Sunday, June 7, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Puzzle title: "Computer Glossary".

The computer age has not only added some ODD new words to our language like "unsend, reboot, byte, etc.", it has appropriated some existing words to be used in our Brave New Digital World. In C.C.'s lovely Sunday puzzle she reclaims the former meanings to some hijacked tech words we now find so common.

I flipped a mental coin to decide whether to post pix of the new or old use and I think you can see what I chose. Hmmm... Can I unchoose? No? Okay, let's "boot up" this bad boy!

23A. HOT SPOT : TRENDY BAR - Elaine's in NYC in in the 60's (closed in 2011) or a place to get online

25A. CACHE : HIDDEN TROVE - Where Blackbeard hid his loot or intermediate computer data storage that speeds up computer activity 

38A. SPAM : CANNED MEAT - Hormel meat product made here in Fremont, NE or letters from a Nigerian prince

59A. VIRUS : FLU CAUSE - Germs for humans or a bug for your CPU

74A. HACKER : AMATEUR GOLFER - Me on the golf course or computer thief 

91A. TWEET : BIRD CALL - Tweety getting a hold of Daffy or (speaking of daffy)

103A. TABLET : SCRATCH PAD - My old Big Chief from grade school or one of these

123A. STREAM : FISHING SPOT - Down by the Old Mill or watching granddaughter doing poetry live on our computer

126A. MOUSE : LAB ANIMAL - Testees in the lab or these (oldest to newest)

Across       

1. Glacier Bay phenomenon : BERG

5. Bullets, in Vegas : ACES - here's four of 'em

9. Cake often laced with rum : BABKA

14. Short space-saver : ET AL - and those other guys too

18. Wet'n'Wild Hawaii locale : OAHU- Which is NOT where you find 48 A. Kapalua Airport site : MAUI

19. Winter runner : NOSE - C'mon, that's really cute!

20. To no __ : AVAIL

21. Muslim mystics : SUFIS - Here today, gone tomorrow

27. Outer area? : SPACE - My specialty 

28. Two-time Masters champ Watson : BUBBA Watson - a champion and true gentleman

30. "Gotcha!" : I SEE

31. Christmas delivery : NOEL - Nix on BABY, GIFT and GOLD. Or CHIA pet ;-) 

32. Time-tested : OLD

34. 24-part epic : ILIAD - First verse

36. Eur. landmark under which Zeus trapped Typhon : MT ETNA

43. "All Is Lost" star : REDFORD - I just watched his forgettable Indecent Proposal on Netflix

46. Oodles : A LOT - A LOT just north of me costs, uh, A LOT (6 figures)

47. "'__ Death": 2000s Fox sitcom : TIL

49. In the box : AT BAT

53. Kosher food brand : SABRA - Supplies Mediterranean food for Kosher consumers

55. Has coming : MERITS

61. __ message : ERROR - It took me an hour to clear a "Paper Jam" ERROR message on my HP printer

62. Like lambs : OVINE - Of, relating to or resmbling  sheep according to Merriam-Webster

63. Follower : FAN - A little over the top? Waddaya think?

64. Little devils : IMPS

65. Butch Cassidy or the Sundance Kid : ALIAS -Robert Leroy Parker and Harry Longabaugh just didn't cut it

67. Altercation : SCRAPE

70. Preacher's perch : PULPIT

72. ''Just __ suspected!'' : AS I - You've already forgotten the name of those Muslim mystics!

77. Winning threesome? : ENS - Just count 'em - W I N N I N G

78. View from Alaska's Wonder Lake : DENALI - Talk about your views! Wow!

80. Its prime minister historically visited Cyprus in 2012 : ISRAEL - Dimitri and Bibi

81. High dudgeon : ANGER

83. Start : OPEN - With those 4 bullets in 5 A, I'd OPEN for A LOT

84. Stand-up standard : GAG - Deadpan comic Steven Wright memorizes 360 of them for an hour set

86. Fishing basket : CREEL

88. Run the show : EMCEE - Do you remember the show he EMCEED for 20 years before this?

93. 182 Skylane maker : CESSNA - Dudley, ever taken one up?

94. Regrettable : SORRY - You just can't say SORRY, you have to fix it!

95. Unchallenging course : EASY A 

96. Tiny amount : IOTA

98. Disney doe : ENA

100. Apple, for one : POME - A type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the sub tribe Malinae of the family Rosceae. Not Poe's The Raven!

