Sunday July 23, 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: "It's Just Not the Same" - The first words are all synonyms of "Different".

23A. Phrase of individuality : DIFFERENT STROKES.  Many people, including our own Jayce, can't stand Stinky Tofu. I love it.

38A. American flag component, e.g. : CONTRASTING COLORS

58A. Plot device in TV's "Fringe" : ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Any "Fringe" fans on our blog?

  

87A. Brainstorming process : DIVERGENT THINKING. So all our constructors are divergent thinkers.

103A. Fallback plans : OTHER ARRANGEMENTS

123A. They often follow "also" in dictionaries : VARIANT SPELLINGS. Var. as a hint in crossword clues.

Sunday puzzles often have at least seven theme entries. This one has six. But all of them are long, three 16's and three 17's, totally 99 theme squares. Rich's minimum is 84.

Mark also chose a conservative grid design. I noticed that he seldom goes after low-word/black square count. Clean fill is always his top priority.

Across:

     

1. Fern seed : SPORE

6. Posh hotel amenity : ROBE.  We also have 115. Upscale : DELUXE

10. Cook, in a way : STEAM. Also 37. Cooks in a pan : SAUTES. Also 112. Cooks with fat : LARDS. Wonder what Steve cooks this weekend. His Facebook sushi pictures are always mouth-watering.

15. Sneaky stratagem : TRAP. Clue echo: 22. Sneaky stratagem : RUSE

19. Secret rival : ARRID. This "Secret" can't fool veteran solvers.

20. "Bingo!" : I WIN

21. Tom Sawyer's aunt : POLLY

 

26. "__ the Woods" : INTO

27. Skill : DEFTNESS

28. Hawaii County seat : HILO. Did not know Hawaii has a Hawaii County.

29. Holes a very short putt : TAPS IN

31. Math function : SINE

32. Sizable piece : CHUNK

34. Adored object : IDOL

35. Blog feed format letters : RSS. RSS feed.

44. Sorority letters : ETAs

46. 65-Across, in Japanese : HAI. Cantonese "Yes" also.  65. 46-Across in English : YES

47. Suffix meaning "country" : STAN

48. Notes from a loser, maybe : IOUs

49. Brownish grays : TAUPES. Did not know it's plurable.

52. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA

54. GPS displays : MAPS. Thought of RTES first.

57. Captain Hansen of "Deadliest Catch" : SIG. Unknown to me.

62. Tolkien tree creature : ENT

63. Promised : PLEDGED

64. Pound sound : YOWL

 

67. "Mi casa __ casa" : ES SU. My house is your house.

68. Creating compelling characters, for a writer : ASSET. Got via crosses.

72. Timberlake's old group : NSYNC

74. Small amt. of time : MSEC. Millisecond

78. Dental brand suffix : PIK

80. Title character inspired by Hearst : KANE. A few other names in the following few rows: Across: 92. "Respect for Acting" author Hagen : UTA.  94. Pasternak heroine : LARA. "Doctor Zhivago", 98. Gateway Arch designer Saarinen : EERO. 101. Kipling title orphan : KIM 102. Artist Magritte : RENE

82. "Heavens to Betsy!" : OH GOLLY

84. __-12 Conference : PAC

 

93. One way to start : ANEW

 

95. Brought up to speed : CUED IN

96. Comic strip about a high schooler : ZITS

110. Nonsense : ROT

111. Lyrical works : ODES

 

113. Is obligated to : OWES

 

117. Father or son actor : ALDA

118. "The Chronicles of Barsetshire" author : TROLLOPE (Anthony). Stranger to me.

122. Clapton on guitar : ERIC

127. Courteous : NICE. Dear Agnes lost her nephew to heart attack earlier this week. She's devastated. Agnes did not have kids and she was very close this nephew. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts.

128. Strongly longing : EAGER

129. Beech family trees : OAKS

130. Looks after : TENDS

131. Durbeyfield daughter : TESS. How I wish the story ended differently.

132. __ Island Red: chicken : RHODE

133. Duma denial : NYET

134. University town near Bangor : ORONO

  

Down:

  

1. Anti-DWI org. : SADD

2. __-dieu : PRIE

3. German composer Carl : ORFF. Also 6. German candy brand : RIESEN

 

4. Starts of feuds : RIFTS

5. Pristine : EDENIC

7. Possesses : OWNS

8. Drill insert : BIT

9. Funny couple? : ENS

10. Some Olympic trials : SPRINTS

11. Set for repairs : TOOL KIT. Boomer lost his neat set of tools to the TSA in March. He did not want to go back to put it in the checked luggage.

12. Northeast Nevada city : ELKO. Also 24. Western Nevada city : RENO

13. Red or brown brew : ALE

14. Connecticut coastal tourist town : MYSTIC. Also 55. Know-it-all? : PSYCHIC. Consonants-rich.

 

15. "Marines' Hymn" city : TRIPOLI

16. Has no restraints : RUNS LOOSE. Great fill. The only 9-letter fill is 86. Mass group : CATHOLICS

17. Piedmont wine area : ASTI

18. Lowly laborer : PEON

 

25. In said fashion : THUS

30. Flap : ADO

32. Long-necked bird : CRANE

33. Specifically designed poem : HAIKU. So in awe of Owen's talents. Genius!

35. Seal after peeking, say : RE-TAPE

36. Barn units : STALLS

39. "__ won't work" : THAT

40. To wit : NAMELY

41. Growl : GNAR. Strange word.

42. Render useless : RUIN

43. U.S. Army E-6 : SSGT. I read somewhere that all vets can shop tax-free at the Army Exchange later this year.  

45. Floored it, say : SPED UP

50. Fraction of a joule : ERG

51. Enter stealthily : SNEAK IN

53. Word often used before "old" : ANY. Not DAY.

56. Observe : SEE

59. Sunday paper pile : ADs

60. Former Saturn model : ION

61. Bugs that roll : VWS. Got me.

66. Backyard chef's equipment : SMOKER.  Followed by 69. Backyard chef's stick : SKEWER. You can find these lamb skewers in the night markets in my hometown. Lots of cumin and hot red pepper. 

70. Sensory organ : EAR

71. Series with Capt. Picard, to fans : TNG. The Next Generation.

73. Kabuki kin : NOH. Literally "ability". Rooted in Chinese "Neng". 

75. Curveball relative : SLIDER

76. Climate-disrupting current : EL NINO

77. Baby swan : CYGNET

79. Director Lupino : IDA

 

81. Slender swimmer : EEL. Man, I could eat this every day.

83. African bovine : GNU

84. "The Godfather" novelist : PUZO. My favorite movie. I also read "The Sicilian".

85. Working on the task : AT IT

 

88. Change course suddenly : VEER

89. Like a jaybird? : NAKED Also 97. Leads astray : SEDUCES

90. Cuts a little : TRIMS

91. Get under control : TAME

  

99. Assembled for a cause : RALLIED

100. How some stunts are done : ON A DARE

104. Wonder Dog of comics : REX

105. Letter closing : AS EVER

106. Gramps' mate : GRAN

107. Gripe from the weary : NO REST

108. "The __ llama, / He's a beast": Nash : TWO- L

109. Have as a client : SELL TO

114. Less trustworthy : SLIER

115. Small body-shop job : DENT. Our Melissa just had a car accident in California last week. She's safe thankfully. She'll be blogging next Tuesday.

116. __ Lackawanna Railway : ERIE

117. 2012 Best Picture : ARGO. Wow, been 5 years.

118. Rd. often named for a state : TPKE

119. __ account: never : ON NO

120. PC scrolling key : PGDN

121. Petrol station sign : ESSO

124. Hot tub reaction : AAH

125. 20 hundredweight : TON

126. Articulate : SAY

C.C.

Saturday, Jul 22nd, 2017, Erik Agard

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 30

Mr. Agard is on a roll with another Saturday puzzle, three months running now.  I was able to move through this one pretty smoothly, with just a couple of hang-ups, and yes, I decided to cheat and red-letter once to see if I was off-base - and I was.  Oh well.  A friendly-looking grid, though I did not see the two 15-letter climbers in the DOWN, and yet they filled in via perpendiculars, despite the fact that I had never heard of either answer.  We also had a stagger-step of triple 13-letter answers in the center:

3d. Nonprofit that won a 2007 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy : REACH OUT AND READ - their website awards page
 

31a. False pretenses : MOUNTEBANKERY - from the Italian, meaning "mounted on a bench", where charlatans would hock phony medicines - according to the M-W site

35a. They win audiences over bit by bit : STAND-UP COMICS - bits, that's punny....

37a. Denzel Washington's directorial debut : ANTWONE FISHER - The Wiki

11d. First black U.S. Congresswoman : SHIRLEY CHISHOLM - her Wiki - and a Congresswoman from New York, no less

9-irON WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Veal __ : PARM - argh~! I was not thinking of an abbr.  Got us a rhyming start;

5. Seal : SHUT

9. Actress Thompson of "Creed" : TESSA - I only know of actresses Leah and Emma

14. "Gotcha" : "I SEE." - At first I thought we had a "!" in the clue, so I was looking for something like "A-ha" at first

15. Posh "Peace!" : "TA-TA~!" - My buddy Mike always signs off with "Peace"

16. One remaining : OTHER

17. Israeli foreign minister during the Six-Day War : EBAN

18. It began in 2010 with the Tunisian Revolution : ARAB SPRING - good WAG with half the letters filled in via perps

20. Legendary Shawnee leader : TECUMSEH - also filled in after half perps

22. __ Rico : PUERTO - my first Across fill

23. Suffix suggesting wiggle room : -ISH - I am good for saying things like "I made a birdie(ish)" - because I might have taken two extra swings from the tee....yesterday I hit three pins - twice with my pitching wedge, once with the putter from the fringe. No -ish.

24. Uncertain utterances : UHS....

25. School squad goal? : PEP

26. English __ : LIT - another acceptable abbr.

27. Greek walkways : STOAS - remembered it once I had the two "S"s

29. Spy-fi employer : CIA

30. Boggy biomes : FENS

39. Gigging group : BAND

41. Shakespearean interjections : AYS - there's the rub~!

42. Company with "It's what you do" ads : GEICO

The camels, Europe and medieval bosses are my favorites

43. Briefs brand : BVD

44. Woolf's "__ Dalloway" : MRS. and a semi-clecho with; 47a. 44-Across, in Andalusia : SRA

45. Pit stuff : TAR

48. __ beef : CORNED

50. Separated seed from : THRESHED

52. Epic salvo of social media missives : TWEET STORM - I do not Facebook, Tweet, or Instagram - but I am addicted to Pinterest

54. What you might pass, but can't fail, in school : NOTE - cute

55. Hair extension : WEAVE

56. Instrument often made of African blackwood : OBOE - really good WAG, and a great change of cluing for a crossword staple

57. Spread on the table : OLEO

58. More bizarre : ODDER

59. Watched carefully : EYED

60. Iraq War concerns, for short : WMDS - dah~!! Weapons of Mass Destruction~?  I tried I.E.D.s

DOWN:

1. Old doctrinal Lutheran movement : PIETISM

2. Mineral involved in much litigation : ASBESTOS - always a concern as a home inspector - and any time you see 9"x9" floor tiles, assume they have asbestos in them

4. List with sides : MENU

5. Illicit collection, perhaps : STASH

6. Some bounders : HARES - because ROOS would not fit

7. Where I-15 and I-80 meet : UTAH - great guess on my part - but then again, a western four-letter state~? (figuring it was not a city)

8. Where charges are entered at the bar : TAB

9. Refill : TOP UP

10. Tours to be? : ÊTRE - Tours, the Frawnche city

12. Submitted : SENT IN

13. Specialized idioms : ARGOTS

19. Discuss : SPEAK OF

21. Forbidding contraction : MUSTN'T

25. __-nez glasses : PINCE

28. Vishy __, World Chess Champion before Carlsen : ANAND - only had to guess the "N"

29. Crunch and others? : CAP'Ns

30. Bichon __ : FRISE - cute dog breed; knew it, but not sure how to spell it

32. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" director : EDWARDS - again, perps

33. Lifts up : BUOYS

34. Expatriate : ÉMIGRÉ

36. Hidden away : SECRETED - I have 35 boards on Pinterest, and some of them are "secret"

38. Bus meets, e.g. : ROADEOS - new word for me, but it makes sense

39. "The Great British Bake Off" airer, initially : BBC TWO - the B, B, and C filled in early, and then it was a matter one "ONE" or "TWO"

40. Declared : AVOWED

44. One fed on the street : METER - clever

45. Sharp pang : THROE

46. Fortified : ARMED - I'm trying to come up with a clever name for my board game, and Fortified was one of the words I was pondering - any suggestions....?

49. Campbell of the "Scream" franchise : NEVE

50. Belch in "Twelfth Night" : TOBY - perps

51. Word with bank or board : SNOW - until I changed my IEDs, this was not coming to me

53. It may be jammed : TOE -there's two ways to interpret this....

Splynter

Friday, July 21, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Friday Funderdome Without Steve Harvey!

Jeffrey is back with one of his specialties - adding a three letter (or more) word to an existing phrase. In this installment he adds FUN so we all have fun. The first splits into two words, the second splits one word and the third is added to the beginning of the phrase. With the three theme plus reveal JW really crafted a very balanced grid loaded with many new things, sparkly things and well clued fill.
GUN SHOT,  INCHING, REPO-MAN, SENSORS, TRAUMAS, ADAM'S RIB,  PAID RENT,
EAT TO LIVE and the wonderful IMMENSELY are among my favorites. A puzzle that includes no dreck, just nice fill clued well.

17A. Complain, "Don't I get anything to do around here?"? : DEMAND A FUNCTION (15).
Demand Action.

24A. Compensation for an incomplete sundae? : CHERRY REFUND (12). Cherry Red is a color, a record company, a song....

40A. When a restaurant offers its weekly mushroom specials? : FUNGAL FRIDAY (12). No idea about the resulting phrase,  but Gal Friday was very popular before we needed to choose our words to not offend, even unintentionally. 

The reveal:
51A. "It's party time!" ... or a hint to 17-, 24- and 40-Across : LET'S HAVE SOME FUN (15).


Across:

1. Asian priests : LAMAS. The one L ones.

6. Miso base : DASHI. If you appreciate Japanese cooking you need to read the LINK.

11. Zodiac critter : RAM. The symbol of the ram for Aries is based on the Chrysomallus, the flying ram that provided the Golden Fleece. (Atsma).

14. Town house, e.g. : ABODE.

15. How gourmands enjoy their food : IMMENSELY. A lovely double entendre that is not sexual.

19. Distressed sort? : DAMSEL.

20. Medium for much body art : HENNA.  These TATTOOS are very popular for people visiting Key West.

21. Crop planter : SOWER. Reap what you shall sow.

23. Slants : BIASES.

28. European luxury vehicles : AUDIS.

29. Atari release of 1972 : PONG. Control your excitement.

30. Twaddle : PAP. Two words that are not popular where I live.

33. Rock quarry unit : SLAB. You can buy them DIRECT.

34. River feeder : BROOK.

36. It may involve cold calls : POLL. I am so glad I no longer have a landline.

37. Air-conditioning sound : HUM.

38. Territory east of the Philippines : GUAM. US Territory that is.

39. Dance performed with passion : TANGO.

43. Witless sorts : MORONS. Not always un-pc WORD.

46. Water nymph : NAIAD.

47. Diarist Nin : ANAIS.

48. Heads or tails : PLURAL.  Old fashioned puzzle trickery.

56. 2003 best-selling nutritional self-help book : EAT TO LIVE.

57. Raring to go : ANTSY.

58. Furtive : SLY.

59. x, in math : TIMES.

60. Condition : STATE.




Down:

1. Any Boy Scout : LAD. Every Boy Scout.

2. Not up : ABED.

3. NYC cultural attraction : MOMA. Museum of Modern Art. A wonderful place.

4. Tracy/Hepburn classic : ADAM'S RIB.

5. Burglar alarm devices : SENSORS.

6. Electronic telemarketing tool : DIALER.

7. Big initials in bowling : AMF. Brunswick and AMF, any comment Boomer?

8. Dallas campus: Abbr. : SMU. Southern Methodist University.

9. Chick magnet? : HEN. This was a cute deception.

10. Making slow progress : INCHING. Cute?

11. Jockey controls : REINS.

12. Isolated : ALONE.

13. Birds that may babble : MYNAS.

16. Stand (one) in good __: be useful to : STEAD.

18. Like a meadow in the morning : DEWY.

22. One taking things back? : REPOMAN.

23. Balderdash : BUNK.

24. Fives and tens, say : CASH. Again?

25. Netflix competitor : HULU.

26. Dutch export : EDAM.

27. Rock's __ Fighters : FOO. Very successful SUCCESSOR to Nirvana.

30. 31-Down environment : POND.

31. Bit of 30-Down life : ALGA.

32. Bit of subterfuge : PLOY.

34. Backyard cookout supply : BUNS. For Splynter I found this LINK.

35. Car wash item : RAG.

36. Leased, with "on" : PAID RENT. No idea what the "on" adds to this.

38. Crime drama sound effect : GUNSHOT. The sound alone can cause...

39. Psychological wounds : TRAUMAS.

40. Pass off (on) : FOIST.

41. Runs out : LAPSES.

42. Baklava dough : FILO.

43. Bulls and bucks : MALES. How cool to have a basketball misdirection just before...

44. Retired NBA center : O'NEAL. There are two that I know of. They were even teammates in Boston, when they were no longer stars, I think. Jermaine on the viewer's left, Shaquille on the right.

45. Like shabby old clothes : RATTY. Schmatta.

49. Mennen lotion : AFTA.

50. "... prologue to the history of __ and foul thoughts": Iago : LUST.
"Lechery, by this hand, an index and obscure prologue to the history of lust and foul thoughts." Act II, Scene 1, Othello by a regular visitor to JW puzzles.

52. Ring legend : ALI.

53. Get-up-and-go : VIM. And vigor.

54. Big night : EVE.

55. TV's "Science Guy" : NYE. My favorite SCENE.

Well it was a JW so it must be Friday; I hope you enjoyed his work and the guided tour.  Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 20 2017 Agnes Davidson & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: My advice to you is to start drinking heavily ...

63A. 1978 misfit comedy ... and something hidden in each answer to a starred clue : ANIMAL HOUSE

And thus we find:

17A. *Felt-covered gaming equipment : CRAPS TABLES. I think this is pretty cool - have you ever tried to play Craps on an unstable table? Usually for-charity fun, but I like the solid lean-on-with-the-elbows tables in Vegas. I usually don't like the eventual outcome.

39A. *What may be moved by a fan : COOL AIR. I had my A/C replaced last month. Now I have cool air, not hot and humid air. Came at a price, but I'm not complaining.

11D. *Dr Pepper Museum locale : WACO, TEXAS Thank you, crosses. TEXAS emerged pretty quickly, WACO took a while due to some half-a**ed attempts at 19A and 22A that were so off the mark I can't even remember what I was thinking.

32D. *Result of a Merlot mishap : WINE STAIN. Fun clue. Cabernet catastrophe? Pinot ... ?

Darn, I wish I thought of this theme. Acrosses, downs, a theme reveal and all sorts of fun in the fill. Agnes (aka Irish Miss) takes the lead role in this collaboration with C.C. I ran through this one counter-clockwise and finally ended up at CON. A circuitous route indeed.

I'm coming off ten days of antibiotics due to some dental scraping and poking and not a glass of wine to be seen, so tonight is my first-thought theme night. I'll go lightly though.

Let's take a tour:

Across:

1. Held in check : AT BAY. Took my check? eBay.

6. Spot for a Fitbit : WRIST. My wrist usually sports a Koa wood and titanium bracelet from Hawaii which was given to me as a birthday gift when I was on Maui. I love it.

11. Practical joker : WAG

14. __ diem : CARPE. I can't see this without remembering Robin Williams in "The Dead Poets' Society".

15. Shade-loving ornamental : HOSTA

16. Polished off : ATE

19. Hoodwink : CON

20. Reality TV host Mike : ROWE. He also narrates "Deadliest Catch". With a great theme song. Mike is a talented dude.

21. Fit to __ : A TEE. Speaking of which, The Open Championship tees off today. Any early picks for the winner? I'm torn.

22. Grey Goose rival : STOLI. Super-minor grump, but "Stoli" is not the name of the vodka, it's an affectionate moniker. If I'm in a bar, I'd be offered "Goose" or "Stoli". Actually, let's elevate this to a minor grump  because I took the clue literally and tried to make "Siroc" work. B-Minus.

24. Coca-Cola Company headquarters : ATLANTA

26. Seuss' shelled reptile : TERTLE Thank you, crosses. Update: YERTLE

27. Daughter of Michelle and Barack : SASHA. First Daughter?

29. "Hard __!": sailor's cry : A-LEE! Shorthand for "We're toast! Put the stern into the wind and hope that we don't take the mast off with a gybe!" Bon Chance.

30. Not as many : FEWER. Quick! Supermarket checkout - Ten Items or ...... which? Less? Fewer?

33. Team on the field : OXEN. My high school soccer team. We were slow.

35. Midterm, e.g. : EXAM

38. NPR's Shapiro : ARI

42. Bio stat : AGE

43. Grammy : NANA. Not a music award? Dang!

45. UPS driver's assignments : RTES. Splynter and my brother know all about these.

46. Match play? : ARSON. Fun clue

48. Nights before : EVES - Christmas, New Year - more fun than the actual holiday

50. Home of Aleppo : SYRIA

52. Where to find wheels and deals : CASINO. Roulette wheels and card dealers. I know a bartender at the Universal City Hilton who was a dealer in Las Vegas. He keeps a deck of cards under the counter. Ask him to deal you a flush, or a pair, or an Ace-King and off he goes. Amazing.

54. Capelike garments : PONCHOS

58. Collar attachment : ID TAG. Pooches, not combatants.

59. Jessica of "Hitchcock" : BIEL

61. ATM output : CASH. Beats the "Insufficent Funds" receipt.

62. Tazo product : TEA. Starbucks, I think? Tea, not Coffee.

66. Nutmeg State collegian : ELI. Yale, in Connecticut. Which I now learn is the "Nutmeg State". Excuse me while I read the fascinating story of this nickname.

67. Big dos : GALAS. Darn! Tried "FETES", wasn't.

68. Ancient Anatolian region : IONIA

69. Rubio's title: Abbr. : SEN.

70. Foe : ENEMY

71. Type in : ENTER

Down:

1. African capital near the prime meridian : ACCRA. 350-odd miles away, close enough:

2. Fortune-teller? : TAROT. I had a set in my younger days. Wrapped the deck in purple silk as per instructions. Smoked some weed. Put Pink Floyd or Genesis on the record deck. Told fortunes. Was wrong. Don't underestimate the experts (equally wrong).

3. Barroom mix-up : BRAWL. Now you're talking. An Irish tradition. Two of my uncles had a minor contretemps at my Dad's wake. Blows were not quite (quite!) struck.

4. Pacify : APPEASE. See above. Two minutes later, all was forgotten.

5. "That's right" : YES!

6. "Too funny!" : WHAT A HOOT!

7. Loungewear item : ROBE. Not me. Hugh Hefner?

8. Man or Manhattan : ISLE. How do you spell "heeeehuuughhhhhhh maybe?" Manhattan Island. Isle of Man. I know they're both "Isles" but ach - let's let this one go.

9. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. If she was a man, she'd be Jean D'Arc and an St. I'm watching the Tour de France at the moment while I'm on the treadmill for inspiration - what a beautiful country.

10. Top of a cornstalk : TASSEL. Had the British TASSLE/TASSEL conflict. Guessed right.

12. Ring-shaped coral reef : ATOLL

13. Garage door opener brand : GENIE. Open, Sesame! And put some lox and cream cheese on that sesame bagel. And some red onions while you're about it. And a slice of tomato. Oh, and some scrambled eggs and chopped scallions on the plate. Can I get some black pepper please? Finally, breakfast is served. Food! Oh - where's my coffee?

18. Puddies, to Tweety : TATS. I tawt ....

23. Family __ : TREE

25. Certain undercover cop : NARC

26. Golfer Tseng who's the youngest player to win five major championships : TANI. Update: YANI. crosses, thank you. Here she is, the immensely-talented golfer:

28. Car bars : AXLES. Fun clue.

30. One of the faithful : FAN. I'm a Chelsea fan, I'm not sure I'm one of a few these days, but back in the 70's there were a hardcore few of us watching a losing team in the rain at the wrong end of the Fulham Road. I think the Dog Track that surrounded the pitch made more money than the professional soccer team. How times change.

31. Reliever's stat : ERA. Hey C.C!

34. "Piece of cake!" : EASY PEASY! Lemon Squeezy!

36. Gone by : AGO

37. Popes and cardinals, but not nuns : MEN

40. Approximately : OR SO

41. Drops from above : RAIN

44. Nike competitor : AVIA

47. Rocky in a Beatles title : RACCOON. OK. A throwaway song? There were plenty, for all the adoration the Beatles attracted.

49. Captivate : ENGAGE

51. Get moving : ROLL

52. Quotes : CITES. I've been writing some academic papers recently. I'm really quite done with citations. I never want to see the APA Publication Guide again in my life. Really.

53. Simpson of fashion : ADELE.

55. Place to hang : HAUNT

56. Actor Davis : OSSIE

57. Shave, as sheep : SHEAR. Complete the first part of this joke:
...
...
Wow, mate, back in NZ we shear our sheep!!
Nah mate, here in Oz we're got plenty for one each!

Badaboom. I'm here all week.

59. Anger : BILE

60. Muslim holy man : IMAM

64. Chicken vindaloo go-with : NAN. Food! Near and dear to my heart, I can't not post a picture:

65. Make tracks, old-style : HIE

Blog? Check.
Grid? Check.
Theme Expo? Check.

Steve? Hasta Proxima Semana! Homework done? Check!

Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

TITLE: Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Bruce and Gail have given us a fun and straightforward Wednesday exercise with five theme fills and no reveal necessary. As the title indicates their five themers were two-word phrases where the first syllable of the first word began with an N and a T for the third letter, In between Bruce and Gail have inserted the vowels in sequential order. Pretty cool!

Theme Answers

17. Innate talent : NATURAL APTITUDE - I'm gonna say Samuel Rashevsky had this when he played and beat these masters at eight-years-old in 1920

22. Broadcaster's transmission to affiliated stations : NETWORK FEED - Fewer and fewer people are taking the NETWORK FEED and are watching over the, uh,  NET

39. Sharp-smelling air pollutant : NITROGEN DIOXIDE - NO2 is a big contributor to this smog over Mexico City

49. Hardly any time at all : NOTHING FLAT - He was there quickly but Arriba means Hooray, so he must have gotten great joy in running. BTW, this is not a slogan for a plastic surgeon.

60. With "The," Tchaikovsky work that ends with "Waltz of the Flowers" : NUTCRACKER SUITE - So that's NUTCRACKER when it is danced in Milan

NAT asked, "Am I a NUT or will this fun puzzle NET NOT one NIT? Here is the balance of this just right Bruce and Gail puzzle.


Across

1. Lower in price : LESS - Are you really shopping for the lowest price for this?

5. Try : TASTE

10. Nutmeg spice : MACE - Different parts of the same seed (not a nut)

14. Actor La Salle : ERIQ

15. Crams, with "up" : BONES

16. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV

20. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK

21. Shuttle flight phase : REENTRY - Phase when the Columbia disaster occurred

25. "My gal" of song : SAL

26. Carpentry joints : MITERS

31. Barbecue accessory : SPIT - Ya couldn't think of a better name? 


35. "I Put a Spell on You" singer Simone : NINA

38. Full range : GAMUT - Bruce and Gail ran the GAMUT of vowels (okay, not Y but...)

42. Writer of tales with talking animals : AESOP 

43. Dental alternatives to pastes : GELS - Even for our 4-legged friends -->

44. Angers : IRES

45. Fireplace inserts : GRATES

47. Springfield presidential library nickname : ABE - Honestly!

56. Legendary Rhine siren : LORELEI - I have cruised on the Rhine but did not hear the Siren Song

59. Cruller coating : GLAZE

63. Physics particle : ATOM

64. French term of endearment : CHERE - Mon CHÈRE, passons à la suite de Casse-Noisette (My dear, let's go to the (same as in Italian above) Suite?

65. List component : ITEM

66. Tiny sound : PEEP

67. County near London : ESSEX - Home to Southend-on-Sea, Colchester and Chipping Ongar


68. Mil. medals : DSCS - 70 years later the country presented the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously to Lt. Donald Schwab of Hooper, NE. His son Dr. Terry Schwab accepted. 






  Down

1. Russian Revolution leader : LENIN - "I'll take Russian Leaders for $2,000, Alex." "The answer is, 'Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was referring to this when he chose Lenin as a pseudonym.'"  "What is the Lena River?" "Correct!"

2. Backspace, perhaps : ERASE

3. Occupy, as a desk : SIT AT - What I could never do when I taught.

4. __ Valley, Calif.: 1960 Winter Olympics site : SQUAW - At this Olympics, Jean Vuarnet became to first person to win gold on metal skis instead of traditional wood

5. Sched. uncertainty : TBA

6. Big name in ISPs : AOL - Didn't everyone in America get at least one of these free disks in the 90's?

7. Wolf (down) : SNARF

8. Conical shelter : TEPEE - I had a geography prof who had women in our class put up a TEPEE as was done by many Native-American cultures as seen in this depiction of Blackfeet. BTW, that wouldn't fly at this house 

9. Regard highly : ESTEEM

10. Damon of "We Bought a Zoo" : MATT

11. Blue sky color, in Calais : AZUR

12. Showman Buffalo Bill : CODY - He built a great house in North Platte, Nebraska called Scout's Rest Ranch

13. Morn's counterpart : EVE

18. Bygone theaters : RKOS - Can you find the RKO symbol on this poster for what is called "America's greatest movie"?

19. Spectrum shade : INDIGO - ROY G BIV

23. Jingled : RANG

24. __ light: filming tool : KLIEG

27. Roll along the runway : TAXI - Returning to the gate after TAXIING is disheartening 

28. Qatari ruler : EMIR

29. Far from polite : RUDE

30. Some Fr. martyrs : STES - Women should be eligible to be priests, cardinals and popes not just STES (Saints)

31. Unexpected obstacle : SNAG

32. Harbor sight : PIER

33. "__ deal!" : IT'S A

34. Run leisurely : TROT

36. Storm direction: Abbr. : NNE - Nor'easter!

37. Dwight's opponent : ADLAI - I loved when ADLAI, as JFK's U.N. Ambassador, told the Russians he was willing to wait "until hell freezes over" for their answer on misses in Cuba.

40. Swiss army knife tool : OPENER - Wait a minute, oh, there it is!

41. Copyright pg. ID : ISBN - The International Standard Book Number for this book by our talented editor Rich Norris is 1402775806

46. Comfort in grief : SOLACE

48. Flan ingredients : EGGS

50. Computer repair experts : TECHS - Remember those guys you made fun of in school? 

51. Backpacking activities : HIKES

52. Transmission lubricant : FLUID


53. Milks, in Marseilles : LAITS - Quatre grandes bouteilles de LAIT (Four large bottles of milk)

54. Tenochtitlán native : AZTEC

55. Abounds (with) : TEEMS

56. Minstrel's instrument : LUTE

57. Plains native : OTOE

58. Law gp. that now only uses horses for ceremonial events : RCMP - RCMP member Dudley Do-Right's horse was named, uh, Horse

60. Go out for a bit? : NAP

61. Ode preposition : ERE

62. "Toy Story" dinosaur : REX

The Grid:

Comment at wall, I mean well, I mean will: