Monday, January 15, 2018 ~ John Lampkin

Theme: Quick, the epinephrine - There's a swarm of B's.

16. NAACP co-founder: W. E. B. DUBOIS. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

22. Pioneer suffragist on some dollar coins: SUSAN B. ANTHONY. Susan Brownell Anthony

36. "Stuart Little" author: E. B. WHITE. Elwyn Brooks White

49. "The Greatest Show on Earth" producer/director: CECIL B. DEMILLE. Cecil Blount DeMille

59. Apiculturist ... and, playfully, what 16-, 22-, 36- or 49-Across is: BEEKEEPER

Argyle here. Full disclosure on names today.

Note from John: My oldest daughter recently became a beekeeper, so what else could a proud papa do? This puzzle is for her, along with a pic of one of her busy bees.

Across:

1. Ear part: LOBE

5. Hamper load: WASH

9. Blow in a dojo: CHOP. Dōjō means "place of the way", and is used to name a hall for learning martial arts.

13. Former Twitter CEO Williams: EVAN. Evan Clark Williams

14. Actress Sommer of "A Shot in the Dark": ELKE. née Elke Baronesse von Schletz

15. Pickle juice: BRINE

18. One who lassoes dogies, say: ROPER. A stray or motherless calf is known as a dogie.

19. Martini order: DRY

20. Sgt. or cpl.: NCO

21. Military zone division: SECTOR

26. Hindu community: ASHRAM

28. Open the faucets onstage, so to speak: EMOTE

29. "Who's Afraid of Virginia __?": WOOLF

30. Rocky peak: TOR

31. Celebratory cry two days after hump day: TGIF

35. Cry at the World Cup: OLE

40. Prefix with cycle: UNI

41. Red ink: LOSS

43. Singer Peggy or comic-book writer Stan: LEE. Norma Deloris Engstrom or Stanley Martin Lieber

44. Winner's gesture: V SIGN

46. Warrior on the court, for short: NBAer. Golden State Warriors

48. Given temporarily: LOANED

53. Bolts and ties the knot?: ELOPES

54. Ltr. holder: ENV.

55. Cleo's killer: ASP

58. Talks like Daffy: LISPS

62. __ Park, Colorado: ESTES

63. Ultimatum close: ELSE

64. Marathon segment: MILE

65. Top of the line: BEST

66. Bound with rope: TIED

67. "This could get __": UGLY

Down:

1. Bawdy: LEWD

2. (See other side): (OVER)

3. Bootees: BABY SHOES

4. Close or complete: END

5. Selfie video device: WEBCAM

6. Crazy as __: A LOON

7. Enjoy the slopes: SKI

8. Guys: HEs

9. Make bootees, perhaps: CROCHET

10. Aware of: HIP TO

11. Situation before a two-run homer: ONE ON

12. Actor Luke or Matthew: PERRY. Coy Luther Perry or Matthew Langford Perry

15. Quarterback Favre: BRETT. Brett Lorenzo Favre

17. Hazardous: UNSAFE

21. Bull's sound: SNORT. Yes, it's hazardous and UNSAFE when you hear a bull snort.

23. Clickable address: URL

24. Start of a party invitation phrase: BE THERE

25. Mine, to Marcel: A MOI

26. GI gone missing: AWOL

27. Piano recital piece, e.g.: SOLO

32. Recipe tester, facetiously: GUINEA PIG

33. "Picnic" playwright: INGE. William Motter Inge

34. Discovery: FIND

37. Says too much: BLABS

38. Lawn intruder: WEED

39. Develop slowly: EVOLVE

42. Bit, as of news: SNIPPET

45. Cantina condiment: SAL. Salt

47. "God __ America": BLESS

48. Like chain rings: LINKED

49. Hollywood VIP: CELEB

50. Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE Bagatelle in A minor (Für Elise)

51. Expenses: COSTS

52. 1980s attorney general Edwin: MEESE. Edwin Meese III

56. Wall Street bear's suggestion: SELL

57. Mice, to owls: PREY

59. One placed in Vegas: BET

60. Yale alum: ELI

61. Grounded Aussie bird: EMU

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Belated Happy Birthday to dear JD. Hope you had a wonderful celebration yesterday with the grandkids, JD!

