Friday, October 11, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

The Game is Afoot! (This was foreshadowed Monday). I am sure iamb going to pay for my work here, but let's have some fun and peek behind the curtain.

Special collaboration to recognize the 150th published Los Angeles Times puzzle set by Jeffrey Wechsler.  He recently passed Barry Silk as the second most published at the LAT since the Corner switch.  We have conspired to show you exactly what happened between JW submitting the puzzle and its reaching publication. So let's start the ride. It will take some time but relax and enjoy it. JW's comments are in this color. Lemon comments are logically orange, and TTP's are the black ones.

Constructor’s note: 

Creating clues for crosswords can be a mixture of drudgery and creativity.  Writing between 70 to 78 clues for an average puzzle can be time-consuming and tedious, but every once in a while, a really clever or humorous idea for a clue comes along and just about makes the whole process worthwhile.   But editors have an important role to play as well.  Besides the job of straightforward editing for accuracy, spelling, grammar, and style, editors have to consider clue length and potential repetition of past clues.  And perhaps most importantly, editors have generally been accomplished constructors before they become editors, so they have the necessary creativity and experience to devise interesting clues.  Therefore, a constructor will occasionally get credit for an excellent clue that was actually devised by the editor.  (Of course, there are times that a clue considered quite clever by the constructor is not equally appreciated by the editor, and the original clue disappears, to the constructor’s dismay.)  In the crossword field, editors have the final say; a constructor will not know about any clue changes until the puzzle is published.  Because this aspect of the crossword world may be relatively unknown to most solvers, today’s constructor and reviewers present a behind-the-curtain peek at cluing.  We hope it is interesting and enlightening. 

"Needing a LEG Up"

Each of these 4 theme answers requires that you borrow an E and a G from an intersecting Down answer.   You probably first noticed that the two letters were EG, and then without hesitation noticed that each occurrence also was on top of an L, so four cases where a LEG goes up. 

15. Vermont alma mater of Alan Arkin and Peter Dinklage: BENNINGTON COLLEGE.  Bennington College.
They have many others including Betty Ford. LIST.

29. Coin of the realm: LEGAL TENDER.  Legal Tender

39. "MythBusters" target: URBAN LEGEND.  Urban Legend

55. '50s-'70s carrier with a Pittsburgh hub: ALLEGHENY AIRLINES.  Allegheny Airlines. USAIR to American Airlines.
Original clue: [Defunct carrier with a Pittsburgh hub].  The decades of the airline’s existence offer useful information and I appreciate the addition

63. Assistance, with "a" ... and literal assistance in solving the four longest answers: LEG UP.
Original clue: [Assistance – and literal assistance for solving the starred clues]. The suggested method of using starred clues was ditched -- I can never figure out why or when the “starred clues” system will be accepted or rejected.  And of course, that mention of “a” is quite useful

Borrowing a page from Husker Gary's playbook, I'm linking the grid here:

Across:

1. Long-term astronaut's home: Abbr.: ISS.  International Space Station - NASA

4. Old TWA competitor: PAN AM.
Original clue: [TWA competitor].  TWA and Pan Am are both defunct and from the same era, so I didn’t think further definition was needed.  The editor provided the “old”

9. FBI figure: AGT.  Agent

12. Mauna __: KEA.   If it's fill in the blank and three letters, enter the A in the third square, and check the perps to determine LO or KE. I have had my clue (It is higher than LOA) rejected by Rich Norris, C.C. and Jeffrey, but I still like it).

13. Sister of Terpsichore: ERATO.  Did not know Terpsichore. I never knew it it was pronounced (/tərpˈsɪkəriː/; Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") who is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus.

14. "But, as he was ambitious, I __ him" : Brutus: SLEW. JW gets his Shakespeare in early this week.

 The Evolution of Brutus

18. Provides with an alarm code, perhaps: ABETS.  Loved this clue / answer. 

19. Timeworn phrase: BROMIDE.  e.g. "Every cloud has a silver lining",  i.e. a platitude.  Very similar to clichés, which you should avoid like the plague.

20. Judicial prohibition: GAG ORDER.
Original clue: [Judicial attempt at secrecy].  The editor’s clue is accurate and terse.  Good call Does look like an improvement. 

24. Party nudge: OPEN IT.    "C'mon, OPEN IT !"
Original clue: [Christmas morning encouragement].  The editor’s clue is much harder, I think.  A “nudge” could be physical, not a verbal suggestion, and lots of parties don’t involve gift-giving Much harder for me.

25. "Bambi" doe: ENA.
Original clue: [Bambi relative].   Putting “Bambi” in quotes marks it as a title, and “doe” makes the answer female.  Careful editorial definition

26. Andy is her nephew: AUNT BEE.   There's Aunt Bee,  Andy,  Clara and ???  No idea either, anyone?
Original clue: [One attending to Opie].  The editing change makes the clue much harder.  Andy who?  There are a lot of Andys out there

28. Boomer?: TNT.   CSO to Boomer!

31. Disco era adjective: GO GO.
Original clue: [Type of 1960s dancer].  Equivalent, to my mind – each clue comes from a slightly different direction This edit is also more difficult for me.

32. Robert of "The Sopranos": ILER. A.J. SOPRANO.

33. "Got it": I SEE.

36. Infant's place in Hyde Park: PRAM.   That would be Hyde Park, London,  not Hyde Park, Chicago.

44. Gloaming, in verse: EE'N.
Original clue: [Poetic contraction meaning “yet”].  Ah, the ubiquitous EE'N, one of the many poetic saviors/bugbears of the crossword constructor!  I can understand that editors crave new ways to clue such words.  I appreciate “Gloaming” as an exquisitely poetic clue, but it is also likely mysterious in meaning to many solvers and therefore rather hard

45. NAPA store item: FAN BELT.   NAPA is the initialism for National Automotive Parts Association. 
Original clue: [Occasional auto engine replacement].  I suppose you must be familiar with NAPA to get the editor’s clue.  If so, no problem.  If not, your solving just hit the brakes

47. Green span: LEA.  I thought of Alan first, but the space between told me no.
Original clue: [Grazing place]  Because many of my puzzles are considered by commenters to be among the most difficult at the LA Times, I often try to maintain a certain proportion of simple clues.  The editor created a somewhat harder clue, although it’s quite evocative

48. Bothers, as one's conscience: NAGS AT.

50. Ali, per Ali: GREATEST.
Original clue: [Ali, as self-described].  Proper editorial terseness.  Brevity is the soul of wit

52. Perch in a lullaby: TREE TOP. Why do we tell babies to go to sleep after landing on their heads?

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all

Original clue: [Lullaby cradle perch].  Removing “cradle” makes it slightly harder, but not by much, given the well-known source.  Very reasonable

54. Fuming: IRATE.

59. Genre with hard-boiled characters: NOIR.   Many favorites for me in this category, and still discovering them on the old movie channels. Great books and graphic novels as well.
Original clue: [Moody film genre].  Removing the film reference makes the clue slightly harder, but quite gettable, especially given the frequency with which NOIR appears in crosswords.  Hey, maybe because the answer has four letters, the editor was trying to fool some solvers into inserting EGGS!

60. Greet the day: ARISE.
Original clue: [Greet the new day].  Terseness, terseness

61. Encumber, with "down": BOG.   Details are often the culprit. 

62. Letters replacing a list: ETC. 
Original clue: [List substitute]).  Equivalent, I’d say

64. Small amount of work: ERG.

Down:

1. Floral art: IKEBANA.  The  Japanese art of flower arrangement.

2. French-speaking African country: SENEGAL.

Original clue: [Neighbor of Mali]  Extra information provided -- sure, why not! Because we are geographically challenged and have no idea where MALI is. 

3. __ Domingo: SANTO.  The capital of the Dominican Republic.

I love how Tom presents parallel pictures.

4. Author: PEN.

5. Braz. neighbor: ARG.  Argentina.    Chile has the longest border with Aregentina.
Original clue: [Neighbor of Uru.]  No difference that I can see – I wonder why! More limited geography knowledge.

6. D.C. athlete: NAT.  The Washington Nationals

7. Small step: A TO B.
Original clue: [First stage of an ongoing pathway]   At the Crossword Corner, I often read comments like “Oh, that Wechsler is always creating tricky or difficult clues!”   Well, ultimately a puzzle’s degree of difficulty is often determined by the editor.  I was trying to make an unusual entry easier for the solver, but it was not meant to be

8. Louisiana Purchase negotiator who later became president: MONROE.
Original clue: [He helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase]  Here the editorial makes things easier for the solver.  I think he was quite right to do so

9. Utterly enrapt with: ALL INTO.  

10. Castrated equine: GELDING.
Original clue: Donkey or mule, for example)  Well, well, well!  There I was, trying to craft a clue that danced around the obvious definition – maybe making a pun with “fix” – and the editor cuts to the chase, gets down to the nitty-gritty, and simply writes “castrated”.  I really thought that word was going to be a no-no, a victim of the so-called “breakfast test” for disturbing crossword content.  All I can say is – Bravo, editor!”

11. Send a short message: TWEET TO.
Original clue: [Direct a short message at]   Hmm…. Interesting.  Yes, I can see that “send”, without an added preposition, can imply the word “at” that concludes the answer.  That’s very subtle and somewhat more difficult, I think

14. Vague quantity: SOME.
Original clue: [Not very many].  Ironically, I think the word “vague” is, in this instance, more precise!

15. Torus-shaped food: BAGEL.  (Pictured with a schmear)
Original clue: [Edible torus].   Equivalent -- although I think my clue sounds funnier

16. Nation since 1948: ISRAEL. Me too!

17. Deal: COPE.
Original clue: [Deal (with)].  Another instance of the disappearing preposition.  I’ve noticed this reductivism especially in clues for Saturday LA Times puzzles, where one-word clues are common.   I suppose “deal” and “cope” are synonyms, but I feel that the “with” makes the equivalency more natural

21. Sci-fi classic set on an arid world: DUNE.

22. Gridiron maneuver: END RUN.

23. GPS datum: RTE.

27. Hush money payer: BRIBER.
Original clue: [One involved with dirty money].    Again, terseness

30. Cratchit kid: TIM.
Original clue: [Cratchit family member].   More precision = easier to solve

31. Salon supply: GEL.

34. Large word on a mall sign: SALE.
Original clue: Word written large on a mall sign).  Sure, why not

35. Involve: ENTAIL.

36. Compound with five carbon atoms: PENTANE.
Original clue: [C5H12].  I knew this one would be changed.  The publishing format for producing the puzzles probably cannot create chemical numerical subscripts in the clues, but I figured I’d give it a try

37. Parking in back: REAR LOT.
Original clue: [Parking for a street-front store, perhaps].   Short but sweet – good work, editor

38. Like a sleeping baby: ANGELIC. A bit grumpy Jeffrey.
Original clue: [Like an ideal child].   I think the new clue falls short because I don’t think a sleeping baby necessarily looks angelic by definition – I seem to recall several who did not

40. "Notorious" court initials: RBG.
Original clue: [Initialism that titles a 2018 biopic of a U.S. Justice]) Besides being way too long, my clue was wary of whether the majority of solvers knew the phrase “The Notorious RBG” in reference to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  I’m glad the editor took this route

41. Franklin's wife: ELEANOR.
Original clue: [Franklin’s mate].  The editor was right to use the word “wife”.  After all, this is a tricky clue: I assume that most solvers will first consider Franklin to be the last name and might wonder: “So that rat Wechsler expects us to know the name of Benjamin Franklin’s mate?!”  And “wife” will at least deter people from considering Aretha Franklin as the subject

42. Financial planning target: NEST EGG.

43. Teen gossip fodder: DATES.

45. It's inevitable: FATE.

46. Without a key: ATONAL. This was not a lock for me.
Original clue: [Like music without a key].  Terseness that makes things a bit tougher

49. Very, in Vienna: SEHR.
Original clue: [Essex : “Excellent! :: Essen : ___ gut!”).   I thought the phrase “sehr gut” might help solvers recall the German word

51. Erie or Huron, but not Superior: TRIBE.  I like this clue.

53. Ritual heap: PYRE. Musical interlude.

Original clue: [Hindu ritual structure]).   Ritual heap?  Well, maybe so, but that does seem a bit indelicate.

56. 2008 bailout co.: AIG.
Original clue: [Global NYC-based insurance and finance corp.]).  By this point, we can all say the magic word together – terseness!

57. Ames sch.: ISU.   Originally in 1870 as the "Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm"
Original clue: [Sch. With an Ames campus]).  Remember, everyone!  Ters…  oh, enough already! Perhaps easy for the midwestern solvers, but does everyone know the Iowa State Cyclones are from Ames?

58. House fig.: REP.

The great tribute and experiment have come to an end, and I applaud each of you who stuck with this until it was finished. It may cut into your Jumble or KenKen solving, but hopefully, you now know some more and all will comment more and provide more insight. I hope this pleases the regulars and brings more of the quiet ones to join the ways. 

Thursday, October 10th 2019 Kevin Christian.

Theme: Bent-o Boxes - BENT is, well BENT in each of the theme entries:

16A. Participated in a pub crawl: WENT BAR HOPPING. There is a Tube line in London which runs in a circle around town, called, very appropriately, the Circle Line. Back in my day, there were 27 stations on the continuous loop, and the "Circle Line Pub Crawl" was to ride the train for one lap, get off at each station and drink half a pint of beer at the nearest pub to the station. Back then, some stations actually had a bar on the platform, so that made life easy. For those of you doing the math, that meant downing thirteen-and-a-half pints during the ride.

24A. "Shadows of the Night" Grammy winner: PAT BENATAR. When I was a callow youth, never having seen her, I thought she was a guy. Women rockers were unusual in prehistoric times. Bass guitarist and Detroit bad-ass pop icon Suzi Quatro put me straight on the matter when I was around 13.

37A. Placating words before a confession: DON'T BE MAD ... I don't believe the placation has worked, ever. There's always a kicker too - "Don't me mad, I ran over the dog, but I got you a NEW PUPPY!"

53A. New and improved: EVEN BETTER. A new and improved family dog?

61A. Upset ... and what can be found in the four other longest answers?: BENT OUT OF SHAPE. Especially when the family dog has joined the choir celestial due to careless spousal driving.

Across:

1. Gold rush storyteller Bret: HARTE. All crosses, this made the north-west a struggle. A question - why do we refer to the "Pacific North-West" when describing that part of the country? I don't see many other north-wests?

6. Saints' org.: NFL The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, he said, in an official tone.

9. Word pronounced like its middle letter: ARE.

12. "The Lion in Winter" co-star: O'TOOLE. For no good reason, I had GARP at 13D, so this was a struggle. I was puzzled that I didn't remember Costner in the movie. Eventually reason prevailed.

14. Senator Lisa Murkowski, notably: ALASKAN

18. Cleanse (of): RID

19. Afore: ERE "Able was I ere I saw Elba". Poor Napoleon, reduced to a palindrome, a complex and a cookie.

20. Video game pioneer: ATARI

22. Sch. playing home games in the Sun Bowl: U.T.E.P. Although I know full well that the Sun Bowl is in Texas, my left brain could not stop my knee-jerk-impulse brain filling in "UTAH" here. More corrective action required. Sorry, El Paso.

28. Numbs, as senses: DULLS

30. Bilingual TV explorer: DORA

31. File menu command: SAVE

32. Seiko Group printers: EPSONS. Had to wait a little for this one. With "----NS" in place, Canon and Epson had equal dibs on the fill.

34. Mountain myth: YETI

36. Flower location: BED

40. The Eiger, for one: ALP. Any Yeti in the Alps, or do they stick to being unproven in the Himalaya?

43. Scott who played Chachi: BAIO

44. Supplement: ENRICH

48. Snowblower brand: TORO. Pure guess, but "T" seemed to set things in motion. We see leaf blowers around here more than the snow cousins.

50. Schedule: PLAN. There's some English words I can't remember how to pronounce now depending on which side of the pond I'm on - this is one of them - SKED- or SHED-?

52. "Borat" star __ Baron Cohen: SACHA

56. Vegetable with Golden and Chioggia varieties: BEET. Food! (Sort of!). I know golden beets - Chioggia not so much.

57. San __, California: MATEO. One of the Bay Area bridges too.

58. "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" singer Chris: REA

60. __-di-dah: LAH

66. Nonworking time: LEISURE

67. Twain of country: SHANIA. I'd already got "HAT HAIR", so that required a rethink. A few do-overs today.

68. Bigger copy: Abbr.: ENL.argement.

69. Place to retire: INN. You have to drink thirteen-and-a-half pints before they let you go to bed though.

70. Over: ENDED

Down:

1. Indignant reaction: HOW RUDE!

2. Savored the flattery: ATE IT UP

3. Short poems: RONDELS. I had a N and an S. In went SONNETS. I was way too impulsive today. Here's Henry Austin Dobson having a crack at a rondel c.1877:

Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,

      The old, old Love that we knew of yore!

      We see him stand by the open door,

    With his great eyes sad, and his bosom swelling.

    He makes as though in our arms repelling

      He fain would lie as he lay before;

    Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,

      The old, old Love that we knew of yore!

    Ah ! who shall help us from over-spelling

      That sweet, forgotten, forbidden lore?

      E'en as we doubt, in our hearts once more,

    With a rush of tears to our eyelids welling,

    Love comes back to his vacant dwelling

4. Playdate participant: TOT

5. Hamburg's river: ELBE. "Eble was I 'ere I saw Elbe". "Eble" means "The condition of a person who has never visited Hamburg, nor seen its river". Apparently. Not.

6. "I don't wanna": NAH

7. Woman in Progressive ads: FLO. Is the character now moving beyond "irritating" to "mute the TV?"

8. One of 12 on a sitting jury?: LAP. Clever. 12 jurors sitting, making one lap each.

9. Tough dogs: AKITAS

10. Deferred payment at the pub: RAN A TAB. You can't do that on a pub crawl.

11. Impress deeply?: ENGRAVE

13. 1994 Costner role: EARP. So not GARP then? OK.

15. Go over: SPAN

17. Get lost in a book: READ

21. Ticked off: IRED. Nahhhh, c'mon, you're pulling me leg 'ere Guv'nor. There ain't no word "IRED" Mary Poppins! Unless, o' course, yer 'iring me to sweep yer chimney!

OK, enough of that. I haven't been on a pub crawl, honest, guv.

23. Lumber (along): PLOD

25. Bath time plaything: TOY BOAT. I had a toy deep sea diver when I was a kid, complete with helmet, dry suit, weighted boots and air supply. Sadly he was 12 inches tall, and there's not much more than 12 inches of water in a bathtub, so he didn't do much.

26. "Grimm" actress Turner: BREE

27. Wonderland cake words: EAT ME.

29. Elitist sort: SNOB

33. Harry Potter's potions teacher: SNAPE. Severus, brought to the screen by the fine, and sadly departed, Alan Rickman.

35. Fleming and Holm: IANS. I used to work for Fleming's, a private bank in London which was founded by the family. The bank had the largest collection of Scottish art in private hands, much of which was on display in the building. We had a bagpiper serenade us into work between 8:30 and 9. If you missed the piper, you were late. On the upside, the bank had its own pub, called the Scottish Pound.

38. Incline: TILT

39. Hardly lively: DRAB

40. "Lemme __!": AT 'EM

41. Precious: LOVABLE. One meaning of precious.

42. Many a middle schooler: PRE-TEEN

45. Most sparsely populated European country: ICELAND. But a footballing powerhouse despite only having a population of 300,000 and a coach who is a part-time dentist.

46. Inexpensive knockoff: CHEAPIE

47. Consequence of wearing a cap too long: HAT HEAD

49. Low soccer score: ONE NIL. And the score by which Iceland (reminder, population 300,000) beat England (population sixty-odd million) in the European Championships in 2016 to dump England out of the competition and force the resignation of the coach.

51. Sleuth Wolfe: NERO

54. Some spammers: BOTS. 

55. Two-legged zebras: REFS

59. 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE

62. Non's opposite: OUI

63. Coffee server: URN

64. Phil Rizzuto's retired number: TEN. Yankee shortstop "The Scooter". Why? No idea, ask C.C. (Steve: "Holy cow!")

65. Chewie's pal: HAN. Star Wars, Chewbacca the Wookie and Han Solo. The clue isn't really "correct" though - Chewie was a nickname, Han was Solo's first name. Details, details.

Right, that wraps it up for me. Onwards and gridwards!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

As Lemonade mentioned a few times, tomorrow's write-up will be unique. Be sure to come back and celebrate the special occasion of a blog favorite.

Wednesday October 9, 2019 Craig Stowe

The Gimme Game by Craig Stowe, play-by-play by desper-otto.

You'll see lots of "LHF" (I counted 32) as you scroll through the writeup. No, it doesn't stand for Left-Handed Fingering, CED, nor Latent Heat Flux, Jayce. If you haven't already sussed it, y'all'll find out later.

Across:

1. Washington's Sea-__ Airport: TAC. Seattle-Tacoma. Could also be half a candy or a third of a game. LHF 1

4. Bubble bath spot: TUB. In the winter I like a good long soak in a hot tub, reading my latest Kindle novel. LHF 2

7. Model S and Model X electric cars: TESLAS. "Electric" is the operative word.

13. "Snowy" bird: OWL. Egret was too long. LHF 3

14. "Movin' __": "The Jeffersons" theme: ON UP. Musical Interlude #1

16. World Cup chant: OLE OLE. Tried USA USA first.

17. Chinese chairman: MAO. The Chairman LHF 4

The Chairman

18. Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine: PARR. Portrait of Catherine Parr.

Portrait of Catherine Parr

19. Like an ideal situation: WIN WIN. OLE OLE over WIN WIN makes a nice sandwich.

20. How some get across town: BY CAB. Also what a Bostonian takes for an upset tummy.

22. "I'm __ a robot": phrase with captcha tests: NOT. If you've gone blue, you can ignore the Recaptcha for your comments. LHF 5

24. Percussion pair: HIHAT. One of these thingies

25. Sack opening?: KNAP. I had one with the Boy Scout logo on it. Wow, was that special!

27. Leg bone: FIBULA.

29. Holly's "Raising Arizona" role: EDWINA. Holly Hunter.

Holly Hunter

31. Summer in Quebec: ÉTÉ. Also in Paris, France, but not in Paris, Texas. LHF 6

32. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. Musical Interlude #2

35. Good scents: AROMAS. Are they always good? In my ute, driving down the section roads where the fields were freshly manured and the ditches were over-flowing with whey, we'd comment on the aroma of the "good ole country air."

36. "The Giving Tree" author Silverstein: SHEL. Multi-talented guy. He wrote poems, songs, cartoons and children's books. I first ran into him in the pages of Playboy, which I read solely for the articles.

38. __ pal: GAL. Tried PEN first. CSO to Tinbeni.

39. Fire truck wail: SIREN. I read "wail" as "wall" and drew a blank. LHF 7

40. Toronto-to-D.C. dir.: SSE.

41. Handy: UTILE. I'm not sure "useful" and "handy" mean the same thing.

43. Lodge member: ELK. LHF 8

44. Guthrie at Woodstock: ARLO. Woody's boy. I think he's singing about the keys to the city, don't you?

46. Walk-in health facility: CLINIC. LHF 9

47. City on the Rhône: LYON. No "S"

49. Word with drum or trumpet: EAR. One of these days I may have to look into an ear trumpet, but that's probably the wrong way to use it.

50. Distorts, as data: FUDGES. Was thinking SKEWS. My high school math teacher used to say, "Figures don't lie, but liars do figure."

51. Do over: REVAMP.

53. Royal Norwegian name: OLAF. Will it be F or V? Wait on the perps.

54. Let up: ABATE. LHF 10

56. __-mo replay: SLO. LHF 11

58. "The Jetsons" son: . ELROY

61. Chanted phrase: MANTRA.

63. Word on U.S. coins: UNUM. E Pluribus Unum

 -- out of many, one.

65. Luau instrument: UKE. LHF 12

66. Consume: INGEST. That's what they say about poison.

67. Personnel note: MEMO. LHF 13

68. "Roth" savings plan: IRA. I've got both types. You? I recently dipped into my Roth to buy a new car. The withdrawal doesn't count as income. LHF 14

69. Political pundit Myers: DEEDEE. She spent a couple of years as press secretary in the early years of the Clinton presidency.

70. __ Antonio: SAN. The River Walk LHF 15

The River Walk

71. Street covering: TAR. Our little town is in the process of repaving our streets. I don't know when our street was last paved, but it was more than 20 years ago. The patches have been patched, and some of the potholes are epic. The recent heavy truck traffic has made matters worse. I'll be happy when the paving is complete and the heavy trucks leave. I'm getting sick of the smell of asphalt in the morning. LHF 16

Down:

1. Grant's __: NYC landmark: TOMB. Eighteenth prez U.S. and his wife are buried together there.

3. 1971 Kubrick film, with "A": CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Stanley Kubrick didn't have a specific genre, but he sure made a lot of classic movies.

4. Big cheese: TOP BANANA

5. Article in El País: UNA. The "El" gives it away.

6. "Sick insult, dude!": BURN. I've never heard that. You?

7. With 2-Down, type of zone in which parking is restricted: TOW AWAY. LHF 17 Usually pricey to get your car back.

8. Nobelist Root: ELIHU Root. Former Secretary of State and Secretary of War back in the early 1900s. He showed me that USA USA was wrong as that futbal cheer.

9. Declining in old age: SENILE. Gettin' there.

10. Easy pickings, and a hint to the four other longest Down answers: LOW HANGING FRUIT. In addition to the four theme answers, Craig gave us lots of other LHF in this puzzle.

11. Et __: and others: ALIA. LHF 18

12. Dispatched: SENT. LHF 19

15. Clue character with a bow tie: PROFESSOR PLUM.

21. "Yu-Gi-Oh!" genre: ANIMÉ. Five perps, and I had it, as Abejo would say.

23. 10% donation: TITHE. LHF 20

26. Faux __: PAS. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. There was major tongue-biting when my former boss came in one morning extolling the beauty of the faux pas wall finishes he'd seen in a house he'd visited. To correct him, or not to correct him? What a stupid question. LHF 21

28. Four-winged flier: BEE. Learning moment courtesy of Reference.com: "All castes and species of bee have four wings. The pair of wings that is closer to the head is always larger and folds over the rear pair when the bee is at rest. The rear pair is shorter and hooks into the forward pair when unfolded for flight." I'll bet John Lampkin knew that; I didn't.

29. Artistic stand: EASEL. LHF 22

30. Deadpan: DRILY.

33. New Haven student: YALIE. or ELI. LHF 23

34. Smart fellows?: ALECS. LHF 24

37. Yoga-inspired athletic brand: LULULEMON. Never heard of it. "It's all about the intangibles"

40. Closes forcibly: SLAMS. LHF 25

42. __ pool: TIDAL. GENE was too short. STENO didn't work.

45. Irish actor Stephen: REA. He's been in lots of movies, but is probably best known for The Crying Game. LHF 26

46. Fiscal VIP: CFO. Chief Financial Officer.

48. Brought home: NETTED.

52. Song section: VERSE.

54. In the thick of: AMID. LHF 27

55. Downfall: BANE.

57. Small bills: ONES. LHF 28

59. Gumbo ingredient: OKRA. It's slippery-slimy and some (most?) folks don't like it, but it thickens the gumbo. LHF 29

60. Junior or senior: YEAR. LHF 30

62. Had a burger, say: ATE. LHF 31
 

64. Actress Thurman: UMA. Uma Thurman LHF 32

Tuesday, October 8, 2019 Debra Hamel

But is it erasable?  The first word of each theme answer can proceed the word Pencil to give us a new concept.

17-Across. Ocular arch-shaping cosmetic: EYEBROW WAX.  Eyebrow Pencil.

26-Across. Robby the Robot, e.g.: MECHANICAL MAN.  Mechanical Pencil.

48-Across. Backyard cooker: CHARCOAL GRILL.  Charcoal Pencil.  Everything you wanted to know about the difference between a charcoal pencil vs. a graphite pencil but were afraid to ask.

And the Unifier:

65. Tentative "It's a date" ... or a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, and 48-Across: PENCIL ME IN.  If you "pencil in" an appointment in your date book, you can always erase the date and cancel your plans if you get a better offer.

Across:

1. How headless chickens may run: AMOK.  Did you know a turtle can swim without a head?

5. Argo and Titanic: SHIPS.

10. Email asking for money, perhaps: SCAM.

14. Pedi partner: MANI.  As a Pedicure and Manicure.

15. "A Confederacy of Dunces" author John Kennedy __: TOOLE.  John Kennedy Toole (Dec. 17, 1937 ~ Mar. 26, 1969) was from New Orleans.  Sadly, he died by suicide at age 31.  His most well-known novel was A Confederacy of Dunces, which was published after his death.

16. Gyro bread: PITA.  Yummers!

19. Like Felix Unger, e.g.: ANAL.  Hmm ...

20. Forbidden regions: NO-GO AREAS.

21. Mom's brother: UNCLE.  My mother had no brothers, thus I have no maternal uncles.

22. __ Lanka: SRI.  The island country off the coast of India.  Between 1948 and 1972, the country was known as Ceylon.  The name Sri Lanka means "Resplendent Island" in Sanskrit.

23. 1/60 of an hr.: MIN.  There are 60 Minutes in an Hour.

25. "The cow is of the bovine __; / One end is moo, the other, milk": Ogden Nash: ILK.

32. Miss. neighbor: ALA.  Louisiana and Arkansas are also neighbors of Mississippi, but the answer today is Alabama.

33. High school stat: GPA.  As in the Grade Point Average.

34. Loewe's lyricist: LERNER.  Alan Jay Lerner (Aug. 31, 1918 ~ June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist who collaborated with Frederick Loewe (June 10, 1901 ~ Feb. 14, 1988), who was a composer.  Together they created many well known Broadway musicals, including My Fair Lady and Camelot.

Lerner is on the right.

37. Dog pack leader: ALPHA.

40. One or more: ANY.

42. Spanish "I love you": TE AMO.  Today's Spanish lesson, obviously.

43. Get by: MANAGE.

45. Article in Die Zeit: DER.  Today's German lesson.

47. Up to, briefly: 'TIL.  Short for Until.

52. N, E, S or W: DIR.  N(orth), E(ast), S(outh) or W(est) are all Directions.

54. Golf teacher: PRO.

55. Portuguese saint: SÃO.  Today's Portuguese lesson.

56. UPS driver's assignment: ROUTE.

58. Not one to pass up a porterhouse: MEAT LOVER.

64. King of Siam's Broadway dance partner: ANNA.  Anna and the King of Siam was a musical by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  It was loosely based on the true story of Anna Leonowens (Nov. 5, 1831 ~ Jan. 19, 1915), who was a tutor to the children of King Mongkut.  Russian-born Yul Brynner (July 11, 1920 ~ Oct. 10, 1985) played the role of the King.

66. The Stones' Jagger: MICK.

Sir Michael Philip Jagger (b. July 26, 1943).

67. One-eighty: U-TURN.

68. Distort, as rules: BEND.  Bending the law doesn't exactly break the law, but it could be considered inappropriate or unfair.

69. Throbbing pain: ACHE.

70. Pro bono promise: NO FEE.

71. Boats like Noah's: ARKS.  Not all Arks, however, would be laden with animals.

Down:

1. Last word before digging in?: AMEN.  Cute clue.  A reference to saying Grace before a meal.

2. BLT condiment: MAYO.  A Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich would have Mayonnaise in it as well.

3. 10 C-notes: ONE-G.  Ten C-notes *$100 bills) are worth One-Grand ($1,000).

4. Put the __ on: squelch: KIBOSH.

5. Attic function: STORING.  I initially tried Storage.

6. Sewing machine inventor Elias: HOWE.  Elias Howe (July 9, 1819 ~ Oct. 3, 1867) is credited with creating the modern sewing machine.  Isaac Merritt Singer (Oct. 27, 1811 ~ July 23, 1875), however, has his name associated with the machine.  Howe was a nice family man, but Singer was quite the cad.  Singer is believed to have fathered at least 24 children with various wives and mistresses.

Elias Howe and his Sewing Machine.

7. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

8. Outmoded TV type: PLASMA.

9. __ symbol: SEX.

10. Wing measurement: SPAN.  The Albatros has the largest wingspan of any living bird.

11. Where Reds play: CINCINNATI.  A baseball reference to the Cincinnati Reds.

12. In the least: AT ALL.

13. 2018 Best Actor Rami __: MALEK.  Rami Said Malek (b. May 12, 1981) plays Elliot Alderson on the television series Mr. Robot.  He won the 2018 Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Malek is on the right.

18. Hard to find, to Caesar: RARA.  Today's Latin lesson.

21. Like some expectations: UNMET.

24. Feeling poorly: ILL.

26. Palindromic address: MA'AM.

27. "Enchanted" film title girl: ELLA.

28. Naval officer on a cereal box: CAP'N CRUNCH.  This cereal has been around since 1963.  We used to eat it as kids.

29. Beer initialism: IPA.  As in India Pale Ale.  Here's the history of India Pale Ale.

30. "I'm on it!": CAN DO!

31. "We __ Farmers": insurance slogan: ARE.

35. Pianist Gilels: EMIL.  I am not familiar with Emil Gilels (Oct. 19, 1916 ~ Oct. 14, 1985).  He was a Soviet musician.  It's a long piece, but worth listening to.

 

36. Winning streak: ROLL.

38. "Yeah, right!": HAH!

39. With jaw dropped: AGAPE.

41. Affirmative vote: YEA.

44. Do something human?: ERR.

46. Stephen King's kid lit counterpart: R.L. STINE.  Today is the birthday of R.L. Stine (né Robert Lawrence Stine; Oct. 8, 1943).  He turns 76 today.  Happy Birthday!  He is best known for his Goosebumps series of horror fiction for children.

49. Awaken: COME TO.

50. Sometimes it's unmitigated: GALL.

51. Self-moving vacuum: ROOMBA.

52. Certain queen's bailiwick: DRAMA.  Cute clue.  We all know someone who is a big DRAMA QUEEN.

53. Greek column type: IONIC.  There were 3 major styles of columns in ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.  (If Debra Hamel, today's constructor, is who I think she is, then she is a historian specializing in Ancient Greece.)

57. Word before part or heart: TAKE.  As in the phrases Take Part and Take Heart.

59. Sufficient, in texts: ENUF.  Meh!

60. "Back forty" unit: ACRE.  The most remote area of the farm.

61. Swerve: VEER.

62. Kindle technology: E-INK.  I don't have a Kindle.  I do have a Nook, but I really prefer to read an actual book with pages that I can flip back and forth.

63. Gps. of drinks: RNDS.  As in Rounds.  "I'll get the next Round!"

65. "The lowest form of humor ~ when  you don't think of it first": Oscar Levant:  PUN.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Read.  Read.  Read.  Just don’t read one type of book.  Read different books by various authors so that you develop different styles.  ~ R.L. Stine (né Robert Lawrence Stine; b. Oct. 8, 1943).  See 46-Down.
    

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 78 birthday to dear Jayce, who's been with our blog for over a decade. Thanks for understanding so deeply my 🥣安 and other problems, Jayce. So glad you found us. Here's his wedding picture again. Young and Beautiful.