Amy Johnson

Theme: The joke went over like a lead balloon.

Amy J. comes to Friday after many Sunday and Monday LAT appearances. A conventional Friday with humorous clue/fill combinations based on the nature of certain professions. All are witty, but not laugh out loud for me. The puzzle also had some unknowns, and some very difficult cluing in places as well lots of longish fill like HOFFMAN, KODIAKS, RETORTS,  UP TO PAR, PRISTINE, STEAMERS, FULLY GROWN, IN THE STARS. I will be interested to see what you all thought of this puzzle with no gimmicks, just challenges; so let's go.

20A. The joke at the audiologists' convention __ : FELL ON DEAF EARS (14). Is this insensitive?

26A. The joke at the chemists' convention __ : GOT NO REACTION (13). My favorite.

44A. The joke at the firefighters' convention __ : WENT UP IN SMOKE (13).This burned me up.

52A. The joke at the cashiers' convention __ : DID NOT REGISTER (14). Cash registers really do not exist in most stores.

Across :

1. Better protected : SAFER.

6. "Poppycock!" : PISH. I was surprised to learn this term came from the 1500s, with so many modern versions (pish posh, pish tosh, pish and tish etc.)

10. Badlands Natl. Park site : SDAK. Be careful of all the outlaws.

14. Coarse : CRUDE.

15. Suspicious of : ON TO. I think of suspicious as not knowing for sure, and onto as being sure.

16. Pup follower? : TENT.  The HISTORY. Apparently the Civil War soldiers who used them thought when set up they looked like a kennel.

17. Up for grabs, in a way : UNLET. Really tenuous tenant connection.

18. Lit. intro : PREFace.

19. "Willard" antagonists : RATS. I thought they were the stars?

23. Solo, say : FLY. All pilots look for their first solo flight.

24. Indian author Santha Rama __ : RAU. I have never been aware of this WRITER.

25. Century-starting year : MMCI. In her NYT debut, Amy commented she did not like using Roman numerals; random answers like this are the problem.

32. Not treat lightly : STRESS.

34. Normandy river : ORNE. Just one the many four letter European rivers you need to know to do puzzles.

35. "Defending Our Nation. Securing The Future" org. : NSA. They not only protect but they create puzzles for BILL G and others. LINK.

36. __ swings : MOOD.

37. "POV" airer : PBS. My TV watching is way down but THIS has promise.

38. Extreme degrees : NTHS.

39. "The Trumpet of the Swan" monogram : EBW.
Not as famous as Stuart Little perhaps but an E.B. White children's book which is also a movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8u4hJo5stM

40. Boxed dozen : JURY. Really nice Friday misdirection as no doughnuts or bagels here.

42. Vail topper : SKI HAT. One of the many Colorado resorts.

47. Part of a friskiness metaphor : OATS. All you wanted to know about sowing WILD ones.

48. Jersey's chew : CUD. Very cute cow clue, not an old Soprano's reference
.
49. "The Simpsons" leisure suit wearer : STU.

56. Not even close : COLD. From the old, am I getting closer game.

57. Lightest meson : PION. Someone please explain to me as my knowledge is just from wiki.  In particle physics, a pion (or a pi meson, denoted with the Greek letter pi: π) is any of three subatomic particles: π0, π+, and π−. Each pion consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson

58. Ex-TV host Stewart : ALANA. Married to Rod and George Hamilton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3vTYCXPXNU

59. Kick back : LOLL.

60. Required bet : ANTE.

61. "R.U.R." writer Capek : KAREL. By now everyone after JzB's write up Wednesday should know this author and his famous play which introduced the word ROBOT.

62. Language that gave us "bard" : ERSE. If you want the 'simple' answer, wiki says Erse can be: an alternative name for any Goidelic language, especially Irish, from Erische. a 16th-19th Century Scots name for Scottish Gaelic.

63. Old Royale 8's : REOS. An impressive looking car.

64. Gambling aids: Abbr. : SYSTSems. I know many a poor man who a prefect blackjack system.

Down

1. Shining target : SCUFF. My mind went to the movies, not my shoes.

2. Journey frontman Pineda : ARNEL. How do you replace Steve Perry? Apparently with a 5'4" Filipino singer. LINK.

3. Mature : FULLY GROWN. I like this fill even if Arnel and I never got very tall.

4. Henry James biographer : EDEL. This multi-volume work was Leon's career. LINK. Having this name and Arnel crossing made getting the first theme fill very tricky.

5. Backtalk : RETORTS.

6. The Carpenters, e.g. : POP DUO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNPAM5ABhvs

7. Regarding : IN RE. Latin.

8. Mississippi travelers : STEAMERS. The river, not the state. Not sure I have heard the term used this way.

9. "Meet the Fockers" co-star : HOFFMAN. Dustin and Barbra were pretty entertaining.

10. Channel relative : STRAIT.

11. Word John doesn't want to see? : DEAR. The kiss off letter.

12. They're seen in columns : ANTS. This old trick did not fool me this time.

13. Lapidary's meas. : KTS. A lapidary is a person who cuts, polishes, or engraves gemstones and KT is the abbreviation for the purity of gold (karat) not the weight of gems(carat).

21. Some flatbreads : NANS.

22. Nero's "Behold!" : ECCE. Latin.

27. Ref. shelf filler : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

28. Singer Rihanna's first name : ROBYN.

29. Where a love story may be written : IN THE STARS. Star-crossed lovers, the Fault in Our Stars...all too sad.

30. Workers' rights org. : OSHA,  Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

31. Tweed lampooner : NAST. The political cartoonist. READ.

32. Drake, maybe : SMEW. We have had this duck before, though many might of thought about Serena Williams' boyfriend who started on Degrassi.

33. Start of a dramatic question : TO BE or not to be.

37. Like new snow : PRISTINE. Such clean perfect fill.

38. End to peace? : NIK. Beat...Neat...This suffix comes from the Eastern European word meaning "one who" but some credit its popularity to the launch of the Sputnik.

40. Evita's man : JUAN. Peron...they liked poodles.

41. As expected : UP TO PAR. As opposed to over par, par value and other reasons why English is so hard to learn.

42. Complacent : SMUG. I like this word.

43. Grizzly Alaskans? : KODIAKS. Can you bear these clues?

45. Walk wearing Luvs : TODDLE.

46. Dramatic units : SCENES.

50. Principle : TENET.

51. Dividing range : URALS. They divide Europe and Asia, but my mind went to Australia first.

52. When one __ closes ... : DOOR. Another hits you in the....on your way out.

53. Hardly blessed events : ILLS. meh.

54. Till opener : ROTO. A motorized way to turn your soil.

55. Crack up : SLAY. The reactions when the jokes are funny.

56. NFL team with a home field bleachers section called the Dawg Pound : CLEveland Browns. The second generation, they often wear dog masks.

Welcome to Friday Amy, look forward to more if C.C. decides not to write every LAT puzzle. Thanks everyone and I hope you are enjoying fall.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Patti Varol

Theme: A pass/fail puzzle, unless you understand the variations of pass, you fail.

A new puzzle from Patti Varol, who is Rich Norris' assistant at he LAT. C.C. did a nice INTERVIEW back in 2013. This style of cross-referential cluing is reminiscent of a 2012 Friday presentation which I believe was the first of her puzzles that I blogged. In this case the single word which is the clue for the four long answers is PASS which appears as the last Across clue, but has no clue.  There is room for a lot if fun fill like ANTHEM, BUTTES, (which reappears immediately after last week's duty in the theme) CONFAB,  DENOTE, LOUISA,  MOREAU,  ONIONY, ENTHUSE, NUANCES,  RAN AMOK,  UTENSIL, BROWBEAT and TIRAMISU. As someone who gets to read all of the submissions to the LAT Ms. Varol has a sense of what is fresh. I know many do not like cross-references, but i think you will like this Friday frolic.

20A. See 69-Across : FOOTBALL THROW (13). The forward PASS changed football forever.

34A. See 69-Across : MAKE THE GRADE (12). Important both in school and in life. Does pass/fail stunt learning? With all of our teachers out there, does competing for a grade improve performance?

41A. See 69-Across : SKIP ONE'S TURN (12). A term familiar to all who play bridge or any other bidding game; can you skip your turn in Monopoly?

56A. See 69-Across : MOUNTAIN ROUTE (13). There are so many famous mountain passes, but did know the TOPOGRAPHY?

And the common clue
69A. Clue for four puzzle answers : PASS.

Across:

1. Some UPS deliveries : CODS. No, Splynter is not bringing fish to your home, or an outdated male garment.  Historically, the term was Cash On Delivery, but UPS has repurposed it as Collect On Delivery, getting the payment and forwarding to its customers.

5. First Homeland Security secretary : RIDGE. It is impossible to not think of this MAN on this anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, and equally impossible to discuss without venturing into politics.

10. Help badly? : ABET.

14. Scott Turow title : ONE L.

15. "I don't give __" : A DARN. Even Rhett was more emphatic than that.

16. It may be hard to resist : URGE. So, why resist?

17. One in una escuela primaria : NINO. Spanish for boy or child.

18. Like two Tim Lincecum games : NO HIT. There have been six in June, July and August this year. A complete LIST.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2yMoxLyKcg

19. Senate garment : TOGA. Fun misdirection did not fool me.

23. Country song : ANTHEM.

24. __ generis : SUI. Latin for of its own kind. In the law, it is used to identify a specific party in litigation.

25. Word with band or toy : BOY. N'sync or Backstreet Boys?

28. "Peace out" : BYE.

29. Struggling with a choice : TORN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sks0x_GJIDs

32. Hardly friendly looks : SNEERS.

36. Idaho motto word : ESTO. Really needed perps to get this. Esto perpetua is Latin for let it be forever.

39. Theater funding gp. : NEA. This time it is the National Endowment for the Arts. LINK.


40. "... like __ not" : IT OR.

46. Doctor with an island of Beast Folk : MOREAU. The wonderful mind of H.G. Wells.

47. Idée source : TETE. Did anyone do David Steinberg's puzzle last week about heads? Awesome.

48. Butcher's units: Abbr. : LBS.

51. Progressive __ : ERA.

52. Gives birth to : HAS. On alert for the birth of my second grandchild. Trying hard to keep up with Kazie.

54. Enjoy the bistro : EAT OUT.

60. Home to many Indians : ASIA.

62. Indianapolis pros : COLTS.

63. Wrap alternative : PITA.

64. Staff at sea : MAST. Not much sailing talk these days, Spitzboov?

65. Food inspector's concern : ECOLI.

66. Showing wear : USED.

67. And : PLUS.

68. "Hamlet" prop : SKULL. Alas, poor Yorick...


Down:

1. Informal chat : CONFAB. A really fun word; from the Latin root that gives us fable.

2. Like some dips : ONIONY.  Just an adjective.

3. Symbolize : DENOTE. A five dollar word.

4. Critter that sleeps upside down : SLOTH. Kinda cute sleeping.

5. Went berserk : RAN AMOK. Amok comes from a Malay word; this is the national language of Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It is spoken by 270 million people, per wiki.

6. Screen VIP : IDOL.

7. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" author : DAHL. Roald wrote so many twisted tales.

8. Breakfast side : GRITS. learned to enjoy them at Skeeter's in Gainesville.

9. Speak with passion : ENTHUSE.

10. Start to focus? : AUTO.

11. Bully : BROWBEAT. An interesting word around since the 1500s.

12. Frittata base : EGG.

13. Leaves in a bag : TEA. In the bag, not left in the bag.

21. Interim software phase : BETA. There really is alpha TESTING.

22. Digital band : RING. Not music but on a finger.

26. Great Seal word : ORDO. Novus ordo secolorum ( "New order of the ages") appears on the back of every one dollar bill so you should recognize the term. If you want more READ.

27. Strategic European river of 1914 : YSER. The BATTLE.

30. Former Quebec premier Lévesque : RENE.  This MAN died 28 years ago.

31. Arms control subj. : N-TEST. I wonder why I get so many bomb related fill.

33. Land with "her back towards Britain, her face to the West," in a William Drennan poem : ERIN.
Not familiar  with Poem but it was an easy guess.

34. Brood : MOPE. Most teenagers do lots of this.

35. Not fancy at all : HATE. In the British sense....

36. Miss Megley's charge, in a Salinger story : ESME.

37. Chocolate-and-toffee bar : SKOR. I have seen it but never bought it and I love chocolate.

38. Layered dessert : TIRAMISU. Only the GARNISH is chocolate for this classic.

42. Waimea Bay locale : OAHU.

43. Easy things to overlook : NUANCES. Very subtle.

44. Diner's need : UTENSIL.

45. Slowpoke's place : REAR.

48. Creator of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy : LOUISA. May Alcott's Little Women.

49. Flat-topped formations : BUTTES. A gimme if you paid attention last week.

50. Places : STEADS.

53. Seller's supply : STOCK.

55. Freshen, as a drink : TOP UP. Never top off.

57. Stable diet : OATS.

58. Giants manager before Bochy : ALOU. Felipe, the oldest brother.

59. "__ be all right" : IT'LL. Do you prefer ROCK or POP ?

60. Juice unit : AMP. Juice as electricity.

61. ESPN reporter Paolantonio : SAL. I am glad I did not have to spell his last name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiLPr1heWiY

Well on that embarrassing note, I wish you all a good week end and remember all the brave people who came to the fore in 9/11 and let them inspire us all to be better people. lemonade 714 out.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Add a little Einsteinium (Atomic Symbol ES)

Back to back weeks of Jeffrey is a new twist on Friday, but the theme of adding ES to the end of the second word of an in the language phrase to completely change the phrase is a classic. The awesome part is that each phrase also completely changes the sound of the second word as well as its meaning. The new phrases are clued with humor. The central grid spanner gives the puzzle a nice appearance. We have all the letters but Q and Z so there are many fun words in the fill plus JW's usual two word fill. CAJOLED, FEEL BAD,  GENESES, NEW MATH, GAME FACE,  IN UNISON,  MILANESE, OLIVE PIT are the features.

17A. Affectionate moniker for a holy river? : OUR GANGES (9).  This GROUP morphs into the RIVER.

31A. Duffer's nineteenth-hole litany? : GOLF GRIPES (10). The grip becomes the complaint for the golfer.

37A. Where some climbers take smoking breaks? : CIGARETTE BUTTES (15). My favorite where the remnant of a cigarette becomes a  thing of BEAUTY.

44A. Highlights of the hippo ballet in "Fantasia"? : JUMBO JETES (10). Ah the 747 becomes this CLASSIC.

62A. Milliseconds? : TINY TIMES (9). Do you think of the Christmas Carol or Herbert Khaury? 

Well enough of the silliness lets get to solving.

Across:

1. Big name in arcades : SEGA.  They lost out to the others like Xbox and Wii in the home gaming but dominate the arcade MARKET.

5. Show pride : BEAM. When you look at a parent watching a child you can see the beam.

9. Speck : ATOM.

13. A or B, in preparations : PLAN.

14. Hard to watch : UGLY. Perhaps this might explain the CLUE.

15. Baseball commissioner emeritus Bud : SELIG.

19. Entry mechanism : STILE. For all you subway riders, this was a gimme.

20. Less prosaic : ODDER.

21. Canceled (out) : XED.

23. __-Picone: women's fashion label : EVAN. Last week it was Anne Klein.

24. Have regrets : FEEL BAD.

27. High court delivery : LOB. Tennis court in honor of the US Open going on now.

29. Storm dir. : ENE.

30. Job application ID : SSN.

34. Eponymous physicist James : JOULE. I found him fascinating, his career was not as a scientist but as a BREWER.

36. Star __: Asian spice : ANISE. And a controversial Herbal TEA.

42. "What's in __?" : A NAME? JW loves him Shakespeare.

43. Town in a 1945 Pulitzer-winning novel : ADANO. John Hersey novel.

47. WWII female : WAC.

50. "You're the __ That I Want": "Grease" song : ONE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPKtMjG5NRQ

51. Nursery purchase : SOD.

52. 1960s educational experiment : NEW MATH.

55. Spirit : LIFE.

57. 22-Down sound : YIP.

59. Vital vessel : AORTA.

60. Amazon transaction, e.g. : E-SALE.

65. Port array : DOCKS.

66. "Amarantine" musician : ENYA.

67. Kick back : REST. I see it more as relax.

68. With 6-Down, savings : NEST. Gratuitous referential.

69. It contains diamonds : DECK. Good clue.

70. Deco designer : ERTE. Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials, per wiki.

Down:

1. "SNL" staples : SPOOFS.

2. Loses, in a way : ELUDES.

3. Plant manager's domain? : GARDEN. Really fun misdirection.

4. Clarence Odbody, in a Capra classic : ANGEL. A wonderful character..

5. Cookout item : BUN. HBG or HD?

6. See 68-Across : EGG.

7. Author Haley : ALEX.

8. Whitman's "Song of __" : MYSELF. Last week he sent Poetry in motion, this week a POEM which I dedicate to the memory of Clear Ayes.

9. Braying beast : ASS.

10. Cabeza, across the Pyrenees : TETE. French equivalent of the Spanish for head.

11. Tapenade discard : OLIVE PIT. A discovery of southern France next to Italy and the land where they speak...

12. Lombardy dialect : MILANESE.

16. Points of origin : GENESES. The Latin plural of Genesis. A different use of ES.

18. NYSE trader : ARBitrage.

22. It may be a toy : DOG. Tricky for such a short fill.

25. Fluish symptoms : AGUE.

26. Doofus : DOLT.

28. Procter & Gamble brand : BRAUN. The razor PEOPLE.

32. Sic on : LET AT.

33. Fascinated by : INTO.

34. Entrance support : JAMB. Door jamb.

35. "Watch how wonder unfolds" snacks : OREOS.

37. Said "Pretty please" to, say : CAJOLED. Straight out of the French Cajoler.

38. Harmoniously : IN UNISON.

39. Determined countenance : GAME FACE. What a great fill; I have seen many game faces in so many different settings outside of sports.

40. Fall setting : EDEN. Oh this is devilishly clever, the fall of man.

41. Foundation : BASE.

45. Exultation : JOY.

46. Found the right words for, maybe : EDITED. I really like this clue.

47. More affable : WARMER. A tricky clue for simple fill.

48. Swear : ATTEST.

49. Unsullied : CHASTE. Not the word I would thing of for these UNSULLIED.

53. Angkor __: Cambodian temple : WAT. This is only a recent gimme: A wat (Thai: วัด wat Lao: ວັດ vad, Khmer: វត្ត wōat) is a monastery-temple in Thailand, Cambodia or Laos. The term is borrowed from Sanskrit vāṭa "enclosure" per wiki.

54. Wavy pattern : MOIRE. From the French moi·ré meaning rippled.

56. Organization name selected over "Buffalos" in a close 1868 vote : ELKS. The BPOE voted 8 to 7 They have counted many Presidents of the US in their membership.

58. Yearn : PINE. This is an interesting word because along with desire, it can signal withering away. From the Latin poena, penalty, from Greek poinē;

61. 63-Down hrs. : EST.

63. Tumblr HQ site : NYC.

64. Jaw : YAK. I guess it is time for me to stop  yakking and wish you all a happy long weekend and Labor Day. Thanks Jeffrey and all the Corner. Lemonade out.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: A Jeffrey Jumble tribute to Owen and Moe.

Adhering to the strict interpretation, we have a word jumble (not an anagram) puzzle that features 63 theme squares including the reveal and a grid spanner in the middle. To make this all work, there is the unusual use of six cheater squares, three in the NW and three in the SE. There are many 3 and 4 letter fill and an overall difficulty that did not seem like a Friday. As usual with JW there were lots of sparkly fill CREDOS, FRERES, KIMMEL, PLINTH, BASE TEN, EACH ONE, GEOLOGY, MC ENROE, REELS IN, ARISTOCRACY, YOU ARE WRONG and a reveal which is very revealing and amusing. As I have said before, the joy in this type of puzzle comes from the phrasing of the reveal and I really enjoyed the image of the letters from Poetry moving about. Anyway, it is time we move about the puzzle.

16A. Formal dissent : MINORITY REPORT (14). Also a movie with TOM CRUISE. Now a TV pilot that ran this SUMMER.

22A. Lead role in many a Western : STEREOTYPE (10). White hat, ruggedly handsome.

37A. Independence Day VIPs : PYROTECHNICIANS (15). They make our fireworks work.

50A. Vegan diet component : SOY PROTEIN (10). They get their protein where they can.

58A. Metaphor for ballet ... or what this puzzle's circles literally contain : POETRY IN MOTION (14).

Across

1. "It came without ribbons. It came without __": The Grinch : TAGS. We start with Dr. Seuss.

5. Glutton : PIG. Hog also fits.

8. Be at loggerheads : CLASH. Hmmm. A HUM .

13. Layered snack : OREO. How many  clues are there for this American classic cookie?

14. Sch. with residence halls named Acadian and Beauregard : LSU. A CSO to Louisiana solvers.

15. Crystal __ : RADIO. We have had this clue/fill before and it brought back memories for some of you. Bill G.?

19. Decimal system foundation : BASE TEN. I will defer to our math mavens.

20. Educator LeShan : EDA.

21. Fig. in TV's "Suits" : ATT. This abbreviation for attorney....as foolish as the premise of the show.

28. Cheap sauce : HOOCH. Interesting HISTORY .

31. Transports : HAULS.

32. Appreciative cry : OLE.

33. Rocky prominence : CRAG.

35. Org. of former Soviet republics : CIS. Is this still operational? LINK . Commonwealth of Independent States.

36. Paired : DUAL. Carburetors?

41. It's found in bars : SOAP. I guess Jeffrey was cleaning up his CLUING to be g-rated.

42. "I see what's going on!" : O HO. Not safe to yell on street corners?

43. In the area : NEAR.

44. Obedience trials org. : AKC. American Kennel Club.

45. __ steak : FLANK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ledh9bMpnko

47. Dropped off : SLEPT.

53. "Quadrophenia" group, with "The" : WHO.
XXXXXXXXXXX

54. Med. recording : EEG. ElectroEncephaloGram.

55. Four-time US Open winner : MC ENROE. The other US Open. John has established a healthy career making fun of his own antics in commercials. The HBO documentary about him and Borg was great.

63. Word on a menu : CARTE. A la.

64. One rarely without a comb? : BEE. Honeycomb humor.

65. Klein of fashion : ANNE.

66. Stopovers : STAYS.

67. Ware lead-in : MAL. All you windows users know this term.

68. Long-term appeal : LEGS. Splynter are you out there?

Down

1. Burger go-with : TOMATO. Not my first thought.

2. Reign of Terror victims : ARISTOCRACY. The French revolution was so bloody. LINK.

3. Biological determinant : GENE.

4. Laundry woe at the Claus home? : SOOT. All those damn chimneys!

5. Public monument support : PLINTH. A really cool word.

6. Real ending? : IST. Ity, ism?

7. Dude : GUY. My wife says, man-guy.

8. Words to live by : CREDOS. From the Latin to believe.

9. Gently massage, wave-style : LAP AT. The waves lap at the shore?

10. Big deal : ADO.

11. Title for Edward Elgar : SIR. The prolific composer of pomp and circumstance music.

12. Popular : HOT.

17. __ judicata: decided case : RES. Literally the thing adjudicated.

18. Catches : REELS IN.

19. "What nonsense!" : BAH.

23. All : EACH ONE. Do not get this one. Each and every?

24. Archaeological site : RUIN. Not necessarily.

25. "What nonsense!" : YOU ARE WRONG. Nice.

26. Work out the details : PLAN.

27. Unadon fillets : EELS. For C.C.?

29. Corn, for example : CROP. So vague needed perps.

30. One may be passed : HAT. So vague needed perps. Once unearthed I enjoyed it.

34. Rocky field? : GEOLOGY.

36. Ivory alternative : DIAL. Soap not Jade.

37. Spots for Smokey: Abbr. : PSAS. Public Service Announcements.

38. Mother of Sean : YOKO. Not sure why this came immediately, there are many Seans.

39. Shoot the breeze : CHAT. Cat in French.

40. These, to Thérèse : CES. French.

45. Monastère members : FRERES. Our French lesson continues.

46. Late-night host since 2003 : KIMMEL. Wow, time flies, I still remember him from Ben Stein' s show.

48. Obsolescent public conveniences : PHONES. I know people who invested heavily in pay phones in the 70s.

49. Word with dance or shoe : TOE. Another stumper.

51. Small-minded : PETTY. Not Tom.

52. Sgt., e.g. : NCO. Non Commissioned Officer

56. List substitute : ETAL.

57. Diamond complement : NINE.

58. See 61-Down : PCS. Personal Computers.

59. Bit in a horse's mouth? : OAT. Tricky.

60. Baseball stat : ERA. Earned Run Average.

61. Longtime maker of 58-Down : IBM. International Business Machine. Sold the business to Lenovo in 2005.

62. Org. supporting exhibitions : NEA. National Education Association.

No naticks, and a great reveal; hope you all unraveled this one. See you in September. Lemonade out.

Mark McClain

Theme: Is this the Gamblers Anonymous meeting? I bet it isn't! How much?

GA, which is better known as the two letter abbreviation for Georgia is added into three thirteen letter phrases to create a new and whimsically clued phrase for which another 15 letter reveal is presented. . With four grid spanning answers, Mark needed lots of short fill to make the grid work, primarily using four letter words, but not THE four letter words. This is the third of Mark's LAT publications that I have had the pleasure of blogging and so far the easiest. The sparkly 6 letter fill came easily and while the gimmick hid for a while, once you see the added letters the long ones were done. This made the rest of the solve go quickly. I enjoyed seeing AMORAL,  BORING,  DADDY-O,  EPONYM,  MITTEN,  RICOHS in the grid. There were some Friday clues/fill and some use of cheater squares to make it all fit. My unknown was COTE, which comes from the same strain as COTTAGE and the vaguely recalled CAEN and LALO. Well let's look it over.

17A. Missed the bird's nest under the eaves? : FLEW INTO A GARAGE (14). I try not to rage.

26A. Red army unit? : BLUSHING BRIGADE (15). Do brides blush anymore?

44A. Druid baker's recipe? : PAGAN CAKE BATTER (15). Since I knew Druids were pagans, and pancake batter popped out, this is where I got the theme.

57A. Carmichael/Gorrell classic, and a hint to this puzzle's theme : GEORGIA ON MY MIND (15). my favorite version. LINK.

Across:

1. Goof : SLIP. Betwixt the cup and the lip.

5. Barnyard cries : MAAS. I think of this defunct retailer.

9. Cook, in a way : BOIL.

13. Scheduled 2022 FIFA World Cup host : QATAR. More scandal there.

15. "As Time Goes By" requester : ILSA.

16. Procter & Gamble cosmetics brand : OLAY.

20. Toon cat : TOM.

21. Farm shelter : COTE.

22. Records, nowadays : TIVOS.

23. Study intently, with "over" : PORE.

24. City SW of Le Havre : CAEN.

33. Thirsts : LUSTS.

34. Bit attachment : REIN.

35. Luau dish : POI.

36. Here, in 24-Across : ICI.

37. Barber's "Vanessa," for one : OPERA.

39. Throw in : ADD.

40. Time meas. : MIN.

41. Drive : URGE.

42. Musical lament : DIRGE

48. Future execs, perhaps : MBAS.

49. They're full of beans : PODS.

50. It was removed from the Dow 30 the same year Nike was added : ALCOA.

53. Protective cover : HOOD.

54. Court : WOO

61. Nike competitor : AVIA.

62. Art medium : CLAY.

63. Shred : OUNCE.

64. Tiny stream : RILL.

65. Damage : HARM.

66. Hits the road : GOES.

Down:

1. Real estate ad no. : SQFT.  SQuare FeeT. Any Q without a U is tricky.

2. "Symphonie espagnole" composer : LALO. Compose yourself then read. LINK.

3. Couple in the news : ITEM. Another celebrity and a nanny?

4. Dog's dog : PAW. Do young people remember feet are called  dogs, and the old 'my dogs are barking complaint? Is it true they name Hush Puppies because of that?

5. Winter warmer : MITTEN.
When I was first smitten
With a perfect white mitten
It wasn't my true love
With her leather glove
But a purrfect little kitten.

6. Natural soother : ALOE.

7. "__ rule ..." : AS A.  Was it Groucho who said, " As a rule I do not smoke.  As a habit I do."

8. Subside : SAG.

9. Likely to elicit a nod? : BORING.

10. Norwegian saint : OLAV.

11. "It is the green-eyed monster ..." speaker : IAGO.
12. Strong cleaners : LYES.

14. Some copiers : RICOHS.

18. "Me neither" : NOR I.

19. Canceled a reservation, maybe : ATE IN.

23. Ore. setting : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

24. Speaker of words like alpha and bravo : CBER. Semi clecho: 29D. Like alpha, but not bravo : GREEK.

25. It's frequently in Italian : ARIA.

26. Aerial view provider : BLIMP.

27. Saint __: Caribbean island nation : LUCIA.

28. Via : USING. I go to work by I-95.

30. Split : APART. Ben-Jen.

31. Sidestep : DODGE. Impossible to not get into politics with this fill.

32. Where to get down : EIDER. My favorite clue, as the misdirection really works. My mindwent to this SONG (3:03)with the rare female lead guitar.

37. Ocean predator : ORCA.
38. Two of Rory McIlroy's major wins, familiarly : PGAS. A record breaking  performance last week by Jason Day and Jordan Speith knocked Rory out of world number 1.

41. Put away, as groceries : UNBAG.

42. Beat address : DADDY-O. I think of Maynard G. Krebs but see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehtEFCuBD_8

43. "__ a trick!" : IT'S.

45. Unscrupulous : AMORAL.

46. Sousaphone, for one : EPONYM. The instrument is names after the inventor.

47. Loud noise : BOOM.

50. Food thickener : AGAR, Cool to this so soon on its own again.

51. Son of Jacob : LEVI. One of 12 sons, Reuben · Simeon · Levi · Judah · Dan · Naphtali · Gad · Asher · Issachar · Zebulun · Joseph · Benjamin.

52. Stamp purchase : COIL. The hardest clue for an easy fill.

53. Icy coating : HOAR. This and rime must be known.

54. Lush : WINO.
55. "The Sea of Faith / Was __, too, at the full ... ": "Dover Beach" : ONCE. All perps.

56. Laudatory verses : ODES.

58. Berlin pronoun : ICH. Wer ist da? — Ich bins! Who's there? — It's me!

59. In the fashion of : À LA.  A little French.

60. Actor's exaggeration : MUG. For the camera dear...

Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Annie where are you?

Well we have Jeffrey back on Friday with a very visual puzzle that
Across:

1. Game piece : TILE. Especially if you play Scrabble.

5. Place for oysters : BED. Cute misdirection. So much I did not KNOW.

8. Perch, at times : LIMB.

12. Beef __: dish sometimes made with Guinness : INALE
14. Enzyme suffix : ASE
15. Social __ : MEDIA
16. Narrow landforms : NECKS
17. Record number, briefly : RPM
18. Hides : SKINS
19. Higher ed challenge : GRE
20. Aromatic : ODOROUS
23. Hägar creator Browne : DIK
24. Emperor before Vitellius : OTHO
26. Yards, e.g. : UNITS
27. Rude look : OGLE
28. "Runaround Sue" singer : DION
29. Path lead-in : OSTEO
30. Pace maker? : FOOT
31. Setting for a Tony-winning Miller play : SALEM
33. Cheers : ROOTS
34. Classic comics catchphrase ... and a hint to four sets of puzzle circles : LEAPINLIZARDS
40. Patronizes, as a hotel : STAYSAT
41. Hold on a diner order : OMIT
45. Common sense : SMELL
46. What Barry White often sings? : BASS
50. Cosmic clouds : NEBULAE
52. Slithery : EELLIKE
54. Fireplace wood : BEECH
55. Relief provider : OASIS
56. South American desert : ATACAMA
59. Like some landscape paintings : MOONLIT
61. Plucked Japanese instrument : SAMISEN
62. Bleepworthy : OBSCENE
63. Sci-fi staples : ETS
64. Calculate, in a way : ADD
65. See 35-Down : TIE
66. U.S. Army E-5 : SGT

Down:


1. Self-important authoritarians : TINGODS
2. __ navigation: aerospace guidance system : INERTIAL
3. Wingtip feature : LACEHOLE
4. Rockies grazer : ELK
5. Some nobility : BARONS
6. Lively wit : ESPRIT
7. Punish for a military rules violation, perhaps : DEMOTE
8. Albanian coin : LEK
9. "Yay, me!" : IDIDGOOD
10. Small currency-market trading quantities : MINILOTS
11. Navajo craftwork products : BASKETS
13. That, in Madrid : ESO
15. Rejects, usually: Abbr. : MSS
21. Laurel and Hardy, e.g. : DUO
22. 1941 FDR creation : USO
25. Selective Service status : ONEA
27. "__ a Thousand Tongues to Sing": Christian hymn : OFOR
32. USMC enforcers : MPS
33. Singer? : RAT
35. With 65-Across, soccer game cry : ITSA
36. Word before or after brand : NAME
37. Corrosive material : LYE
38. Key : ISLE
39. Big name in jewelry : ZALE
41. Distracting the pitcher, maybe : ONBASE
42. Use for a rendezvous : MEETAT
43. Steel girders : IBEAMS
44. Stanley who plays Flickerman in "The Hunger Games" : TUCCI
46. Sommelière's suggestion : BLANC
47. Theatrical features : AISLES
48. It may be freestyle : SKIING
49. Sonnet part : SESTET
51. Tibet University city : LHASA
53. Free : LOOSE
57. Rx spec : MED
58. Furthermore : AND
59. Nice word : MOT
60. Geisha's band : OBIT