Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "There's a funny echo in here". The first word (all have 7 letters) of each theme answer is repeated and split into two to form a punning new phrase.

20A. Signed agreement mailed by someone in prison? : CONSENT CON SENT

24A. Backs a fashion venture? : INVESTS IN VESTS

41A. Authorize two bros' get-together? : MANDATE MAN DATE

47A. Songwriter's dream? : FORTUNE FOR TUNE

Top o' the Morning to you all! Steve here with Pam's latest outing. It took me a little while to get moving with this one, I was picking around the flyover states for some time before the penny dropped with MANDATE MAN DATE. The theme definitely helped me by providing crosses in more a few places. I thought was a fun puzzle nicely put together.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Deer guy : STAG

5. Dian Fossey subjects : APES.  Because you can't cram "Gorillas" into four squares.

9. Walking tall : ERECT

14. Snoop (around) : POKE

15. Son of Leah and Jacob : LEVI. Thank you perps, Biblical characters are not one of my strong suits.

16. One unlikely to bring home the bacon? : VEGAN

17. Work on galleys : EDIT

18. Works by Raphael and Michelangelo, e.g. : ITALIAN ART. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino are thankfully known by their shortened names.

22. "... kissed thee __ killed thee": Othello : ERE I. I thought this could be a Cockney "I kissed thee 'ere; I killed thee over there" but then I saw sense.

23. NYC-based insurance co. : A.I.G. Recipient of the biggest government bailout in US history.

31. Eyelid inflammations : STYES

32. Dogwood, e.g. : TREE

33. Sock part : TOE

34. Pottery oven : KILN

35. Drag through the mud : SMEAR

37. Gardener's bagful : SOIL

38. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. The Goddess gave him a protective cloak after his ship was wrecked. Seems an odd thing to give him - why not another ship? Curious folk, those Greek gods.

39. Irene of "Fame" : CARA. Legwarmers, leotards and big hair can be found here.

40. Gainesville is about halfway between it and Jacksonville : OCALA. Who knew the world had a horse capital?

45. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO

46. Measurement named for a body part : FOOT. The original standardized yard was the distance from Henry I's nose to the tip of his thumb when his arm was outstretched. History does not report on the length of his feet, but if you're going to use a King to provide standard measurements you may as well make the most of it and use whatever else he's got handy.

54. Rites of passage : MILESTONES

55. Heathrow postings: Abbr. : E.T.A.s. When I fly into Heathrow on United, we usually park at a gate so far away from the terminal building that you need to factor in about half an hour to walk from the plane to Immigration.

56. Point a finger at : BLAME

57. Dark purple : PUCE. A learning moment. I always thought it was a pale color.

58. Charlie Brown cry : RATS

59. Title role for Michael or Jude : ALFIE. Caine in the original, Law in the remake.

60. New newts : EFTS

61. "Off with you!" : SHOO

Down:

1. Job detail : SPEC

2. Commotion : TO-DO

3. Analogous : AKIN

4. Avenges a wrong : GETS EVEN

5. Runway shapes : A-LINES. Runway as in catwalk.

6. Bob __, first NBA player to be named MVP (1956) : PETTIT. Crosses, crosses and more crosses.

7. FEMA recommendation, maybe : EVAC. Hmmmmm. Not thrilled with this one, but the "maybe" gives fair warning.

8. Storage structure : SILO

9. Like some press conference answers : EVASIVE. Usually, ALL of Bill Belichick's answers are evasive, whether the Patriots win or lose.

10. Go back (on) : RENEGE

11. "A Summer Place" co-star Richard : EGAN

12. Dessert conveyance : CART. 

I said "Dessert" not "Desert"

13. "Rizzoli & Isles" airer : TNT. I can't say I've ever watched this. Anyone?

19. More ridiculous : INANER

21. Spanish 101 word : ERES

24. 1986 rock autobiography : I, TINA. She still looks great.

25. Windbreaker fabric : NYLON

26. Cook, as dumplings : STEAM

27. One may be rolled over : IRA

28. Weasel kin : STOAT

29. Patterned fabric : TOILE

30. Ward of "CSI: NY" : SELA. I finally remembered her name without having to wait for crosses today! Yay!

31. Two percent alternative : SKIM. In the UK, Gold Top milk from Channel Island cows contains an eye-popping 6% fat. It is delicious though!

Guernsey Cow

35. Skipped : SAT OUT

36. C-ration successor : MRE. Officially, "Meals, Ready to Eat". Unofficially "Meals, Rarely Edible"; "Meals, Rejected by the Enemy" and "Materiel Resembling Edibles".

37. Throws here and there : SCATTERS

39. Fails to understand : CAN'T SEE

40. Funk : ODOR. Does this mean that when I'm in a funk I smell?

42. Musical scale sequence : DO-RE-MI.  We had the full scale in last Sunday's puzzle.

43. Produce a change in : AFFECT

44. Scary Wild West circles? : NOOSES

47. Meet, as needs : FILL

48. Norwegian saint : OLAF. I need the cross for OLAF/OLAV

49. "Won't do it" : NOPE

50. Plenty, in slang : ENUF

51. Bonneville Salt Flats site : UTAH. Setting for the wonderful movie "The World's Fastest Indian". If you've not seen it, check it out, it's great. You don't have to be into motorcycles or speed records to enjoy it.

