Sunday, February 8, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme:  "Movie Trailers". Our lovely Marti has appended a word to familiar movie titles and then hilarity ensued as the resulting phrase made sense but in a fun way. My favorite was 

56A. Movie about a morning mixer? : THE BREAKFAST CLUB SODA, which in this case seems to be Coca Cola and not CLUB SODA. Gotta love product placement fees!
 

22A. Movie about a second-place swordsman? : BLADE RUNNER UP - Probably had a bad epee

39A. Movie about a case of brilliance? : THE SHINING EXAMPLE

80A. Movie about remedial grammar? : BACK TO THE FUTURE TENSE - When we hit 88 mph, we will have returned to 1985

96A. Movie about a gabfest getting out of hand? : RAGING BULL SESSION (not much gabbing going on in this session)

119A. Movie about a Brownie coming of age? : GONE GIRL SCOUT - she sold me some Thin Mints and then split

I always have a good time with Marti's puzzles and this was no exception. I'll bet her fertile brain produced a big bone pile of rejected entries that didn't make the cut. 

After blogging for C.C. two weeks ago and Marti today, may I submit a humble entry - "Strength Of An Attractive Female"
 

                        Power"  

Get your popcorn, turn off your cell phones, sit back and enjoy the show! 

Across        

1. "Shucks!" : AW GEE

6. Alley roamers : TOM CATS - a venue our kitty will never see

13. Relatives of bolts : SCREWS - Betcha you've got a drawer at home full of both like we do

 

 

19. Contemporary of Burns : BENNY

20. Central __ : AMERICA - I only know Panama and Guatemala on a map for sure. You?

 

 

21. Red choice : CLARET - Yup, it's Marti's puzzle!

24. Went around : ROTATED - We ROTATED kids every 12 weeks for 34 years so I got everyone of the 400+ Eighth graders. No wonder I can't remember them!

26. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - Romans called him "The Scourge of God"

27. As above, in footnotes : IDEM - Not IBID. Footnoting was "The Scourge of College" for me. 

28. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA

29. Con opening : NEO

30. It might include problems : TEST - Was that Central America test above a problem?

32. Syria's most populous city : ALEPPO - Millions have fled

35. Stupefyin' Jones creator : CAPP - Julie Newmar wowed 'em in that role on Broadway and reprised the character in the 1959 movie version of Lil' Abner.
 

36. Rocks, maybe : ICE - not allowed in some venues ;-)

44. "Finale Ultimo" chorus in "The Sound of Music" : NUNS - Reprise #2. The NUNS sang Climb Every Mountain against this fabulous backdrop.

 

 

46. Dire destiny : DOOM

47. Actress Vardalos : NIA - Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson, of Greek heritage, convinced him to see NIA's play and then Hanks' company, Playtone, got the movie off the ground.

 

 

48. Mudville dud : CASEY - He shouldna taken two strikes!

49. Per se : AS SUCH

52. Cocktail word for "strained" : COLADA - Learning for me. I've strained to get to the car after too many pina coladas.

54. "12 Angry Men" actor Cobb : LEE J - Did that kid really kill his dad or not?

61. Rembrandt van __ : RYN - He went by his first name like Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 

62. One who gives a hoot : OWL

63. Some "MIB" characters : ET'S -  I liked 'em better in Close Encounters

64. Prefix with metric : ISO - As in ISOMETRIC exercise. Let's all pause for three reps!

 

 

65. Guns : REVS - Followed by "She's real fine my 409..."

67. 1977 Steely Dan album : AJA - Pronounced Asia, the name of a Korean bride taken by Donald Fagen's friend's brother's wife

68. Fisher daughter on "Six Feet Under" : CLAIRE

70. Eur. peak on the Decade Volcanoes list : MT ETNA - Lots of company.

 

 

73. Slammer : PEN

74. Milkweed features : PODS - Here is a piece of Milkweed Pod art by our constructor Marti that she calls Parakeets. Yeah, I know, she's pretty talented! 
 

76. 911 responder, for short : EMT

77. Game-winning line : O O O 

 

 

78. Austrian article : EIN - Ich bin EIN Berliner still gives me goosebumps 

79. Bard's preposition : ERE

86. River islets : AITS - sometimes, what gets learned here, stays here

87. Steps in for : ACTS AS - In the last Husker bowl game, another coach had to ACT AS the head coach for fired Bo Pelini

88. One might get a return : SENDER - Only Big Girls Don't Cry kept Elvis' Return To SENDER from the #1 spot in December 1962

89. Pre-Little League game : T-BALL

92. "Selena" star, to fans : J LO

93. Ton : SLEW

95. Paper or plastic alternative : TOTE
 

102. Agree silently : NOD 

103. Solo often in Italian : ARIA - I'll take Nessun Dorma

104. It had a big part in "The Ten Commandments" : RED SEA - Big "Part"? Good one Marti!

105. Tater : SPUD 

107. Denver winter hrs. : MST

108. Big do : FETE

109. Popular tablet : I PAD - Don't ask Joann to choose between her iPad and me!

113. Blows : ERUPTS - See map at 70A for examples

117. Naval attire : PEA COAT - I'd be willing to bet there's some of these hanging in closets among our sea-going (sea-went) sailors here at the Corner.

 

 

122. Laid-back : AT EASE - Now if the space is between the A and the T...

123. Like the Empire State Building : ART DECO

124. Helped by the jet stream, as a flight : EARLY - A BOAC flight from NY to London arrived an hour and a half early recently as a 200 mph jet stream pushed it up to near the speed of sound

125. ATM part : TELLER

126. "Ah, it's clear now!" : YES I SEE

127. Inscribed pillar : STELE

Down:

1. Group whose logo looks the same in a mirror : ABBA - Hey, this would work, but not as I just typed it.

 

 

2. Shoemaker's strip : WELT

3. Flying pest : GNAT

4. Call the whole thing off : END IT - "Just take one dip and END IT!"

 

 

5. Lace hole : EYELET

6. Start of ancient Troy? : TAU - τροία

7. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI

8. Heal : MEND 

9. First Nations tribe : CREE 

10. Aviator : AIRMAN - Sgt. Major Dickerson had trouble with this AIRMAN.

 

 

11. Horned Frogs' sch. : TCU

12. Flower in trees? : SAP - Aha, Marti, you didn't get me!

13. Pickle : SCRAPE

14. Laundry brand : CLOROX

15. Pro __ : RATA

16. The Gay '90s, e.g. : ERA

17. Messy-meal handouts : WET-NAPS - With a side of ribs

18. Church feature : STEEPLE - C'mon, you've made this STEEPLE, haven't you?

 

 

23. Impetuous : RASH

25. Grumpy companion : DOPEY

28. Evian Championship co-sanctioning org. : LPGA

31. CNN founder Turner : TED

33. Godiva competitor : LINDT
 

34. "Giant Brain" introduced in 1946 : ENIAC

35. Key of 20 Haydn symphonies : C MAJOR

36. Caught : IN A TRAP - Speaking of Elvis, which of his songs has "IN A TRAP" in the lyric? It's my favorite.

37. Plum position : CUSHY JOB - Thanks for the raise, Dad!

38. Baja city : ENSENADA - Inlet or cove in español

40. Put (away), as money : SOCK

41. Bojangles, e.g. : HOOFER 

42. "Sorry, can't stop to chat" : I'M LATE - I'M LATE, for a very important date...

43. Whizzes : ACES

45. Hero : SUB

50. Gator relative : CROC 

51. Computer company co-founder Bill : HEWLETT - Garage in Palo Alto, CA where Bill started. California named it "The Birthplace Of Silicon Valley".
 

53. Braying beast : ASS

54. Sheen : LUSTER

55. Piano keys not played in a 35-Down scale : EBONIES - Not a sharp or flat in sight.

 

 

57. Los __ : ALAMOS - A more destructive birthplace

58. A bad one can raise one's score : LIE

59. Trust : DEPEND ON

60. Put off by : AVERSE TO 

66. Showed disdain : SNEERED - What Elvis did when he sang Return To Sender

69. Hairy sitcom cousin : ITT

70. Airy dessert : MOUSSE - You can see some of that air here.
 

71. Bottom lines : TOTALS

72. Hold 'em opener : ANTE

75. Colleague of Thomas : SCALIA

77. O'er and o'er : OFT - Tis OFT we see ere and o'er 

81. Brickmaking tool : KILN

82. Lecture sites : HALLS

83. Paris' __ des Beaux-Arts : ECOLE

84. Doesn't allow to gather dust : USES -  Our theme song?

 

 

85. Otolaryngology doc : ENT - An ENT had my head scanned and it revealed nothing. Wait a minute... 

89. Lady's friend : TRAMP

90. Stool, often : BAR SEAT

91. Inflame : AGITATE

92. Patron saint of lost causes : JUDE

94. "America's Dairyland": Abbr. : WIS - Maybe not... 
 

97. Washday challenge : GREASE

98. Outdo : BETTER - What musical featured, Anything You Can Do, I Can Do BETTER?

99. Superdome team : SAINTS - Their post-Katrina success culminating in the 07/08 Super Bowl win really help put NOLA back on its feet

100. GM subsidiary : OPEL

101. Drinks on a 90-Down : NURSES

106. Old Venetian coin : DUCAT

108. Mustang that just arrived : FOAL - cute

110. Mani go-with : PEDI - had one last year, haven't been back

111. A long time : AGES

112. Rollers for high rollers : DICE

114. Tiny sweater? : PORE - cute too

115. Eponymous 18th-century agriculturist Jethro __ : TULL - His invention of the horse drawn seed drill helped fuel the British Agricultural Revolution.

 

 

116. Eye sore : STYE

118. Animation still : CEL - This 1935 CEL, the first with Mickey Mouse in color, sold for $420,000. Most, if not all, animators are now laid off.
 

119. Lively : GAY

120. Vein contents : ORE

121. Anagram of 120-Down : ROE - nice coupling finish!

No puzzle to do, no blog to write and I sang and played in church last night. Hmmm... I wonder if that old sock drawer needs a look-see. 
 

Saturday, Feb 7th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing K,Q,W,Y,Z)

Blocks: 27

  Ah, a Silkie, and since I unofficially call his puzzles a "theme", that's two in a row for me~!  Pretty blank on the first pass, with triple 11-letter stacks in the Across, and then triple 8's in the Down corners to work with.  Slowed down by the proper names again, but I seem to be getting more open-minded about how I go about the solve (*); guess I've done my share of Saturday crosswords, and a good number of Mr. Silk's at that....all in all, a fairly fun solve.  Some of the longer fill;

15a. Reversible chemical process : ION EXCHANGE - I had the "X" from 5d., and not that I've heard of this process, but it sounded pretty good; think water softeners

14d. Followers : APOSTLES - pondered BOOSTERS ( had the --OST--S), then GNOSTICS; I got there eventually

67a. Bank counter convenience : DEPOSIT SLIP - becoming obsolete in my world; I can now run my checks thru the ATM ( in a stack of up to 30, not that I would ever have that many ) and get a print-out of the check on my receipt - no deposit slip required

37. Loiters : HANGS OUT

ONvacationWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Three-volume biography of Winston Churchill : THE LAST LION - no clue to start, but that rarely fazes me anymore

12*. Summer, at times : CPA - open-minded; a "sum-mer", like my friend Ed, who does my taxes

16. Material flaw : RIP - I went with "RUN", but you know where my mind usually is....

17. Collectible late-'50s auto : EDSEL RANGER - I took time to read over some of the reasons for this epic failure, and found some of it quite fascinating

18. Mattel game since 1992 : UNO - I am working on a board/card game of my own right now, with the hope of selling it through my buddy Mike's company, Kid Agains - he's really taking off with the brand; in fact, he's in China now working out the details of the next 3 games they're producing for him this year.  I have a lot of work to do at the restaurant, and with the threat of more snow, I decided to take a week of vacation from UPS.  Any free time next week will be spent working on the game.

19. Inventing initials : TAE - Thomas Alva Edison

20. Almost null? : EINS - cute.  Zero and one in German

21. Dodges : EVADES - I went with AVOIDS; that's 67% technically, but the key was having the "V" in the right place

23. Four-time All-Star Oriole outfielder Jones : ADAM - C.C. would know more

25*. Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee : MEIR - WAG

27. Raise : ERECT

28*. Certain red giant : C STAR - here's what I mean; in past puzzles, we've seen "-"STAR, so I filled that part in, and WAGed a "G" to start

30. One often looking down : SNOB

32. File, for one : TOOL - Tried MENU.   Was 100%.   Wrong.

33. 54-Across holder : TUB - ah, didn't get enough circumreferential yesterday~?

35. Lucrative venture : GOLD MINE

37. They don't sound as welcoming as they are : HOSTELS - One would hope the environment is not "Hostile"

41. Bolivian president Evo : MORALES - mostly perps

42. Net : AFTER TAX

44*. Blues musician Mahal : TAJ - sensible WAG, but then I wondered if it might be "Raj", or something like that

45. NASCAR Hall of Fame locale: Abbr. : N. CARolina

46. Go (through) : SIFT - I tried PASS

48. Goes for : COSTS - picking up my new phone tomorrow.  There was nothing wrong with my old one, but I am really excited to start using the new Ryobi Phone Works tools - I have the scope, the moisture meter, and will probably buy the stud finder ( yes, it might just be a metal detector, HeartRx~! ) as well.  My new plan COSTS more than the last one because I added a 'hot-spot' device so I can print Home Inspection reports in the field - that is, from the trunk of my car.

52. Capturer's triumphant words : GOT 'EM

54. 33-Across filler : LARD - uh, see 33a?

56. Cheer : ROOT - not RAVE, not RANT

57. Tannery output : SUEDES

59. Smoke, perhaps : CURE - ah, like meat; think Beef Jerky

61. Fr. title : MME

62. "... and the __ below / As hush as death": "Hamlet" : ORB

63. Asset disposal option : AUCTION SALE

66. Original "Burn Notice" airer : USA - I tried the show; I liked it, but couldn't stay with it.  I am happy to see "Sirens" is back - more Denis Leary

68. Rx notation : TER - Dah.  Went with TID

69. Runoff facilitators : STORM DRAINS - went with GRATES to start

DOWN:      

1. Haberdashery item : TIE-TAC

2. Beginners with boards : HO-DADS - Dictionary.com calls this person a "non-surfer who spends time at the beach masquerading as a surfer"

3. Put on a throne : ENSEAT

4. Author Harper : LEE

5*. Wheelbarrow feature : AXLE - did my share of assembling these last summer ( not sum-mer ); how many 4-letter parts does one of these have, anyway~?

6. Open-weave fabric : SCRIM - new word for me; frequently used as a lighting filter and stage backdrop

7. Old Scottish officials : THANES - half perps, half WAG

8. Capital on the Grand River : LANSING - JazzB nailed it, right?

9*. Like Dvorák's Symphony No. 8 : IN G - more of that crossword intuition; it's going to be "IN" A,B,C,D,E,F, or G....

10. Fancy molding : OGEE - messed up my AVOIDS, but I am working on a new project at the restaurant - they're looking for some "wow" when they re-open for Valentine's Day, so the owner opted for a true 'fish house' look; chalkboards and subway tile - I like the contrast, and I love doing the work - the split between the two is the height of the chairs.  Hence, I am installing chair rail.  When I primed the wall, you could really see the dings from the backs of the seats

11. Audacity : NERVE

12. Well target : CRUDE OIL

13. Organ with scales : PINE CONE - well, uh, that's one way to describe it

22. Would-be designer, perhaps : ART MAJOR - the "J" from 44a. helped immensely

24. Had an impact : MATTERED

26. Basic rental : ROOM - Ah.  Not AUTO

29. Who's sorry now : RUER

31. Smudge : BLOT - not SPOT, so I took it all out - but was half right in the first place

34. Alphabetical orders? : BLTs - Odd, but I went with RSVP

36. Literary count, familiarly : DRAC - or VLAD~?  All I had was the "A"

38. "For certain" : "OF COURSE~!"

39. Regulatory legal association : STATE BAR

40. Breeze (through) : SAIL

43. Hard-to-define influence : X FACTOR

47. Platitude : TRUISM

49. Shilling spender : SOMALI

50. 2003 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recipient : TOMLIN

51. Marinates : STEEPS

53. Honey beverages : MEADS

55. Sci-fi figure : DROID - my "GRATES" led me to try ZERO G - hey, that's sort of a "figure"

58. Haggis ingredient : SUET

60*. Start of an intermission? : ENT'R - ACTE; seen this in enough crosswords, so I was not fooled

64. USCG rank : CPO

65. Federal benefits org. : SSA

Splynter

Friday February 6, 2015, Paul Coulter

Theme: Where can I hide the theme?  On the edges...

This puzzle was easier to fill than to discuss, especially to a crowd that does not like cross-referential cluing. (Sorry Barry G.). Each outside edge of the puzzle consists of three (3) four (4) letter fill, where the first and third fill together are the clue for the middle word. When combined, words 1+3  create a compound word, hence the reveal COMPOUND FRACTURE i.e., the compound word is fractured (broken) into two pieces. This was a hard Friday for me, and I hope you all stuck with it because there were lots of learning moments. This appears to be a debut LAT for a very active poster on puzzle blogs, so welcome Paul.

1A. Predicament : BOAT (4) a very tricky clue (in the same boat, being the easiest way to explain clue/fill) paired with 9A. Mutual fund charge : LOAD (4) (funds are no load, front load, or back end loaded) gives the clue for 5A.  Boatload: *1-/9-Across : HEAP which describes how much trouble you would be in if you did not see this gimmick.

73A. "Easy to be Hard" musical : HAIR (4) paired with 75A. Business : LINE (4) leaves the compound word clue for 74 A. Hairline: *73-/75-Across : THIN (4) as in a hairline fracture.

1D. Overdue, as pay : BACK (4) paired with 53D. Converse : TALK (4) produces the clue for 29D. Backtalk *1-/53-Down : SASS (4).

16D. Stern : HARD (4) paired with 64D. Reactor part : CORE (4) results in  the clue for : Hardcore: 39D. *16-/64-Down : AVID such as the fans for the Patriots or AC Milan, the soccer club.

The reveal is also cross-referential:
32A. With 49-Across, bad break ... and what each answer to a starred clue creates vis-à-vis the answers that define it : COMPOUND (8) 49A. See 32-Across : FRACTURE (8). A Compound fracture of a bone, as opposed to a simple clean break. (Hence bad break).

Add to the fun, the very difficult pair 62D. With 29-Across, Balkan city on the Danube : NOVI. 29A. See 62-Down : SAD.  Novi Sad according to wiki is  the second largest city in Serbia, the administrative seat of the province of Vojvodina and of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.

This is a very odd and very hard Friday, it seems like it should be easy with forty 4 letter fill, but the short ones like ABU, ARA, ELAH, AMUR  and the few long ones like  TONSURE, TREATED, TRUSTER , AMARETTI,  AVE MARIA, HEREFORD and RARE COIN were not gimmes.

I can hear all the grumbling, but when you consider he found 4 compound words which clued 4 letter fill, with each compound word 8 letters long that broke into 4 letter parts, and was revealed by two 8 letter reveals, the math is awesome. The architecture is very impressive. On with the show.

Across:

13. Up to it : ABLE. I was able and I finished without cheating, but it was work.

14. Prefix with plasm : ENDO. Already the ECTO/ENDO debate.

15. 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient : OPRAH. I did not recall but the OP___ had to be.

17. Nocturnal critter : COON. Aside from any politically unacceptable existence, is the reference to 'critter' enough to evoke the regionally popular abbreviation?

18. Source : ROOT. Of all evil?

19. Adams' "Nixon in China," for one : OPERA. I had LOAD, LOOSENS and OPP and wondered about OP--- over OP---. I have heard of but not listened to this work.

20. Handled vessel : KETTLE. Finally a stout clue.

22. Pouches : SACS.

24. Orch. section : STRings. JzB, is this abbreviation ever used as a notation in preparation for a concert?

25. Site of unexpected change? : SOFA. Wonderful clue/fill. So evocative and misleading.

27. Didn't trick, maybe : TREATED.

34. Prayer set to music by Schubert and Gounod : AVE MARIA.

36. Choice to sleep on : SERTA. Of course SEALY also fits.

40. Diva highlights : SOLI. In Latin the plural of a word ending in O (SOLO) can become I.

41. Distillery founder John : DEWAR. A CSO to Tin and all of our scotch drinkers.

44. "Ray Donovan" star Schreiber : LIEV.

45. Aptly named bird : SWIFT.  LINK.

47. Italian almond cookies : AMARETTI.

52. British pen pal's last letter? : ZED. A nice misdirection as this replaces our American ZEE as the last letter of the alphabet.

53. Part of a Buddhist monk's ordination : TONSURE.

56. Ridge just below the surface : REEF.

58. "Father of," in Arabic : ABU. I had the pleasure of portraying Auda Abu Tayi, who along with the Lawrence was a hero of the Arab revolt. He had married 28 times, which may explain why he has no fear going into battle.

59. Identical : SAME.

61. Place where cheap shots are a good thing : CLINIC. Wonderful clue, especially now during flu season.

65. Allow to attack : LET AT. I nominate this as my meh clue, while accurate, it does not sound like a real phrase.

67. Dagwood's annoying little friend : ELMO. A new/old clue for this fill.

69. Inflict on : DO TO. Others.

70. 1985 Chemistry co-Nobelist Jerome : KARLE. Really hard for me. Embarrassed to say I had NO IDEA.

71. "Avatar" race : NA'VI. I hope no one blue this easy clue.

72. Always : EVER. Always and forever and more.

Down:

2. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE. JzB, please explain again.

3. Bushels : A LOT.

4. Pitchers' places : TENTS. Very difficult to suss, especially with 1A a tough fill, but when I understood the theme and backed into BOAT, this made sense as one pitches a tent.

5. White-faced cattle breed : HEREFORD. I grew up driving by large herds of cows, who were the weather forecasters of my youth.

6. Roxy Music co-founder : ENO. Brian has become a staple.

7. Stirs : ADOS.

8. Knish filling : POTATO. No doubt most popular knish thought kasha and meat are also out there.

9. Unfastens : LOOSENS. This was the key word in loosening up the North and getting me the theme, along with....

10. Up and down, say: Abbr. : OPPosites.

11. "Give it __" : A REST.

12. Puccini's "Vissi __" : D'ARTE. An ARIA from Puccini's Tosca. If you listen, read the comments if you like to see debate about Opera, I love that it crosses 19A.

21. Like "la vida" in a Ricky Martin hit : LOCA. An odd duplication as VISSI is Italian for "I lived" and vida is "life" in Spanish.

23. French vineyard : CRU. Staying in romance languages, Alex, we have a French WORD, and then another.

26. Gallic girlfriend : AMIE. And another. 38A. Idée source : TETE.

28. Jane Eyre's charge : ADELE. Like ELMO above, the popular singer gets replaced by an old clue last seen here in a marti puzzle I blogged in 2013.

30. Declare : AVOW.

31. Where to find a hero : DELI. A common pun in the xword world.

33. Play with, in a way : PAW AT. Something for all our cat lovers.

35. Irritates : MIFFS.

37. Cheese holder : RITZ. This one cracked me up.

42. Russia-China border river : AMUR. Nope, no idea.

43. Numismatist's find : RARE COIN. Since coins are their interest...

46. Reliant soul : TRUSTER.

48. Casting aid : REEL.

50. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA.

51. Bind : CEMENT. Your friendship?

54. West Indian folk religion : OBEAH. I know of voodoo and santeria but not this GROUP.

55. __Sweet: aspartame : NUTRA.

57. Friend of Che : FIDEL. A recent picture is being shown on Television purporting to show a healthy Fidel.

60. Where Goliath was slain : ELAH. We recently debated the use of a sling versus sling shot, but where did it happen? HERE.

63. Rte. through Houston : I-TEN. I-Twenty, I-Forty all major E to W routes

66. Will Smith title role : ALI.

68. DIII doubled : MVI. For all you Roman math scholars...

A very long uphill battle, that some will love and some will hate, but welcome Paul; come share your commentary at this the friendliest blog on the web. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Yellowrocks asked if Lucina wore a wimple the other day. Here are two pictures of what Lucina's veil looked like when she was a Sister of the Precious Blood Community. You can click here for a clearer image. She was with her sister and her mother in the second picture.

Thursday, February 5, 2015 Victor Barocas

Theme: "Elementary, Watson!"

Let's start with the unifier. 59-Across. Device for exposing the end of 17-, 24-, 35- or 47-Across : DETECTOR. And there are four zippy phrases in today's grid to go with it:

17-Across. "You don't look a day over 29," probably : WHITE LIE. The US Federal government calls a LIE DETECTOR test a "psychophysiological detection of deception" test, or PDD.

24-Across. Didn't come to pass : WENT UP IN SMOKE. Everyone should have functioning SMOKE DETECTORs in their home.

35-Across. Flooring phrase : PEDAL TO THE METAL. Splynter, a stud finder could be a type of METAL DETECTOR, right?

47-Across. So as not to be noticed : UNDER THE RADAR. RADAR DETECTORs are illegal in D.C. and Virginia, but all other states allow them in passenger cars.

A few missteps, but fairly easy for a Thursday.  Let me show you what I mean.

Across

1. Parlor action : BETS. Nailed it!

5. Dorm peer leaders: Abbr. : RAs. Resident Assistants / Advisors.

8. Lidless container : CARAFE. Wine!

14. Palm that produces purple berries : ACAI. This is becoming a crossword staple.

15. CPR giver : EMT. Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation / Emergency Medical Technician.

16. Missouri River city : PIERRE. And a clecho at 38-Down. Missouri River city : OMAHA. Map.

19. One may use a teleprompter : ORATOR.

20. IM guffaw : LOL. Instant Message: Laugh Out Loud.

21. Hustled : RACED.

23. Points in math class : LOCI.

28. Chorus for the villain : HISSES.

29. "Dang!" : NUTS.

30. Fellow : GENT.

31. Drink with sushi : SAKE. Pronounced sah'-kee, for heaven's sake!

32. Cow or sow : SHE.

40. Promos : ADs.

41. General organization? : ARMY. Cute misdirection.

42. Tetra holder : TANK. We just had a discussion about tetras and bettas a couple of weeks ago.

43. Reining word : WHOA.

44. "Given the circumstances ..." : AS IT IS...

51. Stories of the ages : LORE.

52. Invalidate : ANNUL.

53. Vacation destination : SPA. Aah..

56. Wanted badly : CRAVED.

61. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Are they un-PC? We no longer see Inuits referred to by that name.

62. Great Basin native : UTE. "What's a UTE?"

63. Orkin victim : PEST. Duh, I was thinking of the Orek brand vacuum cleaner, and filled in "dust."

64. Pull out of the water : REEL IN.

65. TD's half-dozen : PTs. Touch Downs are worth six Points.

66. Gorillas, e.g. : APES.


Down

1. Go through a lot of tissues : BAWL. Because "have an allergy attack" didn't fit.

2. Tunnel effect : ECHO.

3. Help from behind : TAIL WINDS.

4. Gather dust : SIT.

5. "I can __" : RELATE.

6. __ curiae: friend of the court : AMICUS. I did not know the term, but it was easy enough to infer with "friend" in the clue.

7. Tough to climb : STEEP.

8. Nav. noncom : CPO. Chief Petty Officer.  Do they have a lot of nits to pick?

9. Word before base or ball : AIR. Neither of them have anything to do with baseball. AIR base is a USAF facility, and an AIR ball is a basketball term for a shot that completely misses the rim, the net and the backboard.

10. Kingdoms : REALMS.

11. Skywalker associate, familiarly : ARTOO.

12. Monastic garment : FROCK. The word "cappuccino" is derived from the color of the Capuchin monks' FROCKs.

13. Inducing the willies : EERIE.

18. Sea eagles : ERNS.

22. Kitchen dweller of song : DINAH. "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Meanwhile, DINAH is getting all friendly with some banjo player in the kitchen.

25. Spanish 101 verb : ESTA. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it means "this" or "that"?

26. Cook quickly, in a way : NUKE.

27. Half-note feature : STEM.

28. Obey : HEED.

30. Campus no. : GPA. Grade Point Average.

31. Farm home : STY.

32. Unit between levels : STAIR STEP. Hand up for wanting "case" before STEP?

33. Prince in "Frozen" : HANS. WAG, with the H-A-N-* in place.

34. Large grazer : ELK.

36. Cowardly Lion player : LAHR.

37. Bouncy pace : TROT.

39. Sundance Kid's girlfriend : ETTA. I think the "Place that Sundance loved" clue has seen better days.

43. Boll eater : WEEVIL.

44. Actor Will of "The Lego Movie" : ARNETT. All perps.

45. Many diner dishes : SAUTÉS. "Greasy" just wasn't working with the perps.

46. Not working : IDLE.

47. Stress-related ailment, possibly : ULCER.

48. Language on a longship : NORSE. Longships were the epitome of Viking naval power.

49. 16th-century circumnavigator : DRAKE. His Golden Hind was not a long boat, but it did make a long trip.

50. Turn out : END UP.

54. Prepare for a shot : POSE.

55. Song and dance : ARTS.

57. Former Abbey Road Studios owner : EMI. Electric and Musical Industries, Ltd. I always mix this up with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)

58. "GoodFellas" boss : DON.

60. IRA suggester : CPA. Individual Retirement Accounts are often suggested by Certified Public Accountants.

That's it from me!
Marti

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