google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: David Steinberg

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Showing posts with label David Steinberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Steinberg. Show all posts

Oct 29, 2013

Tuesday, October 29, 2013 David Steinberg

Theme: Fonetic Progression - FL followed by a phonetic long vowel sound progressing through a, e, i, o, u.

17A. Food Network's "Throwdown!" host : BOBBY FLAY

24A. '60s song about an insect who "hid / Inside a doggie from Madrid" : SPANISH FLEA. Clip with lyrics, not the Herb Alpert instrumental version.

41A. 1996 R. Kelly hit : "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"

51A. Difference between money coming in and money being spent : NET CASH FLOW

66A. Contagious dog malady : CANINE FLU

Argyle here. Very similar grid to Monday including the middle grid spanner. A Tuesday feel to the puzzle though. Thanks, David, we needed this.

Across:

1. Tom, Ma or Pa, in "The Grapes of Wrath" : JOAD. Okies.

5. Ballpark judges : UMPS

9. Greek i's : IOTAs

14. Doing nothing : IDLE

15. Put a stop to : HALT

16. Russian currency : RUBLE

19. Actor's platform : STAGE

20. Remove pencil marks : ERASE

21. Vinyl flooring piece : TILE

23. Skin care brand : OLAY

27. Palsy-walsy : CHUMMY

                               Chumlee

31. Mongrel : CUR

32. Villainous Norse god in the 2012 film "The Avengers" : LOKI

                                 LINK

33. Musical pause : REST

37. Guffaw : LAUGH

44. Baffling question : POSER

45. Sesame Street giggler : ELMO

46. Increase, as prices : GO UP

47. Singer Sumac : YMA. "Peruvian songbird" has been with us for years now.

49. Deceives : LIES TO

57. Grand Ole __ : OPRY

58. Beverage nut : KOLA

59. Newton with laws : ISAAC

64. Squirrel away : HOARD

68. Take place : OCCUR

69. SOS responder : USCG. (United States Coast Guard)

70. Fast horse : ARAB

71. Bridge predecessor : WHIST. The 16th century game you can now play online.

72. Stadium that hosted a 1965 Beatles concert : SHEA

73. Muscle firmness : TONE

Down:

1. Be in sync (with) : JIBE

2. Febreze target : ODOR

3. "Fantastic Four" actress Jessica : ALBA
4. Society newbies : DEBs. (debutante)

5. Frequency between 300 and 3,000 MHz : UHF. Ultra High Frequency, VHF, 30 MHz to 300 MHz : Very High Frequency. Television before cable and satellite.

6. Island nation near Sicily : MALTA. Située dans La mer Méditerranée. (How did I do?)

7. __ Jane : PLAIN

8. Touchscreen-touching tools : STYLI. Plural of stylus.

9. Org. that's the target of April glowers : IRS

10. Not close enough : OUT OF RANGE

11. Game for young batters : T-BALL

12. Aquarium buildup : ALGAE

13. "I'm outta here!" : "SEE YA!"

18. Polite rural assent : YES'M

22. PC bailout key : ESC

25. Pile that aptly rhymes with fire : PYRE

26. Hawaiian dance : HULA. 29D. 26-Down instruments : UKEs

27. Film excerpt : CLIP

28. Vagabond : HOBO. Yes, yes. Got it right this time.

30. Hannah Montana portrayer : MILEY CYRUS. Not what she is famous for now!

34. Eden outcast : EVE and Adam.

35. Poivre companion : SEL. French 'pepper' compadre, 'salt'.

36. Duncan of the NBA's Spurs : TIM. Not a very well known TIM. His Wiki page.

38. Usually fuzzy tabloid pics : UFOs

39. Market surfeit : GLUT

40. Doc's shot provider : HYPO. (hypodermic syringe)

42. Culinary maven Rombauer : IRMA. "The Joy of Cooking" author.

43. Denver's st. : COLOrado

48. Inquire of : ASK

50. Victor's cry : I WIN

51. "Never in a million years!" : "NO HOW!"

52. Pleistocene, e.g. : EPOCH

53. "Baywatch" actress Bingham : TRACI. Not a very well known TRACI. Her Google images.

54. Magician's opening : HOCUS - Pocus, often followed by a flash.

55. Word with drive or memory : FLASH

56. Cavalry weapon : LANCE. The lance is longer, stouter and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing.

60. "Save me a __!" : SEAT

61. Bushy do : AFRO

62. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN. Father of Adam Arkin.

63. Sugar bowl unit : CUBE

65. 2000 Richard Gere role : DR. T. "Dr. T & the Women"

67. Red-and-white supermarket logo : IGA. (Independent Grocers Alliance) Holy cow! Check out the coverage.


Argyle


Note from C.C.:

Happy 88th Birthday to dear Dodo, who used to be very active on the blog. Are you still reading us daily, Dodo?


(L-R back row: Chickie, Clear Ayes, Garlic Gal; Front: JD, Lucina, Dodo. 

Picture taken on June 23, 2011

Jul 4, 2013

Thursday, July 4, 2013 David Steinberg

Theme: At the Laundrette. 0:52 (I wonder if he tumble dried those jeans?)

17-Across. Fate of one with a cause, perhaps : MARTYRDOM.

9-Down. Monster product : ENERGY DRINK.

11-Down. 33-year "60 Minutes" regular : ANDY ROONEY.

25-Down. Pie preparation : PASTRY DOUGH.

30-Down. James Brown nickname : MR DYNAMITE.

