Friday, April 11, 2014, David Poole

Theme: Initial here please! Y-not?

By adding a vowel to the beginning of a word or phrase, also in progression like Bernice Gordon's wonderful Wednesday, we have five very different phrases, clued appropriately. I am not sure if they all create hyphenated words, but it looks cleaner to me that way. David has been on our radar many times and my last time blogging his work being a rather controversial effort, VIEW. This is a much tamer theme with two old favorites, the 'add a letter' and the 'vowel progression' in play. This is like a casserole of Bernice's vowels and marti's letter words. The fill had some fun like BARRELS, CURACAO, LEONIDS, MINARET, BETHESDA, PRORATED and TAXI DRIVERS. There seemed to be quite a few initialisms, but maybe that was deliberate in light of adding the letter. Okay, let's do it.

 17A. Cost to join the elite? : A-LIST PRICE. (10) Does the concept of an "A" list bother anyone?

25A. Kindle download that's too good to delete? : E-BOOK KEEPER. (11). I think this is cute and it is consistent with 58A by breaking the word in two when the letter is added.

35A. Origami tablet? : I-PAD OF PAPER. (11). Cute but confusing clue.

49A. Expert on circular gaskets? : O-RING MASTER. (11). The circus meets mechanics, as the torus shaped ring appears.

58A. List of reversals? : U-TURN TABLE. (10). A table is like a list, but that only confuses me.

Across:

1. Hitching aid : THUMB. This answer stuck right out for me.

6. Journalist Paula : ZAHN. One time rising news star at most network news shows, she now hosts a show on Investigative Discovery channel. She left CNN after major scandal about her affair and marriage breaking up. In looking for her link, I ran across a site called wikifeet; most disturbing.

10. Silo occupant, briefly : ICBM. InterContinental Ballistic Missile. To qualify, the missile must have a minimum range of 3,400 miles.

14. Place to practice pliés : BARRE. Is a practice bar a place?

15. Arab League member : OMAN. Oh man, I learned CHAD is not a member, nor is IRAN (Persian, not Arabic); the choices were Oman or Iraq and that Q is pesky.

16. __ Tea Latte: Starbucks offering : CHAI. I like a Chai tea now and then, but no lattes for me.

19. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" composer : KERN. Jerome. Time for a musical interlude.

20. Pay for, in a way : CHARGE. no extra credit for getting this one correct.

21. Wonder Woman accessory : TIARA.

22. Stroke gently : PET. Most women resent being petted.

27. Like some felonies : CLASS A.

29. Seuss pond-ruling reptile : YERTLE. Interestingly, this turtle is now available in an E-Book. (7:49). Yertle does appear to be unrelated to 63A. Feigned : MOCK, and the  Mock Turtle.

30. Ready for FedEx, perhaps : BOXED.

31. Yahoo : BOOR. Calling someone a Yahoo seems outdated but I guess Boor is also.

34. Only 20th-century president whose three distinct initials are in alphabetical order : HST. This is interesting because Truman's  middle name was "S."

39. Common HDTV feature : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

41. Basic water transport : RAFT. Ask Tom Sawyer.

42. French royal : REINE. Queen, en Française.

45. California city on Humboldt Bay : EUREKA. from Archimedes, right Bill G. and Fermatprime?

48. Certain allergy sufferer's bane : POLLEN. That is why they are seasonal allergies.

53. Induced : LED. At least it is not another initialism.

54. Places for pews : NAVES.

55. Places for sweaters? : SAUNAS. Really cute reversal clue, because you start out with cold places where you need to put on a sweater, then...

57. Makes certain of : ICES. And there was the cold place.

62. Jeanne __ : D'ARC. French for Joan of Arc.

64. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. The sad story of the man and the Sewing Machine.

65. Fair : SO SO.

66. Bellicose god : ARES. Bellicose is such a nice word.

67. They may be hammered out : DENTS. So can plans.

Down:

1. TV Guide abbr. : TBA. To Be Announced.

2. McRae of the '70s-'80s Royals : HAL. He became a manager and his sone played in the majors as well. LINK.

3. Ocean State sch. : URI. University of Rhode Island.   Not far from where I grew up; main campus is in Kingston, I believe.

4. Richie's mom, to Fonzie : MRS.C. Cunningham.

5. National Institutes of HealthHealth home : BETHESDA. Maryland.

6. Don Diego de la Vega's alter ego : ZORRO. I liked this ONE (1:47) better than the movies.

7. Pal of 6-Down : AMIGO.

8. Czech diacritical : HACEK. No clue, the perps filled the spaces, but I looked it up. Way more than you wanted to KNOW.

9. Terre Haute-to-South Bend dir. : NNE.

10. More repulsive : ICKIER.

11. Event offering superficial pleasure : CHEAP THRILL. Awful, who would want a superficial pleasure? Dennis, Lois where are you when I need you.

12. Crude containers : BARRELS. Not badly made, but crude oil.

13. Muezzin's tower : MINARET. I am unfamiliar with the clue, but I know the tower, so...

18. Early sunscreen ingredient : PABA. Para-AminoBenzoic Acid.

21. Tapered support item : TEE.

22. Chem. pollutant : PCB. PolyChlorinated Biphenyl. This Bad Boy.

23. "Evil Woman" rock gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

24. Hacks : TAXI DRIVERS.

26. "The Closer" star Sedgwick : KYRA.

28. Libra's mo., perhaps : SEPtember. My youngest is one.

31. Glitzy wrap : BOA. The feathery kind, not the crush and eat you kind.

32. On vacation : OFF. Cute how on leads to off.

33. Stop wavering : OPT.

36. Wee bit o' Glenlivet, say : DRAM.

37. Apportioned : PRORATED. What needs to be done with real estate taxes at closing.

38. Unagi, at a sushi bar : EEL. A C.C. favorite.

39. November meteor shower, with "the" : LEONIDS. 2013. I just watched a PBS show, I think.

40. Liqueur named for an island : CURACAO. One of the ABC islands in the Netherland's Antilles.

The blue one.

43. Once known as : NEE. Referencing the female birth name, before marriage. From the French.

44. "The World's __": 2013 sci-fi comedy : END.

46. "Romanian Rhapsodies" composer : ENESCO. A very accomplished violinist as well.

47. Metric wts. : KGS. Kilo grams, 1000 grams, or 2.2 pounds.

48. One of the Ivies : PENNsylvania.

50. Fur tycoon : ASTOR. John Jacob

51. Ristorante potful : SAUCE. Well, it depends because many Italians call it 'gravy' even if it I a red sauce.

52. Iraqis' neighbors : TURKS.

56. Word with white or fire : SALE.

58. Thurman of film : UMA.

59. Recycling vessel : BIN.

60. Delt neighbor : LAT. Muscles, deltoid (shoulder)and latissimus  dorsi (back).

61. Superhero symbol : ESS. The big S for Superman.

I guess it is time for me to head off into a phone booth and fly out of here for another week. Hope you had a good time.  Lemonade out.

Friday, April 4, 2014, Kurt Krauss

Theme: REBUS, let your mind see the picture.

By now everyone should be used to the concept that Friday will give you something challenging, and often something new to deal with as you solve. We have had conversation (YR?) as to rebus puzzles being pictures like this classic FRAME GAME from USA Weekend magazine.  This will be my third of Kurt's Kreations to blog, and by far the most complex. All of the theme answers require two fill, which intersect, and the intersection is what reveals the single final fill. In effect the second word is inserted "in to" the first word to create a phrase that then stands alone. Tricky, but once you see the idea the rest really fell into place quickly. The symmetry of the top two sets have the intersecting word come from the top down, and the bottom two going down to the bottom from the intersection, along with some very nice 8 letter fill, like ACADEMIA, ONTARIAN, REFRAINS, SERPENTS, SNEAKERS and  VAN BUREN makes this a very fun looking puzzle.

20A. See 4-Down : SADKDLE. 4D. With 20-Across, working again, aptly : BACK.  (11). The common K tells you the fill is "Back in the saddle." Picture the perpendicular message here.

22A. See 8-Down : FAMSILY. 8D. With 22-Across, what red hair often does, aptly : RUNS. (11), The common S  reveals, "Runs in the family."

35A. See 30-Down : BANNK. 30D. With 35-Across, a financially sure thing, aptly : MONEY. (10).this central combination gives us, "Money in the bank."

50A. See 51-Down : MIRLROR. 51D. With 50-Across, do some self-examination, aptly : LOOK. (11). The intersection yields, "Look in the Mirror."

52A. See 53-Down : BUCDKET.  53D. With 52-Across, trivial amount, aptly : DROP. And we finish with my favorite, "Drop in the Bucket."


Across:

1. Biblical kingdom near the Dead Sea : MOAB. I knew I was going to have when I confidently put this in and then confirmed with the perps.

5. Blue : LOW. Feeling kinda punk, down.

8. Chew (out) : REAM. He reamed him a new a******

12. Old empire builder : INCA. Love this near 16A. Donald's address, in comics : UNCA. By his sweet NEPHEWS. (7:33), I called my father's brother "Unc."

13. Construction materials : I-BARS.

17. Like a dotted note, in mus. : STAC. I knew this had to be STACCATO. See LINK.

18. Bob preceder : SIREE. leaving out the "YES" to confuse you. (Yessiree bob!).

19. Tiny fraction of a min. : NSEC. We get this nanosecond frequently.

24. Dander : IRE.

25. Some tech sch. grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.

26. Soweto's home: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa. Home to our now veteran veterinarian constructor, Gareth Bain, who has used NSEC in his works.

27. Great time, in slang : GAS. From nitrous oxide?

28. Rain cloud : NIMBUS. Our friend the cumulonimbus.

30. Fair ones : MAIDENS.

32. Julius Caesar's first name : GAIUS. A very common name, shared by an UNCOMMON man. 46D. Gallic girlfriends : AMIES. Gallic being French, amies are French girlfriends; in homage to Gaius Julius Caesar we can recall "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est...." The beginning of his history of the invasion of Gaul. More on our Latin/Roman mini-theme, 21D. Roman god : DEUS. Just the Latin word, but because it looks like the name of the Greek god, ZEUS, this could be hard. Also, 44D. Dawn goddess : AURORA.

33. Said : VOICED. Often times opinions....

34. Tandoori bread : NAN. Or NAAN.

36. Grilling sound : SSS. The steak or shrimp on the Barbie. Welcome back Kazie.

39. Macduff and Macbeth : THANES. This was a Scottish term the equivalent of Counts.

41. Charity, e.g. : DONEE. One who receives from a donor is a donee.

43. Slipped past : EASED BY.

45. Sunday best : FINERY.

46. Soccer star Freddy : ADU. The son of Ghanian woman who won a green card lottery, Adu was considered an up-and-comer for United States football; much speculation surrounded his potential for future success, and he was even referred to as "the next Pele." With our mini-theme, 31D. Pelé's first name : EDSON. More specifically, Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

47. __ Simbel, site of Ramses II temples : ABU. You can read about it HERE. Do you agree the next fill should our old friend the Simpson's shopkeeper, APU?

48. Michaels et al. : ALS. So may Michaels in the world, we get the Miracle on Ice announcer.

49. Galoot : APE.

54. "Was __ loud?" : I TOO.

55. Having no room for hedging : YES/NO.

57. '20s tennis great Lacoste : RENE. Nice shirts? Chemise?

58. Designer Saarinen : EERO. Old time crosswordese. An architectural family, not like Ted Mosby.

59. Cynical response : SNEER.

60. Leftover bits : ORTS.

61. 40th st. : SDAK. No clue where the Dakotas came in.

62. Whiz : PRO.

63. "Over here!" : PSST.

Down:

1. Not where it's expected to be : MISSING. So simple, yet I can see it hiding for a while.

2. Windsor resident : ONTARIAN. Eh, another Canadian reference.

3. Scholarly milieu : ACADEMIA.

5. Fine cotton threads : LISLES. made from long staple cotton. Yeah, I really know what that means.

6. Awards named for a location : OBIES. Off Broadway.

7. Kids' card game : WAR. This is now a money game in the casinos here.

9. Banner : ENSIGN. Apparently when you use your national flag at sea it becomes an Ensign. If you watched Sheldon I am sure you would know all about vexillology, or on the Game of Thrones, the bannerman. Sunday night!!!

10. Amtrak speedsters : ACELAS.  The high speed trains incorporated into our rail system. The name comes from Acceleration and Excellence, they say.

11. Store with a star : MACYS.

14. Choruses : REFRAINS.

15. Queasy near the quay : SEASICK. This made me queasy.

23. Earned : MADE. Oh that life were fair and people actually made what they earned and earned what they made.

29. Squeeze plays involve them : BUNTS. Aren't you glad we has all the discussion of this last week.

33. Jackson follower : VAN BUREN. Martin, president number 8 following Andrew Jackson. Martin was from Buffalo and the first president born after the US was born.

35. 1995 Will Smith/Martin Lawrence film : BAD BOYS. Twenty years ago they made this MOVIE. (2:46).

37. Running pair : SNEAKERS.

38. Malicious types : SERPENTS. If the answer were snakes it would have come easier.

40. Try, as a case : HEAR. The Judge and/or jury "hear" the case.

41. Record : DISC. Hard to get away from the verb.

42. Seer's challenge : EYE TEST. The one examination I have never been able to do well on.

43. Corrected, in a way : EDITED.

45. Prefix with carbon : FLUORO. The ENEMY of our world?

48. Running back Haynes, first AFL player of the year : ABNER. On Friday, you do not get Lil, you get this He is perhaps most famous for winning the toss and choosing to kick off in overtime in the championship game against Houston. LINK.

56. Equinox mo. : SEPtember.  Autumnal equinox.

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.

Friday, February 28, 2014, Daniel Landman

Theme: Pat, give me a G, no better make that a double!

The letters "GG" are inserted into descriptions or expressions to create a new phrase clued wackily.My second offering from this rabbinical student living in Jerusalem, the first being a January Friday with PE removed from phrases. So we take away, we add, I wonder what is next. I like most of the theme, but not crazy about the middle grid-spanner for reasons listed below. The rest did not seem like a Friday at all with the plethora of 3,4 and 5 letter fill. with the longest non-theme fill 6 letters. Well into the fray, let's see where we come out.

18A. Non-magical "Harry Potter" animal? : MUGGLE DEER. (11). If you somehow missed the entire Harry Potter craze, Muggles are what the magical ones call humans. Mule Deer have big ears and live out west in the US.

23A. Camembert left out in the sun too long? : SAGGY CHEESE. (11). Supposedly the baring of the teeth which comes from enunciating 'Cheese' is where the expression started. Camembert like brie, often sags.

37A. Woman's enticing movements? : FEMININE WIGGLES.(15) A grid spanner, and the odd man out in two ways, as it is the only one with GG added to the second word, and the meaning of the phrase does not change much as wiggling is certainly one of the ways of the world.

52A. Miracle in the mire? : BOGGY WONDER.(11). Boy wonder is used to describe any prodigy, from Mozart to David Steinberg; growing up in New England we all know BOGGS..

58A. Periodical dedicated to stylish boots? : UGGS WEEKLY. Are UGGS considered stylish, I always thought they were so named because they were ugly but comfortable? The advertise in US Weekly? Weakly?
and a bonus hint...

63A. Best Picture of 1958, and a hint to this puzzle's theme : GIGI. Love Maurice Chevalier, and I have always taken this advice to heart. LISTEN.(1:04).

Across:

1. "Poetic" or "Prose" mythological work : EDDA. No Icelandic hint on Friday.

5. Movie-rating org. : MPAA. Motion Picture Association of America

9. R&B singer known for popularizing Auto-Tune : T PAIN. Not only had I not heard of this artist, I had no clue there was such a device infecting modern music. I certainly was interested by the effects on Cher's Believe but I had no clue, even though I have heard the sound again. I really enjoy when a constructor teaches me something I never knew, and I feel rather foolish for missing the whole controversy. LINK.

14. Device for Marner : LOOM. Well George Eliot's Silas Marner will always stick in my mind if only because as a youngster  I was fascinated by George being a woman. The literary device of the LOOM can be discussed, but her contribution to Victorian literature in this and others like Middlemarch is a question only of degree.

15. Orderer's reference : MENU. Orderer, what an awkward sounding word.

16. "In what way?" : HOW SO.

17. Not to mention : ALSO.

20. Shill : PLANT. The audience member placed there to fool the others into thinking they are having a good time, or need to spend money.

22. Serengeti predators : LIONS. Semi clecho, 25D. Serengeti scavenger : HYENA. Finally, 60D. Serengeti prey : GNU. Sums up the region and life.

26. Whammy : HEX. marks the spot? In Liverpool?

29. Cockney location word : ERE. We are not there, we are 'ere.

30. Bean opening? : SOY.

31. Constant flow : STREAM. Are we too early for prostate humor?

33. Annoy : MOLEST. I had a very hard time sussing this, as lots of people have annoyed me....

36. Inventing middle name : ALVA. Mr. Edison to you.

42. Gulf of __ : ADEN.

43. Stands : ARISES.

44. The Aztecs' Tonatiuh, for one : SUN GOD. Not up on my Aztec deities, but this filled easily.

47. Bert Bobbsey's twin : NAN.

48. Old sports org. with a red, white and blue ball : ABA. American Basketball Association.Home of the incomparable Dr. J., Julius Erving who played at UMass when I was in undergrad and graduate school in UConn. What a player, and the NBA owes the three point shot, slam dunk contest and other changes to the ABA.

                                                         The last ABA game

51. Germaphobia may be a symptom of it, for short : OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

56. British bishop's headdress : MITRE. A word every crossword solver should know.

57. Target : AIM AT.

64. Japanese comics : MANGA. My kids were very into MANGA and ANIME, I will ask YR to explain more about how they fit in Japanese culture.

65. Kitchenware brand : EKCO. I heard that before.

66. First name in case fiction : ERLE. Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason.

67. Rebuff : SPURN.

68. Lunkhead : DODO. A shout out to our own who derives her nick name from her name not a reminder of the extinct bird which was believed to be not very intelligent.

69. One may make you uncomfortable : LEER. Or it might make you pretty excited...


Down:

1. Go by : ELAPSE. Where does the time go, we are on the downs already.

2. Almighty __ : DOLLAR. Ah yes, the American Dream.

3. How much to take : DOSAGE. Well after last Sunday, it is nice to see AGE make a comeback.

4. First __ equals : AMONG. An odd sounding phrase from the LATIN to describe the senior member of a group of peers.

5. "Dee-lish!" : MMM. Good.

6. Little, in Lille : PEU. Straight French, an accessible for those who parle un peu.

7. Position, as a pool cue : ANGLE.

8. Bellow title hero March : AUGIE. This was the first of his three National Book Awards; I have read his work and  enjoyed them, not equally, but certainly Herzog and Mr. Sammler's Planet have stuck with me. He also won a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize. However my favorite AUGIE (0:20) who would fit because of the 2 G's.

9. Place to browse : THE NET.

10. Sci-fi vehicles : PODS. The ships or the home of the body snatchers?

11. Reverence : AWE.

12. Expert finish? : ISE. If we complain about ADE as a puzzle answer, how Expertise?

13. Here-there link : NOR.

19. Fan's disappointment : LOSS.

21. 1980s-'90s heavyweight champ : TYSON. Now a media star.

24. E. follower : COLI.

26. Word after raise or catch : HELL.

27. Place for a nest, perhaps : EAVE.

28. Short holiday? : XMAS. I thinks this is cute, certainly once I saw the answer I thought it was cute.

32. Joplin works : RAGS. I know Scott Joplin wrote Ragtime music, but I was ready to nitpick, but...

Merriam Webster says it is a composition in ragtime,short for ragtime. First Known Use: 1897

33. Artistic dynasty : MING. C.C. any thoughts?

34. Sun. message : SERmon. Sunday.

35. Strong like string : TWINY. String is not strong, twine is strong string which is doubled up.

37. Burkina __ : FASO. I have never heard of this COUNTRY, let alone know where it is located.
Damn you American geography.

38. Cabinet dept. : EDUCation.

39. Heal : MEND.  A HEART? (3:00).

40. Part of Caesar's boast : I SAW. VIDI.

41. Italy's largest port : GENOA. No, I did nota noa that.

45. Sci-fi character nicknamed Ben : OBIWAN. Kenobi. Ken, ben?

46. Heap affection (on) : DOTE. Followed by....

48. Regard highly : ADMIRE. Which leads to....

49. Hunting dog : BEAGLE. Snoopy?

50. More pretentious : ARTIER.

53. "__ is good" : GREED. Saw the promo a million times.

54. "Wall Street" antagonist who said 53-Down : GEKKO.. Michael Douglas.

55. Spinal Tap guitarist Tufnel : NIGEL. One of many CREATIONS (0:50) of Christopher Guest.

56. Roman Cath. title : MSGR. Monseigneur.

58. Verbal stumbles : UMS. Er, I hope you all got this one.

59. Disparity : GAP. Like this?

61. PC screen type : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

62. "__-hoo!" : YOO.  Boo-hoo, we are done for another week.

Can you believe we are two months into the year already, the Olympics are over, and spring is on the way for all you who choose to live in the frozen north. I am off to my day job, so I will see you all at the beach next time. Lemonade out.

Friday, February 21, 2014, Peg Slay

Theme: I need to break you LLs up!

Great symmetry in this letter replacement puzzle,  with the first "L" of double Ls in four letter words ending 'ALL', are replaced with an I (the first word in theme 1,3 and 5; the last word in theme 2,4) to give a new phrase clued with humor. This is our second offering from Ms. Slay, with marti expostulating on a letter add on in May of 2013. I found this on the easy side for a Friday, but since it is gimmick free that may be all I needed. The pallbearers morphing into milkmaids seemed a bit macabre, but the rest were amusing. Let's look over the puzzle.


17A. Device that tracks certain weather? : HAIL MONITOR. (11). (HALL monitors prowl dormitories) This would be a very limited use device, but we do get a few hailstorms every years, once in a while enough to dent cars.

23A. Make a mournful cry louder? : DRIVE UP THE WAIL. (somebody wailing, like at the dentist, would drive me up the WALL).

39A. Follow, oater-style? : TAIL IN THE SADDLE. (TALL in the saddle will always conjure this IMAGE) (1:05).

48A. Run-of-the-mill letters? : PEDESTRIAN MAIL. ( I visited the 16th Street MALL when last in Denver)

61A. Eight maids a-milking? : PAIL BEARERS. (This combination cast a slight PALL on my solving experience, because images of funerals bring back memories). I think their are usually 6 pallbearers. Are Jack and Jill the most famous pail bearers?


Across:

1. "Sesame Street" lessons : ABCS.

5. Logo, e.g. : EMBLEM.

11. NASA vehicle : LEM. An actual acronym Lunar Excursion Module.

14. Word spoken con affetto : CARA. Some Italian, with affection dear.

15. Lead ore : GALENA. This is something I know only from doing puzzles; do we have geologists in our midst? I have a nephew who works in that field.

16. "Should I take that as __?" : A NO.

19. Ken. neighbor : INDiana.

20. Handle : SEE TO.

21. Karaoke need : MIC. I guess the world has decided this is an independent word.

22A. Together, in music : A DUE. Italian again, due is two.

27. Bulldog, perhaps : ELI. Yale has more than one nick name. This sort of ties to 37D. Annex, maybe : ELL, which I thought would not be in the puzzle because of the LL.

28. German article : DAS. The neutral (non-masculine or feminine) LINK. 1D. Rhine whines : ACHS. Little pun on wine/whine. Maybe you need a dictionary? LINK. Our multilingual crowd (Kazie, marti, etc., will tell you more).

29. Lollapalooza gear : AMPS. Another abbreviation (amplifiers) that appears to now be a word.

33. They may be in columns : ANTS. Army ones anyway.

36. More ironic : DRIER. senses of humor I guess, I thought this was very hard to suss.

42. Short exile? : EX-PAT. He is only  5'8"

43. Tops : A-ONE.

44. __-portrait : SELF. Selfies from the phone are taking over.

45. Watch : EYE.

46. 64-Across opposite : NAY. 64A. 46-Across opposite : YEA.

56. Pie crust ingredient : LARD. Not many big companies use pig fat anymore.

57. Tidy sum : WAD. He had quite a wad of cash.

58. Warmer for a snowy day : COCOA. Maybe this would WORK; I will mail you the A.

60. Tree ring revelation : AGE. Yes when the sequoias get together for a reunion, it is always a circus.

65. Jeans measure : INSEAM. Just be careful who is doing the measurements for you.

66. Auditor's mark : TICK. The check mark.

67. Humerus locale : ARM. Near the funny bone.

68. Expels : EGESTS. IN = into: E = from, immigrate, emigrate. Just simple Latin.

69. Santa __: dry winds : ANAS. A day late for our own Santa baby.

Down:

2. Sounded like a flock : BAAED. The were baaed to the bone.

3. Old-time newsman : CRIER. Really going back when you got your news from the town crier, who did not whine.

4. 1972 missile pact : SALT I. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks ; I was ratified, II was abandoned when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

5. Id checker? : EGO. Nice Freud lesson, our ID (as in libido) is kept in check by our EGO.

6. "Holy cow!" : MAN.

7. Skycam carrier : BLIMP. Goodyear I lives nearby me. Come fore the TOUR, then stop by for a snack.

8. The Beatles' "__ Be" : LET IT.  You want to be in this STUDIO. (3:09)

9. Cain's oldest son : ENOCH. Exile or not.

10. Deface : MAR.

11. Saved for the future : LAID ASIDE. In this context I always say PUT aside, but this WORKS.

12. Blasé state : ENNUI.

13. Hobby shop purchase : MODEL.A shout out to Dennis who is tolerating the Florida winter rather well.

18. Stir : MOVE.

22. Accolades : AWARDS. Comes from a Latin word for neck (collum) because recipients got stuff to wear around their neck. We still give out medals (see Olympics) that way.

24. Panache : ELAN.

25. Utah's __ Mountains : UINTA. We have had these a couple of times before, but they have not stuck in my mind.

26. Norse mythology source : EDDA. Classic crossword answer.

29. Put away : ATE.

30. "Where the Wild Things Are" boy : MAX. My youngest loved the story and we went to the movie when it came out many years later; he loved it. I did  not.


31. Winning the lottery, usually : PIPE DREAM. From the dreams of OPIUM DENS?

32. Left rolling in the aisles : SLAYED. Comedians, kill, slay crush...

34. E'en if : THO'.

35. Medicinal shrub : SENNA. A multi-talented PLANT.

38. Instant replay watcher : REF. The third abbreviation which is in this puzzle which has apparently become a stand alone word.

40. Jersey add-on : ITES.

41. Hannity of "Hannity" : SEAN.

47. Gesture-driven hit : YMCA.

48. __ del Carmen, Mexico : PLAYA.

49. Bright-eyed : EAGER.

50. Country sound : TWANG.

51. Put up : RAISE.

52. Isn't busy : IDLES.

53. It originates from the left ventricle : AORTA.

54. Trap at a chalet : ICE IN.

55. Spanish poet Federico García __ : LORCA.

59. Queries : ASKS.

61. __ chart : PIE.

62. Cricket club : BAT.

63. 911 response letters : EMS.