Tuesday, December 13, 2016 C. C. Burnikel

Theme:

17. Of the poorest quality : THIRD CLASS. Skip class.

35. Novel or short story, say : LITERARY WORK. Skip work.

43. Fashionable dude : MAN ABOUT TOWN. Skip town. I saw the M and thought METRO SEXUAL. Nope.

62. Well-hit line drive, in baseball jargon : FROZEN ROPE. Skip rope.

50. "Never mind" ... or what one might do with the last word of 17-, 35-, 43- and 62-Across : SKIP IT

Melissa here. Another stellar offering from our C.C., with a clever theme. A mostly smooth ride, save for a few wrong turns that sorted out pretty easily.
 

Across

1. "And another thing ... " : ALSO

5. Up on the latest info : AWARE

10. Not yet paid : OWED

14. California wine valley : NAPA

15. Gathered, as autumn leaves : RAKED

16. Tree fruit : PEAR

19. The "I" in MIT: Abbr. : INST

20. Long stretch : EON

21. Communication syst. for the hearing-impaired : ASL

22. Jury __ : DUTY

23. Southern speech quality : DRAWL

25. Heart exam: Abbr. : ECG

28. One of the five basic tastes : UMAMI. From Wikipedia: a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). A loanword from the Japanese (うま味 ?), umami can be translated as "pleasant savory taste."

30. Inventor Howe : ELIAS

32. River through southern Russia : URAL

34. Armed conflict : WAR

38. "If I may cut in ... " : AHEM. First snag, needed perps.

41. Typically reddish-brown ape : ORANG

42. Varieties : ILKS

46. "The A-Team" muscleman : MR. T. Without the period, it doesn't make much sense does it? Our new kitten is responsible for the missing period key on my keyboard - now all my sentences will be run on sentences I mean I could just use other punctuation but I'll be questioning everything or exclaiming it, my posts will all become inquisitive and philosophical or just very exciting or I could play the semicolon game; but honestly who uses it like what does that even do you can't just end a sentence with a semicolon that's it I'm screwed;

47. Pet food brand : ALPO

48. Bottle parts : NECKS

51. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright Clifford : ODETS. Wikipedia.

  

53. Capote nickname : TRU

55. Calendar periods : WEEKS

57. Canadian tribe : CREE

58. Sgt., e.g. : NCO

60. Zero : NIL

61. Dog treat : BONE

66. Choice on the fairway : IRON

67. Ruined : DID IN

68. Big Apple stage award : OBIE. Honoring excellence in off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theatre.

69. Like morning grass : DEWY

70. Well-practiced : ADEPT

71. Politician Romney : MITT

Down

1. Fed the pot : ANTED

2. Pakistani city : LAHORE

Second largest city in Pakistan, and home of the famous Liberty Market:

 3. Kind of column or cord : SPINAL. Or tap.

4. Dinghy blade : OAR

5. Fly ball paths : ARCS

6. 2008 Pixar robot : WALLE

7. Letters before an alias : AKA

8. Hi-__ graphics : RES. Tripped up here with DEF first.

9. Magazine VIPs : EDs

10. Poppy narcotic : OPIUM

11. Left the 44-Down sans permission : WENT AWOL

12. Patsy : EASY MARK

13. Richard Gere title role : DR. T

18. __ Lama : DALAI

 22. Fittingly : DULY

24. The name Fred yells at the end of "The Flintstones" closing theme song : WILMA

26. Museum manager : CURATOR

27. Research funding : GRANT

29. Bugs : IRKS. Nice crossing of ILKS and IRKS.

31. Happy hour perch : STOOL

33. Noble gas : ARGON

36. Blow up : ERUPT

37. Pained reaction : WINCE

38. Rifle range rounds : AMMO

39. Dyed-in-the-wool : HARDCORE

40. Words to click on at a sweepstakes website : ENTER NOW

44. Army outpost : BASE. Not FORT.

45. Cry of victory : WE WON

49. Jedi Master Obi-Wan __ : KENOBI

52. Itsy-bitsy : TEENY. W or T?

54. Open, as a parka : UNZIP

56. Icy precipitation : SLEET

59. Small change : CENT

61. eBay action : BID

62. Big Pharma watchdog: Abbr. : FDA

63. Cleared (of) : RID

64. Poem of praise : ODE

65. CD-__ : ROM

Monday, December 12, 2016 Michael Dewey

Theme: TWEET! - Those aren't birds tweeting.

20A. Locomotive operators: TRAIN ENGINEERS

25A. Singer for the cops?: POLICE INFORMANT

47A. Gridiron adjudicator: FOOTBALL REFEREE

52A. What 20-, 25- and 47-Across all are, in one way or another: WHISTLE BLOWERS

Argyle here. Unusual; the first three are needed to reveal the fourth, the unifier of the theme. I do like Michael's puzzles. I like the whole answer being theme, not just a part of it.

Across:

1. On the __: broken: FRITZ. Now there's a word to start the week on.

6. Dressed (in): CLAD

10. Quail or turkey, e.g.: FOWL. Ok, there are birds tweeting, sort of.

14. Prefix with economics: MACRO

15. Impulse: URGE

16. "Yeah, sure": "I BET"

17. Do over 60 in Hawaii, say: SPEED. Vermont, too. Any others?

18. Upsurge: BOOM

19. Null and __: VOID

23. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO

24. Republican org.: GOP

34. Flower painted by van Gogh: IRIS

35. Burns with hot liquid: SCALDS

36. Mai __: TAI

37. One who shuns company: LONER. Prefers solitude.

39. Many a Monopoly prop.: AVEnue

40. Kick out: EJECT

42. "Brokeback Mountain" director Lee: ANG. Ang Lee

43. Snoozing: ASLEEP

46. Rank between viscount and marquis: EARL

50. Motor City labor gp.: UAW. (United Automobile Workers)

51. Preacher's msg.: SERmon

60. Billiards triangle: RACK

61. "Garfield" pooch: ODIE

62. Paradises: EDENS

64. Lotion additive: ALOE

65. __ monster: lizard: GILA

66. "Rabbit food" course: SALAD

67. Remain undecided: PEND

68. Staircase part: STEP

69. Sporty sunroofs: T-TOPS

Down:

1. Radio choices: FMs. (frequency modulation)

2. Completely engrossed: RAPT

3. Bakery employee: ICER

4. Dissertation: TREATISE

5. It has a dozen signs: ZODIAC

6. Ice tray unit: CUBE

7. Scientologist Hubbard: L. RON

8. Intensely eager: AGOG

9. Divine-human hybrid: DEMIGOD. List of demigods, if you care to see if your name is there.

10. Quitting hr. for many: FIVE PM

11. Double-reed instrument: OBOE

12. Flow-altering dam: WEIR

13. Former Ford models: LTDs

21. Thumbs-down votes: NOes

22. Like Eric or Leif: NORSE

25. Rice dish: PILAF

26. Home of the University of Maine: ORONO

27. Jargon: LINGO

28. Poker wager-matching response: "I CALL"

29. Bellybutton: NAVEL

30. Baseball card rival of Topps: FLEER

31. On __: rampaging: A TEAR

32. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE

33. Owner's document: TITLE

38. Morocco's capital: RABAT

41. Made heckling remarks to: JEERED AT

44. Snooze loudly: SAW LOGS

45. Mexicali money: PESO

48. Like warthogs and walruses: TUSKED

49. Smallest number: FEWEST

52. Rolled-up sandwich: WRAP

53. In good health: HALE

54. Venerated image: ICON. A religious work of art.

55. Proofreader's change: EDIT

56. Irascibility: BILE

57. Jump: LEAP

58. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. (relocation)

59. Go off the deep end: SNAP

63. Vietnam War protest gp.: SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)

Argyle

Sunday December 11, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Lend Me Your Ears" - EAR is added to each theme entry.

22A. Candy served on a corporate blimp? : GOODYEAR GUMDROPS. Goody gumdrops. We also have Goodyear's headquarters AKRON (45. City on the Ohio and Erie Canal).

36A. Often censored musical groups? : SWEARING BANDS. Swing bands.

67A. Rather uninspired cocktail? : DREARY MARTINI. Dry martini.

95A. What happens at the southern terminus of Interstate 65? : MOBILE APPEARS. Mobile app.

115A. Pair of lustrous Kleenex? : TWO PEARLY TISSUES. Two-ply tissues.

 

15D. First asp most likely to bite when the group is disturbed? : NEAREST OF VIPERS. Nest of vipers is a new phrase to me.

42D. How sundaes are often served? : BEARING CHERRIES. Bing cherries. I would not know how to clue the entry to give it surface sense.

Jeffrey has been raising the bar on letter addition gimmick. No one-letter for him. Most of his puzzles has 3 or more letter strings. Very hard to pull off. He's a master. 

The ten 8-letter fill really shine in this grid. Eight of them are stacked in a 140-word grid. Stunning.

Across:   

1. "That's a __" : SHAME. Tricky clue, as the answer could be BIG IF, FIRST, GIVEN, etc.  

6. Brie-ripening agent : BACTERIA

14. SASEs, e.g. : ENCs

18. Skulking milieu, with "the" : SHADOWS. This is a new expression for me.

20. Considering identical : EQUATING

21. Aviation prefix : AERO

24. "Better Call ___" : SAUL. "Breaking Bad" spinoff.

25. Fine netting : TULLE. Named after the French city where it's first made.

26. Discipline that often emphasizes breathing : YOGA

27. LAX report : ETA

28. "Rigoletto" composer : VERDI

29. Uses a rudder : STEERS

31. "Say it soft and it's almost like praying" song : MARIA. "West Side Story".

34. "Success!" : I MADE IT. Sparkling fill.

40. Former NBA exec Jackson : STU. Don't know him.

41. Network with its HQ in Ottawa : CBC

44. Very long time : EON

46. Put into words : STATED

48. Harvest units : SHEAVES

50. Airline with blue-striped jets : EL AL. What's the best airline you've flown?

52. Get bluffed out, say : LOSE

53. Biblical landing site : ARARAT

54. __ agent : SECRET

58. Disengaged : ALOOF

61. Element #5 : BORON

62. Quotable late athlete : BERRA

63. "In spades!" : IS IT EVER. Another great fill.

66. Label for the Swedish duo Roxette : EMI. Guessed.

71. Suffix with concert : INO. Not INA.

72. Prom limo, e.g. : RENT A CAR

74. Alberto VO5 competitor : BRECK. I use neither.

75. Barcelona bar fare : TAPAS

77. Fancy dos : GALAS. Not hairdos. Look at her braids. Lovely.

78. Rusty nail liquor : SCOTCH. Here is the recipe. With Drambuie.

80. Ancient warship with two decks of oars : BIREME. Learned from doing crosswords.

81. Connect with the space station : DOCK

83. Eucalyptus, for one : TREE

85. Bucket list list : DESIRES. They're indeed all desires.

86. Ready to mate : IN HEAT

89. 2005 "Survivor" island : PALAU

92. Nemo's realm : SEA

93. High-speed letters : DSL. I'm jealous of TTP's high speed.

94. Stroke from Venus? : ACE. Venus Williams.

99. Relevant : GERMANE

101. Iraqi port : BASRA

102. Fluid transfer tool : SIPHON

107. Jones with nine Grammys : NORAH

108. Ring legend : ALI

111. Italian man : UOMO. I know it simply because of Giovanna, who used to be the editor of L'Uomo Vogue. Leggy, but she just got married, Splynter!

113. Sycophant : TOADY

114. "Amores" author : OVID. Also 23. Like 114-Across : ROMAN

119. Oracle : SEER

120. Thwart bigtime : SABOTAGE. Another great fill.

121. Take umbrage : BRISTLE. Ditto.

122. Celtic language : ERSE

123. Landscape ruiners : EYESORES. Ditto.

124. Prepare for a dubbing : KNEEL

Down:

 1. Make oneself heard : SHOUT

2. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Cantonese call foreigners "Gweilo", literally "Ghost". Derogatory in its origin, but no negative tone these days.  

3. Confuse : ADDLE

4. Press secretary under LBJ : MOYERS (Bill). We also have 43. LBJ biographer Robert __ : CARO. I learned quite a bit about LBJ from Caro's "Fresh Air" interview.

5. Pastoral parent : EWE

6. Nonchooser? : BEGGAR. Saw similar clue before. So no problem.

7. Some tanks : AQUARIA. Spell check needs to recognize that this is a word.

8. Magna __ laude : CUM

9. Little bit : TAD

10. French 101 infinitive : ETRE

11. Card relative? : RIOT. This "Card" clue gets me all the time.  

12. Hurting : IN PAIN

13. Power players in state law: Abbr. : AGs

14. Brought slowly (into) : EASED

16. Bite-size veggies : CRUDITES. Great use of the bell pepper.

17. What loners seek : SOLITUDE

18. Snorkel and his peers: Abbr. : SGTs

19. "As I'm thinking about it ... " : SAY

28. Sprawling : VAST

30. "I like that!" : SWEET!

32. It's held in a pen : INK. Not PIG.

33. Share an opinion : AGREE. Boomer unfriended a friend because of political differences.

35. OR personnel : MDs

37. Dawn goddess : EOS

38. Head for the hills : BOLT

39. Tokyo-based airline : ANA (All Nippon Airways)

41. Auto design element : CHROME

47. Natural emollient : ALOE

48. Napoleonic Wars weapon : SABER

49. Property destroyer : VANDAL

51. Ophthalmologist's procedure : LASIK. Any of you had LASIK surgery?

54. Cook, as scallops : SEAR

55. Make the wrong move : ERR

56. Overreact to spilt milk : CRY

57. Film series Vietnam veteran : RAMBO. Also 59. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer : LIN

60. Canal problem? : OTITIS. Ear canal.

62. Creature : BEAST

63. Bite result, often : ITCH. Our Saturday flea market is located in a big plot of farmland full of trees and weeds. Man, the mosquitoes are wild.

64. Cookware coating : ENAMEL

65. Gift from a lover : ROSES

68. 45 rpm record pioneer : RCA

69. Busts and such : ART. Also 85. Busting org. : DEA

70. __ room : REC

73. Receipts : TAKE

76. Parched : ARID

78. Salmon predator : SEAL. 80. Salmon predators : BEARS. Another clue echo.

79. "E! News" subject : CELEB

81. Evaluate symptoms : DIAGNOSE

82. Superficial look : ONCE-OVER

84. Venerable N.Y. tech school : RPI. Alma mater for Spitzboov.

87. Eastern nursemaid : AMAH. We just had this last Sunday.

88. Cargo measure : TON

90. Gp. following gas prices : AAA

91. Rapid increase : UPSURGE

92. Of ill repute : SEAMY

96. Leave town for a bit : BE AWAY. Not fond of this BE AWAY or IS BAD type of answer.

97. "1984" working class : PROLES. We just had the singular PROLE last month.

98. Audits a course, say : SITS IN

100. Familia member : MADRE

103. Western sheriff's aid : POSSE

104. __ cuisine : HAUTE

105. 1961 Newbery Medal winner Scott __ : O'DELL. For this book.

106. Where KO means Coca-Cola : NYSE. 110. 106-Down debuts : IPOs

109. Brain segment : LOBE

112. Gambling option in many sts. : OTB

115. "The Waste Land" monogram : TSE (T. S. Eliot)

116. DDE's command : ETO

117. River within Switzerland : AAR

118. Drive up the wall : IRK. Our "Hot Cooktop" (GE smoothtop range) light stays on hours after we're done cooking. Very annoying. YouTube has a solution. But too complicated. I think we'll wait until the light burns out.  

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 10th, 2016, Doug Peterson & Patti Varol

Theme: DP & PV

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

The return of a Saturday duo - the last time we saw these two constructors was back in April of this year. That puzzle featured a 15-letter spanner with a central climber of 13 letters. Today we have 9-letter corners in the across, a pair of 10-letter climbers in the down, and a smattering of 8-letter fill elsewhere. I moved through this grid as smoothly as the one from April, did not get stalled on the proper names, but I have to admit I did not get my "ta-DA~!" - turns out I went with BETAS and not BETHS, and should have known better with the crossing down. Oh well. Some of the longer fill;

15. Only pitcher whose jersey number was retired by the Mets : TOM SEAVER - I'm from L.I., NY, so I had a pretty good idea who this was

12. 2013 literature Nobelist : ALICE MUNRO - her Wiki

66. Bright one in a school : NEON TETRA

27. Smartphone notification : EMAIL ALERT

How 'bout this one~?

ONWARD@Splynter.com~!

ACROSS:

1. Sole proprietor? : SHOE STORE - since I was 'hip' to the "?", it would have been in my best interest to try filling in SHOE somewhere, but I left it blank on the first past

10. Spiffy : SMART

16. Certain internet chatter : AOLer

17. Headache source : EYESTRAIN

18. Lopez who played Jiminez in "The Dirty Dozen" : TRINI - got it from perps, but should have been a logical guess in the first place - so would that be a L.A.G.~? The "Logical-Ass Guess"~?

19. Bear fruit : PAN OUT - watermelon didn't fit....

Get it~? "Bear" fruit~? C'mon, that's funny

20. Company whose old factory had a water tower shaped like the company's product : DIXIE CUP - I tried HERSHEY'S, thinking a "Kiss" would be a pretty cool water tower

22. One of the gang : PAL

24. Get the word out? : ERASE - har-har

25. "Wrong call, I suppose" : "GUESS NOT."

30. Test ban subjects : A-BOMBS - I dropped an "A" bomb at 18a.

33. Coloratura Gluck : ALMA

34. Crow heard on tracks : SHERYL - not fooled - I know who Sheryl Crow is

36. Keats wrote on one : URN - "Ode on a Grecian..." I believe

37. Mount, as a comeback : STAGE

39. Santa __ winds : ANA

40. The blahs : ENNUI

42. New England sch. in Kingston : URI - University of Rhode Island

43. 1980 film with the #1 hit "Magic" : XANADU - I remember the title track from star Olivia Newton-John, but never saw the movie - it was a flop, but the soundtrack did well

46. Like the Kara Kum : ARID - a WAG, but it sounded like a desert

47. Goddess on whose bust Poe's raven perched : PALLAS - mostly perps

49. Droning : MONOTONE

51. Target : AIM AT

53. Bad check letters : NSF - @#$Z&%~! I paid Geico on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, got email confirmation, then paid my credit card bill in full on Black Friday - and received notice from my bank Saturday that I had -$147 in my checking account - Geico posted late. The negative balance included the Non-Sufficient Fund charge of $38. Like they don't have enough of my money....

54. It takes a licking : LOLLIPOP - There's a girl at UPS who used to come by with a big bag of lollipops for me once a month. (lollipops is a word you can type with one finger in the top right of the keyboard - try it.)

Umm, not the girl from UPS

57. Bargain for : PLAN ON - I plan on getting a cel phone remote car starter, but wanted to ask those here at the blog for any input they can offer on best brands or functions

62. Canceled a reservation, maybe : ATE IN

63. Tossing and turning : WIDE AWAKE - I hear all the rookies at UPS complaining about trying to get to sleep for a 12am-10am shift for the Christmas peak season. If I have to, I will take some non-alcoholic night-time sleep aid, just to get over the "switch"

65. Death in Venice : MORTE - I figured it was Italian for "death", but was not sure of the spelling

67. Hebrew letters : BETHs - Dah~! Not BETAs

68. Montana's has a plow, a pick and a shovel : STATE SEAL - oops, I went with STATE FLAG

- shout out~!

DOWN:

1. Pedometer unit : STEP - I used to have a step-counter on my cel phone, and it recorded something like 20,000 steps while working at UPS one morning - and I got nowhere; I was still standing between the slide and four trucks....

2. Georgetown newspaper, with "The" : HOYA

3. Sign : OMEN

4. Brand on the Alcan Highway : ESSO

5. Stings : SET-UPS

6. Tam patterns : TARTANS

7. Some gametes : OVA

8. Journalist Whitelaw __ : REID

9. Orange half of a comic duo : ERNIE - Bert and Ernie




10. Like some appetites : SATIABLE - reminds me of that funny story with the "prefix-less" words; see here

11. To a greater extent : MORE SO

13. Eye care brand : RE۰NU

14. Touch off : TRIP

21. Letter between Whiskey and Yankee : X-RAY - I once worked for an architect who owned his own 4-seater plane (Dudley~!), so know my pilot's alphabet, which may be why I screwed up my Hebrew one

23. "Herbie: Fully Loaded" star : LOHAN

25. Get ready to hit the road : GAS UP - had the "S", so this worked for me

26. Modern opening? : ULTRA
28. Sink : SAG

29. Latish wake-up time : TEN AM

31. TD Garden skater : BRUIN - I know my hockey teams

32. Snarky : SNIDE

35. Odorless gas : RADON

38. Scrutinizes : EXAMINES

41. Styron's Turner : NAT - nearly duplicated at; 59d. Electoral analyst Silver : NATE

44. Hustler's request : ASAP

45. Still saved : UNSPENT
48. Demon of Semitic lore : LILITH

50. In recent times : OF LATE

52. Stops on a commuter train : TOWNS

54. Souvlaki choice : LAMB

55. Plains native : OTOE

56. Painter Mondrian : PIET

58. Dazzles : AWES

60. Cajun staple : OKRA

61. Sci-fi author Stephenson : NEAL

64. 1988 film noir remake : D.O.A. - well, I looked at both films (1950)-(1988), and they do not feature the same characters, nor the same plot, so I am not wholly convinced that the later one could be considered a "remake". Besides, I would have gone with the Van Halen song....


For the guitar players out there try this link,
watch the fills & the whammy bar work -
the player in this video hits the mark -
and they're not easy

Y'all tried the "LOLLIPOP" thing, didn't you....

Splynter  

Friday, December 9, 2016, Tony Caruso and C. C. Burnikel

Title 2 + 2 = 4.

In their third LAT collaboration of 2016, Tony (Anon-T) and C.C. take well known phrases or products which include a number and add 4 (four) to get the theme answer. The reveal is really cute, especially if you like golf. Not an easy puzzle, but it went smoothly. And we have a mini-Trojan War theme. It does feature quite a bit of interesting intermediate fill such as ALKALI,  DUELED, ORTEGA,  B.B.KING,  AENEAS, CLAUDE, EAT DIRT,  UPBRAID, COROLLA,  KNESSET, LIONS DEN, TENOR SAX...where do they all come from?

On with the show:

17A. Dutch vodka brand : KETEL FIVE (9). Ketel One plus four equals the joke.

24A. End of an Ernie Banks catchphrase about doubleheaders : LET'S PLAY SIX (11). Let's PLAY TWO showed the enthusiasm he always had for the game, and how nice to see Mr. Cub so soon after the Series.

36A. Powerful Detroit group : THE BIG SEVEN (11). The old line automobile BIG THREE are back on top after Toyota and Honda peaked.

47A. NCAA hockey semifinal group : FROZEN EIGHT (11). The FROZEN FOUR are the four finalists who vie for the NCAA men's hockey championship.
The reveal -
57A. Traditional golf pants, and a hint to why certain puzzle answers are wrong : PLUS FOURS (9).
Plus-fours are breeches or trousers that extend 4 inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). As they allow more freedom of movement than knickerbockers, they have been traditionally associated with sporting attire from the 1860s and onward, and are also particularly associated with golf. wiki. Revived in golf by Orville Moody and the late Payne Stewart.

Across:

1. Photoshop maker : ADOBE. Perhaps more famous for PDF.

6. Late __ : FEE.

9. Average Joes, e.g. : MALES.

14. Fishing needs : LURES.

15. Bill's future, maybe : LAW. No not our bicycle riding macchiato swigging Bill G., but a bill offered in congress.

16. Troy story : ILIAD. I love the simplicity and subtlety of this clue dredging up both the ancient myth and the modern myth - Toy Story.

19. Coin receivers : SLOTS. And that is why they are called slot machine.

20. Round orders : ALES. This round is on me!

21. Extraction target : ORE. There are no three letter teeth and SPY just did not work.

22. Hide in a crowd : BLEND. (in?)

23. Piano part : LEG. Piano leg has become a pejorative.

27. State bordering six others and the Canadian mainland : IDAHO. I was sorry to see the number in the clue. Canada gave away the answer for me.

29. Beam : RAY.

30. Beats Electronics co-founder : DRE. Only in America...BILLIONAIRE?

31. Rebuke : UPBRAID.

35. Checks out : VETS. In the strange history of American English, this term comes to us from horse racing. To vet was originally a horse-racing term, referring to the requirement that a horse be checked for health and soundness by a veterinarian before being allowed to race. Thus, it has taken the general meaning "to check" various.

38. Powerful pair : ACES. Bullets.

40. Parliament of Israel : KNESSET. They have a unicameral legislature. Formed in 1949, from Mishnaic Hebrew keneseth "gathering, assembly," from stem of Hebrew kanas "he gathered, assembled, collected."

41. Former Texas Rangers manager Washington : RON. He is the most successful manager in their HISTORY.

42. Grafton's "__ for Alibi" : A IS. The alphabet mysteries which started when she was 42 and have made it to X.

43. 2014 Olympics city : SOCHI. It was exciting then but NOW?

52. Chuckle online : LOL.

53. Borneo swinger : ORANG.

54. Jessica Rabbit feature : GAM.

55. Composer __ Maria von Weber : CARL.

                                                    I am not an expert on OPERA.


56. Mascot once awarded a Doctor of Bovinity degree : ELSIE. From the Ohio State University, I am told.

59. Santa __ : CLARA. Who lives there?

60. Charged particle : ION.

61. Bhopal locale : INDIA. Looks kind of dead center to me?

62. Burdens : TAXES.

63. Sitter's charge : TOT.

64. In dire straits : NEEDY.


Down:

1. Caustic potash, e.g. : ALKALI.  More than you need to KNOW.

2. Fought, in a way : DUELED.

3. Company with a Taco Club : ORTEGA. I have linked their bottle a couple of times.

4. Contests whose competitors stand in place : BEES. While they do stand in a spelling bee, not so much in a quilting bee.

5. Course for some U.S. arrivals : ESL. English as a Second Language was very important for my wife and I. Without it we would not have been able to successfully....

6. Tease : FLIRT.

7. Gutter sites : EAVES.

8. Woolly mama : EWE. Another sounds almost like clue (woolly mammoth).

9. Lose : MISLAY.

10. Way behind buildings : ALLEY. I like it!

11. Hostile place : LION'S DEN. The image comes from the Torah where Daniel is cast into the lions den by the Babylonians.

12. Swallow one's pride : EAT DIRT. A straight forward metaphor, but nice phrase.

13. Campus org. revived in 2006 : SDS. Popular once again.

18. Un-friend? : FOE. Another use of modern slang to beef up a simple fill.

22. Grass components : BLADES.

24. Bound : LOPE.

25. Finicky sort : PRISS.

26. Marks with two intersecting lines : XES.

28. Confused sounds : HUHS.

32. Blues singer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1987 : B. B. KING. Link.

33. Word before repeat : RINSE. On every shampoo bottle.

34. Sensitive subject for some : AGE.

35. Reject : VETO.

36. Clinton's instrument : TENOR SAX. I thought Monica said it was a cigar...

37. A tie may be partly under one : VEST.

38. Pound sound : ARF. Nice rhyme.

39. Toyota model : COROLLA.

42. Trojan who survived the sack of Troy : AENEAS. Aeneas was the son of Anchises and Venus. He was a cousin of King Priam of Troy, and was the leader of Troy's Dardanian allies during the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, he led a band of Trojan refugees to Italy and became the founder of Roman culture (although not of the city of Rome itself). The story is told in this WORK.

44. First name in impressionism : CLAUDE. MONET. He did not do a good King Louis.

45. Plain awful : HORRID.

46. "Amen to that!" : I'LL SAY.

48. Rumble in the Jungle setting : ZAIRE. Where Ali unveiled the "rope-a-dope" to defeat George Foreman.

49. Inuit home : IGLOO.

50. More than skinny : GAUNT.

51. Bounty title : HMS. His/her Majesty's Ship.  True STORY.

55. Pine __ : CONE. Tree fit too.

56. Outside: Pref. : ECT. Endo and ecto...

57. Casino area : PIT.

58. Shark feature : FIN. Fin is also French for the the end, which means it is time for us to say adieu. Always such fun to blog a puzzle from C.C. University. Thank you Tony, C.C. and  all of you.




Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Hahtoolah, who never comes to the blog without an inspiring quote. Like Lucina, Hahtoolah has traveled extensively. She is also an avid reader.

The Corn Poppy

Thursday, December 8th 2016 Jerry Edelstein

Theme: Waxing and Waning - as the reveal neatly explains.

18A. "Next subject" : MOVING ON

22A. Historic Potomac estate : MOUNT VERNON. The cupola is to help ventilate the attic, apparently.

38A. With 40-Across, NPR broadcast since 1979 : MORNING

40A. See 38-Across : EDITION. Clever way to span the grid without having 15 letters to do it with. Will irritate cross-reference dislikers, but I thought it was neat.

49A. "Life of Brian" comedy group : MONTY PYTHON. Quite a few Brit references in the puzzle today. Before satellite TV was common, Michael Palin paid to install a dish at the local pub here in Studio City so he could watch the English soccer over a beer or two. Nice chap.

and the reveal:


61A. First or last quarter ... and, literally, what can be found on either end of 18-, 22-, 38-/40- and 49-Across : HALF MOON . Here's the lovely Half Moon Bay near San Francisco: It waxes and wanes with the tides.

Nice theme from Jerry and a good-looking grid with some solid blocks in the NW and SE. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Throws the first pitch : STARTS

7. Find fault : CARP

11. Bygone Ford : LTD

14. They may be hard : CIDERS. The first alcohol we started drinking as teens. The sweet varieties would give you a headache. The dry ones were better. They both got you looking sideways.

15. Tavern : ALEHOUSE

17. Hunt's TV co-star : REISER. Helen and Paul in "Mad About You". Funny show.

19. Made dinner at home : ATE IN. Something I'm quite partial to. I love spending a couple of hours in the kitchen.

20. "Sold!" : DEAL!

21. CIA predecessor : OSS. Office of *ahem* Strategic Services.

25. Son-gun connection : OF A

26. __ land: disputed territory : NO MAN'S

31. Rueful word : ALAS

35. Quick snack : NOSH.

37. Simple home : TEPEE

42. Word with box or light : IDIOT. I had an idiot light in my old Jaguar to alert me to the fact that the gas tank was close to empty. It didn't mean a great deal as the gauge didn't work at all, so the light was always on. I used to fill the tank when the trip-meter ticked over the 200 mile mark. I averaged around 8MPG. That's one big carbon hoof-print.

43. Levelheaded : SANE

45. Timer drizzler : SAND

46. Mussel habitat : SEABED. We used to pull them off the pier supports when I was a kid. No sand.

48. Uno plus due : TRE

56. Plant studied by Mendel : PEA.

59. With 41-Down, tries for a long pass, in football lingo : GOES

60. Odor : AROMA. Morning coffee! Yay! My morning soundtrack is the coffee grinder setting me up for the day. Peet's Coffee, Major Dickerson's Roast. Whole Bean.

63. Action scenes : CHASES

64. Get-out-of-jail card? : BAIL BOND. I'd love to claim that I've never needed one of these. Youthful indiscretions, and all that.

65. Museum guide : DOCENT

66. 32-Down contents : ORE

67. Fruity coolers : ADES

68. "Nothing to it!" : SO EASY!

Down:

1. Make a run for it : SCRAM!

2. Connect with : TIE TO

3. Parting mot : ADIEU. En Paris.

4. Lacquer ingredient : RESIN

5. Former Senator Lott : TRENT

6. Lat. or Lith., once : S.S.R. Latvia and Lithuania were Soviet Socialist Republics. Seems a long time ago now.

7. Traffic enforcement devices : CAMERAS. I got nailed for a "California Roll" leaving Malibu Canyon State Park and not coming to a complete halt at the stop sign. I paid for an hour or three of the cost of keeping the park open, which was ironic as I wasn't actually allowed to stay there - the place had been booked out by a movie shoot. I wish they'd posted that at the entrance where I put my $5 in the honesty box before being asked to leave.

8. Take out __ : A LOAN

9. Love Is On makeup maker : REVLON. Thank you, crosses.

10. Upsilon follower : PHI

11. Hauls : LUGS

12. Menu possessive linked to the Qing dynasty : TSO'S. The General's famous chicken.

13. Place in the woods : DEN

16. Tokyo-born artist : ONO

20. Gets the mist off : DE-FOGS

23. World Cup skiing champ Lindsey : VONN. I'd have liked to show a shot of her skiing, but after scrolling down about 300 pictures of her in a swimsuit, I gave up. Great (skiing) talent.

24. "Moi?!" : NOT I!

27. Citi Field squad : METS

28. Polynesian capital : APIA. Nailed it!

29. Bright sign : NEON

30. Text command : SEND

31. "Time's Arrow" author : AMIS. English novelist Martin. The story runs backwards in time - it seems common now, but was very unusual when I first read the book.

32. 66-Across source : LODE. The discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1858 precipitated large-scale silver mining across the US. I read once that the miners were looking for salt, but found something a little more shiny.

33. Covent Garden solo : ARIA. London's opera house. I used to drive a truck part-time to pick up produce from the old fruit and vegetable market right across the street. The market buildings are still there, but the stores are all craft and trinket shops now.

34. Pretentious sort : SNOB

36. Eight British kings : HENRYS. "I'm 'enery the eighf I am, 'enery the eighf I am I am, I got married to the widder next door ....."

39. Agenda listing : ITEM

41. See 59-Across : DEEP

44. Shows up : ATTENDS

47. Give to charity, say : DO GOOD

50. Peter of Herman's Hermits : NOONE. Another Brit. He clapped a lot. Coincidentally, Herman's Hermits recorded the "I'm Henry" ditty above.

51. Webmail option : YAHOO

52. Copy exactly : TRACE

53. Old Testament prophet : HOSEA

54. Future foretellers : OMENS

55. Really bad : NASTY

56. Carson forerunner : PAAR. Jack before Johnny on "The Tonight Show".

57. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

58. Duck mascot company, on the NYSE : AFL

61. Starz rival : HBO

62. Kellogg School deg. : M.B.A. At Northwestern U.

63. Some retirement acct. holdings : CDS. Certificates of Deposit. I always thought these kinds of abbreviations should be rendered as "CsD" for example, but no-one agrees with me.

Just time to tack on the grid and that should do it for me today.

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy birthday to our cool Jazzbumpa (Ron), who's taking December off from blogging to focus on his rehearsals and other activities. Hope you don't mind, Ron, I snipped this picture from your Facebook. It's taken by one of his friends. Ron often posts sweet pictures about his family on Facebook, so does our Steve. Wish you could see his Mexico beach & swim-up bar pictures.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016, Matt Skoczen

A very nice diversion on the 75th anniversary of this momentous event in our history - LEST WE FORGET

TITLE: I DON'T WANT A FREE CRUISE!

Matt has built this offering around one of the most annoying occurrences in the digital age: POP UP ADS. As you can see in the grid below he has the word ADS popping UP in four areas.

Here is his reveal:

39. Web irritants ... and what appears in each set of puzzle circles? : POP UP ADS - Here is one that visits my MacBook Pro too often!

Husker Gary here, blogging for the very busy Jazzbumpa for December. Here are Matt's theme entries where ADS pops up in the puzzle, (okay, horizontally here, but still...)

3. "Pillow Talk" actress : DORIS DAY - The most famous scene from that movie

9. Museum pieces : OBJETS D'ART - Straight from Amazon

26. Brand of blended seasonings : MRS DASH - Those seasonings are onion, spices (black pepper, parsley, celery seed, basil, bay marjoram, oregano, savory, cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin mustard, rosemary) garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato, lemon juice powder, citric acid, oil of lemon

31. Population information : CENSUS DATA - States sized by population. Can you find yours?

Let's see what else POPS UP in Matt's puzzle on this day:

Across

1. Kind of basin : TIDAL

6. State secrets? : RAT - State is a verb here

9. Intense dislike : ODIUM - Coincidence?

14. Act poorly? : EMOTE, usually in 61. Stage performances : PLAYS

15. Run a tab, say : OWE

16. Words between two "thanks" : BUT NO

17. Chef protector : APRON

8. With 18-Across, Southwestern cuisine : TEX 18. See 8-Down : MEX - Muy sabrosa (very tasty)

19. Floorboard support : JOIST - Pre-made floor JOISTS

20. Many a Sundance film : INDIE

22. Rent payer : LESSEE

23. Registered names: Abbr. : TMS - Trademarks - as in

25. Action at the front : COMBAT

28. H.S. hurdle : SAT

29. Adorn : BEDECK - Tis the Season!

32. Comical punctuation marks from the drummer : RIM SHOTS

34. Marshy lowland : SWALE - SWAMPS and SWALES are now Wetlands

35. Chihuahua, por ejemplo : ESTADO - Just south of the Estados Unidos

36. "__ Eyes": Eagles hit : LYIN - Groucho in Duck Soup - "Who are ya gonna believe, Me or your LYIN' eyes"

37. '60s campus gp. : SDS

38. Hieroglyphics reptiles : ASPS

41. "Do __, not ... " : AS I SAY - "...as I do" - Standard parental advice

43. Work on, as a stubborn squeak : REOIL - Yikes! I thought I saw ENOIL coming...

45. Tablets' kin : CAPSULES

48. Swingline insert : STAPLE - Then insert it in Jello

49. 2,170-mi. trail terminus : ORE - Lewis and Clark went 3,700 mi. to get to OREGON

50. Walk with style : SASHAY

52. Luau music provider : UKE where you'll probably see a 59. Aromatic necklace : LEI

53. Wanting too much : GREEDY

55. Pry : SNOOP

58. Cookie named for its flavor : 'NILLA

64. Words after miss or skip : A BEAT

65. Resting place : BED

66. Down source : EIDER

67. Singer Bruni married to Nicolas Sarkozy : CARLA - Former model married to former French president

68. Morning cuppa : JOE - I miss our blog's Avg. JOE

69. Amounts to : COSTS


Down

1. Leaves in a bag : TEA - Conniseurs here like C.C., Steve, et al would only use loose leaf tea as seen in this double-walled modern Chinese vessel called a gaiwan

2. Prankster : IMP

4. Lots : A TON

5. Provide with for a time : LEND

6. Montague lad : ROMEO

7. Blow away : AWE

10. Lucy and Ethel and Thelma and Louise : DUOS

11. "Indeed!" : IT IS SO - Picard's command for this

12. Oust, in a way : UNSEAT - It is rare when a member of the Senate is UNSEATED

13. Church choral works : MOTETS

21. "Eww!" : ICK

22. Tibetan title : LAMA

23. "Angie Tribeca" channel : TBS

24. Weak cry : MEWL

27. Itsy-__ : BITSY - Nah, I'm not gonna link "that song"

30. Inventor Howe : ELIAS - An interesting look at this process

33. Book after Daniel : HOSEA  - The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah, and during the reign Jeroboam son jehoash King of Israel. Oh, THAT HOSEA!

35. Ulysses threesome? : ESSES - How would Daffy Duck pronounce those 3 S's

40. __-screen printing : SILK 

42. Faulkner's "As __ Dying" : I LAY - Title from Agamemnon's speech to Odysseus. Yeah, I knew that. :-)

44. Actor Marvin of "Cat Ballou" : LEE - "Mr Shileen, Mr. Shileen, your eyes are all bloodshot!"
"You ought see 'em from my side!"

45. Courvoisier, e.g. : COGNAC

46. Speedy Gonzales cry : ARRIBA - Spanish for "UP". "ARRIBA, ARRIBA, Andale, Andale" means "Get up let's go!"

47. Kitchen gadget : PEELER

48. OED entry : SYN - Poecilonym is a SYNONYM for, uh, SYNONYM

51. Words for the audience : ASIDE

54. Hebrew for "skyward" : ELAL

56. Oil bloc : OPEC

57. Hodgepodge : OLIO

59. Pres. sworn in on Air Force One : LBJ

60. Job listing ltrs. : EEO

62. "Is it soup __?" : YET

63. Fourth-yr. students : SRS

I'm sure your comments that will POP UP now will be anything but irritating.

Husker Gary

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Windhover, who joined this blog earlier on. How are things with you, Windhover?

Windhover & Lucina, July 24, 2015