Saturday, Jul 26th, 2014, Kevin Christian

Theme: None

Words: 72 - Pangram~!

Blocks: 33

   Kevin Christian has had a steady run of mostly Monday and Tuesday level puzzles for the LAT, though he does have a Thursday and a Friday among the 11 grids that have been reviewed on this blog - and today's themeless has a gratuitous self shout-out at one across~! A true pinwheel design with all four corners consisting of triple-9 letter chunks, and a mini-pinwheel of eight-letter entries in the center, too - that made for tough going, but I did finish, but with a red-letter cheat to see what I had wrong - no Ta-DA~! for me   :7(    I had two squares wrong; see below.  Some of the longer fill;

15a. Poe title locale : RUE MORGUE - Oh, I am so disappointed with myself; this should have been a gimme, since Iron Maiden has a song by the same title - "Murders in the Rue Morgue"

12d. One in a bar lineup : VODKA SHOT - I don't do vodka; the night would get started with one bourbon, one scotch, one beer....and then I would do this song, by request, for karaoke

58a. Cyan relative : TURQUOISE

  

32d. Garden color : TOMATO RED

(must go) o-n-w-a-r-d- - - - - - - ~!

ACROSS:

1. Bounty mutineer : CHRISTIAN - Fletcher vs. Bligh - the Wiki

10. __ ordo seclorum: Great Seal words : NOVUS

16. Words of refusal : I DON'T

17. Versatile seasoning : ONION SALT

18. Singer's better half? : SIDE A - Har-har~!!!

19. Screwball : WACKY - not KOOKY

20. Mariner's direction : AFT

22. Game similar to pinochle : SKAT

23. Letters after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's name : D NH - Democrat, New Hampshire; this was a bit of a stretch for me; more about this history-making woman here

24. Spend leisurely, with "away" : WHILE

26. Zap, in a way : TASE

27. __ Provinces : MARITIME

30. __ tight : SIT - Dah~!  Went with AIR first

31. Informer : STOOLIE - my "E-magazine" made this slow to appear

34. Chose, in a way : X'ED

35. "On __ Majesty's Secret Service" : HER - James Bond #6, 1969, George Lazenby's only stint as our favorite British Spy

36. Fighting : COMBAT

37. Nucleic acid sugar : RIBOSE

39. She played Mia in "Pulp Fiction" : UMA

40. '90s-'00s reliever Robb : NEN - Baseball; C.C. nailed it, I am sure

42. Kitchen set : DINETTE - my little table project has run into a slight snag; more below

43. Base : BAG - Baseball; did you get it, C.C.~?  Only when doing the write-up did I get brained by the V-8 can

44. Pretax figure : SUBTOTAL - I had "suM total", and that didn't help with trying to figure out what "Jordan" we were talking about

46. Rat-__ : A-TAT - not just a sound effect, but a NYC musical duo, too

48. Kind of line : PARTY

49. 2000 Richard Gere role : DR. T

52. Nodding : DOZY

53. FICA benefit : SSI - Social Security Insurance - OOPS~! Supplemental Security Income (Splynter)

54. Madewell parent company : J.CREW

56. Like rock's U2 : IRISH

61. Cobra feature : VENOM

62. Credit card charge, perhaps : ANNUAL FEE

63. Utopias : EDENS

64. Rang true : RESONATED

       

DOWN:

1. Game attendees : CROWD - Dah~!  I threw in an "S", for the plural nature of the clue, and that screwed me

2. Province of southern China : HUNAN - A gimme for our blog host

3. Clinton Labor secretary Robert : REICH

4. "Nothing's broken!" : I'M OK - how you explained to mom that time when you built a ramp out of plywood and milk crates, then tried to jump over all the toys you could find in the yard - and didn't quite make it....

5. "Spider-Man" movie company : SONY - Somehow, I knew this

6. __-80: old computer : TRS

7. Grocery chain initials : IGA

8. Starbucks request : AU LAIT

9. Big name in streaming : NETFLIX - I tried it, but they had nothing I wanted to see; I just end up buying the Blu-rays or DVDs

10. "__ for Noose": Grafton novel : N IS

11. Horace, for one : ODIST

13. Most restless : UNEASIEST

14. Growing symbol : STATE TREE - Well, it is growing, and it is a symbol

21. Recklessness : TEMERITY

24. Reports : WRITE-UPS - Like those here at the blog

25. Get going : HIE

27. Soprano group : MOB - I think this would have been better clued as "THE Sopranos", but it is Saturday

28. Graphic novelist Moore et al. : ALANs - Perps and WAGs

29. Twin Cities suburb : EDINA - Boy, C.C., this one has you all over it~!

31. Explore with a tank : SCUBA DIVE

33. Women's issue, familiarly : O MAGAZINE - bit of misdirection, as the capital "W" made me think we were talking about the actual magazine, Women

38. Where Antwerp is: Abbr. : BELgium

41. Jordan, e.g. : NBA STAR - The river, the country~?  Then I got the "STAR" part, but still, I was not sure if this was the British model "--- star" Jordan; ah, the basketball star, Michael

42. Common Internet symbol : DOT - yup, pretty common

45. Three in one : TRIUNE

47. Holyfield rival : TYSON

49. Go with the flow : DRIFT

50. Take in again : RESEE

51. Coarse cloth : TWEED

54. California's San __ Capistrano : JUAN

55. Part of a fast-food meal, maybe : COLA

57. __ Pinafore : HMS

59. "ER" extras : RNs

60. Status chaser? : QUO

Splynter

  My idea of doing a "stone" finish on the rook table has been compromised by the fact that Home Depot does not carry a stone finish paint in a "Stone" color; really~???  Two stores carry brown, beige, and light beige ( light beige~?).  Michaels art store was no help; I will have to try A.C. Moore, or just go with plan B; a faux marble finish using a sponge.  I have done it before, and it does look pretty cool.

Friday, July 25, 2014, Jacob McDermott

Theme: AUTO-fill. ( I could not resist this after reading yesterday's interview with JW who refuses to use the auto-fill feature of the crossword computer programs, and of course today being all about cars).

Not sure why, and nothing to cry about, but I saw the theme immediately after filling in SAND CRAB. It still takes some solving to find the right car companies, but it was all good and the reveal, the tricky 'tear apart' meaning for rent masking the simple theme of taking an automaker name, split it, and use the front for the beginning of first word of a two word phrase and the rest for the end of the second word. The theme phrases went from  very good (BUILDING BLOCK and DOCKING BRIDGE) to FIRE HAT. The fill had some fun non-theme like AGATHA, BYE NOW, KING ME, LOFTED, ROCOCO, URBANE, RATLINE,  DON’T DELAY and SIDEKICKS. It looks like Mr. McDermott, (who has one prior LAT back in June 2012, but had two NYT publications in 2013, his NYT debut on my birthday) is still hedging on too much long fill, but he used minimal blocks to get this one done. Let us see where Jacob has driven us.


17A. *Beach scuttler : SAND CRAB (8). When I moved down here and visited a house near the ocean, I was shocked by the number of these guys in the yard. My favorite English Teacher in College drove an old SAAB which had no reverse. Made driving and parking a challenge.

24A. *Platform used when mooring ships : DOCKING BRIDGE (13). I will let the boaters explain this, as I DODGE my responsibility.

39A. *Headwear for a hose user : FIRE HAT (7). Not sure of this phrase (Fireman's Hat?). My girl friend weighs 100 pounds and wants this FIAT.

50A. *Lego unit : BUILDING BLOCK (13). I wonder  if this was the seed entry. My father used to always drive a BUICK.
And the reveal:
62A . Wheels on loan ... or, as the circles show, what four puzzle answers have done? : RENT A CAR. As I always say, the reveal is the key to the fun and the renting (tearing apart) of the car names is cool.


Across:


1. Went through with : DID. Good start for me.

4. Places to get stuck : RUTS.

8. Mr. Miyagi's art : KARATE.The movie was brought back to many by the constant references on How I Met Your Mother. Pat Morita of Happy Days fame was great.

14. Prefix with hazard : ECO.

15. Oft-fried vegetable : OKRA. There are only a million vegetables that people fry.

16. Army chopper : APACHE.

19. One concerned with show horses? : BETTOR. My degenerate gambler friends always bet Win/Place not Show. Very cute clue.

20. 101 course, briefly : INTROduction.

21. "Later" : CIAO. Italian, now, like AmEx, accepted world wide.

23. Filmmaker Riefenstahl : LENI. I have had this controversial filmmaker BEFORE.

27. "Later" : BYE NOW.

29. Phrase of clarification : AS IN.I had trouble sussing this one, though it looks easy.

30. Part : ROLE. Mine is to explain.

31. Selma, to Bart : AUNT. Not sure I can tell her from her sister Patty Bouvier.

34. Shindigs, ultimately? : FESTS. Wanted FETES for some reason; I blame Steve and NC.

38. Scandinavian rug : RYA. Another repeat Friday word, this one from JW in May.


41. Soc. Sec. supplement : IRA. This clue for Individual Retirement Account took me longer than it should have. It was a...

42. Kind of pain? : ROYAL.

44. Victim of Atalanta in the Calydonian Hunt : BOAR. I do not want to bore you with this MYTH, but if you want to get a glass of wine and sit and READ....

45. Sixth-day creation : ADAM. Man, this was tricky too.

46. Verdi motif : TEMA. More Italian, hmm, McDermott?

48. Places to see bowlers : ALLEYS. Not the cricket pitch this time, eh Boomer?

55. Tolstoy title name : ANNA. One way to look at this title for all you BOOK CLUB people.

56. Secure, in a way : SEAL. He should not have been as Heidi left him.

57. Impose fraudulently : FOIST. It makes me think of the three stooges  and what comes before second.

60. Disconcerting looks : STARES.

64. Demand upon reaching the other side : KING ME. Very difficult to parse, but good Friday clue/fill.

65. Fictional blue bovine : BABE. Paul Bunyan.

66. The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf. : KSU. Never to be confused with the boys from Manhattan, the JayHawks.

67. Rains hard? : SLEETS. I wanted sheets, as in it is coming down in sheets.

68. Dutch town : STAD.

69. Ella, in the States : SHE. Some Spanish (Italian too?).

Down:

1. Fred : William :: Ricky : __ : DESI. Did you Love Lucy?

2. Positive words : I CAN. I think I can, I think I can....

3. Urgent ad words : DON'T DELAY. order now!!!!!

4. Florid 18th-century style : ROCOCO.

SOURCE

5. The Dnieper flows through it: Abbr. : UKRaine. An area in the news all too much lately.

6. Bingham of "Baywatch" : TRACI.  Lots of stuff on the internet.

7. '50s vaccine pioneer : SABIN. Polio oral vaccine.

8. Skewered fare : KABOBS. Kebab, tomato, tomahto.

9. Arboreal critter : APE. Anyone seen the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, yet?

10. Rope ladder rung : RATLINE. Complete unknown term. More for the boaters to explain, Jeannie where are you?

11. Pretended to be : ACTED.

12. Adventurous beachwear : THONG. Look if you must.  LINK 1. LINK 2.

13. Creepy : EERIE.

18. Go on and on : DRONE. No longer what we think of with this word.

22. Mystery award : AGATHA. Dame Agatha Christie.

25. River in a 1957 Best Picture title : KWAI. Really fine MOVIE. (3:09)

26. One may lead to a feud : RIFT.

27. Cold response : BRRR. I was thinking figuratively at first.

28. Fluctuate wildly : YO-YO. Big dieting word these days.

32. Cosmopolitan : URBANE. David Niven for me....

33. "The Matrix" hero : NEO. Future urbane?

35. Robin and others : SIDEKICKS. I got this solely from the perps as there are entirely too many Robins.

36. Room service item : TRAY. "Yes, I would like to order a tray please."

37. BJ's competitor : SAM'S. These places are just too big, but great if you have a large family.

39. Bolted : FLED. Not Usain.

40. Sea once fed by the Amu Darya River : ARAL. No idea, but the letters are easy.

43. Out there : AT LARGE. I am not sure which one was meant.
Idiom: at large
1. Not in confinement or captivity; at liberty: a convict still at large.
2. As a whole; in general: the country at large.
3. Representing a nation, state, or district as a whole. Often used in combination: councilor-at-large.
4. Not assigned to a particular country. Often used in combination: ambassador-at-large.
5. At length; copiously.

45. Metal giant : ALCOA. ALuminum COmpany of America.

47. Air balls, e.g. : MISSES. Used often in basketball telecasts.

49. Hit in the air : LOFTED. A soft fly ball to left...

50. Luxuriates : BASKS. Here, it is in the sun.

51. Up to : UNTIL.

52. Silly : INANE. An apt word for much of my blogging style.

53. Clothes : GARBS.  It used to mean stylish ones; from the French garbe meaning graceful outline, which may explain why Greta Guftasson chose her stage name..


54. Pasture call : BLEAT. A word I have not heard in years. This SOUND.(0:18).

58. Ceremonial accessory : SASH. The sash is critical.

59. "Indeed" : TRUE.

61. ER staff member : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician. Nit, they work for the fire department or the ambulance services, IMO..

63. Spurs' org. : NBA. National Basketball Association.

Well another month flying by, another puzzle from a constructor named Jacob (thank you JMc);   I leave you with the image of the 2012 Miss Universe from Rhode Island, Olivia Cuplo, who reminds us even the smallest garden can grow roses. Lemonade out.

Interview with Jeffrey Wechsler

Jeffrey Wechsler calls himself a "cruciverbal Rip Van Winkle". He had three puzzles published by the New York Times in the 1960s, then he took a 40-year break and started making puzzles again in 2009. 

Since Sept 2012, Jeffrey has 26 puzzles published by the LA Times. I love the creativity & spontaneity in his themes & fill. 

How did this theme come to you and what were the other theme entries you also considered but discarded? 

I never really know how most themes occur to me; they often just pop up out of nowhere, while I'm reading, when I'm in bed, while I'm driving (that's dangerous!)  Sometimes themes emerge from a given word or phrase -- in this case it was GOOSENECK LAMP, although I don't know why I was thinking of that term.  This theme specifically required a name of a bird to be followed by a body part, so there weren't many options.  When I had three good ones, I left it there.

I don't recall a 3-themer from you, since your puzzles tend to be heavy in themage.  How did your grid designing & filling approach differ from a 4- or 5-themer grid?

When a grid is relatively light on theme entries, I sometimes use that as an opportunity to attempt the inclusion of long Down entries.  Used properly, they add interest for the solver and constructor alike. When I first submitted this puzzle, it actually included a 15-letter Down entry -- IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR -- going straight down the center!  Rich Norris felt that the phrase was not sufficiently in-the-language, and requested a revision of the grid.  I must admit that Rich has slapped me back into reality a few times on that score, and I've been attempting to moderate (or at least verify) my efforts in that regard.  After all, as Shakespeare wrote about Julius Caesar,  "As he was ambitious, I slew him." 

I was surprised to learn from David's interview that you don't rely on any wordlist and still construct by hand. How long did it take you to fill today's grid? And what tools do you use when you get stuck in a spot?

I don't recall how much time was needed to complete this particular construction.  Filling grids can vary from a few hours to many hours spread over many days for particularly intractable grids.  

