Monday, December 15, 2014 Gary Schlapfer and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Those aren't mole hills - Three peaks in the NW and the range they're part of.

17A. Beer named for an American patriot : SAMUEL ADAMS. Mount Adams 12,277'

24A. Girl who found a wolf in her grandmother's clothing : RED RIDING HOOD. Mount Hood 11,240'

47A. Monaco ruler married to Grace Kelly : PRINCE RAINIER. Mount Rainier 14,410'

56A. Pacific Northwest range, three of whose peaks end 17-, 24 - and 47-Across : THE CASCADES

Argyle here with the latest Corner Combo. They have given us a nice tight theme and an easy Monday. Good job.

Across:

1. Royals and Giants, e.g. : TEAMS

6. Tehran native : IRANI

11. More, in Mexico : MAS

14. Top-drawer celeb group : A-LIST

15. "Say no __": peace slogan : TO WAR

16. Do something : ACT

19. Attempt : TRY

20. Summer in Paris : ÉTÉ

21. Pass along : RELAY

22. Kismet : FATE

27. Movie lioness : ELSA. "Born Free"

28. Temper tantrum during a flight : AIR RAGE

31. Toy soldier : GI JOE

34. Clock radio letters : AM/PM

35. PC memory unit, briefly : MEG. (megabyte)

36. Responsibility : ONUS

37. Barely beats : EDGES

39. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA

40. Bus depot: Abbr. : STA. (station)

41. Narrow cut : SLIT

42. Worked in a shaft : MINED

43. Big shots : HONCHOs

45. Birth announcement subject, about half the time : GIRL. ("It's a GIRL!")

52. Fabled Himalayan creature : YETI

53. Makes the first bet : OPENS

54. Abbr. for a person with only one given name : NMI. (no middle initial)

55. In favor of : FOR

59. Big flap : ADO

60. Continental coins : EUROs

61. Skirt named for a letter : A LINE

62. Darken at the beach : TAN

63. Iowa or Ohio, e.g. : STATE

64. Calls for : NEEDS

Down:

1. Shocking weapon : TASER. Shocking toy : joy buzzer

2. Bring great joy : ELATE

3. Zeroed in : AIMED

4. The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. : MSU. (Michigan State University)

5. Like operating rooms : STERILE

6. Roma's country : ITALIA

7. Flying movie monster : RODAN

8. Sports contest, to the visitors : AWAY GAME

9. '60s-'70s war zone, for short : NAM

10. 1040, for one : IRS FORM

11. Will Hunting portrayer : MATT DAMON

12. Farm measure : ACRE

13. Pig's pad : STY

18. Watch readouts, briefly : LEDs

23. "__ b?": "Choose one" : A OR

25. Vintage autos : REOs. Founded by Ransom E. Olds.

26. Swiveled joints : HIPS

29. Trait transmitter : GENE

30. "Golly!" : "EGAD!"

31. "Gee!" : "GOSH!"

32. Gung-ho about : IN TO

33. "Evita" role : JUAN PERON

34. FBI employee : AGT. (agent)

37. SpaceX founder __ Musk : ELON

38. Period of strobe lights and the hustle : DISCO ERA

39. Brickmaker's oven : KILN

41. Certain Muslims : SHIITEs

42. Med. diagnostic test : MRI SCAN

44. Old PC monitor : CRT. (cathode ray tube)

45. Rock 'n' roll musical : GREASE

46. Writers McEwan and Fleming : IANs

48. Spaceship Earth site : EPCOT. How did that get in here?

49. Low-budget film, often : INDIE. (independent)

50. Improve, as text : EMEND

51. Goes up : RISES

52. "Star Wars" sage : YODA

55. Chew the __: gab : FAT

57. Crude home : HUT. These three entries bring to mind Jabba the Hutt.

58. Bass in a glass : ALE

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Today's Gary is our Husker Gary, who came up with the great idea. I cannot tell you enough how hard-working, modest & creative he is.

Rich changed the middle right part of our submitted grid. We had MONEY for 42A, GONE for 29D, EBAY for 30D  & KOLN for 39D. I haven't figured out why. Maybe Rich was concerned about the K crossing of KONA and KOLN?

2) Congratulations also to Dennis on his NYT debut. He's my first blog collaborator. Working with him on that puzzle was particularly fun, whimsy and pressure-free.

Sunday December 14, 2014 Paul Hunsberger

Theme:  "Eureka Moments" - Common phrases are re-interpreted as what the inventor did when/before/after he invented the said item in the clue.

 23A. In inventing his elevator, Otis __ : ROSE TO THE OCCASION

31A. Nervously testing his new invention, the Aqua-Lung, Cousteau __ :

TOOK A DEEP BREATH

 54A. In inventing the hot air balloon, the Montgolfier brothers __ : GOT CARRIED AWAY. I like this entry the most.

 89A. Tired, but pleased to have invented the air conditioner, Carrier __ : COOLED HIS HEELS

105A. Proving his invention of the joy buzzer to be a complete success, Adams __ :

SHOCKED EVERYONE

118A. Immediately upon inventing the box camera (but not the lens cap), Eastman __ :

SNAPPED HIS FINGERS. This kind of "His" dupes are allowed in the theme selection.

16D. After inventing the forerunner to the modern toilet, Harington __ :

FLUSHED WITH PRIDE. So I did not know who Harington is, and googled "Flushed with Pride", and this guy Thomas Crapper came up. Gosh, what a name!

 39D. To celebrate inventing his revolutionary engine, Watt __ : BLEW OFF SOME STEAM

I'm so in awe of Paul's creativity in coming up with 8 long theme entries and his skill in designing and filling this grid with only 140 words and 70 black squares.

There are total 124 theme squares. The two Down 16's intersect two of the long Across entries. I could not imagine what would happen if Rich nixed one of his theme answers. This grid would be extraordinarily hard if he could not make the intersection happen. The gridding would be a nightmare.

  

Across:

1. Squabble : TIFF. Or SPAT.

5. "Dr. Strangelove" subject : A-BOMB

10. Packs again, at the checkout : RE-BAGS

16. Tasseled top : FEZ

19. Shivering state : AGUE

20. Lite to the max : NO-CAL. In the old days, I'd put down ??EST first.

21. Sellers of used texts : ALUMNI. Used text books, right? Unheard of in my college days. Our textbooks were very cheap.

22. Vientiane local : LAO

26. Troop-lifting gp. : USO

27. 1985, for Marty McFly : PRESENT. Needed crossing help. I never watched Back to the Future series.

28. Producer of steamy fare? : WOK. Sweet clue. Do you own a wok, D-Otto?

29. Some dorm rooms : MESSES

37. Open, as a deadbolt : UNBAR

 41. Oscar winner Sorvino : MIRA. She speaks Chinese.

42. Square on a game square : TILE. I like this clue also.

 

43. Winning the lottery, for most : DREAM. Our old neighbor won $100K and ended up bankrupt.

46. Soft wood : BALSA

47. Saw logs : SNORE

49. Periodontist's concern : GUMS

51. Old Norse poetry collection : EDDA

52. Black Sea port : ODESSA

57. Old Sony brand : AIWA

58. GoPro product, briefly : CAM. They're everywhere.

60. New branch : SHOOT

61. Thin plate : LAMINA

62. Enterprise counselor : TROI.  Star Trek.

63. Fonda's title beekeeper : ULEE. Ulee's Gold. Great movie. Detoxing is hard.

65. Concert finish? : INA. Concertina.

66. Banned bug spray : DDT

67. Slew : TON

68. Roadside light : FLARE

70. Vein locales : MINES

72. Hal who produced Laurel and Hardy films : ROACH. Also Our Gang.

74. Striped-shirt wearer : REF

76. Too easy : LAX

77. Emmy winner Arthur : BEA

78. Rail vehicle : TRAM

80. Doing business : OPEN

83. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. As in American Hustle.

85. Firewater : HOOCH. I did not know the meaning of "Firewater".

87. Certain screecher : OWL

88. Janis' comics husband : ARLO

 

92. Attendees of Connecticut's Battell Chapel : YALIES. OK, the chapel is inside Yale, Jayce's alma mater.

94. Orange-nosed Muppet : ELMO

95. Boomers' kids : XERS. Gen Xers.

96. "__ in Provence": Mayle best-seller : A YEAR. I loved the book. I bet many people visited France simply because of this book.

98. Bog flora : SEDGE

99. Take-off programs? : DIETS. Not the take-off I had in mind.

101. Middling grades : CEES

103. Deli offering : HERO

104. Low pair : TREYS. I can never remember this word.

109. 2009 World Series MVP Hideki : MATSUI. Fun guy. Very generous also.

111. How-to letters : DIY

112. Big memory unit : TERABIT. Gimme for TTP and Anon-T.

117. Can : AXE

124. Hot brew : TEA

125. Filled pastry : ECLAIR. Want to taste my Chocolate Bundt with hot fudge?

126. Singer John : ELTON

 127. Stink : REEK

128. Scary film street : ELM

129. Pickup game side : SHIRTS. And Skins.

130. Outfielder's "I don't got it!" : YOURS. I had ?OURS and still could not nail it. Dumb!

131. Additions : ANDs.

Down:

1. Campsite cover : TARP

2. Helper with a hunch : IGOR

3. Combine : FUSE

4. Bank statement entries : FEES

5. Not allowed : A NO-NO. Better without the "Not" in the clue.

6. Toast starter : BOTTOMS. Up.

7. Scot's "Crikey!" : OCH

8. West of "I'm No Angel" : MAE

 

9. Poison carriers : BLOW DARTS. Not a familiar term to me.

10. Hullabaloo : RACKET

11. Portuguese pronoun : ELA

12. Tour vehicle : BUS

13. Burgundy bud : AMI

14. "Harry Potter" garden pest : GNOME

15. Singer O'Connor : SINEAD. Known for her Nothing Compares 2 U.

17. Facility : EASE

18. Menageries : ZOOS

 

24. Pet shop fish : TETRAS

25. Miler Sebastian : COE

 

30. Transmit continuously, as video : STREAM

32. Checkers cry : KING ME

33. Buck back? : AROO. Buckaroo.

 

34. Where to go whole hog? : PIG ROAST. Great clue/answer. Nothing tastes as delicious as the small ration of pork we got at each Spring Festival.

 

35. Spill, with "out" : BLURT

36. Do followers : RE MI

37. German sub : U-BOAT

38. Low point : NADIR

40. Besiege : ASSAIL

44. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. A Bell for Adano.

45. Mesoamerican language family : MAYAN

48. Coneflower genus : ECHINACEA. This is one of the ingredients in the hot tea recipe Sandy sent to me for my flu two weeks ago. It boosts your immune system.

50. Infrequently, to Dickinson : SELDOMLY. A boring 8-letter fill.

53. Luxury SUV : ACURA MDX. Nice consonant clusters in the end.

55. Tiptop : A-ONE

56. Census info, e.g. : DATA

59. Drummer Van Halen : ALEX

64. Like some seals : EMBOSSED. Not the aquatic seals.

66. Tie : DRAW

69. Latin wings : ALAE

71. The "I" in I.M. Pei : IEOH. Tricky spelling even to me. You won't find such spelling in any Chinese name nowadays. So old.

73. Fossil fuel transport : COALER. Learning moment to me also. It's a ship.

74. Hustled : RACED

75. Carlo Levi's "Christ Stopped at __" : EBOLI

79. Prayer counter's beads : ROSARY

81. Poetic lament : ELEGY

82. Holders of glasses : NOSES. Nice clue also.

84. Cleaning supplies : CLOTHS

85. Payroll addition : HIREE

86. Fat Albert catchphrase : HEY HEY HEY. Big learning moment to me.

90. "Shucks" : HECK

91. Unwelcome look : LEER

93. Opposite of ahead : ASTERN

97. Cheer on : ROOT FOR

100. They're loaded : SOUSES. Life is hard for an alcoholic. Been there.

102. Matzo meals : SEDERS

106. Piece of cake : CINCH

107. YouTube find, for short : VID

108. Helmut's denials : NEINS

109. Partner : MATE

110. Eponymous skater Paulsen : AXEL

113. Indian tourist city : AGRA

114. "Where've you __?" : BEEN

115. Inflamed : IRED. A bit strained.

116. Tut relatives : TSKS

119. Woodcutter Baba : ALI

120. Ryder Cup number : PAR

121. Service station of a sort : PIT. OK, like pit stops.

122. U.N. workers' group : ILO (International Labor Organization)

123. Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe : STU

C.C.

Saturday, Dec 13th, 2014, Pawel Fludzinski and Michael S. Maurer

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 33

  A new duo for our Saturday solving strife, and a mouthful to pronounce, to boot~!  A big chunky grid with only four - count 'em - FOUR three-letter words.  Nice.  Argyle handled Pawel's last LAT puzzle back on July 29th, and I did not see Michael's name in the blog archives, so I'm guessing this is his debut.  Technically, triple 9-letter corners, but not on the grid edge, but I'm not being picky.  A little over the half-way mark in my personal time - but one bad cell, and I should have known better.  To change it up, here's the big three-letter words for the day;

21a. Beehive State native : UTE - the Beehive state being Utah, and therefore....

46a. Matinée idol Johnson : VAN - I never heard of him, and I see he was "The Minstrel" in the Batman TV series of the 60's - about the only place I would have seen him, and I don't recall the character at all

16. Deodorant product word : DRI - like this

48. CCCI quintupled : MDV - my math skills are suffering from the six-day worknights at UPS - first I multiplied by 3, and that gave me CMIII, and that didn't fit - oops, I meant 4X - nope, that's MCCIV - dah~! FIVE times~!

ACROSS:

1. "The __ the facts, the stronger the opinion": Arnold H. Glasow : FEWER

6. Bois __: tree once used to make bows : D'ARC - The irony is that this reappears at 12d. - more here

10. Simple race of fiction : ELOI - Saturday cluing for a crossword staple

14. Words from one who doesn't see : I'M OUT - "see" as in poker; "I'll 'see' your twenty, and raise you ten"

15. Wear tails to tea, say : OVERDRESS

17. __ diem : CARPE

18. Cutting : SATIRICAL

19. Egyptian life symbols : ANKHs

20. It was spawned by the Manhattan Project : ATOMIC AGE

22. It may precede a stunt : DARE - Tis the season for a "triple DOG dare"

23. Lover of Aphrodite : ARES

24. Polo and others : TEAM SPORTS - um, well, yeah, that's one example

27. Some rats : ALBINOS

28. Surprise : STARTLE

34. Super Bowl party array : SALSAS

35. Jack feature, perhaps : ONE-EYE - anyone else caught up in thinking about car jacks?

36. Gives special treatment to : EXEMPTS

38. Use to one's advantage : TRADE ON

39. Ironically, Samantha Bond portrayed her in several films : MONEYPENNY - I'm OK with the new girl playing Moneypenny, but I am very happy that Ralph Fiennes replaced Judy Dench as the new "M".   New movie, Spectre~!   Gratuitous Bond image

41. Suffers : AILS

45. "Up and __!" : AT 'EM

47. Titanic, e.g. : STEAM SHIP

49. Sister of Goneril : REGAN

51. On-site trial : FIELD TEST

52. Acid used in soap : OLEIC

53. About to cover old ground? : IN REVERSE - har-har

54. Trunk : TORSO

55. Soviet news acronym : TASS - ITAR or TASS~?  I figured at the bottom of the grid, the two "S"s worked better

56. Vibrating instrument piece : REED

57. Recesses : APSES - NAVES or APSES~? Again, at the bottom of the grid, the "P" worked better than the "V"

DOWN:

1. Pay stub letters : FICA

2. Pianist who often collaborates with Yo-Yo Ma : EMANUEL AX - cool name - his Wiki

3. Craftsman's item : WORK TABLE - I went with work BENCH, which makes sense to me - but then again, I'm a carpenter, so....

4. Softener of a kind : EUPHEMISM - like 'negative patient outcome' for 'dead.'

5. GPS data : RTEs

6. Back to back, in Bordeaux : DOS-à-DOS

7. Personification : AVATAR - like our little pics on the blog

8. Sass : RETORTS - the singular/plural threw me

9. Many a piece of pulp fiction : CRIME STORY

10. Author Jong : ERICA

11. '70s-'80s Rabbit competitor : Le CAR

12. __ orange : OSAGE - I had ELOI, then changed it when I thought this was "AGENT"

13. Man and others : ISLES - did not fool me, but then again, I had the "I" and last "S" in place

24. Zap : TASE - WAG

25. Pop partner : SNAP - and don't forget the third guy, Crackle

26. Letter man : POSTMASTER

29. Words after grab or take : A NAP - I had "IT UP"

30. Convert to condos, say : RE-DEVELOP

31. Romeo and Juliet, for two : TEENAGERS

32. Cooked with onions : LYONNAISE - Frawnche, "from Lyon", because Saaaaute-e-e-e wasn't working

33. Selection process word : EENY - meeny, miney, moe

37. "Take that!" : "SO THERE~!"

38. Like a diner eying a dessert tray : TEMPTED

40. German/Polish border river : NEISSE

41. Equally buff : AS FIT

42. Rock memoir : I, TINA - learned from doing crosswords

43. Hardly good looks : LEERS

44. __ resistance : SALES - meh

49. "The Godfather" composer : ROTA

50. Some PX patrons : NCOs

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are two fun pictures from Lemonade. He was about 35 or 36 in the first picture. Thick mop of hair! Look who's on the most right?

Me, my ex-wife, my mother, my brother, his girl friend and Joe DiMaggio

 Lemonade and his girlfriend

They're getting married in 2 weeks! Please click here for a few more fun pictures of Charlotte.

Friday, December 12, 2014, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Let's Corner the market on old poets.

The good news, my minor in college was English and I took many poetry classes. The bad news, I do not recall titles of anything, books,  poems, songs...This took longer than any Friday in months, and I was so excited to have a C.C. to blog after last week's marti masterpiece. Of course what could be more fitting than the creator of Crossword Corner creating a puzzle about a Corner.  Each of the four in this puzzle has two very famous poets intersecting by the first or last letter of their last names, with a central reveal, surrounded by four cheater squares to make it a grid-spanner of sorts. The works selected appear to be picked because they are not the most famous work of the author, thereby making this Friday a real work out.

There may be some confusion of so much long fill that exceeds or equals the length of  theme answers. EVICTED, MEDICAL, NEGLECT , IMPURITY, PAGANINI, RED ADAIR, SIPOWICZ, SMASH HIT, THE ALAMO, LENGTHENS and NESPRESSO.  These mix old and new knowledge continues to amaze me, considering where C.C. grew up. Sit back and enjoy as the puzzle is stuffed with information.

1A. He wrote "The Eve of St. Agnes" : KEATS. Not his most famous POEM. Poor man died at 25 of Tuberculosis..
1D. He wrote "Summer of Love" : KILMER. Another POEM I do not know from Joyce who wrote TREES. Kilmer was an American killed in Europe by a sniper's bullet in World War I at age 31.

9A. He wrote "Halloween" : BURNS. Here we go again, another POEM I no nothing about. This Scotsman lasted until he was 37, having fathered 14 children along the way.
 13D. He wrote "The Cloud" : SHELLEY. Percy Bysshe Shelley was a contemporary of Keats, he wrote this POEM and also died young, at 29 in a sudden storm. His death is the subject of speculation. His second wife was Mary Godwin, who wrote Frankenstein.

40D. He wrote "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" : SERVICE. Robert Service, the Canadian Poet is a bit of an outlier, as this POEM is one of his most famous. He lived to be 82.
67A. He wrote "Ash Wednesday" : ELIOT. I do not know this POEM either, though I admire some of his work. He lived until 76.

49D. He wrote the "Odes" : HORACE. Like Service, this is a  famous collection of POEMS by Horace who was very popular in Rome with the early Caesars. He lived until 72.
69A. He wrote the "Convivio" : DANTE. This is an unfinished work which includes POEMS in the books. The estimate he lived about 55 years.

and the reveal (hint)
38A. Westminster Abbey attraction, and one of four in this puzzle : POET'S CORNER.

Across:

6. Avid fan : NUT. The online etymology dictionary tells us, "be nutts upon "be very fond of" (1785), which is possibly from nuts (plural noun) "any source of pleasure" (1610s), from nut (q.v.)."

14. "That's it for me!" : I QUIT. A simple but elegant fill with a QU in the middle.

15. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH. Really? Kosh B'Gosh, we live in Osh? Occupational Safety and Health not good enough for C.C.? I do not know the country or the CITY.

16. "My FBI" author Louis : FREEH. I cannot remember the spelling of his name. LINK.

17. Drew : LURED. I could not picture this answer. I wonder if Drew Carey would be popular as Lured Carey.

18. Cohort of Curly : MOE. A CSO to our own Chairman, also 20A. Red Guard leader : MAO.

19. Perch, at times : LEDGE.

21. 1970s radical gp. : SLA. So much hard work, I started with SDS.

23. Literary assortment : ANA. We had this a month ago (11/14/14) and I even can point to a previous C.C. PUZZLE which used this fill.

25. The whole shebang : ALL.

26. Peut-__: maybe, in French : ETRE. Perhaps it means maybe.

28. Lace place : EYELET.

30. "Small Wonder" state: Abbr. : DELaware. This was one of those educated guesses that make solving go faster.

31. Five-pound Staples package, typically : REAM of paper. You can do your office workout now.

32. Stellar spectacles : NOVAS. Naturally I started with NOVAE.

33. Show anxiety, in a way : PACE.

34. Music publisher sold to Universal in 2007 : BMG. This says it was sold to SONY in 2008? LINK. Bertelsmann is sill very active.

36. Foreign matter : IMPURITY. Nicely phrased.

40. Blockbuster : SMASH HIT. Don't you love fill that has ___HH__.

42. Backup key : ESC. I think of UNDO.

43. Some hosp. scans : EEGS. ElectroEncephalagrams.

44. Pentathlon equipment : EPEES. One of the five events of the competition.

46. Sundance Film Festival state : UTAH. Robert Redford's home.

50. Nutritional stat. : RDA. Recommended daily allowance.

51. Battery terminals : ANODES. Cathodes anyone?

52. Maker of the Power Max HD snow blower : TORO. Two weeks in a row, one from marti one from C.C., hmmm.

53. Chablis, e.g. : VIN. Please no whining about foreign words, especially after the Coc au vin discussion.

54. Sydney's state: Abbr. : NSW. New South Wales.

55. Rocky hellos : YOS. Cute deception.

57. Old Egypt-Syr. alliance : UAR. United Arab Republic.

58. Finishing touch of a sort : ICING. On the cake...

60. Swear words : I DO. And I will very soon. Hmm, yesterday also....

62. West African capital : ACCRA. Ghana, along with Nigeria, a hotbed of internet scams.

64. Support aids : CANES.

65. Tough mutt : CUR. Wki says  it is thought to be short for the Middle English curdogge, which derives from the word curren, meaning to growl.

66. Designer Mizrahi : ISAAC.

68. Intro to zoology? : ZEE. I am sure those who live by the ZED hate this clue.


Down:

2. Regard as the same : EQUATE.

3. Night light sight : AURORA. If you have never seen the Borealis...

4. No-win situation : TIE. Kissing your sister.

5. Mfg. guidelines : STDS. Standards.

6. Deli request : NO MAYO. Most delis I saw growing up never even had mayonnaise on hand.

7. Private entertainers, briefly? : USO. United Service Organizations Inc. LINK.

8. Texas Revolution battle site : THE ALAMO.

9. A neighbor : B-FLAT. Do musical clues move you?

10. Script add-on : URE. Scripture.

11. Legendary firefighter : RED ADAIR. Oil well fires. Interesting MAN.

12. Pay no attention to : NEGLECT.

22. Stretches out : LENGTHENS.

24. Coffee-making portmanteau : NESPRESSO. This mash up word comes from Nestlé and Espresso.

27. Raise in relief : EMBOSS. I was relieved when I filled this in.

29. Bounced : EVICTED. Literally?

33. Like jigsaw puzzles : PRECUT. Of course this is true, but not what I thought of.

35. "So what" : MEH. A shout out to all of us.

37. Young __ : UNS.

38. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso : PAGANINI. A taste of his work.

39. Franz' "NYPD Blue" role : SIPOWICZ. The character is so famous, it has its on WIKI PAGE. I recall the Beverly Hills Buntz days, as well.

41. Kind of research : MEDICAL.

45. Pooh pal : EEYORE. My favorite from Milne.

47. Froot Loops mascot : TOUCAN. Do all remember that his name is SAM.

48. Ancient docking site : ARARAT.

51. Apprehension : ANGST. Such a great consonant progression.

56. Declared : SAID. People need to do more saying and less declaring.

59. Recent: Pref. : NEO.

61. __ process : DUE.

63. Gray side: Abbr. : CSA. Confederate States of America.

Well I feel really lucky to get to blog Marti and C.C. in consecutive weeks. I look forward to all the poetry from the Corner in response.

Lemonade out.

Thursday, December 11, 2014 Ian Livengood

Theme: "I Go To Pieces"


17. Archers' protection : THUMB RINGS. My family were all into archery, and I won several trophies when I was young. I never heard of this item. Evidently, it is only used for archers practicing  Mongolian or African archery techniques.

24. L.A.-based comedy troupe : THE GROUNDLINGS. Never heard of them, either. Lots of famous alums, so I should try to remember it.

50. Scoldings : TONGUE LASHINGS. Ummm, now this one I have heard of (from personal experience!)

61. Magi : THREE KINGS. It's that time of year when they are on the move.

38. Classic 1958 Chinua Achebe novel ... and a hint what literally happens in 17-, 24-, 50- and 61-Across : THINGS FALL APART. Never heard of the author or the book.  (I had better brush up on my Cliffs Notes!)

Three of the theme entries split it as TH-INGS and one splits it as T-HINGS.  It might have been more elegant to have all split the same way, or all split in different ways. But the reveal works well with the theme. Let's see what else Ian has thrown at us.


Across

1. Long-necked instrument : SITAR. Cello? Banjo? (...time to check the perps.)

6. Spiced beverage : CHAI. Because "mulled wine" wouldn't fit.

10. Parched : ARID.

14. Annoy one's co-star, perhaps : EMOTE.

15. Suggestion : HINT.

16. Recording medium : TAPE. Does anyone still record on TAPE?

19. Say openly : AVOW.

20. Ungenerous sort : HOG.

21. "__ how!" : AND.

22. Money-related suffix : AIRE. Million-aire, billion-aire, gazillion-aire...

30. Hammers obliquely, as a nail : TOES. Essential technique when you are building a new wall--right, Splynter?

31. "Yikes!" : EEK.

32. Bit of pillow talk : COO.

33. Dress protector : APRON.

36. Fla. airport : MIA.mi.

37. Sign of summer : LEO. Zodiac.

43. MLB team whose home scoreboard is updated by hand : BOS.ton. Yay! A baseball clue that I knew the answer to.  Fenway Park is basically the same as it was on opening day, April 20, 1912.

44. Prom rental : TUX.

45. Full of recent info : NEWSY.

46. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN I.

48. Regarding : AS TO.

55. Vermeer's "__ With a Pearl Earring" : GIRL.

Vermeer

56. GI entertainer : USO.

57. Sénat vote : OUI.

59. Bear up there : URSA.

65. Verb, for one : NOUN.

66. One-named supermodel : IMAN. I finally remembered this name, thanks to Lucina. She said she parses it as I-MAN, even though the supermodel is "definitely not a man."

67. 10 out of 10, scorewise : IDEAL.

68. Canadian coin that's no longer produced : CENT. Canadian Eh!, do Canadians really have no cents?

69. Blog entry : POST. I'm working my tail off, here!

70. Yankee manager before Girardi : TORRE. 5 perps.


Down

1. Rogen of "Pineapple Express" : SETH.

2. "Let's get some air in here!" : I'M HOT.

3. Unyielding : TOUGH.

4. With 47-Across, payment for cash? : ATM. and 47-Across: See 4-Down : FEE.

5. Bull Run soldier : REB.

6. Casual pants : CHINOS.

7. Believer in karma : HINDU.

8. "Life of Pi" director Lee : ANG.

9. "You convinced me" : IT'S A DEAL.

10. Early game console : ATARI.

11. One of Hogwarts' four houses : RAVENCLAW.

Symbol

12. Nov. 2013 Twitter milestone : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

13. Morning drops : DEW.

18. Outback order : RARE. Outback Steakhouse does grill a pretty good steak.

23. Variety : ILK.

25. Prince Harry's alma mater : ETON.

26. Pagoda instrument : GONG. I was trying to think of the word for the instrument in "Memoirs of a Geisha," but by the time I thought of "shamisen," I had already filled this one in using perps.

27. Singer Young : NEIL.

28. Attendees : GOERS.

29. In need of a sweep, perhaps : SOOTY. HaHa, I was thinking of my kitchen floor after the cats finish eating.  But here, it's the chimney that needs a "sweep."

33. Plate appearance : AT BAT.

34. Platter player : PHONO.

35. 1992 Crichton novel involving a fictional Japanese company : RISING SUN. I did read it, but forgot what it was about.

36. Upper limit : MAX.

39. Boot option : STEEL TIP. Anyone else consider STEEL Toe?

40. Gas, e.g. : FUEL.

41. Not pro : ANTI.

42. Drudge : PEON.

47. Sable or mink : FUR.

48. Thumbs-up : ASSENT.

49. Vegas dealer's device : SHOE. It does kind of look like an open toed shoe, doesn't it?

51. 2014 World Series winning team member : GIANT. I was panicking, thinking I would have to come up with someone's name. Whew! I only had to WAG the team.

52. Vague qualities : AURAS.

53. Hopeless case : GONER.

54. Cotton candy, mostly : SUGAR.

58. Cruise destination : ISLE.

59. Chapel Hill sch. : UNC. University of North Carolina.

60. School of tomorrow? : ROE. Cute.

62. Med. care provider : HMO.

63. Set to be assembled : KIT.

64. Binding promise : I DO...believe it is time for me to leave!

Marti

Wednesday, December 10th 2014 Gareth Bain

Theme: Bring Your Own ... anagrams. Each of the five theme entries contain an anagram of "BYO" as the reveal entry succinctly indicates.

15A. Eight-time Norris Trophy winner : BOBBY ORR. "Mr Crossword" gets a full-name entry today, and a theme one to boot!

19A. Practical joke during a greeting : JOY BUZZER. Comic-strip staple (usually exaggerating the effect!) I didn't know the official name for this device.

31A. Postwar population phenomenon : BABY BOOM. Apparently, Boomers in the US control over 80% of personal financial assets, account for 80% of leisure travel and buy 77% of all prescription drugs. Obviously all that travel and wealth is not good for you.

38A. Yokohama is on it : TOKYO BAY. Trying to fit "WHEEL RIM" in here didn't get me very far.

50A. Board buyer's request : TWO-BY-FOUR. I have a minor quibble here - if you walk into a lumber yard and ask for a two-by-four, you're going to get a post, not a board.

58A. Like many teen girls, and a literal hint to this puzzle's circled squares : BOY CRAZY

Cue screams for One Direction from our youthful readership. I went to YouTube to link some audio of the boys, but you'll be happy to hear that I got distracted watching Kevin Spacey do celebrity impersonations.

Steve here with another product of Mr. Bain's fertile mind. I don't think circle-less solvers were put at too much of a disadvantage. I thought a pangram might be afoot when I saw all the Y's, Z's and the trickier J's, K's and W's making an appearance, but no room for a Q or an X. Given the six Y's and 3 Z's, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

Across:

1. Go wrong : ERR

4. Party garb for Hef : PJ'S

7. Some grenades, briefly : FRAGS. The fragmentation grenade, a thoroughly unpleasant piece of ordnance.

12. Response to a home team bobble : BOO. Tough crowd if you're going to boo your own team for a mere bobble. A complete season-long meltdown and it might just about be acceptable.

13. Tough kid to handle : BRAT

14. Amazon crocodilian : CAIMAN. Spell-check doesn't like "crocodilian". Another reason why you should never trust it.

17. A to A, e.g. : OCTAVE. Favorite clue of the day for me.

18. Mascara mishap : SMEAR

21. Vena __: heart vessel : CAVA

23. Cobbler's tool : AWL

24. Times gone by, in times gone by : ELD. It's in the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, but certainly not in mine. I tried to find an example of usage, but drew a blank.

25. Less solid : SHAKIER

28. Anti-bullfighting org. : PETA

30. Steamed cantina food : TAMALE. My local Farmer's Market has a stand selling beef, pork and chicken varieties which is a regular stop for me. I've made my own, but you have to make about 200 at a time to justify the effort.

35. Heaps : A LOT. Or the number of tamales you have to make in a session.

36. Boring routine : RUT

37. In need of a massage : SORE

41. Gravel components : STONES. Here's a very talented collection of gravel:

43. Work without __ : A NET

44. Pens in : CORRALS

45. Scammer's target : SAP

48. "The Book of __": 2010 film : ELI. Denzel Washington drama. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 48% rating, si I don't think I missed anything by not seeing it.

49. Very little : A DAB

53. Less experienced : NEWER

57. Less taxing : EASIER

60. Lose : MISLAY. My Dad always claimed he'd not lost something, he'd merely "temporarily" mislaid it. I think "temporary" had a different meaning for him.

61. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

62. Tax shelter letters : IRA

63. Take the reins : STEER

64. Single chin-up, say : REP. If I was a pedant, I'd say you can't have one repetition of something, you have to have at least two. Actually, I am a pedant, so I call a very mild foul here.

65. Season ticket holder : FAN.

Down:

1. Fades away : EBBS

2. Dorm unit : ROOM

3. Post-shower wear : ROBE. Does Hef wear one over his PJ's?

4. One paid to play : PRO.

5. "Star Wars" character __ Binks : JAR JAR. Possibly the most annoying character ever introduced into a sci-fi franchise, IMHO.

6. Houston MLB'er : 'STRO

7. School group : FACULTY. I wanted GARAGE BAND, but ran out of blank squares.

8. __ Bits: cracker sandwiches : RITZ

9. Leave wide-eyed : AMAZE

10. "Order! Order!" mallet : GAVEL

11. Dummy Mortimer : SNERD. Brief SNERD/SNERT uncertainty compounded by the unknown ELD. I pondered awhile and I chose wisely (or guessed wild-assly, your call).

13. How much cargo is transported : BY RAIL

14. All-natural flytrap : COBWEB. Amazing feat of engineering.

16. Slangy "Ditto!" : "BACK AT YA!"

20. Pester, puppy-style : YAP AT

22. Crew neck alternative : VEE

25. Medical "Now!" : STAT! From the Latin "Statim", meaning "Urgent". Something I don't want to hear when I'm in the Doctor's office.

26. Saintly radiance : HALO

27. Hog-wild : AMOK

29. Shock __ : ABSORBER

31. Believe : BUY

32. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones" : OONA. I keep meaning to catch up on Game of Thrones - I watched the first two episodes; I think I've got about 90 to bring me up-to-date.

33. Pitcher Hershiser : OREL

34. Predicament : MESS

36. Numerical relationship : RATIO

39. Like many gift subscriptions : ONE YEAR

40. Quasimodo's workplace : BELFRY. Trying to cram "Notre Dame" in here doesn't really work.

41. Putting green patch : SOD

42. Mesmerized state : TRANCE

44. King of pop : CAROLE. I trod the misdirection path of ELVIS/MICHAEL/(insert your favorite here) for a little while.

45. Parts of peonies : STEMS. Misreading this as "ponies" slowed me up somewhat.

46. Look forward to : AWAIT

47. Ad hoc law group : POSSE

51. Gallbladder fluid : BILE

52. Slangy prefix meaning "ultra" : UBER

54. Street urchin : WAIF

55. University founder Cornell : EZRA.

56. "Sleepless in Seattle" co-star : RYAN

59. "Take me! Take me!" at the shelter : YIP. More puppy-pestering.

Fun stuff, and if you didn't get the circles in your publication here they are:

Steve

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 Kevin Christian

Theme: Easy as ABC..D - If you happen to be Greek.

20. Star system closest to the solar system : ALPHA CENTAURI

28. Software development phase : BETA TEST

45. Bit of electromagnetic radiation : GAMMA RAY

53. Atlanta-based carrier : DELTA AIRLINES

Argyle here. A 'J' short of a pangram. No reveal. Straightforward grid. Eclectic fill.

Across:

1. Palm reader, e.g. : SEER

5. Implied with a nod, say : TACIT

10. Music-playing Apple : iPOD

14. Berry rich in antioxidants : ACAI

15. Solo : ALONE

16. Taboo : NO-NO

17. Six-time French Open champ Bjorn : BORG

18. "I speak for the trees" Seuss character : LORAX

19. TV series with many choreographed numbers : "GLEE"

23. Snuggles : NESTLES

24. Wallops : SMACKS

27. Long in the tooth : OLD

30. Good, in the Galápagos : BUENO. Hang out for our own Sally.

33. Melody : TUNE

34. Prefix with morph : ECTO

35. Attorneys' org. : ABA. (American Bar Association)

36. Week-long year-end celebration : KWANZAA. "first fruits of the harvest" December 26 to January 1

39. River to the Rhine : AAR

40. Words of denial : "NOT I"

42. "Deal __ Deal" : OR NO

43. Stick around : TARRY

47. __ au vin : COQ. One of Julia Child's signature dishes.

48. Stonewall : STYMIE. Originally from golfing's old rule that a ball could block another ball from the hole.

49. Appraise : VALUATE. Yes, you can drop the 'E'.

56. Use a Taser on : STUN

58. "Steppenwolf" author : HESSE. (Hermann Hesse)

59. Official proclamation : FIAT

60. Show of affection : KISS

61. Steaming mad : IRATE

62. Raison d'__ : ETRE. Mine is to be here and blog this puzzle.

63. Pay to play : ANTE

64. Lacking face value, as stock : NO-PAR

65. Comical Martha : RAYE. She became a spokeswoman for Polident.

Down:

1. Crimson Tide coach Nick : SABAN. (Alabama football coach, Nick Saban)

2. School, to Yvette : ÉCOLE

3. Old West brothers : EARPS

4. "Amen, brother!" : "RIGHT ON!". Can you see Wyatt saying that to his brother Virgil?

5. Sprinkled with baby powder : TALCED. But not recommended for babies.

6. Medicinal plants : ALOEs

7. Iowa crop : CORN. Cornstarch-based powder is safer for baby than talc.

8. "For those listening __ home ..." : IN AT. Phrasing from vintage radio shows.

9. Oil, informally : TEXAS TEA

10. Unappreciative sort : INGRATE

11. Precinct wheels : POLICE CAR

12. United : ONE

13. Deer girl : DOE

21. "No problem here" : "ALL OK"

22. Actress Thurman : UMA

25. Relatively cool heavenly body : K STAR. Or the above.

26. Building level : STORY

28. Ski slope beginner : BUNNY. They can get pretty icy from over-use.

29. Automaker Ferrari : ENZO

30. Forehead-covering hair : BANGS

31. WWII sea threat : U-BOAT

32. "Try and catch me!" : "EAT MY DUST!", said Enzo.

33. "Gone With the Wind" estate : TARA

37. Became harder to deal with : WORE THIN

38. Coral ring : ATOLL

41. Ginormous : IMMENSE

44. Ground water source : AQUIFER

46. Feel poorly : AIL

47. Life's work : CAREER

49. Panoramic view : VISTA

50. Santa __ racetrack : ANITA

51. Emotional : TEARY

52. Perfumer Lauder : ESTÉE

54. Aviation prefix : AERO

55. PDQ kin : ASAP

56. Reggae cousin : SKA. Top 10 Ska Bands(8:26)

57. Cookie holder : TIN

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Hahtoola, who joined this blog shortly after I started. She always comes to the blog with an inspiring quote related to a certain entry in the blog. Like Dave's links, it's easy to delight the crowd with one or two quotes, but doing so day after day takes time and effort. Thanks, Hahtoola!

The Corn Poppy