Saturday, Sep 5th, 2015, Alex Vratsanos and Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,W)

Blocks: 32

  We have had both constructors on Saturdays in the past, but I do believe this is their first duo, at least for the LA Times.  Mr. Vratsanos started our summer off with a Memorial Day weekend puzzle, and so it seems fitting that he close out the season on Labor Day weekend (as far as I am concerned; the Hamptons will be clearing out as of Tuesday, and UPS will be cooling off as well).  Alas, this puzzle was almost as brutal as that one in May; I did get three corners and the center solved, but the SW was never going to budge - so I Googled one answer, and the rest fell into place.  Oh well.  Triple 10-letter corners in a neat pinwheel grid.  Some of the longer answers;

17a. Elementary sextet : NOBLE GASES - Nailed it. 

14d. Its capital was Xianyang : QIN DYNASTY - hmmm, I know someone who knows a little history about Zhou, and Qin

65. High wind : SOPRANO SAX
 

- an a semi-clecho with;

28. Baroque wind : OBOE D'AMORE - according to Wiki, it's a third lower than a standard oboe

nadowr~?

ACROSS:

1. Eggy dessert : ZABAGLIONE - never heard of this, but working in an Italian-style restaurant, I ran with the perps and filled in what sounded good

11. La Salle of "ER" : ERIQ

15. Occurring at a constant temperature : ISOTHERMAL

16. Computer start-up? : MINI - early meh.  Mini-computer.  I get it, but....

18. Browning product : OVEN - I did not know the gun manufacturer made ovens as well

19. Older Pevensie sister in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series : SUSAN - again, perps

20. Turned brown, maybe : SAUTÉED - could you use a "browning" oven for this~?

22. Curling piece : STONE - I can actually watch this Olympic event; I like it - but I'm a big fan of shuffleboard like the one you'd find in bars

26. Square : NERDY

27. "Do wrong to __": Shak. : NONE - nixed my NONE at 57a.

30. Attended to bald spots on : SODDED - because ROGAINED didn't fit

33. Stop : BAN - not END

34. University of Miami mascot Sebastian the __ : IBIS - half perps/half wag

35. Climate Reality Project founder : AL GORE

36. __ moment : A-HA

37. Flimflam : CON

38. Slap target, informally : SKEETER - that is, mosquito, and it's better to flick than to slap, especially if it's a little more dangerous, like a stinging insect

39. Airline with the EuroBonus frequent flier program : SAS

40. Alpine parrot : KEA - oh, alpine meaning mountains - I was thinking "Alps", and didn't think you'd find any parrots there

41. Misses : LASSES - oops, not LADIES

42. Salon service : TINT

43. Names : IDs

44. Slap cause, maybe : INSULT - hysterics are about the only time I'd slap anyone

45. Dr. Jones, to Dr. Marcus Brody : INDY - characters from Raiders of the Lost Ark ( and the Last Crusade )

"an army that carries the Ark before it is invincible"

46. Mesoamerican crop : MAIZE

48. Column that won't support anything : PLUME - a column from a newspaper would have been a good answer, too

50. Involve deeply : IMMERSE

53. DeMille specialties : EPICS

57. It precedes one : NOON - ah, the clock.  ZERO was not working

58. Dept. of State employee : US DIPLOMAT

62. Secretary of Education Duncan : ARNE - ALAN~? nope. ANNE~? nope.

63. Like pen pals' relationships : EPISTOLARY

64. Hoot : JEER

DOWN:

1. Some reds, for short : ZINfandelS

2. Not worth __ : A SOU

3. Roaring Twenties hairdos : BOBS

4. Ones for the road? : ATLASES

5. 1814 treaty site : GHENT

6. It may be shaken or pulled : LEG - or admired

7. He outlived George by 46 years : IRA - the Gershwins

8. Sacred syllables : OMs - meditations, too

9. Dumbarton denials : NAES

10. Snow Queen in "Frozen" : ELSA - did not see it; I do long to have kids some day

11. Wax theatrical : EMOTE

12. Drainage area : RIVER BASIN

13. "Help" : "I NEED A HAND"

21. Bad way to go : UNDER

23. Certain Honshu native : OSAKAN - from the Japanese city of Osaka

24. Words of emphasis : NO LESS

25. Moves stealthily : EDGES UP

27. "Pink Friday" rapper : NICKI MINAJ - I have heard OF her, but nothing from her; my Googled answer

29. Singer who had a 1959 hit with "I Loves You, Porgy" : NINA SIMONE - the double 10-letter proper names sandwiching a vague musical instrument in this corner killed me; I'm sure there are plenty of people at the corner who are familiar with Nina's work

31. "Dish it up!" : "DO TELL~!"