101. Exasperated query : WHAT NOW

106. LP Field team : TITANS - This is what the Cumberland River did to LP Stadium in Nashville the year before we visited

109. "Gotcha!" : PSYCH

111. One of football's Mannings : ELI

112. Google Groups regular : USER

113. Uno y dos y tres : SEIS -  matemáticas en español

116. "Take __!" : A HIKE

119. Unapproachable : ALOOF - Don't be ALOOF, the world already has too many LOOFS!

128. Hawk's weapon : TALON

129. Float : GLIDE - These GLIDERS dropped paratroopers in the early morning hours of D-Day

130. Savings choices, briefly : IRAS

131. Major road : PIKE

132. Game division : HALF

133. Fires off, say : SENDS - Maybe Paris should have thought before hitting SEND on that TWEET above. Hmmm.... Paris Hilton/Think, isn't that oxymoronic

134. States : SAYS

135. Locale in Dante's fifth circle of Hell : STYX

 Down

1. Web crawlers, e.g. : BOTS - Software apps that perform repetitive tasks faster than we mere mortals

2. Tombstone legend : EARP - We visited the EARP residence in Pella, Iowa

3. Bird hunted by gauchos : RHEA

4. Controversial public safety issue : GUN CONTROL

5. "__ news?" : ANY

6. 1936 Cooperstown inductee : COBB - Perhaps the most hated man to play the game

7. Isaac's older son : ESAU - The family tree. Hmmm... 

8. Hungary neighbor : SERBIA - If WWI hadn't started by a SERBIAN shooting the Archduke Ferdinand, it would surely have started somewhere else

9. Faith with a 19-month calendar : BAHAI - 19 instead of our 12 divisions 

10. Prefix with fauna : AVI - Birds of a certain region, habitat or geological period

11. "I wouldn't advise it!" : BAD IDEA - Butch thought Sundance's idea of jumping off the cliff as a BAD IDEA

12. Rides : KIDS - Kidding can turn to the unpleasant act of riding someone 

13. Downwind : ALEE

14. Fla. setting : EST - Clocks in Pensacola, FL match mine in Fremont, NE

15. Beat a hasty retreat : TURNED TAIL

16. In progress : AFOOT - "Come Watson!", Holmes cried, "The game is AFOOT!"

17. Spice (up) : LIVEN 

22. Ward of "The Fugitive" : SELA 

24. Take out : DELE - Is this word ever spoken?

26. Captain who said, "I have done with society entirely" : NEMO - Also...

29. Crunchy sandwich : BLT My fav!

33. "Silent Spring" subj. : DDT and 39. Banned orchard spray : ALAR are so close together

35. Pitchers, to a manager : ARMS - Most teams have 11 - 12 arms on the roster

37. __ II razor : TRAC

38. Legal work : CASE - Crossword stalwart, Erle, wrote a lot of them such as

40. Obvious choices : NO BRAINERS - C.C.: "Gary will you blog my puzzle?" Gary: "That's a NO BRAINER!"

41. Mid-morning drink : MIMOSA

42. K2's 28,251 ft. : ELEV - Only 306 people have summited K2 while over 5,000 have conquered Everest

44. __ bag : DUFFEL - From the town of Duffel, Belgium where this heavy, woolen cloth was originally made

45. Reebok competitor : FILA

50. Farm abundance : BUMPER CROP - It'd better warm up and dry up around here to get one of these

51. Defense secretary after Cheney : ASPIN

52. Battery components : TESTS - As Tom Wolfe wrote in The Right Stuff, the Mercury 7 astronauts hated the battery of TESTS they had to endure. Most proved to be worthless.

54. Sans serif typeface : ARIAL - The difference:

56. Heads for the top : RISES

57. Provoke : INCUR

58. Barbecue spot : TERRACE 

60. Let out, as hogs : UNPEN - Okay

66. Guadalajara gal pal : AMIGA

68. Teen follower? : AGERS

69. Flag bearers : POLES - Here is a Pole with his flag on a, uh, POLE

71. They're hard to ignore : URGES - Get those potato chips away from me!

72. Sun-dried brick : ADOBE

73. Cuttlefish pigment : SEPIA

75. Jungle hybrid : TIGLON - Some swingin' goin' on in the jungle!

76. Lola of "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" : FALANA

79. Interview magazine co-founder : ANDY WARHOL - If he can make a soup can art...

82. Falsetto-voiced comedian : EMO PHILIPS - This weird little duck was in another blog I did

85. Came down : ALIT

87. Dept. whose initials spell an animal name : ENER - D.O.E. such as 98 A - ENA

89. Humorous Bombeck : ERMA - The Grass Is Always Greener Over The Septic Tank

90. Checked out : EYED - Will Ferrell in the act

92. "Oh, the weather outside is frightful" lyricist : CAHN - Sammy CAHN

93. Sounds heard by the ears? : CAWS - Ears of corn hearing the crows. Fun! (From C.C.: Rich's clever clue.)

97. English in tennis : TOPSPIN

99. Downed : ATE - Put away the groceries

102. NRA member?: Abbr. : ASSN

103. NYU or MIT : SCH

104. "I want my baby back" chain : CHILIS - I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs...

