Wednesday, August 27, 2014 Gareth Bain

Theme: Fits to a "T". Put a "T-" in front of the first word of each of the theme answers and you have a new noun. Theme answers are placed in Down for visual effects.

3D. *Hearty repast : SQUARE MEAL. T-Square. My woodshop teacher walloped me with one of these when I was about 13, so I remember this carpentry tool well. I deserved it too, so no complaints.

9D. *"Politically Incorrect" host : BILL MAHER. T-Bill. Well-known to solvers, but I realized I'd never actually seen one, so here we are. In the words of Dr. Evil - One MILLION Dollars!

31D. *Sensitivity to cashews, say : NUT ALLERGY. T-Nut. I've never used one. I wonder if there are T-nuts in a T-top?

35D. *Fine porcelain : BONE CHINA. T-Bone. Food! Unlike the T-Nuts, I've cuddled up to one or two T-Bone steaks in my time. You get a twofer - tenderloin and strip, so you get the best of both worlds

The reveal:

29D. Sporty car roofs, and, literally, what the first words of the answers to starred clues can have : T-TOPS. Largely defunct now that engineering advances mean that you don't need the structural roof elements to keep the car from flexing like a Muscle Beach exhibitionist.

Salut, amigos and amigas. Steve here with a fun Gareth Bain offering which shows a 90-degree shift in the usual theme entry orientation. I enjoy the times I have to figuratively turn my head sideways to see what's going on. I loved that the theme required not just the "T", but also the "-" to make sense of the new nouns.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Bygone U.S. station name : ESSO. Standard Oil (of Texas). What's the word for the verbalizing of an acronym and the resultant spelling of that to make a word? If there isn't one, we should come up with it.

5. Subsides : EBBS. Moons wax and wane, tides flood and ebb.

9. Parade group : BAND

13. Chef's hat : TOQUE. A great word. No French chef worth his sel would be caught without one. It all got a little silly when the height of your toque was meant to represent your superior standing in the culinary world

15. Rich topsoil : LOAM

16. Java Freeze brand : ICEE

17. Lies next to : ABUTS

18. In __: actually : ESSE

19. Cry out for : LACK

20. Plays first, in some card games : LEADS

21. Innocent : CHILD-LIKE

23. Comedy Central send-up : ROAST

25. Chowder morsel : CLAM

26. Pre-A.D. : BCE. Hmmm .. why the "E"?

28. Portable Asian dwellings : YURTS

30. Horses' tresses : MANES

34. Gyro meat : LAMB. Food! I love lamb, and gyros. If you are ever on the I-15 driving though Baker, CA (usually on your way to or from Las Vegas) then stop at "The Mad Greek" for the best gyro you'll ever.

36. Portable bed : COT

37. Without even a scratch : UNHURT

38. McFlurry option : OREO

39. Rounded hill : KNOLL

41. Italian hot spot : ETNA. The most famous volcano in the world of cruciverbalists.

42. Sounds echoing through the castle : CLANGS. Usually accompanied by the cries of those unfortunates consigned to the dungeons with all kinds of unpleasantness to follow.

44. Quill, perhaps : PEN

45. Commuter's option : RAIL

46. Clark Kent, at birth : KALEL. Crosses all the way. Must ... remember ... this ... for ... future ... crosswords .... Nope, it's already forgotten.

47. Son of Sarah : ISAAC

49. Gettysburg Campaign VIP : LEE. Why am I thinking "desserts" here? Oh wait, it's "Sarah" in 47A, not "Sara".

50. Use profanity : CUSS

52. East Asian capital : SEOUL

54. Where it'll all come out? : IN THE WASH. Not always, I've got some white shorts that never recovered from the person next to me on a flight dumping a cup of coffee in my lap and then my own self-abasement when I dropped my in-flight pasta on top of the original sin. My bad. We both blamed the excellent wine selection in the United lounge pre-flight.

58. Oldest of the Stooges : SHEMP. Completely, never, ever heard of him (?). Is this the "Iggy" Stooges or the "triple" incarnation? I await your wisdom.

61. Amos at the piano : TORI

62. Early Genesis brother : ABEL

63. Stooges count : THREE. Ah, apropos of 58A above, I believe that Iggy Pop had more than three sidemen, so I'm guessing this is the "Curly" cohort count.

64. All tied up : EVEN

65. Anti-leather gp. : PETA

66. Sweetie : SUGAR

67. Chichén Itzá builder : MAYA. Great clue for an old staple. I learned something today - that's why I love the crosswords!

68. KFC side : SLAW

69. London's __ Park : HYDE. I saw Queen play a free concert in Hyde Park in 1976 - the first free gig since the Rolling Stones in the 60's.

Down:

1. And others, in citations: Abbr. : ET AL.

2. Maker of Lifewater beverages : SOBE

4. Surpass : OUT-DO. I'm not sure if the hyphen is required, but it looks better to me.

5. It can't help being negative : ELECTRON. Favorite clue/answer combo of the day.

6. "Poppycock!" : BOSH

7. ABCs : BASICS

8. Detect, in a way : SMELL. Usually "in a bad way"! Smells seem to be bad, aromas are good. English is a tremendously confusing language. I've no idea how C.C. et al manage.

10. Berry sold in health food shops : ACAI. Messed up with "GOJI" first,

11. Giraffe's trademark : NECK. Does it come with a ™ symbol?

12. Fake in the rink : DEKE

14. Test type you can't really guess on : ESSAY

22. Rhett's last word : DAMN

24. Lures (in) : SUCKS. Nice, polite clue

26. Inhibit : BLOCK.

27. "Cheers" waitress Tortelli : CARLA

32. Bert's roommate : ERNIE

33. Old : STALE

37. Radii neighbors : ULNAE. Latin "ii" in the clue suggests Latin "ae" in the answer.

40. Legislation pertaining to dogs : LEASH LAW

43. Stuff to stick with? : GLUE

47. "Eva Luna" author Allende : ISABEL. It seems all proper names are "Help! Crosses!" for me, particularly today.

