Wednesday, July 20, 2011 Scott Atkinson

Theme: DUCK-LING fling. Five common English words that can serve double duty as either nouns or verbs are adorned with a diminutive LING suffix, yielding another common English language noun, now in an off-beat, humorous diminutive form. Some of them are still verbs, as well.

17A. Very narrow fissure? : CRACKLING. N: 1) As per the clue, 2) A bit of fried pork or goose fat; V: producing a series of snapping noises.

26A. Landfill in a toy city? : DUMPLING. N: 1) As per the clue, 2) A lump of dough cooked in liquid.

38. Minuscule tattoo? : INKLING. N: 1) As per the clue, 2) A hint, 3) A vague notion, 4) (plural) An Oxford University literary discussion group whose members included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien; V: Communicating in an undertone or whisper (obsolete.)

40A. Dollhouse dress adornment? : BOWLING. N: 1) Tiny BOW, as per the clue, 2) A game in which one knocks down wooden objects with a rolled ball. V: Playing that game.

49A. Where to wear a training bra? : BUSTLING. N: Per the clue, A, AA, or AAA miniscule bosom. (Dare I?) V: Moving energetically.

62A. Very young hobo? : TRAMPLING. N: Son of ON THE ROAD, perhaps. V: Treading in a heavy-footed, damaging manner

And the unifier, 67A. Waterfowl whose young inspired this puzzle's theme : DUCKS. Baby DUCKS are DUCKLINGS.

Wow! Six theme entries, plus a unifier, and very complex wordplay, with layered double, and sometimes triple meanings, a rich musical sub-theme, and a bit of DF. I am AGAPE, but will not DUCK out on you. Lets DUCK INTO the puzzle and see what we can find.

Across:

1. Birthday secret : WISH. We make our wishes known. Otherwise, you get what you get.

5. "Back in Black" band : ACDC. Of all the bands that (tried to ) sound like Led Zeppelin, I preferred Led Zeppelin.

9. Visibly amazed : AGAPE. Jaw-droppingly so.

14. __ Domini : ANNO. Latin: In the year of Our Lord.

15. Bodybuilder's supplement : WHEY. Dairy-based protein source.

16. Hand-dyeing craft : BATIK.

19. Vintage violin : AMATI

20. Michael Moore health-care film : SICKO. Unavoidably political, ergo: no comment.

21. Melody : TUNE. We opened the Jazz Fest with this TUNE. Hardest Big Band Chart I've ever played. I have a video posted on Facebook. If you're on and interested, send me an email, and I'll send you a link.

23. Rock 'n' roll middle name : ARON. Alvis ARON Presley

24. Didn't sell : KEPT.

28. CIA part: Abbr. : AGCY. Central intelligence AGENCY.

30. Arthur Fiedler et al. : MAESTRI. Pl. of MEASTRO - orchestra conductors.

32. Hamm of soccer : MIA. From the U.S Gold Cup Championship Team of a few years back.

33. Ryder rentals : VANS. TRUCKS doesn't fit.

34. Where eaglets hatch : AERIE. Alternate spellings of this word always leave me feeling eerily up in the air.

42. Opposite of perfect pitch : NO EAR. OK. But TIN EAR is more idiomatic.

43. Composer __ Carlo Menotti : GIAN. 20th Century Italian-American composer.

44. Transp. group in the Loop : CTA. CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY

45. Pago Pago people : SAMOANS

48. Did a farrier's job : SHOD. Installed horseshoes. A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves. Now you know.

52. Lacking spice : TAME

54. Chain selling stacks : IHOP. International House of Pancakes

55. Clue in a case : LEAD

57. Dip for a chip : SALSA

60. Mila of "Black Swan" : KUNIS

64. "Fear of Flying" author Jong : ERICA

65. Sneaky trick : WILE. In theory, perhaps.

66. Luke's sci-fi sister : LEIA

68. Black stone : ONYX

69. Enjoys a smorgasbord : SUPS

Down:

1. WWII auxiliaries : WACS. Pl of WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS.

2. Calvary inscription : INRI. L. abbrv. "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews." Calvary was the site of the crucifixion.

3. Twinkie or Ding Dong : SNACK CAKE. Empty calories.

4. Game with sticks : HOCKEY.

5. Pointy tool : AWL

6. Slip in a pot : CHIT. Slang for an IOU

7. Strips of leaves : DENUDES. Remember Agent Orange?

8. Swan constellation : CYGNUS. Use your imagination.

9. The N.Y. Nets were its last champion : ABA. American Basketball Association

10. Warren Harding's middle name : GAMALIEL. You all knew that - right?

11. Asteroids maker : ATARI. Ditto.

12. Spike for a mountaineer : PITON. Drive it into a CRACKLING.

13. Squeezing (out) : EKING

18. Keystone character : KOP. BUSTLING Bumbling gendarmes from the silent movie days.

22. Ambulance VIP : EMT. EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN. Note abbrv in cl & ans.

25. Bur. of Prohibition employee : T-MAN. Treasury Department officers out to collect alcohol taxes.

27. Shrimp relative : PRAWN. What's the difference?

28. Key with no sharps or flats: Abbr. : A MIN. Now this is tricky. A MIN is the relative minor of C MAJ - both with four letters, but no sharps or flats.

29. NFL Hall of Famer Marchetti : GINO. Old time Baltimore Colt.

31. Zambia neighbor: Abbr. : ANG. ANGOLA - also a city in Indiana.

33. Like megapopular web videos : VIRAL. Slang term, meaning passed from person to person, like a virus

35. Cardinal who was a foe of the Musketeers : RICHELIEU

36. Wild about : INTO. How long has it been since anyone asked you: "Are you INTO C B?"

37. "Zounds!" : EGAD. Slang from across the pond.

39. Unwanted playground game teammate : LAST PICK. Yes. That would be me.

40. Recycling vessel : BIN

41. Brewer's kiln : OAST. Crossword stalwart.

43. Yuri who was the first to orbit Earth : GAGARIN. Russian Cosmonaut.

46. Wire measure : MIL. Thousandth of an inch.

47. Punch sequence : ONE-TWO. Take that, and that . . .

48. Some tees : SMALLS. T-Shirt sizes.

49. Pedaled : BIKED. This guy gave his girlfriend a bicycle. Then she peddled it all over town.

50. Freedom, in Swahili : UHURU. Didn't we just see her last week?

51. Part of SST : SONIC. Super SONIC Transport

53. "Antony and Cleopatra" killer : ASP. Slithery crossword stalwart.

56. Tyne with a Tony and Emmys : DALY. The name is familiar, but not the face.

58. Salon sound : SNIP. Cutting hair

59. "What __!": "How fun!" : A GAS. Groovy slang, man. Far out!

61. Palindromic airline : SAS. Scandinavian Airlines System International, if you have an INKLING to travel.

63. Tex-__ cuisine : MEX. Burritos, fajitas, chile con carne, etc. OK. Now I'm hungry.

Answer grid.

Fine, intricate puzzle. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I.

Cheers!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few more "Hard to Believe" pictures from another blog regular. I'm afraid her captions will give her name away easily. I just adore the third picture. She looks gorgeous!

Wednesday July 13, 2011 Pete Muller

Theme: ALL TOLLED. vowel progression in the last word of each theme answer.

17A. Men's clothing category : BIG AND TALL

22A. 1993 military directive : DON'T ASK DON'T TELL

33A. Bad thing to be caught with at work, with "a" : HAND IN THE TILL

46A. Wears greatly : TAKES A HEAVY TOLL

54A. Rock and roll band whose lead singer often played flute solos : JETHRO TULL

Melissa here.

all fun phrases to see in a puzzle, with two grid-spanners. must have been challenging to come up with them - can you think of any other phrases that end in T*LL and are 9 to 15 letters in length?

Across:

1. Pop singer Jackson : JANET. nipple-gate.

6. Create a cobbler : BAKE. yum.

10. Rubella symptom : RASH

14. Tabriz resident : IRANI. had to look it up.

15. Astonishes : AWES

16. Pelvic bones : ILIA. should be a gimme by now.

19. 53-Across et al: GEM. and 53A. Translucent stone : OPAL

20. Harmonizing groups : CHOIRS. clear ayes & barry g., anyone else?

21. Sushi bar spirits: Var. : SAKIS. usually see sake.

26. Building supporter : JOIST

27. Orbital extreme : APOGEE. the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it. (perigee is the point nearest.) see?

28. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON.

29. Sony portable since 1984 : DISCMAN. dinosaurs now.

38. Seers : ORACLES

39. Large loafer letters : EEE. cute.

41. Droll comic Wright : STEVEN. funny guy.

44. Overfamiliar : BANAL. needed a few perps to get this.

51. Small streams : RILLS. did not know this term.

52. Prized statuettes : OSCARS. gimme. grammys and emmys wouldn't fit.

58. Musical Horne : LENA

59. Snack with a removable top : OREO. new clue for an old friend.

60. Dutch export : TULIP. so pretty. dennis's favorite flower, as i recall.

61. Shuteye aids? : LIDS. hee.

62. Exxon, previously : ESSO

63. Serene spots : EDENS. thought oases first.

Down:

1. Sail at the front : JIB. i know nothing about sailing, but this was still a gimme.

2. Jackie's "O" : ARI. nice clue.

3. Pester : NAG.

4. Passes, as legislation : ENACTS

5. Grunt's helmet : TIN HAT. if he only had a heart.

6. Javanese hand-dyed fabric : BATIK. beautiful.

7. Prize : AWARD

8. Kutcher's "That '70s Show" role : KELSO. have never seen this show, but it's well known trivia.

9. Alien's subj. : ESL

10. Trattoria tubes : RIGATONI. more yum. from the Italian word rigati, which means 'ribbed' or 'lined.'

11. It's tapped in a pub : ALE KEG. was tricky with both words.

12. Black as night, e.g. : SIMILE

13. Bother : HASSLE

18. Lavish parties : DO'S. not sure i've heard it used that way.

21. Mar. honoree : ST. PAT. saint patrick's day - great excuse for a party.

22. Party spinners, briefly : DJ'S. and 57A. 22-Down's vinyls : LP'S

23. "I'm really impressed!" : OOOH

24. Simone of jazz : NINA

25. When repeated, squeals : NAMES. such a tricky clue. 'names names,' as in the huac hearings. several good movies made about the subject: guilty by suspicion with robert de niro, citizen cohn with james woods, and the front, with woody allen (don't click if you're offended by bad language).

29. Beloved princess : DIANA. her absence was sad at prince william's wedding.

30. "Monsters, __" : INC

31. Cardinal letters : STL. is that the official abbreviation on the scoreboard?

32. Friend of Fidel : CHE. fidel castro and ernesto �che� guevara.

34. "Animal Farm" et al. : NOVELLAS. longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.

35. Work code subject : DRESS. dress code.

36. Letterman rival : LENO.

37. Sharon of "Boston Public" : LEAL. another show i've never seen, have never heard of this actress.

40. Pipe shape : ELL

41. Leisurely walk : STROLL

42. Republic of China capital : TAIPEI

43. Bond girl Britt of "The Man With the Golden Gun" : EKLAND

44. Without thinking : BY ROTE. rote memory.

45. Like some retired racehorses : AT STUD

47. Gardeners, at times : HOERS

48. __ Park, Colorado : ESTES

49. Allergic reaction : ACHOO. bless you.

50. Alt. spelling : VAR. alternate / variant.

54. Java : JOE. coffee.

55. Gran- suffix : ULE. granule.

56. Architect Maya __ : LIN. did not know the name of this woman who, at age 21, designed the vietnam veteran's war memorial.

Answer grid.

Melissa

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 Gareth Bain

Theme: "Pop" goes the weasel.  This was an unusual theme, which would be almost impossible to suss without the unifier:  45D. Asked, burst open, extracted, or broke, as the ends of this puzzle's four longest answers : POPPED. Or, as my title for the theme suggests "Jumped out". Can you think of any other meanings?

17A. "Will you marry me?" is one : YES OR NO QUESTION  (I would, Gareth, but DH might object!)

"Popped the question" uses the first unifier verb, meaning "asked".

32A. Steak au poivre flavoring : PEPPERCORN. "Poivre" is French for "pepper". And "popped corn" demonstrates the second unifier verb, for "burst open". 

41A. Administrative area on Ireland's south coast : COUNTY CORK.  A "popped cork" uses the third unifier verb for "extracted". 

59A. Bit of wedding toast effervescence : CHAMPAGNE BUBBLE. A "popped bubble" is the final unifier verb, meaning "broke".

Marti here, with what I hope was a logical explanation for this puzzle.

Across

1. English horn, e.g. : REED. And clecho 47. __ anglais: English horn : COR. Cor Anglais is the French term for English horn.  But it is not from England, and is not a horn.  It is a double-reed woodwind in the oboe family. 

5. No Doubt lead singer Stefani : GWEN. Their first ska-pop album failed to make any waves. Gwen went on to launch a solo career with her successful album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby". "Hollabak Girl" from the album was one of the most popular songs of 2005. Judge for yourself.

9. Hard stuff : BOOZE. Did anyone want "cider"?

14. Old apple treatment : ALAR. 

15. Gaelic tongue : ERSE. 

16. Part of A/V : AUDIO. 50/50 shot of getting this one right..

20. Play flawlessly on the green : ONE PUTT. I'd rather pitch in for eagle.

21. Gets ready for market, as livestock : FATTENS

22. "Stillmatic" rapper : NAS. "One Mic" from the album (released in 2002), samples a portion of Phil Collins's "In the Air tonight".  Can you hear it? 

23. Commoner : PLEB

25. 4:00 English drink : TEA. I guess that would be 11:00 AM in Boston? 

26. Levi's alternative : LEE. Both popular brands of jeans.

27. Big pitcher : EWER. Weighing in at 270, NY Yankees pitcher Andrew Brackman would also qualify.

29. General Arnold of WWII : HAP. The only five-star general in both the Air Force and the Army, he was instructed how to fly by the Wright brothers.

36. Danish toy brand : LEGO.

37. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G. He also portrays Borat and Bruno in his whacky comedy routines.

38. See red? : OWE. Great clue.

39. Orenburg's river : URAL

40. Elizabeth of "Jacob's Ladder" : PENA. I can't watch thriller/horror movies like this.  You?

44. Street sign abbr. : AVE

45. Shroud of gloom : PALL. "McCarthy got drunk at Sullivan's wake, fell off the bar stool and broke his leg...threw a pall over the entire funeral!"

46. Much : WAY. As in, "I've had WAY too much to drink..."

48. Fall short : FAIL

50. GI entertainers : USO. "United Service Organizations"

53. Bit of moral fiber : SCRUPLE. From the Latin "scrupulus", meaning "pricking of conscience"; literally, "small stone". Like a pebble in your shoe, giving you anxiety.  

57. Skateboarder's wear : KNEEPAD

61. Peregrine's place : AERIE.

62. Reason to warn boaters : GALE. Does anyone remember the old sitcom "The Gale Storm Show"?

63. Caramel candy brand : ROLO. Yummm. Who doesn't like chocolate and caramel?

64. Pollster's find : TREND

65. Sardine's cousin : SHAD

66. Wilson of "Drillbit Taylor" : OWEN. Is this Friday? That was one of his more obscure (and poorly rated) movies, as I remember him better for "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Marley and Me", "Zoolander', "Starskey & Hutch" or "The Wedding Crashers".

Moving on...

DOWN

1. Lustrous synthetic : RAYON. As I have said before, nylon, orlon, rayon...just wait for the perps.

2. 2010 tennis retiree Dementieva : ELENA. She won the singles gold at the Beijing Olympics. Interesting website.

3. Alleviates : EASES.  Aleve alleviates arthritis pain...

4. Pearl __ earring : DROP. I think of this painting by Vermeer.

5. Less violent : GENTLER

6. Authored : WROTE

7. Lawyer's letters : ESQ. Why are they "esquires"?

8. Bordeaux ball team? : NEUF. HaHa..."NEUF Ball". Get it? (Nerf ball?)...oh, never mind. I think Gareth meant there are nine on a ball team, and neuf is French for nine. (This is getting WAY too complicated, so I'll move on now).

9. Turkey-roasting tool : BASTER. That little syringe-y think that sits in your drawer all year, and comes out only on Thanksgiving.  Remember?

10. "I'm __ here!": "Bye!" : OUTTA. Not yet!  I still have more 30 more clues to unravel!

11. Comic strip dog : ODIE. One of my favs, from "Garfield".

12. Mount sacred to Judaism : ZION

13. Geologic periods : EONS

18. Indian capital : RUPEE. One of these days, they are actually going to be looking for "Delhi" as the answer.

19. Unlike leftovers : EATEN. Why, that's true! My leftovers usually sit in the 'frig for about two weeks, and then they are tossed.

24. Old English epic poem : BEOWULF. Did anyone see the 3-D version with Anthony Hopkins?

26. Org. for Paula Creamer : LPGA. Ladies Professional Golf Association.

28. Birdhouse songbird : WREN

29. Po' boy relative : HERO. Or Hoagie, sub, grinder, torpedo, blimpie...

30. Ice cream thickener : AGAR. Much better image than "bacteria-growing medium".

31. Mexican War president : POLK. James Knox Polk, served 1845-1849. The victory in this war gave the USA much of the present southwest.

32. Bear with a hard bed : PAPA

33. Mountain sign no. : ELEV. Elevation.

34. Turpentine source : PINE

35. Not nerdy : COOL

36. "Peanuts" fussbudget : LUCY

41. "Cheers" barmaid : CARLA. Her full name was Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec.  

42. Hotel room choice : TWIN BED. Make mine a double...

43. New Eng. school since 1701 : YALE U. Hard to suss this one. I think of it as simply "Yale".

47. Curry flavoring : CUMIN

49. "The Jungle Book" pack leader : AKELA. Not familiar with this lone wolf.

50. Violin stroke : UP BOW. The player pushes the bow from tip to the frog (bottom of the bow), moving it towards the left shoulder. 

51. H�tel room : SALLE. More french. I wanted "chambre".

52. Cineplex name : ODEON

53. Gibberish singing style : SCAT. Ella Fitzgerald was one of the greats.

54. Mother of Chaz : CHER. Chaz is a transgender advocate, having completed a female-to-male gender transition in 2010.

55. A bit beyond raw : RARE. I like both raw tuna and rare steak.

56. Breakfast order : EGGS. These, I like cooked!

58. River to the Mediterranean : EBRO. Northern Spain. Want some monster catfish? Map.

60. Slangy dismissal : NAH. Yeah, now I'm OUTTA here!

Answer grid.

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our blog matriarch (good one, Dennis) Clear Ayes. Thanks for being here for us.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Jack McInturff

Theme: G-Rated (do they even make those kind of movies anymore??)  The first words of the theme entries could follow the letter "G", thusly:

17A. *Fit perfectly : SUIT TO A TEE. A "G-suit" (or more correctly, an anti-G suit) helps pilots who fly at high speeds to prevent blackouts by inflating air bladders around the legs, thus stopping blood from draining from the brain. Aren't you glad you don't need to know this?

23A. *Sexy beachwear : STRING BIKINI. And very closely related to "G-string", no? Now this is more in line with our DF group. But, my eyes are still hurting from some of the photos that came up when I looked for a link!!  (Just use your imagination here, guys!)

50A. *Behavior made automatic from frequent repetition : FORCE OF HABIT. "G-Force" is what a "G-Suit" is designed to overcome...

62A. *Superhero nickname : MAN OF STEEL.  A "G-Man" is slang for a government man, or FBI agent.

and the unifier:

39. "Gosh!" (or, based on the starts of starred answers, one who is expert at solving this puzzle's theme?) : GEE WHIZ. Hah! I must be a G-reat solver to figure this one out. 

Marti here to help you over the hump day...

ACROSS:

1. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV. GEE WHIZ, don't you hate it when the first word of the puzzle is one you don't know?

5. Parisian pals : AMIS. Ah yes, we are back to yesterday's French lesson.

9. Light bite : NOSH. Yiddish nashn, from Middle High German naschen "to eat on the sly".

13. In-box note, perhaps : MEMO

14. Like candy near the register, maybe : MINTY. Wanted "impulse buy", but wouldn't fit.

16. Hostile to : ANTI

19. Veggie that may be black : BEAN

20. Bone: Pref. : OSTEO

21. Golda of Israel : MEIR.  She was known as the "Iron Lady" years before Margaret Thatcher was labeled with that nickname.

22. "The Wizard __": comic strip : OF ID. Irreverent, often insightful humor by Parker and Hart.

26. White Sox star who played in five decades (1949-1980) : MINOSO. Oh no, not baseball! And more than thirty years ago?

29. Shortly : ANON. Also, what some bloggers are called.

30. Graceland middle name : ARON. Ah yes, interesting story about ARON - Aaron. But we all know that already, don't we?

31. "A horse is a horse" horse : MR ED. From 60's TV comedy.

35. Partner of each : EVERY

38. Seaman's "Help!" : SOS

41. __ volente: God willing : DEO

42. Prepare to be knighted : KNEEL.  Great visual from "Le Morte D'Arthur".

44. Composer Bart�k : BELA. Along with Liszt, considered Hungary's greatest composer, and well-known for his "Night music" style, wherein he imitated the sounds of nature at night in his compositions.  Like this.

45. German coal region : SAAR. Mosel-Saar-Ruhr is also one of the leading wine regions of Germany.  Really, coal??

46. Once again : ANEW

48. Literary alter ego : MR HYDE. "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", by Robert Louis Stevenson.

55. Buck suffix : AROO. I guess "kang" wouldn't be a great clue, huh?

56. Way to go : ROAD

57. Rosary units : BEADS

61. Unfocused photo, e.g. : BLUR. Or, crossword clues when blogging at midnight...

64. Single : LONE. Hands up for "stag"?

65. Hill on Vail : SLOPE. Vail, Colorado. And they are usually slippery!

66. Gal who gets what she wants : LOLA.  Barry Manilow, anyone?

67. Loose things to tie up : ENDS. Or strings on a bikini...

68. Location : SITE

69. Barbershop sound : SNIP. Huh. "Harmony" doesn't fit.

DOWN:

1. Schoolyard retort : AM SO. Can we quit this schoolyard argument, already??

2. Olympian bigwig : ZEUS

3. Cut out : OMIT

4. Decides via ballot : VOTES ON

5. Latin lover's word : AMO. Love my Latin! (Or, is it "my Latin lover"...)

6. Home of the Heat : MIAMI. Basketball. Will they settle before their potential lockout on Thursday?

7. One __: unlikely chance : IN TEN. If it were the lotto, more like one in one in 593,775, according to my calculations.

8. "Shrek!" author William : STEIG. Unknown.

9. "Lolita" author : NABOKOV. Known.

10. Clooney/Pfeiffer comedy : ONE FINE DAY. Got meh reviews.

11. Washday challenge : STAIN. No, my washday challenge is just getting all the stuff from the bedroom down to the basement laundry room.

12. Delhi language : HINDI

15. __ Buena, town that became San Francisco : YERBA. Total WAG.

18. Little tykes : TOTS

24. "City of Seven Hills" : ROME. Nailed it. Been there, seen them.

25. Don Juan's mother : INEZ. In Lord Byron's poem, Don Juan is not a womanizer, but one who is easily seduced by women.

26. Halloween cover-up : MASK

27. Press : IRON. Who thought of gym, and "pump"?

28. Act like a snoop : NOSE AROUND. Fun clue, great fill!

32. Confederate : REB

33. Lady in the flock : EWE. Hah, didn't fool me. I knewe it wasn't you!

34. UPS rival : DHL

36. Enjoy the library : READ. Well, I think most of us here enjoy reading. But, between the Nook, Kindle, iBooks etc., are we in danger of losing this sacrosanct institution of our youth? 

37. Time past : YORE. As in, "yore late"?

39. Elated feeling : GLEE. Or, a wildly popular (with "Gleeks", anyway) TV show.

40. Foot in a poem : IAMB. I amb what I amb...or, the "beat" to a poem. Like ka-BOOM,  where the accent is stressed on the second syllable. Thus, iambic dimeter (two iambic "feet", or measures) would sound like:

the WAY / a CROW

shook DOWN / on ME...

-Frost
I'll leave the rest to CA.

43. Extras for a cheering crowd : ENCORES. Loved this clue/answer!

45. Former Jewish settlements : SHTETLS. Hated this clue/answer!

47. Squirmy bait : WORMS. eeewwwww....

49. Barbecue fare : RIBS. OK, now you're talkin' DH's language!

50. Aesop work : FABLE

51. Sweater synthetic : ORLON. I never know if it's going to be nylon, rayon, or orlon! So, let's move...ON

52. Stable newborns : FOALS

53. Vietnam's capital : HANOI. Map, for anyone who wasn't around in the 50's-60's-70's.

54. Take as one's own : ADOPT

58. Long, long time : AEON. Ages, anyone?

59. Bagels and lox seller : DELI. Mmmm...I could go for some right now.  Maybe I'll ask the guys in the SHTETL if they want some, too...

60. Blow with a palm : SLAP. V8 can on this one when it finally emerged. Or, a slap upside my head.

63. ATM charge : FEE. No charge for this blog. But you can contribute to my amusement fund by using PayPal at www.skigolfkayakhikecampreadgardenwino.com

Answer grid.

Thanks for letting me share this one with all y'all!

Marti

Notes from C.C.

1) Here are two lovely pictures of MJ's grandson Drake. She said "These photos of Drake are very telling about why I am not posting daily on the blog, although I still read the blog most mornings, and  very much appreciate all those who parse the daily LAT puzzles for your site." Here is her family picture we showed last August when Drake was 5-month old.

As some of you are aware, our local paper doesn't carry LAT crossword,  so MJ mailed me the precious first one Don and I collaborated, the whole LA Times Calendar section carefully padded between stiff boards. And  a few more later. Thanks, MJ.

2) Happy Birthday to Barry G!