And the unifier gives us the raison d'être for the theme entries:
64-Across. Not leave hanging? (or a hint to the circled letters) : TUMBLE DRY. Great double meaning in the clue. So we mix it up a little, with five anagrams of the word "dry" tumbling all around the grid.  How fun is that?

Across:

1. It's usually a left : JAB. In boxing, it's usually a right hook or a left jab.

4. Mideast leadership family name : ASSAD. "Al Assad" means "The Lion" in Arabic.

9. Send to cloud nine : ELATE.

14. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA. Nice photo montage for the 1977 album. 7:55.

15. Later, to Luis : LUEGO. "Hasta luego!" is the phrase that helped me think of this answer. ("See you later!") UPDATE FROM LUCINA: (And I trust her completely in these matters.) The literal translation is "Until then."

16. Aviator's number : NINER. "Synonym for nine, five letters, starts with "n"..." 0:30

19. Respected figure : ELDER.

20. Cook up : BREW.

21. External layer : VENEER.

23. Distance units: Abbr : YDS. Yards.

24. Mimic's shtick : APERY.

26. Classic doctor's aide : IGOR.

28. Hot-tempered chef Gordon : RAMSAY. Ugh, spelled it RAMSeY at first.

31. Slangy transition word : ANYHOO.

33. Claustrophobe's cry : AIR. "Gimme AIR!!!"

34. Golden St. region : SO. CALSouthern California.

37. Exmoor heroine : DOONE. From the book "Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor," by Robert Doddridge Blackmore.  I like the cookies better than the book.

39. Detachable craft : POD. Hal?

40. "Jerry Maguire" distributor : TRISTAR. Pictures.

42. Video game initials : NESNintendo Entertainment System.

43. More wily : SLYER.

45. Actress Watts : NAOMI. I vaguely remember her from "Mulholland Drive."

46. Take a course or two? : EAT. Nice misdirection!

47. Together : IN SYNC. Not to be confused with the boy band "'N Sync."

49. Biological food processor : ENZYME.

51. Fashion's Gucci : ALDO. I have a pair of these.



52. Drink it "and sleep!" beverage : SANKA. "Unleaded" coffee.

54. Jim's wife on "The Office" : PAM.

56. 1998 Masters champion : O'MEARA. Amazing birdie on the 18th hole to win it. Only four golfers have won that way. 0:51

58. "Adeste Fideles," e.g. : NOEL.

62. Yale founder Yale : ELIHU.

66. Mark with a new price : RETAG.

67. "Someone Like You" singer : ADELE. Oh, boy. I get to link one of my favorite singers. 5:10

68. Racket : DIN.

69. Impression makers : TEETH.

70. Better song, usually : SIDE A.

71. Application datum : SEX.

Down:

1. Window segment : JAMB. Hmmm..."segment" steered my mind towards "pane."

2. Open slightly : AJAR.

3. Empty : BARE. Like Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. (Believe, me, I was looking for something to link, but "naked yoga" might not pass the breakfast test...)

4. Prince ___ Khan : ALY. Third husband of the actress Rita Hayworth.

5. Construction job worker : SURVEYOR.

6. Ritual including bitter herbs : SEDER.

7. Anguish : AGONY.

8. Cathedral cap : DOME. Was thinking of a bishop's "mitre" hat at first.

10. Short, shortened : L'IL.

12. Slightly elevated : TEED. Up, not off. (Think golf.)

13. Hits Reply All instead of Reply, say : ERRS. Oops!!

18. Quaint contraction : 'TWAS...the night before Christmas...

22. Freudian article : EIN. German "one" or "a."

27. "So that's your game!" : OHO.

28. Sings like Snoop Lion : RAPS.

29. Pungent mayo : AIOLI. Didn't we just have this one?

31. Chorus voice : ALTO.

32. Wee hr. : ONE AM.

35. Obama's mil. title : C IN CCommander in Chief.

36. Sharp-tack center : AS A.

38. 90 degrees from norte : ESTE. Spanish for north in the clue and east in the answer.

41. Willing to please : AMENABLE.

44. Night class subj. : ESLEnglish as a second language.

48. Manet or Monet, e.g. : NOM. French artists, hinting at the French word for "name."

50. "Titanic" actor Billy : ZANE. He played Kate Winslet's fiancé,  Caledon Hockley.

52. Mecca native : SAUDI.

53. Hardly defenseless : ARMED.

54. Brash : PERT. Not my first thought for "brash."

55. Tar's direction : ALEE.

57. SFO postings : ETAsEstimated Time of Arrival (s).

59. Racing form info : ODDS.

60. Scary-sounding lake : ERIE. Eerie!

61. Northern forest cat : LYNX.

63. Derby, for one : HAT.

65. Grassy expanse : LEA. As we hike off into the sunset...


See you next week!
Marti




Mar 25, 2013

Monday, March 25, 2013 David Steinberg

Theme: Flippers - Eight, count 'em, eight two word entries that make sense no matter which word comes first.

13A. Borscht vegetable : RED BEET. There are other colored beets with a slightly different taste.

15A. Aromatic hybrid blossom : TEA ROSE. So named for their tea scent.

19A. Original M&M's filling : MILK CHOCOLATE. Now with a variety of fillings, including dark chocolate, crisped rice, mint chocolate, peanuts, almonds, orange chocolate, coconut, pretzel, wild cherry, cinnamon, raspberry, and peanut butter. Get them for Easter.

35A. Product of boiled sap : MAPLE SUGAR. A timely entry.

