Wednesday, January 13, 2016 C. C. Burnikel

Theme:  But wait, there's more  .  .  .  The first words of three theme entries describe ways in which you can make purchases from the comfort of your own home.

18 A. Worker in a red, white and blue truck : MAIL CARRIER.   For the U.S. Postal Service.   You can use it to order by mail.

37 A. eBay event : ON-LINE AUCTION.   And you can also order ON-LINE from Amazon and many traditional retailers.

61 A. Document that might be subpoenaed : PHONE RECORD.   I'll let our legal experts explain why PHONE RECORDS might be gathered as evidence.   But you can also make your purchases by phone.  Have your credit card handy.

And the reveal:  40 D. Catalog come-on ... three ways to do it begin 18-, 37- and 61-Across : ORDER NOW.   Our sales executives are standing by.  Act fast and at no extra charge  .  .  .  Well, you get the idea.

Today's constructor is, as Robert Plant once said, "a lady we all know."  And it looks like she's getting ready to buy something.  Even if the stores are all closed, she's discovered several ways to get what she came for.

Hi gang - JazzBumpa here, repping for The Corner Crew.  Are you in a buying mood?  It makes me wonder. Ooh, it really makes me wonder.  Let's check out the merchandise.

Down

1. Texting protocol initials : SMS.   Short Message Service, for phones and other mobile devices.  It has an estimates 3.5 billion users.

4. Fired (up) : AMPED.   Excited and enthused.

9. Immortal Jazz trumpeter, to fans : SATCH.   Short for Satchmo, AKA, Louis, one of the most influential jazz and popular musicians of the 20th century.

14. Power __ : TIE.   A solid or striped necktie in bold, conservative colors, used as part of a "dress for success wardrobe," if you believe in that sort of thing.

15. "That Girl" star Thomas : MARLO.  A 1966 - 1971 TV program about an aspiring young actress trying to make it in New York City.

16. Chef Hall who co-hosts "The Chew" : CARLA.

17. "Bambi" character : ENA.   Bambi's mother in law.  Oh, deer.

20. Fastest of Columbus' ships : PINTA.  A caravelle.   The Niña, also a caravelle, and Santa Maria, a carrack, were dawdlers.

22. Progressive rival : GEICO.   Insurance companies.

23. Kilmer of "The Doors" : VAL.  He played Jim Morrison in the movie.

24. Cyclist's violation : DOPING.  Defined as the "use of physiological substances or abnormal method to obtain an artificial increase of performance," a notorious problem in top level cycling competitions since at least 1886.

26. Unlikely smartphone user : LUDDITE.  One opposed to industrialization or new technology.  They have to actually go to the store to shop.   And probably pay cash.

28. Picnic __ : AREA.  Words seen on a park sign.

29. Opening : ONSET.  Beginning.

32. "Piece of cake!" : EASY.  No problem.

33. Room for family game night : DEN.  Can also be called the family room, if you're game.

34. Chambermaid's supply : SOAP.  Towels and linens have not inspired operas.

35. Hook shape : ESS.   Like the letter.

42. Funds for the future, briefly : IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

43. Finish filming : WRAP.

44. Done with, with "of" : RID.   And good RIDdance, too.

46. Butler's home, for a while : TARA. Rhett in Gone With The Wind.

49. Technician with a fork : TUNER.  Worker in old keyboard technology.  Possibly a LUDDITE.

51. Inactive : IDLE.

52. Lex Luthor and Superman, e.g. : ENEMIES.  Villain and hero, respectively.

54. Mic users : EMCEES.  Masters of Ceremonies, initially phoneticized.

56. CXVI years ago : MCM.  More commonly, 116 years ago was 1900.

57. Indian royals : RANIS.  Of the female persuasion.   RAJAS also fits, but got perped out.

60. Belgrade natives : SERBS.  Belgrade, on the banks of he Danube, is the capital and largest city of Serbia.

64. Mets' div. : NLE.   National League East.   Baseball, of course.

65. Best Actress winner for "Two Women" : LOREN.   Sophia, in a tragic story set in WW II.

66. "Hooray!" : WAHOO.  Yippee!

67. "Days of __ Lives" : OUR.  One of those commercial operas obliquely alluded to above.   Strangely, does not feature chamber maids.

68. Strike out : ERASE.  Remove text.   Not baseball, sadly.

69. Stuck-up types : SNOBS.  At a deeper level, those who believe social status is an indicator of a person's worth.

70. Like freshly applied polish : WET.  Or paint. 

Down

1. Jay Pritchett, to Manny, on "Modern Family" : STEP DAD.  Never watched it.

2. Bite-size cookie : MINI-OREO.  Here, the cruciverbalist's favorite cookie makes a small appearance.

3. Co-screenwriter and star of "The Gunman" : SEAN PENN.   Murder, murder, and more murder.

4. University of Jordan city : AMMAN.

5. Billy's cry : MAA.  Especially on the Isle of Capri.  Did this get your goat?

6. Uptight type : PRIG. One whose SNOBBERY is based on a sense of self-righteous moral superiority.  

7. Allure rackmate : ELLE.   Fashion magazines.

8. Not likely to bite : DOCILE.   As a pet or other animal

9. New England whitefish : SCROD.  A young cod, haddock, etc.

10. Longest river entirely in Switzerland : AAR.  A tributary of the Rhine, it's name goes back to pre-Roman times.  During it's 195 mile run, it descends 5235 feet.  Its watershed includes about half of the country.

