Saturday, May, 16, 2020, Erik Agard & Leslie Rogers

Themeless Saturday by Erik Agard and Leslie Rogers

Here's what Erik and Leslie told me about this great puzzle:

LESLIE: Erik sent me the grid skeleton and asked for some 8-11 letter seed ideas.  I sent him a list including PROMPOSAL and I DONT FOLLOW, which he used to seed the SW.  I then wrote the NE, he wrote the NW, and then I finished with the SE.  This was my first time collaborating on a themeless and I learned a lot from Erik, both in terms of technical tips for filling tricky areas and general philosophies about what makes good fill.

I’ve been relying on the PELOTON app for no-equipment workouts a lot while sheltering in place.  Sorry to all the seniors who are missing out on the PROMPOSAL experience this year - that entry is more bittersweet now than when we originally wrote this grid.  This is being published on my mom's birthday, so happy birthday, Mom! Thanks to the LA Times for publishing this and I hope everyone found something to enjoy in the puzzle!

ERIK: I also found this collaboration very edifying in terms of fill standards and cluing approaches - Leslie has a brilliant crossword mind and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with her. Hope you liked the puzzle!

Let's review this fine collaboration on Leslie's mother's birthday:

Across:

1. Silver, in heraldry: ARGENT - This is definitely out of my area of expertise but ARGENT is shown as silver or white

7. Works with small bricks: LEGO ART - I'd love to do this LEGO ART

14. Legal opposite of negligence: DUE CARE - This is what we are all supposed to be exercising these days

16. Leaving exposed nails: OPEN TOE - Clever 

                                                 
17. Material: ON TOPIC.

18. Houston, for one: OIL TOWN - I went from SEA PORT to OIL PORT to OIL TOWN

19. Microscopic messenger: RNA.

20. Enjoys a lakeside diversion: SKIPS STONES.

22. Makes a plea: BEGS.

24. One with a Florida nest egg: EGRET - Not a retiree it turns out 

25. Reduce: PARE.

26. Word before steak or after chicken: STRIP.

28. Single: ONE.

29. '60s hallucinogen: LSD.

30. Soprano's note: HIGH B - 

32. Gran's daughter, humorously: MUMSY - I never called Grandma Gran nor Mom MUMSY!

35. 1521 Magellan landing site: PHILIPPINES - One of Magellan's five ships with eighteen survivors made the first circumnavigation of the Earth but Magellan died from a poison arrow in the PHILIPPINES. 

38. Like some sports highlights: SLO-MO - A SLO-MO simulation. Ya gotta love it!

39. Checked out ahead of time: CASED.

41. "All the Stars" one-named singer with Kendrick Lamar: SZA - Pronounced "sizz UH". Her story

44. Is in the past?: WAS.

45. Crisp fruit, maybe: PEARS - This lovely PEAR Crisp with ice cream looks delicious 

47. Like crossword clues about crossword clues, say: META - 

MET·A

/ˈmedə/

noun

noun: meta; plural noun: metas

adjective

US

adjective: meta

1. (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.

49. Audibly stunned: AGASP.

52. Proof word: STET.

53. "You lost me": I DON'T FOLLOW 

56. Astronaut Jemison: MAE - Here's MAE being weightless on the International Space Station

57. Sign of Broadway success: LONG RUN  - The five Broadway plays with the LONGest RUNs

58. Crane producer?: ORIGAMI - How is that done?

60. Wrap: ENCLOSE.

61. Equipment company named for a cycling group: PELOTON - The people in their ads seem to be in great shape already!

62. __ syndrome: allergic reaction to insect bites: SKEETER - A less technical phrase for "papular urticaria". Google if you must...

63. Craps naturals: SEVENS - A SEVEN (or eleven) on your first roll of the dice is called a natural and makes you a winner!


Down:

1. Totes presh: ADORBS - Something that is "Totes (Totally) Presh (Precious)" can also be called ADORBS (Adorable) in the Valley Girl lexicon.