41A. Tree with brilliant foliage : SUGAR MAPLE

54A. Brown cow product? : CHOCOLATE MILK. Old joke: Where does chocolate milk come from? Brown cows!

63A. Beverage blend using buds : ROSE TEA. I prefer rose hips(or a different bud). Ya' dig?

64A. The color of embarrassment : BEET RED. Beet white never caught on.

Argyle here. If you missed it, check out our young constructor's interview. (side bar) Since it was such an easy solve on the theme(you had two chances to get each one), it's only fair you might find a couple of harder clues in there. A sweet start to the week.

Across:

1. Playtex purchase : BRA

4. Org. with a "Most Wanted" list : FBI

7. Bygone fast flier, briefly : SST. But it will never be gone from crossword memory.

10. Salsa or guacamole : DIP

17. Corroded : ATE INTO. Found this hard to parse, sitting in the grid.

18. Having material that "may not be suitable for children," per the MPAA : RATED PG

21. Very wide shoe size : EEEE

22. Downs' opposites : UPS'

23. Suffix with web or nanny : CAM

26. Considers really cool : DIGS. I'm hip, Daddy-o.

29. South American pack animal : LLAMA

31. Vegas rollers : DICE

38. Monogram component : INITIAL

40. Buffalo nickel or Mercury dime : OLD COIN


43. Feminine ending : ENNE

44. Orange container : CRATE

45. Tickle Me __ : ELMO

47. Above, to Shelley : O'ER

48. "__ had enough!" : I'VE

50. "This is __ test" : NOT A. I'm lucky I've never had to hear this warning.

60. Helter-skelter : CHAOTIC. Might be the scene after hearing the preceding.

62. Surround with troops : BESIEGE

65. Haven't yet paid : OWE

66. Sphere : ORB

67. Mandela's org. : ANC. (African National Congress)

68. Some SAT takers : SR's

Down:

1. Author Stoker : BRAM. His novel? "Dracula"

2. Fix, as shoelaces : RETIE. What Moms do before knot-tying lessons.

3. One-named singer of "Skyfall" : ADELE


4. Used an épée, say : FENCED

5. "Little Women" woman : BETH

6. "Was __ harsh?" : I TOO

7. Razor sharpener : STROP. A flexible strip of leather used to maintain the blade of a straight razor. I better add a picture.


8. Flippered fish eaters : SEALS

9. "Hasta la vista!" : "TA-TA!"

10. Twelve-sided figure : DODECAGON. (doh-dek-uh-gon)

11. Way to the www : ISP

12. ... square __ in a round hole : PEG. or even a dodecagon hole.

14. Mountain wheels : BIKE. Bike riders, what are your wheels?

16. No longer working: Abbr. : RET.

20. Tip of a crescent : CUSP

24. With all one's strength : AMAIN. Does ever crossword puzzle need an 'a'-word?

25. Strategic WWI French river : MARNE. During a quieter time.
 

27. Muslim official : IMAM

28. Elaborate celebration : GALA

29. '60s psychedelic drug : LSD

30. Fortune magazine founder : LUCE.  Henry Luce.

31. Bee Gees genre : DISCO

32. Get used (to) : INURE

33. Holder of Cubans : CIGAR CASE
 

34. State, to Jacques : ÉTAT

36. Laze : LOLL

37. Grades K-6: Abbr. : ELEM.

39. Wrath : IRE

42. Banana throwaway : PEEL

46. "Be right there!" : "ONE SEC!"

48. More slippery, as roads : ICIER

49. Eng. lesson with synonyms : VOCAB. ulary

51. Neglect to mention : OMIT

52. Wedding cake layers : TIERS

53. Author Horatio : ALGER

55. Tough row to __ : HOE

56. Director Preminger : OTTO

57. "Mamma Mia!" quartet : ABBA. (palindrome section)

58. New driver, typically : TEEN

59. Sneakers brand : KEDS. Taylor Swift wears them.

60. __-Magnon : CRO. did not wear them.

61. By what means : HOW


Argyle


Mar 8, 2013

Friday, March 8, 2013, David Steinberg and David Phillips

(Note from C.C.:

To online solvers, whenever you see a "-" sign in a grid, it means there's no clue/clue number for that entry. Puzzle software does not allow empty clues, hence editors often use "-" as a signal. Your on-line clue numbers will be different from Lemonade's write-up number.

Today's grid should look like this:





THEME: Water falls. Some of the fill does as well.

Each of the six theme answers requires the word WATER presented top to bottom connected with across fill to complete the fill for the clue. As the Friday Master of Ceremonies, I get these visually creative, but outre puzzles where much of the fill is in un-clued space. When we had Ian Livengood's version back in January, he had the words be read backwards, this time you have to picture the entire answer and figure out what spaces to grab to put it all in. The symmetry of effort is wonderful blending the across  and down part of each theme answer, keeping the long fill at 15. This effort is from David Phillips (?) and David Steinberg, one of the wunderkinds of construction, still in high school I think. You can read all about him on his own LINK. let us get right to the puzzle, because like Lucy, I got a lot of 'splaining to do, especially if the online sites numbered wrong again.


1A. Perennial Oscars staple : PRICE W- No Clue D. : WATER. - No Clue A. : R HOUSE.  PRICE WATERHOUSE.  (15). We all know this accounting firm tabulates the Oscar votes and places the winner's name in a sealed envelope, to be opened on stage. (Also the basis of Johnny Carson's Mayonnaise jar). Anyway, a very tough way to begin, with 1A unfillable without the perps.

