Monday, October 9, 2017 ~ Janice Luttrell

Theme: This is only a test, so don't be alarmed.

17A. Unwise act that could be dangerous: FALSE MOVE. False alarm.

25A. Time-out for a cigarette: SMOKE BREAK. Smoke alarm.

35A. Dashboard music provider: CAR STEREO. Car alarm.

51A. Pre-talkies movie: SILENT FILM. Silent alarm.

60A. Hot chili designation, and a literal description of the starts of 17-, 25-, 35- and 51-Across: FOUR ALARM

Argyle here. Big beefy corners today, a bit unusual for a Monday. Also, a déjà vu feeling; a lot of recent clues/answers. Or is it just me?

Across:

1. "Death of a Salesman" salesman Willy: LOMAN. 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller.

6. Abysmal grades: EF's

9. "__ Cross": 1949 Lancaster movie: CRISS

14. Friend's opposite: ENEMY

15. Minor point to pick: NIT

16. Convened again: REMET

19. Video game pioneer: ATARI

20. Singing syllable: TRA, La, La...

21. Vicinity: AREA

22. Type of cleansing acid: BORIC

23. Actress Skye: IONE

27. Upper crust groups: ELITEs. Um, not elists.

29. Courage and fortitude: METTLE

30. Done in, as a dragon: SLAIN

31. Swoosh company: NIKE. It takes courage and fortitude to slay one's dragons. Just do it.

34. Cold War state: Abbr.: SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)

39. Oral health org.: ADA. (American Dental Association)

42. "Piece of cake!": "EASY!"

43. Real doozies: LULUs

47. Dips for tortilla chips: SALSAs

50. Agree: ASSENT

55. "Please leave your message at the __": TONE. [BEEP!]

56. Illegal lending tactic: USURY

57. Wrath, in a hymn: IRAE. Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) definition: a famous Latin hymn of the 13th century, describing the Last Judgment. Collins English Dictionary.

58. Round green veggie: PEA

59. Helped: AIDED

63. "The Accidental Tourist" actress Davis: GEENA

64. Z, alphabet-wise: END

65. Start of a tennis point: SERVE

66. Opinion piece: ESSAY

67. Part of GPS: Abbr.: SYS. (Global Positioning System)

68. Passover feast: SEDER

Down:

1. Southpaws: LEFTIES. Also, LEFTYs.

2. Winning at craps, say: ON A ROLL

3. First lady after Michelle: MELANIA

4. Wee hrs.: AMs. (from the Latin, ante meridiem, meaning before midday)

5. PBS "Science Guy" Bill: NYE

6. Huge, in verse: ENORM

7. "Hawaii __": TV cop show: FIVE-O

8. T-bone, for one: STEAK

9. Buster who played Flash Gordon: CRABBE. Got to go back in the archives for this one. "Embedding disabled by request" No trailer, just a pic.

10. Sharp comeback: RETORT

11. Turkish travel shelters: IMARETS. Pretty fancy shelter! Learn more at Wiki.

12. Continuing stories: SERIALS. Like Flash Gordon.

13. Place for a new-car price: STICKER

18. Sunday service: MASS

24. Suffix with diet: ETIC. An adjective, pertaining to regulation of the use of food. Add an S on the end and it becomes a noun.(dietetics)

26. 911 situation: Abbr.: EMER. (emergency)

28. Disney doe: ENA. Bambi's aunt.

31. CIA cousin: NSA. (National Security Agency)

32. "__ not up to me": IT'S. "Go ask you mother/father."

33. Vitally important: KEY

36. Relax: REST

37. Overhead trains: ELS. (elevated)

38. Kick out of office: OUST

39. Appease: ASSUAGE

40. Yellow-disked flowers: DAISIES

           Daisies by Ernst Arnold

41. Refers casually (to): ALLUDES

44. Spotted wildcat: LEOPARD. Their spots can't be changed.

45. Rattle: UNNERVE

46. Soft-shell clam: STEAMER

48. Williams of tennis: SERENA. Sister of Venus.

49. Very soon: ANY DAY

50. From the States: Abbr.: AMER. (American)

52. Small winds paired with drums: FIFEs

                       Old Sturbridge Village

53. Literary twist: IRONY

54. Heaps praise on: LAUDS

61. Beast of burden: ASS

62. Golfer Trevino: LEE. "Pressure is playing for ten dollars when you don't have a dime in your pocket."

Argyle

Sunday October 8, 2017 Paul Coulter

 Theme: "Top This!" - Seven food items and their toppers are stacked.