11. Small stuff : TRIVIA.  That which is not to be sweated.

12. Lacrosse shoes : CLEATS.    Sports shoes with projections on the sole to grip and prevent slipping.

13. Road hog? : HARLEY.   Iconic American-made motorcycle, aka a hog.

19. Clinic service for serious injuries : ACUTE CARE.   Emergency medical attention.

21. Niña's aunt : TIA.   Spanish, and an oblique reminder of the voyage of Columbus.

25. Run wild : GO ON A TEAR.   Usually in a good way, as an athlete having a hot streak.

27. Ricky portrayer : DESI.  Ricardo and Arnaz, respectively, from another well known TV show.

30. "Think again, laddie!" : NAE.   Denied in Scotland.

31. Bring forth : SPAWN.

34. Dubbed dude : SIR.   Good knight.

36. Additive sold at AutoZone : STP.   Viscosity modifier that should never put in your engine.

38. Hemsworth who plays Gale in "The Hunger Games" : LIAM.  Didn't see it.

39. Suffix with text : -URE.  TEXTURE is derived from the Latin textura, weaving, ultimately from the verb texere, to weave.  TEXT comes to us via Old French texte, meaning issue or literary style.   It ultimately also traces back to texere.  The suffix -URE indicates an action or condition, as in ersasure, closure or failure.  I can't decide if this is really legit.

41. Color similar to cerulean : NILE BLUE.  These are rather non-specific designations for blue hues with greenish tendencies. Cerulean is closer to a pure blue, while NILE BLUE leans more into the green region.  Or so it appears to my eye.

45. Piece of cake, e.g. : DESSERT.  The other, more literal, meaning of today's clecho.   Yum!

46. Head piece? : TEMPLE.  The region on each side of the head behind the eye.  The word comes from a different Latin root than its homophone meaning "a place of worship," which is derived from templum.  The head piece is derived from the vulgar Latin tempula, which also refers to time.   Hence our adjective "temporal," referring both to time and the side of the head.  So a well timed smack upside the head would be both temporal and temporal. 

47. Relay race closer : ANCHOR.  The last runner in a relay race is in the ANCHOR position.

48. Shark hanger-on : REMORA.  This fish has a suction cup-like structure formed from its front dorsal fins.   It can then hitch a ride on the skin of large marine animals, and gather ectoparasites and loose food particles.  Yum!

50. Mag that merged with World Report in 1948 : US NEWS.

51. Picked cubes : ICE.  Sorry, Tin Man, but we're cooling things off here.

53. Greek goddess of peace : IRENE.   Derived from εἰρήνη - the Greek for "peace".   Also the name of several Saints and my last surviving aunt.

55. Early PC platform : MS-DOS.  MicroSoft Disc Operating System.

58. "__ hardly wait!" : I CAN.  My feeling about baseball season.   Mud Hens start in 87 days.

59. London district : SOHO.   An area of the city of Westminster, part of London's West Side.  It has long been seen as a seedy area as a low class entertainment district., infamous for drunkenness and prostitution.  In recent decades there has been a good deal of gentrification and it is now a fashionable upscale district.  The name first appeared in the 17th century, and evidently was derived from a hunting cry.   To the best of my knowledge, there is no London district called Talley-Ho.

62. Wii forerunner : NES.   Nintendo game systems.

63. Steal from : ROB.  Burgle.

So we started off buying things and ended up shop lifting. But when you buy via today's theme entries, that temptation is preempted.  Till we meet again, keep your hands in your pockets and the economy chugging along.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, January 11 2016, Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: It's a wash.


17A. *Alabama team : CRIMSON TIDE

11D. *Raspberry : BRONX CHEER

 24D. *Tinseltown trade : SHOW BIZ

28. *Dieter's concern : WEIGHT GAIN

62. Lengthy litany ... and, literally, what the ends of the answers to starred clues comprise : LAUNDRY LIST

Perfect Tuesday level puzzle. Needed perps to fill in the long acrosses, and a couple initial guesses were wrong but other than that, sailed right through.

Melissa here.

Across       

1. In any way : AT ALL

6. Brief : SHORT

11. Pack the groceries : BAG

14. Actress O'Donnell : ROSIE

15. "Peter, Peter, pumpkin __" : EATER

16. TV brand : RCA


19. Boston Bruin great Bobby : ORR

20. Fisherman's Wharf entrée : SEA BASS

21. Kevin of "Dances With Wolves" : COSTNER

23. Honey makers : BEES

25. Okla. neighbor : TEX

26. Fighting : AT WAR

30. Item inserted through eyelets : SHOE LACE

34. Nappy leather : SUEDE

35. Woodwind instrument : OBOE

36. "Veep" channel : HBO

38. x or y, on graphs : AXIS

39. Dickens' Drood : EDWIN. The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

41. Crystal ball gazer : SEER

42. Cribbage marker : PEG

43. One of 14 in a pro's golf bag : CLUB

44. Like xenon and krypton : INERT

45. Dietary supplement obtained from predatory fish : SHARK OIL

48. Up on a map : NORTH

49. Letter before upsilon : TAU

50. Clearasil targets : ZITS. Tried acne first.

52. Vein in the neck : JUGULAR

56. Actress Wood : NATALIE

61. Eggs : OVA

64. Hawaiian wreath : LEI

65. Cubs Hall of Famer Banks : ERNIE

66. One committed to a military career : LIFER

67. Coppertone user's goal : TAN

68. Lear daughter : REGAN. Unknown to me. Middle child of King Lear, married to the Duke of Cornwall.

69. Cosmetician Lauder : ESTEE

Down

1. Circle segments : ARCS

2. Ripped : TORE

3. Cambodia's continent : ASIA.

 