105. Tartan-clad group : CLAN

106. Hair clump : TUFT

107. NBA great Thomas : ISIAH - This fabulous player has been a train wreck as a coach and front office man

108. Car at Supercharger stations : TESLA - The dashboard of this all electric car

110. David who directed the last four Harry Potter films : YATES

114. Fried rice ingredients : EGGS - These have shot up to $4.67/dozen around here with the avian flu crisis

115. Emerald __ : ISLE  - Erin Go Bragh!

117. Former "Idol" judge DioGuardi : KARA - no clue/interest

118. StubHub owner : EBAY - They can get you a court side seat for the June 9, Cavaliers/Warrior game in Cleveland for $4,682.25

120. Hold, as the mayo : OMIT

121. Like some cabs : OAKY - Cabernet wines are aged in oak casks (in Marti's basement cave) ;-) 

122. Show off, Mr. Universe-style : FLEX - These guys can really be an 127. Long-eared carrier : ASS

124. Like Beethoven's Sixth : IN F - Can't you tell just by looking?

125. Unexpected : ODD

A lovely Sunday exercise by our beloved leader that showcases her amazing talent and the equally amazing utility of our language. What new words/uses lie in our future?

p.s. Do you still remember those Muslim mystics? Yeah, right! ;-) 

Husker Gary

Note from C.C.:

The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Saturday. Please click here for more details. Don G and I teamed up again this year. Hope to see some of you there.

Saturday, Jun 6th, 2015, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  I was about to throw in the towel on this one, as the north refused to turn any color other than white....so I cheated; I changed to red-letter and discovered I had the wrong "Arabic word".  Figures.  But it at least gave me a chance to rethink the NE, and then it was a matter of Wild-Ass Guessing to get the NW to cooperate.  All in all, I thought the puzzle was a good challenge, though the proper names did throw a bit of a fun sponge into the mix.  I finished at exactly my personal allotted time, too.  Paired 9- and 10-letter corners, and two 11-letter spanners;

33. Quadrennial winter event since 1976 : PARALYMPICS - made me change some DOWN answers when "-LYMPICS" seemed more logical; more from the Wiki

40. Metaphorical target of a fruitless pursuit : SHINY OBJECT - the more I looked, the more it seems this is less of a "pursuit" and more of distraction; the reference is more like the phrase "curiosity killed the cat"; see the psychology here

o-n-
       Ooooh~!  Shiny~!

ACROSS:

1. "... and hid his face __ a crowd of stars": Yeats : AMID - starting off with a relatively vague quotation seems cruel and unusual

5. Farrier's tool : RASP - I know what a farrier does, but anvil and hammer didn't fit; SNIP did, tho

9. Word derived from the Aramaic for "my father" : ABBOT - dah~!  I figured it might be RABBI - and the "BB"s were right, but only one in the correct location - what is that, 20% or 40%, D-Otto~?

14. Whirl : PIROUETTE - thankfully, the letters the perps filled in made the spelling of this easier - I had --R-UE--E

16. Place, as cloth before surgery : DRAPE - I did consider this at first, but this is a really round-about clue for a 5-letter word

17. Talk big : BLOW SMOKE

18. Zealand natives : DANES - I tried MAORI

19. "Candy-colored clown" in Roy Orbison's "In Dreams," with "the" : SANDMAN

20. Butler, e.g. : SERVANT - the household position - not the character from Gone With The Wind

22. Cézanne's "Boy in __ Vest" : A RED - um, sure, OK

24. Isn't quite neutral : LEANS - different from yesterday's definition

25. Business : AFFAIR

29. Manchego sources : EWES - I was 100% positive about "WIRY", so this made for a sensible WAG

31. Copacetic : A-OK

35. "Piano is not my forte," e.g. : PUN - har-har

36. Orgs. with class issues? : PTAs

37. Command ender : EER - commandeer

38. Meter starter : PERI - I had PEDO-, and that was definitely 50% right; perimeter

39. Wi-Fi relative : LAN

44. Wapiti : ELK - knew this from doing crosswords

45. Dick Grayson, to Bruce Wayne : WARD - I grew up with the 60's campy version, but I did like the re-makes with Christian Bale; well, the first two