48. Goes for : COSTS

51. Scoreless Words With Friends turns : SWAPS. I know the app, but I don't have it and have never played it. Good to know that you can swap. Is it like Scrabble when you've got a rack of Q's, W's and K's and you burn a turn dumping all seven tiles and drawing a new set but miss a turn? Always sounded like a bad idea to me.

53. "That's correct" : UH HUH

54. Couple in the news : ITEM

55. Old Chevy : NOVA. Plenty to choose from, but the "V" was there so it was a fill-in.

56. "South Park" co-creator Parker : TREY. Middle name "Genius" IMHO.

57. __ good example : SET A

59. Ancient drink making a comeback : MEAD. Comeback? Really? Tinbeni - have you tried this stuff? I'm sure it can't be pleasant - the whole reason wine was sweetened with honey was because the wine was too nasty to drink.

60. Paris pop : PÉRE.  Because "Orangina" doesn't fit. Neither does "Le Coke".

That's about it! Enjoy your Wednesday!

Steve

P.S. I just want to take two seconds to give an enormous shout-out to C.C. for her amazing generosity with her time, encouragement, help and advice to an originally clueless constructor!

Oh wait - I need to upload the grid - I always forget about that!

Notes from C.C.:

 

1) Working with Steve is unique & inspiring! He grew up in the UK, reads extensively and is very knowledgeable about lots of subjects. He was never discouraged by the "No" answers I sent to him regarding certain themes or fill. He's always eager to learn & is super efficient. Just what you expected from a triathlete.

2) Happy Birthday to Charlotte's grandpa Lemonade, who has been our Friday Sherpa since March 2010. Lemonade sees beauty in every crossword and is attentive to both newbies and regulars. I'm so pleased with his two LAT puzzles and looking forward to his solo. Please click here for more pictures. Love his purple shirt here.

 

 Charity Award Time

 At Work with Aaron

  Charlotte, happiest baby, bar none

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Letter Combo - Today's puzzle brought to you by the letters A and C.

35A. Summer coolers, briefly, and a hint to this puzzle's six longest answers : AC UNITS

17A. Church area for enthusiastic responses : AMEN CORNER

21A. Painting course : ART CLASS

48A. Road service provider : AUTO CLUB. web site

53A. Morning warning provider : ALARM CLOCK

3D. One often precedes it : AREA CODE

36D. Military uniform jacket : ARMY COAT. Surplus favorite.

Argyle here. This is Robert's third puzzle so far this year. An easy puzzle in a complicated grid. Five sections with little connections and yet the themes interlock while the cheese, I mean unifier, stands alone.

Across:

1. Ancient calculators : ABACI

6. Off-ramp : EXIT

10. Makes a quick getaway : LAMS. Lam can be a verb or a noun.

14. Low-ranking noble : BARON

15. Move to another town, for short : RELO

16. Sheltered, at sea : ALEE

19. Bolivia neighbor : PERU

20. Open just a crack : AJAR

23. Point a finger at : ACCUSE

25. Clears a whiteboard : ERASES

26. English sculptor Henry : MOORE. “Man Enters the Cosmos”

27. Clairvoyant's claim : ESP. (extrasensory perception) 60A. Clairvoyant : SEER

30. 1-Down member: Abbr. : ATTY. (attorney)

31. Pie à la __ : MODE

32. SeaWorld tanks : AQUARIA. Plural.

34. Bullring bravo : "¡OLÉ!"

36. TV spots : ADS

39. Odd : STRANGE

40. Dagger in "Macbeth," e.g. : PROP. As in a stage production of the play.

41. Negotiator's goal : PACT. Had DEAL first.

43. Whopper : LIE

44. St. Petersburg neighbor : TAMPA. FLA., not RUS.

45. Local dialect : PATOIS. From French, as you might expect.

47. "Let's wait" : "NOT YET"

51. Cartel acronym : OPEC. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)

52. Excess : GLUT

57. German "a" : EINE

58. Actor Grant : CARY

59. San Antonio shrine : ALAMO

61. Banjo spot : KNEE So 40D. 61-Across bone : PATELLA. (knee cap)

62. Brit's bye-byes : "TA TA"s

Down:

1. Law gp. : ABA. (American Bar Association)

2. Emeril interjection : "BAM!"

4. Pull out of thin air, seemingly, with "up" : CONJURE

5. Words before "of emergency" : IN CASE

6. Goof : ERR

7. TV warrior princess : XENA

8. Robert who played a Soprano : ILER

9. Flourless cake : TORTE

10. Argentina's Río de __: River of Silver : LA PLATA

11. Yankees' div. : AL EAST

12. River to Liverpool Bay : MERSEY. Not a lip sync!

13. "Hop on Pop" author : SEUSS

18. Bauxite, e.g. : ORE

22. Award-winning detective fiction writer Robert : CRAIS. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. - Wikipedia

23. Bullets and such : AMMO

24. Poised under pressure : COOL

27. Up (to), as a task : EQUAL

28. Branch of Islam : SUNNI

29. Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel : PAIGE

32. Unlike this ans. : ACR. (not down, across)

33. Hwy. : RTE.

35. Room accessed via ladder, maybe : ATTIC

37. Knucklehead : DOPE

38. Squabble : SPAT

39. Vespa, for one : SCOOTER

41. Talking parrot in a 1998 film : PAULIE. I did not watch it.

42. Bring into harmony : ATTUNE

44. '60s cartoon feline : TOP CAT. I did watch it.

45. Book parts : PAGES. So simple it's hard.

46. Hanging loosely : SLACK

47. Name, in Paris : NOM. As in NOM de plume.

49. Mongolia's __ Bator : ULAN. Population: 1.132 million (2010)

50. Like Hubbard's cupboard : BARE

54. Kind of whiskey or bread : RYE. A toast for Tinbeni.

55. Nashville awards org. : CMA. (Country Music Association)

56. Fight enders, briefly : KOs...and I'm down for the count.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Montana! Below is a picture of her birthday gathering in July. She said:

"...Mid-July was more  convenient than August for work schedules. My CT son rented a 10 bedroom condo in Vail, CO and invited all his siblings to come with their families. We had never all been at the same place at the same time before. It was a wonderful gift to me!..." 

Please click here for more pictures. Montana had to have furnace on the past few days. Are you still planning your autumn visit to Dudley area?

 My 5 children celebrated my 2014 birthday in Vail, CO

Monday, August 25, 2014 Steve Marron and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: No lyin' - but lots of other entertainment from under the Big Top.

17A. Schoolroom cutup : CLASS CLOWN

27A. Pachyderm in stereotypical hallucinations : PINK ELEPHANT

47A. PDF file creation program : ADOBE ACROBAT

61A. Performances in a big tent, where you'd see the ends of 17-, 27- and 47-Across : CIRCUS ACTS

Argyle here with the latest Dynamic Duo. Well done.

Across:

1. "Around the World in 80 Days" navigator Phileas : FOGG

5. Lou of soul music : RAWLS

10. Immediately, in memos : ASAP

14. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO

15. "Such a tease!" : "OH YOU!"

16. Lecture location : HALL

19. Concerning : AS TO

20. Often sculpted anatomy parts : TORSOs

21. Campus email suffix : .EDU

23. Logician's abbr. : QED. (quod erat demonstrandum)

24. First African-American major-league coach Buck : O'NEIL. (1962) It would be almost ten more years before the first black major league manager.

25. Condé Nast fashion monthly : GLAMOUR

31. Yale student : ELI

34. Membership fees : DUES

35. Ravi Shankar's instrument : SITAR

36. French peak : MONT

38. Volga region native : TATAR. We read the Tatar Paper yesterday.

41. Two times tetra- : OCTA. Greek prefixes for 4 and 8

42. Nickname for Wrigley Field hero Ernie Banks : MR. CUB

44. Condo division : UNIT

46. The Beatles' "__ Jude" : HEY

51. System for blind readers : BRAILLE

52. Peeled : PARED

56. Leb. neighbor : SYR. Lebanon/Syria

57. Actress Peeples : NIA

58. "Marry me!" : "BE MINE!"

59. Dunked cookie : OREO

64. One often lost in the laundry : SOCK

65. "That's it for me" : "I'M OUT". The poker table would be one spot you might hear this.

66. Vichyssoise veggie : LEEK. The soup is traditionally served cold but can be eaten hot.

67. Pantry pests : ANTS

68. So far : AS YET

69. Misses the mark : ERRS

Down:

1. Ex post __: retroactively : FACTO

2. Lightweight synthetic : ORLON

3. Blinding light : GLARE

4. Talk around the water cooler : GOSSIP

5. Giant birds of myth : ROCs. They were so big, they could have carried of our circus elephant.

6. Minor league rink org. : AHL. (American Hockey League)

7. St. in which most of Yellowstone is located : WYO. (Wyoming)

8. Poet Amy : LOWELL

9. Cherry-topped treat : SUNDAE

10. ''Now I get it!'' : "A-HA!"

11. Bigfoot's other name : SASQUATCH

12. Take turns : ALTERNATE

13. Walk heavily : PLOD

18. State of matter : SOLID

22. Calls the game : UMPS. Verb.

25. Fist pump or high-five, e.g. : GESTURE

26. Cleveland's state : OHIO

28. Cashew or pecan : NUT

29. Mauna __ : KEA

30. Waiter's carrier : TRAY

31. Actress Stone of "The Help" : EMMA

32. "She Walks in Beauty" poet : LORD BYRON

33. Wrong : INCORRECT

37. Brass band bass : TUBA

39. 2014, por ejemplo : ANO. All Spanich.

40. "Spare" cut of meat : RIB

43. '60s hippie gathering : BE IN

45. VCR inserts : TAPES

48. "The Good Wife" attorney Florrick : ALICIA

49. Says assuredly : CLAIMS

50. Mexican food in a corn-husk wrap : TAMALE

53. Potato press : RICER. Old timer.

54. "Come on in!" : "ENTER!"

55. Many talk show hosts sit at them : DESKS

56. Slugger Sammy : SOSA

58. Cigar remains : BUTT. Remains are something that is left like the butt of a cigar.

60. Brief approvals : OKs

62. Cowboy Rogers : ROY

63. Signal to an actor : CUE

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Steve Marron is our Wednesday Sherpa Steve. Congratulations on your debut, Steve! Read the first sentence in TTP's comment when Jazzbumpa (Ron) had his puzzle published.

2) Husker Gary also took a few pictures of our gathering last week. He also treated me my very first Earl Grey tea, Abejo!

Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann

   I feel like a Huskers' first round draft pick.

3) Spitzboov (Al) met with Argyle last Saturday at the Washington County Fair. Al mentioned that this was his first visit to the fair in 40 years. He said "I was pleasantly surprised by how much the fair has grown over 4 decades." 

Spitzboov, Betty & Argyle 

(In case you wonder, it's Bloomin' Onion with horseradish & Ranch dipping sauces)

 

 Spitzboov and Argyle with John (Deere)

Please click here for more. I'm so pleased that they finally met each other. Spitzboov's family from Virginia, Massachusetts & Delaware had a big gathering at the fair.

Sunday August 24, 2014 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "At Present" - AT is added to each theme answer.

23A. Extra vacation clothes? : SPARE ATTIRE. Spare tire.

