Friday, November 3, 2017, Daniel Nierenberg

TITLE: HIGH TECH CUT AND PASTE

Husker Gary here taking over the Friday bridge for a few weeks. Daniel has a supplied a delightful challenge to you and me as he does some word EDITING on the word GENE under the rubric of GENETIC EDITING we see in his reveal:

50. Molecular manipulation technique ... and a hint to the starts of the three other longest puzzle answers : GENE EDITING - Which is shown symbolically here

Since our mission here is in the linguistic and not biological sciences let's confine our discourse to the former and not the latter. Daniel has taken the word GENE and has edited that word by replacing the fourth, second and third letters respectively and using that product as the first word in three fun theme entries. Very cool!

Let's start by looking at Daniel's three themers:

21. Counseling for boomers' kids? : GENX THERAPY (the E is edited to an X) - 

A Medical Procedure and GEN X Prototypes
who are getting some Breakfast Club therapy

26. Sign on a film studio employee's door? : GONE SPLICING (The E is edited to an O)

A Medical Procedure and a Film Editor's Job

43. Altered clone of actor Richard? : GERE MUTATION (The N is edited to an R)

A Medical Procedure and RICHARD GERE altered
and not really mutated 😜

Now let's see how Daniel tested our genetic makeup today:

Across

1. Free : LET GO - Verb not adjective

6. Crusty formation : SCAB

10. One in a farm array : BALE - Round BALES have mostly supplanted old, labor intensive rectangular ones

14. Truism : AXIOM - The whole is greater than the part - Euclid

15. Kappa preceder : IOTA

16. Entry : ITEM - My lovely OCD bride checks every ITEM on every receipt when we get home!

17. Saint toppers : NIMBI - No idea for this verbal cowboy and since I chose the Y for 5. "Yikes!" : O MI GOSH (which yields NIMOY? across), I'll take one bad cell and go to my room.

18. Equine footwork : GAIT

19. Glitz : GLAM - GLAM rock was not a big part of my world

20. Renewed one's energy, in a way : ATE

24. Santa __: Sonoma County seat : ROSA - So much was destroyed in the recent fires

25. Complimentary writers : ODISTS

31. Words of desire : I WISH

32. Room at the hacienda : SALA

33. Fast hit : JAB - Derek Jeter wants no part of a JAB from "The Greatest"

36. Gave for a while : LENT





37. Some rank indicators : BELTS - Judo BELTS

39. Corona product : BEER

40. Disturbance : ADO

41. "Write once, run anywhere" software : JAVA - Cross platform for sure. 

42. One with many mouths to feed? : HYDRA

46. French gambling game : ECARTE - Ce jeu est nouveau pour moi (This game is new to me)

49. Zero : NONE - Describes my previous knowledge of ECARTE after I saw the answer was not baccarat 

53. Sudden turn : ZAG

56. Advantage : EDGE

57. Bunches : A LOT

58. Immune system component : T CELL - An important topic in HIV discussion

60. Food preservative : SALT - The Lincoln, NE minor league team is named for this valuable resource found there 150 years ago

61. Cithara relative : LYRE - The oldest cithara shown here was not big in GLAM rock.

62. Clear, in a way : ERASE

63. "__ bien!" : TRES - My granddaughter's description so far of her semester in Grenoble, France

64. Word appearing twice in a Woody Guthrie title : LAND - This LAND is your LAND

65. Synthetic polymer : NYLON


Down

1. Turner of "The Bad and the Beautiful" : LANA - She plays a woman who is victimized by a studio head played by Kirk Douglas. Nah, that could never happen!

2. It's a turnoff : EXIT - If you miss EXIT 193 on the Florida Turnpike, the next one is 48 miles away

3. What's up at the deadline? : TIME - I can't tell you how many kids have their project done the day AFTER the deadline

4. Mushy lump : GOB


6. Traffic or turn follower : SIGNAL - "Is my turn SIGNAL working?" "Yes, no, yes, no..."

7. Influence with flattery : COAX - More carrot and less stick

8. Studying like crazy, say : AT IT

9. Tub soothers : BATH OILS

10. Interstate rumbler : BIG RIG - Two BIG RIGS hauling a, uh, BIG RIG

11. Condemned Titan : ATLAS - He was condemned to hold the Earth (Gaia) on his shoulders

12. Jumped : LEAPT

13. "Game of Thrones" accumulation : EMMYS - I'm the guy who has never watched it

22. Zener cards presumably tested for it : ESP - He never had a chance did he?

23. "Show Boat" author Ferber : EDNA

24. Take a load off : REST

26. __ monster : GILA


27. Was required to pay : OWED - To whom is the money shown here OWED?

28. Yucatán youngster : NINO - Who is this kid and why is he messing with our weather?

29. Sunni's religion : ISLAM

30. Indoor __ : CAT - Our Lily is clearly one and it appears she brought M & M's to the manger

33. Force user : JEDI

34. NASA prefix : AERO - My golf pro's daughter is on the left and is a member of the UNL AEROspace Engineering team that is building a retractable arm to be used on a future NASA vehicle at Langley.

35. Muffin option : BRAN

37. Left nothing out : BARED ALL

38. Big event lead-in : EVE - All Hallows' EVE just passed 

39. Data measure : BYTE

41. Ballet jump : JETE - A dramatic view of one

42. Do a surfing maneuver : HANG TEN - Toes overboard!

43. Shakes hands with, say : GREETS

44. Bonded : UNITED

45. Weigh station unit : TON

46. Get rid of : EGEST - I get Amazon videos but this is not making my playlist

53. Gusto : ZEAL - A little too much being shown in the EGEST movie above

47. Wood for grilling planks : CEDAR

48. What "x" may be in trigonometry : ANGLE

51. Former NHL winger Kovalchuk : ILYA - Я не имел понятия об этом парень! (I had no clue about this guy!)

52. Uncertain : TORN

54. "Just one more thing ... " : ALSO

55. Narrow valley : GLEN - Oh Danny Boy, The pipes, the pipes are calling. From GLEN to GLEN and down the mountainside

59. Sound of woe : CRY

DA GRID:

It's time to SPLICE your responses to this exposition:

Thursday November 2nd 2017 Peg Slay

Theme: Level-Set - as hinted at by the central entry:

37A. Road trip troubles ... and what can be found in 17-, 24-, 43- and 57-Across : FLATS

17A. Where to find 37-Across : APARTMENT HOUSES. "Flat" is a common term in the UK for an apartment.

24A. Where to find 37-Across : GARDENING CENTER. Also known as Daisy trays, they commonly hold 18 plants

43A. Where to find 37-Across : WOMEN'S SHOE STORE. Not heels.

57A. Where to find 37-Across : SYMPHONIC SCORES.  Here's a whole bunch of 'em:

37A. Road trip troubles ... and what can be found in 17-, 24-, 43- and 57-Across : FLATS

A nice puzzle from Corner regular Peg Slay. Just like last Thursday, there's four grid-spanners as the themers, and with the hint in the center that makes a solid 65 letters of theme entries. Some nice trickery to deal with - AURAE rather than AURAS, GNASH rather than GRIND and some clever longer fill.

Let's see what else catches the eye:

Across:

1. Ford crossover SUV : EDGE

5. Fawning flattery : SMARM. Great word.

10. Void partner : NULL. Null and void.

14. Melt fish : TUNA. Food! Tuna and cheese in a sandwich. I've had one, I believe.

15. Surrounding glows : AURAE

16. Pennsylvania city subject to lake-effect snow : ERIE. Nailed it! Brrr - this is not good:

20. Go hog-wild : LET LOOSE

21. Gardener's transplant : GRAFT

22. Penn of "Harold & Kumar" films : KAL. Crosses all the way for me here.

23. U.N. workers' gp. : I.L.O. The International Labour Organization. Note the spelling!

33. Table spreads : OLEOS. Margarines.

34. Ostrich kin : EMUS. "Kin" in the plural here.

35. "__ rule ... " : AS A

36. Clutter-free : NEAT

39. Piedmont bubbly : ASTI. Do they make anything else bubbly in Piedmont? I need to take a trip out there and find out.

40. Nine-time NHL All-Star : ORR. Hockey's Bobby.

41. Walk or run : GAIT

42. Cathedral areas : APSES. One is usually found at the Eastern, or altar end of the cathedral.

47. Map line: Abbr. : LAT. Not Long.

48. Kendrick Lamar's genre : RAP. Not my first choice musical genre, but the name is familiar enough.

49. Greek vowels : IOTAS

52. Send up : SATIRIZE. I spelled it the English way with an "S" first but ZEST fixed that for me.

60. Popular jeans : LEES

61. "Once Upon a Time in China" star : JET LI. More crosses. I wasn't familiar with most of the proper names today.

62. Attitude : SASS

63. White-tailed seabird : ERNE

64. Dutch painter of "The Drawing Lesson" : STEEN. Another unknown, or at least one I was unsure of.

65. Poker buy-in : ANTE

Down:

1. Abbr. in an abbreviated list : ET AL. "Et Alii", "Et Aliae" or "Et Alia" depending on the gender of the noun being described. No wonder we abbreviate it to lose all the gender-noun uncertainty. See how great English can be?

2. Con : DUPE

3. Pest you might slap : GNAT

4. British peer : EARL

5. South Pacific islander : SAMOAN

6. Oaty breakfast mix : MUESLI

7. Obama Education secretary Duncan : ARNE. Any relation to Thomas Arne, the composer of the perennial British favorite "Rule Britannia"? I think I've linked this before. It bears a repeat.

8. Traitor : RAT

9. [Yawn] : MEH! Relatively new addition to the dictionary. It came from "The Simpsons" TV show.

10. Cell using a synapse : NEURON

11. Bear in the sky : URSA

12. Willingly : LIEF. A learning moment for me. When it appeared I looked very critically at the across entries to see which one I'd got wrong.

13. For fear that : LEST

18. Tips for dealers : TOKES. I'd never heard this term before today. A toke to me is a puff of a certain kind of "herbal" cigarette, the type that Bill Clinton famously did not inhale from.

19. Checks figures intently? : OGLES

23. Post-op sites : I.C.U.S

24. Dismissive words : GO NOW

25. Last Olds off the line : ALERO

26. Furnish with more weapons : RE-ARM

27. One of four in Mississippi : DOT. Tried ESS first, of course. More than a couple of do-overs today.

28. Under, poetically : 'NEATH

29. Clock-setting std. : GMT
.
30. Italian Renaissance poet : TASSO. Another unknown/uncertain proper name.Solid crosses to the rescue yet again. First name "Torquato" which is also a new one on me. Here's a sample:

ONCE a mosquito came a-buzzing round 

The happy place 

Where in his mother’s lap Love lay sleep-bound 

With pretty grace; 

Said Love, aroused from slumber by the hum: 

“How from so small 

A body can so great a clamour come, 

Awaking all?” 

   Beguiling him with song, Venus replied: 

“Thou too art small, 

Yet mortals wake who on the earth abide 

And the Gods all 

Up in the sky, 

Hearing thee cry.”

Interesting! I think there's some symbolism there I should think about.

31. Aromatic compound : ESTER

32. Jack up : RAISE

37. Ramadan ritual : FAST

38. Fleur-de-__ : LIS. I know it as a Fleur-de-lys, this spelling always confuses me.

39. Germane : APT

41. Grate together, as teeth : GNASH

42. Mold that's cold : ASPIC. Food!

44. Slide by : ELAPSE

45. Big name in databases : ORACLE. I know all about these folks, I worked there for seven years.

46. Has leftovers, say : EATS IN. Indian curry leftovers are the best of all. The flavors develop overnight.

49. Daysail destination : ISLE

50. Terminer's partner, in law : OYER. "To hear and determine".

51. Feds under Ness : T-MEN

52. Place to build : SITE

53. Parks whose famous bus is in the Henry Ford Museum : ROSA. The museum in Dearborn is great. There's some fascinating stuff in there, not all motor-transportation-related.

54. Shah's former land : IRAN

55. Fragrant peel : ZEST

56. Cato's "to be" : ESSE. Latin. Thank you, Latin lessons at school, and "Ma Batt" as my teacher was affectionately nicknamed. Her son wrote the theme music to "The Wombles" which will mean as much to you as the phrase "It's as good as a homer in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded" meant to me when I read a Colt 45 promotional beer coaster in the first "American bar" to be opened in our little parochial home town. We literally no idea what it meant. The Dodgers could have done with one of those last night. The beer was awful, by the way. Upon research, it had some pretty terrible advertising. This one is the best I could find, and it's just a picture of the label.

58. a.m. beverages : O.J.S

59. Fishing aid : NET. Not ROD then.

That wraps it up for me. I'm heading to New York for a couple of days for some budget planning meetings for 2018. It's as exciting as it sounds! United don't fly LAX to JFK direct anymore, so it's Newark for me, and the NJ Transit rail link into Penn Station.

Here's the grid!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

Here are two cute pictures of Melissa's granddaughter from Halloween. 

Wednesday, November 1, 2017 Matt Skoczen

Theme: Yes, Sir! Anagram.

17. Restaurant review pricing symbol : DOLLAR SIGN

25. Grad's memento : CLASS RING

40. British Columbia's capital is on it : VANCOUVER ISLAND

46. Equal chance : FAIR SHAKE

61. "Baby Got Back" rapper, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : SIR MIX-A-LOT

Would have been difficult to see those MIXed up letters without the circles. 

Across        

1. Olympic swimmer Buster who played Buck Rogers : CRABBE
 

7. Naughty : BAD
 

10. Queequeg's captain : AHAB. Moby Dick.
 

14. "Yowzah!" : OO-LA-LA
 

15. 365 días : ANO
 

16. Place for a long winter's nap : LAIR

19. __ bar : TIKI
 

20. Physicians' gp. : AMA
 

21. Cheese couleur : BLEU
 

22. Like some bread : OATEN
 

23. Out of __: not together : SYNC

28. Wagering parlors: Abbr. : OTB'S. Off Track Betting - sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.

 

31. Printer problem : JAM
 

32. Key with no sharps or flats : A MINOR
35. Slatted window : JALOUSIE

42. Where a tennis server's doubles partner is usually positioned : AT THE NET
 

43. Most cordial : NICEST
 

44. Like this ans. : ACR
 

45. Diamond bag : BASE
 

51. Slide __ : RULE
 

55. Slangy negative : IX-NAY
 

56. School whose a cappella group is the Whiffenpoofs : YALE. Sounds like a creature from Dr. Suess.

59. Albany is its cap. : NYS
 

60. Nabisco cracker : RITZ
 

64. Extra : MORE
 

65. Boxing legend : ALI
 

66. Catty? : FELINE. Cute.
 

67. Cookie monster? : AMOS
 

68. Center of Austria? : TEE
 

69. Fly to flee : TSETSE

Down
 

1. Musical endings : CODAS
 

2. Unlike most airline seating : ROOMY
 

3. Poe's middle name : ALLAN
 

4. Statement amt. : BAL
 

5. Spoil the surprise : BLAB
 

6. English nobleman : EARL
 

7. Olympic skater Oksana : BAIUL
 

8. Country in SW Afr. : ANG. Angola.

9. Put on : DON
 

10. Place to say "I do" : ALTAR. Nine and a wake up.
 

11. Port-au-Prince's country : HAITI
 

12. Singer whose fans are called Claymates : AIKEN
 

13. __ to light: reveal : BRING
 

18. "Just a few __" : SECS
 

22. Gradual absorption : OSMOSIS
 

24. Marine snail : CONCH

 

26. Open a bit : AJAR
 

27. City in central Kansas : SALINA
 

29. Not the least bit challenging : TOO EASY
 

30. Mimosa time : BRUNCH
 

32. Glamorous Gardner : AVA

                                                                     Sophia Loren

33. Yoga class need : MAT
 

34. Statement amt. : INT
 

35. Hot tub water agitator : JET
 

36. Stomach problem : ULCER
 

37. RSVP convenience : SAE. Self Addressed Envelope.
 

38. Officeholders : INS
 

39. July hrs. in Georgia : EDT
 

41. "Bates Motel" actress Farmiga : VERA
 

45. Shine : BEAM
 

46. Terra __ : FIRMA. Not Cotta.
 

47. Self-evident principle : AXIOM
 

48. Opening words : INTRO
 

49. Reduces to rubble : RAZES

50. Four-time NBA All-Star __ Irving : KYRIE
 

52. Not illuminated : UNLIT
 

53. Rhone cathedral city : LYONS
 

54. Lauder of cosmetics : ESTEE
 

57. Emotional boost : LIFT
 

58. Former union members? : EXES
 

61. Posed (for) : SAT
 

62. __-de-France : ILE
 

63. Oktoberfest quaff : ALE

Tuesday, October 31, 2017 ~ Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: P*TT - Three constant consonants with five progressive vowels.

18. "Evita" Tony-winning actress: PATTI LUPONE. "New Argentina"(5:16) More morons at 0:40.

25. Coast Guard rank: PETTY OFFICER

37. Roberto Clemente, notably: PITTSBURGH PIRATE

48. Ceramics shaper: POTTER'S WHEEL

59. Tinker in the workshop: PUTTER ABOUT

BOO! Argyle here. A diagonal solvers puzzle, but upper right to lower left. Maine to California. Washington and Florida are isolationists with just a one square connection to the rest of the puzzle.
FLASH: Husker Gary pointed out that the first vowel of the second word is regressive, U thru A. Coincidence, I think not.

Across:

1. Capital of Poland: WARSAW

7. Actress Moore: DEMI. IMDb

11. Dick and Jane's dog: SPOT

15. Tropical lizard: IGUANA

16. Large-scale: EPIC

17. Vagrant: HOBO

20. __-ran: ALSO

21. Diminutive suffix: ETTE

22. Fort full of gold: KNOX

23. Guitarist Clapton: ERIC

24. Spanish king: REY

29. Prefix with sol: AERO CAN

30. Flight height: Abbr.: ALT. (altitude)

31. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO

32. Rural road surface: DIRT

34. Carpal or tarsal lead-in: META. Bones of the hands or feet.

36. Prilosec target: ACID. Prilosec is made by AstraZeneca.

41. "__-daisy!": UPSY

42. Approximately: OR SO

43. Small fishing boat: DORY

44. D.C. United's org.: MLS. (Major League Soccer)

45. Sweetie pie: HON

46. Urge: PROD

52. 34-Down, in Toledo, Sp.: SRA. 34-Down. 52-Across, in Toledo, OH: MRS.

55. Naturalist John: MUIR

56. "__ Lang Syne": AULD

57. Truant GI: AWOL

58. Fatherly nickname: PAPA

62. Move a bit: STIR

63. "__, Brute?": ET TU

64. Not inclined (to): AVERSE

65. Meat safety org.: USDA. ( United States Department of Agriculture)

66. Loch with a mystery: NESS

67. Blowtorch user: WELDER

Down:

1. Windshield cleaner: WIPER but sometimes 17-Across.

2. Striped quartz: AGATE

3. Like old wagon trails: RUTTY

4. Appease, as hunger: SATE

5. Smart game-show vowel purchase for "F_LM CR_T_C": AN 'I'. It would be smarter to solve it unless the player wanted to gamble on one more spin.

6. "The Color Purple" author Alice: WALKER

7. Bus terminus: DEPOT

8. Modeling glue: EPOXY

9. 60 secs.: MIN.

10. Devils' playing surface, ironically: ICE. The New Jersey Devils are a pro ice hockey team in Newark, NJ. Ironic in the sense devils come from a very hot place. Watch out for little devils tonight!

11. Puppeteer Lewis: SHARI, with Lamb Chop, puppet.

12. Patrol vehicle: POLICE CAR. {One Adam Twelve, see the man...}

13. Target of captioning censorship: OBSCENITY

14. "That's __ bad": TOO

19. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO

23. Young salamander: EFT. Crossword and Scrabble staple.

25. Caresses, as a dog: PETS

26. Inaugural recitation: OATH

27. Envelope part: FLAP

28. Used a bike: RODE

29. Superficially cultured: ARTY

32. Embassy workers: DIPLOMATS

33. "What a harebrained idea!": "IT'S STUPID!"

35. Self-esteem: EGO

36. Retired Yankee slugger, to fans: A-ROD

37. Gas station machine: PUMP

38. Crude dude: BOOR

39. Catering coffeepots: URNS

40. Big screen star: IDOL

45. Ship's pronoun: HER

46. One-named soccer great: PELÉ

47. Change, as map details: REDRAW

49. Sparkly crown: TIARA

50. Light bulb units: WATTS

51. Many Rwandans: HUTUs

52. See 59-Down: SWORD

53. Shake awake: ROUSE

54. Change: ALTER

57. Brother of Cain: ABEL

58. Nittany Lions' sch.: PSU. (Pennsylvania State University)

59. It's mightier than the 52-Down, so they say: PEN

60. 4 x 4, for short: UTE. (utility vehicle)

61. Blvd.: AVE.. Streets.

Argyle

Monday, October 30, 2017 ~ Jake Braun

Theme: Watch Your Back! - Target word added behind the second word of the starred entries.

17A. *Palestine, to many: HOLY LAND. Landfall.

28A. *Slam-dance area: MOSH PIT. Pitfall.

51A. *What "blows no good": ILL WIND. Windfall;.

66A. "Spring forward" partner (a reminder for November 5th) ... and what the last word of each answer to a starred clue can literally have: FALL BACK

11D. *Jam on the brakes: STOP SHORT. Shortfall.

35D. *Regular dinner-and-a-movie evening: DATE NIGHT. Nightfall.

Argyle here. I've got your back. This puzzle has no unique words; that's unique. Diagonal solver's delight.

Across:

1. Press (down), as pipe bowl ash : TAMP

5. Life-saving proc.: CPR. (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

8. Collect $200 in Monopoly: PASS GO

14. Top poker pair: ACEs

15. Feel remorse for: RUE

16. Brewpub fixture: ALE TAP

19. Soccer game shout: ¡OLE! ¡OLE!

20. St. plagued by wildfires in 2017: ORE. (Oregon) Just one of many.

21. Leaves out: OMITS

23. Colorado resort: ASPEN. 73-Across. Enjoys 23-Across: SKIs

24. Other side in a fight: ENEMY

26. Monterey County seat: SALINAS

30. Spontaneous notion: WHIM

33. Classic Ford: MODEL T

36. One of eight Eng. kings: EDW. (Edward)

37. Cola, e.g.: SODA

38. Actress Longoria: EVA

39. Vienna's country: Abbr.: AUS. (Austria)ISO code: AUT

41. Gobble up: EAT

43. Do sales work (for): REP. (representative)

44. Baseball glove: MITT. 46-Across. Baseball throw: PEG,. 40-Down. Former MLB commissioner Bud: SELIG

48. Multi-room accommodations: SUITES

50. Praiseful verses: ODEs

53. More geeky: NERDIER

55. V-shaped carving: NOTCH

59. Happy expression: SMILE

61. "Six __ a-laying ... ": GEESE

63. Yokohama yes: HAI

64. Descartes' "I think": COGITO. "Cogito ergo sum" is Latin for "I think; therefore, I am".

68. From boat to beach: ASHORE. (adverb)

69. Island strings: UKE. (ukulele)

70. Pre-deal wager: ANTE

71. Poker player, e.g.: BETTOR

72. '60s hallucinogen: LSD. (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

Down:

1. Nevada border lake: TAHOE

                          Tahoe Keys, who knew?

2. Bit of a squirrel's stash: ACORN. (@1:25)

3. Messy fight: MELEE

4. Future therapist's maj.: PSY. (Psychology)

5. Study at the last minute: CRAM

6. Say "You're grounded" to, say: PUNISH

7. Administrative complications: RED TAPE

8. Kung __ chicken: PAO

9. Edgar __ Poe: ALLAN

10. Up-and-down playground fixtures: SEESAWs. 22-Down. Playground fixture: SLIDE

12. More than a breeze: GALE

13. Ready for customers: OPEN

18. Common Jesuit school name: LOYOLA

25. Sra., on the Seine: MME. (Señora/Madame)

27. Formal "My bad": "IT WAS I"

29. Dumb: STUPID

31. Camille's concept: IDÉE

32. Route providers: MAPS

33. Note to the staff: MEMO

34. Exiled Roman poet: OVID

42. Way under a river: TUNNEL

45. "Cats" poet: TS ELIOT

47. Full of joy: GLEEFUL

49. About-to-be spouse's words: "I DO"

52. Inflicts, as havoc: WREAKS

54. Nostalgically trendy: RETRO

56. Say "Much obliged" to: THANK

57. Desert plants: CACTI

58. Walks with backpacks: HIKES

59. Picket line violator: SCAB

60. Jazzman Allison: MOSE. Died: November 15, 2016.

62. Word with bob or dog: SLED

65. Poetic "above": O'ER

67. Eng. majors' degrees: BAs. (Bachelor of Arts)

Argyle

Sunday Oct 29, 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme:  "Urbanagrams"- Each theme entry is a major US city and its anagram.

23A. A few bars in the West? : SAN DIEGO SONG IDEA

37A. Ticketholder's entitlement in the Southwest? : SANTA FE FAN SEAT

51A. Stage handles in the West? : SACRAMENTO ACTOR NAMES

72A. Complex papers for a pad in the West? : LOS ANGELES LONG LEASES

86A. Do stuff in the Southeast? : RALEIGH HAIR GEL

102A. Heavyweights in the Midwest? : COLUMBUS SUMO CLUB

Puzzle titles don't always reveal the gimmick easily, but this one does, though it won't help your solving much.

You can probably anagram lots of other cities, but your entries have to have enough surface sense and humor value. Otherwise, you won't tickle Rich. You cities have to be big, not EDINA.

Though only 6 entries, they're all very long and occupy a total 100 theme squares. The grid is very Bruce. Very clean & lively. And you'll always see a few entries in his puzzles.

Across:
      
1. Choir voice : ALTO

5. Van Gogh setting : ARLES

10. They might be hatched : PLOTS. Three consecutive gimmes in a row.

15. Jazz trumpeter Jones : THAD. This got me last time.

19. Collectible fossil : SHARK TOOTH. We don't often see long non-themer in Across. How many teeth do you think a shark has?

21. Sound : AUDIO

22. Hamburger man : HERR

25. First name in household humor : ERMA

26. "Don't __" : ASK

27. Twinkle __: Skechers brand : TOES. Guessable. Cute.

28. The palm and olive of Palmolive : OILS

29. Reason to use litmus paper : PH TEST

31. Rubber? : MASSEUR. Nice clue.

33. iPad model : MINI. And 50. Apple since 1998 : iMAC. Also 66. Jobs in the tech industry : STEVE

34. Lumber mill fixtures : RIPSAWS. One of the flea market guys here is specialized in tools. His saws go quite quickly. He always yells at his customers.

36. Gallery works : ART

40. Helps plan a job, maybe : ABETS

43. Cry of exasperation : AARGH

44. Crushed, as a test : ACED

45. Priestly garment : ALB. Learned from doing crosswords.

46. Hot : SEXY

47. Puma competitor : AVIA

48. Place to get off: Abbr. : STA

49. Horse fathers : SIRES. Not "Horse feathers".

57. Wearer of a "Y" sweatshirt : ELI. Yale Bulldogs.

58. Feathered indoor flier : DART. I was picturing fruit flies.

59. Less contaminated : PURER

60. Nabokov novel : ADA

61. Pot cover : TEA COZY. Not on my tea pot.


63. Saturn's largest moon : TITAN

64. Media holder : DVD CASE. Four consonants in a row.

68. "I'm close to winning!" game cry : UNO

69. "__ what?": "What next?" : SO NOW

70. Capsizing deterrent : KEEL

71. Frat house "H" : ETA. We also have 15. Sorority letters : THETAs

77. First of 12 popes : PIUS I

78. Ref. updated quarterly : OED. I brought a Chinese-English dictionary when I came to the US. Have not needed it for ages. Google Translate solves all my problems.

79. Dress like, for the costume party : GO AS

80. "High-__!" : FIVE

81. Mtn. stat : ALT

82. Wee : ITTY

83. Matches a bet : CALLS

85. Social conventions : MORES. Not NORMS.

90. Old Prizm maker : GEO

91. Yoga move named for a pet : CAT POSE

92. Trading post wares : FURS

93. Colonist : SETTLER
 
97. Summer line : IT'S HOT. We just had our first snow.

98. Extended rental? : LIMO. Another great clue.

99. Fancy cracker spread : PATE. Try the spread on Aldi's crackers.

100. Flurry : ADO

101. Actress Moreno : RITA

107. Eclipse, maybe : OMEN

108. Aardwolf relative : HYENA. Hey, are you guys relatives?

Aardwolf

Hyena

109. Daytona 500, e.g. : NASCAR RACE. Another debut.


110. Give up : CEDE

111. Test for purity : ASSAY
 
112. Lavished attention (on) : DOTED

113. Wasn't square with : OWED
  
Down:
  
1. Indian state bordering Bangladesh : ASSAM

2. Two-mile-high capital : LHASA. In China, we spell it La Sa. You can see the Chinese characters here. Both Shanghai and Lhasa are two-word names in Chinese.

3. Loses on purpose : TANKS

4. Chicago airport code : ORD

5. Dined at a restaurant, say : ATE OUT. In Las Vegas, many places have soy sauce on the table. Makes me so happy. My favorite.

6. "Copy that" : ROGER

7. Heads of Parliament? : LOOS

8. Sci-fi staples : ETs

9. Driving away : SHOOING

10. "Without a Trace" actor Anthony La__ : PAGLIA. His face is familiar, not the name.

11. Wilder's "The Bridge of San __ Rey" : LUIS

12. Unmatched : ODD

13. Make, as a knot : TIE

14. S.O.S, for one : SOAP PAD. I love those S.O.S. pads. They work miracles.

16. "This is our stop" : HERE WE ARE

17. Weaponry transfers : ARMS SALES. Sparkly pairs of 9's. 

18. "Darn it!" : DRAT

20. Writers of bad checks : KITERS

24. Inning often not finished : NINTH. Bottom of the ninth.

30. QVC competitor : HSN
 
32. Mythical forest flutist : SATYR

33. Corday victim : MARAT. This was covered in our world history book also.

34. Parish head : RECTOR

35. Lead-in to bad news : I FEAR

37. Epitome of virtue : SAINT

38. Buckle or button : FASTEN. Also 56. Fleshy "buttons" : NAVELS

39. NCAA Final Four broadcaster : TBS

40. Selling point : ASSET

41. Bluesy Memphis street : BEALE

42. No longer working for The Company : EX-CIA. Notice the capitalized "The".

43. Animator Tex : AVERY
 
47. Online retail giant : AMAZON. I've never shopped at Walmart website. You? Their model is quite similar to Amazon's.

49. Seat at the racetrack : SADDLE

52. God, in Hebrew : ADONAI

53. Sound off : OPINE

54. Rush hour glut : AUTOS. Followed by 55. Rush hour pace : CRAWL
 
62. Talk a blue streak? : CUSS

63. "Ha! I was right!" : TOLD YA

64. Painter of ballerinas : DEGAS
 
65. Norse pantheon : AESIR. They live in Asgard.



67. Soothes : EASES

69. Boil : SEETHE

70. Round mound : KNOLL. The only one I know is that Grassy Knoll.

72. 1928 Gary Cooper romance in which a bouquet plays a vital role : LILAC TIME. Unfamiliar to me.

73. Went longer than : OUTLASTED

74. Invaders of ancient Rome : GOTHS

75. More than checks out : OGLES

76. In progress : AFOOT. And 84. Beached : AGROUND. Both solid A-words.

77. What one never is on a golf course : PAR. I was thinking you can have 1 on a par 3 or par 4 hole, if you're really lucky/good. But 1 is never a par.

82. Prankster's cry : I GOTCHA

83. Only speck of food the Grinch left in each Who's house : CRUMB

85. Shower component : METEOR. Meteor shower.


87. Flammable gas : ETHANE

88. NYSE news : IPO

89. "Let me just interject ... " : IF I MAY

90. Blow a gasket : GET MAD

93. Hooch : SAUCE

94. Old NBC legal drama : LA LAW. Also 96. Covered in court : ROBED

95. Draw forth : EDUCE

97. __-Z: classic Camaro : IROC

98. Moon goddess : LUNA. Chinese Moon goddess is Chang'e, who lives in the moon. That's why we eat mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival.

99. Vocal nudge : PSST

103. Yiddish laments : OYs
 
104. French article : LES

105. __ Paulo : SAO

106. HUN neighbor, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia)

C.C.

Crosswords LA 2017 puzzle pack is now on sale. Click here. Only $5. The proceeds go to Reading to Kids. Alex Boisvert is the puzzle wrangler/editor this year. See here for the first-ever all-women constructor team.