6A. Canoeist's challenge : WHITE W. - No Clue D. : WATERWHITE WATER (10). I can only think of Deliverance and will never go in a river again.

31A. Prevent that sinking feeling? : TREAD W- No Clue D. : WATERTREAD WATER (10). A literal and figurative clue.

45A. Best Picture of 1954 : ON THE - No Clue D. : WATER. - No Clue A. : R FRONTON THE WATERFRONT. (15) The wonderful Brando, Rod Steiger movie. 

19 D : WATER. - No Clue A : R VAPOR. WATER VAPOR (10). This clued steamed me.

42 D. River phenomena (or what literally happens six times in this puzzle) : WATER.  - No Clue A. : R FALLSWATER FALLS (10).

Across:

11. Game with pelotas : JAI ALAI. The hard rubber ball used in the fronton, caught in the cesta.

13. Maria ___, the last House of Habsburg ruler : THERESA. Your history LESSON.

14. They're found in bars : SPIRITS. This is doubly true, as alcohol is known as spirits, and I imagine a lot of ghosts haunt the bars.

15. Most comfortable : HOMIEST. This was difficult for me, but I had already committed to doing down clues first, so...

16. Breed canines? : TEETHE. Really fun clue, I could not think of anything which passed the breakfast test.

18. "Peter Pan" character : SMEE. Classic crosswordese.

19. Erase, as from memory : WIPE. The NEURALIZER.(0:56).

24. Ukr., once : SSR. Ukraine was once one of the the Republics.

25. Honey Bear portrayer in "Mogambo" : AVA. Gardner, reprising the role first done by Jean Harlow in Red Dust. LINK. (4:17) Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, what more do you want.

26. Like some labor : MENIAL. Interestingly from the Latin word for house, which is also the root for maison in French and Mansion in English. It referred to 'house workers' who were also called menials.

28. Emotionally strained : TAUT.

30. Cabinet dept. created under LBJ : HUD. Part of his Great Society legislation the Housing and Urban Development  Department was created to protect home buyers and foster home ownership and urban growth.

34. Intertwines : ENLACES. Like your fingers in the church/steeple.

36. Pygmalion's statue : GALATEA. Not the Eliza Doolittle story but the wonderful Greek MYTH.

37. Course number : PAR. This clue was average, par for the course.

38. Touched : FELT.

39. "A Tale of Love and Darkness" author : AMOS OZ. This BOOK about the early days of Israel.

41. Native Coloradan : UTE.

42. Financial Times rival, briefly : WSJWall Street Journal.

46. Train with dukes? : SPAR. Not from Downton, but put up your dukes and box.

47. "I hate to interrupt, but..." : AHEM. Not to be confused with 7D. Shut (in) : HEM.

49. Strasbourg's region : ALSACE. This city is the capital of a region that is between German and France and has changed hands often.


51. In a defensable manner : TENABLY.Last week tenable, this week the LY.

54. Biological reversion : ATAVISM. The human tail which is quite evident in a fetus is the classic example.

58. Newborn raptors : EAGLETS. Birds were dinosaurs.

59. Progress by directed effort : TELESIS. A very Friday word and concept, from the Greek, LINK.


Down:

1. Retiree's attire? : PJS. Just pajama's retiring to bed, not from work, unless you are Hugh Hefner.

2. Knock : RAP. Knock music has no ring to it.

3. "Revenge of the Sith" episode number : III. The last of the prequels. VII is supposedly in the works.

4. Café reading : CARTE. Our French lesson Lolita, for menu.

5. Peace Nobelist two years after Desmond : ELIE. Wiesel. The entire LIST.

6. Time-traveling Doctor : WHO. Who?

8. Pupil controller : IRIS. I love explaining EYES.

9. Swarms : TEEMS.This puzzle teems with tough clues.

10. Scoreless trio? : ESSES. Classic misdirection, look at the clue, don't define it.

12. Formation meaning "neck" in Greek : ISTHMUS. It connects to large bodies, either land or in the body connecting larger parts, such as the Thyroid Isthmus. Not  a happy word if you lisp.

13. N.Y.C. country club? : THE UN. Country Club, really cute, but when I first read this I had already filled it in and was thinking of my friend Michael Theun form wrestling in High School.

17. Broke ground : HOED. They are forever breaking new grounds.

20. Co-tsar with Peter I : IVAN V. Love the co-star anagram pun. LINK. Fun stuff you can learn here.

21. TV cook Deen : PAULA. She gets enough publicity without me.

22. Prominent instrument in "Paint It, Black" : SITAR. The psychedelic instrument of choice. LISTEN. (3:40).

23. British nobleman : EARL. Robert Crawley.

27. Biblical cover-up : LEAF. In the garden of Eden after the apple.

29. Snack in un bar : TAPA. We have lots of places serving tapas in SoFla. They are not all Spanish THEMED.

30. Leggy wader : HERON. For Splynter WATCH.(1:55)

32. Couldn't get enough of : ATE UP.

33. American rival : DELTA. Airlines, not countries.

35. "It's Impossible" crooner : COMO. He ended up living in Jupiter, Florida, SONG.(3:14)

36. Watches with wonder : GAZES AT.

37. Sci-fi writer Frederick : POHL. Wonderful imagination, he married his wife when he was 65.

40. Legal orders : STAYS. Hard one, as there are so many Orders, though Stays especially of execution are important.

43. Harvest sight : SHEAF

44. Tower-building game : JENGA. Remember WHEN? (1:44)

46. Cut off : SEVER.

48. Suburban symbol : MALL.

50. Pasture newborn : CALF.

52. ___ canto : BEL.  Opera term, HOW TO.(7:32).

53. Mil. ranks : LTS. Lieutenants.

55. Prefix with propyl : ISO.

56. It might be original : SIN. Did you SEE? (1:16).

57. Boulder hrs. : MST. Mountain Standard Time and the time zone where my youngest lives and time for me to wrap this up. So what do you all think of this style of puzzle. Rich does not allow a rebus puzzle, how about ones without conventional structure?

Again thanks to all who enjoyed my Charlotte. i also want to send Marti to the ACPT with our best wishes.


Lemonade out.

Oct 22, 2012

Monday, October 22, 2012 David Steinberg

Theme: Melt in your Mouth - Perennial Halloween favorites are the unifier and four long theme entries plus a spanner follow the M and M lead.

17A. Versatile, as clothes outfits : MIX AND MATCH

24A. Auto title data : MAKE AND MODEL

38A. Toon mouse couple : MICKEY AND MINNIE

49A. All one's strength : MIGHT AND MAIN

60A. Gentle : MEEK AND MILD

69A. Colorful candy purchase, or what 17-, 24-, 38-, 49- and 60-Across all are : M AND M's

Argyle here. Trick or Treat! I think we got a treat for our Monday puzzle. We have had a similar one before, Link but this might be a tad harder.

Across:

1. Capt. Kirk's Asian lieutenant : MR. SULU. Star Trek.

7. Big name in elevators : OTIS

11. Eng. majors' degrees : BAS. (Bachelor of Arts and Science)(assuming it's English and not Engineering.) No wait, I messed up. I should have parsed that as BA's, Bachelor of Arts, plural.

14. Aid from a road travel org. : AAA MAP

15. Calamine mineral : ZINC

16. Make a decision : OPT

19. N.Y. engineering sch. : RPI. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute(over by Irish Miss in Troy), where BAS can mean Bachelor of Applied Science)

20. Stein filler : ALE

21. Hawkeye State : IOWA

22. Tom of "The Seven Year Itch" : EWELL. IMDb.

27. Represent as identical : EQUATE

30. Wine: Pref. : OENO

31. Actress Rene : RUSSO

32. Way in or out : DOOR

35. Iraq War concern: Abbr. : WMD. (weapons of mass destruction)

42. __ dye: chemical colorant : AZO. A little tough for a Monday.

43. High-pitched woodwind : OBOE

44. Breakfast corners : NOOKS. Read your Nooks in your nooks?

45. Old OTC watchdog : NASD. (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) Over-the-counter (OTC), in this case, off-exchange trading is to trade financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities or derivatives directly between two parties and not drugs.

48. Borneo sultanate : BRUNEI. Perps and a WAG.

54. Skylit rooms : ATRIA

55. Wedding cake layer : TIER

56. Dean's list no. : GPA. (Grade Point Average)

59. Highland refusal : NAE

64. Chicago transports : ELs. (elevated trains)

65. End of a threat : ELSE

66. Like many rumors : UNTRUE

67. Baseball's Cobb et al. : TYs

68. Small complaints that are "picked" : NITS

Down:

1. Papa's mate : MAMA. Clip.(3:19)

2. Skateboard park fixture : RAIL

3. __-Coburg: former German duchy : SAXE. Map. The city.

4. Actress Thurman : UMA

5. PC-to-PC system : LAN. (local area network)

6. "Rabbit at Rest" author : UPDIKE. John Updike

7. Conductor Seiji : OZAWA. Seiji Ozawa - Short Biography.

8. Giant : TITAN

9. Business name abbr. : INC.

10. Connive : SCHEME. 29D. Amer. lawmaking group : U.S. CONGRESS. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

11. Approached rapidly : BORE DOWN ON

12. iLife producer : APPLE

13. Not moving a muscle : STILL

18. "The Simpsons" bartender : MOE

23. Came out ahead : WON

24. Face hider : MASK

25. Stub __ : A TOE

26. College housing : DORM

27. Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

28. Quick classroom test : QUIZ

32. Gently applied amount : DAB

33. Yoko from Tokyo : ONO

34. Dedicatory poem : ODE

36. Voice amplifier : MIKE

37. Arnaz who played Ricky : DESI

39. Luke Skywalker's mentor : YODA

40. Cross inscription : INRI. translation, "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews".

41. Subject of a sentence, typically : NOUN

46. Yellowfin tuna : AHI. Not a sushi clue today.

47. Pollen-producing flower part : STAMEN

48. Showman who teamed with Bailey : BARNUM

49. Painter Édouard : MANET. For Tinbeni. Cheers!

50. Peninsular Mediterranean country : ITALY

51. H-bomb trial, e.g. : N-TEST

52. Flood stoppers : DIKES

53. __ culpa : MEA. Just a thought; I haven't seen or heard, "my bad", lately, and that's a good thing.

56. Encircle : GIRD

57. Prune, before drying : PLUM

58. Fruity beverages : ADEs. Time to put the ades away and bring on the toddies and nogs.

61. New Haven Ivy Leaguer : ELI. Yale.

62. Genetic material : DNA

63. Rainier, e.g.: Abbr. : MTN. Southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington.




Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Here is a fruit-laden lemon tree from Dennis' new home. He's been enjoying fresh lemonade. Click here for more pictures. I've never seen those tropical trees in person (probably never will) and thought the last one was mango tree.

