Monday February 24, 2020 Matt McKinley

Theme: SKIP INTRO (65. Command to bypass a recap of prior episodes ... and what the puzzle circles do) - Each theme entry contains a split- up INTRO.

17. Keyboard chamber work: PIANO TRIO.

24. Shih Tzu or Chihuahua: MINIATURE DOG.

40. Authorize someone to represent you at the shareholder meeting: DESIGNATE A PROXY.

52. Personal unrest: INNER TURMOIL.

Boomer here.  

Here's my intro - My bowling started last Monday with a 254 game. After that?  The same old, same old.  I was watching the PGA Mexico tournament and I have come to realize that I am not far off from the pros.  They hit their drives around 320 yards, my drives travel about 320 feet.  NBC - do you really have to show 6 commercials every 2 minutes ??

Across:

1. On a peg, as a golf ball: TEED.  Yup. FORE!! 320 feet.

5. Panda Express kitchen items: WOKS. We do not have a traditional WOK at home.  C.C. does just fine with a frying pan.

9. Aerospace giant __ & Whitney: PRATT.

14. Pre-deal payment: ANTE.  Craps does not require an ANTE.  Just put some $$ on the pass line and see what happens.

15. Rapper/actor with a cool name?: ICET.  Law & Order SVU guy with a funny name.

16. Talk show host in the National Women's Hall of Fame: OPRAH.  On her way up, she used to show up on the Johnny Carson show now and then.

19. Pending state: LIMBO.  In the late 50s and early 60s, this was a funny dance walking backwards under a stick.

20. Go off-script: AD LIB.  This would be more accepted if it was liberation from ads.

21. Indian royal: RAJA.

23. Very long time: EON.  The time it takes me to work a crossword can be measured in EONS.

28. Wet just a bit: MOISTEN.  No longer necessary on postage stamps.

31. Airer of old films: TCM.  Turner Classic Movies.  I wonder if the Braves have them on in their clubhouse.

32. Kindle download: APP.

33. Norse royal name: OLAV.  Sometimes known as Olaf.

36. Was shown on TV: AIRED.  When winter is over, we may open a window or two for some fresh air.

44. Tea biscuit: SCONE.  Does Baskin -Robbins sell S CONES?

45. Sank, with "down": WENT. "Down down in the sea, far from the lights of town."

46. Fellows: MEN.

47. Pontiac muscle car: GTO. "Three deuces and a four speed, and a 289"  (Beach Boys)

49. Financed like many fleet cars: ON LEASE.  I do not like car leases.  When the term is up, you have to return it to the dealer, then how are you going to get home.  Plus you have no equity to trade.

57. __ Paulo: SAO.

58. Bruins star Phil, to fans: ESPO.  I don't watch much Hockey but I heard that Alex Ovechkin Knocked number 700 in the nets this weekend.  Phil had 717 goals in his career.

59. Eye surgery acronym: LASIK.

63. Singer Ronstadt: LINDA.

68. Make sure not to see: AVOID.  I try to AVOID leaving ten pins.

69. "Electric" fish: EELS.  Drop one "E" and you have an electric golfer.

70. Product preview: DEMO.

71. Like a bad breakup: MESSY.  Like my spare shooting some nights.

72. Deuce topper: TREY.  I thought it was called a three.

73. Smoochy love letter letters: SWAK.  "I'll send you all my love ... every day in a letter, Sealed with a Kiss."  (Bryan Hyland - 1962)

Down:

1. Cantina snack: TAPA.  They may have been in the concession stands at the Mexican Golf Tournament last weekend.

2. Oklahoma city: ENID.  The ninth largest city in Oklahoma which makes it smaller than Brooklyn Park, MN.

3. And others: Abbr.: ET AL.  High School Latin, it means whatever I left out.

4. Jeans: DENIMS.  I have not worn Jeans for 50 years.  If it were up to me, Levi's would be out of business.

5. Quipster: WIT.

6. Text digitization meth.: OCR.  What I had in my baseball card store.  An Old Cash Register.

7. Knightley of "Love, Actually": KEIRA.

8. Brown ermine: STOAT.

9. Frigid zone ice formation: POLAR CAP.  This is what I call our driveway in February.

10. N.Y. tech school: RPI.  Apologies to you grads.  I thought this stands for Runs Per Inning.  Spring training has begun.