46. Sites of some runners : AISLES - I did consider SLEIGHS, but it didn't fit

47. Goaded, with "on" : EGGED - had it, changed it to URged, changed it back

49. '60s-'70s Japanese leader : SATO - perps

51. Prepare for baking : PRE-HEAT

53. Jeopardize : IMPERIL

58. Nirvana attainer : ARHAT - straight up definition; new word to me

59. Ace : HOLE-IN-ONE

61. Blue books? : PORNO - if this is the case, I like my entertainment to be "navy"

62. Opening numbers? : AREA CODES - very good; should have figured it out sooner

63. Indo-__ languages : ARYAN

64. Pastoral poem : IDYL

65. Indianapolis-to-Springfield direction : WEST - were you shocked to see FOUR letters in the answer~?  Narrowed down the choices, tho

DOWN:       

1. They may include yrs. and models : APBs - took too long to make the connection, but I was thinking about cars.  An "All Points Bulletin" - although I think a "BOLO" is more appropriate - "Be On the Look Out for a 2000 Dodge Status, license plate XYZ-1234~!"

2. "__ 18": Uris novel : MILA - I have seen this before, but my head was stuck on "Stalag 17" - both are stories of people and their Nazi Germany foes

3. Food Network's "__ Chef America" : IRON

4. Columnist Maureen : DOWD - 50% perps, 50% WAG

5. Emulate Liz Taylor ... regularly : REMARRY - Ironic that DIVORCE fit, too

6. Square things : ATONE - ah, the verb, not the adjective

7. NASDAQ unit : STK - meh.

8. Pepper trio? : PEES - PePPer

9. Deal with : ADDRESS

10. Price support? : BRAVA - the only thing that makes sense is this person; "BRAVO~!" for females

11. Stereotypical slipper? : BANANA PEEL

12. Like some software : OPEN SOURCE

13. Measuring device : TEST

15. FedEx competitor : US MAIL - OK, I did a UPS shout-out last week

21. What a conductor may conduct: Abbr. : ELECtricity - I wanted "ORCH"

23. "We'll see" : DEPENDS

25. Brandy flavor : APPLE

26. A virus may cause one : FATAL ERROR - in the world of computers

27. Walt Disney Concert Hall architect : FRANK GEHRY - I am familiar with this name, so the spelling did not bother me

28. Small power sources : AAs - batteries

30. Like an Irish wolfhound's coat : WIRY

32. Furrows : KNITS - think eyebrows

34. Israel's Iron Lady : MEIR

38. Retirement outfit? : PJs - good clue; I was in "IRA" mode

40. Smitten with : SWEET ON - I am still smitten by the blue-eyed girl; some day....

41. Words with baby or bad day : HAD A - I regularly have the "bad day" version - hopefully the "baby" part is in my future

42. Breakfast choice : OATMEAL

43. "Ed Wood," e.g. : BIOPIC

48. Kofi Annan's birthplace : GHANA

50. 1976 Spingarn Medal recipient : AILEY - never heard of this award, nor this person

51. Literary sobriquet : PAPA - that author dude, uh, what's his name, Ernest

52. Golden Triangle native : THAI

54. "There are liars ... __ to beat the honest men": "Macbeth" : ENOW - poetic "enough"

55. Tormented : RODE

56. Supermodel Sastre : INÉS - hey, two birds with one stone - her image and her legs - or is that one bird with two stones~?

Inés Sastre

ooh~! shiny~!

57. "__ we forget" : LEST

60. Chicago airport code : ORD - O'Hare, which was originally Orchard Field Airport; now I can see where they get code

Splynter

Friday June 5, 2105, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Wow, three every other week Fridays from Jeffrey, with each quite different. If this were a Rugby match JW would have scored big time. No puns here, adding "TRY" into known phrases to create new fill clued with lots of visual humor. Structurally, I initially thought the word count and blocks were more reminiscent of an early week puzzle, but then the 16 x 15 grid was revealed. This once again caused cheater squares for the central fill, and allowed the 16 letter grid spanners. There is lots of difficulty and some nice long entries to both slow you down and speed you up when they click. EASTERN, ONENESS , PAL JOEY, TASTING, PIG BARNS,  STAMP TAX are fun and many of the 6 letter fill, like NO DISC, TALESE, YE GODS, DOMINO and CITRUS are not overused.  With all this practice, I had a quick run with a good deal of the puzzle, with only the SE a bit of a slog. I also appreciated some of the little things, like cluing ____Box, followed by Box___, the CELL semi clecho, and an N.T., O.T. pair. Also the placement of the TRY is consistent, 1/3 end of first word  2/4 end of last word. I will stop talking and get to the puzzle.

19A. Scene when stores open on Black Friday? : ENTRY DASH (9) A quick reprise from yesterday, sort of. When I first started trying to do crossword puzzles on my own, instead of trying to horn in on my parents' solving efforts, ENS, EMS and ERS were very common fill. If you read the LINK it does not add the EN and EM are type face measures, which I would imagine is how the dashes got their name. I did make the mistake of going to a Best Buy one Black Friday morning.

