Sunday February 16, 2020 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Change for a Buck" - Anagrams of HORSE span across each theme entry.

26. *Ball game record: SCORE SHEET.

37. *One may be six feet long: HERO SANDWICH.

55. *Historic site in Paris' Latin Quarter: THE SORBONNE.

72. *Epithet for a fair British maiden: ENGLISH ROSE.

87. *Totally ripped: TORN TO SHREDS.

 

16D. *Car coolant carrier: RADIATOR HOSE.

61D. *Tourist's eye-opening experience, perhaps: CULTURE SHOCK.

Reveal:

102A. 1971 Stones hit, or what can be found in the answers to starred clues: WILD HORSES.

Great title. I'd be stumped and sent a SOS title help to Gary and D-Otto.

The key is to find different combinations of the letter HORSES and make sure they span across two more more words.

Lots of sparkly long fill in the grid, as it's expected from Ed, who's also an accomplished themeless constructor.

Across:

1. Ports in a storm: HAVENS.

7. Queens stadium namesake: ASHE.

11. HUN neighbor, to the IOC: CRO. Hungary. Croatia.

14. Wasn't indifferent: CARED.

19. Reading disorder: ALEXIA.

20. Car thief's contact: CHOP SHOP.

22. Cremona strings master: AMATI. Stradivarius' teacher. Sometimes we get STRAD in the grid.

23. How to handle fine china: GENTLY. Pretty tea cup.

24. "In your dreams!": NOT A HOPE.

25. Encouraged through chicanery: LED ON.

28. Was indebted to: OWED.

29. One way to solve crosswords: IN INK.

30. Nomadic Kenyans: MASAI. Maasai is the Wiki spelling.

31. Need an eraser, say: ERR.

33. __ New Guinea: PAPUA.

35. Near-eternity: AEON.

42. Asian holiday: TET.

45. Leveled, with "up": TRUED.

47. Like many indie films: ARTY.

48. Some interruptions: AHEMS.

49. Music to a matador's ears: OLE.

50. "Try it": TASTE THIS. That's baby yellow squash on the left.

53. Diner menu info: PRICE.

54. Apple starter: CRAN.

58. Indian title of respect: SAHIB.

59. Early Earth life forms: BACTERIA.

63. "The Great Dictator" Oscar nominee Jack: OAKIE. Oldie.

64. As an example: FOR ONE.

65. Either of two Indy 500 racers: AL UNSER.

66. Not fulfilled: UNMET.

67. Wanted poster listings: ALIASES.

68. Weaken: DILUTE.

69. Sheik's land, in song: ARABY.

70. Most ready for trouble: ALERTEST. And 76. Ready for trouble: ON THE BALL.

71. Baltic people: LETTS. FINNS too.

74. Burden: ONUS.

75. Yucatán "you": USTED.

81. __ Lingus: AER.

82. "The Jungle" author Sinclair: UPTON. A couple more authors:  94. "The Black Cat" author: POE. 110. "Rabbit" series author: UPDIKE.

83. Smoothie berry: ACAI.

85. Reliever's stat: SAVES.

86. Born, in some bios: NEE.

91. Woodwind piece: REED.

92. Courtroom pro: STENO.

95. Blood of the gods: ICHOR.

97. First name in furniture: ETHAN. There's an Ethan Allen in our neighborhood. The good old Slumberland was closed last year.

99. Intent look: GAZE.

107. Level and plane: TOOLS.

108. Mix thoroughly, as oil and vinegar: EMULSIFY.

111. Musician Minaj: NICKI.

112. Poppycock: NONSENSE.

113. E Street Band notable Van Zandt: STEVEN.  Wiki says he plays plays guitar and mandolin for the band.

114. Hydrocarbon group: ALKYL.

115. Enjoy a run, perhaps: SKI.

116. Director's challenges: EGOS.

117. Most affected by a workout: SOREST.

Down:

1. Baddies with pointy hats: HAGS.

2. Actor Guinness: ALEC.

3. Like cobras, but not pythons: VENOMOUS.

4. Web system allowing outside access: EXTRANET. Only knew INTRANET.

5. Frasier's brother: NILES.

6. Obeys a stick-wielding doctor: SAYS AH.

7. Bad marks in high school?: ACNE.

8. "If it fits" item: SHOE.

9. Most popular: HOTTEST.

10. Lead monitor, for short: EPA.

11. Word with line or hound: CHOW.

12. Climbing gear: ROPE.

13. Slanted column: OP-ED PIECE.

14. Islamic leaders: CALIPHS.

15. "Can we see __?": diner's request: A MENU.

17. Thames campus: ETON.

18. Tennis drop shot: DINK.

21. Fleeced: SHORN.

27. "... __ you home to dinner": Shak.: HIE.

32. Flat fish: RAY.

34. Summit: ACME.

35. Motion maker: Abbr.: ATT. Attorney.

36. Period of time: ERA.

38. Mrs. Gorbachev: RAISA. So elegant. Her husband is still alive.

39. Roughly: OR SO.

40. "Shoot!": DARN IT.

41. Weimaraner's complaint: WHINE.

43. Eatery seen in the film "Manhattan": ELAINE'S.

44. Car and Driver yearly listing: TEN BEST.

46. Can't brook: DETESTS.

51. Number of singers in The Chipmunks: THREE.

52. Estate beneficiary: HEIR.

53. Cans for cons: POKEYS. Great clue.

54. Jeweler's measure: CARAT.

56. Clown mascot's first name: RONALD.

57. Thumper's friend: BAMBI.

58. Evening parties: SOIREES.

59. Banking misjudgment: BAD LOAN.

60. Property recipient, in legal language: ALIENEE.

62. Letter-shaped fasteners: T NUTS.

64. Crayola color renamed Peach in 1962: FLESH.

66. Like a "Stat!" instruction: URGENT.

67. Way more than some: A LOT.

69. Composer Bruckner: ANTON. This is like our English Anthony, right?

70. Links army leader: ARNIE. Palmer. "The King" .

72. Ovarian hormones: ESTROGENS.

73. Frosty coat: HOAR.

75. Knowledgeable about: UPON.

77. Manhattan, say: BAR ORDER. Another great clue.

78. Causing avoidance: AVERSIVE. Only know AVERSE.

79. Peggy or Brenda of song: LEE.

80. Hallucinogenic letters: LSD.

82. Fork, for instance: UTENSIL.

83. Japan's largest active volcano: ASO. Mount Aso. We also have 97. Italian hot spot: ETNA.

84. Pondering, with "on": CHEWING.

88. Cars that sound like gems: OPELS. Opals.

89. "__ you really just say that?": DID.

90. Run down a mountain: SCHUSS.

93. Blathering: TALKY.

96. "__ it!": "Get moving!": HOP TO.

98. Hard work: TOIL.

100. Berserk: AMOK.

101. Pueblo people: ZUNI.

103. "That being the case ... ": IF SO.

104. Soapmaker's supplies: LYES.

105. Just makes, with "out": EKES.

106. Mailed: SENT.

109. Watch: SEE.

C.C.

Saturday, February 15, 2020, Julian Lim

Saturday Themeless by Julian Lim

Another fine puzzle from our Singapore professor Julian Lim. As I look at his specialties at Duke University - University of Singapore I can find many traits of mine that could use remediation

As an educator, I am very interested into seeing the results of his research on mental fatigue and fluctuations in cognitive ability. Taking the SAT or other big tests in one setting may not be a good thing to do. Julian?

I struggled most in the NW corner with ENOKI, EKCO and TYGA

Across:

1. Toys with tails: KITES 

6. Mineral used in roofing: MICA - Hey, a portmanteau! 

10. Short answer?: RSVP.

14. Sukiyaki ingredient: ENOKI.

15. Disney theme park designer: IMAGINEER - Hey, another portmanteau!

17. Bounce: EJECT- Not evict it turns out

18. 55-Down warranty brand: APPLE CARE - I've always bought it for my Apple products 

19. Publish: PUT OUT - Rich has to PUT OUT a puzzle per day

21. Salmon or coral: RED.

22. Pathetic start?: SYM - Okay... 

23. George's musical sibling: IRA - The Gershwin Brothers got a little help from Dorothy and DuBose Hayward on this fabulous song.  It was written in 29. Key with no sharps or flats: A-MINOR.

24. One may be turned or earned: PROFIT 

27. Convergence points: FOCI - Our Sun is at one of the two FOCI of Halley's Comet's orbit which will next be seen from Earth in 2062

28. Feline rapper?: TYGA - I suppose, a TIGER is a feline and TYGA and a rap device is changing an "ER" ending to an "A" ending as in GANGSTER/GANGSTA

30. The Rams of the Atlantic 10 Conf.: URI = Go RAMS!

31. Only Nobelist besides Marie to win the prize in two fields: LINUS - Pauling - 1954 prize for Chemistry and 1962 for Peace as he opposed weapons of mass destruction 

32. Convert wrongly: MISTRANSLATE - Khrushchev later claimed he did not say 
"мы похороним тебя" ("We will bury you") but rather "Мы вас похороним"  ("Your working class will bury you"). Oh... 

