Sunday, January 4, 2015 Marilyn Lieb

Theme: "Single-Minded" - Short vowel in each *ING-ending word is changed into a long vowel, hence one of double consonants is dropped. (Added later: Barry G is correct. The gimmick is simply dropping one of the double letters.  50A has the same vowel before and after).

 

23A. Manicurist's work area? : FILING STATION. Filling station.

 

27A. Jilted "dear" lover who hasn't given up? : HOPING JOHN. Hopping John. The first and last Across theme answers have an impressive 5-letter overlap.

50A. Grand Canal? : POLING PLACE. Polling place.

66A. Providing extra digital support? : TOE TAPING. Toe-tapping.

84A. Finding a home for an Anaheim team? : SITING DUCKS. Sitting duck.

105A. Making hay when the sun doesn't shine? : SNOW BALING. Snowballing.

112A. Furniture-weaving facility? : CANING FACTORY. Canning factory.

31D. Regally dressing aristocrats? : ROBING THE RICH. Robbing the rich.

35D. Making a patio out of a garden? : TILING THE SOIL. Tilling the soil. Both Downs have 3-words. Consistent.

Looks like another debut! We only have a John Lieb in our blog labels.

It's challenging to start with a 13-letter theme entry, as this results in a stacked 7's on the right immediately. The constructor can further break those  7's into two 3's, but then she'd exceed Rich's 144 word limit.

The top 8/3 break can be changed into  6/6 or 5/7 or 7/5, all posing a challenge to fill in cleanly.

Across:

1. Military competition : ARMS RACE. This puzzle has eight 8-letter entries.

9. "Excuse me ..." : AHEM

13. Tab : BAR BILL

20. Visit briefly, as a sick friend : LOOK IN ON

21. In __ land : LA LA. Hello to our sweet LaLaLinda. Hope her health improves in 2015.

22. Frightened : ALARMED

25. Still puzzled : NO WISER

26. Beaut : GEM

29. Like some bird calls : SHRILL

33. Tie securely : LASH

34. Kachina doll maker : HOPI. I see Kachina dolls at flea market from time to time. They kind of look scary.

35. Parlor design, perhaps : TAT. Tattoo parlor.

38. "Cupid" singer Sam : COOKE

39. Belittle : DIS

40. Place to get refreshed : OASIS

43. How deadpan humor is delivered : DRILY

45. Dispute settlers : ARBITERS

47. "Put your money away" : ON ME. Crossing ONSET (47D. First stage). Dupe of ON.

48. Reiki practitioner : HEALER. Have any of you had Reiki treatments?

49. Surprise attack : RAID

54. Board game staples : DICE

55. Smoker's buy: Abbr. : CTN. I was astonished to find out that every casino in Las Vegas allows smoking.

56. Shoe parts : UPPERS

57. Cyberguffaw : LOL

58. Flowers in pens? : INKS. OK, Flow-er. Ink flows.

59. Figures on a rink : EIGHTS

61. Understanding : KEN. Beyond my ken.

63. Purse : HANDBAG. I used to be very good judging fake designer bags. 

65. Platte River tribe : OTOE

69. Tiny colonists : ANTS

71. Conserve : HUSBAND

73. Marine eagle : ERN

74. Book read during the Jewish holiday Purim : ESTHER. Gimme for Hahtoola/Lemonade.

76. Dog follower : SLED. Dog sled. Great clue.

78. Yale alum : ELI

79. Milk sources : UDDERS

82. Lac filler : EAU

83. Dean's "Lois & Clark" co-star : TERI (Hatcher). Dean Cain.

88. Grounded fleet : SSTS

89. Joins the debate : OPINES

91. Bit of sneakiness : RUSE

92. Hole starters : TEE SHOTS

94. Rhodes with a scholarship : CECIL

95. Words to strike up the band : HIT IT

97. French possessive : SES. TES also.

98. Scenically patterned fabric : TOILE

99. Utility co. unit : KWH

100. College town east of Greensboro : ELON. Got via crosses. Anything Musk related will be a gimme.

102. Destruction : RUIN

104. Oval-shaped dose : CAPLET

108. Asian-American actor Philip known for war movie roles : AHN. Of Korean root. I mentioned before that his Ahn is the same as Chinese Ang (Ang Lee).

109. Labor dispute tactic : LOCKOUT

118. London locale : ONTARIO

119. Bilko's mil. rank : MSGT (Master sergeant).

120. Enter carefully : EASE INTO

121. Features of Lincoln and Uncle Sam : GOATEES

122. Online crafts store : ETSY. Lots of neat stuff there.

123. Sin : TRESPASS

Down:

1. '80s sitcom puppet : ALF

2. Palais resident : ROI

3. Gretchen of "Boardwalk Empire" : MOL. Not familiar with this lady. Does MOL pronounce the same as Mole?

4. __ mask : SKI

5. Hairstyle curl : RINGLET

6. 2014 A.L. MVP Mike Trout, for one : ANGEL. Big gimme.

7. Micro- ending : COSM

8. Dr.'s specialty : ENT

9. Choral parts : ALTOS. And BASS (64D. Choral part).

10. Vietnamese port : HAIPHONG. No idea about this port city. Click on this map, can you see Hong Kong? Wiki said "The city's name means "coastal defense" and it is nicknamed the Flamboyant City because of the many Delonix regia planted throughout it." Gosh, I did not know what "Delonix regia" is either. Pretty red.

11. They "had decayed to a mere beautiful futility": Wells : ELOI

12. "Buddenbrooks" author : MANN (Thomas)

13. Duelers in a 1973 hit : BANJOS. This refers to the banjos in "Deliverance", right?

14. Thrown for __ : A LOOP

15. Untanned animal skin : RAWHIDE

16. Google co-founder Sergey : BRIN

17. Web chat exchange : IMs

18. Director Spike : LEE

19. Pres. or gov. : LDR (Leader)

24. Enlightened cries : AHAs

28. Letters seen next to a 4 : GHI. On your phone.

29. Seldom seen : SCARCE

30. "Good night, sweet prince" speaker : HORATIO

32. "Not serious" : I KID

33. Hosiery thread : LISLE

36. Smart __ : ALECK

37. Spares in boots : TYRES. They call trunks "boots".

39. Go down : DROP

41. Band booster : AMP

42. Poivre companion : SEL

44. Glowing : RADIANT

46. Omar of "House" : EPPS

48. Had in one's portfolio : HELD. And 76D. Portfolio component : STOCK

51. Displeased : IRKED

52. Oscar-winning composer Menken : ALAN. What I called Marti's husband the first time. Then I called him Allan. Then Allen. Then Allan again. Hopeless!

53. Capitol Hill gp. : CONG. OK, congress.

56. One of the teams that made the Pac-10 the Pac-12 : UTES. Got via crosses also.

60. Budapest-born magician : HOUDINI

62. "Sorry, laddie" : NAE

63. Vishnu worshiper : HINDU

66. Tibiae supporters : TALI

67. Doing the job : ON IT.  AT IT as well.

68. Very proper sort : PRUDE

70. Mariners' home : SEATTLE

72. First lady after Eleanor : BESS

74. Skye writing : ERSE

75. Potato often used for fries : RUSSET

77. Romantic skunk : LE PEW

80. It made its last commercial flight in February 2014 : DC-TEN.  Gimme for Dudley,  Rainman (Yay! You made it!) and maybe Dave. I was unwary of this trivia. Did you ever fly your own plane, Dave? 

81. Squeezes (out) : EKES

85. NYC subway : IRT

86. Rapa __ : NUI

87. D neighbors on most guitars : G-STRINGS. Got via crosses as well. One of two entries that cross 3 theme answers.

88. Store : SHOP

90. Title girl in a 1968 Turtles hit : ELENORE

93. Batting postures : STANCES

95. Manuals, e.g. : HOW-TOS

96. Liszt's "Piano Sonata __ Minor" : IN B

97. Indication : SIGN. HINT won't work.

101. "Taxi" dispatcher : LOUIE

103. Cohesion : UNITY

104. Dramatic movie scene : CHASE

105. 32-card game : SKAT

106. Pinnacle : ACME

107. Tenth of ten, say : LAST

108. Miles away : AFAR

109. Keep a record of : LOG

110. John Lennon's middle name : ONO

111. Windy City "L" runner : CTA (Chicago Transit Authority)

113. Become ill with : GET. I sure don't want to get flu again. What an ordeal!

114. Advice from a pro : TIP

115. Words with hunch or bet : ON A

116. Some NFL linemen : RTs (Right Tackles)

117. Howdies : YOs

I set up a Blog Recipes post under Olio on the blog front page. Several regulars have shared their cherished family recipes over the years on the blog (Ham & Pea soup, e.g.), but I failed to locate them accurately. Would you mind copying and pasting the recipes on the blog again? Or just send me an email. I will put them in the Blog Recipes folder. Thanks.

C.C.

Saturday, Jan 3rd, 2015, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,K,V,Z)

Blocks: 30

 Welcome to another year of Saturday setbacks~!  I was so pleased to be able to fill in the first four across answers, sensing I might be on Brad's wavelength, only to crash and burn at the longer fills and caving in to red-letter help in the bottom half. [sigh] Oh well....Still, a great challenge, a little heavy on the proper nouns(*), and some clever misdirection, but all in all, a fun puzzle.  6x8 triple-word corners, two 11-letter, and one 13-letter spanners;

33. Carolina bisque tinted orange by roe : SHE-CRAB SOUP - Once the "--SOUP" part appeared, it was only a matter of time before I remembered this - the Wiki

36. Popular news group : MEDIA DARLINGS

39. It can be used to make gin : DISCARD PILE - Clever; alternative version of "gin", this time the card game; the clecho at 32a. "It can be used to make gin : SLOE" refers to the fruit used in drinks such as "Sloe Gin Fizz"

 ~!

ACROSS:

1.* Its construction created Lake Nasser : ASWAN DAM - nailed it; always good to start off with the correct fill at 1a.~!

9. Certify : ATTEST - and again....

15.* "Wuthering Heights" backdrop : THE MOORS - and then "fail" - went with "CIVIL WAR", since I have no clue when, where or what this book is about

16. Want : DEARTH - "fail" - went with DESIRE - but was 28.5% correct

17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as "magic" or "dust" : MASS NOUN - I had the two "N"s, and that led to --NOUN, and from there it was an educated WAG; you don't vacuum up "a" dust, or use "a" magic ( but you might have 'a' magic wand - but now it's changed to an adjective.)

18. Made up : UNTRUE - ah, not UNITED - this is the pretend, 'fake' made up, not the end-of-a-tiff made up

19. Heave-hos : OUSTERS - meh

20. Word with level or devil : SEA - I started with "SUB", which half worked

21. Bizarre : ODD

22. Snicker follower : SNEE - snickersnee - a large knife; unrelated to the next clue

23. [snicker] : HEH - which is a mini-laugh

25.* Skyler's sister on "Breaking Bad" : MARIE - if you say so; all perps

27. CPA's concern : TAX LAW

30. Darn things : SEW - cute

40.* Bobby Darin record label : ATCO

41. "Shame on thee!" : "FIE~!" - whoops, went with "TSK~!"

42. Weightlifting technique : SNATCH - clean and jerk did not fit; I have to admit to a little "snicker" at this answer - such a DF mind....

47. Academic administrators : DEANS

49. Lofty letterhead abbr. : ESQuire

51. Tolerated : BORE

52. LAX posting : ARRival - duped; went with ETA

53. Smidge : TAD

55. Business, informally : BEE'S WAX - As in the phrase "Mind your own ---"

58. Chemical relative : ISOMER - isoTOPE did not fit, and it took waaay too long to remember this word

60. Act out, say : RE-CREATE - I always get a laugh out of shows like "UFO files" that always include a "dramatic re-creation" of the events occurring on 'that night'

61. Deferential bow : SALAAM

62. Ravel, vis-à-vis "Pictures at an Exhibition" : ARRANGER - here's the Wiki; if you play the "promenade", you'll recognize it

63. Like Miss Marple's attire : TWEEDY - uh, OK

64. Speech disruptions : STUTTERS - Dah~!  I had this, changed it to stAMMers

DOWN:    

1. No greater than : AT MOST

2.* "Entourage" publicist played by Debi Mazar : SHAUNA - I watched the show - liked it - but it never seemed to get 'dramatic'; this character I don't recall - but when I saw her pic, I remembered her from "Goodfellas" - IMDb

3.* "Far From the Madding Crowd" region : WESSEX - this is where the puzzle started to bog down on me with the proper nouns, and that sucks the life out of it when you don't have a clue

4.* Brewery bought out by Heineken : AMSTEL - a WAG from the "A"

5. Zilch : NONE - not NADA

6. Access point : DOOR

7. Frantic, perhaps, with "in" : A RUSH - "in a rush"

8. ISP with a butterfly logo : MSN

9. In tandem, musically : A DUE

10. Brunch hr. : TEN A.M.

11. Pic on a pec : TATtoo

12. Computer self-diagnostics list : ERROR LOG

13. Bookish : STUDIOUS

14.* Benchley novel : THE DEEP

20.* Shepherd of "The View" : SHERRI - mostly perps

24. Joint risks? : ESCAPES - ah - the "joint" here being jail; I had knees in mind first, then I thought this was a reference to eloping - that kind of joint 'escape'

26. LPGA part: Abbr. : ASSN - Ladies Professional Golfing Association

28. One side of the Bering Strait : ASIA - I threw in USSR, but that's kinda dated now

29. Berth place : WHARF

31. Squash court features : WALLS

34. Whirled : EDDIED

35. __-aimé: beloved, in French : BIEN - can't get away from the Frawnche

36. Tool for making precise crosscuts : MITER SAW - yeah, true, but I tend to associate a 'miter' with 'angle' cuts; my Sliding Compound Miter Saw

37. Salad green : ESCAROLE - whoops - I put in CURTSY for deferential bow, and forgot to change it, so the "R" was blocking my "L" ( and be careful when spelling curTSy )

38. No View, No Touch Trap maker : D-CON - becoming a crossword staple

39.* Max Ernst, for one : DADAIST

43. Without : ABSENT

44. Tugboat's fee : TOWAGE

45. Evidence of major impact? : CRATER

46. Bewitching types : HEXERS - ah, just the spell-casters, not the "hot girl" kind

48. Farm addition? : STEAD - Dah~! Went with STAND (60% correct) - more popular, and aggravating, down here on L.I. - I'll be upstate in Spitboov country today

50. Pyramid hopper in a 1980s arcade game : Q*BERT

54. Multitude : ARMY

56. Almond relative : ECRU - ah, the color, and usually associated with my favorite gratuitous image

 ecru pantyhose

57. Sum, in a different form : ERAT - remember your Latin; Sum, Esse (which I went with first), Fui, Futurus - "state of being" - I am so pleased I recalled that this is known as "declension"

59.* Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE

60. Univ. peer leaders : RAs - Resident Assistants

Splynter

Friday, January 2, 2015, John Lampkin

Theme: You had to be a big shot didn't ya. LISTEN. (4:03)

I ended the year with John Lampkin, and I begin with another from the clecho king. This time the theme seems simple, the second word, or second part of a known word or phrase is a synonym for boss. The clecho part is that each are clued with "TOP" meaning the best or the boss. The grid is filled with sparkly stuff like  AT FAULT, AURORAS, BAD CALL, DOLLS UP, HAYSEED, I’M TOAST, SPARROW, SPEEDOS, TEARFUL, COPY DESK and SUSPENSE.

17A. Top horticulturist? : BUSHMASTER. This SNAKE breaks into parts for the theme. It is part of the viper family.

27A. Top orthopedist? : BONEHEAD. Any bonehead know orthopedists deal with bones.

36A. Top dairyman? : CREAM CHEESE. Like wheel below, this one needs a "Big" before it to project the same meaning as the rest of the theme.

47A. Top entomologist? : FLYWHEEL. You had to know John would get something buggy into the grid. A flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed. Energy is transferred to a flywheel by applying torque to it, thereby increasing its rotational speed, and hence its stored energy. Conversely, a flywheel releases stored energy by applying torque to a mechanical load, thereby decreasing the flywheel's rotational speed. per wiki.

Picture and captions from John Lampkin: 

I don't pretend to be a FLY WHEEL myself, but I do enjoy photographing them! This bee-mimic Robber Fly captured a beetle and landed on my friend Doug's pant leg. The other members of our group who were 20 feet away were wondering why I was photographing Doug's crotch. Anything for a shot.

57A. Top cinematographer? : FILM LEADER. The TERM is also about movies but I did not know it.

Across:

1. Like Sherlock's game : AFOOT. An A word that is really used, and for a detective story lover, this was a great way to start.

6. Jerk : BOOB. This meaning for the word boob has long been supplanted by the slang word for female breast, which makes JL's intersecting 6D. Museum work : BUST so amusing. The king of the cross-reference strikes again. I found the clue/fill slowed me down big time.

10. Medical ending : OSIS. For some reason HALITOSIS popped into my head, even though HYPNOSIS, OSMOSIS and TUBERCULOSIS are clearly more common.

14. Sierra Nevada tourist attraction : TAHOE. A truly awesome place to visit with the mountains, the lake and the casinos.

15. Bruin's home : UCLA. This took much longer than it should have, perhaps a product of growing up near Boston, though my first answer was CAVE.

16. Leave in a bad way : DUMP. Ah the heartbreak of it all. Any great stories of broken romances? 35D. Like some goodbyes : TEARFUL.

19. East in Ecuador : ESTE. How odd that of all the Spanish speaking countries, JL picked Ecuador. We have clients involved in a big project there.

20. Puncture opening? : ACUpuncture.

21. Lay : PUT. Not sure, Lay Down?

22. Main signal : SOS. In this case the bounding main of the open seas.

24. "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity" writer : POE. An interesting and tragic figure. You can read more HERE.

25. Less inclined to ramble : TERSER.

29. Get a leg up ... and down : STEP.

30. Pearl Buck heroine : OLAN. How lucky can I get, we just had this.

32. Playground retort : CAN SO. Can not.

33. Comparable to a beet : AS RED.

35. Private meetings : TRYSTS. Well usually private and naughty.

38. Emulates a fan : ADORES.

40. Lessen : ABATE.

41. Go __ : TO POT. Or Colorado?

42. Rosa's rosa, e.g. : FLOR. Is this flower in both Spanish and Italian?

43. Cut, in a way : ETCH.

49. Homburg kin : FEDORA. Hats off to John, who actually wears hats for getting this fill in the grid.

51. City VIP : ALDerman.

52. Lamp opening? : ELL. The letter, silly.

53. Cannes confirmation : OUI. Must have some French for Splynter.

54. Even so : YET.

55. Applications : USES.

60. Verdant : LUSH. Usually associated with growing things.

61. "Young Frankenstein" Fräulein : INGA. The incomparable Teri Garr and her knockers.

62. "If only!" : I HOPE.

63. I-76 in Penn., e.g. : TPKE.

64. Handy : NEAR.

65. "Good Lord!" : OH GOD.

Down:

 1. Chances for a walk in the park? : AT BATS. Some baseball misdirection as the park is the ball park. It is safe to say John likes to be misleading, as in another baseball clue 27D. Mistake at home, perhaps : BAD CALL.

2. Tap : FAUCET. So simple but I started out struggling in the NW corner.

3. "And I'm Cleopatra" : OH SURE. followed by...

