Sunday March 27, 2016 Mark MacLachlan

Theme:  "C Battery" - C is added to each theme answer, changing spellings as needed.

23A. Film monster at a construction site? : CRANE OF TERROR. Reign of terror.We also have DESPOT (28. Unrestricted ruler).

39A. Peat moss heist? : NURSERY CRIME. Nursery rhyme.

44A. Double without a seatbelt? : UNSECURED CLONE. Unsecured loan. Notice all the C's are added to the start of one word in each themer? Consistency!

69A. Exclusive editing websites? : WIKI CLIQUES. WikiLeaks.

92A. Marx feature? : CRAZED EYEBROWS. Raised eyebrows. Groucho Marx.

96A. Garden center bulk purchase? : CASE OF SPADES. Ace of spades.

114A. Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes? : CRY ON THE CROCS. Rye on the rocks. Double-action entry, like last Friday's PRISM.  Double-action entry often placed as the last themer for maximum effect.

I think this might be our Mark MacLachlan, a chemistry professor at the University of British Columbia. This is his debut puzzle. Huge congratulations!

I had a sense of what the theme might be after I glanced at the puzzle title. Spelling change gimmick is much more challenging than the simple adding/deleting letter approach. You need to be very imaginative.

There are four nice sets of triple-stacked 7's, two of the sets cross another 7  & 8.  The grid does also have lots of 3-letter entries (38).

Across:

1. Fads : MANIAS

7. They were introduced to Western pop music during the British Invasion : SITARS. Instruments, not singers as I first thought.

13. Quantities like mass and volume : SCALARS. New word to me.

20. Earth pigment : SIENNA

21. Slow movement : ADAGIO. Ad-agio, Italian for  "at ease".

22. Hamlet's friend : HORATIO

25. Subject for Dumbledore : ALCHEMY. Dumbledore is the headmaster of the Hogwarts.

26. Plane staff : CREW

27. Kitchen top : LID

30. Govt. intel org. : NSA

31. Co-star of "Suspect" (1987) : CHER. Never saw the movie. 

32. Author Rand : AYN

33. Spanish eye : OJO

35. Confine, as on a farm : PEN IN

37. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA. Hello, old friend!

38. Civil War prez : ABE

48. Sticks often with curved tops : CANES

49. Ones having a bite : EATERS. Thought of Da Fan Tong Jayce.

50. Former "Daily Show" correspondent Samantha : BEE. Now she has her own show.

51. Recipe words : A DASH. Partial.

54. Vietnam's last emperor Bao __ : DAI. No idea. Dai is the same as Chinese Da, meaning "big".

55. Update the machinery : RETOOL

57. Bagel topper : LOX. Barry G's breakfast staple. Hope you're getting better, Barry.

59. Apprehensive of : FEARING

61. Art opening? : POP. Pop art.

64. Reason to call the landlord : NO HEAT. Arbitrary phrase.

66. Something in the air : NITROGEN. Nice clue.

67. "Return of the Jedi" dancer : OOLA. This has become a gimme.

71. Adored speaker : BOSE. "Adored" because it's a popular brand?

72. Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation : THE CHAOS. Complete stranger. Read here.

74. Not dressy : CASUAL

75. Part of PST: Abbr. : STD

76. Historic metropolitan district : OLD TOWN. I lived in the old town part of Guangzhou & loved very much the neighborhood.

77. Miss piggy? : SOW.  Great clue. I did read it as "Miss Piggy".

78. Astronomer Celsius : ANDERS. Did not know Celsius' given name.

82. Time, e.g., briefly : MAG

83. Iraqi port : BASRA

85. French pen name : BIC. French for "pen"? I wanted NOM. (Updated: BIC is French. Thanks, D-Otto. Never knew that.)

86. Research : GO INTO

90. "... __, mean, fightin' machine!": John Candy in "Stripes" : A LEAN

99. Carbohydrate ending : OSE

100. "Dinosaur Train" watcher : TOT. Easy guess.

101. WWII German minesweeper : R BOAT. No idea, Spitzboov. I only know U-boat and E-boat.

102. 6, on a phone : MNO

103. __ instinct : GUT

104. Riot squad spray : MACE

105. Munich lament : ACH

108. Tree in a tray : BONSAI. Well, nobody outdoes Dave for birthday cake links. But look at these two bonsai trees I found, Dave!

110. Breakfast morsel : OAT

111. Prying : NOSY

112. Go before : PRECEDE

119. Ursa Minor star : POLARIS

120. Interfere : MEDDLE

121. "Real love __ me through": Steve Winwood lyric : TO PULL. A rare 6-letter partial.

