Saturday, May 9, 2020, Christopher Adams

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Christopher Adams

Chris got his Masters at Iowa and is now sitting out before tackling his Phd. He is still in Iowa City as a "townie"and is working in test scoring for The Pearson Education Company there although that is "iffy" these days.

Chris's response to my gmail was very interesting and detailed and I have posted it in full at the bottom of this write-up because you should have an opportunity to read it in its entirety. Highlights:  Most of [my] puzzles are originals for [my] site, though some are just puzzles that didn't find a home elsewhere. In fact, this puzzle was almost one of those, until I realized while looking through my files that I hadn't actually sent this to the LA Times like I thought I had. Definitely thought Rich and Patti would like this puzzle, and that it was worth publishing, and I'm glad they agreed with me on that. I think this is my seventh LA Times puzzle (and fourth freestyle), and it might be my favorite of the freestyles (although this October 4th puzzle was pretty much built as a freestyle, and was originally scheduled as a "themed themeless").

This puzzle dates back to at least 2018, if not earlier; at the very least, it's definitely an older freestyle, and people that have been solving my puzzles for awhile can probably spot that. The puzzle was built around the intersecting pair of THIS IS JUST TO SAY and ETIQUETTE, which I had clued as "Not eating somebody else's plums that were in the icebox and which they were probably saving for breakfast, for example". That's the sort of clue that I wrote because I could; I don't mind writing longer clues, and still do that for my site, although I've gotten better at writing shorter clues for puzzles I send to mainstream outlets.

Let's see how you would score this puzzle and be sure to read Chris's full, insightful remarks at the bottom!

Across:

1. Pureed condiment: FISH PASTE - C.C. told me that she has used anchovy paste and that this condiment is more common in Southeast Asia

10. Boot: EXPEL - I had to EXPEL evict, egest and eject

15. "Gracie's Choice" Emmy nominee: ANNE HECHE - Anne Heche was previously married to Coleman 'Coley' Laffoon (2001 - 2009). She has been in relationships with Liz Brixius (2018 - 2019), James Tupper (2007 - 2018), Ellen DeGeneres (1997 - 2000), Neal H. Moritz (1996 - 1997), Steve Martin (1994 - 1997) and Lindsey Buckingham.

16. Inner determination: DRIVE 

17. Dangerous bar: THIRD RAIL - High voltage bar to drive subway. Don't touch!

18. Selected: TAKEN - College players TAKEN in the first round of the NFL draft will make big bucks

19. Jersey chew: CUD - Not HAY

20. Virtual citizens in a video game: SIMS - A SIM hospital for your SIMS

21. Cristina __, Sandra Oh's "Grey's Anatomy" role: YANG - Beautiful, talented and arrogant 

22. Iowa Department of Transportation city: AMES - Home of the arch rival of Iowa U

24. Kurosawa's "Ran," for one: EPIC - A retelling of King Lear. Ran is Japanese for Chaos

C'mon Dover, move your bloomin' arse!

26. Cravat cousin: ASCOT - Freddie wears an ASCOT at the ASCOT races but non-pretentious 'enry 'iggins  opted for another cravat cousin - a tie

27. Campfire exchange: TALES.

29. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM.

31. "Come again?": HUH.

32. Esther who co-founded In-N-Out Burger: SNYDER - Harry and Esther in 1948 founding

34. Court service: JURY DUTY - I once reported for JURY DUTY at 8 am on the 9th when it was supposed to be there at 9 am on the 8th. I got away with it.

36. Proprieties: ETIQUETTE and 47. Polite gesture: HAT TIP.

38. Breaks up: DISRUPTS.

41. Best of the bets: SAFEST.

45. __ Energy: PepsiCo drink: AMP - Over 2x the caffeine in my coffee

46. Australian city named for a Scottish city: PERTH.

48. Muslim face veil: NIQAB - Perfectly legal but not on Driver's licenses 

49. Beaufort scale listings: GALES - Wind velocity scale 

51. Shot: STAB.

53. Robin portrayer Ward: BURT - Holy Sidekick, Batman!

54. "Midnight in Paris" actor Wilson: OWEN.

55. Chica's "other": OTRA - Por OTRA lado (On the other hand)

57. Get better, perhaps: AGE.

58. Exchange, as words: BANDY - We do BANDY back and forth here 

60. Winter : hibernates :: summer : __: ESTIVATES - When animals slow their activity for the hot, dry summer months. 

62. Intensity: ARDOR.

63. Title bout, say: MAIN EVENT - Whatever happened to that Clay kid?

64. Gets wind of: HEARS.

65. Gives a fitting role: TYPECASTS - 23 TYPECAST actors


Down:

1. Wealthy donors: FAT CATS - Pols decry them but cash their checks

2. Barbaric: INHUMAN.

3. Dudley's nemesis, in toons: SNIDELY.

4. Part of HRH: HER - Elizabeth II has been a dignified "HER Royal Majesty". Her kids...

5. Advanced degs.: PHDS - Many are crossword constructors and Chris will get his too

6. Aptly named American Eagle store: AERIE.

7. Seafood order: SCAMPI.

8. "I'm writing so you'll know ... ": THIS IS JUST TO SAY - uh, that job didn't come through

9. Sushi order: EEL.

10. Fort Sumter summer hrs.: EDT - The South Carolina Militia (there was no Confederate Army or Daylight Savings Time yet) starting firing on Fort Sumter at 4:30 am EST on 4/12/65.

