Winston Emmons

Title: Winston, I C what you did here.

We have a Friday add a letter theme presented in a pinwheel grid.




16A. Social media buzz about Alfred E. Neuman?: MAD CHATTER (10).

62A. Jalopy that still works?: GOING CRATE (10).

9D. Vegan regimen for a willowy look?: CATKINS DIET (11).

22D. Trysting place?: CHEATING PAD (11)

With a reveal:

67A. Grade describing the four longest puzzle answers?: C PLUS (5).

Across:

1. Dip with a kick: SALSA.

6. Highest: NTH.

9. Video segment: CLIP.

13. "A Lesson From __": Fugard play: ALOES.  New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best Play of the Year, in 1980, I think.  FUGARD was a South African and outspoken critic of Apartheid.

14. Electronic music effect: WAWA. My son, Devin. uses his wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) which is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah".

15. Helper: AIDE. Even if you are not in the Senate.

18. Labor: TOIL.

19. Montgomery-to-Macon dir.: ENE. I have made this drive.

20. Founded: BASED. The theory was founded on the assumption...

21. Tie feature: KNOT. Silly; they do not come with knots. Oh, I guess if you are wearing one.

22. Fiscal exec: CFO.

24. Removes from the exchange: DELISTS. Delisting occurs when a listed security is removed from the exchange on which it trades. A stock may be removed from an exchange if the company for which the stock is issued is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the exchange. The criteria to remain listed on an exchange differs from one exchange to another. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for instance, if a security's price closed below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days then the exchange would initiate the delisting process.

26. It's not an equine: SEAHORSE.

31. Directed: RAN.

32. Forceful: ASSERTIVE.

34. "There's many __ 'twixt the cup and the lip": old proverb: A SLIP. The origin  STORY. It is cool in a semi-sad way.

38. About one-third of Earth's land area: ASIA. Whis is where the story comes from, as well as my beautiful wife.



39. Slyly disparaging: SNIDE.

41. Monopoly pieces: DICE.

42. Tops: BESTS.

44. Like some posters: STENCILED.

46. Windows competitor: IOS.

48. Big name in auto racing: ANDRETTI.

49. Chicago mayor since 2011: EMANUEL.

53. Addams cousin: ITT.

54. Actress Helgenberger: MARG.

55. Case, often: DOZEN.

58. Hanoi holiday: TET.

61. Radar readout feature: BLIP.

65. "Frozen" princess: ELSA.

66. Grandson of 33-Down exiles: ENOS.

68. Marsh plant: REED.

69. Case, for example: Abbr.: SYN.

70. Permissible: LICIT.


Down:

1. Matching: SAME.

2. Jackson of country: ALAN.

3. Pay dirt: LODE.

4. Holding-on period?: SEC.

5. 49-Down remnant: ASH.

6. Expos, now: NATS.

7. Rough material: TWEED.

8. Taking more time, probably, as a test: HARDER.

10. Ford Field team: LIONS.

11. Nitwit: IDIOT.

12. Trapper's collection: PELTS.

14. Athletic org. founded by Billie Jean King: WTA.

17. Ends prematurely: ABORTS.

23. Pro: FOR.

25. Mike Trout's team, on scoreboards: LAA.

26. Swedish auto: SAAB.

27. Latin I verb: ESSE.

28. Craigslist caveat: ASIS.

29. Sloth and the like: SINS.

30. Musical narrated by Che: EVITA.

33. Paradise: EDEN.

35. Rhythmic cadence: LILT.

36. Tracy Marrow's stage name: ICET.

37. Salon offering: PEDI.

40. Outcome: ENDING.

43. Trifling amount: SOU.

45. Old PC monitor: CRT.

47. Marsh plants: SEDGES.

49. Eventual 5-Down: EMBER.

50. "Atlantic City" director Louis: MALLE.

51. Stand: ARISE.

52. More than a little silly: LOONY.

56. Angels Landing's national park: ZION.

57. Nation borders?: ENS.

58. Soothing application: TALC.

59. Notions case: ETUI.

60. Acid __: TEST.

63. Half of D: CCL.

64. Hudson Riv. engineering school: RPI.

Winston Emmons

Title: Anagrams bug me!

So John Lampkin, my favorite entomologist, what do you think? We have what I believe is the second LAT for Winston Emmons who debuted on Agnes' birthday last month. We have a very consistent insect anagram theme, with what was for me an unnecessary and weak reveal.


SOMEDAY, TAVERNA, CONSISTS, and PACIFIER.



20A. Competition among insects?: GAME OF HORNETS (13). Game of THRONES.

29A. Rule by generations of insects?: GNAT DYNASTY (11). TANG Dynasty.

47A. Tiny but impressive insect?: HECK OF A MITE (11). Heck of a TIME.

57A. Deceptiveness of insects?: FLEAS PRETENSE (13). FALSE Pretrense. 

And the little reveal, 

56D. Ones that have infested four puzzle answers: PESTS.

Across:

1. Actress Gilbert of "The Big Bang Theory": SARA. More famous from Roseanne, where she first worked with Johnny Galecki. They DATED?

5. "Lucky Jim" author: AMIS. The first novel of KINGSLEY.

9. "Be silent," in scores: TACET. Musical scores (as a direction) indicating that a voice or instrument is silent.

14. Stagecraft aid: PROP. Clecho- 65A. Stagecraft arrangements: SETS.

15. Email category: SENT.

16. House: ABODE.

17. App opener: ICON. Click on the icon.

18. Director Preminger: OTTO. This Austrian born DIRECTOR was a major influence on Hollywood and film noir.  He was a big deal when I was young, and also was anactor.

19. 66-Across, e.g.: VENUE.

23. 2000 NBA MVP: O'NEAL. If you did not know or have forgotten, look at the statistics for SHAQ in the 2000 playoffs. He is one of the GOAT in basketball. Kobe was averaging 15 points a game.

24. Part of ENT: EAR. Nose and Throat are the rest.

25. Cartesian conclusion: I AM. Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. This is Dualism, as explained by Rene Des(cartes).

28. Pit stuff: TAR. Brea.

34. City north of Memphis: CAIRO. Memphis, city, and capital of ancient Egypt and an important center during much of Egyptian history. Memphis is located south of the Nile River delta, on the west bank of the river, and about 15 miles (24 km) south of modern Cairo

35. "The Lord of the Rings" actor: ASTIN. Samwise Gamgee became a fan favorite as played by Astin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-RC1REmzpg

36. Brand once pitched by Garfield, oddly: ALPO. It was for their CAT FOOD so it was not so odd.

39. Fabric-dyeing technique: BATIK. Batik is a "resist" process for making designs on fabric. The artist uses wax to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth, leaving "blank" areas in the dyed fabric. The process, wax resist then dye, can be repeated over and over to create complex multicolored designs. A complicated tie-dye.

42. "¿Cómo __?": ESTA. Hi Lucy, hope you feel all better.

43. Macy's competitor: SEARS. Really?

45. Minneapolis suburb: EDINA. When I started reading this blog, this was common fill. In fact, it appears in a PUZZLE from just over 10 years ago. As you can see the comments and the cast have changed.

50. One on first?: WHO. The complete routine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

53. "__ tu": Verdi aria: ERI. Sung by a 27-year-old. LINK.

54. Fairy queen of folklore: MAB. You may need to READ this article.

55. Bee-related: APIAN.

62. Gathered intelligence: SPIED.

64. Israeli carrier: EL AL.

66. Barclays Center, for one: ARENA.  Clecho 2- 67A. Barclays Center team: NETS.Basketball in Brooklyn.

68. Cherry or pear: TREE.

69. Inclined to ramble: WORDY. Oops, was this here to shut me up? Just don't...

70. Stun, in a way: TASE. me, bro!

71. In __: aligned: SYNC.


Down:

1. Peg in a cask: SPIGOT. My ex-wife hated her name being shortened to Peg.

2. One of two tarot card groups: ARCANA. I am not up on Tarot, having learned fortune telling from my French grandmother using a regular deck of cards.

3. Small-space renter: ROOMER. I was thinking of storage units.

4. Sleep disorder: APNEA.

5. Starting: AS OF. May 25, 2018.

6. "Breaking Bad" contraband: METH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re0yU2s-Uw8

7. Enthusiastic about: IN TO.

8. Saved: STORED.

9. Greek restaurant: TAVERNA. Greek: ταβέρνα is a small Greek restaurant, similar to a tavern, that serves Greek cuisine. Who does not love tzatziki: yogurt with cucumber and garlic purée, used as a dip?

10. Help badly?: ABET. I think we have seen this before, but it is still cute misdirection.

11. Is made up: CONSISTS. Not fabricated, but fabricated.  Needed an"of."
1. to make by art or skill and labor; construct:
2. to make by assembling parts or sections.
3. to devise or invent (a legend, lie, etc.).
4. to fake; forge (a document, signature, etc.).

12. Vanderbilt domain: EDU. The domain for Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

13. Where many a drive begins: TEE. Some golf for HG and others.

21. Memorable first name in Olympic gymnastics: OLGA. Ms. Korbut.

22. Vote against: NAY.

26. Arguing: AT IT.

27. Mimic on a perch: MYNA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpfF1xUqbOE

30. Pen part: NIB.

31. Coach Parseghian: ARA. He won NCAA football titles with Notre Dame; how long will puzzle solvers remember this man? Lou Holtz is already fading.

32. Tribal symbol: TOTEM.

33. Whaling, say: ASEA.

34. Ireland's largest county: CORK. Did n't we have this recently?

36. Tennis legend: ASHE. Arthur appears often on Friday.

37. Lascivious look: LEER. In this modern environment, not a good idea.

38. Binky: PACIFIER. My youngest used to keep one in his mouth and one in each hand.

40. Uganda's Amin: IDI. The last King of Scotland is back.

41. Modeling enthusiast's purchase: KIT. A CSO to past pparticipants?

44. Eventually: SOMEDAY.

46. Picked-up: NEAT.

48. Runway safety org.: FAA.  Federal Aviation Administration.

49. Away: ABSENT.

50. Vintage locale: WINERY. Cute clue, not an old location.

51. Hurry: HASTEN. Hasten Jason...

52. "Hold on": ONE SEC. This is one of those phrases which should be banned, it is never just one second.

58. Advance: LEND. Dad, can I get an advance on my allowance?

59. Court bargaining chip: PLEA. I guess the prosecutor uses the offer of a plea as a bargaining chip.

60. "Darn!": RATS.

61. Otherwise: ELSE.

62. Adage: SAW. Most often seen as "old saw."

63. Ace: PRO.