11. Carrying a weapon: ARMED.  I have two golf weapons, attached to my shoulders.

12. It's forbidden: TABOO.  I have to be careful with some of my bowling and golf words.

13. Skimpy swimsuit: THONG.

18. Column that aptly includes the letters BIO: OBIT.

22. Stick (out): JUT.

25. Sign gas: NEON.  No doubt we viewed lots of NEON in Las Vegas.

26. Relative via marriage: IN-LAW.  Certainly is.  But how come criminals are called Outlaws.

27. Mideast bigwig: EMIR.

28. Magazines with Alfred E. Neuman: MADS.  I'll bet I bought 50 or 60 editions back in the 50s and 60s.  Not anymore, are they still Around?  I still remember an edition in the early 60s featuring Richard Nixon and sung to the tune of "Tit Willow".  "In a house by the ocean Dick Nixon sang out, singing TV, damn TV, damn TV.  And I said to him Dickie boy why do you shout, singing TV, Damn TV, Damn TV.  Is it westerns you hate so immensely I cried?  Do those private eye shows hurt you deep down inside? None of those its those lousy debates he replied,  Damn TV, Damn TV, Damn TV.

 

29. Intl. oil group: OPEC.

30. __ facto: IPSO.

34. Had lunch: ATE.  Two and two are four, Four and four are ??

35. Snake's poison: VENOM.

37. Capital of Italia: ROMA.  My sister visits Rome frequently. We still call it Italy and Rome.  I wonder what Italians call Minneapolis ??

38. They aren't together anymore: EXES.  Between Ws and Ys.

39. Unit of force: DYNE.

41. "Picnic" dramatist: INGE. William.

42. Prepare (for): GET READY.  Get set, GO.

43. __ extra cost: AT NO.  We already charge too much so you can have this at NO EXTRA COST !!

48. Tense NBA periods: OTS.  We had this last week, Timberwolves are still 30 points behind at the buzzer.

50. Taylor of "Mystic Pizza": LILI.

51. Largest living antelopes: ELANDS.

52. Muslim religion: ISLAM.

53. Hardly worldly: NAIVE. My sister always called me this. Then one day I looked it up in the dictionary and hit here.

54. They're forbidden: NO NOS.  After that, calling me NAIVE was a NONO.

55. Unexpected win: UPSET. See Timberwolves (above).  They made a few trades and now they win once or twice a month.

56. "Today" weather anchor: ROKER.  Remember him on the subway in Seinfeld ??

60. Crock-Pot dinner: STEW.  Yup, we have a Crock-Pot, and I make beef stew.  C.C. does not like beef, but now and then she will try a carrot.

61. Hogwarts librarian __ Pince: IRMA.

62. Screwball: KOOK.  KOOKIE, KOOKIE, lend me your comb.

64. Prefix with card or count: DIS.  or ney World.

66. Land in l'eau: ILE.

67. Future therapist's maj.: PSY.

Boomer

Sunday February 23, 2020 John-Clark Levin

Theme: "Herd Mentality" - Each common phrase is reinterpreted as if one of the words is a collective noun for animals.

23. Ants in the British colonies?: CONTINENTAL ARMY. Army of ants.

37. Fish attending Mass?: CATHOLIC SCHOOL. School of fish.

45. Lions marching event?: PRIDE PARADE. Pride of lions.

63. Whales' sorely lacking veggie supply?: TWO PEAS IN A POD. Pods of whales.
 
80. Wolves from Lower Manhattan?: BATTERY PACK. Pack of wolves.

89. Bats living in an old Chrysler?: PLYMOUTH COLONY. Colony of bats.

106. Crows sailing from Ethiopia to Egypt?: MURDER ON THE NILE. Murder of crows.

This seems to be the first Sunday LAT puzzle for John. He had two weekly puzzles published last year. Congrats, John.

Lots of collective nouns. Some are not workable. Some are not common. John gave us a good set.
 
Across:

1. Small Mercedes sedan: A CLASS. Gimme for Dennis.

7. Golf match equalizer: HANDICAP. Rich Norris, our editor, used to be a scratch golfer.

15. Less risky: SAFER.

20. Lighthearted: BLITHE.

21. Cheerio relative: AU REVOIR. Zai Jian.

22. Yearn for: CRAVE.

25. Drove at Indy: RACED.

26. Tentative agreement: I GUESS SO.

27. Baton Rouge-to-Jackson dir.: NNE.

28. "Great" Russian czar: PETER I.

29. Sun Devils' sch.: ASU.

30. Updike's "Rabbit Redux," e.g.: Abbr.: SEQ. Sequel.

31. Tennis immortal: ASHE.

33. Dull opening?: DEE. Just the starting letter in Dull.

34. Gp. with a three-finger salute: BSA.

35. Listing: ATILT.

41. Baroque painter Guido: RENI. Wiki says he painted "Crucifixion of St. Peter".

42. Elvis sings it in "Blue Hawaii": ALOHA OE.

44. Sarcastic "So sad": BOO HOO.

47. Cataract surgery replacement: LENS.

48. Green-lights: OKS.

50. Edmond __: the Count of Monte Cristo: DANTES. I read that book in Chinese.

51. Large body of eau: MER.

52. Fiscal execs: CFOS.

54. Pope's jurisdiction: HOLY SEE.

57. Reason for a star: HEROISM.

61. Juno, to Socrates: HERA. Roman/Greek.

62. Punk subgenre: EMO.

67. Goof: ERR.

68. Pringles alternative: LAYS.

70. Nestlé candy with a white covering: SNO CAPS.

71. "Shoulda listened to me!": I TOLD YA.

