Wednesday, November 28, 2018, Gary Cee

Theme: A Breed Apart. 

17. High-tech classroom: COMPUTER LAB. The Labrador is the most popular dog breed by registrations (191,988) worldwide. (Wikipedia.)

23. Fighter at the Olympics: AMATEUR BOXER.

51. Court long shot: THREE POINTER.

61. Astute attorney: LEGAL BEAGLE.

38. Military IDs ... or what 17-, 23-, 51- and 61-Across have: DOG TAGS. Clever - each answer is 'tagged' with a breed of dog. I guess you could call it Collar-ID. Snort.

Melissa here. Several clues related to New York made me wonder if our constructor is from there. Yes.

Across:

1. Mary Oliver, e.g.: POET.

5. Tweak: ADJUST.

11. Obliterate in a flash: ZAP. Good description for microwaving food.

14. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. Dictionary.com: Greek, combining form meaning “air,” used in the formation of compound words.

15. Self-moving vacuum: ROOMBA. Tried to put an H in there somewhere.

16. "I __ you one": OWE.

19. Starchy grain: OAT.

20. Bygone Persian rulers: SHAHS.

21. Long-jawed fish: GAR. Gar species of New York, below:

22. Present: HERE.

27. Man-horse hybrid: CENTAUR.

30. Synagogue reading: TORAH.

31. Country between Vietnam and Thailand: LAOS.

32. Quaint contraction: TIS.

34. Type of coffee or whiskey: IRISH.

37. Congressional statute: ACT.

41. Life highlights, briefly: BIO.

42. Moby-Dick, e.g.: WHALE.

44. Hula strings: UKE.

45. Pungent quality: BITE.

46. Rice dish: PILAF. Dictionary.com defines Pilaf as: a Middle Eastern or Indian dish of rice (or sometimes wheat) cooked in stock with spices, typically having added meat or vegetables. A quick google search turns up recipes for Moroccan, Japanese, Armenian, Asian, Indian, Persian, Lebanese, Russian, Turkish, Italian, and Greek versions.

49. "The Shawshank Redemption" extras: INMATES.

54. __ hog: ROAD.

55. Org. whose returns were never sales: IRS.

56. Get to: REACH.

60. Trellis climber: IVY.

64. Golf peg, or where it's used: TEE. Not being a golfer, C.C.'s explanation in Sunday's write up (87D) of TEE colors in MN was interesting - are the colors not standard?

65. Long cold spell: ICE AGE. Opposite of a cold snap.

66. Image in a botanical print: LEAF.

67. Make a typo, say: ERR.

68. Litter box visitor: PET CAT.

69. Pre-Easter season: LENT.

Down:

1. D.C. influence gps.: PACS. Political Action Committees.

2. "However," in tweets: OTOH. On The Other Hand.

3. "Handsome, clever, and rich" Jane Austen character: EMMA.

4. Headwear with tails: TOP HATS.

5. Works on walls: ART. Sneaky. Works used as noun, not verb.

6. Stag's mate: DOE.

7. Longtime Univision news anchor Ramos: JORGE.

8. Two dots above a vowel: UMLAUT.

9. Pizza chain in many food courts: SBARRO.

10. Bar bill: TAB.

11. Madagascar!, in the Bronx: ZOO EXHIBIT. Anyone seen it?

12. In the know: AWARE.

13. Pan in Neverland: PETER.

18. Inst. with the fight song "On, Brave Old Army Team": USMA.

22. Frost: HOAR.

24. Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of __-Tune)": AUTO.

25. H.S. subject that covers all the angles?: TRIG. Nice clue.

26. Jewish ritual: BRIS.

27. Jaguar's weapon: CLAW.

28. Individually: EACH.

29. "Fat chance!": NOT A PRAYER.

33. "The Simpsons" disco devotee: STU.

35. Locale: SITE.

36. Soil-clearing tools: HOES.

38. Mark for omission: DELE.

39. Related: AKIN.

40. Well-mannered man: GENT.

43. Made up things: LIED. Could also be LIES as a noun - needed 54A ROAD to be sure.

45. Reveal everything: BARE ALL.

47. Individually: APIECE.

48. Draw a blank: FORGET.

50. Nothing but: MERE.

51. Done to death: TRITE.

52. Float in the air: HOVER.

53. Actor Oscar __ of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi": ISAAC. I've only seen him in Inside Llewyn Davis. Did not know that he was born in Guatemala. His family settled in the US when he was five months old.

57. Pulitzer-winning author James: AGEE.

58. Close-knit group: CLAN.

59. Test by lifting: HEFT.

61. Backtalk: LIP.

62. Alternative to JFK or EWR: LGA. NYC's three major airports: JFK = John F. Kennedy International, EWR = Newark Liberty International, LGA = LaGuardia.

63. Perfecta or trifecta: BET.

Sunday May 22, 2016 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Holding Out" - OUT is removed from the starting of one word in each theme entry.

 

27A. Exertion while getting up? : STANDING EFFORT. Outstanding effort.

41A. Angry reaction to insolent trick-or-treaters? : HALLOWEEN FIT. Halloween outfit.

 

60A. Pickup shtick that needs refinement? : ROUGH LINE. Rough outline.

70A. Place for perjurers? : LYING AREA. Outlying area.

86A. Ship's secure containers? : BOUND FREIGHT. Outbound freight.

102A. Wing for rugby's Wallabies? : AUSTRALIAN BACK. Australian outback. Wiki said Wallabies is the nickname for Australia's rugby team. Learning moment for me.

 

37D. Gregarious play group? : SOCIAL CAST. Social outcast.

45D. Blog entry about garden edging? : BORDER POST. Border outpost. Boomer bought this plant from Walmart two weeks ago, but he did not keep the flower tag. Do you know the name?

Though the OUTs in the original OUT* phrase are mostly prefixes, Gail kept the OUTless phrases far away in meaning as possible. The theme looks simple (Gail makes everything look simple), but it's hard to nail it.

Themers are placed Across and Down for the smoothest fill, though often Down themers rob the grid of sparkling long fill.

 

Across:

1. Hyde Park carriage : PRAM

5. One with ropelike tresses : RASTA

10. Enjoys King and Queen : READS. Stephen King. Ellery Queen. We also have 114. King creation : NOVEL

15. Water carrier : DUCT. Not PAIL.

19. Seat of Allen County, Kansas : IOLA. No idea. What's it famous for?

20. __ Bell: Emily Brontë pen name : ELLIS. Learning moment for me also.

21. Run the show : EMCEE

22. Morales of "Jericho" : ESAI

23. Mongolian for "waterless place" : GOBI

24. Half a Yale cheer : BOOLA. Also 53. Member of college music's Whiffenpoofs : ELI

25. Order to attack : SIC 'EM

26. Reason to ban a book : PORN. Once I had PORN and ORGY in one grid. Rich asked me to remove one. Lots of stuff to consider when filling a puzzle: number of abbrs, partials, names, etc. Do not put G-SPOT in LAT, do not put CEE/PEE/ELOAN in WSJ, do not put LGE in NYT.

 30. Crystallized mist : ICE FOG

32. Shows some spunk : DARES

33. Leather piercers : AWLS

34. Aspirant : WANNABE

35. Take under one's wing : ASSIST. Not MENTOR.

38. Tel __ : AVIV

39. Had a row? : OARED. Did not fool me.

40. Many August births : LEOS

45. Short deli order? : BLT

48. Russian retreat : DACHA

50. Pressure source : PEER. Peer pressure.

51. Completed with one stroke : ACED. This refers to hole-in-one, right?

52. Really come down : POUR

54. Long Island airport town : ISLIP. All crosses.

56. Shock source : TASER

58. __ pants : CARGO. Not CAPRI.

59. Bug-loving org. : NSA

62. Attacked without warning : RAIDED

63. Somewhat soft, as a sound : LOWISH. Not a word I use.

65. Ref's call : TKO

66. Capital east of the Black Hills : PIERRE. Pretty city. Boomer took me there in 2001.

68. Spa treatment : FACIAL

72. MD associates : RNs And 85. Ambulance VIP : EMT

75. Three-time Olympics host country : ITALY. China only hosted one.

76. They may be emotional : SCARS, which we all have.

78. Express disdain (at) : SNIFF. Not SNEER.

79. Cioppino cooker : POT.  Never had Cioppino. Looks delicious, Irish Miss/D-Otto.

80. Curious to a fault : NOSY

81. Steinbeck surname : JOAD

82. Some light beers : BUDS. Tiny clue/answer dupe with 84. Not-too-potent potable : NEAR BEER.

83. Cyberjotting : E-NOTE

90. Salinger title teen : ESME

91. Collectors' items? : DEBTS. Lovely clue. Of course I was thinking those eBay items.

92. Go on : LAST

93. Too violent, perhaps : R-RATED

95. Split the tab : GO DUTCH

98. Fourth down play : PUNT

99. Bit of ugly politics : SMEAR

101. Extremely : EVER SO

107. Retina feature : CONE. Another learning moment to me.

108. "Invisible Man" author Ellison : RALPH

110. Chan portrayer : OLAND (Warner). Learned from doing crosswords.

111. Supply-and-demand sci. : ECON

112. Rock band famous for face paint : KISS

113. Often-bricked surface : PATIO

115. Northern terminus of I-79 : ERIE

116. Some Neruda poems : ODES

117. Old will? : SHALT. Thou shalt ...

118. Noisy fliers : GEESE. Not GNATS.

119. Peace Nobelist Cassin : RENE. Never heard of him.

Down:

1. Fairy tale trio : PIGS

2. Underlying cause : ROOT

3. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA

4. It often includes sides : MAIN DISH. For years, my lunch was a hot bowl of rice noodle soup. Cantonese noodle soup is similiar to Vietnamese Pho. Tasty slow-cooked broth, a few pieces of meat & green veggie, but no bean sprouts or basil on top. Cilantro is the only herb Chinese use.

