Friday October 26, 2018, Joe Kidd

Title: There may be no I in "team", but the I must be added!

After being confronted with a 4 letter addition last week, we only have one little letter and some very amusing clue/fill combinations. This is my first exposure to Joe Kidd, perhaps a Nom de Plume of a shy constructor who likes Clint Eastwood. It is also his 6th LAT to go with a single NYT, for which no picture was run. He sticks in some nice fill like  HOGTIED, I MADE IT, NATALIE and TURN OFF but shines with two that are new to the Corner since the change to the LAT - CREATE A STIR and INCOME TAXES. I do not think I have had a puzzle with 5 eleven space theme fill before. Overall, it seemed easy, with many toeholds, but YMMV.

17A. Cheeky server?: FRESH WAITER (11). The base phrase - FRESH WATER -  I like the cheeky server.

26A. Bro on the go?: MOBILE HOMIE (11).  The base phrase - MOBILE HOME - I love mobile homie!

37A. European auto left out in the rain?: SATURATED FIAT (13). The base phrase - SATURATED FAT -Cute.

49A. Food for thought? : BRAIN MUFFIN (11). The base phrase - BRAN MUFFIN - A RECIPE. Or THIS.

58A. Result of a yank prank?: WEDGIE ISSUE (11). The base phrase - WEDGE ISSUE - a divisive political issue, especially one that is raised by a candidate for public office in hopes of attracting or alienating an opponent's supporters. I have seen nothing but attack ads, with no attempt to put forth a platform. If you have never had your underwear tugged, this would be obscure.

Across:

1. Decision-making tool: COIN. I flip you for it.

5. Slips in pots: CHITS. A chit is a tab or an IOU, a record of money owed. Your neighborhood deli might give you a chit the end of each week, letting you know how much you owe for your daily bagels.

10. Assure, as victory: ICE.

13. One of four on a keyboard: ARROW. Just to the right of the letters.

15. Comics unit: PANEL.

16. Nice handle?: NOM. The French city misdirection.

19. Call from a cote: COO.  I think they mean the birdhouses built for doves (pigeons) but I would prefer this cooing.

20. Former Rocket Ming: YAO. My Oo is actually named Thongyao.

21. Hanoi holiday: TET. More Asian information.

22. "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester: HOLT.

23. Sgt.'s underling: PFC.

29. Alienate: TURN OFF. Extreme.

31. Creator of many word lists: ROGET. Mr. Thesauras.

32. Sailing: ASEA.

33. Stately shaders: ELMS. "The stately Elm spreads its arms, rejoicing in its strength."

36. '40s Giant manager: OTT. Melvin Thomas Ott, nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder for the New York Giants, from 1926 through 1947. He was a very successful PLAYER as well.  His puzzle counterpart is 2D. Nine-time NHL All-Star: ORR.

41. Draw at a pub: TAP. Beer is back on Friday.

42. Weight adjustment factor: TARE. Tare weight is accounted for in kitchen, analytical (scientific), and other weighing scales which include a button that resets the zero of the scale display when an empty container is placed on the weighing platform, in order to subsequently display only the weight of the contents of the container. Dict.

43. One no longer serving: EX-GI.

45. Prove to be untrue: BELIE.

47. Late arriver's cry: I MADE IT.

52. Airport near OAK: SFO. Oakland and San Francisco are easy MSY is hard.

53. Outwit, as a tail: LOSE.

54. Taker of ppm measurements: EPA. Parts Per Million. Environmental Protection Agency.

55. Dorm room, perhaps: STY. I am so tired of this FEBREZE commercial.

57. Bad picnic omen: ANT. That seems harsh; you go sit where they live.

63. B.S. part: Abbr.: SCIence.

64. Oven setting: BROIL. I wondered why when you wanted to roast the turkey you set the oven to broil.

65. Put an end to: CEASE. And desist.

66. Rocky outcropping: TOR. A word I learned from puzzles, which is also known by geomorphologists as either a castle koppie or kopje, is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. Wiki.

67. AAA and NRA: ASSNS.

68. Bar shelf lineup: RYES. I have never seen an array of rye whiskey in any bar.


Down:

1. Half-__: coffee choice: CAF. Half-assed?

3. Aran Islands country: Abbr.: IREland. The Aran Islands are located just off Galway and Doolin. A true Irish experience awaits, locals, speak Irish as well as English in a setting of Celtic churches of historical significance including World Heritage site Dun Aonghasa which is set on a dramatic 300 ft cliff edge.

4. Prone to prying: NOSY.

5. Many an IRS e-file user: CPA.

6. 1492 landing site, now: HAITI. The HISTORY of this island called AYTI by the natives is more complex than most know.

7. Gathering of spies: INTEL. Not where but what.

8. Show instability: TEETER. Totter.

9. Hasselblad product: SLR. Single Lens Reflex.

10. 5-Down's concern: INCOME TAXES.

11. "Chillax!": COOL IT.

12. Act to excess: EMOTE. I have never liked this clue/fill.

14. Hula Hoop manufacturer: WHAMO.

18. Sound system component: WOOFER. Tweeter before the twits took control.

22. Rendered immobile: HOGTIED. The hogtie when used on pigs and cattle has it where three of the four limbs are tied together, as tying all four together is difficult and can result in harm to the animal. More rodeo, see 45D.

23. Student advocacy gp.: PTA.

24. Ruckus: FUSS. Next to

25. Shake things up: CREATE A STIR. Quite a nice phrase, though all I can find online is Cause a Stir.

27. Key of Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto: B-FLAT.

28. Horseshoe holder: HOOF. I nailed this answer.

30. Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs: NATALIE. And much more. LINK.

