Saturday, Oct 11th, 2014, Tom Heilman

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 29

 The last time we saw a Saturday from Tom Heilman was back in July 2013, and we ended up in an extended discussion on the difference between hay and straw....today's puzzle did look intimidating, but once again a series of WAGs got me enough of a toehold to make the necessary adjustments and finish the grid within my personal time limit.  I will admit to a keyboard run to get my "ta-DA~!" at 42a - proper noun crossing an abbreviation.  Triple nine corners, a pair of stacked tens and two 12-letter climbers;

6d. "Sit" : TAKE A LOAD OFF

21d. Person with a warped mind, in slang : ONE SICK PUPPY

Drawno conclusions....

ACROSS:

 1. Most unwavering : STRICTEST

10. "Forget about it!" : "NO HOW~!" - Started with "NO WAY"

15. Canine issue : TOOTH ACHE - CAVITIES was too short

16. Previously in print? : ABOVE - took a minute to "get" this; e.g. "see above"

17. Standing guard : ON LOOKOUT

18. Pronged : TINED - educated WAG

19. __ roast : WEENIE - meh

20. Grandstand group : ROOTERS

22. Celebrated : RANG IN - I had a great time when I "RANG IN" the New Year for 2014; I am hoping it leads to something special, still

25. "Danny and the Dinosaur" author Hoff : SYD 

26. Marathon rtes., perhaps : AVEs

30. Botched (up) : LOUSED

32. Christmas catalog item : TOY - I loved the Sears catalog this time of year - I'd sit down and make my "list" complete with page numbers for Santa - do you still have my old lists, Argyle~?

34. Restaurant convenience : MEN'S ROOM - whereas a LADIES ROOM is a necessity....

36. Evening affair : SOIREE

38. Readily assuming different forms : PROTEAN - straight up definition; Dictionary says it's from the Greek sea god Proteus, who could change form

39. Like original Matchbox cars : DIE-CAST - I still have a case full of Hot Wheels; my original Matchbox cars are long gone

40. Got a chuckle out of : AMUSED

41. Rickety : DECREPIT

42. Ruman of "Stalag 17" : SIG - Yeah, the "S" was a letter run

43. Krona : öre :: ruble : __ : KOPECK - 1/100th of a "dollar" equivalent; Swedish & Russian currency

45. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO

46. 2008 Soderbergh biopic : CHE - I tried "ALI" first - bzzzt

48. Shooting ratios : F-STOPS - Camera settings, that kind of shooting

50. Immobilize, as with fear : PETRIFY - My sponsor's suggestion back in July petrified me; found out this Tuesday that he did NOT have all the facts, because he wasn't paying attention, so I fired him - first time in almost 9 years I had to do this; I am extremely happy I went with my gut instinct and did not follow through on the suggestion, but the issue is still unresolved.  Now I need a new sponsor to help me try again

52. First NFL Man of the Year Award recipient (1970) : UNITAS - Here's Johnny~!

57. Savannah sighting : ELAND - Total WAG, and it stayed

58. Chukka boot feature : CREPE SOLE - Learning moment for me - the Wiki

61. Actress Kemper of "The Office" : ELLIE - Did not watch much of the show; this girl

62. Small cookers : HOT PLATES

63. Enjoyed : LIKED

64. Stretch, say : STAY LOOSE

DOWN:

1. Pack : STOW

2. Mood indicator : TONE - Pondered "RING" at first

3. Something to fill : ROLE - HOLE and HOLD were not good enough

4. "Put __ my tab" : IT ON

5. Loft user : CHOIR - I had the "H" and the "R", and this was the only word that worked

7. Car starter? : ECO - eco-car

8. Moo __ pork : SHU

9. Game for shapeshifters? : TETRIS - Har-Har~!  You have to 'shift' the shapes in order to perpetuate the game - I play 3-D Tetris at UPS every morning, shifting 250+ parcels to fit in a van that only holds 200....

10. Defense gp. : NATO

11. Passing thoughts? : OBITs - This type of clue is filling in immediately for me now

12. Espionage strategies involving seduction : HONEY TRAPS

13. Goes too far : OVER DOES IT

14. Forms a union : WEDS

23. Morning's end : NOON

24. Orbit, for one : GUM - you lint licker~!

26. Oscars org. : AMPAS - New one to me; I thought "ASCAP", but that's music...then AFTRA, then the perps left me with AM-A-; I got the "P",   but....   the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

27. Food that's Italian for "little worms" : VERMICELLI - ewww~!

28. "Time to do something about this" : "ENOUGH TALK"

29. Former fliers : SSTs

31. One who acts : DOer

33. "... __ come" : YET TO

35. Really smell : REEK - There was a band that used to play the nightclub I worked at and they went by the name "REEKING HAVOC" - yes, they got it wrong, but it seemed to fit all the same....

37. Frozen treat : ICEE

39. Like New York's Chrysler Building : DECO

41. Case worker: Abbr. : DETective - that kind of case

44. Inspires, with "up" : PSYCHS

47. Orange Muppet : ERNIE - My brother is going as Ernie for one Halloween party, and then Barney Rubble for another - guess what I am going to wear....now all I need is a place to go - oh, if only someone would join me....   ;7(

49. Matt who scored the Jets only touchdown in Super Bowl III : SNELL - The Wiki

50. Spa option : PEEL - Tried PEDI first

51. Named : IDed

53. World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki : ISAO - The crossword friendly golfer

54. Movie pooch : TOTO - dah~! Not ASTA

55. Draft choices : ALES - ugh, I thought we were talking military here, and went "A ONE"

56. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - We have "se-seen" this before on Saturday

59. Break down : ROT

60. Flight stat : ETA

 Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

I'd like to share with you the "Border States" puzzle I made for the Chronicle of Higher Education. You can click here (the first one) for the puz file, or here to print out a PDF file. To solve on line, click here . 

I'm eager to see what area gives you the trouble and when you grok the theme. 

Spoiler alert: once you're done, you can go to Amy Reynaldo's blog for the write-up.  Those nice clues Pannonica mentioned are all the brainwork of editor Brad Wilber, our regular LAT Saturday constructor. When I first proposed the idea to Brad, the theme is quite thin. Brad helped me muscle up the core concept and build a grid I'm quite proud of.

Mark the CHE site. Next time you see my name (probably early next year), I'll be accompanying a blog regular, D-Otto (Tom), who's super efficient and fun to work with.

Friday, October 10, 2014, Jeb Bennett

Theme: Quick I need a Quip! Get the V-8 can ready.

Well in the old days quips and quotes always appeared on Thursdays, but here we are with second such theme in the last 30 days on my watch. This appears to be another debut puzzle, so welcome Jeb. I wonder if he like all the others I know or have heard of, is really something like James Edward Bennett, hence the JEB. Anyway, the secret to a quip, which generally are not that favored, is how cute the result is and "I couldn't figure why the ball was getting bigger, and then it hit me" is a really entertaining one. We also have fewer 3 and 4 letter fill and some sparkly in between fill HERLIHY,  LITHEST, HOTSHOTS,  SON-IN-LAW, CLIENTELE,  OVERDRAWN. So let us take a ride and see where Jeb brought us.

 20A. Start of an optical illusion quip : I COULDN'T FIGURE.
 24A. Quip, part 2 : WHY THE BALL WAS.
 46A. Quip, part 3 : GETTING BIGGER.
 52A. End of the quip : AND THEN IT HIT ME.

Across:

1. Dressage gear : CROP. This was harder than it should have been, but there were so many 3 letter possibilities for 1 down...I understood the show horse reference, but....

5. Sound of warning : HISS.

9. Repel, with "off" : STAVE.

14. Member of a '60s quartet : PAPA. Luckily I had put CPO in by the time I got here.

15. Competitive blade : EPEE. Very popular in the puzzles these days.

16. Projecting window : ORIEL.

17. Like an insufficient account : OVER DRAWN. British fiction leads one to believe that Brits live on their over-drafts.(draughts?).

19. Best-dressed goal? : NINES. To the nines and the other expression using nine are all mysterious. LINK.

22. Agnus __ : DEI.

23. Film dog's first name? : RIN. A reverse CSO for the TINman?

31. "A little __ the mightiest Julius fell": Horatio : ERE. The sentinels in Hamlet preparing the audience for the excitement to come. The belief was that the dead walked just before Julius Caesar was assassinated. Zombies anyone? MMMM Shakespeare. 9D. Duke of Albany, to Lear : SON-IN-LAW. I like this and of course love me a double dose of Shakespeare. He married Goneril and paid the price.

32. Rocket retired in 2011 : YAO. I do watch some basketball so this was EASY.

33. Cry for help : MAYDAY.Along with pommes de terre frits, something else we got from the French, from 'venez m'aider', which translates to "come help me". According to wiki, it was adopted by a British officer at Croydon airport.

35. "The Scream" artist : MUNCH. Edvard. You want to read an ANALYSIS? Or just look?

38. One in a cage : RIB. Cute clue, I think coined by Brendan Emmet Quigley.

40. Drive erratically : WEAVE. Mini-theme. 12D. Avoid a suddenly stopped car, say : VEER.

41. Like the thing not to do : UNCOOL.

43. Zip : NIL. A common soccer (football) score.

45. Org. with an elephant in its logo : GOP. Grand Old Party.

50. "No more seats" letters : SRO. Standing Room Only.

51. Cross shape : TAU.

60. Small songbird : VIREO. They seem cute and are popular in the mid-west I am told. LISTEN. (0:14)

61. Customers : CLIENTELE. Pronounced differently but letter for letter from the French for a group of clients.

63. Not showing much life : INERT.

64. Masseur's selection : OILS. My masseuse prefers watercolors.

65. Project : EMIT.

66. New beginnings : DAWNS. No Eos, this time.

67. Stout grain : MALT. The creation of stouts, which are actually stout porters, stems from the use of roasted grains, which makes the liquid dark. Stout referred to the higher alcoholic content.

68. Rip violently : REND. Then you must mend.

Down:

1. USN rank : CPO. Chief Petty Officer. 47D. 1-Down, for one : NON-COM. Non-commissioned officer.

2. Sitar master Shankar : RAVI. I like listening to his DAUGHTER.

3. Gp. that includes Venezuela : OPEC. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries:Venezuela was on of the 5 original founders; can you name the other 4?

4. Ridicule : PARODY. I do not like this paring as parodies generally have some warmth.

5. Ed who was the longtime voice of Kraft Foods : HERLIHY. Not sure why we would remember this man's name. OBIT.

6. FaceTime device : I-PAD. I-Phone, I I I I

7. Needled? : SEWN. Cute clue.

8. Nissan model : SENTRA. I like the new MODEL.


10. Subj. with many functions : TRIG. Cute.

11. Indigenous Japanese : AINU. Today's history LESSON.
 
13. End of a threat : ELSE.

18. Righteous Brothers hit, e.g. : DUET.Wasted a lot of time trying to recall a four letter hit.

21. Record, in a way : FILM. Not so much anymore. Maybe 8MM.

24. Squeezed : WRUNG.

25. From now : HENCE.

26. Spot for a stud : EAR. What do you think ladies?

27. Spring sound : BOING. 

28. River to the Severn : WYE. It separates England and Wales; but I defer to Steve and NC for real commentary.

29. Saw : ADAGE. Oh, that old saw....

30. Relish : SAVOR. Do you relish relish?

31. Flightless zoo bird : EMU. They are flightless when not in a zoo as well.

34. "Okey-doke!" : YEP. I am an okey dokey smokey man myself.