5. Second coming : REBIRTH

6. How writers usually work : ALONE. Same as 95% (or more) of the crossword constructors.

7. Plods (through) : SLOGS

8. Scrabble piece : TILE

9. Without obligation : AS A FAVOR

10. Work out : RESOLVE. Some of you were aware that I wanted this soybean paste, but Amazon sent me soy sauce, which I stupidly opened. Amazon asked me to keep the soy sauce, but I had to re-order the paste and they would not offer me free shipping. Sigh! I did not re-order. I bought another container of red miso at the Asian market yesterday, Yellowrocks!

11. Qatari bigwigs : EMIRS

12. Part of IRA: Abbr. : ACCT. Stock market was violent again last week.

13. Wood finish? : DEE. Just the last letter.

14. Like parts of the Great Plains : SEMI-ARID

15. Count (on) : DEPEND

16. D.C. location, familiarly : US OF A

17. Chocolate substitute : CAROB. The chocolate mint plant I bought last time lost its chocolate flavor when seeped in hot water, TTP/Anon-T. Still very minty though.

18. Hint : TINGE

28. Court figs. : DAs

29. Texter's "Just sayin'" : FWIW

31. Site for techies : CNET

34. Nilla product : WAFER

35. Pilgrim John : ALDEN

36. They can make good impressions : SEALS. I had ?EALS in place and thought of MEALS first. They do make good impressions.

38. Hebrew opener : ALEPH. First letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

39. First word of "The Raven" : ONCE

42. Distinctive mark : A PLUS

43. "Gone With the Wind" actress : LEIGH (Vivien). Victim of bipolar.

44. Assuage : EASE

46. Winter Games vehicle : LUGE

47. Walked (on) : TROD

49. United route : AIR WAY

52. Two of a kind : PAIR

55. It covers a lot of ground : SOIL. Nice clue also.

56. Maori carvings : TIKIs

57. Like many an Internet troll: Abbr. : ANON Also 88. Frantic monologue : RANT

58. Wine order : CARAFE

61. Interstellar dist. : LT-YR. Light-year.

62. Navigation hazard : REEF

64. Slick : OILY

66. Cincy-based consumer products giant : P AND G

67. Like Oscar Wilde : IRISH

68. "Whatever floats your boat" : FINE

69. Energy source : ATOM

70. "This Gun for Hire" actor : LADD (Alan)

71. Astronaut's garb : G-SUIT. Watch this clip from Gary if you missed it last time. You won't forget his voice.

73. Innocent words : NOT ME

74. Mount to mount : STEED

76. Word in two state names : SOUTH

77. Soup aisle array : CANS

81. Department of Labor training program : JOB CORPS. Also a learning moment to me.

82. "Hang in there" : BE STRONG

 

86. Gets in the pool, maybe : BETS

87. Seasonal pharmacy offering : FLU SHOT

 

89. Potter's pedal : TREADLE

91. Arm-twisting : DURESS

94. Took off : RAN

95. Tropical lizard : GECKO

96. Like jellybeans : OVOID

97. Like urban population : DENSE. We have over 75,000 people here in Brooklyn Park, MN. 15% are Asian.

98. One learning the ropes : PUPIL

99. Toil (away) : SLAVE

100. Bores for ore : MINES

102. Wasatch Mountains resort : ALTA. Got via crosses.

103. Burn remedy : ALOE

104. Spread measurement : ACRE

105. Mint product : COIN

106. Often-skinned spot : KNEE

109. Fan reaction? : AAH. I wanted BOO.

C.C.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Gary Cee

Theme: Dizzy - Yes, you'll be dizzy too if you watch all these spinners.

63A. Ride around ... or what the ends of 18-, 24-, 39- and 55-Across can do : GO FOR A SPIN

18A. Superfluous individual : FIFTH WHEEL

24A. Compilation of wacky outtakes : BLOOPER REEL

39A. Summer blouse : HALTER TOP

55A. Olympian's achievement : WORLD RECORD

Argyle here. We're rolling like a wheel. Some nice tall columns in the corners. Gary Cee interview here.