36. Game with a pecking order?: SPIN THE BOTTLE - There are G and R rated versions of what is ostensibly a kissing (pecking) game

38. OkCupid alternative with an oceanic name: PLENTY OF FISH - The former is an American-based dating app and the latter is Canadian-based. How does a man who was born in and works in Singapore know this? 😏

39. Droid's "surname": DETOO - Last phonetic half of R2D2 phonetically

40. Fellow: LAD.

41. Swerves at sea: YAWS - The boat can point in a different direction (YAW) than the boat is actually moving.  

45. Boobird's output: JEER.

46. It unfolds before you retire: DAY BED - Sleeper, DAY BED or Futon?

49. Mortal Kombat's __ Kang: LIU - Google at will

50. 30-day mo.: APR.

51. Column angle: Abbr.: POV - Point Of View is pretty easy to see on these two networks 

54. Botch: MISMANAGE - You say our country is $20T in debt?

58. Sight sharpener: LASIK.

59. Webinars, e.g.: E-LEARNING - Some smaller Nebraska schools offer upper level courses like 52. Pre-coll. class: AP CALC by using E-LEARNING from teachers miles away

60. Classic TV nerd: URKEL - Jaleel White on type-casting

61. Match: SYNC - Our cable company can't SYNC the TV picture with the live radio feed for Husker Football. The TV picture is at least 10 seconds behind

62. Brand with a Chop House variety: ALPO - PETA says the owners shouldn't call this lovely dog a "pet"

63. Kind of tire: SPARE - Getting at and lowering your SPARE is much more complicated than grabbing it out of the trunk

Down:

1. Generous words: KEEP IT - Words wait staff and taxi drivers love to hear 

2. Tear, perhaps: INJURY - The verb INJURE works too

3. Item seen in the "Six Feet Under" title sequence: TOE TAG - Pretty easy to suss out for a show I've never seen

4. Corningware sister brand: EKCO 

5. Bit of middle management?: SIT UP - Oh, that middle is your tummy

6. "Crimson Peak" co-star Wasikowska: MIA  - Her IMDB

7. Prankster: IMP.

8. __ pants: CAPRI - Also clam diggers and pedal pushers?

9. Tip that prevents fraying: AGLET - From the Old French aguillette for needle. This shoelace tip can be wielded in a variety of ways

10. Org. chaired by Ronna Romney McDaniel: RNC - Mitt Romney's niece 

11. Available periodically: SEASONAL - Those good home-grown T's for BLT's aren't available until July

12. "Aww!": VERY CUTE.

13. Basic part of a TV sa pitch: PREMISE - A very funny PREMISE (:30)

16. Guerrilla combat weapon: Abbr.: IED - Improvised Explosive Device

20. Steed modifier: TRUSTY - Dudley Do-Right's TRUSTY steed was named, uh, Horse

25. Right at the start?: ORTHO a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “straight,” “upright,” “right,” “correct” (orthodox) and on this model used in the formation of compound words (orthopedic).

26. Night light source: FIREFLY - We put ours in a mason jar and poked holes in the lid

27. __ rich: FILTHY - The two presidential adversaries this November?

31. WWII craft: LSTS - LST-134 loading casualties in Normandy, France on D-Day +6

33. Digging a lot: INTO.

34. Saunders/French Britcom: ABFAB - Title for this show that forms another portmanteau

35. "Wish I knew": NO IDEA.

36. Tired way to talk: SLEEPILY.

37. William who plays Grissom on "CSI": PETERSEN - His IMDB

38. "A Taste for Death" author: PD JAMES - Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English crime writer. 

42. Kenai Fjords National Park site: ALASKA - Could be a slog for me to get there!

43. More cagy: WILIER.

44. Nurse: SUCKLE.

46. Summer of disco: DONNA - Get down with DONNA Summer!

47. Use: AVAIL.

48. Report card blemish: D-PLUS.

51. Scorecard number: PAR.

53. Koi, e.g.: CARP - Koi is just a CARP who knows someone!

55. Tech brand since 1998: MAC - July 1998 

56. Economic stat: GNP - Difference between GDP and GNP

57. Certain maniac's focus: EGO - A ten question quiz to determine if you are an EGOMANIAC. I got a 34%

Any comments for Professor Lim?

Friday, February 14, 2020, Garry Morse

Title: The wit and wisdom of Charles Schulz

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of PEANUTS and the many characters created by Mr. Schulz is the clarity of their naive philosophies. Today we have the rare "quip" puzzle where the theme is a Quotation. Some are strictly for humor, and some like today's combine humor and a touch of reality. This is the 11th LAT by Mr. Morse who is a Sunday specialist with only one Monday among his earlier publications. When the Corner started, before we migrated to the LAT we had regular quip puzzles which many enjoyed and many hated. It is hard to hate Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The cluing - Quote part I, etc., is not helpful but it gets the job done. Garry does include some fine bonus fill like HANNIBAL,  TSARISTS, AA SPONSOR (introduced today),  DARKHORSE, POLICE CAR and  TRIAL DATE which may not be as much fun as it sounds.
The quip:
17A. Start of a Charles M. Schulz quote: ALL YOU NEED (10)
22A. Quote, part 2: IS LOVE, BUT A (10).
38A. Quote, part 3: LITTLE CHOCOLATE (15).
50A. Quote, part 4: NOW AND THEN (10).
59A. End of the quote: DOES'NT HURT (10).

