Saturday, Nov 19, 2011 Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 37

Well, I have to say, yesterday's puzzle took longer than today's - two Bruce constructors in a row, and I guess I was on Bruce Venzke's wavelength, even at this hour of the morning. Truly, my only hang ups were at a couple of DOWN clues. I hope your Saturday solve was just as inspiring, and for those persons who dared try a Saturday for the first time, this grid was a good jumping off point~!

Double symmetry, which I don't often see, with corners of triple sevens, and;

Two grid spanners -

29. First of an old film septet : ROAD TO SINGAPORE - A comedy series that included six other locations, and three main stars - Bing Crosby (who will be crooning in my parent's house for the holidays), Dorothy Lamour (who I don't know), and Bob Hope, who was more a comedian for me than a movie star - never saw any of his films

38. Hold back : KEEP AT A DISTANCE

and two of 13-letters -

19. Obviously fearful : WHITE AS A SHEET - not that I had GHOST to start, but I did the DOWN clues to begin, which gave me "H" from ROTHS at 10D - but I also had the "E" from ULEES at 11D.

51. Howls skyward : BAYS AT THE MOON - which makes me think of this classic song from Ozzy Osbourne, and the number of letters is the same, but...."Listen in awe, and you'll hear him - link to the song"

Half a dozen abbreviations in the three-letter answers, and quite a bit of musical variety, as well

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ???

ACROSS:

1. Quinine target : MALARIA - well, I wanted "LEG ache" or something like that, since we had this in the Jeff Chen "Q" puzzle from Sunday....

8. Smartened (up) : SPRUCED - right before your date gets to the door, one would "spruce up" the place - I haven't had to do much sprucing, lately....

15. Hard to nail down : EVASIVE

16. When parents don't want a teen to be home? : TOO LATE

17. Equity complaint : "NOT FAIR~!"

18. "Don't Wanna Lose You" singer : ESTEFAN - Gloria, and I will link this one to offset my Ozzy indulgence

21. Like some jokes : TASTELESS - I just used this word in last Saturday's blog

22. Red Ryder ammo : BBs - oh, we are getting close to that classic seasonal movie (clip) - always brings a smile~!! Also - 35D. Shooter insert : PEA

25. Richard Marx label : EMI

26. Crude amt. : BBL - short for Barrel, and I know this corner has had a long discussion on why this is so in the past

36. Drawer : ARTIST - nice misdirection, but I has some letters from the DOWN clues, including the ending -ST, so I was not fooled.

37. Freezes over : ICES UP

42. "Merv Griffin's Crosswords" announcer Hall : EDD

43. Spring sign : BUD - Not LEO,




that's a summer sign, but a flower bud - got me for a second; over-thinking on Saturday is usually the norm (and I just learned that

44. Do some needling : SEW

45. Doughnut-shaped treat : LIFESAVER - candy, and a corporate plug - not that I like them

55. Rolling service station? : TEA CART

56. They were the Browns before they moved from St. Louis : ORIOLES - this was once my favorite baseball team, because I liked their old logo

58. High-speed contest : AIR-RACE - tragic incident in Reno on Sept. 16th

59. More restless : ANTSIER

60. Crept : SNEAKED, and 8D. Enter stealthily : STEAL IN

61. Sages : NESTORS - a reference to the wisest Greek of the Trojan War

DOWN:

1. "So many __, so little time": Mae West : MEN

2. Declare : AVOW - start with AV_ _, wait on the perps

3. Stucco strip : LATH

4. Comparable to a fiddle : "AS FIT as a fiddle"

5. Gaucho gear : RIATA

6. Wrigley Field features : IVIES - Baseball

7. Does some lawn maintenance : AERATES

9. Western group : POSSE

10. Some IRAs : ROTHS

11. "__ Gold": 1997 film : ULEE'S - becoming a crossword staple

12. Bookstore area, often : CAFE

13. French political division : ETAT - French for state - Lemonade is Mr. French around here

14. Outdoor shelter : DEN - I had HUT, thinking of this crew

20. Event before finals : SEMI - meh, it's a bit off for me

22. Gas neighbor : BRAKE - ah, the pedals on the floor of your car, truck, van, etc. - again, I was over-thinking it

23. Made holes : BORED

24. Full : SATED

26. Some crew members, casually : BO'S'NS - nautical term Boatswains

27. Giants manager Bochy : BRUCE - More baseball, and a self-shout-out for Mr. Venzke - hey, I try and do the same in every puzzle I have constructed....SPY and RICH work so well

28. Romantic toon mammal : LEPEW - doesn't this clue sound like it's asking for "SKUNK" ???

30. Roller coaster element : DIP - not CAR

31. Defense agency since Nov. 2001 : TSA - I am sure they're hiring for the holiday season

32. Baseball's Little Giant : OTT - and yet more baseball - do we long for April already ???

33. They're often in a mess : GIs - General Infantry - OOPS, totally wrong my whole life - the soldiers that eat in the mess tent

34. Patriot __ : ACT

39. Looked out for? : ABETTED - the "lookout" is charged with aiding and abetting during a crime

40. Attic collection : DUST - no need to over-think again

41. Gem State native : IDAHOAN - The Gem State - good site to know for future puzzles - bookmark the link now ~!

45. Wet suit material : LYCRA

46. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK - and another musical link, this one is raunchy - at least it was when it came out

47. Burlesque : FARCE

48. Sci-fi pioneer : VERNE - Jules, who some believe had visions of the future, and could see the things he wrote about long before they were invented - or did he just inspire them?

49. Gives forth : EMITS

50. Nocturnal resting spot : ROOST

51. "__ Green": Kermit's song : BEIN' - OK, here's Kermit, but this one is my favorite

52. Bern's river : AARE - map

53. Variety : OLIO

54. Start to do well? : NE'ER-Do-Well

55. Jobs for grad students : TAs - Teaching Assistants

57. Many SAT takers : SRs - Seniors

Answer grid.

Movin' Right Along ~!!

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our sweet Creature. Thanks for the kindness and caring you've shown to all of us in the past year.

Interview with Bruce R. Sutphin

As Lemonade mentioned in his write-up of today's DROP IN, this is our third Bruce Sutphin puzzle. His previous two Friday grids also involved letter string addition (TAG) & deletion (RS, with a great LOSERS as the last Across entry to tie things together).

Bruce only started constructing in 2010, but you could feel his passion and talent for construction from his theme selections. His desire to constantly improve himself is also evident in his blog comments the last several time he visited us. I look forward to more challenges and fun from Bruce.

How did the LOSERS idea come to you? It's such a brilliant unifier. Very unexpected two consonants dropping.

I had really enjoying a NYT puzzle (12/1/09) by Vic Fleming and Jonah Kagan where they parsed BREAKFAST as BREAK FAST and a couple of times afterward had toyed with similar themes messing with word breaks. Obviously LOSER would have made for more possible theme entries, but I thought I would see what I could come up with for LOSERS. I made a version of this "LOSERS" puzzle and sent it to Rich Norris at the LAT and he rejected it, but commented that the theme was cute and he liked the ONEHOETOWN entry. I redid the whole puzzle keeping that one entry and after some revision had it accepted.

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into crossword construction?

I had solved crosswords a bit off and on growing up, but with no regularity. In August 2009 I found all these different blogs and Ryan and Brian's "Fill Me In" Podcast. I was completely hooked. In the spring of 2010 I decided to attempt constructing. My first puzzles weren't very good, but I really enjoyed making them so I kept at it. I came into contact through the blogs with Doug Peterson and he and I started working on a puzzle last summer. Working with him has been a blast, we have a couple puzzles we made together in the LAT pipeline and a couple of others out that we are waiting to hear back on. Although my first 2 puzzles accepted were solo efforts, there is no way I would have made publishable quality puzzles without Doug's support and feedback. He is a true Crossword Gentleman.

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, gridding or cluing?

I definitely would say the theme brainstorming. Early on I was quick to try and make a puzzle based on half baked or incomplete themes which was setting the puzzles up for failure from the start. I have enjoyed collaborating with Doug (I also have a puzzle in the NYT pipeline I co-constructed with Neville Fogarty) and find that the bouncing of theme ideas and theme entries off someone else makes a huge difference. The gridding obviously poses its own challenges and it can be annoying when things don't quite work out as you want, but I do like finding good entries. I especially like cluing a puzzle and even though it is the last portion of the creation, there isn't a temptation there for me to rush it since the clues are the solvers entry into the puzzle and if they don't grab them, then they might not bother solving the puzzle.

How does constructing change your solving experience? And what kind of themes/fill fascinate you as a solver?

When solving a puzzle, I don't really think that I notice that much difference now. I am far from a speed-solver, but I find that I appreciate themes more when I am done with a puzzle, especially if it is something really unique that I wish I had thought of. All the puzzles with added elements I find interesting, whether it be a picture created, or a neat trick where the entries aren't just entered in the "usual" way. Fresh fill is always great, or even commonplace fill clued in a new and interesting way always gets me. When my first (or even second or third) impression of what a clue wants isn't right, I like that. You can always clue something I don't know in a way so that I won't arrive at it easily, but cluing an entry I know in a tricky way that takes some thought, that's the best .

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors do you find most inspiring?

I solve the NYT, LAT, Newsday, and CrosSynergy everyday. I do all the Brendan Emmett Quigley puzzles, the Fireball, WSJ, Boston Globe, Phil Inquirer, Post Puzzler, Matt Gaffney, ISwear, The Onion, InkWell, Chronicle of Higher Education.... I think about 43 a week. They take me a heck of a lot longer than the elite solvers, but I also spend a lot less time on them then I did two years ago. I have seen great improvements in my own solving time. Obviously I am a big fan of Doug Peterson's puzzles. I also think all the stuff put our by BEQ, Matt Gaffney and Peter Gordon is top notch.

Besides crosswords, what are your other interests?

I am a 35 year old married father of 3. I have two daughters 8 and 6 and a 1 year old son. I am a stay at home dad during the day and I teach a mathematics class for a community college at night each semester. I enjoy reading, movies, and getting out to golf when I can.

Friday, November 18, 2011, Bruce R. Sutphin and Doug Peterson

Theme: The INs are OUT! The letters IN are removed from in the language phrases or titles, to create a new and completely whimsical clue/fill combo. This is our third puzzle from Bruce, but his first sharing the honors with Doug Peterson one of my many favorite constructors. All of Bruce's LAT puzzles have been published on Friday, so I am now his caddy, his Stevie Williams; oops bad analogy. The theme is the same concept of his September offering, but I found getting started very hard maybe because I got up at 5:30, this morning, but I got 'er done, and had a really good time doing so. Very few three letter words, and lots of original stuff made this a treat. So let's go.

20A. Movie about a wacky submarine crew?: THE DIVINE COMEDY. The very unfunny book by Dante Alighieri, is juxtaposed with a silly clue. Once I got this I had the theme, and all the the corner, but it was hard, as I kept picturing the Cary Grant Tony Curtis movie, Operation Petticoat.

33A. Feeling when surrounded by taxis?: CABIN PRESSURE. Hard to picture than many taxicabs, but Cabin Pressure in an airplane is very important.

40A. Prince's request to the Pauper?: WILL YOU BE MINE? The classic story where the rich kid wants to experience the freedom of no responsibility, so he changes places with the poor kid, told so well by our own Mark Twain. I like the Anita Baker version of the song.

52A. Random criticisms from the Musketeers?: THREE POINT SHOTS. Pot shots are what are modern press believe is reporting; and 3 point shots are a basketball term for long distance scoring, worth more then regular scoring (2 points). Going to see the newest movie version?

The unifier,

48D. Unexpected visitor ... and a hint to 20-, 33-, 40- and 52-Across: DROP IN, suggesting the dropping of 'IN' from words. It came too late to help me.

Across:

1. Revolution for Caesar?: ANNUM. Latin for a year, one revolution around the sun.

6. Run together: BLUR. This is what my vision is like.

10. Midnight snack: NOSH.

14. "The Family Man" actress: LEONI. David Duchovny's long suffering wife, and the co-star with Nicholas Cage in this MOVIE variation of the Prince and the Pauper, where the rich single guy becomes married with kids in a bizarre flashback to what might have been

15. Mystical letter: RUNE. I am sure all of our crew with Germanic, English and Scandinavian backgrounds found this easy.

16. Home furnishings acronym: IKEA. The ultimate first letter challenge. The founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad),the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd).

17. Success symbol: AWARD. Who was taught 'let them have the credit, you take the cash.'

18. Alarm clock toggle: AM/PM.

19. Shout to a line: NEXT. Great visual, standing in line in the bank.

23. Give out in portions : ALLOT. Meant to say something...

24. Set-to: ROW. Not ROW which rhymes with BOW, oops I mean with BLOW, but the one which sounds like COW, HOW NOW? English is so easy to learn, right C.C.

25. Quarterdeck?: SPADES. Yes, the other quarters being clubs, hearts and diamonds.

28. Set the stage for: USHER IN. Is Usher still in?

32. Carpooler's __ lane: HOV. high-occupancy vehicle. Did you hear about the sad group from Jersey who could not decide between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel to go to work? they suffered from Carpool Tunnel Syndrome.

36. Largest of a septet: ASIA. The seven continents.

38. Tote: LUG. To carry.

39. Certain surgeon's concern: TREE. The poor sap thought he was going to medical school.

45. In addition: AND.

46. Level of importance: STATURE. being short, I debate this.

47. Harper Lee recluse Boo __: RADLEY. Brilliantly played by ROBERT DUVALL in To Kill a Mockingbird, a wonderful courtroom drama to warm the soul of this old ex-litigator along with 7D. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. The movie and play about a jury trapped because of one holdout is marvelous, but Lumet's CAREER was awesome. He died April of this year.

49. Chicago city council mem.: ALD.

50. Prepare eggs, in a way: SHIRR. Simplified, you bake them; I learned the term from reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, as Wolfe liked his eggs a la FRITZ BRENNER WM, you out there?

57. Thick-bodied fish: CHUB. See LINK not ot be confused with the very UN-PC (see below) slang meaning, though if you think about it, it all makes sense.

58. Stir up: RILE. Is this related to the Life of Riley?

59. Birthstones for some Scorpios: OPALS. The last week in October ones.

61. Farm housing: SILO. Housing for the grain? Missiles?

62. Letters from Hera : ETAS. We have lots of Greek going on today.

63. Cap: LIMIT. Like the NFL's salary cap.

64. Like the ocean around SEALAB: INKY. Not to be confused with INKA from earlier this week.

65. Run like a rabbit: DART. Do any of you like John Updike's books?

66. Green Goblin, to Spider-Man: ENEMY. GG is long dead, though.

Down:

1. In the vein of: A LA. Mode? Yummy.

2. Pond denizen: NEWT. I know he is not in favor anymore but this is awfully cruel to Mr. Gingrich.

3. Role in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH. never heard of the musical, but it was a logical guess from the biblical story.

4. Like fliers on the windshield, usually: UNREAD. Actually crumpled and left in the parking lot; this whole corner was very hard for me.

5. Place to start for a young music student: MIDDLE C. One of the beauties of music, where do you start, in the beginning, no in the middle.

6. "Well played!": BRAVO. Also a network.

8. Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC. There is nothing I can say which would not be political. so....

9. "Why'd I do that?" feeling: REMORSE. Or perhaps to do your code over again?

10. Trendy retailer named for its original 57th Street address: NINE WEST. These SHOES remind me of missing Robin, and our other youngsters, Tarra Jo, and recently missing Jeannie.

11. Gave the nod: OK'ED. Okay.

12. Tantalizing, in a way: SEXY. Your choice?

13. Magician's prop: HAT. Where did I put that rabbit?

21. Iconic Ingrid role: ILSA. Is this common fill crosswordese now?

22. Mineralogist with a scale.: MOHS. The one with a hardness scale (not quite like Lois' hardness scale).

25. Fiona of "Harry Potter" films et al.: SHAWS. Not one of our favorite type of clues, as the plural is entirely gratuitous, especially where there are other Shaws like George Bernard or Jaws actor Robert. Fiona, meanwhile was fabulous as MARNIE on True Blood, this season. (1:00)

26. Put forth: POSIT. A good two dollar lawyer word, as attorneys do not like to say anything, they aver, they propose, suggest...yaddah, yaddah.

27. Walled Spanish city: AVILA. How fun, the walled home of our Spanish saint, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada,

28. Desire: URGE. I really would like to hear from all our missing ones; it was such fun to have Dennis back for the day

29. Bumpkin: RURAL. I had a hard time with this clue, as various forms of RUBE kept coming to mind; I do not think of rural as a noun.

30. Goddess of peace : IRENE. From the Greek, EIRENE, and my mother's name.

31. Down-and-out: NEEDY. Anyone else think seedy?

34. Down: BLUE. You think LOVE is? Paul Mariat you rock. (2:28)

35. Pint seller: PUB. The needed beer reference for a non-beer loving man who raised two boys each wanting to brew beer and run a pub.

37. Bible bearer, often : ALTAR BOY. Followed by another semi-religious clue.

41. Winter season: YULE. This comes from the Germanic pagan festival of yuletide, which was incorporated into the Christian history when the birth was moved from summer to December 25.

42. Put in place: ORDERED. I was thinking about putting someone in their place, not just organizing.

43. Pictures taken in a hosp: MRIS. Magnetic Resonance Images.

44. Football helmet feature: EAR HOLE. A very literal clue, so the players can hear the signals, the play calls etc.

50. Like some panels: SOLAR. Anyone using solar?

51. Earthshaking '50s event: H-TEST. Hydrogen bomb test, literally earth shaking.

52. Slender: THIN. I like slender better, thin always seems like a criticism.

53. Clumsy ship: HULK. I do not know why, but whenever we would drive by a big old ship, my father would say, "Look at that old Hulk." Those of you who sail, any reason?

54. Edible pocket: PITA. The bread from the Mediterranean, the word comes from the Greek word for Pie. In texting it means Pain in the, well you get it.

55. Get under control: TAME. Do you think of animals, your hair or your spouse?

56. Unlikely: SLIM, and his best pal none.

57. TV drama set in Vegas: CSI. Crime Scene Investigator; any thoughts on the Ted Danson experiment?

60. Wilbur's whereabouts, in "Charlotte's Web": STY. He actually spent most of his time in the barn, didn't he?

Answer grid.

Well my work is done, thanks Bruce and Doug. It is also my last chance to remind you lurkers and oldsters to come say hello on Wednesday the 23rd. You all know who you are. We like hearing from you and knowing you are all doing well and just too busy for this to be the daily stopping point. Happy Turkey Day all.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday, Jimbo! Hope you're doing well and still read the blog every day.

Interview with Gary Cee

I mentioned earlier this year that Gary Cee's EYE OPENER is one of my favorite puzzles in 2010. Amazing interlocking of theme entries.

Gary only started constructing in 2007, but he already had 8 puzzles published by the NY Times alone. Today is Gary's 4th puzzle for the LA Times.

What's the inspiration for today's theme and what were the other theme candidates you also considered?

I pulled up to a traffic light and saw a bumper sticker that included the words "the wrong way." A common phrase is "rub the wrong way" or "rubs the wrong way," which was a nice 15 to go through the middle of this grid. So I went to work to find theme answers that included or broke up s-b-u-r and came up with today's theme answers.

I adored the theme entry intersection in your last EYE OPENER puzzle. I'm curious: Were CAFFEINE & NICOTINE parts of your original theme entry consideration or did they just come up in your filling process?

Gotta be honest, I totally lucked out on that one in the fill.

What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

I'm the program director and afternoon host at 101.5 WPDH in New York's Hudson Valley. I've been here for 8 years and was previously at WLIR on Long Island. I'm the author of 'Classic Rock,' a coffee-table book released in 1995 that's still available from online book retailers. Grew up in Patchogue, Long Island, but now I live in LaGrangeville, just east of Poughkeepsie.

I started making puzzles in 2007 as a hobby, and got a ton of rejections before being accepted first by Will, then by Rich.

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, gridding or cluing?

I'm not a patient person by nature but I've learned to become much more patient in the gridding process. That's the part I spend the most time on.

What makes a puzzle special to you? What kind of theme & fill fascinate you?

Anything funny and clever, I suppose. Lively vocabulary, fresh fill, clues that make me laugh, etc.

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors do you find most inspiring?

I do the NYT puzzle every day, but Friday and Saturday are very tough for me. My favorite constructors are Patrick Berry, who's been the most inspiring, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Joon Pahk, and Matt Ginsberg.

What would we be surprised to know about you?

I'm trying to finish writing a symphony!

Thursday, November 17, 2011 Gary Cee

Theme: Be careful how you pet my cats!

17A. Pirates' home : PITTSBURGH. This Major League Baseball team is the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the Central Division of the National League.

26A. Group working on tips? : NEWS BUREAU. Fun clue. "Tips" aren't the extra cash left on the restaurant table, but news items furnished from those in the know.

48A. Jersey Shore city popularized by Springsteen : ASBURY PARK. "The Boss" performed regularly at this seaside resort in the 70's. Here's his "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)".

59A. Trudeau comic : DOONESBURY. One of my favorite un-PC comics here. (Note: A "Deaniac" was a supporter of the liberal Vermont Governor Harold Dean's unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2004).

And the unifier:

39. Bugs, or what's literally found in 17-, 26-, 48- and 59-across : RUBS THE WRONG WAY. In each of the theme entries, the word "rubs" appears the "wrong way", or backwards.

Marti here, so it must be Thursday again. I started off very slowly on this one, but when I finally went back and figured out 2D. UZI, it finally seemed to all flow in the right direction! Loved this unusual theme, and clean execution. Let's look at the fill:

Across:

1. Big picture : MURAL. Why yes, that would be a really big picture.

6. Title holder? : SASH. I wanted "belt"...

10. Bean used in Asian sauces : SOYA. I'm sure C.C. uses this bean in her cooking, right?

14. Protective layer : OZONE. I skipped this one for the time being...

15. "Salome" solo : ARIA. This Strauss opera highlights Salome's disturbing obsession with St. John the Baptist that drives her to demand his head on a platter, in exchange for performing the "Dance of the Seven Veils".

16. Piece of mind? : OP-ED. "Opposite the Editorials (page)". And 11D. Write a 16-Across : OPINE

19. Complete, in Cannes : FINI. Literally, "end". Seen at the end of French films in Cannes.

Correction from Kazie (thank you!): "Fini" actually means "finished" rather than end which is "fin", which I think is more likely at the end of movies. 

And then we have 13D. Final word at Orly : ADIEU. Yes, I guess the last word you would say to someone embarking on the plane in Paris would be "adieu" (good-bye!)

20. Committed to : SET ON. I'm set on having a turkey next Thursday for dinner.

21. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE

22. High-tech printer capability : SCAN. I just bought a new printer that faxes, scans, and prints wirelessly. Problem is, I can't figure out how to make it work !

28. Playwright Pinter : HAROLD. Surely you know him as the author of "The French Lieutenant's Woman"?  Correction: Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay adaptation.  John Fowles didn’t write it, either (really).  In 1977, Fowles translated the 1893 novel “Ourika” by Claire de Duras, and titled it “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”. He later revised it in 1994.  What a tangled web !

30. Six-pack muscles : ABS. We have a mini-muscle theme going on here, with 29D. Back muscle, for short : LAT. (Could have been clued as "Publisher of this puzzle: Abbr."). And this is for the gals...

31. Laundry room brand : AMANA. I was looking for a detergent, not the washing machine!

32. About half a million square miles of Asia : GOBI. The Gobi desert is most notable as the location of several cities along the Silk Road.

35. Dept. of Labor arm : OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

42. Caesarean infinitive : ESSE. "To be" (or not to be...). Not to be confused with a Caesarean section, which has an entirely different meaning!

43. It parallels the radius : ULNA. The two bones of the forearm.

44. John Barleycorn : BOOZE. The "Z" in this one was my very last fill. I was thinking of "Daniel BOOnE". (What was I thinking???)

45. "___ Sera, Sera" : QUE. What will be, will be.

47. One with goals : SCORER. Loved this clue/answer! A real V-8 moment, when I realized they were talking about things like hockey goals. I bet Eddy B and JD got this one immediately!

54. Pol. convention attendees : DELS. I had "DEmS" at first. Then realized, they wanted "delegates", not "democrats".

55. Swing vigorously : FLAIL. I think of "flailing" as swinging randomly, not vigorously?

56. Flexible wood : OSIER. Willow wood, used for making baskets and other crosswordese items.

58. Down the drain : LOST. Oh goodness, my train of thought just went down the drain...

64. Largest of the Near Islands : ATTU. Part of the Aleutians, and site of a famous ski hill. (You knew I had to get in a reference to my favorite sport, right?)

65. Ornamental vases : URNS.

66. Aqua ___: alcohol : VITAE. Thank goodness, the constructor provided the "alcohol" hint. Otherwise, I would have penned in VELVA without any hesitation!

67. Singer who said "Men should be like Kleenex: soft, strong and disposable" : CHER. Always the philosopher, that one...

68. Enlightened response : I SEE.

69. Frost and others : POETS

Down:

1. Clean, in a way : MOP

2. Israeli gun designer ___ Gal : UZI. My one gate-opener for this puzzle! It's usually clued as "Israeli submachine gun". Nice to see this attribute to it's creator. (I think...)

3. Turn bad : ROT.

4. Exterminator's target : ANT. Wanted "rat", at first.

5. Diminished state : LESS. Ah, but "Less is more", right?

6. Brown : SAUTE. Wow! This one whacked me upside the head when I finally sussed it through perps. What an ambiguous clue for such a common word. Loved it!

7. Robin's weapon : ARROW. Had to think: "Batman" or "Hood"?

8. Traces : SIGNS

9. "That's rich!" : HAH. HAH! Loved this one, too!

10. "Everything's fine for now" : SO FAR SO GOOD. Wonderful, lively fill. And so far so good...only 31 more clues to unravel.

12. Gossipmonger : YENTA. A Yiddish busybody.

18. Give a little : BEND

21. Add (in), as music to a film : DUB

22. Piece of the pie : SHARE. Hands up for all who filled in "slice"??

23. "The Stranger" writer : CAMUS. "L'Etranger" by Albert Camus. Said to be an existentialist novel, but the novel had much broader meanings and explores absurdism to the extreme. Curious to know, have you read it, Hahtool?

24. Most Egyptians : ARABS

25. Conclusion that doesn't follow : NON SEQUITUR. "So, I plan to make meatloaf for dinner tonight..."

27. Scott of "Happy Days" : BAIO

32. Hair goop : GEL

33. Have : OWN

34. Uplifting garb : BRA. For the guys..

36. Cursed : SWORE. #*^@&!~$%#&@* puzzle...

37. Not brown or blue, perhaps : HAZEL. Like this here.

38. Australia's ___ Rock : AYERS. In the land of "Oz" (Australia).  I immediately thought of our Kazie.

40. One of three duck brothers : HUEY. Dewey and Louie are the other two, but they wouldn't fit here.

41. Letters after C or MS : NBC. CNBC and MSNBC are both cable networks. CNBC is the "Consumer News and Business Channel". MSNBC is another cable news channel, whose name comes from a combination of "Microsoft" and "NBC".

46. www address : URL. Does anyone need an explanation of this one? (email me...)

47. Arcade game starter : SKEE. -ball

48. Company with a spokesduck : AFLAC.

49. A deadly sin : SLOTH. To cover all the bases, you need to have wrath, greed, pride, lust, envy and gluttony as well.

50. Moisten while cooking : BASTE. See 20A. It requires careful basting.

51. Standard partner : POORS. Standard & Poors, a US based financial services company that publishes financial research analysis on stocks and bonds.

52. In cahoots : AS ONE. Any questions?

53. Light wash : RINSE. Hmmmm...I still think a light wash requires some sort of soap?

57. Invitation letters : RSVP. "Répondez s'il vous plaît". Literally, "Respond, if it pleases you." Well, what if I don't feel like responding?? Emily Post would frown on that attitude, I'm afraid.

59. SADD focus : DUI. Students Against Drunk Driving are concerned about people who Drive Under the Influence.

60. Theater program item : BIO. Biography. No hint of abbr. in the clue? So, I guess "bio" is a legit modern term?

61. Colorado native : UTE. What's a "ute"??? (See "My Cousin Vinny" clip, done before.)

62. Informer : RAT. "You dirty rat..."

63. Celebratory cry : YES! ("I FINISHED THIS BAD PUPPY!!")

Answer grid.

Thanks for hangin' with me for a while. I'm looking forward to hearing all your comments. I am flying down to Chapel Hill, N.C this morning to meet DH (he's doing a project down there this week). So I will be offline for part of the day. But I will check in as soon as I get settled into our hotel room. In the meantime, carry on, and play nice!

Hugs,

Marti

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Julian Lim

THEME: GO OFF, don't GOOF OFF! Common phrases starting with the words, "GO OFF" are clued* as if the words showed up in the theme answers; but instead, they are reserved for the unifier. This results in some odd-looking partials until you pull it all together. Then, you find that the theme questions define the answers quite nicely.

* With asterisks.

A 17. *Get carried away : (GO OFF) THE DEEP END.

A 64. *Act prematurely : (GO OFF) HALF COCKED.

D 11. *Lose it : (GO OFF) ONE'S ROCKER.

D 28. *Digress : (GO OFF) ON A TANGENT.

And the unifier: A 40. Explode, and words needed to complete the four starred answers : GO OFF. This filled in partially from the perps, and it was not immediately obvious how to parse the goofy-looking "_OOFF" until I took a good look at the clue.

Hi, gang. Reporting here from the DEEP END, it's JazzBumpa, the HALF-COCKED trombonist. I don't recall seeing a theme approach quite like this before, so high marks to Mr. Lim for a creative and tight theme. With that in mind, let's GO OFF exploring it. We'll find some other gems, for sure.

ACROSS

1. Response to a good barb : OH, SNAP! Really? the urban dictionary informs me that this is a playful phrase, usually uttered by a bystander rather than the barbee, and attributes it to Tracy Morgan of SNL.

7. Wyo. neighbor : IDA. Why oh, why oh did I ever leave Ohio? 'Cuz I went to IDAHO in search of spuds. Or abbreviations.

10. Horticulturalist's supply : POTS. Flower pots, perhaps. Is there another interpretation?

14. Water delivery system : PIPAGE. I stumbled over this odd, clumsy, but perfectly legitimate word.

15. Relatives : KIN. I have one sister, and three brothers-in-law.

16. One-named "May It Be" singer : ENYA. This is not the first time Eithne Ní Bhraonáin has appeared in my puzzle blogging. I totally forgot that she performed this hauntingly beautiful song - her original composition - over the closing credits of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie of the Lord of the Rings sequence. The rest of the magnificent score is by Howard Shore.

19. Didn't chuck : KEPT. Chuck, as in throw out.

20. The Trojans, familiarly : SO. CAL. The SO CALLED Trojans are the athletic teams of Southern California University. Is there another interpretation?

21. Obvious : EASY TO SEE. I hope everyone was able to see this easily.

23. Sash worn in a ryokan inn : OBI. Having no clue what a ryokian inn might be, but having the "I" from a perp, I took a swag at OBI.

25. Always : EVER.

26. Everett of "Citizen Kane" : SLOANE. He played Mr. Bernstein.

30. __Vista: Google alternative : ALTA. Does anyone use ALTA VISTA? Does it mean "Another View?"

32. Missions, to spies : OPS. Operations. Not just for spies, though. My older step-son (more KIN) is in the USAF Special Ops. I have no idea what he does, though, and he aint tellin'!

35. Fly without a plane : HANG GLIDE. Is GLIDING really flying? Let's check with Rocky.

37. Car window adornment : DECAL. This is a shortened form of the original Decalcomania. Decorated glassware is often made from a ceramic decal fired onto the glass surface.

39. Course often taken with physiol. : ANAT. Physiology and Anatomy. Short courses, apparently.

42. Scottish terrier breed : SKYE. From the Hebrides Island of the same name, I presume.

43. "Midnight Cowboy" hustler Rizzo : RATSO. Played by Dustin Hoffman.

45. Informed of the latest news : UP TO SPEED. In the know. On top of things.

47. Korean automaker : KIA.

48. Bark's pole : MAST. A bark is a ship with anywhere from three to five masts, all of them square-rigged except the after mast, which is fore-and-aft rigged. I have no idea what this means.

50. Comedy, horror, etc. : GENRES. Categories of films or novels

51. 12 : NOON. Timely clue and answer.

53. "We the Living" author Rand : AYN. One of her lesser known works.

54. Nutty Hershey's treat : MR. GOODBAR. Little peanut chunks surrounded by chocolate. Yum!

58. Alacrity : HASTE. From the Latin alacritās, from alacer lively.

63. Bailiff's cry : OYEZ. Does anyone know why?

66. Breeze indicator : VANE. Weather vane

67. Mil. training academy : O.C.S. Officers Candidate School. Note abbrv 'n cl & ans.

68. Flubbing it : ERRING. Consult that awful Lions-Bears game from Sunday for many real life illustrations.

69. Laryngitis specialists, for short : E.N.T'S. Ear, Nose and Throat. Dr's. Not Tolkein's Tree-like entities, who are covered with BARK, but never go sailing.

70. Reporter's question : WHO? Along with What? Where? When? Why? and How? An old singing TV AD for the Detroit News went "What in the world's going on? If you read the News you'll know."

71. Taoism founder : LAO TSE

DOWN

1. Elects : OPTS

2. Greeting from Kermit the Frog : HI-HO. According to Answers.com, this is correct. Ribbit!

3. Design detail, briefly : SPEC. Specification.

4. Zilch : NADA. Nothing, slangily.

5. Unending : AGE LONG. I tried TOO LONG, which was just LONG enough, but wrong.

6. End of a quip? : PEE. The letter "P." This is awful. A spelt out letter is lame, lame, fill; and cluing it self-referentially only compounds the lame-itude, marring an otherwise fine puzzle.

7. Big name in do-it-yourself furniture : IKEA. Some of my KIN love this place.

8. Loud noises : DINS. The rule for quiet hideaways is "no DINS in the dens!"

9. "Even so ..." : AND YET

10. Earl Grey alternative : PEKOE. Teas for your nice cup, eh! Perhaps someone can fill us in on the subtleties of tea GENRES. I can say that Earl Grey is black tea flavored with essence of bergamot, a citrus fruit.

12. Compose email : TYPE. We all type, but does anyone use a typewriter, these days?

13. Fill totally : SATE. Typically, but not exclusively, referring to an appetite.

18. Prov. in the Gulf of St. Lawrence : P.E.I. Prince Edward Island. Here you can take a tour.

22. Living room plug? : TV AD. This was slow to sink in. An advert (plug) on the telly. Mine, however is not in the living room.

24. Where Flanders red ale is brewed: Abbr. : BELG. Belgium, where they make some darned fine brews (not tea.)

26. "Jaws" menace : SHARK. It has pretty teeth, dear.

27. Molokai neighbor : LANAI. These are lesser known Hawaiian Islands.

29. CIA employees : AGTS. Agents of the Central Intelligence Agency

30. Get from a shelter : ADOPT. Acquire from a pet shelter. Sneaky.

31. Remaining : LEFT. Quite a few clues LEFT. Are you still with me? If not, raise your hand.

33. Check recipient : PAYEE.

34. Hillside whizzers : SLEDS. Frolicking children gliding down a snowy hillside on their sleds, now that I get it. You don't want to know what mental image this elicited.

36. Chits in a pot : I-O-U-S. Chit and I-O-U are synonyms for a brief document indicating debt. Evidently, gamblers use these when they run out of cash.

38. Jocks' channel : ESPN. All sports, all the time; a channel, not a station.

41. Square oldster : FOGY. AKA: fuddy-duddy.

44. Melville adventure : OMOO. This puzzle evergreen gets clued in a variety of ways. I don't recall ever seeing Moby Dick in a X-word.

46. Portuguese lady : SENHORA. Like Spanish, kinda, sorta, but spelt different.

49. "Amen!" : AND HOW! Odd phrase indicating emphatic agreement.

52. Exhibits in abundance, as confidence : OOZES. Another odd phrase. OOZE seems a bit unsightly.

53. Corgi's cry : ARF. Barking dogs.

54. Budge : MOVE. Usually indicated in the negative.

55. Strikeout king Nolan : RYAN. He pitched in the Major Leagues for 27 years, playing for the Mets, Angles, Astros and Rangers. Wow!

56. "Hunting Cantata" composer : BACH. Johann Sebastian, not one of his many musical KIN. Never heard of it. And, at 33 minutes, I'll probably never hear it - though it does start off nicely.

57. Besides : ALSO. Plus, too, in addition, etc. . . Besides the long theme answers, this puzzle has lots of 7 and 9 letter fill.

60. "MADtv" segment : SKIT

61. Summer's column : TENS. Major misdirection for the number column between the units and the hundreds. I could make no sense of this until I realized that "Summer" mean "Adder." Snaky sneaky.

62. Perimeter : EDGE. Border. Rim.

65. Disney gift store purchase : CEL. Short for CELlulloid, a clear plastic sheet used for drawing an animation.

Answer grid.

Hope you enjoyed the puzzle, and I didn't GOOF or GO OFF on too many TANGENTS.

Cheers!

JzB

Hall Monitoring

#9 of our Curious Conundrums series.

One of my favorite baseball players is on 2012 Veterans Committee' Hall of Fame ballot. The committee will vote on Dec 15 at their winter meeting and the result will be announced on Jan 9 next year.

Don and I made this puzzle in early September to support his Hall effort.

Here is PDF (click on File, then Download).

Here is puz file (click on File, then Download).

Spoiler: Here is the answer grid. Here is an autographed copy of the puzzle. Please also click here and help the Hall right a wrong. Thank you.

Thanks for solving, and we look forward to your comments.

C.C.