Thursday, April 12 2018 Bruce Haight

Theme: Hard Ates. I'm in Las Vegas, so "ates the hard way" was little craps-inspiration. Except there's no such thing. Sometimes when the reveal is so slick naming the theme becomes a challenge. Which I failed. Moving on:

17A. Carnivores: MEAT EATERS. That's me.

24A. Appliance needed for a hot bath: WATER HEATER

38. Latvia and Lithuania, once: SATELLITE STATES. Satellite states of the old Soviet Union.

47A. 2015 NFL controversy involving air pressure: DEFLATEGATE The Watergate cover-up has a lot to answer for, but at least you know that the latest "gate" is a controversy. The equipment manager for the New England Patriots was accused of letting air out of the match balls that QB Tom Brady would throw that game.

58A. It consists of a couple of couples ... and, when divided differently, a hint to something hidden in 17-, 24-, 38- and 47-Across: DOUBLE DATE. When divided differently, we get "DOUBLED ATE" for the very neat reveal.

I think this is a great puzzle from Bruce. The theme entries are snappy and the reveal is genuinely clever. Even with the quite heavy themage, Bruce still finds a way to add eight- and ten-letter entries in the downs.

We bloggers were discussing the quality of the fill in the LA Times, which C.C. describes as "gluey" on occasion, a polite term for "not very good". There's very little glue in the fill today, this is a high-quality puzzle.

Let's see what jumps out:

Across: 

1. Jay-Z output: RAP CD

6. Reach great heights: SOAR

10. Attempt: STAB

14. White house?: IGLOO. Nice clue!

15. Fair: EXPO

16. Bear in the heavens: URSA. Two sizes of bear up there. Bear Major and Bear Minor. Sounds like two brothers at private school (or public school in the UK, which is the very opposite of what you would think it means).

19. Invite abbr.: BYOB. Bring your own B(ottle) or B(ooze). I'm not sure I'd be terribly impressed if I received an invitation that actually told me to bring a bottle. BYOB restaurants are great, you can take a great bottle of wine and not get held hostage by the wine list prices.

20. Job application fig.: S.S.N. Do you put your Social Security Number on a job application? I'm not sure this is a thing.

21. Hang around: STAY

22. "National Velvet" sister: EDWINA. Solid crosses filled this in for me. I saw the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor many moons ago.

26. Got the ball rolling?: PUTTED

30. Smooth-talking: OILY

31. "60 Minutes" regular: STAHL. Moderator Lesley.

32. Improvised jazz part: VAMP

34. Element Prometheus stole from Olympus: FIRE. Didn't go well, I seem to recall.

41. Harbinger of spring: THAW

42. "Beetle Bailey" dog: OTTO

43. 1990s-2000s skating champ Slutskaya: IRINA. I always try IRENA first and have to correct it when the cross doesn't work.

44. Davenport's place: IOWA

46. 1974 hit with Spanish lyrics: ERES TU. "It's you". Great 70's video, lots of camera-staring and men with questionable facial hair. I don't recognize the song, I have to confess.

52. Italy's __ Coast: AMALFI. This has been a regular reference recently, it seems.

53. Like arf and meow: ORAL. Fiendish clue. Very nice.

54. Hallucinogenic letters: LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide

57. "Pleeease?": CAN I?

61. Writer Shere: HITE. Writer on feminism and women's sexuality.

62. Avant-garde: EDGY

63. Font flourish: SERIF. The default font on the blog is a "serif'ed" one.

64. "Regrettably ... ": ALAS

65. Grasps: SEES

66. Like horror films: SCARY

Down: 

1. What "nothin' but net" shots don't touch: RIMS. No clanging on the basketball hoop. Just a swish as the ball goes through.

