Saturday, Jul 25th, 2015, Gail Grabowski

Theme: GG~!!

Words: 72 (missing K,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

 Gail Grabowski is back for another LAT Saturday - her last one was March of this year.  I was able to work out the bottom half of this one no problem, but the NE corner was slow to concede, so I did a "half" cheat and looked up the river near Aberdeen (half because it was 3-letters, OK~?).  After that went in, the rest seemed obvious.  I closed out in good time, and so I consider this one a success; I reviewed that puzzle from March and it was a "fail".   Gail's constructions are pretty fair - no fun sponge clues, and some clever ones, to boot.  A not so intimidating grid with triple 9- and 10-letter corners, plus another pair of nines in the across as well.  In the corners;

2d. WWII fighter : AXIS POWER- I was looking for something like P51 MUSTANG

that's me at MacArthur airport

16a. Wedding to-do list item : ORDER A LIMO - INVITATION fit, too

56a. Place for good dishes : CHINA HUTCH

33d. Added up : MADE SENSE - not TABULATED

DE-LI on ward~!

ACROSS:

1. WWII support gp. : WAAC - Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

5. Driving hazard : ROAD DEBRIS - I did not see any road debris on my trip back from Delaware Thu morning, but I did hit the drawbridge on the Belt Parkway with my rental car so hard the wipers got knocked on - the roads around NYC are brutal....

15. Linchpin location : AXLE - ....had I been driving my Dodge, I would have sheared an axle, I am sure; the rental car was a 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT - it had its flaws, but when I got back in the Dodge, I realized how badly I need a new car

17. 2007 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee : GILL - Vince; not a country fan - link away~!

18. Grand : MAJESTICAL

19. Jargon ending : ESE - e.g. if you're a lawyer, it's legalese

20. Buffs : FANS

21. Complicated account : SAGA

22. Group that might bug you : SPY RING - har-har;  eavesdropping bug

24. Actor/director with two Emmys and two Razzies : SHATNER - William; I was just watching Airplane 2 - the sequel in DE

"No tower~?"

27. Winter warmers : COCOAS

28. Thirteenth Amendment beneficiary : SLAVE

29. Be ready for : AWAIT

30. 1935 FDR dedication : HOOVER DAM

34. Net grazer : LET - tennis

35. Body style : COUPE - SEDAN fit, too - 20% correct-ish; another 'ansecho' with
49. Overthrow : COUP - meh.  I think of this as the group, not the act

36. Raised-barn connection : IN A - Were you raised in a barn or what~?

37. Former : ERSTWHILE

40. Member of a strict Jewish sect : HASID

42. "Not interested" : I PASS - the trip to DE was so much faster with EZ Pass

43. Give up : VACATE

44. Grotte de Cussac attraction : CAVE ART - Frawnche art; reminds me of this Steely Dan song

Caves of Altamira

 47. Xenon, e.g. : RARE GAS - well, I knew it was "a" gas, but NOBLE and INERT did not fit

48. Urgent letters : A.S.A.P.

50. Scoreboard letters : R H E - baseball for C.C.; Runs, Hits, Errors - I had the "H", thought it might be CHI for the white sox or cubs

51. Anticipatory reaction : SALIVATING

55. It pulls a bit : REIN - literally; very clever

57. They're trapped in pots : EELS

58. Endurance event facility : AID STATION

59. Unoccupied : IDLE

DOWN:

1. Union concern : WAGE SCALE - the UPS union is giving me grief right now

3. Some strays : ALLEY CATS

4. "Snow White" collectible : CEL

5. Many Shakespearean characters : ROMANS

6. Malaysian native : ORANG

7. Short and sweet, e.g.: Abbr. : ADJectiveS

8. River to Aberdeen : DEE - cheeeeted~!

9. Their offices often have small rms. : DRs

10. Down : EAT - ah, not the "SAD" kind

11. Marathoner's misfortune : BLISTER - I get blisters raking in the fall

12. Costa __ : RICAN - nice misdirection with the "N"

13. Picture : IMAGE - wouldn't be Saturday without a gratuitous image

 14. __ year : SOLAR

20. Royal decree : FIAT

23. French royal : ROI - dammit~! can't escape the Frawnche

24. Skiing need : SLOPE

25. Give birth to : HAVE

26. Boston's Mass __ : AVE

28. People : SOULS

30. Lift up : HOIST

31. Differed : DISAGREED

32. Witness in 1991 Senate hearings : ANITA HILL

35. Burn slightly : CHAR

38. Haberdashery supply : TIEPINS

39. Employment org. created in 1935 : WPA

40. Dwell (on) : HARP

41. It's not returned : ACE - more net sport 'jargon'

43. Orchestra leader Billy : VAUGHN

44. "Speak, hands, for me!" speaker : CASCA - Et tu, Brute~? is the "next" line in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

45. Japanese beer brand : ASAHI - got it because it was in a recent puzzle

46. Legitimate : VALID

47. "But wait! There's more!" company : RONCO - the Wiki

49. Bank opening? : CITI - Citibank - in the news this week; ordered to pay out $700mil

52. Storage unit : VAT

53. Triumphant reaction : "A-HA~!"

54. Mild rebuke : TUT

55. "Get outside yourself" company : REI - had this some Saturdays ago - not that I remembered this outdoor company

Splynter

Friday, July 24, 2015 Mike Buckley

Theme: BOGO, get one pun and then a second one for free.

We get our third Mike Buckley effort of 2015 with this one a sound-alike pun effort. Puns are based on humor which is such a subjective area I would guess some of you will really enjoy the theme while other will be meh. I enjoyed the theme and appreciate the extra challenge of having both parts of the theme changed to sound alike. The rest of the puzzle has some real sparkle like ASSISI, DEANNA, I RAISE,  MAZDAS,  PINDAR,  PRAWNS,  SINKER,  TICTAC,  YTTRIA, DEPECHE, MIAMIAN,  SURGEON, AS EASY AS,  NEPOTIST, PECOS BILL, SAWHORSES and some very difficult places. The three across two down pattern also was fun.

18A. Composer Dvorák in hiding? : CACHED CZECH (11). This cashed check transforms into a musical clue. LINK.

38A. Demands for quiet from the downstairs tenant? : CEILING WHACKS (13). Sealing wax is not commonly used anymore, but the clue does bring back this SONG (3:00).

58A. Wildebeests slowing down? : BRAKING GNUS (11). My favorite mental picture comes from this breaking news.

3D. Walked by a campsite? : PASSED TENTS (11). Walked is whimsically past tense.

26D. Poor jousters? : WEAK KNIGHTS (11). Can you watch them on week nights on ESPN?

Let's see what we have.

Across:

1. Spot : PIP. Like on a die.

4. "My Name Is Asher Lev" author : POTOK. Chaim Potok has written many wonderful books and appeared in puzzles often.

9. Normandy beachhead : OMAHA. No Nebraska clue on a Friday; will the next generation remember?

14. Rollover __ : IRA. This has become on of the most common of fills.

15. Send packing : EVICT.

16. Jazz section : SAXES.  Your choice, this, or the music below?

17. "Hip Hop Is Dead" artist : NAS.

20. Misrepresent : DISTORT.

22. Main part : LEAD. In a play, or movie.

23. No harder than : AS EASY AS. An odd looking stretch of letters, which is good but it is a partial which I was told was bad, so ?!?

25. Edible decapods : PRAWNS. Meaning having 10 legs: Steve and Nice Cuppa can explain this more but DIFFERENCE.

29. Provide new audio for : REDUB. My son tried to get me to appreciate dubstep music.

30. More than square : CUBE. Cute.

32. Council position : SEAT.

33. Adjust, as sails : TRIM. I watched a You tube on how to sail  by yourself.

35. Mythical elephant carriers : ROCS. You want to read about it?  HERE.

37. "Aladdin" monkey : ABU.

41. Your Moment of __: Jon Stewart's show ender : ZEN. Obama ordered him to stay.

42. Spike : LACE. As in "lace the punch"; this was very tricky 4 letter fill.

43. Fuzzy Endor native : EWOK. Star Wars VII is coming!

44. They're often smashed : SOTS. No Tinbeni comments here, please.

46. Ellington's "__ Indigo" : MOOD. The Duke.

48. Nearby : HANDY.

51. Umbria tourist town : ASSISI. This is the landlocked part of Italy, unlike 66A. Resort off the Sorrentine Peninsula : CAPRI. This is an island.

53. One who keeps it in the family : NEPOTIST. WE all have heard of nepotism, so I guess this word exists.

55. Sports gp. with three divisions : NCAA.

57. "The Kids Are __": 1979 The Who documentary : ALRIGHT.

62. One of Kramden's hardy followers? : HAR.

63. Staff symbol : C CLEF. Music notation. 8D. "Hooked on Classics" co. : K TEL. 49D. Note in the key of B major : D SHARP. A mini-theme ?

64. Singer's asset : RANGE.

65. Ode opener? : TRI. Triode.

67. Gather together : AMASS.

68. Post-workout destination : SPA.

Down:

1. "The test of any man lies in action" odist : PINDAR. From Thebes in Ancient Greece.

2. Game challenge : I RAISE. Betting games.

4. Lover of Slue-Foot Sue : PECOS BILL. This romantic STORY.

5. Subject for Italian anatomist Fallopius : OVARY. He also invented the English subway, hence its name- the Fallopian Tube.

6. Certs alternative : TICTAC. Paddy whack...

7. "Alas!" from a lass : OCH. How is your Gaelic?

9. Grouch in a can : OSCAR. Sesame Street lives on.

10. Protegés, e.g. : MAZDAS. This took a long time to remember with the last one in the model year 2003.

11. Fire : AXE.

12. Crime-solver Ramsey of 1970s TV : HEC. The second incarnation of Richard Boone, more famous as Paladin.

13. Krakatoa output : ASH.

19. "Exciter" band __ Mode : DEPECHE. Lots of MUSIC if you are bored.

21. Alpha __, star in the Bull constellation : TAURI. This huge ORANGE star, known as Alderbarran is not related to the more familiar Alpha Centauri.

24. Cutting-edge professional? : SURGEON. Really sharp humor.

27. Snares : NABS.

28. Former Beatle Sutcliffe : STU. He left the band to pursue his work as a painter, but died at 22.

31. Defer : BOW.

34. Dolphin, e.g. : MIAMIAN. A bit tricky but not down here in SoFla.

36. Cutting supports : SAWHORSES.

38. Co. VIPs : CEOS. Chief Executive Officers. Next to...

39. Sgt. maj., e.g. : NCO. Non-Commissioned Officer.

40. Tropical raccoon kin : COATI. You want to know more? READ.

41. Half a Gabor? : ZSA. Better than half a fly.

45. Angling aid : SINKER.

47. Counselor in Jean-Luc's command : DEANNA. Ms. Troi gets more ink than Jean-Luc.

50. Oxide in incandescent gas mantles : YTTRIA. I do not even know what a gas mantle is, but this was interesting to READ.

52. Space opera genre : SCI-FI.

54. Promotions : PLUGS. Once you see it this is easy, but it took a while.

56. Uttar Pradesh tourist city : AGRA.

58. Discreet email letters : BCC. The B is for blind, meaning you are not telling them to whom you are sending it to.

59. Nipper's label : RCA. Radio Corporation of America.

60. High peak : ALP. Another marti CSO.

61. Moll's leg : GAM. A great word from all the pulp  and detective fiction I have read. Do you recognizes these gams from this old TV show where the actresses face never appeared?

Next week will close out July, so go somewhere fun, but take the puzzle with you. Thanks Mike, and all of you.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 23, 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme: "AYYYYY!" A two-fer-one. (See 20-A)

17. Cats' request on seeing birds through the window? : LET US PREY. This one made me smile. Now I know why they put their little paws together whenever they see a bird outside.

25. Attention-getting craze? : HEY FEVER. Like Willie Mays, the Say HEY kid?

41. Ottoman ruler's pier? : THE DOCK OF THE BEY. I guess Mos Def's real name of Yasiin BEY would have been too obscure to use for this entry, huh?

52. "L.A. Law" actress' work period? : DEY SHIFT. This one doesn't really work for me - it should be "DEY's Shift."

66. Optimistic Spanish ruler? : REY OF HOPE. If you don't know your Spanish, this could have been a toughie.

I caught onto the theme right away, so the puzzle was pretty much solved left-to-right, top-to-bottom.

Across

1. Pros handling returns : CPAs.

5. Nos. that affect connecting flights : ETAs. I wonder if a CPA's GPA would affect the ETA of your IRA?

9. Like dry mud on cleats : CAKED.

14. 1979 DownBeat Hall of Fame inductee, familiarly : ELLA. The great Fitzgerald.

15. Beer ingredient : MALT.

16. "Spider-Man" director : RAIMI.

19. Brother of Miriam : AARON. Could also have been Moses.

20. Obeyed the doctor : SAID "AH".

21. Romp : PLAY.

23. Suffix with Capri : OTE. A Capriote is an inhabitant of Capri.

24. Actress Kunis : MILA.

27. "Bravo, señor!" : OLE.

29. "Blah blah blah": Abbr. : ETC.

31. Bavarian article : EIN.

32. Kid-lit detective __ the Great : NATE.

34. Speck : IOTA.

37. Dangerous bacterium : STAPH.

44. Senate Finance Committee chair Hatch : ORRIN.

45. Sundance's gal : ETTA. Place.

46. Like Gen. Powell : RET'D.

47. Storm, on the Beaufort scale : TEN. An empirical scale that relates observed conditions to wind speed.

49. iTunes purchase : APP.

51. Sign of success : VEE. Victory. Or two. Or peace.

57. California's __ Valley: Reagan Library site : SIMI.

59. Porter, e.g. : ALE.

60. Wind with a wide range : OBOE.

61. __-Dazs : HÄAGEN. Real ice cream, but totally bogus name.

64. Choir platform : RISER.

68. Taboos : NO-NOs.

69. Banjo spot : KNEE.

70. Tennis edge : AD IN. After deuce (a tie score of 3 each), a player must be up by two points to win the game. So if the server is up by one point, (s)he has the "AD" vantage "IN" his/her court, since if they win the next point, they would win the game.

71. Ring setting : STONE.

72. Proverbs : SAWS.

73. Trim on a curtain : LACE.


Down

1. Animation units : CELS.

2. Court entry : PLEA.

3. Skydiving device : ALTIMETER.

4. Riyadh native : SAUDI.

5. No-nonsense : EMPHATIC.

6. Stuff on the street : TAR.

7. Hebrew alphabet opener : ALEPH.

8. Topic for Strunk and White : STYLE. Pay $9.99 for the paperback, or read "Elements of Style" online for free.

9. Ingredient in the stew étouffée : CRAYFISH. I wonder what CREY FISH would be? "Crey" is slang for crazy, I think.

10. Financial rating : AAA.

11. Russian ballet name : KIROV.

12. Act badly? : EMOTE.

13. Eatery with its own lingo : DINER.

18. Fire __ : SALE.

22. "'Tis true!" : AYE.

26. Put in a log : ENTER.

27. Savvy about : ON TO.

28. Portrayer of a big scaredy-cat : LAHR. The cowardly lion in "The Wizard of Oz."

30. Soft drink choice : COKE.

33. Works on books : EDITS.

35. Elmo fan : TOT.

36. Old Spice rival : AFTA.

38. Sal Tessio portrayer in "The Godfather" : ABE VIGODA.

39. Folk icon Seeger : PETE.

40. Stevenson villain : HYDE.

42. Podunk-like : ONE HORSE.

43. Footwear for the Step Brothers : TAP SHOES. I never heard of these guys, but the answer could be intuited.

48. Penpoint : NIB.

50. "La Vie en Rose" chanteuse : PIAF. It was the signature song for Édith.

52. Fixes, as a heel, perhaps : DARNS. I know women who have married a heel, thinking they could fix him. Never works.

53. "Middlemarch" novelist : ELIOT.

54. Easy kind of question : YES/NO.

55. Where roads divide : FORKS.

56. Singer __ Marie : TEENA. Lots of singers today, it seems.

58. Taj __ : MAHAL.

62. Bigger than big : EPIC.

63. Hawaiian goose : NENE. We now know what they look like, right?

65. It's quite a stretch : EON. I know, I know - but I am almost done.

67. Source of pliable wood : YEW. See? I told YEW it would soon end.

That's it from me for now!
Marti

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015 Tom McCoy

Theme: The Deion Sanders Shout-Out

The first word of each theme entry is a prime number, the second word is a period of time. This actually is a blecho from Argyle's blog on Monday ("Not ready for prime time") which is kinda neat.

16A. *It classifies ancient times based on metals : THREE AGE SYSTEM. A very rare cluing misstep here. The three ages are the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Spot the one that isn't a metal. The basis for the system is the material used to make tools.

31A. *Typical worker's break : TWO DAY WEEKEND. Theme entry odd-man out here - the third word of this entry is also a time period, which seems a shame to me.

44A. *Possible reason for marriage counseling : SEVEN YEAR ITCH. And the best possible excuse for posting this iconic image of Tom Ewell from the movie of that name. I'm not sure who the scene-stealing actress in the dress was.

62A.*Justification for eating food that's fallen on the ground : FIVE SECOND RULE. Also depends on where you dropped it, whether anyone has trodden on it, and whether you  have to fight the dog for it.

and the reveal entries:

69A. With 70-Across, prized programming slot ... or a hint to the first two parts of the answers to starred clues : PRIME

70A. See 69-Across : TIME

Merry Wednesday, everyone. Steve here with an unusual 14x16 grid from Tom McCoy. I liked the theme a lot, with the exception of the "WEEKEND" entry comprising two time periods, rather than a single one like the rest. That's my minor nit. Your mileage may vary. This is Tom's second LAT publication, the last one ("MERCURY") sparked a lot of debate here at the Corner.

I'm assuming that the grid dimensions came about due to difficulty finding an acceptable fill around the 63 theme squares - that's quite an impressive number for a midweek puzzle. I tried to fill a 15x15 grid for fun, but the SE and South-Central section with "PRIME" and "TIME" turned out to be a problem. At this point I'd have thrown in the towel, but kudos to Tom for resizing the grid and delivering a really fun Wednesday.

I remember reading that as late as the early twentieth century, the number 1 was considered to be prime, but that apparently made a mess of some mathematical theories so it was quietly dropped and swept under the rug. Poor digit. That leaves these four as the first four primes.

Righty-ho. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Place for Lightning and Hurricanes : RINK. Respectively, Tampa Bay and Carolina of the NHL

5. Confederate soldiers : GRAYS. I finally remembered how to spell "gray" in US English. Yay!

10. "It's okay, I guess" : MEH

13. Sign : OMEN

14. Screen dot : PIXEL. My laptop has got almost two million of the little blighters.My first computer had eight or so. Or was it two?

15. "Rumble in the Jungle" fighter : ALI. The classic Ali vs. Foreman fight. Ali, the challenger, knocked out the previously-undefeated Foreman for the Heavyweight title.

19. Ancient volume : CODEX. I learned this when I read "The Da Vinci Code". Shame that I filled it in as "CODEC" when my computerese-brain got in the way.

20. Passports, licenses, etc. : IDS

21. "Egad!" : OH NO! Eek!

22. Itty bit : TAD

24. "Green Eggs and Ham" opening : I AM SAM. I've never read this. Perhaps I should.

26. Toward the back : ASTERN

30. Jamaican export : RUM. Cheers! Myers is probably the best-known variety.

36. Seals with pitch : TARS. I'd have gone for a "sailor" type clue here, being as RUM is right next door.

37. Some drafts : ALES. Cheers! Tinbeni's happy today.

38. Frightful cry : EEK! Egad!

40. Fitting : APT

41. Cone droppers : FIRS

43. Where Georgia is : ASIA. An ex-member of the Soviet Union. Here's the flag, I don't recall ever seeing it before:

48. Fictional planet : ORK. Birthplace of Mork.

49. Go downhill : WORSEN

50. "The Kiss" and "The Thinker" : RODINS. Both sculptures by the good Monsieur Auguste. There are three versions of "The Kiss" which are sculpted in marble, and more than 20 of "The Thinker", which are cast in bronze.

53. Soup veggie : PEA. Food! I make mine with a smoked ham hock thrown in for flavor and seasoning.

54. Many a miniseries : EPIC

55. Spoil : MAR

57. Obedience school item : LEASH

65. Genetic info carrier : R.N.A. Compare and contrast with D.N.A. Fill in the "NA" and wait for the crosses.

66. Like Cheerios : OATEN

67. "Paradise Lost" character : ADAM

68. Hankering : YEN

Down:

1. Military prep prog. : R.O.T.C. The Reserve Officer's Training Program.

2. Texter's qualifier : IMHO. In my humble opinion, this now qualifies as crosswordese.

3. Stereotypical sci-fi fan : NERD

4. Joint where kids are welcome? : KNEE. Nice clue!

5. A D will usually lower it: Abbr. : G.P.A.

6. Unbending : RIGID

7. Took a hatchet to : AXED

8. "You got that right!" : YESSIREE! Egads! Eek! Quite a few "exclamations" in the puzzle today.

9. Wily : SLY

10. Trig or calc, to a Brit : MATHS. Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy for me. I was surprised to discover that this word has never been used (in the modern era at least) in either the LAT or the NYT crosswords.

11. Colleague of Antonin and Anthony : ELENA. The crosses filled this one in for me, so it's only now I look back and wonder where this came from. All Supreme Court Judges, thank you Google. Wow - and it's only Wednesday? Argyle called it on Monday expecting some unexpected hurdles during the week.

12. Call-home opener : HI MOM! Popular stadium sign text too.

17. Not needed : EXTRA

18. French river to the English Channel : SOMME. I had the "S" so SEINE went in, then quickly came out.

23. "__ more bright ideas?" : ANY

25. Arctic divers : AUKS

26. "__ girl!" : ATTA

27. Cashless deals : SWAPS. Does anyone swap things at a swap meet any more? I think it's all cash. C.C? (From C.C.: Mostly cash. And I do swap things with others at the flea market.)

28. Rich dessert : TORTE. Food! Gimme. As in, gimme more torte.

29. Newspaper figs. : EDS. Rich Norris is our favorite editor.

32. On the lookout : WARY

33. Otherwise : ELSE

34. Stacks like Tupperware : NESTS. Because "teeters uncontrollably in a cupboard with a collection of mismatched lids which cascade on your head when you open aforesaid cupboard" doesn't fit.

35. Unfreeze : DE-ICE

39. Madeline of "Clue" : KAHN. Thank you, crosses. It's very rare that I can fill in an actor without help.

41. Seedless plant : FERN

42. Lefty's writing concern : INK SMEAR. My brother is left-handed. I wanted to tease his writing style when we were kids, but he's two years older than me and he would have done unspeakable things to me. So I kept quiet.

43. __ Jordan : AIR

45. Give expression to : VOICE

46. Stun : AWE

47. Willy Wonka creator Dahl : ROALD. Why on earth for a brief couple of seconds did I think his name was RAOUL and was confused that it wouldn't fit?

50. Prepare beans, Mexican-style : REFRY

51. Weigh in : OPINE

52. Backless sofa : DIVAN

53. Introduction : PROEM. Brand-new to me, and therefore my personal word of the day. Introduction to a book written by the author. I thought it would crop up more due to the convenient vowel progression, but it was last seen in the LAT crossword back in 2008.

56. When Tony sings "Maria" : ACT I. Saving my music link to the end. Worth every saved second.

58. Q.E.D. word : ERAT

59. BMW rival : AUDI

60. Shut angrily : SLAM

61. Iron-rich blood pigment : HEME

63. Bread, at times : SOP

64. Hershey-to-Scranton dir. : NNE. From Chocolatetown, USA to the Electric City.

And .... the grid. See my word of the day the last to fill.

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Congrats to TTP on his retirement! Now he'll have plenty of time to improve his golf and cooking skills. So nice to have you back, pal.

2) Last night Jazzbumpa (Ron) sent me this lovely picture of him and his grandkids. Nate has grown up! Ron said that Nate's team went to the Cal Ripken tournament at Myrtle Beach after this picture was taken and Nate pitched the last couple innings in their last game.

 

In front: Samantha, Emily and Nate.

Behind: Danny, Alexa, me, Amanda, Ryan.

July 2, 2015