Jul 20, 2012

Friday, July 20, 2012, David Steinberg

Theme: No meat, no fish, no fowl!

It is Friday and we do not have a simple add letter(s) theme but one where words are subtracted. Each of the theme answers are common phrases in which the last word is left off the answer. Each of those words refer to something we carnivores eat. Our herbivore unifier tells us the rest of the story. This is a return to Friday for the precocious middle schooler who debuted on a Friday in February. A very different puzzle today, so let us get to it. Maybe I can adopt him.

17A. Calm and kind : AS GENTLE AS A.LAMB.(11) How can we eat these babies? In a stew, chops?


24A. Earn a living : BRING HOME THE BACON (12). Not this ONE.

37A. Completely different situation : ANOTHER KETTLE OF FISH.(15) We stopped using kettles to cook our fish a long time ago, but the phrase lives on. A derivative of A FINE KETTLE.

48A. Suddenly stopping : QUITTING COLD TURKEY. (12) That is how I stopped smoking, This rather common phrase has its origin in what happens to the skin of a heroin addict who quits without any drug help. You should watch this incredible PERFORMANCE (2:22).

and the unifier

59A. Ones responsible for what's missing from certain puzzle answers? : VEGETARIANS.(11) Aren't they really the inspiration of the puzzle? Well, let us see what else in David's back pack.

Across:

1. Throw : FLING. So many words for throw, will have to wait....

6. Capts.' inferiors : SGTS. Hmm, a bit un-pc as while they may be subordinates, I doubt many would think they are inferior.

10. Homeric outburst? : DOH. The GREEK Simpson connection.

13. Honolulu hangout : LANAI. Nice alliteration for this popular breezy tropical building.

14. Toiletry product endorsed by pitcher Mariano Rivera : ARRID. Really obscure for anyone but a Yankee fan. Extra Dry.

16. Great ___ : APE. Did you think of this MOVIE? (1:59).

19. Era units: Abbr. : YRS.

20. Bygone AT&T rival : GTE. General Telephone and Electric.

21. Heady quaffs : GROGS. When is talk like a pirate day? Is this where the word groggy comes from?

22. Utah landscape features : MESAS. Why Utah? Why not?

26. Algebra subject : MATRIX. Obviously from someone still in school; Alge is the one bra most do not like. Also, 67A. Graph lines : X AXES.

29. Posting often seen in a window : MENU. Okay drop down and give me 50 push ups.

30. ___ Goldfinger: 007 enemy : AURIC. MUSIC. (1:04).

31. Suva is its capital : FIJI. The island home of Vijay Singh.

34. Code letters : DNA.

41. Farm enclosure : STY.

42. Movie mogul Marcus : LOEW. We had this MAN recently.

43. Insight provider? : HONDA. The old car name switcheroo. Are we in accord this is a prelude to more of this type of deception?

44. Schoolyard comeback : AM SO. Am not!

47. Like some Latin nouns : NEUTER. If a word is not masculine, or feminine it is not sexless it is THIS.Test on Tuesday.

53. "I'm all ears!" : ASK ME.

54. Sister of Terpsichore : ERATO. One of the amusing muses.

55. NASDAQ or NYSE : MKT.

58. Thumb in folklore : TOM. Also in the circus.

62. Santa ___ : ANA.

63. Florida wader : EGRET. Damn, Jason fit! Is it okay to have this bird because we do not often eat them?

64. TV spot seller : AD REP.

65. Bug-eyed TV dog : REN. Are he and Stimpy making a comeback? He looks kinda like Siciliano.

66. Unpleasant, as details : GORY. Well, it is not that unpleasant.

Down:

1. Hail, with "down" : FLAG. A passing motorist for help.

2. Far from the front : LAST.

3. 1953 Pulitzer-winning playwright : INGE. I had him last week for BUS STOP, but he got the prize for PICNIC.

4. Highland denial : NAE.

5. Newt with a large vocabulary : GINGRICH. If he had been able to get his mitts on as many votes as he gets puzzle nods, oops, no politics.

6. Dryer place : SALON. Not the desert, not the laundry room, the beauty parlor.

7. Shorthand pioneer : GREGG. Shorthand was supposedly invented by a slave of Cicero's trying to keep up with his verbose master.

8. Give one star, say : TRASH.

9. Family nickname : SIS. Not in my family, my brothers would have beaten me badly.

10. Non-dorm resident : DAY STUDENT. I was one for seven years.

11. Queen of Talk : OPRAH. Not lately.

12. State bordering Thuringia : HESSE. German states. LINK. KZ?

15. "Kickboxer" actor Jean-Claude Van ___ : DAMME. Did you fall in this Von Trapp?

18. Rabbit's food? : TRIX. Can we mention rabbits? So soon after Bunny Slope? We eat them you know.

23. Bard's time of day : EEN. Evening?

24. Brolly carrier : BRIT. Umbrella.

25. Forget to mention : OMIT. Oops I forgot to mention....

26. Barnyard bleats : MAAS. Baa.

27. Family gathering visitor : AUNT.

28. Super Bowl XXVII MVP : TROY AIKMAN. I was at the Rose Bowl for this one.

31. Do that's picked, briefly : FRO. Afro needed to be shortened?

32. Much-liked prez : IKE. Damn more politics.

33. Yeshiva student : JEW. Damn more politics.

35. Botanical knot : NODE. Ooh, ooh. I knowed that one.

36. Way in the distance : AFAR. The end is nearing.

38. Morlock prey : ELOI. Hi H.G, hope you are Well(s).

39. 2012 animated movie promoted by IHOP : THE LORAX. Did you all see this MOVIE? (2:33).

