Sunday, October 2, 2016 Thomas Bianchi & Patti Varol

Theme: "Beatles Mash-up" - Each theme entry is a mash-up of two Beatles' songs.

27A. Cold War defector's observation? : I'M A LOSER BACK IN THE USSR. I'm a Loser. Back in the USSR.  Defectors tend to have high esteem.

43A. Promise to the IRS? : WE CAN WORK IT OUT, TAXMAN. We Can Work It Out. Taxman.

67A. "Please take the van, dear"? : HONEY, DON'T DRIVE MY CAR. Honey Don't. Drive My Car.  Not familiar with "Honey Don't". But the mashup is fantastic.

90A. Agreement with a Scandinavian furniture maker? : LET IT BE NORWEGIAN WOOD. Let It Be. Norwegian Wood. The latter is also a very popular Japanese novel we all secretly read in high school. So mild by today's standards.

108A. Words from the brokenhearted? : TELL ME WHY YOU WON'T SEE ME. Tell Me Why. You Won't See Me. The latter is unknown to me.

Only 5 theme entries, but they're all very long, occupying a total of 101 theme squares. I mentioned before that somehow grid spanners for a 21*21 are tougher to deal with than spanners for 15*15.  19 & 20 are tricky too. 15 or under are friendlier.

Congratulations on your LAT debut, Thomas Bianchi! Are you this professor? The six characters on the podium says Ocean University of China, which is based in Tsingtao, famous for its beer.

Patti is Rich's assistant and editor for The Crossword Club. She taught me by example what a clean puzzle is. Don't miss this great interview. Patti is also a super fast solver. She probably nails every Sunday puzzle in 8 to 10 minutes, or even faster.

Across:

      

1. Really silly : APISH. Not a word I use.

6. All-__: high-end cookware : CLAD. Holy smokes, D-Otto/Steve/TTP, look at the price.

10. Scribble : JOT

13. Chows down : EATS

17. Looie's underling : NON-COM

19. Mata __ : HARI

20. Condo, say : UNIT

22. Work for a captain : CREW

23. Transfer, in a way : DECANT. Oh, wine.

24. "The Rachel Papers" novelist : AMIS (Martin)

25. Attorney general after William Barr : JANET RENO. We also have HARPER LEE (116. 1961 Pulitzer-winning novelist) and ANAIS NIN (89. "A Spy in the House of Love" novelist). Three full names. Wonderful. All women.

30. Physicist Mach : ERNST

31. Double-crosser : RAT

32. Pommes frites sprinkling : SEL

33. Shelf-filling bks. : OED (Oxford English Dictionary). 20 volumes.

34. Accident initials : EMS

37. Platform for Apple mobile devices : IOS

38. Disinclined : AVERSE. I used to think CenturyLink's 1 Gig package is ridiculous. Man, how time has changed!

41. Antique auto : REO

49. In a crowd of : AMONG

50. Cover up : HIDE

51. Have : OWN

52. "You got that right!" : AMEN

54. Colorful salamander : NEWT. Looks like a plastic toy.

55. Bias : SPIN

57. Dublin-born rocker/activist : BONO

59. "Fantastic!" : BRAVO

60. Facetious way to vote : OFTEN.  Not really "facetious" for All-Star fan voting. You can vote up to 30 times.

62. Volvo competitor : SAAB

64. Holiday evergreen : FIR

66. Entomologist's tool : NET

72. Netizen's guffaw : LOL

73. Agnus __ : DEI

74. Follow : HEED

75. "Gladiator" setting : ARENA

76. Traveler's aid : ATLAS. Today's kids probably will never touch a real atlas.

78. Druid, for one : CELT

80. Formerly, formerly : ERST

81. Pizza Quick sauce brand : RAGU. Staple in our house.

85. Layer of ore : VEIN

86. Beheld : SAW

87. Vehicle for hire : TAXI. And 56. Human-powered 87-Across : PEDICAB

89. Creator of a cocky hare : AESOP

96. In-flight info : ETA

97. Leans (on) : RELIES

98. Nashville awards org. : CMA

99. Storied abduction craft : UFO

100. Barely make, with "out" : EKE

103. Sign of a hit : SRO (Standing Room Only)

105. WWII female : WAC

106. Assume as fact : POSIT

117. Aspiring atty.'s exam : LSAT

118. Protective finish : ENAMEL

119. Many a folk song writer: Abbr. : ANON. Or many a blog commenter.

120. Hospital fluids : SERA

121. Forget about : OMIT

122. Highway postings : LIMITS

123. Van __, Calif. : NUYS. What's it famous for?

124. Gravel alternative : TAR

125. IRS auditor's requests : RCTS (Receipts)

126. Longship language : NORSE. Wiki says "Longships were a type of ship invented and used by the Norsemen for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age."

   

Down:

1. "The King __" : AND I

2. Work with a writer of its ilk contained in it : POEM. Can you explain this clue to me?

3. South American native : INCA

4. Deli sight : SCALE

5. In tribute to : HONORING

6. Meeting illustration : CHART

7. Moussaka meat : LAMB. Never had Moussaka. Wiki says it's eggplant-based.

8. The Habanera from "Carmen," e.g. : ARIA

9. Separate : DISCRETE

10. Self-defense method : JUJITSU. Which one do you use: Jujitsu, Jiu-Jitsu or Jujutsu? The Ju part is the same as the Ju in Judo, meaning "gentle". Jitsu means "technique".  Below is how Jujitsu & Judo are written out in Japanese/Chinese. Notice the first character Ju is exactly the same? The Do in Judo is the same as Chinese "tao", meaning "way".

Judo

11. "... roasting __ open fire" : ON AN

12. Salon supply : TINTS

13. Light brown : ECRU

14. Childish comeback : ARE SO

15. Needing a chill pill : TENSE

16. War metaphor : SWORD

18. Aptly named Vt. ski resort : MT. SNOW

21. Braves' All-Star pitcher Julio : TEHERAN. Easily obtainable via crosses. It's also the alternative spelling of Tehran, I think.

26. Fax predecessor : TELEX

28. "Put a tiger in your tank" brand : ESSO

29. Big name in corn syrup : KARO. Some Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang) have corn syrup. Some have rice syrup. I can't tell the difference. They're just delicious.

34. McGregor of "Trainspotting" : EWAN

35. Internet __: viral item : MEME

36. Garbage barge : SCOW

38. Analogous : AKIN

39. YouTube clip, for short : VID. I recently discovered this song. Lovely.

40. School for some princes : ETON

42. He played Yuri in "Doctor Zhivago" : OMAR

44. Composer Bruckner : ANTON

45. Savanna heavyweight : RHINO

46. Some bargains : TWOFERS

47. Freezer maker : AMANA

48. "When pigs fly!" : NEVER. Followed by NOT (53. Word in most Commandments)

55. Eye problem : STYE

57. Meter writer : BARD

58. Japanese sash : OBI

59. __ Mawr : BRYN

61. Agents of Uncle Sam : FEDs

62. Leave in, to an editor : STET

63. Sports drink suffix : ADE

65. "How __ Your Mother": CBS sitcom : I MET. Not a dupe of METS (114. 2015 National League champs). Patti's team.

67. Most of the RMS Queen Mary, now : HOTEL. Have any of you boarded that ship?

68. Skateboarding leap : OLLIE. We just had this a few months ago.

69. Red Wings' org. : NHL

70. Brazilian airline : VARIG. Total stranger to me.

71. Panama-born MLB Hall of Famer : CAREW (Rod). Used to bowl in Boomer's league.

72. Head, for short : LAV

77. Price of hand delivery? : ANTE. Oh, poker hand.

79. Decorative pitcher : EWER

80. They're no longer together : EXES. I really like Jennifer Aniston. She's so sweet and kind.

82. Not worth __: valueless : A SOU

83. Loaf, with "off" : GOOF

84. Beehive, e.g. : UPDO

86. Rubberneckers : STARERS

87. Like some pasta : TRICOLOR

88. Amaze : AWE

91. Caller ID? : IT'S ME. Fun clue.

92. When a ball may be dropped : NEW YEAR

93. "Challenge What's Possible" skin care brand : OLAY. Been using it since college.

94. Computer image : ICON

95. Dutch brewery : AMSTEL

100. "__ Frome" : ETHAN

101. Sandra's "Speed" co-star : KEANU

102. "The Jetsons" boy : ELROY

104. Young hooter : OWLET

106. Annie of "Ghostbusters" : POTTS. We just had her recently.

107. Día de San Valentín sentiment : TE AMO. It's these three characters in Chinese.

109. ICU caregivers : LPNs

110. Mount Olympus VIP : HERA. VIP made me think the answer might be abbreviated.

111. Letters at Camp Lejeune : USMC

112. "Stop right there!" : WAIT

113. Qatari chieftain : EMIR

115. "If all __ fails ... " : ELSE

C.C.

Saturday, Oct 1st, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!

Words: 72 (missing B,F,G,J,Q,V,X,Z~!)

Blocks: 29

  Another Saturday soirée from our hostess, C.C., and this one went about at smoothly as one could hope.  Slowed down just a tad in the SW, with a few bad entries, but I got off to a good to start knowing 1a.  I'm becoming a big fan of the site, as you can imagine.  9- and 8-letter fills all around, so I am not going to single out any specific clues/answers.

OctoberNWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Tumblr competitor : PINTEREST - I love this site - there's so much to see, in so many categories, that I began my own collection of photos and images, and have even received comments from strangers.  Besides the pantyhose images, I like the wood projects and clever construction tips I sometimes see

10. Workers' rights org. : OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

14. Dunkin' Donuts buy : ICED LATTE

15. "Gimme five" : "UP TOP~!"