29A. Big party for jalopy owners? : BEATER BASH . Beer bash.

46A. Clergyman who works wonders? : MIRACLE CURATE. Miracle cure.

93A. Biker's trail? : RIDING HABITAT. Riding habit.

110A. Volga Region daily? : TATAR PAPER. Tar paper.

118A. Bees battling over nectar? : HONEY COMBAT. Honeycomb. The only one-word base phrase.

33D. Swindler at a New York zoo? : BRONX CHEATER. Bronx cheer.

42D. Gave stars to kippers? : RATED HERRING. Red herring.

Easy puzzle, yes? Gail always makes the smoothest Sunday grids. She's not going to shock and awe young solvers with edgy & trendy phrases. Her focus is always her overall solvers.

Were you bothered by the HAS OPEN (105A. Didn't fill yet, as calendar slots) clue? I had ?AS OPEN and wanted WAS OPEN due to the tense.

Across:
    
1. China problem : CHIP. And 14. China setting : FAR EAST. China clue echo. I nailed CHIP immediately.

5. Brought to Broadway : STAGED. Also 115. Fakes being : ACTS

11. Clothing fold : CUFF

15. TV talk pioneer : PAAR (Jack)

19. Like some bears' market predictions : DIRE. Not DOWN. Also  22. Bear overhead : URSA

20. Happened next : ENSUED

21. New Balance competitor : AVIA. Got easily with the crossing 12. Iris locale : UVEA. Quite a few 4-letter sneaker brands.

25. Barely burn : SEAR

26. Reactions to mice, maybe : EEKS

27. Acct. earnings : INT

28. 2010 title role for Denzel : ELI. The Book of Eli.

31. Simply not done : TABOO

34. Trying experiences : ORDEALS

36. Catamaran mover : SAIL

37. Emergency supplies delivery method : AIR DROP. Wish we could eradicate those ISIS thugs. Bloody Jihadists.

39. Coll. drilling group : ROTC

41. Ball game delayers : STORMS

45. "As I see it," in texts : IMO. Also 57A. Intimate modern message : SEXT. Slight clue/answer dupe. I thought of our passionate PK when I read these steamy letters.

51. "How relaxing!" : AAH

52. Periscope part : LENS

54. Wood shop tools : LATHES. Hi there, Splynter/Jerome!

55. Mid-Atlantic st. : DEL

56. Sight from the Sicilian village of Taormina : ETNA. Gimme for long crossword solvers.

58. Clipped, in a way : SHORN

59. Shrill cry : YELP

61. Race : TEAR. Not an easy clue.

62. Corn or cotton : CROP

64. Bores for ore : MINES

67. Fairy tale food : PORRIDGE. I call my morning oatmeal "porridge" too.

69. Rival of Brom in an 1820 novel : ICHABOD.  Ichabod Crane/Brom Bones. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". I drew a blank.

72. Pops in the fridge : SODAS

74. Hoisting devices : WINCHES. New word to me, Santa!  Met with Spitzboo yesterday?

75. Wildly excited : FRENETIC

77. Classic pops : NEHIs

79. Solidify : CAKE. I don't think I've used CAKE as a verb before.

80. Frog's kiddie-lit friend : TOAD

81. Condescending sort : SNOB

83. Photoshop developer : ADOBE

85. Mother of the Valkyries : ERDA. I had E?DA, then I waited.

88. Makeshift shelters : HUTS

89. "Mr. Blue Sky" band, briefly : ELO

90. Future litigator's study : PRE-LAW

91. Airport transport : TRAM

92. Virtuoso : ACE

97. Ristorante suffix : INI

98. Upheaval : THROES

100. Call for : NEED. Joann told me she enriches their garden with Miracle-Gro every two weeks. Maybe I should try that also.

101. Puts on the right track : ORIENTS

103. Evil sitcom organization : KAOS. Get Smart.

109. They may be rough : EDGES

114. Sharp turn : ZAG

115. __ premium : AT A

116. Traveling : AWAY

117. Cantina cooker : OLLA. It's similar to the traditional Cantonese soup pot.

123. "In your dreams" : NOPE

124. Wiped out : DEAD

125. Friendly court contest : ONE SET. Tennis.

126. Toledo's lake : ERIE

127. Delighted : GLAD

128. Three-part figs. : SSNs

129. Mouth formations : DELTAS

130. Identical : SAME

Down:

1. They may be writable : CDs

2. Fanny pack spot : HIP. Here is our Yellowrocks. Thanks for the book recommendations yesterday.

3. Portfolio element, for short : IRA. And 44. Portfolio units : SHARES

4. Game division : PERIOD

5. Reserved __ : SEAT

6. Demolition aid : TNT

7. Sunflower relative : ASTER. My daises bloomed for a very short period this spring.

8. Artisan group : GUILD

9. Like many King novels : EERIE

10. RMN was his VP : DDE. Nixon.

11. Analytical write-up : CASE STUDY

13. Punto and Bravo : FIATS. All crosses.

15. Colorado county or its seat : PUEBLO

16. Geometry figure : AREA

17. Sets a price of : ASKS

18. Reckless : RASH

24. Vast, in verse : ENORM

29. Voting coalition : BLOC. They did not ask for my ID  when I voted in the primary two weeks ago. I did see the $10,000 fine warning for vote fraud.

30. Baptism, e.g. : RITE

31. Formal affair wear : TAILS

32. Singer Mann : AIMEE

34. Media mogul with a Presidential Medal of Freedom : OPRAH. I just cannot warm up to her.

35. Mars, to the Greeks : ARES

38. Drips on the driveway : OIL SPOTS

40. Move like ivy : CREEP

43. Run : MANAGE

47. Elementary bit : ATOM

48. Matthews of "Hardball" : CHRIS. Very aggressive.

49. Fab Four name : LENNON

50. Sanction : ALLOW

53. Leaves high and dry : STRANDS

56. Flier's printout : E-TICKET

60. Competition with slashing : PRICE WAR. Oh, price slashing.

63. 2001 honor for J.K. Rowling : OBE. Order of the British Empire.