40. Clamorous : LOUD. Yes the movie did seem loud.

45. "Rhoda" production co. : MTM. Mary Tyler Moore. The show which gave us Julie Kavner.

46. Forbes, for one : STEVE. No ezine, just a guy. Damn more politics.

47. "___ chance!" : NOT A.

48. Country once known for pearl diving : QATAR. "Cutter."

49. East Coast rte. : US ONE. From Maine to Key West, and one block east of casa limon.

50. Part of UNCF : NEGRO. United Negro College Fund.

51. "Madame Curie" star Garson : GREER. Don't you love HATS (2:09).

52. Like some gossip : CATTY. For all of our feline fanatics, why?

55. "Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others" speaker : MARX. Brother what an obscure quotation from Groucho.

56. Joint with a cap : KNEE. Punchline: What is an ugly joint like you doing in a beautiful girl like this?

57. Baker's amts. : TSPS.

60. It's legal to poach one : EGG. Great clue; do young people even know what illegal poaching is?

61. Pocatello's st. : IDAho. Not me. Ida know it is time to go.

Answer grid.


The weeks fly by, and I say bye bye. Thanks David and all you out in the Corner

Lemonade out.

Jul 8, 2012

Sunday, July 8th 2012, David Steinberg

Theme: Got Milk? or The Famous Crossword Cookie



Our friend the Oreo is such a staple of crossword fare that it's fun to see it given center-stage and the star of the show. All six theme answers have OREO contained within them, and to spice things up a little (if you can have a spicy milk cookie?) each OREO stands alone with no crosses.

18A. One dealing with spirits : LIQUOR STORE OWNER

29A. Tony Award won four times by Tommy Tune : BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

90A. 1983 World Series champs : BALTIMORE ORIOLES

107A. Spanish saint who wrote the encyclopedic "Etymologiae" :
ISIDORE OF SEVILLE

46D. Removed by hand, in a way : TORE OUT

48D. Put up points against : SCORE ON

Hi everyone, Steve here coming off the bench for C.C. I'm really torn about this theme - I saw there was something odd about the grid when I noticed the sets of four lights with no crosses, but it took some time for the penny to drop. The payoff seemed a little meager though - just six theme answers in total and what seemed to me to be a lot of scrappy fill around them.

Having said that, I did enjoy dealing with something unusual, and some of the fill really was a delight. As a bonus, this is a pangram.

Let's have a look at the rest of the solution:

Across:

1. "The Godfather" actor : CAAN

5. Furry '80s fad items : CHIA PETS. I'd have described these as more grassy or mossy than furry

13. Protest of a kind : FAST

17. Gymnast Korbut : OLGA

19. "Kinsey" star Neeson : LIAM

20. "That dress is perfect!" : ITS SO YOU! I've used this myself, sometimes just to get out of the store!

21. It may be uncharted : ISLE

22. Korea divider, briefly : D.M.Z. The Demilitarized Zone is about 2 miles wide and runs east-west across the country at Latitude 38N, or the 38th Parallel in popular parlance.

23. Anti-apartheid org. : A.N.C. Nelson Mandela's party, the African National Congress, which has taken the majority vote in every post-apatheid election, the first being in 1994.

24. Outing that includes birding : NATURE WALK. My friend Heidi and I had a nature walk of our own this morning up to the Hollywood sign - it's a pretty good hike. Here's a view you rarely see of the back of the sign from the top of the hill:



31. Spillane's "__ Jury" : I THE

32. Postwar British leader : ATTLEE. Clem Attlee won a huge majority victory over Winston Churchill in the 1945 election (Churchill replaced him again in 1951) In hindsight, it seems extraordinary that a leader of Churchill's stature could lose an election only two months after the hostilities in Europe ended and the Allies were still at war with Japan. King George VI ("The King's Speech") was reportedly not happy with the result, and when Attlee went to the King with the traditional request for permission to form a Government, neither man spoke for some time. Finally Attlee said to the King - "I've won the election" to get the reply "I know, I heard it on the news".

33. Peach or plum : HUE

36. National Soccer Hall of Famer since 1993 : PELE. Also the Hawaii'an Volcano Goddess, leaving some soccer-mad middle-school pupils confused.

38. Cold War enemy, informally : RED RUSSIA

43. Prereqs for some Harvard applicants : L-SATS. The Law School Admission Test.

45. One looking for stars : TALENT SCOUT

47. Flies across the Atlantic? : TSETSES. I don't think I've ever seen this pluralized before, one always seems bad enough.


49. Caspian country : IRAN

50. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA. I think Pele drank Kona coffee?

51. Volcano output : EJECTA. Oh - a themelet here - Pele and Kona, now Ejecta! This was new to me, I fiddled around with MAGMA and LAVA and variations thereof. Needed the crosses for this one.

53. Made a touchdown : ALIT

54. Timecard abbr. : HRS. Overtime Hours are nice!

55. Vel attachment? : CRO

56. __ Bora: Afghan region : TORA

60. Marge Simpson's mother-in-law : MONA

61. Foofaraw : ADO

62. Harley-Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG. New to me - I like this!



63. All-in-one Apple : iMAC

64. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. The town was named after the former Dodgers Hall-Of-Fame baseball pitcher Orel Hershiser. No wait - I've been reading too much Wikipedia!

