Wednesday, May 11, 2016 John Guzzetta

Theme:  PHUN WITH FONICS.  Each two word answer has the initial consonant sound /f/ spelt two different ways, with the expected letter "F" and with the digraph "PH."  Without delving too deeply into it, or proposing a general rule, it seems that many words using the "PH" digraph are derived from Greek: philosophy,  phonetics and, for a double whammy, photograph.

17 A. Communication device also called a clamshell : FLIP PHONE.   A cell phone that folds shut and flips open.  This is now a retro design, but is still rather popular.

24 A. Verne's circumnavigator : PHILEAS FOGG.  The protagonist of Jules Vernes 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Days.

53 A. Reunion memento : FAMILY PHOTO.   Here's one of Gloria and 8 of our 11 grandchildren, from her birthday last August.

Some of my favorite peeps

39 A. Gym teacher's concern : PHYSICAL FITNESS.   I've been working out this year to do something about my physical fatness.  Lost 9 lbs so far.

64. Ben & Jerry's flavor inspired by a Vermont rock band : PHISH FOOD.   "Chocolate Ice Cream with Gooey Marshmallow Swirls, Caramel Swirls & Fudge Fish."  In my opinion, they fudged on the spelling of Phish.  You can read about it - and listen - here.

Hi, gang.   Jazzbumpa here.   With 5 theme entries, one a grid spanner, this puzzle is pretty rich in themeage. Let's see what else we can phind.

Across

1. Choose : OPT.  I assume this derives from "option."

4. Metaphorical loss in a bad deal : SHIRT.   Presumably indicating the loss of all assets, even one's clothing.   Probably related to the expression "I'd give the shirt off my back" for something intensely craved.

9. Salon creations : COIFS.  Hair arrangements.

Would you do this do?

14. Column crosser : ROW.   In a spread sheet or crossword grid.

15. Palmer with an "army" : ARNIE.  Also a soft drink - tea mixed with lemonade.

Drink and stay sober

16. "Strange to say ... " : ODDLY.  Believe it or not.  Once, back in the days when I used to frustrate myself by phlailing with golph clubs, I was playing at Bay Hill - Arnie's resort in FLA - when I hit a drive that never got above 6 inches off the ground, and hit a squirrel square in the head.  True story. That's how I became Bumpa the squirrel slayer.    

19. Unlock the door for : LET IN.   Allow to enter.

20. Match socially : FIX UP.  Arrange a date for someone.

21. Tater : SPUD.  Potato - suitable for mashing.

23. Anti-apartheid org. : ANC.  African National Congress.  The ruling social democratic party of the Union of South Africa.

28. "Rad!" : AWESOME.   Impressive.  Because the word "awful" changed meaning from "awe inspiring" to "horrible and repugnant."

31. Consider : DEEM.  It was deemed "awful and artificial."

32. All-Clad product : PAN.   Cook ware, not the Greek god who consorted with NYMPHS.

33. Yucatán year : ANO.  Spanish.  More appropriately rendered -- año.

35. Spooky : EERIE.  I grew up not far from the shore of Lake Spooky.

44. Done in by Buffy, say : SLAIN.   Buffy is the vampire slayer.  As far as I know, she did not use sporting equipment.

Buffy in the middle

45. __ Pérignon : DOM.  Vintage champagne produced by Moët & Chandon.

46. Lunch letters : BLT.  Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich -- YUM!

47. Simile words : AS AN.   It's as ________ AS AN __________.  [Phill in the blanks]

50. Affluent London area : CHELSEA.  Along the north bank of the Thames, near CHELSEA bridge.

56. "Moulin Rouge!" director Luhrmann : BAZ.  No idea.

57. Most blue state electees: Abbr. : DEMS.  The DEMocratic Party is associated with the color blue, and the Republicans with the color red.  I will say no more.

58. Secret stash : CACHE.  I wish I had a CACHE of cash.

62. Piano exercise : ETUDE.  From the Frech word for "study," a [usually] short, technically difficult exercise designed to build skill.

67. More valuable to a collector : RARER.  A word rarely said, since it trips so awkwardly off the tongue.

68. World Court site, with "The" : HAGUE.   A city in the South Holland province of The Netherlands, home to the U. N.'s International court of justice.

69. Holiday drink : NOG.   A drink made with eggs, sugar, milk and possibly some alcohol.  The origin of the word is uncertain.

70. Narrow valleys : GLENS.  A Scottish term for a deep valley in the highlands, 

71. Symbol of military power : SWORD.   The pen is alleged to be mightier.

72. __ blue : SKY.  The color of the SKY on a cloudless day.   SKY gray is common in the Great Lakes region.

Down

1. "Carmina Burana" composer : ORFF.  Carl.  Carmina Burana is a suite of 24 medieval poems, mostly in vulgar Latin, that ORFF set to music in 1937.  The topics include drinking, gambling, gluttony and lust.  Some are quite bawdy.  The entire suite takes over an hour to perform.  Everyone has heard O Fortuna a thousand time, but I can't find another section excerpted, and at least this version is a different sort of performance.

2. __ sci : POLI.  A social science discipline dealing with systems of government and the analysis of political activity and behavior.  More than that I will not say.

3. Mars candy bar : TWIX.  A biscuit covered with caramel and chocolate.

4. Lyric poet of Lesbos : SAPPHO.  [ca 620 - 570 B. C.]   Most of her poetry has been lost, and much that remains is in fragments.  One complete poem is her Hymn to Aphrodite.

5. Initials for William or Harry : HRH.  His Royal Highness, a style of address for British royalty.

6. Diminutive Italian suffix : -INO.

7. Dishwasher cycle : RINSE.

8. Starting point for Frisbee golfers : TEE PAD.   This is actually a thing - a concrete pad; preferred size is between 5x12 and 6x20 feet.