65. Suffix with stamp : EDE

66. Much of Libya : SAHARA

68. Genetic messenger : RNA

69. "Maybe even less" : IF THAT. Can you give me an example of how the clue & answer match?

70. Catching position : CROUCH

71. Enjoyed some courses : DINED

73. It's usually not a hit : SIDE B

76. 2014 U.S. Senior Open winner Montgomerie : COLIN. Surly & annoying at times.

78. Diva highlights : SOLI

82. Jerks : BONEHEADS. Lovely entry.

84. Relay stick : BATON

86. Poet who feuded with Pope Boniface VIII : DANTE. Easy guess.

87. Off the mark : AMISS

90. Advanced degs. : PhDs

93. Bring up : REAR

94. 14-legged crustaceans : ISOPODS. I didn't know they have 14 legs.

95. Equipment : GEAR

96. Connect with : TIE TO

99. Signed off on : OKAYED

102. One of four singing brothers : ED AMES. All crosses.

104. Corporate division : SALES

106. Form of oxygen : OZONE

107. Comic strip frame : PANEL

108. Spew out : EGEST

110. Strong flavor : TANG

111. Mil. no-show : AWOL

112. Appetizer in una taberna : TAPA

113. Not leave things to chance : PLAN

118. Mortar trough : HOD. This little word used to stump me.

119. Word of support : YEA

120. One may be padded : BRA. Have you been in a relationship where the guy loves shopping bras with you?

121. Intention : AIM

122. Driving need? : TEE

C.C.

Saturday, Aug 23rd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,W)

Blocks: 32

   Well, I have to say I just smoked through this Silkie~!  The cluing was relatively unobscure, and there weren't too many cryptic answers, either.  It could be argued that I was on Mr. Silk's wavelength today....Triple 10-letter corners, with two 12-letter climbers on the inside today;

10. Significant butter component : SATURATED FAT - fairly certain it was going to end with "FAT"

20. 2005 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee : CARDBOARD BOX - it's a prize for some kids, and cats....link away~!

on-(Back?)-ward ~

ACROSS:

1. Pitcher's goal : SALE - Good start for me; I did not go with the baseball version

5. Natural wisdom : HORSE SENSE - Too bad there's little COMMON sense around these days

15. Pearl Buck heroine : OLAN - Forced readng in Junior High, and a crossword staple

16. Agents : EMISSARIES

17. Key not used alone : CTRL - on your computer

18. Great Pyramid of Giza material : LIMESTONES - eh, I wanted LIMESTONE, and it was too short - and this is not LIME STONES - those would be called 'seeds'

19. Tapped item : KEG - ah, not ALE

20. Gary, e.g. : CITY - In Indiana, e.g.

21. "I'm here to help" : "USE ME"

22. Like gross wages, e.g. : PRE-TAX

24. Plot component : ACRE - Oh, very good - I was thinking story plot, and the "R" filled via perps

26. Racing family name : UNSER

27. Ottoman officer : PASHA

29. Tripe : ROT - my first thought, but I did not fill it in

32. Measured roughly : PACED - HA~!  I "PACED" off the area for the benches, and came up with 39 feet; fortunately, I have a survey tape ( bought at a garage sale for $1 ), and I used that to verify - only 36' 6" of space.  The finished unit comes in at 36' 5" - HA~!

33. Surprise of a sort : UPSET - in sporting events usually

34. First name in Notre Dame football history : ARA

35. Collaborative educ. group : PTA - Saturday cluing

36. Initiate by purifying : BAPTIZE - Nailed it

38. Ringo Starr's drummer son : ZAK - I have linked him before - plays for A.S.a.P. - the side project of Adrian Smith, the guitarist from Iron Maiden

39. Fish with no pelvic fin : EEL - I went with "GAR"

40. Final notices : OBITs - Obituaries; I guess this is so common now that 'abbr.' is not needed

41. Buzz : DRONE

43. "Four Quartets" poet's monogram : TSE - T.S. Eliot

44. Appropriate : ALLOT - the verb, not the adjective

45. Seat of Cass County, North Dakota : FARGO

46. Mil. field rations : MREs - Meals, Ready-to-Eat

47. Slight arch : CAMBER - the only CAMBER I know is the automotive tire alignment version

 48. Use as an excuse : PLEAD

51. Coll. senior's exam : GMAT

53. Old Ford : LTD

54. Wedding figure : RING BEARER - there was a bridal shower at the restaurant Thursday night - skirts, legs and heels overload for me - sweated more watching them parade in than I did building the benches

57. Diet : FARE

58. Reasonably soon : IN GOOD TIME - Great fill

59. River to the Baltic : ODER - perps and a crossword regular

60. Certain copier supply : XEROX TONER - the second "X" was there from "...BOX", and once I put "PRIX" in, this was a gimme

61. Queen's subjects : BEES - not the one in England - er, well, there could be a queen bee there, too....

DOWN:
       
1. Shari Lewis creation : SOCK PUPPET - the Wiki on "Lamb Chop"

2. Subs : ALTERNATES - Substitutes, that is

3. Epic : LARGE SCALE

4. Like mil. volunteers : ENListed

5. Spring, perhaps : HELIX

6. Skip : OMIT - WAG

7. Frosted : RIMY - Wow; an extreme WAG that stayed

8. Weather report spec. : SSE - nice "ALTERNATIVE" for 'wind direction'

9. Slalom path segment : ESS - Ah; went with "LEG"

11. Jagged : EROSE

12. The digits in all but one of its two-digit multiples add up to it : NINE - OK, I got this, but I am not sure of the "one"; 18 (1+8), 27(2+7), 36(3+6)....so are we talking about 90(9+0)? - or 09?  Even three-digits, 108 = 1+0+8 = 9, etc.

