Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: I wouldn't bet on it.  Or - in the constructor's words - OUTSIDE CHANCE.  Today we have the unlikely occurrence of the word CHANCE, split in two and occurring at the outside edges of the theme entries, like bookends.  

20A. "Oh, baby, that's what I like!" oldie : CHANTILLY LACE.  The Big Bopper, of course.  February 3rd, 1959 was the day the music died, when the Big Guy, along with Richie Valens and Buddy Holly went down in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa.  In this video clip he is very much alive.

27A. Barrier with built-in footholds : CHAIN LINK FENCE.  Still can be hazardous to climb over.  Watch your step.

45A. Site of the first Winter Olympics : CHAMONIX FRANCE. 1924. A bit before my time.

And the unifier, 52 A. What a long shot has, and, literally, what 20-, 27- and 45-Across each has : OUTSIDE CHANCE.  An estimate of the likelihood of an occurrence that is neither probable nor impossible, like the Lions winning their division after losing Monday night due to a 61 yard field goal in the waning seconds of the game. 

It's a bit ambiguous because of the placement of the letters "A" in 45A, but you can read the theme entries as a progression of letters in CHAIN moving from the left to right bookend.  This gives the theme another level of elegance.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here.  I think there's better than an OUTSIDE CHANCE we'll enjoy today's outing.

Across:

1. Poet whose work was read in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" : AUDEN.  The poem is W. H. Auden's Funeral Blues. I never saw the movie, and when the camera pans the congregation I see two of my least favorite annoying British actors, so it's not likely I'll catch up.  But the poetry scene is quite gripping.

6. Animal skin : HIDE.  I got PELTed, but then PELT got perpetrated.

10. Zantac target : ACID.  Acid reflux med.

14. Mowing the lawn, e.g. : CHORE.  Not for me. We outsourced this job.

15. Venerated one : IDOL.  Some are American.

16. Ritual heap : PYRE.  I'm pretty sure I've linked this before.  Best PYRE seen ever.

17. Andrea __: ill-fated ocean liner : DORIA.  On Wednesday, July 25, 1956, The Andrea DORIA collided with the Stockholm in heavy fog in the ocean south of Nantucket, Mass.  In a great big ocean, isn't that an OUTSIDE CHANCE?

18. Harp constellation : LYRA.  And that's the truth!

Source

19. Assist in a bad way : ABET.  Not bad assistance, but assistance in a bad deed.

23. Dramatist Coward : NOEL.  Just in time for Christmas.

24. Beat rapidly : THROB. 

32. "Cut me some __!" : SLACK.

33. Corp. bigwig : C.E.O.  Chief Executive Officer.

34. Seventh Greek letter : ETA. Started as a consonant, ended up as a vowel.  Really - what are the chances?.  Looks like this: Η or η.

35. Puts the past in the past : MOVES ON.  Not to be confused with putting the moves on someone.

38. Lhasa native : TIBETAN.

41. Ingested : ATE.

42. Romance : WOO.  Used here as a verb.

44. They're pulled by coachmen : REINS.  It's how they hold their horses.

50. 1950s conflict zone : KOREA.

51. Showy perennial : IRIS.

Source

59. Something extra : PLUS.

61. Acting award : OBIE.  Awarded annually by The Village Voice for off-Broadway productions.

62. Net receipts? : E-MAIL.  Clever.

63. "Great" dog : DANE. 

64. Make fun of : RAZZ.

65. Tells the cops everything : SINGS.  Squeals, spills the beans, rats .  .  .

66. Tacked on: Abbr. : ADDL. Additional.  This abrv. looks a bit addled.

67. Arboretum growth : TREE. Druid's company, TREE's a crowd.

68. Make fun of : TEASE.  Don't TEASE me, bro.  PLUS, it's a clecho!

 Down:

 1. Outlet letters : ACDC.  Electricity.

2. "Here comes trouble!" : UH-OH.  What Lion's fans think late in the 4th quarter.

3. The first Mrs. Copperfield : DORA.  Not DORIA.

4. The Auld Sod : ERIN.  The Emerald Isle.

5. Fastidious folk : NEATNIKS.  The nice thing is, you never have to clean up after them.

6. Early Talmudic sage : HILLEL.  He gave us the golden rule: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

7. Charmingly rustic : IDYLLIC.

8. Small fishing boat : DORY.  A small Hungarian boat is a Hunky DORY. Mine is named DORA DORIA DORY.

9. Tel Aviv airline : EL AL.

10. Geronimo's tribe : APACHE.  His is a sad story.  You can read about it here.

11. Like the Borg race in "Star Trek" spin-offs : CYBERNETIC. "Borg" is short for "Cyborg", which is short for "cybernetic organism", a being with both organic and artificial parts.

12. Explosive state : IRE. Often encountered at the end of a Lions game.

13. City of Lions and Tigers: Abbr. : DET.  DETroit.  Lions and Tigers - oh my.

21. Lithium __ battery : ION.

22. Explosives regulating org. : ATF.  The oddly grouped Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,  Firearms and and Explosives.

25. Fuel number : OCTANE.  Don't knock it.

26. Vegan protein source : BEANS.  To get complete protein, combine with either corn or rice.

27. Thread-spinning Fate : CLOTHO.  In ancient Greek mythology, the younger sister of Lachesis and Atropos.  Clotho spun the thread of human life.  Best not to needle her.

28. Keep available : HAVE AROUND.  Sadly, HAVE ON HAND also fits.

29. Pitcher you can count on : ACE.  We have some in DET.

30. Angler's scoop : NET.

31. Ornamental fish : KOI.  Something fishy is going on here.

32. Suggest the presence (of) : SMACK.  

36. Take responsibility for : OWN. 

37. "__ don't": terse denial : NO I.  Remember, there's NO I in team. 

39. Most impertinent : BRASHEST.  Yeah.  I own that.

40. Yet, to the Bard : E'EN.  "EVEN" with an elided "V."   I think.

43. Get rusty : OXIDIZE.  Iron oxide is rust.  How do you get wrinkles out of an ox?  Iron ox HIDE.

46. Outfielder Bob of the 1920s Yankees' "Murderers' Row" : MEUSEL.  Also before my time.  Excellent run producing 3rd baseman and outfielder.  You can see his stats here.

47. Muffin grain : OAT. 

48. Citrus grower's concern : FREEZE.

49. Guitarist Ocasek : RIC.  He is the one.

53. Variety : SORT.  Here, sort is a noun.

54. Construction beam : I-BAR.

55. Gallic girlfriend : AMIE.  Like this, perhaps.

Anouk Aimee

56. The Darlings' dog : NANA.  Not ASTA, the other movie dog.  From Peter Pan.

57. Short smokes? : CIGS.  Cigarettes, with ax X-word code for an abbreviation.  

58. "When all __ fails ..." : ELSE.

59. High-tech organizer, briefly : P.D.A.  Personal Data Assistant

60. Shaver : LAD.  Little shaver.  Haven't heard that expression since I was one.  Evidently the expression stems from considering the wee ones as little chips or shavings off their parents.  Quaint.

Quite a bit of retro today, but a fun romp.  Hope you had a CHANCE to enjoy it.

Cool regards!

JzB

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Steve Blais

Theme: Away to the window I flew - The first word of the theme entries can follow FLASH.

17. Canasta, e.g. : CARD GAME. Also a game with melds. FLASH CARD - educational aid.

23. Exasperate, metaphorically : DRIVE TO DRINK. Just don't drive from drink; take a cab. FLASH DRIVE - Stick it in your USB port. More

37. '60-'70s Canadian folk-rock icon : GORDON LIGHTFOOT. Famous for a Wreck. FLASH GORDON - Intrepid space traveler who battled Ming the Merciless

48. The same as it was hundreds of years ago, say : FROZEN IN TIME. Unaffected by global warming. FLASH FROZEN - Food is frozen in such a very short period it prevents the forming of large crystals.

60. Spontaneous gathering, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across : FLASH MOB. A YouTube favorite here on the Corner.

Argyle here. Similar to Monday's puzzle. Four theme entries but taking the first word this time, the two corner blocks are in rows instead of the columns and there is a spanner. This has a unifier instead of a reveal if you get my drift. Fifty-five theme entry blocks as opposed to fifty yesterday. Still satisfying and amusing.

Across:

1. Butter square : PAT

4. Young newts : EFTs

8. Most gentle : TAMEST

14. Brew that may be pale or dark : ALE

15. Baseball family name : ALOU

16. Environmentally friendly auto : ECO-CAR

19. Coke competitor : RC COLA

20. Hot-dish holder : TRIVET. Or hot flat iron holder.

21. Fleischer of the Bush White House : ARI. For President George W. Bush, from January 2001 to July 2003.

22. Train stopping at every sta. : LOCal

27. Barbecue fare : RIBS. Arc-shaped, finger-staining snack food?

30. Roamed without restraint : RAN FREE

31. "The Simpsons" storekeeper : APU. Or Ned, owner of The Leftorium.

32. Agitate : ROIL

33. Most characters on "The Big Bang Theory" : NERDS

41. "That's not in the script!" evoker : AD LIB. What Tim Conway was good at on the Carol Burnett Show. (unedited with extra footage)

                          LINK

42. Competes : VIEs

43. Capote nickname : TRU

44. Not at all deceitful : ARTLESS.

47. Honeyed liquor : MEAD. Liquor made from fermented honey.

52. Stimpy's sidekick : REN

53. Promise to pay, for short : IOU

54. Bottom, to baby : TUSHIE

58. Uphill climb : ASCENT

62. Bald spot coverer : TOUPEE

63. "__ Misbehavin'" : AIN'T

64. Plains tribe : OTO

65. Takes an oath : SWEARS

66. Butterfly catchers : NETs

67. __ Antonio : SAN

Down:

1. Diplomat's goal : PACT

2. Banned apple spray : ALAR

3. Garr of "Tootsie" : TERI

4. More than willing : EAGER

5. Old-style clothes presser : FLAT IRON

6. Alley prowler : TOMcat

7. "Peggy __ Got Married": 1986 film : SUE. IMDb

8. Intense fear : TERROR

9. Traffic backup causes : ACCIDENTs

10. Comfy shoe : MOC

11. Food-poisoning bacteria : E. COLI

12. Manicure spot : SALON

13. Liner notes listing : TRACK

18. Redbox rentals : DVDs

21. DOJ enforcer : ATF. (Department of Justice/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

24. Resort WSW of Boulder : VAIL. Shout out to Montana.

25. Add some pep to : ENLIVEN

26. Coral formation : REEF

27. Ravi Shankar genre : RAGA

28. Apple with tunes : iPOD

29. Folksy Ives : BURL

                        LINK

32. "The Bucket List" director : ROB REINER

34. Repetitive learning : ROTE

35. Toon explorer with a monkey friend named Boots : DORA

36. It may be ear-piercing : STUD

38. Rodrigo __ de Vivar: El Cid : DIAZ. All perps.

39. Basic idea : GIST

40. Reluctant to commit : HESITANT

45. Govt. securities : T-NOTES

46. Sch. with a Brooklyn campus : LIU. (Long Island University)

47. Interlock, as gears : MESH

48. Houses with Greek letters : FRATs

49. Plant anew : RESOW

50. Just as planned : ON CUE

51. Mandatory items : MUSTs

55. Managed care gps. : HMOs

56. Minuscule amount : IOTA

57. Dark, to a poet : EBON

59. Anti-pollution org. : EPA

60. Cooling device : FAN

61. Prevaricate : LIE. FINI, and that's no lie.

Argyle

Monday, December 16, 2013 Gareth Bain

 

Theme: "one..one, one..two, one..three". The words at the end of the starred entries will be put to use after the holidays.

18A. *Naval cereal icon sporting a Napoleon-style hat : CAP'N CRUNCH

28A. *Nearly none, in slang : DIDDLY-SQUAT

48A. *Venue for self-publishing : VANITY PRESS

58A. *Arc-shaped, finger-staining snack food : CHEESE CURL

39D. Beneficial activity that ends the answers to starred clues : EXERCISE

Couch Potato(aka Argyle) here. I found this Monday morning work-out to be satisfying and amusing. Can't ask for much more than that. If you want to know more about DIDDLY-SQUAT, you're on your own.

Across:

1. Capital of Qatar : DOHA. On the Persian Gulf.

5. Invertebrate's lack : SPINE

10. Former Cubs slugger Sammy : SOSA

14. Stale smell : ODOR

15. Controversial topic : ISSUE

16. Greek boy with a bow : EROS

17. Allot, with "out" : METE

20. Nuclear __: social unit : FAMILY

22. City in Honshu's Kansai region : OSAKA

23. Academic URL ending : .EDU

25. Stately tree : ELM

26. Like most pies : CRUSTED

31. Summer, in Paris : ÉTÉ

32. Nosed (out) : EDGED

33. Eggs on : URGES

35. Christmas carol : NOEL

36. Forest clearing : GLADE

38. Feet pampering, briefly : PEDIcure

42. Bridal party rides : LIMOs

44. Anglo-__ : SAXON

45. Giant slugger Mel : OTT

51. Shingles or slate, e.g. : ROOFING

53. "Isn't __ bit like you and me?": "Nowhere Man" lyric : HE A

                                LINK

54. 39-Down unit : REP. (repetition)

55. Brown Betty fruit : APPLE. Not as bad for you as 3-Down.

56. Beantown basketball player : CELTIC. (Boston)

61. 5,280 feet : MILE

64. Erie or Huron : LAKE. Great.

65. Myanmar, once : BURMA

66. Yard sale sign phrase : [AS IS]

67. Expected landing times, briefly : ETAs

68. Ply with drink : BESOT. Besot me with 1-Down, thank you.

69. Formally turn over : CEDE

Down:

1. __ Pérignon : DOM. Champagne produced by Moët & Chandon. History and how widows transformed the Champange business. Here

2. Poem of celebration : ODE

3. Sundae topping : HOT FUDGE. Hah! The reason for needing 39-Down.

4. Region : AREA

5. Mount Etna's island : SICILY

6. Biblical songs : PSALMS

7. '60s espionage show : "I SPY"

8. Religious sister : NUN

9. Continental trade org. : EEC. (European Economic Community)

10. Grinch creator : SEUSS

11. Elaborately decorated : ORNATE

 

12. Light bulb's place : SOCKET

13. Slightly : A SHADE

19. Google Maps offering : ROUTE

21. Pinochle declaration : MELD. Examples

23. Genesis garden : EDEN

24. Prank : DIDO. I remembered it. (Monday, October 28, 2013 )

26. Bean __: tofu : CURD

27. Fierce anger : RAGE

29. "The Farmer in the __" : DELL

30. Resembling : QUASI

34. Practice in the ring : SPAR

36. Fed. agent : G-MAN

37. Like the "o" in "no" : LONG

40. Two teaspoons, say : DOSE

41. Gadget's rank: Abbr. : INSPector

43. Wall-climbing vines : IVIES. Check out the human Muppet piano player.

 

                             LINK 

44. Lovers' clash : SPAT

45. Ancient soothsayer : ORACLE

46. Astaire headwear : TOP HAT

 

47. Capital of Kansas : TOPEKA

49. Heat: Pref. : THERMO

50. Chew out : YELL AT

52. Makes tracks : FLEES

56. Mangy mutts : CURS

57. 1998 Apple debut : iMAC

59. Go out, like the tide : EBB

60. Pool shark's stick : CUE

62. Jar topper : LID

63. Opposite of WNW : ESE

 

Argyle

Sunday December 15, 2013 Jeff Chen

Theme:  "And 100 More!" - C is added to each familiar phase. Love the title.

22A. Big tips on cruises? : LINER C-NOTES. Liner notes.

32A. Beginning piano student's first scale? : C MAJOR DISASTER. Major disaster.

49A. Shockproof battery? : PADDED C CELL. Padded cell.

63A. Channel for channel surfers? : SHORT ATTENTION C-SPAN. Short attention span.

79A. Food problem at the front? : C RATIONS OUT. Rations out.

93A. Tech news site's nefarious plan? : NOTHING BUT CNET. Nothing but net.

107A. Painfully out-of-tune note? : RAZOR C SHARP. Razor-sharp.

 

This would be very cool if there were no other C's other than those in the theme entries. But then the fill would not be sparkling.

Typical Jeff Chen grid. Fun theme/fill and super smooth. Spoiler alert: Jeff also has today's NY Times. A rare Sunday doubleheader.

I've been enjoying Jeff's notes on those NYT puzzles. He points out the strength and weakness in each grid and his comments are always observant & informative. Sometimes he's goofy.

Across:

       

1. Brief regrets, maybe : RSVPs

6. Agitated state : STEW

10. Order from on high : FIAT

14. DJIA stock : IBM. Their ThinkPad is owned by Lenovo, a Chinese company.

17. Nobelist Root : ELIHU

18. Source of heat : STOVE

19. It's for the dogs : ALPO. Indeed.

20. Campus center : QUAD

24. Chicken __ : KIEV. Boomer made more General Tso's Chicken last night. But he added in some cashew nuts, which are mostly used in Kung Pao Chicken.

25. Many a jazz combo : TRIO

26. Willing to listen : OPEN

27. Peace Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

28. One good at stretching? : LIAR. Stretching the truth. Of course I was thinking of Ichiro.

29. Tubular carb source : PENNE

30. Green sage of films : YODA. Why is he green?

36. Stars and Stripes squad : TEAM USA

39. They're noted for their neutrality : SWISS

40. Civil offenses : TORTS

41. LAX listing : ARR (Arrival)

42. Sassy : PERT

44. Fútbol cheer : OLE

45. Panther's color? : PINK. Pink Panther.

46. Nigerian people : IBO. Learned from doing xwords.

52. Stumblebums : OAFS

53. Multiple millennia : AEON

54. Latin 101 verb : ESSE. In esse.

55. Code breakers' cries : AHAS

56. Sugar bowl fans : ANTS. Ha ha.

57. Capital of Belarus : MINSK

58. __ Aires : BUENOS

61. Twosome in the news, or the news itself : ITEM. Nice clue as well.

62. Appear eventually : TURN UP

67. Sitcom lover of Chachi : JOANIE. Was unaware of "Joanie Loves Chachi", a spinoff of "Happy Days".

68. Give up : CEDE

69. Start of a balcony delivery : O ROMEO

70. Queen __ lace : ANNE'S

71. Via, informally : THRU

72. Locking horns : AT IT

73. City on the Arno : PISA

77. Manufactured locks : WIGS. Another great clue. "Locks" always refer to "hair" in xwords.

78. Startled cries : EEKS

82. One of several H.S. subjects : SCI

83. Black Friday event : SALE

84. Owing : SHY

85. Rough patch? : ACNE. Oh I have a question: can you pluralize ACNE?

86. Slick, perhaps : WET

87. Hugo title word : NOTRE. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

89. Deliveries at Lincoln Center : ARIAS

91. "CHiPs" co-star : ESTRADA (Erik)

97. Sorority letters : PHIS

98. Nonspecific checkbox : OTHER

99. "Born Free" lioness : ELSA

100. Skye of film : IONE.  "Say Anything..." is pretty good.

102. Classic muscle cars : GTOS

105. URI's hoops conference : A TEN. Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). I drew a blank.

106. "Sometimes you feel like __ …" : A NUT. Hence the 105A clue. Jeff does not want two consecutive "a..." style partial clues.

110. Hamburger man : HERR.  So people from Hamburg are called "Hamburger"?

111. Miller __ : LITE

112. John Paul's Supreme Court successor : ELENA

113. Out-and-out : UTTER

114. Playa del __: L.A. coastal region : REY

115. Pic to click : ICON

116. Binds : WEDS

117. Arnold's art : POESY. Which "Arnold" are we talking here?

 

Down:

1. HR dept. concern : RELO

2. Err : SLIP

3. Oenophile's vacation destinations : VINEYARDS

4. Promising whiz : PHENOM

5. California's Big __ : SUR

6. Vulcan in demeanor : STOIC. Spock.

7. Tribal emblems : TOTEMS

8. Holiday preceder : EVE

9. Director Craven : WES

10. Muslim ascetics : FAKIRS. Forgot. We had this before. 

11. Homer classic : ILIAD

12. Appetite stimulants : APERITIFS

13. "Mazel __!" : TOV

14. Measure of brightness : IQ TEST

15. Color in the original "Crayola 48" : BURNT SIENNA. And 64. Motto on an inspirational cat poster : HANG IN THERE. Jeff made great use of the long slots.

16. It was admitted as a free state as part of the Missouri Compromise : MAINE. Also a learning moment. I know nothing about Missouri Compromise.

18. NBC staple : SNL

21. Shaker, so to speak : DOER. Not your salt/pepper shaker. Tricky clue.

23. Quit : CEASED

28. Get shellacked, say : LOSE

29. Part of PRNDL : PARK

31. Pigeon : DUPE

33. Delinquents of a sort, briefly : AWOLS

34. Memorable climber : JILL. Jack and Jill.

35. George Foreman's five Georges : SONS. This would be very confusing to me.

36. Record, in a way : TAPE

37. Historical periods : ERAS

38. Things known to a select few : ARCANA

43. Knickknack : TCHOTCHKE. Yiddish, isn't it?

45. He played Arnold on "Happy Days" : PAT MORITA. More familiar with his role in "The Karate Kid".

47. Short deck hand? : BOSUN (Boatswain)

48. Doing mil. drudge work : ON KP

50. Fillets : DEBONES

51. Hunters' holidays : EASTERS. Egg hunters.

52. A smidgen : ONE IOTA

53. Preps for a snack, as corn : AIR-POPS

56. Long-distance letters : AT&T

57. Ponder : MUSE. Hi there Gary!

59. "Exodus" novelist : URIS

60. Hot time in Quebec : ETE

61. Like Beethoven's Sonata Op. 109 : IN E

62. Airer of vintage films : TCM

63. NBAer until 2008 : SONIC. Now the Thunder.

65. URL tag : EDU

66. Observe : NOTICE

67. Steel-toothed Bond villain : JAWS. In "The Spy Who Loved Me".

71. Like some anchors : TELEGENIC. Who's your favorite TV anchor?

72. Early Indo-European : ARYAN

74. Big 12 wrestling powerhouse : IOWA STATE

75. Went after : SUED

76. "__ boy!" : ATTA

78. Make : EARN

79. In : CHIC

80. Without a buyer lined up : ON SPEC

81. Belg. neighbor : NETH

83. The cooler : STIR

84. Span. miss : SRTA

88. Writer with an award named for him : O HENRY

89. "Pride and Prejudice" novelist : AUSTEN

90. Grabbed : SEIZED

92. "You betcha!" : RIGHTO

93. Father of Shem, Ham and Japheth : NOAH

94. Aquatic frolicker : OTTER

95. Belushi's "Animal House" role : BLUTO. Needed crossings.

96. Cel mates? : TOONS. Cute clue.

101. Org. that sticks to its guns : NRA

103. Metal refinery input : ORES

104. Nimble : SPRY

106. Frazier's Fight of the Century foe : ALI. Have you seen this clip from the Jack Parr show? Ali is a good rapper.

107. Clicker button : REW

108. Microbrew selection : ALE

109. Slangy "How's things?" : SUP

1) Our local Star Tribune has a nice article on Twin Cities crossword community. Click here. George Barany & Victor Barocas are featured. Nodding my head at George's comment: "It’s probably one of the lowest-paying jobs you could find on a hourly basis. It’s strictly a labor of love." Victor's puzzle is not for the LA Times, by the way, it's for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

2) For those Gmail users, if you don't want Google to group all your emails with the same subjection into one line in the inbox, please click on Settings, then under "Conversation View", click  "Conversation view off". I really dislike the one lump. So messy and hard to file.

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 14th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

    I really like the look of this labyrinthine grid - I hope it was not as hard for you to work through as it was for me - but I might just be tired.  I got blanked in the NE, had to Google a couple of things in order to get anything at all.  One grid climber today:

6D. The Falcons of the Mountain West Conference : AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Colorado Springs, CO

and some of the two pairs of 10's and 9's in the corners;

17A. Honda CRF, e.g. : TRAIL BIKE - one I had to look up; I pondered ELECTRIC CAR, but it ran out of juice

28D. Its English version has more than 3.5 million entries : WIKTIONARY - Started with DICtionary, and that was close enough

3D. Silly goose or sitting duck : NOUN-PHRASE - learning moment for me - the Wiki

54A. Loretta Lynn's father was one : COAL MINER - is a child who was bad this year going to be a "COAL MINOR" at Christmas?

ward on~!

ACROSS:

1. Fiji neighbor : TONGA

6. Round server? : ALE HOUSE - DAH~! I tried BARMAID, too short, BARTENDER, too long....

14. Cutter cousin : SLOOP - boats - or should I say, ships

15. Research activity : FIELD TRIP - I took a "field trip" this week; UPS sent me to Queens for two days to deliver - what a completely different operation~!  I spent my 10-hours yesterday on FOUR blocks, period, delivering 300 packages.

16. Hot-and-cold feelings : AGUES - meh

18. Cost : RAN TO - this one still gets me; needed some perps to remind me

19. Honda et al.: Abbr. : MFRs - slight clecho from 17A; manufacturers

20. 1969 Tommy James and the Shondells hit : "SHE" - The other one I needed to look up

21. Canadian road sign letters : KPH - Kilometres per hour - no, wait that's British....Columbia???

22. Recent delivery : NEONATE - I just couldn't think of anything but NEWBORN

25. Architect Mies van der __ : ROHE

26. Cellphone display : BARS - signal strength

27. Midwestern tribe : IOWAs

31. Like some discount mdse. : IRRegular

32. "Powerage" band : AC/DC - going with a gratuitous Hard Rock music link from their previous album

33. Go away : VANISH

34. Org. led by David Stern : NBA - All perps; don't follow basketball

35. Infuse with : STEEP IN

37. The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf. : KSU - A bit of a redundancy with the grid climber

38. Composer Holst : GUSTAV - English composer, famous for "The Planets"; his "Mars" piece was the inspiration for this number from the godfathers of Heavy Metal

40. Is not misused? : AIN'T - Isn't, misused

41. Noir protagonist : TEC - Detective, from the genre

42. Power : STEAM

43. Troubling spots : ACNE

44. Drop : SINK

45. Haberdashery items : TIE TACS

47. On a roll : HOT

48. Devil : IMP

51. Bank deposit : LODE

52. Philatelist's purchases : PANES - of stamps

57. Get around : EVADE

58. "Li'l Abner" Tony winner, 1956 : EDIE ADAMS

59. iComfort maker : SERTA - hey~! NOT an Apple product~!

60. With equanimity : SEDATELY

61. "Shame __!" : ON YOU

DOWN:

1. Peter the Great, e.g. : TSAR

2. First International Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee : OLGA KORBUT - seemed like the best WAG money could buy

4. "Faust" author : GOETHE

5. It roughly translates to "bearded" in Tibet : APSO

7. Picks up : LEARNS

8. Woman in a "Paint Your Wagon" song : ELISA

9. Aerobic exercise can raise it, briefly : HDL - ah, not BPM (heart-rate)

10. Wagering option, briefly : OTB - Dah~! not I.O.U.?

11. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS (Leon)


12. Punjab sect member : SIKH

13. It's almost pointless : EPEE - tough way to clue a crossword staple - I could think of so many items without a point - even considered "KNEE" for a moment

15. NSA headquarters site : Ft. MEADE

22. "Grimm" network : NBC-TV - I WAGed ABC-TV, and was 80% right

23. Red Sox Hall of Fame pitcher Luis : TIANT - I defer to our C.C., who is proabably jonesing for some baseball these days (C.C.: I drew a blank. Wiki shows he was with the Twins in 1970. Notice the wording of the clue: He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame, not Cooperstown.)

24. Forever and a day : EON

25. Gymnastic event : RINGS

29. Gave the go-ahead for : ASSENTED TO - started with SAID ---- TO

30. Peel off : SHUCK - not SHAVE - that showed up at 44D

32. "Same here" : AS AM I - what's an "asami"?

33. Jungle features : VINES

36. Grasping organ : PINCERS - not very useful on those VINES in the Jungle, though.   Some singular/plural deception

39. Bit of ink : TATtoo

43. Like some Hindemith works : ATONAL - If Mr. Silk says so....

44. Cut off : SHAVEN

46. Fail to say : ELIDE

48. Secures : ICES

49. Way : MODE

50. Took care of, in a way : PAID

52. Chilean cabbage? : PESO

53. Junior on the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team : SEAU

55. Rural area : LEA

56. Door closer? : MAT - Doormat - I've seen some funny ones at work (some are a little crass)

Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

1) Please click here for a great tribute puzzle George Barany & Friends constructed.

2) Bill G, you did it! The first one on the blog. You rock!!

3) Here is a picture of our Farmer/Philosopher Windhover. Click on it for a clearer image. He said this on the blog:

"I'm not generally in the habit of wearing feather boas (again, not that there's anything wrong with that). The pic was taken at a recent Hallowe'en party. The Irish went as Little Debbie (the Atlanta-based snack food entrepeneuress, not the one who "Did Dallas") and I was a Swiss Roll snack cake. I figured no one would "get it", but I was wrong. They were all already drinking when we arrived, and as you know alcohol sharpens the mind. (I learned that from Cliff on Cheers)."

Click here to see a picture of his lovely wife Irish & my favorite picture of him.