Saturday, March 11, 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 27

We are witness to Bruce Haight's hitting for the cycle - this is his first Saturday construction for the LA Times, and has now been published every day of the week. Congratulations to Bruce, but I gotta say, too many proper names(*) in this one made it a fun sponge - can't win them all. 10x6 in two corners and triple 8-letter stacks in the others, with two more 8-letter fills as well. 

15. Fizzled : PETERED OUT - what do you call a guy who tires easily~? Peter; how about the guy who's creative~? Art; The guy who stirs up trouble~? Buck - or - Russell; The wealthy one~? Rich; The one who's brutally honest~? Frank. I can go on....

14. Displaying polish, perhaps : OPEN-TOED

52. Symbol of ancient Egypt : SACRED IBIS - dah~! I had ICON, IDOL, and knew it wasn't correct - took a moment to remember the sacred bird - and also the God Thoth

31. "Brava!" : ATTA GIRL - I had the "G", and the "a" at the end of the clue helped me nail this

atta girl~!

Spring ON forWARD~

ACROSS:

1. Participated in a movie gunfight, say : SHOT BLANKS

11. Symbol of purity : HALO - not DOVE

16. Junket : TRIP

17. Really hot : EXTRA SPICY

18. Bud : MATE

19. Passes : ENACTS

20. Getaway car driver : WHEELMAN

22. Comforter : DUVET - I have such a resentment for this word, only because my friend's wife used it in a Scrabble game, and I challenged - it's Frawnche - and yet it counted.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.

23. Metered lines : POESY

24. Rudder location : AFT

25. "Now!" : STAT - not ASAP

26*. "Buddenbrooks" author : MANN

27. Farm follower? : E-I-E-I-O - not "STEAD"; this was almost funny....

29. Moolah : GELT - not CASH

30. Pop-up producer : ADWARE

31. How many games are won : AS A TEAM - the NY Rangers finally figured out their Power Play, and still managed to lose on Thursday

35. Cuddled : SPOONED - yeah, one of these days I'll get around to this again

36. Wine flavor component : TANNIN

37. Compact __ : DISC

38. Jerks : TWITS - my mother's affectionate name for the NY Rangers

39. "No __!" : DICE

40*. Inventing middle name : ALVA

44. Six-pack to be proud of : ABS - the 'other' six-pack produces the exact opposite

45*. Big name in '50s-'60s civil rights : EVERS

47. Take turns? : STEER - got it, but pondered DRIVE, too

48. Cuts to a roving reporter : GOES LIVE - Ha~! Nailed it

50. Introductory language class : LATIN I

51. Digging : INTO

54. Shipping hazard : REEF

55. Wary : ON THE ALERT

56. Exam for some college srs. : LSAT

57. Tourist attraction : RESORT AREA

DOWN:

1. Radar pickups : SPEEDS

2. Threaded fastener : HEX-NUT - this is the crenellated version

3. Interval for Rossini : OTTAVA - musical reference, octave

4. Three-line stanza : TERCET

5*. Benjamin of "Law & Order" : BRATT - was never a big fan of his character - I think cutting out Chris Noth's "Mike Logan" was not a good move for the show - tho he did return on "Criminal Intent"

6. Frequency modulation word? : LESS - filled via perps; not sure I "get it"

7. Payroll service initials : ADP - I see this on the UPS truck daily

8. "Forget it!" : "NO I WON'T~!" - I had YOU WISH to start, and it was working for a while

9. German coffeecake : KUCHEN - OK, I'll take das word for it....

10. Optical maladies : STYES

11. Webmaster's code : HTML

12. Ancient Syrian : ARAMAEAN

13. Got ready to grill : LIT A FIRE

21. Focus group member, casually? : EYE DOC - ah.  Clever

23. Date provider : PALM - the tree, not the singles website

26. Average : MEAN

28. WWII battle site, for short : IWO - Jima

29*. Theodor whose middle name was Seuss : GEISEL -even guessing this was "Dr Seuss" did not help at all

