Sunday October 14, 2018 Paul Coulter

Theme:  "For Starters" - Each theme entry is mash-up of three types of item indicated by the circled letters.

 

22. Three types of (see circled letters: MAP): MERCATOR AREA POLITICAL.

32. Three types of (see circled letters: JET): JUMBO EXECUTIVE TURBO.

50. Three types of (see circled letters: MAN): MINUTE ANCHOR NEWSPAPER.

76. Three types of (see circled letters: CAT): CALICO ABYSSINIAN TABBY.

90. Three types of (see circled letters: CAR): CITROEN ACURA RENAULT.

108. Three types of (see circled letters: ART): AVANT-GARDE ROCOCO TRAMP.

In the old Tribune Media Daily days, sometimes we had "Three types of trees/fruits" themes. Just a simple mashup with convenient letter counts

Paul's take is different. The what in "Three type of ..." is circled and those three letters start each of the theme entry component.

I particularly like the CAT and CAR ones, as the answers are indeed "type of...". MAN are just words that can preceded MAN. Same with MAP and JET.

Across:

1. Eponymous Chanel perfume: COCO.

5. Eagerly enjoy, as praise: LAP UP. And 24. Eagerly enjoy: EAT UP.

10. Latitude: PLAY.

14. Not barefoot: SHOD.

18. Banned fruit spray: ALAR. University of Minnesota just developed a  new apple called "First Kiss". Supposed to be better than Honeycrisp.

19. Gladiator's realm: ARENA.

20. Pull-up beneficiaries: LATS.

21. Mold: SHAPE.



26. Naturally lit room: SOLARIUM.

27. "500" initials: S AND P. Standard & Poor's 500.

28. Stick in one's craw: RANKLE.

29. Q and A part: Abbr.: ANS. Answers.

30. Allocate, with "out": METE.

31. Word often paired with "great": LATE.



40. Mimics: APES.

41. Gadget's rank: Abbr.: INSP. Inspector Gadget.

42. Ann and May: CAPES.

43. Much of "Deck the Halls": LAS.

45. Eclipse, maybe: OMEN.

46. Wharton postgrad awards: MBAS.

48. "Bravo!": OLE.

49. Speech problem: LISP.



57. Resting place: BED.

58. Reception vessel: URN.

59. Most healthy: HALEST.

60. More than proper: PRISSY.

61. Electrolysis particle: ANION.

63. [not my error]: SIC.

64. Solemn: STAID.

66. "__ in the Boy's Room": 1973-'74 hit: SMOKIN.

69. Prepares to transplant: UNPOTS.

72. Control: OWN.

73. Small batteries: AAS.



80. "Chestnuts roasting __ open fire": ON AN. How I miss freshly roasted chestnuts. Popular street food in Xi'an in winter months.

81. Supermodel Carangi: GIA. Played by Angelina Jolie.

82. "Hamlet" quintet: ACTS.

83. Clambake trash: COBS.

84. Graphics file extension: TIF.

85. "Let's Make __": A DEAL.

87. Hit the bottle: TOPE.

89. History Muse: CLIO.



95. Les États-__: UNIS.

96. Gray matter?: Abbr.: ANAT. Gray's Anatomy.

97. __ es Salaam: DAR.

98. "The Birds" actress: HEDREN. Tippi. Mom of Melanie Griffith, mom of Dakota Johnson.

101. Special Forces cap: BERET.

103. Causes of fear: BUGABOOS.

111. Confine: LIMIT.

112. Works in the garden: DIGS.

113. He's got the life: RILEY. The life of Riley.

114. "Tosca" tune: ARIA.

115. Swing noisily, as a shutter: FLAP.

116. Omegas' counterparts: ZEES. Not the watch Omega.

117. Chip dip: SALSA.

118. Ballpark figs.: ESTS.


Down:

1. Pic takers: CAMS.

2. Parkay product: OLEO. We also have 53. Eclectic mixes: OLIOS.

3. Director Reiner: CARL.

4. Marine predator: ORCA.

5. About one-third of MLB players: LATINO.

6. Fire up: AROUSE.

7. Waves overhead?: PERM. Literally.

8. Acapulco article: UNA.

9. Astronomical measures: PARSECS. New to me. Google shows that it's about 3.26 light years.

10. Mars, for one: PLANET.

11. Sgt. Friday's force: LAPD.

12. Resting on: ATOP.

13. Designing initials: YSL.

14. Black eye: SHINER.

15. Online break-in: HACK.

16. Australian export: OPAL.

17. Remove from a manuscript: DELE.

21. Prestige: STATUS.

23. Many Qatar natives: ARABS. My friend Chris used to live Bahrain.



25. About to explode: IRATE.

30. Stand-up sort: MENSCH. Consonants-rich.

31. Star of the animated short "Two Scent's Worth": LE PEW.

32. Farr of "M*A*S*H": JAMIE.

33. Flip over: UPEND.

34. Computer list: MENU.

35. Chinese city known for its Terracotta Army: XI'AN. Gimme for you, right? I've been linking the soldiers from time to time. Hahtoolah said hello to them a while ago.

