Tuesday, March 10, 2015 John Lampkin

Theme: Rossini opera - I'll not link the overture; it's already playing in my head.

20A. *Ornamental flower with clustered blooms : SWEET WILLIAM

36A. *Blab about one's romantic life : KISS AND TELL

43A. *Luxury car until the 1930s : PIERCE-ARROW

57A. *Former PBS science show with a fruit in its title logo : NEWTON'S APPLE

65A. Body support for the end of 57-Across, in a Swiss folk tale suggested by the ends of the answers to starred clues : HEAD (Placed directly under APPLE)

Argyle here. Now this is more like it. I would not expect anything less from John.

Across:

1. Cavern effect : ECHO

5. Cornfield call : [CAW!]

8. "Frozen" studio : DISNEY

14. Amorphous mass : BLOB

15. "Say again?" : "HUH?"

16. Mercedes-Benz sedan line : E CLASS

17. Disapproving cries from bleacher "birds" : BOOs. The Boo Birds

18. Prefix with meter : ODO

19. "I do" setting : CHAPEL. And 33. "I do" : "YES"

23. Wall St. index : NYSE

24. Steeped brew : TEA

25. Badlands bovine : BISON

29. "Green Eggs and Ham" guy : SAM

31. Marshmallow-filled snack : MOON PIE

39. Brainchild : IDEA

41. "Dancing With the Stars" move : TWIRL

42. Law school newbie : ONE L. First year law student.

46. Like deadpan humor : DRY

47. Bringing up the rear : ENDMOST

48. Tail movement : WAG and 54A. Comment from Fido : [WOOF!]

50. "Speak up!" : "SAY IT!". "Good dog!"

51. Had a meal : ATE

61. African desert : SAHARA

64. Beat it : RAN. Made a hasty retreat.

66. Online form entry : USER ID

67. __-fi : SCI

68. Ireland, in poetry : ERIN

69. Sonnet features : RHYMES

70. 1930s N.L. home run king Mel : OTT. A Giant in crossword clues.

71. __ avis : RARA

Down:

1. Flows back : EBBS

2. Kids' party performer : CLOWN

3. Twaddle : HOOEY. Love it.

4. Think constantly about something : OBSESS

5. Food on the trail : CHOW. First thought, GORP.

6. Review of books? : AUDIT

7. Unbroken : WHOLE

8. Tenth: Pref. : DECI. Deca - comprised of ten.

9. Crane who fled the Headless Horseman : ICHABOD

10. Hit very hard : SLAM INTO

11. Snooze : NAP

12. Peoria-to-Cincinnati dir. : ESE

13. French designer's initials : YSL. (Yves Saint Laurent)

21. Shipbuilding wood : TEAK

22. Hedy of Hollywood : LAMARR

26. Use up cash : SPEND

27. Persian Gulf ship : OILER

28. Nice __: prude : NELLY. ...or not so nice.

30. Teeny parasites : MITES

32. At the minimum setting : ON LOW

33. "Goodness me!" : YIPES

34. Twin Cities suburb : EDINA

35. Like a run-down motel : SEEDY

37. Go after, as a mosquito : SWAT AT

38. Elton John's title : SIR

40. Linked while walking, as friends : ARM IN ARM

44. Circle of friends : COTERIE

45. H2O, to a toddler : "WAWA"

49. Burrowing rodent : GOPHER

52. Sculpted figure : TORSO

53. Put into law : ENACT

55. "The Marriage of Figaro," e.g. : OPERA

56. Knack : FLAIR

58. Rolls of money : WADS

59. Agitated state : SNIT

60. Funny Dame : EDNA. "Funny" funny dame.

61. Big __, California : SUR

62. Hearth remains : ASH

63. "Yo!" : "HEY!". "Wake up, the party's over!"

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our foodie Avg Joe! I could not locate his signature Ham and Split Pea Soup recipe on the blog last Christmas and winged it. The soup turned out to be very tasty but thick. Very filling.

Monday, March 9, 2015 Carol Hacker

Theme: Synonyms - Terms for changes in elevation.

17A. Past one's prime : OVER THE HILL

25A. Perilous course to go down : SLIPPERY SLOPE

43A. Achieves one's goal : MAKES THE GRADE

58A. Interest-paying institution : SAVINGS BANK

Argyle here. My first thought was this has a lot of echoes from recent puzzles. "Late in life" / "Over the hill" Ageism? We had a puzzle from Ms. Hacker last fall but still have no information about her. Personally, I found this effort rather flat with few redeeming qualities. I hope I'm missing something.