30. It adjoins the altar : APSE

Awesome

32. Surgeon, slangily : SAWBONES

33. Aromatic brew : ANISE TEA - been popular in crosswords lately

34. Blaster : TNT - oops, not GUN

35. Unleashes : SICS

37. Runs : DIRECTS

39*. William of "24" : DEVANE - I liked him as Carter in "Payback"

40*. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - just read a true "science fiction" novel from Bradbury and Baxter where Genghis Khan meets Alexander the Great in battle

41*. Elvis Presley lyricist Jerry : LEIBER

42. __ facias: jury pool (from the Latin for "make come") : VENIRE - all my Law & Order watching did not get me this

43. Grain bristle : ARISTA - mostly perps

46. Sun block : VISOR

47*. '70s-'80s Egyptian president : SADAT - an another, but I knew this one

49. Permissive : SOFT

50. Suggestive gander : LEER

53. Letter after pi : RHO

Splynter

Friday, March 10, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title:

This is another variation on the one clue fits all. There are four very different variations of the letter A. Two are presented with an apostrophe, two with a following s. All lead to grid-spanning fill, which is awesome. To me, the phrasing of OAKLAND BALL CLUB is the only one I see as bit of a stretch as it sounds so outdated, but still the puzzle is really nicely put together. Jeffrey really packs the puzzle with sparkly fill  SNORKEL,  YES DEAR,  PAPYRUS,  PODCAST,  EDUCATE, ENROLLS,  SLUICED, CLOSEST,  OF ONE SIZE and  SWEET DEAL.  Less than thirty-five 3/4 letter fill! What fun.  Okay, off we go- theme:

17A. As : SYMBOL OF ARSENIC (15). Important to know if reading about murder is your thing.

32A. A's : EXCELLENT GRADES. (15). Important to know if you want to read.

41A. As : TO THE SAME DEGREE (15).  Important to know if you want to read what he reads.

60A. A's : OAKLAND BALL CLUB (15). Important to know if baseball is your thing.

The rest...

Across:

1. Early Welsh : CELTS. Not Red Auerbach.

6. Subpar performance ... or not : BOGEY. A very wonderful clue, my nomination for Clue of the month. Subpar means less than average, except in golf where below par (subpar) means you did well.

11. School sweater letters : NUS. 13th letter of the Greek alphabet.

14. Wedding, e.g. : UNION.

15. All small, say : OF ONE SIZE. Fits all....

19. Ancient communication medium : PAPYRUS. love the pairing of clues/fill.

20. Modern communication medium : PODCAST.

21. Parts to put together : KIT. When I was young there many of these to help you build a RADIO.

22. Memphis-to-Nashville dir. : ENE. From Graceland to the Grand Old Opry!

23. Washington portraitist : PEALE. George W, both before and after he was president,  was the SUBJECT for this ARTIST.

27. Bocelli album that includes "Bésame Mucho" : AMORE.

38. __ work: menial labor : SCUT.

39. Venerate : ADORE. So close to amore.

40. 1992 opponent of Bill and George : ROSS. H. Ross Perot. Still the butt of jokes.

44. What a bump may affect : SPEED. My neighborhood is surrounded by speed bumps- they still speed using our street as a shortcut.

45. Sources of peeps : NESTS. Easter is coming.

46. Nation with a pyramid on its currency: Abbr. : USA.

49. Title for actor Gielgud : SIR. He was great in drama or comedy.

51. Channeled, as water : SLUICED.

55. Most trusted : CLOSEST.

62. Real bargain : SWEET DEAL.

63. Quarters in the wild : LAIRS.

64. CIA predecessor : OSS.

65. __ bird : EARLY.

66. Not worth it, perhaps : STEEP.

Down:

1. Point of imminence : CUSP. On the cusp of war.

2. Musician from County Donegal : ENYA. Is it raining there?

3. Sagging : LIMP. Two weeks in a row.

4. Keith of country : TOBY. Urban did not fit. Do you all watch The Voice?

5. Underwater aid : SNORKEL. Sergeant? Why not, we grew up together.

6. Leg up : BOOST.

7. On vacation : OFF.

8. Lose it : GO APE.

9. "The Smartest Guys in the Room" subject : ENRON. It was an interesting BOOK and Documentary.