2. Biblical flows?: RUNNETH - My cup RUNNETH over is most familiarly from the 23rd Psalm. Ed Ames sang this lovely song adapted from that line in the Broadway play The Fantasticks

3. Keep it together, so to speak: GET A GRIP.

4. Lead-in to "lodge" or "logy": ECO.

5. Short rests: NAPS.

6. Minor cycle: TRIKE - Here's a senior TRIKE 

7. Stretch, say: LOOSEN UP.

8. Relating to knowledge: EPISTEMIC - Of or relating to knowledge or knowing. I'd be more likely to use it than MUMSY 

9. Hannukah reward: GELT - Hebrew for money. Cash has been replaced in some celebrations with chocolate "coins"

10. Leading: ON TOP and 12. Subjects of "The Boys in the Boat": ROWERS. This picture shows that ROWERS from Washington University came out ON TOP by pulling an incredible upset in this 8-oar race from the 1936 Olympics.

11. Not exactly hummable: ATONAL.

13. Got edgy: TENSED.

15. Vaper's need, informally: E-CIG 

21. School dance invite portmanteau: PROMPOSAL - It appears Brooke said YES!

23. Venetian bridge composition?: SIGHS -This bridge was used to lead prisoners from the examining rooms to their cells in the Prigioni. Legend has it that prisoners who crossed the bridge on the way from the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to their prison cells or the execution chamber would SIGH as they caught their last glimpses of Venice through the tiny windows.

27. TV Dr.: PHIL.

31. Fly off the handle: BLOW A FUSE 33. Fly off the handle: SNAP - After crossing the Bridge Of Sighs?

34. Committed replies: YESES.

36. Toast words?: I'M A GONER - "You're toast, Man!"

37. Flying companion, say: SEAT MATE.

40. Two-word phrase that's synonymous with its second word backwards: DREAM ON - I told Erik and Leslie that this was my favorite clue

41. Close parentheses, at times: SMILES - The close (as opposed to open) parentheses are are at the end of emoticon SMILES :-). 

42. Striped equine hybrid: ZEDONK - ZEDONK and mother. I have it on good information that the father was an ass.

43. Instantly: AT ONCE.

46. Draft holders: STEINS - I wish I had bought this when I was at KSC

48. Theta, in geometry: ANGLE - Sin 𝛳= Opposite/Hypotenuse 

50. Unappealing food: SLOP.

51. Skin features: PORES.

54. More than walk: TROT.

55. "Looney Tunes" first name: WILE - WILE Coyote really  wanted that roadrunner! Meep, meep!

59. URL ending: GOV.

Comment at will or Erik and Leslie 

Friday, May 15, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: PSST- S said to T

Like in the old days, Jeffrey is back for his every other Friday publication. Another simple but consistent theme; words which end SS are reparsed with the ending ST. Themers 1 and 4 have the first-word change, 2 and 3 the last word. As usual, the puzzle is filled with much sparkly fill  AIRLINE, ALL HERE, APPLIES, ATTIRED, DIES OUT, ENCHANT, I CAN SAY, MAHALIA, MR. RIGHT, PASSION, PONTOON, SAD TIME, STRAFED,  THE RACK, and TREAT AS. As with much of his efforts, the ones in ORANGE are being introduced to the LAT today. First the theme...

16A. Furniture maker's designated stock of wood?:  CHEST PIECES (11). CHESS pieces.

31A. Accommodate Simba at one's hotel?: TAKE A WILD GUEST (14). Take a wild GUESS.

36A. Foggy playground vista?: A SWING AND A MIST (14). A swing and a MISS. Some baseball for C.C.

57A. Shipment of nautical parts?: MAST TRANSIT (11). MASS transit.

Next,

Across:

1. 911 pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

4. Like a certain elevated plane: ASTRAL. There are SEVEN planes.

10. Tack on: ADD.

13. "Ain't interested": NAH. Steve, is this American or from across the pond.