9. Loss of nerve : COLD FEET.   The origin of the phrase is uncertain.  It has been attributed to author Steven Crane, who added the phrase to the 2nd [1896] edition of his novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. 

10. Dedicated poem : ODE.  

11. Luggage label : I D TAG.

12. Affair : FLING.  A fling is of short duration.  An affair can go on for years.   Either way, it probably involves one or more trysts.

13. (In) agreement : SYNC.  Derived from being synchronized.

18. Baby sharks : PUPS.  I did not know that.

22. Take advantage of : USE.

25. Apple variety : I-MAC.  Computer, not fruit.

26. Singer Horne : LENA.  Genuinely great.

27. Crow, at times, in Hinduism : OMEN.   Lots of minutia here.

28. Mobile downloads : APPS.  Software APPlications.

29. Brand of beard trimmers : WAHL.

30. Singer who co-composed a song in Elvish for "The Lord of the Rings" : ENYA.  Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin is a frequent crossword visitor, especially when I am blogging.

34. Over the hill : OLD.   Let's not get personal.

36. CSA soldiers : REBS.  Confederate soldiers from the American civil war.

37. Archipelago part : ISLE.  One island in a group.

38. Spanish pronoun : ESTA.   Meaning "this" or "that."  Spanish pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they are referring to.  ESTA is feminine singular.

40. Broadway king's domain : SIAM.   From The King and I.

41. Ones with access : INSIDERS.  They are always LET IN.

42. Nina of "The Ten Commandments" : FOCH.   She played Bithiah, an Egyptian princess.

43. FWIW kin : IMHO.   For What It's Worth and In My Humble Opinion.

48. Tankard contents : ALE.  A roughly cylindrical drinking cup with a handle that may be filled with a variety of libations.

49. Mythological maidens : NYMPHS.   They consorted with PAN.  Chicks just dug that old goat.

Cooking with Pan

51. Ingrained : ETCHED.

52. Just sit around : LOAF.   Like a couch potato, to continue the quasi-food reference.

53. Decisive, as a mistake : FATAL.  Causes an epic fail.

54. Blue shade : AZURE.  Like the SKY, perhaps.

55. "Poppycock!" : PSHAW.

56. Result of glacial calving : BERG.  When an iceberg breaks off from a glacier, that is known as "calving."

59. Deceives : CONS.  Probably derived from "confidence trick" or "- game," in which someone attempts to commit a fraud by first gaining the confidence of another person or group.

60. Hoops shot : HOOK.   A basketball shot now rarely seen in the age of slam dunks, so named for the shape of the arm motion.

61. Like envelope-pushing comedy : EDGY.   Or hair dos.

63. Hibernation spot : DEN.  Suitable for bears and couch potatoes.

65. "Can __ now?" : I GO.  The inverse of "Let me in."

66. Prefix with charge : SUR-.   From the French, indicating over, above, or in addition.  A surcharge is an additional charge levied for any of a variety of reasons.

OK.  We're phinally phinished.  I had a lot of phun, and hope you did too.

Cool regards!
JzB

Notes from C.C.:

1) Jazzbumpa (Ron) made his WSJ debut today. You can click here to print out the PDF file. Congratulations, Ron! Thanks for the inspiration and fun ride.

2) Here are three great pictures from JD's Mother's Day celebration. JD is with her two daughters and four grandkids in the second picture.

Tuesday, May 10 2016, Janice Lutrell

Theme: The Other F-word

Dear Monday, I want to break up. I'm seeing Tuesday and dreaming about Friday. Sincerely, It's not me, It's you.

17. "Peanuts" outburst : GOOD GRIEF. Good Friday - the Friday before Easter.

26. Distress call at sea : MAN OVERBOARD. Man Friday. From Wikipedia: "Robinson Crusoe names the man, with whom he cannot at first communicate, Friday because they first meet on that day. The character is the source of the expression "Man Friday", used to describe a male personal assistant or servant, especially one who is particularly competent or loyal."

45. Off-the-cuff comment : CASUAL REMARK. Casual Friday. 

 60. Oil metaphor : BLACK GOLD. Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving - which has been successfully marketed as "the biggest shopping day of the year."  A tad ironic.

67. Pre-weekend shout ... and a hint to the first word of 17-, 26-, 45- and 60-Across : TGIF. Thank God it's Friday.

Melissa here. A Tuesday-level solve, about Fridays. Some fun words - GOOD GRIEF, ME TIME, DUDE, and WHEE - and a few unknowns thrown in for good measure. 

Across

1. Big celebration : BASH. Who else tried GALA first?

5. __ guy: dependable sort : GO TO

9. Paper size : LEGAL

14. Village People song with arm motions : YMCA

15. Samoan capital : APIA. Unknown to me.

16. Send packing, as a delinquent tenant : EVICT

19. Towel material : TERRY

20. Arg. neighbor : URU. Plugged in a few possibilities before perps set me straight.

21. Fruity soft drinks : ADES

22. Student's organizer : BINDER

23. Self-indulgent period : ME TIME.

25. Grooves from wagon wheels : RUTS. The most prominent ruts along the Oregon Trail were gouged deep into sandstone and preserved inside Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site near Guernsey, Wyoming.

32. Where many a lanyard is woven : CAMP

35. Two-handed hammer : SLEDGE. Can you believe it's been nearly 30 years since this video? It won nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987, the most of any single video.

  
36. __ Claire, Wisconsin : EAU

37. Spectral array : HUES

38. Zig when you should have zagged, say : ERR

39. Dry as the Mojave : ARID

40. Tax-auditing org. : IRS

41. Maritime measure : LEAGUE. Once a unit of length in Europe and Latin America - the distance a person could walk in an hour - it's no longer an official measure.

