Sunday April 10, 2016, Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: SQUAD

Our Sonny and Cher of Crosswordland strike again on Sunday after a four week hiatus and for awhile Don (theme originator) and C.C. could have sung, I Got You Babe because I was clueless about the gimmick. Halfway through it occurred to me, "Boy there's a lot of S's in these theme answers" and then I, disguised as Captain Obvious, saw S-QUAD as in quad/four S's per theme fill and had to forget about Mod Squad, Police Squad, et al. SSSSweet!

Here is an S-QUAD more amenable to my level!

The Double 16 verticals really stand out in the grid. How long must that have taken?

ACROSS THEME ANSWERS:

22. "Forever" purchase : FIRST CLASS STAMP - While not "Forever" you could have used this FIRST CLASS STAMP to send me a card in the year of my college graduation

46. Government meeting for delicate subjects : CLOSED SESSION - It turns out that the committee did not have to go into CLOSED SESSION to find Charlie innocent after Col. Slade's fabulous speech in Scent Of A Woman. Charlie had his 89. Judge's (Committee's) decree : CASE DISMISSED

55. Simple to use, in adspeak : NO FUSS NO MUSS - Exhibit A

80. Corporate uncertainty : BUSINESS RISK - Selling these units here seems to fit the description

115. It has a November kickoff : CHRISTMAS SEASON - A verboten phrase in most schools

DOWN THEME ANSWERS:

14. "Aha!" : JUST AS I SUSPECTED - Another great someecard 

35. Great Sioux War of 1876 event : CUSTER'S LAST STAND - This turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory for the native people who then became relentlessly pursued by the U.S. Army

THEME REVEAL:

104. Twisty turns ... and the "quad" in each of this puzzle's eight longest answers : ESSES - I count at least QUAD ESSES in this Hana Highway on Maui

Across        

1. Check some figures? : OGLE

5. Mulching material : PEAT

9. Hot spot : RANGE

14. It leaves trails : JET

17. Song often sung in Italian : ARIA - Roy's big voice with a 4-octave range has been described as operatic. I wonder how he'd do on Nessun Dorma or how Pavarotti would do on Pretty Woman?

18. Tiny tank plant : ALGA

19. Brain freeze-causing drinks : ICEES

20. Photo subject for NASA's New Horizons : PLUTO

25. Broad-leaved ornamental : HOSTA - What started as the Omaha HOSTA Society's modest plantings decades ago has turned into the fabulous 100 acre Lauritzen Gardens today.

26. Desert climate feature : DRY HEAT 

27. Blog updates : POSTS

28. Like easier-to-swallow pills : COATED - Not quite "a spoonful of sugar"

29. "__ Miniver" : MRS - Greer Garson won an Academy Award for her title role and gave the longest acceptance speech in academy history. They began a time limit the next year.

30. Strain to lift : HEFT

32. Humana rival : AETNA

33. Chinese gambling mecca : MACAO - Put it on Black at the roulette table when you're there

36. Sloppy, as security : LAX

37. Sauce with a kick : TABASCO - Still made on Avery Island, LA where over half the 200 person workforce also lives

41. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU

44. "Suits me fine!" : I SURE DO - "Do you enjoy blogging, Gary?"

49. Storage medium : DISK - My old 360 K floppy DS/DD disk pales in storage comparison  to my 3 Terabyte iMac

50. Bulgarian capital : SOFIA

52. Enterprise counselor : TROI

53. Capital with a Viking Ship Museum : OSLO

54. Prohibition era gun : GAT - This mug tried to chisel me and went on the lam and so I offed him with my GAT and a shyster helped me beat the rap

58. Reminders on cards : CUES - Johnny Carson's opening monologue CUE card from his last show

59. "Feliz año nuevo" time : ENERO

61. "You __ right!" : ARE SO

62. Champion : TITLIST - My daughter gets me TITLIST Pro V1's that say this on the back

64. Like Gen. Powell : RETD

66. More painful : SORER

69. __ year : LEAP

70. WWII Navy vessel named for the 29th state : USS IOWA - It had an elevator and was fitted with a bathtub when it carried FDR to Mers El Kébir, Algeria in WWII