14. Present and accounted for: ALL HERE.

15. Word with honey or mud: PIE. I like Key Lime and my personal favorite

18. Bench press target: PECtoral.

19. Silent star of early talkies: HARPO. Another Marx on our card.

20. Like the Grinch: MEAN.

21. "Sing it, Sam" speaker: ILSA. The actual quotation.

22. Frightens: ALARMS.

24. Cherished activity: PASSION. Puzzling is one of my passions.

26. "Well-played!": NICE. Nothing French here.

27. Notable period: ERA.

30. Indigenous Alaskan: ALEUT a member of a people inhabiting the Aleutian Islands, other islands in the Bering Sea, and parts of western Alaska.

35. What may float your boat: PONTOON.

43. Be compatible: FIT IN.

44. __ Speedwagon: REO. The car, the band?

45. Rent-__: A-CAR.

46. A real keeper, romantically: MR RIGHT. Unless you are Diane Keaton.

49. Rant: TIRADE.

51. Bard's "Bummer!": ALAS. Shakespeare I.

52. Lack of impediments: EASE.

55. 1492 vessel: PINTA. Name the other two.

56. Brand "choosy moms choose," in ads: JIF.

59. Gender-neutral pronoun: ONE.

60. Not naked: ATTIRED. Hmm.

61. Professional org. since 1847: AMA. American Medical Association.

62. Old Glory hue: RED. White and blue.

63. First word of Dorothy's last line in Oz: THERE'S. No place like home. But is it really two words?

64. "I'm interested": YES. Meh.

Down:

1. Fascinate: ENCHANT. I like the old TV series GRIMM.

2. 1966 self-titled gospel album: MAHALIA. Ms. JACKSON.

3. Emotionally stressed, after "on": THE RACK. I do not think of it as an emotional stressor.

4. Swiss peak: ALP.

5. Poor, as odds: SLIM. And none.

6. What you might be in the Bible?: THEE. There is a Jason in the Hebrew Bible. READ.

7. Summary: RECAP.

8. Place for games: ARENA.

9. "__ Misérables": LES.

10. Submits one's résumé: APPLIES.

11. Wanes: DIES OUT.

12. Pour into a carafe: DECANT. Time to learn

14. Quark place: ATOM.

17. Binge: SPREE.

21. Alcatraz, for one: ISLE.

23. Affix, as a shoulder patch: SEW ON.

25. Spa amenity: SAUNA.

28. One may be given at a 29-Down: RING.

29. See 28-Down: ALTAR.

32. Acting like: APING.

33. "Ta-da!": DONE.

34. Title character who is never onstage: GODOT. I am still waiting to meet him.

36. Delta, for one: AIRLINE.

37. Fired on from above: STRAFED.

38. Units for gamers: WIIS.

39. County including the Muir Woods sequoias: MARIN.

40. "They've authorized me to report ... ": I CAN SAY. Too much politics.

41. Period of mourning, e.g.: SAD TIME. Understatement.

42. Regard to be: TREAT AS.

43. Key of two Beethoven symphonies: F-MAJOR.
Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral", Op. 68 (1808)
Symphony No. 8, Op. 93 (1812)

47. Baskerville Hall landscape: HEATH. Back again.

48. "Things sweet to __ prove in digestion sour": "Richard II": TASTE.
JOHN OF GAUNT- Act I - Scene 3
Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour.
You urged me as a judge, but I had rather
You would have bid me argue like a father.

50. Air 2 or Pro: iPAD.

53. Move a bit: STIR.

54. To be, in Bordeaux: ETRE. Or not...more Shakespeare.

57. Calisthenics aid: MAT.

58. High-__ image: RES. Or Hi-Def.

Wow, what a week. Internet issues, and a tough week with my eye doctor, but we survived. Fun times with JW. Be careful, be safe. Lemonade out.