4. Swing support : LIMB

5. Longtime Buick model : LESABRE

6. Feels : SENSES

7. Boater or bowler : HAT

8. Suffix with psych : OTIC. Psychotic.

9. Decorate again : REDO

10. Railroad bridge support : TRESTLE

12. 43,560 square feet : ACRE

13. Actress Teri : GARR. Impressive career.

18. Sugary ending : OSE

22. Earl Grey, for one : TEA

26. "Now!" in memos : ASAP

27. Monkey suits : TUXES

29. Newspaper revenue source : ADS

31. __-Wan Kenobi : OBI

32. Very long time : EON

33. Longtime partner of Siskel : EBERT

37. Sports MD's specialty : ORTH. Don't remember hearing this shortened version of the word before.

39. Yellowstone grazer : ELK

40. Batman and Robin, e.g. : DUO

41. __-cone: shaved ice dessert : SNO

43. Doughnut with a twist : CRULLER

44. Fashionable : IN STYLE. Trendy didn't fit.

46. Nonpro sports org. : AAU. Amateur Athletic Union.

47. Tree also called basswood : LINDEN

51. La Brea goo : TAR

52. Quite a blow : JOLT

53. Eye layer containing the iris : UVEA

54. Swiss river : AARE

55. Step on a ladder : RUNG

57. Boxers Muhammad and Laila : ALI'S

58. English elevator : LIFT

59. "Gotcha" : I SEE

60. French I infinitive : ETRE

63. Actress Vardalos : NIA. Did not remember her name, but her face is very recognizable, from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Yesterday was the first day at pre-school for Lemonade's adorable granddaughter Charlotte.  

 

 This is picture of Charlotte and her Dad Arron and sister Harper. (Correction: Aaron)

Click here for a few more.

Monday, January 11, 2016 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: No Standing - Sit anywhere.

20A. *Mattress support : BOX SPRING. Box Seats.

39A. *Light, friendly punch : LOVE TAP. Love Seats.

56A. Spots for airline magazines ... and, literally, what the first words of the answers to starred clues can all have : SEATBACKS

11D. *Wishful lifetime agenda : BUCKET LIST. Bucket Seats.

27D. *Slapstick slipping cause : BANANA PEEL. Banana Seats.

Argyle here. One problem I anticipate is certain anons will have a nit field day.

Across:

1. Potato bag : SACK

5. Rod in a grill : SPIT

9. Macaroni shape : ELBOW

14. Vintage soda : NEHI

15. Chisholm Trail city : WACO

16. Red, in roulette : ROUGE

17. Mine extracts : OREs

18. Club used for chipping : IRON

19. Capital of Ghana : ACCRA

22. Spoken for : TAKEN

23. Skinny fish : EELs

24. Quick message : NOTE

25. Blue Ribbon beer : PABST

28. Palm Pilot, e.g., briefly : PDA. (personal data assistant)

30. Carve in stone : ETCH

33. Attributive menu words : À LA

34. Parisian partings : ADIEUs

37. Leave rolling in the aisles : SLAY

38. Sermon topic : SIN

41. Sitter's handful : IMP or 63A. Sitter's handful : BRAT

42. What some missiles seek : HEAT

44. Stevenson title doctor : JEKYLL

45. "I warned you!" : "SEE!"

46. Gothic fiction author Rice : ANNE. The Vampire Chronicles.

47. WWII espionage gp. : OSS. (Office of Strategic Services)

48. Bugs and Jags : AUTOS. Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover.

50. "Fire" bugs : ANTS. Fire ants.

52. Bourgogne and Chablis : VINs. French spelling of regional wines.

54. Longstocking of kiddie lit : PIPPI. Another red-headed girl but not like Anne of Green Gables.

61. NBA great Shaquille : O'NEAL

62. Footnote "p" : PAGE

64. Modern mil. treaty violation : N-TEST

65. Egg cell : OVUM

66. Humdinger : LULU

67. Knuckleheads : DOLTS

68. Short- or long-sleeved tops : TEEs

69. Marked, as a ballot : EXed

Down:

1. Stereotypical "Dahling!" speaker : SNOB

2. Flight-related prefix : AERO

3. General Mills brand : CHEX

4. Affectionate greetings : KISSES. Air kisses, Dahling.

5. Marble cake pattern : SWIRL

6. Capital on the Seine : PARIS

7. Pic to click : ICON

8. Grab from the grill, as a hot dog : TONG

9. Poetry Muse : ERATO

10. Tracks down : LOCATES

12. Storybook brute : OGRE

13. Withdraw gradually : WEAN

21. "He loves me" piece : PETAL

24. Sounding like one has a cold : NASAL

25. Old Turkish title : PASHA

26. Otherworldly : ALIEN

28. Sneaks a look : PEEKS

29. Obligation : DUTY

31. Typical Hitchcock role : CAMEO

32. Publicizes aggressively : HYPEs

35. Martial arts schools : DOJOs

36. Currier's colleague : IVES. Millard Fillmore's?

40. Backup strategy : PLAN B

43. When the big hand is on two : TEN PAST

49. In working order : USABLE

51. Leans slightly : TILTS

52. Beating around the bush : VAGUE

53. Agenda bullets : ITEMS

54. Common koi habitat : POND

55. Look __: investigate : INTO

56. Washday woe : SPOT

57. Nesting site, perhaps : EAVE

58. Essence : CRUX

59. Leafy veggie baked for chips : KALE. Baby Blues/Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott/Jan. 10, 2016

60. Gym specimen : STUD. How to find a stud.

 

 

Argyle

Sunday, January 10, 2016 Matt Skoczen

 Theme: "Mixed Doubles" - Both words in each made-up phrase can follow "Double".

