Sunday, Dec 20, 2015 Garry Morse

Theme: "La-la Land" - Each two-word theme entry has LA & LA in them.

22A. Cocktail made with Southern Comfort : ALABAMA SLAMMER. What's your favorite cocktail?

28A. Starbucks order : VANILLA LATTE. I remember the first time I visited Starbucks in Guangzhou. Holy smokes! I spent almost 100 Chinese Yuan for a cup of a coffee and a tiny piece of sweet something. The delicious lunch at the local diners cost about 10 Yuan.

57A. Windows material : PLATE GLASS

 

74A. With "The," 2002 Steven Pinker best-seller subtitled "The Modern Denial of Human Nature" : BLANK SLATE. Not familiar it the book or the author.

 

100A. Security measure : BURGLAR ALARM

108A. Modifying words : RELATIVE CLAUSE. New phrase to me.

 

31D. Steinbeck novel set in Monterey : TORTILLA FLAT

42D. Dog once shunned because it wasn't black : CHOCOLATE LAB. Did not know this.

Simple & elegant theme. Reminds me of my R2- D2 theme a while ago. Oh, Argyle, I just noticed two of the pictures in your write-up are now invalid. At least, no lawyer or law firm wrote to me to remove those two pictures. I get those requests from time to time.

Nice grid design. Another low-word 140. I like the themer overlaps at the top and bottom. The top is especially clean.

Across:

1. Dance with a queen : PROM. Great clue. Stumped me though. Skipped to the next entry immediately.

5. Facebook tally : LIKES

10. Bug : IRK

13. Conductor's setting : TEMPO. I was thinking of a place for "setting".

18. Texter's guffaw : ROFL. Rolling On Floor Laughing.  And 35. Texter's "Beats me" : IDK. I Don't Know.

19. The Little Mermaid : ARIEL

20. Catching-on cry : AHA

21. Survived the test : BORE UP. All crosses.

25. Rat, for one : RODENT

26. Plural French pronoun : ILS. They. Did you try CES also?

27. Mets' rival : NATs

30. Origins : ROOTS

32. Common Market inits. : EEC

34. From, in German names : VON. Did your wife grow up in Germany, D-Otto?

36. __ student : MED

37. How some flowers are planted : IN ROWS. I'm not fussy about flowers. Green beans, yes.

39. Kate, before being "tamed" : SHREW

41. Joined in a film lab : SPLICED

43. Eponymous band location : E STREET. Springsteen's E Street Band.

45. Geologic time unit : EON

46. 22-year-old golf phenom Jordan who won the Masters, U.S. Open and FedExCup in 

2015 : SPIETH. Great role model for kids. Tiger was too cold to fans.

47. Syrup source : TREE SAP

49. Disreputable : SHADY

50. 12-member oil gp. : OPEC

 

54. Eighth-century year : DCCI. Put in DCC, then waited.

59. Italy's La __ : SCALA

60. Like some hygiene : ORAL. White teeth do not equate to healthy teeth. Learned it the hard way.

61. Prince __ Khan : ALY. Mindlessly put in AGA.

62. Chicago mayor Emanuel : RAHM. In hot water right now. What's the matter with Illinois, TTP?

63. Reproductive units : SPORES

64. Like an ill-equipped rowboat : OARLESS. Waited for crosses.

66. Wranglers, e.g. : JEEPS. Not JEANS.

68. Sub compartment : AIRLOCK. Drew a blank.  

69. King who succeeds his father, say : DYNAST. Not a word I use. Dynasty, yes.

70. Of the highest quality : A-ONE

71. Old televangelist org. : PTL

72. Old, to Oskar : ALTE. Just German for "old". It's "Lao" in Chinese, hence Lao Tze, literally "Old master".

73. Takes it easy : LOAFS

77. School barometer : TEST

78. Ltr.-bottom letters : ENCL. Is the mail delivery is your area reliable?

79. __ cum laude : MAGNA

80. Cough drop : LOZENGE

82. "The Joy Luck Club" author : AMY TAN. Love the book.

84. Dog days mo. : AUG

85. Cut back on food intake : ATE LESS

89. How food may be salted : TO TASTE. I love pickled food and eat it every day. I should probably cut down on my salt intake.

91. Threaded hardware : SCREW

93. "... baked __" : IN A PIE. 6-letter partial.

94. Passel : TON

95. GPS offering : RTE

96. School attendance drop-off cause : FLU. Nice clue.

97. __ Miguel, largest of the Azores : SAO

99. Balearic island : IBIZA. I first heard of this place from my old colleague Adam, who was quite a party animal.

104. Machu Picchu dweller : INCA

106. Film lover's collectible : CEL

107. Web browser? : SPIDER. Another brilliant clue.

111. Nuts in some ice cream : PECANS. I've tried nearly every brand of walnuts. All smell a bit moldy, though the taste is totally fine. Do you have the same problem?

112. Fair-hiring initials : EEO

113. Gradually gather : GLEAN

114. Anesthetize : DRUG

115. "Later!" : SEE YA

116. One of 400,000-plus in the U.S. : ATM. Holy smokes! I had A?? earlier on, just did not think of ATMs.

117. Before the crowd : EARLY

118. Drive-thru transactions: Abbr. : DEPS. OK, deposits.

Down:

1. Grassland : PRAIRIE

2. Deodorant options : ROLL-ONS

3. In some respects : OF A SORT. Simple in retrospect. I just could not see the answer.

4. Diamond org. : MLB

5. Dalai __ : LAMA

6. Steamed : IRATE

7. X's in some letters : KISSES

8. Slender fish : EEL. Your local grocery store (Asian section) should carry this brand. So good.

 

9. Pole or Croat : SLAV

10. Irritated response to "Aren't you awake yet?" : I AM NOW

11. Bonn's river, in Bonn : RHEIN

12. Marx not seen in films : KARL. Nailed it.

13. Mechanic's set : TOOL KIT

14. "Ring Cycle" goddess : ERDA. German for "earth", right?

15. Tryster's request : MEET ME. Never sent or heard of this request.

16. Gave up the ball : PUNTED

17. Chose, with "for" : OPTED

21. Basketball Hall of Famer who was inducted while a U.S. senator : BRADLEY (Bill). No idea. I don't care basketball. Do care politics. But Wiki said he left the Senate before I came to the US.

23. Comeback : ANSWER

24. Expert : MAVEN

29. Fatty compounds : LIPIDS

33. Look the wrong way, maybe : CHEAT. Tricky clue.

38. Look beyond : SEE PAST

40. Leeway metaphor : ROPE. I wanted ROOM.

41. Muscle malady : SPASM

44. Blinking and sweating, in poker : TELLS. Thought of my brother. We used to play Chinese-style poker. He was not good. By the way, PK, my brother still lives in Xi'an, in the same apartment we grew up.

46. Persian sovereigns : SHAHS

48. For instance : SAY

 

49. Offended smack : SLAP

51. __ officer : PAROLE

52. Chooses : ELECTS

53. Vampire's bed? : CASKET. Indeed.

54. Idle drawing : DOODLE. And 55. Drawing stick : CRAYON

56. Envelope-to-the-forehead TV persona : CARNAC. Stumped me also. Johnny Carson character.

58. __ salad : GREEK

59. It starts in Mar. : SPR

63. Sailing component? : SILENT I. Cruel clue. This refers for the first i, correct? Sailing.

65. Superman's symbol : ESS

66. Big name in fabric stores : JO-ANN. Never been there. Maybe this Joann frequents that place.

67. Sicilian resort : ENNA

68. Attending an afternoon social : AT TEA

70. Pond plants : ALGAE

71. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Peace. Guerra = War.

74. One swinging in a box : BATTER. Baseball.

75. Derogatory remark : SLUR

76. Theater sections : LOGES

79. "Goodness me!" : MY STARS!

81. Friendly : GENIAL

83. 1963 hit on the flip side of "Candy Girl" : MARLENA. Never heard of it.

 

84. Integra maker : ACURA

 

86. Gastronome : EPICURE. Our Steve. I don't know anyone who's more foodier than Steve. From Japanese to Indian to French, he knows them all.

87. Judges : SIZES UP

88. What landlubbers lack : SEA LEGS

89. Piece on top : TOUPEE. Oh, on top of your head.

90. How chop suey may be served : ON RICE. Chop suey is American Chinese food.

91. Race with gates : SLALOM. Another nice clue. Are you still reading us, Marti?

92. Relinquishing of rights : WAIVER

 

94. Cookbook amts. : TBSPS

96. Speedy : FLEET

98. Oscar winner at age 10 : O'NEAL (Tatum)

101. Down Under howdy : G'DAY

102. Vicinity : AREA

103. Monthly budget amt. : MTGE

105. Harlem sch. : CCNY. I had CUNY first.

109. Dockworker's org. : ILA

110. Stick in : ADD

So some of you know that Boomer has been in a slump this season. He bowled his 20th perfect game on Friday Dec 11. One of his friends got it on camera. Click here. Boomer was pretty excited about the breakthrough, but started a new slump in no time :-)

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 19th, 2015, Juliam Lim

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,X,Y)

Blocks: 32

Ugh - I'm sorry, but I just don't like Mr. Lim's puzzles :7((  Every time I get one on a Saturday, I cringe.  Today was no exception.  I had the right fills, and yet could not finish up the NE and SW corners - not without red letters, one Google cheat, and a hail Mary WAG.  Still not sure what some of the answers mean.  Might have to do with excessive 'cardboard box syndrome' I'm suffering from, and a head cold, to boot.  Quadruple corners of 9-letters, with two inner 10's crossing two more inner 9's;

30. Supplanting : PRE-EMPTING - like football and '60 minutes' on Sunday nights, or the president's TV address

31. Goodyear variety : TIRE SIZES - I need tires on the Dodge - also a new ignition switch, but I'm so close to 300,000 on the odo that I will invest the money to cross that milestone

7. It's hard to put down : PAGE TURNER - I have yet to put my TV up in my room, going on 7 weeks now.  That's how busy I've been.  However, it has led me to reading nearly everything on my room-mates shelves - I've read "The Lost Symbol", half the 'Alex Cross' books, and "The Litigators", a book I was reluctant to read because I sensed that all of Grisham's books were about lawyers, and here was no exception - but this one was really good

38. It may be green : CHINESE TEA

ON Sela WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. High-end beer-serving eatery : GASTROPUB - what~? it's not HOOTERS~?  I'm shocked~!

"I'll have the third from the left"

10. First husband of Bathsheba : URIAH - half perps/half WAG

15. Drink with Campari and sweet vermouth : AMERICANO - I think this has been in crosswords before - Mr. Lim left out the club soda

16. San Francisco : BART :: Philadelphia : __ : SEPTA - I tried METRO, which is, uh, 20% right~? Or is that 40%~?  Anyway, my buddy Mike is from Philly, so I could have called him to find out what the scheduling is down there

17. Islands visited by Darwin : GALAPAGOS - a good, solid fill that had me wondering if I could be wrong

18. Bill toppers : STARS - It takes me too long to remember that "bill" in this sense is the playbill

19. Like some plugs : SHAMELESS

20. Got hot for a while : WAS IN - I really don't know, but I think this is a poker/cards reference; I got hot, so "I'm in"

21. H.S. exam : PSAT

22. Distresses : NAGS AT - yeah, some of the cluing NAGS AT me

23. Silver fish : SMELT - I put in sPelt - that is totally 80% correct

26. Driving forces : URGES

29. __ ale : PALE - again, I got caught thinking "nah, too easy"

35. Wave back? : ECHO - tried EDDY

36. Pointless : INANE

37. Word after big or bright : IDEA - again, too easy~?

40. Holds up : ROBS - ah, that kind of holds up - not LASTS, ENDURES, etc.

41. Stone measure : CARAT - gaffed the "C" with a "K"

42. Storyteller from Thrace : AESOP

43. "Awesome, bro!" : "ROCK ON~!"

Van Halen - Stay Frosty

47. ThinkPads, e.g. : IBMs

49. ooVoo alternative : iCHAT - had zilch on this one; my Google, and having -C-AT, WAGed the rest

50. Dish cooked in seasoned broth : RICE PILAF - healthy fill (pun intended) after a few perps - wanna be a monk~? see 43a. above

55. Left-hand page : VERSO - opposite the RECTO

56. Childhood friend of Paul Cézanne : EMILE ZOLA

57. Secretary of war under Teddy : ELIHU - perps and WAG

58. Defame : DISCREDIT

59. Deferential denial : NO, SIR

60. How fries are usually served : ON THE SIDE

DOWN:

1. Stifles : GAGS

2. Asian nurse : AMAH

3. Ward of "Gone Girl" : SELA - also starred in "The Fugitive" movie, and season two of "House, M.D."

4. Treat cruelly, as another's feelings : TRAMPLE ON

5. Most developed : RIPEST

6. College of Central Florida city : OCALA

8. Some, in Seville : UNOS

9. Order giver : BOSS

10. Naval recovery ship for some Gemini missions : USS WASP

I seem to recall something about Frank Sinatra last week

11. Change the price of : RETAG - meh

12. "Not for me" : I PASS - a Juliam Lim puzzle~?  12d.

13. Ventricle neighbors : ATRIA

14. Is without : HASN'T - dah~! I thought NEEDS, LACKS, so the "S" went in, and messed me up

22. Site of ancient Greek games : NEMEA

23. What some write on : SPEC - all the reading is helping me with my own fiction novel idea

24. Eponymous physicist Ernst __ : MACH

25. K thru 12 : ELHI

27. Calf snagger : REATA - one of those "variant" spellings; I am sure it's legit, but "meh"

28. James Watson, notably : GENETICIST - notably, I did not know this

30. Resident on the Arno : PISAN

32. Partnership-forming words : I DOs

33. Mount from which Moses saw the Promised Land : NEBO - and then he brought forth the 15, oy, 10, 10 commandments~!

34. Sound of surprise : GASP

39. Outing led by a naturalist : ECO-TOUR

42. Unit in Ohm's Law : AMPERE - I = V/R, where I = current in amperes, V = volts, and the resistance, "R"

43. Torn asunder : RIVEN - I mentioned a different RIVEN last week....or is it the same~?

44. 3M sponge brand : O-CEL-O

45. Ruth's __ Steak House : CHRIS - never heard of it

46. GOLEAN cereal maker : KASHI - I have heard of this, from commercials

48. Gush forth : BELCH

50. Second take : RE-DO

51. "Let's go!" : "I'M IN~!"

52. Lombardy city : LODI

53. "Put __ on it!" : A LID

54. What "All are architects of," per Longfellow : FATE

Splynter

Friday, Dec 18, 2015 Robin Stears

 Theme:  Igpay Atinlay

Aha!  It's this year's Christmas present from Obinray Earsstay.  She tweeted last year at this time, “It's just not Christmas unless we push our bodies to the brink of alcoholism and diabetes.”  Now there's a woman who gets it!  You can visit her for more examples of her quirky sense of humor.

As I was working this one, knowing I was going to have to 'splain it to you guys, I kept scratching my head.  What does OVERSTAY have to do with chocolate?  And in what world does EASTBAY mean “savage?”  The perps demanded that those answers be correct.  I finally came to the reveal:

 58a.  What four puzzle answers need to be written in:  PIG LATIN...and the V8 can came flying.   Utecay!

17a.  Big name in chocolate:  OVERSTAY (Stover, as in Russell)

21a.  Savage:  EASTBAY (Beast)

35a.  Loot:  UNDERPLAY (Plunder)

52a.  Lay waste to:  ASHTRAY (Trash)

Let's see what other presents Robin put under our tree...

Across:

1.      ___ appeal:  SNOB

5.       “The Girls Next Door” co-creator, for short:  HEF.  Hugh Hefner.

8.       Torus-shaped gaskets:  O-RINGS. Per Wiki:  In geometry, a torus (plural tori) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle.  But you knew that...

14.      Lift one's spirits:  TOPE.  If you lift them too often.

15.      Pay dirt:  ORE

16.      Secure again:  RESEAL. [Meh]  I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

19.      Against:  CONTRA. In another time (and what seems like another world), the CONTRAs battled the Sandinistas for control of Nicaragua.

20.      Crème de ___:  MENTHE. Because “la Crème” was too long and “Cacao” was too short.

22.      NATO member since 2009:  ALB.  No, not American League Baseball, but the country, ALBania.  Remember, we went to war against them in Wag the Dog.

23.      Says “y'all,” say:  ELIDES.  “Resides in Texas” was way too long.  DRAWLS would have worked, though.

26.      Time of one's life:  AGE

27.      Reunion group:  CLASS. “Aunts” would have fit, too.

29.      Beats Electronics co-founder:  DRE  (See 42d.)

30.      Danube tributary:  ILLER

 Those are the Allgäu Alps in the background – beautiful area of southern Bavaria.

32.      Early 20^th-century poet ____ Crane:  HART. No idea.

33.      Layer:  PLY.  Let's see the hands of those who confidently wrote HEN.

34.      The Beatles, e.g.:  IDOLS.  Tried BRITS first.

38.      IQ test name:  BINET.  I remember those standardized Stanford-BINET tests from my ute.

40.      Abu Dhabi is its cap.:  UAE.  United Arab Emirates.  I was there in the '80's.  I asked about a Stephen King novel in a bookstore, and was told, not so politely, not to mention that name there.  Okey dokey...

41.      Sounds from toys:  ARFS.  Wasn't fooled.

45.      “_____ run!”:  GOTTA.  Or as JzB puts it, IMBO.

46.      AC/DC song with the words “I'm dynamite”:  TNT.  Easy enough to suss.

47.      Road challenge:  GLARE

48.      Pharm. drop-offs:  RXS

49.      “WarGames”  computer.  JOSHUA.  Should have remembered that.  Didn't.

51.      Muscle mag subject:  PEC.  Mag indicates it'll be an abbrv.

55.      Biblical escape obstacle:  RED SEA.  “Holy Moses, Batman!”

57.      Get hot under the collar:  SEE RED.  Could be tough to parse. RED dupe.

60.      March:  PARADE

62.      Bluster:  RANT

63.      Treat badly:  STEP ON

64.      El ___:  CID.  Spanish hero played by Charleton Heston with a cast of thousands.

65.      Energy units:  ERGS. Hello again, old cw friend.

Down:

1.       Acid producer:  STOMACH.  Should have been easy enough to guess.  Wasn't.

2.       “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” for one:  NOVELLA.  Some might recall a minor movie.

3.       Spot for free spirits:  OPEN BAR.  Nailed it.

4.       Friend of Mary Poppins:  BERT.  All perps.

5.       Monopoly buy:  HOTEL

6.       Big time:  ERA

7.       Early 2000s “SNL” standout:  FEY.  Tina.

8.       “Blackfish” creatures:  ORCAS.  Political documentary.  Nuff sed.

9.       Model T contemporaries:  REOS.  Named for Ransom Eli Olds.  Many people think the Oldsmobile was named for him.  Correctomundo!

10,      “____ that special?!”:  ISN'T . Made famous by Dana Carvey.

11.      Court surprise:  NET BALL.  Tennis, I'm guessin'.

12.      Parking places:  GARAGES

13.      Buffy, for one:  SLAYER

18.      Tom Jones' “____ a Lady”:  SHE'S

21.      Shoebox letters:  EEE

24.      Between jobs:  IDLE

25.      Rehearsals:  DRY RUNS

28.      Double's job:  STUNT. Stunt-double in the movies.

30.      Wash. neighbor:  IDA  (Washington/Idaho)

31.      Steadfast:  LOYAL

33.      Wash. hours:  PDT.  The same Wash., not D.C.

34.      Key for Debussy?:   ILE.  Debussy was a French composer, and a key is an island.

36.      Teachers' org.:  NEA.  Standard crosswordese.

37.      Buddha's Noble Eightfold ____:  PATH.  Perps to the rescue.

38.      Choice ballpark location:  BOX SEAT

39.      “I found what you're looking for!”:  IT'S HERE

42.      Drake or Nelly:  RAP STAR.  If you say so.  Actually, I had first perped it as RAPSTER, but “Bluster” = RANT, not RENT, straightened me out.

43.      Letting go: FREEING

44.      Cosine reciprocals:  SECANTS.  Thank you, high school trigonometry.

45.      Comprehends:  GRASPS

46.      Stocking stuffer:  TOY.  Tried TOE first.

47.      Certain Celt:  GAEL.  There are several Celtic languages.  GAELic is one of them.

49.      Will Smith's second son:  JADEN.  Just how were we supposed to know that?

50.      Goaded:  URGED

53.      Sting, perhaps:  TRAP.  Narcotics sting.

54.      Modernize:  REDO

56.      Have the gumption:  DARE

58.      ___-Man:  PAC.  Many a squandered hour in my younger days...

59.      In this emplacement:  ICI. More French.  Shouldn't “In this” also have been in French? Oh, well...

That'll do it for me.  Glad to have had the opportunity to fill in today.  Lemonade will be back next week with his Christmas Special, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.  Desper-otto signing off.

Note from C.C.:

I would like to tell you about two coupled puzzles by my neighbor Steve Bachman (with some help from George Barany):  Wit and Wisdom, as explained further on this bachblog post. Even if you don't have time to try these puzzles, click on Steve's name for his inspirational personal story.