Thursday, May 14th 2020 Bruce Haight

Theme:

36A. Like the start of four long answers, vis-à-vis its answer?: NOT FIT FOR THE JOB

17A. Make one's spirits last?: NURSE A DRINK. To our wonderful hospital staff:

49A. Use the airbrush, say: DOCTOR A PHOTO

23A. What a karaoke performer may do: BUTCHER A SONG

58A. Work out specific strategy: TAILOR A PLAN

Well, I have to confess I was a little confused by the theme. I see the occupations which were fun in context, but "Not fit for the job?". I think a butcher would be a perfect occupation for someone to ruin a song in a Karaoke bar. And a tailor can't work out a strategy? I can see a nurse not drinking on duty, but a Doctor isn't good at Photoshop? I think I'm missing something here. Bruce often drops in here, so I'd like to hear his take.

Good puzzle though, the theme-confusion aside. A nicely-constructed grid is one of Bruce's trademarks and he definitely doesn't overload with stale fill. Let's go find some nuggets.

Across:

1. Pub customer's usual, say: ORDER

6. Floor: AMAZE

11. One-liner: GAG. Mercifully, some are one-liners. The worst are the ones which go on for ages and when you get to the punch-line you wondered why you just wasted ten minutes of your life.

14. Wasteland: HEATH. I'm not sure a wasteland. Look at photographs of London's heaths and I'm sure you wouldn't describe them as wastelands. This is just part of Hampstead Heath in North London.

15. Hospital, often: DONEE. What? That's a real stretch.

16. Tribute in stanzas: ODE

19. Hawthorne Heights music genre: EMO. The band are also categorized as "post-hardcore" and "screamo". Whatever those mean, and I'm a music afficianado.

20. Choose: OPT

21. Short cut?: SNIP. I just got my first lockdown haircut today, I was starting to look like a rabid sheep. Jill watched a YouTube "how to" video last night and got the scissors out a couple of hours ago. I was trusting, nervous and eventually very pleased with the results! It appears that you can learn anything from YouTube.

22. __ interface: USER 

27. Takes public transport, slangily: BUSES IT

30. Comedian Marc who interviewed President Obama on his podcast: MARON. Obscure clue. Thank you, crosses.

31. Foil relative: EPÉE. Not parchment paper, then?

32. __ Hayes, "The Mod Squad" role: LINC. Crosses to the rescue.

33. Canine care org.?: ADA. The canine teeth just behind your incisors. I was due a cleaning back in March but still no sign of re=opening at my dentist.

41. Musician Brian: ENO

42. "My Heart Will Go On" singer: DION. The Titanic movie. I'd link the song, but Celine makes such "chewing the scenery" and "emoting" mouth movements I can't stand to look at her. In crosswordland, she's a ham.

43. More than a glance: GAZE

44. More elegant: FINER

46. Caught: SNAGGED

52. Munch Museum city: OSLO

53. Instrument in the intro to the Carpenters' "For All We Know": OBOE. At least we get a different clue from the orchestra tuning staple, but this is another obscure reference. I'll take obscure.

54. Maven: PRO

57. 2019 Coll. Football Playoffs champs: LSU. The Louisiana State University Tigers. Questions are being asked why college football coaches are still drawing their full salaries (not inconsiderable) while their schools are virtual and they can't travel to recruit or coach. Fair question?

62. Ad-__: LIB

63. Gang leader on "The Wire": MARLO. Crosses again, thank you.

64. Impertinent: SAUCY

65. "By all means": YES!

66. Wide divide: CHASM

67. County in four Northeastern states: ESSEX. More name-stealing from the UK. I lived in the original county of Essex, north-east of London. My house was 500 years old, thatched, and built from the oak timbers of a ship which sank in the river near Colchester. You couldn't drill into those timbers they were so hard. This is the village pond photographed in 1976. It hasn't changed a bit. I fell into it once, but that's another story. The pub responsible is right behind me.

Down:

1. "Here comes trouble": OH NO!

2. Enlist again: RE-UP

3. Sticker at a bar?: DART

4. Ewoks, e.g.: E.T.'S

5. Monkey named for a mythical Greek king: RHESUS. Gives us the R+ or R- designation on our blood types. I didn't know the Greek connection though. King Rhesus appeared in Book X of the "Iliad". I don't think I read that far, much like I abandoned "Game of Thrones" during Season Two.