52. Peacekeeping acronym : NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Describing a military alliance as a peacekeeping acronym may seem a little strange, but NATO forces are deployed to areas of civil or military unrest as a "peacekeeping force".

53. Name on a Canadian pump : ESSO. The Exxon Mobil brand name used outside the US.

54. Mgmt. degree : M.B.A.

That's pretty much it for today. As the French probably don't say "C'est une wrappe".

Steve

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette

Theme: Vowel Progression - First word starts with FL followed by vowels A to U, then T.

17A. Penniless : FLAT BROKE

26A. Like champion sprinters : FLEET-FOOTED

41A. Worker in the sky : FLIGHT ATTENDANT

52A. Suggest something tentatively : FLOAT AN IDEA

64A. Piece for two winds : FLUTE DUET. "The Flower Duet" May it inspire some flowers to make an appearance soon.

Argyle here. A straightforward puzzle today. Nice grid spanner. I can't help but wonder how much trouble it would have been to include an FLY.... A couple of long crossing columns.

Across:

1. Pi r squared, for a circle : AREA

5. Encyclopedia tidbit : FACT

9. Big-time : MAJOR

14. Speeds (up) : REVs

15. __ about: roughly : ON OR

16. Render speechless : AMAZE

19. Powerful person : NABOB. "nattering nabobs of negativism" : voiced by Spiro Agnew, coined by William Safire.

20. Cozy corner : NOOK

21. Monogram part: Abbr. : INITial

23. Singer DiFranco : ANI

24. Crone : HAG

29. Capri suffix : OTE. "A Capriote" by John Singer Sargent.

30. Little lie : FIB. 52D. Like lies : FALSE

31. Church-founded Dallas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

32. FDR's dog : FALA. Scottish Terrier.

34. Confused mental states : FOGs

37. Mythological sky holder : ATLAS

44. Foil maker : ALCOA

45. Struggling to decide : TORN

46. Bone: Pref. : OSTE

47. Queue after Q : RST. Quite cute clue.

49. 20s dispenser, for short : ATM

51. Darjeeling, for one : TEA

57. "Bad" cholesterol letters : LDL. The "good" is HDL and the ratio between them is important. An optimum ratio is 3.5-to-1. Mayo Clinic

58. Key next to the space bar : ALT

59. "A Visit From the Goon Squad" Pulitzer-winning novelist Jennifer : EGAN

60. March Madness org. : NCAA. Basketball.

62. Pig __ : LATIN

68. Pillar from a fire : SMOKE

69. Film director's unit : TAKE. Tricky. A scene is made up of different units or takes.

70. Look at rudely : OGLE

71. Slipped gently (into) : EASED

72. Renders speechless : AWES

73. Wobbly table stabilizer : SHIM

Down:

1. "Bowwow!" : "ARF!"

2. Belief sys. : RELigion

3. Pertaining to the gospel : EVANGELIC

4. Concerning : AS TO

5. Warehouse vehicle : FORKLIFT

6. "It's __-win situation" : A NO

7. Newswoman Roberts : COKIE. Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Roberts.

8. River through Nottingham : TRENT

9. Direct, as a father-son conversation : MAN TO MAN

10. Doctors' org. : AMA

11. Try to punch : JAB AT

12. Layer with "holes" in it : OZONE

13. Opener's second call, in bridge : REBID

18. Big Broadway hit, slangily : BOFF. Shortened from BOFFO, slang for a hit on Broadway

22. Stipulations : IFs. There is always an IF, eh?

24. Teamsters president James : HOFFA

25. For any reason : AT ALL

27. WWII torpedo craft : EBOAT. On the water, eboat; under the water, uboat

28. One-up : OUT-DO

33. Greek marketplace : AGORA

35. Pontiac muscle car relaunched briefly in 2004 : GTO. It was an Australian car. Link I had no idea!

36. Valuable violin : STRAD

38. Comeback victor's vindication : LAST LAUGH. "He who laughs last, laughs best"(or longest)

39. Fed the kitty : ANTED

40. Filch : STEAL

42. Hurried : HASTENED

43. International accords : ENTENTES. [French: understanding]

48. Schoolyard game : TAG

50. Riot control weapon : MACE

53. Alpaca kin : LLAMA

54. Director Preminger and others : OTTOs

55. U.S.-Mexico-Canada commerce pact : NAFTA. (North American Free Trade Agreement, 1994)

56. Bride's new relative, say : IN-LAW

61. Hullabaloos : ADOs

63. Eisenhower nickname : IKE

65. Guitar cousin : UKE

66. Brother of Peyton Manning : ELI

67. President pro __ : TEM

 

 

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our lovely Mari! Hope it's a beautiful day in Chicago. Snow has been melting steadily here in MN. (To Dave: Cats (obviously) & needlepoint.)

Monday, March 10, 2014 Brom Hart

Theme: PP - Just two words starting with P? It seems so. Update: "In addition to two P's, each theme entry ends with some kind of animal." Thank you, HeartRx.