There are implicit references to Valentine's Day with "LOVE" and "CHOCOLATE" but you need to bring your own flowers. I accept gifts all year round. Enjoy this gift from Garry.

Across:

1. Penthouses, e.g.: Abbr.: APTS. Only one LINK came to mind.

5. Smartphone downloads: APPS.

9. Metaphor for responsibilities: HATS. A wife ears many hats, cook, nurse, companion, mother, lover...

13. Adriatic port: BARI. Bari is a port city on the Adriatic Sea and the capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region. Looks pretty

14. March Madness org.: NCAA. For the college basketball championship.

15. "Beavis and Butt-head" spin-off: DARIA. My son Devin liked this character.

16. Bickering: AT IT. The kids are always bickering.

19. Rub the wrong way: CHAFE.No thigh humor from me.

21. Twelve-step helper: AA SPONSOR. Alcoholics Anonymous, which is a sometimes successful way to help those who are addicted and need to face that reality to deal with it.

24. Non-neutral atom: ION. Also a leading repeat TV Network, LINK.

25. Light sleeper's distraction: DRIP. Leaky faucets do drive Oo crazy,

26. Living area in "The Martian," with "the": HAB. The Hab, short for "The Mars Lander Habitat" is a series of artificial living quarters that were constructed before the Ares III manned mission to Mars landed. Therefore not an abbreviation but a nickname?

28. A Gabor sister: EVA. Along with Zsa Zsa and Magda.

30. Acts of faith?: LEAPS.

34. Classic sci-fi villain: VADER. I do not see Darth as a Classic villain, but that is just me. He was a sweet man with a family who was misled.

41. 1980s attorney general: MEESE. This is not the plural of Mouse.

42. Shade related to violet: LILAC. A light violet.

43. Responsibility: RAP. This was not easy but it does the responsibility for or adverse consequences of an action shown more clearly in "he refused to take the rap."

44. Bend: ARC. Like a good curveball.

46. Cope with: HACK. A strategy or technique for managing one's time or activities more efficiently. Dictionary.

48. Dept. head: MGR.

56. Source of a siren: POLICE CAR. The same number of letters as AMBULANCE.

58. "__ Mio": O SOLE. They began as teenagers. IL VOLO.

61. Avian crop: CRAW. You do not grow birds.

62. Score symbols: FLATS. Musical score.

63. "You're kidding!": EGAD.

64. Whodunit canine: ASTA. When he wasn't with Nick and Nora he was ...making babies

65. Club with a blue and white diamond logo: SAMS. Did they adopt this logo?

66. Phillies slugger Hoskins: RHYS. They study everything now, even ballplayers I do not know. LINK. (pronounced reese).

67. Nair rival, once: NEET. Was this replaced by VEET?


Down:

1. Old counters: ABACI. I know C.C. can do this, can you?

2. Hiking network: PATHS. Not a computer network

3. Defense attorney's concern: TRIAL DATE. "Concern" is such an odd word in this context, as it is how one makes his/her money.

4. Be paid to watch, as children: SIT FOR.

5. Prefix with -gram: ANA. No PANgrams lately.

6. Techie training site: PCLAB. Is it one or two words? Help please our experts.  LAB.  Clecho- 45D. Tech tutorials site: CNET.

7. Caroline Islands republic: PALAU. Following World War II, in 1947, under UN auspices as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the United States assumed administration of Palau. In 1982, Palau signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Palau gained its independence and established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1994.

8. Dost speak: SAYST. Bible talk.

9. Legendary Carthaginian general: HANNIBAL. What we know of his LIFE he was the most interesting man of his time.

10. "You __ busted!": ARE SO. When you run into your mother at the mall during school hours.

11. Attach with string: TIE ON.

12. __ City, Iraq: SADR. Not known to me consciously but it has been in the NEWS.

15. The Carpenters, for one: DUO.

18. Deep-water fish: OPAH.

20. More wicked, in Worcester: EVILLER. In British English, the "LL" is commonly used in words where Americans use a single "L." TRAVELLER comes to mind.

23. Touching competition?: EPEE.

27. Guacamole fruit: AVOCADO. One of the many fruit trees we have planted on our condo grounds, Of course, plating on common areas creates many conflicts.

