Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Clive Probert

Theme: things that go bump in the night. three annoying things that might keep you awake.

17A. Honk ... honk ... honk ... : AUTOMOBILE ALARM. dane cook's thoughts. (turn down your volume first)

27A. Woof ... woof ... woof ... : BARKING DOGS

42A. Drip ... drip ... drip ... : LEAKY FAUCET

54A. What you'll get as a result of 17-, 27- or 42-Across? Not! : GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

melissa here.

four noticeable Down 9's are featured in this puzzle, intersecting two theme answers each.

Across:

1. The duck in "Peter and the Wolf" : OBOE. wikipedia article.

5. Hail : GREET. tricky clue, needed perps.

10. 1996 title role for Gwyneth : EMMA. based on the jane austen novel. and another austen novel, 30A. Youngest "Pride and Prejudice" Bennet sister : LYDIA

14. "Project Runway" host Heidi : KLUM. have never seen the show, but knew the name.

15. Ardent lover : ROMEO

16. Business jet company founder : LEAR

20. Conifer with springy wood : YEW. springy wood ... snort.

21. Help in a bad way : ABET

22. Jargon : LINGO

23. City on the Shatt al-Arab waterway : BASRA. in southern iraq.

25. Cheeky pet? : HAMSTER

31. Love, in Málaga : AMOR. spain.

32. In the center of : AMID

36. Bonehead : DOLT

37. Pong maker : ATARI

38. Brit's floor covering : LINO. did not know this, perps again.

39. Men : GUYS. some guys are just guys. speaking of which, tiger is at the resort this week for the fry's open.

40. "Will be," in a Day song : SERA. doris day. que sera, sera.

41. Prefix meaning "hundred" : CENTI. centimeter.

44. Mime who created Bip the Clown : MARCEAU. marcel.

48. Fragrant compound : ESTER

49. Gesundheit evoker : ACHOO

50. Walrus's weapon : TUSK

52. Filmmaker's deg. : MFA. master of fine arts.

58. Normandy river : ORNE

59. Kentucky pioneer : BOONE. daniel.

60. Like lawn spots in need of reseeding : BARE

61. Some wallet bills : ONES

62. Social customs : MORES. the accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group.

63. Jeanne and Geneviève: Abbr. : STES. saintes.

Down:

1. "Sure" : OKAY

2. Roy Orbison song that was a top ten hit for Linda Ronstadt : BLUE BAYOU

3. On the surface : OUTWARDLY

4. Expressive rock genre : EMO

5. "To Where You Are" singer Josh : GROBAN

6. Spa convenience : ROBE

7. Send out : EMIT

8. Sargasso Sea denizen : EEL. had no idea.

9. It may be tapped at a concert : TOE. or keg.

10. Brat Pack novelist Bret Easton __ : ELLIS. learning moment for me. from wikipedia: "The expression "literary Brat Pack" refers to the three young, East-coast American authors, Bret Easton Ellis, Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney, who emerged in USA in the 1980s. It is a twist on the label brat pack that had previously been applied to a group of young American actors earlier that decade."

11. Intended : MEANT

12. Bart's mom : MARGE. the simpsons.

13. Mail at the castle : ARMOR. chainmail.

18. "Ave __" : MARIA

19. Poor request? : ALMS

24. "Saturday Night Live" fare : SKITS

25. "Yippee!" : HOORAY

26. Business opening? : AGRI. agribusiness.

27. Skyscraper, e.g.: Abbr. : BLDG. specific clue for a generic answer.

28. Cake, in Calais : GATEAU. french.

29. Former Berlin currency, briefly : D-MARK. wikipedia: "commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark."

32. Kayak maker : ALEUT. indigenous people of the aleutian islands in alaska and russia.

33. Pie filling that may include beef : MINCEMEAT. that's just wrong. do you like it, blll g.?

34. Meddle : INTERFERE

35. "Just __!" : DO IT. nike slogan.

