Sunday March 13, 2016, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: PLUGGED NICKEL

Some of us with a few miles on our odometers, can remember this 50's novelty song by Teresa Brewer whose first line was, "Put another NIckel in, In the NIckelodeon". 

Well our lovely den mother C.C. and her frequent puzzling partner Don (Hard G) Gagliardo did not insert nickels but rather dropped in the chemical symbol for the element nickel - NI - into some common phrases to make some clever crossword fills. They were having so much fun, they "coined" ten theme entries. C.C. told me their original title was TENNIS ANYONE? which  I absolutely did not get until she explained it to me. If you don't get it, I've explained it at the bottom of the write-up.

Theme fills (without and then Plugging In That NI)

23. Flier with a magical rod? : DIVINING BIRD  - A fowl plummeting toward its next meal OR a feathered friend wielding this magic DIVINING rod to find water, minerals or whatever...

25. Signal that nails are dry? : MANI BELL - The colloquial name for Bell Telephone pre-divestiture OR a time piece with an alarm to let you know your polish is dried

35. Sweet tooth? : SUGAR CANINE - The tall, green plant from which much sugar is derived or this. Yeah, I know the CANINES are further back but work with me here.

41. Nocturnal critter enjoying a meal? : DINING BAT - Archie's pet name for Edith Bunker OR 

56. Rejection of a parcel? : PACKAGE DENIAL - The whole kit and caboodle OR Jerry saying "I don't want it!" (Splynter's nightmare)

80. Part of the ad that sells the product? : FINISHING HOOK - A barb to catch a lenten meal OR how to catch a customer

94. Ace garage door mechanic? : GENIE WHIZ - A wistful remark OR the guy you'll need to fix one of these. He was at our house on Wednesday.

97. Ralph Lauren's "Celebrate Radio" clothing line? : MARCONI POLO - The Italian who spent years in the court of Kublai Kahn (but did NOT bring back spaghetti) OR the inventor of radio as a couturière

114. Superhero who doesn't do well in a crisis? : PANIC MAN - A early popular video game OR Superman who just wasn't up to it that day

116. Carrier pigeon's daily delivery? : NEWS CANISTER - A radio or TV reader of daily events OR the container attached to a homing pigeon to carry messages during WWI in this case

Now, filling my NIche as a blogger, I present my NIckel and Dime musings

Across     
    
1. Compares poorly : PALES

6. Unites : MERGES - How we do Christmas card envelopes

12. Scoundrel : CAD

15. Terminus of all roads? : ROME - Yes all their wonderful roads did lead there at one time

19. Slip past : ELUDE

20. Lizard with a dewlap : IGUANA - Not an attractive feature

21. Coleridge wrote one on dejection : ODE

22. Scrape, in totspeak : OWIE

27. "We gotta go" : IT'S TIME 

28. Work in a park, perhaps : STATUE - Work of art

30. Fight sites : ARENAS

31. Couple in a boat : OARS - Sometimes I don't have both of mine in the water

33. Venice glider : GONDOLA

46. Sporty auto roofs : T-TOPS

47. Cut with a beam : LASE -  Would you really want to LASE your eyes as cheaply as possible?

48. First name in fashion : COCO - Ms. Chanel

49. Word accompanying finger-shaking : NO NO

50. San __: jet set resort : REMO - In the map above, it appears that one of those roads that led to Rome came from this far NW Italy town 30 miles from Nice, France

51. Many an earring : CLIP ON

53. A grand's ten : C-SPOTS - It takes ten of these C-NOTES to made a grand - $1,000

55. "__ you serious?" : ARE  - A variation

61. Slow start? : ESS - The letter ESS starts both words

62. Founder of what is now Lima : PIZARRO - My first Juan had two Z's

64. Drag racing gp. : NHRA - Should I write out National Hot Rod Association? Nah!

65. "My bad!" : I'M SORRY - Popularized in '95 move Clueless

67. Showed pain : MOANED 

69. "__ I done?" : WHAT'VE

70. Eatery serving filled fare : TACO BAR - Let me at it!

72. First park with a Home Run Apple : SHEA - Home of the Mets from 1964 - 2008

75. Potpourri : GRAB BAG

79. Hockey great : ORR

83. 67.5 deg. : ENE - Here 'ya go

84. DVD player error message : NO DISC

86. Call before a snap : HUT ONE - Start of a QB's cadence but usually shared with the center

87. Sharp turns : ZAGS

88. All square : EVEN - Tied up

89. __ the crack of dawn : UP AT

91. Time to give up? : LENT - 40 days that start on Ash Wednesday 

93. Hamlet and Victor Borge : DANES - Victor would be bigger laughs at a party!

99. Where Puccini's "Turandot" premiered : LA SCALA - Turandot contains the fabulous aria Nessun Dorma

101. Salon, say : E-MAG

102. Patio door : SLIDER

106. In the thick of : AMIDST

109. Game with melding : CANASTA

118. Airbrush target : ACNE - Before and after airbrushing. SHAZAM!

119. Explosive first used as a yellow dye : TNT

120. Subside : DIE OUT

121. Scottish feudal lord : THANE - Macbeth was the THANE of Glamis

122. Wicked one's lack? : REST

123. Garden chopper : HOE

124. Controversial blasts : A-TESTS - America's first A Bomb TEST was in central New Mexico  three weeks before Fat Man was dropped on Hiroshima (see 74 Down)

125. Gossip queen : YENTA
 

Down
 
1. Digital indulgence : PEDI - Maybe you'll need a PEDI BELL like 25 Across 

2. Came down : ALIT

3. Ultra Leakguards brand : LUVS - Our girls had cotton diapers

4. Polish for publication : EDIT - Not Polish as in the country but as in polish - make better

5. Fourth-year group : SENIORS - SENIORitis is epidemic this time of year in High Schools

6. __ water : MINERAL

7. Metaphorical facial embarrassment : EGG - Sling one and you might get one back

8. Coaxes from a lamp, with "out" : RUBS - Coaxing out the Genie that doesn't make garage door openers 

9. Canter or trot : GAIT

10. Really tick off : ENRAGE

11. "__ say ... " : SAD TO - "Well I'm SAD TO say, I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day"

12. Chuckle-inducing : COMEDIC - Some good COMEDIC material makes us uncomfortable 

13. Oral health org. : ADA

14. Alaska Range highlight : DENALI - Pres. Obama moved to change the name back to this rather than Mt. McKinley. Works for me.

15. Loungewear item : ROBE - My summer ROBE just came upstairs this week

16. Wilson of "Marley & Me" : OWEN - Not on my radar

17. Leon Uris' "__ 18" : MILA - Title comes from the address of the Jewish Resistance in Warsaw ulica Miła 18 (18 Mila Street, in English) 

18. Elongated fish : EELS

24. Desktop since 1998 : IMAC - Our great iMAC experience is not shared by all here

26. Persian Gulf land : IRAN - I met a woman who identified herself as Persian (ethnicity) not IRANIAN (nationality), adding that she preferred to separate herself from the politics of the country.

29. Come __: lose one's composure : UNDONE - She's Come UNDONE - The Guess Who

32. Vending machine item : SNACK

34. Tokyo-born artist : ONO

35. Spaghetti __ : STRAP  - These spaghetti-STRAPPED bib overalls are not intended for farm chores

36. Gestation sites : UTERI

37. Addams family patriarch : GOMEZ

38. Mil. address : APO - Army Post Office

39. Key, e.g. : ISLAND

40. Stable negative? : NEIGH

42. Econ. measure : GNP - Gross National (State) Product equivalents in 2012

43. Anti at the ballpark : BOOER - Also a boor

44. Full of nervous energy : ANTSY - Example A - Teaching a 2nd grade art class

45. Deep-six : TOSS - I'll bet you know the huge movie where a woman decided to DEEP-SIX this diamond 

48. Sonata finale : CODA

52. According to : PER

53. Leader who gave up cigar-smoking in 1985 : CASTRO

54. Polish relative : SLOVAK

56. Checks for errors : PROOFS - I PROOF my blogs to check for errors, but the best laid plans of men and mice...

57. Mideast language : ARABIC

58. Late-night show since 2010 : CONAN

59. Biomedical research agcy. : NIH-  National Institute of Health 

60. Insect stage after pupa : IMAGO - The end product of the process

63. Theater chain initials : AMC

66. Johnny __ : REB - His side got second

68. Pa. airport north of PIT : ERI(E)

69. Ring Cycle composer : WAGNER - Hitler's iPod would have had lots of Richard's work

70. Treasure stash : TROVE

71. "As You Like It" forest : ARDEN - From the River Avon to the River Tame

72. Close : SHUT

73. Top 10 song : HIT

74. __ Gay : ENOLA - Delivery vehicle for device mentioned in 126 Across

76. Bingo cousin : BEANO - A predecessor where I'll bet you know what was used to mark the cells 

77. Word from the Latin for "messenger" : ANGEL

78. Painter's undercoat : GESSO - Applying and sanding Golden Brand GESSO

79. Universal donor's type, briefly : O-NEG -  As you can see, O-Negative blood can be given to any other type and AB+ only to other AB+'s

81. Gomer Pyle exclamation : SHAZAM

82. Thus : HENCE

85. Pasta suffix : INI

87. Heat up quickly : ZAP

89. Hesitant sounds : UH'S 

90. Hot and spicy : PICANTE

92. Alley lurkers : TOMCATS

93. It's good to lose with it : DIGNITY - or...

95. Juice: Abbr. : ELEC

96. Geniality : WARMTH 

97. Reached the big time : MADE IT - Like George and Weezie 

98. Chicken vindaloo go-with : NAAN

100. Singer Ronstadt : LINDA 

102. Practice for a bout : SPAR - World's worst job? SPARRING with Mike Tyson.

103. Bra fabric : LACE

104. Holiday lodgings? : INNS

105. South Beach, for one : DIET

107. __'Pea : SWEE - Swee' Pea was left on Popeye's doorstep

108. General __ chicken : TSO'S 

110. 1975 Wimbledon champ : ASHE - He won, lost and lived with DIGNITY!

111. Asian country suffix : STAN - There's a few

112. Lawn party rental : TENT

113. Interior designer's statistic : AREA

115. "Is that __?" : A NO - He's good at it!

117. "Stop filming!" : CUT - Or Stop Blogging! 

C.C.'s original title of TENNIS ANYONE means TEN NI'S ANYONE as in ten insertions of NI. Duh, Gary!

Well, that's my NIckel's worth. Now, how about your two cents? 

GRID

Saturday, Mar 12th, 2016, Bruce Venzke

Theme: Two Triple Stacks

Words: 68 (missing F,J,Q,Y)

Blocks: 38

I am always fascinated when I see spanners grouped in threes (and fours) with crossings (perpendiculars) that are not such a stretch that the puzzle seems forced; and then I get that feeling that it's going to be a tough grid to solve.  Today, however, I seemed to breeze through with very little trouble - but I had some incredible WAGs that were solid from the get go.  Our regulars here at the blog will be quick to point out that big groups of 15-letters usually leads to shorter Downs.  Not so much today, though we did have a high block count - and a good-looking grid, at that.   The spanners;

1. Where to see pop-ups : ELECTRIC TOASTER

16. Holding capacity : SATURATION POINT

17. Doesn't do anything : SITS ON ONE'S HANDS

57. Security employees : STORE DETECTIVES

60. Doesn't care for : TAKES A DISLIKE TO - slightly 'meh'

61. Prepare for a ball : DRESS TO THE NINES - the origin~?

O                 N                 W                 A                 R                D             ~            !

