Friday, October 2, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Que pasa? Que sera sera!

JW is back with an add on theme where QUE is added to the end of a word to completely change the meaning of a word or phrase. Three add the que at the end of the phrase, with two adding to the middle of a word creating a two word answer. Four feature "I" before the add on, with one A. I love the first three in the theme. I also love the gridspanner in the middle. The rest of the fill is very good with ABOUND, ANUBIS, BEAT UP,  EX-PROS, GULDEN, OCEANS, TAIPEI, TRIBAL, ADRENALIN,  AQUA REGIA, FULL MOONS, HEARTBURN examples and some Friday fill like BIOTA and TOQUE. As always, JW makes us work to decipher some of the fill, but is Friday, so let us have at it.

18A. Angry young man's fate? : LIFE OF PIQUE (11).  The book Life of Pi became a worldwide best seller and movie after many rejections.

24A. Hercules, e.g.? : ANTIQUE HERO (11). Anti-hero (or antihero) has been a literary theme from Don Quixote through Marlon Brando, but while an ancient story, there is nothing but hero about Hercules.  (1:25).

39A. Result of a Caribbean sanitation strike? : DIRTY MARTINIQUE (15). My favorite of the theme, both for the drink and a reminder of the horrible volcanic eruption in 1902 that made one PRISONER famous.

56A. Proprietary paperwork? : UNIQUE FORMS (11). Uniforms.

62A. Ready-to-hang Cubist painting? : WIRED BRAQUE (11). A really creative one, with a very famous contemporary of Picasso (Georges Braque) brought to life from an under-wire bra, which he probably never painted.  IMAGE.

Across:

1. "I don't like it!" : BAH. Oddly, my first thought of which I was quite unsure.

4. Waikiki allure : SURF. There are other  sights to see. LINK.(4:12).

8. Like an old jalopy : BEAT UP.

14. Chemical suffix : IDE. A compound.

15. Hesse-based automaker : OPEL. We have seen this German automaker more often than I have seen their cars. And a semi-clecho: 33A. Ingolstadt-based automaker : AUDI. More Germany 46A. Einstein's birth city : ULM. In southern Germany near the Danube.

16. Reporter's coup : EXPOSE. This was harder without imagining the accent.

17. Man-mouse link : OR A.

20. Hill stint : TERM. Capital Hill for politicians.

22. Hershey bar : SKOR. Back again I must get one.

23. Bygone political entity that included Syr. : UAR. The short lived alliance between Egypt and Syria. United Arab Republic.

28. South African golfer with four major championships : ELS. A CSO to our own Big Easy.

29. Be quite prevalent : ABOUND.

30. Polite response to Aunt Polly : YES'M. A reference to Tom Sawyer's aunt, I guess, which fits with 35A. Crude carrier : RAFT.

32. Seasonal affliction : FLU.

44. Poet Sexton : ANNE. One of many creative people who could not control the demons that made them great. LINK.

45. Popular melt meat : TUNA. Yum.

47. 50-50, to Fifi : EGAL. Equal in French.

51. __ Council: "Survivor" feature : TRIBAL. Never watched an episode.

53. Rush : HIE. A nice Shakespeare word.

59. "Well done!" analog : OLE.

60. Pacific feast : LUAU. In Waikiki?

61. Drudge : PEON. So many words for the put upon.

67. Indian state that was part of a former Portuguese colony : GOA. They are famous for their beaches.

68. Tamsui River capital : TAIPEI.

69. Excited about, with "on" : KEEN. A 50s word.

70. "Monsters, __" : INC.

71. Magellan's milieux : OCEANS. He was going round and round.

72. Breyers competitor : EDYS. Yum.

73. Require : ASK. Not want your country can do for you....

Down:

1. Regional organisms : BIOTA. Not a term I am really familiar with so my start was slow.

2. Stimulant trademark : ADRENALIN.  Synthetic epinephrine which has become more popular than the original adrenaline; quite the rush.