11. Diagnostic tests: X-RAYS.

12. Title 2019 Pokémon film detective: PIKACHU.

13. Balance: EVEN OUT and 42. Represents as identical: EQUATES.

14. Protracted: LENGTHY - I'm more of a "cut to the chase" kind of guy

23. Ritual in the month of Nisan: SEDER - A ritual Jewish feast celebrated on the eve of the 15th of Nisan

25. Footprint, maybe: CLUE.

26. "The Kitchen God's Wife" novelist: AMY TAN - Want a signed first edition?

28. Stings: SETUPS - The coup de grâce in moviedom's most famous Sting

30. Liberal group?: ARTS.

33. Fully developed: RIPE.

35. Emergency treatment, for short: DEFIB here's an 60. CPR specialist: EMT using an Automatic External DEFIBRILLATOR in the field

37. NBA periods: QTRS.

38. Swampy "Star Wars" planet: DAGOBAH  and 50. Home of the Ewoks: ENDOR. You either know these Star Wars locales or you don't. I'm in the latter group but fill was easy 

39. "You don't need to tell me": I'M AWARE.

40. Low-calorie sweetener: SPLENDA.

43. Portraitist John Singer __: SARGENT - All you need to know

44. Certain intradermal exams, for short: TB TESTS - I've got a scar on my upper arm from this

52. Pickle juice: BRINE - or for this purpose

56. "__ plaisir!": AVEC - You're on your own

59. Jr. and sr.: YRS - 2020 srs. got cheated out of a lot

61. "Queen Sugar" creator DuVernay: AVA - If you closely examine this info, you will see a very well known co-creator of this series

Here's the full text of Chris's note

What actually is, though, is that I've been in Iowa City since 2015, and have been making puzzles for pretty much the entire time I've been here. I've had my site since 2017, and have somehow managed to put out a puzzle per week (more or less) since then. Most of those puzzles are originals for the site, though some are just puzzles that didn't find a home elsewhere. In fact, this puzzle was almost one of those, until I realized while looking through my files that I hadn't actually sent this to the LA Times like I thought I had. Definitely thought Rich and Patti would like this puzzle, and that it was worth publishing, and I'm glad they agreed with me on that. I think this is my seventh LA Times puzzle (and fourth freestyle), and it might be my favorite of the freestyles (although this puzzle was pretty much built as a freestyle, and was originally scheduled as a "themed themeless").

This puzzle dates back to at least 2018, if not earlier; at the very least, it's definitely an older freestyle, and people that have been solving my puzzles for awhile can probably spot that. The puzzle was built around the intersecting pair of THIS IS JUST TO SAY and ETIQUETTE, which I had clued as "Not eating somebody else's plums that were in the icebox and which they were probably saving for breakfast, for example". That's the sort of clue that I wrote because I could; I don't mind writing longer clues, and still do that for my site, although I've gotten better at writing shorter clues for puzzles I send to mainstream outlets.

Anyway, the layout is a pretty typical one; turning the corners from triple nines to triple sevens is a little tricky, but not too difficult. I started with the upper corner and mostly felt good about the answers; that said, if I made this today, I'd probably either clue INHUMAN with a reference to the upcoming Marvel film or just not include it at all. The bottom stack was a little trickier, as was connecting it to the middle, where I already had two entries in place. Stuff like QTRS OTRA AVEC isn't the worst, but isn't the best; that part is probably the most obvious thing that hints at this being an older puzzle, and is something I'd like to improve on today.

I'd also like to improve on the lower left; YRS isn't great (especially with QTRS, EDT, EMT already meeting the abbreviation quota for this puzzle) but I couldn't resist including two Star Wars references in that corner. Honestly, I kinda expected ENDOR to get switched to AND/OR to make things easier; I realize all the crosses on ENDOR and DAGOBAH are fair, but if you don't know them, you're missing a lot of letters from the across entries (including the pivotal first letters) and that'll make it hard for some solvers. That said, I wouldn't think twice about this corner if it was running on my site, where it definitely fits the voice / intended audience better.

On the other hand, I like the NE corner a lot more: everything's fairly crossed and well-known, and it works in some interesting letters without hurting the fill. The SE corner kinda does that too; TB TESTS isn't the greatest answer, but I thought it was worth it to get DEFIB and NIQAB in there. Overall, as noted above, I think this is one of my favorite LAT puzzles to date, even if there's some things I'd try to change if I was making it again today. But that's just part of who I am as a constructor, always trying to get better, and always trying to make the fill as clean as possible.

Friday, May 8, 2020 Stu Agler

"Brainstorming for New Periodicals"

17. Magazine for masseuses?: ROLF DIGEST.   GOLF DIGEST

21. Magazine for nurses?: IV GUIDE.   TV GUIDE

26. Magazine for golfers?: PAR AND DRIVER.   CAR AND DRIVER

44. Magazine for crossword constructors?: PUNNERS WORLD.   RUNNER'S WORLD

38. Magazine for beekeepers?: HONEY.   MONEY

51. Magazine for pharmacists?: MEDBOOK.   REDBOOK

60. Magazine for farmers?: HEN'S HEALTH.   MEN'S HEALTH

We have another debut at the LA Times and Crossword Corner.  Welcome, Stu Agler !

Rolf Digest was the first themer to fill, but I had never heard of Rolfing.  Wikipedia tells me "Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf as Structural Integration. It is typically delivered as a series of ten hands-on physical manipulation sessions sometimes called "the recipe"   Who knew ?

Consistency in changing only the first letter of the existing magazines may have made this puzzle a bit easier to solve, but it's still funny and punny.   Excepting IV / TV, they all also rhyme. 

Stu probably had more choices and could probably have created a Sunday sized grid with this theme. How about "Magazine for helicopter designers?  Rotor Trend.    Or, "Magazine for practitioners of animal husbandry ?" Sired.   Maybe, "Magazine for Lumberyard professionals ? Wood Housekeeping.

I'll stop now and leave it to the professionals.  Great job, Stu.  We're now going to explore that which remains.  And pardon me while I wander and reminisce.

Across:

1. Cook Islands language: MAORI.     The Cook Islands are in the South Pacific ocean with 15 islands having a combined total land area of about 93 square miles.  For perspective, the city of Chicago covers about 234 sq. miles.   Los Angeles 469, and Houston 600 sq. miles.   The land area of the Cook Islands is about the size of Milwaukee (96), Sacramento (98), Lincoln, NE (89) or Tallahassee (100 sq. mi.).

Spanish explorers visited the islands in the late 1500s and named one of the islands St. Bernard.  British Navigator James Cook came to the islands in the 1770s, and named one of the islands Hervey Island.  The name "Cook Islands" first appeared on a Russian naval chart in the 1820s.

78 % of the people on the island nation are Māori and another 7.8 % are part Māori.  The official languages are English and Cook Islands Māori.  The capital (and largest city) is Avarua, which might be a good answer in a crossword puzzle.

6. Place for mascara: LASH.

10. Rims: LIPs.

14. Ray __, NBAer with the most regular season 3-point field goals: ALLEN.   Retired HOF'er with  18 years in the NBA making 40 % of his attempts from beyond the line for 2973 buckets.   Active player Stephen Curry has hit 43.5 % of his 3-pointers during his 11 year NBA career, and is about 500 makes behind.  Note the consistency in the non-shooting hand.

15. Northern Oklahoma city: ENID.  Known as the "Wheat Capital" of Oklahoma for its immense grain storage capacity.  It has the third-largest grain storage capacity in the world.  Yes, that is a line of rail cars in the foreground.  The place is huge.

There were some great shots on The Smithsonian Channel's Aerial America - Oklahoma the other day.  If you don't get that channel, watch for it to be shown on The Smithsonian's Aerial America YouTube channel.

16. Legal memo phrase: INRE.

19. Campus area: QUAD.

20. Place with shells: SEASIDE.

23. Informal negative: AIN'T.   Isn't wrong.

25. Chopper topper: ROTOR.   One of my part time military jobs (ODAA - other duties as assigned)) was working as part of the team at the "Can Point" when I was assigned to Coleman Army Airfield,  Coleman Barracks, 70th AVIM (aviation intermediate maintenance) Battalion, 1st Support Brigade (later, 21st Support Command), USAEUR (US Army Europe) at Sandhofen (Mannheim), Germany.

My real job was in the computer vans, 3rd shift, feeding stack after stack of 80 column cards into a card reader, and then inserting magnetic ledger stock into the platen feed of an NCR 500 computer system.

It was all part of the inventory control system used to keep track of orders and disbursements and stock on hand.  Occasionally keypunching new cards to replace mangled cards, and running the 088 card sorter from time to time after dropping a tray full of cards.  Tray after tray, night after night, week after week.  So monotonous.  I digress.

Any rotor wing aircraft that went down in USAEUR were transported to the cannibalization point for selected salvage.  Rotor wings could not be salvaged for re-use, but were in demand by Air Cavalry battalions and companies around the country.  They would be used as art on the hangars or as gate toppers at entrances to Kasernes that housed rotor wing companies. 

Most impressive and awe inspiring was when the heavy lift helicopters came in for inspection and maintenance.  The roar of the engines and sound of the rotors pounding the air was thunderous as the beasts approached and landed on the tarmac.

CH-47 "Chinook" on the left and CH-54 "Tarhe" (Skycrane) on the right.   The Skycranes were being phased out of military service in Europe in the late '70s when I was there, and many passed through our airfield on their way back to the U.S.

32. Salchow relatives: AXELs.  Figure skating.

33. __-deucey: ACEY.   A card game or a backgammon game. 

34. Hook partner: JAB.  Boxing.

37. Gobble (down): WOLF. 

40. Coke __: ZERO.   Zero calorie, sugar free version of Coca-Cola.  Artificially sweetened.  I've never had one. 

41. __-Caps: SNO.  Semi-sweet chocolates topped with nonpareils.  White ones, of course.

42. "Be there in __": A SEC.  What my wife says 10 minutes before she gets to the door as we are preparing to leave. 

43. Wheel alignment: TOE-IN.   What You Need to Know About Tire Alignment

47. Weasel cousin: STOAT.  Not otter today.  A stoat (top) and a weasel (bottom)

Stoat or weasel? How to tell the difference

50. "Get lost!": SHOO.

54. Pal of Barbarino in "Welcome Back, Kotter": EPSTEIN.

59. Afterthoughts: ANDs.  Oh, and the guy in the lower left is Barbarino and the guy in the top right is Epstein.

62. Leave in: STET.  Don't dele.  Obelisms.  A proofreader knows these symbols.

63. Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU.   Mork was the ET from the planet Ork on the sitcom Mork and Mindy.

64. Brew hue: AMBER.

65. __ d'oeuvres: HORS.

66. First column to add, usually: ONEs.   Units.  The first column of whole numbers to be added in a place-value numbering system.  Typically in base-10 (decimal) for most people, and the second column would be tens, the third hundreds and so on.  I know you knew that, but I'm building here.

Programmers and others in technology use other place-value numbering systems, such as in base-8 (octal) where the columns would be units, eights, sixty-fours and so on, and in base-16 (hexadecimal) they would be units, sixteens, and the third column two hundred fifty-sixes.

Quick, what's the first numbering system that comes to mind that is not place-value ?