I hope the other interview didn't give the idea that I eschew all word lists.  I use Crossword Compiler, which offers wordlists that fit certain given letter patterns for a single word-space.  In David Steinberg's definition, that still qualifies as a "hand-made" grid, because I do not use the Autofill option.  As I noted in that interview, I will not use Autofill; for me, that goes beyond the point of true authorship of a puzzle.  If I can't fill a particular section of a grid between the Crossword Compiler prompts and my own knowledge, that puzzle will remain incomplete.

What kind of themes and fill interest you and what kind do you try to avoid in your puzzles?

I sometimes try to work out themes that create interesting (I hope) variations on standard theme formats, like add or delete a letter (or letters), or words broken between two adjacent words, or a word of which segments become letters that surround the themers.  I've also recently been attempting grids that include visual components that fit within the parameters of the LA Times crossword.  Rich has shown an interest in a few of them, but they needed revision, so we shall see what eventually appears.   My RIVERBEND was one of those puzzles, where river names were found within L-shaped arrangements of circles.  But as you may recall, some sources published the puzzle without circles, and some actually published the puzzle with the river names already filled in.  (Fate dealing another blow against ambition, perhaps?)

If possible, I like to devise a theme that seems sui generis, or at least appears fresh or unusual.  One example is the "THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A" puzzle.  Here, again, the idea came out of nowhere  -- I don't know why that children's ditty came into my head.  However, when it did, it fascinated me and became a challenge to accommodate into a puzzle.  As Lemonade noted in his perceptive review, it was a puzzle bound to make solvers take sides -- pro or con.  But I appreciate that Rich Norris accepted it.

I have avoided the theme genre that involves a revealer like NEW BEGINNINGS, leading to themers that start with a word that can follow NEW, like AGE, MEXICO, DEAL, and so on.  For some reason, this seems too simple a format to me, although there is obviously nothing wrong with it. 

I love the clue for MEL OTT [Giant with power] & I'm so happy to see LAURA [Golfer Davies, seven-time Ladies European Tour Order of Merit awardee] finally gets some recognition in crosswords. What reference tools do you use to spice up your clues?
 

You can probably thank Rich Norris for both of those clues; they weren't mine.  At this point, I don't think I've yet become attuned to the wavelength of LA Times cluing.  I often come up with clues that I think are amusing, clever and fair, but many of them are discarded and replaced.  Given that reality, I should probably hold back on the spice, since my original clues already seem to be overspiced, or at least improperly spiced.  And ironically, given your inquiry, I rarely use any in-depth references to find unusual factoids, beyond Wikipedia ("If it's on the Internet, it must be true!" Yeah, sure), and a few very basic sources.  

I remember our first LAT from you is a themeless grid. Do you still make themeless or have you shifted your attention to themed grids only?

As you know from my David Steinberg interview, I returned to crossword construction after a 40-year hiatus.  In retrospect, it was very odd that I re-entered the puzzle world by trying to create themeless puzzles.  I had a few published (in the New York Times, and Stan Newman's Saturday Stumper).  However, I quickly realized that the level of expertise now prevalent among themeless constructors is so high that it was foolhardy to continue within that format.  Indeed, the themeless category apparently comprises a very large proportion of crossword submissions to major outlets, resulting in a great backlog of that type.  Thus, forgoing the themeless format is practical if I want to see my puzzles published.  It also frees me to search for other interesting theme concepts, and allows more scope for puns and other wordplay.

What puzzles do you solve every day & which constructor's puzzles are most difficult for you to solve?

Most of my effort within the crossword field is now limited to construction.  The only crossword I solve daily is the LA Times (I also solve Sunday New York Times puzzle.)  Because it is now my major outlet, I feel I should maintain direct contact with its themes, daily difficulty levels -- and clues!  I read Diary of a Crossword Fiend to keep up with trends in the other publications.  I attend the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, but do so as a non-competing entrant.  That means I solve the puzzles, but I do not hand in my completed (or incomplete) puzzles for scoring.  Speed-solving doesn't appeal to me; it somewhat undermines my pleasure in working things out at my own pace.  From observation of other participants, I'd say my solving ability is somewhere slightly above the middle of the group. 

(Thanks to Lemonade for making this interview possible.)

Thursday, July 24, 2014 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Birds of a Feather"

20. Adjustable light source : GOOSENECK LAMP.

38. Donald Sutherland film role : HAWKEYE PIERCE.

55. Carpentry connection : DOVETAIL JOINT.

I have blogged several of Jeffrey's Thursday puzzles now, and love to see his often pun-ny offerings.  I'm not sure how this one ended up on a Thursday, because I finished it in my usual Monday time. The theme seemed pretty Monday-friendly, too. Straightforward compound words at the beginnings of each entry, involving: 1.) A type of bird and 2.) A part of the anatomy. So maybe the fill dictated a more difficult level? Let's check it out...

Across

1. Hit with force : RAM. Nope, still Monday.

4. Group on a dais : PANEL. Not this one, either.

9. Egyptian Peace Nobelist : SADAT. Maybe a little hesitation here between Anwar and SADAT?

14. "Take heed, __ summer comes ...": Shakespeare : ERE. Anyone worth their Shakespeare knows that three letters usually = ERE. Of course, "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is probably in Ol' Man Keith's repertoire.

15. "Just like me" : AS I DO. Maybe a little tricky to parse between "As do I" or AS I DO.