73. Ocular sign of mischief : GLEAM

76. On the ball : ALERT

79. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo : ISLA

84. Cedar Rapids campus : COE

85. Marsh duck : TEAL

86. Hindu deity : RAMA

87. Salentina Peninsula country : ITALY - The "heel" of Italy's boot

88. Bowl over : STUN

93. Three-syllable foot : ANAPEST - A metrical foot of three syllables in the pattern of "unstressed, unstressed, stressed" e.g. Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

95. FDR successor : HST - "Uh, Harry, we have this super bomb in New Mexico that no one has told you about."

96. Erode : EAT INTO

97. "Kung Fu" actor Philip : AHN

99. Gets one's feet wet : WADES

100. Bombards with e-junk : SPAMS

102. Yucatán native : MAYA

104. Billion-year span : EON

105. Takes in, say : ALTERS - My alterations are going the other way

107. Weapon in a scabbard : SABER

110. Nutmeg State team : HUSKIES - The U Conn Lady HUSKIES just won their fourth national championship in a row

114. Kingdom : REALM

118. Kunta __ of "Roots" : KINTE - Roots attracted a then-record audience for a miniseries and is credited with changing attitudes toward slavery

119. Ritzy retreat : VILLA

120. "Oy vey!" : AH ME

121. Figure of interest? : RATE

122. Blue : SAD

123. Great __ Mountains : SMOKY

124. Orgs. that donate to runners : PACS - Political runners

125. Do some cleaning : DUST

 
Down
 
1. Clumsy type : OAF

2. Electrical system : GRID - A very nice off-the-GRID house in Washington 

3. New York MTA-owned commuter line : LIRR - Long Island Railroad

4. Patsy : EASY MARK - He went to his grave saying he was a Patsy

5. Treasure map units : PACES

6. "__ Enchanted": 2004 film : ELLA

7. Aunt in P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories : AGATHA

8. Prof's aides : TA'S - Get used to them, the prof has to "publish or perish"

9. Ristorante rice dish : RISOTTO

10. Play times? : ACTS

11. Trim : NEAT

12. Peridot and garnet : GEMS

13. Claim subject to debate : ESP- Will this tell you if you have ESP?

15. Relative of -let : ETTE

16. Pond hopper : TOAD

20. Instagram fodder : PHOTOS

21. Wells Fargo product : LOAN

23. Pain usually pluralized : THROE - A Police Chief in the THROES of pain after taking a 50,000 volt Taser jolt as a publicity stunt to get Tasers for his officers

24. UV-blocker rating syst. : SPF

28. Gospel singer Winans : CECE - Also a phonetic representation of one of our constructors today

31. Takes out : EXCISES

32. St. Clare's town : ASSISI - The Poor Clares of Cincinnati extending a blessing on the 800th anniversary of the founding of their order in ASSISI

33. Tiny biting fly : MIDGE 

34. Like most people : ASIAN

36. Sponge made from a vine fruit : LOOFA

38. Regarding : AS TO

39. Highway noise barrier : BERM - Many ball parks offer cheap BERM seating

40. Score after deuce : AD OUT - The server loses if the she loses the next point

42. Vacancy sign : TO LET - I'll be you know the song this picture and fill represents

43. Pizzeria chain, familiarly : UNOS

45. Brit. military award : DSO

47. Loop on the range : LASSO - From our LASSO, Riata, Noose, Bolas department

48. Get-together : SOCIAL

51. What a Sphynx cat lacks : FUR - An acquired taste?

55. "Don't look at me!" : NOT I - Said Judas to Jesus

56. 53-Across locale, to natives : NORGE - Jeg kommer fra NORGE (I am from Norway)

57. Cardinal cap letters : ST. L.

60. Flea market deal : RESALE

63. Reporter's source : LEAK - Mark Felt

65. Bio info : DOB - Get to ready to recite your Date Of Birth 20 times a day if you're in a hospital

67. Borden spokescow : ELSIE

68. Tour de France downtime : REST DAY - What was Lance taking on those days? 

70. __ directed : USE AS

71. Lousy sausages? : WURSTS

72. "Ditto" : AS AM I

74. Altar up above : ARA

75. 87-Across fashion center : MILAN

77. Stir : ROUSE and 94. Got up : AWOKE

78. Places for cots : TENTS

79. Sign of a recent bite : ITCH

81. Hacker's cry : I'M IN

82. Harper's Weekly caricaturist : NAST - He created modern image of Santa and the GOP's elephant

83. Bawling, for crying out loud: Abbr. : SYN - Synonyms. Four crying out loud = QUADS, er, babies not S's

88. Don Quixote, for one : SPANIARD

90. "Gosh!" : DEAR ME

91. Brand with a paw print in its logo : IAMS

92. "The rumor is ... " : SOME SAY

98. "Very funny!" : HA HA HA

101. Hit with hail, say : PELT

103. Museum pieces : ART

105. Torah holders : ARKS

106. Luke's twin : LEIA - I wonder what they got Darth for Father's Day?

107. Thin strip of wood : SHIM - Used to plumb and level doors here

108. Woody's son : ARLO - Arlo said his famous Alice's Restaurant lasted 18 min and 38 sec just like the gap in Richard Nixon's Watergate tape

109. Take for a ride : BILK

111. "Semper Fi" org. : USMC - I hope Dennis will comment today

112. Biblical name meaning "hairy" : ESAU

113. They're often pickled : SOTS - So many euphemisms 

115. Walgreens rival : CVS - So far they can't get the ground in our town to build next to the Walgreens here as is often their wont 

116. Hiking guide : MAP

117. Ping-Pong need : NET

My SteadfaStneSS led to many SuceSSeS and I finished without requiring multiple SeSSionS. 

Let'S See what otherS have to Say:

Saturday, Apr 9th, 2016, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing G,K,Q,X)

Blocks: 30

  Normally it's hit or miss for me with Ed Sessa's puzzles, but today I couldn't enter the answers fast enough.  I just happened to be in a WAGing mood, and threw in what I thought was the most logical solution, and quite a few were good.  No Google, no red letter, and got my ta-DA~! in less than half my personal allotted time.  Triple 10-letter Downs, and nearly triple 10's in the Across, and another pair of 11-letter climbers towards the center;

5. Catkin bearer : PUSSY WILLOW - the Wiki

I found this, too

25. Went ballistic : LOST CONTROL

 o o o o o O O O ONNN WA A A aa aa rr dd d  d   d  ~ ~ !!

ACROSS:

1. Heart : CORE - A Wild-Ass Guess ( tho educated ) to start; all my other W.A.G.s are "*", whether they were good or bad

5*. JFK Library architect : PEI

8. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" composer : J.S. BACH - I knew this, but failed to consider the "J.S." part

14. "C'mon, be __!" : A PAL

15. In abundance, in slang : UP THE WAZOO

17. Data lead-in : META

18. Flowerlike marine creature : SEA ANEMONE

19*. Latin 101 word : ERAT - ah, not AMAS

20*. Bear's call : SELL - stock market reference

21*. Worked on the road : PAVED

22*. Nowadays : LATELY - I went with "AS LATE"

24. Mine yield : SALT - rather specific

26*. Tails : SHADOWS - dah~! Not FOLLOWS

28*. Most lemony : SOUREST - dah~! Not TARTEST

33. Word with air or bed : HOT - I could only think of BUG and PAN, and neither worked with air

34. Ammo for Moe : PIES - Three Stooges reference

36. Peloponnesian War side : SPARTA - about the only WAG I did not throw in; the Wiki

37. One on a lot : AUTO

39. Didn't reach logically, with "to" : LEAPT

41. "Downton Abbey" title : EARL - a gimme for those commenters that watch

42*. "City of the Beasts" author Allende : ISABEL - a semi-WAG since I had "I--B-L"

44. Dissenting group : SECT

46. Tommy Pickles' younger brother on "Rugrats" : DIL - shows up often in crosswords, and I can never recall the name right away

47. Vitamin A form : RETINOL

49. Infect with the T-virus, in "Resident Evil" films : ZOMBIFY

51. Things that come in pairs : TWOS - like these~!

53*. Melody and Millie, to Minnie Mouse : NIECES

54*. Earth pigment : OCHRE

58. Jargon : CANT - new to me; straight definition (3) - here

60*. Wood strip : LATH - a WAG only because I thought SLAT might work, too

61. Focus of 1972 environmental legislation : CLEAN WATER

63. Stub __ : A TOE

64. "Yikes!" : "HOLY TOLEDO~!"

Die Hard with a Vengeance

65. No more than : MERE - ooops, went with LEST

66*. Bad temper : SPLEEN - I tried RANCOR

67. High-speed letters : DSL - internet service

68. Ain't right? : ISN'T - the correct pronunciation/spelling

DOWN:

1. Clothing material for John the Baptist : CAMEL'S HAIR

Heavy Metal Camel

2. Marx Brothers setting : OPERA HOUSE

3. Rapping sound : RAT-A-TAT-TAT - I wasn't sure of the spelling this time

4. Carried away : ELATED

6. Near-pointless swordplay? : ÉPÉE - fencing weapon

7. Romans and countrymen: Abbr. : ITALianS

8. Brad's ex : JEN - Pitt and Aniston

9. Suddenly involved (in) : SWEPT UP

10. 2016 College Football Playoff champ : 'BAMA - don't watch, don't follow, but this is a common abbreviation in crosswords

11. Sea of __, south of Ukraine : AZOV - dah~! Not KIEV; my green-eyed friend lives in a town w-a-y north and east of Moscow; we've been sharing emails for three weeks now; she's 1372 miles from this sea; it is one vast country....

12. Ice cream parlor purchase : CONE

13. Worked in a bed : HOED - oh, uh, a garden bed, I knew that....

16. Immortal Bears coach : HALAS - filled in via perps

23. Prune : LOP

27. Get it : SEE - ah.  "Now I get it (see)."

29. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE - and a semi duplicate at; 57D. Comical Martha : RAYE

30. Uproots : ERADICATES - I think of 'uproots' as having to move abruptly; I don't necessarily think it means to utterly eliminate

31. In a state of endless conflict : STRIFE-TORN

32. You can count on it : TALLY SHEET

35*. Flier to Sundsvall : SAS - seen this Scandinavian airline enough to guess

38. Eastern sash : OBI - sort of too easy for Saturday

40. Loadable confections : PEZ

43. International accord : ENTENTE - I had DEtente

45. "More than I care to know" : TMI - textspeak for Too Much Information

48. Subway option : LOCAL - vis-à-vis express; I pondered TOKEN, but 'local' made more sense

50. Guy de Maupassant novel : BELAMI - again, filled via perps

52. Stuffed : SATED

54. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS

55. Western sound effect : CLOP - my soon to be "eradicated" marriage featured my ex-wife's son clopping two coconut halves together, as I rode in on an imaginary Monty Python horse

I am about 60lbs lighter today

56. Inferno : HELL

59. "__ Declassified School Survival Guide": 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom : NED'S - never heard of this show; crossing "Jargon" at 58A., the "N" was a complete unknown/natick

62. Persuaded, with "over" : WON

Splynter

Friday, April 8, 2016, MaryEllen Uthlaut

Title: The fun is in the pun pun.

4 in the language phrases with "FOR' in the center of the phrase have their meaning re-purposed by clues which change the meaning but keep the same words. I think this is our 7th from MaryEllen but our first since November 2013. I love the concept of using Peanuts the comic strip, but I am not sure the clue/fill for WORK fits the theme as its meaning does not change. The meanings of PASS, WATCH and ROOM are changed. And they are all amusing. There also are some 7 letter fill (and one non-theme 9 letter) to make us work. TYCOONS, SNEAKER,  ANAHEIM,  EROTICA,  XEROXES,  FLUFFED,  ENVIRON, HAND OFF,  ARCADIA,  ICED TEA, PERFORMER. I am curious what you all thinks, so let's have at it.