 24. Dinner and a movie? : DATE STANDARD. Double date. Double standard.

31. Rotten luck in Rotterdam? : DUTCH WHAMMY. Double Dutch. Double whammy. Great clue.

47. Ceremony for the Jetsons? : SPACE WEDDING. Double space. Double wedding.

70. Citations from an underwriter? : INDEMNITY QUOTES. Double indemnity. Double quotes.

94. Earthquake? : FAULT TROUBLE. Double fault. Double trouble.

110. Lenscrafters employee? : VISION AGENT. Double vision. Double agent.

120. Answering in the form of a question? : JEOPARDY DUTY. Double jeopardy. Double duty.

Very manageable grid. Seven entries with 85 theme squares. The minimum for a 21*21 grid is 84 squares (35 for a 15*15).

The more I construct, the more I realize how hard it is to come up with perfect clues for this type of theme. You need the phrases to have basic surface sense, and you need them to be funny.

Across:

    

1. Holiday dinner choices : BRISKETS. Meaty start. Stacked 8's at upper left/lower right corners.

9. Happen : BEFALL

15. Bond villain with a "great football of a head" : MR BIG. I only know Mr Big from  "Sex and the City".

20. "1984" superstate : EAST ASIA. All crosses. Never read "1984".

21. Bibliography catchall : ET ALIA

22. Pop singer __ Marie : TEENA

23. Georgia native : ATLANTAN. Not the country Georgia.

26. Equine shade : ROAN

27. World's first independent credit card company, initially : DCI.  Diners Club International. Normally it's clued as a Roman numeral. Avoided the angle today due to the crossing CML  (28. Roman 950).

29. Compound with a fruity aroma : ESTER

30. Shades : HUES

36. Cast out : EXILE

 

38. Cyclist's obstacle : STEEP HILL. I presume all's flat in your area, D-Otto?

39. Genesis setting : EDEN

42. Patty Hearst alias : TANIA

46. Abbr. under a dotted line : SIG (Signature)

50. Org. concerned with whistleblower laws : OSHA. I associate them with workplace safety only. 

54. SeaWorld splasher : SHAMU. And 87. 54-Across, e.g. : ORCA

57. 20 Mule Team brand : BORAX

58. Within: Pref. : ENTO

59. Couch potato's acquisition, perhaps : PAUNCH. It's perfectly fine to have some belly fat. The paunch protects our stomach and other organs.

61. Many hits : SONGS. Was thinking of Google hits.

63. Masters : HAS DOWN

65. In a way, casually : SORTA

66. Unisex designer fragrance : CK ONE. Tried it once. Did not like the smell.

67. Floor : SHOCK

69. Kind of milk : SOY. When I lived in Shanghai, my standard breakfast was a mug of hot soy milk and a big rice ball (Fantuan). Changed to two fried rice balls after I moved to Guangzhou.

74. CBS-owned cable sta. : SHO. All crosses.

77. Heraldic shield borders : ORLES. This used to stump me. 

78. Grammar topic : NOUNS. Wanted USAGE. Clues without a clear "plural" hint always get me.

79. Ultimately become : END UP

83. Harbor : CONCEAL. Can you give me an example on how these two equate?

85. Canadian author and environmentalist Farley __ : MOWAT. Total stranger.

86. Piece of poetry : STANZA

 

88. TV golf analyst Nick : FALDO. Sir Nick Faldo. Biting at times. Just like Johnny Miller.

91. "No big deal" : IT'S OK

93. Sandcastle maker's aid : PAIL

 

97. Street cred, say : REP. Reputation.

99. Tests, with "out" : FEELS

100. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI

101. Food coloring and such : ADDITIVES

107. Real stinker : SKUNK

112. Alaskan island closer to Russia than to the Alaskan mainland : ATTU

 

115. Doesn't let go of : KEEPS

118. Massage site : SPA

119. Chocolate craving, e.g. : URGE

123. Millard Fillmore's birthplace : LOG CABIN. I only know Lincoln was born in a cabin.

127. Cage or Penn : ACTOR

128. Honey : DEARIE

129. Mini follower : IPOD NANO. Gary and I exchanged our favorite podcasts two weeks ago. My top 5 is not in his top 5.

130. River through Lake Geneva : RHONE

131. Approval : ASSENT

132. Figure that includes returns : NET SALES

Down:

1. Features common to Yosemite Sam and Uncle Sam : BEARDS

2. Squeal on : RAT OUT

3. Runs behind : IS LATE. So, can I put IS EARLY in a grid also? How about IS RUDE?

4. Position : STANCE

5. National Teachers Hall of Fame state: Abbr. : KAN. 15. Any of Colorado's fourteeners: Abbr. : MTN. Both unknown trivia to me.

6. Educ. guess : EST

7. Spanish relative : TIA

8. Summer footwear : SANDAL. So cold here.

9. Make murky : BEDIM. Not a word I use.

10. Touchdown letters : ETA

11. The way it goes : FATE. Simple in retrospect. That's how it goes in crossword solving.

12. Pale orders : ALES

13. Talk radio fan : LISTENER

14. Swim cap material : LATEX

16. Like Anne of Green Gables : RED-HEADED

17. Suitor : BEAU

18. About, in memos : IN RE

19. Traipses : GADS

25. Former press secretary Fleischer : ARI. Tiger's adviser for a very short time.

32. Some printers : HPS. Ours is HP Envy.

33. Sibilant sound : WHISH. Not SWISH.

34. Word with seas and spirits : HIGH

35. "You betcha!" : YEP!