36. "M*A*S*H" set piece : COT. Where Hawkeye, Trapper John and their roommates often interacted. At first when I had CO_, my mind went to cod piece...

37. Up-and-comers with egos : HOT SHOTS. Charlie Sheen? Tom Cruise?

39. Catcher behind a plate? : BIB. I have seen this clue/fill before, but it still rings hollow for me, as my bib are opposite the plate, protecting my shirt and tie.

42. Old Italian capital : LIRE. No Friday solver will fall for this old trick.

44. Most supple : LITHEST. A fun word, unless you lisp. Diana Rigg always looked lithe as Mrs. Peel; guys who would you nominate?

48. Profit : GAIN.

49. Water catcher : GUTTER.

52. Enthusiastic : AVID.

53. 1492 caravel : NINA. It was easy to guess because of the date, but it was a new WORD.

54. Took from the deck : DREW. Just not from the bottom,  please.

55. Gull-like bird : TERN.

56. Pelvic bones : ILIA. My favorite I[l]lya. LINK. (1:47).

57. Spot for ten-spots : TILL. Nice layered clue, with the advent of credit cards and electronic cash registers, the word is not heard much anymore.

58. Fast-spreading Internet phenomenon : MEME. It is fascinating to have lived for many years without this word, which comes from an ancient Greek CONCEPT. I was watching a rerun from the first year of Criminal Minds and the characters were being told what a "viral" video was. So much changes in 10 years, and our age group sees the before and after.

59. Nordegren who married Tiger Woods in 2004 : ELIN. She was Jasper Parnevik's nanny, and now she is fabulously wealthy as well as being...after two children.

62. Flight board abbr. : ETD. Estimated Time of Departure. Well it is my exact time of departure, as another week has gone by. This is the anniversary of the birth of my paternal grandmother, so to all the departed grandparents out there, rest well and enjoy the puzzles. Happy holidays and get ready for Columbus Day coming soon.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 9, 2014 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: "No rubbernecking!"


17-Across. *Tricky puzzle : BRAIN TEASER.

37-Across. *"Let me give it a shot?" : CAN I TRY.

59-Across. *Historic route west : OREGON TRAIL.

11-Down. *Unvarnished facts : PLAIN TRUTH.

And the reveal:

29-Down. Calamity, and what's literally hidden in the answers to starred clues : TRAIN WRECK.

Each starred entry has the letters in T-R-A-I-N all jumbled up.  Fun reveal, but I didn't need it to get the theme entries. When I came across the clue, I just glanced at what was already filled in: Check! Anagram puzzle!


Across

1. Kid-lit classic "__, Plain and Tall" : SARAH. A story of grief, loneliness and abandonment. Kid-lit? Really?

6. Dust Bowl refugees : OKIES. Think of the Joad family here.

11. Part of many a texting request : PLS. Short for "please."

14. Unborn, after "in" : UTERO.

15. "It's a Wonderful Life" director : CAPRA. Ah, my favorite movie, and personal mantra.

16. Pitcher rim : LIP. I am getting gun-shy, and was actually thinking of a baseball pitcher!

19. Tenn. neighbor : ALA.bama.

20. Commuter's woe : JAM.

21. Astronomy : Urania :: poetry : __ : ERATO. Respective muses.

22. Basic chord : TRIAD.

24. City between Paris and Marseille : LYON. Map.

25. "Just this time ..." : FOR ONCE.

27. Mensa membership consideration, perhaps : IQ TEST. There are many different tests that would qualify you for membership, so "perhaps" is appropriate in this clue.

30. Most plucky : GAMEST. Not to be confused with "gamiest."

31. Myanmar, formerly : BURMA.

32. SeaWorld attraction : ORCA.

33. Stonestreet of "Modern Family" : ERIC. Never saw the show, so was not familiar with this actor, who plays Cameron Tucker.

36. Actress Wasikowska : MIA. Never knew the name of this actress, who played Alice in Tim Burton's movie version of "Alice in Wonderland." Needless to say, this section relied heavily on perps!

40. __ Today : USA.

41. Essentially fat-free : SKIM.

43. Credit report blot : REPO.ssession.

44. Film with dusty streets, typically : OATER.

46. Seconds flat : NO TIME. I really wanted "in" at the beginning.

48. Eight dry gallons : BUSHEL.

49. "Hiya!" : HOWDY DO. Let's sing to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay":

It’s Howdy Doody time

It’s Howdy Doody time

Bob Smith and Howdy too

Say “HOWDY DO” to you

Let’s give a rousing cheer

’Cause Howdy Doody’s here

It’s time to start the show

So kids, let’s go!

51. Genesis creator : SEGA. Arcade game, not the bible book...

52. Pasture measures : ACRES.

53. User's shortcut : MACRO.

55. Meditation beginning? : PRE. Premeditation.

58. Marine pronoun : SHE. I'm sure that Spitzboov has linked the explanation of "SHE" referring to ships before, but I couldn't find it.

62. Noir hero : TEC. The '40s-'50s era of crime drama films often involved a detective ("TEC") or undercover cop .

63. Large jazz combo : NONET.

64. Tourist __ : MECCA.

65. Origin of an egg-shaped spaceship : ORK. "Mork and Mindy" ran from 1978-82. RIP Robin Williams.

66. Locations : SITES.

67. Praise : EXTOL.


Down

1. Alg. or geog. : SUBJ.ect.

2. Razor brand : ATRA.

3. 20 quires : REAM. Factoid: The quire got its name from Old English "quare," meaning "by fours." Four sheets of vellum or parchment would be folded in half -giving a total of 8 sheets, or 16 sides. When pulp paper made it easier to stitch pages together, this meaning was quickly lost, and a quire usually contained 24 or 25 sheets. The modern ream is made up of 500 sheets, or 20 quires.

4. First name in shipping : ARI. Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate.

5. Bee's nectar reservoir : HONEY SAC. I never heard this term.  It is also called a "honey stomach."

6. Vast expanse : OCEAN.

7. Longtime pitcher Jim with the nickname "Kitty" : KAAT. I defer to people who know more about baseball than the fact that it does, indeed, require a baseball for the game. Here's the wiki.

8. By its very nature, in law : IPSO FACTO. The embedding of a wiki link does not, IPSO FACTO, turn me into a baseball expert!

9. Afore : ERE.

10. "Being and Nothingness" philosopher : SARTRE. Jean Paul.

12. Fragrant bloom : LILAC. I have both white and purple ones on my property.

13. Fictional falcon seeker : SPADE. Sam Spade, "The Maltese Falcon."

18. Relaxed pace : TROT. Unless you are trying to find the W.C.

23. Left the runway : ROSE.

24. Apollo lander, briefly : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.

26. General Bradley : OMAR. One of the very few five star generals in U.S. history.

27. AT and PS/2 computers : IBMS.

28. Nestlé __ : QUIK.

30. Complain : GRIPE.

32. "Be right with you" : ONE MOMENT. I had to check perps before deciding between "minute" or MOMENT.

34. "Ah! Say no more" : I SEE.

35. Poet Sandburg : CARL. One of my favorites is this poem:

Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

38. Like New Mexico's climate, largely : ARID.

39. "Darned if I know!" : YOU GOT ME.

42. Style : MODE.

45. Cool-cucumber link : AS A.

47. Poultry magnate John et al. : TYSONS.

48. Alpine capital : BERN. Béarnaise sauce is also sometimes spelled "Bernaise," leading people to believe that it originated in Bern, Switzerland. But there is no truth to that. Béarnaise is strictly of French origin.

49. Must : HAS TO.

50. Yellowish pigment : OCHER. RGB 204.119.34

51. Highland Games participants : SCOTS.

54. "A Death in the Family" author : AGEE. Such a vowel-friendly name.

55. Agreement : PACT.

56. Wealthy, in Juárez : RICO.

57. Ben Gurion airline : EL AL.

I totally missed these last two clechos, because I had filled them in with the across answers:
60. King at Versailles : ROI.
and
61. King in old Rome : REX.

Tag, you're it!

Marti

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Dark Matters - or who turned the light out?

17A. Rooftop energy generators : SOLAR PANELS. If there's one part of the country where it should be a no-brainer installing these it's where I live, Southern California.

27A. Removable denture : PARTIAL PLATE. You probably don't want to go and Google the images of one of these.

43A. Apollo 11 achievement : LUNAR LANDING. This was the first time that BBC Television broadcast live at night in the UK, so huge excitement for us kids. It was about 4AM GMT that Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder.

58A. Eidetic memory : TOTAL RECALL. A phrase-learning moment for me. Eidetic: "relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and detail, as if actually visible.". I'd resolve to use it in a sentence today but that's probably going to be a bit of a stretch.

35D. 17-, 27-, 43- and 58-Across begin with types of them : ECLIPSES

Oh wait - wrong kinds of Eclipse!

There, that's better.

Morning all - Steve here, with the pleasure of introducing Jeff's own "Game of Shadows". It took me a little longer than usual - I had to leave the NW corner alone and go back to it at the end. The "1919" reference at 1A had me thinking of the World Series scandal for some reason and it took every cross to stop me trying to shoehorn (!) "Shoeless Joe" in there somehow. Eventually sanity prevailed, but it wasn't an eidetic moment.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Subject of a historic 1919 sports deal, with "The" : BABE. The beginning of "The Curse" for the Red Sox.

5. Type of large TV : PLASMA. It's funny how quickly "hot" technology is superseded these days. Panasonic are closing their last plasma TV production facility this year.

11. Pre-LCD screen : CRT. Coincidence? It's LCD technology that's putting plasma out to grass.

14. Enthusiastic : AVID. TV tech mini-theme. Avid is also one of the world's leading manufacturers of TV post-production editing equipment.

