Bruce haight

 Title: AYE YI EYE! 

Bruce does a quick turnaround from last week's joint effort with Kevin Christian and delivers a 'sounds like' pun puzzle. The key to a successful pun puzzle is the wit involved and if any make you smile or laugh when you suss what they are parallelling. I have no intention of influencing your opinions, as I perceive my role to be that of guide, but I look forward to your feedback. Well I may suggest my favorite...I also have my nits, will they appear? Not if I use my nit medecine.

We can also find a variety of non-proper noun words sprinkled  in like HOLY SEE, IN A SNAP, LUCIDLY, LOCKSTEP and SODA LIME which an interesting chemical combination and the brand name SKI-DOOS.  So we start with the theme:

17A. Assorted caustic solutions?: PACK OF LYES (10). Pack of Lies. Of course we all know lye is a caustic, as are many of your criticisms.

23A. Receiving annoying questions?: GETTING WHYS  (11). Wise. With so many teachers in the audience, did you get 'annoying questions'? If so what took the cake? And why is it cake?

34A. Agreements just between us?: PRIVATE  AYES (11). Eyes. 

This cute fill, sadly reminds me and perhaps most of the longtime posters of a dear friend who died who signed on as Clear Ayes. 

48A. Quick and unexpected exits?: IMPULSE BYES (11). Buys.  I really enjoyed this pairing and confess that while I was always able to resist infomercial, now Amazon gets more of my money that it should.

57A. Pretense of being a brute?: TOUGH GUISE (10). Guys are supposed to be tough, or so we were taught. The ETYMOLOGY  reveals that this word is related to the root word for WISE. Many times you can just research too much.

Across:

1. Bill collectors?: TILLS. I was not fooled by the clue, but it did take the "T" in 1 down for for this to fill. I wonder if younger people know that the noun till means the same as "cash register?" 

6. "Get back to us" letters: RSVP. We get some French, but doubt you need to know répondez s'il vous plaît to understand the letters.

10. Not much: A TAD. One on Lincoln's chilcren?

14. Elitist: SNOOT. This  person who shows contempt for those considered to be of a lower social class, "looks down his nose at...

15. Resort WNW of Breckenridge: VAIL. There are many fine ski resorts in Colorado, with Vail and Aspen likely the most famous. 

16. '80s-'90s group, informally: GEN-Y. I started trying to think of a musical group. Now we call them MILLENIALS.

19. Very bright: NEON. During the 70s these colors became "dayglo."

20. Some snowmobiles: SKI-DOOS. Back in Colorado for a ride through the snow, the number one maker of snowmobiles was created in Canada (Eh!) back in the 50s. The story goes that the printer screwed up the promotional brochures which were supposed to say SKI-DOG, after the Dogs which pulled the sleds. He did not have the money for a reprint.

21. 2018 CVS Health acquisition: AETNA. CVS is a Rhode Island based company, Woonsocket, RI to be precise; and AETNA was about 70 miles west if you take Connecticut route 44 through my home town of Putnam. One of my uncles and many cousins live(d) in Woonsocket. Anyway, the PRESS RELEASE about the purchase explains it. 

22. Type units: ENS. But not EMS

26. Buccaneer's buds: MATEYS. I do not see Tom Brady calling up some of his Tampa Bay mateys.

28. Mil. category: NCO. Non-commisioned officer. This terminology always seemed oxymoronic to me, but I never was permitted to serve.

29. Vitals checker, briefly: EMT. Emergency Medical Technicians.

30. Letters seen between * and #: OPER. Only if you have a  landline. 

31. Prized smokes: CUBANS. You need to know the real deal.

38. Got on the board: SCORED. Tom Brady or Tom Cruise?

39. Mineral hardness scale: MOHS. Friedrich Mohs, a German mineralogist, developed the scale in 1812. He selected ten minerals of distinctly different hardness that ranged from a very soft mineral (talc) to a very hard mineral (diamond). 

42. Singer/songwriter __ Mia: PIA. I never had heard of Pia Mia Perez who was born September 19, 1996 in Guam, which is a territory of the United States. She is of Chamorro, Italian, Dutch, and Hungarian descent. Watch the 

VIDEO and you decide.

45. Jungfrau, e.g.: ALP.  Literally "young maiden" perhaps if marti were still here she could tell us if this deserves is place as one of the best places in the Swiss mountains.

46. Soap dish?: TV IDOL. A fun clue/fill combo.

52. Sisters pop duo __ & AJ: ALY. More young woman music which I would never have known in a million years but I recently binge watch a 2001-2004 Simon Baker series called  The GUARDIAN. To make a short story long it is about a young lawyer who gets in trouble with the law and because his father is a very successful Pittsburg attorney, he does not go to jail but has to do community service at a free clinic that helps abandoned or troubled children. (hi Moe). The father, played by the awesome Dabney Coleman gets 'involved' with a troubled woman (Farrah Fawcett in one of her final roles) who has a young daughter who is left alone when her mother dies. Whew. The daughter was played by AJ Michala, who with here older sister Aly make up the pop duo. 

53. Con artist's aide: SHILL. This is  "one who acts as a decoy for a gambler, auctioneer, etc.," 1916, probably originally circus or carnival argot, probably a shortened form of shillaber. Which brings us back to Simon Baker, whose character in THE MENTALIST grew up in a carnival.

54. With a sound mind: LUCIDLY. Basically this means clear headed with its origins from the Latin for "shine." A CSO to Lucina.

56. Romeo or Juliet: TEEN. Another fun red herring.

60. Doomed boat in "Jaws": ORCA. I did not recall this but it was easily inferable.

61. Longtime syrup brand: KARO. I think it has been more popular in the south and west.

62. Celebs: NAMES.  Friday difficult. 

63. Look the wrong way?: LEER. Rather a wrong look.

64. Space balls?: ORBS.  Love the movie.

65. Power-saving mode: SLEEP. For both computers and humans.

Down:

1. Five-mL medicine dose: TSP. A Conversion LINK.

2. Just like that: IN A SNAP. in a trice, in a twinkling, in two shakes of a lamb's tail, twinkling etc.

3. Rigid pattern: LOCK STEP. A standard method or procedure that is mindlessly adhered to or that minimizes individuality as opposed to...

4. Trickster in "American Gods": LOKI. I know Loki from THOR and mythology, but I have not sampled this show. I may now. 

5. Stick-in-the-mud: STODGY. Not LOKI.

6. Motorhome stopover, for short: RV LOT. But maybe a visitor to an RV Lot.

7. Speak, as thou might: SAYST. Biblical, which was full of...

8. Battle: VIE. This word.

9. Polite texting letters: PLS.

10. "Nattering nabobs of negativism" speaker: AGNEW. Our dishonest but educated vice-president under Mr. Nixon; I think from Maryland.

11. Raise canines?: TEETHE. Funny.

12. Assumed moniker: ANONYM. Without the ITY it is the "AN" prefix like from ANODE, so it means 'not the name'. Six years of Latin helps .

13. Hereditary ruler: DYNAST. Without the Y, it is the person.

18. Nemeses: FOES.

21. Intense suffering: AGONY. Ah, but wait for the ecstasy, not MMDA.

22. Kind of rock: EMO.

24. Retired, maybe: IN BED. Not yet.

25. Sports scholarship org.: NCAA.

27. Isn't right: ERRS.

31. Seize like Caesar: CARPE. DIEM bro' 

32. Pac-12 athlete: UTE. Utah athletes.

33. Prefix with arid or dry: SEMI.  Random.

35. Words that might expose a bluff: I CALL. Very fun.

36. Lady __: Tenn. college team: VOLS. Volunteers,

37. Gas-absorbing mixture: SODA LIME. Soda lime absorbs carbon dioxide which is invaluable in rebreathing machines like spacecrafts.

40. Vatican jurisdiction: HOLY SEE. The Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes), also called the See of Rome, is the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, which includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome with universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, as well as a sovereign entity of international law, governing the Vatican City.

41. Like some winks: SLY.

42. One traditionally drawn at dawn: PISTOL. Love this wit.

43. Incoming words: I'M HERE. But we are nearing the finish line.

44. Distribution word: APIECE. Two words or one?

46. Stock sector: TECH.

47. Churchillian gestures: V-SIGNS.

49. Type of nerve or artery: ULNAR. Also random

50. Jacket material?: BLURB.On a book.

51. Short-lived '80s-'90s cars that sounded like they should always work: YUGOS. You go Hugo.

55. Twin: DUAL. Not duel.

57. Fight decision: TKO. Technical Knock Out.

58. Blade in the water: OAR.

59. Medium strength?: ESP. And the final witicism, what a medium must have.

jeffrey w

Title: Jeffrey, you light up our lives.

In deference to Boomer, I just got a TURKEY . We have not talked about this that I remember, but since we have many newbies did you know in bowling a BOOMER is a big hooking ball; or a person that throws a big hooking ball. 

Welcome back to the J and J Friday funnies, Jeffrey created this puzzle and I will try and electrify you with my wit and wisdom. There are power outages, so be prepared. This effort begins with a Fridayish grid with 72 words and all the long fill in the theme making it easy to spot what he had in mind. He also folds in a fair amount of 7 letter fill, such as FROLICS, IN TOTAL, LEARNED, MAN-O-WAR, MONTANA, SCREAMS, SHALL WE, SIMILES, SPEEDER, and SPIN-OFF.

The themers:

16A. Tight deadlines may make an electrician's job __: GO DOWN TO THE WIRE (15). THE WIRE was a hugely popular TV show.

24A. An electrician who is testing results may become a __:  SWITCH HITTER (12). A switch hitter in baseball can bat both right-handed and left handed. In life it is a bit of a PERJORATIVE.

42A. An electrician resolves legal matters at __: CIRCUIT  COURT (12). In many jurisdictions (not NYS) the basic trial court for litigated matters. FLORIDA.

56A. A stressed electrician may need an __: EMOTIONAL  OUTLET  (15). One final plug for all the great skilled workers of America who did not need college to succeed, one of my nephews -Jonathan - is a master electrician.

Two grid spanners and no need for a reveal. On to the rest.

Across:

1. "Fear the Walking Dead," e.g.: SPIN-OFF. Most agree that the first TV spin-off was 77 Sunset Strip (1958–1964) which begot Bourbon Street Beat (1959–1960).  I was really into the original, not its progeny.

8. Fixed up: REDONE.

14. Legendary name in racing: MAN O' WAR. This legendary thoroughbred is an all time great LEARN MORE. Seabiscuit was a descendant.

15. Keeps away from: EVADES. Avoid, evades...

18. Reversal: UTURN. Now used beyond driving.

19. Picked up: LEARNED. I picked up some Spanish living is South Florida.

20. Leaves for a drink: TEA. To be witty with simplicity, nice!

21. How it looks, with "the": OPTICS. A 21st century word,

30. Schooner pole: MAST. Sail information for you all on SALE.

33. Where FDR was once governor: NYS. New York State. Following Teddy.

34. Face with courage: BRAVE. Synytax had me fooled for a bit.

35. Counting everything: IN TOTAL. I tried to make this one hard.

37. Poetic devices: SIMILES. I will leave you all up to your OWN, but I learned one called a Calligram - a poem in which the calligraphy, the formation of the letters or the font selected, represents an aspect of the poem’s subject.

39. Link to another story?: STAIR. Again, so sweetly misleading the reader. JW's?

40. "Shameless" network, briefly: SHO. Showtime has aired this irreverent soft-core show with a wonderful cast featuring WILLIAM H. MACY and the yummy EMMY ROSSUM just ending after an 11 year run. 

41. It may be raised at an outdoor wedding: TENT. Such fun cluing! You cannot possible be...

46. Glum: MOROSE. 

47. Old AT&T rival: MCI. When they broke up Ma Bell much of the credit went to MCI which had been born as Microwave Communications, Inc. The history of the 8 baby bells and where thry are all now is facinating, and MCI which became part of the WorlComm scandal is now part og VERIZON.

50. "Let's begin, okay?":  SHALL WE. Pray?

54. Doesn't hack it: FAILS.

59. They may be going around: RUMORS.

60. Saskatchewan neighbor: MONTANA. Our dear friend who many of us have had the pleasure of meeting in person as she travels to visit her farflung children; we met in Denver.

61. Patronize, as a motel: STOP AT.

62. Person well over 70, probably?: SPEEDER. Yay me! But where am I speeding to?

Down:

1. Executed, in Exodus: SMOTE.

2. City near Venice: PADUA. They say it is a GREAT DAY TRIP.

3. "Are you __ out?": IN OR. So many contexts come to mind...

4. "Don't take it so hard": NOW NOW. It is flexible; 1-used to tell someone not to be worried or unhappy: Now, now, don't cry. Everything will be all right. You'll see!

2 - used in speech to express criticism or disapproval in a gentle way

Now, now. There's no need to use that kind of language.

5. Take responsibility for: OWN. This is very 21st century speak

6. Butter component: FAT.

7. Kicks up one's heels: FROLICS. Middle Dutch vrolyc "happy," a compound of vro- "merry, glad" + lyc "like" (see like (adj.)). ... 1)), giving the whole an etymological sense akin to "jumping for joy." Similar formation in German fröhlich "happy."

8. Discuss ad nauseam: REHASH.

9. At any time: EVER. If ever you need me...I'll be there.

10. Vampire's curfew: DAWN. Old fashioned original vampires...

11. Comics dog that sounds like two letters: ODIE.                                                    

12. Bookish sort: NERD. I disagree- bookish synonyms: studious, scholarly, academic, literary, intellectual, highbrow or erudite. nerd synonyms: bore, dweeb, geek, anorak, spod or Poindexter.

13. Wichita-to-Memphis dir.: ESE.

16. __ feeling: GUT. Intuition.

17. Big field in Silicon Valley: TECH. Not a place to land an airplane

22. Cocktail word with a tilde: PIÑA . More music...

23. Texter's "Chat soon": TTYL. Talk to you later.

24. Dispassionate type: STOIC.

25. UPC bar code developer: IBM. Sorry JW and/or Rich, this is another half-truth/ HISTORY.

26. Travis of country music: TRITT. Sorry, I used up my country music link.

27. Account: TALE. That's may story and I am sticking to it.

28. Square: EVEN. We are all square, I paid you back.

29. Sit a spell: REST.

30. Catchall abbr.: MISC.

31. Contradictory prefix: ANTI.

32. Marquee figure: STAR.

36. Capote nickname: TRU. Rhymes with...

37. "Leave me alone!": SHOO. Onomotopoeia.

38. Chits: IOUS. Onomotopoeia.

40. Roller coaster sounds: SCREAMS. Only from the wimps. I just sob quietly.

43. "Wait, what?": I'M LOST. Expliquez, s'il vous plait.

44. Dot on a map: TOWN.

45. Disprove: REFUTE.

47. Creator of an iconic bear: MILNE. Do not pooh pooh the importance of his creation.

48. Understood: CLEAR. Got it!

49. Musician's suffix: IST. Trombonist.

50. X-rated stuff: SMUT. Now come some questionable fill...

51. __ sapiens: HOMO. As a speices we are so shy...,

52. Surmounting: ATOP. This sounds obscene to me

53. Pre-euro currency: LIRA. 

55. Slightly: A TAD. A tad to the left

56. Critical-care ctrs.: ERS. Emergency Rooms

57. Chop (off): LOP.lop "to cut off," originally of branches of a tree, mid-15c. (implied in lopped; place name Loppedthorn is attested from 1287), a verb from Middle English loppe (n.) "small branches and twigs trimmed from trees" (early 15c.), which, along with Medieval Latin loppa, is of unknown origin.

58. Number of World Series wins for the Astros: ONE. What a fun way to clue this word, a CSO to our Houstonians and all of our baseball fans.