37. Inc. kin : LTD

40. Small applications : DABS

41. Friendly opening? : ECO. Eco-friendly.

43. Benito's boys : NINOS

44. Parted : IN TWO

45. Intense feeling : AGONY

47. Branch of Islam : SUNNI

48. Fast tropical swimmers : WAHOOS. Can you pluralize CARP also?

49. More than demand : EXACT

50. Special __ : OPS

51. Common word on Brazilian maps : SAO

52. "Ben-__" : HUR

53. Opponent : ANTI

55. Information desk sign : ASK ME

56. Titania and Oberon, e.g. : MOONS

60. Craft pointed in two directions? : CANOE. I liked the clue once I grokked the "point".

62. "I can't __ ...": Stones lyric : GET NO

64. Sport invented by hunters : SKEET. Oh, good to know. Slight dupe HUNTS (68. Searches).

66. Wine holder : CELLAR

67. Thickset : SQUAT

71. Breeze : DRAFT. And 73. Breeze : SNAP

72. "That hurts!" : YOWIE

74. Thumb one's nose (at) : SCOFF

75. Greek goddesses of the seasons : HORAE. This trio. Learning moment for me.

76. When to enter : ON CUE

80. Type of profiling : DNA

81. Arm of Israel : UZI

82. __ around with : PAL

84. Requires : CALLS UPON

85. Crowds around : MOBS

86. V-formation group : SKEIN. When they're not flying, it's a GAGGLE.

89. Connect across the room : LOCK EYES. Great entry.

90. Thelma and Louise, e.g. : DUO

92. Novus __ seclorum: dollar bill phrase : ORDO

95. "How disappointing!" : TSK

96. Two-time Oscar nominee Ullmann : LIV

98. School gp. : PTA

101. Curtains for Cleopatra? : ASP. Three -letter answer for Cleopatra has to be ASP.

102. Access via phone : DIAL IN

103. Tropical lizard : IGUANA

104. Spoken : VERBAL

105. It purrs when it's cared for : ENGINE. Loved this clue also.

106. Gregg users : STENOS

108. Largest country entirely in Eur. : UKR

109. Silvio's lover in "Pagliacci" : NEDDA. Complete stranger to me as well.

111. "The best __ to be": Browning : IS YET

112. Not quite shut : AJAR And 124. Not shut, poetically : OPE. Quite a few clue echoes today.

113. Apple worker : TECH

114. Baum canine : TOTO

116. Smartphone ancestors : PDAs

117. Unwavering : SURE

121. "__ we okay?" : ARE. Remind me of Marc Maron.

122. Altoids holder : TIN. Some of you were led astray by Tinbeni's comment yesterday. He turned 64 on August 23, 2016, so his "2,000,000,000 seconds old" mile-stone" is misleading but true.

125. Figured out : GOT

126. Fixed-term investments: Abbr. : CDs

C.C. 

Answer Grid by Owen

Saturday, Jan 9th, 2016, Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Word: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Wow, this one was a brain-drain, and just about the longest WAG-fest I have ever had the pleasure (or pain~?) of solving.  My first time with a Mary Lou construction, though I see she was prolific last year with her LATimes puzzles.  Jeff, on the other hand, has beaten me up on several occasions, so I have a feeling this was "all his fault"....had a vaguely Dan Naddor feel to it, IMHO, consisting of several two-word answers.  Pretty atypical Saturday grid, no chunky corners, but three spanners and a 13-letter climber;

16. Strength in numbers? : PREDICTIVE POWER - I thought we might be looking at a "numb-ers" kind of misdirection, then a numerology kind of thing, but it has a scientific application - the best example was the prediction that the planet Neptune (which threw me at 62a.) existed by scientists observing its gravitational effects of the other planets before its discovery

34. Beats the rap : GETS OFF SCOT-FREE - I have English parents, so this phrase was heard around my house a lot; here's the etymology

58. Best Actress the year before Kate Winslet : MARION COTILLARD - I thought this was a 1997/98 reference to Kate's Titanic role, but no; she won for the The Reader in 2008; Marion won for La môme - never heard of it, but I do recall her as "Mal" from Inception, which was a great movie

15. Really enlightened : WISE AS SOLOMON - at one point, I had "WISE-ASS-----"

 

ACROSS:

1. Directive to a dealer : HIT ME - I am reading Slash's biography, and so the 'dealer' I had in mind was like the one he scored heroin from

6. Adds liberally : HEAPS ON

13. Sustain : UPHOLD

15. Apple bug? : WORMHOLE - no "i-Computer" misdirection here.   I am attempting to write a book of my own, and part of the plot involves the other, 'travel-through-space-and-time' kind of wormhole

18. Blubber : SOB - dah~! Not FAT

19. What "this love is," in a Taylor Swift title : OURS

20. Shades go-with : SUN HAT - not sure if this was sunglasses or curtains shades

21. Shepherd's dishes? : MEAT PIES - of the first 10 answers, 6 have two-word elements

24. Fruit trees : PEARS

25. __ cut: fabric design technique : BIAS

26. Birch of Indiana : BAYH - one of many proper noun clues that I just had no clue on, and it's Birch Bayh, Senator from '63-'81

28. Unkempt abode : STY

29. Umbrian tourist town : ASSISI - mostly perps

32. Salisbury smooch : SNOG - British kiss; think Harry Potter

40. __ Accords: Israel/PLO agreements : OSLO

41. Acorn bearer : PIN OAK - OK, I cheated on the "N", since RED was not working, and I forgot about this kind of oak tree