15. Virgil epic : AENEID. Nailed it!

16. Informal greeting : HEY

19. Hieroglyphics snake : ASP. New-to-me clue which is much fresher than the "Nile biter" of yore.

20. Standard deviation symbol : SIGMA. Had to dig into my statistics class memory for this one.

21. Picked-up pickup, perhaps : REPO. Crosses filled this, I didn't see the cute clue until just now.

22. On the level : TRUE

23. Keats' "__ to a Nightingale" : ODE. The nightingale's song is a lovely part of the dawn chorus

24. Hopper : BIN

26. Markets : SELLS

31. Marseille menu : CARTE. Food! You'll find bouillabaisse on a Marseille menu. Now there's a handy crossword word, no?

33. College Football Playoff gp. : NCAA. We've seen a lot of this recently. It is a darn handy abbreviation though.

34. Image on a 42-Down, briefly : TAT. "If you're getting one, I'll get a tat too".

35. TV hillbilly __ May Clampett : ELLY. Thank you crosses. Before my (USA) time.

36. Looks toward : FACES

38. Opening night nightmares : PANS. Not bouillabaisse cook pots? Darn!

39. Lovey-dovey murmur : COO

40. Surrounding glow : AURA. The corona around a full solar eclipse could be described as an aura.

41. Peter or Paul : SAINT

46. Latin clarifier : ID EST. i.e. an additional explanation.

47. Fearful squeal : EEK

48. Dr.'s group : A.M.A. American Medical Association.

51. Medium rare : PINK. Food! You order a steak medium-rare, you order your lamb pink. Why? Because! If you're in Marseille you'd call it "à point". If you want to get thrown out of the restaurant and chased down the street by the chef brandishing a sharp knife, you'd order it well-done ("bien cuit") and then ask for ketchup.

52. Farrier's file : RASP

55. Restrict : LIMIT

57. Witness : SEE

60. Kin of -trix : ESS. I was trying to think of how to explain this to a family audience and decided I can't. So I'm left with "Dominatrix Goddess" which I think sums it up rather nicely.

61. Geometric figure with equal angles : ISOGON. I think I learned this today. I don't think I ever knew there was a word to describe a regular polygon beyond an equilateral triangle.

62. Sicilian rumbler : ETNA

63. AL and MO : STS. I've visited the fine states of both Missouri and Alabama.

64. Tropical fruit : PAPAYA. Food! I like Jeff's puzzles.

65. Peters out : DIES

Down:

1. Opera villain, often : BASSO. If he's deeply villainous, is he a basso profondo?

2. Skirt : AVOID

3. Poppycock : BILGE

4. Dutch export : EDAM. And a mighty fine export it is.

5. Mushy food : PAP. Aaaw, burst my Food! bubble. I put POI first.

6. Absorbed, as lessons : LEARNT. I think this is much more elegant than LEARNED, in a similar way that I prefer DREAMT to DREAMED.

7. Ill-fated Boleyn : ANNE

8. Ooze : SEEP

9. "Bloom County" reporter : MILO

10. They often adorn city buses : ADS

11. Fraud : CHARLATAN. Great word.

12. Consequential : RESULTANT

13. Prepares for printing : TYPESETS. Does anyone actually typeset any more with the disappearance of hot metal, or is the process of computer-based layout design still called typesetting?

18. Morocco's capital : RABAT. A short ocean voyage through the Straits of Gibraltar and a scenic cruise off the south-east coast of Spain and before you know it you'll be waving at Les Marseillaises eating bouillabaisse.

22. __ Aviv : TEL. At the opposite end of the Mediterranean from Marseille.

25. Filled with rage : IREFUL. Hmmm. Not convinced about this one.

26. Relaxing getaway : SPA

27. Get too personal : PRY

28. Peruvian of yore : INCAN

29. Big shot in the sky : ACE.  A fighter ace, like this one:

30. Glasgow gal : LASSIE

31. Least fair, in a way : CLOUDIEST. Weather-related.

32. State of seclusion : ALONENESS. Had ANONYMITY first, which fit with the A**N* that was already there.

37. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA. Parseghian has a star cluster named after him? Awesome! Go Irish! :)

38. Oinker : PIG

40. Museum filler : ART. I think the artists might be miffed to discover their masterworks are mere "filler".

42. Common 34-Across site : ANKLE

44. Query : ASK

45. Position strategically : DEPLOY

48. Cremona craftsman : AMATI. One day, I'm going to be able to unerringly fill this one in without waiting for perps, nor wondering if I'm confusing it with that darn bell town.

49. "Now We Are Six" author : MILNE. I will never forgive Disney for what they did to A.A.Milne's wonderful prose and verse and E.H.Shepard's whimsical illustrations.

50. Geography volume : ATLAS

52. Santa __: Sonoma County seat : ROSA. I'm heading up north for a few days of food and wine tasting at the Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival of Harvest in Santa Ynez this weekend. Food! Wine! Yay!

53. At the apex of : ATOP

54. The "Star Wars" films, e.g. : SAGA

56. Like most cupcakes : ICED. Tinbeni - call it "frosting" and you'll be fine

58. Helpful hint : TIP

59. Messenger __ : RNA

That's me done - hope you enjoyed the puzzle as much as I did. See you all next time!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Jayce, whose presence here on the blog is a huge comfort to me. Jayce speaks Mandarin Chinese and is married to a lovely lady from Hong Kong where Cantonese is spoken. 

Jayce is super observant and caring. His comment yesterday "You, Ron, great job again!" is a good example. Ron likes to write "I, Ron" when he sees IRON in a puzzle.

Click here for a few more photos of Jayce and his wife, both serious foodies like our Steve. Something is going on in Marseille :-)

Wedding Day

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 Ron Toth & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: And here's the pitch - Musically, that is. I think.

26D. Sheet music quintet, and with 31-Down, what the first letters of 16-, 22-, 36-, 45- and 56-Across represent : STAFF. 31D. See 26-Down : LINES

16A. Symbol of a good try : E FOR EFFORT

22A. Movie for all : G-RATED FILM

36A. Straight-A student's bane : B-PLUS

45A. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" author : D. H. LAWRENCE

56A. Noted O.J. Simpson attorney : F. LEE BAILEY

Argyle here. A lot of entries for a Tuesday but not a problem for our constructors a due. If you don't recognize Ron, it's our own JzB. The two climbers are as long as the theme entries but not much chance of mistaking them for theme. Good job on the fill. The quintet is in order but I still don't understand musical notation, though. Your results may vary.

Across:

1. 18th Greek letter : SIGMA. Carries the 's' sound.

6. Instagram account creator : USER. I know as little about Instagram as I do music.

10. Gunpowder container : KEG. The number of kegs we've had lately, Zed may have it wrong.

13. Contest submission : ENTRY

14. Campus sports gp. : NCAA. (National Collegiate Athletic Association)

15. Call, retro-style : DIAL

18. To be, to Cato : ESSE. Some Latin.

19. Just okay : SO-SO

20. Place to apply gloss : LIP

21. Use unwisely, as time : WASTE

26. Organ near the stomach : SPLEEN

29. Playground threat : "I'LL TELL!"

32. Rips : TEARS

33. Clash of clans : FEUD

34. Ornamental pond fish : KOI

35. JFK postings : ARRs. (arrivals)

38. Show sleepiness : YAWN

39. Christmas tree : FIR

40. Follow one's new job, in Realtor-speak : RELO

41. Private student : TUTEE

42. Go up alone : FLY SOLO

44. Persian Gulf ships : OILERS

48. Gaze intently : STARE

50. Before, to Frost : ERE

51. Like skyscrapers : TALL

55. Bee flat? : HIVE. Cute.

59. Bone-dry : ARID

60. Bartlett cousin : BOSC Pears.

61. Like the man of one's dreams : IDEAL

62. Marry : WED

63. ''Yeah, sure!'' : "I BET!"

64. Tractor maker : DEERE

Down:

1. Goes out with : SEES

2. Data : INFO

3. Classic Pontiacs : GTOs

4. "Won't you be my neighbor?" TV host : MR. ROGERS

5. Nautical consent : AYE

6. Not up to the job : UNFIT

7. Check (out) : SCOPE

8. Musical skill : EAR. Another theme reference.

9. Singer in an interrogation room? : RAT. Ok, this "singer" isn't musically related.

10. Musical inspired by "The Taming of the Shrew" : "KISS ME KATE". Originally produced in 1948 on Broadway. It garnered five Tony Awards in 1949.

11. Fort Worth-to-Dallas direction : EAST

12. Merriment : GLEE

15. Passed out cards : DEALT

17. Caramel-topped custard dessert : FLAN

21. Like some very bad pitches : WILD. And here we combine music and baseball.

23. Legal matter : RES

24. God, in Grenoble : DIEU

25. Reasons for school absences : FLUs. Shortened form of influenzas.

27. Danger : PERIL

28. "Seinfeld" co-creator : LARRY DAVID

30. Farther down : LOWER

33. Progressive Insurance spokeswoman : FLO. If you haven't seen Flo, I won't be the one to break your bliss.

36. "Dracula" star Lugosi : BELA

37. Furrow the fields : PLOW

38. Christmas season : YULETIDE

40. Part on stage : ROLE

41. Muscle spasm : TIC

43. Destroy, as files : SHRED

44. Premium plane seat, usually : ONE B

46. Pee Wee in Brooklyn : REESE. Great shortstop.

47. Upright : ERECT

48. "Pygmalion" playwright : SHAW. George Bernard Shaw.

49. Radial __ : TIRE

52. Out of the wind : ALEE

53. Goneril's father : LEAR

54. Country singer Lovett : LYLE. He's more than just country.

56. Source of DVD warnings : FBI

57. Easy throw : LOB

58. Help out : AID

Argyle


Notes from C.C.:

As Argyle mentioned earlier, Ron Toth is our own Jazzbumpa. We made two puzzles earlier this year, and were lucky to get both accepted. This is actually our first puzzle. The second one was published in August.

We initially had NOTES  as a reveal entry. Rich, who is a pianist, pointed out (via Patti) that "EGBDF are more than just NOTES... they represent the LINES on the treble clef STAFF. Happily, those two words are 5 letters; hopefully you can find symmetric places for them in the grid."


As his blog write-ups show, Ron is very creative, witty and hardworking. I had fun working with him.

Monday, October 6, 2014 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: You'll never get rich by digging a ditch - Four places that need ditches dug. Because We're in the Army Now!

17A. Letter-routing number : POSTAL CODE. Harrisburg Military Post.

27A. Can in an Andy Warhol painting : CAMPBELL'S SOUP. Camp Beauregard.

47A. World Series setting : BASEBALL FIELD. Naval Base Point Loma.

62A. California Gold Rush figure : FORTY-NINER. Fort Gordon.

60D. Soldier's group, a member of which might be stationed at the start of 17-, 27-, 47- or 62-Across : ARMY. Two states have no Army posts: New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Cpl. Argyle here. Let's see, we had Fort Dix and we broke camp. We have plenty of posts. I'm not off base saying this cruciverbalistic army has got this Monday down. Thanks, Jerome. Tight themeage; first part of a two word entries. Good pace.