18. Know one's __: master a subject : ONIONS

22. It's not a teeny wienie : FOOTLONG HOTDOG

24. Gusto : RELISH

27. Cookout favorite : HAMBURGER

43. Lively Cuban dance : SALSA

50. Crunchy snack choice : TORTILLA CHIP
 
60. Big __ : CHEESE

66. Trattoria selection : SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS. Grid spanner is not easy to maneuver for a 21*21 grid.

 
81. Green shade : LIME

86. Beef on the patio : GRILLED STEAK
 
99. "Drab" color : OLIVE

109. Dorm breakfast, maybe : COLD PIZZA
  
112. Nabisco noshes : OREOS

116. Dessert with syrup : ICE  CREAM SUNDAE - Dessert is saved as the last themer. How fitting.

Six of the toppers are clued as non-food related. OREOS is an exception. There are just no other ways to clue OREOS.

This type of stacked theme is notoriously hard to pull it off cleanly. Hence Paul's extra four black squares in this grid.
 
Across:
      
1. Seabird related to the booby : GANNET. Wiki says "Gannet" is derived from Old English ganot "strong or masculine". It does look very strong.

7. Bold & Crispy Fries maker : ORE-IDA. We also have a few other food items: 58. Hero : SUB. 102. Deli bread : RYE. 103. Saigon soup : PHO.  19. "The one who makes it, takes it" breakfast brand : EGGO.  78. Juicy fruit : PEAR. 111. Pasta choice : ZITI
  
13. Rural "reckon" : S'POSE

19. It's intoxicating : ETHANOL

20. Willow twigs : OSIERS. Our old friend.

25. Place to put down stakes?: Abbr. : OTB. Nice clue as well.

26. Learned ones : SAGES

29. Marsh growths : REEDS

32. For, to Fernando : POR

33. Org. that does searches : TSA

35. "The Kiss" sculptor : RODIN

36. Seine feeder : OISE. EURE as well.

38. Chain that sells Grand Slam breakfasts : DENNY'S. Boomer would love this.

40. Masterpieces : GEMS

45. New Zealand native : MAORI

47. The Beatles' "__ Mine" : I ME

49. One-eighty : UIE Also 50. Eighty-six : TOSS

52. Confident solver's choice : PEN. Pen and Wite-Out here.


53. Gardner of mystery : ERLE. Gimme for regulars.

54. Major work : OPUS

55. "Et voilà!" : TA DA

56. Three-time NFL rushing yards leader Adrian : PETERSON. He was with the Vikings for a long time.

 59. Some sodas : RCs

65. "Big Blue" : IBM. Hi there, T!
 
73. Unagi or anago : EEL

74. Antenna housing : RADOME. Learning moment to me.

75. Parisian pronoun : ILS. They.

76. Federation in OPEC : UAE

77. Please : APPEAL TO

83. Magazine founder Eric : UTNE

84. Stink : REEK

85. "Exodus" hero : ARI

90. Canal locale : EAR

91. Seoul soldier : ROK. Republic of Korea. Chinese military force is called PLA (People's Liberation Army).

92. Closely packed : DENSE. Also 124. Bright circle? : MENSA. Those not in the "Bright circle" are in the less bright DENSA.

