Sunday, Dec 20, 2015 Garry Morse

Theme: "La-la Land" - Each two-word theme entry has LA & LA in them.

22A. Cocktail made with Southern Comfort : ALABAMA SLAMMER. What's your favorite cocktail?

28A. Starbucks order : VANILLA LATTE. I remember the first time I visited Starbucks in Guangzhou. Holy smokes! I spent almost 100 Chinese Yuan for a cup of a coffee and a tiny piece of sweet something. The delicious lunch at the local diners cost about 10 Yuan.

57A. Windows material : PLATE GLASS

 

74A. With "The," 2002 Steven Pinker best-seller subtitled "The Modern Denial of Human Nature" : BLANK SLATE. Not familiar it the book or the author.

 

100A. Security measure : BURGLAR ALARM

108A. Modifying words : RELATIVE CLAUSE. New phrase to me.

 

31D. Steinbeck novel set in Monterey : TORTILLA FLAT

42D. Dog once shunned because it wasn't black : CHOCOLATE LAB. Did not know this.

Simple & elegant theme. Reminds me of my R2- D2 theme a while ago. Oh, Argyle, I just noticed two of the pictures in your write-up are now invalid. At least, no lawyer or law firm wrote to me to remove those two pictures. I get those requests from time to time.

Nice grid design. Another low-word 140. I like the themer overlaps at the top and bottom. The top is especially clean.

Across:

1. Dance with a queen : PROM. Great clue. Stumped me though. Skipped to the next entry immediately.

5. Facebook tally : LIKES

10. Bug : IRK

13. Conductor's setting : TEMPO. I was thinking of a place for "setting".

18. Texter's guffaw : ROFL. Rolling On Floor Laughing.  And 35. Texter's "Beats me" : IDK. I Don't Know.

19. The Little Mermaid : ARIEL

20. Catching-on cry : AHA

21. Survived the test : BORE UP. All crosses.

25. Rat, for one : RODENT

26. Plural French pronoun : ILS. They. Did you try CES also?

27. Mets' rival : NATs

30. Origins : ROOTS

32. Common Market inits. : EEC

34. From, in German names : VON. Did your wife grow up in Germany, D-Otto?

36. __ student : MED

37. How some flowers are planted : IN ROWS. I'm not fussy about flowers. Green beans, yes.

39. Kate, before being "tamed" : SHREW

41. Joined in a film lab : SPLICED

43. Eponymous band location : E STREET. Springsteen's E Street Band.

45. Geologic time unit : EON

46. 22-year-old golf phenom Jordan who won the Masters, U.S. Open and FedExCup in 

2015 : SPIETH. Great role model for kids. Tiger was too cold to fans.

47. Syrup source : TREE SAP

49. Disreputable : SHADY

50. 12-member oil gp. : OPEC

 

54. Eighth-century year : DCCI. Put in DCC, then waited.

59. Italy's La __ : SCALA

60. Like some hygiene : ORAL. White teeth do not equate to healthy teeth. Learned it the hard way.

61. Prince __ Khan : ALY. Mindlessly put in AGA.

62. Chicago mayor Emanuel : RAHM. In hot water right now. What's the matter with Illinois, TTP?

63. Reproductive units : SPORES

64. Like an ill-equipped rowboat : OARLESS. Waited for crosses.

66. Wranglers, e.g. : JEEPS. Not JEANS.

68. Sub compartment : AIRLOCK. Drew a blank.  

69. King who succeeds his father, say : DYNAST. Not a word I use. Dynasty, yes.

70. Of the highest quality : A-ONE

71. Old televangelist org. : PTL

72. Old, to Oskar : ALTE. Just German for "old". It's "Lao" in Chinese, hence Lao Tze, literally "Old master".

73. Takes it easy : LOAFS

77. School barometer : TEST

78. Ltr.-bottom letters : ENCL. Is the mail delivery is your area reliable?

79. __ cum laude : MAGNA

80. Cough drop : LOZENGE

82. "The Joy Luck Club" author : AMY TAN. Love the book.

84. Dog days mo. : AUG

85. Cut back on food intake : ATE LESS

89. How food may be salted : TO TASTE. I love pickled food and eat it every day. I should probably cut down on my salt intake.

91. Threaded hardware : SCREW

93. "... baked __" : IN A PIE. 6-letter partial.

94. Passel : TON

95. GPS offering : RTE

96. School attendance drop-off cause : FLU. Nice clue.

97. __ Miguel, largest of the Azores : SAO

99. Balearic island : IBIZA. I first heard of this place from my old colleague Adam, who was quite a party animal.

104. Machu Picchu dweller : INCA

106. Film lover's collectible : CEL

107. Web browser? : SPIDER. Another brilliant clue.

111. Nuts in some ice cream : PECANS. I've tried nearly every brand of walnuts. All smell a bit moldy, though the taste is totally fine. Do you have the same problem?

112. Fair-hiring initials : EEO

113. Gradually gather : GLEAN

114. Anesthetize : DRUG

115. "Later!" : SEE YA

116. One of 400,000-plus in the U.S. : ATM. Holy smokes! I had A?? earlier on, just did not think of ATMs.

117. Before the crowd : EARLY

118. Drive-thru transactions: Abbr. : DEPS. OK, deposits.

Down:

1. Grassland : PRAIRIE

2. Deodorant options : ROLL-ONS

3. In some respects : OF A SORT. Simple in retrospect. I just could not see the answer.

4. Diamond org. : MLB

5. Dalai __ : LAMA

6. Steamed : IRATE

7. X's in some letters : KISSES

8. Slender fish : EEL. Your local grocery store (Asian section) should carry this brand. So good.

 

9. Pole or Croat : SLAV

10. Irritated response to "Aren't you awake yet?" : I AM NOW

11. Bonn's river, in Bonn : RHEIN

12. Marx not seen in films : KARL. Nailed it.

13. Mechanic's set : TOOL KIT

14. "Ring Cycle" goddess : ERDA. German for "earth", right?

15. Tryster's request : MEET ME. Never sent or heard of this request.

16. Gave up the ball : PUNTED

17. Chose, with "for" : OPTED

21. Basketball Hall of Famer who was inducted while a U.S. senator : BRADLEY (Bill). No idea. I don't care basketball. Do care politics. But Wiki said he left the Senate before I came to the US.

23. Comeback : ANSWER

24. Expert : MAVEN

29. Fatty compounds : LIPIDS

33. Look the wrong way, maybe : CHEAT. Tricky clue.

38. Look beyond : SEE PAST

40. Leeway metaphor : ROPE. I wanted ROOM.

41. Muscle malady : SPASM

44. Blinking and sweating, in poker : TELLS. Thought of my brother. We used to play Chinese-style poker. He was not good. By the way, PK, my brother still lives in Xi'an, in the same apartment we grew up.

46. Persian sovereigns : SHAHS

48. For instance : SAY

 

49. Offended smack : SLAP

51. __ officer : PAROLE

52. Chooses : ELECTS

53. Vampire's bed? : CASKET. Indeed.

54. Idle drawing : DOODLE. And 55. Drawing stick : CRAYON

56. Envelope-to-the-forehead TV persona : CARNAC. Stumped me also. Johnny Carson character.

58. __ salad : GREEK

59. It starts in Mar. : SPR

63. Sailing component? : SILENT I. Cruel clue. This refers for the first i, correct? Sailing.

65. Superman's symbol : ESS

66. Big name in fabric stores : JO-ANN. Never been there. Maybe this Joann frequents that place.

67. Sicilian resort : ENNA

68. Attending an afternoon social : AT TEA

70. Pond plants : ALGAE

71. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Peace. Guerra = War.

74. One swinging in a box : BATTER. Baseball.

75. Derogatory remark : SLUR

76. Theater sections : LOGES

79. "Goodness me!" : MY STARS!

81. Friendly : GENIAL

83. 1963 hit on the flip side of "Candy Girl" : MARLENA. Never heard of it.

 

84. Integra maker : ACURA

 

86. Gastronome : EPICURE. Our Steve. I don't know anyone who's more foodier than Steve. From Japanese to Indian to French, he knows them all.

