Thursday, October 27, 2011 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Henry and Hannah, sitting in a tree…

Peter Collins likes to play with words, and today is no exception. I blogged his recent "Element-ary" puzzle on October 6th, and we had his "West Side Story" tribute last week. We have another charmer today, with these entries:

20A GRADE SCHOOL (11 letters)

56A SWEETHEARTS (11 letters)

39A SITTING (7 letters) 41A IN A TREE (7 letters)

67/68/69A (every other letter, for emphasis) K_I_S_S_I_N_G_(7 letters) [kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-en-gee]

And it is based on a poem by Nicolas Knudde (I think) (Where is Clear Ayes when I need her??):

“Henry and Hannah,

Sitting in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G…

First comes love,

Then comes marriage,

Then comes baby

In a baby carriage!”

[...and an appended verse, sometimes:]

That’s not it!

That’s not all!

The baby’s drinking alcohol!!

Very unusual placement of the rhyming theme entries, due to symmetry concerns in the grid. I didn't have circles in my grid, did you?

Marti here, for your regularly scheduled Thursday program…

PHEW! I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to finish this one. The clues were so devious and obscure, I was thrown off in many spots. Were you?

Like:

1A “Mystery writer Nevada” clues BARR…OK, I admit. I am not a “mystery novel” or detective story person. Hahtool knows what I like. And I think Yellowrocks, who loves well-researched historical novels, would appreciate my choices of reading material.

22A “Farmer’s ___ " clues TAN?? Really?? Windhover, help me out here!! I wanted “market”, “almanac” or even (as a last resort) “dell”…but none would fit!!

37D "David Byrne collaborator" clues ENO. Really?? “My life in the Bush of Ghosts”….hmmmm, I bet that was on everyone’s mind, right???

OK, so moving on…

Across:

5. Penny profile. ABE. I can live with that one!

8. “Tao Te Ching” author. LAO TSE. Actually, Laozi, the founder of “Taoism”. Literal translation from Chinese means “old master”. C.C.??? (From C.C.: Yes, "old master". Lao = "Old". Lao Zi is Mandarin. Lao Tse is Cantonese.)

14. 1986 Nobelist Wiesel. ELIE. Yay!! One that I knew!

15. China’s Chou En-___. LAI. Another one that I nailed!

16. Fixed for all time. ETCHED. Like, “in stone…"

17. Treating again, as an ankle injury. RE-TAPING. Ummmm…I guess they were referring to Dan Koppen of the N.E. Patriots on his ankle injury?

19. Take turns. ROTATE

23. QB’s dread. INT. Interception. Yep, Brady doesn’t like INT’s or center’s ankles being taped…

24. Government IOUs. T-BILLS

26. Getting on. AGING. Hey! I’m like “fine wine”.

29. Drain-clearing chemical. LYE

30. “Are not!” retort. AM SO!! OK, so we have our regular playground argument here…

33. Bug-eyed toon. REN. This dog.

34. OPEC member. UAE. United Arab Emirates.

36. Shove off. SET SAIL

42. Micronesia’s region. OCEANIA. Somewhat obscure region as defined here. Map. Or, one of the three fictional superstates in George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”

43. Rocky peak. TOR

44. 1930s power prog. TVA. Tennesee Valley Authority. Federal program for flood control.

45. Standard. NORM

46 Scotland’s longest river. TAY. Surely, this was the first thing you all thought of, right??

48. Cleveland Indians legend Al. ROSEN. Nicknamed “Al”, “Flip” and “The Hebrew Hammer”, he played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians (1947-56). I was 5 years old when he retired. So, why don’t I remember him????

50. Promo. TEASER. Like the one for Johnny Depp’s new movie "The Rum Diary".

53. Sloth, for one. SIN. Were you thinking of the animal?

54. Punch line. POW. Pow!! Hit me with a V-8 can!!

61. Oh-so-stylish. CHI-CHI. Did anyone else think of C-C ??

63. Not very potent potable. NEAR BEER. Tinbeni, I know you only go for “potent potables”!!

64. Assateague denizens. PONIES. I have seen this yearly pony penning and swim. Amazing!

65. River that rises in the Bernese Alps. AAR. Bern, Switzerland.

66. Bone used in pronation. ULNA. Pronation is the action you use to do a “thumbs down”.

67. Yarn units. SKEINS. Not stories.

68. Word with run or jump. SKI. Yaaaaay!! One for Marti!!

69. Nutmeg-flavored drinks. NOGS. A little early, but I can still relate to New Year’s Eve, and my annual “nog” toast.

So lets go down town:

1. Glacier breakaway. BERG. Go ask the Titanic…

2. A or Jay, e.g. AL'ER. I s’pose this means “American League-r”?

3. Funny Rudner. RITA.

4. Transfer to memory, as data : READ-IN

5. Top-tier invitees : A-LIST

6. Judge's seat : BANC

7. Mercury's atomic number : EIGHTY. Just checked my periodic table...yep, that's correct!

8. "Vive __!" : LE ROI. "The King", in French. My grandmother could not speak English, so we had to speak French to her, in order to get candy and other goodies...

9. Any of the Marshall Islands : ATOLL

10. Mo. for leaf-peeping : OCT. We have had lots of leaf-peepers here in the N.E. this year.

11. "Yeow!" : THAT SMARTS. ouch...

12. __ precedent : SET A

13. Place that means "delight" in Hebrew : EDEN

18. Black-and-white critter : PENGUIN. ( I was thinking "skunk"...)

21. "The Biggest Loser" concern : OBESITY

25. Go the distance : LAST

26. Bad lighting? : ARSON. Punny clue!

27. Insurance company founded in 1936 for government employees : GEICO. (...and for southeast Asian lizards..)

28. Weave together : INTERTWINE

29. Named beneficiary : LEGATEE

31. It won't hold water : SIEVE. Wait a minute, let me try... ...nope, it doesn't hold water!

32. Fat substitute : OLEAN. Proctor and Gamble's brand is "Olestra", a zero-calorie fat substitute.

35. Singer DiFranco : ANI. I like her song "The Atom", link.

38. Slowpoke : TARRIER. I s'pose, if you tarry, then you would be a "tarrier".

40. Rein in : TAME

47. Hippodromes : ARENAS

49. How Sloppy Joes are served : ON A BUN. Well, duh...did you think they were served in a martini glass?

51. Far from ruddy : ASHEN

52. __ chard : SWISS

53. Emmy-winning Lewis : SHARI. I remember her puppets "Lamb Chop" and "Charlie Horse".

54. General MDs, to insurers : PCPs. Primary Care Physicians

55. "Aw, what the heck, let's!" : OH, OK, let's bungee jump off this bridge with a questionable cord from that guy with the '72 Ford Pinto...

57. Shipbuilder's wood : TEAK

58. Move, in brokerese : RE-LO. Re-location.

59. 1% of a cool mil : TEN-G. Ten grand.

60. Madrid Mmes. : SRAs. Get it right: SRAs are "señoras", SRTAS are "señoritas", SRS are "seniors". But, señors get no respect!

62. VI x XVII : CII. 6 x 17 = 102 (Do the math, Caesar!!)

Answer grid.

Thanks for letting me into your 'puters today!

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy 64th birthday to Boomer! That picture was taken in 2002 when we went to Myrtle Beach for a golf vacation. First time I had sweet tea and hush puppies.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: ROUND AND ROUND WE GO. Each of four theme entries - two of them grid-spanning - ends in a word signifying some type of revolution or rotation.

17A. Latitude between the South Frigid Zone and South Temperate Zone : ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. It's around the South Pole.

27A. Tried something out : GAVE IT A WHIRL. Origin uncertain: perhaps related to taking a chance at a roulette wheel, or trying your hand at a whirlygig toy.

48A. Test-drove, with "in" : WENT FOR A SPIN. Took a short drive in that sexy new car. Could this be from going ROUND the block?

63A. Macroeconomic theory to explain inflation : WAGE PRICE SPIRAL. Remember cost of living adjustments from back in the 70's? Prices went up, wages went up, rinse, repeat. Not now, though. Wages are stagnant.

Hi gang. JazzBumpa here with a fine entry from James Sajdak, involving circular reasoning and a bit of misdirection, some of which is musical . Let's play around with it.

Across:

1. Finish using TurboTax, say : E-FILE. File your tax return electronically, and you'll get your refund quicker.

6. They have scales and keys : MAPS. This musical misdirection gave me pause, but it is spot on.

10. Avon lady, e.g.? : BRIT. Not musical, but another misdirection. Instead of a cosmetics sales lady who rings your bell, it's any lady from the no-longer-existent county of Avon on the west coast of - 62 D. Merrie __ England : OLDE. Olde English spelling of a fine olde Anglo-Saxon word.

14. Pitch man? : TUNER. Not an aggressive, flamboyant salesman or promoter, but the guy who tunes your piano. Another musical misdirection.

15. Little bit of everything : OLIO. A miscellaneous collection, a hodgepodge. I've always known about OLEO, the ersatz butter substitute, but only learned about OLIO from crosswords. It might be derived from olla podrida, a traditional Spanish rich, spicy stew of meat and vegetables.

16. Tip-top : A-ONE. ¡Lo mejor! Probably not ersatz.

20. Surfboard fin : SKEG. Really?!? Thank you, perps. By the time you read this, I will already have forgotten - what was that again . . . ?

21. Native of Lima : OHIOAN. Ha! Can't fool me. I are one - or was before I became a displaced person. More misdirection, not musical, but still of the cartographer's scale and key variety.

22. Novelist Kesey : KEN. His most famous work is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

23. Hindquarters : RUMP. But -- but . . . I had to back into this one, and almost fell behind. No link.

25. Arms treaty subjects, briefly : N-TESTS. Nuclear test ban treaties.

32. Cleaned one's plate : ATE. Figuratively. Even after cleaning my plate, I still wash it.

33. Indian megalopolis : DELHI. Located in North-central India.

34. Copious : AMPLE. Abundant. More than sufficient.

38. Agent under M : BOND. James Bond, Secret Agent 007, licensed to kill. No?

40. Highways and byways : ROADS. Lines on MAPS.

42. Chimney sweepings : SOOT. Mandatory link.

43. Lipstick mishap : SMEAR. Might need the Avon Lady.

45. Springs, in a way : FREES. From prison. Not very obvious.

47. Ref's decision : TKO. Technical Knock Out. The Ref stops a boxing match, lest the under-performing opponent get injured.

51. Environmental activist Jagger : BIANCA. Mick's first Ex.

54. Copyeditor's catch, hopefully : TYPO. What you get when you press the wrong key

55. Commentator Coulter : ANN. Moving right along . . .

56. 16th-century Spanish fleet : ARMADA. In 1588 the Spanish fleet attempted to attack the BRITS, but were repelled by fireships - literally, boats loaded with combustibles set afire and directed toward enemy ships. The ARMADA retreated north of Scotland where they were further damaged by severe storms. Only about 50 of the original 130 ships made it back to Spain.

60. Science fiction prize : HUGO. Named for Hugo Gernsback.

66. Faded in the stretch : DIED. Like the Tigers many times over and the Red Sox this year.

67. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE. Pejorative term for impoverished Oklahomans who migrated to California during the dust bowl years of the other Great Depression,

68. Denoting a loss, as on a balance sheet : IN RED.

69. Every twelve mos. : YRLY. Abbrv. in cl. & ans.

70. Unites : WEDS.

71. Napoleon, ultimately : EXILE. Nap was EXILED to the isle of Elba. Hence our favorite palindrome. Recite it if you're able.

Down:

1. Guesstimates at Maryland's BWI : ETAS. Estimated Times of Arrival.

2. Name on a dictionary : FUNK. Along with Wagnalls.

3. Involve oneself : INTERVENE. More than just involvement. One intervenes to affect the outcome.

4. Roughly three miles : LEAGUE. I remember reading Roughly 60,000 Miles Under the Sea.

5. Push the wrong button, e.g. : ERR. A TYPO, frex.

6. Candlelight visitor? : MOTH. Great imagery.

7. Et __: and others : ALII. Latin.

8. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. We just discussed this a few days ago.

9. "You're not the only one!" : SO CAN I. Anything you can do . . .

10. Block : BAR. Ban. Veto. INTERVENE, perhaps.

11. Is way cool : ROCKS. Did your teen years ROCK?

13. "The Wonder Years" years : TEENS. Blunder years in my case.

18. Whirlybird : 'COPTER. Helicopter, that is. Note slang in clue and ans.

19. Prefix with mural : INTRA. Refers to sports competition between teams from the same institution.

24. Near the center : MID.

26. Shady group? : ELMS. Famous shade trees from by-gone Americana, depleted by Dutch Elm disease, alas.

27. Ties up the line : GABS. or YAKS. Needed perp help to decide.

28. Element element : ATOM. The basic building block of matter - and an internal clecho. Nice!

29. High, as a kite : ALOFT. Up above, and less rankling than the typical A- word.

30. Quay : WHARF. What's updock? The other end of the pier.

31. Pitcher Nomo : HIDEO. Japanese baseball player who had an up and down career in the Major Leagues, playing for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Tigers, Red Sox, Dodgers again, Devil Rays and Royals. Plus other teams in other countries. You need a MAP.

35. "Jeopardy!" category : POTPOURRI. Why don't they call it OLIO?!?

36. Mischief-making Norse god : LOKI. Nothing low key abut this guy, in some very confusing mythology.

37. Henry VI's school : ETON. Four letters, School in Merrie Olde England: enter ETON and be on your way.

39. "Rosy-fingered" time of day, per Homer : DAWN. That is downright poetic.

41. "Counting Sheep" mattresses : SERTAS. Hmmm. Not up on my mattress adverts.

44. Postgame rundown : RECAP. Sort for recapitulation, which has way to many syllables for the 21st century.

46. "I just had an idea!" : SAY. Say what? I'd say the correspondence of clue and fill is quite strained.

49. __-minded : NARROW. Lacking tolerance, breadth of view, or sympathy. Vide supra.

50. Egyptian with a riddle : SPHINX. The SPHYNX sat by the side of the road and asked his famous riddle of all who passed by. Woe to him who got it wrong.

51. Like some limericks : BAWDY. There once was a blogger named Bumpa / Who sat overlong on his RUMPA / When finally he stood / (He felt that he should) / He fell with a hideous thumpa. (Cut me some slack, OK - it's after midnight.)

52. ". . . the bombs bursting __ . . ." : IN AIR. From the Star Spangled Banner. BTW, Detroit has the best anthem singers. No contest.

53. California pro : ANGEL. Could not think of this team. Needed lots of perp help.

57. Karaoke prop : MIKE.

58. Stomach product : ACID. For digesting proteins.

59. Unenviable grades : DEES. And a bit of unenviable fill.

61. Highlands native : GAEL Per Wikipedia, "The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx."

64. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY. And an occasional treat in crosswords

65. Diner dessert : PIE. Mmmm - PIE. For PIE a la mode, vide supra.

Answer grid.

I'd say James took us for a nice spin. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Cheers!

JzB