Tuesday, January 3, 2017, Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: See The Light

18. Damning evidence : SMOKING GUN. SUNLIGHT

23. Angler's end-of-line item : FISHING LURE. FIRELIGHT

34. Birchbark mover : CANOE PADDLE. CANDLELIGHT

51. Underground violent-weather refuge : STORM CELLAR. STARLIGHT

57. Bits of extra information ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles : SIDELIGHTS

Melissa here. Clever theme - the circled letters (above in red) on the outsides of the theme answers spell out kinds of LIGHT.  WOW this was beyond a Tuesday level for me and it took me forever to get traction. The first word I felt certain of was 16A EAGLE and then 3D AMNESIAC. I hobbled along from there. Is it wrong that I got all the alcohol references immediately? ROSSI, ALES, GIN.

Across 

1. "C'mon, be __" : A PAL. Tried REAL first.


5. Flightless South American bird : RHEA


9. Clay pigeon hurlers : TRAPS. Trapshooting.


14. Cookbook author Rombauer : IRMA. Not ERMA.


15. Brand at Petco : IAMS


16. Highest-ranking Boy Scout : EAGLE


17. Flutist Herbie or novelist Thomas : MANN



20. Heavy hammer : SLEDGE. Peter Gabriel’s music video for Sledgehammer still holds the record for most awards a single video has won, at nine.


22. Gives holy orders to : ORDAINS

26. Scratch (out) : EKE. Misdirection, made me think of crossing out a word on paper.


27. Burger topper : ONION


28. Currently popular : HOT


29. Martini's partner in vermouth : ROSSI


31. "The Crying Game" actor Stephen : REA


32. Sign between Cancer and Virgo : LEO


33. Sunday bench : PEW

39. "That's amazing!" : WOW


40. Wyo. neighbor : IDA


41. Musician's deg. : MFA. Master of Fine Arts.


44. Big strings in the orchestra : CELLI. Not HARPS.


47. TV's Arthur : BEA


48. "24" superagent Jack : BAUER


50. Half a patriotic cheer : USA



54. Garb for the slopes : SKI WEAR


56. "__ Fideles": Christmas carol : ADESTE



60. Aptly named pope : PIUS


61. Chihuahua lady friend : AMIGA


62. Conception : IDEA


63. Coastal city : PORT


64. So far : TO NOW.  Not AS YET.


65. Brewpub pours : ALES


66. Snack machine inserts : ONES

Down

1. Focuses on, as a goal : AIMS FOR


2. Nutty confection : PRALINE


3. Many a soap opera character, after a blow to the head : AMNESIAC. Funny.


4. Lookout's cry : LAND HO. I was thinking along the lines of aiding and abetting, not ships.


5. Awake and about : RISEN


6. Virginia __ : HAM


7. Expressive rock genre : EMO


8. Invite to a movie, perhaps : ASK OUT


9. Offered in payment : TENDERED


10. Sitar music : RAGA


11. Texas A&M team : AGGIES


12. Plops (down) : PLUNKS


13. Martial arts instructor : SENSEI


19. Like some outlet store mdse. : IRR. Irregular.


21. Bombay Sapphire, e.g. : GIN. 


24. Clarified butter : GHEE. So good.


25. More eccentric : LOOPIER. Not LOONIER.


30. Big-eyed bird : OWL


32. Feeling blue : LOW. Not SAD.


33. High-tech appt. book : PDA


35. Hole-making tool : AWL


36. Legal deterrent to loud neighbors : NOISE LAW


37. Podcast comic Carolla : ADAM


38. Liquid-in-liquid suspension : EMULSION


42. Main movie : FEATURE


43. Puts the cuffs on : ARRESTS


44. Verbally abuse, informally : CUSS AT. Not FUSS AT.


45. __ Pie: ice cream treat : ESKIMO


46. Stocked for future use : LAID IN


47. Noble Italian house that produced two popes : BORGIA. House of Borgia.


48. Sleeping spot : BED


49. Embattled Syrian city : ALEPPO. So sad.


52. Mai __ : TAI


53. Spanish homes : CASAS


55. "And away __!" : WE GO


58. Good cholesterol, for short : HDL. High-density lipoprotein.


59. Three-way intersection : TEE

Monday, January 2, 2017 Neville Fogarty

Theme: Fowl Play - And not the cooped-up chicken counting card game.

