Saturday, June 23, 2018, Debbie Ellerin

Themeless Saturday by Debbie Ellerin

Today, June 23,  is National Let It Go Day. Here is some wonderful advice that flows from that sentiment

On this day of introspection, Debbie Ellerin has a given us a very nice exercise. Debbie is a "longtime puzzle solver" who caught the constructing bug in 2014. She has been published in the NYT, the LA Times and the WSJ. She is a former computer programmer who splits her time between LA and Boston. She spends her free time reading, watching MSNBC and traveling to visit her two children.

I was going to grump about 39. Rear ends?: ARS where Debbie was indicating the R's that serve as the front and back end of the word REAR yield the fill AR'S. I decided that in the spirit of the day I will LET IT GO! 😉

Now after taking my tongue out of my cheek, I must aver that I am in awe of all constructors and especially those who produce these wonderful Saturday gems like Debbie has for us today! 


Now let's take a look at what Debbie has for us before we LET IT GO!


Across:

1. "The __ Book": JUNGLE - Rosemary DeCamp is the only actor I recognized in the cast from this 1942 movie version 

7. Eyjafjallajökull output: ASH - This Icelandic Volcano is pronounce Ay-yah-fyad-layer-kuh-tel 

10. "C'mon, be __!": A PAL.

14. Straighten out: UNCOIL - Often said about a baseball swing

15. It often has twists: PLOT LINE - My binge watching of Grey's Anatomy revealed PLOT LINE twists that made me shake my head. A man is attacked by his date's full grown pet lion but wait, she's upset with him...

17. Treaty of Versailles region: ALSACE - This small area bordered by France, Germany and Switzerland was returned to France after WWI in 1919 as Germany had taken it 40 yrs. previously

18. Apparent displacement due to observer movement: PARALLAX - This is a very useful tool in astronomy but here is a simple explanation

19. Website with a Certified Fresh seal: ROTTEN TOMATOES - If I had only gone to ROTTENTOMATOES.COM I would never have gone to see Morgan, Rene and Tommy Lee in this worst movie I have ever paid money to see!

21. "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" singer: EVA - Peron

22. Word sung after the ball drops: AULD - AULD Land Syne - Scottish for "Times Long Past"

23. Ivan the Terrible, e.g.: TSAR - He used Ива́н Васи́льевич on his business cards

25. Frat letters: ZETAS  

28. Loses focus: BLURS.

31. Gun designer __ Gal: UZI - UZI Gal and his famous/infamous invention

32. Object: DEMUR.

34. Hostile environment: SNAKE PIT - Some basketball arenas with rowdy student sections are called a SNAKE PIT

36. Neatnik's nemesis: SLOB - We can all complete this analogy - SLOB : Oscar = Neatnik : ______

38. Work on a muffler: KNIT.

39. Invasion, for example: ACT OF WAR - Nazis dressed as Poles "attacked" a German radio station on 8/31/39.  The Nazis declared this as an ACT OF WAR and history students know what Hitler did the next day

43. Big name in publishing: KNOPF - The first books KNOPF published were under Borzoi Books because his wife loved that dog breed. He kept the dog as a symbol for KNOPF Books.

47. Makeup exam?: ASSAY - An ASSAY report on the makeup of an ore sample from a Utah mine in 1943

49. Bergen's dumbest dummy: SNERD - Mortimer

51. Fox relative: SAUK - A young Abraham Lincoln fought against the SAUK and Fox tribes in the Black Hawk War in 1832

53. One with a unicorn as a heraldic symbol: SCOT.

55. "The __ of Pooh": TAO - According to Benjamin Hoff  and 46. Hundred Acre Wood denizen: ROO didn't make this list

56. Online exchange medium: CRYPTO CURRENCY - A decentralized, peer-to-peer method of payment. That's all you're getting from me! Yikes!

61. Sarcastic "What a shame": OH BOO HOO - One tire on your new Maserati is low... 

62. Make sparkle, in a way: AERATE - Now I have to AERATE my birdbath?

63. Particle name that Fermi introduced to the scientific community: NEUTRINO - This physics guy won't make this esoteric journey with you. You're welcome.

64. Alligator kin: CAIMAN - Not spelled with a "Y" it turns out

65. Bone on a menu: OSSO  - A scathing review of the OSSO restaurant in Peebles, Scotland

66. IRS ID: SSN.

67. Cars that misfired badly?: EDSELS - Wrong car at the wrong time. I doubt many kids get the name Edsel any more like Edsel Ford did


Down:

1. City across the river from El Paso: JUAREZ - From space at night

3. Wolfpack's home: NC STATE.

4. Far from a fan favorite: GOAT - What a change! This error by Billy Buckner made him an 2. Far from popular: UNLOVED GOAT but today GOAT also stands for Greatest Of All Time. Ah, 13. "The Joy of __": Brandreth's book for word buffs: LEX.

5. Causes of some head scratching: LICE.

6. John Paul's successor: ELENA - Cute clue! No she was not a pope.

ELENA Kagen replaced John Paul Stevens 
on the Supreme Court in 2010

7. Team-ranking surveys, briefly: AP POLLS.

8. Sure thing: SLAM DUNK - Most Nebraskans thought legendary Husker FB coach Tom Osborne was a SLAM DUNK to be elected governor in 2006 but my golfing friend Dave Heineman beat him.

9. "Hava Nagila" dance: HORA.

10. Dole out: ALLOT - On a good day, I ALLOT about an hour to do the puzzle, read the comments and comment myself

11. Accumulates: PILES UP.

12. Cliff Palace dwellers: ANASAZI

16. Body image?: TAT.

20. Popcorn buy: TUB - One site said that $5.75 popcorn costs 37¢ to make

24. Musical dir.: RIT - Slow down, as is shown here in a place familiar to us all

26. Schoolyard comeback: AM SO.

27. Bacteria-fighting drug: SULFA - Not for everyone as you can see by this warning

29. Private, for one: RANK.

30. Pickup game team: SKINS - Playing SHIRTS vs SKINS only works for one gender

33. Spats: ROWS - If they happen in movie theaters you could have ROWS in the ROWS

35. Henry VI founded it in 1440: ETON.

37. Some winds: BASSOONS - Between its size and required air pressure through the double reeds, this looks like a very hard instrument to play. Jazz, et al?

40. Manager's staff: COACHES - All these COACHES can't make KC a winner this year. It seems you need good players 😜

41. Gig transport: TOUR BUS.

42. Animal in a Beatles ballad: RACCOON - Rocky Racoon was a man in Dakota seeking revenge

44. Term of endearment: PET NAME

45. Repeating geometric pattern: FRACTAL - Don't look too long!

48. "With or Without __": U2 song: YOU.

50. Elders: DOYENS - Usually prominent ones

52. 1997 protocol city: KYOTO - The U.S. delegation signed this protocol but the Senate did not ratify it

54. Bit: TRACE - Such as these TRACE elements that we need in small amounts

57. Favor preceder?: POR - POR favor, introduzca un comentario después de terminar el rompecabezas (PLEASE enter a comment after you finish the puzzle)

58. It's not that: THIS.

59. Consume Food and Wine, say: READ  - Food and Wine are capitalized 

60. Most massive known dwarf planet: ERIS - Slightly bigger than fellow dwarf planet Pluto

61. Beatle bride: ONO.

Now before you post a comment, I invite you to sing along with the beautiful song sung by a crossword regular about today's day of celebration.  Words are provided, including the word FRACTALS!

DA GRID

Friday, June 22, 2018, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Duck, Duck GOOSE?

Jeffrey is back again with a pre-tribute to a new MOVIE that comes out in August. Okay, probably not, but this is a really impressive creation as we have a 15 x 16 grid (to leave room for 59 across) with only one cheater square in the grid! We have the word "DUCK" implied but not written in eight (8) answers, and they are set up in lines (rows) 1, 6 and 9 with a two-part reveal in 12 and 14. Again pushing the no rebus envelope at the LAT we are presented with a pretty easy Friday that glows with its originality. I think this may be a combination that appeals to many, but YMMV. I loved the visual appeal of the grid, which reminds me of the old Atari game SPACE INVADERS. As always, we have a goodly mix of sparkly fill, this time BEATLES, DIGNIFY, LONG RUN, NO RULES, OREGANO, SONNETS, CANARY CAGE and  FAT-BUSTING.

1A. *Sparkling wine: COLD DUCK. (4). Red wine and sparkling wine mixed. LINK.

5A. *Classic Chinese dish: PEKING DUCK. (6). Never Beijing LINK.

11A. *Defeated incumbent: LAME DUCK. (4) No politics  LINK.

27A. *Toon with a speech problem: DAFFY DUCK (5) Daffy first appeared in Porky's Duck Hunt, released on April 17, 1937. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery and animated by Bob Clampett. Porky's Duck Hunt is a standard hunter/prey pairing for which Leon Schlesinger's studio was famous, but Daffy (barely more than an unnamed bit player in this short) was something new to moviegoers: an assertive, completely unrestrained, combative protagonist.

30A. *Goner: DEAD DUCK. (4). This phrase is very similar to Lame Duck. The phrase “dead duck” is an Americanism from the 1830s. Originally it was political slang referring to a person who has lost influence or power and was therefore useless. 

34A. *Charmed one: LUCKY DUCK. (5) Lucky duck is a saying meaning someone has good fortune. It likely was derived solely from the rhyme. 

46A. *Bath toy: RUBBER DUCK (6) Perhaps the most famous ONE.

48A. *Fictional uncle of triplets: DONALD DUCK (6) Donald Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is most famous for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous and temperamental personality.

59A. With 69-Across, organizational process implied by eight answers in this puzzle: GETTING ONE'S DUCKS (16) 69A. See 59-Across: IN A ROW(6).

62 theme squares!

Across:

15. Trendy berry: ACAI. I think the bloom is off this berry.

16. Critter: ANIMAL. Daffy and Donald are both anthropomorphic critters.

17. Natural resources: ORES.

18. Fillmore's party: WHIG. Lucky 13, Millard Fillmore was the last Whig President. When my son and d-i-l were in graduate school in Buffalo we went to the cemetery where he is buried. Interestingly, both of his wives are buried there. I include a nice SUMMARY of the WHIG Party.

19. Hyundai sedan: SONATA. Hmm. Etymology: past participle of sonare "to sound," from Latin sonare "to sound," 21A. Browning works: SONNETS.  Etymology: directly from Italian sonetto, literally "little song," from Old Provençal sonet "song," diminutive of son "song, sound," from Latin sonus "sound"

20. Tide table term: NEAP. This is a tide just after the first or third quarters of the moon when there is the least difference between high and low water.

23. Pizzeria jarful: OREGANO. And parmagianno.

25. Martinique, e.g.: ILE. Our regular French for Island. If you have not been, it is a wonderful place to visit. The food is great and you can get Paris fashions for reasonable prices. But it is not designed for a long vacation.

26. Always, in 21-Across: E'ER.

38. Former Half.com owner: eBAY. Half.com was a subsidiary of eBay. eBay shut down the service on September 1, 2017. It was a website where sellers offered items for sale at fixed prices. The items available on half.com were limited to books, textbooks, music, movies, video games, and video game consoles.

39. "Not guilty," e.g.: DENIAL.

41. Second start?: NANO.

42. Home security giant: ADT. The company started as American District Telegraph and has a very diverse HISTORY.

43. Take into account: REMEMBER.

45. Just issued, in Innsbruck: NEU. Kazie,  Spitzboov-what are the differences between Austrian/German?

50. Swung about: SLUED. slew verb: past tense: slued; past participle: slued turn or slide violently or uncontrollably in a particular direction. "the Chevy slued from side to side in the snow"

51. Places for notes: PADS. Not music.

55. Iberian Peninsula city: PORTO. A new tourist destination in PORTUGAL.

56. Blue: SAD.

57. Fit to __: A TEE.

58. Mock conclusion?: ERY.

65. Either of two Monopoly sqs.: UTIL.

66. Like boxers: CANINE. Doggies.

67. Parrilla of "Once Upon a Time": LANA. Never heard of this actress, but then again I do not watch the show. She actually has been very BUSY.

68. Debussy subject: LUNE. I love good PIANO.

70. Self-images: EGOS.

71. Overdoes it, with "out": PIGS.

72. Lawgivers: SOLONS. A fun Friday fill. Solon, (born c. 630 BCE—died c. 560 BCE), Athenian statesman, known as one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece (the others were Chilon of Sparta, Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Cleobulus of Lindos, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Periander of Corinth).


73. Son of Eve: SETH. The third son, but The Works of Josephus states: "The number of Adam's children, as says the old tradition, was 33 sons and 23 daughters." TITUS FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS was a prolific scholar. Historic reading, no religion.

Down:

1. Cornfield calls: CAWS. Cute continued alliteration.

2. Tres y cinco: OCHO. Spanish math.

3. Placed: LAIN.

4. Give due respect: DIGNIFY.

5. Scrapbooker's supply: PASTE.

6. Son of 73-Across: ENOS. Or Enosh is a link in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but that would be religion.

7. Holiday guests, often: KIN.

8. Bread's "Baby __ Want You": I'M A. A forgotten band from the early 70's? The song lives on.

9. Org. led by Jens Stoltenberg: NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Now led by this MAN.

10. Driving hazard: GLARE.

11. Broadway producer's desire: LONG RUN.

12. Region: AREA.

13. Nasty: MEAN.

14. Hockey's Phil, to fans: ESPO. Phil and Tony Esposito were both very successful.

22. Historic Nevada city: ELY. Rhymes with eely.

24. Sushi roll fish: EEL. A C.C. favorite.

27. Darlings: DEARS.

28. Former "Idol" judge: ABDUL. A successful dancer who has fought bulimia.

29. Adjective in some diet ads: FAT-BUSTING. These ads probably cause the onset of bulimia.

30. JFK or LBJ: DEMocrat.

31. Chemical suffix: ENE.

32. Intention: AIM.

33. Apply carefully: DAB.

35. Pet bird's home: CANARY CAGE.

36. Lowered oneself?: KNELT. “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.”
--Danny Thomas founder of St. Jude's children's hospital.


37. "Really?": YOU DO?

39. German article: DER.

40. Was first: LED.

43. __-wip: REDDI.

44. Cordoned (off): ROPED.

47. '60s pop group: BEATLES.

49. Free-for-all situation: NO RULES.

51. 2010s Colts head coach Chuck: PAGANO. The first use of this clue/fill combo.

52. Without a key: ATONAL.

53. Hathaway's "The Intern" co-star: DE NIRO.

54. "As __ TV": SEEN ON. So many stores have their sections devoted to the variety of products sold 'only' on TV.

59. [Yikes!]: GULP.

60. Notions case: ETUI. This was a common fill because of the vowels.

61. CBS maritime drama: NCIS. Oo and I watched the first few seasons on Netflix. They were really good.

62. Finishes (up): SEWS.

63. Celtic __: KNOT. This is not as simple as it sounds. LINK.

64. Merit badge site: SASH.

Well, I am back in the saddle again, riding to the finish of another Friday frolic. Jeffrey's wide variety of puzzles continue to please and I leave it to you all to let me know if you agree. Lemonade out.

Thursday June 21st 2018 Clive Probert

Theme: G-Minus. No, not the grade for the puzzle, but explaining the theme:

27A. Reason your ears are burning?: (G)LOBAL WARMING

20A. Girl skipping school?: (G)LASS CUTTING

46A. Farm sound after sunset?: (G)LOW IN THE DARK

54A. Knight game impact?: (G)LANCING BLOW

And the reveal:

Aha! No reveal, a nice Thursday-style theme-and-figure-it-out-yourself. With these puzzles, if they're well-constructed, it can be a big help if you do figure out the theme, the earlier the better. This puzzle from Clive is a good example of the genre. Also, look at the stacked 9's in the downs and "we've got a cracking grid (Gromit!)".

Let's see what catches the eye elsewhere:

Across:

1. Throw out a line: CAST

5. Marner of fiction: SILAS

10. Santa Monica attraction: PIER. Iconic venue here in LA. I've never really looked closely at the famous sign, but now I have to ask - where is the yacht harbor? I've sailed the Santa Monica Bay a number of times, and there's no harbor to be seen anywhere near the pier.

14. Funny Bombeck: ERMA

"Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth."

15. Letter-shaped fastener: U-BOLT. I always thought "Bolt" was a very apt name for another U.Bolt.

16. "Young Frankenstein" Fräulein: INGA

17. Meadows: LEAS

18. Siamese fighting fish: BETTA

19. New Mexico resort: TAOS

23. Plate duster: UMP. Lovely clue. Baseball home-plate umpire clearing the aforementioned of dirt. He keeps a little brush handy for the task.

24. Transparent: SHEER

25. "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. The star, Ronald Coleman, preparing to buckle his swash.

32. Collect over time: AMASS

35. __ juice: MOO

36. Second-largest bone in the body: TIBIA

37. Ticket word: ROW

38. Note from one who's shy: IOU. Very nice. Shy of funds.

39. __ Cruces: LAS. A New Mexico geography puzzle today.

40. Low joint: ANKLE

43. ID with two hyphens: SSN

44. "Totally had you going there!": PSYCH! We had this a couple of weeks ago. Were you paying attention?

49. Backyard game for two: CATCH

50. Saudi money: RIYAL

53. Prefix with pass: SUR

59. Early automaker: OLDS

61. Trunk: TORSO

62. Kitchen floor covering, to a Brit: LINO. We had lino in our bedrooms when I was a small child and no heating upstairs. Getting out of bed on a winter's morning was a bracing experience.

63. Singer's syllables: LA LA

64. Considering everything: IN ALL

65. __ Eats: food delivery app: UBER. I've used these folks a few times when I've arrived home late from the airport and found nothing much to eat in the house. The service is really good.

66. African antelope: ORYX

67. Propagated: SOWED

68. Word on an Irish stamp: EIRE. Here's a nice example. It says "Two Pence" underneath, if you're curious.

Down:

1. "Tainted Love" band Soft __: CELL. Quick, name another Soft Cell hit. In the meantime, here's the 80's again.

2. Measurements made by planimeters: AREAS. Learning moment. Looks like something you'd find in a dentist's office:

3. Tennis shot: SMASH

4. Loafer adornments: TASSELS

5. Many a commuter's community: SUBURB. I went with "SLEEPY" first and had second, third and fourth thoughts until sanity prevailed.

6. Sarcastic comment: I BET.

7. Senate majority leader after Dole: LOTT

8. Some choristers: ALTI

9. Poetry unit: STANZA

10. Racetrack stop: PIT. I was thinking horses for a while. Then .. aha! Motor sports.

11. Lower than low?: INAUDIBLY. INAUDIBLE seemed perfect, until PSECH [sic] emerged.

12. Swellhead: EGOMANIAC

13. Speak harshly: RASP

21. Company VIPs: CEOS

22. Fröbe who played Goldfinger: GERT

26. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: N.M.I. No Middle Initial. I've had two girlfriends with no middle name. One dropped her last name because she didn't like it and used her middle name instead, the other said her parents ran out of ideas after coming up with her first name.

28. Pennsylvania sect: AMISH

29. Relaxed: LOOSE

30. Wired, with "up": WOUND

31. Big cut: GASH

32. Severely damaged Asian sea: ARAL

33. Like a birder's field glass: MONOCULAR

34. With very little grace: AWKWARDLY

41. Burning: LIT

42. Env. fattener: ENCL. The enclosure fattens the envelope.

44. Puritan: PRIG. Likeable clue/answer. Not obvious off the bat. Nice stuff.

45. Landscape artist's shade: SKY BLUE

47. To wit: THAT IS

48. California governor after Gray: ARNOLD. Der Gübernator. I still like the way he pronounced "California". Here's a highlight reel of just that. There's nothing you can't find on the Interwebs.

51. Defensive line?: ALIBI. Very nice clue/answer. Some corkers today.

52. Hermit: LONER

53. 2018 Ron Howard film subtitled "A Star Wars Story": SOLO. Solo. Han Solo. No wait, wasn't that 007?

55. Faux pas: NO-NO

56. Bird crop: CRAW

57. Cruise stopover: ISLE. Had PORT. That's didn't help progress at the bottom.

58. Became frayed, say: WORE

60. Kenny G's horn: SAX. Nice bookend for the theme. The missing "G" appears in the final clue!

World Cup fever continues for me. There's no cure except for waiting out the crisis in Mid-July. Some of the commentary on the Fox coverage is shockingly bad - I find refuge in the Spanish-language feed on Univision.

Here's the griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid! Griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Irish Miss asked about Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn yesterday. Here she is with her father's day masterpiece. You can click here to see a few more pictures of our beautiful girl.

Wednesday, June 20 2018, Roger & Kathy Wienberg

Theme:

17. Fidgety: ILL AT EASE.

25. "Is that it?": WHAT ELSE.

35. T.S. Eliot poem, with "The": WASTE LAND.

52. Behold in amazement: MARVEL AT.

61. Employee hours suggested by this puzzle's circles: LATE SHIFT.

Melissa here. SHIFT clues us in that LATE will be scrambled - four ways. Not just scrambly, but Scrabble-y, with K, V, X, Y and Z - but alas no J or Q. (Googling for scrambled things, I came across this funny.)

Across:

1. Not quite round: OVAL.

5. Gumbo vegetable: OKRA.

9. Ply: LAYER.

14. Like every U.S. president: MALE. So far.

15. "Coulda been a lot worse!": PHEW.

16. Romantic text: ILUVU. Romantic, if you're 12.

19. Gymnast Simone who won four golds in Rio: BILES.

20. Carefree: GAY.

21. The "I" of "The King and I": ANNA. Anna Leonowens.

22. Masters: MAVENS.

23. Characteristic of the villain in "The Fugitive": ONE ARM.

27. All-in-one printer feature: SCANNER.

29. Actor Wallach: ELI.

30. Unconscious: OUT.

31. "__ goes nothing!": HERE.

32. Muse of poetry: ERATO.

34. Navig. technology: GPS.

39. Sprite: ELF.

42. Admonish: CHIDE.

43. They're on the phone: APPS. Fun clue.

47. Classical lead-in: NEO.

48. Recycle bin item: CAN.

49. Work on, as a vintage auto: RESTORE.

55. Pluto's largest moon: CHARON.

56. Trip up: ASCENT. Love the clue!

57. Use a wrecking ball on: RAZE.

59. Ode title words: TO A.

60. Metaphor in a gambling debacle: SHIRT. Not SHORTs.

63. Smell or taste: SENSE.

64. Ancient Dead Sea region: EDOM. Descendants of Esau. Cave dwellers.

65. Slurpee, basically: ICEE.

66. Tidied, as a lawn: EDGED. What else besides a lawn?

67. TV warrior princess: XENA.

68. Sci-fi escape ships: PODS.

Down:

1. "Heavens!": OMIGOSH.

2. Window topper: VALANCE.

3. Twelve-month: ALL YEAR.

 4. Thompson of "Switched at Birth": LEA.

 

5. Gift box direction: OPEN ME.

6. Genghis __: KHAN.

7. Watched again: RESAW.

8. Astound: AWE.

9. Liquid poured in honor of a deity: LIBATION.

10. Animated: ALIVE.

11. Holiday fireplace item: YULE LOG.

12. Ties, as a score: EVENS UP.

13. Potatoes often used for fries: RUSSETS. Michael Pollan describes the Russet Burbank.

18. Alpine lake: TARN. Beautiful.

22. Island near Sicily: MALTA.

24. Yet again: ANEW.

26. Physician, hopefully: HEALER.

28. Light-sensitive eye part: RETINA.

33. Great American Ball Park player: RED. This Red?

36. Like some French vowels: ACCENTED.

37. Commandment verb: SHALT.

38. Spreadsheet input: DATA.

39. As a group: EN MASSE.

40. On a tether: LEASHED.

41. Compelling: FORCING.

44. Colonnaded entryway: PORTICO.

45. Reviewed for typos: PROOFED.

46. State assemblies: SENATES.

50. Skin malady: ECZEMA.

51. "__ So Unusual": Cyndi Lauper's debut studio album: SHE'S.

53. Poet's creation: VERSE.

54. Word with secret or school: TRADE.

58. Scads: A TON.

61. Supervillain Luthor: LEX.

62. In the know: HIP.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Joe Schewe

⌁  "Wired"  ⌁

17. Carry only a carry-on, say: TRAVEL LIGHT.  WIRED LIGHT  💡

24. MLB's National League nickname (because it was founded first): SENIOR CIRCUIT. WIRED CIRCUIT

47. Unscrupulous sales tactic: BAIT AND SWITCH. WIRED SWITCH  

57. Chaw in a cheek: TOBACCO PLUG.  WIRED PLUG  🔌

39. Tense with excitement ... and a hint to the ends of the four longest puzzle answers: WIRED.

Across:

1. Like aged cheddar: SHARP.

6. Three-dimensional: CUBIC.ऒ

11. Clavell's "__-Pan": TAI.  Big shot. 

14. Down-yielding duck: EIDER.

15. IRA-establishing legislation: ERISA. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act

16. __ Tin Tin: RIN. The German Shepherd Dog is my favorite.

19. "__ had one job!": YOU.   The perfect opening for CrossEyedDave.  I'll link this one to get him started. 

20. Bottom edge of a dress: HEM.

21. Slithery swimmer: EEL.

22. Bacteria in food recalls: E. COLI.

29. "Of course": YES.

30. Least fresh: OLDEST.

31. Rainbow-shaped: ARCED.

34. Five-time Silver Slugger Award-winning catcher Joe: MAUER.   Some guys are just athletically gifted.  Like another Minnesotan, Dave Winfield.   Mauer was a great multi-sport ballplayer in high school.  Click the link to read about him.   

First Baseman since 2014

C.C. used to have Joe Mauer as her avatar:

35. The 2% in 2% milk: FAT.

38. Nobel physicist Niels: BOHR.

40. Vague amount: SOME.

41. Wonderment: AWE.  If you take the previous answer at 40A, and append it to this answer, you will have the adjective that I sense grates on Husker Gary's ears. 

42. Funeral rite heaps: PYRES.

43. Aleppo's land: SYRIA.

44. Martin of "Route 66": MILNER.  We had a clue of "66, for one"  yesterday at 5D, and the answer was RTE.  Boomer commented, "I think there was a famous TV show with Martin Milner about Rte. 66."   So anyone that read the blog yesterday should have been able to get Milner today.  That's him on the right.  Reruns of Route 66 are on late night TV.    Nice car for a pair of drifters. 

 He beat out Robert Redford for the role.

46. Buddhist discipline: ZEN.

51. Takes a break: RESTS.

52. Ill. neighbor: IND.

53. Piece of history: ERA.

56. Framed works: ART.

62. Knight's title: SIR.

63. Downloadable read: EBOOK.

64. Moan and groan: WHINE.

65. "Listen up!": HEY.  Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over.

66. Takes a chance on: RISKS.

67. Vetoes: NIXES.

Down:

1. Meyers of late-night TV: SETH.

2. Put on the payroll: HIRE.

3. Frequent Yosemite photographer Ansel: ADAMS.

 The Story Behind the Photograph That Made Ansel Adams Famous

4. Gun, as an engine: REV.

5. Fussed in front of a mirror: PREENED.  This sure sounds like fussing to me.  Never heard of scritch before.

6. Upright violin kin: CELLO.

7. Ocean State sch.: URI.  The University of Rhode Island is the flagship university for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

8. The __ Dipper: BIG.

9. "Kinda" suffix: ISH. Sorta.

10. Party food provider: CATERER.

11. Seek a spot on, as a sports team: TRY OUT FOR. 

12. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI.

13. Alaskan native: INUIT.

18. Floral garlands: LEIS.

23. IV units: CCs.

25. Ogler: EYER.  Oxford Dictionaries:  Eyer.  Noun.  Rare.
    1 Chiefly literary and poetic. A person who looks at or sees something or someone; an observer.
    2 A person who makes eyes in needles. Now historical.

26. Loud crowds: ROARERS.  Like the fans at the 2018 U.S. Open played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

27. Crossword puzzle list: CLUES. Also from Oxford Dictionaries... Origin: Late Middle English: variant of clew. The original sense was ‘a ball of thread’; hence one used to guide a person out of a labyrinth.  I could use a better ball of thread on some Saturday puzzles.

28. Fingered in a lineup, briefly: ID'ed.

31. Old hoops org.: ABA.  American Basketball Association. 1967 to 1976.   I was a fan.  Dr. J (Julius Erving), Rick Barry, Moses Malone, Dan Issel,  Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Tiny (Nate) Archibald and others. 

32. Line of seats: ROW.

33. Mutual attraction in a relationship: CHEMISTRY.  Are we talking about covalent bonding ?  Or 💑 ?

34. Stuck in the mud: MIRED.

36. "__ dreaming?": AM I.

37. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA.  I believe this is Abejo's favorite.  So much so that he takes it with him when he dines out.

39. Casino mogul Steve: WYNN.  I would have preferred the clue to have been about Ed, Keenan or  Early.  

40. Lip-__: mouth the words: SYNC.

42. Wall surface: PLASTER.

43. Land a plane: SET DOWN.  Hi Dudley ! 

45. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.   Linked ITT's picture last time.

46. Galvanizing metal: ZINC. 

47. Audacious: BRASH.

48. Eagle's nest: AERIE.

49. Trimmable candle parts: WICKS.

50. DNA structure: HELIX.

54. Ancient character: RUNE.

55. Long, long time: AGES.

58. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.

59. Mass. MLB team: BOS.  Boston Red Sox.   In 1967 I was playing Little League and devoured anything / everything baseball.  Yaz won the Triple Crown and Boston won the AL Pennant to face St Louis in the World Series.  The series was tied at 3 games apiece.  Our teacher,  Mr Kelly,  rolled a TV into the classroom.  We all watched the deciding Game 7.   Bob Gibson of the Cardinals won his 3rd game and St Louis took the series 4-3.  I was pulling for the Cardinals, but became a Yaz fan that season.  Great ballplayer.  1st ballot HOF'er.  Born in Southampton, N.Y., site of the 2018 U.S. Open.  BTW,  no other Triple Crowns were won in either league until 2012, when Miguel Cabrerra of the Tigers accomplished the feat.

60. "All systems go!": AOK.  Jinx might see that in his side view mirrors as he leaves the campgrounds.

61. __ Beta Kappa: PHI.

Monday June 18th, 2018 Peter A. Collins

Theme: FOREIGN LANGUAGE ( 37. What's left when you remove the first and last letters of the answers to starred clues)

20A. *Indiana university: PURDUE. Urdu.

22A. *Thin metallic layer: PLATING. Latin.

53A. *Raucous party: SHINDIG. Hindi.

56A. *Uniform top: JERSEY. Erse.

Boomer here.

The theme feels thin today. But the candidates are limited to start with.  Spent most of the weekend watching the U.S. Open golf tournament on TV.  I really don't care to see the best players in the world make double bogeys. My playing buddies and I make double bogeys all the time.  The difference being that we don't have some idiot yelling "Go in the hole" after every tee shot.  I don't mind that the rough is ankle high or there are ten bunkers around every green.  Accuracy is a must in golf.  But greens are the target.  Why make the surfaces of greens the consistency of my driveway?  Anyway, hats off to Brooks Koepka for his stellar performance !

Across:

1. "See ya!": TA TA.

5. Potato chip, to Mr. Chips: CRISP.

10. Barbershop singer: BASS.  We had two bass levels in my high school glee club.  I was a second bass.  But in baseball I played center field.  We also have bass in our Minnesota lakes.  Let's see, probably at least 200 bass each in 10,000 lakes, that's 2 million fish.

14. Israel's Abba: EBAN. This could be a forbidden use of e cigs, those nasty vapor things.

15. Book of maps: ATLAS.  Charles Atlas course, Roy Rogers horse and only the shadow knows.  Ah do you remember those...(Statler Brothers)

16. Shoot out: EMIT.

17. Classic theater name: ROXY.

18. Alabama march city: SELMA.Think of all the hate there is in Red China!

Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!

Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,

But when your return, it's the same old place,

We survived the eve of destruction.

19. Caesar's cover-up: TOGA. Get one for the party at Animal House, Delta Tau Chi!

24. Water vapor: STEAM.

25. Hex: WHAMMY.

27. Pacific cyclone: TYPHOON. I'll take their word for it.  I think we call them hurricanes in the US.

29. Yesterday's hit: OLDIE.  Oldie but a goodie.  But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.  Yes, I watch some of those Pat Boone, Time Life half hour commercials, but I have not purchased.

33. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU.

35. Museum filler: ART. Mr. Garfunkel

36. Sanctify with oil: ANOINT.

41. Yearly records: ANNALS.

42. Choice from a tap, for short: IPA.  This is an acronym for some kind of India beer.  I had to Google it to learn.

43. "If I Ruled the World" rapper: NAS.

44. Vermouth name: ROSSI. They make Vermouth and Wine.  You may make a martini after you finish this puzzle.

45. Employed full time: ON STAFF.

48. "You convinced me": I AGREE.

50. Shelter resident: POOCH. A pooch can be a small dog.  However in the NFL it is a kick that goes about 20 yards to avoid a threatening returner like Pharoh Cooper.

57. On the wall, as art: HUNG.

58. Home of the NBA's Heat: MIAMI.  Used to be pretty good when they had LeBron

61. Meat safety org.: USDA.

62. Caesar's surprised words: ET TU.  Brutus to Caesar "How many eggs did you have for breakfast, Caesar ?" Caesar - "Et Tu Brute"

63. Fruit served in balls: MELON. We just serve it in squares and triangles.  It tastes great, and doesn't roll off your plate.

64. Cross paths: MEET.

65. "__ Fiction": 1994 Tarantino film: PULP. Never saw it.  Not a big fan of John Travolta.

66. County near London: ESSEX.

67. Part of DOS: Abbr.: SYST.

Down:

1. U. of Maryland team: TERPS. A Terrapin is a sort of turtle.  Heckuva name for a football or basketball team.  Almost as bad as Gophers!  Maryland joined the Big 10 a few years ago.  I think there are 14 schools in the Big Ten, so four of them must be small. Sorry, Husker Gary, Nebraska is not small. A welcome competitor.

2. Close to: ABOUT.

3. Spring onslaught at the IRS: TAX RETURNS.  Interesting name.  I pay income tax every Spring, but so far, none of it has ever been returned.

4. Soon: ANY DAY.

5. Beer purchase: CASE.

6. 66, for one: Abbr.: RTE. So famous even a Northern lad has heard of this famous highway, although I don't think I have ever traveled it.  It runs from Chicago through St. Louis, OK City, Albuquerque and on into Los Angeles.  I think there was a famous TV show with Martin Milner about Rte. 66

7. Sick: ILL. Chicago may be ILL.

8. Chinese watercraft: SAMPAN.

9. One starts, "The Lord is my shepherd": PSALM.

10. Pig-tailed Muppet: BETTY LOU.

11. Mine, in France: A MOI.

12. "__ on the dotted line": SIGN.  I have not seen a dotted line to sign on, Has anyone?  Most lines are ______________

13. Buck: STAG.  We used to call these parties where you don't bring a date.

21. One working at home?: UMP.  Some of these guys get a theatrical kick out of calling strike three.  I can't stand it.  No one goes to a ball game to see an Umpire, (except maybe his Mom.)

23. In a crowd of: AMONG.

25. Unlike new clothes: WORN.  Also unlike our driveway.

26. Crisis telephone: HOTLINE.

28. Some Halloween figures: HAGS.  "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too" 

30. "Gorillas in the Mist" author: DIAN FOSSEY. 46. Subject for 30-Down: APE.  In the funny papers - Alley Oop

31. "Young Frankenstein" role: INGA.

32. Cézanne's summers: ETES.  Maybe we could get ETES at IHOb.

33. Way, way off: AFAR.

34. U2 frontman: BONO.  I prefer a clue of Cher's Hubby - I got you babe!

36. Vet school subj.: ANAT.

38. Relaxing, as restrictions: EASING UP.

39. Trojan War epic: ILIAD.  I think this was written by Homer.  Maybe when "All Rise" Judge hits one out, John Sterling can call "It is high, it is far...ILIAD"

40. Church area behind an altar: APSE.

45. Bacchanalian revelries: ORGIES.

47. Discussion platforms: FORUMS.

49. "I wannit!": GIMME. "a head with hair, long beautiful hair, shining gleaming, streaming, flaxen waxen",  Did I mention I do Karaoke

51. Surrenders formally: CEDES.  Don't give up, we're almost done.

52. Marriott alternative: HYATT.  Both are a bit pricey.

53. "George of the Jungle" elephant: SHEP. Shep was an original Stooge, see below.  I think he was replaced by Curly.

54. Native Rwandan: HUTU.  Heard on the basketball court.  "Throw the Ball" "HU TU ?"

55. IHOP's "I," originally: Abbr.: INTL. IHOP has become IHOb now.  Have a burger with your pancakes??

56. Hex: JINX.

59. Baseballers Kaline and Rosen: ALS. I am privileged to have watched Al Kaline play a few games against the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium

60. Head Stooge: MOE. Larry, and my favorite "Curly".  I had a bowling teammate named Carl and we called him Curly.  But he wasn't a stooge.

Boomer