28. Disease-stricken tree: ELM. We recently had reference to the
DISEASE.

29. Face off: VIE.

31. Knee injury initials: ACL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament.

32. Key letter: PHI. Beta Kappa. I am proud that my son earned his key in his junior year in college.

33. La preceder: SOL. Do re me fa sol la ti do.

35. Long shot: DARK HORSE. No politics so no comment.

36. Coming-in hr., roughly: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.

37. Sales staff member: REP.

39. Romanov adherents: TSARISTS. Their HISTORY.

40. Lyricist Sammy: CAHN.
A Hall of Famer LINK.

47. ER diagnostic tool: CT SCAN. CT is an abbreviation of computed tomography or computerized tomography.


48. Bucks: MOOLA. Moolah is a Fijian word meaning 'money' which may be the etymology.

49. Sparkle: GLEAM. A long-gone toothpaste.

51. Yellowish-brown: OCHER. Or is it ochre.

52. "Brideshead Revisited" novelist: WAUGH. The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. A precursor to DOWNTON ABBEY.

53. Assortment: ARRAY.

54. Thrill: ELATE. A classic C.C. word.

55. Unfamiliar with: NEW AT.

56. Sharable PC files: PDFS. Portable Document Formats.

57. Brain and spinal cord: Abbr.: CNS. Central Nervous System

60. Saints' achievements: Abbr.: TDS. New Orleans' version scores touchdowns, none more prolific than Drew Brees

Welcome to Friday Mr. Morse. I hope the Corner all enjoyed this puzzle and I look forward to their comments and any you feel like posting as well.  HAPPY VD! Lemonade out.

Happy birthday Heartrx wherever you are.

Thursday February 13th 2020 Kevin Christian & Howard Barkin

Theme Iceberg Ahead! The too-late Titanic shout from the Crow's Nest. Here we have a murder of crows:

17A. Crow: HUMBLE PIE. Eat crow, eat humble pie.

26A. Crow: BOAST WITH JOY. Be careful, because next week you might be eating crow. Be humble in victory, and gracious in defeat.

"For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, 

he writes not that you won nor lost, but how you played the game". 

Grantland Rice

45A. Crow: SINGER SHERYL. She was the soundtrack to my first years in Los Angeles. Her "Tuesday Night Music Club" album was all over the radio.

60A. Crow: BLACK BIRD. All crows are black birds, but not all blackbirds are crows. The ravens at the Tower of London have their wings clipped so that they can't fly off. Why? Because a superstition tells that if ever the ravens leave the Tower, "the monarchy will collapse and Britain with it." I think the monarchy, and Britain, has been doing a pretty good job of collapsing on their own recently, no help required from absentee blackbirds.

So, a first collaboration from Kevin and Howard, no strangers to these pages individually and severally. I liked the theme; I think they may have sweated over "boast with joy" which doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but the end result was pretty good and uncovering each "crow" was fun.

Across:

1. Suffix for Wikipedia: ORG

4. Humiliate: ABASE

9. Network with a "Cameras in the Court" page: C-SPAN

14. Excessively: TOO

15. Where many watch the Beeb: TELLY. Formally, the British Broadcasting Corporation, "the Beeb" in common parlance. It's on the telly, it is, yer Royal 'ighness. When I was a kid, there were two channels - the BBC and ITV, or "Independent Television" which ran commercials. If you didn't like what was running on one channel, you tuned to "The Other Side" to see if there was anything better.

16. Get to laugh: AMUSE

19. Plug-in Chevys: VOLTS

20. Series-ending abbr.: ET AL.

21. Lightning __: ROD

22. "Settle down!": COOL IT!

23. Delete for security reasons, say: REDACT.

25. Alphabetize, e.g.: SORT

32. Lapped (up): ATE. Funny, as lapping is the act of drinking as a cat or a dog, and eating, is, well, eating.

35. Take to a higher court: APPEAL

36. Amana Colonies state: IOWA. Why did I try IRAN first? Wrong, obviously. What did "Homestead" do to offend the other Armanas? Armana, East Armana, High Armana, Middle Armana, South Armana, West Armana and  .... Homestead. One is not like the others. Is one of these maypole dancers from Homestead? We should be told.

37. Copier pioneer: XEROX

39. Taylor of fashion: ANN

40. Likely 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee: JETER. Isn't he pretty much a shoo-in for Cooperstown? I can't think of anyone with better credentials right now.

41. Composer Satie: ERIK. If you've never been to Paris, you could do a lot worse than living vicariously with this

42. Taco sauce brand: ORTEGA

44. IRS identifier: SSN

48. In years past: ONCE

49. Range that contains much of the Mark Twain National Forest: OZARKS

53. Temple with an upcurved roof: PAGODA

56. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU. Speaking of which, why do auto insurance companies have such terrible commercials? The "LiMu Emu" is the latest abomination. Geico started the whole thing and should be ashamed of themselves.