31A. Superhero preparing to cook dinner? : FLASH IN THE PANTRY (16). There is a new TV series which was part of the basis of conflict between Sheldon and Amy. LINK. (1:00) Again, for me the visual is cool, a superhero cooking.

37A. Eclair big enough to share? : PASTRY DE DEUX (12). The 'step of two', or pairs ballet. LINK.(9:02). I wonder how big that eclair would need to be before it would be shared, as I do like a good one.

45A. Efficient wall decor for a steel vault? : MAGNETIC TAPESTRY (16). My favorite because the visual is so appealing with the ornate rug sticking by magnetism

62A. Just tempting enough ... and what 19-, 31-, 37- and 45-Across are? : WORTH A TRY (9).  The rare Friday reveal.

Across:

1. Was missing : LACKED. Not the easiest of 1A clues, but very fair.

7. Cell download : APP. If you do not have a smart phone, you probably do not know about the millions of available APPlications.

10. "The Wild Duck" playwright : IBSEN. I filled this confidently, though I have never heard of the play. We get a lot of this prolific Norwegian.

15. Inclusive term : ET ALII. I had the two Is from the perps, so I avoided the alia/alii question.

16. Engage in a bit of self-criticism : RUE. For me, this is one of those clues that ends up making sense, but ruing the day etc. I did not think was always self-criticism. No no? 48D. Rue family tree : CITRUS. This is really obscure, and an odd way clue the fruit especially with RUE as fill. Hopefully JW will let us know where this piece of arcane info came from. "Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae." wiki

17. Word on a résumé : VITAE. There is debate as to whether a CV can be considered a résumé. LINK since a Curriculum Vitae is comprehensive and a résumé by its name is a summary.

18. Item with pips : DOMINO. Since Gladys Knight did not fit, and I already had EINE and DIOS and this game is very popular in South Florida, the NW was going well.

21. "I believe in the absolute __ ... of humanity": Gandhi : ONENESS. The tricky use of ...obscures the entire quotation and any religious implication.

23. Investment initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

24. CPR provider : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

25. Certain rider : FARE. Do any of you all use UBER?

26. Boost, say : ASSIST.

29. Quill __ : PEN.

35. Yachting, perhaps : ASEA. An acceptable A word, that people actually use.

36. Relies (on) : LEANS.

42. Pub patron's words : A PINT. What musical has refers to a pint?

44. Pole-to-pole link : AXIS.

53. Tirana is its cap. : ALBania.

54. Blu-ray player error message : NO DISC.

55. Sandusky's lake : ERIE. CSO again!

56. N.T. book : JAS. James.

58. Comprehended : GOT. I got it!

59. Winery event : TASTING. It was at such an event that I met in person the irrepressible and golf talented Chairman.

65. "Move it!" : LET'S GO.

66. Principle : TENET.

67. Dickens' "__ Mutual Friend" : OUR.  Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. Wikipedia.

68. Fountain offering : MALTED. I have not had one in years.

69. Minor surgery targets : CYSTS.

70. Old spy gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. LINK.

71. Heads (toward) : STEERS.

Down:

1. Started : LED OFF. The downs....

2. Like many Schoenberg compositions : ATONAL.

3. Cell component : CAMERA. I am old enough to still be amazed about the cell/camera and the quality of the immediate image you get.

4. Actors Kevin and Richard : KLINES.  LINK 1. Many great comedy movies. LINK 2. Three's Company. Not related.

5. Article in Der Spiegel : EINE. The German newspaper. 34A. Fresh, to a Frau : NEU. German 'NEW.'

6. Spanish deity : DIOS.

7. "__ you kidding?" : ARE.

8. Lock up, say : PUNISH.

9. '60s Moore role : PETRIE.

10. One of an academic octet : IVY. Can you name them all without looking? I bet Bill G. can.

11. Sit tight : BIDE.

12. Subject of a 1765 act : STAMP TAX. Isn't it fun when something you learned a million years ago pops into your brain.

13. Defunct carrier : EASTERN. Living in Florida, this was a gimme.

14. O.T. book : NEHemiah.

20. Woodworking tool : RASP.

22. More practical : SANER.

27. Vacation time : STAY. Not an easy parse for me.

28. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. Guy was a newspaper guy who later wrote books. "News, if unreported, has no impact. It might as well have not happened at all."
Gay Talese

30. FDR was once its governor : NYS. New York State.

32. Move it : HASTEN. Not my favorite word.

Hasten Jason
Get the Basin
Oops slop
Get the mop.