13. Appear : SEEM

14. __ quam videri: North Carolina motto : ESSE

23. Basic top : TEE

24. It's worth one point in hockey statistics : ASSIST - God, only 6 weeks to go....

25. Bistro awning word : CHEZ

27. Ones who have class? : PUPILS - Har-Har

28. Is __: likely will : APT TO

29. It may be disposable : RAZOR BLADE - Nailed it - OK, the "Z" was there already

30. Grove grower : ORANGE TREE - the thing, not the farmer

31. Wait at the diner, perhaps : TAKE ORDERS - the staff that waits, not the customer

37. Fit : ABLE

42. Butter on a farm? : RAM - Butt-er

46. 1997 Nielsen title role : MAGOO - IMDb

47. Sympathetic sort : CARER

48. Grand __ : PRIX

49. Short note : LINE

50. Software pro, in want ads : ENGR - eh, OK.  ENGineeR

51. Beam : GRIN

52. Hand raiser's cry : "ME~! ME~!"

55. Va. summer setting : EDT

56. From __ Z : A TO

57. Watch chain : FOB

Oh, and one more thing - I have to add this pic, as there was some controversy over the use of "this" word in crosswords; seeing it on the package made me smile~!

 Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Tinbeni! Hope your gal pal makes it extra special for you today. Did you sneeze yesterday? Gary and I talked about you, of course! Thanks for the daily toast at sunset.

2) Boomer and I met with Husker Gary and his lovely wife Joann yesterday. Now I know why his students loved him. Just as he is on the blog, Gary is warm & witty. He also has a deep & resonant voice, very Joe Buck-y! Joann is a master gardener. They have an abundance of cucumbers and tomatoes this year. I've yet to see my first cucumber. Thanks for the great time, Gary, also for the red Go Big Red Huskers T-shirt. I felt your hug also, Marti!

 Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann

Gary & C.C.

Friday, August 22, 2014, Tom McCoy

Theme: Cross-referential Olympics; where is FORD LUXURY MODEL (15) when you need it?

I happened to solve Mr. McCoy's debut puzzle last November in the NYT and read his comments about referential clues, so I was somewhat prepared for this style of cluing where there is a hidden word which is the clue for all of the theme answers.  The theme fill are not clued at all until you get 23 down, MERCURY, which also has no independent clue. There are many puzzles being constructed where there is a "meta" solution, a style which is embraced by many especially MATT GAFFNEY. This is not a metapuzzle because the solution is part of the puzzle, but it is conceptually based on the same skills. So the strategy becomes, solve 23 down and then it is a simple definition puzzle. We had a run of Friday puzzles which were variations of the definition puzzle at this time last year (including one from marti, and one similar to today's from Mr. Wechsler) so you all should be ready. Once again we get a Friday with an intricate theme but high word count and many 3/4 letter fill to balance the inherent difficulty. In the longer fill, PEACOCK,  SKEWING,  WRESTLE, CORAL SEA,  LEBANESE, ANTEROOMS,  ESCAPE KEY stand out. This is Mr. McCoy's LAT debut (he has 5 solos at NYT since last November) and I hope he likes the environment and appreciates his audience. He was kind enough to provide some commentary on this puzzle and its genesis, which follows this writeup. Knowing this group and its opinion on cross referential puzzles, I expect many Thumper comments, and a few who will appreciate the simplicity of this grid, with all four theme answers being grid spanners which fill in nicely once you crack the code. It is Friday, so let us all put on our long pants and get to work.


17A. See 23-Down : NEIGHBOR OF VENUS (15). A planetary reference for Mercury.
Study: First rock from the Sun. It orbits the sun in 88 days.

27A. See 23-Down : BAROMETER FILLER (15). An elemental reference for Mercury.
Review: 80 on the periodic table. A neighbor from my childhood murdered his wife injecting mercury into her Nissen doughnuts. (Is the factory closed marti?) She was a big eater. He fed small amounts to himself and  his child and he was free until he got drunk and bragged.

45A. See 23-Down : ROCK STAR FREDDIE (15). A pop culture reference for Mercury.
Listen: (2:17) The voice of Queen, he died young, replaced by Adam Lambert who is a...fine singer.


58A. See 23-Down : DIVINE MESSENGER (15). A pagan mythological reference for Mercury.
Learn: Usually referenced as the 'winged messenger' because of the ankle wings.
and the 'reveal:

23D. Clue for 17-, 27-, 45- and 58-Across : MERCURY (7). They all work.

Across:

1. Draft order : PINT. Well Tin, we start right off with some Ale, and not an order to report for duty. Nice clue for 1A on a Friday.

5. "__-A-Lympics": '70s Hanna/Barbera spoof : LAFF. Really had to dig deep and use some perp help. I would imagine the cross with AKON might be a Natick for some. LINK.

9. "Wicked!" : SWEET. A really appealing clue/fill combo for our New England contingent. The " marks give it away.

14. It's pressed in a corner : ESCAPE KEY. I really liked the visual here. 54A. PC key : ALT. Once again we have our clue and a fill with the same word used in the same context (computer key).

16. Feature of some stickers : AROMA. Scratch and Sniff anyone?

19. "__ So Fine": Chiffons hit : HE'S.

20. Turkic flatbread : NAN. A variant spelling from what we are more accustomed to seeing. No Bobbsey twin on a Friday.

21. Conks out : DIES. Cars, engines etc., hopefully not people.

22. Disadvantage : CON. Pro vs. Con, are any of you list makers for decisions?

23. Cohort of Larry and Curly : MOE. Chairman, who did you pay for so much publicity this week?

24. Sound of disapproval : TSK. Back again so soon; I like to see the pair.

33. Hadn't settled yet : OWED. Being a NYT veteran, the cluing style is heavy with the less common definition of words, but we are all familiar with settling our debts.

