Saturday, June 15, 2019, Craig Stowe

Themeless Saturday Puzzle By Craig Stowe

Today marks the the celebration of a big source of renewable energy - Wind. As you can see by the accompanying chart, wind turbines are sprouting up at a good clip out here on the Great Plains. 

My daughter and her family just returned from a vacation in Palm Springs, CA two days ago and were amazed when they saw this huge wind farm on I-10 near there

The main issue of course, is how to store this energy when the wind is not blowing. This is being addressed in many ingenious ways

Today, Craig Stowe has blown up a challenging puzzle to solve. Let's see "watt" he has done:

Across:

1. Word with H or I: BEAM.

5. Key of Chopin's Étude Op. 10, No. 3: E MAJ - Gee, I'd love to hear some of that

9. Wont: HABIT - It is my wont to blog every Saturday 

14. Old: OUT OF DATE.

16. "The Faerie Queene" woman: IRENA - IRENA appeals to "The Faerie Queen" for help in Edmund Spencer's 1590 epic poem

17. U.S. gross national debt units since 1981: TRILLIONS - and the beat goes on...

56. Disproportion: IMBALANCE - Speaking of which

18. Fictional musket wielder: ATHOS - He was one of The, uh, Three Musketeers

19. Ready for action: HOT TO TROT 

20. Medieval feudal lord: THANE - Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis

21. Prepare quickly, with "up": WHIP.

22. Shudder: QUIVER - The master

23. Some partygoers: STAGS.

27. Aristotle in the 20th century: ONASSIS - Mr. Jackie O

29. River in Tuscany: ARNO - The ARNO 15. Runs: FLOWS  out of the Apennines, goes through Florence and empties into the Ligurian Sea at Pisa. There are no boat rides on the ARNO as much of it is not navigable  

30. "Middlemarch" author: ELIOT - An 1871 novel of provincial English life by George ELIOT (Mary Anne Evans)

32. Low digits: TOES.

34. YMCA leader and Peace Prize co-Nobelist John: MOTT - His Bio.

35. Coup group: JUNTA.

36. Normandy department: ORNE - France's NW Region of Normandy is divided into five Administrative Departments seen below. The beaches of Calvados were much celebrated nine days ago.

37. Lofty verse: EPOS - Here ya go!

38. Glyceride, for one: ESTER - Here ya go!

39. Tabula __: RASA - Latin for Tablet Erased

40. Japanese electronics giant: HITACHI.

42. "Black Velvet" singer Alannah: MYLES - Some nice Saturday listening/viewing

43. Sovereign: DYNAST - Yes, I suppose a DYNAST would have a dynasty

44. Early one-named Velvet Underground vocalist: NICO - 60's vintage

47. Great service providers: ACERS - They can make for tennis matches played with few strokes

48. Looked raptly: STARGAZED - Mine would be more directed at the heavens than anything terrestrial 

53. Photo finish: MATTE.

54. It may be a stretch: LIMOUSINE - At Disney Studios, Rock 'n Roller Coaster is a ride in a "stretch LIMOUSINE" at 57mph into a black light adventure with Aerosmith blasting in your ears! I'd allow "awesome" as a description!

55. Colorado's __ Park: ESTES.

57. Origins: SEEDS - 800 miles south of the North Pole lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault that stores nearly a million seeds from around the world

58. Nudnik: PEST.

59. Hit, as with snowballs: PELT.


Down:

1. Choice when you can't decide?: BOTH - An old commercial about this dilemma

2. Prefix with vision: EURO - Need more info?

3. Working: AT IT.

4. Shed: MOLT.

5. Bunker on Hauser Street: EDITH - Jeanne Stapleton won an Emmy for her wonderful portrayal

6. "The Piano" extra: MAORI - In this movie the MAORI unload Ada's piano on the beach in western New Zealand 

7. Never: AT NO POINT IN TIME.

8. Kid: JEST.

9. Break: HIATUS - Kids and teachers are on one now

10. Subject including the Renaissance: ART HISTORY.

11. Type of economics: BEHAVIORAL - Five interesting examples

12. From that perspective: IN ONE SENSE.

13. Cop show shocker: TASER.

22. Doha's country: QATAR - Doha is a 2-hr flight from Baghdad 

23. Word of equality: SAME.

24. Cup holder: TROPHY CASE.

25. Name wrongly associated with cake: ANTOINETTE - Most feel Marie never said "Qu’ils mangent de la brioche" (Let them eat cake) in response to hearing the peasants had no bread. However it became a rallying cry for French revolutionaries 

26. Took the first step: GOT STARTED - Debate continues on how attribution to Marie Antoinette of "Qu’ils mangent de la brioche" GOT STARTED

28. One on a staff: NOTE - This NOTE is the top of my range

30. Kick out: EJECT.

31. Green: LUSH - Redux from last Saturday

33. Tranquility and Serenity: SEAS - A lunar reconnaissance orbiter caught site of the Apollo 11 landing site in the SEA of Tranquility 45 years later. (Yeah, we really went!)

41. Rate: ASSESS.

42. Big kahuna: MOGUL 

43. Some royal wedding guests: DAMES - DAME Judi Dench became the first woman to play James Bond's boss, M. Her role was modeled on DAME Stella Rimington, the real-life head of MI5 between 1992 and 1996

45. Feet in a meter?: IAMBS - Ba BUM, Ba BUM, Ba BUM, Ba BUM, Ba BUM (each "ba BUM" is an IAMB and of course there are five in this smart aleck's answers)

46. Balkan native: CROAT.

48. Err: SLIP.

49. Pronto: ASAP - Add Stat in a hospital 

50. E-__: ZINE - Not an online magazine but just for fun-  What time is it in EZINE, Çanakkale, Turkey right now?

51. Letter-bottom abbr.: ENCL - The ENCL can be a S.A.S.E. for an R.S.V.P.

52. Bugs' bane: DEET - The EPA now says DEET is safe when used as directed but this product advertises it is DEET FREE

Now the person in this house could comment on his computer that is powered by WIND and solar energy!

Friday, June 14, 2019, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: To B E or not to B E.

Our resident Shakespeare aficionado uses the letter B and E to wrap around the last word of an in the language phrase. He even provides us with a reveal that is a bit obscure, but it is a Friday. 38A. Also ... and, in three parts, a hint to the four longest Across answers:  BESIDES (7). The three parts are "B" "E" and "SIDES." This advises you that B and E are on the sides of words. Even with 56 theme spaces, the puzzle is chock full of long fill and new fill to add to his always tricky cluing. Example of the great fill are DIGITAL,  MADISON,  PALED AT,  TAVERNA,  UNTIMED, FIRST BASE, OBSERVANT,  CALAMITOUS and FRONT TEETH.
He has some foreign language stuff, some sports, some geography, some poetry, some music...well you can see for yourselves.

17A. Best Custard Enhancement award?: THE GOLDEN  BRULEE (15). We start with a grid spanning fill built off of the Golden Rule. My favorite of the themers.

28A. Eve's incentive not to eat the apple?: ADAM'S BRIBE (10). Adam's Rib is also a biblical reference unless you think only of

46A. Whom to interrupt to end a couple's tedious conversation?: EITHER BORE (10). I like this one a lot also. 

61A. Description of a consistent ogre?: THE SAME OLD BRUTE (15). JW does not get in a RUT unless cranking out fun puzzles that are challenging can be considered a rut. 

Across:

1. Chem lab array: ACIDS. My chemistry classes never trusted us to get near the acids.

6. Grainy side: PILAF. Rice, the one staple in my Oo dominated diet.

11. Pixar SFX: CGI. Computer Generated Imagery has been around in some form since 1974. A LIST of favorite movies.

14. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Another PEOPLE whose history is filled with the results of Imperialism and ethnic incompatibility.

15. Defense concern: ALIBI. Alibis like eyewitnesses are not very reliable.

16. Orbital section: ARC. Both in the sky and near your eye.

20. Like moves in casual chess games: UNTIMED. Is the time lessened the better you are? I have never played with timers.

21. Overly orotund orator: GASBAG. Aren't you happy that OROTUND wasn't the fill?

22. Sacred symbol: TOTEM.

24. Pro __: TEM.

25. Romeo's partner?: ALFA. Another Shakespeare misdirection from our Will S. quote master.

33. "Free to Be... You and Me" co-creator Thomas: MARLO. She gathered the celebrities and put together the book which also became a PLAY.

35. Information: DATA.

36. See 13-Down: TEA. Paired with 13D. With 36-Across, summer drink: ICE. No Lemonade this week.

37. Sette minus sei: UNO. Italian for 7 - 6.

41. Minn. neighbor: ONT.

42. Jose's opening?: SAN. Can you see? Nope, California. Do you know the way?

43. Je ne __ quoi: SAIS. The French expression, used in America par example: There's just been a certain je ne sais quoi about the hue that many can't quite put their finger on.
— Donna Freydkin, Allure, "How Beyoncé and Rita Hazan Chose the Perfect Blonde Hair Color for Bey's On the Run II Tour," 29 Aug. 2018.

44. Keyboard offering: ETUDE. We had our discussion of this recently.

50. Part of NAACP: Abbr.: ASSN.

51. Roadwork supply: TAR.

52. Israeli desert: NEGEV. Half of the land in Israel. LINK.

54. Big improvement over a mop, for short: WET-VAC. Just what the name sounds like. A new clue/fill introduced by JW.

57. Was horrified by: PALED AT. This fill also is being introduced in the entire mainline puzzle world today!

63. "Take a load off": SIT.

64. Stealthy fighter: NINJA.

65. Result of a leadoff single: ONE ON. Baseball.

66. "Feh!": UGH.

67. Wyoming county: TETON. Think Grand! Some DF HISTORY.

68. Aggressive stingers: WASPS.


Down:

1. Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. Attu Island is so far west, it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the westernmost of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, even farther west than the Hawaiian Islands.

2. "All the Way" lyricist: CAHN. I wish I had remembered the C a few puzzles ago. A classic Sinatra tune.

3. "__ a traveller from an antique land": "Ozymandias": I MET.
"Ozymandias" is regarded as one of Percy Bysshe Shelley's most famous works. In antiquity, Ozymandias was an alternative name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Shelley wrote the poem in friendly competition with his friend and fellow poet Horace Smith (1779–1849) who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the same name.

4. Like most selfies: DIGITAL.

5. Cinematographer's option: SLOMO. A portmanteau of SLOw MOtion.

6. Fraudulently increased: PADDED. The bill, the expense account, the bra, the damages and many more.

7. Martinique, par exemple: ILE. A French island, clued in French.
JW has used this a few times; it was first used in the NYT by Martin Schneider on a Sunday, Mar 14, 1999

8. CNN host Lisa: LING.

9. Their logo has a mirrored letter: ABBA. I do like their movies.

10. Diamond corner: FIRST BASE. This is only the second time this fill has graced an LA Times puzzle; it was introduced by our own Steve Marron in his solo debut PUZZLE in 2014.

11. Disastrous: CALAMITOUS. Very nice sparkly long word which JW introduces to the LAT. It has appeared only once in an NYT in 2010.

12. Novelist Iles: GREG. A very popular multi-genre AUTHOR. I have read only The Bone Tree so far. I may try more.

18. "__ Smile Be Your Umbrella": LET A. Jeffrey was feeling musically nostalgic this week.

19. Designated driver alternative: UBER.

23. "The Federalist Papers" co-author: MADISON. President 1.
It is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.

25. What jesters do: AMUSE.

26. Mostly private Hawaiian island: LANAI. Many here know Hawaii better than I do.

27. Incisors: FRONT TEETH. Another fill introduced to both LAT and NYT today.

29. Like Lear, ultimately: MAD. More Shakespeare.

30. Notre-Dame honoree: Abbr.: STE. Saint in French.

31. Switchback features: BENDS. This was the hardest for me to parse since I never heard the term switchback before. The definition is - a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill.

32. Moth-__: EATEN.

34. Paying attention: OBSERVANT. I hope you have been paying attention today because this grid is just loaded with the good stuff.

39. Stirrup location: EAR. Did you bone up on your anatomy?

40. Bro, say: SIB.

45. Spot to sip ouzo: TAVERNA. It is all Greek to me.

47. Kentucky Derby showpieces: HATS. There are some nice horses there as well.

48. Change the itinerary: REPLAN.

49. "Great Scott!": EGAD. Perry White?

53. Nudge: ELBOW. Rude!

54. Fillmore was the last president who was one: WHIG. He is buried in Buffalo with both of his wives. President 2.

55. Lisette's BFF: AMIE. French.

56. You can see Lincoln on one: CENT. President mini-theme. Number 3.

58. Club payments: DUES.

59. On: ATOP.

60. Second-ranked pinochle cards: TENS. A fun GAME that I played when I was young.

61. Nashville sch.: TSU. Tennessee State University.

62. Eye in most of Iberia: OJO. Spanish.

Well, we done did it again. Fabulous fill JW. I leave you with this LINK as we observe Flag Day 242 years after the flag was chosen. Thank you all -  now go and get ready for Father's Day. For which I give you this Dad Joke. (A Dad joke is an embarrassingly bad joke, often read through the eyes of a dad's lack of comedy).

My friend was a very indecisive rower. He could not pick either oar.

Thursday, June 13th 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fore! I mean Four! Four kinds of golf clubs hidden in the theme entries:

16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.

24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".

34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.

48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.

And the reveal:

56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...

... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?

Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Across:

1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:

Episodic television is interesting, especially if there are multiple seasons. A well-written series has one overarching story arc, each season an arc of its own, and each episode a mini-arc.

5. Wild pig: BOAR

9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD

13. Winter expense: HEAT

14. Soothing botanical: ALOE

15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*

19. Brouhahas: TO DOS

20. Semi unit: TON

21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.

22. "Really?": THAT SO?

26. Sinful habit: VICE

27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS

29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.

30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.

31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!

32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.

40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE

41. "Really": TRUE

42. Pigeon sound: COO

43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.

46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.

47. Zebra's mother: MARE

51. Concert venues: ARENAS

53. "__ the Walrus": I AM

54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA

55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH

60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.

61. Word with fishing or party: LINE

62. Con's room: CELL

63. Many profs: PHD'S

64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.

65. Guessing game: I SPY

Down:

1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.

2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.

3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE. 

4. Virile dudes: STUDS

5. Night fliers: BATS

6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!

7. Main arteries: AORTAS

8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW

9. Scout group: DEN

10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.

11. Not as tame: WILDER

12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.

17. "You missed it": TOO LATE

18. Suffix with elephant: -INE

22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.

23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.

24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER

25. Sweetie: DEAR

28. Cigar remnants: ASH

31. Serengeti antelope: GNU

32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI

33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.

35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR

36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...

37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP

38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.

“When I buy a new book, I always read the last page first, that way in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.” 

When Harry Met Sally

39. "Here __ nothing": GOES

43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.

44. Toast topic: HEALTH

45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.

46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE

47. Blends well: MESHES

49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".

50. Lab containers: VIALS

52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":

55. Bowls over: AWES

57. __-relief: BAS

58. Genetic letters: DNA

59. Underhanded: SLY

*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.

I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, June 12 2019, Tim Schenck

Theme:  BREAK THE BANK. Various words for "money" are strewn through each theme answer.

Ulan Bator residents: MONGOLIANS. MOOLA - sometimes spelled moolah.

20. Electrical unit: KILOVOLT. LOOT - often refers to stolen money or goods.

59. Bayou critter: CRAWFISH. CASH - the only word here for money that isn't slang.

61. Wedding party member: BRIDESMAID. BREAD - since bread was the traditional everyday necessity of life, to earn one's living was to earn one's bread, therefore bread became synonymous with money.

39. Share good fortune, as suggested in four sets of circles: SPREAD THE WEALTH. Sometimes the circles are not needed, but with this one, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have found the dough.

Across:

1. WCs: LAVS. Plumbing manufacturers often use the term "water-closet" to differentiate toilets from urinals. American plumbing codes still refer to a toilet as a "Water Closet" or a "WC". The Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary accepts "váter" as a name for a toilet or bathroom, which is derived from the British term "water-closet."

5. Rope fiber plants: HEMPS.

10. Shell game, e.g.: SCAM.

14. Hodgepodge: OLIO.

15. Wedding: UNION.

16. Somewhat, in music: POCO. Also a band from the '70's. Who knew they were still touring?

17. Blockhead: CLOD. Don't hear this word much any more.

22. "Citizen Kane" director: WELLES.

23. Fill with love: ENAMOR.

24. Flower part: SEPAL. A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms. Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom. 

 26. Philosophy suffix: ISM.

28. Antediluvian: OLD. "Of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood."

29. Talk, talk, talk: YAK.

32. Drive away: REPEL.

36. With the bow, in music: ARCO. "Arco (which is not an abbreviation) means to return to bowing after pizzicato (abbreviated pizz.) or col legno. Pizzicato means you pluck the strings with your fingers instead of using the bow, col legno using the wooden backside of the bow instead of the hairs."

38. "__ Lisa": MONA.

42. Ore bed: VEIN.

43. Multivitamin ingredient: IRON.

44. Compare: LIKEN.

45. Fielder's strong throw: PEG.

46. Cultural Revolution leader: MAO.

47. Recede: EBB.

49. Does some mending: DARNS.

51. Disaster area thief: LOOTER. Again with LOOT.

56. Gauguin's island retreat: TAHITI. Foul man, fine artist.

63. Inevitable outcome: FATE.

64. What Benjamin Button did backward: AGED.

65. Not windy: TERSE.

66. Side squared, for a square: AREA. Ohhhhh .... math.

67. Like Santa's cheeks: ROSY.

68. Eyelid woes: STYES.

69. Metallica drummer Ulrich: LARS.

Down:

1. Age of Enlightenment philosopher: LOCKE.

2. Do-or-die Texas Hold 'em bet: ALL IN. For Gilmore Girls fans, this phrase is not about poker.

3. String quartet instrument: VIOLA.

4. City destroyed in Genesis: SODOM.

5. Caters to: HUMORS.

6. Carbon compound: ENOL.

7. Freebies near the register: MINTS. Never turn down a mint.

8. Faddish '90s disc: POG.

9. Road maintenance vehicle: SNOW PLOW.

10. Mop target: SPILL.

11. Shade of black: COAL.

12. Proactiv+ target: ACNE.

13. What some proverbial stones don't gather: MOSS. I'll be hearing Bob Dylan all day in my head. How does it feel?

19. Detective's need: LEAD. Not clue.

21. "And there you have it!": VOILA and VIOLA (3D) in same puzzle.

25. Epoch in the Cenozoic Era: EOCENE.

27. __ of honor: MATRON.

29. Egg part: YOLK.

30. Get the pot going: ANTE.

31. Madeline of "Blazing Saddles": KAHN. So talented, she passed away in 1999.

32. "Let us know if you're coming" letters: RSVP.

33. Duel tool: EPEE.

34. Uptight type: PRIG. Funny word.

35. Bard's nightfall: E'EN. Contraction for evening.

37. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. Also the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. Looks like a p - ρ.

38. __ tai: MAI.

40. Nin and Frank: DIARISTS.

41. Macaroni shape: ELBOW.

46. Pal at the barbie: MATE. Not Midge or Ken.

48. Turbine parts: BLADES.

49. One of Sean Combs' stage names: DIDDY. Also Puff Daddy.

50. Hair-raising: SCARY.

52. Butcher shop byproduct: OFFAL. Entrails and internal organs. The Offal-Eater’s Handbook.

53. Sparkly crown: TIARA.

54. Perfume compound: ESTER.

55. Relatives of emus: RHEAS.

56. Lift up the slope: T-BAR.

57. Golden Fleece ship: ARGO.

58. Goes quickly, quaintly: HIES.

60. Ascend: RISE.

62. Bumped into: MET. Okay - but met seems more planned than unexpected.