Monday, June 20, 2016 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: At the Top of the Hour - For your busy commute.

20A. Lena Horne classic that begins "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky ... " : STORMY WEATHER

26A. Measure of a store's visitors : FOOT TRAFFIC

48A. Bright spot in tough times : WELCOME NEWS

53A. What a Geiger counter measures ... or, as two words, what the ends of 20-, 26- and 48-Across are : RADIOACTIVITY. Radio Activity

Argyle here. A text book Monday. Easy but not stupid easy with interesting themes. I do wonder if it is a new collaboration from Don and C.C. or has it been waiting in the wings. Another appearance of PETSIT makes me wonder.

Across:

1. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz : OPAL. October.

5. Frees (of) : RIDS

9. Russian ruler until 1917 : TSAR. Nicholas II.

13. Get a better mtge. : REFI. (refinance)

14. Take by force : USURP

16. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO. Prussian statesman.

17. Biting remark : BARB

18. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE

19. Auntie of Broadway : MAME. The original Broadway production starred Rosalind Russell.

23. Historic time : ERA

24. Earth tremor : SEISM

32. Tic-tac-toe win : OOO

34. Dryer screen buildup : LINT

35. German-born sex therapist, familiarly : DR. RUTH. PSA? She has her own YouTube channel.

36. Neither here __ there : NOR

37. Choir members : ALTOs

39. John, in Scotland : IAN

40. "All My Children" vixen : ERICA. Susan Lucci.

42. "Not so hot" : "MEH"

43. Tangerine kin : ORANGE

46. Subj. for nature lovers : ECOLogy

47. Before, to Byron : ERE

50. Sales talk : SPIEL

52. U.N. advocate for workers' rights : ILO. (International Labour Organization)

60. Tiny "smashing" target : ATOM

62. Gem measure : CARAT

10-Carat-Forever-Brilliant-Lab-Grown-Moissanite

 

63. __ of expertise : AREA

64. Works on the lawn : MOWS

65. Subway entrance : STILE. I tried STAIR first.

66. Fish home, at home : TANK

67. Game on horseback : POLO

68. Piped up : SAID

69. Grinds to a halt : ENDS

Down:

1. Planets, to poets : ORBS

2. Gardening moss : PEAT

3. Oversize coif : AFRO

4. Opera text : LIBRETTO. First of the four excellent long columns.

5. Poet Kipling : RUDYARD

6. "__ Mommy kissing ... " : I SAW. Santa doesn't kiss and tell ... unless it is Lois.

7. Sandy hill : DUNE

8. Madrid miss: Abbr. : SRTA. Señorita.

9. Marisa of "My Cousin Vinny" : TOMEI

10. Touring figure skating show : STARS ON ICE. Tinman approved use of _ _ _.

11. Emer. cash source : ATM

12. Caviar : ROE

15. Feed the neighbor's cat, say : PET SIT

21. "The A-Team" muscleman : MR. T

22. Actress Anne : HECHE

25. Milked animal, in kiddie-speak : MOO-COW

26. Olympic stadium centerpiece : FLAME

27. Mideast ships : OILERS

28. Hunting, catlike : ON THE PROWL

29. Common typeface : ARIAL

30. Old French money : FRANC

31. Practice fly ball, e.g. : FUNGO. Usually hit with a FUNGO bat. (1865-70, Americanism; of obscure origin)

33. Postgrad tests : ORALs

38. Spread, as seed : SOWED

41. Do over, as a kitchen : RENOVATE

44. They're dug up at digs : RELICS

45. Gave off : EMITTED

49. Yalie : ELI

51. "You are not!" rebuttal : "I AM SO!"

54. Cheerios grain : OATS

55. Opera showpiece : ARIA

56. Colombian city : CALI

57. Persia, now : IRAN

58. See to : TEND

59. Jabbers : YAKs. I dunno...they may have been yaking.

60. Rock band need : AMP

61. As well : TOO

Argyle

Sunday April 10, 2016, Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: SQUAD

Our Sonny and Cher of Crosswordland strike again on Sunday after a four week hiatus and for awhile Don (theme originator) and C.C. could have sung, I Got You Babe because I was clueless about the gimmick. Halfway through it occurred to me, "Boy there's a lot of S's in these theme answers" and then I, disguised as Captain Obvious, saw S-QUAD as in quad/four S's per theme fill and had to forget about Mod Squad, Police Squad, et al. SSSSweet!

