Sunday April 29, 2018 Jeff Eddings

Theme: "Camera Shy"-  Seven different camera brands are stretched out in each theme entry.

23. H&R Block calculation: PERSONAL INCOME TAX. Pentax.

42. Individual with limited skills: ONE TRICK PONY. Nikon.

50. "You can't be serious!": I BEG YOUR PARDON. GoPro.

70. Hamilton, for one: AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY. Minolta.

91. Recreational area with pipes, bowls and ramps: SKATEBOARD PARK. I just call it skate park. Kodak.

99. Dropping-off places?: SLEEPING CARS. Leica.

122. Red choice: CABERNET SAUVIGNON. Canon. Canon/Sony/Leica are one of the three cameras Don G and I used in our HIDDEN CAMERA puzzle ages ago.

Another Sunday debut. Congrats, Jeff!

I don't quite get how stretching out the cameras equal the puzzle title "Camera Shy" though.
 
Across:

1. Angled: FISHED.

7. Three-word defense: I AM SO.

12. Soother: BALM. Aloe vera! It can also minimize skin pores like cold water, not that D-Otto cares.

16. Sign, as a contract: INK. These days we e-sign. So convenient.

19. Pump measurement: OCTANE.

20. Shooting competition: SKEET.

21. Two-dimensional size: AREA.

22. ABO system abbr.: NEG.

26. Hot __: TUB.

27. K-pop city: SEOUL. K-Dramas are very popular in China.

28. Long. counterpart: LAT.

29. Sock part: TOE.

30. Times-changing workers?: EDITORS. Times newspaper.

32. They may be footed: PAJAMAS. Never worn pajamas.

35. Peru grazer: LLAMA.

37. On: ATOP.

38. Sworn words: I DO.

41. Gloomy __: GUS.

45. Put in new film: RELOAD. All digital now. Also 131. Shooters with straps, for short: SLRS.

47. [Oh no!]: GASP.

49. First name in makeup: ESTEE. This is their popular product. Too pricey.

54. "Full House," but not "House": SITCOM.

58. Small-runway mil. craft: STOL. Short TakeOff and Landing.

59. Cap joint: KNEE.

60. Former sea that's now part desert: ARAL.

62. Zany: LOONY.

63. "Into the Wild" star Hirsch: EMILE. Some poisonous plants killed him. My grandma and used to go out to the field a few miles from our home and pick up these gooey alga-like stuff (Nostoc commune) after the summer rain. She'd then dry them and made steamed buns during Spring Festival. Just look at these images when I typed in the Chinese name.

65. Drs.' publication: JAMA.

67. __-out: total: ALL.

69. PTA member: MOM.

76. High-tech agent: BOT. Like spambots,

77. Schuss or slalom: SKI.

78. UMass' conference: A TEN. Atlantic 10 Conference.

79. Explosive matter, briefly: NITRO.

80. Storm sounds: CLAPS.

82. Air carrier: DUCT.

84. Judge's assessment: FINE. 108. Being judged: ON TRIAL.

85. Olive, for one: TREE. Never saw an olive tree in person.

89. Throw away, in a way: DELETE.

95. Like the opening of "The Wizard of Oz": SEPIA.

97. Clarifying words: AS IN. Q as in "Qin". No U.

98. Microwave concern: ARCING.

104. Beehive State native: UTE.

105. SAT scores, e.g.: NOS.

106. Emulate a hot dog: PANT.

107. Gridiron gripper: CLEAT.

112. Cow chow: ALFALFA.

114. Hold up: ROB.

116. Ref. for wordsmiths: OED.

117. Polynesian Disney heroine: MOANA.

121. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO. It looks like this:

126. Angled piece: ELL.

127. Focus for clérigos: DIOS. God in Spanish.

128. Raven's sound: CROAK.

129. Part of a plot: IN ON IT.

130. Low: SAD. So sorry for your loss, Keith!

132. Tony's cousins: EMMYS. Julia Louis Dreyfus has nine.

133. Skip: IGNORE. 

Down:

1. Dandy guys: FOPS.

2. Drink with a domed cover: ICEE.

3. A.L. West pro, informally: STRO.

4. Entertains at the penthouse: HAS UP.

5. Historic WWII B-29: ENOLA GAY.

6. __ mother: DEN.

7. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM.

8. Breed from Honshu: AKITA. Have any of you been to Japan?

9. All NBA players: MEN.

10. Mennonites, e.g.: SECT.

11. 1962 Lawrence portrayer: O'TOOLE.