3. Jalapeño product, for some? : HEARTBURN. This is our medical corner with pyrosis, cardialgia, or acid indigestion as other names for the burning sensation in the chest. Per wiki.

4. San José sun : SOL. Spanish.

5. News org. : UPI. United Press International.

6. Court charge caller : REF. Basketball court.

7. Soft tissue : FLESH.

8. In front of : BEFORE.

9. Many sports commentators : EX-PROS. Nice letter string XPR, but conflict with clues below.

10. Bee: Pref. : API. From whence comes Apiary, etc.

11. Chapeau seen in "Ratatouille" : TOQUE. A gratuitous bonus QUE

12. Quotidian : USUAL. Not one of your usual clues, this means daily. Latin comes in handy.

13. Jury members : PEERS. Such a strange concept.

19. "__-doke!" : OKEY. Okey dokey smokey.

21. Apennines possessive : MIO. Italian, a region and history I did not know. LINK.

25. Ship loading site : QUAY.

26. Word on a bill : UNUM. E pluribus....

27. Old writings mentioning Odin : EDDA.

31. Open __ : MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

32. Org. requiring milk pasteurization : FDA. Food and Drug Administration.

34. The Bronx's Jerome Ave. line is part of it : IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit. the SUBWAY.

36. Mixture that dissolves gold : AQUA REGIA. Latin for royal water; the question is why do you want to dissolve gold?

37. Rare twosome of July 2015 : FULL MOONS. The even rarer three full moons?  LINK.

38. Pro __ : TEM. Followed immediately with the clecho

40. Pro's support : TEE. Then staying in the Ts.

41. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner : TUTU. The Anglican Bishop DESMOND.

42. Regarding : IN RE. More Latin.

43. Innocent : NAIF. A guileless, unsophisticated person: babe, child, ingénue, innocent. Same stem as naive.

48. Big name in mustard : GULDEN. Their spicy brown is the third largest in the US behind French's and Grey Poupon.

49. Wolf-headed god : ANUBIS. This is the Greek name for the Egyptian god.

50. One covering tracks, perhaps : LIAR. Liar pants on fire.

52. Hit on the head : BOP.

53. Book with steps : HOW  TO.

54. __ crest: pelvic border : ILIAC.

55. Like H.P. Lovecraft stories : EERIE.

57. Tremble : QUAKE.

58. Oreos, say : SNACK.

63. Org. monitoring endangered species : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

64. Letters of proof : QED. EVERYONE must know this by now.

65. Turn that's hung : UEY.

66. Chekov's "Star Trek" rank: Abbr. : ENSign. Before he became a Captain and an Admiral.

Well another week and month have slipped away, I hope everyone on the east coast is kept safe from Joaquin. I wonder if Mr. Trump will blame that on Mexico as well? No politics. just silliness.

I am tired from the excitement of the new baby, so off to rest; lemonade out.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: "We Didn't Start the Fire..."


55-A. With 61-Across, radar trap question ... and a hint to what can precede each part of the answers to 3-, 6-, 30- and 40-Down : WHERES 61-A. See 55-Across : THE FIRE?

So, we may not have started the fire, but "fire" starts all the theme words.

3. Cheaper market option : HOUSE BRAND. Firehouse, firebrand.

6. "Jaws" shark, e.g. : MAN EATER. Fireman, fire-eater.

30. Protected from violent weather : STORM PROOF. Firestorm, fireproof.

40. Keep at it : PLUG AWAY. Fireplug, fire away.

Now let's plug away at the rest of the answers to see what we can dig up.


Across

1. Performance enhancement banned by MLB : HGH. Human Growth Hormone.

4. Descartes' conclusion : I AM. "I think, therefore..."

7. Placate : APPEASE.

14. "Evil Woman" gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

15. Govt. benefits org. : SSA. Social Security Administration.

16. Strutted : PARADED. With 76 trombones, HG?

17. Annual get-together : REUNION.

19. Stop : PREVENT.

20. Ash, for example : RESIDUE.

21. Rise : ASCEND.

22. __ Gay : ENOLA.

23. Waikiki wreath : LEI.

24. "Green Acres" co-star : GABOR. Eva GABOR and Eddie Albert were hilarious in that show.

26. "__ We Meet Again": 1940 romance film : TIL. A remake of the 1932 movie "One Way Passage." Star-crossed lovers on an ocean voyage.

28. 2006 skating silver medalist Cohen : SASHA. Watch her Olympic performance here.

33. Classic sci-fi play : RUR. I knew it was where the word "robot" comes from, but JazzB gave us a thorough explanation of the play just last Wednesday. (44-Down.)

34. Squeezed (out) : EKED.

36. Gossips : YENTAS.

37. "The Wealth of Nations" author Smith : ADAM. Also called "The Father of Modern Economics."

39. Complaint : GRIPE.  We never see one of those at this Corner, right?

41. Puts on : DONS. "Don we now our Gagliardi..."

42. Muscle cords : SINEWS.

44. Snowman in "Frozen" : OLAF. All perps!

46. 1973 Court decision alias : ROE. v. Wade.

47. MLB Network analyst Martinez : PEDRO.

48. A/C measure : BTU. British Thermal Units.

49. Take the blame for : ADMIT.

51. What "I" may indicate : RTE. Interstate - route.

53. Fill the tank : GAS UP. DH gassed up for me the other day, for only $1.98 / gallon!

58. Sticks : ADHERES.

62. Hunker down for the duration of : WAIT OUT.

63. Most extensive : VASTEST.

64. In times past : AGO.

65. Miner's reward : ORE. We went down a slide into the depths of the salt mines outside Salzburg while we were there. Wheee!!

66. Accumulates : AMASSES.

67. Longing : YEN.

68. Dandy : FOP.


Down

1. Munich man : HERR. Gimme!  Here is my HERR overlooking Bad Ischl in Austria.

2. Joy : GLEE.  After several beers at this cool brewery during Oktoberfest, we were feeling pretty GLEE-ful!!

4. Spanish encyclopedist St. __ of Seville : ISIDORE. Mostly perps and WAGs.

5. Nary __: no one : A SOUL.

7. Horrify : APPALL.

8. Break down, in a way : PARSE.

9. Exact : PRECISE.

10. Roof extension : EAVE.

11. Site of the 2000 USS Cole attack : ADEN.

12. Email : SEND.

13. Fla. summer setting : EDT. Eastern Daylight Time is almost at an end for our Fla. denizens.

18. Young hombre : NINO.

24. Understand : GRASP.

25. War hero Murphy : AUDIE.

27. Fool : IDIOT.

29. Common link : AND.

31. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum city : HANOI.

32. Diamonds, say : ASSET. Also, a girl's best friend.  ;-)

35. Metric wts. : KGs. Kilograms.

36. Vocal nod : YEA.

38. Marseille sight : MER. "Sea" in French.

43. Troubles : WORRIES.

45. Style : FASHION.

48. Lays siege to : BESETS.

50. Piano piece for four hands : DUET.

52. Concise : TERSE.

54. Old saw : ADAGE.

55. Impact sound : WHAM!

56. "__ real nowhere man": Beatles lyric : HE's A.

57. Young newts : EFTS. They are quite tiny, but fully formed.

59. Vatican City coin : EURO.

60. Word often followed by a number or letter : STEP.

61. FDR power project : TVA. Tennessee Valley Authority.

I am retiring from doing the blog after today.  I have really enjoyed all my virtual friends here at the corner, but my plate is getting too full to do the blog justice every week. I know C.C. has an entire stable of talented and witty commenters who can step in to fill the gap!