42. Ad follower : HOC - ad hoc, Latin "for this"

45. Some 55-Across works : OILS - dah~! since I did not know who "Joan" was, I tried ODES; a 100% 50% correct WAG

47. Smidge : MITE - not IOTA

48. Mocks : JAPES

50. Blockers' targets : POP-UP ADS - now we are talking about computers, and I was thinking football

53. Dodges : AVERTS - AVOIDS, EVADES - tried 'em both

55. Joan of art : MIRÓ - oh, it's a dude

56. __ Dome: Lucas Oil Stadium predecessor : RCA

61. Dizzy with delight : IN A SWOON

62. Neptune, e.g. : SEA GOD - DAH~! not PLANET

63. Gently passes : EASES BY

64. Simmers : STEWS

DOWN:

1. Drill cadence syllables : HUPS

2. Swear words : I PROMISE

3. "If I Can't Love Her" singer, in a 1994 musical : THE BEAST - I was trying to think of a band called "The -----S", and then I realized it was a singular character from "Beauty and..."

4. Hip : MOD

5. Literature Nobelist who won two posthumous Tony Awards : ELIOT - perps and WAG

6. __ lane : HOV - I complain about this every time it's in a crossword; we have one here, part of the Long Island Expressway, and I think it's a colossal waste of black top

7. Spanish 101 word : ERES

8. Vitalize : AMP UP

9. Calls or cells : PHONES - got it, but thought "that can't be right"

10. "Like I care" : "SO WHAT~?"

11. Kevin of "Shark Tank" : O'LEARY - I had him confused with Mark Cuban in my mind; my buddy Mike, with the backyard games company, met Mark, I think

12. "Drat!" : NERTS

14. Support spec of a sort : D-CUP - ah, Dennis could appreciate this one

17. Salt Lake daily : TRIB - does leaving out "City" make for an abbr.~?

22. Sale warning : AS IS

23. Harmonize : SYNC - oops, not SING; that's another 50% correct in all places

25. Snare : BAG - not NAB

27. Shooter's target : HOOP - basketball~? I wasn't going to get it

30. Jack of "Barney Miller" : SOO

31. Logician's words : IF SO

33. Sporty VW : GTI

35. Cheeky : FLIP

36. From 2009 through Sep. 2015, it paid $143 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury : FNMA - stumped.  Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae - the Wiki

37. Concern for some bodybuilders : 'ROID RAGE - my first thought, but I did not factor in an abbreviation

38. Issues a mea culpa : EATS CROW

39. Squeak (out) : EKE

42. Museo de la Revolución city : HAVANA

43. "Ring Cycle" quartet : OPERAS

44. Color similar to crimson : CERISE - sounds blue, but that's cerulean; the word comes from "cherry", and I was going to link a pie pic, but I found this much more fascinating

46. Narrow shore point : SPIT

48. Portrayer of Django and Ray : JAMIE - took me forever to remember Mr. Foxx's name

49. Throws below : STOWS - oops, not SINKS

51. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS

52. Spherical extremities : POLES

54. Snoot : SNOB

57. Tosses in : ADDS - just wanted to ADD that yesterday marked 11yrs for me

59. Playing hard to get : COY

60. Pull-up beneficiary, briefly : LAT - the muscle of the back; I have been over at my friend Adam's house, where his 2yr old has moved on to "pull-ups", so I was in that frame of mind....who benefits from those~?

Splynter

Friday, January 8, 2016, John Lampkin

Theme: What could be worse than a curse a from nurse where you end up in a hearse? More of my verse?

John Lampkin, a true renaissance man and friend of the Corner brings us his first 2016 effort, a sound change makes merry puzzle. Three phrases with three words containing a central "OR" sound are changed to an "UR" sound leaving an amusing new fill clued with skill.  While many Fridays are loaded with theme fill, the three chosen are consistent  and fun and  leave room for much sparkly fill.
CAPULET,  POP SONG,  SCEPTER,  SEA LEGS, HONDURAS, INTERNET,  NANNY CAM, TAX HAVEN,  THAT’S A GO,  WE’RE RICH are all in this gem. No insect learning moment, so do not get antsy, we will now solve.

20A. Cuisine to swear by? : THREE CURSE MEAL (14). Three course meal is a standard fare.

35A. Site of a mortician's monopoly? : ONE HEARSE TOWN (13). The one horse towns of old are going the way the kerosene lamp.

55A. Ode to a Nightingale? : OLD NURSE POETRY (14). The clue references a real POEM but I am sure Florence appreciates the reworking. Old Norse poetry is a CSO to our Norwegian contingent.

Across:

1. Short one at the bar? : ATTorney. I only really see 'atty' abbreviation but I have been in many bars.

4. Flabbergasts : AWES.

8. One taking up slack? : IDLER. Nice clue reversal.

13. Landlocked African country : CHAD. There are 15 such countries in Africa, all perps. I used o go to the office building in NYC with my brother which held his literary agent and the Chad consulate. I thought the name was fake. Who names a country after an actor.

15. Thread bits : LINT. Check your navel. 26A. Traps for 15-Across : NAVELS.

16. Running bowline, e.g. : NOOSE. The beginning of an undercurrent of boating/fishing terms. LINK.

17. Prepare to take off : TAXI. Anybody know the etymology of this usage meaning to go from  a terminal to the runway.

18. Mediterranean landmark : ETNA.

19. Dessert that just sounds wrong : TORTE. A Tort in law is a civil wrong.

23. __ orange : OSAGE.  I know them as horse apples. Our  botany LESSON.