JD & Bob

Sunday January 14, 2018 Matt McKinley

Theme: "Plush Material" - Plus H Material.

23A. Tolerate shrubland? : STAND THE HEATH. Stand the heat.

45A. .3 rings? : CIRCUS TENTH. Circus tent.

71A. Texas team's fair exhibit? : COWBOY BOOTH. Cowboy boot.

99A. Loyalty from a farm bird? : TURKEY TROTH. Turkey trot.

123A. Successful religious conversion? : FAITH ACCOMPLI. Fait accompli.

17D. Apparatus that breeds laziness? : SLOTH MACHINE. Slot machine.

65D. Sound from a dying fire? : HEARTH MURMUR. Heart murmur.

Across    

1. "I'm waiting ... " : TAP, TAP

7. "Volunteers?" : ANYONE?

13. Bobbing refuse : FLOTSAM

20. Word with man or dope : INSIDE

21. Like typical laundromats : COIN-OP

22. Affluent San Diego community : LA JOLLA

25. Crowd-drawing bars : IN SPOTS

26. Ancient queen, familiarly : CLEO

27. Pot for paella : OLLA

28. Sicilian six : SEI

29. Sports figure : STAT

30. Sewer needs : PATTERNS

34. Hates : DEPLORES

37. MLB set a season record for them in 2017 : HRs

38. Times to call, in ads : EVES

39. Markers : IOUs

41. Submerged threat : REEF

42. Office supply quantity : REAM

44. Term in wrestling or bowling : PIN

48. Doctor's orders : X-RAYS

51. Receiver of many letters : SANTA

53. Actress Kathryn : ERBE

54. Pocket breads : PITAs

56. BCS org. : NCAA

57. Franklin's 1936 opponent : ALF. Alf Landon

59. Spanish coin : EURO

61. Local pic shower : NABE. desper-otto said the neighborhood movie theater is shortened in slang to the NABE.

62. Distress signal? : OH, MY!

63. One who's learned : SCHOLAR

67. Pres. after USG : RBH. Ulysses S. Grant / Rutherford B. Hayes

68. Langley org. : CIA

69. Online exchange, briefly : IMs

70. Troon turndowns : NAEs

75. Basie's "__'Clock Jump" : ONE O

76. Director DuVernay : AVA

77. Actor Vigoda : ABE

78. Bard's dusk : E'EN

79. Lumber mill workers : SAWYERs

81. BOLO target : PERP

83. It can be hammered out : DENT

85. Runway adornment : SASH

87. "__ me ae spark o' Nature's fire": Burns : GIE

88. London's __ Modern : TATE

89. Some Deco works : ERTÉs

91. Sea, with "the" : DEEP

93. Maestro Georg : SZELL

97. Different : OTHER

102. Overtake in a race, in a way : LAP

103. Grammy winner Jason : MRAZ

105. Schoolmarmish : PRIM

106. One given to forward looks : SEER

107. Similar : AKIN

108. East Lansing sch. : MSU. Michigan State University

110. "How clever of you!" : NEAT IDEA

113. Office supplies, or, minus a letter, a supplier of them : STAPLERS

115. Nashville attraction : OPRY

117. Spanish 116-Down : ANO

118. Howard's wife, to the Fonz : MRS. C

120. Letters before a view : IMHO

121. Half of nothing new? : SAME OLD

128. Peru neighbor : ECUADOR

129. "The Wind in the Willows" croaker : MR. TOAD

130. Shamed : ABASED

131. Saw-toothed : SERRATE. Serrate or serrated can be an adjective meaning having a notched edge or saw-like teeth, especially for cutting.

132. Blouse partners : SKIRTS

133. Already-seen fare : RERUNS

Down:

1. "'__ some visitor,' I muttered ... ": Poe : 'TIS

2. __ farm : ANT

3. TV awareness-raiser : PSA

4. Colors : TINCTs

5. Confuse : ADDLE

6. Teenage Russian emperor (1727-1730) : PETER II

7. Pitching staff leader : ACE

8. Acronymic NYC neighborhood : NOHO

9. Give in : YIELD

10. Ready : ON ALERT

11. "Shh!" : NOT A PEEP

12. N.T. book : EPH.

13. Paper under a wiper : FLIER

14. Man-made Georgia lake : LANIER

15. Screwdriver parts, for short : OJs

16. Best : TOPS

18. Union setting : ALTAR

19. Spinnaker holders : MASTS

24. Writer __ de Balzac : HONORÉ

28. Tortilla treat : SOFT TACO

30. Livens (up) : PEPs

31. Nike competitor : AVIA

32. N.C. neighbor : TENN.

33. Bolivian capital : SUCRE

35. Red Square honoree : LENIN

36. __ roles : SEX

40. Literally, "under city" : SUBURB

43. Ponte Vecchio's river : ARNO

45. See the bet : CALL

46. __-Croatian : SERBO

47. They're hard to break : HABITS

49. Whine : YAMMER

50. Decision makers have them : SAY SOs

52. New Mexico art hub : TAOS

55. Witch enemy of Popeye : SEA HAG

58. False front : FACADE

60. "Without a doubt" : OH, YES

63. Acknowledge the brass : SNAP TO

64. Admonition : CAVEAT

66. Stack seen on-screen : ROBERT

72. Approached : WENT UP TO

73. Small and glittering, like eyes : BEADY

74. Beginnings : ONSETs

75. Court cry : OYEZ

80. Something made on a star? : WISH

82. Jury member : PEER

84. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI

86. Glass-raised word : HERE'S

90. Accident investigation clue : SKID MARK

92. __ license : POETIC

94. Sommer of "The Prize" : ELKE

95. Animal house : LAIR

96. Hosp. personnel : LPNs

98. Headed up : RAN

100. Academic retirees : EMERITI

101. Ore carrier : TRAM CAR

104. Gung-ho type : ZEALOT

107. 10-time Gold Glove winner Roberto : ALOMAR.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Blue Jay. - CanadianEh!

108. Early receiver of tablets : MOSES

109. __ bar : SPACE

111. Netman Agassi : ANDRE

112. Fur tycoon : ASTOR

114. Suffix with xeno- : PHOBE

116. English 117-Across : YEAR

119. Series of 69-Across : CHAT

122. "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA

123. Radio settings : FMs

124. Reasons for some sportscast split screens : ADs

125. Big Ten sch. : PSU. Pennsylvania State University

126. Novelist Deighton : LEN

127. Picks out of a mug book : IDs

Saturday, January 13, 2018, Alan DerKazarian

THEMELESS SATURDAY

In a Tuesday puzzle of nearly a year ago (1/17/17), Alan posted how he liked reading comments on his puzzles and added, "Armenians get to put a "Der" in front of their names if there's been a significant religious person in their family's history, like a bishop. In my case it was my grandfather's father, who was an important religious figure in Eastern Turkey in the late 1800s."

Alan's puzzle provided entertainment and provided new learning for this cowboy (marked in RED below)! Here are some of his gettable long fills that proved to be useful in solving:

20. '60s counterculture slogan : MAKE LOVE NOT WAR - This iconic Bernie Boston picture for the Washington Star is what always leaps to my mind for this sentiment 

25. Cry of dominance : WHO'S YOUR DADDY - Yankee fans having a good time at Pedro Martinez's expense

45. 20-mile annual Boston-area fundraiser sponsored by Project Bread : WALK FOR HUNGER - The Marathon and this are big in Boston

51. Excuse for rowdy behavior : BOYS WILL BE BOYS - A lame excuse that has definitely fallen out of favor

Now let's see what else Alan has for us:Across  
1. Video file format : MPEG - Moving Pictures Experts Group. Lots of internet videos use this format

5. Offenbach opera "Daphnis et __" : CHLOE - One interpretation of the story of the romance between two shepherd girls on the Isle of Lesbos written 1,800 years ago

10. Jerk's concern : SODA - The jerk is so called for this action of "jerking" the handle to get carbonated water

14. Former Sony brand : AIWA - I once had an AIWA boom box 

15. Aggressive corporate tactics : RAIDS - He played a corporate RAIDER and she played a, uh, Lady of the 24. Poetic night : EEN

16. Fast-food legend : KROC -  Ray Kroc did not invent McDonalds. He took (read stole) the McDonald brothers system and made it huge as seen in the 2016 movie The Founder

17. Presently : ANON 

18. Mail-order outlet for outdoorsy types : ORVIS and 19. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR. A Vermont based outdoor company and a musician I did not know but that's why we have perpendicular fill.

23. Math ratios : SINES - Ah, back to stuff I know, opposite/hypotenuse 

30. "The Yankee Doodle Boy" composer : COHAN - Seeing Jimmy Cagney as Cohan singing Yankee Doodle Boy from the movie of the same name should be part of becoming a citizen! 😁

32. Big letters in toys : FAO - I recently posted the picture of Tom Hanks dancing on the  FAO Schwarz floor piano in Big


33. CBS Sports NFL analyst Tony : ROMO - His body finally said, "That's enough" and he's now in the broadcast booth

34. Map abbr. : RTE - In my part of the world we say "rout" and in other parts they say "root". You?

35. Loosed : SET FREE - Julia Ward Howe wrote, "He has LOOSED the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword"

39. Neat ending? : NIK - Felix not Oscar

40. After-lunch sandwich : OREO - Haven't we had this word before? 😜

42. Word with big or house : CAT - My loving wife with our BIG HOUSE CAT 

43. Together : AS ONE - When the Huskers do their tunnel walk, the fans rise AS ONE

49. "Macbeth" character : HAG - Shakespeare's non-PC designation 


50. Gay leader? : ENOLA - This plate tells you where my Mom worked during WWII and where this particular B-29 that became the ENOLA GAY was assembled

57. Defeat soundly : DRUB

58. Serve : AVAIL

59. Per : A POP - $2 A POP for bottled water makes it way more expensive than gasoline. Talk about marketing!

60. "No prob!" : EASY

61. Merci, across the border : DANKE - DANKE Schön worked for Wayne Newton and Ferris Bueller 

62. Nigerian pop star : SADE - Born in Ibadan, Nigeria

63. Cry of glee : WHEE

64. Orson Scott Card protagonist __ Wiggin : ENDER - Andrew ENDER Wiggin

65. Side for a dog : SLAW - KFC has wonderful cole SLAW



Down

1. Hat-tipper's word : MAAM - Can you tip a ball cap that is on backwards?

2. Fruit in un cóctel : PINA -Pineapple es "piña" en español (Pineapple is piña in Spanish)

3. Fuzzy Endor resident : EWOK - A Star Wars cast member

4. Hindu god with the head of an elephant : GANESHA 

5. Sings smoothly : CROONS - Harry Connick Jr., Michael Buble'...

6. "Family Feud" host since 2010 : Steve HARVEY 

7. Exists simply : LIVES OFF THE LAND 

8. Valhalla VIP : ODIN - ODIN rules over Valhalla - "The house of the slain"

9. ExxonMobil trade name : ESSO

10. Garb for schussing : SKI WEAR - Not much use here for us flatlanders

11. Transplant figure : ORGAN DONOR - This shows 1) I take a lousy picture, 2) my hair is gray and 3) I am a an ORGAN DONOR

12. Way out : DOOR

13. Spanning: Abbr. : ACR - The Royal Gorge Bridge near Canon City, CO spans ACRoss the Arkansas river at 1,000 ft up but all you can do is cross it and turn right around and come back

21. Only NFC team that hasn't played in a Super Bowl : LIONS

22. Talks acronym : TED - Thought provoking online talks about Technology, Entertainment and Design. See more at ted.com 

25. Area of expertise : WHEELHOUSE - Give me the microphone to talk about space and I'm good to go!

26. Nasser's org. : UAR - In last Saturday's puzzle it was 15. Group formed in Cairo in 1945 : ARAB LEAGUE 

27. Caviar : ROE

28. Key of Beethoven's Ninth: Abbr. : D MIN - This choral part still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

29. Tie on the farm : YOKE 

30. Talk big : CROW - Peter Pan's self aggrandizing anthem 

31. Not esta or esa : OTRA - Not esta (this) or esa (that) but OTRA (another)

36. "Foucault's Pendulum" author : ECO - Umberto ECO's satirical novel

37. Crew member : TAR - Or gob, swab, swabbie, salt, sea dog...


38. Apollo 11 lander : EAGLE - "Houston, Tranquility Base here, the EAGLE has landed"

41. "See ya later" : OKAY BYE 

44. Fish market offering : SEA BASS

46. NFL threes : FGS - The behemoths play for 59 minutes and then the smallest guy on the squad comes in to decide the game with his kicking

47. Facebook reversal : UNLIKE - I had to "UNFRIEND" several people in 2016 because I got tired of them 56. Expel strongly : SPEWing their political opinions whether I agreed or not. There's a time and place

48. Word in Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy : NOBLER - Sometimes it is NOBLER to "suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" than to "take arms against a sea of trouble." Hill worth dying on?