6. Aficionado: ADDICT

7. Transform: MORPH

8. What April has that no other month does: AN "I". Nice trivia.

9. __ garden: ZEN

10. "Yikes!": EEK!

11. Cries and cries, say: GOES ON A JAG. I cried a lot when I had my two Jaguars, those Jags were in the shop more often than they were on the road. The old saw "Why do you need two Jags? One to drive while the other is in the shop" was never more fitting.

12. Madison Ave. guys: AD MEN

13. Conductor Solti: GEORG. This is a fun clip. For a Hungarian-British guy, his German is immaculate. I'm always impressed by multi-linguists, our own C.C amongst them.

18. Naysaying: ANTI

22. Gp. for the troops: U.S.O. 

23. Strengthen, with "up": BEEF

24. Mideast mogul: EMIR

25. Blog harangue: RANT. I'm glad we don't see too many rants here. This blog is a relatively peaceful and respectful place. You might think that crossword solvers wouldn't be angry people, but I have been called some rather eyebrow-raising things in my time. I just laugh.

26. Part of a foot: ARCH

27. Nota __: BENE. Better known as "N.B." or "note well".

28. Informed about: UP ON

29. Course load?: SET OF CLUBS. Golf. My set of clubs sits unused at the moment.

32. Chaney of horror: LON

34. Nod off: DOZE

35. Nodding off, maybe: ABED

37. Fig. on a badge: I.D. NO. Abbreviations galore.

38. Big piece of cake?: TIER. Yeah, that's a big piece. My sister-in-law has a small cake business in the UK. She's a decorating genius. Here's one of her tiered wedding cakes. Check out more at "The Dotti Cake Company" named for her mom. You'll be knocked out by her creativity, I swear.

39. Fit-king link: FOR A

40. Breakfast brand: EGGO. I learned last week from another crossword, in a universe far, far away, that you are instructed to microwave the cousin Pop-Tart for just three seconds. What the hell is in those things?

45. "How was __ know?": I TO

46. 1954 #1 hit for the Crew-Cuts: SH'BOOM. Totally unknown, but solved by the crosses. Will I remember it next time? Highly doubtful. I now realize I knew it as "Life Could be a Dream".

47. Queen dowager of Jordan: NOOR

48. Relaxed: AT EASE

49. Movie studio roller: DOLLY. Did you ever wonder what a "grip" or a "key grip" does when you watch the movie credits? It's got a lot to do with dollies.

50. Davis of "Grumpy Old Men": OSSIE

51. Matters of opinion: POLLS

54. Grade refinement: PLUS. Not "smooth out the lumpy ground" then?

55. Political contest: RACE

56. Cameo stone: ONYX

58. HBO rival: TMC. The Movie Channel. I think I had it once as an incentive with my cable package, but I never watched it. That probably tells me all I need to know.

59. "That's the spot!": AAH!

60. Golden yrs. fund: I.R.A.

61. Faux __: PAS. We've all been there.

And so we find ourselves at the end of the quest. Here's the grid, and continue to stay safe, all y'all.

Steve

Wednesday, May 13, 2020, Roland Huget

Theme: The Woods Are Calling

John Muir's quote was actually, "The mountains are calling, and I must go." What Muir really meant. Such a consistent theme here, with the first two, and last three letters of each spelling out a type of wood (or tree), and the 'filler' in between - thus WOOD FILLER. Awesome.

17. *Specialized baking surface: PIZZA STONE.

23. *Unwelcome sci-fi visitor: ALIEN INVADER.

34. *Pair with a license, often: MARRIED COUPLE.

47. *Location method requiring a sorted list: BINARY SEARCH.