67. Funny Anne: MEARA. So many roles, but perhaps best known as one half of the Stiller and Meara comedy team.

Down:

1. Second-smallest of eight: MARS.  Our solar system's planets.  The "Red Planet", fourth from the sun.  Mercury is the smallest.

2. Ointment ingredient: ALOE.  Keep washing your hands and try to find a sanitizer with aloe in it. Does aloe work ?  Evaluation of aloe vera gel gloves in the treatment of dry skin associated with occupational exposure.

3. Cantina crock: OLLA.

4. Works the game: REFs.  Referees the game or bout.

5. Team with the longest World Series drought (71 years): INDIANS.   Should be championship drought.  They were in the 2016 World Series, and they were leading it 3 games to 1 in the best of 7 series over the Chicago Cubs.   The Cubs won the next two games, evening the series at 3 each.

In the seventh and deciding game that many pundits have called one of the greatest game 7s (and series) in MLB history, the teams were tied at 6 runs each after 9 innings.   Then the skies opened up with a sudden downpour.  After the rain delay play resumed, and the Cubs scored two to take an 8-6 lead in the top of the tenth inning.  In the bottom of the tenth, the home field Indians plated one run with two out before the Tribe's loyal fans had their hopes squashed on a weak grounder to third baseman Kris Bryant.

It was only the fifth time in World Series history that a Game 7 went to extra innings, and it was the first time the extra inning Game 7 was won by a road team.  The series and Game 7 were both dubbed "instant classics".

The Cubs won and ended a 108 year championship drought of their own; the longest in professional sports history. 

6. Folklore tale: LEGEND.   An example of early American literature was Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleep Hollow, but what inspired the work ? 

7. Suffix with hex-: ANE.

8. "Absolutely!" in Madrid: SI SI.

9. Best Buy purchase: HDTV.

10. __ license: LIQUOR.

11. Greenland language: INUIT.

12. Madrid museum: PRADO.

13. Where the same questions are asked annually: SEDER.

18. "__ it my way": I DID. 

22. Ethically uncertain, in Sussex: GREY.   I loved Dash-T's explanation a few weeks ago that, "Gray is a color, while grey is a colour". 

24. Spells: TRANCEs.

26. Treat holders: PAWs.

27. Nerve impulse carrier: AXON.

28. HR dept. concern: RELO.   United Van Lines packed up my belongings and car when I was relocated from Houston to Chicago in late '87.   The company footed the bill for my relocation moving and living expenses.   Actually lived for almost two months in a new Holiday Inn that was still in the process of being constructed.

Then January came, and I learned fast that my southeast Texas blood and wardrobe was ill-equipped to deal with Chicago's gusting winds and biting cold that would shiver your bones.  I ran to the mall and bought thermal underwear and the heaviest lined Burberry style trench coat I could find.  I didn't bother to ask HR to foot the bill on those items.  I know'd the answer was NO !

29. Alien from Melmac: ALF.   Another extraterrestrial from TV land.   Anne Meara played the grandmother in occasional appearances on the sitcom.

30. __ dancing: ICE.   Like figure skating, but more freeform and interpretive.

31. "Oy __!": VEY.   Oy vey ! This crossword puzzle review has gone on too long.  But wait, there's more !

34. Boo: JEER.  Please.  Bear with me, it'll be over soon.

35. Seed covering: ARIL.

36. M's favorite agent: BOND.   James Bond's boss and head of MI6, portrayed by Dame Judy Dench in eight of the movies.  

38. 24 hrs.-per-day retail channel: HSN.   Home Shopping Network

39. Wine: Pref.: OEN.  From the ancient Greek word oinos.   "The translators of the KJV, by uniformly rendering the Greek word oinos as wine, replicated the Greek word’s reference to both fermented and unfermented juice with an English word that, in their day, was similarly general in reference."

40. Wild place: ZOO.    The nickname for Gerszewski Barracks in Knielingen (Karlsruhe) Germany, my second station while serving there.  The Zoo had an entirely different atmosphere than Coleman.   Still the military, but significantly fewer officers and Warrant Officers (mostly helicopter pilots at Coleman) and MPs than Coleman.  Definitely more relaxed. 

Coleman was the home to the USAEUR Confinement Facility, where soldiers in serious trouble awaited trial, were serving sentences up to a year, or for the most serious offenses, were awaiting orders for transportation back to the U.S. to serve extended time at Ft Leavenworth, KA.

42. Jam component: AUTO.   Seriously, was I the only one that first thought of pectin ?

43. Type of fastball grip: TWO SEAM.   Baseball.   Even ardent fans may not be aware of the arsenal that Yu Darvish brings to the mound. 

44. Blue Ribbons, e.g.: PABSTs.   PBRs, for short.  Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.  Not my cuppa, but it'll do in a pinch.

45. Monkey used in research: RHESUS.

46. Future junior: SOPH.

47. Big hit: SMASH.   As in an exceptionally popular TV, movie or stage show, or for tennis fans such as Sandyanon, the return shot answer to a poorly placed near-net lob shot.  

48. :50, another way: TEN TO.   Me: "It's ten to five.  Are you ready yet ?  Are you coming ?"  Her: "I'll be there in a sec."  

49. Stranger: ODDER.

52. "That's awful!": OH NO.  

53. New Jersey university: KEAN.  Not familiar.  About   Yellowrocks, is that near you ?

55. Domesticate: TAME.

56. People Magazine's 2018 Sexiest Man Alive: ELBA.   Idris.  Hi, Lucina !

57. Old Roman road: ITER.

58. Dragster's org.: NHRA.   The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) are the two largest sanctioning bodies for drag racing.  The Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin is still going strong.  The "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" radio commercials for drag racing events can still be heard on radio stations across the country.  Well, maybe not right now, but they'll be back.