93. Rwandan people : TUTSI

94. Oil acronym : ARCO. Atlantic Richfield Company.

96. Some polytheists : PAGANS

98. "Coriolanus" setting : ROME
 
105. High-quality : PRIME

114. Reverse pic : NEG

115. Serious plays : DRAMAS
 

121. Take back to the lab : RE-TEST. I've relapsed in my quiet for more iron-rich food.
 
122. Stretched to the limit : TENSEST. Also  126. Least ingenuous : SLYEST. Most puzzles' bottom edges are S-rich.
 
123. Gets in shape : TRAINS
 
125. Worthy principles : IDEALS

 Down:

1. Enjoy : GO FOR

2. Make __ of: write down : A NOTE

3. Weeper of myth : NIOBE. She was turned into a stone.


4. Excluding : NOT

5. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL

6. Chinese menu possessive : TSO'S. Chicken does taste better when breaded and fried.

7. Catchall category : OTHER

8. P's on frat jackets : RHOs

9. Dig in, so to speak : EAT. Tiny clue dupes with 61. Ate : HAD

10. Lake Mich. state : IND

11. He played Scotty on "Star Trek" : DOOHAN. Forgot.

12. Pond growth : ALGA


13. TV's Hercules Kevin __ : SORBO.  I forgot his name also.

14. Pretentious sort : PSEUD

15. Offshore equipment : OIL RIG

16. Feudal lords : SEIGNEURS. New word to me.

17. Language that gave us "plaid" : ERSE
 
21. Nasdaq unit: Abbr. : SHR

23. Pickup place? : NAPE. Pet.

28. Hook's mate : MR. SMEE

30. Knuckleheads : DOLTS

31. Amigo's assent : SI SI

33. Garr of "Mr. Mom" : TERI

34. Impertinent sort : SNIP

37. Dispenser made obsolete by the shaker : SALT CELLAR. So many nice salts and salt shakers at Bed Bath & Beyond.

38. Cry from Homer : D'OH

39. Winner's cry : YIPPEE

41. Cat pal of Otis : MILO

42. Caught in the act : SEEN


43. Absorb : SOP UP

44. Its capital is Oranjestad : ARUBA

45. "Spy vs. Spy" magazine : MAD

46. Mimosa family tree : ACACIA

48. Eligible for : ENTITLED TO

51. At the back of the pack : LAST

53. Aunt with a "Cope Book" : ERMA

57. Drops off : EBBS

59. Seehorn of "Better Call Saul" : RHEA. Don't know her.

62. "Another Green World" musician : ENO

63. Oilers, on NHL scoreboards : EDM (Edmonton)

64. Seems suspicious : SMELLS

67. Nerd : GEEK

68. Horse-drawn vehicle : TROIKA

69. Parisian lover's word : AIME

70. Fretted instruments : LUTES

71. Hawaiian island : LANAI. Owned by Steve's boss Larry Ellison.

72. Hunt for : SEEK

77. Carpeting calculation : AREA

79. Brew, in a way : PERCOLATE

80. Saint-__: French Riviera resort : TROPEZ

82. Martinique, par exemple : ILE

83. Complete : UTTER

86. Aussie greeting : G'DAY

87. Mathematician Descartes : RENE

88. Election winners : INs

89. Water collection pit : SUMP

95. "No Country for __" : OLD MEN. Directed by the Coen Brothers.

97. Adorned : GRACED

98. One of nine Clue cards : ROOM

100. Bridge declaration : I PASS

101. Windows XP successor : VISTA

103. Cider maker : PRESS. Honeycrisp season. $1.99/lb at our local Cub Foods.

104. Recipe verb : HEAT

106. Many a Sundance film : INDIE

107. Stands for : MEANS

108. Discharge : EGEST

109. USN officer : CDR. Our Spitzboov retired as a Commander. Also 120. Stubborn sailor's response : NAY. 

110. City near Provo : OREM

112. Baseball's Hershiser : OREL

113. Retired fliers : SSTS

117. Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir. : ENE

118. Civil War letters : CSA

119. Modern address : URL

Here is a picture I grabbed from Misty's Facebook. It's from her 55th high school reunion. She's with her classmates Irene and Bonnie.

Left to Right: Misty, Irene & Bonnie

Happy birthday to dear Jayce, who's been with our blog for eight years. Jayce reads every blog post and comment carefully and his posts are always thoughtful and caring.

Jayce also speaks fluent Chinese, hence his unique way of understanding my quirks. Off the blog, he's a great friend. Always there to help me when I' need his advice on blood pressure, diet, or any problem I might encounter.

