Wednesday, February 4, 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme: Pounding Heads. Four hardware fasteners and one booze-fest contribute to today's theme.

I say this to myself most days

18A. "Being John Malkovich" director : SPIKE JONZE. Why did I think he was spelt "JONES" at first?

22A. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star : BRAD PITT. One of my favorite actors. His performance in Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" is one of the all-time great ones, in my humble opinion.

49A. Saddle storage area : TACK ROOM. Redolent with the smells of old leather, horses and hay. I'd use it as my car air freshener if someone could bottle it.

54A. Nervous habit : NAIL BITING. I used to bite my nails - my mom painted them with a foul-flavored concoction called "Stop 'N Gro" and guess what? I liked the taste. She was not pleased, to say the least.

35A. Slangily, overimbibe; literally, what the starts of 18-, 22-, 49- and 54-Across can do : GET HAMMERED. It's only really "over-imbibing" if you didn't mean to get schnockered. If you did mean it, then you end up with precisely the right quantity of bibe. Right?

Woo Hoo!

Hi all. Welcome to the first Wednesday of February (what happened to January?) and Gareth's latest. I thought this one had a bit of a disjointed feel about it - the fill seemed a little 'bitty' and has the occasional "yeah, I get it, but no-one really uses it" (I'm looking at you, DEFAT). Some good stuff like AKIMBO and ARMADA though.

Across:

1. Beginning on : AS OF

5. No ordinary party : BASH

9. Keister : PRAT. A fool in British slang.

13. Big Island coffee region : KONA. Meaning "the lee side" of an island in the Hawaiian language. Quick - how many letters are there in the Hawaiian alphabet?

14. Sap-sucking insect : APHID

16. Put on board : LADE. I first came across this word when I worked for a marine insurance underwriter - the Bill of Lading was required to as proof of what cargo the ship was carrying when filing a claim for loss or damage.

17. Learning ctr. : INST. Some pretty wild architecture can be found at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

20. Bit of dust : MOTE

21. Readies for another voyage : REFITS

26. Portions out : ALLOTS

29. One making waves : OAR. I just finished reading 'The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown, a wonderful book telling the story of the 1936 US rowing eight who went to the Berlin Olympics. I think the coaches would be alarmed if those oars were making waves, the ideal technique leaves nary a ripple.

30. Sean Lennon's mom : ONO. A quibble here would be that Sean Lennon's mom is "Yoko Ono".

31. Occasionally : AT TIMES

32. Three-time Hopkins role : LECTER. Hannibal from "The Silence of the Lambs" and sequels.

34. At hand : NEAR

38. Fictional archaeologist Croft : LARA. The Tomb Raider.

40. Bakery array : LOAVES. There are 13 in a baker's dozen for absolutely no good reason I can find.

41. Promises : PLEDGES

44. "Hawaii Five-0" actor Daniel __ Kim : DAE. Thank you, crosses.

45. Cellular messenger : RNA. Dashed clever stuff, that ribonucleic acid. It contains four-stranded guanine tetraplexes amongst other doodads for those of you keeping track of your tetraplexes at home.

48. Ambien maker : SEARLE. I wasn't familiar with this company - I discover it's part of Pfizer.

51. Longhorn rival : SOONER. Texas and Oklahoma college sports rivalry. Oklahoma's "Boomer Sooner" fight song is notable in that the melody was "borrowed" from Yale and the last verse "borrowed" from UNC.

53. Mandlikova of tennis : HANA. She retired 25 years ago; she won four Grand Slam titles so we'll cut her some slack on the crossword longevity stakes.

58. Prophet's concern : OMEN

59. Promgoer's concern : ACNE

60. Really enjoy : EAT UP

61. One of 28 Monopoly cards : DEED. For all its ubiquity, Monopoly is consistently rated as one of the worst board games of all times. Hasbro announced yesterday that they're releasing a special edition of the game in France, some of which contain real Euro notes.

62. Places for hats : PEGS

63. Jazz singer Horne : LENA

64. Icelandic literary work : EDDA

Down:

1. With hands on hips : AKIMBO. Great word. Here's Rembrandt's  "Portrait of a man half-length with his arms akimbo". Quite an unwieldy title, if he'd have added "wearing clothes and a hat and staring at the artist" we needn't have bothered looking at the painting at all.

2. Northern Mexican state : SONORA. Neighbor of Arizona and New Mexico.

3. GM navigation system : ONSTAR. It can also connect you to roadside assistance in case of emergency. I heard an audio clip of a race-tuned Camaro automatically calling for assistance when it blew a head gasket at the racetrack and the driver telling the operator he didn't need anyone to come and help.

4. Meant to be : FATED

5. __-relief : BAS

6. iPhone purchase : APP

7. See 12-Down : SHIRT. Hey Barry - here's your awkwardly cross-referenced clue of the day!

8. Enjoy the Pacific Crest Trail : HIKE

9. Literary arcs : PLOT LINES. Why arcs? Because a plot line is "an over-arching story", or arc for short.

10. Redeemed from captivity : RANSOMED

11. Carpenter's tool : ADZ. Someone chopped off the "E" with an axe?

12. With 7-Down, punny message site : TEE

15. Make leaner : DEFAT. I know it's in the dictionary, but I've been around food and cooking for donkey's years and I've never seen this term used. I trim meat and skim stock.

19. Leave at the altar : JILT

23. Expert on feet? : POET. Best clue of the day for me.

24. Foot part : INCH

25. Wrecks completely : TOTALS

27. Tetley offering : TEA

28. Estonia, until 1991: Abbr. : SSR. One of those pesky Soviet Socialist Republics.

31. Doomed 1588 fighting force : ARMADA. The Spanish fleet sent to invade England. A combination of bad planning, indecisiveness, English fire ships and storms conspired to give "armada" a bad name ever since.

32. Gigs for 22-Across, often : LEAD ROLES.

33. Expressive rock genre : EMO

35. Bribing : GREASING

36. Rescue op : EVAC

37. Smell bad : REEK

38. Old DJ's platters : LPS. Long-Playing records. Seems so quaint nowadays - you were lucky to get 30 minutes out of one side - I've got 11.5 days' worth on my phone.

39. India Pale __ : ALE. Brewed with extra hops to help preserve the beer on the journey from England to troops stationed in India, hence the name.

42. Shapeless mass : GLOB

43. Start of a selection process : EENIE. Meenie, Miny, Moe. Many alternate spellings too - great for crossword constructors.

45. Didn't stay put : ROAMED

46. "Thanks, but I'm set!" : NO NEED

47. Actress Plummer : AMANDA. Christopher Plummer's daughter.

49. Hackneyed : TRITE

50. __ Island : RHODE. The state motto is "Ictu Carebitis Eam" ("Blink, you will miss it"). OK, it's not, I made that up.

52. Bibliog. catchall : ET AL Et Alia - "and others"

54. Brief refresher : NAP

55. Solitaire foundation card : ACE

56. Wimple wearer : NUN

57. Credit-weighted no. : GPA. Grade Point Average. Credit hours weigh into the calculation.

finally the grid (you can see I disliked DEFAT so much I had to leave it until last to fill it in!):

Toodle-Pip!

Steve

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: A 200 Puzzle - Phrases that start with two letters that also could be Roman numerals, then clued as their equivalent numbers.

17. 400 athletes? : CD PLAYERS. Compact Disc.

26. 40 polos? : XL SHIRTS. Extra Large.

40. 4 tire inserts? : IV TUBES. Intravenous.

51. 600 stand-ups? : DC COMICS. Detective Comics.

64. 1,500 thermometer units? : MD DEGREES. Doctor of Medicine.(Medicinae Doctor)

Argyle here. Nice tight theme; all two letter numbers(or is it two number letters?). Four great verticals, too.

Across:

1. Pharmacy purchase : DRUG

5. Figure (out), slangily : DOPE

9. Early Yucatán settlers : MAYAs

14. German "a" : EINE. 'Eine' is used for feminine nouns.

15. Irish New Age singer : ENYA

16. Bite-the-bullet type : STOIC

19. "Star Trek" lieutenant : UHURA. (Nichelle Nichols) At one point, Uhura was promoted to full commander.

20. Trophy prized by actors : OSCAR

21. Watermelon eater's discard : SEED

23. Austin-to-Baton Rouge direction : EAST

24. Flat hat with a pompom : TAM

28. Football club based in Lombardy : A.C. MILAN. A professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Homepage

32. Many a casino visitor : LOSER

33. Bank offering : LOAN. Hmm, right after that visit to the casino.

34. Kelly of morning TV : RIPA

37. Moral code : ETHIC

39. Texter's "Horrors!" : [OMG].(Oh My God!)

42. Squeeze (out) : EKE

43. Local news hr. : TEN PM

45. Mix : STIR

46. ESPN analyst Hershiser : OREL

47. Wife of Abraham : SARAH

49. Chatty gathering : GABFEST

54. Plea at sea, briefly : S.O.S.

55. "Sadly ..." : "ALAS...", the SOS went unanswered.

56. Pouty expression : MOUE

58. Repetitive musical piece : RONDO

62. ACC team with a turtle mascot : TERPs. (Maryland Terrapins)

66. Gobbled up : EATEN

67. Letter carrier's sackful : MAIL

68. Starbucks order : TALL

69. Sound from an angry dog : SNARL

70. Sugar bowl invaders : ANTS

71. Battle of Normandy town : ST. LO

Down:

1. Geometric art style : DECO

2. Frees (of) : RIDS

3. Like the word "waitress," briefly : UN-PC. Server now.

4. Gummy bear ingredient : GELATIN

5. Susan of "L.A. Law" : DEY

6. Small bills : ONEs

7. Oven-safe brand : PYREX

8. Stand in a painting class : EASEL

9. East Lansing sch. : MSU. (Michigan State University)

10. Nonreligious sort : ATHEIST

11. Mall directory words : [YOU ARE HERE]

12. Bombing missions : AIR STRIKES

13. Sings like Ella : SCATS

18. Shrunken Asian sea : ARAL

22. Broadband initials : DSL. (Digital Subscriber Line)

25. Harry and __, "Home Alone" bad guys : MARV

27. Ground breakers : HOEs

28. Plenty : A LOT

29. Fesses up : COMES CLEAN

30. Document sealed by King John in 1215 : MAGNA CARTA

31. Petty peeves : NITS

35. Salt (away) : PUT

36. "Not __ deal" : A BIG

38. Boston NBAer : CELT

40. Islamic prayer leader : IMAM

41. Notable periods : ERAs

44. Thrive : PROSPER

46. In some respects : OF SORTS

48. That guy : HIM

50. Five-time Wimbledon champ Bjorn : BORG

51. Goes out with : DATES

52. Pause punctuation : COMMA

53. Khartoum's land : SUDAN

57. Cut a line from, say : EDIT

59. Well-kept : NEAT

60. Computer giant : DELL

61. Norway's most populous city : OSLO

63. NBC comedy staple : SNL

65. Some Bronx trains : ELs

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

I'd like to share with you the email exchanges between me and Rich. This puzzle won't be possible without his always patient guidance. I'm amazing. I made up my own Roman Numerals :-)

From C.C:

"Hi Rich,

In this theme, the first two letters are all Roman numerals:

ID BRACELET 10:  Popular Roman wrist ornament in 499?

DC COMICS 8: Popular Roman standups in 600?

IV TUBES 7: Popular Roman river floaters in 4?

CC RIDER 7: Popular Roman jockey in 200?

MC HAMMER 8 : Popular Roman toolbox item in 1100?

CD ACCOUNTS 10 : Popular Roman tales in 400?

Attached is my clued grid. I hope it interests you.

Thank you for the time.

C.C."

Rich's reply:

"Hi C.C. (also a Roman numeral, I notice now), 

This theme idea works for me, but there are some problems with this version of it. For starters, the first entry isn't a valid Roman numeral. The "rule" is that a smaller preceding numeral can't be more than two levels lower than the one it precedes. Thus, IV and IX are valid. IL isn't, and as you can see. ID isn't close.

Roman numeral themes are familiar, but what would make this different is having Arabic numbers directly clue the answers--which would have to all be plurals. DC COMICS could be [600 joke tellers?]. IV TUBES could be [4 TVs?]. Names won't work unless the second part is a natural plural. HAMMER and RIDER aren't. CD BRACELETS doesn't seem very well-known--it gets only 10K Google hits in both singular and plural--but there are other possibilities with CD, such as investments.  XL SHIRTS would work. MD something?

If you can revamp the theme, please query me on it before doing any kind of revision.

Thanks.
 
Rich"

Monday, February 2, 2015 Warren Stabler

Theme: Today - The end of winter prediction.

41A. What we'll have of 3-Down, according to folklore, if 18-Across 62-Down sees his 50-Down on 65-Across : SIX MORE WEEKS. The most referential clue I think I've seen. I'll list them in order.

3D. Cold season : WINTER

18A. Pennsylvania borough in today's news : PUNXSUTAWNEY

62D. Given name of the critter in today's news : PHIL

50D. Sundial casting : SHADOW

65A. February 2, every year : GROUNDHOG DAY

Argyle and Phil here and a whimsical puzzle from a new constructor. On Groundhog Day(today), if Phil(the groundhog) sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring". If he's smart, he won't poke even his nose out this morning.

Across:

1. Burst into tears : BAWL

5. Wander off the point : RAMBLE

11. Rainy : WET

14. Hodgepodge : OLIO

15. In the plane's cabin, say : ONBOARD

17. New Year's __ : EVE

20. Clinton's instrument : SAX. (saxophone)

21. Ambulance VIP : EMT. (emergency medical technician)

22. '50s nuclear experiments : A-TESTS

23. Founded, on signs : ESTD.(established)

25. Foe : ENEMY

27. Approved, briefly : OK'D

29. Pop singer Diamond : NEIL

31. Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine : PARR. The last of his wives, she married him on 12 July 1543, and outlived him.

32. Conk out : DIE

35. "Make up your mind!" : "YES OR NO!"

37. Germany's __ Republic, 1919-'33 : WEIMAR. Weimar was the city where the constitutional assembly took place. Wiki

40. Flip-flops : THONGS. Do you know whose these are?

43. Puppies : WHELPS

45. Bahamas capital : NASSAU

46. Thick fog metaphor : PEA SOUP

48. Dirt road groove : RUT

49. Amt. on a new car window : MSRP. (manufacturer's suggested retail price)

53. Venus de __ : MILO

54. Mess of hair : MOP

56. Employee handing out playbills : USHER

57. Stoolie : FINK

59. Workshop grippers : CLAMPS

63. Word after Iron or Stone : AGE

64. Corp. leader : CEO. (chief executive officer) and 7D. Corp. execs' degrees : MBAs. (Master of Business Administration)

68. Coffee hour vessel : URN

69. Asian language in a region famous for tigers : BENGALI. "...if called by a panther,

don't anther."

70. __ vault : POLE

71. Letter before tee : ESS

72. La Brea discovery : FOSSIL

73. Filled with wonder : AWED

Down:

1. Girl who lost her sheep : BO PEEP

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And doesn't know where to find them;

Leave them alone,

And they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

2. Barnard graduate : ALUMNA. Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college in NYC and one of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, it has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900.

4. Bagel go-with : LOX

5. Landslide victory : ROUT

6. Poker pot starter : ANTE

8. Bend before in reverence : BOW TO

9. Lucky Luciano cohort Meyer __ : LANSKY. Known as the "Mob's Accountant", Lansky was never found guilty of anything more serious than illegal gambling. Which reminds me, how did you do on the big game?

10. Before, in poetry : ERE

11. Cowboy movies : WESTERNS

12. Shirking, as taxes : EVADING

13. LBJ's home state : TEX. (Texas)

16. Salon coloring : DYE

19. Speak : SAY

24. Sweetie pie : SNOOKUMS. In 1904, 'The Newlyweds', a newspaper comic strip, was about an elegant young couple and their baby, Snookums.

26. Dennis the Menace's grumpy neighbor : MR. WILSON

28. Hate : DETEST

30. Part of UCLA : LOS. (University of California, Los Angeles)

32. Chinese appetizer : DIM SUM

33. "I think ...," in texts : IMO. (in my opinion)

34. Make, as money : EARN

36. Mets' old stadium : SHEA

38. Old Montreal baseballer : EXPO

39. Back : REAR

41. Flippered aquarium attractions : SEA LIONS

42. Sch. with a Spokane campus : WSU. (Washington State University)

43. Typist's stat. : WPM. (words per minute)

44. Some young cows : HEIFERS

47. Pennsylvania raceway : POCONO. Known as the Tricky Triangle.

51. Entertain in style : REGALE

52. Victimized, with "on" : PREYED

55. Outlet inserts : PLUGS

56. GI show gp. : USO. (United Service Organizations)

58. USSR secret service : KGB. (komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti)

60. Santa __: West Coast winds : ANAs

61. 1551, to Caesar : MDLI

64. Billiards stick : CUE

66. NBA official : REF. (referee)

67. Dean's list no. : GPA. (grade point average)

Argyle

Sunday Feburary 1, 2015 Gail Grabowski

 Theme:  "You Must Be Joking" - A is changed into U in each theme entry.

27A. Flea? : DOGGIE BUG. Doggie bag.

29A. Sign of a barbecuer's inattention? : SMOKING BUN. Vivid clue. Smoking ban. Not in casinos, unfortunately. Sad life in casinos.

48A. Most miles logged in a pickup, say? : TRUCK RECORD. Track record.

64A. Blizzard in Birmingham? : SNOW FLUKE. Snowflake. Never been to Birmingham. Too warm to snow there.

81A. Vessel that inspires ideas? : THINKING CUP. Thinking cap.

99A. Shack made of aluminum wrap? : TIN FOIL HUT. Tin foil hat.

102A. Cowardly lion, once? : YELLOW CUB. Yellow cab. I love the clue.

36D. Prospector's close attachment to his helper? : MULE BONDING. Male bonding.

40D. Reservation for an upper berth? : BUNK DEPOSIT. Bank deposit.

Once again, Gail started her theme answers in Row 4 rather than the traditional Row 3. This allowed her to put the two 11's in the Down slots.

Such a simple and elegant theme. I learned from making my own Sundays that it's hard to achieve Gail's elegance and smoothness. You need to always put solvers in mind when filling the grid.

Across:     

1. Item worn diagonally : SASH.  I was picturing the one-shoulder T-shirt.

5. Guess : STAB

9. Suffix with techno- : PHOBE

14. Hate the thought of : DREAD

19. Expressive dance : HULA

20. Taylor of "Six Feet Under" : LILI

21. Kind of artery : RENAL

22. Out of practice : RUSTY. My Xi'an dialect is very rusty now. This makes me smile. Xi'an is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.

23. David Cameron's alma mater : ETON

24. "... the __-coloured ink": Shak. : EBON

25. Corkers? : IRISH. Oh, one from Cork.

26. Taper off : ABATE

31. Oz. sextet : TSPs

32. Signs up : JOINS

33. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL (Enlarge)

34. Mutual respect : COMITY. What we have here in our Corner.

37. Action film staples : STUNTS

39. Ever so slightly : A WEE BIT

43. Fundraiser's call list : ALUMS. Boomer's high school is quite aggressive in their fundraising.

44. Geometry subject : PLANE

45. Manner of moving : GAIT

46. 108-card game : UNO

47. Wide margin : MILE

51. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. She played Skyler.

52. Calendrical brink : EVE. Is "Calendrical" a word you use?

53. Common product in Super Bowl ads : BEER.  And 89. Colorado-based brewery : COORS

54. Fluffy accessory : BOA

55. Brought out : EVOKED

57. Blood work charges : LAB FEES

59. Ones that tip a lot : CANOES. Lovely clue.

62. Hang on the line : AIR-DRY

63. PBS URL ender : ORG

67. Sault __ Marie : STE

68. Enjoy a home-cooked meal : DINE IN. I wonder how often Splynter dines in. I don't think he or Argyle cooks.

71. Garage capacity : ONE CAR

72. Faddish gift that has ranged from kittens to crocodiles : CHIA PET. Never had one. This stuff does not appeal to me.

76. "Day __": 1969 Peter, Paul and Mary hit : IS DONE

77. Motor oil letters : SAE. For Society of Automotive Engineers. I wanted STP.

78. Dull thing to be in : A RUT. And 60D. Every seven days : A WEEK. To me, these two are partials, though clued otherwise.

79. Flowery tribute : ODE

80. Blood line : VEIN

86. Warts and all : AS IS

87. Follower of directions? : ERN. Western.

88. Industry mogul : CZAR. Drug Czar.

90. Singer/songwriter Travis : TRITT

91. Uses Elmer's on once more : RE-GLUES

93. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE

95. Laudable : WORTHY

96. Play the wrong golf ball, say : ERR. Two-stroke penalty in your league also, Gary?

  

97. Quarters : ABODE

98. First name in architecture : EERO

107. Break down slowly : ERODE

108. Weeper of myth : NIOBE

109. Like Arizona's typical climate : ARID

110. Raid discovery : KILO. As in drug.

111. Tough tissue : SINEW

112. "The Chew" co-host Hall : CARLA. We had her before.

113. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE

114. Peak near Messina : ETNA

115. Nautical poles : SPARS

116. Long-eared equines : ASSES

117. Safe document : DEED

118. Fiscal __ : YEAR

Down:

1. Storage spot : SHED

2. Modern prefix with fill : AUTO. The software constructors use has a Autofill function.

3. Trudge : SLOG

4. Punter's statistic : HANG TIME

5. Yawning, perhaps : SLEEPY

6. 1970 Poitier title role : TIBBS. Mr. Tibbs.

7. Baseball family name : ALOU

8. Microsoft search engine : BING. Yellowrocks' preferred search engine.

9. Cell user : PRISONER. Prison cell.

10. Recluse : HERMIT

11. Subway selection : ONIONS. They have quite a few restaurants in China.

12. Enjoys the sun : BASKS

13. Inclusive school acronym : EL-HI. Just won't go away.

14. Where to find stories on Friday? : DRAGNET. Joe Friday.

15. Debris : RUBBLE

16. Son of Isaac : ESAU

17. Mail-routing abbr. : ATTN

18. Salon supply : DYE

28. Followers' suffix : ISTs

30. Fresh bean sprout? : NEW IDEA. Another nice clue.

32. Basement buildup : JUNK. Ours is full of worthless baseball cards.

34. Caravan mount : CAMEL

35. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. Here he is with Boomer. TTP mentioned how nice Ernie Banks was the other day. Tony Oliva is the same. Rod Carew is rather distant.

37. Speak indistinctly : SLUR

38. Washington's Sea-__ Airport : TAC

39. Rhine tributary : AAR

41. Word with circle or city : INNER

42. Apple polisher : TOADY

44. Defensive hoops tactic : PRESS

45. "__ your father" : GO ASK

48. Driving need? : TEE

49. Virus in 2014 news : EBOLA. We have an Ebola Czar!

50. __ d'Alene : COEUR

51. Angiogram image : AORTA

53. Initiate : BEGIN

56. Call on : VISIT

58. Carefully controlled refrigerant : FREON

59. First name in late-night : CONAN. Not into this guy.

 

61. Bears' org. : NFC

65. Respectful reply : NO SIR

66. Linen shades : ECRUS

68. Salvage crew member : DIVER. I meet lots of interesting people in our flea markets. One of the coin dealers is a diver/treasure hunter.

69. Rhone tributary : ISERE

70. Los Angeles-based ISP : NETZERO. I did not know they're based in LA.

73. Military drill syllable : HUP

74. Author Wharton : EDITH

75. In a mood : TESTY

78. Farm fraction : ACRE

82. Is down with : HAS. And 85. Came down with : GOT

 83. Pitchers may hold them : ICED TEAS. Of course I was thinking of baseball! Iced Lemon Tea (with honey) is the default summer drink in Hong Kong.

84. Bloodhound asset : NOSE

86. Scrolling convenience : ARROW KEY

88. Dating concerns for teens : CURFEWS. Our college dorm lady closed the door at 11:00pm sharp. Crazy days.

90. Turf maintenance brand : TORO

92. Library, e.g. : LENDER. IRS does not send libraries the tax form instruction booklets this year. Made Boomer mad. Do you all e-file?

93. Detests : ABHORS

94. Bar order : DOUBLE

95. Like many metal joints : WELDED

97. Rap sheet entry : ALIAS

98. Type smaller than pica : ELITE

99. Fool, with "up" : TRIP

100. Macbeth's burial site : IONA

101. Worshipper of the sun god Inti : INCA. I normally spell "worshiper" with one P. You?

102. School attachment? : YARD. I think I put in MARM first.

103. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE

104. Make mention of : CITE

105. Prismatic bone : ULNA

106. Animal that doesn't sound very interesting : BOAR. Ha ha.

107. Season opener? : ESS. So is PRE.

 C.C.

Interview with Ned White

Today's themeless is Ned White's 6th puzzle for the LA Times. Ned also has had 11 puzzles published by the New York Times, 10 of them are hard Friday/Saturday themeless. And he made all of them by hand! I don't think I can even keep the clue numbers correct without help from my software.

We don't often get a mini-theme on Saturdays, I hope you enjoy how Ned put this puzzle together. I  also love very much how he values his solvers and his advice to new constructors.

Ned White, Bangor Daily News

I was surprised to learn last August that you did not use Crossword Compiler. I presume this puzzle was made by hand also?

Yes, it was. But I've recently stopped tormenting myself and now use Crossfire, which works nicely on a Mac. Most of my published puzzles have been by hand, but the trauma and bloodshed just aren't worth it anymore.

What are the seed entries of this puzzle and what trouble did you encounter while filling in the grid?

I was looking for two crossing spanners that resonated with/played off each other for the "seed answers", and I loved both CLICK IT OR TICKET and USE INDOOR VOICES, since they're both warnings and one's used on the highway and the other, often, in a hallway, and they both have a subtle sense of fun about them. I also wanted THE RULES at 62 Across to help anchor the puzzle with what they call a "mini-theme." The challenge was 1 Across, 8 letters ending in C. Also, MALIK at 44 Across... One Direction is still a popular group, but this was clearly one of those "you probably don't know it, but here it is anyway" kind of answers. TETE A TETE gives easy letters to cross through, so I'm not so thrilled with it, but I thought it was cool getting all of EDIE FALCO in the grid. It's all give and take.

Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you get into crossword construction?

My background and training is in creative writing, and my career has been in novels, scriptwriting (TV and corporate, drama and documentary), and occasionally creative direction. Writing has its good and lean years, so after watching the movie "Wordplay" during a lean-ish year, I said, "I can do this." Followed by, "I think I want to do this." Well, several months later, I had my first acceptance, but it took me a few weeks to get that puzzle just right. When it was published three years later as a Saturday, "Rex Parker" was appalled by how hard it was. I had to agree. But I could also have told him, "Forget about how hard it is to solve, you have no idea how hard it was to make." It was a monster.

I should add, my first published puzzle (in the NYT) used the same grid as today's LAT puzzle. I debuted at the age of 63, I think, and that's quite a bit later than most, but I felt ready for anything, anytime. Age is not an issue. Bernice Gordon gave us great stuff into her triple figures (I just learned of her passing today... the tributes to her are inspiring and moving). So yes, I got a late start, but I'm actually kind of proud of it, and I intend to keep at it for quite a long time.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

 
Others have said, and I agree, themeless puzzles are easier to construct than themed puzzles, but harder to have accepted because the bar has been raised so high in the last year or two. Most of my puzzles are themeless, but I'm having a lot of fun with theme ideas that involve simple wordplay and puns. But different editors have different senses of humor, so you never know.

Cluing is always difficult for me. It takes me a solid 8 hours to clue a 15X. For fill words in a themed puzzle, I attempt misdirective or punny "question mark" clues for varying percentages of the answers, depending on which weekday the puzzle is best suited to. ETE for a Monday is probably "Summer on the Seine" and for a Friday "Nice time for a tan?", but there's just so much you can do with crosswordese like that. Otherwise, I strive to avoid cluing that's been used before, but I'm not always successful. Editors like Will and Rich and more recently Patti Varol always seem to be more creative than I, and I'll see one of their clues and ask, "Why didn't I think of that?" Trying to outguess them (to be more devious and clever) is nearly impossible for me. I had SCOTS in an NYT themeless, and Will kept my "Firth class?" clue. I had NAE in the same puzzle with "Firth refusal?", but that one didn't make the cut.

You've made both themed and themeless puzzles. What are the major differences in your approach to fill?

Themed puzzle fill, at worst, can be workmanlike, but now we see more and more really sparkling "crunchy" longish stuff crossing through 2 or 3 themed answers. Themeless puzzle fill has to keep reaching for the new, fresh, original, and surprising, and keep 3- and 4- letter fill words to a minimum. Some constructors will do anything for a pangram, or for a super high Scrabble count, but to me that's secondary to entertainment value and some fun in the grid. If I could give one piece of advice to new constructors (and I still consider myself fairly new at this, with barely two dozen puzzles in print), it would be "don't aim for the fences; give the solver a good time." I think we're seeing an excess of virtuosity in construction - quad stacks, very few blocks, etc. - and it's impressive but it doesn't necessarily make for a good solve with spanners that don't have much interest or bite (it can also force some very ugly downcrossing fill). I used to aim for a certain level of virtuosity, but no more. I want people to laugh, or at least smile, when they do my puzzles.

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

Carla and I live on a backwater cove on the coast of Maine in a house we built about 3 years ago, so one "hobby" is working on the property. Otherwise, I do some photography, play some guitar and piano, and there's lots of veggie gardening in the summer and attempts at mackerel jigging. I also blog weekly with the Bangor Daily News (Journeys Over a Hot Stove) about our road trips and different residences all over the U.S. mixed with regional recipes and food and topics that are completely unrelated. Usually, the posts are "humorous," or try to be, but sometimes they're quite serious. I've driven through 49 states, and I think the blog, on the whole, shows a deep affection for the diversity of landscape in this country, the people who live there, and the different sense of "soul" I've sensed in different regions. A few of my posts are "love letters" to a tiny town or a particular corner of a state or some stranger who made a lasting impression.

Saturday, Jan 31st, 2015, Ned White

Theme: 

Words: 70 (missing Y,Z)

Blocks: 32

Phew~!  This one drained me mentally.  The proper names and biology just did me in ( I counted 17 in all ).  First I had to switch to red-letter, then Google, and finally to a straight up cheat.  Oh well.  Still, I enjoyed the challenge, and I was thrilled to get a "mini-theme" on Saturday~! The last time I had Mr. White for a constructor, I was in the middle of the summer bench project (that's 41a.) - while I'm not interested in the hostess from there anymore, I'm still hopelessly in love with the blue-eyed hostess.  Anyway, one spanner crossing one climber:

36a. School hallway warning : USE INDOOR VOICES

8d. Highway warning : CLICK IT OR TICKET - The national highway traffic safety admin's campaign to get you to wear your seatbelt; I always do.  Some male driver humor here

And the "reveal";

62a. Things to obey, like 36-Across and 8-Down : THE RULES

ACROSS:

1*. Plant reproductive structure : SPORE SAC - I got the "C", which led me to "sac", and on from there

9. Sharpens : WHETS - D'oh~! Not HONES

14*. Lindbergh nickname : LONE EAGLE - name - His Wiki

16. Goat __: chaotic situation, in slang : RODEO - Never heard of this; around here, we call it a clusterf**k

17. European travel pass : INTERRAIL - One of their itineraries lets you stop at Neuschwanstein Castle

18. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA - Total WAG - but then again, a 5-letter musical....

19. NYC travel org. : MTA

20. Trig function : ARCSEC - Cosine worked, too, but the abbr. "trig" meant otherwise

22. West end? : ERN - Western

23*. Internal walls : SEPTA - Biological term - as a carpenter, I was baffled trying to figure out what interior walls are called ( as opposed to 'bearing' walls, i.e. )

26*. Lizard that can shed its tail : SKINK - OK, so I threw in GECKO to start - Bzzzt~!

27. Passing event? : FAD - Dah~! I had to cheat the "D", but that finally opened up the NE

28. Book ending : ISH - Bookish

30. Like 23 of Haydn's symphonies : IN D - I put the "IN" part down, then waited....

31. Standing losses? : LAPS - when you stand up, you lose your lap - that's a kindergarten joke

32. Signifies : ADDS UP TO

35. "What have we here?!" : "HELLO~?!"

38. Fingers : NAMES

39. Media section : PRESS BOX - Dah~!!! My mind was stuck in the library, trying to get "Children's" to fit

40. Anthologies : ANAS - I goofed and put in ADAs, but that was 75% correct

41. Project : JUT - the verb, not the art/construction/school kind

42. Number of single-syllable U.S. states : ONE - Which one?  I know the answer~!

43. Cosmo, for one : MAGazine

44*. One Direction singer Zayn __ : MALIK - name

46*. Kirkuk native : IRAQI - name

50. "Every Moment Counts" gp. : USO - I pondered "REM", the music group

51*. 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient : UNICEF - I thought it might be this man, who just passed away, but his Nobel Prize was 1964

53. Vow taker : NUN

54. 8-Down and others : SIGNS - I have to admit, I have not seen "click it or ticket" as a sign; just the TV spots

56. A carve turn may be taught in one : SKI LESSON - Dah~! Dah~! Dah~!  First, I read it as "Caught", and not Taught, so I was stuck in the mental rut of carving wood, thus I was trying to get "WOOD KNOT" to work - or something like that. 

59. Bring forth : EDUCE

60. S-shaped sofa : TÊTE À TÊTE - aww, a kissing bench

61. Company with antlers in its logo : DEERE

DOWN:       

1. Diets, with "down" : SLIMS - Ooops, went with TRims first

2. Bridge overseas : PONTE

3. Slated : ON TAP

4*. R&B artist Des'__ : REE

5. "As wicked dew as __ my mother brush'd": "The Tempest" : E'ER

6. 1979-'80 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA

7. Food stabilizers : AGARS

9. Highway closer, perhaps : WRECK - yup, that'll do it

10. Highway lane, for short : H.O.V. - High Occupancy Vehicle; I think it's a colossal waste here on L.I.; a better solution would have been a zipper wall

11*. Four-time Emmy-winning actress : EDIE FALCO

12*. Four-stranded DNA structure : TETRAPLEX - uh, OK - the Wiki

13. Scoundrels : SO-AND-SOs - ugh; just wasn't coming to me

15. Where "Hamlet" opens : ELSINORE - there's a castle there, too - more here

21. Object : END - the noun, not the verb

24. Spruces (up) : TIDIES

25. Like-minded orgs. : ASSNs

29*. __ Bannon, Paul Newman role : HUD - I've heard of it, but never seen it - IMDb

31*. Jerry who wrote lyrics for many Presley songs : LEIBER - ugh, please

32. How a stage line might be spoken : AS AN ASIDE - I got this, and it gave me some hope in the SW

33. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE

34. Champion of the common man : POPULIST

35*. Successor to Anwar : HOSNI

36. Not laughing : UNAMUSED

37. Brandy designation : VSO - Very Superior Old

41. 31-day mo. : JAN - on the first pass with no perps, could have been MAR, JUL, AUG, OCT, & DEC as well

44. Beaux-arts venue : MUSÉE - Frawnche

45*. Sports commentator Olbermann : KEITH

47*. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL - ah, but I know this guy~!

48. Repeat exactly : QUOTE

49*. Novelist Hammond __ : INNES

52. Run : FLEE

55. Big name in bar code scanners : NCR

57. Tin __ : EAR

58*. Tommy Pickles' dad in "Rugrats" : STU

Splynter

Note from C.C.: 

  

Happy Birthday to dear Bill G, who has brought us lots of fun and uplifting links since he joined our blog. Whenever he sees a feel-good story via Barbara's Facebook or other sites, he shares with us immediately. Bill's posts are always cheerful and lighthearted, even his comments to those mean anons are polite. My heart aches with him for the tragic loss of his son Dan. I'm also very grateful for Bill's steady presence on our blog the past few years. The Comments section just does not feel complete without Bill's late night posts.

Barbara & Bill