122. Matching tops worn together : TWIN-SET

123. Franklin writings : ESSAYS

124. Large furniture chain : ASHLEY. Drew a blank. I don't think we have one in our neighborhood.

 

Down:

1. Advanced math deg., in Canada : M.SC. OK, Master of Science.

2. Carrier with a Shanghai hub : AIR CHINA. Nailed it. The flag carrier in Taiwan is called China Airlines. There was no direct flight from Taiwan to mainland China until 2003. You had to fly to Hong Kong first.

3. Qatar locale : NEAR EAST

4. __ peace : INNER

5. Yet again : ANEW

6. Brazil map word : SAO

7. Observed, maybe : SATIN

8. Fingered : ID'ED

9. Sailor : TAR

10. Cabinet dept. : AGR. We see ENER more often.

11. Aldi supermarket juice brand that translates to "river of gold" : RIO D'ORO. No idea either. Helpful "river of gold" hint.  I go to Aldi weekly. Never saw this brand though.

 

12. Ticked : SORE

13. Machine shop tool : SHAPER

14. Groups of bats or beavers : COLONY. Oh, I only associate ants with colony.

15. Northernmost freshwater fish : ARCTIC CHAR. Steve might have had it. Not me.

16. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH

17. UMass's conference : A-TEN. Alright, Atlantic 10 Conference. 

 

18. Edges : RIMS

19. Tofu source : SOYA. Trader Joe's has the best extra-firm Tofu. They also have the best veggie Jiaozi (Gyoza). I recall TTP mentioned that his wife likes their shrimp Gyoza.

24. Handbill : FLYER

29. 1994 film set on a bus : SPEED. Loved the film. I watched the Cantonese version.

 

31. Game with a rope : CLUE

32. "Perched upon __ of Pallas": "The Raven" : A BUST. Partial.

33. Fairy tale opener : ONCE

34. Summer mo. : JUL

36. Org. for marksmen : NRA

38. 43,560 square feet : ACRE

40. Junk food, in ads : SNAX

41. Dyes used for blue jeans : INDIGOS

42. Most Grinch-like : MEANEST

43. Digitally endorsed : E-SIGNED. Also 46. Nook downloads : E-BOOKS. Do any of you use Audible.com?

45. Bard's "always" : E'ER

47. Home of Humayun's Tomb : DELHI. Unfamiliar with the tomb.

52. Off the beaten path : AFIELD

53. Puts in rollers : SETS

56. Dip ingredients : ONIONS

57. Award-winning courtroom drama : LA LAW

58. Elevator innovator : OTIS

60. Hold up : ROB

 

61. Chesapeake Bay feeder : POTOMAC

62. "C'est magnifique!" : OOH LA LA

63. Telethon commitments : PLEDGES

65. Maker of Cage golf shoes : ECCO. Boomer just got a much-lighter Big Bertha from 2nd Swing. He thinks he's going to hit straighter and 20-30 yards farther.

66. Subtlety : NUANCE

68. Be on a role? : ACT

69. Trumpet sound : WA WA

70. "Brokeback Mountain" actor : QUAID (Randy). Never saw the movie. The plot is so moving.

73. Schmoozers : HOBNOBBERS

77. 1986 Starship chart-topper : SARA. This got me last time.

79. Spew out : EGEST

80. Obi-Wan's attire : ROBE

81. Title of honor : SIR

84. Tax audit needs: Abbr. : RCPTS

85. Smooch from Sofía : BESO. For Bill G.

87. Absolutely no one : NOT A SOUL. Can you think of a clue without using "no"?

88. Type of engine or oil : TWO-CYCLE. New concept to me as well.

89. Bone: Pref. : OSTE

91. Fizzy prefix : AER

93. Looks up to : ADMIRES

94. __ garden : ZEN

95. What "comes but once in a lifetime": Longfellow : YOUTH

97. "Jamie" reader : FOODIE. What is "Jamie"? Anything to do with Jamie Oliver?

98. Most stable : SANEST

103. Defense secretary before Panetta : GATES (Robert)

104. Transform, in sci-fi : MORPH

105. iCal entry : APPT. Gary must use his iCal app often.

106. Bad avian omen in much mythology : CROW

107. Prefix with port : HELI

109. Peak : ACME

110. Just : ONLY

111. Sgts. and cpls. : NCOS

113. Discharge : CAN

115. NFL stat : YDS

116. "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA. Ditto.

117. Greek vowel : ETA

118. Cagey : SLY

I've been enjoying Peter Gordon's Newsflash Crosswords the past few years. His entries and clues are super current and full of fun trivia. MERRICK GARLAND appeared in Peter's grid two days after he was nominated for the Justice post. Please click here and back his project if you love crosswords and news. You'll love each handcrafted gem from him.

C.C.

Saturday, March 26th, 2016, Mark Bickham

Theme: MB

Words: 72 (missing J,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

   I typically cringe when I see Mr. Bickham's name in the title, though upon reviewing his last two Saturday offerings, I see that I fared well on the last one, and claimed to have breezed through the one prior to that.  This week, I have to say, I threw in a few WAGs and they worked out for the best; they helped my long answers tremendously, and led to a fast solution.  I might have discovered the wavelength that Mark operates on.  I will admit I had one letter wrong, which I discovered when there was no "Ta-DA~!" at the end.  I'll take it.  One climber, and one spanner, with a pair of 12-letter fills stacked either side;

7d. Loan document : PAYMENT SCHEDULE

35a. Response acknowledging familiarity : I GET THAT A LOT

38a. Couple getting away together? : PARTNERS IN CRIME

41a. Beyond reproach : SQUEAKY CLEAN

вперед~! (62a.) 

ACROSS:

1. She played Madeleine in "Bel Ami" (2012) : UMA - did not see this movie

4. Get really excited : FLIP

8. Mug shot result? : FAT LIP - not sure which "mug" and "shot" we might be looking at; the one involving arrest, or the one involving 'arrested development' ( that is, consuming alcohol excessively ).  Turns out neither - instead it's a shot to the mug

14. __ data : RAW

15. "The Diana Chronicles" author Brown : TINA - filled via perps

16. Rooks, e.g. : AVIANS - I was on a chess wavelength; here it's the bird

17. Social follower? : ITE - socialite

18. Levitate : DEFY GRAVITY - that's what it means

20. Fashionable : CHIC - I did technically post a pic of legs last week, but just to be clear, this is still what I call "chic"

22. "Enough, José!" : "NO MAS~!"

23. Shout after a muleta manipulation : OLÉ - Spanish uno mas - a muleta ( having had to look it up ) is a red cape fixed to a stick.  I pretty much figured out what the answer was without knowing, though the actual definition of the word is "crutch"

24. Hard-to-hit pitch : HIGH C - ah, not baseball

26. __ fail : EPIC - this was my first thought, but I hesitated

28. Carrier of many old couples : ARK

30. Historic Buddhist temple : SHAOLIN

33. You can count on them : ABACI - got it

42. Lemony spice used in Middle Eastern cuisine : SUMAC - I'm guessing it's not the poisonous kind....

43. Question of time : "HOW LONG~?" - I tried "HOW SOON", and two "O"s were good to go

46. Half a drink : TAI - and of course, I tried MAI

47. Not out : SAFE - ah, here's the baseball

50. 2000s Showtime series, with "The" : L WORD - heard of it, have not seen it

52. "Star Trek" initialism : TNG - "The Next Generation", which truly was MY generation's Star Trek; I could not get into the original, tho the movies with the original cast were to my liking.  Now we're being shown Star WARS, the next generation

54. In a big way : BADLY

57. Party where lomi salmon may be served : LUAU - I tried BRIS to start; bzzzt.  The internet claims it's actually lomi-lomi

58. Runway highlight : BEAUTY QUEEN - I have been communicating with a girl who was the beauty queen of a dance at her college - and she is a cutie; 29, with beautiful green eyes - maybe more next week....

61. Treasury Dept. variable : GNP

62. Fitting game : TETRIS - one of my all-time favorite video games

I also found this, this and this

63. 1970 Kinks hit : LOLA

64. Stand in a barrel : AGE - think the verb

65. Outsmarts : ONE-UPS

66. Good place to see plays : ESPN - more likely to see RE-plays, actually

67. Rocker Nugent : TED

DOWN:

1. "Spenser: For Hire" actor : URICH - It took a moment to recall his last name; I knew his first name was Robert; I knew him from "The Ice Pirates" from way back in 1984

2. He's no Johnny One Note : MATHIS - I have one of his Christmas albums

3. Barely clear of the bottom : AWEIGH

4. Co. with a bouquet in its logo : FTD - Florists' Transworld Delivery - the Wiki

5. Bank security : LIEN

6. Scoop : INFO

8. Iranian language : FARSI

9. Clark's "Mogambo" co-star : AVA

10. It helps you avoid seeing spots : TiVO - the "spots" being TV ads; I DVR all my stuff so I can skip the commercials, too

11. Boxer who retired undefeated : LAILA ALI

12. Building security device : INTERCOM

13. Humanities dept. : PSYchology; I see that it might be considered a science instead

19. Clothing giant : GAP - different "gap" from yesterday

21. Starbucks latte order : CHAI TEA

25. Courvoisier and Hennessy : COGNACS

27. Taunt : CATCALL

29. Surfer's option : KITE - my one wrong letter was the "K"; I had SITE, which makes internet surfing sense; I did not check my crossings

31. Garlic relative : LEEK

32. "Just doing my job" : "I TRY." - this week I had a new truck in my UPS line-up, and it was a disaster the first day of the week; I did not feel very good about the job I did.  I recovered pretty quickly, however, as the driver told me I did an outstanding job two days later.  I try.