10. Sighed agreement : YES DEAR. Time for the chore jar.

11. 1493 Lisbon arrival : NINA. The SHIP had a great history.

12. Israeli weapons : UZIS.

13. Mennonites, e.g. : SECT. 16A. "Just a __!" : SEC.

18. Heathrow : his :: Orly : à __ : LUI. French gift for Splynter.

23. Vermin : PESTS.

24. Serpico, for one : EX-COP. And so much MORE.

25. Severe : ACUTE. Chronic is the other choice.

26. River in Hades : LETHE. Their beliefs were FUN.

28. Toon with a blue do : MARGE. More Simpsons.

29. Trails for bloodhounds : ODORS

30. Go back to zero : RESET.

31. Swiss borders? : ESSES. SwiSS.

33. __ Palmas: Gran Canaria capital : LAS. In the Canary Islands.

34. Author LeShan : EDA.

35. __ de famille : NOM. The long way to refer to someone's last name. Lesson two for Splynter.

36. Otto minus cinque : TRE. 8-5 in Italian.

37. H.S. equivalency test : GED.

42. Inform : EDUCATE.

43. Registers : ENROLLS. These three all fit together.

47. "Never __ boy to ... " : SEND A.

48. Dangerous biter : ADDER. Loved Black Adder.

49. Like 48-Down : SCALY.

50. Unlikely to be chipper : ILL.

51. Acceptable : SO SO.

52. They're often broken : LAWS.

53. Luau entertainment : UKES. This took me much longer than it should have.

54. Suffix with percent : ILE.

56. "Get lost!" : SCAT.

57. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE. He is so popular these days.
Washington Post Sunday Magazine - March 5, 2017
Sheffer - March 1, 2017
USA Today - Feb. 28, 2017
Washington Post - Feb. 14, 2017
LA Times - Feb. 10, 2017
Sheffer - Feb. 4, 2017
Sheffer - Jan. 17, 2017
Washington Post Sunday Magazine - Jan. 8, 2017
Chronicle of Higher Education - Jan. 6, 2017

58. "Glad to help" : SURE.

59. Kitchen meas. : TBSP. Do not know why but I did not hesitate with this fill.

61. Acct. entry : BALance.

Well on balance I got 'er done which is good. I think Jeffrey has plugged into my subconscious because many of my 'guesses' are spot on. I liked the variety of the fill and I am really now very familiar with the repeating clue puzzle. Quite a bit of French and no Shakespeare, what is the world coming to? Thank JW, see you all next time. Lemonade out. Would any regulars like the filled grid printed in a larger font?

Note from C.C.:

The 40th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (March 24-26, 2017) will be held at the Stamford Marriott in Stamford, Connecticut. For those who attend, I hope you won't miss the Cru Dinner organized by the great Mike Alpern. Lots of fun pictures and FAQ's in that link. 

The Cru Dinner officially kicks off the tournament and is a great opportunity to meet with constructors and fellow solvers. And as a newbie, you'll always get a welcome gift! The space is limited, so be sure to contact with Mike (alpernm@aol.com) as soon as possible. 

Mike just told me that "we've got 65 of the 80 or so slots filled (yes, it's been busy), mostly with veterans. I'd like to encourage rookies to sign up while there's still room". 

I bet our own Jeffrey will be a judge again this year at the ACPT.  Kevin Christian also. Minnesota's Tom Pepper & Marcia will attend the Cru dinner. George Barany might be there also.

Thursday, March 9, 2017 Roland Huget

Theme: Beforehand. The three circled words are clued as "synonym" found in "a thing".

17A. Done in a comprehensive plan? : BLANKET COVERAGE. Done as in finished.

35A. Tied up in a government program? : CRIME PREVENTION. Tied up as in evened the score.

55A. Out in a classic sports car? : FORD THUNDERBIRD. Out as in knocked out by anesthetic.

Hi all! Fun theme from Roland, I like the way the circled words are clued. Three full grid-spanners for the theme entries and a very solid-looking grid.  I don't know if he was connecting the circled letters as being words that can follow "hand"; that's just my theme title.

