Tuesday, October 3, 2017 ~ Roland Huget

Theme: Let's Make A Deal!

42D. "Agreed!" ... and what can be said about the start of the answers to starred clues: "IT'S A DEAL!"

17A. *Boot camp newbie: RAW RECRUIT. Raw deal.

66A. *Defensible alibi: GOOD EXCUSE. Good deal.

11D. *Grand scheme of things: BIG PICTURE. Big deal.

29D. *It may be rational, in math: REAL NUMBER. Real deal.

Argyle here, dealing from the top of the deck. Roland makes a rare trip to the start of the week. It is a pinwheel but then again, it sort of looks like a Q.

Across:

1. Carpet thickness: PILE

5. Crowbar, basically: LEVER

10. Vanishing ski lift: T-BAR. More accurate than yesterday's clue.

14. Preemptive rescue op: EVAC. (Evacuation) Is the hurricane season over?

15. Wear down: ERODE

16. MasterCard rival: VISA

19. Not fer: AGIN. For and against.

20. Slap in the face: INSULT

21. Play the hand you were dealt: STAND PAT. 36-A. Starts the kitty: ANTEs

23. Smooth engine sound: [HUM]

25. __-Locka, Florida: OPA. Opa-tisha-wocka-locka (Seminole)

                               Historic City Hall.

26. Aetna's bus.: INS. (insurance)

27. Michelin product: CAR TIRE

31. Ancient vase in a museum, say: RELIC

33. Fuel-efficient Chevy: AVEO

34. Physics work unit: ERG. The erg is a unit of energy and work equal to 10−7 joules.

39. Truth stretcher: LIAR directly above 44-A. Untrue: FALSE

40. Nebula Award genre: SCI-FI. Awarded for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous calendar year.

43. Undiluted: PURE

46. Acquired: GOT

47. __ Minor: Little Bear: URSA

48. Chinese menu promise: NO MSG. (MonoSodium Glutamate)

51. Company co-founded by J.P. Morgan: US STEEL. Founded: 1901 by Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, Charles M. Schwab, Elbert Henry Gary.

53. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU

55. Sport-__: 4 x 4: UTE. A utility vehicle.

56. 90 deg. at the North Pole, e.g.: LAT. (latitude)

57. Overly long and generally unproductive activity: TIME SINK. Related to "fun sponge"?

60. One of Santa's reindeer: DASHER. Time to start getting them back into shape.

65. "SOS" pop group: ABBA

68. Baked desserts: PIEs

69. Latest craze: MANIA

70. Ointment additive: ALOE

71. Tortoise racer: HARE

72. Spiritual guardian: ANGEL

73. Identity hider: MASK

Down:

1. Prefix with scope: PERI

2. Hall of Fame catcher Rodriguez: IVAN. Iván Rodríguez, "Pudge". In his career, he played for the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. Wikipedia

3. Newton's motion trio: LAWS

4. Color of raw silk: ECRU

5. Professors' talks: LECTURES

6. Boot the ball: ERR

7. "Parlez-__ français?": VOUS. "Do you speak French?"

8. Manuscript fixer: EDITOR

9. Make another recording of: RETAPE. This is as dated as the T-bar.

10. Promo on the tube: TV AD

12. From China, say: ASIAN

13. Tirades: RANTS

18. Pre-college, briefly: ELHI. Grades 1 to 12. (ELementary and HIgh-school)

22. Simba's playmate: NALA. I'm not lion.

24. Defunct Ford division, for short: MERC. (Mercury)

27. Baby whale: CALF

28. Sports shoe brand: AVIA

30. Sculptor's subject: TORSO

32. Data to be processed: INPUT

35. Band tour booking: GIG

37. Highland tongue: ERSE

38. Close tightly: SEAL

41. Basketball transgression: FOUL

45. Grounded Aussie birds: EMUs

49. Mark of disgrace: STIGMA

50. Columbus, by birth: GENOAN 

        The Biosphere and the Porto Vecchio in Genoa.

52. Lay's chips-in-a-can brand: STAX. Pringles competition.

53. Dangerous bacterium: STAPH

54. Knee-to-ankle bone: TIBIA

58. Lessen, as pain: EASE

59. Skull Island ape: KONG. (King)

61. Rip-off: SCAM

62. Island dance: HULA

63. Those, in Mexico: ESOS

64. Cause serious nose-wrinkling: REEK

67. Stop working, as an engine: DIE

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Today dear Santa Argyle wrote his 800th blog post. Day after day, he's here for us. Thank you, Santa.

Monday, October 2, 2017 ~ Brock Wilson

Theme: No Reveal Monday - Add ten.

17. Evening show with headlines and stories: NEWS AT TEN. 10

29. Like perceptive hindsight: TWENTY-TWENTY. 20

47. Generic pre-sunrise hour: OH DARK THIRTY. 30

64. Farm's remote acreage: BACK FORTY. 40

Argyle here. Not much to say so I won't.

Across:

1. Ophthalmic sore: STYE. ophthalmic : of or relating to the eye.

5. Season-ending college football game: BOWL could end in 25-Acrosses. Periods that may decide 5-Acrosses, briefly: OTs. (overtimes)

9. Stories spanning decades: SAGAs

14. __ hygiene: ORAL

15. Bounce off a wall: ECHO

16. Chopin piece: ETUDE. Chopin - Etude Op. 25 No. 11 "Winter Wind"

19. Flabbergast: AMAZE. We have gone from heat wave to frost warnings.

20. Swiss convention city: GENEVA

21. Fist-pump cry: "YEAH!"

23. Sales force member: REP. (representative)

24. '60s protest org.: SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)

27. Andean animal: LLAMA

33. Promise before testimony: OATH

36. Take to court: SUE

37. Journalist Couric: KATIE

Katie stops for coffee in Fremont.

38. German coal valley: RUHR

39. Lifts on slopes: T-BARS

42. Gotten a glimpse of: SEEN

43. Uncomfortably pricey: STEEP

45. One collaring a perp: COP

46. Watch displays, briefly: LEDs. (light-emitting diode)

51. Prefix for Rome's country: ITALO

52. Use a shovel: DIG

53. Pound sound: [ARF!]

56. __ Palmas: Canary Islands city: LAS

58. "No damage done": "I'M OK"

60. Five cents: NICKEL

62. Yellowish brown: OCHER

66. French sweetie: CHERI

67. Inland Asian sea: ARAL

68. Eve's opposite: MORN

69. Frankfurt's state: HESSE

70. Lowdown: DOPE

71. Soon, to a bard: ANON

Down:

1. Billy Joel creations: SONGS

2. Trapped on a branch: TREED

3. Signs of boredom: YAWNS

4. "Is there something __?": ELSE but also 29-Down. "... or else!" remark: THREAT

5. Software trial: BETA TEST

6. Halloween mo.: OCT. This month; the stores are ready.

7. Food for Miss Muffet: WHEY

8. Needing company: LONELY. Just a lonely spider.

9. Seattle athlete: SEAHAWK

10. Fast-cash spot, for short: ATM

11. "Money-back" assurance, perhaps: GUARANTEE

12. Carving tool: ADZE

13. Ooze: SEEP

18. Swear to be true: AVOW

22. Bottom-row PC key: ALT

26. Dismiss with disdain: SNUB

28. Insultingly small, as a payment: MEASLY

30. Instruct: TEACH

31. Even on the scoreboard: TIED

32. Strong desires: YENs

33. Not exactly: OR SO

34. Writer: Abbr.: AUTH

35. Things to wash after dinner: THE DISHES

40. __ rage: PED user's aggression: ROID. PED - performance-enhancing drug.

41. Very light rain: SPRINKLE

44. Grassland: PRAIRIE

48. Netherlands airline: KLM

49. "That's a shame": TOOBAD

50. Jubilant end-of-week cry: TGIF

53. Ohio rubber city: AKRON

54. Back in style: RETRO

55. Swashbuckling Errol: FLYNN

56. __ Ness monster: LOCH

57. Steady pain: ACHE

59. Corn syrup brand: KARO

61. Unconscious state: COMA

63. Ambulance destinations: Abbr.: ERs

65. Golfer's hat: CAP

Argyle

Sunday October 1, 2017 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Di-spirited Away"- DI is removed from the start of each theme entry.

24A Software update strategies? : VERSION TACTICS. Diversion tactics.

36A. Counsel offered by Carlo Rossi? : VINE GUIDANCE. Divine guidance.

54A. Dream about childbirth? : VISION OF LABOR. Division of labor.

67A. Views about poetry? : VERSE OPINIONS. Diverse opinion.

86A. Reminded guests that certain casual attire is required? : STRESSED JEANS. Distressed jeans.
 
99A. Uncompromising boss? : STRICT LEADER. District leader.

118A. Mastering a basic golf lesson? : STANCE LEARNING. Distance learning.

This is such a consistent & tight set. Notice how the new words and the original words share no roots at all?

Gail is a true master. She just makes things look easy.

Across:
    
1. Financial smartphone download : ATM APP.  Also 112. Smartphone display : TIME

7. Vague feeling : VIBE

11. Shot spot : ARM

14. Take up or let out : ALTER

19. More profound : DEEPER

20. Attention-getting type: Abbr. : ITAL

21. Gunk : GOO

22. Russian bread : RUBLE. Here's the real bread. Black bread.

23. Crooner Vic : DAMONE

27. Urban view obscurer : SMOG

28. Action-filled : SLAM-BANG. Great fill.

30. Get by succession : INHERIT

31. Stand in a loft : EASEL. Noun "Stand". And 47. State secrets? : RAT. Verb "State".

33. Title absentee : GODOT. Waiting for Godot.

35. Bridge installer's deg. : DDS. Dental.

42. Map in a map : INSET

45. Ristorante suffix : INI

46. Pursued : TRAILED

48. Container with slats : CRATE

52. Recommend : ADVISE

57. What alibis may be : LIES

58. Series of rings : PEAL

60. Ultra-secret org. : NSA

61. Like yoga devotees : LIMBER. Also 91. Yoga pose : ASANA. Hi there Lucina!

62. Naval strength : SEA POWER

65. Co-host Shapiro of "All Things Considered" : ARI

66. Celeb's freebie : VIP PASS

71. "That film is awful" : I HATE IT. Two great 7-letter fill in a row.

75. '60s-'80s Brit. sports car : MGB

76. Frozen fruit-flavored snack : OTTER POP. Favorite snack of D-Otto's dad.

81. Soda purchases : LITERS

82. 1999 Moviefone acquirer : AOL

83. Fluency : EASE

85. Normal beginning? : PARA. Paranormal.

89. Baseless accusation, to an alleged perp : BUM RAP. Snazzy!
 
92. Pic for a doc : MRI

93. "Dig in!" : LET'S EAT. Here is the recipe of my Eight Treasure Congee. Have any of you cooked red rice before? I just bought a bag of Lundberg red rice at Walmart. I presume it's the same way we cook wild rice.

96. When Le Havre heats up : ETE

97. Run through a reader : SWIPE. Scanner. Not you. We also have 5. Writer : PEN. Write-r.

101. Break down : SOB

104. Mar. parade honoree : ST PAT

106. Shake awake : ROUST

107. Taking in a sunrise, say : UP EARLY. I'm an early riser.

110. Crowd control weapons : RIOT GUNS

114. Headquarters : BASE

120. Golfer's starting point : TEE BOX

122. Salon dye : HENNA

123. Scepter top, perhaps : ORB

124. Salon, for one : E-MAG. You can find many old Life magazines at flea market for a dollar.


125. Not leave to chance : ENSURE

126. Concepts : IDEAS

127. They're often grad students : TAs

128. Wraps (up) : SEWS

129. Went bad : ROTTED. Traditional Chinese black bean sauce is made of fermented black soy beans that smell bad to the uninitiated. My grandma never put garlic in her sauce. So I never put it in mine either.

Down:

1. Throws into the mix : ADDS

2. Group with lineups : TEAM

3. Exec's reminder : MEMO

4. Orbital high point : APOGEE. Learned from doing crosswords.

 
6. Put the squeeze on : PRESSURE

7. "The Four Seasons" composer : VIVALDI

8. It might follow a bullet : ITEM. Bullet point.


9. Zinger : BARB

10. "Frozen" princess : ELSA. Also 71. Rick calls her "kid" : ILSA

11. Disco phrase : A GOGO

12. Pal of Harry : RON. Harry Potter

13. Summon silently : MOTION TO

14. St. Louis landmark : ARCH. Been there for a short time. Never saw the Arch.

15. Renaissance instrument : LUTE

16. 1954 Ford debut : T-BIRD

17. Legendary Spanish hero : EL CID

18. Intervals of inactivity : RESTS

25. "Picnic" playwright : INGE

26. Queen's subjects : ANTS. Can't fool me any more.

29. Princess from Alderaan : LEIA

32. Spy-fi figs. : AGTs

34. Grammy-winning singer Krall : DIANA. Wife of Elvis Costello.

36. Medical containers : VIALS

37. Common film festival entry : INDIE

38. Skin lotion brand : NIVEA

39. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Edison.

40. Justice Gorsuch who replaced Antonin : NEIL

41. DJ's stack : CDs

43. 8/21/2017 celestial event : ECLIPSE. It was quite cloudy that day. So I did what Trump did. Look at the sun directly.

44. Vagabond : TRAMP

47. Violinist's need : ROSIN

49. Quartet named for its members : ABBA

50. They're usually seen with sandals : TOES. Cute.

51. Miscalculates : ERRS

53. Connection method: Abbr. : ISP

55. Cross inscription : INRI

56. Spark producer : FLINT
 
58. Apt to mouth off : PERT

59. Critical care ctrs. : ERs

63. Supervised : OVERSAW

64. Houdini's family name : WEISS. Unknown to me.
 
65. BOLO equivalent : APB. Be on the lookout.

66. Popular __ : VOTE

68. Expressive online image : EMOJI. "Hey, I just met you.... " This is so sweet.

69. Take in the wrong way? : OGLE

70. Apple mobile platform : IOS
 
72. Google successes : HITS

73. Quattro competitor : ATRA

74. Cold weather word : TEENS. Mall walk time. Grateful for the Springbrook Nature Center this summer. So quiet and meditative. No dogs. No bikes. No cameras allowed either.

77. Turntable letters : RPM

78. Took a little off : PARED

79. Give a keynote, say : ORATE

80. Morning read : PAPER. Important part of our morning.

82. TV spot seller : AD REP

83. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal : ENER

84. Wine city near Turin : ASTI

87. Unimproved property : EMPTY LOT

88. In-flight fig. : ALT

89. Railing feature : BALUSTER. Learning moment for me.

90. Western natives : UTES

94. Earl with a three-finger banjo-picking style named for him : SCRUGGS

95. Berkshire boarding school : ETON

98. Castaway's home : ISLE

99. Foment, with "up" : STIR

100. If all goes right : AT BEST

101. Rolls with rice : SUSHI. My favorite. Eel sushi.

102. Withdrew, with "out" : OPTED

103. "Moneyball" baseball exec Billy : BEANE. Played by Brad Pitt.

105. Mettlesome mounts : ARABS

108. Paquin of "True Blood" : ANNA

109. Pioneering TVs : RCAs

111. Column on the right : ONES
 
113. Nibble : GNAW

115. Be flush with : ABUT

116. Ill-tempered : SORE

117. Struck (out) : EX'ED

119. Period that may be named for a president : ERA

121. "Lux" composer Brian : ENO

Saturday, Sep 30th, 2017, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 66 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Last puzzle of the month, and I expected it to be a rough one, and Mr Fludzinski did not disappoint.  Virtually blank on the first pass, both across and down, but I was able to break open the SE corner before I caved in to red-letters, and then Googled for one answer.  I refrained from STOG, but I needed some help in the NW - just too many proper names today.  Oh well.  Two 13-letter spanners and one 15-letter climber in a sort of pretzel-like grid;

30a. Wikipedia is an example of it : CROWDSOURCING

33a. Kind of response to mortal danger : FIGHT OR FLIGHT

7d. Reunion discovery : LONG LOST FRIENDS - or sometimes this old farm....

lyric @ 1:30

jOhNWARDenver~!

ACROSS:

1. MTV toon teen : BEAVIS - argh~! So ashamed I didn't recall this right away

7. Sings the blues : LAMENTS

14. Planned city in California's Orange County : IRVINE - I'm East coast - I hear "planned", and I think Levittown and Hicksville here on Long Island

15. Conquered : OVERCAME - I tried overTOOK, but this is like a more personal conquering; I overcame my anxiety this week when I interviewed well on Monday, then had to wait until yesterday to find out I got the job.  So I am "retiring" from UPS as of the end of next week.  Seven years.  That's a good run for me.

 

17. General courses : TRENDS

18. "Could be worse" : "NOT SO BAD."

19. __ talks : MONEY - I pondered PEACE first

20. Ones in a mess, briefly : GIs

21. Celestial body : ORB - crossword staple, poetic "planet"

22. Chug-__ : A-LUG

23. Persuaded : SOLD

25. Instrument dating to the Paleolithic age : FLUTE - ah, an actual instrument; I was thinking along the lines of knife/axe/spade "tool" kind of instrument

27. "Go ahead" : "PLEASE DO."

29. One determining 17-Across : POLLER

32. Like most capital costs : ONE-TIME

39. Brody who was the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner : ADRIEN - I spelled it with two "A"s first

40. Contingency plan : RECOURSE

43. Double-check : RE-ADD

44. Old Italian capital : LIRE - and again, spelled it with an "A"

45. "__ oui!" : MAIS - Frawnche - but I have to let on, I have had a new handyman client who is French, and he's pretty cool - a little hard to understand at times, but....

46. Provoke : FAN - as in fanning the flames

47. San Francisco's __ Valley : NOE - perps; more West coast geography

48. Presages : BODES

49. Symbolic attitude? : EMOTICON - 😀

52. Star close to Venus? : SERENA - the tennis stars, that is - didn't fool me, got me a start in this corner

53. Field of dreams? : LA-LA LAND

54. Pucker-inducing : LEMONY

55. Denies : NAYSAYS

56. Parks with games : ARENAS

DOWN:

1. Digital image format : BITMAP

2. Jazz virtuoso Garner : ERROLL - my Google for the day; his Wiki

3. Street in Manhattan's Alphabet City : AVENUE C - in hindsight, filling in "AVENUE" and then waiting seemed like a good idea for getting a toe-hold

4. Salad bar item : VINEGAR

5. __ 500 : INDY

6. His, to Henri : SES - oui

8. Bypass : AVOID - there was no avoiding traffic last weekend out here - a holiday weekend that had all three routes to the North Fork jammed up - I got in and got out before the chaos ensued.  Apple pickers.  >:-P 😝

9. Last team to play in the Polo Grounds : METS - and back to the East coast; more here

10. Sounds from the stumped : Ers....

11. Base fig. : NCO - dah~!  Army base; I was thinking EST, NTH, etc.

12. Bulgur salad : TABOULI - no clue, filled via perps - the Wiki

13. Spruce (up) : SMARTEN

16. Swedish tennis great : EDBERG - seeing how I screwed up SAM BERG a few weeks ago, I looked this up just to be sure it was not "ED BERG"

23. Like some patches : SEWN-ON - I had this one on the back of my denim jacket in high school

ah, the youth of 1985

24. Harder to explain : ODDER

25. Precede : FOREGO

26. Inc. kin : LLC - oops, not LTD

28. Blackened from combustion : SOOTED - meh.  I went with SEARED

29. Exfoliation material : PUMICE

31. NFL Titan, once : OILER - from Houston

33. Pasta pellets in Jewish cuisine : FARFEL

34. Thoughtful guy? : IDEA MAN

35. Breakfast bar : GRANOLA

36. Sought anonymity : HID

37. "Just play along, okay?" : "HUMOR ME."

38. Exploit : TRADE ON

41. "Burnt" crayon color : SIENNA

42. Prose pieces : ESSAYS

44. More than a little foolish : LOONY

47. BCS org. : NCAA - Bowl Championship Series of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc.

48. It's often tapped out : BEER

50. North Sea feeder : TAY - the longest river up in Scotland

51. They, in Tours : ILS - oui oui~!

52. Radical '70s org. : SLA

Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

1) Congrats on the new job, Splynter!

2) Happy Birthday to dear Pat and her husband! They were born in the same day & same year. Pat was born in the morning, her husband in the afternoon. Pat loves dogs and has been volunteering in a animal shelter for many years.   

Friday, September 29, 2017, John Lampkin

Title: Roman Numeral switcheroo.

Another happy Friday with another of the good friends of the blog. John is such an accomplished and warm human being, it is hard not to like all of his work  I assume all "got" this theme as soon as the word "Roman" appeared so often. While there are countless words which include the letters which are also the Roman numerals, John limited his selection to the V and the X, with the perfect reveal. My first thought when I saw 1 Across was that all three letters were  Roman numerals. You don't see three letter theme fill often but this all worked for me, with no words longer than 8 letters. Your thoughts on this work are appreciated. Off we go....                                                                                                                                                                     
1A. Roman jet? : DC X. (3) The DC 10 was introduced into service in 1970. This one confused me because D and C are also Roman Numerals.

23A. Roman's advice to prevent an explosion? : COUNT TO X (8). Counting to 10 was a shortcut to meditation.

39A. Roman variety store? (and a hint to 10 other puzzle answers) : V AND X (5). The 5 and 10 was
an American institution, with WOOLWORTH being the epitome.

51A. Roman Shakespearean drama? : V ACT PLAY (8). Shakespeare was dedicated to this STRUCTURE.

70A. Roman graveyard shift hour? : V AM. (3). When I used to work doubles at the rubber factory (2 PM to 6 AM) it was the last hour that was the hardest.

3D. Roman bowler's target? : X PIN (4). A CSO for Boomer!

4D. Roman musical family? : JACKSON V (8). Can you name all five?

26D. Roman bike? : X SPEED (6). Bicycles have become too complex for me.  They sell some for thousands of dollars.

27D. Roman "high" request? : GIMME V (6). These days this is one of the first things parents teach their children.

40D. Roman Scrabble Q-tile, e.g.? : X POINTER (8). Ten points, and all those words that don't need a U.

57D. Roman's long golf hole? : PAR V (4). Another CSO to our golfing contingent, HG, BE, Moe and all of those I left out by accident.

Well, I am worn out just listing the 11 theme fill. So let's explore the rest.

Across:

4. Start of a rhyming Basque game: JAI. Alai. Long the fastest moving ball in SPORTS.

7. Reason to use an inhaler: ASTHMA.

13. Knock: RAP. Oh, I guess I can call it "knock" music.

14. Cry buckets: BAWL. The word had a different meaning in my youth.

15. Unexpected twist: SPRAIN. Amusing.

16. The record longest continuous ride on one is 105.57 miles: UNICYCLE. Who knew? This makes it a TRIBUTE puzzle.

18. Unlikely to ride a 16-Across well: KLUTZY. Too true.

19. Hunted Carroll critter: SNARK. More of his IMAGINATION, beyond Alice.

20. Balm-maker's plants: ALOES.

22. A.L. East team: BOSton.

27. '80s jeans: GITANOS. Still for SALE.

31. SOP part: Abbr. : STD. Standard.

32. "48 __": HRS.  The TV Show.

33. Assistant who didn't exist in Mary Shelley's novel: IGOR. Eegore, or Eyegor?

34. Whiskey order: NEAT. A clear CSO to Tinbeni.

36. "... beneath __ blue sky": Don Henley lyric: A DEEP. Not a sea but sky. LISTEN.

38. Stubborn equine: MULE.

41. Perry's creator: ERLE.

42. Dull finish: MATTE. JL is an avid and successful photographer as well a musician, ornithologist, entomologist and cruciverbalist - the modern Renaissance man.

44. F-__: STOP. Blushing?

45. A hothead has a short one: FUSE.

46. 67.5 deg.: ENE.

47. Item before a door: MAT.

49. Sack out: GO TO BED.

54. Bargain bin abbr.: IRRegular.

55. Bete __: NOIRE.

56. Immature dragonfly: NYMPH. I think of this when I see NYMPH, not THIS. What do you call a woman who is obsessed with immature dragonflies? Answer below....

59. Stereotypically stylish: UPTOWN. Saturday night.

62. Leaves port: SETS SAIL. Even when the ships do not have sails.

65. Facial feature named after an animal: GOATEE.

66. Muscovite's denial: NYET.

67. Whiskey option: RYE. Any Manhattan drinkers in our crowd?

68. They usually leave the park: HOMERS.

69. Key contraction: O'ER. Francis Scott - ramparts.

Down:

1. R and B's __ Hill: DRU. Not in my WHEELHOUSE.

2. Soup aisle array: CANS.

5. Hole-making tool: AWL.

6. Intestinal: ILEAC.

7. Invite on a date: ASK OUT.

8. NutraSweet competitor: SPLENDA. Both sweetener brand names - blue/yellow.

9. Have faith in: TRUST.

10. Noodle topper? : HAT. Noodle as head, not a form of pasta.

11. "Les __" : MIZ. Broadway.

12. At least one: ANY.

14. "... truth is always strange; / Stranger than fiction" poet: BYRON. From his poem, Don Juan.
"' Tis strange - but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction; if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
How differently the world would men behold!"

17. "Willkommen" musical: CABARET.

21. Words on a reward poster: LOST DOG.

24. "... there's __!": Hamlet: THE RUB. Our Friday Shakespeare, but not all 5 acts.

25. Intimidating words: OR ELSE.

28. Exotic pet: IGUANA. These are neither exotic nor pets here; they roam freely unless and until a freeze. The past two winters were warm and their population has grown. They are 'affectionately' called "dem sumbitches" by an elderly neighbor woman.

29. Pre-Aztec Mexican: TOLTEC. I do not know much about this CIVILIZATION.

30. Multi-armed ocean critter: SEASTAR. We also discussed this before.  LINK.

35. Bad picnic omen: ANT. Below a JL original, in his words. "This ant is on the head of an Ambush Bug who had just killed and eaten a bee. The ant is enjoying the leftovers while grooming the bug. I actually photographed the whole sequence."

37. Gets bent out of shape: DEFORMS. A pun here if you like the word.

43. Authorize: EMPOWER.

48. Dior designs: A-LINES.

50. Secret hot date: TRYST.

52. Fed. bill: T-NOTE.

53. Simple question type: YES/NO.

58. Casual greeting: HI-YA.

59. "That stinks!" : UGH.

60. Nanki-__: POO. The Mikado.

61. Bagpiper's hat: TAM. I understand the geographic connection, but I see more like...

63. Anatomical orb: EYE.

64. Apollo lander, briefly: LEM. How cool that dear JL ends with a CSO to yours truly.

Yesterday, Harper turned two and today my baby is celebrating his 29th birthday. Tonight we start the fasting for Yom Kippur, which lasts until an hour past sundown Saturday. Party time. Thank you, John and all who read. Gamar Tov. Lemonade out.

Answer: An entomologist!           

Thursday, September 28th 2017 Derek Bowman

Theme: Food! And solve the reveal, solve the puzzle. First the reveal:

34A. Clue for 20-, 23-, 48- and 52-Across : TIME FOR DINNER! Yay, Food!

and then:

20A. See 34-Across : COME AND GET IT! Yay, Food! And Yay! 50's pin-up art!

23A. See 34-Across : SOUP'S ON! Yay, Food!

48A. See 34-Across : LET'S EAT! Yay, Food!

52A. See 34-Across : SUPPER'S READY! Yay, Food!

Blecho. I'm calling it. Blogger's Echo. Yay, Food!

I have to practice my Spanish before class tomorrow, so - Hoy es jueves, el vienteocho de Septiembre, dos mil diecisiete. I'll go back and proof that later :) As always, corrections welcome!

What a nice puzzle from Derek. I went top-to-bottom with this one but stopped to smell the coffee on the way. The theme came early for me - I had a fill-in-the-blank for 20A, more than half of 23A - I tried SOUP'S UP! first, but once that was fixed it was pretty much a done deal. But look at:

• WHITE PERCH/FISH FILLET symmetry and a great connection between the two

• The two upper and two lower themers stacked on four letters. That's not easy to do

• There's still room for SATIRIST and ASBESTOS in the across and

• DIET PLAN/MEN'S SHOP in the downs

... and not a clunker to be upset about in the fill. I think is is one of the nicest-constructed puzzles of the year. Two fantastic clues, we'll get to those in a minute Let's go!

Across:

1. Historic spans : ERAS

5. 2012 World Series MVP Sandoval : PABLO

10. FiveThirtyEight fodder : DATA. Opinion-data-driven website

14. Ristorante bottle : VINO

15. "Let's call it __": "We're even" : A DRAW

16. Spring flower : IRIS. How weird. I was just looking up the guitar chords for this song today. Put a capo at the 4th fret and off you go.

17. Disney CEO since 2005 : IGER

18. Small, silvery Chesapeake Bay swimmer : WHITE PERCH. I saw what you did there, Derek. Is the symmetrical 56A related much? Of course. Nice work.

22. Experiment : TRIAL

27. National Lampoon writer, typically : SATIRIST

31. Old West gunslinger Jack : SLADE

32. Hand over : CEDE

33. State with conviction : AVOW

40. Spray holder : VASE

41. Casino game : FARO. I've never played this game. It's a little dated, but the history is interesting.

42. __ acids: protein components : AMINO

44. Fireproofing construction mineral banned in many countries : ASBESTOS. I remember helping my Dad with the honey-do list when I was a kid. My job when we were putting up shelves and anything else that required drilling holes in walls (before the days of plastic plugs) was mixing up the cement to stuff into the holes. It was 99% asbestos fiber.

50. Bit of land : ISLET

56. Boneless seafood cut : FISH FILLET. See 18A, Smart.

59. Nonstick cookware brand : TFAL

60. Reverberate : ECHO

61. Chips go-with : SALSA

62. Online page : SITE

63. Profound : DEEP

64. Owner of Regency hotels : HYATT. I have a story about the Hyatt at Denver Tech Center. Basically, a great bar with some interesting characters.

65. At any point : EVER

Down:

1. Kick out : EVICT

2. Hardships : RIGORS

3. Iron deficiency concern : ANEMIA

4. Upset with : SORE AT

5. Chess piece that may be promoted : PAWN

6. Condition treated by Ritalin, briefly : ADHD

7. Sailor's jail : BRIG

8. Most recent : LATEST

9. Have financing from : OWE TO

10. Jenny Craig offering : DIET PLAN Food! Wait! Not Food! Are you calling me on a cellular phone? Crank Call! Crank Call!

11. LAX incoming flight : ARR. Usually bouncy over the mountains over San Bernardino from the south/east or Ventura from the north, then ARR!!!! Land like a Pirate!

12. Muscle spasm : TIC

13. Volcanic output : ASH

19. __ XIII: Title role in "The Young Pope" : PIUS

21. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE

24. File menu command : SAVE

25. Aroma : ODOR

26. Just announced : NEW

28. Two-legged zebra : REF. Clue of the day. This is great. Football "zebra" referee. Here is Ed "Sun's out, guns out" Hochuli of the NFL, one of the best in the business. When players come over to argue a call he can either out-bench them or challenge them to an arm-wresting contest to decide the issue.

29. Swear words : I DO. Great clue again. Two for the day.

30. Feudal workers : SERFS

34. Hardly envelope-pushing : TAME

35. "Do you really think so?" : IS IT?

36. Haberdashery : MEN'S SHOP. Funny, I thought it was a shop selling buttons, fabric and what-not, not just for men. My school played yearly cricket, rugby and soccer fixtures against Haberdashers' Aske's school in London.

I wouldn't have had any idea where to place the apostrophes unless a) I worked there ( didn't) or b) I looked it up to check (I did).

We usually won the soccer, lost the cricket and generally went to-and-fro at at the rugby.

37. Blot gently : DAB

38. Cork's home: Abbr. : IRE. Both the county and the city in the Republic of Ireland.

39. Respectful negative : NO, SIR

40. Kilmer of "Tombstone" : VAL

43. Ingredient in une omelette : OEUF. Food! There's better be more than un ouef in my omelette, otherwise there will be trouble. The "Love" score in tennis comes from the shape of an egg. "Federer with the serve, fifteen-l'ouef". Then eventually AD-IN and AD-OUT, beloved of crossword compilers. I think I used AD-IN in my first published solo, I'll have to go back and check.

44. Having fun : AT PLAY

45. Scary African fly : TSETSE

46. 1380s Norwegian king : OLAF IV.

47. Unruffled : SEDATE

49. Very silly : APISH. I can deal with APISH. APER I can't.

51. "House of Payne" creator __ Perry : TYLER. Thank you, crosses.

53. Frequent collaborator with Louis and Duke : ELLA

54. Take a nap : REST

55. Doc's "Right away" : STAT!

56. Nourished : FED

57. Sprain treatment : ICE. And wrapping and heat.

58. "Thar __ blows!" : SHE."Thar she blows, there she blows again..." Oh wait, misheard lyrics? It's a bit late for a music link, but I like this one! Not quite a mondegreen, but close.

Enter, stage left  - "The Grid"

Exit - Steve, amidst Alarums and Excursions

Wednesday, September 27, 2017 - Bruce Haight

Theme - HOMOPHONIA.  Silly three-word phrases starting with the letter A, and having the indefinite article A in the middle constitute internal echoes.  Actually, the clues themselves are also quite silly.  Call me crazy, but I love the word play in this theme.

17 A. Fall in love with something at the home improvement center? : ADORE A DOOR.  Furniture and appliances are OK, but seldom give you this kind of an opening.

25 A. Bring Bugs into harmony? : ATTUNE A TOON.  TOONS, of course, are cartoon characters.  Bugs is one of the truly great TOONs, and great TOON singers.  And how could he be more ATTUNED than this?



37 A. Get voices in all ranges? : ACQUIRE A CHOIR.  Sopranos, altos, tenors and basses [not to be confused with 61A.]  Anyway, there are no bugs here.



52 A. Severely criticize the store special? : ASSAIL A SALE.  This is a correct usage for ASSAIL - I checked.  Any time you come to The Corner, you get your money's worth

61 A. Criticize the stringed instrument? : ABASE A BASS.  More like degrade than criticize.  But bassist Christian McBride, who I had the great pleasure of preforming with a couple years ago, is above reproach.




Hi, Gang.  JazzBumpa on duty.  Let's see what else Bruce has in store for us.

Across

1. Got taller : GREW.  Use gruesome in a sentence.  OK.  I visited my grandchildren in PA last week.  Since the last time I saw them, they gruesome.

5. Etching supplies : ACIDS.  A mask is used to protect the rest of the surface, and ACID etches into the exposed area to create an image.

10. Ski area in Utah's Wasatch Mountains : ALTA.

Mt Superior from ALTA's Albion Base

14. See 66-Across : RACE.   Here it is --

66. With 14-Across, event with batons : RELAY.  A track and field event of a set distance in which each team has several runners [usually 4.]  At the end of a runner's turn, the baton is handed off to the next runner.

15. Bad news for the waiter : NO TIP.   Rude, too.  We give a minimum 20%, and usually in cash.

16. Classic cars : REOS.   Ransom E. Olds started the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897.  This later became Oldsmobile, a division of General Motors.  He left the company on 1905 and started the REO Motor Car Company in 1905.  It remained in operation until 1975, when assets were liquidated in a bankruptcy proceeding.

19. "Pretty please?" : MAY I.  Childish begging.

20. "Frasier" role : NILES.  Brother of the eponym, Frasier Crane, played by David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammer, respectively. 

21. Debuting on screen : NEW.

23. iPhone, e.g., briefly : PDA.  Personal Data Assistant.  Anyone still have a Blackberry?

24. Scooby-__ : DOO.  Toon dog.  I was never a fan.

30. Golf tee, e.g. : PEG.

31. "Flashdance...What a Feeling" singer Cara : IRENE.

32. Barbecue pair : TONGS.  A device with two movable arms, either joined at one end or in the middle, used to pick up and hold things.

33. Solo in a spotlight : ARIA.  This is the Italian word for air [not to be confused with Ned Stark's younger daughter.]  An air is simply a song, but an ARIA is a dramatic solo in a opera.   I'm not a fan.

35. Smallish batteries : AAs.

36. Med. condition with repetitive behavior : OCD.  Obsessive Compulsive Behavior.  Every time I type that, I have to go wash my hands.

42. Colony resident : ANT.  Usually under ground.

43. Gallery filler : ART.

44. Went like crazy : SPED.

46. Second thought : DOUBT.

49. Get fuzzy, as vision : BLEAR.

51. Grand __ Opry : OLE.  A weekly country music concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 1925.   Not a fan of this either.

54. "Breaking Bad" org. : DEA.  Drug Enforcement Agency.

55. Org. offering written and road tests : DMV.  Department of Motor Vehicles.

56. Mason jar attachment : LID.  That tops it off.

57. Humdrum : BANAL.  Vapid, insipid, old-hat.

59. Start bubbling : BOIL.  No toil, no trouble, just turn on the heat.

65. Greek peak : OSSA.   Because Etna is in Sicily.

67. Site with tech reviews : c|net.  Technology oriented website

68. __ end : DEAD.  The termination of a road or passage with no exit.  Figuratively, any kind of impasse.

69. Wild West transport : STAGE.  A stagecoach was a closed, horse-drawn vehicle used to carry passengers and mail along regular routes

70. Run-of-the-mill : SO-SO.  Mediocre.

Down

1. __ Joe, Charlie's companion on his tour of Wonka's chocolate factory : GRANDPA.

Not everyone's favorite

2. Time before TV : RADIO ERA.  Back in the day.

3. Environment-related : ECOLOGIC.

4. "Where __ you?" : WERE.  Time for excuses.

5. Actress Ortiz of "Ugly Betty" : ANA.  [b 1971] Singer, actress, and domestic abuse advocate.

Acts in movies and on TV

6. Fish sticks fish : COD.

7. Midori on the ice : ITO.  Olympic skater.  Many videos of various length here.

8. Pop singer Warwick : DIONNE.

9. Binge : SPREE.

10. Reliever's asset : ARM.  Baseball relief pitcher.

11. Seize, as an opportunity : LEAP ON.

12. Pooch in your lap, maybe : TOY DOG.  A breed of dog that has been bred to a reduced size.

13. Most people : ASIANS.  Asia is by far the largest continent, and has by far the highest population density.

18. Actor Morales : ESAI.  Frequent crossword visitor.

22. Keep an eye on : WATCH.  Would you keep an eye on my WATCH, please?

26. Personal attribute : TRAIT. A genetically determined characteristic.

27. Rip (up) : TEAR.  Forcefully pull apart

28. Opens, as an official document : UNSEALS.  Without TEARING it, one would hope.

29. Commotions : TO-DOS.  Disturbances, fracases, brouhahas.

34. Jordan's only port : AQABA.  Located at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, which extends N-N-E from the Red Sea.

36. In base eight : OCTAL.  My eyes glazed over pretty quickly, but if you're interested in base 8, you can read about it here.

38. No later than : UNTIL.

39. Space : AREA.

40. Tiny tunes player : IPOD NANO. A portable media player, now in it's 7th generation.

41. Big events for film studios : RELEASES.

45. Gives a hand : DEALS TO.   Aha - cards, not a helping hand.

46. Somewhat flabby male physique, informally : DAD-BOD.   Never heard this term before, but I guess I have one.

47. Diffuse slowly through a membrane : OSMOSE.   Moving from the side of the barrier with greater concentration to the side with lesser concentration.

48. Permit to enter the States : U.S. VISA.  Allows the visitor to enter, leave or stay for a specified period.

49. Unwise wager : BAD BET.

50. Country's McEntire : REBA.  [b 1955] Singer, song writer, actress, record producer, and eponym for a TV show.

53. Whopper creators : LIARS.  Prevaricators, not burger flippers.

58. Basics : ABCs.  Early steps.

60. Young chap : LAD.

62. According to : A LA.  Common in English, adopted from French. (Cf. 46 D)

63. Give in to gravity : SAG.  As telephone wires, or protruding body parts.

64. Word after eagle or hawk : EYE.  Either way, sharp vision.

That wraps it up.  Hope you had fun with it.

Cool regards!

JzB