87. Judges : SIZES UP

88. What landlubbers lack : SEA LEGS

89. Piece on top : TOUPEE. Oh, on top of your head.

90. How chop suey may be served : ON RICE. Chop suey is American Chinese food.

91. Race with gates : SLALOM. Another nice clue. Are you still reading us, Marti?

92. Relinquishing of rights : WAIVER

 

94. Cookbook amts. : TBSPS

96. Speedy : FLEET

98. Oscar winner at age 10 : O'NEAL (Tatum)

101. Down Under howdy : G'DAY

102. Vicinity : AREA

103. Monthly budget amt. : MTGE

105. Harlem sch. : CCNY. I had CUNY first.

109. Dockworker's org. : ILA

110. Stick in : ADD

So some of you know that Boomer has been in a slump this season. He bowled his 20th perfect game on Friday Dec 11. One of his friends got it on camera. Click here. Boomer was pretty excited about the breakthrough, but started a new slump in no time :-)

C.C.

Monday, February 16, 2015 Garry Morse

Theme: Huh? I must have dozed off - which might be excused because of all the Z's.(9)

17A. Teen's budding facial hair, informally : PEACH FUZZ

56A. Speculation leading up to a February 22 awards extravaganza : OSCAR BUZZ

11D. Semi-autobiographical 1979 Fosse film : "ALL THAT JAZZ"

25D. Bubbly plum-flavored drink : SLOE GIN FIZZ

Argyle [yawn] here. Garry returns after his debut back in July last year. That was a Sunday but now he tackles the always tough Monday. Two 3-word 11's in the verticals and two 2-word 9's in the horizontals. I do wonder if the timely reference to the Oscars was the seed entry or just Rich's reason to publish it now.

Across:

1. Ray Charles' genre : R AND B. (rhythm and blues)

6. "Thank God" day: Abbr. : FRI.

9. Swedish autos : SAABs

14. Borden mascot : ELSIE

15. Cereal grain : OAT

16. Come from behind : RALLY

19. Place for a perm : SALON

20. One of many in a Lipton bag : TEA LEAF

22. Home buyer's debt: Abbr. : MTGE. (Mortgage)

23. Ceases : DESISTS. Cease and Desist partners; stop what you're doing and don't try it again.

26. Sister of Rachel : LEAH. Rachel and Leah were two sisters who married the same man - Jacob. Their father, Laban, was Jacob's uncle.

28. Distributes by shares : ALLOTS

29. Group nickname for Ringwald, Sheedy, Lowe, Estevez et al. : BRAT PACK

33. "Let's go!" : "C'MON!". "What do I have to do? Goose you?"

34. Name of 18 French kings : LOUIS

35. "Toto, __?": Dorothy : TOO

36. Caviar, e.g. : ROE

37. Country-drive view : SCENERY

39. Jam holder : JAR

40. Nonprofit URL ending : .ORG (organization)

41. Carpentry bit : AUGER. Type of drill.

42. Uncommon : RARE

43. Next-door resident : NEIGHBOR

45. Gabor with an echoic name : ZSA ZSA

47. Florida State player, for short : NOLE. (Seminoles)

48. Native : CITIZEN

49. Living room piece : SOFA

51. "No chance of that happening!" : "DREAM ON!"

54. Relax, in slang : CHILL

60. Open, as a jacket : UNZIP

61. Tex. clock setting : CST

62. Theater offering : MOVIE

63. Takes a nap : DOZES

64. Fancy carp : KOI

65. Former Steeler star Lynn __, who ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 : SWANN. Swann ran as a Republican against the Democratic incumbent Ed Rendell. He lost by almost 850,000 votes.

Down:

1. Sales agent : REP. (Representative)

2. Bass brew : ALE

3. Govt. intel org. : NSA. [no such agency]

4. Style of wording : DICTION

5. Command : BEHEST. It would behoove you to remember this word.

6. Hoops ref's calls : FOULS Hoops=basketball

7. Demolish, as a building : RAZE

8. Chichén __ : ITZÁ

9. Yearbook sect. : SRs

10. Road travel org. freebie : AAA MAP

12. Opinion website : BLOG

13. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

18. Pool legend Minnesota __ : FATS

21. Natural aptitude : FLAIR

23. Wrinkle-resistant synthetic : DACRON

24. Author Leonard : ELMORE. Elmore John Leonard, Jr.

    Raylan - Get Shorty - Three-Ten to Yuma - Mr. Majestyk

27. Online market for handmade crafts : ETSY. Link

29. Dumb mistake : BONER

30. Penitent sort : RUER

31. Like a woodworker's rasp : COARSE

32. Seoul native : KOREAN

34. Toy block brand : LEGO

37. Humorist Mort who wrote jokes for Kennedy : SAHL

38. To the third power : CUBED

42. Colorful post-cloudburst phenomenon : RAINBOW

44. Hockey mask wearer : GOALIE

45. Alcopop brand : ZIMA

 46. Hurricanes, e.g. : STORMS

48. Spiny desert plants : CACTI

49. Gulf War missile : SCUD

50. "Don't tell me!" : "OH NO!"

52. Relax on a porch chair, perhaps : ROCK

53. Standard Oil brand : ESSO

55. Hi-fi platters : LPs

57. Charlottesville sch. : UVA. (University of Virginia)

58. Red or blush wine, familiarly : ZIN

59. Buddhist sect : ZEN

How many CSO's did you count?

Argyle

Sunday July 13, 2014 Garry Morse

Theme:   "Lo and Behold!" -LO is inserted into each theme answer.

23A. Tango involving gates? : SLALOM DANCING. Slam dancing.

33A. Most shameful nonstudio films? : LOWEST INDIES. West Indies.

52A. Opinion piece by a sot? : LOOPED COLUMN. Op-ed column. Who's your favorite columnist?

69A. Song about a guy with his jug of wine? : FOR ME AND MY GALLO. For Me and My Gal.

90A. Vivaldi's styling business? : SALON ANTONIO. San Antonio. Antonio Vivaldi.

104A. Time for a weekly parade? : FLOAT TUESDAY. Fat Tuesday.

122A. Hit homers batting left- and right-handed? : CLOUT BOTH WAYS. Cut both ways.

No Garry Morse in our blog label, must be a debut. Quite a feat to make a debut on Sunday, as the grid is much more demanding. Tiny dupes like this happen often:

119A. Former : ONE TIME

103D. "Have an hors d'oeuvre" : TRY ONE

Rich & Patti normally do not allow those dupes.
 

Across:

1. Get at : IMPLY

6. Work with ice, perhaps : SCULPT. We also have 125. Ice removal tool : SCRAPER. Stunning

12. Gossip components : TIDBITS. Sohu (China) has an insane amount of gossip.

19. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE

20. Pennsylvania railroad town : ALTOONA. Is this an Indian name also?

22. Busts a gut over : ROARS AT

25. All together : EN MASSE

26. There's one next to Ventnor Ave. in Monopoly : UTIL

27. Musical liability : TIN EAR. That's what I have.

28. The ANC's country : RSA. ANC is the African National Congress.

30. Digs of twigs : NEST

31. Outcasts : PARIAHS

37. Cue : PROMPT

40. Typical Popstar! reader : TEEN

41. Reject : NIX

42. Peter Lorre role : MR MOTO. Wiki said the author "initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death of Charlie Chan's creator Earl Derr Biggers".

45. Burning : LIT

47. Tear into : ASSAIL

49. Tax pro, briefly : CPA

55. Was humbled : ATE CROW. Or DIRT.

57. Test sites : LABS

58. Author __ Rogers St. Johns : ADELA. Also the girl in "A Passage to India".

59. Word of woe : ALAS

61. Fail to keep : LOSE

62. Magazine VIPs : EDs

63. Letters on a Cardinal cap : STL

65. Jungian inner self : ANIMA

67. Throws out : EJECTS

73. Pepperdine University site : MALIBU. Not familiar with Pepperdine University.

76. Followers : SHEEP. English is irrational. With sheep & deer.

77. "The X-Files" subj. : UFO

78. Red Guard leader : MAO. He encouraged those red guards to stir up some trouble.

81. Keats works : ODES

82. "House" actor : EPPS (Omar)

84. Truman's Missouri birthplace : LAMAR

87. The Taj Mahal, e.g. : TOMB

88. Like fine wine : VINTAGE

93. Close : END

94. 1939 Buck Rogers player : CRABBE (Buster)

97. "Just __" : ASK

98. Not back, perhaps : OPPOSE

99. Key letter : PHI

100. Cambodian capital : RIEL. Sihanouk died in Beijing. The international section of our evening news always had heavy coverage of Khmer Rouge & Gaza Strip & The Base (Al-Qaeda).

102. Loathing : HATRED. And 6. Extreme cruelty : SADISM. Dexter Filkins called those ISIS guys psychopaths.

109. Symbol of love : RED ROSE

113. Pool regimen : LAPS

114. ABBA's homeland: Abbr. : SWE

115. Saunters : MOSEYS

118. Crafts partner : ARTS

126. Choking cause : TENSION. Bases loaded with two outs situation, correct?

127. London length : METRE

128. Quarterly arrivals : SEASONS

129. "Tristram Shandy" author : STERNE (Laurence). Have you read the novel?

130. Creme-filled snacks : OREOS

Down:

1. "__ to you" : IT'S UP

2. Smallest European Union country : MALTA

3. Singer Liz : PHAIR. Splynter's type of girl.

4. Rewards for kids : LOLLIPOPS

5. USN clerk : YEO. Yeoman.

7. Highlands family : CLAN

8. __ Reader : UTNE

9. It makes all the stops : LOCAL

10. "Egocentric little creep" of a detective, according to the author who created him : POIROT. Again, from Wiki: "By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable", and by 1960 she felt that he was a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep". 

11. Old Opry network : TNN

12. Reward for a pet : TREAT. He loves his Kong.

13. K+, e.g. : ION

14. Farm female : DAM

15. Unnamed competitor, in ads : BRAND X

16. Japanese immigrant : ISSEI. The first-generation Japanese-American.

17. Café cup : TASSE

18. Editorial changes of heart : STETS

21. Goes along : AGREES

24. View from Portland, Ore. : MT. HOOD

29. IRS form entries : SSNS

32. Comic Johnson : ARTE

34. Withdraw : WEAN

35. Per se : IN ITSELF

36. "Aida" backdrop : NILE. And 56. Queen of the 36-Down, familiarly : CLEO

38. Slog : PLOD

39. Ceramic piece, perhaps : TILE

42. Fr. miss : MLLE

43. Country __ : ROAD

44. Surrounds en masse : MOBS. This dupes the previous EN MASSE answer. Hard to spot in a huge grid.

46. School severely damaged by Katrina : TULANE

48. Org. with towers : AAA. Tow-ers.

49. Swamp snapper : CROC

50. Mail : POST

51. Leaves open-mouthed : AWES

53. Relax : CALM

54. "Long Walk to Freedom" autobiographer : MANDELA. Iraq needs a Mandela.

59. Five-time Oscar nominee Adams : AMY. So pretty.

60. Fall back : LAG

63. Cry hard : SOB

64. Wayne's Oscar film : TRUE GRIT

66. Savanna grazer : IMPALA

68. Self-titled best-selling album of 2001 : J. LO

69. It may be pumped or bumped : FIST. First bump is called DAP.

70. Psychic's claim : ESP. And 72. It may be detected by a psychic : AURA

71. Relaxed responses : AHS

73. Relocate : MOVE

74. Court advantage : AD IN

75. Give conditionally : LEND

78. Like most pre-'60s recordings : MONO

79. "The Information" author Martin : AMIS

80. Slim woodwind : OBOE

83. Soup veggie : PEA. I love sugar peas.

85. Dance in a pit : MOSH

86. "She's a Lady" songwriter : ANKA

87. Excellent : TOP DRAWER. Top entry!

89. Sieben und eins : ACHT. I did not know Sieben is German for 7.

90. Tourney ranking : SEED

91. Beef from the weary : NO REST

92. Pranked, in a way : TP'ED

95. Tea or coffee : BREW

96. Divide equally : BISECT

99. Ristorante offerings : PASTAS

101. __ Cranston, a.k.a. "The Shadow" : LAMONT. Also new to me.

104. Oral-B product : FLOSS

105. Tilting pole : LANCE

106. Dvorák's "Rusalka," e.g. : OPERA

107. Netizens, say : USERS

108. Brooklynese pronoun : YOUSE. Plural of "you".

110. Declaim : ORATE

111. Start to foam? : STYRO. Styrofoam.

112. Assisi trio? : ESSES

116. Ruin Bond's martini : STIR

117. Jet-black, in verse : EBON

120. Newsworthy NYSE event : IPO

121. Fathers and sons : MEN

123. "__ Miz" : LES

124. Wellness gp. : HMO

C.C.