Tuesday, March 8, 2016 C.W. Stewart

Theme: Where there's smoke... - The reveal word is split open and bookends the theme entries.

17A. *Motorist's headache : FLAT TIRE

23A. *Enjoy, with "in" : FIND PLEASURE

30A. *Recap on a sports crawl line : FINAL SCORE

42A. *Kids' introduction to a full school day : FIRST GRADE

46A. *Red-carpet movie event : FILM PREMIERE

60A. "Chestnuts roasting" spot ... and a hint to a divided word found in the answers to starred clues : OPEN FIRE

Argyle here. 1 F-IRE, 3 FI-RE, and 1 FIR-E. A clean looking grid. Easy-peasy but not condescending. A good fit for a Tuesday.

Across:

1. Succotash bean : LIMA. Fresh corn, lima beans and other shelled beans of your choosing.

5. Make a decision : OPT

8. Within reach : AT HAND

14. Tree of Life garden : EDEN

15. Like much sushi : RAW

16. Set of lines on personal stationery : HEADER

19. DNA sample source : SALIVA

20. Vietnamese New Year : TET. Tết Nguyên Đán

21. Dutch South African : BOER. (Dutch: “husbandman,” or “farmer”)

22. Censor's cover-up : [BLEEP!]

26. Counting everything : IN ALL

29. Part of DJIA: Abbr. : AVG. (Dow Jones Industrial Average)

34. Phi __ Kappa : BETA

38. Took wing : FLEW

39. Toward the back of the boat : AREAR

40. Physics class subject : ATOM

41. Evergreen shrubs : YEWS. Ireland's oldest tree, the Silken Thomas Yew, is 700–800 years old.



National Seminary - St. Patricks College Maynooth



44. Religious sch. : SEM. (seminary)

45. Wrinkle-resistant synthetic : ORLON

53. TV studio sign : [ON AIR]

54. Either of two Henry VIII wives : ANNE. Anne Boleyn or Anne of Cleves.

55. Lacking light : DIM

58. Victimized lieutenant in "Othello" : CASSIO. Iago(bad guy) insinuates that Cassio(young stud) is having an affair with Othello's wife(untrue).

62. Election surprises : UPSETS

63. 1921 robot play : R.U.R. [Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)]

64. Pennsylvania port : ERIE

65. Mall directory listings : STORES

66. "What was __ do?" : I TO

67. Lemon peel : ZEST

Down:

1. It's not right : LEFT

2. Just hanging around : IDLE

3. Vegan no-no : MEAT. 57D. Swimming event : MEET

4. Wee hill builder : ANT. The builder may be wee but the hill, not so much.

5. Hunter constellation : ORION

6. Peeled with a knife : PARED

7. Punk : TWERP

8. Massage responses : AHs

9. Lipton packet : TEA BAG

10. Concert auditoriums : HALLS

11. Bordeaux bye : ADIEU

12. Not even once : NEVER

13. Hang loosely, as on a clothesline : DRAPE

18. Govt. security : T-BILL

23. Character weaknesses : FLAWS

24. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" song : LARA'S

25. Three-time Wimbledon champ Chris : EVERT. Three-time married, now single, living in Florida.

26. Up in the air : IFFY

27. Aswan High Dam river : NILE

28. Once again : ANEW

31. Less dangerous : SAFER

32. Burglary, for one : CRIME

33. "The Star-Spangled Banner" contraction : O'ER

34. Ballerina's rail : BARRE

35. List-ending abbr. : ET AL.

36. __ list: chores : TO DO

37. "I'm with you!" : "AMEN!"

43. "The Elements of Bridge" author Charles : GOREN

44. 7UP rival : SPRITE

46. Sharpen the image in the viewfinder : FOCUS

47. Ill-suited : INAPT. Better than UNAPT, eh?

48. Rodeo rope : LASSO

49. Penny pincher : MISER

50. New Zealand native : MAORI

51. Data to be entered : INPUT

52. January, to José : ENERO. March, to José : MARZO

55. Desperate : DIRE

56. Commonly purple bloom : IRIS

59. '40s spy org. : OSS. (Office of Strategic Services)

61. Shriner's hat : FEZ

Argyle

Monday, March 7, 2016 David Poole

Theme: M C. The theme is two words; first begins with M and the second begins with C.

17A. C-E-G triad, e.g. : MAJOR CHORD

25A. 20th-century Greek-American soprano : MARIA CALLAS

35A. Asian language spoken by nearly a billion people : MANDARIN CHINESE

47A. Aladdin's transport : MAGIC CARPET

56A. Rochester medical center : MAYO CLINIC

62A. Toastmaster, and a homophonic hint to this puzzle's five longest answers : EMCEE

Argyle here. I wonder if MAC was the original theme but didn't work out.

Across:

1. Garbage : TRASH

6. Ziploc bag feature : SEAL

10. Catcher's glove : MITT

14. "Slumdog Millionaire" country : INDIA

15. Electrically flexible : AC/DC

16. Not-so-nice smell : ODOR

19. Bandleader Arnaz : DESI

20. Certain Himalayan : NEPALI

21. __ Corps : PEACE

22. High dudgeon : IRE. Haven't seen this old timer in awhile.

27. Singer Etheridge : MELISSA

29. Little fruit pie : TART

30. Prayer ender : AMEN

31. Commercial suffix with Sun and Star : KIST. OJ and tuna.

32. __ Angeles : LOS

40. Place for a mani-pedi : SPA

41. Trent of politics : LOTT. Mississippian.

42. Make a soufflé : BAKE

43. Accompanied by : WITH

44. "Get lost!" : "AMSCRAY!". (Pig Latin)

51. FDR agency : NRA. (National Recovery Administration)

52. Make up (for) : ATONE

53. Orange veggie : CARROT

55. Allow to borrow : LEND

60. Starbucks tea brand : TAZO. Any partakers?

61. Unknown author: Abbr. : ANON

63. Load in a hold : STOW

64. Nine-digit IDs : SSNs. (Social Security Number)

65. Uncool group : NERDS

Down:

1. Buzz Lightyear voice actor __ Allen : TIM

2. Genetic material : RNA

3. Wd. modifying a noun : ADJective

4. Priory of __: "The Da Vinci Code" conspirators : SION. French fraternal organization.

5. Women-only residences : HAREMs

6. Nearly one-third of Africa : SAHARA

7. Often harmful bacteria : E-COLI

8. Sea between Italy and Albania : ADRIATIC

9. Calculator image, for short : LCD. (liquid-crystal display)

10. Ford made only in black from 1914-1925 : MODEL T

11. Perfect : IDEAL

12. Puccini opera : TOSCA

13. Makes an effort : TRIES

18. IRS pros : CPAs. (Certified Public Accountant)

21. Trilogy's first section : PART I

22. Mosque leaders : IMAMs

23. Chart anew : REMAP

24. Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA

26. Bills and coins : CASH

28. Not Rep. or Dem. : INDependent

31. Only chess piece that can jump others: Abbr. : KNT. (Knight)

32. Hear (of) : LEARN

33. Schindler of "Schindler's List" : OSKAR

34. "Ta-ta" : "SEE YA"

36. "Through the Looking-Glass" girl : ALICE

37. Univ. military org. : ROTC

38. Cornell University townies : ITHACANS

39. "The Blacklist" network : NBC

43. Place for a pane : WINDOW

44. Cooks' splatter protectors : APRONS

45. Sable automaker, briefly : MERC. Gone the way of the Model T now.

46. Pilfered : STOLEN

47. Fountain treats : MALTS

48. Really got to : ATE AT

49. Purple-blue Muppet with a hooked nose : GONZO

50. Silky synthetic : RAYON

54. "Person of the Year" magazine : TIME

56. Bell and Barker : MAs

57. ATM maker : NCR

58. Mil. roadside hazard : IED. (improvised explosive device)

59. These, in France : CES

Argyle

Sunday March 6, 2016 Ed Sessa

Theme:  "Bull Session" - BLE is added to each theme answer. My *BLE pronunciation is different from the "bull" sound. How about yours?

11A. Lowly glowworm? : HUMBLE BUG. Humbug.

23A. Turkey's affectionate peck? : GOBBLE SMACK. Gobsmack. I've only used "gobsmacked".

36A. Beach brawl? : MALIBU RUMBLE. Malibu rum.

44A. Lens cover for a low Earth orbiter? : HUBBLE CAP. Hubcap.

65A. "Those are stone fragments, all right"? : AY, THERE'S THE RUBBLE. Ay, there's the rub.

88A. Mogul mishap? : SKI BUMBLE. Ski bum. Great clue.

93A. Slip while washing dishes? : SPONGE BOBBLE. SpongeBob.

112A. Warning about an escaped horse? : STABLE ALERT. Stay alert. This is the only one that has spelling change.

119A. Henry VI's "O, God forgive my sins, and pardon thee!"? : NOBLE EXIT. No Exit.

Unusual first themer placement today. Normally HUMBLE BUG will be placed in 25-Across spot. 11A and 22A are broken into two. 

Mr. Ed, who has  plenty of themeless experiences, took a bold approach. Those triple stacks of 9's on the top right and lower left are hard to fill in cleanly.

Across:

1. Fours, on most Augusta National holes : PARS. On most other courses as well.

5. Gauguin's island retreat : TAHITI

20. Mine, in Montreal : A MOI Also 61A. French postcard word : AVION. 13D. Marne moms : MERES And 104. To be, to a Breton : ETRE. Hello Splynter!

21. Old block seller : ICEMAN. Ice block.

22. Spy : OPERATIVE. And 30. Spy mission, for short : RECON

 

25. Source of a fond melody : SERENADER. Needed crosses for both of the 9's.

26. Prefix with arthritis : OSTEO. Other than apple cider vinegar and honey a try, Knox gelatin is said to be good for arthritis also.

27. Sharer of the prize : CO-WINNER

29. D, for a driver : GEAR

34. News anchor Burnett et al. : ERINs

35. Ross on a commemorative 3-cent stamp : BETSY

41. Service station offering : AIR

42. Blue-and-yellow megastore : IKEA. Sweden's national colors.

43. Snap back : RECOIL

50. Merged labor org. : CIO

51. Letter-shaped bike locks : U-BOLTS. It's just called U-locks, right?

52. Bit of information : DETAIL

53. Chicken-king link : A LA

54. Former U.N. chief : ANNAN (Kofi). Studied here at the Macalester College.

56. Three times due : SEI. Due is "two" in Italian.  Also  71A. New, to Dante : NUOVA. I only knew the Spanish NUEVO.

57. Far from choice : LOW END

58. Adds a soundtrack to : DUBS

59. Command to a boxer : SIT

63. Rips into : TEARS  AT

69. What the god Mars' symbol represents : MALE SEX. I did not know this.

72. Vote in favor : YEA

73. Leave out : OMIT

74. Some dorm accommodations : SUITES. Not my college dorm.

77. Ernest J. Keebler, for one : ELF

79. Arcade coin : TOKEN

83. Story opening? : SOB. Sob story. I was thinking of "ONCE upon a time...".

84. Early cinema sex symbol : HARLOW (Jean). Don't think I saw any of her movies. Quite severe eyebrows.

85. Makes fuzzy, as one's vision : BLEARS. Not a word I use.

87. Actress Gardner : AVA

90. Tie the knot : SAY I DO

91. Ended a flight : ALIT

92. Map abbr. : RTE

95. Footnote ref. : OP. CIT.

98. Dirty money : LUCRE

101. Reform Party candidate Perot : H. ROSS. Minnesota is a caucus state. We gave Marco Rubio his only win so far.

102. Narrow inlets : RIAs

103. Orthodontic appliance : RETAINER

106. Sources of heavenly strains? : HARPS. Great clue. Got me.

110. Halite extraction worker : SALT MINER

116. Whatever number : ONE OR MORE

117. Port SW of Buffalo, N.Y. : ERIE, PA. Nailed it.

118. Reeded instrument : OBOE

120. Stinging crawler : RED ANT

121. Crow's-nest support : MAST

Down:

1. When repeated, a Samoan port : PAGO

2. Cookie man Wally : AMOS

3. Gen. __ E. Lee : ROBT

4. Site of the world's longest railway : SIBERIA. The answer filled in itself.

5. Sudden death cause : TIE

6. Some window extensions, for short : ACs

7. Hesitant sound : HEM

8. Apple for the teacher : iMAC. Not going to touch this brand after what D-Otto went through.

9. Nogales nosh : TACO

10. Where there's a quill? : INKWELL. Another great clue.

11. Mubarak of Egypt : HOSNI. He's still alive.

12. Ivy League sch. : U PENN

14. Fox's title : BR'ER

15. PC interconnection : LAN

16. Curio case : ETAGERE. Nothing on it. But this one looks quite fancy.

17. Plumbing fixture uncommon in North America : BIDET. Kazie has one in her home.

18. Iris locations : UVEAs

19. Redistricting eponym : GERRY. Gerrymandering.

24. 1924 co-defendant : LOEB. Drew a blank, though I've heard of Leopold and Loeb.

28. Dander : IRE

31. Bus stop spot : CURB

32. Embossed cookies : OREOs

33. Berserk : NUCLEAR. New meaning of "nuclear" to me.

35. One in a wallet : BILL

36. Flaky mineral : MICA

37. Related : AKIN

38. "Worthy Fights" co-author Panetta : LEON. Don't know the book, but Panetta alone is enough.

39. Whodunit why : MOTIVE

40. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS

41. Comply with : ABIDE BY

44. Emulate Paul Bunyan : HEW

45. 4 x 4, briefly : UTE

46. Language of southern Africa : BANTU

47. Thing to fight for : CAUSE

48. Jessica of "Barely Lethal" : ALBA. She also founded The Honest Company.

49. Ago : PAST

51. Blood amounts : UNITS

52. "Pearly Shells" singer : DON HO

55. Up to now : AS YET

57. Yoga position : LOTUS

58. "The Circus of __": 1935 novel adapted into a 1964 Tony Randall film : DR LAO

60. "Ditto" : THE SAME

62. "What else __?" : IS NEW

64. Sticks by, as a stickup man : ABETS

65. Court defense : ALIBI. Not basketball court.

66. Bedroom community : EXURB

67. Soprano Lear : EVELYN. Stranger to me.

68. Capital on Interstate 40 : RALEIGH

69. Tree-hugging greenery : MOSS

70. Out of control : AMOK

75. In bed, maybe : ILL. Lots of fresh but tricky clues in this puzzle.

76. Part of a foot : TOE

78. Sound engineer's device : FADER

80. Political pundit Marvin : KALB. Wiki said he hosted "Meet the Press" for a few years. I miss David Gregory.

81. Like some film geniuses : EVIL

82. Hoopster Archibald : NATE

84. Jabba, for one : HUTT

85. Chinese steamed bun : BAO. It's Baozi. No one calls it BAO alone. Often round in shape. Actually Chinese call "steamed bun" Mantou, which are rectangular and served with every meal in Xi'an.

Baozi

Mantou

86. Prefix with call : ROBO

89. __-Myers Squibb: Big Pharma firm : BRISTOL

90. "For Hire" detective : SPENSER

91. Son of David : ABSALOM. This grid has quite a few names.

93. Mumbai mister : SRI

94. DOL division : OSHA. Department of Labor.

95. Welles of "War of the Worlds" : ORSON

96. Grand on stage : PIANO

97. Biblical spy : CALEB

98. Fine china : LENOX

99. Biological incubators : UTERI

100. Proofing mark : CARET. Also 109. Proofing mark : STET

103. Ancient mariner's story, e.g. : RIME

105. Sneak attack : RAID

107. Self-named sitcom : REBA

108. Ones in a league of their own : PROS. Another great clue.

111. GI fare : MRE

113. Emmy recipient Arthur : BEA

114. Hosp. staffer : LPN

115. Put away : EAT. Look at this Japanese New Year's food spread Martin Herbach prepared two months ago. I spotted lotus roots immediately. Sashimi on the lower right.  See the black beans on the red lacquer plate? Martin told me he soaked them for 8 hours, then simmered for 6 hours with rusty nails. I'm not kidding, Steve/Jayce. Real rusty nails. He said "I string them on pine needles from my garden and dust them with gold flakes." He's a real food connoisseur (and test-solver for the New York Times crosswords).

C.C.

Saturday, Mar 5th, 2016, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 27

Always a pleasure to see we are getting to work a Saturday Silkie.  I found the grid to be on the chunky side, with another low block count, but several more three-letter words than last week's puzzle.  Still, a pretty good challenge, a little on the tough side for a Silkie, but always solvable as far as I am concerned - though I did have to check the dictionary twice.  Triple 5/8 and 9/6 corners, and nothing longer than those answers;

1d. Discontinue : BREAK OFF - I tried PHASE OUT, such as a car model; "---OUT" showed up later (see 37d.)  This discontinue has more of a "relationship" definition

6a. Software developers' get-together : HACKATHON - Actually a word (term)

39d. Firth of Forth outlet : NORTH SEA

62a. One looking up to his listener? : SERENADER - for the ladies

 

 he is wearing pants....

yONder windoWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Metaphorically dull : BEIGE - these are never dull

15. Attack : RUN AT

16. One with a tender heart? : ARTICHOKE

17. Brother competitor : EPSON - put it in, took it out....printer makers

18. Precedent sources : TEST CASES

19. "Can't fool me!" : "A-HA~!"

20. How some myths are taken : AS FACT - some of the lesser myths addressed on Mythbusters are actually quite interesting to me; e.g., a "bull in a china shop" turned out to be less of a mess than expected.  Last season this year

22. Losing scheme : DIET - Nailed it

23. Skull Island notable : KONG - just caught a few minutes of the 1976 remake of King Kong.  Good way to clue it would be 'star' of films released in 1933, 1976 & 2005 (excluding the "son of Kong" type movies, of course)

25. Deli request : NO MAYO - I prefer mayo over ketchup - sort of a "Pulp Fiction" kind of thing

27. Where ends may meet?: Abbr. : NFL - I enjoy watching football, and the chess-like strategies employed, but I don't get too involved with teams, players or positions

28. Dairy Queen Blizzard option : OREO

29. City between Algiers and Casablanca : ORAN - filled via perps (for those who inquired last week, the crossing answers in crosswordese are 'perpendiculars')

30. "Shucks!" : "AW GEE"

32. Handshake relative : FIST BUMP

34. No. : QTY - the period (.) might have been hard to see on paper

35. Influential capitalists : FAT CATS

36. WWII correspondent Reynolds : QUENTIN - no clue, but with half the perps in place, the most logical answer; clued as 'director of such films as....' and I would have nailed it

40. Comprises : HAS

41. FBI Academy site : QUANTICO - remembered this from seeing "The Silence of the Lambs" - the Wiki

42. Parade honoree, briefly : ST. PAT - almost timely

45. Accommodate : SUIT

46. Certain retiree's title: Abbr. : EMERitus, and I got it

47. __-Magnon : CRO

48. More mawkish : HOKIER - mawkish being one of the two words I had to look up

50. Sq., e.g. : RECTangle - all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares

51. File system's master directory : ROOT

53. Kid : BANTER - the verb

55. Theater warning : "SHH~!"

56. Like most circus performers : ACROBATIC

58. March winds, perhaps : OBOES - good WAG

60. They're observed : PHENOMENA - HOLIDAYS was too short

61. Tiny sucker : LOUSE - dah~! Not LEECH

63. Gene Vincent's "__ Lovin'" : LOTTA - my generation knows "Whole Lotta Love" or "Whole Lotta Rosie"

DOWN:

2. High state : EUPHORIA

3. Most senseless : INSANEST

4. Fed. auditing agency : GAO - Government Accountability Office - I think we've seen this before, but I didn't recall; I went with IRS - bzzzt~!

5. Mount __ Nicolosi, Italian ski area : ETNA

6. Millinery blocks : HAT FORMS - millinery was the other word I had to look up

7. GPS display : AREA MAP - ROAD map was not working

8. Source of inside info? : CT SCAN - cute

9. Pool : KITTY - I went with the verb, and tried AMASS

10. Virginia Cavaliers' org. : ACC

11. Longtime Mississippi senator Cochran : THAD - since I did not know this name, nor 6a., I thought it could be C-had

12. Scam : HOSING - Mr. Silk is good to me - two chances to add leggy pics~!

13. Michael of "Michael Clayton" : O'KEEFE - this guy; his IMDb - I recognize him from parts in Law & Order, CSI, and House, M.D. epsiodes

14. Poland Spring parent : NESTLÉ - I knew this

21. Prominent elephant seal features : SNOUTS

24. "Can't fool me!" : "GOTCHA~!"

26. Like granola : OATEN

31. Dana __, co-star of the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" : WYNTER - this movie scared the sleep out of me for about a year when I was 10 yrs old.  So now I had to research the film, and it led me to this 'disorder'

33. Mideast party : BA'ATH - never heard of it - the Wiki

34. Six minus deux : QUATRE - Frawnche

36. Amtrak unwinding area : QUIET CAR - I once rode the train from Ronkonkoma station on LI all the way to Seattle, WA.  I stopped in Minot, ND, but alas, I did not know I would find friends in MN years later~!

37. Ends unsuccessfully, as a computer search : TIMES OUT

38. Beer container : ICE CHEST

41. Tonic component : QUININE

42. Tosses : SCRAPS - another good WAG

43. Lozenge : TROCHE - rhymes with HOKEY (see 48a.)

44. Worse : POORER

45. Proceeded in a carefree manner : SKATED

49. Hawaiian-born head of state : OBAMA

52. Voice mail sound : TONE - Dah~! Not BEEP

54. Plane's longitudinal rotation : ROLL - I am familiar with how planes fly, but not quite as much as Dudley

57. "__ appétit!" : BON

59. Discontented cry : BOO

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few pictures from JD's trip to Maui last week.  She said "My favorite picture was one up at the volcano. If you can see it full screen, the colors were amazing. We were above the clouds." She also said that the lady in mermaid costume has "3 of those tails and this is her hobby".

Bob and JD

 

 

 

Click here for whales and a few more stunning pictures JD took.

Friday, March 4, 2016,Tom Pepper and Marcia Brott

Theme: Is your hangout  hanging out?

Two of the Minnesota crossword clan (see George Barany and the rest of his friends at Facebook) collaborate on this Friday punfest. Five places where people may congregate are revealed in clues which re-purpose words or phrases with the first word of the fill an animal, to give us whimsical answers. All are clued with "HANGOUT." I thought some of the theme fill was very funny and the long non-theme fill are especially sparkly. DARTH VADER,  AXIS OF EVIL,  DON QUIXOTE are an impressive triumvirate. The rest of the fill is a bit easy for a Friday, but lets peel this grape and see where the seeds are.

17A. Hangout for Hyacinth in "Fantasia"? : HIPPO CAMPUS (11). We begin with a brainy pun. How many recalled that her name was Hyacinth?

28A. Hangout for Tchaikovsky's Odile? : SWAN DIVE(8). From SWAN LAKE (3:04) to a cheap place.

37A. Hangout for Heckle and Jeckle? : CROW BAR (7). Oh those wacky BIRDS (6:04).

42A. Hangout for Mickey and Minnie? : MOUSE PAD (8). In California.

57A. Hangout for Garfield? : KITTY CORNER (11). A CSO to CED and all those at the Corner who love our feline friends. Garfield has his OWN.

Across:

1. Call of the wild : ROAR.  Nice simple 1A.

5. Shade : NUANCE.

11. '80s defense prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.

14. Competent : ABLE. Which brings to mind 19A. Poetic preposition : ERE.

15. Walk down the aisle, maybe : ESCORT. A nice safe clue.

16. Dough unit : WAD. Money not Dunkin'

20. Condescend : STOOP. How could you stoop so low?

21. "__ Louise!" : GEEZ. An expression that skirts blasphemy and rhymes.

22. Agreeable word : LET'S.

23. Moon observation : MARE. A Friday piece of info that we have not seen in a very long time. The lunar maria /ˈmɑriə/ (singular: mare /ˈmɑreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. Wiki.

25. Bk. before Job : ESTHer. A mini-version animated.

26. "Skyfall" singer : ADELE.

32. Dendrite counterpart : AXON. Neurons have specialize cell parts called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring electrical signals to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body. Neurons communicate with each other through an electrochemical process. Wiki.

33. Mediterranean country : GREECE.

35. Hoop holder : EAR. Backboard?

36. Pewter part : TIN. Another CSO to our always shiny toastmaster.

38. iPhone, e.g. : PDA. Personal Data Assistant.

39. Lawyer letters : ESQuire.

40. Warm to the max : NICEST. No clue.

41. Runs out of gas : DIES. Sorry honey, my car died.

44. Pep squad output : CHEER.

46. Panda maker : FIAT. Cars;  and 57D. Soul from Seoul : KIA.

47. __ ed : PHYS.

48. Explicit message : SEXT. It is back; you know there is a cache of all your texts.

49. Eleanor's successor : BESS. Truman. A classy first LADY.

52. Rub the wrong way : PEEVE. Not usually thought of as a verb.

56. Ab __: initially : OVO. Repeat of the week.

59. Like a fiddle? : FIT. This may be the ORIGIN.

60. Still together : INTACT. After 56 years of marriage...

61. Tenderfoot : TYRO.

62. Something for the inn crowd : ALE. Cute in/inn pun.

63. 1979 title role for Vanessa : AGATHA. If you watched the movie or know the story and watch CASTLE you can see where those writers get their ideas.

64. Simon __ : SAYS. Let us reveal the downs now.

Down:

1. 44-Across cries : RAHS. Rah rah ree, kick 'em, in the knee...

2. Story of a lifetime : OBIT. Nicely clued.

3. Canine filler : ALPO. Not the tooth, but the puppy.

4. Some bank agents : REPO MEN. Most banks use independent contractors.

5. Japanese IT services giant : NEC. Yes they are BIG.

6. Linguistic practices : USAGE.

7. Maker of earthquake pills and dehydrated boulders : ACME. Free shipping on orders over $50.00

8. "Ain't gonna happen" : NOPE. Not prudent.

9. Oscar winner Penelope : CRUZ. Pictures tell it all.

10. Vulcan and Klingon, briefly : ETS. Since extra-terrestrial means not of earth...

11. Honey alternative : SWEETIE PIE. Sappy names for loved ones. My wife uses honey all too often.

12. AFI's third-greatest movie villain : DARTH VADER.  Can you name the other two? Hint, both were played by actors first name Anthony.

13. Bad day for Caesar : IDES. Coming soon. It means he middle of the month, not necessarily the 15th.

18. Hydrated gemstone : OPAL. Also a small car maker.

22. '60s trip cause : LSD. Ah, those days.

24. Maintain, as golf clubs : RE-GRIP. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. Not to be confused with this horror.

25. U.S. dept. with a lightning bolt on its seal : ENERgy.

26. War on Terror epithet : AXIS OF EVIL. One from George W. LINK.

27. "Ingenious gentleman" of classic fiction : DON QUIXOTE. The very important myth is reality work by Cervantes.

28. Basted, say : SEWED. Not a chicken but a hem.

29. Entanglements : WEBS. We weave, when first ....

30. Some kind of trick : A CATCH.

31. Baroque and Classical : ERAS.

32. "Lemme __!" : AT'EM.

34. Portuguese cape : ROCA. The westernmost part of Europe it SAYS.

37. Tech news website : CNET.

41. Leaves high and dry : DESERTS.

43. Met : SAT. Another no clue for me.

45. Shot provider : HYPO. Not confused with HIPPO.

47. "Gotcha!" : PSYCH.

48. Couch potato's spot : SOFA.

49. Cherry variety : BING.

50. Sundance Kid's gal : ETTA. What a face.

51. Strikeout-to-walk ratio, e.g. : STAT.

53. Irish New Ager : ENYA. LISTEN. (3:41)

54. Not just somewhat : VERY.

55. Boy with a bow : EROS.


58. Windy City transit initials : CTA. Chicago Transit Authority.

Some music, beautiful people and a challenge that was great. Thank you Tom and Marcia. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.: 

This is Marcia's LA Times debut. Her puzzles have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal. Congrats, Marcia! You continue to rock, Tom!

Left to right: Marcia Brott, David Hanson, Tom Pepper & Nancy Herther

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016 Mel Rosen

Theme: Rock Remix - A word scramble with "ROCK" in the theme entries.

As the grid-spanner in the center tells us:

39A. Jangle pop and the like, and a hint to a hidden feature of 17-, 30-, 46- and 63-Across : ALTERNATIVE ROCK. Exemplified in this case by a youthful-looking Michael Stipe and the jangly-mandolin-lead from Peter Buck. Great song. (Great video too).

17A. Temporarily out of stock, with "on" : BACK ORDER. You get an "F" in Supply Chain Management if you're responsible for inventory and this happens.

30A. One might spoil a dream : CLOCK RADIO. I've been woken many times in hotel rooms by the radio going off at quite bizarre times during the night and tuned to a weird channel. I always check and turn it off now when I check in to the room.

46A. Gadgets with helical parts called worms : CORKSCREWS. I never travel without one in my bag. I'd had the same one in my carry-on for at least two years until last Tuesday when the TSA guy at Burbank Airport took exception to it. Considering it had been through, conservatively, at least 50 checkpoints I was a little surprised.

63A. Restaurant convenience : CHECKROOM. I had no idea this was a thing. Now I know it is.

Neat theme from Mel and some suitably crunchy fill and cluing which together make up a firm Thursday. It took me a little while to get started and "jangle pop" was an unknown term for the theme hint, but after pinwheeling around the grid a couple of times things came together. Let's dive in a little deeper.

Across:

1. Congressional authority : WHIP. Keeping elected representatives under control, in attendance and toeing the party line. In an infamous case in the UK, during a tied vote, an MP was brought to Parliament in an ambulance (having suffered a severe heart attack) to break the deadlock. The two party whips were discovered in the ambulance arguing as to whether or not he was dead and could vote.

5. Lifeless : BLAH. Not the first definition that springs to mind.

9. Repaired, as a boot : SOLED. Not re-soled?

14. Warning to a tot : NO NO. This one's odd. Why a tot? Because you have to repeat "No"? Or is it a "no-no"?

15. Academic apparel : ROBE

16. Dancer Fred's dancing sister : ADELE. The singer gets a break from crossword duty today.

19. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN

20. Hot rod rods : AXLES. I saw "Hot hot rods" and was completely bamboozled by this one. Then I realized I'd misread the clue. So, axle = rod. Hot rods have axles, therefore hot rod rods. I'm channeling my inner Thumper on this one.

21. Not stable, in a way : TOP HEAVY

23. Sighed line : AH, ME

26. Wall St. event : I.P.O.

27. "Yeah, sure!" : I BET!

36. Beth, to Jo : SIS

37. Hindu "sir" : BABU. A very respectful term. I was called "Steve-babu" and "Steve-guru" on occasion when I was working in Mumbai. I don't think I merited either.

38. Spot in a spa : SAUNA

43. Old counters : ABACI. This little section caused me some trouble - I had ESTER first, and I didn't know ECK so I was looking at ABE_I and scratching my head, then the penny dropped.

44. Aussie hoppers : 'ROOS

45. Daisy __ : MAE

49. The Constitution St. : CONN -ecticut.  Also known, less catchily, as "The Land of Steady Habits".

50. Cadenza maker : KIA

51. 50-Across' locale : ASIA. South Korea to be exact. I had a Kia rental car last week. Not the most stylish thing to look at, but it was nicely equipped and was pretty lively.

53. Enjoy the sunset : FACE WEST

58. About : CIRCA

62. Old marketplace : AGORA

66. Flower part : SEPAL

67. Dynamic beginning? : AERO

68. The Big Easy acronym : NOLA. Because EEPG (Ernie Els, Professional Golfer) is wrong. CSO to one of our regulars.

69. "East of Eden" surname : TRASK. Great novel.

70. Balcony section : LOGE

71. Card game for three : SKAT

Down:

1. Where the Sky and the Sun collide, for short? : WNBA. Last week's CHICAGO SKY learning moment clued me into this one. Coincidentally, the SUN are from "The Land of Steady Habits".

2. Scam : HOAX

3. Part of the pkg. : INCL. I tried ENCL first, thinking of an enclosure in an envelope. Nope, this is "included in the price".

4. Jab : POKE AT

5. "Darn, it's cold!" : BRR

6. Airport near Tel Aviv : LOD. The former name. It's now called Ben Gurion Airport. The airport code is TLV, so I think this is a wee error in the cluing. No harm, no foul, in my book. One of our snarky anons doubtless will jump on this one though.

7. Withhold information about, say : ABET

8. Beyond noble : HEROIC

9. Supports in shop class : SAWHORSES

10. Comic strip drooler : ODIE. Garfield's antagonist.

11. Mythical Spartan queen : LEDA

12. The mi. in Mile-High City : ELEV. I was there last week. Curiously, the ELEV is posted in the lobby of the Denver Tech Center Marriott next to the ELEVATORS.

13. Opposite of admit : DENY

18. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH

22. Walther __: James Bond's pistol : PPK. One of my friends carries a concealed PPK when he's carrying cash to the bank. It packs a heck of a punch in spite of being so small.

24. Thom of shoes : MCAN. Spelled McAn.

25. Tyrrhenian Sea island : ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".

27. Name on the "Robot" series books : ISAAC. Author Asimov.

28. Bag End notable : BILBO. Of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" fame. Not Frodo, though it could be.

29. To be, in Toledo : ESTAR. Not ESTER as I originally thought. Spanish isn't my "first" foreign language.

31. Bizarre : OUTRÉ

32. Berne's river : AAR

33. Italian cathedral : DUOMO

34. Like Andean pyramids : INCAN

35. Kind of bucket : OAKEN. This one is the trophy for the winner of the Purdue - Indiana football rivalry game.

37. Outdoor exercise choice : BRISK WALK

40. Luther opponent Johann __ : ECK. Close to Natick'ed with ABACI until I fixed my "ESTAR" misspelling.

41. Louisiana Territory state : IOWA

42. Discovery astronaut James : VOSS' Flew five times on the shuttle and in the International Space Station. He, with colleague Susan Helms., has the record for the longest space walk from the ISS (eight hours, 56 minutes). Definitely the Right Stuff.

47. Cannes corp. : CIE. Compagnie abbreviation.

48. Imp : RASCAL

49. Stone monuments : CAIRNS

52. Word of disgust : ICK. My reaction when I got the answer to 54D below.

53. Up-tempo : FAST

54. Too much sun, they say : AGER

55. Club in a Manilow song : COPA. I thought it was the Copacabana, but the song title is "Copacabana (At the Copa)". I stand corrected.

56. Baseball stats : ERAS

57. Religious prefix : THEO. -logy, -logian, etc.

59. Corner piece : ROOK. Chessboard corners. They do move around, but they start off in the corners.

60. Fizzy drink : COLA

61. Bit of introductory Latin : AMAT. Amamus, amatis and amant don't seem to be crossword-fodder. Do we run out of familiarity when we get to the plural verb forms?

64. 100 nanojoules : ERG

65. 41-Down college : COE. Thank you, crosses.

And .... here's the grid.

Steve