34. Kingston Trio hit with the lyric "Fight the fare increase!": MTA. Poor Charlie.

35. Letter enhancement: SERIF. Serifs are semi-structural details or small decorative flourishes on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. An example would be the Times New Roman font. Sans serif does not have these details or flourishes. An example would be the Arial font.

38. Go __ smoke: UP IN.

39. End that may be untimely: DEMISE. An odd clecho with...

40. End-of-week exclamation: TGIF.

44. Midori on the ice: ITO.

45. Bouncy ride, to say the least: BRONCO. It is kind of fun when the horse wins.

46. Arab bigwigs: EMEERS.

48. Bit of tomfoolery: ANTIC. If you give in to your wild side, you will often have a ...

49. Rollicking good time: BLAST.

50. Prom night coifs: UPDOS.

51. Dickens bad guy: FAGIN.  This fictional character is one of the villains in Charles Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist (1837–39) and one of the most notorious anti-Semitic portraits in English literature.

56. River in western Belgium: YSER. Made famous in World War I. LINK.

58. Org. for pugilists: WBA. The World Boxing Association is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the IBF, WBC, and WBO. wiki.

59. They, in Tours: ILS. Just some more French.

60. "Suppose ... ": SAY.  These three letter fill are not simple/

61. Play for a fool: USE.

Joe Kidd was back and no Kidding around. Like I said, I went pretty fast for a Friday but had a good time. Maybe Mr. Kidd will overcome his shyness and come to the Corner to say hi. If not, we will soldier on. Thank you all and until next time- Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 25th 2018 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Military Maneuver - as the reveal at the "foot" of the puzzle tells us:

53D. Spring time ... or a military procession involving a word sequence hidden in 15-, 31-, 41- and 61-Across: MARCH

15A. Trying to overcome a late start, say: PLAYING CATCH-UP

31A. "Any minute now": IT WON'T BE LONG

41A. Critical shuttle maneuver: EARTH RE-ENTRY

61A. NBC soap since 1965: DAYS OF OUR LIVES. That's 13,455 episodes I need (?) to catch up on, as of today.

A neat theme from C.C.; the hidden words are all nicely scattered around in the theme entries, and the "THREE" spans a word divide and a hyphen to obscure things a little. I don't think it would be possible to see the theme without the reveal, which is placed nicely at the bottom of the puzzle in the down entries.

Two pairs of stacked 8's in the downs, and two 14's and two 12's in the theme make for a nice construction job; C.C.'s definitely an expert at that.

There might be a shout-out to some puzzle bloggers - ARGYLE for sure, and "Splinter" group and STEVIE almost make it. She's been a MENTOR to a lot of puzzle constructors and bloggers, so that works nicely too.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Smudge: BLOT

5. Splinter group: SECT

9. Instagram or Snapchat: APP. I still don't know quite what the point is of these two. Apparently I have an Instagram account, it came with something, I have no idea what.

12. Past time: YORE. Days of.

13. Union agreements?: I DO'S. Nice one.

14. "Get outta here!": SHOO!

18. Clemson's conf.: A.C.C. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Now includes some schools from the Midwest and the Northeast.

19. Silicon Valley setting: BAY AREA

20. Hoops net holder: RIM

22. Deli order: SALAMI

24. New York prison in 1971 headlines: ATTICA

26. Wine glass feature: STEM. My daily use wine glasses are stemless. I kept breaking them off in the dishwasher. I keep the stemware for special bottles, then break them off in the dishwasher.

27. Suffers from: HAS

30. Prince Harry's alma mater: ETON. Harry is an "old boy" of Eton, an "Old Etonian". I'm an "Old Symondian", from Peter Symond's School in Winchester.

36. Org. with Jays and Rays: M.L.B. It's World Series time, and neither the Jays nor the Rays are anywhere to be seen.

39. Elastic bikini top: BANDEAU

40. Org. with an annual Codebreaker Challenge: NSA

44. Skier's pick-me-up?: T-BAR

45. Summer hrs.: DST

46. Archipelago part: ISLE

50. Sweater pattern: ARGYLE

53. Salieri, to Liszt: MENTOR

55. Streaming delay: LAG

56. Spiritual leader of Nizari Ismaili Muslims: AGA KHAN

60. Actress Mendes: EVA

64. Mineral sources: ORES

65. Poolroom powder: TALC

66. Gimlet garnish: LIME

67. ACLU concerns: RTS

68. Cross with a top loop: ANKH

69. Creepy glance: LEER

Down:

1. Go around: BYPASS

2. Humorous feline meme: LOLCAT. A lolcat's language is "lolspeak".

3. Prophecy source: ORACLE. Every self-respecting Greek city should have one. The best-known Oracle was at Delphi, she cornered the market in predictions to the great and the good.

4. "The Daughter of Time" novelist: TEY

5. Six-Day War peninsula: SINAI

6. Pushing boundaries: EDGY

7. Soft-drink word since 1886: COCA. COLA went in without a thought, then had me wondering, and rightly so.

8. Deposed Russian ruler: TSAR

9. "That feels good": AHH!

10. Pull out all the stops: POUR IT ON

11. Katy Perry and Mariah Carey: POP ICONS

14. "Get outta here!": SCAT!

16. Watson creator: IBM

17. Beverage with dim sum: TEA. I love dim sum. On my first trip to Hong Kong my first stop was a dim sum restaurant in Kowloon for Sunday lunch. There was a slight snag in that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing at plates on other tables got me fed. I learned all the names of the dishes after that. The tea came without me asking, so that part was simple.

21. Comics read vertically: MANGA

23. Montréal mate: AMI. Or a Canadian-South American fusion cimarrón, but that wouldn't fit.

25. __ Aviv: TEL

27. Perfected: HONED

28. Mints brand with mountain peaks in its logo: ANDES. I did not know that. Now I do.

29. Surgical tube: STENT

32. "Speaking frankly," in texts: TBH. To Be Honest - and, to be honest, why wouldn't you be?

33. Armed conflict: WAR

34. Home run hitter?: BAT

35. Spain's cont.: EUR

36. Like virtually all golf club heads nowadays: METAL. I can't remember when I last saw a persimmon club head. My first set of clubs had persimmon for the driver, three- and five-woods.

37. __ retriever: LABRADOR

38. Blowhard: BRAGGART. I always forget that the final "T" isn't a "D". As I did in this case.

42. Push to the limit: TRY

43. Yang's opposite: YIN

47. Memorable guitarist __ Ray Vaughan: STEVIE

48. 2009 Justin Bieber hit: LOVE ME. Awkward neighbors; Stevie Ray and the Biebster.

49. Correction device: ERASER

51. Highlands girl: LASS

52. Big 38-Down feature: EGO

54. Bigger photo: Abbr.: ENL.

57. Mennen lotion: AFTA. After-shave lotion. Simple enough to remember it once you've heard what it is.

58. Zen question: KOAN

59. "Incredible" hero: HULK

62. "Of course!": YES

63. Not well: ILL

And that's about it from me. Back in New York for a couple of days - what happened to the nice LA weather? Oh, I left it in LA, silly me.

Here's the grid, nicely tricked out with the theme words highlighted for y'all.

Steve

Wednesday, October 24 2018, Tim Schenck

Theme: IN GOOD SPIRITS

17A. Roadblocks: BARRICADES. SIDECAR. Cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

65A. Gambles in a church basement, maybe: PLAYS BINGO. GIBSON. Gin, dry vermouth, garnished with a pickled onion.

10D. Wawa and 7-Eleven: MINI MARTS. MARTINI. Never heard of Wawa - it is only in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. A MARTINI is made with gin or vodka and vermouth, garnished with an olive or a lemon twist.

36D. Captivating: ARRESTING. STINGER. Crème de menthe added to brandy.

25. With 38-Down, bar offering found in each set of circles: MIXED.

38. See 25-Down: DRINK.

Melissa here. Grokking this theme would be next to impossible without the circles, since the drink anagrams did not include all the letters in each theme answer. Sneaky and so clever.

Across:

1. Vote to accept: ADOPT.

6. Sincerely asks for: BEGS.

10. Vicki Lawrence sitcom role: MAMA.

14. Harley owner: BIKER.

15. "This is __ a test": ONLY.

16. Flower painted by van Gogh: IRIS. Beautiful.

19. Friendly: NICE.

20. Win the affections of: ENAMOR.

21. "__ lost!": GET.

22. Mental flash: IDEA.

23. Be rude to: SASS.

24. Doc's org.: AMA.

26. Good name for many a tree-lined street: ELM.

28. Energy: VIM.

29. Barely sufficient: MEAGER.

33. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-creator Fey: TINA. Love Tina Fey, but have never seen this.

37. Crossed (out): EXED.

39. Prepare, as Romano: GRATE.

40. Womb-related: UTERINE.

42. Crowd control weapon: RIOT GUN.

44. Part of TNT: NITRO.

45. Trace amount: DRIB. Thought to be a shortening of driblet.

47. Not tacit: SAID.

48. Ledger column: ASSETS.

50. Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir.: ENE.

51. Did nothing: SAT. Lots of people who sit in front of their computers would BEG to differ.

52. Calypso-influenced genre: SKA.

53. __ of March: IDES.

57. Minor argument: SPAT.

60. Baseball bat wood: ASH.

62. In the center: MEDIAL.

64. Airport idler: TAXI. Less and less, due to Uber and other ride-hailing apps, which are also impacting airport parking revenue.

67. Golfer's selection: IRON.

68. Easy gait: LOPE.

69. Winemaker with 1900 acres of vineyards in California: BOGLE. If you like beefy reds, their Old Vine Zinfandel is delicious.

70. __ a bell: sounded familiar: RANG.

71. Short-horned bighorns: EWES. Ewe can't pull the wool over their eyes.

72. Lid inflammations: STYES.

Down:

1. Clerics in un monastère: ABBES. French - monastery / abbot.

2. "Outlander" novelist Gabaldon: DIANA. First in an eight-part series. Adapted to a television series on Starz.

3. Gumbo pods: OKRAS.

4. Salon jobs: PERMS. Is that still a thing?

5. Crosby, Stills & Nash, e.g.: TRIO.

6. Fancy neckwear: BOA.

7. Final stage of a chess match: END GAME.

8. TV series with choreographed numbers: GLEE.

9. Word with metric or merit: SYSTEM.

11. Bone-dry: ARID.

12. Attic pests: MICE.

13. Topside, perhaps: ASEA. New to me, topside means "above the waterline."

18. Cowardly: CRAVEN.

27. Big name in small construction: LEGO. Cute. Parents know exactly what it feels to step on them barefoot. There's a funny haiku about this - google if you're not offended by curse words.

30. "Poker Face" Lady: GAGA.

31. Needle case: ETUI.

32. Tear to bits: REND.

33. Sushi option: TUNA. Any sushi lovers here? A Japanese Guide to Sushi Tuna. Between overfishing and mercury - it's hard to know what to eat anymore.

34. "For real?": IT IS.

35. Brooklyn NBA team: NETS.

41. Greek letter: IOTA.

43. Support group?: I-BEAMS. Nice clue.

46. Mold into a new form: RESHAPE.

49. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.

53. Senseless sort: IDIOT.

54. Shabby: DINGY.

55. Sharp-eyed hunter: EAGLE.

56. Astringent plumlike fruits: SLOES. In keeping with today's theme, what is sloe gin?

57. Prepare, as a 25-/38-Down: STIR.

58. Prefix with graph: PARA. Paragraph.

59. Neural transmitter: AXON.

61. Hoping for more customers: SLOW.

63. Drops off: EBBS.

66. "Amen!": YES.

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018 Mark McClain

"Beef.  It's What's For Dinner"

18. Controversial coal-extraction method: STRIP MINING.

24. Dues-paying participant: CLUB MEMBER.

40. Broadside accidents: T-BONE COLLISIONS.

50. Format for some tournaments: ROUND ROBIN.

61. Meal suggested by the starts of four long answers: STEAK DINNER.

Yesterday, Ed Sessa had high on the hog, and today Mark brings us ideas for a steak dinner.  Unless you live high on the hog, be prepared for "sticker shock" if  you want to eat at some of these  restaurants on Zagat's 2018 List of Best Steakhouses in Chicago.  We know Bill G would agree to steak.  Prime Rib and Rib Eye would be my favorite cuts.  What cuts do you prefer ?

Across:

1. Colorist's concern: HUE.

4. Light brown pear: BOSC.

8. Hillary Clinton, née __: RODHAM.

14. Horace's "__ Poetica": ARS.  The Art of Poetry as written by Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus

15. "The Mammoth Hunters" author Jean: AUEL. "Jean Marie Auel is an American writer who wrote the Earth's Children books, a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores human activities during this time, and touches on the interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals." - Wikipedia

16. Low-scoring tie: ONE ONE. Nil Nil would be a no-scoring tie.

17. Big wheel, briefly: VIP.

20. Wine lover's prefix: OENO.  Reds with boeuf.

22. Sport shown on TV Japan: SUMO.

23. Beer extraction gadget: TAP. 

27. Spanish lady: DONA.  Lucina explained the nuance of dama and doña to us about a week ago.

30. Acquire: GET.

31. Isle of Arthurian legend: AVALON.  And a Toyota.   Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, fitting it in with Toyota's tradition of naming their sedans the word for "crown" in various languages (Crown, Corona, Camry, Corolla), types of crowns (Tiara), or other things associated with royalty (Scepter). - Wikipedia.

33. Woodland deity: SATYR.

36. Developmental insect stage: LARVA.

39. Luau accessory: LEI.

43. A, in Augsburg: EIN.  Una, in Acapulco.

44. Small stores: SHOPS.

45. Rather nasty: SNIDE.

46. "__ Fideles": carol: ADESTE.


48. Corrode, with "away": EAT.

49. Macy's section, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT.

57. "__ y Plata": Montana motto: ORO.   Gold and Silver.

59. Bit of talk show self-promotion: PLUG. 

60. Opal of the comics, to Earl Pickles: WIFE.

65. Deli salmon: LOX.

66. Philadelphia campus: TEMPLE. Temple University.  Their sports teams, like Rice, are the Owls.

67. Building lot unit: ACRE.

68. __-ray Disc: BLU.

69. Volkswagen family car: PASSAT.

70. Rough file: RASP.

71. Some ER cases: ODs.  Over Dose cases.

Down:

1. Wreaked condition: HAVOC.  Also, recently in the news from the folks at NASA:

Project Summary

2. One of the archangels: URIEL.

3. College sports channel: ESPNU.

4. Music majors' degs.: BAs. Bachelor of Art degrees.

5. First stage: OUTSET.

6. Blood bank supply: SERUM.

7. Upward trek: CLIMB.

8. Film genre prefix with com: ROM. Ranking the best RomComs of all time...

9. Words after work or sleep: ON IT.

10. "Gracias" response: DE NADA.  Thank you /  You are welcome.

11. Common people: HOI POLLOI.

12. Raggedy doll: ANN.

13. Eldest of the "Little Women": MEG.

19. Author of eerie stories: POE. Edgar Allen.

21. Delivery MD: OBGYN.

25. Least: MEREST.

26. Shankar on the sitar: RAVI.

28. Interminably: NO END.

29. Ouzo flavoring: ANISE.


32. Poughkeepsie campus: VASSAR.  One of the "Seven Sisters", Vassar became coed in 1969.

33. Place: STEAD. In his place...  in his stead...  

34. Put up with: ABIDE.

35. Symphonic stories: TONE POEMS.  Never saw this clue / answer when solving.  Looked it up. 13 Symphonic Poems Every Classical Music Lover Should Listen To

 36. British john: LOO.

37. European peak: ALP.

38. Dr. Jekyll creator's monogram: RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson at Britannica.com

41. "Burlesque" co-star: CHER. née Cherilyn Sarkisian, aka "The Goddess of Pop".

42. Being hauled to the garage: IN TOW.

47. Sundress features: STRAPS.

48. Lawn maintenance tools: EDGERS. My leaf blower broke the other day.  Had to replace it quickly.  So many leaves.  I can relate with Hondo about "chasing leaves."   Was surprised to learn that leaf blowers are banned in many localities in California.    

51. Maker of Cajun Shrimp nail polish: OPI.  Thank you perps.  Never heard of it.  A California company that was originally a dental supply company.  Since 2010, a subsidiary of Coty, Inc.

52. Like the "funny bone" nerve: ULNAR.

53. Never, in Nogales: NUNCA.  Niemals, in Nuremberg.

54. "The Hobbit" hero: BILBO.  Baggins.  So much detail at Tolkien Gateway

55. Bluffed-out words, perhaps: I FOLD.

56. Connection: NEXUS.

58. Sooner St.: OKLA.  Boomer Sooners.  And a CSO to Anonymous -T and his eldest as collegians.

61. Car care brand: STP.  Lesser known as Scientifically Treated Petroleum, marketed in advertisements as "The Racer's Edge". 

62. Pot contents: TEA.

63. Police rank: Abbr.: DET.  Detective.

64. Weight-training unit: REP.  Repetition. 

Monday October 22, 2018 Ed Sessa

Theme: FOUR H (51. Club with 20-, 32-, 42- and 57-Across as members?) - Each theme entry has four H's.

 

20. English king married six times: HENRY THE EIGHTH.

32. "Three cheers" cry: HIP HIP HURRAH.

42. How wealthy people live: HIGH ON THE HOG.

57. Keep something in mind: HOLD THE THOUGHT.

Boomer here.

It was thirty years ago this month, and the Twins had taken care of the Tigers and were preparing to host the Cardinals in the World Series.  A young lady named Terrie Robbins was in the marketing department of the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper and came up with an idea for a Homer Hanky.  The Trib ordered 100,000 of them and gave them to the fans entering the Dome for game 1.  I cannot help but notice that it seems like nearly every pro team aiming for a championship, now has a Rally Rag or a Touchdown Towel for fans to wave at the games. They are all Homer Hanky copycats.

Across:

1. Online auction venue: EBAY.  I have sold (and purchased) many baseball cards on this site.

5. Waffle House competitors: IHOPS.  Pumpkin Spice pancakes in October.

10. Mine extracts: ORES.

14. Wind-driven device: VANE. You're so vain, you probably think this puzzle is about you.

15. Complete extent: GAMUT.

16. City founded by Pizarro: LIMA. Capital of Peru and succotash beans.

17. Simple __ of kindness: ACTS.

18. Cause of squinting: GLARE.

19. Sometimes-puffy I's?: EGOS.  Lego my Ego!

23. Circular coaster feature: LOOP.  Here we go loop de loop !

24. Guthrie at Woodstock: ARLO.  And you can get anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.

25. Vietnamese export: TEA.  I suppose, but I thought China was the main exporter of tea.  Mainly to England.  I see cars lined up 10 deep at Starbucks drive through here in the US.

26. Vietnamese soup: PHO.

28. Denials: NOS.

30. Site for crafters: ETSY.  Heavens to ETSY !

36. Inventor's spark: IDEA.  Thomas Edison is my IDEA hero.

37. Prefix with -gram: ANA.  Insta did not fit.

38. Govt. workplace monitor: OSHA.  Occupation Safety and Health Administration is a good thing for the workplace.

47. Arrived: CAME. '''Saw... Conquered"  Caesar (Julius, not Sid)

48. One-man show about Capote: TRU.  Famous for "In Cold Blood" (not my favorite).

49. Salt Lake City athlete: UTE.

50. Bay Area airport letters: SFO.  San Francisco / Oakland - Wear a flower in your hair.

52. Gillette razor: ATRA.  I get better life from a Bic

55. Bluesman Redding: OTIS.  Famous for "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay".  Died in a Wisconsin plane crash at age 26.

61. Christmastide: YULE.  Sleigh Bells ring, are you listenin'

62. In first place: ON TOP. Of old Smoky.

63. Perjurer: LIAR.  Pants on fire

65. Bana of "Hulk": ERIC.

66. Orange Bowl city: MIAMI.  How 'bout them Dolphins!

67. Sole: ONLY.  Only the Lonely, dum dum dum dummy do wah.  Orbison.

68. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA.  Hello Carla.

69. Kenneth Lay's scandalized company: ENRON.  Still have the golf balls, bought them on EBAY.

70. Eye rudely: OGLE.

Down:

1. Longoria of "Desperate Housewives": EVA.

2. One of music's Three Bs: BACH. plus Beethoven and Brahms.

3. Savanna springer: ANTELOPE. For Ants that don't want a big wedding.

4. Simple question type: YES NO.  or Maybe

5. Singer known as the "Godfather of Punk": IGGY POP.

6. Put the kibosh on: HALT. Who goes there ?

7. Nebraska city: OMAHA. Not Lincoln where the Golden Gophers were thrashed last Saturday.

8. Less tainted: PURER.

9. Pittsburgh footballer: STEELER.  Bradshaw was great, but Big Ben is not too bad either.

10. Cassini of fashion: OLEG.

11. Southpaw's opposite: RIGHTY.  True, but why not call him a Northpaw ?

12. Be a ham: EMOTE.

13. Obama daughter: SASHA.  The younger of two daughters.  Her full name is Natasha

21. Rice-A-__: RONI. The San Francisco treat.

22. Tiny bit: IOTA.  It's Greek to me.

26. Honor society letter: PHI. Common sorority letter.  (Also Greek to me).

27. Got ready for the surprise party surprise: HID.

29. Deposed Iranian despot: SHAH.  In the Jimmy Carter era.  I remember he used to come to Rochester Mayo for medical treatment.

31. Clog or moc: SHOE.  One two, buckle my _____.

33. Bad-joke response: HA HA.  When will we see Green Bay Packer Clinton Dix as a clue ?

34. Tres menos dos: UNO.  3 - 2.  You can't fool me.

35. Speak wildly: RANT.  and Rave.

39. Saying "Quiet!" to: SHUSHING.

40. Very popular: HOT.  When you're hot you're hot, when you're not you're me.

41. Get on in years: AGE.  Older but wiser.

43. "__ the end of my rope!": I'M AT.

44. Return from work: GET HOME. Object for those on third base.

45. Enter steadily, as a line of students: TROOP IN.

46. Rwandan native: HUTU.  Odd word

47. "Border" dog: COLLIE.  Who of us who have "gotten on in years" cannot forget Lassie.

50. More lamb than tiger: SHYER.

53. Kidney enzyme that regulates blood pressure: RENIN.

54. Essential rose oil: ATTAR.  C.C. is the rosehip oil expert of our family.

56. Snow house: IGLOO.  Yes we live in Minnesota. No we have a regular house.

58. Prefix for "ten": DECA.  So that's why December is 12.

59. __ sapiens: HOMO.

60. Towering: TALL.  The NBA is in full swing. I cannot imagine what it's like to be 7 feet tall and rich!

64. Pastrami bread: RYE.  I like rye bread, but never made a sandwich with pastrami.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

Let's send positive thoughts and prayers to Big Easy's wife Diane, who's having knee replacement surgery today.

Big Easy (George) and Diane

Sunday Octobert 21, 2018 John Lampkin

Theme: "The French Disconnection" - LE is removed from the end of each theme entry.

23A. Painting of an annoying bricklayer at work?: MORTAR AND PEST. Mortar and pestle.

30A. 15th-century food-stained collectible?: GUTENBERG'S BIB. Gutenberg's Bible.

46A. Fabulist's Cheer alternative?: AESOP'S FAB. Aesop's Fable.

63A. Dollar for a shot?: BELT BUCK. Belt buckle.

67A. Dollars for shots?: ROUND TAB. Round table. Classic John Lampkin clue echo.

82A. "Snow White" witch's download?: POISON APP. Poison apple.

94A. Mud, slop, pig, etc.?: ELEMENTS OF STY. (The) Elements of Style. There's a stray LE in the first word.

107A. Sailing maneuver to avoid a pirate's threat?: DEFENSIVE TACK. Defensive tackle.

43D. Vehicle hired to carry steeplechase horses?: JUMPER CAB. Jumper cable. The only Down entry. Expertly placed in the middle. 

Reveal:

113. French article whose singular form is "disconnected" from nine puzzle answers: LES.

I actually read the title as "The French Connection" and thinking ET might be added to each theme entry.


Great to see John back. No one entertains like he does. Just look at these fresh and original clues:

4. Their pockets aren't deep: PITAS.

7. Movement at a boring concert?: NOD.

28. Bios unread by their honorees: OBITS.

44. Tip for changing your answer?: ERASER.

56. Tip for solving in ink?: NIB.

Across:

1. Dropped-jaw stare: GAWP. Not GAWK.

5. Like loving caresses: SENSUAL.

12. Audio units: Abbr.: DBS. OK, decibels.

15. "The Americans" agcy.: FBI. Never saw this series. Starring Keri Russell. I like her "Felicity". Very sweet.

18. First name in erotica: ANAIS. And 105. 18-Across and family: NINS.

20. Place for a bootee: TOOTSIE.

21. Seedy motel, say: RAT TRAP.

25. Japan's emperor: AKIHITO. Since 1989.

26. Like many forest roads: UNPAVED.

27. Suffer: AIL. Glad you can be out of the hospital today, WikWak!

28. Least obfuscated: OPENEST. Tiny dupe with the clue 36. Breezy and open: AIRY.

29. Football laterals, e.g.: TOSSES.

33. Beachcomber's pace: STROLL.

37. Glance: PEEK.

38. Chaotic mess: SNAFU.

42. Bot head?: ECO. Wiki says "EcoBot is short for Ecological Robot and it refers to a class of energetically autonomous robots that can remain self-sustainable by collecting their energy from material, mostly waste matter, in the environment."

43. Harbor protector: JETTY.

45. Dutch South Africans: BOERS.

48. "Exodus" author: URIS.

49. Chickadee kin: TIT. Old Man Keith has a good blue tits story.

50. Undocumented Nepali?: YETI. Fun clue.

51. Peak in Thessaly: OSSA.

52. Big D cager: MAV. owned by Mark Cuban.

53. Annoy: IRK.

54. PC linkup: LAN.

57. Mexican mama bears: OSAS.

59. Slip away: ELAPSE.

61. Popular Oahu beach: WAIKIKI. And 45. 61-Across wear: BIKINI.

66. "Hmm": GEE.

68. Piles up: AMASSES.

69. Captain Hook's creator J.M. __: BARRIE.

71. Eight furlongs: MILE.

72. Caught: GOT.

73. Erstwhile U.K. recording giant: EMI.

74. Kind of trading, briefly: OTC.

75. Sweet Sixteen org.: NCAA.

77. With the bow, in music: ARCO. I learned from doing crosswords.

80. Of __ mind: ONE.

81. Qatar's capital: DOHA.

84. Refine, as ore: SMELT.

87. Stick on the grill: KEBAB. Popular street food in Xi'an. Often marinated in a mix of hot red pepper and cumin. I don't recall any other Xi'an food with cumin.

88. Beat it: LAM.

89. Jamaican hybrid fruits: UGLIS.

90. Fine-tune: HONE.

91. China-related prefix: SINO.

92. Irritates: EATS AT.

98. Mist and such: VAPORS.

103. Show great respect for, perhaps: IMITATE. This is true.

104. Mythical flapper: ROC. Very popular skin care brand as well.

105. Gulf of Guinea country: NIGERIA.

106. Easy time: LEISURE.

110. City on the Elbe: DRESDEN.

111. Morning paper, e.g.: EDITION. Tiny dupe: 114. Newsroom VIPs: EDS.

112. "Gymnopédies" composer: SATIE. Erik.

115. Boot protectors: TOECAPS.

116. Smartphone component: LENS. John is a great nature photographer. And a pianist.

Down:

1. Full range: GAMUT.

2. "That's __!": A NO NO.

3. Twists: WARPS.

5. Dutch town: STAD.

6. Geological period: EON.

8. Twin-but-not-Twins' city: ST PAUL. Our local crossword tournament used to be held in St. Paul. 

9. Half a fitness motto: USE IT.

10. Freezer __: AISLE.

11. Allow: LET.

12. Window hanging: DRAPERY.

13. Where brownies come together: BAKERY. Not the girl scout brownies.

14. Wasp's weapon: STING.

15. Disc golf "ball": FRISBEE.

16. More eccentric: BATTIER.

17. WSJ news bit: IPO. Uber soon.

19. Sets money aside: SAVES UP.

22. What an X may mark: THE SPOT.

24. Arm or chin follower: REST.

30. Universal: GLOBAL.

31. Endemic: NATIVE.

32. Neh. and Esth.: BKS.

34. Penalty callers: REFS.

35. Ric of The Cars: OCASEK.

38. Opinion: SAY. So lucky to have Inanehiker (Dr. Nina) to turn to for advice.

39. French word in bios: NEE.

40. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend: ASTOLAT. Learning moment for me.

41. Forces fraudulently (upon): FOISTS.

47. Cavalier "My bad": SO SUE ME.

49. Emotional wounds: TRAUMAS. VA Hospital has this wonderful slogan for their PTSD patients: Strong Enough to Serve, Strong Enough to Recover.

53. Iconic WWII island, briefly: IWO.

54. Unlike idioms: LITERAL.

55. Going by, for short: AKA.

58. Not in class: ABSENT.

60. Mystery award: AGATHA.

62. "Constant Craving" singer: K D LANG.

63. Carousel item: BAG.

64. Broody rock genre: EMO.

65. Long-running forensic series: CSI.

67. Put more varnish on: RE-COAT.

69. Owie: BOO BOO.

70. Not out-of-bounds, as a ball: IN PLAY.

76. Goals: AIMS.

78. Cost-of-living no.: CPI. Consumer Price Index.

79. Photo possibilities: OPS.

80. Bama rival: OLE MISS. 

81. Tightly packed: DENSE.

83. Some leave you powerless: OUTAGES. Another great clue.

84. Miss, say: SHE.

85. "Tartuffe" dramatist: MOLIERE.

86. Foes: ENEMIES.

87. Cute calendar subjects: KITTENS. Now we can't live without Google Calendar and D-Otto's sturdy pill box.

91. Caught: SNARED.

92. "Blah, blah, blah," briefly: ETC ETC.

93. Tel __: AVIV.

95. Liszt work: ETUDE.

96. Middle Corleone brother: FREDO. No spine.

97. Mezzo-soprano Anne __ von Otter: SOFIE. Swedish. Another learning moment.

99. Part of a flower: PETAL.

100. Speak: ORATE.

101. "Breaking Bad" toxin: RICIN.

102. Benefits: SAKES.

106. Cholesterol letters: LDL.

107. Tigers' home: Abbr.: DET.

108. Vardalos of film: NIA.

109. Bread, for stew: SOP.

Boomer updates:

Boomer got his ELIGARD (hormone) shot on Tuesday after the MRI and bone scan. He'll also receive Zoledronic acid shot next month. This shot is supposed to protect his bones. This will be repeated every 3 months. The hormone shot is every 6 months.

We're going to meet with a radiation oncologist on Nov 6th, 2018 to discuss the radiation process for those bad spots in his back. Dr. Thomas Downs and their neurosurgery department are quite concerned with those spots as they're too close to the spinal cord. Boomer also has a fractured T11. No wonder he has been in so much pain.

They're going to provide Boomer with a special brace to protect his back during this period. We're waiting for the fitting call.

Lots of tests, scans and treatments ahead, I hope you continue cheering Boomer up on Mondays (He does not read other days' blog posts). Thank you!

C.C.

Saturday, October 20, 2018, Lewis Rothlein

Themeless Saturday by Lewis Rothlein 

Tonight is International Observe The Moon Night sponsored by NASA. This NASA educator and you are all encouraged to go out and look at the second brightest object in our sky and Earth's only natural satellite. Here in Eastern Nebraska the Moon will rise shortly after 5 pm tonight and should be a magnificent sight after the Sun has set. I invite you to identify as many features of the lunar surface as you can, including, but not limited to, the magnificent Tycho crater and the Sea Of Tranquility that was visited by Neal and Buzz on July 20, 1969 - Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.

Today's constructor is Lewis Rothlein whose last puzzle appeared on August 28 of this year and was well-blogged by Steve. Lewis currently lives in Asheville, N.C. and teaches this course at UNC-Asheville. I wonder if I could take it online?

In a lovely note to me Lewis said he started doing crosswords a dozen years ago and constructing four years ago. His vocations include having been a magazine editor, a syndicated newspaper columnist (SF Chronicle) and an elementary school teacher. He added that he owned a yoga studio for 10 years and decided to stretch his mind with crosswords the way he was stretching his body with yoga.

Lewis's offering today stretched me especially in the SW. I will explain my perils with those fills as I blog this wonderful puzzle and prepare to look at the Moon tonight:

Across:

1. Name derived from a Kyrgyz word meaning "sea of islands": ARAL - A "big boy" clue for our old friend ARAL. The Kyrgyz word for sea of islands is "Aral-denghiz" which has lost much of its water between 1989 to 2014 as shown below

5. __ therapy: GENE - Not help for Messers Autry, Rayburn and Hackman

9. Food quality: SAPOR - A quality perceptible to the sense of taste

14. Makes a play for: MOVES IN ON - You'd have to be my age to remember the Everly Brothers lyrics, "Johnny is a joker that's a'tryin' to steal my baby" and the title of the song.

16. Patriotic nickname: U.S. OF A

17. Start of many a puzzle: ONE ACROSS - I commented there already

18. Enjoys a course: GOLFS - Just a minute, I have a tap in

19. Stopped using: KICKED THE HABIT 

21. Addie's husband in "As I Lay Dying": ANSE.

22. "Our acts make or __ us": Victor Hugo: MAR, "we are the children of our own deeds"

23. Fee: Abbr.: CHG - I wonder if Lewis has a Lab CHG for supplying crosswords for his class

25. "The Night They Invented Champagne" musical: GIGI.

27. Curved sword, to Brits: SABRE.

29. Elver, e.g.: EEL - At the bottom right of this cycle 

30. Bug: DEFECT - _ _ _ E C T cried out for INSECT and was my first roadblock. 

32. In a happy place: GLAD.

33. __ Fridays: TGI - We drive by one on our way to our favorite restaurants 

34. "Seriously?": IT IS  - IT IS? is synonymous and IT IS answers the question 


35. Hard-to-find items, to collectors: RARES - Do you really think this RARE, an 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar, just happened to walk into a Las Vegas Pawn shop?

37. Teller's output: YARN - Yeah my first teller first output was CASH. 40. "No more!": STOP IT, Lewis! 😉

38. Sydney's st.: NSW - The state of New South Wales is in Australia not Sydney in NEBraska's panhandle

39. Strong reaction: RISE - Some kids just want to get a RISE out of a teacher.  Good teachers follow the advice below

42. First cloned mammal: EWE - We all remember Dolly and I propose we clone C.C.

43. Increased: UPPED - Since becoming the Saturday blogger, I have UPPED my game and learned to be more 59. Quick to recover: RESILIENT 

45. Shaded: HUED - I have had a rose-HUED face from embarrassment on occasion 

46. Noël Coward, for one: SIR - S _ _ cried out for SPY which SIR Noël was during WWII. Churchill fought granting him a knighthood.

47. Proverbial team feature?: NO I 

48. Where Zeno taught: ELEA - On the west coast of current day Italy

50. Experimental vehicle: SELF DRIVING CAR - Hmmm... 

56. "Twilight" author Stephenie: MEYER - No idea, which did not help my SW ills

57. "Nurse Jackie" Emmy winner: EDIE FALCO - A lovely harvest of vowels

58. Compensate (for): ATONE  - A _ _ _ _  is not ALLOW. More SW issues! 

60. Wet: DOUSE - There was a time when this was a habit at Husker games

61. Spotted: SEEN  - Not PIED

62. Refusals: NOES - They all mean NO


Down:

1. Out of control: AMOK - Always sounds like AMUK to me

2. Pasta __: food brand: RONI - Rice-a-RONI was introduced in 1958, Noodle-RONI in 1964 and became Pasta-RONI in 1995

3. "__ plaisir!": AVEC - J'ai blogué ce puzzle avec plaisir (I blogged this puzzle with pleasure)

4. Auto fluid problems: LEAKAGES - What fluid is that on your garage floor?

5. Braces (oneself): GIRDS - Florida has had to GIRD their loins twice this hurricane season

6. Online reminders: E-NOTES.

7. It can tide you over: NOSH - How 'bout 9. Like many donuts: SUGARED.

8. Harmonious outfit: ENSEMBLE - Pronunciation? 

10. Tell __ story: elicit sympathy: A SOB - "Tell me again why you don't have your project done that I assigned 10 weeks ago"

11. Legal barrier: POLICE TAPE - You can have your own 1,000' for $19.29

12. How some survivalists live: OFF THE GRID - OFF THE LAND didn't cut it!

13. __ al-Khaimah: UAE emirate: RAS - In a very strategic location 

15. __ route: SCENIC 

20. Hound: HARASS - A questionable joke comes to my mind but I'll spare you.

24. Sparkle: GLINT - John Marshall forever changed the west when he saw the GLINT of gold flakes in a creek named for his boss  John Sutter on January 24, 1848

25. Sees through: GETS WISE TO - Too late, you voted for him/her

26. "Here's my advice ... ": IF I WERE YOU - A British comedy about a man and wife who change bodies and get a different 51. Viewpoint, metaphorically: LENS in the second act

28. Go along: AGREE - It's usually not a hill worth dying on!

30. Patronizes, with "at": DINES 

31. Word from the Greek for "three-footed": TRIPOD - I first learned this word in P.E. class 

36. Wannabes: ASPIRERS 

37. "I thought we were done": YOU AGAIN - Some in the above crowd follow the auditions from city-to-city despite being rejected

39. What animals do in the wild: RUN FREE - No more train rides for this elephant as Ringling Bros. retired all of them in 2015

41. Roger Goodell's gp.: THE NFL - The $30M dollar man who has tried to 44. Work out: DEVISE ways to keep players safer

49. Protest where people do and don't take a stand?: LIE IN - Ah, the 60's with John and Yoko

52. One from a penseur: IDEE - L'IDEE de Rodin était de faire une sculpture appelée "Le Penseur" (Rodin's idea was to make a sculpture called "The Thinker")

53. "Pinocchio" goldfish: CLEO - A charming example of Disney anthropomorphism starring CLEO and Figaro 

54. Often embarrassing outbreak: ACNE.

55. Doesn't keep: ROTS

56. __ money: MAD - He's not right all the time!

Before you try the "Down Dog" to honor our constructor or get out your binoculars and telescope for Moon viewing tonight, please take time to comment:

DA GRID