Saturday, May 28th, 2016, Steven J. St. John

Theme: SJSJ

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 26

  This is my second SJSJ puzzle, the last one being back in Jan of '13.  Very similar grids, with a crossing spanner and climber, triple 10-letter corners in the across, but today we have triple 8's in the down.  I did not get my "ta-DA~!" because of one letter, and switching to red-letters revealed one other mistake - at the crossing of proper names, which was the only fun-sponge today.  The long answers;

35a. Dynamo's asset : BOUNDLESS ENERGY

8d. Brand with a Magicube : KODAK INSTAMATIC

ON(3-day weekend)WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Instruments mentioned in the Beatles' "Back in the USSR" : BALALAIKAS - the line is at 2:12 of the clip; my Moscow girl did not get out to the USofA....and a semi-clecho at; 19a. USSR component : SOVIET

 

11. Arguably biased, briefly : UN-PC - I saw this "politically incorrect" sign going to get my power painter, and I had to drive back and snap a pic.  I wonder what they discussed....

15. Resolving : IRONING OUT - well, I hope they ironed out the trouble at Hartwood....

16. Nebula Award winner Frederik : POHL - filled via perps

17. Hanging aid : STUD FINDER - I can't keep one in my tool box or van, because I keep setting it off....oh, come on, that's funny.  At least C.C. appreciates it~!!

18. Gin flavoring : SLOE

20. Direction at sea : ALEE

22. "Cat __ Hot Tin Roof" : ON A

23. It can be added to a million but rarely to a thousand : AIRE - millionaire, thousandaire

24. Ham's transport? : ARK - oh, I thought I was so clever putting in RYE, too.  This is Noah's son, however, and I thought "EGG" was a good answer, as well

26. Woodworking tool : PLANER - don't have one, would like one - and a lathe, too. 

28. Adopt : USE - I tried "OWN"

29. Atheist activist Madalyn : O'HAIR - never heard of her, and my first proper name problem; her Wiki

31. Mil. squad leaders : S-SGTs

32. Phys ed teacher Leonard for whom a band was named : SKINNER - Lynyrd Skynyrd for those who did not know; I learned it from the VH-1 rockumentary.  I did not, however, remember how to spell his name, or the band's, for that matter....

34. Maximum : PEAK

39. Tolstoy title first name : ANNA

40. Be less critical of : LET UP ON

41. Narrow landforms : NECKS -there's lots of land forms called necks here on Long Island

43. Do doer : SALON - I pondered BRUSH

44. Baker's amt. : TSP

47. Hailing from Changwon, say : KOREAN - half perps and WAG

49. Hood et al.: Abbr. : MTs

50. Mascot Misha of the 1980 Olympics, e.g. : BEAR - более России (more Russian)

51. Madrid Mrs. : SRA

52. Groups for biologists : TAXA

54. Italian road : STRADA

56. Internet letters : HTTP

58. On tap : AT THE READY

60. Yet to be settled : OWED

61. Gives up : CRIES UNCLE - I had -----UNDER to start, slowed down the SE

62. Start of a tennis point : TOSS - dah~!  Not LOVE

63. One to follow : PACE SETTER

DOWN:

1. Half an African country, or its capital city : BISSAU

2. Half a beer? : ARTOIS - Stella being the other half

3. Where the Mona Lisa smiles : LOUVRE - le Frawnche musée

4. Bill's "Groundhog Day" co-star : ANDIE - Murray & MacDowell

5. "That's __" : LIFE

6. Subject of the 2013 documentary subtitled "Speaking Truth to Power" : ANITA HILL - the other proper name that got me

7. Slot in a car: Abbr. : IGNition - took too long to figure out

9. Writer of really old stories? : AUEL - did not know her; I do recall the title "Clan of the Cave Bear".  I just read The Golden Compass, and now I am on to book II; side note, two stars from the movie also appeared in Casino Royale

10. Throat trouble : STREP

11. Increases : UPs -OK, I shall up this week's leg picture, by request, to a non-skinny, "gams with meat" girl

Charlotte~!

12. Not anymore : NO LONGER

13. Frustrating sequence : PHONE TAG

14. Blue forecast : CLEAR SKY

21. "The Big Easy" of golf : ELS - good WAG

25. Eastern royals : RANEES

27. Winter X Games host : ASPEN - I was not sure if this was the "X" games, or the tenth Olympic games - which, as I looked later, were held in Grenoble, France, 1968

29. Approved : OK'D - OKed, IDed/ID'd, I sometimes wonder which one is "OK"

30. Outcome : RESULT

32. Charmer's target : SNAKE - snake charmer

33. Take back : REPOSSESS

35. Strategy involving a cushion : BANK SHOT - ah, billiard table cushions

36. Less than a few : ONE OR TWO

37. Opens at the warehouse : UNCRATES

38. Confrontational start : NON - non-confrontational

42. Met : SAT

44. Legislation opposed by the Sons of Liberty : TEA ACT

45. Burden : SADDLE - I got "saddled" with sorting this week at UPS, so that a trainee could work my assignment; I think he should have been trained before this holiday week.  I am just glad to have reached my first three-day weekend of the year - but now we're into Cidiot Season....

46. Slight chance : PRAYER

48. Org. founded on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth : NAACP - seems fitting

50. Sportscaster Musburger : BRENT

53. More, in ads : X-TRA

55. In alignment : TRUE - gotta keep my studs level and true - the bathroom project progresses, and yesterday I began the process of moving in to my new space~!

57. APB senders : PDs - All Points Bulletin, and Police Departments

59. Half a bray : HEE - did you try the other half, HAW~??

Splynter

Saturday, May 21st, 2016, David Steinberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

 Somehow I sensed that there should have been an extra row or column in this puzzle, as Mr. Steinberg's last two offerings on Saturday were both expanded grids.  I moved through this one with relative ease, but got stumped at two Naticks, which kinda bummed me out.  Oh well.  Unlike those previous two, no spanners in today's construction, but triple 11-letter across and almost triple 9-letter downs in the corners.

17a. Whatchamacallit : THINGAMABOB - D'ya know I actually read the word "gewgaw" in a novel last week - I was so pleasantly surprised to see it because it justified the many times its appeared in crosswords, and I said "that's not a word"....

12d. Buddhism branch : MAHAYANA - I was curious, so I looked; here's the Wiki, and it led to the word "Dharma" which is this guitar player

 Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser

62. Amusing editor, at times : AUTO-CORRECT - some very hilarious results WARNING~! Adult Contact - Content~!  Damn, auto-correct

36. Team member in "Moneyball" : ATHLETIC - I thought this was a Wall Street movie, but it's this one; I don't know what movie I was thinking about

ONE EARED~! (Damn auto-correct~!)

ACROSS:

1. Librarians might use them : HUSHED TONES

12. Lt. col.'s inferior : MAJor - I read this as "literary college's" inferior, so I put in "TAs".  Odd.

15. Sci-fi concept : ANTI-GRAVITY

16. Lovelace whom many consider the first computer programmer : ADA - Natick #1, with a proper name crossing a religious branch; "Ida"~?  "Ada"~?

18. Solo on-screen : HAN - this guy; I just finished reading "the making of Star Wars" and "the making of Empire Strikes Back"

19. Trail, perhaps : HUNT - the verb, not the noun; pondered PATH

20. Milky Way source : MARS - the candy bar

21. Camera product : IMAGE - yep, that's the output

23. Tablet container : ARK - historic tablets, not electronic ones

24. Coral Triangle tourist destination : BALI - Mali or Bali~??  I didn't get much help from the crossing

25. Left rolling in the aisles : SLAYED

26. Down a lot : TOPE - I shoulda known this; drinking to excess....

28. __ other : EACH

30. Robot starter : NANO - eh, more like NANO-bot, than robot

31. Pay dirt : ORE

33. Hassle : NUISANCE

35. First instrument for many : RATTLE - I still play the rattle, but it's made by Ludwig, and comes in several pieces

38. Icy Hot competitor : BENGAY

39. Keep secret : WITHHOLD

41. Sushi bar delicacy : ROE - dah.  Not AHI

42. __ pedal: guitar accessory : ECHO - I have a delay pedal, but not an echo, and I really, really want one.  I also have a chorus, distortion, and Zoom pedal, which has multiple effects built in, and there's a pedal accessory that allows me to create a  "wah-wah" effect with it.  I thought the answer might have been "WA-WA"

43. Slam offering : POEM - didn't get it; perps

45. Org. that monitors plants : OSHA - DID get it, the factory kind of plants

48. Nervous person? : NELLIE - har-har

50. Fail to beat the heat : MELT - the only "ice" found in Florida is that under the skates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now even in their Stanley Cup series

52. AIDS-fighting drug : AZT

54. Rough stuff : TWEED

55. Low-cost pub : ZINE - publication and magazine

56. "__ bien" : ESTA - dah~!  Not TRES

57. Storage unit? : BIT - computer storage

58. Vaping devices : E-CIGARETTES - the evolution of these things is incredible; very popular with the younger types at UPS

61. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "I" - fill in "AN", and wait....

63. Mo. for which tanzanite is a birthstone : DECember

64. Comics-derived danger alert : SPIDEY SENSE - well, I wasn't sure how to spell "Spidey", since I didn't read the comic book; I tried SpideE

my kind of spider sense

DOWN:

1. Yoga variety : HATHA - ooops, not ASANA

2. Fine after an accident : UNHURT - ah.  Not TICKET; my experience in one accident was that the other party involved crossed in front of me while I had right-of-way; he was given two tickets - the other for not wearing the seatbelt

3. Well-lit? : STINKO - well, I got it, but the "O" at the end was a bit meh. 

4. "Gimme a __" : HINT

5. Noodle variety : EGG

6. Certain queen's domain : DRAMA

7. Steamed cantina food : TAMALE

8. Like a certain female artery : OVARIAN - I didn't realize there were names for the smaller ones

9. Ink deliverers : NIBS - Dah~!! Not PENS

10. WWII arena : ETO - learned from crosswords

11. Basil's wife on "Fawlty Towers" : SYBIL - a WAG; I thought "sibyl" was the answer to 14D., but it didn't fit

13. Company offering many promotions : AD AGENCY - cute

14. Mystery woman : JANE DOE - Mystery no more~!!  I have found her, and this is what she looks like - I might have solved a LOT of criminal investigations, too~!!

22. Watches over : MANAGES

24. Where an engineer may retire : BERTH - Natick #2, the "E" did me in....I am not sure I get this; does this mean a train engineer and sleeping in a car on the train~?

25. Less forward : SHIER

27. Artery problem : POTHOLE - I got this; I was on a different wavelength from the first artery clue, this one referring to the highways into/from a city

29. Bear fruit? : CUB - oh, so witty

32. Secretly unite : ELOPE

34. Arrogant sort : SNOOT

35. Beverage used in Chinese cuisine : RICE WINE

37. "Eldorado" group : ELO - ah, the song Eldorado; Iron Maiden has a song with the same title

39. Soured : WENT BAD - straight up

40. Part-human mythological creature : DEMI-GOD - CENTAUR fit, too

44. Threat : MENACE

46. Get cracking : HASTEN

47. Ancient cacao bean traders : AZTECS

49. TED talk subjects : IDEAS

51. Encyclopedia Brown's first name : LEROY - perps

53. Discretion : TASTE

55. Italian tubes : ZITI - this helped out a lot in the SE

56. Sera is a form of it : ÊTRE - I pondered "DOSE", as in medical serum; turns out to be the conjugation of the Frawnche, and reminds me of this song

Wax Tailor, with Doris

59. Tea holder : CUP - so simple, I figured it had to be wrong

60. Halting syllables : ers....

Splynter

Saturday, May 14th, 2016, John Lampkin

Theme: JL

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 31

  So pleased to get a John Lampkin puzzle, and this, if I am not mistaken, is his first Saturday publishing, at least for the LA Times.  I have enjoyed his Sunday constructions, and I find his cluing to be fresh and humorous - and today was no exception.  To find out more about John, his interview is here.  Of course, no grid would be complete if he didn't include some animal references - and I was determined to get 1 across, no matter how long it took.  As it turned out, the whole thing took about 30 seconds longer than my personal allotted time, and I have to admit to one red-letter; see 60 down.  Triple 10-letter across corners, triple 9s in the downs;

17a. Hammers home : REITERATES - my first read was "hammer's home", as in TOOL BOX, which wasn't going to work; this is the verb, not the noun

12d. At ten, say : ON THE HOUR - simple, and yet difficult to see in the 'down'

62a. Leftovers dish, perhaps : COTTAGE PIE - never heard of it; had --PIE, and the rest was perps and a WAG

31d. Short putt : TWO-FOOTER

ACROSS:

1. What separates the gulls from the buoys? : WEBBED FEET - it took most of the time to get the NW corner to fill, because I was stuck at 1a. thinking "something ---NET"; this is just plain clever

11. Red number : LOSS - I tried DEBT

15. Come fashionably? : ARRIVE LATE

16. 20 fins : ONE C - I did the math; 20 x 5 = 100, but couldn't fit "C-NOTE"

18. Nail target : ITCH - I had the "B" first, so I tried STUD; can you tell I'm stuck in carpentry mode~?

19. Chemical formerly used in carbonless copy paper manufacture : PCB - Polychlorinated Biphenyl; more from Wiki

20. Challenges : RIGORS

21. "Go away!" : "SHOO~!" - had it in, took it out....

22. Mayan pyramid feature : STEP

 

24. Threw on : DONNED

26. Self-described "non-musician" : ENO - oops, I had EMO first

27. Portent : OMEN

29. It can be before you : ARE

30. Checkup result letters : HDL - cholesterol number

31. Nut features : THREADS

 

This would make a good "john" sign, too

34. Experimental habit? : LAB COAT - I totally nailed this; and yet I did not get "oodles" at 55a.

36. They can be frustrating : WAITS - I lack patience, most definitely

37. Enterprise officer : UHURA - I always misspell this with a third "U" at the end

38. Eponymous Seminole leader : OSCEOLA - all perps, and a WAG at the "L"

41. Kiwi genus : APTERYX - once I had the "P", I knew that birds were "pter", and flightless ones were "A-pter"; the "YX" seemed good taxonomic Latin

43. Disgusted word from Lady Macbeth : "FIE~!"

44. Rest : NAP - I take one every day, roughly between 12-2pm

45. Rest poorly : TOSS

46. Kind of trading, briefly : OTC

47. Pabst brand : STROH'S - a little history lesson

49. Big Ten player since 2014 : TERP - Maryland Terrapins - another animal reference

53. Epps of "House" : OMAR

55. Gobs : OODLES

57. Good name for a London washroom attendant : LOU - lou/loo

58. Net : TAKE

59. Zip : SPEED ALONG - I considered "NOT A THING" kind of zip, but it didn't fit

61. Apple site : EDEN - not the computer ( e.g. DESK ), and not TREE

63. Leftovers : REST - a clecho from 62a., another JL cluing stlye

64. Valuation : ASSESSMENT

DOWN:       

1. Twists : WARPS - common in wood boards, especially 1x lumber

2. Straight up : ERECT - ah.  Not LEGIT

3. Crooked bread? : BRIBE - ah. ah.  Not LUCRE, but I was on the right wavelength

4. Boring piece : BIT - and more carpentry

5. Lasting start : EVER - everlasting

6. Knocked : DERIDED

7. Spouted containers : FLAGONS

8. Big name in stationery : EATON - perps

9. Lasting : ETERNAL

10. Mosaic piece : TESSERA - learned from doing crosswords

11. __ Chiles, portrayer of Dr. Holly Goodhead in "Moonraker" : LOIS

 

13. Lesser : SECONDARY

14. Homeowner's burden : SCHOOL TAX - my "U" from Uhura was leading me to "something TUB"; again, I'm in the middle of building a bathroom, so....

23. Baudelaire, par exemple : POETE - Les Frawnche

25. Times to come out : DEBUTS

28. Plinth course layers : MASONS - ah, the worker, not the stratum

32. Is set : HAS IT MADE

33. Generally gluten-free snacks : RICE CAKES

35. Tea __ : CHEST

 

39. Play that inspired Puccini : La TOSCA - filled via perps; the Wiki

40. Fitting : APROPOS

41. Fit figure, usually : ATHLETE

42. Impersonated : POSED AS - my kind of pose

48. "Sweet Smell of Success" co-screenwriter : ODETS - perps and WAGs

50. Slip to tie a knot? : ELOPE

51. Masterless samurai : RONIN - learned from an episode of "The X-Files"

52. Sound named by George Vancouver : PUGET - funny, I've been reading the making of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back, so I was thinking of the noise sound, not the body of water sound.  I took a vacation to Seattle, and saw the sound - or is that an oxymoron~?

54. Torn : RENT

56. Weakens : SAGS

60. Rover's kin? : LEM - dah~!!  I went with LAM - as in 'going on the lam', which I think is similar to someone 'roving'....and John ends his clues with "kin", I might add....

Splynter

Saturday, May 6th, 2016, Kyle Mahowald

Theme: Debut Too~!!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

  So another new constructor for our Saturday struggle~!  I did not see Kyle's name on the list of authors for the LA Times, and I am not a regular solver of the NYT.  Whenever I see a new name, I realize that I have no experience with their puzzles, and this cuts both ways - is this going to be brutal, or a breeze~!?  Nothing terribly intimidating about the grid - triple 8x5s and 9x6s constitute the longest answers. A little heavy on the proper names again, but I did get through without a look up or red letters. One from each corner;

17a. Criminology concerns : PATTERNS

14d. "Piece of cake" : EASY PEASY - ah, not "AS PIE"

 65a. French for "stick" : BAGUETTE

32d. The Na'vi in "Avatar," for one : ALIEN RACE

OlgaWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. "You're kidding, right?" : "WAIT, WHAT~?"

9. Will matter : ESTATE - First thought, but late fill

15. "I give up" : IT'S NO USE - took a moment to parse this, having "NOUS" in the middle

16. Onomatopoeic dance : CHA-CHA - there was a time when I knew how to do this dance

18. Weapons used on mounts : LANCES - big help in the NE

19. "Out of the Blue" band : ELO - total WAG, but then again, three-letter bands....

20. Beyond harmful : LETHAL

22*. Pabst brand originally brewed in Washington, familiarly : OLY - not a brand I am familiar with; filled via perps

23. They're slow to pick things up : SLOBS - I prefer neat and tidy, unless I am in the middle of a project; then it gets a bit cluttered; my bathroom project just had a deadline added - but a good one if there ever was such a thing

26. Weaken : ABATE

27. Runner's distance : LAP

28. Fall deliveries? : LIBRAS - fresh way to clue astrological signs

30. Play or school follower : MATE - playmate, schoolmate

31*. Alouette 1 satellite launcher : CANADA - Sounded Frawnche, so I put FRANCE in; Canada is "half" French, so I was close....

34. Catch : NAB - waffled in the middle here, had SPY, then GET

36. "Good __!" : IDEA - not LUCK

37*. Oakland's county : ALAMEDA - guessed from A --- A

39. Like some beaches : TOPLESS - all beaches are topless, for guys....

41. Gimlet flavor : LIME - I tried MINT; thinking Julep - must be a Kentucky Derby thing....

42*. 2011 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee : ELS - about the only three-letter golfing name I know

44. By the fire, say : TOASTY - I might be getting toasty by the fake fireplace in less than two weeks - I'll keep you posted~!

45. Sediment : LEES - familiar with this because I made my own beer in college - potent stuff

46. Programming language named for a comedy group : PYTHON - don't know the language, but I do know the comedy

I move...for no man

48*. "The world's an __": Dryden : INN - perps

49*. Mexican painter Frida : KAHLO

51*. Teamsters president James : HOFFA - ah.  Clued as "Jimmy", I would've known

55. Gp. with carriers : NRA - gun club - packing heat

56. Like old timers? : ANALOG - got it

look closely....

58. Word in many Mexican place names : LAS - tried SAN - that was 100% 33.3% correct; or, 67% correct 33.3% - you tell me, D-otto

59. Egg, perhaps : GAMETE

61. More than one can handle : A BIT MUCH

64. Stuck at a chalet, maybe : ICED IN

66. Fit one within another : NESTED

67. "There was a point here somewhere" : "I DIGRESS."

DOWN:

1. Babies"R"Us buys : WIPES

2. Even a little : AT ALL

3. Half a playground exchange : IS TOO~!

4. Stuff that goes kablooey : TNT

5. Trouble : WOE

6. Give a good toss : HURL

7. Equally close : AS NEAR - on the UK show Top Gear, Jeremy would frequently say "as near as makes no difference..." referring to a car's 200mph, 700hp, etc.

8. 1996 treaty subject : TEST BAN

9. Panache : ECLAT

10. Fissile rock : SHALE

11. Light shade ... or avoid the shade? : TAN - the adjective and the verb; here's the noun                         ;7))

12. Praise : ACCOLADES

13. Gossip's stock-in-trade : THE LATEST

21. Goes after : HAS AT - see above, 46a, @ 4:05 for an example

24. Holds accountable : BLAMES

25. Perspective : SIDE

29. Ordered : BADE

30. Pepperidge Farm treat : MILANO

31. Joining the radio show : CALLING IN - I went with PHONING in, and that messed up the whole SW corner

33. Rat : NAME NAMES - the verb in this instance

35. "Ice cream or cake?" response, perhaps : BOTH

38. Highest-ranking : ALPHA

40. Bear with a "thotful spot" : POOH

43. Educational outlines : SYLLABI

47. "Poor baby!" : "TOO BAD~!"

49*. Holmes of "Touched With Fire" : KATIE

50. Words spoken after coming to? : AN END - today's write-up is "coming to an end"

52. High wind? : FLUTE - not fooled, knew we were looking for an orchestra instrument

53. They can be hard to face : FACTS

54. Grill leftovers : ASHES - eh.  More like fire leftovers; grill to me implies food

57*. 1951 title role for Audrey : GIGI

60. Abbr. on a Miami itinerary : EDT - I am anticipating an airport arrival soon, and they, too, will have Eastern Daylight Time stamped on their paperwork

62. Pull : TUG

63. Marseille sight : MER - and we come to an end with more Frawnche

Splynter