Sunday December 5, 2021 Jill Singer

Theme: "Sounds of the Sea"-  Word in each theme entry is replaced by a soundalike sea creature.

23. Commander of primitive fish?: STURGEON GENERAL. Surgeon general.

35. Festival for dugong relatives?: MANATEE FAIR. Vanity Fair.

49. Tiny crustacean herald?: KRILL THE MESSENGER. Kill the messenger.

67. Help for little fish?: HERRING AIDS. Hearing aids.

82. Reason to go to a seafood restaurant?: JUST FOR THE HALIBUT. Just for the hell of it.

94. Crustacean seller?: PRAWN BROKER. Pawnbroker.

115. Marine mammal in the air?: A HIGHER PORPOISE. A higher purpose.

No Jill Singer in our blog label. Must be a debut. Congratulations, Jill!

I mentioned before that I often struggled with this type of theme. Somehow I just could not see Vanity Fair. Had to send an SOS to D-Otto. 

Some of you might remember this puzzle we had a few years ago. That one had a tight set.

Across:

1. The Phillie Phanatic and Bernie Brewer: MASCOTS. Gimme! Here's Bernie Brewer.

 

8. Like some goods: DAMAGED.

15. Minimal: LEAST.

20. How big dogs may travel: IN CARGO.

21. Berry, for one: ACTRESS. Halle Berry.

22. Not warranted: UNDUE.

25. Goes (through) carefully: COMBS.

26. Ginseng and rooibos: HERBAL TEAS. Never had ginseng tea. But ginseng chicken is a very popular Korean dish. The deep red thing is date. Koreans and Cantonese like to put dates in soup.

27. Early hrs.: AMS.

28. Muslim judge: HAKIM. New to me.

29. NFL commentator Michael: IRVIN.

30. Leave out: OMIT.

32. Longings: DESIRES.

34. Open-__ shoes: TOED.

40. Rage: IRE.

41. Disney's "__ and the Detectives": EMIL. Learning moment for me.

43. Tons: SLEWS.

44. Burn lightly: SINGE.

46. Went for the worm: BIT.

54. Lose it: ERUPT.

56. Blood system letters: ABO.

57. Informal clothes: CASUALS.

58. Former Yugoslav leader: TITO. Josip Broz Tito.  Somehow he's very famous in China. His Chinese name is 铁托, sounds very steely.

59. Key next to D: C SHARP.

62. Unsurpassed: ALL TIME.

66. Italian wine region: ASTI.

71. Words with a hand up, maybe: I CAN.

72. Magician who is a two-time "America's Got Talent" winner: SHIN LIM. New to me also. Wikipedia said that his parents were born in Singapore. This reminds me of constructor Julian Lim. The Lim is the same as Chinese Lin, meaning "forest".

74. Natural light refractor: CORNEA.

75. Eco-friendly certification letters: LEED. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

76. Most stylish: TONIEST.

80. Pirate's cry: YAR. ARR too.

81. Jumping, as a joint: ALIVE.

88. Danson of TV: TED.

89. Disney's vision of tomorrow: EPCOT.

90. Make up (for): ATONE.

91. Pre-storm state: CALM.

93. Warrior prefix: ECO.

98. "Terrible" czar: IVAN. Ivan the Terrible.  First Russian to be called "czar".

102. Status car: PORSCHE.

105. Contrary to popular belief, throwing it won't endanger birds: RICE.

106. Architect Jones: INIGO. Learned from doing crosswords.

107. Dispensed, with "out": METED.

108. Bout decision: TKO.

111. Amazing: PHENOMENAL. Great fill.

114. Actor Quinn: AIDAN.

117. Silly joke response, perhaps: SNORT.

118. Symbol of love: RED ROSE.

119. Without value: USELESS.

120. Baden-Powell who co-founded the Girl Guide movement: AGNES. Maybe Irish Miss knows more about more her.

121. Marginal moves: INDENTS.

122. 2002 Soderbergh sci-fi film: SOLARIS. Starring George Clooney.

Down:

1. Tennis error: MIS-HIT.

2. Opposite of retro-: ANTERO- Google shows it's "from the Latin anterior meaning before".

3. Reduced-speed road sign symbol: S CURVE. Also 51. Angle iron: L BAR.

4. Union __, Dow Chemical subdivision: CARBIDE. They have a big factory in Guangzhou.

5. Skin, e.g.: ORGAN.

6. Shampoo brand: T GEL. Anti-dandruff .

7. What sweeps sweep: SOOT.

8. Discoverer of the first ocean route to India: DA GAMA.

9. Nails the final: ACES IT. Also 63. Suggestion for a sprain: ICE IT.

10. High pt.: MTN.

11. Neighborhood: AREA.

12. Origin: GERM.

13. Those, to José: ESAS.

14. Connection letters: DSL.

15. Vader creator: LUCAS (George). Darth Vader.

16. Sukiyaki ingredient: ENOKI. I often put them in my miso soup. So good.

17. Looking up to: ADMIRING.

18. Sink: SUBMERGE.

19. QBs' targets: TES. Tight ends.

24. "And the people bowed and prayed / To the __ god they made": Paul Simon, "The Sound of Silence": NEON.

