Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Alex Eaton-Salners

Theme - LET"S ALL TAKE A BOUGH.  Vertical theme entries all start with, and are therefore TOPPED by letters that spell the name of a TREE.  Let's start with the unifier.

55 A. Canopy creators ... or what can literally be found in 6-, 10-, 24- and 34-Down : TREE TOPS.

Coming back down to earth we have the theme entries.

6 D. Brain part that produces melatonin : PINEAL GLAND.  It is tucked into the groove between the two halves of the thalmus, near the center of the brain.  It is so-named because its shape resembles that of a pine cone.  Topped by a PINE, an evergreen, and the first of our TREEs.

I'm just needling you.

10 D. Cartographer's table : MAP LEGEND.  An inset that explains the meanings of symbols and other features used on the map.  The maple tree is prized for its lumber, used for furniture and decorative purposes.

Syrup source.

24. Reason for a parking restriction : FIRE HYDRANT.  FIR trees are can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needle attachments and cone shapes.

Reason enough

Not actually furry.

34 D. "Wascally wabbit" hunter : ELMER FUDD.  Something we all knew.  But it gives me an excuse to post this --.



ELM TREES were used along streets all over America as decoration and to provide shade.  Most of these were lost to Dutch elm disease, caused by a microfungus carried by bark beetles.  Disease resistant varieties have since been developed.

Disease resistant American variety.

Look for a clue gimmick when the theme arrangement is vertical.  This one is clever, with the tree names topping the theme fill entries.  Two of the four trees are hard woods, and two are conifers.   The conifers are adjacent to the vertical center line, and the hard woods farther toward the edges.

Hi, Gang, Jazzbumpa on duty, lumbering through this puzzle.  Let's see what we can saw.

Across

1. Produced, biblically speaking : BEGAT.  Was the father of.

6. Racetrack stops : PITS.  For fuel and quick tire changes.

10. Finance majors' degs. : MBAS.  Master of Business Administration.  I have one.

14. Kagan associate : ALITO.  Supreme Court Justices.

15. Not yet out of the running : IN IT.  To win it, no doubt.

16. Strong lobby for seniors : AARP.  America Association of Retired Persons.  I belong.

17. One who wants to come home? : BASE RUNNER.  Baseball reference.  Most do not make it, though.

19. Insanity, in court : PLEA.  A formal statement in response to a charge, not [necessarily] a description of behavior.

20. Makes eligible for, with "to" : ENTITLES.  Supplies a legal or just right to something.

21. Sign up : ENLIST.  Or enroll, which sadly has the same number of letters.

23. Albacore, e.g. : TUNA.  Something fishy here.

24. Price of a crosstown ride : FARE.  In a bus or cab.  

25. 19th Greek letter : TAU.  

Don't say I never TAUght you anything.

28. Eight pts. : GAL.  Pints and gallons, guys and gals.

29. "Just think!" : IMAGINE.

33. In unfamiliar territory : AT SEA.  Without a paddle.

35. "An Officer and a Gentleman" star : GERE.

His middle name is Tifffany

37. Black, in poetry : EBON.

38. Castro of Cuba : RAUL.  Fidel's brother.

39. Adjust to fit : ALTER.  As clothing.

40. Statistician Silver of ESPN's FiveThirtyEight : NATE.  

41. British baby buggy : PRAM.  Short for perambulator.

42. "The cow is of the bovine ilk / One end is moo, the other, milk" poet : NASH.  Ogden.

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.

-  Ogden Nash

43. Floppy disk successor : CD-ROM.  Data storage media.

44. Solemn ending? : SILENT N.  Holy N, Batmen.

46. Vote in favor : YEA.  parliamentary procedure.

48. What's up to you? : SKY.  Sometimes hidden by clouds.

49. Cheese coat : RIND.  More than you want to know.  

50. TiVo products : DVRS.  Digital Video Reordings.  Nobody tapes any more.

52. Confuse : BAFFLE.  Wait . . . what?!?

59. Free speech org. : ACLU.  American Civil Liberties Union.  We won't talk about it here.

60. Three, to nine : SQUARE ROOT.  A number that when multiplied by itself yields another specified number.  Round roots are things like carrots.

62. Get rid of : SHED. Discard, as leaves, skin, hair or clothing.

63. Change directions : TURN.  Don't get steered the wrong way

64. Box cutter insert : RAZOR.  Actually a blade.

65. Top dog : HEAD.  Of an organization.

66. Not hard : SOFT.  Pretty straight forward.

67. Prefix with foam : STYRO-.  Expanded polystyrene.  I worked with it on my first job.

Down

1. Innocent one : BABE.  One who is at a severe disadvantage in the woods.

2. Panache : ELAN.  Confidence, flair, style, enthusiasm.

3. Heart of the matter : GIST.  Get the point?

4. Absorbed the loss : ATE IT.  Financial indigestion.

5. Haitian island whose name is Spanish for "turtle" : TORTUGA.  Located north of the north-west arm of the main island.

7. Overnight stops : INNS.

8. 50-50, e.g. : TIE.  Even score in a sport or game, usually settled by some sort of overtime play.

9. Party decoration : STREAMER.  Colorful ribbons used for ornamentation.

10. Cartographer's table : MAP LEGEND.  An inset that explains the meanings of symbols and other features used on the map.

11. Indonesian island : BALI.  Immediately to the east of Java, it is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority.

12. "Iliad" war god : ARES.  Greek.  Mars to the Romans.

13. Petty argument : SPAT. It caused a SPAT what he spat on my spats.

18. Forearm part : ULNA.  The longer of two forearm bones, extending from the elbow to the little finger.  The radius extends from the elbow to the thumb side of the hand.

22. New Deal prog. : NRA.  The National Recovery Administration was created in 1933, under the National Industrial Recovery Act.  It had a two year charter and expired in 1935.  At that time the Supreme Court also determined that it infringed on separation of powers and was therefore unconstitutional.  Many of its provisions reappeared under the National Labor Relations Act that same year.

25. Camping cover-ups : TARPS.  Baseball diamonds, too.

26. Centipede creator : ATARI.  Electronic game company.

27. Garden-variety : USUAL.  Typical

30. Bridge beams : I-BARS.  Structural elements named for their cross-sectional profile, which resemble the letter I.

Not to be confused with this guy.

31. Against the rules : NOT OK.  Let the OK - Okay battle begin.

32. Redcoat, to a Minuteman : ENEMY.  American revolutionary war.

36. Sci-fi visitors : ETS. Extra-Terrestrials - off world entities, who sometimes claim to be friendly.

39. Colonies crawling with critters : ANT NESTS.

43. Board game with an "Unemployment Office" corner : CAREERS.

Fame, happiness and money

45. Zip : NIL.  Zilch.  Nada

47. Penultimate word of many fairy tales : EVER.  Penultimate -- hmmmm.  I wonder what comes after?

51. Classic guitar, briefly : STRAT.  Fender Stratocaster.  Costing $600, and up.  Buddy Holly's were stolen twice in April, 1958.

52. Shindig : BASH.  Spree, blow out.  Have fun, but make good choices.

53. Bruise symptom : ACHE.  Owie!

54. One in the doghouse? : FLEA.  One hopes not

55. Gang land : TURF.  Claimed territory.

56. Like slime : OOZY.  Moving like this?



57. Substandard : POOR.  Like certain movies from 1958.

58. Houston athlete, for short : 'STRO.  ASTRO evidently has too many syllable to be spoken conveniently.  The STROs are currently atop the A. L. Western division.  Let's give them a bough.

61. Status __ : QUO.  The current state of things.

That wraps up another Woden's Tag.  Hope you got through it without feeling board.  But now I have a strange desire branch out - maybe even join a splinter group.  Perhaps I should just go with the phloem.  Now it's time to leaf.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, May 16 2017, Debbie Ellerin

Theme: Retro TV. The circled letters, when read backwards, spell out a network.

17. Two-time Emmy winner for "30 Rock" : ALEC BALDWIN. ABC.

 39. San Francisco neighborhood : NOB HILL. HBO.

11. Umami detectors : TASTE BUDS. BET. Umami is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). It has been described as brothy or meaty.

34. Where to pick up "will call" tickets : BOX OFFICE. FOX.

62. Unofficial means of communication, and a hint to each set of circled letters : BACK CHANNEL

Across       
 

1. Latvian capital : RIGA
 

5. Sites for vows : ALTARS. (There's one in my near future 💘.)
 

11. Blues great __ Mahal : TAJ
 

14. Turow book set at Harvard : ONE L

15. __ pork: Chinese dish with pancakes : MOOSHU
 

16. Yellowfin tuna : AHI

19. Bart, to Homer : SON
 

20. Vixen teammate : DASHER
 

21. '80s Indiana senator Quayle : DAN
 

22. Underworld river : STYX. Greek mythology.
 

23. Dug up dandelions, say : WEEDED
 

25. Like some bank accounts : NO FEE
 

27. Doles (out) : METES
 

29. Place for bottom feeders : SEA BED
 

32. Red gemstone : RUBY
 

35. Walked (on) : TROD
 

37. Avoid capture by : ELUDE
 

38. Artist Yoko : ONO

41. Poorly lit : DIM
 

42. The South : DIXIE
 

44. Boo Boo's pal : YOGI
 

45. Analogy words : IS TO
 

46. Squirreled away : STORED
 

48. Records for later watching : TIVOS
 

50. Castro of Cuba : FIDEL
 

52. Electric cars named for a physicist : TESLAS
 

55. Sports officials : REFS. No indication of shortened word.
 

57. Chinese chairman : MAO
 

59. Monopoly square with a question mark : CHANCE

 

61. Former White House Press Secretary Fleischer : ARI

64. Attack, to Fido : SIC
 

65. Five Nations tribe : ONEIDA
 

66. Tennis drop shot : DINK. New to me. From tennis.com: "When the dink is used correctly it’s an important addition to any passing-shot arsenal. Unlike a drive, a well-placed dink forces the volleyer to hit up while creating his own pace, and only the most solid volleyers will be able to strike a forcing shot from this position."
 

67. Text giggle : HEE
 

68. Most weird : ODDEST
 

69. Catches sight of : SEES

Down
 

1. "Rocky __ to Dublin": Irish tune : ROAD

 

2. Kin by marriage : IN LAW
 

3. Sixth-day-of-Christmas gift : GEESE
 

4. Lead-to-gold pseudoscience : ALCHEMY
 

5. Almond-flavored liqueur : AMARETTO
 

6. Tweeter's titter : LOL
 

7. Broadway barber Sweeney __ : TODD
 

8. Dam on the Nile : ASWAN
 

9. Safari herbivores : RHINOS
 

10. Word with screen or block : SUN

12. Nautical cry : AHOY
 

13. Bring bad luck : JINX
 

18. George Eliot's "Adam __" : BEDE

 

22. Navy commando : SEAL
 

24. Annual Kentucky event : DERBY
 

26. Intuit : FEEL
 

28. Really sexy : SO HOT
 

30. Clean up Time? : EDIT
 

31. Trade show model : DEMO
 

32. Anglers' gear : RODS
 

33. Textbook division : UNIT

36. Entry in a sudoku square : DIGIT
 

39. "All You __ Is Love" : NEED

 

40. Online customer service option : LIVE CHAT
 

43. Eye part : IRIS
 

45. Cruise stops : ISLANDS
 

47. Insist on : DEMAND
 

49. Labor Dept. arm : OSHA
 

51. Tied, as skates : LACED
 

53. "Tomorrow" musical : ANNIE
 

54. Movie trailer segment : SCENE
 

55. Itchy red area : RASH
 

56. Buffalo's Great Lake : ERIE
 

58. Sooner migrant : OKIE
 

60. Part of BPOE : ELKS. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

62. Ghostly greeting : BOO
 

63. Fixed-term investments, briefly : CDS

Monday, May 15, 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: A Twofer - Two answers for one reveal.

17A. *Handyman's forte: REPAIR WORK. Home repair, homework.

22A. *Sports industry mogul: TEAM OWNER. Home team, home owner.

37A. *Frolic unrestrained: RUN FREE. Home run, home free.

50A. *Where the biggest headlines are: FRONT PAGE. Home front, home page.

60A. Game one for season ticket holders ... or, literally, what each word in the answers to starred clues can have: HOME OPENER

Argyle here. Simple yet elegant Monday. A simple solve with no need for the reveal but so much more with the reveal.

Across:

1. Beach sidler: CRAB. I started out slow because I couldn't picture a sidler.

5. Heroic exploit: GEST

9. Donald Duck, to his nephews: "UNCA"

13. Prefix for an intoxicating weed: LOCO

14. "Republic" philosopher: PLATO. Start with the Classic and follow-up with ....

15. Modernists, informally: NEOs

16. Part of NYSE: Abbr.: EXCH. (New York Stock Exchange)

19. Rich person's suffix: AIRE. Millionaire, for starters.

20. __ about: circa: ON OR

21. Sty calls: OINKS. Helps to be a farm boy today.

24. Kitchen invader: ANT

25. Youthful bar patrons are usually asked for them: IDs "Let's see some identification"

26. Cows' milk glands: UDDERS. It is what IDs them as cows.

29. Whence chocolate: CACAO. Not brown cows?!

32. Has lunch, say: EATS

35. Organ knob: STOP. No snickering, please.

36. Gray hue: ASH

40. Mandela's land: Abbr.: RSA. (Republic of South Africa)

41. Old Italian coin: LIRA

43. Jazz singer James: ETTA

44. Arthritis detectors: X-RAYS

46. For the most part: MAINLY

48. Soul automaker: KIA. Straight forward clue today.

49. Phys. or entom.: SCI. Physics or Entomology, Sciences.

56. "__ we meet again": UNTIL

58. Gambling city near Tahoe: RENO

59. Trampled (on): TROD

62. Responsibility: ONUS

63. Algerian seaport: ORAN. Lots of info here.

64. Bleak, in verse: DREAR

65. Take the bus: RIDE

66. "... why __ thou forsaken me?": Matthew: HAST

67. Experience, as emotions: FEEL

68. Ball-balancing circus animal: SEAL

Down:

1. Soccer shoe's turf grabber: CLEAT

2. 51-Down's "Chicago" role: ROXIE. 51-Down. "Chicago" co-star Zellweger: RENEE

3. Capital of Ghana: ACCRA

4. Czech Republic region: BOHEMIA. Regions of the Czech Republic

5. Mercury Seven astronaut John: GLENN

6. How "The Raven" poet signed some of his letters: EAPOE. Edgar Allan Poe knew DREAR.

7. Drummer Ringo: STARR

8. You, in French: TOI

9. Kicks back: UNWINDS

10. Colorful aquarium fish: NEON TETRA

11. Wine stopper: CORK

12. Questions: ASKS

14. Ship fronts: PROWS but 33-Down. Back at sea?: AFT

18. "__ trip!": "Let's travel!": ROAD

23. Smell: ODOR

26. Take advantage of: USE

27. Optimistic: ROSY

28. Restful resorts: SPAs

29. Not windy: CALM

30. Tibet's continent: ASIA

31. "Holiday Inn" holiday: CHRISTMAS. White Christmas (1954) was an extremely loose remake of Holiday Inn (1942).

32. Tolkien tree creature: ENT

34. __-la-la: TRA

38. Driver's one-eighty: U-EY

39. Leave the stage: EXIT. "Stage left even."

42. Really old: ANCIENT

45. Hawks and eagles: RAPTORS

47. Stitch's movie pal: LILO

48. Big name in packaged soup: KNORR

50. French brother: FRÈRE

52. Shaq of the NBA: O'NEAL

53. Golf great with an "army": ARNIE. Palmer.

54. Mild Dutch cheese: GOUDA

55. Ford flop: EDSEL

56. "Here comes trouble!": "UH-OH!"

57. Romance novelist Roberts: NORA

61. Adobe file format: PDF. (Portable Document Format)

Argyle

Sunday May 14, 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme: "For Mom" - Each theme entry is in the pattern of M* O* M*.

22A. Tycoon, e.g. : MAN OF MEANS

27A. Euterpe : MUSE OF MUSIC. Often as a clue for EUTERPE.

44A. Antacid name since 1872 : MILK OF MAGNESIA

63A. Takes action : MAKES ONE'S MOVE. Surprised to see MADE OF MONEY (111A. Rich, and then some). Same verb: Makes/Made.

72A. Encounter stiff competition : MEET ONE'S MATCH. ONE, THE and OF dupes are generally OK.

95A. Willpower : MIND OVER MATTER


Reveal:

122A. Apt time to recognize this puzzle's honoree : MONTH OF MAY. Very nice. Double duty.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on our blog!

MOON OVER MIAMI is missing. Otherwise, Bruce gives us a near complete set of M* O* M* entries. Perfect partner puzzle to Ed Sessa's POP we had a while ago.

We often see two-word initial grids. Three words are much tougher to pull off even for a weekday.
 
Across:

1. Sharp group : MENSA. Nailed it.

6. Stage award : OBIE

10. "Kisses, dahling" : MWAH. Air kiss sound.

14. NASA nods : A-OKs

18. Beatles' "White Album" song whose title follows "If you want me to" : I WILL. Got via crosses.

19. Cost of living? : RENT. Nice clue.

20. "Yikes!" : OH NO

21. Beatnik's "Gotcha" : I'M HIP


24. Biblical verb : DOTH

25. Bete __ : NOIRE

26. On one's game : IN A GROOVE. Bruce is on top of his game.


29. Unyielding : SET

30. Map feature : SCALE. And 39. Map abbr. : AVE. Map clue echo.


32. Crux : HEART

33. Resort of a sort : SPA

36. One brought to a potluck : DISH. So what's your signature dish?
 
40. Drubbing : ROUT

41. Boater or bowler : HAT

48. Remove : DETACH

50. Con : ANTI

51. K.T. of country music : OSLIN. Not many ways to clue her.

52. Offer to pay : BID

54. Venezia casino winner : SETTE. Seven. Venice. Anyone been to The Venetian in Vegas?

55. Fill with merchandise : STOCK

57. Transcript info : GPA
 
58. One digging hard rock? : MINER. Gimme for regulars.

60. Just like that : AS IS

61. Greet with a beep : HONK AT

67. Metro barrier : STILE

70. Title of honor : SIR

71. Russian refusals : NYETs. Also 53. Reject : DENY

77. Toy, perhaps : LAP DOG

81. Novelist Seton : ANYA. Learned from doing crosswords.

82. Invite to one's loft, say : ASK UP

83. Jones many keep up with? : DOW. Great clue. Not the "Joneses."

86. Blush relative : ROUGE Also 74. Compact supplies : EYE SHADOWS

87. Dummy Mortimer : SNERD. I used to confuse him with SNERT.


89. Do wrong : SIN

90. One way to split : IN TWO

92. Move, at Coldwell Banker : RELO

93. Heave-ho : OUSTER

99. Medical research org. : NIH

100. Comics resident of the Okefenokee Swamp : POGO

102. NATO founding member : USA. And 104. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ORG

103. Jimmy on sausage labels : DEAN
 
105. Brass, e.g. : ALLOY

107. Prayer leaders : IMAMs

109. 76-Down brand : RCA.76. Best Buy buy : HDTV. Triple alliteration. Agnes' forte.

 

114. Land : TOUCH DOWN

120. Major pain : AGONY

121. Becloud : BLUR


123. Pond denizens : NEWTS

124. Indian tourist city : AGRA. Taj Mahal. Xi'an is popular with tourists also.

125. Bind, in a way : GLUE

126. Swerves : VEERS

127. Gas across the border : ESSO. Northern border.


128. Highlander : GAEL

129. Clutter : MESS

130. "Fiddler" meddler : YENTE. My high-school best friend was introduced to her husband by a matchmaker. They're still together.
 
Down:
 
1. "La Bohème" role : MIMI

2. McGregor of "Trainspotting" : EWAN

3. Familia girl : NINA

4. Trudges : SLOGS

5. Creamy sauce : ALFREDO. Are those basil?

6. __ Biscuit, product debut of 1912 : OREO. New trivia to me. Biscuit sounds salty.
 
7. '50s-'60s sitcom nickname : BEAV

8. "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" author Hammond __ : INNES. Stranger to me.

9. "MIB" characters : ETs. Men in Black.


10. Construction units : MODULES

11. Word of possession : WHOSE

12. Mandatory bet : ANTE

13. Words after "jolly" in an iconic ad : HO HO HO. The Jolly Green Giant.

14. Affaire de coeur : AMOUR

15. "Really?!" : OH IS THAT SO. Sparkly fill.

16. Diva Te Kanawa : KIRI

17. Something to build on : SPEC. On spec.


21. Cons : INMATES. The facial place I used to visit  in Guangzhou was next to the police station. I could hear cops yelling and beating. In those days, I just thought bad guys deserved it.


23. Theme : MOTIF

27. Whiz : MAVEN

28. Big beef : FEUD. Not KOBE.


31. Kid's plea : CAN I

33. Ping-Pong shot : SMASH

34. __ bean : PINTO. I think these are the beans Boomer uses in his Chili.

35. "Good Eats" host Brown : ALTON

37. Sun blocker : SMOG

38. Briefcase fastener : HASP

40. Ruin, weatherwise : RAIN ON

42. "Double, double toil and trouble" time : ACT IV

43. This and this : THESE

45. Energize : KICK-START. Another great fill.

46. Rock genre : GLAM

47. Heron cousin : IBIS

49. Baseball or football : TEAM SPORT
 
56. Simpson trial figure Kaelin : KATO. Forgot. We had him before.

58. Chicago exchange, briefly, with "the" : MERC. Oh, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

59. Stagger : REEL

62. Fey in American Express ads : TINA

64. "Pronto!" : ASAP

65. Do-it-yourselfer's buy : KIT. TTP almost DIYs everything. From computers to water leaks. What a guy.

66. Hollywood Walk of Fame symbol : STAR

68. Not as much : LESS

69. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Never had it.

72. Wall builder : MASON

73. Boredom : ENNUI 

75. Certain bond, briefly : MUNI. Boring but safe.

78. Caused by : DUE TO

79. Rubberneck : OGLER

80. Maestro Solti : GEORG. One more name 91. Author Chomsky : NOAM

84. Outstanding : OWED

85. Modeled, say : WORE

88. Arranges strategically : DEPLOYS

90. "In my opinion ... " : I'D SAY

94. It's on the house : ROOF. Literal. Not FREE,

96. X, at times : NUMERAL. Got via crosses.

97. Progressive movement : MARCH. I like this new clue angle.

98. Antipasto fish : ANCHOVY

101. Exerciser's accessory : GYM BAG. Nice.

106. Slowly, in music : LENTO

107. Toughen : INURE. Or ENURE.

108. Ripped off : STOLE

110. Website charge : AD FEE

111. Locks in a barn? : MANE. Another great clue.

112. What seems like forever : AGES

113. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : OLGA

115. Duty : ONUS

116. Pac-12 team : UTES. Utah Utes.

117. Harbinger : OMEN

118. Imperfection : WART. Do you know Wabi-sabi? There's beauty in imperfection.

119. Where Anheuser-Busch is BUD : NYSE

122. "Ben-Hur" studio : MGM

Saturday, May 13th, 2017, Roland Huget

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

Mr. Huget is cranking out the Saturday puzzles for the LA Times this year - today we have #3; number two was last month at Easter.  I did not see the triple stack when I started on this one - and then I saw the 15-letter climber in the DOWN later.  With a few crossings, I was able to fill them in with little trouble, and the net result of a grid with stacks is a higher small word count, too - which usually helps.  Lots of proper names, but none that didn't "self-solve" through perps; other answers came to me from doing lots of crosswords.  The long fills from the middle;

32a. Metaphor for high speed : PEDAL TO THE METAL - see 64a., 24d, 26d.

39a. Sacrificed considerably : PAID A STEEP PRICE

You can send money to my PayPal account. Thank you.

40a. Fixers : TROUBLESHOOTERS

7d. Awkward moment makeup : ABSOLUTE SILENCE

OnwRRRRd~!

ACROSS:

1. Old man, in Mannheim : ALTE - I vaguely remembered the German word, but filled in ALDE at first.

5. Key with five sharps: Abbr. : B MAJ - oops, put in "E" first; "E" is one of the two non-sharps in the key; the other is "B" - all the black keys of a piano get used

9. Mess up : BOTCH

14. Unavoidable : MEANT TO BE- the irony with some of the answers in the puzzle....

16. Oocyte producer : OVARY - my DOWN crossings messed up this corner to start

17. Relaxed to the max : MELLOWEST

18. Name probably derived from scat singing : BEBOP

19. Like Orson, on a '70s-'80s sitcom : ORKAN - along with Mork from Ork

20. Band with a self-named 1978 debut album : TOTO - my personal favorite song from this band;

188,112,538 views; I think the story presented in the 

video is stirring

22. "Lady Jane Grey" playwright : ROWE - filled via perps

23. Queen of Thorns portrayer on TV : RIGG - filled via perps

25. Floaters in a Japanese ceremony : LANTERNS

Cool

27. Turkish title : AGA - got it from doing crosswords

29. Cassowary cousin : EMU

31. Dog in the Reagan White House : REX - the "X" was an educated guess

41. Sign of summer : LEO - astrological sign

42. Leb. neighbor : ISRael - oops, not SYRia

43. Low mark : DEE

44. 1942 Hayworth/Mature musical : MY GAL SAL - I suppose the "G" offered some solvers a Natick with the vague Greek name crossing

48. Neutral shades : TANS - ah, such a lovely shade....

51. Surface application : COAT - I figured it was this, or "FILM"

52. Overly precious, in Portsmouth : TWEE - I need to start using this word at UPS; it's hiring season, and most of the people coming in don't last more than two days; I'll have seven years in June, and I am getting the "itch" - especially since the newest ruling from above no longer allows us to listen to music on the job.  Really~?

54. It makes everything taste better, they say : BACON - I have to agree

57. Child with dishes : JULIA - clever, but I got it - do you think she likes bacon~?

59. Talus : ANKLEBONE - I pondered BIRD'S FOOT

61. Classic theater : ODEON

62. Glaze causes : ICE STORMS

63. __ Doon, Bay Area community named by a Scotsman : BONNY

64. One may be taken on the road : TEST - I was just reading Road & Track while waiting to get my hair cut, and in this issue they test drove a McLaren along with 9 other 'supercars'; one of the authors crashed it.  Ouch.  I like the McLaren

65. Sugar source : BEET

DOWN:

1. Clip contents : AMMO

2. Lascivious look : LEER

3. Broadcast genre : TALK RADIO

4. Zhou __ : EN LAI

5. Start of a modern afterthought : BTW - By The Way

6. Chandon's partner : MOËT - champagne

8. Beetle cousin : JETTA - ah, the car, not the insect

9. Short do : BOB - dah~! Not 'FRO

10. Exhaust (oneself), as in a workout : OVEREXERT

11. Drum with a fife : TABOR - Dah~!! Not SNARE

12. Symbol of sovereignty : CROWN - I had this, and took it out because it did not jibe with SNARE

13. Strong pitches : HYPES

15. Grab, as at a smorgasbord : TONG

21. Restricted pending disciplinary action : ON REPORT

24. Takes a turn for the worse? : GETS LOST

I couldn't resist

26. Pace : TEMPO

27. Cal. entry : APPT.

28. Driver's choice : GEAR - could have been IRON, as in golf, but rarely does one use an iron as a driver; maybe from the tee of a par three....?

30. Speck : MOTE - not IotA, but that's 100% 50% correct

33. Sycophant's specialty : ADULATION - a Kiss A**

34. Record trademark : LABEL

35. Sneaky chortles : HEHs

36. 50-50, say : TIED SCORE - seemed unlikely, but I filled it in, and it stayed

37. Real estate buy : ACRE

38. Suffix with Congo : LESE - Congolese; hey, it's Saturday

44. Teen's source of funds : McJOB

45. "Really?" : "YOU DO~?"

46. Ancient Greek physician : GALEN - the "N" was my last fill

47. Anticipate : AWAIT

49. Help on the job? : ABET

50. Big shot : NABOB

53. Scratches (out) : EKES

55. "Your money's no good here" : ON ME

56. First flight launch site : NEST - I pondered N CAR, for the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk; nope, just the home of the animals God intended to fly....

58. Partner of all : ANY - any & all

60. D-Day craft : LST - crossword staple

Splynter

Friday, May 12, 2017, John Lampkin

Title: What hotel are you staying at? The one where you get two rooms for the price of one!

Wow, John has made my first attempt to blog a puzzle since I have been ill a challenge. On the one hand it seems simple with a nice progression from ECONOMY-STANDARD-PREMIUM-LUXURY but there is no  reveal. And then we have the four words inserted by JL. They give us Economy/Rat Pack; Standard/Hot Time; Premium/Swamp Gas and Luxury/Eye Liner.  Two themes for the price of one. I do not recall ever seeing a puzzle with this duality. All with John's wonderful wit mixed in both the theme and the cluing/fill.

19A. Doppelgänger cast for a low-budget remake of "Ocean's 11"? : ECONOMY RAT PACK (14). The original from 1960 was a vehicle for the Sinatra PACK. The real remakes have not been economy. Which of the movies did you like best?

23A. Usual night in the old town? : STANDARD HOT TIME. (15). The first of two grid-spanners.

42A. Quality marsh output? : PREMIUM SWAMP GAS (15). The silliest of the theme fill.

48A. Gold dust lid cover? : LUXURY EYE LINER (14). Made me think of Elizabeth Talyor as Cleopatra.

In addition to the 58 letters dedicated to the theme, JL includes SODA POP,  BUOYANT,  TEEN IDOL,  LEMMINGS,  ROADSIDES and  ART DEALER as sparkly fill. I had a great time.

Across:

1. "L'Arlésienne" composer : BIZET. Wow, not a gimme start but lots of challenging letters. LINK.

6. Nutrients in nuts : FATS.

10. Silent signal : NOD.

13. Surface : ARISE. An unexpected definition.

14. Facetious agreement : AH SO.

15. Litter pickup spot? : NAPE. Not only humans do this.

16. Parson's home : MANSE. I learned this word reading British mysteries and watching them on PBS like THIS.

17. Some shoulders : ROADSIDES. Lovely misdirection.

21. Speck in la mer : ILE. French,

22. Sweet climber : PEA. Very important in science RESEARCH. Next to....

32. Entomological case study? : COCOON. JL loves his moths and their stages of life.He was kind enough to provide this picture from his personal stash.

33. Repeated number of curls, say : REPititions. Bicep curls.

34. Bust gp. : DEA.  Drug Enforcement Administration. President Nixon consolidated the anti-drug efforts. This is not the group in charge of inspecting bras.

35. Whatever : AT ALL. Used to be one of my favorite catch phrases. Now it is DK/DC.

36. Fanny pack spot : HIP. I see them more in front or back, never on me. Cute positioning with
28D. In like an old cat? : HEP. Just ask Maynard G. Krebs.

37. Backing strips : LATHS. Not to confused with LATHE. Lath 1. a thin flat strip of wood, especially one of a series forming a foundation for the plaster of a wall or the tiles of a roof, or made into a trellis or fence.

39. Liszt's "__ Préludes" : LES. Pretty easy French to fill. This COMPOSER was very popular.

40. Fish house freebie : BIB. Usually with a drawing of a lobster.

41. Sympathize : RELATE.

46. Mayo is in it : ANO. Spanish trick Mayo = May- ANO = Year

47. Fan noise : HUM.

56. Theo van Gogh, notably : ART DEALER. A fun STORY.

57. Orange variety : NAVEL. Seedless and very haughty.

59. Couth he is not : OGRE.

60. Khartoum's waters : NILE.

61. Birds do it between thermals : GLIDE. JL also watches and films birds.


62. Place to take a dip : SEA. And the clecho, 64A. Place to take a dip? : SALSA.

63. Hits up (for) : TAPS. In beer halls you tap your friend next to the taps.



Down:

1. "Whap!" : BAM. Comic book talk.

2. "Dies __" : IRAE.

3. #30 on a table : ZINC. I keep forgetting to not put my glass on the periodic table.

4. Canadian pump name : ESSO. Esso - Exxon.

5. "People" person, perhaps : TEEN IDOL.

6. Cain was one : FARMER. Sad, as he must have been driven mad by the methane gases.

7. Cry to a mate : AHOY.

8. Ruler that doesn't work anymore : TSAR. They all retired?

9. Gender-specific beverage? : SODA POP. Cute, you can have soda pop or white wine mom.

10. Zilch : NADA.

11. Group with many barrels : OPEC.

12. Office staple : DESK. I found this tricky, looking for an office implement..

15. Bite playfully : NIP AT. Puppies! Friends?

18. Editorial override : STET.

20. Buck heroine : O-LAN. A well decorated book about the mysterious East. O-Lan is a fictional character in Pearl S. Buck's 1931 novel The Good Earth. She is a slave of the House of Hwang who gains her freedom when she marries the novel's protagonist, Wang Lung. They start a family in their small country town, and endure grueling times, including droughts, floods, and war. Wiki, Sorry about the broken link.

23. It may be under a rug : SCALP. Rug here being a toupee- nice.

24. Bag carrier : TOTER. Yes it is!  29D. Travel bag attachment : ID TAG. More travel.

25. "__ in point" : A CASE.

26. Cambodia's Lon __ : NOL. LON NOL, a handy palindrome.

27. Bits : DRIBS. Or drabs?

30. Maestro Zubin : MEHTA. John is a most prolific pianist, explaining all the music this week. You can learn more about John going to his blog,  LINK.

31. Lightens up : EASES.

36. Gender-specific pronoun : HIM. All perps.

37. Non-suicidal migrants, contrary to myth : LEMMINGS. The MYTH?

38. Heidi got high on one : ALP. My friend Heidi lived near the Devil's Millhopper  no mountains..

40. Cheerful : BUOYANT. Maybe if you are a sponge....

41. Julia of film : RAUL. He died much too young. LINK.

43. "All in the Family" spin-off : MAUDE. Bea Arthur as a feminist.

44. About : IN RE.

45. Waldo forerunner? : WHERE'S? I think he is lost forever. Just words that come before Waldo.

48. Cambodia neighbor : LAOS. Both near Thailand.

49. Itch : URGE.

50. Bonus, in ads : XTRA.

51. Lamb's alias : ELIA. And a JL clecho 58D. Lamb's place : LEA. Not the writer but the baby that Mary had.

52. Sharp bark : YELP. Doggies.

53. Simba's love : NALA.

54. Far from harmless : EVIL.

55. Cabs, say : REDS. Not yellow taxis, but Cabernet wines.

Well it was fun to blog but still not 100%. 7 hospitals and 10 doctors so far this year. Glad to be back and to have a JL special was great. Lemonade out. Thank you John.

Thursday May 11 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: Echo-o-o-o A word echoed in each theme clue

17A. Workshop sticker : EPOXY RESIN. This stuff. The red bits (scientific term!) are the hardener.

27A. Kitchen sticker : FRIDGE MAGNET. Here's one of mine from a winery near Santa Maria (no surprise there!)

43A. Mailroom sticker : POSTAGE STAMP. Here is the world's most valuable stamp, the British Guyana 1¢ Magenta. It sold at auction in 2014 for $9.5m. That's some return on your one-cent investment back in 1856.

58A. Desk-bottom sticker : CHEWING GUM. Yuck.

Nice theme-in-the-clue pangrammatic puzzle from Mark. There's a lot of fresh fill too, much more than a usual Thursday. I enjoyed the variety in the four "stickies". Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Eye-related prefix : OPTI

5. Acht minus sechs : ZWEI. If you want to clearly differentiate between "two" and "three" (drei) in German, you use "zwo" instead. I've heard the guy counting down a skier at the start of the Hannenkahm downhill in Kitzbühel incanting "drei-zwo-ein".

9. Con : SCAM

13. Rock guitarist Eddy : DUANE

15. Make : EARN

16. Dracula costume item : CAPE

19. Major in astronomy? : URSA. Nice clue.

20. 64-Across's realm : RUSSIA. Filled in easily enough once I'd got to the end of the "Across" clues and found TSAR.

21. Pacified : QUELLED

23. CBS maritime drama : NCIS. Never seen it, but I know it stands for "Naval Criminal Investigative Service". Was Tom Cruise an NCIS agent in "A Few Good Men?"

26. Lay bare : EXPOSE

32. Personal assistant : AIDE

33. "Zounds!" : EGADS! Yikes!

34. __ Mahal : TAJ

37. Had already learned : KNEW

38. City north of Memphis : CAIRO. 20 miles away. Here's a few old rocks in Memphis - actually, they're the remains of columns from a temple to Rameses.

39. Pacific island where much of "Lost" was filmed : OAHU. Where you can chow down on pupus.

40. Scrape (out) : EKE

41. "Wheel of Fortune" name : VANNA. Speaking of which, the proffered answer of "On The Spot Dice Spin" didn't win this one. Indiana U. fail.

42. Half-note feature : STEM

46. Kicks out : EXPELS

49. Water source : WELL

50. I-15 city between Los Angeles and Las Vegas : BARSTOW. Name-checked on the song "Route 66."

52. Service interruption : OUTAGE

57. Stage direction : EXIT. Stage Left.

61. Icy coating : RIME. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is not referring to frost on his beard.

62. Numbers game : KENO

63. Knife hawked on infomercials : GINSU. I think I've seen the commercials - isn't this the knife that cuts through a can and then cuts tomatoes? I hate to see knife abuse of this sort!

64. Old despot : TSAR

65. Try to find : SEEK

66. Is appropriate : FITS

Down:

1. River through Frankfurt : ODER

2. __ platter : PUPU. Food! A Hawai'ian staple. Make sure there's a couple of Spam musubi on there for me.

3. City near Ghost Ranch, a favorite Georgia O'Keeffe retreat : TAOS.

4. "Devil Inside" band : INXS. My first wife worked for their record company. They were pronounced "Ink-sis" by the folks at the label, so as not to been seen taking the talent too seriously.

5. Crazy consonant? : ZEE. And with "Z" this puzzle becomes a pangram, all letters of the alphabet appear today.

6. Used to be : WAS

7. La Salle of "Under the Dome" : ERIQ. I know him from "House."

8. Subtle slur : INNUENDO.

9. Make busts : SCULPT. Not a Victoria's Secret Uplift Semi Demi bra?

10. Producer Ponti : CARLO. Thank you, crosses.

11. Spots for religious statues : APSES

12. Civil War general : MEADE. Famous for Gettysburg and building lighthouses. He was born in Cadiz, Spain, which may or may not explain the lighthouse fascination.

14. Getting a good look at : EYING

18. 10K, say : RACE. Fun Run for some, Agony Run for others, Race for the select few.

22. They may not be on speaking terms : EXES. Especially if they live in Texas.

24. Clarifying words : I MEANT ...

25. City "it took me four days to hitchhike from," in Paul Simon's "America" : SAGINAW. I heard this five minutes ago - the song is currently being used in a VW car commercial.

27. Hoops move : FAKE

28. Zamboni domain : RINK. The Zamboni was invented, and is still manufactured right here in Southern California, in Paramount.

29. __ fixe : IDÉE. An obsession. I didn't notice this during the puzzle, crosses filled it in for me.

30. Meadow drops : DEW

31. Parking place : GARAGE

34. "Cheerio!" : TA-TA! I just finished watching all six seasons of "Downton Abbey" after a few years' delay. Jolly good! I cried in every episode. I cry all time in movies; I even cried in the first "Toy Story." I went to see "The Cider House Rules" at the AMC Theater in Burbank when it was first released wearing a light gray t-shirt. When I came out, the front was dark gray due to my tearful sobbing.

35. "Shh!" relative : AHEM

36. Head start : JUMP

38. Full-length clerical garments : CASSOCKS. I wore one of these in my days as an altar boy. See below for parental dragging-by-the-ear reference.

39. East of Essen : OST. A couple or three Germanic references today. I like the play on "East of Eden" in the clue.

41. Electric Chevy : VOLT

43. Annoy : PESTER

44. Childlike race in "The Time Machine" : ELOI

45. Thrown : SLUNG

46. Critic Roger : EBERT. One of the thumbs up. Or down.

47. Line on which y = 0 : X-AXIS.

48. Ballerina descriptor : PRIMA. Top banana at the barre.

51. "This is fun!" : WHEE!

53. "What a brutal week!" : TGIF! Thank Go[odness] it's Friday!

54. Lambs, in Latin : AGNI. I think this one is a tad obscure. I knew it because of my Catholic parents dragging me to church by the ear and therefore knowing the "Agnus Dei", married with the fact I was taught Latin at school, so I could figure out the plural. Tough one.

55. A strong one may invert an umbrella : GUST. Tried GALE, was wrong.

56. Big birds : EMUS

59. Hydrocarbon suffix : -ENE

60. Asian pan : WOK. Don't get a non-stick one - you want to be able to push food up the sides and have it stay there rather than sliding back to the bottom like Sysyphus' boulder.

And with that, my work here is done. Here's the grid!

Steve