Sunday, August 15, 2021 Dylan Schiff

Theme: "Just Desserts" - Cakes with the same letter count are layered on top of each other.

21. *Poet who influenced T.S. Eliot: EZRA POUND.

25. *Flattering words before a request: BEAN ANGEL.

26. *'90s nickname for pop's Mel C: SPORTY SPICE.

31. *Pre-TV performance genre involving arias: RADIO OPERA. Unfamiliar with opera cake. Wiki says it's French cake made of " layers of almond sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee (or Grand Marnier) French buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze."

50. *Pancake order: SHORT STACK.

60. *Fish that doesn't taste like its name suggests: LEMON SOLE.

72. *Killjoy, in modern lingo: FUN SPONGE.

77. *Kraft offering, casually: MAC N CHEESE.

98. *Sushi fish: YELLOW TAIL.

104. *Fruity fountain offering: BANANA SPLIT.

106. *Drywall material: SHEET ROCK.

Reveal:

111. *Dessert literally represented in six pairs of answers to the starred clues: LAYER CAKE. Functions as a reveal and the lower layer of SHEET.

I did a "Layer Cake" for the Crossword Club ages ago. One of the theme entries is long, the other is just short cake word. Similar to the Double Day I did for the LAT.

This makes me appreciate Dylan Schiff 's puzzle that much more. It's hard to layer a short word on top of another. It's incredible to layer two long entries. And the grid has very few gluey entries.

Across:

1. Defeat: TOP.

4. Miniature vehicle that uses a remote, briefly: RC CAR. RC = Radio-Controlled.

9. 1956 hot spot: SUEZ.

13. Seafarer's direction: THAR.  "Thar she blows!"

17. Biker's ride: HOG.

18. "__ roll!": I'M ON A.

19. Cavalry weapon: LANCE.

20. Provide an address: ORATE.

23. Hold-up man?: ATLAS. Atlas was one of the Titans.

 

24. Brought down: RAZED.

28. Regarding: AS TO.

29. Cut: AXED.

32. Of course, in Cannes: BIEN SUR. Mais bien sur!

35. Swerved at sea: YAWED. Yaw, Pitch, Roll.

37. "Sister Act" role: NUN.

38. Fa follower: SOL.

39. Terminus: END.

40. To boot: ALSO.

42. Seriously outrun on the track: LAP.

43. Price-qualifying word: PER. Do you guys still have Grape Nuts shortage in your area?

44. Packaging meas.: NT WT.

45. Bath tissue packaging word: PLY. You won't catch us running short on toilet paper again.

46. Santa Monica landmark: PIER.

48. Class assignment: ESSAY.

54. Baker's dozen?: EGGS. Cute clue.

56. '50s TV innovation: CABLE. Wow, this early.

61. Numbered work: OPUS.

62. "Fantastic Four" villain, briefly: DR DOOM.

63. Brown brew: ALE.

64. Row of seats: PEW.

65. Joltless joe?: DECAF. "Joltin' Joe" would have liked this clue. 

67. AFL-__: CIO.

68. GOP org.: RNC. Republican National Committee.

69. Unidentified flying radar blips: BOGIES. New term to me. Is the singular Bogey or Bogie?

71. Salsa order: MILD.

75. It may take a licking: STAMP.

76. Went down: SANK.

78. Old Turkish title: PASHA. Learned from doing crosswords.

80. Blubber: BAWL.

81. Hip: MOD.

82. Stuns: WOWS.

85. Common URL ending: COM.

86. Spot for suds: MUG. OK, shaving mug.

87. Very little: A DAB.

89. Twin, say: SIB.

92. Here, in Jalisco: ACA. Jalisco map here. Its capital is Guadalajara.

93. "As __ to breathe were life!": Tennyson: THO.

94. Silently understood: TACIT.

96. "Encore!": ONE MORE.

101. Formally surrender: CEDE.

103. Novelist Waugh: ALEC. Brother of Evelyn Waugh.

109. Busy: IN USE.

110. "101 Dalmatians" protagonist: PONGO.

112. Soda measure: LITER.

113. Solo: ALONE.

114. "The Jungle Book" wolf: AKELA.

115. "M*A*S*H" set piece: COT.

116. Highlands miss: LASS.

117. Arguments: ROWS.

118. Fresh: SASSY.

119. Blasting stuff: TNT.

Down:

1. 1992 baseball biopic: THE BABE. Babe Ruth is played by John Goodman. Have you guys seen "Little Big League?"  The little boy is the owner of the Minnesota Twins.

