Monday, February 10, 2014 Bruce R. Sutphin

 

Theme: Make Them Laugh - Three funny characters.

                                    LINK

17A. Bil Keane comic strip : THE FAMILY CIRCUS. Circus Clown. Family Circus web site.

28A. Bygone Honda CR-V rival : ISUZU RODEO. The very important Rodeo Clown.

44A. Flier's upgrade : FIRST CLASS. Class Clown

60A. Sondheim song, and a hint to the ends of 17-, 28- and 44-Across : "SEND IN THE CLOWNS". Clip(4:11) by Judy Collins with lyrics and an extensive write-up.

Argyle here and one time 44-Across. Two spanners today and some sneaky fill. Some nits that if you're doing LAT puzzles, you should know and get over it. I think Bruce(interview) had fun constructing this one.

Across:

1. Class with numbers : MATH

5. One making a coffee run, say : GOFER. (from 'go for')

10. Spot to shop : MALL

14. Lot measurement : ACRE

15. Skip over, in speech : ELIDE

16. Reed to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE

20. Briny : SEA

21. Buzzing homes : HIVES

22. Tree houses? : NESTS

23. Journalist Sawyer : DIANE

25. Chess pieces : MEN

26. Chess piece : PAWN. If a pawn makes it all the way across the board, it may become any man it wants, excepting the King.

34. Teacher's Apple : iMAC

35. Expansive : VAST

36. Gardner of Hollywood : AVA

37. Strip of latticework : LATH. Makein' lath the old way.

 

38. Low card : DEUCE

40. "It's Your Space" rental company : AVIS

41. Gobbled up : ATE

42. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author Jean : AUEL. I almost remember her now.

43. Diet label word : LITE

48. Fruity quenchers : ADEs

49. It may be doffed : HAT

50. Backup strategy : PLAN B

52. Like an enthusiastic crowd : AROAR. …asmell of the greasepaint, aroar of the crowd…(sic)

55. Guiding principle : ETHIC

57. Sub sandwich dressing item : OIL

63. Wear a hole in the carpet : PACE

64. Dance studio rail : BARRE

65. Actress Fey : TINA

66. Winter transport : SLED

67. Prints and threads, to detectives : CLUES

68. __ in Show: dog prize : BEST

Down:

1. Wrestling surfaces : MATS

2. Workout woe : ACHE

3. Stay afloat in place : TREAD WATER. Do you remember Bill Cosby's, "Noah, how long can you tread water?"

4. Pajamaed mogul, familiarly : HEF. (Hugh Hefner)

5. Zodiac's Twins : GEMINI

6. Martini garnishes : OLIVEs

7. Store in a folder : FILE

8. Ice cream brand : EDY'S

9. TiVo button : REC

10. Multitalented Rita : MORENO

11. Basic lessons : ABCs

12. Big oaf : LOUT

13. Not as much : LESS

18. "Figured it out!" : "A-HA!"

19. Unmoving : INERT

24. Creep (along) : INCH

25. Source of inspiration : MUSE

26. Rice dish : PILAF

27. Vintage violin : AMATI

29. Throat dangler : UVULA

30. Tween heartthrob Efron : ZAC

31. "Life on Mars?" singer : DAVID BOWIE. Video(3:57)

32. Online party notice : EVITE

33. Desert retreats : OASES

38. Conduit for tears : DUCT

39. Slippery swimmer : EEL

40. Oscar winner Arkin : ALAN. Best Supporting Actor for "Little Miss Sunshine"(2006)

42. Arcade pioneer : ATARI

45. Out of the sun : SHADED

46. Region of influence : SPHERE

47. Cuts for a sandwich : SLICES

51. Commonly injured knee ligament, for short : ACL. (anterior cruciate ligament)

52. Deadly snakes : ASPs

53. Genuine : REAL

54. A single time : ONCE

55. List finisher: Abbr. : ET AL.

56. No __ traffic : THRU

58. Travelers' stops : INNs

59. Future D.A.'s hurdle : LSAT. (Law School Admission Test)

61. "The Voice" network : NBC

62. Gambling letters : OTB. (off-track betting)

 

Argyle

Friday, August 3, 2012 Bruce Sutphin

Theme: The Leith Police dismisseth us.

A very cool theme today - three anagrams of the unifier, which itself alludes to the fact that the answers to the first three are "twisted", or anagrams!