34. Paul McCartney title : SIR.

35. Sierra __ : LEONE. An interesting country and history, now the center of the EBOLA outbreak with more than 250 deaths. LINK.

36. Watch readout abbr. : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

37. Showy flier : PEACOCK.I have never seen one fly in person though we have many here, and especially at Lion Country Safari. Really pretty sight.

40. Anguish : WOE. I am Friday's child.

41. Tickle : AMUSE. Now where do you keep your fancy?

43. ET carrier, supposedly : UFO. Unidentified Flying Object.

44. Graybacks : REBS. Not a term I know, but easy to guess since we all know the blue and the gray.

49. Elizabeth Darcy __ Bennet : NEE. Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen has her own WIKI.

50. Whatever : ANY. Three letters but I needed the perps.

51. Toy power sources : AAS. batteries.

52. Joint high-tech project : WIKI. A vague NYT type clue that is easy only if you have perped the W and the I, the K and the I. Is an online anything considered high-tech?


55. Altar line : I DO. It does alter your life.

63. Downed water, say : DRANK. Tin?

64. Some entryways : ANTEROOMS. I think all entryways are anterooms, not all anterooms are entryways.

65. Having bite : TANGY. I like horseradish.

66. Sister of Luke : LEIA. Star Wars' misguided twins. Mini-theme 26D. "Star Wars" surname : KENOBI. Obi Wan.

67. Tom, Dick and Harry, e.g. : TRIO. I liked these better. Before you go further, who are they?

Down:

1. See 15-Down : PENH. Wow more cross-references. At least there is a clue.15D. With 1-Down, Mekong River capital : PHNOM. Anyone been to Cambodia?

2. "That makes sense to me now" : I SEE said the blind the man.

3. Investigator in the USS Cole attack : NCIS. Not

4. Place for a price : TAG. My grandmother made tags in a factory in Southbridge after her husband died.

5. Some Tripoli natives : LEBANESE. Really interesting. The good news is LIBYANS is too short, but they both start with L.

6. One-named "Lonely" singer : AKON. His real name is Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam.  LISTEN.

7. Supportin' : FER. Not agin. More Lil Abner like speaking.

8. Author Dostoyevsky : FYODOR. Of all of his books , Notes from the Underground was my favorite even if Crime and Punishment is more well known.

9. Except : SAVE. Another NYT type clue, where it is quite correct, but not the usual definition of save. For all our resident poets, I would say it is artistic, "All was quiet, save the chirping of a single cricket."

10. Have difficulty dealing (with) : WRESTLE. I wrestled in grammar school, high school and college.

11. Length of a boring class, so it seems : EON. A new (vague) clue for a crossword staple.

12. Green-egg layer : EMU. I was unaware of this fact; now I know where Dr. Seuss got his inspiration. Kazie, did you have green eggs with your ham?

13. Ph.D. students, perhaps : TAS. Teaching Assistants.

18. Feudal land : FIEF. The word is the basis of the legal term Fee Simple, for real property ownership. If you want to read the HISTORY.

22. Whiting cousin : COD.  Another fishy clue. Cod being the base of most fast food fish dishes.

25. Impeded : SLOWED.

27. Claylike : BOLAR. My learning moment of the day, all perps. The word has not appeared in any puzzle since 1987!

28. "Pleeeeease?" : AW C'MON. Are their enough sports fans here to appreciate THIS. (2:49)

29. Turn down : REDUCE. It took a while, but it is like the volume on you car radio.

30. Don Quixote's aunt : TIA. Just Spanish for aunt.

31. Category : ILK.

32. Rizzuto's Brooklyn counterpart : REESE. Phil and PeeWee, Yankee and Dodger shortstops in the 50's and 60's. They were short but good. HOF material.

37. Foot, in anatomy : PES. Latin word, root word for pedicure, pedestrian etc. No sugar coated  knowledge dispensed here.

38. Not quite right : OFF. I am feeling a tad off today; maybe it was breathing in all the bug spray?

39. Great Barrier Reef setting : CORAL SEA. Off the NE corner of Australia, hopefully Kazie has some stories to tell.

42. Distorting : SKEWING.  I hope I don't skew this up; from the old French escuier: to shy away from.  "When ESPN does polls, the the results are always skewed."

44. Short streets? : RDS. Roads, 'short' meaning abbreviation.

46. Filming unit : TAKE. As in take a picture.

47. Sponge, e.g. : ANIMAL. Living creature.

48. Café customer : EATER. Man, I would rather see this clued Purple People ___.

53. Black : INKY. Another Pac-man shout out?

54. Italian wine region : ASTI. Spumante anyone?

55. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR. Nope not on my radar.

56. Prefix meaning "half" : DEMI. So she is half dark-skinned.

57. Estimate words : OR SO.

58. "Silent Spring" subj. : DDT. DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE

59. Roth __ : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

60. From, in Dutch names : VAN. When people started having surnames, they were often about what they did, who their father was or where they were from. De, Von and others.

61. Suffix with ethyl : ENE. She lived next door to Lucy.

62. "Kidding!" : NOT. I really loved when this fad was in. NOT!

I never know what Friday will bring, and once I got Mercury in the middle, I found this went quickly, overall a challenge and different cluing perspective. Welcome Mr. McCoy and be nice, I want to collaborate with him with a puzzle where Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna are theme answers. Lemonade out. Read his words....

 

Constructor notes:

I’m absolutely thrilled to make my LA Times debut!

