Monday, March 3, 2014 David Poole

Theme: Say What? - Speak right up, or some other word for speak up front.

18A. Prohibition era saloon : SPEAKEASY

26A. John Kerry's domain : STATE DEPARTMENT

43A. Supermarket convenience : EXPRESS CHECKOUT

57A. Complete ninny : UTTER FOOL

Argyle here. Straightforward cluing but a few too many tough answers. YRMV (your results may vary). Two good grid spanners. AUDIT is a nasty word to use at this time of year.

Across:

1. Rosary counters : BEADS

6. Fall faller : LEAF

10. Long hike : TREK

14. Review of business books : AUDIT

15. Girl in a J.D. Salinger short story : ESME. "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor"

16. Wound-up fire engine item : HOSE

17. Jim who sang "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" : CROCE

                         LINK

20. Budget accommodations : HOSTELs

22. Chafing dish heaters : STERNOs

23. Basilica recesses : APSEs

25. Spanish "a" : UNA. (f.)

33. Flirt with : HIT ON

34. Tops, as cupcakes : ICES

35. Stephen of "The Crying Game" : REA

36. From the U.S. : AMERican

37. Dwindled : WANED

39. "The Wizard of Oz" lion Bert : LAHR. Hello, old friend.

40. Little, in Lyons : PEU. Little, in Lille: PEU. un peu de Francais.(Feb 17, 2011)(Feb 28, 2014)

41. Fictional plantation : TARA. GWTW

42. In __ fertilization : VITRO

47. Tolkien giant : ENT

48. Le __, France : HAVRE. Church of St. Joseph

49. Rodeo rider, at times : LASSOER

53. Put on an extra sweater, say : GET WARM

59. Alvin of dance : AILEY. Unknown to me. He founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City and died in 1987.

60. Midday : NOON

61. __ Reader: alternative media digest : UTNE. A magazine founded in 1984 by Eric Utne and Nina Rothschild Utne. They live in Minneapolis and get away to a 100-acre Wisconsin farm for weekends.

62. Sunday song : PSALM

63. PDA entry : APPT. (appointment)

64. Lewd look : LEER

65. Itty-bitty : EENSY

Down:

1. Composer of fugues : BACH. I had no idea fugues were so long. The Well Tempered Clavier(1:52:33)

2. Multinational currency : EURO

3. Big fusses : ADOs

4. Absolute ruler : DICTATOR

5. Increase the slope of : STEEPEN

6. Tenant : LESSEE

7. Psychic's claim : ESP

8. Iowa State home : AMES

9. Showcased : FEATURED

10. Aries : THE RAM

11. Chestnut horse : ROAN

12. Petro-Canada rival : ESSO

13. Janitor's janglers : KEYS. A little alliteration.

19. Adoptive parents of Superman : KENTs

21. '60s hallucinogen : LSD

24. Popeye's favorite veggie : SPINACH

26. Physical condition : SHAPE

27. "It takes a licking ..." watch : TIMEX

28. Wolfed down : ATE UP. Misdirection?

29. King beater : ACE. (not the Queen)

30. Muse for a bard : ERATO

31. India's first prime minister : NEHRU

32. Fortunetelling card : TAROT

37. Opposite of thrifty : WASTEFUL

38. Horace's "__ Poetica" : ARS. A poem (c20 b.c.) by Horace, setting forth his precepts for the art of poetry.

39. "Ditto" : "LIKE-WISE"

41. Choir member : TENOR

42. DVD forerunner : VCR TAPE

44. Take exception to : RESENT

45. Boxer "Marvelous" Marvin : HAGLER

46. Adam's mate : EVE

49. Roman moon goddess : LUNA

50. Perched on : ATOP

51. "Quit it!" : "STOP!"

52. Repetitive learning : ROTE

54. Actor Alda : ALAN

55. Kinfolk: Abbr. : RELs. Acceptable for genealogy research.

56. "Goodness gracious!" : "MY, MY!"

58. Single in a wallet : ONE. If down to a single single, get thee to the ATM.

Argyle

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 David Poole

Theme: Double Time - Geometric sequence.

20. 2002 Sandra Bullock film : "TWO WEEKS NOTICE"

24. 1981 Alan Alda film, with "The" : "FOUR SEASONS"

45. 1988 John Cusack film : "EIGHT MEN OUT"

54. 1984 Molly Ringwald film : "SIXTEEN CANDLES"

Argyle here. This ought to make our mathematicians happy. Tight theme: all movie titles.

