Sunday, October 23, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: POSSESSION 

This wonderful C.C. Sunday puzzle, which she told me is her favorite of the year, is clever on many levels. As I sometimes do, I decided to put the grid at the front of the write-up to better display the intricacy of her work. Her gimmick is revealed in the lengthy clue of 

52. Ownership claim ... and a hint to the relationship of each answer to a starred clue to a word it intersects : IT'S MINE. 

As you can see below she intersected an entire word (clued with an *) with the front or back part of a multiple word phrase. The icing on this word cake was that the stand-alone word required adding an 'S so that the conjoined phrase made sense and truly showed the title of "IT'S MINE". Wow!

Stupid me barged through this exercise oblivious to the juxtaposition of two words that are connected (darn trees do block the forest). When I ran across the reveal, I laughed out loud and quoted that great American philosopher Homer Simpson by exclaiming, "Doh!"

Coupled with C.C.'s always fiendish/clever cluing this was truly a great time. She said it was a very difficult construction but we all benefit from her efforts.

Let's take a look at her possessive pairing genius:

5. *Second-longest reigning British monarch : VICTORIA and 22. Ill-kept confidence : OPEN SECRET yield VICTORIA'S SECRET by making the first word possessive and using the second word in OPEN SECRET. Wearing items from here might guarantee you will have a very OPEN SECRET...

9. *First of all? : ADAM and 24. Seasonal drink : APPLE CIDER yield ADAM'S APPLE by making ADAM possessive and using the first word in APPLE CIDER. This is the Laryngeal Prominence on the thyroid cartilage that is usually much more prominent in men.

75. *Noted WWII lifesaver : SCHINDLER and 39. Consequence of the telemarketing boom : NO CALL LIST yield SCHINDLER'S LIST. (I think you have the idea). I only made it halfway through this powerful movie and left after a scene with children.

42. *English surgeon Henry : GRAY and 44. Vet student's workplace : ANATOMY LAB  yield GRAY'S ANATOMY. Here is Henry's original drawing of the larynx with the Thyroid Notch/Adam's Apple

y

85. *Memorable 1968 role for Mia : ROSEMARY and 115. 1990 #1 rap hit : ICE ICE BABY gives us ROSEMARY'S BABY. Somethin' ain't right with that BABY

93. *First human woman, in Greek myth : PANDORA and 117. Specialized slicing tools : BOX CUTTERS yield PANDORA'S BOX that of course contains all the evils of the world. It appears that Pan might be shopping at VICTORIA'S SECRET

Now for I. Indiana home for Jackson 5  - GARY and II. Court ruling without a trial - SUMMARY JUDGEMENT which yield GARY'S SUMMARY:

Across

1. Twinkler : STAR

5. Block from the White House : VETO - C.C.'s original clue was Block from Obama and Rich modified it. I like 'em both

9. Sunburn salve : ALOE

13. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS - OTROS también les encantará este rompecabezas (Others will also love this puzzle)

18. Almond __: candy : ROCA - I have learned that this is a thing

19. Like jeggings : TIGHT - Standard clothing in schools today

20. Fist bumps : DAPS - A more complicated DAP

21. Talked a blue streak? : SWORE

26. Tossed a bone to : PLACATED

27. Playground retort : AM SO - Are not, AM SO, Are not, AM SO, ad nauseum

28. Up-to-the-minute : LATEST

29. "I never __ purple cow ... ": Burgess : SAW A - "I'd rather see one than be one"

30. New Mexico county bordering El Paso : OTERO and 27. Chicago's __ Center : AON. Natick for me -I chose unwisely at their crossing for my standard one bad Sunday cell 