12. Sweetie, in slang: BAE. Too lazy to write baby/babe.

13. Twin sister of Apollo: ARTEMIS.

14. Headliners: LEAD ACTS.

15. Skirt type: MAXI.

16. As a whole: IN TOTO.

17. Impulse-conducting cell: NEURON.

18. Enemy in a Le Carré novel: KGB SPY. 71. 18-Down, at times: MOLE.

24. "Sad to say ... ": ALAS.

25. Diner sandwich: MELT.

31. Stick on, in a way: TAPE TO.

33. Dojo action: JUDO KICK. Debut fill.

34. Slugging Sammy: SOSA. We have lots of of mint-condition Sosa, McGwire rookie cards. Boomer used to own a baseball store in the 1980s. Alas, they're not worth anything now.

36. Oakland's Oracle, e.g.: ARENA.

38. Light controller in a lens: IRIS.

39. Obligation: DEBT.

40. Spread on toast: OLEO.

43. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR.

44. Lake Wobegon creator: KEILLOR. Such a sad downfall.

46. Creepy starer: OGLER.

47. Inexperienced: GREEN.

48. Donkey Kong looks like one: APE.

51. Like rolled carpet: UNLAID. Spell check does not like it.

52. "The Martian" star: DAMON (Matt)

53. __ contract: ORAL.

55. Food __: listlessness after a large meal: COMA. Your blood sugar goes up after a big meal, but your blood pressure goes down.

56. __ about: ON OR.

57. "Oh dear!": MY MY.

61. Gloria Estefan, for one: LATINA.

64. Error: MISSTEP.

65. Volkswagen sedan: JETTA. When I lived in Shanghai, most of Taxis were Jettas.

66. N-S Manhattan road: AVE.

68. Bookish set: LITERATI.

70. Starting quartet: ABCD.

72. Famous last words?: ET AL.

73. Ribs unit: RACK.

74. Blue side: UNION.

75. Unacceptable to some, for short: NOT PC. Also 109. Zero input: NO SAY.

81. Old Spanish bread: PESETA.

83. Meter measure: USAGE.

84. "The X-Files" org.: FBI.

86. Pour, e.g.: RAIN.

87. Inventor Rubik: ERNO.

88. Heart lines?: Abbr.: EKGS.

90. Cringe-worthy YouTube subject: EPIC FAIL. We were so happy to be back to Springbrook last Monday. The trails were still very soggy. We're going to hit 78 tomorrow.

92. Road goo: TAR.

93. Standard Oil brand: ESSO.

94. Unrealistic: DREAMING.

96. About to deliver: IN LABOR.

99. Outpourings: SPATES. Like your support for dear Santa, who lost his right leg to diabetes. 

 Cousin Merle, Laura (Argyle's sister) and Argyle, Feb 2017

100. Fingers-in-ears syllables: LA LA LA. Hope you're enjoying spring, dear LaLaLinda!

101. Embrace: ENFOLD.

102. Kiss drummer Eric: CARR. Wiki listed him as a "Past member".

103. Immediately: AT ONCE.

104. Hindustani tongue: URDU.

110. Sources of deck wood: TEAKS.

111. Sign in: LOG ON.

113. Digital displays, briefly: LCDS.

115. Earthen wall: BERM.

118. Cornerstone word: ANNO.

119. Film __: NOIR.

120. Pot starter: ANTE.

123. Capital of Switzerland?: ESS. Switzerland.

124. Hulce or Hanks: TOM. Or D-Otto or TTP, my rocks.

125. Sundial seven: VII.

Belated Happy Birthday to Dave (D4E4H), who turned 74 years old yesterday. Dave has some serious health issues and cannot move around freely, that's why sometimes his avatar is in BLACK when he's away from his normal computer. 

This Comments Section Abbreviation list is now easier to read because of Dave, who suggested me to alphabetize it. So simple yet I never thought of it.

Saturday, April 28, 2018, Andrew J. Ries

THEMELESS SATURDAY PUZZLE BY ANDREW J. RIES ON NATIONAL SUPERHERO DAY

Speaking of Superheroes, here are some of ours in a picture C.C. posted last June 7th. They include today's constructor and our own C.C. who is clearly the rose amid all the thorns! 😀

Left to right: George Barany, Jeffrey Wechsler,Victor Barocas, David Hanson, C.C., Andrew J. Ries, Chris Adams, Tom Pepper & David Liben-Nowell

Look, up in the paper, it's a grid, it's a game, it's Andrew the CROSSWORD GUY! Let's see what Kryptonite-free clues he has for us today.

I am going to start with the two clues that required all my powers to solve, twice. Not only did I finally get the fill but after a few minutes I FINALLY GOT WHAT THEY MEANT!

31. Athlete's best: A GAME - Turns out it's two words! Duh! That slap to my forehead might leave a mark!

61. Cuts in Hollywood?: TENTHS - You can bet that this Hollywood agency gets at least 10% (a TENTH) of their star's earnings

Now that I see the BAT SIGNAL (Okay it's just the glow of my laptop) let's journey on

Across:

1. Has a suggestion (of): SMACKS - Hiring of school personnel this time of year can SMACK of nepotism

7. Play period: RECESS- Much learning goes on at RECESS

13. Stop order: HOLD IT.

14. Echo follower?: FOXTROT - The blog today is by Hotel, Uniform, Sierra, Kite, Echo, Romeo 

15. Jar: RATTLE - JOSTLE rattled around there for a while

16. Construction equipment with a projecting arm: JIB CRANE- Here's a gaggle of them

17. Game with Skip cards: UNO.

18. Difficult to describe: NEBULOUS - Sometimes an explanation is intentionally NEBULOUS 

20. Reaction upon opening a jewelry gift, perhaps: GASP.

22. Goes back to zero: RESETS

23. Connection letters: DSL - Very rare computer connection to the web these days

26. Waits at a music festival?: TOM - I'll take tricky clues for $600 Alex

28. ORD tower gp.: ATC - Air Traffic Controllers at O'Hare (ORD) International. "It looks like I picked a lousy week to give up sniffing glue!"

29. Best of the best: ELITE

31. Site to get tight for a flight?: AIRPORT BAR - If you see your pilot in there...

35. Nervous system transmitter: AXON

36. Post-scoring routine: GOAL CELEBRATION.

38. "__ boy!": ATTA - I'd prefer the cash

39. Easy way to win: DECISIVELY - The National Champion Huskers did indeed rout favored Florida DECISIVELY in 1996

40. Dr. Isles on "Rizzoli & Isles": MAURA - Not a clue, no wait, not a chance

42. "Holy cow!": MAN! - This was the catch phrase of this man with the 43. It may be open at a club: MIC. If  you're a sports fan you absolutely know who this is. If you aren't you probably don't know/care

44. Two hairpin turns, say: ESS.

45. Haus wives: FRAUEN - Hausfrauen sind das Rückgrat des Landes. (Housewives are the backbone of the country)

48. "If I may interject ... ": AHEM.

51. Tony winner for his LBJ role in "All the Way": CRANSTON - He explains his approach to the role

53. Pack filler: ICE and 54. Buffalo sighting: LAKE ERIE - They seem to go together 

57. "You've Got Mail" genre: ROM COM - ROMantic COMedies aren't my favorite movies but have you looked at what's currently available at the local cinema?

59. Main: OPEN SEA - "Sailing, sailing over the bounding MAIN"

60. Cause to laugh: TICKLE - TICKLING can approach abuse


62. Rubs out: ERASES - I had to get one of these from the Home Ec. teacher last week to ERASE the coffee I decided to wear on my shirt 



Down:

1. [Meh]: SHRUG - The brackets indicate an action

2. 2016 Disney musical set in Polynesia: MOANA - A boatload of vowels!

3. Cloud at heights of about one to five miles: ALTO STRATUS - Pretty easy to suss out

4. K.C. summer setting: CDT - Here in Huskerland as well

5. Ceramics oven: KILN

6. Herd member: STEER - S _ E E _ was not SHEEP as it turns out. Oh yeah, that's a flock, Gary! 😜

7. Subject of an Asimov collection: ROBOT

8. Permit to leave: EXCUSE - I've said before that giving an 18-yr-old, 6'5", 250 lb. student permission to go the bathroom seems odd to me as a sub

9. Large med. facilities: CTRS - The Univ. Of Neb. Med. CTR.

10. Diamond fig.: ERA - Earned Run Average

11. One in a family photo: SON

12. Notre-Dame honoree: Abbr.: STE - Today, April 28, is a feast day for STE. Valerie

14. Record holder: FILE CABINET - My SIL and one of his FILE CABINETS that hold his over half-million sports cards

16. "No reason": JUST BECAUSE - A great reason to bring flowers

19. Worship of John, Paul, etc.?: BEATLE MANIA - Yeah, yeah, yeah...

21. Aspen relative: POPLAR

23. "Wide Open Spaces" country trio: DIXIE CHICKS - They apologized for a foray they took into political commentary in 2003

24. Informant, informally: STOOL - A less elegant clue lept to mind

25. Bruce posthumously pardoned by New York state in 2003: LENNY - Some of what was called obscenity in the 60's seems quaint today but...

27. Comfy footwear: MOCasin 

30. Belarus neighbor: LATVIA - Their common border is only about 107 miles

32. Teensy amounts: IOTAS

33. __-faced: RED

34. Monopoly foursome: Abbr.: RRS - So that's how they got SHORT Lines

37. Biathlon asset: AIM.

41. Over: AFRESH - Wouldn't it be great if North and South Korea could start AFRESH?

46. Collector's prized pursuits: RARES - Seems like an awkward use here. YR?

47. Up from Mexico?: NORTE - If  you go NORTE from Mexico, you wind up in Estados Unidos

49. Paris' __ des Beaux-Arts: ECOLE - Paris' SCHOOL of fine arts

50. Fast-spreading online phenomena: MEMES - Cats seem to be a big part of this internet phenomenon 

51. Till coin: CENT - This messy till makes OCD me squirm just posting it

52. Raymond Chandler specialty: NOIR - His novel, The Big Sleep, is a prime example of the genre 

54. Slew: LOT.

55. Clumsy sort: APE - I like this use as a noun better than as a verb

56. Physician-turned-actor Jeong: KEN - His list of credits is very impressive!   

58. Longtime Elton John label: MCA.

Before you venture into commenting and telling us your favorite super hero, please enjoy a sample of 1950's "high tech" special effects featuring my favorite Super Hero - George Reeves as "The Man Of Steel"

DA GRID

Friday, April 27, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: Pre-fab puzzle. Did you all grow up hearing about pre-fab houses? LINK.

DAB seems to have slid into JW's every other Friday place here at the Corner. He also uses add letter(s) with today being the 'PRE' trigram. None of the themers jump out (for me) but they are consistent and Friday hard. All of David's LAT publications are Fridays, and he obviously is on Rich's wavelength; how about you all? He has some nice sparkle with ALCOVES, ANIMATE, CLERICS, SAVANTS, DINETTES,  POINTS TO,  SPECTERS and TEN CENTS.

The theme -

17A. Bishop in bed?: SLEEPING PRELATE (15). Prelate which is defined as a bishop or other high ecclesiastical dignitary might be tricky for some.

24A. "I happen to have a deck of cards right here"?: POKER PREFACE (12). The poker is random, but the alliteration is fun.

40A. Fake lawyer?: BAR PRETENDER (12). A little technical, and a little different as it splits a single word apart.
And the reveal-
52A. Software service provided by hardware sellers ... and a hint to three long puzzle answers: PREINSTALLATION.

The rest-

Across:

1. Short shots?: PICS. A nice way to clue an abbreviation that has become a word.

5. Toque wearer: CHEF.

9. Tenth of a grand: C-SPOT. Grand is also represented by a G-Note. 1/10 of $1,000.00; I will not link G-spot pics.

14. "Quickly!": ASAP. These days said "A-sap."

15. Quasimodo's creator: HUGO. Victor to his friends.

16. Conifer with durable wood: LARCH. This is a coniferous tree with bunches of deciduous bright green needles, found in cool regions of the northern hemisphere. It is grown for its tough timber and its resin (which yields turpentine).

20. Mid-'70s cost to mail a typical letter: TEN CENTS. Very random, and I would have preferred something else. That is just my ten cents worth. (inflation!)

21. Wears down: ERODES.

22. Veracious: TRUE. Not Voracious. This one is a cousin of veracity.

23. Enliven: ANIMATE.  But never re-animate. How about GOT?

28. "__ Rose Has Its Thorn": Poison hit: EVERY. The STORY of this Glamrock hit.

29. Bashes: RAMS.

30. "So there!": HAH.

33. Focusing aid: LENS.

34. "Under the Redwoods" author: HARTE. Bret Harte died in 1902 but was quite well received. READ the book for free.

36. Valley: DALE.

37. "Good Behavior" broadcaster: TNT. This SERIES was a serious departure for Michelle Dockery. She was not a nice girl. I loved her in the Netflix series

38. High spot on a farm: SILO.

39. Radio station, e.g.: AIRER.

43. Nooks: ALCOVES.

46. Get behind, with "for": VOTE.

47. Immature insects: LARVAE. Shout out for John Lampkin.


48. Indicates: POINTS TO.

54. Lacks: HASN'T.

55. Bad thing to take in a ring: DIVE. Before ROCKY there was BATTLIN' JACK MURDOCH.

56. Rim: EDGE.

57. Beasts of burden: ASSES.

58. Gravity-propelled toy: SLED. More sledding this week, but maybe the snow is finally over.

59. Seven __: SEAS.
The "Seven Seas" (as in the idiom "sail the Seven Seas") is an ancient phrase for all of the world's oceans. Since the 19th century, the term has been taken to include seven oceanic bodies of water:
the Arctic Ocean
the North Atlantic Ocean
the South Atlantic Ocean
the Indian Ocean
the North Pacific Ocean
the South Pacific Ocean
the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean

Down:

1. Historian's field: PAST.

2. Archipelago piece: ISLE. In case you did not know it is a sea or stretch of water containing many islands.

3. Normandy city: CAEN. Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen—heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the city. The city has now preserved the memory by erecting a memorial and a museum dedicated to peace, the Memorial de Caen. Wiki.

4. Ghosts: SPECTERS.

5. Calisthenic exercise: CHIN UP. Different from a PULLUP. Pull-ups, done with both hands in an overhand (or prone) grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, prove to be the most difficult of the pair. The wide grip isolates your lats, taking away much of the emphasis from the biceps. The underhand alternative—chinups—receives high praise as both a bicep- and back-builder.

6. Fox pursuer: HUNTER. This juxtaposition makes this next one harder.

7. What some poachers poach: EGGS. Tricky, not someone hunting or fishing where he is not permitted, just cooking.

8. Metrosexual: FOP. I guess as a fop is a man who is concerned with his clothes and appearance in an affected and excessive way; a dandy.

9. Priests, e.g.: CLERICS.

10. Biblical dancer: SALOME.

11. Milan-based fashion house: PRADA.

12. Work for a chamber group: OCTET.

13. What we have here: THESE.

18. Matthew who led a 19th-century expedition to Japan: PERRY. Matthew C. Perry, not to be confused with Matthew L. Perry, became quite famous in his own RIGHT. However,  look at some of his famous relatives, may compel to sign up for Ancestry.com. LINK.

19. Alter, in a way, as a file: RENAME. I do this everytime I download a scan.

23. "__ lot of good that'll do you": A FAT. I bet you want to know its ORIGIN.

24. Bombard: PELT.

25. Roasting site: OVEN.

26. Canterbury's county: KENT. Kent is a county in southeastern England. In the city of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral has a 1,400-year history and features a Romanesque crypt and medieval stained glass.

27. Mistake: ERROR.

30. Word with cash or candy: HARD. Hard money is very important in all real estate transactions.

31. Away from the wind: ALEE.

32. German title: HERR.

34. Staff expanders: HIREES.

35. Multinational range: ALPS.

36. Sets for some 43-Across: DINETTES.

38. Learned experts: SAVANTS.

39. Company name inspired by a volcano: AETNA.

40. Like oxen: BOVINE.

41. Gradually develop: EVOLVE.

42. Labored: TOILED.

43. Highest-ranking: ALPHA.

44. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" melody: LARAS. They were a beautiful couple.

45. Salad green: CRESS. Not watercress, but a plant of the cabbage family, typically having small white flowers and pungent leaves. Some kinds are edible and are eaten raw in a salad.  Garden cress is genetically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma.

48. Gardening aid: PAIL.

49. Aspect: SIDE.

50. Roman robe: TOGA.

51. Small tip components: ONES.

53. NFL stat: TDS.


We have rushed to the end of April, with spring apparently finally here. We will see what next week brings; thank you, David, and thank you loyal and entertaining readers, commenters and agent provocateurs. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Lemonade's grandson Owen turns 7 months old. Here's a picture of Owen and his two beautiful sisters.

2) Here are three more pictures from Kazie's beautiful family:

 Kay's youngest son David and his fiancée Aimee

Kay's daughter-in-law's grandmother, Kay's husband Barry and Kay

Granddaughters, Mila (2) is standing and Lea (5) is sitting on the swing.

Update on Argyle

Hi Bloggers,

Jennifer here. Argyle would like me to update you all that he is still feeling poorly and unable to effectively control his hands in order to type on the keyboard. His hands and arms and legs are spastic. His overall health is a struggle at the moment. He is being monitored by Dr's and I am monitoring their care of our Argyle. As always he misses his work on the blog. He also enjoys the cards and notes sent from you all.