44. Zippo : NONE

48. Hunter's target : PREY

49. Discuss again and again : REHASH

53. Regular on the slopes : SKI BUM

56. Slope overlooking a loch : BRAE. One of my unknowns. Brae = A hillside, especially along a river.

58. "Who, me?" : MOI

59. Makes less difficult : EASES

62. Those girls, in Spain : ELLAS

63. Word of honor : OATH. This is one of those words that can have opposing meanings, like cleave, which can mean to split apart, or to adhere firmly. An oath can be a solemn promise, or a profane expression. Gotta love the English language. 

64. First chip in a pot : ANTE

65. Rodeo rope : REATA

66. Sledder's cry : WHEE

Down

1. Old-fashioned "How about that!" : BY GUM

2. Love, to Luciano : AMORE

3. Talent finder : SCOUT

4. Consumed : HAD

5. Flower exhibits : GARDENS

6. TV role for Ronny : OPIE. Ron Howard's role in The Andy Griffith Show.

7. Garbage bag closers : TIES

8. Bungler : OAF

9. Beatles title after "Speaking words of wisdom" : LET IT BE

10. Despite that : EVEN SO

11. Encircle with a belt : GIRD

12. Orchard measure : ACRE

13. Space travel dist. : LTYR. Light Year.

18. Explorer Vasco da __ : GAMA

22. Town : BURG

24. Little pranksters : IMPS

25. "The Shining" mantra : REDЯUM. Murder spelled backwards - from Stephen King's novel, The Shining.

 

27. Chicago Fire Mrs. : O'LEARY. The great great granddaughter of Mrs. O'Leary tells the real story.

28. Brink : VERGE

29. Prefix with space : AERO

30. Picnic spoiler : RAIN. Tried ANTS first.

31. "C'mon, bro!" : DUDE

32. Stylish : CHIC

33. Otherworldly radiance : AURA

34. Sticky situation : MESS

39. Pharaoh's cross : ANKH

41. Hall of Fame manager Tony : LARUSSA

42. Grade sch. level : ELEM

43. Common swimmer's ailment : EARACHE

46. In high spirits : UPBEAT

47. Smell really bad : REEK

50. Mixed in with : AMONG

51. Conductor Sir Georg : SOLTI. British conductor, died in 1997 at 84.

52. Part of HDTV, briefly : HI-DEF

53. Visionary : SEER

54. Curly cabbage : KALE

55. Land surrounded by agua : ISLA

56. Boring : BLAH

57. Hourly charge, e.g. : RATE

60. Present decoration : BOW

61. Thug's gun : GAT. Tried ROD first.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

I don't want to build a life and career, where I spent five days a week waiting for the weekend. No!

I want to enjoy my life, and don't wish any weekday away. I want each day to matter to me, in some way, even if it's a small tiny way.― Akilnathan Logeswaran

Monday, May 9, 2016 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: "AND THEY'RE OFF!" - heard at the races and about the Marx Brothers.

20A. Keep tabs on a shipment : TRACK ONE'S ORDER

25A. Some briefs : JOCKEY SHORTS

44A. Shrewd bargaining : HORSE TRADING

50A. 1937 Marx Brothers film ... and, based on words that begin 20-, 25- and 44-Across, this puzzle's title : "A DAY AT THE RACES"

Argyle here. My Derby pick came in third but I didn't bet so it doesn't matter. This puzzle shows itself a winner as it takes its place at the start of the week. The three entries are unique words, meaning they have never been in a NY Times puzzle.

Across:

1. See 16-Across : JULEP. 16A. With 1-Across, Kentucky Derby drink : MINT. Not your style? How about 28D. Beer barrel : KEG. No? Then 30D. Part of BYOB : OWN, Bring Your Own Booze. (or bottle)

6. Haunted house sound : MOAN. The sound of those that bet against Nyquist.

10. Females : SHEs, Like 23A. Coop group female : HEN and 32A. Crimp-haired critters : EWES

14. Soul singer Baker : ANITA. Missed the boat; not clueing this as Santa Anita, home track for Derby winner, Nyquist. Plus, on Mother’s Day, the best female horse in America, Beholder, won the $100,000 Adoration Stakes.

15. Convention center event : EXPO

17. Humongous : GIANT

18. "__ we forget" : LEST

19. Hold 'em fee : ANTE. Pay to play.

24. Favorable rise : UPTURN. Spectators rise up when the field turns for home.

31. Except if : UNLESS

33. Elbow poke : JAB

36. Party lacking ladies : STAG

37. Roadside retreat : INN

38. "Out of the way!" : "MOVE!". What the come-from-behind jockeys are saying.

39. Help for one stuck in a rut, perhaps : TOW

40. Mortgage change, briefly : REFI. (refinance)

42. Bach's "Mass in __" : B MINOR. Johann Sebastian Bach

46. Snap out of it : COME TO

49. DVR button : REC. (record)

56. Golf standout McIlroy : RORY. Currently ranked third in the world.

57. Furniture chain that sells Swedish meatballs : IKEA

58. Like a gift of chocolates : BOXED

60. Small jazz group : TRIO

61. What one often wears out? : COAT Misdirection on a Monday!

62. Went berserk : RAGED

63. Isaac's older son : ESAU

64. Once-sacred snakes : ASPs

65. Live and breathe : EXIST

Down:

1. Car with a cat logo, briefly : JAG

2. Self-storage compartment : UNIT

3. "Tell me the truth!" : "LIAR!". I get a kick out of these things.

4. Sicilian volcano : ETNA

5. Quilting squares : PATCHES

6. Fruit stand buys : MELONS

7. Yoked team : OXEN

8. Vaulted church recess : APSE

9. On the fence : NOT SURE

10. Brainpower : SMARTS

11. Many a Mumbai man : HINDU

12. Step into : ENTER

13. Back of the boat : STERN

21. Lock inserts : KEYS

22. Drops (out) : OPTS

25. Barely : JUST

26. Not fooled by : ON TO

27. Tiger's gripper : CLAW

29. '20s-'30s skating gold medalist Sonja : HENIE

33. "Both Sides Now" singer Mitchell : JONI

34. Door-to-door cosmetics seller : AVON

35. Arctic hazard : BERG

37. Things up in the air : IFs

38. Prefix with term or town : MID

40. Membership list : ROTA

41. Steamy writing : EROTICA

42. Fictional fox's title : BR'ER

43. Ghoulish : MACABRE

44. "Psst!" : "HEY, YOU!"

45. Springs for lunch : TREATS

46. À la __ : CARTE

47. Clean-out-the-fridge warnings : ODORS

48. "West Side Story" love song : MARIA

51. Boxer's stats : TKOs. (technical knockout)

52. Sloppy stack : HEAP

53. Persuade gently : COAX

54. Former soldier, briefly : EX-GI

55. Lays eyes on : SEES

59. Outlawed pesticide : DDT

One last song.

Argyle

Sunday, May 8, 2016 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme:  "Communication Update" - Before & After type. First part is a common phrase. Last part is an online communication related term.

23A. Tiny pair of media hosts? : TWO PEAS IN A PODCAST. Two peas in a pod. "WTF with Marc Maron" is my favorite podcast these days.

31A. Security for sailors? : SAINT ELMO'S FIREWALL. Saint Elmo's Fire. You might have heard of the Great Firewall of China. Lots of websites are blocked there, including Facebook.

49A. Online photo exchange for redheads? : GINGER SNAPCHAT. Ginger snap. I just don't get the appeal of Snapchat.

65A. Having returned to the world of public performances? : BACK IN A FLASH MOB. Back in a flash. I don't feel flash mob is communication-related, thought it's organized and spread on line.

85A. Emeril's gateway? : FOOD WEB BROWSER. Food web. Firefox for me. What do you use?

100A. "Got a film to share?"? : ANYTHING FOR YOUTUBE? Anything for you.

113A. End of a "Great Reuben!" tweet? : #CORNED BEEF HASHTAG. Corned beef hash.

I tend to jump around in my Sunday solving. After getting Snapchat and YouTube, I thought the last words are all social media sites. Facebook might be doable, but Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr are not viable options.

Heavy themage due to the nature of "before and after" theme type. Total 113 squares. Rich's minimum is 84. I stay around 94/95.

Across:

1. Kind of crazy? : STIR. Gimme start for our regulars. 

5. Supermarket lines : CARTS. We often see UPCS clued this way. Or BAR CODES.

10. Gossiper's word : HEARD. Not I HEAR.

15. Yahoo! rival : MSN

18. It divides banks in Bern : AARE. Riverbanks.

19. Goes around : ORBITS

21. Bartlett cousin : ANJOU. Have you tried Asian pears (Hosui) before? Super juicy.

22. Big foot letters : EEE

26. Short order from mom : NOW

27. Go along with : ESCORT

28. Extra : SPARE

29. Sneezer's need : TISSUE

36. Yacht staffs : MASTS. Not CREWS.

39. Van Gogh inspiration : ARLES

40. Clean the slate : ERASE

41. Latin lover's word : AMO

42. Naval NCO : CPO. And 43. Some NCOs : CPLS. And  57. G.I. Joe's outfit : US ARMY. Also 123. Air Force E-5's : SSGTS.

45. Scale starters : DO RE

55. Like some income : PRE-TAX

58. Former fillies : MARES

59. Crêpe cousin : BLINTZE. Looks amazing.

60. Garden adornment : SHRUB

61. Old Testament's Queen of __ : SHEBA

63. Tees for Aristotle : TAUS

64. Pound parts: Abbr. : OZs

70. Newfoundland comment? : ARF. Gimme for regulars.

73. Often saved comics heroine : LOIS (Lane),

74. Voicemail cues : TONES. Not BEEPS.

75. Cessation of hostilities : TRUCE

79. Opinion pieces : COLUMNS. Who's your favorite columnist? I like David Brooks.

81. Ontario natives : CREES

83. Intervene : STEP IN

84. Go by : ELAPSE

88. Dispatch : SEND

89. Brass __ : BAND

90. Place to go in Gloucester : LOO. Lots of gimme little words today.

91. "Xanadu" gp. : ELO

92. Home of the John Denver Sanctuary : ASPEN. Learning moment for me.

95. Illusionist Criss __ : ANGEL. He has a show in Vegas. 

98. "Cutthroat Kitchen" host Brown : ALTON

106. Nothing new : REPEAT

107. Dutch wheels : EDAMs

108. High-quality : RATED A

112. Sharp-toothed swimmer : GAR

 118. Cult following : URE. Just culture.

119. Get ready for an engagement? : KNEEL. Nailed it as well.

120. Waxy compound : STEROL. I see this as an ingredient in some makeup products.

121. Writer Rice : ANNE

122. Road curve : ESS

124. Revue routines : SKITS

125. Trails the pack : LAGS

 

Down:

1. Fill up : SATE

2. Shooting marbles : TAWS

3. __-Z: Camaro model : IROC

4. Share on Facebook, e.g. : RE-POST

5. Raccoon relative : COATI. He has a long tongue.

6. Start of MGM's motto : ARS

7. Bryce Harper stat : RBI. Right fielder for the Nationals. We also have And 96. Queens team, briefly : NY METS

8. Holiday sparklers : TINSEL

9. Office binder : STAPLE

10. Underworld : HADES

11. Multi-vol. reference : ENC. OK, encyclopedia.

12. 1977 Steely Dan album : AJA

13. Political platforms : ROSTRA. Plural of rostrum.

14. To-do list items : DUTIES

15. Smart bunch : MENSA.  Thank you, Mensa, for carrying LA Times crossword online.

16. K-pop city : SEOUL. Korean Pop. J-pop is Japanese Pop. Chinese pop is Mandopop (Mandarin). Cantopop is in Cantonese, of course.

17. Staircase component : NEWEL

20. Bombards with junk email : SPAMS

24. Memorable times : ERAS

25. Cortez's gold : ORO

30. Author Stieg Larsson's homeland : SWEDEN. Author of  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

32. Short rests : NAPS

33. 1982 Disney sci-fi film : TRON

34. Pool surface : FELT. Clued such because we also have 103. Senses : FEELS

35. Org. whose roots date to the Civil War : IRS. Learning moment to me.

36. Sorcerer : MAGUS. Singular of Magi, I guess.

37. Simple-living sect : AMISH. There was an Amish family selling home-made jams and jellies at the flea market. But they were not there last year.

38. Whale tracker : SONAR

42. Shout : CRY

43. Revolutionary first name : CHE. Simple in retrospect.

44. Kettle et al. : PAs. Not MAs.

46. "The Simpsons" bus driver : OTTO

47. Jeer : RAZZ. We used to have a blog regular called Razzberry.

48. Divorce consequences : EXES

50. Vittles : GRUB

51. Preserves, in a way : EMBALMS

52. "You said it!" : AMEN

53. Early sunscreen ingredient : PABA

54. Made skillfully : CRAFTED

55. Horner's surprise : PLUM

56. Trattoria order : RISOTTO. I tried this the other day. Pretty good. I'm thinking of splurging on a bag of dried porcini and making my own mushroom risotto.

59. Scroogean cries : BAHs

61. Enjoys a run, maybe : SKIS

62. "To each __ own" : HIS

63. Half a fly : TSE. It's back.

66. "Get Smart" security device : CONE

67. MGM co-founder : LOEW (Marcus)

68. "As I Lay Dying" father : ANSE. I forgot. We had this sometime ago.

69. Coven concoction : BREW

70. Experts : ACES

71. Part of a film : ROLE

72. Custardlike dessert : FLAN

76. Election surprise : UPSET

77. Sky over Seville : CIELO. Hard for me. I only know a few limited Spanish words.

78. __ Field, a former name of Minute Maid Park : ENRON

80. Modernize : UPDATE

81. One side of the fence : CON. Or PRO.

82. Casting aid : ROD

83. Sign of success : SRO (Standing-Room Only)

85. Venom dispenser : FANG

87. Aptly named track star : BOLT (Usain)

89. "Big" London attraction : BEN

93. Crude homes : SHACKS

94. Mountaineering equipment : PITONS

95. Many Qatar natives : ARABS

97. Half a kids' game : GO SEEK. 6-letter Partial.

98. "Down with," in Paris : ABAS. "Abas le roi!" Also  86. Cheese couleur : BLEU. Color. Blue.

99. Deadly : LETHAL

100. Plead in court : ARGUE

101. Reduces one's distance from : NEARS

102. WWI battle site : YPRES. No idea. Wiki says that "During the war, because the British troops had trouble pronouncing its name, they nicknamed the city "Wipers"."

  

104. Not even : ODD

105. Border range : URALS. Europe/Asia border range. Vague clue.

109. Sicilian attraction : ETNA

110. "Shucks!" : DANG

111. Sits in a cellar, say : AGES

114. Short rule? : REG (Regulation). Short = Abbr.

115. Tuna catcher : NET

116. "Black" shopping time: Abbr. : FRI

117. __ water : HOT

C.C.

Saturday, May 7th, 2016, Kyle Mahowald

Theme: Debut Too~!!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

  So another new constructor for our Saturday struggle~!  I did not see Kyle's name on the list of authors for the LA Times, and I am not a regular solver of the NYT.  Whenever I see a new name, I realize that I have no experience with their puzzles, and this cuts both ways - is this going to be brutal, or a breeze~!?  Nothing terribly intimidating about the grid - triple 8x5s and 9x6s constitute the longest answers. A little heavy on the proper names again, but I did get through without a look up or red letters. One from each corner;

17a. Criminology concerns : PATTERNS

14d. "Piece of cake" : EASY PEASY - ah, not "AS PIE"

 65a. French for "stick" : BAGUETTE

32d. The Na'vi in "Avatar," for one : ALIEN RACE

OlgaWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. "You're kidding, right?" : "WAIT, WHAT~?"

9. Will matter : ESTATE - First thought, late fill

15. "I give up" : IT'S NO USE - took a moment to parse this, having "NOUS" in the middle

16. Onomatopoeic dance : CHA-CHA - there was a time when I knew how to do this dance

18. Weapons used on mounts : LANCES - big help in the NE

19. "Out of the Blue" band : ELO - total WAG, but then again, three-letter bands....

20. Beyond harmful : LETHAL

22*. Pabst brand originally brewed in Washington, familiarly : OLY - not a brand I am familiar with; filled via perps

23. They're slow to pick things up : SLOBS - I prefer neat and tidy, unless I am in the middle of a project; then it gets a bit cluttered; my bathroom project just had a deadline added - but a good one if there ever was such a thing

26. Weaken : ABATE

27. Runner's distance : LAP

28. Fall deliveries? : LIBRAS - fresh way to clue astrological signs

30. Play or school follower : MATE - playmate, schoolmate

31*. Alouette 1 satellite launcher : CANADA - Sounded Frawnche, so I put FRANCE in; Canada is "half" French, so I was close....

34. Catch : NAB - waffled in the middle here, had SPY, then GET

36. "Good __!" : IDEA - not LUCK

37*. Oakland's county : ALAMEDA - guessed from A --- A

39. Like some beaches : TOPLESS - all beaches are topless, for guys....

41. Gimlet flavor : LIME - I tried MINT; thinking Julep - must be a Kentucky Derby thing....

42*. 2011 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee : ELS - about the only three-letter golfing name I know

44. By the fire, say : TOASTY - I might be getting toasty by the fake fireplace in less than two weeks - I'll keep you posted~!

45. Sediment : LEES - familiar with this because I made my own beer in college - potent stuff

46. Programming language named for a comedy group : PYTHON - don't know the language, but I do know the comedy

I move...for no man

48*. "The world's an __": Dryden : INN - perps

49*. Mexican painter Frida : KAHLO

51*. Teamsters president James : HOFFA - ah.  Clued as "Jimmy", I would've known

55. Gp. with carriers : NRA - gun club - packing heat

56. Like old timers? : ANALOG - got it

look closely....

58. Word in many Mexican place names : LAS - tried SAN - that was 100% 33.3% correct; or, 67% correct 33.3% - you tell me, D-otto

59. Egg, perhaps : GAMETE

61. More than one can handle : A BIT MUCH

64. Stuck at a chalet, maybe : ICED IN - run away Tin~!!!

66. Fit one within another : NESTED

Russian Matryoshka

67. "There was a point here somewhere" : "I DIGRESS."

DOWN:

1. Babies"R"Us buys : WIPES

2. Even a little : AT ALL

3. Half a playground exchange : IS TOO~!

4. Stuff that goes kablooey : TNT

5. Trouble : WOE

6. Give a good toss : HURL

7. Equally close : AS NEAR - on the UK show Top Gear, Jeremy would frequently say "as near as makes no difference..." referring to a car's 200mph, 700hp, etc.

8. 1996 treaty subject : TEST BAN

9. Panache : ECLAT

10. Fissile rock : SHALE

11. Light shade ... or avoid the shade? : TAN - the adjective and the verb; here's the noun                         ;7))

12. Praise : ACCOLADES

13. Gossip's stock-in-trade : THE LATEST

21. Goes after : HAS AT - see above, 46a, @ 4:05 for an example

24. Holds accountable : BLAMES

25. Perspective : SIDE

29. Ordered : BADE

30. Pepperidge Farm treat : MILANO

31. Joining the radio show : CALLING IN - I went with PHONING in, and that messed up the whole SW corner

33. Rat : NAME NAMES - the verb in this instance

35. "Ice cream or cake?" response, perhaps : BOTH

38. Highest-ranking : ALPHA

40. Bear with a "thotful spot" : POOH

43. Educational outlines : SYLLABI

47. "Poor baby!" : "TOO BAD~!"

49*. Holmes of "Touched With Fire" : KATIE

50. Words spoken after coming to? : AN END - today's write-up is "coming to an end"

52. High wind? : FLUTE - not fooled, knew we were looking for an orchestra instrument

53. They can be hard to face : FACTS

54. Grill leftovers : ASHES - eh.  More like fire leftovers; grill to me implies food

57*. 1951 title role for Audrey : GIGI

60. Abbr. on a Miami itinerary : EDT - I am anticipating an airport arrival soon, and they, too, will have Eastern Daylight Time stamped on their paperwork

62. Pull : TUG

63. Marseille sight : MER - and we come to an end with more Frawnche

Splynter

Friday, May 6, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Title: Colour me happy.

I have blogged for almost six years now and C.C. has 127 solo puzzles published in the LAT in the last 4 years, but this is only my second solo C.C. Friday. The first was the outstanding Poet's Corner puzzle in 2014. Today is quite tame by comparison, and like last weeks JW, primarily a fun puzzle. The simple concept of phrases including words which sound like colors is brought together by the rare Friday reveal. Once again she builds her grid in a pin wheel fashion with the reveal in the southeast. No long fill, but some interesting intermediate fill like STACHE,  OH DARN,  OGRESS, GASHED,  B B KING,  SPREES,  BOASTS, FAINTS, ANEMIA,  HEFNER,  ENGAGE, PAWNEE, SCENERY, EPITHET,  SINCERE,  LET ME GO, HOW'S THAT. All this from our transplanted fearless leader...amazing.

17A. *Lost it : BLEW A FUSE (9). New fill to the LAT, yet very common.

60A. *Entertained the kids, in a way : READ ALOUD (9). Also new.

11D. *"Bonanza" star : LORNE GREENE (11). I had the pleasure of meeting him at a charity tennis match in Boca.

25D. *Cottage site in the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" : ISLE OF WIGHT (11). I did not know this but I bet Steve and NC did.

And the reveal.

41D. Risqué ... and what each answer to a starred clue contains? : OFF COLOR (8).

Across:

1. Trellis pieces : LATHS. THIS always confused me, but I learned a trellis can be made of lattice. Splynter, help?

6. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Technology, Entertainment, Design

9. Runs out : BOLTS.

14. Eponym of a United Kingdom poetry prize : ELIOT. It is obvious many here share my love of Poetry and PRIZES.

15. Schooner filler : ALE.

16. Walking the dog, e.g. : CHORE. I was thinking about yoyos.

19. Storage place : CD-ROM. Oh these modern times.

20. Play set : SCENERY.

22. Nonpro? : ANTI. Ifn you aint fer it, your agin it.

23. Man's best friend, e.g. : EPITHET. They can be nice like that or  they can be bad. It is a sobriquet, a nickname, a title, a label, a description etc. Fittingly a lead in to...52D. Animal that's been a Japanese Natural Monument since 1931 : AKITA. An amazing STORY.

