Sunday December 25, 2016, Nora Pearlstone

Theme: "Holiday Doings" - A Christmas tree is formed by a series of black squares. On the very top, the circled letters spell out STAR.

24A. His personal Canadian postal code is H0 H0 H0 : SANTA CLAUS. Also 22. Bagfuls for 24-Across : LETTERS. Also 85A. Team for 24-Across : REINDEER

26A. With 71-Across, holiday classic : A CHRISTMAS. And 71. See 26-Across : CAROL

55A. Seasonal hangings : ORNAMENTS

89A. Things to open : PRESENTS. This is symmetrical partner of REINDEER. 

108A. Sets on tracks : MODEL TRAINS. Nicely placed at the bottom of the tree.

3D. Classic 71-Across : O TANNENBAUM

13D. Attend to a holiday symbol : TRIM THE TREE. There is a note in Across Lit. It says "Certain squares in this puzzle can't be viewed properly in Across Lite format. Those squares outline an appropriate image, which can be seen at http://games.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword/. If you prefer to figure it out for yourself, use the hints provided by the circled squares, 55-Across, and 108-Across." Rich couldn't mention the specific image as he had both CHRISTMAS or TREE in the grid.

49D. Holiday mailing : GREETING CARD. Each of the four Down theme entries intersects another Across theme entry. Just brilliant. This is why Rich is still the 4th most published NYT constructor despite the fact that he has not sent any puzzle there since 2008.

53D. Title annual holiday character since 1965 : CHARLIE BROWN

Nora Pearlstone is the alias name of our editor Rich Norris. It's an anagram of "Not a Real Person". You can see Rich's full alias names here. Rich normally uses Nora for Sunday puzzles or tricky Thursday/Friday puzzles. He uses Lila Cherry ("Really Rich") for early week puzzles.

Notice the R puzzle that forms STAR is unchecked, e.g., it's the only one-letter fill in this puzzle. The grid also has a left to right symmetry, which is a lot trickier than a normal grid.

Rich in the Middle

Across:

        

1. WWII investment : E BOND

6. Sri Lankan language : TAMIL. Also the official language of Singapore.

11. It may be seen to the left of venous : INTRA. I did not know the meaning of "venous".

16. Quashed : VETOED

18. Psyched : FIRED UP

20. Frightened : SCARED. And 21. Frightens : ALARMS. Rich is very good at clue echoes. 

23. Poet Levertov : DENISE. Unknown figure to me.

28. Kiss and caress, in Kent : SNOG

29. Cousin of the Vulcan mind meld : ESP

31. It's bonded in bales : HAY. Also 92. __ bonding : MALE

32. Etta of old comics : KETT

33. Word before and after "is" : ENOUGH

35. Concert shirt : TEE

37. Indiana county or its seat : WABASH. This stumped me last time.

39. L.A.'s __ Center : AON

41. Shine, in ads : GLO

42. Do-it-yourself mover : U-HAUL

44. Columnist Hentoff : NAT

45. UV index monitor : EPA

48. Prepared with mixed vegetables, in Chinese cooking : SUBGUM. I never heard of the term until I came to the US.

50. Ivy support : TRELLIS

52. Parish leader : RECTOR

54. Wide-eyed look : STARE

 

57. It might accompany a "meh" : SHRUG

58. Hot-and-cold fits : AGUE

59. Cartoon shopkeeper : APU. "The Simpsons".

60. Old map abbr. : SSR

61. Monthly payment that's often more than the prin. : INT.  Like new mortgage.

63. Sleek, in car talk : AERO

64. Capitol feature : DOME

65. Meat department buy : BEEF

67. Song from Carmen : ARIA

68. Last ones to deal with : REST.  Oh, like the rest.

69. Impact sound : THUD

75. Longtime rival of Tiger : PHIL(Mickelson). Phil is such a gentleman.

77. Longhorn rivals : AGGIES. Rival clue echo.

80. Climber's target : CLIFF

81. Futile : OTIOSE. Not a word I use.

 

88. Sharable PC file : PDF

91. Fort near Fayetteville : BRAGG. Boomer went to Fort Campbell. How about you, D-Otto/TTP? Argyle probably went to  Camp Pendleton.

94. Tan relative : ECRU

96. Descriptively named support : H BEAM

97. From that time : SINCE

98. They often include ages : BIOs

99. Maneuverability : ROOM

100. Speak : ORATE

101. Embellishes : ADORNS

103. UPS carton phrase : SHIP TO

105. "Bearing gifts, we traverse __" : AFAR

 

112. Prettify with paper : WRAP. Bonus fill. 

116. Sweet-scented flower : GARDENIA. My grandma's name is Lan Xiang, literally "blue and fragrant flower". Lots of girls in her generation had flower names.

118. Cry of revelation : AHA

119. Resonant barbershop sound : BASS NOTE. Also 56. Barbershop sound : SNIP

121. __ out a living : EKE

122. Bank deposit : SILT. Nailed it.

123. Type of garden : ZEN. Nice and quiet.

124. __-bitty : ITTY

125. Trouble : WOE

126. Narc's employer : DEA. And 127. Narc's assignment : CASE

128. To this time : YET

129. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role : TESS

130. Rev (up) : AMP

Down:

1. Spacewalks, briefly : EVAS. EVA = Extravehicular Activity. Rich avoided plural [Longoria and Mendes] style clue because he had BELAS (2. Lugosi and Karolyi) next to it.

4. Popular virus remedy : NORTON. Ah, I was thinking of flu.

5. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE. What a great entry.

6. Jam on the road : TIE UP

7. Dance and drama : ARTS

8. Got together : MET

9. Concept : IDEA

10. Sudden move : LURCH

11. Winter pastime gear : ICE SKATES. The snow continues to melt in our neighborhood.

12. City on the Loire : NANTES. Birthplace of Jules Verne.

14. Found a new table for : RESAT

15. Picnic drinks : ADES

17. U.S. Army medal : DSC. My Dad was in the Chinese Army for a long time. I don't remember any medals. Just lots lots of Mao's stuff. He remembered every word in this red book.

18. Instant : FLASH

19. "Nonsense!" : PSHAW

20. Star Wars initials : SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

25. Small construction piece : LEGO

27. NFL coach Rex : RYAN

30. Bailiwicks : REALMS

34. German university city : ULM. Know as Einstein's birthplace.

35. A.L. West team, familiarly : THE A's

36. "Elements of Algebra" author : EULER

38. Prevent : BAR

39. Syrian leader : ASSAD

40. Expenses : OUTGO

42. Caterer's vessel : URN

43. Author Yutang : LIN. Same character as the Lim in our constructor Julian Lim, who's from Singapore. In Hong Kong, it's spelled as Lam.

46. Really comes down : POURS

47. One may end in "ese" : ARGOT. Like legalese.

 

50. Indisputable : TRUE

51. Slowly emerge from sleep : STIR

55. Slanted page? : OP-ED

59. Mistreatment : ABUSE

62. Sierra Nevada vacation mecca : TAHOE

66. TV monitor : FCC

67. E.T. from Melmac : ALF

70. Equivocated : HEDGED

72. Suisse peaks : ALPES

73. Relieved : RID

74. Bid : OFFER

76. "Whew!" : IT'S HOT

77. Some Wall St. traders : ARBs (Arbitragers)

78. English singer Halliwell : GERI. I was more into Cantopop in those days when Spice Girls were popular.

79. Composer __ Carlo Menotti : GIAN

82. Draft category : ONE A. We also have ROW A (113. Where no one can sit in front of you). 

83. "Right now!" : STAT

84. Salinger title choir singer : ESME

86. Gets mixed up in : EMBROILS

87. Outdoor event contingency : RAIN DATE. Nice pair of stacked 8's in this area.

89. Outlaw : PROHIBIT

90. Ponder : RUMINATE

93. Drop in the stadium : LOSE.  Got via crosses. Tricky clue.

95. Toledo thing : COSA. Spanish or Italian for "thing".

102. __ vincit amor : OMNIA

104. Classroom exchanges : PSSTs

105. Allowed to ripen, as cheddar : AGED

106. Art expert's discovery : FAKE. I was once very good at IDing fake luxury bags. IP investigation was risky but fun.

107. Bailiwick : AREA

109. Likely to loaf : LAZY

110. What you once were? : THEE

111. Carry on : RANT

114. Tiny bit : ATOM

115. Single animal-shaped candy? : PEEP

117. PC backup key : ESC

120. Mac OS part: Abbr. : SYS

1) Happy Birthday to dear Kathy (Yellowrocks), whose positive attitude and fighting spirit continue to inspire me. I'm so happy that you're here for us, Kathy!

