Sunday August 21, 2016 Gail Grabowski

Theme:  "Company's Coming" - CO is added to each theme entry.

23A. Nickel that's worth big bucks? : MAJOR COIN. Major in.

25A. Eco-friendly lighthouse? : GREEN BEACON. Green bean.

47A. Rearrangement of suitcase contents? : SECOND PACKING. Send packing.

71A. Ideal takeover? : DREAM COUP. Dream up.

97A. Burlesque stand-up act? : COMEDIAN STRIP. Median strip.

 

121A. Where fowl spies meet? : COVERT COOPS. Covert ops. There's a stray CO. Smiled at the clue.

125A. Parka with different sleeve lengths? : COAT ISSUE, At issue.

36D. Sign of breakfast burning? : SMOKING BACON. Smoking ban.

41D. Abs trainers? : TUMMY COACHES. Tummy aches.

Heavy themage today. Total 9 themers and 99 theme squares. These constrictions did not leave Gail much room for long fill. The longest two are just 8- letter RARE MEAT (10A. Red-centered serving) and LINCHPIN (92D. Crucial unifying element )

I think I can figure out Gail's Sunday grids without looking at the byline. Lots of solid 4-letter & 5-letter entries. No weird 3-letter abbrs. Always smooth and clean.

Across:

1. Overrun : RIFE. Got via easy Downs.

5. Toothpaste portion : GLOB

9. Superfluity : FRILL

14. "Same here" : AS AM I. Not DITTO or ME TOO.

19. Psych ending : OTIC

20. NYC tourist attraction : MoMA

21. "The Great Dictator" Oscar nominee : OAKIE. I could only think of Chaplin.

22. Intel mission : RECON

27. One might not hold up in court : ALIBI

28. Basic element : STAPLE

30. Remote hiding places? : SOFAs. Remote control.

31. Pic Sans Nom, par exemple : ALPE

33. Guanaco cousin : LLAMA

35. Does a salon job : FROSTS. Same as highlights, right?

39. "Life Below Zero" channel, familiarly : NAT GEO. National Geographic.

42. Chef known by his first name : EMERIL

45. Not yet fulfilled : UNMET

46. Part of an academic address : EDU

52. I, at times : ONE

53. Easy win : ROMP

55. Allison of jazz : MOSE. Unknown figure to me.

56. Mighty small : TEENY

57. Hershey bar : SKOR

58. "The Count of Monte Cristo" author : DUMAS. Loved the novel.

60. Czar's edict : UKASE. We used to see this word frequently in the old Tribune puzzle.

63. Homework helpers : DADS

64. Clare's land : EIRE

65. Flair : STYLE

66. Sung syllables : LA LA LA

68. "That's true, but ... " : EVEN SO

70. Welcome center? : CEE

75. Oscar winner Lee : ANG. I mentioned a while ago that his Ang is the same character as the An as in my hometown Xi'an. Means "peace".

76. Attacks with force : STORMS

79. Puzzle : BEMUSE

80. Prestigious prize : NOBEL

83. Bone up quickly : CRAM

84. Assert with confidence : AVER

88. Zero out, say : RESET. Simple in retrospect.

89. Well past its prime : STALE

90. Affluent, in Andalusia : RICO

91. Court prop : GAVEL

93. At deuce : TIED. Also 40. Break point situation : AD OUT. Tennis.

95. OAS charter member : ECUA

96. Defense secretary __ Carter : ASH . Why not just "Defense secretary Carter"? I don't get the extra  ___ in clues sometimes.

101. Puts away too much, briefly : ODs

102. One of a hand truck's pair : WHEEL

104. "Purple Rain" musician : PRINCE

105. Shelley's "Ozymandias," e.g. : SONNET

107. "For honest men and bonie __": Burns : LASSES

109. 1983 Mr. T comedy : DC CAB

111. "This isn't good!" : OH NO

112. Shocks, in a way : TASES

115. Iroquoian family members : HURONs

117. Goes like crazy : ZOOMS. Car.

127. "The Tempest" spirit : ARIEL

128. Fox football sportscaster Long : HOWIE

129. "The Mikado" executioner : KO-KO. I only know the name Poo Bah.