Across:

1. Works with yarn : KNITS

6. Anheuser-__ Brewery : BUSCH

11. Solomon, for one : JEW

14. Valium drug company : ROCHE. Swiss health-care company.

15. Snow-block home : IGLOO

16. Logger's tool : AXE

19. Doc for a kitty : VET

20. Thickness-measuring instrument : CALIPER

21. Hiker's tool : COMPASS

23. Mauna __ : LOA

24. Actress Zellweger : RENÉE

30. Margarita condiment, in Mazatlán : SAL

32. Tiny amt. of time : NSEC. (nanosecond)

33. Ballet skirt : TUTU

34. Vote in : ELECT

36. Tom Collins liquor : GIN

38. Red giant with a carbon-rich atmosphere : C STAR

39. Say with assurance : AVER

40. Red-shirted bear : POOH. No pants.

42. Prefix with bar : ISO

48. Skin openings : PORES

49. "Saw __": second "Saw" sequel : III

50. Popeye's adoptee : SWEE' PEA

53. Lacking a handle? : UNNAMED

57. Bother a lot : IRK

60. Alphabet finale : ZEE

61. Where embryos develop : UTERI

62. Do-or-die poker bet : ALL IN

63. Finale : END

64. Heat-resistant glassware : PYREX

65. Writer/director Allen with four Oscars : WOODY

Down:

1. McDonald's founder Ray : KROC

2. __ Scotia : NOVA

3. Atlantic republic at the edge of the Arctic Cir. : ICEL. All I'll say is that it's been used before(still doesn't make it right).

4. Roller-coaster ride feeling : THRILL

5. Climactic tennis match situation : SET POINT

6. Oktoberfest quaff : BIER. The 'k' clues it as German.

7. "That turns my stomach" : "UGH!"

8. Deli machine : SLICER

9. Ant complex : COLONY

10. Watson's associate : HOLMES

11. Perked pot contents : JAVA

12. Couple that's split : EXes

13. Dampens : WETS

18. Piles : HEAPS

22. Furrier's hides : PELTS

24. Cookbook contents : RECIPES

25. Streamlined : SLEEK

26. Take down a __: humble : PEG

27. Navel variety : OUTIE. Belly button.

28. School support gps. : PTAs

29. Peseta replacement : EURO

30. Tailor's line : SEAM

31. Thomas __ Edison : ALVA

35. __ suzette: dessert pancake : CRÊPE

37. Christmas quaff : NOG

38. Logger's tool : CHAINSAW

41. Round gasket : O-RING

44. Cleans with a paper towel, as a spill : SOPS UP

45. War-ending pact : TREATY

46. Shot put competitor, e.g. : HEAVER

47. Devil, in Durango : DIABLO

50. Small or medium : SIZE

51. Small songbird : WREN

52. __ out a living: barely got by : EKED

53. Windows alternative : UNIX

54. Bueno's opposite : MALO

55. City near Tulsa : ENID

56. Big Apple fashion initials : DKNY. Donna Karan New York

59. Anger : IRE

Argyle

Sunday March 8, 2015 Ed Sessa

Theme:  "Hide and Seek" - GEO is hidden (cached) in the middle of each theme answer.

 23A. *Come (to), more or less : AVERAGE OUT. This added "to" in the brackets makes the entry look like a partial. It's not.

 38A. *Subject of lengthy debate : AGE-OLD QUESTION.

 60A. *Union proposal? : MARRIAGE OFFER. Reminds me of the "Union agreement" for I DO.

 81A. *Play it safe : HEDGE ONE'S BETS

 98A. *Mitigate : TAKE THE EDGE OFF

 15D. *Sulu, for one : BRIDGE OFFICER. Our Spitzboov reached "Commander" rank. Commander Spitzboov!

 59D. *Trial movement : CHANGE OF VENUE. Two pairs of theme entries intersect in this grid. This often makes filling easier, but it takes skills & luck to make crossing happen..

Reveal entry:

120A. Hide-and-seek activity utilizing GPS ... and what is literally done in the answers to

starred clues : GEOCACHING

Very few word start with EO*, so Mr Ed's break pattern is consistently *GE O* (quite a few OF*).

Thought of CrossEyedDave immediately when I came to the reveal entry. He's into Geocaching. How's your knee lately, Dave?

 

Did any of you have trouble with the BLEW (15A. Left, in slang) clue? I just could not figure it out. Finally asked the "always there: Santa Argyle. He explained:

"Left, as in "didn't stay" 

The party was a drag so we blew the joint and went to the club."

