Sunday April 3, 2016, Gail Grabowski

Title: THIN IS IN

Gail's fun gimmick on this Sunday is right in the title. If you take the TH off THIN, what's left is IN. Gail has removed the TH from common words and left us with nine fun and silly phrases to brighten up our weekend. Seven are across and two are down. C'mon, ya gotta love GAR BROOKS! 

Gail's puzzle didn't really offer a (TH)ROUGH WAY to finish and so now let's look at her handiwork in detail

Theme Answers

27. Bud who's been fired? : CANNED BROTH - A fired friend OR... (Is the phrase CANNED BROTH familiar to you?)

29. Search online about auditory issues? : GOOGLE EARTH - "Would someone please GOOGLE EAR to see why Papa can't hear very well" OR a GOOGLE EARTH shot of my house below

46. GEICO gecko's financial counterpart? : CREDIT CARD THEFT - Changing the TH removal to inside the phrase putting our CWD friend EFT in a VISA promotion OR stealing your CREDIT CARD, e.g. using this "skimmer" inside a gas pump

68. One fastidious about table manners? : THEATER CRITIC - "Get your elbows off the table!" OR Bill and George checking out the reviews for Hamlet and Pygmalion 

90. Editor's marks in the margin? : LATERAL THINKING -"...er, How about 'Listen to me' rather than 'Lend me your ears', Bill?" OR NASA spinoffs such as where wire developed for space is now used to make lower cost MRI's here on Earth

105. Displeased reaction to election turnout? : VOTING BOOTH - "Only 10% showed up for the primary?" OR a structure invented in Crete, Nebraska 105 years ago by my friend's great grandparents 

109. Streams stocked with elongated fish? : GARTH BROOKS - Ugly, long-nosed fish in a small stream OR the performer who added four shows to his scheduled two in Omaha last year after 90,000 tickets were sold

39. Consequence of a heist injury? : THROBBING PAIN - A second-story man falling OR for me, a toothache

42. Part of a project to recycle golf accessories? : TEETH GRINDING - Questionable practice of remaking golf pedestals OR a problem requiring this

Across 
        
1. Let the tears out : BAWL

5. Fast-food pork sandwich : MCRIB - £4.19 in London

10. Oar : SCULL - A boy using two SCULLS (on rope for training/safety)

15. Datebook opening : SLOT - C.C. gives me an occasional SLOT for blogging

19. Ad, basically : LURE

20. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," for one : ELEGY - Typically a lament for the dead

21. Riveting woman? : ROSIE - Lots of ROSIE'S didn't return to their old way of life after WWII and America was changed forever

22. Break-even transaction : WASH - Raise = $100/mo. Insurance increase = $100/mo.

23. Twistable snack : OREO

24. Rock guitarist Eddy : DUANE - 1958's twangy Rebel Rouser is my fav

25. Bungling : INEPT

26. Off-the-wall answer? : ECHO

31. Sources of complaints : ILLS

32. Porch furniture material : RATTAN

36. Breakfast grain : OAT

37. Course accomplishment : BIRDIE - Golf mini-theme with Irons and Tees

40. High-altitude home : AERIE - One at Kennedy Space Center I've been past many times

41. Maine course : LOBSTER - Nice!

45. 1941 FDR creation : USO - First one opened in DeRidder, LA 10 months before Pearl Harbor

50. "Bambi" role : ENA - Bambi's mother's sister. 

51. Talmudic scholar : RABBI

53. Pull-down beneficiaries : LATS

54. Some tech sch. grads : EES - Electrical/Electronic Engineers

55. Spew out : EGEST

57. "Happy to help" : NO BOTHER - I prefer the Aussie version!

59. Trickles : SEEPS

61. Smooth transition : SEGUE - Speaking of thermonuclear war...

62. "Hedda Gabler" playwright : IBSEN

63. Colorado county or its seat : PUEBLO - Just west of Pueblo is...

65. Kept for later : STORED - I STORED my Cheesecake Factory Monte Cristo Sandwich for four days and then, uh, pitched it

66. Reunion attendees : KIN

71. Medit. country : ISR

72. Bing's co-star in "The Bells of St. Mary's" : INGRID

75. Use as support : REST ON

76. Oscar winner Williams : ROBIN - Brilliant comic/actor whose dementia drove him to an untimely end

79. March VIP : ST PAT - Inside our ST PAT'S church here in Fremont

80. "Papa Bear" of football : HALAS - George who founded, owned and coached the Da Bears

81. Chicago's "in the Park" time : SATURDAY - "I think it was the fourth of July"

84. Mazda sports car : MIATA - Bought one and then my midlife crisis passed

85. Rocks in rye : ICE - "Oz never did give ICE to the Tinman"

86. Primatologist Fossey : DIAN

88. Easily deceived : NAIVE

89. One-time Capitol Records parent : EMI

95. "Get it done" : NOW

96. Alley game : TENPINS

98. Moto portrayer : LORRE - Some think Slovokian-born Peter's role as an Asian was racist

99. Evens up : ALIGNS - Keeping ALIGNMENT was very important here

101. High bond rating : AAA

102. Willowy : SVELTE

104. Radio-active sort? : CBER - "Breaker one-nine, ya got your ears on?"

114. Rare cry from the slots : I WON - See 88 Across - NAIVE

115. Come from behind : RALLY

117. Asian capital : HANOI

118. Technology prefix : NANO

119. It may be reserved : SEAT 

120. Guadalajara gal pal : AMIGA

121. "What the Butler Saw" playwright : ORTON - "A risqué British comedy"

122. Chain with stacks : IHOP

123. Puts in : ADDS

124. Polite title : MADAM

125. Picking out, as a perp : IDING - Sometimes from a police lineup

126. Team that's played in the same park for 100 years : CUBS - Last World Series win predates even Wrigley Field


Down

1. Political coalition : BLOC

2. Intangible quality : AURA

3. Little singer : WREN

4. Ex-Soviet leader Brezhnev : LEONID

5. One getting too personal : MEDDLER - Ann Landers - "Is anything better because I do this?" 

6. Caddies carry them : CLUBS

7. Back : REAR

8. "That's not important" : IGNORE IT - "... and it'll go away!"  "Right!"

9. Tournament pass : BYE

10. __ Lanka : SRI

11. Dance in a line : CONGA - Wedding staple!

12. Apply to : USE ON

13. Slimming option, for short : LIPO - I should call today so Dr. Su could USE it ON me!

14. Release : LET GO OF

15. Term of affection : SWEETS

16. Make more potent : LACE

17. Org. with an Anti-Retaliation webpage : OSHA 

18. Red-bearded god : THOR

28. Brings forth : ELICITS

30. Blood work, e.g. : LAB TEST - Even on man's best friend 

33. Cultural pursuits : ARTS

34. It may be a sign of stress : TIC

35. Caddy contents, perhaps : TEA - Here's one for our tea fans

37. Ruin in the kitchen : BURN

38. Golfer Aoki : ISAO

40. Purim month : ADAR

41. Lower in price : LESS

43. Comes after : ENSUES 

44. Like "American Sniper" : RATED-R - Words and sex don't stop us but violence does

47. Supreme Court appointee after Sonia : ELENA

48. Land on the sea? : REEL IN - Cute clue! Who's landing whom?

49. Stop on a line : DEPOT

52. Tiny Tim's dad : BOB - An employee of Scrooge and Marley at 15 bob/week

56. Graphic beginning? : GEO

58. Be mindful of : HEED

59. Breakaway factions : SECTS - Because of limits on SEX?

60. Iberian river to the Mediterranean : EBRO - Also Spain's longest river exclusively in Spain

63. Kitchen gadget : PEELER - Beetle Bailey's gadget on KP (from Mark Skoczen's March 23rd puzzle)

64. __ Minor : URSA - Contains the North Star

65. Conan Doyle, by birth : SCOT

66. Fate : KISMET

67. Eventually : IN TIME

69. Barely detectable amount : TRACE - We and Omaha got a TRACE of snow on 3.22.16 but NW of here...

70. Tabriz native : IRANI

73. State secrets? : RAT

74. Salad bar choice : ITALIAN

77. Criminal likely to get caught : BUNGLER - And maybe get ROBBING PAIN

78. Portfolio holding, for short : IRA

80. Stage successes : HITS - Like Springtime For Hitler in The Producers! :-) 

81. Benefit : SAKE

82. Lady's company? : AVON - We had many bottles of this for the 360 kids on my detasseling buses to repel bugs in the corn fields

83. Trees used for archery bows : YEWS

86. Scuttlebutt : DIRT - What candidates are uncovering on their opponents these days

87. Concerning, with "to" : IN REGARD

91. Parties, to pirates : ANAGRAM 

92. Part of IPA : ALE

93. Bit of cybermirth : LOL

94. Picking up : NABBING - Some wonder why Brussels police weren't NABBING the Paris bomber mastermind sooner

97. Goes over the wall? : PAINTS 

100. Having a twist : IRONIC 

102. Not flimsy : SOLID - Remember the PR  IS  M reveal on 3.25.16 being clued as Solid

103. Europe's longest river : VOLGA

104. Sing like Rudy Vallee : CROON

105. Plastic choice : VISA

106. Had to pay : OWED - At least the minimum on your VISA

107. Despicable sort : TOAD

108. The Tide : BAMA

110. Dead set against : ANTI

111. Island where Bette Midler was born : OAHU 

112. A lock may be in one : KNOB - KNOT was undone by CUBS for my last fill

113. Soaks (up) : SOPS

116. Holiday veggie : YAM

117. __ polloi : HOI - Just us folks or who ALL candidates say they are for until they cross the Potomac

Hanks, Gail, I ink is puzzle's eme was ouroughly enjoyable and not ird-rate to ose of us here! Now let's rill to e  comments of oers!

Saturday, Apr 2nd, 2016, Patti Varol & Doug Peterson

Theme: Two Double Stacks

Words 68 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 27

Phew~!  This one was a toughie, yet upon reviewing it, there really wasn't a lot that couldn't be worked out - but I have to admit to one Google - the crossing of two proper names and some other vagueness in the SW slowed me down tremendously.  Nearly blank on the first passes, but a few educated WAGs at some longer fills gave me some toe-holds, and I was able to hammer out the remainder.  Two double stack spanners, tied to 11-letter fills, and a couple of paired 8's in the Down;

15. Like many a Beverly Hills party-goer :  

FASHIONABLY LATE - I think she's going to be fashionably late

17. Heeds sound advice : LISTENS TO REASON

46. Bird named for its large-scale migrations :  

PASSENGER PIGEON - I was curious, so I looked it up; I did not know they were extinct

49. DVD special feature, perhaps : ALTERNATE ENDING - I wanted alternatIVe, but the double "E" was messing me up; I couldn't see it for a while

~!

ACROSS:

1. Law school accrediting org. : ABA - looking back, this should have been a gimme (American Bar Association)

4. Current information source : TWITTER FEED - I am not on Twitter, nor Facebook - I get my news the old-fashioned way; rumor

18. Former seniors : ALUMS

19. Points for a piano tuner? : TINES - ugh.  The tool, not the person

20. "Murder in the First" airer : TNT

21. Crossword legend Reagle : MERL - should have gotten this on the first pass

22. Primed : READY

23. "Hogan's Heroes" setting, briefly : WWII - the show was before my time; I have been watching some "World War II in color" history on the AHC channel

24. Word with wash or wear : EYE - eyewash, eye wear

25. Zen teaching techniques : KOANS - I WAGed the "K"

26. "Aw, mom!" sound : GROAN

27. Zsa Zsa's older sister : MAGDA

28. "I think you'll like it!" : "TRY ONE~!"

29. Sweat inducer : SCARE

31. Desolate tract : WILDS

32. One good at figures? : SKATER - figure skater; I was on that wavelength

nice figure

33. Sea : BRINY - nope, not OCEAN

35. Mirren of "The Hundred-Foot Journey" : HELEN - this was my only ACROSS fill on the first pass

36. Thugs : GOONS - hockey players, in some instances

37. BART stop : SFO - OK, I took a stab at this one on the first pass, too; San Fransisco Airport on the Bay Area Rapid Transit

40. Hard to grasp : EELY - I went with this, then OILY came to mind

41. Complex : DENSE - I had TENSE; that's 100% 80% correct

42. Dutch word meaning "farmer" : BOER

43. Triple Crown stat : RBI - ooops, I was thinking horse racing, not baseball

44. "Tequila Sunrise" writer/director Robert : TOWNE - no clue, and the "W" was my last fill - but the "ta-DA~!" was there~!

45. Beverly Hills retreat : VILLA

50. Time for fluff pieces : SLOW NEWS DAY - I always find it a little contradictory when the 6 o'clock news spends 22 minutes talking about terrorist attacks, floods, riots, wages going down, taxes and gas prices going up, and then 2 minutes on the cute puppy that chases its own tail....

51. Soapmaker's supply : LYE - OK, I got this one on the first pass, too

DOWN:       

1. Lit : AFLAME

2. Castle wall : BAILEY - So glad I am a huge castle person; I knew this

It's hiding - think courtyard

3. Promise : ASSURE

4. All scores? : TIES

5. Wooed successfully : WON

6. Rather : INSTEAD

7. "Orphan Black" star Maslany : TATIANA - I really wanted to try this show out, but never got a chance to watch

nice figure

8. Govt. obligations : T-BONDS - another good guess

9. __ de los Timbales: Tito Puente's nickname : EL REY - I figured it was "king", but forgot the "El" part

10. Bakery output : RYES

11. Where Hollywood is: Abbr. : FLA - oh, that one - I'm sure a lot of our regulars got it

12. "American Sniper" director : EASTWOOD - I did not remember Clint did this one as well

13. Many British prime ministers : ETONIANS - graduates of Eton school

14. Tooth layer : DENTINE - ENAMEL was too short

16. Web page standard : HTML

22. "I copy" : "ROGER." - we were just talking about "Airplane~!" at the restaurant yesterday

23. Not straight, in a way : WRYLY - like some humor

25. Black on screen : KAREN - Before my time; I would have known Karen ALLEN

"We...are...not...thirsty"

26. They can be silly : GRINS

27. Bristol bro : MATEY - I am reading P.G. Wodehouse, a prolific writer his whole life, with a focus on English life - so this word pops up frequently.  I love his writing.

28. Interlace : TWINE - dah~! Not WEAVE

29. Its first national tournament was held in 1932 in Atlantic City : SKEE-BALL - I did not know this, but I tried "-BALL" at the end, and that helped hugely

30. Nymph who ultimately became the stars of Ursa Major : CALLISTO - I had an A - INSTEAD (6d.) - of O at the end; also a moon of Jupiter

32. Hillary aides : SHERPAS - oh. that Hillary.  The explorer, not the candidate - my housemate is tuned in to CNN 24/7 right now, and it's a bit much

33. Tied hats : BONNETS

34. Snow-White's sister, in Grimm : ROSE RED - found this; Disney making a movie

36. Trifle : GEWGAW - this has appeared in crosswords before, but it was just not coming to me

37. Été blazer : SOLEIL - Le Frawnche sun

38. Grand theft auto, e.g. : FELONY - since it's not capitalized, it's not the video game

39. Santa Ana's county : ORANGE

41. "Holy Sonnets" poet : DONNE - my Google - the Wiki

42. City NNE of San Antone : BIG D - Dallas, TX (colloquial names) Hi there, D-Otto~!

44. Arctic-to-Antarctica migrating bird : TERN - good guess off the "R"

45. Like clematis : VINY - I knew this was going to be something like "VINED"

47. Needle : SEW

48. Gravel designation : PEA - sizing

Splynter

Friday, April 1, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: An ENIGMA wrapped in a mystery hidden in a puzzle.

Appropriate for our 2016 April Fool's Day offering, JW gives us the letters of the word ENIGMA scrambled and hidden in known phrases. He accomplishes this with a 15x16 grid to allow for three (3) grid spanning 16 letter theme answers. He finishes with a sophisticated reveal, 60A. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : ENIGMA VARIATIONS (16). The renowned British COMPOSER based his variations on his family and friends.

The bigger grid allows for some nice non-theme long fill like GO CARTS,  TREKKIE, TRADED AT, THIS IS HE,  HORN SOLO,  HAM ON RYE,  GET A CASE,  PRETENSE, WAR GAMES,  and STAY HERE. I guess I am getting used to his puzzles because this took me about 4 minutes to solve, I hope you had fun. Let's look it over....

17A. Reprimand to one not picking up : YOU'RE MAKING A MESS (16). Straight cluing for the phrases hiding the ENIGMA.


22A. Rail transport landmark : STEAM ENGINE (11). Fulton?

39A. Minuteman, e.g. : LONG RANGE MISSILE (16).

49A. "How surprising!" : IMAGINE THAT (11).
and the aforementioned reveal:
60A. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : ENIGMA VARIATIONS (16).

Across:

1. Pâtisserie cake : GATEAU. A term used in Britain for cake as well.

7. Sold for, as a stock : TRADED AT. Each stock transaction has a buyer and a seller, hence the concept of trade - money for shares.

15. Derby racers : GO CARTS. Well nit parade ahead...I think this refers to the soapbox derby, but the TERM is spelled wrong, sort of.

16. Taps, essentially : HORN SOLO. Man, I see a crossword theme here...HORN/HAN; JW?

19. Pound denizen : MUTT.

20. Biblical birthright seller : ESAU. Poor man was tricked.

21. Oldest of the gods, in Plato's "Symposium" : EROS. This is said by Phaedrus; not my area of expertise but this SUMMARY might help.

26. At a minimum : NO LESS. You will give me your attention, I will accept no less.

27. Swimmer's option : CRAWL. Also known as freestyle. Other choices are back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly.

32. Invite : ASK.

35. Game winner : OOO. If you are playing tic-tac-toe.

36. Lunch order : HAM ON RYE. JW really loves multi-word fill.

42. Smoke and mirrors : PRETENSE. make believe.

43. "The Soul of a Butterfly" memoirist : ALI. Laila's daddy.

44. Essen article : DER.

45. Concluded, with "up" : SEWED.

46. First 12 children of Gaia and Uranus : TITANS. Can you name them?

54. Light, colorwise : PALE.

58. Chanel No. 1? : COCO. Cute TV misdirection.

59. Columnist Barrett : RONA. See RONAN below.

65. Exercises displaying great strength : WAR GAMES.

66. Conventioneer with antennae, perhaps : TREKKIE.

67. "Don't budge!" : STAY HERE. Stay put sounds more familiar, but this works.

68. "Honor Thy Father" author : TALESE. I have had this GUY before on Friday.

Down:

1. Exit : GO OUT.

2. Intense : ACUTE. Compared to chronic.

3. Design for some MacDonalds : TARTAN. Much more complicated than I knew. LINK.

4. Poetic "previous to" : ERE.

5. Its slot always pays : ATM. They have lots of them in the casino so you can feed the other machines.

6. Winner of all three tug-of-war medals in the 1904 Olympics: Abbr. : USA. Easy guess.

7. Formal phone call response : THIS IS HE.

8. Journalist son of Mia Farrow : RONAN. An interesting young MAN with uncertainty in his life.

9. Debate : ARGUE.

10. Some evidence : DNA. No DNA tests for Ronan and Woody.

11. Carlisle Cullen's wife in the "Twilight" series : ESME. This CHARACTER.

12. Evil follower? : DOER. Is Esme evil? Never watched the movies.

13. And : ALSO.

14. Word with coin or ring : TOSS.

15. Places to clean and press : GYMS. Nice misdirection but I go to the Gym.

18. Powder room containers : KEGS. Not the bathroom, the armory.

23. Tied up : MOORED.

24. Online finance company : E-LOAN. Never heard of this COMPANY.

25. Hard-to-miss signs : NEONS. They even have a Museum in Las Vegas.

27. Trig function : COSINE.

28. Hosp. personnel : RNS.

29. Like much of Australia's interior : ARID.

30. Noah of "The Librarian" TV films : WYLE. I really enjoy the show and FLYNN.

31. Look wrong? : LEER. Wrong look perhaps...

32. Reichenbach Falls setting : ALPS. Famous for a FALL.

33. Teed off : SORE. Not golf this time, anger.

34. "I __ it!" : KNEW. No you did not!

37. Stradivari's tutor : AMATI. MAYBE or MAYBE NOT.

38. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

40. Co. merged into Verizon : GTE. 64D. Part of 40-Down: Abbr. : TELephone.

41. Start one's law practice : GET A CASE. (Get and GTE) only if you are a litigator.

47. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR.

48. Hit : STRIKE.

49. Caesarean section? : I CAME. Really fun clue, I came, I saw I conquered. Veni, vidi, vici.

50. Mayflower figure : MOVER. The company. LINK.

51. Errant golf shots : HOOKS. Sometimes you need to hook the ball.

52. Musical with "jr." and "KIDS" versions for young performers : ANNIE. I had no idea of the existence of these variations.

53. Shock, in a way : TASE.

54. Church lineups : PEWS. Cute.

55. Gross subj.? : ANATomy.

56. Capital of Turkey : LIRA. The old money misdirect.

57. Like French toast : EGGY.

61. __-jongg : MAH.

62. Addams family member : ITT. Cousin.

63. Altar constellation : ARA.

Well did you find this to be a puzzling puzzle?  The theme is a variation of a quotation from Winston Churchill in a 1939 radio broadcast  "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest."  Still a factor in the world...I hope you enjoyed the return of JW and spring. Lemonade out.

BTW I did not finish in 4 minutes, but it is April 1st.

Thursday, March 31st, 2016 Matt Skoczen

Theme: Add-oons. Take a noun, add an "oon" and clue the resulting object in a witty fashion.

17A. Parody involving molten rock? : LAVA LAMPOON. Anyone own up to having a lava lamp?

28A. Wind god's whaling weapon? : AEOLIAN HARPOON. Loved this one. The aeolian harp is played by the wind.

48A. Blubbering Belgian? : WAILING WALLOON. Very nice! The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is more "properly" known as the Western Wall.

61A. Hollywood harlequin? : FILM BUFFOON. I'm definitely not a film buff, most of the movies each year pass me by. I don't particularly equate "harlequin" with "buffoon" though, the character is usually portrayed more as a trickster than a fool.

Morning! I enjoyed Matt's word play in this one and some solid construction with the four themers; two nice long downs and some good fill with ALCOVE, ESPRIT, CORTEX et al. Two clunkers though - I'm looking at you, IREFUL and the clue for ELEM (tchr). Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Library recess : ALCOVE. Also a posh-looking hotel in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

7. Brief amt. of time : NSEC. Nanosecond. One billionth of a second. That's really brief.

11. Karaoke need, briefly : MIC. I was pretty much forced to sing Karaoke at a bar in Kowloon where my colleague and I were the only westerners. The only song on the menu that I recognized was Barry Manilow's "Copacabana". The result was not pretty.

14. Slanted : LEANED

15. With 34-Across, concert band instrument : ALTO.

16. Big fuss : ADO

19. Sneaky job : CON

20. APA member?: Abbr. : ASSN. American Psychological Association.

21. Med. test : EKG. Fill in E_G and wait for the cross.

22. Eight-time co-star of Joan Crawford : GABLE. Ooops. Joan Crawford in the clue should result in Clark Gable in the answer.

24. Teeth: Pref. : DENTI

27. Note : MEMO

33. Crybaby : MOANER

34. See 15-Across : SAX

35. Arctic flier : SKUA

36. Stalling-for-time syllables : ERS

37. Honor earned by 27 Super Bowl QBs : MVP. Refreshingly, the Denver Bronco's pass rusher Von Miller won the award this year, only the sixth player from the defensive side of the ball to be named MVP.

39. Light lead-in : TWI-

41. Scoreboard fig. : PTS.

42. Director Preminger : OTTO

44. It borders It. : AUS. Italy's neighbor Austria. I've skiied between the two.

46. Sparkling wit : ESPRIT

51. 8th-century Japanese capital : NARA. 奈良市 Capital of the Nara Prefecture in southern Japan. Who knew?

52. Runs while standing : IDLES

53. Try a new color on : RE-DYE

55. June portrayer in "Henry & June" : UMA. Ms. Thurman played the role of Henry Millers' wife in a loose adaptation of the Anaïs Nin book.

56. Repeat, but more softly each time : ECHO

60. First name in shipping : ARI. I wonder how many news stories in the 60's led with "Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis ...."

65. Java : JOE. Coffee. Two Javas today. Just needed the programming language for the trifecta.

66. Eclectic quarterly digest : UTNE

67. Hard to read, maybe : SLOPPY. My handwriting has definitely got sloppier over the years.

68. Animal in some fables : ASS

69. He says to Cordelia, "Thy truth, then, be thy dower" : LEAR. The king speaks to one of his daughters. It's worth remembering his other two daughters too - Regan and Goneril - they crop up in crosswords quite frequently.

70. Cerebral __ : CORTEX

Down:

1. __ breve : ALLA. Waited for crosses to tell me whether this was DEMI or SEMI. In hindsight, I was going to be waiting a long time. Apparently, in music time-signature terms, it is "a simple-duple meter with a half-note pulse". I didn't understand a word of that. It has its own symbol though, so it must be important:

2. Pastures : LEAS

3. Home team at Cleveland's "The Q" : CAVS. NBA's Cavaliers play at the Quicken Loans Arena.

4. Uninterrupted : ON AND ON

5. Mph : VEL. ocity.

6. Former PBS host LeShan : EDA

7. Place setting items : NAPKINS

8. Tough march : SLOG

9. 1940s stage for Ike : E.T.O. WW2's European Theater of Operations. I wonder if Churchill and Ike argued whether it should be spelled (or spelt) Theater or Theatre.

10. __ eel : CONGER. They love to hang out in wrecks and can grow to quite a fearsome size.

11. Apple with a Force Touch trackpad : MACBOOK PRO

12. Fan club focus : IDOL

13. Lane-closing sight : CONE. Usually accompanied by a sinking feeling and another delay. In the UK at one time there were so many lane closures on the freeways and no sign of any work being done that you could actually call "The Cones Hotline". No-one really knew what the hotline was meant to achieve and it became a butt of many jokes.

"Hello? Cones Hotline? I've spotted some cones."

"How many?"

"About four and a half million on the M6, doing absolutely nothing."

"Thank you for telling us."

18. Physical leader? : META

23. Gear on stage : AMPS. Jackson Browne was a great songwriter, but the final rhyme in this snippet from "The Load-Out" is a bit of a clunker! Great song and segue though.

"Now roll them cases out and lift them amps
Haul them trusses down and get'em up them ramps
'Cause when it comes to moving me
You know you guys are the champs ..."

25. Kind of tchr. : ELEM. That's a pretty horrible abbreviation for "teacher".

26. Buddhist state : NIRVANA

27. Klinger's first name on "M*A*S*H" : MAXWELL. I wonder how often this actually came up in the series? Solid crosses.

28. Vital supply line : AORTA

29. Where to find Java : EAST INDIES. I tried to make "Indonesia" fit for a while.

30. Magic show prop : HAT. Where all the Easter bunnies go back to sleep when they've finished their egg-rounds.

31. __ the cold : OUT IN

32. Democratic donkey drawer : NAST. He was responsible for the Republican elephant too.

33. Litter cry : MEOW

38. Wrinkly little dog : PUG

40. __ Royale, Michigan : ISLE. A new one on me. I find it is in Lake Superior, and the US-Canada border does a little jig around it. It looks a lot closer to Minnesota than the UP though, I think the folks of Grand Portage, MN have every right to be peeved.

43. Skin care brand : OLAY

45. Pool party? : SWIMMER. Nice clue; party in the sense of "party of one".

47. Be the subject of, as a painting : POSE FOR.

49. Furious : IREFUL. Ugh! What a horrible word. It's a bad sign when you Google a word and the first results page shows dictionary definitions and two video game references.

50. Not much at all : A DAB. Hesitated at "A TAD" and waited for a helpful cross.

53. Indian noble : RAJA

54. Love deity : EROS. He and his Roman counterpart Cupid were always shooting off arrows and making people miserable.

55. Forearm bone : ULNA

57. Egyptian Christian : COPT

58. "The thing with feathers / That perches in the soul": Dickinson : HOPE

59. Cameo stone : ONYX. Most often carved with a head in profile, but there are other more intricate examples.

62. Suburban trailer? : -ITE

63. The Trojans of the Pac-12 : U.S.C. The University of Southern California, or as often dubbed by Bruins from cross-town rivals UCLA "The University of Spoiled Children" (or after the Reggie Bush affair, U$C).

64. "Alice" spinoff : FLO. Never heard of the original series, let alone the spinoff. Thank you, crosses. Here's actress Polly Holliday as Flo:

Fun Thursday ride. Here's the grid ......

Steve

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 Bruce Haight

Theme:  Being in Agreement.  Common expressions indicating agreement are reimagined as being delivered by their most amusingly appropriate sources.  And, impressively, they are all grid spanners. Rather an unusual approach.  Let's have a look.

17 A. Yes, to a cowboy? : YOU BET YOUR BOOTS.  Evidently, this expression goes back to the old west, where a good pair of boots was as important as a reliable horse.   These days, they also make a fashion statement.

You bet

27 A. Yes, to an architect? : SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.  Bit of wordplay here, equating a plan of action with a design drawing of a proposed structure.

  Let's plan on it

43 A. Yes, to a traffic court judge? : SUITS ME JUST FINE.  The traffic court judge is likely to issue a FINE, but there are other possibilities with this one.   Law SUITS are also settled in court, or one might obtain a SUIT of clothes from a haberdasher, and thus become SUITED in a FINE way.

Judges' suits are rather drab

54. Yes, to the Magic 8 Ball : IT IS DECIDEDLY SO.   The Magic 8 Ball has been available since the 1950's and is manufactured by Mattel.  It provides one of 20 possible answers to yes/no type questions. IT IS DECIDEDLY SO is one of the 10 positive answers that the Ball might provide.  The other 10 responses are evenly divided between negative and non-committal. 

Correctness of answers not guaranteed

Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here, and in an agreeable frame of mind.  My last Blog outing at the Corner was a hair raising experience, coincidentally, also with Bruce.  Our stars also aligned back in January, so this is getting to be a bit of a habit.  Let's see if we can have positive responses to all of today's crossword questions.

Across

1. Vanna's cohort : PAT.  Sajak, not my sister PAT.    Cohort, originally a Roman military unit of 6 centuries, a 10th of a legion; hence, any group of people banded together; even more hence a supporter or companion.

Signs point to good fortune

4. Smidgens : IOTAS.  Tiny quantities.

9. Thicket : COPSE.  Originally a stand of small trees intended for cutting, presumably coming into English from the Latin colpaticum, via Old French copeiz, a cut over forest.  

14. Boston Marathon mo. : APR.  In APRil, always on Patriot's Day, this year falling on the 18th.

15. Meat and greet patio party? : BAR-B-Q.  Another pun.  Say hello to your animal part entree, cooked out of doors.  Not especially vegan friendly.

16. Skylit courtyards : ATRIA.  Generally having a glass roof.

20. Sunday service providers : CLERGY.  Another nice word play.  I'm starting to like this.

21. Switz. neighbor : AUStria.  European geography.

22. Pollen carrier : BEE.  Threatened by commercial pesticides.  If the BEEs go, they'll take us with them.

23. "M*A*S*H" Emmy winner for acting, writing and directing : ALDA.  Alan.

Read about the rum cake incident

24. German autos : BMWs.  Vehicles provided by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

26. Women's undergarment, briefly : CAMI.  Shortened form of CAMISOLE, a sleeveless top, usually with thin straps and extending to about the waist.  Not all are undergarments these days.

This one is

31. __ joint : HIP.   Where the leg attaches to the torso; or possibly a very cool, up to date and popular club.

32. Cracker with a scalloped edge : RITZ.  

33. [uh-oh] : GULP.  Cartoonish display of dismay or fear.

34. Provides with a soundtrack : DUBS.  Meshes the audio with the video.

35. Components of many tips : ONES.  Dollar bills.  It's been recommended to round up to the nearest five.

37. Give in to wanderlust : ROAM.  It's the journey, not the destination.

39. Shakespeare's river : AVON.   In the English midlands.  Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of some guy named Will.

40. Stockholm carrier : SAS.   Formerly Scandinavian Airline System.

47. Author Rice : ANNE.  Vampire stories.  Who knew they'd be so popular?

48. Final, e.g. : EXAM.  Test of learned knowledge at the end of the school term.

49. Medicine Hat's prov. : ALTA.  Alberta.  Somewhere up north and west.

50. Shoot the breeze : YAK.  Gab.

51. Org. for docs : AMA. American Medical Association.

 52. Exited quickly, in slang : BAILED.   This is an old word with some alternate meanings.  I associate this sense of it with making a parachute jump.

58. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE Alighieri.

59. "Fun, Fun, Fun" car in 1960s hit : T-BIRD.

60. Make faces for the camera : MUG.

61. Labor day doc : OBGYN.  Obstetrician - gynecologist - a medical specialist in the care of specifically female body parts, also charged with the delivery of new born infants.  Another pun, if you like that sort of thing.  [I do!]

62. Church chorus : AMENS.  The response from the crowd, not the choir in the loft.  Bruce is a man after my own heart.

63. Mini-albums, briefly : EPs.   Extended Play recordings, either CD or vinyl, having more than one song, but fewer than a regular album.

Down

1. Choose paper over plastic? : PAY CASH.  Use folding currency instead of a credit card.  Who does that any more?  Though we always leave a paper tip, rather than charge it.

2. Ill-fated 1967 moon mission : APOLLO I.  The mission never occurred.  A fire in a launch rehearsal destroyed the Command Module and took the lives of the three crew members.

3. Made even, to a carpenter : TRUED UP.  On the level, as it were.   Also see 28 D for a partial clecho.

4. "__ your pardon" : I BEG.   Words spoken by somebody who elbows you.  I always respond with, "I pardon your beggin'."

5. Cheerios descriptor : OATY.  Whole grain goodness.

6. "Give it a go" : TRY.  Make the effort.

7. Blood-typing letters : A-B-O.   Based on the presence or absence of certain antibodies in the plasma and antigens in the red blood cells.

8. Kick up a fuss : SQUAWK.   Sound like an ungreased wheel.

9. Uber competitors : CABS.  Urban vehicular transportation.

10. Platte River tribe : OTO.  The Platte is in Nebraska, a tributary of the Missouri River.  The OTO [or OTOE] were a semi-nomadic people living in the Missouri basin, in what are now the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

11. The majors : PRO BALL.   For baseball players -- and here we are with opening day coming up on Monday - finally.  For men's professional golf, The Majors are a series of 4 tournaments: The Masters, in April at the Augusta National Golf Club; The U. S. Open,played at various U. S. locations in June; the Open Championship, played at one of 10 locations in the U. K. in July, and the PGA Championship, played at various U. S. locations in August.

12. Online guide : SITE MAP.  Key to navigating a web site.

13. Enter gradually : EASE IN.  As opposed to barging or crashing.

18. Muffin mix additive : BRAN.   Might be OATY.

19. Con job : RUSE.  A deceptive trick, usually to separate someone from their money.

24. Orders with mayo : BLTS.  Tasty, crunchy sandwiches of Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato.  Yum!  I like mine on whole wheat toast, and prefer Miracle Whip to Mayo.

25. "Les __": musical nickname : MIZ.  Les Miserables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo.

26. PCs' "brains" : CPUs.   Central Processing Units

28. Karen Carpenter's instrument : DRUMS.  She was actually quite good.  It's TRUE.

29. Member of the fam : SIB.  SIBling = brother or sister, as Richard to Karen.   I only have the one.

30. One who helps you find a part? : AGENT.  For an actor, in this case.

34. Prom partner : DATE.  Oh, my, that was a long time ago.

35. Fallopian tube traveler : OVUM.   Part of the reproductive process.  It's complicated.

36. Rejections : NOs.   Words from those who were not your prom partners.

37. Drink on credit : RUN A TAB.

38. Noise from a 55-Down : OINKING.   Porcine pronouncements.

39. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA.  Pronounced "Asia."  Don't ask me why.  Here's the title track.  [8:00 minutes]

40. "I was so foolish!" : SILLY ME.   But have you ever known me to be silly?  Seriously?

41. Pays for cards : ANTES UP.    Puts in the initial bet for a poker hand.

42. Old salts : SEA DOGS.  Grizzled old sea-faring veterans.

43. Get hitched : SAY I DO.  Make a marriage vow.

44. Viral Internet phenomenon : MEME.   An idea, behavior, or style that spreads through a culture.  The internet makes it happen more quickly and frequently.

45. Two-horse wager : EXACTA.   To win, the better must predict the first and second place finishers, in the correct order.  

46. Go up in smoke : FAIL.   Or down in flames.  I love the English language.

51. Yemeni port : ADEN.   Located near the south-west tip of the Arabian peninsula, on the Gulf of Aden.

52. Capital near Zurich : BERN.  Back to the AUS neighbor, Switz.

53. Supplements, with "to" : ADDS.

55. Type of pen : STY.   Home to hogs and sows.

56. Tech giant : IBM.

57. Cube that rolls : DIE.  In Las Vegas, for example.   There is a dodecahedral icosahedral [thanks, Howard] one inside the Magic 8 Ball.

Which takes us full circle.  Or some polyhedral solid approximation thereof.   I've never taken an inventory of multiple-word answers.  There certainly were a lot of them here. And no nits.  This was great fun, as I hope you'll all agree.

Cool regards!
JzB

Notes from C.C.:

1) I've been enjoying Peter Gordon's Newsflash Crosswords the past few years. His entries and clues are super current and full of fun trivia. MERRICK GARLAND appeared in Peter's grid two days after he was nominated for the Justice post. Please click here and back his project if you love crosswords and news. You'll love each handcrafted gem from him.

2) Husker Gary is updating our Crossword Corner map. Regulars who want to add their name to the map, please email Gary (gschlapfer@gmail.com). Please also let him know if you want to drop your name from the map. Gary will publish an update map next Wednesday.