19A. Novice chocolatier's lessons? : SWEET TUTORING

23A. Walks in the rain, vis-à-vis fair-day activities? : WETTER OUTINGS

44A. Vacations led by Twitter? : TWEETING TOURS

and the unifier:

50A. Speaker's challenge scrambled three times in this puzzle : TONGUE TWISTER

Happy Friday, everyone. Steve here on stand-in duty for Lemonade. I love anagrams, and I really liked these three and the clever reveal. The theme I chose is reputedly the most difficult tongue-twister in the English language. Give it a try and see how you do!

Now let's take a look at the rest (Red Buick, Blue Buick)

Across:

1. University of Georgia athlete, familiarly : DAWG. The Bulldogs in polite circles.

5. Scorned paper : RAG

8. Ticket holder with a conflict, maybe : NO-SHOW. This whole section was hard work for me, but I liked everything when it finally fell into place.

14. In opposition : AVERSELY

16. Self-loathing direction : INWARD

17. "Just curious" : NO REASON

18. Note sentiment : THANKS

21. Pres. between JAG and GC : CAA. Chester Alan Arthur, who came between James Abram Garfield and Grover Cleveland.

22. It might be closed due to flooding : ROAD

29. Med. land : ISR. Neither Israel nor Mediterranean are the easiest place names to reliably spell correctly.

31. "... __ he drove out of sight" : ERE. From "The night before Christmas" by Clement Moore.

32. Mena of "American Beauty" : SUVARI. Crosses all the way. I will NEVER remember this actress's name!

33. Endured : STOOD

36. Tar on a deck : GOB

38. Mantle's number : SEVEN. The Yankee's Hall of Fame Center Fielder had three nicknames - "The Mick", "The Commerce Comet" and simply "Muscles".

39. Hardly unexpected : NOT NEW

41. Threw one's hat in the ring : RAN

43. Head start? : EGG. Egghead.

48. Internet game site : POGO. Again, crosses for me. Never heard of this.

49. __ Balls: Hostess treats : SNO

56. Of an upper heart chamber : ATRIAL. This took a bit of digging out from the recesses of the brain. I kept coming up with AORTAL and knew it wasn't right.

58. Tab, for one : DIET COLA. I remembered this being clear, but I didn't remember it being low-calorie.

59. Eyre's creator : BRONTE. This was Charlotte's most famous novel. I think I might have mentioned before that I had to read this in English Literature class when I was 14, and it put me off 19th-century fiction for years.

60. "Enough already" : OKAY OKAY

61. Luxury accommodations : SUITES

62. Charles River sch. : M.I.T. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology sits on the north bank of the Charles River, Harvard on the south. I always imagined the students sitting on the river banks insulting each other with calculus problems and rhetoric.

63. Ocean current sources? : EELS. Great clue!

Down:

1. Dapper dressers? : DANS. My aptly-named friend Dan is very dapper, so this was a gimme.

2. Say it is so : AVOW

3. "__ off!" : WE'RE. Schoolboy sniggering here for a four-letter word that would fit. The gentleman in seat 4A on the 8:45PM United flight from Salt Lake City to LAX tonight was probably wondering what on earth was wrong with me.

4. Where Olympus rises : GREECE

5. Make clearer, hopefully : RESTATE

6. Baseball's Jesus : ALOU. Any relation to Moses? I assume so, but ...

7. Ibsen title character : GYNT. Henrick's protagonist Peer. Check out the libretto to Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King" from his operatic interpretation of the play, although it will probably ruin your breakfast.

8. Dentistry number, familiarly : NITROUS. I didn't quite understand this clue/answer. I know Nitrous Oxide is Laughing Gas and was used as an anesthetic back in the (my) day, but ...(From C.C.: numb-er here, it numbs.)

9. Taking a break : ON HIATUS. All the shows recorded at the studios close to where I live go on hiatus around May, and return about now. The hiatus weeks are notable for the pleasingly quieter restaurants, bars and traffic!

10. Graceful plunge : SWAN DIVE

11. Wait around : HANG

12. Sitcom world : ORK. "Nanu Nanu! Mork, from the planet Ork." The incomparable Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy.

13. OED listing : WDS. I need help with this one. Oxford English Dictionary I get. WDS I think is an abbreviation for "Words"? But that's plural, and the clue is "listing" singular? I know I'm missing something here.