Here is an S-QUAD more amenable to my level!

The Double 16 verticals really stand out in the grid. How long must that have taken?

ACROSS THEME ANSWERS:

22. "Forever" purchase : FIRST CLASS STAMP - While not "Forever" you could have used this FIRST CLASS STAMP to send me a card in the year of my college graduation

46. Government meeting for delicate subjects : CLOSED SESSION - It turns out that the committee did not have to go into CLOSED SESSION to find Charlie innocent after Col. Slade's fabulous speech in Scent Of A Woman. Charlie had his 89. Judge's (Committee's) decree : CASE DISMISSED

55. Simple to use, in adspeak : NO FUSS NO MUSS - Exhibit A

80. Corporate uncertainty : BUSINESS RISK - Selling these units here seems to fit the description

115. It has a November kickoff : CHRISTMAS SEASON - A verboten phrase in most schools

DOWN THEME ANSWERS:

14. "Aha!" : JUST AS I SUSPECTED - Another great someecard 

35. Great Sioux War of 1876 event : CUSTER'S LAST STAND - This turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory for the native people who then became relentlessly pursued by the U.S. Army

THEME REVEAL:

104. Twisty turns ... and the "quad" in each of this puzzle's eight longest answers : ESSES - I count at least QUAD ESSES in this Hana Highway on Maui

Across        

1. Check some figures? : OGLE

5. Mulching material : PEAT

9. Hot spot : RANGE

14. It leaves trails : JET

17. Song often sung in Italian : ARIA - Roy's big voice with a 4-octave range has been described as operatic. I wonder how he'd do on Nessun Dorma or how Pavarotti would do on Pretty Woman?

18. Tiny tank plant : ALGA

19. Brain freeze-causing drinks : ICEES

20. Photo subject for NASA's New Horizons : PLUTO

25. Broad-leaved ornamental : HOSTA - What started as the Omaha HOSTA Society's modest plantings decades ago has turned into the fabulous 100 acre Lauritzen Gardens today.

26. Desert climate feature : DRY HEAT 

27. Blog updates : POSTS

28. Like easier-to-swallow pills : COATED - Not quite "a spoonful of sugar"

29. "__ Miniver" : MRS - Greer Garson won an Academy Award for her title role and gave the longest acceptance speech in academy history. They began a time limit the next year.

30. Strain to lift : HEFT

32. Humana rival : AETNA

33. Chinese gambling mecca : MACAO - Put it on Black at the roulette table when you're there

36. Sloppy, as security : LAX

37. Sauce with a kick : TABASCO - Still made on Avery Island, LA where over half the 200 person workforce also lives

41. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU

44. "Suits me fine!" : I SURE DO - "Do you enjoy blogging, Gary?"

49. Storage medium : DISK - My old 360 K floppy DS/DD disk pales in storage comparison  to my 3 Terabyte iMac

50. Bulgarian capital : SOFIA

52. Enterprise counselor : TROI

53. Capital with a Viking Ship Museum : OSLO

54. Prohibition era gun : GAT - This mug tried to chisel me and went on the lam and so I offed him with my GAT and a shyster helped me beat the rap

58. Reminders on cards : CUES - Johnny Carson's opening monologue CUE card from his last show

59. "Feliz año nuevo" time : ENERO

61. "You __ right!" : ARE SO

62. Champion : TITLIST - My daughter gets me TITLIST Pro V1's that say this on the back

64. Like Gen. Powell : RETD

66. More painful : SORER

69. __ year : LEAP

70. WWII Navy vessel named for the 29th state : USS IOWA - It had an elevator and was fitted with a bathtub when it carried FDR to Mers El Kébir, Algeria in WWII