58. "Allow me": MAY I?

59. Meter measure: USAGE

62. Electric car named for a physicist: TESLA

63. Kirin competitor: ASAHI. Beer! Cheers!

64. Zero, in soccer: NIL

65. Get to the point?: TAPER

66. Exorcist's target: DEMON. Could be "devil" so hold your horses (of the apocalypse) and wait for the crosses.

67. "Get how it's done?": SEE?

Down:?

1. "Some __ time": OTHER

2. Waze recommendation: ROUTE

3. Lose one's grip: GO MAD

4. Delta hub code: ATL. The tram that lets you off at the "D" gates at Atlanta Hartsfield announces that you are arriving at "D - David" because everyone flying Delta used to get off when they heard "D - Delta", which is actually the United terminal. So now it goes "A - Alpha, B - Bravo, C - Charlie, D - David, E - Echo" to avoid confusion.

5. Draft source: BEER TAP. I've never seen Asahi nor Kirin on tap. Must investigate.

6. Pet food brand: ALPO

7. Avoided a tag, perhaps: SLID. Baseball reference to sliding into the base to avoid being tagged "out".

8. "Queer __": revived style show: EYE. It used to be called "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" but I assumed the Straight Guy part was not inclusive. One of my favorite food show presenters, Ted Allen, was one of the original cast, as, aptly, the food and wine expert.

9. Frolic: CAVORT

10. Blended beverage: SMOOTHIE

11. Yank: PULL

12. Bubbly city: ASTI. I think we need a moratorium on ASTI for a while, it's been cropping up a lot.

13. Stick-y place to sleep?: NEST. I like the clue.

18. Spill the beans: BLAB

22. Slinky shape: COIL. The "Slinky" toy which was a big spring and "walked" downstairs. That was it. It was something of a fascinating one-trick pony which was quickly consigned to the toy box, never to be seen again.

24. Persuade with flattery: COAX

25. Title river in a Gershwin/Caesar song: SWANEE.

27. Like Wyoming's population: SPARSE. Alaska's got 'em beat - 1.3 people per square mile rather than the crowds in Wyoming - six to the square mile, no room to swing a cat over there.

28. Start of the back nine: TENTH. Golf, again.

29. Quickly writes: JOTS

30. Is in the red: OWES

31. It may get crewel treatment: YARN. Fun, play-on-words clue. Embroidery.

32. x, y and z, in math: AXES. The Z axis confused me when I first came across it, I don't visualize well in 3D and dealing with three variables makes my brain hurt.

33. Polo of "The Fosters": TERI. Thank you, crosses.

34. Shillelagh's land: ERIN

38. Words that activate an assistant: OK, GOOGLE. One of my friends made me laugh the other day - he told me "I'm in trouble, I called Siri "Alexa". She thinks I'm cheating on her".

40. "Empire State of Mind" rapper: JAY Z

42. White-bellied swimmer: ORCA

43. First name in comedy: GROUCHO. There's a private club in London, The Groucho Club, whose members are primarily from the fields of publishing, entertainment and the arts. It was founded as an alternative to the archaic and stuffy members clubs in London and took its name from Groucho Marx's assertion that "he wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member".

46. Make lovable: ENDEAR

47. Souvlaki meat: LAMB. Food! Count me in if you're making souvlaki, I'll bring the ouzo.

50. Comes down: RAINS

51. 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year __ Irving: KYRIE

52. Crab-walk: SIDLE

53. Miniature golf stroke: PUTT

54. Riding the waves: ASEA

55. [Oh no!]: GASP!

56. Besides that: ELSE

57. Word said with a tip of the hat: MA'AM

60. Evil: BAD

61. It's all relatives: KIN. Nice clue. All your relatives are your kin. I'm lucky, my relatives are a pretty fine bunch so I don't subscribe to the "you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives" maxim.

And with that, we reach the end, my friends. A quick grid-posting and it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, so let's have at it!

Steve

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 Kurt Krauss

Theme:  Throwing you a curve.  Here we have hidden words -- well, not so hidden if you got the circled letters.  And they all are completely different meanings of the word PITCH.  Each is split across two words of the theme fill, in each case with one separated letter. Lets have a look.

17 A. *Power outage standbys: GAS LANTERNS. Ours are battery powered, but to each his own.  Here,  PITCH means the SLANT, as of, frex, your roof.  This is also known as the SLOPE and is calculated as the rise divided by the run.

24 A. *"I don't care if you made plans, cancel them": GET OUT OF IT!  What? And give up a date with my lovely wife?  Not a chance!  Here we have an aggressive sales PITCH [which I am not buying] or, in verb form, to TOUT something, as an attempt to promote or convince

39 A. *Morally upright person: STRAIGHT ARROW.  One who lives according to rigidly proper or conventional standards.   The words PITCH and TAR are often used interchangeably, denoting a type of viscoelastic polymer extracted from petroleum, coal tar or by heating plant matter. It can be used as a marine caulk and for other types of water proofing.  PITCH is considered to be more solid, while TAR is more on the liquid side. The distinction seems a bit arbitrary.

53 A. *Stretch between two Bushes: CLINTON ERA.  You were probably thinking of a gap in the hedge row.  But, no.  This refers to the 41st, 42nd and 43rd presidents of the United Sates. The CLINTON era included most of the last decade of the most recent past century, and separated the terms of presidents Bush Sr. and Jr.  Here TONE describes a musical sound.  The clue relates it to the PITCH which is a vibrational frequency, relative to a standard reference, typically A = 442 Hz. This is close but not quite right. TONE refers to sound quality and timbral characteristics.  The TONE of a piano is different from the TONE of a trombone. And my TONE can vary daily based on any number of factors.  To complicate matters further, playing in tune, that is, at the proper PITCH, is called proper intonation.  Music terminology is not always rational.  Farther down that rabbit hole we shall not venture.

And, at last, the unifier -- 64 A. Ballpark brushback, perhaps ... and a hint to each set of circled letters: INSIDE PITCH.  This refers to a baseball thrown off the plate by the PITCHER, in or near the occupied batter's box, either accidentally or on purpose, possibly to make the batter uncomfortable.  MLB pitchers and catchers are reporting to their training camps this week, many of them today, so this theme is quite timely.  The other sense of the unifier is to describe the meaning of each target word HIDDEN in the theme fill entry.

Hi, Gang.  JazzBumpa here to umpire today's game.  I might not get all the calls right, but I promise to be fair.  And, yes, I do need glasses.

Across:

1. Home on the range: RANCH.  A plot of land and associated structures, typically devoted to raising and grazing live stock.

6. Hardly wimpy: MACHO.  Showing aggressive pride in one's masculinity.

11. Film watcher's channel: TMC. Turner Movie Classics.

14. Take the honey and run: ELOPE.  Run away to get married, typically secretly and without parental consent. Clever clue.  Did you hear about the heart broken melons who found out they cantaloupe?

15. "Encore!": AGAIN.  Request from an audience to have another song played after the scheduled program.

16. Évian water: EAU.  Water in French

19. Digital readout, for short: LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

20. Up the creek: IN A SPOT.  Colloquially, in a bad situation.

21. "I, Claudius" star Jacobi: DEREK. [b 1938] British actor and stage director.

23. RSVP part: SIL. RSVP is short hand for Répondez s'il vous plaît, meaning "please respond." I can't parse the French, and Google translate renders s'il as "it."  So I'm not sure what the word [if it is a word and not a particle] actually means.

28. Airplane assignment: SEAT. Haven't been on a plane in years, but I will be next month.

31. Escape: LAM. In flight [not necessarily on a plane,] usually from law enforcement.  To be "on the lam" is late 19th century American slang of uncertain origin.

32. Man-to-man defense alternative: ZONE.  Ways of playing defensive schemes.  I'm thinking American football, but it probably applies to other sports as well.

33. Treat like a dog?: PET. Interesting and misdirecting word play.  To treat somebody like a dog means to be nasty to them.  But to give a dog a treat is to give the canine a nice reward.  This can be a food morsel or a show of physical affection.  Well played!

35. Place for a "ped" to cross: XING.  Abbreviated signage vocabulary indicating a pedestrian crossing at a roadway.

38. Bobbsey girl: NAN.  On of the famous twins from old time kiddie lit.

43. __-fi: SCI.  Abbrv. for science fiction, a genre of speculative literature.

44. Big rig: SEMI.  This is some blurry vocabulary.  The rig is the truck or tractor part of a tractor-trailer combination.   The SEMI is trailer without a front axle. Much of the trailers weight is supported by the tractor.  I doubt most people are this precise when speaking of these items.

45. Bandleader Lombardo: GUY. Of the Royal Canadiens, famous for playing Auld Lang Syne at the start of a new year.  His sugary saxophones played with vibrato about a minor third wide.  I hate that sound.  It was dated before I was born. /rant.

46. Beanery sign: EATS. Indicates an establishment unlikely to offer gourmet fare.

48. Ticker tape letters?: EKG.  The ticker being one's heart, and the tape being the paper graph readout of an electrocardiogram machine.  Clever!

50. Award adjective: BEST.  As in ___ Picture, ____ Actor, ____ In Show, etc.

57. "Huh!?": WHA?   Expressions of confusion or disbelief.

