Friday, March 28, 2014, Paul Hunsberger

Theme: The Feme is TH-FRONTING.

I guess Steve would have been the ideal blogger for this one, as the saying "F" in place of "TH" is apparently very common in parts of the British Isles. This is my first time reviewing Paul, though he has had a few LAT's and a few NYT's, half of which have been Sunday puzzles. I always enjoy the puzzles that use sound, so this was in my wheelhouse. Lots of nice words like AL DAVIS, ANILINE, GLORY BE, MCMUFFIN, UV FILTER, HOT AND COLD, STARS ON ICE. Well let's get to work.

17A. Guys with plenty of time for child care? : FREEMEN AND A BABY. (15). (Three Men and a Baby). The Tom Selleck, Ted Danson movie.

26A. Lament following an Elizabethan wardrobe malfunction? : THE FRILL IS GONE.(14). The Thrill is gone.

41A. Like Barney with his pal? : HANGING BY A FRED. (14)  (Hanging by a thread).




Across:

1. Dominion : REALM.  An odd word where the "A" is completely silent.

6. Food on a stick : KEBAB. This for me is the correct spelling, but you need to be flexible.

11. Olympus OM-2, briefly : SLR. Single Lens Reflex. I have this clue/fill so often.

14. Templo Mayor builder : AZTEC. This temple built in what is now Mexico City. LINK.

15. Home to some mollusks : ATOLL.  My favorite is the BIKINI ATOLL,
"The island's English name is derived from the German colonial name Bikini given to the atoll when it was part of German New Guinea. The German name is transliterated from the Marshallese name for the island, Pikinni, ([p?i??g??in??ii?]), Pik" meaning "surface" and "Ni" meaning "coconut", or surface of coconuts.[2](Per wiki). I wonder what people have to pay to visit there.

16. Plus : TOO.

20. Stirling topper : TAM. Back in the British Isles, this is the biggest CITY in central Scotland, home of the Tam O'sahnter.

21. One in Marseille : UNE. Straight French, no trickiness at all ( not to be confused with...).

22. Is gaga over : ADORES.

23. Astern : AFT.

24. They're established : GIVENS. Of course, that is a given!

31. Hei-tiki wearers : MAORI. Tiki is the Maori Adam.

32. Passes between peaks : COLS. A  complete unknown and learning experience for me. It is the literal name for passes which exist between mountains.

33. "Stat!" : NOW. Nurses love this.

34. Pop star John : ELTON. Olivia Newton would not fit.

35. Sched. producer : IRS. Internal Revenue Service.

36.  together : UNITE.

38. Island R&B derivative : SKA.

39. "Dragonwyck" author Seton : ANYA. I was familiar with Foxfire, not this one. LINK.

40. Resolution targets : VICES. I like this clue, though I do not do New Year's resolutions.

45. "Twisted" actress Richards : DENISE.

46. Short life story? : BIO
47. Small power source : AACELL
49. The lot : ALL
50. Banff Upper Hot Springs, e.g. : SPA
53. Got locked out of a Finnish sauna during winter? : FROZE IN THE TOWEL
57. Feel rotten : AIL
58. End of __ : AN ERA
59. Remove : ERASE
60. Gnarly relative : RAD
61. Greek salad features : FETAS
62. Lets : RENTS

Down:

1. Slew : RAFT
2. University founder Cornell : EZRA
3. "Up and __!" : ATEM
4. Sheltered side : LEE
5. Nationwide sandwich debut of 1972 : MCMUFFIN
6. Citizen of Little Salem, Colorado : KANE
7. Flight stat : ETA
8. It's good for Michel : BON
9. NFL owner who moved the Oakland Raiders to L.A. and back : ALDAVIS
10. 11-Down supporters : BLADES
11. Show founded as a vehicle for Scott Hamilton : STARSONICE
12. Ear piece : LOBE
13. Acuff and Orbison : ROYS
18. __'acte : ENTR
19. Big Ben sound : BONG
23. Prefix with ballistic : AERO
24. "Hallelujah!" : GLORYBE
25. "That's for sure!" : ILLSAY
26. __ blue streak : TALK A
27. Inconsistent way to run : HOT AND COLD
28. Baker's creations : ICINGS
29. Pointed out : NOTED
30. Milk sources for Pecorino cheese : EWES
31. Fit together well : MESH
36. Outdoor camera user's accessory : UVFILTER
37. Actor Robert De __ : NIRO
39. Dye compound : ANILINE
42. "Holy moly!" : GEEZ
43. Greening up : INLEAF
44. Willing cohort? : ABLE
47. Way out there : AFAR
48. Musical highlight : ARIA
49. Cries of discovery : AHAS
50. Sibelius' "The __ of Tuonela" : SWAN
51. Unwanted visitor : PEST
52. Some pints : ALES
54. Fishing aid : NET
55. Musical syllable : TRA
56. Profitable rock : ORE

Friday, March 21, John Guzzetta

Theme: Scrambles are not anagrams, or are they? If you listen to MONTY PYTHON, the new words do not have to be words.

This is an anagram, oops, a scrambled letter puzzle in which the letters in the word FEAST are shuffled inside other theme answers. This is a very common theme, but with a lovely unifier. This is John's second LAT, both this month. The puzzle does not really feel like a Friday with too many 3 and 4 letter words, but there is much originality such as EFFLUENT, POTATO GUN,  STUNT KITE, EMULATION and in the theme TASTEFUL JOKE, GWEN STEFANI, MOVEABLE FEAST, and  OFFICE STAFF.

We begin with the reveal:

35A. Pentecost, e.g., and what can literally be found in this puzzle's four other longest answers : MOVEABLE FEAST (13). This clue was very difficult for me. while I have studied Christianity, the existence of these 25+ feast days was beyond my ken, and Barbie was no help either. My thought was of the memoirs of HEMINGWAY. Once filled, I loved this new way to tell us the puzzle has anagrams.

17A. Annual Christmas party group : OFFICE STAFF. (11) When I worked with big companies, the competition to look great among the staff was entertaining, and troublesome.

29A. Humor that won't offend : TASTEFUL JOKE. (12) "There is this guy driving down the road. He’s got 17 penguins in his car. This cop sees him, stops him, and says, “I don’t know what’s going on here. But you’ve got to take these penguins to the zoo.” The guy’s like, “OK.” The next day the guy is driving and he has the same 17 penguins in the car. The same cop pulls him over and says, “Look, man, I stopped you yesterday and I told you to take these penguins to the zoo.” The guy says, “I took them to the zoo. Today we’re going to the beach.”

43A. Exercised caution : PLAYED IT SAFE. (12)

57A. Singer with the debut solo album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." : GWEN STEFANI. (11). LISTEN. (3:30).

On to the rest...

Across:

1. Chess ploy : GAMBIT. This term is used by most mystery writers to explain a plot twist.

7. Antique cane topper : KNOB. I was looking for something more esoteric like WOLF.

11. Home of the N.Y. Rangers : MSG. Madison Square Garden..

14. Fund-raising targets : ALUMNI. The requests never stop.

15. Wrath, in a hymn : IRAE. Not to confuse, 41A. "This American Life" host Glass : IRA.

16. Scarfed down : ATE

19. Small group : DUO. Three's a crowd, two is a duo? More numbers,  24A. Thrice due : SEI. Italian for 6. (3x2).

20. Brightened, with "up" : LIT. Her eyes lit up whenever George Clooney came into the room.

21. Bible book : RUTH.  The story of Ruth and Boaz is important in understanding kindness and conversion. To which we all say....

22. "Let it be so!" : AMEN.

25. Wetlands protection org. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

26. "Driving Miss Daisy" setting : ATLANTA. The other Georgia.

31. Long poem : EPOS.

33. One of two Pauline epistles: Abbr. : CORinthians.

34. "__ for Innocent": Grafton novel : I IS. I recently was rereading some of her early work to see where she went wrong, and was reminded that her next door neighbor, Henry Pitts, the retired baker also constructed crossword puzzles. Her 'clues' were not great.

40. Same old thing : RUT. I assume for the wagon wheels. To get out, sometimes you must....

42. Run : FLEE.

48. Theatergoer's option : MATINEE.

49. Fla. NBA team : ORLando Magic, having lost Shaq years ago and Dwight Howard more recently, this is a tough place to coach.

50. Maker of "3 Series" cars : BMW. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.  4D. ASCAP rival : BMI. Broadcast Music, Inc. Aren't you glad we already discussed this company?

53. "Beloved" author Morrison : TONI.

54. Fromage hue : BLEU. Fromage = Cheese,  in French; Bleu = Blue an anagram?

55. Yay relative : RAH. I believe they are cousins.

56. Part of a disguise : WIG.

61. Loan letters : IOU. Cute.

62. Lisa's title : MONA. Do you think of Mona as Lisa's title? Really means like Madam Lisa.

63. Passes : ENACTS.

64. Relaxing retreat : INN. Or better yet, this LINK.

65. Against : ANTI.

66. Winning run, perhaps : STREAK.

Down:

1. Pens for Dickens? : GAOLS. Nice two level trickery, as we first must see the 'pen' to mean penitentiary, not what CD wrote with. The recalling the British term GAOL.

2. Caine title role : ALFIE. What's it all about?

3. Civilian garb : MUFTI. Since it is casual FRIDAY.

5. Grow : INCREASE.

6. Jams : TIE UPS. Traffic.

7. Social group : KITH. KIN you believe it, it is back so soon!

8. Org. co-founded by Gen. George Wingate : NRA. National Rifle Association. HISTORY. Did not know this fact. I wonder if this covers 32D. Relative of a T-shirt launcher : POTATO GUN. See it Believe IT.

9. Knucklehead : OAF.

10. Happen to : BEFALL. Not what it is when Summer ends....

11. Got some attention : MADE NOISE. Used by TV commenters ad nauseam.

12. Flier that may have four lines : STUNT KITE. So much I do not know about KITES. I did read Kite Runner.

13. Prefix with thermal : GEO.

18. "Right away!" : STAT.

23. Key abbr. : MAJ. And a related (?) 46D. Fifths on a staff : SOLS. Music people can explain why this means G Major, but with STAFF in a theme fill, I am surprised to see staff in a clue.

26. "He makes no friends who never made __": Tennyson : A FOE. Not to be confused with the author of Robinson Crusoe.

27. Grass-and-roots layer : TURF. Unlike a BG mistake here.

28. '50s Dem. presidential hopeful : AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson, II, son of the vice-president under Grover Cleveland.

29. Good, in Hebrew : TOV. Mazel Tov all.

30. Brilliance : ECLAT.

31. Effort to equal others : EMULATION.

36. Hill worker : AIDE. Capitol Hill.

37. Creamy spread : BRIE. More soft cheese.

38. Flowing out : EFFLUENT. The Latin stem "E" from, "AD" to.

39. Tankard contents : ALE. yeah Beer.

40. Tach no. : RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.

44. Dark side : YIN. More from Lao Tse. LINK.

45. It's hard to untangle : ENIGMA. Wrapped in a mastery, hidden in a puzzle.

47. Knifelike ridges : ARETES. A word I know solely from solving puzzles.

50. Support : BRACE.

51. __ ray : MANTA.

52. Chef's tool : WHISK. Not my first thought.

54. __ B'rith : BNAI. Children of the Covenant. The first covenant for circumcision on the 8th day.

56. Nintendo's __ mini : WII. Not to be confused with WWI.

58. Finished on top : WON.

59. Dr.'s specialty : ENT. Ear, Nose, Throat.

60. Distant : FAR.

Happy Spring all and I hope we entertained and informed, Lemonade signing off with a poem I happened across. See you next time.


Do you know a teacher you think may be a cheater
If you shop at ‘Harrods’ are you considered posh
If your car breaks down, do you call the RAC.
When you  play pool or polo do you go round in a loop
If you prick your hand on a rose thorn is it rather sore.
Is life all doom and gloom and you get in a mood.
Do you live in a world you think is vile or evil
Does your alarm emit a bleep at a set time
Do you dare to pick up a dear book to read
Do you head for the toilets when you want to read T S Eliot

Jan Allison
28th Feb 2014

Friday, March 7, 2014, Bruce Haight

Theme: NO "E"s? EZ?

Like the recent Paul Hunsburger puzzle written up by marti, this puzzle is its own theme. In a wonderful blend of visual (the big "E" created by the black squares, and the really difficult task of cluing AND filling a puzzle without ever using the most COMMON letter in the alphabet, the e.  To do both is awesome. This is Bruce's first LAT publication, his NYT debut in January of 2013, was with 4 "1"s made of the blocks, then his second recently on Valentine's Day that created a little KERFUFFLE , and finally another grid theme Tuesday in the NYT as a collaboration with Peter Collins. The fill includes every other letter and some really sparkly fill including three grid spanners, PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM,  PSYCHOANALYZING and TOTALITARIANISM. Also a slew of nice nine letter fill, ALAN ARKIN, CANADIANA,  COSTA RICA,  DRAMATICS, HAND HOLDS and PUSSYCATS, and really fun triple 7 stacks top and bottom. I am really curious as to what everyone thought of this and whether you will grade it an A or an F. Is there a theme, or is it a themeless without any E?

The reveal:
65A. What this grid's big symbol is, Across and Down : MISSING.

Across:

1. Small amount : JOT. I get my J right away.

4. WWII MIA location : POW CAMP. Missing In Action (not Miami). Prisoner Of War. Stalag 13 (0:51)?

11. NFL captains : QBS. QuarterBacks. A very misleading and not necessarily true clue.

14. __ Jima : IWO. Back in "WWII, the big one". What 1950's TV show is that line from?

15. High-class tobacco products : HAVANAS.

16. Samovar : URN. not an expert, other than from my Russian grandmother

17. GPS finding : LATitude. A CSO to the Times?

18. Good chap : OKAY GUY. Not sure why, but I really liked this fill.

19. Nonpro sports org. : AAU. Amateur Athletic Union.  Has a storied but controversial HISTORY in American amateur sports.

20. Plot : TRACT. Land not a story.

22. Providing with a transcript, possibly : CCING. Another CSO?

24. __-tzu : LAO. Father of TAO.

25. Climbing aids : HAND HOLDS. Nice  alliterative fill. Many resorts and cruise ships are offering climbing places.

29. Arm support : SLING.

31. Viral chorus? : ACHOOS. Really another very fun clue that is Friday fair; that talent is nothing to sneeze at.

32. Turkic Russian : TATAR.

33. Histrionic display : DRAMATICS. I think every family has at least one Drama Queen.

37. Roast, in a Baja dish : ASADA. Thank you Taco bell for teaching me this one.

38. Stuck : IN A RUT.

39. __ mining : STRIP.

40. "Argo" actor : ALAN ARKIN. Still have not seen that movie, though Arkin was great in Catch-22.

43. NBA coach Thomas : ISIAH. Sports trivia are tough on many solvers, especially when you are using a great player who had a very short coaching CAREER.

44. Historic town in Lazio : TIVOLI. Really obscure, even if the garden is famous.

45. Santa __ winds : ANA.

46. Innocuous sorts : PUSSYCATS. Not my first thought but in hindsight it works, usually with Big and baby talk.

50. Way to find out what you know : FINAL. Exam.

52. 3-D graph part : Z-AXIS. To join the x and y to get the third dimension.

53. "It's just __ thought ..." : AS I.

54. "South Pacific" song : BALI HAI.

60. Highway or city stat : MPG. Miles Per Gallon.

61. "Illmatic" rap star : NAS.

62. Mythical symbol of purity : UNICORN. Purity, really? I did not know this.

63. Fitting : APT.

64. Room with hoops : GYM. I guess a basketball court is a room, and I like the hoops misdirection.

66. Albany is its cap. : NYS. I understand this must stand for New York State but I find this a real stretch as NY is the state where Albany is the capital.


Down:

1. Dump : JILT. Originally a word for harlot, it became just a deceiver in love. Probably from a woman named Gillian or Jill. So maybe that is why they went up the hill.

2. Man __ : O'WAR. What a random and challenging fill in the blank. A great racehorse.

3. Autocratic approach : TOTALITARIANISM. This was a big word I heard often while I was growing during the Cold War.

4. Book with shots : PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM. Really nice clue/fill, especially bracketing a nine letter fill.

5. Poison __ : OAK. Ivy, Oak and Sumac, the poison sisters.

6. Morgantown's st. : WVA. West Virginia whose basketball team in 31-0 this season, only undefeated team.

7. Low island : CAY. We have lots of Cays and Keys in our area.

8. Afr. country : ANGola.

9. If said again, group in a 1950s African uprising : MAU. You can draw your own conclusions, but this was talked about when I was very little. HISTORY.

10. Studying on a couch? : PSYCHOANALYZING. My favorite Psyc professor was a Neo-Freudian.

11. Draw back with alarm : QUAIL.

12. Stock mark : BRAND. Nicely done, a mark on the livestock.

13. Curls up : SNUGS. verb (used without object), snugged, snug·ging.

to lie closely or comfortably; nestle. Meh.

 

21. Books about Toronto and Ottawa, say : CANADIANA. Like Americana, *CSO to Eh!.

23. Country abutting Nicaragua : COSTA RICA,

25. Put away : HAD. I had 3 pieces of Papa John's.

26. Not down: Abbr. : ACRoss. Context.

27. FDR loan org. : NHA. The National Housing Act was a landmark in the residential buying experience in the US. LINK. Much of what I do these days relates to closings, and foreclosures.

28. Papa John's rival : DOMINOS. All pizza no matter how you slice it.

29. GDR spy group : STASI. German Staatsicherheit meaning State Security. You can READ all about it.

30. Holds up : LASTS.

34. Annoy : IRK.  Is it coincidence this rhymes with jerk?

35. __ bono: "Who stands to gain?" in law : CUI.

36. B&O stop : STN. We know it is station, but is it STA or STN?

40. Org. for Nadal and Djokovic : ATP. Association of Tennis Professionals.

41. Lucy of "Kill Bill" : LIU. Elementary anyone?

42. Colorado NHL club, to fans : AVS. The rather depressing nickname, the Avalanche.

47. Band guitarist, in slang : AXMAN. The axman from AXE, BOBBY BARTH. (2:48)

48. Lacking stability : TIPPY. A stretch for me; that table was tippy?

49. Army squad NCOs : SSGTS. Staff sergeants?

50. Sharp tooth : FANG, So as a vampire, you name your bar Fangoria.

51. Words from Watson : I SAY. All I think of was Nigel Bruce, " I say, HOLMES".(1:09).

55. Buy from Sajak : AN I. Apparently Pat sold all the Es.

56. Paris lily : LIS. You all know 'Fleur de Lis.'

57. Suffix with tact : ICS. So this is ok fill because it is clues properly, but would tact ending be ok?

58. __ polloi : HOI. Literally "The people" in Greek, hoi means "the" so do not say 'the hoi polloi'. Has come to have derogatory connotations.

59. Valiant's son : ARN. The young prince.

Well I am neither young nor a prince, but I had a royal good time with the grid and all the fresh fill. It seemed oddly easy after all, but I cannot imagine the work needed to avoid in fill and clues.  Get ready for more daylight and less sleep. Lemonade out.