Bruce Haight

Title: Football season is here once again.

One of my Friday regulars, Bruce Haight is back with his position paper on the NFL. All five of the themers are two-word phrases with the second word representing a football player's role. The clues all mention football players but the fill has an alternate meaning totally unrelated to the sport. It would have been super cool if he could have presented the offensive line in order, but hey I am feeling greedy. As always he fills in the blanks with some fun words and phrases like PANACHE, TAKEN TO, CLAM ROLL, FLIED OUT,  I AM TOAST, and ON COURSE. Well luckily DORIAN did not stay on course to destroy us, so let's solve a puzzle.

18A. Philanthropic football player?: GIVING BACK (10). I like the pseudo alliteration

24A. Football player who's PR-savvy?: MEDIA CENTER (11). Do people still have these central places for TV, music, DVDs, etc?

36A. Football player with a line?: FISHING TACKLE (13). Football players don't usually use a line, though form one.

50A. Football player with management skills?: BUSINESS END   (11). I associate that phrase with the barrel of a pistol.

57A. Football player at the beach?: COAST GUARD (10). I gre up near the Coast Guard Academy and was going to go there for college until they learned how blind I really was.

Across:

1. Source of seasonal color: LEAF. One of the things I miss about New England.

5. Like bubble baths: SUDSY. Silly.

10. Golfer at Royal Troon, often: SCOT. I want to go in the spring.

14. "I'm buying!": ON ME.

15. "America" soloist in "West Side Story": ANITA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhSKk-cvblc

16. It parallels a radius: ULNA. He is trying hard to trick you, mathematics people.

17. Hot spot: OVEN. Not for a computer or a cellphone.

20. Varieties: KINDS.

22. "Diana" singer: ANKA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-zZ21iW9w

23. Stooge Howard: MOE. We all miss Chairman Moe and his contributions.

27. Head for the hills: RUN.

28. Spots: ADS.

29. Groovy cousin: RAD. More like an evil nephew.

30. Usher: ESCORT.

32. No different from, with "the": SAME AS. Same old, same old.

35. "One more thing ... ": ALSO. Remind you this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZOHmz3bfAI

40. Work out ahead of time: PLAN.

41. Appropriate: SEEMLY.

42. Targets: AIMS AT.

45. Fjord kin: RIA. Water, water everywhere.

46. Book jacket info: BIOgraphy.

49. Goal feature: NET. Soccer (futbol) basketball and more.

54. Hubbub: ADO.

55. Fictional hunchbacked helper: IGOR. Eegor, or Eyegor.

56. Like many windows: PANED. Also many bad puns -pained.

61. It's abuzz with activity: HIVE. Who doesn't love bee humor?

62. Cover for an ear: HUSK. And corny humor!

63. Ending with poly-: ESTER. Want a cracker.

64. Chills: ICES.

65. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MUilZpErlw

66. Monopoly stack: DEEDS.

67. Friend of Mary Poppins: BERT. Dick Van Dyke.

Down:

1. Start of a kid's show-offy cry: LOOK MA. Seen in many professional sporting events.

2. Painfully wished one had: ENVIED.

3. Changes, as a law: AMENDS.

4. Luxury handbag brand: FENDI. This BRAND.

5. Give somewhat: SAG.

6. Start to cycle?: UNI.

7. Backless sofa: DIVAN. This is a long low sofa without a back or arms, typically placed against a wall.

8. Period of work: STINT.

9. "Sandman" or "Joltin' Joe": YANKEE. CSO to Tinman.

10. Long sandwich: SUB. A mini-clecho with...

11. Seafood sandwich: CLAM ROLL.

12. Headed the right way: ON COURSE.

13. Fallen for: TAKEN TO.

19. Long-nosed fish: GARS.  Gar, any of seven species of large North American fishes of the genera Atractosteus and Lepisosteus, in the family Lepisosteidae. Gars, which are related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei, is confined chiefly to freshwater, though some of the species descend to brackish or even saltwater.

21. Joe's 2008 election counterpart: SARAH. I have almost forgotten her. Governor PALIN ?

25. Lingerie item, briefly: CAMI. LINK.

26. Blissful settings: EDENS.

31. Like dried mud: CAKY.

32. Govt. IDs: SSNS.

33. Time of one's life?: AGE.

34. Harsh: STERN. Howard?

36. Hit one that was caught on the warning track, say: FLIED OUT. Baseball for C.C.

37. Acknowledgment of being sunk?: I AM TOAST.  Slang meaning "a goner, person or thing already doomed or destroyed" is recorded by 1987, perhaps from the notion of computer circuits being "fried."

38. Parisian friend: AMIE. Just French.

39. Hold tight: CLASP.

40. Pizazz: PANACHE. What a fun word, meaning flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

43. Barely more than not at all: A BIT.

44. Pulled: TUGGED.

46. "No fighting, now": BE NICE.

47. "The nerve!": I NEVER.

48. Weird to the max: ODDEST.

51. Drunkard: SOUSE.

52. Ticked off: IRATE.

53. Indian title of respect: SAHIB.

58. Reggae relative: SKA.

59. Wine choice: RED. White? Rosé?  Another Moe, CSO.

60. No and J: DRS. The Bond movie and the basketball player.

Jeffrey

Title: I must P!

Hi, Lemonade here back with my Friday foil, Jeffrey Wechsler. It was fun to read Tom's slant on JW's last two Fridays. It reminded me of when marti was reviewing Jeffrey's Thursdays when he first appeared here at the LAT. But now I am back on the clock with another over-sized offering that no doubt was the product of (my guess) the inspired 16 letter fill - PART APPRECIATION (16). With Jeffrey's background as a  curator, I am betting that was where this gem started. Of course, he had to then make the rest of the themers grid-spanners, the middle two at 15 spaces and the outside two 16 spaces. He also introduced some unused fill, one with one prior appearance in any mainstream puzzle, and AHIAHI brand spanking new. We also ger to reveal EXTERNS, HOE CAKE, NYMPHET,  TITULAR, HANDKNIT, and PURLOINS.  There are some very fun words there.

17A. Gratitude for a well-played role?: PART APPRECIATION (16). A literal but funny clue/fill.

27A. Crackin', peelin' and fadin'?: PAINT MISBEHAVIN' (15). By far my favorite, as I could hear the music in my head as this filled.

45A. Couples therapist?: PAIR CONDITIONER (15). How many have ever tried couples therapy?

55A. Extreme example of layering for cold weather?: PANTS IN ONE'S PANTS (16). This is absurd which is its charm, though the second P is distracting.

Time to solve...

Across:

1. Irrigation need: PIPE.

5. '90s trade pact: NAFTA. North American Free Trade Agreement.

10. "Go no further!": HALT. Reminds of Sergeant Schultz from Hogan's Heroes.

14. Heart: CRUX. The heart of the matter. Hey marti, hope you are well.

15. "... __ player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage": Macbeth: A POOR. Jeffrey's Shakespeare quote.

16. Lake near Carson City: TAHOE. It may be the perfect place on Earth.

20. Papal messenger: LEGATE. Now it is an ecclesiastic delegated by the pope as his representative. Historically it was a provincial governor of senatorial rank appointed by the emperor in ancient Rome.

21. On the other side of: Abbr.: ACRoss.

22. Enzyme suffix: ASE.

23. Unscrupulous: AMORAL. As opposed to Anthony Gael Moral.

25. Youthful maiden of myth: NYMPHET. I think of Lolita and Nabokov's words, ""Now I wish to introduce the following idea. Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who, to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as 'nymphets.' " - Part One, Chapter 5." Please no Jeffrey Epstein comments.

31. Clean, as greens: RINSE.

32. Newton honorific: SIR. Isaac.

33. LGBT History Mo.: OCTober.

34. '60s campus gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

35. Start growing: SPROUT.

37. Hem partner: HAW. Hee.

40. Asian language: LAO. Like THAI, just the beginning of the land.

42. Hammer site: EAR. These are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup.

43. Kofi Annan's birthplace: GHANA. His BIOGRAPHY.

49. Like Macbeth in "Macbeth": TITULAR. Like eponymous.

50. Jumpy: ON EDGE.

51. Jeff Lynne rock gp.: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra

52. HP product: INK.

53. Hit: STRUCK. No violence, please.

60. Discrete things: ITEMS.

61. Poetry Muse: ERATO.

62. Fruit with fuzz: KIWI.

63. First name in Latin bands: DESI. Arnaz.

64. "Holy cow!": YIPES. Yipes?

65. Venerable college that owns a river island: ETON. Did you know? Queen's Eyot (pronounced 'eight') is an island on the River Thames close to Windsor. The island has been owned by Eton College since 1923 and has a beautiful clubhouse used for weddings etc.

Down:

1. Angel dust, briefly: PCP. Phencyclidine.

2. Investment option, briefly: IRA.

3. Misappropriates: PURLOINS. There was a famous letter.

4. Nonresident doctors: EXTERNS. Intern ≠ extern.

5. Controversial combat material: NAPALM. This is a highly flammable sticky jelly used in incendiary bombs and flamethrowers, consisting of gasoline thickened with special soaps.

6. Cal. entry: APPT. Calendar - appointment.

7. Golf alert: FORE.

8. Golf club part: TOE.

9. Understood by few: ARCANE.

10. Seuss title top: HAT. Cat in the...

11. "Aloha __": Hawaiian "Good evening" that sounds like a repeated fish: AHIAHI. Not to be confused with AHI AHI.

12. Ease: LOOSEN.

13. Principle: TENET.

16. Lighting area?: TARMAC. My guess is this refers to the runway lights at airports. Very Friday clue/fill.

18. Patterned mineral: AGATE. This one is for sale at $4,200.00

19. Lidocaine brand endorsed by Shaq: ICY HOT. The second appearance of this brand, It was introduced to the LAT and all major newspapers by one C.C. Burnikel July 25, 2017.

23. Car loan nos.: APRS. An annual percentage rate (APR) is the annual rate charged for borrowing.

24. Hotel employee: MAID.

26. Mil. rank: PVT.

28. Comcast, e.g.: Abbr.: ISP. Internet Service Provider.

29. Warning sound: SIREN.

30. Wide-ranging: BROAD.

35. "You're not the only one!": SO CAN I.

36. Ocean State sch.: URI. The University of Rhode Island.

37. Like some homemade sweaters: HAND KNIT.

38. Rare blood type, briefly: A-NEG.

39. Word with hard or soft: WARE.

40. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU. Dr. Watson.

41. Bygone HBO series about a sports agent: ARLISS. You can now stream this series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K19-Q59gDjM

43. Generate: GIN UP. Not a phrase I know. The idiom gin something up means to increase something, to get something going, to stir something up, to agitate or perhaps make a little trouble, sometimes through less than honest means. grammarist.com

44. Southern cornmeal fare: HOECAKE. A hoecake is cornbread made minimalist—a thin, unleavened round made from the simplest batter (cornmeal, water, and salt).

45. "Ecce homo" speaker: PILATE. His Latin name was Marcus Pontius Pilatus. As a child, I heard him called Pontius Pilate (Pilot). It would have been said like the exercise.

46. Makes up (for): ATONES. A continguous clue with religious overtones.

47. Scottish archipelago: ORKNEY. You can READ ALL ABOUT. More arcane knowledge about Great Britain.

48. Ancient statuary fragments: TORSOS.

49. Unenthusiastic: TEPID.

53. Cinch: SNAP.

54. Parisian bean?: TETE. Bean as noggin or the like in French.

56. "That's quite enough": TMI. Too Much Information.

57. "Do it, __ will!": OR I. Sounds ominous.

58. What a V-sign probably means in a restaurant: TWO. I love this clue. Very visual.

59. Envy, say: SIN. One of seven supposedly deadly ones.

Where do al the Fridays go? Another gone, but not before some good old fashioned Jeffrey Wechsler challenge and humor. My two granddaughters are now going to school after a very fun summer. Labor Day approaches. Thank you, Jeffrey and all who read. Lemonade out.

Alicia Bachman & Kurt Krauss , August 9

Title: Up the down staircase.

This is my fifth exposition of a Kurt Krauss' puzzle and his 26th overall. It appears to be the debut for Alicia. I found this to be a very easy Friday, but perhaps because I saw the gimmick as soon as I had solved the first stack of six. I do have the advantage of looking for this type of theme after many years of blogging. I have done many puzzles which require reading words backward, in this case from the bottom to top. Kurt ties this all together by having the phrases each involve one of the suits in a deck of cards. This is revealed by 25A. Gets ready for the big game ... and a hint to four puzzle answers: SUITS UP (7).

Generally, I get the puzzle partially solved and see a theme. I then look for the sparkly fill, which in this case revealed ARRIBA, BOLERO, TRALEE, ISHMAEL,  RETWEET,  ROYAL WE, and  TRACTOR. Then all that is left is the write-up, so let's go.

5D. Preliminary drudgery: KROW  EDAPS (9). SPADE WORK is defined as routine or difficult preparatory work.

10D. Layered lunch order: HCIWDNAS BULC (12). The CLUB SANDWICH was invented in 1894 at an exclusive gambling house in Saratoga Springs, New York, that was called the Saratoga Club House.

21D. Regal headpiece: ARAIT DNOMAID (12). A DIAMOND TIARA like Liz's 

37D. EKG reading: TAEB TRAEH (9).  The electrocardiogram is a test that measures the electrical activity of the HEARTBEAT.

Across:

1. i follower: POD. Since they market both an iPad and an iPod...

4. Cookout aid: SKEWER. We have our mini-theme of meat. Satay or shish kebab?

10. Butcher's assortment: HAMS. Also, bloggers.

14. Blond one in a bar: ALE. Why is there an "E" sometimes in that word? The ANSWER. Starbucks uses the term for its lightly roasted coffee.

15. Cry from a toon sombrero wearer: ARRIBA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOvyRjVQLjE

16. Scratcher: CLAW. The downside of kitty pets.

17. Dog star's first name?: RIN. TIN TIN.

18. Hang around: LOITER. This used to be a crime.

19. Hebrides isle: IONA. The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland.

20. King's self-allusion: ROYAL WE. The origin of this pronoun has been traced variously to 1169, when the English king Henry II used it to mean “God and I,” and to King Richard I, whose use of the pronoun bolstered his claim to be acting in concert with the deity and to be the ruler by divine right. I love the use of "allusion."

22. Share with followers, in a way: RETWEET. Do the Royals ever retweet?

24. Westchester County city known for its Playland: RYE. Clearly an invitation for some WRY HUMOR.

25. Pricey strings: STRADivariuses.

26. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA. Her Q Score has gone way up recently.

29. Roman god: DEUS. The Latin word.

31. Put (out): SNUFF. A troublesome word for me as it is associated with the films in my head.

35. Others, to Ovid: ALII. More Latin.

36. "Exodus" hero: ARI. The movie version was Paul Newman.

37. Ad to lure you in: TEASER.

38. Windshield option: TINT. You can only tint a small area of the windshield.

39. Two-time Wimbledon champ Kvitová: PETRA.  There is more to her STORY than tennis.

41. Ward of "Sisters": SELA.

42. Sidesteps: EVADES.

44. Formally seek justice: SUE. More likely to seek money.

45. Take off: BOLT. Usain?

46. November 1 honoree: SAINT. All Saints' Day to many.

47. 24-Across, briefly: BURB.

48. Señor's "some": UNAS. Hmm...algunos, algunas, algún, unos, unas, algo de all mean some.

49. Leading: ONTOP.

51. __ Aviv: TEL.

53. Melville narrator: ISHMAEL. The opening line is MOBY DICK.

56. County fair sight: TRACTOR.

60. Classic role for Carrie: LEIA. The late Carrie Fisher in STAR WARS.

61. Antique photos: SEPIAS.

63. Supermarket chain: IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance. They operate franchises in 30 countries.

64. Four Tops frontman Stubbs: LEVI. A cornerstone of Motown and a rare baritone frontman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdEQQmO3sqY

65. Seat of County Kerry: TRALEE. This was not in my wheelhouse. As they say, it took 6 perps. Kerry's County town, Tralee is at the base of the majestic Dingle Peninsula in the southwest of Ireland.

66. Swelter: FRY. I did not see this for too long.

67. Didn't dillydally: SPED.

68. Vinny famously called them "utes" in a "My Cousin Vinny" courtroom scene: YOUTHS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBk3dJNSQks

69. Amount to pay: FEE.


Down:

1. Henry VIII's last wife: PARR. She is back again.

2. Assortment: OLIO. A regular CSO for C.C.

3. Reject: DENY.

4. Magnetic Field?: SALLY. "You like me!" A Friday deception.

6. Ashtabula's lake: ERIE. The millionth use of this fill. Abejo is number 1.

7. Joker: WIT.

8. "Roger __ Book of Film": 1996 publication: EBERT'S.

9. Harder to find: RARER.

11. Cream additive: ALOE. Aloe is often in the creams but I use it in its purest form.

12. Locks in a barn: MANE. Cute horse pun.

13. Whack: SWAT.

23. Zap: TASE. I've done "Don't tase me bro" enough.

26. Utility company listing: RATES.

27. '60s-'70s Twins star Tony: OLIVA. A bonus for C.C. - baseball and Minnesota Twins great.

28. Scene of frequent Middle East unrest: SINAI.

30. Before, before: ERE. Very cute clue/fill.

32. Apply to: USE ON.

33. "The Most Happy __": 1956 musical: FELLA. I know the songs, but not the play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwrqoZmW_K4

34. Toga party places: FRATS. FRATernitieS.

40. Robot play: RUR.

43. Peak seen from Messina: ETNA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_9JAsCmYIk

47. Ravel work immortalized in "10": BOLERO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dILIdREylC0

50. Cantankerous: TESTY. Just relax. Let us provide a way that...

52. Facilitates: EASES.  Your...

53. Misfortunes: ILLS.

54. Flow slowly: SEEP.

55. Queen's home: HIVE. Bees, not royals.

56. Tower of Pisa feature: TILT. We just had the lean explained here, didn't we?

57. Bit of bickering: TIFF. Noun. 1727, "outburst of temper," later "petty quarrel" (1754), of uncertain origin; OED suggests imitative, "from the sound of a slight puff of air or gas."

58. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

59. Madcap Martha: RAYE. We share the same birthday though she had 32 years on me.

                                              LINK

62. Six-time NBA All-Star __ Gasol: PAU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaPmioFSqNw

Joe Schewe

Title: There is no "I" in "team" or this theme.

Joe is back for his fifth LAT publication, his first Friday and second 2019 publication. The concept is simple - remove the letter "I" from the first word of a two word in the language phrase and then clue the result for maximum humor. The icing on the Friday cake is the puzzle has both the puns created by removing the letter and a punderful reveal - 63A. Minimal red-removing amount ... and a phonetic hint to four long answers: ONE EYE DROP (10). So you drop one "I" to get the theme. The puzzle is a bit of an homage to our dear editor, who penned this Sunday Puzzle back in 2000.

There is some fun fill such as AMHERST, CISTERN, ELECTEE, MANATEE, OPEN-AIR, RENT OUT, SO AND SO, SOCKETS, TEENAGE, and UNDERGO. Nothing else new to the puzzle world, so let's get on with it. (BTW this is my Friday, we do every other- Lemonade).

17A. Airline category for hombres?: SEÑOR CLASS (10). The "I" disappears from the Senior Class which airlines still mention but no longer discount.

25A. Run in prison?: CON OPERATED (11). Here the I in "COIN" leaves.

37A. Sculptor, at times?: NOSE MAKER (9). This missing I made for the most amusing fill for me. Noise to Nose - very cute.

53A. VIP at royal banquets?: CHEF OF STATE (11).

And since I already gave the reveal, on to the rest.

Across:

1. Promotional giveaways: COMPS. COMPlimentaryS. Freebies.

6. Hard-to-sell wheels: HEAP. I believe it signifies a car ready for the scrap HEAP.

10. Muscles in a flex-off: PECS. Pectorals - chests.

14. Illusory pictures: OP-ART. Optical.

15. __ rug: AREA.

16. Mélange: OLIO. A favorite C.C. word.

19. Colorado's __ Verde National Park: MESA. Go see it. The LINK.

20. It's as low as it gets: NADIR. Apogee is the highest point.

21. Handy bag: TOTE.

23. USPS delivery: CTN. An abbreviation for a carton.

24. Fast no more: EAT.

28. Battle (for): VIE.  Old French: to challenge, provoke from the Latin invītāre to entertain, invite.

29. Menlo Park, N.J., notable: TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.

30. Surgical tools: LASERS. I had YAG laser capsulotomy after my cataract surgery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8EA8kxzGAc

31. Bellicose god: ARES.  Clearly not an airhead.
MYTHOLOGY

33. "__ the night before ... ": TWAS. And all through the blog...

36. Gregg user: STENO. Gregg is a system of shorthand used by many secretaries including all of the ones I employed when I practiced law.  Or a stenographer is a person who makes a written verbatim record using a unique shortened writing style called “steno” on a steno machine.

40. Old Nick: SATAN. Yes, the coach of Alabama football.

43. Massachusetts Bay city: LYNN. Was this a Natick for you?

44. "Little we see in Nature that is __": Wordsworth: OURS.
LINK.

48. Code of silence: OMERTA. Sicilian.


50. Freight weight: TON.

52. Born, in Bordeaux: NEE. Just French that used universally for the birth name of a woman.

56. Chain letters?: DNA. Cute clue; it has been a while since I received a chain letter, though I see many attempts on Facebook.

57. Author Kesey: KEN. And LSD pioneer. He is most famous for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. It reminds me of orange sunshine and purple owsleys.

58. Piece of farm equipment: PLOW?

59. Limited message: TWEET. Nope, I am not falling into that trap.

61. Historic periods: ERAS.

66. USAF NCO: TSGT. "TSgt" in informal parlance, is the sixth enlisted rank (pay grade E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant.

67. Gray's subj.: ANATomy.

68. Uninterrupted movement: SEGUE. Seg-way in its Italian root form.

69. Bit of choreography: STEP.

70. Youngster: TYKE. Etymology: 14th Century: from Old Norse tīk meaning bitch. What?

71. Govt. security: T-NOTE.


Down:

1. NYSE listings: COS. Companies.

2. Like outdoor theaters: OPEN AIR.

3. Dugong relative: MANATEE. Both manatees and dugongs, nicknamed "sea cows", are slow-moving herbivorous (mostly) marine mammals that belong to the Sirenian animal order.

4. Encourage: PROD. That is harsh. Probably a parent who is...

5. Rigid: STRICT.

6. Actor Holbrook: HAL. A wonderful actor who is famous for his portrayal of Mark Twain who is still with us as a 94-year-old.

                                                LINK

7. Sister of Euterpe: ERATO. The Nine Muses were: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, and Calliope. The word museum also comes from the Greek Muses.

8. Writer with lessons: AESOP. A fabulous answer.

9. Soft shade: PASTEL.

10. Little dog: POMeranian.

11. Winner at the polls: ELECTEE. I do hate the EE words.

12. Water storage tank: CISTERN. A fun word.

13. Blankety-blank type: SO AND SO. A wonderful fill, usually dirty so and so.

18. Certain Slavs: CROATS.

22. Clear: ERASE.

24. Girl rescued by Uncle Tom: EVA. Uncle Tom's Cabin

26. Staircase post: NEWEL.

27. Member of MLB's 2017 champions: ASTRO. Watch the series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNrNwwDU1O0

32. 24-Across greedily: SNARF.

34. Acker of "The Gifted": AMY. LINK.

35. Nick working at night?: SANTA.

38. Good way to go out: ON TOP.

39. __ pine: KNOTTY. My childhood bedroom was knotty pine panels.

40. Light bulb holders: SOCKETS.

41. UMass town whose third letter isn't pronounced: AMHERST. I know many who say the "H" but they are wrong.

42. Like many new drivers: TEENAGE.

45. Experience: UNDERGO.

46. Charge to occupy: RENT OUT.

47. Red or Black: SEA.

49. Financially sound: AFLOAT.

51. Having collected the least dust: NEWEST. Meh.

54. Corleone brother: SONNY.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz722F6Qu0I

55. Fine-tune: TWEAK.

60. Fall locale: EDEN. Wonderful misdirection, fall from grace the garden of Eden.

62. Indy letters: STP.

64. Automne follows it: ETE. En francais.

65. Protest leader?: PEE. Urine charge of this clue CED.

Bruce Haight

Title: Even STRANGER THINGS, Eleven's little brother Nine.

Bruce offers us a 15 x 16 puzzle where the theme is the grid which contains 72 words and uses only 9 letters in the alphabet!
We do have a reveal- 64A. Country spelled with the only nine letters used in this puzzle's answers: SINGAPORE (9). Gimmick puzzles can be a lot of fun but seldom have such perfect reveal. I was very impressed by the skill required to bring this home while maintaining the left/right symmetry. The only cheater squares are the three on each side of  SINGAPORE. The puzzle allowed for such sparkly fill as APENNINES, APPEASING, ENGAGES IN, PING PONGS, ASIAN PEARS, and REGRESSION. No doubt some of the fill was a bit obscure, but the final result was all doable once you understood you did not need any alphabet runs. We have some music, some tv, some food.... well it is time to work.

Across:

1. Getaway spots: SPAS. This was a good start for me.

5. Prefix with phobia: AGORA. Initially, I had left this blank, but when I had filled ARGO and ANGORA, I came back put AGORA in. I did not quite get the theme at that point, but it made sense.

10. 2012 Best Picture: ARGO. Ben Affleck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jP5LYTcfMk

14. Subside: EASE.

15. Place to start an IV: PREOP. Do you think it needs a hyphen? Pre-op. Nicely misleading clue because I was trying to decide where they were sticking me.

16. Accessories: GEAR.

17. Yeats' birthplace: ERIN. WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS appeared in a comment this week. Not only a well-respected poet, but he was also very proud of his Irish heritage.

18. Dissect in class, in a way: PARSE. A common crossword concept.

19. "To share, or not to share?" food brand: EGGO. No waffling on this answer.

20. Butters up, maybe: PRAISES. Unless it is your waffle...

22. Long-haired cats: ANGORAS.  This BREED.

24. Prefix with -gon: NONA. This is geometry -a plane figure with nine straight sides and nine angles.

25. Zip: NONE. Hmm, next to each other.

26. Fill in: APPRISE.

29. Wintergreen family herb: PINESAP. This is any of several yellowish or reddish parasitic or saprophytic herbs (genus Monotropa) of the wintergreen family resembling the Indian pipe. It has nothing to do with the SAP from a pine.


32. Once called: NÉE. For a female.

33. Assigning to, as blame, with "on": PINNING.

35. Multitude: SEA.

36. Hoppy brew, briefly: IPA. India Pale Ale. Very hoppy.

37. Search tools: ENGINES.

38. Apple platform: IOS.

39. Formal addressees: SIRS.

41. Factions in "West Side Story": GANGS.

42. Word in family business names: SONS.

43. Former CNN journalist David: ENSOR. I no longer watch any national news but seems like a NICE man.

45. Misunderstanding metaphor: GAP.

46. Pick up: SENSE.

47. Bird seen in only one state: NENE. CSO to our Hawaii readers.

49. Letters near zero: OPER. If you remember the classic telephone.

51. Germane: APROPOS.

54. Like some doubts and injuries: NAGGING.

58. Polish for "dumplings": PIEROGI. Food.

59. Less experienced: GREENER.

60. Football's "Boomer": ESIASON. A HOF quarterback, sort of.

61. Inflation-indexed U.S. savings bond: SERIES I. What is FOR SALE now.

62. __ Marino: SAN.

63. W-2 info: SSN.

Down:

1. Trickle: SEEP.

2. Last of three Catherines: PARR. She was an interesting woman, and here is a LINK to a wonderful historical website.

3. Far East fruit: ASIAN PEARS. This looks like an apple but tastes like a pear and is available in the street markets in Thailand and some large Asian markets here in Florida. Many of the fruits named in this THAI FRUIT LINK are grown in Homestead. Just be careful of the Durian.

4. Ranking: SENIOR. My card says "senior assistant" meaning I am old.

5. Settling down: APPEASING.

6. French fat: GRAS. Foie gras...a delicacy that extends back thousands of years, based on a rather barbaric CUSTOM.

7. Anthem word with an apostrophe: O'ER the ramparts we watched...

8. Parks in American history: ROSA.

9. Corno Grande's range: APENNINES. A complete unknown despite talking with my son and d-i-l about their time in Italy, but nothing here. Geography is clearly my weakest subject.

10. Early personal milestone: AGE ONE. Weird phrasing.

11. Word in medicine that sounds bad but is often good: REGRESSION. Another word that goes both ways - sometimes good, sometimes bad. re·gres·sion (rē-gresh'ŭn), such as shown:
1. A subsidence of symptoms.
2. A relapse; a return of symptoms.

12. Infatuated: GAGA.

13. Spanish medals or metals: OROS. Spanish Gold.

21. Take potshots: SNIPE.

23. Loud ringers: GONGS.

26. Biscotti flavoring: ANISE. Alphabetically first, but man they make many FLAVORS.

27. Jacques of PBS' "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home": PEPIN.
I did not know this SERIES or M. Pepin           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7mtEoMFJ60

28. Does: ENGAGES IN.

29. Goes back and forth: PING PONGS. A nice visual clue.

30. Long periods: AEONS.

31. So yesterday: PASSE.

34. 1493 Lisbon arrival: NINA. HEADLINE.

40. Only Mexican state that borders Baja: SONORA.

42. Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. I really did not know his first name. Listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8l37utZxMQ

44. They get carried away: REPOS.

46. "Night Moves" singer: SEGER. Listen and watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4u6H4lXZiE

48. Scrubbed, as a launch: NO GO.

50. Cut back: PARE.

51. Parrots: APES. Funny, two animals used to mean imitates.

52. City on the Arno: PISA. You can see the river through the town.

53. Hold back: REIN. You need to control your joy at getting this Friday puzzle.

55. Supermodel Sastre: INÉS. This was the last of the total unknowns for me. She is quite pretty and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i1xLPlXAWo

56. Loch of note: NESS. No Eliot for Boomer.

57. Silly look?: GRIN. Yes, what my face looks like now that I made it to the end.

Bruce always delivers some fun and creativity, and today was a classic. I feel blessed to do Friday puzzles because they are so diverse and this was an incredible challenge to create without making it clunky. Thanks, Bruce. Lemonade out.

Michael Paleos

Title: Ten-hut!

Michael Paleos

is a new constructor who already has an NYT and a WSJ publication under his belt. Why he keeps them there I do not know, but it isn't for me to judge. The New York Times was October 24, 2018, and the reveal and puzzle were great. The WSJ on May 9 of this year also had a really fun reveal. Today, we are presented with a reveal that hints at the solution but lets us work at the solve. The rest of the fill is very gettable, but you have to unravel 38A. Splitting with one's group ... or a hint to the theme found in four puzzle rows: BREAKING RANKS (13). First, you need to understand that ranks are military ranks. The next hint is that the military ranks are hidden 4 different across rows. Then you need to picture the military ranks split into two pieces like...

1A. Pickle: DILEMMA paired (7) with 8A. Important biblical river: JORDAN (6) which together gives us a MAJOR. Then knowing the rule of symmetry we go to the very last row and find:
67A. Oregon city where Nike was founded: EUGENE(6) paired with 68A. Comes back: RALLIES (7) which together gives us a GENERAL. Now to find two more rows...you can quickly discard rows 2 and 3, but behold! Row 4 has the delightful pairing
18A. Rundown: RECAP (5) paired with 19A. IMPURE: TAINTED, which together gives us CAPTAIN.  Then go up 2 rows from the bottom to maintain the grid symmetry and locate        56A. High wind: PICCOLO. (7) Very tricky, a high wind instrument paired with 59A. "M.O." rapper: NELLY (5) which gives us COLONEL. And now you know how I solved the puzzle. Michael needed many "cheater"(helper?) squares to make this work, 8 in all which are shown with a plus sign in the black squares in the grid.       

                                                                                                            The stacks of seven and six in the top three and bottom three rows were impressive and the theme was so close to being elegant if he could only have had the Captain Major Colonel General appear in order. There lots of common fill but also he squeezed in AIR ASIA,  ECOTOUR, ICELAND, PICANTE, CABLECAR, DEADLOCK,  RETAPING, and the timely and controversial ROE V. WADE. Now that my write-up is all out of control, let us examine the rest.

Across:

14. Whale-watching excursion, say: ECOTOUR. I found this definition of ECOTOURISM: “Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past, and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local peoples.”

15. It's about 80 miles SW of Buffalo, N.Y.: ERIE, PA. Major (pun intended) to our Erie folk. Do you this BILLIONAIRE?

16. Hot and spicy: PICANTE.

17. Only Jet who was a Super Bowl MVP: NAMATH. The Jets along with the Tampa Bay Bucs and New Orleans Saints have each played in and won 1 Super Bowl.

21. Photo lab abbr.: ENLarge.

22. That, south of the border: ESO. Spanish, man.

24. Food additive: DYE.

25. Something you can stand to lose: LAP. Not a racing lap, the one that goes away when you stand.

28. Lyric tributes: ODES.

30. Med. school subject: ANATomy.

32. Name on a banana sticker: DOLE. This multinational company is at the forefront of growing ORGANIC FRUIT.

33. Winery cask: TUN. I like the definition: an imperial measure of capacity, equal to 4 hogsheads. Cutting the quantity in half each time, volumes were measurement went as follows: tone (tun), butt/pipe, hogshead, barrel, kilderkin, and firkin. While working at a start-up brewery my son reintroduced the firkin as a part of both brewing and sales.

35. Iconic San Francisco sight: CABLE CAR. This is not just a sight, it is a really fun way to get around the city and not get totally worn out by the hills. LINK.

41. Landmark 1973 decision: ROE V. WADE. Now it is all politics.

42. Oxford, to Oxonians: UNIversity.

43. Pay to play: ANTE. Poker and other gambling card games.

44. Mideast seaport: ADEN. Again no comment, but you can watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsMAAgYxEg

46. Natural floor covering: MOSS.

50. __ green: PEA. Or green pea.

51. __Kosh B'gosh: OSH. My boys were dressed in this children's clothing manufacture when they were young.

53. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI. I hope you remember this from two weeks ago. He was a French King.

55. Something you might grab in a hammock: NAP. Also, the sides to keep from falling off.

61. "Okay, that makes sense now": AH, I SEE.

63. Budget carrier headquartered near Kuala Lumpur: AIR ASIA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjHy7_vhdhI

65. Scammer: CONMAN. Sexist, it can be a con woman.

66. Nordic Council member: ICELAND.

Down:

1. Hinge (on): DEPEND.

2. It's pointy and cold: ICICLE. They look very pretty at first.

3. "Livin' la Vida __": LOCA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY

4. Military day's march: ÉTAPE. This is a place where troops camp after a day's march, or the march itself.

5. Many a fed. holiday: MONday.

6. Chop meat: MUTTON. This was tricky because in the US we think only of lamb chops or beef, pork and veal as chop meat.

7. Calculation often using pi: AREA.

8. Spinning __: weaving innovation: JENNY. The STORY of this invention and its impact on the industrial revolution.

9. Provide an address: ORATE.

10. Frosty coating: RIME.

11. Stalemate: DEADLOCK. I am not sure why but I had trouble with this dead-heat being the last to fall away.

12. Fitting: APT.

13. "You're dreaming": NAH.

18. Speed Wagon make: REO. The Reo Speedwagon was a very creative vehicle from Mr. Olds and his Reo company. REO Speedwagon was a band.

20. Aid in reuniting a lost suitcase with its owner: ID TAG.

23. Coffee brand with an orange cap: SANKA. It was all there was for decaf for years unless you wanted to drink grain like Postum.

26. Word of regret: ALAS.

27. __ se: PER.

29. L.A. Clippers owner Ballmer: STEVE. I love that he could be called Steve "Basket" Ballmer, but he is much MORE.

31. Blemished, in a way: ACNED. Meh.

32. Commonly blue fabric: DENIM. Levi Strauss started with Canvas because the miners needed strong pants to hold their gold.

34. Motor City org.: UAW. United Auto Workers.

36. Musical Mars: BRUNO.

37. Office PC nexus: LAN. Local Area Network.

38. Fillet's lack: BONE.

39. Recording over: RETAPING.

40. Panhandle state: IDAHO.

41. Cardi B genre: RAP.

45. Beethoven's Third: EROICA.

47. Browsing, nowadays: ONLINE.

48. Tortilla shell fillers, perhaps: SALADS. When? okay, there is lettuce and tomato along with the cheese and meat, but really?

49. Special Stratego piece: SPY.

51. Broad expanse: OCEAN.

52. A co-star might steal one: SCENE.

54. Taken together: IN ALL.

57. "Woe __!": IS ME.

58. Villain's hideout: LAIR.

60. Morales of "NYPD Blue": ESAI.

61. Great service?: ACE.

62. Astros, on sports tickers: HOUston.

64. Shinto, for one: Abbr.: RELigion.

You already have the grid above so don't be greedy. Welcome Mike and I hope you stop by and say hello. I enjoyed reading your comments when your NYT was published. Lemonade out.

Jeffrey W

Title: To BE or not to BE.

Our resident Shakespeare expert uses the letter B and E to wraparound a word in an in the language phrase. He even provides us with a reveal, that is a bit obscure, but it is a Friday. 38A. Also ... and, in three parts, a hint to the four longest Across answers: BESIDES (7). The three parts are "B" "E" and "SIDES." This advises you that B and E are on the sides of words. Even with 56 theme spaces, the puzzle is chock full of long fill and new fill to add to his always tricky cluing. Example of the fill are DIGITAL,  MADISON,  PALED AT,  TAVERNA,  UNTIMED, FIRST BASE, OBSERVANT,  CALAMITOUS and FRONT TEETH.
He has some foreign language stuff, some sports,








17A. Best Custard Enhancement award?: THE GOLDEN BRULEE (15). We start with a grid spanning fill built off of the Golden Rule. My favorite of the themers.

28A. Eve's incentive not to eat the apple?: ADAM'S BRIBE (10). Adam's Rib is also an Eve reference unless you think only of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6hhK31bD54

46A. Whom to interrupt to end a couple's tedious conversation?: EITHER BORE (10). I like this one a lot also. 

61A. Description of a consistent ogre?: THE SAME OLD BRUTE (15). JW does not get in a RUT unless cranking out fun puzzles that are challenging can be considered a rut. 

Across:

1. Chem lab array: ACIDS. My chemistry classes never trusted us to get near the acids.

6. Grainy side: PILAF. Rice, the one staple in my Oo dominated diet.

11. Pixar SFX: CGI. Computer Generated Imagery has been around in some form since 1974. A LIST of favorite movies.

14. Certain Sri Lankan: TAMIL. Another PEOPLE whose history is filled with the results of Imperialism and ethnic incompatibility.

15. Defense concern: ALIBI. Alibis like eyewitnesses are not very reliable.

16. Orbital section: ARC. Both in the sky and near your eye.

20. Like moves in casual chess games: UNTIMED. Is the time lessened the better you are?

21. Overly orotund orator: GASBAG. Aren't you happy that OROTUND wasn't the fill?

22. Sacred symbol: TOTEM.

24. Pro __: TEM.

25. Romeo's partner?: ALFA. Another Shakespeare misdirection from our Will S. quote master.

33. "Free to Be... You and Me" co-creator Thomas: MARLO. She gathered the celebrities and put together the book which also became a PLAY.

35. Information: DATA.

36. See 13-Down: TEA. Paired with 13D. With 36-Across, summer drink: ICE. No Lemonade this week.

37. Sette minus sei: UNO. Italian for 7 - 6.

41. Minn. neighbor: ONT.

42. Jose's opening?: SAN. Can you see? Nope, California. Do you know the way?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2UpwpTAd8U

43. Je ne __ quoi: SAIS. French expression, used in America

44. Keyboard offering: ETUDE. We had our discussion of this recently.

50. Part of NAACP: Abbr.: ASSN.

51. Roadwork supply: TAR.

52. Israeli desert: NEGEV. Half of the land in Israel. LINK.

54. Big improvement over a mop, for short: WET-VAC. Just what the name sounds like. A new clue/fill from JW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIh5KgJznU

57. Was horrified by: PALED AT. This fill is being introduced in the entire mainline puzzle world today!

63. "Take a load off": SIT.

64. Stealthy fighter: NINJA.

65. Result of a leadoff single: ONE ON. Baseball.

66. "Feh!": UGH.

67. Wyoming county: TETON.

68. Aggressive stingers: WASPS.


Down:

1. Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. Attu Island is so far west, it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the westernmost of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, even farther west than the Hawaiian Islands.

2. "All the Way" lyricist: CAHN. I wish remembered the C a few puzzles ago. A classic Sinatra tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxxDK0sFENo

3. "__ a traveller from an antique land": "Ozymandias": I MET.
"Ozymandias" is regarded as one of Percy Bysse Shelley's most famous works. In antiquity, Ozymandias was an alternative name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Shelley wrote the poem in friendly competition with his friend and fellow poet Horace Smith (1779–1849) who also wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the same name.

4. Like most selfies: DIGITAL.

5. Cinematographer's option: SLOMO. A portmanteau of SLOw MOtion.

6. Fraudulently increased: PADDED. The bill, the expense account, the bra, the damages and many more.

7. Martinique, par exemple: ILE. A French island, clued in French.
JW has used this a few times; it was first used in the NYT by Martin Schneider on a Sunday, Mar 14, 1999

8. CNN host Lisa: LING.

9. Their logo has a mirrored letter: ABBA. I do like their movies.

10. Diamond corner: FIRST BASE. This is only the second time this fill has graced an LA Times puzzle; it was introduced by our own Steve Marron in his solo debut PUZZLE in 2014.

11. Disastrous: CALAMITOUS. Very nice sparkly long word which JW introduces to the LAT. It has appeared only once in an NYT in 2010.

12. Novelist Iles: GREG. A very popular multi-genre AUTHOR. I have read only The Bone Tree so far. I may try more.

18. "__ Smile Be Your Umbrella": LET A. Jeffrey was feeling musically nostalgic this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdtsCb51T7Q

19. Designated driver alternative: UBER.

23. "The Federalist Papers" co-author: MADISON. President 1.
It is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.
25. What jesters do: AMUSE.

26. Mostly private Hawaiian island: LANAI.

27. Incisors: FRONT TEETH. Another fill introduced to both LAT and NYT today.

29. Like Lear, ultimately: MAD. More Shakespeare.

30. Notre-Dame honoree: Abbr.: STE. Saint in French.

31. Switchback features: BENDS. This was the hardest for me to parse since I never hear the term switchback before. The definition is - a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill.

32. Moth-__: EATEN.

34. Paying attention: OBSERVANT. I hope you have been today because this grid is just loaded with the good stuff.

39. Stirrup location: EAR. Did you bone up on your anatomy?

40. Bro, say: SIB.

45. Spot to sip ouzo: TAVERNA. It is all Greek to me.

47. Kentucky Derby showpieces: HATS. There are some nice horses there as well.

48. Change the itinerary: REPLAN.

49. "Great Scott!": EGAD.

53. Nudge: ELBOW. Rude!

54. Fillmore was the last president who was one: WHIG. He is buried in Buffalo with both of his wives. President 2.

55. Lisette's BFF: AMIE. French.

56. You can see Lincoln on one: CENT. President mini-theme. Number 3.

58. Club payments: DUES.

59. On: ATOP.

60. Second-ranked pinochle cards: TENS. A fun GAME that I played when I was young.

61. Nashville sch.: TSU. Tennessee State University.

62. Eye in most of Iberia: OJO. Spanish.

Well, we done did it again. Fabulous fill JW. I leave you with this LINK as we observe Flag Day 242 years after its adoption. Thank you all -  now go and get ready for Father's Day.