Sunday, Oct 18, 2015 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: "Ch-Ching!" - CH is added to the start of each theme answer. All entries go through a spelling change.

23A. Part of a dairy's financial statement? : CHURNINGS REPORT. Earnings report.

46A. Doesn't eat with one's mouth closed? : CHEWS AND AAHS. Oohs and aahs.

71A. Vacant seat you only thought you saw? : CHAIR APPARENT. Heir apparent.

95A. Spread for Sunday morning coffee hour? : CHAPEL BUTTER. Apple butter.

122A. Glance at the blackboard? : CHALKWARD MOMENT. Awkward moment.

16D. What Alice's adventures began with? : CHASE IN THE HOLE. Ace in the hole.

52D. Pizza scraps? : CHEESY PICKINGS. Easy pickings.

Much easier than last Sunday's puzzle.  I caught onto the theme immediately and filled in all the free CH's.

It's a great follow up to Donna Levin/Bruce Venzke's "Th-, Th-, That's All, Folks" puzzle we had in July. I think I've seen SH addition also.

This type of spelling change theme is more challenging than the simple letter addition gimmick. You really need to be creative in coming up with a workable set.

Across:

  

1. Old story : MYTH. I had LORE first.

5. They're often exposed in ski lodges : BEAMS. Never been to a ski lodge, this looks lovely.

10. Radio option : AM FM

14. Religious factions : SECTS

19. River in the Bernese Alps : AARE. Easy crosses, even if you don't know the river.

20. Started anew at the campsite : RE-LIT

21. Pump, for one : SHOE

22. Summer gripe : I'M HOT

26. Tropical vine : LIANA. Or Liane. Like this.

27. Truckers' competition : ROADEO

28. 2013 Masters champ Scott : ADAM. I met him and Justin Rose long time ago.

29. Whom Dennis often menaced : MR. WILSON. Nailed it.

31. Bass ending : OON

32. __ factor : ICK

34. Paper punditry : OP-EDS

37. Common Market letters : EEC

38. Slim fish : EEL. Hmm, roasted eel, the best food ever. Then fresh Lychee.

39. Retired boomer : SST

40. Karmann __: sports car : GHIA. Got via crosses.

42. Hardly handy : INEPT

44. Dry-eyes solution : SALINE

49. German finale : ENDE. German for "End".

50. Dash devices : TACHS

53. Doctrinal suffix : ISM

54. Strings for Orpheus : LYRE

55. Wash. setting : PST. I noticed the . mark.

56. Onetime Ritz competitor : HI HO

57. Smidge : IOTA

60. "That's what they tell me" : SO I GATHER. I wanted So I'VE HEARD. Not enough space.

64. Double Stuf treats : OREOS

66. Astronauts' gear : G-SUITS

68. Cab cousin : ZIN. Cabernet. 

69. Running bird : EMU

70. Take advantage of : USE

75. Right-to-left lang. : HEB (Hebrew). Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan are written from right-to-left also. Hard to read, esp since they still use traditional Chinese characters, while mainland China use simplified version. Can you tell the differences?

76. Some light bulbs : GEs

77. Capek's robot play : R.U.R.

78. Competed in a regatta, perhaps : SAILED

79. Future moss : SPORE

81. Settings for Monet : HAYFIELDS. I thought of gardens and water lilies when I think of Monet.

85. Genetic chains : RNAS. Plural again.

86. Actor Ken : OLIN

87. Spot on a card : PIP

88. City east of Wichita : IOLA. No idea. This crosses another unknown SLADE (84D. "Same Time, Next Year" playwright Bernard) and stumped me. My last-to-fill area.

90. Former telecom company : MCI

92. Seasonal tunes : NOELS

93. Gung-ho : AVID

99. Louis XV furniture style : ROCOCO. Nailed it.

102. Hacienda brick : ADOBE

103. Bounce in a cave : ECHO

104. Passenger vehicle : CAR. Thought of CAB first.

107. Antlered animal : ELK

108. The law has a long one : ARM

110. Horace poem : EPODE

112. "__ So Shy": Pointer Sisters hit : HE'S

113. Suffix with lact- : OSE

114. Jefferson Airplane genre : ACID ROCK. Easy crosses as well.

117. Dinghy movers : OARS

119. Put sows below cows? : RHYMED. The answer presented itself.

121. Like horses : MANED

126. Journalistic slant : ANGLE

127. Twelve __: neighbor of Tara : OAKS

128. Houston athlete : ASTRO. Do you believe in jinks?

129. Thing south of the border : COSA. Just Spanish for "Thing", right?

130. Asked : POSED

131. Like some audiobooks : ON CD

132. Dublin-born poet : YEATS

133. Uncommon blood type: Abbr. : A NEG

  

Down:

1. Users' shortcuts : MACROS. Can you give me an example, TTP/D-Otto?

2. Bumpkins : YAHOOS

3. One forging a doctor's note, maybe : TRUANT

4. Driven drove : HERD. Nice clue.

5. Eggy pastry : BRIOCHE. Are you a good baker, Steve?

6. Dusk, to Donne : EEN

7. Minuscule lake plant : ALGA

8. Make a mess of : MISDO

9. Secure for the trip : STRAP IN

10. Poisonous slitherer : ASP

11. Old reciprocal electrical unit : MHO

12. Thing to fill out : FORM

13. Dover distance : METRE

14. Mineral used in glassmaking : SILICA

15. Mickey Mouse enemy __ Eagle : EMIL. Never heard of it.

17. Constantly : TO NO END

18. Marvel Comics superhero? : STAN LEE. Wow, he's still alive. 

24. Stable sounds : NEIGHS

25. Fix text : EMEND

30. "Scream" director Craven : WES. Passed away a few weeks ago.

33. New Zealand bird : KIWI

35. Agreement : DEAL

36. Fixes : SPAYS

41. St. Francis' home : ASSISI

43. Via, à la Burns : THRO

45. "__ we forget" : LEST

46. Polite sneeze : CHOO. Why is it "Polite"?

47. Pepé Le Pew's pursuit : AMOUR

48. Appropriated : SEIZED

50. "His house is in the village __": Frost : THOUGH

51. With 74-Down, dramatic Navy mission : AIR SEA. And 74. See 51-Down : RESCUE

55. Slacks : PANTS

58. Reunión attendees : TIAs

59. How some stock is sold : AT PAR

61. Sling spirits : GIN. Oh, Singapore Sling.

62. "Kicked-Up Sandwiches" author : EMERIL. Obtainable if you know Emeril and his signature "kick up a notch".

63. Knighted Flemish painter : RUBENS

65. Rx : SCRIP. Not a word I use.

66. Spaghetti sauce staple : GARLIC

67. Quick ride : SPIN

72. Nuanced color : HUE

73. "Democracy is two wolves and __ voting on what to have for lunch": Franklin : A LAMB. Nice clue for a partial.

80. In need : POOR

82. Stereotypical pooch : FIDO

83. Qatar's capital : DOHA

89. Each : A POP

91. Rash symptom : ITCH

92. Arkansas River tributary : NEOSHO. Another unknown. Wiki says "The name "Neosho" is generally accepted to be of Native American (most likely Osage) derivation, meaning "clear, cold water", referring to local freshwater springs."

93. Visitors center handout : AREA MAP

94. Mount Rainier, e.g. : VOLCANO

96. You don't have to turn its pages : E-BOOK. We just had "Real page-turner?" for AVID READER yesterday.

97. Took out in cuffs, say : LED AWAY. We also have 111. Take out : ERASE. And 115. Take out : DELE

98. Hot drink holder : THERMOS

100. Checked the ID of : CARDED

101. Guatemala gold : ORO

104. Singles bar lure : COME ON. All's quiet in Splyner's "Blue-eyed Girl" front.

105. Sort of, with "in" : A SENSE. A rare 6-letter partial.

106. Sale indicator : RED TAG

109. "Wedding Bell Blues" soloist Marilyn : MCCOO. Got via crosses.

116. "Star Trek" villain : KHAN

118. Monterrey miss: Abbr. : SRTA

120. Song with arm motions : YMCA

123. "Best in Show" org. : AKC

124. '60s hallucinogen : LSD

125. Gere title gynecologist : DR. T. Guilty of putting it in my own puzzle.

Montana updates:

She has settled down her son's estate and has been volunteering to help local senior citizens review their Part D plans. She drives a long way to the office most of the days and enjoys her work.

C.C.

Saturday, Oct 17th, 2015, David Steinberg

Theme: 15 x 16

Words: 73 (missing Q)

Blocks: 30

  I was really excited to work on this puzzle, as I missed the 'extra' row from Mr. Steinberg's last Saturday contribution back on Feb 8th.  It was hard to miss the extra column this time, seeing that the top row is numbered 1-16....and, of course, there has to be triple spanner stacks in a grid from David on a Saturday.  Alas, the top stack refused to budge, and unlike that crossword from February, the 'shorter' crossings were of no help whatsoever for me today.  Blew up my personal time, and caved into Google for one of the longer answers, but that did not help get me any further along.  I also think that once I fried my brain trying to solve this beast, answers that should have been obvious were no longer clear.  Oh well.  Gotta take a beating once in a while to remind me that it's Saturday.  The spanners;

1. Really frighten : SCARE THE PANTS OFF

17. 2010 Eminem/Rihanna #1 hit with the lyric "Just gonna stand there and hear me cry" : LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - this was my Google; I like Eminem, but not all his stuff, and this one was not in my wheelhouse

18. "Despicable Me 2" company : UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

61. Elgar work with an as yet unsolved musical theme : ENIGMA VARIATIONS - never heard of it, but there were enough crossings to make this one plausible

65. Threat in Season 3 of "24" : BIOLOGICAL WEAPON - dah~!  I got the first word, but weapon was not forthcoming; got brain-locked on TOXIN and POISON

66. Ways to get high : EXTENSION LADDERS - this one, I got

 
               !
            ~    
          D       
        R            
      A                
   W                    
  N                        
O                            

ACROSS:

19. Something to grab : RIDE

20. Eponymous magazine founder Eric : UTNE - ugh - one of those answers I "knew", but it was not coming to me after the brain cells got tired

21. Ruler's domain? : ROOST - the "?" made me think tape measure ruler; getting caught up in a singular definition caused me all sorts of grief today

22. Barred furniture : CRIBS - I am moving into a new "crib" this weekend; sharing a house with Gary, a buddy of mine.  The house is on the water in a 'suburb' of Riverhead called Flanders - half way between UPS and the restaurants...I'm so excited

24. Finely contoured : SLEEK - the Porsche has some smooth curves, too

27. God, in a midrash : ELOHIM - total unknown - in fact, I have never heard of a midrash

30. Pickup spots? : SCRUFFS - again, I got slowed down thinking this was the truck definition of pick-up; this time, it's the neck of your pet, the 'optimum' place to pick them up

34. City with a Pumpkin Run classic car show : OCALA

36. Baguette surfaces : FACETS - argh~!  CRUSTS fit, since this is the definition I was stuck on; instead it's the diamond cut 

38. Angry Birds sequel setting : RIO - no clue here, either - don't have, don't play

39. Valuable deposit : LODE

40. From square one, to Severus : DE NOVO - this week, my Latin failed me

41. Shock : JOLT - ugh, I had BOLT, and did not get the ta-DA~!

42. One may be blonde : ALE

43. Hard : SEVERE

44. Fortune's 2012 Businessperson of the Year : BEZOS - the man behind Amazon

45. Badly deteriorated : FAR GONE

47. Complete : ENTIRE

49. Uber : ULTRA

51. Means : AGENT - meh

53. Grand Canyon ride : BURRO - because ASS, MULE and DONKEY didn't fit

56. Quantum theory pioneer : BOHR

59. GI chow : MREs

DOWN:

1. Musical connector : SLUR

2. Like certain parlor containers : CONIC - ugh.  I believe this is a vague hint at a funeral parlor's urn shape

3. Real page-turner? : AVID READER - I had "BOOK" for AVID, thinking "real", as opposed to an eReader

4. Wake-up call : REVEILLE

5. Nice time for toasting : ETE - I went with EVE, but I figured it was the Frawnche city of Nice

6. Robin's family : THRUSH

7. "I have broke your __ to say so!": "The Tempest" : HEST - ugh.

8. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN - ARGH~!  I went with ALEC (Guiness), and not Mr. McGregor

9. Doesn't measure up : PALES

10. Shakespearean cries : AYs - "I" got this via perps

11. News initials since 1851 : NYT - blasphemy being in the LAT puzzle

12. British classic cars : TOURERS - JAGUARS fit, but didn't jibe with my Googled answer; this word is just a straight fun-sponge

13. Typically 81-digit diversion : SUDOKU - Once I considered 9x9, this came to me

14. Omnium-gatherum : OLIO - a blend of real and fake Latin, meaning a miscellaneous collection.  I just discovered there's a heavy metal band of the same name

15. Verizon bundle : FiOS - filled this right in - and then took it out....

16. Film follower? : FEST - FilmFEST

23. Zookeeper's main squeeze? : BOA - har-har

25. Square, in '50s slang, as shown by a four-fingered gesture : L SEVEN

26. __-1: "Ghostbusters" car : ECTO - just about the only clue I was sure of

28. Should it happen that : IF EVER - or is this the new disease from Apple, the iFever~?

29. Locks in a paddock : MANE - ARGHHH~!  The hair kind of lock

31. Hard-hit liner, in baseball lingo : FROZEN ROPE - Put in TURF BURNER, and that was just a cluster***k of wrong letters

32. Spanakopita dough : FILO

33. They're often lit : SOTS - I knew this one

34. Norwegian saint : OLAF - i got the OLA- part, but had to wait to see if it was "V" or "F"

35. Fountain output : COLA - ice cream parlor this time

37. Fruit remnant : CORE

40. Depressed area? : DENT

41. Prolonged lament : JEREMIAD - seen this before in crosswords, but it was not coming to me

43. Builder of Jerusalem's First Temple : SOLOMON - total WAG

44. Worth writing home about : BIG

46. Fountain output : GURGLE - think water fountain

48. 1943 Pacific island battle site : TARAWA - new one here, too; you can see it just below the Marshall Islands on this map

50. The Bahamas' __ Islands : ABACO - also new to me; this one's at the top of this map

52. Barbershop part : TENOR

53. Actress Neuwirth : BEBE

54. OS X basis : UNIX

55. Shields may be used in one : RIOT

57. Operation Torch target : ORAN - DAH~!  Not Iran; the Wiki, which includes a map

58. Way up : HILL - meh, part II

60. Phishers' fodder: Abbr. : SSNs

62. DOJ pooh-bahs : AGs - Attorneys General at the Department of Justice

63. 180 degrees from I : VII - like this;

64. 2012 film bear : TED - I've been told to "see it"

Splynter

Friday, October 16, 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Tiny puns.

Mark B, is back with simple concept, where phrases which include a diminutive, are re-imagined by witty cluing. I found a couple to be very funny, but it did not feel entirely like a theme. His July effort which was on a Friday used legal terms which were clued in non-legal ways. Here the size aspect is vital to both the base phrase and the new definition. I hope he stops by, as he often does, because I have a nagging feeling I missed something. The rest was an interesting mix of very hard fill and very easy answers. GLADIOLI, LOOKS BAD, IDIOT LIGHT,  and SUGAR SUGAR are the featured non-theme long fill. Let's see the rest.

17A. Hummingbird feature? : SMALL BILL (9). Do you have any ones on you, I want to buy some food for the hummingbirds, they have such short noses.

26A. Foothills? : SHORT RANGE (10). My drone does not go very far, it cannot get close to the mountains.

37A. Hot Wheels Volkswagen? : MINIATURE GOLF (12). I love this one. They actually EXIST. The seed entry, or maybe

50A. Potty-training tool? : LITTLE JOHN (10). Charlotte was out of diapers before she was two because of this device.

60A. Mouthpiece for a Lilliputian horse? : TEENSY BIT (9). Very cute.

Across:

1. Type of hippo : PYGMY. I spent way too much time trying to work this into the theme.

6. 59-Down product : ATM. I am not in favor of these gratuitous cross-references that make you look at the bottom of the puzzle this early. Not sure why this was needed.

9. Color guard accessory : SABER. The ceremonial sword.  Not a flower.

14. Child on TV for decades : JULIA. Ah, not that kind of Child, but the incomparable....

15. Virgo preceder : LEO. One of the easy ones.

16. "I'm here" : USE ME. This required the perps, not synonymous for me.

19. Enjoyed Vegas : GAMED. Not gambled...

20. Valley : DALE.

21. Place to live in Spain : CASA. House?

23. Sore feeling : IRE. Not achy but angry.

24. Purported ancestor of Ragnar Lothbrok on TV's "Vikings" : ODIN. I do not know this History Channel SERIES (3:15).

29. Crazy scene : ZOO. An unPC TERM now.

30. Call-day link : IT A. I wish I could; it has been a long week.

31. Value : ESTEEM.

32. Did a cobbler's job : SOLED. Shoe enough....

34. Stain : IMBRUE. To stain (something, especially one's hands or sword)."they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood." Mark keeps an extensive word list to build his puzzles. This is a Friday word.

41. Hoedown move : DO-SI-DO. A wonderful CSO for our recovering dancer, YR.

42. Taking place : AFOOT. Hmm, dancing, cobblers and now this....

44. Is in store for : AWAITS.

47. Pine product : TAR. We recently linked the George Brett pine tar incident.

49. Maker of the GreenSaver Produce Keeper : OXO.

53. Absolut rival : SKYY.  Vodka in a blue bottle.

54. Explosive letters : TNT.  har har.

55. Collector's __ : ITEM. See another easy one.

56. Reveals in an unwelcome way : OUTS. Speaking of unPC, is there any good context for this meaning?

58. Naming : ID-ING.  I guess when you are naming a perpetrator....

64. Nursery supply : MULCH.

65. Psyche component : EGO. Id and superego.

66. Hiding __ : PLACE.

67. No longer an item : APART.

68. Oversaw : RAN. The business.

69. Teamed (with) : SIDED.

Down:

1. Jams : PJS.

2. Good remark? : YUM. What you say when it is good.

3. Plants with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLI. More swords...

4. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

5. Everyone in Mississippi? : Y'ALL.

6. Big ring name : ALI. Muhammed.

7. AT&T, for short : TELCO. We had this before.

8. Grinder : MOLAR. Not the sandwich, the tooth. hard.

9. 1969 hit with the line "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR SUGAR. You want the Music VIDEO (3:02)?

10. Botanist Gray : ASA. No idea of this PIONEER, but he fits with the flowers.

11. Candy heart words : BE MINE. marti...

12. Show one's face : EMERGE.

13. Make amends for : REDEEM.

18. Outdo : BEST.

22. Volume measure : STERE. A cubic metre.

24. Abbr. on some cans : OZS. Ounces, also volume.

25. Hardly a happy ending : DOOM.

27. Where the Santa Maria sank, nowadays : HAITI. How many remember this HISTORY.

28. Dined on, biblically : ATE OF.

30. Dash warning : IDIOT LIGHT. Modern technology. LINK.

33. "I suggest you move on" : END IT.

35. Pie makeup? : MUD.

36. Stock : BROTH. The key to much cooking.

38. Plus : ASSET.

39. Doesn't exactly help one's reputation : LOOKS BAD.

40. Stunning or cunning : FOXY. One for Splynter? LINK.

43. One under a tree, maybe : TOY. Only 70 shopping days left  until Christmas.

44. Nissan sedan : ALTIMA.

45. Start of a pitch : WIND-UP.

46. Fifth-century Roman Empire enemy : ATTILA. Never really thought about when the Hun was at large.

48. In a little while : ANON. Our one Shakespeare hint this Friday.

51. 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year : JETER. Who knew...

52. Psi follower : OMEGA. Straight Greek alphabet.

53. Needles : STYLI. here it is Latin that matters, the I plural for us is needed.

57. Org. whose logo features an eagle head : USPS. United States Postal Service

59. 6-Across maker : NCR. National Cash Register.

61. Awfully long time : EON.

62. Rocks in a bucket : ICE. Look away Tinman....

63. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Technology Entertainment & Design. LINK. 

So we have reached the end of another Friday; thank you Mark, time to get ready for the beginning of the costume party season. Be careful out there, lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the joy and happiness you've brought to me and many regulars the past few years. You're our sunshine!

2) Happy Birthday to Bluehen as well! I'm stealing a picture Dave got for you last year.

3) Welcome back, PK! Irish Miss just emailed me about you the other day. Now we need to hear from Montana, who has not replied to my email yet. We're quite concerned.

Thursday, October 15th 2015 Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Bacchanalian Brigade: Four inebriated entries:

17A. They're loaded : FILM CAMERAS. It's been quite some time since I had to do this - you always lived in trepidation that you'd somehow mess up and either expose the whole roll or shoot 36 frames and never get one on the emulsion:

29A. They're loaded : CROOKED DICE. I've been at craps tables in Las Vegas when I swore there was funny business afoot. In the unloaded light of day, of course it was just me being an appallingly bad gambler. The dice tumble where they may:

45A. They're loaded : BIG SPENDERS. Sadly, not me, probably because of the craps table behavior (see above).

61A. They're loaded : SIX SHOOTERS. Here's an 1882 Colt .44 - Did they mess up, was it meant to be a .45? It was made over 130 years ago, maybe the micrometers weren't so accurate back then. Or the gunsmith was loaded?

 

Good morrow! Steve here with a great mental workout from Marti - all kinds of head-scratching with the fill, and a really nice set of four theme entries, all 11's and no reveal other than the clechoes. The mid-Atlantic section was the one that had me staring down some white squares - EAMES and ENDEAR went in relatively easily, but the rest had me convinced I'd made a major goof until I caught on to the "they're not all single words" possibility and eventually C-NOTE, I.D. TAG and GE'S came to pass. Good stuff! And ....

Across:

1. Chinese secret society : TONG. C.C. might be a member, but of course she couldn't tell us if she was. Shhh!

5. Like many a rural road : SCENIC

11. "Big Blue" : IBM. We've seen Kubrick's "2001" rogue computer HAL quite frequently in the puzzles recently. Add one alphabet-count letter to HAL and you get - IBM.

14. Ancient concert halls : ODEA

15. Music industry underhandedness : PAYOLA

16. Call from a pasture : MOO

19. K+, e.g. : ION. An ionized potassium atom. My chemical knowledge is now officially exhausted.

20. Morning beverage choice, facetiously : UNLEADED. I'm totally defeated by the idea or purpose of decaffeinated coffee in the morning.

21. Dye source : HENNA. I dyed my hair with henna once or twice in my early twenties. Thankfully I realized that a rather jaunty orange wasn't a good look in the financial district in London.

23. Editor's mark : STET

24. Fla.-to-Cal. route : I-TEN

26. Former CNN host Alina : CHO. Thank you, crosses.

34. Terra firma : EARTH. Hmmmm. To me, Terra firma is dry land. Earth is the planet Earth, 90% of which is ocean and decidedly wet.

36. Wedding announcement word : NÉE.  Acute accent on the first "E" if you want to be particular about this.

37. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA. Who? Thank you, crosses. I'll let the poetic blog readers pitch in here.

38. One who may need an alibi : LIAR. For explaining why his pants are on fire?

39. Bar closing hr. : ONE A.M. Not in London (11PM) nor LA (2AM). Your mileage may vary.

41. Energy source : ATOM

42. Mediterranean tourist attraction : ETNA

43. Alley target : PIN. Boomer's milieu, not mine. I've been bowling a few times, I think if you described me as "Bambi on a frozen pond" I'd be flattered.

44. Give an address : ORATE

49. Some ranges : GE'S General Electric cooktops. (If you want to put something in my Christmas stocking, I'll take this one, thankyouverymuch - I'll cook you dinner). A little ironic that the burners are gas-fired though:

50. Crown of light : HALO

51. UFO-tracking org. : SETI. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Was the screen saver that we all so religiously downloaded and left running all night a hoax?

53. Carl Reiner's nine : EMMYS. Nine wins, six nominations. Not too shabby.

56. Take care of : ATTEND TO

60. Eastern way : TAO

64. Jungfrau, for one : ALP. Stunningly beautiful. I've skied parts of the mountain from Grindelwald.

65. Leveling tool : EVENER. OK, hold on - is this really a thing?

66. Carrier with only kosher meals : EL AL

67. Grant foe : LEE

68. Vacation destination : RESORT

69. Long ride : LIMO. This took me a while before the V8 moment! Great stumping for such a little word.

Down:

1. Vegan staple : TOFU

2. Role in the 2011 film "Thor" : ODIN

3. "Little" Dickens girl : NELL. I tried DORI first before I saw sense, realized it would be DORRIT and started over.

4. Olympic __ : GAMES

5. "The Blacklist" star : SPADER. Who he? More crosses to the rescue. This chap:

6. Woke up : CAME TO

7. Looked up and down : EYED

8. Neither partner : NOR

9. Stevedore's gp. : I.L.A. International Longshoreman's Association.

10. Left the tables for the night, with "in" : CASHED. It might equally be "cashed out" except it wasn't clued that way. Something I've rarely done in Vegas (see 27A above). I don't gamble much any more, I'm seriously bad at it.

11. "Let's do it!" : I'M IN. My bad call in Vegas. If you ever hear me say this, cosh me over the head and put me in my room.

12. Blessing : BOON

13. Pulitzer poet Van Duyn : MONA. I'm zero-for-two with poets today. Corner?

18. __ of the day: menu offering : CATCH

22. Make lovable : ENDEAR

24. Furniture store that sells frozen meatballs : IKEA

25. Swarm : TEEM

26. 69-Across user : CELEB

27. "The Pearl of the Antilles" : HAITI

28. Sumatran simian : ORANG

30. Upright : ON END

31. Attachment seen on a carousel : I.D. TAG. The section that caused me conniptions. The ID Tag on your luggage as it takes a few turns around the baggage carousel awaiting collection. They all look the same anyway.

32. 100 bucks : C-NOTE

33. Furniture designer Charles : EAMES

35. Inferior : TRASHY

39. Autobahn auto : OPEL

40. El __ : NIÑO. And a hoped-for wet-weather phenomenon here in Southern California. We have an El Niño forecast for this winter.

44. Bone: Pref. : OSTEO

46. Quarterback, at times : PASSER. Compare with scrambler, flushed-out-of-the-pocket-and-throwing-out-of-bounds-er, dumped on his ass-er, desperately-handing-off-to-the-running-back-er, hail-mary-intecepted-er and, finally, benched-er. Choose your own nominee for this honor.

47. Old Testament queen : ESTHER

48. Comeback : RETORT

52. Recon consequence : INTEL

53. List shortener, for short : ET AL. How about a list of Middle Eastern airlines? El Al, et al

54. Drake, e.g. : MALE. "Duck" didn't work. Here's the rapper Drake:

55. Pout : MOPE

56. "It came __ surprise" : AS NO

57. Sub assembly location : DELI. Chassis, U-boat shipyard and fabrication shop all wouldn't fit.

58. Theme park transport : TRAM

59. Aftenposten newspaper headquarters : OSLO. More facts about OSLO and IKEA today. We are truly turning into experts on Scandinavian trivia.

62. "__ Got You Under My Skin" : I'VE

63. Symbolic kisses : X'ES

And with symbolic kisses, I'll sign off with Marti's trademark {hugs} and the grid is all that's left.


Steve

Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Dan Margolis

Theme: A Capital Idea

Dan has some gazetteer fun with us as he takes world capital city names and, using their pronunciation or a reasonable facsimile thereof, creates a fun gimmick. Each city is paired with another word to make an "in the language" phrase or "close enough" sound-a-like. Some theme answers are just one word and some are two. 

C.C. saw Dan and Me and decided to PARIS UP. :-) 

17. Irish city in a recession? : DUBLIN DOWN/DOUBLING DOWN  - Ireland's capital or Blackjack's elided strategy of doubling your bet after seeing first two cards (esp. with a 10 or 11)

27. Result of a Czech checkup? : PRAGUENOSIS/PROGNOSIS - Capital of the Czech Republic or a doctor's educated guess. Seven miles south of here, they pronounce it PRAYG, Nebraska

47. North African dieter's light fare? : TUNIS SALADS/TUNA SALADS - Capital of Tunisia and also a favorite of ours and our kitty Lily (sans celery).

63. South Korean sailors? : SEOUL MATES/SOUL MATES - Capital of the Korea that doesn't have a maniac running it and me with my SOUL MATE in Venice (Gondolier is reaching for his cell phone)

Across:

1. Volkswagen Type 1, familiarly : BUG - Designed for Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche (far left)

4. Yemeni neighbor : OMANI

9. Old-timey oath : EGAD

13. 1956 Gregory Peck role : AHAB - Many (including me) thought he was really miscast

15. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN

16. University of New Mexico athlete : LOBO

19. Watched warily : EYED

20. One with a stable job? : GROOM - The GROOM for Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah was Eduardo Luna

21. Like dotted musical notes : STACCATO - Abrupt, disconnected sounds when above or below the note (Think Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue). After a note, a dot means 1/2 more of a beat.

23. Cellphone accessories : EARBUDS

26. Body work, briefly : TAT - Tattoo shorthand

33. Catches some rays : SUNS - C'mon, you put TANS first too didn't cha?

37. Home ec alternative : SHOP - Industrial Tech today

38. Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, e.g. : ARENA - Home of the Cardinal basketball teams

39. Dessert pancake : CREPE - Pierre says Krep, Pete says Krape

41. Part of USDA: Abbr. : AGR - United States Department of AGRiculture

42. Spirited diversions : LARKS

43. Febreze targets : ODORS

44. It's on the house : ROOF - MIL needs a new one but hail avoids her!

46. Not as pricey : LESS

50. Originally called : NEE - Hillary (née  Rodham) Clinton

51. Jackhammer sound : RAT-A-TAT - Sometimes called the jackhammer of the forest

56. Malady : SICKNESS

61. Thrill to pieces : ELATE - I've used ELATED and ELATION but not the verb

62. Bibliog. catchall : ET AL - ...and some other guys

66. Cartoon maker of explosive tennis balls : ACME - I think Wiley Coyote had an ACME charge card

67. Pile up : AMASS

68. Jib or mizzen : SAIL - The site says this has a JIB, JIB topsail, Foresail, Mainsail, MIZZEN Mast and MIZZEN Topsail. I live 1,500 miles from an ocean but I think the Jib SAIL in the bow and the Mizzen SAIL is astern. Spitz?

69. Where to store hoes and hoses : SHED

70. Tense with excitement : WIRED  - Or on 65 Down

71. Genetic material : RNA
 
Down:

1. Western movie star? : BADGE - Gregory Peck looks better with this "Western movie star" than with a harpoon

2. Crewmate of Chekov and Sulu : UHURA - The Enterprise's communication officer is sending Spock a message

3. Eva or Zsa Zsa : GABOR - The Kardashian's of their day

4. Part of BYOB : OWN

5. Prefix with day or night : MID

6. Fusses : ADOS

7. Small salamander : NEWT

8. Present from birth : INNATE

9. Like a political "college" : ELECTORAL - By winning this vote but not the popular vote, we got Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush

10. Fiesta Baked Beans maker : GOYA - I didn't know beans about this company but it is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S.

11. Collude with : ABET

12. Extinct bird : DODO - Alas, we lost our own DODO in April

14. Gooey clump : BLOB - Your movie career has to start somewhere

18. "It's not too late to call" : I'M UP - Joann's twin is up past midnight every night

22. Waterway with locks : CANAL

24. JAMA subscribers : DRS - Journal of the American Medical Association 

25. Much of Libya : SAHARA - Earth's largest "hot" desert 

28. "Diary of a Madman" author : GOGOL - I didn't know beans about this Russian either

29. Hubbub : UPROAR

30. Bone-dry : SERE - 25 Down and this...

31. 26-Across materials : INKS

32. Fresh talk : SASS

33. Craig Ferguson, by birth : SCOT - Former Late Late Show host on CBS

34. Pakistani language : URDU 

35. Eye-catching sign : NEON

36. Rained gently : SPRINKLED

40. City on the Ruhr : ESSEN - 90% of the town center was destroyed during WWII as the Krupp munition plant was a big target

45. Cosmetics-testing org. : FDA

48. Playground piece : SEESAW 

49. Originate (from) : STEM

52. Wistful word : ALAS

53. Golden Horde member : TATAR - A TATAR horseman

54. Ordered pizza, perhaps : ATE IN

55. Car named for a physicist : TESLA - Every physics teacher has used a TESLA coil

56. Wet septet : SEAS - Do you remember the song where wonderful Annie Lennox sang, "I travel the world and the SEVEN SEAS"? 

57. Scratching target : ITCH 

58. Attended the party : CAME - I hope they  RSVP'ed

59. Big Mack : SEMI - Mack The Transporter

60. Fly like an eagle : SOAR - Steve Miller band tune

64. "It's no __!" : USE

65. "Dropped" '60s drug : LSD - Ex combo rat friend of mine was no stranger to this stuff

I CANBERRA DNF sometimes but not on this one! 3...2...1...Comment...

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 Mike Peluso

Theme: "therein lies a tale" - to paraphrase Shakespeare.

18A. Ruthless adversary : MORTAL ENEMY

27A. Serious software problem : FATAL ERROR. Dreaded blue screen.

39A. '60s-'70s "Hollywood Squares" semi-regular : RUTA LEE. Her website.

49A. Wisenheimer : SMART ALECK

62A. Truth known only to a few ... and a hint to a word hidden in 18-, 27-, 39- and 49-Across : INSIDE STORY

Argyle here. A little twist; a synonym for STORY is what's hidden in the theme entries. All three ways to split TALE are used with two and two in the center. A step up from Monday.

Across:

1. Attorneys' degs. : JDs. (Juris Doctor)

4. Clipper or Laker, briefly : NBAer. Basketball player.

9. Up to now : SO FAR

14. Sup : EAT

15. Get up : ARISE

16. Jigsaw puzzle unit : PIECE

17. Norse war god : TYR

20. Planting ground : SOIL

22. Have debts : OWE

23. Joints often sprained : ANKLES

24. Words before card or lock : PICK A. Any card.

26. Precious : CUTE

30. "Rats!" : "DANG!"

34. Hyundai luxury model : AZERA. Currently the AZERA slots between the midsize Sonata and the Genesis sedan. Car and Driver were not impressed. Story.

35. Victor's cry : I WIN

37. Besides : TOO

38. Actress Hagen : UTA. Bio.

42. __ bind: stuck : IN A. The Devil was in a bind when he down to Georgia.

43. Video game letters : NES. (Nintendo Entertainment System)

44. Circular imperfection in wood : KNOT

45. Slip-on shoes : PUMPS. Jimmy Choo's idea of pumps.

47. One with a killer serve : ACER

52. Obsessed whaler captain : AHAB

54. Boating stopover : ISLET

55. Half of the hip-hop duo Black Star : MOS DEF

58. Certain NCO : SGT.

59. Billions of years : EONS

65. Agcy. with narcs : DEA. (Drug Enforcement Administration)

66. Mark with a sale price, say : RETAG

67. Greek goddesses of the seasons : HORAE. ( literally translated as "the hours")

68. Vex : IRK

69. Airline seat choice : AISLE

70. Hinged fasteners : HASPS

71. McMahon and Sullivan : EDs

Down:

1. One of two MetLife Stadium NFL teams : JETS. The other's the Giants.

2. Belafonte hit : DAY O. (The Banana Boat Song)

3. Erotic dance : STRIP TEASE

4. "Platoon" war zone : NAM

5. WWI era English poet Rupert : BROOKE. Bio.

6. High-flying battles : AIR WAR

7. East, in Mexico : ESTE

8. "Michael Collins" actor Stephen : REA

9. Exhausted : SPENT

10. Made a pig of oneself? : OINKED

11. Have a hunch : FEEL

12. Summit : ACME

13. Husband-and-wife creators of Curious George : REYS. Margret and H. A. Rey

19. Doctor House portrayer Hugh : LAURIE. More links please.

21. Prevaricator : LIAR

25. Lewis' partner : CLARK. Can you believe I drew a blank here?

26. Monastic hood : COWL

27. Flora's partner : FAUNA

28. Ancient Mexican : AZTEC

29. Rodeo rope : RIATA

31. Life-ending season in Ecclesiastes : A TIME TO DIE

32. Socially insensitive, in a way : NON-PC

33. "__ your mother" : GO ASK

36. Tibet neighbor : NEPAL

40. More than a little risky : UNSAFE

41. Mausoleum : TOMB

46. 1997 movie beekeeper : ULEE

48. Tire type : RADIAL

50. Hardships : RIGORS

51. Letter-shaped shoe fastener : T-STRAP

53. Line of shrubbery : HEDGE

55. Juan's "Look!" : "¡MIRA!"

56. "Dedicated to the __ Love" : ONE I

57. Grounded fast planes, briefly : SSTs. (Supersonic transport)

58. Spartan promenade : STOA

60. Techie, stereotypically : NERD

61. Fifth Avenue retailer : SAKS

63. Librarian's rebuke : "SHH!"

64. "Amen!" : "YES!". The end. After my write-up I realize this is harder than I originally thought.

           Dang me! I forgot to color the center TALE.

Argyle

Note from Mike Peluso:

"Joe Krozel helped me design the grid. It was quite tricky with a 7-letter word right in the middle, and I was having no luck designing the grid. I e-mailed Joe and he was happy to help me, and I was able to complete the puzzle. Thanks, Joe!"