28. Nautical pronoun: HER. Thought of Spitzboov! Hope he can tough this one out and get back home soon.

31. New Age musician John: TESH.

32. Talk out of, with "from": DISSUADE.

33. One reading signs: SEER.

35. Peace, in Russian: MIR.

36. Boxer Laila: ALI.

37. Power source: Abbr.: ELEC.

38. Disaster response gp.: FEMA.

39. Stupefies: AWES.

42. NYSE, e.g.: MKT. Followed by 44. React to falling prices, perhaps: SELL.

45. Gradually impart: INSTILL.

46. Almost-ready products: BETAS.

47. Word with whiskey or wolfhound: IRISH. And "Miss".

48. Solo's opposite, in music: TUTTI.

50. Comic actor Bert: LAHR. Known for his Cowardly Lion role in "The Wizard of Oz".

52. Amos at the piano: TORI.

53. Chips partner: SALSA.

55. Indicate: POINT TO.

59. Twill fabric: CHINO.

60. Degree of uncommonness, in some games: SEMI-RARE.

61. Pittsburgh's __ Park: PNC.

64. Author Binchy: MAEVE.  Irish novelist.

65. Stopped: ENDED.

68. Many a Prado painting: GOYA.

69. Name near Uzbekistan, on maps: ARAL.

70. Crucifix letters: INRI. Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).

 

73. It's often an attic: LOFT.

77. Jazzy James: ETTA.

78. Demonstrate: SHOW.

79. Besides Mo., the only state that borders eight others: TENN.

81. NHL Flames' home: ATL.

82. Off-road vehicle: JEEP.

83. Yet to happen: UPCOMING.

84. Got a goal against: SCORED ON.

85. Lang. of about 200,000 Americans: HEBR. Hebrew.

86. Letters in old dates: BCE.

87. Old Mideast org.: UAR.

92. Seat of New York's Nassau County: MINEOLA. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says Lenny Bruce was born here.

94. Prof.'s degree: PHD.

95. Most developed: RIPEST.

96. Earth tones: OCHRES.

97. Hang on to: KEEP.

99. More jungly: VINIER. Both words trigger spell check red line.

100. 1999 ATP Player of the Year: AGASSI (Andre).

101. To boot: NO LESS.

103. Look parents caution children about: STARE.

104. __ on the dollar: CENTS.

106. Urge forward: IMPEL.

108. "If so ... ": THEN.

109. 17th-century privateer: KIDD. Captain Kidd.

110. Folklore fiend: OGRE.

112. Toi et moi: NOUS.

113. Roughly: OR SO.

114. Simile words: AS A.

115. NFC West team: ARI. Arizona Cardinals.

116. Term of endearment: HON.

C.C.

Saturday, December 4, 2021, Matthew Sewell

 Saturday Themeless by Matthew Sewell

Today we have yet another fun entry from our literature and film instructor at Mankato State University.

Here are Matt's comments:

Hello Gary,

Thanks for asking me to comment. I tend to like themeless grid shapes with a low number of Across entries (31 in this case). I also tend to like puzzles that mix challenging entries (like 40A), which usually need fairly direct clues, with straightforward entries (like 51A) that can be livened up via cluing. To me, a good themeless is all about that balance! I hope solvers enjoy this one, and I appreciate the work you do on your blog.

Matt

Lights, Camera, Matt!

Across:

1. Applies sustained effort: WORKS AT IT 

10. Caution: ALERT.

15. HS course that may be lit?: AP ENGLISH How appropriate that Matt would choose this clue/fill. Here are some lit(erature) that might be read in an AP English Course.

16. Ambitious sort: TYPE-A.

17. Bean, e.g.: VEGETABLE.

18. Twist: WRING - When done in the weightlessness of the International Space Station. Cohesion reigns when gravity is eliminated. 

19. City on Presque Isle Bay: ERIE - Presque Island Bay is the body of water that is bordered by ERIE, PA on the left and Presque Island on the right. Saturday cluing.

20. Audio engineer's accoutrements: EAR PIECES.

22. Hold back: DAM.

23. Low-carb alternative to oats: NUT MEAL.

25. Princess Margaret portrayer in "The Crown": HELENA 

  Princess Margaret            HELENA Bonham Carter

27. __ act: CLASS.

