Friday, October 13, 2017, Morton J. Mendelson

Title: Text speak meets grid spanner = WTF _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

How interesting that after last week where Jeffrey inserted an acronym (IOUS) to create new fill, MJM uses initialisms as the introduction to a 15 letter in the language phrase. As someone who has used initialisms my entire life (e.g. DKDC), this was easier than it might have been, as getting a word from the perps got me started. When texting first was available, a friend and I would send each other
letter strings and try to solve them. The insane responses were usually better than the intended comment. Anyway, many fun words with interesting etymology. Off we go.

The themers:

17A. TW ... : DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT (15). Two Wrongs...

25A. DCYC ... : BEFORE THEY HATCH (15). Don't Count Your Chickens...

44A. CI ... : NEXT TO GODLINESS (15). Cleanliness Is...

58A. AGT ... : MUST COME TO AN END (15). All Good Things...

The rest:

Across:

1. Yanks' foes: JAYS. No, they are playing Houston in the ALCS.

5. Operation designed to hurt: STING. Hurt? To me, they either defraud someone (the oldest was by the Praetorian guard who sold the Roman Empire to Julianus in 193 C.E.) or to arrest someone. LINK.

10. Shipboard resident: SWAB. I think of swabbie/y, but the Urban dictionary says: "This term, frequently used by non-sailors to refer to sailors, is most likely a contraction of the term "swabbie" or "swabby", presumably derived from the notion of sailors "swabbing the deck". "Swabbie/y" is currently in use only among the elderly; 'swab' is the more common term among young people." Proving once again, I am elderly.

14. CFO, e.g. : EXEC.

15. Not as likely to mess up: ABLER.

16. Walk without getting anywhere? : PACE. I like this definition.

20. Shoelace site: INSTEP. Did you ever think about the origin of this word? Sounds like it is backwards - it is where you step in the shoe. But, the dictionary says: "late Middle English: of unknown origin; compare with West Frisian ynstap ‘opening in a shoe for insertion of the foot.’"

21. Shipboard chums: MATEYS. Mini-clecho with 10A.

22. Tenn. neighbor: ALA. Abbr. - abbr.

24. Apartment listing abbr. : RMS.

34. Nice with? : AVEC. The Nice, France trick.

35. Gobs and gobs: SLEWS. More dictionary- from the Irish Slaugh.

36. Cart for heavy loads: DRAY. "for delivering beer barrels or other heavy loads, especially a low one without sides."

37. Filly's brother: COLT.

38. Fighter eulogized by Bill Clinton, among others: ALI.

39. Old-time teacher: MARM. Based on a variant pronunciation of ma'am.

40. "The Grapes of Wrath" figure: OKIE.

41. Beams: GRINS.

43. Prime real estate? : EDEN. I like this clue.

47. Downed a sub, say: ATE.

48. In-law's wife, possibly: SIS.

49. Refrigerates: CHILLS.

53. One of a biblical ten: PLAGUE. Commandments clearly did not fit.

62. Like quality beef: AGED.

63. One "sitting lonely on the placid bust," in a classic poem: RAVEN.
“But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow, he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.’
Then the bird said, 'Nevermore.”

64. Course with relevant tangents: TRIG.

65. Regular guys: JOES.

66. Finals, e.g.: EXAMS.

67. Spot: SITE. Mira, there she goes!

Down:

1. "Star Wars" warrior: JEDI. How many have seen THE Trailer?

2. Nerve cell part: AXON.

3. Cravings: YENS.

4. Ewan McGregor, for one: SCOT. More Star Wars.

5. They're often free: SAMPLES.

6. Sched. question mark: TBA.

7. Kind: ILK. A repeat.

8. Once called: NEE. Not FKA.

9. Sir Georg Solti's record 31: GRAMMYS.  Did you know? LINK.

10. Rotating rod: SPIT.

11. Conduct: WAGE. Like war.

12. Hurting: ACHY. I almost linked "Achy Breaky Heart" which was triple platinum in Australia, and number 2 on Blender magazine's 50 Worst Songs Ever.

13. Puts money (on): BETS.

18. Dash: TEAR. Tear down the stairs.

19. Not at all reflective:: RASH. Impulsive.

23. On the lam: AT LARGE.

24. Backs up a videotape: REWINDS. Backs up? Made me think of re-recording.

25. Cobb salad ingredient: BACON.

26. Bring to mind: EVOKE.

27. Composer Mendelssohn: FELIX. He looks like a young Gene Wilder. Almost a CSO; I wonder if Morton's family removed the extra "S" and the "H." Then lent them to the green stamp people.

28. Good-sized wedding band: OCTET.

29. Prefix for "sun" : HELIO. I know only this one. Hélio Castroneves.

30. Madison Ave. Pitchers: ADMEN.

31. Carpentry, e.g.: TRADE. CSO.

32. Worries: CARES.

33. Church numbers: HYMNS.

41. Reacted to an arduous workout: GOT SORE.

42. Shoes without laces: SLIP ONS. Aha! More shoe references.

45. Gymnast's powder: TALC.

46. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA. Spanish.

49. Key of the finale of Brahms' Symphony No. 1: CMAJ. Lots of classical music.

50. "Les Misérables" author: HUGO.

51. "Now it's clear": I SEE.

52. Old Fords: LTDS.

54. Hard-working colonizers: ANTS.

55. Spice Girl Halliwell: GERI. Still recording.

56. Second, e.g.: UNIT.

57. Sharp side: EDGE.

59. Reach capacity, with "out": MAX.

60. Actress Mendes: EVA. Many pretty pictures.  For Splynter.

61. President pro __ : TEM. Pres·i·dent pro tem·po·re.  Latin.

Well, MJM and I have finished our work here, so it is time to bid you all adieu and hope you enjoyed the puzzle, exposition and enjoy the upcoming weekend.  It is not often I get to reference a West Frisian word. Thank you Morton - I had an Uncle Morton - and all readers - be you a lurker, a regular or unpredictable member. Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 12, 2017, J. Michael McHugh

Theme: Breakfast Surprise - scrambled OATS

17A. *What may put a fire in the belly? : HOT SAUCE. I've got quite a few varieties in my pantry. One of my favorites is a green habañero sauce I picked up at a market in Jalisco.

24A. *Commuter entertainment source : RADIO STATION

38A. *Slick trick : FAST ONE. Fast ones are always pulled. I might try and push a fast one and see how far I get.

52A. *Pre-release programs : BETA SOFTWARE. Full of bugs, typically.

64A. What young people may sow ... and what's literally hidden in the answers to starred clues : WILD OATS.

"Boys will be boys, young men must sow their wild oats, and women must not expect miracles." From Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

A pretty straightforward theme today, a word scramble. If the constructor lived in TAOS, NM that would be cool. It does appear to be an LAT debut for Mr. McHugh, so congratulations are in order for that. The stacked 6's at top and bottom are nice. There is a little "bitty" feel to the rest of the fill, but nothing to get too upset about. Maybe a slight surfeit of crossword-ese. More of a Monday feel to this one. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Part of BYOB and MYOB : OWN. Bring your own bottle/mind your own business. I first heard the term BYO in Australia, which described restaurants which did not have a license to serve alcohol, but you were welcome to bring your own wine.

4. Band name with a lightning bolt slash : AC/DC

8. Unlike a couch potato : ACTIVE

14. T'ai __ : CHI

15. Afrikaans speaker : BOER. Dutch origin. It's not the most mellifluous of languages.

16. 9Lives mascot : MORRIS. Thank you, crosses. No idea with this one.

19. Makes room on, as a schedule : CLEARS

20. Window part : SASH

21. Mother of Pollux : LEDA

23. She plays Crawford in FX's "Feud" : LANGE. Jessica Lange portraying Joan Crawford.

27. Regards with surprise : GAPES AT

30. Sped : TORE

31. Botch : MISDO. Hmmm. Really? "Don't misdo that!". "Darn, I misdid it!" Not convinced that would be the first phrase out of my mouth if I stripped a bolt.

32. Miracle-__ : GRO

33. One teaspoon, e.g. : DOSE

37. Sponsor's array : ADS

42. Pampering place : SPA

43. Lets hit them : NETS. Tennis. A let actually hit the net cord, not the net, but let's not get too picky.

45. Pi follower : RHO

46. Heroism : VALOR

48. In-land link? : LA-LA. You know no-one ever calls Los Angeles La-La land? Just as only tourists call San Francisco "Frisco" and only Guy Fieri calls the state "Cali".

50. Leopardlike cats : OCELOTS

56. Not right : AMISS

57. Commuter's expense : TOLL

58. Staff symbol : REST. Music.

62. Metaphorical state of agitation : LATHER

66. Like most Chaplin films : SILENT. This New Yorker article is an interesting read regarding Chaplin and his attitudes towards sound.

67. "Uh-huh" : I SEE

68. By way of : VIA

69. Gives a heads-up : ALERTS

70. Drag racing gp. : N.H.R.A. National Hot Rod Association.

71. Prompt a correction : ERR

Down:

1. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS

2. Stop on the trail : WHOA!

3. Quibbles : NITS

4. "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice" org. : ABA. American Bar Association. Second association of the day.

5. Might've : COULD'A. Would'a, could'a, should'a.

6. Con man's forte : DECEIT

7. Set of beliefs : CREDO. Had CREED first.

8. "The Walking Dead" channel : AMC

9. Nab : COLLAR

10. Pressure-__ : TREATED. Lumber that has chromated copper arsenate preservative forced into it under pressure.

11. Like two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi : IRANI. More crosses to the rescue.

12. Late summer sign : VIRGO. That's me!

13. Steel city near Cologne : ESSEN. Food! It's also the verb "to eat" in German. All I know about Essen is what I learned from the friendly fictional family who populated the text book in high school German lessons. Herr Mueller was an executive at some kind of factory, and I recall the river was nice and the park was spacious.

18. Bit : SHRED

22. Orbit City pooch : ASTRO

25. Starting : AS OF

26. One in a cel block : TOON. Astro, for example.

27. FBI guy : G-MAN

28. Assistant : AIDE

29. "Wanna hear a secret?" : PSST!

32. '60s-'70s Pontiac : GTO

34. City that hosts an annual Norwegian Wood music festival : OSLO. Quick - name another Norwegian city of four letters. 3-2-1 Go!

35. Blind __ : SPOT

36. Elephant flappers : EARS

39. Singer Guthrie : ARLO

40. Golf club part : SHAFT. The shaft used to be made of good old hickory, then steel and now all kinds of fancy-schmancy carbon fiber, titanium and assorted rocket parts developed by NASA. Or something.

41. Even once : EVER

44. Cutting-edge horror film? : SLASHER

47. Olds compact : ALERO

49. Approval : ASSENT

50. Wide-eyed and wise-looking : OWLISH

51. Telemarketer : CALLER. Bleedin' nuisance, more like.

52. Light wood : BALSA. We used to make model aeroplanes out of balsa wood when we were kids.

53. It's often distributed in cc's : E-MAIL

54. Sir or sri : TITLE

55. Haul to the shop : TOW IN

59. Nesting site : EAVE

Oh - here we are at the end, I stumbled off the edge of the roof. Here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, October 11, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

THEME: IN OTHER WORDS

Husker Gary here reporting from the site of a wonderful Wednesday puzzle authored by our lovely blogmistress! Not only has she given us a fun theme but has remarkably thrown in four, count 'em, four ten-letter down fills at a midweek level. Wow!

C.C. has taken four familiar phrases and tweaked them slightly to give us a different meaning with no reveal necessary

THEME ENTRIES

16. Inc. and LLC? : BUSINESS LETTERS - These are abbreviations you might find in a, uh,   BUSINESS LETTER

22. Beaming and shining? : GLOWING WORDS - Not merely words that express a positive feeling but words that actually Beam and Shine

45. "Got it!" and "Roger that!"? : CATCH PHRASES - Familiar speech idioms or a acknowledgement that you understand what was said as in this hilarious scene:

53. "What are you in for?" and "I was framed"? : PRISON SENTENCES - Years to be served or this great dialogue from Jack McCoy

Now for some Beaming, Shining fill:


Across

1. Ballet divisions : ACTS - In the second ACT of the Nutcracker, we get to see the wonderful Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy 

5. Crank (up) : REV

8. Hunchbacked lab assistant : IGOR - Marty Feldman insisted on being called EYE GORE if Gene Wilder was insisting on being FRAHNK EN STEEN.

12. Un-fizzy : FLAT - Don't leave your Pepsi out with the lid off

13. PGA Tour golf course near Miami : DORAL


15. Fish in salade niçoise : TUNA - A salad 25. Styled after, on a menu : A LA Nice, France. Julia Child's version:

19. "No fighting!" : BE NICE - Not to be confused with NICE above

20. Self-worth : EGO

21. Gym unit : REP - No pain, no gain is nonsense. Listen to your body.

25. Jibe grammatically : AGREE - "C.C. is a fabulous constructor" or "C.C. are a fabulous constructor" Hmmm...

28. Come-__: enticements : ONS - Spectrum advertises $29.95/mo. for internet, phone and cable (for new subscribers and only for 12 months)

29. Covent Garden highlight : ARIA - Tonight at 7:30 pm, Covent Garden will be presenting Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) where one of the ARIAs is O zittre night, men limber Sohn (O Tremble Not My Dear Son). Yeah, I knew that.

30. Wolfish look : LEER

31. Pal of Pooh : ROO

32. Green shampoo : PRELL - Seinfeld, "I use the hard stuff - PRELL"

33. Ranking org. for court players : ATP - You've got to go down to #15 to get to an American man

34. Google operating system : ANDROID

36. "Never __ Me Go": Kazuo Ishiguro novel : LET

38. Blue Cross rival : AETNA

40. Dr. with Grammys : DRE - There's no way I could quote any of those lyrics

41. Managed __ : CARE 

42. Donkey sound : BRAY 

43. Tie the knot : WED - Fewer are

44. Socialite Perle : MESTA

48. Hassle : ADO

49. Tic-tac-toe win : OOO

50. "Green Eggs and Ham" opening : I AM SAM

57. Like the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card : RARE - Ever wonder what a $3M baseball card looks like? Collector C.C. would.

58. Eats by candlelight : DINES

59. Not in favor of : ANTI

60. Summit : APEX

61. Affirmative action : NOD - Be careful at an baseball card auction!

62. Drain slowly : SEEP



Down

1. Langley, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB - Next door at the Langley Research Center, NASA tested the Lunar Excursion Model

2. Driver or putter : CLUB - The 200 yd shot with the Driver counts the same as the 2 inch shot with the putter

3. Subdue with a charge : TASE

4. Cocktail made with brandy and crème de menthe : STINGER

5. Timber often used for guitar fretboards : ROSEWOOD - Maybe the guy who bought the Honus Wagner baseball card would pony up $25,000 for this Fender ROSEWOOD Telecaster

6. Triage locales, briefly : ERS


7. "La Bamba" singer Ritchie : VALENS

8. Addams family cousin : ITT

9. Military rebels : GUERRILLAS - I suppose our Minuteman  could have been so classified

10. Ready for the worst : ON RED ALERT - In the movie War Games it was called Def Con 1

11. Speaks with a scratchy voice : RASPS - Bonnie Tyler used her characteristic RASPY voice to sing Total Eclipse Of The Heart onboard a cruise ship on the day of the eclipse. 

13. Geometric art style : DECO

14. __ Mason: asset management giant : LEGG - That's LEGG MASON INC. in BUSINESS LETTERS

17. Aswan Dam site : NILE

18. In the direction of : TOWARD


23. Properly arranged : IN ORDER - I'm not OCD, but...

24. Underground find : ORE

26. Be judged unfairly : GET A BAD RAP

27. Performer's array : REPERTOIRE

31. Genetic code transmitter : RNA

32. Often fruity dessert : PIE - Coincidence or not? 

34. Slangy "Let's move on ... " : ANYHOO

35. Like priests : ORDAINED

37. What some caddies carry : TEA - A lovely Chinese TEA Caddy

39. The Northwest's Sea-__ Airport : TAC - Seattle/TAComa

41. Private jet choices : CESSNAS - Headquartered in Wichita, KS

43. "Any volunteers?" : WHO'S IN?

44. Cultural pic that may go viral : MEME

45. Oscar-winning director Frank : CAPRA - There are so many but these are some sterling examples

46. Frog habitat : POND

47. Pre-coll. exams : SATS

51. Spots to conceal : ACNE

52. Dole (out) : METE

54. Kinsey research focus : SEX - Hugh Hefner said he was profoundly affected by Kinsey's research 

55. Producer of some Talking Heads albums : ENO

56. Sample : SIP

Now, how 'bout some GLOWING words for C.C.'s puzzle:

The Grid

Tuesday, October 10, 2017 ~ Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: Homophones. Five of them; enough for a limerick, eh?

