Sunday, December 28, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "The Sixth Sense"-  I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 8.... 

Today I get to ESPouse some comments on this ESPecially fun puzzle by our Extra Special Puzzlemistress C.C.!

ESP Testing in Ghostbusters. Remember which subject did well?

Seeing SPIRIT and SPEED early sent me down a blind theme alley but then I saw the very clever ESP grouping split between two words as either ...E SP... or ...ES P... Seven Across and two Down. Coupled with her always fun cluing made for an enjoyable time on this last Sunday of 2014.

Theme Answers:

23A. Nonconformist : FREE SPIRIT 

33A. Roadwork warning : REDUCE SPEED

45A. Candy that comes in three colors : REESES PIECES - E.T's favorite!

70A. X Games pursuits : EXTREME SPORTS - Knock yourself out! Probably will.

89A. Position held three times by Henry Clay : HOUSE SPEAKER - LBJ knocked heads together and got more things done than as VP.

103A. Athlete's setback : ANKLE SPRAIN 

117A. Pledge drive talk, essentially : SALES PITCH - Like during this fabulous show

15D. Colorado Gold Rush area : PIKES PEAK - The temp dropped 50˚F as we rode the Cog R.R. to the top

80D. Polite acceptance : YES PLEASE

...and the Reveal:

97D. One with the ability hidden in nine puzzle answers : PSYCHIC - The reveal! How come they aren't  getting rich by betting on football or playing the lottery?

Across

1. Holed, as a putt : SANK - "It's in the hole!" Caddyshack 

5. Gives and takes : SWAPS 

10. Unlit : SOBER - Clever. 

15. Showy display ; POMP - Hey, whatever floats your boat...

19. Neat as : A PIN - A wifely trait that my daughter's didn't get 

20. ____ firma : TERRA - Some of California's TERRA sometimes is not so firma 

21. Butt (in) : CHIME 

22. Google Nexus competitor : iPAD 

25. Predecessor of Begin : RABIN 

26. Superman's cover : KENT - Really? The glasses and the curl fooled you?

27. Choice cut : FILET

28. Went for a seat : RAN - My best friend's son ran for and now has a seat in the U.S. Senate

29. British aristocrat : EARL - My favorite contribution by an Earl

30. Get hot on Twitter : TREND

31. Longtime Guardian cartoonist Asquith : ROS 

37. Equally hot : AS MAD

39. Rosemary relative : OREGANO

41. Tolkien forest giant : ENT - We might as well learn it. It's not going away

42. "Moneyball" Oscar nominee : BRAD PITT

44. Boneheads : NINNIES 

48. "Gimme __!": start of a Rutgers cheer : AN R 

49. "10538 Overture" band : ELO

51. Good buddy : PAL 

52. HDTV brand : RCA - Now made by S. Korean Company, On Corp,  in China

53. Pulls a fast one on : SNOWS - Can anyone say Bernie Madoff?

56. Don McLean song that begins "Starry, starry night" : VINCENT

58. Large spitz : AKITA - Built for when it 53A's

62. Parts of teacups : EARS - A tea connoisseur like C.C. would know

63. Central Utah city : OREM

65. Pomegranate color : RED - I only learned last week how to eat a Pomegranate

66. Dragon roll ingredient : EEL

68. Room to chill : DEN - Mine's my sunroom

69. Still undecided, briefly : TBA - Like times for televised college football games

73. Permitted : LET - In tennis LET serves are not permitted

74. Huge load : TON 

75. Uni, in sushi bars : ROE

76. You, to Goethe : SIE

77. Tax-sheltered accts. : IRAS - This is the time of year we wished they were Roth IRA's

78. They may be placed : BETS - A scene where the guy on the left BETS on 22 Black on Bogie's advice.

79. Delivery expert, briefly : OB/GYN - Leonard, "Raj you should be an OB/GYN like your dad". Raj, "My God Leonard, I can't even look a woman in the eye!"