24. Trail follower : HIKER.

25. Downed a link, say : ATE. Sausage, not a golf course. 49A. Link for Ludwig : UND. Beethoven.
66A. Linking device : YOKE. Not on the internet but on your oxen. John Loves clechos.

28. Caught porgy and bass : ANGLED. Cute Porgy and Bess  fish pun.

30. Ice __ : AGE. Can you believe it is 13 years?

31. Feuding house of Verona : CAPULET. Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou, and our continued Friday Shakespeare.

40. Swift output : POP SONG. Showing my age, my first thought was Jonathan Swift not the ubiquitous TAYLOR.

41. Café freebie : EAU. Water in French.

43. Charmingly retro : QUAINT. Last week it was Tisn't...

46. Rejects : SPURNS.

50. Believes : DEEMS. Another common word in the law.

54. Actress Graff : ILENE. She was a regular on Mr. Belvedere and more recently Hart of Dixie 

58. Shock source : TASER. Don't tase me bro!

59. Bit of concert memorabilia : STUB.

60. Quinoa alternative : RICE. We do have rice at my house.

62. Latin stars : ASTRA. Whence Astronomy, astrology etc.

63. New Yorker cartoonist Peter : ARNO. He had a very recognizable style, but has been gone for almost 50 years.

The caption says, "He is not ours, try the River House."

64. Rent-__ : A-CAR.

65. Drives off : SHOOS.

67. Med. care option : HMO. Health Maintenance Organization.

Down:

1. Fake it : ACT. Don't get nervous boys.

2. "We're on!" : THAT"S A GO. A nice phrase.

3. Green shelter? : TAX HAVEN. Not ecology but economy.

4. "Hard __!": captain's command : A LEE. Boats.

5. Baker's neighbor in "Into the Woods" : WITCH.  The MOVIE with Meryl Streep as the witch.

6. Jaded state : ENNUI. Always a nice fill.

7. Barren : STARK. Will Catelyn be back?

8. Shopper's mecca : INTERNET.

9. Dire destiny : DOOM. Oddly this is in conflict with 14D. Gloomy air : DIRGE as they are from the same Latin source.

10. Cosmetics giant : L'OREAL.

11. What you will : ESTATE. More hidden law.

12. Landed, with "in" : REELED. A big fish?

21. Shocking swimmer : EEL. Fish?

22. Sailor's ability : SEA LEGS. See what I mean; when I got off from a long cruise, it often seemed like the land was moving.

23. __ roll : ON A.  Give me some butter, because...

27. Sovereign symbol : SCEPTER.

29. Bygone muscle car : GTO. My brother had one and it was too fast.

32. Small juice sources? : AAS. Batteries.

33. Ace : PRO. My meh of the day.

34. Org. with subs : USN. Cool misdirection- United States Navy. Ships.

36. Prefix for a lifesaving "Pen" : EPI, I have two in my house-bees.

37. Mosquito Coast country : HONDURAS. It is not Star Wars

38. Reaction to suddenly becoming flush? : WE'RE RICH! Powerball anyone? If we each chipped in $2.00....

39. Concerned parent's installation : NANNY CAM.

42. Employment : USE.

43. Mandated amounts : QUOTAS.

44. Remove, as bindings : UNLASH.

45. Expands, as a deck : ADDS TO. A deck of cards? The deck Splynter built? The one marti and I sat together at her house on?

47. Sales meeting metaphor : PIE.

48. Conservative leader? : ULTRA.

51. Outlet for one's thoughts : ESSAY. Put them on paper.

52. Densely populated area, briefly : METRO.

53. Spirit : SPUNK. A trait of mixed benefit.

56. Emperor famous for playing an instrument that hadn't been invented yet : NERO. Did he FIDDLE around?

57. Wind in the reeds : OBOE. A simple musical clue from our very musical friend. To me it brought to mind this POETRY. Yes Yeats along with earlier Keats.

61. Ranch closing? : ERO. Huevos rancheros while I finish writing?

Always a pleasure to see a JL byline, though we are missing anything to bug us, unless you do not like puns.  Thanks John. Lemonade out.

Thursday, January 7th, 2016 Bruce Haight

Theme: Solve for A=πr², A=(hb)/2, A=wl, or find the areas!

17A. *Figure out, as someone's poker strategy : GET A READ ON. I'm sure I'd make a terrible poker player. I grin when I figure out a crossword answer, I can't imagine what my poker face would look like if I was dealt a royal flush.

21A. *Frighten off : SCARE AWAY

33A. *Disney film cry of discovery : I'M A REAL BOY. From the movie "Pinocchio" released in 1940. The line got a reprise in 2004 in Shrek 2

42A. *Chinese, say : FAR EASTERN. Only if you use a map centered on the zero meridian. If you use a Pacific-centric map then Brazil and Greenland are in the far east.

52A. *Ride crosstown together, perhaps : SHARE A CAB

61A. Group space, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : COMMON AREA

G'day everyone. A straightforward enough theme from Bruce, and the theme did help me with the Pinocchio quote. 60 theme squares, more "A"'s than any other letter due to all the AREAS and sundry other trivia. A pleasant enough ride, patently fair crosses to unlock the unknowns and some other interesting stuff. Let's take a look.

Across:

1. Mrs. Garrett on "The Facts of Life" : EDNA. Who? Never saw the show. Apparently played by Charlotte Russe Rae (who?).

5. Bring shame to : ABASH. This is one of those words where I'm more likely to use the opposite meaning in conversation - I'm sure I've been unabashed a few times, but rarely abashed.