Across:

1. Head up, in a way : CLIMB. Also 19. One on the trail : HIKER

6. Future MD's exam : MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). And 71D. 6-Across takers, e.g. : TESTEES

10. Pick-me-up pill : NO-DOZ

20. Short-cut pasta : ORZO. Never had it. You?

21. Windy City hub : O'HARE

22. Opposite of a pan : RAVE. Of course I was picturing a cooking pan!

25. Many a worm : BORER

26. Emphatic type: Abbr. : ITAL

27. Adjust, as a spreadsheet : RE-SIZE

28. Company VIP : PREZ

30. Observation platform : ROOF DECK

32. E Street Band guitarist Lofgren : NILS

34. "Mr. Pim Passes By" playwright : MILNE. This I learned from PIM clue.

37. "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" musical : GIGI

 

43. Versailles assembly : SENAT. French Senate.

46. Line partitions: Abbr. : SEGS (Segments)

47. "Friendly Skies" co. : UAL

48. Observed : SAW. And 49. Observes : BEHOLDS

51. Former red state: Abbr. : SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). Nice clue angle. "Red state".

52. Like the bell of a trumpet : FLARED

55. Biblical shepherd : ABEL

57. South Korean sportswear company : FILA. Very popular in China. South Korean soap operas are extremely popular in China also. Lots of girls visit South Korea just for the plastic surgery.

58. Was duly humiliated : ATE CROW. Are crows actually edible?

 

64. IMO, in "Hamlet" : METHINKS. To answer your question, Dudley, there's beauty in symmetry.

66. Spare tyre sites : BOOTS

67. Old "Oyez!" shouters : CRIERS

68. "__ of robins ..." : A NEST

69. "Give Peace a Chance" co-writer, per Lennon : ONO

70. Colonial story : ATTIC. And 84. 70-Across function : STORAGE

72. Holds tight : CLINGS

75. Metal-threaded fabrics : LAMES.  Fabrics with "metallic threads". Metal-threaded brought up a different image for me.

77. Diminished : LESSENED

85. Fit to __ : A TEE

86. Of no consequence : MOOT

87. London borough : SUTTON. Not familiar to me.

89. Network with a three-box logo : BBC. Never thought of them as three boxes.

90. Admission of error : I GOOFED. Lovely 7-letter fill.

92. Swipe from : ROB

95. Cedar Rapids college : COE

96. Fountain order : SODA

97. Chief Powhatan's son-in-law : ROLFE

 

102. Reproductive cell : OVUM

104. Lee __, first African-American to play in the Masters : ELDER. I confused him with Calvin Peete.

105. Bearing a grudge : SORE

106. Scroll key : PAGE DOWN. So, what keyboard are you using? Mine is an old Microsoft Comfort 5000. Love it.

109. Where lines may be read : PALM. Nice clue.

112. Pity-evoking quality : PATHOS. Like what?

116. St. Patrick's land : ERIN

117. Medical co. in the DJIA : J AND J. Big plant in Shanghai.

122. In __ of: replacing : LIEU

123. "Shaq Diesel" rapper : O'NEAL

124. Regarding : IN RE

125. Standing tall : ERECT

126. Facility : EASE

127. __-Croatian language : SERBO

128. Word with waffle or sugar : CONE. Are you familiar with Kakigōri? So popular in Japan.

129. Bros : DUDES

Down:

1. Scorch : CHAR

2. Like many old soaps : LIVE. Soap operas.

3. Turner and others : IKEs

4. Soft-wool sources : MERINOS

5. 2014 World Cup site : BRAZIL.  And 106. Sports legend of 5-Down : PELE

6. Comedian Howard with a bowl-cut hair style : MOE. Hi there, Chairman Moe!

7. Whip handle : CROP

8. Bleu shade : AZUR

9. Aboriginal emblems : TOTEMS

10. Noodle : NOB

11. "What do we have here?!" : OHO

12. __ Criss, who plays Blaine on "Glee" : DARREN. He looks very familiar.

13. Twistable treat : OREO. National Oreo Day is March 6.

14. "Gravity" effect : ZERO G

 

16. Well beyond one's prime : LATE IN LIFE

17. FEMA concern : EVAC

18. Old TV host with an accordion : WELK

24. Neuter, as horses : GELD

29. Comic strip about a high schooler : ZITS

31. Flounder, e.g. : FISH

33. Complains : SQUAWKS. Another snazzy 7-letter fill.

35. __ Fáil: Irish "stone of destiny" : LIA. We just had it last Monday.