31. Anticlimactic happenings: NONEVENTS - Anybody remember when Geraldo opened Al Capone's safe on live TV? Thirty million people tuned in to see an empty space.

34. Bob Odenkirk title role: SAUL.

36. Umbilicus formation: OUTIE - Innie was, uh, out

37. __ the People: razor brand: OUI - New to me

38. Gulf of Guinea capital: ACCRA - Suppose Rick and Ilsa wanted to get from Casablanca to ACCRA

39. Neuron speed unit: Abbr.: MSEC - The speed of a neurons response is usually measured over time periods of MSEC (milliseconds)

40. Movie monster term meaning "alien form": XENOMORPH - Sigourney Weaver and her XENOMORPH co-star from Aliens 

42. Zoom sesh, e.g.: E-DATE - I suppose

45. Protective legwear: GAITER - We've also become aware of face GAITERS lately 

Face GAITER                 Leg GAITERS

46. Atsukan, at a sushi bar: HOT SAKE.

49. Quick swim: DIP.

51. Idaho has the only one designed by a woman: STATE SEAL.

55. Italian university city: PISA - I wonder if Galileo ever went back for reunions  

56. Old orange-roofed eateries, for short: HO JOS - HOward JOhnsons

57. Reggie Jackson nickname: MR. OCTOBER - He got the big hits when they really counted

60. Big name in gaming: ATARI.

61. Charades skill: PANTOMIME - Ten minutes of a 67-yr-old TV game show replete with elegance, commercials, movie plugs and good players.

62. Whammies: HEXES.

63. Rapt: ENGROSSED.


Down:

1. Shook one's hand?: WAVED.

2. Sydney attraction: OPERA HOUSE - Look carefully

3. Strictly organized: REGIMENTED - Do you have a set bedtime routine?

4. Hacky Sacker's option: KNEE.

5. Ice-T's "SVU" rank: SGT.

6. Following: ALA - This puzzle is ALA Sewell  

7. Yak: TIBETAN OX.

8. Major religion of Indonesia: ISLAM.

9. "Finished!": THERE - Nope, just over halfway

10. Whenever one wants: AT WILL 

11. Instrument depicted on Keats' gravestone: LYRE - Keats' requested that his name not be on his tombstone

12. Sprawling tale: EPIC.

13. Nobelist Cassin: RENE - Here ya go

14. Handles: TAGS - What's your CB Handle?

21. __-12: PAC - West Coast Athletic Conference

23. "The Craft" actress Campbell: NEVE.

24. Paris article: UNE - C.C. est UNE personne merveilleuse (translation is left to you)

26. German camera brand: LEICA.

28. Dandy accessory: ASCOT.

29. Bird mummified by ancient Egyptians: SACRED IBIS - This 2,000+ year old bundle has been partially cut to show the mummified IBIS inside

30. "You pick": SURPRISE ME - I said that to a waiter in our new Guatemalan restaurant and thus I got to eat my first pupusa 

31. Nice handle?: NOM - Samuel Clemens' NOM de plume in Nice, France was also Mark Twain

32. Col. on a planner: TUE.

33. Folk music gathering, often: SING ALONG.

35. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH.

38. BFF of Brittany: AMIE - Your female BFF in the Brittany region of NW France is your AMIE

41. Whiskey barrel wood: OAK.

43. Grad school hurdle: THESIS - They are usually read by the student, the advisor, the committee and then...

44. Aurora counterpart: EOS - Both goddesses of Dawn

47. Home of Arizona State: TEMPE.

48. That's a wrap: SARAN.

50. Clipped: PARED.

51. Persian for "king": SHAH.

52. Subscriber's bonus: TOTE bag

53. Mighty warrior of myth: AJAX - A great warrior in Homer's Iliad 

54. Bolted: TORE.

55. Little dogs, briefly: POMS - Pomeranians of course 

58. Lisa Leslie's WNBA position: CTR.

59. Moreover: TOO.

Friday, December 3, 2021, Jeffrey Diton

 Title: A timely tribute to Broadway.

We all know (or should know) that puzzles are scheduled long before publication. However with the recent death of Broadway ICON Steven Sondheim, it seems some outside influence created this time slot for our entertainment and reflection. And dramatically none of the eight (8) huge hits were created by Sondheim. I am however, foreshadowing the write-up, so it is time to get to work.

My internet sleuthing located Jeffrey Diton both at the Crossword Collaboration Directory* and on Facebook.  It seems he is "retired and living the dream in Cary, North Carolina" though I know not his vocation.  This is his world wide debut puzzle so let's give him a round of applause. (too much foreshadowing)? Not unexpectedly this puzzle does not check all the usual Friday difficulty boxes - too many words, word lengths too short - but he does bring some pizzaz.  PET MD, ICEMAN,  KRAUSS, LOW-RES, MIDORI , YASGUR, ALL YEAR,  MISTRIAL and SLEEPERS are all solid fill. The ones in red are new. If you did not trek to Western NY on August 19, 1969, you probably don't know Max Yasgur and his farm in Bethel. N. Y. but those are stories for a different day. What he does do is include in each theme answer 2 one-word Broadway musicals. I find no commonality within the selection that determines which he chose, I hope he comes by and explains. 

16A. Nightclub for seasonal workers?: ELF CABARET (10). Malls hire elves to accompany Santa and we all enjoy a night out at a cabaret, old chum. LINK 1 and LINK 2

22A. Reaction to opening a can of Whiskas?: CATS APPLAUSE 

(12). I do not know any kitties who applaud but maybe you all have videos. LINK 1 and LINK 2

47. Like the Charles River in February, to a local?: WICKED FROZEN (12). You need to know the Charles flows through Boston where wicked is a catch all adjective and its does get f.... I mean wicked cold. Watching WICKED  on Broadway starring Idina Menzel with my two sons is a great memory for me. This group also is the only one of the themers I know of in which a star (IM, not ours) stars in both. I have not seen the  FROZEN musical.

56A. Styling gel for a '50's teenager?: HAIR GREASE (10). HAIR with it's nudity was very bold for Broadway and GREASE  a wonderful tribute to WEST SIDE STORY a Stephen Sondheim musical.

And the unusual Friday reveal:

34. Hit shows, and a hint to four puzzle answers: BROADWAY SMASHES. I am not sure if this was Jeffrey's intention, but I parse the clue for the show with individual names as Broadway Smashes, but for the entire answer Broadway's Mashes. YMMV.

Across:

1. Some model home residents: DOLLS. A very cute beginning.

6. Wrinkle, as one's brow: KNIT. HISTORY.

10. Rocky greetings: YOS. From the movie, not a bad romance. 

13. '40s-'50s "Giant Brain": ENIAC. This is the 48th appearance of this fill in the LAT.

14. Streaming biggie: ROKU.  Read all about IT.

15. Gas station convenience: MART. This one was slow in coming for me. 

18. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Norway here we come.

19. Easter supply: DYE. Of course EGG fits also.

20. Watson portrayer opposite Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes: LIU.

21. California athlete: ANGEL. Baseball in Anaheim.

26. Hardly well: RARE. Very nice Friday deception, not ill but not cooked much.

29. Surprise hits: SLEEPERS. This sense of the word may have originated in the world of gambling in the nineteenth century. When a card player unexpectedly drew a winning card, the card was called "a sleeper."

30. Pontificates: OPINES. C.C. has mostly eliminated that from this blog's posts.

33. Narrow strip of wood: LATH. The name derived from the spreading action, which is like pulling an accordion open. wiki

40. Top-notch: A-ONE. From astronauts HG? I know they own A-OK.

41. Note in the key of B major: D-SHARP. I know nothing but B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, and A♯ are all part of the B major scale. more wiki

42. Hung jury result: MISTRIAL. A victory for a criminal defendant.

46. Pop of pop music: IGGY. An 80's phenomenon.
                             

50. Nice thoughts?: IDEES. The French Connection.

51. What "W" may mean: WIN. L loss.

52. Pilot or Explorer: SUV. The world has been overrun by this vehicle choice. The fact that they now can get 30 to 50 mpg or are electric has helped.

55. Gold rush town where Wyatt Earp ran the Dexter Saloon: 

NOME.  LINK.

60. "Dagnabbit!": DRAT.

61. Wind from the French for "high wood": OBOE. The name oboe was originally hautbois, or "high, loud wood" in French, also sometimes spelled hoboy in English. The Italians transliterated the French name to oboè, and the English followed around 1770 with oboe. Oo has friends called Bo which leads me to many bad musical puns.

62. Baseball VIP: OWNER.

63. Half of a Chinese pair: YIN. I wouldn't YANG your chain about that.

64. Conference giveaways: PENS. I have so many free pens in my house but they do not last long as they are very...

65. Demanding attention: NEEDY.

Down:

1. Act: DEED. Do a good one. It...

2. Just: ONLY. Takes a moment and can improve someone's

3. Long sentence: LIFE. A strained bit of incarceration humor.

4. Lakers rivals, on NBA scoreboards: LAC. The Clippers

5. Milan's La __: SCALA. Charlotte has her Ballet debut this coming Sunday.

6. Alison of bluegrass: KRAUSS. An intersting Duet.
                                        
7. Scand. land: NORway. It's back.

8. Prez after Harry: IKE. Nicknames not initials.

9. Tsk relative: TUT. King?

10. Max who owned the Woodstock farmland: YASGUR. An interesting HISTORY.

11. Discount phrase: OR LESS. Is it ever less?

12. Pinched: STOLE. This is a fun word which has so many meanings including stealing and being arrested; rather a broad spectrum. See 26D. Hold up: ROB. Not Reiner.