Hugs,
Marti

Note from C.C.:

I'm sad to lose dear Marti as our Thursday Sherpa. I'll sorely miss her unique take on Thursday LAT. I'll miss her chuckle-evoking links, quick zingers and warm presence. It's fun to blog once or twice, but doing it week after week for more than four years takes enormous patience and dedication. Thank you so much for being our reliable guide and friend, Marti! I hope you continue to stay involved with the blog. Your simple presence makes me happy.

I'm also happy to let you know that Steve has agreed to guide us on Thursdays from now on. Husker Gary will take up Steve's Wednesday spot.

Wednesday, September 30th 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: A Five-Card Trick - CARD is scrambled five ways and concealed in five theme entries as indicated by the circles.

17A. Blanket containers : CEDAR CHESTS. Are they all cedar?

 29A. Burrowing beach denizens : SAND CRABS. Not much bigger than your thumb according to the Monterey Aquarium website. Not really Food! material then .. darn.

43A. Lollipops, e.g. : HARD CANDY. Here's the spokesman for the Hard Candy Association if there is such a thing:

57A. Where much classical music is heard : PUBLIC RADIO. Here's a little something from the Berlin Philharmonic.

 4D. Rolex 24 at Daytona, e.g. : ROAD RACE. Cousin of the more well-known (to me at least) Le Mans 24 in France, or "24 Heures du Mans" as it is officially known.

and the reveal:

39D. One of two baseball playoff teams determined next week by a "play-in" game in each major league, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : WILD CARD. Wikipedia can do the job of 'splaining the machinations of these MLB games.

Gooooood Morning Crossword Corner! Steve here with a very poor Adrian Cronauer impersonation. The circle puzzles seem to be popping up a lot on Wednesdays, I've blogged a few recently. The constructor shouldn't be tough to guess - it's a baseball-inspired theme, so it's not a stretch to posit that it might be C.C!

Neat theme - I thought at first that the 4D entry was something of an odd man out until I realized that it's balanced by the reveal at 39D. Cool stuff.

Across:

1. Wild hogs : BOARS

6. Wild animal : BEAST

11. Bird in a cage, often : PET. A menagerie trifecta to kick things off.

14. Pinhead : IDIOT. How many angels can dance on the head of an idiot? Discuss.

15. Off-the-cuff : AD LIB

16. Hot feeling : IRE

19. Sign word often seen before "next exit" : GAS

20. Matzo meal : SEDER. Great clue. Matzo ball soup is a traditional menu item for Passover.

21. Some RSVPs : NOS. I think you should reply "Oui, Merci" or "Non, Merci".

22. Punch source : FIST

23. "Born to Die" singer Lana Del __ : REY. Crosses. I'm more familiar with her Los Angeles-based sister, Marina Del Rey.

Photo Credit: Mark Kitching

24. Caspian Sea land : IRAN

26. Diamond figure : CARAT

34. Smart guys? : ALECS

35. Spanish tourist city : AVILA

36. Knock on Yelp : PAN. I used Yelp a lot when I'm traveling in unfamiliar territory to find restaurants. You need to take the one-star rants and the five-star gushes with a pinch of salt. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

37. Mall bag : TOTE

38. Given (to) : PRONE

39. Responded to reveille : WOKE. I was a little slow to respond to my reveille this morning - I was at a six-course wine dinner last night. Three hiking miles later and a mug of coffee and I was better.

40. Former Energy secretary Steven : CHU. Thank you, crosses.

41. No-frills : PLAIN

42. Hog lover : BIKER. Fun clue. Here's a couple of famous examples:

45. On the ball : ALERT

46. Like reporters, by trade : NOSY. Are reporters nosy? It has a slightly different connotation in my mind than professional investigation.

47. Brief letters? : BVD. Does Warren Buffett wear tighty-whities of this brand? Berkshire Hathaway owns the company.

48. Artist's pad : LOFT

50. Arranged locks : DO'S. I get a haircut when it reaches the point I can arrange my locks, I don't even own a comb.

53. Strips on a sandwich : BACON. Food! A pub close to where I live has a veggieburger on the menu, and proceeds to state "Bacon can be added for $1.00" which seems to rather miss the point.