Across:

1. Club joke teller : COMIC

6. Misfortunes : ILLS

10. Motel worker : MAID

14. Traditional Pennsylvania barn raisers : AMISH

15. Tide type : NEAP

16. Ploy : RUSE

19. Overly submissive : MEEK

20. Poker hand prize : POT

21. Thai language : LAO

22. Baker that "nobody doesn't like" : SARA LEE

24. __ cum laude : SUMMA. (with highest honor)

26. Beer barrel : KEG

32. __ New Guinea : PAPUA

                        World Atlas

33. Hairy Addams cousin : ITT

34. Norwegian capital : OSLO

36. Fancy flower vase : URN

37. Hat for a Western hero : STETSON

41. Former Mideast alliance: Abbr. : UAR. (United Arab Republic)

42. Emily Dickinson, e.g. : POET

44. Apt name for a painter : ART

45. How the elated walk : ON AIR

51. "2001" computer : HAL

52. Mars neighbor : EARTH

53. Traveled around 52-Across, say : ORBITED

57. Mates for mas : PAs

58. Chicken __ king : À LA

61. Fight-or-flight emotion : FEAR

65. Fly like a butterfly : FLIT

66. Reverse : UNDO

67. Early morning hr. : ONE AM

68. Heavy drinkers : SOTS

69. Jump : LEAP

70. Yellowish-brown : TAWNY

Down:

1. Dogpatch creator Al : CAPP

2. Melville novel : OMOO

3. Light fog : MIST

4. Suffix with Marx : IST

5. Fried Taco Bell offerings : CHALUPAS. Chalupas are made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold, in the process creating a concave container resembling the boat of the same name, and then deep frying the result to produce crisp, shallow corn cups. These are filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, or green salsa. ~ Wikipedia. Any resemblance to the Taco Bell offering?

6. It may be gross or net : INCOME

7. MGM mascot : LEO, the Lion.

8. Boys : LADS

9. Has a talk with : SPEAKS TO

10. Nearsighted toon : MR MAGOO

11. "The Mammoth Hunters" author Jean : AUEL

12. "Got it" : "I SEE"

13. Fake on the ice : DEKE. 'Juke" on the gridiron.

18. Ram's offspring : LAMB

23. Hi-__ monitor : RES

24. Church-owned Texas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

25. Not very much : A LITTLE

27. Chocolate substitute : CAROB

28. Sleep disorder : APNEA

29. Ranks for Columbo and Kojak: Abbr. : LTs. (lieutenants) TV detectives.

30. Customary : USUAL

31. Tartan pattern : PLAID. Maybe you can find your tartan here.

32. Coyote's offspring : PUP

35. Hockey legend Bobby : ORR

38. Enough food for a feast : TABLEFUL

39. Mesozoic or Paleozoic : ERA

40. "That's a fact" rebuttal : "NO, IT'S NOT"

43. Saloon souvenirs : T-SHIRTS

46. Old Testament book before Esth. : NEH. (Nehemiah)

48. Break bread : EAT

49. Computer on an airplane tray table : LAPTOP

50. Unravel at the edge, as threads : FRAY

53. Switch positions : OFFs

54. Move, in real estate lingo : RELO. (ReLocate)

55. Switch partner : BAIT

56. Fully cooked : DONE

58. All over again : ANEW

59. Low in fat : LEAN

63. Old vitamin bottle no. : RDA. (Recommended Dietary Allowances)

64. Once __ while : IN A

Argyle

Sunday October 4, 2014 Jake Braun

Theme: "Say Ah" - "Ah" sound is added to each theme entry.

23A. Haggling over a parrot purchase? : POLLY BARGAINING. Plea bargaining.

48A. Hug in the pool? : WATER CARESS. Watercress. The added sound is a schwa sound for me.

73A. Excitement about boxing practice? : SPARRING FEVER. Spring fever.

97A. Venue for unwise investments? : FOLLY MARKET. Flea market. Similar to 23A.

126A. Post-Renaissance gal pals? : TWO BAROQUE GIRLS. 2 Broken Girl. Also a schwa sound for me.

16D. Walden Pond headrest? : THOREAU PILLOW. Throw pillow.

60D. Cold spell in Manama? : BAHRAIN FREEZE. Brain freeze.

Hey, we have another new constructor!  I did not find Jake Braun's name in our blog labels. Sunday puzzles are very challenging to make, the sheer size is daunting. I'm always in awe when others make their debut on a Sunday.

This type of sound change is always hard for me, as my English is very Chinese. I pronounce ISIS as "Asses".  I wish the White House and newspapers would stop dignifying those thugs with ISIL.

Across:

1. Rush order shorthand : ASAP

5. Heart, basically : PUMP

9. Expand : SWELL

14. Prefix with sexual : METRO. Metrosexual like Clooney. Armani all the way.

19. 1944 invasion city : ST LO

20. Eye part containing the iris : UVEA

21. Salk vaccine target : POLIO

22. "... O, be some __ name": Juliet : OTHER

 

26. Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, e.g. : MAORI

27. Domestic sci. : HOME EC

28. Crunch's rank : CAP'N

29. Get real? : COME TRUE. Nice clue/answer.

31. In the style of : A LA

32. MGM motto word : ARS

34. Acknowledge quietly : NOD TO

37. Last word of Kipling's "If—" : SON. Can you recite the whole poem, Yellowrocks? Also, have you tried long beans? They're very good with almonds too. You should find them at Asian grocery stores.

38. Big picture?: Abbr. : ENL (Enlarged)

39. Rapper __ Jon : LIL

40. Sounds of uncertainty : HAWS

42. Pizazz : OOMPH

44. Bluesy James : ETTA

46. Overflow : TEEM

51. Forgets the words, maybe : HUMS. What's your favorite song to sing in the shower?

54. Story set to music : BALLAD

56. One may be wired : NARC

57. Each : A POP

58. Capital near Casablanca : RABAT

61. Easy-to-make breakfast brand : EGGOS

64. Ding Dong relative : HO HO

66. Cairo's river : NILE

67. Does a classroom chore : ERASES

69. Gutter locale : EAVE

70. Saintly : ANGELIC. That's Argyle, who just got his second puzzle accepted by the NY Times. His first one was published last Oct. He has a 100% acceptance rate with the NYT!