Across:

1. Scale units: Abbr. : LBs.

4. Does as told : OBEYS

9. Jazz singer Carmen : McRAE

                             LINK

14. Pop-up path : ARC

15. Gold purity unit : KARAT

16. Greeted the day : AROSE

17. Resembling an equine : HORSELIKE

19. Some IRAs, informally : ROTHs

22. Like the articles "a" and "an": Abbr. : INDEF. (indefinite article)

23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker : TRIS

31. Spread throughout : PERMEATE

35. Enjoy eagerly : LAP UP

36. Blue hue : AQUA

37. TV host Philbin : REGIS.

40. Zip : NADA

41. They're the littlest in their litters : RUNTS

43. Peter and Paul, but not Mary : APOSTLES

48. Deserve : EARN

49. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," e.g. : ADAGE

59. Former Portuguese colony in China : MACAU. Little over 11 sq. mi.

60. Unwilling : RELUCTANT

61. Unifying idea : THEME

62. Storm drain cover : GRATE

63. Fish eggs : ROE

64. Sharon of "Cagney & Lacey" : GLESS

65. Toys that have their ups and downs : YO-YOs

66. Month after Feb. : MAR. Can't come soon enough.

Down:

1. "Chicago Hope" Emmy winner Christine : LAHTI

2. "Peanuts" family name : BROWN

3. New England food fish : SCROD

4. "Cow's Skull with Calico Roses" painter Georgia : O'KEEFFE

5. Bundle in a barn : BALE

6. "CHiPS" star Estrada : ERIK

7. Gabs and gabs : YAKS

           "Hey, this is a personal discussion."

8. Angioplasty implants : STENTS

9. Word before arts or law : MARTIAL

10. Buttery bakery buy : CROISSANT

11. Campus recruiting org. : ROTC

12. Arthur of tennis : ASHE

13. Some MIT grads : EEs. (electrical engineer)

18. Stockholm's country: Abbr. : SWE. (Sweden)

21. Mined material : ORE

25. Sculling blade : OAR. Oh, ha-ha.

26. Beehive State native : UTE. (Utah)

27. Lear's middle daughter : REGAN. (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia)

28. Iridescent gem : OPAL

29. Without a thing on : NUDE

30. Health resorts : SPAs

31. Remove the rind from : PARE

32. Kin of iso- : EQUI. “equal”

33. Hierarchy level : RUNG

34. Trig finals, e.g. : MATH EXAMS

38. Wall St. event : IPO. (initial public offering)

39. Trifling amount : SOU

42. Easter Island attractions : STATUEs

44. Batting postures : STANCES

46. G.I. ration : MRE. (meal ready to eat)

47. E, in Einstein's formula : ENERGY

50. Banned bug spray : DDT. since 1973

51. Clock radio feature : ALARM

52. Salami selection : GENOA. (hard salami)

53. Fragrant compound : ESTER

54. Political satirist Mort : SAHL

55. Slurpee alternative : ICEE

56. Fiddling emperor : NERO

57. Potter's purchase : CLAY. Good alliteration.

58. Coupe or convertible : AUTO

59. Appt. calendar entry : MTG. (meeting)

Argyle

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 David Poole

Theme: I think I saw something?! - While two of these elusive critters remain hidden, the head of a jackalope may be found mounted on walls in bars all cross this land.

17A. Sighting in the Scottish Highlands : LOCH NESS MONSTER

33A. Sighting in Douglas, Wyoming : JACKALOPE

38A. Sighting in the Pacific Northwest : SASQUATCH

53A. One studying this puzzle's sightings : CRYPTOZOOLOGIST

Argyle here. How's this for a theme? Some fun and the fill isn't half bad either. (Not sure what that phrase actually means.)

Across:

1. Speeder's undoing : RADAR

6. TiVo ancestor : VCR

9. Wherewithal : MEANS

14. Erie Canal city : UTICA. A shout-out to our locals.

15. Letters for debtors : IOU

16. Big name in computer chips : INTEL

20. Accident scene fig. : EMT. (emergency medical technician)

21. Gallop or canter : GAIT

22. "By Jove!" : "ZOUNDS!". "Egads!"

23. Cream of the crop : BEST

24. Like plugs vis-à-vis outlets : MALE

                        "Get the picture?"

25. Using only ones and zeros : BINARY

28. __-cheap: for a song : DIRT

29. Recipe amt. : TSP. (teaspoon)

32. Air freshener targets : ODORS

35. Belgrade citizen : SERB

36. Singer Horne and actress Olin : LENAs

37. Continental coin : EURO

40. Grammy winner Carpenter : KAREN. Tragic loss.

41. Pub brew : ALE

42. Christie's "Death on the __" : NILE

43. Large crowds : MASSES

44. Mani's salon go-with : PEDI. (manicure/pedicure)

45. Uncovered : BARE

46. Find a new table for : RESEAT

49. Gaucho's weapon : BOLA. A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of an interconnected cord.

50. "__ the season ..." : 'TIS

56. "Je __, donc je suis": Descartes : PENSE (French), "Cogito, ergo sum" (Latin), "I think, therefore I am" (English)

57. Corn unit : EAR

58. Shade of green from Ireland : KELLY

59. Promotional ploy : TIE-IN

60. Skid row affliction : DTs

61. Lauder of cosmetics : ESTÉE

Down:

1. Run the kingdom : RULE

2. Electron home : ATOM

3. Webster's, e.g.: Abbr. : DICT.

4. Essen exclamation : "ACH!"

5. Madison Square Garden hockey team : RANGERS

6. Drop in on : VISIT

7. What you pay : COST

8. Piña colada liquor : RUM

9. Konica __: Japanese conglomerate : MINOLTA. 13D. Camera types, for short : SLRs

10. Happen next : ENSUE

11. Business letter abbr. : ATTN.

12. On a __-to-know basis : NEED

18. "A snap!" : "EASY!"

19. Missouri range : OZARKS

23. Potato chip flavor, briefly : BAR-B-Q

24. Prophet whose name sounds like a mineral : MICAH. (mica)

25. __ nova: Brazilian music genre : BOSSA. A lyrical fusion of samba and jazz.

                              LINK

26. Exemplary : IDEAL

27. Viking language : NORSE

28. Hula or hora : DANCE

29. Travels with the band : TOURS

30. Binge : SPREE

31. Lowly laborers : PEONS

33. Beijing-born martial arts actor : JET LI

34. Apartment contract : LEASE

36. Stopped the ship, in nautical lingo : LAID TO

39. Still on the plate : UNEATEN

40. Bar sing-along : KARAOKE

43. Expanse near the Capitol, with "the" : MALL

44. Coke competitor : PEPSI

45. Churlish types : BOORS

46. Sales slip: Abbr. : RCPT.

47. "... __ saw Elba" : ERE I. Palindrome, "Able was I ere I saw Elba".

48. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

49. Tub toy : BOAT

50. Pinball foul : TILT

51. __ of Wight : ISLE. "Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight

If it's not too dear"

52. Eye sore : STYE

54. Last letter, in Leeds : ZED or the Isle of Wight.

55. Some refrigerators : GEs

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy 6-year anniversary to our blog! Thanks for making us part of your daily routine.

A special "Xie Xie" to my blogging team: Argyle, Jazzbumpa, Steve, Melissa, Marti, Lemonade & Splynter. Thank you for your hard work, commitment and your always quick & solid advice when I'm in trouble.

I also want to thank our regular commenters. This blog thrives because of your honest & respectful feedback about LA Times Daily Crosswords, your daily poems, funny cat/dog/animal track links, potato dumpling recipes, grandkids photos, expert tips on how to solve a computer glitch, thoughtful musings or just random observations.

Thanks for being here!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013 David Poole

Theme: You're not from around here, are you? - Words that might describe some of your weirdest dates.

20A. State Department's purview : FOREIGN POLICY

26A. Pulp comic that transformed Nick Fury into a super-spy : STRANGE TALES

42A. Entertainer with many fans? : EXOTIC DANCER

50A. "War of the Worlds" attack : ALIEN INVASION

Argyle here. They may have been the most memorable dates, too. The theme isn't particularly as strong as yesterday but the corners are meatier. Bit stronger in the word length, too, but not all that interesting. Acceptable Tuesday.

Across:

1. Trapping device : SNARE

6. Official records : ACTA. Plural noun (often initial capital letter).

10. Got an A on : ACED

14. Restriction at some fitness clubs : [NO MEN]. ARTICLE

15. Mark from a healed wound : SCAR

16. Fancy fabric with metallic threads : LAMÉ

17. Coral ring : ATOLL

18. Metal to melt down : SCRAP IRON. No, you can't have my Troyota.

22. Anxious feeling : UNEASE

23. Olds Cutlass model : CIERA. Model years 1982–1996, Olds Alero was 1999–2004.

31. British noblewomen : DAMES. I'll resist linking "There is Nothing Like a Dame".

34. Soda fountain orders : MALTS

35. Try to win : WOO. Buying her malts at the old canteen won't get it.

                           LINK

36. Happy hour pints : ALES. But a couple of pints might.

37. Sorceress jilted by Jason : MEDEA. He didn't buy her pints or malts so she took it out on their kids.

38. Ireland's Sinn __ : FEIN. Irish republican party seeking to end British rule in Northern Ireland.

39. Dream state letters : REM. (rapid eye movement)

40. Suffix with Beatle : MANIA

41. Theater access : AISLE

45. Cling wrap brand : SARAN

46. "Queen of Soul" Franklin : ARETHA

55. Inning-by-inning runs summary : LINE SCORE. (usually in tabular form)

57. Hedren of "The Birds" : TIPPI. A Hitchcock film.

58. Bldg. annex : ADDN. (addition)

59. Slimmest of margins : HAIR

60. Actress Falco et al. : EDIEs

61. Gravy vessel : BOAT. It's a big Thanksgiving dinner if you have two gravy boats. Yum.

62. Very : OH SO

63. Like some populations : DENSE

Down:

1. Major mix-up : SNAFU. From the military: (situation normal, all f***ed up)

2. "__ your life!" : NOT ON

3. Passion, in Pisa : AMORE

4. Issues : RELEASES

5. Signs up : ENLISTS

6. Part of PGA: Abbr. : ASSN. (Professional Golfers' Association)

7. Letters on a Soviet uniform : CCCP. It is the Russian abbreviation of Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, meaning the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR.

8. Islands tuber : TARO

9. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL.In the old CCCP.

10. Keys at the keys : ALICIA. CLIP(3:32)

11. Westley portrayer in "The Princess Bride" : CARY ELWES

                            LINK

12. Punk rock subgenre : EMO

13. Bear lair : DEN. Cute clue.

19. Ancient Britons : PICTS. Literally, painted ones.

21. Belg. neighbor : GER. Belgium / Germany

24. Do more work on, as a persistent squeak : RE-OIL

25. In unison : AS ONE

27. Revise : AMEND

28. Gymnast Comaneci : NADIA. OMG, she's 52 now.

29. Collect bit by bit : GLEAN

30. LAX posting : ETA

31. Has the nerve : DARES

32. Billy Joel's musical daughter : ALEXA. Alexa Ray Joel CLIP(4:42).

                        LINK

33. Reminder notes : MEMORANDA

37. Apple computer : MAC

38. Roosevelt's chat spot : FIRESIDE

40. Short-short skirts : MINIs

41. Like soda water : AERATED

43. Natural ability : TALENT

44. Cleveland NBAer : CAV. Cavalier.

47. Easy basketball score : TIP IN. Or not so easy.

                           LINK

48. Aspirations : HOPES

49. Herb that tastes like licorice : ANISE

51. Reverberation : ECHO

52. Ark helmsman : NOAH

53. Spring flower : IRIS

54. Rex Stout's stout sleuth Wolfe : NERO

55. Chocolate dog : LAB

56. Wedding vow words : "I DO"

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Creature! Her kindness & warmth shine through in each of her comments here on the blog. Creature has been through some difficult times since she lost her husband 2 years ago today. She doesn't post much these days, but she still reads us every day and cares very much about this blog and our regulars. Dave, please work extra hard and find the sweetest cake for our special Creature.

Friday, October, 4, 2013 David Poole

Theme: The Mother of all cross referential Puzzles. Eh!

Another original  highly entertaining theme from out Canadian Constructor, who was first published in the LAT in 2009. INTERVIEW.  In this Friday frolic, he has words that are implied by the literal position of cross referenced clues, with the set being BEFORE., OVER,  BETWEEN, UNDER, and AFTER. Recognize the extraordinary balance of BEFORE/AFTER  and OVER/UNDER with BETWEEN in the middle making a perfect symmetrical, logical grid. Finally, each of the 4 ten-letter theme fill have the second word encompass the missing word, while the BETWEEN remains in the middle. My first quick pass through, before I started filling in the cross-reference clues with perps, was to notice how many words ended in "O" which had nothing to do with theme but was interesting. Once I sussed the theme from DOG DAY AFTERNOON, the grid filled quickly with many nice 7 letter fill, ASSERTS , CALORIE,  DECODER,  GRIFTER,  HONORED,  LET ME GO,  MOANERS,  MONSTRO,  PERDIDO, TREMOLO (three "O" words!) and some longer ones like MOUNT ARARAT, NOSE FOR NEWS. No "J" but I did get an ADE, so it is all good. Let us get to it.

14A. With 15-Across, verifies in advance, literally : CHECKS (6). 5A. See 14-Across : HAND (4).
Together we get CHECKS BEFOREHAND, as the fill Checks is before the fill Hand.

26A. With 32-Across, warm apparel, literally : WINTER (6). 32A. See 26-Across : COAT (4).
Together we get WINTER OVERCOAT.

37A. See 39-Across : MEAL (4). 39A. With 37- and 40-Across, nosh, literally : EAT (3). 40A. See 39-Across : MEAL (4).
Together we get EAT BETWEEN MEALS. My favorite visual, like the picture puzzles in the Sunday magazine, or the old TV show Concentration.

