Tuesday, Aug 21, 2018 Paul Coulter

"Headcases"

17. *Top dog: BIG CHEESE.  Bighead - I've heard it used most often by children.  A conceited person.  Cheesehead - Can be used affectionately or derogatorily to refer to a Wisconsinite or Packer-backer.

39. *Beef: RED MEAT. Redhead.  A ginger.  Hello Scotland and Ireland ! Rusty Staub was known as Le Grande Orange.  Also, in the trades, a brand of concrete anchors.  Meathead - A stupid person. Archie Bunker's nickname for son-in-law Michael Stivic.  Rusty was not a meathead.  He learned French after being traded to the Montreal Expos.

11. *Equestrian's path: HORSE TRAIL.  Horsehead.   The opposite end from a horse's ass.  Served with a guy from Horseheads, NY. Smart guy.  Hi Merlin ! Trailhead - That's where hiking, biking, horseback riding, off roading adventures and cattle drives start. 

28. *Undeliverable bit of mail: DEAD LETTER.  Deadhead. To prune the spent blooms from your flowers.  Also, driving your semi (tractor trailer) without a load.  Oh, and of course, a Grateful Dead fan.    Letterhead.  The heading or leading page of formal correspondence, usually containing company logo, name address etc.

62. Racer's advantage ... and what each part of the answers to starred clues can be: HEAD START.

Paul comes back to visit with today's puzzle.  Easier than last Friday's puzzle.  He has something for everyone, and every skill level !

Across:

1. Big butte: MESA.  Butte comes to us from French, meaning mound. Mesa comes from Spanish, meaning table.   Buttes are smaller than mesas. 

5. Michael of "Superbad": CERA.   This guy.  Superbad was a 2007 "coming of age" movie.  Not familiar with either.

 9. Timetable: Abbr.: SCHED.  ule.

14. Cartel acronym: OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

15. Gravy base: ROUX.  Fat and flour, and get creative from there.

16. Writing that isn't poetry: PROSE.

19. Surrounding glows: AURAE. Had auras at first until deep dish pizza mandated the e.

20. Chicken: SCARED. 

21. Prepares to serve, as melon: SLICES UP.  Gallagher used the Sledge-O-Matic.

23. Textbook division: UNIT.  A standard standard.

25. Stadium attendance counter, perhaps: STILE.  I know them as turnstiles.  Hey, that's why the perhaps is in the clue !

26. Fill with freight: LADE.  From Dutch and German laden.

29. Spam producer, for short: BOT.   A Spam Robot, or Spambot, or just plain Bot.

The other Spam producer, Hormel,  just sold one its two US processing plants that makes Spam.   The Fremont, Nebraska processing plant has been sold to a group of Minnesota and South Dakota farmers, dba Wholesale Farms, and has announced intentions to locate their execs and HQs there.  Husker Gary would know about this. 

31. Squabbles: SET TOs. 

34. Versatile blackjack cards: ACES.  Can be used as ones or elevens. 

35. Hibernation spot: LAIR.

37. Egg cream ingredient: SYRUP.  Now this was interesting to me.  I've never heard of an egg cream.  It's similar to a milkshake, and got its start in NYC, but is also well-known in Detroit and New Orleans. 

38. Former "Great American Baking Show" co-host Vardalos: NIA.  She of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame.  A lovely person.

41. Azores' ocean: Abbr.: ATL.  Or the Braves (Atlanta), on scoreboards.  In this case, it's the abbr. for Atlantic.

42. Build an extension on: ADD TO.  Husker Gary should expect to see a decrease in his property taxes after the new Costco plant gets built and execs for Whole Farms move into town and ADD TO the tax base.  I think that's how it's supposed to work.  The clue today is in the sense of a building addition.  We know that as an ell in crossword fill. 

44. Strong desires: YENS.

45. Verdi princess who sings "O patria mia": AIDA. Six years ago,  Verdi and Aida would have left me in the dark.  Now, thanks to hundreds of solves, I know this crossword staple.

46. Specks in the sea: ISLETS.  Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton had a # 1 hit song with Islands in the Stream.

48. __ room: play area: REC.

49. Mail opening in a door: SLOT.  Remember that scene from Home Alone where McCauley Culkin looked through the mail slot ?

50. Big name in stationery: EATON. 

54. Very brave: INTREPID.

57. South Florida city: NAPLES.  Too bad about the red tide. 

61. Away from the office: NOT IN.

64. Prepare to talk to a child, maybe: KNEEL.

65. Doing nothing: IDLE. 

66. Comparison words: IS TO.

67. "My bad": SORRY.  "No problem"

68. Show the way: LEAD.  Anyone remember the book, Jump Off the Cliff,  by Hugo Furst ?

69. Enjoy, as gum: CHEW.  Enjoy, as gossip: Chew the fat.

Down:

1. Black Friday crowds: MOBS.  Not once.  Never.   Wild horses.

2. Grand-scale tale or grand-scale fail: EPIC. 

3. Arcade name: SEGA. Tie in with  52A. "__ #1!": winners' cry: WE'RE.  SEGA had 213 arcade games;  Atari had 117.  

4. Builds up: ACCRUES.  the ability of something to accumulate over time, and is most commonly used when referring to the interest, income or expenses - Investopedia.

5. Trustworthy: CREDIBLE.  Investopedia is a credible financial dictionary.

6. Non-discrimination letters: EOE.  Equal Opportunity Employment (or Employer).

7. Former Wisconsin senator Feingold: RUSS.

8. Skating jumps: AXELS.  OK, now here is a really good article that explains each of the skating jumps, along with GIFs showing them being accomplished. 

9. Most ditzy: SPACIEST.  Goldie Hawn persona on Laugh-In

10. The "C" of SPCA: CRUELTY.  Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

12. Jacob's twin brother: ESAU.

13. __-dish pizza: DEEP.  Fold your laundry, not your pizza.

18. Farm squawker: HEN.

22. "Live from New York, __ 'Saturday Night!'": IT'S.    A nice collection:


24. Apple-polisher: TOADY.

26. Hawaiian island: LANAI.

27. Litmus reddeners: ACIDS.

30. Oven buzzer: TIMER.

32. Perform better than: OUTDO.

33. Wet impact sound: SPLAT.

36. Extend a subscription: RENEW. 

39. In a nasty manner: ROTTENLY.

40. Climbed: ASCENDED.  Ascend.  Middle English: from Latin ascendere, from ad- ‘to’ + scandere ‘to climb.’ 

43. Needing more tissues, probably: TEARIER.

45. Sterile: ASEPTIC.  "a" and "an" as prefixes to Greek base words means no, without, not having, free of, or not.   English adopted those as prefixes to many words that originated in other languages as well, with the same purpose.

Then we have  "a"  as a prefix from an Old English root, which meant on, toward, to, or into.  So we get words like ablaze (on) and asunder (to).

So aseptic and asocial mean free of septic and not social , and we have words like afire and ablaze, meaning on, and asea meaning....  Well, never mind, I'm going to stop before I go awry.  

47. Soak (up), as gravy: SOP.  

51. Nothing, in Latin: NIHIL.

53. Univ. dorm overseers: RAs.  Resident Advisor or Resident Assistant.

54. Calligraphy supplies: INKS.

55. Taboo: NO NO.


56. "__ Dinah": 1958 Frankie Avalon hit: DEDE.  No clue.  Thank you perps.

58. Eyelid hair: LASH.

59. One-named Deco artist: ERTE.  Romain de Tirtoff.    Better study the name and spelling.  It might come up in a crossword someday.

60. Stash in a hold: STOW.

via GIPHY

63. Pie __ mode: A LA.  Hot apple pie with cold vanilla ice cream melting on top is a favorite dessert in this household.

Monday August 20, 2018 Brock Wilson

Theme: Go Lickety-split - Synonym themes.

17. Online site for making a will: LEGALZOOM.

23. Ironic exclamation before an unsurprising announcement: NEWS FLASH.

38. Fills (someone) in about the latest developments: BRINGS UP TO SPEED.

47. All people, with "the": HUMAN RACE.

59. Hollywood pre-award speculation: OSCAR BUZZ.

Boomer here.

Greetings from Minnesota. Many states tend to brag about their annual State Fair, and Minnesota is no exception.  The fair is huge and draws about 1.5 million visitors in the 11 day period ending on Labor Day.  Most food items are served on a stick, ice cream, pronto pups, etc.  Last year I saw a booth selling a large dill pickle on a stick for $6.00!  The University of Minnesota has a building and they offer a number of free shirts and souvenirs.  There are quite a few merchant displays with free giveaways. I am not interested in the fattest hog, or who grew a 4 pound green bean.  But there is an art building where you may find a replica of Mount Rushmore made out of corn.  C.C. and I ran into a huge parking shortage last year, topped by some bad travel advice at the Sun Country Airlines booth, so we probably will skip the fair this year.  I am sure the politicians will be there though.

Across:

1. Chowder bit: CLAM.  Interesting - this can be a direct to shut up.

5. Conversation: TALK. And this is to say whatever might be on your mind.

9. Chopped cabbage sides: SLAWS. My daily lunch salad.

14. Tree with needles: PINE.  Plenty of these in Minnesota.

15. Mine, in Metz: A MOI.

16. Bounce off the wall: CAROM.  I remember every house having a carom board when I was a kid.  It was about 3 feet square and had four net pockets on each corner.  The play included wooden rings and small cues to knock them around.

19. Wagner work: OPERA.  I think he did some Beethoven stuff.

20. Not kidding: SERIOUS.

21. Wards (off): FENDS.

22. System of connected PCs: LAN.  Stands for Local Area Network and is essential for multi location businesses.

26. __-di-dah: pretentious: LAH.  Stands for Local Area Hogwash.  (Thank you John Brennan)

28. Suffix with violin: IST.

30. "__ a Sin": Pet Shop Boys hit: IT'S.  "To tell a lie"

31. Fashion's Versace: GIANNI.

33. __-pitch: SLO. Okay, I played Slow Pitch softball for years and we always spelled it with a W.  But I will lend some crossword constructor latitude.

34. Coif for the prom: UPDO. Not in my Funk and Wagnalls.

41. Flat to change, in Chelsea: TYRE.  I know Chelsea is in England, but I did not know that they don't know how to spell tire.

42. Attempt: TRY.  If at first you don't succeed …..

43. Profited: GAINED.  I depends what was gained.  If you gained weight, do you call that a profit?

44. Some fridges: GES.

45. Coop layer: HEN.  Chickens live in coops, I thought hens lived in hen houses.

46. Online chats, briefly: IMS. Instant Messages.

52. Airer of old quiz show reruns, for short: GSN.  I won't watch "Family Feud", I hate Steve Harvey.

54. San Antonio mission: ALAMO. Hi Up Santa Anna, We're killing your soldiers below.  So the rest of Texas will know …. And remember the Alamo.

55. Placate: APPEASE.

58. Doodle on the guitar: STRUM. Hee Haw

61. Get up: ARISE.

62. Summer weather word: HEAT. Miami NBA winter word.

63. Muffin spread: OLEO.  Covered this in the past.  When I was young, you could not buy yellow margarine in Wisconsin.  Minnesota had it, but they also had it in plastic bags where you had to pop a button and squeeze to color it.

64. Stuns in an arrest: TASES.

65. Legend: MYTH.

66. Hawaiian root: TARO. C.C. makes taro cakes from time to time. 

Down:

1. NCO below sgt.: CPL.  NCO is a non commissioned officer.  Corporal is the lowest ranked NCO.

2. False statements: LIES.

3. Thin spaghetti: ANGEL HAIR.  My favorite kind of pasta.

4. Anne who teamed with Stiller: MEARA.  Or Tiger Woods golf buddy Mark O'

5. Starbucks tea brand: TAZO.

6. Total up (to): AMOUNT. Trigger to Roy Rogers.

7. Running free: LOOSE.

8. "Lil'" rapper: KIM.

9. Pooh-poohs, with "at": SCOFFS.

10. Boutonniere site: LAPEL.  I prefer a number of lapel pins.  I can't spell Boutonniere.

11. Sports stadium: ARENA.  I have a problem with this. I consider Stadiums outdoors and Arenas indoors.  You can yell at me in the comments if I am wrong.

12. Lexicographer's love: WORDS.

13. Huge hit: SMASH.  Joe Mauer had one on Friday night vs. Detroit.

18. Every cloud's silver feature?: LINING.  I have heard this but I think an optimist made it up.

24. Go limp: WILT. I don't remember Mr. Chamberlain ever limping.

25. Moe or Curly, e.g.: STOOGE. Or Shemp or Larry

26. Rainbow flag letters: LGBT.

27. Well-ventilated: AIRY.

29. Anne Brontë, to Emily: SISTER.

32. Opposite of SSW: NNE.  I always fill in these clues first

33. One of many in TV's "The Americans": SPY.

34. AP competitor: UPI.  United Press International.  Lately I have noticed that our local paper gets a lot of stories from the New York Times and the Washington Post.  I can get them from MSNBC.

35. Florida, mostly: PENINSULA. And a huge one it is!

36. Consider to be: DEEM.

37. Pre-Kentucky Derby postings: ODDS.  In 1973, Secretariat went off at 1.5 to 1.  By the time he got to the Belmont Stakes he paid .10 to 1.  But the track still made a ton of money because thousands bought a $2.00 bet ticket and kept it as a souvenir.

39. Heavenly bear: URSA.  Ursa Major is the Big Bear.  Ursa minor is the small bear.

40. Birth control activist Margaret: SANGER.

44. Pointy-hatted garden figures: GNOMES.  I wonder if these will keep rabbits and squirrels away.  Fake owls did not work for us.

45. Jazz music fan: HEPCAT.

47. Attacks: HAS AT.  This is two words.  Not a boss of a Mideastern country.

48. Michelob diet beer: ULTRA.

49. He broke Ruth's home run record: MARIS. Yes I remember.  He broke the season record of 60.  Hank Aaron broke the career record of 714.  Then a few others broke the performance enhancement drug record in the nineties and 2000s.

50. Get a guffaw from: AMUSE.

51. "... mighty __ has struck out": CASEY.  There's no joy in Mudville.

53. Wooden shoe: SABOT.  This is not the boss of a Mideastern country either.

56. Way in the woods: PATH.

57. Weizman of Israel: EZER.

59. Unit of resistance: OHM.  I think gold has the least resistance to electric current, but it costs more than copper.

60. Animal house: ZOO.  Someone told me it's all happening at the ____.

Boomer

Sunday August 19, 2018 Mike Torch

Theme: "Loaf Affair"- Bread puns.

27A. Bread worshipers?: NAAN BELIEVERS. Non-believers. Unusual to see a themer starting in Row 4 rather than the traditional Row 3.

41A. Musical composition about a bread-loving pack animal?: PITA AND THE WOLF. Peter and the Wolf.

51A. Bread joke-teller's trait?: RYE SENSE OF HUMOR. Wry sense of humor.

73A. Celebratory wish over Jewish bread?: HAPPY CHALLAH DAY. Happy holiday.

81A. Ibsen title character's bread?: PEER GYNT'S WHEAT. Peer Gynt Suite.

96A. "Sorry, I meant to give you a plain burger"?: NO BUN INTENDED. No pun intended.

16D. Bread that only appears for a short time?: CAMEO ROLLS. Cameo roles.

66D. Bread with a winelike aroma?: NOSE SCONES. Nose cones.

Great to see Mike Torch back. He's a veteran constructor who has made many puzzles for the New York Times and LA Times.

We've seen food puns, but I don't recall one theme specifically focused on bread. Such a tight set of entries.
 
Across:

1. Breaks off: STOPS. Then 10. Kicks off: OPENS.

6. Window framework: SASH.

15. Cake-finishing artist: ICER. 70. 15-Across co-worker: BAKER. Is there really an ICER in a bakery?

19. Dugout, for one: CANOE. Nice clue.

20. Either of matching words, in a way: Abbr.: ANAG. OK, anagram.

21. Home to the Palazzo della Ragione: PADUA. Gary probably visited this place.

22. Pew area: NAVE.

23. Flopped financially: ATE IT. Tiny clue/answer dupe with  45. Disaster movie?: FLOP.

24. '60s protest slogan: BAN THE BOMB.

26. In: AMID.

29. In a dishonorable manner: BASELY.

31. Makes serious demands on: TAXES.

32. __ Geo: cable channel: NAT.

33. Source of intolerance: LACTOSE. Many Asians are lactose-intolerant, though the percentage shocks me.

34. Frequent savers: GOALIES. Oh, hi, Splynter!

37. Time div.: MIN.

39. "One of Ours" Pulitzer-winning author: CATHER.

40. Kick out: EXPEL.

46. Cooped-up critters: HENS.

47. Arms carriers?: TORSI. Another great clue.

49. Concerns: CARES.

50. Adjective for rapper Kim: LIL.

54. Diet including wild fruit: PALEO. I could not imagine a diet without carbs.

56. Vote in favor: YEA.

57. Music and art genre: FOLK.

58. "Lemme __!": AT 'EM.

59. Confines: PENS UP.

60. Two-time A.L. Manager of the Year Francona, familiarly: TITO.

61. Ballet movements: PLIES.

63. Cougar, e.g., briefly: MERC.

64. Declining due to age: SENILE.

67. Harbor view spot: PIER. Boomer and I were here in 2001.

68. Ore source: SEAM.

69. Easy sequence?: ABC.

72. Norwegian capital: KRONE. And 48. Norwegian capital: OSLO

77. "__ yours": "My gift": IT'S. And 78. Gift recipient: DONEE.

79. Big hits: BELTS.

80. NASA approvals: AOKS.

85. Stop in Québec?: ARRET.

86. Immerses in liquid: SOUSES.

87. Get it wrong: ERR.

88. Insurance company founded for rural workers: FARMERS. Learning moment for me.

90. Takes back: RECANTS.

92. Like some discount mdse.: IRR. Do you have Marshalls in your area? I love browsing there.

94. Left-hand page: VERSO.

95. King in "The Tempest": ALONSO.

102. El __: NINO.

103. Orchestra section: PERCUSSION.

106. Jenna, to Jeb: NIECE.

107. Nerd: GEEK.

108. Folding declaration: I'M OUT.

109. Cosmo rival: ELLE.

110. Europop's __ Base: ACE OF.

111. Besides: ELSE.

112. Bottomless gulf: ABYSS.

113. Passing out at the table?: DEAL. I was picturing something scary.

114. Golf Channel analyst Wadkins: LANNY. Left. He was at 3M last year.

Down:

1. Doctor's order: SCAN. Boomer wants to just deal with this left shoulder pain (rotator cuff problem) rather than having surgery.

2. Part of TTFN: TATA.

3. Most eligible for service: ONE A.

4. Ineffective: POINTLESS.

5. Put a price on freedom?: SET BAIL. Lovely clue.

6. Fine furs: SABLES.

7. Writer Nin: ANAIS.

8. Reasonable: SANE.

9. "Fixer Upper" network: HGTV.

10. Verdi creation: OPERA.

11. L.A.-based brewery: PABST.

12. Tokyo, formerly: EDO. Watched quite a few dramas set in Edo period.

13. O.T. book: NUM.

14. Religious observances: SABBATHS.

15. Fretful: IN A STEW.

17. Harmful aspects: EVILS.

18. Try a new shade on: REDYE. And 25. Salon coloring: HENNA.

28. Program file suffix: EXE. I must have drove D-Otto/TTP out of their mind last week by failing to access the Safe Mode. But I failed forward. I learned something.

30. Masseuse's target: ACHE.

33. "See ya!": LATER.

34. Architect Frank: GEHRY. Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao)

35. Yellow-and-white daisy: OXEYE.

36. Sleep study subject: APNEA.

37. Soybean paste: MISO. Yeah, to natives and those in the know (as Yellowrocks), Miso is just paste, not soup. The soup is always called "Miso soup".

38. "Do __ you must": IT IF.

39. PC insert: CD ROM.

41. Nursery sch.: PRE-K.

42. Sharp: ACUTE.

43. Mentions specifically: NAMES.

44. Place: LIEU.

47. U.S. security: T NOTE.

52. Option for a return: E-FILE.

53. Precarious: HAIRY.

54. Prefix with frost: PERMA.

55. Mandela's org.: ANC. African National Congress.

59. Bell sounds: PEALS.

60. Like the Oz woodsman: TIN.

61. Singing voice, informally: PIPES.

62. Looney Tunes stinker: LE PEW.

63. Soften in feeling: MELT.

64. Hop-jump link: SKIP.

65. Art Deco artist: ERTE. Jazzbumpa is another ERTE (R/T). His real name is Ron Toth.

67. Breathes hard: PANTS.

68. Ocean feature: SALT.

69. Worship: ADORE.

71. Dermatologists' concerns: CYSTS.

73. Refines: HONES.

74. "Good buddy": CBER.

75. Pick up: HEAR.

76. Blues musician's "harp": HARMONICA.

78. Literally, Greek for "bad place": DYSTOPIA. Good to know.

82. Lost Colony's island: ROANOKE. Another learning moment for me.

83. Big biceps, at the gym: GUNS.

84. Chef's supply: HERBS. One more clue/answer dupe.  88. Aromatic herb: FENNEL. Cilantro is the only fresh herb most Chinese use.

85. London football club: ARSENAL.

89. Part of MoMA: ART.

90. Span: RANGE.

91. The senior Saarinen: ELIEL. Father of crossword stalwart EERO.

92. Ear bone: INCUS.

93. Opposites of squeakers, in sports: ROUTS.

94. Davis with an Oscar, Emmy and two Tonys: VIOLA. Classy lady.

97. Employed: USED.

98. Luxor's river: NILE. Luxor is also the avatar name of a bygone poster on our blog. Luxor enjoyed attacking others.

99. Cook Paula: DEEN.

100. B-school course: ECON.

101. Rebel against: DEFY.

104. Diplomatic bldg.: EMB. Here is US Embassy in Beijing.

105. Pop artist Lichtenstein: ROY.

C.C.

Saturday, August, 18, 2018, Tracy Bennett and Erik Agard

Themeless Saturday Puzzle By Tracy Bennett and Eric Agard

Today is National Geocaching Day. My first attempt at this sport was done using a similar GPS device and reading it while driving at 60 mph. My dippy partner from Omaha was about as useful as a screen door in a submarine.

We found our "cache" in a cemetery and it contained one playing card and then we found four other cards at four other sites to make our poker hand and compete for quickest time and best hand. When we got back to the classroom, a group of young ladies who did not even have to leave the campus had beaten us by one minute although our poker hand did beat theirs! Am I crying discrimination? Well maybe I'm just whispering 😇

Competitive? Me? Yeah, a little!

Today's constructors are Tracy Bennett and Erik Agard. I had a themeless Saturday puzzle from  Erik on June 2 of this year and will repeat my link to Erik Agard interview with C.C. 

Here is some bio info on Tracy - Tracy lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she manages a staff of 17 copy editors for Mathematic Reviews. Married to a jazz drummer, with a 12 -yr-old son she describes as "puzzling". Tracy started constructing crosswords after attending her first ACPT in 2011. She credits Patrick Berry's Crossword Puzzle Challenged for Dummies for teaching her the ropes.

Tracy Bennett                        Erik Agard

My solve yielded as many empty cells as Alcatraz in 2018 until I hit the SE corner where I couldn't fill fast enough and then worked my way back north and those cells soon looked like Alcatraz circa 1939. There was just enough spice to make for a delightful etymological brew.

Now let's see the eclectic fill supplied by this twosome:

Across: 

1. Break away from the pack: PULL AHEAD - No matter how they come out of the blocks, he knows he can PULL AHEAD

10. Mixer setting: WHIP  - Oster must have had someone in charge of assigning these verbs

14. One in a deli dozen: ONION BAGEL 

16. Accent sound?: HONK - Car names like the one on this Hyundai allow much cluing mischief

17. Eligible voters: ELECTORATE - Not going there...

18. Bill nos.: AMTS - The Persian character for 1,000 is ۱۰۰۰. I assume Tracy and Erik did not mean AMTS on bills you pay

19. Strips on a tree: TINSEL - Besides adorning Christmas trees, metal strips can also scare away birds from orchards and vineyards

20. Under-the-bed figment, hopefully: MONSTER - I never looked!

22. "__ 281": film about the making of "Citizen Kane": RKO - 281 is the original production number of this RKO movie and this documentary tells the incredible story of the many difficulties in making what some consider to be the best American movie of all time. Want to know more?

23. Crest: APEX - ACME, we'll give you the next puzzle

25. Capital city that's home to the Garden of Babur: KABUL - Developed in 1528 and named for the first Mughai Emperor. Babur's burial site is here

27. "__ Blues": "White Album" track: YER - If you must -  John singing Yer Blues with the Plastic Ono Band

28. Heat fig.: BTU.

29. Burrito filling word: ASADA - A Carne ASADA (literally "meat grilled") burrito 

30. "Be right there": WAIT JUST A SEC - A "Leaving Mantra" for my wife and two daughters  

34. Words dismissing the statement that preceded them: SAID NO ONE EVER - ... and yet they persist

36. "That's enough of that": WE'RE DONE HERE - Kitty in charge

37. "__ porridge hot ... ": PEASE  - The original singular was pease, and the plural was peasen. Over the centuries, pease became used as the plural, peasen was dropped, pea was created as a new singular, and finally pease was respelled peas. You're welcome!

38. Cybertalk elements: IM'S - Grandkids want to came to see us for the last weekend before school. The event was set up with 10 Internet Messages 

39. "Portlandia" network: IFC - Independent Film Channel owned  by AMC Movie Corporation

42. Rhyme scheme for Edward Lear: AABBA - Our own Owen brilliantly utilizes this scheme at this electronic popsicle stand

43. Sounds from squeaky toys?: YIPS - Our neighbor's dog is a Toy Poodle and his YIP is annoying

45. Emulating: ALA.

46. "The Wiz" tune with the lyric "You're the bravest of them all": BE A LION - An inspirational song with a stellar cast!

48. Samples: TASTES.

51. Former?: MOLD - Shaking the Jell-O after it has been removed from the MOLD

52. Seriously sedate: PUT TO SLEEP - Two sad days when we did this to our first two Siamese kitties

54. Dictate: RULE.

55. Covert '50s-'70s federal flier: AIR AMERICA - The CIA's "airline" that flew out of these East Asian bases and was disbanded after the Vietnam War ended, so they say...

56. Eminem-inspired word for a rabid supporter: STAN - A depressing song about an obsessed Eminem fan named STANley Mitchell and what happens to him. MTV censored some of the graphic lyrics and images. Google if you must

57. Wicked "stawm": NOR'EASTER - Neither Christmas NOR EASTER were at our house last year. Yeah, I'll keep my day job.


Down:

1. "The only thing that matters": cummings: POETRY - Whatever floats your boat, e.e. 

2. Not typical of: UNLIKE - UNLIKE most, e.e. often used lower case letters for his name 

3. Property claimant: LIENOR - I suppose

4. Loans drawn as needed: Abbr.: LOCS - Our potential Line Of Credit is very high but will never be used

5. Stud stake: ANTE - a way to answer the poker question 43. "Coming along?": YOU IN?

6. Spanish cable network: HBO LATINO - It is on channels 517 (E) and 524 (W) in our town

7. Audition user?: EAR - Used here as a synonym for hearing

8. Height of one's ability: A GAME

9. Cleanse goal: DETOX - My dad went through this in 1971 

10. Hockey announcer's "Great stop!": WHAT A SAVE - Certainly applies here

11. Principal place of operations: HOME BASE - Union Pacific RR's is in Omaha

12. One breaking in: INTRUDER.

13. World Cup tiebreakers, for short: PKS - On Penalty KickS, the goalie has to guess, left/right/middle, high/low 

15. Dance judge Goodman: LEN - Okay

21. Camel performers: SKATERS  - Here is a SKATER doing a Flying CAMEL SPIN. The origin of the CAMEL name is up for debate (Hmmm..., three sports GIF's in a row)

24. Deceive: PUT ON 

26. Wisconsin's Fond du __: LAC  - It means "bottom of the lake". In this case it's Lake Winnebago

28. Agreement with Satan, by most accounts: BAD DEAL - A trailer for a wonderful musical about Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter) selling his soul to Satan (Ray Walston) to become a great ball player in exchange for his soul

30. Capital of Hesse: WIESBADEN - This central German town's name literally means "Meadow Bath" for its hot springs, 14 of which are still active

31. Average __: JOE - See Joe Hardy above and our own Average Joe who rarely shows up any more at our electronic popsicle stand and is sorely missed

32. Not cool: UNHIP - 33. "I'd say ... ": SEEMS TO ME to me Grandpa that the chains and backward ball cap on you is UNHIP

34. Check into: SEE ABOUT - Last week I posted the 1964 Beatles appearance on Ed Sullvan. Here's another trip in Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine to see this super group on Shindig in 1964 singing this fill

35. Strauss opera: ARABELLA - A choice between this Strauss Opera or Damn Yankees? With my plebeian taste, it's not even close

36. New Deal agcy.: WPA - The Works Progress Administration built the Oak Ballroom in Schuyler, NE using oaks from the nearby Platte River

39. Disappointing reply to "Where's the last chocolate truffle?": I ATE IT - Then three-year-old granddaughter made me a birthday cupcake but when she saw me she said, "Papa, here's the deal I ATE your cupcake". Ten years later this June it became part of my Father's Day gift from her!

40. Cool-weather material: FLEECE.

41. Reagan defense secretary Weinberger: CASPAR - A Republican workhorse

44. Opening: INTRO - I try to use a "holiday" and some public domain bio info on our constructors

47. Hoppy initials: IPA - India Pale Ale - A British brew named for it popularity with British soldiers in India

49. On the water: ASEA  might be a 53. One on the water: TAR - Just add an "e" to "On"

50. Shutterbugs' buys: SLR'S - My iPhone camera is great and always handy but there are times I wish I had a Single Lens Reflex camera 

51. Woolf's "__ Dalloway": MRS - I like to compare how different publishers present a book

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