Friday July 22, 2011 David Poole

Theme: "Oh, S**T !" The S and T in common phrases are swapped, to make whacky phrases with funny new meanings.

18A. Scene in "The Hustler"? : FATS BREAKS. I wonder if this was the seed entry, as the movie is about "FaST Eddie" wanting to beat Minnesota "FaTS". The "break" is the first shot at the rack of balls in billiards. A "fast break" is an offensive strategy in basketball, where the offensive team rushes up the court, leaving the defense no time to arrange their positions.

23A. Adam's apples? : EATS OF EDEN. Ok, this one made me chuckle, too. I hope Adam knew what he was getting into! The movie "East of Eden", starring James Dean, was one of his most brilliant performances, IMO.

38A. Tubby tabbies? : BROAD CATS. And LOL at this one, as my two tubby tabbies are sitting at my feet. Of course, many of us listen to a daily "broadcast" of news, weather, etc. This entry was my one "meh", as "broadcast" is one word, while the theme entry breaks it into two. (O.K. Lemonade, I KNOW I am nit-picking, but that's what a critic does...)

52A. Visitors to the Winter Palace? : TSAR GAZERS. The first paparazzi? "Star gazers" would be our own Spitzboov and Bill G., if I am not mistaken?

58A. Tusk warmers? : IVORY COATS. So, why would an elephant in Africa need a coat? With the temps in the 90s and above, I would think they'd need air conditioning! (Like most of us, this week.) The "Ivory Coast"(or, C�te d'Ivoire, for all you Francophiles) is our one geography lesson for today...

Marti here, with a really fun Friday puzzle, with some great stuff. So, let's get to it!

Across:

1. Penicillin source : MOLD. Eeewww...Alexander Fleming, get that old bread out to the trash, this instant!

5. Wee bit : ATOM

9. "The Maltese Falcon" actress : ASTOR. Mary Astor was Humphrey Bogart's femme fatale in the 1941 version. But does anyone remember the 1931 version with Bebe Daniels in that role? (Didn't think so...)

14. Say it's so : AVER. Does anyone else pause and think "Is it aver...or avow?"

15. 1970 N.L. batting champ Carty : RICO. O.K., C.C., take it awaaaay...

16. Gather : GLEAN. I gather you all got this one, right?

17. Debussy's dream : REVE. Wonderful clue, as Debussy was French, and "Reve" (which means "dream", in French) was one of his important piano solo compositions. Beautiful, but I prefer La Mer...(and, since I am blogging, that is what you are going to get!)

20. Not wilted : CRISP. My gardens are not looking very "crisp" right now, with all the heat. (Then again, neither am I...)

22. In the future : AHEAD

26. Duchamp genre : DADA. OK, if Marcel Duchamp can take a urinal and make it into art, then LA DA DA for him!!

30. Orlon, for one : ACRYLIC. "Orlon, rayon, nylon...wait for the perps..." Ooops! this one clues the synthetic polymer fiber! Why didn't he just go with "Fake nails"???

31. Hot and humid : TROPIC. So, do they need COATS there?

33. "A Challenge for the Actor" author Hagen : UTA. Does anyone remember her role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf"?

34. Grover's veep : ADLAI. Stevenson.

37. Correspond : AGREE.

40. Faith symbolized by a nine-pointed star : BAH�' � . Did not know this - relied on perps.

43. Blemish : TAINT. ("T'aint necessarily so...")

44. Off-rd. transport : ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.

47. "The Tempest" king : ALONSO. Shakespeare 101...

49. Canal problem : EARACHE. Ear canal, not the Suez...

51. Even : TIED

55. Gives off : EMITS

57. Provide with lodging : PUT UP. (Or shut up!)

63. Sommelier's selection : ROS� . I was the sommeliere at a local restaurant for years, and never once suggested a rose!

64. Plum tomatoes : ROMAS. Yummm...

65. Lima's home : OHIO.

66. Start of an intermission? : ENTR' acte. French for "between the acts".

67. Apprehension : ANGST. I have a lot of angst when I blog...something about that debacle when the site went down as I was doing my first blog...

68. Mr. Potato Head piece : LIPS. Oh yeeessss!!! I've waited to use this video...

69. Mtg. : SESS. (Session)

DOWN:

1. His clown alter ego was Bip : MARCEAU. Marcel, the great mime.

2. Be heavy-handed, in a way : OVERACT. Hmmm, heavy handed?

3. Viagra competitor : LEVITRA. OK, I know nothing about these two pharmaceuticals. Anyone have experience? Anyone?...

4. Stylish : DRESSY.

5. Response from 24-Down : ARF. Or 38A, "Meow!!"

6. Familia member : TIA. Italian. "Aunt" (as in, "Tia Maria")

7. The planets, e.g. : OCTAD. OK, we have had "Holst" with his "septad" movement suite, and the old "nonad", (which included Pluto)...so now we are at octad???

8. Arens of Israel : MOSHE

9. Pearl Mosque setting : AGRA. a.k.a the "Taj Mahal"

10. Northerners with a lot of pull? : SLED DOGS. Fun clue. But, the problem with riding in the sled, is that you always have the same view...

11. Mad Hatter's offering : TEA

12. Iowa's state tree : OAK. Duh, three letters - oak, or elm??

13. Hosp. workers : RNS.

19. Proclivity : BENT. Is this common? "I have a bent for sarcasm..."

21. Part of the Little Dipper's handle : POLARIS. Spitzboov, Bill G. ? Help me out here?

24. Rover's pal : FIDO.

25. Fanfare : �CLAT.

27. Abbr. in car ads : APR. Annual Percentage Rate.

28. Gaming cube : DIE. Singular of "dice".

29. Roy Halladay or the Red Baron : ACE. Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history. The Red Baron was a different, "flying" ace.

32. Fleabag : RAT TRAP. Ever stay at a rat-trap hotel?

35. Nabokov novel : ADA

36. More unfriendly : ICIER. I could do with someone icier tonight - IT's HOT!!!

38. Voice of Puss in Boots in "Shrek" sequels : BANDERAS. Antonio.

39. Cheaters, to teachers: Abbr. : ANAG. "Cheaters" is an anagram of "Teachers".

40. It may be held by one on deck : BAT

41. Thrilla in Manila winner : ALI. Muhammed Ali...who could forget that fight with Joe Frazier?

42. Gardening aid : HOE

44. Nail polish remover ingredient : ACETONE. For those fake acrylic nails...

45. Fencing moves : THRUSTS. Ooooh, I could get DF with this one...

46. Evening service : VESPERS. ...but this one brought me back to my Catholic upbringing.

48. Suffix with psych : OTIC. Narc-, acid-, er-....

50. Common blues : AZURES

53. Bar goer's option : STOOL. I don't even want to mention what I thought when I filled this in...

54. Popular Japanese beer : ASAHI

56. Games magazine's 1994 Game of the Year : MYST. I spent many hours with that game. Anyone else?

58. Author Levin : IRA

59. Word in many German names : VON

60. Online "Yikes!" : OMG. Has anyone seen the billboard with the cracked glass and blood stains, with the title "OMG - Get the message. Texting while driving is a deadly distraction"?

61. Thing that comes to those who wait : TIP. I really chuckled at this one - waiters and waitresses just WAIT for those tips!

62. "Mamma Mia!" song : SOS. Sorry, I have to leave you with Abba singing this one...

Answer grid.

Hugs to all from Marti!

Note from C.C.:

1) Yesterday's mystery boy is Bill G. Email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you have any "Hard to Believe" pictures to share.

2) Lemonade will be back blogging next Friday.

Friday July 15, 2011 Bruce R. Sutphin

Theme: TAG you are it. Each of the four theme answers are in the language two word phrases which change into completely different and witty new phrases by adding a TAG before the final E in the second word. There is also a unifier, which I found unnecessary, but then this seemed a really easy Friday.

Hey, it is lemonade, and I confess I am unfamiliar with any prior puzzles from Mr. Sutphin. I have seen his name mentioned around the ACPT, but that is all. Maybe he is a lawyer getting ready to retire. Anyway, here we go.

20A. Gnome held against his will?: GARDEN HOSTAGE. GARDEN HOSE, I wonder why people began adding garden to hose; we use the same on to wash the car, or the dog. I do like the visual of the TRAVELOCITY Gnome tied up and held for ransom.

27A. Meteorologist's view?: WEATHER VANTAGE. WEATHER VANE, the twirly on top of your house if you live in New England, and a nice use of VANTAGE as view.

43A. Team equipment manager's snafu?: JERSEY SHORTAGE. I have never watched an episode of JERSEY SHORE, and you will have to provide your own links.

51A. Stamps with nudes?: EROTIC POSTAGE. An EROTIC POSE, does not have to be nude.

66A. Some graffiti signatures (which were used to form this puzzle's four longest answers): TAGS. Of course you should know HOW TO.

Okay on to the rest of the story.

ACROSS:

1. It's covered in silk: CORN. My ex-wife, just would not fit. You think it is HEALTHY ?

5. British bakery buy: SCONE. I may be half French, but I love me a good scone. My youngest bakes great ones.

10. Mass measure: GRAM.

14. Head start?: IDEA. Oh I get it, the idea starts in our head!

15. "Breaking Bad" actor __ Paul: AARON. never heard of this ACTOR, who shares my sons name and my birthday. Anybody watch the show?

16. Result of getting too far behind, briefly: REPO. Nice new way to clue this standard crossword fill.

17. Extends, with "to": ADDS. Like Rory McIlroy at the U. S. Open and his lead.

18. Serious alarm: DREAD. No one is quite sure where this word comes from but it has an almost onomatopoeia like sound about it.

19. Skip and jump lead-in: A HOP. The hop skip and jump is now known as the triple jump. The phrase is still used by some to convey a place being close by; my house is a...

23. Runner on snow: SKI. A literal answer.

25. Drink in a yard: ALE. Our obligatory BEER reference, and a fun GAME ?

26. Math ratios: SINES. Not to be confused with THIS.

32. Faris of "Scary Movie" films et al.: ANNAS. Do you like this ACTRESS? Blonde or brunette?

33. They may shrink if they aren't fed: EGOS. Nice clue, and the Corner can be a place to feed some.

34. Visit: GO TO.

35. Pasty: WAXEN. Hmm, I like the other set, 53D. Whiten: PALE.

37. Light touches: PATS. There my dear, stop crying and I will get you an ice cream cone.

41. Unrivaled: A ONE. Really, numero uno?

42. Debonair neckwear: ASCOT. A formal neck tie, popularized in the 1880's, taking its name from the Royal Ascot race meeting, where all the fine gentleman wore this looser version of the starched cravat.

48. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. A wonderful play and movie, you might enjoy his INTERVIEW.

49. "No thanks, I just __" : ATE. gave at the office?

50. Stop up: DAM. I am not one to miss a chance to link to BEAVER.

56. Jackson 5 brother: TITO. The only brother still getting any pub.

57. Coffeehouse order: LATTE. No thanks, I am a straight coffee drinker.

58. Tony relative: EMMY. The name "Emmy" was chosen as a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes which were in early TV cameras. Coincidentally, the prime time nominations were made public yesterday.

61. Doesn't waste: USES.

62. Take in, maybe: ALTER. Like the waist in my pants; oops, no that is let out.

63. Short evening?: NITE. Is this now an acceptable word?

64. Benchmarks: Abbr.: STDS. Standards.

65. Lowly workers: PEONS. A degrading word from the Spanish pe�n meaning an unskilled laborer, like an indentured servant.

Well we have filled lots of three, four and fives, so let's see what the Downs do.

DOWN:

1. Operation Neptune Spear org.: CIA. I think you can buy a T SHIRT.

2. Curious: ODD. Am I the only one who thought of THIS.

3. Arcturus, for one: RED GIANT. A star classification, we had a nice discussion of these after a Jerome puzzle back on April 23, 2010.

4. Galileo's patron: NASA. A nice deception, not the ancient astronomer, but the exploration program of our SOLAR SYSTEM.

5. It might be Western or English: SADDLE. How many ride? I like it but not many horse live in condos.

6. Professional pursuit: CAREER. I was going to put their secretary, but it would not fit.

7. Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael: OREN. He wrote the RESPONSE to the Obama plan. No politics, but an interesting read.

8. First matchmaker?: NOAH. Well if you are going on a boat and can keep only two, you had better get your kids companions.

9. Prefix with morph: ENDO. The opposite of ECTO.

10. Part of e.g.: GRATIA. Our Latin lesson, exempli gratia. For example.

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11. Put back up: REHANG. I guess....45D. Second flip: RETOSS. Fits with REHANG. Icky/

12. Zenith: APOGEE. We just had this discussion.

13. Acts gloomily: MOPES. From Ger. mopen "to sulk."

21. Sounds from stands: RAHS. Rah Rah Ree, kick em in the knee, Rah Rah Rass, kick em in the other knee.

22. Grounded big birds?: SSTS. Supersonic transports.

23. Booty: SWAG. What do you think, Stole Without A Gun?

24. Game with 80 balls: KENO. Las Vegas; original lottery game.

28. "The __ of Steve": 2000 comedy: TAO. An obscure, but critically acclaimed romantic comedy.

29. Bugs: VEXES.

30. Beauty antecedent?: AGE. I always held the door for my two older brothers and always said, "Age before beauty." I was an endearing child.

31. Reims rejection: NON. French lesson Lolita, a toughy" NON = No.

35. Tribulation: WOE. A good guilt word, woe is me.

36. "__ takers?": ANY. I wanted UNDER and feel bad about that thought process.

37. Eureka hrs.: PST. Pacific Standard Time.

38. Dean's domain: ACADEMIA. Sounds so pompous.

39. Draped attire: TOGA. Made more famous by Animal House than anything else.

40. A snifter has a short one: STEM. IMAGE.

41. Piedmont wine region: ASTI.

42. Two-dimensional analogue of volume: AREA. Height time Width, no depth.

43. Legal scholar: JURIST. Yeah, that is me all right.

44. Frustrated the director, perhaps: EMOTED. Hammed it up is the phrase.

46. Expedite: HASTEN. Not Expedia, Travelocity Gnome.

47. Furry frolickers: OTTERS. They love to play.

48. "__ go then, you and I": Eliot : LET US.

"Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

Oh, do not ask, �What is it?�

52. Show support: CLAP. Let us give him a great big hand.

54. Comics dog: OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel's dog in Beetle Bailey, who is the younger brother of Lois, from Hi and Lois.

55. Mannerly man: GENT. Okay almost time for this gent to depart.

59. Short session?: MTG. This meeting is nearing an end.

60. Word said with a fist pump: YES. Time for my fist pump, another in the record books. A tough blog, but I did it.

Answer grid.

Happy belated Bastille Day.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here is another "Hard to Believe" picture, a curious boy with his sisters. Tell me who the boy is. Hint: He is one of the very few regulars who have read every post/comment on this blog.

Friday, July 1, 2011, Mike Peluso

Theme: Get Real! 62A. "We're on to you!" (and a hint to how this puzzle's other four longest answers were created): DROP THE ACT. Each of the four central theme answers are in the language phrases with the word ACT removed to reveal a new, and witty phrase.

17A. Free garden supply?: COMPACTED SOIL. COMPED meaning given as complimentary item.

24A. Cost at a Walmart competitor?: TARGET PRACTICE. Target is catching Walmart.

38A. Become more forgiving?: LACTOSE INTOLERANCE. Being milk intolerant, this is my favorite, as the original phrase and the new are both very positive.

50A. Pessimistic brat?: NEGATIVE IMPACT. These on the other hand are quite negative.

Hey all, it is I, Lemonade, so it must be Friday, and we have another seemingly easy Friday, that does have some very tricky clues and a very fun letter removal theme, so on with Mr. Peluso's masterpiece.

  

Across:

1. South American plain: CAMPO. Okay, again with a difficult start; my Spanish is not great, but I believe this means field. or country (like Casa de Campo- country house) and not Plain which is a flat field mostly devoid of trees. Ah well, I am probably wrong again.

6. Fifth pillar of Islam: HADJ. Okay, the end of our lesson for the week in the religion, HADJ (or HAJJ) is the pilgrimage; the other four are: (1) the shahada (creed), (2) salat (daily prayers), (3) sawm  (fasting during Ramadan ), (4) ( zakat alms giving) ).

10. Back country transports, briefly: ATVS. All Terrain Vehicles. Lots of acronyms.

14. Poppy product: OPIUM. Mini-clecho: 15. Bean product?: IDEA. Not a green one, but your head.

16. Antihero?: GOAT. This meaning comes from the old Hebrew tradition of send out a goat to take on the sins of the people, the SCAPE GOAT.

19. Tahoe bar, say: AXLE. The Chevrolet SUV, not the beautiful city on the lake.

20. Cheese from Veneto: ASIAGO. Cheeses like wines have regions, you can read this LINK .

21. Cognac designation: VSOP. I am not sure if this was intention but Cognac is a region as well, and it is graded as Very Special Old Pale.

23. It may follow sex: ISM. A cigarette? A loud scream, oh, I see....sexism.

27. Main response?: AYE SIR. The main, meaning the sea, the bounding main.

29. Feminine principle: YIN. After Al's explanation, you are supposed to know this.

30. Bass, e.g.: ALE. The beer reference so I do not feel lonely.

31. Boomers are swelling its ranks: AARP. The old reference so I don't get uppity.

34. Vast expanse: OCEAN. Danny?

42. Only brother not in any Marx Brothers films: GUMMO. He was born MILTON .

43. Foreign minister under Meir: EBAN. Abba Eban, a very fascinating and intelligent man that I had the pleasure of meeting when he was here appearing on a locally produced Israeli TV show.

44. Comic Margaret: CHO. The Kontroversial, Korean Komedienne, watch unless you are AFRAID .

45. Petting zoo chorus: AWS. How cute!

47. Metaphorical hiding place: CLOSET. Where we have our skeletons, and our gay people; it must be crowded in theirs.

54. Palme __: Cannes award: D'OR. Of gold, in French.

55. Words of agreement: NOR I. I kept seeing seaweed.

56. Super Bowl party array: SALSAS. The Tijuana place next tome has 23 salsa for your burrito, some will curl your eyebrows.

60. Work: OPUS.

64. Sci-fi shots: ZAPS.

65. Shekels: GELT. More Yiddish, as well as the currency of old Israel. Money honey.

66. Hartford-based insurance giant: AETNA. Hartford is the Insurance Capital .

67. Harper's Bazaar artist: ERTE. Romain de Tirtoff .

68. The same, to Alain: EGAL. French lesson, not only the same as Equal, it is the root word.

69. Discomfiting look: SNEER. I already did my Snidely Whiplash, so use your imagination.

DOWN:

1. First name in soft drinks?: COCA. Coca Cola, first name, get it!!!!!

2. Mil. addresses: APOS. Army Post Office.

3. "La Boh�me" role: MIMI. My grandmother was called that from the French m�m�.

4. Leave the larva stage  PUPATE. really, sounds like fun.

5. James Bond and JFK have worn them: OMEGAS. The watch.

6. __ Honor: HIS. Speaking of sexism, why HIS?

7. "... and gentle as __": Matthew: A DOVE.

8. Jefferson, notably: DEIST. A practical form of Christianity, devoid of miracles.

9. Heap: JALOPY. They are uncertain where this word comes from, but it means an old, badly maintained car.

10. Turkish title: AGA. And a cooker in England, where are you our limey friend?

11. Destructive, as a relationship: TOXIC. Man, we have all been in those with beautiful but bad for us partners.

12. Sibelius's "__ Triste": VALSE. This was a work written by the most famous Finnish composer, for a  play written by his brother; truly awesome MUSIC ; I think the title means Sad Waltz, in French.

13. Keep from flowing: STEM. Stem the tide boys!

18. Gray painted by Basil Hallward  DORIAN. The only novel written by Oscar Wilde, ever published, not a color of paint, but the central character. A truly well thought out and frightening book and movie.

22. Conviction, maybe: PRIOR. In TV cop talk, how many priors?

25. Fireplace insert: GRATE. Gitta out the logs someplace.

26. Old empire builder: INCA.

27. Winningest manager in Expos history: ALOU. Felipe, the oldest of the three brothers, who all played in the same outfield for one game with the San Fransisco Giants; because the Montreal Expos do not exist any more, Felipe will keep his record.

28. Polite rural reply: YES'M.

30. Subj. for solvers: ALG. Al Gebra, or old math friend.

32. Steal from: ROB. I won't quibble, but there is a big difference in the law, as robbery requires the use of force in confrontation.

33. Not quite win: PLACE. Horse racing, Win, Place and Show. I like this clue, both for me and my degenerate friends.

35. Confer ending: ENCE. Conference.

36. Vier times zwei: ACHT. Four times two = eight, German lesson.

37. Paleo- opposite: NEO. Neo mean new, Paleo ancient, prehistoric, both from Greek roots.

39. Slate, e.g., for short: E-MAG. I learned from the puzzles, I have never seen this online publication.

40. Hoover, for one: IOWAN. Herbert Hoover the 31st president and the one who presided over the beginning of the depression. Other famous Iowans include Johnny Carson (who moved to Nebraska) Marion Morrison, better known as John Wayne, and sadly a transplanted Chicago boy whose family moved to Waterloo,  named John Wayne Gacy, who became known as the Killer Clown. A presidential hopeful recently opened her campaign in Waterloo, Iowa because it was the home of that great American, John Wayne, but she had the wrong one. It may be her Waterloo.

41. Join: ENLIST.

46. Stuffy type: STODGE. I guess one who acts stodgy would be, but eh.

48. Midwestern natives: OMAHAS. This references the Native American Tribe, not Omahans, I think; HG, help.

49. It may be vented: SPLEEN. I have had this also in previous blogging days.

50. Without face value: NO PAR. Corporations determine a basic value for each share of stock, which would be the minimum they would pay to redeem shares.

51. Blow: ERUPT. Like a volcano, or that prom night zit coming up. It surely blows to have a pimple at the prom.

52. Thrift store abbr.: IRREG. Irregular.

53. One of two in Mozart's string quintets: VIOLA. Do any of you Ryders play Viola or Cello?

54. Drop off: DOZE. Hey, WAKE UP,  I am doing my best.

57. Bloat, maybe: SATE. When I was little my parents hid the Halloween candy on the sun porch so my brothers and I would not eat it too quickly. On the morning of the 31st when they went to get it, there was a mouse in the bag, his stomach five times bigger than he was; he was dead, but he had a big smile. He was sated and bloated.

58. Promgoer's concern: ACNE.

59. Have the lead: STAR. Not first dog, but the lead in a play or show.

61. Captain's hdg.: SSE. An attempt to make random letters sound good.

63. Scandalous '80s initials: PTL. Praise the Lord, and pass the mascara. The televison ministry of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Did not end so well for them, but my work is ending well, as we have conquered another puzzle, one with deception, wit and I am telling the truth, NO ACT here either. Enjoy your holidays and Happy Birthday USA, and many more.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few sweet photos from Don "Hard G". He and his beautiful wife Barbara adopted two Havanese (Pansie & Cosmos) from puppy mills earlier this year after their dog Violet passed away.

Friday, June 24, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Farmhouse homilies from Brooklyn. Each of the theme phrase are sound-a-likes for in the language expressions which are reclued from an animal perspective.  A very fun concept and the second of Mr. Sajdak's puzzles which I have had the pleasure of blogging. The theme answers take the common two 13 and two 14 letter fills, and the rest of the puzzle seems straightforward for a Friday, with many short fill, but some new stuff and onward and upward we go.

20A. Thoroughbred farm slur?: SO'S YOUR MUDDER. "So's your mother" are often the fighting words in response to a particularly nasty and graphic insult. A mudder is a horse which does well on a wet and sloppy track, like the recent Belmont Stakes.

29A. Dairy farm proverb?: BE KIND TO UDDERS. While I get, "Be kind to others," I am not getting a great visual of how to follow this advice. I need help from our experts, Carol and Lois....

46A. Cattle farm commandment?: HONOR THY FODDER. My favorite, especially so close to father's day. If  you are a city person, the chopped up hay to feed the animals etc. is FODDER.

56A. Clydesdale farm boast?: HEAVY BREEDERS. Heavy breathers. Clydesdales are the huge horses from the Budweiser commercials; I am unfamiliar with their breeding prowess, though I have received too many invitations to go to watch the girls play on the farm.

Heigh ho, it is I, Lemonade, and it is off to work we go.

Across :

1. Drops a fly, say: ERRS. Baseball reference; at least I know 1A.

5. Web code: HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language; almost all regular posters have learned how to link using this code.

9. Patio parties, briefly: BBQS. Nice alliteration, no grilling allowed on my patio; don't you love condos?

13. Fiefdom, e.g.: REALM. From the old French reaume, kingdom.

15. Recitative follower: ARIA. I am not an expert on opera stuff, but it is like what happens in between the big songs, so the audience can follow the plot. LISTEN .

16. "For sure!": YEAH.

17. Test: ASSAY. back in the old westerns, they were forever going to get their gold tested at the ASSAY office.

18. "The Case for Public Schools" author: MANN. A trained attorney who was instrumental in free non-sectarian schooling for all. He was an interesting MAN .

19. Nice head: TETE. No one should be falling for thise French city anymore; and we have had TETE often.

23. Schubert's "The __ King": ERL. A sad story of a boy snatched by an evil elf, but the MUSIC is lovely.

24. '70s radical gp.: SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army, the crazies who snatched and brainwashed Patty Hearst. The names from the word symbiotic. And a mini-leftist theme with 48D. SDS co-founder Tom: HAYDEN. Students for a Democratic Society, who became a Senator and married Jane Fonda.

25. "Eternally nameless" principle: TAO. The constructors favorite Eastern Philosophy.

26. Fancy pond swimmer: KOI.

33. Words before "Gave proof through the night": IN AIR. Sing everyone, "The bombs bursting...."

34. It has pedals and stops: ORGAN. Not a bicycle, or a body part.

35. Tub filler: LARD, an insult when I was growing up.

38. Loses interest: SOURS. Maybe that is where they have all gone.

41. European capital: OSLO. A nice shout out to our Norwegian contingent.

42. Sweat: EXUDE. She was actually glowing...

44. Half a "Star Wars" character: DETOO.  R2.

51. Ruling party: INS. Not the outs, the ins. I saw I N S first.

52. "Jane Eyre" star Wasikowska: MIA. The little girl from Oz who starred in the Alice in Wonderland remake is all GROWN UP .

53. Business __: END. Like when you point a gun.

54. Valuable Ming: YAO. poor guy, has not been able to play basketball in two years; feet were not meant for 7'6" bodies.

60. Drop a line, in a way: MOOR. Tying up a boat.

62. Some tributes: ODES.

63. Capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha: SOFIA. Bulgaria; one of my associates has been to the palace there and says it is lovely.

64. Shared currency: EURO.

65. Time to give up: LENT. I like this misdirection.

66. Body: TRUNK.  Very tricky also, meaning like torso.

67. Things to pick: NITS. A shout out to Marti?

68. Eating up: INTO. He was really eating up her line of bull, not realizing all she wanted was his money.

69. Part of many a snail's diet: ALGA. Good to know, I was worried I would not know what to serve if any came to visit, but if one is enough!

Okay, no rest for the weekend, on we go.

DOWN:

1. Rub out: ERASE. Cool, clecho alert! 4D. Rub out: SLAY. Two ways to say goodbye.

2. Suck up again: RESORB. before you all get on your high REABSORB horses, this is actually correct, directly from the Latin resorbere which derives from sorbere "to suck."

3. Fight in the boonies: RASSLE. I hope you did not have to wrestle with this clue long.

5. Shortwave medium: HAM RADIO. In this world of cellphones, they still hang in.

6. Car for the pits?: TRAM. They use trams underground in the mines to transport whatever is being mined. need a gold mine? Limestone?

7. Hora part: MINUTO. This reference to the Spanish for hour and minute would have been so easy, but for the dance the HORA, oh well it did not take to long to see where I was wrong.

8. "Ed Wood" Oscar winner: LANDAU. This wonderful actor came to my attention in Mission Impossible but his work as BELA LUGOSI in this movie was fabulous.

9. Memory unit: BYTE.

10. Microbrewery stock: BEER KEGS. Only two weeks after Marti used this shout out to my bubbly brewing boys.

11. African evergreen whose leaves are chewed as a narcotic: QAT. Once upon a time I had a girlfriend who loved playing scrabble who bought a dictionary chock full of real words like this so she could stomp me. It is loaded with amphetamine.

12. Pirate's pronoun: SHE. Arrg, and she is a fine vessel.

14. Muscle-contraction protein: MYOSIN. And why should we know about this SCIENTIFIC MINUTIAE ? The link was chosen as a shout out our RPI brethren.

21. They articulate with radii: ULNAS. Oh goody, anatomical puns, very humerus.

22. Doofus: DODO. Hello our darling D.

27. Spoken: ORAL.

28. Money-object connection: IS NO. Reminds me of Richard Attenborough running around during Jurassic Park saying. "Spared no expense." Then I saw the movie 41 times....

30. Man-to-boy address: KIDDO. In what century was that?

31. Former Jerry Marcus comic strip: TRUDY. One of the many family comics of the sixties, before the revolution.

32. Dickens's Edwin: DROOD. Dickens last novel, which was unfinished at his death. It reads that way.

35. City near Provo: LEHI, We recently had this referencing the Mormon prophet for whom this city is named. Our first siting was in the birthday puzzle our fearless leader created for Dennis. Wherefore art thou brother?

36. Neural transmitter: AXON. Who is our neurology expert?

37. Not have enough: RUN SHORT.  Some double words to confuse us, they never seem to run short of these.

39. Mentions: REFERS TO. You all know what I am referring to.

40. One may be skipped: STONE. I really like this clue, there is even a word for this pastime.

43. Big name in household humor: ERMA. Bombeck.

45. Most curious: ODDEST. Not curious like nosy, but curious and curiouser.

47. Denmark's __ Gardens: TIVOLI. The beautiful and amazing home of the second oldest AMUSEMENT PARK in the world.

49. Hottie: EYEFUL. Please do not go to this link if you are offended J LO  and a bit of nudity.

50. Ready and eager: RARING. Well I am actually fading, I hope you all have had a nice ride.

55. Yodo River city: OSAKA. Geography lesson.

57. Winged god: EROS. Also called Cupid, stupid.

58. Out of shape?: BENT. Come on, just relax I know it all goes too fast.

59. "Cannery Row" restaurant owner __ Flood: DORA. If you have never read any John Steinbeck, he really had a great sense of this country in the depression, I suggest you read this NOVEL  though do not be shocked because Dora is much more than a restaurant hostess.

60. Rooks, for example: MEN. Chessmen to be more accurate.

61. Overseas agreement: OUI, yes, more French for the finish. Until next time, take your vitamins, drink your juice and be good to each other.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great photos of our secretive CA Coven Gathering yesterday. Click pictures for enlargement. Nice to finally see you, Garlic Gal!

Friday, June 17, 2011, Gareth Bain

THEME: Kooky Curriculum. Each of the five, in the language phrases, is reclued with the second word a synonym for the credit hours needed to procure a degree, producing a new and witty study.  We have one of the most dependable and entertaining of the stable of regular contructors giving as a nice Friday work out with very few proper names, and lots of misdirection and wit. Lemonade here to lead you through the amazing maze of words, and the five (5) theme answers including a central grid spanner.

18A. Part of an astronomy degree?: LUNAR MODULE. Some university schedules are set in groups of requirements, called modules, so there the study of the moon would be the Lunar Module, as is the LEM which took the astronauts across the moon's surface.

24A. Part of a surgery degree? CUTTING CLASS. My favorite image, as surgeons do  consider themselves cutters, and we all have cut some classes.

36A. Part of a physics degree?: COLLISION COURSE. Even here I have trouble with Physics, even though I know objects do collide, and I guess one could study that. Neils Bohr, where are you? (hmm)

47A. Part of an economics degree?: MONETARY UNIT. We all study money, one way or another.

55A. Part of a theology degree?: GRACE PERIOD. Ah, the extra time we are given to pay a bill before going default, becomes a class where we study (a) how to say a prayer before a meal? or (b) achieving a state of tranquility with divinity?

Okay on with the show...

Across

1. Tool used for loosening: HOE. Gee Gareth, we all hate not getting 1 across and this was tricky; how do you spell wrench or screwdriver in three letters? Oh, loosening the earth to plant something, it is spring.

4. What some chambers hold: AMMO. Chambers of a revolver, not bedrooms, I guess it must be Friday.

8. Put down: ABASED.

14. Calder Cup org.: AHL. The trophy at the end of the minor league hockey season of the American Hockey League, named for Frank Calder, first president of the NHL. Pretty obscure.

15. Take it easy: LOAF. Probably adapted from German landl�ufer �vagabond�, a compound of land �land� and l�ufer �runner.� 

16. __ threat: performer who can sing, dance and act: TRIPLE.

17. Ergot host: RYE.  Fascinating stuff which grows in rye bread as it goes bad, creating a substance with hallucinegenic properties. If you want the history and the alleged tie to the Salem Witch trials and LSD read this LINK .

20. All of us, to Bugs: DOCS.  What's up?

22. Like Inverted Jenny stamps: RARE? Do we have any philatelists among us?

23. As it __ : WERE.

27. Reward of a kind: RAISE. In this economy not getting a pay cut is a bonus.

28. "Good move, torero!": OLE. This means bullfighter; only English speaking people call the man with the cape the Matador; in Spanish, it is Matador de Toros, the killer of the bulls.

29. Shot target: FLU. How many had the shot this winter?

32. Component of some screwdrivers, briefly: STOLI.  A Russian vodka made from wheat and rye, full name Stolinyacha, which means Capital

34. West of Brooklyn: MAE. Very tricky, not another borough, but the creator of the buxom blonde persona. BOMBSHELL .

35. Crabby  SOUR. Sourpuss is such an evocative word, and so accurate.

40. Responsibility: ONUS. Burden.

41. Gp. for GPs: HMO. Group for General Practitioners, the non-specialists.

42. Like mottoes: PITHY. Pith being the core of a plant or an idea.

43. They're often sold in blocks, for short  TIX.  Tickets.

44. Bra part: CUP. I never thought of bras having parts; I have never taken one apart.

45. Surprise, sometimes: PARTY. How many have had their birthday's sprung on them? 

51. Bit with a nucleus: ATOM.

53. Act the affectionate grandparent: DOTE.  It works with grand nephews and nieces as well, see latest avatar of little Mia.

54. High-grade cotton: PIMA.  The best sheets.

58. Code word for "N" in the old U.S. Phonetic Alphabet: NAN.

59. Rather, once: ANCHOR.  Dan, the man.

60. Security concern: MOLE. The underground spy named after the gopher like animal.

61. __ salad: EGG. You got any other three letter salads? Eel?

62. Mendel's field: BOTANY. Yes, it was with plants he studies genetic progressions.

63. Actor Morales: ESAI. He was a regular back in the old pre LA Times days, where they loved that vowel combination.

64. The car in Thurber's 1933 story "The Car We Had to Push": REO.  Again, you know any other three letter cars from 1933?

DOWN:

1. Repeated cacophonic sound?: HARD C. Not our friend Don.

2. Words to a kidder: OH YOU. Sometimes, but today I am being serious.

3. Hoover rival: ELECTROLUX.  I still remember when my mother got hers.

4. Without exception: ALL. Hmm, so simple.

5. Grieves: MOURNS. Our thoughts to all who have lost anyone, a sad part of life we all most face.

6. Conduct: MANAGE. Like a business, not a symphony and not the noun.

7. Joan __: OF ARC. My favorite French Maiden Warrior appears again.

8. Gas station convenience: ATM.  Convenience? They charge you to get money for things you pay too much for, eh!

9. Shop for books: BROWSE.  In this day and age of web browsers, it was hard to focus on this 1870s meaning.

10. White House staffers: AIDES.

11. Type of poker?: SPUR. I wanted STUD, but I guess we are referring to attachment riders use to poke their horses to get them going.

12. Model Macpherson: ELLE.  Beautiful export from Oz, SIRENS.

13. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" author Brown: DEE. A very interesting perspective of the mistreatment of the indigenous tribes of the Americas, which may not be accurate, but is a major best seller.

19. Bit of kindness from a bank: RELOAN. Kindness? Really, I have been a banker and a loan is not a kindness.

21. Gate divisions, at the track: STALLS. Where they line up before, "They're off!"

25. Unusual clock number: IIII. I have actually seen this instead of IV, but why?

26. Smart __ : ALEC. Baldwin?

29. Clementine's dad, for one: FORTYNINER. SONG .

30. Verdant: LUSH.  Green, like a golf course.

31. 1934 chemistry Nobelist: UREY. Never heard of this expert on ISOTOPES who trained with puzzle favorite Neils Bohr.

32. Caber thrower: SCOT. We remain in the highland to watch this SPORT.

33. "Unbreak My Heart" singer Braxton: TONI. LISTEN .

34. Milking murmur: MOO. Always alliterative.

35. Get ready to play: SUIT UP. Baseball players?

37. Ostracize: SHUN.

38. Bar: IMPEDE.  Like impediment.

39. Down-home theater: OPRY.  Grand olde.

44. "Be serious!": COME ON.

45. Artificial turf sites: PATIOS. Does anyone still have astroturf patio?

46. Ring of color: AREOLA. Where is C.C. now that you need her with her classic link? (Note from C.C.: Here is the link. )

47. Eponymous Yemeni seaport: MOCHA. Eponymous meaning taking the name of, and Mocha being now a coffee chocolate drink, though the seaport was the home of the leading naturally flavored coffee in the 1700s.

48. Singer with the 1995 album "Velvet and Brass": TORME. The VELVET FOG .

49. JPEG file content: IMAGE. Which picture format do you prefer?

50. Suggestive dance: TANGO. Aren't all dances suggestive? Marlon Brando? Paris?

51. Pisa's river: ARNO.  No new slant on this clue.

52. Savoir-faire: TACT. Quick French lesson; SAVOIR: to KNOW, FAIRE: to DO, together to know what to do.

55. Dubious "gift": GAB. Ah, the blarney stone.

56. Wield a crowbar: PRY.

57. Agnus __: DEI. We finish with a classic crossword clue. So I will leave you with best wishes for a wonderful Father's Day week end, and an entertaining US Open golf tournament and more questions than answers.

Answer grid.

Lemonade