17A. Legendary terror of the deep: SEA MONSTER

36A. Honor roll student's disappointment: C-PLUS

54A. "Doesn't matter to me": "SEE IF I CARE"

11D. "Forget You" singer who was a coach on "The Voice": CEE LO GREEN

27D. "Aye, lass," in Acapulco: "SI, SENORITA"

Argyle here. That last one; I picture Scotty from Star Trek beamed down into Mexico. A nice mix of wheelhouses in a classic pinwheel grid. Several CSO's.

Across:

1. Pet adoption agcy.: SPCA. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

5. West Indies tribe for which a sea is named: CARIB. Doubling the ending 'b' of Carib and adding -ean makes it an adjective, Caribbean Sea, as well as a noun.

10. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. This is the intro to his "Rhyme Pays" album, here.(6:30)

14. Boxers Laila and Muhammad: ALIs

15. Carne __: burrito filling: ASADA

16. Benelux country: Abbr.: NETH. (Netherlands) Benelux is the union Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

19. __ blocker: BETA

20. Action hero Jason in three Ludlum novels: BOURNE. The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum

21. Swedish vodka brand: ABSOLUT

23. Material: CLOTH

25. Prefix with space: AERO

26. "__ the Sheriff": Clapton hit: I SHOT. Live(8:28)

28. Under threat: IN DANGER

32. Like most people: ASIAN

33. Comic's perch: STOOL

34. Label for Elvis: RCA

35. "Supervixens" director Meyer: RUSS. Sexploitation films.

37. Fashion line: SEAM. Easy to overthink it.

38. Author's ending?: IZE. (authorize) Good misdirection.

39. Celebrated chef Ducasse: ALAIN. French.

40. Copycats: APERS

41. Lovers of wordplay: PUNSTERS

43. Get big on Twitter: TREND

44. Gumbo pod: OKRA

45. Sierra Nevada lake: TAHOE

47. Ginger's "Gilligan's Island" hutmate: MARY ANN. (Dawn Wells)

50. Repaired, as a fence: MENDED

53. Awesome, nowadays: EPIC

57. Old film dog: ASTA. (Skippy)

58. "Family Matters" misfit: URKEL. (Jaleel White)

59. Mirror shape: OVAL

60. Quantum movement?: LEAP. It was a TV Series (1989–1993).

61. Body of verse: POESY

62. Sunday benches: PEWS

Down:

1. Airline to Oslo: SAS. (Originally an abbreviation of its former name Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark–Norway–Sweden)

2. Working-class Roman: PLEB

3. Padua parting: "CIAO"

4. Even though: AS MUCH AS

5. Lacks what it takes to: CANNOT

6. Equipment, in a ledger: ASSET

7. Lab rodent: RAT

8. Brainstorm: IDEA

9. Rihanna's home country: BARBADOS. Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress.

10. Congenital: INBORN. (existing from birth)

12. Caesar's last question: "ET TU?"

13. The one over there: THAT

18. Lightweight synthetic: ORLON

22. Elite Navy fighter: SEAL. ((SEa, Air, and Land))

24. Names given to an assassin: HIT LIST

26. Rodeo automaker: ISUZU

29. Sentence subject, usually: NOUN

30. Birthday greeting opened with a click: E-CARD

31. Ewes' guys: RAMS

32. Give it __: swing hard: A RIP

33. Prep for fight night: SPAR

36. Tidies: CLEANS UP

37. Radar gun user: SPEED COP. Not a term I'm familiar with.

39. Big name in razors: ATRA

40. Rice-__: A-RONI. The San Francisco treat!

42. Airport porter: SKYCAP

43. 1986 horror film in which a man becomes an insect: THE FLY. I liked the 1958 version better.

46. Female French friends: AMIEs

47. Repast: MEAL

48. Church area behind an altar: APSE

49. Detective Wolfe: NERO

51. Roof overhang: EAVE

52. Sketch: DRAW

55. Just get (by): EKE

56. Golf Hall of Famer Ernie: ELS

Argyle