59. __ squash: ACORN.  A dark green winter squash that is roughly acorn shaped.

60. Language spoken by Jesus: ARAMAIC.

63. Bygone airline: TWA.  Trans World Airlines, established in 1930 and acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

67. Rock's Fleetwood __: MAC.

68. Code name: MORSE.  Not a name in code, but the name of a code.

69. Driving instructor's urgent reminder: BRAKE.  The most important thing any vehicle can do is stop safely.

70. "Hometown Proud" supermarket chain: IGA.  Nope.  Not a chain.  The Independent Grocer's Alliance, founded in 1926, operates as a franchise with stores that are independently owned and operated, mostly as family businesses in small towns.

71. Weapon with a hilt: SWORD.  The hilt is the handle of a bladed weapon.

72. Fills completely: SATES.  Literal.

Down:

1. TV host Philbin: REGIS. Regis Francis Xavier Philbin [b 1931] is an American media personality who holds the Guinness world record for most time spent in front of a TV camera.

2. "Jagged Little Pill" co-songwriter Morissette: ALANIS.  [b1974] She is a Canadian singer, song writer, record producer and actress.

3. Old register key: NO SALE.  This opens the cash drawer in an instance when no transaction has occurred.

4. They report to sgts.: CPLS.  Sergeants and Corporals in the military.

5. Pile: HEAP.  Stuff thrown together in an unorganized way

6. Barbie's company: MATTEL.  True, but doesn't Ken keep her company? Barbie is a fashion doll introduced in 1959.  There have been many variants over the years since.

7. Get on in years: AGE.  This is what I do.

8. Aries or Taurus: CAR. A Plymouth and a Ford.  Any resemblance to signs of the zodiac is completely accidental.

9. Like many yoga practitioners: HINDU.  From the Indian subcontinent.

10. Beginning: ONSET.

11. Ringer in la casa: TELEFONO.  In a Spanish speaking home.

12. Wool coat that is often plaid: MACKINAW. Made of a heavy, water-resistant cloth.  They were originally made in the Straits of Mackinaw [or Mackinac, same pronunciation -it's a Michigan thing] region in the early 1800's, before Michigan was even a thing.

13. Something to chew: CUD.  If you are a cow.

18. Holiday quaff: NOG. A drink made from eggs, sugar and milk or cream, often alcoholic.

22. Cartoonist Chast: ROZ. [b 1954]  Staff cartoonist for the New Yorker, also publishes in Harvard Business Review and Scientific American.

25. Source of increased government revenue: TAX HIKE.  Yes - contrary to what you might have been told, this really is how it works.

26. Overlook: OMIT. Leave out.

27. Common base: TEN. Math?  Who said there would be math?

29. Auto financing abbr.: APR.  Annual Percentage Rate.  And more math!

30. Afternoon affairs: TEAS.  Small meals where TEA is served with sandwiches some time in the afternoon, since dinner isn't until 8:00.  Wait --- what were you thinking?

Nope -- this is not ABBA

34. Even score: TIE.

36. Pester: NAG.

37. Pub __: casual fare: GRUB.  Ugly sounding word for simple food.

39. Rascal: SCALAWAG. Someone whose bad behavior is amusingly mischievous rather than evil. Or so I've been told. YMMV.

40. Bolivian border lake: TITICACA.  At an elevation of 12, 507 feet, it is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world.

41. Fed. agents: G-MEN. Government Men - federal law enforcement agents.

42. Deli choice: RYE. Bread for sandwiches.  Most delis don't serve whiskey.

43. Brief time: SEC.  An abbreviated second - so probably shorter than a normal second? 

47. __-Caps: candy: SNO.  Semi-sweet chocolate drops covered in white nonpareils.

49. Marked for the class: GRADED.  Did you get 100%?

51. Go after, as a fly: SWAT AT.  And usually miss.

52. "The Masked Singer" judge Robin: THICKE. [b 1977] An American singer, song writer and record producer.

54. Cuts back: TRIMS.

55. Currently airing: ON NOW.

56. "All bets __ off": ARE.

58. Flu symptoms: ACHES.

61. LAPD alerts: APBS. All Points Bulletins.  Broadcasts issued by a law enforcement agency to its personnel, or to other agencies, typically containing information about a wanted suspect.

62. Actress Sorvino: MIRA. [b1967] An American actress who has won Golden Globe and Academy awards.

Bad stuff happens

63. Texter's "No more details!": Too Much Information.   Please -- tell me less.

65. Sellout letters: SRO. Standing Room Only

66. Leb. neighbor: ISRael.  Countries along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

So - the game is now over.  Hope you didn't have to many swings and misses.  And remember - they're all judgment calls.

Cool regards!
JzB