 

 

2. Enters slowly: OOZES IN.

3. Like many Pixar movies: PG RATED.

4. Kelly of morning TV: RIPA.

5. "Let's go!": C'MON.

6. BYU team nickname: COUGARS. Barry G graduated from BYU.

7. Make part of a larger state: ANNEX.

8. "To Kill a Mockingbird" recluse Boo __: RADLEY.

9. Course for H.S. exam takers: SAT PREP.

10. Empty, as a U-Haul: UNLOAD.

11. Digital greeting: E CARD.

12. Zing: ZESTINESS.

13. "The Sound of Music" name: TRAPP. Von Trapp.

14. Least distinct: HAZIEST.

15. Was humiliated: ATE CROW.

16. Handed out fresh cards: RE-DEALT.

19. Head for Vegas?: LAS. Boomer will love this clue. Every year after our Vegas trip, he'll start saving money in a jar for the next one.

20. Director Welles: ORSON. "Citizen Kane".

22. Presently, quaintly: ANON.

27. Letter closer: YOURS.

30. Destructive "Doctor Who" creature: DALEK.  Another learning moment.

33. "Push It" hip-hop trio: SALT-N- PEPA.

34. Tennyson work: ULYSSES.

36. Target of some Bob Dylan songs: WAR.

41. Birthstone after sapphire: OPAL.

43. Cribbage pieces: PEGS.

44. Long-distance swimmer Diana: NYAD. So inspiring.

45. MLB player, e.g.: PRO.

47. Trapped, in a way: ICED IN.

49. Scottie in Hitchcock's "Vertigo," for example: ACROPHOBE. Fear of height.

50. Concrete hunks: SLABS.

51. Spartan serf: HELOT. Wiki says "Tied to the land, they primarily worked in agriculture as a majority and economically supported the Spartan citizens."

52. __-3 fatty acids: OMEGA.

53. Pull behind: TOW.

54. Greener Living org.: EPA.

55. Hearty laugh: GUFFAW.

57. Conveyed: BORNE.

58. Yearns (for): LONGS.

59. Run from a stage?: EMCEE. Great clue.

61. Med. condition with repetitive behavior: OCD.

62. Old Sony CD player: DISCMAN.

66. Lodge member: ELK.

67. Anderson Cooper's network: CNN.  Cute Wyatt.

70. Little devils: IMPS.

71. Polite address: MA'AM.

73. Mayim Bialik alma mater: UCLA. Jeopardy!

74. Voluminous ref.: OED.

76. Has a mediocre round ... for a pro: SHOOTS PAR. Boomers plays a 9-hole executive course on Monday mornings. Had a birdie a few weeks ago.

77. Copperfield field: MAGIC. David Copperfield.

79. Neutral vowel symbol: SCHWA.

80. Tampa Bay NFLer: BUC. Buccaneer.

82. Shipping document: WAYBILL. Unfamiliar with the term.

83. South Pacific region: OCEANIA.

84. Waldorf salad morsels: WALNUTS. Good for your brain, supposedly.

86. Speaks badly of: MALIGNS.

88. Stereotypical ingenue facial feature: DOE EYES.

89. Beyoncé, since 2002: SOLO ACT. Previously with Destiny's Child.

90. "S'pose so": I RECKON.

91. "Waiting for Godot" playwright: BECKETT (Samuel)

93. Cosmetics liquid: TONER. My favorite.

94. Up to this point, informally: TIL NOW.

95. Model 3 autos: TESLAS.

97. "Walking in Memphis" singer Cohn: MARC. He was married to Elizabeth Vargas for a while.

99. Cuts with a beam: LASES.

100. Ohno on skates: APOLO.

102. Bangladesh capital: DHAKA.

105. Low digit: TOE.

107. Snaky swimmers: EELS.

108. Cafeteria fixture: TRAY.

C.C.

Saturday, August 14, 2021, Jamey Smith

 Saturday Themeless by Jamey Smith

Our Texas Longhorn alum, Jamey Smith, is back after a one month hiatus. The long fills were very helpful but I struggled in the SW corner for various and sundry reasons but eventually emerged victorious. In keeping with these lazy, hazy days of summer, here is what Jamey shared with us: 

Hi Gary, 

Thanks for the opportunity. No big insights come to mind for this one, I'm afraid, so I'll keep it brief. Let me just say I hope this puzzle provides a welcome diversion during these dog days of summer.