33. Violin attachment? : IST. How many started out thinking, what in the world do you put on a violin?

37. Farm houses : PIG BARNS. I never thought they had them, only a sty. but I grew up in Cow Country.

38. Cape named by Charles I : ANN. Explorer John Smith named all the capes using native American words, his King changed many; one was Cape Ann, which Charles named in honor of his mother Anne of Denmark. Wiki.

39. "__ Love": "Carmen Jones" song : DATS. For marti. Link. A sad story retold many times; Dorothy Dandridge did the 1954 movie.

40. Demand : EXACT.  SPOLIER ALERT!!!!!!!
The chief Sparrow exacted a stiff penalty from Cersei.

41. Decline : DIP. TV pundits love to speak of dips in the market.

42. Org. encouraging vaccination : AMA. I was tempted to put CVS, but knew better.

43. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" musical : PAL JOEY.

46. Inedible wrap : TOGA. Sari also fits.

47. Affirming retort : I DO TOO. Back again.

49. Wrap up : SETTLE. Your account?

50. Sibelius' "Valse __" : TRISTE. The Sad Waltz.  LISTEN. Classic.

51. Dead __ : RINGER.

52. "Holy moly!" : YE GODS.

57. Cancel the dele : STET. More historical crosswordese.

60. __ box : ALMS.

61. Box __ : SEAT.

62. NYC Freedom Tower locale : WTC. World Trade Center.

63. Nos. on driver's licenses : HTS. As opposed to wts.

64. Anniversary no. : YRS.

In the end, it was a workout but fun and I was pleased I got it all. Thanks again Jeffrey and all of you. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to TTP, who used to be very active on the blog. Busy with your golf league, pal?

2) Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Misty and her husband Rowland! Misty mentioned that she's going to make coq au vin for the special occasion. Let us know how it turns out.

Misty & Rowland 2009 (15th Anniversary Party)

Thursday, June 4, 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: "100 Pounds of Clay" 2:16

17-Across. Heavyweight who dethroned Sonny Liston : CASSIUS CLAY. First you take some CLAY,

25-Across. The London Eye, for one : FERRIS WHEEL...throw it on a WHEEL,

36-Across. Zesty meat coating : ORANGE GLAZE...coat it with a GLAZE,

50-Across. Beer-making device : BREWERS KILN...and cook it in a KILN.

And the reveal:

59-Across. Fictional wizard, and a hint to who would use the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across : HARRY POTTER. If you manage to come out with something useful or pretty, you are a POTTER! I liked the logical progression in the theme entries. Well done.


Across

1. Los Alamos projects : A-BOMBS.

7. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR. Khayyám. 

11. Shelter acquisition : PET. Oh, one acquired from a shelter...I thought it was something acquired for shelter, like a tent or an IRA.

14. Hat with a brim : FEDORA.

15. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO.

16. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Plural of ovum.

19. NASA transport : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.

20. Attacks : SETS AT.

21. Other, to Orlando : OTRA.

22. Happy hour site : PUB. "Bar" also fit.

28. Exception lead-in : UNLESS...

30. Memorable "Richard III" words : A HORSE, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

31. Disadvantaged : POOR.

32. One of the Mountain States : IDAHO.

35. Some hot rods : GTs. From the Italian Gran Turismo, they are not just hot rods. True "grand touring" cars have specific attributes to go along with the name.

40. Roulette option : ODD. "Red" also fit.

42. "Sorry" : I CAN'T.

43. Land of the banshee : EIRE.

46. Home of the NCAA's Wolf Pack : NEVADA.

48. "Tess" Golden Globe winner : KINSKI. Nastassja played the role so well.

54. Slew : TON.

55. Level, in London : RASE. Those Brits, I wish they'd learn to spell...  ;-)

56. Spelunkers : CAVERS.

58. Dash widths : ENs. Half as wide as an EM dash.

64. __ limit : AGE.

65. Assist badly? : ABET.

66. Words before "Happy New Year!" : ...TWO, ONE.

67. Kenan's TV pal : KEL. "Kenan and Kel" ran for four years on Nickelodeon. It was cancelled in 2000. Never saw it.

68. Chats : JAWS.

69. New York county on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. That sounds like an Air Force song: "Oswego, into the wild blue yonder..."


Down

1. Browns' gp. : AFC. American Football Conference. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences which make up the NFL.

2. Cole Porter's "__ Clown" : BE A. What movie was it from?

3. Takes too much, briefly : ODs. Overdoses.

4. Peat component : MOSS.

5. Legal filings : BRIEFS.

6. Browns, perhaps : SAUTÉS.

7. Word before nod or buzz : OSCAR.

8. Millionaire starter? : MULTI. Because "mega"-millionaire was too short.

9. Org. with a monthly Journal of Ethics : AMA. American Medical Association.

10. Kevin's "Tin Cup" role : ROY. Not one of Kevin Costner's finest movies.

11. Disruptive spirit : POLTERGEIST.

12. Tibetans call it Chomolungma : EVEREST. Learning moment, but easily inferable.

13. They may be hot : TAMALES. Nailed it!

18. Belarus or Ukr., once : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.

21. "Looky here!" : OHO.