73. Ocular sign of mischief : GLEAM

76. On the ball : ALERT

79. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo : ISLA

84. Cedar Rapids campus : COE

85. Marsh duck : TEAL

86. Hindu deity : RAMA

87. Salentina Peninsula country : ITALY - The "heel" of Italy's boot

88. Bowl over : STUN

93. Three-syllable foot : ANAPEST - A metrical foot of three syllables in the pattern of "unstressed, unstressed, stressed" e.g. Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

95. FDR successor : HST - "Uh, Harry, we have this super bomb in New Mexico that no one has told you about."

96. Erode : EAT INTO

97. "Kung Fu" actor Philip : AHN

99. Gets one's feet wet : WADES

100. Bombards with e-junk : SPAMS

102. Yucatán native : MAYA

104. Billion-year span : EON

105. Takes in, say : ALTERS - My alterations are going the other way

107. Weapon in a scabbard : SABER

110. Nutmeg State team : HUSKIES - The U Conn Lady HUSKIES just won their fourth national championship in a row

114. Kingdom : REALM

118. Kunta __ of "Roots" : KINTE - Roots attracted a then-record audience for a miniseries and is credited with changing attitudes toward slavery

119. Ritzy retreat : VILLA

120. "Oy vey!" : AH ME

121. Figure of interest? : RATE

122. Blue : SAD

123. Great __ Mountains : SMOKY

124. Orgs. that donate to runners : PACS - Political runners

125. Do some cleaning : DUST

 
Down
 
1. Clumsy type : OAF

2. Electrical system : GRID - A very nice off-the-GRID house in Washington 

3. New York MTA-owned commuter line : LIRR - Long Island Railroad

4. Patsy : EASY MARK - He went to his grave saying he was a Patsy

5. Treasure map units : PACES

6. "__ Enchanted": 2004 film : ELLA

7. Aunt in P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories : AGATHA

8. Prof's aides : TA'S - Get used to them, the prof has to "publish or perish"

9. Ristorante rice dish : RISOTTO

10. Play times? : ACTS

11. Trim : NEAT

12. Peridot and garnet : GEMS

13. Claim subject to debate : ESP- Will this tell you if you have ESP?

15. Relative of -let : ETTE

16. Pond hopper : TOAD

20. Instagram fodder : PHOTOS

21. Wells Fargo product : LOAN

23. Pain usually pluralized : THROE - A Police Chief in the THROES of pain after taking a 50,000 volt Taser jolt as a publicity stunt to get Tasers for his officers

24. UV-blocker rating syst. : SPF

28. Gospel singer Winans : CECE - Also a phonetic representation of one of our constructors today

31. Takes out : EXCISES

32. St. Clare's town : ASSISI - The Poor Clares of Cincinnati extending a blessing on the 800th anniversary of the founding of their order in ASSISI

33. Tiny biting fly : MIDGE 

34. Like most people : ASIAN

36. Sponge made from a vine fruit : LOOFA

38. Regarding : AS TO

39. Highway noise barrier : BERM - Many ball parks offer cheap BERM seating

40. Score after deuce : AD OUT - The server loses if the she loses the next point

42. Vacancy sign : TO LET - I'll be you know the song this picture and fill represents

43. Pizzeria chain, familiarly : UNOS

45. Brit. military award : DSO

47. Loop on the range : LASSO - From our LASSO, Riata, Noose, Bolas department

48. Get-together : SOCIAL

51. What a Sphynx cat lacks : FUR - An acquired taste?

55. "Don't look at me!" : NOT I - Said Judas to Jesus

56. 53-Across locale, to natives : NORGE - Jeg kommer fra NORGE (I am from Norway)

57. Cardinal cap letters : ST. L.

60. Flea market deal : RESALE

63. Reporter's source : LEAK - Mark Felt

65. Bio info : DOB - Get to ready to recite your Date Of Birth 20 times a day if you're in a hospital

67. Borden spokescow : ELSIE

68. Tour de France downtime : REST DAY - What was Lance taking on those days? 

70. __ directed : USE AS

71. Lousy sausages? : WURSTS

72. "Ditto" : AS AM I

74. Altar up above : ARA

75. 87-Across fashion center : MILAN

77. Stir : ROUSE and 94. Got up : AWOKE

78. Places for cots : TENTS

79. Sign of a recent bite : ITCH

81. Hacker's cry : I'M IN

82. Harper's Weekly caricaturist : NAST - He created modern image of Santa and the GOP's elephant

83. Bawling, for crying out loud: Abbr. : SYN - Synonyms. Four crying out loud = QUADS, er, babies not S's

88. Don Quixote, for one : SPANIARD

90. "Gosh!" : DEAR ME

91. Brand with a paw print in its logo : IAMS

92. "The rumor is ... " : SOME SAY

98. "Very funny!" : HA HA HA

101. Hit with hail, say : PELT

103. Museum pieces : ART

105. Torah holders : ARKS

106. Luke's twin : LEIA - I wonder what they got Darth for Father's Day?

107. Thin strip of wood : SHIM - Used to plumb and level doors here

108. Woody's son : ARLO - Arlo said his famous Alice's Restaurant lasted 18 min and 38 sec just like the gap in Richard Nixon's Watergate tape

109. Take for a ride : BILK

111. "Semper Fi" org. : USMC - I hope Dennis will comment today

112. Biblical name meaning "hairy" : ESAU

113. They're often pickled : SOTS - So many euphemisms 

115. Walgreens rival : CVS - So far they can't get the ground in our town to build next to the Walgreens here as is often their wont 

116. Hiking guide : MAP

117. Ping-Pong need : NET

My SteadfaStneSS led to many SuceSSeS and I finished without requiring multiple SeSSionS. 

Let'S See what otherS have to Say:

Sunday March 13, 2016, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: PLUGGED NICKEL

Some of us with a few miles on our odometers, can remember this 50's novelty song by Teresa Brewer whose first line was, "Put another NIckel in, In the NIckelodeon". 

Well our lovely den mother C.C. and her frequent puzzling partner Don (Hard G) Gagliardo did not insert nickels but rather dropped in the chemical symbol for the element nickel - NI - into some common phrases to make some clever crossword fills. They were having so much fun, they "coined" ten theme entries. C.C. told me their original title was TENNIS ANYONE? which  I absolutely did not get until she explained it to me. If you don't get it, I've explained it at the bottom of the write-up.

Theme fills (without and then Plugging In That NI)

23. Flier with a magical rod? : DIVINING BIRD  - A fowl plummeting toward its next meal OR a feathered friend wielding this magic DIVINING rod to find water, minerals or whatever...

25. Signal that nails are dry? : MANI BELL - The colloquial name for Bell Telephone pre-divestiture OR a time piece with an alarm to let you know your polish is dried

35. Sweet tooth? : SUGAR CANINE - The tall, green plant from which much sugar is derived or this. Yeah, I know the CANINES are further back but work with me here.

41. Nocturnal critter enjoying a meal? : DINING BAT - Archie's pet name for Edith Bunker OR 

56. Rejection of a parcel? : PACKAGE DENIAL - The whole kit and caboodle OR Jerry saying "I don't want it!" (Splynter's nightmare)

80. Part of the ad that sells the product? : FINISHING HOOK - A barb to catch a lenten meal OR how to catch a customer

94. Ace garage door mechanic? : GENIE WHIZ - A wistful remark OR the guy you'll need to fix one of these. He was at our house on Wednesday.

97. Ralph Lauren's "Celebrate Radio" clothing line? : MARCONI POLO - The Italian who spent years in the court of Kublai Kahn (but did NOT bring back spaghetti) OR the inventor of radio as a couturière

114. Superhero who doesn't do well in a crisis? : PANIC MAN - A early popular video game OR Superman who just wasn't up to it that day

116. Carrier pigeon's daily delivery? : NEWS CANISTER - A radio or TV reader of daily events OR the container attached to a homing pigeon to carry messages during WWI in this case

Now, filling my NIche as a blogger, I present my NIckel and Dime musings

Across     
    
1. Compares poorly : PALES

6. Unites : MERGES - How we do Christmas card envelopes

12. Scoundrel : CAD

15. Terminus of all roads? : ROME - Yes all their wonderful roads did lead there at one time

19. Slip past : ELUDE

20. Lizard with a dewlap : IGUANA - Not an attractive feature

21. Coleridge wrote one on dejection : ODE

22. Scrape, in totspeak : OWIE

27. "We gotta go" : IT'S TIME 

28. Work in a park, perhaps : STATUE - Work of art

30. Fight sites : ARENAS

31. Couple in a boat : OARS - Sometimes I don't have both of mine in the water

33. Venice glider : GONDOLA

46. Sporty auto roofs : T-TOPS

47. Cut with a beam : LASE -  Would you really want to LASE your eyes as cheaply as possible?

48. First name in fashion : COCO - Ms. Chanel

49. Word accompanying finger-shaking : NO NO

50. San __: jet set resort : REMO - In the map above, it appears that one of those roads that led to Rome came from this far NW Italy town 30 miles from Nice, France

51. Many an earring : CLIP ON

53. A grand's ten : C-SPOTS - It takes ten of these C-NOTES to made a grand - $1,000

55. "__ you serious?" : ARE  - A variation

61. Slow start? : ESS - The letter ESS starts both words

62. Founder of what is now Lima : PIZARRO - My first Juan had two Z's

64. Drag racing gp. : NHRA - Should I write out National Hot Rod Association? Nah!

65. "My bad!" : I'M SORRY - Popularized in '95 move Clueless

67. Showed pain : MOANED 

69. "__ I done?" : WHAT'VE

70. Eatery serving filled fare : TACO BAR - Let me at it!

72. First park with a Home Run Apple : SHEA - Home of the Mets from 1964 - 2008

75. Potpourri : GRAB BAG

79. Hockey great : ORR

83. 67.5 deg. : ENE - Here 'ya go

84. DVD player error message : NO DISC

86. Call before a snap : HUT ONE - Start of a QB's cadence but usually shared with the center

87. Sharp turns : ZAGS

88. All square : EVEN - Tied up

89. __ the crack of dawn : UP AT

91. Time to give up? : LENT - 40 days that start on Ash Wednesday 

93. Hamlet and Victor Borge : DANES - Victor would be bigger laughs at a party!

99. Where Puccini's "Turandot" premiered : LA SCALA - Turandot contains the fabulous aria Nessun Dorma

101. Salon, say : E-MAG

102. Patio door : SLIDER

106. In the thick of : AMIDST

109. Game with melding : CANASTA

118. Airbrush target : ACNE - Before and after airbrushing. SHAZAM!

119. Explosive first used as a yellow dye : TNT

120. Subside : DIE OUT

121. Scottish feudal lord : THANE - Macbeth was the THANE of Glamis

122. Wicked one's lack? : REST

123. Garden chopper : HOE

124. Controversial blasts : A-TESTS - America's first A Bomb TEST was in central New Mexico  three weeks before Fat Man was dropped on Hiroshima (see 74 Down)

125. Gossip queen : YENTA
 

Down
 
1. Digital indulgence : PEDI - Maybe you'll need a PEDI BELL like 25 Across 

2. Came down : ALIT

3. Ultra Leakguards brand : LUVS - Our girls had cotton diapers

4. Polish for publication : EDIT - Not Polish as in the country but as in polish - make better

5. Fourth-year group : SENIORS - SENIORitis is epidemic this time of year in High Schools

6. __ water : MINERAL

7. Metaphorical facial embarrassment : EGG - Sling one and you might get one back

8. Coaxes from a lamp, with "out" : RUBS - Coaxing out the Genie that doesn't make garage door openers 

9. Canter or trot : GAIT

10. Really tick off : ENRAGE

11. "__ say ... " : SAD TO - "Well I'm SAD TO say, I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day"

12. Chuckle-inducing : COMEDIC - Some good COMEDIC material makes us uncomfortable 

13. Oral health org. : ADA

14. Alaska Range highlight : DENALI - Pres. Obama moved to change the name back to this rather than Mt. McKinley. Works for me.

