

22. Shorthand writer, for short: STENO. Stenographer. Steno- a combining form meaning “narrow,” “close,” used in the formation of compound words.

23. Haus husband: HERR. Learned from crosswords, finally remembered.

24. "Apollo 11" org.: NASA.

27. Solution for contacts: SALINE.

32. Decides: OPTS.

36. Attended, as college, with "to": WENT. My grandmother and her sisters, all from Texas, used to say "What went with the ____?" when they were looking for something.

38. Fibula neighbor: TIBIA.

42. Thumb one's nose at: FLOUT. Openly disregard (a rule, law or convention).

43. Air Quality Index factor: SMOG.

44. Old flames: EXES.

45. Bench-clearing brawls, e.g.: SETTOS. Another word I only see in crosswords, or old novels.

47. Big fusses: ADOS.

49. Grammar, in grammar: NOUN.

51. Slices in a pie, often: OCTAD. Recently seen on CBS.

56. Christmas show: PAGEANT.

60. Nutritionist's unit: CALORIE.

64. Soaks (up): SOPS.

65. Aptly named 1955 and 2019 Disney dog: TRAMP. Aw.

66. Oboe vibrator: REED.

67. Tupelo, e. g.: TREE. The most expensive honey in America. 

68. Chips in a chip: ANTES.

69. Mixes in: ADDS.

Down:

1. Subdues: TAMES.

2. Make into law: ENACT.

3. Common sprain site: ANKLE.

4. Welcome at the door: SEE IN.

5. Snakes in hieroglyphics: ASPS.

6. Bodice trim: LACE.

7. In favor of: PRO.

8. Depend (on): HINGE.

9. Daisylike fall flowers: ASTERS.

10. Zoom (by): WHIZ.

11. Refine, as skills: HONE.

12. Open hearing, in law: OYER. Heard quite a bit of late.

13. "24K Magic" singer Bruno: MARS.

18. Familiar with: UP ON.

19. Force gas into: AERATE.

23. Word-guessing game: HANGMAN.

25. Cobbler's tool: AWL.

26. Swell places?: SEAS. Nice clue.

28. Margarita garnish: LIME.

29. Goat with recurved horns: IBEX. Recurved - bent or curved backward.

30. Start of many a workday: NINE.

31. Revived Alton Brown cooking show "Good __": EATS.

32. Rip-__: thefts: OFFS.

33. Olympic vaulter's need: POLE.

34. Home run pace: TROT.

35. Indecent matter: SMUT.

37. Stepped heavily: TROD.

40. Without a musical key: ATONAL.

41. Self-awareness: EGO. Ram Dass (who passed away December 22, 2019) said you need just enough ego to to remember your Buddha Nature and your social security number.

46. Piano __: SONATA.

48. 46-Down, often: SOLO.

50. Difficult move in a busy intersection: U-TURN.

52. One leading a charmed life?: COBRA. Great clue.

53. Made an attempt: TRIED.

54. Needed to skip work, perhaps: AILED.

55. Closing documents: DEEDS.

56. "Hey, you!": PSST.

57. Deity with a bow: AMOR.

58. Stare in amazement: GAPE.

59. Otherwise: ELSE.

60. "The best is yet to __": COME.

61. Concert gear: AMPS.

63. Bit of body ink: TAT.

From C.C.:

Melissa said "jaelyn fell and broke her collarbone yesterday. she was really brave getting her x-ray."

Still smiling in her sling. Get well soon, Jaelyn!