20. Longtime navigation method: DEAD RECKONING. Dead Duck

36. Rabbit's foot, perhaps: LUCKY CHARM. Lucky Duck

42. Toy sold in eggs: SILLY PUTTY. Silly Goose

56. Kids' game hinted at by the starts of 20-, 36-, and 42-Across: DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE

Argyle here. Nifty Monday from Neville. He is usually later in the week. The four long columns stitch it all together.

Across:

1. Plus: ALSO

5. Kernel-less picnic discards: COBS

9. What judges wear: ROBES

14. In a little while: SOON

15. "Once __ a midnight dreary ... ": UPON. 51-Down. Award named for Poe: EDGAR

16. Kick out of the country: EXILE. Perhaps to end up on the following.

17. Spring break destination, perhaps: ISLE

18. Nevada gambling city: RENO

19. Like thickets: DENSE

23. List of mistakes: ERRATA, in subsequent edtions.

24. Golf scorecard figure: PAR

25. Med. condition with repetitive behavior: OCD. (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

28. Tries to be heard in a noisy room: YELLs. Because "Psst!" won't cut it.

31. Save: RESCUE. Dogs, cats, winos.

33. Rascals: CADs

38. Geometry calculations: AREAs

40. Small battery: AAA

41. Body part often sculpted: TORSO

45. Paradise: EDEN

46. Et __: CETERA

47. Puts a tight lid on: SEALS

49. First st., alphabetically: ALA.

50. "__ you serious?": ARE

52. "Hold on a second": "NOT YET"

60. Reeves who played "Ted" in "Bill & Ted" films: KEANU. Excellent!

62. High spirits: GLEE

63. Bit of deception: RUSE

64. Clark's exploring partner: LEWIS

65. Author Rice: ANNE

66. Like 2, 4, 6, and so on: EVEN

67. "The Count of __ Cristo": MONTE

68. Charlie Brown's "Phooey!": RATS. Classic.

69. Erotic: SEXY

Down:

1. Parenthetical remark: ASIDE

2. What a two-fingered "L" represents: LOSER. "Let's not be L7." (square)

3. Word with panel or power: SOLAR

4. Limited-time retail offer: [ONE DAY SALE]. But wait! Call in the next 15 minutes...

5. Panacea: CURE-ALL

6. Oil-exporting org.: OPEC. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)

7. Hit on the head: BONK

8. Poke around: SNOOP

9. Forward, as mail: REDIRECT

10. Plow-pulling animals: OXEN

11. Church game handout: BINGO CARD

12. Golfer Ernie: ELS

13. Recognize: SEE

21. I-95, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE

22. __ a soul: NARY

26. Evil legacy: CURSE

27. Evil spirit: DEMON

29. Maui party: LUAU

30. Sings like Ella: SCATS

32. Retail outlets with many loafers?: SHOE STORES

33. First to stab Caesar: CASCA. Publius Servilius Casca was the first to strike Caesar with a dagger. (Even Lila Cherry used this on a Monday.)

34. Animated film mermaid: ARIEL

35. 1973 #1 hit for Helen Reddy: DELTA DAWN. Remember?

37. "Kiss Me __": KATE. A musical version of The Taming of the Shrew.

39. New York university city: SYRACUSE

43. Picnic area: PARK

44. Baseball's Bronx Bombers: YANKEES

48. Calculator function: LOG

53. "__ Lost That Lovin' Feelin'": YOU'VE. Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers.

54. Devereux's earldom: ESSEX. Obscure reference to an opera by Gaetano Donizetti, 1837, maybe? Link

55. So, so small: TEENY

57. Inch or mile, e.g.: UNIT

58. Forearm bone: ULNA

59. Dollar fraction: CENT

60. Merged Dutch airline: KLM. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. Air France–KLM merger.

61. Fair-hiring letters: EEO. (Equal Employment Opportunity)

Argyle

Sunday, January 1, 2017, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

I am typing this as quietly as I can to accommodate those of you whose partying with 17. __ beverage : ADULT was quite extensive. Happy New Year to all our Crossword Friends here at the Corner! Should Old Acquaintance NOT be forgot!


TITLE: "WHAT HAPPENED THEN" Don and C.C. have a very lovely puzzle to start off our New Year and it became a lot easier for me when I realized the title did NOT have a  question mark after it. Rather their theme fills were actual events that occurred 100 years prior to the year which we are now entering. 

Husker Gary here on New Year's Day after blogging puzzles on Pearl Harbor Day and The Winter Solstice, I get to do the first one of the year.

The big American event of that year was the entry of the USA into WWI and Don and C.C. even offered a reference to that with these two fills

116. Subject of an act passed in 1917 : SELECTIVE SERVICE

67. American citizenship grantee in 1917 : PUERTO RICAN - The First Puerto Rican Regiment. Many thought that Puerto Ricans were only granted citizenship so they could fight for America in WWI

The non-war 1917 theme fills:

22. Fundraising items first sold in 1917 : GIRL SCOUT COOKIES - During rationing in WWII, their fundraisers switched temporarily to calendars

28. Treats inspired by a coal miner in 1917 : MOON-PIES - Somehow these two became a "thing"

42. World Series winner in 1917 : CHICAGO WHITE SOX - With Shoeless Joe Jackson. Two years after this 1917 ad they were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series and became known derisively as the Black Sox.

91. America bought it from Denmark in 1917 : US VIRGIN ISLANDS - Formerly Danish West Indies, includes St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and some minor islands. Almost named for Admiral Dewey.

108. Orphanage founded in 1917 : BOYS TOWN - It used to be a farm 6 miles west of Omaha but is now midtown. BT recently sold much of their farm ground for $37M as it now concentrates on academics and trade programs for Boys AND Girls. 

Now let's look at C.C.'s and Don's always wonderful cluing/fill:


Across

1. Olympian queen : HERA 

5. Bad attention-getter in a crowded bar : PSST

9. Baker/literacy advocate Wally who hosted "Learn to Read" : AMOS 

13. Big name in romance novels : AVON - The Publishing Company

19. Goddess who saved infant Zeus from Cronus : RHEA

20. Hair-raising : SCARY

21. Big do : GALA

25. Additional decision-making factors : ANDS

26. "Don't move" : STAY PUT - The Steelers' left end and tackle are required to STAY PUT until the ball is snapped even if the Patriots jumped. They didn't, so it was a penalty.

27. Person : SOUL

30. Sore spot : LESION

32. Flight parts : STEPS

34. Valencian rice dish : PAELLA - Some pronunciation options: pah-ey-luh, -eyl-yuh, pah-yel-uh; Spanish pah-e-lyah, -e-yah

35. Frame of Elmer, e.g. : CEL - This one signed by Friz Freleng runs $1,400

37. Cpls., e.g. : NCO'S

39. "I get it now!" : AHA

40. Bach's east : OST - Boy's Town ist 30 km zu meiner OST (Boy's Town is 30 km to my east)

41. She plays Watson in "Elementary" : LIU

47. Hoppy brew, for short : IPA

49. More than help with : DO FOR

50. Fabled thorn victim : LION - The Aesop Fable about the slave Androcles whose merciful act was repaid later in the Circus Maximus when the LION spared him

51. "Nice job!" reply : I TRY

52. Bishop's agent : VICAR

55. Site with a Pill Identification Tool : WEB MD

57. Have choice words for : SWEAR AT

59. Modern problem solver : TECHIE - Remember that kid you laughed at in school?

60. Some microbrews : RYE BEERS

62. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" director Anderson : WES

63. Pile on : ADD - Competence is always punished!

64. Column width unit : PICA - The two typewriter choices we had back in the 60's. Er, that would be 1960's!

71. Slant : BIAS - Good luck finding journalism without a BIAS

72. Gp. once led by Charles Mayo : AMA - This Mayo was the son of the Mayo clinic founder and headed the AMA in 1933

73. Book with entries : LOG - An electronic LOG

74. Black box, e.g. : RECORDER - One recovered from a plane crash

76. Surgical knife : LANCET

78. Desk accessory : BLOTTER

81. Slow period : SLACK - Winter for the golf courses I frequent

84. Split : END IT

85. Serving two purposes : DUAL

86. Starting on : AS OF - AS OF today I should start to lose some weight. If only there were no potato chips! Sigh...

88. Sidestep : AVOID

90. They may be checked at the door : ID'S - Would they really check ID'S for this event?

94. Letters in early dates : BCE - Before Common Era - Used by some to not offend non-Christians

96. Prefix with fiction : ECO

98. Middle __ : AGE

99. Granny : NANA

100. Hubbub : ADO

101. Words of concern : OH DEAR

103. Stern with strings : ISAAC

105. UPS Store customer : SENDER 

110. Many antique radios : RCA'S 

112. Crumbly English cheese : STILTON - Semi hard, crumbly cheese with characteristic blue streaks

115. Tantrum-prone one : BRAT

119. Like some ducks? : LAME - One occupies 1600 Pennsylvania today

120. Full of chutzpah : BRASH

121. Philosopher Descartes : RENE

122. Dry runs : TESTS

123. "What __?" : ELSE

124. Sources of pliable wood : YEWS - Utilized thusly (first time I've ever used that word!)

125. Column that's beside the point? : ONES - Like the 6 in 176.932

126. "Immediately!" : STAT


Down

1. Fairy tale heavies : HAGS

2. Ready for publication : EDIT

3. Grandma Moses subject : RURAL LIFE

4. "O Come, __ Faithful" : ALL YE - "Adeste, fideles, laeti triumphantes"

5. Code of conduct : PROTOCOL

6. Moo __ pork : SHU

7. Collectors' goals : SETS - Part of a complete SET of 1961 Topps Baseball cards. I know C.C. and Boomer would love to own this.

8. Shells from stands : TACOS

9. "That's terrible!" : ACK

10. Seriously injures : MAIMS

11. Dairy Queen Blizzard flavor : OREO

12. Online admins : SYSOPS - SYStem OPeratorS 

13. Wonder-struck : AGAPE

14. Dunkin' Donuts order : VANILLA CHAI - $1.89 here

15. Yale nickname : OLD ELI

16. Onetime Bahamian pirate base : NASSAU

18. Spice amts. : TSPS

20. Only child, maybe : SOLE HEIR

23. Teleprompter's job : CUING

24. Tagged before reaching, as home : OUT AT - Yer outta there! A C.C. puzzle without baseball? Are you new here?

29. Restless folk? : NATIVES

31. "Ah ... okay" : NOW I SEE and 61. Software glitch : BUG - Well of course, there it is

33. Common meal for a tight budget : PASTA

35. Looped in, briefly : CC'D - Carbon Copy becomes the abbreviation CC and then a past tense verb CC'D as in a copy has been sent. What an elastic language we have.

36. Website with detailed instructions : EHOW

38. Athlete's refreshment? : SHOWER

40. Clearasil competitor : OXY

43. Lethal snake : COBRA 

44. Large group : ARMY - This ARMY lost its leader in 2016

45. Like noble gases : INERT

46. Table scrap : ORT

48. Short shot? : PIC - Plural pix

53. Musical with the song "The Gods Love Nubia" : AIDA - From Elton John's and Tim Rice's adaptation of Verdi

54. Joey Votto's team : REDS

56. Rail stop : DEPOT

58. Of __ : somewhat : A SORT

59. Pays attention (to) : TENDS 

62. String of engagements : WAR

64. Like some ale : PALE

65. David Bowie's love : IMAN

66. Holiday sides : CANDIED YAMS - This is not haute cuisine, but is a favorite here!  and 73. "I'm starving!" : LET' S EAT

68. Change the price of : RETAG

69. Traps during a storm, perhaps : ICES IN

70. Circles of light : CORONAS

71. Diva's reward : BRAVA

75. Star of David displayer : EL AL - Israel's airline

77. El Cantar de mío __: Castilian epic poem : CID

78. Blue Bird vehicle : BUS - Their first one was on a 1927 Ford chassis and is now in the Henry Ford Museum 

79. Volcanic flows : LAVAS

80. Member of a small ruling class : OLIGARCH

82. Hustler : CON ARTIST - "Fast Eddie Felson" to us Paul Newman fans

83. Scottish pirate : KIDD

85. Key & Peele, e.g. : DUO 

87. Handles skillfully : FINESSES

89. Brit. medal : DSO

92. Flinch, say : REACT

93. "À votre __!" : SANTE - "To your health" en français

94. Fielding error : BOBBLE 

95. Like Beethoven's Ninth : CHORAL - Gives me goosebumps

97. 2016 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient Sidney : CROSBY - That's the NHL MVP trophy. I wonder what he got for this performance. 

102. Big name in beauty : ESTEE

103. Relative challenge for some : IN-LAW 

104. African capital : CAIRO

106. Lowdown : DIRT - TMZ seems to get it first and right. Ray Rice (corrected from Ray Lewis) was only getting a couple NFL games suspension until TMA produced the actual video of him hitting his wife.

107. Fabled toy makers : ELVES

109. "__ in this together!" : WE'RE

111. Kristoff's pet reindeer in "Frozen" : SVEN

113. Numerical prefix : OCTA

114. Tree squirrel's drey, e.g. : NEST - A drey is literally the name for a squirrel's NEST

117. Slalom curve : ESS - Yup!

118. Dallas-to-Memphis dir. : ENE

Our maiden 2017 Grid

How 'ya gonna kick off 2017 better than C.C. and her masked companion Don Hard G? Alright, I made up that masked part but still, they're great together and singularly!

I hereby resolve to let other voices to be heard! So, have at it!