15. Loungewear item : ROBE - My summer ROBE just came upstairs this week

16. Wilson of "Marley & Me" : OWEN - Not on my radar

17. Leon Uris' "__ 18" : MILA - Title comes from the address of the Jewish Resistance in Warsaw ulica Miła 18 (18 Mila Street, in English) 

18. Elongated fish : EELS

24. Desktop since 1998 : IMAC - Our great iMAC experience is not shared by all here

26. Persian Gulf land : IRAN - I met a woman who identified herself as Persian (ethnicity) not IRANIAN (nationality), adding that she preferred to separate herself from the politics of the country.

29. Come __: lose one's composure : UNDONE - She's Come UNDONE - The Guess Who

32. Vending machine item : SNACK

34. Tokyo-born artist : ONO

35. Spaghetti __ : STRAP  - These spaghetti-STRAPPED bib overalls are not intended for farm chores

36. Gestation sites : UTERI

37. Addams family patriarch : GOMEZ

38. Mil. address : APO - Army Post Office

39. Key, e.g. : ISLAND

40. Stable negative? : NEIGH

42. Econ. measure : GNP - Gross National (State) Product equivalents in 2012

43. Anti at the ballpark : BOOER - Also a boor

44. Full of nervous energy : ANTSY - Example A - Teaching a 2nd grade art class

45. Deep-six : TOSS - I'll bet you know the huge movie where a woman decided to DEEP-SIX this diamond 

48. Sonata finale : CODA

52. According to : PER

53. Leader who gave up cigar-smoking in 1985 : CASTRO

54. Polish relative : SLOVAK

56. Checks for errors : PROOFS - I PROOF my blogs to check for errors, but the best laid plans of men and mice...

57. Mideast language : ARABIC

58. Late-night show since 2010 : CONAN

59. Biomedical research agcy. : NIH-  National Institute of Health 

60. Insect stage after pupa : IMAGO - The end product of the process

63. Theater chain initials : AMC

66. Johnny __ : REB - His side got second

68. Pa. airport north of PIT : ERI(E)

69. Ring Cycle composer : WAGNER - Hitler's iPod would have had lots of Richard's work

70. Treasure stash : TROVE

71. "As You Like It" forest : ARDEN - From the River Avon to the River Tame

72. Close : SHUT

73. Top 10 song : HIT

74. __ Gay : ENOLA - Delivery vehicle for device mentioned in 126 Across

76. Bingo cousin : BEANO - A predecessor where I'll bet you know what was used to mark the cells 

77. Word from the Latin for "messenger" : ANGEL

78. Painter's undercoat : GESSO - Applying and sanding Golden Brand GESSO

79. Universal donor's type, briefly : O-NEG -  As you can see, O-Negative blood can be given to any other type and AB+ only to other AB+'s

81. Gomer Pyle exclamation : SHAZAM

82. Thus : HENCE

85. Pasta suffix : INI

87. Heat up quickly : ZAP

89. Hesitant sounds : UH'S 

90. Hot and spicy : PICANTE

92. Alley lurkers : TOMCATS

93. It's good to lose with it : DIGNITY - or...

95. Juice: Abbr. : ELEC

96. Geniality : WARMTH 

97. Reached the big time : MADE IT - Like George and Weezie 

98. Chicken vindaloo go-with : NAAN

100. Singer Ronstadt : LINDA 

102. Practice for a bout : SPAR - World's worst job? SPARRING with Mike Tyson.

103. Bra fabric : LACE

104. Holiday lodgings? : INNS

105. South Beach, for one : DIET

107. __'Pea : SWEE - Swee' Pea was left on Popeye's doorstep

108. General __ chicken : TSO'S 

110. 1975 Wimbledon champ : ASHE - He won, lost and lived with DIGNITY!

111. Asian country suffix : STAN - There's a few

112. Lawn party rental : TENT

113. Interior designer's statistic : AREA

115. "Is that __?" : A NO - He's good at it!

117. "Stop filming!" : CUT - Or Stop Blogging! 

C.C.'s original title of TENNIS ANYONE means TEN NI'S ANYONE as in ten insertions of NI. Duh, Gary!

Well, that's my NIckel's worth. Now, how about your two cents? 

GRID