65. __ Tin Tin : RIN

66. Old comm. giant : I.T.T. Still going, but no longer the communications giant it once was.

67. The Sunni, e.g. : SECT

68. Pointed : ACUATE

71. Mideast pooh bah : EMIR

72. Small combo : TRIO

73. Equitably divided : PRO RATA

76. Survey an enemy position : RECONNOITER, My word of the day.

79. Rhett's last words : A DAMN

80. Fine-tune : CALIBRATE

84. Tenn. neighbor : N.CAR.

85. Gym safety item : MAT

86. What a criminal might be on? : THE LAM

88. Aptly named shaving lotion : AFTA

93. Miner's dream : MOTHER LODE

97. College sr.'s challenge : G.R.E. Before you take the LSTAT you need to make sure your pass your Graduate Record Examination

98. Classic Jaguar : XKE. Better known as the "E-Type". Here's a lovely example in British Racing Green. Wait 'til I win the Lotto!


I did have an XJS myself, but sadly I needed a Lotto win to afford to keep it on the road, so now I just have the photo-memories:


100. "Hi, sailor!" : AHOY. Very cute clue and answer!

101. Up and running : ON STREAM

106. Lawn liming target : ACID

108. Leader after Mao : DENG

109. Mete (out) : DOLE

110. More spirited : FEISTIER

111. Sommer of Berlin : ELKE

Down:

1. Hardly friendly : COLD

2. Out on __ : A LIMB

3. Visually rapt : AGAZE

4. '60s theater, briefly : NAM

5. Lock up : CLINCH

6. Ones trying to get picked up : HITCHERS. Not one of my favorites - Hitchhikers, surely?

7. Stanford-Binet nos. : IQs Who knew? Not me!

8. It borders It. : AUS. I've skied from Austria to Italy, and back. For some strange reason, you don't need a passport when you criss-cross the borders between France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria on skis.

9. Cutesy-__ : POO

10. Mock tail? : ERY

11. 1992 presidential also-ran : TSONGAS. If I ever knew Paul Tsaongas, I'd completely forgotten about him. Thank you, crosses.

12. Scottish royal family : STUARTS

13. Texter's hedge : FWIW. For What it's Worth, I thought this was something else, IMHO.

14. Looped handle : ANSA

15. Move, as merchandise : SELL

16. "Star __" : TREK

23. When many retire : AT TEN. That's way past my bedtime.

25. Jacques of "Jour de Fête" : TATI. Funniest Frenchman ever, although you might argue that's not saying a great deal.

26. Cramming, say : UP LATE. At least Five after Ten.

27. Scoreboard initials : RHE. I'd love to tell you what this means, but I have no idea, and I watch ESPN 24/7

28. Lace place : EYELET. Really?

30. Burglar's undoing : SILENT ALARM

33. Experiences : HAS

34. Jeep or Land Rover, briefly : UTE

35. Mountain road feature : ESS

36. Room with a sofa : PARLOR

37. "Seinfeld" role : ELAINE

39. 13th/14th-century German mystic : ECKHART

40. Desperate : DO OR DIE

41. Talks and talks : RUNS ON

42. Tony winner Hagen : UTA

44. Word with analysis or significance : STATISTICAL. Loved this one. It's not often you see a "word with" clue where you've got a 12-letter word as the answer.

45. Italian lover's coo : TI AMO

51. Very spicy fare : EROTICA. This was my final fill, I just could not get away from thinking about food (Food!)

52. Slow equine pace : JOG-TROT

55. Bell : CHIMER

57. Mario Puzo novel : OMERTA

58. More likely to be R-rated : RACIER

59. One playing a part : ACTOR

69. "I don't believe it" : CAN'T BE

70. Remote insert : AA CELL

71. Tarzan creator's monogram : E.R.B. I live close to Tarzana, a town in the San Fernando Valley named for Edgar Rice Burrough's hero.

73. Cooking spray : PAM

74. Old vitamin bottle letters : R.D.A. Recommended Daily Amount. I suppose it must be called something else now, given that the clue says "old".

75. Meal starter? : OAT. I had EAT! first.

77. 7 on the Beaufort scale : NEAR GALE. I love the Beaufort Scale names. "Cap'n, it's blowing a Near Gale out there!" "Really? I was expecting Fresh Gale. Wake me if it looks like a Strong Gale, and take down the mainsail the second you feel a Whole Gale or we'll lose the mainmast"

78. How ballerinas dance : ON TOE. No, sorry, this one just doesn't work for me.

81. Violist's clef : ALTO. I recall some rather feisty discussions about clefs a few months ago.

82. Fired : LAID OFF

83. Colossal : IMMENSE

87. Laugh syllable : HAR

89. Not so flexible : FIRMER

91. Word relative : EXCEL

92. Short-legged lizard : SKINK. How I knew this I have no idea, I'm sure I've never knowingly seen a skink. I've seen lots of lizards, just never stopped to measure their legs.



93. Inn employee : MAID

94. Quite : OH SO

95. Labor : TOIL

96. University of Chicago site __ Park : HYDE

99. Sphere's lack : EDGE

102. Cinque e uno : SEI

103. Man cave staples : TV'S

104. Slowing, on a score: Abbr. : RIT. "Ritardando"

105. Member of The Whiffenpoofs : ELI

106. Soft drink ending : ADE

Answer grid.

And a soft blog ending from me. Hope you all have a great Sunday, be safe and see you all soon.