15. Occupied, as a desk : SAT AT

20. Los Juegos Olímpicos prize : ORO. Did you see the Mexican synchronized diving pair? They didn't win Gold at the London Olympics, but wow, they were amazing!

23. Penned : WROTE. Usually, it's a she, and that's all she does.

24. Physics unit : ERG

25. Corp. change : RE-ORG. Right after a corporation does this, you can bet your bottom dollar there's going to be some downsizing, or rightsizing, or whatever is the latest euphemism.

26. Pew areas : NAVES.

27. Oldest Brady Bunch kid : GREG. Another "thank goodness for crosses" example for me today

28. Rat : SING

29. Kid's comeback : ISN'T. "IS TO" held me back for a little while before I RESTATED my answer.

30. Get into a hold : STOW. Really nice clue, had me puzzled for a good while.

34. Tight game difference : ONE POINT. I was trying to think of a sport when a one-point difference wasn't going to be close - the best I could come up with was duelling with pistols, on the assumption that you're not going to come back from a one-point deficit. (I think duelling is next week in the Olympics, right?)

35. Blow up : DETONATE

37. Step to the plate : BAT. Now this really bothers me for such an innocuous part of the fill, but - GO INTO BAT, or STEP UP TO BAT or ... but just BAT?

40. Wavy lines : WIGGLES

42. "Consider it done" : NO SWEAT

45. __-turn : NO U. Conversely, for such an innocuous piece of the fill, I loved this.

46. Show of strength : UNITY

47. 1977 Australian Open champ Tanner : ROSCOE. Golly, but he had a serve! He could crush that ball with a wooden racquet! I swear he'd give any player today a run for their money if they had to play with his equipment.

50. "Star Trek: T.N.G." role : TROI. Attaboy crosses!

51. Kingdom south of Moab : EDOM. Yay crosses!

52. Torch type : TIKI

53. Tip for a dealer : TOKE. A new meaning of the word "toke" for me. Enough said.

54. Mideast flier : EL AL

55. Beams : RAYS

56. They may be sculpted : ABS. Interestingly, I don't think you can sculpt one Ab, you have to work on them collectively.

57. 1989-'90 Broadway biodrama : TRU. Not the most critically-acclaimed of Broadway shows. Truman Capote was a complex character, and the play - well, today you'd Facebook or Tweet "Fail" and move on.

Answer grid.

And (Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper) - that's all HE wrote. Have a great day, everyone! (The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick).

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to the beautiful Melissa Bee, who continues to delight us with her lovely & fun write-up despite all the technical difficulties. I also love this photo very much. So ethereal and fey.

Interview with Bruce R. Sutphin

As Lemonade mentioned in his write-up of today's DROP IN, this is our third Bruce Sutphin puzzle. His previous two Friday grids also involved letter string addition (TAG) & deletion (RS, with a great LOSERS as the last Across entry to tie things together).

Bruce only started constructing in 2010, but you could feel his passion and talent for construction from his theme selections. His desire to constantly improve himself is also evident in his blog comments the last several time he visited us. I look forward to more challenges and fun from Bruce.

How did the LOSERS idea come to you? It's such a brilliant unifier. Very unexpected two consonants dropping.

I had really enjoying a NYT puzzle (12/1/09) by Vic Fleming and Jonah Kagan where they parsed BREAKFAST as BREAK FAST and a couple of times afterward had toyed with similar themes messing with word breaks. Obviously LOSER would have made for more possible theme entries, but I thought I would see what I could come up with for LOSERS. I made a version of this "LOSERS" puzzle and sent it to Rich Norris at the LAT and he rejected it, but commented that the theme was cute and he liked the ONEHOETOWN entry. I redid the whole puzzle keeping that one entry and after some revision had it accepted.

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into crossword construction?

I had solved crosswords a bit off and on growing up, but with no regularity. In August 2009 I found all these different blogs and Ryan and Brian's "Fill Me In" Podcast. I was completely hooked. In the spring of 2010 I decided to attempt constructing. My first puzzles weren't very good, but I really enjoyed making them so I kept at it. I came into contact through the blogs with Doug Peterson and he and I started working on a puzzle last summer. Working with him has been a blast, we have a couple puzzles we made together in the LAT pipeline and a couple of others out that we are waiting to hear back on. Although my first 2 puzzles accepted were solo efforts, there is no way I would have made publishable quality puzzles without Doug's support and feedback. He is a true Crossword Gentleman.

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, gridding or cluing?