15. "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle __: MONAE. This MOVIE

17. Tiny amount: BIT.

21. Top dogs: ALPHAS. They no longer are just males.

22. Wrestler-turned-actor John: CENA. Thank you all for last week, as I was unsure if "S" or "C."

23. Not seasonal: ALL YEAR. As a condo dweller this is a very familiar concept.

24. Pod residents?: PEAS. But do they pay rent or taxes?

25. Website for animal owners: PETMD. This is an awesome tool for anyone who has and/or loves animals. LINK.

27. Fig. in lending: APR. All you never asked about but should know about the difference between APR and INTEREST RATE.

28. 2016 Olympics city: RIO. Too soon to forget.

31. Tinder outings: E-DATES. Never tried it. Are they E-xciting?

32. There's a point to it: SWORD. Very fun, unless it is being stuck into you.

35. "It's not __, it's a when": AN IF. An old fahioned threat!

36. __ guard: SHIN. Football (soccer) players unite.

37. Crone: HAG.

38. Unit of energy: ERG.

39. Bond, for one: SPY. Excited about the new movie or the Rock wanting to be the new Bond?

42. Olympic skater Ito: MIDORI. Which came first, the skater or the

DRINK.

43. Certain clutch player, in sports parlance: ICEMAN. I think of
                        
44. Shooting competition: SKEET. Good for hand to eye coordination and to keep the skeet population under control.

45. A bit fuzzy, as an image: LOW RES. Not Hi-res.

47. Blowing a lot: WINDY. Chicago, chicago, my kind of town.

48. Evasive maneuver: ZIG. Or do you need to zag also?

49. 2001 scandal subject: ENRON. Greed games.
                

52. Sound: SANE. Which they were not as they decided  to go after the new ones not the...

53. Secondhand: USED. In the land of Rolls Royces, designer dresses and Rolexes used stuff is very popular for the almost and the wannabe.

54. To a high degree: VERY. There is little chance I will dance this dance.

56. Bunny __: HOP.             

57. White House nickname: ABE. He has been linked to the Civil War.

58. Charged particle: ION. Why don't they just pay cash?

59. Farm mom: EWE. Not me !

Gee, I am worn out and it is only 7:00PM. I was fascinated by MalMan's write-up today going back to the old minimalist ways of the early blogs, but I also really enjoy all that Hahtoolah, Waseely, Chairman Moe and the rest find and link. Ah, decisions. Welcome Jeffrey D. come see us and thank you and the readers and posters

First the grid:

Next,

Four ballerinas in rehearsal:

I am out

Thursday, December 2, 2021, Jeffrey Wechsler

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with a well-known animated "sea creature" to present a somewhat abbreviated recap.  This past week has been quite hectic what with Thanksgiving, several separate celebratory gatherings in honor of Valerie's (ahem, 31st) 39th birthday, Hanukkah gatherings, and a one-thousand mile drive from SoCal to Colorado.  All of this is welcomed, wonderful activity but, as a result, the time available to write and to unearth graphics has been far more limited than usual.

Today's puzzle setter is the prolific, and talented, Jeffrey Wechsler.  Today he has given us a puzzle with a FASTENER theme but without a reveal to tie it all together.  At four places within the grid Jeffrey has presented fastener homonyms in common, multi-word colloquial phrases that describe actions that might be undertaken.

17 Across:  Impress one's future employer, maybe: NAIL AN INTERVIEW

26 Across:  Gobble breakfast in one minute, say: BOLT DOWN A MEAL

43 Across:  Cause confusion and disarray: SCREW THINGS UP

55 Across:  Perform a sailing maneuver: TACK INTO THE WIND.

Coincidentally, I am reading a book about fasteners.  Riveting stuff.  And on that note, here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. Degas medium: PASTELS.  The French artist, Edgar Degas.

8. Panini cheese: ASIAGO.  Italian sandwich.  Italian cheese.

14. Examples of basic chemistry?: ALKALIS.  As in base, not acid.  An ALKAI is a type of base that can dissolve in water.

15. Libraries, often: LENDERS.  Of books.

19. First name in American folk music: PETE.  PETE Seeger

20. The Auld Sod: EIRE.  Ireland.  If lake ERIE doesn't do the job.

21. "__ did": "You caught me": SO I.  Punt.

22. Make restitution: ATONE.  We seem to do this often in our puzzles

24. Waits with a guitar: TOM.  Word play.  TOM Waits is a musician and songwriter.

25. Unsurpassed: BEST.  You're the Colosseum.  You're the Louvre Museum.

30. Wireless standard initials: LTE.  Look at the top of your cellphone screen.

31. __ Cabos: Baja area: LOS.  One of today's several geography lessons.

32. Seek information: ASK.  Inquire.

33. "I concur with that evaluation": YES IT IS.  How many iterations did it take to come up with this?

36. Counterpart of Row 1: COLUMN A.  Do we also get to choose two items from Column B?

40. Native American Heritage Mo.: NOV.  Abbreviated MOnth.  Abbreviated NOVember.

41. Women's campus gp.: SOR.  SORority.  Another punt.  Can constructors use the first three letter of any word?

42. Internet pioneer: AOL.  I still use an America On Line account for commercial email sources.

47. Hemingway moniker: PAPA.  Sobriquet.

49. __ Speedwagon: REO.  A truck in the 20's and 30's.  A rock band since 1967.

50. Maine college town: ORONO.  Often visited in crossword puzzles.  A place for a cat to get a degree.

51. La Corse, par exemple: ILE.  French clue (the island of Corsica), French answer.

52. Key: MAIN.  Key as in music?  As in a lock?  As in an island?  Francis Scott?  MAIN idea.

54. Reindeer in "Frozen": SVEN.  SVEN, Elsa, Olaf and Anna have become crossword staples.

60. Cretan princess who aided Theseus: ARIADNE.  Went, first with MINI (52 Down) and Arianne.

61. Trivial detail: MINUTIA.  From Latin.  Interesting to see this word and the next in sequence.

62. Occupation: METIER.  From Old French (which is from Latin).

63. Gathering places for many unions: CHAPELS.  Not labor related.  Well, maybe nine months later.

Down:

1. Kitchen implement: PAN.  Not a pot this this time.

2. Inspired by: ALA.  A LA mode.  In the style of.

3. Winter Olympics equipment: SKI POLES.  I will likely be using a pair as you read this.

4. Skill: TALENT.  Aptitude.

5. Over the moon: ELATED.  Idiomatic.

6. Stanza part: LINE.  A line in a poem though STANZA sounds like a Nissan model.

7. Money for some AARP members: SSI.  Supplemental Security Income.

8. Nissan model: ALTIMA.  MAXIMA worked with three of the perps.  SENTRA with only one.

9. One looking ahead: SEER.  More word play.

10. Memo intro: IN RE.  Even in my coat and tie days I never started a memo with this.

11. Really, e.g.: Abbr.: ADV.  Really? Yes.  Used, here, as an ADVerb.

12. Real last name of Dr. Seuss: GEISEL.  Theodor (no final e) GEISEL

13. Circular snacks: OREOS.  Very often used.  Often chuckle at the myriad ways it is clued.

16. "M*A*S*H" actress: SWIT.  Loretta SWIT.  Major Margaret Houlihan.

18. Classic Vegas sights: NEONS.  First thought of SLOTS.

22. With dexterity: ABLY.  Deftly.

23. Roomy bag: TOTE.  Often clued as a promotional giveaway.

24. Ark units: TWOS.  What's a cubit? (Noah to G_d, per Cosby)

25. Capital of Azerbaijan: BAKU.  Often visited here, but not as often as ORONO.

27. Green shade: OLIVE.   Many shades.  Few with five letters.

28. Native New Zealander: MAORI.  Frequent visitor to crossword puzzles.

29. Course concerned with idioms: Abbr.: ESL.  English as a Second Language.

34. Ancient Andean: INCA.  Atahualpa was one.

35. Blue Jays, in crawls: TOR.  TORonto.

36. Salmon variety: COHO.  Does Nova qualify?

37. Multi-use hardboard product: MASONITE.  Also an attorney in The Flintstones.  Perry Masonite.

38. Lamp, e.g.; light, only sometimes: NOUN.  Light can be used as a noun or as a verb or as an adjective.

39. Iams alternative: ALPO.  Dog food brands.

41. __ pad: STENO.  Crash? 

43. Hard cash?: SPECIE.  SPECIE is coined money.  Some times it's cold.

44. Jo, in "Little Women": WRITER.  Never read the novel.  Heard dozens of book reports on it.

45. Nine-day prayer ritual: NOVENA.  An ancient devotion.

46. Matured: GREW UP.  Crosses SCREW UP.

47. Hummus go-with: PITA.  The bread.  Not your bothersome co-worker.

48. Frighten: ALARM.  First tried SCARE.  The second A and the R worked.

52. Dress length: MIDI.  Went, first with MINI and Arianne.  Ariaxne was not considered.

53. Pulitzer novelist Tyler: ANNE.  Not Ann Taylor.

54. __ Tzu: dog breed: SHIH.  Best in show?

56. "Krazy __": KAT.  A comic book/strip character.

57. Cinephile's TV choice: TMC.  The Movie Channel.  Not to be confused with TCM.

58. Soccer score word: NIL.  Zero.

59. Court figs.: DAS.  District AttorneyS

_______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

HAVE A HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY CHANUKAH

  Adam Sandler

          _______________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 Joe Deenney

 Theme: HOME is where you find it.  Hope you got the circles, because they are the place setters for the word HOME, which is hidden in each theme answer, can be found.  Let's have a look.

17A. Craven endeavor:  HORROR MOVIE.  Wes Craven has directed a few of them.  You can find the letters of the word HOME distributed across this fill.

22A. Like energy efficient buildings, for example:HIGH PERFORMANCE.  Well insulated with efficient HVAC systems.  Is your HOME one of them?

38A. Territorial Complex dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars: HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.  It was established on Christmas Day in 800 C.E. when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor.

Acclaimed 2016 Broadway soundtrack, with "The": HAMILTON MIX TAPE.  This is more than a little bit strained.  Is a sound track a mix tape?  Really?  And TAPE?  By 2016 that would have been very old school.  But, it does give us the letters we need.

Final leg ... and a hint to each set of circles:  HOME STRETCH.  This is the last straight away section of a race on an oval track, leading to the finish line.  In each theme fill the letters of HOME are STRETCHED across the words, in each case beginning with H and ending with E.  The O and M are internal ,in order, and non-adjacent.  So there is a nice consistency to the construction.  Sadly, there are some vagrant E's and O's lurking in there also, which strikes me as a flaw.  In this type of theme there is no relationship among the theme fill other than accommodating the needed letters.  This is clever, well thought through, and pretty well designed, but I am less than delighted.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here, evidently in a nit-picking mood.  Let's see what else we can find.

Across

1. Surpasses 21, in blackjack:  BUSTS.  This is a betting card game where face cards count ten points, spot cards according to their numbers, and aces as either 1 or 11 at the player's discretion.  The point is to accept cards in order to get a count close to 21 without going over

6. Top-level performance:A GAME.  I remember my son saying when his kids were little that when they were at our house they had their A Game on. Alas, they are all adults now.

11. NBA legend familiarly: Dr. J. Julius Winfield Erving II (b. 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player.  During his 16 years in the NBA, none of his teams ever missed the post-season.

14.  Company that's proud of it quacks?  AFLAC.  This insurance company has a quacking duck in its commercials.  Cf. the Liberty Emu and Geico Gekko.  I hate them all.

15. Chopper topper: ROTOR.  The rotating blades on a helicopter.

Like the top half of Monaco's flag: RED.

16. In the style of: A LA.

20 A. Solar panel spot.  ROOF.  Where the sun shines.

21. Blockhead: TWIT.

29. Together in music: A DUE.  This refers specifically to the situation where a staff is carrying parts for two players, but they then play one part together.  From the French [of course] meaning "for two."

30. Acid found in olive oil.  OLEIC.  It is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, and the most common fatty acid found in nature.

31.  34 Across has one of them: TILDE.   The tilde  ˜ or ~, is a grapheme that changes the sound of the letter associated with it.  CF the next entry. The name derives from the Latin for superscript.

34. Historic ship: NIÑA.  One of the ships that Christopher Columbus used to pillage the new world.

35. QG's try: ATT.  Abrev.. for ATTEMPT - a football quarterback's pass intended for a receiver.  If he catches it, it's called a completion. 

41. Senator Klobuchar: AMY.  Like our own C. C., she represents Minnesota.

42. Orator's art: Abbr: RHET.  Short for rhetoric, the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.

43. WWI President: WILSON. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856 –1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. 

44. Dough: MOOLA.  Slang terms for money.

45. Resistance units: OHMS.  The standard unit of electrical resistance in the International System of Units (SI),  It is named after German physicist Georg Ohm.

52 By Jove: EGAD.  A mild oath, probably derived as a euphemism to avoid sayin, "Oh, God." in polite society.  Jove was the supreme god of Roman mythology, so it makes sense.

53.  Ticket datum:  GATE.   The total number of paying ticket holders. The amount they paid is gate receipts.

54. ___ Country:  ALT. Abrv for "alternative" - a sub genre of country music influenced by alternative rock.

62. Cartoonist Chaz: ROZ.  Rosalind "Roz" Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. Since 1978, she has published more than 800 cartoons in The New Yorker. She also publishes cartoons in Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review.  

63.  Precipice: BRINK.  The edge [of something.]

64,  Like an egg: OVATE.  An oval expanded into the third dimension.

