Sunday, September 25, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: BRAND RECOGNITION

C.C., our leader here at Camp Crossword, has presented us with a lovely Sunday puzzle where nine theme entries are two word phrases where the first word starts with a T and the second with an M. Therefore her reveal also had this characteristic:

108. Corporate identifier whose symbol is common to nine other puzzle answers : TRADE MARK - with the themed TM on the symbol

Here are C.C.'s  nine TM entries

23. Alternative to Samoas : THIN MINTS - All right, Morgan, you know we're taking 5 boxes of THIN MINTS. What else ya got?

25. Model S automaker : TESLA MOTORS - Plug and go! Founded by 48. 25-Across CEO Musk : ELON

36. Where many races are run : TRACK MEET - Usain's going about 28 mph! He'd give that TESLA a race for a while!

54. Hunting guide of a sort : TREASURE MAP - You can buy a replica of the TREASURE MAP and the Emerald from Romancing The Stone online.

73. It starts at love : TENNIS MATCH - Gotta love this clue! Omahan Andy Roddick's 150+mph serves got the match off love (zero) quickly!

90. Flier with striped wings : TIGER MOTH - Also see 21 Across below

105. Place for emoji : TEXT MESSAGE - Mom might have to look for an I'm Sorry emoji for her last entry

38. "Utopia" author : THOMAS MORE - Some say Sir Thomas's book of this mythical island was a prototype for a communist society with no private property or competition. Others think it was a satire of 16th century society.

43. "Now!" : THIS MINUTE - A handy parental phrase

Here is the rest of C.C.'s TRADEMARK sparkling fill:

Across

1. "I Am __": recent Jenner documentary : CAIT 

5. Parlor order : MALT

9. Home of Spaceship Earth : EPCOT - The ® means it is a registered ™

14. Choker part : CLASP

19. Hanging out, say : IDLE

20. Many a Jordanian : ARAB

21. Touches the clouds : SOARS - de Haviland's TIGER MOTH as it SOARS into the sky (alt. for 90 Across theme answer)

22. Constraint : LIMIT

27. Fights : GOES AT IT - There was a lot of pain for those who chose to GO AT IT with with 81. Legendary fighter : ALI

28. "__ do it!" : LET'S - I had to abandon Nike's JUST

29. Online handle : USER ID

30. Anxious med. condition : OCD 

31. Coffee shop amenity : FREE WIFI

33. Flower from the Greek for "star" : ASTER

35. Overtime causes : TIES

38. Vocal syllable : TRA

41. Madness may involve one : METHOD

44. Bread sometimes dipped in dal : NAAN - NAAN and Dal Nirvana

45. Hit the runway : LAND - Sully tells the story where the plane did LAND but, uh, not on LAND

46. China problem : CHIP

47. Cookout leftovers : ASHES

48. Gobbles up : EATS

49. Complete : END

50. Ice cream alternative, casually : FROYO

51. Mai __ : TAI

52. Snow house : IGLOO

57. Sound of disapproval : HISS - A melodrama staple

59. "Take your time" : NO HURRY - NO HURRY, Mom!

61. __ spray : NASAL

62. Versace headquarters : MILAN

64. Equine color patterns : ROANS

66. Tips that are often dropped : HINTS

67. Bathroom fixture : BIDET - Tired on waiting for my SIL, my BIL brushed his teeth using water from one in Assisi! 

68. "Four Quartets" poet : T.S. ELIOT

70. Blue books? : SMUT

77. "The Princess Bride" co-star : ELWES

79. Nebraska native : OTO - Bronze statues in Ft. Calhoun, NE commemorating the 1804 Council between Lewis and Clark and the OTO people

80. Flu symptoms : AGUES

82. Bass part : GILL

83. "We'll always have __": Rick, to Ilsa, in "Casablanca" : PARIS

85. Shame : PITY

86. Stud starter : ANTE - If you're gonna play stud poker for money, ya gotta ANTE!

87. Exercises on a path : JOGS

88. Holey bread : BAGELS

89. Dallas-to-Memphis dir. : ENE 

92. Barcelona-born surrealist : MIRO and 37. Bauhaus artist : KLEE - Artistic members of our group will immediately know which man painted Harlequin's Carnival

93. "King Kunta" rapper Kendrick __ : LAMAR - I googled the lyrics...