19A. *Assist Charles M. Schulz? : WORK FOR PEANUTS (14). As opposed to chicken feed...anyway  the late Charles Schulz will always be best know for Peanuts. The original expression may come from circus animals.(1.5 MM google hits).

32A. *Free ticket given to Target Field players? : PASS FOR TWINS (12).  A mini-shout out to C.C. and her baseball team. 25 million hits for the phrase. It is STUDIED and watched....

40A. *Timepiece at a stag party? : WATCH FOR DEER (12). But can they tell time? 47 million hits.

53A. *Law office? : ROOM FOR DISPUTE (14). My least favorite despite the 154 million hits.

Across:

1. Walks, on scorecards : BBS. Base on Balls; with the start of the real season already upon us, this is timely. It takes 4.

4. Rehab hurdle : DTS. Alcoholics often suffer from Delerium Tremens. My math teacher junior year in high school shook like a leaf in the morning.

7. Calm : SETTLE. Calm the flock.

13. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH. Back for repeat performance.

14. Deli choice : RYE. Did we have Ham on..last week?

15. Ducks' home : ANAHEIM. Hockey team named from a movie.

16. Some Anne Rice novels : EROTICA. Never read any of these BOOKS. Though clearly all her works have some erotic element.

18. Dupes : XEROXES. Duplication, not being taken in.

21. Completely : IN TOTO. Not Dorothy's dog, but Latin.

22. Wapiti : ELK. In the Deer family.

23. ID checker : TSA. Transportation Safety Administration.

24. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge : NOR. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

26. Surface : EMERGE.

35. Burn soothers : ALOES.

38. Modern reaction to a riot? : LOL. A laugh riot.

39. Group of species : GENUS.

43. Important Philippines export : NICKEL. Are you keeping up on the worldwide GLUT? There should be a plugged nickel joke inserted here.

44. Bros, e.g. : MEN.

45. Fraction of a joule : ERG. An erg is the amount of work done by a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one centimeter, but I guess you knew that.

48. Not allow to atrophy : USE. Hmm, the dictionary says, "gradually decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect." My optic nerve atrophy is not from underuse.

50. "My vegetable love should grow / __ than empires ... ": Andrew Marvell : VASTER. This odd METAPHOR from To His Coy Mistress is studied.

58. Option play option, in football : HAND OFF. Sort of, but usually it is pitched out.

59. Home of the god Pan : ARCADIA. In Greece. The HOME.  PAN.

60. Beverage sometimes served with mint : ICED TEA. That should make almost all of the Corner happy. Sorry Tin.

61. Besides : TOO.

62. Inning trio : ENS. A nice misdirection, as it has nothing to do with baseball, just the three Ns in the word.

63. Botched (up) : MESSED.

64. Model of industry : ANT. The modern story of the ANT.

65. Put into words : SAY.

Down:

1. Failed miserably : BLEW IT. Very modern fill.

2. Industry leaders : BARONS. Very old fill. Clecho, 5SD. Industry leaders : TYCOONS.

3. Fan letter? : SHORT A. The A in the middle. Also, 31D. First of September? : ESS.

4. Meaning : DRIFT. I get your drift MaryEllen.

6. Prepare tuna, in a way : SEAR.

7. Converse, e.g. : SNEAKER.

8. Take in : EARN.

9. Quaker pronoun : THOU.

10. It may be skillfully created by one who's all thumbs : TEXT. My favorite Clue/fill as the skill my children have texting with their thumbs baffles me.

11. Rests : LIES. Lie down vs. lay down...

12. Acute care letters : EMS. I wanted ICU or CCU but they did not work with perps.

15. Eponymous skater Paulsen : AXEL. To our skaters, one in the sky this move from a Norwegian SKATER.

17. Ring decision : TKO. Technical Knock Out.

20. One putting on an act : PERFORMER.

25. Home of Norway's royal family : OSLO.

27. Bank holding: Abbr. : MTGE. Mortgage.

28. Carafe kin : EWER. Regular crossword word.

29. __ Tin Tin : RIN. It was big when I was little. This week we learned he really won the first Oscar.

30. Shaggy-tailed bovid : GNU.

32. Lot of trouble? : PECK. Son, you are in a peck of trouble. Dictionary says it has been around since 1545.

33. "A Hard Road to Glory" writer : ASHE.

34. Merrie __ England : OLDE.

35. Plant bristle : AWN. Luckily I had this in February with James Sajdak.

36. French narrative poem : LAI. I did not know THIS.

37. Like some stocks, briefly : OTC. Over The Counter as opposed to being on an exchange.

41. Misspoke, as lines : FLUFFED. I wanted FLUBBED but the F's would not let me.

42. Surround : ENVIRON. Never heard this in the singular, but....

45. Rachmaninoff's "__-tableaux" : ETUDES. JzB one you know?  LISTEN.

46. Light-sensitive layer : RETINA. The back of the eye.

47. __ spoon : GREASY. Another old expression.

49. Upholstered piece : SOFA.

51. Fancy tie : ASCOT. Perhaps Steve or Nice Cuppa can give us the British perspective and history.

52. Hotel amenity : SPA.

53. Derby, perhaps : RACE.

54. Some bills : ONES. Or tens.

55. Chances : ODDS.

56. Speck : MOTE.

57. It may be mined : DATA. I think I linked data mining before.

58. Objective reference : HIM. One of the objective pronouns.

A different Friday with Coleridge instead of Shakespeare and mostly doable cluing. I had fun, I hope you did. Thanks MaryEllen and all of you. Lemonade out.

Thursday, April 7th, 2016 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Prime Minister's Questions

17A. *Big-time : MAJOR LEAGUE. John Major. Had a reputation for being tremendously dull, and thus lampooned by the satirical show "Spitting Image" by always portraying him in monochrome.

30A. *Local legend sought in a 1999 horror film : BLAIR WITCH. Tony Blair. AKA "Teflon Tony" for his ability to dodge scandal and criticisms.

44A. *Oatmeal sweetener : BROWN SUGAR. Gordon Brown. nicknamed the "Big Clunking Fist" by his party colleague Tony Blair. It was intended to be a compliment, but the media seized upon it as a term for Brown's perceived lack of diplomacy.

58A. *She voiced Princess Fiona in "Shrek" movies : CAMERON DIAZ. David Cameron. He was caught smoking weed when he was at Eton when he was 16, but famously was not expelled. Unlike Bill Clinton, he didn't claim that he didn't inhale.

and the reveal:

65A. Brit. leaders, the last four of whom begin the answers to starred clues : P.M'S. There have (by generally-accepted definition) been 53 different Prime Ministers since Robert Walpole kicked things off back in 1721. Pleasingly, the four we have here are the four most recent PM's, and neatly appear in chronological order. Major was number 50, Blair 51, Brown 52 and the incumbent Cameron rounds out the list at 53.

Very nicely-executed theme from Jeff; the names came pretty easily for me; because of my roots your mileage might have varied. Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Regular patterns : HABITS

7. Mass robes : ALBS

11. __ time : TEE

14. Madrid-based airline : IBERIA

15. Bantu language : ZULU. I misspelled "LEGOSI" at first, then I wondered why I'd never heard of ZELU. Then a penny-dropping moment.

16. Keats' "still unravish'd bride of quietness" : URN. Our old friend the Grecian one.

19. Barnyard noise : MOO

20. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : E.N.E.

21. Spiny houseplant : ALOE

22. Rwandan ethnic group : HUTU

23. Reporter's query : HOW. "The five W's and one H" - Who, what, when, where, why and how.

25. Pundits : SAGES

27. Baseball commissioner before Manfred : SELIG

28. "May I get a word in?" : AHEM

32. Round building : SILO

33. Thumbs-up : YES

34. Low-tech propeller : OAR

35. Most swanky : POSHEST

37. Whistleblower's request : AMNESTY

41. __ card : ATM. Needed an alphabet run to stumble across the M.