Stay Cool,

Jamey

Across:

1. Ottoman Empire symbol: FEZ - They are also worn by Shriners in parades around here

4. Deep divide: CHASM.

9. __ candle: ROMAN.

14. Martinique, par exemple: ILE - J'habite sur l'ILE de la Martinique (I live on the island of Martinique)

15. Shade: UMBRA - We were in the Moon's UMBRA during the 2017 solar eclipse 

16. Soul, to Aristotle: ANIMA.

17. "On the contrary": FAR FROM IT - The answer to, "Can I read the text above?"

19. Principle: TENET.

20. Online loan calculator, e.g.: E-TOOL - Here's one

21. Put out of action: SIDELINE.

23. Ordained: DECREED.

26. Junction point: NODE.

27. [Eyeroll]: HERE WE GO AGAIN.

32. Vast amounts: SEAS.

34. Name on a "Speed" movie poster: SANDRA - Most of the posters only contain the visage of Keanu Reeves but not this one

35. Letter spelled by inserting a letter into another letter: PSI - PI can add a letter to get PSI (or PHI)

36. Wish list items: WANTS.

38. Protein-building molecule: RNA.

39. __ Ideas Festival: annual Western resort conference: ASPEN - More info

41. Clemson's conf.: ACC.

42. Toshiro ___, actor in many Kurosawa films: MIFUNE - One MIFUNE/Kurosawa collaboration was called The Seven Samurai and was the inspiration for an iconic American Western movie

45. 1940 toon goldfish: CLEO - Pinnochio, CLEO and Figaro

46. Broad perspective: THE BIG PICTURE - Here's a failure to achieve that 

49. Mideast carrier: EL AL.

50. Dizziness cause, perhaps: EARACHE.

53. Could be taken for: PASSES AS - As generations progress, what PASSES AS acceptable behavior changes

57. "__ moi, le déluge": Louis XV: APRES - "After me the deluge". Louis never said it and here are more things royalty never said

58. 24-part epic: ILIAD.

59. "Sorry, you can't talk me out of this": NO I INSIST.

62. Cosmic balance: KARMA.

63. College sports channel: ESPNU.

64. Nottingham-to-London dir.: SSE - It would have been a 129 mile trip for Robin Hood

65. Operative: ASSET - A _ _  _ T. Yeah, I'm the only one who put AGENT first. BTW, ANON-T is an ASSET to our blog!

66. Things to do: TASKS.

67. Word in many rates: PER - My typing rate in words PER minute is impressive unless you insist on accuracy

Down:

1. Played a high wind: FIFED - Not OBOED it appears

2. Gratify: ELATE.

3. "Not a prayer": ZERO CHANCE - These teams have the worst odds to win the NCAA FB national championship this year. If you bet $100 on any of them, you'd win $1,000,000 if they surprised everyone.

4. Winter Olympian: CURLER.

5. Kaiser offering: HMO - Health Maintenance Organization 

6. SALT subject: ABM - Anti ballistic missiles 

7. Mumbai misters: SRIS.

8. Courtship ritual: MATING DANCE.

9. Like investment-grade bonds: RATED AAA.

10. What yoga may be practiced on: ONE LEG.

11. iPad choice: MINI.

12. "Agreed!": AMEN.

13. Silver of FiveThirtyEight: NATE - Some 2021 NFL thoughts on NATE's FiveThirtyEight site

18. __ green: FOREST.

22. In spot?: DOOR - Our big box lumber store has its "In DOOR" about 50 yards from its "Out DOOR", so when you park you have a decision to make

24. Some RPI grads: EES - Electrical Engineers 

25. Ceres, for one: DWARF PLANET - Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Since it is only one of thousands of objects in that belt, it is not considered to be a full planet

28. The blahs: ENNUI - It would take someone as hip as Cole Porter to use the French word ENNUI in a lyric

29. Classic autumn treat: APPLE CRISP.

30. "Ah": I SEE.

31. Baja boy: NINO - Which kind of winter is on tap for us?

32. Thwack: SWAT.

33. Term regarding distribution: EACH.

37. Was friendly to: SMILED AT.

40. Throws out: SCRAPS.

43. "Hometown Proud" supermarkets: IGAS - Here's one in Forest Hill, New South Wales, Australia 

44. DFW posting: ETA.

47. "__ Mucho": classic Consuelo Velázquez song: BESAME - I don't know Srta Velázquez at all but Paul Anka's 1962 put me on the right track.

48. Seventh of eight: URANUS - Sorry Ceres, you'll have to eat at the kids' table

51. "Siddhartha" author: HESSE -Siddhartha is a 1922 novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautam Buddha. 

