Tuesday, March 25, 2014 Dave Sarpola

Theme: Hello, Mr. Chips - The many faces of Mr. Chips.

62A. Nabisco cookies ... and what you might cry upon solving this puzzle's three other longest answers? : CHIPS AHOY. Chocolate chips.

17A. Place for a Hold 'em game : POKER ROOM. Valuable chips.

11D. Officer Frank Poncherello portrayer of '70s-'80s TV : ERIK ESTRADA. "CHiPS"

24D. Slogan seen on computer stickers : INTEL INSIDE. Computer chips.

Argyle here. Dave seems a bit more whimsical than his previous puzzles. I'm not sure of poker room being a valid term but I don't gamble. Now I see it is; the casinos keep the poker room separate from the rest. So the Black Jack tables may be on the main floor but the Texas Hold'em need a quieter atmosphere.

The two long columns gives the grid a different look. A couple of column entries I didn't get until laid them flat. Plus a little Natick at the start due to not knowing which G_P to use to get the tiny South Pacific nation. Guessed right. And no repeat on the types of chips either.

Across:

1. Ancient Egyptian pictograph, e.g. : GLYPH

6. Game, __, match : SET. Tennis.

9. Signs : OMENS

14. Tiny South Pacific nation : NAURU. Tiny, I'd say! 8.1 sq. mi.

15. High-tech film effects, for short : CGI. (computer-generated imagery)

16. Spreading like wildfire, as online videos : VIRAL

19. Breathing : ALIVE

20. Missouri tributary : PLATTE. Sandhill Crane habitat.

21. Approved of, on Facebook : LIKED

22. Golf club part : GRIP. "Grip it and rip it!"

25. Some evergreens : FIRs

26. Visualize : SEE

27. Hindu royal : RANI

28. Feels poorly : AILs

30. Lith. and Ukr. were part of it : USSR

33. Swear (to) : ATTEST

36. See 38-Across : POOR. 38A. With 36-Across, needy people : THE

39. Located in that place, in legalese : THEREAT

41. Arctic wastelands : TUNDRAs

43. Slippery fish : EEL

44. Baby bed : CRIB

46. Veterans Day tradition : PARADE

47. Trace amount : DRIB. We know DRIB.

49. Afternoon socials : TEAs

51. Garden locale : EDEN

52. __ de plume : NOM

54. Onetime Russian monarch : TSAR

56. DUI-fighting gp. : SADD. Founded as Students Against Driving Drunk, now Students Against Destructive Decisions.

57. Social division : CASTE

59. Trojan War hero : AENEAS. He seems like a strange hero.

61. Some highway ramps : EXITs

66. Long-extinct birds : DODOs. CSO

67. Assembly aid : KIT

68. Open-mouthed : AGAPE

69. Opposition : ENEMY

70. Sloppy farm area : STY

71. Bedbugs, e.g. : PESTs

Down:

1. Treasury Dept. variable : GNP. (Gross National Product, not Gross Domestic Product)

2. Mekong River language : LAO

3. Relative of har : YUK

4. Dressed more like an Exeter student : PREPPIER

5. Fling : HURL

6. Nova __ : SCOTIA

7. Self-serving activity : EGO TRIP

8. Broadcaster's scheduling unit : TIME SLOT

9. Racetracks : OVALs

10. Surroundings : MILIEU

12. Congregation area : NAVE

13. Snowy day toy : SLED

18. U.K. flying squad : RAF

22. Like Parmesan, commonly : GRATED

23. Newsman Dan : RATHER

29. Salad go-with : SOUP

31. Treelined : SHADED

32. Email again : RESEND

34. Wall Street watchdog org. : SEC. (Securities and Exchange Commission)

35. Tangy : TART

37. Genetic info transmitter : RNA

40. Dapper pins : TIE TACKS. For the well dressed ball player.

42. Equestrian competition : DRESSAGE

45. Single or double, say : BASE HIT

48. Deepest part : BOTTOM

50. Rational state : SANITY

53. Complicated, as a breakup : MESSY

55. Sales staff member : REP

57. Give up, as territory : CEDE

58. Nervous system transmitter : AXON

60. With all haste, in memos : ASAP

63. Owns : HAS

64. Get off the fence : OPT

65. Hoped-for answer to a certain proposal : YES

Argyle

Monday, October 8, 2012 Dave Sarpola

Theme: Three Homonyms - But the trick is the homonyms are in the clues.