36. "Don't go yet" : NO, WAIT

38. State in northeast India : ASSAM

39. "Beau __" : GESTE

40. Heron relative : EGRET

41. Former Mideast org. : UAR.  Don't google. Guess who is the second Most Powerful Arab Woman in 2015?

42. K-5 or K-6: Abbr. : ELEM

44. Freud contemporary : ADLER

45. Nicholas and Alexander : TSARS

49. Mooch : BEG

50. Puts in, as a political office : ELECTS TO

52. __ benefit : FRINGE

53. Like the town in a Ricky Nelson hit : LONESOME. "Lonesome Town". Unfamiliar to me.

54. Tops, slangily : DA BOMB. For Jayce! I Really Really Like You.

56. Fundamental : BASAL

 

61. Blakley of "Nashville" : RONEE

62. Digs for bats : ROOSTS. "Digs for..." is a great misdirection.

63. Prayer : ORISON. I learned from doing crosswords. Same root as Orate.

65. Canonized fifth-cen. pope : ST. LEO

72. Offer to a guest : CHAIR

73. Move on : LET GO. I've learned to let go.

74. Guiding doctrines : IDEOLOGIES

76. Starlike : ASTRAL

78. Jar Jar Binks' home planet : NABOO. We had this before.

79. Staff sequence : EGBDF

80. "Unleaded" drink : DECAF

82. Sign of approval : NOD

83. "We are __ stuff / As dreams are made on": Prospero : SUCH

88. Tot's piggy : TOE

91. Duel precursor, perhaps : FEUD

93. Signed off on : OK'D

94. Road alert : BEEP

96. Sexy, in a way : SEE-THRU. I linked this before. Fake see-thru skirts.

98. Sawbuck : TENNER. Not a word I use.

99. Lamentable : TRAGIC

100. L-__: Parkinson's treatment : DOPA

101. Honored : GRACED

103. Magic charms : MOJOS. Argyle has magic power!

107. Musical highlight : ARIA. Still waiting for the "Vegas luxury hotel" clue for ARIA, Steve!

108. Taper off : WANE

110. Fallon's predecessor : LENO

111. Poetic time : MORN

113. Ran, old-style : HIED

114. Fairy tale start : ONCE

115. Mil. base drillers : SGTS

118. Small application : DAB. I've concluded that we don't really need eye creams/eye gels.  Moisturizers are enough.

119. "Idol" judge, familiarly : J. LO

121. Central opening? : CEE

C.C. 

Saturday, Mar 7th, 2015, Daniel Nierenberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,W,X)

Blocks: 27

  I would have to say it depends on one's approach to a crossword that can make all the difference.  Last week I struggled with a Silkie that most others from the corner seemed to do well on.  Today, I cruised through this puzzle with nary a hiccup.  Just over the half-way mark of my personal time, too.  Of course, a lack of personal/proper names did help tremendously, too ;7))    Anyway, triple stacks of 10's and 7's in the corners, and a pair of 8-letter fills on the inside.  Some of the longer answers;

1. It's often swiped at offices : ACCESS CARD - I thought "PAPER CLIPS" - but with "PUNCH in" at 2d., I 'ventured forth' (6d) with APPLE iPADS, which seemed logical - lots of people I know do business with a tablet these days; I'm one of them - my Home Inspections are done thru an app on my tablet, and I send the report via email.  Did you hear about Apple's new tape measure~?  It's called the "iRule"....

61a. Surrounded : UNDER SIEGE - good movie, too; featured Steven Segal as a "CPO" (q.v. 50a.) - the Wiki

O - ah - O - ah - O-ah-O-ah - O - AH  - O - nward~!

ACROSS:

11. Censor's target : SMUT - for those in the area, I had "-MU-" and considered IMUS

15. Deer, e.g. : PLANT EATER

16. Leveret's dad : HARE - huh - I thought this was a personal name, and did not get it until I looked it up during the write-up; new word for me

17. Reminder, often : POST-IT NOTE

18. Largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA - once I had -LB-, the rest was 'E-Z' - or is that "E" "A"~!?

19. Slip in a store: Abbr. : RCT - receipt, not the "oops" of a lawsuit

20. Quarters : ROOMS - huh - a WAG that never went away; I like those guesses

21. Olympics coach Karolyi et al. : BELAs

22. "Fooled ya" : I KID

24. Corn lead-in : UNI - unicorn

25. Carbon compound found in crude oil : BUTENE - threw in the first 6-letter "fuel" I could think of; in this case, it was ETHANE, and that's strictly 33% correct

26. Closed up : SILENT - ah, a personal description, not an end-of-day routine

28. Attire for filmdom's The Mask : ZOOT SUIT

30. Month in el invierno : ENERO - Spanish~?  Month~? WAG 'enero', Spanish for January

31. Terminal : DEPOT - I have a question that I'd like everyone's feedback on; see the end of the write-up

32. Member of the fam : SIS - Started with SIB, but I did not think 14d. was going to end with "-TB" - but not unheard of; could have been "Silent B"

33. Tiny time div. : nSEC - nanosecond - or, the equivalent of 1 second to 31.71 YEARS~!  Since light travels 11.8 inches in one nSEC, it's referred to as a "light foot" - could you call that a "Gordon"~!?

35. Govt. collectors : T-MEN - I put in G-men, but T is better; refers to the Treasury

37. "Sweet!" : RAD

40. Norwegian flag feature : CROSS

42. Indian bigwig : RAJAH - Ooops, went with RANEE - that's the missus

46. Intimate : ONE-TO-ONE

48. Words to a savior : "MY HERO~!"

49. Breaks off : SEVERS - huh.  Filled this in, took it out, and ended up putting it back in

50. Naval NCO : CPO - Chief Petty Officer - e.g. Casey Rybeck (who~?)

52. Big name in shaving : ATRA - change up from the usual cluing

53. "The Girl Next Door" co-star Hirsch : EMILE - I have the DVD - but did NOT cheat; all perps

54. Work unit : JOULE - usually, it's "ERG"

56. Much : FAR - my only 'meh' for the day

57. West Virginia resource : COAL

58. Lingered : HUNG AROUND

60. Biblical preposition : UNTO - dah~! Not THOU

62. High school subject? : TEEN - is that a "high" school subject, or a high school "subject"~?  ;7P

63. Commercial success : BEST-SELLER

DOWN:

1. Inform : APPRISE - Oddly, I've heard this word twice this week

2. Start work : CLOCK IN - daH~!  Not PUNCH in

3. Medieval Iberian kingdom : CASTILE - all I had to WAG was the "I" - Love the flag

4. Fictional giant : ENT - ah, from the "Rings" movie trilogy; perps again

5. Activity : STIR

6. Venture forth : SET OUT

7. PowerShot maker : CANON - I like their printers, too

8. Reduce to minute particles : ATOMIZE

9. Soaks, as hemp : RETS

10. Beats Electronics co-founder : DRE - Bought my brother the wireless headphones for Christmas - I have not heard how good they are (pun intended), but for the price, I should be able to hear them from the next town over....

11. Rain may fall in them : SHEETS

12. Hammer-shaped bone : MALLEUS

13. Pope who initiated the First Crusade : URBAN II - the "I-I" at the end did not concern me

14. Dollhouse accessories : TEA SETS - I would love to build a custom dollhouse for my daughter - in fact, I would just love to have "a daughter"

21. Like shortbread : BUTTERY

23. "Blue Velvet" actress : DERN

25. Horizontal spar : BOOM

27. Reason for overtime : NO SCORE - say, in ice hockey.  This Wednesday, we're going to try playing with a puck instead of a ball, so I am planning on modifying a pair of skates so that I can take a shot off my toe without breaking bones - my experience has taught me that taking a ball on the toe stings like a sonofabitch; and the plastic pucks are harder....

29. Goes (for) : OPTS

31. Maker of the Ultra Set trap : d-CON - becoming a Sat crossword staple

34. Mythical archer : EROS

36. Okinawa's capital : NAHA - bottom left

37. Diamond buyer's choice : ROSE CUT

38. Red flower created from the blood of Adonis : ANEMONE

39. Digress : DEVIATE

41. Motion backing : SECONDS - we have business meetings in AA - which includes motions and seconds and voting

43. Aviation supply : JET FUEL

44. Put in order : ARRANGE

45. Compulsive subject of a former A&E series : HOARDER

47. Rat out : TELL ON

48. Grinders : MOLARS - ah, teeth, not sandwiches

51. __ Sound, part of the Salish Sea : PUGET - DAH~! Shoulda gotten this; I visited Seattle WA some years ago - I'd like to go back, too

54. Alexandrite is one of its birthstones : JUNE - Oh how I love the name Alexandra.  As for the clue, the choices were JUNE or JULY - so I filled in JU-- and waited.

55. Gaelic language : ERSE

58. Center : HUB - Our UPS center is referred to as a terminal - the largest HUB is Worldport in Kentucky; the Medford facility where I'm at is 24 years old - and it's outdated.

59. Whale __ : OIL

Splynter

 OK, so - I am working on my board game, and I have to come up with some clever street names - I have a list of some of my personal favorites, but I'd like to hear what your favorite street name is....

Friday, March 6, 2015, Steve Marron

Theme: There is no "I" in Steve Marron's name

Our own tag team titan from Wednesday's well traveled and witty Steve has taken an old saw and made it into a reveal 61A. Sports cliché that explains 17-, 28-, 35- and 47-Across : THERE'S NO I IN TEAM (15) which spans the grid and explains that all the other nonsensical fill are sports teams with the letter "I" removed from the names. Really cute, and inventive, and a classic Friday structure with lower word count and fewer blocks, with the average word length almost 5 and 1/2 letters. This led to lots of 7 and 8 letter fill like ABYSMAL, ACERBIC,  AD ASTRA,  AMPERES,  ATTACHE, BASKETS, BASMATI, CATBERT, ECSTASY, ENTWINE, SEETHES, STREETS, UTENSIL, VIEWING, MANIACAL, VENDETTA. Very fresh fill and almost no common answers (IRA, TEN and AHA) another rising star emerging in the LAT world from our little Corner. Remember when we used to say, Oh great that is C.C.'s third solo, or marti's? Let's see what this transplanted Brit brought.

17A. Pennsylvania athletes : PITTSBURGH PIRATES (15) I bet it was deducing that this team left 15 letters when the Is were removed that made this puzzle possible for Steve. Well done catch.

28A. Florida athletes : MIAMI DOLPHINS (10) I love seeing my hometown team (they actually no longer play in Miami) and the fact the mirror clue is also an NFL team.

35A. Illinois athletes : CHICAGO FIRE (9). We have soccer, to go with football. Of course to Steve this too is football, so....There also is a current TV Show with this name. Am I the only one who finds it odd that things are named after a terrible disaster?

47A. Michigan athletes : DETROIT LIONS (10). Like the Dolpins they are in a long span of futility.
and the reveal as above
61A. Sports cliché that explains 17-, 28-, 35- and 47-Across : THERE'S NO I IN TEAM (15)
classic 5 theme 15, 10, 9, 10, 15 symmetry.

Across:

1. Biting : ACERBIC. What a witty way to begin.

8. Pulley wheel : SHEAVE. The things I learn here, I never knew THIS.

14. Beyond enthusiastic : MANIACAL. Is this a CSO for marti?

16. __ arch: blood vessel section : AORTIC. Is this a CSO for marti?

19. "Charlotte's Web" monogram : EBW. Elwyn Brooks White. Now I recall why I never remember this AUTHOR's full name. Notice that he likes dachshunds as well as correct use of English.

20. Like dreamers, often : ASLEEP.

21. Word of suspicion, to Tweety : TAWT I saw a puddy tat.

22. Steering aids : REINS. I like this clue so many ways, the misdirection, the sound....

24. __ moment : A HA. Is this two words?

26. Langley-based org. : CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. I had a high scholl classmate who went to work for them and I am hoping he will tell us his adventures at our upcoming 50th reunion.

27. Maritime raptor : ERNE.

32. Booyah, e.g. : STEW. Man this was hard for me, I only know the Stuart Scott version not the FOOD.

33. Tax shelter initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

34. Gray wrote one in a country churchyard : ELEGY.  He originally called it Stanza's Wrote in a Country Church-Yard. LINK.

39. Teatime choice : ASSAM. Leave it to Steve to know his teas.

42. "Un-PC" was added to it in 2014 : OED. Oxford Englsih Dictionary.

43. "Take a Chance on Me" group : ABBA.

50. Company headquartered in Trollhättan : SAAB. WE had the ABBA/SAAB once before and I love it.

51. Fizzy prefix : AERate.

52. Words before hear or see : SO I.

53. Needing to be picked up : MESSY. Or perhaps this ANSWER (for Splynter?).

54. "Let it be" : STET.

56. Address label words : SEND TO.

60. Düsseldorf distances: Abbr. : KMS. The European mind, Kilometres.
,
64. Make final adjustments to, as a concert piano : RETUNE.

65. Family feud : VENDETTA. I recently rewatched one of my favorite Natalie Portman movies.

66. They may be intangible : ASSETS. Goodwill, for example.

67. Setting piece : UTENSIL.

Down:

1. Electrical units : AMPERES.

2. Scott Adams' Evil Director of Human Resources : CATBERT. He has such a strange mind.

3. Wrap around : ENTWINE.

4. Grafton's "__ for Ricochet" : R IS. Between Wheel of Fortune and Sue Grafton there is always a saving fill.

5. Rum desserts : BABAS.

6. Post-op areas : ICUS. Intensive Care Units.

7. Red Sox great Yastrzemski : CARL. Not to be confused with another Carl, 13D. "Understanding is a kind of __": Sagan : ECSTASY.

8. The tenth Muse, to Plato : SAPPHO.

9. Old TV knob : HORizontal.

10. Proof word : ERAT.

11. Diplomatic official : ATTACHE.

12. Taking in : VIEWING.

15. Part of XXL: Abbr. : LGE.

18. Proceed : HEAD. Like head home, or HEAD EAST.(5:17).

23. Air freshener scent : NEW CAR.

25. Ray or Jay : ALER.

28. Emcee's aid : MICrophone.

29. The Era of __: period in Notre Dame sports lore : ARA. Parseghian.

30. Toon with a cat named Bowser : MAGOO. No memory of this feline.

31. Satisfy : PLEASE. It will satisfy me if you say please....

36. Health care orgs. : HMOS.

37. Vintner's prefix : OEN. We usually have Oeno.

38. Hose users: Abbr. : FDS. Fired Departments.

39. Words on the Royal Canadian Air Force badge : AD ASTRA. Latin for 'to the stars.'

40. Is ready to blow : SEETHES.

41. "__ of Philadelphia": Oscar-winning song : STREETS. Not a happy SONG.

44. Court scores : BASKETS.

45. Long-grained Asian rice : BASMATI. We ue primarily Jasmine.

46. Beyond poor : ABYSMAL. Fun word.

48. Pre-game decision makers : TOSSES. Of a coin.

49. Property encumbrance : LIEN. Oh goody, a real property law word.

53. Eiffel's world : MONDE. Just French.

55. Level : TRUE. True dat!

57. Fall mo. : NOVember.

58. "Mon __!" : DIEU. OMG! More Frawnche!!!

59. Salon treatment : TINT. Hair salon.

62. Sinusitis-treating MD : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.

63. Top __ : TEN. This is absolutley in my top ten favorite Steve Marron puzzles! Great Job! I did get a chance to ask Steve the genesis of this puzzle and he said, "I was working at home one morning and watching the Dan Patrick show on NBC Sports and he started to question the "No "I" in Team" tenet and that's what got me thinking." Remember to set your clocks ahead, and beware the Ides.  lemonade out.

Thursday, March 5, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Unchained Melody?"

If you only look at the surface of the answers, the puzzle may have seemed rather run-of-the-mill:

1-Across. *Onetime owner of Waldenbooks : KMART.

5-Down. *Bullseye logo company : TARGET.                  

29-Across. *Seller of Geoffrey Bandages : TOYS"R"US. Geoffrey is their giraffe mascot.

30-Down. *Bergdorf competitor : SAKS.

43-Across. *Craftsman company : SEARS.

46-Down. *Costco rival : SAMS CLUB.

But if you can visualize what C.C. has done with their placements (see the grid diagram at the bottom of the page), she elevates the whole thing with the coolest reveal(s) I have ever seen:
9-Across. With 74-Across, what each of the answers to starred clues is : CHAIN. Each of the theme entries is a CHAIN STORE.
74-Across. With 9-Across, what the answers to starred clues form : STORE. And when linked end to end, they form a STORE CHAIN. Brilliant!

And there was plenty else to like in the grid, with several AHA moments and smiles when I "got" the clues.

Across

6. TiVo predecessor : VCR. Obsolescent now?

14. Ancient Asia Minor region : IONIA. I never knew Asia Minor stretched as far as Michigan! ;-)

15. Mobile setting: Abbr. : ALA.bama.  I was all over the place on this one. Mobile phone? Mobile home? Aha! The city!!

16. __ trot : HOT TO.

17. Ocean tracker : SONAR.

18. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Nice fill.

20. __ Balls: snacks : SNO.

21. Hoedown honey : GAL.

23. 1841 French ballet heroine : GISELLE. The ballet premiered in Paris in 1841, to huge critical and commercial success. It is still performed to this day.

24. Minn. winter hrs. : CST. Central Standard Time, for C.C.!

25. Gets into a seat : ELECTS. You "get" your favorite pol into a seat, but only if you vote!

27. Compete for the America's Cup : SAIL. I think the last winner in 2013 was the USA team "Oracle." 

28. "Gotcha" : AHA.

31. Tic __ mints : TAC.

32. Speck : MOTE.

34. Ryder Cup chant : USA USA.  Do you think Davis Love can bring the USA to victory in 2016?

35. "Lux" composer : ENO. Stunning images, capturing light at different times of day. 4:45

36. Austere : STERN.

38. Halloween reactions : EEKS.

40. Spare pieces? : RIBS. Fun misdirection. DH makes the best spare ribs.

47. First name in shipping : ARI. Onassis.

50. Chalk holder : CUE TIP. Because "blackboard tray" wouldn't fit, and besides that, I really wondered if schools even use chalk any more?

54. Price number : ARIA. Nice misdirection - Leontyne Price is an amazing American soprano. I used to have the album of her and Placido Domingo from "Tosca."

55. "Well, lah-di-__!" : DAH.

56. ESPN Deportes language : ESPAÑOL.

58. Many a Persian : TOM. About half of them, I'd say?

59. Stringed instrument : VIOL.

61. Big headache : HASSLE.

62. "Who Gets the Last Laugh?" network : TBS.

63. Running things : IN POWER.

65. Excessively : TOO.

66. Common flight path : ARC.

67. Tom Jones' last Top 10 hit : SHE'S A LADY.

69. Birth-related : NATAL.

71. Let up : EASED.

72. Up to, in store signs : TIL.

73. Romantic text : I LUV U.

75. It may have a patch : EYE.  Arrrgh.  This year, Talk Like A Pirate Day is September 19, mateys!

76. Discharge, as from the RAF : DEMOB. DEMOBilization.


Down

1. They catch busses at stadiums : KISS CAMS.  Loved this clue / entry!! The word "buss" means "kiss."

2. NASA launch : MOON SHOT. Another great entry.  Did you know, that mooning someone is not illegal in Maryland?

3. Provide critical comments on : ANNOTATE.

4. Fjord relative : RIA.

6. Depressed areas : VALLEYS. Oh, I was thinking of economic depression.

7. Progressive Field team, on scoreboards : CLE.veland.  If nothing else, know your teams, fields, and baseball stars if you want to nail a C.C. puzzle! 

8. Sounded right : RANG TRUE.

9. Cartoonist Addams : CHAS. You may remember him best as the brains behind "The Addams Family"? I used to love his morbid cartoons in "The New Yorker."

10. Fine-tunes : HONES.

11. Took courses at midnight? : ATE LATE.

12. Salad bar option : ITALIAN. My favorite is Makoto ginger dressing.

13. SensoTouch 3D shaver, e.g. : NORELCO.

19. Neglect : DISUSE. Not to be confused with "misuse."

22. Baseball's Moises : ALOU. See? What'd I tell ya at 7d?

26. Rebel org. : CSA. Confederate States of America.

33. Slip : ERR.

37. "Way to go!" : NICE.

39. "Captain Phillips" setting : SEA. So simple, but would you believe, I had to wait for perps to be sure?

41. Orchard unit : BUSHEL.

42. Take apart : SEPARATE.

44. Fats Waller contemporary : ART TATUM. Here's the two of them together. 5:23

45. Border river, to Mexicans : RIO BRAVO. Gringos call it the "Rio Grande."

Map

47. Counsels : ADVISES.

48. Shower covering : RAIN HAT. I was wondering why anyone would wear anything while they were taking a shower?

49. "Fingers crossed" : I HOPE SO. Nice.

51. Campus aides, for short : TAs. Teaching Assistants.

52. Trendy : IN STYLE.

53. Golf Galaxy buy : POLO.

57. Ex-Soviet leader Brezhnev : LEONID.

60. Sore sort, maybe : LOSER.  How about someone who has snow-blowed and shoveled more than 100" of snow this winter, huh??!?!?!

64. Get one's feet wet : WADE. Which is what we'll be doing when it all starts to melt!

68. Tinkering letters : DIY. Do It Yourself.

70. Pub pint : ALE.

That's it for now - I have to go check out all the sales!!
Marti

Notes from C.C.: 

1) Rich makes the reveal entry cool, Marti, My CHAIN clue is simply: "With 74-Across, what the answers to the starred clues form. Then "See 9-Across" for STORE.  I also clued GISELLE as "Bündchen who's Forbes' highest-paid model for 7 consecutive years". Gosh!

  

2) The Indie 500 tournament is now open for registration. Click on Register for detailed information. The constructors are Erik Agard, Evan Birnholz, Peter Broder, Neville Fogarty, Andy Kravis and Finn Vigeland.