16. Last Olds model : ALERO. We have seen this so many times it almost falls into the "crosswordese" category.

17. Require medication : AIL. I'm just going to skip all the easy ones.

18. Britney Spears hit with the lyric "A guy like you should wear a warning" : TOXIC. I just can't do it...don't make me link it, please??

Call me...

19. Old-fashioned : FUSTY. To echo Tuesday's MUSTY.

23. His face is seen with Powell and Loy on many film posters : ASTA. This seems like a fresh clue for another crossword staple.

24. Rodeo wrestling match participant : STEER.

25. Dedicatory opus : ODE.

28. "Hold your horses!" : NOT YET.

31. Pot holder shape : MITTEN.

33. Medieval slavery : SERFDOM.

37. Gallery array : OILS.

41. Fed. org. researching neuropsychiatry : NIMH. National Institute of Mental Health. I'll give this one to Thursday, but easy enough to suss.

42. Solemn conclusion? : SILENT N.

43. Just about : ALMOST.

45. Got ready, with "up" : GEARED.

49. Classic Pontiac : GTO. Along with the ALERO, it makes frequent appearances in crosswords.

50. Misleading name : ALIAS.

54. Concave landform : DALE.

59. Golfer Davies, seven-time Ladies European Tour Order of Merit awardee : LAURA. Classy lady with an incredible career record.

61. TV comic Kovacs : ERNIE. I can picture him and his ever-present cigar, but for the life of me, I can't remember any of his films or TV shows.

ERNIE Kovacs

62. Golfer's concern : LIE. They're always afraid that someone will call them a liar for putting a 3 on the scorecard when it was really a 5... (...just kidding!!)

63. Certain campaign managers : AD MEN.

64. Complaints : MOANS.

65. Solution: Abbr. : ANS.

66. Amtrak structure : DEPOT.

67. Tizzies : SNITS.

68. Big Bird fan : TOT.

Well, not too much trouble with the Across-clues.  Did anyone solve by just doing the Downs?


Down

1. "Trust, but verify" president : REAGAN. It was his catchphrase during negotiations with Russia about eliminating intermediate-range missiles. Ironically, it comes from an old Russian proverb.

2. Melodic : ARIOSO. We've seen this often enough, but only once on a Monday. So Thursday scores another one.

3. Giant with power : MEL OTT. Old crossword friend. Nice to see the full name, though.

4. Cracker topper : PÂTÉ.

5. "And she shall bring forth __": Matthew : A SON.

6. Gives a thumbs-down : NIXES.

7. Official order : EDICT.

8. Age of Reason philosopher : LOCKE. Bacon also fits, but this was already filled in by the perps for me.

9. Exotic vacation : SAFARI.

10. One at a reunion : ALUM.

11. Totalitarian : DESPOTIC.

12. Objet d'__ : ART.

13. Happy Meal bonus : TOY.

21. Skeptic's comeback : SAYS WHO?

22. Migratory rodent : LEMMING.

26. Expunge from a manuscript : DELE.

27. USN rank : ENS.ign.

29. Terrified cry : EEK!!! A LEMMING!!!

30. Bridge framework : TRESTLE.

32. Phenomenon measured by the Fujita scale : TORNADO. Thursday level clue to ramp up an ordinary (and too commonplace this year) word.

34. Forwarder's abbr. : F.Y.I. For Your Information.

35. Atl. state : DEL.aware

36. Ajar, in poems : OPE.

38. Maximum degree : HILT.

39. Military storage facility : AMMO DUMP. Another tricky little entry, but "missile silo" wouldn't fit.

40. Juillet's season : ÉTÉ. French: July / summer. (Did anyone else read this clue as "Juliet"?)

41. Henpeck : NAG.

44. Erudite person : SAVANT. Nice chewy Thursday word. I count 3 so far.

46. Scold harshly : RAIL AT.

47. Ocean-warming phenomenon : EL NINO.

48. Find intolerable : DETEST.

51. Agenda fodder : ITEMS.

52. "Fanfare for the Common Man" composer Copland : AARON. Written in response to a request by conductor Goossens for songs to commemorate America's entry into WWII, it was meant as a stirring and patriotic piece. The conductor wanted him to title it "Fanfare for Soldiers," but Copland ended up choosing this title instead. Here, Copland conducts it himself (with an introduction by the late great Leonard Bernstein). 9:46

53. Exodus mount : SINAI.

56. Cookies n' Creme cookie maker : OREO.

57. Dryer detritus : LINT.

58. Zooey's "New Girl" role : JESS. The show hits the 18-49 demographic. Way below mine. Unless you are 18-49, give it 1/2 point for Thursday.

59. Youngster : LAD.

60. Sweet drink : ADE.

So, only 3 1/2 sticking points for me. How did you fare on this one?

Marti, out!

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 Steve Blais

Theme: "Say CHEESE"! Famous grins amuse us this Wednesday.

17A. "Alice in Wonderland" critter known for disappearing : CHESHIRE CAT. Great start - here's John Tenniel's original illustration:

27A. Painting partly shown on the original cover of "The Da Vinci Code" : MONA LISA. I was fortunate to see Leonardo's original in the Louvre many years ago - here's the selfie version:

36A Ubiquitous Mad Magazine guy : ALFRED E. NEUMAN. Way too many picture hits on Google to choose from. Today is "Make your own Mad Magazine Link Wednesday". 

47A. "Batman" villain : THE JOKER. I'm not sure what Jack is so happy about - he has court-side season tickets for the Lakers.

59A. Some emoticons, and defining features of 17-, 27-, 36- and 47-Across : SMILEY FACES and what a nice motto for this Wednesday!

Hi everyone - Steve here having fun with Mr. Blais's puzzle today. I loved the clever theme and the long downs around it. ANALOGOUS TO had me watching each letter fill in with the crosses, and I was convinced that I'd got something wrong until finally I saw it with only the "N" to go.

I'm time-shifting again today - I'm back in Rio de Janeiro until Saturday. If only I could time-shift a week or two backwards and I could have watched some World Cup games! I didn't plan this trip very well at all. My bad. Let's head onwards:

Across:

1. Auto whose griffin logo was recently discontinued : SAAB. I think it's more than the logo that was discontinued - didn't the entire brand get 16A'd?

5. Log on to : ACCESS. After at least three failed userid/password combo attempts in my case. I locked myself out of my own laptop yesterday.

11. "Family Guy" daughter : MEG. Thank you, perps!

14. Beige cousin : ECRU

15. Hail from a distance : CALL TO. Hey, Bubba! The Swiss yodel, it seems a little more poetic.

16. Lumberjack's tool : AXE. The "E" can be chopped off with no hard feelings, but then it loses it's crossword-qualification letter count.

19. Cousins, say : KIN. Because KISSING doesn't fit.

20. Lost it : HAD A FIT

21. It may be bulletproof : VEST. If I was in the line of fire, I'd be worried about the "may" qualifer.

22. Free-for-all : BRAWL. Donnybrook in the land of my fathers.

25. Hates : DETESTS

31. Half an etiquette list : DON'TS. I prefer the Do's.

32. Free TV ad : P.S.A. Public Service Announcement. Check out the UK''s Road Safety mascot "Tufty the Squirrel" from the 1960's and 70's. I think Policeman Badger needs a course in immobilizing an accident victim before dragging him to the sidewalk.

33. Pepsi, e.g. : COLA. And 29D, and a cross too! These always have me worried that I'm seeing double.

35. In favor of : FOR

41. Cry to a toreador : OLE. Or a cry to a soccer team.

42. Clumsy boats : ARKS. Why clumsy? You're a craft filled with all the world's species, you're bound to be a little sluggish making a sharp turn into Port Mt. Ararat.

43. Part of an ear : COB

45. Getting on in years : AGING. What, me?

50. Tummy-showing shirt : CROP-TOP. There was an article in the NYT this week about how much tummy was acceptable to show wearing one of these. The jury was out, but the photo-examples were fun.

52. "__ obvious!": "Duh!" : IT'S SO

53. Aussie sprinters : EMUS

54. Blue Staters, collectively : THE LEFT. No comment. One of the rules of this blog. Read 'em - they're up there on the right.

58. __ Cruces : LAS

63. Sinusitis-treating MD : ENT

64. Requiring less effort : EASIER. Not so much this crossword today. Thanks, Steve for a fun challenge!

65. Bend : WARP

66. Sci. course : BIO

67. Stick : ADHERE

68. Haywire : AWRY

Down:

1. Short time : SEC. Small word, and a great and clever clue. I love these gems.

2. Günther's gripe : ACH. Some German today. "Oh"!

3. "Blessed __ the pure in heart ..." : ARE

4. Poppycock : BUSHWA. AESL (American English as a Second Language) for me today. I resolve to use this in a sentence as soon as possible.

5. Biting, as wit : ACID

6. Siena sweetie : CARA. Italian - it's language-fest in the down clues today!

7. Staff notation : CLEF. Do-re-me ..... Marti? Singalong?

8. Spanish folk hero : EL CID. Canadian-eh's folk hero - The Sid:

How aboot some hockey, eh?

9. Put into words : STATED

10. Lush : SOT

11. Gets a move on : MAKES TRACKS. Nice!

12. Is more than a dream : EXISTS. Whenever I see or hear "a dream" I can hear The Cure's Robert Smith's vocals on "Just Like Heaven" and his apparent flat note. It's a great song, but the "dream" at 2:14 always sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. What say you musicians? It's still on my Top 10 song list on my iPod but that  "draaam" always wakes me up.

13. Classy guys : GENTS. Classy john too.

18. Site of many school lockers : HALL

21. Rattler's poison : VENOM. I have to watch out for these little buggers when I'm out hiking. The babies are the most dangerous, they give you the full plunger of poison, they haven't yet learned to give you just enough to get you to go the heck away.

22. Image file letters : BMP. Bitmap. Basically this was a full pixel-accurate copy of the image that took up a boatload of file space. The JPEG format and derivatives made life a lot easier.

23. Flor del amor : ROSA. A rose, by any other name.

24. Corresponding with : ANALOGOUS TO. My star of the week, month or possibly all-time. As a down, you can't really recognize the letter sequence as it fills and you're trying to break the string into all kinds of unworkable segments. Brilliant!

26. Protein source for vegans : TOFU

28. __ hockey : ICE. Canadian-eh must be happy today. Eh? Tin-man - don't look.

29. Pepsi, e.g. : SODA. I hear a clecho. And a blogcho - Tin-man - don't look.

30. Watchful : ALERT

34. Egyptian cross : ANKH

37. Decides with a coin : FLIPS. We toss in England.

38. Monthly expense : RENT

39. Flagstaff-to-Roswell dir. : E.S.E. 8.7 light-years via Alpha Centuri. Remember that the next time you run out of fuel for your warp drive in Area 51 when you were just out for a quick galatic-joyride.

40. Rejections : NOES

44. Pal : BRO

45. Big name in high fashion : ARMANI

46. Lost one's temper : GOT MAD

48. Short time : JIFF. Clecho-echo-oooo. Yodelling clues today. Where's the Alpenhorn?

I hate it when I lose my iPhone

49. Quebec/Ontario border river : OTTAWA. Now I know it's a river too.

50. Walk of Fame honoree : CELEBrity. Is CELEB common enough now for no abbreviation or shortened indications in the clue? I guess so.

51. Engage in online fraud : PHISH. Help. I am stranded Rio with brasil police arrest and no wallet my hotel have my bag and will not release unless I give deposit money and they then give me phone and my possesses so I can wire me bail out of prison from bank. Wire now and I pay on sunday. Today is march and it rainy. I won Nigeria lottery on twesndsday.

55. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

56. Creepy look : LEER

57. Literary governess Jane : EYRE

59. Poseidon's realm : SEA

60. Cornfield call : CAW

61. Take a wrong turn, say : ERR. I've never heard that from the passenger seat before - "Oh, I think you erred - we're going the wrong way". It's more like "WOOOOAHH - San FRANCISCO?" What kind of BUSHWA driving is this?"

62. Binoculars user : SPY

Well, that was fun. More fun than spending an unexpected 24 hours in Houston airport on Thursday/Friday because my connection from LA was 2 hours late and I missed my Rio flight. Oh well!

Bom dia! My hovercraft is full of eels.

Steve.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: If you see them, it's already too late - Split up between two words.                           

39A. Elite Navy group that's fittingly camouflaged in the four longest answers in this puzzle : SEALS

17A. Faulty smoke detectors, e.g. : FALSE ALARMS

24A. Comedian Handler's talk show : CHELSEA LATELY. The show is on E! LINK(2:57)

49A. Higher than zero, on an altimeter : ABOVE SEA LEVEL

60A. Countries with strong economic ties, say : CLOSE ALLIES

Argyle here. C.C. there. Good time everywhere. But where are the Seals? Spit up 2&2, then 3&1 twice and back to 2&2.

Across:

1. Curved sword : SABER

6. Glad shelfmate : HEFTY. Plastic bags.

11. Pint-size : WEE

14. Justice Samuel : ALITO

15. Blast from the past : OLDIE

16. Veal cordon bleu stuffing : HAM

19. DSL offerer : ISP. Someone might say DSL is means of transmission and not an Internet Service Provider but not me.

20. Photo lab abbr. : ENL. (enlargement)

21. It may be gluten-free : DIET

22. Impressionist Claude : MONET. Gluten-free flat bread? Update: Tarte Tatin.

28. Many Southwestern homes : ADOBEs

30. Tennille of pop's Captain & Tennille : TONI

31. Cap brim : VISOR

32. Debatable : MOOT

34. Spot for a remote : SOFA. (between the cushions)

38. Bach's "Mass __ Minor" : IN B

40. Zen garden fish : KOI

41. High-protein beans : SOYs

43. British aristocrat : EARL

44. Poppy product : OPIUM

46. Bowled over : AWED

48. Bells and whistles : FRILLS

54. "E! News" subject : CELEB

55. Big Mack : SEMI

56. A/C capacity meas. : BTU. We here are in for a test of our A/C's.

59. Campus aides, for short : TAs. (teaching assistant)

64. Ozzie Smith's number : ONE

65. Autumn blossom : ASTER

66. Chai __: Starbucks order : LATTE

67. Director Howard : RON

68. Like old attics : MUSTY. I went with DUSTY first.

69. Fencing swords : ÉPÉEs

Down:

1. Bank vault : SAFE

2. "Moon Shot" co-author Shepard : ALAN. The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon.

3. Portrayer of TV's Dr. Cliff Huxtable : BILL COSBY. Great show.

4. "Avatar" extras : ETs

5. Short-antlered critter : ROE DEER

6. Boring outcomes? : HOLEs. Cute.

7. Bring joy to : ELATE

8. Prez on a dime : FDR. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

9. Journalist Russert : TIM

10. Overly agreeable guy : YES MAN

11. Snivel : WHINE

12. Prop for van Gogh : EASEL

13. Unthreatening, as some threats : EMPTY

18. Feels sick : AILs

23. Milo's film friend : OTIS

25. "Game of Thrones" channel : HBO. (Home Box Office)

26. Lagoon-enclosing isle : ATOLL

27. Oodles : LOTS

28. Rental car choice : AVIS

29. "The Flintstones" pet : DINO

32. Victor at Gettysburg : MEADE. General George Gordon Meade (1815-1872) Born in Cadiz, Spain. More info.

33. Sculling need : OAR

35. "This may be a trick, but tell me" : "OK, I'LL BITE"

36. Umpire's call : FOUL

37. Points (at) : AIMS

39. Gets the point : SEEs

42. Copy to the hard drive : SAVE

44. First name in popcorn : ORVILLE. Most popcorn from Orville Redenbacher are gluten free.

45. Dessert slice : PIE

47. Video chat need : WEBCAM

48. Tornado response gp. : FEMA. (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

49. Audition hopeful : ACTOR

50. Number-calling game : BEANO

51. Daily Planet cub reporter : OLSEN

52. Selling point : ASSET

53. Not fully trusting : LEERY

57. Beret's perch : TÊTE. On a French head.

58. Puts to work : USEs

61. Fighting Tigers' sch. : LSU. (Louisiana State University)

62. Tiebreakers, briefly : OTs. (overtime)

63. Once around the track : LAP

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy 53rd wedding anniversary to Hondo and his wife Lucy. How are you celebrating this year, Hondo? Block Island?

Monday, July 21, 2014 Lila Cherry

Theme: B?ND - The last part of the entries is a vowel progression.

17A. Illegally imported goods : CONTRABAND

26A. Squatting exercise : KNEE BEND

37A. Enchant : SPELLBIND

53A. Wanderer : VAGABOND

62A. Tuxedo accessory : CUMMERBUND

Argyle here. Three of the four entries are single words but knee bend isn't. Lila (Really Rich) should know better. Pshaw! What do I want from a Monday other than a doable puzzle. OK, I'll keep my nits to myself.

Across:

1. Put some pizazz in : PEP UP

6. Florida resort, familiarly : BOCA

10. __ America Competition : MISS

14. Speedy Amtrak train : ACELA

15. The Bard's river : AVON

16. "A time to cast away stones" Bible bk. : ECCL. (Ecclesiastes)

19. "Star Wars" princess : LEIA

20. Come up : ARISE

21. Dada artist Jean : ARP

23. Director Affleck : BEN

24. Mercedes sedan category : E CLASS

28. Illuminated : LIT

29. Author Victor : HUGO. French writer / "Les Misérables"

31. Hard to find : SCARCE

32. BLT spread : MAYO

34. Marshy wasteland : MOOR

36. Rage : ANGER

40. 2014 French Open winner Rafael : NADAL. Rafael Nadal.

43. Opposite of pass : FAIL

44. Fraternal gp. with an antlered animal in its logo : BPOE. (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks)

48. Brought to mind : EVOKED

50. Cruise stop : ISLE

52. Delta rival: Abbr. : UAL. (United Airlines)

55. Irritable : SNARKY

57. Braz. neighbor : ARG. Brazil / Argentina

58. WWII mil. zone : ETO. (European Theater of Operations)

59. Cobbler's supply : HEELS

60. Christian of fashion : DIOR

66. What Clearasil treats : ACNE

67. Norway's capital : OSLO

68. Davis of "Thelma & Louise" : GEENA

69. Requirement : NEED

70. Situation to be cleaned up : MESS

71. Okays : YESes

Down:

1. Calif.'s ocean : PAC. Pacific.

2. Author Umberto : ECO

3. Football ref's call : PENALTY

4. Extreme : ULTRA

5. County counterpart in Louisiana : PARISH

 

6. Slugger Ruth : BABE

7. Eggs in a clinic : OVA

8. Sir Arthur __ Doyle : CONAN. Sherlock's creator.

9. Guitarist Segovia : ANDRES

10. Diner owner on "Alice" : MEL

11. Titanic sinker : ICEBERG

12. Chemistry or physics : SCIENCE

13. Libel's spoken equivalent : SLANDER. "I get slandered, libeled. I hear words I never heard in the Bible..."

18. Take for granted : ASSUME

22. Nut in a pie : PECAN

24. Shade tree : ELM or 46D. Shade tree : OAK

25. Covert govt. group : CIA. I better not spell it out; don't want no trouble.

26. Drink brand with a pitcher for a mascot : KOOL-AID

27. Quaint weekend getaway, briefly : B AND B. (Bed & Breakfast)

30. 18-hole outing : GOLF

33. Honshu port : OSAKA

35. Score-producing MLB stats : RBIs

38. Academy frosh : PLEBE

39. "Haven't made up my mind yet" : "I'LL SEE"

40. Reno resident : NEVADAN

41. Greed : AVARICE

42. Danged : DOGGONE. (it)

45. Chases after : PURSUES

47. Tarzan portrayer Ron : ELY

49. __ bubble: Internet stock phenomenon : DOT COM

51. Get-up-and-go : ENERGY

54. Hopeless : NO USE

56. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright Edward : ALBEE

59. Managed care gps. : HMOs

61. Chianti color : RED

63. D.C. United's org. : MLS. (Major League Soccer)

64. Opposite of SSW : NNE

65. Opponents of defense lawyers: Abbr. : DAs. (District Attorney)

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here is a picture from Dylan's 1-year-old birthday party yesterday. Click here, you'll see that hats are an important part of their birthday celebrations.

Front Row (Left to Right: Grady (turning 4 this coming Thursday) & his dad Derek; Truman (Grady's big brother) & mom Corie; Dylan and mom Shelby; Cameron (Dylan's big brother) and dad Joe, who is a Scot.

Back Row: Proud grandparents JD & Bob.