61. Austin-to-Dallas dir.: NNE.    For some, I-35 is known as Main Street, Texas.   Almost half of the Texas population (and most of my siblings and extended family) lives along this central artery that starts in Laredo, Texas near the Rio Grande, and exits the state just north of Gainseville at the Red River.   From there I-35 travels generally NNE all the way to Duluth, Minnesota,  comparatively just shy of the border with Canada.

The reconstruction and widening of I-35 that started in 2012 is the second largest infrastructure project in the history of the state for TxDOT, the state's Department of Transportation.  The first ?  Building I-35 in the first place, which started in the '50s as part of Eisenhower's Interstate System.   It will be nice, and much safer when it is finally done.

Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out buttons on the map to view greater detail or a wider view, and use your mouse to move around.  "Ain't Isn't wrong" technology grand ?



Finally, here's the grid:

Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Blake Slonecker

Theme: Salad Days - scrambles of five different green veggies as the reveal tells us:

53A. Mesclun, and a hint to the circled squares: MIXED GREENS

and so we find:

16A. Casual appetizer: CHIPS AND DIP. Spinach.

23A. Tool for flooring jobs: TILE CUTTER. Lettuce.

30A. Designated spaces for some riders: BIKE LANES. Kale.

38A. Opening: INAUGURAL. Arugula.

47A. Rewards earner, perhaps: CARDHOLDER. Chard.

A nice theme from Blake. It's puzzles like these that need the circles to explain the reveal - the ones where the theme words are not scrambled are fun to hunt down, but the scrambles would be very tough to find without some guide. The theme obviously doesn't help with the solve, but you have a few minutes' bonus to go treasure hunting. Nice work with the theme, I enjoyed the scambles. The rest of the puzzle didn't have a whole lot of sparkle, but you can't win 'em all.

As for all the Food! on display here - it's a shame to consign all these greens to a salad - spinach and mushroom curry is one of my favorites, lettuce as a wrap for larb beats the heck out of it just being a quiet salad ingredient (and in a cheeseburger, let's not be a snob here, what is a burger without shredded lettuce?), Arugula - or rocket in the UK - what a great bed for smoked chicken, cous-cous and spicy stomato sauce. It brings pepper, green and crunch. Chard! If you can't get collard greens, here's your answer, and you can pickle the red stalks. What am I missing? Kale. Ah, Kale. dear kale. Not for human consumption, let's all admit it.

Recipes available on request!

So back to the puzzle. The numbers when you crunch them, are firmly in the "Monday" category but the theme just about carried it through. The fill felt a little stale and skewed heavily towards 3- and 4-letter words.

Let's go seek. Without hiding.

Across:

1. __ de deux: ballet dance: PAS. The first three-letter fill, and a fill-in-the-blank too. Don't worry, you've only got another 35 three-letter words to go.

4. Spell: TRANCE

10. Rite opener?: AM I. Really? OK, not my thing. If someone asked me "Am I rite?" I would ask how old they were.

13. "Fire away!": ASK

14. Web banners: HEADERS

15. Auerbach of the Black Keys: DAN. We meet another AUER further down, so thank you crosses for both, unknown to me.

18. Tap quaff: ALE. Now you're talking.

19. Sunday cry: AMEN!

20. Sneaky critic: SNIPER

22. Sweater mishap: SNAG

27. Extra qtrs.: O/T'S

28. Game fish: BONITO. I keep dried bonito flakes, or katsobushi in the pantry. I put 'em on rice with soy sauce and sesame seeds, and make dashi with katsobushi and kombu - the dried kelp.

29. __ boots: GO-GO

32. One of 12, usually: JUROR

33. Ruminant's mouthful: CUD

34. Natural drier: AIR

35. Concrete support rod: REBAR

44. Qatari chief: EMIR

45. Masses: DROVES

46. Source of iron: ORE. Or spinach!

49. "And another thing ... ": ALSO ...

50. Breaks up: ENDS IT

51. Wheel connector: AXLE

52. Beaver creation: DAM

59. GPS calculation: ETA. Apparently you can get an Estimated Time of Arrival from your Global Positioning System device. I'm sure that's really important. At least it's a change from an airline clue. I'm tired of the fill though.

60. Folded breakfast fare: OMELETS. I think my favorite omelet is spinach, mushroom and brie. Lots of food to get my teeth into today!

61. Conk out: DIE

62. Place to relax: DEN. Probably not very relaxing if the lions are home.

63. War zone lifesavers: MEDICS

64. LG rival: RCA. Not strictly true, RCA does not exist as a company any more. The branding was sold to Technicolor and Sony Music by GE when the division was closed down.

Down:

1. D.C. funding group: P.A.C. Political Action Committee. I make no comment.

2. Her 2002 self-titled album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200: ASHANTI

3. Protection on the slopes: SKI MASK. Not a bad alternative protection to wear in the store right now.

4. Afternoon brew: TEA

5. Sought office: RAN

6. Total: ADD

7. Former Royals manager Yost: NED

8. Shortening brand: CRISCO. Funny, just yesterday I was looking up shortening, lard and schmalz.

9. College sports channel: ESPN U.

10. Charger accessory: ADAPTOR. I had ADAPTER and apparently was wrong. Oh well. Was I wrong?

11. Cause of some tough-guy behavior: MALE EGO

12. Mistakenly: IN ERROR

14. Channel that can be costly to watch: HSN. Nice clue. Whenever I've had the misfortune to come across the Home Shopping Network I've never had the slightest urge to buy whatever is being shilled. I almost enjoy watching to see what outlandish claims are made for the stuff they sell. How do they not get sued for misrepresentation?