47A. See 51-Across : WOOD (4). 51. With 47-Across, former "American Idol" winner, literally : CARRIE(6).
Together we get CARRIE UNDERWOOD.

66A. See 67-Across : NOON (4).  67A. With 66-Across, 1975 Best Picture nominee, literally : DOG DAY.(6)
Together we get DOG DAY AFTERNOON, a great movie.

And the 10, 10, 11, 10, 10 fill preserves the symmetry.

Across:

1. Place for una familia : LA CASA. The home in Spanish. Or Italian?

7. Xerox insert: Abbr. : ORIGinal.

11. Advanced math deg., in Canada : MSC. No idea, but Mr. Poole is from the Toronto area, I guess it is Masters of SCience.

16. Suffix with Capri : OTE. A real Friday word, CAPRIOTE has history as well as inspiring our Dunce's cap.

17. Clubs with balls : DISCOS.

18. Yellow butterflies, to Brits : SULPHURS. Another all perp fill, for this BEAUTY. (1:01). I wonder what John Lampkin could teach us about them, or Gareth B.?

20. Two-note keyboard effect : TREMOLO. Take it away JzB.

22. Most fit to serve : ONE-A. Old draft status.

23. "Pinocchio" whale : MONSTRO.

28. Barcelona gold : ORO. More Spanish.

29. Kiosk : STALL

33. Fam. tree member : DESCendant.

35. Old cutter : SNEE. This old time knife, along with SMEE, is classic crosswordese

36. Sign of cold feet? : BRR.

42. Progressive Insurance spokeswoman : FLO. I think people either love or hate her.

43. B.C. law group : RCMP. Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

45. Starr-struck one? : DRUM. A great pun, from Ringo Starr beating the skins. 62D. Stand buy : ADE. Another great pun. By/buy. Simple and my suffix.

48. __ music : SHEET.

50. Fire : AXE. My old friends. LIVE. (5:53).

53. Con artist : GRIFTER.

55. Years in Claudius' reign : ANNI. Latin for Year.

56. Certain cracker : DECODER. No one from Georgia.

59. Guides in the direction of : STEERS TO.

61. Jason of "Harry Potter" films : ISAACS.

65. Fancy marble : TAW. Rules and words of the GAME.

68. People people: Abbr. : EDs. People magazine and its editors.

69. Celebrity chef Burrell : ANNE. Well since we do not have Jeannie anymore, here are some of Anne's RECIPES.

70. Initial stages : ONSETS.

Down:

1. Common HDTV feature : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.

2. Sushi-grade tuna : AHI.

3. These, in Toulouse : CES. We switch from Spanish to French for the Downs.

4. Bank listing: Abbr. : ACCTS.

5. Culottes kin : SKORTS. Back again.

6. Declares : ASSERTS.

7. Overmuch : OH SO.

8. Fidel's successor : RAUL.

9. Just starting to roll, perhaps : IN LOW.

10. Econ. yardstick : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.

11. Image on the Armenian coat of arms : MOUNT ARARAT. One of a series of Mounts which are in Turkey, Armenia and the Iran border, and the biblical landing point of Noah's Ark.

12. Haight or Ashbury : STREET. The famous San Francisco hippie area which is at the intersection of these two streets.

13. "Dog Whisperer" Millan : CESAR. Never watched an EPISODE.(45:31).

19. Accepted, as a gift card : HONORED. The store, not the donee.

21. Bellyachers : MOANERS. Not my first thought....

23. Like platform shoes in the '60s : MOD. From the British MODS & 9ROCKERS.

24. Utah city on I-15 : OREM.

25. Journalist's asset : NOSE FOR NEWS. Nice long fill.

27. SALT topic : ICBM. Inter-Continental Ballistics Missile.

30. Percolate : LEACH. According to my living encyclopedia, think of a sewer field and leaching it so it percolates.

31. Prisoner's demand : LET ME GO.

34. Pepsi One's one : CALORIE.

38. California wine town near Stockton : LODI. West Coaster, a favorite place?

41. Posh : LUXE. not Deluxe?

44. Ellington standard whose title is Spanish for "lost" : PERDIDO.  The Duke  LIVE. (7:54).

46. Nice view : MER. More French, with the Nice/nice deception.

47. Opening lines? : WANT AD. Job openings.

49. Attaches, in a way : TIES ON.

51. Class : CASTE. Vidwan, you want to educate us on this time-honored tradition?

52. Pelé's first name : EDSON.

54. Some grenades, briefly : FRAGS. Fragments.

57. Bertie Wooster's alma mater : ETON. P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels. The FICTIONAL list.

58. Road crew item : CONE. Reminds me of this SONG.


60. Genetic stuff : RNA.

63. Jazz lover : CAT. Hep cat back in the day.

64. GPS part: Abbr. : SYS. Global Positioning System.

Well my GPS tells me I have reached the end of the line and I must percolate out of here.
Have a great weekend, Lemon out. Thank you David Poole, sorry your Blue Jays ended up with all the old Marlins. They already had sent all the good ones to the Tigers or Dodgers. I hope Canadian Eh! stops by.

Notes from C.C.:

1)  I hope solvers in Southern California will attend this year's Crosswords LA, slated for Saturday, October 26. Please click here for details. The host Elissa Grossman said "this year's event will include crosswords and puzzle games constructed by Liz Gorski, Jeffrey Harris, Aimee Lucido, Todd McClary, Andrea Carla Michaels, Pete Muller, Trip Payne, John Doppler Schiff, Dave Shukan, Marc Spraragen, David Steinberg and Zoe Wheeler (with development managed by Tyler Hinman). It's likely that Merl Reagle will join us for the event finals. All money raised (over costs) is donated to a great non-profit (Reading to Kids)." I think our own Steve will be there. 

2) Kazie and her husband Barry visited their bilingual granddaughter Lea in August. Below are a couple photos. Click here for more. Love seeing her smile.

  With Grandpa.

 With her parents in their garden

Wednesday, September 11, 2013 David Poole

Theme: Dearborn's Finest - the first words of the theme entries are all model names of Ford cars

20A. Accommodating work hours: FLEX SCHEDULES

32A. Market research panel: FOCUS GROUP

41A. Frito-Lay is its title sponsor: FIESTA BOWL

52A. Culinary combination: FUSION CUISINE

and the unifier:

65A. Company that manufactures the starts of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across: FORD

"Any color you like as long as it's black"

Top o' the morning to you all. Steve here with an entertaining and alliterative "F" theme from David. Very nicely done, and some crisp fill also. Let's check out the rest.

Across:

1 Chiang Mai native: THAI

5 Dance moves: STEPS. My dance moves are hilarious. A girlfriend and I took dancing classes once and we weren't allowed to graduate from Ballroom 101. Mostly my fault.

10 Cheerful: GLAD

14 Mint, e.g.: HERB. If you plant it in your garden don't put it directly in the ground unless you don't want anything else in five year's time - it spreads like crazy. Plant it in a pot in the dirt.

15 Ira Gershwin contribution: LYRIC

16 Indiana neighbor: OHIO

17 Palindromic fashion mag: ELLE. My favorite palindrome is a tribute to the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps: "A man, a plan, a canal. Panama."

18 More aloof: ICIER

19 “Walking in Memphis” singer Cohn: MARC. With 10D this was close to a personal natick for me - I wasn't familiar with either name. I knew the song though - a nice live version here.

23 Large amount: TON

24 “O Sole __”: MIO

25 Harper’s __: BAZAAR

28 Chewie’s shipmate: HAN. A youthful-looking Harrison Ford as Han Solo with his furry sidekick in the original Star Wars movie.

29 Béchamel base: ROUX. Food! The butter-and-flour mixture before the milk is added to complete the sauce.

31 Monopoly deed abbr.: AVE

36 Laundry cycle: SPIN

37 Fairway boundary: ROUGH. I'm very familiar with these parts of every golf course I've played.

38 Part of i.e.: EST. Id Est. Literally, "that is".

39 Biblical prophet: HOSEA. Perps all the way. I need to brush up on my biblical prophets one day.

40 “Yikes!”: OH NO!

43 Mark of Zorro: ZEE. It would be ZED if Zorro was English.

44 Action on eBay: BIDS.

45 USN rank: ENS. I believe that an Ensign is the lowest-ranking commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy

46 Acquirer of more than 1,000 patents: EDISON

48 It includes mayo: AÑO. My favorite clue/answer combo today. The month of May in the Spanish-language year. Purists might want to see mayo capitalized, but I'm fine with the misdirection (From C.C.:  Spanish months are not capitalized, yes?)

49 SUV part: Abbr.: VEH.

56 Roger Rabbit or Bugs Bunny: TOON

58 Heart of Paris?: COEUR. Because L'arc de Triomphe doesn't fit.

59 Old Norse poetry collection: EDDA

60 Bring in: EARN

61 Rockne of Notre Dame fame: KNUTE. He of locker-room speech fame.

62 Look slyly: LEER

63 Multitude: ARMY

64 “Bullitt” director Peter: YATES

Down:

1 Taking the wrong way?: THEFT

2 Nametag greeting: HELLO, my name is Steve

3 “Over the Rainbow” composer: ARLEN. If you've never heard this version by Hawaiian legend Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole you're in for a treat.

4 Wild mountain goat: IBEX

5 Deli worker’s chore: SLICING

6 Danish astronomer Brahe: TYCHO. World Champion Mustache-grower too.

7 Toledo’s lake: ERIE

8 Mottled: PIED. The Mottled Piper of Hamelin doesn't have the same ring to it, somehow.

9 Prepare for surgery: SCRUB UP

10 Lefty in Cooperstown: GOMEZ. I'm sure C.C. has heard of Vernon "Lefty" Gomez, legendary pitcher for the Yankees and the Washington Senators, but an unknown for me and a near-Natick with 19A. (From C.C.: I'm sure Tinbeni had it correct. I wanted GROVE!)

11 Small Asian pooch bred as a watchdog: LHASA APSO

12 Balloon filler: AIR

13 Medical nickname: DOC. 56A's "What's up?"

21 Big success: SMASH

22 Lenient: LAX

26 Miller’s “__ From the Bridge”: A VIEW

27 Kidney-related: RENAL

28 “Les Misérables” author: HUGO

29 Derby prize: ROSES. The Kentucky Derby is promoted under the tag line "The Run for the Roses". The winning horse is draped in a blanket made of roses. The winning owner gets $2,000,000, out of which the trainer and the jockey get a cut.

30 Ways of escape: OUTS

32 Succumbed to stage fright: FROZE

33 Wondered aloud?: OOHED. In the "in awe of the fireworks" sense rather than the "what the heck were those explosions"?

34 Babylonian writing system: CUNEIFORM

35 Senate majority leader since 2007: REID. Nevada Democrat Harry Reid.

36 Weeps convulsively: SOBS

39 Capital west of Haiphong: HANOI. A trip to Vietnam is on my must-do bucket list.

41 Hard to please: FINICKY. Fun word.

42 Grants permanent status to, as a professor: TENURES

44 A.L. East team: BOS.

47 Golf-friendly forecast: SUNNY. It was sunny here in LA when I played on Sunday, but I'm not sure it was particularly golf-friendly - it was 103F.

48 Like the accent in “entrée”: ACUTE

49 Wedding memento: VIDEO. Not "Ball and Chain"?

50 Rear-__: ENDER

51 Found out: HEARD

53 Chaplin’s last wife: OONA

54 Neither masc. nor fem.: NEUT. English is a gender-neutral language as far as nouns are concerned.

55 Narcissist’s love: SELF

56 Darjeeling, e.g.: TEA. A beautiful region of India

57 Scull propeller: OAR. Strictly speaking, a scull is propelled by scullers using sculls, but I'll give this one a pass.

That's it from me - see you  all next time.

Steve

Notes from C.C.:

1) Tickets are still available for "An Evening with the Puzzle Master".  Will Shortz, editor of NY Times crossword, is visiting Minnesota tomorrow (Sept 12, 2013). He'll answer all questions about puzzles. Click here for details. Are you coming, Qli? Other North Dakota or our Wisconsin readers? It's really a great opportunity to meet with Mr. Shortz, all Twin Cities constructors and other crossword lovers

2) Marti mentioned yesterday that Montana is visiting her son in CT, and they're planning to meet for lunch in Hartford next Monday September 16. Dudley our dashing pilot & Feng shui expert (OK, maybe not expert yet) will be there too. Any other members of the Corner New England contingent can make it? Please contact Marti (HeartRx@me.com) for more details. I thought of LaLaLinda (The Saturday Stud misses your comments!) & Hondo, but health may prevent them from making the trip.

3) Happy 67th Birthday to dear Husker Gary! Love his captions. Gary helped us through an chaotic time last year when our blog went blank. His daily musings are always fun to read, full of trivia & some pithy life observations.

From Gary:

"Here's a picture of Joann and me at the Crazy Horse Memorial that was mentioned in our puzzle last week and also in celebration of my completion of 67 orbits of the Sun today. I hope this September 11th is a good one for all, free of the tragedy of past ones."

Thursday, August 29, 2013 David Poole

Theme: "Two-Timers"

Men whose names end in double letters, that is. And all of them are real animals...

17. "Django Unchained" co-star : JAMIE FOXX. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

24. "Malice N Wonderland" rapper : SNOOP DOGG.

35. "This Boy's Life" memoirist : TOBIAS WOLFF.

50. Sal Romano portrayer on "Mad Men" : BRYAN BATT.

59. Super Bowl X MVP : LYNN SWANN. Also Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

A nice mixture of movie actor, music, literature, TV, and sports figures! A theme consisting of all proper names is sometimes daunting.  But all of them emerged after a few perps. What did you think?

Marti here, to give meaning to life...or, at least, come up with some plausible excuses!

Across:

1. Window sill coolers : PIES. I wanted "fans." But I can also picture PIES cooling on a window sill.

5. Waffles no more : OPTS.

9. In an offbeat way : ODDLY.

14. Spots teens don't like : ACNE.

15. Unoccupied : FREE.

16. Civic, perhaps : COUPE. Honda Civic.

19. Different take : TWIST. I'll take a TWIST of lemon instead of lime in my Gimlet...

20. Rings of activity : ARENAS.

21. Area near a hangar : APRON.

23. Thoughtful type : MUSER. Like Husker Gary!

28. Cinders : ASH.

29. Cross word : BAH, humbug!

31. Pirouetted : TWIRLED.

32. Salk vaccine target : POLIO.

34. Group with a self-titled monthly magazine : AARP.

39. Beyond bad : EVIL. An oldie but goodie. 3:38

41. Bedding item : SHEET.

42. It involves checks and balances : BANKING. Nice misdirection.

46. Cenozoic ___ : ERA.

47. Parisian possessive : SES. Here are the rest, with singular / feminine / plural forms.

MY: mon / ma / mes
YOUR: ton / ta / tes
HIS / HER / ITS: son / sa / ses
OUR: notre / notre / nos
YOUR: votre / votre / vos
THEIR: leur / leur / leurs

52. Stem cell research advocate Christopher : REEVE. He was a great inspiration to thousands of spinal injury patients.

54. Kitchen gadget : DICER.

55. First name of two U.S. presidents : ANDREW. Jackson and Johnson, the seventh and seventeenth presidents.

56. Lost a lap : STOOD. Fun clue!

61. Streisand title role : YENTL. I enjoyed the movie. 3:36

62. The Gaels of college sports : IONA.

63. ___ facto : IPSO. Latin, "by the fact itself." She had to write the blog and was, ipso facto, unable to go to bed early.

64. Candy man : REESE.

65. Tech news dot-com : CNET. DH reads it every day.

66. Broadway shiner : NEON. Not a black eye, but the lights above your head.

Down:

1. ___ party : PAJAMA. Pillow fight!

2. Boy who had a legendary meltdown : ICARUS. Moral of the story: "Boys with wax wings should stay away from the sun."

3. Tangle up : ENMESH.

4. The Pont Neuf spans it : SEINE.

5. Wastes, mob-style : OFFS.

6. For : PRO.

7. Perot, e.g. : TEXAN.

8. One who's really hot : SEXPOT. I am sure we will be seeing links by our regulars...

9. Cuttlefish cousins : OCTOPI. Anyone else want "squids?"

10. Vertical air movement : DOWNDRAFT.

11. It makes SADD mad : DUI. Driving Under the Influence. We just had SADD as an answer yesterday.

12. Groovy music collection? : LPs. Long Play(s) 33 1/3 RPM microgroove vinyl records.

13. However : YET.

18. Bit of dangly jewelry : EARBOB. Does anyone really call them that?

22. Fracas : ROW.

24. Islamic branch : SHIA.

25. Norwegian royal name : OLAF. Ah, the old "F or V?" dilemma.

26. An official lang. of Switzerland : GER.man.

27. National econ. stat : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.

30. Clay, today : ALI.

32. Spotty pattern : POLKA DOTS.

33. CIA forerunner : OSS. Office of Strategic Services.

35. Minute : TINY.

36. Use a strop on : WHET.

37. "___ the fields we go" : O'ER.

38. Hears : LEARNS.

39. Drop in the ocean? : EBB. A fun clue for a common xword word.

40. Alt. spelling : VAR.iant.

43. Sitting at a red light, say : IN IDLE.

44. "Days of Our Lives" network : NBC.

45. Language that gave us "galore" : GAELIC. I did not know that she was Gaelic?

47. Señorita's shawl : SERAPE.

48. "All the same..." : EVEN SO.

49. Like some patches : SEWN ON. Wanted "iron on" at first.

51. Check for fit : TRY ON.

53. Dickens' Drood : EDWIN. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." His final novel, it was unfinished at his death. We'll probably never know "whodunnit."

55. Future MD's class : ANAT.omy.

56. Leb. neighbor : SYR.ia.

57. Beginning of time? : TEE.

58. Half and half : ONE. Two tricky clues in a row.

60. Oak Lawn-to-Chicago dir. : NNE. Not the Texas city of Oak Lawn, but the suburb of Chicago. Map. (Zoom out.)

Now I'm zooming off to bed!
Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy 6th Birthday to the handsome Truman, JD's oldest grandson.

JD & Truman

 This is one of my all-time favorite Blog photos:

Taken on July 5, 2010

From left to right: Grady (11 months, Truman's little brother), Truman 3 & Cameron (2 weeks then, and he's starting preschool next month.)