26. Fiona, after Shrek's kiss : OGRESS. Nit polic, Fiona was always an Ogress, the spell which made her look like a human was broken by the kiss.

28. Cut deeply : GASHED. But literally and metaphorically.

29. "Blues on the Bayou" musician : B. B. KING. An album and a song...RIP B.B.

31. Spanish pronoun : ELLA.

32. Overindulgent outings : SPREES. A binge.

34. Stranded messenger : RNA. Nice strand pun.

37. Handle : SEE TO. Make it so....

39. Mr. Potato Head piece : EAR. Followed by the anthropomorphic...

40. Front-wheel alignment : TOE IN. Know your TOE or you will be towed.

42. Unduly : TOO. Not unduly hard.

43. Possesses with pride : BOASTS.

46. Deflect, with "off" : FEND.

47. Passes out : FAINTS.

49. "The Girls Next Door" co-creator : HEFNER.  PLAYBOY meets reality tv.

51. Fictional Indiana town in "Parks and Recreation" : PAWNEE. You can READ or watch

53. Genuine : SINCERE. Like the...

54. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE.

55. Release request : LET ME GO.

58. Summation symbol, in math : SIGMA. You all get this, RIGHT?

64. Moral principle : ETHIC.

65. Scar, say : MAR.

66. Thorny evergreen : GORSE.

67. Occupied, as a desk : SAT AT.

68. Museum pieces : ART.

69. Vertical : ERECT.

Down:

1. Its natl. emblem is the cedar tree : LEBanon. Fun with flags. The cedars of Lebanon are mentioned often in the Bible.

2. Every drop : ALL.

3. 20-20, e.g. : TIE. Not perfect vision; not a tv show. good misdirection.

4. ''What do you think?'' : HOW'S THAT? Often heard while you try to hang a picture.

5. What one might have with milk, briefly? : 'STACHE. Got Milk? Who was your favorite?

6. Needle : TAUNT.

7. Different : ELSE. She was something....

8. Road sign image : DEER. How do they know where to cross?

9. Email option, for short : BCC. Now blind courtesy copy.

10. "Shoot!" : OH DARN.

12. Brings (out) : TROTS. And then to make the disastrous evening complete, they trotted out their vacation pics.

13. Late round : SEMIS.

18. Satellite broadcasts : FEEDS.

21. Team connection : YOKE. Poor oxen, the yoke is always on them.

23. Get rid of : EGEST. Opposite of ingest. Seriously.

24. Retro diet, to put it mildly : PALEO. The word is from Greek palaios meaning ‘ancient.' The idea is to eat like early man, no processed foods etc, Since their life expectancy was about 30....

27. Kernel : GIST.

29. Leadership : BRASS.

30. Hall of Fame pitcher Blyleven : BERT. Of course C. C. would slip in a baseball payer from Minnesota, what a curve ball. He was born in the Netherlands and coached their pitchers in the new world event.

33. Organic fuel : PEAT. Major heating fuel in the Highlands, I have read.

35. Bay Area pro : NINER. We got our morning weather girl from the 49ers

36. Court rival of Pete : ANDRE. Sampras and Agassi.

38. Village Voice award : OBIE.  Off-Broadway.  LINK.

44. Law school newbie : ONE L. We did not use this in my day.

45. Drew back : SHIED.

48. Lack of get-up-and-go : ANEMIA. I had the ferrous oxide recently.

50. Hold rapt : ENGAGE.

51. Puts forward : POSES. Say you are stuck on a desert island, who do you want there with you?
If you answer, "my spouse" you are...

53. Quick on the uptake : SMART.

56. Humorous Bombeck : ERMA.

57. Sewer's concern : TEAR. One who sews.
59. Play : ACT.

61. Natural resource : ORE.

62. L.A. school : USC. University of Southern California.

63. LAPD rank : DETective.

C.C. makes it all seem so easy; I hope you had fun and Happy Mother's day to all.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, May 5th, 2016 Jennifer Nutt

Theme: NO NEED TO SHOUT or, as the reveal succinctly explains:

36A. Emphatic type ... or what the beginnings of the longest entries are? : ALL CAPS

16A. Tension-easing activity : ICEBREAKER. Ice cap.

22A. It supposedly keeps the monster inside the closet : NIGHT LIGHT. Nightcap. Cheers!

45A. Jam site : BOTTLENECK. Bottle cap. I was thinking "bottleneck" in the slide guitar/jam session sense of the word before I saw sense. Ah! Traffic! Here's Brian Jones playing slide guitar on the Rolling Stones' "No Expectations", the last thing he recorded before his death.

57A. Baby blanket, perhaps : SHOWER GIFT. Shower cap. I confess I flat-out don't like this. Wedding shower gift, bridal shower gift or baby shower gift - all fine, but "shower gift" seems contrived to me. I'd have probably tried something else like SHOWER HEAD here.

Neat theme, but with the aforementioned stutter-step at the end. Let's see what else we've got going on.

Across:

1. Fraternal order member : ELK

4. Deposit : PAY IN

9. Candy shape : CANE

13. Pressure for payment : DUN

14. He became New York Philharmonic music director 30 years before Leonard : ARTURO. Toscanini.

15. Part of ABC: Abbr. : AMER. The American Broadcasting Company.

18. Butcher's cut : LOIN. Food! Butcher's cuts also refer to lesser-known cuts of meat such as flank steak, hanger steak, sirloin cap and bavette that are packed with flavor and less expensive than the better-known varieties.

19. Coffee cart item : CREAMER

20. Turf controllers : GANGS. I'm going to come off as pedantic here, but there's no plural of "gang" in this sense. More than one of this type of turf controllers are called "gang mowers". "Gang" refers to multiple reel mowers that are "ganged" together.

21. Durbeyfield daughter : TESS. I re-read the book recently - I enjoyed it much more than when we had to study it at school.

26. Tiebreakers, briefly : O.T.S Overtimes. Three NCAA Div 1 games have gone to seven overtimes - Arkansas played in two of them and lost them both.

28. Turkish money : LIRAS. Really? I think this one's little but of a stretch - I can't think of a case where I'd use it in preference to "lira". One lira, twenty lira. Twenty liras? Not so much.

29. Host : EMCEE

31. Holistic healers' observations : AURAS

32. Day __ : SPA

35. Winery wood : OAK. Plenty of it here. This is Caymus in Napa; I visited there last year.

38. Colorful carp : KOI

39. Turndowns : NOS

40. What Lot's wife looked back at : SODOM. Not a wise move unless you were planning on being turned into a pillar of salt.

41. Pastoral poem : IDYLL.

Smile and we smile, the lords of many lands;

Frown and we smile, the lords of our own hands;

For man is man and master of his fate. 

from Idylls of the King: Song from the marriage of Geraint

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

43. Stat for a reliever : SAVES. Blown Saves too, but pitchers don't like to talk about those.

44. Nancy Drew's beau : NED. Nickerson. Crosses for me, I never read the books.

50. Everymutt : FIDO

53. WWII attacker : U-BOAT. They were around in WWI too, most notoriously U-20 which fired the torpedo that sank the Lusitania. Erik Larsen's book "Dead Wake" is a fascinating account of the controversial tragedy.

54. New Hampshire prep school town : ANDOVER. Legend has it that the US Postal Service once successfully decoded and delivered a letter with the address:

HILL
JOHN
NH

56. Fanny : REAR. I still chuckle when I see this. A fanny in England is a quite different part of a lady's anatomy.

60. Subtle "Over here!" : PSST!

61. Trojan hero : AENEAS

62. Japanese drama : NOH

63. Hardens : SETS

64. 2012 title judge played by Karl Urban : DREDD. Never saw it. Topical though, Urban is reported as saying in the last couple of days that a TV series "could happen". My breath is bated.

65. Prefix with caching : GEO- Something of a nerdy pastime whereby you take your GPS handheld and go find something placed at a specific coordinate. When you find it, you write your name on it and put it back. Apparently.

Down:

1. Decree : EDICT

2. Riches : LUCRE. Generally "filthy" for some reason.

3. Kilt companions : KNEE SOCKS

4. Groom with a bill : PREEN

5. Jaguar creator : ATARI. Crosses filled this in for me - the Atari Jaguar was a video gaming console. Now, if I pronounce the British car "jag-you-a" and the NFL team "Jagwires", how do I pronounce a Japanese console?

6. Big laugh : YUK

7. Wrath : IRE

8. Postal motto word : NOR. It's an unofficial motto and is inscribed on the James Farley post office in New York City:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

9. French town closest to England : CALAIS. If you stand on the top of the cliffs at South Foreland in England and use your cellphone, it's very likely that you'll incur roaming charges because the strongest signal comes from France Telecom across the Dover Straits. Here's the view from Calais.

10. Honor __ thieves : AMONG

11. Pastoral sound : NEIGH

12. Surrealist Max : ERNST.

14. Branch : ARM

17. Keep moist, in a way : BASTE

20. Enclose, as a porch : GLASS IN

23. Sugary stuff : GLUCOSE

24. Distiller Walker : HIRAM. Cheers! Canadian Club is still made at the original distillery, although the brand is now owned by Beam Suntory of Japan.

25. Snare : TRAP

27. Topping for fancy chocolate : SEA SALT. I use Maldon salt from the UK. I used to bring it back with me after a visit, but my local market stocks it now. Williams-Sonoma also stocks it, for more than twice the price of anywhere else, naturally.

29. Long stretch : EON

30. "Little Red Book" author : MAO. Formally titled "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung".

31. Mayflower Compact signer : ALDEN

32. High jumps : SKYDIVING. Something seems off to me here. SKYDIVES better matches the clue, "High jumping" better suits the answer.

33. Campaign pro : POL.

34. Catch a bug : AIL

37. Sweetheart : LOVE

42. Clear, as a windshield : DEFOG

43. They may be false : STARTS. "Take your marks, set .....".

45. Pats on the back, maybe : BURPS

46. Really big : OBESE

47. Brown : TOAST. Blacken if the timer is set too long.

48. Cried in the cornfield : CAWED. Crows' cornfield cries.

49. Work on in a bakery : KNEAD

51. Crusoe creator : DEFOE. Likely inspired by the story of sailor Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned with his dog for four years on a Chilean island.

52. Garden products brand : ORTHO

55. OBs and ENTs : DRS. What's up, Docs?

57. Down : SAD

58. What's-__-name : HER

59. United : ONE

Just in time for the grid, and that's it from me!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

The fifth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held at the Landmark Center in St. Paul on June 12th, 2016 Sunday. Please click here for more details. Here is the direct registration link. Entry fee is only $20 per person. 

Don G and I teamed up again this year. Other contributors (all LAT/NYT constructors) include George Barany, Victor Barocas, Tom Pepper, Andrea Carla Michaels and a few others. I'll let you know once the updated list is released.

Our own Jeffrey Wechsler is flying from New Jersey to volunteer for the event.