Across:

1. Drain problem : CLOG

5. GI sought by MPs : AWOL

9. Jewish authority figure : RABBI

14. Fallon's predecessor : LENO. The Tonight Show.

15. "Get a __!" : LIFE

16. Estate measures : ACRES

17. Like single-malt scotch : AGED

20. Food from heaven : MANNA

22. Long-necked bird : EMU

23. Ivy League school : YALE

28. Pioneer Carson : KIT

29. PC key near Z : ALT. I looked.

30. Eastern path : TAO. The way.

31. Police warnings : SIRENS. Get out of the tao.

33. Some deli breads : RYEs

35. Part on the stage : ROLE

38. Stable female : MARE

42. Steer clear of : SHUN

44. iPhone voice-activated app : SIRI

45. Hunk of bacon : SLAB

49. Like many warm sweaters : WOOLEN

51. Snaky fish : EEL

53. Miner's discovery : ORE

54. Little terror : IMP

59. Have to have : NEED

61. Flight connection word : VIA

62. Capital of Senegal : DAKAR

67. Single : LONE

68. Occupied : [IN USE]

69. Currency symbolized by € : EURO

70. Coffee holders : MUGS

71. Fax forerunner : TELEX

72. Zipped : SPED

73. Editor's "Leave it in" : STET

Down:

1. Seaside eatery : CLAM BAR

2. Within the law : LEGALLY

3. Without variation, musically : ONE NOTE

4. "Please tell me that's not true" : "GOD, NO!"

5. Sitcom E.T. : ALF. (Alien Life Form)

6. PlayStation 3 rival : Wii

7. Put on the market : OFFER

8. "I'll handle this" : "LET ME"

9. Word before data or deal : RAW

10. In need of aspirin : ACHY

11. Crashing wave : BREAKER

12. Direct route : BEE LINE

13. Lands in the sea : ISLETS

19. Shades : HUES

21. Abbr. in many an urban address : APT. (apartment)

25. __ of Sandwich : EARL

26. Tree anchors : ROOTS

27. Airport waiter : LIMO

32. Performs hip-hop music : RAPS

34. Synagogue : SHUL. Easy for some, perpable for others.

36. Polynesian wreath : LEI

37. Blundered : ERRED

40. From square one : ANEW

41. Concert ticket info : TIER

42. "__ to Watch Over Me" : SOMEONE. The Incomparable Ella.

43. Optimistic : HOPEFUL

46. "Watch it!" : "LOOK OUT!"

47. Orchestrate : ARRANGE

48. Recuperation advice : BED REST

49. Proceed without preparation : WING IT

50. Smoked salmon : NOVA. Nova Lox: This lox, which comes from Nova Scotia, is actually cold-smoked after the curing or brining process. ~ www.thekitchn.com

52. Showed the way : LED

56. Hemingway's "The Sun Also __" : RISES

57. Really enjoy, as praise : LAP UP

58. Allays the fears of : CALMS

60. Prescription amount : DOSE

64. Bills coach Ryan : REX. Easy for some, perpable for others.

65. Wrath : IRE

66. Buddy of Wynken and Blynken : NOD. The Poem

Argyle

Thursday, September 4, 2014 Bruce Haight

Theme: HERE We Go!                             

17-Across. Keep one's landlord happy : PAY THE RENT. Even better, pay in cash!

23-Across. Box instruction : OPEN OTHER END. And the instruction there? "Open Other End..."

37-Across. Optional learning : HIGHER EDUCATION. For my sisters and me, it wasn't optional!

46-Across. Usually not a good way to get married : ON THE REBOUND. Uh, not even a good way to date.

57-Across. "You listen to me," and an instruction about what to look for in 17-, 23-, 37- and 46-Across : NOW SEE..."HERE."

HaHa!!  You got me, Bruce!  I had absolutely no clue what the unifier would be, and I chuckled when I finally "saw" it.  I believe this is Bruce's LAT debut, although he has several NYT puzzles under his belt. This was a very typical Thursday solve for me. Some gimmes, some question marks and a couple of "Huhs?"  Let's see how it goes.


Across

1. Gusto : ZEST. Elan? (Check perps: has to start with "Z.") Zing? (Nah, that doesn't work with EL AL...) Z-E-al?  (Nah, the 4-letter vodka has to be SKYY...) Z-E-S-... (Bit of ink? Hmmm...) AHA! TAT!!  Z-E-S-T.  And so it went...

5. Reynolds Wrap maker : ALCOA. Gimme.

10. Reptile house attractions : BOAS. Asps? (Check perps: Has to start with "B"...)

14. __-Seltzer : ALKA.

15. Luxury hotel with a YouFirst rewards program : LOEWS. Tough one. There are only 20 locations in the US and Canada, so it might not be the first hotel that solvers would think of.

16. Nothing but : ONLY.

19. Cross the threshold : GO IN.

20. Tricky : SLY.

21. Big name in dangerous stunts : EVEL. Knievel, the late motorcycle daredevil. You'd think he would have died in one of those crazy stunts. But no, he died of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 69.

22. Sierra follower, in the NATO alphabet : TANGO.

26. Not familiar with : NEW AT.

29. Staff symbols : RESTS.

30. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

31. __ Belt : ORION'S. Were the pyramids purposely situated to align with it?

Orion Correlation Theory

34. Jan. honoree : MLK. Martin Luther King.

40. Suffix with concert : INO. Hands up for filling "ina" at first?

41. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE.

42. Back in the day : ONCE. upon a time...

43. They may be counted : NOSES.

45. Golden number? : OLDIE. Great clue!

51. Exposed : BARED.

52. Film with talking bugs : ANTZ. It's the only movie with Woody Allen (the voice of "Z") that I ever enjoyed.

53. NFL's Jaguars, for short : JAX. Jacksonville, FL.

56. "The Year of Magical Thinking" author Didion : JOAN. It won the Pulitzer prize for autobiography. It chronicles her grief during the year following her husband's death in 2003.  It is a heart-wrenching account, and a must-read for anyone grieving the loss of a loved one. Her only daughter died in 2005, and led to a second book, "Blue Nights."

60. Qatari bigwig : EMIR.

61. Chicago's __ Planetarium : ADLER. America's first planetarium.

62. Roughage source : BRAN.

63. Facetious nickname for a big guy : TINY.

64. Gnocchi topping : PESTO.

Looks terrible - tastes great!

65. Kan. neighbor : OKLA.


Down

1. Prepares, as leftovers : ZAPS.

2. Mideast airline : EL AL. It means "To the Skies," which is a great lead-in for the the next answer:

3. Absolut rival : SKYY. Vodka. Cheers, Tin!

4. Bit of ink : TAT.

5. Naproxen brand : ALEVE.

6. "Two Women" Oscar winner : LOREN.

Sophia

7. "Fool for You" Grammy winner Green : CEE LO. No clue. 4:06

8. Have : OWN.

9. PEI hours : AST. Prince Edward Island. Atlantic Standard Time.

10. "The African Queen" co-star : BOGART. Husker Gary, I know you nailed this one!

11. Under consideration : ON ONE'S MIND.

12. Straighten : ALIGN.

13. Church council : SYNOD.

18. Oct- minus one : HEPT. Huh? Prefixes for eight and seven.

22. "The Gondoliers" girl : TESSA. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera. Nailed it!

23. Four-letter word : OATH. HaHa...not what I had in mind.

24. Rainbow __ : TROUT.

Hatchery Image

25. As a result : HENCE.

26. Fruity soda : NEHI.

27. Yeats' home : ERIN. Ireland, to natives.

28. Top-rated evening TV show of 1961-62 : WAGON TRAIN. My parents used to love this show. Me, not so much...

31. Turkey on rye, e.g. : ORDER.

32. Actress Witherspoon : REESE.  She's such a cutie.

33. Some badges : IDs.

35. Centers of activity : LOCI.

36. Seat for a dummy : KNEE. Dummy, as in Mortimer Snerd.

38. Relaxed : EASED.

39. Ratted (on) : TOLD.

44. Literary award named for a writer : O'HENRY.

45. Dix et un : ONZE. 10 + 1 = 11 in French.  (Funny...it adds up to the same thing in English!)

46. __ d'art : OBJET. More French.

47. Wynonna's mom : NAOMI. The Judds.

48. Cries : BAWLS.

49. Commencement : ONSET.

50. In __: unborn : UTERO.

53. Sudden movement : JERK.

54. __ Sea : ARAL.

55. Lawless character : XENA. Lucy Lawless, that is.

57. Go out in the afternoon? : NAP.

58. Keats poem : ODE.

59. "The Leftovers" airer : HBO. No clue.  Oh, I see that it just premiered on June 29th, and "The Leftovers" are those people left after the "rapture" took 2% of the world's population.

That's it for this week!

Marti

Sunday May 18, 2014 John Lampkin

Theme:  "Addressing the Crowd" - Each theme answer ends with a street address, all clued appropriate for the profession mentioned in each clue.

23A. Apt address for hit men? : VICIOUS CIRCLE

28A. Apt address for prizefighters? : BELT LOOP

41A. Apt address for petrologists? : ROCKY ROAD. Misty's husband is a petrologist, I think.

50A. Apt address for surgeons? : INSIDE LANE

68A. Apt address for an Orlando team? : MAGIC SQUARE

 

86A. Apt address for photographers? : FLASH DRIVE. We all know John is a nature photographer.

94A. Apt address for gossip columnists? : DIRT TRAIL. Miss the old MSNBC Entertainment coverage.

109A. Apt address for dairymen? : MILKY WAY

118A. Apt address for Australian zookeepers? : KANGAROO COURT

What a great title!

Not a pangram as John's typical Sunday puzzles. 9 theme entries are not easy to deal with, esp if the first one starts with a 13, as you're forced with deep stacks of 7's on the upper right immediately. John could put another black square in square 22, but then he would have exceeded the word limit. 

Same with square 19. This is a potentially 3-letter heavy puzzle (I could easily see 20 in the top and bottom three rows alone), but John is a grid master.

Across:

 

1. Braying beast : ASS. Alliteration.

4. PC display : LCD

7. Places for prayer leaders : APSES

12. Bourbon barrel wood : OAK

15. "Silly me!" : D'OH!. And 18. Silly talk : TWADDLE. I like this word.

20. Collar attachment : LEASH. And 26. Helmet attachments : STRAPS

21. Certify : SWEAR TO

25. "Get busy!" : HOP TO IT!

   

27. Porcine cry : OINK

29. Overjoys : ELATES

31. "C'est magnifique!" : OO LA LA. Hi there Linda!

34. "Besides that ..." : ALSO

35. i follower : POD. iPod.

37. Capable, kiddingly : EPT

38. Chiapas chaperon : DUENA. New word to me. Also not familiar with the Mexican state Chiapas. Another Mexican state in the clue of AMIGA (122. Jalisco gal pal).

39. Mollycoddle : COSSET. No idea. Never been cosseted. 

45. Basic dance : TWO-STEP

47. It's a gas : OZONE

48. Native Canadian : CREE

55. Put under a spell : BEWITCH

57. Liberal group? : ARTS. Good old clue.

59. Scientific map subjects : GENOMES

60. "Three Days of the Condor" org. : CIA. I liked the movie. I like Robert Redford.

61. Scena segment : ARIA

62. Miler Sebastian : COE

64. Bug user : SNOOP. Wiretap bug.

65. Jerk : DORK.  Nope. Dorks are not jerks.

72. Football Hall of Famer Marchetti : GINO. Look, he even attached HOF in his signature.

73. Projecting window : ORIEL

75. Finder's reward : FEE

76. It may be artificial : TURF

77. Grate stuff : ASH

79. Pull back, as talons : RETRACT. Vivid clue.

81. Two in seventy-five? : VEES. Two letter V's.

82. Aaron Burr was once tried for it : TREASON. He was? This guy was so problematic.

89. Africa's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE

91. Kiddie lit redhead : PIPPI

92. Car deal component : TRADE-IN

96. Synagogue leaders : RABBIS

100. Two-time US Open winner : SELES (Monica). 

102. Burn at the beach : FRY. Shout-out to a blog regular, who loves his Pirates.

103. Bee follower : CEE

104. Jai __ : ALAI

105. Ankle-related : TARSAL

106. What burglars may walk on : TIPTOE

112. Hummable bit : TUNE. So simple, so beautiful. Make me think of the young Spitzboov, Argyle & PK.

114. Fairy tale brother : HANSEL. And Gretel.

117. Searches for anew : RE-SEEKS

121. For kicks : ON A LARK

123. Missing more marbles : LOONIER. Fun clue.

124. Mil. award : DSM (Distinguished Service Medal)

125. Turning meas. : RPS

126. River to the Bering Sea : YUKON

 

127. USCG officer : ENS (Ensigns)

128. Carol contraction : 'TIS

Down:

1. Some three-wheelers, briefly : ATVs

2. "M*A*S*H" actress : SWIT. "Hot Lips".

3. Untouchable : SACRED COW. Lovely entry.

4. Parkinson's treatment : L-DOPA

5. Tight gathering : CLUSTER

6. __ Plaines, Illinois : DES

7. Et __ : ALII

8. Anise-flavored liqueur : PERNOD. Gimme for Argyle, not me.

9. Grab some z's : SACK OUT

10. Subj. for aliens : ESL

11. Boater's pronoun : SHE. Not "Boater" hat.

12. Irish actor Milo : O'SHEA

13. Like a GI who missed the boat? : AWOL. On purpose then.

14. Didn't trash : KEPT

15. Responds to kitchen aromas : DROOLS. Do you miss your grandma's kitchen? I do.

16. Futile : OTIOSE. This word looks fat to me.

17. British stew : HOT POT. Chinese too.

19. Where to see hands on a wrist : DIAL. Another fun clue.

22. Traveler's aid : ATLAS

24. Credit sharer : CO-STAR

28. Coty Award winner Bill : BLASS. See here. He won in 1983. The Award was discontinued in 1985.

30. Big period : EPOCH

32. 2013 Women's British Open winner Stacy : LEWIS. Old course at St. Andrews. JD was there once.

33. Auth. unknown : ANON

35. SAT item : PROB. And 70. SAT item : QUES. Problem and Questions.

36. Exude : OOZE

39. Hand over : CEDE

40. Pops the top off : OPENS

42. Old-style golf wear : KNICKERS

43. Sasquatch kin : YETI

44. Honey substitute? : DEARIE. Sweet!

46. Member of the Panthera genus : TIGER

49. Spy novelist Ambler : ERIC

51. Classical music lover, facetiously : LONG HAIR. Both John & Rich are long hair(s) then!

52. Mine, in Monaco : A MOI

53. Vegas light : NEON

54. Beantown hockey hero : ESPO. Phil Esposito.

56. Nanny follower : CAM. Nanny cam.

58. Aesthetic attitude : TASTE

61. Negotiate a figurative hill? : AGE. I don't get this clue.

62. Put under a spell : CURSED

63. Klutz : OAF

65. German village : DORF. Learning moment for me.

66. Sportscaster Hershiser : OREL

67. Poet Dove : RITA

69. Performers' union acronym : AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)

71. Wing for Dumbo : EAR

74. "Chicago Hope" Emmy winner : LAHTI (Christine)

78. Equinox mo. : SEPT

80. Burned media, for short : CD-Rs. CD-R = Compact Disc-Recordable.

81. Salome septet : VEILS

82. Country singer Clark : TERRI

83. Apollo protection : SPACE SUIT. I was thinking of Greek god Apollo, Gary!

84. Mayberry moppet : OPIE

85. River to the Mediterranean : NILE

87. "In my opinion ..." : I'D SAY

88. Deviate : VEER

90. Bakery tool : SIFTER

93. One who's bound to order? : NEATNIK. Loved the clue and answer.

95. Tropical blow : TYPHOON

96. Muzzleloading aid : RAMROD

97. Far-out bunch? : ALIENS

98. Holiday tree : BALSAM

99. Theodore of "The Defiant Ones" : BIKEL. He looks familiar. I must have googled him before.

101. Nancy's buddy : SLUGGO

105. Things to do : TASKS

107. Mexican restaurant staples : TACOS

108. "__, you noblest English": "Henry V" : ON, ON

110. Coin datum : YEAR

111. Sitcom radio station : WKRP

113. Tandoori bread : NAAN

115. "... __ saw Elba" : ERE I

116. P.O. deliveries : LTRS

118. Kick starter? : KAY. Letter K. Or our Kazie's real name.

119. __ Darya River : AMU

120. Corrida kudos : OLE

C.C.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 Gary Cee

Theme:

A jolly good morning to you all. Steve here filing this dispatch from the other side of the pond in old Blighty. I can hear Big Ben chiming each quarter-hour, so I couldn't be much more central in Central London. Unfortunately I'm not going to make it back for Thanksgiving - can one of you save me some turkey?

 A smooth Wednesday from Gary Cee today. The reveal helped me with 42A when the "connection" between the theme entries became apparent.

Let's dig a little deeper.

20A. Cartoon quitting-time shout : YABBA DABBA DOO! We can all relate at some time or other to Fred Flintstone's trademark yell.

35A. Fins wearer : SCUBA DIVER. One of the best acronyms ever, and invented by a Frenchman too - wonders will never cease.

42A. Bookmarked link, say : WEB ADDRESS. I need bookmarks for bookmarks I've got so many. 

And the reveal:

57A. Phone line difficulty ... and what literally appears four times in 20-, 35- and 42-Across : BAD CONNECTION. Hello? Hello? What? You're breaking up - I'll call you back! Comes in very handy sometimes, I do confess.

Across:

1. Unit price word : EACH

5. Gets ready to travel : PACKS

10. Game where 3-Down are used : GOLF

14. Org. concerned with privacy laws : A.C.L.U. The American Civil Liberties Union.

15. Pasta product suffix : -ARONI. Quibble Alert - it's Rice-a-Roni and Pasta Roni, so I think we're irons here.

16. Aroma : ODOR.

17. Ticket remnant : STUB. Or many torn shreds like so much confetti when it's a parking ticket you discover on your windshield.

18. Speed __ : DEMON

19. H-hour relative : D-DAY

23. Lay into : ASSAIL

24. Group of four : TETRAD. A learning moment for me today. I know I must have seen this in crosswords before, but it's never stuck. Hopefully now it will.

27. "__ Misérables" : LES.

29. "Odds __ ..." : ARE

30. J. Geils Band record label : EMI. Electric & Musical Industries, Ltd. in case you're wondering where the name comes from.

31. Swaddling clothes wearer : BABE

38. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. Minnesota Twins legend had his number 6 retired by the club.

C.C. & Oliva, Sept 15, 2011

40. Letters before a pen name : AKA. Nothing in the clue to indicate an abbreviation - has "Also Known As" moved beyond needing the periods in the shortened form?

41. Cardiologist's insertion : STENT

45. Soup can painter Warhol : ANDY

46. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL. Why do I always put "Eel"? I've had to correct it often enough, you'd think I'd know by now.

47. Gaming cube : DIE

48. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs. Extended Play 7" vinyl. Say that to anyone born after 1980 and they will have no idea what you're talking about. Two on each side. This first official Beatles EP release is still the biggest-selling in UK pop history.

50. Sound system : STEREO. Not a lot of point playing the EP above on your stereo - it was only released in glorious mono!

52. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO

61. Word from the flock : AMEN. Baaaaaaa!

63. "Today" anchor Hill : ERICA. I needed the crosses for this, somehow I never seem to watch the Today show (nor remember the names of TV anchors!)

64. Good listeners : EARS

65. Barber's nape sprinkle : TALC

66. Starter course : SALAD

67. Stake in a pot : ANTE

68. It's not a true story : MYTH

69. "__ Dream": "Lohengrin" aria : ELSA'S. There's a nice version here from Bayreuth

70. Harbor skyline feature : MAST

Down:

1. Class that requires little effort : EASY A

2. Play the role of : ACT AS

3. Certain pro's selections : CLUBS. The link with 10A helped narrow this one down quickly.

4. When repeated, an enthusiastic shout : HUBBA. When I saw this crossing with Yabba I was expecting to find Bubba, Jabba and all kinds of others.

5. Table tennis tools : PADDLES. We called 'em bats at home. Ours had cork on one side and sandpaper on the other.

6. Field : AREA

7. Brush partner : COMB. I don't own any hair-styling tools, I just wash it, towel it off and comb it with my fingers. Some people say lazy, I say efficient.

8. Gearshift topper : KNOB. I'm renting a car here in London today, so I'll be experiencing this feature. Most rental cars in the UK are stick-shift, adding to the drama of sitting on the wrong side of the car to drive on the wrong side of the road.

9. "My Way" singer : SINATRA

10. Dramatic no-show : GODOT. The production I saw many years ago had Estragon and Vladimir act the entire play whilst standing up to their necks in large Grecian urns. It turned "Waiting for Godot" into "Waiting for "Waiting for Godot" to finish, PLEASE!".

11. Roulette bet choice : ODD OR EVEN

12. Mauna __ : LOA. Always need two crossing letters to distinguish from Mauna Kea

13. Cook in oil : FRY

21. Be unwell : AIL

22. Good ones don't go unpunished, so they say : DEEDS

25. Change for the better : AMEND

26. Below the belt : DIRTY. A low blow in boxing. Somehow it's OK to pummel a fellow about his cranium until he blacks out, but pop him one in the nether regions and that's a cardinal sin.

28. "Eek!" inducer : SCARE. Wanted Mouse, then Snake, then Sc .. ummm ... oh! Scare!

29. Take down a peg : ABASE

31. Pitney's partner : BOWES. Funny how the mind works, I had confidently filled in PRATT and couldn't figure out why nothing else would fit with it, then I went back and re-read the clue. "Whitney" doesn't look anything like "Pitney." How strange.

32. Colorful warning, often : ALERT. Usually Red. I've never seen a Blue or Green alert.

33. Evangelical hot spot : BIBLE BELT

34. Señora Perón : EVA.

36. Hawaiian strings : UKE

37. "Make __ good one!" : IT A

39. Put two and two together : ADDED. Was hoping for "Made Five", but not enough room.

43. Bishop's jurisdiction : DIOCESE. Is there a different between a Diocese and a Bishopric?

44. Goes viral, say : SPREADS. If you want an ear-worm today, click this link for a viral YouTube video that's had more than 700 million views. If you've had enough Korean dance music for a while, just skip over it.

49. [Not my typo] : SIC. What happens if SIC itself is a tpyo (sic). You'd have tpyo (sci) (sic) (sic) or something .. awesome!

51. Italian alternative : RANCH

53. Mr. T's group : "A" TEAM

54. Jungle vine : LIANA. I like this word for no good reason.

55. Basis of civil lawsuits : TORTS

56. First sign : ONSET

58. Like much family history : ORAL

59. Lofgren of the E Street Band : NILS. I always think that Keith Richards is Nils Lofgren's "Picture of Dorian Gray"

Nils

Keef

60. March Madness org. : N.C.A.A. The National Collegiate Athletics Association also administer other events besides this basketball tourney.

61. Brief bread source? : A.T.M. I love how "PIN number" and "ATM machine" are often part of the same sentence and both have redundancies - "I went to the automatic teller machine machine but forgot my personal identification number number".

62. Possibly will : MAY

That's all from me, other than to slip in a brief "Huzzah" that the Fighting Irish are back - ranked Number 1 for the first time since 1993!  The ND London campus is very close by my hotel, so please indulge me with this picture we took yesterday!