94. Reaction to an insult, maybe : ICY STARE

96. See 35-Down : ACT 35. With 96-Across, bad thing to be caught in : THE 

99. Remington of '80s TV : STEELE

102. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA - Paul said he was moved by the depth Elvis brought to this song

103. Newspapers, radio, etc. : OLD MEDIA - Now it's http://www.zip recruiter.com and others

109. Peace Nobelist Root : ELIHU 

110. Unexpected, in a way : EARLY

111. __ Alto : PALO

112. Click sources : MICE

113. Dished (out) : METED - In Thomas More's UTOPIA, all were METED out the same amount

114. Uses a keyboard : TYPES

115. Layered haircut : SHAG

116. Many are named for presidents : ERAS


Down

1. "Fueling Good" gas brand : CITGO

2. For a specific purpose : AD HOC

3. Ashamed admission : I LIED

4. Column of numbers : TENS

5. Bistro bigwig :  MAITRE D'   

6. __ Army: Palmer's fans : ARNIE'S

7. Starbucks offering : LATTE - It's not a MIRO or KLEE, but it looks pretty!

8. "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" channel : TBS 

9. Gloria of pop : ESTEFAN

10. Like some justice : POETIC - In Shawshank Redemption, innocent Andy Dufresne escapes after 20 years in prison and gets the corrupt warden arrested for money laundering. Yay!

11. Mama of pop : CASS

12. Magic, on sports tickers : ORL

13. PreCheck org. : TSA - With TSA Pre√, you can avoid this

14. Place for skeletons? : CLOSET - They won't stay there if you run for office!

15. Fanta size : LITER

16. Don Juan's love : AMOR

17. Microsoft : Cortana :: Apple : __ : SIRI

18. Combat vet's affliction : PTSD - It was probably Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that greatly changed my  grandfather after service in France in WWI 

24. Family members? : MAFIOSI

26. Not bright, as colors : MUTED

28. Istanbul coins : LIRAS

32. Serena Williams has been its year-end #1 player since 2013 : WTA TOUR - Women's Tennis Association Tour

33. Name on the range : AMANA

34. Ships : SENDS

39. Saudi money : RIYAL - A Whopper meal costs SR20.00 in Jeddah

40. Per unit : A POP

41. "Do the __!" : MATH

42. Morales of "Criminal Minds" : ESAI

44. Lye, in the lab : NAOH - Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH

46. Wave parts : CRESTS

50. "Social Studies" author Lebowitz : FRAN

53. Pesky swarm : GNATS - They've been terrible this summer and seem to like OFF

54. Odor source : TRASH

55. Ex-Cub Sandberg : RYNE

56. Get together : UNITE - Haley Mills sang Let's Get Together in the cheesy Disney movie Parent Trap in 1961. I had such a crush on her!

58. Oscar winner Poitier : SIDNEY

60. Campus cadets' org. : ROTC

63. Fragrant necklaces : LEIS

65. Where to see runners : SLEIGHS

66. Call of the wild : HOWL

67. Get going : BEGIN - The hardest part of some projects

69. Societal problems : ILLS

71. Elec., e.g. : UTIL - I wonder what Clark Griswold's Elec. Util. bill is in December

72. Eighty-six : TOSS - There are many fun ideas about the origin of this phrase

73. Crime scene barrier : TAPE

74. Comics read vertically : MANGA - Japanese comic form traditionally read right to left. Now found all over the world.

75. Crop in a lab, say : ALTER

76. Stadium section : TIER

78. "Oh, puh-leeze!" : SPARE ME

82. Prankster's cry : GOT 'YA

84. "A long time __ in a galaxy ... " : AGO

86. Rock singer Mann : AIMEE

87. Burdens for horses : JOCKEYS - This is where you guys get off!

88. Spaniel, for one : BIRDDOG - Also a fun song by the Everly Brothers

90. Yeshiva reference : TALMUD

91. Work the crowd : MINGLE

92. Youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate __ Yousafzai : MALALA - If you need a hero, may I offer this young woman who stood up to the Taliban in Pakistan for the right to educate women

93. Underworld river : LETHE - A tributary for the Styxx?

95. Yeshiva reference : TORAH

96. Storied firefighter Red : ADAIR

97. Roughly : CIRCA

98. Viewpoints : TAKES - Brilliant SNL parody

99. Cherry throwaway : STEM

100. Cast lead-in : TELE

101. Way out : EXIT

102. Group concerned with aging : AARP

104. Palindromic plus-size model : EMME - EMME Aronson

106. Prepared : SET

107. For example : SAY

108. Pulls a Charmin shenanigan, briefly : TPS

Feel free to contribute to the electronic TOWN MEETING that is TAILOR MADE for wit and wisdom

Notes from C.C.

1) Thanks for the fantastic wrap-up, Gary! You added so much sparkle.

2) Boomer and I met with long-time blog reader Jim Bordoni and his lovely wife Diane yesterday. It's fun talking with Jim about our blog and the regulars. Jim keeps track of his solving time for each LAT puzzle. He has met Garlic Gal and Chickie in person. Chickie knows Diane's mother, small world! 

Jim used to have his own winery and gifted me and Boomer this special bottle of wine. Now he coaches high school cross country running. Their son (graduate student at Georgia Tech) was here in Minneapolis running the Roy Griak Invitational (cross country meet). Both Jim and Diane are avid runners. Diane runs 5 times (3 miles minimum) a week! 

Saturday, Sep 24th, 2016, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 32

The fourth LA Times Ed Sessa Saturday puzzle this year, and I feel like I am starting to get on his cluing wavelength.  That's not to say I was completely successful today - I had to cave in to red-letters for one answer, but I was 'this' close.  Slowed down by proper names, misdirected on a few of my initial fills, but I call this one a win.  So there.  Triple 9-letter Across corners, and pairs of 9- and 11-letter climbers;

9d. Sandford opponent in a landmark 19th-century case : DRED SCOTT - I learned about this case in grade school, but the Sandford part I don't recall; took some crossings (perps)

11d. Feature of Civil War General Ambrose Burnside : MUTTONCHOPS - and hence the term "Sideburns", which I have been sporting since I was in my 20s - but not this bushy

22d. Explosion surrounding a star? : MEDIA FRENZY - not fooled by the "?", I figured it had to do with paparazzi, cameras, "FLASH", but it was my one correction; I had FLURRY at first

30d. Ordinary people : COMMONERS

~!

ACROSS:

1. Time keeper? : NEWSSTAND - I was hip to this "?" as well, figured it was magazine related, but had to wait on some crossings first

10. Decorative Japanese porcelain : IMARI

15. Foggy : IN A STUPOR - I pondered "IN A ---", but waited on crossings

16. Warms with waves : NUKES - the 'affectionate' term for using a microwave oven

17. Shelled omnivore : BOX TURTLE - again, I pondered "TURTLE", but didn't know if it would start or end the clue

18. Guitar band : STRAP - here, too I gathered this was not an actual "group", but a part of the instrument; however, "strap" did not jump right out at me, and FRET was too short.
Hey, check this guitar out

19. Artful : SLY

20. Not a good sense : DREAD

21. Features of some 'Vettes : T-TOPS

22. Johnny Vander __, only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters : MEER - I'm sure C.C. knew this one; didn't someone come really close this season, too~?

23. They stir things up : SPOONS - dah~! I had WHISKS

25. Out of one's class : ABSENT - ah, clever misdirection; I was thinking "AT SEA" - that is, being a "30d." among the elite

28. Nut in a cupule : ACORN - didn't know what a cupule was

29. High-end chocolatier : LINDT - ah, so close; I tried "S" and "Z" before the "D"

30. It may lead to an argument : CLOSE CALL - in sporting events, frequently, and baseball more than most, I think

34. Et __ : ALII - typed in "ALI-" and waited....

35. Tusk, in fact : TOOTH - dah~!! Not IVORY

36. Colors : HUES - these are "HUES", too

37. Allow it to go no further : SET A LIMIT

39. Informal qualifier : SORTA

40. Trailers often precede them : FILMS - got it

41. Meal : REPAST

42. Home to Mount Kinabalu : BORNEO - mostly perps

44. Guns : REVS - it was either this or "GATS", and I was right with my first guess

45. Downed, in a way : HEWED - HUE/HEW

46. Sound : NOISE - ah, not the SANE variety of 'sound'

48. Ending with humor : OUS - humorous

51. One-named musician whose last name is Chryssomallis : YANNI - learning moment, tho I am familiar with the artist who ends up as the butt of some jokes - his Wiki

Hey, it's Yanni Halen~!

52. Lasting ability : ENDURANCE

54. Mideast unitarians : DRUZE - all perps

55. Elaborate procedure : RIGMAROLE - 'round here it comes with a second "A" - rigAmarole

56. Best Moment and Best Upset : ESPYs - sounded like awards for sporting events, but it was not working with my "SITH" at 45d.

57. Mental comparison : STEEL TRAP - "he has a mind like a steel trap"

DOWN:

1. Ink dispensers : NIBS - dah~!!! not PENS

2. Hydroxyl compound : ENOL

3. Like fake fruit : WAXY - good first round guess on my part

4. Boomer until 2003 : SST - supersonic airplanes

5. Word after A, B or C : STUDENT - what~? you can't be a "D" student, too~?

6. Castle projection : TURRET - I wanted RAMPART, but it didn't fit; BAILEY did, but it's not really a projection

7. More suitable : APTER

8. Emeril's French Quarter restaurant : NOLA - well, it's in New Orleans, LA, so....

10. Imminent : IN STORE

12. Rubber home : AKRON

13. Gets as a return : REAPS

14. Web connectors, for short : ISPs

24. Like penthouse suites : POSH

25. Troubled word : ALAS

26. Ill humor : BILE

27. Sulky state : SNIT

28. Dr. Alzheimer : ALOIS - perps

31. Pervasive quality : AURA

32. "__ see ... " : "LET'S"

33. Test with arguments, for short : LSAT

35. Five-point K, e.g. : TILE - oh, duh.  Scrabble TILE....

38. "Dancing With the Stars" numbers : LINDIES - I really, really wanted to try LIMBOS, but it was too short

39. A few : SEVERAL

41. Pick up again : RESUME

42. Brown University athletes : BEARS - perps

43. Confess : OWN UP

44. Hill crest : RIDGE

45. Fictional dark side : HYDE - yeah, I wanted SITH, but this is the 'dark side' of Dr. Jekyll

47. Taking care of business : ON IT - oops, I had AT IT

48. __ about : ON OR - and a second two-letter two word answer

49. Golden State sch. : UCLA

50. Bleed : SEEP

53. "Anything you can get away with": Marshall McLuhan : ART

Splynter

Friday, September 23, 2016, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title M M M M M good.

JW is back and it seems almost as if he and Mark McClain collaborated on the last two offerings. Instead of removing a "T" like we did last week, we add an "M" to each phrase to create a new and entertaining entry. 1/3/5 have the M added at the end, with a complete change in spelling. 2/4 add the M before a final E. The Ms also change all five vowels, E, O, U, I(Y) and A. Using each and every vowel is a cool addition.  The rest is vintage JW with ARCADIA,  DAEMONS,  SPACIER, SINATRA, YOU HEAR ME, WORK FORCE, TOM SWIFTY,  I THINK NOT, FOREIGN MAIL, SCIENCE SHOW all fun longish fill. With so many spaces filled by the theme and the long fill, there are some 3/4 letter fillers but all in all a fun Friday.

20A. Seminal discovery by sports historians? : THE FIRST TEAM (12). The first tee.  This is an organization that uses golf to inspire the young. LINK.

27A. Comprehensive text on mints? : TIC TAC TOME (10). Tic tac toe. The Xs and Os GAME.
LINK before they found Kelly Harmon.

37A. Reaction to Bugs' continued evasiveness? : ELMER'S GLOOM (11). Elmer's Glue. Poor Elmer Fudd, poor COW. Which leads perfectly to...

48A. How a snail moves? : ON THE SLIME (10). On the sly. LINK.

56A. "I plotted against Caesar completely on my own!"? : CASSIUS' CLAIM (12). Cassius Clay. JW slips a little hint of Shakespeare within a Muhammad Ali reference

Across:

1. Out of practice : RUSTY. I like this clue/fill  but it actually took me a moment, which suggests that maybe I am....

6. Blue stone : LAPIS. I always think of Lapis Lazuli.

11. It doesn't last long : FAD.

14. Casual opening : INTRO. I was looking for a prefix for casual all too long.

15. Saudi neighbor : OMANI.

16. Part of un giorno : ORA. Italian for a day and an hour.

17. Crayfish habitat : BAYOU. A CSO to all of our Louisiana contingent.

18. Employees : WORK FORCE.

22. Newspaper supporters : ADS. A tricky way to clue a simple one- ads do pay for the newspaper to exist, but...

25. LAX stat : ETA.

26. "You got me there" : SO I DO. This is a bit of confusion for me, though it turns out ok.
So do I is simply "I agree", or "I feel exactly the same" (me too).

"So I do" can mean several similar things. It is a way of agreeing about something you did not realize, as in "well, how about that, what you say is true." (meaning "I do in fact do that, what you say). For example- "Joe Isuzu, you raise your eyebrow when you are lying." Joe responds, "So I do; I never realized that before."
.
It also is a way of agreeing with something fairly obvious, that you have known for some time. "Joe, you raise your eyebrow when you are lying." "So I do (yes, and you are just noticing that?)"

32. Card game : GIN. I have played many hours, including knock gin and all the rummy cousins.

33. Certain cross-country traveler : SKIER. Hey marti.

34. Crane's construction : NEST. Tricky, the bird not the heavy equipment.

36. "One Mic" rapper : NAS. I will NOT link this song.

41. Common ID : SSN.

43. Soaps actress Rylan : EMME. This diminutive actress appears on soaps mostly and changed her name legally from Marcy.

44. Some kissing sounds : MWAHS. Back at you. I am sure this was the work of the cell phone generation.

47. Snap : PIC.

51. Lend __ : AN EAR. Friends, Romans....

54. "That's so cute!" : AWW. Two weeks in a row. Did not help the Dolphins.

55. Brine-cured delicacy : LOX. When I was a kid, there was LOX (salty) and Nova, not salty.Now I know Why.                                                                                                                                                

61. "Doubtful" : I THINK NOT. A classic JW multi-word fill.

62. Be enamored of : FANCY. I can almost hear this in a British accent.

66. Relative of -ista : ERO. Spanish that has invaded US speak. LINK.

67. View from the Eiffel Tower : SEINE.

68. Traction aid : TREAD.

69. Cold and wet : RAW. The night was...

70. Fragrant compound : ESTER. Not Esther Lessner...oh the other ONE.

71. Quite a while : YEARS.

Down:

1. Kid : RIB. I was slow getting this and 1-across, sad; especially for a kidder like me.

2. A, in Acapulco : UNA.

3. Mess metaphor : STY. Rhymes with Sly.

4. Canter cousin : TROT. Many kinds of GAITS for horses. 49D. Bit of equestrian gear : HALTER.

5. "Am I clear?" : YOU HEAR ME? Another classic JW multi-word fill; words a child does not want to hear from a parent.

6. Dieter's choice : LOW FAT. There are high fat diets as well.

7. Milwaukee : mine :: Marseilles : __ : A MOI. Just French.

8. Last of three Catherines : PARR. 37.5% of Henry VIII wives.

9. Calligrapher's array : INKS.

10. Searches (through) : SIFTS. Even works for emails.

11. Philatelist's source : FOREIGN MAIL. It was always so exciting to get a letter from a foreign country, and look at the stamp.

12. Peloponnesian region : ARCADIA.  A reference to both old and new GREECE. Next to....

13. Nature spirits of Greek myth : DAEMONS. BZZZT! That is the Latin term for the GREEK. This  is like cluing JUPITER as a Greek god.

19. Plains tribe : OTO.

21. List substitute: Abbr. : ETC.

22. Cadillac model : ATS. A car- whoopee!

23. Hägar creator Browne : DIK. Gone 27 years, his son Chris now produces the strip.

24. TV's "Through the Wormhole," e.g. : SCIENCE SHOW. Available on Netflix. EXAMPLE.

28. Invoice heading no. : TEL.

29. Initiation : ONSET.

30. Ryan of "Sleepless in Seattle" : MEG. Another victim of plastic surgery.

31. Night sch. staple : ESL. It  helped Oo and I become a couple.

35. Bit of adverbial wordplay : TOM SWIFTY. "I need a pencil sharpener," said Tom bluntly.

38. Confessional music genre : EMO.

39. LBJ's successor : RMN. Tricky Dicky.

40. Real head-turner in the animal kingdom : OWL.

41. Deeper into la-la land : SPACIER.

42. "From Here to Eternity" Oscar winner : SINATRA.

45. Coverage-providing org. : HMO.

46. __ symbol : SEX. Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Paul Newman...who are they now: Brangelina? Mr. and Mrs. Clooney? Link your favorites.

50. __ Beach, Hawaii, home of the 2005 Little League World Series champs : EWA. I can sense some serious grumbling about this fill unless you all know Hawaii much better than I do. It was filled before I got here, but this is obscure. How about, Adam and Ewa?

52. "__ suspected!" : AS I.

53. Salon procedure : RINSE. As a child when my grandmother would go to the beauty parlor for a rinse and set, I though 'how stupid' it was, since we had a perfectly serviceable sink and shower. I did not know about THIS.

57. Hawaiian strings : UKES. More Hawaii.

58. Agitated state : SNIT. I hope no reader got in a snit over any of the fill.

59. Pothole warning : CONE. Or barrels? ORANGE.

60. Farm female : MARE.

63. Org. assisting museums : NEA. I always get this wrong.

64. Amtrak unit : CAR. How simple.

65. QB's stat : YDS.

Well, fall has fallen, I get home after dark and another Jeffrey Wechsler is in the record books. It fit together nicely and  I had a good time unraveling the mysteries and picking the links.. You all have a great weekend. Lemonade out.