Sunday September 20, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Title: "Amen". Wow a Saturday/Sunday double header for our lovely leader. Prolific thy name is C.C. Burnikel.

Well maybe this closes the circle after we've had A-LINE, A-FRAME, A-LIST, A-SIDE, A-BOMB, A-TEST, A-PLUS, A-GAME, A-TRAIN, yadda, yadda, yadda.  

C.C. has given us a lovely puzzle for our Sunday consideration where her clever theme is the names of men whose name contains only the vowel A: hence A-MEN. The men all seem to be very well known except perhaps for MAX PLANCK who might be more familiar to us science peeps.

I remember AMEN being the last word in the final M*A*S*H episode (title slide below) seen by 61% of America and its star is included in our A-MEN roster.

101. "The Aviator" Oscar nominee : ALAN ALDA - Yes, he was great in The Aviator, but he'll always be Hawkeye. 

For good measure in her impressive construction, she has eight of her men going across and two going down the grid. Husker here where we will meet C.C.'s A-MEN sans any e, i, o or u. 

Across theme answers

22. Novelist whose works were banned in his native land from 1968-'89 : FRANZ KAFKA - From which we get Kafkaesque - situations that are nightmarishly complex or bizarre 

24. Time's 1977 Man of the Year : ANWAR SADAT - Shared the 1978 prize with Menachem Begin and later paid with his life for doing so

40. TV host who was an Army DJ in Vietnam : PAT SAJAK - In his pre-Vanna days in Nam

59. Voice of the title character in "Kung Fu Panda" : JACK BLACK - Jack and his 'toon alter-ego

79. Neil deGrasse Tyson mentor : CARL SAGAN - I love Neil but Carl's the man!

118. Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee : GRAHAM NASH - He got inducted for being a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash (and later Young) and this 60's group

121. Three-time Oscar-winning director : FRANK CAPRA - Here directing Gable and Colbert in It Happened One Night, the first film to sweep all the major Oscar Awards

Down theme answers

39. The Packers retired his #15 in 1973 : BART STARR - Here he is presenting the the eponymous Bart Starr Award in 2014  for Leadership And Character to Aaron Rogers

54. Quantum theory pioneer : MAX PLANCK - Seen here in 1929 presenting the Max Planck medal to another guy I think was in science ;-) 

Off we go starting with the A-CROSS clues:

Across        

1. Applies gently : DABS - Brylcreem memory for those of us of a certain age

5. Lowers in intensity : DIMS

9. Record flaw : SKIP - Didja ever put a coin on the tone arm to stop this?

13. Intros may be brief ones : BIOS - The BIOS for our A-MEN would be impressive

17. Folklore monster : OGRE

18. Parlement français division : SENAT - Also contains the Assemblée nationale

19. Sunning sites : POOLS

21. Rice of Gothic fiction : ANNE - Of Vampire Chronicles fame

26. Bit of trivia : FACTOID - Always useful in this venue

27. "Yadda yadda yadda": Abbr. : ETC

29. Implied : TACIT - Possible downside

30. Covert __ : OPS - James Bond's bailiwick 

31. Mark of a hothead : TEMPER - Did you know the former Baltimore Oriole was an author?

33. Dress with a flare : A-LINE - Ah, a possible off shoot of A- theme

35. WWII Enigma machine user : U BOAT - Breaking this code, as seen in The Imitation Game, helped win the Battle of the North Atlantic

37. Call lead-in : ROBO - Get ready for election season and ROBOcalls!

42. Pizza chain : SBARRO - Found in most malls

43. Old court org. : ABA - American Basketball Association that played with a red, white and blue ball until it merged with the NBA in 1976

44. Pres. Carter's alma mater : USNA -United States Naval Academy

45. "I see" : GOT IT - or if you don't...

47. Sighs of content : AHS - Gotta love a foot rub!

48. They may be French : HORNS - Featured in Beatles' All You Need Is Love

50. Pitchers' deliveries : SPIELS - A famous TV pitchman with a strong delivery

52. ''See if I care!'' : SO SUE ME - Talk about shallow pockets!

56. Field : METIER - Max Planck's METIER was physics. New word to me!

58. Maritime raptor : ERNE - A frequent flier here

61. Old Detroit brewer : STROH

63. "Most likely ... " : ODDS ARE - ODDS ARE you'll love any C.C. puzzle!

65. 91, at the Forum : XCI - We seem to only see Roman Numerals in Super Bowls anymore

66. Favorite : PET

68. "Burnt" shade : SIENNA

70. Marked down : ON SALE

73. Cast lead-in : POD - I have three PODCASTS to which I listen regularly 

74. Model Mendes : EVA - Movie career started with Children Of The Corn V (Hey, another Roman numeral)

75. Letting fly : LOOSING - He has LOOSED the fateful lightning...

77. Rival of Djokovic : NADAL - Tennis star Rafael, whose surname follows the A-MEN theme

83. Hot streak : ROLL

85. Photo-sharing website : PICASA - I use Photobucket

88. Crustacean used in Cajun cuisine : CRAWDAD - "You get a line, I'll get a pole. We'll go down to the CRAWDAD hole" - A hit for George Jones.

89. Education, e.g. : CAREER - I had me one of those

91. Choir voice : TENOR - I was a soprano at 12

92. Gunpowder is a type of it : TEA - Tea is a C.C. specialty! This TEA is said to resemble black gun powder.

93. Former "60 Minutes" debater Alexander : SHANA - She carried the liberal banner against James J. Kilpatrick

95. Funhouse cries : EEKS

97. ''Evita'' narrator : CHE - Role of CHE Guevara

98. Improved : BETTER

103. Ref's calls : TKOS - Technical Knock Out - Out on your feet

104. General Assembly member : UN REP - Impervious to Manhattan parking tickets

105. Surprises in bottles : GENII - Or a Laotian group with big hit Yorm Jai Orn 

107. Lincoln was one : LAWYER - Riding the Illinois circuit

109. Hilo keepsake : LEI

110. Tinker with text : EMEND

112. Turn bad : ROT - We can't eat our tomatoes fast enough

114. Sci-fi memoir : I ASIMOV - Didn't Don Gagliardo have this a few weeks ago?

123. Wafflers maker : EGGO 

124. "Same here" : ME TOO - Sung around the fire at Camp Sycophant

125. Ticket prices? : FINES - An average speeding ticket will cost you $150

126. Placed : LAIN - Hear 'ya go -

127. Recently blond, say : DYED

128. Wedding venue : TENT

129. Comments : SAYS

130. Gives in to gravity : SAGS

Down

1. Remove politely : DOFF - Hats off when meeting a lady

2. Yamuna Expressway terminus : AGRA - Next stop, The Taj Mahal

3. Bric-a-__ : BRAC - Kept in our cwd friend the etagere? 

4. Mailed : SENT TO - For those still using snail mail

5. Delivers à la Steven Wright : DEAD PANS - He's the master

6. Like Gershwin's piano concerto : IN F

7. Creators : MAKERS

8. Sports page item : STAT - Statistic

9. Place to kick back : SPA 

10. Raft in an Oslo museum : KON-TIKI

11. Hawkeye fan : IOWAN -Not so popular on my side of the Missouri. 

12. Not quite win : PLACE - A PLACE bet on winning Horse #9 would get you $48.60, on second place Horse #13 would get you $10.00 and on third place Horse #1 would get you bupkis. 

13. Lamb's lament : BAA

14. Like some running tracks : INDOOR - Banked ones are the best

15. Even (with) : ON A PAR 

16. Gets started on : SETS TO - A daily cwd event for me

18. Cuts corners : SKIMPS - C.C. never SKIMPS on creativity 

20. __ Lankan : SRI - Former a Ceylonese

23. Kravitz of "Divergent" : ZOE - Yup, her dad is Lenny

25. Ticket exchange giant : STUBHUB - Best Yankee/Red Sox ticket - $1038.38

28. Sweet-talked : CAJOLED

32. Tour de France stage : ETAPE - L'E'tape du Tour is literally "stage of the  tour"

34. Pull-up targets : LATS - Latissimus (broadest) dorsi (back) muscles

36. Roger Federer's birth city : BASEL - Third largest Swiss city

37. Chicago mayor Emanuel : RAHM - Windy city's first Jewish mayor

38. Slender black reed : OBOE

41. Plans for chairs : AGENDAS 

42. Prince Albert's prov. : SASK - 3rd largest city in Saskatchewan 

44. Geek Squad callers : USERS

46. Romanov royals : TSARS - They had a rough 1918 

49. Minor gripe : NIT - None for me

51. Heat-sensitive patch : IRON ON - Saved the knees in the jeans of my yute

53. Very large amount : OCEAN -  Remember, "It's gonna take an OCEAN of calamine lotion"

55. Maker of Golf Street shoes : ECCO

57. Dauphin's father : ROI - King (ROI) Louis XIV seated and his son Louis le Grand Dauphin behind him. Nice hair!

59. Sound of keys : JANGLE - I remember a Gene Autry song where his spurs did this

60. Taunt : KID

62. Hägar's wife : HELGA - I've read that comic everyday but needed perps for her name

64. Desert partly in Arizona : SONORAN

66. Upper bod muscle : PEC - On the other side of the torso from the 34. Down LATS

67. Brush fire op : EVAC - EVACUATION - very relevant in California this summer

69. Policy of many dot-gov websites : NO ADS - The 'net is a bottomless pit of ADS

71. Seat for toddlers : LAP

72. Tinkers with text : EDITS - Similar to EMENDS

76. Flier to Shiraz : IRAN AIR

78. King topper : ACE - My ACE takes your king

80. __ art: barista's creation : LATTE 

81. Kid in the 1941 cartoon "Child Psykolojiky" : SWEE PEA - Adopted by Popeye

82. Month before Nisan : ADAR - 6th month of the Hebrew civil calendar

84. One-eyed "Futurama" character : LEELA - If C.C. says so

86. TriBeCa neighbor : SOHO - South of Houston (Hows' ton) Street

87. Greek war god : ARES

89. Colombian city : CALI - Santiago de Cali with a population over 2,000,000

90. Cabs, e.g. : RED WINES - Cabernets, etc.

94. Practical, as experience : HANDS ON 

96. Inuit craft : KAYAKS - Oh yeah, its second letter is an A

98. Stuck out : BULGED - The less said about BULGED and SAGS the better

99. Zip or zing : ENERGY

100. Emergency sorting process : TRIAGE - Used in M*A*S*H units. French for sort or sift

102. Philip Morris parent company : ALTRIA - Never heard of 'em

103. Court events : TRIALS - Do you remember the movie where Lt. Caffey wanted to plea bargain and not go to TRIAL?

105. "Our Lady of the Flowers" author : GENET - Jean GENET

106. Maternally related : ENATE - ENATIC as an adjective

108. Top-left key : ESC

111. "Dee-lish!" : MMM - MMM good! Campbell's Soup slogan since radio days of the 1930's

113. Gets rid of, mob-style : OFFS - Like during the baptism scene in The Godfather

115. NC-17 issuing org. : MPAA - Motion Picture Association of America. PG-13 seems to allow you one "F bomb"

116. Copier insert: Abbr. : ORIG - ORIGinal 

117. Enterprise vehicles : VANS - Rental car company, not Capt. Kirk's transportation

119. Coal carrier : HOD

120. All the rage : HOT - Remember Nehru Jackets?

122. "__ takers?" : ANY

Blogging C.C.'s Sunday puzzle frees up a lot of time for me and so I look forward to reading your take on our A-LIST constructor's wonderful puzzle. 

Saturday, Sep 19th, 2015, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,U,Z)

Blocks: 31

 What, no baseball~!??  How can this be a puzzle from our blog founder and host without ANY reference to baseball~?  I am concerned.  Wait; what, no "U"~? - there is no "I" in TEAM, but there is a "ME" - what about "U"~?  None here.  C.C.'s last Saturday puzzle was in May this year, and upon reviewing that grid, found I had the same result then as I did today - a few too many 'fun sponge' proper names (*; I count 12, not including place names and brand names) to make this enjoyable, even though I did finish within my personal time - and yes, with one Google, and red-letter help on two entries.  Oh well.  Two 12-letter spanners, that may be related, but I will leave that up to you to decide;

27. Term used by President Xi Jinping in promoting long-range goals for his people : CHINESE DREAM

44. 1994 Ben Stiller comedy : REALITY BITES

Dr. No Wa~!

ACROSS:

1*. 2003 documentary set in the Philippines : IMELDA - starting off with a vague clue, and a proper name to boot

7*. Emulates Cassandra : PREDICTS - no clue, but I had -ICTS, and so I WAGed it.  We're talking about this Cassandra, not this Cassandra; she's up next month

Elvira ( Cassandra Peterson )

15. Studio technicians : MIXERS - music studio

16. '70s "SNL" parody : BABA WAWA - Barbara Walters parody from Gilda Radner

17. In-demand groups : A-LISTS

18. Late order? : STEP ON IT

19. Trading ctrs. : MKTS

20. Reserved : TAKEN

22*. Tenor Carreras : JOSÉ

23*. Name meaning "young warrior" in Old Norse : SVEN - Dah~!  Not ODIN

25. Finished : DID - like, say I "finished" my homework

26. Money maker : MINT - straight up

30. Coll. supervisors : RAs

31. Misses at the hoedown : GALS - misses as in ladies, not stray gun shots

32. Saws : ADAGES

36. Dossier shorthand : A.K.A. - Also Known As

37. Bass, e.g. : ALE

38. Magic, on scoreboards : ORLando - we did get some basketball, but....

39. Meal opener : OAT - oatmeal, took way to long to dawn on me

40. Plagues : BESETS

42*. Artist who wrote "Diary of a Genius" : DALI - the image associated with the actual book has a theme that is probably inappropriate for this forum; I personally like surrealism

Galatea of the Spheres

43. "__ seen worse" : I'VE

47. Corrosive fluids : LYES

49. Kyrgyzstan province : OSH

50. Span. titles : SRAs

51*. Pianist Templeton : ALEC

52. Mucho : LOTSA

54. Toronado, for one : OLDS - there's a picture like this hanging in my auto parts store

56. Orange County seat : SANTA ANA

58. Let slide : IGNORE

60. Adds to the database, redundantly : ENTERS IN

61. Key of Beethoven's Ninth : D MINOR - so I did the usual, - M - - OR

62. Nerve condition? : COLD FEET

63. Take : ACCEPT

DOWN:

1*. Saudi Arabia's Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, for one : IMAM - dah~! Not EMIR

2. Parlor cooler : MILKSHAKE

3. Permits to leave : EXIT VISAS - 'DISMISSES' was not working, since I felt "CHINESE" was correct.  Turned out to be the noun, not the verb, in this case

4. Taper off : LESSEN

5*. 2000 Richard Gere role : DR T.

6. Little help? : ASST - har-har, abbr assistant

7. "Curious George" media brand : PBS KIDS - my Google; I did not know George had 'sold out' for the money.  I recall reading his book that showed how to make a paper boat;

8. Like "American Hustle" : RATED R

9*. "Proof of Heaven" author Alexander : EBEN

10. Fist bump : DAP - huh~?? The urban dictionary definition -  I only know this DAP

11. Battle site commemorated on a 3-cent stamp : IWO JIMA - I am so proud of myself - I WAGed this off the "A" only

12. Vixia camcorder maker : CANON

13. Plot thickener : TWIST

14. Fill up : SATE

21*. "Skyfall" singer : ADELE - Gratuitous James Bond Daniel Craig image

24. Cancels out : NEGATES

26. Improvisational game : MAD LIBS - played it as a kid; "34a." led to the name per Wiki

27. __ cake : CRAB

28. Hot stuff : SALSA

29. Like some retirements : EARLY

33. Solo : GO IT ALONE - GuITAr jam was looking like a possibility, but I was gritting my teeth

34. Show unwelcome interest : EAVESDROP

35. Notre Dame figs. : STEs

38. Courtroom procedures : OATHS

41. Put up : ERECTED

42. Cold : DISTANT

45. Canadian dollar coin : LOONIE - we've seen this before; the loon featured on the face

46. Having a 13-Down : IRONIC

47. Peruvian prairie : LLANO

48*. Tovah Feldshuh Broadway role : YENTL - I knew this actress from her days as a defense lawyer on Law & Order

51. "Wait __!" : A SEC

52. Use a beam on : LASE

53*. Radamès' love : AIDA - not sure if we were looking for the person, or the synonym

55*. Rockefeller Center muralist : SERT

57. "Walk me!" : "ARF~!" - Dog speak

59. Safari maker : GMC - I had the "M", so that left me very few choices; we shot the downtown bus chase scene at the 48hr film festival from a GMC Safari; I was 'rocket-launcher guy'

Splynter

Friday, September 18, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: You need to get down on it! (5:11).

An add-a-word puzzle, with a great reveal. JW is back again with a passel of theme words and a really wonderfully amusing reveal. 34A. Annoyed moviegoer's shout ... or what's needed to make sense of the answers to starred clues : DOWN IN FRONT which tells you that DOWN is added to the front of each theme fill to solve the clue. A true Friday theme with added twist of 1A beginning the fun. This is as close as Rich gets to a rebus (multi-letter in a block) puzzle, only the letters are not anywhere but in your mind. Because of the asterisks the puzzle became very doable once you see your first "down" word. If you did not catch on when you finished the top row you were in for a long solve.  The NW corner with two 7s and an 8 make starting slow. But this does give us some fun fill like AMOROSO, CAREFUL, CORRECT, DATA SET, FORESEE, NICOSIA, OVERPAY, SPUTTER, SIDE ROAD and TIRESOME.

1A. *Dejected : DOWNCAST (4). I guess the expression comes from tilting the eyes and head down.

5A. *Sledding spot : DOWNGRADE (5). Visual.

10A. *Waterloo : DOWNFALL (4). Fall again but totally different meaning, don't you love English.

31A. *Data transfer : DOWNLOAD (4). A word that did not exist when I started doing puzzles.

40A. *Faster way to fly : DOWNWIND (4). On the par 5s....

63A. *1964 Grammy-winning rock 'n' roll song : DOWNTOWN(4). What else...

64A. *Decrease : DOWNSWING (5). Back on the par 5....

65A. *Musical starting point : DOWNBEAT (4). Downbeat, the first beat of a measure in music.


Across:

14. Enclosed in : AMID.

15. Electrical component : RELAY. Not a RACE.

16. Seaman's direction : ALEE.

17. 9-Down sensors : RODS. Eyes have rods and CONES.

18. Midwestern tribe : OSAGE.

19. Show appreciation, in a way : CLAP.

20. "You shall hear more __ morning": "Measure for Measure" : ERE. Ah, the Shakespeare appearance; this did not require knowing the play. Not my favorite play.

21. Shows a preference : OPTS.

22. Amethyst source : GEODE.

23. Prognosticate : FORESEE.

25. Struggling engine sound : SPUTTER.

27. Me.-to-Fla. highway : US ONE. I live 33 steps from this highway.

28. Freudian subject : DREAM.

30. '60s radical gp. : SDS. A fun group from college.

32. Crockett's Waterloo : ALAMO. A clecho to 10A.

39. Onetime Silly String maker : WHAMO.

43. Seafarer : TAR.

46. Bygone dentifrice : IPANA. Bucky beaver lives on.

48. "Twelfth Night" servant : MARIA. More Shakespeare, Maria is Olivia's lady in waiting and a central character.

49. Deserve credit, perhaps : OVERPAY.

51. "Yes" : CORRECT.

53. Ancient Iranians : MEDES. You want to READ?

54. Thing on a bob : LURE.

55. "__ guy walks into ... " : SO A. Guy walks into a bar and sits at a table. Tells the waitress, "I'll have a Bloody Mary and a menu." When she returns with his drink, he asks "Still servin' breakfast?" When she says Yes, he replies, "Then I'll have two eggs-runny on top and burnt on the bottom, five strips of bacon ON END-well done on one end and still raw on the other, two pieces of burnt toast and a cold cup of coffee." Indignantly the waitress says, "We don't serve that kinda stuff in here!" Guy says, "Funny... that's what I had in here yesterday..."

56. Actress Russell : KERI.

57. Dinnertime attraction : AROMA.

59. __ stick: incense : JOSS. Did you see this PRACTICE growing up C.C. ? (From C.C.: Indeed. Burning incense (and fake paper money) for the dead is quite common.)

60. Rare blood type, briefly : A-NEG.

61. Memento : TOKEN.

62. Fifi's BFF : AMIE. French for friend, with E because it is a feminine friend.

Down:

1. "Watch out!" : CAREFUL.

2. Spanish sherry : AMOROSO.

3. Rush hour timesaver, hopefully : SIDE ROAD. How often do I get lost on my shortcuts?

4. QB's stats : TDS. TouchDowns are back! Every AFC East team won.

5. Feel one's way : GROPE. I got slapped over that one.

6. Took it easy : RESTED.

7. "Fate is so cruel!" : ALAS.

8. Peer of Trygve and Kofi : DAG. He died young. LINK.

9. Looker? : EYE.

10. Aspect : FACET.

11. Metes out : ALLOTS.

12. Bygone pump word : LEADED.

13. Middle Ages colony residents : LEPERS.

21. Sugar suffix : OSE.

22. Marx of lesser repute : GUMMO. He was replaced by Zeppo in 1915.  The brothers, can you name them?

24. Provide, as with talent : ENDOW.

25. Lifestyle magazine : SELF.

26. Host noted for a 1960 on-air resignation : PAAR.

29. Was loquacious : RAN ON. Yeah, that's it- loquacious!

33. Classic military text by Carl von Clausewitz : ON WAR. The SUMMARY.

35. Legislative VIPs : WHIPS.

36. Touristy viticultural valley : NAPA.

37. Indecisive comment : I MAY. I may not.

38. Hardly fascinating : TIRESOME.

41. Capital of Cyprus : NICOSIA. The city has a HISTORY.

42. Statistical matrix, e.g. : DATA SET.

43. Cruise partnership nickname : TOMKAT. I mention Tom and his ex Ms. Holmes in another JW; a crush?

44. L'Oréal competitor : AVEENO. This time of year this comes to mind for me

45. Altered, as a map : REDREW.

47. Mental wherewithal : ACUMEN.

48. GI grub : MRE. Meals Ready to Eat.

50. Wield power : REIGN.

52. Endangered Sumatran : ORANG.

54. Mythical troublemaker : LOKI.

57. Compact Cadillac sedan : ATS. This car.

58. Dustup : ROW. A common term across the pond.

59. Hook relative : JAB. Boxing terms.

Well we  were treated to another JW that made us work and use our imaginations and I enjoyed it. Happy holidays to all and Lemonade out.

Thursday September 17, 2015 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: Tribute Puzzle to Blondie - All eight symmetrically placed entries are Blondie related.

16A. Spouse of 66-Across : DAGWOOD

22A. Spouse of 20-Down : CORA

40A. Friend of 66-Across : TOOTSIE. Intersecting MR. DITHERS (20D. Employer of 16-Across). I can picture how excited Jerry was when he discovered that he could cross two themers in the middle. The grid design of this puzzle probably started in the middle.

 

54A. Friend of 16-Across : HERB

66A. Comic strip celebrating its 85th anniversary this month : BLONDIE. It's important that this key reveal entry is placed at the lower right corner, traditionally the last part where solvers finish their puzzle. 

11D. Son of 16- and 66-Across : ALEXANDER 

36D. Creator of 66-Across : CHIC YOUNG. I already had CHI? YOUNG and thought his name might be CHIP, but the crossing said "No". 

 

C.C. here. Marti will be back blogging on Oct 1. Gary will guide us next Thursday.

I always skip the comic pages in our Star Tribune. I glance at Family Circus & Dennis the Menace occasionally. They're placed together and I love the sweet and innocent nature of those two strips.

I had no problem obtaining those Blondie names. Easy crosses all around. We don't often see blocks at the corners. Jerry used four to facilitate smooth fill. Stacked 7's & 6's are not easy to fill cleanly.

Across:

1. Ways to the docks : INLETS

7. Military unit : BRIGADE

14. California colleague of Barbara : DIANNE. Babara Boxer is retiring next year. We also have 51. Hatch in the Senate : ORRIN.

15. Worked on a runway : MODELED
  

17. Winter clothes : WOOLENS. I did not know Woolen can be a noun.

18. 2008 Benicio del Toro title role : CHE. A hero when I grew up.

19. Fruit support : STEM

21. Fiber-yielding plant : FLAX. My first reaction: ALOE?
  

24. Messes up : ERRS. And 37. Mess up : MISHANDLE

26. Command to Fido : STAY

28. Pump output : GAS

30. Downturn : DIP. As the stock market.

32. "__ ideal world ... " : IN AN. There will be no personal attacks on this blog. Why do you want to hurt others?

34. Fancy neckwear : ASCOT

39. "A likely story!" : HAH
  

42. Ike's domain in WWII : ETO

43. Orwell's "1984" Inner Party is one : OLIGARCHY. Sparkling fill.

45. Aired as a marathon : RE-RAN. TV marathons.

47. Track setting : PACE

48. Ship, to a sailor : SHE. Hi there, Spitzboov & D-Otto. Any love stories in Guam, D-Otto?

49. Chips for the winner : POT. Did anyone else read it as "Chips for the winter"?

50. "__-mite!": "Good Times" catchword : DYNO. Easily guessed.

52. Patron of Alice's : ARLO 

58. What we have here : OURS. Got via crosses. Sometimes my brain just does not work as constructor/Rich wants.

60. River-bottom accumulation : SILT

62. Word with odds or bricks : LAY

63. Water pistol output : SQUIRTS. Another nice fill.

68. Brighter, in a way : SUNNIER. What Dave does to my day, except when he's in the  stunt airplane mood. Dave mentioned that the right section of the blog (including Interviews and Olio), is missing from his iPhone. Does this happen to other iPhone/Android users?

69. Colors again : RE-DYES

70. University officers : REGENTS

71. Last : ENDURE

Down:

 

1. Union member since 1890 : IDAHO

2. Niamey is its capital : NIGER. Via crosses.

3. Order companion : LAW

4. Slaughter in baseball : ENOS. Cardinals' #9. What jersey number would you like to have? I want #3.

5. U.S. IOUs : T-NOTES

6. The Four Questions ritual : SEDER. Filled in before I even read the clue.

7. Audi rival : BMW

8. Santa's target : ROOF

9. Graven images : IDOLS

10. Makeup of many capsules : GELATIN
  

12. Scouting unit : DEN

13. Paper staffers, briefly : EDS (Editors)
 

16. CCCL doubled : DCC. 700.

23. Back then : AGO

25. She won an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of Loretta : SISSY

27. 1945 "Big Three" conference site : YALTA. No Y/M confusion this time. Easy Across.

29. "__ boy!" : ATTA

31. Chi preceder : PHI. Not TAI.

33. Light element : NEON

34. One bounce, in baseball : A HOP. Partial.

35. __ days : SALAD.  I bought a pack of Spaetzle at Aldi on Tuesday. Cooked in boiling water for 12 minutes according to the instruction, the noodles were so bland. No bite at all. How do I make it interesting?

37. Caffé order : MOCHA

38. Beginning of space? : AERO. Aerospace.

41. Surg. sites : ORs

44. Real : GENUINE. Oh, Oh, look at this Chloé Paddington!

46. E. African land : ETH (Ethiopia)

49. Springtime concern for many : POLLEN 

53. Cuba __: rum drink : LIBRE

55. Respected figure : ELDER

56. Bring up : RAISE

57. High seed's advantage : BYE

59. "Ignore that edit" : STET

61. Taylor's husband between Wilding and Fisher : TODD (Mike). Wiki says "... Although this marriage lasted only a little over one year, it was the only one of Taylor's marriages to end without divorce; Todd died in a plane crash while married to Taylor... Taylor later called him one of the three loves of her life, along with Burton and jewelry..."

63. Cold War letters : SSR

64. "__ Sera, Sera" : QUE

65. Grads to be : SRs

67. Manhattan coll. founded in 1831 : NYU

C.C.

Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 C.W. Stewart

Theme: Discombobulated Divisions - the circled letters are rearrangements of the names of the four seasons that are generally recognized in temperate and sub-polar regions of the world.

18A. Sweet sherry, e.g. : DESSERT WINE . [Winter] I never really think of sherry as a dessert wine, more an aperitif, even the sweet amontillado and oloroso versions.

23A. Unbeatable hand : ROYAL FLUSH. [Fall] The Aria hotel in Las Vegas was the subject of some discussion on the blog on Sunday. I hit my only video poker royal flush at the lobby bar in the Aria. I promptly cashed out, never to make another bet all week.

48A. Square-bodied family autos : HUMMER SUVS. [Summer] Horrible-looking things, IMHO.

55A. Pre-holiday mall indulgence : BUYING SPREE. [Spring]. I'd be more of a shopping or spending spree-er if I ever spreed.

38A. It happens four times a year ... and also in this puzzle's circles : CHANGE OF SEASONS. And a nice diagram courtesy of Wikipedia:

Hail fellows, well met! Steve here with C.W.'s cyclical-circle theme. I think those of you solving circle-less might have missed out a little with this one - once I saw the letter-scrambling going on, it helped me figure out HUMMER SUVS when I was looking at a lot of blank space in that area.

A neat theme, but I was marginally disappointed with the aforesaid HUMMER SUVS - you could use either of the "U"'s to make your season and the "scramble-factor" across the four themers was a little inconsistent - SPRING and SUMMER are just split in the middle and reversed, but you'd get FLAL and WINERT if you tried that with the other two. Not a big deal, but I love symmetry.

With the grid-spanning reveal entry, you're looking at 57 theme squares; it looks like C.W. worked pretty hard not to let the fill slump into a rag-bag of crossword-ese, there's nary a clunker to be seen. Hurrah!

Let's check out the rest:

Across:

1. Respectful title : SIR

4. Gnocchi sauce : PESTO. Food! Basil, olive oil, pine nuts, cheeses. Vibrantly green. I go light on the oil, it doesn't need much.

9. First occurrence : ONSET

14. Keats' "__ to a Nightingale" : ODE

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

         My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk ...

15. Stay away from : AVOID. Good advice vis-a-vis hemlock ..

16. With 61-Across, Sri Lankan product : PEKOE and

61. See 16-Across : TEA. Not to be overly pedantic here (Why not? That's what crossword blogs are for!) but there's really no such thing as "pekoe tea". Pekoe is a grade of black tea primarily grown in India and Sri Lanka.

17. Pool user's unit : LAP. 20 laps = 1,000m where I swim. That's my warm-up, then some interval sprints and a 100m kick-social cool-down

20. "__ Road to Glory": Arthur Ashe history : A HARD. I boxed myself into a weird corner here - for no good reason, I filled in AHEAD, failed to notice that REPEY wasn't a word, and thought I'd discovered a new geological feature in AAVINE. Sanity finally prevailed, but only after I thought there were typos in the grid. It turned out it was just me being idiotic.

22. Lip : SASS

27. Hat worn with a kilt : TAM. Popular hat (in crosswords).

30. "Romeo and Juliet" city : VERONA. Shakespeare seemed to like this place - two plays were set here.

31. Laundry slide : CHUTE

33. __ Spumante : ASTI. Italian day today - PESTO, VERONA and now ASTI so far.

36. Here, to Henri : ICI. "You are here" on French mall maps:

37. Album array : PHOTOS

41. Comes to the point? : TAPERS

42. Have title to : OWN

43. Long basket, in hoops lingo : TREY. A three-pointer from outside the line. My pet peeve: Brent Musberger and his "from DOWNTOWN!!!!" call when a three-pointer is made. "Downtown" would be underneath the basket where all the traffic and banging around happens. "FROM THE SUBURBS!!!!" would be more accurate. OK, pedantic rant over (hey, it's a crossword blog, right?)

44. Clear the board : ERASE

45. Daze : TRANCE

47. Only article in a U.S. state capital name : DES. Moines. French for "The Moines". Or something.

52. Burlesque wraps : BOAS. G-rated example:

e

54. Dot on a map : ISLET

62. Parenthetical remark : ASIDE. Hamlet: (A little more than kin, a little less than kind). Bill the Bard pretty much invented the theatrical aside.

63. Piece of cake : LAYER.

64. Tach reading : R.P.M. Why do automatic transmission cars have a tachometer? There's nothing much you can do about the revs ..

65. Package sealers : TAPES

66. Decorative pitchers : EWERS

67. Critter in Egyptian art : ASP. Critter is a nice term for a hooded, extremely poisonous and aggressive cobra.

Down

1. Like some eclipses : SOLAR

2. One of three Hells Canyon states : IDAHO. I trotted off to the interwebs to find out why there's no apostrophe anywhere in "Hells" and drew a blank. I did discover that the mountain that forms the canyon is named "He Devil" which leads me to believe that the Idahoans must have rationed apostrophe usage on geographical features. I still think it should be "Hell's Canyon" though. Pedantic, moi? Oh wait - that's what crossword blogs are for!

3. Square things : REPAY Chlecho with 28D

4. Kayak mover : PADDLE. Not really, it's me wielding the paddle. Especially when I'm in a twin kayak and I look around to see that my paddle-partner is laying flat out with her paddle across her knees sunbathing.

5. Night before : EVE

6. Distress signal : S.O.S.

7. "Whether __ nobler ...": Hamlet : 'TIS. Asides in 62A, a soliloquy here, Verona earlier. Elizabethan Hall of Fame Playwright day today.

8. Ukrainian port : ODESSA

9. Stops wavering : OPTS

10. Dinnertime TV fare : NEWS. Usually in LA featuring any one of a) high-speed freeway car chase b) weather extremes or c) totally unsurprising "celebrity" "scandal". Or all three.

11. Snow runner : SKI

12. Ages and ages : EON

13. Place to start a hole : TEE. Fore! The first tee at my local course, DeBell in Burbank. I usually boom my first drive over the tall tree you see to the right and onto the street. Others hook theirs into the barranca on the left or squiff one into the rubbish in front. Then we all agree to forget that it ever happened and take mulligans.

19. Cheer from the crowd : RAH!

21. Steep-sided valleys : RAVINES. Not AAVINES which had me wondering ....

24. Wendy's side : FRIES. You want fries with that? What a strange question! Here's the current Wendy's TV commercial pitch-person. Note the complete lack of red hair. I do like the fact that her husband is the manager at the Grammercy Tavern in New York. Food!

25. Maniacal : LOCO. El Pollo Loco! Food! I love this puzzle.

26. Military outfit : UNIFORM

27. Private instructor : TUTOR

28. Square things : ATONE Clecho with 3D

29. Like many a dorm room : MESSY

31. Half a dance : CHA

32. Party organizer : HOSTESS

33. Did one's part? : ACTED

34. Admonishing response to "Mine!" : SHARE!

35. Spanish finger food : TAPAS. I can't keep up with the Food! Tapas were originally "covers" or "tops" to put on the top of your glass of sherry (18A!) to keep the flies out.

37. Tubular pasta : PENNE. I linked "Penne all' arrabbiata" at the Star Wars Canteen last time out. This week, why not combine this with 4A and try some pesto on top?

39. MBA hopeful's test : G.R.E. Seems awfully complicated. I'm not sure I even understood the rubric of the Wiki entry.

40. Took a dip : SWAM. Head back up to 17A and do 20 laps.

45. Struggle : TUSSLE

46. Old-time broadcasters : CRIERS

48. Crone : HAG

49. Extreme : ULTRA. "A Clockwork Orange" placed the word "ultraviolence" into the lexicon.

50. Some execs : VEEPS

51. Passport image : STAMP. My old passport had over 100 of these. The new one is already up to 20 or so.

52. __ one's time: wait : BIDE

53. Soda machine inserts : ONES. Sign of the times. Time was when a quarter was plenty.

55. Nocturnal flier : BAT

56. NATO founding member : USA. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization gets the "no longer an abbreviation" nod, along with our homeland.

57. Chihuahua complaint : YIP. Sorry, did I step on your paw? I didn't see you there ...

58. Handle without care? : PAW. Stop complaining, serves your paw right!

59. Reuben bread : RYE. Too much Food! I ate this version at Katz's on Houston Street in New York's Lower East Side. The pickles are awesome!

60. Slogan ending? : EER

I have to go and lie down after all those calories. Here's the grid.

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our witty and caring D-Otto (Tom), who has never failed to welcome a newbie, or answer any blog question, or give comfort to those in need. Off the blog, he's my trusted friend and adviser, always so patient with me and so supportive. Thanks for always being here for us, Tom!

 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: The 'T' is Silent

41A. Valentine symbol ... or, when read as two words, what you can't do when the answers to starred clues are spoken : HEART or "hear T".

17A. *"The Color Purple," for Oprah Winfrey : MOVIE DEBUT

66A. *Special Forces soldier : GREEN BERET

10D. *1990s Reform Party candidate : H. ROSS PEROT

30D. *Boneless seafood option : FISH FILLET

Argyle here. I doubt anyone would be surprised that all four entries are derived from French. Welcome to our old friend Jerome. You've been silent too long. Interview Another pinwheel grid with the unifier in the middle. C.C. pointed out to me the other day this design is prohibitive of longer fill. OK, OK say I, I still like it.

Across:

1. High-ranking Indian : RAJA

5. Jack rabbits, e.g. : HARES

10. Mr. Ed's foot : HOOF

14. Like Bond foes : EVIL

15. RLX automaker : ACURA

16. Bring down with a big ball : RAZE

19. Great Plains tribe : OTOE. Another old friend.

20. Soccer game tie, often : ONE ALL

21. Infiltrator : SPY

22. Email command : SEND

23. Hitch, as a ride : BUM

25. Long locks : TRESSES

27. Retailer known for little blue boxes : TIFFANY'S. Not on my income.

32. Maple output : SAP. Done for this year.

33. Singer Amos : TORI

34. Bottom corner of a square sail : CLEW. I didn't have a clue. It's part of a triangular sail, also.

36. Pass along : RELAY

40. Is obliged to pay : OWEs

43. Dallas quarterback Tony : ROMO. Signed as a free agent with the Cowboys in 2003.

44. Hiking trails : PATHS

46. Word before cook or burn : SLOW

47. "Yeah, yeah, I get it" : "OK, OK"

48. Monk's title : FRA

50. Winter traction aid : SNOWTIRE

52. Game divisions : PERIODS

56. Car in a '60s song : GTO

57. Stagger : REEL

58. Off-road transp. : ATV. (all-terrain vehicle)

60. Horseshoe-shaped letters : OMEGAs. Greek.

65. Inland Asian sea : ARAL. Sad.

68. Dry with a towel : WIPE

69. Words on a Wonderland cake : [EAT ME]

70. Turkish currency : LIRA

71. Egg container : NEST

72. Got off one's duff : STOOD

73. Mexico City problem : SMOG

Down:

1. Riviera resort San __ : REMO. Wonder if Romo ever visited Remo.

2. CoverGirl competitor : AVON

3. Jazzy jargon : JIVE

4. Et __: and others : ALIA

5. Went for a burger, say : HAD LUNCH

6. Unhittable serve : ACE

7. Pre-grilling spice mixtures : RUBS

8. Blow one's stack : ERUPT

9. Lascivious deities : SATYRS. Great for Halloween.

11. Hall's pop music partner : OATES. Still performing. 2014 Clip(7:52)

12. Holey layer : OZONE

13. Nourishes : FEEDS

18. Site of Napoleon's exile : ELBA

24. Pilgrim Standish : MYLES. I thought it was spelt with an "I".

26. Corn serving : EAR

27. Sporty car roof : T-TOP. But not on a GTO, I believe.

28. State whose straw poll was discontinued in 2015 : IOWA

29. Banjo ridge : FRET

31. Tapes up tightly : SEALS

35. Like a test answer with an "x" next to it : WRONG

37. Norse mischief-maker : LOKI

38. Love, to Ovid : AMOR. (Roman poet)

39. Oxen harness : YOKE

42. Black-and-white, e.g. : TWO-TONED

45. "No seats" letters : SRO. No tickets at all, SOL.

49. Traditional sayings : ADAGEs

51. Gestation location : WOMB. We've all been there, eh?

52. Shrimp relative : PRAWN

53. Spooky : EERIE. Halloween is coming soon.

54. Brings in : REAPS

55. Fender guitar model, briefly : STRAT. Stratocaster®

59. White House no : VETO

61. Slim swimmers : EELs

62. Bleak : GRIM

63. Prefix with dynamic : AERO

64. Guys-only : STAG

67. Punk rock offshoot : EMO

Argyle