Saturday, Dec 15th, 2012, Neville L. Fogarty

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

 A fun romp of a Saturday, missing just the "Q", with some good fill, lots of references that I could identify with, and enough perps to cover the obscure answers.  Neville is the young man who was on Jeopardy ( see this from C.C. on the blog ) and has a blog of his own, with a weekly crossword offering - see here - and - gave himself a bit of a shout-out today with 42D.~!!!  One grid climber:

7. "Perform This Way" parodist : WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - oh, what song to link?  "I'm Fat", "Smells Like Nirvana"?, "Amish Paradise"?

and some other long fills I liked -

36. Of the 48 states, it has the largest island : NEW YORK - YEAH~!!! A shout-out to my home on Long Island~! ( the "r" in Port Jefferson is painted on my roof....)

5. It was dissolved by the Belavezha Accords : SOVIET UNION - I did not know there was an accord to officially dissolve the union.

25. Teleportation device for chocolate, in a 1971 film : WONKA-VISION - "TV Mike's" demise when he decided to become the first kid to be beamed into TV; from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the film version of Raold Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Loved this song done by Gene Wilder ( who I thought was great as Wonka, too ).

ONWARD, quickly, I have to go to work this AM~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Confusing places : MAZES

6. Unfaithful : TWO-TIMING - How DARE you?!?!

15. Matter of faith : CREDO

16. "Huh?" : BEG PARDON?

17. When Othello says to Desdemona, "... would thou hadst ne'er been born!" : ACT IV - HA~! I filled in ACT II, and was almost right....

18. "The Birth of a Nation" period : SILENT ERA - nice to see more than just ERA in a puzzle

19. Clarifying words : THAT IS....

21. Black's opposite, financially : RED - How many of you are going into the "red" this holiday season?  - and I don't mean that red colored dress....

22. Brewer's need : OAST - aw, I almost filled this in, but waited

23. 1972 Eastwood title role : JOE KIDD - funny how this is followed by the next clue, and "Outlaw Josey-"  (from 1976)

25. Country with a dragon on its flag : WALES

26. Medieval poem about fate set to music in Orff's "Carmina Burana" : O FORTUNA - ya know, it does sound 'medieval' - I think Monty Python used this piece as a basis for their Holy Grail score (and other films used it straight up, I believe)

28. Whiting cousin : COD - something's fishy with this clue....

29. Cutting-edge brand since the '70s : GINSU - "But WAIT~! There's more~! Act Now ~!"

30. Highway through Whitehorse : ALCAN - I tried "US One", and was wrong - wrong side of the world, that is - the Alaska-Canadian Highway

32. Show co-hosted by Robin Roberts, briefly : GMA - Good Morning America

35. "The Facts of Life" actress : RAE - Charlotte

38. __-en-Provence, France : AIX - took a moment to remember the "X" ending in French

39. Martians, e.g. : ETs - Aliens~!

40. Clarifying words : I MEAN....

41. Pianist Watts : ANDRE

43. Bossy remark? : MOO - the Muppet Cow, HAR HAR

44. Weapon outlawed by a 1993 agreement : NERVE GAS - eh, I tried UZI RIFLE, even though I know it was wrong

46. __ renewal : URBAN

49. Perform a long jump : SKYDIVE - um, yeah, that's pretty long

50. Street light : NEON

51. Sgt., e.g. : NCO

52. If nothing changes : AS IT IS

55. Friend of Uncle Tom : LITTLE EVA - I have had this in a Saturday puzzle before

58. Parting words? : I LEFT

59. Branch of chemistry : INORGANIC

60. Brand of imitation fat : OLEAN

61. Big 12 football team led onto the field by The Masked Rider : TEXAS TECH - here

62. "Crud!" : "NERTS~!"

DOWN:

1. Future doc's test : MCAT - Medical College Admissions Test

2. Keystone site : ARCH

3. "Chicago" Oscar winner : ZETA-JONES - Catherine, all legs ~!