32. Dance partner : ESCORT

34. Mr. or Mrs. : ABBR and 83. Country on St. George's Channel : IRE.

36. Hard-to-imagine period : EON

37. It's charged : ION - Here are two atoms becoming charged IONS and voila - Sodium Fluoride

38. Winds up or winds down : ENDS

45. Talks like Daffy : LISPS

47. Mo. town : ST.L. - Sorry ST.L., the Rams belong in L.A.

48. Like a paddling surfer : PRONE

49. With 113-Across, "Funeral in Berlin" author : LEN and 113. See 49-Across : DEIGHTON 

50. Waikiki wingding : LUAU

51. Sounded nostalgic about : SIGHED AT - One man's lament

55. Tiger, e.g. : CAT

56. Churchill, notably : ORATOR - "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" May 1940

58. Curaçao cocktail : MAI TAI

60. American Red Cross founder Barton : CLARA 

62. Prankster's missile : WATER BOMB

64. "Popeye" pirate : SEA HAG 

66. Racing Unsers : ALS

68. Zen garden piece : STONE  and 74. Potted dwarf : BONSAI - I feel peaceful just looking at it

69. Match made in heaven : SOUL MATES

71. Kept from squeaking : OILED

73. Lifesaver, initially : EMT

77. Sticks figure : YOKEL

79. Drive-thru burger chain whose name has two hyphens : IN-N-OUT

81. Make a home : RESIDE

82. Squat : NIL - Nuttin' 

84. Summary : OVERVIEW

86. It has Air, Mini and Pro versions : I-PAD

88. Part of a circ. : SEG(ment)

89. Fervently wishes : PRAYS

91. Stooge with a bowl haircut : MOE - MOE's younger brother Curly replaced their brother Shemp  in the trio 

92. Center of Florida? : EPCOT

94. Govt. guidelines : STDS

95. Name on the 1984 album "My Kind of Country" : REBA

96. Cologne cooler : EIS - Ich möchte keine EIS in meinen Scotch (I don't want any ice in my scotch) Tin?

97. NYC commuter letters : MTA

98. Thunder sound : PEAL

100. Pains : THROES

103. Courier and Roman : FONTS - or a seasonal one

105. King with a pipe : COLE

108. Very destructive : LETHAL

111. Nursery cry : MAMA

119. Chugged, say : DRANK

120. Links seen at pga.com : URLS - Electronic links not grass ones

121. Doctoral candidate's hurdles : ORALS - Not intimidating at all

122. Furry sci-fi creature : EWOK

123. Huffy states : SULKS

124. Duma vote : NYET - Nyet, Nyet Nannette!

125. Lose intensity : WANE

126. Prevent : DENY


Down

1. Letters connected to theater capacity : SRO - Sure, you can get some SRO tix to see the Cubs in their first World Series in 71 years!

2. Collectible baseball card brand : TOPPS  - C.C. gave me a George Brett TOPPS card that is prominently displayed in my sunroom 

3. Boston-to-D.C. rail service : ACELA

4. Took off : RAN AWAY

6. Blue heron kin : EGRET

7. Peter Benchley thriller : THE DEEP 

8. Giants great Mel : OTT - A 1933 Doudney Mel OTT rookie card will set you back $532

10. Slip : LAPSE

11. Facing : OPPOSITE - Our crossword friends, recto and verso, are opposite/facing pages

12. Bilingual subj. : ESL

13. Award declined by George C. Scott : OSCAR - Goldie Hawn shrieked, "Oh my God, the winner is George C. Scott!" She knew he had said he would not show up.

14. Company with a blue bird logo : TWITTER

15. Used Lyft, say : RODE

16. Mining haul : ORES

17. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT - File under Learned/Forgot

19. Leaves for a Chinese dinner : TEA

23. Line crosser : SCAB - A 2000 movie with a more gentle name for football SCABS who crossed a union line

25. SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON

31. Carlo __: wine brand : ROSSI

33. Money immediately available : COLD CASH

35. Book jacket entry : BLURB

40. It's in our genes : DNA 

41. Disappeared from view : SET

42. Looks really happy : GLOWS

43. Upgrade, as on Yelp : RERATE

46. Send for : SUMMON

47. Type of massage : SHIATSU

48. Student advocacy gp. : PTA

50. Folk tales : LORE

53. Earth goddess : GAEA

54. Subj. with unknowns : ALG

57. Approaching the hour : TEN TO

59. Coarsely insulting, as language : ABUSIVE

61. Vice squad incursions : RAIDS

63. Classic for which Pavarotti won a Grammy : O SOLE MIO

65. Frenzied : HECTIC

67. Did some farm work : SEEDED - The Sower on top of the capital in Lincoln, Nebraska

70. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI

71. Lacking width and depth : ONE-D

72. Worst of the worst : DREGS

74. Drink, in Dover : BEV

76. Hot : IRATE

78. Foreman stat : KO'S

80. Have a loan from : OWE TO

82. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR

87. Treat on a stick : POPSICLE

90. "Really, Captain Obvious?" : YA THINK?