52. Fruity compound: ESTER - The Chemistry

53. Rabbit relative: PIKA - Not in my fauna vocabulary. Maybe the bouquet is part of his mating dance

54. "That's too bad": ALAS.

55. Quaint letter opener: SIRS.

56. 600 Home Run Club member: SOSA - AROD was left on the bench

60. Online addresses, for short: IP'S - What is an IP?

61. Publicity: INK - With the demise of print media, perhaps the origin of this use of INK will fade.

Friday. August 13, 2021, Bryant White

 Title: Sign him up to a long term contract.

Little did I know when I was solving Sunday's puzzle and telling Bryant I was looking forward to his next effort that it would be this puzzle. This is a letter removal puzzle, but the reveal is so perfect you will wonder why you didn't think of it.

64A. Secret message technique ... and a hint to four puzzle clues: INVISIBLE INK (12). INK disappears leaving a single letter for each of the 4 letter implied clues.

18A. L[INK]: CHAIN SEGMENT (14). All the fill are very simple if you "see" the invisible ink. 

27A. M[INK]: LUSTROUS FUR (11). The theme is restricted to 4 letter words ending INK. 

39A. F[INK]: POLICE INFORMER (14). This pejorative is the hardest to suss.

56A. R[INK]: SKATING AREA (11). This is the easiest.

There are only 2 eight letter fill outside the theme, BLISSFUL and MUTINEER. 60 of the 81 words (this is a 15x16 grid) are 5 letters or less. Most of the fill are crosswordese, with a "freshness facor" of 5% which is the lowest I have ever blogged; but I enjoyed it.

Across:

1. Suitable for growing crops: ARABLE. Arable land is the land that can be used for agriculture. The term is derived from the Latin word “arare” meaning, to plough. Non-arable land is the land unsuitable for agriculture. For some reason I know this word.

7. Rain unit: DROP. 

                                   

11. 4x4, for short: UTE. ICK

14. Song with a story: BALLAD. 
                                

15. Ephesus' region: IONIA. The HISTORY of [EF][UH][SUHS].

17. Hamburger Hill setting, briefly: NAM. Not our finest HOUR.

20. Long order: SUB. Cute, submarine sandwiches are often long.

21. Teacher's note: SEE ME. Not a note you want to receive.

22. Sparkling flapper accessory: TIARA. Gatsby?

24. Cobblers' tools: AWLS. Not if you are making peach.

31. Dumbledore and Snape, in brief: PROFS. As long we don't see them in their briefs; sadly they are both dead.

33. Range rover: STEER. A great alliterative misdirection; everyone join in, "Home, home on the range..."

34. Military meal: MESS. mess (n.). From 1300, "a supply or provision of food for one meal," from Old French mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from Late Latin missus "course at dinner," literally "a placing, a putting (on a table, etc.)," Meaning "a communal eating place" (especially a military one) is attested by 1530s, from the earlier sense of "a company of persons eating together at the same table" (early 15c.),

35. __ rasa: TABULA. The blank slate, more Latin.

37. Clarinet, e.g.: REED. Because you need one to make music with it? Ron?

45. Somewhat, to Salieri: POCO.  This is difficult in so many ways, first ANTONIO SALIERI is not as well known as others and POCO means little in both Spanish and Italian.

46. "Circus Sideshow" pointillist: SEURAT.            Georges Seurat, (born December 2, 1859, Paris, France—died March 29, 1891, Paris), painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism                

48. General vibe: AURA.

52. Traditional doings: RITES. Tradition, tradition...hit it Zero!

55. Skylit lobbies: ATRIA.

59. George Harrison's "__ It a Pity": ISN'T. 

60. Kit Kat component: WAFER. It's back

61. Capital served by the Queen Alia International Airport:AMMAN. Jordan.

63. Ballpark fig.: EST. Crowd count.

71. Pulitzer novelist Harper: LEE. From 10 days ago.

72. Strainer: SIEVE. Not Ballesteros. Though I am sure he usually flew on...

73. Madrid-based airline: IBERIA. It is a Peninsula thing.

74. Vehicle for some trips: LSD. Since July 1:

Universal Crossword - Aug. 11, 2021

WSJ Daily - Aug. 2, 2021

Universal Crossword - July 28, 2021

USA Today - July 22, 2021

WSJ Daily - July 20, 2021

LA Times - July 16, 2021

Universal Crossword - July 14, 2021

USA Today - July 12, 2021

USA Today - July 1, 2021

75. It has a head and hops: BEER. Harvey, Jimmy Stewart's friend?

76. Ankle-related: TARSAL. Is this one of those new fangled META clues?

Down:

1. Simple comparison: ABC. In Sunday's effort he used an Agatha Christie Poirot title.

2. Fan noise: RAH. Rah, sis boom bah; rah rah ree , kick em in the knee, rah rah rass, kick em in the other knee

3. Like: A LA.

4. Like ignorance, at times: BLISSFUL.

5. "Stay in your __!": LANE. Clark!