56. Frazier foe : ALI

60. Spoil : MAR

61. "Too rich for me" : I'M OUT. A poker player's exit line when the stakes get too high.

62. Castle in the 1914 musical "Watch Your Step" : IRENE. I learned this from a crossword I blogged a while ago - she must have been one heck of dancer to still be clued more than 100 years later!

63. "Ciao!" : BYE

64. 1975 Pulitzer winner for criticism : EBERT. The great movie critic Roger Ebert who sadly passed in 2013. He spent his entire career with the Chicago Sun-Times.

65. Put two and two together : ADDED

Down:

1. Media Clic Ice maker : BIC. These things - never heard of 'em!

2. Often emotional works : ODES

3. Help on the Hill : AIDE

5. Parade venues : STREETS

6. "That's hogwash!" : BAH

7. Big name in organic foods : EDEN. Caused a bit of a stir in 2013 with a controversial stance on certain healthcare provisions for their employees.

8. Furthermore : ALSO

9. Isn't active, as equipment : SITS IDLE

10. "King of the Nerds" airer : TBS

11. Sight-unseen buy : PIG IN A POKE. Great expression. Researching this, it transpires that the poke is a bag, and the piglet you think that you're buying turns out to be a dog or a cat when you open the sack. French "poque" gives us "poquette", a little bag, or our "pocket". Here endeth the lesson.

12. Stretches of history : ERAS

13. Lab work : TEST

18. React to a kitchen bulb, maybe : CRY. Not because the lights went out, but onion-peeling woes.

22. Word after go or so : FAR

25. Miley Cyrus label : RCA. Wouldn't have had a clue without crosses. Just missing a "D" for another wild card.

26. Hidden problem : CATCH

27. Hawaiian Airlines greeting : ALOHA

28. Shoot back : RETURN FIRE

29. Leftovers preserver : SARAN. Not if you forget to put 'em in the fridge, which I frequently do.

30. Dodge : AVOID

31. Doofus : NINNY. Pinheads, idiots, doofuses and ninnies today. A quartet of oafs.

32. One creating enticing aromas : BAKER

33. Hägar's dog : SNERT. Food! Oh wait, not the split pea soup. Darn.

38. Feign ignorance : PLAY DUMB

41. Lenovo products : PC'S. My new laptop is a Lenovo. It weights about half as much as the old Dell, which makes my travel a little easier!

42. Munich's state : BAVARIA. Here's a question for you - the soccer team is F.C. Bayern München, but is anglicized as Bayern Munich. Why not Bavarians Munich? We English-speakers do weird things to proper names.

44. Small point : DOT

47. English channel, briefly : BBC. The public broadcaster came in for a lot of criticism during the last British elections for being overtly biased, to the point that there is a weight of opinion that the corporation should lose its charter.

48. Moussaka meat : LAMB. Layered ground lamb, sliced eggplant, zucchini and bechamel sauce. Greek loveliness.

49. Facial cosmetics brand : OLAY

51. Clarinet cousin : OBOE

52. Disparaging comment : SLUR

54. Pigged out (on), briefly : O.D.'ED. I probably made a mess of the punctuation there.

55. Ted Williams' number : NINE. This Hall-of-Famer played only for the Red Sox during his 19-year outfielding career.

57. Chart shape : PIE

58. Addams family cousin : ITT

59. Heavy ref. : O.E.D. 20 volumes in total. You need a strong shelf for all those!

That's it from me - here's the grid.

Steve

Note from C.C.: 

Happy Birthday to Pje (Pat) and her husband! I don't know any couple in real life who were born in the same day and same year. Pat was born in the morning, her husband in the afternoon. Hope it's a day full of surprises, Pat.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Mark Bickham

Theme: So and So - Four three-word phrases ... oh, never mind.

17A. Like stickers that smell when rubbed : SCRATCH AND SNIFF

27A. Little girl's makeup, so they say : SUGAR AND SPICE

48A. Terse : SHORT AND SWEET

62A. Old Glory : STARS AND STRIPES

71. Metaphor for time ... and, when divided into three words, puzzle theme found in the four longest across answers : SANDS. S and S

Argyle here. A reveal, really? Hardly necessary. Do you suppose he looked at SANDS and decided it could be parsed S and S? It is interesting that there are nine different length entries. Four long columns; the two longer ones cross three of the themes and the two shorter ones cross two theme entries. Overly easy but not USA mindless by any means.

Across:

1. Diagram with axes and coordinates : GRAPH

6. Very top : ACME

10. Shift neighbor, on PC keyboards : CTRL

14. St. __ Girl beer : PAULI

15. Guard site : SHIN. Cute.

16. Nabisco cookie : OREO

20. Buckwheat dish : KASHA. Not Little Rascals Buckwheat.

21. Court order to all : RISE

22. Fruit seed : PIT

23. Drop-down __ : MENU

25. Like some microbrews : MALTY

33. Crisp covering : CRUST

34. Welfare : SAKE

35. Firebird roof option : T-TOP

38. What cake candles may indicate : AGE

39. On the rocks : OVER ICE

42. Bart Simpson's grandpa : ABE

43. See 44-Down : BEST

45. City near Colombia's coastline : CALI

46. Leica competitor : NIKON

51. Sounded sheepish? : BAAed

53. Pop singer Vannelli : GINO. Clip

54. "Life of Pi" director Lee : ANG

55. Flood preventer : DIKE

59. Louisiana cuisine : CAJUN

66. Words starting many a guess : "IS IT ... ?"

67. Kind of dancer or boots : GO-GO

68. Atlanta campus : EMORY

69. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

70. Follow the leader : OBEY

Down:

1. Navig. tool : GPS. (Global Positioning System)

2. Pool hall triangle : RACK

3. Saintly glow : AURA

4. Some flat-screen TVs : PLASMAs

5. Until now : HITHERTO

6. Remnant of an old flame : ASH. Good one.

7. Blacken : CHAR

8. Prefix with series : MINI

9. Remnants : ENDS. 49D. Partner of 9-Down : ODDS

10. Grifter's specialty : CON

11. Exaggerated response of disbelief : TRIPLE TAKE

12. Equip anew : REFIT

13. Towering : LOFTY

18. "How many times __ man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?": Dylan : CAN A. Lot of clue for a short answer.

19. Freeway hauler : SEMI

24. Boot from office : UNSEAT

26. Work with a cast : ACT

27. Natural cut protection : SCAB

28. Strong desire : URGE

29. "Still wrong, take another stab" : "GUESS AGAIN

30. Alfalfa's girl : DARLA. Now we're talking Little Rascals.

31. Coming down the mountain, perhaps : SKIING

32. Push-up target, briefly : PEC. Build them up by doing push-ups. (Not my first thought)

36. Reed instrument : OBOE. A Püchner Oboe, model 30.

37. Cooped (up) : PENT

40. DVD predecessor : VCR. You remember videocassette recorder, right?

41. Catches, as in a net : ENSNARES

44. With 43-Across, outstanding : THE

47. Historic Japanese island battle site : IWO JIMA. Still a little rock in a big ocean.

50. Merriam-Webster ref. : DICT. (dictionary)

51. Underlying principle : BASIS

52. Restless : ANTSY

56. "Othello" villain : IAGO. Perennial bad guy.

57. Door opener : KNOB

58. Periphery : EDGE

60. Well-versed in : UP ON or maybe DOWN ON?

61. Uncool type : NERD

63. AAA suggestion : RTE. American Automobile Association/Route

64. Dim sum sauce : SOY

65. Part of PBS: Abbr. : SYS. I'm shocked! Public Broadcasting Service, not System.

Argyle