4. Life sentence reducers? : EDITORS - Life, the magazine, and written sentences

6. Conan's network : TBS - I like Conan, I have said this before

8. Took a good look at : OGLED - Oh, I'll take a good look at it...

9. Adorned mischievously : TP'ed - toilet papered ~!!!

10. First name in spy fiction : IAN - Flemming, of James Bond books

11. "The Wind in the Willows" amphibian : MR. TOAD - my younger brother liked this book

12. Optimal : IDEAL

13. Old language that gives us "geyser" : NORSE

14. Airborne pests : GNATS

20. UPC cousin : SKU - the store's 6- or 7-digit Stock-Keeping Unit reference number; Grossman's 2x4x8 stud was 204-208

24. Blown away : IN AWE

26. Meanie : OGRE

27. Royal decree : FIAT - ah, not WRIT

28. Ride : CAR

31. __ Island : CONEY

32. One with the latest gizmos : GADGETEER - it's a word, at least in the online dictionary

33. Actress Sorvino : MIRA - Paul Sorvino's ( Goodfellas ) daughter - do you think Neville likes blondes or brunettes?

34. Graph references : AXES - that's AXIS plural, the X- and Y- (and sometimes Z) planes

37. Expressive rock genre : EMO

42. Early WWII prime minister Chamberlain : NEVILLE - well, there you have it, Mr. Fogarty~!

43. It's repeated a lot : MANTRA - Om....

45. Dietary no. : RDA

46. Dark : UNLIT

47. Roi's wife : REINE - Frawnch

48. Head shot? : BOTOX - yep, botulism injections for beauty....

49. Tantrum result, maybe : SCENE - "get off the floor~! you're making a scene~!"

51. In order : NEAT

53. "__ first ..." : IF AT

54. Planned stops: Abbr. : STNs

56. Some linemen: Abbr. : LGs - Left Guards, in football - he's in yellow, here

57. "__ du lieber!" : ACH

Splynter

Friday, December 14, 2012, Peter A. Collins

Theme: A bit of sugar, a pinch of salt AN' A GRAM make a 7 layer cake.

This puzzle has all kinds of layers, with six different iterations of the letters in GLARE the icing which holds the cake together. Mr. Collins is am active constructor who has published more than 60 NYT puzzles since beginning in 2006 and almost 20 in the LAT. We last saw him in his HOMES puzzle, and I did my first write up of the INVISIBLE MAN collaboration he had in October. The theme involves the straight solving of five starred clues which each have a single word fill;  the final across entry as the reveal  along with the grid spanning 7 down tell us we need anagrams of GLARE to pair with the starred fill to create the hidden answers. As discussed in his interview which I have linked before, Peter likes hiding things. His cluing is excellent, in this odd,  difficult, but Mondayish grid with 78 words, only 63 open squares and lots of 3 and 4 letter fill. This did not make it easy, and I needed lots of work to get any traction.The theme did not help until the reveal. and even then, it was not a slam dunk. Some really interesting clechos as well.

let's get to work, with the unusual aspect of 1 across as a theme answer, but it is balanced with 73 across as the reveal. Symmetry.

1A. *Century maker : BUICK.(5) (REGAL). To me this is the odd clue out because both the answer and the anagram relate to the car company while the rest have different meanings when paired with the anagram.

23A. *Name of eight English kings : EDWARD (6).(ELGAR). You all know I loves me a good anagram almost as much as Jerome does,  but this one almost did me in. The other came easily but this COMPOSER of Pomp and Circumstance and others was not in my brain. Ed VIII is the one who abdicated for the American Divorcee, Wallis Simpson and may have been a strong sympathizer with the NAZI government.

25A. *Engenders : FOSTERS (7). (LAGER). Hi Kazie. Make you feel like you are back in OZ? (0:15)

55A. *To whom Hamlet said, "O, I die" : HORATIO (7) (ALGER). The incredible popular AUTHOR of children's feel good books, who may also have been a pedophile.

60A. *Certain psychic : MEDIUM (6) (LARGE).The easiest of the GLARE anagrams.

and the two part unifier...

73A. Reason to wear shades (and a word for which you have to 7-Down to find a word, different in each case, that can follow a starred answer) : GLARE.(5).

7D. See 73-Across : CREATE AN ANAGRAM.(15).

Across:

6. Berlin beef? : ACH. This German exclamation of frustration was a difficult clue for a three letter fill even with the much favored alliteration.

9. They may be lost or frozen : WAGES. Another thoughht provoking clue/fill combo.

14. Ishikari Bay city : OTARU. Luckily we had this seaport back in early November.

15. Before, before : ERE. Finally, one I could fill with confidence!!!!

16. How holes are rarely made? : IN ONE. Lovely golf reference. The closest I ever came I used a 61D. Pitching wedge, e.g. : IRON. You could not see the hole because of huge sand trap in front, and when I saw it was 2" away....

17. Red Square honoree : LENIN. The controversy continues. LINK.

18. Title in a Shakespeare title : GENTLEMEN. Once upon a time there two of them in Verona.

20. Chair part : ARM. Leg also fits; why do we anthropomorphize the furniture?

21. Karmann ___: classic VW : GHIA. The school doctor had a silver one, and thought he was all that when I was away at high school.

24. [As written] : SIC. From the Latin meaning THUS.

27. Pageboys et al. : DOS. Hair dos, not like the NBC pages.

28. Down Under runners : EMUS. More from the Australia.

30. Banks of Chicago : ERNIE. Let's play two, great hitter and shortstop for the Cubs. Won MVP on last place team.

32. Suffragist Julia Ward ___ : HOWE. Most famous for her Civil War POEM, and the song,  both of which were related to abolitionist, who also inspired 53D. "John Brown's Body" poet : BENET. Steven Vincent Benet wrote this Pulitzer prize winning narrative poem. BIO. Anyone seen LINCOLN?

34. Michigan, to Mitterand : ETAT.  President Mitterand from France would call a state....

36. Tippler : DIPSOmaniac. An actual historic medical term for an alcoholic. Not related to the wonderfully wittily clued  perpendicular 37D. What might involve reminiscing about old flames? : PYROMANIA.

40. Hindu teacher : SWAMI. Not.

42. Sajak sale : AN E. Johnny's first fame came when he replaced Edgar Bergen as the host of Who Do You Trust, a game show.

43. Arab League founding member : EGYPT.

44. Carpentry joint component : TENON. Our resident carpentry experts have waxed philosophic about this term in the...

45. History : PAST.

47. Many presidential periods : ERAS. Is the Bush Era over or is JEB coming on strong?

48. Joined a jam : SAT IN. Not trouble, not jelly but a musical JAM, Hit it JazzB.

50. Business opening : AGRObusiness. I cannot find any word other than AGRIBUSINESS, but do I pick a nit?

52. Kentucky Colonels' org. : ABA. American Basketball Association and home of the three point shot. They were a really Fun FRANCHISE. even if the clue is now obscure.

57. Glove box item : MAP.

62. Comes together : GELS. Which word came first, this or gelatin?

63. One-time link : AT A.

64. Seeing red? : IN ARREARS. A very nice clue from the accountants using red pencils to show losses.

66. Hues : TINTS.

68. Sombrero wearer : SENOR. and the clecho 69. Sombrero, e.g. : HAT.

70. Mark Twain, for one : ALIAS. Not just a nom de plume.

71. Emotionless : STONY. Her stony stare was unnerving.

72. Poehler of "Parks and Recreation" : AMY. She is divorcing her SNL and Parks co-star Will ARNETT.(4:41).

Down:

1. Hurled weapons : BOLAS.  These have been around for centuries. LINK.

2. Development sites : UTERI. What a cute clue and timely for someone who has a new granddaughter. However, all my mind conjures are bad Groucho Marx images. "What a revolting development this." or "Does this place have womb service?" Close your eyes and hear his voice.

3. "Atonement" author : IAN McEWAN. This somewhat controversial British author is often clued for his Booker Prize for Amsterdam. Did anyone watch the MOVIE?(1:50)

4. Champagne shout : CRI. Just a French word.

5. Panda's skill, in a 2008 film : KUNG FU. Never watched THIS.(1:22).

6. Auspices : AEGIS. A nice word which lawyers like to use to earn their fees.

8. Egg source : HEN. More fertilization focus?

9. Carefree quality : WILD SIDE. Performed by Melrose Plant's favorite SINGER.

10. From the top : ANEW. The "A" word.

11. Snap : GO MAD.

12. Janvier, across the Pyranees : ENERO. last week  and back again, Spanish January this timed paired with the French.

13. Elates : SENDS. A nice 50's word, ("Elvis really sends me.") that hangs on like HERE. (4:18).

19. Seagull relative : TERN. They always come in pairs because we all know a good tern deserves another.

22. It often winds up in a yard : HOSE. Winds up, get it! Really cute.

26. Some Deco works : ERTES. The most popular CW artist.

29. Office joggers : MEMOS. Jogging the memory not jiggling the jogger.

31. Alpine peak : EIGER. marti, how come I get to sanction this clue so often?

32. '40s-'50s D.C. initials : HST. Harry S. Truman. he had no middle name “S” but was given the initial as a tribute to both his maternal grandfather, Solomon Young, and his paternal grandfather, Anderson Shipp Truman. He never went to college, which these days would likely preclude him from being the President.

33. Have a mortgage : OWE. Closed 20 first time home buyer mortgages this month so far with 6 or 7 more to go. Fun.

35. South American forest dweller : TAPIR. The babies are cute.

38. Place to chill out : SPA. I actually sweat more there.

39. TDs may end them : OTS. Over Times in football.

41. Dashing, maybe : IN A HURRY. Nicely crafted clue, not Clark Gable, but someone who is late.

46. Follow : TAIL. Something for all you potential PI's or stalkers, this instructional  VIDEO.(4:16)

49. Hefty volume : TOME. Weighty is more the common phrase.

51. Attend alone : GO STAG. As opposed to stag parties, or stag movies?

52. Screwy : AMISS. As good as a mile?

54. Hersey's "A Bell for ___" : ADANO. Another war related Pulitzer winning TOME.

56. Irritable : TESTY. We are almost through, not time to get testy.

58. Rose oil : ATTAR. Fragrance. I believe the word works for any of the flowery scents; that is my two cents worth.

59. Outmoded : PASSE. Is corny humor passé?

65. "Now I get it!" : AHA. Well it is about time, the puzzle is almost done. I hope you are feeling great as it would be terrible if you were....

67. Not well : ILL. Especially as we enter the holiday party time. Each year the list seems longer and starts earlier. Great if you like free food and booze, just be careful. I hope you all had some potato latkes, if not stop by and I will get them ready. Counting down to Charlotte's first airplane flight when they come south  for the holidays. Thank you Mr. Collins for a fun  work out and for the rest for reading and commenting. Only 2 more 2012 Fridays left.

Lemonade

Thursday, December 13, 2012 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: QOD ("Quote of the Day.")

Our regular blogger Hahtoolah always supplies us with a thought-provoking QOD, but today she has been upstaged with this theme quote, attributed to Victor Hugo.

19. Start of quote attributed to Victor Hugo : FORTY IS THE OLD

33. Quote, part 2 : AGE OF YOUTH.

39. Quote, part 3 : FIFTY IS THE

56. End of the quote : YOUTH OF OLD AGE.

Any questions?  I chuckled when I finished the quote, because I thought it would be quite appropriate for our little band. So what is Sixty? Seventy? Eighty?  I'll let you all fill in the blanks!

Marti here, to check out the rest of the fill.

Across:

1. Song title spelled out in a 1967 hit : R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We start out with one of my favorite tunes. 4:27

8. Wicket defender : BATSMAN. Opposite the bowler, in cricket.

15. Composer Vivaldi : ANTONIO. Perhaps best known for his "Four Seasons." 41:59 I opened it in a separate window, and listened while doing this write-up.  You may not have the time to listen to it all, but the first few bars should jog your memory.

16. People people? : EDITORS. "People" magazine, that is. And 52-Down. 16-Across reversals : STETS. "Let it stand," which is a notation over an originally edited word.

17. Crick who co-discovered DNA structure : FRANCIS. His co-discoverer was James Watson.

18. It went down in history : TITANIC. At this time of year, I am inclined to think of Rudolf, instead. 3:12

21. Troubadours' instruments : LUTES. Anyone else fill in "lyres?"  My first ink blot of the day...

22. Follower of Stalin? : IST. Stalinist. I might ask, "Why 'Stalin', in particular?"

23. Tale spinner : LIAR.

26. Bastille Day season : ETE. Bastille Day is a French holiday celebrated on July 14th.  So we are looking for the French word for "summer" here.

27. Coal carrier : TRAM.

30. Statue at St. Peter's : PIETA. I think the PIETA by Michelangelo is the one that struck me most when I visited St. Peter's.

31. Pachy- add-on : DERM. In Massachusetts, we call liquor stores "packies."

36. Novelist Ferber : EDNA. I always think of "Giant" when she is mentioned. Fantastic classic film made from the novel, starring Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson.

38. Met, as a bet : SEEN. "I'll see your dime, and raise you a nickel..."

43. Crash site? : SOFA. Fun clue, but didn't fool me.

47. Elegant tapestry : ARRAS. Named for the French town known for its fine wall hangings which were sold all over Europe to decorate castle walls.

48. Saintly ring : HALO. "Aura" would fit. (Sigggghhhhh....second ink blot!)

50. Rock's ___ Lobos : LOS. "The Wolves" in Spanish.  You may recognize this song. 2:52

51. Volvo competitor : SAAB. Last week it was "Sundsvall roller."

52. ___-Julie, Quebec : STE. Map. No hint of Abbr. in the clue?

54. Round at the saloon : BEERS. Cheers! ("It's five o'clock somewhere!")

60. Barbecue cook : GRILLER. DH is the resident griller in this house.

62. Head-in-the-clouds sort? : AVIATOR. "Dreamer" also fit...(Drats! Third ink blot!!)

63. Meet unexpectedly : RUN INTO.

64. Fraction, e.g. : SEGMENT.

65. Protective sac for some embryos : EGG CASE. And a clecho with 5-Down. Form into a sac : ENCYST. Ewwww...

66. Locks overhead : TRESSES.

Down:

1. Offered as a door prize, say : RAFFLED. The only door prize I have ever won was a bunch of scratch tickets that turned out to be duds!

2. Going somewhere : EN ROUTE. This one fixed my "lyres" ink blot.

3. First-pitch thrower : STARTER.

4. Florence's ___ Vecchio : PONTE. All along both sides of the bridge are small shops selling (mostly) gold and silver jewelry.

6. MXXX ÷ X : CIII. This one was slightly easier for me than one of Bill G.'s math puzzles!

7. Deep-six : TOSS. The expression "deep-six" comes from the practice of burying the dead at at the depth of a fathom (approx. 6 feet). At sea, the water must be a minimum of 6 fathoms before the weighted body can be interred.

8. Second Hebrew letters : BETHS. These (UPDATED 8:15 - THANKS MIDDLETOWN BOMBER!): בּבּבּבּ

9. Trying to lose, with "on" : A DIET.

10. Bandleader Puente : TITO. What a great personality he had. 4:21

11. Stud farm studs : STALLIONS.

12. Kin of "Sacre bleu!" : MON DIEU.

13. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARI.zona.

14. Defense advisory gp. : NSC. National Security Council.

20. It marches and flies : TIME. Are we having fun yet?

24. Verizon rival, initially : ATT. American Telephone & Telegraph

25. Stadium sound : RAH.

28. Royal sari wearer : RANI.

29. Turkish titles : AGAS.

30. English poet laureate, 1790-1813 : PYE. One of his prose works is "Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace Out of Sessions: With Some Observations." Sounds absolutely fascinating, doesn't it? You can read the book online here.  Go ahead, I'll wait for you to finish it...

32. Like diets based on body type : METABOLIC. ...Back already?

34. Workplace protection org. : OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

35. Have a hunch : FEEL. Like most of my WAGs, I usually have a hunch they will turn out to be wrong.

37. Functional opening : DYS. DYSfunctional, like some people here on the corner. (Yes, you know I mean you!)

39. Scale notes : FAS.

40. Author Levin : IRA. "Rosemary's Baby" was my first introduction to him.

41. Coming apart at the seams? : FRAYING. Loved the clue!

42. Kojak, to friends : THEO. This one fixed my "aura" inkblot.

44. Fatty-acid ointments : OLEATES.  I could explain how this clue relates to the answer, but I'm afraid eyes would glaze over. Instead, here's a fascinating story about what happens when an ant dies. I first heard it on NPR's "All Things Considered." (Funny you should use that phrase in your 4:09 post yesterday, Creature!)

45. Like some conclusions : FORGONE. In this sense, shouldn't it be "foregone"?

46. States categorically : ASSERTS.

49. Bind legally : OBLIGE. I am OBLIGEd to tell you that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of the management...

53. Spasm : THROE.

55. Red-wrapped cheeses : EDAMS.

57. Radius neighbor : ULNA.

58. Ramadan practice : FAST. This one fixed my "dreamer" inkblot! The entire month of Ramadan is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting.

59. At an end : OVER. Almost there!

60. Univ. sr.'s exam : GRE. Graduate Record Exam.

61. Persian, e.g. : RUG. "If an Iranian wears a toupee, does that make it a Persian rug?"

Hugs,

Marti