32. 1974 hit sung entirely in Spanish : ERES TU - popular enough in crosswords that I threw this in having just the first "E" and last "U"

38. Foxier : SLIER

42. "The Banquet of Cleopatra" painter : TIEPOLO

the artist

47. __ cards, used in ESP experiments : ZENER - I did not know these had a name; derived from the psychologist's name - anyone else think of the opening of Ghostbusters~?

49. Dieter's breakfast : MELON - ah, not TOAST

51. Petitions : SUES

52. Beantown NHL nickname : ESPO - Phil Esposito - now here's a proper name I am familiar with

54. "Look at me, __ helpless ...": "Misty" lyric : I'M AS

55. Word spoken con affetto : CARA - not AMOR

56. Final crossing? : STYX - Two weeks in a row~?  I'm getting nervous

59. Party bowlful : DIP

60. Nation since 1948: Abbr. : ISRael

61. Ed. group : PTA

Splynter

Friday September 4, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Add a little Einsteinium (Atomic Symbol ES)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well enough of the silliness let's get to solving.

Across:

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

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

9. Speck : ATOM.

13. A or B, in preparations : PLAN.

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

15. Baseball commissioner emeritus Bud : SELIG.

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

20. Less prosaic : ODDER.

21. Canceled (out) : XED.

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

24. Have regrets : FEEL BAD.

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

29. Storm dir. : ENE.

30. Job application ID : SSN.

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

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

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

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

47. WWII female : WAC.

50. "You're the __ That I Want": "Grease" song : ONE.

51. Nursery purchase : SOD.

52. 1960s educational experiment : NEW MATH.

55. Spirit : LIFE.

57. 22-Down sound : YIP.

59. Vital vessel : AORTA.

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

65. Port array : DOCKS.

66. "Amarantine" musician : ENYA.

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

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

69. It contains diamonds : DECK. Good clue.

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

Down:

1. "SNL" staples : SPOOFS.

2. Loses, in a way : ELUDES.

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

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

5. Cookout item : BUN. HBG or HD?

6. See 68-Across : EGG.

7. Author Haley : ALEX.

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

9. Braying beast : ASS.

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

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

12. Lombardy dialect : MILANESE.

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

18. NYSE trader : ARBitrage.

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

25. Fluish symptoms : AGUE.

26. Doofus : DOLT.

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

32. Sic on : LET AT.

33. Fascinated by : INTO.

34. Entrance support : JAMB. Door jamb.

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

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

38. Harmoniously : IN UNISON.

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

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

41. Foundation : BASE.

45. Exultation : JOY.

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

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

48. Swear : ATTEST.

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

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

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

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

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

61. 63-Down hrs. : EST.

63. Tumblr HQ site : NYC.

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

Thursday, September 3, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme:"In the Hood"

No reveal today. Just four entries that could be sites for hoods.

17-A. Hood sites : KING COBRAS. [shudder]

 26-A. Hood site : SHERWOOD FOREST. Robin, I presume?

46-A. Hood sites : GANGSTER MOVIES. Are they hoods?

61. Hood site : SWEATSHIRT. New England's favorite hood.

This was a fine offering from our fearless leader.  Should I confess that I only realized it was her after finishing my write-up, while entering the title for this post? As always, she has given us a nice clean grid with some zip.

Across   

1. iTunes Store category : SOUL.

5. Reach for the stars : GO BIG.

10. Ones dealing with deductions, briefly : CPAs.

14. Fit : ABLE.

15. Surpass : TRUMP.

16. Jessica of "Machete Kills" : ALBA. Oof. Not my cup of tea.

19. George H.W. Bush, once : VEEP.

20. Type of infection : STAPH. I always hesitate between STAPH and strep.

21. One eavesdropping, perhaps : SPY.

22. Royal decrees : FIATS.

23. "Cool!" : RAD.

25. Lesage hero Gil __ : BLAS. L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane. A picaresque French novel published  in the early 1700s.

33. Bourbon bigwigs : ROIS. More French.

34. "Trust me!" : I SWEAR!

35. Shad delicacy : ROE.

36. Fidgety : ANTSY.

38. Raggedy character : ANN.

39. Theatrical device : ASIDE.

41. "Friday" actress Long : NIA.

42. Enter carefully : EDGE IN. And a partial clecho at 56-A. Enters, in a way : TYPES (in).

45. Pet-adoption ads, briefly : PSAs. Public Service Announcements.

49. Mafia bosses : DONS.

50. Busy mo. for FedEx : DEC.

51. On hold, with "in" : LIMBO.

53. Fuel efficiency stat : MPG.

60. One of a classically opposed pair : EVIL.

63. Peony holder : VASE.

64. North Dakota home of the Roger Maris Museum : FARGO.

65. '60s sitcom boy : OPIE.

66. Technical sch. : INST.itute.

67. "Dude!" : OH, MAN!

68. Overflow : TEEM.


Down

1. Lord and Taylor competitor : SAKS.

2. Departure notice? : OBIT. Nice misdirection.

3. Bone involved in Tommy John surgery : ULNA. Named after the major league pitcher who first had the surgery. It involves replacing an injured elbow ligament with one from a different part of the body.

4. Weight training exercise : LEG PRESS.

5. Pontiac muscle car : GTO.

6. Spheres : ORBS.

7. Dining faux pas : BURP.

8. Reply offering hope : I MAY...or I may not.

9. Rental car feature, briefly : GPS. Our rental car in Austria will certainly have GPS.

10. Fancy spread : CAVIAR.

11. Standing order? : PLEASE RISE. Courtroom.

12. Harbor after a heist, say : ABET.

13. Gullible sorts : SAPS.

18. Scorch : CHAR.

22. Native plants : FLORA.

24. Post-Breathalyzer-test charge: Abbr. : DWI. I fill in the d and i, then wait for perps to tell me if it will be "u" or "w" in the middle. Once convicted, the driver might go through 43-Down. Drying-out hurdle : DTs.

25. Dancer's deg. : BFA. Bachelor of Fine Arts.

26. Colleague of Elena and Ruth : SONIA. Supreme Court.

27. Not reliable : HIT AND MISS. I always say "Hit or miss." You?

28. "August: ___ County": 2008 Pulitzer-winning play : OSAGE.

29. Pro sports VIP : OWNER.

30. GUESS material : DENIM.

31. Party supplies : SODAS.

32. Pro shop pickups : TEES.

33. Buzzed : RANG.

37. Kind of question : YES / NO.

40. Like Kung Pao chicken : SPICY HOT.

44. Subtle acknowledgment : NOD .

47. Wine holder : GOBLET.

48. Docs using cones : VETS. The cone of shame:

51. Son of Leah : LEVI.

52. "Terrible" ruler : IVAN.

53. [Air kiss] : MWAH. Nice.

54. Wave maker : PERM.

55. Lady __ : GAGA.

57. Water conduit : PIPE.

58. Home port for the USS Niagara : ERIE.

59. Peony part : STEM.

61. W. Coast airport : SFO. San Francisco.

62. Huge number : TON. I had a ton of fun, but now I'm done. Until next week!

Marti

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 Ed Sessa

Theme: Four of a kind ... Four Jacks in this case, as explained by the reveal entries:

39A. With 40-Across, toy with a crank ... and what each set of four circled puzzle squares graphically represents : JACK IN

40A. See 39-Across : THE BOX

Welcome to Wednesday, everyone. Steve here with an Ed Sessa "circles" theme. If you're one of the circle-less solvers amongst us you weren't at any disadvantage today, you just didn't get the post-solve "oh look, there's some names of people there" moment. 

We've got two actors - WEBB and LORD (Dragnet and Hawaii 5-0 respectively), one talk show host PAAR and one football player/politician KEMP.

I'm treating this more as a "Wednesday themeless", unless I'm missing something deep and mysterious about the names or the placement in the grid. 

Moving on ...

Across:

1. Flier among hangers : MOTH

5. Hurt : ACHE

9. Exams for future attys. : LSATS

14. Alpine feedback : ECHO. Yodeling probably wouldn't be as much fun without the sound rebound.

15. Something to chew on : FOOD

16. Open courtyards : ATRIA. "Open" in the sense of "uncluttered", not necessarily "open to the air".

17. Some Broadway theater handouts : SHOWBILLS. Hand up for HANDBILLS first. Interestingly, the only Broadway theater that gives you a showbill is the New Amsterdam, for reasons explained here. Who knew?

19. Green shampoo : PRELL. Crosses for me. I thought it might be eco-friendly, but no, it's just green.

20. Raised on one's own ranch, as a horse : HOMEBRED

21. Pilot-licensing org. : F.A.A. Our friends at the Federal Aviation Authority. The UK equivalent is the Civil Aviation Authority, which sounds to me like they must be jolly polite.

22. Like many senior part-timers : SEMI-RETIRED

27. Hemingway nickname : PAPA

31. Yours, in Toulouse : A TOI

32. Stadium level : TIER. You need one cross to decide between TIER and the also-popular LOGE.

33. __ husky : ALASKAN

36. PC exit key : ESC

38. Tournament advantage : BYE

42. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARI. Officially, the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball, but that would need to be one heck of a wide scoreboard to fit that lot in.

43. "Little Red Book" author : MAO

45. It's not pretty to look at : EYESORE

46. Certain bond, briefly : MUNI

48. Tae __ do : KWON

50. "The __ lama, he's a priest ... ": Nash : ONE L

51. Sherry in a Poe title : AMONTILLADO. A jaunty, cheerful and uplifting tale of burial alive.

55. When doubled, a number puzzle : KEN. From the Japanese word for cleverness, 賢 ken, so I'm told.

56. "Beatles '65" song : I'M A LOSER. Not one of their best-known, that's for sure. The album the song was on was released as "Beatles for Sale" in the UK, not the album title in the clue, so I thought '65 referred to the release year, but that was actually 1964. Confused yet?

61. Common news hr. : TEN P.M.

64. Intensely active state : OVERDRIVE

65. Greek storyteller : AESOP

66. Reject suddenly : JILT, as a lover.

67. Field : AREA

68. Land maps : PLATS. Learning moment for me. I had PLANS at first until INKPON showed up at 47D.

69. Ornamental band : SASH

70. Socially awkward type : NERD

Down:

1. Interlock : MESH

2. Nueve menos uno : OCHO. Spanish math.

3. McAn of footwear : THOM. Crosses for me. Never heard of the brand.

4. NHL great Gordie : HOWE

5. In flames : AFIRE

6. Camping gear company with a lantern in its logo : COLEMAN

7. "Wait a minute!" : HOLD IT!

8. People working for People, briefly : EDS. Magazine editors.

9. Wash gently against : LAP AT. This one seems to have been cropping up a lot recently, or perhaps I'm just noticing it more. Funny how that happens.

10. Narrow waterway : STRAIT. "Narrow" would appear to be a relative term. The Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from mainland Australia, is approximately 220 miles wide.

11. "__ you coming?" : ARE

12. Up to, casually : 'TIL "Open 8 'til Late".

13. Mineo of "Exodus" : SAL

18. Air rifle ammo : BB'S

21. Full of gumption : FEISTY

23. Caviar, e.g. : ROE

24. Award often blue : RIBBON. The alternately-spelled BLUE RIBAND trophy is held by the liner United States for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a passenger ship.

25. Pooh pal : EEYORE. With Piglet, my favorite character from the books (don't get me started on the Disney abominations). Is his rundown house EEYORE'S EYESORE?

26. Philadelphia university : DREXEL. Oh, so that's where it is. I wondered.

27. __ party : PAJAMA. PYJAMA in British English, so I waited for ALASKAN to resolve matters for me.

28. Shakespearean call to arms : ALARUM. Great word.

29. "Scarface" (1983) star : PACINO

30. "Try me" : ASK

34. "Bette Davis Eyes" singer Carnes : KIM. Gravelly-throated songstress. Good stuff.

35. Luke and Leia's father : ANAKIN. Get your Star Wars nerd on today.

37. Friend of Fidel : CHE. Cue iconic image:

41. Spanish "that" : ESO

44. Woodland mouser : OWL

45. Glossy coats : ENAMELS

47. Place to dip a quill : INKPOT. Corrected my erroneous PLANS at 68A

49. Piglet of children's books : OLIVIA. Cute looking pig!

52. Holiday hires : TEMPS

53. 35-Down, as a Sith lord : DARTH. I can't remember if I linked this before, but it tickles me to death every time I watch it. Adult language warning for a couple of F-bombs.

54. Rusted, perhaps : OLD

57. Setting of Camus' "The Plague" : ORAN. Algerian city which suffered a repeat outbreak in 2003.

58. Many a retired racehorse : SIRE

59. At any time : EVER

60. Spent time with Time : READ. You could clue either "Spend" or "Spent" and just change the pronunciation of the answer, which is neat, no?

61. Gentle touch : TAP. I had PAT first, which amused me when I noticed that I simply had it backwards.

62. Oft-smoked fish : EEL

63. DOD intel arm : N.S.A. The National Security Agency, brought to prominence (unhappily for them!) in recent times by Edward Snowden.

64. Drinks at IHOP : OJ'S 

That's about it from me. Here's the grid while I get my coat.


Steve

Tuesday, September 1 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Go Deep.

19. Judgments made on the fly : SNAP DECISIONS

 
29. Call it quits : THROW IN THE TOWEL

39. Take a nap : CATCH FORTY WINKS

55. Football play comprised of the starts of 19-, 29- and 39-Across : COMPLETED PASS

See above.

Melissa here. This will be brief - having some issues with blogger.

Across

1. Pop singer Anthony : MARC

5. Drive-__ window : THRU

9. Annoying email : SPAM

13. "Then again," in texts : OTOH. On The Other Hand.

14. Real howler : RIOT

15. In and of itself : PER SE. Latin, meaning in itself.

16. Arnaz of early sitcoms : DESI

17. Save-the-date card follow-up : INVITATION

21. Joe of "NCIS" : SPANO

22. "Dang!" : RATS

23. "The Crying Game" actor Stephen : REA

24. Hole in one : ACE

25. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : ELI

27. Taunting laugh : HAH

36. Champ's cry : I WON

37. Airport compliance org. : FAA. Federal Aviation Administration.

38. Cuban currency : PESO

44. Patriotic women's gp. : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

45. Clever laugh : HEH

46. Ef counterpart, in temperatures : CEE. Ef as in Fahrenheit, CEE as in Celsius.

47. NW state with a panhandle : IDA. Idaho.

50. Simpson who's a member of 12-Down : LISA

53. Tryst participant : LOVER

58. First sequel's sequel : EPISODE III

59. Pandora's boxful : ILLS

62. Cut again, as lumber : RESAW

63. Apollo 11 destination : MOON

64. Earth goddess : GAIA

65. Part of GPS: Abbr. : SYST

66. Like some telegrams : SUNG

67. Tiny part of a min. : NSEC. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second.

Down

1. "The __ Squad" : MOD

2. Dined : ATE

3. 1995 Reform Party founder : ROSS PEROT

4. Great Wall locale : CHINA. Look.

5. Libyan port : TRIPOLI

6. Rear : HIND

7. 63-Across exploration vehicle : ROVER

8. Erie Canal city : UTICA

9. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI

10. Aforementioned : PRIOR

11. Together : AS ONE

12. Group with an annual Mind Games competition : MENSA

15. Volkswagen family car : PASSAT

18. Ten percent donation : TITHE

20. From the beginning : ANEW

21. The "u" sound in "census" : SCHWA

24. Suffix with problem : A TIC

26. Help desk offering, briefly : INFO

28. Arizona tribe : HOPI

30. How some pics are stored : ON CD

31. La Brea stuff : TAR. Museum.

32. Owns, biblically : HATH

33. Holiday carol's "Good King" : WENCESLAS

34. Glacial ridge : ESKER. Virtual field trip of Blakeney esker.

35. Get rid of : LOSE

40. Consecrate : HALLOW

41. Like much pub grub : FRIED

42. Kennel cacophony : YELPING

43. "Now, just hold on" : WHOA

47. "Happy birthday" writers, perhaps : ICERS

48. Dwarf who swept up Doc's discarded diamonds : DOPEY

49. Off the mark : AMISS

51. Plant parts : STEMS

52. Vowel fivesome : AEIOU

54. Champ's gesture : V SIGN. V for Victory.

56. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifying exam : PSAT

57. Frontman for the Belmonts : DION. Dion and the Belmonts.

60. Perjure oneself : LIE. All too common in court.

61. __ fly: RBI producer: SAC. Sacrifice.