Definitely some Thursday-level stuff going on today. Let's see what jumps out

Across:

1. Fish feature : GILL. I never thought of a gill in the singular before.

5. Sporty sunroof : T-TOP

9. Impressionist's métier : APERY.I know it's a word, but this and the related "aper" just don't work for me.

14. Mount between Pelion and Olympus : OSSA. Dug this out of the cranial recesses.

15. Bat mitzvah dance : HORA. Didn't dig this out, thank you crosses.

16. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" song : LARA'S. Let's hear it from The City of Prague Philharmonic.

20. Primed : SET, as a fuse.

21. Duffers' dreams : ACES. A duffer of a golfer can only dream of a hole-in-one. I've got one which I count as "unofficial" because it was on a par-three course, and it doesn't make me any less of a duffer, believe me. One of my friends got a legitimate one with a club I'd given him the week before, so I claimed the assist.

22. Gamer's game face : AVATAR. You choose an avatar to represent you when playing online video games. Apparently. Here's one of mine from Facebook:

23. Criticize harshly : SLAM

24. Emailed a dupe to : CC'ED

25. Darth, before he turned to the Dark Side : ANAKIN.

28. Postgrad challenge : ORAL EXAM

32. Quarrel : RUN-IN

33. Pit-__: heart sound : A-PAT

34. Target of annual shots : FLU

39. Useful Scrabble tile : ESS. Useful because you can add it to pretty much any existing word on the board.

40. Fairy tale heavy : OGRE

41. Suez Canal ship : OILER. Oil tankers are not the only commercial traffic to use the canal, but oil from the Arab countries is carried through the canal bound for nothern Europe and the U.S. East Coast. As the price of oil has fallen, since 2016 some carriers are choosing to take the longer way around the southern tip of Africa to avoid paying the toll charges for passage through the canal.

42. IBM's chess-playing computer : DEEP BLUE. It could beat me blindfold and with one microchip tied behind its back. I'm a lousy chess player.

45. To a greater degree : MORE SO

46. Singer India.__ : ARIE. Note the period after India - it's part of her name. This is a new name for me, but she's won four Grammys. Crosses filled her in for me. Striking-looking woman.

47. Word with candy or sugar : CANE

48. Book with tablets : EXODUS

51. Candle holder : CAKE

52. The White Stripes, e.g. : DUO. Here's "Seven Nation Army" - drums and guitar. Catchy riff on the base notes.

58. Veil material : TULLE

59. Bolivia neighbor : PERU

60. "It follows that ... " : ERGO. Cogito ergo sum - "I'm pink, therefore I'm Spam" - wait, what?

61. Lid woes : STYES

62. Intervene, with "in" : STEP

63. Some game : DEER

Down:

1. Scads : GOBS. Lots, slangily.

2. Part of a chain : ISLE

3. Atty.-to-be's hurdle : LSAT

4. System of connected PCs : LAN. Local Area Network. My home network has a load of things connected to it, most of which are not PC's. The oddest one is probably my sous-vide immersion cooker which talks to the controller app on my iPhone.

5. Lockup, in slang : THE CAN

6. Carved symbol : TOTEM

7. "Warcraft" killers : ORCS. Never played the game, but didn't take a lot of guessing once the "O" appeared.

8. Kung __ chicken : PAO

9. British school test : A-LEVEL. Funny, I was just talking about these to a friend yesterday. Short for "Advanced Level". I've got a couple in Economics and Computer Science.

10. Annual Macy's tradition : PARADE

11. Q.E.D. word : ERAT. Not "Quod" so you need one cross to be sure. It's not "demonstrandum" either, 'cause that doesn't fit.

12. Indian music style : RAGA. Plenty of opportunity for musical links today. Here's the fantastic closing credits/dance scene from "Slumdog Millionaire".

13. North Sea feeder : YSER. Crossword staple. Here it is flowing past the village of Roesbrugge in Belgium.

18. Tigers Hall of Famer Al : KALINE. No clue. Solid crosses to the rescue again.

19. Move out : VACATE

23. 1% alternative : SKIM. I saw "fat-free half-and-half" in the market last week. Doesn't that completely defeat the purpose?