36. PC screen images: ICONS.

37. High-end hotel employees: VALETS.

38. Radar screen images: BLIPS.

39. Havens: OASES.

44. Agile: SPRY.

45. Fed. fiscal agency: OMB. Office of Management and Budget.

46. Fine wool: MERINO.

47. Bath in Baja: BANO.

49. Made, as a bet: LAID.

51. Roman garment: TUNIC.

52. Door fasteners: HASPS.



54. Prefix with linear: RECTI.

55. Salmon egg deposits: SPAWNS. Full of Omega-3.

56. In __: published: PRINT.

61. Analogous: AKIN.

62. Nile valley native: NUBIAN.

65. Perfectly: TO A T. Parsing!

66. Many a bagpiper: SCOT.

67. Bouncing off the walls: MANIC.

68. Norwegian king, 995-1000: OLAF I.

70. Spiral-horned African antelope: NYALA. Learning moment for me.

71. Attack verbally: SNAP AT.

73. Bubbling hot: ABOIL.

74. Monastery head: ABBOT.

75. Part of CBS: Abbr.: SYS.

77. Author James and baseball's Tommie: AGEES.

78. Cake-decorating artist: ICER.

79. Censorship-fighting org.: ACLU.

85. Gulf War journalist Peter: ARNETT.

86. "Nothing __!": DOING.

87. Radio knob: TUNER.

88. Figures of speech?: ORATORS. Great clue.

89. Diamond weight: CARAT.

91. Root vegetable: TURNIP.  Have you tried pickled turnip? You need beets for color.

92. Gentle touch: CARESS.

93. Brings out: EDUCES.

94. Major Japanese port: NAGOYA. Very crowded during cherry blossom period.

98. Not quite a majority: HALF.

99. Bad to the bone: EVIL.

100. Spanish lady: DAMA. I thought it's DONA.

101. Cheese on crackers: BRIE.

102. Barely beat: EDGE.

103. Cotton capsule: BOLL.

104. Highlands hillside: BRAE.

105. Pair in a dinghy: OARS.

106. Bypass: OMIT.

107. Resorts with body wraps: SPAS.

109. Carpentry tool: ADZ

110. Langley org.: CIA.

The CT scan Boomer had on Tuesday showed a few bad spots on his back. We're going to have more MRI scan and bone scan next week.

C.C.

Saturday, October 13, 2018, Craig Stowe

Themeless Saturday Puzzle By Craig Stowe

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of the U.S. Navy! We here salute all who served  in this vital part of our national defense especially our stalwarts 2nd Class Petty Officer Tom Uttormark (Desper-Otto) and Commander Al Hollmer (Spitzboov).

Today's constructor is Craig Stowe who also had the HIGH CHAIR puzzle ten days ago so ably blogged by Hahtoolah.  I last blogged one of Craig's puzzles on July 28 - The National Day Of The Cowboy. Craig is a kitchen porter in a rather large hotel in Toronto. 

 Today his puzzle arrives on a day that celebrates life and duty on the high seas, so let's shove off into the literary waters aboard the C.S.S. Crossword and see what Craig has laded aboard

Across:

1. N.A. boundary river: ST LAWRENCE - Ah, an aquatic beginning on this Navy day. This river is part of the ST LAWRENCE Seaway that runs from Lake Erie to Montreal. The ST LAWRENCE River continues out to the Atlantic

11. Pompano kin: SCAD  - Neither are in my restaurant's fish tank

POMPANO                                 SCAD

15. "I agree": WHAT HE SAID 

16. Weight allowance: TARE - Can you find the TARE knob on this balance? It is used to reset the pointer to zero with an empty beaker on the pan so its weight is not included. Yeah, I know, this balance measures mass not weight but still... 

17. Emergency transportation method: AIR LIFTING - Our hospital has a helicopter that costs $25,000 per trip

18. Auricular: OTIC - Using Zymox OTIC Enzymatic Solution 

19. Originated: BEGAN - Our Navy BEGAN 243 years ago

20. Fragrant garland: LEI - Our cheapo Hawaii luau gave us each a LEI, took a picture and took them back for the next couple

21. Two-time Tony-winning playwright Yasmina __: REZA - Some of her work

22. Word with rain or pine: FOREST.

25. Dodo: NIMROD - In Genesis he was  a grandson of Noah and a brave hunter. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck sarcastically called hunter Elmer Fudd that name and it became a pejorative part of the culture 

27. "The Quiet American" novelist: GRAHAM GREENE  - A 1955 book that correctly predicted the result of American intervention in Vietnam

30. __ noir: CAFE - Je ne bois que du CAFE noir (I only drink black coffee)

33. Angela Lansbury role: MAME - I think most would think of Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote

34. Cookbook direction: ADD IN

35. You can tie one on: OBI 

36. Court figure: WITNESS

38. Sea-__ Airport: TAC - Once the plane sets down at SEA-TAC, it's a 23-minute drive to a Seattle Seahawk Game

39. Like Loki: NORSE - Loki is a god in NORSE mythology. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Oh... 

41. Include "[sic]," perhaps: CITE - Suppose any copywriter did this to Duke Ellington:  It Don't [sic] Mean A Thing If It Ain't [sic] Got That Swing.

42. Skye of "Say Anything...": IONE - Some of her work

43. "For what it's worth": JUST A THOUGHT.

46. Says: UTTERS.

50. WTO predecessor: GATT - General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade signed in 1947

51. Recede: EBB.

54. Odorless gas: RADON.

56. Insignificantly: A BIT.

57. Bouncer's milieu: TRAMPOLINE - Not a nightclub it turns out

60. Ponderous pages: TOME.

61. Salt and pepper: SEASONINGS 

62. "Dizzy-_ fury and great rage of heart": Shak.: EYED - The first part of Henry VI, Act 4, Scene 7. I read the entire passage and am still not certain what it means 😟

63. Part of a Kipling poem opening: EAST IS EAST - Also the start of a song where Frasier can't remember the lyrics and has awkward 47. Breaks: PAUSES.

Down:

1. Salt: SWAB - Our two sailors in my intro said this is not usually a term that is warmly received by members of the Navy

2. Doberman pincher?: THIEF - A Pinscher pincher

3. Key __: LARGO - Bertie Higgins' rendition of Key Largo was voted #75 by VH1 on list of best hits by one-hit-wonders 
Listen if you like

4. On the run: AT LARGE - This must be at least the 4th time I've used this

5. Crybaby: WHINER.

6. Call on the field: REF - Guys with the striped shirt are said to REF the game

7. "Errare humanum __": EST - "To Err Is Human." Latin puts the words in a very different order

8. Do perfectly: NAIL - Some students NAIL every test

9. Theater: CINE.

10. Trim: EDGING.

11. Left angrily, with "out": STORMED - Delegates take turns STORMING out of U.N. speeches as we see Nikki Haley do here.

12. Humored: CATERED TO.

13. Cesar Chavez, by birth: ARIZONIAN - I had no idea where he was born or that the second "I" was necessary

14. Debauchery: DECADENCE - Some Roman Emperors come to mind

23. Arctic natives: SAMI.

24. Rustic roofing: THATCH.

26. Destinations for some PR deductions: IRAS.

28. Prenatal procedure, briefly: AMNIO - AMNIOcentesis can detect issues with a baby in the womb

29. Connect (with): MEET UP - Oops... 

30. Do a tense recitation?: CONJUGATE - Today I blog, last Saturday I blogged, next Saturday I will blog...

31. Nick Hornby novel: ABOUT A BOY - As a movie... 

32. There's one for everything: FIRST TIME - Don't ask C.C. about the FIRST TIME I blogged

36. Become tedious: WEAR - Teacher meetings used to really WEAR on me

37. Sonic Dash publisher: SEGA  - My video game experience seriously waned after Pac Man

40. Decided to keep: STETTED - Undid an edit. Ah, tell Duke we're gonna leave "don't" and "ain't" just as they were

42. "No way!": IT'S A LIE.

44. Trypanosome carrier: TSE TSE - As I've said before, this is the most dangerous animal in Africa 

45. Wyandot people: HURONS - Roosevelt High School is in Wyandotte, MI at the foot of Lake HURON

48. Ritzy Twin Cities suburb: EDINA.

49. Many are hits: SONGS - Ask me to name today's Top Ten... 

52. Spanish for "tar": BREA - We've had the debate here about LA BREA Tar Pits being redundant 

53. Meadow plaints: BAAS - The Whiffenpoof song contains, "We're poor little sheep who have lost our way, BAA, BAA, BAA"

55. Queen's domain: NEST  - Here's the queen in the middle of a hornet's nest 

58. Calgary winter hrs.: MST - Canadian time zones sorta follow U.S. zones

59. Islands staple: POI - "Like Grits in the American South, POI is a bland Hawaiian side dish that you serve plain and let people season with salt or pepper"

Anchors aweigh and let's hear your comments!

