Sunday, Nov 15, 2015 Bruce Haight

Theme:  "Going on a Bender" - Each of the eight theme entries takes a 90-degree turn.

1A & 6D: Gets hitched : TAKES THE PLUNGE. That's how our TTP got his avatar name.

 

7A & 12D:  Unpopular party gal : DEBBIE DOWNER. Not familiar with this phrase.

13A & 17D. Goes 0 for 20, say : HITS A SLUMP

43D & 65A. PRESS FORWARD. This is where I cottoned onto the gimmick.

48A & 51D: How some Niagara stunts are done : OVER THE FALLS

 

76D & 99A: Passenger's direction at the corner : HANG A RIGHT. Also an easy corner.

74D & 100A: Play a trick (on) : PUT ONE ACROSS

68D & 101A: More than breaking even : COMING OUT AHEAD. A few tricky clues in that corner.

Reveal entry:

58A. Wax eloquent ... and what to do to solve eight puzzle clues : TURN A PHRASE

Across Lite does not allow empty clues, so Rich normally uses a dash to indicate that there's no clue for that word. Dashes often hint at a turning gimmick.

None of the turning phrases is random. Every themer has a key word indicating a downward or forward turn. 

The total symmetry added an extra layer elegance to this grid. It also made filling challenging for the fun-loving Bruce.

Across:

18. Get some fresh air : BREATHE. I just turn to NPR for Terry Gross. 

20. Complained : RAILED

21. Drives unsteadily : WEAVES

22. Give an edge to : SHARPEN. And  81. Giving an edge to : HONING

 23. Maestro Toscanini : ARTURO. My very first entry.

24. Half of a storybook duo : HANSEL. Same letter as Gretel.

25. Knocks in the theater : PANS

26. Seafood entrée : PRAWNS. Isn't strange that PRAWN is plurable but not SHRIMP? Same food.

28. Put an edge on : WHET

30. Big Ten sch. : PSU. The Nittany Lions. All crosses for me.

31. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU

32. Director's cry : PLACES. I wanted ACTION. When does a director shout "Places"?

33. Already : BY NOW

35. Growth period : BOOM

36. Former South African president for whom a gold coin is named : KRUGER. The coin is  Krugerrand. Named after this guy Paul Kruger. Both stranger to me.

37. Caine captain : QUEEG

38. Stopped lying? : SAT UP. I thought of AROSE first. At least I was in the right direction.

39. One may be personal : TRAINER. And 71. They may be seconded : MOTIONS. Quite a few clue echoes in this puzzle.

41. Harold's film partner : KUMAR

42. Leading : FIRST

43. Book intros : PROLOGS

44. Wisecracks : QUIPS

45. Pac-Man feature : MAZE

46. Call it a night : RETIRE

47. Salad veggies : CUKES. Trader Joe's has these wonderful Persian cucumbers. So crisp and tender.

 

52. Buttermilk rider : EVANS. And 78. Trigger rider : ROGERS

 

53. Bee output : QUILT. Sewing bee! I just can't keep my mind of beeswax.

54. Rains cats and dogs : POURS

56. Zebra on a court : REF

57. Link clicker's destination : SITE

 

60. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine : AYLA. This has become a gimme for me.

61. __-Cat : SNO

62. Beauty's admirer : BEAST. Beauty and the Beast.

63. Hardly seaworthy : LEAKY

64. Divulge : SPILL

 

67. Violin-playing comedian : BENNY. Drew a blank. Sadly I don't know much about Jack Benny. I do know his age though.

68. Price-fixing bloc : CARTEL

69. Spots to crash on the road : INNS

70. Physics particle : QUARK

72. Hogties : BINDS

74. __ willow : PUSSY

75. "Now We Are Six" author : A. A. MILNE. Big fat gimme.

76. __ Sack : HACKY

77. Extremely : QUITE

78. Confrontations : RUN-INS

79. Vanquishers of kings : ACES. Oh, poker.

80. "Designing Women" actress Annie : POTTS.

82. Large vessel : VAT. First thought is URN.

85. Collar : NAB

86. Staff note : MEMO

87. Motley, as a crew : RAGTAG

88. Options list : MENU

89. Matured : GREW UP

91. Ewan's "Moulin Rouge!" co-star : NICOLE. Gimme.

94. Fill with crayons : COLOR IN

96. Commercial charge : AD RATE. And 15. Plugs for tubes? : TV SPOTS

97. Charm : ENAMOR

98. "I'm okay with that" : SUITS ME

Down:

1. Recipe amts. : TBSPs

2. Buddhist who has attained Nirvana : ARHAT. Wiki said it's Sanskrit for "one who is worthy". My landlord in Shanghai completely ruined Buddhism for me. He drank every night. He also burned incense and chanted every night.

3. Reeves of "The Lake House" : KEANU

4. Wave catchers? : EARS. Lovely clue.

5. Indy letters : STP

 

7. Bureau division : DRAWER

8. Merits : EARNS

9. Comic's routines : BITS

10. __-ray Disc : BLU

11. Comparative suffix : IER

13. Cops : HEAT

14. Creator of Q and M : IAN. James Bond.

16. Escorts to the door : SEES OUT

 

19. Infuriates : ENRAGES

21. "That was a close one!" : WHEW

27. Taiwan-based computer company : ACER. Our monitor. Great quality.

29. Monopolize : HOG

32. Group below abbots : PRIORS

33. Removes from the schedule : BUMPS

34. Affirmative votes : YEAs

35. Having less coverage : BARER

36. Tigers Hall of Fame outfielder Al : KALINE.  And 39. Two-time U.S. Open champ : TREVINO. I nailed both. Just saw Lee Trevino at the 3M this summer. He was surprisingly quiet that day. A bit name heavy in this area.

37. "Shh" : QUIET PLEASE. What a great entry.

38. Hat stats : SIZES

40. __ cuff: shoulder muscles : ROTATOR

41. One of Fran's puppets : KUKLA

42. Only NFL quarterback with more than 10,000 pass attempts : FAVRE. I'd not have played for the Vikings.

 44. "Jaws" shark hunter : QUINT. Unknown to me.

45. Timid : MOUSY

47. Junkyard dogs : CURS

49. Fitting comment? : TRY IT ON. Lovely clue/answer.

50. Greek : HELLENE

53. Campus areas : QUADS

54. Popular frat activity : PRANK

55. Like some chards : OAKY. Wine. I kept thinking of the veggie.

58. Shore fliers : TERNS

59. Name of eight English kings : HENRY

60. Typically wet times : APRILs

62. Toss about, as ideas : BANDY

64. Filling fully : SATING

66. Flirtatious signals : WINKS

67. Arrests : BUSTS

 

70. Pack it in : QUIT

71. Rock band 10,000 __ : MANIACS. No idea. Of course I thought of 10,000 lakes for MN.

72. Captain Morgan rival : BACARDI

73. Emotionally cold type : ICEBERG

 

75. Close relative : AUNT

77. Iranian holy city : QOM

80. Toon skunk Le Pew : PEPE

81. Anaheim team, in sportscasts : HALOS. Angels.

82. Frost lines? : VERSE. Robert Frost.

83. Jungian principle : ANIMA

84. Pitched well? : TUNED. This corner was hard for me.

86. Many a shelter resident : MUTT

87. Cowboys quarterback Tony : ROMO

88. Light-loving flier : MOTH

90. Nursery noise : WAH

92. Business magazine : INC

93. Monopoly token : CAR

95. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA. This I learned from the Wayne R. Williams era. We had this all the time.

C.C.

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