17. Cribbage piece: PEG

21. Geek Squad employee, for short: I.T. GURU

22. __ story: SOB

23. Creep: TOAD

24. Cozy stopover: INN

25. Shakira's "Hips Don't __": LIE

26. Aliens, briefly: ETS

28. Make unclear: BLUR

31. Some last-minute birthday greetings: E-CARDS. Handy things when you forget a birthday or anniversary.

32. Dances for leprechauns: JIGS

34. Violinist Leopold: AUER

35. Drew back: RECEDED

36. Exude (from): EMANATE

37. 2014 Best Picture: BIRDMAN

38. Like offline interaction, initially: I.R.L. "In Real Life". "Dude, I have to get off Instagram, I have a test tomorrow IRL".

39. Doze: NOD

40. Urban way: Abbr.: AVE.

41. Burrito feature?: ROLLED "R". We just had Cinco de Mayo on Tuesday. We had tacos al pastor, but burritos will feature on the "leftovers" menu shortly. Yum!

42. "__ and Old Lace": ARSENIC. 1944 movie starring Cary Grant. The sceptics might wonder what he was doing making movies when WWII was heading into a critical period. Did he have flat feet or something?

43. Celestial feline: LEO

45. Complete a sentence: DO TIME

48. Mouthed sideline greeting: HI MOM!

49. Log splitter: AXE

51. MGM motto word: ARS

54. Chose on a form, with "in": X'ED

55. New Haven alum: ELI

56. Present mo.: DEC. Fun play on words.

57. Classic muscle cars: GT'S

58. __ salt: SEA. I have Maldon salt from the UK and Fleur de Sel Guérand from France in my pantry.

I guess that's about it!

Please stay safe. Some states are "re-opening" but please remember that the virus is not contained, there is insufficent or inaccurate testing, there is no adequate treatment and there is no vaccine. Use your best judgment!

Steve

Wednesday, May 6 Kevin Christian & Mangesh Mumbaikar Ghogre

Theme: All Your Secret Are Belong To Us.  Various Codes get broken.

I have to present the theme answers in pairs to make sense of this.  Let's look at the unifier first.

64 A. Intelligence agency employee, and what a black square acts as in rows 3, 5, 8 and 11: CODE BREAKER.  A person who solves an encryption code and thus is able to translate and understand messages sent using that code.  In the puzzle the names of various types of codes are split, or "broken" by a black square in the grid.

On to the theme fill --

17 A. World's oldest golf tournament: BRITISH OPEN. Founded in 1860, this tournament now rotates among a select group of courses in the U.K.

19 A. __-purpose flour: ALL.  There are specific flours for bread, pastry, cakes, and several even more specialized types, like gluten free.  ALL purpose flour is a compromise blend made from hard and soft wheat that is good for most purposes.

Spanning the black square we have PENAL.  A PENAL code is the collection of laws dealing with crimes and their punishments.

23 A. Course standard: PAR. In golf, the expected number of strokes for a first-class golfer to complete a hole or course.

24 A. Like a big grin: EAR TO EAR. Descriptor for a broad grin on a happy face.

Together they give us AREA.  An AREA code is a three digit number that identifies your telephone service region.

39 A. "Name another person": WHO ELSE?  Self explanatory

41 A. Some Greek islanders: CRETANS.  Inhabitants of CRETE,  the largest and most populous of the Greek Islands.  It is the 5th largest island n the Mediterranean and 88th largest in the world.  Who measures these things?

A SECRET code is a method of encrypting messages to maintain security and confidentiality.  This is the sense I was thinking of in the theme title.

52 A. Starbucks amenity: FREE WIFI.  A no-fee function granting internet access.

55 A. Short agent?: REP.  Abbrv for REPresentative: one who acts on your behalf.  Short in the clue suggests an abbreviation in the fill.

A FIRE code is a set of building and property regulations designed to establish a mandatory standard for a building's ability to resist the start and spread of a fire, as well as facilitating the prompt and safe evacuation of the occupants.

Hi gang.  JazzBumpa here.  Looks like this is the first L.A.T. puzzle by the team of Kevin Christian & Mangesh Mumbaikar Ghogre.  Congrats, Guys!  Clever and original theme approach and an all-round top-notch puzzle.  Now let's break in and see if we can decode it

Across:

1. Out of whack: AMISS.  Something isn't right.  How come things running smoothly are never in whack?

6. Sounding shocked: AGASP.  One of those dreaded A-words you are unlikely to find outside of an X-word.

11. Kissing on a crowded sidewalk, for short: PDA.  Public Display of Affection.  Regardless of your attitude towards these things, please avoid crowded sidewalks.

14. Dyed fabric: BATIK.  An Indonesian technique of wax-resistance dying applied to whole cloth.

15. __ Mesa, Calif.: COSTA. A city in orange Co.

16. Acted as guide: LED.  Only if you followed.

20. In itself: AS SUCH.   Per se.

21. Short-term sculpture material: ICE.  Alas, they melt.

22. Country's Lovett: LYLE. [b 1957] He is an American singer, song writer, actor and producer with 13 albums who has won four grammies.  In the early 90s he was briefly married to Julia Roberts.  In 2017 he married April Kimble after a 14 year engagement.

26. McKellen of "Vicious": IAN.  What - no love for Gandolf?!?  He [b 1939] is a versatile British actor.

29. Stout servers: PUBS.  Where portly proprietors might also serve you porters.

31. Peddled: SOLD.

32. Febreze target: ODOR.

34. App's early version: BETA.  A version made available to a limited group of users for testing.

36. Talus neighbor: TIBIA.  The innermost and longer of the two bones between the knee and ankle [talus.]

43. Augment: ADD TO.

44. Vivacity: BRIO.

46. Letter before bravo: ALFA.  First letter of the NATO phonetic alphabet, used to spell parts of a message where confusion might occur.

47. Untruths: LIES.  Mendacity

49. "Marriage Story" Oscar nominee Driver: ADAM. [b 1983] He has received a Volpi Cup [Venice Film festival] and has been nominated for 3 Academy awards, 2 Emmys and a Tony.

51. Prune: LOP.  As, frex. a tree branch.

57. Bonny gal: LASS.  A lovely lady from Lanarkshire.

58. Spa bath choice: MUD.

59. Digital brokerage pioneer: E-TRADE.  Founded in 1991

63. Angsty music genre: EMO. A variety of pop music similar to punk, but with more complexity and emotion.

66. Monkey in "Aladdin": ABU.  Star of the show?

67. Seething: ANGRY.  The original meaning of seethe is to boil.  This is one of those "hot" words used to indicate anger.

68. Having too much: OD-ING.  Figuratively Over-Dosing.   

69. Soak (up), as sauce: SOP.  As defined - from Old English.

70. See 12-Down: REESE.   Delloreese Patricia Early [1931-2017] known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades.

71. Wound up costing: RAN TO.  Added up to a total cost.

Down:

1. "Fernando" band: ABBA.

2. Singer Bruno who won six 2017 Grammy Awards: MARS.  Don't believe me?  Just watch.

3. Words before and after "what": IT IS.  A tautology that developed into an idiomatic phrase indicating the immutable nature of an object or circumstance.

4. Suddenly pay attention: SIT UP.  Mental attention reflected in physical posture.

5. Slopes headgear: SKI CAP.  Googling gets me knit beanies.  Who knew.

Only $14

6. Berlin cry: ACH.  An expression of surprise, impatience, disgust, etc.

7. Most like s'mores: GOOIEST.  It's from the toasted marshmallows.

8. Shelter org.: ASPCA.  The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, established in 1866.

9. Heads (toward): STEERS. Directs one's direction to.

10. Rave's opposite: PAN.  Extremes of the rating spectrum for stage performance. PAN is harshly critical.

11. Cooperated: PLAYED BALL.  Worked willingly with others.

12. With 70-Across, "Touched by an Angel" star: DELLA.  Vide Supra.

13. Stella __ Studio of Acting: ADLER. [1901- 1992] She was an American actress and acting teacher.[2] She founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City in 1949.

18. Bushes: SHRUBS. Woody plants smaller than trees, with several main stems arising at or near the ground.

22. Title girl whose given name is Dolores: LOLITA.  Sue Lyon played her in the movie, but could not attend the premier because she was too young

She passed away the day after Christmas last year.

25. Subscriber's bonus: TOTE.  Bag for carrying parcels, and frequent promotional gift.

26. Hawkeye State: IOWA.  This popular nickname for the state of Iowa is said to have come from the scout, Hawkeye, in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans published in 1826. According to the Iowa State web site, "Two Iowa promoters from Burlington are believed to have popularized the name." The nickname was given approval by "territorial officials" in 1838, twelve years after the book was published and eight years before Iowa became a state. [Reference]

27. Ritalin target, briefly: ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.   A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and brain activity that affect attention, the ability to sit still, and self-control.

28. Ramen restaurant offering: NOODLE SOUP.  Ramen are quick cooking egg noodles.

30. U.K. network, with "the": BEEB. The British Broadcasting Corporation.

33. Laces again: RETIES. As shoes.

35. Part of DNA: ACID.  The rest is deoxyribonucleic.

37. Recon details: INFO.  Information.

38. PDQ: ASAP.  Stat. Hurry. Rush.  Be hasty.

40. Big name in movie theaters: LOEW.  Marcus LOEW [1870 - 1927] was an American business magnate and pioneer in the motion picture industry.  He formed the MGM movie studio.

42. Lion, at times: ROARER.  Relevant

45. Las Vegas NFL team: RAIDERS.  The keep moving.

48. Four-time Olympic gold medal winner Biles: SIMONE. [b 1977] She has a combined total 0f 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, and is considered by many to be the greatest gymnast ever.

Believe it or not I can't do this.

50. Celestial body: METEOR.A small body of matter from outer space that enters the earths atmosphere where heats to incandescence from friction, and appears as a streak of light.

52. Causes of scratching: FLEAS. Small wingless jumping insects that feed on the blood of mammals and birds.  They sometimes transmit disease.

53. Recurring Stallone role: RAMBO.  Is there always blood?

54. Sundae topping: FUDGE.

Detroit's favorite

56. Popular red-carpet fashion: PRADA.  An Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913.

60. Like, with "to": AKIN. Similar

61. 64-Down blemish: DENT.  Ouch!

62. Cogito __ sum: ERGO.  "I think, therefor I am." Rene Descartes.

64. Garage occupant: CAR.  Without blemish, I hope.

65. "Sayonara": BYE.  Adios!

Perfect note to end on.  Speaking of notes we were also able to get quite a bit of music today.

Happy Wednesday, all.  Stay home.  Stay safe.  Don't break any codes.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 Barbara Lin

Games in a Time of Pandemic.  Gather 'round, kids.  It's Family Time! 

17-Across. *   The opportunity to be successful again: A NEW LEASE ON LIFE.

24-Across. *   "I'd do the same thing again": NOT SORRY.

33-Across. *   "Stupid superstition," for one: TONGUE TWISTER.

47-Across. *   "Don't be so oblivious": GET A CLUE!

And the Unifier:
54-Across. Evening with the kids, or when the ends of the answers to starred clues might be played: FAMILY GAME NIGHT.

