Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 Thomas Takaro

Theme: "Your Eyes Become You" - I is replaced by U in each theme entry.

23A. Traffic jam? : MUDDLE OF THE ROAD. Middle of the road.

33A. Serve leftover rolls? : RECYCLE BUNS. Recycle bins

42A. Dispute over young flowers? : BUDDING WAR. Bidding war.

59A. Last pat? : THE BUTTER END. The bitter end.

68A. Coin-making tool? : PENNY PUNCHER. Penny-pincher.
 
84A. Mediocre deli item? : DULL PICKLE. Dill pickle.

93A. Mallard's beard? : DUCK VAN DYKE. Dick Van Dyke.

107A. Pair of vehicles in a plot? : TWO CAR COLLUSION. Two-car collision.
 
15D. Viking descendant on a rampage? : NORMAN MAULER. Norman Mailer.

59D. "Don't forget the rubber disk"? : TAKE YOUR PUCK. Take your pick.

This puzzle has 10 theme entries, occupying total 120 squares. Very heavy in themeage. I don't think I've blogged a 120-themer before.

Rich's minimum requirement is 84. Tough to fill a grid cleanly when the theme entries have over 100 squares. 120 is much much tougher, hence the 88 black squares.

This is also Thomas's first Sunday puzzle. Congratulations!

Across:
       
1. Ball stars : DEBS

5. Baseball's Hammerin' Hank : AARON. And 30. 5-Across broke his record, with "The" : BABE. Home run record. 715. That ball must be in Cooperstown. We also have 67. Giant of a Giant : MAYS (Willie)

10. Latin foot : PES

13. Cline portrayer in "Sweet Dreams" : LANGE (Jessica)

18. It comes from the head : IDEA

19. Bunkum : TRIPE

20. Meter preceder : ALTI

22. Thrown for __ : A LOOP

26. __ Rossi: Gallo brand : CARLO

27. View from Anchorage : DENALI

28. What may be intended by inadvertent wordplay? : NO PUN. No pun intended.

29. Theater giant? : IMAX

30. Verdi's "Un __ in maschera" : BALLO. Meaning "A Masked Ball". Learning moment for me.

37. "__ news?" : ANY

38. "It's Only a Paper Moon" composer : ARLEN. I need Harold in the clue.

39. Watch : EYE

40. Bay Area county : MARIN

47. Below average : SUBNORMAL

51. Rescue squad initials : EMS

52. "What should __?": dieter's quandary : I EAT

53. Totally lost : AT SEA

54. Boating implements : OARS

55. Goose cooked in its own fat, say : CONFIT. I don't think I've ever had goose. Duck yes.

57. Takes another tack : VEERS

58. Night in Nantes : NUIT

62. Low areas : DALES

63. Hawaiian non-natives : HAOLES. Just remember it as A HOLES.

64. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge : NOR

65. Grammarians' concerns : USAGES

67. Strong sharks : MAKOs

72. Words before "of rules" : A SET

73. Beaded counters : ABACI. Mine was pretty heavy.

75. Sealy alternatives : SERTAs

76. Ma playing music : YO YO. See the three white Chinese characters? Ma Yo-Yo. Chinese put surname first.

77. Bell sounds : DONGS

78. Traveler's option : RAIL

79. Filing tool : TAB

82. Some travelers put them on in winter : SNOW TIRES

87. "__ Gold": Fonda film : ULEE'S

88. Green Giant orb : PEA

90. Letter-shaped 95-Down opening : F-HOLE. And 95. Instrument with two 90-Acrosses : VIOLA

91. Birdie plus one : PAR

99. Agreements : YESES

100. Some dadaist art : ARPs. Jean Arp.

102. Fear-inducing : HAIRY

103. Not acceptable : UNCOOL

105. Made level, with "up" : TRUED
  

112. Vanzetti's partner : SACCO. I forgot. We had this before.

113. Price-slashing event : SALE

114. Eight-related : OCTAL

115. Island near Corsica : ELBA
 
116. Westernmost Canadian territory : YUKON

117. Confident ending? : IAL. Confidential.

118. Italian's "That'll do!" : BASTA

119. Similar : AKIN
  
Down:
 
1. Darken : DIM
 
2. School URL ending : EDU

3. Garden area : BED

4. Like polo ponies : SADDLED

5. Davidson College's NCAA conference, for most sports : A-TEN. Googled afterwards. Atlantic 10 Conference.

6. Like a crowd in full voice : AROAR

7. Go through hastily, as drawers : RIFLE

8. Vision-related : OPTIC

9. Bk. after Ezra : NEH (Nehemiah)

10. Prisoner's reward : PAROLE

11. Take off to get hitched : ELOPE

12. Outfielder Rusty who played for four different expansion teams : STAUB.  A la Wiki, the four expansion teams are: Astros, Expos, Mets and Rangers. You have to be a baseball fan to come up with this clue angle.

13. Place to swim, in Paris : LAC. Lake.

14. Jai __ : ALAI

16. __ Heights: disputed Mideast region : GOLAN. Somehow Golan Heights and Al-Qaeda were frequently covered in the daily 5-minute international news segment when I lived in China, the latter was just called "The Base". Boomer never heard of Al-Qaeda until 9/11.

17. Powerful adhesive : EPOXY

21. SSA-issued info : ID NUMBER

24. Actress Téa : LEONI

25. Suffix with consist : ENCY. ENCE works also.

 
31. Lily family member : ARUM

32. Honorary law degs. : LLDs

34. "You bet __ boots!" : YER

35. Grandmas : NANAs. 婆婆 (Po Po) or 奶奶 (Nai Nai) in Northern China. Different in Cantonese or other regions.

36. Welcome sign for concert promoters : SRO

41. Early metalworking period : IRON AGE

43. Sorrowful mother of legend : NIOBE

44. Group of related species : GENUS. And  96. Joshua tree's 44-Down : YUCCA

45. Float on the breeze : WAFT

46. Having a spat : AT IT

47. WWII firearm : STEN. I learned from doing crosswords.

48. Broken in : USED

49. Sign of spring : ARIES.  Perfect clue for ROBIN.

50. WWII carriers : LSTs

53. Some printer labels : AVERYS

55. Cartoon components : CELs

56. Game with yellow balls : TENNIS
 

60. Nocturnal hunter with a distinctive call : HOOT OWL

61. Mets sports commentator Darling : RON

62. Morse code tones : DAHS

63. Is attired in : HAS ON

65. Preposition often shortened to one syllable : UNTIL

66. Skull covering : SCALP

68. Window __ : PANE

69. Drs.' orders : ECGs

70. Biodiverse South American country : PERU

71. River to the Caspian : URAL

73. "Later, Louis!" : ADIEU

74. Sour red soups : BORSCHTS. Did not know this soup can be pluralized.

79. Ring outcomes, briefly : TKOs

80. Everyone, in Essen : ALLE

81. Fliers with stingers : BEES

83. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Ted Talks. I just love Derek Sivers' first Ted Talk.

84. Father figure : DAD

85. "Nice Work __ Can Get It": 2012 Broadway musical : IF YOU

86. Handler with a self-named Netflix talk show : CHELSEA. Close friend of Jennifer.

88. Package : PARCEL

89. Irish New Ager : ENYA

91. Cline of country : PATSY

92. Pianist Claudio : ARRAU. Chilean pianist. We also have 94. Japanese piano maker : KAWAI
  

97. Half hitch and bowline : KNOTS

98. Showiness : ECLAT

101. Vino __: dry wine : SECO

104. Southwestern pot : OLLA

106. Author DeLillo : DON. "White Noise".

108. Hijack, e.g. : ROB

109. Sort : ILK

110. Wrap for Cio-Cio-San : OBI. "Madama Butterfly".

111. Indian flatbread : NAN

 

   

Happy birthday to Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crossword. I suspect today's STAUB clue is Rich's. He always tries to add interesting trivia, fun and humor to all the clues. Often half or more clues of our daily puzzles are Rich's hard work. 

Last time when I had STATE FAIR, Rich changed my [Place to see giant produce] clue to [Minnesota's annual one is held in Falcon Heights]. It brought a big smile to my face. Lots of clever clues you guy like in my grids are from Rich. He's just an incredibly generous and encouraging editor. We're so lucky. I'm very lucky.

PS: I forgot to mention that our Melissa was married yesterday. She left her beloved job in California a few years ago and moved to Oregon. Since then, she's been totally committed to Adopt an Inmate project, working long hours and going through incredible difficulties alone. Best wishes on your new journey, dear Melissa!

Left to Right: Melissa's daughter, Melissa's mom Barbara B, Melissa

Saturday, Nov 11th, 2017, Kristian House

Theme: Eleven-eleven~!

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

Good day and a salute to all Veterans.  I did not recognize the constructor's name, but he has three puzzles under his LA Times belt, his last being two years ago.  Today's offering was a smooth one, done in half my personal allotted time, with a lot of proper names that filled via perp(endiculars).  Just one bad cel that I should have recognized as being wrong, but had to change to red-letters to find it.  A hashtag pattern of 15-letter spanners and climbers, with 9- and 10-letter fills paired to them;

20. Unplanned acquisition : IMPULSE PURCHASE - that's why the candy is at the register

10. Dreaming, at times : WISHFUL THINKING - most people say "Eleven-eleven, make a wish~!" - I change it to 'say a prayer'
 
50. Litmus test for fun? : BARREL OF MONKEYS - here's a barrel that does not look like fun;

Note the forklift

4. Statement after an ordeal : "I COULD USE A DRINK" - this sometimes slips past my lips, even though I have been in a 12-step program for some 12+ years; good thing I read "24 Hours A Day" every morning;  Nov 8th had this quote -

Philippians 3:13~!

ACROSS:

1. It sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft in 2014 : NOKIA - When I first read this, I thought it said mobile HOME business - and I thought "what would Microsoft need that for~?"

6. Econ. numbers : GDPs - Gross Domestic Product; I tried GNP, that which I learned way back in economics - the Gross National Product

10. Beverage sometimes boxed : WINE - oh yes it is~!  In fact, it is rather popular among our clientele - we are down to the last of last year's supply in boxed wine.

 The Tasting Room in front of the office/warehouse

14. Build : ERECT

15. Square calculation : AREA

16. Title type: Abbr. : ITAL - TYPE type I get, but Title type, not so much.  It crossed "IT'S A SECRET", but mine started with "I'VE" - thus my bad cel

17. Serf of Sparta : HELOT - filled via perps, but now that I see it, I have heard the term before

18. Backstage accesses : VIP PASSES

22. Kylo's mom in "The Force Awakens" : LEIA - And Han is daddy - er, or, was - should I have called spoiler alert~!?

23. Hairdos made popular by Marie Antoinette : POUFS

24. Home to the National Gandhi Museum : NEW DELHI

28. Showing faith in : TRUE TO

31. Jesus on a diamond : ALOU - my first thought, but I waited; baseball reference

32. __ Linda, Calif. : LOMA - I'm East Coast - filled via perps

34. Metal giant : ALCOA

35. Kia subcompacts : RIOS - knew this

36. Smartphone downloads : SONGS

38. "Divergent" heroine __ Prior : TRIS - never heard of the novel/movie, so I didn't know this character; 

sounds a little like "The Hunger Games", which I have read, 

but only attempted to watch; I just don't care for the casting.

39. Trainee : CADET

41. Zoomed : TORE - SPED did not work

42. Prefix with ski or pad : HELI - heli'pad', yes, heli'ski' - not in my vernacular.  I had to look it up - oh, now I recall the "spoRt", not the "spot"

43. John Williams quintet : OSCARS - I wanted VOWELS, but he's only got four (o,i,i,a), not five

45. Ones eating on the house? : TERMITES - cute. and clever.

47. "You've got __" : A DEAL

49. Novelist Hunter : EVAN

56. Judicious : ADVISABLE

57. "But wait! There's more!" knife : GINSU - "and if you act now, we'll throw in an additional set of knives for JUST the shipping and handling~!!!".  Handling~?  I don't recall getting any extra money for "handling" a Ginsu knife package....

58. Property attachment : LIEN - almost too easy for Saturday

59. Campus official : DEAN - same here

60. Tatted up : INKED - not for me, yet, but I have a design idea

61. Sting target : MARK - "The Sting" - great movie

"The Entertainer"

62. USMC rank : SSGT - staff sergeant

63. New __ : AGERS

DOWN:

1. Radar's pop : NEHI - oh, duh, his soda pop, not his DAD pop

2. Where Utah's minor league Owlz play : OREM - four letters and Utah~? Try OREM

3. Wet forest growth : KELP - forest~?  I just learned that "forest" is an underwater area with a high density of said kelp

5. Churchill's 1945 successor : ATTLEE

6. Cared : GAVE A HOOT

7. Worn-out washer result : DRIP - had my share at the restaurants; in fact, I think I have replaced every faucet in both places after four years of working at the locations

8. Invigorate : PEP-UP

9. Fungal disease affecting 40-Down : SAP ROT

11. "Shh! Don't tell anyone!" : "IT'S A SECRET~!"

12. Scottish resistance : NAEs

13. Otherwise : ELSE

19. Legend maker : ACURA - crossword foolery - this car

21. Spots for flowers : SILLS - delicate flowers~!

Is that toile~?

24. DEA employee : NARCO - I prefer "NARC" to the added "O"

25. Literature Nobelist Canetti : ELIAS

26. Geppetto, for one : WOODCARVER - I tried wood WORKER, which was a big help

27. "__ kidding!" : "I'M NOT..."

29. Decorative curtain fabric : TOILE

30. Source of relief : OASIS - I needed some serious relief yesterday; got sawdust in my eye, and I tolerated it for half the day - then I tried to drive, and that exacerbated the irritation like I could not believe

33. Accord : AGREEMENT - HONDA didn't fit (har-har)

37. Electronic control mechanism : SERVO - funny how a word is common, and can be used in conversation, but when you get right down to it, I could not tell you exactly what a servomechanism really was, so I went to Wiki; their example suggests that a power window control is not, but cruise-control is. 

40. Pines, say : TREES - ah, this time, it's the noun, not the verb; 9d. should have clued me in

44. Menu heading : SALADS - ah, restaurants, not computers

46. Italian "Eat!" : "MANGIA~!" - my mom used to say this at dinner - and she is 100% English

48. Frontal and temporal : LOBES

50. Lip application : BALM

51. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA - vowel friendly crossword staple

52. Mark for attention : FLAG - Mark's a popular guy in the is crossword - see 61a.

53. Three-time speed skating gold medalist Karin : ENKE

54. 1914 battle river : YSER - I'm reading a book from Christopher Reich called "The Runner", set immediately after WWII, and he mentions the ISAR river; seems odd that a man named Reich would be writing about post-war Germany

55. Kegger quaff : SUDS - A quote from one of my favorite movies;

we have kegs of wine at Lieb, too

Splynter

Friday, November 10, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

TITLE: MAKEUP GAME

Greetings from the Great Plains on my lovely wife's birthday! I think it's her twin sister's as well. 😜

This is not a meatless Friday but it is "Lemonless" again with me, Husker Gary, serving as his, uh, boy Friday again. 

Having a Jeff Wex on Friday is a true delight and his fun puzzle uses terminology one might hear in this star-studded Beauty Shop (How many can you name? - Answer below the grid) scene in Steel Magnolias. 

In each "themer" Jeff has employed a cosmetology term that also serves as a word in a common two or three-word phrase. I hope I am granted some leeway considering my lack of expertise in this area. Here are Jeff's theme entries:

17. Cosmetologist's choices at happy hour? : BLUSH WINES 

Applying BLUSH on a wan cheek and several Rose' or BLUSH WINEs

29. Cosmetologist's preferred vacation venue? : OCEAN LINER

7 Seas Explorer OCEAN LINER and LINER that accents some lovely eyes

34. Cosmetologist's expression for hastily exiting? : TAKE A POWDER

Please leave while he and I talk or what a difference POWDER makes

41. Cosmetologist's favorite capital? : BATON ROUGE

The city named for a red stick or my childhood memory of ROUGE on a character

57. Cosmetologist's wall covering? : GLOSS PAINT

Alternating Matte and GLOSS wall covering and GLOSSY and Matte Lipstick

Now let's see the beauty of the remainder of Jeff's Friday clues:

Across

1. Bills, say : CASH - Like many other areas of our lives, even Monopoly® is going CASHLESS

5. Alfredo may be associated with it : PASTA

10. Ways of viewing the world : ISMS

14. First name in folk : ARLO

15. Yale of Yale fame : ELIHU - A former slave trader who endowed a New Haven school with enough money to get the school name changed to his. Can protests be far behind?

16. "Fillet of a fenny snake / In the cauldron __ and bake": "Macbeth" : BOIL - Okay, Steve, what wine would you suggest with this concoction? Like C.C., I missed him yesterday and hope he is okay.

19. Local govt. bond : MUNI - They've been used for many projects

20. Inspired : LED TO - The learned group who participate here certainly know to what event this was a precursor 

21. RR stop : STA

23. Janitor's tool, briefly : VAC - We had the kids put their chairs up on the table to accommodate the custodians VAC job

24. Marx collaborator : ENGELS - Together they authored a little page-turner called The Communist Manifesto

26. Collapse, with "over" : KEEL - Don't lock your knees too long especially in front of the boss.

27. Previous to, poetically : ERE

28. Nursery supply : SEED - These catalogs and spring training are harbingers of spring

32. "Art is __ that makes us realize truth": Picasso : A LIE

33. Knots and yards : UNITS

38. "Just like me" : AS AM I

40. Shrek, e.g. : OGRE

44. Take shots of : FILM - With FILM, we had to wait a week to see how lousy our shots were

48. Mark on the Oregon Trail : RUT - Some are here in Nebraska. 

49. Like crab apples : TART - C.C. and Jayce have put me onto a regimen of TART cherry juice for some issues I am having. "I'll get by with a little from my friends" 

50. Leonine savior's domain : NARNIA - The savior of NARNIA is Aslan who takes the form of a lion

52. Enzyme suffix : ASE - AmylASE, cellulASE, lactASE, ...

53. Romantic ideal, with "the" : ONE 

54. Dieter's breakfast : MELON

55. "__ Trigger": Bugs Bunny cartoon : HARE - Yeah, I think I could have figured out the star of this cartoon!

61. Like much cheese : AGED

62. Final ordeal, perhaps : ESSAY - A true pen-to-paper ordeal for me!

63. Low joint : KNEE

64. Rx contents : MEDS

65. Does another tour : REUPS

66. Attention-getter : YELL - A YELL leader at Andover who was a future POTUS

Down

1. Brooklyn Bridge array : CABLES - The contrast of the comparatively light CABLES with the massive towers remains a very striking visual

2. Garfield's girlfriend : ARLENE - You're either a comic aficionado or you're not

3. Oozy stuff : SLUDGE - Not good when this is your motor oil

4. Threw a party : HOSTED

5. Place to pray : PEW

6. Memorable fighter : ALI

7. Pride, for example : SIN

8. Annabel Lee's kingdom was by it : THE SEA - This woman had the first verse of Poe's poem tattooed on her back to honor her grandmother Annabel Lee

9. Writer who created the Dashwood sisters : AUSTEN - From Sense and Sensibility

10. Watson's home : IBM

11. Snow globe, perhaps : SOUVENIR

12. Muezzin's tower : MINARET where neither 18. Dec. 25 or Jan. 1 : HOL are observed

13. Deli equipment : SLICERS

22. Intimate, with "to" : ALLUDE - To whom did Carly Simon ALLUDE in You're So Vain: Warren Beatty, James Taylor or Mick Jagger?

25. Food fish : SOLE

26. "Private property" sign warning : KEEP OUT with maybe 43. Threatening phrase : OR ELSE

30. Mike Pompeo's org. : CIA - Its current director

31. Having four sharps : IN E - A great Ray Charles tune IN E

32. A lot like : AKIN TO

34. Like neglected clothing : TATTERED - The House That Jack Built featured this line: "This is the man all TATTERED and torn, who kissed the maiden all forlorn" 

35. Latin lover's word : AMO

36. Steven of "The Walking Dead" : OGG - If Jeff says so

37. Small songbird : WREN

38. Biblical patriarch : ABRAHAM

39. Breakfast side : SAUSAGE - A distant second to bacon here!

42. National park figure : RANGER 

44. Weird : FREAKY

45. How theme park visitors often stand : IN LINE (the queue) - Here are some IN LINE at Space Mountain at the 60-minute wait point

46. Long time maker of O gauge track : LIONEL - I'm sure my brother and I got a better Christmas present than this but none come to mind.

47. Place for trophies : MANTEL

51. Rock concert sight : AMP

56. Newspaper VIPs : EDS

58. Buckeyes' sch. : OSU - They received a huge slice of humble pie playing Iowa last weekend

59. Sucker : SAP - Here's a combination of these words

A Yellow-bellied SAP SUCKER (in the woodpecker genus)

60. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYS


DA GRID:

STEEL MAGNOLIAS ANSWER

Feel free to MAKEUP any comments that you feel are necessary

Note from C.C.:

Happy birthday to Husker Gary's wife Joann & her twin sister! I stole this picture from Gary's Facebook when they attended a going away party for their niece Emma. I've met Joann and have had a few email exchanges with her over the years. She's always so thoughtful and warm. I'll never forget her strength during Gary's hospital stay.

Thursday Nov 9, 2017 Robert & Marlea Ellis

Theme: T-TOPS (52. Features of some sports cars, and what this puzzle's four longest answers have in common) - T is added to each R-starting theme entry. 
 
3D. Conductor's job? : TRAIN CHECK. Rain check.

5D. Recycling, composting, etc.? : TRASH DECISIONS. Rash decisions.
 
15D. Livestock feed approximation? : TROUGH ESTIMATE. Rough estimate.
 
30D. Tongue-in-cheek presidential tribute? : TRUMP ROAST. Rump roast.

C.C. here. I did not see a draft post from Steve, so I'm just going to put a short skeletal write-up. Hope he's OK. He never missed a write-up before, no matter how busy he was. So I'm a bit concerned.

The theme entries are placed in Down slots for visual effects. T is consistently added to the R-starting phrase for extra layer.

This must be Robert & Marlea Ellis's LAT debut. I did not find their name under our blog Labels. Congratulation!

Across: 

1. Animated film set partly in Insectopia : ANTZ

5. By way of, to Burns : THRO

9. Try : STAB

13. Like many trees in winter : BARE. Certainly in our yard. Winter here. High is 27F today.

14. Respond : REACT

16. Approximately 2.2 lbs. : KILO

17. West Point, e.g.: Abbr. : ACAD

18. "Are you calling me __?" : A LIAR

19. Currier's partner : IVES

20. Moment-of-truth words : THIS IS IT. Sparkly fill.

22. Fight : OPPOSE

24. Geological period : EON

25. Track-and-field events : SHOT PUTS. This word is pluralble, D-Otto?

27. Bugs often caught : COLDS

29. DOJ chiefs : AGs

30. Cough syrup amt. : TSP

33. Jessica Simpson's pop-singing sister : ASHLEE
 

35. Extreme degree : NTH

36. Cookie with a limited-edition Swedish Fish variety : OREO. Constructors and Rich work hard to come up with new clues for OREO.

37. Went over the limit : SPED

38. Hidden supply : CACHE

40. Club charges : DUES

41. Some twitches : TICS

42. Nigerian native : IBO. Wiki seems to prefer Igbo.

43. Not covering much : SKIMPY

45. Calligraphy supply : INK. To answer your question, Jayce, in Chinese dictionaries, you can find a word both by pinyin and the character components if you don't know how the word is pronounced. As for google, here is an easy way. Just type in pinyin, Chinese characters will show up. Then you can copy and paste it to Google Translate.

46. Corvallis sch. : OSU. Oregon State.

47. Like either main face of El Capitan : STEEP. Got via crosses.

48. Slightly embellished truth : WHITE LIE. Nice entry as well.
 
50. Decay : ROT

53. Energetic worker : DYNAMO

56. Part of a proverbial secretive trio : LAMPPOST

58. Jet engine sound : ROAR

59. "The Wonder Years" mom : NORMA

61. Old El Paso product : TACO. We also have 2. Dipping chip : NACHO. Food! By the way, Anon-T, my favorite soy sauce brand is Lee Kum Kee.
 

62. Related : AKIN
 
63. Move quickly : SCOOT

64. Quickly, in memos : ASAP

65. Alice's workplace : MEL'S

66. New Year's Day word : SYNE

67. Orch. section : STRS. OK, strings.

Down:

1. Taper off : ABATE

4. Last letters in Canada : ZEDs

6. Greek sun god : HELIOS

7. "Nick of Time" singer : RAITT

8. Andean tuber : OCA. Still have not tried them.

9. Moves merrily : SKIPS

10. Couch potato's device : TIVO

11. Brown bar orders : ALES

12. Highly respected speakers maker : BOSE

21. Cruise stop : ISLE

23. NBA stats : PTS

26. It may be beaten : PATH. So spoiled by Springbrook this summer.

28. Bygone automaker : OLDS

31. Barely flow : SEEP

32. Bouquet : POSY

33. Italian wine city : ASTI

34. Public relations distortion : SPIN
 
35. Mil. category : NCO. Also 60. Army training ctr. : OCS

36. "Garfield" dog : ODIE

39. Touch on : ABUT
 
44. Board and lodging : KEEP

46. Electrical unit : OHM

47. Hit hard, as the brakes : SLAM ON

48. Yells "Fore!" at : WARNS. I was once hit hard on my left arm. Terrifying.

49. Junior Jetson : ELROY

51. First name in bologna : OSCAR

53. Eighth of a fluid ounce : DRAM

54. Oxen coupler : YOKE

55. Carpentry fastener : NAIL

57. Sch. support groups : PTAs

C.C.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 C. C. Burnikel

Theme - CONVERSATIONS of a sort. The circled letters that book-end the theme answers to the asterisked clues are all synonyms for TALK.  Hence today's theme song.




Let's check them out.

16 A. *Golfer's guide for measuring distances : YARDAGE BOOK.  I'm not familiar with this term, but it's clearly a record of tee to green distances.  To YAK is to overdue the talking.

28 A. *Philatelist's find : RARE STAMP.  A philatelist is a stamp collector.  A rare one can be worth a fortune.  About 50 years ago the word RAP meant to have a casual conversation, perhaps involving some vocabulary lubricating substances.  Now it indicates a music genre in which rapidly and rhythmically delivered words are presented over some sort of music background.

44 A. *Hybrid retriever : GOLDEN LAB.  Labrador retrievers are hunting and working dogs that make good pets.  They come in black, brown and various shades of yellow.  In a quick search I couldn't come up with anything about hybrids.  There is a mixed breed dog called a Goldador, which is a cross between a Lab and a Golden Retriever. It's a smart and easy going type of dog, but I don't think it is quite the same thing as a Golden Lab, which looks to be a naturally occurring variant.   To GAB is to talk overlong about trivial matters, or engage in idle chatter.

61 A. *Winter warming spell : JANUARY THAW.  The calm between the winter storms.  To JAW is pretty much the same as to YAK or GAB.  The English language is rich in unnecessary synonyms.

Usually it can be hard to grasp this type of theme if your puzzle source doesn't include the circles.  But today's unifier, tucked into the southeast quadrant, is helpful in figuring it out.

38 D. Popular mobile app ... and, as shown by circles, what the inner parts of the answers to starred clues do : SNAPCHAT.    This is an app for sharing pictures and messages.  Unlike on other social media platforms, SNAPCHAT items automatically are deleted after some time.  The sense of the clue is that the interior letters have been snapped and trapped, alligator style, leaving the circled letters as a free-standing word.

Hi Gang, JzB here to start the conversation.  Now - who would come up with such a snappy theme idea?  Why, it is our own C. C.!  With split-word themes I always look for symmetry or balance. Here, the first two entries split after the first letter of the 3-letter target word; and in the last two, it's after the second letter - a nice, elegant touch. Let's SNAP our way through the rest of the puzzle and CHAT about it in comments.

Across

1. "That cracks me up!" : HAHA.  Real or feigned laughter.

5. "__ and the Swan": Rubens painting : LEDA.  In mythology, LEDA was an Aetolian princess who became queen of Sparta.  Zeus raped her in the form of a swan.  Devine sexual abuse.  What kind of an example does that set for mere humans? This subject seems to have fascinated many other artists.

Her Goose is cooked

9. Paper Mate product : PEN.  The write answer.

12. 1936 Olympics standout : OWENS.  Jesse [1913- 1980] was a gold medalist in track and field events.

14. Goes it alone : SOLOS.  As pilot trainees or musicians.

15. "Te __": Rihanna song : AMO.



18. Playful bite : NIP.

19. House vote : AYE.   Or NAY, depending on how you feel about the issue.

20. Like much store-brand merchandise : LOW END.  Less than top quality in materials or workmanship.

21. Contact lens solution brand : RENU.  Bausch and Lomb product.

22. Soft boot material : SUEDE.

Warm looking

24. Winner's wreath : LAUREL.  An aromatic evergreen shrub, related to the bay tree, common to warm and tropical locations.

Not the most usual location

26. Church seating : PEWS.  Usually wooden and hard.

31. On __ of: for : BEHALF.  In the interest of or representing some one or some thing.

34. Family guys : PAPAS. Dads or granddads, depending on your family's preferences.

35. Overhead expanse : SKY.  You can find stars there.

36. Superhero in an armored suit : IRONMAN. Tony Stark [no relation to the Winterfell Starks] was captured by an evil enemy who forced him to build a weapon.  He instead built for himself an advanced suit of armor that he used to escape and go on to a life of heroism.

38. Place for a hot stone massage : SPA.  A commercial enterprise offering various health and beauty treatments.

41. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" novelist : STOWE.  Harriet Elizabeth Beecher STOWE [1811-1896] American author and abolitionist.

42. Became clear to, with "on" : DAWNED.

48. Tough to learn : HARD.   Like calculus or many real life lessons.

49. "Finally!" : AT LAST.   What took you so long?

50. One of his stories is the source of the "sour grapes" idiom : AESOP.  Ancient Greek fabulist.

53. Relax in the tub : SOAK.  [Ahhhh]

54. Sonny and Cher, e.g. : POP DUO.  From back in the day.



57. Sulu portrayer John : CHO.  [b 1972] Korean-American actor and musician, portrayor of Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot film series.

60. Kin of net : COM.  Web site suffixes.

63. Fla. neighbor : ALA.  So. Sts.

64. Athlete's rep : AGENT.  Contract negotiators

65. Facebook option : SHARE.  A way of reposting something you see.

66. Mario Bros. console letters : NES.

67. Exercise break : REST.  Catch your breath.

68. Casino conveniences : ATMS.  Automatic Teller Machines, located so you can hand over even more of your hard earned cash.

Down

1. Georgetown hoopster : HOYA.  Georgetown U. basketball player.  The story is that long ago the school teams were called The Stonewalls.  A student, relying on Greek and Latin came up with the slogan "Hoya Saxa!" meaning "What Rocks!"  The rest is history.  Or perhaps myth.  You decide.

2. On the road : AWAY.  Out of town.

3. "These are the reasons" : HERE'S WHY.

4. "Go on ... " : AND.  Tell me more.

5. Place for a hoop : LOBE.   This gives me an earie feeling.

6. Musk of Tesla Motors : ELON. [b 1971] A South-African born Canadian-American businessman, inventor, engineer and investor.

7. Kid's drawing tablet : DOODLE PAD.

8. Pose a question : ASK.

9. Bakery-café chain : PANERA.

10. "8 Mile" rapper : EMINEM.  Marshall Bruce Mathers III [b 1972] is the best selling American recording artist of the previous decade.

11. Orange juice specification : NO PULP.  I like mine with pulp

13. Customer-drawing sign word : SALE.  Presumably, prices are reduced.

14. Waste conduit : SEWER. Disposal system.

17. Supreme being : GOD.

21. Road grooves : RUTS.

23. "Miracle on Ice" team, for short : USA.  American 1980 Olympic Hockey - a different kind of cold war.

25. Yoga position : ASANA.  Postures.

26. "Masterpiece" network : PBS.  Public Broadcasting System.

27. "There's a mouse in our house!" : EEK.  Human squeak.

29. Sleep study subject : APNEA.  Breathing interruption during sleep.

30. Ewe guy : RAM.   This elicits a sheepish grin.

32. Low-calorie brews : LITES.  Might as well drink water.

33. Place for big headlines : FRONT PAGE.  First thing you see in a news paper.

37. Hooting bird : OWL.  Who? Raptors of the order Strigiformes, which are mostly solitary and nocturnal.  That's who!

39. __ capita : PER.  For each person, taken collectively; typically averaging some countable item or phenomenon over the population as a whole.

40. Mix in : ADD.

41. Badlands Natl. Park site : S. DAK.  South Dakota.

43. Detective's question : WHO?   Or WHY?

44. Garage container : GAS CAN.

45. 1962 Lawrence portrayer : O'TOOLE.  Peter [1932-2013] Anglo-Irish stage and film actor.

46. Peruvian pack animals : LLAMAS.

Wooly hump-free camels

47. Not skilled in : BAD AT.

51. Lux. setting : EUR.  Luxembourg is in EURope.

52. Tofu beans : SOYS.  If you soy so.

55. Change for a five : ONES.  Dollar bills.

56. Fourth-down play : PUNT.  American football.  The team currently in possession of the ball kicks it to the other team in the hope of moving them farther away from their goal line.

58. Inflict pain on : HARM.  Do damage to.

59. Is in arrears : OWES.  Has overdue debt.

61. Cookie container : JAR.  Ours has yummy home made pumpkin cookies.

62. Article in some hip-hop titles : THA.  Variant of THE, I assume.

That RAPS up another Wednesday.  Let the GABS, YAKS and JAWing begin.

Cool Regards!
JzB