22. Small seal : PUP.

23. Low número : UNO.

24. Circulation need : BLOOD VESSEL. I briefly toyed with a "publication."

26. Humorist Mort : SAHL.

27. "Hold it!" : WHOA.

29. Bobble the ball : ERR.

32. Market chain based in Chicago : IGA. With the red and white logo.

33. Room with a recliner : DEN.

34. Insurance fig. : AGT. Insurance agent.

37. Helper : AIDE.

38. Site of Mt. Mitchell, highest Appalachian peak : N. CAR. Did you skip over the abbr. of "Mt." in the clue?

39. __ master : ZEN.

40. Taking five or ten : ON BREAK.

41. Drive up the wall : DERANGE. and 53-Down. One climbing the walls : IVY.

44. "King Kong" studio : RKO.

45. Cologne article : EIN. It can mean "one" or "a/an." It can be easily confused with "eins," which is the number "one."

47. Blow away : AWE.

48. Heavy lifter, for short? : KLEPTO.maniac.

49. Aligned : IN ROWS.

51. Head-turner's hardware? : SCREW. I had a hard time aligning the clue with the answer, since I feel it's the screwdriver that does the head turning, not the screw.

52. Super Mario racers : KARTS.

57. Stash : STOW.

59. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I read it when it first came out, so this was a gimme.

60. Old sports org. with a red-white-and-blue ball : ABA. American Basketball Association. It merged with the NBA in 1976.

61. Piggy : TOE.

62. Writer's coll. major, often : ENG.lish

63. Vintage auto : REO.


And my work here is done...

Marti

Note from C.C.

Our California Coven & Lucina had their annual get-together yesterday. JD said:

"Here we are today in Pleasanton, CA: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina. Chris (Garlic Gal)  read a sweet email that she had received from Dodo (wish I had brought some of mine too). Then we toasted her and a life well lived."

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015

Wednesday June 3rd, 2015 Ed Sessa

Theme: Sheik's Peer Group - the ends of the six theme entries homo-phonically reveal the start of one of the Bard's most famous soliloquies

19A. *Split apart : IN TWO

20A. *Working, working, working : AS BUSY AS A BEE

35A. *1967 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy recipient : BOBBY ORR. Hockey's "Rookie of the Year" trophy presciently awarded to this Hall of Famer and Boston Bruins legend.

41A. *Half-hitch kin : SLIP KNOT. Pull the loose end to release it. 

56A. *"And it took long enough!" : ABOUT TIME TOO. On finishing the crossword?

59A. *Backup option : PLAN B. I once worked for a company that liked to have Plans C thru Z too, just in case. It was a tad tedious, to say the least.

and then all the way at the bottom, the hint:

48D. Speaker of the ends of the answers to starred clues : HAMLET

Royal Shakespeare Company 50th Anniversary UK Stamp

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;"

Talented chap, that Shakespeare bloke. So is Ed Sessa, come to that. I found this a little tricky for a Wednesday and took a little while to get a foothold, but then a couple of spirals around the grid and things started to fall into place. I enjoyed the POE/MAELSTRÖM connection, and could easily visualize a HAM ACTOR making a mess of HAMLET. Let's get into the details:

Across:

1. Gothic literature middle name : ALLAN. Mr. Poe.

6. Sound of relief : AAH.

9. Tells : BLABS

14. Olympus competitor : LEICA. Always need to wait for crosses with these - you've got Nikon and Canon as other possibilities.

15. Lobster __ Diavolo : FRA. Yay - Food! making an early appearance. The tomato-and-chilli Fra Diavolo sauce is Italian for "Brother Devil", so named because of the spicy heat.

16. Talked a blue streak : RAN ON

17. Violent whirlpool : MAELSTRÖM. Our 1A friend Mr. Poe wrote a short story in 1841 "A Descent into the Maelström" which captivated me when I read it as a child.

"I'm guessing this is not good"

22. Bashful : SHY

23. Per person : APIECE

24. Pinch : DASH

28. Part of Q.E.D. : QUOD. "Erat Demonstrandum" rounds out the phrase. Tada! in mathemetician-speak.

29. Asian holiday : TET. I'm sure there are more Asian holidays than this one, but it's a crossword-fave.

31. Transcript fig. : G.P.A.

32. Géorgie, to Georgette : ÉTAT. The French spelling of the State of Georgia. I learned in French lessons years ago that if you replace the "e-acute" at the start of a word with the letter "S", you'll often get closer to the English meaning of the word. Not a hard-and-fast rule, but it works in this case.