17A. Porky's girlfriend : PETUNIA PIG

24A. Feigns sleep, say : PLAYS POSSUM

52A. Either of two of the Inspector Clouseau films, with "The" : PINK PANTHER

61A. Yipping adoptee : POUND PUPPY

Argyle here. Debut constructor...unless it's an anagram.

Across:

1. "Famous Potatoes" state : IDAHO

6. Speak drunkenly : SLUR

10. Addition word : PLUS

14. "__ what?": "What next?" : SO NOW

15. Adhesive strip : TAPE

16. Shopper's memory aid : LIST

19. Impressionist : APER

20. Very __ yours : TRULY

21. Utter mess : SNAFU

22. Tire inflater : AIR

28. Pitt of "Troy" : BRAD

30. Three-note chord : TRIAD

31. Aboveground trains : ELS

32. Per __: for each person, as income : CAPITA

35. Got one's uniform dirty, perhaps : SLID. Baseball. The other timely entry: 4D. Semiannual time-change amount : HOUR

36. Runs away from military duty : DESERTS

38. Israeli parliament : KNESSET. (the gathering)

43. "Exodus" author Leon : URIS. Neat pairing.

45. Haughtily terse : SNIPPY

46. "From __ Zinc": vitamin slogan : A TO

49. Skimpy skirts : MINIs. Do we need to see more? (yes)

51. Cut out, as coupons : CLIP

56. Cooler cubes : ICE OH, NO!

57. World book : ATLAS

58. Like a lummox : INEPT

60. Lamb serving : CHOP

66. Pile : HEAP

67. Undersized 61-Across : RUNT. (pound puppy)

68. Sharp-crested ridge : ARÊTE

69. Novelist Ferber : EDNA

70. Twistable cookie : OREO

71. Leavening agent : YEAST

Down:

1. AOL, for one : ISP. (internet service provider)

2. Deer girl : DOE

3. Devices to stop tiny invading armies : ANT TRAPS

5. Admit (to) : OWN UP

6. Patronize, as a hotel : STAY AT

7. Spot for a cat, or drink like a cat : LAP

8. Wire service initials : UPI. (United Press International)

9. Coffee order: Abbr. : REGular

10. Thinks ahead : PLANS

11. Enzyme that breaks down fats : LIPASE. Is there a pill for that?

12. Handy : USEFUL

13. Plays the banjo, like someone "in the kitchen with Dinah" : STRUMS. Here, I'll sing it for you.

        LINK (Montana, this is embedded so I think you shouldn't need the LINK.

18. Unwell : ILL

21. Wetter than wet : SODDEN

22. "The Alphabet Song" start : ABCD

23. "Dies __": Latin hymn : IRAE

25. Mos. and mos. : YRs

26. Fancy tie fabric : SILK

27. "Growing" difficulties : PAINS

29. Craps cube : DIE

33. Spades in a four-spades bridge contract, say : TRUMPS

34. Sunlit courtyards : ATRIA

37. Ireland's __ Féin : SINN. (we ourselves)

39. [error left as is] : [SIC]

40. Soup legume : SPLIT PEA

41. Many a DeMille movie : EPIC

42. Use a keyboard : TYPE

44. Command to Rover : SIT

46. Tribe for which a helicopter is named : APACHE

47. Gave 10% to the church : TITHED

48. Borrowed, as a library book : ON LOAN

50. Japanese religion : SHINTO

53. Phi Beta __ : KAPPA

54. Put a stop to : END

55. Settle, as a debt : REPAY

59. Chaste : PURE

61. NHL player, e.g. : PRO

62. "__ Father, who art ..." : OUR

63. One in Québec : UNE

64. Qt. halves : PTs

65. Nonetheless : YET

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Avg Joe, a very observant and no-nonsense guy. Joe is another foodie on our blog and he knows all about soup (well, maybe not miso soup, Gary!).

Sunday March 9, 2014 Doug Peterson

Theme:"Incidental Music" - Musical notes are orderly added to the start of each theme answer.

23A. Donut lover's discipline? : DOZEN MEDITATION. Zen meditation. My landlord (a Buddhist) in Shanghai chanted in front of burning incense every day. His meditation.

32A. Kicking back with the drones? : RESTING LIKE A BEE. Sting like a bee.

41A. Japanese soup, apparently? : MISO, IT SEEMS? So it seems. I love the simple  Wakame & Tofu miso.

67A. So-so joe? : FAIRISH COFFEE. Irish coffee. Ha ha, Avg Joe!

 

74A. Bangle, often? : SOLID BRACELET. ID bracelet.

99A. Snorkeling area patrol unit? : LAGOON SQUAD. Goon squad.

106A. Broadcaster who goes on and on and on? : TIRING ANNOUNCER. Ring announcer. I met Gophers' announcer Dick Jonckowski at Twin Cities Sports Collectors' Club banquet 2 weeks ago. He was an AWA Wrestling ring announcer sometime ago.  Look at his bobblehead collection.

122A. "Water that poor plant before all the leaves dry up!"? : DOUSE IT OR LOSE IT. Use it or lose it.

What a delightful theme from Doug Peterson! Nothing heavy metal related. Doug loves heavy metal noise :-)

Doug Peterson

The fill is incredibly clean, Doug's hallmark. He's one of the very limited few constructors who can make Monday/Tuesday puzzles, themeless puzzles & Sunday grids. Rich Norris, Patrick Berry, Jeff Chen & Liz Gorski are the other few that come to mind. Who else?

Doug is also a fast solver. Look at here. He's currently 14th. See Rich Norris & Patti Varol? LAT rocks!

Across:

 

1. Campfire residue : ASH

4. Volkswagen sedan : PASSAT. And 21. Four-ring-logo company : AUDI. Owned by

Volkswagen.

10. Speak for yourself? : BRAG. Got me!

14. Office __: Staples rival : DEPOT

19. Suffix with señor : ITA. Senorita. Like our -ette, feminizing.

20. Outfielder who had a single-season record 262 hits in 2004 : ICHIRO. With the Mariners then. Love this Ichiro stretching picture.

22. Hidden repository : CACHE

26. C.S. Lewis lion : ASLAN

27. Symbol of steadiness : EVEN KEEL

28. School-wk. start : MON. And 72. Honoree on the third 28-Across in Jan. : MLK

29. Shell lobbers : MORTARS

31. Copy editor's mark : DELE

36. Emulate Eminem : RAP

39. "CSI" actor George : EADS. I can never remember his name. Quite handsome.

40. Literature Nobelist Canetti : ELIAS

46. Gander, e.g. : MALE. Trick clue.

47. Player with earbuds : IPOD. So what's your favorite podcast? Mine is  Fresh Air.

51. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA

52. Dustin's "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO

53. One of a hotel room pair : TWIN

55. Medina native : SAUDI

56. Feeling sluggish : LOGY. I think I learned this word from another Doug P puzzle.

58. Defunct '80s gridiron gp. : USFL (United States Football League)

60. Recipe quantity : ONE CUP

63. Missile stabilizer : FIN. Learning moment to me.

64. Shinbone neighbor : KNEECAP

70. Forbidden : TABOO

73. Squiggly diacritic : TILDE. The stuff in Jalapeño.

79. Julius and Augustus, e.g. : CAESARs

83. Blubber : CRY

84. Haile Selassie followers : RASTAs

85. De Matteo of "The Sopranos" : DREA

87. Many a Royal Troon golfer : SCOT. Held a few British Opens. JD visited St Andrews last year.

88. Be on the same page : AGREE

90. State secrets? : BLAB. Nice clue. Verb "State".

92. Longhorn rival : AGGIE

95. Baton Rouge sch. : LSU

96. Romney's 2012 running mate : RYAN (Paul)

97. 1/640 of a square mile : ACRE

102. __ cotta : TERRA. Some of you saw these terra-cotta warriors in person. The biggest tourist draw in Xi'An.

104. Singer Tennille : TONI

105. The "t" in Crete? : TAU. Just their T.

112. Farm Belt state : IOWA

116. Swallowed one's pride : ATE CROW

117. MD workplaces : ORs

118. Item kept near brushes : PAINT CAN. Poor Marti must be tired to see those cans.

121. Name on many video games : MARIO

126. Fallback option : PLAN B

127. "And don't forget ..." : ALSO

128. Break : RECESS

129. "__ Maria" : AVE

130. "The Playboy of the Western World" dramatist : SYNGE (John). Not familiar with the play or the author.

131. Scrabble two-pointers : DEES

132. Enthusiastic : RAH-RAH

133. Folk hero Kelly : NED

Down:

1. Gave a ride, say : AIDED

2. Log cabin warmer : STOVE

3. Eye color : HAZEL

4. Best of health, figuratively : PINK.  Also Victoria Secret's lingerie line.

5. Climber's goal : ACME

6. Hosiery variety : SHEER

7. Move furtively : SIDLE

8. D-backs, on a sports ticker : ARI

9. Typical "Yo Gabba Gabba!" viewer : TOT

10. Relay sticks : BATONS

11. Feeling sorry about : RUING

12. Stir : ADO

13. Cheap saloon : GIN MILL

14. Beltway region, briefly : DC AREA

15. Taiwan's locale : EAST ASIA. This missing Malaysian Airlines is so mysterious. Could it be hijacked somewhere?

16. Programming class setting : PC LAB

17. Orchard Field, today : O'HARE

18. Keyed up : TENSE

24. Año opener : ENERO

25. In the thick of : AMIDST

30. Great Depression migrant : OKIE

33. Take to the airport, say : SEE OFF

34. Floppy topper : TAM

35. Most pleasing to Jack Sprat : LEANEST

37. Bubble filler : AIR

38. Sch. meeting group : PTA

41. Cereal go-with : MILK

42. Weights, when pumped : IRON

43. Judicious : SAGE

44. Zombielike states : STUPORS

45. Suffix with lion : ESS

46. Skimpy skirt : MINI. And 91. Skirt companion : BLOUSE. Try it, it's not easy to find a pretty Blouse & Mini picture, Dave!