72. "Phooey!" : BAH

78. Tennis do-over : LET

79. DVD box caution : UNRATED

81. Takei role : SULU

82. Capital of Pakistan's Punjab province : LAHORE

84. North __ : STAR

85. Something you break when you leave it : CAMP. Tricky for me. Never been to a camp.

88. Goolagong rival : EVERT (Chris)

90. World __ : POWER

91. Leave : EXIT

92. Kindle competitor : NOOK

94. More spine-tingling : EERIER

96. Level-headed : SANE

100. Makes a move : ACTS

104. Diamond irregularity : FLAW

106. Alpine Austrian state : TYROL. We just had this yesterday. Innsbruck is its capital. Marti mentioned she stayed there last year.

107. Entry level pos. : ASST

109. Item on a Billboard list : HIT

110. Certain camera, for short : SLR

112. Hamm of soccer : MIA. Bill G, next time you bump into her, just say "Hello Mia, my name is Bill, do you solve crosswords? Your name appear there often." Maybe you should print out this puzzle and get her autographed.

114. Medicare section : PART B

116. Spotted : SAW

117. Physician's org. : AMA

118. Lively folk dances : HOEDOWNS

121. Fictional plantation : TARA

123. More risky : DICIER

125. "It's my concern ..." : I FEAR

130. "Zoom-Zoom" sloganeer : MAZDA

131. Artist's aid : EASEL

132. "I'm __ here!" : OUTA

133. Durable wood : TEAK

134. Great buy : STEAL. I normally find some spectacular stuff at flea markets, not this year.

135. Fries-to-be : SPUDS

136. Movie critic Pauline : KAEL. Never read her reviews. Was she harsh?

137. Pacing, perhaps : EDGY

Down:

1. Road crew supply : ASPHALT

2. Info provider : STOOLIE

3. Like many barbershop quartets : ALL MALE. And4. Barbershop symbol : POLE

5. Barhopping tour : PUB CRAWL. I used to barhop all the time. Guangzhou is full of great bars & great food.

6. Sch. founded by Jefferson : UVA

7. Grand Marquis, for short : MERC

8. Certain polytheist : PAGAN

9. PR specialist: SPIN DOC

10. Acquired : WON

11. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : ELI

12. Omar's "Mod Squad" role : LINC

13. Firm symbols : LOGOS

14. Point in time : MOMENT

15. State, to Jacques : ETAT

17. "Breaking Bad" marathon component, e.g. : RERUN

18. Cantilevered window : ORIEL

24. Word repeated after "She loves you," in a '60s hit : YEAH

25. "It's __ sort of memory that only works backward": Carroll : A POOR

30. Homer's watering hole : MOE'S. I'm amazed by Chairman Moe's prediction on Ryder Cup. He said on Sept 26: "My not so welcome or popular prediction: Final Score after Sunday, Euro's 17, Yank's 11".  The result: 16½ points vs 11½.

33. Low area : SWALE

35. IRS employee : T-MAN

36. Long-running talk show : OPRAH

41. Play producer : STAGER

43. Sub in a bag : HERO

45. Macbeth, vis-à-vis Glamis : THANE. The Thane of Glamis.

47. Grad school degs. : MBAs

49. Award named for a mystery writer : EDGAR

50. Chilled soup : SCHAV. Cold sorrel dish. Never had it. I don't think I've had sorrel before.

52. "Le Misanthrope" playwright : MOLIERE. His Chinese name sounds very sad.

53. Ghost : SPECTER

55. '50s nuclear trial : A TEST

58. Puzzles in the game show "Concentration" : REBUSES

59. Three-time French Open champ __ Sánchez Vicario : ARANTXA. No idea. Looks harder to pronounce than my Zhouqin.

62. Prefix with sac : OVI

63. Sixth __ : SENSE

65. Scott Turow work : ONE L. One of the few English books I've read.

68. Job detail : SPEC

71. Pinot, for one : GRAPE

74. Fictional bell town : ADANO

75. Mate : GUV

76. Baseball card brand : FLEER. Bygone brand. Nowadays only Topps and Upper Deck.

77. "I have it!" : EUREKA

80. Soviet cooperative : ARTEL. I forgot. Wiki said this term was used "between the 1860s through 1950s".

83. Circle dance : HORA

86. Jump out of one's skin? : MOLT. Cute clue.

87. Coral component : POLYP

89. Head lock : TRESS

 

93. Sedgwick of "The Closer" : KYRA

95. "I'm ready to sign" : IT'S A DEAL

97. Text message qualifier : FWIW (For What it's Worth)

98. Fools, to Puck : MORTALS. Lord, what fools these mortals be!

99. Wedding site : ALTAR

101. Led : CHAIRED

102. Interval between related events : TIME LAG

103. TV partner of Hutch : STARSKY

105. Unconcerned with right and wrong : AMORAL

108. Branch branch : TWIG. Tree branch.

110. Leveling wedges : SHIMS

111. Dieter's catchword : LoFat

113. Pot starters : ANTES

115. Runner in the woods : BROOK. Lovely clue.

119. Arp genre : DADA

120. Switch : SWAP

122. Cyan shade : AQUA

124. Use as a reference : CITE

127. The Beavers of the Pac-12 : OSU. The Oregon State.

128. Breakfast companion? : BED. Bed and breakfast.

129. Colorado native : UTE

C.C.