65.  Table for ___: TWO.  An intimate dining situation.

66. Passing words: OBITS.  Short for obituaries, brief writings about those who have recently departed.

67. Tranquilizing brand:  XANAX.   A prescription medicine used to treat the symptoms of anxiety, panic disorder, and anxiety associated with depression. Xanax may be used alone or with other medications.

Down

1. Harrumph: BAH.  Expressions of disgust or displeasure.

2. Eerie sky light:  UFO. Unidentified Flying Object.  Who knows what they are?

3. Canon letters: SLR.  What kind of Canon is this: a brand name camera, of course.  Single Lens Reflex refers to the specific construction.

4. Pitch.  Another word with many potential meanings, but here is is TAR.

5.  Organization whose income taxes are passed through to shareholders.  S CORP.  An S corporation, for United States federal income tax, is a closely held corporation that makes a valid election to be taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code. In general, S corporations do not pay any income taxes.   And that is more than I know about them.

6. Tanks and such: ARMOR.  In this context, military vehicles sheathed with metal plate for protection.

7. Digress:  GO OFF ON A TANGENT.  I try not to do that.  You be the judge.

8.  Dune buggy, briefly: ATV. An All Terrain Vehicle -- a small open motor vehicle with one or two seats and three or more wheels fitted with large tires, designed for use on rough ground.

9. L'étate, à Louis XIV: MOI.   "I am the State," he claimed,  expressing the spirit of a rule in which the king held all political authority. His absolutism brought him into conflict with the Huguenots and the papacy, with damaging repercussions.

10 Bard's before: ERE.

11. Outlined, maybe: DRAWN.  As with pen or pencil.

12. Museum piece: RELIC.  An object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical or sentimental interest.

13. Website for Jewish singles: J DATE.   Where one can connect with successful, like-minded Jewish singles. 

18.  Sushi topper:  ROE.   Fish eggs.

21. Half a Northwest airport: TAC.  Serving Seattle and Tacoma, This airport is coded SEA-TAC.  [Bah!]

22. Yoga term meaning "force":  HATHA.

23. "Under the weather," say:  IDIOM.  A group of words whose meaning is not literal.

24. Water-formed ditch:  GULLY.

25. Actress Lamarr: HEDY.  Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; [ 1914 – 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. Read abut her here.

26.  Director of many "This is us" episodes: OLIN. Ken [b. 1954]

27.  What people who need People might do?  RENEW.  For those who subscribe to the magazine.

28.  Cocoanut Grove city.  MIAMI.   This is an upscale neighborhood on Biscayne Bay.

32. Swashbuckling Flynn: ERROL.  [1909 - 1959] After a checkered early life, he turned to acting, and became famous for his leading roles in adventure movies.

35. Tyler of Archer: AISHA.  [b 1970]  An American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. 

36. Tread heavily: TROMP.

37. Future, e.g.: TENSE.   A grammar term used to indicate whether a sentence (or verb) is an action in the past, the present or the future. 

39. Ten time NBA All-Star Anthony, to fans:  MELO.  Carmelo Kyam Anthony [b 1984] is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team member six times. 

40. Story arc: PLOT.

44. Prefix with day: MID-.  Close to noon.

46. Symbol of affection:  HEART.  Indicating love.

47. Lit up: AGLOW.  As the heart of someone in love.

48. Passover staple: MATZO.  An unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz [leavening] is forbidden. 

49. Masks: HIDES.  As an ingedient with a strong flavor might mask the presence of another ingredient.

50. Wednesday kin: ITT.  A cousin from the Addams family TV show.

51. Copy, in a way: XEROX.  Where the brand name of a document copying machine is used generically for copying.

55. "Industry" network: HBO. "Industry" is British-American television drama series created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay.  It follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious investment bank in London.

56. Celestial sphere: ORB.  A round object in the sky.

57.  Cusomizable Nintendo avatar: MII.  It's how you can represent yourself in games on the Wii gaming system.

58.  Green of "Casino Royal."  EVA.  Eva Gaëlle Green [b. 1980] is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she started her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers."

59. Share at the beach. TAN.   A skin tone you might develop from exposure to sun light.

60.  Windy City train letters: CTA.  Chicago Transit Authority. Also this.

61. Curse:  HEX.  An evil magic spell.

So ends the HOME STRETCH of another Wednesday, and begins the month of December.  Rabbit, rabbit!

Cool regards!

JzB

Notes from C.C.:

For those who wish to send dear Spitzboov (Al) a card, please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) and I'll give you his address. His son told me yesterday that he's still in the hospital and he's now on antibiotics. Maybe Ray will tell us more. He visited Spitzboov after work yesterday.

Spitzboov, Betty & Argyle