2. Periods: AGES
.
3. Not leave things to chance: PLAN

4. Foldable bed: COT

5. Succeeds: DOES WELL

6. Tuned to: SET AT

7. Daisy variety: OX-EYE. Pretty things.

8. Car ad abbr.: APR. Interest rate on the loan. You pay cash, no loan, no APR.

9. Botanical source of vitamin C: ROSE HIPS.

10. Commuter's cost: SUBWAY FARE. Could also be the picnic you eat on a long commute on the subway.

11. "Have a taste": TRY IT!

12. In harmony: AS ONE

13. Kiddie lit elephant: BABAR. The perfect gentleman, always doffed his hat to a lady. Which prompts a question - can you doff anything other than your hat? If you can't, the "his hat" part of the phrase is redundant, you should just "doff". If you can doff other stuff, what does doffing your shoe look like? We should be told.

18. Somewhat: A TAD

23. __ Taco: DEL. Not your first choice of venue for taco dining in Los Angeles

25. Lover of Shakespeare?: ROMEO. Nice cluing.

26. Sibilant "Yo!": PSST!

27. Its motto is "Industry": UTAH. Thanks, crosses.

28. "Cheerio!": TA-TA!

29. Jittery condition: THE WILLIES. Loved this one.

32. Curriculum __: résumé: VITAE. CV is the term in the UK and elsewhere for your job history.

33. Brief writer, briefly: ATT. Attorney. Took me a while to see this one.

35. Words before and after "what": IT IS

36. Dollars for quarters: RENT

37. Biblical twin: ESAU

39. Good times for beachcombing: LOW TIDES

40. Indefatigable: TIRELESS

45. Lummox: OAF

46. Lat. shortener: ET AL. Et alia if you want to be long-winded about it.

47. Russian country house: DACHA

48. Online message: EMAIL

49. Crush rival: FANTA. Fizzy fruit-flavored drinks. Fanta is most often associated with the orange version, but there are more than 100 flavors worldwide.
.
50. Overcharge but good: GOUGE

51. Chain known for roast beef: ARBY'S. "We Have The Meats"

54. Actress __ Flynn Boyle: LARA. Best known for her role in Twin Peaks, she appeared in all the episodes.

55. Show signs of life: STIR. I wasn't sure I'd be showing signs of life this morning. I'm at a convention in Las Vegas and last night was the industry association party at a nightclub. With an open bar. I actually felt rather jaunty.

56. Stand up to: DEFY

59. Laudatory poem: ODE

60. Usual Hanukkah mo.: DEC.

I think that does it for me today. Just need to add the grid and I'm done!

Steve

Wednesday, April 11, 2018 John Guzzetta

Theme: Use Your Noodle.  This one would be pretty close to themeless if it weren't for --

55A. Old family recipe (and see circles): SECRET SAUCE.  

The remaining long fill entries, in a pinwheel array, have nothing obvious to do with each other.  If you didn't get the circles, this SECRET will be a real mystery.  If you did get them, you'll see they are centrally located in the shape of the letter S, which can stand for either SECRET, SAUCE, the word that the circled letters spell, SPAGHETTI, or the letter S occurring twice each in the other long fills.

This is an original theme concept.  At least I don't remember seeing anything quite like it before.  The fill entries with the circled letters also have nothing else in common. Here they are in order.

26A. Filing tool: RASP.  A coarse file used for rough shaping.

30A. Collars: ARRESTS.  Places under legal custody.  When the bandit fell in love with the police woman who captured him, it was cardiac ARREST.

34A. Web unit: PAGE.  An element of internet presence, not typically associated with silken threads.

38A. Skater Sasha or comic Sacha Baron: COHEN.  Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen is an American figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.  Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Baron Cohen is most widely known for creating and portraying four fictional characters: Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Aladeen. Both per Wikipedia.  You probably don't confuse them.

A Sasha

Another Sasha

41A. Veggie burger veggies: PEAS.   The PEA pod is actually a fruit, and the PEAS we eat are immature seeds, but are generally though of as vegetables.  I don't associate them with veggie burgers, but I'm an omnivore, so what do I know?.

43A. Struggled to achieve: EKED OUT.  Just barely succeeded at something, like survival, frex., often via excessive effort.

