Sunday June 11, 2017 James Sajdak

Theme:  "Getting Old" - AGE is added to each familiar phrase.

23A. "Reduce, reuse, recycle"? : MESSAGE OF GREENS. Mess of greens. New term to me. Looks like just collard greens. Notice GREENS changes meaning also.

32A. Harm caused by some lodge builders? : BEAVER DAMAGE. Beaver Dam. Beaver remains the same.

47A. Black Friday scene? : ENTRY RAMPAGE. Vivid picture. Entry ramp.. Entry remains the same, in a way.

64A. Shredder fodder? : CLERICAL GARBAGE. Clerical garb. Clerical changes also.

82A. Inventory alert at the highway sign supplier? : STOP SHORTAGE. Stop short. Not much change.

98A. Aromatic oils? : MASSAGE MEDIA. Mass media. Media changes also.

111A. Saw you can't discuss publicly? : CLASSIFIED ADAGE. Classified ad. Classified changes meaning.

Two AGEs are attached to ends of the first words, five the second words. Consistent. No odd man out. I like when the non-key word change meanings also.

So nice to have James Sajdak back again. He is one of those very few constructors who're good at both themed and themeless grids.

Across:

    
1. Actually existing : IN ESSE

7. Bottle in a playpen? : BABA Just baby talk.

11. [Not my mistake] : SIC

14. Six-time NBA All-Star Stoudemire : AMAR'E. Can never remember his name.

19. Beethoven's "Appassionata," e.g. : SONATA

20. Designer Cassini : OLEG

21. Anguish : WOE

22. Meet competitor : MILER

26. "__ Mio" : O SOLE,  "My sunshine."

27. Involving a lot of tossing, perhaps : SLEEPLESS. Motrin PM helps Boomer.

28. Go wrong : ERR

29. Stunt setting : AIR SHOW

31. About six weeks on the liturgical calendar : LENT

34. Cod and others : CAPES
 
37. Ups : RAISES

38. Tap output : ALES

39. Mantilla material : LACE. Mantilla is a new word to me.

40. Teach improperly? : LEARN. I don't get this clue.

42. Pejorative : SLUR

44. Half a score, or a perfect one : TEN. Nice clue.

51. On topic : GERMANE

54. Gets going : INITIATES

55. First name in Solidarity : LECH (Walesa)

58. It may be set in stages : OATER

59. Certain dancer's accessory : FAN. Fan dance. We also have 65. Half a dance : CAN

60. In any way : EVER

61. Michelangelo work : PIETA. In St. Peter's Basilica

63. Unborn, after "in" : UTERO

68. "Heavens!" : OH GOD!

71. Tasteless : TACKY

72. Swear words : OATH

73. Got an __: aced : A ON.  Filled in AN A. Not reading the clue.

76. Gold standard : KARAT. Also 80. Good as gold, e.g. : ANALOGY

77. Went under : SANK

78. Means more than : OUTWEIGHS

85. NFL advances : YDs

86. Actor Morales : ESAI

89. They come from têtes : IDEES. Followed by 90. Sans opposite : AVEC

91. Season, in a way : SALT

94. Got into the market : TRADED

96. Gay song locale : PAREE. Gay Paree. Cheerful Paris.


101. Pelts : FURS

103. Problem when using a well? : INK SPOT. Inkwell! Not the well problem of TTP's neighbor.

104. Sheltered side : LEE

105. 1898 Dewey victory site : MANILA BAY. Learning moment for me. George Dewey. I only know Dewey in Dewey Defeats Truman guy.

110. Airheads : TWITS

114. Late, in Los Cabos : TARDE. Probably same root as our TARDY.


115. Farm layer : HEN
 
116. River to the Caspian : URAL

117. Evasive tactic : END RUN

118. Guatemala girls: Abbr. : SRTAs

119. "Go on ... " : AND

120. Hand off : PASS

121. Boundary marks : STAKES

Down:

1. Beliefs : ISMS

2. Coward often quoted : NOEL. Noel Coward.

3. Massachusetts motto opener : ENSE. "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem". Mouthful. OK, it means "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty."

4. Freelancer's enc. : SASE

5. Gun insert : STAPLE. Staple gun.

6. "Tequila Sunrise" group : EAGLES

7. Lift : BOOST

8. UFO pilots : ALFs. ALF stands for Alien Life Form. Got via crosses.

9. Request a pardon? : BEG

10. Seeing eye to eye : AGREEING

11. Changes course suddenly : SWERVES

12. It's charged : ION

13. Activist Chavez : CESAR

14. Seeing no evil? : AMORAL. Nice clue also.

15. Long-distance lover's question : MISS ME?

16. Nickname based on a salutation : ALOHA STATE. Also 70. Island entertainment symbol : GRASS SKIRT. These ladies seem to have fun.

17. Enter again : RE-LOG

18. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron : ERE WE

24. Bard's nightfall : EEN

25. Significant times : ERAS

30. "__ you to try it!" : I DARE

32. Vamp Theda : BARA. Our old friend is back.

33. Community coll. class : ESL

34. Tropical plant with large foliage : CANNA. Another learning moment for me.

35. Join the cast of : ACT IN

36. Sassy : PERT

37. Gavel sounds : RAPs

39. Adventurer Ericson : LEIF. Second son of  Erik the Red.

40. More recent : LATER

41. Professor __ : EMERITA

43. "Gross!" : UGH

45. Cabinet dept. formed under Carter : ENER. Slight clue dupe with 64. Energy source : COAL

46. Lyre-playing emperor : NERO

48. Retreat in the face of : YIELD TO. Look, this big tree yielded to my kick.

49. Wild party : RAVE

50. Formal lament : ELEGY

52. Less polished : ROUGHER

53. Game-ending call : MATE. Oh, checkmate.

56. Pilot's announcement: Abbr. : ETA

57. Do some serious bar-hopping : CAROUSE. Good old days.

61. Scout carriers : PACKS

62. Type : ILK

66. Realty ad count : BATHS

67. Lawrence Welk's upbeat : A TWO

68. Approve : OKAY

69. Set of cards : HAND

73. Mescal source : AGAVE

74. "Wow!" : OH GEE.  I shouted "oh, wow" a few times after D-Otto showed me some mad programming skill. Boomer asked me "So, what's Tom's bowling average?"

75. Infinitesimal span, for short : NSEC

77. PBS part: Abbr. : SYS. Error, right? PBS has no System. Public Broadcasting Service.

78. Piece of one's mind? : OP-ED

79. __-Tass : ITAR

81. Start : GET GO

83. Prepares for guests : TIDIES UP. Our house is quite messy.

84. Classical theaters : ODEA. Also learned from doing crosswords.

87. Bill passer? : ATM. Great clue.

88. Swift's birthplace : IRELAND. Jonathan Swift. Not Taylor.

92. Legal drama fig. : ASST DA

93. Lost moments : LAPSES

95. Citrus drinks : ADEs

96. Serengeti families : PRIDES. Lions.

97. Not upright : ASLANT

98. Diamond equipment : MITTS. By the way, TTP was right last week. This catcher is A. J.

99. Co-Nobelist with Menachem : ANWAR

100. __ Sketch : ETCH A

101. Some are epic : FAILS

102. Article in Le Monde? : UNE. DES/LES too.

105. Curators' credentials, on a C.V. : MFAs

106. "__ dash of ... ": recipe words : ADD A

107. Request for Alpo? : BARK

108. Feverish feeling : AGUE

109. Itches : YENS

112. Quarterback Dawson : LEN. Hall of Famer.

113. Novelist Levin : IRA

Looking forward to seeing some of you at the Sixth Minnesota Crossword Tournament this afternoon. 

C.C.

Saturday, Jun 10th, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!!!

Words: 72 (missing H,J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 33

  Another Saturday offering from our prolific blog hostess, C.C.  By my count, this is her 23rd puzzle ( some with contributors ) for the LA Times this year.  The last Saturday grid was back in February, and I went back and looked it over - that one went fairly easy, and today's was about the same.  I did not have much in the way of answers for the long fill, but some of the shorter ones gave me some traction, and it went from there.  Just one crummy cell which would not cooperate.  Triple 10s across, nearly triple 9s in the down;

1a. One who may start a rally : LEAD-OFF MAN - no good C.C. puzzle could "lead off" with anything less than a baseball clue.  As for hockey, we're down to one, perhaps two more games ( I hope ) before the Stanley Cup is awarded, and then it's a tough wait until October

54a. Persevere : GRIND IT OUT

11. Luxury resort amenity : SWIM-UP BAR

 Never got the chance - see 42d.

29. Comparative Web traffic statistic : ALEXA RANK - I have Alexa (Echo), and I think it's the coolest thing I own which I only use about 10% effectively - I see there's a book for getting the most out of Alexa.  As far as the "RANK" is concerned, more here

I was looking for some video clips, but every time the host in the clip asked his Alexa something, my Alexa answered.  So I said "Alexa, surely you can't be serious", to which she responded "I am always serious, and don't call me Shirley"

ONWARD technology~!

ACROSS:

11. Borg's land: Abbr. : SWEden - Did think Star Trek:TNG at first ("computer, is your great grandmother Alexa~?"), but decided it was much more Earthly, so I went with GERmany, recognizing that it was a "town" title, but pondered DENmark, etc., too. 

14. Crunchy chocolate-covered candy brand : ALMOND ROCA - huh, never heard of it

15. Pull : SWAY - similar clue last week, and my first thought "YANK" did not "play" well with others

16. Meets expectations : MEASURES UP

17. Reference : CITE

18. Golf course units : ACRES - I tried HOLES first

19. AutoZone brand : STP

20. "Hannibal" co-screenwriter David : MAMET - filled via perps

21. Chateau __ Michelle winery : STE - WAG on the "E"

22. Luge medium : ICE

23. Put in stitches : SUTURE - not the humorous definition

24. Gmail lifesaver : UNDO SEND - undo delete is all I use - undo send sounds potentially hazardous

27. Network debut of 1970 : PBS - well, the "B" was there, and I figured CbS was wrong, maybe BBC;  naw, TBS~?  Oh, PBS. 

28. Group of experts : PANEL - my first thought, but I hesitated

30. Expedia shopper's plan : TRIP

31. Took the worm : BIT

32. Banned : ILLEGAL

34. Online game figures : AVATARS

36. Miss identification? : NÉE

37. Fivers : ABES - oops, not FINS

39. Jacquie Lawson online offering : eCARD

40. Office fixture : FAX 

41. Addresses capped at 18 minutes : TED TALKS - I had an idea what this referred to, but waited for some perps

43. Fashion house founder Marant : ISABEL - an "all perps" fill

45. Golf's "Big Easy" : ELS - professional golfer Ernie Els - crossword staple

46. Parisian pronoun : SEs - Frawnche for "himself"

49. __ Circus: ancient Roman arena : NERO'S - the "R" was my last fill, and the crossing had me baffled

50. Beach top : BRA - with a cross-reference at; 9d. Small 50-Across size : A-CUP

51. Seasonal temp : SANTA - argh, this one gets me all the time.  A temporary employee, at the mall, say

53. "My word!" : "I SAY~!"

56. Mint holders : TINS - because PILLOWS didn't fit

57. Preliminary research procedure : PILOT STUDY - always makes me think of the second scene in Pulp Fiction where Jules tries to explain a "pilot" TV show to Vincent

58. Bug big-time : IRK

59. "I'm with you, girl!" : "AMEN, SISTER~!"

DOWN:

1. Monastery figures : LAMAS - MONKS seemed too easy for Saturday

2. Choose : ELECT

3. Italian love infinitive : AMARE - oops, not amOre

4. Healthy amount? : DOSE

5. Heavy load : ONUS

6. Coin profile since 1946 : FDR

7. Work on a ceiling : FRESCO - the noun, not the verb

8. Top hostess' asset? : MOSTEST - Dammit, I could not find a usable clip of Bobbi Flekman from Spinal Tap for this clue - I even tried to make a meme, but that didn't work, either.

10. One may be taken under a tree : NAP - I take one every day - but not under a tree - my day is two shifts, both starting at 3 o'clock; first in the AM, then in the PM

12. Crane, e.g. : WATERBIRD

13. Some licensing requirements : EYE TESTS

15. ''Shoo!'' : SCAT

20. Facial treatment : MUDPACK

22. Avery product : ID LABEL -I use their business cards for making my game play cards in demos, and their iron-on transfers to make my own T-shirts

Poker night shirt - good distraction

23. Relatives of whimpers : SNIVELS

24. Article in Vogue Paris : UNE - more Frawnche

25. Cancels out : NEGATES

26. Stalin __ : ERA

28. Start of a Dickensian request : PLEASE, SIR - may I have some more~?

32. Q50, e.g. : INFINITI - I recognized this car model right away

33. Took control : LED

35. UCLA aides : TAs

38. Unproductive : STERILE - ah, that kind of unproductive

42. 12-step offshoot : AL-ANON - two "self-help" references in today's grid; this one paired next to; 55d. Rehab woe : DTs - personally, they happened in detox, not rehab.  I spent 13 months in a sober house, got the state of NY to pay for my AA ( no joke ) degree in AutoCAD drafting

44. Blue-clad youngsters? : BOYS - as opposed to the 'pink-clad' girls

46. Babe feature : SNOUT - Babe, the famous pig.  I like the babe's feature above - BTW, I have not "missed a week" - I merely threw deception into the mix when I posted a pantyhose legs pic on May 27th, but directed your attention to back dimples....

47. Practice piece : ETUDE

48. Pan pal : SATYR - clever clue

50. Panama border? : BRIM - the hat, not the country/canal

51. "Certainly, señor!" : "SI, SI~!"  - A si si for C. C.~!?!?

52. "The Good Wife" figs. : ATTorneyS - never watched the show

54. Coll. admissions criterion : GPA

Splynter

Friday, June 9, 2017, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: G, take T and see!

Our second puzzle from David, with his LAT debut a Friday in December last year. He began then by adding "EX" to phrases, and returns with a replace a letter - G becomes T -  which is revealed by the perfect G IS T (gist).  We have no other consistency, with three 3 letter second words, one with the first letter changed in the first word, one with the last letter in the first word and one with a middle letter.  We have six themers and the reveal to give us a packed puzzle, with little room for long sparkly fill.  This filled without any complete unknowns and the long non-theme fill, CRAYOLA, SEATTLE, RAMPANT, SARCASM, PRECINCT and IT'S A DEAL were all gettable.  let's look at the puzzle.

17A. Sports geek get-togethers? : STAT PARTIES (11). StaG Parties are no longer PC.

25A. Halloween decoration? : PAPER BAT (8).  Paper BaG. Want to make your own?

32A. Longhair cat's monotonous routine? : PERSIAN RUT (10). Persian RuG.  Very cute.

43A. Last one left angrily carrying on? : LONE RANTER (10). Lone RanGer. The only soft G.

48A. Imperfection in a pointillist painting? : STRAY DOT (8). Stray DoG. 

61A. Moral? : TALE WARNING (11). Gale warning. 

The reveal

69A. Essence ... and, read differently, a hint to six puzzle answers : GIST (4). 62 theme squares.

 Across: 

1. Dirt removal method : BATH. Very fun clue, so simple but like the soap, very slippery.

5. Like much religious music : CHORAL. Choral, chorale, choir, and chorus stand in obvious relationship to one another and are in some respects used interchangeably when a body of singers, for example, is referred to as a choir, a chorus (Latin noun derived from the Greek word choros), or a chorale, which properly is a Lutheran hymn tune. (Britannica).

11. Uncooked : RAW.

14. It replaced the Cypriot pound : EURO. I did not even know Cyprus used the Pound.

15. Go back : RENEGE. A word I learned playing bridge, which has nothing to do with the clue here.

16. Stumble : ERR. "To stumble is human", just does not have the same ring.

19. Gardening tool : HOE. I wonder if Santa uses one in his garden.

20. Upper part : TOP. Tempting to link something, some would like to...

21. Keep an __ : EYE ON.

22. Pesters online, in a way : SPAMS.

24. Wall St. event : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

27. Western city named for a Suquamish chief : SEATTLE. Apparently he was Chief of this TRIBE.

31. Witness : SEE.

35. Throw : CAST. Your bread upon the water....

39. Early computer : ENIAC. You must know this by now.

40. Hound over a debt : DUN. Do people still refer to dunning letters?

41. Agile : LITHE.

42. Group of two : DYAD. From Latin and Greek root.

45. Job ad abbr. : EOE. Equal Opportunity Employer.

47. Feature of many negative reviews : SARCASM. Sarcasm is not always negative.

53. Corp. leaders : MGT. Management.

54. Greets : HAILS.

55. Feel around : GROPE.

57. Printemps month : MAI. French for Spring and May.

60. Addams family cousin : ITT. I could not find one with Fester wearing a Fez.

64. Tasseled hat : FEZ.

65. Pair of ones? : ELEVEN. I have seen it before but still tricky.

66. Wary of : ON TO.

67. Test : TRY.

68. Fight against : RESIST.


Down:

1. Leading : BEST. The beginning was slow for such easy words, but the nearby fill was fiar.

2. Car : AUTO.

3. Door in the floor : TRAP. Did any of you fall for this clue?

4. Sweating, maybe : HOT. Perfect clue for summer.

5. Tropical Rain Forest seller since 1993 : CRAYOLA. Is this a single color or a set of greens?

6. "__ we go!" : HERE.

7. Leading : ON TOP. See 20A, 21A, 66A....

8. Spanish queen : REINA. I learned this Spanish word from puzzles.

9. Birthday count : AGE. How many put the correct number of candles on the cake?

10. Car user, maybe : LESSEE.

11. Detox locale : REHAB. I guess, since people are always going to rehab.

12. Draw from the oven : AROMA.

13. Take forcibly : WREST.

18. Digestive : PEPTIC. "...relating to digestion, especially that in which pepsin is concerned." Pepsin being a key digestive enzyme.

23. Administrative district : PRECINCT. There are voting precincts, police precincts....

24. Words spoken while shaking : IT'S A DEAL. Handshaking. Nice clue.

26. Winter hrs. in Berkeley : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

27. Went fast : SPED.

28. Bitty : EENY. My thought...LINK.

29. "Nessun dorma," e.g. : ARIA. I never saw this clue until I was doing the write up; as stated it means nothing so...

30. Prefix with scope : ENDO. Endoscopy is a very important tool in modern medicine.

33. Race : RUN.

34. Quelques-__: a few, in French : UNES. If you do not speak French this is difficult.

36. "__ boy!" : ATTA.

37. Females : SHES.

38. Period : TERM.

41. Like L vis-à-vis XL, in some cases : LARGER. Did you size this one up?

43. Set the pace : LED. In the race...

44. Widespread : RAMPANT.

46. Bivalve at a bar : OYSTER. I spent way too much time trying to come up with the punch line to, " A bivalve burrowed in to an oyster bar...."

48. Nine to five, e.g. : SHIFT.

49. Spud : TATER.

50. Posh : RITZY.

51. Looks at in a bad way? : OGLES. Okay this matches with 57A. Revealing attire : MINI. LINK.

52. Rome's Fontana di __ : TREVI. This has appeared in many movies.

56. Is indebted to : OWES.

58. Social climbers? : ANTS. More like anti-social.

59. "__ Rhythm" : I GOT.. This was one of the musicals my sons appeared in during high school.

62. Pub offering : ALE.

63. Frothy quaff : NOG. Frothy? RECIPE.

Well another Friday in the record books; I found it very doable but YMMV. Have a great week end and then get ready for Father's Day and the U.S. Open without Phil, who will be at his daughter's high school graduation. Thanks David.

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few pictures of Lemonade's beautiful granddaughters Charlotte and Harper. You can also click here for all the Charlotte/Harper pictures we've shown on our blog. I smile every time I look at that lemonade stand.

Charlotte 2017 Dance Recital

Harper Does Slow Down

The Girls 2016

The Girls, June 2017

Thursday, June 8 2017 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Cervantes Shout-Out - all the theme answers are connected by the protagonist in Miguel's two-part classic novel "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha"

17A. 60-Across' noble status : KNIGHTHOOD. Possibly self-appointed though.

24A. 60-Across' home : LA MANCHA. "Somewhere in La Mancha in a place I do not care to remember ..."

49A. 60-Across' beloved : DULCINEA. "... her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory ..."

60A. Classic character whose exploits inspired the phrase in this puzzle's circles : DON QUIXOTE

Here he is doing that very thing:

Buenos dias! Jeffrey takes us on a literary tour with his theme, and nicely done. Four solid theme entries and a 15-letter diagonal grid-spanner gives the puzzle a nice structure. Two pairs of 9's in the downs underpin a really nice construction. I basically solved this in an anti-clockwise direction finishing up with HANES.

In a fun coincidence, Terry Gilliam, the ex-Monty Python actor and noted film director, announced on Tuesday that he had finally finished his Don Quixote movie, which was 17 years in the making and was such a disastrous production that the attempts to make it were themselves the subject of a documentary. Here's the full tale, courtesy of The Guardian newspaper.

Across:

1. Sting, essentially : TRAP.

5. Wingding : BASH. Or one of the symbols in the Wingdings font in Microsoft Word.

9. Word often improperly punctuated : ITS. Drives me nuts. It's, its. Use the mnemonic "It's an apostrophe" if you're not sure.

12. Small stream : RILL

13. Satellite radio giant : SIRIUS. It's actually SiriusXM. Not sure I like the clue.

15. "__ lied" : SO I

16. Jackie Robinson Stadium sch. team : UCLA. You can see the field from the 405 freeway in Westwood.

19. "Bother someone else!" : SCAT!

20. Footnote term : IDEM. "The same" to reference a previously-cited source.

21. Collagist's supply : PASTE. This didn't come easily. Pasting collage materials onto the work.

22. Musical impediment : TIN EAR

26. Well-suited : APT

27. "O god of battles! __ my soldiers' hearts": Henry V : STEEL. I tried STILL first, and then realized that's probably not what Henry would want to happen to his army.

28. Be obstreperous : ACT UP

31. White House section : WING

34. Bunch : SLEW

36. See 42-Down : D'OR. Just to annoy the cross-reference dislikers even more, this two-parter even comes out of order. I've never heard of the opera, but high school French lessons rendered the translation without any great effort.

37. Bringers of great relief : SAVIORS

40. Spanish pronoun : ESO

41. ESPN's Hershiser : OREL

43. Johnny who was the last pitcher to face Babe Ruth : SAIN. The Boston Braves didn't have much depth in pitching, hence "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain".

First we'll use Spahn

then we'll use Sain

Then an off day

followed by rain

Back will come Spahn

followed by Sain

And followed

we hope

by two days of rain.

44. Catcher on the ranch : LASSO

46. Thinks : DEEMS

48. Racket : DIN

52. "Turn up the thermostat!" : I'M COLD!

56. Hunter on high : ORION. One of the more recognizable constellations.

57. Wolverine, for one : X-MAN

59. Hipbone prefix : ILIO-

62. Some annexes : ELLS

63. Santana's "__ Como Va" : OYE. First recorded by Tito Puente back in 1963. Carlos' version is the best known.

64. Hurries : SCOOTS

65. Khartoum waterway : NILE

66. Sautéing sound : SSS

67. Top 500? : INDY. Nice clue. King of the 500-lap races, the Indianapolis 500.

68. Hole starters : TEES

Down:

1. Many a charitable organization : TRUST

2. "The Addams Family" film actress : RICCI. Christina Ricci played Wednesday Addams.

3. Macabre fiction middle name : ALLAN. Edgar Poe.

4. Almost all of Tibet : PLATEAU. The bit of Tibet that isn't on the plateau is decidedly hilly. Or Himalayan, if you prefer.

5. Tight spot : BIND

6. Disney mermaid : ARIEL. I always hesitate deciding between an E and an A.

7. Summation symbol in math : SIGMA

8. "Come again?" : HUH?

9. Like some triangles : ISOSCELES. Took me a couple of cracks to spell this correctly.

10. Ineffective : TOOTHLESS. Dentist visit today. I hope I don't come back in this condition.

11. Record half : SIDE A

13. Part of a Girl Scout uniform : SKIRT. Really? Can't they wear shorts?

14. Mar. honoree : ST. PAT. St. Patrick more formally. NEVER St. Patty.

18. Playtex sister brand : HANES. News to me.

23. They run on cells : APPS. Cellphones. Tricky little clue.

25. Catholic title: Abbr. : MSGR. Monsignor. Big cheeses, but not as big cheeses as the cardinals or the Pope.

28. Fuss : ADO

29. Pants with texture : CORDUROYS. It's not from "Corde du Roi", contrary to popular opinion.

30. Natural boundaries : TREELINES

31. One of two states formed during the U.S. Civil War : W. VA. I didn't need crosses for this. Yay me!

32. Sundial marking : III. I never understand why VIII is allowed on clocks and sundials, because it breaks the roman numeral rules. It should be IIX.

33. Payment beginning? : NON-

35. Try to win : WOO

38. Gp. with common interests : ASSN.

39. Long, as odds : SLIM

42. With 36-Across, French title of a Rimsky-Korsakov opera that translates to "The Golden Rooster" : LE COQ. Here's a bottle of pineau, an aperitif  from the Cognac region of France.

45. __ history : ANCIENT

47. Without : MINUS

48. Eats well : DINES

49. Extinct birds : DODOS

50. Half a 1999 gas merger : EXXON. Merged with Mobil. The deal was announced in 1998, but closed in 1999.

51. In __: sullen : A MOOD. What if you're in a good mood? Can't you be "in a mood" and happy?

53. Stan's partner : OLLIE

54. De Gaulle's birthplace : LILLE. Nice place, close to the Belgian border.

55. Prescription indications : DOSES

58. DOJ employee : ATTY.

61. Here, in Le Havre : ICI. Quite a bit of French today.

Fin. C'est tout, mes amis!

Étienne

Notes from C.C.: 

 

The Sixth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held at the beautiful Landmark Center in Saint Paul on Sunday, June 11, 2017. 

Constructors include our puzzle master Jeffrey Jeffrey Wechsler, Christopher Adams, George Barany, Victor Barocas (also our editor), David Hanson, Andy Kravis, Mark McClain, Andrea Carla Michaels, David Liben-Nowell, Tom Pepper and Andrew J. Ries.

Jeffrey is  flying to St. Paul again this year to help the tournament. Thank you so much, Jeffrey, you're the best!

Wednesday, June 7, 2017, Jake Halperin

TITLE: TOMAYTO/TOMAHTO

I was once part of a committee that spent two hours SPLITTING HAIRS (especially about prepositions) on the wording of the our school's mission statement. Two hours spent on a banality which serves no purpose is time I will never get back. I'll bet you've got a story like that too.

Husker Gary here for our midweek odyessy where Jake has taken the word HAIR and SPLIT it in as many unique ways as he could - 1/3, 2/2 and 3/1 as you see below:

Those SPLIT HAIRS provide the beginning and end of theme fills and satisfy the reveal of

59. Make petty distinctions ... and what 17-, 23- and 49-Across literally do? : SPLIT HAIRS - As some think this is

Here is the balance of Jake's theme answers:

17. Handyman's maintenance field : HOME REPAIR - After our recent hailstorm, we have been contacted aggressively by four companies for this HOME REPAIR

23. Ensemble of ringers : HANDBELL CHOIR - Just remember your color

49. Unofficial Caribbean currency equal to 5 gourdes : HAITIAN DOLLAR - 660 gourdes = 152 HATIAN DOLLARS = $10.48 in Port au Prince - Lundi au Jeudi (Monday to Thursday)! 

Now let's see what else Jake has given us with this fun, er enjoyable (Let's not split hairs) puzzle


Across

1. Bygone Apple laptop : IBOOK - Don't like your Apple product? Just wait a minute

6. Verge : CUSP

10. Actress Fey : TINA

14. Italian grandma : NONNA - La NONNA è meraviglioso (Grandma is wonderful)

15. Price for part of a deck? : ANTE - Fun cluing for a veteran of the crossword wars

16. "(I've Got __ in) Kalamazoo" : A GAL - Okay, HANDBELL CHOIR, who wants the F#?

19. Story line : PLOT - To whom did Don and Phil sing, "The movie wasn't so hot, It didn't have much of a PLOT" in 1957?

20. 17th-century English poet John : DRYDEN - Not on my literary radar

21. Flexible : LISSOME - Me 50 years ago

26. Cunning plan : PLOY

28. "The Night Manager" actor Hiddleston : TOM - It would appear that Tom is not managing a Motel 6 in Omaha

29. MAX rival : SHO

30. Persistent noise : DIN - One man's DIN...

31. Polishes, as a skill : HONES

33. Team victory cry : WE WON - Like a gazillion people said last year when the Cubs won

37. Botanist's study : FLORA - As opposed the zoologist who studies FAUNA

39. Stat for Clayton Kershaw : ERA - Earned Run Average. All right, get a bat and you try to stay in against Kershaw's curveball which he has HONED to a fine skill.

40. "Same here" : AS AM I - I couldn't hit that curve either

41. Soda machine freebie : STRAW - How you dispose of the wrapper after the straw is dispensed is optional

42. Smooths, as wood : SANDS

44. Sardine container : TIN - Or aluminum

45. Disconnect between generations : GAP

47. Unclogging agent : LYE

48. Fountain of jazz : PETE

54. Bailiff's bellow : ALL RISE

55. Engineer who reinvented the wheel? : FERRIS - He was inducted into their Hall Of Fame 105 years after his Wheel first operated

58. Boxer Oscar __ Hoya : DELA

62. Lacking precipitation : ARID

63. Stride at a track : GAIT - The odd GAIT of Olympic Walk Racing - One foot must always be on the ground at all times

64. One doing sums : ADDER

65. Strengthen, as muscles : TONE

66. See 50-Down : OLDS

67. Orchestra section : REEDS - They are seated in the middle. Woodwinds, if you want to split hairs. 😁

Down

1. How many TV shows air : IN HD

2. Mannerless sort : BOOR

3. Start of the Boy Scout Oath and the Girl Scout Promise : ON MY HONOR

4. At some point : ONE DAY - Put the word FINE in the middle and you have a great 1963 song

5. Actress Gillan of "Guardians of the Galaxy" : KAREN - Not on my cinematic radar 

6. Cough syrup cover : CAP

7. Italian article : UNA

8. Even now : STILL

9. Possibilities of harm : PERILS

10. Astaire footwear : TAP SHOES

11. Snow structure : IGLOO

12. Watts of "Mulholland Dr." : NAOMI - I saw this on NETFLIX and when I saw there was only a few minutes left, I knew there would be no resolution to all the bizzare parts. I guess that is standard for David Lynch films.

13. Rework : ALTER

18. Put an __: stop : END TO

22. Pair in "America" : SCHWAS - Unstressed vowels - symbol = ə pronounced like the uh's below

24. Skin partner : BONES

25. May birthstone : EMERALD

26. Sharable digital docs : PDFS

27. Bouncy rhythm : LILT

31. Only state which shares a time zone with Alaska : HAWAII - This part of Alaska

32. Panasonic acquisition of 2009 : SANYO

34. Disneyland's Splash Mountain, e.g. : WATER RIDE - Wheeeeee!

35. Filter out : OMIT

36. Back-row bowling pin : NINE - You bowlers know that leaving this for left handers is called a "tap"

38. Clothing industry, casually : RAG TRADE

43. Dutch pottery city : DELFT - It's cluing will probably never be "Hometown of microscope inventor Antonie van Leeuwenhoek" 

46. Complete a Monopoly circuit : PASS GO - Just like teachers, you get money for just completing a circuit/year

48. Veterans Day event : PARADE

49. Threw oneself into : HAD AT

50. Last car made by 66-Across : ALERO

51. Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be __" : ILLIN - Anyone think it's splitting hairs to insist on standard English?

52. Himalayan country : NEPAL - Your trip up Everest starts with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal's unsafe airport. But, hey, if you're climbing Everest...

53. Operettist Franz : LEHAR

56. Boiling with rage : IRED - Yeah, but still cute!

57. Union members until 1991: Abbr. : SSRS

60. Can cover : LID

61. "__ only me!" : IT'S - Okay, grammarian hair splitters, would you say, "It's only I"?

The ability to SPLIT HAIRS is part of the fun in this venue. Let's see what you have to say/opine/state/muse...