4. Awed response : OOH. Now if the next clue were Buckeye state, we would have quite a progression. We also have 59D. Spa sound : AHH.

5. Home of Arizona State : TEMPE. I have quite a few cousins who got degrees there.

7. Calendar pg. : OCTober.

8. Nellie __, character in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books : OLESON. This was all guesswork.

9. Low-grade peer : BARON. Downton Abbey will be back soon.

10. Lyric tribute : ODE.

11. Film genre : SUSPENSE.

12. "My goose is cooked" : I'M TOAST. Two cooking references. Two I references.

13. Small trunks : SPEEDOS. Joe Manganiello anyone?

18. Dawns : AURORAS. Better than my old friend Eos.

23. It may be told in anger : SECRET. 34D. Rage below the surface : SEETHE. 46D. More than dislike : HATRED. Mini-theme? Hmm, some issues JL?

26. Field chirper : SPARROW.

28. Yokel : HAYSEED. Fun fill.

31. Apollo 11's Eagle, briefly : LEM. Thanks JL for the CSO.

36. News editing site : COPY DESK. Where is our newswoman? Do they still have these.

37. Starz rival : HBO. Is this still an initialism for Home Box Office?

38. Liable : AT FAULT. Florida has no fault divorce and car insurance.

39. Dons fancy duds : DOLLS UP. Fun phrase.

42. One may be in your lap : FELINE. The perfect clecho for the Corner. For CED.

44. One may be in your lap : TOY DOG. For Manac.

45. Sleazeball : CREEPO. So many variations of the word creep, but I did not know this one.

48. Puckish : ELFIN. Just watched the final of the Hobbit Trilogy. Filled with Elves who were not ELFIN. I also rewatched ELF for Christmas.

50. Farm sequence? : EIEIO. Old MacDonald would be proud of so many O words.

53. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough" poet : OMAR.

56. Ship, to the captain : SHE. On the bounding main.

58. JFK alternative : LGA. Three letter airport codes. MSY, MCO, ORD are trickier to suss.

Well another year has begun with a challenging but doable Friday (only 74 words and 34 blocks, so we had to work hard). Thank all for the good wishes after my wedding and have a great year.

Lemonade out.

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C.C.

Thursday, January 1, 2015 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "The Joke's On Me"

Ooof!! When I saw all the cross-references leading me to a Bible verse, I really thought my goose was cooked. But slowly, they started filling in and I had to smile:

1-Across. See 58-Across : GIGGLE.

7-Across. See 58-Across : GUFFAW.

15-Across. See 58-Across : BURST OUT LAUGHING.

34-Across. See 58-Across : CHORTLE.

38-Across. See 58-Across : CRACK UP.

49-Across. See 58-Across : TITTER.

58-Across. Psalm 100 excerpt suggested by six puzzle answers and graphically represented by certain black squares in this puzzle : MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE.

Unusual grid, with left-to-right but not top-to-bottom symmetry. Jeffrey also used a 16*15 grid, both the reveal entry and 15-A have 16-letters. Can you see the "smiling face" in the middle of the grid?

62 blocks of theme is a lot for a weekday puzzle, and necessarily led to a bit of dreck in the fill. But overall, an enjoyable solve.

Across

13. How many golf clubs are sold : AS A SET.

14. Member of Buck Showalter's MLB team : ORIOLE. Can you guess that I struggled with this one?

19. Put __ on: restrict : A CAP.

21. __ profit: make money : NET A. Two awkward partials in a row.

22. With 20-Across, "American Beauty" rockers, familiarly : THE. And 20-Across. See 22-Across : DEAD. The Grateful Dead. Did I really need to come across an extra cross-referential clue in the grid?

23. Gets harder to climb : STEEPENS.

27. Pester : NAG.

28. Valleys : HOLLOWS.

30. Can't stand : DETESTS.

32. Prefix with -pod : TRI. Tripod.

33. Oils and such : ART.

42. Baseball's Piniella : LOU. Nailed it, once I had the L, O and U from perps in place...

43. Measure typically given in knots : AIR SPEED. Dudley, what AIR SPEED do you usually fly at?

46. "Discreet Music" composer : ENO.

47. They can be lifesavers: Abbr. : EMTs. Emergency Medical Technicians.

50. Focus, with "in" : ZERO.

51. Greek cheeses : FETAS.

53. Swear : CUSS. Not aver or avow this time.

54. Withstand : REPEL.

55. Nick working at night? : SANTA. We all know that his real name is Argyle...

57. Crush competitor : FANTA. Does Santa drink Fanta?

64. Pub order : ALE.

65. Like "Gilligan's Island" characters : MAROONED.

66. Do yard work : MOW.

67. "Success!" : YES! [With or without a fist pump.]

68. Bicuspid : PREMOLAR.

69. Yakima-to-Spokane dir. : ENE.


Down

1. Pampas cowboy : GAUCHO.

2. Beersheba's land : ISRAEL.

3. [I don't believe it!] : GASP.

4. Prime meridian std. : GST. Greenwich Sidereal Time. A variant of Greenwich Mean Time used in astronomy for locating specific stars.

5. Regulus is in it : LEO.

6. Technique-building pieces : ÉTUDES. From the French word for "study."

7. Incited : GOADED.

8. Second-smallest S.A. country : URU.guay.

9. Pear-shaped fruit : FIG. Do you give one?

10. Warm alpine wind, in Austria : FÖHN. Without the umlaut, it would be spelled "foehn" in English. A gimme...

11. Klingons, e.g. : ALIENS.

12. Attacked : WENT AT.

15. Spa area : BATH. Hmmm, this could have two meanings.  In many spas, a bath is sometimes filled with mineral water or mud, and it could be offered as a special service.  -OR- We could be talking about Bath, England. The spas there date back to Roman times.

16. Support on the links? : TEE. hee?

17. Running measure : LAP.

18. Suppresses : GAGS.

23. Not entirely, informally : SORTA.

24. Like an early evening sky : TWILIT.

25. Comparatively warm? : NEARER. In the children's treasure hunt game, you say "Warmer" when they are getting near the hidden object, or "colder" when they are moving farther away from it. Didn't we just have a reference to this game?

26. Valuable cello : STRAD.ivarius.  The Italian family was renowned for their violins, violas, cellos and other stringed instruments.

29. USPS item : LTR. United States Postal Service, letter.

31. List-limiting letters : ETC.etera, etcetera, etcetera...

34. Score symbol : CLEF. Thanks for the pic yesterday, Steve!

35. Realty transaction : HOME SALE.

36. Amusing DVD feature : OUTTAKES. Sometimes they are even funnier than the movie. 8:33

37. "The Grouchy Ladybug" writer Carle : ERIC. Lucina, did you read this to your students?

38. Accent pair? : CEES.

39. Tap your foot, say : KEEP TIME. I can assure you, that when my husband is tapping his foot before we got out for the evening, he is not keeping time...

40. Folly : UNREASON. Ugh. Valid, but not your everyday word.

41. Dirty __ : POOL. Because "Harry" wouldn't fit!

44. Disco __ of "The Simpsons" : STU. Have you memorized all the Simpsons characters yet? (He's in the third row, fourth from the right, next to Maggie Simpson.) If you go to this web site and mouse over the faces, it identifies each one. Quiz, to follow.

45. Gal.'s eight : PTS. Pints.

48. Levelheaded : SANE.

50. Philosopher known for a paradox : ZENO. of Elea.  Think of "Achilles and the Tortoise."

52. Prepare for mailing : STAMP. I simply hit "send."

54. Getaway goal, for short : R AND R.

56. Somewhat open : AJAR.

57. Boxer's woe : FLEA.

58. Might : MAY. "It ___ rain this afternoon." Either works.

59. Rock worth mining : ORE.

60. __ Kippur : YOM. Day of atonement for those of the Jewish faith.

61. Rock's __ Fighters : FOO. They just released Sonic Highways in November last year. (Yes, check your calendar - it was last year!) Link away.

62. Not in the bk. : UNL.isted. Telephone book.

63. Field grazer : EWE.

Marti, out.

Note from C.C.:
 
Happy 6th year wedding anniversary to Marti and her husband Allan! Marti said "... we were married on New Year’s Day of 2009.  So every year we get to celebrate our anniversary with a hangover." (Added Note: Gosh, sorry Allen, I'm hopeless!)

Marti  & Allen

Wednesday, December 31st 2014 Alex Miller

Theme: I'Ve got an idea!

20A. King who supported Molière : LOUIS XIV. The Sun King didn't support him enough to intervene when the comedy "Tartouffe" was banned for five years for being overly critical of the Catholic church. Even French kings didn't mess with the cardinals if they had a hankering for some measure of longevity.

31A. Colorful mnemonic : ROY G. BIV. I always thought that this wasn't exactly the most memorable mnemonic, which kind of defeats the purpose.

49A. City name meaning "spring mound" : TEL AVIV. A learning moment for me.

Somewhere underneath this lot there's a mound

61A. Maker of Smart Target acne treatment : PROACTIV. It didn't exist when I was a spotty teen, fortunately I wasn't badly afflicted. Even so, my mother told me to use more soap and scrub my face with a pumice stone!

and tying the four theme entries together:

38A. Northeastern educational octet ... or, in a way, what the ends of 20-, 31-, 49- and 61-Across comprise : IVY LEAGUE. Phonetically I-V. If you want a mnemonic for the eight schools: BC-CD HAPPY. Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale.

Steve here, checking in for the last puzzle of the year. I think this is Alex's LAT debut. If that's the case, congratulations! It's fun to see that we're at the end of the year MMXIV, where the "year end" so happens to be today's theme. I don't know if Rich intended this when he slotted this puzzle in for New Year's Eve, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if he did.

This wasn't totally plain sailing for me today, there were some unknowns, some self-inflicted stumbles, a groan or two and a WAG but everything came together in the end. All good fun. The 8-letter downs were all great. Thanks, Alex!


Across:

1. See the sites? : SURF

5. Parker who played Davy Crockett : FESS. I stayed at Fess's hotel in Los Olivos a few years ago before he passed away. The evening was spent in the lounge singing around the piano with him, his wife and the other guests. She had a great voice - she was a nightclub singer when they first met.

9. Vagabond : TRAMP

14. Dept. with a sun on its seal : ENER. Makes sense, I guess. Crosses for me.

15. Future D.A.'s hurdle : LSAT

16. Putting green features : HOLES. Hopefully the ones made for the purpose, not random gopher creations.

17. Tiny pond plant : ALGA. There can be some big ones - the sea-dwelling giant kelp can grow up to 50 feet long. There are kelp beds off the coast here in California.

18. Holiday lights site : EAVE. I jumped in feet-first with TREE here. That slowed things up for a while.

19. Slate of VIPs : A-LIST

22. Highfalutin sorts : SNOBS

23. Hoi __ : POLLOI

24. Egg-white omelet's lack : YOLK

26. Blotter letters : AKA. There's no better way to get a feel for a strange town than from reading the local police blotter.

28. Ryder Cup team : USA. Cluing this as "Losing Ryder Cup team" would have been too easy. The Europeans are on something of a winning streak.

29. "Mystery!" network : PBS

33. Line to tear along: Abbr. : PERF.

35. "Constant Craving" singer : LANG. Canadian singer/songwriter K.D.

37. Pontificate : ORATE

41. Big mess : SNAFU. Now here's an acronym I'm familiar with - Situation Normal - All "Fouled" Up!

44. Isle of Mull neighbor : IONA. Home of the wonderfully-named "Bay at the Back of the Ocean".

45. Beauties : GEMS

51. Naval off. : ADM. I had the "D" and tried CDR first, but I didn't like it much. I didn't like this any better, to be honest.

53. Welcoming accessory : MAT

54. Carpentry tool : AWL

55. Some, in Seville : UNAS

57. Two-gamete cell : ZYGOTE. Great Scrabble word too!

59. Blow away : AMAZE

63. Limber : AGILE

64. Snack in a stack : OREO

65. Singles bar conversation starter : LINE

66. Easily corrupted : VENAL

67. Badly need a bath : REEK

68. Squared up : EVEN

69. Anaheim's Honda Center, e.g. : ARENA. It was the Arrowhead Pond before Honda paid for the naming rights. I do miss the days when sporting venues were given a name and kept it.

70. Kings and queens : BEDS. Nice clue!

71. They may be tacked on : FEES

Down:

1. Blubbery baby? : SEAL PUP

2. Free : UNLOOSE. Personally, this one fits in my "well, it's a word, but not one you'd actually use" pigeonhole.

3. Like some verbs and gas : REGULAR

4. Hardly hardy : FRAIL

5. With some wiggle room : FLEXIBLY

6. Hollywood's Morales : ESAI

7. Shrewd : SAVVY

8. Canonized mlle. : STE. A French mademoiselle may become une sainte if she behaves herself.

9. Gift recipient's sentiment : THANK YOU

10. Lampshade-shaped chocolate : ROLO

11. Woodcutter who knew the magic words : ALI BABA

12. Camper's dining gear : MESS KIT. Painted myself into a corner with MESS TIN as my first effort.

13. West Coast hrs. : PST

21. Food for dunking : SOP

22. __-mo replay : SLO

25. Princess Leia's last name : ORGANA. Crosses to the rescue. I didn't know Ms. Earmuffs' family moniker.

27. City thoroughfare: Abbr. : AVE

30. Whistle wetter : SALIVA

32. First name of TV's Dr. House : GREG

34. World Cup org. : F.I.F.A. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Not a stranger to allegations of corruption.

36. Classical lead-in : NEO

39. Horn banned from the 2014 World Cup : VUVUZELA. And praise be that they were banned. I watched most of the 2010 World Cup with the sound muted. I don't know how the players managed to stay sane.

40. "Zounds!" : GADZOOKS. Wonderful Word of the Day!

41. RR stop : STA

42. Many an Enya fan : NEW AGER.

43. Hoarder's cry : ALL MINE

46. Showing strong feeling : EMOTIVE. I fell into the gerund clue trap and had "EMOTING" at first.

47. Day play : MATINEE

48. Justice replaced by Kagan : STEVENS

50. Having four sharps : IN E

52. One-named R&B singer : MYA. I'm going out on a blaze of glory with the wonderful "Lady Marmalade" cover from "Moulin Rouge". Cover the eyes of any minors, work through the 15-second ad and enjoy this.

56. Bender : SPREE

58. Treble staff symbol : G-CLEF. Here's the clef and the key signature for E Major from 50A

60. Logician Turing : ALAN. A heroic character.

62. Clarinet insert : REED

63. Actress Gardner : AVA

64. Ball : ORB

And there we are. The highlights of 2014 are here every day at the Corner. Unlike most other media today, it's impossible to pick out any "Top 10" moments from the 365 days of this year. Each and every one of us, commenters, solvers, anons, snarky anons, constructors, bloggers all keep this place alive and a go-to part of our days. Here's to everyone who visits and everyone who contributes - but one - special exception - a shout-out to C.C. who created this place and made us all welcome.