I definitely would say the theme brainstorming. Early on I was quick to try and make a puzzle based on half baked or incomplete themes which was setting the puzzles up for failure from the start. I have enjoyed collaborating with Doug (I also have a puzzle in the NYT pipeline I co-constructed with Neville Fogarty) and find that the bouncing of theme ideas and theme entries off someone else makes a huge difference. The gridding obviously poses its own challenges and it can be annoying when things don't quite work out as you want, but I do like finding good entries. I especially like cluing a puzzle and even though it is the last portion of the creation, there isn't a temptation there for me to rush it since the clues are the solvers entry into the puzzle and if they don't grab them, then they might not bother solving the puzzle.

How does constructing change your solving experience? And what kind of themes/fill fascinate you as a solver?

When solving a puzzle, I don't really think that I notice that much difference now. I am far from a speed-solver, but I find that I appreciate themes more when I am done with a puzzle, especially if it is something really unique that I wish I had thought of. All the puzzles with added elements I find interesting, whether it be a picture created, or a neat trick where the entries aren't just entered in the "usual" way. Fresh fill is always great, or even commonplace fill clued in a new and interesting way always gets me. When my first (or even second or third) impression of what a clue wants isn't right, I like that. You can always clue something I don't know in a way so that I won't arrive at it easily, but cluing an entry I know in a tricky way that takes some thought, that's the best .

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors do you find most inspiring?

I solve the NYT, LAT, Newsday, and CrosSynergy everyday. I do all the Brendan Emmett Quigley puzzles, the Fireball, WSJ, Boston Globe, Phil Inquirer, Post Puzzler, Matt Gaffney, ISwear, The Onion, InkWell, Chronicle of Higher Education.... I think about 43 a week. They take me a heck of a lot longer than the elite solvers, but I also spend a lot less time on them then I did two years ago. I have seen great improvements in my own solving time. Obviously I am a big fan of Doug Peterson's puzzles. I also think all the stuff put our by BEQ, Matt Gaffney and Peter Gordon is top notch.

Besides crosswords, what are your other interests?

I am a 35 year old married father of 3. I have two daughters 8 and 6 and a 1 year old son. I am a stay at home dad during the day and I teach a mathematics class for a community college at night each semester. I enjoy reading, movies, and getting out to golf when I can.

Friday September 9, 2011 Bruce R. Sutphin

Theme: Get your fat RS out of here! A letter removal puzzle with some real wit offered up for our Friday enjoyment. Each of 4 well known phrases has the letter combination R and S removed, including in the last one where they appear twice in the phrase. Bruce Sutphin had his first puzzle published in July on a Friday (the one adding “TAG”) so I may apply for a job as his blog caddy. Like his first one, I found this very entertaining and creative, but not as challenging as many Fridays. Let us see what he did this time.

17A. Village with very little gardening equipment?: ONE HORSE TOWN. An old phrase changed into a new, very DF one. See Don Imus below. Brave to use HOE in a puzzle.

27A. Entrance purchases for a conditioning program?: FIRST CLASS TICKETS. Fit class; how many belong to gyms?

44A. What Ruth forgot to bring to pool night?: CURSE OF THE BAMBINO. As all the Red Sox fans here (LaLa et al.) will tell you , the curse is long gone. Babe Ruth, not some random Biblical woman.

57A. Like calls between drudges?: PERSON TO PERSON. Rather cruel to poor peons.

and the unifier,

66A. Failures (and in another way, a hint to 17-, 27-, 44- and 57-Across): LOSERS, which you must parse as LOSE RS.

Nice theme, let's see some fill.

Across:

1. Gung-ho response: I'M ON IT. Yes boss, my nose is naturally brown.

7. Delay : LAG.

10. Evans of country: SARA, how many for Country Music? (4.02)

14. Buff: POLISH. Not a hunk, and not an Eastern European.

15. Farm female: EWE. Too bad you linked for Thursday, Argyle.

16. Left: QUIT. Left the room.

19. The NCAA's Runnin' Rebels: UNLV. University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Jerry Tarkanian's basketball teams put this school on the map.

20. Lab, for one: DOG. My first grandpuppy is half black lab, half boxer. Big sweetie.

21. Reject: NIX.

22. Sends: ELATES. Like, "Baby, you send me." Very fifties.

24. Jacket label letters: ISBN. International Standard Book Number. Back to acronymville.

26. Get off the shoulder, say: TOW. Nice visual clue.

35. Actor Milo: O'SHEA. A wonderful character actor, whose name no one knows.

36. Pool game call: MARCO. POLO. A most fun game I played with my brothers. It looks like this, but please turn down your speakers. (3.13)

37. Tiny beef: NIT. You think the other constructors are picking on you Hearti?

38. Fly on a line: LURE. Great clue.

39. Gives credit where credit is due: CITES. Including proper citations is vital in legal writing.

40. On the safer side: ALEE. There is windward and leeward.

41. Rational ending?: IZE. I wonder how mean people rationalize their behavior?

42. "__ it Art?": Kipling: BUT IS. A Poem.

43. 1955 UN joiner: SPAIN. Really I have them all memorized, they joined with Albania, Cambodia and Libya. NOT!

47. Morgan Freeman won its 2011 Life Achievement Award: Abbr.: AFI. American Film Institute.

48. Morning talker: IMUS. He was not my favorite even before this infamous broadcast.

49. Fly over the equator?: TSETSE. The whole fly and nothing but the fly.

52. Pleased cry: YES. More DF; WH, Dennis, I am afraid my video was censored.

53. Droid, e.g.: PDA. Personal Digital Assistant.

56. Slip through the cracks?: OOZE.

61. Run well: PURR. Man the engine on Barry G's 300 really purrs.

62. Unsound: ILL.

63. Like Napoleon: EXILED. Able was I ere I saw Elba.

64. Relaxing locales: SPAS. Hi, mb.

65. The Hartford logo: ELK. A real gimme for our Connecticut group?

Down:

1. Tune carrier: IPOD. No more Steve Jobs.

2. One-track: MONO. As opposed to stereo, not like the mind of most of the macho men.

3. Couturier Cassini: OLEG. Jackie O's favorite and father of Tina, but that's another story.

4. Med. research agency: NIH. Oh wow, surprise an acronym, National Institute of Health.

5. Bar opening?: ISO. Isobar. Meteorology; I personally thought of: "Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see!"

6. Pistons' place: THE NBA. I think this is the first time we have seen the whole name.

7. Last non-priest to be named pope: LEO X. One of the de Medicis. For the ladies....

8. "Isn't that cute?": AWW. Have you seen my sweet bald grand niece? Awwwww.

9. It involves mapping: GENETICS. Nice misdirection.

10. Gripe: SQUAWK. Not to complain, but I had trouble with this one.

11. Reunion attendee: AUNT, unless you eat outside then it is ANT.

12. Stir up: RILE. Maybe too many acronyms could RILE some bloggers?

13. Off-rd. rides: ATVS. All Terrain Vehicle (S).

18. Worker with light metal: TIN SMITH. Leaves me speechless.

23. Bonkers: LOCO. Spanish.

24. Slush Puppie maker: ICEE, not to be confused with a Slurpee.

25. Radical '70s group : SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army. The captors of Patty Hearst.

27.__ acid: vitamin B9: FOLIC.

28. Amigo on the road: ISUZU. You all remember Joe?

29. Crowd starter?: THREE. Three's a crowd unless you were John Ritter.

30. "Socrate" composer: SATIE. A work for voice and piano by Erik Satie, a crossword specialist.

31. Nice compliment: TRÈS BIEN. You did not think we would get through without at least one French lesson? This catch all phrase means basically "very good" but is used in so many ways.

32. Zhou __: ENLAI, for you youngsters, your history lesson.

33. Happy Meals toy, e.g.: TIE IN. Generally to a movie promotion.

34. Writer of short letters: STENO. Stenographers use Shorthand when taking dictation. This concept was created by Cicero's slave Tiro.

39. Honey : CUTIE PIE. A cutie pie and an aww, this image.

40. NYPD notices: APBS. All Points Bulletin (S).

42. Ones who've got your back, in Internet shorthand: BFFS. Best Friend Forever (S)

43. Future George W. Bush Presidential Library site: SMU. Southern Methodist Universitym where dandy Don Meredith played quarterback.

45. "Hondo" et al.: OATERS. Westerns and a second shout out to HH.

46. Dutch brewery: AMSTEL. What Friday would be complete without a beer reference?

49. A-one: TOPS.

50. Food in a memorable "Seinfeld" episode: SOUP. Actually, many episodes. (3.59)

51. Pound of verse: EZRA. a major poet who was very antisemitic and supported Mussolini and Hitler and denounced the US.

52. White partner: YOLK, ha ha, not a black and white answer. The Yolk is on you!

53. "__ Eterno": 2004 sports documentary : PELE, arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. (3.29)

54. Active sort: DOER, how many of our retired teachers hate the axiom "the who can do those who can't teach?"

55. Addenda: ANDS, why use only four letters when you squeeze out 7?

58. Lascivious leader?: ELL. LASCIVIOUS. Another Df word form Bruce. Yummy.

59. Big name in kitchenware: OXO. Good grief, more good grips!

60. Tecs: PIS. Why not one more; Private Investigator (S).

Answer grid.

Well I had a really good time again, and I hope you all have a wonderful day and week end. Thanks Bruce for the work, maybe just a touch heavy on the acronyms; and "see" you all on the other side.

Lemonade

Friday July 15, 2011 Bruce R. Sutphin

Theme: TAG you are it. Each of the four theme answers are in the language two word phrases which change into completely different and witty new phrases by adding a TAG before the final E in the second word. There is also a unifier, which I found unnecessary, but then this seemed a really easy Friday.

Hey, it is lemonade, and I confess I am unfamiliar with any prior puzzles from Mr. Sutphin. I have seen his name mentioned around the ACPT, but that is all. Maybe he is a lawyer getting ready to retire. Anyway, here we go.

20A. Gnome held against his will?: GARDEN HOSTAGE. GARDEN HOSE, I wonder why people began adding garden to hose; we use the same on to wash the car, or the dog. I do like the visual of the TRAVELOCITY Gnome tied up and held for ransom.

27A. Meteorologist's view?: WEATHER VANTAGE. WEATHER VANE, the twirly on top of your house if you live in New England, and a nice use of VANTAGE as view.

43A. Team equipment manager's snafu?: JERSEY SHORTAGE. I have never watched an episode of JERSEY SHORE, and you will have to provide your own links.

51A. Stamps with nudes?: EROTIC POSTAGE. An EROTIC POSE, does not have to be nude.

66A. Some graffiti signatures (which were used to form this puzzle's four longest answers): TAGS. Of course you should know HOW TO.

Okay on to the rest of the story.

ACROSS:

1. It's covered in silk: CORN. My ex-wife, just would not fit. You think it is HEALTHY ?

5. British bakery buy: SCONE. I may be half French, but I love me a good scone. My youngest bakes great ones.

10. Mass measure: GRAM.

14. Head start?: IDEA. Oh I get it, the idea starts in our head!

15. "Breaking Bad" actor __ Paul: AARON. never heard of this ACTOR, who shares my sons name and my birthday. Anybody watch the show?

16. Result of getting too far behind, briefly: REPO. Nice new way to clue this standard crossword fill.

17. Extends, with "to": ADDS. Like Rory McIlroy at the U. S. Open and his lead.

18. Serious alarm: DREAD. No one is quite sure where this word comes from but it has an almost onomatopoeia like sound about it.

19. Skip and jump lead-in: A HOP. The hop skip and jump is now known as the triple jump. The phrase is still used by some to convey a place being close by; my house is a...

23. Runner on snow: SKI. A literal answer.

25. Drink in a yard: ALE. Our obligatory BEER reference, and a fun GAME ?

26. Math ratios: SINES. Not to be confused with THIS.

32. Faris of "Scary Movie" films et al.: ANNAS. Do you like this ACTRESS? Blonde or brunette?

33. They may shrink if they aren't fed: EGOS. Nice clue, and the Corner can be a place to feed some.

34. Visit: GO TO.

35. Pasty: WAXEN. Hmm, I like the other set, 53D. Whiten: PALE.

37. Light touches: PATS. There my dear, stop crying and I will get you an ice cream cone.

41. Unrivaled: A ONE. Really, numero uno?

42. Debonair neckwear: ASCOT. A formal neck tie, popularized in the 1880's, taking its name from the Royal Ascot race meeting, where all the fine gentleman wore this looser version of the starched cravat.

48. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. A wonderful play and movie, you might enjoy his INTERVIEW.

49. "No thanks, I just __" : ATE. gave at the office?

50. Stop up: DAM. I am not one to miss a chance to link to BEAVER.

56. Jackson 5 brother: TITO. The only brother still getting any pub.

57. Coffeehouse order: LATTE. No thanks, I am a straight coffee drinker.

58. Tony relative: EMMY. The name "Emmy" was chosen as a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes which were in early TV cameras. Coincidentally, the prime time nominations were made public yesterday.

61. Doesn't waste: USES.

62. Take in, maybe: ALTER. Like the waist in my pants; oops, no that is let out.

63. Short evening?: NITE. Is this now an acceptable word?

64. Benchmarks: Abbr.: STDS. Standards.

65. Lowly workers: PEONS. A degrading word from the Spanish peón meaning an unskilled laborer, like an indentured servant.

Well we have filled lots of three, four and fives, so let's see what the Downs do.

DOWN:

1. Operation Neptune Spear org.: CIA. I think you can buy a T SHIRT.

2. Curious: ODD. Am I the only one who thought of THIS.

3. Arcturus, for one: RED GIANT. A star classification, we had a nice discussion of these after a Jerome puzzle back on April 23, 2010.

4. Galileo's patron: NASA. A nice deception, not the ancient astronomer, but the exploration program of our SOLAR SYSTEM.

5. It might be Western or English: SADDLE. How many ride? I like it but not many horse live in condos.

6. Professional pursuit: CAREER. I was going to put their secretary, but it would not fit.

7. Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael: OREN. He wrote the RESPONSE to the Obama plan. No politics, but an interesting read.

8. First matchmaker?: NOAH. Well if you are going on a boat and can keep only two, you had better get your kids companions.

9. Prefix with morph: ENDO. The opposite of ECTO.

10. Part of e.g.: GRATIA. Our Latin lesson, exempli gratia. For example.

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• ah thanks! = )
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  by - AJ - on August 10th, 2007
• 6 years of Latin, at your service! ;-)
  • Report
  by Shopping Sheryl - home from the hospital on August 10th, 2007
• ah good resource!
  • Report
  by - AJ - on August 10th, 2007
• I'll try my best whenever you need some help.
  • Report
  by Shopping Sheryl - home from the hospital on August 10th, 2007

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11. Put back up: REHANG. I guess....45D. Second flip: RETOSS. Fits with REHANG. Icky/

12. Zenith: APOGEE. We just had this discussion.

13. Acts gloomily: MOPES. From Ger. mopen "to sulk."

21. Sounds from stands: RAHS. Rah Rah Ree, kick em in the knee, Rah Rah Rass, kick em in the other knee.

22. Grounded big birds?: SSTS. Supersonic transports.

23. Booty: SWAG. What do you think, Stole Without A Gun?

24. Game with 80 balls: KENO. Las Vegas; original lottery game.

28. "The __ of Steve": 2000 comedy: TAO. An obscure, but critically acclaimed romantic comedy.

29. Bugs: VEXES.

30. Beauty antecedent?: AGE. I always held the door for my two older brothers and always said, "Age before beauty." I was an endearing child.

31. Reims rejection: NON. French lesson Lolita, a toughy" NON = No.

35. Tribulation: WOE. A good guilt word, woe is me.

36. "__ takers?": ANY. I wanted UNDER and feel bad about that thought process.

37. Eureka hrs.: PST. Pacific Standard Time.

38. Dean's domain: ACADEMIA. Sounds so pompous.

39. Draped attire: TOGA. Made more famous by Animal House than anything else.

40. A snifter has a short one: STEM. IMAGE.

41. Piedmont wine region: ASTI.

42. Two-dimensional analogue of volume: AREA. Height time Width, no depth.

43. Legal scholar: JURIST. Yeah, that is me all right.

44. Frustrated the director, perhaps: EMOTED. Hammed it up is the phrase.

46. Expedite: HASTEN. Not Expedia, Travelocity Gnome.

47. Furry frolickers: OTTERS. They love to play.

48. "__ go then, you and I": Eliot : LET US.

"Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

52. Show support: CLAP. Let us give him a great big hand.

54. Comics dog: OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel's dog in Beetle Bailey, who is the younger brother of Lois, from Hi and Lois.

55. Mannerly man: GENT. Okay almost time for this gent to depart.

59. Short session?: MTG. This meeting is nearing an end.

60. Word said with a fist pump: YES. Time for my fist pump, another in the record books. A tough blog, but I did it.

Answer grid.

Happy belated Bastille Day.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here is another "Hard to Believe" picture, a curious boy with his sisters. Tell me who the boy is. Hint: He is one of the very few regulars who have read every post/comment on this blog.