Sunday, September 3, 2017, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: FIRST THINGS FIRST

Don's and C.C.'s wonderful Sunday collaboration was a treat for me to do.  I'd like to think I would have gotten the theme without the title but my mental density is quite high! This great crossword team has used seven phrases/names where the first word is, well, the first word in a familiar sequence. Way cool! Let's explore what Don "Hard G" and C.C. have given us today.

First of all the theme fills.

21. Willie Mays won 12 in 12 consecutive years : GOLD GLOVE AWARDS - Annual award to best fielder at their position in MLB and the Olympic medal awarded to athlete who is FIRST in their event

39. "Mad Men" actress : JANUARY JONES - Mrs. Don Draper and the FIRST month of the year

68. Certain group leader : ALPHA MALE - My idea of an ALPHA MALE and the capital letters of the Greek Alphabet with ALPHA being the FIRST and 13. Fraternity O's : OMICRON(S) being the 15th

94. Early '60s group that included John Glenn : MERCURY SEVEN - The first group of NASA astronauts and the planet that is FIRST in order from the Sun

116. 1990 movie with a muscular teacher : KINDERGARTEN COP - A "meh" Ahnold movie and the FIRST class most kids have in school.

14. "Rip Van Winkle" author : WASHINGTON IRVING - The early 19th century (corrected from earlier mistyped 18th) American author and the man who was the FIRST U.S. president

36. Component of hair bleach : HYDROGEN PEROXIDE - I am familiar with the phrase "Peroxide Blonde" and Hydrogen is the FIRST element in the periodic table

Now let's examine the balance of Don's and C.C.'s fill from the FIRST to the LAST

Across

1. Pocket for falafel : PITA

5. Crossing sign? : PLUS or multiply

9. Some old notebooks : IBMS - Their first notebooks took a pretty substantial lap

13. Came up short : OWED

17. USNA part: Abbr. : ACAD

18. Snuck : CREPT - Wow, September certainly CREPT up on me

19. Eponymous store founder : MACY - We don't shop there but here is the image it engenders to us

20. Gulf State native : OMANI

24. Brake components : DISCS - They are clearly visible on my wheels

25. "More!" : ENCORE

26. Left hanging : IN LIMBO - In the movies and TV they call them Cliff Hangers

27. John Wayne types : MACHOS

28. In the offing : NEAR - Seeing Halloween decorations for sale means the time to see Christmas items on the shelves is NEAR

30. "99 Luftballons" singer : NENA - A song about the insanity of war 

31. Org. created in a 1949 sports merger : NBA - The Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League. The Chicago Studebakers of the NBL broke the pro sports color line with six black players six years before Jackie Robinson broke in in 1949

33. Lyft offer : RIDE - We are huge Uber fans and will never rent a car in a big city again.

34. German exclamation : ACH - ACH Du Lieber! ACH is a German exclamation, Du is "my" and Lieber is "my beloved" Gott (God) is sometimes added as well.

37. Pitt of "The Big Short" : BRAD

42. Glasgow's river : CLYDE - This beautiful bridge is one of twenty-one that cross the River Clyde near Glasgow.

44. Vineyard grape : PINOT

46. Decorative metalwork : PLATING

47. "And there you have it!" : TADA - A satisfying refrain for us crossword solvers

48. "No worries" : IT'S OK

49. Kept out of sight : HID

50. Brewery named for a Dutch river : AMSTEL

53. Stonehenge worshiper : DRUID - What they will be doing eighteen days from now

55. Brahms' "Variations on a __ of Paganini" : THEME - Not on my playlist

57. Putin's former org. : KGB - Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti 

58. Wish Tree artist : ONO - Gee, I wonder why she's famous

59. Canada's most populous province : ONTARIO

61. Pot growth from overwatering : ALGAE - Our yard has mushrooms growing in it during this wet summer

64. Sonata finale, perhaps : RONDO - A more familiar use of RONDO to this cultural philistine 

66. "I __ differ" : BEG TO

70. Hunter with a belt : ORION - The best constellation in the winter sky!

71. Von Trapp girl who sings "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" with Rolf : LIESL - Later in the movie, Rolf has to choose between LIESL and the Fuhrer and we all know how that came out.

72. Eye twinkle : GLEAM

73. Enable : EMPOWER

75. Subject for Keats : URN

76. "__ Kapital" : DAS - Karl Marx's seminal work

78. Capri or Elba, locally : ISOLA - L'ISOLA di Capri è incredibilmente bella (The island of Capri is incredibly beautiful)

80. Jack in the deck : KNAVE

82. Settles, as a debt : REPAYS

84. GI bill? : DOL - A DOLlar is a bill that is Issued by the U.S. Gov't. Hmmm...

86. Stout quantities : PINTS

88. Enter the pool, in a way : DIVE

90. Exotic vacation, maybe : ECOTOUR -Probably no skyscrapers or theme parks on this tour

92. Praline nut : PECAN - Pronunciation? 

93. Ed with Emmys : ASNER - Look up the word "Irascible", it has wonderful Ed's picture

97. Cherry-pick : CULL - Another use - I've seen many teachers who deserved to be CULLED from the profession. Tenure is a two-way street

99. Sound near a "Beware of Dog" sign : GRR

100. Dog attractor : ODOR

101. East, to Goethe : OST - Berlin ist 177 Meilen östlich von Hannover (Berlin is 177 miles EAST of Hanover)

102. Shelter chorus : ARFS - Sights and sounds at these places tug at my heartstrings

104. Kite trailer : TAIL

106. Philly cagers : SIXERS - They are 109 - 301 in the last 5 years.

108. Hotel convenience : BAR SOAP  

111. Heir and heiress : SCIONS

115. Way to step : ASIDE - Tennessee Ernie warned 'em!

118. Like acid in some disinfectants : IODIC - Dictionary.com - "Containing iodine"

119. Fascinated by : INTO

120. Citrus hybrids : UGLIS

121. James of jazz : ETTA

122. Tech gadget review site : CNET - Popular with geeks and non-geeks alike

123. Trade org. : ASSN - A better abbr. than DOL 😁

124. Island in a computer game : MYST

125. Roulette bet : NOIR - Je vais mettre 100 euros sur onze NOIR (I will put 100 euros on eleven black)


Down

1. Printer output : PAGE - I renewed my Substitute Teacher's Certificate online last week and was able to print it out the PAGE home two days later. Oh yeah, they wanted $55 too.

2. Tapped image : ICON

3. It's 1 on the Mohs scale : TALC - It's been in the news quite a bit lately

4. Accessory : ADD ON - Does your car really need $5,000 rims?

5. Expert : PRO

6. Big name in denim : LEVI - A Reno, NV tailor Jacob Davis invented canvas pants reenforced with copper rivets but LEVI Strauss got the patent and made millions

7. Home to the first collegiate business sch. : U PENN - Also the home of the Quakers in Ivy League Athletics

8. Groan elicitor : STALE JOKE

9. 1967 Spencer Davis Group hit : I'M A MAN

10. Stinging rebuke : BARB


11. Pioneering fast food name : MCDONALD - Dick and Mac MCDONALD went to a tennis court in San Bernardino, CA and drew an outline to develop their "speedy service" model. Ray Kroc then came in and took it world-wide whether the brothers liked it or not

12. Part of TBS: Abbr. : SYS

15. Protect from hackers, hopefully : ENCODE

16. Insults : DISSES 

18. Golf-friendly forecast : CLEAR - Our eclipse forecast left in some wispy clouds but the event still qualified for that most overused of adjectives - AWESOME!

20. __ Mae: Whoopi's "Ghost" role : ODA

22. Diving bird : GREBE

23. Succeed in : WIN AT

27. Whirlpool brand : MAYTAG - These MAYTAG, Whirlpool and Kenmore washers are all made in the same factory in Clyde, Ohio

29. Totally absorbed : RAPT

32. Push-up top : BRA

34. Take the stage : ACT

35. Garbed : CLAD

38. Purify, as whiskey : DISTILL - This famous DISTILLERY is in "dry" Moore county and so you can tour the facility but you can't buy any of their whiskey there.

40. Reuters rival : UPI

41. Fullback on the NFL's 1960s 
All-Decade Team : JIM BROWN - He was like a man among boys

43. Unnerves : DAUNTS

45. Pessimist's words : NO HOPE - Only Faith and Charity showed up and so there was...

48. Wyo. neighbor : IDA - I am not repeating that joke about why no girl wants to be Miss IDAHO

49. Captain's post : HELM

51. Inner: Pref. : ENDO

52. Minnesota's state bird : LOON - Fabulous Katharine Hepburn as Ethel Thayer conversing with the LOONS in On Golden Pond

54. "See?!" : I TOLD YOU - "We should never have tried to drive through that water over the road!"

56. Polite addresses : MAAMS - It took my daughter a while to adjust to being called this when she started teaching

57. Stay fresh : KEEP

60. Cleaning cloths : RAGS

62. Language that gave us "galore" : GAELIC

63. Annual fact book : ALMANAC 

65. Daphnis and Echo, e.g. : OREADS - Ancient Greek nymphs who seemed to have everything in the wash

66. Fuzzy image : BLUR

67. Its legislature is the Oireachtas : EIRE - Irish legislature

69. Hard rain? : HAIL

74. Signs off on : OK'S

77. Colt .45s, since 1965 : ASTROS

79. Venue for free discussion : OPEN FORUM - Many of these venues today seem to be confrontational 

81. Constantly : EVER

83. Sanction, as a college : ACCREDIT

84. London trash cans : DUSTBINS

85. Prospector's target : ORE

87. Letter-shaped bolt holder : T-NUT

89. __ on the side of caution : ERR

91. Cries of dismay : OYS

92. As such : PER SE - In and of itself. Many people in Texas are not first responders PER SE, but they are acting like ones when necessary.

93. Tea party attendee : ALICE

94. Inlaid design : MOSAIC

95. Rival of Tesla : EDISON - Tesla once worked for EDISON but quit when he felt he was cheated

96. __ Trophy: annual PGA honor for lowest scoring average : VARDON - In this lovely movie, 20-year-old Francis Ouimet defeated golf legend Harry Vardon in the 1900 U.S. Open. For some reasons the actors' names are over the wrong character.

98. Doesn't fade : LASTS

103. Yielding to gravity : SAGGY

105. Tablecloth material : LINEN

107. DVR button : REC

109. Farm swarm : ANTS - Our classroom had an ANT FARM when I was in sixth grade

110. Besties : PALS

112. Numerical prefix : OCTO - I am nine years away from becoming an OCTOgenarian

113. "Moi?" : NOT  I - But everyone wanted to eat the bread

114. Go toe-to-toe : SPAR 

116. Korean carmaker : KIA












117. Slowing, to an orch. : RIT - Look carefully and you will find it here:

The grid:

 LAST things LAST - Time for comments:

Saturday, Sep 2nd, 2017, David C. Duncan Dekker

Theme: DCDD

Words: 72 (pangram~!)

Blocks: 29

This is number four for DCDD - and I didn't even look at the constructor's name at first; when I did I remembered that three of those Saturday puzzles have been pangrams, so I expected the same today - and that helped tremendously in the NW, because I was blank up there to start.  Today we had one of those grids where one word could keep you from getting into the individual corners without something to work with - and I got slowed down by SMOTHERS and SPHERES, which was why my NW was empty - until I figured the "Q" had to be in there somewhere.  Ah, logic.  Caved into red-letters early - hey, I'm on vacation; I'm not working on the puzzle, either....Anyway, chunky 8x7 and 6x7 corners made up the long answers;

1. Most massive of all known elementary particles : TOP QUARK - I'd really like to learn more about elementary particles and quantum theory; a quark is a sub-particle that makes up hadrons, which then make up protons and neutrons.  A top quark is as massive as an atom of tungsten; how then can it be in the nucleus~?  The more I delve into the subject, the more my brain hurts

14. Unsteady : REELING - reminds me of Steely Dan's song

Reelin' in the Years - check out who the show host is~!

39. Fidget __ : SPINNER - they're everywhere now; the Wiki

59. Oscillating curve : SINE WAVE

Sign Wave - get it~?

PuNWARD~!

ACROSS:

9. Storage spot : CELLAR

15. Place frequented by John Jasper in Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" : OPIUM DEN

16. Bird of baseball : ORIOLE - not a player's name, but a team's

17. Aptly named heavy-footed bird : MEGAPODE - the Wiki

18. Wow : DAZZLE

19. High school gp. : JRs - ah, not PTA

20. Areas of interest : SPHERES - the three consonants S,P,H slowed me down

22. Night sch. staple : ESL

23. Twelve __: neighbor of Tara : OAKS - I knew what Tara was, but did not know the Wilkes lived next door at this plantation in Gone with the Wind

25. Pre-fax communication : TELEX

26. One who isn't a pro : ANTI

27. Repeated phrase in Ecclesiastes : A TIME - ah; did not know this was a Biblical reference - I know it from Turn Turn Turn, the 60's song from The Byrds

29. Nile reptile : ASP - rhymes

30. Body part : ORGAN

31. Stood for : DENOTED

33. 2000s "SNL" alum : SAM BERG - no clue, all perps

35. Eastern way : TAO

36. Game console with a Mini version : Wii

37. Where many have gone on vacation : FISHING - I put in NO WHERE, since I am on vacation and this time I am not going down to see Mike in Delaware

41. __ zoo : PETTING

45. Get going : IMPEL

46. Pickup hr. : ETA - had me baffled for a long time - good way to clue this answer on a Saturday

48. Mexican title : SEÑOR

49. Animal house : LAIR

50. Polynesian people : MAORI

52. Value : RATE

53. Take responsibility for : OWN - clecho with; 6d. Take responsibility for : ADOPT

54. California city mentioned after Kingman in the song "Route 66" : BARSTOW

56. "Yo!" : "HEY~!"

57. Aficionados' creations that may infringe on copyrights, for short : FANFIC - I had everything but the second "F", and I knew it had to be "F" by the crossing, but this answer just made me cringe; Wiki


61. Cactus spine source : AREOLE - our classic image is no longer available, so here's the scientific version of the cactus variety

I did, however, find this; all I can say is "OUCH~!"
 

62. Takes advantage of : UTILIZES

63. Persian king : XERXES

64. Hiker's shelter : PACK TENT

DOWN:

1. Steinbeck protagonist : TOM JOAD - could not recall this name from The Grapes of Wrath

2. Run : OPERATE - my PTA kept this from appearing

3. Game item made of cow leather, actually : PIGSKIN - funny

4. In the capacity of : QUA - I know this from the Latin "sine qua non", but did not realize it was an English word, straight up

5. Ballpark figures : UMPS - dah~! Not ESTS., which I know would have been clued "figs."

7. Lucille Ball, e.g. : REDHEAD

8. Gets down, in a way : KNEELS

9. Scrolls successor : CODEX - Wiki learning moment for me

10. Prominent periods : ERAS

11. Tina's "30 Rock" role : LIZ - never watched it

12. Cough syrup alternative : LOZENGE

13. Home Run Derby competitor : ALL*STAR

21. Counts while working out : REPS

24. Overwhelm : SMOTHER

26. Decision maker : ARBITER

28. Online biz : eTAIL

30. Skips : OMITS

32. Extended period : EON

34. Amaze : AWE

37. U.K.-based personal organizer brand : FILOFAX - no hyphens as I had thought there might be

38. "That comes as no surprise" : "I'M AWARE" - I'm aware that the puzzle beat me up this week

40. First or second, say : GEAR - I prefer Top Gear

41. Bach work : PARTITA

J. S. Bach: Partita in d minor, 4. (Itzhak Perlman)

42. Confused : IN A HAZE

43. "Nice try!" :"NOT EVEN~!" - think sarcastic

44. Most dreary, in Dublin : GREYEST

47. Anybody's guess : TOSS UP

50. Medieval clubs : MACES

51. Like the Jefferson Memorial's columns : IONIC - good way to clue this answer for a Saturday

54. Nastiness : BILE

55. Old TV host with an accordion : WELK

58. Kit maker : FOX -  the word for fox young is "kit"; I thought it was the group name, but that turns out to be skulk, leash or earth - huh. 

60. Quick thinking : WIT - I can think, but not quick enough to be "witty"

Splynter

Friday, September 1, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: B and O, Reading, Pennsylvania and Short Line. LINK. White rabbit, white rabbit.

In this edition of  'Jeffrey stumps the crowd', we have the double letter RR added to known phrases - that simple. Of course rooting out that SOY SAUCE, BUS TICKETS, BAY LEAVES and SQUARE FEET might have a common denominator is where the thought comes in. The reference to Aaron Burr opened the door for me. Unlike many JW creations, we have a reveal - not completely helpful - but it is Friday. 55 theme spaces leaves some room and we get AERATES, ALIGHTS (not yesterday's ALIT?) , NEAREST, YOGA MAT, BARBARIAN and SETS A TASK. The theme:

17A. Really bad béchamel? : SORRY SAUCE (10). Béchamel (a white sauce) and soy sauce could not be any further apart, but I guess if you burn Béchamel it might look like soy sauce.

20A. Unpaid stack for scofflaw Aaron? : BURR'S TICKETS (12). I find Burr to be a very interesting character, especially as portrayed in Gore Vidal's NOVEL.

35A. What happens at the end of a Manilow concert? : BARRY LEAVES (11). This was the hardest because while I got the Barry part - which made me secure in my thinking the RR connection - the concept was too simple for my aging brain.

51A. Furry creature that isn't cool? : SQUARE FERRET (12).  I cannot find any reasonable link for this mental picture.

and the reveal:

56A. Convicted hastily and unfairly ... or, in a way, like the four other longest puzzle answers? : RAILROADED (10). Like the confusing semi-detached house....

On with the show.

Across:

1. Branch : LIMB. First thought was military - I don't know why.

5. Advisory group : BOARD.

10. Big name in luxury retailing : SAKS. Not so big anymore.

14. About 30% of Earth's land area : ASIA. I did not know this.

15. More fitting : APTER.

16. Thing with rings : TREE. Somewhat obscure but witty.

19. Letters facilitating sorting : ATTN.

22. Something to stretch out on : YOGA MAT. This was hard suss.

25. Comedian dubbed "Mr. Television" : BERLE. So easy for those of us over 65.

26. Mitchell protagonist : O'HARA. Frankly Jeffrey, when it comes to Scarlett, I don't give a damn.

27. Bone holders : PAWS. Cute.

30. With 61-Across, "Yer darn tootin'!" : YES. 61A. See 30-Across : SIREE.

31. Seaweed for sushi : NORI.

32. Puts down : ALIGHTS.

38. Most closely related : NEAREST.

39. Educational period : TERM.

42. Letters with Arizona or Maine : USS.

45. Made tracks : FLED.

46. One of composer John Williams' five : OSCAR.

47. Harlem Renaissance writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Thank you high school English for having my sons read her work.

49. Does some lawn maintenance : AERATES. I hate it when I get to the first green...

55. Bee in Mayberry, e.g. : AUNT. Draw your own conclusions.

Internet hoax; the pin-up is Gloria DeHaven. Thanks to Fact Checker.

But we have this: 

I do not fact check images, especially those which have multiple references....I guess I will now.

60. It requires some effort : FEAT.

62. Confucius, by reputation : SAGE. Parsley only to his close friends.

63. See 29-Down : ELSE.  29D. With 63-Across, "Is there more?" : WHAT.

64. Fashionista's concern : TREND.

65. __-how : KNOW.

Down:

1. __ Cruces : LAS. We have been here before.

2. Prefix with metric : ISOmetric.

3. Defunct space station : MIR. Interesting LINK.

4. Conan, for one : BARBARIAN. Arnold...

5. Iraqi port : BASRA. Did you KNOW.

6. Dazzling style : OP ART.

7. Vince Gill's "Look __" : AT US.

8. Certain quadrilateral: Abbr. : RECTangle.

9. Half of sechs : DREI. Six/three - German.

10. Simple sign holder : STAKE. Another witty/tricky.

11. Major thoroughfare : ARTERY. The  traffic arteries...

12. Mother's whistler? : KETTLE. Who else but JW gives us a Whistler's Mother clue.

13. Familiar fivesome : SENSES.

18. City about 150 miles east of San Diego : YUMA. 171 miles.

21. "NCIS" airer : CBS TV.

22. It's other than hither : YON.

23. "So that's your game!" : OHO.

24. Apparel : GARB.

27. Accumulated, with "up" : PILED.

28. Many years : AGES.

32. Decimated sea : ARAL.

33. Erato's instrument : LYRE.

34. Assigns work (for), as students : SETS A TASK. So teachers, what do you think.

36. Cite, with "to" : REFER.

37. Religious subgroup : SECT.

40. "Norma __" : RAE.

41. Union title? : MRS. Funny three letter clue/fill.

42. Risky : UNSAFE.

43. "The Bourne Supremacy," e.g. : SEQUEL.

44. Hot spots : SAUNAS.

46. Dunked snack : OREO. Dunkin' Donuts? No, Starbucks.

48. Barista's offering : LATTE.

49. "Over the Rainbow" composer : ARLEN. The whole HISTORY.

50. Misspoke, say : ERRED. ? EED? Misspoke again.

52. While lead-in : ERSTwhile.

53. Cloudless : FAIR.

54. The Auld Sod : EIRE. Ireland.

57. "SNL" castmate of Gilda and Chevy : DAN. Ackroyd.

58. Swellhead's problem : EGO.

59. Wet blanket : DEW. A strong finish, as the dawn shows us the cover on the morning.

I had a bunch of fun - a bushel and a peck! There are so many devious but gettable clue/fill combinations, it was like looking for Easter eggs. Thank you JW, and each and everyone of you. Lemonade out.