A Happy New Year to all of you.

Steve 

Notes from C.C.:

1) I echo what Steve said earlier: "The highlights of 2014 are here every day at the Corner".  Thanks for your daily visits & contributions. I'm very grateful for your loyal support. 

2) In yesterday's blog, Rainman asked how to make a link at the blog Comments section. I know several newbies want to know the steps also. Please click here for the instructions.  Feel free to ask regulars for help if you encounter any problem. It's tricky at first and may take a few practice.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014 Greg Johnson

Theme: Pack it in - Four containers that can be packed.

17A. Stunt pilot stunt : BARREL ROLL

24A. Quaint dating-and-dining event : BOX SOCIAL. Was there one in "Music Man"?

49A. Man cave celebration : CHEST BUMP

59A. Social agency employee : CASE WORKER

Reveal entry:

38A. Moving company service, and what the starts of 17-, 24-, 49- and 59-Across may be used for : STORAGE

Argyle here. Time to pack up another year. Solid Tuesday.

Across:

1. Heavy book : TOME

5. High-end Honda : ACURA

10. Roof edge : EAVE

14. Shepard who hit golf balls on the moon : ALAN

15. In a huff : UPSET

16. Headed for overtime : TIED

19. __ d'oeuvre : HORS

20. Still in the store : UNSOLD

21. Kanga's creator : A.A. MILNE

23. Cuba libre liquor : RUM with coke and some lime.

26. Quite a few : A LOT

28. Buddhist sect : ZEN

29. Singing syllable : TRA La La

30. Like a stage performance : LIVE

31. Eye-roller's reply : "I BET"

33. Mess makers : SLOBS

37. Microbrewery brew : ALE

40. Japanese carp : KOI

41. Remove insulation from : STRIP. From wires.

43. __ stick : POGO

44. You can see Lincoln on one : CENT

45. Aunt, en español : TIA

47. No longer burning : OUT

48. Bailiff's cry : "OYEZ"

53. Cease : END

54. Hold : POSSESS

55. Obtain via threats : EXTORT

58. Actress Kudrow : LISA

62. "Fly-Fight-Win" org. : USAF

63. Tequila plant : AGAVE

64. Winery prefix : OENO

65. Eyelid problem : STYE

66. Videos that go viral, e.g. : MEMEs

67. Rhône-Alpes city : LYON

Down:

1. "Forbidden" perfume : "TABU"

2. "The Good Earth" mother : OLAN

3. NASA's Curiosity, e.g. : MARS ROVER

4. Along the way : ENROUTE

5. "__ Lang Syne" : AULD

6. EMT procedure : CPR

7. Troupe for the troops: Abbr. : USO

8. Enjoy some downtime : RELAX

9. "Finally!" : "AT LAST!"

10. Guided by good : ETHICAL

11. Garlicky mayo : AIOLI. Mayo with attitude.

12. Actress Bloom of "High Plains Drifter" : VERNA. And of "Animal House".

13. Eponymous Ford : EDSEL. Eponymous is something or someone that gives its name to something else.

18. Shade source : ELM

22. Code creator : MORSE

24. Charlie Parker jazz genre : BEBOP

25. Like old-time schoolhouses : ONE-ROOM

26. Cry of dismay : "ALAS!"

27. Happy tune : LILT

28. Skin blemish : ZIT

32. Prepare to advance after a fly ball : TAG UP

34. "Roger that!" : "OKEY-DOKEY!"

35. Femur, e.g. : BONE

36. __ bath: therapeutic soak : SITZ

38. Rancor : SPITE

39. Picked up : GOT

42. "You can come out now" : "IT'S SAFE"

44. Word before group or freak : CONTROL

46. '70s-'80s scandal that inspired "American Hustle" : ABSCAM

49. Academically above average : C-PLUS

50. Raise, as a flag : HOIST

51. College application part : ESSAY

52. Meter reading : USAGE

53. Prefix with skeleton : EXO

55. Meadow females : EWEs

56. Gambling town near Tahoe : RENO

57. 1982 Disney sci-fi flick : "TRON"

60. "Casablanca" piano man : SAM

61. Night before : EVE. Hoist the party flag. We have a barrel of rum and case of ale. Also, some Tia Maria, tequila and find some wine for the oenophiles. Don't forget the hors d'oeuvres. Do the Hustle. Maybe strip later(nothing tabu) and sing some lilts. Tra La La. Play it, Sam. Play "Auld Lang Syne".

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here is a picture of Dudley and his wife from their Nantucket voyage last Saturday. He said "It was taken for us by a passing airport employee, a kind hearted fellow, at sunset when we were preparing to leave. Marti helped me edit the frame a bit (she’s clever like that)."