Yellowrocks and son David, Sept 2016

2) Happy Birthday also to Lorraine (Fermatprime), who's been with the blog for a long time. Lorraine is an accomplished math professor and does more puzzles every day than most of us.

Thanksgiving, 2015

Saturday, Dec 24th, 2016, Matt Skoczen

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 29

Phew~!!!  I thought I was going snowblind on the first two passes through this grueling grid.  Mr. Skoczen is back for the fourth time in three months, with lots of vague clues, a few proper names that I knew but not through the reference in the clues, and one or two "meh" answers.  Yet I prevailed, with only one (and a half) cheats; had to look up one word in the dictionary that has never appeared in any reading I have done, and then I did a red-letter check to see if I gaffed something - and I did.  Oh well.  Still, came in under my personal allotted time, and I would say I "broke even".  Four 7-letter corners and 9-letter fills crossing paired 10's and 11's;

4d. Opera originally titled "Violetta" : La TRAVIATA - by "Joe Green" (Victor Borge humor)

the aria from "Rigor Mortis"

24. Phone accessory banned at Disney parks : SELFIE STICK

ACROSS:

1. It's commonly read by waiters : TABLOID - Wait-ers, on the supermarket line

8. Place to meet : HALF WAY

15. 1992 Mamet play : OLEANNA - perps

16. Cork holder : IRELAND - #$%^&*~!  My first thought was the city/county of the country, but I was expecting a "?" in the clue

17. Enterprise enterprise : RENTING - dah~!  I put in rentALS, and that screwed me up

18. They're usually kept : GIGOLOS - I went with MEMOIRS; bzzzt.  I did not get this reference until I looked up gigolo on Wiki - but I do know the David Lee Roth remake

19. 1976 Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year awardee : EVERT

20. E major scale note : G SHARP - I knew enough to put "-SHARP" in, and then waited

22. Hawthorne cover image : RED A - The Scarlet Letter

23. Quiet : SETTLE - ah, the verb, not the noun

24. Ben, to Jerry : SON - the comedians, not the Ice Cream guys

27. Truce emblem source : OLIVE TREE - the "branch" comes from the tree

29. John Paul's successor : ELENA - dah~!  I tried PIUS I, figured we were talking Popes; nope - the US Supreme Court; it's OK, my knowledge of both groups is "A-Paul-ing"....

31. Movie : CINÉ - the dictionary says cin-ee is "extracted" from cinema

32. Pollutant banned by Cong. in 1979 : PCB

34. Sights from la mer : ILES - Le Frawnche

35. Subjects of family disputes : ESTATES

38. Erupted : HAD A FIT

40. Call to a line : "NEXT~!"

41. __-Man : PAC

43. Singer Lovato : DEMI - hah~! I knew this one

44. Renée Fleming et al. : DIVAs

46. Great extent : LARGENESS - OK, use this in a sentence which doesn't sound contrived....

50. Fed. assistance program : SSI - Supplemental Security Income - never heard of it

51. Conniving, with "in" : LEAGUE - reminds me of a line from a Robert Plant song

my love is....

53. Durango demonstrative : ESTA

54. __ camera : HIDDEN - not CANDID

55. Shares, with "out" : METES - not DOLES

56. Where to hear a lot of talk : AM RADIO

59. Rayed flowers : DAISIES

61. Bond choice : MARTINI - D'oh~!  JAMES Bond

62. Charlie McCarthy feature : MONOCLE - I know this "character", but not the answer until perps

63. Significant supply : ARSENAL - I tried "---FUL" at the end, and it was not working

64. Sounded like a flute duet? : CLINKED - clever.  Flutes, the glasses

DOWN:

1. One facing charges? : TORERO - thought this was the answer, but I had some bad crossings to start

2. Two-part British academic exam : A LEVEL

3. Noted 2013 resignee : BENEDICT XVI - oh NOW we get the Pope clue....

5. "Doing that right now!" : ON IT - dah~!  I read this as "DO that right now", so I had ASAP, then STAT

6. Where there may be no room : INN - timely

7. Typographical symbol : DAGGER - did not know that this † symbol, tho I have seen it, is called a 'dagger'

8. Modern, in a way : HIGH TECH

9. Font choice : ARIAL - had it in, took it out, because of  MEMOIRS

10. 1852 literary villain : LEGREE - I did not know him; filled via perps, and then I looked him up - Wiki

11. Turn preceder, in Texas Hold 'em : FLOP - followed by the River; last weekend I went in with a full house, 10s over 9s, lost to 10s over Queens - those are the hands that really hurt

12. Popular store opening? : WAL-mart, har-har.

13. Periodo de tiempo : ANO

14. NFL stats : YDs

21. Small distance : STEP

23. Higher than you might have hoped : STEEP

25. "That's __ haven't heard" : ONE I

26. Cartoon award eponym : NAST - mostly perps, N-ST, and then it hit me

28. Sinusitis-treating MD : ENT

30. 1993 "Ethan Frome" star : LIAM NEESON

33. It can get you in : BADGE

35. Extreme pair : ENDS - oops, not ACES; too much poker playing these days, I guess

36. Paquete de __: cerveza purchase : SEIS - a six-pack of beer down Mexico way

37. Iceberg topper : SALAD OIL - my first thought, but it was dressing, not OIL

39. One of Donald's pair : DEE - DonalD

42. Pen : CAGE - ah, the animal confines, not the writing implement

45. Tried to make it home : SLID IN - meh.  Don't like the 'two word' association to baseball

47. Hip-hop group at Live Aid's 1985 Philadelphia concert : RUN-DMC

48. Holt's detective partner in '80s TV : STEELE - the 'other' James Bond - Pierce Brosnan, that is - in his TV role

49. Mouthed off at : SASSED

52. Minneapolis suburb : EDINA - I'm sure C.C. knew this one

54. Execrate : HATE - OK, the word I looked up.  From the Latin "sacrare", as in consecrate

55. Revealing garb : MINI - yep.

56. Chicago-based professional org. : AMA - Saturday cluing

57. Warp, e.g. : MAR - ugh.  I was thinking "speed" as in Star Trek, and "defect", as in wood boards

58. Board game spots with nine sqs. between them : RRs - Monopoly board

60. Moviefone owner : AOL

Splynter

Friday, December 23, 2016, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: My exes are not all in Texas but in this puzzle.

We have the LAT debut of Mr. Bywaters who just had an initial publication on December 13th in the NYT. 63 theme squares left little room for long fill but METEORITE and IN LINE WITH were nice. The rest of the fill seemed a tad easy for a Friday. Of the five theme fill, we have one EX in the beginning, one at the end and the other three somewhere in between. This is difficult to keep balanced. The rest played out pretty easily with GEHRY being my all perp fill. Test these waters by Bywaters.


17A. Illicit buzzing in the hive? : BEE SEXTING (10). A plain old bee sting gets remodeled with the EX showing up.

24A. Slipshod building addition? : RAGGEDY ANNEX (12). The Raggedy Ann doll is next to get an EX.

40A. Beginning of a very thorough biography? : FETAL EXPOSITION (15).  Starting a biography at birth needs an EX added as well.

50A. Aerosol product that will help you fit in in Houston? : SPRAY ON TEXAN (12). Spraying on your tan gives you a Texan when you add the EX.

64A. Too much shooting at the table? : EXCESS POOL (10). We have single word having the EX added at the beginning.
And the reveal:

72A. They sometimes intrude at weddings, and also in this puzzle's theme : EXES.

