Thursday, August 24 2017 Peg Slay

Theme: The Doors - all the words on the edges of the grid are types of doors as the hint has it:

38A. Not alfresco, and what this puzzle is vis-à-vis its border answers : INDOORS

The Corner's own C6D6 Peg is the constructor-in-residence today. Great word-play with the theme - all the non-theme answers are "Indoors" Artfully done and some nice fill - EXCELLED AT, COOK STRAIT, KEYNOTE and my favorite MALINGER. Good job.

We were having a discussion last week about people's different solving methods - I tend to go once across and once down, then fill in what's left, so I thought you might like to see my first pass across. I used to be a lot more careful about checking crosses when I solved on pen and paper, but now there's no inkblots I just have at it. You can see the central east was going to cause some rework, but nothing slowed me down too badly.

Let''s see what else Peg cooked up for us, or rang the bells:

Across:

1. Support financially : BACK

5. Hurricane, e.g. : STORM. Here's Rory Storm and the Hurricanes playing at the Jive Hive in 1960. That's Ringo Starr on the drums.

10. Drainpipe section : TRAP. P-Trap, not for what you might think. It's shaped like a "P"

14. Face cream additive : ALOE

15. Medicare component : PART A. Fill in PART and go back for A/B

16. Leaping critter : HARE

17. Depend (on) : RELY

18. Had superior skills in : EXCELLED AT

20. Word on really bright Crayolas : NEON. Brightens up your day:

21. Jazz great Montgomery : WES

22. Helen Reddy's "__ Woman" : I AM

23. Commentary page : OP-ED Someone asked last week what OP-EDS meant, I didn't really explain. Opinion pieces opposite the editorial page of a newspaper.

25. Turned out to be : ENDED UP

29. Blew hard : GUSTED

32. Way back when : AGES AGO. I progressed from LONG thru EONS to AGES. Got there in the end. The long way around.

33. Helped start the pot : ANTE'D

34. Comic Johnson : ARTE. See "almost Natick'ed" at 25D

36. Big __ : MAC. Oh, not SUR then. Darn. I confess that I recently ordered a Big Mac and Fries via Uber Eats when I'd spent the evening out with some friends and was home and had the munchies. It was either get back in an Uber and go get it myself, or save myself the Uber ride back and forth. Sometimes, junk food is just what you need. Delivered to your door.

37. Regret : RUE. I didn't rue the Big Mac.

41. Craft built in the 2014 film "Noah" : ARK. I tried "Bagel Delivery Van" but it didn't fit.

42. Nile snake : ASP

43. Yemeni seaport : ADEN

44. Speed : HASTE

46. Become resentful : GET SORE

49. Vampire's bed? : CASKET. Corrected my COFFIN misstep.

50. Painter Manet : EDOUARD Started to fill this in and then hesitated about the spelling; I think my first thought was right. This is "A bar at the Folies-Bergère" in London's National Gallery. Back when I was impoverished and making a pittance at my first real job, I was amazed to find that London's public galleries and museums were free. I spent quite some time looking at this painting trying to figure out if the off-kilter reflection of the server was the result of a warped mirror or just playful imagery by Manet.

51. Sketch material : GAGS

52. Commuter org. in the Loop : C.T.A. Chicago Transit Authority.

53. __ Butterworth : MRS

54. "Wild Blue Yonder" mil. group : USAF

58. Waterway between the major islands of New Zealand : COOK STRAIT. I couldn't pull this out of my brain bank on my first pass across the puzzle. I've sailed in the Cook Strait - on an America's Cup yacht. The decks were teflon-coated, not easy to stay in one place!

62. Leg-covering skirt : MAXI

63. Green Gables heroine : ANNE

64. Boardroom prop : EASEL

65. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Came in for a lot of criticism in the afterrmath of Hurricane Katrina

66. Caboose place : REAR. Back of the train. We call them guard's vans back in the old country. Because they were vans. And they had a guard in them.

67. Broadway platform : STAGE. All the world is one.

68. Fries, for instance : SIDE. Big Mac. Fries. Uber Eats. Yay!

Down:

1. Silo neighbor : BARN

2. Toward protection, at sea : ALEE. Also the side of the boat to be if you feel a touch of the mal de mer.

3. Great Sand Dunes National Park st. : COLO. rado. Can't you ski down them? Yes, apparently you can:

4. Pinnacle of a lecture series : KEYNOTE

5. Erupted : SPEWED. I'd make a connection to 2D but it's breakfast time for many.

6. Strained : TAXED

7. Tolkien henchmen : ORCS. Not exactly men. Hench-things.

8. GPS suggestion : RTE

9. Feign illness to avoid work : MALINGER. Great word. My mom used to accuse us of malingering when we tried to skip a day of school. She was right most of the time, until the time I came down with measles and she wouldn't hear a word of it.

10. Motifs : THEMES

11. "Far out, dude!" : RAD!

12. Notre Dame's Parseghian : ARA

13. Kennel guest : PET

19. Put on board : LADE. I think it's a 17th-century typo that no-one bothered to fix.

24. Spa treatment : PEDI

25. Big name in stationery : EATON. I was almost Natick'ed with T here. I did a full alphabet run until on the second pass EATON almost sounded familiar. It was my best guess so in it went.

26. Ornamental fabric : DAMASK

27. Lorre's "Casablanca" character : UGARTE. Thank you crosses, I always forget this.

28. Pita feature : POCKET Food! The gyro is one of my favorite sandwiches.

29. Tech company's origin, perhaps : GARAGE. Apple, HP and Microsoft all started off in garages. Dell started off in Michael Dell's dorm room at the University of Texas

30. On the shelf : UNUSED

31. Move in the direction of : STEP TO

34. Threw in : ADDED

35. Sushi roll topping : ROE. Food! I like to top my sushi rolls with Sujiko roe, from the salmon, and the tiny Tobiko roe from flying fish.

39. Tells a story : NARRATES

40. Layered do : SHAG

45. Takes for granted : ASSUMES

47. Lollipop : SUCKER

48. Feed bag feed : OATS

49. Once-per-player chess move : CASTLE. King side or Queen side if I recall from my youth. I haven't played chess for years.

51. "Norwegian Dances" composer : GRIEG

53. Tamale dough : MASA. I buy mine from the local Vallarta market, it's much lighter than when I tried to make my own.

55. Scandinavian language : SAMI. Nailed it! Remembered this from a little while ago. The road signs need a lot of lettering:

56. Used a hatchet on : AXED

57. Cause for alarm : FIRE

58. Honda or Hyundai : CAR. My current car is a Hyundai. It's the Genesis brand, so it doesn't actually have a Hyundai badge on it.

59. Pepsi product that's also its calorie count : ONE

60. Springsteen's "Working __ Dream" : ON A. Not sure I know this one from The Boss.

61. Scoundrel : RAT

That was fun, thanks Peg! Here's the grid and I'm done!

Steve

Wednesday, August 23, 2017 C. C. Burnikel

Theme - We interrupt regular programming to bring you this hot news item - AKA: STORY. The word STORY is devided into bookends in the 3 theme entries, and revealed in the unifier. Them's the BREAKS, I guess.

20. Come out on top : SCORE A VICTORY.  Win an athletic contest.

34. Retail showcase : STORE DISPLAY.  Where merchandise in on view, to make you want it. Here's a famous one.

Higbee's

41. Particle physics concept : STRING THEORY.  This is a theoretical framework which posits dimensional objects called strings, and describes their interactions.  It is a theory of quantum gravity.

56. Reporter's delivery ... and what 20-, 34- and 41-Across are literally doing? : BREAKING STORY.   Fresh from the news room to the on-screen anchors desk.  Mostly these things are political, so no more than that I will not say.

Hi Gang - JazzBumpa here to BREAK down the STORY of this puzzle, and report on what our investigations can uncover.  Hope it's not too shocking.

Item 1 - the constructor is our own hostess, C. C.  Perhaps she will become the most prolific constructor ever.

Item 2 - STORY is broken at the first letter, the last letter, and then as close as you can get to the middle in a 5-letter word.  Nice, elegant touch.

Across

1. Sporty British cars, for short : JAGS.  Jaguars.

5. Omelet option : HAM.  I usually get the veggie omelet with feta cheese.

8. Reef material : CORAL.  Bad news.  Sadly, they are under attack from star fish and the increasing acidity of the oceans. Some day there may be none left atoll.

13. Power co. output : ELECtricity.  Zap!

14. Shaped like an avocado : OVAL.  This is mandatory.

Found somewhere on the internet.

16. Dig deeply? : ADORE.  Love, respect, worship, venerate.  Clever misdirection with the clue.  You are digging with your emotions, not a shovel, and the depth is into your soul, not the ground.

17. Fey with many Emmys : TINA.  Known for her political satire - not gonna do it.

18. Baltic port : RIGA.  The capital of Latvia, on the Baltic sea at the mouth of the river Daugava.

19. "Unbroken" director Angelina : JOLIE.  A 2014 movie about Louis Zamparini, a U.S. olympic athlete and bombardier in WW II, who survived on a raft in the ocean for 47 days, and then was in PoW camps.  In addition to her fame appearing on the silver screen, she has also directed several films.

23. Intends to hit : AIMS AT.   Use your good eye.

24. Sushi roll fish : EEL.  Any of 800 species of elongated fish lacking pelvic fins.  Many also lack pectoral fins.  It has a single fin ribbon running down the back for most of its length.  They swim by generating body waves, and can swim backwards by reversing the wave.

25. "NewsHour" channel : PBS.  Public Broadcasting System.

28. Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE.  [b 1944] Prolific author of novels, mysteries and screen plays, including the Mrs. Murphy mystery novel series.

29. [I give up!] : SIGH.  AKA: SMH.

32. Vacation location : RESORT.  Would you resort to staying in such a place?

36. Per item : EACH.  Unit pricing.

39. Area for critical patients, briefly : Intensive Care Unit.

40. Diamond great Sandberg : RYNE.  Played 2nd base for the Phillies, briefly in 1981, and then with the Cubs from 1982 until he retired mid-season in 1994.  He came back and played for the Cubs again in 1996-7.  He won 9 gold gloves and made 10 consecutive all star appearances.  He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2005.

46. Pub quiz fodder : TRIVIA.  Unimportant bits of information.

47. Red Muppet who refers to himself in the third person : ELMO.

48. Bit of toy "ammo" : CAP.  A paper or plastic disk containing a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive compound.  In a toy gun this simulates the noise and smoke of a real fire arm.

51. Gentle touch : DAB.  As in blotting with a napkin.

52. Okay mark : CEE.  I never felt they were OK.

54. Knuckleheads : IDIOTS.  In slang, a generic term for stupid people - or perhaps those you don't agree with.

60. Humdinger : BEAUT.  A particularly fine example of something, or sarcastically, the opposite.

62. Kitchenware brand : EKCO.  They make all sort of kitchen gadgets: basters, peelers, knives, cutting boards, measuring spoons and cups, etc.

63. Blueprint detail : SPECification.

64. Subject of a certain management class : ANGER.  There's a movie about it that I'm pretty glad I didn't see.



65. They may be choppy : SEAS. In high winds or stormy weather.

66. Fit together nicely : MESH.  Hand in glove.

67. High-maintenance : NEEDY.  Said of a person who requires an excess of emotional or monetary investment in a relationship.

68. "That's the spot" : AAH.  You scratch my back  .  .  .

69. Art Deco luminary : ERTE.  Romain de Tirtoff [1892-1990] a Russian-born French artist known as ERTE from the French pronunciation of his initials*, was a pioneer in art deco.

* Hey, I could be ERTE, too!

Down

1. Goods thrown overboard : JETSAM.  Things that have been jettisoned from a ship at sea, frequently to lighten the ship's load.  Not to be confused with flotsam - things lost from a vessel due to shipwreck or accident.  The difference is significant in maritime law.  Flotsam may be claimed by the original ship, JETSAM is the property of whoever finds it.

2. "Girl on Fire" singer Keys : ALICIA.

3. Biological mapping subject : GENOME.  The complete set of genes present in an organism.

4. Permanent marks : SCARS.

5. Fictional captain Hornblower : HORATIO.  A fictional officer in Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars in the novels of C. S. Forester.

6. Tel __, Israel : AVIV.  Major city on the Mediterranean coast.

7. Christmas trio : MAGI.  The three wise guys --- er  .  .  . men.

8. Persuades with flattery : CAJOLES.

9. Air Wick target : ODOR.

10. Short and chubby : ROLY POLY. Obese - but we are not into fat shaming here.  Also, a terrestrial crustacean of the order isopoda, also known as a pill bug or doodle bug, with the ability to roll into a ball.

Armadillidiidae

11. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARIzona.

12. Jack Reacher creator __ Child : LEE.  Pen name of British author James D. Grant [b 1954.]  Reacher is a fictional character who is a former army officer who drifts around the country getting into dangerous situations.

15. Doily fabric : LACE.  A small ornamental mat of embroidery, lace, or paper that is placed under an item.

21. __ Los Angeles : EAST.  An unincorporated area in Los Angeles County.  At 96.7% Latino, it is the least diverse community in the county.

22. Actress Polo : TERI.  Theresa Elizabeth Polo [b 1969] is an American TV and movie actress.

Teri

26. Dietary fiber : BRAN.  Edible broken seed coats from cereal grains.

27. Eye problem : STYE.  Inflammation at the eyelid caused by a bacterial infection of the gland at the base of an eyelash.

30. Determination : GRIT.  It's true.

31. Anne of "Wag the Dog" : HECHE. Anne Celeste HECHE [b 1969] is an American actress, director and screenwriter.

33. Nimble : SPRY. Usually spoken of older people - maybe it's unexpected.

34. Improvised blade : SHIV.

35. Fight that may involve drawing : DUEL.  Using drawn swords or pistols.

36. Started, as a co. : EST'D.   Established.

37. Gillette brand : ATRA.  Introduced in 1977, the first razor to feature a pivoting head.

38. Pegboard game : CRIBBAGE.  A game played with cards in which a peg board is used to keep score.  You can read about it here.

42. "So close, yet so far" : NICE TRY.  A good, but unsuccessful effort, or, ironically, an attempt that was either not good or not a good thing to do.

43. Mother Earth, in Greek mythology : GAEA.  The earth goddess who gave birth to both the Titans and the first humans.

44. "Holy cow!" : OMIGOSH.  Oh my gosh - nice try!

45. Curtain supports : RODS.  Devices used to support curtains, above windows or along showers.

48. Writer for whose father the National Baseball Hall of Fame city was named : COOPER.  Cooperstown, New York is the municipality in question.  Dad from the clue was William Cooper, who founded a village on Otsego Lake in the 1780's.  His son, James Fenimore Cooper wrote many novels, including The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans.

49. Idle : AT REST.

50. Freudian analyst's concern : PSYCHE.  The soul, mind or spirit that inhabits a human body.  To Freud, the the structural model of the mind, or "psychic apparatus" comprises the id, ego, and super ego.

53. __ out: barely makes : EKES.

55. "Who's there?" answer : IT'S ME.

57. Was sorry about : RUED.

58. Furniture chain popular in dorms : IKEA.  Purveyor of furniture you can assemble, miselaneous household items, and lingonberry jam.  Our oldest granddaughter is a fan.

59. Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association sponsors and organizes a single-elimination basketball tournament each spring, involving the 32 champions of division I conferences and 36 at-large teams chosen by a selection committee.  The "Sweet Sixteen" are the teams winning early rounds that winnow the field down to 16 contenders.

60. Prohibit : BAN.

61. Suffix with ethyl : -ENE.  This chemistry suffix indicates a double bond between the 2 carbon atoms in the molecule.  Since your eyes are already glazing over, I'll leave it at that.

OK, folks - that's the end of this STORY.  Hope you found it news worthy.

Cool regards!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Tinbeni, who joined our blog in 2009. We'll all be toasting you at sundown!

Tuesday, August 22, 2017 ~ Bruce Haight

Theme: No Reveal Tuesday - It's anagrams of  VILE.

17A. Tendency to explode in anger: VILE TEMPER

25A. Demons and such: EVIL SPIRITS

36A. Cover for mysterious doings: VEIL OF SECRECY

49A. Blue jeans pioneer: LEVI STRAUSS

59A. Real-time media transfer: LIVE STREAM

Argyle here. Nice puzzle, Bruce. I want to see what OwenKL does with it.

Across:

1. Bun or beehive: HAIRDO

7. Faux __: social goof: PAS. French: literally, false step.

10. Keep __: persevere: AT IT

14. Free from stress by heating, as metal: ANNEAL. I am a fan of "Forged in Fire".

15. Theater chain initials: AMC. (originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema)

16. Golfer's mulligan, e.g.: REDO

19. Banjo ridge: FRET

20. Surrounded by: AMID

21. Rushed toward: RAN AT

23. Genetic letters: RNA. (ribonucleic acid)

24. Scottish denial: NAE

28. Graduates: ALUMNI

30. Deem necessary: SEE FIT

31. Performing: ACTING

35. Issue a ticket to: CITE

40. Surprise "from the blue": BOLT

41. Sharpshooters' aiming devices: SCOPES

42. Top squads: A TEAMS

45. Media revenue source: AD SALE

53. Roman goddess of peace: PAX

54. Wash. neighbor: IDA. Wikipedia article about Idaho.

55. Needles: GOADS

56. Beaujolais or Burgundy: WINE. 39-Down. 56-Across choices: REDS

57. Red __: spicy candies: HOTS

62. "The Mammoth Hunters" novelist Jean: AUEL. I transposed the E/U but almost got it first time.

63. Dictator Amin: IDI

64. Rain or snow, briefly: PRECIP. (precipitation) The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel and hail. The term graupel comes from the German for soft hail or snow pellets.

65. Wee: ITSY

66. Broadband option, briefly: DSL. (Digital Subscriber Line)

67. Most elegant: FINEST

Down:

1. "Our Man in __": Graham Greene novel set in Cuba: HAVANA

2. Creature: ANIMAL

3. Instead (of): IN LIEU

4. Film critic Rex: REED. "Until 2017 he wrote the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer." ~ Wiki.

5. "Who __?": New Orleans Saints fans' chant: DAT

6. Spanish cheer: ¡OLÉ!

7. Like a visit from the Bishop of Rome: PAPAL. The Bishop of Rome is the Pope.

8. Congregational replies: AMENS

9. Paper bits for collages: SCRAPS

10. Response to "Speak!": [ARF!]

11. Wonderful: TERRIFIC

12. Modern theft target: IDENTITY

13. How food may be seasoned: TO TASTE

18. Med. scan: MRI. (magnetic resonance imaging)

22. Even score: TIE

25. Ltr. insert: ENCL. (enclosed or enclosure)

26. Corleone family head: VITO. The Godfather.

27. School break: RECESS

29. Rum cocktail: MAI TAI

32. "No __, ands or buts!": IFS

33. White House foreign policy gp.: NSC. (National Security Council)

34. Old Prizm automaker: GEO

36. Removed from office via election: VOTED OUT

37. Lifts: ELEVATES

38. Taxpayer ID users: CPAs. (Certified Public Accountant)

40. Bloody Mary's solo: BALI HA'I

43. Chinese food additive: MSG. (monosodium glutamate)

44. Unemotional: STOLID. From the Latin word stolidus.

46. Separately: A PIECE

47. Island verandas: LANAIs

48. Not subject to jury duty, say: EXEMPT. Perhaps if you're aged.

50. Fridge forays: RAIDS

51. Analgesic brand: ADVIL

52. Put to work: USE

56. Birdhouse singer: WREN

58. Furtive: SLY

60. Sunscreen letters: SPF. (sun protection factor).

61. Prefix with cycle: TRI

Argyle

Monday, August 21, 2017 ~ Roger & Kathy Wienberg

Theme: Things that go BUMP ... in a Monday puzzle.

16. *Feature of gated community entrances: GUARD HOUSE. Bumper Guards.

21. *GEICO product: CAR INSURANCE. Bumper cars.

33. *Plaything for a backyard swimming spot: POOL TOY. Bumper pool.

44. *Source of showroom shock?: STICKER PRICE. Bumper sticker.

53. Abundant farm yield ... and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise?: BUMPER CROP

Argyle here. A lot of classics today.

Across:

1. DEA agent: NARC

5. Traveller in London's Tube: BRIT

"I took the tube back out of town

Home to the rolling pin."

9. With 15-Across, Apple media player since 2005: iPOD. and 15A. See 9-Across: NANO

13. Over the hill: AGED. Ageism!

14. Colorado-based brewery: COORS

18. Sprouted: GREW

19. Like checks, when splitting the tab: SEPARATE

20. Dungeness and Alaskan king: CRABS

24. "I got a great break!": "LUCKY ME!" Two rock-n-roll classics today.

27. ID card picture: PHOTO

28. Adam's grandson: ENOS

29. "... disguised as Clark Kent, mild-__ reporter": MANNERED

32. Hoopla: ADO

36. Fifth month: MAY

37. Warns of: PORTENDS

39. Batman's hideout: CAVE

40. Donna Summer's music: DISCO

41. Spun, as a baton: TWIRLED

47. The Stones' "__ Tonk Women": HONKY

48. Subscribers' continuations: RENEWALS

52. And others, in Lat.: ET AL.

55. Past the deadline: LATE

56. Foreign relief org. created by JFK: US AID

57. Pac-12 sch.: UCLA

58. Hotfooted it: FLED

59. Curve in a road: BEND

60. Easier said __ done: THAN

Down:

1. Badgers: NAGS

2. Fever with chills: AGUE

3. Garner from the fields: REAP

4. Music media holders: CD RACKS

5. Infant foot warmer: BOOTIE

6. City where Joan of Arc died: ROUEN

7. Tax form org.: IRS. (Infernal Revenue Service)

8. "The Waste Land" poet's monogram: TSE. (T. S. Eliot)

9. Thankless sort: INGRATE

10. Like "X-Files" cases: PARANORMAL

11. Year before AD yrs. started: ONE BC

12. Wield a divining rod: DOWSE

14. Captivate: CHARM

17. Low, sturdy cart: DRAY

20. Close friend: CRONY

22. Quarrel: SPAT

23. "Sorry, that's not happening": "UH-NO"

24. Jump: LEAP

25. "Go back" computer command: UNDO

26. Match, as clothing colors: COORDINATE

29. Chicago Fire's org.: MLS. (Major League Soccer)

30. Roof projection: EAVE

31. Colored like Easter eggs: DYED

33. Bothersome: PESKY

34. Fairy tale start: ONCE

35. Skunk's defense: ODOR

38. Got giggles out of: TICKLED

39. Close-cropped hair style: CREW CUT

41. Apprehensive: TREPID

42. __ and dined: WINED

43. Cake decorator: ICER

44. Bookcase unit: SHELF

45. Sum: TOTAL

46. Image maker, briefly: PR MAN. (public relations) Sometimes called a spin doctor.

49. Curved foot part: ARCH

50. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA

51. Stretch across: SPAN

53. Fella: BUB

54. Employ: USE

Argyle

Sunday August 20, 2017 Adam T. Cobb

Theme: "Music Exchange" - One word in each common phrase is replaced by a musical instrument.

30A. Janus-inspired stringed instrument? : TWO-FACED LYRE. Two-faced liar.

43A. Task for roadies? : LOAD THE BASSES. Load the bases.

65A. Bit of criticism from Ravi Shankar? : CLOSE BUT NO SITAR. Close but no cigar.

93A. Percussionist's answer to "When do you practice?"? : IN MY SNARE TIME. In my spare time.

110A. Hi-hat for high society? : STATUS CYMBAL. Status symbol.

5D. Instrument carved from the Tree of Knowledge? : FORBIDDEN FLUTE. Forbidden fruit.

51D. What Tubby brushes with? : TUBA TOOTHPASTE. Tube toothpaste.

No label for Adam in our blog, so this must be his LAT debut. Congratulations!

As I mentioned in our "Something's Fishy" pun theme two weeks ago, I just don't have grasp of this theme type. Some are homophones, some have added vowel sound, some have consonant change.

I love the grid design. Two of the Down themers intersect two other Across themers. Amazing.

Across:  

1. Spiced rice : PILAF.  I need to eat more spicy and salty food to increase my low blood pressure. Scary to feel dizzy.

6. Idle in sketches : ERIC. Eric Idle.

10. Popular tablet : iPAD

14. Potential replacement sites : HIPs. Hip replacement.

18. Mexican marinade : ADOBO

19. Former Cubs slugger : SOSA. Such drastic change, TTP!

20. "__ cloud in the sky, Got the sun in my eyes ... ": Carpenters lyric : NOT A

21. '50s pol Stevenson : ADLAI

23. Starting blocks user : RACER

24. Rejects : TURNS DOWN

26. Wikipedia policy : NO ADS

27. Chinese tea : CHA, Literally "tea". Does the Chinese character look soothing to you?

28. Author Harte : BRET

32. Tiny colony defender : SOLDIER. Ant colony.

34. Safari sight : LION

35. School interlude : RECESS

36. Pkg. payment methods : CODs

37. Used a dugout : CANOED. Dugout canoe.

39. Top note in a common triad : SOL. Stumped me.

40. Airer of old MGM films : TCM . Also 110. "I'm Dying Up Here" airer, for short : SHO

46. Cross : SORE

47. Text ender? : UAL. Textual.  We also have 22. Expert's conclusion? : ISE. Expertise. Also 96. Bar opening? : ISO. Isobar.

48. SEC Network owner : ESPN

49. Employs : HIRES

51. The Willis in Chicago, for one : TOWER

52. Contempt : SCORN

54. Discontinue : STOP

57. Spirit of Saint-Louis? : ANGE. I did not know the this French king was a saint. 

58. Join : UNITE

59. Deprived (of) : BEREFT

61. One of the U.S.'s 435 : REP. Eight are from Minnesota.


63. Radii, e.g. : ARM BONES

70. Have faith in : RELY UPON

73. Require treatment, perhaps : AIL

74. Britain's Penny Black and Two Penny Blue : STAMPS. Wiki says "The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official postage stamp, produced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and issued after the Penny Black."

78. Legislate : ENACT

79. Voting coalition : BLOC

82. Quarter of a bushel : PECK

85. Red, yellow or white veggie : ONION. Also 34. Black or yellow pet : LAB

86. Like certain gases : NOBLE

87. Envisioned being : SAW AS. Yeah, Jayce, new contact lenses for this astigmatism.


89. Transient with a bindle : HOBO

91. PC dial-up upgrade : DSL

92. Skin product enhancement : ALOE

97. __ gibbon: zoo animal : LAR. Learning moment for me.

98. A.L. East squad : TOR (Toronto)

101. Delivery on deliverance : SERMON

102. "Now I get it!" : AH SO

103. Cold-weather wear : PARKAS. Ah, winter! Somehow the smooth ground of malls often trips Boomer, who can't get himself up without help. Asphalt ground is hard on his left hip. Thankfully we have many trails to choose in the summer. Boomer loves cushion-y soft trails.

106. Appearance : MIEN

107. Tariffed goods : IMPORTS

113. She, in Capri : ESSA. How is it different from ELLA?

114. "Science Guy" Bill : NYE

115. "The King and I" group : HAREM.

116. They have ideas : INVENTORS

118. "Cheese!" consequence : SMILE. Here is Boomer in front of the Mary Tyler Moore house, close to Lake of the Isle.

120. Not bottled : ON TAP

121. Dark genre : NOIR Also 33. Classic O'Brien 121-Across film : D.O.A.

122. Biblical brother : ESAU

123. In shape : TONED. Followed by 124. Places to get in shape : GYMS
 
125. Polish, in a way : EDIT

126. Gambit : RUSE

127. Some MIT grads : ENGRS
   
Down:
 
  1. __ nationaux: French tourist attractions : PARCS. Never heard of it. Looks pretty.

2. Pocatello locale : IDAHO

3. Regional asset : LOCAL COLOR. Lots of great long fill in this puzzle.

4. Face on a fiver : ABE

6. Glyceride, for one : ESTER

7. Force into ignominious retreat : ROUT

8. Mideast nation: Abbr. : ISR

9. Baja bar : CANTINA

10. World's largest island country : INDONESIA. Plenty of coconuts there. Aroy-D (Thailand) is the tastiest canned coconut brand I've found. So incredibly rich. But the cream does not rise to top as other canned coconuts do, even if I put them in fridge for a day or two. So odd. Must have some hidden emulsifier.

11. [It's gone!] : POOF

12. Clashing : AT WAR

13. End zone celebrations : DANCES

14. "Water Music" composer : HANDEL

15. Hollywood faves : IDOLS

16. Goes for the gold : PLAYS TO WIN. Another fantastic fill.

17. __ City, Iraq : SADR

25. "Just Do It" logo : SWOOSH

29. Breaks : RESTS

31. Novelist Umberto : ECO

37. Red coin? : CENT
 
38. Laura of "Jurassic Park" : DERN

41. Labyrinth site of myth : CRETE

42. Parisian parents : MERES. Mothers. Ma mere. Mon pere.

43. Tatting fabric : LACE

44. PC options : HPs

45. Genesis and Dreamcast : SEGAs

46. Arizona desert : SONORAN

47. Thumb drive port : USB

50. Pak of the LPGA : SE RI. Retired now. She opened the door for all the Korean golfers.

53. Get more out of : RECYCLE

55. Ball : ORB

56. Little, in Lille : PEU. "Un peu".

60. Finest : TOP

62. Harper Valley org. : PTA

64. Cascade components: Abbr. : MTs

66. Blubbers : SOBS

67. Zhou __ : ENLAI. Very faithful to Mao, even during Cultural Revolution. But his reputation was untarnished. He just quietly saved many lives from prosecution.

68. Bit from a bottle : NIP

69. Flamenco shout : OLE

70. Concerning kidneys : RENAL

71. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA

72. Group once led by Meir and Rabin : LABOR PARTY

75. When some late risers get started : MID-MORNING. Reveal of a puzzle Agnes and I made.

76. Model act : POSE

77. NBC skit show : SNL

80. Admits, with "up" : OWNS

81. Creamy French cheese : CAMEMBERT. Another great fill.

83. Actor/stuntman Jackie : CHAN. It's spelled CHEN in Taiwan and Mainland China. Same character.

84. "MASH" milieu: Abbr. : KOR (Korea). The life expectancy is so high there. The magic of fermented food.  

88. Damascus denizen : SYRIAN

90. Rays : BEAMS

94. Ore refinery : SMELTER

95. __ compos mentis : NON

98. Outdoes : TRUMPS

99. Approves : OKs

100. Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan : RACINE. See it? Were you born in Stevens Point, D-Otto?

104. Mr. T's troop : A-TEAM

105. Layer in ecclesiastical governance : SYNOD

107. Give out : ISSUE

108. Tenth American president : TYLER

109. Planted pips : SEEDS

111. Sharpness : TANG

112. XIX x LIII : MVII. Got via crosses. Too complicated to calculate.

113. Ballpark figs. : ERAS

117. The Beavers of the Pac-12 : OSU

119. Calendar abbr. : MON. Santa's Day.

 C.C.

Saturday, Aug 19th, 2017, Matthew Sewell

Theme: None

Words: 68 (Pangram~!)

Blocks: 39

There is one other LA Times puzzle from Matthew, from Thursday March 23rd of this year.  Today's offering was a really pleasant solve, with very few proper names or abbreviations and plenty of clever clues to make it tough, but do-able.  I admit to not getting my "ta-DA~!" because of one cel, and I just switched to red-letter to find it; more below, and it's quite funny in retrospect.  Big block count today, a friendly grid, and just a pair of 11-letter spanners in the across and few 8-letter answers throughout;

33. Look for business? : WORK CLOTHES

Or how 'bout her~?

She definitely does not work at my terminal....

38. Peruse, as a catalog : LOOK THROUGH - I filled in "THROUGH" and waited on either LOOK or SCAN

brOwNWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Bass-baritone role in an 1885 Savoy Theatre premiere : MIKADO - never a good start when you have no clue - or is that answer~?

7. King Features Syndicate parent : HEARST

13. Brown world? : ACADEME - Funny, I wonder if Mr. Sewell knew I would be doing the blog, because half my world IS Brown - UPS brown, that is.  Since UPS did not fit, I wondered if it was a reference to Charlie [Brown], but no, it's about an ivy league school

15. "I have a bad feeling about this" : "OH DEAR...." - and a line from Han Solo - four times

16. Strike a chord : RESONATE - my first thought was guitar related

18. There's one right in front of you : PUZZLE - ah.  Yes.  I had Muzzle, which is technically correct, and hoMe before 'against' made sense, but not after as well

19. MSN, for one : ISP - Internet Service Provider

20. Wore with jaunty confidence : ROCKED - I like rocking my plus-fours on the golf course.  Not.

and Argyle socks~!

22. Scuttle : NIX

23. Most of a pool cue : SHAFT - like 99.5%

26. 11, at times: Abbr. : NOVember - I always get duped by this, especially since "11" to me is usually a guitar amplifier reference

27. Cooked : DONE

28. Vital vessels : AORTAS

30. W-9 filers : NEW HIRES

35. Panasonic flat-screen : VIERA

36. Welsh herder : CORGI

41. Majesty : SPLENDOR

44. Four-time WWE World Champion Brock __ : LESNAR - all perps

46. Wharf : QUAY - dah~! not DOCK

47. Dressy accessory : TIE - I went with BOA - 100% wrong

49. Curling piece : STONE

50. Audible pauses : UMs  - I had UHs to start

51. How cherries jubilee is served : FLAMBÉ

54. Dungeons & Dragons bird : ROC - I'm such a nerd.  I got this.  But hey~! I think I might have a cool name for my board game~!

55. Shout on arrival : I'M HERE

57. 1984 Winter Olympics city : SARAJEVO - didn't come to me right away - I got it after I had the "S" and "O"

60. Strongly suggest : REEK OF - the word 'reek' always reminds me of a band that played the night club I managed; they called themselves REEKING HAVOC - not WREAKING

61. Alito and Thomas : YALE MEN - I thought we were looking for two guys named the same, so I threw an "S" in at the end.  Bzzzt.

62. Danny, vis-à-vis the "Bloodline" siblings : ELDEST - no clue, via perps

63. Sharp weapons : SABERS - Dah~!  not SPEARS - that's 83.3% at 50% correct

DOWN:

1. Best Supporting Actress two years after Whoopi : MARISA - Ms. Tomei, for My Cousin Vinny, and Ms. Goldberg for Ghost

2. Exhibition with blades : ICE SHOW - Good clue.  Hockey games, too

3. '90s loser to Deep Blue : KASPAROV - I didn't know this.  More chess, too~! The Wiki

4. Flap : ADO - so what's a MIK   ADO~?  (nyuk nyuk nyuk)

5. Forest digs : DEN

6. "Rubáiyát" poet : OMAR

7. Word before and after against : HOPE - hope against hope - ah, that makes sense

8. Israel's Olmert : EHUD - perps and a WAG

9. Sharp-edged tool : ADZ

10. Nine Inch Nails founder Trent : REZNOR - the one proper name I did know - I'd link a song, but most of the popular stuff is a bit raunchy - if you must, check out "Closer".  On the flip side, Hurt was covered by Johnny Cash

11. Briny : SALINE - ah.  SALTY was too short

12. Natural history museum attractions, briefly : T-REXES

14. School with trimesters called halves : ETON

17. Cheap opening : ECONO-

21. Bellyache : KVETCH

24. Kan. Army installation : Ft. RILEY - I was pretty confident of my ACROSS answers, so the FTR--- to start helped a lot

25. Go up against : TAKE ON

27. Turn off and then some : DISGUST

29. Cape Cod catch : SCROD

31. Forensics ridge : WHORL - fingerprints

32. Stallone roles, e.g. : HEROES

34. Sitting Bull's people : LAKOTA

37. "Forget I said anything" : "IGNORE ME."

39. Downsizes : TRIMS

40. German royal house, 1714-1901 : HANOVER

41. Knight aide : SQUIRE

42. Buffet : PUMMEL - I didn't know if it was BUH-fet, or buh-FAY

43. Tied up : LASHED

45. Scouting ops : RECONS

48. Weird Al song that wonders, "Tell me why I bid on Shatner's old toupee" : eBAY - man that's funny; I DID buy a golf cart on eBay - and I found a rare Tom Jones CD, Rescue Me, sold by a guy in Russia....

The Wiki on the song

51. Picked dos : 'FROS

52. Took off : LEFT

53. Noteworthy times : ERAS

56. Stretch (out) : EKE

58. Like : Á LA 

59. Politico with a father, brother and son named George : JEB - the Bushes

Splynter

P.S.> I was shocked to see that my name now appears in the "labels" settings~!

Friday, August 18, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: X marks the spot.

JW is back with another of his intricate visual puzzles, this time presenting 5 different iterations of the word FILES set out in an X pattern indicated by circles. The only strictly theme fill is the reveal:
39A. '90s-'00s sci-fi hit ... or what this puzzle's circles graphically depict : THE X-FILES (9).
The genius comes in when you place the five Xs in the grid so that together they create super X. This is the result of connecting the Xs from NW to SE and SW to NE. But wait - there's more! If the circles in each set are seen as a series, going from left-to-right and top-to-bottom as follows:

                     1        2
                          3
                     4        5

you will notice that the letters in FILES rotate in strict sequence from one set to the next.  That is, in the NW set, F is at position number 1, with the other letters following.  In the NE set, the F has shifted to position 2, and the other letters follow.  In the central set, the F is at position 3, and so on. Thus, the positioning of the letters in FILES is not a random scrambling, but a precise progression. The Z pattern he employed to present his pattern eluded me for a very long time.
Another technical marvel of construction.

We also have some fun fill, like ACCOSTS,  ACETONE,  AT A RACE,  BAD SPOT, DOLEFUL, EATS OUT, PROPMAN, PUFFERS,  UPLIFTS, GRAIN SILO, LEXINGTON but it pales in comparison to the architectural masterpiece.  Another YMMV, I guess, but let's see.

Across:

1. Sound check item : AMP. Amplifiers have been known as amps for some time!

4. Went down : SANK.  Simple, but so many SYNONYMS.

8. Euripides tragedy : MEDEA. Wife of Jason.

13. __ cross : TAU.  LINK.

14. Skewer relative : PRONG. A skewer is single. The better QUESTION.

16. Hipbone-related : ILIAC.  No more please.

17. Woofer's output? : ARF. Not the tweeter.

18. Even less given to emotion : ICIER.

19. Quantum of solace? : SOFT C. This had me almost as confused as the title of the BOND movie. Here it just means the "C" in the word solace.

20. Leave in disarray, probably : RIFLE.

22. Copier room quantity : REAM. 500 sheets.

24. "Taking that as a given ... " : IF SO. Logic terminology.

25. Comfortable (with) : AT EASE.

27. Indisposed : ILL.

29. Dawn goddess : EOS. I had her many times a few years ago - in my puzzles anyway.

30. Bread component : CARB.

31. Toy used on flights : SLINKY. Not airplanes, stairs.

34. Rural road track : RUT.

35. Disney character who sings, "The cold never bothered me anyway" : ELSA.

36. Go Fish request : TENS. Random, could be ace, two, six or ten.

37. Turns red, maybe : RUSTS. Reddish, actually I believe we call it rust color.

42. 2006 demotion : PLUTO. Yes Mickey was mad at him. Oh, the planet!

45. Heracles' beloved : IOLE. The STORY is more complicated. I do like seeing the Greek name for Hercules in keeping with Friday. .

46. Very little : A DAB. A little one will do you.

50. Agent : REP. Another word that is now acceptable as a word not just an abbreviation.

51. 1962 "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" singer : MONROE. There is a longer version on You Tube.

53. Fla. resort : BOCA. This is a bit misleading as Boca is now a city of almost 100,000 permanent residents. LINK.

54. Natural resource : OIL.

55. Physics unit : ERG.

56. Shut off completely, as lights : KILLED.

58. Trident-shaped letters : PSIS. More Greek.

60. Order to Spot : STAY.

63. Sugar source : BEETS.

64. Civilian garb : MUFTI.

66. Pair in the score for Beethoven's Fifth : OBOES. This is not an additional reference to Marilyn.

68. Dandy : FOP. Similar to last week's TOFF.

69. Partner of ciencias : ARTES. Arts and Sciences...pretty inferrable.

70. Forward attitude : NERVE.

71. Pizzeria chain : UNO. They opened three franchises of this Chicago Pizzeria here in late 70s; they are all gone.

72. Stick dwellings : NESTS. I like this simple clue/fill.

73. Holden Caulfield, for one : TEEN. Catcher in the Rye.

74. Court call : LET. Tennis

Down:

1. Visiting Pimlico : AT A RACE. The Preakness.

2. __ counseling : MARITAL.

3. Blowfish : PUFFERS.

4. Furtive sorts : SPIES.

5. Golf chip path : ARC.

6. "The Big Sleep" genre : NOIR.

7. Walk-in joint? : KNEE. I am left with my creaky knees and sore hips.

8. Inaccurate introduction? : MIS. Do?

9. Wells race : ELOI. I thought Yvette Mimieux was beautiful, but enough is enough.

10. Suggests an alternative : DIFFERS.

11. Enjoys a buffet, usually : EATS OUT.

12. Engages with boldness : ACCOSTS.

15. Farm structure : GRAIN SILO.

21. Company that survived Canada's Prohibition : LABATT. Labatt survives Canadian Prohibition by producing full-strength beer for export south of the border and by introducing two "temperance ales" (brews with less than two percent alcohol) for sale in Ontario. When Prohibition was finally repealed in 1927, Labatt was one of the 15 remaining breweries — giving them a strong, fresh start. (Labatt material)

23. Jan. honoree : MLK.

26. Tequila sunrise direction : ESTE. Two days in a row.

28. Old plucked strings : LYRE.

32. Minuteman Statue city : LEXINGTON. There is this ONE. Or this OTHER. You can tell JW is not from New England.

33. About to receive : IN FOR.

38. Not to be wasted : USABLE.

40. Diamond plate : HOME.

41. Garlic relative : LEEK. All you need to know; marry a cook. LINK.

42. Stage employee : PROPMAN.

43. Down time : LEISURE.

44. Makes joyous : UPLIFTS.

47. Joyless : DOLEFUL.

48. Paint thinner solvent : ACETONE.

49. Dicey situation : BAD SPOT.

52. Hosp. areas : ORS.

57. "An Enemy of the People" playwright : IBSEN. If you want to study. LINK.

59. Editor's afterthought : STET.

61. Act as lookout, say : ABET.

62. Time long past : YORE.

65. Orbiting research facility: Abbr. : ISS. International Space Station.

67. "Fairest of creation," in a Milton classic : EVE. Paradise Lost  No Will, either play or poem, but one of my favorites, John Milton.

“O fairest of all creation, last and best
Of all God's works, creature in whom excelled
Whatever can to sight or thought be formed, an enemy of the people
Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet!
How art thou lost, how on a sudden lost,
Defaced, deflow'red, and now to death devote?”

Another interesting Friday with most of the cluing fair, but the layers used to create the visual difficult to recognize. I struggled with the pattern. For those who do not like complicated themes, this was intricate but the grid could be filled without circles and without understanding or appreciating the skill needed to build this one. Thank you JW, and thank you all for stopping by. Lemonade out.

Thursday, August 17th 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: Insert Coin - the coin-shaped letter "O" is inserted into a phrase, changing the meaning in a thigh-slapping manner.

20. Computer accessory honored in verse? : MOUSE OF POETRY. Muse of Poetry. There are three poetry muses - one for epic poetry, one for lyric poetry and one for love poetry.

28. Olympic dominance by Team USA? : AMERICA'S COUP. America's Cup. Team NZ won this year in Bermuda by a runaway score of 7-1

45. How some medieval knights described their relationships? : JOUST FRIENDS. Just friends.

55. Grammarian's treatise? : THE NOUN'S STORY. The Nun's Story. 1959 movie starring the lovely Audrey Hepburn.

Morning! Apparently I came across as not quite as chipper as usual last week, so I'll try to keep things bright today. This was a real toughie for me, I was staring down a huge quantity of white space after my first pass across and down. I'm not sure the last time I spent 30 minutes on a Thursday-level crossword, but I did on this one.

The theme was nicely done; I'm not generally a fan of pun-type puzzles because of the groan-factor, but these were fun. It took me ages to figure out the theme but once AMERICA'S COUP fell into place that helped with the others. Some obtuse cluing and misdirection added up to a good challenge.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Bowl over : STUN

5. Hardly prudent : RASH

9. Chophouse order : FILET. Food! If I went to a chophouse, I'd order the chops. This is Simpson's in London, it's been around since 1757. I'd lunch there occasionally when I worked in the City. Back in those days you'd have a bottle or two of a nice red wine and finish up with a glass of port. Then go back to work.

14. Young Clark's love : LANA. I was way off base with this one; at first I thought it was referring to Clark Gable's affair with Lana Turner, but not a bit of it - Clark Kent's high school sweetheart Lana Lang.

15. 90 degrees from norte : ESTE

16. Century plant, e.g. : AGAVE. Agave Americana, more properly. There are several types of agave plants.

17. Hindustani tongue : URDU

18. Boardwalk extension : PIER. These had a habit of "mysteriously" catching fire in the UK, usually when they were falling into a state of disrepair due to the expense of upkeep.

19. Trick : COZEN. A new word for me. "To deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery." I discovered that there is a law firm here in LA called Cozen O'Conner which I find thoroughly amusing.

23. Construction alloy : STEEL. You can add a whole slew of stuff to steel depending on the characteristics you're looking for.

24. RSVP part : S'IL "répondez s'il vous plaît". Don't say "please RSVP", it's annoying as heck.

25. Bud : BRO

33. Virgin __ Records: British label : EMI. A lot of people don't realize that Richard Branson sold Virgin Records to EMI way back in the 90's to keep the airline afloat (or aloft, more correctly).

36. Male delivery : SON

37. Canadian coin since 1996 : TOONIE. Tried LOONIE against all logic as I knew it had been around for longer than that.

38. Landslide victory claim : MANDATE. "Now I have a mandate to do what the heck I like". Usually ends badly.

41. Stretch out : DISTEND

42. Recorded : ON TAPE

43. Mine in Milan : MIO. Tried MIA. Was wrong.

44. Conscription agcy. : SSS. Crosses filled this in for me, I just noticed it now. Selective Service System.

49. "__ Fell": Beatles : IF I. I didn't actually know this was the title of the song. John sounds every bit of his Liverpool background on the track.

50. Chicago's __ Center : AON

51. Post-lecture activity, briefly : Q AND A

60. Strange : ALIEN

62. Watch part : STEM. You can guarantee this one ain't going to be cheap:

63. Potpourri quality : ODOR. I tend to associate odors with bad smells.

64. Did a gainer, say : DIVED

65. Yokohama product : TIRE. They are the shirt sponsor of my soccer team, Chelsea, they're paying $300M for the privilege over five years. I think it's a curse: of the four players from left to right below - the first is no longer a starter, the second is no longer with the club, the third broke his ankle and hasn't yet returned to the team and the fourth did not return for preseason training and is suing the club for illegal restraint of trade.

66. Eric who founded an eclectic reader : UTNE

67. Autobahn autos : OPELS. The other four-letter German car brand.

68. Strongbox alternative : SAFE

69. The ten in "hang ten" : TOES. You hang'em over the edge of your surfboard.

Down:

1. Frequents dive bars, say : SLUMS. As in "he's slumming it".

2. Deck with a Hanged Man : TAROT. There's a bunch of weird-looking cards in a Tarot deck.

3. Inordinate : UNDUE

4. Queasiness : NAUSEA. Not a good feeling.

5. Certain auction offering : REPO

6. "Fat chance!" :  AS IF!

7. Intervenes : STEPS IN

8. Stout-hearted : HEROIC

9. It's not debatable : FACT

10. "Young Frankenstein" helper : IGOR. "Eye-gor." I've posted the link to the scene before. Here it is again if you missed it.

11. Slugabed : LAZYBONES. Nice clue/answer.

12. Christmas lead-in : EVE

13. Coffee break time : TEN

21. "Slippery" tree : ELM. First I've heard of it. Learning moment. Apparently you can make tea from the leaves.

22. Joy : ELATION

26. Place for digs : RUINS

27. Essays appearing daily : OP.ED'S

29. "Get on Your Feet" singer : ESTEFAN. Gloria. Thank you crosses, I didn't know the song.

30. Anonymous '70s litigant : ROE vs Wade.

31. Song on the album "ABBA" : SOS. Why I didn't fill this in right away is beyond me. How many Abba songs are there with three letters? I needed the S to get me going with this one.

32. Bed at a base : COT

33. The Oxford Dictionaries 2015 "Word" of the Year is one : EMOJI. A stab in the dark and nailed it! Note the quotes around "Word". This is the emoji which was used:

The 2012 Word of the Year was "omnishambles" which I love.

34. "__ Constant Sorrow": folk classic : MAN OF. Thank you crosses, never heard of it.

35. Easy to figure out : INTUITIVE. Unlike this crossword, for me anyway.

39. Wagner's "__ Rheingold" : DAS

40. Fitting : APT

41. Gambling cube : DIE

43. Trivial matter : MINUTIA

46. Perches : ROOSTS

47. Kicks off the field, briefly : DQ'S. Disqualifies.

48. Skipped : SAT OUT

52. Greet quietly : NOD TO

53. Airborne intruder : DRONE. Annoying as heck, these things. Can ruin a perfectly peaceful hike. The creepy dude who lives on my street likes to fly his over other people's back yards.

54. Lew in old movies : AYRES. Best known for "All Quiet on the Western Front".

56. Dog trainer's word : HEEL. Could be STAY, so wait for a cross.

57. Good things to make meet : ENDS

58. Soft ball : NERF

59. "Hook" pirate : SMEE

60. Commotion : ADO

61. Impertinence : LIP. Great little word.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Steve