Wednesday, December 6, 2017, Neville Fogarty

TITLE: BURIED TREASURE

Husker Gary here again on a search for buried (or at least concealed) treasure. Neville has constructed a hunt for us where GEM has been hidden in bigger phrases much as these Emerald Crystals that can be found in veins of calcite in the Muzo area of Columbia.

Our friend Neville has literally taken the word GEM and hidden it where the GE portion ends the first word of a phrase and the M begins the second word. If you search carefully below, you can see where Neville has hidden the GEM in these theme answers:

17. *Intricate feature of some Victorian gardens : HEDGE MAZE - Here is a MAZE near London along side a domestic CORN MAZE in Gretna Nebraska

24. *Politician for whom a Virginia university is named : GEORGE MASON - George Mason refused to sign the U.S. Constitution in 1787 because it had no national bill of rights (if you enlarge the picture below, you will see James Madison's signature in the Virginia section). He then helped author the Bill Of Rights that were added in 1791.

33. *Disney miser who swims in his money : SCROOGE MCDUCK - As seen here

49. *Game to settle a score : GRUDGE MATCH - These "matches" have sold a lot of tickets!

... and the reveal:

57. Diamond in the rough ... or a literal feature of each answer to a starred clue : HIDDEN GEM - American Idol was looking for a hidden GEM in the group of 4,000 hopefuls in 2013 auditions in Omaha

Here are some more of Neville's Gems:

Across


1. Rope often coiled : LASSO - Here's one attached to the cockpit of a working cowboy

6. __ Lanka : SRI - Formerly Ceylon located just off 30. Nepal's continent : ASIA 

9. Selassie of Ethiopia : HAILE 

14. "One more time!" : AGAIN - Rick actually said, "You played it for her, you can play it for me!"

15. See 16-Across : EAR and 16. With 15-Across, cochlea site : INNER - A cochlear implant can have an external component which can be recommended by an 29. Sinusitis-treating MD : ENT - Ears/Nose/Throat M.D.

19. Anglican leader : VICAR - Enter Murder At The Vicarage in YouTube and you can view an entire Miss Marple adventure (1:20:00)

20. Rainbow hue : INDIGO - ROY G BIV

21. Eye part that may become detached : RETINA

22. What circled R's may indicate: Abbr. : TMS - ®

26. Point of giving up : WITS END - The Giants were at their WIT'S END with QB play and so...

28. Quarterback Manning : ELI - After 210 consecutive starts, ELI's mediocre play in 2017 got him benched last Sunday

31. Swig or sip : DRINK

39. Clock radio feature : ALARM

40. Valley : DALE - "Over hill, over DALE" is now "First to fight, for the right"

42. Word after black or photo : OPS - Some celebrities and politicians are avoiding photo OPS these days

45. Nike's __-FIT fabric : DRI - DRI-FIT fabric can be found in all manner of Duck clothing like this hooded sweatshirt which 46. Guarantees : ASSURES you it will wick sweat away from your body

52. Badminton court divider : NET

53. President after Jimmy : RONALD - Reagan "The Gipper"

54. "Bob's Burgers" daughter : LOUISE - I have never seen this cartoon! I might have opted for 54. Maurice Chevalier's woman of song (Man, I'm old!)

56. Emcee's opening : INTRO

60. Give direction to : STEER

61. Salinger's "Franny __ Zooey" : AND - Would people think me more literate if I wore this t-shirt?

62. Tender beef cuts : LOINS

63. Frost-covered : HOARY - I had a picture of this last Wednesday

64. "Certainly!" : YES - Alternate pronunciation

65. Lived : DWELT


Down

1. __-di-dah: pretentious : LAH

2. Number on many a birthday card : AGE

3. Extremely cruel : SADISTIC

4. Communicate with a deaf person : SIGN

5. Antsy : ON EDGE - What's that dog doing?

6. Neptune, for one : SEA GOD

7. Shaving device : RAZOR - I'm a straight edge kind of guy

8. Boiling blood : IRE


9. Collective intelligence : HIVE MIND - Alll 31. Obama, e.g.: Abbr. : DEM's - voted against the tax bill last Sunday and all REP's but one voted for it. Tell me again why they waste hours and hours debating?

10. Baker with Grammys : ANITA

11. Cut into : INCISE

12. Use for support : LEAN ON - The wonderful lyrics from Bill Withers' song

13. Knight-__ : ERRANT - Literature's most famous

18. Demeanor : MIEN

21. Artifact : RELIC - What? You were alive when JFK got shot?

22. Bankrupt airline : TWA


23. Battleship call : MISS - Hasn't every math teacher used Battleship® to teach coordinates?

25. Microbe : GERM

27. Poet Teasdale : SARA - Okay

32. African antelope : KUDU - An amazing looking animal

34. The Stars and Stripes : OLD GLORY

35. Rowed : OARED - It ranks right up there with "APED" on my Verb dishonor roll.

36. Dreadful : GRIM

37. Manhattan concert hall : CARNEGIE - How do you get to CARNEGIE Hall? [You all know the punchline]

38. Bauhaus artist Paul : KLEE - An icon for the Bauhaus Art School in Weimar, Germany and an example of work by one of its students Paul Klee (Senecio 1922)

41. Superlative suffix : EST

42. Like Shrek : OGRISH - My Spell Checker said, "Huh?" and Dictionary.com offered OGREISH as the preferred form

43. "ASAP!" : PRONTO

44. Beverage brewed outdoors : SUN TEA - A summer tradition here in the hinterlands 

46. Not seeing eye to eye : AT ODDS - I know our tea connoisseur friends Steve and C.C. would be AT ODDS by my choice of Lipton tea bags

47. Gulf War missile : SCUD - Saddam Hussien's futile weapon of choice

48. Lancer's protection : SHIELD - Here's a Lancer using his SHIELD for protection by shattering his opponent's weapon

50. Challenger : DARER

51. Flared skirt : A-LINE

55. It may come down in winter : SNOW - It can be pretty before you have to get out the blower

57. Stable serving : HAY - For the unbridled appetite.

58. Photo blowup: Abbr. : ENL

59. Salt Lake City hrs. : MST - 14th largest city with MST. Seven AZ cities are bigger












Now we await the GEMS you uncover in your mines/minds:

DA GRID:

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Lucina, who's been with our blog since Feb 2010. So sweet to see this picture again. Lucina travels to CA once a year, and she often meets with our Californian Coven there.

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015 

Tuesday, December 5 2017, Kurt Krauss

Theme: Old MacDonald 


20A. *Company that maintains network messages : E-MAIL HOST
30A. *Apple music player : I-POD NANO
36A. *Springsteen's ensemble : E-STREET BAND
46A. *"My stars!" : I DECLARE
52A. *Willa Cather novel set in Nebraska : O PIONEERS

1A. Place that can precede the starts of 20-, 30-, 36-, 46- and 52-Across : FARM
69A. Bird that can precede the starts of 20-, 30-, 36-, 46- and 52-Across : DUCK
13D. Animal that can precede the starts of 20-, 30-, 36-, 46- and 52-Across : PIG
57D. Animal that can precede the starts of 20-, 30-, 36-, 46- and 52-Across : COW
Get it? E-I-E-I-O?


Melissa here. I DECLARE, this was new and different - not to mention a tricky theme. Above a Tuesday level I thought, all the way around.

Across: 

5. Spanish red wine : RIOJA

 
10. Office fill-in : TEMP

14. Yours, in Tours : ATOI. French.

15. Sign up, in Sussex : ENROL. According to the Grammarist, enrol is the preferred spelling outside of North America.

16. Jai __ : ALAI

17. The Volunteer St. : TENN. Ah. State, not Street. The nickname originated during the War of 1812, in which the volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, serving under Gen. Andrew Jackson, displayed marked valor in the Battle of New Orleans. Tennesee was named after Cherokee Indian villages called Tanasi.

18. Putting the squeeze on : PRESSURING 

22. Bygone Toyotas : SUPRAS. On a personal note - another bygone Toyota is their FJ Cruiser - my brother's car that was declared a total loss a few months ago. So sad. That thing was a tank and probably saved my life.

25. Lets up : EASES

29. '60s United Nations secretary general : UTHANT. Who??

33. Beauty at a ball : BELLE

 
34. Ivan the Terrible, e.g. : TSAR

35. Crime family leader : DON

40. "Mazel __!" : TOV

42. Take a chance : DARE

43. Soft leather : SUEDE

 
49. Counterbalance : OFFSET

50. Instruments for Yo-Yo Ma : CELLI

51. Traveled like Huck Finn : RAFTED

57. Arms-around-knees swimming pool jump : CANNONBALL

60. Gillette brand : ATRA

64. Curved molding : OGEE

65. Written reminders : NOTES

66. Worker finishing an éclair : ICER

67. Invasive plant : WEED

68. Terse summons from the boss : SEE ME

Down:

1. __ Tuesday: Mardi Gras : FAT. What is Fat Tuesday?

2. Chowed down : ATE

3. Potter pal Weasley : RON

4. Necessary nutrients : MINERALS

5. Meal : REPAST

6. Cross inscription : INRI

7. Baseball analyst Hershiser : OREL

8. Kid around : JOSH

9. "Not to mention ... " : ALSO

10. Kilt pattern : TARTAN

11. Inventor Whitney : ELI

12. Superhero suffix : MAN

19. Employed : USED

21. Painter Édouard : MANET

22. Long sandwich : SUB

23. Versatile vehicle, for short : UTE

24. Soil acidity measure : PH LEVEL

26. Most mournful : SADDEST

27. Eclectic musician Brian : ENO

28. Prince, to a king : SON

30. Grenoble's river : ISERE. In southeastern France.

31. Liver spread : PATE

32. Heavenly body : ORB

34. Drop of sadness : TEAR

37. Old cereal box no. : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance. Interesting history.

38. To the same extent : AS FAR

39. Informal "No more talk" : 'NUFF SAID

40. Twitch : TIC

41. Poetic tribute : ODE

44. Low grade : DEE

45. Itinerary approx. : ETD

47. Copied genetically : CLONED

48. Fat-reducing procedure, briefly : LIPO

49. Words ending a threat : OR ELSE

53. Quaint lodgings : INNS

54. Bassoon kin : OBOE

55. Basketball Hall of Famer Archibald : NATE. Maybe a gimme to basketball fans?

56. Grade sch. level : ELEM

58. Single-malt datum : AGE

59. Family tree word : NEE

61. Longhorn State sch. : TCU. Texas Christian University - in Ft. Worth.

62. DVR button : REC

63. Genesis craft : ARK

E-I-E-I-O.

 

Monday, December 4, 2017 ~ Jeff Stillman

Theme: Seeing Double - Heteronyms, the last word and the last syllable of the preceding word are spelled the same but sound different.

17A. Devotee of singer Gloria: ESTEFAN FAN

24A. Precise price: ACCURATE RATE

39A. Mata Hari story, e.g.: FEMME FATALE TALE

51A. Garden purchase from a Lowe's rival: HOME DEPOT POT

63A. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it's 63 for retirement: AVERAGE AGE

Argyle here. No reveal and five entries yet still an easy Monday.

Across:

1. Knight's "shining" protection: ARMOR

6. Elegant: POSH

10. WWII servicewomen: WACs. (Women's Army Corps)

14. Car body style: COUPE. 45D. Family car: SEDAN

15. Mennen shaving lotion: AFTA

16. Get one's ducks in __: A ROW

19. Heavy book: TOME

20. Buck or doe: DEER

21. Beluga yield: ROE. The Beluga sturgeon, not Beluga whale.

22. Viewed to be: DEEMED

27. Mineral springs: SPA

30. Believer's suffix: IST

31. Five-time Wimbledon champ Bjorn: BORG. "Resistance is futile."

32. Portion out: ALLOT

34. "Westworld" network: HBO. (Home Box Office)

35. Bon Ami alternative: AJAX

43. Simplicity: EASE

44. The "I" in TGIF: IT'S

46. Disney's "__ & Stitch": LILO. (2002)

48. Above-the-street trains: ELs

50. Chapter in history: ERA

56. Truck capacity: ONE TON

57. Coffee order: Abbr.: REG. (regular) Does that mean with cream and sugar to you?

58. Image to click on: ICON

62. Gadget's rank: Abbr.: INSP. (Inspector) Animated TV series.

66. Slugger Sammy: SOSA. Baseball.

67. Earth orbiter: MOON

68. Wafer brand: NILLA by Nabisco.

69. Jacob or Esau: TWIN

70. Choice word: ELSE

71. Not reached, as a goal: UNMET. Like most fund drives, right down to the wire.

Down:

1. Scored 100 on: ACED

2. Went up: ROSE

3. Sound-off button: MUTE

4. Wagner work: OPERA

5. Striped-shirt wearer: REF

6. Happen as expected: PAN OUT

7. Buyer's proposal: OFFER

8. BART stop: STA. (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

9. Hammer or screwdriver: HAND TOOL

10. Nixon Era scandal: WATERGATE

11. Pleasing smell: AROMA

12. Tailed celestial body: COMET

13. 31-Across, by birth: SWEDE. "Resistance is futile."

18. Rainbow shapes: ARCs

23. Poetic "always": E'ER

25. Credit in a footnote: CITE

26. "Dancing Queen" group: ABBA

27. Place for valuables: SAFE

28. Not guilty, for one: PLEA

29. Gift for the poor: ALMS

33. Skillet for folded egg dishes: OMELET PAN

34. Growth chart nos.: HTs. (height)

36. Green stone: JADE

37. Banned apple spray: ALAR

38. TV warrior princess: XENA

40. It's often followed by .pdf: FILE NAME

41. On the summit of: ATOP

42. Old U.S. gas brand: ESSO

47. Swearing-in words: I DO

48. Timeless, in verse: ETERNE

49. Women's links gp.: LPGA.(Ladies Professional Golf Association)

51. Lift up: HOIST

52. Televised as we speak: ON NOW

53. Soccer great Lionel: MESSI. I still haven't learned his name.

54. Black-and-white cookies: OREOs

55. Marketing gimmick: TIE-IN

59. Period "before the storm": CALM

60. Look at lasciviously: OGLE

61. Without ice, at the bar: NEAT

64. TV loud-soft control: Abbr.: VOL. (volume)

65. Bearded antelope: GNU. Available in the gift shop.

Argyle

Sunday Dec 3, 2017 Nora Pearlstone

Theme:  "Movers"- Parse it as Move-Rs. Letter R's are moved backwards.

 

23A. Screwballs in the hayloft? : BARN FLAKES. Bran flakes. Notice in each original phrase, letter R is the second letter? Very consistent.

25A. Where crooks learn their trade? : PERP SCHOOL. Prep school.

43A. Cookie cooks? : DISC BAKERS. Disc brakes. Oh, this reminds me of Anon-T and his Pizzelle.

83A. Dealt with unproductive mollusks? : FIRED CLAMS. Fried clams.

   

102A. Restaurant reservation for fish? : CARP'S TABLE. Craps table. Boomer's encounter with Dr. J happened at a craps table in the old Stardust in Vegas.

104A. Result of Uncle Sam frequenting Papa John's? : PIZZA BEARD. Funny image. Pizza bread.

36D. Like surfers? : BOARD-MINDED. Broad-minded.

39D. Group of body shop specialists? : BUMPER CORPS. Bumper crops. Tiny stray R in BUMPER.

Nora Pearlstone is the alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Not a Real Person". See here for a full list of the alias names Rich uses. 

Always a treat when Rich makes a puzzle. These days he's very busy editing the LA Times crosswords. Prior to 2010, Rich constructed tons of puzzles for the NYT, LAT, CrosSynergy and other venues. 

I don't think we've seen a themeless from Rich in the LAT, but he's an extremely accomplished themeless constructor. So he can really go low on Sunday word account, but he chose a 142 for clean fill today. Rich also allows 144 words for Sundays. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.

Across:

        

1. __ act : CLASS. Fill-in--the blank clues are no gimmes.

6. Graceful bird : SWAN

10. Manhattan sch. : CCNY

 

14. Baggage check requirement : ID TAG

19. Primer sequence : A E I O U

20. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO

21. Surprised greeting : OH HI

22. Actress Thomas : MARLO. Can you believe she's 80 years old?

27. Enjoying a wilderness vacation, maybe : ON SAFARI.

28. Two-mile-high city : LHASA. I linked this once. Both Shanghai and Lhasa are two-character names in Chinese. We use La Sa spelling.

30. Caged, with "up" : COOPED

31. Very long tooth : TUSK

32. Pouch occupants : JOEYs

33. Fronded tree : PALM

34. Picasso, for one : CUBIST. Same letter count as ARTIST.

37. Med. prefix : NEUR. Nerve.

38. Income statement write-offs : BAD DEBTS. And "income" clue echo with 42. Live-income filler : ON ONE

46. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI

47. Film-rating org. : MPAA

48. Elec. instrument : SYNTH

49. "Later" : TA TA

50. "The Simpsons" character Sideshow __ : MEL. Unknown to me. We see APU/STU more often.

51. Faller of 2001 : MIR

52. "Hmm ... don't think so" : UH NO

53. Northumbrian monk, briefly : ST BEDE. According to Wiki, he was "an English monk at the monastery of St. Peter and its companion monastery of St. Paul in the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles".

55. __ facto : IPSO

56. Slowish movement : ANDANTE

58. Leafstalks : PETIOLES. Learning moment for me.

60. Interfere (with) : MESS

61. Mickey and Jerry : MICE. What a great surprise! Thought the answer would be a plural surnames. 

62. Strict diet restriction : NO CARBS

63. Blacken : SEAR

65. "... dark, __ the blaze of noon": Milton : AMID

67. Prizes in a case : TROPHIES

69. Feline named for an island : MANX CAT. Isle of Man.

72. Sensible : SANE

73. Tardy with : LATE ON

74. Team across the state from the Marlins : RAYS. Tampa Bay Rays.And 16. 74-Across' stadium, casually, with "The" : TROP. Tropicana Field.

75. Artist Yoko : ONO

76. Decked : KO'D

77. Zany Martha : RAYE

78. They're heavier than foils : EPEES

80. Villain named Julius : DR NO. He was born in Beijing.

81. Russian city : OREL. South of Moscow.

85. Easy putt : TAP IN

86. Faithfulness : FIDELITY

88. Showing skill : ABLY. Big Easy sent me this.

89. Order givers : BOSSES

90. Ending with ortho- : DOXY

91. Bar, at the bar : ESTOP. First Bar is verb. Second noun.

93. Algebra, e.g. : MATH

94. Rabbitlike rodent : AGOUTI

97. Arctic temperature word : BELOW

98. Inherited : CAME INTO

106. Link with : TIE TO

107. Banned for a rules infraction, informally : DQ'ED. Disqualified.

108. Marginally : A TAD

109. Kate's sitcom pal : ALLIE. Kate & Allie.

110. Above it all : ALOOF And 3. Above-it-all attitude : AIRS

111. Old pol. divisions : SSRs

112. Toon explorer : DORA

113. Window insert : GLASS

  

Down:

 

1. Mexican resort, familiarly : CABO. Cabo San Lucas.

2. Not fatty : LEAN

4. Clementi composition : SONATINA. Did not know Clementi. Rich himself plays piano.

5. Fill, as with light : SUFFUSE

6. Lively quality : SPARK. Yeah, Misty, we love to see you healthy and happy.

7. User-edited site : WIKI

 

8. Top performer : ACE

9. Pretty darn good : NO SLOUCH. Rich is also no slouch when it comes to golf. Scratch golfer.

10. Patient share : CO-PAY

11. Game with capturing : CHESS

12. Dragsters' org. : NHRA.National Hot Rod Association.

13. Shelter sound : YIP

14. "Brr!" : I'M COLD

15. Former name of Benin : DAHOMEY. Another learning moment for me.

17. Burn soother : ALOE

18. Top prize : GOLD

24. Bottom position : LAST

26. Many : SCADS

29. Rosemary, e.g. : HERB. I've been loving rosemary-roasted potatoes. Simple to make. Nothing as complicated as D-Otto's potato dumplings.

32. Fun : JEST

33. Celebratory procession : PARADE

34. Run-on sentence's lack, probably : COMMA

 

35. Remove, as a brooch : UNPIN

37. El __ : NINO

38. Stimulating leaves : BETELS. I was told that that betel leaves are used in Indian weddings.

40. Long lock : TRESS

41. Storage cylinders : SILOS

43. 10 micronewtons : DYNE

 

44. Wear : ATTIRE

45. Cookout fare on sticks : KABOBS. Xi'an style kabobs. Lots of red pepper flakes. Sichuan province is our neighbor, so our cooking is a bit similar. But we mainly use red hot pepper. They use both red hot pepper and the peppercorn. Their food is numbingly spicy. Our food is simply "hot".

48. "Fiddler on the Roof" village : SHTETL. Consonant-heavy.

52. The Tar Heels of the NCAA : UNC

53. Spray 'n Wash target : STAIN

54. Much of Lamb's legacy : ESSAYS

 

55. High-resolution film format : IMAX

57. Help on the Hill : AIDE

58. Character who uses "yam" as a verb : POPEYE. And 71. 58-Down et al. : TOONS

59. Repeated : ECHOED

62. __ public : NOTARY

64. USN rank : ENS

65. Require from : ASK OF

66. Like about 15% of New Zealanders : MAORI. Over 10% of their population are Asians.

68. It's unlikely : RARITY

69. Fannie __: securities : MAEs

70. Musical in which FDR is a character : ANNIE. Easy guess. 

 

74. __ Martin Cognac : REMY

78. Skateboarder's protection : ELBOW PAD. Lovely fill.

79. Crab's sensor : PALP

80. Hammett who created Nick and Nora : DASHIELL. Don't recall seeing his given name before. Nice. 

82. Was a factor in : LED UP TO

83. Handy "Mr." : FIX IT.  Look at TTP's work.

84. Roman statesman : CATO

85. Reward for a donation, maybe : TOTE BAG

87. Beaucoup : LOTS OF

89. Perennial NCAA football powerhouse : BAMA

91. Conger catcher : EELER. Thank God for Old Fisherman. So tasty!

92. Snow-covered hill sights : SLEDS

 

93. "Zoom-Zoom" sloganeer : MAZDA

94. Official records : ACTA

95. Windy-sounding woman's name : GAIL. Our Gail G.

96. Sandwich cookie : OREO

97. Some fam. meals : BBQs

98. Mogul : CZAR

99. Simba's mate : NALA

100. Speaker of Cooperstown : TRIS. I faintly recall TTP's mom worked in his ranch.

101. Poems of honor : ODEs

103. Spots on the tube : ADs

105. Midori on the ice : ITO

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 2nd, 2017, D. Scott Nichols & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Argyle SoC.C.ks~!

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

A Saturday collaboration between our Monday/Tuesday blogger and the host of the show, C.C.  Lots of multi-word answers today, and a few vague proper names, I caved in to red-letters to help me get the NE corner finished.  Staircase pattern grid, with a pair of 9x6 corners, and nothing longer than those;

15. [Yawn] : I NEED A NAP

12. Singer? : DIRTY RAT - the canary stoolie kind of singer.  I wondered if it was singe-er, as in one who singes

62. Big brother, often : ROLE MODEL

36. Legendary court figure : LANCELOT

 Monty Python~! - well I got "a" note~! @ 3:30

Done.

ACROSS:

 1. Stay in the big house : SERVE TIME - I've done mine - time for someone else

10. Beach pretender : HODAD - I had no idea - I tried POSER to start -  tho I probably have seen this in crosswords before - filled via perps, but I had to Google to check it out

16. Many a Studio Ghibli film : ANIME - red letters told me INDIE was wrong - but only 60% wrong

17. Fund for incidentals : PETTY CASH

18. Character who dances on the beach at Stavros : ZORBA - the only Stavros I could think of was Stavro Mueller and his Beta nightclub - the scene of the climactic end to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 5-book trilogy

So long, and thanks for all the fish

19. Supporting : PRO - I waited to see if it would be "FOR" or "PRO"

20. Evil skill : SORCERY - I tried spelling it so"U"rcery for some reason

22. Talbot Jr. or Sr. on "Rectify" : TED - Googled; never even heard of the show

23. Obstacles on the set : EGOS

25. Confident response to "Your opponent is ready" : "SO AM I~!"

26. Funeral rite heap : PYRE

27. Poet Thomas : DYLAN - filled via perps

29. "Baby Blues" baby : WREN - filled via perps; I looked it up, realized it was the comic strip, which I read and like, but it did not register during the solve

30. Maranjab Desert country : IRAN - a WAG off the "I" - either this one or iraQ

31. Empty out badly? : ROB - ah, theft empty out

33. Repertoire : ARSENAL

35. Skeleton's place? : CLOSET

38. Do maintenance on, as a putting green : AERATE - I had "RE-" in the opening position, which stopped me from seeing this answer, better than "reRAKE" - but it works with sand traps....

39. Card carrier : LANYARD - generic cord for holding ID cards, etc., that is

41. Convene : SIT - MET would not work with the tense of the verb

42. Chill (with) : HANG

43. Kate of "House of Cards" : MARA - filled via perps

45. Grouses : CARPS - wait til we get to the leg picture, and the grousing shall commence~!

49. Welding sparks : ARCS

50. Better : AMEND

52. Tar on the ocean : SALT - sailor nicknames

53. Compete : VIE

54. Like free-range chickens : UNCAGED

56. West of Tinseltown : MAE

57. Country album? : ATLAS - clever

59. History buff's artifacts : AMERICANA

61. Tearful queen : NIOBE

63. First chips : ANTEs - poker, and such

64. Chaotic places : SNAKE PITS

DOWN:

1. Nursed : SIPPED

2. Zip : ENERGY - the 'pep' definition, not the 'nothing' one

3. Overhaul the plant : RETOOL - I pondered REPOTS, but it's the other kind of plant

4. Old hand : VET

5. Dessert company founded in 1928 : EDY'S - only so many ways to clue this four-letter word

6. Shells from stands : TACOS - I was thinking tomatoes, as in shelling a bad stage actor

7. Sequentially : IN A ROW

8. It runs in the shower : MASCARA - I suppose it would

9. Short-lived things : EPHEMERA - the plural of ephemeron, Greek for short-lived insect, and subsequently anything designed to be short-lived

10. Indistinct : HAZY

11. Noted resident of The Dakota in Manhattan : ONO

13. Pale order : AMBER ALE

14. Tone down : DEADEN

21. Washes out : RINSES

24. South Seas cover-ups : SARONGS - a golden opportunity for some leg~!

26. They're beaten at parties : PIÑATAS

28. Intrusive : NOSY - it's those uppity trolls around here that give "anonymous" a bad name - now that's funny

32. Tough guy's exhortation : BE A MAN - for the men, a leg pic can be found here

34. Church of country : ERIC - his name, not the location

35. Allergy sufferer's choice : CLARITIN

37. Mine carriers : TRAMCARS - oh, that kind of mine - I have been watching The Viet Nam War series on PBS, and those were the mines I was thinking of

40. "As if!" : DREAM ON

42. Caribbean city with cocotaxis : HAVANA

44. German chancellor Merkel : ANGELA

46. City west of Baghdad : RAMADI

47. Mercury, e.g. : PLANET - not the sedan/auto this time

48. Bargains beyond belief : STEALS

51. Teammate of Mariano for 19 years : DEREK - couldn't be a C.C. puzzle without baseball, and even though I knew who Mr. Rivera was, I went with JETER before DEREK

54. Exploits : USES

55. Small change : DIME - the one that fit, but CENT was a possibility, too

58. #16, familiarly : ABE - President of the United States

60. Booking agent? : COP - tell 'em, Steve~!

"Aloha, Suckers~!"

Splynter

Friday, December 1, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME .

JW is here for another Friday (thank you again HG for the blogs while I was gone) and with what I believe is his first punny quip puzzle. " If I tolled them once, I tolled them a hundred times."

The tolled-told homonym is the key to the humor. We also have some related fill with QUASIMODO and BELL TOWER. This is a rather upbeat puzzle for a very dark story. VICTOR HUGO was quite political in his writings. I was surprised by the theme but appreciated the humor.  There are 59 spaces attached to the theme, with the grid spanner in the middle. The theme did not require a reveal unless you were unfamiliar with this classic movie.

                                                                     SANCTUARY

 We also have fun fill like, CHIPS AWAY, EVIL DEEDS, LIVIDNESS and MIAMI VICE but it is the "quote" which is the puzzle.

17A. Hugo character memorably portrayed by Charles Laughton: QUASIMODO (9).

23A. With 36- and 44-Across, what 17-Across might have said when his job became too repetitious? : IF I TOLLED THEM (13).

36A. See 23-Across: ONCE, I TOLLED THEM (15).

44. See 23-Across: A HUNDRED TIMES (13).

57A. 17-Across' workplace: BELL TOWER (9).


Across:

1. Qualifier for a hall entry? : FAME. I wanted hall pass.

5. Excuse descriptor: LAME. So we start with a nice rhyme.

9. Med. recordings: EKGS. There should not be an "S."

13. Over, in much Twain dialogue: AGIN. As opposed to agin/fer.

14. "__ my way": I'M ON.

15. Relatives of windsocks: VANES. I guess.

19. Fuming: IRATE.

20. Uncle__: SAM.

21. Risk pieces: DICE. The die - a piece of the game or a tool used in the game?

22. Type of large TV: PLASMA.

26. Sitarist Shankar: RAVI. Norah Jones' father.

28. Metal sources: ORES.

29. Important part of a whale's diet: KRILL. They look like small SHRIMP.

31. Feigned: FALSE.

33. Many an IRS employee: CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

39. "Got it now?" : SEE?

40. Parts of Walmart work uniforms: VESTS.

41. Frodo's home, with "the": SHIRE.

42. Gentlemen: SIRS.

43. Actor Omar: EPPS. Once again this week; who is his publicist?

51. Lengthy account: LITANY. Usually of bad things.

52. Participate in a race, maybe: RIDE.

53. Fluoride-touting org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

56. Blazing: AFIRE. Ooh, an a-word.

59. Problems electric razors should prevent: NICKS.

60. Avoid getting into deep water? : WADE.

61. "Lobster Telephone" artist: DALI.

Lobster Telephone is a surrealist object, created by Salvador Dalí in 1936 for the English poet Edward James, a leading collector of surrealist art. Wiki.

62. "__ who?" : SAYS.

63. Monthly Roman calendar occurrences: IDES.  Twice this week. With the fate of Julius Caesar in mind,  this is an interesting juxtaposition with....

64. Turned yellow, perhaps: DYED.

Down:

1. Customer info sources: FAQS.

2. Lago contents: AGUA. Lake: Water. Spanish.

3. '80s cop show featuring Ferraris: MIAMI VICE. An interesting story. LINK. Ferraris twice this week.

4. USN rank: ENSign.

5. Keep in check: LIMIT.

6. Merged gas company: AMOCO. Gobbled up by BP, this brand may be BACK.

7. Auto datum: MODEL.

8. Brian of music: ENO.

9. What superheroes seek to thwart: EVIL DEEDS. This needed many perps.

10. Gold fineness units: KARATS. From a JEWELER.

11. Grind: GNASH.

12. "They __ up!": scapegoat's cry: SET ME.

16. Alteration target: SEAM. My mother was a wonderful nurse and mother, but she could not sew. My brothers and I had to stand with one leg up on the bottom stair after she shortened the pants to make the legs look even.

18. Infamous Amin: IDI.

22. Intrinsically: PER SE. This is not a legal term, per se.

24. Rank partner: FILE. READ and discuss.

25. Doesn't do much: LOLLS.

26. Classic movie theaters: RKOS.

27. "Alfred" composer: ARNE. Not his most famous work. LINK.

30. Red state? : LIVIDNESS. This was very difficult, but when you are livid you turn red.

31. Broadway choreographer for "Chicago": FOSSE.

32. PC key: ALT.

33. Cuts into, with "at": CHIPS AWAY.

34. Cop's collar: PERP. Not her.

35. Iowa college town: AMES. Not Ed this time.

37. Jones or Gilliam of Monty Python: TERRY. The only AMERICAN  in Monty Python is Terry Gilliam.

38. Passé pronoun: THEE.

42. Impertinent in tone: SNARKY.

44. PBS "Mystery!" host Cumming: ALAN.

45. LP players: HI FIS.

46. Erie Canal city: UTICA.

47. More than fear: DREAD.

48. Circumflex cousin: TILDE. Diacritic marks. COMPLICATED.

49. Doesn't do much: IDLES.

50. Satisfied: MET.

54. Editor's mark: DELE.

55. Like much of New Mexico: ARID.

57. Md. airport serving D.C.: BWI. Baltimore Washington International.

58. Not quite right: ODD. We have one living at our condo complex...not easy.

Back when this blog was young and the puzzles discussed were edited by Wayne Williams, we had many similar puzzles. They are usually called "quip" puzzles. Most were silly, so this is not a unique approach. But from Jeffrey? In the LAT?  I liked it, hope you did. Lemonade out.

Thursday, November 30th 2017 Morton J. Mendelson

Theme: Split P's Soup - The clues form the theme with a vowel progression between the two P's

17A. Pap : MUSHY FOOD. About as appetizing as it sounds.

24A. Pep : GET UP AND GO. Nice phrase, difficult to parse from a partially-completed grid.

38A. Pip : DIE SPOT. I tried ONE SPOT first, but TEO'S and GERN at 31D and 24D respectively nudged me that something was amiss.

49A. Pop : MUSIC GENRE. "Pop" is often used derogatively, but there's something about a good pop song that lifts the soul.

60A. Pup : YOUNG SEAL. Had YOUNGSTER until nothing would work in the SW corner.

Good Morning from 39,000 feet!. It's cold outside, as the in-flight website shows:

I never cease to be amazed by technology. This wireless internet caper at this altitude is nothing more than dark magic and hocus-pocus to me.

Anyway, back to the puzzle. A nice alphabet progression from Morton, and four of the five theme entries are new to all the major puzzles which makes for a nice fresh feel to the grid.

Let's see what else catches the eye:

Across:

1. WC : LAV Common term in the UK, from whence I just returned. I can stop talking like Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" now.

4. Cardiff-born : WELSH

9. Many Dickens kids : WAIFS

14. Action film gun : UZI

15. Kauai greeting : ALOHA. Greeting and farewell. Handy word.

16. Northern home : IGLOO

19. Like hardened mud on boots : CAKED

20. Asks too many questions : PRIES

21. Central points : FOCI. Some prefer "focuses", but that's the verb, not the noun.

23. Mountain legend : YETI

30. Getting-started instruction : STEP ONE. Self-assembly furniture, the bane of modern life, usually starts with counting the screws, washers and what-not and finding yourself one short of something.

32. 1976 Dylan song about his first wife : SARA. I'd not heard this track before. When I listened to it, I would have sworn it was Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler if I didn't know it was Bob.

33. Like FM radio, typically : IN STEREO

36. Old lab heaters : ETNAS. We used Bunsen burners in school. Handy for setting fire to just about anything within reach, including your classmate's tie. I'm surprised we survived school sometimes. One of my friends once went home unawares with a flask of sulphuric acid in his overcoat pocket, slipped in there by another chum.

37. Playa __ Rey: L.A. community : DEL. Between the Marina and the airport. It's pretty peaceful in spite of the proximity to LAX.

41. Biol. or chem. : SCI. 

42. Places to find stacks : IHOPS. And blue roofs.

44. Some DVD bonus tracks : OUTTAKES. Some of the best parts of Pixer's movies are the specially-created "outtakes" that they run with the credits at the end of the film. The animators have a lot of fun with those.

46. Little dipper? : OREO We take Oreos by popular request to the UK when we visit. For some reason they're rather expensive over there. Also, the more unusual M&M flavors, Lawry's garlic salt and bean dip. It always fascinates the TSA guys when they open the bag.

47. Lovey-dovey : AMOROUS

51. Sounds of activity : HUMS

55. __ beer : NEAR. And pretty much pointless, in my humble opinion. Also known as "small beer." There's a tombstone in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral in England which serves as a dire warning against drinking this stuff. I was just there the other day.

 

56. Legendary moralist : AESOP

57. Angiogram image : AORTA

64. Counterintelligence targets : SPIES

65. The life of Paris? : LA VIE

66. Tre meno due : UNA. 3-2=1 in any language.

67. Disconcerting gaze : STARE. I get uncomfortable when cats stare at me. I know they're plotting something dire.

68. Stingray kin : SKATE

69. Salary : PAY

Down:

1. Like poorly made Cream of Wheat : LUMPY. Is this also pap?

2. Clear blue : AZURE

3. Stay and catch up : VISIT

4. Techniques : WAYS

5. "The Hobbit" being : ELF. "E" and wait for the crosses.

6. WC : LOO

7. "Homeland" channel, for short : SHO. Showtime.

8. Enjoyed themselves : HAD FUN

9. Contemporary pagan religion : WICCA

10. In contact with : AGAINST

11. Kind : ILK

12. A Capulet, to a Montague : FOE. Romeo and Juliet.

13. Cover for a bald spot? : SOD

18. Art theft, e.g. : HEIST. Art and bank vault robberies always seemed to be "heists". Everything else is plain old larceny.

22. Unlatch, poetically : OPE'

24. "Deadwood" actress Jewell : GERI

25. Fencing sword : EPÉE

26. "Should I have waited?" : TOO SOON? Often the question comes after a joke in bad taste regarding a recent tragic event.

27. Lenox china brand : DANSK. Crosses all the way.

28. Word with period or note : GRACE. One of these little notes on the stave. They're barely played before a quick segue into the note following.

29. It might be a mirage : OASIS

31. Koppel and others : TEDS

33. By the seat of one's pants, e.g. : IDIOM

34. Indira Gandhi's father : NEHRU. A lot of people think Mahatma Gandhi was Indira's father. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India following independence from British rule.

35. Plumlike fruits : SLOES. Take a bottle of gin, a generous handful of sloes, prick the berries all over with a needle, steep in the gin for a few days or longer - voila, sloe gin.

36. Classic accusation : ET TU?

39. Be catty? : PURR

40. Missouri River native : OTOE

43. Laser device : POINTER. I've got one on my PowerPoint remote clicker for presentations. Dogs love chasing the red dot around the room.

45. Clambake leftovers : ASHES

47. Ottoman honorific : AGA

48. Ice dancing Olympic gold medalist Davis and Oscar winner Streep : MERYLS. I knew the actress, not the dancer.

50. Pull the plug on : CEASE

52. Run through : USE UP

53. 2016 Disney film set in the South Seas : MOANA. I think I saw film. By the fact I "think" I saw it probably means it wasn't a Disney classic.

54. Spread apart : SPLAY

56. Tommie of '60s-'70s baseball : AGEE. Nailed it!  Thanks to many crosswords under my belt.

57. Hee-hawing animal : ASS

58. Choose : OPT

59. Narrow inlet : RIA

61. Barrel wood : OAK

62. The Cavaliers of the ACC : UVA. University of Virginia, naturally.

63. It may be picked : NIT. But never, ever here at the Corner.

That about rounds it off. I'll leave you with this cloudscape in London last Sunday, and the grid. The iPhone really does take pretty good photos sometimes!

Steve