DA GRID

Friday, October 12, 2018, Ed Sessa

Title: Sub-chapter C? No, we need an S Corporation to solve this.

One of the many very successful constructors who emerged since we moved to the LAT, Dr. Sessa, a pediatrician presents us with his 86th LAT to go along with 36 NYT publications, hitting for the cycle in both venues. My first time blogging him was the same day his INTERVIEW with C.C. was published in 2011. Today we have a very simple and getable theme, merely adding a cedilla. It is a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an "s" rather than a "k" (e.g., façade ). Here we just change the C to S. As Ed said in his interview, he wants to amuse and to make the theme an aha moment. I saw the theme with BRISK LAYER which made the solve much easier. As a seasoned professional, he adds a variety of sparkly fill. ACTUALLY, BATH SOAP,  COROLLAS,  DIAMETER,  OVERLAPS, and SHIMMIES. The themers-

17A. Eggs-uberant hen?: BRISK LAYER (10). My Uncle Harold taught BRICK laying in trade school. The clue is funny to me.

24A. Loon, at times?: DUSK CALLER (10). The change from DUCK caller would not help unless you know Loons (the official bird of the Corner) was famous for its night CALLING.

36A. Do some '80s Sochi sunbathing?: BASK IN THE USSR (13). This 1968 Beatles song -BACK IN THE USSR - is repurposed with memories of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

49A. Hitchhiking and texting?: THUMB TASKS (10). Thumb TACKS and hitchhiking are not as popular as they used to be, but it is amazing how fast young people maneuver their thumbs while texting. 

59A. What young elephants do for fun?: NIP AND TUSK (10). The first known usage of 'nip and TUCK' comes from the Arkansas Times and Advocate, August 1838: "It will be a close race in this county - Tully and Cummins, nip and tuck; and I don't know which will have it." 

The rest-

Across:

1. "Ta-ta!": SEE YA. I like this expression.

6. Kaput: SHOT.

10. Musical ending: CODA. JzB can say more about this as the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure

14. Ready for the operation: UNDER. The anesthesia.

15. Dance that may involve a chair: HORA. This is back again! Let's dance. We had a great Simchat Torah party this year with lots of dancing. It is not often you get to dance with a 99-year-old wonder , I was the one with the cane.

16. "Amores" poet: OVID. Publius Ovidius Naso, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. LINK.

19. Like used books: READ. Well-read I hope.




20. __ Xtra: cherry soda brand: PIBB.
No longer Mr. Pibb. I wonder if Dr. Pepper is next.

21. Apple on a desk: IMAC.

22. Word with ring or book: WORM. Sounds like a puzzle theme.

23. Rights org.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

27. Butler on a plantation: RHETT. Not the one who opens the door but the one who doesn't give a damn.

29. Like Colbert's show: ON LATE.

30. Kiss: SMOOCH.

35. Summit: APEX. Or acme.

40. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" composer: BACH.

41. Taking medication: DOSING. Does he mean taking LSD? I know he is trained, medical man.

42. Final flight destinations?: ATTICS. Wonderful clue.

44. Kitchen shelf array: HERBS.

54. Tick repellent: DEET. N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called DEET (/diːt/) or diethyltoluamide, is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents.

55. __ Club: SAMS.

56. When repeated, fish on a menu: MAHI.

57. "That being the case ... ": IF SO.

58. Letters after E?: COLI. Hard to parse.

61. The third Mrs. Roy Rogers: DALE. I had no idea the Leonard Slye had two prior marriages. LINK.

62. Airer of many NCAA games: ESPN.

63. Farm stray: DOGIE.

64. 1974 CIA spoof: S*P*Y*S. After the massive success of M*A*S*H, this movie which also starred Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland were marketed with the asterisks to make people think they had something in common.

65. Reasons: WHYS. Why not?

66. Cornered, in a way: TREED. Forced or chased up a tree: a treed raccoon.


Down:

1. Not up to snuff: SUBPAR.

2. Increase the value of: ENRICH.

3. Consumer-friendly?: EDIBLE. A stretch but it actually works.

4. Hedge opening: YES, BUT. Another tricky variation clue; well done.

5. Biblical traveler: ARK.

6. Former SeaWorld attraction: SHAMU.

7. Georgetown athletes: HOYAS.

8. Eponymous vacuum brand: ORECK. Founded by David Oreck in 1963, Oreck Corporation began as a manufacturer of upright vacuum cleaners for the U.S. hotel industry.

9. Roofer's supply: TAR.

10. Popular Toyotas: COROLLAS.

11. Has in common: OVERLAPS.

12. Line through the middle: DIAMETER.

13. Include: ADD.

18. Pot top: LID.

22. Lacking color: WAN.

25. Ben of Ben and Jerry's: COHEN. Ben & Jerry's was founded in May 1978, when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened an ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont. ... In 1977, they moved to Burlington, Vermont, and completed a five-dollar correspondence course in ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University. Encyclopedia.

26. "Toy Story" dinosaur: REX.

28. Scolder's cluck: TSK.

31. In the __ of: MIDST.

32. Creator of Iceland's Imagine Peace Tower: ONO.

33. Ties may be broken in them, briefly: OTS.

34. Only half-pretentious?: CHI.

36. Bar by the tub: BATH SOAP.

37. If truth be told: ACTUALLY.

38. Does a ragtime dance: SHIMMIES.

39. "That's disgusting!": UGH. Which describes...

40. Skeeter eater: BAT.

43. "60 Minutes" network: CBS.

45. One slightly changed this clue: EDITOR. Was it only slightly?

46. Storm shelter, say: REFUGE.

47. Blues great Smith: BESSIE.

48. Fired up: STOKED.

50. Sect in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County: AMISH. Today, there are over 25 different Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren church groups in Lancaster County, all holding to slightly different traditions and their own interpretations of the Bible.

51. Like maple trees and pigeons?: SAPPY. Pigeon as in the victim of a scam, a sap.

52. Ruling descendants of Genghis: KHANS. The FAMILY TREE.

53. Thing to confess: SIN.

58. DJ's inventory: CDS.

59. Strange (to): NEW.

60. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT. The novel by Rachel Carson was published in 1962. I remember it as being very controversial at the time.

I really enjoyed this puzzle and writing up all the different things that it revealed. I also was very proud of Oo and honored at the Torah party. Thank you Dr. Seesa and thank you all.

Thursday October 11, 2018 Susan Gelfand

Theme:

17A *They're for the dogs: LEASH LAWS. Shale oil

39A. *Enter on the sly: SNEAK IN. Snake oil

11D. *Two-time women's soccer Olympic gold medalist: ABBY WAMBACH. Baby oil.

Abby is one of my sporting heroes, she took the world of soccer and shook it by the ears, was instrumental in helping build a winning national team and twice carried off Olympic gold medals. My goodness, she was a factor in so many great moments. She has one of the "Greatest Goal" headers in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final game against Brazil to tie the game at 2-2 at the death in overtime and send the tie to penalty kicks which the USA won 5-3. Carli Lloyd's feed to Megan Rapinoe and her 45-yard cross was instrumental in the strike. What a great team that was.

Enjoy it here

25D. *Gravlax: CURED SALMON.Crude oil. Food! Dill, salt, sugar, pepper and bury it in the ground :)

and the unifier, and the start of the sleuthing:

60A. Jiffy Lube service, and a hint to the start of the answers to starred clues: OIL CHANGE

Wow. I was an email second away to ask for help from my fellow bloggers to figure out what on earth this them was all about, then I decided to look at the short entries first. ABBY:BABY. Oh, wait - anagrams - then CURED:CRUDE. That's another. SNEAK:SNAKE and finally .... LEASH:SHALE. In all the years I've been doing this I've never been even close to crying UNCLE finding the theme, but this one just about had me waving the white flag. The solve was straightforward, but back-tracking to find the theme - not so much.

I'd call this a meta - a puzzle solvable on its own, but you can have fun looking back to try to figure out the theme. If that was the intent, then well done, but if that is not the intent, that's a problem. The puzzle should stand up on its own as a themeless, and this doesn't really hit the mark.

There's some high spots though, let's go look for those.

Across:

1. Moment of remorse: PANG

5. Portrayer of a big scaredy-cat: LAHR. Lion, of the cowardly sort.

9. One thing on top of another: STACK

14. Saucony rival: AVIA. Running shoes. The clue is interesting. In the "obscure running shoes" category.

15. Resort town near Santa Barbara: OJAI. Up in the hills not too far from me. There's a spa/hotel which has a good reputation.

16. Buffalo hockey player: SABRE. "ER" or "RE"? Figure it out and move on.

19. French clerics: ABBÉS

20. Make rough: COARSEN

22. __ tick: disease carrier: LYME

23. Open, as toothpaste: UNCAP. "Oh, just let me uncap this toothpaste" - said nobody, ever.

26. By any means: SOME WAY

28. It may be proper: NOUN

29. Start to mature?: PRE-

32. Poll gathering: DATA

33. Lancelot and Mix-a-Lot: SIRS

34. "La Cage __ Folles": AUX. You might as well just print this in the grid as a freebie.

35. Bleak: DISMAL

38. Linguistic suffix: -ESE

41. Word before and after "oh": BOY. Boy-oh? Really? I know the Welsh affectionate "boyo", not sure about this one.

42. Freshwater minnow: RED FIN. Not a lot of meat on a red fin. Now a bluefin, you're talking sushi.

44. Chaps: MEN

45. 2002-'03 viral outbreak, briefly: SARS. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Makers of white surgical face masks have never been so happy to extend their market to the general population.

46. Together, so to speak: SANE

47. Droop: SAG

48. Plasm prefix: ECTO-

49. Followers of shots: CHASERS

52. Taj __: MAHAL. Oh, I thought it might have been Taj Smith, the famous (?) American football player, or Taj Forer, the photographer. Shame on me for overlooking the obvious.

53. Put the brakes on: HALT

54. Phantom: SPECTER

58. "Mental Illness" Grammy winner Mann: AIMEE. Thank you, crosses.

64. Engagement ring centerpiece: STONE

65. Lackluster: DRAB

66. Like some U.S. mail: CERT. Ach. Please. "I'm sending this U.S. Mail, Cert." said nobody, ever.

67. Belarus capital: MINSK

68. Start of a decision-making rhyme: EENY-

69. Actor Miller of "Justice League": EZRA. Thank you crosses. Ezra, meet Aimee.

Down:

1. Bud: PAL

2. Park in NYC, e.g.: AVE. This one made me think, and I walk up and down Park at least once a month; two of my clients have their head offices on the street. The Helmsley Building built over the top of the street at Grand Central never fails to make me smile.

3. Long of "NCIS: Los Angeles": NIA. Thank you, crosses. Nia, meet Aimee and Ezra.

4. Garage containers: GAS CANS

5. "Copacabana" showgirl: LOLA. Let's go with the other Lola, who "walked like a woman and talked like a man".

6. Open a bit: AJAR

7. Verbal hesitations: HAWS

8. Reacts to yeast: RISES

9. ID issuer: SSA. I didn't punctuate the SSA because ID is now a word, and not just a Latin one.

10. Laptop alternatives: TABLETS

12. Espresso foam: CREMA

13. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" novelist: KESEY

18. Short trip: HOP

21. Dropping (off): NODDING

23. Indy racing family name: UNSER

24. Din: NOISE

27. Key: MAIN

29. They go for the gold: PANNERS. Yep, I'm in a picky mood today. "He was a panner in the '49 California gold rush" - said nobody, ever.

30. Feel remorse for: RUE

31. Finals, say: EXAMS

36. Major artery: AORTA

37. Germ-killing brand: LYSOL

39. Triangle ratio: SINE. What was the aide-memoire we learned back then - soh-cah-toa? Sine = Opposite over Hypotenuse .... Mathematics exams redux.

40. Hawaii's Mauna __: KEA. Loa or Kea. Not Koa which was my first try. I have a koa wood ring and bracelet from Maui, so I excuse myself.

43. Buckles, as a seat belt: FASTENS

45. Yachting event, e.g.: SEA RACE

49. Great divide: CHASM

50. French-speaking Western Hemisphere country: HAITI. Not France then? Now this is oddly cunning - the Western Hemisphere is divided at the zero meridian and the 180 line at the antimeridian. France straddles the zero mark, and as such is disqualified from being a candidate answer, notwithstanding having too many letters. The only other possibility in literal terms would be Canada, but than you're talking about a minority population in Quebec, plus too many letters. A+ for educational.

51. Fine English china: SPODE. Wedgwood 1, Spode 0 in the Five Towns derby, sadly. Wedgwood cornered the marked in pale blue brooches and ornamental pottery, but Spode produced some wonderful hand-painted gold-banded white china plates. I'm with Spode - you can eat off their plates, you'd never think of serving food on a Wedgwood dish. Those bands really are painted by hand.

52. "So-so": MEH

55. Kerry locale: EIRE

56. Extended family: CLAN

57. Frozen dessert chain: TCBY. Their website has them as "The Country's Best Yogurt". Praise the Lord for correct apostrophe usage.

59. "Yikes!": EEK

61. Pince-__ glasses: NEZ

62. Watchdog's warning: GRR

63. ORD posting: ETA. Take a three-letter airport code and attach it to ETA, and voila! A crossword clue. See also ARR, and LGW, LHR, SYD, LGA, JFK, LAX, SFO, ORD, IAH, oh - who did I miss? Of course - BUR, PHX, DEN, MIA, SEA, CDG, FRA. And another hundred or three. I think I've made my point.

And .....here's the ETA for the CWD GRD! Right on time! And a genuinely-square 15x15, things are returning to normal in LAT XWD VIL

STV

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 C. C. Burnikel

Theme: Fast times down in the paddy.  Otherwise unrelated theme answers contain the letters of the word RICE, but WILDLY out of order. In each case, the letters span two words, which is always a nice touch.  Hope you got the circles.  This would be awfully opaque without them

16 A. Vice squad operations: POLICE RAIDS. Unannounced visits by law enforcement, using the element of surprise to aid in making arrests, so things don't get too WILD.

28 A. Fictional feline that could disappear at will: CHESHIRE CAT.  Best known for its mischievous grin, and most generally associated with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by creepy 19th century British minister Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, rather than T. S. Eliot.  Its presence in folk lore pre-dates this 1865 novel, and is of uncertain origin.  As it fades away, the last thing visible is its ionic grin.

45 A. "Talladega Nights" actor: JOHN C REILLY.  Here he is in CHICAGO.

62 A. It eases tension in some serious tales: COMIC RELIEF. A light or humorous episode in an other wise serious dramatic work.

3 D. Social class prominent in "The Great Gatsby": IDLE RICH.  People of substantial inherited wealth who have no need to work for a living.  And a shout out to anyone named ERIC.

And the unifier -- 39 D. Whole-grain food, and a description of each set of circles: WILD RICE.  This is a separate species from white rice.  Though it is now cultivated, it is still also harvested from shallow lakes in its natural habitat in North America.  The word WILD indicates that the letters of RICE have been rearranged in the theme entries.

The byline indicates that this puzzle was constructed by our gracious and prolific hostess, whose published puzzles now must number in the hundreds.  Note the clever and original grid, with theme fill that is both horizontal and vertical, but not in a pinwheel array.

Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here.  Let's all have a WILD time together.

Across:

1. Vice president after Hubert: SPIRO.  T. Agnew [1918-1996] V.P. under Richard Nixon.  He resigned as a result of a corruption scandal involving kick-backs and tax evasion dating from his time as county executive in MD, and continuing into his vice presidency.  He escaped prosecution in a plea bargain.

6. Harry Potter's lightning bolt, e.g.: SCAR.  On his forehead, resulting from an unpleasant incident when he was in infant, involving Tom Riddle

10. Cauldron stirrer: HAG.  They seem nice.

13. Intense passion: ARDOR.  Fervor, zeal, vehemence.

14. Big strings: CELLI.  Here is a sample.

15. "We're on __ way": OUR.  Be right with you  .  .  .

18. Prefix with angle or athlete: TRI.  Indicating something in threes - a TRIangle is a three sided figure. A TRIathlete competes in a three-part combined event, usually involving running, bicycling and swimming.

19. Make very happy: ELATE.

20. "__ Go": cellphone game: POKEMON.  A game centered on fictional creatures which humans can train and battle each other for sport. I'll stop here, because this is already more than i know about it, lest I --

22. Mess up: ERR.  Goof.

24. PC core: CPU.   Central Processing Unit.  It perfprms the basic computational, logic and control functions.

26. Sorvino of "Mimic": MIRA.  I had her last time.

She's rather tall.

27. Hawaiian garland: LEI.   Flower garland necklace.

Blossoms

32. Ultra-masculine: MACHO.  Overtly, aggressively and pridefully male.  Short of toxic masculinity, one would hope

34. Underwater detector: SONAR.  From SOund Navigation And Ranging, a system that uses sound waves to navigate and detect objects, usually under water

35. Sister of Laertes: OPHELIA.  In Shakespeare's play, daughter of Polonius, and the potential wife of Hamlet.

38. Major turf battle: GANG WAR.  Battle for control of a neighborhood or area between rival gangs.

42. They may be pumped or bumped: FISTS.  Or used for fighting.

44. Neutral shade: BEIGE. A pale, sandy yellowish brown color.

50. Meadow: LEA. An open grassy area.

51. Sheriff Andy Taylor's boy: OPIE.  From the Andy Griffith show.

Early Ron Howard

52. Ewe call: BAA.  She said, sheepishly.

53. ISP option: DSL. Digital Subscriber Line.  Distinct from dial-up, but using a telephone line.

54. "Oh, puh-leeze!": SPARE ME.  Get real.

58. African country whose name begins another African country: NIGER. and Nigeria.  Adjacent countries in west Africa.

Niger is in orange

61. Wee one: TOT.  A small child.  I once was one.

66. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU.  Louisiana State University, home of Mike the Tiger.

67. Occupied, as a restroom: IN USE.  Come back later.

68. Award for "Moonlight" or "Spotlight": OSCAR.  An award presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for excellence in the creation and production of movies.

69. Some Caltech grads: EES.  Electrical Engineers.  People who really do live in the realm of imaginary numbers.

70. "Gee whiz!": GOSH.   Golly.

71. Cautious (of): LEERY. Wary, due to realistic suspicions

Down:

1. Liquid from a trunk: SAP.   Sticky stuff from a tree trunk.

2. Golf instructor: PRO.  Or tennis.

4. Churn up: ROIL.  Cf. 10 A.

5. White-bellied ocean predator: ORCA.  The killer whale.

6. __ salt: SEA.  Other wise known as .  .  . salt.

7. Movie excerpt: CLIP.   Cf 10 A, 45 A, 70 A.

8. Big name in footwear: ALDO.  I like Clarks.

But how would I look in these?

9. Put in peril: RISK.

10. One may pick up an embarrassing remark: HOT MIC.  Conversations can be captured when the speakers think the microphone is off.  Ooops!

11. Goddess of the dawn: AURORA.  From Roman mythology.

12. Be amused by: GRIN AT.   Smile!

14. Dessert pancake: CREPE.  A thin pancake, usually rolled and filled with something.

17. Draw with acid: ETCH.  Coat the substrate with a protective substance such as wax, draw on it with a needle to expose the surface, then flow acid over it.  This will attack the exposed surface and create the desired image.

21. Come into view: EMERGE.  Unfold, transpire, become apparent.

22. Sailor's patron: ELMO.  AKA St Erasmus of Formia [d 303 AD.]   The account of his various tortures and imprisonments is disturbing.  You have been warned.

23. Use a scythe: REAP.  For harvesting a crop.  No reason to be grim about it.

25. Navy vessel letters: USS. United States Ship, applied only while it is in commission.

28. Infant's ailment: COLIC.  Abdominal pain caused by gas or obstruction.  Unpleasant for baby, parents, and anyone else near by.

29. Gluttonous sort: HOG.  Greedy one who wants it all.

30. Once __ while: IN A.  Occasionally.

31. Asked for an opinion on, as an idea: RAN BY.

33. Playboy founder: HEFNER.  Hugh [1926 - 1917]

Judge him by the company he kept

36. Mideast nation: Abbr.: ISRael.

37. Had breakfast: ATE. Typically raisin bran for me.

40. Quite a while: AGES.  Non-specific long time duration.

41. Bona fide: REAL.  From the Latin, meaning "with good faith."

43. Family vacay participant: SIB.  Sibling, joining the fam for a vacation.

45. Push rudely: JOSTLE.  To elbow or push against someone, typically in a crowd.  From late Middle English, derived from jousting [Cf. 48 D.] The original meaning was "to have sex with."  Current, more pedestrian, meaning is from the mid 16th century.

46. Vote against: OPPOSE.  Nay, nay, I say.

47. Continuity break: HIATUS.  A pause or gap in a sequence, series or process.

48. Renaissance Faire weapon: LANCE.   For jousting.  You can find many examples on Youtube.  I chose not to link.

49. Dragon's den: LAIR.  Brings to mind a poem I wrote long ago.

  
IN PRAYER SHE CONTEMPLATES

Far from her home, sequestered in a cave

In dampness, gloom and foul lizard's filth

With golden chains that mock a kingdom's wealth,

She waits the coming of the knight or knave --

The fool who'd face the flame and fang to save 

A royal maiden from this monstrous death.

The fool arrives.  To scale and scalding breath

He shouts his dare.  Could one so wild and brave

Be any but a lout?  No doubt he'd clench

A princess as he would some low-born wench. 

Is lance of knight or fang of worm to be

The one to test her vain virginity?

Reposed in prayer she contemplates her sins,

Then spies her knight, and prays the dragon wins.

 © JazzBumpa

55. Vaper's smoke, briefly: E-CIG.  Prompts a question about technology: just because we can, does that mean we should?

56. Stereo preceder: MONO.  In monaural sound, a single channel is used, and all speakers will project the same copy of the signal.  In stereophonic sound, there are typically two channels, and each one projects a different portion of the total sound package.  This gives the effects of directionality and space.

57. Fast Aussie birds: EMUS.  Australian native Dromaius novaehollandiae is the second largest living bird, after the ostrich, which is native to Africa.  Both are fast runners, but neither can fly.

59. Earth sci.: GEOLogy  is an earth science.  As the saying goes, GEOLOGY rocks, but Geography is where it's at.

60. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.  An offer of further assistance, or an expression of exasperation.  You decide.

63. "Kinda" suffix: -ISH.

64. Piece of corn: EAR. Something to listen for when you stalk the grain.

65. Cook, as spring rolls: FRY.  Cook with hot oil in a shallow pan.  MAybe have some WILD RICE as a side.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  Hope you found this nit-free puzzle to be delicious, nutritious and just crunchy enough.

Cool regards!
JzB