Sunday, January 10, 2016 Matt Skoczen

 Theme: "Mixed Doubles" - Both words in each made-up phrase can follow "Double".

 24. Dinner and a movie? : DATE STANDARD. Double date. Double standard.

31. Rotten luck in Rotterdam? : DUTCH WHAMMY. Double Dutch. Double whammy. Great clue.

47. Ceremony for the Jetsons? : SPACE WEDDING. Double space. Double wedding.

70. Citations from an underwriter? : INDEMNITY QUOTES. Double indemnity. Double quotes.

94. Earthquake? : FAULT TROUBLE. Double fault. Double trouble.

110. Lenscrafters employee? : VISION AGENT. Double vision. Double agent.

120. Answering in the form of a question? : JEOPARDY DUTY. Double jeopardy. Double duty.

Very manageable grid. Seven entries with 85 theme squares. The minimum for a 21*21 grid is 84 squares (35 for a 15*15).

The more I construct, the more I realize how hard it is to come up with perfect clues for this type of theme. You need the phrases to have basic surface sense, and you need them to be funny.

Across:

    

1. Holiday dinner choices : BRISKETS. Meaty start. Stacked 8's at upper left/lower right corners.

9. Happen : BEFALL

15. Bond villain with a "great football of a head" : MR BIG. I only know Mr Big from  "Sex and the City".

20. "1984" superstate : EAST ASIA. All crosses. Never read "1984".

21. Bibliography catchall : ET ALIA

22. Pop singer __ Marie : TEENA

23. Georgia native : ATLANTAN. Not the country Georgia.

26. Equine shade : ROAN

27. World's first independent credit card company, initially : DCI.  Diners Club International. Normally it's clued as a Roman numeral. Avoided the angle today due to the crossing CML  (28. Roman 950).

29. Compound with a fruity aroma : ESTER

30. Shades : HUES

36. Cast out : EXILE

 

38. Cyclist's obstacle : STEEP HILL. I presume all's flat in your area, D-Otto?

39. Genesis setting : EDEN

42. Patty Hearst alias : TANIA

46. Abbr. under a dotted line : SIG (Signature)

50. Org. concerned with whistleblower laws : OSHA. I associate them with workplace safety only. 

54. SeaWorld splasher : SHAMU. And 87. 54-Across, e.g. : ORCA

57. 20 Mule Team brand : BORAX

58. Within: Pref. : ENTO

59. Couch potato's acquisition, perhaps : PAUNCH. It's perfectly fine to have some belly fat. The paunch protects our stomach and other organs.

61. Many hits : SONGS. Was thinking of Google hits.

63. Masters : HAS DOWN

65. In a way, casually : SORTA

66. Unisex designer fragrance : CK ONE. Tried it once. Did not like the smell.

67. Floor : SHOCK

69. Kind of milk : SOY. When I lived in Shanghai, my standard breakfast was a mug of hot soy milk and a big rice ball (Fantuan). Changed to two fried rice balls after I moved to Guangzhou.

74. CBS-owned cable sta. : SHO. All crosses.

77. Heraldic shield borders : ORLES. This used to stump me. 

78. Grammar topic : NOUNS. Wanted USAGE. Clues without a clear "plural" hint always get me.

79. Ultimately become : END UP

83. Harbor : CONCEAL. Can you give me an example on how these two equate?

85. Canadian author and environmentalist Farley __ : MOWAT. Total stranger.

86. Piece of poetry : STANZA

 

88. TV golf analyst Nick : FALDO. Sir Nick Faldo. Biting at times. Just like Johnny Miller.

91. "No big deal" : IT'S OK

93. Sandcastle maker's aid : PAIL

 

97. Street cred, say : REP. Reputation.

99. Tests, with "out" : FEELS

100. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI

101. Food coloring and such : ADDITIVES

107. Real stinker : SKUNK

112. Alaskan island closer to Russia than to the Alaskan mainland : ATTU

 

115. Doesn't let go of : KEEPS

118. Massage site : SPA

119. Chocolate craving, e.g. : URGE

123. Millard Fillmore's birthplace : LOG CABIN. I only know Lincoln was born in a cabin.

127. Cage or Penn : ACTOR

128. Honey : DEARIE

129. Mini follower : IPOD NANO. Gary and I exchanged our favorite podcasts two weeks ago. My top 5 is not in his top 5.

130. River through Lake Geneva : RHONE

131. Approval : ASSENT

132. Figure that includes returns : NET SALES

Down:

1. Features common to Yosemite Sam and Uncle Sam : BEARDS

2. Squeal on : RAT OUT

3. Runs behind : IS LATE. So, can I put IS EARLY in a grid also? How about IS RUDE?

4. Position : STANCE

5. National Teachers Hall of Fame state: Abbr. : KAN. 15. Any of Colorado's fourteeners: Abbr. : MTN. Both unknown trivia to me.

6. Educ. guess : EST

7. Spanish relative : TIA

8. Summer footwear : SANDAL. So cold here.

9. Make murky : BEDIM. Not a word I use.

10. Touchdown letters : ETA

11. The way it goes : FATE. Simple in retrospect. That's how it goes in crossword solving.

12. Pale orders : ALES

13. Talk radio fan : LISTENER

14. Swim cap material : LATEX

16. Like Anne of Green Gables : RED-HEADED

17. Suitor : BEAU

18. About, in memos : IN RE

19. Traipses : GADS

25. Former press secretary Fleischer : ARI. Tiger's adviser for a very short time.

32. Some printers : HPS. Ours is HP Envy.

33. Sibilant sound : WHISH. Not SWISH.

34. Word with seas and spirits : HIGH

35. "You betcha!" : YEP!

37. Inc. kin : LTD

40. Small applications : DABS

41. Friendly opening? : ECO. Eco-friendly.

43. Benito's boys : NINOS

44. Parted : IN TWO

45. Intense feeling : AGONY

47. Branch of Islam : SUNNI

48. Fast tropical swimmers : WAHOOS. Can you pluralize CARP also?

49. More than demand : EXACT

50. Special __ : OPS

51. Common word on Brazilian maps : SAO

52. "Ben-__" : HUR

53. Opponent : ANTI

55. Information desk sign : ASK ME

56. Titania and Oberon, e.g. : MOONS

60. Craft pointed in two directions? : CANOE. I liked the clue once I grokked the "point".

62. "I can't __ ...": Stones lyric : GET NO

64. Sport invented by hunters : SKEET. Oh, good to know. Slight dupe HUNTS (68. Searches).

66. Wine holder : CELLAR

67. Thickset : SQUAT

71. Breeze : DRAFT. And 73. Breeze : SNAP

72. "That hurts!" : YOWIE

74. Thumb one's nose (at) : SCOFF

75. Greek goddesses of the seasons : HORAE. This trio. Learning moment for me.

76. When to enter : ON CUE

80. Type of profiling : DNA

81. Arm of Israel : UZI

82. __ around with : PAL

84. Requires : CALLS UPON

85. Crowds around : MOBS

86. V-formation group : SKEIN. When they're not flying, it's a GAGGLE.

89. Connect across the room : LOCK EYES. Great entry.

90. Thelma and Louise, e.g. : DUO

92. Novus __ seclorum: dollar bill phrase : ORDO

95. "How disappointing!" : TSK

96. Two-time Oscar nominee Ullmann : LIV

98. School gp. : PTA

101. Curtains for Cleopatra? : ASP. Three -letter answer for Cleopatra has to be ASP.

102. Access via phone : DIAL IN

103. Tropical lizard : IGUANA

104. Spoken : VERBAL

105. It purrs when it's cared for : ENGINE. Loved this clue also.

106. Gregg users : STENOS

108. Largest country entirely in Eur. : UKR

109. Silvio's lover in "Pagliacci" : NEDDA. Complete stranger to me as well.

111. "The best __ to be": Browning : IS YET

112. Not quite shut : AJAR And 124. Not shut, poetically : OPE. Quite a few clue echoes today.

113. Apple worker : TECH

114. Baum canine : TOTO

116. Smartphone ancestors : PDAs

117. Unwavering : SURE

121. "__ we okay?" : ARE. Remind me of Marc Maron.

122. Altoids holder : TIN. Some of you were led astray by Tinbeni's comment yesterday. He turned 64 on August 23, 2016, so his "2,000,000,000 seconds old" mile-stone" is misleading but true.

125. Figured out : GOT

126. Fixed-term investments: Abbr. : CDs

C.C. 

Answer Grid by Owen

Saturday, Jan 9th, 2016, Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Word: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Wow, this one was a brain-drain, and just about the longest WAG-fest I have ever had the pleasure (or pain~?) of solving.  My first time with a Mary Lou construction, though I see she was prolific last year with her LATimes puzzles.  Jeff, on the other hand, has beaten me up on several occasions, so I have a feeling this was "all his fault"....had a vaguely Dan Naddor feel to it, IMHO, consisting of several two-word answers.  Pretty atypical Saturday grid, no chunky corners, but three spanners and a 13-letter climber;

16. Strength in numbers? : PREDICTIVE POWER - I thought we might be looking at a "numb-ers" kind of misdirection, then a numerology kind of thing, but it has a scientific application - the best example was the prediction that the planet Neptune (which threw me at 62a.) existed by scientists observing its gravitational effects of the other planets before its discovery

34. Beats the rap : GETS OFF SCOT-FREE - I have English parents, so this phrase was heard around my house a lot; here's the etymology

58. Best Actress the year before Kate Winslet : MARION COTILLARD - I thought this was a 1997/98 reference to Kate's Titanic role, but no; she won for the The Reader in 2008; Marion won for La môme - never heard of it, but I do recall her as "Mal" from Inception, which was a great movie

15. Really enlightened : WISE AS SOLOMON - at one point, I had "WISE-ASS-----"

 

ACROSS:

1. Directive to a dealer : HIT ME - I am reading Slash's biography, and so the 'dealer' I had in mind was like the one he scored heroin from

6. Adds liberally : HEAPS ON

13. Sustain : UPHOLD

15. Apple bug? : WORMHOLE - no "i-Computer" misdirection here.   I am attempting to write a book of my own, and part of the plot involves the other, 'travel-through-space-and-time' kind of wormhole

18. Blubber : SOB - dah~! Not FAT

19. What "this love is," in a Taylor Swift title : OURS

20. Shades go-with : SUN HAT - not sure if this was sunglasses or curtains shades

21. Shepherd's dishes? : MEAT PIES - of the first 10 answers, 6 have two-word elements

24. Fruit trees : PEARS

25. __ cut: fabric design technique : BIAS

26. Birch of Indiana : BAYH - one of many proper noun clues that I just had no clue on, and it's Birch Bayh, Senator from '63-'81

28. Unkempt abode : STY

29. Umbrian tourist town : ASSISI - mostly perps

32. Salisbury smooch : SNOG - British kiss; think Harry Potter

40. __ Accords: Israel/PLO agreements : OSLO

41. Acorn bearer : PIN OAK - OK, I cheated on the "N", since RED was not working, and I forgot about this kind of oak tree

42. Ad follower : HOC - ad hoc, Latin "for this"

45. Some 55-Across works : OILS - dah~! since I did not know who "Joan" was, I tried ODES; a 100% 50% correct WAG

47. Smidge : MITE - not IOTA

48. Mocks : JAPES

50. Blockers' targets : POP-UP ADS - now we are talking about computers, and I was thinking football

53. Dodges : AVERTS - AVOIDS, EVADES - tried 'em both

55. Joan of art : MIRÓ - oh, it's a dude

56. __ Dome: Lucas Oil Stadium predecessor : RCA

61. Dizzy with delight : IN A SWOON

62. Neptune, e.g. : SEA GOD - DAH~! not PLANET

63. Gently passes : EASES BY

64. Simmers : STEWS

DOWN:

1. Drill cadence syllables : HUPS

2. Swear words : I PROMISE

3. "If I Can't Love Her" singer, in a 1994 musical : THE BEAST - I was trying to think of a band called "The -----S", and then I realized it was a singular character from "Beauty and..."

4. Hip : MOD

5. Literature Nobelist who won two posthumous Tony Awards : ELIOT - perps and WAG

6. __ lane : HOV - I complain about this every time it's in a crossword; we have one here, part of the Long Island Expressway, and I think it's a colossal waste of black top

7. Spanish 101 word : ERES

8. Vitalize : AMP UP

9. Calls or cells : PHONES - got it, but thought "that can't be right"

10. "Like I care" : "SO WHAT~?"

11. Kevin of "Shark Tank" : O'LEARY - I had him confused with Mark Cuban in my mind; my buddy Mike, with the backyard games company, met Mark, I think

12. "Drat!" : NERTS

14. Support spec of a sort : D-CUP - ah, Dennis could appreciate this one

17. Salt Lake daily : TRIB - does leaving out "City" make for an abbr.~?

22. Sale warning : AS IS

23. Harmonize : SYNC - oops, not SING; that's another 50% correct in all places

25. Snare : BAG - not NAB

27. Shooter's target : HOOP - basketball~? I wasn't going to get it

30. Jack of "Barney Miller" : SOO

31. Logician's words : IF SO

33. Sporty VW : GTI

35. Cheeky : FLIP

36. From 2009 through Sep. 2015, it paid $143 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury : FNMA - stumped.  Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae - the Wiki

37. Concern for some bodybuilders : 'ROID RAGE - my first thought, but I did not factor in an abbreviation

38. Issues a mea culpa : EATS CROW

39. Squeak (out) : EKE

42. Museo de la Revolución city : HAVANA

43. "Ring Cycle" quartet : OPERAS

44. Color similar to crimson : CERISE - sounds blue, but that's cerulean; the word comes from "cherry", and I was going to link a pie pic, but I found this much more fascinating

46. Narrow shore point : SPIT

48. Portrayer of Django and Ray : JAMIE - took me forever to remember Mr. Foxx's name

49. Throws below : STOWS - oops, not SINKS

51. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS

52. Spherical extremities : POLES

54. Snoot : SNOB

57. Tosses in : ADDS - just wanted to ADD that yesterday marked 11yrs for me

59. Playing hard to get : COY

60. Pull-up beneficiary, briefly : LAT - the muscle of the back; I have been over at my friend Adam's house, where his 2yr old has moved on to "pull-ups", so I was in that frame of mind....who benefits from those~?

Splynter

Friday, January 8, 2016, John Lampkin

Theme: What could be worse than a curse a from nurse where you end up in a hearse? More of my verse?

John Lampkin, a true renaissance man and friend of the Corner brings us his first 2016 effort, a sound change makes merry puzzle. Three phrases with three words containing a central "OR" sound are changed to an "UR" sound leaving an amusing new fill clued with skill.  While many Fridays are loaded with theme fill, the three chosen are consistent  and fun and  leave room for much sparkly fill.
CAPULET,  POP SONG,  SCEPTER,  SEA LEGS, HONDURAS, INTERNET,  NANNY CAM, TAX HAVEN,  THAT’S A GO,  WE’RE RICH are all in this gem. No insect learning moment, so do not get antsy, we will now solve.

20A. Cuisine to swear by? : THREE CURSE MEAL (14). Three course meal is a standard fare.

35A. Site of a mortician's monopoly? : ONE HEARSE TOWN (13). The one horse towns of old are going the way the kerosene lamp.

55A. Ode to a Nightingale? : OLD NURSE POETRY (14). The clue references a real POEM but I am sure Florence appreciates the reworking. Old Norse poetry is a CSO to our Norwegian contingent.

Across:

1. Short one at the bar? : ATTorney. I only really see 'atty' abbreviation but I have been in many bars.

4. Flabbergasts : AWES.

8. One taking up slack? : IDLER. Nice clue reversal.

13. Landlocked African country : CHAD. There are 15 such countries in Africa, all perps. I used o go to the office building in NYC with my brother which held his literary agent and the Chad consulate. I thought the name was fake. Who names a country after an actor.

15. Thread bits : LINT. Check your navel. 26A. Traps for 15-Across : NAVELS.

16. Running bowline, e.g. : NOOSE. The beginning of an undercurrent of boating/fishing terms. LINK.

17. Prepare to take off : TAXI. Anybody know the etymology of this usage meaning to go from  a terminal to the runway.

18. Mediterranean landmark : ETNA.

19. Dessert that just sounds wrong : TORTE. A Tort in law is a civil wrong.

23. __ orange : OSAGE.  I know them as horse apples. Our  botany LESSON.

24. Trail follower : HIKER.

25. Downed a link, say : ATE. Sausage, not a golf course. 49A. Link for Ludwig : UND. Beethoven.
66A. Linking device : YOKE. Not on the internet but on your oxen. John Loves clechos.

28. Caught porgy and bass : ANGLED. Cute Porgy and Bess  fish pun.

30. Ice __ : AGE. Can you believe it is 13 years?

31. Feuding house of Verona : CAPULET. Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou, and our continued Friday Shakespeare.

40. Swift output : POP SONG. Showing my age, my first thought was Jonathan Swift not the ubiquitous TAYLOR.

41. Café freebie : EAU. Water in French.

43. Charmingly retro : QUAINT. Last week it was Tisn't...

46. Rejects : SPURNS.

50. Believes : DEEMS. Another common word in the law.

54. Actress Graff : ILENE. She was a regular on Mr. Belvedere and more recently Hart of Dixie 

58. Shock source : TASER. Don't tase me bro!

59. Bit of concert memorabilia : STUB.

60. Quinoa alternative : RICE. We do have rice at my house.

62. Latin stars : ASTRA. Whence Astronomy, astrology etc.

63. New Yorker cartoonist Peter : ARNO. He had a very recognizable style, but has been gone for almost 50 years.

The caption says, "He is not ours, try the River House."

64. Rent-__ : A-CAR.

65. Drives off : SHOOS.

67. Med. care option : HMO. Health Maintenance Organization.

Down:

1. Fake it : ACT. Don't get nervous boys.

2. "We're on!" : THAT"S A GO. A nice phrase.

3. Green shelter? : TAX HAVEN. Not ecology but economy.

4. "Hard __!": captain's command : A LEE. Boats.

5. Baker's neighbor in "Into the Woods" : WITCH.  The MOVIE with Meryl Streep as the witch.

6. Jaded state : ENNUI. Always a nice fill.

7. Barren : STARK. Will Catelyn be back?

8. Shopper's mecca : INTERNET.

9. Dire destiny : DOOM. Oddly this is in conflict with 14D. Gloomy air : DIRGE as they are from the same Latin source.

10. Cosmetics giant : L'OREAL.

11. What you will : ESTATE. More hidden law.

12. Landed, with "in" : REELED. A big fish?

21. Shocking swimmer : EEL. Fish?

22. Sailor's ability : SEA LEGS. See what I mean; when I got off from a long cruise, it often seemed like the land was moving.

23. __ roll : ON A.  Give me some butter, because...

27. Sovereign symbol : SCEPTER.

29. Bygone muscle car : GTO. My brother had one and it was too fast.

32. Small juice sources? : AAS. Batteries.

33. Ace : PRO. My meh of the day.

34. Org. with subs : USN. Cool misdirection- United States Navy. Ships.

36. Prefix for a lifesaving "Pen" : EPI, I have two in my house-bees.

37. Mosquito Coast country : HONDURAS. It is not Star Wars

38. Reaction to suddenly becoming flush? : WE'RE RICH! Powerball anyone? If we each chipped in $2.00....

39. Concerned parent's installation : NANNY CAM.

42. Employment : USE.

43. Mandated amounts : QUOTAS.

44. Remove, as bindings : UNLASH.

45. Expands, as a deck : ADDS TO. A deck of cards? The deck Splynter built? The one marti and I sat together at her house on?

47. Sales meeting metaphor : PIE.

48. Conservative leader? : ULTRA.

51. Outlet for one's thoughts : ESSAY. Put them on paper.

52. Densely populated area, briefly : METRO.

53. Spirit : SPUNK. A trait of mixed benefit.

56. Emperor famous for playing an instrument that hadn't been invented yet : NERO. Did he FIDDLE around?

57. Wind in the reeds : OBOE. A simple musical clue from our very musical friend. To me it brought to mind this POETRY. Yes Yeats along with earlier Keats.

61. Ranch closing? : ERO. Huevos rancheros while I finish writing?

Always a pleasure to see a JL byline, though we are missing anything to bug us, unless you do not like puns.  Thanks John. Lemonade out.

Thursday, January 7th, 2016 Bruce Haight

Theme: Solve for A=πr², A=(hb)/2, A=wl, or find the areas!

17A. *Figure out, as someone's poker strategy : GET A READ ON. I'm sure I'd make a terrible poker player. I grin when I figure out a crossword answer, I can't imagine what my poker face would look like if I was dealt a royal flush.

21A. *Frighten off : SCARE AWAY

33A. *Disney film cry of discovery : I'M A REAL BOY. From the movie "Pinocchio" released in 1940. The line got a reprise in 2004 in Shrek 2

42A. *Chinese, say : FAR EASTERN. Only if you use a map centered on the zero meridian. If you use a Pacific-centric map then Brazil and Greenland are in the far east.

52A. *Ride crosstown together, perhaps : SHARE A CAB

61A. Group space, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : COMMON AREA

G'day everyone. A straightforward enough theme from Bruce, and the theme did help me with the Pinocchio quote. 60 theme squares, more "A"'s than any other letter due to all the AREAS and sundry other trivia. A pleasant enough ride, patently fair crosses to unlock the unknowns and some other interesting stuff. Let's take a look.

Across:

1. Mrs. Garrett on "The Facts of Life" : EDNA. Who? Never saw the show. Apparently played by Charlotte Russe Rae (who?).

5. Bring shame to : ABASH. This is one of those words where I'm more likely to use the opposite meaning in conversation - I'm sure I've been unabashed a few times, but rarely abashed.

10. Twitter's bird, e.g. : ICON. I had LOGO first. Wrong!

14. Dire fate : DOOM

15. "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" author : LOCKE. Published in 1689. I should read it, but I probably wouldn't understand it.

16. Poet's preposition : THRO'

Thro’ the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-moon’d abysses of night,
I have liv’d o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
Nemesis — Howard Phillips Lovecraft

19. Brief moments : SECS. Seconds, abbreviated.

20. "Un Ballo in Maschera" aria : ERI TU. Thank you, crosses. Verdi's opera, which translates as "A Masked Ball". The aria appears to be properly known as Eri tu che macchiavi quell'anima / "It was you who stained this soul" but I guess that wouldn't fit.

23. Office suite door letters : ESQ.

25. "Hollywood Squares" immortal : LYNDE. Thank you, crosses. Paul Lynde.

26. Not surprisingly : AS USUAL

30. Full of bubbles : SUDSY. Tried SOAPY first. Took it out.

36. Qatar's capital : DOHA. Don't get me started on the fact that the 2022 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Qatar.

37. Fifth of a dozen : MAY

38. Solar __ : FLARE

39. Promise : VOW

40. "On the double!" : ASAP

45. Place to follow politics : C-SPAN

47. "Told ya!" : SO THERE

48. "__ Daughter": 1970 film : RYAN'S

51. Match at the poker table : SEE. I'll see your $5, and raise you $10.

56. Diary component : ENTRY

60. Go up and down : YO-YO

63. Seasonal refrain : NOËL. Heard more than a few times recently.

64. Assembly line worker : ROBOT

65. Equipment : GEAR

66. Key used in combinations : CTRL. It doesn't do anything by itself other than allow you to exercise your left hand pinkie finger. My last Dell had the key positioned in the lower-left corner of the keyboard with the "Fn" key to the right of it; my new Lenovo reversed the positions so it took a little while to get used to it.

67. Films with many extras : EPICS

68. "College GameDay" airer : ESPN. Founded by Scott and Bill Rasmussen in 1978 and launched in 1979. It is now famous for allowing Chris Berman to appear with one of the worst haircuts in the history of broadcast television.

Down:

1. Advantage : EDGE

2. No couch potato : DOER. Relative of a mover or a shaker.

3. "It was someone else!" : NOT I!

4. Greenhorn : AMATEUR

5. Brown __ : ALE. I was born a few miles from the Tyne Brewery which produced Newcastle Brown Ale until 2004. It's brewed in Yorkshire now, a fact that the company don't promote heavily. The advertising is pretty funny though.

6. Feathery wraps : BOAS

7. "High Voltage" band : AC/DC. Australian rockers. Lead singer Bon Scott was found dead in his car on the morning of February 19th 1980 in East Dulwich, London, two blocks from where I lived at the time.

8. "Bottoms up!" : SKOAL

9. "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speaker : HENRY. Here's Patrick engaged in a little rabble-rousing at the Virginia Convention in 1775. In a church too - shame on him!

10. "That fizzled out" : IT'S A DUD

11. Considered carefully : CHEWED OVER

12. Marine threat : ORCA

13. Getting into the wrong business? : NOSY

18. Charlotte __ : RUSSE. I thought she was an actress, but I discover it's a clothing retail chain. Hey, I'm not exactly in their target demographic - I'm not in my teens nor twenties, and I'm not a woman.

22. USN one-striper : ENS. Navy rank of Ensign. Am I right in saying that a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis is assigned this rank?

24. 5-Down, for one : QUAFF. Skoal!

26. Stockpile : AMASS

27. Supplicate : SAY A PRAYER

28. "It was __ dream" : ALL A. A common-enough trope in TV, film and comics. Usually extremely annoying unless done really well.

29. Letter-shaped supports : L-BARS. Lacer bars. I looked at a picture of one and have no idea what it's used for.

31. Vacation destination : SHORE

32. Opening at an early-morning class? : YAWN. Lovely clue.

33. 1998 Apple debut : IMAC. It looks ugly as heck now, groundbreaking back then. Steve Jobs hadn't discovered his gray polo-neck period at that point.

34. __ cookies 'n creme: Jell-O flavor : OREO

35. "Leda and the Swan" poet : YEATS

41. Business expense : PAYROLL

43. Radiance : SHEEN

44. Like high-school years : TEENAGE

46. "Fat chance, laddie" : NAE. "If there's nae wind, and nae rain, it's nae golf".

49. Abalone shell layer : NACRE

50. Exclusive : SCOOP

52. Lip-__ : SYNC. Milli Vanilli came a cropper with this one when they tried to lip-sync at the MTV music awards in 1989 and, as the backing track skipped, it became apparent that they weren't actually singing. Research showed that they'd never sung "their" songs, and were stripped of the Grammy for Best New Artist awarded earlier that year. Whoops #1 (See 62D for Whoops #2)

53. Knee-slapper : HOOT

54. Prefix with valence : AMBI. Ouch. I've got mixed feelings about this one :)

55. Class pres., say : B.M.O.C. Big man on campus.

57. Very French? : TRÉS

58. Bring in : REAP

59. Entertaining tale : YARN

62. Extra periods: Abbr. : O.T.S Overtimes. Oregon were leading TCU 31-0 at half-time in the Alamo Bowl on January 2nd. They promptly contrived to lose, 47-41, in triple overtime. Whoops #2.

And ... here's the grid, today's colored version courtesy of OwenKL!

Steve

Wednesday, January 6, 2016, Matt Skoczen

Theme: I Hear Ya Knocking (But You Can't Come In) - (1955 R & B hit covered by Fats)

Unless you're selling Girl Scout Cookies or you've got a huge check from Publisher's Clearing House, I ain't interested! Matt's tricky puzzle serves up a strategy to avoid anyone peddling politics, religion or other unwanted commodities at your door.

17. Visitor's first attempt : DING DONG 

30. Visitor's second attempt : KNOCK KNOCK - I ain't answerin' that door!

50. Visitor's third attempt : ANYONE HOME?

64. Visitor's last words : FORGET IT - Or if you speak a foreign language...

Maybe they're there or maybe they're not. Matt's puzzle was a big Wednesday challenge for me. His clever gimmick and cluing made me labor longer than usual for a humpday. The very last cell was a natick for me but E seemed to complete colettE and alE satisfactorily and so all was well on the southeastern front. 

ACROSS 
        
1. Big initials in tobacco : RJR 

4. Devices with scroll wheels : MICE

8. Many an old-movie criminal mastermind : MAD MAN - He was a master at that role

14. Perrier, par exemple : EAU - In France (French) EAU (water) costs more than huile (oil)

15. Sick as __ : A DOG

16. Jittery : UNEASY - What losing coaches are this time of year

19. Emphatic type : ITALIC

20. Training group : CADRE

21. Like milligrams and kilograms : METRIC  - USA, Liberia and Burma (Myanmar) are the only countries that aren't using this system

23. Baseball family name : ALOU - They live on in Crosswordland 

24. Actress Thompson of "Family" : SADA - A favorite show of ours

25. "My bad!" : OOPS

29. Queen-to-be, maybe : PAWN - Black PAWN advances to last row (rank), becomes a Queen and delivers a Checkmate (give it a few seconds).

33. Hum a lullaby for : SING TO - A parental joy

35. Common starting time : NINE

36. Justice Dept. division : FBI

37. Sean's mom : YOKO - Guess what happened when my Beatle fanatic friend and his family  walked by NYC's Dakota in November. Her daughter Kyoko took the picture and Jim said YOKO was very gracious

39. Unlikely Monopoly outcomes : TIES - We quit playing with my too-competitive friend

41. Student carrier : BUS 

44. Peeled-off item : RIND

46. "Big crunch" pickle brand : VLASIC

53. Asti export : VINO - Gosh I miss Marti! 

54. Kids' __: restaurant offering : MENU - From Shanghai. C.C., what looks good?

55. "The Dukes of Hazzard" deputy : ENOS 

56. Indigo source : ANIL

57. Ottoman shelter : IMARET - Hostels or hotels originally built for the poor and needy. Yeah, I knew that! :-) 

60. Playing marble : AGATE

61. Nixes : VETOES

66. How megastores buy goods : IN BULK - Our Super Walmart had hundreds of TV's for Black Friday. How many must they have purchased nationwide?

67. Boo-boo : OWIE

68. Snitch : RAT - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano got a pass on 19 murders for RATTING out his boss John Gotti 

69. Assumes to be true : POSITS

70. Ring units: Abbr. : RNDS - Mike Tyson's early fights did not go many RNDS

71. Porter kin : ALE - Not a clue, but it seemed plausible with AL_

 
Down
 
1. Baggage handlers : RED CAPS - In the 1860's George  Pullman hired former slaves as Porters on his train cars. Later black men were also hired to handle baggage in train stations and were called RED CAPS

2. Game with cestas and pelotas : JAI ALAI - Here we see the pelota (ball) leaving the cesta, at a speed that can reach 188 mph.

3. Seedy : RUNDOWN

4. Good way to have it? : MADE

5. Knot-tying words : I DO

6. One with a racket : CON MAN - In a Downton Episode, cash-strapped Robert toyed with the idea of investing with "a chap in America" named Charles Ponzi

7. Stirred up : EGGED ON

8. Conservationist John : MUIR

9. Against : ANTI

10. Church official : DEACON - Rector didn't cut it

11. Start to practice? : MAL - This doctor left our town quickly and fled back to Pakistan to escape MALpractice suits due a hepatitis outbreak at his unsanitary clinic 

12. "__ live and breathe!" : AS I

13. B'way setting : NYC

18. Seedy : GRUNGY

22. Unspoken : TACIT - No answer is sometimes an answer

24. Chicago suburb : SKOKIE

26. Stomach-punch response : OOF

27. Banned chem. contaminant : PCB - Possible cancer source

28. Snow glider : SKI - Gosh I miss Marti! 

31. Sushi chef's array : KNIVES - $569.99 but free shipping!

32. Ship's spine : KEEL

34. Unable to choose : TORN

38. "Rings __ Fingers": 1942 Fonda/Tierney film : ON HER - Starring one of Omaha's favorite sons

40. Wild and fierce : SAVAGE - What my uncle used to call all us kids when we were growing up

41. Emeril exclamation : BAM

42. Le Mans article : UNE

43. Peek, for peep: Abbr. : SYN - How 'bout SIN for SYN?

45. Toast, so to speak : DONE FOR

47. Ol' Blue Eyes : SINATRA

48. Monogram component : INITIAL

49. "Gigi" author : COLETTE - Pen name for Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

51. "Right away, madame!" : OUI OUI - Don't you think this phrase was in Madame Colette's Gigi

52. Four Tops' record label : MOTOWN

58. Get all mushy : MELT

59. Invites : ASKS

60. Long stretches : AGES

61. Bigwig : VIP - View from a VIP Suite at AT&T Stadium, home of Dallas Cowboys

62. Brian of Roxy Music : ENO

63. Airer of some MLB postseason games : TBS - Turner's Braves haven't won a post season series since 2001

65. Clear (of) : RID

"Knock, knock. Who's There? Ima? Ima who? I'm about done!" Now lets go see who answers the bell for today's comment page. I know you're out there!

Answer Grid

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 Tom Uttormark and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: May I have a word with you? - Words that are a???? are split into two words and clued as such.

20. One hospital celebration? : AWARD CEREMONY. A WARD CEREMONY (Ward - section of a hospital)

25. One mug from the boxing ring? : ABOUT FACE. (military command) A bout face; a face after a bout in boxing.

46. One news magazine managing editor? : AHEAD OF TIME. A head of Time(Time magazine)

52. One adorable romantic threesome? : ACUTE TRIANGLE. (triangle that has all angles less than 90°) A cute triangle.

Argyle here but no reveal. The puzzle has mirror crossword symmetry. Many proper names. I added a few songs to ease the pain.

Across:

1. Nothing, in Nogales : NADA but here's something...I'm not sure what.

5. A-list invitee : CELEB

10. Inhale in awe : [GASP!]

14. "The Big Country" Oscar winner Ives : BURL. Here is a clip from the movie.  Clip(2:41)

15. Hertz competitor : ALAMO

16. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO

17. Study at the last minute : CRAM

18. Decorated anew : REDID

19. Grown-up tadpole : TOAD

23. The blahs : ENNUI

24. Radon and ozone : GASES

29. Joe of "Casino" : PESCI. Pesci played Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro.

32. [Not my typo] : (SIC)

33. Ethan of "Before Midnight" : HAWKE

37. Sound system component : AMP

38. "Honest!" : "NOT A LIE!" Sure. 40D. "Honest?" : "IS THAT SO?"

41. Breathable mixture : AIR

42. "Count on it" lawnmower brand : TORO

44. Fast-spreading Internet phenomena : MEMES

45. Michelin rating unit : STAR

49. Without question : BY FAR

50. Store posting : HOURS

56. Long-distance swimmer Diana : NYAD. When she was 64, she swam from Cuba to Florida, the first person confirmed to have done so.

57. Crime scene clue exposed by dusting : PRINT

58. Hereditary code carrier : GENE

60. Table tennis video game : PONG. Do you remember?

61. Cozumel cash : PESOs. Was that where the ill-fated cruise was headed a few years back?

62. "__ but not least ... " : LAST

63. Trick : RUSE

64. Look after : SEE TO

65. Barely managed, with "out" : EKED

Down:

1. "Parks and Recreation" network : NBC

2. Heavenly glows : AURAE

3. Written (up), as a contract : DRAWN

4. Annually updated reference : ALMANAC. Did any almanac predict this winter?

5. Pulse-boosting exercise, for short : CARDIO

6. Utility measured in kilowatt hrs. : ELEC.

7. Fill with cargo : LADE

8. Qatari bigwig : EMIR

9. Hispanic convenience store : BODEGA

10. Set sail : GO TO SEA

11. Make reparations : ATONE

12. Hangs around : STAYS

13. Sci-fi escape craft : POD

21. Apply before cooking, as spice to meat : RUB IN

22. Papier-__ : MÂCHÉ

26. Spanish pronoun : USTED. (you)

27. Words of grande affetto : TI AMO. Italian for "I love you".

28. Bass staff symbol : F CLEF

29. On-the-back praise : PAT

30. Expressive rock genre : EMO

31. "Contents under pressure" containers : SPRAY CANS. Do not incinerate.

34. Plumbing problem : WATER LEAK

35. Sorento automaker : KIA

36. Throw wide of the cutoff man, say : ERR. (baseball)

39. Dr. Eric Foreman portrayer on "House" : OMAR EPPS. Full name today.

43. G-rated cry of dismay : "OH, FUDGE!"

45. Sneak across the border : SMUGGLE

47. Nosh : EAT

48. Electrified particle : ION

49. Louisiana wetland : BAYOU

51. Hearing, for one : SENSE

53. It has bark, but no bite : TREE

54. Get out of bed : RISE

55. Playing a fourth NHL period : IN OT. (overtime)

56. Network home to "A Prairie Home Companion" : NPR. (National Public Radio)

59. Takeoff approx. : ETD. (Estimated Time of Departure)

Argyle