Jayce, June 2013, Santa Barbara

Saturday, Oct 7th, 2017, Alex Bajcz

Theme: "We don't need no stinkin' Bajcz"

Words: 68 (G,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

I did not recognize the author, so I reviewed his constructions based on the blog - discovered his name is pronounced "badges" - and found out Alex has had three puzzles for the LA Times; a Sunday last year, plus a Thursday, and a Friday from 2013 - ironic that the 'theme' that Friday was "No "G"", and today we have no "G" again.  Struggled through this one, had just enough to take some WAGs in places, and ultimately stayed away from Google - though there were plenty of obscure clues today.  I did have to turn on red-letters - I filled in the whole grid, but got no 'ta-DA~!'; and a strange grid we had, to boot; sort of a fourteen-letter pinwheel design.  The longer answers;

22. Classic : QUINTESSENTIAL - I looked at what Google thinks of as the "quintessential" rock song and rock group, and I had to disagree - but then again, I also noticed that Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser of  Blue Öyster Cult did not make Rolling Stone magazine's top 100 guitarists list....and he's been playing live for 40+ years.  What's your opinion of rock's quintessential~?

45. Pass for now : TAKE A RAIN CHECK

5. Break down : BURST INTO TEARS

16. Stereotypical doo-wop garb : LEATHER JACKETS - this is what comes to mind for me, having grown up in the 80's - WARNING~!  I never realized the language in this ditty

Greased Lightnin'

Four ON the floor WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Chimpanzee relative : BONOBO - there was no way that MONKEY was going to be correct, but the -ON--- was enough the get started in the NW

7. "Teen Wolf" airer : MTV - oops; one red-letter oversight - I had "S"TV because my presidents appeared on STreetS

10. One on a sting operation? : WASP - wasn't fooled on this one

14. You'll need a lift to use one : SKI RUN - couldn't get it to jibe with my early DOWN fills, so I ended up changing them

15. "Madam Secretary" star : TEA LEONI - one of the few proper names I knew

17. Have grand ambitions : ASPIRE - I aspire to be the best Property Manager at the winery that officially hired me on Thursday - which coincided with my last day at UPS....and I walked out of there with not a word said to me by anyone, after 7 years with the company.  Not even a lousy donut.  The only person to shake my hand was one of my four drivers, and he still thinks I'm coming back

18. Deal maker : SALES REP

19. Pronoun for Catherine de' Medici : ESSA - I tried SRTA first

21. Mariner's home : SEATTLE - baseball for C.C. - and hockey is here for me~!

26. Peels off, perhaps : UNSTICKS - oops.  My DOWN crossing left me with unstiNks, and around here, sometimes if you "peel one off", it leaves a "stink"

27. Revolutionary icon : CHE

28. Mideast capital once called Philadelphia : AMMAN - I tried ASSAD, who happens to be the president of Syria, not the place in Jordan; the Wiki

29. Prima __ : FACIE - learned from watching Law & Order; the 'evidence' is true unless proven otherwise

31. They might be set in windows: Abbr. : ACs - Air Conditioners

34. Included in the game : DEALT TO - as in cards; I have lost every week for about six months now; there's almost no point in going to play

36. Canal treatment fluid : EAR DROP - that kind of canal

38. Not irreg. : STD

39. Made waves, in a way : OARED

41. House Lannister member on "Game of Thrones" : JAIME - so many people tell me I would love this show, but I have only seen one episode

42. Basses' sect. : STRings

43. First period of the Mesozoic Era : TRIASSIC - filled via perps

48. Script used by ancient Minoans : LINEAR A - learned from doing crosswords; in fact, I believe back then I screwed it up by leaving it as "lineara", and not breaking it down; the Wiki

49. Oft-layered item : CAKE

50. Share of ownership : INTEREST

52. Renew one's strength : REST UP - I get to rest up for three days before the new job starts

56. Trial area : TEST SITE - think bombs

57. Automaker Bugatti : ETTORE - filled via perps

1910 - I have the hot Wheels version

58. Freezer brand : EDY'S - something IN the freezer, not the unit's manufacturer

59. Stereotypical corny joke teller : DAD - ah, not "HAM"

60. Tin ear, to a pathologist : ASONIA - I really thought it would be a-Tonia, but the DOWN had to be correct; tone deaf, from the Latin "a-" and "sonorus", 'sound'

DOWN:

1. Jamboree-on-the-Air org. : BSA - my buddy Ed was a Boy Scouts of  America troop leader

2. Accepts : OKs

3. Something in the air : NIP

4. With a hotel, avenue whose rent is $550 : ORIENTAL - man, I racked my brain to come up with this one without Google, trying to mentally picture the Monopoly board; this is the 'second' group, the light blue squares which also includes Vermont and Connecticut

6. Request for a small delay : ONE SEC - I had "---TEN", which made sense, except there's no word to put in front of TEN to make any sense

7. Some are named for presidents: Abbr. : MTs - ah, mountains, not streets

8. Flirt : TEASE

9. Spanish autonomous community or its capital : VALENCIA

10. Little white breed, affectionately : WESTIE - one of those "awww" inspiring breeds

West Highland Terrier

11. Vital circulation aid : AORTA

12. Fisherman's knot : SNELL

13. Lead Clue weapon : PIPE - and five other original weapons; the rope, the gun, the knife, the candlestick, and the wrench - with three out of six, I guess blunt force trauma was the choice for murder back then

Miss Scarlet in the conservatory~?

20. Put on one's wish list : ASK FOR

22. Outdoor lecture sites : QUADS - college grounds, not muscle groups....

23. Like some unreasonable requests : UNMET

24. "Your noble son __": Polonius : IS MAD - Hamlet

25. Issuer of three-part nos. : SSA - the administration that deals in social security #s

30. Comedian __ the Entertainer : CEDRIC - OK, I knew this one, as well

31. Surface : ARISE

32. Lewis Black, e.g. : COMIC - um, and this one, too

33. Barely a blip : SPECK

35. "American Pie" actress : TARA REID - OK, I forgot this one

37. Makes a break for : DASHES TO

40. Zeta-theta go-between : ETA

42. '50s-'60s country singer McDonald : SKEETS - now this guy I'd never heard of - the Wiki

44. How land is measured : IN AREA

45. Like rakes : TINED - I first read this as "little" for some reason

46. Pacing, maybe : ANTSY - good guess based on the "Y" being there from EDY'S

47. Many a reggae artist : RASTA

48. Beer case word : LITE

51. Mosby on "How I Met Your Mother" : TED

53. Homework amount? : TON - "man, I got a ton of homework to do~!"

54. Ocean State sch. : URI - been a popular crossword school lately

55. Princess' bane : PEA - still trying to get my mom to understand "Peapod", the online home delivery service from Stop N' Shop supermarkets

Splynter

Friday, October 6, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Now where did I put those IOUs?

In a variation of the add a letter or letters theme, JW hid them at the end of the first word of a known two-word phrase or name. As I remarked last week about recognizing a theme because a word or phrase is repeated, seeing -ious (suffix, ious is defined as having or being like the word it follows) opened my eyes. Of course, the light bulb goes on when you parse it as an acronym. Lovely misdirection. At first, I could not understand what the theme answers had in common. The "red" reference in the reveal (debts are ledgered in red) led me to present the theme as below:

20A. Agricultural college facility? : STUDIOUS FARM (12).  Stud Farm. The Aggies study hard.

32A. One who got in before a crash? : FURIOUS TRADER (13). Fur Trader. The stock trader is very angry that his timing was bad.

40A. Lancelot bragging about his exploits? : TEDIOUS KNIGHT (13). The late great Ted Knight.

LINK. It makes sense to use a proper name in both clue and fill.

53A. What theater districts offer? : COPIOUS SHOWS (12). Cop Shows. I watched some Police Woman on COZI tv this weekend. It rained here.

The reveal:

67A. They traditionally appear in red ... and in another form in 20-, 32-, 40- and 53-Across: DEBTS (5).

JW also fitted in ONE STEP, SF GIANT, TROOPER, US ASSET, ANALYSTS, GONE AWRY, LOW AVERAGES and TURN THE PAGE as long sparkly fill. Let's do this!

Across:

1. Best-selling book generally not on best-seller lists: BIBLE. They don't know where to send the royalty checks.

6. Benchmark: Abbr. : STD. Standard.

9. Early automaker: OLDS. Old('s) Ransom has been popular again.

13. Won't go near: AVOIDS.

15. Back again: FRO. To and fro. 

16. Heist haul: LOOT.

17. Magoo's malady: MYOPIA. Nearsightedness. 

18. Ended up off the mark: GONE AWRY. A fun underused phrase.

22. Polling abbr. : PCT.

25. Arrive at hastily, as a conclusion: LEAP TO. Look before you....

26. Sundial marking: VII. A return of the Roman Numeral.

27. Content of little substance: FLUFF. Newspapers had people who wrote their puff pieces.

30. Madrid-to-Paris dir. : NNE.

31. Rose in a field: PETE. Baseball player.  HE is now 76.

36. Achilles __: TENDON.

37. Take turns: ROTATE. I love clues/fill such as this.

44. "The BFG" author: DAHL.  The Big Friendly Giant, by Roald Dahl also was made into a movie.

46. Intelligence org. : NSA. National Security Agency.

47. Dutch genre painter: STEEN. See his WORK.

48. Juillet's season: ETE. July/Summer  French.

49. KFC option: BREAST.

52. Red __: SEA.

57. Financial workers: ANALYSTS.

58. Like merciless opponents: FEARED.

62. Gospel travelers: MAGI.

63. Get: SEE.

64. Not nice at all: UNKIND.

65. Urgent request: PLEA.

66. Decline, with "out": OPT.

Down:

1. Loud sound: BAM.

2. Columbia, e.g.: IVY. No league? 

3. "That's lousy!" : BOO.

4. Enlarged Revlon ad image: LIPS.

5. Reduce a sentence, say: EDIT. Not commute, but rewrite. 

6. MLBer at AT & T Park: SF GIANT.

7. Highway pursuer: TROOPER. SUPER TROOPER 2 coming in 2018.

8. Bakery item with some shortening? : DONUT. A lovely and clean double entendre - making the word doughnut shorter, as well as the shortening used in baking. A classic JW clue/fill.

9. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF. Disney's movies all seem to have had a comic relief character.

10. What most pitchers have, as batters: LOW AVERAGES.

11. "Little" Dickens title character: DORRIT. 

12. Obstruct: STYMIE. My MEMORY.

14. Author Bellow: SAUL. I enjoyed his work when I was young. FIVE.

19. What that is in Spain: ESO.

21. Scout groups: DENS.

22. [It just vanished!]: PFFT.

23. Answer guide? : CLUE. Cute, a guide to the answer.

24. Get on with one's life: TURN THE PAGE. One of the Millenials contributions to the language. 

28. Revolutionary first name: FIDEL.

29. Child subject: FOOD. Julia, may she rest in peace, all 6'2" of her.

31. It's not big in France: PETIT. Funny. From French Chef to French pun.

33. Verse lead-in: UNIverse.

34. Prize for Indy: ARK. Indiana Jones, that is.

35. Oxford figures: DONS.

38. Fare-well link: THEE.

39. Italian peak: ETNA.

41. Like the simplest process: ONE STEP.

42. Toyota's Ky. plant, e.g.: US ASSET. Good thing there were perps as this was tough.

43. Old-school diplomatic accessory: SASH.

44. Pack up the tents and supplies: DECAMP.

45. Like some Alban Berg works: ATONAL. I am not a big fan of Schoenberg or other atonal composers. LINK. Unrelated to comedian Sam Berg.

49. Tiny Tim, for one: BOY.

50. Rene of "Thor": RUSSO.  Her brief INTERVIEW.

51. Vegan staple: TOFU.

54. Hipbones: ILIA.

55. Direct (one's way): WEND. Another word packed with meaning in four letters; "verb:
go in a specified direction, typically slowly or by an indirect route."

56. Ginza quaff: SAKE. Rice wine.

59. Barbecue morsel: RIB. Morsel defined: a small piece or amount of food; a mouthful. Rib?

60. Sinus doc : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat. 

61. Driller's deg. : DDS. Dentist. har, har.

Well, there it is, another Friday, another Jeffrey Wechsler, and a fun ride. It is the quiet time for South Florida as the summer tourists are gone and the snowbirds have not returned. There are more breezes and I hope you enjoy the time. Thank you, Jeffrey and all who read. Lemonade out.