Across:

1. Bay Area force: Abbr.: SFPD.  As in the San Francisco Police Department.

5. Leaves at the altar: JILTS.

10. News story opening: LEDE.  I learned the spelling of this word from doing the crossword puzzles.  This spelling of Lede is relatively new in Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

14. Words with bow or knot: TIE A.

15. Eye-boggling work: OP ART.

16. Foreboding sign: OMEN.

20. Defunct luxury New York department store: BARNEYS.  An interesting background of Barneys.

21. Chinese leader who said, "Women hold up half the sky": MAO.  For whatever reason, Andy Warhol painted a series of silk-screened portraits of Mao.

22. Ruby, for one: GEM.  Rubies are my favorite gem stones.  It is the birthstone of July.

23. Admission of deceit: I LIED.

26. Swedish soprano Jenny: LIND.  Jenny Lind (née Johanna Maria Lind; Oct. 6, 1820 ~ Nov. 2, 1887) was a Swedish opera singer.  She was known as the Swedish Nightingale.  In 1850, she made a tour in the United States, sponsored by none other than P.T. Barnum.

27. Beast with tusks: BOAR.

29. Color tones: HUES.

Hues of Red

30. Natl. population, e.g.: EST.  As in Estimate, I suppose.

31. Swiss high point: ALP.

32. Director Craven: WES.  Wes Craven (né Wesley Earl Craven; Aug. 2, 1939 ~ Aug. 30, 2015) was a film director best known for his horror films, such as the Nightmare on Elm Street series.  He died of a brain tumor shortly after his 76th birthday.

39. Like some jokes: OLD.

40. + or - particle: ION.  Today's chemistry lesson.

41. "You betcha": YEP!

43. Jones of the Monkees: DAVY.  The Monkees was a band that was originally created for a sit-com.  Davy Jones (né David Thomas Jones; Dec. 30, 1945 ~ Feb. 29, 2012) was the British member of the band.  The other three were American.  Sadly, Davy died of a heart attack at age 66.

The Monkees.  Davy Jones is the "cute" one.  You decide.

45. "Ultimate Driving Machine" vehicles: BMWs.

46. Soccer immortal: PELÉ.  Pelé (né Edson Arantes do Nascimento; b. Oct. 23, 1940) is a retired Brazilian Soccer (Football outside the US) player.

49. Propose, as a theory: POSIT.

50. Musician Yoko: ONO.  Yoko Ono (b. Feb. 18, 1933) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

51. Stick in a boat: OAR.  Fun clue.

52. Capital of Georgia (the country): TBILISI.  Tbilisi is in the far south east.

57. New Haven collegians: ELIs.  Yale students are called Elis after Elihu Yale (Apr. 5, 1649 ~ July 8, 1721).  He was a major benefactor of the Collegiate School, which was later named Yale University in his honor.  The name of the university has come under controversy recently because Elihu Yale made a good portion of his wealth in the slave trade.

58. Raze: LEVEL.

59. Friend's pronoun: THEE.  Quakers are known as Friends.  Quakers are known for "plain speaking" and use of the words "thee" and "thy."

60. Like creamy desserts: RICH.

61. "__ you sweet!": AREN'T.

62. Nos. on an airport board: ETDs.  As in Estimated Times of Departure.

Down:

1. Unmoving Calder work: STABILE.  Sculptor Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 ~ Nov. 11, 1976) was best known for his innovative stationary mobiles.  Many of his pieces are outdoor artworks in major cities.  The one below is in Chicago.

2. Last round contestant: FINALIST.

3. Scrutinize using, as a microscope: PEER INTO.

4. Became clear to, with "on": DAWNED.

5. Baby marsupial: JOEY.

6. Some beers: Abbr.: IPAs.  We often imbibe on India Pale Ales in the morining crossword puzzle.

7. __ Vegas: LAS.  What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

8. Quake aftershock: TREMOR.

9. Brown ermine: STOAT.

10. "OMG, funny!": LOL.  Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.  It is now a crossword staple.

11. Asylum seeker: EMIGRE.

12. Postpones: DEFERS.  I initially tried Delay.

13. Foe: ENEMY.

18. Headed up: LED.

19. Grabs a snack: NOSHES.  From the Yiddish word נאַשן, meaning "to nibble on".

24. When toddlers snooze: NAP TIME.  Be sure to wake them up in time for Family Game Night.

25. Cast out: OUST.

27. Data transmission unit: BAUD.  According to Webster's, Baud is a "unit of transmission speed equal to the number of times a signal changes state per second. For one baud is equivalent to one bit per second."  All clear?

28. Cry after un gol: ¡OLÉ!

32. Carries the day: WINS.

34. Bright star: NOVA.

Chevy Nova

35. Ethylene __: antifreeze: GLYCOL.

36. "That's big news!": WOW!

37. Optometrist's concern: EYESIGHT.  What is the lowest line you can read?

38. Completely enjoyed: RELISHED.

42. Small sizes: PETITES.

43. North America's highest peak: DENALI.  Mt. Denali has a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above  sea level.  The mountain had been known as Mt. McKinley, after President William McKinley, but was chnaged to Denali in the 1970s.  Denali is based in the Koyukon name of the Mount which means "the high one".

44. Type of energy or reactor: ATOMIC.

45. Backyard barbecue staple: BURGER.

46. Considerate: POLITE.

47. One picking up the staff lunch order, perhaps: GOFER.

48. Clapton classic: LAYLA.  I love this song.

49. Wrestler's goal: PIN.

52. Feds under Ness: T-MEN.

53. Sing (out) loudly: BELT.

55. Kinda: -ISH.

56. Latin greeting: AVE.

Here's the Grid: