Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Three letter scramble - Janice OPTed to Stir the POT, not Spin the TOP.

17A. Dice roller's exhortation: COME TO PAPA

40A. Actor with near-synonymous first and last names: RIP TORN

11D. Pretty darn simple: IDIOT PROOF

25D. Toaster snack: POP TART

29D. Verses by Allen Ginsberg, e.g.: BEAT POETRY

61A. Cause trouble ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: STIR THE POT

Argyle here. Puzzle has both 90- and 180-degree crossword symmetry. I'm not sure what that means; I just cut and paste what they tell me. Not having circles shouldn't have been much of a detriment to the solve.

Across:

1. Doofus: DOLT

5. Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant: K-CARS. Trivia - First Chrysler car to be produced in the metric system with metric screw threads and components.

10. Smack on the mouth: KISS

14. Letter-shaped support piece: I-BAR. The real deal, 46D. Steel girders: I-BEAMS

15. "For real!": "NO LIE!"

16. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE. Easy listening.

19. Scrabble piece: TILE

20. TV preview: TEASER

21. Taken as a whole: ALL TOLD

23. Satchel feature: STRAP

26. Margarita glass rim coating: SALT. Where is my lost shaker of salt?

27. Curved sword: SABER and CW sword of choice, 57D. Weapon with a tip guard: EPEE

30. Application info: Abbr.: DOB. (date of birth)

32. Pool measure: DEPTH

35. What soccer shootouts resolve: TIES

36. Peaceful state: REPOSE

38. P-like Greek letter: RHO

39. Actress Thurman: UMA

41. Museum hanging: OIL

42. Amount after costs: NET

43. Suitcase attachments: ID TAGS

44. Yuletide: NOEL

45. Not so hot?: TEPID

47. __ Lanka: SRI. Was there a bridge to Sri Lanka? Link

48. Swollen: PUFFY

49. Upper, in Ulm: OBER. Ulm is a German city on the River Danube.

51. Male voice range: TENOR

53. "Toodle-oo!": "CHEERIO!"

56. Evaluate for tax purposes: ASSESS

60. Wee bit: IOTA

64. Time in office: TERM

65. Emulate Vesuvius: ERUPT

66. Scarlet letter of fiction: RED 'A'

67. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDY'S

68. Hagar of Van Halen: SAMMY. Funny video.

69. Wine bottle number: YEAR

Down:

1. Random House vol.: DICTionary

2. Woodwind instrument: OBOE

3. Dalai __: LAMA

4. Locks on heads: TRESSES

5. Soup mix brand: KNORR

6. "Blue Bloods" extra: COP. Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, New York City Police Commissioner.

7. Pie-mode connection: À LA

8. TV host Kelly: RIPA. With hubby.

9. Applies weatherstripping to: SEALS

10. Stovetop whistler: KETTLE

12. Housecat's perch: SILL

13. Watermelon eater's discard: SEED

18. Four: Pref.: TETR. From the Greek word for four.

22. Saddled (with): LADEN

24. People with skill: ADEPTS

27. Publicity ploy: STUNT

28. Evangelist __ Semple McPherson: AIMEE. Maybe this clip will help me remember her but I doubt it.

31. Shake it on the dance floor: BOOGIE

33. Burglar: THIEF

34. "Deck the Halls" greenery: HOLLY

36. Free (of): RID

37. Yearbook gp.: SRs. (seniors)

40. One on horseback: RIDER

44. Room with a crib: NURSERY

48. Luxurious: POSH

50. Greets the judge: RISES

52. Well-dressed: NATTY

53. Mention in a footnote: CITE

54. Broke up some clods: HOED

55. Senorita's "other": OTRA

58. Scotch go-with: SODA. Ironic; a manhattan singing about a scotch

59. Walk of Fame figure: STAR

62. Periodic table suffix: IUM. lol, where'd that come from? I didn't see it when solving.

63. Turntable no.: RPM. (revolutions per minute)

Argyle

Monday, January 9, 2017 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Limited-time retail offer - Save some moola maybe.

38A. Big sale, where you can find the starts of 18-, 23-, 49- and 60-Across: SHOPPER'S DELIGHT

18A. "Just handle the problem!": DEAL WITH IT

23A. Upstage one's co-stars: STEAL A SCENE

49A. Employ stalling tactics: BUY SOME TIME

60A. Take into account: BARGAIN FOR

Argyle here with GG&BV. Not much to say (except brrr). A nice grid-spanning reveal.

Across:

1. Rides for hire: CABs

5. Rapids transports: RAFTs

10. Toothed tonsorial tool: COMB. Fun alliteration.

14. Treaty partner: ALLY

15. Open courtyards: ATRIA

16. "So that's what you mean": "I SEE"

17. Shakespearean king: LEAR

20. Jam session jammer: MUSICIAN

22. Signs of sadness: TEARS

26. Tavern brew: ALE

27. Some motorcycles and pianos: YAMAHAs. Logo History.

32. Lawn-wrecking pests: MOLEs

36. Sewn edge: HEM

37. __ president: VICE

42. Mongolian desert: GOBI

43. No-frills sleeper: COT

44. Fire pit particles: ASHES

45. '70s-'80s band with a steering wheel on their debut album cover: THE CARS

47. Google success: HIT

55. Pro on camera: ACTOR

59. Like some rays outside the visible spectrum: INFRARED

63. Fill fully: SATE

64. Qatari ruler: EMIR

65. British unit of length: METRE

66. Hall of Famer Musial: STAN.(baseball)

67. Relaxed gait: LOPE

68. Old West search party: POSSE. "Head 'em off at the pass!"

69. Narrow-bodied swimmers: EELs

Down:

1. Brings peace to: CALMS

2. Native Alaskan: ALEUT

3. Having a been-there-done-that attitude: BLASÉ

4. War-torn country since 2011: SYRIA

5. Goodyear offering: RADIAL

6. "Relax, soldier": "AT EASE"

7. Pre-euro Metz money: FRANC

8. Up to, in ads: TIL. Limited-time offer. But if you call in the nexzt five ....

9. Got a look at: SAW

10. Use as a reference: CITE

11. Workplace standards org.: OSHA. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

12. Israel's Golda: MEIR

13. Puts money (on): BETS

19. To-do list entry: ITEM

21. Envelope fastener: CLASP

24. Looked at closely: EYED

25. Birth certificate datum: NAME

28. "We Try Harder" car rental chain: AVIS

29. Air conditioner setting: HIGH. My air conditioner setting is in the closet.

30. Suffer from overexertion: ACHE

31. Goes below the horizon: SETS. The latest sunrise is for the next few days.

32. Senior NCO: MSGT. (master sergeant)

33. "Oops!": "OH-OH!"

34. Place for an earring: LOBE

35. Grand-scale poem: EPIC

36. Pres. between FDR and DDE: HST. Franklin Delano Roosevelt / Harry S. Truman / Dwight David Eisenhower

39. Sandy shade: ECRU. Slight misdirection.

40. Flushed, as cheeks: ROSY

41. Down the road: LATER

46. Magician's syllables: ABRA. "Abracadabra!"

47. Pays tribute to: HONORS

48. "My schedule is wide open": "I'M FREE"

50. Works with flour: SIFTS

51. Cup for café or thé: TASSE. Le thé is French for tea. Tasse à café - coffee cup / Tasse à thé - teacup

52. Blowing one's top: IRATE

53. Lead or zinc: METAL

54. Blissful regions: EDENS

55. Cain's victim: ABEL

56. Commando garb: CAMO. (Camouflage)

57. Stumble: TRIP

58. Kiddie lit monster: OGRE

61. Mischief-maker: IMP

62. Modernist's prefix: NEO

Argyle

Sunday, January 8, 2017 Paul Coulter

Theme:  "Dine Out" - Parse the title as as "D in E out".  E is replaced by D in each theme entry.  The changes all happen with the last letter of a key word,

23A. Basis for evaluating an archaeology dig? : EARNINGS PER SHARD. Earnings per share.

35A. Warning to Bo Peep that her sheep are really hiding nearby? : HERD'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID. Here's looking at your, kid. But it's grammatically correct to say "Herd are looking at you", right?

58A. "When leaving the beach, hose off your feet before putting on your shoes"? : SAND ADVICE. Sane advice is not a familiar phrase to me.

68A. Must choose among less volatile investment options? : HAVE A BOND TO PICK. Have a bone to pick.

81A. Infant dressed for rain? : BABY BOOTED. I would not know how to clue it. Baby bootee.

100A. Have a good day birding? : FIND FEATHERED FRIENDS. Fine- feathered friends.

 

119A. Paragraph in a lemon law? : DUD PROCESS CLAUSE. Due process clause.

What a great title!

There are some stray E's in the theme answers. It's impossible to replace all of them, given that E is the most frequently used letter in English.

Paul's approach is quite consistent. No first letter or middle letter E to D change. 

 

Across:

1. Get hot online : GO VIRAL. Surprised that Paul crossed it with GOER (1. Attendee).

 

8. Slithery squeezer : BOA

11. San Francisco/Oakland separator : BAY

14. Signature Southern vegetable : OKRA. Constructors love Vowel??Vowel combo.

18. Treeless tract : OPEN AREA

20. High esteem : RESPECT

22. Motley : PIED. Never used this word other than Pied Piper

25. "Goodness gracious!" : EGAD

26. "Wide Sargasso Sea" author Jean : RHYS. Wiki says "The novel is written as a prequel and response to Charlotte Brontë's noted novel Jane Eyre".

27. Chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad : IKEA

28. 2016 A.L. Manager of the Year Francona, familiarly : TITO. Known for ending Red Sox's 86-year drought. We also have ARM (105. Pitcher's pride).

29. Heartthrob : FLAME

30. Medicare segment : PART A

32. As to : IN RE

34. Called the shots : LED

44. "The Sage of Concord" : EMERSON

45. Romeo or Juliet : TEEN. Thought of  ROLE first.

46. South of France : MIDI. Why is South of France called "Le Midi"?

47. Holds firmly : RIVETS

48. Dilates : WIDENS

50. Times for vespers : EVES. I forgot the meaning of "vespers". Could only picture the Bond Girl Vesper.

54. Knock for a loop : STUN. Tiny dupe with 113. Stunned accusation : ET TU

55. Schleps : TOTES

62. Jiffs : SECs

64. Slip cover : DRESS

66. Yorkshire river : OUSE. We also have 126. River to the Fulda : EDER

67. Bygone bird : MOA. Locally known as Mall of America. I went to Zara the second day it opened.

73. Bossy remark? : MOO. Great clue.

76. Wine center NNE of Monaco : ASTI

77. Flaw-spotting aid : LOUPE

78. Canterbury's county : KENT

85. Bas-relief medium : GESSO. Learned from doing crosswords.

87. Dashed : TORE

89. Cavaradossi's "Recondita armonia," for one : ARIA. Of the five words in the clue, I know two.

90. Cooper's creations : STAVES

92. Green need : PUTTER. Golf green.

94. Bring in : REAP

98. Where Java may be found : ASIA

99. Before : EARLIER

106. Meh : DRAB

107. Breaks : RIFTS

108. Nursing a sprain, perhaps : GIMPY. Not a word I use.

110. "Good going!" : NICE

 

114. Come together : KNIT

118. Fever with chills : AGUE

123. Needle holder : PINE. You wanted ETUI, didn't you?

124. Espionage asset : STEALTH. Great word. Consonant-rich.

125. More frothy : YEASTIER

127. It's used for some trips : LSD

128. WWII venue : ETO (European Theater of Operations)

129. __ step: deceptive hoops tactic : STUTTER. Learning moment for me.

 

Down:

2. Moonfish : OPAH

3. Darned : VERY

4. Quaint stopovers : INNs

5. Italian counterpart of the BBC : RAI. Stands for Radiotelevisione Italiana. We had this last year. 

6. Prince Valiant's son : ARN

7. Shackle : LEG IRON

8. Onetime California oil town : BREA

9. "__ the fields we go" : O'ER

10. Kind of prof. : ASST

11. Marching orders? : BEAT IT. Great fill/clue.

12. Radar or laser : ACRONYM. Did not know laser is an acronym.

13. Accountant's initialism : YTD

14. European automaker that was originally a sewing machine company : OPEL. Interesting trivia.

15. Rwanda's capital : KIGALI. Got via crosses.

16. Didn't just criticize : REAMED

17. Put on : ADDED

19. Invite for : ASK TO

21. Honor society leader? : PHI. Oh,  Phi Beta Kappa.

24. Reach a high : PEAK

29. Clan clash : FEUD

30. "Hey ... over here!" : PSST

31. "__ good name is ne'er retriev'd": John Gay : A LOST. Also got via crosses.

33. King of France : ROI

35. "His," to Bierce : HERS. We had this clue a while ago.

36. Gives off : EMITS

37. Variety show : REVUE

38. Soak : DRENCH

39. "Yea, verily" : IT IS SO

 

40. Outlaw Kelly : NED

41. Thug's thousands : GEES

42. "The King and I" role : ANNA

43. City on the Dnieper : KIEV

48. Winning Super Bowl III coach Ewbank : WEEB. I tried to use him in a puzzle once.

49. Busybodies : SNOOPS

51. Get-up-and-go : VIM

52. "Foucault's Pendulum" author : ECO

53. Yellow __ : SEA. Between China and South Korea. We call it Huang Hai, literally "Yellow Sea". Hai = Sea. But in Cantonese, Hai means "Yes", same as Japanese.

56. Start of a tribute : ODE TO

57. Pride and prejudice : TRAITS. Got via crosses.

59. Fools : DUPES

60. Faulkner's "__ Lay Dying" : AS I

61. Card collection : DECK. Not baseball cards.

63. Car from Trollhättan : SAAB

65. NBC show since 1975 : SNL

69. After-dinner drink letters : VSO

70. Literary fold : DOG EAR. So simple in retrospect.

71. Third of seven: Abbr. : TUES

72. "Fine" holder of fish? : KETTLE. Fun clue.

73. Wharton deg. : MBA

74. Crew member : OAR

75. Kimono closer : OBI. Kimono is so pricey. Lots of girls just wear Yukata. It has OBI also. 

79. Away from the office : NOT IN

80. In a tough spot : TREED

82. It's a long story : YARN. No SAGA today.

83. South Dakota, to Pierre : ETAT. Good old clue.

84. Pizzazz : DASH

86. Eyeball-bending work : OP ART

88. Drops the ball : ERRS

91. Go (for) : VIE

93. 1999 "A God in Ruins" novelist : URIS. Not familiar with the book.

95. Go around in circles? : EDDY. Another great clue.

96. It's south of Eur. : AFR

97. Small change : PEANUTS

99. Gushes : EFFUSES

100. Standoffish : FRIGID. The "Standoffish" weather here in Minnesota makes me feel tough. Very Fargo-like.

101. Protected, as from prosecution : IMMUNE

102. Put up with : ABIDED. The Hotmail/Outlook rehaul last year is driving me nuts, TTP. They create double space every time I press Enter.  Read here. The glitch has been on for over three years, thought I only encountered this since the rehaul. I'm not sure this happens to every user. I did not notice this problem with Argyle's emails. It's also incredibly slow. I've been using Gmail more and more.

103. Art Deco artist : ERTE

104. Scatterbrained : DITSY

105. Slack-jawed : AGAPE

109. House of Lords member : PEER

111. Balancing pro : CPA. Are you a CPA, D-Otto?

112. Agatha contemporary : ERLE

113. Bounce back : ECHO

114. Nicky of "Boston Public" : KATT. Stranger to me.

115. Jour's opposite : NUIT. Day and night.

116. "Got it" : I SEE

117. Amer. Samoa, e.g. : TERR

119. ISP alternative : DSL. No. ISP offers DSL service.

120. Polo Grounds legend : OTT (Mel).

121. Be-bopper : CAT

122. The Tigers of the SEC : LSU

So what keyboard are you using? We're going to buy a new one soon and I'd like to know your suggestion. Thanks.

Happy Birthday to Patti Varol, Rich's assistant and editor for the Crossword Club. Patti taught me by example on how to make clean puzzles. I'm so grateful for her unfailing patience and attention to details.

C.C.

PS: To those who get the wrong grid today, please click here for the correct puzzle. On the top right, you should see Print or Download button. If you still have trouble, please email me crosswordc@gmail.com, I'll email me the grid. (I've removed the puzzle link. Email me if you need the grid.)

Saturday, Jan 7th, 2017, David Steinberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,X)

Blocks: 27

  Ouch.  Not a good way to start this year's Saturday puzzling.  I had a nearly blank grid after the first Across and Down passes, with "MOET" and BIC" my only fills; then I tried a few WAGs, and the bottom started to fill in.  Worked my way up the sides, where MAESTRO got me into the NE, but 24d. was a total blank - and so on came the red letters, and I have to call Fun SPONGE on too many answers - even ones I got ( I am looking at you, 55a.).  Argh~! - yet ironic that I finished within my personal time.  Oh - and one Google cheat - might as well own up to a complete crash and burn....Near perfect symmetry in the grid spoiled by fill that carried a cringe factor (*) too high.  Nothing longer than 8 letters;

2*. "100% juice smoothie" brand : ODWALLA - not a chance in millions was I getting this - California west coast thing, I guess

14. Investor's concern, familiarly : P/E RATIO - thought it was "----TAX" at first

39. Club attention-getter : PERFUME - ah that kind of club - there was once a fragrance named "Escape" that made me swoon; it's not the scent or the liquor that gets my attention now....

 43. CIA nickname : LANGLEY - Just finished "The Broker", John Grisham, featuring his CIA director Teddy Maynard, who's home base was frequently referred to as "Langley"

ONWARD~!
(redacted)

ACROSS:

1. "Easy!" : "NO SWEAT~!"

8. Scary high : BAD TRIP

15. Facebook co-founder Saverin : EDUARDO - my Google cheat; I am not on Facebook, and don't "tweet" either

16. Come by : ACQUIRE

17*. Soccer blunder : OWN GOAL - my dad would be so upset - he lived for soccer, and I never heard this phrase before

18. Arabian matchmaker : BREEDER - argh~!  Horse talk

19. Site of many '60s tours : 'NAM - ah, not a musical tour, as I was thinking

20. Spread out : SPLAYED - dah~!  Not ARRayed

22. MPG-estimating org. : EPA - I pondered this, and left it blank

23. Kiddie lit count : OLAF - not in my 'ute' - the Wiki

25. Provisions : TERMS

26. Eponymous 18th-century wine trader Claude : MOËT

27. Story featuring Paris : ILIAD - ah, the character, not the city

29. Govt. agency with domestic field divisions in 15 states : DEA - perps left me with D - A

30. Pacific island overrun by wild chickens : KAUA'I - I figured it was Hawaiian, but LANA'I was all I could think of

31. Original "SNL" cast member : RADNER - Gilda - got it once I had the --D--R

33. Godfather cocktail ingredient : AMARETTO - never had one; my first attempt had "----MIX"

35. Lump : GLOB - dah~! Not Blob

37. Wally who played himself in the "Taxi" episode "Latka's Cookies" : AMOS - never watched, but I can see the "Famous Amos" connection

38. Wine drink : SPRITZER

42. Forest weapon : ANTLER

46. Social group : PEERS - I tried CASTE

47. Wite-Out maker : BIC

49. Do away with : ERASE - hesitated on the first pass with this inkling

50. __ health : ORAL - I take good care of my teeth, but my gum is starting to bother me between my last two molars

51. Inexpensive vodka : POPOV - vodka was never my drink, so I pondered STOLI - 12 year anniversary tomorrow

53. Currently playing : ON TV

54. Draft letters : NFL - argh~! football sports draft

55*. Acid test supply : pH PAPER - I filled this in and said "no way"

57. "Wow!" : "GEE~!"

58. Colorful holiday candy : GUMDROP

60. First name in dognapping : CRUELLA - 101 Dalmatians

62. Stem (from) : EMANATE

63. Get gray gracefully : AGE WELL

64. Old Roman adviser : SENATOR

65. Early arrivals : RED-EYES

DOWN:

1*. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" genre : NEO-NOIR - got the NOIR from perps, but nothing made any sense

3. Raisin brand : SUN-MAID - ah, this company I know of

4. Reaction to a treat, maybe : WAG - oops, not "ARF"

5. Lover of Psyche : EROS

6. One way to cope : ADAPT

7. Sounded : TOLLED - I had ---LED; Called, Yelled~?

8. 2008 Poehler/Fey comedy : BABY MAMA

9. Real estate measures : ACRES - clecho with; 21d. Real estate measure : AREA - one outdoor, one indoor

10. Removed for a rules violation, briefly : DQ'ed - my online search pulled up dq'd, no "E" - short for disqualified

11. Day of the wk. : TUEsday - blank, I had a one-in-seven shot; give me a "U" and....

12. Weather : RIDE OUT - the verb, not the noun

13. Emphatic words : "I REPEAT"

24*. Obsessive young devotee : FAN GIRL - ugh.  Never heard the term - but it was a movie from last year

26. Baton holder : MAESTRO

WTF~?

28. Benching targets, briefly : DELTS

30. Greenland currency : KRONE

32. Waitress in the comic strip "Shoe" : ROZ

34. Doctors' org. : AMA - oooh~! A gimme~!

36. Certain jazzman : BE-BOPPER

38. They hold water : SPONGES - FUN Sponges do not

40. Quiche shunner, in an '80s best-seller : REAL MAN - ah, did not know it was a book - the Wiki

41. Longtime morning host : RIPA - made me take out STOLI

44. One-named "American Boy" singer : ESTELLE - almost all perps

45. Lets out : REVEALS

48. Wheels of justice? : COP CAR - har-har

51. A filter may be used to produce it : PHOTO

52. Edge : VERGE

55. Start to fall? : PRAT

56. Regretted : RUED

59. Some trial evidence : DNA

61. Rebus animal : EWE

Splynter

Friday, January 6, 2017, Gary Schlapfer & C.C. Burnikel

Title: Why don't your glasses fall off? The NOSE knows!

Almost as if planned, JzB lauded puzzles which use different definitions for the same word on Wednesday. So like magic, C.C. and Husker Gary are here with a classic example of that type of puzzle. Actually there are many other meanings for bridge - part of a musical composition - part of a guitar - and the above referenced nose. This team picked two grid spanners and two 13s to pack in the theme. All four definitions are fair and took time to come up with the symmetrical fill. They managed some fun fill like INGEST, GO FAST,  G-SUITS, TOSTADA, THE WIRE, I GOTTA RUN and DUDE RANCH. As always with a C.C. monitored puzzle there are some great clues. Let's get to work!

17A. Bridge : CARD GAME FOR FOUR (15). One of my favorite card games.

23A. Bridge : HELMSMAN'S POST (13). The Captain  often is there as well, ask Sulu.

52A. Bridge : RIVER CROSSING (13). We still have a few covered bridges in Connecticut. LINK.

62A. Bridge : DENTAL APPLIANCE (15). I had one that fell out.

Across

1. Carnival Cruise Line headquarters : MIAMI. The ultimate gimme for me; I live in South Florida and I have been to their offices having owned a travel agency.

6. Net gain? : GOAL. Punny!

10. One often taking a bow : GIFT. Yes, this time it is BOW (o) not BOW (ow).

14. How many crosswords are solved : IN PEN. In ink, with a pen? Or maybe they are referring to incarcerated people.

15. Plot to plow : ACRE. nice!

16. Creepy look : OGLE.

20. Young Skywalker's nickname : ANI. He was played by a boy named Jake Lloyd. As Dr. Frak N. Furter would say " FAME is fleeting..."

21. "At Wit's End" columnist Bombeck : ERMA.

22. Like Cheerios : OATEN. Entering the food zone.

27. Liked a lot, with "up" : ATE.

28. Taqueria order : TOSTADA. See three foodies in a row. I think the word just means "Toasted."

31. A3 or Q7 : AUDI.

34. Leave : DEPART.

37. Whistle-blower : REF. Very cute clue.

38. Way around the block? : SHUNT. Wonderful, how to avoid an arterial blockage.

40. Luau band : LEI. How many have been to Hawaii?

41. Meatball medium : SAUCE. Food. Gravy to many Italians.

43. Roll in the yard : SOD. Again nice phrasing.

44. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. More puns.

47. Cause of some closings : SNOW.

48. HBO drama set in Baltimore : THE WIRE.

50. __ Friday's : TGI.
.
58. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque prayer : OMANI. One from Oman. Oman is an absolute monarchy. The Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has been the hereditary leader of the country since 1970.  Sultan Qaboos is the longest-serving current ruler in the Middle East,  and sixth-longest current-reigning monarch in the world.

60. Sci-fi navigator : SULU. I told you could ask him.

61. Gen __ : XER.

66. Number of times a horse can enter the Kentucky Derby : ONCE. As a three year old.

67. "Dies __" : IRAE.

68. Copy, in a way : TRACE.

69. Essen's region : RUHR.

70. Celebrate an anniversary, say, with "out" : DINE.

71. Secretly watch : SPY ON.

Down:

1. Hebrew prophet : MICAH. ONE of 12 minor prophets in Judaism, but embraced by Christianity.

2. Absurd : INANE.

3. __ fool : APRIL.

4. Club __ : MED. All inclusive vacation, now with 68 locations, including LINK.

5. Take in : INGEST.

6. Harmful ray type : GAMMA. Just ask Bruce Banner!

7. More than 70% of Earth's surface : OCEAN.

8. Lab greeting : ARF.

9. "Ars gratia artis" is written in an arc around his head : LEO. MGM Lion.

10. Zoom along : GO FAST.

11. "Time for me to split" : I GOTTA RUN.

12. Smoke passage : FLUE.

13. Gull relative : TERN.

18. Carrying, so to speak : ARMED.

19. Hen holders : ROOSTS.

24. Common street name : MAIN.

25. Strait-laced : STAID.

26. __ ejemplo : POR. For example...not too hard

29. Geometric art style : DECO. Art is always fun. LINK.

30. Several : A FEW.

31. Start of a subordinate title: Abbr. : ASST.

32. "You meant 8 p.m. not a.m.?" : UH OH.

33. Vacation spot with horseback riding : DUDE RANCH.

35. Toon often seen in a hunting hat : ELMER.

36. Shelled veggie : PEA.

39. "Jeopardy!" staple : TRIVIA.

42. Flaws and all : AS IS. Many homes and used cars are sol this way.

45. Is for everyone? : ARE. Really cute clue.

46. Bikini in the Pacific, e.g. : ATOLL. Well used by the military. 

49. It starts a bit before Christmas : WINTER. 4 days, C.E.

51. Astronauts' gear : G-SUITS. From our resident astronaut we have  an anti-gravity garment worn by fighter pilots. When they are pulling positive G's, the suit inflates and prevents blood from pooling in their feet and legs which would cause them to lose consciousness. NASA astronauts also wear g-suits when they experience Orthostatic Intolerance. LINK

53. Channel with a "Congressional Chronicle" online archive : C-SPAN.

54. Kolkata cash : RUPEE. No more Calcutta.

55. Slangy refusal : IXNAY. Pig latin...

56. Wafer brand : NECCO.  HG? Those of us of an age...



57. Place to find a flag : GREEN. Another HG moment with a golf course clue.

58. Le Pew's defense : ODOR.  Pepe.

59. Dish list : MENU.

63. Limit : LID. Put a lid on it!?!

64. Jackie O's second : ARI. Aristotle Onassis.

65. "Shirt Front and Fork" artist : ARP. Jean Arp or Hans Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter, poet, and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper. When Arp spoke in German he referred to himself as "Hans", and when he spoke in French he referred to himself as "Jean".

What a great way to start my 2017 blogging. Thanks and thank you all. Lemonade bad sciatica and all saying see ya.

Thursday, January 5th 2017 Morton J. Mendelson

Theme: Emoticon Explications :)

Four theme phrases clued by their emoticons:

17A. >:-(  I'M REALLY FURIOUS

25A. :-(  WHAT A DOWNER

47A. ;-)  JUST KIDDING

60A. :-O  THAT'S SURPRISING!

Four emoticons - these ones are described as "sideways, Latin only". These were the first, simple ways of denoting a facial expression in textual form and used in early chat rooms. They've now developed into a quite complex sub-language, and also sparked the development of the graphical emojis that you find on your mobile phone.

One of my favorites is the portrait of Homer Simpson  ~(_8^(I)

This puzzle looks to be the LA Times debut for Morton, so congratulations are in order. He's been published in the New York Times prior, but I can't see any history in the LAT. Four nice in-the-language phrases matching the facial expressions.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Gucci of fashion : ALDO

5. Manual reader : USER

9. Certain highlands musician : PIPER. The Great Highland bagpipes, the ones you're probably most familiar with, are inflated by blowing down the chanter. Irish pipes use a bellows instead, so all those pipers you see on St. Patrick's Day are using the wrong instrument. Also, this tune, which you also hear a lot on March 17th is called "Scotland the Brave". Never ceases to amuse me.

14. Celebrity : LION. This is our local celebrity lion - the mountain lion which hunts in Griffith Park.

Photograph by Steve Winter/National Geographic

15. Salon service : PEDI

16. Eco-friendly spa brand : AVEDA.  Salon brand also - they make hair products as well.

20. Gazpacho ingredient : TOMATO' Food! Basic recipe, I give mine a bit of zing with a dash of balsamic and Worcestershire sauce (repeat after me - wuster sauce, not war-sester-shyre!)

21. Grammatical unit : SENTENCE

22. Make up for skipping classes, perhaps : CRAM. I did my fair share of this back in the day.

24. Scholar's deg. : PHD. 

30. Carpooling calc. : ETA. I think this refers to the time you're going to get picked up when you're part of a carpool. Makes a change from the airport clues though.

33. Frigid end? : AIRE

34. Straight man : STOOGE. Were the Three Stooges all straight men? Patricia Heaton from "Everybody Loves Raymond" was one of the best.

35. Bust : NAB

36. Vegetation : FLORA

38. Tarzan creator's monogram : ERB. Edgar Rice Burroughs. He owned a ranch a few miles from me in the San Fernando Valley, which is now the neighborhood named "Tarzana".

39. Virus named for a Congolese river : EBOLA

41. Trains above the road : ELS. Giving Ernie a rest today.

42. Allows to attack : LETS AT

45. "Smack That" rapper : AKON. Thank you, crosses.

46. Manhattan part : RYE. Bartenders tell me that the only cherries that you should use are the ones made by Luxardo. Cheers!

49. Pro : FOR

50. Cabinet dept. with an Office of Science : ENER. A guess, but seemed reasonable.

51. Dined at a table for one : SAT ALONE

56. Near-failing grade : D-MINUS

62. Reached, as expenses : RAN TO

63. Veiny cheese : BLEU. Food! Here's English Stilton, "The King of Cheeses".

64. Work with needles : KNIT

65. Med. specialty : OB-GYN

66. Couture line : SEAM. Nice clue/answer combo.

67. Gels : SETS

Down:

1. Came to rest : ALIT

2. Long drive? : LIMO. Took a couple of beats to see this one.

3. Brown digs? : DORM. Brown University.

4. Many an Albee play : ONE-ACTER. I tried ONE-ACTED first which had me looking sideways at "FLODA"

5. Puts on the internet, e.g. : UPLOADS. Like I'll do with this blog in a few minutes.

6. Poivre companion : SEL. I was given a set of electric pepper and salt grinders this Christmas, appropriately made by Peugeot, a French car company. What a car manufacturer is doing making kitchen equipment I have no idea.

7. Slow Churned ice cream : EDYS. Dreyer's out here in the West. Same stuff.

8. Swarming (with) : RIFE

9. Where many aces can be seen : PAR THREE. Most holes-in-one on the golf course come on the shorter par-3 holes. I've never made one, but I gave a club to a friend of mine, and he hit a hole-in-one with it the very next time out on the course. I claim an assist.

10. Like some academic walls : IVIED. Some baseball grounds too, Wrigley most famously.

11. Menial worker : PEON

12. Part of NEA: Abbr. : EDUC.

13. Demolish, in Devon : RASE. "Fawlty Towers" was based on a hotel in Torquay in Devon, which is a long way round of saying that John Cleese would be called John Cleeze here.

18. Gillette brand : ATRA

19. Remove wooden pins from : UNPEG

23. Sacred songs : MOTETS. Learning moment. I knew the word, I didn't know that they were sacred.

25. Mass consumption? : WAFER. Nice. Communion wafer.

26. Like links-style golf courses : HILLY. "Hilly" isn't the first adjective I'd choose to describe a links course. The Old Course at St. Andrews, the most famous of them all, is as flat as a pancake.

27. Sprang up : AROSE

28. Razzie Award adjective : WORST

29. Easy to prepare, as desserts : NO-BAKE

30. Mushroom in Asian cuisine : ENOKI. Food! I'm getting full here. Also known as enokitake, Great in noodle bowls.

31. Raptor's weapon : TALON

32. Go out with __ : A BANG

37. "The Jazz Singer" singer : AL JOLSON

40. Applicants with low credit scores, to loan officers : BAD RISKS

43. Dutch banknotes : EUROS

44. Günter Grass novel, with "The" : TIN DRUM

48. __-plié: ballet movement with knees half-bent : DEMI. Not known, but the "half-bent" makes this easy to guess.

49. Like marbled steak : FATTY. Food! I cooked a prime rib roast on New Year's Day. I dreamt about it last night. I wonder about myself sometimes.

* For extra credit, what's unique about the word "dreamt" in the language?

51. Houston pro, locally : 'STRO. Baseball's Astros. We had the long version of the name yesterday.

52. Captain who says, "For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee" : AHAB. From "Moby Dick."This monomaniac was in our "Captains" puzzle a couple of Thursdays back.

53. Sharp flavor : TANG

54. Well-used crayons : NUBS

55. Creator of Perry and Della : ERLE. Crosses for me. Perry Mason, Della Street, Erle Stanley Gardner.

57. Diamond complement : NINE. I had to stare this one down before the penny dropped. Nice players on a baseball team.

58. Minute, e.g. : UNIT

59. Some NCOs : SGTS

61. __ shooter : PEA

That wraps it up for me. Time for dinner!

Steve

Wednesday, January 4, 2017 Ed Sessna

Theme: FLIGHTS OF FANCY.  We'll let Frank take it away, and save the unifier for last.



20 A. Gathering for February's big game : SUPER BOWL PARTY.  A group of friends might get together to watch the game, and there is a certain culinary item, to be identified in good time, which might be consider traditional for the event.  It is related to the city of Buffalo, though their team is about as likely to show up there as the Lions.  At least the Lions squeaked into the play-offs this year.   Fivethirtyeight.com gives them a 29% chance of getting past the Sea Hawks and <1% chance of winning the SUPER BOWL.  I love their optimism.

38 A. George Washington never slept there : THE WHITE HOUSE.  This has been the presidential residence since John Adams occupied it in 1800.   George Washington was the first president after the adoption of the Constitution, serving from 1789 to 1797.  The interior of the original structure was destroyed by the British during the war of 1812, but reconstruction began almost immediately.  An addition on the western side of the building was completed in 1901.  An addition on the east side, now used as the visitor's entrance, was completed in 1942. More on these later.

58 A. Heavenly protectors : GUARDIAN ANGELS.  Since antiquity, ANGELS have been believed to be spiritual beings that are superior to humans in power and intelligence.  The Christian concept of their hierarchy and duties was largely developed in the 5th century.  A GUARDIAN ANGEL is presumed to watch over and guide a specific person, group, or nation.  When anthropomorphized in art and literature, they are generally conceived as having certain anatomical features that are not characteristic of human kind.  So ---

At last, the unifier: 70 A. What 20-, 38- and 58-Across have in common : WINGS.  

After Mantha's game winner in O/T

The PARTY WINGS come from chickens, and are deep fried and served with sauces, originally vinegar and cayenne pepper based, but now existing in a variety of types, flavors and heat intensities.

From Wikipedia

The WHITE HOUSE east and west WINGS,as mentioned above.

Details

ANGELS are generally pictured with enormous WINGS sprouting from where their shoulder blades ought to be.  How they get into those robes is a bit of a mystery.

Two kids, one ANGEL - don't ask

Hi gang, and happy New Year.  JazzBumpa here to take you soaring through Ed's entry. This is pretty much my kind of theme, with a common word displaying a few different meanings. Let's launch into it!

Across

1. "Scrubs" nurse married to Dr. Turk : CARLA.   TV show that ran from 2001 to 2010.  I only watched it a few times.

6. Suddenly became attentive : SAT UP.  And took notice.

11. Letter addition letters : PPS.  Post Scripts.  I wanted PS'S.

14. They may be gray : AREAS.  Found in many regions of thought and philosophy.

15. Make one of many : UNITE.

16. __ polloi : HOI.  Ordinary folk  .  .  .

17. Brown bread : TOAST.  S/B browned bread.

18. Files in a recycle bin : DELETIONS.   Computer files.

22. Exploit : USE.

23. Flooring choice : OAK.  

24. Irish lullaby syllables : LOORA.

26. Colombia neighbor : PERU.   South American countries.

28. Lead-in for jet or prop : TURBO.  Airplane propulsion systems.

32. Gritty genre : NOIR.  Crime fiction characterized by fatalism, cynicism and moral ambiguity.

33. Second of three O's : TAC.  In the game of noughts and crosses, aka tic-tac-toe, played on a hash tag grid.

35. Job rights agcy. : EEOC.  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

37. Adobe file format : PDF.  Portable Data File

42. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE.  Canadian singer/song writer who has won many awards.

43. Sainted fifth-century pope : LEO I.  Pope from 440 t0 461.  An Italian aristocrat who persuaded Attila the Hun to not attack Rome in 452.

44. Novelist Deighton : LEN.  Acclaimed spy novelist, military historian, cookery writer and graphic artist.

45. Publication sales fig. : CIRCulation.

47. 1983 60-Down winner Tom : SNEVA.  Also known for his several crashes, holding the record for the most crashes during the Indianapolis 500 race.  The most notable was in 1977, when his car got ripped in half.

49. Siouan tribe : OTOE.  A semi-nomadic people who lived along the Missouri River, farming and hunting buffalo.  With or without the terminal E they populate far more crossword puzzles than do the Iroquois.

53. Big aluminum producer : ALCOA.  Foiled again!

55. Yale Blue wearer : ELI.  The nickname for the Yale student.

57. Took cover : HID.

63. Fleeting affair : DALLIANCE.  A fling.

64. "The Maltese Falcon" actor Peter : LORRE.  Speaking of film NOIR - this 1941 adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's 1929 novel stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his femme fatal client.  

65. French season : ETE.  Summer.

66. Pianist Watts : ANDRE.

A short excerpt

67. Bubbling hot : ABOIL.  A dreaded A- word.  Dreaded because they are almost never used in actual conversation, thus not really in the language, except perhaps at the fringe.

68. Director Anderson : WES.  Known for The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and several others.

69. Seven-__ cake : LAYER.  Rich desert.  Have a narrow slice.

Down

1. Takeout packet : CATSUP.  Side vegetable to go with your happy meal.

2. Stir to action : AROUSE.  Excite or incite.

3. One with a sickle : REAPER.   He can be grim.

4. Operate using a beam : LASE.   Using a LASER in a surgical or commercial operation.

5. Houston pro : ASTRO.   Baseball - many long and dreary months away.

6. Daily paper logic puzzle : SUDOKU.  Numbers in a box.

7. From the beginning : ANEW.  All over again.  Devja vu, anyone?

8. Dough drawer : TILL.  Cash register drawer; dough, as in bread, so to speak.

9. Sch. near the Rio Grande : University of Texas at El Paso. 

10. Iris part : PETAL.  Flower, not a portion of the uvea.  Anyway, I went into a blind ally with sepal.

11. Occasions that usually elicit big smiles : PHOTO-OPS.  Chances for publicity pics.  Say cheesy.

12. Fair activity for kids : PONY RIDE.  Activity at the fair, not necessarily in a fair way, which would involve golf.  This is getting rough.

13. One of the fam : SIS.  I have one.  No bro, though.

19. Waffle maker : IRON.  Batter up!

21. Baker's units : BATCHES.  As, frex, of cookies, from my SIS.

25. "Walk me!" : ARF.   Dog speak.

27. 4 x 4, briefly : UTE. Sports Utility Vehicle.

29. Tighten, as laces : RETIE.  Shoe business.

30. Nectar eater : BEE.

31. French "Wowza!" : OOH LA LA.

34. Leather punch : AWL.  Small pointed tool used to pierce holes.

36. Miler Sebastian : COE.  British inner of 4 Olympic gold metals in 1980 and '84, who went on to be a member of parliament from 1992-97.   Now he is a chancellor at Loughborough University and chairman of the British Olympic Association.

38. Follow too closely : TAILGATE.  Alternatively, a pre-game outdoor party that might involve WINGS.

39. Mythical hero with a labor force? : HERCULES.  He was forced to perform 12 labors, involving a great deal of murder, theft and mayhem.   Sneaky clue.

40. Electrified particle : ION.  An atom or molecule either having or lacking one or more electrons from its neutral state.

41. Colorful card game : UNO.

Now available on game consoles

42. LG rival : RCA.

46. Early steam engine fuel : COAL.

48. Facade : VENEER.   This is a stretch.  A VENEER is a thin layer of fine wood applied over a not so fine wood, while a facade is the front of a building.  Either might also indicate an outward appearance designed to conceal something that is probably dishonest or unpleasant.

50. Charlize of "Monster" : THERON.  A movie about that rare aberration - a female serial killer.  Quite a transformation for this role.

Monster movie

51. Coastal fuel extractor : OIL RIG.  We won't talk about the spills.

52. 1950s disasters : EDSELS.  This classic car a disaster?!?  Oh, come now.

54. Easy-to-read font : ARIAL.  Like this.

Not like this

56. Marriage acquisition : IN-LAW.  Relatively speaking.

59. Perfumery that created Tabu : DANA.   House of DANA perfumery was established in Barcelona, Spain in 1932.  the headquarters moved to Paris, then to the U.S. during WW II

60. 200-lap race, briefly : INDY. The Indianapolis 500.

61. 43,560 square feet : ACRE.  Or, 1/640 Sq. Mi.

62. Asian desert : GOBI.  Spanning northwestern China and southern Mongolia.

63. Grass coating : DEW.  Droplets of condensed water.

As you have probably guessed by now, I usually just WING it on these write-ups.  Hope this one didn't ruffle your feathers.

Cool regards!
JzB