20. It makes sense : COGENT ARGUMENT

37. It makes cents : THE DENVER MINT

53. It makes scents : PERFUME FACTORY

Argyle here, putting in his three cents. Interesting note; our constructor had debut puzzles last spring in both the NYT and the LAT. Today he has puzzles in both papers. All four are catchy and innovative. Three long entries today. Kudos.

Across:

1. Fermented honey drink : MEAD

5. Put in the pantry : STORE

10. Prepare email : TYPE

14. Fairly large fair : EXPO. (exposition)

15. Symphonic wrap-ups : CODAs. Remember yesterday's clue, Beatles hit with a four-minute coda.

16. Fuel for a firepit : WOOD. The wood stoves are heating up around here now. And afterwards, 24A. Firepit residue : ASH

17. Take an ax to : CHOP. -to get the wood for the firepits and stoves.

18. Place for sporting events : ARENA

19. Money in Milan : EURO. Cabbage in Córdoba. Give me some more.

23. Roses-red link : ARE. Plus these red links. 25A. Seeing red : ANGRY. And 32A. "Little Red Book" chairman : MAO

27. __ au poivre : STEAK

29. Takes a downturn : DIPS. Implies there will be a upturn. Like yesterday's theme?

33. Nightstand spot : BEDSIDE. I understand that is where a mountain of books resides.

36. Camping trip dampener : RAIN

40. Easy pace : TROT

41. Rested on one's laurels : COASTED

42. Parking facility : LOT

43. Lines of pews : ROWS. I wasted time overthinking this one.

44. Painter of ballerinas : DEGAS

 

48. California's __ Mesa : COSTA. In Orange County but Newport Beach is between it and the coast.

50. "Just __ thought!" : AS I

52. Wagon wheel groove : RUT

58. Boyfriend : BEAU

59. Threescore : SIXTY. A score is twenty.

60. GI sought by MPs : AWOL. (Absent WithOut Leave)

61. Uneaten morsels : ORTS

62. They're blue when they're fair : SKIES. song(3:46) from 5D. Sings like Ella Fitzgerald : SCATS

63. Inca territory : PERU

64. Hissed "Hey!" : [PSST!]

65. Fashionably dated : RETRO. From an earlier era.

66. Periods in history : ERAs

Down:

1. Popular tourist destinations : MECCAs

2. Caution earnestly : EXHORT

3. Highest point in a satellite's orbit : APOGEE. The low point of the orbit is called the perigee.

4. Info : DOPE

6. Synagogue reading : TORAH

7. Poland-Germany border river : ODER. The much smaller river, Eder, shows up occasionally.

8. Sounded the bell : RANG

9. Biblical twin : ESAU

10. Many a junior high student : TWEEN

11. Violin-playing comedian : YOUNGMAN. "Take my wife...please."

 

12. Rogues' gallery item : PORTRAIT

13. Shogun's capital : EDO. Early name for Tokyo, Japan.

21. In the buff : NAKED

22. English Lit. majors' degrees : MA's. (Master of Arts)

26. Over there, back when : YON. Sometimes partnered with 'hither'.

28. Act the accessory : ABET

29. Opera headliners : DIVAs

30. Foreboding March day : IDES. I suppose it's not foreboding in other months.

31. Fresh-mouthed : PERT

34. Artistic style of the Empire State Building : DECO

35. Hoped-for Christmas weather : SNOW. Especially by the locals with plow truck payments. They didn't make much last winter.

36. Ferris wheel, e.g. : RIDE. A wheely big idea. Link

37. Speed trap setters : TROOPERS

38. Under-the-gun situations : HOT SEATS

39. Company doctor : MEDIC. Fuzzy clue.

40. Comfort from mom, briefly : TLC. (Tender Loving Care) but Mom also had the 51D. Last word : SAY SO. "...because I said so. Yes, Mom."

43. WWII fliers : RAF. (Royal Air Force)

45. Produce producer : GROWER. Boy, aren't farmer's markets the big thing now?

46. __ borealis : AURORA. Feel free to link to this.

47. Touchscreen-touching tool : STYLUS

49. Expect loyalty from : TRUST

50. In pursuit of : AFTER

54. Georgia was a part of it: Abbr. : USSR. Map, on the east end of the Black Sea.

55. Emcee's need : MIKE

56. Leave : EXIT

57. Sprinter's goal : TAPE

58. Jazz genre : BOP

Answer grid.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) I'm sad to tell you that we lost eddyB on Sept 15, 2012. He was 73 years old. Eddy actually left two posts on that day (4:16am & 4:47pm). His comments were always succinct, funny and often appeared cryptic to those who didn't know him. But he was a kind soul, always giving me timely response on any racing or hockey related fill. Thanks to Seen for the alert & Argyle for the research on Eddy's final posts on the blog.

2) Happy Birthday to Jayce, whose cheerful & caring comments I look forward to everyday. 生日快乐!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Dave Sarpola

Theme: Choose - Three grid-spanning, two word entries that start each word with the respective part of the two part unifier. The unifiers are placed symmetrically near the start and the end of the grid.

17A. What an inflammatory statement is intended to do : PROVOKE CONFLICT

38A. What a restraining order is designed to do : PROHIBIT CONTACT

59A. What a band PR man is paid to do : PROMOTE CONCERTS

5D. With "and" and 61-Down, both sides (and this puzzle's title) : PRO

61D. See 5-Down : CON

Argyle here. A complex grid for a simple theme, appropriately. It appears to be another debut puzzle. If so, then Dave Sarpola has set the bar pretty high for himself. Impressive.

Across:

1. Head covering : SCALP. Tricky start.

6. High poker pair : ACES

10. Lobbying group for 50-and-overs : AARP

14. Peripheral : OUTER

15. Casual good-bye : TA-TA

16. XIX x III : LVII. 19x3=57

20. Long hauler : SEMI. Truck.

21. Medical research org. : NIH. National Institutes of Health.

22. Weekly check time : PAYDAY

23. Batter's stickum : PINE TAR

25. Bunsen burner, e.g. : GAS JET

29. Scrape off : ABRADE

33. Despise : ABHOR

34. Little stream : RILL

36. Lost film fish : NEMO. Walt Disney Studio's "Finding Nemo"

41. Deserve : EARN

42. Make-meet link : ENDS

43. A-lister : CELEB. Celebrity

44. Interlocks : MESHES

46. Meetings of lips : KISSES. But so much more!

47. Rodeo shouts : YEE-HAWS

50. Moon of Jupiter : EUROPA. Jupiter has 63 confirmed moons.

54. Nest egg letters : IRA

55. Color tones : HUES

62. Schools of thought : ISMS

63. Lodge fellows : ELKS. The Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.

64. Heart, e.g. : ORGAN

65. Winery container : CASK

66. Go up : RISE

67. December tunes : NOELS

Down:

1. Soaks (up) : SOPS

2. Antidote : CURE

3. Basic building block : ATOM

4. Jeans pioneer Strauss : LEVI

6. Had home cooking : ATE IN

7. Secret stockpile : CACHE

8. Ike's WWII command : ETO. European Theater of Operations. General Eisenhower.

9. Author of muchas epístolas : SAN PABLO. Spanish. The letters of St. Paul.

10. Colleague in combat : ALLY

11. Fanatical : AVID

12. Costa __ : RICA. Central America Map.

13. Commiserate with : PITY

18. Wrinkle, as one's brow : KNIT

19. "M*A*S*H" actor Jamie : FARR. Cpl. Klinger.

23. Scope prefix, in subs : PERI

24. Soapstones : TALCS

25. Stare in wonder : GAPE

26. Garfield's middle name : ABRAM. James Abram Garfield, our 20th President.

27. Land by the sea : SHORE

28. __ Hopkins University : JOHNS. Baltimore, Maryland. If you wondered about the name...His first name, Johns (not John), was a family name. (wikipedia link)

30. Payments for hands : ANTEs. Poker.

31. Real bargains : DEALS

32. Ceremony facilitator : EMCEE

34. Dishwashing step : RINSE

35. "__ be a shame if ..." : IT'D

37. Places to pick your pony, for short : OTBs. Off Track Betting.

39. Bird that dines on stinging insects : BEE-EATER. Not native to America. Image.

40. CBS military drama : "NCIS"

45. Insulin deliverer : HYPO

46. Two-time Olympic skating medalist Michelle : KWAN

48. Country bumpkins : HICKS

49. "... __ / By any other name ..." : A ROSE. A shout-out.

50. Like some poetry : EPIC

51. Bear in the night sky : URSA

52. CD-__: computer inserts : ROMs

53. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK

55. Damsel's savior : HERO

56. Yen : URGE

57. Catchall abbr. : ET AL.

58. Personnel IDs : SSNs

60. New Haven Ivy Leaguer : ELI. Yale.

Answer grid.

Argyle