Saturday, July 14, 2018, Andrew J. Ries

A Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Andrew J. Ries 

On the Fourth Of July we Americans celebrate our declaration of independence. Ten days later our French friends celebrate Quatorze Juillet or, The Fourteenth of July which they also refer to as Bastille Day. That day celebrates the storming of the infamous prison and the beginning of The French Revolution. "Liberté, égalité and fraternité!"

I blogged another Saturday puzzle of Andrew Ries's last April 28 on Super Heroes Day. Below is a picture of David Hanson, Victor Borocas (who authored last Sunday's AAA puzzle), our own C.C. and Andrew (not Andy). Next to them is one of Andrew's published books of puzzles that is so apropos for his home state.

Andrew had a double major in film studies and history from St. Cloud State, which he calls a "hockey school", an hour NW of Minneapolis. He got hooked on puzzles by his grandmother and his passion has led to his now being a full-time constructor (as you can see by one of his books above). Andrew says it is not really work when you are doing what you love. He estimates he will do close to a hundred puzzles this year as his trade requires being prolific. I had a great exchange with Andrew via gmail and I hope we get to see a lot more of him in the future

I was also fascinated by the very clever logo for his website which incorporates Andrew's name and a familiar zodiacal fill we see here. C'mon, ya gotta love it!

I managed a 14-minute tour through today's puzzle as I seemed to be on Andrew's frequency beginning with a NASA gimme for me. 

Now let's storm the barriers and see what else A RIES has for us today:


Across:

1. Critical measurements in "Apollo 13": AMPS  - This NASA educator, who has seen Apollo 13 countless times and remembered how the ground crew in Houston figured out how to mete out the meager 20 AMPS the command module would have available to return to Earth.

5. "Yada yada yada" letters: ETC.

8. They may be wrapped at restaurants: FORKS - Pitas and sushi stayed in the kitchen

13. China neighbor: LAOS  - This will connect Kunming, China with Bangkok, Thailand through LAOS

14. Common pace for a slugger: TROT  - The most famous home run TROT in baseball history

16. "__ you special": AREN'T - Sarcasm d'jour 

17. In a big stack: PILED HIGH - How do you even attack this $22 Carnegie Deli sandwich?

19. Assessor's decision: VALUE - Oh look, my the house tax levy went down! Oops, never mind, the VALUATION on my house went up

20. Kind: ILK - Aren't we an ILK here at the corner and each of us a vital 7. Tooth not examined by a dentist: COG.

21. Car wash option: WAX - Is it worth it?

22. Serious reading?: RIOT ACT - King George I issued this decree in 1714 saying goups of 12 or more could be shot or impreisoned when assembling. He wrote it in German as he never learned to speak English and German survived in Buckingham Palace until WWI when they also abandoned their German family name and adopted the name Windsor.

24. B-complex vitamin: NIACIN


26. Old fad items packed in boxes with breathing holes: PET ROCKS - There truly is one born every minute

27. Conclude with: END ON - Some rude people don't heed the rule that fireworks were to END ON July 4th. 

28. Achieves: DOES

29. New job requirement, perhaps: RELO - Real estate agent speak for RELOCATION

30. "That makes sense": GOOD REASON

33. Convertible's spot: DEN - I assume Andrew did not mean someone ran into the house with their car

34. Help for ones seeing stars?: TELESCOPES - Galileo changed the world with his telescope by looking at the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. His findings got him accused of heresy and kept him under house arrest until his death

36. Macabre rock genre: DEATH METAL - Google if you're more interested than I am

38. Where odds are posted: Abbr.: OTB  - Here are what the OTB odds were for the final leg of the Triple Crown this year

41. Modern capture?: SCREEN GRAB  - The picture above was a SCREEN SHOT (GRAB) from a website using Command + Shift + 4 on my MacBook Pro computer

43. Negri of silents: POLA - I'll bet you all know the "little tramp" with whom she had an affair (circa. 1922)

45. Starter starter?: HORS  - What HORS D'OEUVRE(S) (literally outside the work or outside the meal) are appropriate for a Bastille Day party?

46. "Nattering nabobs" veep: AGNEW - Spiro of Maryland - Nixon's VP and lightning rod

48. Track runners: TROLLEYS  - Omaha once had a trolley system that was second in size to only Boston

50. Many a head shop garment: TIE DYE.

51. Don't forget about: INCLUDE.

52. Have in hand: OWN.

53. Reddit VIP: MOD  - They are MODERATORS on the Reddit site with which I have no experience

54. One you usually don't want to meet: MAKER  -Rooster Cogburn once warned, "Prepare to meet your MAKER!"

55. Makeshift branch hanger: ROPE SWING  - The internet has a bottomless supply of "fails" on ROPE SWINGS. You can't fool gravity, inertia and centripetal force.

58. "Hello" balladeer: ADELE and 42. First artist whose first six albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200: BEYONCE - I'm sure they are fine artists but they are not on my iPhone playlist

59. Miss a syllable or two, say: SLUR  - Foster Brooks (correction) used this verbal device to make a good living

60. Formerly: ONCE.

61. Rich veins: LODES  - Gee, I wonder where they got the name of the TV Show with the man and his three sons in Nevada

62. Medium skill: ESP - I've told the joke here at least twice about the the crooked fortune teller who was running from the law - Headline - Small Medium At Large. Ah, you can't go wrong with good material!

63. Invader from below: WEED.


Down:

1. __ skiing: ALPINE - Sliding down a mountain using "fixed-heel" ski bindings

2. Sending out: MAILING - I can't remember the last time I got a significant communication via Snail MAIL

3. Round fabric pattern element: POLKA DOT

4. Compass dir.: SSE - This plane is heading SSE which is 160˚to the nearest 10 degrees on a compass and the 0 is dropped from the runway marking

5. Hunt in "Mission: Impossible" films: ETHAN - A Tom Cruise film franchise

6. Brand with a leporine mascot: TRIX  - Silly Rabbit, TRIX are for kids!

8. Solid, in a request: FAVOR  - "Hey, brother, would you do me a solid (FAVOR)?

9. Speaker: ORATOR - On November 19, 1863, famed ORATOR Edward Everett spoke for two hours but President Lincoln only spoke for two minutes at a cemetery dedication

10. Fastened anew, as a corset: RELACED seems to fit with 47. Squeezed (in): WEDGED.

11. Sandwich component?: KNUCKLE - "How'd ya like a KNUCKLE sandwich?"

12. "Boss of the Plains" apparel brand: STETSON - Mexicans claimed their tan galán (very gallant) hats were superior to Texan's plain STETSON hats. For those Texans, tan galán became...

15. Golfing groups: THREESOMES - A THREESOME playing winter golf on the Great Plains

18. Gradually goes down: DWINDLES - Jimmy Durante wistfully singing the September Song, "Oh the days DWINDLE down to a precious few"

23. "Come on in!": IT'S OPEN.

25. Whispered sweet nothings: COOED - Often paired with BILLED and I suppose I could look up why but...

26. They take things the wrong way: POACHERS - Killing those animals is contemptible 

28. Smallest Battleship pieces: DESTROYERS - Can you pick it out?

31. Connected with: REACHED.

32. Bottom-line positives: NET GAINS - Could be in dollars or yards

35. Looie's underling: SARGE - This second Looie never could get the respect of those under him

37. Metaphor for a potential crisis: LANDMINE - Do you know where they lie at family gatherings?

38. Best-case: OPTIMAL.

39. "The Wizard of Oz" plot twist--literally: TORNADO - Dorothy leaves b/w Kansas and winds up in Technicolor Oz

40. Denied access, on social media: BLOCKED - My niece's incessant politics and profanity made me BLOCK her

44. Genetic variant: ALLELE.

49. Casting array: LURES  - Where do you start?

50. Annoying sort: TWERP.

52. Numbered work: OPUS - The most popular "On Hold" music in the world is this OPUS Number One written for CISCO by Tim Carleton and Derrick Deel. 15 seconds is enough for me.

56. __ Miss: OLE  - How 'bout those Rebels?

57. "I. Am. Speechless.": WOW - Now how about some comments for Andrew and ce misérable (this miserable) that will Leave. Us. Speechless. 

p.s. I hope our Madam Defarge is knitting today in observance of Bastille Day! 

DA GRID

Friday, July 13, 2018, Jim Quinlan

Title: Is that Splynter I see back in brown? No, it is just UPS.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Mr. Quinlan is back for his 4th LAT and second Friday. I had the pleasure of blogging the debut of this middle-school teacher here in April 2015. He quickly had his first NYT that May. His most recent here was last October which featured controversy about his fill FIVE-O and the introduction of a celebrity solver RB. Jim who has been kind enough to stop by and clarify his work, uses a Friday staple - add letters. Today the trigram UPS, which is confirmed in a reveal. With 63 letters in the theme, there was not much room for long sparkly fill but I SAY SO, IT IS SO (?), ODD LOT, TEE HEE, BEER CANS  and UNLISTED added to the challenge.
I hope none of you all (Y'awl?) have ever had a package stolen from your porch; as Splynter was wont to say, ON*WARD*

18A. Calendar model's argument?: PINUPS POINT (11). I doubt that it is easy to pinpoint an argument a calendar model was putting forth.

24A. Ones who curry favor in Cannes?: FRENCH KISS-UPS (13). French kissing is nice, but ass kissers are not. 

41A. Booms in the poultry industry?: CHICKEN UPSWINGS (15). Thank Buffalo for the modern importance of the lowly chicken wing. 

51A. Northern New York gallery, say?: UPSTATE MUSEUM (13). The TATE is a CSO to our British brethern. 

And the reveal:

61A. Package on the porch ... or what's been brought to 18-, 24-, 41- and 51-Across: UPS DELIVERY.

Across:

1. Adobe extension: PDF. Portable Document Format is a keystone to all modern law work, for saving, transmitting,  and studying documents, eliminating the incompatibility of word perfect (the favorite of legal writers) and word.

4. Food: EATS.

8. Formal affirmation: IT IS SO. This must be the appropriate response to Captain Jean Luc Picard.

14. Amazement: AWE.

15. "Logan" superheroes: X-MEN.

16. Bib, essentially: NAPKIN. One I would not have thought of, but it is true.

17. Cooking acronym: PAM. Learning moment! PAM is a cooking spray currently owned and distributed by ConAgra Foods. Its main ingredient is canola oil. The name PAM is an acronym for Product of Arthur Meyerhoff. Wiki.

20. First word of The Beach Boys' "Kokomo": ARUBA. The first stanza.
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go, Jamaica...

22. David Caruso starred in the Miami version: CSI. It crashed and burned after 10 seasons and 232 episodes. Before that, in 2006, BBC News published an article stating that CSI: Miami was the world's most popular television series, featuring in more countries' top ten rankings for 2005 than any other series. BBC online.

23. __ periculo: at my own risk: MEO. This is inferable from the clue, sort of. Just Latin- periculum = danger. Friday challenge.

29. Jackie portrayer on "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.

30. Spike TV, once: TNN. The Nashville Network.

31. He finished hosting "The Tonight Show" 12 years before Fallon was born: PAAR. Jack.

34. Tool points: NIBS. I think of pens not tools.

37. Long past: OLDEN.

44. Wrap label: SARAN. When we were kids we had Alcoa Aluminum foil, Cut-rite wax paper and Saran. In 1949, it became the first cling wrap designed for commercial use. It was sold for household use in 1953. SC Johnson acquired Saran from Dow in 1998. SC Johnson had some concerns about the safety of PVDC and subsequently took steps to eliminate it from Saran's composition. The popularity of the product, as well as sales, suffered as a result. If you’ve noticed recently that Saran isn't much different than Glad or Reynolds products, that’s why.

45. Isaac's eldest: ESAU.

46. Extended tale: SAGA.

47. "Just joking!": NOT. Popular response for  while.

49. Narrow cut: SLIT.

57. Latin lover's word: AMO. I love you.

58. Cup holder?: BRA. Cute, and then 66A. Main man: BRO.

59. Seller of spots: ADREP. Advertising Representative.  Like Mad Men.

67. Snicker: TEE HEE.

68. Anticipatory times: EVES.

69. Beauty preceder?: AGE. Age before beauty. The phrase is often given as part of a supposed exchange between the U.S. writer, politician and diplomat Clare Booth Brokow, who later became Clare Boothe Luce, and Dorothy Parker. It is said that, in the archetypal circumstances for uttering the phrase, that is, while holding a door open for Parker, Brokow said "Age before beauty". Parker's reply was "Pearls before swine".

70. Small stock purchase: ODD LOT.  Mulitples of 100 shares of stock is the normal lot.

71. Pudding starch: SAGO.

72. Amount realized: NET.

Down:

1. Smurf with a red hat: PAPA.  I think he was a derivative from the seven...

2. Fictional miner: DWARF.

3. Longest human bone: FEMUR.

4. Open a satellite shop, say: EXPAND.

5. Bizet's buddy: AMI.

6. Base __: TEN.

7. Moved furtively: SNUCK.

8. Demand: INSIST.

9. One in a pub lineup: TAP.                                                      21D. Six-pack makeup: BEER CANS.

10. Google's was in 2004, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering.

11. Be very thrifty: SKIMP. Skimp and save or is it SCRIMP?

12. Trig functions: SINES. So many and so far in the past in my life.

13. In the know about: ON TO.

19. Penultimate Greek letter: PSI. Which leads me to...

25. Picture at Cannes: CINÉ. From the Greek κῑ́νημα (kī́nēma) which means movement from which we also got kinetic.

26. "Die Lorelei" poet: HEINE. Heinrich - born Harry.  The first stanza-
Ich weiss nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Dass ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

27. __ day: school contingency: SNOW.

28. Not in the book: UNLISTED.

31. Cubicle fixtures: PCS.

32. "I got it!": AHA.

33. It's all around you: AIR. I always say money is like air, it really only is important when you have none. I am not sure who I stole that from.

35. School __: BUS.

36. Unavoidable jerk: SPASM. I always wondered what that guy's name was.

38. What might reveal the answer to "Who's your daddy?": DNA.

39. Custard base: EGG.

40. Org. that abhors leaks: NSA.

42. Windsor, for one: KNOT.  I learned this STYLE before my teens.

43. "Star Trek" lieutenant: SULU.

48. Smartphone alternative: TABLET. We are a two tablet family; Oo seldom leaves home without hers.

50. Parental words of finality: I SAY SO. But why? Because...

51. Decided on a diamond: UMPED. A baseball clue for C.C.

52. Sat: POSED.

53. Start to cycle?: TRI.

54. Wasp nest sites: EAVES. I am allergic to bees but I was more afraid of the damn wasps.

55. __ Dictionary: URBAN.

56. Road sign with a double-tailed arrow: MERGE.

57. One on a driveway: AUTO.

60. One who works with feet: POET. I am an Iambic pentameter fan.

62. FedEx alternative: DHL.

63. Want ad abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.

64. Actress Gabor: EVA. Green Acress is the place to be...

65. Gas pump spec.: REG.

Tough day at work yesterday; I hope you enjoy this effort and have a great weekend. Thank you JQ and all of you. Lemonade out. 

Thursday, July 12th 2018 Frank Virzi

Theme: EVIL'R. The good Doctors Doom and Octopus might be so, but see below for a more rounded explanation.

 20A. *Doctor Octopus or Doctor Doom: SUPERVILLAIN. A villain with superhuman powers. I took a test to reveal my supervillain name, and it's time to meet .... PROFESSOR ARMAGEDON!

Try it out for yourselves here.

29A. *"The Big Country" Oscar winner: BURL IVES. Here's a good excuse for a music link that has nothing to do with Burl Ives - "In a Big Country" by Big Country. Points deducted for lack of originality, but it's still a catchy ditty.

37A. *Quick and careless treatment: ONCE-OVER-LIGHTLY. Not a phrase I was familiar with (with which I was not familiar, according to the Grammar Police.) It seems other people are though, so a learning experience for me.

44A. *On-the-scene reporter's opening: WE'RE LIVE ...

53A. Metaphor for one feeling slighted ... and what's hidden in the answers to starred clues: CHOPPED LIVER. I like the chopped liver sandwich at my local deli, so the insult doesn't work for me. Chopped raw turnip would be better, slighted-wise.

So, LIVER in a few different forms. The *asterisking of the theme entries are part of puzzle protocol, the two eight-letter entries are matched by other non-themed 8's, so the asterisk keeps things on the straight and narrow.

What else? Let's go see!

Across:

1. PlayStation handheld game: VITA. No clue, skip and move on, wait for the crosses for help.

5. Appliance with a vent: DRYER

10. Gremlins, e.g.: AMC'S. This entry filled itself in for me, I only saw it just now. The AMC Gremlin, I've seen a few restored ones here in LA. The lime-green one is particularly fetching:

14. Airline to Israel: EL AL. Is there more than one Israeli airline? I want to see the listing El Al, et al.

15. Gaucho's rope: REATA

16. World Cup skiing champ Lindsey: VONN

17. Do-fa link: RE-MI

18. Hawkeye: IOWAN. Trivia of the day - "Hawkeye" Pierce in the M*A*S*H series is not so-nicknamed because he was from Iowa, he was born in Maine. The nickname comes from "The Last of the Mohicans" and he was so-dubbed by his father.

19. A.D. part: ANNO

23. Chicago mayor Rahm: EMANUEL. YAY! Finally I know how to spell this name - no doubled consonants. Finally!

24. Obdurate: STONY

28. Nonverbal comm. method: A.S.L. American Sign Language. I know essentials, some useful at tiresome social events ("Ready to go?") or crowded bars ("Where's the bathroom?").

32. Holds up: LASTS

35. Twofer coupon acronym: BOGO. Buy One, Get One.

36. "Selma" setting: Abbr.: ALA. bama. The movie "Selma" was set partly in Selma, which is in Alabama. Seems a long way round for a clue to get to the point.

41. Freudian topic: EGO

42. Umpteen: MANY

43. "What __ has seen ... ": 1 Corinthians: NO EYE

47. Ball club: BAT. I like this. Tell me, is a college football team a "ball club"? I find it oddly irritating when I hear coaches interviewed on the telly and they make that reference.

48. Colleague of Sonia: ELENA. Supreme Court judges Sotomayor and Kagan. I've not heard anything in the news for a while about the Supreme Court. Things must be running smoothly over there.

49. Money-laundering business in "Breaking Bad": CAR WASH. I think I saw the first three episodes of the series, and the car wash was in the first scene, as I recall. Odd for me to know something like this.

57. First name at Woodstock: JIMI. Second name at Woodstock: Hendrix.

60. Bandanna kin: DO-RAG. Kin? I thought these were the same thing. I just read an internet article that runs to about 3,000 words explaining the difference. I won't bore you with the details. The things our bloggers put themselves through for veracity.

61. Gambling mecca: RENO. Mecca? I think that's a rather strong word for Reno. It's like saying Medina is more Mecca than Mecca. Vegas might argue the point.

62. Yemen neighbor: OMAN

63. Words of defeat: I LOSE. 

64. God with a bow: EROS

65. Ma with a bow: YO-YO. Quickly - name another cellist. No, not Josephine du Pré nor Pablo Casals, too easy.

66. Not as worn: NEWER

67. Ukr. and Lith., once: SSR'S. Soviet Socialist Republics, as we all knew.

Down:

1. Frost lines?: VERSE. Very nice - not the "rimes" but the "rhymes". Robert Frost.

2. Intestinal part: ILEUM

3. Clearwater neighbor: TAMPA.

4. Drive away: ALIENATE

5. Blather: DRIVEL

6. Work on more, as a squeaky hinge: RE-OIL

7. Two-master: YAWL. Ketch or Yawl. Both sailboats. Both two-masted vessels. Compare and Contrast. Essays due by Friday, please. Here's one .. or the other, I'm not quite sure. Bonus question - how do folks from the south address a fleet of two-masted sailboats? Spoiler alert: It's not "All Ketch".

8. "Too many to list" abbr.: ET AL. First EL AL. Now the competitor, ET AL. They fly on Saturdays.

9. __ close second: RAN A

10. Forward, in Firenze: AVANTI.

11. MLK Day, e.g.: MON. day.

12. "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" channel: CNN. I have no words for how sad the news of his suicide made me feel. Please call 1-800-275-8055 if you or a loved one are feeling alone and helpless. Please.

13. __-Caps: SNO

21. "Empire Falls" novelist Richard: RUSSO. I read "Nobody's Fool" first, was immediately hooked. A great writer.

22. Puerto Rico, e.g.: Abbr.: ISL. La Isla del Incanto? Not so much since Hurricane Maria. A desperately sad situation.

25. Almost round: OVATE

26. Singer Furtado: NELLY. NELLI slowed me down.

27. Belgian violin virtuoso Eugène __: YSAYE. Who? No, really, who? Name three famous Belgians. OK, name two. Is Eugène Ysaye on your list? No, and Hercule Poirot doesn't count, he's a fictional character. Here's one, you'll know him if you have any interest in the Tour de France:

29. Carried: BORNE

30. "This could get __": UGLY

31. King at Versailles: ROI

32. "Camelot" composer: LOEWE. I think LOWE, LOEW and HMMMM in that order. One day I'll get it straight.

33. Generous donor: ANGEL. In theatrical parlance, originally. An investor in a stage production.

34. Gettysburg Address unit: SCORE "Four Score and Seven Years Ago ..." Lincoln's opening line, giving everyone a couple of seconds to do the mental arithmetic to figure "Oh, 1776! Why didn't he just say that?"

35. Wally's little bro: BEAV. Leave it to Beaver, or Leav to Beav. L2B in modern parlance.

38. Southern Conf. school: V.M.I. Virginia Military Institute. New pupils are fondly called "Rats".

39. Twist: GNARL

40. Prepares to steal, probably: HOT-WIRES

45. Affluent Los Angeles district: ENCINO

46. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH

47. Nag: BADGER

49. Desist: CEASE. What a lawyer demands "Cease and Desist" is he just covering the bases on a slight technicality, or getting paid by the word and using tautology?

50. Professes: AVERS

51. Monterrey title: SEÑOR

52. __ Perot: H. ROSS. I knew ROSS, but suspected a prior letter. H for Henry.

54. Valhalla VIP: ODIN. Wanted THOR. was wrong.

55. Firehouse fixture: POLE. Almost tempted by HOSE. Resisted.

56. Front at sea: PROW. The sharp end.

57. Good feeling: JOY

58. "I think," in texts: IMO. "In my opinion". I've always seen it IMHO, with a self-effacing "humble" for good measure. Don't be fooled, the texter is never humble.

59. Might: MAY. Nice Thursday clue/answer. "Might" could equally be looking for a word for "strength" - not in this case.

Well, apparently Football Isn't Coming Home, so I'm working on polishing up my French for Sunday's final. Allez Les Bleus!

Et ....... voici la grille:

Etienne

Wednesday, July 11 2018, Andrew Linzer

Theme:  Now I herd everything.

7. One in the headlights?: DEER.

8. Critter on XING signs: DEER.

32. Ref, slangily: ZEBRA.

33. Last critter in an ABC book: ZEBRA.

61. Throat trouble: FROG.

62. Kissable fairy-tale critter: FROG.

12. Craft for six puzzle answers: NOAH'S ARK.

41. 12-Down queueing pattern depicted by six puzzle answers: TWO BY TWO.

Melissa here. Wow! Eight theme answers! A fresh theme, and from what appears to be Andrew Linzeritsyit's debut - at least here at the corner. Note the special 16x15 grid - an extra column was needed to accommodate all the down theme answers. The visual of the center answers in two vertical rows makes me think of animal tracks.

Across:

1. Teensy: ITSY.

5. Box for tea leaves: CADDY.


10. Japanese box lunch: BENTO.

15. Tree with an oil-rich seed: SHEA.

16. Streamlined: SLEEK.

17. Frank __ Wright: LLOYD.

18. "Long time no see" follower: HOW YOU BEEN.

20. Old enough: OF AGE.

21. "Lady and the __": TRAMP.

22. Traffic signals: ARROWS. There is an intersection near me that I avoid because so many drivers don't know (or don't care) that you can't turn right on a red arrow. I wait my turn (pun intended) for the green arrow only to be honked at by impatient drivers behind me.

24. Possesses: HAS.

25. Stage of grief: ANGER. Not quite the same, but okay.

26. Smartens (up): WISES.

28. Manhattan liquor: RYE. A Manhattan is made with whiskey (traditionally rye whiskey), sweet vermouth and bitters. 

29. Full of activity: ABUZZ.

34. "Ben-Hur" extras: ROMANS.

37. "Now it's clear": OH I SEE.

38. Sonogram subject: EMBRYO.

39. Sticks (out): JUTS.

42. Had a nice chitchat: GABBED.

44. __ out a living: EKED.

45. Ahead: ONWARD.

47. Not for kids, filmwise: R-RATED.

49. One whose wages come from wagers: BOOKIE.

50. Slugger Hank: AARON.

51. Feel crummy: AIL. Aw.

54. Rum-flavored cakes: BABAS.

56. River mouth formation: DELTA.

58. Far from friendly: ICY.

60. Steep headlands: BLUFFS.

64. With deleted scenes included: UNCUT.

65. Passover staple: MATZO.

67. Likely to goof: ERROR PRONE.

69. Dam that created Lake Nasser: ASWAN. Built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt.

70. Simoleons: MOOLA. Slang.

71. Cookie cooker: OVEN. Object, not a person.

72. Pork cuts: CHOPS. What is a CHOP?

73. Goad: EGG ON.

74. Twitter headquarters?: NEST. Nice.

Down:

1. Beatty/Hoffman box office flop: ISHTAR.

2. Sticky: THORNY.

3. Water treatment plant input: SEWAGE.

4. "I did good!": YAY ME.

5. Fort Collins sch.: CSU. Colorado State University.

6. Actress Jessica: ALBA.

9. Informal "See what I mean?": Y'KNOW.

10. Come into one's own: BLOSSOM.

11. Pixie: ELF.

13. Rapper whose name sounds like a big cat: TYGA.

14. Poems of praise: ODES.

19. "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018) actress: OPRAH.

23. Electrically connected with: WIRED TO.

27. Plant firmly: EMBED.

30. "So what?!": BIG DEAL.

31. Can. neighbor: USA.

35. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.

36. Lawn starter: SOD.

37. Honshu port: OSAKA.

39. Chore: JOB.

40. "One card left!" game warning: UNO.

43. Corn unit: EAR.

46. Science fair awards: RIBBONS.

48. Ultimately become: END UP.

51. Nook: ALCOVE.

52. 58-Down default music program: ITUNES.

53. Under the surface: LATENT.

55. "So I was wrong!": SUE ME.

57. Defunct scandal-plagued company: ENRON.

58. Apple computer: IMAC.

59. Toll lane choice: CASH. Cashless tolls (EZ Pass or by mail) are becoming more and more common now. Nice that cars don't have to stop, but also a little creepy.

63. Unaccompanied: SOLO.

66. Ray gun sound: ZAP.

68. Legged it: RAN.
 
Note from C.C. :

Happy birthday to dear CanadianEh!, who's been with our blog since 2012. Love your insightful and caring comments, CanadianEh!

Tuesday, July 10, 2018 Bruce Haight

"DJ Set"

18. Ideal occupations: DREAM JOBS. Job recruiters promise them.

20. Scrambled words newspaper game: DAILY JUMBLE.  Disorganized units of language in a game format, with a helpful illustration.

38. Fashionably ripped denim: DISTRESSED JEANS.  Often expensive.

55. Copier malfunction: DOCUMENT JAM.  Always annoying.

59. Off-color humor: DIRTY JOKE.  Mostly bawdy.

50. Track mix for a party, and what the five longest Across answers comprise: DJ SET.  Disc Jockey playlist selections.

Bruce struck a chord today. 

I was pleased to meet WERV FM 95.9 "The River" DJ Scott Mackay while golfing in the Ronald McDonald House charity golf outing a couple of weeks ago.    Great guy and a good golfer.  95.9 "The River" is the station I listen to in the mornings.   And today I get to play DJ.  Hope you'll find a song or two to like in my playlist.
 
Across:

1. Chatting online, for short: IM'ing.  Instant Messaging.  User to user communication on PCs, versus texting and messaging apps on mobile phones.  The terms are used somewhat interchangeably.

6. Little troublemakers: IMPS.

10. Invitation letters: RSVP.  "Répondez s'il vous plaît"    Victor Barocas had both S'IL and VOUS in Sunday's crossword that C.C. reviewed.

14. Indiana hoopster: PACER. The top Indiana Pacers of all time.

15. Like frat brothers: MALE.

16. Keep __: persist: AT IT.  Don't stop. 


17. Fast train in the Northeast: ACELA.  Amtrak's flagship train service.  The name is a derivation of acceleration and excellence.

22. Crosswalk user, briefly: PED.  Pedestrian.


23. Prodigal __: SON.

24. Garden tools: HOES.

25. Hosp. drips: IVS.

27. Vaudeville bit: GAG.

28. Car music source: FM RADIO.  FM (No Static At All) "is a complex jazz-rock composition driven by its bass, guitar and piano parts" by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.  The song was written as the title track for the movie FM.   Some claim the movie was the basis for the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.  In the movie, a group of DJs take control of L.A. radio station QSKY in protest of having to play more commercials.  


32. Baghdad native: IRAQI.

35. Mystical glow: AURA.

37. Eyeglasses glass: LENS.  The new glasses are helping.

41. So totally gross: ICKY.  How I felt at the end of each day last Friday and Saturday after staining the house and the deck railing for 10 hours.

42. Fencing sword: EPEE.

43. "Therefore ... ": AND SO.   I received this advice when first starting a stint as a guest instructor:
1) Tell them what you are going to tell them,
2) Tell them,  and then
3) Tell them what you told them.

44. Matthew and Mark wrote two of them: GOSPELS.

46. Pained cries: OWS.

47. Gave lunch to: FED.

48. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.   "...from 1929 to 1937 he produced the paintings which made him the world’s best-known Surrealist artist.  He depicted a dream world in which commonplace objects are juxtaposed, deformed, or otherwise metamorphosed in a bizarre and irrational fashion."

50. Ike's monogram: DDE.

53. Medical ins. plan: HMO.

61. Get ready to hit the road: GAS UP.


62. Chicago paper, familiarly: TRIB.  The Chicago Tribune, the flagship newspaper of the one-time Tribune Company.  

63. Sign of the future: OMEN.

64. "__ you ready yet?": AREN'T. 

65. November honorees: VETS.

66. Get fresh with: SASS.

67. Moth-eaten: TATTY.

Down:

1. Apple tablets: IPADS.

2. Chinese gambling mecca: MACAO.  The "Las Vegas of Asia."

Perhaps Las Vegas should be called the "Macao of the United States" ?

3. Strand at the ski lodge, maybe: ICE IN.

4. Women's basketball analyst Fortner: NELL.  USA Basketball Women's National Team coach on the 1996 Olympics Gold Medal team, and then Head Coach of the 2000 Olympics Gold Medal team.   Now an ESPN analyst.  Summary info on Wikipedia.

5. It may be a result of stress, some say: GRAY HAIR.

6. "My luck HAS to change!": I'M DUE.


7. Quaint schoolteachers: MARMS.

8. Roman commoner: PLEB.

9. __ the deal: SEAL.

10. Indian friend of TV's Sheldon: RAJ.

11. Comes to a complete halt: STOPS DEAD.

12. Vague feeling: VIBE.   "The DJ was central to the ritual of 1970s dance culture, but the dancing crowd was no less important, and it was the combination of these two elements that created the conditions for the dance floor dynamic.  A good DJ didn't only lead dancers along his or her... preferred musical path, but would also feel the mood of the dance floor and select records according to this energy (which could be communicated by the vigor of the dancing, or level of the crowd's screams, or sign language of dancers directed towards the booth).  This communication--described by Sarah Thornton, in her early analysis of late 1980s and 1990s dance culture, as "the vibe"--amounted to a form of synergistic music-making in which separate elements combined to create a mutually beneficial and greater whole." Beyond the Hustle...

13. Condition once called "shell shock," for short: PTSD.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  National Institute of Mental Health information

19. Israel's Golda: MEIR.

21. Trot: JOG.

26. "Donna" singer Ritchie: VALENS.


DJ Bob Hale, who was the MC for the concert, agrees that the coin flip was between Allsup and Valens.

27. One usually dressed for success: GQ TYPE.    A smartly dressed, well groomed and mannered man.   GQ magazine, a Conde Nast publication,  was formerly Gentlemen's Quarterly, promoted as  "The latest tips and advice for men on style, grooming, fitness, best products, travel destinations and more."

28. Liberate: FREE.

29. Alfred E. Neuman magazine: MAD.


30. Road trip stopovers: INNS.

31. __ buco: veal dish: OSSO.

32. Beatnik's "Gotcha!": I DIG. I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it. Oh, let's dig it. Can you dig it, baby?


or:



33. Puerto __: RICO.

34. Ignores warnings to behave, say: ASKS FOR IT.

35. Once-sacred snakes: ASPS.

36. Employ: USE.


39. Long, thin fish: EEL.

40. Talking endlessly to: JAWING AT.

45. Whirlpool: EDDY.  Could have been clued as twangy guitarist Duane ___ .  Here's a 1986 remake of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn. 


46. Fútbol fan's cry: OLE.  Little chance chance for a mondegreen in the lyrics of this one.

48. Noblemen below princes: DUKES.

49. Chorus from the pews: AMENS.

51. Intimidate: DAUNT.

52. Running on __: EMPTY.


53. RCA product: HDTV.

54. Swampy area: MIRE.

56. Spanish eyes: OJOS. 


57. Deep sleep: COMA.


58. "Sharknado" actress Reid: TARA.

60. Atlanta-based cable channel: TBS.  Turner Broadcasting System. 

Note from C.C.

Owen has started a Jumble blog, please click here for your daily discussions.