Thursday, May 7, 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme: Anagram

17-Across. Washington landmark : CAPITOL BUILDING.

Night image

38-Across. Escher's "Relativity" is an example of it : OPTICAL ILLUSION.

Kind of like the stairs at Hogwarts

61-Across. 9-Across treatments : TOPICAL STEROIDS.

What else can I say?

Did you see the common letters as you were solving? I had to go back and look for the theme when I was done. Pretty straight forward, and just a hint of deviousness in the clueing, so I was wondering if I had the wrong day of the week?!

Across

1. __ of Cleves : ANNE.

5. Ink, so to speak : TATS.

9. Skin problem : RASH. Get out those TOPICAL STEROIDS.

13. Genuine : REAL.

14. "How much wood __ a woodchuck chuck ..." : WOULD. ("...if a woodchuck could chuck wood. A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.")

16. "__ Wood sawed wood": tongue twister opening : ESAU. Did he beat the woodchuck, though? I wonder if our resident thespian Ol' Man Keith knows this one?

20. Hidden supply : STASH.

21. Major installation? : ARMY BASE. Here's a bit of that devious clueing I mentioned. Not an art exhibit or a new kitchen, but the home of a high ranking officer.

22. Pianist Dame Myra __ : HESS. Most famous for her luncheon concerts during the London blitz.

25. Site of South America's westernmost mainland point : PERU. The key word is "mainland."

26. Fairy tale patriarch : PAPA BEAR.

30. Latin dances : SALSAS.

34. Saccharide suffix : OSE. Glucose...fructose...sucrose...(am I being verbose?)

35. Legal write-up : BRIEF.

37. Elizabethan strings : LUTE.

42. Provided with an email dupe : CC'ed. Shoutout to our leader!

43. Poke around : SNOOP.

44. Many corp. logos : TMs. Trademarks

45. Apollo home : HARLEM. The Apollo Theater in Harlem.

48. "The Wolf of Wall Street" director : SCORSESE. I didn't catch that one - any good?

50. Prominent theater sign : EXIT.

52. Suture securer : KNOT.

53. Impeded : SLOWED UP.

57. Bandleader Shaw : ARTIE.

64. NASCAR route : OVAL.

65. Incline : SLANT.

66. __ school : PREP.

67. Use a blowtorch on : WELD.

68. James of jazz : ETTA. And a partial clecho:

69. James portrayer : SEAN. Connery. Bond.


Down

1. Hammer-throw trajectories : ARCS.

2. With 59-Down, "Very clever!" : NEAT. And 59-Down. See 2-Down : IDEA.

3. Popular wine source : NAPA. Lately I have latched onto Chilean wines - their Carménères originate from Bordeaux.

4. Prophet in 2 Kings : ELISHA.

5. "Tea for __" : TWO.

6. Former Time Warner division : AOL.

7. Big wind : TUBA. Another little misdirection.

8. Drink noisily : SLURP.

9. Popular energy drinks : RED BULLS.

10. China setting : ASIA. Were you fooled? We have had this clue many times before.

11. Comic __: typeface : SANS. Hint: Unless you are applying for clown college, do not use this font for your resume!

12. Whopping : HUGE.

15. Places to see FDR : DIMES.

18. "Doctor Who" broadcaster : THE BBC.

19. Constellation named for an instrument : LYRA. Beautiful old celestial map showing Lyra on the right.

23. Shot contents : SERA. Did you really want "ryes," Tin?

24. Some voyages : SAILS.

26. Shelter resident : POOCH. And another partial clecho:

27. Shelter org. : ASPCA.

28. Hero in a Prokofiev work : PETER. The wolf always gets second billing.

29. Rider's handful : REINS.

31. Hotel choice : SUITE.

32. Elemental bits : ATOMS.

33. "Common" asset : SENSE. It' s the least common one...

36. Congregation : FLOCK.

39. New York airport name until 1963 : IDLEWILD. It was renamed after the assassination of JFK.

40. "On Golden Pond" bird : LOON.

41. Big fuss : UPROAR.

46. Suit : EXEC.

47. Mythical gold maker : MIDAS.

49. Barbershop sharpeners : STROPS.

51. Bridal shop netting : TULLE. I always wonder what they are hiding under there?

53. Put in the overhead bin : STOW.

54. "All you need," in a Beatles song : LOVE.

55. Australian export : OPAL.

56. Hurdle for a jr. : PSAT.

58. Flag : TIRE.

60. "World Series of Poker" channel : ESPN.

62. Explosive initials : TNT.

63. Greek vowel : ETA.

After Zeta

Marti, over and out!

Wednesday, May 6th 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: All About Eve-n The word EVEN is wrapped around each theme entry.

20A . Toy with a heating element : EASY BAKE OVEN. Wow, this old classic has gone all hi-tech and politically correct. It didn't look like this when I bought one for my daughter back in the 90's - it was pink in those days and it definitely didn't have a boy on the box. 

35A. Fairy tale villain : EVIL QUEEN. The antagonist in Snow White and other tales, and definitely a 22-Down in this incarnation:

45A. 1961 Rick Nelson hit : EVERLOVIN' I wasn't familiar with this song, and I can't say I'm surprised. It wasn't exactly a smash hit - it made the Billboard Top 20 in the US but only at #16.

55A. Neither ahead nor behind ... and what 20-, 35- and 45-Across are literally doing : BREAKING EVEN. A good thing after a weekend in Vegas, less so if we're announcing the company's annual results.

Morning! Thanks to Michael for this one; the theme entries split "EVEN" on a 1-3, 2-2 and 3-1 letter-count basis and a 3-2-1 word countdown, so a pleasing progression by the numbers; and a pangram to boot so plenty to like for a midweek offering.

I was having a little trouble with the west, so the theme reveal definitely gave me a leg-up there. When I thought a pangram was emerging that gave me another helping hand towards the end. Good stuff.

 Let's see what else catches the eye (Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen obviously does!)

Across:

1. Common lunch hr. end : ONE PM

6. Lowers, as lights : DIMS

10. Drift gently : WAFT

14. Half an Evergreen State city : WALLA. Walla Walla, Washington. In the news as recently as Monday for making Global Yodel's list of the 15 most underrated cities in the US.

15. Fancy entrance : ARCH

16. Clickable image : ICON. Part of the WIMP quartet of user interface concepts introduced by Apple, "borrowed" from Xerox PARC research lab. Windows, Icons, Mice, Pointers

17. Bit of dental work : INLAY

18. Indian noble : RAJA

19. On deck : NEXT. No problem for C.C. I'm sure. Next batter up in the on deck circle at the ballpark.

23. Like "las" in Sp. : FEM. I had to look closely to see whether that was an L or an I, then some head-scratching before "Aha! Feminine".

24. Out of the reach of : BEYOND

27. Country where Quechua is an official language : PERU

30. Erstwhile TV ministry : PTL. No clue, needed the crosses. I didn't live in the US when this show was on the air, and to be honest I wouldn't have watched it anyway.

33. White Label Scotch maker : DEWARS. "Nailed it" says Tinbeni.

38. Camera setting : F/STOP. Controls the size of the aperture on a manual camera. Apparently the "F" stands for "focal ratio".

39. Carol contraction : 'TIS the season to be jolly, falalala ...

40. "Not my decision" : UP TO YOU

42. Hoppy brew, briefly : IPA. Cheers! Not much in the way of Food! for me today, so a liquid diet instead.

43. Satellite-launching rocket stage : AGENA. Developed by Lockheed and named for the alternate name of the star Beta Centauri because this upper stage would "ignite in the sky".

47. Nightly news fodder, with "the" : LATEST

49. "__ only a game" : IT'S. Not to the fans it's not. My English Premier League team Chelsea clinched the championship on Sunday so big smiles from me! Here's my Facebook profile picture today:

50. Marshy areas : FENS

51. Public figure? : NOTARY

53. Bungler : OAF

61. Clown of renown : BOZO. I had COCO first; that caused a little slowdown in the southwest.

64. Met or Nat : NL-ER. Another gimme for C.C! The New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball's National League. For some reason I thought the Mets were in the AL, so I was left wondering how "TREADY" at 48D was a word.

65. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA. Thank you, crosses.

66. Crumbled ice cream topping : OREO

67. 2013-'14 Magic Johnson Award winner Nowitzki : DIRK. Dallas Mavericks All-NBA power forward.

68. Eastern faith : ISLAM

69. Sticky goo : GUNK. Had "G", wanted "GLOP", saw sense.

70. Urges : YENS

71. Writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Thank you, crosses.

Down:

1. Baby's boo-boo : OWIE

2. Family nickname : NANA

3. Plumbing joints : ELLS. I'm assuming ells are short for elbows, but I can't find anything to back that up.

4. Lighthearted : PLAYFUL

5. "I'll think it over" : MAYBE

6. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK. From the Greek nyktos, "of the night".

7. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE

8. Low-paying position, in slang : MCJOB.

9. Cut off : SHAVED

10. Gathers choice parts from : WINNOWS. Nice word.

11. Celebrated pilot : ACE

12. Cunning critter : FOX

13. Demolition aid : TNT. Boom!

21. Stimulate : AMP UP

22. Good-looker : EYEFUL

25. Hardy's "The Return of the __" : NATIVE

26. Pop over : DROP IN

27. "She loves me not" piece : PETAL

28. Greg of "B.J. and the Bear" : EVIGAN. All crosses, again. I'm relieved I knew AGENA otherwise the "G" would have been a big empty square when everything else was finished.

29. Take on successfully, as a challenge : RISE TO

31. Béret bearer : TÊTE. The grave accent on the first 'e' and the national stereotype is your hint that we're looking for a French word here.

32. Pope after John X : LEO VI

34. Bridge measures : SPANS

36. Deep-space energy source : QUASAR

37. Duma vote : NYET. Fourth language of the day. English, Spanish, French, now Russian.

41. Director Welles : ORSON

44. Tablet relative : NETBOOK. Lower-cost, simplified laptops running a browser such as Chrome.

46. Side with the ball : OFFENSE. Interesting. True for American Football, less so in other sports such as soccer where the offense and defense are on the field at the same time.

48. Hot, for now : TRENDY

52. New England collegian : YALIE

54. Born-__ : AGAIN. No doubt fans of the PTL Show at 30A

56. "Show Boat" composer : KERN

57. Really gets to : IRKS

58. TV handyman Bob : VILA. More crosses. Not a good "name" day for me today.

59. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL. Et alia in full. I like how list-shorteners seem to be abbreviated - also "et cetera".

60. Reputation : NAME

61. Marshy area : BOG. Second marsh of the day.

62. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist : O.R.U. Oral Roberts. Born-again, PTL and this one make a evangelical trifecta.
.
63. "__ in the Art of Writing": Ray Bradbury collection : ZEN. When I corrected my "COCO" clown at 61A I tried BOBO instead. Then I saw I was left with "Ben in the Art of Writing" and asked myself "Who the heck is Ben?" The penny finally dropped.

That's it from me. Here's the grid:

Steve

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: GOING POSTAL - The first word can precede STAMP.

17. Inevitable future event : DATE  WITH DESTINY. Date stamp. 

22. Slicing-dicing appliance : FOOD  PROCESSOR. Food stamp.

39. What an ant can't move, in song : RUBBER TREE PLANT. Rubber stamp. 

51. 1983 Murphy/Aykroyd comedy : TRADING PLACES. Trading stamp.

60. Philatelist's pride, and what the first words of 17-, 22-, 39- and 51-Across can be : STAMP COLLECTION. 

A first class puzzle from Marti - we should really letter have it. Did you hear about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it.

Melissa here.

Across:

1. Letters in a bachelor's ad : SWM. Single white male.

4. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M. Bette Midler.

9. Carried on, as war : WAGED

14. "Caught you!" : O-HO

15. Chilling : ON ICE

16. Words of sympathy : I CARE

20. Partner of crafts : ARTS. Beautiful style of architecture.

21. Love, in Roma : AMORE. Italian. 

In the kitchen with love

28. Drag to court : SUE

29. Audiophile's components, collectively : STEREO

31. Glitzy wrap : BOA

34. Applies messily : DAUBS. I tried slops - daubs seems dainty to me. I looked it up. I was wrong.

38. Idi of Uganda : AMIN

43. Ottoman title : AGHA. Wiki.

44. Two under par : EAGLE

45. Prefix with classical : NEO

46. Like glee club music : CHORAL. Tried cheery first.

49. Ques. response : ANS

57. Has __ up one's sleeve : AN ACE

58. Killer whale : ORCA

66. Divining deck : TAROT

67. Attorney general under Reagan : MEESE

68. Debate side : CON

69. Agricultural coupling devices : YOKES

70. Possible "How'd you hurt your knee?" response : I FELL. Aw.

71. Mimic : APE

Down:

1. Baking __ : SODA

2. Fishing spot : WHARF

3. "Eureka" in California, e.g. : MOTTO. This prompted me to look up Oregon's state motto, where I currently live. Alis Volat Proprils (She Flies With Her Own Wings). I like it. What is your state's motto?

4. Work on a lawn : MOW

5. Pasta suffix : INI. Fettuccini.

6. Shankar gave George Harrison lessons on one : SITAR

7. Jerk : SCHMO. Schmuck.

8. French red wine : MEDOC. New to me.

9. Most knowing : WISEST

10. Play part, or play a part : ACT

11. Happy, in Le Havre : GAI. French - I had no idea. Shore excursion near Paris.

 

12. Directional suffix : ERN. Western.

13. Susan of "The Partridge Family" : DEY

18. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS

19. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. 

23. "Bro!" : DUDE. Don't taze me, Dude. Doesn't have the same ring.

24. Bartlett or Bosc : PEAR

25. Notary's imprint : SEAL

26. TV financial maven Suze : ORMAN

27. French queen : REINE, French word for "queen," not the name of a French queen.

30. Not duped by : ONTO

31. Bric-a-__ : BRAC

32. Should, with "to" : OUGHT

33. Detest : ABHOR

35. All-purpose vehicle, for short : UTE. Utility vehicle.

36. Push-up top : BRA

37. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEGment

40. Silents siren Theda : BARA

41. Israeli airline : EL AL

42. Clinton transportation secretary Federico : PENA

47. Makes fit : ADAPTS. See above.

48. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC. Looks a little like Lenny Kravitz.

 

50. Loch Lomond local : SCOT

52. Mother of Ashley and Wynonna : NAOMI. The Judds.

53. Treble symbol : G CLEF

54. Martinique volcano : PELEE

55. "All My Children" vamp : ERICA

56. Baskin-Robbins utensil : SCOOP

59. Green Gables girl : ANNE

60. Muddy pen : STY

61. Eastern "way" : TAO

62. Old couples carrier : ARK. Clever.

63. Stooge with bangs : MOE

64. Night class subj. : ESL

65. Animation collectible : CEL

Pardon me while I get back to googling Lenny Kravitz ....

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Our beautiful Melissa is back! She will be blogging once a month. Melissa took a long break from the blog to take care of some family matter. She's sorely missed.

  

Monday, May 4, 2015 Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels

Theme: Homophones - Were you aware the sound in the middle of the theme entries was a homophone?

17A. 1957 Michael Landon horror film role : TEENAGE WEREWOLF

27A. "You're going to like the way you look" clothing chain : MEN'S WEARHOUSE

46A. Place to copy keys : HARDWARE STORE

62A. "Not in my backyard" : "ANYWHERE BUT HERE"

WARNING: Strong language. George Carlin(6:05) - NIMBY (Not in my back yard) (Dealing with homelessness)(and golf)

Argyle hear. No reveal but two spanners. You ought not have any problems with this one.

Across:

1. Reject, as a sweetheart : JILT

5. Bee Gees family name : GIBB

9. Beginning : ONSET

14. Emmy winner Falco : EDIE. Both comedy and drama.

15. Comédie musicale part : ACTE. French.

16. Beautiful, in Bologna : BELLA. Italian.

20. __ Arabia : SAUDI. Arabic. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud.

21. Nightclub in a Manilow song : COPA. "At the Copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana!"

22. Tootsies : FEET

23. Poet Khayyám : OMAR

25. Exxon's ex-name : ESSO. And current, too.

32. Isr. neighbor : SYR. (Israel/Syria)

33. Listener? : EAR

34. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"

36. Sailor's confinement : BRIG. and the occasional Marine could be found there.

38. Struck down, in 39-Down : SMOTE

41. "Finish the job!" : "DO IT!"

42. Curved like a rainbow : ARCED

44. "So that's your game!" : "A-HA!"

45. Function : USE

51. Baseball stitching : SEAM

52. Animal on the California state flag : BEAR

53. Trig or calc : MATH

56. Words claiming innocence : "NOT I"

58. Higher-ranking : UPPER

65. Skylit courtyards : ATRIA

66. "__ fair in love and war" : ALL'S

67. Extremely dry : ARID

68. __ to be: destined : MEANT

69. Jeans brand : LEES. Trademark Lee™

70. Women in habits : NUNS

Down:

1. New York footballers : JETS. 8–8 regular season 2014.

2. Notion : IDEA

3. In __ of: substituted for : LIEU

4. Muscle-to-bone connector : TENDON

5. Vaudeville bit : GAG

6. Banana split ingredient : ICE CREAM. Standard vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, right?

7. Call in a bingo hall : B TWO

8. Paging device : BEEPER

9. U.K. honor : OBE. Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

10. Recently discovered : NEWFOUNDland (icebergs)

11. Wild plum : SLOE

12. Fashion magazine : ELLE

13. 300-pound president : TAFT. William Howard Taft, our 27th President.

18. Goals : AIMS. Not ENDS today.

19. Calamine lotion target : RASH

24. Fills with wonder : AWEs

26. Almost worthless amount : SOU. Old French coin.

27. Gift from the Magi : MYRRH

28. "Fear of Flying" author Jong : ERICA

29. Like a loud crowd : AROAR

30. Clean with elbow grease : SCOUR

31. Beethoven's "Für __" : ELISE

32. Agcy. that aids start-ups : SBA. (Small Business Administration) Formed July 30, 1953.

35. French summer : ÉTÉ

37. "Rhapsody in Blue" composer : GERSHWIN

39. Holy Scripture : THE BIBLE

40. Lighten up : EASE

43. Ike's initials : DDE. (Dwight David Eisenhower) our 34th President.

47. Wind down : WANE

48. Lacking principles : AMORAL

49. Pulled tight : TAUT

50. Many an adoptee : ORPHAN

53. Polite way to address a lady : MA'AM

54. Pot starter : ANTE

55. "America's Next Top Model" host Banks : TYRA

57. Prefix with gram or graph : TELE

59. Lima is its capital : PERU. Home of the lima bean, really.

60. Ireland, poetically : ERIN

61. Chianti and Merlot : REDS

63. Sombrero, e.g. : HAT

64. Battleship letters : USS. At least ours are.

Argyle

Sunday, May 3, 2015 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "From Beginning to End" - The beginning prefix of each compound word is moved to the end.

27A. Outstanding building manager? : STAR SUPER. Superstar.

29A. Truck at the end of the convoy? : FINAL SEMI. Semifinal.

 

43A. Ordinary hero? : STANDARD SUB. Substandard.

67A. One auditing highway department supplies? : SIGN COUNTER. Countersign.

87A. Golfer with an array of trick shots? : CREATIVE PRO. Procreative. And 37D. Two-time Masters champ Ballesteros : SEVE. Super creative around the green.

 

103A. Rate goose feathers? : GRADE DOWN. Downgrade.

105A. Well-rehearsed swindle? : FLUENT CON. Confluent.

39D. Spock's memoir? : LOGICAL BIO. Biological.

47D. Chess champion's blog entry? : MASTER POST. Postmaster.

Lots of compound words in English, so Gail has a deep well. However, she needs the second words to be nouns & the transformed phrases conveying enough surface sense.

Once again, Gail starts her theme entry in Row 4 rather than Row 3 to accommodate the two Down 10's.

Across:  

1. It puts the blue in blue cheese : MOLD

5. Lit up : AGLOW

10. High muck-a-muck : MR BIG

15. Shell occupant : CLAM

19. Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Estelle Parsons in 2014 : OBIE. Did you try TONY?

20. Took turns? : DROVE. Great clue.

21. Lawrence partner : GORME (Eydie). Steve Lawrence.

22. Fast-moving mammal : HARE

23. Bedsheet material : PIMA. I'm often surprised buy the mount of money people spend on those designer T-shirts. It's just cotton.

24. Bored by it all : JADED

25. Puff up : BLOAT

26. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

31. Source of inspiration : MUSE

32. Scatter : DISPEL

36. Ridicule : JEER AT

37. Like some partners : SILENT. Nailed it.

40. Big name in small trucks : TONKA. Founded here in MN. Lots of beat-up Tonka toys at our flea markets.

41. Nursery supply : SOIL

42. Genre of the band Jawbreaker : EMO

47. Co. leaders : MGT. Oh, Management. I was thinking ??S.

50. Hazy : VAGUE

53. Tiered snack : OREO

54. French bean? : TETE

55. It may be blank : STARE

57. It's a turnoff : EXIT RAMP. Simple and elegant clue.

59. How many vacations are taken : BY CAR

60. Hapless sort : LOSER

61. Shut down : CEASE

62. Pressure line : ISOBAR

64. Sacher creations : TORTES. Have you tried Egg Tarts before? You can find them in those dim sum places or Jayce's home. Much lighter than tortes.

65. All-in-one printer option : SCAN

70. Jazzman Fountain : PETE

71. Prepared : ALL SET

73. Least available : RAREST

74. More respectable : NICER

76. 1940 DC Comics debut : ROBIN. Here is the magazine. Probably costs hundreds nowadays.

77. Bogged down : MIRED

78. Held firm : STOOD PAT

81. Literary __ : GUILD. I only know Writer's Guild.

82. Flow with force : SPEW

83. Northern terminus of I-79 : ERIE. New clue!

85. Spots for dips : POOLS

86. WWII venue : ETO (European Theater of Operations)

90. Routine letters : SOP. I googled. It stands for Standard Operating Procedure.

91. Brandy letters : VSOP. Consecutive "letters" clue echo.

93. Black cats, perhaps : OMENS

94. Conservative portfolio investments : T-NOTES

97. Not so demanding : EASIER

100. Banish : DEPORT

102. In : CHIC

110. Get to : RILE

111. Begins : OPENS

113. Prime minister between two Ehuds : ARIEL (Sharon). One of the Ehuds is in serious trouble right now. Convicted of bribery.

114. With two exceptions, NFL Pro Bowl locale since 1980 : OAHU. Wiki said the exceptions are in 2010 and 2015.  What happened?

115. Canadian gas brand : ESSO

116. Contradict : BELIE

117. Distress : PERIL

118. Lowly laborer : PEON

119. They're often in hot water : TEAS. Indeed. I seldom drink iced tea.

120. Sanction : ALLOW

121. Game of chance : BEANO. I've yet to see Rich uses the "gas prevention" angle.

122. Calligrapher's supplies : INKS

Down:

1. Challenging locks : MOPS. I don't get the "Challenging" part. Difficult to maintain or difficult to sport the style?

 

 2. Departure notice? : OBIT

3. Succotash bean : LIMA. Never had succotash. Boomer loves lima beans.

4. "Goodness!" : DEAR ME

5. Fiddles with : ADJUSTS

6. Wine, with "the" : GRAPE

7. Valuable vein : LODE

8. Like some soap opera plot elements : OVERDONE

9. Abandon bachelorhood : WED. Like George Clooney, who finally found the perfect girl.  So, be patient, Splynter, you'll find your Amal!

10. '60s-'80s Brit. sports car : MGB

11. Pocahontas' spouse : ROLFE

12. Range setting : BROIL

13. "Project Runway Canada" host : IMAN. Gimme. It was canceled after 2 seasons.

14. Find work : GET A JOB

15. Carpentry tool : CHISEL. My first boyfriend is a great carpenter. I had the cutest bookshelf in my college years.

16. Pub order : LAGER

17. Pizzeria attraction : AROMA

18. Reason for a raise : MERIT

28. Daily power source : SUN

30. Molokai memento : LEI

33. Chinese leader? : INDO. Indo-Chinese. I thought of SINO first.

34. 2 Tone revival music genre : SKA

35. Wedding day rental : PARTY BUS

38. It gives you the big picture : IMAX

40. Protective covering : TARP

41. Litigant : SUER

44. "Love Is Strange" actress : TOMEI. Never saw the film. About a same-sex couple.

45. Prepare to serve, as wine : DECANT

46. Kick off : START

48. Extend a hand to : GREET

49. Short : TERSE. Argyle will be nervous if he gets long ones from me.

 

51. Whisk, for one : UTENSIL

52. Notable time : ERA

55. __-pitch : SLO

56. Quiznos offering : TORPEDO. My boss (an ex-Marine) introduced torpedoes to me. Also Snickers bars and Long Island Iced Tea.  He speaks fluent Chinese.

58. Part of TA: Abbr. : ASST

59. Reacted to a bad call : BOOED

62. How homes may be measured : IN AREA. Does this fill sound awkward to you?

63. Cork alternative : SCREWTOP

64. The Magi, e.g. : TRIO

65. Military nickname : SARGE

66. Pull : CLOUT

68. Curmudgeonly comment : GRIPE

69. Keypad key : ENTER

72. Objective : END

75. Rights reader : COP

77. Auto ad no. : MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price)

78. Samples, in a way : SIPS

79. Water-storing plant : ALOE

80. An oz. has six : TSPS

83. "Did you __?" : EVER

84. Cheap way to live : RENT-FREE. I was just talking to my brother that every family in our factory had an apartment pre-1990. Often jammed, as three or  four families shared one kitchen and one toilet room. But it was free. Hospital visit was almost free (Less than $1 dollar for the visit).

87. City on the Guadalquivir River : CORDOBA. Spain.

88. "If you ask me," to texters : IMO

89. Cassio's commander : OTHELLO

 

91. They may be seen in streams : VIDEOS

92. Go out with : SEE

95. Diarist Anaïs : NIN

96. Well-armed swimmers? : OCTOPI. Well-armed indeed. Delicious too. 

97. Blue heron kin : EGRET

98. Originate : ARISE

99. Dip with zip : SALSA. I like it mild.

100. "Fain would I __ on form": Juliet : DWELL

101. Film composer Morricone : ENNIO. He scored The Untouchables.

102. Update : CUE IN

104. German auto : OPEL

106. Former Italian capital : LIRA

107. Battle of Normandy city : CAEN

108. "Hmm ... I guess that's all right" : OH OK

109. Sisters : NUNS

112. Seam, say : SEW. I did not know "Seam" can be a verb.

113. BOLO equivalent : APB.  BOLO = "Be On the Lookout"

In case you missed yesterday, Barry G linked this wonderful piano recital of his 10-year-old son Joshua, who's about 5 years old in our blog archive picture. Hello, Joshua, you're so talented!

C.C.

Saturday, May 2nd, 2015, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Altered States

Words: 70 (missing Q,V,W,X,Z)

Blocks: 33

   Nice - A Saturday solve from our blog host C.C.~!  Of course, it would not be a C.C. Saturday puzzle unless it had a theme, which I got right away - but had one answer in the wrong position.  Have to say, it was looking pretty grim after the first pass; too many proper names, and some properly vague clues made my grid very blank.  I'll have to call out a few "fun sponge" answers*.  Triple 6- and 8-letter corners, two 10-letter climbers, and the 11-letter themes.  Let's take a look at the theme answers:

27. Capital that starts with a month : JUNEAU ALASKA - June - oh.  So cool how both answers had the same # of letters

45. Capital that starts with a month : AUGUSTA MAINE - August - a . Very proud for thinking of this one right away, but I put it in the 27a. spot.  Oh well.

~!

ACROSS:

1. Caret-shaped letter : LAMBDA - ah, Greek letter                    

=      ^

7. Entertainer whose name is Spanish for "churches" : IGLESIAS - I cheated; Helen at the restaurant helped me out with this, and 28d.

15. Film set in 2035 : I,ROBOT - I thought "I Am Legend", also with Will Smith, was better

16. Connected with : TRACED TO - I had "LEANEST" at 9d., which messed me up

17. Chinese discipline : TAI-CHI - not taOISM

18. Hood : GANGSTER - I was looking for the place, not the person

19. Duke collaborator : ELLA - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (p.s., Helen tells me "ella" is "she" in Spanish; I need to learn the language)

20. Sign of a spill : SLICK - Oil spills; think BP

22.* __ Chicago : EAST - fun sponge~!  Not too vague....

23. Torments : MISERIES - the noun, in this case

26. Fast sports cars : GTs

31. Lacking heat? : UNARMED - har-har~!  Gun = 'heat' in the gangster 'hood

32. 2009 MTV Generation Award winner : STILLER - Ben - I don't watch the MTV awards, so this was unknown

36. Carol kings : MAGI - I was thinking of the people who sing at your doorstep, not the subject of the song itself (oh, and har-har on your pun, C.C.)

37. Stud site : LOBE - earring reference; not "wall"

38. Medium : PSYCHIC - we have a famous one, right here on L.I.

42. Desert : ABANDON - ah, the verb, not the place

47. Pay stub? : OLA - payola

50. Common knowledge : NO SECRET - it's common knowledge what image I am thinking of for 9d.

51. "__ again?" : COME

53. One of four Holy Roman emperors : OTTO I

54. "A Few Good Men" gp. : USMC - Did you hear what the toll collector's supervisor told him the day he got fired~? "You can't handle the booth~!"

58. Item required to be included on Nutrition Facts labels since 2006 : TRANSFAT - nailed it

60. Predicament : SCRAPE - I am still trying to solve my little "predicament"; C.C. knows why "Alexa" was only 55.5% correct in last week's puzzle

62. Walter White on "Breaking Bad," for one : ANTI-HERO - never watched, but I am told I need to - that and "Dexter"

63. Rode : TEASED

64. Placed a confident bet : LAID ODDS

65. Claim : ALLEGE

DOWN:

1. Like some salad dressing : LITE

2. Sea ruined by extensive irrigation projects : ARAL

3. Work like a dog : MOIL - not Toil; not to be confused with a Jewish 'mohel'

4. "Doctor Who" airer : BBC AMERICA - also carries Top Gear, but I am no longer watching due to the firing of Mr. Clarkson

5. "Am I an idiot!" : D'OH~!

6. Debatable : AT ISSUE

7. Certain media darling : "IT" GIRL

8. Word of thanks : GRACIAS - and yet more Spanish

9. Most long and slender : LANKEST - I don't associate "lank" with sexy, so I'm gonna pass on a gratuitous legs image

10. Hosp. readout : ECG

11. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - Popular in crosswords, but it took me a minute to commit to "Sese"; didn't seem right

12. Security aid : ID TAG

13. Blast from the past : A-TEST - nuclear blast, that is

14. Thing that's no fun to be out of : SORTS - toyed with "Synch"; out of sorts, out of sync(h)

21. Pet controller : LEAD - I think this is more British than America's "leash"

24. Sum, to Claudius : I AM - not the adding 'sum', just straight up Latin

25*. Footwear item for Bode Miller : SKI

27. __ shot : JUMP - Could have been "LONG", too.  The third verse in this song mentions 'jump shot'

Paul Simon - Boy in the Bubble

28. Article in El Sol : UNAS - Helen tells me it's "some"; ergo a part of speech found in the local Latino paper

29. '90s Cleveland Indians pitching standout Charles : NAGY - no C.C. crossword would be complete without a baseball clue.  In the Stanley Cup playoffs, my NY Rangers blew their first game against Washington; better hope they pull back tonight

30. Label on some whole foods : ALL NATURAL

33. California's self-proclaimed "Zinfandel Capital of the World" : LODI - toyed with Napa, but that's the valley; both are towards the top of CA

34. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON - Alexander Pope, poet

35. Kevin's "Tin Cup" co-star : RENE - I loved her in this movie; great, great story

39. Horde member : HUN - not "ORC"

40. Embarrassed admission : "I GOOFED"

41. Tart filling : CUSTARD

42. Early Bee Gees label : ATCO - 50% perps, 50% WAG

43. Bean expert : BARISTA - coffee bean, and I was not fooled

44. Soul, to Sartre : ÂME - Frawnche; in Latin, we have Sum, Esse (Fui, Futurus) - "to be"

46. Dustups : SET TOs

47. In base eight : OCTAL

48. Daughter of Lady Dugal, as it turns out, in an 1869 novel : LORNA - perps

49. Violin pioneer : AMATI

52*. Two-part poem in "Idylls of the King" : ENID - the Wiki

55. Convenient encl. : S.A.S.E.- self-addressed, stamped envelope

56. Video file format : MPEG

57. Turn over : CEDE

59. "Homeland" sta. : SHO

61. Dopey picture? : CEL - Dopey, the dwarf, from the animated movie "Snow White"

Splynter