24. Have a jones for : CRAVE

25. Like football passes : ARCED. I tried AIRED first as in the QB "airing out" the ball, but it turned out I was 40% wrong.

26. "Scrubs" extra : NURSE

27. Herbal flavor similar to licorice : ANISE

28. __ citato: in the work cited : OPERE. Usually abbreviates to Op. Cit.

29. Case for Scully : X-FILE. Clever singular form.

30. Leafy healers : ALOES

31. Canadian Alice with a Nobel Prize : MUNRO. Fiction writer. Her Nobel Prize in Literature is as a "master of the contemporary short story".

33. Tell it to the judge : ARGUE. I'm not sure I'd want to be arguing with the judge. I assume you're arguing your case.

36. Refinement : POLISH

37. Lunchtime tryst : NOONER

38. Run out of gas : TIRE. When you run out of tire, you're on your rims.

43. Get the canoe going : PADDLE. I saw a bumper sticker on a truck in northern Georgia near where "Deliverance" was filmed. It read "Paddle faster, I hear banjos".

44. Savages : BRUTES

45. Bury the hatchet : MAKE UP

47. Tight-knit group : CADRE

48. Young newts : EFTS

49. Cross off : X-OUT

50. Alternative to de Gaulle : ORLY. Parisian airports. ORY used to be the main airport until CDG was opened.

51. Tech news site : CNET. The name doesn't seem to be an acronym for anything.

52. Desperate : DIRE

53. Sugar craving, say : URGE

54. Wrinkled-nose cause : ODOR

56. Co. with brown trucks : UPS. My brother drives for UPS in England. Our own Splynter takes the wheel here in the US.

57. Place to plant : BED. Flower bed. Here's a pretty one in the English countryside.

And with that, I think my work here is done. Salut!

Steve

Wednesday, March 8, 2017, Agnes Davidson & C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: WORD LOVERS


Our two good friends here at this little literary outpost, C.C. and Irish Miss, have produced a lovely exercise for us today. 

Husker Gary reporting on their effort to take a word (foreign to me) and use it as a delightful pattern.These word-loving ladies used the word LOGOPHILE, from the Greek - LOGOS meaning word and PHILE meaning lover, to give us four fills where the first word starts with LO and the second with GO. 

What word could be more apropos? 

The reveal tells all. I could see the pattern but had no idea what these two LOGOPHILES were doing.

64. Word lover who'd especially enjoy the four longest answers in this puzzle? : LOGOPHILE

THEME FILLS:
17. Ambitious aspiration : LOFTY GOAL - After 108 long years, the Chicago Cubs reached their LOFTY GOAL of a World Championship last fall

25. "We're off to a strong start" : LOOKING GOOD - Forest Gump's 1970's investment in "some kind of fruit company" would have him LOOKING GOOD and worth $6B today.

39. A city council is part of it : LOCAL GOVERNMENT - My town's LOCAL GOVERNMENT has been besieged by debate on both sides concerning the building of a $300,000,000 Costco Chicken Plant two miles south of our house. A former Nebraska governor with whom I golf told me, "Gary, what kind of industry did people think we would attract?"

50. Aphrodite or Venus : LOVE GODDESS - Hilarious Judy Tenuta billed herself as a "LOVE GODDESS - It could happen!"

Now that you've LOGged On, let's see what else Agnes and C.C. have for us

Across

1. __-pedi : MANI

5. Like many snowbirds: Abbr. : RET'D - I subbed five of the last eight days. I've got to look up the word RETIRED 

9. Golden Arches pork sandwich : MCRIB

14. __ jacket : ETON - May we clear that for you?