10. Twitter's bird, e.g. : ICON. I had LOGO first. Wrong!

14. Dire fate : DOOM

15. "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" author : LOCKE. Published in 1689. I should read it, but I probably wouldn't understand it.

16. Poet's preposition : THRO'

Thro’ the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-moon’d abysses of night,
I have liv’d o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
Nemesis — Howard Phillips Lovecraft

19. Brief moments : SECS. Seconds, abbreviated.

20. "Un Ballo in Maschera" aria : ERI TU. Thank you, crosses. Verdi's opera, which translates as "A Masked Ball". The aria appears to be properly known as Eri tu che macchiavi quell'anima / "It was you who stained this soul" but I guess that wouldn't fit.

23. Office suite door letters : ESQ.

25. "Hollywood Squares" immortal : LYNDE. Thank you, crosses. Paul Lynde.

26. Not surprisingly : AS USUAL

30. Full of bubbles : SUDSY. Tried SOAPY first. Took it out.

36. Qatar's capital : DOHA. Don't get me started on the fact that the 2022 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Qatar.

37. Fifth of a dozen : MAY

38. Solar __ : FLARE

39. Promise : VOW

40. "On the double!" : ASAP

45. Place to follow politics : C-SPAN

47. "Told ya!" : SO THERE

48. "__ Daughter": 1970 film : RYAN'S

51. Match at the poker table : SEE. I'll see your $5, and raise you $10.

56. Diary component : ENTRY

60. Go up and down : YO-YO

63. Seasonal refrain : NOËL. Heard more than a few times recently.

64. Assembly line worker : ROBOT

65. Equipment : GEAR

66. Key used in combinations : CTRL. It doesn't do anything by itself other than allow you to exercise your left hand pinkie finger. My last Dell had the key positioned in the lower-left corner of the keyboard with the "Fn" key to the right of it; my new Lenovo reversed the positions so it took a little while to get used to it.

67. Films with many extras : EPICS

68. "College GameDay" airer : ESPN. Founded by Scott and Bill Rasmussen in 1978 and launched in 1979. It is now famous for allowing Chris Berman to appear with one of the worst haircuts in the history of broadcast television.

Down:

1. Advantage : EDGE

2. No couch potato : DOER. Relative of a mover or a shaker.

3. "It was someone else!" : NOT I!

4. Greenhorn : AMATEUR

5. Brown __ : ALE. I was born a few miles from the Tyne Brewery which produced Newcastle Brown Ale until 2004. It's brewed in Yorkshire now, a fact that the company don't promote heavily. The advertising is pretty funny though.

6. Feathery wraps : BOAS

7. "High Voltage" band : AC/DC. Australian rockers. Lead singer Bon Scott was found dead in his car on the morning of February 19th 1980 in East Dulwich, London, two blocks from where I lived at the time.

8. "Bottoms up!" : SKOAL

9. "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speaker : HENRY. Here's Patrick engaged in a little rabble-rousing at the Virginia Convention in 1775. In a church too - shame on him!

10. "That fizzled out" : IT'S A DUD

11. Considered carefully : CHEWED OVER

12. Marine threat : ORCA

13. Getting into the wrong business? : NOSY

18. Charlotte __ : RUSSE. I thought she was an actress, but I discover it's a clothing retail chain. Hey, I'm not exactly in their target demographic - I'm not in my teens nor twenties, and I'm not a woman.

22. USN one-striper : ENS. Navy rank of Ensign. Am I right in saying that a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis is assigned this rank?

24. 5-Down, for one : QUAFF. Skoal!

26. Stockpile : AMASS

27. Supplicate : SAY A PRAYER

28. "It was __ dream" : ALL A. A common-enough trope in TV, film and comics. Usually extremely annoying unless done really well.

29. Letter-shaped supports : L-BARS. Lacer bars. I looked at a picture of one and have no idea what it's used for.

31. Vacation destination : SHORE

32. Opening at an early-morning class? : YAWN. Lovely clue.

33. 1998 Apple debut : IMAC. It looks ugly as heck now, groundbreaking back then. Steve Jobs hadn't discovered his gray polo-neck period at that point.

34. __ cookies 'n creme: Jell-O flavor : OREO

35. "Leda and the Swan" poet : YEATS

41. Business expense : PAYROLL

43. Radiance : SHEEN

44. Like high-school years : TEENAGE

46. "Fat chance, laddie" : NAE. "If there's nae wind, and nae rain, it's nae golf".

49. Abalone shell layer : NACRE

50. Exclusive : SCOOP

52. Lip-__ : SYNC. Milli Vanilli came a cropper with this one when they tried to lip-sync at the MTV music awards in 1989 and, as the backing track skipped, it became apparent that they weren't actually singing. Research showed that they'd never sung "their" songs, and were stripped of the Grammy for Best New Artist awarded earlier that year. Whoops #1 (See 62D for Whoops #2)

53. Knee-slapper : HOOT

54. Prefix with valence : AMBI. Ouch. I've got mixed feelings about this one :)

55. Class pres., say : B.M.O.C. Big man on campus.

57. Very French? : TRÉS

58. Bring in : REAP

59. Entertaining tale : YARN

62. Extra periods: Abbr. : O.T.S Overtimes. Oregon were leading TCU 31-0 at half-time in the Alamo Bowl on January 2nd. They promptly contrived to lose, 47-41, in triple overtime. Whoops #2.

And ... here's the grid, today's colored version courtesy of OwenKL!

Steve