47A. With 31-Down, "Proud Mary" singer: TINA.  Because Creedence Clearwater Revival doesn't fit.

Also -- 17. Phoenix-based hotel chain (and see circles): BEST WESTERN.  The chain operates 2163 hotels in North America, and over 4000 world wide.

11D. Produce served in the fall (and see circles): ACORN SQUASH.  So named because of it's shape.  

Try it for dessert

25. Feature of some penny loafers (and see circles): SADDLE STRAP.  It's not clear to me what these last three have to do with the theme, other than each containing the letter S twice; but since the circles are mentioned, I'll include them here.  Am I missing something?

A penny for your thoughts, loafer

Hi, Gang.  JzB here.  And there is your tasty theme, complete with SAUCE, a veggie burger and even an unusual dessert.  The theme visual can be found in the grid diagram at the bottom of this post.  Now, let's get out of the kitchen and explore the rest of this offering.

Across:

1. Film director's honor: OSCAR.  One of 24 awards issued annually by the Academy of Motion picture Arts and Sciences for artistic or technical merit.

6. Rich, dusty soil: LOESS.  A loosely compacted deposit of windblown sediment.

11. Greeting at a dog park: ARF.  Sound of a dog's friendly bark.

14. 100 kopecks: RUBLE.  Russian money, if you are in a hurry.

15. Common film festival film: INDIE.  Independent - i. e. not associated with a major studio.

16. Loving murmur: COO.  Get a room  .  .  .

19. Mac platform: OSX.  Version 10 of the Apple Macintosh operating system.  I'm using Version 10.10.5 Yosemite.

20. Crankcase reservoir: OIL PAN.   The bottom section of the crankcase where the oil resides.

21. Small bouquet: SPRAY.  

23. "Help!" at sea: SOS.  The Morse Code international distress signal, a continuous sequence of 3 dots, 3 dashes and three dots.  So if you panic and start sending out OSO, it really doesn't matter.

27. Threadbare: WORN.  Thin and tattered with long use.

28. Place for prayer: CHAPEL.  Typically, a small church.

33. __ the hills: OLD AS.  Contrary to popular belief, I am younger than some of the hills.

36. Here, in Spanish: AQUI.  There is Ahi or alli.

Wait for it

37. Agrees quietly: NODS.  

39. Short: CURT.

40. Indianapolis NFLer: COLT.  

Are they out of Luck?

42. Accra is its capital: GHANA.  West African country located on the Gulf of Guinea.

45. Yellowstone attraction: GEYSER.  A hot spring that emits a column of water and steam.

46. Brewski: SUDS.  AKA a cold one.

49. Nine and five, in nine-to-five: Abbr.: HRS.  Typical working hours.

50. Cast a ballot: VOTED.

52. Sources of fragrant wood: CEDARS.  True CEDARS are conifer trees of the family pinaceae. There are many other many other conifers that have similarly colored and scented woods.

54. Make a mistake: ERR.  It's only human.

60. Salty body: SEA.  Of water.

61. "Carmen," e.g.: OPERA.

62. Not yet realized: UNMET.  As needs.

63. Peak: TOP.

64. Ten-time French Open winner: NADAL.  Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked world No. 1 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals.

65. Sounds from a belfry: PEALS.  The loud ringing of bells.

Down:

1. Mercury or Mars: ORB. A celestial sphere - in this case a planet.

2. Alphabet Series novelist Grafton: SUE.

3. "Young Sheldon" network: CBS.

4. Kind of clarinet: ALTO.  The clarinet you typically think of is the soprano version.  This one is larger and pitched a 5th lower in Eb and has a curved metal bell.  Little known factoid - the clarinet was invented by a French musician who named it after his daughters, Claire and Annette.

5. Does some electrical work: REWIRES.  Could be shocking.

6. Speech therapist's concerns: LISPS.  Eathy for you to thay.

7. Ready to pour: ON TAP.  As, frex, SUDS.

8. Genesis garden: EDEN.  Life was simpler back then.

9. Ringo Starr's title: SIR.   Ringo was knighted by Prince William just a few weeks ago.

10. Motion detector, e.g.: SENSOR.

12. Civil rights hero Parks: ROSA.  Rosa Louise McCauley Parks [1913 -2005] refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery ALA in 1955.   She was arrested for violating the segregation law, and became an important symbol of the civil rights movement.

13. Sly: FOXY.  Clever and cunning.

18. Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL.  The flag carrying airline of Israel since 1948.

22. Tediously moralistic: PREACHY.  Often implying an undeserved tone of moral superiority.

23. One carrying a torch?: SCONCE.  A wall mounted fixture, not a person.

24. "Hey, check it out!": OH LOOK.  Get a load of that!

27. Small, chirpy bird: WREN.

29. Incurring late fees: PAST DUE.  As library books or loan payments.

30. Forever: AGES.  

31. See 47-Across: TURNER.  Tina, from the thema.

32. Indian lutes: SITARS.

34. "Always be a __, even in prose": Baudelaire: POET.  

35. Finder's cry: AHA!  Eureka!

38. Computer "brains," briefly: CPUS.  Central Processing Units.

42. Gets ready (for): GEARS UP.

44. Heavily favored: ODDS ON.

45. Pesky flier: GNAT.  Annoying insect.

47. __ cotta: TERRA.  Unglazed, typically red-brown earthenware.

48. Exemplary: IDEAL.  Perfection!

50. Garment for brisk days: VEST.  COAT also fits.

51. Two-toned snack: OREO.  More food, common x-word fare.

52. Sent a dupe to: CCED. Carbon copies are so 1980, but still the abrev persists.

53. Reasonable: SANE.  That's not-crazy talk.

56. Org. that monitors wetlands: EPA.  Environmental Protection Agency.

57. Actress Thurman: UMA.

Various views available

58. Cartoon sheet: CEL.  

Collecter's item

59. Purported UFO crew: ETS.  Extra-Terrestrials, off planet expats.

OK, Kids.  That wraps up another Wednesday. Hope you enjoyed it.

Cool regards!
JzB

Notes from C.C.:

1) Update on Argyle: The old Scott is slowly coming back. He sounded cheerful when I talked to him yesterday. He's doing great at the rehab. He still has not figured out his tablet, but he can read our blog and comments. He's expected to stay at this rehab center for another month.

2) If you have extra time, click here and solve the puzzle by the great Brendan Emmett Quigley (BEQ). He has both Across Lite and PDF file available. Or you can solve at his site. Let me know where you get stumped. (Spoiler: Here is the write-up with answers.)

Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Firm Beliefs

18. "This Kiss" country singer: FAITH HILL

26. Swindler's swindle: CONFIDENCE GAME

47. Important percentage to a prosecutor: CONVICTION RATE

61. Heir's financial security: TRUST FUND

"Faith, Confidence, Conviction and Trust."   How beautiful is that ?   It just sounds nice as it rolls off the tongue.   Each of those four words is synonymous with having firm belief.  

ACROSS:

1. Stick a toothpick in: SPEAR

6. Former auto financing co.: GMAC.  GMAC became Ally Financial.  The auto financing arm of GM is now GM Financial. 

10. Get smart with: SASS.   As the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window, the police office said 'I've been waiting for you all day.'  The kid replied, 'Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.'

14. "The Chew" co-host Hall: CARLA.   "With love, Carla Hall"
 

15. Dinghy steering tools: OARS

16. Award coveted on "Mad Men": CLIO.  Advertising award.  "... annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication."

17. In the sky: ALOFT

20. City near Scottsdale: MESA.  Zoom in, zoom out. 

21. Cookbook maven Rombauer: IRMA.  Joy of Cooking fame.

22. Childish retort: AM TOO. Am not. Am too. Am not. Am too.  Am not. Am too.

23. Freeway division: LANE

25. Go quickly, quaintly: HIE

33. Pain-relieving drug: OPIATE

34. Sailor: TAR  Here's Popeye the Sailor starring in an oater, "Tar With A Star"
 

35. "__ Tide!": Alabama cheer: ROLL ESPN "Roll Tide" Commercial

37. Derby-wearing Addams cousin: ITT.

 38. Soaked in hot water, as a tea bag: STEEPED

41. "Argo" spy gp.: CIA

42. Blaze: FIRE

44. Braying beast: ASS

45. Nautical measure: FATHOM.  As a noun, a unit of measure, equal to 6 feet.  

50. Animation still: CEL

51. First Nations tribe: CREE.   First Nations refers to the indigenous peoples of Canada, south of the Arctic Circle.  Cree Indians are a First Nations tribe.  Today, there are over 135 bands (James Bay Cree, Woodland Cree, Plain Cree Indians, etc.) in Canada alone, and over 200,000 Cree Indians in North America.  Source: Indians.Org and Wikipedia.     

52. Hawke of "Training Day": ETHAN

55. RR station posting: SKED.   Personally noticing this more often as an abbreviation for schedule.

57. Save, with "away": SOCK

63. Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE.  The Q tile is another 10-pointer.  QI is the single most played word in Scrabble tournaments according to Merriam-Webster.  We see it as CHI in crossword puzzles.

64. PetSmart purchase: CAGE

65. Environs: AREA

66. Metallic mixture: ALLOY

67. Gps. requiring copays: HMOs. That clue and answer almost ran rife with abbreviations. 

68. Abound (with): TEEM

69. Younger siblings, at times: PESTS

DOWN:

1. Bogus offer: SCAM.   Like a swindler's swindle.

2. Light in color: PALE.  Ashy

3. Arrow shooter of myth: EROS

4. "Our Gang" kid with spiky hair: ALFALFA

5. Chinese zodiac animal: RAT.  The first in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.  We are currently in the year of the Dog.

 What Does Your Chinese Zodiac Sign Say About Your Personality?

6. Be released: GO FREE

7. Respectful address: MAAM.  Ma'am.  

8. Song often sung in Italian: ARIA

9. Ill. clock setting: CST. We are currently using CDT.

10. Bagel spread: SCHMEAR

11. Touched down: ALIT

12. Where feed can be stored: SILO.  In a different sense,  these can be empirical structures that often hinder organizational growth and business objectives in mid and large-sized corporations.  We called the people that created these de facto silos "Empire builders." 

13. Unaided: SOLO

19. Reagan's first secretary of state: HAIG. Alexander M. Haig.  He was also the Chief of Staff for both Nixon and Ford. 

21. With all the fine points: IN DETAIL

24. River isles: AITs.  

 Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge

25. British cattle breed: HEREFORD. 10 native British cattle breeds and how to recognize them

26. Salon do: COIF

27. __ nerve: OPTIC

28. Explosive liquid, briefly: NITRO

29. Modern mil. treaty violation: N-TEST.  Nuclear testing

30. Keep from going higher: CAP.  A golfing buddy sold electrical supplies to commercial and residential contractors.  He worked untiringly for his customers.  Their success meant his success.  It could become annoying on the golf course when he took calls, but his customers and work came first.  He left the distributor after the owners capped his "going-forward" commission rate following a string of very successful sales years.  In short time, so did many on his customers.  The small business learned that when you sell products that are considered commodities, the difference between failure and success often boils down to the people you hire, the relationships and goodwill developed with customers, and the levels of service provided.    

31. Starbucks flavor: MOCHA

32. "Adam Bede" novelist George: ELIOT

36. Like a weak excuse: LAME

39. Changed-my-mind key: ESCape. 

40. Great __: big dog: DANE. Very large lap dogs. Irish Miss, Misty and Pat are fellow dog lovers.


43. Crates up: ENCASES

46. Railroad bridge framework: TRESTLE

48. Opening for air: VENT

49. Winter river blockage: ICE DAM. 

52. Make a fine impression?: ETCH

53. Monorail transport: TRAM

54. Award for Isaac Asimov: HUGO.  Literary awards "...given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year."   Way back when, I read Asimov, Pohl, Clarke, Heinlein and others.  A brother and sister were avid readers of Sci-fi, and I got hooked for a few years.  Do you remember the vivid cover art on the paperbacks ?   

55. "By all means!": SURE

56. Replaceable joint: KNEE

58. Masseur's supply: OILS

59. Coagulate: CLOT

60. Door openers: KEYS

62. Liposuction target: FAT

63. Heat in a microwave: ZAP

I have Faith, Confidence, Conviction and Trust that Argyle will return to the Corner as soon as he is able.  

See all y'all later n'at !

Monday April 9, 2018 Lila Cherry

Theme: AS A (36D. Words that connect each pair of four-letter words intersecting at a circle).  X as a Y. The X crosses each Y. Both X and Y are four-letter words.

17A. Rich : WELL-HEELED. Crossing 2D. Thoughtful : DEEP.  Deep as a well.

11D. 2000s best-seller involving flying toys, with "The" : KITE RUNNER. Crossing 16. Tipsy : HIGH. High as a kite.

 29D. Protective bar on a flat roof : SAFETY RAIL. Crossing 68A. Skinny : THIN. Thin as a rail.

 66A. Object of the puddy tat's pursuit : TWEETY BIRD. Crossing 63D. Priceless? : FREE. Free as a bird.

Boomer here.  Hello Everyone, I am pinch hitting for our friend Argyle again, and hoping for the best for him.  (Notice I wrote "pinch hitting" as the baseball season is now underway.  But it's tough for the teams to play in Minnesota when the temp does not even reach 30 degrees.)  Well we have a tough Monday puzzle for all of you puzzle masters, the theme is trickier than average Mondays.

Speaking of Masters, there was another game played this weekend.  I was not able to watch much on Saturday and Sunday due to a baseball card show commitment but I enjoy a round of golf, (when the temp gets above 30!).  However I don't think I could break 200 at Augusta.  No problem, I have a green jacket in my hall closet, I just don't have the million and a half dollars to go with it.  But congratulations to the terror of  the 2016 Ryder Cup Hazeltine here in Minnesota, Mr. Patrick Reed for capturing the Master's title, and also a salute to Rickie Fowler and Justin Spieth for making it interesting.  

C.C. says Lila Cherry is an anagram of "Really Rich", alias for Rich Norris the editor.

Rich Norris, XWord Info

Across:

1. Romantic kissing at the mall and such, briefly : PDAS - Public Displays of Affection.  I think it's "People diddling around".

5. Skier's challenge : MOGUL - "Well they called him Super Skier, as he sat around the sundeck, for he swore that he would never take a spill.  When they finally brought him down they had to use three toboggans, to carry all the pieces off the hill."

10. Ref's decisions : TKOS

14. Finnish architect Saarinen : EERO - What's this?  A four letter word with three vowels!

15. Egg-shaped : OVATE - I put oval and left one square blank.

19. To be, in Bordeaux : ETRE

20. English china : SPODE - Costs more than folks can afford.

21. With 61-Across, seriously overweight fictional sleuth : NERO. 61. See 21-Across : WOLFE

22. Chick's cry : PEEP - Did you get some marshmallow ones for Easter ?

23. Tree-toppling tool : AXE - The AWA used to have a Wrestler named Larry Hennig.  He changed his ring name from "Pretty Boy" to the "Axe".

25. "That's cheating!" : NO FAIR! - When I drive the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, there is no fair there either for 350 days.

27. Wine evaluators : TASTERS

31. Get in your face about : FLAUNT

34. Lisbon hello : OLA - I have a friend from Chile and when I email him I write "Hola". 

35. Shankar's instrument : SITAR - I believe this is a Latin word for guitar.

38. Personal, as thoughts : INNER - Or.. A type of belly button.

39. Break in relations : RIFT

41. Lawyer's backlog : CASES

43. "I'm paying for the drinks" : ON ME - Okay, I'll leave the tip.

