Wednesday, September, 20, 2017, Roger and Kathy Wienberg

TITLE: If I had a dime for every time I got distracted, I wish I had a puppy!

Roger and Kathy have given us assembled masses a lovely entry in the Wednesday sweepstakes. Their puzzle celebrates SCATTERBRAINS among us and who better to represent this stereotype than this lovable character who was a truly savvy business person but played her wacky alter ego to perfection.

How the Wienberg's physically did this is shown below as B  R  A  I  N is scattered among the long entries in the grid. I include the grid in the event your medium did not carry the circles.

The reveal shows the gimmick clearly:

53. Forgetful person literally indicated by this puzzle's circles : SCATTER BRAIN

Theme Entries:

19. Bulb that's more sweet than pungent : BERMUDA ONION - What a great home for one!

31. Basic two-element computation : BINARY OPERATION This $1.50 calculator has the four basic BINARY OPERATION keys neatly nested on the right. Those of us that had to use a slide rule rue the fact we never had one of these.

39. Concern for a marketing department : PUBLIC RELATIONS - Their job:

Now for the balance of Roger and Kathy's very focused humpday offering:

Across

1. Helps illegally : ABETS

6. "London Fields" writer Martin : AMIS - Friends in Paris too easy for Wednesday?

10. Serengeti grazer : GNU

13. French name meaning "born again" : RENEE

14. Goal-oriented suburban parent? : SOCCER MOM - Jennifer Lawrence's life before movies intervened

17. Mexican pyramid builder : AZTEC - I have difficulty even pronouncing Tenochtitlan

18. Late with one's payments : IN ARREARS

21. Scheming : SLY

22. Quarterback Dawson : LEN

23. Renewable fuel made from organic matter : BIOGAS - Collecting BIOGAS from a well drilled into a landfill

27. Crow's cry : CAW

28. Building guideline : SPEC

30. Tokyo, long ago : EDO

36. "Want the light __ not?" : ON OR

37. "Golly!" : GEE

38. Good-sized backyard : ACRE - One ACRE lots in Clinton, Utah

44. One of the Galápagos, e.g.: Abbr. : ISL. - Where Darwin changed the world

45. Fed a line to : CUED - ...or not to be! ...or not to be!

46. Cartoon frame : CEL

47. Balance precariously : TEETER

49. Justice Dept. division : DEA


50. Car stat with city and hwy. components : MPG - 8 MPG for a 1959 Caddy was no big deal with $.25/gal gas

57. Fundraising portmanteau : WALK-A-THON - I got swamped with requests at school

60. "You Don't Join Us, We Join You" insurance company : AETNA

61. "Monday Night Football" airer before ESPN : ABC SPORTS - When football morphed into show biz

62. Lingering looks : GAZES

63. Deleted, with "out" : XED - MLK advisor Wyatt King advised him to X OUT the "Dream" part of speech since it was so trite and cliche

64. Scheme : RUSE

65. Wade noisily : SLOSH


Down

1. Many Mideast natives : ARABS

2. Chisel's cutting edge : BEZEL

3. Contest submission : ENTRY

4. Abound (with) : TEEM - These signs are a hot property these days

5. Not connected to the church : SECULAR

6. From Thailand, say : ASIAN

7. Like old records : MONO

8. "__ See for Miles": The Who : I CAN 

9. Metal-marking tool : SCRIBER

10. "Today" rival, familiarly : GMA

11. Fish-fowl link : NOR

12. Hesitation sounds : UMS - Don't use it here!

15. Beethoven's Third : EROICA - Italian for hero

16. Nevada city near Tahoe : RENO - Lots of wedding rings got thrown in the Truckee River there 

20. Like morning grass : DEWY

24. Company with "save you 15%" ads : GEICO

25. Beautify : ADORN

26. Loudness units : SONES

27. Astronomer Sagan : CARL

28. Ignore the limit : SPEED 

29. Spa treatment : PEEL - Sounds painful

31. Hasbro game requiring quick reflexes : BOP IT
'

32. Unavailable : IN USE - Talk about yer IN USE!

33. Duke or duchess : NOBLE - Royal blood doesn't cut much for me

34. Fairy tale brute : OGRE

35. Elongated comet part : TAIL  - An astronomy prof once told me that the tail of a comet is as close to being nothing and still being something as there is

40. Arctic covering : ICE CAP

41. Museum manager : CURATOR

42. Big name in PCs : ACER 

43. Lipton pouches : TEA BAGS - Some on this site would never consider one of these methods

48. Disdainful clicks : TSKS

49. Like thick fog : DENSE

50. Passover cracker : MATZO

51. Needle bearers : PINES - Pine Wilt has killed millions of trees around here

52. Grind, as teeth : GNASH -The phrase "(there shall be) weeping and gnashing of teeth" (in the original Greek ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων) appears seven times in the New Testament as a description of the torments of the damned in Hell.

54. Drive-__ window : THRU

55. Youngsters : TOTS

56. Legitimate : REAL

57. Car wash extra : WAX

58. Prez in a stovepipe hat : ABE - Abe's stovepipe hat he wore to Ford's Theater on April, 14, 1865 with the black mourning ban for his dead son Willie. This hat was not put on display until 1893 at the Smithsonian 

59. Type of TV display : LCD

SCATTERBRAINS and regular ones are now welcome to opine:

Tuesday, September 19 2017, Matthew Sewell

Theme: Fun Fourplay Featuring F. Each theme answer contains four f's.

17. Extemporaneous, as a speech : OFF THE CUFF

27. Appointed White House overseer : CHIEF OF STAFF. This office was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and is responsible for a variety of critical functions in support of the president's work and agenda. From Wikipedia: Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, loosely describes the role of a White House chief of staff through his interview with former President Barack Obama: "During the last days of his presidency, Barack Obama observed: 'One of the things I've learned is that the big breakthroughs are typically the result of a lot of grunt work—just a whole lot of blocking and tackling.' Grunt work is what chiefs of staff do."

49. Laundry service option : FLUFF AND FOLD

64. Beanstalk giant's chant : FEE FI FO FUM

40. Not suitable for military service ... or an apt description of 17-, 27-, 49- and 64-Across : FOUR F 

 Across:     

1. "More or less" suffix : ISH

4. Rose and fell on the waves : BOBBED

10. Tax pros : CPA'S. Certified Public Accountant's.

14. Cohort of Larry and Curly : MOE

15. Not widely understood : ARCANE

16. Boffo review : RAVE. Wasn't sure if Boffo was good or bad, had to wait for the V to fill in. "Boffo: (of a theatrical production or movie, or a review of one) very successful or wholeheartedly commendatory.

19. Theater honor : OBIE

20. "Firework" singer Perry : KATY

21. Near-perfect bridge feat : SMALL SLAM. Cards. Not being a bridge player this was lost on me.

23. Amigo : PAL

26. Liam of "Michael Collins" : NEESON

32. __ Vegas : LAS

33. Peaceful : CALM

34. Dalai Lama's homeland : TIBET. Richard Gere reveals how suporting Tibet turned his career.

38. Planets, in poems : ORBS

43. Thick book : TOME

44. Salami type : GENOA

46. Nevada senator Harry : REID

48. Red wine choice, for short : ZIN

53. '60s dance craze : WATUSI

55. Opus __: "The Da Vinci Code" sect : DEI

56. DJ known for playing novelty tunes : DR DEMENTO

59. Surrealist Salvador : DALI. Scene from Midnight in Paris, with Adrian Brody as Salvador Dali. 

63. Geological age : AEON

67. Unclothed : BARE

68. Like bears : URSINE

69. Alias, on police blotters : AKA

70. List of appts. : SKED. Shortened version of the word "schedule."

71. English writer Edward Bulwer-__ : LYTTON. New to me. A bit obscure for a Tuesday. Born in 1858.

72. "Oedipus __" : REX
 

Down:

1. "Didn't hurt a bit!" : I'M OK

2. Living room seat : SOFA

3. Lift with effort : HEFT

4. Scoff from Scrooge : BAH

5. Calif. neighbor : ORE

6. Covertly sends an email dupe to : BCC'S. Blind Carbon Copy.

7. "The Wizard of Oz" author : BAUM

8. __ terrible: difficult child, in French : ENFANT

9. Rid of parasites, as a dog : DE-FLEA

10. Multi-discipline strength-training program : CROSSFIT. So popular.

11. Painter Picasso : PABLO. More Midnight in Paris.

12. Like many nest-builders : AVIAN

13. Look (like) : SEEM

18. Tap out a text, say : TYPE

22. Departed : LEFT

24. N.Y. Jets' org. : AFC

25. Bread shape : LOAF. Never thought of loaf as a shape, but it makes sense.

27. Bathtub blockage : CLOG

28. Cocksure Aesopian racer : HARE. Like this clue.

29. Library ID : ISBN

30. Mel's Diner waitress : FLO

 
31. Blue toon : SMURF

35. Memorable clown : BOZO

36. Disney's "__ and the Detectives" : EMIL

37. See to : TEND

39. Began to melt : SOFTENED

41. Stephen of "Michael Collins" : REA

42. Locate : FIND

45. Grad : ALUM

47. Pres. before JFK : DDE

50. Beneficial : USEFUL

51. Fancy duds : FINERY. "All the lovely ladies in their finery tonight ..."

"... to every man who answers to the letter of the law, and all the rest in prison by mistake ..."

52. Pal of Rover : FIDO

53. Perpetrate, as havoc : WREAK

54. Love to pieces : ADORE

56. Pats gently : DABS

57. Exam : TEST

58. "Think nothing __" : OF IT

60. Many miles off : AFAR

61. "Use the Force, __" : LUKE

62. Big-screen format : IMAX

65. Masculine Italian suffix with bamb- : INO

66. Marshland : FEN

Note from C.C.:

Melissa's beautiful granddaughter Jaelyn turned one-year-old on August 18, 2017. Here are a few pictures.

Monday, September 18, 2017 ~ Brock Wilson

Theme: Double, Double - but not Toil and Trouble. Two-word phrases; each word starts with the same two letters.

20A. Earnings before the government's cut: PRETAX PROFITS

38A. Words on a "No Trespassing" sign: PRIVATE PROPERTY

54A. Invention that revolutionized book production: PRINTING PRESS

53D. Ad agency guys responsible for 20-, 38- and 54-Across?: PR MEN. Men, because there are two PR's per entry.

Argyle here. Nice spanner. Didn't really need a reveal but it's a cute reveal so ok. Brock has become quite the Monday specialist.

Across:

1. British bloke: CHAP

5. Title for a fictional fox: BR'ER

9. Pancake syrup tree: MAPLE

14. Prefix for "six": HEXA

15. Coleridge's "The __ of the Ancient Mariner": RIME

16. Partners of pains: ACHEs

17. Many Manet works: OILS

18. Like a grand-scale fail: EPIC

19. __ Islander: small-state resident: RHODE

23. End in __: come out even: A TIE

24. French street: RUE, as in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The Rue Morgue is a fictional street in Paris.

25. Cops' orgs.: PDs. Police Departments

28. Fave pal, in 67-Across: BFF. (Best Friends Forever). 67-Across. Cellphone messages: TEXTS

31. German pastry: STRUDEL. Braided Apple Walnut Strudel

33. Question as to technique: HOW

34. New Haven collegian: YALIE

36. Cribbage piece: PEG

37. Gossip columnist Barrett: RONA

42. Rockers' sound machines: AMPs

43. Speck in la mer: ÎLE

44. Coloring cosmetic: ROUGE

45. Chessmen and board, e.g.: SET

46. Squeaky clean, as hospital supplies: STERILE

49. Alternative to grass seed: SOD

50. "No seats" initials: SRO. (Standing-room only)

51. Big __: trademark burger: MAC

52. Gunk: GOOP

60. First appearance: DEBUT

62. Promises at the altar: I DO's

63. __ Hari: MATA

64. Smidge: SKOSH

65. "Me neither": "NOR I"

66. Getting people out of harm's way, for short: EVAC. (Evacuation) Who's next?

68. Secluded valley: GLEN

69. __ of the woods: NECK. Area.

Down:

1. Lamb serving: CHOP

2. Will beneficiary: HEIR

3. Rod on which wheels turn: AXLE

4. Rotini or rigatoni: PASTA

5. Secession approved in a 2016 U.K. referendum: BREXIT. (portmanteau of "British" and "exit")

6. Jack the __: RIPPER

7. Arab leader: EMIR

8. Piccolo relative: RECORDER. Grace Slick on the recorder, gives the song a haunted sound.

9. Actress Hemingway: MARIEL. Don't look to close.

10. German eight: ACHT. More German.

11. Element in matches: PHOSPHORUS. Wiki article White phosphorus hasn't been used for regular matches for some time but you can still get "strike-anywhere" matches.

12. Conducted: LED

13. Language suffix: ESE

21. On the Caribbean: AT SEA

22. En __: on a hot streak, slangily: FUEGO. Spanish, 'on fire'. (Don't play with matches!)

26. "Stick around": "DON'T GO"

27. Influenced: SWAYED

28. Road that avoids the city center: BYPASS

29. Crop raiser: FARMER

30. Container with an attached cover: FLIPTOP BOX

32. Michigan's __ Peninsula: UPPER

35. Drips in a hosp.: IVs

37. Classic roadster: REO. Ransom Eli Olds

39. Giant: TITAN

40. Putting in office: ELECTING

41. Surg. holding area: PRE-OP

46. Workers with anvils: SMITHS.

Under a spreading chestnut-tree

The village smithy stands ...

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought.

47. Pay no mind: IGNORE

48. Begins a computer session: LOGS IN

55. Oxidation damage: RUST

56. Beloved star: IDOL

57. Roof gutter locale: EAVE

58. Like short, clipped notes, in mus.: STAC. (staccato)

59. Burlap container: SACK

60. Va. summer hours: DST. [Eastern](Daylight Saving Time)

61. __ out a living: EKE. Eek! Time to put this to bed.

Argyle

Sunday September 17, 2017 Kurt Krauss

 Theme:  "Brrr!" - "Cold" can precede the first word in each theme entry.

23A. *Filled pastry : CREAM PUFF. Cold cream.

29A. *Protective sports gear : SHOULDER PADS. Cold shoulder.

41A. *Prop in an iconic "Psycho" scene : SHOWER CURTAIN. Cold shower.

66A. *Ragtime dance : TURKEY TROT. Cold turkey.

68A. *Flower named for a legendary beast : SNAPDRAGON. Cold snap.

89A. *Contents of an abandoned one may be sold at auction : STORAGE LOCKER. Cold storage. 

104A. *What will fix misteaks? : SPELL CHECKER. Cold spell.
 
15D. *2017 Broadway musical based on the rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein : WARPAINT. Cold war.  Two of the Down 8's intersect two other Across entries. Those stacks of 8s in the upper and lower left are tough to pull off.

81D. *Lawyer's backlog : CASELOAD. Cold case.

Reveal:

111. It ushers in lower temperatures ... and what the answers to starred clues can have : COLD FRONT

Rich normally keeps this type of words-that-can-precede/follow for weekdays, unless the reveal entry really catches his interest.

This theme works the best when the key word change meanings. In this set, SHOWER, STORAGE and CASE remain the same.

Across:

1. Grand-scale poetry : EPOS. Also 38. Pope output : POEM. Alexander Pope.

5. Corrosive stuff : ACID. Also 6. Corrosive substances : CAUSTICS
 
9. Mariner org. : NASA. Unaware of the Mariner program.

13. Like an eddy : ASWIRL

19. An 80-footer is a long one : PUTT.  I made a long one when I played my very first round. So excited.

20. Square to look through : PANE

21. Got on in years : AGED

22. Old propeller site : BEANIE. Never heard of propeller beanie.

25. Commend : CITE

26. "And God Created Woman" (1956) star : BARDOT

27. Done, for Donne : O'ER

28. Afterthought preceder : ALSO. BunnyM, I also love your posts. Always thoughtful and caring.

31. Had a sample : TRIED IT

33. Wickiup, e.g. : HUT. Wickiup is new to me. Primitive hut.

34. Name of 12 popes : PIUS. Also 57. Four Holy Roman emperors : OTTOs. Ours is a quiet saint.
  
35. Most common draw in Scrabble : AN E. Odd to have an article in front.

36. Hanukkah toy : DREIDEL
 
39. Intolerant type : BIGOT

45. Janvier, across the Pyrenees : ENERO

46. Old TV knob : HOR

47. Gather in bundles : SHEAVE

48. Quick-getaway auditorium seat site : LAST ROW

50. Bygone : OLDEN

53. Actor Cage, in tabloids : NIC

54. CBS golf analyst Baker-Finch : IAN. He's from Australia.

55. Recited confidently : REELED OFF

60. Earthquake prefix : SEISMO. Hi there Jayce! Why can't you have venison burgers?

62. Wise guy : SAGE

70. __ facto : IPSO

71. Military camps : ETAPES

73. Farthest from the action, as arena seats : NOSEBLEED

74. Hogwash : ROT

75. Photog's item : NEG

77. Henri's health : SANTE. "A votre sante!"

78. Dentist's find : ABSCESS. Got via crosses.

83. Fusion, for one : ECO-CAR

87. Rap music article : THA

88. Westernmost African capital : DAKAR. Senegal's capital. Have any of you tried West African-style peanut butter chicken?

93. Ukrainian port, to locals : ODESA

94. Bowser's brand : IAMS

96. Flash : INSTANT

97. Astound : AWE. Inanehiker (Nina) on our blog is a doctor, who quieted my unease with her read of my recent blood test.

98. Hammett hound : ASTA

99. Soaked : WET

100. DNA component : ADENINE

107. Cry to Silver : HI YO

108. Crime boss : DON

109. Commotion : UPROAR

110. Comparable : AKIN

113. Split : CLEAVE

114. Dispatch : SEND. Average person checks his/her email 15 times a day.

115. Bailiwick : AREA

116. Ray, for one : ALer. Gluey fill. Tampa Bay Rays.

117. Hopper and Gabler : HEDDAS. Gluey fill.

118. Nervous : EDGY

119. Not : NARY

120. Italian noble family : ESTE

Down:
 
1. Spaceship Earth site : EPCOT

2. More refined : PURER

3. Ferrell's "SNL" cheerleading partner : OTERI

4. Penn, e.g.: Abbr. : STA

5. User : APPLIER. Odd *ER word.

7. Dope : INFO

8. Hi-__ : DEF

9. Morgen's opposite : NACHT. Night.

10. Currency exchange fee : AGIO. Learned from doing crossword.

11. Attack : SET UPON

12. Ross Sea penguin : ADELIE. Happy feet.

13. French clerics : ABBES

14. Scorch : SEAR

16. At risk : IN DANGER

17. Former Spanish Sahara territory that is neither a river nor has any gold : RIO DE ORO. Helpful clue. Like our grape nuts.

18. Tennis calls : LETS

24. Sierra __ : MADRE. Not LEONE.


29. Ottoman bigwig : SULTAN

30. Doo-wop syllable : DUM. No idea.

32. Uncle of Prince Wm. : EDW. Both Wm and EDW look odd.

33. "Take it" : HERE

37. "Well, that's obvious" : DUH

38. Game equipment : PIECES. We saw a Kirby Puckett game-used jersey at a store for $10K. Crazy.

39. Wanna-__: poseurs : BEs

40. Pull : TOW

41. Hip sound? : SHORT I. The i in Hip.

42. Stay out of sight : HOLE UP

43. Waiters take them : ORDERS

44. "We Try Harder" company : AVIS. Which is your favorite rental car company? We're going back to Payless. Bad experience with Dollar.

48. Reading lights : LAMPS

49. Battery pole : ANODE

51. Nevada city on I-80 : ELKO

52. Born : NEE

54. Golfer Aoki : ISAO. He should come to 3M. Both Jack Nicklaus & Gary Player were here this year.

56. Salon specialists : DYERS

58. Campus house, maybe : FRAT

59. Clotheshorse : FOP

61. Quaint lodging : INN

62. Casa room : SALA

63. Tommy Lee Jones' "Men in Black" role : AGENT K

64. "Faust" author : GOETHE

65. Win the love of : ENDEAR

67. Beliefs : TENETS

69. NFL ball carriers : RBs. Running backs.

72. Spanish wine descriptor : SECO. Dry.

76. More unpleasant, as details : GORIER

78. Stink : ADO

79. Troublemaker : BAD APPLE. Great fill.

80. Like kebabs : SKEWERED. Xi'an style. Lots of red pepper.

82. Stat for Aroldis Chapman : ERA. Rich is a Yankee fan. Patti is a Met fan.

84. Tilt : CANT

85. Govt. prosecutors : AGs. Attorney Generals.

86. Mall tenant : RETAILER

89. Walloped : SMACKED

90. Singer Billie Holiday's nickname : LADY DAY. Unknown to me.

91. __ a kind : ONE OF

92. Moving supply: Abbr. : CTN (Carton)

94. Book end? : ISH. Bookish.

95. Military command : AT EASE

98. Plot makeup : ACRES

99. Playwright Wasserstein : WENDY. Also new to me.

101. Stars watched by many : IDOLS

102. Good-sized chamber group : NONET. Group of nine.

103. Between, in Brest : ENTRE. Alliteration.

104. Quite : SUCH

105. Spewed magma : LAVA

106. Double-decker game piece : KING. Googled afterwards. Never played Pinochle. (Checkers. Thanks, WikWak.)

107. Bar mitzvah dance : HORA

111. Fire : CAN

112. Actress Charlotte : RAE

C.C.

Saturday, Sep 16th, 2017, Erik Agard

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,X)

Blocks: 38

 OK, that's better - after two rough weeks, this puzzle was almost a breeze to finish - in about half my personal allotted time.  Mr. Agard was on a three-month roll, missed August, but he's back for September.  Hourglass grid with a triple 11-letter staggered stack in the center and a 15-letter climber;

31a. Event with a caller : SQUARE DANCE - oops; I put in "-AUCTION" at the end; Bzzzt

34a. Fruit on a veggie pizza : BLACK OLIVES - ah.  I buy the 'supreme' frozen pizzas, and always pull off the black olives, but sprinkle on some bacon bits.  I got me a Pizzazz pizza wheel which fits nicely in my kitchenette

35a. Justin case? : BIEBER FEVER - har-har

7d. Standard procedure : A MATTER OF COURSE

2d.~!

ACROSS:

1. Directions home : MAP

4. Slow : DELAY

9. Key of Elgar's "Symphony No. 1" : A FLAT - filled in the "FLAT" part and waited

14. San Antonio Spurs' 1993-2002 home : ALAMO DOME

16. Employer of a lizard and a pig : GEICO - the gecko, and the hog who goes "wee~!"

17. Author of the 2011 memoir "My Father at 100" : RON REAGAN

18. Greek leader? : ALPHA - beta, gamma, etc.

19. "I __ it!" : KNEW - I tried WANT first

20. National League athlete : MET - from the NY Met(ropolitan)s, to be precise - the irony here is that this was one of my clues nixed by the editors for being too difficult for a Wed. puzzle

21. Equilibrium : STASIS

22. Dale relative : GLEN - not CHIP - we had CHIP N' DALE last week - this is the the valley definition

24. Weapon in some supernatural movies : STAKE - Vampires~!

26. Thus far : YET

27. Ship mover : SAIL

29. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY

30. One of the deadly sins : ENVY - LUST would have fit as well

36. Undesirable descriptor for makeup : CAKY

37. ___-A-Fella Records : ROC - cute.  I thought it might be roK

38. Thus : ERGO

40. "Correct, cap'n" : "AYE."

41. Currently airing : ON NOW - I would recommend watching "Garage Rehab" because my good friend Russell is "the muscle" on the show

The "other" guy is Richard from Gas Monkey Garage 

43. Hamilton notes : TENS - dollar bills

45. Fight like sticks figures? : RASSLE - Wrestle in the boondocks, the "sticks"

47. Sch. with a Providence campus : URI - dah~!  I put in RIU to start

49. __ Vogue : TEEN

51. Thins, e.g. : OREOs

52. Three-book Newton work : PRINCIPIA - the Wiki

54. Paper for a letter? : LEASE - think let-ter, one who 'lets'

55. Shun : OSTRACIZE

56. Tried to contain : SAT ON

57. Zero out : RESET

58. 1980s gaming release : NES - Nintendo Entertainment System

DOWN:

1. Annotate : MARK

2. Onward : ALONG - a shout-out~!!

3. Symposium groups : PANELS

4. Big name in anonymity : DOE - John or Jane, not the local trolls

5. Cheese town : EDAM

6. Upscale tiers : LOGES

8. Japanese cabbage? : YEN

9. Quartz type : AGATE

10. Afrobeat star __ Kuti : FELA - filled via perps - never heard of him - his Wiki

11. Mouths : LIP SYNCS

12. Realize : ACHIEVE

13. Pleasantly warm : TOASTY

15. "Harry Potter" father figure : Mr. WEASLEY - the Harry Potter Wiki

With daughter Ginny, the future Mrs. Potter

21. Parachute : SKYDIVE

23. Arabian Peninsula veil : NIQAB

25. "Hello" singer : ADELE

28. City in central Switzerland : LUCERNE

30. Alive : ENERGETIC

32. LeBron's birth city : AKRON - basketball is not my thing.  His Wiki; interesting how his first playoff run ended in a loss to the team at 14a.

33. Turn away : AVERT

34. Schwinn component : BIKE SEAT

35. Redwood City locale : BAY AREA

36. Door-to-door offerings : CAROLS - VACUUMS didn't fit

39. First to fall in most strikes : ONE PIN - nobody leaves the FIVE pin

41. Elizabeth who plays the Scarlet Witch in Marvel movies : OLSEN - filled via perps

42. Legal orders : WRITS

44. Wrest : SEIZE

46. "Meh" : SO SO - crosswordese

48. Concerning : IN RE

50. Turndowns from the tartan-clad : NAEs

52. Iberian land, to the IOC : PORtugal, according to the International Olympic Committee

53. Batter of balls? : CAT - sorry, C.C., no baseball here....

Splynter

Friday, September 15, 2017, Mark McClain

Title: Am I coming or going?

After more than 7 years of blogging puzzles, I do not often need the reveal to understand the theme. Mark got me, even though I knew the likely theme fill made no sense, I did not get what they had in common until the reveal. Telling us to break 58A into three words gave me DRAW TO WARD, and after a slow brain moment the light bulb went on - DRAW backwards is WARD. GAB becomes BAG and the rest fell into place. To maintain consistency, Mark has the second word reverse in the first two themers and and the first word reverses in the next two. The grid with many three and four letter fill makes this a fair test for Friday even before you deduce the reversal. Also it features many witty clue/fill combinations. Ringing organ? : EAR; Taking something badly? : THEFT - come to mind. That did not leave much room for other sparkle, but Mark did include SAPPORO, SATISFY, DYSTOPIAN and RAISE CAIN.

18A. Chat at the supermarket checkout? : GROCERY GAB (10). Grocery Bag jumped out at me as soon as I had the reveal.
-
24A. Marsh bird with uncontrollable urges? : COMPULSIVE RAIL (14). Compulsive is a word most often seen with Liar and Gambler.

38A. Way into Wayne Manor? : BAT KEYS (7). Tab Keys are very important when typing. The shortest fill, BAT to TAB.

51A. Work of a major opera house villain? : EVIL FROM THE MET (14). I watched this SHOW when it aired Live starting in 1977 trying to appreciate opera.

58A. Attract ... or, as three words, sequence change with a hint about 18-, 24-, 38- and 51-Across : DRAW TOWARD (10). If you suss this as DRAW to WARD, you see that this is a word reversal puzzle.

The rest...

Across:

1. Alan of "Tower Heist" : ALDA. It is amazing how well he has played smarmy bad people in this and other projects. A Stiller connection.

5. Partridge family tree? : PEAR. Not sure which family this refers to, the TV series or the Christmas chant.

9. Eliot's Bede : ADAM. This was the first novel published by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). Silas Marner and Middlemarch were her best.

13. He shared the AP Driver of the Century award with Andretti : FOYT. A. J. was a major STAR. when I was growing up.

14. Consumed : EATEN.

16. Con __: tempo marking : MOTO. The word has the same stem as motion but what does it mean in MUSIC?

17. Museum figure : BUST. Tempting...

20. Bigelow offering : TEA.

22. "Utopia" author : MORE. Is this the first fantasy novel? Was his Utopia appealing?  What about 3 Down?

23. Request on "ER" : MRI.

28. Oldest Japanese beer brand : SAPPORO.

29. Discounted by : LESS.

30. Cut out : OMIT.

31. Trivial amount : SOU. Although the French sou as a coin disappeared more than two centuries ago, it is still used to mean of little value. (various).

33. __ science : EARTH. Needed perps.

37. Paella veggie : PEA. Not a dish I cook, but here is a RECIPE.

41. "Eureka!" : AHA. Another made up word, but I guess they all are.

42. Legendary first name in skating : SONJA.  The second name was HENIE. A reminder to some of us of Clear Ayes. 48D. 42-Across' homeland : NORWAY.

44. Northwest Passage explorer : RAE. A true PIONEER.

45. Cinco times dos : DIEZ. Purists would prefer "cinco veces dos."

46. Noodle bar order : UDON.

49. Fulfill : SATISFY.

55. Animal house : DEN.

56. Pertaining to : IN RE.

57. SHO-owned cinematic channel : TMC. The Movie Channel, not TCM or AMC.

62. Not at all tough : EASY.

65. Skye, for one : ISLE.

66. Card worth a fortune? : TAROT.

67. Stir up : RILE.

68. Slender swimmers : EELS.

69. Sweet tubers : YAMS.  Can you pass the QUIZ?

70. Winter coat : SNOW. Another nice one.

Down:

1. Laughlin in Tex., e.g. : AFB. Air Force Base.

2. He often batted after Babe : LOU. Gehrig.

3. Like "The Hunger Games" society : DYSTOPIAN. Should this be included when you have 22A?

4. Tackle : ATTEMPT.

5. Wood fastener : PEG.

6. Ringing organ? : EAR. I like this clue, not the phenomenon.

7. Physics class topic : ATOMS.

8. Cringe : RECOIL.

9. Youngest of the "Little Women" : AMY. Meg. Margaret is the oldest of the March sisters, Jo. Josephine is the second oldest March sister, Beth. Elizabeth is the third eldest sister, Amy. The youngest, Amy is the pet of the family.

10. Article of faith : DOGMA. I liked the movie.

11. Arcade giant : ATARI.

12. Exxon follower? : MOBIL.

15. Guts : NERVE.

19. Giant in little candy : REESES.  Pieces. Phone home.

21. GI's address : APO.

24. Typical Hitchcock role : CAMEO. Stan Lee has taken over as king of the Cameos.

25. Celestial bear : URSA.

26. Take from a job : LOOT. Oh, that kind of job.

27. Johannesburg's land: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa, home to constructor and blogger Gareth Bain.

28. Finishes (up) the gravy : SOPS.

32. Former SSR : UKRaine.

34. Go ballistic : RAISE CAIN. A THEORY.

35. Taking something badly? : THEFT. Not new but still witty.

36. Unclear : HAZY.

38. Mismatch : BAD FIT.

39. __ Coast : EAST. WEST?

40. Repeated word in the Beatles' "She Loves You" : YEAH. yeah, yeah.

43. National Ice Cream mo. : JULy. Y abbreviate?

45. Aids for romantic evenings : DIMMERS.

47. Hedger's last words : OR NOT. This fill is absolutely correct, or not.

50. Vietnamese holiday : TET.

51. __ Bauer : EDDIE. The STORY.

52. Part of a song : VERSE.

53. Collectively : IN ALL.

54. Anne of comedy : MEARA. Wife of Jerry, mother of Ben; sadly she died in 2015.

59. Director Craven : WES. Unlike  Hitchcock and Stan Lee, Craven (who also died in 2015) often played himself in movies.

60. Danube Delta country: Abbr. : ROMania.

61. Drying-out hurdle : DTS. Delirium Tremens. I had a math teacher, first period, my junior year in high school who brought his coffee to class in a cup and saucer and the sound of his shaking was unnerving before 8 AM.

63. __-mo replay : SLO.

64. Taxus shrub : YEW. They look like junipers but the yew berry has a poisonous seed instead of the base for gin.

I am always curious when we have a theme like this one, as some of our crowd wants only clues and fill and no theme, while others love creativity. Thank you Mark; hope all are well. Lemonade out.

 Note from C.C.: 

Lemonade is safe and sound. His power was finally back last night. He also has a new grandson, who was born on Wednesday Sept 13, 2017. So sweet! You can click here to see more pictures of his beautiful grandkids.