73. Cool, in '90s slang: PHAT.

74. LAPD unit?: LOS. Spelled out.

75. Madame's Spanish counterpart: SENORA.

77. Pale __: ALE.

78. Dilute: THIN.

85. Things to avoid: TABOOS.

87. Rangers' domains: FORESTS.

88. Wild plum: SLOE.

92. Whoopi's role in "The Color Purple": CELIE. Never saw the movie.

93. VCR button: REC.

94. Degree in math: NTH. Did our tax this year with TurboTax. Pretty sleek. Of course, I have a pro in Texas to guide me.

95. Tinged: HUED.

96. Texter's qualifier: IMO.

98. NBC show since 1975: SNL.

99. Gives the slip: EVADES.

101. Be on duty at, as a battle station: MAN.

102. Aids in DNA sequencing research: GENE MAPS.

105. Fathered: SIRED.

110. Orson Scott Card protagonist __ Wiggin: ENDER. "Ender's Game".

111. Documented: ON RECORD.

112. Swimwear fabric: TRICOT. Learning moment for me.

113. Short: TESTY.

114. Closed ecosystems: BIODOMES.

115. Net worth component: ASSETS.

Down:

1. "black-ish" airer: ABC.

2. Symbol of monastic life: CLOISTER.

3. Alfredo __, "Ratatouille" character named for a pasta: LINGUINI. Helpful clue.

4. Alaskan island invaded by Japan in WWII: ATTU.

5. Least likely to mingle: SHIEST.

6. Connotation: SENSE.

7. Brinker on skates: HANS.

8. Start to correct?: AUTO. Autocorrect.

9. Gun lobby org.: NRA.

10. __ Taco: DEL.

11. Scott classic: IVANHOE.

12. "Race Matters" author West: CORNEL. Unfamiliar to me.

13. Lyon lover's word: AIME.

14. Ask invasively: PRY.

15. Certain owl's howl: SCREECH.

16. "How now? __?": Hamlet: A RAT.

17. News source for millions: FACEBOOK FEED. Lots of great fill in this puzzle.

18. "Be it __ humble ... ": song lyric: EVER SO.

19. Phone button: REDIAL.

24. Law firm abbr.: ESQ.

28. Baja bar tender?: PESOS. Nice clue.

29. __ The Magazine: AARP. Soon they'll send me letters.

31. Just barely: A TAD.

32. Oxford, but not Cambridge: SHOE.

33. Mousetrap brand: D-CON.

36. 1970s Plumber: LIDDY. G. Gordon Liddy.

37. Exercise target: CORE.

38. Shouts of discovery: AHAS.

39. Madrid-based airline: IBERIA.

40. Moonshine: HOOCH.

42. Reuters apps alternative: AP NEWS.

43. Tardy with: LATE ON.

46. Down __: Maine nickname: EAST.

47. Writer Uris: LEON.

49. "My bad": SORRY.

51. ER scans: MRIS.

53. "Love Song" singer Bareilles: SARA.

54. Beatles album with a bang: HELP.

55. The Wizard of Oz's hometown: OMAHA. Really? I don't remember Omaha mentioned in the movie.

56. Rewards for regulars: LOYALTY CARDS. Does any of you have the Target RedCard?

57. Lukas of "Witness": HAAS.

58. Debatable "gift": ESP.

59. Small piano: SPINET.

60. General __: MOTORS. Hope Hyundai Santa Fe has big leg room. The Ford Escape was tough for Boomer to get in and out.

64. Refinement: POLISH.

65. Aspiring MBA's major: ECON.

66. Fishing boat: DORY.

69. Boiling sign: STEAM.

72. What a subscription renewal prevents: LAPSE.

75. WWII weapon: STEN.

76. Crafts website: ETSY.

78. Hypes: TOUTS.

79. Frozen planet in "The Empire Strikes Back": HOTH. Another learning moment for me.

80. Tree trunk: BOLE.

81. J.Lo's fiancé: A-ROD.

82. Pumpkin pie seasoning: ALL-SPICE.

83. Vending machine feature: COIN SLOT.

84. Underwater projection: KEEL.

86. Not even moist: BONE-DRY.

87. Based: FOUNDED.

89. Car radio button: PRESET.

90. Adam of Maroon 5: LEVINE.

91. Mexican horseman: CHARRO. Read more here. Mexican cowboy.

92. Rising stars: COMERS.

96. QB's pass to a CB, say: INT.

97. L.A. Philharmonic Conductor Emeritus: MEHTA (Zubin)

100. Tick-ing bomb?: DEET.

101. City bond, briefly: MUNI.

102. "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" author: GORE.

103. Results: ENDS.

104. Spanish cordial: ANIS.

106. Rabble: MOB.

107. "The Name of the Rose" author: ECO.

108. __-com: ROM.

109. Presumed UFO crew: ETS.

Happy 81st birthday to dear Keith Fowler (Ol' Man Keith), the longest-living Fowler on record.
 

The 43rd American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (March 20-22, 2020) will be held at the Stamford Marriott in Stamford, Connecticut. 

Time to reserve your Cru Dinner again. As I mentioned before, the Cru Dinner officially kicks off the tournament and is a great opportunity to meet with constructors and fellow solvers. Will Shortz stopped by last year. The space is limited, so be sure to contact with Mike Alpern as soon as possible. Mike's email address is: alpernm@aol.com

More details can be found here.

Cru Dinner Celebrities, Will Shortz and Mike Alpern

 

Jeffrey Wechsler and Mike Alpern, ACPT, 3/23/2019

 

Saturday, February 22, 2020, C.C. Burnikel

Saturday Themeless Puzzle by C.C. Burnikel

Today we get a very nice themeless effort from our resident den mother C.C. Here you can see her with yours truly when Joann and I visited with her and Boomer in our hotel lobby in Minneapolis while we were there for a wedding. I'm not sure how often she wears that Husker shirt but I it gave me a lot of pleasure to give it to her.

She and this website has been an invaluable addition to my life after retirement. We have collaborated on a few puzzles but I really value our exchanges about themes, fill and titles plus events in our private lives.

C.C. also has served as a portal for me to make contact with the wonderful 35. Buddies, in slang: PEEPS who frequent this site. I am honored she has trusted me to take over the Saturday blogging. You can not imagine how patient she was with me when I started. She had more faith in my abilities than I did.

When I asked her about this puzzle and its seemingly random long fill, she replied, "I don't have any note for the puzzle. Sorry. The long fill for themeless are always random, unless there's a mini theme where two entries are placed symmetrically. The goal is just to get the smoothest fill possible."

Let's  see what Zhouqin has for us today:

Across:

1. Rubber-stamped item?: INK PAD.

7. Rose's record 14,053: AT BATS - Every major league dugout has Rule 21, which you see below, posted in it. Among other things Rule 21 forbids betting on games. Pete walked past it on his way to every one of the AT BATS but he not only bet on games, he lied about it for years and so The Hall Of Fame continues to deny him entrance.

13. Dessert for one, maybe: MINI PIE.

15. Cotton farm threat: WEEVIL - Brook Benton's distinctive voice gives us a song about the Boll WEEVIL

16. Handlers for a mixologist: ICE TONGS - We tend to use our hands here at home

18. Joey of *NSYNC: FATONE - Any real fan would know which one he is. Uh, I don't, but will identify him at the bottom * if you're interested

19. Liquid meas.: GAL.

20. Mythical mount that flies: PEGASUS - A real find on American Pickers features this mythical mount

22. '90s sitcom "__ and Stacey": NED - It ran for a year and a half

23. Maintained: HELD - Some views pols HELD years ago have come back to haunt them

25. Invalid: NULL and void


26. Steep projection: CRAG - Would you walk out on a CRAG like this?

27. Shocker on a cop's belt: TASER.

29. High words: ODE - Words of high praise

30. "All done!": THERE.

31. Light lunch choices: VEGGIE WRAPS 

34. Pinkish nail polish shade: CORAL - Redux from last Saturday

36. "That could work": NOT A BAD IDEA - 59. Sent revealing messages: SEXTED - Not so much!

38. Sheets, e.g.: LINEN and 45. One might be fit for a king: SHEET - Ah yes, we honor presidents with SHEET and LINEN sales in February

39. Score half: TEN - Honest Abe is the only reason we know that a "score" is 20.

40. Stadium souvenirs: STUBS - The average cost of Super Bowl ticket STUBS over the years

44. Some are random and kind: ACTS.

45. Alone, in a way: STAG - Going STAG is pretty rare for me now

46. Maui, for one: ISLE - I'd better take along a Snickers Bar

47. "Told ya!": SEE.



48. Hillary aides: SHERPAS - Five days after New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and his SHERPA Tenzig Norgay reached the crown of Mt. Everest in 1953, another crown was in the UK news

51. Springfield small business owner: MOE - Moe's Bar and not Apu's convenience store

52. Taste test need: TONGUE - that middle area sees playing time in our puzzles

54. Sun spot?: SOLARIUM 8. Hot spots?: TEAS - I suspect C.C. might have a spot of TEA daily in a Sun Spot SOLARIUM

56. Major course: ENTREE - My birthday ENTREE is a filet at Brother Sebastians in Omaha

57. Team on a football field: DEFENSE - "Push 'em back! Push 'em back! Waaay back!"


58. About 25% of California: DESERT.


Down:

1. "Maybe": I MIGHT.

2. City for which a creed is named: NICAEA - Constantine got Christian leaders together in 325 A.D. and they mostly agreed on the Nicene Creed. Dissenters were exiled.

3. Solemn sounds: KNELLS - Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard - The curfew tolls the KNELL of parting day," Thomas Gray

4. Date center: PIT - Same for a peach, apricot, et al

5. Each: A POP - The Michelin tires I bought last week were around $200 A POP

6. It goes with wine: DINE - I have never been wined and dined. I got a Big Mac once...

7. Really bad: AWFUL.

9. Get in the pool: BET - Pools like this were very common in our teacher's lounge 

10. Sellers of some beauty products: AVON REPS 

11. Problems for ones making notes?: TIN EARS - An observation from our crossword friend Ari I've used before

12. Heavy hitter: SLEDGE.

14. Starbucks holiday drink: EGGNOG LATTE - Yikes!

17. Many an Arab News reader: SAUDI.

21. Capsule for a nap: SLEEPING POD - Students at the British Columbia Institute of Technology can catch a safe and secure nap between classes in these PODS. I'll bet last week's constructor Julian Lim has studied the effectiveness of this practice 

24. Allocates: DEVOTES.


26. Flatbread similar to naan: CHAPATI - CHAPATI and Keema curry

28. Showed over: RERAN - When Sienfeld episodes are RERAN, Jerry and Larry David make millions

30. According to the poet's oldest son, it was written "by a window looking down a wooded hill": TREES - Alfred Joyce Kilmer's poem

32. Shoot the breeze: GAB.

33. Unite: WED - An "L" can be inserted and the clue would still work 

34. What's inside: CONTENTS - Do you really want that Hungry Man Breakfast? 

36. "Impressive!": NICE ONE.

37. Sweeties: DEARS.

38. Went the distance: LASTED.

41. Where a lot of money is made: U.S. MINT - Will/should they quit minting pennies?

42. Top: BLOUSE 43. Appeared: SEEMED - It SEEMED Jerry agreed to wear this Pirate BLOUSE when he couldn't hear the "low talker" who asked him to

48. Litigant: SUER.

49. Bass and such: ALES - A 1953 vintage ad for Bass

50. Call at a base: SAFE - Some umpires maintain there is no such thing as "Tie goes to the runner". You're either SAFE or out

53. Hurdle for srs.: GRE - The Graduate Record Exam shows up here with the LSAT, PSAT, ACT, et al

55. Dog in the Reagan White House: REX - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel REX, takes first couple for a walk

Any comments for our Minneapolis sister?

*Joey is the second from the right on Justin Timberlake's right side

Friday, February 21, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Another shellfish offering from JW.

This is the first 2020 LAT puzzle from our own hero Jeffrey. He had gone 23 months straight being published here. I spoke to him about the month off; he was a bit crabby and really clammed up like an oyster protecting a pearl when I tried to push him. An ex-roommate call them "shell food." She was cute. Anyway, I have no clue how to work lobster into my sentence so I will quit while I can. (BTW this is all a product of my imagination as we did not talk about the LAT absence and he has been expanding his sales venues. JW is very gracious).  I did learn the are three types of shellfish, Crustaceans, Mollusks (which I knew) and ECHINODERMS  which was an unknown term. This puzzle is also a learning experience because as you see, the theme begins in row 4; not the usual 3. C.C. has commented on the need for this when you have four long themers in a puzzle. Because this puzzle involves "sounds like" it is a special challenge for C.C. and other ESL people.

As with 99% of Jeffrey's creativity, much is based on humor. It also showcases his use of words with DRY NOSE,  NOT OPEN, ONE ACRE, SATCHEL, ETHERNET, POULTICE, EXCERPTING and WE HAVE MORE as bonus fill. The three in this COLOR are all introduced to the LAT here. There is an inordinate number of initialisms. How much fun you have will depend on your sense of humor. I had a fine time, so let us look at the theme.

20A. Offering in shellfish worship?: PRAWN SACRIFICE (14). A PAWN SACRIFICE is a common tactic in chess.

 29A. Shellfish massage?: MUSSEL RELAXER (13). MUSCLE RELAXER changes into an image of hundreds of tiny guys walking on your back.

38A. Good name for a budget shellfish dealer?: SHRIMP AND SAVE (13). SCRIMP AND SAVE is an expression that has been around for hundreds of years


52A. Like one who exchanges texts with a shellfish?: WHELK  CONNECTED (14). This was the hardest because even though WELL CONNECTED is a common phrase, WHELK is not well known. Similar to CONCH which we have in Florida which are warm water herbivores. Whelks are eaten in England, Italy, and Japan and are cold water carnivores.

Time to move on to the rest of the puzzle. We hope you enjoyed the marine lesson.






Across:

1. "... morning roses newly wash'd with __": Petruchio: DEW.
I really enjoy JW having Shakespeare in almost all of his puzzles.
"I’ll attend her here
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain
165She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.
Say that she frown; I’ll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly washed with dew.
Say she be mute and will not speak a word;
Then I’ll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence." Taming of the Shrew

4. Jacket stories: BIOS. Book jackets.

8. Caused trepidation: SCARED. From the Latin meaning trembling.

14. Phoenix-to-Albuquerque dir.: ENE.

15. O'Neill's daughter: OONA. She married Charlie Chaplin and has a granddaughter with the name.

16. "Happy Days" diner namesake: ARNOLD. Mr. Miyaki started out as an Arnold.



17. Networking technology: ETHERNET. This is a traditional technology for connecting wired local area networks (LANs), enabling devices to communicate with each other via a protocol -- a set of rules or common network language.

19. Jalopy sound: RATTLE. Hence- rattletrap.

22. Mississippi sight: LEVEE. "Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die"

23. Storage furniture: CHESTS.

24. "__-haw!": YEE. A junction in Florida or a Mikasuki word for wolf. Recently almost entirely DESTROYED.

25. Expanse: AREA.

26. Word often preceded by a leader's name: ERA. Roosevelt Era. Reagen Era.

35. Perfect place: UTOPIA.

37. "Modern Family," e.g.: SITCOM. A classic PORTMANTEAU - situation comedy.

42. "Catch you later": BYE.

43. Traditional knowledge: LORE.

44. Rate for records, briefly: RPM. Revolutions per minute are the number of turns in one minute. It is a unit of rotational speed or the frequency of rotation around a fixed axis. 33, 45 and 78.

47. High spirits: GAIETY. Not so much anymore.

50. Hit the big time: GO PRO. See below.

55. One of an infant's pair: BOOTIE. If he has two mothers?

Oh, you mean







56. Sore application: POULTICE. Do any of you use these ancient APPLICATIONS?

57. City adjoining Champaign, Illinois: URBANA. Not part of Chicago. LINK.

58. Began, as a co.: ESTD.

59. Fourth bk. of the Jewish Torah: NUMbers. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

60. U.S. IOUs: T-NOTES.

61. Relative of -ity: NESS.

62. Fast sports cars: GTS. Gran Turismos. The Maserati sound recorded on a GoPro camera.

Down:

1. With intensity: DEEPLY. I love my wife deeply.

2. Dinner menu item: ENTREE. A five-course meal can include a soup, an appetizer, a salad, an entree, and a dessert.

3. Merchant's assurance during a sale: WE HAVE MORE.

4. Carried: BORNE. Mostly like a burden.

5. They're charged: IONS. An old pun.

6. Land parcel size: ONE ACRE.

7. Bag with a strap: SATCHEL.

8. Bollywood costumery: SARIS.


9. Modeling, say: CRAFT. I am not crafty but my cousin Janine is great.

10. They're not with you: ANTIS. If you aren't with me, you are agin' me.

11. Uniform education org.?: ROTC. Very nice clue.

12. Bardot was on its cover at age 14: ELLE.

Can you guess which one is 14-year-old BB?



13. Golfing pres.: DDE. Dwight David Eisenhower loved golf and Arnold Palmer.

18. Lea grazer: EWE. But not me.

21. __ admiral: REAR.  HISTORY.

25. "Don't delay!" letters: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

26. Taking parts of: EXCERPTING. Kind of like scrapbooking, but not.

27. Early initials in American cars: REO. Ransom E. Olds.

28. Certain limb: ARM.

30. News agcy. since 1958: UPI. United Press International.

31. __City: computer game: SIM. I had a lot of fun playing this game with my kids and their friends.

32. In __: actual: ESSE. A bit of Latin.

33. YouTube star __ Marie Johnson: LIA. This is an odd story.

34. Honda FourTrax, e.g.: Abbr.: ATV. All-Terrain Vehicle.

35. Very active port?: USB. Universal Serial Bus.

36. Genesis pronoun: THY.

39. Baldwin of "30 Rock": ALEC.

40. Closed: NOT OPEN.

41. Vet's concern, perhaps: DRY NOSE. The TRUTH.

45. Like many hobby shop mat boards: PRE-CUT.

46. Surfing equipment: MODEMS. Internet surfing.

47. Hint: GET AT.

48. Dior design: ALINE.

49. Some big box stores: IKEAS.

50. Neuters: GELDS. OUCH!

51. Canadian Thanksgiving mo.: OCTober. CSO to our Northern posters. It has a mixed PAST. The mention of the Mi’kmaq also hits home, as my 0.4 percent indigenous heritage is credited to that tribe.

52. Well-used: WORN.

53. Vagrant: HOBO. Now we just call them the homeless.

54. "Dang!": NUTS.

55. Objection: BUT.


Wow, what a week. I am beaten. Finishing with Jeffrey and his humor is wonderful transition to the weekend. Thank you all for reading and writing. Lemonade out.

Thursday, February 20th 2020 Bruce Haight

Theme Wildlife Safari - as the reveal across the center tells us what to look for:

36A. Tot's plaything ... and a feature of 17-, 25-, 48- and 59-Across: STUFFED ANIMAL

We're looking for an animal "stuffed" into the theme entries, to wit:

17A. Tackled the job: HAD A GO AT IT. Goat. Personally, I'd clue this as "Tried to tackle the job". If you have a go at something, you try it, it's moot whether the attempt was successful or not. Minor quibble.

25A. Range for a manhunt: SEARCH AREA. Hare. There was a great "hare hunt" in Britain in the late 70's. Author and artist Kit Williams created a jeweled, golden hare and buried it, and then published a picture book, "Masquerade" , which he said contained all the clues necessary to find the piece. It caused quite a stir and sparked a huge treasure hunt. which lasted quite some time before the jewelry was found. As time went on and the hare still hadn't been located, a canny West End theatre producer adapted the book into a stage play starring Roger Rees. People flocked to the performances hoping to gain extra clues or insight into the secret location. They didn't, but the producer made a lot of money (and yes, some of it was mine!).

48A. Intercepting, as at the pass: HEADING OFF. Dingo.

59A. Ready to start the day: UP AND ABOUT. I wanted "Up and at 'em" right until it didn't fit, and there was no stuffed animal. Cue rethink.

Straightforward enough theme from Bruce, I call this kind of theme a bonus - you don't need the theme to solve the puzzle, and, really, it's just a nice after-party treasure hunt to find the prizes. I do like when the circles don't make an appearance when not needed (unlike these kind of theme puzzles where the "treasure" skips up and down between rows).

And so let's continue the journey:

Across:

1. Play with strings: STRUM

6. Blubber: FLAB. Possibly the result of eating too much ....

10. __ buco: OSSO. Food! The classic recipe calls for veal shanks which are not to some people's taste. I make a version with beef shank, the all-important marrow is there.

16. Place to talk shop?: MALL. Fun clue.

19. Passionate: AVID

20. Second sequel's number: III. Unless you're a Star Wars fan, in which case I believe the second sequel was the fifth in the trilogy, of course none of that makes sense.

21. Sacred chests: ARKS

22. Thrash: WHOMP. Fun word.

23. Winter coat?: SNOW

28. Arizona landforms: MESAS 

30. TourBook-issuing org.: AAA

31. Designer monogram: YSL. Yves St. Laurent. He has one of those names which you can't imagine being attached to anything other than his profession. Do you see your tax guy or your mechanic being called Yves St. Laurent?

32. "Hasta la vista": SEE YA! 

33. Comic strip frames: PANELS

40. Forklift load: PALLET

41. Stuffy-sounding: NASAL

43. Many AARP mems.: SRS. Seniors. I started getting AARP membership invitations when I turned 50. There didn't seem to be a lot of upside to membership, I got the same discounts with AAA or just turning up. It was when I started getting mailers from Forest Lawn Cemeteries that I started feeling a little old. I got over that.

46. Issa of "The Hate U Give": RAE. Thank you, crosses.

47. Dire: GRAVE

53. Christmas poem opener: 'TWAS

54. "Hasta la vista": ADIOS! This is a Corner-coined "clecho" - same clue, echoed for a different entry.

55. "The Daily Show" host: NOAH. Trevor. He took over from Jon Stewart after being a writer on the show.

57. Nos. on driver's licenses: HTS. Heights. At least they aren't prone to change as much as WTS.

58. Sharp turns: ZAGS. Can you zag before you zig? Or zag and zag again? We should be told.

62. Succulent plant genus: ALOE

63. Gumption: GRIT

64. __ toast: MELBA. How do you know you've made it as an opera singer? You have toasted bread named for you. It seems a stretch, but Dame Nellie Melba should be proud. (Her real name was Helen Porter Mitchell, but "Mitchell Toast" didn't catch on in the Melbourne diners).

65. Sew a patch on, perhaps: MEND

66. Possessive pronoun: HERS

67. Roundup critter: STEER. Rawhide!

Down:

1. Deep rifts: SCHISMS. Mostly religious, I think.

2. New recruits: TRAINEES

3. Hobbyist's contraption: RADIO SET. Did anyone build their own short-wave radio set and transmit to the great beyond? The Internet has mostly replaced the thrill of hearing a Russian sea captain reply from his spy boat trawler

4. Sch. founded by Jefferson: U.VA.

5. Prefix with bytes or bucks: MEGA. A megabyte of storage used to cost megabucks. Those days are long gone.

6. Oddball: FLAKE

7. Tons o': LOTSA'

8. "The Rookie" actress Larter: ALI. Again, crosses, I thank you.

9. Club alternative: BLT. More Food! If you've ever had a BLT with a slice of bread in the middle, you've got a crossover club/BLT - the middle slice of bread is what defines a club - which makes a Big Mac a club sandwich.

10. Home of Minor League Baseball's Storm Chasers: OMAHA. What a great name. The minor league teams in all sports have the best names. Who wouldn't root for the Alberquerque Isotopes, the Hartford Yard Goats or the Brighampton Binghampton Rumble Ponies? And if the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimps ever made it to the big leagues and the World Series, I know where my $5 bet is going.

11. Cooking show adjective: SAVORY

12. Covers with goop: SLIMES

13. Bud from way back: OLD PAL. Slap on the back, old mate, old pal, old buddy. Wait, what's with the "old"?

18. "Grey's Anatomy" settings, for short: O.R'S. First instinct was E.R's, then ah! Surgery!

22. 33-Down's purview: WHALING. Cross-reference clue, but not far to look for the second part.

24. Path to the top: WAY UP

26. Charged: RAN AT

27. Normandy city: CAEN

29. Trips where big cats are spotted: SAFARIS. Here we are mid-Bruce safari. How apt.

33. Ship owner who described Ahab as "ungodly, god-like": PELEG. I remember him by "Peg Leg" and forget the "G". Has anyone actually read Moby Dick? I'm currently working my way though "The Gormenghast Trilogy" which I abandoned some many years ago. I'm not sure I'm going to get through it this time.

34. Stand buy: ADE

35. "Good thinking!": SMART

37. Custard dessert: FLAN

38. Considering everything: AS A WHOLE

39. Conduit created by volcanic activity: LAVA TUBE. Is this a thing? I guess vulcanologists would say so. Yellowstone National Park is one enormous caldera, so when that lava tube goes rogue, hello Idaho!

42. Cigarette ad claim: LESS TAR. Amazing to think that you could still post ads claiming your cigarettes were "cleaner", although we don't seemed to have learned a whole lot if the vaping ads and businesses are anything to go by.

43. Superhero acronym involving Hercules, Zeus, Achilles and three others: SHAZAM. No clue. Researching "Shazam superhero" I find a lot of names that don't add up to an acronym. So I'll thank the crosses, and move on, wondering why "Oggo" didn't make it into the mix.

44. Killian's, originally: RED ALE

45. Former Southeast Asian capital: SAIGON. Now Ho Chi Minh City. Do the residents still call it "Saigon"? I wonder. On my bucket list for the food!

49. Gave a shot, say: DOSED

50. Studio sign: ON AIR

51. Formatting menu list: FONTS

52. It's not hot long: FAD

56. Ones acting badly: HAMS

59. "So gross!": UGH!

60. Ante-: PRE- This was a little tricky, the clue seems to want you to find a word which would fit after "Ante-" - bellum, diluvian, one of those - but when you look closely you see you need to find a prefix, and lo, there is "Pre-". Great cluing for what might be brushed off as throwaway fill. I love these little gems.

61. Exacta or trifecta: BET. I famously bet a trifecta at Santa Anita on the wrong race - my friend and I arrived a little later than planned and we'd unknowingly missed the first race. I confidently consulted the daily racing form, wagered a two-dollar trifecta on the (already run) first race and my numbers 3-1-6 came up in what was actually race two. I didn't recognize the horse's names on the way round, but I was wasn't complaining when I cashed in the ticket.

And that is the secret to sports betting! Bet the wrong race!

Thanks to Bruce for an entertaining zoological journey. Here's the grid and I'm off to get some much-needed beauty sleep! (I need sleep, but beauty would be a bonus!)

Steve