6. Ranger or Corsair: EDSEL. 

7. Compilation: DIGEST. Readers being the most famous.

8. Bulg. neighbor: ROMania.

9. Half of eleven?: ONE. 1    1. see it now?

10. Wall map insert: PIN.

11. Nader's "__ at Any Speed": UNSAFE.

12. Alphabetically penultimate zodiac sign: TAURUS. Next to last, with VIRGO (my sign) last.

13. Places in a cell: EMBARS.Yuck!

16. Alaskan site of the only WWII battle on U.S. soil: ATTU. HISTORY .

19. Layers of big eggs: EMUS. We cannot escape LIMU or his family.

23. School of thought: ISM.

24. Quick: APT.

25. Stop shooting: WRAP. 

26. Timber wolf: LOBO. A CSO to OMK and his New Mexico roots. 

28. Fork-tailed flier: TERN. Very aerodynamic

29. Coral habitat: REEF. Staying near the ocean, we have:

30. Some Blizzard ingredients: OREOS. Yummy.

32. Place to park a clipper: SLIP.
More seafaring stuff.

 He is a squirrel...

36. Scrat's obsession in "Ice Age" films: ACORN.

38. De Matteo of "The Sopranos": DREA. I have had this actress many times. No literally of course, just in puzzles.

40. Juul product, briefly: E-CIG. Probably more dangerous than the cigarettes they are replacing. 

41. Ninth Greek letter: IOTA. abc def ghi in Greek.

42. Fletcher Christian, for one: MUTINEER. Where? On 
the 

43. Does as humans do?: ERRS. But forgiving is divine.

44. Sprinkle, perhaps: RAIN. Purple?

47. Skin pic: TAT. Ooo Ooo

48. In addition to that: AS WELL.

49. Czar's decrees: UKASES.  (Historical Terms) (in imperial Russia) an edict of the tsar.

50. Traveled like Huck and Jim: RAFTED.

51. Bolted down: ATE. Rush, rush, rush.

53. Tip for fixing mistakes?: ERASER. So cute, tip of the pencil.

54. Highway behemoth: SEMI. How big would a whole one be?

57. Camera part: IRIS. Designed by using the EYE.

58. Gamut: AMBIT.

62. Daughter in "The Time Traveler's Wife": ALBA. The actress who played the 9 year old version, HAILEY McCANN has already retired. No Jessica here.

65. Spoonbill's bill: NIB.  The word nib comes from a 16th century word meaning the beak of a bird. 

66. Angled formation: VEE. More birds.

67. "__ gotta run!": I'VE. Not yet, I must finish first.

68. Collection agcy.: IRS. The biggest.

69. Peeples seen in People: NIA. This multitalented multi cultural beauty from her mother Elizabeth Peeples of Filipino, German and Spanish descent and her father Robert with Italian, Scottish, Irish and Native American Heritage. 

70. Actor Penn: KAL. Fascinating young man who 

worked as a real-life White House staffer (as Associate Director of the Obama administration's White House Office of Public Engagement) and played one on TV (as Seth in the TV series Designated Survivor).

I do not think I will ever fully adjust to all the new blogger protocols, but hopefully you stayed long enought to have a good time. I also wanted to share more than the grid, as my wife received a shipment of Moon Cakes from Thailand to celebrate the mid-autumn festival. Try one. Thanks Bryant. Lemonade out.  

                    For you Zhouqin and Boomer, come by for some tea.                     Jason and Oo.

 Notes from C.C.:

1) Thanks for the mooncakes, Lemonade! Do they have egg yolks inside? Yes they do; we cut them like a pizza revealing the central surprise.

2) Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's wife Betty, who has met a few regulars on our blog, including Argyle, Sallie (the Crab), Gerry (Grumpy), our Naples readers. See more pictures here. Are you still in contact with them, Spitzboov? 

Here's a picture of Spitzboov and Betty posing with the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear sub and the first ship to transit the North Pole.