81. Canal transport : GONDOLA

83. Forward : PUSHY

84. "Ich bin __ Berliner" : EIN - JFK gave Berlin hope 36 years before the wall came down

86. Has too much, briefly : ODS

87. Styling stuff : GEL - Yeah, it really works on you!

88. Pop holder : CAN - It was glass in my ute and I got 2 cents for returning them

94. Troop support mission : AIR DROP - These kept Berlin alive in '48 and '49. Update: The Berlin mission was an AIR LIFT. The planes landed in Berlin. Here is the story of Operation Little Vittles where candy was air dropped to the children. Argyle.

98. Looks for flaws in : INSPECTS - Did anyone ever get one of those bikini inspector jobs?

99. "The Royal Tenenbaums" director Anderson : WES

101. Eavesdrops, with "in" : LISTENS

102. Stretch : SPELL - Whether  is a bad SPELL of weather

107. Ottoman governor : BEY - Why do I think they weren't elected?

108. "You __ right!" : ARE SO

110. Olympian war god : ARES

111. Auction group : LOT

112. Stern with a bow : ISAAC - How cool is this clue?

114. South Pacific capital : APIA - Looks pretty good from the cold prairie in December

115. Tea grade : PEKOE

119. Brings together : WEDS

120. Revise, as text : EMEND - Certainly part of this process

121. Map fleck : ISLET

122. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI

123. Hebrides tongue : ERSE

124. Fellas : DUDES

125. Insincere : PHONY

126. Teeny amt. of time : NSEC - Time it takes for the idiot behind me to honk his horn when the light turns green. .000000001 sec

Down:

1. Paella ingredient : SAFFRON - Who but Donovan has used this word in a song?

2. Existing independent of experience, in logic : A PRIORI - True by definition - All triangles have three sides? Yes. All tall people like basketball? Nope!

3. Eponymous market analyst : NIELSEN - We hated being a NIELSEN family

4. Joint where kids are welcome? : KNEE - even on artificial ones

5. Son of a Gun! vinyl protectant maker : STP

6. Oddballs : WEIRDOS - Big Bang is making Oddballs more mainstream

7. Pianist Claudio : ARRAU - No chance for me

8. Royal issue : PRINCE - There's probably one in the POMP picture above

9. Held court : SAT 

10. Junkyard metal : SCRAP - Watch out for that dog!

11. Midwest hub : O'HARE - a "gots to have" even when just connecting through O'HARE

12. Fundamentalist region : BIBLE BELT - I think I live in the buckle of that belt

13. Longtime Brit. music label : EMI

14. Second-home income, perhaps : RENT 

16. Feature of club nights for wannabes : OPEN MIC

17. Official order : MANDATE

18. Safeco Field summer hrs. : PDT - Beautiful home of the Seattle Mariners close to the Puget Sound

24. Stretches to the limit : STRAINS - cloth can just take so much

29. Where el sol rises : ESTE

31. Extremists : RADICALS - One man's radical is another's champion

34. Ernest Moniz's dept. : ENER - The present Secretary of Energy

35. 2001 scandal subject : ENRON - Substitute Kenneth Lay for Bernie Madoff from above

36. Who and No: Abbr. : DRS - or J or Dre

38. Rehab hurdle : DTS - My dad went through these

40. Chews (on) : GNAWS 

43. National Humor Mo. : APR

46. Blunted blades : EPEES - Could someone look up how often we've had this word in 2014?

47. Construction site sight : SANDPILE 

49. Continually : EVER -"ForEVER and EVER, Hallelujah, Hallelujah" are words in of one of the most beautiful vocal pieces ever penned

50. Citrus drink : LIME SODA - Usually Lemon/Lime

53. Squabble : SET-TO

54. Big wheel : NABOB - Would have remained in obscurity without Spiro Agnew needing alliteration with Nattering and Negativity

55. Borneo rainforest denizen : ORANG - My daughter's friend was told to stay behind the orange line when walking by the ORANG cages while working at the Omaha Zoo. They were smart, strong and had long arms.

57. Words to live by : CREED 

59. Wastes time : IDLES

60. Brush targets : TEETH - Joann tell the grandkids "It's time to tickle the ivories"

61. Fidgeting : ANTSY - Ever teach a Kindergarten class?

63. Good Grips kitchenware brand : OXO

64. Google Maps offering: Abbr. : RTE

66. Depression __ : ERA - That ERA left a lasting impression on most of our parents and grandparents

67. "The X-Files" extras : ETS -Spielberg had the one that liked REESE'S PIECES "phone home" in his movie

70. Two-time British Open champ : ERNIE ELS - It's said his swing is identical to Michelle Wie's. Not much else ;-)

71. Belarus capital : MINSK

72. __ exam : ORAL - Never had to take one

78. Cake pan trademark : BUNDT

81. Gets buff? : GOES NAKED

82. Role-playing game beasts : OGRES

83. Carrot cousin : PARSNIP - I've never crossed the path of this veggie

85. Pres. advisory team : NSC - JFK and the NSC said no to missiles in Cuba and Khrushchev blinked

88. DXV ÷ V : CIII - If the forum has DXV togas and V senators, how many does each get?

89. "To each __ own" : HIS - this song was #1 for three performers in my birth year

90. Hypothetically : ON PAPER - Where making this made sense

91. Handles for surfers : USER IDS

92. National org. with the slogan "everychild. onevoice" : PTA

93. "Babe" extras : EWES - Did they say their lines sheepishly?

94. Twelve Steps support group : ALA TEEN - Could'a used that growing up

95. Money-back lures : REBATES - Just take 'em off the price and save some paper

96. Plot size, perhaps : ONE ACRE

100. Make waves, in a way : SPLASH

104. Danish coin : KRONE

105. Victoria Quarter city : LEEDS - Third largest city in the UK. Been there, Steve?

106. Rich boy in "Nancy" comics : ROLLO - Richie Rich was in a different venue

109. Rebuttal piece, perhaps : OP-ED

113. Fire __ : SIGN - Ares, Leo and Sagittarius 

114. Leave wide-eyed : AWE

116. Feathered six-footer : EMU - Not that's a REAL Big Bird!

117. Nurse : SIP

118. Muddy home : STY

My ESP tells me I'd better get busy with my chores! Thanks for a lovely Sunday exercise, C.C., and all you do for us "Denizens Of The Puzzle"! 

Husker Gary

Saturday, Dec 27th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  I figured we would be finishing up a year of Saturdays with a Silkie, and I expected it to be difficult at that - well, I was spot-on.  There was little to be had in the first pass of across and downs, but I managed to get a foothold in the SE, then crept my way up and left from there.  However, the top right was just not going to budge, and I am kicking myself for missing 7a. - oh well.  Yes, Red-Letter help today, and some of my fool-proof solving methods proved me a fool.  One 13-letter climber is all we have in lengthy fill:

15d. Group label further popularized by a 1991 self-named documentary : MTV GENERATION - I'm of the MTV Generation, but I did not actually have MTV growing up - we did not have cable, so I used to soak it up when I was at my friends' houses; one of the first videos I ever saw;

Men At Work

O - N - 2 - W - 0 - A - 1 - R - 5 - D~!

ACROSS:

1. 2014 high-tech release using the slogan "Bigger than bigger" : iPHONE - I am not an Apple person, though I did hear they're coming out with a fan to compete with the Dyson bladeless - it's called the iBLOW

7. 1987 sci-fi film : ROBO-COP - Dah~! I am SO disappointed with myself for not nailing this one - and I have not seen the remake yet, to boot

14. Pointer, perhaps : BLAMER - I was in a 'dog' frame of mind

15. Soften : MODULATE

16. Feeding trough : MANGER - yeah, this time of year, you tend to forget what its original purpose was for

17. Opinion : TWO CENTS - ugh - took too long to dawn on me, but clever - and a**hole was not long enough - because everybody has one

18. Qantas' main hub, in itineraries : SYDney - I knew what we were looking for, but I was not 100% sure it was that straight-up; for example, the code for MacArthur airport around the corner from me is ISP - because it's located in the town of Islip

19. Winner of the 1997 and 1998 Super Bowls : DENVER - I like that there are a limited number of answers for this type of clue, but I was a bit irked because it was not the team, like RAIDER or NINERS, but the city/location

21. Little shaver : TOT - dah~!! - I went with TAD first

22. DJ Alan Freed's nickname : MOONDOG - perps and WAGs

24. Seething : ABOIL

26. 14-Across' concern : FAULT

27. 1959 Bobby Rydell hit : WE GOT LOVE

30. Luncheon follower? : ETTE - LuncheonETTE

31. Concede : OWN UP TO

32. Pickle : MESS - the dilemma, not the dill

33. Meeting focus : THEME - Agenda wouldn't fit

34. Big name in lingerie : OLGA - new to me, I gotta go check out the website

38. Knight wear : TABARDS - I knew this because I want to add another "B" to the spelling; here I am wearing mine for a wedding

40. Hunny lover : POOH - the spelling here was a give-away; Winnie the honey-eating bear

41. Body exhibiting sudden increases in brightness : FLARE STAR - dah!! - I tried SUPERNOVA, which is "technically" correct. I was left with the "key" clue ( see below ) and a WAG at Blare, Glare, and Flare; guess which one I did not pick first....

44. Monterrey jack? : PESOS - Mexican "money"

45. Navigation acronym : SONAR - Once the ---AR was there, I filled in the rest - and then my clever 'solving short-cut' betrayed me; see below

46. Rose in a big way : TOWERED

48. O, at times : HUG - X O X O in cards; one of these days....

49. 1944 Pacific island battle site : SAIPAN - dah~!!! Anyone else put in TAIPAN, or am I the only one who is confused = q.v.

51. __-eared : LOP - DAH~! Who else went with "DOG"~?

53. Against : AVERSE TO

56. Cuddles : SPOONS - one of these days....

58. Trusts : RELIES ON

59. Features of many impromptu speeches : PAUSES

60. "Something wrong?" : "PROBLEM~?"

61. Least honest : SLIEST

DOWN:

1. Some old notebooks : IBMs

2. Kid's bud : PLAYMATE - My buddy Adam, who owns the restaurant,  is a daddy again - Pearl Snow, 7lbs-7ozs, born Dec 7th, 2014 - and they had picked Pearl as a name before the anniversary

3. Fliers, maybe : HAND-OUTS

4. Shocked letters : OMG - Text-speak for "Oh My God"

5. "You __ bother" : NEEDN'T - I read this as bRother my first pass

6. Fumbled, say : ERRED

7. "Lady Jane Grey" dramatist : ROWE - I would have preferred "Mike from Dirty Jobs" for a clue

8. Sign of something gone bad : ODOR

9. Raymond James Stadium NFLer : BUC - Rrrr....I went with RAM, and should have paid attention to the abbr. in the clue

10. Encouraging word : OLÉ

11. Playground retort : CAN TOO - I tried YOU too & ARE too

12. Holy Roman emperor, 1209-'15 : OTTO IV

13. Grinder : PESTLE - argh~! I keep missing this one, as well

20. Exasperated words : "NOW WHAT~!?!?"

23. Fat substitute : OLESTRA - I remember seeing this on "healthy" potato chips

24. Brief creator: Abbr. : ATTorney - because Fruit of the Loom did not fit

25. Goof : BLOOPER

26. Like La Niña, e.g.: Abbr. : FEMinine

28. Gingerbread house adornment : GUM DROP - some day I hope to build a gingerbread house in the style of a castle with kids of my own

29. Reveals, poetically : OPES

31. Some parlors, briefly : OTBs - Off-Track Betting

35. Hopeless : LOSE - LOSE

36. Joker's array : GOOD ONES - got stuck thinking of the jokers found in a deck of cards

37. Relaxed responses : AHs

39. __ Lingus : AER

41. Key of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24 : F SHARP - OK, so I proudly filled in -M--OR, then waited....and got duped - not A MINOR, not D MAJOR, etc. - I think Mr. Silk checks in and tries to out-wit us

42. Vent part : LOUVER - ARGH~~!!  Took way too long to come to me

43. "Measure for Measure" deputy : ANGELO - Learning moment for me - did not know this was Shakespeare - the Wiki

44. Prison buddy? : PEN-PAL

47. Small flying predators : WASPS

49. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE

50. Quark locale : ATOM

52. "Hey!" relative : psst~!

54. Needle : RIB

55. Pierre's pinch? : SEL - Frawnche "salt"

57. Pierre's permission : OUI - more Frawnche, this time "yes"

Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

1) To reader Bob Niles: You made a comment on Dec 24 saying your newspaper has no circles for the "Silent Night" puzzle. Can you let me know the name of your newspaper? You can email me crosswordc@gmail.com. Also, to our blog regulars, if anyone knows how to get in touch with Bob Niles via his Google Plus profile, please let me know. I can't find his email address.

2) Happy Birthday to Dudley our Handsome Pilot! Dudley has been with the blog for almost four years and is an avid fan of Downton Abbey & Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!  Dudley met the great Karl Kasell in a private meeting, if I remember correctly. Click here for more photos of him. They were taken during Montana's visit to Northeast in September, 2013.

Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana

Friday December 26, 2014 David Poole

Theme: Signed On - The animal in each theme entry is replaced by its corresponding Zodiac sign.

17A. Certain pickup, to an astrologer? : ARIES TRUCK. Ram truck.

27A. Gorton's product, to an astrologer? : PISCES STICKS. Fish sticks. We got some freshly caught crappie yesterday.

44A. Stubborn, to an astrologer? : TAURUS-HEADED. Bullheaded.

58A. Courageous, to an astrologer? : LEO-HEARTED. Lion-hearted.

Bonus entry: HOROSCOPE (11D. Daily reading for many). Its grid counterpart SET UP SHOP (33D. Hang out one's shingle, say) is not related to the theme, so HOROSCOPE must come up at the filling process.

C.C. here, giving Lemonade a well-deserved honeymoon break. I like the theme. Don't remember seeing this approach before. I just told D-Otto the other day how I value originality in themes.

Across:

 1. 45-Down component : BEAD. And 45D. You can count on it : ROSARY. Nice clue for ROSARY.

5. Sunday service component : CHOIR

10. RWR successor : GHWB. Bush Sr. Neither are known for their initials. Price to pay for HOROSCOPE & GLUTEI,

14. Humdinger : LULU

15. Hamlin of NASCAR : DENNY. Not familiar with the guy.

16. "Firecracker" singer Lisa : LOEB

19. Eurasian border river : URAL

20. Peer : NOBLE

21. Some are smooth : OPERATORS. Love Sade's "Smooth Operator".

23. CBS franchise since 2000 : CSI

24. Canadian loc. of the fictional Green Gables : PEI (Prince Edward Island)

26. Chicago suburb : NILES. Known for what, TTP/Abejo? We also have CDT (5D. Summer hours in Chi.)

31. Where to find MSFT : NASDAQ. OK, Microsoft.

34. Delinquency result, perhaps : REPO

35. Galeón cargo : ORO. Spanish ship.

36. Not kosher : TREF. Dictionary says it's literally "torn" in Hebrew.

37. Dawn goddess : EOS

38. Tea serving? : SPOT

39. Word with paint or blanket : WET

40. Risks : BETS

42. People with a maize god : AZTECS. First encounter with this maize god. We don't have rice god in China.

47. Entrance to la maison : PORTE. French for "door".

48. San Francisco's __ Hill : NOB

49. Guitar wood : ASH

52. Richard Crenna played him in the TV miniseries "On Wings of Eagles" : ROSS PEROT. Unaware of this series. True story?

55. Unstable : ROCKY

57. Dept. of Labor arm : OSHA

60. Othello, for one : MOOR

61. Vegged out : LAZED

62. Transvaal settler : BOER

63. Make out : ESPY. Clue works for SPOT as well.

64. O's, for one : ALERS. Baltimore Orioles. American Leaguers.

65. Mex. title : SRTA

Down:

1. Vin choice : BLANC

2. Greek capital : EUROS. Easy elimination of ATHENS due to letter count.

3. Cover for a crime : ALIBI

4. Two-person contest : DUEL

 

6. Intrepid : HEROIC

7. "Movin' __": "The Jeffersons" theme : ON UP

8. Tees off : INCENSES

9. Cracker brand since 1904 : RY KRISP. Based here in MN.

10. Squat targets : GLUTEI

12. Grow tiresome : WEAR

13. Energy-related units: Abbr. : BBLS (Barrels)

18. Antique tone : SEPIA

22. __ flute : ALTO

25. Legal title: Abbr. : ESQ

27. Email attachment : PDF

28. Jagged, as a leaf's edge : EROSE

29. "Grinding It Out" autobiographer : KROC. I sure need "Ray" or "McDonald" in the clue.

30. Barflies : SOTS

31. Food package amt. : NT WT

32. Flooring calculation : AREA

37. Heavenly : ETHEREAL. Nailed this entry with one letter in place.

38. Benchmark: Abbr. : STD

40. Do a new parent's job : BURP

41. Pip's romantic interest in "Great Expectations" : ESTELLA. Never read "Great Expectations". You?

42. Stir : ADO

43. Donkey relative : ZEBRA

 

46. Pollen bearer : ANTHER

49. Woods or Irons : ACTOR. James Woods. Jeremy Irons. Not CLUB.

50. Shooting sport : SKEET

51. Monster slain by Hercules : HYDRA

52. Spanish Steps site : ROME

53. Spanish bears : OSOS

54. Exude : OOZE

56. Mars and Saturn : ORBS

59. Money mgrs.? : EDs. Money magazine.

 C.C. 

Note to Barry G:

Irish Miss asked if you could share your seafood linguine recipe.

Thursday, December 25, 2014 John Lieb

Theme: "Santa's Helpers"

Merry Christmas, everyone! This was a very fun puzzle, hiding Santa's little helpers in the grid.

18. Eponymous Detroit exec : EDSEL FORD.

19. Speaks for __ : ITSELF.

31. Keebler cookie brand : E.L. FUDGE.

32. "Go right ahead" : FEEL FREE. Help yourself to another E.L. FUDGE cookie, Santa!

54. Actress Jenna et al. : ELFMANS. I remember her from "Dharma & Greg."

55. Third quarters? : TWELFTHS. 1 quarter is a quarter, 2 quarters are eighths, and 3 quarters are twelfths?

36. Seasonal children's book about a watchful worker, who is graphically represented eight times in this puzzle : THE ELF ON THE SHELF. The book comes with a posable elf.

Unusual grid, with 16 columns instead of the typical 15.  And unusual theme, but really cute with all those ELFs posing on their 3-black-square-shelves! (See diagram at the bottom.) I found this one to be Friday-tough in certain sections. I'm curious to see if you had the same problems I did, so let's go over them one by one: 

Across

1. Resting places : CAMP SITES. Not sure how the two are necessarily related, but perps forced me.

10. Port south of Hamilton, Ont. : ERIE, PA. Shout out to Abejo!

16. Approximately : ON OR ABOUT.

17. One in a shower : METEOR. Great clue. I was picturing something like this.

20. "Gnarly!" : RAD.

21. Lean-__ : TOs. In your resting place?

22. Bit of baby talk : GOO.

23. Vine genus : CLEMATIS. A couple perps gave me this one - I grow them every summer on a trellis in my garden.

27. Gains : PROFITS.

33. Star Wars letters : SDI. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.

34. Author Fleming : IAN.

35. Swiss river : AAR.

43. Feminine principle : YIN. Male is Yang.

44. Guitar, slangily : AXE. This took three perps. But the ELF nailed it, I bet.

45. __ green : PEA.

46. Dives : PLUMMETS.

50. Gives a hand : DEALS TO.

56. '80s Peppard co-star : MR. T. On "The A-Team."

57. Pres. after JAG : CAA. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.

58. Canada's smallest prov. : P.E.I. Prince Edward Island.

59. 1962 Best Picture title locale : ARABIA. Lawrence of.

62. Refuel, as red blood cells : OXYGENATE. I filled it in immediately.

66. House speaker before Boehner : PELOSI. She, on the other hand, took a couple perps.

67. House flipper, e.g. : RENOVATOR. The ELF did a Mickey Mouse job on his kitchen reno.

68. 2002 eBay acquisition : PAYPAL.

69. False claims : PRETENSES.


Down

1. Pressure : COERCE.

2. Still __: nonetheless : AND ALL.

3. Rapper who played Chuck Berry in "Cadillac Records" : MOS DEF.

4. Calculus lead-in : PRE.

5. Pitcher Maglie : SAL.

6. Pugilists' org. : IBF. International Boxing Federation. Of course, the ELF nailed it.

7. Schoolmate of Blair, Jo and Natalie on "The Facts of Life" : TOOTIE. The brace-wearing, roller-skating girl who always said "We're in trouuuu-ble!"

8. Barcelona bread : EUROS. So much easier to remember the currency of all the European countries now, isn't it?

9. Criteria: Abbr. : STDS. Standards.

10. Ellis Island arrival : ÉMIGRÉ.

11. Update the workshop : RETOOL. Santa promised that next year, the ELF would actually get some power tools.

12. Cancellation notice : ITS OFF.

13. Big shoes to fill? : EEE.

14. Beltway insider, for short : POL. The Capital Beltway in Washington, D.C., that is.

15. Sound from the pound : ARF.

24. Deliberate : MUSE. The verb, not the adjective.

25. Extra: Abbr. : ADD'L.

26. "I've waited all week for this!" : TGIF. My regular comment every Friday.

27. Phnom __ : PENH.

28. Requiem title word : IRAE. "Dies Irae," or "Day of Wrath."

29. Blue-green shade : TEAL.

30. Medieval peon : SERF. I kept reading this as "Medieval POEM."

32. The way it goes : FATE.

34. "New Sensation" band : INXS. I always used to pronounce this as "inks," until I found out it should be "In ex-ESS."

36. Kind : TYPE.

37. Incline : HILL.

38. Ample, informally : ENUF. Have you had ENUF with the ELF, already?

39. Feed in a stable : OATS.

40. Sport with blades : EPEE.

41. Elite commando : SEAL. Acronym for SEa, Air and Land.

42. Word with mile or marathon : HALF.

47. 1997 Hanson #1 hit : MMMBOP. Never heard this one. It reached #1 in 27 countries, including the US.

48. Tomei of "My Cousin Vinny" : MARISA. Ah, MARISA, good to see you back!

49. Require : ENTAIL.

50. Wrestler Johnson known as "The Rock" : DWAYNE.

51. March observance, for short : ST. PATS.

52. Hall of Fame placekicker Lou Groza's apt nickname : THE TOE. I totally forgot this one.

53. Basketry twigs : OSIERS.

55. One imposing levies : TAXER.

57. Inc. cousin : CORP.

59. Online store offering : APP.

60. Stephen of "In Dreams" : REA.

61. Prince __ Khan : ALY.

63. Grasped : GOT.

64. Christmas __ : EVE. Bad ELF!  You get coal in your stocking this year.

65. Indian flatbread : NAN.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good...morning?

Marti Elf

Notes from C.C.:

1) Please click here for a special "Gift Exchange" puzzle from Erik Agard, who made two of my favorite LA Times Monday puzzles last year. Quite a few bloggers, crossword constructors, top solvers contributed to the clues. 

2) Happy Birthday to our always positive and caring Yellowrocks (Kathy). Hope you have a fantastic visit with your son, grandson and daughter-in-law today. We also say Happy Birthday to our math professor Fermatprime, who's been with the blog since 2009. Happy Birthday also to car expert Zcarguy, who pops in to the blog from time to time. I faintly recall Zcarguy grew up in Lebanon. 

 

Kathy & Buddha, Japan, 2008. Kathy speaks Japanese.

 

Fermatprime (Lorraine)

Zcarguy & his wife