42. Ancient greeting : AVE

43. 1986 #1 hit for Starship : SARA. Crosses all the way. Never head of the song.

48. Bamboozle : SNOW. Another unknown; I don't think I've seen this usage of SNOW before.

49. Sri __ : LANKA

50. Pretend : LET ON. I found this whole area tricky. I generally use LET ON meaning to reveal something, not to pretend.

52. MD for women : GYN.

53. Old French coins : ECUS

54. Cantina crock : OLLA

55. Something to come up for : AIR

57. St. whose motto is "Forward" : WIS. Forward! And don't forget the cheese!

62. Press into service : USE

63. Cries of clarity : AHAS

64. Very cold period : ICE AGE

66. Bakery output : BUNS. Gym output too, if the LA Fitness commercials are to be believed.

67. Parable feature : LESSON

Down:

1. Finger-pointing pronoun : HIM. YOU went in. YOU came out.

2. Its first champion was the Pitt. Pipers : A.B.A. American Basketball Association. A short life but a merry one for the franchise. They won the inaugural title in 1967, moved to Minnesota in 1968, moved back to Pittsburgh in 1969, changed their name to the Condors in1970 and folded in 1972.

3. Decorates, as a royal crown : BEJEWELS

4. Waffle __ : IRON

5. Flags : TIRES

6. Tessio in "The Godfather" : SAL. Portrayed by the actor Abe Vigoda who sadly passed away recently, more that 35 years after "People" magazine famously reported him as deceased back in 1982.

7. Rhododendron varieties : AZALEAS. The azaleas are in full bloom in my neighborhood at the moment. I love spring in LA - I took this picture yesterday of the bougainvillea on my neighbor's wall.

8. Star of "Dracula" (1931) : LUGOSI.

9. Risqué : BLUE

10. Seek damages : SUE

11. Ruckus : TUMULT

12. Hot : EROTIC. Blue and erotic? We need some ICE AGE to cool things off around here!

13. Just the right amount : ENOUGH

18. Aerie fledgling : EAGLET

22. Many a soap heroine : HEIRESS

23. Briefcase fastener : HASP

24. Where Lima is : OHIO. Quite obviously PERU was my first effort.

26. Deep gulfs : ABYSMS. A very unusual word and the "M" was my last fill. It has never appeared (in the plural form) in the LAT crossword (at least not during the Rich Norris era)

"What seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time"?

William Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

27. Adult cygnet : SWAN

29. Mostly-shaved-head hairstyles : MOHAWKS

31. Classical guitar family name : ROMERO' Los Romeros Guitar quartet. Talented bunch!

36. Volcano near Catania : ETNA. I know the letter sequences are handy, but maybe there should be a constructor's pact to let ETNA and OREO take a well-deserved break.

37. Online icon : AVATAR

38. Fruity wine drinks : SANGRIAS

39. City fooled by a horse : TROY

40. Betray boredom : YAWN

42. Not ephemeral : AGELESS

44. Hit the roof : BLEW UP

45. "To Kill a Mockingbird" theme : RACISM

46. Burdens : ONUSES

47. Tracey of sketch comedy : ULLMAN

51. '30s V.P. John __ Garner : NANCE. Saved by the crosses.

54. Pearl Harbor site : OAHU

56. March time? : IDES. The Ides of April never seemed to get as bad a rap.

58. Hailed transport : CAB

59. Wildcatter's find : OIL. One of the largest oil finds in the US, the East Texas Field, was discovered by prospectors looking for  .... salt. Mark Kurlansky's book is a great read.

60. In times past : AGO

61. __ master : ZEN

On a Florida swing this week - was hoping to grab a beer with Lemonade but it looks like customer schedules won't permit. Next time.

And ..... here's the grid.

Steve

Wednesday, April 6 2016, Gareth Bain

 Theme: Put a RING on it - The first letter of the four letter combo is orderly moved to the back until we reach RING. 

18. Burn unit procedure : SKIN GRAFT

26. "Rogue Lawyer" novelist : JOHN GRISHAM

44. Rockefeller Center centerpiece : SKATING RINK

56. Quartet of Wagnerian operas, and a hint to the progression in this puzzle's circled letters : RING CYCLE 

Solving without circles makes this trickier. Did you get it?

Across

1. Fabric mimicked by jeggings : DENIM. I tried JEANS first.

6. Dallas NBA team : MAVS. Mavericks.

10. Indian mausoleum city : AGRA. Had a little brain blip when I first filled in AGHA.

14. In the company of : AMONG 

15. __ bargain : PLEA.  

16. Fountain contribution : COIN 

17. Midler's "Divine" nickname : MISS M

20. Allow to enter : LET IN

22. Big name in auto racing : ANDRETTI

23. Kerfuffles : ADO'S

25. Advanced degs. : MA'S. Master of Arts.

31. Whiskas eater : CAT

34. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE. Writer and activist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, The Color Purple.

35. Actor McGregor : EWAN 

36. Dance in a pit : MOSH 

37. Hull fastener : RIVET. Hull of a boat.

38. Group : SET

39. Mazda MX-5, familiarly : MIATA

40. Big nights : EVES

41. How-to component : STEP

42. Follow, as a hunch : ACT ON

43. __ Plaines : DES

46. Farm enclosure : STY. Tried PEN first.

47. Bit of naughtiness : NO-NO

48. Doze : TAKE A NAP

53. Disney character with a white tail : BAMBI

58. Regal headpiece : TIARA

60. Bordeaux brainstorm : IDEE. French for idea.

61. Down-to-earth : REAL

62. 2001 scandal subject : ENRON

63. Boilermaker component : BEER. A boilermaker is a glass of beer with a shot of whiskey.

 

64. Prohibitionists : DRYS. Have never heard that used as a noun.

65. City near Florence : SIENA

 Down

1. Reservoir creator : DAM

2. German actor Jannings : EMIL. No idea. Popular in the 1920's.

3. Sommelier's asset : NOSE. Cute.

 

4. Examples : INSTANCES

5. Classic British two-seater : MG MIDGET

6. Base cops, briefly : MP'S. Military Police.

7. __-Seltzer : ALKA

8. Corpuscle conduit : VEIN

9. Dreamy guy? : SANDMAN

10. Lots of plots : ACRES. Nice clue.

11. Butter in a farmyard? : GOAT

12. Africa's Great __ Valley : RIFT

Impressive.

13. Naysayer : ANTI

19. Light weight : GRAM

21. Hide-hair link : NOR

24. Afternoon break : SIESTA

26. Actor/singer Leto : JARED

27. Green hue : OLIVE

28. Homes with buzzers : HIVES

29. "Ni-i-ice!" : SWEET

30. Quaint headpiece accessory : HATPIN

31. Raccoon kin : COATI

32. __ Martin: 007's car : ASTON

33. Acknowledge in an Oscar speech, say : THANK

36. Barely-there dress : MICROMINI

39. Powerful people : MAGNATES

41. Rock band Lynyrd __ : SKYNYRD

44. Legato's opp., in music : STAC. Short for staccato.

45. San Francisco's __ Hill : NOB

46. "Like a Rock" rocker : SEGER

48. Chicago paper, for short : TRIB

49. __-de-camp : AIDE. New to me. Definition: A military officer acting as a confidential assistant to a senior officer.

50. Bermuda shorts endpoint : KNEE. As opposed to the micromini.

51. One with an untouchable service : ACER

52. Word with fair or foul : PLAY

54. Unadorned : BARE

55. Fairway choice : IRON

57. PGA star from South Africa : ELS. Ernie.

59. Santa __ Mountains : ANA

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Husker Gary has updated our Crossword Corner map. Please click here to see his latest work. Big and clear. I've archived the map under Olio on the blog front page. Please feel free to email Gary if you want your name added or deleted. Thanks for enormous time and effort you put on this map, Gary!