130. Couture monthly : ELLE

131. Classic rock opera : TOMMY. The Who.

132. Without stopping : ON END

133. Break sharply : SNAP

134. Completely convinced : SOLD

Down:

1. Tomato variety : ROMA. Bought a jar of oil-cured black olives in Hy-Vee. Pretty good.

2. Emphatic type: Abbr. : ITAL

3. Suva's nation : FIJI

4. Environment-friendly carrier : ECO-BAG. Are plastic bags still used in your local grocery stores?

5. Letters on some SUVs : GMC

6. One way to hang : LOOSE

7. Pass over : OMIT

8. Yawn-inspiring : BANAL

9. Aid for dealing with pea soup : FOG LAMP

11. Cold War prez : IKE

12. "None of it is true!" : LIES!

13. Host with a TV "Garage" : LENO

14. It only offers partial coverage : AREA RUG. Nice clue.

15. Ticket period : SEASON. Season ticket.

16. NCAA div. with Seminoles : ACC

17. Jersey greeting? : MOO. Jersey cow.

18. Vacation stop : INN

24. Gets to : RILES

26. Closest pal, in text : BFF

29. Implored : PLED

32. Hardy work : POEM. Thomas Hardy.

34. Curving : ARCED. Have any of you tried those brow studios in malls?

37. Caruso and Domingo : TENORs

38. System with speakers : STEREO

39. Some intellectuals : NERDS

43. "Unböring" furniture chain : IKEA

44. "The Swedish Nightingale" Jenny : LIND

48. Was able to : COULD

49. Schindler with a list : OSKAR

50. Writer Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE

51. Its sessions begin and end with bells : NYSE

54. Capital of Sicily : PALERMO

57. Cross-referencing words : SEE NOTE. Used in rebus crosswords.

59. Come off as : SEEM

61. Swedish import : SAAB

62. Pulitzer playwright Rice : ELMER. Stranger to me also.

67. Elevated point : ACME

69. Many 1969 Woodstock arrivals : VANS. Lemonade was there.

72. Boots : OUSTS

73. Start of a fitness motto : USE IT. So true.

74. Singer Cetera : PETER

76. Many a signature : SCRAWL. Now I know how D-Otto writes, after seeing a few PDF files of his filled grids. 

77. Yearwood of country : TRISHA

78. Pudding starch : SAGO.  Sago flour and tapioca are from the different trees.

81. Lose in a chase : ELUDE

82. Numerical extreme : LEAST

85. Mae West persona : VAMP

86. "Did you __?" : EVER

87. Overhauled : REDID

94. One in a buffet stack : DISH. I was thinking of food rather than the plates.

97. Without a doubt : CLEARLY

98. Courtroom figure : ACCUSED. The accused.

99. In the neighborhood : NEAR

100. Eponymous swindler : PONZI

103. Think the world of : ESTEEM

106. Rope loops : NOOSES

108. Former JFK lander : SST

110. Strong lagers : BOCKs

111. Sanyo headquarters city : OSAKA. Literally "large hill".

113. Off-the-wall feedback? : ECHO. Nailed it.

114. Before you know it : SOON

116. Palindromic time : NOON

118. Fram Museum city : OSLO. Not familiar with the museum.

119. Ponder, with "over" : MULL

120. Flower child? : SEED. Sweet clue.

121. Stealthy animal : CAT

122. Metal precioso : ORO

123. Gusto : VIM

124. Be beholden to : OWE

126. Pajama part : TOP

C.C.

Satuday, Aug 20th, 2016, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 32

  OK, is it just me, or was this one way too easy for a Julian Lim puzzle~?  Perhaps there were enough clues in my wheelhouse to have the right number of crossings in the right places to cruise right on through in less than half my personal allotted time - and that includes an additional minute to find the one letter I had wrong before the ta-DA~! was mine.  All the proper names filled via perps and educated WAGs, too.  Hey, I'll take it~!  Triple 10-letter corners in both across and down, with two more 10's and two 9's;

25a. Sidecar ingredient : TRIPLE SEC - Yesterday marked 4,242 days for me - which in terms of "The Hitch-hiker's Guide the Galaxy" must have some significance....

44a. Dairy Queen offerings : BLIZZARDS

7d. Where Ulysses rests : GRANT'S TOMB - oh, I thought it was George Washington....Bugs Bunny humor

30d. Emulates a bad waiter? : CUTS IN LINE - I'm linking this song again, since this is one of the lines

 

 Paul Simon The Afterlife @ 2:10

~!

ACROSS:

1. "The Winds of War" actress : ALI MACGRAW

11. Bon __ : MOT - it was this or "AMI".  And I went with the latter.

14. "Love in the First Degree" all-female group : BANANARAMA - I know of very few female groups, and not too many of them are 10 letters long; the song title made no difference to me

15. Emotion betrayer : TONE

16. Knocked out : ELIMINATED

17. Emergency op : EVACuation

18. Emblem : TOTEM - HA~!  Anon-T and I had a small discussion about the "Cricket Bat" in Spinal Tap; the manager refers to it as "totemistic; a good solid piece of lumber in your hand....is useful"

19. New Mexican? : NENE - not fooled, but I thought it was "BEBE"

20. Ho Chi __ City : MINH - gimme

21. Busts, e.g. : ART - too easy

23. "The Legend of Zelda" currency : RUPEES - don't know this, but I had half the letters from the Downs

31. Jump __ : START

32. Happy __: old snack brand mascot : HO HO

33. Pulls some strings? : STRUMS - I had a feeling it was on this wavelength, but for me, a strum is striking the strings; to pull them usually gives you an artificial harmonic - or maybe it's a semi-reference to a PULL-off and hammer-on technique....

35. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC : CRO - via perps; not much into this Olympics, tho I did see Water Polo, Field Hockey (that's icing~!) and Men's Singles Badminton - love me some badminton~!

36. Singer Lambert with the album "Trespassing" : ADAM - perps

37. Angiography concern : AORTA - I WAGed this over "HEART"

38. Crisply and detached, to an orch. : STACcato

39. Talks acronym : TED - Nailed it; their site

40. Tops : AT MOST - "Tops" in this sense reminds me of "Die Hard" and the Feds on the gunship helicopters; scene 328, here

41. Driver's protest : HONK - this is what I figured, but by now, I was thinking it was way too easy
42. Mine finder : SONAR

46. Publisher Ochs : ADOLPH - I had ADO--H

48. "__ won't!" : "NO I..."

49. Quo warranto, e.g. : WRIT - this filled via ALL perps

50. Short-lived '80s sports org. : USFL - I tried MISL; we had the NY Arrows, right here on L.I., playing at the Nassau Coliseum; their goalie was Shep Messing, and he had a fitness club mere miles from my house

53. Whimpers : MEWLS

58. Lift : RIDE - ah.  I was stuck in the verb sense of "to raise", not "drive"

59. Grammy-winning Santana song : MARIA MARIA

61. Maintain : AVER

62. Regardless : IN ANY EVENT

63. Podded plant : PEA - again, I said....really~?

64. Restraining order, say : DETERRENCE

DOWN:

1. Help with a job : ABET - had the whole phrase last week

2. "Mission: Impossible" theme composer Schifrin : LALO - again, perps

3. Still vying : IN IT

4. Jerry Herman musical : MAME - didn't know it, and "HAIR" didn't work

5. Kind of magnetism : ANIMAL - I like this kind of "attraction"

6. Preserve, in a way : CAN - dah~!  Not JAR; that's 100% 33.3% correct

8. Word after going or before hike : RATE - going rate, rate hike

9. Hymn ender : AMEN

10. Bit of fishing attire : WADER

11. Penn, for one : MOVIE ACTOR - that would be Sean Penn; I pondered TRAIN DEPOT (Penn Station, NY)

12. At the store, perhaps : ON AN ERRAND

13. AAPL and GOOG : TECH STOCKS - nailed it

15. Entice : TEMPT

22. Came together again : RESAT

24. Letters before some state names : USS

25. Shout after the last shot : THAT'S A WRAP - I've been on two movie sets

26. Part of Beverly Hills' Golden Triangle : RODEO DRIVE

it's in the middle

27. "Honestly?!" : "I HAD NO IDEA~!?!"

28. Popular toy, for short : POMeranian

29. Documentarian Morris : ERROL - again, perps, and just the "E" to get

34. __ ball : MATZO

38. Oldies syllable : SHA-na-na, and I went with "TRA" first

40. "Leaves and Navels" artist : ARP - some other examples of the artist's work

43. Modify : ALTER - I had EMEND first

45. "The Lion King" composer Hans : ZIMMER - only had to guess the first "M"

47. Sticky : HUMID - like it's been for two weeks here; this has been the worst summer at UPS since my first - and my first was only bad because I had never experienced it before

51. Sound : SANE

52. "Animal House" group : FRAT

54. Gable neighbor : EAVE - carpentry terms~?  C'mon....too easy

55. Singer of complex songs : WREN - ah, clever

56. Michael's brother in "Prison Break" : LINC - I figured this show was short lived - I mean, once they got out, what's the point of watching...?

57. Make full : SATE

60. City on the Firth of Clyde : AYR - and yes, it was all perps

Splynter

Friday, August 19, 2016 Bruce Haight

Title: Another @##% circle puzzle to irritate Barry!

We take a journey with back to back Bruce Haight Fridays. My memories of going to the ocean and looking for stones to throw were brought back. This time he packaged his effort in a rare 14 x 16 grid with a total of 70 theme squares. The 14s are grid-spanners and with so many letters in themers, there is not much room for sparkle. We do get  AM FM RADIO and  SALMON ROE.  Once again I will begin with the very clever reveal which tells us we are looking for stones in the skipped parts of fill, in the circles.

58A. Leisurely lakeside activity, and a clue for the circled letters : SKIPPING STONES (14).

16A. Reason kept to oneself : ULTERIOR MOTIVE (14). Limestone  is a sedimentary rock that contains at least 50% calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Because sedimentary rocks are made of various types of sediments, the other 50% of a limestone rock could be virtually any other mineral. Limestone originates in wet areas which mean it could also be composed of shells and waste matter from organisms.

22A. Wig out : FLIP ONE'S LID (11). Fieldstone. This is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally. Collections of fieldstones which have been removed from arable land or pasture to allow for more effective agriculture are called clearance cairns.Coming from New England we know all about this. What movie comes to mind?

29A. Thorny thicket : BRIAR PATCH (10).  Birthstone. Am I the only one who always thinks about UNCLE REMUS?

42A. Johnny Olson catchphrase : COME ON DOWN (10). Moonstone. This is an alternate birthstone for June, but also a gem used by

48A. Bum rap : FALSE CHARGE (11). Flagstone. These flat stones are popular for making paths etc. so here is how to DIY.

Across:

1. "Anaconda" rapper Nicki : MINAJ. I am not sure why but I knew this MUSIC (4:49).

6. Sizable chunk : SLAB. Of roast beef? Or Nicki?

10. "Yuck!" : EWW. Ok, I agree. So does 63A. "Yuck!" : BLEH.

