Thursday, December 18, 2014 Ed Sessa

Theme: "That's an Order!"

3D. Diner's breakfast request : EGGS SUNNY SIDE UP. The order you give to Flo, in Mel's diner.

5D. Baseball manager's decision : STARTING LINEUP. The list of players who will be in the game.

9D. Cop's command : PUT YOUR HANDS UP. An order that caused a lot of unrest in Ferguson.

And the reveal:
11D. What sports stats are usually shown in ... or what 3-, 5- and 9-Down each represents? : DESCENDING ORDER. Each of the three theme entries is a type of "order" descending in the grid. I am not sure if "up" at the end of each one has something to do with the theme, or if they are just coincidental. Let's see if Mr. Sessa can enlighten us.

(From C.C.: I thought they're coincidental. Lemonade said Rule 39 is "there are no coincidences". So we consulted the constructor Mr. Ed. Here is what he told us:

I figured it added a little twist to the puzzle, up being "down", along with having three different "takes" on the meaning of the word "order")


Unusual grid, with left to right symmetry, but not top to bottom. It also seemed very easy to me for a Thursday, but your experience may vary.

Across

1. Many Pindar poems : ODES.

5. Philatelist's find : STAMP.

10. Mt. Rushmore locale : S. DAK.

14. "Rich & Meaty" brand : RAGU

15. "I should have made my way straight __ long ago": Whitman : TO YOU.

16. "Try this" : HERE.

17. Joule fractions : ERGS.

18. Explosive trial : A-TEST.

19. "Makes sense to me" : I SEE.

20. Old Buick : LESABRE.

22. Not surprising : TYPICAL.

24. Schoolyard comeback : IS NOT.

25. Chaps can be seen in one : OATER. This one got a smile from me.

26. Like boxed matches : UNLIT.

28. Jackson successor Van __ : BUREN.

29. Predatory seabird : ERN.

31. "Hit me" : ONE MORE. You might hear those words at a bar or at a Blackjack table.

33. Speckle : DOT.

36. Broadway's __-Fontanne Theatre : LUNT. No clue. All perps. It was originally called The Globe Theater, but renamed after renovation in 1957, in honor of Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontaine.

38. Grind, as teeth : GNASH.

39. Young hombre : NINO.

40. Shout before Silver : HI YO. Silver, Awaaaaaaaaaaay!

41. Patterson who played the singing flight attendant in "Airplane!" : LORNA. Loved that movie.

42. Handling the situation : ON IT.

43. Pancreatic hormone : INSULIN.

45. Blue hues : INDIGOS.

47. Chase scene sounds : SIRENS.

48. Annexes : ADDS ON.

49. One of a fiver's fifty : DIME.

50. Recipe word : STIR.

51. Flock females : EWES.

53. Freedom, in Swahili : UHURU. Total WAG, with only 5 perps needed. ;-)

57. "The Country Girls" novelist O'Brien : EDNA. the novel was banned in Ireland, and her parish priest publicly burned copies, because it dealt with sexuality in the '60s.

60. Big oaf : LOUT.

61. Surgical holding area : PRE-OP.

62. Go slowly (through) : SEEP.

63. Hard-to-do dos : MOPS.

64. Part of REM : EYE.

Down

1. City about 225 miles from Moscow : OREL. I always get this city confused with Orem, which is near Provo, Utah.

2. "__ say it?" : DARE I.

4. "Valley of the Dolls" author Jacqueline : SUSANN. Gimme.  That book was also considered "racy" when it came out in the '60s.

6. Carry : TOTE.

7. Word to a captain : AYE.

8. Greatest amount : MOST.

10. Many an Iraqi Muslim : SHIITE.

12. Toward the stern : AREAR.

13. Boat base : KEEL.

21. Barn dance neckwear : BOLO.

23. Remove the skin from : PARE.

27. Mortise inserts : TENONS.

28. Sarajevo's region : BOSNIA.

29. K-12 : ELHI.

30. Roman holiday attractions : RUINS. It's an incredible feeling to walk where Caesar once stood.

32. Dent or scratch : MAR.

34. Pizza topping : ONION. I just made Hawaiian pizza last night, with ham and pineapple. Yum!

35. Wee ones : TOTS.

37. Busload at a resort, probably : TOURISTS.

39. Loud to the max : NOISIEST.

44. Moon lander, briefly : LEM.

46. Prohibited insecticide : DDT.

51. With 65-Across, source of shade : ELM. And 65-Across: See 51-Down : TREE.

52. Act the suitor : WOO.

54. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr. : HRE. Holy Roman Empire.

55. Turn that's hung : UEY. I think we should take a vote for our favorite spelling of this, and then banish all other spellings forever from crossword puzzles!

56. Canapé topping : ROE.

58. Wedding page word : NEE.

59. Oaf : APE.

That's all from me. Let's hear from you!

Marti

Wednesday, December 17th 2014 Fred Piscop

Theme: Kangaroo Commands.

17A. *Source of chips and 6-Across : IDAHO POTATO. Ah, the humble spud. I read somewhere that the rich Idaho loam which nurtures these delicious tubers came from Yosemite when the caldera exploded c. 55,000 years ago. Apparently this happens about once every 50,000 years, so the potato farmers should be expecting another gazillion tons of topsoil coming their way sometime soon.

51A. *Cervantes creation : SANCHO PANZA. Equerry to the chivalry-reviving, windmill-tilting Don Quixote, and a Picasso subject.

11D. *Wide-legged fashion : GAUCHO PANTS. Not gauche pants, those would be sequined disco-trousers from the 70's. According to Target's fashion page, gaucho pants are "flowy and fab". Just the thing for Don Q. and Sancho.

25D. *Rory McIlroy won it in 2014 : BRITISH OPEN. The oldest of golf's four majors, and properly called "The Open Championship".

37A. Words to a hitchhiker, and a literal hint to what spans both words of the answers to starred clues : HOP IN

Buenos dias, muchachos y muchachas. Steve here hitching a ride with Fred's latest. The theme ended on little bit of a flat note for me - the fourth theme entry had the odd-man-out feel with Idaho/Sancho/Gaucho tripping rhymily off the tongue, then "British" coming in as something of a clanger. Wedded to the fact that the tournament isn't actually called that, it all just seemed a little clumsy. Maybe I should go and change out of my grumpy pants.

That aside, I enjoyed this one - a few missteps left me with a couple of head-scratchers and that's always a good thing. Let's check out the rest.

Across:

1. Crockpot concoctions : STEWS. Food! I'm happy, right off the bat.

6. Bar snack made from 17-Acrosses : SKINS. Let's see - fried potato, bacon, cheese, sour cream and salt. I'm not sure your cardiologist would call this a snack, more a heart attack on a plate.

11. USO show attendees : GIs. Here are some very happy ones:

14. Purity measure : KARAT. Karat vs. Carat. Discuss.

15. Card for a seer : TAROT

16. Hibachi residue : ASH

19. Draw upon : USE

20. Two-thumbs-up review : RAVE

21. When directed : ON CUE

23. Drop in the ocean : EBB TIDE. Starting out with LOW TIDE had me looking at some odd downs later.

27. Certain female grouse : SAGE HEN. They taste great with sage stuffing, how apt.

29. Round numbers : ZEROES

30. Lake Erie port : TOLEDO. Home of the AAA Mud Hens. They don't sound as tasty as 27A's.

31. Like Wrigley Field's walls : IVIED. It's a ground-rule double if a ball gets lost in it.

32. Baby spoilers, perhaps : NANAS

33. Play with, cat-style : PAW

36. Brings home : NETS

38. Anti-art movement : DADA

39. One of football's Mannings : ELI. Your other options are Archie or Peyton, neither of which fit.

40. Like 101 courses : BASIC

41. Not as loopy : SANER

42. "Heathers" actor Christian : SLATER. Fortunately for my lack of knowledge of actors and movies, there are not many "Christians" in the business. I've never heard of the movie. Did it garner 20A reviews?

44. Terrarium pet : TURTLE

45. Siri speaks on them : iPHONES. Pretty much the only thing she says on mine is "I'm sorry, I didn't get that". I don't think she speaks British English.

47. Idiomatic trendsetters : JONESES

48. Trembled : SHOOK

49. They're usually loaded : SOTS

50. Cut back : LOP

58. Wolfed down : ATE

59. Poseidon's realm : OCEAN

60. Hunter of myth : ORION

61. Jamaican "mister" : MON

62. Grown-up efts : NEWTS

63. Wyoming's __ Range : TETON. I read somewhere that the French explorer who first encountered the Grand Tetons named them for a couple of the physical attributes belonging to his wife back home. I can't comment on that.

Down:

1. Schuss, say : SKI. Straight downhill. The first and easiest skiing maneuver you learn. Then you discover you need to stop or turn, when all your problems start. I once had a T-shirt that read "To turn is to admit defeat". I might get some of those made again.

2. Tiny bit : TAD

3. Procter & Gamble detergent : ERA. I don't recall seeing this in my local market.

4. Sob syllable : WAH

5. Legendary : STORIED. Is a legendary high-rise many-storied?

6. Housewarming buy? : STOVE

7. Designer Spade : KATE

8. Tax-deferred plan, for short : IRA. Individual Retirement Account, for long.

9. "__ funny!" : NOT

10. Trio in funny shorts : STOOGES

12. Campaign topic : ISSUE

13. Gold lamé quality : SHEEN. I had SHEER first which made SAGE HER an odd-looking bird.

18. Inflates, as an expense account : PADS

22. Writer Buntline : NED. Who? Perps all the way.

23. Newsstand app download : E-ZINE

24. Slanted edge : BEVEL

26. Little piggies : TOES.

27. __ boom : SONIC. We used to hear them occasionally in Los Angeles when the Space Shuttle went over en route to touchdown. The first one I heard was back in England when the Concorde was being test-flown - it caused much consternation.

28. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN

30. Fleshy-snouted beast : TAPIR

32. Snouts : NOSES. Fun proximity to the anteater above.

34. Singer with the albums "19" and "21" : ADELE. Named for her age when the albums were recorded. Quite a talent.

35. Stuff to hawk : WARES

37. Can't stomach : HATE

38. Chance it : DARE

40. Trusts : BANKS ON

41. Solar event caused by magnetic activity : SUNSPOT

43. London lav : LOO

44. Oz visitor : TOTO

45. Major religion of Indonesia : ISLAM

46. ID component : PHOTO

47. "Flag" artist Jasper : JOHNS. I'm ashamed to say I'd never heard of him. He's a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner too.

49. Ella's style : SCAT

52. Complete perfectly : ACE

53. Improved partner? : NEW

54. "__ you serious?" : ARE

55. Minor objection : NIT

56. Bronx tourist attraction : ZOO

57. New England cape : ANN. I learned this from crosswords. I think I should make a bucket list of "cruci-places" to visit - Cape Ann, the Aral Sea, Mt. Etna, Laos, the River Yser, the Soo locks - there's quite a world tour!

Here's the grid - see you all next time!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

I've been missing posts from Yellowrocks (Kathy), who is going to have knee surgery on January 12, 2015.  Then she can dance to her heart's content. Below is a picture of Kathy from their church's Cookies and Creches event. She also told me:

"This month I am deep in the clutches of the medical system, working on pre-surgery and preparation for Alan's stay at respite while I am in the hospital in January. The govt. regs are time consuming.. Also my weak knees are slowing me down quite a bit. 

On the bright side, I am beginning to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" (thanks, Argyle). Only two more appointments,  today and Thursday. Also, I am miraculously on track with my Christmas preparations."

Yellowrocks (Kathy)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: At the end of a tunnel - is a light and both parts of the starred entries are lights also.

17A. *Actor Sydney of "Casablanca" : GREENSTREET. Green light. Street light.

11D. *Talent show hosted by Ed McMahon : STAR SEARCH. Starlight. Search light.

25D. *Break for fuel : GAS STOP. Gaslight. Stop light.

30D. *Danger after a heavy rainfall : FLASH FLOOD. Flashlight. Flood light.

59A. Understand (and a hint to both parts of this puzzle's answers to starred clues) : SEE THE LIGHT

Argyle here. More vert. than horz. today. I do wonder if  the theme has been done before. (C.C. said not both parts as lights) No matter; it was fun.

Across:

1. __ excuse for: hardly the best example of : A POOR

6. Largest city in Belarus : MINSK

11. Reg. : STD. (regulation/standard)

14. "__ Rae" : NORMA. 1979 film about a factory worker starring Sally Field.

15. Political convention setting : ARENA

16. Golfer's peg : TEE

19. Crazy way to go : APE

20. "Dallas" matriarch Miss __ : ELLIE. Barbara Bel Geddes.

21. Brought up : REARED

23. Boiling mad : ENRAGED

27. Takes advantage of : USES

28. Shower offering : GIFT

31. Waiter's carrying aid : TRAY

32. Get on in years : AGE

33. Pioneering ISP : AOL

34. Break down, as a sentence : PARSE

35. "It's the __ I can do" : LEAST

38. Hidden loot : STASH

40. Superman's symbol : ESS. Pop quiz: How is he standing?

 

41. Bug in a program, say : ERROR

42. Tomato concentrate : PASTE

43. Kitchen appliance : STOVE

45. Activist Guevara : CHE. He's been away for awhile.

46. Hem and __ : HAW

47. Ripped : TORE

48. Word with horse or track : SHOE

49. Tender-hearted : SOFT

51. Slander : ASPERSE. Ten dollar word.

53. Throbbed : PULSED

55. Things that shouldn't be done : NO-NOs

58. DDE's WWII command : ETO. (Dwight David Eisenhower/World War II/European Theater of Operations)

64. Bustle : ADO

65. Like a fifth tire : SPARE

66. Youngest Jetson : ELROY. The Jetsons (TV Series 1962–1988)

67. Curtain holder : ROD

68. Furry swimmer : OTTER

69. Trickles (through) : SEEPS

Down:

1. Zambia neighbor: Abbr. : ANG. (Angola)

2. Tiny skin opening : PORE

3. Sports analyst Hershiser : OREL. Former starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in MLB.

4. Folded eggs dish : OMELET

5. Took to jail : RAN IN and 24D. Takes to jail : ARRESTS

6. Gym cushion : MAT

7. Like some outlet store mdse. : IRR. (irregular)

8. Maiden name indicator : NÉE

9. Dummy Mortimer : SNERD

10. "Kiss Me, __" : KATE. Broadway musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

12. Conical dwelling : TEPEE

13. Homeowners' documents : DEEDS

18. Sealy rival : SERTA

22. Hole-boring tool : AUGER

26. Dilapidated building, e.g. : EYESORE

28. Quick intake of breath : GASP

29. Greek "i" : IOTA

32. Protected, at sea : ALEE

34. "That was close!" : "PHEW!"

36. Arty NYC locale : SOHO

37. Shade provider : TREE

39. Sports page numbers : STATS

44. Jules who created Captain Nemo : VERNE. "Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers" 1870

48. Forgetful, maybe : SENILE

49. Asparagus serving : SPEAR

50. Perform better than : OUTDO

51. Handy : ADEPT

52. Boot bottoms : SOLEs

54. Exxon, previously : ESSO. And still is, elsewhere.

56. Folklore monster : OGRE

57. Go for groceries : SHOP

60. Consume : EAT

61. Three, in Bologna : TRE

62. Ship's pronoun : HER

63. TV host Pennington and Hall of Famer Cobb : TYs. Tygert P. host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

 

Argyle

Monday, December 15, 2014 Gary Schlapfer and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Those aren't mole hills - Three peaks in the NW and the range they're part of.

17A. Beer named for an American patriot : SAMUEL ADAMS. Mount Adams 12,277'

24A. Girl who found a wolf in her grandmother's clothing : RED RIDING HOOD. Mount Hood 11,240'

47A. Monaco ruler married to Grace Kelly : PRINCE RAINIER. Mount Rainier 14,410'

56A. Pacific Northwest range, three of whose peaks end 17-, 24 - and 47-Across : THE CASCADES

Argyle here with the latest Corner Combo. They have given us a nice tight theme and an easy Monday. Good job.

Across:

1. Royals and Giants, e.g. : TEAMS

6. Tehran native : IRANI

11. More, in Mexico : MAS

14. Top-drawer celeb group : A-LIST

15. "Say no __": peace slogan : TO WAR

16. Do something : ACT

19. Attempt : TRY

20. Summer in Paris : ÉTÉ

21. Pass along : RELAY

22. Kismet : FATE

27. Movie lioness : ELSA. "Born Free"

28. Temper tantrum during a flight : AIR RAGE

31. Toy soldier : GI JOE

34. Clock radio letters : AM/PM

35. PC memory unit, briefly : MEG. (megabyte)

36. Responsibility : ONUS

37. Barely beats : EDGES

39. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA

40. Bus depot: Abbr. : STA. (station)

41. Narrow cut : SLIT

42. Worked in a shaft : MINED

43. Big shots : HONCHOs

45. Birth announcement subject, about half the time : GIRL. ("It's a GIRL!")

52. Fabled Himalayan creature : YETI

53. Makes the first bet : OPENS

54. Abbr. for a person with only one given name : NMI. (no middle initial)

55. In favor of : FOR

59. Big flap : ADO

60. Continental coins : EUROs

61. Skirt named for a letter : A LINE

62. Darken at the beach : TAN

63. Iowa or Ohio, e.g. : STATE

64. Calls for : NEEDS

Down:

1. Shocking weapon : TASER. Shocking toy : joy buzzer

2. Bring great joy : ELATE

3. Zeroed in : AIMED

4. The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. : MSU. (Michigan State University)

5. Like operating rooms : STERILE

6. Roma's country : ITALIA

7. Flying movie monster : RODAN

8. Sports contest, to the visitors : AWAY GAME

9. '60s-'70s war zone, for short : NAM

10. 1040, for one : IRS FORM

11. Will Hunting portrayer : MATT DAMON

12. Farm measure : ACRE

13. Pig's pad : STY

18. Watch readouts, briefly : LEDs

23. "__ b?": "Choose one" : A OR

25. Vintage autos : REOs. Founded by Ransom E. Olds.

26. Swiveled joints : HIPS

29. Trait transmitter : GENE

30. "Golly!" : "EGAD!"

31. "Gee!" : "GOSH!"

32. Gung-ho about : IN TO

33. "Evita" role : JUAN PERON

34. FBI employee : AGT. (agent)

37. SpaceX founder __ Musk : ELON

38. Period of strobe lights and the hustle : DISCO ERA

39. Brickmaker's oven : KILN

41. Certain Muslims : SHIITEs

42. Med. diagnostic test : MRI SCAN

44. Old PC monitor : CRT. (cathode ray tube)

45. Rock 'n' roll musical : GREASE

46. Writers McEwan and Fleming : IANs

48. Spaceship Earth site : EPCOT. How did that get in here?

49. Low-budget film, often : INDIE. (independent)

50. Improve, as text : EMEND

51. Goes up : RISES

52. "Star Wars" sage : YODA

55. Chew the __: gab : FAT

57. Crude home : HUT. These three entries bring to mind Jabba the Hutt.

58. Bass in a glass : ALE

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Today's Gary is our Husker Gary, who came up with the great idea. I cannot tell you enough how hard-working, modest & creative he is.

Rich changed the middle right part of our submitted grid. We had MONEY for 42A, GONE for 29D, EBAY for 30D  & KOLN for 39D. I haven't figured out why. Maybe Rich was concerned about the K crossing of KONA and KOLN?

2) Congratulations also to Dennis on his NYT debut. He's my first blog collaborator. Working with him on that puzzle was particularly fun, whimsy and pressure-free.

Sunday December 14, 2014 Paul Hunsberger

Theme:  "Eureka Moments" - Common phrases are re-interpreted as what the inventor did when/before/after he invented the said item in the clue.

 23A. In inventing his elevator, Otis __ : ROSE TO THE OCCASION

31A. Nervously testing his new invention, the Aqua-Lung, Cousteau __ :

TOOK A DEEP BREATH

 54A. In inventing the hot air balloon, the Montgolfier brothers __ : GOT CARRIED AWAY. I like this entry the most.

 89A. Tired, but pleased to have invented the air conditioner, Carrier __ : COOLED HIS HEELS

105A. Proving his invention of the joy buzzer to be a complete success, Adams __ :

SHOCKED EVERYONE

118A. Immediately upon inventing the box camera (but not the lens cap), Eastman __ :

SNAPPED HIS FINGERS. This kind of "His" dupes are allowed in the theme selection.

16D. After inventing the forerunner to the modern toilet, Harington __ :

FLUSHED WITH PRIDE. So I did not know who Harington is, and googled "Flushed with Pride", and this guy Thomas Crapper came up. Gosh, what a name!

 39D. To celebrate inventing his revolutionary engine, Watt __ : BLEW OFF SOME STEAM

I'm so in awe of Paul's creativity in coming up with 8 long theme entries and his skill in designing and filling this grid with only 140 words and 70 black squares.

There are total 124 theme squares. The two Down 16's intersect two of the long Across entries. I could not imagine what would happen if Rich nixed one of his theme answers. This grid would be extraordinarily hard if he could not make the intersection happen. The gridding would be a nightmare.

  

Across:

1. Squabble : TIFF. Or SPAT.

5. "Dr. Strangelove" subject : A-BOMB

10. Packs again, at the checkout : RE-BAGS

16. Tasseled top : FEZ

19. Shivering state : AGUE

20. Lite to the max : NO-CAL. In the old days, I'd put down ??EST first.

21. Sellers of used texts : ALUMNI. Used text books, right? Unheard of in my college days. Our textbooks were very cheap.

22. Vientiane local : LAO

26. Troop-lifting gp. : USO

27. 1985, for Marty McFly : PRESENT. Needed crossing help. I never watched Back to the Future series.

28. Producer of steamy fare? : WOK. Sweet clue. Do you own a wok, D-Otto?

29. Some dorm rooms : MESSES

37. Open, as a deadbolt : UNBAR

 41. Oscar winner Sorvino : MIRA. She speaks Chinese.

42. Square on a game square : TILE. I like this clue also.

 

43. Winning the lottery, for most : DREAM. Our old neighbor won $100K and ended up bankrupt.

46. Soft wood : BALSA

47. Saw logs : SNORE

49. Periodontist's concern : GUMS

51. Old Norse poetry collection : EDDA

52. Black Sea port : ODESSA

57. Old Sony brand : AIWA

58. GoPro product, briefly : CAM. They're everywhere.

60. New branch : SHOOT

61. Thin plate : LAMINA

62. Enterprise counselor : TROI.  Star Trek.

63. Fonda's title beekeeper : ULEE. Ulee's Gold. Great movie. Detoxing is hard.

65. Concert finish? : INA. Concertina.

66. Banned bug spray : DDT

67. Slew : TON

68. Roadside light : FLARE

70. Vein locales : MINES

72. Hal who produced Laurel and Hardy films : ROACH. Also Our Gang.

74. Striped-shirt wearer : REF

76. Too easy : LAX

77. Emmy winner Arthur : BEA

78. Rail vehicle : TRAM

80. Doing business : OPEN

83. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. As in American Hustle.

85. Firewater : HOOCH. I did not know the meaning of "Firewater".

87. Certain screecher : OWL

88. Janis' comics husband : ARLO

 

92. Attendees of Connecticut's Battell Chapel : YALIES. OK, the chapel is inside Yale, Jayce's alma mater.

94. Orange-nosed Muppet : ELMO

95. Boomers' kids : XERS. Gen Xers.

96. "__ in Provence": Mayle best-seller : A YEAR. I loved the book. I bet many people visited France simply because of this book.

98. Bog flora : SEDGE

99. Take-off programs? : DIETS. Not the take-off I had in mind.

101. Middling grades : CEES

103. Deli offering : HERO

104. Low pair : TREYS. I can never remember this word.

109. 2009 World Series MVP Hideki : MATSUI. Fun guy. Very generous also.

111. How-to letters : DIY

112. Big memory unit : TERABIT. Gimme for TTP and Anon-T.

117. Can : AXE

124. Hot brew : TEA

125. Filled pastry : ECLAIR. Want to taste my Chocolate Bundt with hot fudge?

126. Singer John : ELTON

 127. Stink : REEK

128. Scary film street : ELM

129. Pickup game side : SHIRTS. And Skins.

130. Outfielder's "I don't got it!" : YOURS. I had ?OURS and still could not nail it. Dumb!

131. Additions : ANDs.

Down:

1. Campsite cover : TARP

2. Helper with a hunch : IGOR

3. Combine : FUSE

4. Bank statement entries : FEES

5. Not allowed : A NO-NO. Better without the "Not" in the clue.

6. Toast starter : BOTTOMS. Up.

7. Scot's "Crikey!" : OCH

8. West of "I'm No Angel" : MAE

 

9. Poison carriers : BLOW DARTS. Not a familiar term to me.

10. Hullabaloo : RACKET

11. Portuguese pronoun : ELA

12. Tour vehicle : BUS

13. Burgundy bud : AMI

14. "Harry Potter" garden pest : GNOME

15. Singer O'Connor : SINEAD. Known for her Nothing Compares 2 U.

17. Facility : EASE

18. Menageries : ZOOS

 

24. Pet shop fish : TETRAS

25. Miler Sebastian : COE

 

30. Transmit continuously, as video : STREAM

32. Checkers cry : KING ME

33. Buck back? : AROO. Buckaroo.

 

34. Where to go whole hog? : PIG ROAST. Great clue/answer. Nothing tastes as delicious as the small ration of pork we got at each Spring Festival.

 

35. Spill, with "out" : BLURT

36. Do followers : RE MI

37. German sub : U-BOAT

38. Low point : NADIR

40. Besiege : ASSAIL

44. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. A Bell for Adano.

45. Mesoamerican language family : MAYAN

48. Coneflower genus : ECHINACEA. This is one of the ingredients in the hot tea recipe Sandy sent to me for my flu two weeks ago. It boosts your immune system.

50. Infrequently, to Dickinson : SELDOMLY. A boring 8-letter fill.

53. Luxury SUV : ACURA MDX. Nice consonant clusters in the end.

55. Tiptop : A-ONE

56. Census info, e.g. : DATA

59. Drummer Van Halen : ALEX

64. Like some seals : EMBOSSED. Not the aquatic seals.

66. Tie : DRAW

69. Latin wings : ALAE

71. The "I" in I.M. Pei : IEOH. Tricky spelling even to me. You won't find such spelling in any Chinese name nowadays. So old.

73. Fossil fuel transport : COALER. Learning moment to me also. It's a ship.

74. Hustled : RACED

75. Carlo Levi's "Christ Stopped at __" : EBOLI

79. Prayer counter's beads : ROSARY

81. Poetic lament : ELEGY

82. Holders of glasses : NOSES. Nice clue also.

84. Cleaning supplies : CLOTHS

85. Payroll addition : HIREE

86. Fat Albert catchphrase : HEY HEY HEY. Big learning moment to me.

90. "Shucks" : HECK

91. Unwelcome look : LEER

93. Opposite of ahead : ASTERN

97. Cheer on : ROOT FOR

100. They're loaded : SOUSES. Life is hard for an alcoholic. Been there.

102. Matzo meals : SEDERS

106. Piece of cake : CINCH

107. YouTube find, for short : VID

108. Helmut's denials : NEINS

109. Partner : MATE

110. Eponymous skater Paulsen : AXEL

113. Indian tourist city : AGRA

114. "Where've you __?" : BEEN

115. Inflamed : IRED. A bit strained.

116. Tut relatives : TSKS

119. Woodcutter Baba : ALI

120. Ryder Cup number : PAR

121. Service station of a sort : PIT. OK, like pit stops.

122. U.N. workers' group : ILO (International Labor Organization)

123. Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe : STU

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 13th, 2014, Pawel Fludzinski and Michael S. Maurer

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 33

  A new duo for our Saturday solving strife, and a mouthful to pronounce, to boot~!  A big chunky grid with only four - count 'em - FOUR three-letter words.  Nice.  Argyle handled Pawel's last LAT puzzle back on July 29th, and I did not see Michael's name in the blog archives, so I'm guessing this is his debut.  Technically, triple 9-letter corners, but not on the grid edge, but I'm not being picky.  A little over the half-way mark in my personal time - but one bad cell, and I should have known better.  To change it up, here's the big three-letter words for the day;

21a. Beehive State native : UTE - the Beehive state being Utah, and therefore....

46a. Matinée idol Johnson : VAN - I never heard of him, and I see he was "The Minstrel" in the Batman TV series of the 60's - about the only place I would have seen him, and I don't recall the character at all

16. Deodorant product word : DRI - like this

48. CCCI quintupled : MDV - my math skills are suffering from the six-day worknights at UPS - first I multiplied by 3, and that gave me CMIII, and that didn't fit - oops, I meant 4X - nope, that's MCCIV - dah~! FIVE times~!

ACROSS:

1. "The __ the facts, the stronger the opinion": Arnold H. Glasow : FEWER

6. Bois __: tree once used to make bows : D'ARC - The irony is that this reappears at 12d. - more here

10. Simple race of fiction : ELOI - Saturday cluing for a crossword staple

14. Words from one who doesn't see : I'M OUT - "see" as in poker; "I'll 'see' your twenty, and raise you ten"

15. Wear tails to tea, say : OVERDRESS

17. __ diem : CARPE

18. Cutting : SATIRICAL

19. Egyptian life symbols : ANKHs

20. It was spawned by the Manhattan Project : ATOMIC AGE

22. It may precede a stunt : DARE - Tis the season for a "triple DOG dare"

23. Lover of Aphrodite : ARES

24. Polo and others : TEAM SPORTS - um, well, yeah, that's one example

27. Some rats : ALBINOS

28. Surprise : STARTLE

34. Super Bowl party array : SALSAS

35. Jack feature, perhaps : ONE-EYE - anyone else caught up in thinking about car jacks?

36. Gives special treatment to : EXEMPTS

38. Use to one's advantage : TRADE ON

39. Ironically, Samantha Bond portrayed her in several films : MONEYPENNY - I'm OK with the new girl playing Moneypenny, but I am very happy that Ralph Fiennes replaced Judy Dench as the new "M".   New movie, Spectre~!   Gratuitous Bond image

41. Suffers : AILS

45. "Up and __!" : AT 'EM

47. Titanic, e.g. : STEAM SHIP

49. Sister of Goneril : REGAN

51. On-site trial : FIELD TEST

52. Acid used in soap : OLEIC

53. About to cover old ground? : IN REVERSE - har-har

54. Trunk : TORSO

55. Soviet news acronym : TASS - ITAR or TASS~?  I figured at the bottom of the grid, the two "S"s worked better

56. Vibrating instrument piece : REED

57. Recesses : APSES - NAVES or APSES~? Again, at the bottom of the grid, the "P" worked better than the "V"

DOWN:

1. Pay stub letters : FICA

2. Pianist who often collaborates with Yo-Yo Ma : EMANUEL AX - cool name - his Wiki

3. Craftsman's item : WORK TABLE - I went with work BENCH, which makes sense to me - but then again, I'm a carpenter, so....

4. Softener of a kind : EUPHEMISM - like 'negative patient outcome' for 'dead.'

5. GPS data : RTEs

6. Back to back, in Bordeaux : DOS-à-DOS

7. Personification : AVATAR - like our little pics on the blog

8. Sass : RETORTS - the singular/plural threw me

9. Many a piece of pulp fiction : CRIME STORY

10. Author Jong : ERICA

11. '70s-'80s Rabbit competitor : Le CAR

12. __ orange : OSAGE - I had ELOI, then changed it when I thought this was "AGENT"

13. Man and others : ISLES - did not fool me, but then again, I had the "I" and last "S" in place

24. Zap : TASE - WAG

25. Pop partner : SNAP - and don't forget the third guy, Crackle

26. Letter man : POSTMASTER

29. Words after grab or take : A NAP - I had "IT UP"

30. Convert to condos, say : RE-DEVELOP

31. Romeo and Juliet, for two : TEENAGERS

32. Cooked with onions : LYONNAISE - Frawnche, "from Lyon", because Saaaaute-e-e-e wasn't working

33. Selection process word : EENY - meeny, miney, moe

37. "Take that!" : "SO THERE~!"

38. Like a diner eying a dessert tray : TEMPTED

40. German/Polish border river : NEISSE

41. Equally buff : AS FIT

42. Rock memoir : I, TINA - learned from doing crosswords

43. Hardly good looks : LEERS

44. __ resistance : SALES - meh

49. "The Godfather" composer : ROTA

50. Some PX patrons : NCOs

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are two fun pictures from Lemonade. He was about 35 or 36 in the first picture. Thick mop of hair! Look who's on the most right?

Me, my ex-wife, my mother, my brother, his girl friend and Joe DiMaggio

 Lemonade and his girlfriend

They're getting married in 2 weeks! Please click here for a few more fun pictures of Charlotte.

Friday, December 12, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Let's Corner the market on old poets.

The good news, my minor in college was English and I took many poetry classes. The bad news, I do not recall titles of anything, books,  poems, songs...This took longer than any Friday in months, and I was so excited to have a C.C. to blog after last week's marti masterpiece. Of course what could be more fitting than the creator of Crossword Corner creating a puzzle about a Corner.  Each of the four in this puzzle has two very famous poets intersecting by the first or last letter of their last names, with a central reveal, surrounded by four cheater squares to make it a grid-spanner of sorts. The works selected appear to be picked because they are not the most famous work of the author, thereby making this Friday a real work out.

There may be some confusion of so much long fill that exceeds or equals the length of  theme answers. EVICTED, MEDICAL, NEGLECT , IMPURITY, PAGANINI, RED ADAIR, SIPOWICZ, SMASH HIT, THE ALAMO, LENGTHENS and NESPRESSO.  These mix old and new knowledge continues to amaze me, considering where C.C. grew up. Sit back and enjoy as the puzzle is stuffed with information.

1A. He wrote "The Eve of St. Agnes" : KEATS. Not his most famous POEM. Poor man died at 25 of Tuberculosis..
1D. He wrote "Summer of Love" : KILMER. Another POEM I do not know from Joyce who wrote TREES. Kilmer was an American killed in Europe by a sniper's bullet in World War I at age 31.

9A. He wrote "Halloween" : BURNS. Here we go again, another POEM I no nothing about. This Scotsman lasted until he was 37, having fathered 14 children along the way.
 13D. He wrote "The Cloud" : SHELLEY. Percy Bysshe Shelley was a contemporary of Keats, he wrote this POEM and also died young, at 29 in a sudden storm. His death is the subject of speculation. His second wife was Mary Godwin, who wrote Frankenstein.

40D. He wrote "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" : SERVICE. Robert Service, the Canadian Poet is a bit of an outlier, as this POEM is one of his most famous. He lived to be 82.
67A. He wrote "Ash Wednesday" : ELIOT. I do not know this POEM either, though I admire some of his work. He lived until 76.

49D. He wrote the "Odes" : HORACE. Like Service, this is a  famous collection of POEMS by Horace who was very popular in Rome with the early Caesars. He lived until 72.
69A. He wrote the "Convivio" : DANTE. This is an unfinished work which includes POEMS in the books. The estimate he lived about 55 years.

and the reveal (hint)
38A. Westminster Abbey attraction, and one of four in this puzzle : POET'S CORNER.

Across:

6. Avid fan : NUT. The online etymology dictionary tells us, "be nutts upon "be very fond of" (1785), which is possibly from nuts (plural noun) "any source of pleasure" (1610s), from nut (q.v.)."

14. "That's it for me!" : I QUIT. A simple but elegant fill with a QU in the middle.

15. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH. Really? Kosh B'Gosh, we live in Osh? Occupational Safety and Health not good enough for C.C.? I do not know the country or the CITY.

16. "My FBI" author Louis : FREEH. I cannot remember the spelling of his name. LINK.

17. Drew : LURED. I could not picture this answer. I wonder if Drew Carey would be popular as Lured Carey.

18. Cohort of Curly : MOE. A CSO to our own Chairman, also 20A. Red Guard leader : MAO.

19. Perch, at times : LEDGE.

21. 1970s radical gp. : SLA. So much hard work, I started with SDS.

23. Literary assortment : ANA. We had this a month ago (11/14/14) and I even can point to a previous C.C. PUZZLE which used this fill.

25. The whole shebang : ALL.

26. Peut-__: maybe, in French : ETRE. Perhaps it means maybe.

28. Lace place : EYELET.

30. "Small Wonder" state: Abbr. : DELaware. This was one of those educated guesses that make solving go faster.

31. Five-pound Staples package, typically : REAM of paper. You can do your office workout now.

32. Stellar spectacles : NOVAS. Naturally I started with NOVAE.

33. Show anxiety, in a way : PACE.

34. Music publisher sold to Universal in 2007 : BMG. This says it was sold to SONY in 2008? LINK. Bertelsmann is sill very active.

36. Foreign matter : IMPURITY. Nicely phrased.

40. Blockbuster : SMASH HIT. Don't you love fill that has ___HH__.

42. Backup key : ESC. I think of UNDO.

43. Some hosp. scans : EEGS. ElectroEncephalagrams.

44. Pentathlon equipment : EPEES. One of the five events of the competition.

46. Sundance Film Festival state : UTAH. Robert Redford's home.

50. Nutritional stat. : RDA. Recommended daily allowance.

51. Battery terminals : ANODES. Cathodes anyone?

52. Maker of the Power Max HD snow blower : TORO. Two weeks in a row, one from marti one from C.C., hmmm.

53. Chablis, e.g. : VIN. Please no whining about foreign words, especially after the Coc au vin discussion.

54. Sydney's state: Abbr. : NSW. New South Wales.

55. Rocky hellos : YOS. Cute deception.

57. Old Egypt-Syr. alliance : UAR. United Arab Republic.

58. Finishing touch of a sort : ICING. On the cake...

60. Swear words : I DO. And I will very soon. Hmm, yesterday also....

62. West African capital : ACCRA. Ghana, along with Nigeria, a hotbed of internet scams.

64. Support aids : CANES.

65. Tough mutt : CUR. Wki says  it is thought to be short for the Middle English curdogge, which derives from the word curren, meaning to growl.

66. Designer Mizrahi : ISAAC.

68. Intro to zoology? : ZEE. I am sure those who live by the ZED hate this clue.


Down:

2. Regard as the same : EQUATE.

3. Night light sight : AURORA. If you have never seen the Borealis...

4. No-win situation : TIE. Kissing your sister.

5. Mfg. guidelines : STDS. Standards.

6. Deli request : NO MAYO. Most delis I saw growing up never even had mayonnaise on hand.

7. Private entertainers, briefly? : USO. United Service Organizations Inc. LINK.

8. Texas Revolution battle site : THE ALAMO.

9. A neighbor : B-FLAT. Do musical clues move you?

10. Script add-on : URE. Scripture.

11. Legendary firefighter : RED ADAIR. Oil well fires. Interesting MAN.

12. Pay no attention to : NEGLECT.

22. Stretches out : LENGTHENS.

24. Coffee-making portmanteau : NESPRESSO. This mash up word comes from Nestlé and Espresso.

27. Raise in relief : EMBOSS. I was relieved when I filled this in.

29. Bounced : EVICTED. Literally?

33. Like jigsaw puzzles : PRECUT. Of course this is true, but not what I thought of.

35. "So what" : MEH. A shout out to all of us.

37. Young __ : UNS.

38. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso : PAGANINI. A taste of his work.

39. Franz' "NYPD Blue" role : SIPOWICZ. The character is so famous, it has its on WIKI PAGE. I recall the Beverly Hills Buntz days, as well.

41. Kind of research : MEDICAL.

45. Pooh pal : EEYORE. My favorite from Milne.

47. Froot Loops mascot : TOUCAN. Do all remember that his name is SAM.

48. Ancient docking site : ARARAT.

51. Apprehension : ANGST. Such a great consonant progression.

56. Declared : SAID. People need to do more saying and less declaring.

59. Recent: Pref. : NEO.

61. __ process : DUE.

63. Gray side: Abbr. : CSA. Confederate States of America.

Well I feel really lucky to get to blog Marti and C.C. in consecutive weeks. I look forward to all the poetry from the Corner in response.

Lemonade out.