48. Powder __ : PUFF

49. Patient of Dr. Liz : ODIE. I drew a blank of Dr. Liz.

50. Enjoy a meal : DINE

54. Got the job done : WORKED

55. Fine china name : SPODE. LENOX also has 5 letters.

57. High-elevation enigma : YETI

59. San Diego suburb whose name means "the table" : LA MESA. Very helpful clue.

61. Loop site : CHICAGO

62. Pac-12 school : UCLA

65. Core group : CADRE

66. "Take a Chance on Me" quartet : ABBA

68. Down with something : ILL

69. Come clean, with "up" : FESS

71. Muffin stuff : OAT BRAN. I don't eat any bran stuff. Or brown rice.

74. Dueling memento : SCAR

75. Unrestrained party : ORGY

76. Constellation named for an instrument : LYRA

77. NASCAR Hall of Famer Yarborough : CALE

78. Like some flaws : TRAGIC

80. Scopes Trial gp. : ACLU

81. Historic Parks : ROSA. Noticed P is capitalized.

82. Simple earring : STUD

86. Psych 101 topic : EGO

89. Hard to resist : ENTICING

93. Mtge. feature : INT

94. Panamanian pronoun : ESA

97. 2012 Best Picture : ARGO

98. Crustacean used in Cajun cuisine : CRAWDAD. I don't think I've had any authentic Cajun food.  (From Marti: I chuckled when I saw CRAWDAD in the grid today. Here is a picture of a Crawfish Boil we had down in Florida with friends from New Orleans.  It was the gen-u-ine thing!)

100. "Barbara __": 1960s hit : ANN

101. Bails : QUITS

103. Dress like a justice : ENROBE

104. Statue subjects : TORSOS

106. Packs down : TAMPS

107. Land of the Apennines : ITALY

108. Showed again : RE-RAN

109. Futile : NO USE

110. Period in history : EPOCH

111. More valuable, possibly : RARER. Like the Mickey Mantle rookie card.

113. Giant squid's home : OCEAN

 114. Give up : WAIVE

115. Paid to play : ANTED

119. Rick's flame : ILSA. "Casablanca".

120. Light bite : NOSH

123. Ringside cheer : OLE

124. Clearance rack abbr. : IRR

125. Genteel gathering : TEA

C.C.

Saturday, Mar 8th, 2014, Brad Wilber

Theme: BW

Words: 70 ( Pangram~!)

Blocks: 31

   Another solo effort in this year from one of our regular Saturday contributors, Brad is keeping pace with Mr. Silk.  This one made my brain hurt, mostly due to the proper name references, but in terms of geographic obscurity, we did get somewhat of a reprieve.  A 'reverse' pinwheel, with the 11-letter triple stacks towards the right, and 9-letter triples to start the Downs.  Some of the longer fill we have;

2d. A woodpile may be under it : TARPAULIN - I tried ---- TARP, and that wasn't working

4. Teddy Roosevelt sobriquet : TRUSTBUSTER - I tried "SPEAK SOFTLY", because I was thinking sobriquet was a catchphrase, not a nickname

33a. 19th-century bat-and-ball game : ONE OLD CAT - learned this from crosswords, altho I was looking to fit One O' Cat, and it wasn't working

57a. Delta Tau Chi, familiarly : ANIMAL HOUSE - ah, I did not recall their Greek name - it's up on the second floor railing, askew

onward - by skipping an hour tonight~!

ACROSS:

1. Leavenworth and McHenry: Abbr. : FTs - Forts

15. Medium evocation : RAP - "I see...." did not fit; this is the knock on the table while everyone is (supposedly) holding hands

16. Like evergreens : WINTER HARDY - this took too long for me to see, especially since I had "RENO" and not "RICE" in the downs

17. "... __ the hot sun count / His dewy rosary ...": Keats : ERE

18. "I Hope I Get It" musical : A CHORUS LINE

19. Clinking currency : SPECIE - straight up definition - money in coin

21. __ judicata: decided case : RES

22. "Sorry to say ..." : ALAS

23. Sported : HAD ON

24. Mineral in pumpkin seeds : ZINC - OK, so I threw in IRON to start - the garden (24d.) fixed that

25. __ Toy Barn: "Toy Story 2" setting : AL'S

26. Prepare for a poster tube : FURL - Dah~!  not "ROLL"

27. London Philharmonic co-founder Sir Thomas __ : BEECHAM - nearly all perps, this was one of those proper name stumbling points

29. Sailor's direction : ALEE - I was fairly certain that on Saturday, it would not be EAST or WEST

30. Hidden : UNSEEN

31. Prefix with scope : OTO - an OTOscope is used to look very closely at the Indian tribes of the plains....no, actually, it's for an ENT - no, not the tree, the doctor who looks in your ears

34. KGB agent's foe : CIA SPY - Oddly, I threw in CIA MAN to start, then I figured it had to be wrong with the next clue/answer being --->

36. Beatles song with the line "There's one for you, nineteen for me" : TAXMAN - "yeah, I'm the taxman" - in 1966, the Beatles' tax bracket had them paying 95%, which makes this math correct - ouch.  We're getting closer to April 15th; I was pleasantly surprised when my "taxman" got me some money back - I had not filed for 4 years, due to low income, but I did pay for Home Inspection school, and that was my big write-off

38. Wrap : END - Pretty sure BOA was not the answer; this is the verb, not the noun

39. Like many French Quarter streets : GAS-LIT

43. Goalie's undoing : DEKE - You can say that again~! (From C.C.: Great picture, Splynter!)

44. Sextet at Woodstock : SANTANA - I liked his Supernatural album

45. Dairy aisle tub : OLEO

46. Start to amble? : PRE - Preamble, as in "WE, the People..."

48. Film villain in a Nehru jacket : DR. NO - Because Dr. Evil did not fit

49. Stifle : QUELL

50. Women : SHEs

51. Keep to oneself : HOG

52. Stuck (out) : JUTTED

53. Spaghetti sauce ingredient : TOMATO PUREE - I went with pASTe, and that was a whopping 72% correct

56. Lobbying gp. : PAC - Political Action Committee

58. Kate's role in "The Aviator" : AVA

59. Maple leaf eater : BOXELDER BUG

60. Make : NET - ah, as in the financial sense; I was trying "FIX", and "SET"

DOWN:


1. Talent scout discovery : FRESH FACE - I was looking for a high school/college sports player being found, not a singer/dancer/artist/movie star

3. Whiz through, in a way : SPEED-READ

4. He said, "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to" : TWAIN

5. Powell's successor : RICE - oops, Condoleezza, not Janet; the Secretary of State, not the Attorney General

6. New England sch. with a wildcat mascot : UNH - University of New Hampshire, so we had some geography

7. They need connecting flights : STORIES - I knew this was a stairs reference, but I was stuck on FLOORS

8. Playwright Rattigan : TERENCE

9. Grilled-bread appetizer : BRUSCHETTA

10. Uncertain sounds : UHs - not UMs or ERs

11. Deep bow : SALAAM

12. Clarinetist's effect : TRILL - Guitar, too - and probably easier on the guitar

13. Author Ferber et al. : EDNAs

14. Distillery output : RYES

20. "Unforgettable" duet partners : COLES

24. __ garden : ZEN

27. Long-term investment strategy : BUY AND HOLD - great fill

28. The Ducks, on an ESPN ticker : ANAheim

31. Breakfast buffet utensil : OMELET PAN - is a pan a utensil?  Not in my house - pots & pans are cookware; the implements used in preparation and consumption are the utensils

32. Depart : TAKE LEAVE - I had mAKE, which gave me an OMOscope - which is used to...oh, never mind

35. Org. that keeps driving stats : PGA - anyone go with AAA~?

37. Marked for deletion : X'D OUT - the 'meh' fill for the day

40. Greek poetic stanza : STROPHE - a rhythmic system composed of two or more lines repeated as a unit - online dictionary

41. Lassitude : LANGUOR - listless lack of liveliness

42. Italian diminutive suffix : INO

44. Bagel selection : SESAME

46. Button on some receivers : PHONO

47. Dance version of a pop hit, often : REMIX

49. Literary captain : QUEEG

50. Skewer : STAB

52. "__, meine Freude": Bach motet : JESU - I have a few Bach Pipe Organ CDs, so I have seen this

54. __ vez: maybe, in Pamplona : TAL - Spanish

55. Abrade : RUB - fixed my PASTE to PUREE

Splynter

Friday, March 6, 2014, Bruce Haight

Theme: NO "E"s? EZ?

Like the recent Paul Hunsburger puzzle written up by marti, this puzzle is its own theme. In a wonderful blend of visual (the big "E" created by the black squares, and the really difficult task of cluing AND filling a puzzle without ever using the most COMMON letter in the alphabet, the e.  To do both is awesome. This is Bruce's first LAT publication, his NYT debut in January of 2013, was with 4 "1"s made of the blocks, then his second recently on Valentine's Day that created a little KERFUFFLE , and finally another grid theme Tuesday in the NYT as a collaboration with Peter Collins. The fill includes every other letter and some really sparkly fill including three grid spanners, PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM, PSYCHOANALYZING and TOTALITARIANISM. Also a slew of nice nine letter fill, ALAN ARKIN, CANADIANA,  COSTA RICA,  DRAMATICS, HAND HOLDS and PUSSYCATS, and really fun triple 7 stacks top and bottom. I am really curious as to what everyone thought of this and whether you will grade it an A or an F. Is there a theme, or is it a themeless without any E?

The reveal:

65A. What this grid's big symbol is, Across and Down : MISSING.

(Note from C.C.: The Saturday we had a while ago is a themeless puzzle without E in the clue or grid. Also, today's grid features a  Top to Bottom symmetry.)

Across:

1. Small amount : JOT. I get my J right away.

4. WWII MIA location : POW CAMP. Missing In Action (not Miami). Prisoner Of War. Stalag 13 (0:51)?

11. NFL captains : QBS. QuarterBacks. A very misleading and not necessarily true clue.

14. __ Jima : IWO. Back in "WWII, the big one". What 1950's TV show is that line from?

15. High-class tobacco products : HAVANAS.

16. Samovar : URN. not an expert, other than from my Russian grandmother

17. GPS finding : LATitude. A CSO to the Times?  Or maybe Jimmy B. (3:28)

18. Good chap : OKAY GUY. Not sure why, but I really liked this fill.

19. Nonpro sports org. : AAU. Amateur Athletic Union. Has a storied but controversial HISTORY in American amateur sports.

20. Plot : TRACT. Land not a story.

22. Providing with a transcript, possibly : CCING. Another CSO?

24. __-tzu : LAO. Father of TAO.

25. Climbing aids : HAND HOLDS. Nice  alliterative fill. Many resorts and cruise ships are offering climbing places.

29. Arm support : SLING.

31. Viral chorus? : ACHOOS. Really another very fun clue that is Friday fair; that talent is nothing to sneeze at.

32. Turkic Russian : TATAR.

33. Histrionic display : DRAMATICS. I think every family has at least one Drama Queen.

37. Roast, in a Baja dish : ASADA. Thank you Taco bell for teaching me this one.

38. Stuck : IN A RUT.

39. __ mining : STRIP.

40. "Argo" actor : ALAN ARKIN. Still have not seen that movie, though Arkin was great in Catch-22.

43. NBA coach Thomas : ISIAH. Sports trivia are tough on many solvers, especially when you are using a great player who had a very short coaching CAREER.

44. Historic town in Lazio : TIVOLI. Really obscure, even if the garden is famous. VIEW. (1:09)

45. Santa __ winds : ANA.

46. Innocuous sorts : PUSSYCATS. Not my first thought but in hindsight it works, usually with Big and baby talk.

50. Way to find out what you know : FINAL. Exam.

52. 3-D graph part : Z-AXIS. To join the x and y to get the third dimension.

53. "It's just __ thought ..." : AS I.

54. "South Pacific" song : BALI HAI. It has been linked many times, again?

60. Highway or city stat : MPG. Miles Per Gallon.

61. "Illmatic" rap star : NAS.

62. Mythical symbol of purity : UNICORN. Purity, really? I did not know this.

63. Fitting : APT.

64. Room with hoops : GYM. I guess a basketball court is a room, and I like the hoops misdirection.

66. Albany is its cap. : NYS. I understand this must stand for New York State but I find this a real stretch as NY is the state where Albany is the capital.

Down:

1. Dump : JILT. Originally a word for harlot, it became just a deceiver in love. Probably from a woman named Gillian or Jill. So maybe that is why they went up the hill.

2. Man __ : O'WAR. What a random and challenging fill in the blank. A great racehorse.

3. Autocratic approach : TOTALITARIANISM. This was a big word I heard often while I was growing during the Cold War.

4. Book with shots : PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM. Really nice clue/fill, especially bracketing a nine letter fill.

5. Poison __ : OAK. Ivy, Oak and Sumac, the poison sisters.

6. Morgantown's st. : WVA. West Virginia whose basketball team in 31-0 this season, only undefeated team.

7. Low island : CAY. We have lots of Cays and Keys in our area.

8. Afr. country : ANGola.

9. If said again, group in a 1950s African uprising : MAU. You can draw your own conclusions, but this was talked about when I was very little. HISTORY.

10. Studying on a couch? : PSYCHOANALYZING. My favorite Psyc professor was a Neo-Freudian.

11. Draw back with alarm : QUAIL.

12. Stock mark : BRAND. Nicely done, a mark on the livestock.

13. Curls up : SNUGS. verb (used without object), snugged, snug·ging. to lie closely or comfortably; nestle. Meh.

21. Books about Toronto and Ottawa, say : CANADIANA. Like Americana, *CSO to Eh!.

23. Country abutting Nicaragua : COSTA RICA, where everyone goes for inexpensive plastic surgery.

25. Put away : HAD. I had 3 pieces of Papa John's.

26. Not down: Abbr. : ACRoss. Context.

27. FDR loan org. : NHA. The National Housing Act was a landmark in the residential buying experience in the US. LINK. Much of what I do these days relates to closings, and foreclosures.

28. Papa John's rival : DOMINOS. All pizza no matter how you slice it.

29. GDR spy group : STASI. German Staatsicherheit meaning State Security. You can READ all about it.

30. Holds up : LASTS.

34. Annoy : IRK.  Is it coincidence this rhymes with jerk?

35. __ bono: "Who stands to gain?" in law : CUI.

36. B&O stop : STN. We know it is station, but is it STA or STN?

40. Org. for Nadal and Djokovic : ATP. Association of Tennis Professionals.

41. Lucy of "Kill Bill" : LIU. Elementary anyone?

42. Colorado NHL club, to fans : AVS. The rather depressing nickname, the Avalanche.

47. Band guitarist, in slang : AXMAN. The axman from AXE, BOBBY BARTH. (2:48)

48. Lacking stability : TIPPY. A stretch for me; that table was tippy? No Hedren or Walker?

49. Army squad NCOs : SSGTS. Staff sergeants?

50. Sharp tooth : FANG, So as a vampire, you name your bar Fangoria.

51. Words from Watson : I SAY. All I think of was Nigel Bruce, " I say, HOLMES".(1:09).

55. Buy from Sajak : AN I. Apparently Pat sold all the Es.

56. Paris lily : LIS. You all know 'Fleur de Lis.'

57. Suffix with tact : ICS. So this is ok fill because it is clues properly, but would tact ending be ok?

58. __ polloi : HOI. Literally "The people" in Greek, hoi means "the" so do not say 'the hoi polloi'. Has come to have derogatory connotations.

59. Valiant's son : ARN. The young prince.

I am neither young nor a prince,  but I had a royal good time with the grid and all the fresh fill. It seemed oddly easy after all, but I cannot imagine the work needed to avoid a single "e" in fill and clues.  Get ready for more daylight and less sleep. Turn the clocks ahead; reporting from Ocho Rios, Lemonade out.

Thursday, March 6, 2014, John Guzzetta

Theme: "Heavens Above!"

17A. *Large emigration : MASS EXODUS.







24A. *Lunchbox item : SOUP THERMOS.










32A. *"I'll Be There for You" on "Friends," e.g. : THEME SONG.



47A. *Children's literature VIP : ILLUSTRATOR.



54A. *Daily Planet setting : METROPOLIS.


62A. Word that can follow five prefixes hidden sequentially in the answers to starred clues : SPHERE.

Wow. Once again, I believe I have an LA Times debut puzzle. If so, congratulations on your tour de force, John! Finding words that have atmospheric prefixes hidden in them would be tough, but to put them into the grid, in order of their height above the earth, is simply awesome!

It was fun to see 8D SHUTTLES crossing the THERMO- prefix, since that is where the space shuttle orbits. Let's see what else is on the agenda today.

Across:

1. Elementary fellow? : HOLMES. I immediately tried "Watson." Nope!

7. Chief Osceola riding Renegade introduces its home games: Abbr. : FSU.  Florida State  
University. The Seminoles had an unforgettable game against Auburn to win the national championship this year.

10. Daddy : PAPA.

14. Longtime Hawaiian senator Daniel : INOUYE.

15. Ottowan interjections : EHS. CanadianEh!

16. Woeful cry : ALAS.

19. Frisks, with "down" : PATS.

20. Asian holiday : TET.

21. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT.

22. Land at Orly? : TERRE. Cute misdirection. French "land."

23. Confederate : REB.

26. Smallish crocodilians : CAIMANS. Hey - I just had this one last week.

28. Portal toppers : LINTELS.

29. 100-eyed giant of myth : ARGUS.

30. Word of greeting : HEY.

31. Points a finger at : IDs.

36. __ date : DUE.

38. Levy : TAX.

39. Brought about : LED TO.

43. Southeast Asian honey lover : SUN BEAR. They also love termites.

Sun Bear Image

45. Oporto native, e.g. : IBERIAN.

49. Brandy label letters : VSO. Very Superior (or "special) Old. I immediately thought of Tinbeni.

50. Cream of the crop : ELITE.

51. CNBC topics : IPOs. Initial Public Offering, on the stock market.

52. Breadbasket, so to speak : GUT.

53. Director Gus Van __ : SANT. I loved "Good Will Hunting."

57. Palm smartphone : TREO.

58. Celebratory poem : ODE.

59. Valuable lump : NUGGET. Not if it is just scat.

60. Bldg. annex : ADDN. Addition.

61. Beersheba's land: Abbr. : ISR.ael. We just had Beersheba in one of the Sunday clues this week.


Down:

1. "Tell __": 1962-'63 hit : HIM. The Exciters. 2:33.

2. Winning steadily : ON A TEAR. I always thought it meant to do something with a burst of frenzy. ("She was on a tear to get the house ready for her mother-in-law's visit.")

3. Get clobbered : LOSE BIG.

4. It's not an option : MUST.

5. Observe : EYE.

6. Church maintenance officer : SEXTON.

7. Disgusted : FED UP.

8. Back-and-forth flights : SHUTTLES. US Airways runs shuttles between Boston and NYC every hour from 6 AM to 9 PM.

9. Navy hull letters : USS. Spitzboov!

10. Empty threat : PAPER TIGER.

11. Afraid : ALARMED.

12. Platoon activities : PATROLS.

13. Look over carefully : ASSESS.

18. Burden : ONUS.

22. X, sometimes : TEN.

23. __ Victor : RCA.

24. Window part : SASH…jamb…sill…pane…head…rail...

25. Silver opening? : HI-YO. The Lone Ranger's shout to his horse "Hi-yo, Silver! Awaaaay."

27. Remote control : MUTE BUTTON. (Do husbands come with one of those?)

30. Spell : HEX.

33. Floride, par exemple : ETAT. More French.

34. Many couples : MARRIEDS.

35. Cub or Card : NLER. National Leaguer.

36. Simpleton : DULLARD.

37. Like some looseleaf paper : UNLINED.

40. Reveal : DIVULGE.

41. More to one's liking : TASTIER.

42. Plastic __ Band : ONO.

43. Cuarenta winks? : SIESTA. Spanish "40" = cuarenta.

44. Tongue suffix : ESE. Languages. Cantonese, Burmese, Chinese, etc.

45. "Click __ Ticket": road safety slogan : IT OR.

46. Quantum gravity particles : BOSONS. If you have trouble sleeping at night, turn to this article.

48. More timely : APTER. meh.

52. Painter van __ : GOGH.

54. French pronoun : MOI. It's all about me. Even more French.

55. __ tent : PUP.

56. CPA's office, perhaps : STE. Suite. I'll be visiting him soon.

'Til next week, adieu!

Marti