13. Carne follower, in Mexican fare : ASADA. Grilled beef.

14. Roll at the airport : TAXI. On the Taxiway.

15. Former Vietnamese emperor Bao __ : DAI. This man. LINK.

19. Barack Obama, astrologically : LEO. He has the same birthday as my step-son.

20. Old Venetian magistrate : DOGE.  You should recall THIS.

21. Boy in the first family : ABEL. All the men had four letters.

25. Country singer Clark : TERRI. The only Clark I recall is ROY, not this tall Canadian.

28. Cold weather word : TEENS. Down here that would be freezing.

34. 1953 automobile innovation : AM FM RADIO. Introduced by a Mexican Company. HISTORY.

35. Catch something : AIL. Nice simple misdirection.

38. Put away : ATE.  Nice simple misdirection.

39. Some caviar : SALMON ROE. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian and Black Sea (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). Depending on the country, caviar may also be used to describe the roe of other fish such as salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, carp,and other species of sturgeon.

43. West Indian sorcery : OBEAH. Hard to discuss this PRACTICE when we do not talk religion.

47. Young partner : ERNST. CPA firm.

53. Low-cost home loan org. : FNMA. Federal National Mortgage Association.

54. Lug : HAUL.

55. Letters left of center? : EPI. Cute...left of mean a prefix.

62. "If __ again I meet him beard to beard ... ": Shak. : EER. Rar lay I do not know well, Coriolanus.

64. Whiz : MAVEN. It's back.

65. Carefree syllable : TRA. La La.

66. Fun : JEST.

67. Sarcophagus holder : CRYPT.

Down:

1. Stake-driving hammer : MAUL.

2. Part of a chain : ISLE.

3. Defense acronym : NATO. He must like this oraganization. North American Treaty Organization.

4. Thirst quencher : ADE. Thanks for the CSO Mr. H.

5. Rattle : JAR.

6. Bend : STOOP. My thought

7. Slow passage : LARGO. Musical term.

8. Guitar players, slangily : AXMEN. More likely AXE (not maul)

9. Dust jacket info : BIOgraphy.

10. Safe to put away : EDIBLE. My favorite clue.

11. Encourage to score, as a base runner : WAVE IN. Maybe not these RUNNERS.

12. Brandishes : WIELDS.

17. First name in despotism : IDI. Amin.

18. Zap : TASE.

22. Set up : FRAME. Central plot to many tv shows.

23. NYC commuter line : LIRR. Long Island Railroad.

24. Ordinal ending : ETH. This is used to create ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers ending in -y, namely the multiples of ten (other than ten itself): 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90; e.g. twentieth, thirtieth.

25. TV sched. uncertainty : TBA. To Be Announced.

26. Aunt with a "Cope Book" : ERMA.

27. Divide : RIFT.

30. El __ : PASO.

31. Maroon 5 singer Levine : ADAM.

32. Counter square : TILE.

33. Lake of Lombardy : COMO. You like this little home?

35. Auto company founder Citroën : ANDRÉ. He was an interesting MAN.

36. Golf bag item : IRON.

37. Not the best of times : LOWS.

40. Universal donor's type, briefly : O NEG.

41. Uvula doc : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.

42. "Evita" role : CHE. Guevera.

43. Counterbalance : OFFSET. Time for the offset I?

44. Loan officer, e.g. : BANKER.

45. Twain's New York resting place : ELMIRA. This was the cemetery where his wife's family were buried. Twain lived in Connecticut and Mark Twain house is in Hartford. A high school classmate has written about the restoration and is still an ambassador. LINK.

46. "Make it snappy!" : ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

49. Country about 12 times longer than its widest point : CHILE.

50. Underwear brand : HANES.

51. Zero : AUGHT.

52. Literary monogram : RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson.

55. Green attitude? : ENVY. From the green-eyed monster in Othello. Twain also wrote of this. “It turned Brer Merlin green with envy and spite, which was a great satisfaction to me.” — A Connecticut Yankee.

56. Sound often not allowed? : PEEP. I do not want to hear a peep out of you!

57. "It __ Right": 1956 Platters' hit : ISN'T.

59. Lunchbox staple, familiarly : PBJ.

60. Cinephile's TV choice : TMC.  TCM? Or maybe AMC? The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime.

61. Tool sometimes used for steering : OAR.

Well this was fun, but I lost my write up and had to redo it all. Some changed, some did not but now it is time to wish you all well and best to all the Olympic athletes who have provided lots of entertainment. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Let's say Hello to Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn, who was born yesterday. She was 6 pounds 13 ounces,  20.25 inches long. Congratulations, grandma Melissa!

Thursday, Auguest 18th 2016 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: North-South Defiled - the themers all run down the grid, and the last word can be prefixed by "dirty" as the reveal much more elegantly explains:

9D. Unvarnished ... or like the ends of the answers to starred clues? : DOWN AND DIRTY

4D. *Dramatic gridiron pass : LONG BOMB. Dirty bomb. Nasty concept, this device.

20D. *Put in long hours : WORK LIKE A DOG. Dirty dog. 

What?

24D. *Shopping area loiterer : MALL RAT. Dirty rat. Cagney didn't actually say "You dirty rat", the line was "Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat or I'll give it to you through the door" but that's something of a mouthful for a cliché.

39D. *"The Vampire Chronicles" novelist : ANNE RICE. Dirty rice. Food! Traditionally a cajun or creole dish, I had a chinese-fusion version in New York which prominently featured monkfish liver, on of those ingredients you either like ("Yum! Fishy livery stuff!") or don't ("Yeugh! Fishy livery stuff!")

Hail fellows, well met! A nice Thursday-level effort from the popular duo of Don & C.C. The reveal was my final piece of the jigsaw - I couldn't see any connection between the other four themers, and "Unvarnished" is quite an obtuse clue. Unscrupulous, nasty are the definitions that pop into my head. Eventually the crosses helped me unlock it. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Sound check item : AMP. Does anyone ever get up to "three" at the soundcheck? All I've ever heard is "one-two, one-two".

4. Barista offering : LATTE

9. Colon pair : DOTS. Nice. My mental visuals pre-penny-drop were not pretty.

13. Alicia Keys record label : RCA. Didn't even look at this, the crosses filled it in for me.

14. Silver and gold : COLORS. Took a while. The possibilities of MEDALS and SPECIE distracted me,

15. "Now I get it" : OH, OK. Tough one to parse. I had _OH_ and couldn't "unsee" HOHO

16. Large server : URN

17. Lacking energy : ANEMIC. We toss in an unnecessary extra "a" in the UK.

18. Lean and strong : WIRY. Meet Nigel Gruff, the kicker in "The Replacements".

19. VIPs : BIGWIGS

21. Famous : OF NOTE

23. Take in : ABSORB

24. Gibbs of "The Jeffersons" : MARLA

26. Pooh pal : ROO

27. They catch a lot of waves : ANTENNAS. Nice.

31. Ailing : SICK

34. Canasta play : MELD. I've never played canasta, but with the M in place it went straight in. Not sure where I ABSORBED that word.

36. Deleted : X'D OUT. Difficult to do on a computer, not that you need to anyway. You can use strikethoughs though.

37. Do nothing : LOLL

38. Modeling material : BALSA

40. Match.com goal : DATE

41. "Live" sign : ON AIR

43. "__: Legacy": sci-fi sequel : TRON

44. Blue-roofed restaurant chain : IHOP

45. Cosmic payback : BAD KARMA

47. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" airer : NPR. I had NBC originally which slowed me up (or should that be "down") seeing the reveal.

49. Long-plumed fisher : EGRET

50. One of the two : EITHER

54. Photobucket alternative : PICASA. Or as an app sharer in Tijuana might say "Mi Picasa es su Picasa".

57. Ice cream brand introduced in 1866 : BREYERS. It took until 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis for someone to come up with the ice cream cone though.

58. Slugger with the most career grand slam HRs : A-ROD. Didn't hesitate. C.C. would be proud.

59. "Let's hear the story!" : TELL IT! Tried TELL ME! Was wrong.

62. Big D pro : MAV. Dallas Mavericks. The owner, Mark Cuban, is something of a maverick himself. He's a very outspoken critic of what he sees as poor officiating.

63. Helpless? : SOLO. It also crosses my mind that Hope Solo would have felt pretty helpless in the penalty shoot-out against Sweden last week. There's not much you can do when you guess one way and the kicker goes the other.

64. 1805 Beethoven premiere : EROICA. The Third symphony.

65. Egyptian snake : ASP

66. Glitch : SNAG

67. Hang : DRAPE. You can hang drapes, but you can't drape hangs.

68. Early video game letters : NES. Nintendo Entertainment System.

Down:

1. Caribbean vacation spot : ARUBA

2. Fast-food pork sandwich : McRIB.

3. Twinges : PANGS

5. Bass output : ALES. Nice clue. Bass registered the world's first trademark, the red triangle, in 1875.

6. Hiddleston who plays Loki in "Thor" : TOM. Thank you, crosses.

7. Cycle starter : TRI-

8. Motorcycle cop, perhaps : ESCORT. Had to work for this one too. ESC didn't prompt me as quickly as it should have.

10. Largest Mississippi River feeder by volume : OHIO

11. Civil wrong : TORT

12. __ terrier : SKYE

14. Giza neighbor : CAIRO. Close neighbor.

22. Show off, in a way : FLEX.

25. "As a result ... " : AND SO

28. Flood survivor : NOAH

29. Pilot, or a prefix with pilot : AUTO. Pondered this and ... oh! The Honda Pilot. Nice!

30. Escalator part : STEP

31. One who is often disorderly : SLOB

32. New Rochelle college : IONA. Nailed it, finally!

33. Dressed : CLAD

35. Words on Alice's cake : EAT ME

42. Joplin pieces : RAGS. Scott, not Janice. Cue "The Entertainer".

46. Not for kids : R-RATED

48. Mary-in-mourning sculpture : PIETA. We had this a couple of weeks ago clued differently. Handy letter sequence.

51. Stud : HE-MAN

52. Prepare to start over, perhaps : ERASE

53. Answers briefly? : RSVP'S

54. Free ticket : PASS

55. Liver nutrient : IRON

56. Pop : COLA

57. Screen signal : BLIP. This foxed me for a second until - aha! Radar!

60. Make a misstep : ERR

61. Mauna __ : LOA "Long Mountain". Not to be confused with "Wakea's Mountain" - Mauna Kea.

That about wraps it up for me today. Enjoy your Thursdays!

Steve

And heeeeeere's the grid!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016, Patricia Moran

TITLE: HOUSE PARTY

Patricia has given us a lovely Wednesday puzzle where she starts two or three-word phrases with a word or words that are an architectural style of a house. Patricia used no reveal for her theme but I have one for you as I have pictured some famous TV houses, in the styles our constructor has chosen, and their addresses. The names of each TV show associated with these houses are revealed just above the grid at the end of this write-up *.

THEME ANSWERS:

20. Period preserved by a district in Williamsburg, Virginia : COLONIAL TIMES - A COLONIAL house on 211 Pine Street, Universal Studios Backlot 

29. Title character in a Beatles "White Album" song : BUNGALOW BILL - A BUNGALOW house on 619 S. Runnymeade Avenue, Evansville, 35. Ill. neighbor : IND

46. Snacks with a New England lighthouse on the package : CAPE COD CHIPS - A CAPE COD house on 1164 Morning Glory Circle, West Oak Street, Burbank, CA

56. Dip for veggies : RANCH DRESSING - A RANCH house on 11222 Dilling Street, North Hollywood, California

Husker Gary here, admitting that I did have some issues but came away with a very satisfying "got 'er done". E-TOLL, THANK U and BUNGALOW BILL made for a slow NE.

Across

1. Paper unit : SHEET 

6. "Never Wave at __": Rosalind Russell film : A WAC - A forerunner of Private Benjamin?

10. Trash transport : SCOW - In NYC many of these SCOWS unloaded at Fresh Kills, Staten Island which is to be converted into a park 3X bigger than Central Park

14. Software security update : PATCH

15. Capitale in which "La Dolce Vita" was filmed : ROMA

16. Top-rated : A-ONE

17. Lanai hi : ALOHA - It means hello, goodbye and please check the oil!

18. Soft-spoken painter Bob : ROSS

19. Macramé feature : KNOT

23. Subj. for many an au pair : ESL

24. Ornamental pond fish : KOI

25. Denver-to-Chicago dir. : ENE - A compass heading of 67.5˚

26. Buf-__: facial sponge brand : PUF

32. Treadmill setting : PACE - Our crossword Corgi friends keeping the PACE

36. Doone of fiction and cookies : LORNA

37. Green subj. : ECOL

38. Drained of color : ASHEN

41. Spring : LEAP

42. __ Peachik: flavored vodka : STOLI

44. Tic-tac-toe loser : OXO 

45. Glorifying works : ODES

50. Colour ending : ISE

51. Bump-log link : ON A

52. Mama bear, in Mexico : OSA - Que mamá OSA tiene tres cachorros (That mama bear has three cubs)

53. Newscaster Lindström : PIA - Here shown at the right with her mother Ingrid Bergman who deserted Pia and her dad to marry Roberto Rossellini when Pia was 10. They reconciled when she was 18.

60. Fervor : ZEAL

62. Oodles : A LOT

63. Frugal sort : SAVER

64. "What's gotten __ you?" : INTO - Did you see The Exorcist? The animations I could have posted grossed me out!

65. Predecessors of euros : LIRE

66. Get together in secret? : ELOPE

67. Delight : GLEE

68. Finish a flight : LAND

69. Morning blend : LATTE


Down

1. One usually follows a comma : SPACE

2. Los Angeles Angels, in sportscasts : HALOS

3. Traveling convenience : E-TOLL -Pay up or else...

4. Reverberate : ECHO

5. 1998 Alanis Morissette hit : THANK U

6. Calls before a criminal court : ARRAIGNS

7. Knitting supply : WOOL

8. Dutch beer named for a river : AMSTEL

9. Monaco attraction : CASINO

10. Benefit : SAKE

11. Partnered in crime : CONSPIRED - A none too bright group who CONSPIRED. One of them, however, did change history

12. Lennon's widow : ONO

13. Just painted : WET

21. Ancient Aegean region : IONIA

22. Cry softly : MEWL

27. Arm bones : ULNAE - Bumping ULNAE

28. Book jacket parts : FLAPS

29. "Beauty and the Beast" beauty : BELLE

30. __ committee : AD HOC - Latin for "for this"

31. Ties with clasps : BOLOS

32. "My Cousin Vinny" star : PESCI - Eating his first grit

33. Fill in for : ACT AS

34. Play well with others : COOPERATE

39. Advised urgently : EXHORTED

40. __ pollution : NOISE

43. Desktop image : ICON - The ICONS on my messy desktop

47. Readily available, as a doctor : ON CALL

48. Bright bloom : DAHLIA

49. Bunch : PASSEL

53. Basketball move : PIVOT - Here is a 360 degree PIVOT and "nothin' but net!"

54. Klutzy : INEPT

55. Say yes : AGREE

57. Salve additive : ALOE

58. Michael who played Worf on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : DORN - We baseball peeps know Corbin Bernson's movie DORN better

59. Spanish parlor : SALA

60. Sharp turn : ZIG

61. Shutterfly order: Abbr. : ENL



Now, we will take input from our learned solvers who I know will follow HOUSE RULES:

*Theme house answers

20. COLONIAL - Leave It To Beaver

29. BUNGALOW - Roseanne (Recently for sale for $129,000)

46. CAPE COD - Bewitched

56. RANCH - The Brady Bunch

THE GRID