37. Sound : AUDIO

39. Game show prize : CAR

40. Long tales : SAGAS

43. With 64-Across, tax shelter since 1998 : ROTH

44. "Power" accessory : TIE. I used to wear a tie pretty much every day, but now businesses are much more relaxed about such things.

45. Updike's "Rabbit Redux," e.g.: Abbr. : SEQ. The sequel to "Rabbit, Run"

46. Longtime Saudi king : FAHD

49. Tater : SPUD. Food! I'm liking Ed's puzzle today.

51. Ancient Israeli fortress : MASADA. Crosses all the way.

53. Workout "washboards" : ABS. Let's ask USA Olympic sprinter Torri Edwards to illustrate what these look like:

62. Vibrator in the larynx : VOCAL CORD. My thought process here went "voice box .. no wait .. "vocal chord" ... no, what? ah! Got it!

63. Public opening? : JOHN Q. Does Mr. Public live in Peoria?

64. See 43-Across : IRA

65. Low-price prefix : ECONO- Yee-ha! Nancy Griffith extols the virtues of the Ford panel van.

66. Really cracks up : SLAYS

67. Volleyball barrier : NET

68. Carved emblem : TOTEM

Down:

1. Soprano Gluck and composer Mahler-Werfel : ALMAS. On the "I know this" scale of 1-10 I was was a solid zero. Thank you, crosses.

2. Chihuahua lead : LEASH. I was expecting something fiendishly Mexican-Spanish here. Nope.

3. Stretch out next to : LIE BY

4. Censorship-fighting org. : A.C.L.U.

5. Bahamas port : NASSAU. Port of Registration for many cruise liners.

6. Hiding under the covers : AFRAID

7. Tossed off the covers : AROSE

8. Poor choice to play 48-Down : HAM ACTOR. Good choice to play "Babe" though?

9. Creamy cheese : BRIE

10. Like Olympic pools : LANED. Also seems a darned long way from one end to the other when you're in the middle of sprint training.

11. Picnic invader : ANT

12. Moment of stage gratitude : BOW

13. __-Cat: winter vehicle : SNO

18. Proofer's find : TYPO

21. U.K. network, with "the" : BEEB. Fondly, the BBC - the British Broadcasting Corporation.

25. Disco phrase : A GOGO. The famous Whisky a Go Go nightclub here in Los Angeles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Pretty good for a building.

26. Nursery rhyme surname : SPRAT. Jack and his wife. We never learned Mrs. Sprat's first name. Maybe it was Jill, of "tumbling after" fame.

27. Strident : HARSH

28. Cotton swab brand : Q-TIP

30. "Conan" channel : TBS. Ted Turner's TBS, based in Atlanta was the first "Superstation" - the first basic cable channel to transmit programming via satellite, enabling it to be carried on cable networks in all 50 states by 1978.

32. Bridge positions : EASTS

33. Cup-shaped bloom : TULIP

34. "Cheers," across the Channel : ADIEU. I tried SANTÉ first. Bottoms up!

35. Ball striker : BAT

36. Play area : YARD

38. Endorsements : OK'S

39. Chicken-in-wine stew : COQ AU VIN. Food! I learned early to use the same wine you were planning to drink with the meal, rather than throw in some cheap stuff and hope it magically tasted great when it cooked out. I use a nice Californian Pinot Noir, the same primary varietal in French burgundy.

42. Movie clownfish : NEMO

46. One with money to burn : FAT CAT

47. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song : ADIA. This song is following me around on crossword Wednesday. No matter, it's a beautiful song.

50. Boy in an Irish song : DANNY. Here's the Irish Tenors

52. Target, for one : STORE

53. On __: reveling : A TOOT

54. Carried : BORNE

55. City destroyed in Genesis : SODOM. It's near-neighbor Gomorrah didn't fare too well either. As Danny Boy would have said "Begorrah, Gomorrah"!

57. Tailgaters' cookers, for short : BBQ'S

58. __ Domani: Italian wine brand : ECCO. I'm very familiar with the name and the label, although I don't believe I've actually tasted any. Marti?

59. Sleepover attire : PJ'S

60. Cyberyuk : LOL. Laugh Out Loud. Great clue.

61. "Just as I thought!" : AHA!

Time for me to shuffle off the crossword coil. Here's the grid:

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy birthday to our talented Owen! Thanks for the time and hard work you put into your poems. You bring smiles to many regulars and we're grateful for your presence.

Owen & his wife Brenda (Feb 28, 2009)