In the original submission, the theme entries were NEIGHBOR OF VENUS, DIVINE MESSENGER, QUEEN LEAD SINGER, and METALLIC ELEMENT.  Rich Norris pointed out that METALLIC ELEMENT is not specific enough to make for a very good entry and that QUEEN LEAD SINGER doesn’t work because it really needs to include the name FREDDIE. The original grid also lacked MERCURY as an answer, which Rich realized could be placed in the center intersecting two themers. Therefore, I owe him a big thanks for improving the quality of the theme so much!

Thursday, August 21, 2014 Mark Feldman

Theme: "Speak!"

17-Across. Tarot card representing union : TWO OF CUPS.

24-Across. Brightening near a sunspot : SOLAR FLARE.

35-Across. Mixer? : BAR KEEPER. Great clue! And this is a scene with my favorite mixer.

49-Across. Ingredient that mimics the flavor of an edible fungus : TRUFFLE OIL. It really doesn't, though. I prefer real truffles, but have only had them on rare occasions.


And the reveal:
58. Checkers' speech? (or what are hidden in 17-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across) : DOG SOUNDS. Checkers is perhaps the most famous dog who never lived in the White House.

Very nice!  Well-hidden dog vocalizations: three split between two words, one hidden totally in the first word. I seem to have had a run of easy puzzles for the past few Thursdays. There may have been a couple trouble spots, but eventually perps revealed the correct answers.


Across

1. Travelocity user's request : AISLE. Nope, I prefer the window.

6. Get too personal : PRY.

9. Prepare a spread for : CATER.

14. Word after open, in retail : UNTIL.

15. Duvall's role in "Gods and Generals" : LEE. The movie focuses on Stonewall Jackson.

16. Rap sheet entry : CRIME.

19. Hobbles : LIMPS.

20. Wind that can be controlled : HORN. And then we have 18-Down. Trumpet protector : CASE. I sense a CSO to Jazzbumpa!

21. Chowed down : ATE.

22. Prairie home : TEEPEE.

23. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Singular ovum.

26. Genre that evolved from ska : REGGAE. Not to be confused with "raga."

29. Spanish article : LAS.

30. Wordless okay : NOD.

31. __ preview : SNEAK.

32. Leveling piece : SHIM.

34. Spruce cousins : FIRS.

38. Auto club amenities : MAPS.

41. Work for : EARN.

42. See 5-Down : SANTA. And 5-Down. 42-Across helper : ELF. Not much to go on here, except 5-letters and three-letters, with "helper," will almost always point to SANTA and his ELF. CSO to Argyle!

46. Mountain ending : EER. Mountaineer.

47. Inclined : APT. I am apt to agree...

48. Pantomime : ACT OUT. Oh, so that's what the little brats are doing at the supermarket when they can't get the candy they want?

53. Citi Field player : MET. Citi Field replaced Shea Stadium.

54. Set of devotional prayers : ROSARY.

55. Genetic stuff : RNA.

56. React to yeast : RISE. You won't get a rise out of me, yeast!

57. Time piece? : ISSUE. Cute misdirection.  The magazine, not the watch.

60. Nickel and dime : COINS. Straight-forward, but nice misdirection as well.

61. Lennon's love : ONO.

62. Swindler : CHEAT.

63. Cut drastically : SLASH.

64. Youngster : TOT. The ones doing pantomimes at the supermarket.

65. Low cards : TREYS. Three OF CUPS? It's meaning is joyful camaraderie.

Down

1. King and Queen : AUTHORS. Great misdirection.  Stephen KING. Ellery QUEEN was actually the pen name of two cousins: Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee, which were assumed names of Daniel Nathan and Manford Lepofsky. (Quiz, later.)

2. Meshed together : INWOVEN. This answer didn't mesh at first.

3. Place to put things : STORAGE. Simple!

4. Beast in the Royal Arms of England : LION. Lucky WAG.

6. Second-most-massive dwarf planet : PLUTO. The New Horizons probe will visit it next July.

7. Force back : REPEL.

8. __-man : YES. Or in Reggae, "Yeah, mon."

9. Symbols seen in viola music : C CLEFS.

10. "The Tempest" spirit : ARIEL.

11. Percussion instruments : TIMPANI.

12. Beethoven's last piano concerto, familiarly, with "the" : EMPEROR. Officially titled "Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73," it was dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolf. It was the English publisher  who called it "The Emperor" concerto. I only linked a portion - the full concerto is 45 min. long, and I am sure you would finish reading this post long before it was over!

13. Deals with a patchy lawn : RESEEDS.

22. __ steamer : TRAMP. TRAMP ships carry goods from one port to another, without any fixed schedule. They are still used today, but they no longer are powered by steam.

25. Stranger : ALIEN.

27. Yaks : GABS.

28. Letters in a dossier : AKA. Also Known As.

32. Do lutzes, say : SKATE. Here's an incredible quadruple lutz by Brandon Mroz. Now, that's skating!  0:19

33. The Beatles' "And I Love __" : HER.

34. Host of some off-campus parties : FRAT. With beer kegs and togas.

36. Wedding invitation request : REPLY.

37. "Abort!" key : ESC.ape.

38. Poet's art : METRICS.

39. Spray : AEROSOL.

40. Frederick the Great's realm : PRUSSIA.

43. Party choice : NOMINEE.

44. Time associated with graceful children : TUESDAY. I'm a Wednesday child. You?

Monday's child is fair of face,

TUESDAY's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

45. Swears (to) : ATTESTS.

47. From the beginning : AFRESH.

48. "That's a shame!" : ALAS.

50. Mythical goat-men : FAUNS.

Rubens

51. Academic Maine town : ORONO.

52. Gold brick : INGOT.

56. Oberhausen's region : RUHR. Germany.

58. Period, for one : DOT. It was already filled for me by the across answers, but did anyone want "era?"

59. Autumn mo. : OCT.ober. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you!!

And that's all I have to say about that...0:05

Marti