Across;

1. Clever stroke : COUP. Coup de grâce; coup d’etat...nice French to start the day.

5. Stage genre : DRAMA.

10. Secured, in a way : TIED.

14. Too : ALSO. So easy I hesitated.

15. Actor Firth : COLIN.

16. Initial contribution : ANTE.

19. Surplus : GLUT.

20. Painful spots : SORES.

21. Speak or creak : VERB.

23. Altar promise : I DO.

28. Zodiac animal : RAM.

31. Aran Islands country: Abbr. : IRE.

32. Chopping tool : HOE.

33. Always : EVER.

35. Parker's rank in "McHale's Navy": Abbr. : ENS. This was my introduction to the great Tim Conway. The show was really a step child of the success of Phil Silvers' Sgt. Bilko character. LINK.

37. Pincered insect : EARWIG. This what I think about when I see this WORD.

43. Strands at the lodge, maybe : ICES IN.

44. Six-pack set : ABS.

45. Jazz singer James : ETTA.

46. Nevada was the first st. to allow it : OTB. Off Track Betting.

47. Clickbait site, as of Sep. 2016 : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

49. Metaphorical hiding place : HAT. Keep it Under your hat. LINK.

56. Athlete lead-in : TRIathlete. 62A. Immune lead-in : AUTO.

57. French honey : AMIE. Girl friend in French.

58. Coffee shop order : MOCHA. Not sure why but I plunked this right in and it stuck.

67. Thought : IDEA.

68. Architect Frank : GEHRY. Frank Gehry is a Canadian-American architect known for postmodern designs, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. ... he was born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto, Canada on February 28, 1929 and still lives.Various.

69. One of three in "To be or not to be" : IAMB. Short and long in a metric foot. Poetry 101.

70. Office staple : DESK.

71. Donkeys : ASSES.


Down:

1. Uber competitors : CABS. I think it is the other way around.

2. Margarine : OLEO.

3. Many a typist, nowadays : USER.

4. Fake : POSER.

5. Early 7th-century year : DCX. The random Roman numeral glue.

6. Go bad : ROT.

7. Still in play : ALIVE.

8. Like much ore : MINED.

9. Hot : ANGRY.

10. Identification method : TAG.

11. Conforming to : IN LINE WITH.

12. Chopin work : ETUDE. The entire STORY. One listen....hard not to love Chopin.

13. Rehab process : DETOX.

18. Actor Morales : ESAI. If only he had as many roles as he has had puzzle apearances.

22. Religion founded in Persia : BAHAI. Another answer that went in and stayed. I learned about this from Vic Damone and Diahann Carroll.

25. Gullible : GREEN.

26. Group including some Brat Pack members : GEN-X.

27. Mazatlán-to-Chihuahua dirección : NORTE. Spanish.

28. Monthly pmts. reducer : REFInance.

29. "Voulez-vous coucher __ moi?" : AVEC. I cannot resist LADY MARMALADE.

30. Falling stars that reach the ground : METEORITES.

34. Many a reggae artist : RASTA.

36. Eponymous Belgian town : SPA.

37. English county on the North Sea : ESSEX. In between Kent and Suffolk.

38. Tiny bit : IOTA.

39. Airborne pest : GNAT.

41. OPEC member since 1962 : LIBYA. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by nine other Members: Qatar (1961); Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016; Libya (1962); United Arab Emirates (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973) – suspended its membership in December 1992, but reactivated it in October 2007; Angola (2007); and Gabon (1975) - terminated its membership in January 1995 but rejoined in July 2016. OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.

42. High wind? : OBOE. My third word that I just put in.

48. Lake makers, at times : DAMS.

50. Unwavering : STAID. If overdone can make you a ...

51. Goody two shoes : PRUDE.

52. End of a series : OMEGA. Alpha to....

53. Vetoes : NIXES.

54. They may deal with freezes : TECHS.

55. Fabled lost mittens punishment : NO PIE.
BY MOTHER GOOSE
The three little kittens, they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear,
That we have lost our mittens."
"What!   Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie."
"Meow, meow, meow."
"Then you shall have no pie."

59. Cajole : COAX.

60. Residence : HOME.

61. Priestly garments : ALBS. Once a very common fill and I beleive the only four letter possibility for the plural.

63. Shade provider : OAK. Lots of oaks in Florida.

65. Poetic word of order : ERE.

66. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYStem.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I will back next week for my final
2016 write up.  Thanks - do you all agree " A little D.A.B. will do you. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Happy 72nd Birthday to our dear Misty, who's visiting her Aunt in Austria at this moment. Thanks for the love and warmth you've brought to our little corner, Misty!

Thursday, December 22nd 2016, Bill Zagozewski

Theme:  Ringmasters ... The circles in the corners of the "boxing ring" grid contain the names of four professional world champions.

We've got:

Max BAER - American heavyweight champion in the 1930's. Famous for defeating Max Schmeling, who was Hitler's favorite fighter and promoted as an example of the superiority of the Aryan race. He lost his title to James Braddock in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Muhammad ALI - no introduction required for a second American heavyweight world champion. He defeated the next corner occupant for the title in 1964, and retained the title in their 1965 rematch. This photograph, by Neil Leifer for TIME magazine stands as one of the most famous sports images of all time. I've got a monochrome reproduction on my wall.

Sonny LISTON - a third American heavyweight world champion in the 1960's, beating Floyd Patterson for the title in 1962 before Ali took his place.

And finally, a fourth American heavyweight - no wait, we've got Roberto DURÁN, a Panamanian fighter who held world titles in four weight divisions in his career, from lightweight to middleweight, He was famous (or notorious) for quitting during his 1982 title defense against "Sugar" Ray Leonard in the 8th round, saying to the referee "No más". That was his 74th fight. He retired after 119 fights, so seemingly there was "poquito más" left in him.

There are four companion entries to the corners

25A. Prize for today's puzzle's circles : CHAMPIONSHIP

52A. Introductory words for each set of puzzle circles : IN THIS CORNER

5A. With 71-Across, event for today's puzzle's circles : TITLE and

71A. See 5-Across : FIGHT

This looks like an LAT debut for Bill, so congratulations for that achievement.

Now I'm going to rain on the parade - I didn't like this much - I can't see any connection between the boxers other than they won a world championship. Only LISTON "fills" his corner - it just seems so inconsistent. Throw in a slew of  three-letter abbreviations and partials and prefix/suffix stuff and the whole thing seems forced.

There is some nice stuff in the downs, so let's go look at what we've got.

Across:

1. Beginning of space? : AERO

10. Sea that's a shrinking lake : ARAL

14. Jazz Age toon : BOOP. Betty. Boop-boop-be-doo.

15. Comes (from) : HAILS.

16. Roast, in Rouen : RÔTI. Rouen has a magnificent cathedral, and a belfry full of very loud bells, as I discovered when I stayed at a little hotel in the shadow of the spires and was woken up on Sunday morning.

17. __ about : ON OR

18. "Miss __ Playhouse": jazz CD for kids : ELLA'S. Learning moment. Miss Fitzgerald.

19. Fishing, perhaps : ASEA

20. Outlaw Belle : STARR. Convicted of horse theft in 1883. New to me.

22. PBS funder : NEA

24. Tally : SUM

29. Org. with a snake in its logo : A.M.A.

31. Detestable sort : TOAD

32. Late 19th-century presidential monogram : CAA. Chester A. Arthur. President from 1881 to 1885.

33. Family babysitter : NANA

35. Cut : SLICED INTO

40. Dignify : EXALT

42. Fireworks reaction : OOH!

43. Starters : A-TEAM

44. Curaçao's capital : WILLEMSTAD. Another learning moment. The former capital of the Netherlands Antilles, betraying the Dutch origin of the name.

47. Conclusion preceder : IF SO ..

48. Andean tuber : OCA

49. Turkmenistan neighbor : IRAN

51. Want-ad letters : E.E.O. Equal Employment Opportunity.

56. Titled rapper : DRE. Dr. Dre.

57. Radical '70s org. : S.L.A.

58. Teen superhero's family : KENTS. Superman.

60. Pupil's place : UVEA

62. "You __ one!" : OWE ME

65. Nantes nothing : RIEN.

67. Disencumbers : RIDS

68. Sacks : FIRES

69. Conductor Klemperer or an emperor : OTTO

70. Reformed demon on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" : ANYA. Thank you, crosses. I'm not up on my "Buffy" characters.

72. Place to find bullets : LIST

Down:

1. Blood system letters : ABO. This fill probably wouldn't fly in Australia.

2. Ages : EONS

3. Ordeal at the dentist's office : ROOT CANAL

4. Oxygen network co-founder : OPRAH

5. Soup container : THERMOS

6. Proverb ending? : IAL

7. Up to, commercially : TIL

8. Southwestern plain : LLANO

9. Perfume : ESSENCE

10. Altar in the sky : ARA

11. Mantegna's "Criminal Minds" role : ROSSI. Thank you, crosses. I only saw one episode because one of my friends was guest-starring.

12. Really enjoyed : ATE UP

13. Singer Payne of One Direction : LIAM. Boy Band fave. He's apparently planning to go solo, according to the Brit tabloids. Stop the presses!

21. Proverbial deserter : RAT. I'm not sure that you can blame the rats when the ship is sinking.

23. Grilled, in Mexican fare : ASADA. Food! Usually skirt steak presented as carne asada.

26. California's __ Verdes Peninsula : PALOS. Pete Sampras learned his tennis at a club here.

27. Beyond silly : IDIOTIC

28. Golfe de la Gonâve country : HAITI. WAG with "H" in place, but I couldn't come up with many other french-speaking countries beginning that way.

29. From the top : ANEW

30. Modest skirt : MAXI

34. Mete out : ALLOT

36. "Cuchi-cuchi" celebrity : CHARO.  María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza to her friends.

37. Akhenaten's queen : NEFERTITI. I can't think of any alternative Egyptian queens, to be honest. Oh wait, Cleopatra!

38. Subdue, perhaps : TASE

39. Melville novel : OMOO.

41. Staffers of Apple's Genius Bar : TECHS.

45. Send : MAIL OFF

46. Least lit : DARKEST

50. Butte-to-Helena dir. : N.N.E.

52. NFL Network analyst Michael __ : IRVIN. Legendary Dallas Cowboys receiver who won three Superbowl rings in the 90's.

53. Unable to make ends meet : NEEDY

54. Slasher film sequel of 2005 : SAW II

55. Become a member, in Manchester : ENROL. One "L" in the British spelling. There's a very (very!) short street in Manchester named for my paternal grandfather, apparently.

56. Commercial prefix meaning "long-lasting" : DURA-

59. Places : SETS

61. Hard-rock link : AS A

63. Unit of work : ERG

64. Verbal shrug : MEH. Keeping quiet on this one.

66. "Tricked you!" : NOT!

That about does it for me. In the United Airlines in-flight magazine they've started publishing a New York Times Sunday puzzle - the one I found a couple of days ago on the way to Honolulu was missing about 25 of the "Down" clues. Made finishing it something of a challenge!

Aloha, and Mele Kalikimaka!

Steve

Wednesday, December 21, 2016, Ron Toth & C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: A GOOD BEGINNING.  In Ron's (aka Jazzbumpa) and OUR FAIR LADY C.C.'s fun puzzle the word FAIR can precede each of the words in their fills for starred clues and generate another phrase.

Here's the grid that shows Ron and C.C. had two horizontal fills and three vertical fills.

This device and fun cluing/fill provide some respite on this First Day of Winter or Winter Solstice which has the fewest hours of daylight north of the equator. The North Pole has reached its maximum tilt away from the Sun but remember, from now on the hours of daylight get longer as we march on to Spring from here.

Let's take a look at the fun theme fill and the phrases Ron and C.C. gave us in this more than FAIR exercise:

6. *"I'd like a hand" : DEAL ME IN - FAIR DEAL Truman's post WWII policy that had mixed results

17. *Exchange insults : TRADE BARBS - FAIR TRADE coffee, certified by Fair Trade USA

61. *Come-on for new customers : TRIAL OFFER - FAIR TRIAL - In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom certainly did not get one

11. *Pretend to be out : PLAY POSSUM - FAIR PLAY - One organization he worked for in earnest

27. *Go-getter : BALL OF FIRE - A call of FAIR BALL after a wonderful jete! 

...and the reveal

39. Open to attack, and based on the starts of the answers to starred clues, what this puzzle is : FAIR GAME - She never said, "I want to be alone". She said, "I want to be left alone."

Now let's use our fewest hours of sunlight wisely and see what else C.C. and Ron have for us.

Across

1. Herbal emanation : AROMA - Does FAIR TRADE coffee have a better AROMA?

6. Small valley : DELL - I know this farmer...

10. Inconsequential quarrel : SPAT

14. Ring unit : CARAT

15. Website with a Collectibles & Art section : E-BAY - $25,000? Really?

16. "Dark Angel" actress Jessica : ALBA 

19. Misses : GALS

20. Long fish : EEL

21. Grief : DOLOR - Produced Doh' ler

22. Biller, eventually : PAYEE

23. Thailand's previous name : SIAM - The Margaret Landon book that inspired the play by Rodgers and Hammerstein 

24. Sounding shocked : AGASP

26. "Tap the app, get a ride" company : UBER - An Omaha UBER driver took a lady to Denver for $877.61 two months ago

28. "¿Cómo __?" : ESTAS - "How are you?" Answer -  "Muy bien. ¿Y tú?" (Very good. And you?)

30. Cockney's wish? : OPE

33. "Get a move on!" : SNAP TO IT

35. Montreal brewery founded in 1786 : MOLSON

37. 1953 Leslie Caron film : LILI

38. Chaotic mess : SNAFU - There are obscene and sanitized versions of this acronym

40. Got mileage out of : USED

41. Words after a long delay : AT LAST - Other versions are just a pale reflection

43. Good news for borrowers : RATE CUTS

45. Former Prizm maker : GEO

46. Cola with emoji bottle labels : PEPSI

48. Holiday tubers : YAMS

49. Indigenous plant life : FLORA

51. Is sorry about : RUES - Red Sox fans RUED the day Boston sold The Babe to the hated Yankees

53. Not suitable : UNFIT

55. Formal wear at the Forum : TOGAS

57. Likely : APT

60. Hurt : PAIN

63. Throw caution to the wind : DARE - We hear his Charlie Brown Christmas music a lot this time of year but this is my favorite Vince Guaraldi song

64. Mixed martial artist Holly : HOLM  If you DARE to fight Holly HOLM, you're APT to feel a lot of PAIN

65. Aptly named novelist : READE

66. Washington bills : ONES - The mint has quit making the $1 coin since the Washington ONES remain much more popular

67. Word in a threat : ELSE

68. Spooky : EERIE


Down

1. Entr'__ : ACTE - Intermission for The Agony And The Ecstasy

2. Ruth's Chris request : RARE

3. Type of exam : ORAL

4. Magazine with Don Martin cartoons : MAD - Where all my paper route money went and where my sarcasm was nurtured.

5. Was humbled : ATE DIRT

7. River of Spain : EBRO

9. Lille lily : LYS

10. Drawn-out tales : SAGAS

12. Up to the task : ABLE

13. Stun, in a way : TASE

18. __ constrictor : BOA and 8. Test rodent : LAB RAT - Dinner for our 12' BOA at school

22. El __, Texas : PASO

23. Old photo tint : SEPIA

25. Entire spectrum : GAMUT - Of Katherine Hepburn, Dorothy Parker wrote, "She delivered a striking performance that ran the GAMUT of emotions, from A to B."

26. Join together : UNITE

29. Marquee listings : STARS - They knew the pecking order

31. Kilmer and Keats : POETS

32. Doesn't continue : ENDS

33. Smelting waste : SLAG

34. Convection oven brand : OSTER

36. Indiana Jones' creator : LUCAS - Amy - "Indiana Jones has no effect on the outcome of the movie, Sheldon. It would have turned out the same with or without him."

42. Stereotypical dog's name : SPOT - SHEP? Not so much.

44. Overgrown lot, e.g. : EYESORE

47. Security group : PATROL

50. Part of 52-Down : LINES and 52. Chi.-based flier : UAL - Yup!

53. French twist, for one : UPDO

54. Leavened flatbread : NAAN

56. Some museum art : OILS

57. Miles off : AFAR

58. Prefix with cure : PEDI - For those of us who do our own:

59. Palm or beech : TREE

61. Article often ignored in alphabetizing : THE

62. Service charge : FEE

Lets now hear your FAIR-MINDED comments: