Tuesday, September 1 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Go Deep.

19. Judgments made on the fly : SNAP DECISIONS

 
29. Call it quits : THROW IN THE TOWEL

39. Take a nap : CATCH FORTY WINKS

55. Football play comprised of the starts of 19-, 29- and 39-Across : COMPLETED PASS

See above.

Melissa here. This will be brief - having some issues with blogger.

Across

1. Pop singer Anthony : MARC

5. Drive-__ window : THRU

9. Annoying email : SPAM

13. "Then again," in texts : OTOH. On The Other Hand.

14. Real howler : RIOT

15. In and of itself : PER SE. Latin, meaning in itself.

16. Arnaz of early sitcoms : DESI

17. Save-the-date card follow-up : INVITATION

21. Joe of "NCIS" : SPANO

22. "Dang!" : RATS

23. "The Crying Game" actor Stephen : REA

24. Hole in one : ACE

25. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : ELI

27. Taunting laugh : HAH

36. Champ's cry : I WON

37. Airport compliance org. : FAA. Federal Aviation Administration.

38. Cuban currency : PESO

44. Patriotic women's gp. : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

45. Clever laugh : HEH

46. Ef counterpart, in temperatures : CEE. Ef as in Fahrenheit, CEE as in Celsius.

47. NW state with a panhandle : IDA. Idaho.

50. Simpson who's a member of 12-Down : LISA

53. Tryst participant : LOVER

58. First sequel's sequel : EPISODE III

59. Pandora's boxful : ILLS

62. Cut again, as lumber : RESAW

63. Apollo 11 destination : MOON

64. Earth goddess : GAIA

65. Part of GPS: Abbr. : SYST

66. Like some telegrams : SUNG

67. Tiny part of a min. : NSEC. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second.

Down

1. "The __ Squad" : MOD

2. Dined : ATE

3. 1995 Reform Party founder : ROSS PEROT

4. Great Wall locale : CHINA. Look.

5. Libyan port : TRIPOLI

6. Rear : HIND

7. 63-Across exploration vehicle : ROVER

8. Erie Canal city : UTICA

9. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI

10. Aforementioned : PRIOR

11. Together : AS ONE

12. Group with an annual Mind Games competition : MENSA

15. Volkswagen family car : PASSAT

18. Ten percent donation : TITHE

20. From the beginning : ANEW

21. The "u" sound in "census" : SCHWA

24. Suffix with problem : A TIC

26. Help desk offering, briefly : INFO

28. Arizona tribe : HOPI

30. How some pics are stored : ON CD

31. La Brea stuff : TAR. Museum.

32. Owns, biblically : HATH

33. Holiday carol's "Good King" : WENCESLAS

34. Glacial ridge : ESKER. Virtual field trip of Blakeney esker.

35. Get rid of : LOSE

40. Consecrate : HALLOW

41. Like much pub grub : FRIED

42. Kennel cacophony : YELPING

43. "Now, just hold on" : WHOA

47. "Happy birthday" writers, perhaps : ICERS

48. Dwarf who swept up Doc's discarded diamonds : DOPEY

49. Off the mark : AMISS

51. Plant parts : STEMS

52. Vowel fivesome : AEIOU

54. Champ's gesture : V SIGN. V for Victory.

56. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifying exam : PSAT

57. Frontman for the Belmonts : DION. Dion and the Belmonts.

60. Perjure oneself : LIE. All too common in court.

61. __ fly: RBI producer: SAC. Sacrifice.

Monday, August 31, 2015 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Tales from the Grid - First word of the reveal followed by the first word of the starred clue answers.

17A. *Sentry : GATE KEEPER. Tail Gate

11D. *Wishful thinking : PIPE DREAM. Tail Pipe

41A. Caboose locale ... and a hint to what the first word of the answers to starred clues can be : TAIL END

64A. *Crafty press agent : SPIN DOCTOR. Tail Spin

34D. *Music-maker activated by a breeze : WIND CHIME. Tail Wind

Argyle here. We haven't seen a puzzle from Janice in sometime. A pretty pinwheel grid to start our week and end our month.

Across:

1. Tiny insect : MITE

5. Road trip stop : MOTEL. What's your favorite?

10. Zipped : SPED

14. Indigo dye source : ANIL.

15. Solo : ALONE

16. Fillable bread : PITA

19. Apple tablet : iPAD

20. City with Heat and Hurricanes : MIAMI

21. Copter's forerunner : GIRO. Yes, I tried it with a Y first.

22. Strike from the text : DELE

23. Gulf War journalist Peter : ARNETT

25. Invented, as a word : COINED

27. Light on the Vegas strip : NEON

29. Made a boo-boo : ERRED

32. Grocery box amt. : NT.WT. (net weight)

35. Electrician on a film set : GAFFER

39. Academic URL suffix : .EDU

40. Sushi tuna : AHI

42. Wolfed down : ATE

43. Transgress : SIN

44. Staten or Manhattan : ISLAND. Two of the five boroughs of NYC.

45. License-issuing agcys. : DMVs. (Department of Motor Vehicles)

46. Tennis great Agassi : ANDRE. US Open this week.

48. Info : DOPE

50. Show with clowns : CIRCUS

54. Skype need : WEBCAM

58. "Come Fly With Me" lyricist Sammy : CAHN

60. Poker stake : ANTE

62. Spaghetti topper : SAUCE. What's your favorite?

63. Copies are made from one: Abbr. : ORIGnal

66. Street artist in a striped shirt, stereotypically : MIME

67. Mombasa's country : KENYA

68. Penn Sta.-to-Suffolk County train system : LIRR. Get out of NYC on the Long Island Rail Road.

69. Tapped brew : BEER

70. Golf's Slammin' Sammy : SNEAD

71. __, meeny ... : EENY

Down:

1. Molten rock : MAGMA

2. "... bombs bursting __" : IN AIR

3. Business big shot : TITAN

4. Periodic table item : ELEMENT

5. West of "My Little Chickadee" : MAE

6. Couturier Cassini : OLEG

7. Subject matter : TOPIC

8. Warm month in Chile : ENERO. January is mid-summer remember.

9. "Vive __!": "Long live the king!" : LE ROI

10. Kiddie-lit's Charlotte, e.g. : SPIDER

12. And others, in Lat. : ET AL.

13. 20-Across' former county : DADE. Former?

18. Toy on a string : KITE

24. Frat party robes : TOGAs

26. Unhip sort : NERD

28. Finger or toe part : NAIL

30. 1999 Ron Howard satire : "ED TV"

31. Association fees : DUES

32. Astronaut's org. : NASA

33. Like wafers : THIN

36. St. Augustine's state: Abbr. : FLA. (Florida) oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the US.

37. Ward (off) : FEND

38. Provide with funds : ENDOW

41. Tall-cake layer : TIER

45. Complete failure : DEBACLE

47. Pro pretending to be an amateur : RINGER

49. Tijuana money : PESO

51. Winery containers : CASKS

52. Set free, as pigs : UNPEN

53. "Goosebumps" author R.L. : STINE

55. Term of affection : CUTIE

56. Nut under an oak : ACORN

57. "__ Christmas!" : MERRY

58. Hair-parting tool : COMB

59. Singer India.__ : ARIE. (India.Arie for style)

61. Irish folk singer : ENYA

65. Family guy : DAD

Argyle

Sunday August 30, 2015 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "Male Bonding" - MAN is added into each theme answer.

 27A. One whose citations are always on target? : QUOTATION MARKSMAN. Quotation marks.

 47A. Where go-betweens learn their craft? : MIDDLEMAN SCHOOL. Middle school.

 63A. Civil civil servant? : FRIENDLY FIREMAN. Friendly fire.

 74A. Show segment that included shots of New York City? : LETTERMAN OPENER. Letter opener.

 94A. Work force breakdown? : MANPOWER FAILURE. Power failure.

 114A. Ambiguous packing instructions? : MANHANDLE WITH CARE. Ambiguous indeed. Handle with Care. 

So we have four 15's and two 17's. Total 94 theme squares. Manageable themeage. Anytime you go over 100 theme squares, fill will suffer.

Such a clean grid. No splashy long fill. It's difficult to arrange long slots when your theme answers are all quite long. 9s, 10s and 11's are more pliable. 

  

Across:

1. Insignificant disruption : BLIP. All four corners of this grid are sectioned off. Unusual.

 

5. Part of a familiar Latin sequence : AMAS

9. Make very thirsty : PARCH

14. Those girls, in Guadalajara : ELLAS

19. Start to correct? : AUTO. Auto-correct.

20. Riga native, e.g. : BALT

21. 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year Stoudemire : AMAR'E. We had him before. I just could not remember his name. How cool to have this jersey number!

22. "There!" : VOILA

23. Demolish, in Dover : RASE

24. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO

25. Introvert : LONER. Our LaLaLinda is one. You're missed, pal.

26. __ wrench : ALLEN

31. "Fore!" site : TEE

32. Phishing catch: Abbr. : SSN

33. Share with followers, in a way : RE-TWEET. Rare lovely RE* entry.

34. Chaucer works : TALES

36. Salon service : PEDI

37. D.C. team : NATS

40. Pathfinders and such : NISSANS

44. Toledo homes : CASAS. Same as Italian. There's a nice Italian restaurant in Guangzhou. It's called La Casa. I had my very first Caesar salad there.

51. California city with an annual classical music festival : OJAI

52. Give up : CEDE

53. __ Palmas: Canary Islands port : LAS

54. Shredder : TEARER. Glue entry.

55. Aslan's land : NARNIA

57. Past curfew : LATE

60. "Children of the Poor" author : RIIS (Jacob). I got via crosses.

62. Fund-raising orgs. : PTAS

66. Tree in a carol : PEAR

67. "__: Cyber": 2015 spin-off : CSI

68. Hammered : LIT

69. Dedicated lines : ODE

71. Foolhardy : RASH

83. Block brand : LEGO

84. Med. research org. : NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). I can never remember this one either.

85. Come across as : SEEM

86. Subject of passing concern? : ESTATE. Great clue.

87. Not on edge : AT EASE

89. Some Caltech grads : EES

91. Bar freebie : NUTS

93. What bar patrons may run : A TAB. And 100. Up-good connection : TO NO. Partials.

98. Flora and fauna : BIOTA

99. Scout shirt feature : EPAULET

101. Hebrew for "skyward" : EL AL

103. Candidate who opposed NAFTA : PEROT

105. Researcher's reference : ALMANAC

108. Dallas NBAer : MAV (Mavericks)

111. Director's bane : HAM

118. Great quantity : OCEAN

120. Ancient Aegean region : IONIA

121. Florida's __ City : DADE

122. Drummer Van Halen : ALEX. I only know Eddie Van Halen.

123. Part of a beach house collection : SHELL. Been a long time since I last saw a beach.

124. Desilu co-founder : ARNAZ

125. Resolve, with "out" : IRON

126. Artist Magritte : RENE

127. "Our Gang" pooch : PETEY. Got via crosses.

128. Rope loop : NOOSE. Thought of RIATA, then LASSO.

129. Breton or Gael : CELT

130. Awareness-raising TV ads : PSAs

Down:

1. Root beer that "has bite!" : BARQ'S. Never had root beer before.

2. Waikiki wingdings : LUAUS

3. Fighting words : IT'S ON

4. One concerned with rhythm : POET. Hi there, Owen!

5. Tapered off : ABATED

6. Nautical : MARITIME

7. Let : ALLOW

8. Paving unit : STONE

9. Like some consonants : PALATAL. This upper section was the last to fall for me. As the following two clues stumped me.

10. "El __ brujo": de Falla work : AMOR. Wiki says it means "literally, Spell-bound Love or The Bewitched Love".

11. Relative position : RANK. Easy in retrospect.

12. High spot : CREST

13. Novelist Hesse : HERMANN

14. Fade from sight : EVANESCE. I've only used Evanescent.

15. "OMG ur 2 funny" : LOL

16. Bouncy tune : LILT

17. Captain's direction : ALEE

18. Sensible : SANE

28. Son of Zeus : ARES

29. Darn : MEND

30. Highly regarded groups : A-LISTS

35. Double curve : S-SHAPE

36. "The Age of Reason" writer : PAINE (Thomas)

38. No. preceded by a code : TEL

39. Excessive flattery : SMARM

41. Cardiologist's concern : AORTA

42. Musical deficiency : NO EAR

43. Some shooters, for short : SLRs. I like this clue also.

44. NCAA division : CONF (Conference)

45. Slightly cracked : AJAR

46. Asian wrap : SARI. Have you heard of "Ao dai"? Vietnamese national dress. Very pretty.

48. In a slothful way : IDLY

49. Unheeding : DEAF

50. Home to billions : ASIA. Thank God China only started One-Child Policy in 1978. I can't imagine life without my little brother, who was born in 1975.

52. Rakes : CADS

56. Move very carefully : INCH

58. Arcade concern : TILT

59. Cat Nation people : ERIES

61. Part of, plotwise : IN ON. Not land "plot".

64. Actress Taylor : LILI

65. French 101 word : ETRE

66. Spices (up) : PEPS. Try some wasabi in your avocado. Yum!

70. Completes : DOES. I just changed all the old Pamela Amick Klawitter or Pam
Klawitter labels in our blog to Pam Amick Klawitter. Now all her puzzles will be under one label.

71. Put another hole in, as a keg : RE-TAP

72. Gemini docking target : AGENA. Got via crosses also.

73. Get in a lather : SOAP UP

75. 911 situation: Abbr. : EMER

76. It may be grand : THEFT

77. Where to see available courses : MENU

78. River to the Strait of Tartary : AMUR. Russia/China border river.  It's called "Black Dragon River" in Chinese.

79. Cybersales : E-TAIL

80. Partnership for Peace gp. : NATO. Easily guessed.

81. __ de Louisiane : ETAT

82. 2000s sitcom set in Houston : REBA

83. Not even a little cool : LAME

84. Big name in sports caps : NEW ERA. Read here, Majestic has the MLB jersey monopoly.

88. Common way to swear : SOLEMNLY

90. __ Tomé : SAO

92. One Direction band member, e.g. : TEEN IDOL. They're breaking up. 

95. Ian Fleming or James Bond : ETONIAN

96. Stupefied : IN A DAZE

97. Veg out : LOLL

98. Composer of six unaccompanied cello suites : BACH

102. Not yet visible : LATENT

104. Detailed, briefly : THORO

106. Front VIP : MEDIC. Battlefront.

107. Mindful : AWARE

108. NFL players, e.g. : MALES. And 109. Game site : ARENA

110. Bugs : VEXES

111. "H" on a blue road sign: Abbr. : HOSP

112. Pang : ACHE

113. Comply with : MEET. Lots of 4-letter answers in this puzzle.

115. Year in Sicily : ANNO

116. Actress Vardalos et al. : NIAs

117. Moan and groan : CARP

119. Pub buy : ALE

 C.C.

Saturday, Aug 29th, 2015, Don Gagliardo

Theme: Science~!

Words 70 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 26

Boy was I excited to see a DonG Saturday puzzle.  The chunky corners look made me think it was going to be a tough one, but ultimately, it was do-able.  We have a boat-load of proper names, and a few "Meh" clues/answers, so my expectation caused a bit of a let down.  Oh well.  Mini-theme of corner crossings related to science fact & fiction, and a central crossing;

 

21d. "The Dragons of Eden" Pulitzer winner : CARL SAGAN - I have not read the book

37a. What we're made of, per 21-Down : STAR STUFF - I like shows on Astronomy and Cosmology; I understood that when massive stars start creating iron in their cores, the beginning of the end occurs - they go supernova, spewing all the elements out into space

16. With 12-Down, 1995 Hugo Award winner for Best Related Work : I. ASIMOV

12. See 16-Across : A MEMOIR

60. Discoverer of Jupiter's four largest moons : GALILEO

48. Shower component : METEOR - not symmetrical, but just to balance the corners

ONWARD to a Star Trek: TNG universe~!

ACROSS:

1. Probably will : IS APT TO

8. Come before : PREDATE - not PRECEDE

15. Like many a protest : ANTI-WAR

17. Going on, slangily : COOKING

18. Stand for things : ETAGERE - literally, a physical stand, for knick-knacks

19*. "The Road to Wealth" author : ORMAN

20. Opening segment : ACT I - we had this answer last week

22. Deity skilled at archery : AMOR - oops, not EROS

23. It has rail service to ORD and MDW : CTA - Chicago Transit Authority; ORD being the airport code of O'Hare, and MDW for Midway

24. Hawaii's __ Coast : KONA

26. Zippo : NOT ONE

28. Amsterdam features : CANALS - not LEVEES

30. Meat-based sauce : RAGU

32. Shades-wearing TV cousin : ITT - duh-duh-duh dum~!  The Addams Family

33. Score update phrase : AT THE HALF - but not in hockey

35. Deck used for readings : TAROT - a deck of cards

39. Place for an ice bed : IGLOO - O, ice E

42. Idylls : PASTORALS - again, we had this last week, but it was pastoralEs

46. Egg __ yung : FOO

47. Salon, for one : eMAG - eh, don't see an abbr. in the clue

49. Like some transfers : IRON-ON

50. Threatening to steal, perhaps : ON BASE - baseball for C.C.; DonG would never live it down had he forgotten

52*. Heroine in Auel's "Earth's Children" books : AYLA - crossing YAP AT irritated me

54. Cpl., for one : NCO

55. Cause some nose-holding : REEK - not ODOR

56*. Brown of publishing : TINA

58. Clip : SHEAR

62. Lab tube : PIPETTE

64. View : OPINION

65. Flighty sort? : AVIATOR

66. Some film clips : TEASERS

67. Submits : TENDERS - as in one's resignation

DOWN:       

1*. 1970s Ford president : IACOCCA - of course, he went on to save Chrysler

2. Show contempt for : SNORT AT

3*. Ferocious Flea foe : ATOM ANT

4. Tailless rabbit relative : PIKA

5. Sparkly Skechers style for girls : TWINKLE TOES

6. Salon acquisition : TAN - went with DYE first

7. Reed site : ORGAN - not SWAMP; the other kind of reed

8*. Neoplasticism artist Mondrian : PIET - never heard of this, so I had to do a search - turns out, I consider my style to be of the neoplastic type.  

9. Assessment : RATING

10. Spanish pronoun : ESA - hey - guess what~? no Frawnche (OK, etagere)

11. Make cutting remarks about : DIG AT - lots of two-word answers today, too

13. Hockey Hall of Fame city : TORONTO - we are oh so close to the new season

14*. Former surgeon general C. __ Koop : EVERETT

25. DOL division : OSHA - Dept. of Labor, and the Occupational Safety and Health Admin.

27. Cruising : OUT FOR A SPIN

29. "Yes, of course" : AH, SO

31. Classified times : AFTs - I did not get this at first; I had AGES.  Now I understand it's AFTernoons, in classified ads

34. Plucked instrument, to Vivaldi : ARPA - Harp

36. Picked style : AFRO

38. Gas co., e.g. : UTILity

39. Excuse for lateness : I FORGOT - eh.  what, you forgot what time to come in~?

40. Lost it : GONE APE

41. Popular hanging-basket flower : LOBELIA

43*. One of the original Mouseketeers : ANNETTE

44. Google map, say : LOCATOR

45. Not always the best roommates : SNORERS

51*. Pulitzer playwright Zoë : AKINS

53. Pester, puppy-style : YAP AT - NIP AT, LAP AT....even after an alphabet run, I did not see this. 

57. Cyclotron bits : IONS

59. Lead : HEAD - non-rhyming

61. Be supine : LIE - here's my contribution to "the stars"

63. "__ seen the light!" : I'VE

Splynter

Friday, August 28, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: A Jeffrey Jumble tribute to Owen and Moe and perhaps suggest s that you TRY POE!

Adhering to the strict interpretation, we have a word jumble (not an anagram) puzzle that features 63 theme squares including the reveal and a grid spanner in the middle. To make this all work, there is the unusual use of six cheater squares, three in the NW and three in the SE. There are many 3 and 4 letter fill and an overall difficulty that did not seem like a Friday. As usual with JW there were lots of sparkly fill CREDOS, FRERES, KIMMEL, PLINTH, BASE TEN, EACH ONE, GEOLOGY, MCENROE, REELS IN, ARISTOCRACY, YOU ARE WRONG and a reveal which is very revealing and amusing. As I have said before, the joy in this type of puzzle comes from the phrasing of the reveal and I really enjoyed the image of the letters from Poetry moving about. Anyway, it is time we move about the puzzle.

16A. Formal dissent : MINORITY REPORT (14). Also a movie with TOM CRUISE. Now a TV pilot that ran this SUMMER.

22A. Lead role in many a Western : STEREOTYPE (10). White hat, ruggedly handsome.

37A. Independence Day VIPs : PYROTECHNICIANS (15). They make our fireworks work.

50A. Vegan diet component : SOY PROTEIN (10). They get their protein where they can.

58A. Metaphor for ballet ... or what this puzzle's circles literally contain : POETRY IN MOTION (14).

Across

1. "It came without ribbons. It came without __": The Grinch : TAGS. We start with Dr. Seuss. Who has appeared in many of JW's recent Fridays.

5. Glutton : PIG. Hog also fits.

8. Be at loggerheads : CLASH. Hmmm. A HUM .

13. Layered snack : OREO. How many clues are there for this American classic cookie?

14. Sch. with residence halls named Acadian and Beauregard : LSU. A CSO to our Louisiana solvers.

15. Crystal __ : RADIO. We have had this clue/fill before and it brought back memories for some of you. Bill G.?

19. Decimal system foundation : BASE TEN. I will defer to our math mavens.

20. Educator LeShan : EDA.

21. Fig. in TV's "Suits" : ATT. This abbreviation for attorney....as foolish as the premise of the show.

28. Cheap sauce : HOOCH. Interesting HISTORY .

31. Transports : HAULS.

32. Appreciative cry : OLE.

33. Rocky prominence : CRAG.

35. Org. of former Soviet republics : CIS. Is this still operational? LINK . Commonwealth of Independent States.

36. Paired : DUAL. Carburetors?

41. It's found in bars : SOAP. I guess Jeffrey was cleaning up his CLUING to be g-rated.

42. "I see what's going on!" : O HO. Not safe to yell on street corners?

43. In the area : NEAR.

44. Obedience trials org. : AKC. American Kennel Club.

45. __ steak : FLANK.

47. Dropped off : SLEPT.

53. "Quadrophenia" group, with "The" : WHO.

54. Med. recording : EEG. ElectroEncephaloGram.

55. Four-time US Open winner : MCENROE. The other US Open. John has established a healthy career making fun of his own antics in commercials. The HBO documentary about him and Borg was great.

63. Word on a menu : CARTE. A la.

64. One rarely without a comb? : BEE. Honeycomb humor.

65. Klein of fashion : ANNE.

66. Stopovers : STAYS.

67. Ware lead-in : MAL. All you windows users know this term.

68. Long-term appeal : LEGS. Splynter are you out there?

Down

1. Burger go-with : TOMATO. Not my first thought.

2. Reign of Terror victims : ARISTOCRACY. The French revolution was so bloody. LINK.

3. Biological determinant : GENE.

4. Laundry woe at the Claus home? : SOOT. All those damn chimneys!

5. Public monument support : PLINTH. A really cool word.

6. Real ending? : IST. Ity, ism?

7. Dude : GUY. My wife says, man-guy.

8. Words to live by : CREDOS. From the Latin to believe.

9. Gently massage, wave-style : LAP AT. The waves lap at the shore?

10. Big deal : ADO.

11. Title for Edward Elgar : SIR. The prolific composer of pomp and circumstance music.

12. Popular : HOT.

17. __ judicata: decided case : RES. Literally the thing adjudicated.

18. Catches : REELS IN.

19. "What nonsense!" : BAH.

23. All : EACH ONE. Do not get this one. Each and every?

24. Archaeological site : RUIN. Not necessarily.

25. "What nonsense!" : YOU ARE WRONG. Nice.

26. Work out the details : PLAN.

27. Unadon fillets : EELS. For C.C.?

29. Corn, for example : CROP. So vague needed perps.

30. One may be passed : HAT. So vague needed perps. Once unearthed I enjoyed it.

34. Rocky field? : GEOLOGY.  I have a nephew who has his degree in geology and works in Everglades.

36. Ivory alternative : DIAL. Soap not Jade.

37. Spots for Smokey: Abbr. : PSAS. Public Service Announcements.

38. Mother of Sean : YOKO. Not sure why this came immediately, there are many Seans.

39. Shoot the breeze : CHAT. Cat in French.

40. These, to Thérèse : CES. French.

45. Monastère members : FRERES. Our French lesson continues.

46. Late-night host since 2003 : KIMMEL. Wow, time flies, I still remember him from Ben Stein' s show.

48. Obsolescent public conveniences : PHONES. I know people who invested heavily in pay phones in the 70s.

49. Word with dance or shoe : TOE. Another stumper.

51. Small-minded : PETTY. Not Tom.

52. Sgt., e.g. : NCO. Non Commissioned Officer

56. List substitute : ETAL.

57. Diamond complement : NINE. Baseball team.

58. See 61-Down : PCS. Personal Computers.

59. Bit in a horse's mouth? : OAT. Tricky, nice misdirection.

60. Baseball stat : ERA. Earned Run Average.

61. Longtime maker of 58-Down : IBM. International Business Machine. Sold the business to Lenovo in 2005.

62. Org. supporting exhibitions : NEA. National Education Association.

No naticks, and a great reveal; hope you all unraveled this one. See you in September. To each of you who sent birthday wishes, thank you very much, it is great to celebrate with my extended family here. Lemonade out.

Thursday, August 27, 2015 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: "Animal Farm"

It's a wacky bunch o' puns in store for us today. Common phrases lose the consonant sound at the end of the first word, and all get linked to various types of fauna.

17-A. Caddy for pigeons? : COO DEVILLE. Haha!  I was thinking of something from "Caddy Shack." Instead, we have a pun on the Cadillac Coupe deVille. (I used to own one of these gas guzzlers. Then 1976 happened...)

28-A. Statistical aid for sheep? : BAA GRAPH. This one made me laugh out loud. I think it's because we New Englanders actually do pronounce "bar graph" that way.

 

42-A. Cantatas for cows? : MOO MUSIC.  I wonder if one of their favorite songs is "Blue Moo"? Mood music.

55-A. Phone service for crows? : CAW WAITING. This one seemed like an outlier, because all the others have double vowel endings. But it works well for "call waiting."

I love a good pun, and these were some doozies. I enjoyed much of the rest, as well. So let me take you on a tour through my head as I was solving.

Across

1. Word seen before "or less" on supermarket signs : ITEMS. AAAARRRRRGGHH!  Use "less" only when you are unable to count the amount ("less water," for example.)  When you are able to count the items, the correct term is "fewer." This is a pet peeve of mine, but I promise that's the end of my rant...

6. Elisabeth of "Hollow Man" : SHUE.  For some reason, I knew this one, even though I never saw the movie.

10. "American __" : IDOL.

14. Musical ensemble : NONET. Requiring no fewer and no more than 9 players. And a clecho at 26-A. Musical ensemble : CHOIR.

15. Cautious : WARY.

16. Gospel trio : MAGI.

19. Combustible heap : PYRE.

20. NBA division that includes the Bklyn. Nets : ATL.antic. 

21. Very long time : EONS.

22. On the agenda : SLATED.

24. Autograph signer's aid : SHARPIE. Phil Mickelson, one of golf's most admired players, uses one.

27. Range stat. : ALT.itude. 

31. 1973 Rolling Stones ballad : ANGIE. Ah, music to my ears!  4:30

34. "All in the Family" spin-off : MAUDE.

35. Doomsday beginning? : DEE.

36. "Coming Home" actor : DERN.

37. Outmoded : PASSE.

38. Co-star of Boris in "Son of Frankenstein" : BELA.

39. Latin I word : AMO.

40. See 34-Down : CURIE. I stupidly filled in "madam" at 34-Down before I checked the perps.  Duh. 34-Down. With 40-Across, 1911 chemistry Nobelist : MARIE.

41. Connected, in a way : WIRED.

44. Wine container : VAT. Just gimme a straw!

45. Code name : MORSE.

46. Longtime family-owned firearms company : BERETTA.

50. Much : VASTLY.

52. Undecided : TORN.

53. Take flight : RUN.

54. Big Bird buddy : ELMO. Nice alliterative clue.

58. Sight from a slope : T-BAR. And the view from the T-BAR? Priceless! I have ridden this one many times.

59. Stem-to-branch angle : AXIL.

60. Like some astrological charts : NATAL.

61. Without : SANS.

62. Register compartment : TENS.

63. Migratory birds : GEESE.


Down

1. 16th-century conquest victims : INCAS.

2. Nail partner? : TOOTH. They went at it tooth and nail.

3. __ Gay : ENOLA.

4. NSAID, e.g. : MED. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are very common MEDs.

5. Skyline highlight : STEEPLE. Religion used to be the most important aspect of society, so the steeple always towered over other buildings in town. Then politics overtook religion, and the town hall soon grew to great heights. Then money became king, and now financial skyscrapers tower over all.

6. Hogs : SWINE.

7. Dutch artist Frans : HALS. One of my favorite Dutch painters - his portraits capture so much of the subjects' personalities. Like this one.

8. High-tech address : URL.

9. Sleeper's aid : EYE  SHADE. My cats get unnerved when I wear this one.

10. Make worse : IMPAIR.

11. Market speculator : DAY TRADER.

12. Storybook meanie : OGRE.

13. Served up a whopper : LIED.

18. Sports ball brand : VOIT. They made the first rubberized water polo ball, which now resides at the National Museum of American History.

23. Theater ticket word : LOGE.

25. Word with dance or fall : RAIN.

26. Saving the whales, e.g. : CAUSE.

28. Rudimentary : BASIC.

29. Mononymous kicker : PELE. I wonder if he ever used VOIT soccer balls?

30. Take charge of : HEAD.

31. Start of a big race? : ADAM. Nice misdirection!

32. Nautilus skipper : NEMO.

33. Wedding attendant : GROOMSMAN.

37. Nonthreatening type : PUSSYCAT.

38. Angler's hope : BITE.

40. Temple feature in old films : CURL. Huge V8 moment when I realized they were talking about this moppet.

41. Bark, perhaps : WARNING.

43. General __ : MOTORS.

44. 2012-'13 "Bates Motel" Emmy nominee Farmiga : VERA.

46. New Year's highlights : BOWLS.

47. Well-worn : TRITE.

48. Bluefin and yellowfin : TUNAS.

49. It's a matter of degrees : ANGLE. What's yours?

50. Old-timers : VETS.

51. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA.

52. One of a hotel room pair : TWIN. Beds.

56. Terminate : AXE.

57. Menlo Park monogram : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.

Marti

Note from C.C.: 

Happy Birthday to our Friday Sherpa Lemonade, who's been guiding us since March 2010. It's so easy to get jaded after a year or two of blogging (often 3 hours on each write-up), but Lemonade's enthusiasm and passion for crosswords and crossword blogging remain the same. He never failed to point out every little nugget in a Friday crossword.  Thanks for being here for us through thick and thin, Lemonade!

Lemonade and his lovely wife, Dec 21, 2014