37. Where landlubbers prefer not to be : ASEA

41. Winery containers : CASKS

42. Boxer Spinks : LEON

43. Admits, with "up" : FESSES

44. Cartoon Mr. : MAGOO

45. Squirrel's find : ACORN

46. Avignon's river : RHONE. france.

47. Works on a program : CODES

50. Red-bearded god : THOR. god of thunder.

51. __ Reader : UTNE

53. Rock of Gibraltar mammals : APES

55. Creator of Watson, a memorable 2011 "Jeopardy!" winner : IBM

56. Gunk : GOO. ew.

57. Ft-__: energy units : LBS foot-pound = a unit of work equal to the work or energy needed to lift a one-pound weight a distance of one foot against the force of the earth's gravity.

Answer grid.

melissa

Thursday, August 11, 2011 Clive Probert

Theme: PUNCH LINES. Common descriptors for types of boxing punches are given new figurative definitions, with a humorous wallop.

17. Very angry, informally? : RIGHT CROSS Right means very, in this usage. The punch, delivered with the right hand, crosses over the opponent's leading arm. I believe Laila is delivering one above.

26. Tackle box item for liberals? : LEFT HOOK. Liberals are left-leaning- figuratively. The punch, delivered with the left hand, is powered by turning the core muscles of the back to swing the arm.

44. Chuck steak, for example? : UPPER CUT. Eating high in the cow. The punch involves an upward motion of the striking hand with the arm bent up at the elbow. It is usually targeted at the chin, and is most useful at short range.

And the unifier: 58. What 17-, 26- and 44-Across are, figuratively and literally : PUNCH LINES.

Plus a bonus: 18 D. Recover from a knockout : COME TO.

Hi gang, It's JzB making an atypical Thursday appearance. Let's fight our way through this puzzle.

Across:

1. Bike part : PEDAL. Where you put your foot to power the mechanism

6. Boo-boo : FLUB. An error - like misreading the clue as Boo-hoo.

10. Call heard at night : HOOT. From an owl. In the day time, has any body else noticed an absence of bird song? I hear squawking birds, but not singing birds.

14. Upstage a co-star, perhaps : EMOTE.

15. No trouble at all : EASE.

16. Within: Pref. : ENDO. You have an ENDOskeleton. An insect has an exoskelton.

19. Don Juan's love : AMOR. Not anyone in particular. Just a feeling.

20. European cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin : STILTON. Intensely flavored English blue cheese from the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

21. Alehouse : TAVERN. See also 10D.

23. High regard : ESTEEM

24. Two-time '80s-'90s Senate majority leader : DOLE. This guy was a politician? I thought he was in advertising.

25. Roman trio : TRE. Italicized three.

30. Head of Québec : TETE. French for head.

33. New driver, typically : TEEN. It's frightening when the grandchildren begin driving.

35. Heart line : AORTA. This doesn't fool me any more

36. Crew member : OAR. I cannot verify this. The person handling an OAR is a rower if using one OAR, or a sculler if using two.

37. 1947 South Seas traveler : KON TIKI. The raft Thor Heyerdahl used to cross the Pacific from South America to Polynesia in 1947. Kon Tiki was the old name for the Inca Sun God Viracocha.

39. Wrongdoing : SIN. I cannot lie.

40. Hobbit on a quest : FRODO. The ringbearer traveled to the Cracks of Doom in Mordor, but needed Gollum's SIN to finish his quest.

42. California's __ Valley : SIMI. Nowhere near Mordor. Quite near the San Fernando Valley.

43. Deep-six : TOSS. Sometimes I deep six a ball with my grandchildren. Oh --wait . . . I guess this means throw overboard.

46. Carol opener : 'TIS. I believe this carol starts with "Deck," though I may be mistaken.

48. One of the guys : MALE. Frodo, Gollum, Otis, Bob, Cecil, Ewen, even Nemo . . . But not Laila or Dory.

49. Cling cause : STATIC. Fabric can be attracted to itself or other surfaces if electrified by the triboelectric effect, which comes from rubbing and release, as in a cloths dryer.

53. Twins in the sky : GEMINI. The Constellation.

56. "The Legend of Zelda: __ of Time": video game : OCARINA.

57. Base runner? : AWOL. Not to be confused with the Twins of Summer. This is clever. Someone who has run away from a military base is Absent Without Official Leave. AWOL doesn't need to be designated as an abbrv.

61. Temerity : GALL

62. Words after step or sleep : ON IT. Did anybody want IN IT?

63. IV part : INTRA. From Intravenous - into a blood vein.

64. Pay to play : ANTE. This doesn't fool me either.

65. A fish named Dory helped find him : NEMO. Cute kids movie. Nautical, but nice.

66. Starts fishing : CASTS, Completing the minor angling theme, along with LEFT HOOK and NEMO.

Down:

1. In and of itself : PER SE. Latin

2. Throws off : EMITS

3. Shirk responsibility : DOG IT. This gives DOGS a bad name, doggone it!

4. One playing the field, e.g. : ATHLETE. Nice clue. Does anyone "play the field" anymore? Or is it just serial dating?

5. Alphabet soup bit : LETTER. Can you do crosswords in your soup bowl?

6. Bouquet greenery : FERN. For some reason, I had trouble with this one.

7. Thai language : LAO. This one always gets me. What language do they speak in LAOS?

8. Navy ship letters : U.S.S. United States Ship

9. Words on a "greatest hits" album : BEST OF. Not always.

10. Bar drunk's comeuppance : HEAVE HO. Ungraceful exit from a 21A, or words accompanying a deep six..

11. Generous words : ON ME. Words occasionally spoken in a 21 A

12. Febreze target : ODOR. It actually works pretty well.

13. Having a hard time deciding : TORN. It's not often kind.

22. Central Asia's __ Mountains : ALTAI. They extend from the Gobi desert through China, Mongolia, Russia and Kazahkstan.

24. It's in your jeans : DENIM. Fabric, and a sneaky misdirection.

26. "__ Bleed": Stones album : LET IT. Didn't care much for early Stones. Or this image.

27. Roughly : OR SO.

28. Soul great Redding : OTIS. Yes!

29. 24-Across's state: Abbr. : KANS. Mr. Dole served as the U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1968 until 1996 when he found his true calling..

30. Flavor-absorbing food : TOFU. Fermented bean curd. Yum!

31. Holliday friend : EARP. Doc Holliday, not someone who invades your home at Christmas. Good clue for a crossword stalwart.

32. De __: excessive : TROP. French, I suppose. Kazie . . . ?

34. Come next : ENSUE

37. Mullah's text : KORAN. The holy book of Islam.

38. Velvet Elvis, e.g. : KITSCH. Tacky, lowbrow art of inferior quality.

41. "The King of Kings" (1927) director : DEMILLE. Cecil B. Da Mann.

43. Winter Palace woman : TSARINA. The wife of the Rusian Czar.

45. Like some earrings : CLIP ON. Or sunglasses.

47. Like biased writing? : ITALIC. This one always gets me. I guess I'm too political

50. Turns blue, perhaps : TINTS. Clever misdirection involving a reflexive vs transitive verb form. I laughed till I dyed.

51. Like a noble gas : INERT. Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton and Xenon each have a full shell of valence electrons, and thus no need to combine with baser elements. They are the SNOOTS of Chemistry!

52. Hidalgo houses : CASAS. Estado Libre y Soberano de Hidalgo, one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, was created in 1869 by Benito Juárez. CASA is the Spanish word for house.

53. Hung up on, with "over" : GAGA. Are we hung up on or over her?

54. McGregor of "Emma" (1996) : EWAN

55. Shed : MOLT

56. Bi- cubed : OCTO. Two cubed is eight. I'm not linking the OCTOmom.

59. Somme one : UNE. One in French, now officially at the point of DE TROP

60. Matchstick-removing game : NIM This game can be played with any counter. Play here with muffins. Yum!

Answer grid.

There you have it. Did you beat the puzzle, or did you have to COME TO?

Jazzbumpa

Friday October 22, 2010 Clive Probert

Theme: The Art of the Pun - The first word/part of each familiar phrase/word is punnily replaced by a sound-like name of an artist, whose school of art is indicated in the clue with a question mark to let the solver know a play on words is coming.

20A. Baroque painter's study of a snack?: RUBENS SANDWICH. Pieter Pawl Rubens was a Flemish painter who perhaps is best remembered for his portraits of FULL FIGURED women, so much that the term Rubenesque is used to compliment an attractive but not petite woman. I am not sure it is a snack, but who (other than you Veeeegans) does not love a good REUBEN SANDWICH .

36A. Surrealist's portrait of a president?: DALI MADISON. The wife of James Madison our fourth, and shortest president, was DOLLEY MADISON who was the first president’s wife to get much notice. She might have been a good subject for Rubens, but not for our bizarre friend SALVADOR .

42A. Synthetist's picture of a French author?: GAUGUIN ZOLA. My favorite as this synthesizes into one word, GORGONZOLA, the cheese, which has little to do with the colorful paintings of the Van Gogh contemporary PAUL GAUGUIN who was around the night Van Gogh cut his ear off, and showed the world the beauty of Polynesia.

57A. Impressionist's study of a washerwoman?: MONET LAUNDERER. In my youth, as a criminal defense lawyer, I learned about the strange art of the MONEY LAUNDERER, who could make black money green. MONET not to be confused with his fellow impressionist MANET, was credited as the founder of impressionism. I personally enjoy all four of these artists work; as my father taught me, I may not know art, but I know what I like. My youngest is a big DALI fan.

Plus, 45D. Representing in drawing: LIMNING. I guess this DEFINITION supplements our artistic theme.

Good day to C.C. and all of you anxiously awaiting the week end, and Halloween next week end. Lemonade here, with a fun puzzle from Clive Probert, who this summer did a NYT puzzle with 48 “B”s, with at least one in each answer. This theme was much simpler.

On to the rest, with clechos, lots and lots of music, and more.

Across:

1. Bulletin board material: CORK. A little teeny deception if you were trying to think what was being posted.

5. __ ed: PHYS. Shouldn’t there be a period after ed. To show it is an abbreviation?

9. Human-powered Eastern cab: CYCLO. I was not familiar with this term for the BICYCLE TAXI which was my learning experience of the day.

14. Hyalite, e.g.: OPAL. INTERESTING .

15. Realize: REAP. Reap what you sow big boy.

16. Arcadian: RURAL. This ancient Greek concept of pastoral bliss could have fit in out UTOPIA puzzle.

17. Actress Andersson : BIBI. One of Ingmar Bergman’s regular ACTRESSES starring some wonderful movies, like Seventh Seal .

18. Karachi language: URDU. In our current world, we should all know KARACHI is the largest city in Pakistan, and URDU is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. What do you think the other is? We also have 25. Muscat money: RIAL with MUSCAT the largest city in OMAN.

19. Popped up: AROSE. Calm down Lois.

23. 1986 movie title trio: AMIGOS. How bad could a MOVIE starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Chevy Chase be? Watch and see. Funny, every puzzle I blog reminds me of a story from my life. I am sure most of you have seen the new commercial where the couple bumps into Chevy Chase on the plane, they buddy up on vacation. Well, when I was doing my traveling to LA to talk to record companies, I literally bumped into him (he is one tall guy, btw) outside a Mexican restaurant. It just so happens my brother had published a book on Karate for teenagers (Defend Yourself, New American Library, long out print, but sometimes seen on ebay) and the editor was Ned Chase, Chevy’s father, which I thought made for an interesting coincidence. He did not, and was rude.

24. Rib: KID.

28. Employees with a lot of keys: VALETS. Really, is this supposed to be literal?

33. Go back: EBB. A new, simple way to clue a puzzle favorite.

38. Spanish pronoun: ELLA. Our first language lesson of the day.

40. Suffix with polymer: ASE. Way beyond my knowledge of SCIENCE .

41. Org. co-founded by Babe Zaharias: LPGA. Ladies Professional Gold Association, now at home in Florida. She was an amazing athlete, who is worth reading about. LINK .

47. Afternoon break: NAP. I know, I am going so slowly, you all need one.

48. Radiances: SHEENS. Like these TWO .

49. Mars candy bar: TWIX. Their version of the KIT-KAT, which has been around in England for decades.

50. Pol. platform-promoting org.: DNC. Democratic National Committee.

52. Après-dinner confection: MENTHE. Now our French lesson, I am sure you all deduced it just means mint.

62. Intense excitement: FEVER. Do you like A or B ? Also, 63. Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do": ALL I. A very nice SONG filmed in part outside the ROXY in Hollywood, where I had some wild nights with Dick Whitehouse from Curb records. This is balanced by 44D. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely": ISNT. LISTEN .

64. When repeated, "I agree": HEAR. And, then 7D. When repeated twice, "and so on": YADA. (Clecho) For good measure we also have the semi-synonym, 34D. Yawn-inducing: BLAH.

65. Newmark with an online list: CRAIG. Never knew this GUY .

66. Land of 10,000 Lakes: Abbr.: MINN. Is there ever been a bigger gimme for C.C. Jeannie and you other northern lights?

67. Delinquent's fear: REPO. I was thinking more about my father’s belt, but…

68. Ma's forte: CELLO. More music from the fabulous YO-YO .

69. Pre-wedding party: STAG. Not any more, very un-PC.

70. Pres. Reagan's "evil empire": USSR. We all know better, don’t we TB DAMN YANKEES .

Down:

1. G.I. Joe foe: COBRA. Never got into that world with my boys, more Transformers and Power Rangers.

2. Subject of Great Britain/China wars: OPIUM.

3. Religious teacher: RABBI. Literally.

4. Filmmaker's __ light: KLIEG. Our WORD OF THE DAY

5. Berlin was its last capital: PRUSSIA. More to LEARN .

6. Bathrobe word: HERS. I think more of towels.

8. Mettle: SPUNK.

9. Freshwater crustacean: CRAWDAD. You catch ‘em you eat THEM . And, 51D. Quahogs: CLAMS. LINK .

10. First first name in space: YURI. Then, 59D. First first name on the moon: NEIL. (Clecho) followed by, 60D. Landed: ALIT.

11. Popular foam shoe: CROC. I wonder if Clive received some shoes for planting AN AD.

12. Mascara target: LASH. Better than La Rue?

13. Shout of support: OLE. Not for the Bull.

21. Gare du __: Paris railway station: NORD. This is where we got our word NORTH.

22. Aria singer, often: DIVA. More music, three in a row.

26. Country singer Jackson: ALAN. Wrote a powerful song after 9/11 .

27. Symphonic poem pioneer: LISZT. Listen and see if you can recognize where you know this TUNE is from.

29. Word in many a rap name: LIL. Eva, Wayne, etc.

30. "NBA on __": ESPN. I wonder why they started in Bristol Connecticut of all places.

31. Frat party wear: TOGA.More than just fraternities.

32. __ pea: SNAP. I had them for dinner last evening; wow Clive and I are in tune.

33. Noodle tests?: EEGS. Cute, noodle equals brain, use it wisely.

35. Sad: BLUE. LISTEN .

37. "Please open a can for me"?: MEOW. Poor Morris.

39. Improve, perhaps: AGE. Fine wine, steak and….

43. Have, as an operation: UNDERGO.

46. Let go: AXED. Never liked this phrase.

53. Type of jacket the Beatles helped make fashionable: NEHRU. Perfect costume for HALLOWEEN .

54. Windbreak, often: TREES.

55. Lots: HEAPS.

56. Oversight: ERROR.

57. Like mortals?: MERE. Mere mortals. Love the alliteration.

58. Track: OVAL. Like INDY .

61. Humerus neighbor: ULNA.

62. Govt. broadband regulator: FCC.

Answer grid.

Here is an awesome photo of our witty Santa Baby Argyle. Here is a closer look. So sweet.

Oh well, I went over board again, and you all will need to take the day off to finish, but it was fun. Meanwhile, I am serious about a Corner thanksgiving day where we try to get EVERYONE to say hello; it is so nice to hear from Dr.Dad, g8trmom, Robin and the others, but if you still talk to our MIAs, let’s aim for the day before Thanksgiving. Good night Mrs. Calabash.

Lemonade