Sunday August 16, 2015 Clive Probert

Theme:  "R&D" - R is replaced by DR in each theme entry.

23A. Saloon with a strict no-quipping policy? : ANTI-DROLL BAR. Anti-roll bar.

35A. Art class focused on river rapids? : WHITE WATER DRAFTING. Whitewater rafting

52A. Has the downspouts inspected? : GETS A DRAIN CHECK. Gets a rain check.

 

76A. Portrait of Donald's life? : A DRAKE'S PROGRESS. A Rake's Progress.

 

89A. Worries about contract details? : DREADS THE FINE PRINT. Reads the fine print. This one has a sound change.

108A. Refreshment after some winter recreation? : SKATING DRINK. Skating rink.

A few stray R's, but none starting letters in the theme entries.

Only 6 entries, but they're all quite long. I dread  15+ letter entries. This grid only has 138 words and 66 black squares (our norm is 144 words and 78 squares). Those stacks of 8's in the upper right and lower left are hard to fill cleanly. Big fan of today's grid.

Across:     

1. Route with many turns : SLALOM. Had ??AL??, still could not nail it, Marti!

7. Command to a guard dog : SIC 'EM

12. Cap with a feather, to Yankee Doodle : MACARONI

20. Way out? : PAROLE.  Third week in a row the upper left corner stumped me with its tricky clues.

21. Budget rival : ALAMO

22. Cosmetic oil source : AVOCADOS. My avocado oil is half gone. Pretty good. Scentless like almond oil.

25. Hallucinatory state : DELIRIUM

26. App symbol : ICON. And 28. "There's __ for that" : A NAME. You wanted AN APP, right?

27. Basic chem. unit : MOL. For Molecule?

 

30. Port on the Danish island Fyn : ODENSE. Hans Christian Andersen was born here.

31. "The Matrix" hero : NEO. This has become a gimme.

32. Wraparound garment : SARI

33. Simba's mate : NALA

34. NFL commentator Collinsworth : CRIS. Strange Wiki does not have a picture of him.

 

41. Brought up : REARED

44. Suffix with polymer : ASE. We also have 70. Grieg's "__ Death" : ASE'S. Constructors don't use these fill if they have better options.

45. Hide-and-seek word : READY

46. "Go jump in the loch!" : NAE! Little things make me happy, like this clue.

47. Take up, say : ALTER

48. Data-transfer meas. : BPS.  OK, Bits/Bytes per Second.

50. San Jose-based tech giant : CISCO. Our Steve is with ORACLE.

51. Wag : CARD. Got me also.

56. "Big" star : HANKS. I'd got it easily if Tom were in the clue.

57. Sieben-neun link : ACHT. 7, 8, 9.

58. Porridge bit : OAT

59. Miffed : IRED

60. Board game based on pachisi : SORRY.  Easy crosses.

62. Subway fixtures : STILES

64. Fencing tools : EPEES

65. Primate in "Tarzan" films : CHEETA

68. Muscular power : SINEW

 

71. Delt neighbor : LAT

73. Perón and others : EVAS

74. Jam cacophony : HORNS. Traffic jam. I just do not see a *S ending answer with this type of clue.

80. "So I'm cuter," to Tom Cruise: Abbr. : ANAG (Anagram). Cute.

81. Brooklyn institute : PRATT. Crosses as well.

82. Cephalopod's defense : INK

83. Range in NE Utah : UINTA.  Rare UI* starting word.

84. Nonsense : ROT

85. Juvenile response : I AM SO

86. Suffix with human : OID

88. Sailing term preceded by a number : MASTED. Like two-masted.

94. Light bite : NOSH

95. Isn't up to par : AILS. And 8. Not up to par : ILL

96. 100 cents : EURO

97. Ryder Cup org. : PGA. So who do you think will win today? Left or Right? Or neither?

100. Pain : HASSLE

103. Refuse : TRASH. Noun "Refuse".

104. Fjord kin : RIA

105. Vein extracts : ORES

106. Shoe specification : EEE WIDTH

 

111. Customs-exempt storage facility : FREE ZONE. Lower left corner was easy to tackle today.

112. Anthrax-prevention drug : CIPRO. Fair crosses.

113. Concert cry : ENCORE

114. Downpours : TORRENTS

115. Start of the Common Era : ONE AD

116. Cowed : SCARED

Down:

1. Mediterranean land : SPAIN. MALTA won't fit.

2. Medieval Times prop : LANCE. Googled afterward. Never heard of the theater. Started in Texas. Been there, D-Otto/Anon-T?

3. Lovable droid : ARTOO

4. Butcher's cut : LOIN

5. __ school : OLD. Neither LAW or MED fit.

6. Madison in "Splash," as it turns out : MERMAID. Never watched the movie.

7. __ Mae : SALLIE

 

9. Changing places : CABANAS. Great clue also.

10. Flow (from) : EMANATE

11. Pep talk target : MORALE

12. Earned : MADE

13. Postal address abbr. : AVE

14. State bordering seven others : COLORADO. Easy crossings.

15. Turn sour : ACIDIFY

 

16. Least cooked : RAREST. I had RAWEST.

17. God with an eight-legged horse : ODIN

18. Toi et moi : NOUS

19. "Woe __!" : IS ME. And 36. "Where __?" : WAS I

24. __ cloud: comet-filled region in interstellar space : OORT

29. Wedded couples : MARRIEDS

32. He-Man's twin : SHE-RA

34. Solves : CRACKS

35. Sport with pins : WRESTLING. No bowling. Cool, TTP, right?

37. Fam. tree member : DESC

38. Regardless : IN ANY EVENT.  And 43. "The way things are going ... " : AT THIS RATE

 

39. British stoolie : NARK. Forgot. We had this before.

40. Night sch. goals : GEDs

41. Sitar tunes : RAGAS

42. Campaign sign word : ELECT

48. Olga product : BRA. Gimme. Never bought their bras though.

49. Square spread on a slice : PAT. Butter!

50. Burger topper : CHEESE

51. Workaholic : CAREERIST. Not a word I use.

53. Teaspoon, e.g. : DOSE

54. Goes for, puppy-style : NIPS AT

55. Brook : CREEK

56. Princely letters : HRH (His Royal Highness)

61. Prefix with pod : OCTO

63. USN rank : ENS

64. Like some grins : EAR TO EAR

66. Try : TASTE

67. Mideast leadership family name : ASSAD

69. Friendliness : WARMTH

71. ICU worker : LPN

72. Old flood insurance? : ARK. Ha ha.

74. Like some facts and stuff : HARD

75. __ about : ON OR

77. Go like mad : DASH

78. Steamed veggies, say : SIDE

79. Organic fertilizer : GUANO. I know the word when I see it. But I don't know how to spell it correctly. 

81. Relayed : PASSED ON

85. Revere : IDOLIZE. My idol. Zhang Yimou is from Xi'an as well. He discovered Gong Li.

86. Seaman's protective garment : OILSKIN

87. Fit : IN SHAPE

88. Illusions : MIRAGES

90. Pick up the phone : ANSWER

91. Debacle : FIASCO

92. " ... and that's final" : PERIOD

93. Total : RUIN

97. Poet Matthew buried in Westminster Abbey : PRIOR. Got via crosses.

98. Category : GENRE

99. FAQ part : ASKED

100. Test by lifting : HEFT

101. Aviation prefix : AERO

102. One in a ball game? : SEER. Crystal ball.

103. Bk. with synonyms : THES (Thesaurus)

105. Sea lion predator : ORCA

107. Blasting material : TNT

109. Refrain start : TRA

110. Caucus organizer: Abbr. : DNC. or RNC.

C.C.

Saturday, Aug 15th, 2015, Michael Wiesenberg

Theme: None

Words: 66 (missing B,H,J,Q,W,X,Z)

Blocks: 36

I think this might be my fastest Saturday solve, ever.  I have blogged only one puzzle from Michael, and prior to that, his Sat LAT offering was a "no E" grid.  Today's, offering, however, seemed to be a much easier, although visually interesting, construction.  Triple 10's in the Down paired to two 15-letter climbers, with almost triple 10's in the Across, and another pair of 11-letter climbers;

4. One of an orange trio : TENNESSEE AVENUE - brilliant - Monopoly, the board game

10. Source of flashes : ELECTRICAL STORM

 

8. Didn't compute : MADE NO SENSE

23. Trading principle : RECIPROCITY

En Avant~!

ACROSS:

1. Stay __ Marshmallow Man: "Ghostbusters" icon : PUFT - Gotta love starting with a clue about one of my favorite movies - I have dressed as a Ghostbuster for Halloween

5. Mild cheese : EDAM

9. It may be found in sheets : METAL

14. Put __ in: test : A TOE

15. Dancer who appeared in "Golden Boy" after being discovered by Sammy Davis Jr. : LOLA FALANA

17. Stagger : STUN

18. Leads astray : MISDIRECTS

19. Shore bird : TERN - by now, I was wondering if I might have solved the wrong puzzle

20. Modern traveler's purchase : eTICKET

21. Heraldic band : ORLE - oops, not HALO; more here

22. O. Henry, for one : IRONIST

25. Their nos. might appear on shields : RTEs - like this one, found in my neck of the woods - I don't have an I-495 shield, but I do have a RTE 97 sign - not stolen, mind you, but given to me by a state worker

26. Diamond words after two or three : MEN ON - ah, baseball for C.C. - but makes me think of this song

Lyric @2:50

27. Stand : RISE

31. Fine things : ARTS

32. Experts : ACES

33. "__ corny ... ": song lyric : I'M AS - ah.  song from the musical South Pacific - before my time

34. Word for a loser? : LITE - not DIET; 75% correct-ish

35. "Yow!" : YIPES - I had yiKes, and that was close enough

37. Mil. ranks : CPLs - not SGTs

38. Sport for people in suits : ÉPÉE - I put this in, but I thought it was the sword, not the sport

39. Gasp : PANT

40. "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle," for one : ARIA - sounds Frawnche - OMG, people, lighten UP~!  It's a joke~!  I don't give a rat's a** if there's more French, Spanish, Italian or German in a puzzle; in fact, I've been saying "Frawnche" for so long, I couldn't recall that it's from a clip in 30-year old movie

41. Medical supplies : SERA - oops, put an "S" in at the end - Bzzzt~!

42. Pension law acronym : ERISA - Employee Retirement Income Security Act

43. Tax : LEVY

44. Like caps : VISORED

46. Style for jazzman Crothers : SCAT

47. Indictment feature? : SILENT C - indYTEment; learned watching Law & Order

50. Thames museum : TATE

51. Show no hesitation about starting : PLUNGE INTO - speaking of "plunge", see 52d.

55. Lex's henchman in "Superman" films : OTIS - I remember Ned Beatty playing the role in 1978

56. Sell shares : ISSUE STOCK

57. Torn : RENT

58. Spud : TATER

59. Versatile tubers : YAMS

60. Texts: Abbr. : MSGs

DOWN:   

1. Bucolic musical pieces : PASTORALES

2. Bosh : UTTER TRIPE

3. Offensive, perhaps : FOUR-LETTER - like, say, epee and orle  :7))

5. Common street name : ELM

6. "Moi?" : "DO I~?" - and more Franwche

7. Gore and more : ALs

9. Yankee whose #9 was retired in 1984 : MARIS - more baseball for C.C.

11. Sailor's maneuver : TACK

12. Get in the game : ANTE

13. Not flag : LAST - ah, the verb "to flag"

16. Blend : FIT IN

22. "Could happen" : "I MAY"

24. Hold 'em holding : ONE PAIR - Texas style poker.  Just to show how much I love the French, I'm giving you an image of "one pair" of their pantyhose

28. Curses : IMPRECATES - new word for me, from the Latin "to pray"

29. Showing anticipation, in a way : SALIVATING - see 52d.

30. Some finals : ESSAY TESTS

36. Dutch village : STAD

42. Colorado's __ Park : ESTES

45. Actress Stevens : INGER

47. Turner in cooking : SPIT - like Ike or Tina, in music (Turn-er.)

48. To whom Rick said, "The Germans wore gray, you wore blue" : ILSA

49. Relish : LUST - se7en, the movie, was on this week - another one of my favorites

52. Tishby of "The Island" : NOA - how have I never seen this woman~?...hamuna-hamuna

53. Old films channel : TCM

54. Approvals : OKs - 52d gets my approval

Splynter

Friday, August 14, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Annie where are you hiding? DADDY?

Well we have Jeffrey back on Friday with a very visual puzzle that mandates you have the circles to make sense out of his creation. There are no conventional theme answers except the reveal 34A. Classic comics catchphrase ... and a hint to four sets of puzzle circles : LEAPIN' LIZARDS.(13).

The circles reveal 4 familiar lizards GECKO, SKINK, MONITOR and CHAMELEON with the letters in the circles producing a picture of the motion of jumping. I love the visual. The icing on the cake for me is having CHAMELEON which is famous for changing color to elude predators hidden in the puzzle. The rest is a daunting combination of very difficult fill and tricky cluing. ATACAMA SAMISEN NEBULAE MINI-LOTS INERTIAL and many others make this a Friday challenge. Having no theme to fill in easily took out a normal crutch I use to solve, but for me the payoff was worth the effort. Let's see how I got  there.

Across:

1. Game piece : TILE. Especially if you play Scrabble.

5. Place for oysters : BED. Cute misdirection. So much I did not KNOW.

8. Perch, at times : LIMB.  A friend has taken two sparrows into his home.

12. Beef __: dish sometimes made with Guinness : IN ALE. Steve, help? Sounds YUMMY.

15. Social __ : MEDIA. Often quite anti-social.

16. Narrow landforms : NECKS. Isthmus is from the Greek word for neck.

17. Record number, briefly : RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.

18. Hides : SKINS. Sounds like the skink, I think.

19. Higher ed challenge : GRE.Graduate Record Examination.

20. Aromatic : ODOROUS. Not a common word.

23. Hägar creator Browne : DIK.

24. Emperor before Vitellius : OTHO. Lucky for me my son studied Roman Archaeology so I knew of this short lived emperor one of FOUR who served in 69 AD,

26. Yards, e.g. : UNITS.

27. Rude look : OGLE. Politically incorrect look.

28. "Runaround Sue" singer : DION.

29. Path lead-in : OSTEO. Nice misdirection, not in the woods but at the doctors.

30. Pace maker? : FOOT. More tough cluing for easy fill.

31. Setting for a Tony-winning Miller play : SALEM. No politics, but this is a powerful PLAY.

33. Cheers : ROOTS. I have an ear worm LISTEN.(1:07).

40. Patronizes, as a hotel : STAYS AT.

41. Hold on a diner order : OMIT.

45. Common sense : SMELL.Great pun.

46. What Barry White often sings? : BASS, LISTEN. (4:30).

50. Cosmic clouds : NEBULAE. Great word; the building blocks of the universe.

52. Slithery : EEL LIKE.

54. Fireplace wood : BEECH. I know little about FIREWOOD.

55. Relief provider : OASIS. Not Tums or Rolaids.

56. South American desert : ATACAMA. I knew nothing of this DRIEST place.

59. Like some landscape paintings : MOONLIT.

61. Plucked Japanese instrument : SAMISEN. Don't fret if you never heard about THIS.

62. Bleepworthy : OBSCENE.

63. Sci-fi staples : ETS.

64. Calculate, in a way : ADD. One of the many on modern calculators.

65. See 35-Down : TIE. I need an explanation for making this simple fill a cross-reference.

66. U.S. Army E-5 : SGT.

Down:

1. Self-important authoritarians : TIN GODS. Really fun fill.

2. __ navigation: aerospace guidance system : INERTIAL. My learning MOMENT.

3. Wingtip feature : LACE HOLE. What is needed for tie shoes.

4. Rockies grazer : ELK. Not to be confused with 8D. Albanian coin : LEK, though I believe you can buy ELK meat with LEK.

5. Some nobility : BARONS. Counts?

6. Lively wit : ESPRIT.According to MW  "vivacious cleverness or wit."

7. Punish for a military rules violation, perhaps : DEMOTE.

9. "Yay, me!" : I DID GOOD. Nice phrase.

10. Small currency-market trading quantities : MINI-LOTS. A way to take some of the risk out of trading currencies. READ.

11. Navajo craftwork products : BASKETS.

13. That, in Madrid : ESO. Back again.

15. Rejects, usually: Abbr. : MSS. Abbreviation for manuscripts.

21. Laurel and Hardy, e.g. : DUO.

22. 1941 FDR creation : USO. So many acronyms during the FDR years; I am still watching the Roosevelts while I ride the exercise bike.

25. Selective Service status : ONE-A.

27. "__ a Thousand Tongues to Sing": Christian hymn : O FOR. Not in my wheelhouse.

32. USMC enforcers : MPS. Military Police.

33. Singer? : RAT. Someone who tells on another, especially popular with the mob.

35. With 65-Across, soccer game cry : IT'S A. See above.

36. Word before or after brand : NAME. We have had this odd one before.

37. Corrosive material : LYE.

38. Key : ISLE. And, 47D. Theatrical features : AISLES. English is a wonder.

39. Big name in jewelry : ZALE. Every kiss begins with ... oops.

41. Distracting the pitcher, maybe : ON BASE. Well this is stretch but I do recall some who were good when they got on.

42. Use for a rendezvous : MEET AT.

43. Steel girders : I-BEAMS.

44. Stanley who plays Flickerman in "The Hunger Games" : TUCCI. Despicable.

46. Sommelière's suggestion : BLANC. Ou rouge.

48. It may be freestyle : SKIING. marti?

49. Sonnet part : SESTET.Six.

51. Tibet University city : LHASA. Many students go there to get HIGH.

53. Free : LOOSE. I had a date like that once.

57. Rx spec : MED.

58. Furthermore : AND.

59. Nice word : MOT. The old French city "Nice" trick

60. Geisha's band : OBI. Another touch of Japan as our exit line; makes me wonder if there are any  Geisha musical groups playing the Samisen. One last LISTEN.

Another innovative look from Jeffrey and lots of work for me. I hope you all enjoy it.

Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.: 

1) Belated Happy Birthday to dear Chickie! I'm so sorry that I spaced out yesterday morning. Hope you had a wonderful celebration with Bill and the kids and grandkids. Are you planning a big gathering this weekend?

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015

2) Also belated Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's wife Betty as well! Betty makes a mean Baklava, if I remember correctly. I've yet to find the filo dough in our grocery store, Spitzboov.

Spitzboov & Betty at the reunion dinner held at the US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, 2012

Thursday, August 13, 2015 Mark Bickham

Theme: "Holding Company" 4:01


18-Across. "Hang on for a sec" : BE RIGHT BACK. I'm not holding back, I'll tell it like it is!

23-Across.. It can be white or red : BLOOD CELL. Oops - don't want to ever see the inside of a holding cell.

31-Across.. Way with words? : SPEECH PATTERN. Sometimes I feel as if my life were in a holding pattern: same old, same old every day.

40-Across.. Cry from a daring biker : LOOK MA NO HANDS. I just finished a great book, "Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands" by Chris Bohjalian.

50-Across.. French Open surface : CLAY COURT. I enjoy holding court here every Thursday!

57-Across.. Type of tax ... or how the ends of the other five longest across answers might be seen? :
WITHHOLDING.  You have to read it a different way to see the connection: They might be seen "with" HOLDING. Lots of themage from Mark today, with six entires. It's not easy to do that without compromising the fill. Lets see how he did.

Across

1. Hypotheticals : IFs. No ands or buts?

4. Casino conveniences : ATMs.

8. Painfully bright : AGLARE. I'll let it go this time, since I enjoyed the puzzle so much.

14. Medical research org. : NIH. National Institutes of Health.

15. Cool, in '90s slang : PHAT.

16. Military builder : SEABEE.  Their name is from "C.B." - Construction Battalion.

17. Subject of many 10-Downs : DNA. And 10-Down. Doctor's order : LAB TEST. Ummm, "bed rest" also fit. Just sayin'...

20. Banjo virtuoso Scruggs : EARL.

22. Most slimy : OILIEST.

25. "Better information. Better health" resource : WEB MD. I have blocked this site from DH's computer.  He keeps thinking the worst every time he gets a rash, ache, ingrown toenail, gas pain...

29. Barbershop voice : TENOR. Hmmm, Husker Gary. Which one do I choose? 4:13

30. Run for again, as office : RESEEK.

36. Act decisively : OPT.

38. Capital near Casablanca : RABAT.

39. "30 Rock" star : FEY. Tina. I loved her book, "Bossypants."

45. Literary breakdown : GENRES.

46. Actress Sonia : BRAGA. She was in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." No wonder I had no clue - all perps.

49. Had leftovers, say : ATE IN.

54. Checking the parts list, e.g. : STEP ONE.

56. Jr.'s exam: PSAT. Preliminary SAT. SAT was Scholastic Aptitude Test, then the Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, and now simply the SAT.

61. Oaf : APE.

62. Jeans appliqué : IRON ON.

63. Words to a double-crosser : ET TU?

64. Some fridges : GEs.

65. Nickel and cadmium : METALS.

66. Frequent fast food flavoring : SALT.

67. Ballpark fig. : EST.imate.  I never know whether to put in RBI or ERA or EST. But ERA got ruled out with 32-Down. Bullpen stats : ERAs. Earned Run Average(s).


Down

1. Financially behind : IN DEBT.

2. Often-dramatic movement : FINALE.  Like this famous one played in Boston every Fourth of July. 1:56

3. "Casino" Best Actress nominee : SHARON STONE.

4. BOLO equivalent : APB. "Be on the lookout" and "All Points Bulletin."

5. 2000s teen drama set in Newport Beach : THE O.C.. The "O.C." stands for Orange County.

6. Callender in the food business : MARIE.

7. To this day : STILL.

8. "A Hard Road to Glory" writer : ASHE.

9. Jumps in the pool : GETS WET. Duh, I was thinking of a different kind of pool, and wanted "antes up."

11. Esq. group : ABA. American Bar Association.

12. DirecTV remote button : REC.ord.

13. "A spider!" : EEK.

19. Hodges of the Dodgers : GIL. I actually remembered his name!

21. Chicago area, with "the" : LOOP.

24. Dr. who founded the Aftermath label : DRE.

26. Link often smoked : BEEF SAUSAGE. Hmmm...anyone else think of "brat" sausages?

27. Just : MERE.

28. High-fashion letters : DKNY. Donna Karan New York.

30. Pro __ : RATA.

33. Preservation container : CAN. Ummm..."jar"???

34. "True Detective" network : HBO.

35. "Phooey!" : PAH...."bAH"??

36. 10th-century Russian Orthodox saint : OLGA....Olaf? Sheesh!!

37. Well-versed one? : POET.

41. Avatar of Vishnu : KRISHNA.

42. Lozenge flavor : MENTHOL.

43. "30 Rock" network : NBC.

44. Word before kick or pass : DROP.

47. Market bunch : GRAPES. We will be traveling through the Wachau wine region in Austria, where we will see acres and acres of these.

48. Declare to be genuine : ATTEST.

50. Mil. rank : CPL. CoL??

51. Rich veins : LODES.

52. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" novelist Loos : ANITA.

53. 1983 Streisand film : YENTL.

55. Geologic periods : EONS.

57. Director Wenders : WIM.

58. Soreness? : IRE.

59. Tater __ : TOT.

60. Instinctive, as a reaction : GUT. As you can see, I went with my GUT reaction on a lot of answers, and had to back-pedal.

I finally fixed them all, and had fun doing it!
Marti