51. "My man!" : BRAH - Brother -> Bro -> BRAH

52. Cross a stream, perhaps : WADE

53. English : John :: Slavic : __ : IVAN In Spanish, it would be Juan and 约翰 in Chinese

54. Girasol, e.g. : OPAL - Yeah, I didn't know either. Also called Moon Opal

55. Sci-fi character voiced by Frank Oz : YODA - Oh, that's how it's done!

57. Green moisture : DEW - Early golfers are called "DEW Sweepers"

Time now for your pertinent or impertinent remarks:

DA GRID

Friday, January 12, 2018, Priscilla Clark & Jeff Chen

Title: Welcome to Punnsylvania

Priscilla makes her LAT debut with one of the master mentors- Jeff Chen. He previously helped her to publication in the NYT in 2016. Jeff is a prolific constructor, writer, editor and very nice man. He writes daily about the NYT puzzles, where he has 46 collaborative publications. Each theme fill takes a phrase with the "ens" sound word converted to the "ins" sound.

Finding two grid-spanning fill was nice and the grid was very open.  Jeff and his partners always include a great deal of sparkly fill and here we have ROTUNDA,  VINTNER, ALLOPATH,  CURTAINS,  REAR EXIT,  REGICIDE and TIDEPOOLS. My only unknown was TILSIT a cheese I guess I should remember. As with all sound puzzles YMMV.


17A. Instruction for dolphin riders? : STRADDLE THE FINS (14). Straddle the FENCE. Does the sound of dolphins and fins grate?

22A. Flashy genetic enhancements? : DNA SEQUINS (10). DNA SEQUENCE. They started rerunning the original CSI on ION TV.

34A. Groaners in a routine? : SINS OF HUMOR (11). SENSE of humor. The central themer has the change in the first word, the rest the last word.

50A. Time capsules? : FUTURE TINS (10). Future TENSE. Capsule = tin? Maybe.

57A. Use second fiddles in a pinch? : RESORT TO VIOLINS (14). Resort to VIOLENCE. I am not sure why they needed to be second fiddles, but this is my favorite.

Across:

1. Compass output: ARCS. Last week it was EAST. The other compass.  LINK.

5. Gershwin title color: BLUE. This is a wonderful piece of music. RHAPSODY IN BLUE.
He also wrote BLUE LULLABY.

9. Presidential daughter Reagan: PATTI. Ms. Davis changed her last name to her mother's maiden name in an effort to have an independent career.

14. Bird's-nest, e.g. : SOUP. I put this in and took it out and then put it back.  INFO.

15. Ounce: IOTA. If you had one iota of gumption...

16. Zac of "Baywatch": EFRON. He was in the movie version with the Rock.

20. Reader with reprints: UTNE. A popular crossword fill, the Utne Reader is a quarterly American magazine that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and DVDs. Wiki.

21. Flight attendant's indication: REAR EXIT. Too many politically incorrect thoughts to comment.

25. Ticket: CITE. That is why it is called a citation.

26. Oscar role for Forest: IDI. Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV_QgKJFZP0

27. Piña colada liquor: RUM. Mixed with pineapple juice and coconut cream.

28. Like "black diamond" slopes: STEEP.

29. Hot-dog it? : PANT. A warm canine pants, the tongue is their sweat gland..

31. New England cape: ANN.

33. __ generis: SUI. This TERM has importance in the Law, likely misunderstood by me and others.

38. "I'm such a moron!" : D'OH. Not just Homer Simpson uses this phrase.

39. Car nut: LUG. Not someone who loves cars, but the lug nut which holds your tire in place on the wheel.

40. Campbell of "House of Cards": NEVE. The puzzle was likely written before the Kevin Spacey scandal, but apparently, Neve was an interesting character. I had stopped watching before the kerfuffle.

43. Filled entirely: SATED.

46. What bills may become: LAW.

48. "Amscray!" : GIT. Our first pig latin in a very long time.

49. Pace often rapid: CLIP.

54. Alternative medicine practitioner's term for a mainstream doctor: ALLOPATH. The expression was coined in 1810 by the creator of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843).In such circles, the expression "allopathic medicine" is still used to refer to "the broad category of medical practice that is sometimes called Western medicine, biomedicine, evidence-based medicine, or modern medicine." Wiki. I learned this while auditing a course in alternative medicine that my massage therapist was taking.

56. One might have tears in it: DUCT. Not if it is the TAPE. Lots of fun stuff.

61. Quick: AGILE.

62. Name of kings in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden: ERIC. This was an easy guess, but there is much more to learn about these Constitutional MONARCHIES.

63. Light bulb, metaphorically: IDEA.

64. Pioneer of song who "crossed the wide mountains with her lover Ike": BETSY. This was hard. I did not remember much of this SONG. The lyrics are not the same as the Johnny Cash version.

65. Risqué: RACY. Two old fashioned words.

66. APB quarry: PERP. Two weeks in a row for this fill.

Down:

1. Jenny's offspring : ASS. Not poor Jennny McCarthy, but the female Donkey. All you need to know about ASSES.

2. Capitol sight : ROTUNDA. Just think round, usually with a dome.

3. Disastrous end : CURTAINS. My mental image:

4. Extends over : SPANS. Like the bridges we discused recently.

5. Compete for the job : BID.

6. Online chuckle : LOL.

7. Female marsupials have two : UTERI. The poor male marsupial. Kangaroos have three vaginas. ... Koalas, wombats and Tasmanian devils all share the three-vagina structure. The side ones carry sperm to the two uteruses (and males marsupials often have two-pronged penises), while the middle vagina sends the joey down to the outside world. I can't make this stuff up.

8. Taken back, as words : EATEN.

9. Equal : PEER.

10. Love : AFFECTION.

11. Ed's wife on "The Honeymooners" : TRIXIE. She was played by five different actresses during the life of the SHOWS from 1951 to 1970.

12. Ad time : TONITE.

13. Shoe part : INSTEP.

18. Lots of bucks : DEER.

19. Is afflicted with : HAS.

22. Depression : DIP.

23. Put down : QUASH. A rebellion?

24. "Did you really think I'd go for that?" : UM NO.

28. Largest number in many a column : SUM. This added up for me.

30. Homes for creatures of the not-so-deep : TIDE POOLS. Tide pools provide a home for hardy organisms such as starfish, mussels and clams. Inhabitants must be able to deal with a frequently changing environment — fluctuations in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Wiki.

32. Org. in a 1966 merger agreement : NFL.

33. Raw, brown or white stuff : SUGAR.

35. Third of a kid's poem trio : NOD. I was winken and blinken through this one.

36. TV streaming option : HULU. I have not tried them, using only Netflix and Amazon. Anyone have a review?

37. "Game of Thrones" evilness : REGICIDE. Killing the King- we have both Cersei and her brother, the Kingslayer. Add that to doing away with Joffrey....well it is not a nice place to visit.

41. Wine label info : VINTNER. A CSO to Chairman Moe.

42. "Hitchhiker's Guide" beings, for short : ETS.

43. Many a hieroglyphic insect : SCARAB. Odd to see this again- two weeks in a row.

44. Claim : ALLEGE. A very popular legal word.

45. Semihard Swiss cheese : TILSIT.

47. Declaration at a group wedding : WE DO. I think they each say, "I DO" but I do not know. Oo said I could have only one wife.

50. Target of budget trimming : FAT.

51. Complete : UTTER.

52. Birch of "American Beauty" : THORA. I have had her in a few friday write-ups.

53. Showy bulb : TULIP.

55. Hunted one : PREY.

58. Ford's Crown __ : VIC.

59. Like comets : ICY.

60. Easy mark : SAP. Beacuse they get sucked dry?

Well there was a lot there and much to discuss. Hope you had fun and look forward to all the comments. Lemonade out.