44. Dined at home : ATE IN  - Okay, no tipping here.

46. Indian breads : NAANS - Sort of looks like a Frisbee.  I suppose it's served at Progressive Field?

48. "A mouse!" : EEK

49. Sound equipment that may pick up a private remark : HOT MIC

51. Prayerful chants : MANTRAS

53. Scold loudly : YELL AT

56. Sticky stuff : GOO - Actually, Goo is not necessarily sticky.  Mud, Slippery Elm, or anything that Bert Blyleven put on a baseball.

57. "Cosmos" author Sagan : CARL

59. Chief Asgard god : ODIN

65. Healthful berry : ACAI - All right, another four letter word with three vowels.  I am addicted.

69. Dominican Republic neighbor : HAITI - News says they are slowly recovering from Hurricane Irma.

70. Triangle calculation : AREA - Tough to do.  You need all three side plus the height from the base to the highest point.  Math majors, correct me if I am wrong.

71. Prefix with -pathic : TELE

72. Max of Dadaism : ERNST

73. Consider : DEEM

  

Down:

  

1. Benches flanking church aisles : PEWS

3. Guthrie at Woodstock : ARLO - Also spent time in "Alice's restaurant", and I think he rode on the "City of New Orleans".  Illinois central, Monday morning rail.

4. Went for in an auction : SOLD AT - Auctions used to be boring, but now there is eBay.

5. Homer's bartender : MOE - What about Larry and Curly? (I don't watch "The Simpsons.")

6. Pizza maker : OVEN - I was a pizza maker in a younger life and no one called me oven.  I think Pizza baker may have been a better clue.

7. Ancient Greek physician : GALEN

8. In __: not yet born : UTERO - Not to be confused with Ichiro, who was born 44 years ago.

9. Batted first : LED OFF -  Speaking of Mr. Suzuki, he used to lead off for the Mariners, but now he bats 7th or 8th.

10. 1993 film with an instrument in its title : THE PIANO

12. Fairy tale meanie : OGRE

13. Herding dog name : SHEP - I was going to mention Larry, Moe and Curly again, but then I realized that guys name was Shemp.

18. Evil spells : HEXES - Stop signs.

24. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC

26. Muhammad in a ring : ALI - I knew him when he was Cassius Clay.

27. Hebrew scroll : TORAH

28. Samuel on the Supreme Court : ALITO - I think his friend call him Sam.  I would call him Mr. Justice.

30. X-Men co-creator Lee : STAN

32. Mythical lion's home : NEMEA

33. Arduous journeys : TREKS - I think 18 holes at Augusta could be a trek.

 

37. Unit at Staples : REAM - Interesting that this is a stack of paper, but you can also use a tool to ream a bigger hole in a piece of metal.  Ain't English great. ?

40. Facebook feature : TIMELINE

42. Stocking tear : SNAG - I think we had this last week.  Do ladies still wear nylon stockings?

45. Zip, in soccer : NIL

47. Wintry and white : SNOWY - Believe it or not, This happens in Minnesota on April 9th!!!

50. Provide apparel for : CLOTHE - You may clothe people with clothes.  If you wash them, hang them on a Clothesline with a clothespin.

52. "Tough!" : TOO BAD!

54. No-holds-barred commercial competition : AD WAR - "Ask your doctor if an Ad War is right for you."

55. Advertising link : TIE IN

57. Suffragist Carrie : CATT

58. Tooth pain : ACHE - Believe it or not, I have not had a tooth ache since 2009!  (That's when I got my dentures.)

60. Brooklyn NBA team : NETS - Strange name for an NBA team.  I would have picked Dodgers.

62. Old Italian cash : LIRE

64. Cheese from the Netherlands : EDAM

67. Tiny songbird : TIT - Also a willow and other stuff.

Boomer