94. Scheduled : SLOTTED

96. Perry's creator : ERLE - Stanley Gardner

97. CalArts degree : MFA - Maybe not the best degree to find a job

99. Eight, to Mozart : ACHT - He wrote his first symphony when he was ACHT

101. Street fare seekers : HACKS - aka Taxis. Named for Hackney Cabs in Britain. Hackney is the name for a horse suitable for driving or riding

102. Luxurious fur : SABLE - Wearing this fur can be risky

104. Bonnie or Clyde : TEXAN

106. Lerner collaborator : LOEWE

107. Company with an ironically crooked logo : ENRON - Many pensions at Nebraska Natural Gas disappeared with them

108. Shadow targets : LIDS

109. Beige shade : ECRU

110. Marsh duck : TEAL

112. Computer game title island : MYST

114. Gloomy fellow : GUS

116. Ballerina's hairdo : BUN

117. Tool for Cupid : BOW

118. Hawk's domain : SKY

Now it's time for I. McGuffey book - READER and II. Viewer's opinion - AUDIENCE FEEDBACK which yield READER'S FEEDBACK:

Saturday, Oct 22nd, 2016, Brad Wilber & Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,Z)

Blocks: 32

   Brad Wilber is a familiar name, but I did not recognize the co-author today - he has contributed several times to the LA Times, mostly Fridays.  The grid itself looked like a typical weekday puzzle, not so intimidating.  I forgot to set the clock, but I do believe I went over my allotted personal time.  The triples on the left and the crossings of the names in the SE slowed me down, again, and had to guess for most of them.  Triple 10-letter corners in the Down, and a pair of 11-letter climbers crossing a pair of 9's;

8. They may provide track details : SLEEVE NOTES - I filled this in, but did not make the connection - I was thinking "track" as in horse racing, not albums/CDs

 back half of a sleeve from a 1985 album

29. Turning point? : USE BY DATE - har-har

23. Signs of infrequent cleaning : DUST BUNNIES

 you might not want to look too closely

44. Line after Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!" : "ET TU, BRUTE~?" - the whole phrase

O.N..W...A....R.....D......~!

ACROSS:

1. Rose of rock : AXL - of Guns N' Roses fame

4. Incidental catches by South Pacific tuna fishermen : OPAHS

9. Mall Santa, probably : TEMP

13. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - the "-dontic" part helped me out

15. "Finding Dory" studio : PIXAR - "Finding Nemo" characters return

16. Reject : PUSH ASIDE - ah, the verb, not the noun. 

17. As expected : ON CUE - strange.  I nailed this.

18. Roundup group : STEERS - POSSE was not long enough

19. When the French fry? : ÉTÉ - Frawnche summer

21. Terrible's two : ARs - the two "R"s of teRRible

22. Presented an invention? : LIED - clever

24. Compared with : VIS-À-VIS - from the Frawnche for face to face

26. Canada's highest peak : LOGAN - OK, I cheated.  I looked at a list of mountains in Canada

31. World leader whose name shares its last four letters with a state : OBAMA - this was my first guess, since it had occurred to me in the past that Obama and Alabama had the common ending

32. Together : SANE - Oh, that kind of together

33. "South Park" kid : STAN - or KYLE~!?  I went with STAN, then switched, and then switched back

34. Station that employed Lou Grant : WJM - before my time; perps

35. WWI hero portrayed by Gary Cooper : SGT. YORK - again, before my time

38. Bond yield: Abbr. : INTerest

39. Creepy look : LEER - I saw your wolfish look yesterday, Lemonade

41. Not much at all : A BIT - SOME~?  A FEW~?

42. Golfer with an "army" : ARNIE - R.I.P.

46. Longtime Indiana senator Dick : LUGAR - perps and two WAGs

47. Hall of Fame outfielder Richie of the '40s-'50s Phillies : ASHBURN - perps and two WAGs

48. Automaker that introduced headlight wipers : SAAB - oops, not AUDI, but I was close

50. Last pres. born in the 19th century : DDE - not sure if we were looking for a short name, or initials.  At first I had was "E" in the middle, since I misspelled the Frawnche crossing

51. Dr. for women : GYNecologist

52. Cold-stricken : RHEUMY - Dah~!  Not CHILLY - that's 33.33% 100% correct, tho

56. Coventry coolers : GAOLS - argh~!  I was stuck looking for some sort of drink to 'cool' off.  This is the clink, the brig, the gulag, the pokey....

58. Corfu locale : IONIAN SEA - my "OMA" WAG was a big help here

61. Impressive lineup : ARRAY

62. "A Room With a View" author : E.M. FORSTER - his Wiki

63. Final crossing? : STYX

64. Nixon-Brezhnev missile pact : SALT I

65. Approved : OK'D - again, had it, took it out, put it back in

DOWN:

1. Some dadaist works : ARPS - ooo, close, I went with ARTE

2. Cross off : X OUT

3. Shake, as a tail : LOSE - when you are 14d.

4. Ovoid winds : OCARINAS

5. So five minutes ago : PASSÉ

6. Young Darth's nickname : ANI - Anakin Skywalker

7. Victimized : HAD

9. __ can : TIN

10. Dig action : EXCAVATING

11. Senegal neighbor : MAURITANIA - I got it, but don't ask me how I knew it

12. Common computer manual step : PRESS ENTER

14. Running, with "on" : THE LAM - a Blue Öyster Cult song~!

15. Browning field : POESY - I had a feeling POEMS was not going to last

20. River through Umbria : TIBER

25. Break fillers : ADS

26. Focus of an EPA phasedown introduced in 1973 : LOW LEAD GAS - I tried "NON" at the start, but it was not jibing for me

27. Curiosities : OBJETS D' ART - more Frawnche - we got hit hard today~!

28. Mathematical approach to military strategy, say : GAME THEORY

30. "Speak!" : "SAY IT~!"

36. Chess luminary Kasparov : GARRY - Larry, Barry, Garry, I tried them all

37. Much of Botswana : KALAHARI - SAHARAN did not fit - because I was too far north

40. Barbecue seasoning : RUB

43. 17th-century Flemish painter : RUBENS

45. Film Warren commissioned? : BUGSY - I had the "--GSY" part, so I hardly read the clue

49. Hilarious : A RIOT

53. "Teach __ number our days": Psalm 90 : US TO

54. Like doormats : MEEK - I like this door mat

more funny ones here

55. Sale area : YARD - ah, took a moment.  I like "yard saleing"

57. Negligent : LAX

59. Medical suffix : OMA - a cancerous growth/tumor

60. Org. with Colts and Cowboys : NFL - and a gimme to end the day

Splynter

Friday, October 21, 2016, Chuck Deodene

Title: Chuck you are driving me crazy!

After more than four years, Chuck D. is back. LINK.  I recalled the name, but had to go to the archives to look over the puzzle I had blogged of his. I hope he stops by - he had 38 NYT puzzles published by 2012 and 3 LAT but nothing in either place since until today. This effort is a variation of the 'one word' as the clue for all theme answers, but here the word not only is used if 4 different meanings, but modified. I had a hard time getting the rhythm of this puzzle, though the fill was overall not too challenging, with no non-theme fill longer than 6 letters. With Cattle Drive and Blood Drive showing one view and the other three places where there are drives it seemed choppy. I saw a mini-theme of drinking, but that was just me. There was some nice wit in the cluing, so I look forward to hearing from you all also today.

17A. Place to take a 36-Down : EXPRESSWAY (10). Here we have the place where we drive vehicles.

25A. Place to run a 36-Down : CATTLE RANCH (11). You gather up the cows and head to Kansas City on your cattle drive.

37A. Place to install a 36-Down : DESKTOP COMPUTER (15). The office server has about 10 drives, we use mostly g and h.

47A. Place to hold a 36-Down : BLOOD MOBILE (11). They park outside the movie theater here for their blood drive.

57A. Place to hit a 36-Down : GOLF COURSE (10). With HG, Big Easy, Moe and other of our golfing group, hitting one long straight drive per round keeps them going back.

And the reveal:

36D. Theme of this puzzle : DRIVE (5). How direct is that for a reveal, but  is it?

Across:

1. Deceptive operation : STING. Immediate clecho 10A. Deceptive distortion : SPIN.

6. Work with a number : OPUS. I always have like this piece by Chopin. My THOUGHT.

14. Indulge : HUMOR. Nice Friday clue, as we all have humored our spouses or children or even parents at one time in our lives.

15. Probe-launching org. : NASA. CSO to HG.

16. Words often after a number : OR SO. This took me 10 minutes or so to complete.

19. Attire : WEAR.

20. Euripides drama : MEDEA. CSO to me as Jason played a large part in this Tragedy - just not a nice part.

21. Cook books, say : CHEAT. Many businesses do keep different sets of books, cash accounting, GAAP accounting and regulatory accounting, Way beyond me.

22. Venomous reptile : ASP. Cleopatra another tragic figure.

28. Horror film reaction : SHRIEK.

30. Way out : EXIT. Literal.

31. __ Throne: "Game of Thrones" monarchy : IRON. Wonderful fun. LINK.

32. They may span decades : SAGAS. The first one I heard of was THIS.

34. Tack on : ADD.

41. Pasture parent : EWE. I like the alliteration. Ma maa.

42. Members of an exclusive league : IVIES. Hmm- 53A. One percent, so to speak : ELITE.

43. Pasta choice : ZITI. Probably time for a refresher on the many shapes of PASTA.

44. Lack of focus : BLUR. My eye doctor says I am blessed with blurred vision recognition.

45. See 12-Down : ASIMOV. 12D. With 45-Across, "The Bicentennial Man" author : ISAAC. While an interesting book (which is only slightly related to the Robin Williams movie version) this was one in his robot series. He is the most impressive AUTHOR I have read because of hs facility in so many fields.

52. PC file extension : EXE.  An executable file for DOS

54. Lead-in to a drink? : I NEED.

56. Fund-raiser, perhaps : GALA. Lots of drinking there usually.

62. "Totally!" : AMEN. From Moses to Mos Def.

63. Brink : EDGE.

64. Mill output : FLOUR. Steel anyone?

65. Not : NARY.

66. Wolfish look : LEER. Splynter?

67. Neighborhood posting : FLYER.

Down:

1. "__ Hate Me": Spike Lee film : SHE. Worth watching.

2. Prom duds : TUX.

3. Devil : IMP.

4. Social convention : NORM. I knew he was social but an entire convention?

5. Country bordering three seas : GREECE. Extra credit if you can name all three.

6. Kickoff : ONSET. 46D. Wave to from the dock : SEE OFF.

7. Grab for clumsily : PAW AT.

8. "Royal Pains" network : USA.

9. Declare : SAY.

10. "Well, whoop-de-do" : SO WHAT.

11. Get duded up : PREEN.

13. Up __ : NORTH. So random, but "YOURS" seemed impolite.

18. Deadwood's state: Abbr. : SDAK.

21. Like new bills : CRISP.

22. Out of the way : ASIDE.

23. Nag : SHREW.

24. Essay makeup : PROSE.

26. Locking blocks : LEGOS. Anyone been?

27. End-of-term ordeal : EXAM.

29. Letterpress need : INK.

32. VP after Hubert : SPIRO. He resigned just over 43 years ago. In cas you forgot....

33. Expert : ACE.

34. Fairy-tale intro words : A TIME. The dreaded partial?

35. Do a juice cleanse, say : DETOX.

38. El Niño feature : TILDE. Nicely disguised.

39. Female gamete : OVUM.

40. Action film weapon : UZI.

44. Mendel's science : BOTANY.

An analysis of genetic crosses depends upon an understanding of Mendel's two laws: The principle of segregation (First Law): The two members of a gene pair (alleles) segregate (separate) from each other in the formation of gametes. Half the gametes carry one allele, and the other half carry the other allele. His seeds were seeds.

45. Novelist Waugh : ALEC. Most famous as Evelyn's brother. Tin, he also said, "I am prepared to believe that a dry martini slightly impairs the palate, but think what it does for the soul."

47. Initiated : BEGAN.

48. Andean transport : LLAMA.

49. Edmonton NHL player : OILER. Splynter?

50. Hull region : BILGE. This TERM has been around 500 years.

51. Deduce : INFER. Nero Wolfe used to get apoplectic about those who misused this WORD.

55. Sigh-inducing : DULL.

57. Holder of locks : GEL. hair, silly.

58. Shelley work : ODE. For the season - the first stanza of Ode To The West Wind

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

59. Scheider of "Jaws" : ROY. He had a long and successful CAREER.

60. Seek payback, maybe : SUE. The law is the only field where one professional creates business for another.

61. Fumble, e.g. : ERR. is human, to forgive divine. Not in Cleveland.

Well hopefully I did not fumble the ball in discussing this Friday frolic. Welcome back Chuck. Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 20th 2016 Jacob Stulberg

Theme: V-oice Exercise: A vowel progression on "V". I shared a flat with two drama students in London many moons ago, and they would trill their vowel progression voice exercises over breakfast: "Mah-may-mee-my-mow-moo-mah" or in this case "Va-Veh-Vih-Voe-Vuh". Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were in the same class; Jennifer's boyfriend owned the house we were renting. What's that got to do with the price of gas? Not a whole lot, let's get back on track.

18A. Personal guide : VALUE SYSTEM. Not Nordstrom shopper?

24A. Shoe fastener : VELCRO STRIP. My bike cleats have these. Handy.

38A. Historic Manhattan jazz club : VILLAGE VANGUARD. Crosses all the way for me. The club opened in Greenwich Village in 1935 and became an all-jazz venue in 1975.

48A. Cloud above a peak : VOLCANIC ASH. One of those tricky-to-parse entries. I had "CASH" in place at the end, and once you see something like that, it's tough to un-see it.

58A. Source of the Romance languages : VULGAR LATIN. Or what is inscribed on the walls of Roman public bathrooms? We studied Latin poetry at school; let me tell you, some of the stanzas from Catullus and Martial would make your hair curl. Google at your peril.

Solid Thursday from Jacob; minor gripe is that VANGUARD repeats the first vowel progression and doesn't form part of the theme, although it's part of a theme entry. Minor, but a gripe.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:   

1. One of a pair in "Waiting for Godot" : ACT. Not "tramp" or derivative thereof - nice cluing. I once saw a production of "Godot" where Vladimir and Estragon were both in grecian urns with only their heads visible. It's not exactly the most exciting play, and this static staging was curious to say the least.

4. __ ray : COSMIC

10. Where rds. meet : JCTS. Roads/Junctions. How about some Tuxedo Junction?

14. Frat address : BRO. bluto@deltatauchi.bro? Maybe not that kind of address.

15. Iris ring : AREOLA. I'm going to sit back and wait for the picture links in the comments.

16. Obama's birthplace : OAHU

17. Basic resting place : COT. Basic Training. Barracks. Cot. Basic it might have been, but very welcome.

20. Start of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" : 'TWAS the night before Christmas ...

22. Common base : TEN. We geeks also have binary, octal and hexadecimal in our bag of bases.

23. "Joke's on you!" : HA HA!

27. Animal's gullet : MAW

30. "To see __ is a picture": Dickinson : HER

31. Make subservient : ENSLAVE

33. Nincompoop : BOOB. Snigger. With 15A. Snigger.

35. "Biggest Little City in the World" : RENO

37. Next Dodger after Fernando to win the Cy Young Award : OREL. If Clayton Kershaw keeps it up, he's going to be the next Cy Young winner.

41. Ancient Icelandic text : EDDA

42. Birthstone for some Scorpios : OPAL

43. Bavarian count opener : EINS, zwei, drei ...

44. Pose anew, as a question : REFRAME

46. Hosp. areas : E.R.S

47. Put away : ATE

54. Hideout : LAIR

56. Crude shelter : HUT

57. Thing on a string : KITE

62. Sound after a punch : OOF!

63. How some games are won, briefly : IN O.T.

64. Dawn goddess : AURORA

65. Aflame : LIT

66. Cuts : MOWS. All sing along: "One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow, one man and his dog went to mow a meadow. Two men went to mow, went to mow a meadow, two men one man and his dog, Spot, went to mow a meadow. Three men went to mow ... " Continue ad nauseam.

When I used to go to Stamford Bridge in London in the '70s to watch my soccer club Chelsea, prior to kick-off the pitch would be given the once-over with the mower, Zamboni-style, and the crowd would serenade the mower guy up and down the pitch. He usually finished around "Twenty-three men went to mow". We were easily amused in those halcyon days. You want an ear worm? Here you go!

67. Shows disapproval, in a way : HISSES

68. Far from friendly : ICY

Down:

1. "How to Get Away With Murder" airer : ABC TV

2. Actor Russell : CROWE

3. Whole : TOTAL

4. Member of the reigning NBA champs : CAV. This clue breaks the "time-independent" convention for crosswords. If I came to solve this puzzle next year, there's no guarantee this clue/answer would be correct.

5. Big talker : ORATOR

6. Graf rival : SELES. Steffi and Monica of 90's professional tennis.

7. See 12-Down : MOUNT. Cross-referential angst for some.

8. The Seine's __ Saint-Germain : ÎLE. The city's' foremost professional soccer team is Paris Saint-Germain, which gives English-speaking commentators a crisis of pronunciation. Do you say "Paree" or "Paris"? You can't say "Parriss Saint Jerman", that sounds all wrong, "Parriss San-Germanne" is a curious hybrid and the correct "Paree San-Germanne" seems peculiar when you've been calling the city "Paris" all night. I'd stick to "PSG", but it's fun to listen to the manglings on TV.

9. Use to one's advantage : CASH IN ON

10. Tease : JOSH

11. Regatta racer : CATAMARAN

12. With 7-Down, sermon site : THE

13. (In) brief : SUM

19. Prattles : YAPS

21. Gentleman, at times? : SCHOLAR. Not always.

25. Sitcom that starred a singer : REBA

26. Kidney-related : RENAL

28. States as fact : AVERS

29. Join with heat : WELD

32. Comedian who said, "I have a lot of beliefs, and I live by none of 'em" : LOUIS C.K. Never heard of him, so had to look up how to parse the name. Crosses all the way for me. His real name is Louis Székely.

33. Lavatory fixture : BIDET. The first time I saw one I thought it was for washing your socks.

34. Chap : OLD FELLOW

35. Turn off : REPEL

36. Green of "Penny Dreadful" : EVA. Thank you, crosses. BBC America "psychological thriller" series, apparently. Here's Ms. Green looking appropriately deep and disturbed:

38. Designer Wang : VERA

39. Scene of biblical destruction : GOMORRAH. Twin city of Begorrah, Ireland. No, wait ...

40. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI

45. Nike competitor : AVIA. I had ASIC first, forgetting the final "S".

46. Whole : ENTIRE

49. Blackens : CHARS

50. Jaguars, for instance : AUTOS. Funny, I'm much more likely to think of German cars as "autos" rather than British ones. Automobiles, maybe.

51. Garlicky spread : AIOLI

52. Unlikely to come unglued : STOIC

53. Big name in the bags aisle : HEFTY. Was looking for purses at first. Louis Vuitton didn't fit, Coach didn't work with my crosses, then I was struggling. Ah, trash!

55. Fed. employees : AGTS

58. Energetic spirit : VIM. Usually partnered with "Vigor". A tennis doubles duo you don't want to come up against.

59. Game with wild cards : UNO. Never played it. Anyone know the rules?

60. Him, to Henri : LUI

61. "A Queens Story" rapper : NAS. Slowly but surely this is taking root in my crossword brain.

Alrighty then! Heeere's the grid! My work here is done.

Steve