Monday, March 23, 2015 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Motorcycle Club - Six members of this MC.

68A. Roast host, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : EMCEE

17A. *Dots-and-dashes system : MORSE CODE

36A. *Entrée : MAIN COURSE

43A. *Boxy British economy car : MINI COOPER

61A. *Venue for hypothetical legal cases : MOOT COURT

11D. *Wallet alternatives : MONEY CLIPS

29D. *Hannah Montana portrayer : MILEY CYRUS

Argyle here, bro. Easy theme and plentiful. The crossing theme entries and the fill lift this up from being a mediocre Monday.

Across:

1. Gear tooth : COG

4. Scotch whisky brand : J AND B

9. Apples, e.g. : POMES. A botanical name ultimately from Late Latin pomum.

14. Sushi bar tuna : AHI

15. "Inside the NBA" analyst Shaq : O'NEAL. Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, nicknamed Shaq, is an American retired professional basketball player, former rapper, actor and current analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Wikipedia

16. Scary bacteria : E COLI

19. Charged toward : RAN AT

20. Long Island airport town : ISLIP. Long Island MacArthur Airport.

21. "Divergent" star Woodley : SHAILENE. "Divergent" is a novel, a film and a sequel already.

23. Robber, to cops : PERP. Short for perpetrator and not our perpendicular.

26. Join the game : PLAY

27. Electrical unit of resistance : OHM

30. Fish market offering : SEA BASS

33. Revolutionary Guevara : CHE

38. Linen fiber source : FLAX

39. Statesman Stevenson : ADLAI

40. Part of UNLV : LAS. (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)

41. Fly like a parasailer : GLIDE

42. Weed-control tools : HOEs

45. "Take your pick" : "ANY"

46. Ironed : PRESSED

47. Grounded fast jet, briefly : SST. (Supersonic transport)

48. Affordable __ Act : CARE

50. "This __ unfair!" : IS SO

52. Car thief on a pleasure spin : JOY RIDER

56. Car wheel shafts : AXLES

60. Offensively pungent : ACRID

64. Stop to think, say : PAUSE

65. Alma __ : MATER

66. Word in itineraries : VIA

67. Tricky road curves : ESSES

69. Wild blue yonder : SKY

Down:

1. Victoria's Secret garment, for short : CAMI. (camisole)

2. Cries of discovery : "O HO!"s

3. "You go, __!" : GIRL

4. "My Cousin Vinny" co-star : JOE PESCI. The favorite scene here on the Corner.

5. Post-apartheid ruling party: Abbr. : ANC, (African National Congress)

6. Prefix with conservative : NEO

7. Father figures : DADS

8. "Ick!" : "BLEH!"

9. Hazards : PERILS

10. Central Florida city : OCALA. "Snakes and gators and bears, oh my Ocala perils!"

12. Zing : ELAN

13. Web browsing destination : SITE

18. Dainty taste : SIP

22. Church recess : APSE

24. Vintage vehicle : REO. REO was founded by Ransom E. Olds.

25. One of Tony Soprano's henchmen : PAULIE

27. Mutual of __ : OMAHA. Make sure your policy is paid up if Paulie is coming to visit.

28. Was wearing : HAD ON

31. Fiber-rich cereals : BRANS

32. St. Francis of __ : ASSISI

34. Greek god of the underworld : HADES

35. Use, as influence : EXERT

37. __ in November : N AS

38. Showman Ziegfeld : FLO

41. Devout term for a churchyard : GOD'S ACRE. Gottesacker. (German)

43. TV "neigh" sayer : "MR. ED"

44. These, in Nice : CES

46. Lion family units : PRIDES

49. Roll out of the sack : ARISE

51. Kitchenware brand : OXO

52. Bit of mockery : JAPE

53. Andean stew tubers : OCAs

54. Buxom one-named supermodel : EMME

55. What the buffalo do, in song : ROAM Go to YouTube for the lyrics.

57. Disposable diapers brand : LUVS

58. "CHiPs" star Estrada : ERIK

59. Time at a motel : STAY

62. Non-Rx : OTC. (Over-the-counter)

63. Golfer's gadget ... or where it's used : TEE...or fashion accessory.

Argyle

Thursday, May 1, 2014 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Triple-O

17. Canadian city named for a historic battle site : WATERLOO, ONTARIO. Home of the BlackBerry smart phone. I saw the three O's here and suspected a theme was in progress. Tic-tac-toe row? Hugs, on an envelope? Reading after resetting? Out of office?

25. Stressed commuter's complaint : IT'S A ZOO OUT THERE. Nice zippy fill. And yep, it fits the theme.

43. "Enough kid stuff!" : I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS. My sentiments, exactly.

57. Totally lacks pep : HAS NO OOMPH AT ALL.  I always say "I'm too pooped to pop." (And that has six O's!!!)

65. Triatomic gas in a thinning layer ... and, symbolically, what appears in this puzzle's four longest answers : OZONE. Chemical symbol O3.

I liked the conversational feel of # 2 and #3, and I do like the word OOMPH. "Honestly officer, I wasn't speeding. I was going OO MPH!"

Marti here, to 'splain the rest.

Across:

1. 2003 NFL rushing leader __ Lewis : JAMAL. He helped win Super Bowl XXXV as a rookie with the Ravens.

6. "Shoot!" : DARN.

10. Pro-prohibition org. : WCTU. (Tinbeni, cover your ears.) "Women's Christian Temperance Union."

14. Olds compact : ALERO.

15. EKTORP sofa seller : IKEA. Ektorp is a mansion in Haningen, Sweden. I am not sure if that is why the IKEA sofa is so-called. Doesn't look too much like mansion material to me...

Ektorp sofa

16. 1800s law-enforcement family name : EARP.

20. Mom, to auntie : SIS.

21. Merits : EARNS.

22. John who sang "Daniel" : ELTON. My music link!

23. "Star Trek" spinoff, briefly : TNG. "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

24. Part of a stable diet? : OAT. Mr. Ed, can you eat just one?

34. Horned beast : RHINO.

35. Main points : GISTS.

36. Statesman Hammarskjöld : DAG. Anyone growing up in the fifties remembers him. He died in a plane crash that is still shrouded in mystery.

37. Fine things? : ARTS. The fine ARTS. Traditionally they consisted of painting, sculpture, music, poetry and architecture. Now "Fine ARTS" also includes film and performance art.

38. Scrabble squares : TILES.

39. Kitchen timer sound : DING. I have a new LG Double oven range that plays musical chimes and tunes for me. Love it!

40. Acting as : QUA. Loose translation of the Latin.

41. Canonized fifth-cen. pope : ST LEO.

42. Best : OUTDO.

46. Narc's find : PCP. Short for 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine), also called Phencyclidine. Known on the street as Angel dust, KJ (kristal joint), Ashy Larry, illy, or wet.

47. "Yo!" : HEY. Adrian!

48. Rouge target : CHEEK.

51. Orbiting phenomenon : ZERO G.ravity.

54. Red leader : MAO.

60. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI.

61. Move like a monarch : FLIT.

62. Bare : NAKED.

63. Peel : ZEST.

64. Dieter's calculation : FATS. I'll take mine unsaturated, please.


Down:

1. Benchley thriller : JAWS.

Dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum….

2. Jai __ : ALAI.

3. Team with a skyline in its logo : METS. Total WAG for me.

4. Is for two? : ARE. Didn't fool me this time!

5. Medici known as "the Magnificent" : LORENZO. He was the patron of artists like Da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo.

6. Gucci rival : DIOR.

7. Senegalese-American rapper : AKON. Other than his rap fame, he holds the Guinness #1 record for top-selling ringtones.

8. Popular '20s cars : REOS.

9. Indian bread : NAN.

10. Prosperity : WEALTH.

11. Market vehicle : CART.

12. Jazz combo, often : TRIO.

13. Informed about : UP ON.  Is it just me, or did a lot of today's clues seem really straight-forward?

18. Vacación destination : LAGO. I visited LAGO Como last summer while I was on vacanza in Italy. Same word in Spanish and Italian for "lake."

19. Milk sources : TEATS.

23. Salon goals : TANS.

24. Giant Mel et al. : OTTS.

25. Samarra native : IRAQI.

26. Finger-tapping sound : THRUM.

27. Pull a chair up to : SIT AT.

28. Disney's "Darby __ and the Little People" : O'GILL. I don't remember this 1959 movie, but it starred Sean Connery as the love interest of Darby's daughter.

29. Pie-eyed : OILED. I only know the term "well OILED" as a substitute for "drunk."

30. Make __: employ : USE OF.

31. Mrs. Roosevelt : EDITH.

32. "Amazing" illusionist : RANDI. Debunker of paranormal charlatans.

"The Amazing Randi"

33. Pop-up frozen fare : EGGOS.

38. Firebird option : T-TOP.

39. Tax : DUTY.

41. Successful, in slang : SOCKO.

42. Pizzeria herb : OREGANO.

44. "Let's see what you got!" : OPEN IT.

45. "Yikes!" : OH-OH!

48. Café sign word : CHEZ.

49. Healthy : HALE.

50. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS.

51. "J'accuse" author : ZOLA.

52. Throw out : EMIT. Hands up for "toss?"

53. Sch. research papers : RPTS.

54. Shortfin or longfin predator : MAKO.

55. Architect William Van __ : ALEN. You may know him as the architect of this N.Y. icon.

Chrysler Building

56. Merrie __ England : OLDE.

58. Broadway opening? : OFF. "Off-Broadway" gave rise to the "Obie" awards. (O-B.)

59. Toon spinner : TAZ.

The Tasmanian Devil

And that's my spin on today's puzzle!

Marti

Thursday, December 19, 2013 Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff Chen

Theme: "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear…"

(...But Mary and Jeff sure make a smooth as silk puzzle out of one!)

17. Some broadcasting equipment : HAM RADIOS.

30. Political patronage : PORK BARREL.

36. Degrees of separation from actor Kevin, in a parlor game : BACON NUMBER.

41. Dachshunds, familiarly : WIENER DOGS.

And the unifier:

58. Obstinate, and what the other four longest puzzle answers are? : PIGHEADED. The beginnings of the theme answers all are varieties of PIG dishes.  (DH would be in hog heaven with this one!!)

I forgot to check my time when I finished, but I know it was way under 10 minutes. Did you find it easy for a Thursday, or did some of the tricky clues trip you up?  Let's check out where those were.

Across:

1. Lines at the checkout? : UPCs. OK, right off the bat we have a misdirection.

5. Powdery mineral : TALC. Pretty straightforward.

9. Org. for a 4-Down : ASPCA. And 4-Down. Rescued one, hopefully : STRAY. The clue for 9-Across actually let me fill both entries without further ado.

14. It may thicken : PLOT. My mother always used to say, "The thought plickens…"

15. Baseball's Jesus or Moises : ALOU. Ha!  Finally remembered the family name after four perps...

16. "She loves you" followers, in song : YEAHS. "…yeah, yeah, yeah."

19. "Cut the chatter!" : CAN IT!

20. Hoopster Shaquille : O'NEAL.

21. Woman in two Goya works : MAJA. Desnuda and vestida. Her real identity is uncertain.

23. Women's org. based at Constitution Hall : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

24. Brightly colored beetle : LADYBUG.

Brightly colored beetles

27. Lincoln or Ford : CAR.

28. MPG watchdog : EPA.

29. Opposite of sweet : DRY. When referring to wine, that is.

33. Proportion : RATIO.

35. Swim competition : MEET.

39. Common Oscar gown feature : SLIT. Now, this is a slit!

40. Anxious anticipation : DREAD.

44. One involved in a pickup : CAB. Another tricky clue. Did it fool you?

47. __ carte : A LA. Followed by another straightforward clue.

48. Fourth grade? : DEE. Teacher's grading papers: A, B, C, D, F. Did any of you make it past first grade? (I didn't think so!!)

49. iPod accessories : EARBUDS.

52. Sam Spade type : TEC.

53. Eye layer : UVEA.

55. Roman fountain : TREVI.

56. Not cool : UNHIP.

61. Court figure : STENO.

62. Singer Adams : EDIE. I really couldn't find one of her songs. I remember her from the Muriel cigar commercials: (In a Mae West accent) "Why not pick one up and smoke it sometime?"  Maybe CED can help me find a clip.

63. Creepy thing : VINE.

64. "The Master Builder" playwright : IBSEN.

65. Go on and on : RANT.

66. Busy crawlers : ANTS.

Down:

1. Support : UPHOLD.

2. Two-dimensional : PLANAR. Of a plane, as opposed to "cubic" or "spheroid" which would be three-dimensional.

3. Funny business? : COMEDY.

5. Minute amount : TAD.

6. Baba of folklore : ALI.

7. Device with shuttles : LOOM.

8. John who played Nixon in "The Butler" : CUSACK.

9. Bart Simpson catchphrase : AY CARAMBA. Did not know that was his catch phrase, but filled it in with just the "AY…"

10. Salty expanse : SEA.

11. Person who caters to base interests : PANDERER. One who pleases others for their own interests...

12. Watch-Me-Grow fad : CHIA PET. Now they have "Duck Dynasty" chia pets?

13. Celestial : ASTRAL.

18. Priestly garb : ALB.

22. Poke : JAB.

25. Until : UP TO. Short phrases are sometimes tough...

26. Cross the threshold : GO IN. As I said, short phrases are sometimes tough...

31. Sonata movement : RONDO.

32. Swamp thing : REED.

33. Showers, say : RAIN.

34. Followed, as a hunch : ACTED UPON.

36. Laundry room supplies : BLEACHES.

37. Push : URGE.

38. Southwestern formation : MESA.

39. Dumb ending? : SILENT B.

41. '60s dance : WATUSI. Remember The Orlons?? They're still goin' after all these years...

42. Prepare to drag : REV.

43. More profound : DEEPER.

44. Informed : CUED IN.

45. Pre-Christmas period : ADVENT.

46. Backs of singles : B-SIDES. This is kind of an outdated clue/answer, isn't it?  Do mp3 files have b-sides?

50. GPS recommendation : RTE. Route.

51. Cry to a diva : BRAVA. and a slight clecho with 54-D:

54. Classic role for a diva : AIDA.

57. Like the finale of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto : IN E.

59. Bathtub booze : GIN.

60. __ up: angry : HET. Don't get all het up with me…I just report 'em as I see 'em!

That's all for this week, folks!

Marti

Notes from C.C.:

1) George Barany co-constructed today's NY Times. Click here. A special on-line version is provided. Don't forget to click on the Solution and read their notes. Congratulations, George!

2) JD just came back from her trip to Kauai. She and Bob even took a helicopter ride over the Waimea Canyon. Here are a few pictures.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Start your Elements! Each of the theme answers starts with an element, and as the reveal explains they are all metals.

17A. Ford Model T, colloquially : TIN LIZZIE. Appropriately for 61A if you say this with a Dublin accent you get these chaps

21A. Speed demon : LEADFOOT.  Because you're heavy on the gas pedal.

36A. Mature male gorilla : SILVERBACK. Beautiful animals.

43A. One only in it for the money : GOLD DIGGER. Here's the classic opening song from "Gold Diggers of 1933" sung by Ginger Rogers.

52A. Japanese cooking show : IRON CHEF. Food! I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode of this show AND the American spin-off. I believe Bobby Flay was the first non-Japanese chef to win a battle (against Masaharu Morimoto).

61A. Certain rock music fan, and what 17-, 21-, 36-, 43- and 52-Across each has : METALHEAD. I was a bit of a metalhead in my youth - the first album I bought was "Machine Head" by Deep Purple.

Good morning everyone - Steve here and a Wednesday puzzle that I found pretty challenging. The theme certainly helped me figure out LEADFOOT as I had a lot of empty space in that region. I confess to the final letter fill being a complete WAG - I was Natick'ed with ALEK and LEAR.

With the Z's, the Q and the K emerging early I was looking for a pangram; we were just missing the Y at the conclusion

I can't find Mary Lou's name in the blog history, so I think this is her L.A. Times debut - congratulations if that's the case.

Let's see what else caught my eye:

Across:

    

1. Tucked-in part of a dress shirt : HEM.  I wanted to cram TAIL in here.

4. Cocoon contents : LARVA

9. Glaringly vivid : LURID

14. "__ you kidding me?" : ARE

15. Words after make or close : A DEAL

16. Carne __: roasted Mexican dish : ASADA. Food! This is my kind of puzzle.

19. Siesta taker : DOZER

20. Eight-armed cephalopod : SQUID. I'm getting hungry!

23. Open-__ shoes : TOED

26. TV producer Norman : LEAR. Complete unknown to me, and as I mentioned at the top a personal Natick for me crossing ALEK.

27. Online "Yikes!" : OMG! Oh My Goodness!

30. Chinese leader : PREMIER. I was thinking along the Mao, Deng and Kai-Shek lines and then the penny dropped.

33. Bus depot: Abbr. : STA

38. Purim observers : JEWS

39. Essayist de Botton : ALAIN

40. Match for a pocket handkerchief : TIE

41. West Pointer : CADET

42. Mideast strip : GAZA

45. Baton Rouge-to-Montgomery dir. : E.N-E

46. Twisting force : TORSION

47. WWII venue : E.T.O. European Theater of Operations under the command of General Eisenhower.

48. Latin god : DEUS

50. "__ a lift?" : NEED

56. Schemer Charles : PONZI. It's quite some feat to have an entire genre of crime named for you. He looks quite cheerful in his mugshot!

60. Gallivants : ROVES. "Gallivants" is such an awesome word. I resolve either to use this word today or go gallivanting myself.

64. Last Olds off the line : ALERO. I wonder who bought the last one, and if they knew it was the last?

65. Mental picture : IMAGE

66. NBC skit show : S.N.L. The UK version of this was called Friday Night Live - because it aired on Sunday. No, wait ..

67. Zac of "The Lorax" : EFRON. Who he? Thank you, crosses.

68. Glove material : LATEX

69. Game gadget, or the area where it's used : TEE. I think "gadget" is a bit of an overblown description for a piece of wood.

Down:

1. Boaters and bowlers : HATS

2. Actor La Salle : ERIQ. I've finally got Mr. La Salle in my memory banks. It's only taken umpteen years.

3. It may drop down or pop up : MENU. The ones on your computer. If you're interested, the pop-up types are also context-sensitive. I've got my geek on today!

4. Made vulnerable : LAID OPEN

5. Axlike shaping tool : ADZ. I'm finally getting used to the alternative spellings for both AXE and ADZE.

6. Tribal land, informally, with "the" : REZ. I've never heard this expression, but it wasn't difficult to guess when I had the Z in place.

7. Colorado resort : VAIL.  Pretty place.

8. Out of the wind : ALEE

9. Fire truck feature : LADDER

10. Lady Liberty's land, familiarly : US OF A

11. Somerset Maugham novel, with "The" : RAZOR'S EDGE. I'd never heard of this novel, but I find there are two movie adaptations of it, one made in 1946 and one in 1984.

12. Prefix with logical : IDEO

13. Pub missile : DART

18. On fire : LIT

22. South Sudanese supermodel Wek : ALEK. I'll surely remember her from now on.

24. Goof : ERR

25. Short person? : DEBTOR. I think this was my favorite clue of the day. Marvelous.

27. Missouri river : OSAGE

28. La Scala's city : MILAN. Tough crowd at La Scala - they've been known to boo tenors off the stage.

29. Like eyes showing boredom : GLAZED OVER

31. Drops in a slot : MAILS

32. Stranded at 7-Down, perhaps : ICED IN

34. Chirp : TWEET

35. Jetson dog : ASTRO. Ruh-Roh!

37. By way of : VIA

38. Spree : JAG. Gallivant! Looks of sprees today.

41. Multi-screen theater : CINEPLEX

43. "Gee whiz" : GOSH

44. It goes for a buck : DOE. Not fooled for a moment with this one! Nice clue though.

46. Second-most populous Arizona city : TUCSON.

49. Warm Argentina month : ENERO. Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere.

51. "Stupid me!" : D'OH!

52. "Dies __" : IRAE. Mozart borrowed the name of the original Gregorian chant for his Requiem. Stirring stuff.

53. Massage deeply : ROLF. I'd never heard of this. Apparently it is a massage technique from the '70s - is it still practiced?

54. Actor Jannings : EMIL. More crosses - I need to read IMDB for a while and get up to speed with my actors.

55. Earthquake response gp. : F.E.M.A. The Federal Emergency Management Agency uses the "open" status of the Waffle House chain of restaurants to help gauge the severity of storms passing through the eastern seaboard. Who knew?

57. Cozy home : NEST

58. Writer Grey : ZANE. I read this as "Winter Grey" first which had me totally baffled.

59. Inactive : IDLE

62. Art on the reality show "Ink Master" : TAT. I'm guessing "tat" is not considered an abbreviation any more?

63. Single-malt datum : AGE. The longer a whisky ages in the vat, the more of the spirit evaporates. The Scots charmingly call this "the angel's share".

That's about it. This was a fun puzzle, it took me around 18 minutes which is long for me for a Wednesday so a nice challenge. That's all from me - as Eminem would say - that's a (w)rap!

 Steve