Saturday, Nov 14th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

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

Blocks: 32

I blew through this Silkie in less than half my personal time - and did not have a whole bunch to work with after my first across pass.  There were some crossings that indicated my original ideas might hold water (e.g. 15a.), and then there were plenty of clues that were in my "wheelhouse", as we say.  Triple 10-letter corners in the across, triple 9-letter corners in the downs, and two more 10's inside;

10. Predator known for its piercing call : SCREECH OWL - intimidating

27. Florida surfing mecca : COCOA BEACH - I only got as far south as Jacksonville

half a league ONWARD~! (thx Steve~!)

ACROSS:

1. Musical group founded by a Civil War vet : BOSTON POPS - not that I knew this, but I was fairly sure it was not "Aerosmith" of the '70s - you can read more about the vet here

11. Some email attachments : PDFs - dah~!  Not PICS, and then not GIFs

15. Symbol for the NFL's Bears : UPPER CASE C - I knew what the logo on the helmet was, just had to wait to see how Mr. Silk was going to phrase/parse "capital C"

16. 1970 Kinks hit : LOLA 

17. School uniform part dating to the 1800s : ETON COLLAR

18. Presently : ANON - think  Shakespeare

19. Strip lighting : NEON - the strip in Las Vegas, e.g.

20. Partly roasted treat : S'MORE

21. Consequences of too many blows : TKOs - Boxing

22. Wing it : AD LIB

24. Larger-than-life types : LEGENDS

26. Big name in investment banking : SACHS - Goldman-Sachs, which is a company that was a client of the architects I once worked for

30. King of pop : CAROLE - not fooled; waited on perps, which helped me remember Carole; I was stuck on Ben E.

31. IRA components : CDs - certificates of deposit - one way your individual retirement account can save money

34. Complex pipes : HOOKAHS - so as a carpenter I was thinking about sink traps, etc.

36. Pitch : TAR

37. Civil Rights Memorial architect : LIN - same artist as the Vietnam Memorial - more on the piece here

38. Tahrir Square city : CAIRO - half perps

39. 1979 Pa. newsmaker : TMI - not "Too Much Information" - this refers to Three Mile Island, the nuclear plant that had a "malfunction" - I recall it being a major news event, but I was 8 and did not understand the implications

40. Altar on high : ARA - the constellation

41. "Happening Now" airer : FOX NEWS - don't care for watching the news in general; I can generate enough of my own bad fortune

43. Lotion letters : SPF - sun protection factor - more here - I see that nylon stockings give an SPF of 2; so protect yourselves, ladies~!

44. Italian road : STRADA - straight translation; need to keep your Italian supercars off the streets of NYC~!

46. Peabody Essex Museum city : SALEM - again, perps

48. Course outlines : SYLLABI - now this one I did know - I had to review the syllabus for my Adult Education AutoCAD class back in 2008 when I was an adjunct at NYU

50. Seat of Greene County, Ohio : XENIA - the "X" was my last letter - how did I miss 42d.~?

54. Long haul : TREK

55. Do away with : ERASE - about the only clue I would define as "weak"

59. Low spots : RUTS

60. Taunt : RIDE

61. Like emus : AUSTRALIAN - LONG-NECKED fit, too....

63. Positive assertion : "I CAN"

64. Ownership issue : CLEAR TITLE - the owner of the restaurants I work at went to closing on his first house yesterday - now it's my turn; I have to close up a window, paint the interior, and strip/poly all the floors

65. Red Rose : PETE - DAH~!!  I am so disappointed I missed this one.  Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds; I am sure C.C. nailed it - are you having baseball withdrawal symptoms~?

66. Home safety feature : HEAT SENSOR - along with motion, what typically triggers your....

13D. Outdoor security item : FLOOD LAMP

DOWN:

1. Lake __ Vista : BUENA

2. Didn't sit around : OPTED

3. String holder : SPOOL

4. __ elbow : TENNIS - I have "high volume" elbow from working at UPS - same condition - see the pic in the 'causes' section; this is what I do for 4-5hrs every morning

5. Tolkien monster : ORC - monster meant it was not "ENT"

6. Base figs. : NCOs - military bases, that is; I went with the carpenter's ESTs

7. Where to get a date : PALM - anyone know where to get the "other" kind of date~?

8. Vigeland Museum city : OSLO - again, perps; Mr. Silk does come up with some unique alternatives to the standard clues

9. Bit of wisdom : PEARL - the same restaurant owner's daughter will be 1yr old on Dec 7th - and her name is Pearl

11. Certain metalworker : PLATER - I've seen enough "How It's Made" episodes on this operation

12. Five-time 1960s Emmy-winning actor : DON KNOTTS

14. Literally, "without lines" : SANS SERIF

23. Crotchety remark : "BAH~!"

25. Atmosphere makeup : GAS

28. Fake : HOAX

29. Potato __ : SKINS - oooh, CHIPS was so close - 20%, but 100% in the right places

31. Museum visit, perhaps : CLASS TRIP

32. Traditional Cajun dish : DIRTY RICE

33. Warned, in a way : SNARLED AT

35. Neighborhood : AREA

41. Rx overseer : FDA

42. "I can remember when the air was clean and __ was dirty": George Burns : SEX

45. Ethylene, for one : ALKENE

47. Legendary speller? : MERLIN - casting spells, that is

49. Cry of domination : "I RULE~!" - huh - iRule; I thought this was Apple's new digital tape measure....

51. Dark times abroad : NUITS

52. Novelist Calvino : ITALO - again, perps and one WAG

53. Longtime Moore co-star : ASNER

56. Completely lost : ASEA

57. Fantasy player's concern : STAT

58. Stumbles, say : ERRS

62. Bolted down : ATE

Splynter

Friday, November 13, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: You do what in your spare time?

Jeffrey is back with a very fun puzzle which recognizes the great possibilities of our language by taking famous people who have a first name that is the ending of a profession and mashing them into an answer. I would guess the seed fill was APOTHECARY GRANT, but they all are so cool.  I find this one of his wittiest creations to date.  I thought of one more profession that worked  and immediately forgot. Jeffrey uses two authors and two performers. We also get two "7 space 7" as top and bottom to the grid. There are also many nice 7 letter fill like ACTUATE, ATTUNES, BENEFIT, BORSCHT, CHICHEN, ETCHERS, I'LL STOP,  IT'S BEST, OCEANIA,  and VW JETTA.  We get some odd abbreviations, some very fun cluing and a Friday workout that was not a hair-puller. Another Friday the 13th so be careful out there.

17A. Classic leading man who moonlighted at a pharmacy? : APOTHECARY GRANT (15). Unlike Nathan Fillion this is ruggedly HANDSOME.

25A. Pulitzer-winning writer who moonlighted in a nightly news studio?: WEATHERMAN  WOUK (14).  He wrote so many great BOOKS.

44A. Actor who moonlighted in a brass band? : TRUMPETER BOYLE (14). An actors ACTOR.

57A. English author who moonlighted at LensCrafters? : OPTICIAN FLEMING (15).  New glasses? Try, Bond, CARTER BOND.

Across:

1. Set into motion : ACTUATE. A Friday word to start.

8. Golf alternative, briefly : VW JETTA. Funny but a stretch as the answer JETTA by itself is more accurate.

15. Red bowlful : BORSCHT. Not many northern Jewish families did not make beet  borscht when I was a kid. Served cold with hot potato was yummy.

16. __ Itzá: Mayan ruins : CHICHEN. Mexican Pyramids

19. Second of 24 : BETA.  Greek has 24 letters in their Alphabet.

20. L.A. Kings' org. : NHL. National Hockey League.

21. Management : SUITS.

22. Fiji's region : OCEANIA. Did you KNOW?

32. Saying that often goes without saying : AXIOM.

33. Breaks down : SOBS.

34. One with a handbook : USER.

36. Tony winner Huffman : CADY. Loved The Producers. Do not know her name.

37. Bolshoi outfit : TUTU. We have  a ballet studio in our back yard, fun.

38. Kitchen bar : OLEO.

39. "I'd strike the sun if it insulted me" speaker : AHAB. The Captain's reply when Starbuck tells him how stupid it is to seek vengeance from a animal acting on instinct.  "Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me." Interesting inclusion as Wouk wrote the Caine Mutiny.

43. Folklore threats : OGRES.

47. Makes complementary (to) : ATTUNES.

48. "Here Come the __": 1945 college comedy : COEDS.

52. Actor Stephen : REA. The Crying Game

53. 18-Down competitor : AVIS. Car rentals.

61. Enhances in the kitchen : SEASONS.

62. "That's my recommendation" : IT'S BEST. After many many Fridays, I am now looking for JW's multi word fill; it really helps.

63. Reply to "That's enough!" : I'LL STOP. See.

64. Pool workers : TYPISTS. Tricky, old fashioned and not true anymore.

Down:

1. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : AB AB. Is this all the Shakespeare we get today? First four lines...
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date

2. Bear up : COPE.

3. Moderate pace : TROT.

4. Open org. : USTA. United States Tennis Association.

5. "__ du lieber!" : ACH.

6. From that place : THENCE. A word very important in surveys, and legal descriptions which are metes and bounds.

7. Rembrandt and Picasso, at times : ETCHERS. I knew nothing of their etchings.

8. Obsolescent family room fixture : VCR. Someday I will get all the tapes of my kids on DVD....

9. Justification : WHY. And the equally famous why not?

10. Puzzle sometimes framed : JIGSAW. Loved the clue, I know very serious jigsaw people.

11. Hose shade : ECRU.

12. Southeast Asian language : THAI. A CSO to my sweet wife who had her birthday yesterday.

13. Garden party protection : TENT. And the clecho...

14. Garden party intruders : ANTS.

18. 53-Across competitor : ALAMO. More rental car; I use Enterprise.

22. Resistance unit : OHM.

23. Collar : NAB.

24. A-listers : INS. And the outs.

25. City SSW of Dallas : WACO. Home of Baylor University.

26. Praise to the heavens : EXALT.

27. To help, to Henri : AIDER. The French looks like English, sorta. Pronounce AY-DAY

28. Piece of toast? : TO YOU. E.G. Happy Birthday...

29. Expenditure : OUTGO.

30. Activity of great interest? : USURY. A good one. Too much interest, in most states there are laws; Florida 18 or 25% but you can read the LIST to see where your state sits..

31. __ One: vodka brand : KETEL.

35. Scam : RUSE. I think of ruse an element in a scam.

39. Proper : APT.

40. In a lather, with "up" : HET. Is this three times this month?

41. Words with take or lose : A TURN.

42. Fund-raiser : BENEFIT.

43. Like "fain": Abbr. : OBSolete. Archaic. But also OBScure.

45. Poe of the Baltimore Ravens, for one : MASCOT.

46. Certain agent's area : REALTY. Big money here; 6% of a million dollar sale is $60,000.00.

48. Mozart title starter : COSI Fan Tutti.

49. General Motors subsidiary : OPEL. German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany.

50. Substitute in a list : ETAL.

51. Ph.D. hurdle : DISSertation.

53. Both, at the start : AMBIvalent about this clue?

54. Contests : VIES.

55. Smithsonian, e.g.: Abbr. : INST. Home for Bones.

56. PD ranks : SGTS. Like Joe Friday.

58. Italian diminutive suffix : INO.

59. Venom transmitter : ASP. Meh.

60. Arguable ability : ESP. Extra Sensory Perception.

Thanks for the ride Jeffrey and thank all of you who came along for the write up.  Lemonade out.

Harper at 6 weeks

1 A

2 C

3 T

4 U

5 A

6 T

7 E

8 V

9 W

10 J

11 E

12 T

13 T

14 A

15 B

O

R

S

C

H

T

16 C

H

I

C

H

E

N

17 A

P

O

T

H

E

C

18 A

R

Y

G

R

A

N

T

19 B

E

T

A

20 N

H

L

21 S

U

I

T

S

22 O

C

E

A

23 N

24 I

A

25 W

26 E

27 A

28 T

H

E

R

M

A

N

W

29 O

30 U

31 K

32 A

X

I

O

M

33 S

O

B

S

34 U

S

E

35 R

36 C

A

D

Y

37 T

U

T

U

38 O

L

E

O

39 A

40 H

41 A

42 B

43 O

G

R

E

S

44 T

R

U

45 M

P

E

T

E

46 R

B

O

Y

L

E

47 A

T

T

U

N

E

S

48 C

49 O

50 E

51 D

S

52 R

E

A

53 A

54 V

55 I

56 S

57 O

P

T

I

C

58 I

59 A

N

F

L

60 E

M

I

N

G

61 S

E

A

S

O

N

S

62 I

T

S

B

E

S

T

63 I

L

L

S

T

O

P

64 T

Y

P

I

S

T

S