55. Carpenter's compound, or what's found between each of four pairs of circled letters: WOOD FILLER.

Across:

1. Signs of healing: SCABS.

6. Like many summer drinks: ICED.

10. Pipe smoker's gadget: TAMP. Verb, not noun here.

14. Vinyl hit, usually: OLDIE. Vinyl has made a comeback and is pretty popular again.

15. Complimentary: FREE.

16. "I have an __": IDEA.

19. Reason for a cake, briefly: BDAY.

20. Flower bed tool: HOE.

21. Yet, poetically: THO.

22. What a person eats: DIET. Or more typically, what a person doesn't eat.

28. Spelunking spot: CAVERN.

30. Rescue copter: MEDEVAC.

31. Classical theaters: ODEA. From dictionary.com: a hall, theater, or other structure for musical or dramatic performances.

32. Paddle cousin: OAR.

33. One-time connector: ATA.

39. Diamond throw: PEG.

40. Kind of tale or fate: SAD.

41. Sweet companion?: SOUR.

42. Cheese on a cracker: CHEDDAR.

45. Lets go: LOOSES.

49. Frozen dessert chain: TCBY. The Country's Best Yogurt, a chain of frozen yogurt stores.

50. Common email attachment: PDF. Portable Document Format.

51. Wall St. specialist: ARB. Definitely not my area - anyone else know this? "The practice of simultaneously purchasing and selling securities in two separate financial markets in order to profit from price differences between them. For example, an arbitrageur would buy a security at one price on the London Stock Exchange and sell the same security at a higher price on the New York Stock Exchange. "Arbs" also get busy in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), mostly by shorting the stock of companies making an acquisition and simultaneously buying shares in the takeover target."

54. "Now hear __!": THIS.

59. Words with movie or show: SEE A. We're all doing this at home now. My local art theater is hosting viewing online in their virtual cinema, calling it "Distance and Chill."

60. Quattro maker: AUDI.

61. "Au contraire": NOT SO. French.

62. Formerly, quaintly: ERST.

63. Genealogy chart: TREE. Nice bonus word.

64. Laundry challenges: SPOTS.

Down:

1. Junior-to-be: SOPH.

2. Award coveted on "Mad Men": CLIO.

3. Shaping tool: ADZE.

4. Industry, informally: BIZ.

5. Poseidon's realm: SEA.

6. Programming decision construct: IF THEN.

7. Sing like Bing: CROON.

8. Yet, poetically: EEN.

9. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" duettist Kiki: DEE.

10. Shinbones: TIBIAE. Tricky plural spelling.

11. What extra cost hopefully brings: ADDED VALUE. Not always so.

12. Ones enjoying a rare meal?: MEAT EATERS. Rare meal ... nice.

13. Fork over: PAY. Coming right after the clue above, I was thinking meat.

18. Hoosegow: STIR. Hoosegow is slang for jail - or also for being drunk and disorderly.

22. Movie format: DVD.

23. Say confidently: AVER.

24. Kind of jet: LEAR.

25. It's Intel-based since 2006: IMAC.

26. Lyre-playing emperor: NERO.

27. Early TV brand: RCA.

28. Inviting, as a look: COME HITHER. Lauren Bacall ...

29. Commercial writers: AD AGENCIES.

32. Unmatched: ODD.

35. Words to an old chap: I SAY.

36. All __: listening closely: EARS.

37. Biennial games org.: USOC. United States Olympic Committee.

38. Luxurious: POSH.

39. Banned chem. contaminant: PCB.

43. Pats gently: DABS AT.

44. Martini order: DRY.

45. Scottish boy: LADDIE.

46. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF. The Lasting Appeal of Orff's Carmina Burana.

48. Lyrical work: EPODE. A form of lyric poem written in couplets, in which a long line is followed by a shorter one.

51. Kind of sax: ALTO. 8 Famous Saxophone Mucisians You Should Know. Here's one.

52. Take five: REST.

53. Good buds: BROS.

54. Half a fly: TSE.

55. Angkor __: Cambodian temple: WAT.

56. Plural possessive: OUR.

57. Connections: INS.

58. Cut (off): LOP. Ow.