16. Go wild : RAISE CAIN

17. Sticky corner piece : STAMP - ooh, clever - I was stuck in 'ceramic tile' mode

18. Shot target : ARM - ah, the doctor visit kind of shot

19. Joint room? : CELL - the joint being jail

20. Zero on stage : MOSTEL - I like it when I know the proper names

21. "Later!" : "CIAO~!" - oops, not TA-TA~!

23. Marks meaning the same thing : DITTOS

25. Tongue attachment? : ESE - I have always found it interesting that as you move around the globe, we go from "-AN" (CanadiAN, AmericAN, MexicAN) to the "-ISH" (English, Spanish) thru the 'odd' ones (French, Swiss, Swede) on to the "-I" (Iran-I, Pakistan-I) and then over to the "-ESE" (ChinESE, JapanESE)

26. Pulls hard : YANKS

28. Dynamic start : AERO - aerodynamic - and a Daft Punk song with a great guitar riff

Check out this "live performance" clip

and watch the guitarist's fingers go

29. Lose at the table, with "out" : CRAP - so that's how you get a four-letter word into an LA Times puzzle....

30. Flier to Helsinki : SAS - finally getting this answer stuck in my noggin

32. Coach in six Super Bowls : DON SHULA - I was right, but wrong; for some reason, I thought his name was Jim, not Don

34. Fencing maneuvers : THRUSTS - and here's where the fun begins.  I had RIPOSTS, but that is incorrect - it's RIPOSTES 

38. Kim of "Army Wives" : DELANEY

39. "I agree!" : "HEAR HEAR~!"

41. Grumpy pal : DOC - Seven Dwarfs

42. Works in Madrid? : ARTE - yeah, I thought this might be the answer, but I hesitated

43. Singer with a domed nest : WREN - I found a cool site with a whole slew of peculiar nest constructors

45. Trick users, in a way : PHISH - ah - trick the verb, not the noun - am I thinking too close to Halloween already~?

49. Your, in Tours : TES - les Frawnche

50. Sri Lankan exports : PEKOES - well, I was thinking "TEA"....

52. "Off the Court" author : ASHE - my first thought, but I waited for a crossing

53. Acted badly : SINNED

55. True-to-life : REAL - ha~!  I put this in and forgot about it - and it was correct

57. Cut : LOP - or HEW~?  Had to wait

58. Used a drive-thru, maybe : ATE IN - odd that you have to go "out" to eat "in"

59. Online shopping button : ADD TO CART - great fill, and I love to shop online - this item~? yes, I will "add to cart"~!

61. Tilts : LISTS - dah~! not LEANS

62. Dominican-born designer : de la RENTA - my spelling was a bit sloppy, but I finally figured it out

63. WWII Allied invasion vessels : LSTs

64. Put on : PRETENDED - ah, not the "DRESSED IN" answer I was pondering

DOWN:

1. Music industry woe : PIRACY

2. Samos neighbor named for the son of Daedalus : ICARIA

3. Partner of Marcus : NEIMAN - a place where you can "add to cart"

4. ESPN highlights : TDs - and now there's the "he shoots - he scores~!" of hockey again~!

5. Util. bill : ELECtric

6. Went fast : RACED

7. Latin catchall : ET ALIA - the full-out spelling

8. Overly formal : STILTED

9. Number worn by Tony La Russa as a tribute to Sparky Anderson : TEN - ONE, TWO, SIX or TEN~? I waited on perps

10. Goes (for) : OPTS

11. Like some Chinese TV stations : STATE-RUN

12. Closing subject : HOME SALE - I am in a quandary right now, as my mother's house is in my name, along with my brother's.  He and mom are thinking about selling the house now so she can get an apartment before the "N" word comes up.  I am of the financial mentality that a home equity loan today can mean an improved house for sale tomorrow - but I am out-voted 2-1

13. Google Wallet rival : APPLE PAY - I don't care for Apple products, though Google seems to be sticking more of their finger in a lot of my business these days

15. The __: two-time WWE Tag Team Champions : USOS - all perps, and the second "S" was my last fill ( I thought ditto plural was dittoEs )

20. Daydreamed : MOONED - and then there's the 'other' definition....

22. "Well, why not?" : "OK, SURE."

24. Walked : TROD

27. Beauty pageant band : SASH

29. Rumba relative : CHA-CHA

31. Simmered : STEWED

33. Sty supper : SLOP

34. "No more for me" : "THAT'S ALL" - I thought it might be "---FULL"

35. Finder's words : HERE IT IS

36. Total mess : RAT'S NEST - ah, not PIG STY related

37. Cutty __: Scotch : SARK - for Saturday, the "Scotch" part could probably be left off - as should the "ice", right Tin~?

40. Ask for more : REORDER - add to cart, again

44. Item for a sewer : NEEDLE - the Sew-er not the sewer of plumbing

46. Hong Kong, e.g. : ISLAND - I am reading a book with Hong Kong as part of the plot, and the author went into a lot of detail about the 200+ islands of the area 

47. Nest sound? : SHORT E - ah.  I did not see this until I started writing the blog

48. Set of seven : HEPTAD - nope, not SEPTET

50. Farm houses : PENS

51. Used, as a counter : SAT AT

54. Trifling criticisms : NITS - we have had our share of NITS and NATICKS here at the blog

56. Accumulated accounts : LORE

59. Payroll service co. : ADP

60. Historic span: Abbr. : CENtury

Splynter

Friday, September 30, 2016 Joseph Groat

Theme: Common Sense(s)

It was in 2015 when Joseph Groat first appeared in the L.A.T., and that was also my first attempt at blogging.  This is his third appearance.  For this outing, the theme is in the clues rather than the answers – no reveal required.  The theme answers include three grid-spanners and two twelves.  Impressive. Plus, it’s a pangram!  For any newbies in the audience, a pangram contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. But like many puzzles with heavy themage, this one requires lots of gluey 3-letter abbreviations to make things work.  Still, it was a fun solve.

17A. Sight : POINT OF INTEREST. A stopping point along the highway.

23A. Hearing : COURT INQUIRY.   Law, not tennis.

39A. Smell : MINUSCULE AMOUNT.   A tinge, a hint, a soupçon (always wanted to find a use for that word).

51A. Touch : I-POD COMPUTER. Apple model.  I think of it as a tiny jukebox rather than a computer.  Probably just me.

61A. Taste : ART CRITIC'S ASSET.  At least the good ones.

Across:

1. __ salad : COBB.  A WAG right off the bat, but a good one.

5. Maddux who won four consecutive Cy Young Awards : GREG. All perps.  I remember Lester, but he spelled it with an O, not a U.  So did my former BIL.

9. Prominent feature of toondom's Droopy Dog : JOWLS.  That word evokes images of Leo G. Carroll.  Remember him from Topper and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?  Don’t you think Thomas Gibson of Criminal Minds is starting to look a lot like him?

 

14.  Efficient : ABLE. If you say so.  Very loose equivalency.

15. Dunkirk dream : REVE. Sounds like “rev” as in reverend or engine.  Dunkirk is in France.

16. 2003 LPGA Rookie of the Year : OCHOA, Lorena  No idea, but there was an Ochoa in my boot camp company, so once the name appeared, I let it stand.

 

        

20. Cuttlefish pigment : SEPIA.  “Sepia-toned” does have a better ring to it than “cuttlefish-toned.”

21. "Homeland" org. : CIA.  A couple of years ago I received a free year of SHO as a loyalty reward from DirecTV.  I chose SHO over another premium channel so I could watch  “Homeland.”  Turned out to be the show’s final season, and a short season at that.  Bzzzzt!



  
Claire Danes (Carrie Mathison) and Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson)  in “Homeland”

22. Wyo. neighbor : NEBraska  I tried ORE and IDA first.  Note the proximity to 9d.

28. Acting sister of Lynn : VANESSA . The British Redgrave sisters.  She’s set to receive the  Gielgud Award for her lifetime achievement.
 

31. Big biceps, at the gym : GUNS.  Mine are more like pea-shooters.

32. Form 1040 calc. : AGI.  Adjusted Gross Income – the number that appears at the bottom of Page 1 of Form 1040.  You want it to be as low as you can get it.  This is your gross income minus adjustments, but before deductions and credits.  Got that?



 

33. Like law school trials : MOCK.  Thought of Moot Court first, a la The Paper Chase.

36. Befuddled : AT SEA.  Better than the frowned-upon ASEA.

43. Burns art? : POESY.  Wasn’t fooled, but I did try POEMS first.  You?

44. Omission in logic : LEAP. Faith, too.

45. Ltr. holder : ENV for the USPS

46. Macy's department : MEN'S

48. Sierra __ : NEVADAS.  Home to Mount Whitney and Yosemite.

55. Led : RAN.  Hmmm, that could be clued as “Led or bled.”

56. __ Park Lincoln of "Knots Landing" : LAR (short for Laurie, methinks).  She played Linda Fairgate.  I recall the title, but don’t think I ever saw an episode.  Without the TV reference, I would’ve guessed that Lar Park Lincoln was a recreational area in Nebraska’s capital.


      
Her name reminds me of this song in a Virginia Woolf stream-of-consciousness sort of way.

57. Playgroup demand : GIMME.  Was this a gimme for you?

66. Reno-__ Intl. Airport : TAHOE. Reno is near Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border.

67. Magnate : CZAR. That was my first thought; I was surprised when it turned out to be right.

68. Goddess of discord : ERIS. Evokes memories of the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter books.  Erised is desire spelled backwards.  You see in the mirror what you want to see.

69. Cape Ann's county : ESSEX. Perps to the rescue.  My knowledge of New England geography is sketchy, at best.  But I still remember, “Maine – Augusta, New Hampshire – Concord, Vermont – Montpelier, Massachusetts – Boston, Connecticut – Hartford, Rhode Island – Providence” from my grade school days.  I could do all 50 back then...well, ok, 48.  South Carolina’s capital was the toughest to remember.  Do you know it without looking it up?

70. Bottom lines : HEMS. Inked it right in – didn’t even consider NETS.

71. Energetic : SPRY. Not so much as I used to be.

Down:

1. Crosswords are often solved in them : CAPS.  Tried CARS first, but ROINT__ wasn’t going anywhere.

2. Black wind : OBOE.  Another first guess that turned out to be correct.

3. Observation in a tower : BLIP.  And another.

4. Playgroup warning : BE NICE.  Usually an admonishment to a cat at our house.

5. Garden product word : GRO.

6. Call the game : REF. Crossword-friendlier letters than UMP.

7. Throw out : EVICT

8. Powerful lamp contents : GENII.  We usually see it as Genie.  She can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, but she can open garage doors with a single click.



9. Average beverage? : JOE.  Wow, SO if I ever saw one!

10. Text-scanning technology, briefly : OCR.  Optical Character Recognition.

11. Like some conditionally ordered stock : WHEN ISSUED. Got it, but not sure I understand it.  The “stock” is apparently company stock, not merchandise, and it’s not yet for sale.

12. Mr. Wrong? : LOSER

13. Didn't act : SAT BY. This was my keyway to New England.

18. __ Ski Valley, site of Kachina Peak : TAOS.  Another fortuitous WAG.  I knew that a kachina is a Hopi doll – the Heard Museum in Phoenix has a large collection.

  
 
19. Sharpness : TANG

24. Camp Pendleton letters : USMC.  Main West Coast base of the Marine Corps, not far from San Diego.

25. "The Phantom of the Opera" role : RAOUL.  I knew Erik and Christine, but not Raoul.  Vowel-friendly, though.

26. Esse __ videri: North Carolina motto : QUAM.  “To be, rather than to seem” (to be). Yeah, I had to look it up.  Interesting fact:  Although North Carolina was one of the original 13 states, it didn’t adopt a motto until 1893 – 118 years later. 

27. Biblical preposition : UNTO
 


28. Siren : VAMP. Theda was the original.



29. Currency exchange fee : AGIO.  Hello, old cw friend.  Long time, no see.

30. Three quarters : NINE MONTHS .Not 75 cents.

34. A.L. Central team : CLE.  Cleveland, I’m guessin’.  This from the guy who thought S.D. in baseball was South Dakota.

35. He played Kevin in "The Devil's Advocate" : KEANU Reeves. Al Pacino played a great Satan.

 

 37. Lombardy Castle city : ENNA. Perps, four in all.
 


38. Off-rd. rides : ATVS. All-Terrain Vehicles.

40. Discounted, perhaps : USED.  You bet it’s discounted, if I’m gonna buy it.

41. Four-fifths of a pop band? : SYNC.  Missing the initial N.  I was gonna link a song, but suddenly realized I didn’t recognize any of them.

42. Adopt-__.com: humane online gp. : A PET.  Inferable.

47. Songs for singles : SOLI. Sorta grates, doesn’t it?  Or is that just my east Texas redneck mentality?

49. Chevy named for a star : VEGA.  Also the NOVA, affectionately known as the “no-go.”

50. Pops up : ARISES

51. Steamed : IRATE

52. Law office workers : PARAS.  Merriam-Webster doesn’t recognize this as a stand-alone word, except as a unit of Turkish currency.

MedicineNet says, “Para- (prefix): A prefix with many meanings, including: alongside of, beside, near, resembling, beyond, apart from, and abnormal.”

The workers are paralegals – you pick which of those meanings fits.

53. Contest : MATCH

54. Contest lure : PRIZE

58. Car sticker letters : MSRP.  Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price – always dicker up from dealer cost, never down from MSRP.

59. Prime minister before Rabin : MEIR. Interesting woman.  Born in Kiev, but lived in Milwaukee.  She was the third woman in history to be named a Prime Minister.

60. "Whoever you are, find whatever you're into" website : ETSY. Had to double-check to make certain this wasn’t a C.C. puzzle.

62. Iowa campus : COE.  As I’ve mentioned before, I used to work just up the street from the campus.  Could’ve been bad, but the sandbags held in Cedar Rapids this week.  City hall is on an island in the middle of the river.  Normally, the island resembles a ship.

63. T. __ : REX

64. Pic taker : CAM

65. Jun. gown wearers : SRS.  In these parts graduation is held in May, and the gowns are back in the rental house by June.

As you’ve surely guessed by now, Lemonade took today off – his firm has been switching offices this week, so I got a chance to sub.  It’s been fun.  You’ll find him back next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

desper-otto

 

 

Note from C.C.:

 

Happy Birthday to Pje (Pat) and her husband! They were born in the same day and same year. Pat was born in the morning, her husband in the afternoon. Have a fantastic birthday celebration, Pat!

Thursday, September 29th, 2016 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: Kitchen Crises - there are legumes cascading all over the grid.

Six types of spilling beans picked out by the circles - PINTO, BUTTER, GREEN, WHITE, SOYA and BLACK are all present and correct and hinted at by grid-spanning reveal across the center.

Tricky little puzzle, this one from Bruce and Gail. The four corners took some unpicking - the southwest caused me the most problems. I liked how the beans were all "spilling" down the puzzle. The fill was tight and clean, just a couple of entries made me wince a little, but that's probably reasonable for a 78 word puzzle. Let's see what jumps out:

Across:

1. "La Vie en Rose" singer : PIAF. Splendid excuse for some gravelly soundtrack from the chanteuse.

5. Ashtray array : BUTTS

10. Interest greatly : GRAB

14. "There __ joy in Mudville ... " : IS NO. From the splendid Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.

15. Livid : IRATE

16. Cambodian currency : RIEL. A couple of repeats from yesterday - this and ARIA at 64A

17. Lump : CLOT

18. Hasbro soldier : GI JOE

19. Raison d'__ : ÊTRE

20. Lake Michigan port : KENOSHA

22. Dietary need : PROTEIN

24. TriBeCa neighbor : SOHO. The "Triangle Below Canal Street" and "South of Houston" neighborhoods in Manhattan.

26. Backspaced over : ERASED

27. 1974 hit with a Spanish title meaning "You are" : ERES TU

31. Jedi Council VIP : YODA. For the Star Wars fans:

33. VCR successor : TIVO

34. Brief meeting? : SESS. Not my favorite fill today. It's legal, just not very elegant.

36. Army rank above maj. : LT.COL

41. Told ... and a hint to this puzzle's six sets of circles : SPILLED THE BEANS

44. Ivy League sch. : YALE U.

45. "Rebel Without a Cause" star James : DEAN

46. Where a retriever may be retrieved: Abbr. : SPCA. Adopting a mutt from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

47. Blacken : CHAR

49. Prepare : GET SET

51. Kansas motto word : ASPERA. Ad Astra Per Aspera. "Though hardships to the stars". Kurt Vonnegut used it as the motto of the Martian Imperial Commandos in The Sirens of Titan.

55. Omit : SKIP

57. "Moby-Dick" crew : WHALERS. This got me started in this corner. I didn't see the blindingly-obvious ARIA for quite some time.

59. Made possible : ENABLED

64. Italian air : ARIA

65. Cumberland Gap explorer : BOONE

67. Hall of Fame linebacker Junior : SEAU

68. Copper that's mostly zinc : CENT

69. Corned beef __ : ON RYE. Food! I started another batch of corned beef yesterday. Only 17 more days to go!

70. Not fem. : MASC

71. __-Ball : SKEE. I didn't know this thing actually had a name, I just thought it was "that game at Chuck-E-Cheese".

72. Construction rod : REBAR

73. Long haul : TREK

Down:

1. Draft item often traded : PICK

2. Vacation destination : ISLE

3. Erelong : ANON

4. Snap, commercially : FOTO

5. Michigan Stadium nickname, with "The" : BIG HOUSE. The largest stadium in the country with a capacity of just under 110,000

6. Heep of trouble? : URIAH

7. __ Mahal : TAJ. Big marble mausoleum in Agra, India, but more importantly a pretty great Indian restaurant on Ventura Boulevard up the road from me in Encino. Here's their famous Chicken Tikka Masala:

8. Camaro roof option : T-TOP

9. What 15-Across people do : SEE RED

10. Former Fox News anchor Van Susteren : GRETA

11. Ceremonies : RITES

12. Where eagles hatch : AERIE

13. Some of this and some of that : BLEND

21. JFK-to-Heathrow flier, once : SST. Because "Concorde" doesn't fit. By far the noisiest plane that came over my house in London on the way to landing at Heathrow.

23. Dental care name : ORAL B

25. Seafood found in beds : OYSTERS

27. Website for handmade art : ETSY

28. Electrolux spokeswoman Kelly : RIPA

29. Pernicious : EVIL

30. Something underfoot : SOLE

32. DOL division : OSHA

35. Scandinavian literary work : EDDA. Here's the first verse of Sæmund's Edda. Seems to be sensible advice:

1. At every door-way,
ere one enters,
one should spy round,
one should pry round
for uncertain is the witting
that there be no foeman sitting,
within, before one on the floor.

37. Try out : TEST

38. Toy gun ammo : CAPS

39. Almost never : ONCE

40. Six-part undergrad exam : LSAT

42. Money : LUCRE. Is lucre always filthy? I've never seen a quanity of lucre described as "sparkling".

43. Tech graduate : ENGINEER

48. Abet, in a way : HARBOR

50. Grime-fighting org. : E.P.A. Nice clue - Environmental Protection Agency

51. Spy plane acronym : AWACS Airborne Warning And Control System. I'm not really sure this is a spy plane, just a method of extending your radar detection capability.

52. Toondom ogre : SHREK

53. "Common Sense" writer : PAINE. Crosses. Thomas Paine's 1775 pamphlet advocating independence from Great Britain. Smart cookie, that guy.

54. Give a big lift : ELATE

56. Uganda neighbor : KENYA

58. 40-decibel unit : SONE. Strictly speaking, it's equal to 40 phons, not decibels, but the distinction is minor so I won't stir up trouble.

60. Realty ad abbr. : BSMT. My "uggh" fill of the day. Personally, I'd have tried to fill this section differently to avoid it.

61. "I am a very foolish fond old man" speaker : LEAR. King Lear, Act 4 Sc vii. Crosses filled this in for me, then I was thinking it might refer to Edward, master of the nonsense verse.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon. 

From The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear

62. Comfort : EASE

63. "Fore!" : DUCK! One of my golfing buddies once hit a screamer of a drive that didn't get two inches off the ground - it hit one of the ladies' tee markers and came back at us so fast that no-one had a chance to do anything except dive for cover.

66. Sun or moon : ORB

That's about it from me. As Yoda would say: "A wrap, it is". Heeere's the grid.

Steve

Wednesday, September 28, 2016 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: OUT OF SIGHT, MAN.  Five two-word theme entries all relate to someone or something whose identity or existence is covered up.  The non-reveal is in the first word of each phrase.

17. Old-time bandits : MASKED MARAUDERS.   I'm not sure this is a generic expression.  Specifically, there is a so-named villain in the Marvel Comics universe who is the main antagonist in the Daredevil title.  Also, this.

26. Narc's quarry : HIDDEN STASH.  Some quantity of drugs that narcotics agents want to confiscate.  But where is it?

38. Special forces mission : COVERT OPERATION.  This is a military or espionage action that is planned and executed in such a way that the sponsor's identity is not revealed, or plausible deniability is maintained.

46. Anonymous holiday gift giver : SECRET SANTA.  A community or other group of people randomly choose individuals to whom they will give a Christmas present.

60. Air marshal's possession : CONCEALED WEAPON.   Air marshals are highly trained marksmen who blend in with other passengers and serve to deter terrorism and protect the flying public.

Pretty straight forward concept in this thematically rich entry, built with three grid spanners and two more theme fill checking in at 11 characters each.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here to uncover the secrets of today's puzzle.  Let's have a peek behind the curtain.

Across

1. Gain experience (from) : LEARN.  Always important; not always pleasant.

6. Leg muscle : CALF.  The back of the lower leg.

10. World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie : WEBB. [b 1974] Australia's most successful female professional golfer.

14. First host of "The Tonight Show" : ALLEN.   Steve, [1921 - 2000] an American actor, writer, comedian, composer and musician.

15. Like some history : ORAL.  Not written down.

16. Original thought : IDEA.

20. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI.

21. Goes out : EBBS.   Like the tide.

22. First extra inning : TENTH.  A regulation baseball game lasts for 9 innings.  If the score is tied, they keep playing until one team wins.

23. Dallas Mavericks org. : NBA.  National Basketball Association.

25. Old Mideast alliance: Abbr. : UAR.  United Arab Republic.  A political union between Egypt and Syria that lasted from 1958 until 1961.  Egypt continued to use the name for another decade.

32. Nova Scotia hrs. : AST.  Atlantic Standard Time.  This time zone is one step to the east of the continental United States, 4 hours off Greenwich Mean Time.  It includes New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in Canada, as well as Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands

35. City SW of St. Augustine : OCALA.  At ca. 57,500 [2013 census] it ranks as the 45th most poplous city in FLA.

36. Young boys : TADS.   Or LADS, but SLOIC ruined that concept.

37. Place for a pedicure : SPA. A commercial establishment offering health and beauty treatments.

42. Bi- halved : UNI-.   Bi- is a combining form meaning two or twice.  Except when attached to time units, when it might mean either "every two" or "twice per."  Back on topic, consider bi- and uni- -cycles or -valves.  

43. Cambodian cash : RIEL.  Most Cambodians prefer foreign currency.

44. Polar explorer : PEARY.  Robert [1865-1920] might or might not have been the first person to reach the north pole in his 1909 expedition, if he even got there at all.  He might have missed by 60 miles.  Nothing about this is certain.

45. Butter-on-hot-griddle sound : SSS.  Sizzle.

48. Bowl-shaped cookware : WOK.  A versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel of Chinese origin.

49. __ in: surround : HEM.    Specifically to surround in a restrictive manner.

50. Delta rival, as it was once known : USAIR.   Since merged with American Airlines.   The USAIR brand name was discontinued on Oct 17, 2015.

53. Tosca's "Vissi d'arte," e.g. : ARIA.   A vocal solo in the context of a larger work, such as an opera or oratorio.

56. Magic charm : MOJO.  Or spell.

63. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC.   Lincoln "Link" Hayes, portrayed by Clarence Williams III.

64. Automation prefix : ROBO-.  As in ROBO-call.  So looking forward to November 9.

65. Superman's makeup? : STEEL.  He's known as the "Man of STEEL," but this is probably hyperbole.  I suspect he really made of bronze.

66. __ code : AREA.  The regionally assigned 3 digit [in North America] prefix to your telephone number.

67. Mess offering : MEAL.  Through Middle English via Old French this word traces back to the Latin missum, meaning "something put on the table."  In modern times it most typically refers to a location where a specified group of people, such as in the armed forces, take their meals together.

68. Brits' boob tube : TELLY.  Teevee, stateside.

Down

1. Pathetic, as an excuse : LAME.  Or as many of my jokes.

2. Airline to Jerusalem : EL AL.

3. In addition : ALSO. Too

4. Put the spark back into, as a relationship : REKINDLE.

5. Salem-to-Portland dir. : NNE.

6. It may help with a mop : COMB.  For an unruly head of hair.  Good luck.

7. Many a Syrian : ARAB.  Ethnicity inhabiting several middle eastern countries and many cross word puzzles.

8. Metallica drummer Ulrich : LARS.   I have no idea how I know this.  I think their music is ghastly.

9. St. with a panhandle : FLA.  Florida.  Other states with panhandles, formally called salients, are Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, which has two of them.

10. Three-lane, vis-à-vis two-lane : WIDER.  Larger in the lateral dimension.

11. "I Dream of Jeannie" star : EDEN.  Barbara [b 1931] star of the show which ran for 5 seasons starting in Sept,  1965.  

12. Buddy of Kermit : BERT.  Muppets.  I can't find a vid where they appear together, so I'm not sure how this buddy thing is working.

13. Big party : BASH.  Seems like the word BEER belongs in there somewhere.

18. Leader with a .edu address : DEAN.  The faculty head of a department.

19. Beehive State : UTAH.  This emblem was chosen in 1848 to symbolize the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance, long before UTAH became a state in 1896.

24. Animal symbolizing the 25-Down : BEAR.  This symbol of Russia [and by extension the USSR] has been used in cartoons, articles and drama since the 16th century.

25. World power inits. until '91 : USSR.  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, aka the Soviet Union.

26. Magical start : HOCUS.  Pocus.   Feel the magic.

27. Tappable cellphone images : ICONS.  Used to launch various apps.

28. "Miles Smiles" trumpeter : DAVIS.   I can find the whole album on YouTube, but not just this song, as played by Miles, so no link.   There are covers, but that just feels wrong.

29. Poker-faced : STOIC.  Indifferent to either pleasure or pain, referring to the Ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism, founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium.  The IDEA is that the highest good comes from knowledge, and living in harmony with divine reason allows one to disregard fortune, pleasure and pain.

30. Come to a point : TAPER.

31. Fred's dancing sister : ADELE.  Astaire siblings.  Sadly, I can't come up with a video of her dancing.

32. Chinese or Japanese : ASIAN.  Originating in that continent.

33. Hurling or curling : SPORT.  Hurling, similar to field hockey, is the regional game of Ireland and is thousands of years old.  Curling is played with flat stones slid on an ice surface into a target circle.

34. Tucker of country : TANYA.

39. Taxing trip : TREK.

40. Semicircular church section : APSE.  Traditionally, the dome covered recess where the altar is located.

41. One who might go to bat for you? : TEAM MATE.  Baseball reference.

46. Achy : SORE.  Hurting.

47. January warm spell : THAW.  When the ice melts, for a while.

48. Modern witch's religion : WICCA.  A modern pagan belief system with no central authority that exists in many variations, generally based on a god and goddess duality.

50. Home of the NCAA's Bruins : UCLA.   College sports.

51. Evening in Quebec : SOIR.   French.

52. Klein of fashion : ANNE.   [1923 - 1974] Clothing and accessories.

53. Lotion additive : ALOE.  Ubiquitous in skin care products and cross word puzzles.

54. Singer McEntire : REBA. [b 1955, McAlester, OK ] While in high school, she and her siblings sang on local radio and at rodeos. Her performance of the National Anthem at the Oklahoma City rodeo in 1974 got her invited to Nashville, where she signed with Mercury records.  In 1984 she signed with MCA Nashville, and took over creative control of her recordings.

55. Star adored by many : IDOL.   

57. Autobahn auto : OPEL.   German subsidiary of G. M. headquartered in Rüsselsheim.

58. "Piano Man" man : JOEL.   For six months in 1972, William Martin JOEL [b 1949] worked at the Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Blvd in L. A.  This sad song, released in 1973, commemorates that time.

59. __ child : ONLY.   My sister and I are 6 1/2 years apart.  It's almost as if our parents had 2 ONLY children.

61. Branch : ARM.   Extension.

62. Approx. repair cost : EST.   Who establishes this ESTimate?

Well, that wraps it up, but does not put it under wraps.  Hope you enjoyed unraveling all the mysteries.

Cool regards!
JzB

Note from C.C.:

Our own Peg (C6D6 Peg) made today's WSJ. You can click here to print out the PDF. Congratulations,  dear Peg!

Peg and her husband Steve