34. Nocturnal bird : BARN OWL

36. City name that looks like an oxymoron : HILO - High, or Low~?

37. Over : ANEW

38. "Hey!" : PSST - oops; with my MAI, I tried AHEM

39. "__ Hunger Force": Adult Swim cartoon : AQUA-TEEN - I have seen a few episodes of this show, but I was more a fan of "Robot Chicken"

40. Ponder : RUMINATE

44. Milky Way component : NOUGAT

45. Farm : GRANGE - my first AA home group was in a community center we called "The Grange"; I am guessing it was once a part of a local farm, as it is now an historic landmark

48. Profundity metaphor : ABYSS - this one goes "deep"

49. Provider of answers, briefly : FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

51. Had : DUPED - "I've been duped~!"

53. Provider of answers : GURU

55. Some summer births : LEOS

56. Kennel noise : YELP

58. "Takin' Care of Business" rock gp. : BTO - Bachman-Turner Overdrive; classic rock of the 70's

59. Bills left behind, perhaps : TIP

60. Indian bread : NAN

Splynter

Friday, March 25, 2016, Warren Stabler

Theme: We need to get rid of our PR department.

This is our third puzzle from Warren who has two Monday LATs under his belt. It was difficult to parse his re-imagination of PRISM as PR IS M. Words that begin with "PR" are recast with "M" to create new phrases. There are no other PR words in the clues or fill. The triple nines in the NE and SW make this an impressive grid featuring  many lovely words like ARMATURES, PERSONNEL, EXTENDERS, STOMACHED, RAPID FIRE, ANECDOTAL. Let us take a trip through Warren's creation.

17A. Songs without words? : MIME NUMBERS (11). PRime Numbers, a math concept becomes an odd concept of people acting out the music. I started out wanting INSTRUMENTAL which luckily was too long.

27A. Earthquake consequence? : MOVING GROUND (12). PRoving ground I believe started with a term for the place where the military tries out its weapons. This fill gave me the letter(s) switch.

46A. House cat's challenge? : MICE INCREASE (12). PRice increase. 

61A. Money-making fiasco? : MINTING MESS (11). PRinting PRess. A double dose of changing pr to m. Good or bad?

68A. Solid that, when divided into three parts, describes this puzzle's theme : PRISM. For all of the math people who comment here, we are talking geometry not light waves when the clue is a solid. LINK.

Across:

1. "Dancing With the Stars" network : ABC-TV. Quite the interesting new group this year.

6. Early sign of spring : ARIES. The first sign of the Zodiac.

11. Big, uncouth guy : APE. Generally hairy.

14. Flap : HOOHA. With or without the closing "H" this version may come from the Yiddish הו־האַ meaning hullabaloo. In the Urban dictionary, the meaning is very different.

15. Now : TODAY.

16. King of ancient Rome : REX. This took too long as I was trying to think of one of the KINGS.

19. Celebrity known for wearing gold jewelry : MR T.

20. Like : AS IF. We learned this when Winston was pushing their cigarettes as tasting good "Like" a cigarette should. My fellow 10 year old kids loved saying "as if a cigarette should."

21. Check for a poker player? : NO BET. Literal.

22. Corner of a diamond : BASE. Third is the "hot corner."

23. Place name derived from a Koyukon word for "tall" : DENALI. Yukon tipped me to the Alaska connection and Denali filled.  I knew nothing of this language or PEOPLE.

25. Touch : ABUT ON.

31. Span. title : SRA. One lazy Friday I misidentified this abbreviation for Señora.

34. Pasta sauce flavoring : BASIL. Is a spice a flavoring?

35. Jane __, only female Chicago mayor : BYRNE. It is hard to believe Chicago elected this interesting outspoken CANDIDATE.

36. Strong flavor : TANG. I think more of tangy, but this was okay.

38. Dog or fox : CANID. Per wiki any of a family (Canidae) of carnivorous animals that includes the wolves, jackals, foxes, coyote, and the domestic dog.

40. One looking ahead : SEER. The Romans used them as important advisers, called them oracles. Reagan used astrologers. Also a word in C.C.'s Monday.

41. Autobahn autos : OPELS. Cool, now it is here.

43. Dreaded mosquito : AEDES. We have so many diseases spread by mosquitoes. What the CDC says.

45. Mercedes roadsters : SLS. SLS stands for "Sport Leicht Super" (Sport Light Super).

Sorry this is the correct car, I was thinking of an example rather than the plural.









49. Supplements : ADDS TO.

50. Date night destination : CINEMA. No ATM this week.

54. Corporate money mgrs. : CFOS. Chief Financial Officers.

55. Hustler's genre : DISCO. The dance, not the con man or the street person.

59. Dollar alternative : AVIS. Rental cars.

60. Pop __ : HIT.

63. Important time : ERA.

64. Leader of the pack? : SCOUT. Literally the one who goes out first.

65. Main artery : AORTA.

66. __ Taco : DEL. This chain of texmex is not down here but they have locations in Orlando. Never tried it.

67. Manage : GET BY.

Down:

2. Capital on its own river : BOISE. I did not know this geographic fact. Looks pretty.

3. "__ Thro' the Rye": Burns : COMIN.  A snippet...
Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
     Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie
     Comin thro' the rye.
LINK.

4. Kin, informally : THE FAM. I have a cousin who actually says this.

5. Soccer practice transport : VAN.

6. Sphere opening : ATMOsphere.

7. Lynda Bird's married name : ROBB. She married this man. LINK.

8. Auteur's starting point : IDEE. French authors have their ideas in French.

9. Stock-tracking device : EAR TAG. Not your portfolio, but your cows. Nice clue/fill.

10. Part of PBS: Abbr. : SYS.




11. Current-carrying components : ARMATURES. I know nothing  of electricity or electrical engineering but I read in a current events manual that in DC machines, the magnetic poles are stationary, while the armature rotates-- and hence is also called the Rotor. In AC machines, the armature (heavy coil windings) remains stationary (and hence it is called the Stator), while the magnetic poles rotate inside the stator. This gives us LINK.

12. Staff : PERSONNEL.

13. Substances that add protein to meat : EXTENDERS. I did not know this either and you
probably do not want to read this LINK. And more food controversy 61D. Stir-fry additive : MSG.  MonoSodium Glutamate. There is a really great Article about the Chinese Food Syndrome and MSG.

18. Pioneer mainframe : UNIVAC.

22. Depth indicators, at times : BUOYS.

24. Court ploy : LOB.

26. Texter's "Gimme a sec" : BRB. Be Right Back. Also in Monday's puzzle.

28. Son of Abraham : ISAAC.

29. Levi's Stadium player, familiarly : NINER. Pick you seat....

30. Skate : GLIDE.

31. Stood : STOMACHED. I will not make a political comment here.

32. In quick succession : RAPID FIRE. Questions, for example.

33. Like some speech components : ANECDOTAL. The great speakers all are able to insert little stories to make their points. Wonderful word used infrequently in puzzles.

37. "Cagney &  Lacey" co-star : GLESS. Sharon, who reappeared on Burn Notice 

39. Church VIP : DEACON.

42. Rest : SIT.

44. Govt. stipend provider : SSI. Social Security provides Supplemental Security Income

47. "Fat chance" : NO DICE. Another of many multi word fill.

48. Charm : ENAMOR.

51. "If __ Would Leave You" : EVER I. Ah, Camelot...

52. Perfume applications : MISTS. At least the department stores no longer spray when you walk in.

53. State in northeast India : ASSAM. And this too was in Monday's puzzle.

56. How ties may be broken, briefly : IN OT. In overtime.

57. Re-entry need : STUB. Your ticket stub at the game, the concert or the movie.

58. Word in many place names : CITY.

62. Opening : GAP. Why did I think of this...

Well Spring sprung, and Warren tried his skills at a Friday. I was really impressed with the long non-theme fill. I think this could have easily morphed into a themeless. I missed my Friday Shakespeare but Camelot was fun. Thanks Warren and all of you, Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) TTP wrote an updated post on "How to Create a Blogger Account. It's now archived under Olio on the blog front page. Thank you so much for taking the time and writing detailed instructions for newbies, TTP!

2) A few years ago Husker Gary created this fantastic Crossword Corner map. For those who want to add their name to the map, please feel free to email Gary (gschlapfer@gmail.com). Please also let him know if you want to drop your name from the map. Gary will publish an update map once he has the updated info.

 

Thursday, March 24th, 2016 Mel Rosen

Theme: Name Games - two famous (?) names combine to form a third ... thing.

17A. Rich and Chris in a capital? : LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas. Rich Little. Chris Rock.

23A. Billy and Minnie on a road? : SUNDAY DRIVER. We've all experienced a few of these. An international phenomenon too, in my experience. Billy Sunday. Minnie Driver.

38A. Vida and John in a ballpark? : BLUE JAY. Toronto diamond denizens. Vida Blue. John Jay.

49A. Karen and Adam on a hill? : CARPENTER ANT. They like to nest in dry wood. Not good for our timber-framed homes here in California. Karen Carpenter. Adam Ant.

59A. Eddie and Arsenio in a concert venue? : ALBERT HALL. More correctly the "Royal Albert Hall". A landmark music venue in London, it was named by Queen Victoria in honor of her late husband, Prince Albert. I saw Eric Clapton and Elvis Costello play there, but it's more usually a classical music venue. Eddie Albert. Arsenio Hall.

Thursday already? I'm up in the air over ... somewhere en route from New Jersey heading back to LA. I'm not sure about anyone else but I scored about 50% on name-recognition with this puzzle. Thank goodness for solid crosses.

I went back to look up who I didn't recognize one jot (four) and one who I think I'd vaguely heard of (one). I now know I need to brush up on my impressionists, my evangelical preachers, my left-handed baseball pitchers, my Chief Justices and actor/activists.

The center section gave me conniptions - I didn't know either of the theme names, and some seemingly impossible letter-progressions had me staring at a big white space. Finally, the penny dropped with "NOBLE" and that was the key for me.

Here's one of the aforementioned theme people in celebration of what was quite startling videopop back in the early 80's.

And .. let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. See 44-Across : BABA. Something to peeve the cross-reference-haters right off the bat. Barry already had one on Tuesday this week.

5. Bremen or Hamburg, locally : STADT. Thank you, high school German classes. "City".

10. Fast-food order : SODA

14. Joie de vivre : ÉLAN

15. Circus Maximus attire : TOGAS. Pedantically, it might be quibbled that it might be TOGAE.

16. Pizza chain started in Chicago, informally : UNO'S. Formally, Uno Pizzeria and Grill. New York pizza lovers, avert your eyes - here's the original deep-dish version from the original Pizzeria Uno.

19. Pond denizen : NEWT. A man walks into a bar with a large newt on his shoulder, orders a drink and glass of water "for Tiny, here". The bartender asks him why he calls him "Tiny". "Because he's my newt".

20. Stumped : AT SEA

21. Fragrant hybrid : TEA ROSE

27. Pub order : ALE

30. Cause harm : DO ILL

31. Capt.'s direction : E.S.E.

32. Family member : SON

33. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen": Andrews Sisters hit : BEI. High school German classes didn't include the Andrews Sisters. "To me, you're beautiful".

34. Come out : EMERGE

37. i follower : POD

40. i follower : PAD

41. Nicks on albums : STEVIE

43. 1980s-'90s gaming console : N.E.S. Stood for Nintendo Entertainment System.

44. With 1-Across, woodcutter who stole from thieves : ALI

45. River island : AIT. Also Eyot. I lived close to Chiswick (pronounced "chissik") Eyot (pronounced "eight") in London. Awkward place for tourists asking directions. It's a reference point on the annual 4 1/4 mile Boat Race contested each year between crews from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the eyot coming just past the half-way mark

46. "I gotta run!" : SEE YA!

48. Animal in the Chinese zodiac : RAT

53. Eellike fish : LAMPREY

54. Brand with classic "beep beep" commercials : AAMCO. Popped up a couple of times recently.

58. Forte : AREA. Hmmm. I get it, I just don't like it. I don't think you really describe someone's forte as their "area".

63. Scams : CONS

64. __ firma : TERRA

65. Exam type : ORAL

66. Some honored Brits: Abbr. : KNTS. No. I don't care what you can dig up from online dictionaries, the abbreviation differs according to which honor you are awarded and none of them are "KNT". The closest are either a Knight Bachelor, or "Kt" or a Knight of the Order of the Thistle (KT). Take your pick from KG, KT, Kt, KCB, KCMG, KCRO or KBE. 

67. Aerosol targets : ODORS

68. Europe's highest volcano : ETNA. Etna's Italian buddy Vesuvius is the only active volcano on mainland Europe.

Down:

1. Composer Bartók : BELA

2. Settled down : ALIT

3. Cricket equipment : BATS. One flat side, usually made of willow. Here's the legendary West Indies batsman Gordon Greenidge showing the England team how to use one. I'd explain the rules to you, but it would take me two weeks and you still wouldn't really understand.

4. Starting stakes : ANTES

5. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. French. St. Joan of Arc, Ste. Jeanne d'Arc.

6. Craggy crest : TOR

7. Earlier : AGO

8. Three-syllable foot : DACTYL. Did a pterodactyl have a three-syllable foot? Probably not.

9. Expressed disdain for : TSK'ED

10. Often photogenic event : SUNRISE

11. A round of 73, usually : ONE OVER PAR. A classic 18-hole golf course is par-72 (Four par 5's, four 3's and 10 4's).

12. Use a divining rod : DOWSE

13. Fall flower : ASTER

18. Acclaim : LAUD

22. "You __ Destiny" : ARE MY. A song written and first performed by Paul Anka.

24. To the manor born : NOBLE. My key to unlocking the middle of the puzzle.

25. Dijon deity : DIEU. French saints and gods today.

26. Property recipient, in law : ALIENEE. The dictionary tells me this is a dated term for grantee. I'll file it away for future reference, dated or no.

27. Nile threats : ASPS. Cleopatra famously committed suicide with one.

With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate
Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool
Be angry, and dispatch.

—Cleopatra, Act V, scene II

Anthony and Cleopatra

28. Hot stuff? : LOOT

29. Affection : ENDEARMENT

34. Campus breeze : EASY A. This is a tough one to parse, especially when it's clued a little obscurely.

35. It might be a big benefit : GALA

36. Cut and paste, say : EDIT

38. Muzzle wearer, probably : BITER. Do they make muzzles for asps?

39. Derisive shout : JEER

42. One way to get backstage : VIP PASS

46. Worked in a salon : STYLED

47. Art major's subj. : ANAT. Anatomy.

49. Rattling sound : CLACK

50. Golden calf maker, in Exodus : AARON. Thank you crosses.

51. "Peachy-keen!" : NEATO

52. Second-deepest U.S. lake : TAHOE

55. Trading center : MART

56. Feud faction : CLAN

57. Clay crock : OLLA. There's a traditional Spanish dish named charmingly named "olla podrida", "rotten pot" which is a stew of pork, beans and garbanzos.

60. Good bud : BRO. BFF went in, came out.

61. Guess wrong : ERR

62. Dorm deputies: Abbr. : RA'S. Resident Assistants.

That should do it for me - and heeere's the grid!


Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Rainman (Ray Hedrick). What's up, Ray? Still playing tennis daily?

2) For those who prefers Blogger rather than Google +, please read Tuesday's comments section. TTP, who saved this blog from Google hell a few years ago, gave detailed instructions there in his various posts, esp the 5:06pam one. Read Anon T and aka Themla's comments also. 

Or if you want to have a blue Blogger account with an avatar picture like most regulars here on our blog, their tips help also, esp Dave's link here. oc4beach turned blue quickly. This old post I wrote 7 years ago still has some valid points as well. 

3) TTP has a created a specific post on how to have a blue Blogger account. Please click here. 
 

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2016, Matt Skoczen

Title: A Peeling Duty

Kitchen Patrol is a common stereotype of punishment in the armed services. As most other military terms, like MP and AWOL, it has acquired an acronym - KP. No character better represents a soldier who is in constant trouble than our favorite buck private Beetle Bailey who is on KP seemingly interminably.

Matt's offering today offers four theme phrases which are two-word phrases that begin with the letters K and P respectively.

Theme entries:

17. *Freebie with fries : KETCHUP PACK - Are they easy to open for you?

38. *Spicy Chinese dish with chicken and peanuts : KUNG PAO - Or how a Superhero would order it

11. *South Korean subcompact : KIA PRIDE - Does 6' 1", multimillionaire Michelle Wei really drive a KIA or just cash their checks?

37. *Beer pong venue : KEG PARTY - In this Beer Pong game, somebody on the other team must now drink that cup of beer perhaps drawn from a KEG.

THEME REVEAL:

50. Mil. grunt work, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : KP DUTY - In the Navy too! Spitz?

Across  
      
1. Tatum O'Neal played one in "The Bad News Bears" : TOMBOY - Her character was also a GRIFTER, a word from last Thursday's puzzle. 

7. Burn a tad : CHAR - A CHAR-broiled Clearwater, Nebraska steak. Can't do better!

11. Keystone bumbler : KOP - Mack Sennett's wacky silent-movie police force

14. Running by itself : ON AUTO - Otto Pilot appears in my funniest movie ever

15. Drought-ridden : SERE - Not ARID this time

16. Suffix with infant : ILE

19. Woodworking tool : ADZ

20. Kosher deli offering : LATKE

21. Sipped sherry, say : HAD A NIP

23. Nails, as a test : ACES

24. Baptism receptacle : FONT

25. How some Bibles present Jesus' words : IN RED - Jesus had a lot to say in Matthew 11 and 12

28. Secure with a seat belt : STRAP IN - A lot of us grew up with strapless cars!

30. Stool pigeon : RAT FINK 

32. Barrister's topper : WIG - London Lawyer's Fake Coif

33. Playing card symbol : PIP - Go ahead and count 'em all. 364 pips + 1 joker = 365 days in a year and + 2 jokers = 366 days for leap years

34. Chief Valhalla god : ODIN - Valhalla is the Norse Hall Of The Slain ruled over by ODIN

35. Whiskey barrel wood : OAK - Aging in CHARred OAK barrels give whiskey its color

41. Big name in ice cream : EDY

42. It may be gray : AREA

44. In medias __ : RES - "Into The Middle Of Things" For example the start of the movie The Da Vinci Code has Jacques Saunière being pursued and killed in The Louvre by Silas and we don't find out what that's about for a while

45. Dr. Mom's forte : TLC

47. Source of early clothing? : FIG TREE - I wonder what size Adam wore

49. With 56-Across, blamed for : CHALKED paired with 56. See 49-Across : UP TO

53. Antique photo : SEPIA - So named because the the ink sac of the cuttlefish SEPIA was originally used in photography

54. Heavy hauler : DRAY - Add to our Cartage discussion this month

57. Recognition : ACCLAIM

59. Fund : ENDOW

60. Part of dpi : PER - Resolution quality in Dots PER Inch

62. *Of its species, only the emperor is larger : KING PENGUIN

64. 747, e.g. : JET

65. Cyberzine : EMAG - Here's some EMAG's you can try online for 2 weeks for free

66. Inner strength : METTLE

67. Wily : SLY

68. Very best : TOPS - Baby if I'm the bottom, You're the TOP(s)! Can't go wrong with Cole Porter

69. Verne __, Mini-Me portrayer in Austin Powers films : TROYER - Verne and his ex-wife Genevieve Gallen. 
 

Down

 1. Gertrude Stein confidante Alice B. __ : TOKLAS

2. Like Chekhov's "A Marriage Proposal" : ONE ACT

3. "As a __ of fact ..." : MATTER

4. Firewood-sizing tool : BUCKSAW - Here's a cute one on a whirligig 

5. Will-wisp link : O THE - Problematic Musical Maria - A flibbertigibbet! A will-O'-THE wisp! A clown!

6. Thou, now : YOU

7. Political channel : C-SPAN

8. Intellectually stimulating experience : HEAD TRIP

9. Conquistador's chest : ARCA - Same root for the item Indiana Jones was seeking.

10. Weave anew : REKNIT

12. Antique : OLD

13. Brick-shaped candy : PEZ

18. Unit of loudness : PHON - Number of dB's at 1,000 Hz. You're welcome.

22. It may be supplied at a booth, briefly : INFO

24. Work (out) : FIGURE

26. Writer Bagnold : ENID - A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again. Guilty as charged, ENID!

27. Seventh Avenue fashion initials : DKNY - Donna Karen New York or

29. Water__: oral irrigator : PIK

31. "So what?" feeling : APATHY 

33. Family-friendly ratings : PG'S

35. Big galoots : OAFS

36. Grammy winner India.__ : ARIE - She added the period because she liked how it looked 

39. "Ready for forty winks?" : NEED A NAP - Everyday at 1 pm when I sub!

40. Portuguese hi : OLA

43. Symptom ending : ATIC - My brother was ashthmATIC

46. Held fast : CLUNG TO

48. Dishonest activity : RACKET - After all his RACKETEERING, this sent him to Alcatraz

49. Kid's summer spot : CAMP - Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder...

51. French star : ETOILE - You can probably translate this children's song: Brille, brille, petite  ÈTOILE

52. Real drag : DOWNER

55. Gibson's "Lethal Weapon" role : RIGGS

58. Stretch __ : LIMO - I'm trying to get my mind around what group would use this one

59. Cabinet dept. : ENER

60. Nightcap complement : PJ'S

61. Sushi fish : EEL

63. CPR pro : EMT - Because of declining populations,  required training time and necessary availability at a moment's notice, some small towns no longer have  EMT's

All in all, a very nice mid-week exercise but now I've got a few taters to peel! Looking forward to your comments which I hope you will Keep Positive. Dismissed!