Wednesday, September 3, 2014 Ned White

Theme: GET IT IN GEAR.  The first word of each two-word theme answer is the name of one of the gear selections for an automatic transmission shift lever.

17. Canadian natural resource manager : PARK WARDEN.  An unlikely looking clue, but sussable with perp help and a little head scratching.  You can read about them here.  PARK is the selection for keeping the vehicle stationary.

24. Dramatic backwards hoops move : REVERSE DUNK.   Better seen than explained.  A car in REVERSE goes backwards.

36. Photon, e.g. : NEUTRAL PARTICLE.   Protons and neutrons are polarized, photons go lightly down the middle of the road.  NEUTRAL is a resting position between REVERSE and DRIVE.

46. Push one's buttons, and then some : DRIVE INSANE.  Is there someone who knows how to push your buttons? I can be maddening. DRIVE is the selection for actually going somewhere.

56. Like many diets : LOW CALORIE.  Weight watching strategy. LOW gear is for low speed and controlled power.

64. Shift letters spelled out in 17-, 24-, 36-, 46- and 56-Across : P R N D L   Vide infra.

Source

Strangely, in the following video London gets it right - at least that part of it.  In the industry this bit of apparatus is indeed called the PRNDL, just as she pronounces it.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here, your chauffeur for the day. Let's DRIVE on through Ned's puzzle and see if we can avoid pot holes and speed bumps.

Across

1. Plentiful : RIFE.  This old Anglo-Saxon word might have originated with the Old Norse word for "acceptable."

5. Green-lights : OKAYS. Allows or permits.  Looks odd spelt out.

10. Fruit-bearing trees : FIGS.  They are native to the Middle East and Western Asia, now cultivated throughout the temperate zone.

14. "Tiger Beat" cover subject : IDOL. As in pop star.  Per Wikipedia, Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls.  

Souce

15. Pentagon quintet : SIDES.  Tautologically true.

16. Cumming of "The Good Wife" : ALAN.  A legal and political drama on CBS.

Source

19. Desi Arnaz's birthplace : CUBA.   More specifically, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha, III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was born in Santiago, where his father was the mayor.

Wiki

20. 10 to the 100th power : GOOGOL.   Just a really big number.

21. Party amenity : FAVOR.  A trinket given to party guests.

22. Get on : AGE.  No comment.

29. Play to __ : A TIE. 

30. "Carmina Burana" composer : ORFF .  Carl ORFF composed this cantata in 1935-6, based on 24 poems from a medieval manuscript of the same name containing 254 poems in Latin and vernacular languages.  The entries are ribald, irreverent and satirical.  Here is the most famous segment.

31. Polio vaccine developer : SABIN.  Albert Bruce Sabin (August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) developed an oral polio vaccine.

33. Bk. after Galatians : EPH.  The letter to the EPHesians, traditionally attributed to Saul of Tarsus [aka Paul the Apostle] is the 10th book of The New Testament.

40. Photo lab prod. : ENLargement.  When a right click is not enough.

41. Words said while folding : I'M OUT.  Of a poker game, not putting away the laundry.

42. Outer Banks st. : N. CAR. North Carolina.

43. Island near Corsica : ELBA.  Everyone knows this as the site of Napolean's exile, but he spent his final six years confined at the British island of St. Helena.

44. Result : EFFECT. 

51. Facial feature above la bouche : NEZ.  The mouth and nose on le visage.

52. Fluttered in the breeze : WAVED. 

53. Passionate : ARDENT.

55. School where part of "The Madness of King George" was filmed : ETON.   British school, four letters, fill it in and move on.

60. Dubliner's land : EIRE.  Or ERIN.  Always need perps.

61. The Little Mermaid : ARIEL.

 Source

62. Little woman : GIRL.  Not so sure about this one.

63. Photographer Pattie who was married to George Harrison and Eric Clapton : BOYD.

 Photo of the Photographer

65. Ripoff : SCAM.

Down

1. Mending target : RIP.  Sew it up.

2. St. with a panhandle : IDAho.  I wanted FLA.   Can we use that pan to fry up some potatoes?

3. Absent-minded : FORGETFUL.  Again, no comment.

4. Nevada county or its seat : ELKO.   In the North-east corner of the State on the Humboldt River.

5. Oklahoma natives : OSAGES.  Originally from the Ohio River valley, they migrated West of the Mississippi by the mid 17th century to avoid the invading Iroquois.

6. Renamed Russian ballet company : KIROV.  Earlier the Imperial Russian Ballet, now the Mariinsky.

7. Throw for a loop : ADDLE. Confuse, befuddle.

8. "__-haw!" : YEE.  I wanted HEE.   Eiher way a western or rural expression of joy or exuberance.

9. Form 1040 ID : SSN. Social Security Number.

10. False front : FACADE.

11. Sweet tweet : I LUV U.  I somehow misread this as sweet treat, and was thoroughly ADDLED.

12. Equatorial African country : GABON.  On the West coast, below The Gulf of Guinea.

13. Snide commentary : SNARK.

18. Apple invader : WORM. Of the pome, not the computer.

21. Fencing ploy : FEINT.  A deceptive or distracting movement intended to create an opening.

22. Do a makeup job? : ATONE.   To make amends, and thus make up for some transgression.   I love this kind of clue.

23. Bridge immortal Charles : GOREN.  Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was a player who wrote many books about the game and did much to popularize it.  He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s.

25. Moroccan capital : RABAT. Just up the road from Casablanca.

26. The hoosegow : STIR.  Alternate slang words for jail.

28. Immature newt : EFT.

31. Memorial __-Kettering: NYC hospital : SLOAN.  The world's oldest and largest cancer center.

32. Manjula's husband on "The Simpsons" : APU.

33. Quirky : ECCENTRIC.  Literally, off-center, into English from Greek.

34. Venue : PLACE.

35. Alamo competitor : HERTZ.  Car rental, not the Mexican-American war.

37. Rankled : RILED.

38. Both: Pref. : AMBI-.  Could be ambiguous.

39. Like Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 : IN F.   The Key of F Major.




43. Reached equilibrium, with "out" : EVENED.

44. Final goal : END ALL.

45. Experience : FEEL.   I'm trying to experience the equivalence here, but don't quite feel it.

46. One who may be "adorkable" : DWEEB.  Dork, DWEEB, nerd - a socially inept intelligent person.  Think Sheldon Cooper.

47. Proportional relation : RATIO.  Math.  It represents for some quantity of thing A how much there is of thing B.  It can look suspiciously like a fraction.

48. Target of elephant poachers : IVORY.  Tusks.

49. Politely admitted : SAW IN.  Escorted to one's seat, frex.

50. Parabolic, e.g. : ARCED.   The classic arch.

Curvy

54. Yuletide quaffs : NOGS.  Eggy drinks.

56. Race unit : LAP.  Once around the track.

57. Bruin great : ORR.  Bobby, the Boston hockey player.

58. Tax shelter initials : IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

59. Spreading tree : ELM.  Are there any left?

Okay, folks, the DRIVE is over.  No traffic jams nor detours, and only a couple of minor bumps along the way.  Hope you enjoyed the journey. Now it's time to put it in PARK.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, September 2, 2014 Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette

 

Theme: 2's - Four words, to be exact, that indicate 2 start off the theme entries.

17A. 1971 road film co-starring James Taylor : "TWO LANE BLACKTOP". Classic cult film.

26A. Treachery : DOUBLE DEALING. Classic soap opera feature.

41A. Spectacles : PAIR OF GLASSES. Classic quote: "Men seldom make passes / at girls who wear glasses / but it really depends on their frames."

53A. Status of a multiple passport holder : DUAL CITIZENSHIP. Classic ???

Argyle(the one and only) here. An apt puzzle for today, if a bit uninspired. A couple of grid spanners, all in-language theme entries but I didn't warm to it. Your temperature may vary.

Across:

1. Gather for oneself : AMASS

6. __ accompli : FAIT. "fact accomplished" - or what we might called a 'done deal'.

10. Brontë or Boleyn : ANNE

14. Video game hedgehog : SONIC

15. Up to the task : ABLE

16. Cambodia neighbor : LAOS

20. Cozy stopover : INN

21. Golfer McIlroy : RORY. 

 # One.

22. Shaggy : HAIRY

23. City SW of Bogotá : CALI. Down in Colombia.

24. Prefix meaning "loving" : PHILO. "philosophy" = "love of wisdom" What would be "love of crosswords"?

30. Church organ features : PIPES. But don't tell the organist she has a nice set of pipes.

31. Two-masted vessel : YAWL

32. "Do You Know the __ to San Jose?" : WAY

34. Got older : AGED

35. Gets hot under the collar : BOILS [eew, bad image.]

37. Taste, as of a sandwich : BITE

38. Mangy mutt : CUR

39. Tight-knit family : CLAN

40. "Funeral Blues" poet W.H. __ : AUDEN

45. Hearty meals : STEWS

46. Ugh-producing : ICKY

47. Assume the role of : ACT AS

49. Poet Pound : EZRA

50. New Deal agcy. : WPA. Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration)

57. Longfellow's bell town : ATRI It was in C.C.'s Sunday Aug. 17th puzzle.

58. Indian princess : RANI

59. R&B singer Sam : COOKE

60. Flat-topped hill : MESA

61. Fencing weapon : ÉPÉE

62. County in SE England : ESSEX

Down:

1. Piedmont wine region : ASTI

2. Cut with a Snapper, say : MOWN. (past tense) Forrest liked his.

 

3. Shortly, to Shakespeare : ANON

4. __ vous plaît : S'IL. "if you please"

5. Sacred Egyptian beetles : SCARABs. very pretty colors.

6. Spenser's "The __ Queene" : FAERIE

7. "Dear" advice giver : ABBY

8. Feeling poorly : ILL

9. Celestial Seasonings offering : TEA

10. Acid neutralizer : ALKALI

11. Company that's "on your side" : NATIONWIDE. Also, sponsor of the junior NASCAR circuit.

12. Jordanian queen dowager : NOOR. Biography

13. Catch sight of : ESPY 40D. With suspicion : ASKANCE

18. Hall of Fame NFL coach Chuck : NOLL. Biography

19. Kick back : CHILL

23. Prompted : CUED

24. Ring loudly : PEAL

25. Partner of hems : HAWS

26. Unearth : DIG UP

27. Big names at the Met : OPERA STARS

28. Fading away : DYING

29. Garden swingers : GATES

30. Source of some D.C. funding : PAC

33. Strong desire : YEN

35. Low __: cheap shot : BLOW

36. Clumsy sorts : OAFS

37. On a tight schedule : BUSY

39. Getting gradually louder, in mus. : CRESC. (Crescendo)

42. Bologna's land : ITALIA

43. Tin __: Model T : LIZZIE

44. Parcel of land : ACRE

47. Sandler of "Grown Ups" films : ADAM. There is a third one in the works.

 

48. Like kitten videos : CUTE

49. Berlin article : EINE

50. Start of a "Knock, knock" response : WHO'S [there]

51. Toll road : PIKE

52. Mountain climber's goal : APEX

54. Wrath : IRE

55. Sink feature : TAP

56. Sailor's distress signal : SOS

 

Argyle

Monday, September 1, 2014 Amy Johnson

Theme: Huff & Puff - Follow-up on three little sty upgrades.

18A. Unlucky thing to draw : SHORT STRAW

26A. Tabletop game requiring steady hands : PICK-UP STICKS

47A. Go on strike, in slang : HIT THE BRICKS

60A. Menace who destroyed houses made of the ends of 18-, 26- and 47-Across : BIG BAD WOLF

Argyle here with a rabbit, rabbit and three little pigs. A simple premise with some testing entries but not beyond doing. There are some cute plums in there too. I never heard the house made of bricks was destroyed.

Across:

1. Junk email : SPAM

5. "A Streetcar __ Desire" : NAMED

10. Talks and talks and talks : GABS. yadda, yadda, yadda.

14. Strauss of denim : LEVI

15. Double-reed instruments : OBOEs

16. Author __ Stanley Gardner : ERLE. Perry Mason creator.

17. Fateful date for Caesar : IDES of March.

20. Poverty-stricken : DIRT POOR

22. Share and share __ : ALIKE

23. Banned apple spray : ALAR

24. Solved, as a cryptogram : DECODED

30. Witch trials town : SALEM

31. Like a prof. emeritus : RET.

32. Narrate : TELL

36. Supermarket chain initials : IGA. (Independent Grocers Alliance)

37. McCain's title : SENATOR

41. Pizzeria order : PIE

42. Male offspring : SONS

44. Univ. proctors, often : TAs. (Teaching Assistant)

45. Seat of New York's Oneida County : UTICA. Hi, Spitzboov.

51. Vehement speeches : TIRADES

54. Have in mind : MEAN

55. "I'll do whatever you need" : "USE ME"

56. "Language" that gave us "amscray" : PIG LATIN. 10D. "Amscray!" : "GET LOST!"

63. Common quitting time : FIVE

64. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL.

65. "... had a farm, __" : EIEIO

66. Bullpen stats : ERAS. In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched

67. Really annoy : RILE

68. Rose essence : ATTAR

69. Hankerings : YENS

Down:

1. Got one's uniform dirty, as a base runner : SLID

2. Feet pampering, briefly : PEDIcure

3. State confidently : AVER

4. Error : MISTAKE

5. "Never gonna happen" : "NO SOAP". I haven't heard that phrase in quite a while.

6. Finds repugnant : ABHORS

7. Tie up in the harbor : MOOR

8. At any time, to Frost : E'ER

9. Summer hrs. : DST. (daylight saving time)

11. Extra Dry deodorant : ARRID

12. Eubie of jazz : BLAKE

13. Embroidered, e.g. : SEWED

19. Potato bag : SACK. A day at the races.

21. Future prunes, perhaps : PLUMS

24. Weight loss plan : DIET

25. Opposite of endo- : ECTO

26. Trident-shaped Greek letters : PSIs

27. "Othello" villain : IAGO. 49D. Wife of 27-Down : EMILIA. Common knowledge?

28. Scottish family : CLAN

29. Garbage : TRASH

33. Larger-than-life : EPIC

34. Kiss from a dog : LICK

35. Grazing grounds : LEAs

38. Suffix with major or Smurf : ETTE

39. D.C. baseball team : NATS. Short for the Washington Nationals.

40. Beyond the burbs : RURAL

43. Shuffling gait : SHAMBLE

46. "30 Rock" creator : TINA FEY

48. Brainstorm : IDEA

50. Request earnestly, as mercy : BEG FOR

51. Potato or yam : TUBER

52. "Lord, __?": Matthew : "IS IT I?"

53. Fit for a king : REGAL

56. Couplet creator : POET

57. Michelin product : TIRE

58. Tennis great Lendl : IVAN

59. Mythical monster's loch : NESS

61. Org. with narcs : DEA. (Drug Enforcement Administration)

62. Oscar Wilde's forte : WIT

I found this fitting ditty while looking for something by Eubie Blake and couldn't pass it up.

Argyle

Sunday August 31, 2014 Pancho Harrison

 Theme:  "Say Cheese" - Phrases with photographic term in are re-interpreted as if they're related to the specific photographer in each clue.

24A. The old-time photographer preferred the __ : NEGATIVE ASPECT. Now all digital.

31A. The IndyCar photographer used __ : ZOOM LENSES.  Zoom Zoom!

52A. The fashion photographer worried about __ : MODEL BEHAVIOR

66A. The dating service photographer was happy when __ : EVERYTHING CLICKED.

84A. The arctic photographer had to consider __ : EXPOSURE TIMES. Cold temperature exposure.

104A. The dessert photographer took a set of __ : JELLO SHOTS

112A. The stressed-out photographer __ : FINALLY SNAPPED. I like this as the final theme answer.

I know Lemonade remembers this fact: Pancho Harrison was our very first LA Times constructor when the Tribune Media dropped Wayne R. Williams edited daily crosswords.

 

Can you believe our local Star Tribune still carries the Williams puzzle? Same byline every day.

Across:   

1. Thingamajig : DOODAD. I even nailed OEN (3. Vintner's prefix). Constructing crosswords sure makes me a better solver.

7. Toronto team, familiarly : JAYS

11. Schnauzer of fiction : ASTA

15. Jack Jones' record label : KAPP. Never heard of it. EMI (38. U.K. record label) was a piece of cake.

19. Place for an ace? : SLEEVE

20. Sitting on : ATOP

21. Stock holder? : BARN. Also, STY or PEN.

22. Jai __ : ALAI

23. #1 hit song from "Flashdance" : MANIAC. Got via crosses.

27. Foals' fathers : SIRES

29. Last Supper question : IS IT I? God I'm sure glad this question was asked. Very crossword-friendly combo.

30. A dog, or a little hoarse : HUSKY

35. Unassertive type : DOORMAT

39. Stuffed : SATED

40. Chorus : REFRAIN

41. "Suits" network : USA

44. Sea dog : SALT

46. Article 1, Section 3 constitutional subject : SENATE. Did you learn this in school?

48. Fair subject : SCIENCE. Subject clue echo.

50. Play area : THEATER

56. When tripled, and so on : YADDA

57. Smack, maybe : KISS

59. __ tai : MAI

60. Ortega's "other" : OTRO. No OTRO/OTRA confusion this time.

61. Stan Lee superheroes : X-MEN

63. Support bar : RAIL

64. Some coins : TOKENS

71. Finally : AT LAST

73. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA

74. "I'm buying!" : ON ME.  We also have A MOI (125. Michel's "mine")

75. Gardener's choice : LOAM

76. Here-there connection : NOR. Neither here nor there.

77. Dazzles : WOWS

79. Star athlete in Archie Comics : MOOSE. Also new to me.

89. Lao-tzu followers : TAOISTS

91. Meat-filled pastry : RISSOLE. I forgot. We had this before. Wiki said it's just small croquette.

92. "Help me out here, bud" : BE A PAL

94. ER command : STAT

95. Single : ONE

 96. Barenboim is its current music director : LA SCALA. Easy crosses. I have no idea who their music director is.

100. Modesto vintner : GALLO

102. Prior to, in poems : ERE

103. Peso part : CENTAVO

106. Arcade pioneer : ATARI

109. Mead milieu : SAMOA. Margaret Mead. Not the drink. Speaking of drinks, look what Steve sent to me.  I never had Rooibos or the other 7 teas before (Jasmine is my go-to tea). I'm now like a kid at toy stores. Different tea every morning.

111. Computer acronym : ASCII

116. Passionate : ARDENT

120. Envelope abbr. : ATTN

121. Canter, for one : GAIT

122. Garr of "Tootsie" : TERI. Who's your favorite actress, D-Otto?

123. In layers : TIERED

124. Investment factor : RISK

126. Norse god of war : ODIN

127. Pope works : ESSAYS. Not Alexander Pope. Pope Francis, correct?

Down:

1. Mil. decoration : DSM

2. Motor extension? : OLA. Motorola.

4. Ben Franklin's belief : DEISM

5. Is of use : AVAILS

6. Downward movement : DECREASE

7. Star of TV's "The Fugitive" : JANSSEN (David). Thanks crosses. I've only seen Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive".

8. Supped : ATE

9. Hindu mystics : YOGIS

10. White-robe providers : SPAS. Marti told me she prefers massages over facials. How about you?

11. Not much : A BIT OF

12. Oskar Schindler, to many : SAVIOR. Indeed.

13. Half of sei : TRE

14. California's Santa __ Mountains : ANA

15. Done for : KAPUT

16. Pub offerings : ALES

17. Prepare for a trip : PACK

18. "That's rough" : PITY

25. Word with pool or table : TIDE

26. Twain of country : SHANIA

28. Shift neighbor : ENTER KEY. Of course I looked at my keyboard.

31. Piquant : ZESTY

32. Fred Astaire's birthplace : OMAHA. I thought he was born somewhere in Kansas, Gary/ Avg Joe.

33. Quieted, in a way : OILED

34. Dutch cheeses : EDAMS

36. Bulldoze, in Bath : RASE

37. St. comprised of two peninsulas : MICH. I had ???H earlier on and I knew it's not UTAH.

40. Cab in a bottle, say : RED. Wine.

41. Southwest competitor : UNITED. Steve's airline.

42. Disdain : SCORN

43. AHL's Iowa Wild, when they were in Houston : AEROS. Iowa Wild is an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. They were called Houston Aeros before 2013.

45. Skosh : TAD

47. Set-__: arguments : TOs

49. Bring to mind : EVOKE. I tried to mimic Argyle, but I forgot he really reached out for Mr. John Deere.

Minnesota State Fair, August 26, 2014

Spitzboov & Argyle, Washington County Fair, August 23, 2014

 51. Makes serious demands on : TAXES. Not an easy clue.

53. Webzine : EMAG

54. Not of the cloth : LAIC

55. Puff up in the breeze : BILLOW

58. Chant : INTONE

62. "Rocky III" actor : MR T

63. Genetic letters : RNA

64. Airer of many RKO films : TCM

65. Vermont ski resort : OKEMO. I can only think of STOWE.

66. Slip by : ELAPSE

67. Luis' "Let's go!" : VAMOS. Learning moment for me.

68. Laugh-a-minute : HOOT

69. Calvary inscription : INRI

70. Prepares for use, as software : INSTALLS

71. 1999-2004 Olds : ALERO

72. Snake venom, e.g. : TOXIN

77. Like an Aberdeen newborn : WEE

78. Siouan language : OSAGE

80. Grafton's "__ for Outlaw" : O IS

81. Bone: Pref. : OSTEO

82. Get underway : START

83. Bass-baritone Simon : ESTES. Never heard of the guy.

85. Cirque du __ : SOLEIL

86. __ Bator : ULAN. The Chinese for Ulan Bator sounds very pretty.

87. Staff notation : REST

88. G.W. Bush is the only president who earned one : MBA

90. Dole out : ALLOCATE

93. Old TV's "knight without armor in a savage land" : PALADIN. "Have Gun, Will Travel" . I drew a blank.

97. Othello's lieutenant : CASSIO

98. Forward, to Fellini : AVANTI

99. __ Linda, Calif. : LOMA

101. Underworld god : OSIRIS. Isis's husband/brother. Do you know who his father is? Nut!

103. Ill-tempered type : CRANK

104. Made fun of : JAPED

105. Conceals : HIDES

106. At a distance : AFAR

107. South American monkey : TITI

108. Farm workers : ANTS. Ant farms.

110. Vision: Pref. : OPTO

113. NYC traveler's option : LGA

114. Holiday veggie : YAM

115. Verdi's "__ tu" : ERI

117. Victorian __ : ERA

118. Marshal under Napoleon : NEY. Wish Bob Ney still served in the Congress. We'd have a good clue for NEY. He was once so powerful, but so corrupted.

119. NFL scores : TDs

C.C. 

Interview with Martin Ashwood-Smith

Like many constructors, I check Cruciverb religiously to avoid theme dupe. Often I find out that the clever idea I thought I had was done by Martin Ashwood-Smith many years ago for the CrosSynergy. 

Martin is a very prolific constructor. As you can read from George Barany's Friends bio, Martin has over 550 puzzles published by the CrosSynergy alone. He also had 76 puzzles published by the New York Times. Of those 400 + Games magazines, half a dozen are 25x25 Ornerys.

Martin is known as a master of triple & quad stacks (three or four grid-spanning 15-letter entries are stacked together). In fact, he constructed and published more of both types of puzzle than any other constructor. He's had about 15 quad stack puzzles published in the NYT, which he thinks (to date) has the biggest collection of this type of puzzle. 

Martin was also the first to have have a quad stack puzzle in the LAT in 2012. David Steinberg was the second , and today's is our number three quad stack. One of Martin's  puzzle books consists entirely of stacked-style puzzles... titled unsurprisingly: "Triple-Stack Crosswords". 

I have no experience making quad-stacks, or triple stacks or even double stacks. They scare me. I imagine every quad-stack has a seed entry also, like today's WILD GOOSE CHASES? Were there any other entries you seeded in the triple 10's on top & bottom?

In this case, the seed entry was the bottom quad-stack entry, PEER ASSESSMENTS. Quad stacks are very difficult to construct, so you generally have to proceed from the 15-letter word that you think will give you be best chances of finding others that work with it. 

Can you tell us how a typical quad-stack puzzle is made and what challenges you face when filling in this type of grid?

I always try to assemble/construct the stacks first. This means that I usually have no idea what the eventual grid will look like. It's not uncommon for me to try and assemble dozens of "close-but-no-cigar" quad stack sets, before finally finding something that looks promising. Even then, there's no guarantee that a reasonable grid can be constructed around the set of quads. For example, in today's puzzle, I had no idea that the final version would have sets of stacked 10-letter-words in the top right and bottom left areas... but I'm glad it did!

I went though about 5 or 6 different grid variants before I came up with the final grid. I think the original had AAMES (the actor), but that made the grid far too closed off. A few days later, AA MEETINGS suddenly popped into my head, and the whole puzzle looked much more doable. Funny how that happens... that's one of the reasons I love constructing crosswords. 

You've made lots of themed & themeless puzzles for various newspapers & magazines. What are the major differences in your approach to fill?

Pretty much the same, although I try and keep any hard words out of my themed CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzles, since the majority of them are intended to be at about a Tuesday level of difficulty on the New York Times scale. 

For themed puzzles, which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

I've always enjoyed the construction most, since I always try to come up with an original grid to accommodate the sets of theme clues.

What kind of theme/fill appeal to you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?

I avoid repeated word themes for sure, but they're pretty much verboten in most puzzle markets today anyway. I know I'm in the minority here, but I always enjoy making quote/quip themed puzzles, especially if the quip is fresh and amusing.

I read from this article in The Globe & Mail that you're a taxi driver. Do you mentally count letters when hearing interesting phrases from customers?

Actually, no (at least not often). My crossword life rarely intersects with my cab driving life. However, I do find my job very useful when it comes to hearing the latest usage and "in" words from teenagers. And occasionally, I will see or think of something that will give me some puzzle ideas. But on the whole cab driving is useful to me because it gets me out of the house, away from the computer monitor, and away from crosswords in general!

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

When I get the time I enjoy weightlifting, classical and electronic music. I'm also a bit of a train enthusiast.

Saturday, Aug 30th, 2014, Martin Ashwood-Smith

Theme: "Quad Stack 16x15"

Words: 69 (missing F,J,Q,U,Z)

Blocks: 36

  I did notice that today's grid was slightly larger than our normal fare, which I have missed in the past - Mr. Ashwood-Smith had a similar Saturday grid with a Quad Stack back in Nov 2012.  Mostly blank through my first pass, just a couple of three-letter fills, but I did know 57a.  Looking back, there really was not too much in the way of vagueness, nor obscurity, IMHO.  Ten-letter corners, two 12-letter spanners, and two 10-letter climbers, one of which I nailed (*).  The Quad Stack:

30. Give an essentials-only account : SPARE THE DETAILS - I had LEAVE OUT DETAILS

39. Exercises in futility : WILD GOOSE CHASES - ugh, took too long for me to get this one, especially having "-CHASES" filled in

40. Mortgagee's calculation : INTEREST PAYMENT - Started with MONTHLY PAYMENTS

41. Group project feedback : PEER ASSESSMENTS - I'd like your assessment on my solo project - here's the finished benches

Carry ONward~!

ACROSS:

1. W. Coast force : LAPD - Police Force, Los Angeles

5. Trailer : MOBILE HOME - Dah~!  I had "MOVIE -----", and that was working for a while

15. "Superman" (1978) co-producer Salkind : ILYA

16. Guacamole maker's discard : AVOCADO PIT

17. Active : SPRY

18. Struggle for a 23-Across : SENATE RACE - circular references in Saturday puzzles are the bane of some here on the blog; 23a. Goal in an 18-Across : SEAT

19. Historic Greenwich Village club : THE BITTER END - I have 'heard' of it, but that's all; their website

21. Ivanhoe, e.g. : SAXON

22. Lao-__ : TSE

26. Volume One words, perhaps : A TO - A to Amer., e.g.

28. Blame : RAP

42. Singer's asset : EAR

43. Waste no time : HIE

44. Half-day exam given four times a yr. : LSAT

47. Welcome words : "HI's~!"

50. Mil. trial : N-TEST

54. One at the end of the line : WIDE RECEIVER - Football line

57. Band with the 1986 #1 hit "Venus" : BANANARAMA

60. Marquee time : NITE - "shorthand" for NIGHT: uses less tiles/letters and space - I had to change the marquee at a "NITE" club called Casanova's, so many years ago; see 38d.

61. Help in a stock exchange? : BROKER'S TIP

62. Old 442 rivals : GTOs

63. Fast-moving game : SPEED CHESS - not for me; I have to think about my moves

64. Lacking : SANS

DOWN:

1. Joggers of a sort : LISTS - I keep mine in the cel phone now

2. Top dog : ALPHA

3. Brand introduced by Corning in 1915 : PYREX

4. Certain prep schooler : DAY BOARDER

5. Caravel feature : MAST - Our constructor had a ship clue/answer in the Nov '12 puzzle, too

6. British miler Steve : OVETT

7. Crams, with "up" : BONES - put it in, took it out

8. Comforting comment : "I CARE"

9. Up-to-the-minute : LATE

10. Wonderlands : EDENS

11. Multitude : HORDE

12. WWII cost-stabilizing agcy. : OPA - Office of Price Administraion - the Wiki

13. Jack letters : MIC - DAH~! I shoulda known this kind of jack - music; usually a different ohm rating than say, "guitar".  I went with LBS, as in spare tire car jack

14. Time for les vacances : ETE - Frawnche - haven't seen much in a long, long time

20. Former Acura model : INTEGRA

24. Gotten up : ARISEN

25. Local __ : TALENT

27. Chiwere speakers : OTOEs

29. Attention getters : PSSTs

30. Take the wrong way? : SWIPE - dah~! Went with STEAL

31. __ gland: organ that secretes melatonin : PINEAL

32. Lets out, say : ALTERS - I bought me a suit this week - my first tailored get up, and it felt good - I've lost 30lbs this summer

33. Old West transport, in dialect : HOSS - Oater-speak for "horse" - I linked genuine frontier gibberish two weeks ago

34. Historic Padua neighbor : ESTE

35. Passbook amts. : DEPs - Deposits; don't hear much about passbooks anymore; I do all my banking with direct deposit, online transactions and mobile app functions

36. Net funds : eCASH - Dah~! Went with "GROSS"

37. DNA compound : THYMINE

38*. Sessions involving steps : A.A. MEETINGS - I did a second "Fourth Step" with a new sponsor this summer; still have NOT followed up on his suggestion....terrifying

45. Up : AWAKE

46. Like a rake : TINED

47. Pulitzer journalist Seymour : HERSH

48. Hot : IRATE

49. They occur before finals : SEMIs

51. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA

52. Place atop : SET ON

53. Bobby pin target : TRESS

55. Jeanne __ : D'ARC

56. Means of emphasis : CAPS - I REALLY DON'T LIKE READING TEXTS LIKE THIS

57. Hardly big shots? : BBs - Cute

58. Klee contemporary : ARP

59. __ Valley: San Francisco area : NOE - map

I have one more surprise for my buddy Adam; his logo as a plaque to go opposite the benches on the bar wall of his restaurant;

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

JD's grandson Truman turned 7 years old yesterday. Here he is with his brother Grady on the right and cousin Cameron on the left.