Monday, August 29, 2016 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: Monday? - A single word can be added to the front of five other non-related words.

63A. United stand ... and what the first part of the answers to starred clues literally can have: COMMON FRONT

17A. *Cost of shares on the exchange: MARKET PRICE. Common Market.

41A. *U.S./USSR conflict: COLD WAR. Common Cold.

11D. *Element in an executive compensation package: STOCK OPTION. Common Stock.

25D. *Drive to do the responsible thing: SENSE OF DUTY. Common Sense.

27D. *"So long": "GOOD DAY". Common Good.

Argyle here. It may just be me but I felt this was meant to be later in the week.

Across:

1. Illusions in a stage act, collectively: MAGIC

6. Muslim leaders: IMAMs

11. Place for a massage: SPA

14. Twist: GNARL

15. French Revolution radical: MARAT. Jean-Paul Marat.

16. Put a strain on: TAX

19. Tip jar denomination: ONE

20. Miffed: SORE

21. Gizmos: DEVICES

23. __ buco: veal dish: OSSO

26. Director Lee: ANG

28. Student's workplace: DESK

29. Guttural "Psst!": "AHEM!"

30. Wedding vows: I DO's

32. Condemn: DOOM

34. Most rational: SANEST

36. Nobel Peace Prize city: OSLO

38. Jack-in-the-box sound: [POP!]

40. Drips in the ICU: IVS. (Intravenous)

43. Give it a go: TRY

44. Witness: SEE

45. Yankee slugger, to fans: A-ROD

46. Area of expertise: MÉTIER. French

48. Sound from Leo: ROAR

50. Twist, as water-damaged floorboards: WARP

52. Sharpen: HONE

53. World Cup soccer org.: FIFA. (Fédération Internationale de Football Association)

55. "__-hoo!": YOO

56. 1946 N.L. RBI leader Slaughter: ENOS

57. Part of a chess match when most of the pieces are off the board: END GAME

60. "__ the mornin'!": TOP O'

62. Sch. run by Mormons: BYU. (Brigham Young University)

68. Track transaction: BET

69. Wabbit-hunting Fudd: ELMER

70. Fragrant wood: CEDAR

71. Pig's home: STY

72. Officials who have their faculties: DEANs. Cute.

73. Hit hard, biblically: SMOTE

Down:

1. Leo is its logo: MGM

2. California's Santa __ River: ANA

3. Long-jawed fish: GAR

4. Annoying: IRKSOME

5. Egyptian queen, familiarly: CLEO. (Cleopatra VII Philopator)

6. Loom on the horizon: IMPEND

7. St. Patrick's mo.: MARch

8. Very dry: ARID

9. Sprayed in defense: MACED

10. Longshoreman: STEVEDORE

12. Window glass: PANE

13. Lumberjacks' tools: AXES

18. Double agent: TRAITOR

22. Prefix with metric and bar: ISO

23. Desert retreat: OASIS

24. Norelco product: SHAVER

31. U-turn from NNE: SSW

33. Rita with an Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy: MORENO. West Side Story's  Anita.

35. Like Al Capone: SCARFACED

37. Ridicule satirically: LAMPOON

39. Combustible funeral piles: PYREs

42. Under a quarter-tank, say: LOW

47. Geometry proposition: THEOREM

49. Bailed-out insurance co.: AIG. (American International Group, Inc)

51. Copter blades: ROTORS

54. Whac-__: arcade game: A-MOLE

57. Diminishes: EBBS

58. Russian denial: "NYET!"

59. Actress Stone of "Birdman": EMMA

61. Low-ranking GIs: PFCs. (Private first class)

64. Guys: MEN

65. Prefix with meter: ODO

66. __ King Cole: NAT

67. Italian three: TRE

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

I hope you can click here and sign the petition calling for price reduction for EpiPens, which have surged to $600/pack without any justification. The CEO's salary rose over 600% since 2007, when Mylan bought EpiPen.

Sunday, August 28th, 2016, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: WARM RECEPTION

The lovely pairing of Don and C.C. never wears out its WELCOME and today they present us with a  very entertaining Sunday puzzle where the word WELCOME can be an ADDITION to each of the last words of eight phrases to make another phrase. Their gimmick is revealed in:

119. Breath of fresh air ... or, literally, what the last word of eight long Across answers can be : WELCOME ADDITION - This is what Lily has been to us two empty-nesters!

