Tuesday, December 26, 2017 ~ Parikshit S. Bhat

Theme: Turning Circles - Take a word, rearrange the letters one at a time, moving the first one to the last one

18. Jamaican term for hot chocolate: COCOA TEA

22. Greek salad ingredient: GOAT CHEESE

34. Car accessory that may be faux leather: SEAT COVER

50. Glowing barbecue lump: RED HOT COAL

55. Traitor, and a literal hint to this puzzle's circles: TURNCOAT

Argyle here with Pari's third offering in LATland. Tinbeni will be happy.

Across:

1. Champagne cocktail: MIMOSA

7. Wrist-to-elbow bone: ULNA

11. Young newt: EFT

14. Prepared (oneself), as for a shock: BRACED

15. Be unsuccessful: FAIL

16. The "A" in 59-Across: ALE. 59A. Hoppy beer, for short: IPA. (India pale ale)

17. Dogs from Japan: AKITAs

20. Suffix with hip or tip: STER

21. Stormy weather sound: THUNDER

26. Board game cubes: DICE

27. French friend: AMI

28. "__-ho!": "Everybody lift together!": HEAVE

29. Scrutinized, with "over": PORED

30. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Lèse-majesté: from Latin laesa majestas ‘injured sovereignty.’

32. Letter before omega: PSI

33. Leftover food bits: ORTS

38. Actor Brad: PITT

40. __ kwon do: TAE

41. Start of a magical chant: ABRA. ABRAcadabra.

45. Longed (for): PINED

46. Minor fight: SET-TO

48. Tyrannosaurus __: REX

49. Norwegian patron saint: OLAF

52. Records again: RETAPES

54. Wolf's cry: HOWL

57. Ex-Soviet leader Brezhnev: LEONID

60. Use a stopwatch for: TIME

61. Painter or sculptor: ARTIST

62. Cleopatra killer: ASP

63. Winter coaster: SLED

64. Balance sheet items: ASSETS

Down:

1. Management deg.: MBA. (Master of Business Administration)

2. Annoying: IRKSOME

3. Rum cocktails: MAI TAIs

4. Two foursomes: OCTET

5. Look online: SEARCH

6. App interruptions: ADs

7. Mixed martial arts org.: UFC. (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

8. "Tao Te Ching" philosopher: LAO TSE

9. Specialized market segment: NICHE

10. Baseball's Felipe or Moises: ALOU

11. Humbly accept blame: EAT DIRT

12. Swindles: FLEECES

13. Got emotional, with "up": TEARED

19. Republic between Spain and France: ANDORRA. Their web site.

22. __ pal: GAL

23. Air filter acronym: HEPA. (high-efficiency particulate air) filter.

24. Sunrise direction: EAST

25. Kicked out: EVICTED

29. Poet for whom the Edgar Awards are named: POE

31. Miami Sound Machine singer Gloria: ESTEFAN

35. Scheduled leaving hr.: ETD

36. Pledge: OATH

37. White House no: VETO

38. Multi-car collisions: PILE-UPs

39. Ensnared: IN A TRAP

42. Chocolate treat: BROWNIE

43. Practical thinker: REALIST

44. Rock singer Rose: AXL

45. "The Merchant of Venice" heiress: PORTIA

46. Opening word for Ali Baba: SESAME. Not the first word spoken but the word that got the

cave to open.

47. Unlisted stuff: OTHERS

50. Lubricate again: REOIL

51. Codgers: COOTS

53. Cuts for agts.: PCTs. %

56. Danson of "The Good Place": TED. Cheers!

57. Anaheim MLB team, in crawl lines: LAA. (Los Angeles Angels)

58. Souse's woe: DTs. (Delirium Tremens) When the pink elephants come to dance with you.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Many regulars are aware that D-Otto and his wife make potato dumplings every Christmas. You can see his recipe here. Quite a challenging project.

Here is a great picture of D-Otto working on the dumplings yesterday. He said below. I was amazed that he still has the original box.

"The grinding is finished and the roast is in the oven.  We're in a brief window before the mixing/boiling stage has to begin.  Here's me with at the controls of the Shred-O-Mat (in glorious Harvest Gold), attired in the official dumpling uniform of the day -- blue jeans, sacrificial tee and no watch."

D-Otto (Tom)