ACROSS:

18. Caning material : RATTAN - oops, not WICKER

19. Shows frugality : STINTS

20. N.S. setting : AST - Nova Scotia, and Atlantic Standard Time; I happen to know they are 1 hour ahead of my time zone, EST

21. Word on some dipsticks : ADD - just looked at the one in my van yesterday - and it was at the "ADD" mark

22. Thickening agent : AGAR

25. '70s congresswoman known for wearing wide-brimmed hats : ABZUG - 3 perps and 2 WAGs

29. 15th-century golfer, probably : SCOT - ah, a 'generic' answer

33. Likely to skid : BALD - tires

34. Train puller : BRIDE - bang~! Nailed it

35. Iolani Palace locale : OAHU - seen before in crosswords

36. Search result : URL - dah~!  Not HIT

37. Org. with a WaterSense program : EPA - sensible WAG

38. Mad man of film : MAX - I have yet to see the 2015 remake of the 1979 film

39. Letter-shaped beam : Z-BAR - went with I-bar first; a genuine 75% correct

41. Early 17th-century pope : PAUL V - I tried 'PIUS -' with early crossings

43. "If wishes __ horses ... " : WERE

44. Sector : ZONE - not AREA

45. Liberal : AMPLE

46. They're frequently tapped : ALES - not KEGS

47. Incidentally, briefly : BTW - texting shorthand for "By The Way"

49. __ Karate: old aftershave : HAI

51. Cricket official : SCORER - I tried UMPIRE; then I had to look to see if this was an actual 'official'

54. Certain summons : TICKET

DOWN:

1. First of September? : ESS - September

2. Cave, say : LAIR

3. Kett of old comics : ETTA

4. Crème brûlée preparation : CUSTARD

5. Hambletonian events : TROTS

6. Deferred payment : RAN A TAB

7. Get __ the record : IT ON -

8. Rose team, on scoreboards : CINcinnati; Pete Rose of the Reds - C.C. must be thrilled we are at Spring Training - just means we are close to the Stanley Cup playoffs for me....

9. Word in a readiness metaphor : TOES - "be on one's toes"....eh

10. Performing : ON STAGE - sometimes on your toes here, too

11. Orchard pest : APHID

12. Dirty rat : SO-AND-SO

13. Glare reducer : TINT

14. Circle's lack : ENDS - I was close with EDGE

15. NFL linemen : RTs

22. Talking excitedly : ABUZZ

23. "The Kiss" was her last silent film : GARBO

24. Historian Nevins : ALLAN - I guessed the two "L"s

26. Another name for bluegill : BREAM

27. Close, as a parka : ZIP-UP - how about 'close, as heels' for Saturday cluing~?

28. 1960s Interior secretary Stewart __ : UDALL

30. Alpaca relative : CAMEL - I like camels

I found so many other funny ones (add 9d.), but....

31. Orchard Field, today : O'HARE - I knew this from crosswords

32. Spiffy attire : TUXES - sort of a mini-theme going on

40. Engine rebuilding jobs : REBORES

41. Checked out, feline-style : PAWED AT

42. Jam component : VEHICLE - nice misdirection, if you tried some sort of fruit

43. Surfing mecca : WAIKIKI - great fill

48. Bun element : TRESS

50. Join the cast of : ACT IN - second semi-theme going on, with 10d. and the next clue;

51. Beverly Hills sighting : STAR

52. Old beehive oven product : COKE - new to me; the Wiki

53. Change in appearance : RE-DO

54. Sellecca's "Intelligence for Your Life TV" co-host : TESH - didn't see this filled in until I came to write the blog

55. Still : EVEN

56. Toque spot : TÊTE - I knew a toque was chef headware, and that it was Frawnche

57. Benchmark: Abbr. : STD - standard

58. "__-Willow": "The Mikado" song : TIT

obdurate definition

59. Cleaning product with two periods in its name : S.O.S

remember "Wacky Packages~?"

Splynter