Theme: A Girl's Best Friend - The theme entries' first word can be ahead of the unifier.
17A. Illegal activity admitted by Lance Armstrong in January 2013 : BLOOD DOPING. Blood diamonds are used to fuel violent conflict and human rights abuses. Also, a 2006 film.
24A. Singer with Crosby, Stills & Nash : NEIL YOUNG. Neil Diamond (plus a little something for Bill G)
37A. ESPN show with an "Inside Pitch" segment : BASEBALL TONIGHT
50A. Trousseau holder : HOPE CHEST. Hope Diamond
61A. Volcanic Hawaiian landmark, and a hint to the first word of 17-, 24-, 37- and 50-Across : DIAMOND HEAD
Argyle here. Another C.C. offering with long entries, including a spanner, but a little tougher than the NW indicated. At this point, Cruciverb is still down but there aren't any circles anyway. YouTube isn't co-operating either.
Across:
1. Mooing critter : COW
4. Ancient region surrounding Athens : ATTICA
10. Reagan era mil. program : SDI. (Strategic Defense Initiative)
13. Disgusted grunts : UGHs
15. Resident of Tibet's capital : LHASAN
16. Muscle spasm : TIC
19. Writer for whom the Edgar award is named : POE
20. Not sacred : SECULAR
21. Secret matters : ARCANA
23. Baba who stole from thieves : ALI
27. Glass container : JAR
29. Actress Cannon : DYAN
30. Peter Fonda's title beekeeper : ULEE
31. Opposed (to) : AVERSE
34. Hurts with a tusk : GORES
42. Willem of "Platoon" : DAFOE
43. 100-lawmakers group : SENATE
44. "Peter Pan" pirate : SMEE
47. Hang around : STAY
49. Pretoria's land: Abbr. : RSA. (Republic of South Africa) (City)
53. Stomach-punch response : [OOF!]
55. Start of the line that includes "wherefore art thou" : "O, ROMEO"
56. Female star : HEROINE. Juliet
60. Comfy room : DEN
64. Night's opposite : DAY
65. __ Pie: ice cream treat : ESKIMO
66. Reached base in a cloud of dust : SLID
67. "Tasty!" : "YUM!"
68. Unsettling looks : STAREs. could be 2D. Look at lasciviously : OGLE
69. Arid : DRY
Down:
1. Baby bears : CUBS
3. "So what?" : "WHO CARES?"
4. Alan of "M*A*S*H" : ALDA
5. Like rosebushes : THORNY. "Don't let the fear of the thorn keep you from the rose." - Groucho Marx
6. Pub spigot : TAP
7. "Woe __": Patricia T. O'Conner grammar book : IS I
8. Gondolier's "street" : CANAL
9. Hopping mad : ANGRY
10. One of Minn.'s Twin Cities : ST. PAUL. Adjoins Minneapolis.
11. Singer Warwick : DIONNE
12. Frigid historic period : ICE AGE
14. Aretha's genre : SOUL
18. 551, at the Forum : DLI. 500+50+1
22. Dad's nephew : COUSIN
25. Aerie hatchlings : EAGLETS
26. Playing an extra NBA period, say : IN OT. (overtime)
27. Quick blow : JAB
28. Gardner once married to Sinatra : AVA
29. Refusing to listen : DEAF
32. Use, as a coupon : REDEEM
33. Entrepreneur-aiding org. : SBA. (Small Business Administration)
35. Optimistic : ROSY
36. Opposite of WSW : ENE
38. Come in last : LOSE
39. Lasagna-loving cat : GARFIELD
40. Growth chart nos. : HTs
41. Brewed drink : TEA
44. Poorly made : SHODDY
45. Wells' "The Island of Dr. __" : MOREAU
46. Arnold Palmer or Shirley Temple, drinkwise : EPONYM
48. Where charity begins : AT HOME
51. Formally gives up : CEDES
52. Raise, as a sail : HOIST
53. Old fort near Monterey : ORD
54. Sounds of wonder : OOHs
57. Grandson of Adam : ENOS
58. Depilatory brand : NAIR
59. Hot tub swirl : EDDY
62. Alias letters : AKA
63. Former Russian space station : MIR
Argyle
Is it December already?
ReplyDeleteOh where could this year have just gone?
Only yesterday it was summer,
It vanished while I gave a yawn.
Yuletide now is upon us,
This year had such promise;
And now it's lost like the snowflake
That merged with the drift on the lawn.
Some people like to go skiing,
To freeze their tush off in the snow.
Some like to storm the store complex,
The Mall, where high prices are low.
Thanks, I'll stay at home
And warm my old bones.
Let someone else brave outside
Where the cruel gale winds blow!
I'll travel the land on my 'puter,
See kittens in snowsuits galore.
Order whatever is wanted,
And have it brought to my door.
Enjoy a hot drink,
Do crosswords by link.
People who say cozy is boring,
Those are the ones I'll ignore!
(Although I did enjoy the puzzle, blood doping and blood diamonds don't pass the breakfast test for me, and none of the other diamonds today inspired my Muse either. The first mega-limerick stanza started turning maudlin, so hope the other two redeemed it.)
Can't access the puzzle via cruciverb or this link:
ReplyDeletehttp://games.latimes.com/games/crossword-daily/
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the NW corner was ridiculously easy with COW and CUBS, but things soon settled down into a regular vibe after that. Thought LHASAN was a bit THORNY for a Monday, and had no idea what a "Trousseau" was, but the perps were rock solid in both spots and I was able to guess correctly in short order.
[fertyMi]
The puzzle is available at the Mensa site.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.us.mensa.org/AML/?LinkServID=9C6D60CE-E081-4C23-C43F546F9F20DE10
nice and easy Monday eye opener puzzle today. Great job as usual from CC and Argyle. Its always interesting to see pieces of my life mentioned on this blog as I went to college with Karl Ravech, he was a few years a head of me in school but I did have a few opportunities to work with him on various TV shows for ICB-TV. Enjoy the week ahead as it is already December.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone. Good intro, Argyle - great visuals.
ReplyDeleteNice to wake up to the surprise of a C.C. puzzle. I kinda filled in a clockwise manner, so I had the unifier, DIAMOND HEAD early on to assist with the remaining theme fills. DAFOE is a favorite actor of mine. We didn't HOIST sails on avatar, but we HOISTED a lot of signals.
Nice bright puzzle. Thank you, C.C.
Have a good day.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteC.C. lobbed us a softball this morning. Zip, zip, done. Nice photo of Diamond Head, Argyle, You don't often see it from that angle with the "Punch Bowl" clearly visible.
BASEBALL TONIGHT was a complete unknown, but perps came to the rescue. ESPN isn't one of the channel numbers that I've memorized.
I've finished my tax studies, and the weather has warmed up considerably, so walking is definitely on this morning's agenda. Later...
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to start the week with a puzzle by C.C. I was staring at the theme entries before I got to the unifier. I always try to challenge myself to "get" the theme before the reveal. Not a chance today. When I finally did fill in DIAMOND HEAD, I had to chuckle. You got me, C.C.!!
Like desper-otto, I had no clue about BASEBALL TONIGHT, but it wasn't too far a stretch knowing who the constructor was. I liked seeing GARFIELD symmetrically opposed to WHO CARES...that seems to be his attitude about anything except food!
Have a great week, everyone!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteStarted easily in the NW and proceeded across and down.
Not sure of ARCANA, but with six easy downs, not a problem.
Lawmaking group, SENATE. Easy one. In my opinion the best thing they could do is quit making laws. Every time they make one it costs billions. This is not political, just logical.
I did not know that GARFIELD liked lasagna. What a learning moment.
Theme came easily, except I did not know of "BASEBALL TONIGHT" or Blood Diamond.
Great start to the week.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(calfort)
C.C. Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteArgyle: Excellent write-up & links.
BASEBALL TONIGHT was a gimmie.
From Spring Training through the World Series it's one of my favorite shows each night.
Fave today (of course) was 6-D Pub spigot, TAP.
I've been known to HOIST a few of its offerings.
(Never the EPONYMs listed at 46-D).
A 'toast' to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers!!!
Hmmm…. Baseball references and a shout out to ST PAUL. I wonder who could have authored this lovely puzzle. Don’t tell me, don’t tell me… ;-)
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Lance’s DOPING was bad but lying about it was even worse.
-Buildings inside the DIAMOND HEAD crater that became a military outpost in 1904
-Disney’s SMEE
-Juliet’s “Wherefore (not Where) art thou Romeo” does not ask “Where is Romeo” rather it asks “Why do you have to be a Montague who I am forbidden to love?” Right Keith?
-Many an injury has occurred when a player SLID
-When did “I could CARE less” replace the intended “I couldn’t CARE less”?
-I used a LOT of plumber putty to fix our bathroom SPIGOT last night
-The CANAL ride in Venice makes you wonder how much longer those buildings will stand
-As if you didn’t know, notice who composed most of DIONNE’S hits and then sample them
-ALI’s arm length and hand speed made his JAB lethal
-These marked HTS in Omaha got scary high two years ago
-I thought ENOS was Elvis the Pelvis’s younger brother ;-)
Nice puzzle C.C. I totally did not make the "Blood" connection to diamonds. Perps filled in the unknowns like Arcana and Attica.
ReplyDeleteHere as an article by Merle Reagle in the Washington Post Magazine about the 100th anniversary of the Crossword Puzzle WP_Article.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeletePaper and pen today, thanks to Cruciverb being AWOL again. I missed hearing the TADA but sailed through smoothly.
Nice offering, CC; smiled at St. Paul and Baseball Tonight. Good expo, Argyle.
I thought The Mentalist was a little flat last night. Any thoughts? OTOH, sparks flew on The Good Wife!
Not too cold here today but very gloomy.
Have a great Cyber Monday.
Fun Monday puzzle - thanks C.C. I always know to look for baseball clues in your CWs!
ReplyDeleteThe few unknowns were filled in by perps. But I was thinking about the different spellings of DYAN and DIANNE and couldn't understand why there was no TADA. Oh - DiOnne! DUH!
I use the MENSA site as our newspaper is not delivered until late afternoon and now that I am semi-retired, I like to do CW earlier in the day.
Canadian SENATE and Toronto mayor have been the subject of American talk shows for all the wrong reasons.
Gloomy day here also. Happy Cyber Monday to all.
Good day, friends! What a great way to start the week with a C.C. puzzle! And graphically complemented by Argyle. Thank you both.
ReplyDeleteThough I never watch anything on ESPN it was easy to suss BASEBALL TONIGHT considering the constructor, as Marti noted.
So nothing about this was THORNY and no abbreviations whatsoever. Now, that's amazing.
Thank you, also, for the musical link, Argyle. I love that duet and anything by Barbra. I have every one of her CDs but the very newest ones.
Have a fantastic Monday, everyone!
G'Morning all!
ReplyDeleteI'm under the weather, so I get play earlier today.
Our HEROINE C.C.* delivered a nice Monday today. Not SHODDY at all.
The north was easy and I was afraid I was just going to CEDE to a boring puzzle, but then things became THORNY in the south. I had to STARE for a while until I recalled MIR. Everything fell into place without NAIRy (sorry) a pause... YUM!
I loved STPAUL, BASEBALLTONIGHT, and SLID. Personality sprinkled in.
No one else had hook at 44a? Ok, so I'm the only one with an inkblot there. I also wrote POE in at 16a instead of 19a... OOF.
I'll search for NEILYOUNG and ICEAGE links later, it's back to the couch for me.
Cheers, -T
*C.C. is fantastic - I commissioned a custom puzzle for MIL for Christmas (shhh, don't tell) and C.C. did a bang-up job capturing the "flavor" of the family (we're nuts). It's the perfect stocking stuffer!
Good morning C.C., Argyle, and all,
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised by the easy start, but that was short lived. How nice to start off the week with a C.C. Creation. I had no problem filling Diamond head! but never saw the connection of blood doping and blood diamonds... Even though I saw the movie and understand the concept.
After filling in that las to in eponym, I couldn't see O Romeo. Thanks Argyle .
When I was in HS, some company, maybe Lane, gave us miniature hope chests hoping that we would purchase a nice large expensive one. Mine still looka and smells new and contains mementos from a by gone era.
This may be our last day of warm weather for awhile. It's been a very warm Nov.
Ooh, I love a C.C. puzzle on a Monday morning! Especially one full of DIAMONDS! Great fun, many thanks, C.C.. And, you too, Argyle, for the swell expo.
ReplyDeleteIt helps when all the names are in your wheelhouse: DIONNE W., DYAN C., W. DAFOE, DR. MOREAU, and even that lazy GARFIELD. Hm, LASAGNA? Didn't know that.
Can't believe we survived the Thanksgiving family visit without any mishaps or crises. (Last year had to take one of the pups to Urgent Care on Thanksgiving Day!). Much to be thankful for. And now on to Christmas!
Have a great week, everybody!
Hi Y'all! Nothing's quite as welcome as C.C. on a Monday morning. Fun puzzle! I did have trouble filling in BLOOD for some dumb reason. Couldn't get the "OO" because my mind was wandering elsewhere. Double duh! Finally dawned on me. Tada!
ReplyDeleteGreat one Argyle!
Bright sunshine here today. I'm trying to work up the energy to go out and soak up a few rays on a grocery trip.
Anonymous T: Hope your "under weather" conditions blow over soon.
oc4beach, many thanks for giving us the link to Merl Reagle's Washington Post article about the 100th Anniversary of the Crossword. I had already bought his book celebrating the anniversary, but hadn't looked at all the history and features in it yet.
ReplyDeleteHave you met Merl Reagle, C.C.? I hope he appreciates your contribution to the wonderful world of Crosswords.
I enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks CC and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteDyan Cannon; I used to think she was sexy. Now, not so much. She has season tickets to Lakers games and sits almost courtside. You can see her on every broadcast as the camera pans past the Lakers' bench. Of course, Jack Nicholson is even more recognizable and sits even closer, in the front row next to the visitors bench.
OC4beach: Thanks, I enjoyed the Merle Reagle article.
This was almost a speed run for me except for misspelling EAGLET & not knowing Mr DAFOE. I have no excuse for these crazy mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to thank Agyle for the write-up. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've printed the WaPost CWs that were linked. I'll do them when the flu medicine wears off and I can think clearly.
Abejo & Misty: You guys must do the puzzle on-line. I do it in the paper and Garfield (not funny) is on the opposite page. I didn't know anyone didn't know that the cat who hates Monday's loves lasagna. But, maybe I the dumb one, I didn't know DYAN, DEFOE, nor how to spell MOREAU. DEFOE only filled because I saw the letters and thought "Daniel?" and the perps fit.
Bill G. Funny how men age into ruggedness and women age into roughness. I'm not judging DYAN's looks (I don't even know who she is), just sayin' that Nicholson is considered handsome while she is not. I think this is DW's nightmare - That I'll be gorgeous ('bout damn time!) and she won't (ain't never gonna happen - she's a hottie).
New game - match words to corresponding letters. eg. CC == Chocolate Chips, PB = Peanut Butter...
CW
WS
RW
PH
MC
Feel free to make up your own. Tin, I expect a chime-in on the 4th one :-)
Cheers, -T
CW = Cross Word
ReplyDeleteWS = Wall Street
RW = Ron Worden (miss you, buddy!)
PH = PincH (only thing that comes to mind)
MC = I got nothin' ...
Tin - you came through!
ReplyDeleteI thought Pin Head (me) at first, but then Pinch Haig. Somehow you came to mind :-)
I'll see if YR or Lucina thinks of RW before I spoil. Same with MC until I see what HG thinks up.
Cheers, -T
HH = Haig & Haig
ReplyDelete(who produce ...)
DP = Dimple Pinch
MC = Mac & Cheese (I'm such a gourmet)
Crossword
ReplyDeleteWorcester Sauce
Red Wine
Pinch Hit
Master of Ceremonies
BTW, Dyan Cannon was Mrs. Cary Grant. Mr. DAFOE is originally from Appleton, WI, so the cheesehead contingent should recognize his name.
Anonymous T: I did my puzzle in the newspaper today. I just double-checked and Garfield is not in my paper, the Chicago Tribune. If I get up before the paper arrives I do it via IPad, if Cruciverb is working.
ReplyDeleteAbejo
(hckledg)
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteCruciverb is still toast, but the LAT version came up. Montana: hard to read the clues, isn't it?
Nice to kick off the week with a solid project from our astonishingly multi-lingual leader. Thanks C.C.!
From last night: Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" was one of exactly four albums we had on a long sailboat voyage (somebody left the box of tapes at home). At sea, you do whatever you gotta do to stay entertained, but ye gods, I got kinda sick of hearing Supertramp.
Having a CC puzzle on a Monday brightened my whole day!
ReplyDeleteHowever...
Hola Everyone, Thanks C.C. for another great Monday puzzle. Though, I thought about half way through that I wasn't going to get it all without help--not a Monday event usually.
ReplyDeleteBaseball Tonight is not one of my programs, so had to get the spanner with perps. Argyle, loved the Diamond Head picture. It truly is a beautiful scene.
Eskimo Pies were a favorite of mine.
JD, I also have one of those miniature hope chests. Mine holds handkerchiefs. Does anyone use a cloth hanky anymore?
Off to do some shopping. Cyber Monday has made my internet really slow down. I prefer going into the store and looking for my gifts.
Have a great day, everyone.
I don't know what you're thinking, A-T:
ReplyDeletecold water
winter sale
rose water
public housing
Merry Christmas
That's what's on my mind.
RW could also be
ReplyDeleteRobin Williams
right/wrong
Admitting defeat - I'm a poor puzzle master...
ReplyDeleteThe clues were supposed to be connected, but then thera-flu* and Jack kicked in and I went off the rails. Only the first three have a common word.
I'll leave the word games / puzzles to our constructors...
Abejo -No Garfiled? Lucky! We still have Phantom & Rex Morgan (who reads these?) in the paper. If the Trib has cut down the comics page again (I haven't seen it in 18 mo**, then crud for them. HCrhon has two full pages (one in color) of the funnies. Circulation is actually going up.
Cheers, -T
*now you can't buy thera-flu powder for a nice toddy. I had to crush a pill to make it. DW said they stopped selling the powder becuase kids were snoring it. WTF??
** My vice is to buy every local paper in whatever city I am in.
Thank you C.C. and Argyle for a nice afternoon break. What I didn't know filled with perps.
ReplyDeleteHand up for Hook before Smee!
Since we were going away for Thanksgiving we had the wood floors sanded and refinished last week. I'm glad it's done and they look good. I still have to put the pantry stuff back and then I'll only have to deal with the dust for ? weeks.
Either we were busy or there was no internet connection so I missed the blog and comments last week. There were "only" 38 for dinner with my family on Thanksgiving, and quite a few were missing. Good times. Saturday's dinner with the in-laws totaled 10 with only a couple missing. Still a good time.
It's overcast and 51*. In December? I'll take it!
Have a good week.
Pat
Anon -T
ReplyDeleteTo have a common word in the first three, I submit:
CW = Cold Water
WS = Water Spout, Water Spigot
RW = Running Water
PH = Pearl Harbor
MC = Master Card, Master of Ceremonies
We will have a M erry C hristmas.
ReplyDeleteOn the weekend before the holiday we will go to hear the M asterwork C horus sing the Messiah.
There will be a M altese C ross necklace for Mary and a M ercury C ougar model car for Joe.
I have plenty of M ilk C hoco;ate to put in the stockings.
The week afterward we are off to R acine, W isconsin.
I hope the R ainy W eather and the R oad W ork will not delay us too much.
I have R oyal W edding pattern teacups for my sister.
There is R ye W hiskey for my BIL.
And a little R ed W agon for my nephew.
No Brainer today--Thanks! Solved using only DOWN clues today. 6 Minutes was all I needed. :)
ReplyDeleteNice job CC! Thank you for the great Monday puzzle! Love the Baseball Tonight reference and the clue for slid! Great theme with five entries. I'm good with blood doping and blood diamond. If I can read about it on page 1 of the Times I should be able to put it in a crossword puzzle!
ReplyDeleteFerm from last night: Congratulations on your new companion, Millie.
ReplyDeleteCED @ 2:05 - Loved the "However" link.
Fermatprime: Read about Millie, your new pet dog. I am very happy for you. Does she get along with Harvey?
ReplyDeleteAbejo
"I totally know what batteries feel like 'cause I'm rarely ever included in things either."
ReplyDeleteMy new medi-alert bracelet says, "In case of medical emergency, delete browser history."
"Celery is 95 percent water and 100 percent not pizza."
What children are like: "Here's a sleeping person. Let's go ask it questions."
Cat adopts ducklings
Fermatprime--CONGRATULATIONS on finding your new best friend! May you have many years together.
ReplyDeleteCED--Love the "However" link. I've sent the link to the office manager at the shelter to post on our Facebook page.
Java Mama--Good to "see" you again. Is there any interest in a Cincinnati area meet/great?
OwenKL--Great stuff. :)
Time to start making fruitcakes. Yes, fruitcakes! I have orders for some already, and family just expect to get them.
Pat
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteSwell puzzle, CC! Fine expo, Argyle!
Millie and I getting along just fine! Wonderful dog!
Cheers!
Abejo: Millie has adopted the easy chair in my room. Harvey has to shoo her away! We put the poor thing out last night in order to watch Homeland. Good episode, I thought. Really hate the Javardi character. Enjoyed seeing John Noble of Fringe on The Good Wife. He should have received an Emmy, previously. Noticed that his Aussie accent slipped in.
ReplyDeleteCC - another great puzzle. A big thanks also to Argyle for links.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed Eskimo Pies as a kid.
I hiked to the top of Diamond Head in '95 when I had a 6 month work assignment in Honolulu. It was always in view each morning when I awoke looking out my bedroom window and across the lanai. Brings back many fond memories.
Anon T - I'll try you challenge but KJ isn't going to be easy.
Does Ko Jak count?
Kris Jenner
Kraft Jello
Kiss Jeans
Kite Jumping
That's about it for my brain tonight. Any and all reasonable suggestions appreciated.
Hey all!
ReplyDeleteAfter a good sleep and better meds, my head is clear...
Wow. You guys had fun with it. Lucina - Excellent job, YR, over the top with MC!
buckeye bob - you did better than I with my own puzzle! Good show.
Don't ask why my mind was here, but I had
Cross Wind
Wind Sheer and
Rear Window (I thought Hitchcock would show up).
Pin Head was me for making this up (I guess I was thinking somewhat clearly :-).
For MC I had Mission Control for HG.
I think the M&M game was More Merry!
The COW says moo.
Cheers, -T
pje:
ReplyDeleteFruit cake! Do you share your recipe? I would love to have it. And doesn't it have to be made many weeks in advance?
You can e-mail me if you wish.