23. Town gathering place : COMMUNITY CENTER - WELCOME CENTER. You're in the Army now...

29. Bathroom safety feature : SHOWER MAT - WELCOME MAT for Henry Hill at end of Goodfellas 

45. Gardener's purchase : SEED PACKET - The WELCOME PACKET - What each new prisoner gets from the Federal Bureau of Prisons

55. Fixture on many a cattle drive : CHUCK WAGON - 1956 edition of the WELCOME WAGON in Richmond, Indiana 

70. Purpose of some government credits : TAX RELIEF - WELCOME RELIEF provided by a squirrel chiropractor 

84. Astrological sector : ZODIAC SIGN - A very famous WELCOME SIGN

93. Hidden : OUT OF SIGHT - A WELCOME SIGHT in many "oaters"

109. Source of many breaking stories : YAHOO NEWS - WELCOME NEWS - It's gonna end in 71 days!

Across

1. "Thunderstruck" band : AC/DC

5. Alberta resort town : BANFF

10. Heavenly spheres : ORBS

14. Caps' partners : GOWNS

19. Manhattan or Queens, briefly : BORO - Borough

20. City NW of Orlando : OCALA

21. Bryan's "Breaking Bad" role : WALT - Suiting up to cook some meth for altruistic reasons

22. Formed for a specific purpose : AD HOC

26. Dough : MOOLA

27. Bombards with bogus offers : SPAMS

28. One of a toon septet : DOPEY

31. Highway deterrent : RADAR - They got me for doing 39 mph in a 30 mph zone last week but I kept my hands on the wheel, was very respectful, took full responsibility and got off with a warning

33. Arabian Peninsula port : ADEN

35. Acidity levels: Abbr. : PH'S

36. Pennant trio? : ENS - PENNANT

37. Sherpa's domain: Abbr. : MTN - A human pack mule

38. Ivory or Coast : SOAP

40. Lions' homes : DENS

43. "Eureka!" : AHA

48. Witch's familiar, maybe : CAT - I got CAT incidentally and then went to the web to find out what the heck this is - A familiar or familiar spirit is a supernatural being that helps and supports a witch or magician. In western culture this is usually a black CAT. 

49. Shtick figures : COMICS

53. Coastal flier : ERN

54. Eurasian capital : ANKARA - The capital in this capital is the Turkish Lira

57. Jet with suits? : CESSNA - This $23.6M Cessna Citation can hold 12 "suits"

59. Eastern way : TAO

61. Remains in the cooler : DOES TIME

62. "You're on!" : ITS A DEAL

66. Cardinal, e.g. : BIRD

67. Some NASA missions : EVA'S -Extra Vehicular Activities are just that - ACTIVITIES that occur outside the space craft during a NASA mission. Nit, nit, nit...

68. Fleeces : ROBS

72. Artist's choices : HUES

73. Bamboozle : DUPE

74. Teased : RODE

75. Retail focus : CONSUMER

77. "Priest" in a Nash poem : ONE-L LAMA

79. Runway retiree of '03 : SST

80. Cantaloupe cousin : CASABA - I can never discern much taste to them

86. Disc golf starting point : TEE PAD

90. Friend of Harry : RON - No clue on Harry Potter characters but it filled itself in

91. Guarantee : ENSURE

92. Place to see a facial mask : SPA

95. Bummed : SAD

96. K follower : MART

98. Acting opportunity : ROLE - Guess who was the first choice for the ROLE of Forrest Gump

99. __ Spiegel: German magazine : DER - The Mirror

100. Attention that can help healing, briefly : TLC

103. Kettle cover : LID - An idiot who looks like me once made popcorn in a kettle sans LID. 

105. Titicaca, por ejemplo : LAGO - El LAGO Titicaca se encuentra entre Perú y Bolivia (Lake Titicaca is located between Peru and Bolivia)

107. Bacon with six degrees? : KEVIN

113. Italian-born three-time Oscar winner : CAPRA - It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town and You Can't Take It With You

115. Night fliers : MOTHS

118. It helps when picking up : PRONG

122. Rice/Lloyd Webber musical : EVITA

123. Sheikh, e.g. : ARAB

124. "__ Fire": Denzel Washington movie : MAN ON - 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Shamelessly manipulative and sadistically violent", said one critic

125. Visiting the Getty Mus., say : IN LA

126. Business bigwig : BARON

127. Workout stat : REPS

128. Santa __ racetrack : ANITA

129. Training locale : CAMP


Down

1. Basics : ABC'S

2. Joint venture : CO-OP

3. Boots brand with Bouncing Soles : DR MARTENS - DOC MARTENS didn't fit

4. Charge : COMMAND - The most infamous Charge COMMAND in American history?

5. "___ voyage!" : BON

6. Heavy metal relative : ACID ROCK - There's just something wrong about hearing The London Philharmonic playing Light My Fire.

7. Brussels-based defense gp. : NATO

8. Pest control device : FLY PAPER

9. Confronted : FACED

10. Beat year after year after year ... : OWN

11. "Phooey!" : RATS

12. "This is disgusting!" : BLEH

13. Sharpening tool : STROP - Can you spot the one in this picture?

14. Many unscripted programs : GAME SHOWS

15. Gas additive, perhaps : ODOR

16. Incredulous response : WHO ME? 

17. Pitching legend Ryan : NOLAN - A punching expert too!

18. Improvises with nonsense syllables : SCATS

24. Amer. currency : USD

25. Set one's sights on : EYED

30. Hit hard : WHACKED

32. Yoga poses : ASANAS

34. Maker of Candy Buttons : NECCO - The Candy Shoppe at the New England Confectionary COrporation in Revere, MA

37. Little more than : MERE

39. Preceder of an alt. name : AKA

41. "I'm gonna pass" : NAH

42. Schoolwork : STUDIES

44. Dabblers : AMATEURS - Ed McMahon always told Johnny that drinking on New Year's Eve was for AMATEURS

45. Short time : SEC

46. Short breaths : PANTS

47. Turkic Russian : TATAR

50. "Enough already!" : I GIVE - Tap Out today

51. Deep sleeps : COMAS

52. Mario Paint console, initially : SNES - Can you read Super Nintendo Entertainment System?

56. Greek vacation isle : CORFU

58. Composer with a Helsinki academy named for him : SIBELIUS - Born in  Hämeenlinnain 1865 and died in Järvenpää   in 1957

60. Smart guys? : ALECS

63. Basic matter : ATOMS and 82. Nobelist who developed a model for 63-Down : BOHR - I taught the BOHR ATOM for years

64. Arp's school : DADAISM

65. Palindromic file extension : EXE

66. Storage unit : BIN

68. Talk nonstop : RUN ON

69. Pro-and-con newspaper pair, perhaps : OPEDS

71. Powerball, e.g. : LOTTO

72. Flip side? : HEADS

73. Catch a few z's : DOZE

74. Entered quickly : RACED IN - What are heroic first responders did when others ran from the Trade Center Buildings

76. VirusScan developer : MCAFEE

78. "60 Minutes" correspondent : LARA LOGAN

79. Traffic tangle : SNARL

81. Pope Francis' birthplace : ARGENTINA - A young Jorge Mario Bergoglio and his family in Buenos Aires

83. Sugar bowl visitor : ANT

85. H.S. benchmark : GPA

87. Pole, for one : EUROPEAN

88. WWII venue : ETO

89. Circle in a fabric pattern : POLKA DOT

94. Harebrained : IDIOTIC

97. It's filled and folded : TACO

100. Not exactly high-strung : TYPE-B

101. Tadpole, say : LARVA

102. Group in robes : CHOIR

104. Big name in Scotch : DEWAR

106. __ ray : GAMMA

108. ROTC school near D.C. : VMI - It became co-ed in 1997

110. Not tricked by : ONTO

111. Are no more : WERE

112. "__ That Bass": Gershwin song : SLAP

114. Hindu princess : RANI

116. __ oak: Mediterranean tree : HOLM

117. Start of a gridiron play : SNAP - QB should be on the same page as the center

120. "48 Hours" airer : CBS

121. It might be recombinant : DNA

Any and all are WELCOME to offer any comments:

THE GRID

Saturday, Aug 27th, 2016, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,V,X)

Blocks: 28

  Mr. Fludzinski returns with another Saturday LA Times grid, a little over a month since his last construction.  I re-read that blog, and had a repeat solving experience - switching between across and down.  In fact, I was so eager to switch back to across from the down that I never actually read the last two 'Down' clues; when it came to the write up, I didn't recognize the entries at all....Relatively smooth solve, under my personal time, with the proper names were helped along by the perps.  Triple and almost-triple 10-letter corners, plus four 8-letter answers on the inside;

 1. Parent of 66-Across : BABY BOOMER - ugh, a circumreferential clue to start; it was the second half that got me the answer here

66. Child of 1-Across : MILLENNIAL

26. Ramshackle : DECREPIT - the image this word conjures up

48. Iconic Ansel Adams photograph shot in Hernandez, New Mexico : MOONRISE

moONWARD~>!

ACROSS:

11. Jobs creation : IMAC - I tried iPod; not fooled by the reference to Steve Jobs

15. As it happens : IN REAL TIME

16. It can tide you over : NOSH

17. Exercise regimen : DAILY DOZEN

18. Ending to avoid? : ANCE - avoidance

19. Commemorative pillar : STELA - pondered TOTEM, but that was in last week's puzzle - and then it appeared here anyway @ 29d.  I did however, fill in STELE at first

20. Accords : ENTENTES - oops, I had DEtentes at first

22. Piccadilly Circus statue : EROS - dredged this one up from the depths of my crossword solving brain

25. Anesthetizes : DEADENS

30. Refuse : DROSS

31. Link letters : URL - ah.  I tried PGA for golf links

32. Thin feathered flier : ARROW - at first I thought we were looking for some sort of bird; got it after some thought

34. Pop music sleepyhead : SUSIE - I still have no clue what this refers to; I found a Susie Sleepyhead teddy bear....the second "S" was the only non-crossing unfilled

36. Youngest player to join the 600-HR club : A-ROD

38. Snowmen? : YETIs

40. Trade staple : TOOL - I am looking into refrigeration classes this coming winter/spring, as it's the only industry area I am unfamiliar with at the restaurants.  There are some specific tools for this trade, too, and I don't own them - yet

41. Sore __ : LOSER - had it, put it in, took it out because of 26d.

43. Teeth in Torino : DENTI

45. ICU VIPs : RNs

46. Transplant, in a way : REPOT

50. Preserves flavor : APRICOT - Dah~!  preserves the noun, not the verb

52. Part of a Simon & Garfunkel quartet? : SAGE - clever; the others being parsley, rosemary and thyme

53. Railroad worker : TRACKMAN

55. Pass a second time : RELAP

59. Custom : WONT - I tried NORM

60. Olympics event since 2000 : TRAMPOLINE

63. Seraph, to Sylvie : ANGE

64. "The Decay of Lying" author : OSCAR WILDE

65. Swamp thing : REED - not this Swamp Thing

DOWN:

1. Contractors' proposals : BIDS - part of my business also, and the hardest for me - getting the right number for both myself and the client/customer

2. Body lang. : ANATomy - I pondered ASL, American Sign Language, but it didn't jibe - or fit

3. French wheel : BRIE - ah.  Roue is Frawnche for wheel; cheesy reference....

4. See 6-Down : YELLER - paired with; 6. With 4-Down, Fred Gipson book that won a 1957 Newbery Honor : OLD

5. Region including Napa : BAY AREA

7. Tribe that met with Lewis and Clark in 1804 : OTO

8. 1987 Masters champ Larry : MIZE

9. Polish, in a way : EMEND

10. Let : RENTED

11. "It was a very brief visit" : IN AND OUT

12. Education innovator : MONTESSORI - big help in the NE - my friend from Ohio was once a participant of this system

13. Climbs : ASCENSIONS - makes me think of a Blue Öyster Cult song

lyric @ 0:24

14. Mating game : CHESS - D'oh~! couldn't think of any "dating game"....

oh, this kind of mate

21. Canal zones : EARS - clever

23. Country music venue : OPRY

24. Brought into being : SIRED

26. Part of DINK : DUAL - I was told it was "Double Income, No Kids", which meant the answer was "KIDS"; so that messed me up for a long time

27. Likely to be off : ERROR PRONE

28. A short distance : CLOSE RANGE

29. Venerated symbol : TOTEM - here it is again~!

33. Skid row figures : WINOS - I never made it to "Skid Row"....but damn close

35. Ultimatum end : ELSE - "or else~!!!"

37. Portrayed : DEPICTED

39. Old portico : STOA - another one I dredged up

42. __ bottom : ROCK

44. Like some hairs : INGROWN

47. Drum kit component : TOM-TOM - Pawel likes his drums - he had a snare drum reference in the last Sat puzzle

49. Catch at the shore : REEL IN - wasn't sure about this answer; you would still reel in from a boat, right~?

50. Openly hostile : AT WAR

51. Low bones : TARSI

54. Substance in the sea's H2O : NaCL

56. Taylor of "Say Anything..." : LILI - I thought it was LORI, but the last "I" helped - 100% 50% correct

57. Time-half link : AND A - time-and-a-half, which I get after 5hrs at UPS - each day, and I pretty much go over every day during the summer - and now I am on vacation until after Labor Day - yay~!

58. Outer cover : PEEL

61. __ du pays: homesickness : MAL - never even saw this clue....

62. Historic leader? : PRE - nor this one; Pre-historic

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Lemonade (Jason), who's been guiding us with the Friday puzzles since March 2010. So much has changed the past 6 years:: Charlotte was born. He had a health scare. He was remarried. Harper was born. But Lemonade's dedication to this blog and his passion for blogging remains unchanged.  Thanks for always being here for us, Lemonade!

Lemonade and his lovely wife Oo, Dec 21, 2014

Charlotte, Dad, Harper & Grandpa Lemonade