15. Part of a plot : ACRE

16. Muse for Millay : ERATO

19. Industry bigwig : TITAN

20. Hotel breakfast buffet offering : OMELET - Your attendants might be wearing ETON jackets

21. "Evita" role : CHE

23. River near the Sphinx : NILE

24. Hush-hush govt. org. : NSA

28. Lauren of fashion : RALPH - His company made an entire line of ads for sponsoring Downton Abbey. 

30. Mystery man John : DOE - He seems to show up in a lot of morgues

31. Uninteresting : BLAH

33. "Yippee!" : WAHOO - Twenty minutes from here

36. Flapper's accessory : BOA - The kind that's safe around your neck

43. Typical "Blue's Clues" watcher : TOT

44. Davenport resident : IOWAN

45. Gossip column twosome : ITEM - These things are like our savings account - they generate no appreciable interest!  

46. Stop : END

47. Stop : CEASE - Didn't I just see this clue recently?

55. __ King Cole : NAT

58. "Not sure yet" : I MAY

59. Road cover : TAR - This road TAR job was in one of my favorite movies

60. Sole role in the play "Tru" : CAPOTE

62. Place for short cuts : SALON

66. Pointed remark? : THERE

67. Always : EVER

68. Persia, today : IRAN - The mullahs don't like it but some American knockoffs like this and "Mash Donalds" are showing up. 

69. Totally filled : SATED

70. Email status : SENT - Oh my! Did I hit SEND?

71. What a successful dieter weighs : LESS

Down

1. Fruit served in balls : MELON - Oh, now I get it!

2. Matter makeup : ATOMS

3. 2002 legislation that protects whistleblowers, familiarly : NO FEAR ACT 

4. Like some waters: Abbr. : INT'L

5. Convertible, in slang : RAG TOP - Guy Fieri's RAG TOP and his show - Diners, Drive-In and Dives - are both cool!

6. Prefix with friendly : ECO

7. Song on a CD : TRACK -I haven't bought music on a record, tape or CD since Moby Dick was a guppy.

8. Indian metropolis : DELHI - The Ploof Gourmet Kitchen in Deli has been proclaimed the best Deli in, uh, DELHI. Call  +91 22 2463 4666 for take out!

9. Got together : MET

10. Shrink in fear : CRINGE

11. Probability expression : RATIO - The odds for my FB Huskers winning the National Championship  this year are 100:1. VB odds are much better!

12. Author Calvino : ITALO - Classics always wear well and offer lessons to all generations. To Kill A Mockingbird is one that comes to my mind! You?

13. Like fillets : BONED

18. Cry out : YELL

22. Home of the Ewoks : ENDOR - The home of our crossword buddies. Now where do those ELOI hale from? 

26. "I'm impressed!" : OH WOW

27. Hired hood : GOON - Some don't make it to Social Security age

29. Puzzle solver's cry : AHA - AHA, now I get it! It's two word phrases where the first word starts with LO and the second with GO!

31. Lunchtime fave : BLT - You had me at bacon!

32. John of the U.K. : LOO

34. Gardner of the silver screen : AVA - No one was afraid of her boyfriend/husband, just his GOONS!

35. Start of a conclusion : HENCE

36. Bane : BETE NOIRE - That which is hated or a rasslin' stage name

37. Cardinal Ozzie Smith's retired uniform number : ONE - Now there's a guy who knew how to take his position 

38. Spot to check your balance : ATM

40. Lisa who hosts CNN's "This Is Life" : LING

41. Beckett no-show : GODOT

42. Leading lead-in : MIS - It's MISLEADING if you think GODOT is going to show up

46. Friend of Pooh and Roo : EEYORE - What a sad outlook on life. I've known a few.

48. Go along with : ESCORT

49. PDQ : ASAP

50. Leans while sailing : LISTS

51. D-Day beach : OMAHA - C.C and Agnes, you couldn't throw Nebraska a crumb here? :-) 

52. Lot attendant : VALET - A dfferent pronunciation if you are handing Lord Grantham his riding clothes

53. Lowlands : DALES

54. Used the car : DROVE

56. Book with roads : ATLAS - or...

57. After-school jobholders : TEENS - Like any honest labor, McJobs have dignity

61. One of the Everly Brothers : PHIL - The Beatles were huge fans of Don and PHIL

63. Actor Beatty : NED -This t-shirt was inspired by what may be Ned's most remembered role

65. High-ranking off. : GEN

I am LOng GOne but look forward to your comments: