Saturday, February 16, 2019, Christopher Adams

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Christopher Adams


World Whale Day was started in 1980 on Maui. It reminds us of the challenges faced in our oceans across the globe. Observed annually on the third Sunday in February, World Whale Day celebrates these noble sea mammals.

My experience is limited to seeing Killer Whales in Sea World shows. The theme park has not obtained orcas from the wild for decades and now has also stopped breeding programs and theatrical shows with "Shamus" as well but will care for the ones remaining in their tanks as long as they live.  Sea World and Orcas

Christopher Adams

Today's constructor is Christopher Adams who appears to making his debut in LA Times. He is a Math/Physics guy and if you scroll down one screen here, you will find a nice bio of him 

The one odd take I have on Christopher's fun puzzle is that so many long fills were easy and helped with the shorter ones which he clued is some very unorthodox ways. I stared down the barrel of what seemed to be a Natick at AISH_/C_LDER but I correctly guessed the vowel that made the most sense. BTW, I will not say this was a whale of a puzzle and you can't make me.

Across:

1. High-tech accessory that may pose privacy issues: WEBCAM - Using these to communicate with our granddaughter during her semester in Grenoble was amazing to me! BTW, if you think you are not ever on a camera at any time... 

7. Not quite aligned: OFFSET - A definite possibility on California's Hayward Fault

13. No-nonsense marker: SHARPIE

14. Runs off, in a way: XEROXES - Every teacher's best friend to make worksheets

16. Leader of New Netherland before it was renamed New York: PETER STUYVESANT - The first very doable long fill

18. Caltech, e.g.: Abbr.: INST - A famous though fictional employee

19. The __ Man: Major Arcana card: HANGED - New learning for me. Major Arcana are the "picture cards" in a Tarot deck. All you need to know about the HANGED MAN

20. "Nixon in China" tenor role: MAO - Tenor John Duykers as MAO feels a song coming on 

21. Multiple of LXVII: CCI - CCI is a multiple of LXVII because III x LXVII = CCI (67 x 3 = 201)

22. Mobile maker: CALDER - I wonder what Alexander would charge for this tiny one he is holding

23. Flirtatious bat: WINK - Christopher! Here we see WINKING or flirtatious eye batting!

24. 1983 Streisand film: YENTL.

26. Spy novelist Deighton: LEN - A frequent crossword author/fill

27. "Clerks" clerk: DANTE - A 1994 film. A slightly less literate cluing for DANTE

28. Gandhi family notable: RAJIV - India's 6th Prime Minister who took office after his mother Indira Ghandi was assassinated in 1984

30. Exposes: BARES.

31. "The Card Players" artist: PAUL CEZANNE - Another easy long fill. Hmmm... I thought it might be dogs on velvet

33. Positive: CAN DO - As in CAN DO spirit

34. Contract with a flat fee?: LEASE like 12. What letters need: TENANTS - Clever again! This is what an apartment LETTER in S.F. is charging a LETTEE (TENANT) for a studio apt.

35. Sweetly, in suites: DOLCE- dolce here means play this sweetly. 

36. Dizzy genre: BOP - Trumpet player Dizzy Gillespies' genre

37. Secret targets?: ODORS - Another fun deception 

41. Old senate setting: ROME - A senate scene in ROME on the Ides Of March, 44 A.D.

42. Japan, to natives: NIPPON - A derisive name for Japanese in WWII was Nips

44. Roof, e.g.: TOP 

45. PC space bar neighbor: ALT - Every Windows user knows the Ctrl + ALT + Delete mantra 

46. Homer, in baseball lingo: GO DEEP -  To homer is to GO DEEP. Homer is a verb here

47. Pieces for one: SOLI - I have sung many a SOLI

48. Historical role played by Sally Field in 2012: MARY TODD LINCOLN - "Uh, Mrs. Lincoln we need to talk about your spending..."

51. Coral relative: ANEMONE - Coral and ANEMONE are both animals of the the group called  cnidaria (from Greek knidē ‘nettle) and are found on and form reefs

52. Dr. Scholl's products: INSOLES.

53. Promo: TEASER - Some TEASERS for bad movies have the one, single funny scene in them

54. More adroit: NEATER - Adroit people can do much NEATER work


Down:

1. Word of origin: WHENCE - We love to travel but are always happy to return to the place from WHENCE we came

2. Dirties the dishes: EATS IN.

3. Poison frontman Michaels: BRET - If you're a fan, you know which one below is BRET

4. Bit of EMT expertise: CPR 

5. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Tyler: AISHA - Here she is

6. Like gong sounds: METALLIC.

7. Space shuttle gas: OXYGEN - The -300˚F Liquid OXYGEN was at the top of the orange External Tank when upright on the launch pad

8. Contagious enthusiasm: FEVER - Husker FEVER has already generated a sellout of 90,000 people for the Spring Game/Scrimmage in April

9. Couples of golf: FRED -  Clever cluing for Freddie Couples

10. "Help wanted" sign?: SOS - I'll use any excuse to offer an ABBA song

11. Test taker: EXAMINEE - I was an Examiner for decades

13. Hot: SPICY.

15. Fuel: STOKE.

17. Like film in a camera: UNDEVELOPED - What? They still make film? 😏

22. Composer Debussy: CLAUDE - Claude provided spectacular music for the last scene of Ocean's 11

23. Put on notice: WARNED.

25. Blank state: TRANCE.

27. Ted of "The Good Place": DANSON - I suppose, but the only sitcom this physics teacher has watched in the last decade has been Big Bang Theory. 

29. Eponymous 2001 pop album: JLO - Jennifer Lopez

30. Barnyard sound: BAA.

31. Coconut source: PALM TREE - The difference between PALM TREES and coconut trees

32. Early transatlantic flier: ZEPPELIN - Here is the LZ 129 Hindenburg (Luftschiff Zeppelin #129) whose fate we all know

33. Nuclear reactor need: COOLANT.

35. Golden Globes genre: DRAMA.

36. Potential stock buyer: BIDDER - Here are some potential BIDDERS for stock 

38. 1962 Lawrence portrayer: O'TOOLE - Peter portrayed T.E. Lawrence 

39. Painting supply: ROLLER.

40. Pleasant rides: SPINS - Convertibles are built to take out for SPINS

42. 2007 #1 hit for Alicia Keys: NO ONE - Here ya go

43. Put in one's two cents: OPINE - What we bloggers do here according to C.C.'s rules

46. Classic muscle cars: GTOS.

47. Andy Murray, by birth: SCOT  - A proud son of Glasgow

49. Soprano Sumac: YMA - A stalwart songbird in the crossword choir

50. "The Puzzle Palace" org.: NSA

Comment at will

Friday, February 15, 2019, Winston Emmons

Title: Winston, I C what you did here.

We have a Friday add a letter theme presented in a pinwheel grid. This is our fourth puzzle from Winston (the name of my grandpuppy who turned 10 years old yesterday-picture below) and his second already this year. Today's feature is different than his earlier Friday, and I found pretty doable. I never heard of the Fugard play, but the rest filled in with just a few perps. I did learn a bit and enjoyed some of the longer fill like DELISTS,  EMANUEL, ANDRETTI,  SEAHORSE, ASSERTIVE, and STENCILED. So we are off...

16A. Social media buzz about Alfred E. Neuman?: MAD CHATTER (10). I have never been to a chat room. Mad HATTER is an Alice in Wonderland reference.

62A. Jalopy that still works?: GOING CRATE (10). Going RATE is an in the language phrase and CRATE is ok.

9D. Vegan regimen for a willowy look?: CATKINS DIET (11). The controversial ATKINS diet morphs into a flowering spike of trees such as willow and hazel.

22D. Trysting place?: CHEATING PAD (11). A simple HEATING pad becomes a den of iniquity.
With a reveal:

67A. Grade describing the four longest puzzle answers?: C PLUS (5).

Across:

1. Dip with a kick: SALSA. Not if you live with a Thai chef.

6. Highest: NTH.

9. Video segment: CLIP.

13. "A Lesson From __": Fugard play: ALOES.  New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best Play of the Year, in 1980, I think.  FUGARD was a South African and outspoken critic of Apartheid.

14. Electronic music effect: WAWA. My son, Devin. uses his wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) which is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah".

15. Helper: AIDE. Even if you are not in the Senate.

18. Labor: TOIL.

19. Montgomery-to-Macon dir.: ENE. I have made this drive.

20. Founded: BASED. The theory was founded on the assumption...

21. Tie feature: KNOT. Silly; they do not come with knots. Oh, I guess if you are wearing one.

22. Fiscal exec: CFO.

24. Removes from the exchange: DELISTS. Delisting occurs when listed security is removed from the exchange on which it trades. A stock may be removed from an exchange if the company for which the stock is issued is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the exchange. The criteria to remain listed on an exchange differs from one exchange to another. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for instance, if a security's price closed below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days then the exchange would initiate the delisting process.

26. It's not an equine: SEAHORSE.

31. Directed: RAN.

32. Forceful: ASSERTIVE.

34. "There's many __ 'twixt the cup and the lip": old proverb: A SLIP. The origin  STORY. It is cool in a semi-sad way.



38. About one-third of Earth's land area: ASIA. This is where the above story comes from, as well as my beautiful wife.

39. Slyly disparaging: SNIDE. My favorite.

41. Monopoly pieces: DICE. Who thinks of the dice as a piece?

42. Tops: BESTS.

44. Like some posters: STENCILED. This took many perps.

46. Windows competitor: iOS. iOS (formerly iPhone OS ) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the second most popular mobile operating system globally after Android.

48. Big name in auto racing: ANDRETTI. Mario and his sons.

49. Chicago mayor since 2011: EMANUEL.  This MAN.

53. Addams cousin: ITT. A Hairy clue.

54. Actress Helgenberger: MARG. From China Beach to CSI.

55. Case, often: DOZEN. Beer, soda and a clecho with 69A. Case, for example: Abbr.: SYNtax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Nothing to do with 29 Down. Or as the majority has voted, it was a little play on words using the "for" to tell you that CASE is a SYNONYM for example. I am tired and like the old Burger King Commercial - you can have it your way.

58. Hanoi holiday: TET.

61. Radar readout feature: BLIP.

65. "Frozen" princess: ELSA.

66. Grandson of 33-Down exiles: ENOS. do we all know this biblical figure now?

68. Marsh plant: REED. I think of them from the Bible and Moses. The clecho. 47D. Marsh plants: SEDGES.

70. Permissible: LICIT. For once not illicit.

Down:

1. Matching: SAME.

2. Jackson of country: ALAN. My Thai wife listens.

3. Pay dirt: LODE.

4. Holding-on period?: SEC.

5. 49-Down remnant: ASH.

6. Expos, now: NATS. The Washington Nationals.

7. Rough material: TWEED.

8. Taking more time, probably, as a test: HARDER.

10. Ford Field team: LIONS. Sorry to all their fans, but DETROIT is not a successful team.

11. Nitwit: IDIOT.

12. Trapper's collection: PELTS.

14. Athletic org. founded by Billie Jean King: WTA. Women's Tennis Association. LINK.

17. Ends prematurely: ABORTS.

23. Pro: FOR.

25. Mike Trout's team, on scoreboards: LAA. Los Angeles Angels. The angels angels.

26. Swedish auto: SAAB. The car is now GONE.

27. Latin I verb: ESSE. To be or not to be, that is the question.

28. Craigslist caveat: AS IS. Also very important in Real Estate purchases and law.

29. Sloth and the like: SINS. Some say there are 7 deadly ones, but that would be religion.

30. Musical narrated by Che: EVITA. Hard to beleive this is more than 20 years ago.

33. Paradise: EDEN. More Bible.

35. Rhythmic cadence: LILT.

36. Tracy Marrow's stage name: ICE-T.

37. Salon offering: PEDI. How many of the men out there have had one or more? I have taken the cure.

40. Outcome: ENDING.

43. Trifling amount: SOU. French penny, basically.

45. Old PC monitor: CRT. Cathode Ray Tube.

49. Eventual 5-Down: EMBER.

50. "Atlantic City" director Louis: MALLE.  A very famous and controversial film DIRECTOR who went from shooting underwater with Jacques Cousteau to many sexually themed movies like Pretty Baby. He was married to Candice Bergen.

51. Stand: ARISE.

52. More than a little silly: LOONY. Etymology: also loonie, looney, luny, "crazy; silly and eccentric," 1853, American English, short for lunatic, but also influenced by loon (n.2) and perhaps loon (n.1), the bird is noted for its wild cry and method of escaping from danger. As a noun by 1884, from the adjective. Slang loony bin "insane asylum" is by 1909. Looney left in reference to holders of political views felt to be left-wing in the extreme is from 1977. Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. studios' animated cartoon series, dates from 1930.

56. Angels Landing's national park: ZION. The angels are obviously a hearty group. MORE.

57. Nation borders?: ENS. Nation. The absence of the 's was the giveaway.

58. Soothing application: TALC. Unless you use it on your body in a personal way. LINK.

59. Notions case: ETUI. This has become quite popular again.

60. Acid __: TEST.

63. Half of D: CCL. Roman numeral math...glue.

64. Hudson Riv. engineering school: RPI. We end with a common CSO to our Corner friends. Cool.

My Winston as a puppy and then him now He is a boxer black lab mix













I think I did it again; hope you enjoyed my tour and Winston's creation. I  await your comments. Lemonade out.

Thursday, February 14 2019 Bruce Haight

Theme: Tool Box - all the answers around the edge of the puzzle are tools, as the reveal explains:

35A. Takes a casual drive ... and a literal description of 10 puzzle answers: TOOLS AROUND

In clockwise order, starting from the top left:

1A. Queen, e.g.: RULER. Measure twice, cut once.

6A. Fell for the joke: BIT.

9A. Put away for future reference: FILE. I'm terrible at filing; if I file something away I'm almost guaranteed to forget about it.

16D. Work (out) with effort, as an agreement: HAMMER ... closely followed by ..

45D. Swindle: CHISEL

63A. Fire __: DRILL

62A. Spied: SAW

61A. Laryngitis symptom: RASP

37D. Polo need: MALLET

1D. Wi-Fi conduit: ROUTER. Any network, as a matter of fact, not just a wireless one.

Nice theme from Bruce today. Even with the puzzle completed it took me a few beats to notice all the tools around the edge of the puzzle, I was looking for entries with a tool wrapped "around" the word at first. The trick of this theme is to clue the entries other than referencing the tool itself. The only one which comes close to breaking this rule is the MALLET entry - a polo mallet is very close to the tool.

Some fresh entries in the fill including TURNOVERS, USB DRIVES, CK ONE and UPRATE. Let's see what else we've got to discuss:

Across:

13. ArkivMusic.com purchase: OPERA. "The source for classical music" according to their website.

14. Sch. with a Tempe campus: A.S.U. Arizona State.

15. Flooded: AWASH

17. "Little Book of Mind-Power" author: URI GELLER. Didn't take long to guess this one once the UR was in place. Huckster of the highest order, this chap. Pretended to bend spoons all with the power of his mind.

19. Battery inventor Alessandro: VOLTA. I wonder why "volt" dropped the final "a"? After all, Ohm and Ampère kept their last letters. We should be told.

20. Stand food: TACO

21. Danish city named for a Norse god: ODENSE. Not ODESSA then, as I confused myself.

23. Place for a shot: ARM

24. Gate info: E.T.A. Estimated Time of Arrival. An aircraft arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time is considered to be "on time". Incidentally, departure time is when you push back from the gate, so as long as you're off the gate, you've departed on time, even if you then spend an hour getting de-iced and another hour waiting in line to take off.

25. Conversation stumbles: ERS, along with ahs, ums and fillers "you know", "kind of" and all the other irritants.

26. Gives the nod: OK'S

27. Hasty escape: LAM. Interesting, I'd not seen the verb form like this before, I was more familiar with "on the lam".

28. Superman specialty: RESCUE

30. Wrigley Field feature: IVY. Baseball's famous Chicago landmark. If a ball gets stuck in the ivy, it's ruled a double; a runner at first can't advance beyond third base.

31. Like beds in cleaned hotel rooms: MADE

32. Peter of "9-1-1": KRAUSE. Crosses all the way. He's been seen a lot on TV, but I don't think he ever crossed my path of consciousness:

34. Tunisian currency: DINAR

37. Bearings: MIENS

39. Casual eatery: BISTRO

40. Ending to avoid?: -ANCE. I'm not a big fan of these types of fill, neither the suffix nor the prefix variants. There's a prefix example at 59A also.

41. Interject: ADD

42. Touchdown site: TARMAC

46. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH

47. Shooting initials: SLR

48. "Jeopardy!" record-setter Jennings: KEN

49. Spa emanation: AAH

50. Source of some '60s trips: LSD

51. 1840s-'50s home to Liszt: WEIMAR

53. End of an old boast: VICI

54. Military camp: ÉTAPE. Specifially, a place to camp after a day's march. Étape is also used to describe a day's stage in a cycle race, particularly le Tour de France.

56. Luxury accommodations for bigwigs: VIP SUITES

58. Church offering: TITHE

59. Prefix with warrior: ECO-

60. 1960 Wimbledon champ Fraser: NEALE. More crosses. I'd never heard of this chap, but he's got a very impressive grand slam tournament record, not just at Wimbledon. He won the men's singles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, doubles at all four majors, and mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. Not bad for an amateur!

Down:

2. Raise from three to four stars, as a hotel: UPRATE. I like the word. I've seen it used more in a performance-improvement context, but it works for me here too.

3. Classic cameras: LEICAS

4. So: ERGO. Cogito, Ergo sum. I think, therefore (so) I am.

5. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE. I know her from the crosswords now. Her music isn't really to my taste, but I'm sure Carly Rae doesn't care.

6. Gets thinner on top: BALDS. Balds? Nope, doesn't work for me. "He is balding" sure. "He balds?" Not likely.

7. "So THAT's what's going on here!": I SEE

8. Hoops goofs: TURNOVERS. I was trying to make AIR BALLS work somehow.

9. BFFs: FAVES

10. __ Jima: IWO

11. Space cadet's world: LA LA LAND. "And the Oscar goes to ......" Ooops!

12. Erik of "CHiPs": ESTRADA

18. Cosmetics giant: L'OREAL

22. What's up?: SKY. Cloudy skies here today.

25. Pierre's bills: EUROS

29. Designer fragrance: CK ONE. Calvin Klein cologne.

30. "To repeat ... ": I SAID ...

31. Trivial: MINOR

33. PC storage options: USB DRIVES. I tried "STICKS" first, that didn't work out so well.

34. "Hands of Stone" boxer Roberto: DURAN

35. Fortune 500 IT company: TECH DATA. I know I should have, but oddly I've never heard of this outfit. For a company with revenues last year of $37bn, that's quite a surprise.

36. Frisky whiskered critters: OTTERS. Clever, too. They've been seen to use stones as tools to open shellfish.

38. Excited: IN A STIR

41. Tap outflow: ALE

43. Tiki bar cocktail: MAI TAI. Second Thursday in a row that we're drinking mai tais.

44. Small battery: AA CELL

47. Win the first four World Series games: SWEEP. The last time it happened was 2012 when the Giants swept the Tigers.

48. "Whammo!": KAPOW!

52. Flaky mineral: MICA

53. Contender: VIER. "She is vying for the title".

55. Acidity nos.: PHS

57. German conjunction: UND. "Donner und blitz", thunder and lightning.

Here's the grid, colorfully identifying the theme entries around the edge, and with that I'm done.

Steve

Wednesday, February 13, 2019, Blake Slonecker

Theme: Losing Sleep

18. Cook's reply to 37-Across?: HAVE A SNACK.

23. Librarian's reply to 37-Across?: READ A BOOK.

48. Trainer's reply to 37-Across?: TAKE A WALK.

57. Auditor's reply to 37-Across?: COUNT SHEEP.

37. Insomniac's lament: I CAN'T GET TO SLEEP.

 

Across:

1. Lamb bearers: EWES.

5. Common Vegas hotel room amenities: SAFES.

10. Tea holders: TINS. The librarian in 23A would like these:

14. Herod sent them to Bethlehem: MAGI.

15. Full of energy: ALIVE.

16. __ Day: Bayer vitamin brand: ONE A.

17. Faction: BLOC.

20. Nightmarish street of film: ELM.

21. Gimlet garnish: LIME.

22. Dr. Reid in "Criminal Minds," familiarly: SPENCE.

26. Double Stuf treats: OREOS. Who knew there were so many Oreo flavors?

27. "That's __ to me": NEWS. Like the Oreos.

28. "__ and the Real Girl": 2007 film: LARS.

30. Operatic solos: ARIAS.

32. Spook: HAUNT.

34. Animal house: ZOO.

40. Canadian singer DeMarco: MAC.

41. Of help: UTILE. Tricky.

42. Slugger Barry: BONDS.

43. Big fusses: ADOS.

44. Remnant: DREG.

45. Buffalo NHL player: SABRE.

53. Photographer Alda married to Alan: ARLENE. Sweet article.

55. Prefix with pit or pool: CESS. Never heard cesspit before.

56. Classic auto: REO.

59. Flamboyant Dame: EDNA.

60. Word spoken con affetto: CARA. Italian. Merriam Webster: "with feeling and tenderness — used as a direction in music." Cara means "dear one" in Italian, "friend" in Irish, or "beloved" in Latin - and is also used as a girl's name.

61. Arroz con __: chicken dish: POLLO.

62. Horseback rider's control: REIN.

63. Globes: ORBS.

64. Cake raiser: YEAST.

65. Wilson of Heart et al.: ANNS.

Down:

1. Arson evidence, perhaps: EMBER.

2. Pixar film robot who falls in love with 8-Down: WALL-E. Wall-e meets Eve:

3. Vanity case?: EGOMANIAC. Love it.

4. [Not my bad]: SIC. An adverb denoting that something is quoted as is, including mistakes.

5. Misters, in old India: SAHIBS.

6. Texas tourist spot: ALAMO.

7. The cops: FIVE-O. Originated from the 1970's TV cop show Hawaii 5-0. Hawaii is the 50th state, hence the nickname.

8. Robot who falls in love with 2-Down: EVE.

9. Old salts' haunts: SEAS.

10. Complexion aids: TONERS.

11. Ridiculous: INANE.

12. Wafer maker: NECCO.

13. Sushi bar brews: SAKES.

19. Some exercise tops: SPORTS BRAS. Iconic image - maybe the most famous sports bra in history "was almost never taken."

21. Torts enrollee: LAW STUDENT.

24. Actor James or singer Jimmy: DEAN.

25. 1971 Sutherland title role: KLUTE.

29. Chilean year: ANO.

30. Intent or intend: AIM.

31. Nipper's label: RCA.

32. Bank job: HEIST.

33. NHL's Thrashers: ATL.

34. Meditation setting with rocks and gravel: ZEN GARDEN. So pretty and serene.

35. Exhaustive ref.: OED. Oxford English Dictionary. Dictionaries are among the most requested books by American prisoners.

36. Black __: OPS. A covert operation or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization. This can include activities by private companies or groups. Also a "first person shooter" video game.

38. Sporty '60s Pontiac: GTO.

39. MGM mogul Marcus: LOEW. Wikipedia. Not to be confused with Frederick Loewe, half of Lerner and Loewe.

43. Stadiums: ARENAS.

44. Totalitarian leader: DESPOT.

45. Vanzetti's partner: SACCO. Did not know their story.

46. Like Times Square on New Year's Eve: AROAR.

47. Book jacket entry: BLURB.

49. Swift Northeast train: ACELA. Amtrak route.

50. Ship stabilizers: KEELS.

51. Red Square honoree: LENIN.

52. 34-Down teaching aids: KOANS. How to practice zen koans.

54. Athlete's award: ESPY.

58. Row maker: HOE.

59. Pitcher's stat: ERA.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019 Roland Huget

Standard Operating Procedures 

20. 100-mile-an-hour fastball, often: STRIKE OUT PITCH.

25. Classy neckwear: STRING OF PEARLS.

42. Bike storage bags, e.g.: STRAP ON POUCHES.

47. What a plus sign indicates on a golf match scoreboard: STROKES OVER PAR.

 A reveal hidden in plain sight.  See the answer to 1 Down.   Clever.

I first noticed the STR starts to the answers.  Then saw the O P and thought STROP ? As in a sharpening strop ?   Bzzt. 

Across:

1. Enjoys Breckenridge, say: SKIS.  Breckenridge, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains.  Never been there, but I have skied at Seven Springs in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains.  

5. Cries out loud: SOBS.

9. "If I Had a Hammer" singer Lopez: TRINI.  This Pete Seeger song and covers of it by Peter Paul and Mary, Trini Lopez and others got old after the 3 gazillionth play on the radio.  It was inescapable. "Why didn't he just go to the hardware store and buy a hammer ?"

14. In the past: ONCE.

15. Geometry calculation: AREA.   A surveyor needs to understand geometry.   Calculating Surface Areas Of Irregular Shaped Fields

16. Pay by mail: REMIT.   We probably average a roll a year now, and most of those are at Christmas.

17. Metered work, usually: POEM.

18. Duck that lends its name to a color: TEAL.

19. Word from the wise: ADAGE.   'If you can't take it, don't dish it out."   "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."   OKAY, OKAY, alright already.  I take it back.  If I Had a Hammer is a fine song.

23. Vent opening?: PRE.

24. Stein filler: ALE.

33. Total confusion: CHAOS. 

34. Made public: AIRED.

35. Summer Games org.: IOC.  International Olympic Committee

36. Admission of fault: OOPS.   Mea culpa. 

37. Less clumsy: ABLER.

38. Back up a step, as in an app: UNDO. 

39. "__ is me!": WOE.

40. For all to hear: ALOUD.  

41. Good feature: ASSET.

45. Partner of to: FRO.

46. 22.5 deg.: NNE.

55. Pick up gradually: GLEAN.   Over time I gleaned that arguing with a woman is like reading a software license agreement.   In the end you just click "I Agree"

56. Crafted, as a tale: WOVE.

57. Keep for later: SAVE. 

58. Wonderland cake message: EAT ME.  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

59. Morales of "NYPD Blue": ESAI.

60. Express line unit: ITEM.   Grammarians note when the sign reads, "10 items or less"  but it doesn't peeve me.    A full shopping cart in that line might.  

61. Jacket material: TWEED.

62. Bakery product: ROLL.

63. Fiddling emperor: NERO.   An awful man on all accounts.    As despicable as he was, he couldn't have played a fiddle because it wasn't invented yet.  Perhaps a lute ?

Down:

1. Soaks (up): SOPS.    

Chicken Paprikash

2. Wood imperfection: KNOT.

3. Cake finisher: ICER. 

4. Part-time players: SEMIPROS.

5. Glossy fabric: SATEEN.

6. Layered Nabisco treat: OREO.

7. Belle's counterpart: BEAU. 

8. Basic food preservative: SALT.

9. Was behind in the match: TRAILED.  Golf, tennis, chess

10. Herbal brew: RED TEA.

11. Apple since 1998: IMAC.   IMAC is also an IT term for Installs, Moves, Adds and Changes.

12. Soon to happen: NIGH.   As quaint as anon. 

13. Suffix with urban: ITE.

21. Songwriter Kristofferson: KRIS.   He's in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of fame.     The opening lyrics from one of his most famous songs:

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
When I was feeling nearly faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
And rode us all the way to New Orleans

22. School research assignment: PAPER.

25. Slap the puck toward the goal: SHOOT.    Patrick Sharp demonstrates.

26. Get to the point?: TAPER.

27. Cameroon neighbor: GABON.  Two of the thirty-seven errors I made on Husker Gary's countries of Africa geography quiz last week. 

28. Prepare for a bodybuilding competition: OIL UP.

29. Middle Corleone brother: FREDO.   Fredo is the younger brother of Sonny, and the older brother of Michael in Mario Puzo's The Godfather, portrayed by John Cazale in the movie.

30. Salon procedure: RINSE.

31. Rich ore deposits: LODES.

32. Many a clan member: SCOT.

33. Farm moms: COWS.  They are heifers until they become moms.

37. "Take __ at this!": A LOOK.  Take a look at this school mural.  That's a real fire extinguisher.

38. Signals the arrival of, as a new era: USHERS IN.

40. Dressed like a chef: APRONED.

41. Embarrassing spots: ACNE.

43. Typical chalet: A-FRAME.

44. Launch, as a new product: UNVEIL.

47. Side with a sandwich: SLAW.

48. Head of Haiti: TETE.    Président Jovenel Moïse since the Nov 2016 elections.    Protestors stoned his house and called for his resignation Saturday.  

49. Vessel with a spout: EWER.

50. Ho-hum: SO SO.

51. Avocado shape: OVAL. 

52. Canapé spread: PATE.

53. Say with certainty: AVER.

54. San __, Italy: REMO. Zoom in, Zoom out


55. "__ it?": "Comprende?": GET.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our sweet LaLaLinda. Linda does not post these days, but she still reads our posts and comments every day.   We miss your presence, Linda!

Monday February 11, 2019 Joe Deeney

Theme: DOWN PAYMENT (25D. Typical mortgage requirement, and what ends each answer to a starred clue)

3D. *Grade-boosting option: EXTRA CREDIT.

8D. *Singer's spouse who co-wrote "Ring of Fire": JUNE CARTER CASH.

14D. *Chess situation that forces a draw: PERPETUAL CHECK.

Boomer here.  

Good morning or afternoon as the case may be. Last week was fairly uneventful.  Lots and lots of snow.  I had a VA appointment last Wednesday. Only took about 25 minutes for the trip West at 7:30 AM, but leave the clinic and head back toward Minneapolis while many were on their way to work, was a solid hour.  Free snow for everyone! Just bring an ice chest or a trailer and a shovel and take as much as you want off my yard!

Across:

1. Org. whose product is measured in barrels: OPEC.  Gas prices are still affordable here, about $2.00 per gallon of 87 regular.  I have heard the federal government is considering a small gas tax to fix roads and bridges. 

5. Pillar of Islam involving travel: HAJJ.

9. School near Windsor Castle: ETON.

13. Hugs-and-kisses symbols: XO XO.  My sister signs cards this way sometimes.

14. Pacific island host of two "Survivor" seasons: PALAU.

15. Medical image: X-RAY.  This must then be a kiss by the sun.

16. Analogy words: IS TO.  IS NOT!

17. Modern John Hancock: E SIGNATURE. Mr. Hancock is very famous for signing the Declaration of Independence so that King George can read it without his spectacles.

19. Epithet never actually used by Jimmy Cagney: DIRTY RAT.  Rumor has it that he said "You Dirty Mouse."

21. Angsty music genre: EMO.

22. LAX posting: ETA. MSP posting is indeed "estimated" depending on when they get the snow cleared from the landing runway.

23. Elect (to): OPT.

24. Dressed down: SCOLDED.

28. Songwriter Porter: COLE. Yes, but my favorite Cole is Mr. Nat King.

30. Frightening: FEARSOME.  This could be the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive linemen of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s.  Honored on the "Ring of Honor" at U.S. Bank Stadium.  Includes Notre Dame Grad Alan Page who went on to become a judge.  What is interesting, Alan was born in 1945 in Canton, Ohio.  His Hall of Fame honor will be there forever.

31. Red wine choice: MERLOT.

33. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.  My fairy tales only had Big Bad Wolves.

34. Be victorious: WIN.

35. Was in debt to: OWED. "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go."

36. WWII naval threat: U-BOAT.  This was a Nazi submarine.  Abbreviation "Underwater boat."

38. Picnic invaders: ANTS.  Also pants invaders.

39. Grass roll: SOD. These things are heavy and hard to work with. Seed takes longer but it is light and easy to apply.

40. Shopping complex: MALL.  Of course, on the old site of Metropolitan Stadium, 60s and 70s home of the Vikings and Twins, now stands the Mall of America.  It's huge with many stores but it's a bit of a tourist trap.  C.C. and I have been there a number of times. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to spend there.

41. Go by, as time: ELAPSE.

43. They're planted in snow while skiing: SKI POLES.  Oh, I thought they were people from Poland who like to ski.

45. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA.  Highly respected!

46. Largest living bird: OSTRICH.  True, and also lays the largest eggs.

47. Emails a dupe to: CCS.  Not to be confused with C.C.'S

48. Couture initials: YSL.

51. Tapped-off cigar remnant: ASH.  I mentioned my friend George Ash last week.

52. Hours for cuppas: TEA TIMES.  I am a golfer.  I suppose the leaders get the later ones?  Just kidding.

54. Cord cutters' reception aids: TV ANTENNAS.  I think you need to be my age to remember these.  We have a dish on our roof right now,  Many people have their shows delivered by cable. 

58. Air filter acronym: HEPA. High Efficiency Particulate Air.

59. __ hop: gym dance: SOCK.  We had Sock hops in High School.  The idea was to take off your shoes so you would not scar the gym floor. (Most left their shoes on however.)

60. Infatuation: CRUSH.  Orange soda, yum.

61. "I'll take care of that": ON IT.

62. Log splitters: AXES.  Paul Bunyan was not an Axe.  But I have heard that he split a few logs in his day.

63. Spade of handbags: KATE.  I am not a handbag expert, but I have heard Kate Smith sing the National Anthem once or twice.

64. Education support gps.: PTAS.  Let me tell you of the story of a Harper Valley's widowed wife.

Down:

1. Nitrous __: OXIDE.  Sounds like the name of a laundry detergent.

2. Theorize: POSIT.  I remember a German toast "Prosit" I think.

4. Crotchety oldster: COOT.  That's me!!!

5. Attacks: HAS AT.

6. Got off a horse: ALIT.

7. XKE, for short: JAG.  "I was cruisin' in my sting ray late one night, when an XKE pulled up on the right.  Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve."  Jan and Dean.

9. Raves about: EXTOLS. Many EXTOL their work on crosswords!

10. Play about Capote: TRU.  Stock ticker symbol for TransUnion.

11. Rowing tool: OAR.  "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a dream."

12. TV scientist whose show has won 19 Emmys: NYE. Bill.

18. Love, to Luigi: AMORE. "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie" Deano

20. "Carpe diem" initials: YOLO. You Only Live Once.

24. Game Gear creator: SEGA.  I never got past Nintendo.

26. Gives off: EMITS.

27. Closely packed: DENSE.

29. Out-of-date: OLD.  Here I am again!!

30. Deceives: FOOLS.  If you bluff in a poker game and get called, the fool could be you.

31. Meno __: not as fast, in music: MOSSO.

32. Furry C-3PO worshipers: EWOKS.  I never was one of those Star Wars fanatics.

37. "Eww!": BLEH.

38. Small batteries: AAS.  AAAs are smaller. An Ass is much larger.

40. Somewhat wet: MOIST.  Yup, we have moist snow on the ground.

42. Nowhere to be found: LOST.

44. Practical jokes: PRANKS.  April 1st is sooner than you think.

47. __ and desist: CEASE.

49. Vintage photo tone: SEPIA.

50. Exams for aspiring judges, briefly: LSATS.  I took an SAT test in High school.  I think it is an acronym for Standard Aptitude Test, but we did not have to stand when we took it.

52. Item listed above "u-bolt" in a hardware glossary?: T NUT.  Sometimes called a TEE NUT.  That's what I am, waiting for the snow to melt -- "FORE".

53. Blue-roofed eatery: IHOP.  International House of Pancakes.  Delicious, but they sell flavored pancakes for about a buck apiece, and a 25 cent cup of coffee for about $2.00.  Maybe the owner will be running for president soon.

54. Airport safety org.: TSA.  I am very happy that they are back to work and getting paid.

55. __ populi: popular opinion: VOX.

56. Blackjack half: ACE.  Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.

57. Gun lobby org.: NRA.

Boomer