Thursday, October 31, 2013 Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: "Marooned"

20A. 1954 Luis Buñuel film : ROBINSON CRUSOE. The 1997 remake starred Pierce Brosnan.

35A. 1974 Lina Wertmüller film : SWEPT AWAY. The 2002 remake starred Madonna.

54A. 1963 Peter Brook film : LORD OF THE FLIES. The 1990 remake starred Balthazar Getty.

And the unifier:

13D. With 44-Down, setting for 20-, 35- and 54-Across : DESERT. 44. See 13-Down : ISLAND.

Three movies from three different decades are the stars of this show, with all three taking place on a DESERT ISLAND. Evidently there were quite a few to choose from. It seemed a little difficult, but I didn't need to send out an SOS, and finished in my typical Thursday time.

Across:

1. Works by future doctors : THESES. Nailed it.

7. One of two N.T. books : COR.inthians.

10. Mellowed, perhaps : AGED. I must be very mellowed by now.

14. 24/7 Rollerball maker : PENTEL.

15. Address for a PFC : APO. Army Post Office, but also used by the Air Force.

16. Traffic controller : CONE. Until it gets run over by an out-of-control driver.

17. African adventure : SAFARI. (Safari, sa goodie…)

18. Buttinskies : MEDDLERS.

22. Eur.'s ocean : ATL.antic

23. Diva quality : EGO.

24. Smallish cells : AAs. Oh, batteries. I was thinking of platelets. (I guess it was the immunohematologist in me…)

25. "__ Love": Natalie Cole hit : OUR. Here's the lovely song. 5:25

26. Lamarr of Hollywood : HEDY. Not just a pretty face, she invented a signal technology that led to the modern cell phone.

28. Harrison colleague : STARR. George Harrison and Ringo Starr of the Beatles.  I was thinking of this Harrison for a while.

30. Sluglike "Star Wars" alien : HUTT. Jabba the.

31. Map corner item, maybe : INSET.

33. Cross-referencing words : SEE NOTE.

38. Rat Pack leader : SINATRA. "Ol' Blue Eyes"

40. Pizza order : SLICE.

44. Start for sphere : IONO. Wanted "atmo" at first. It didn't work out well for me...

45. Moved, as a trireme : OARED.

48. Aussie flock : EMUS.

49. Benchmark: Abbr. : STD. Standard.

50. "For shame!" : TUT. Tsk, tsk.  Another misstep.

51. Portuguese royal : REI.

53. PGA money winner, e.g. : PRO.

58. Unwanted import from the East? : ASIAN FLU.

59. Words that may precede weeping? : READ 'EM. (and weep…)

61. Word with blue or bean : NAVY.

62. Neurologist's test, briefly : EEG. Electroencephalogram.

63. Temper : ANNEAL. "Hissy fit" wouldn't work.

64. Covers the gray, say : DYES. Who, moi??

65. Tokyo, long ago : EDO.

66. They raise dough : YEASTS.


Down:

1. Festoons with certain tissue, for short : TPs. (Toilet Papers.) Auburn fans have it down to a science.

2. Give courage to : HEARTEN.

3. Swathes : ENFOLDS.

4. Attempt : STAB. Take a stab at the answer.

5. Spine-tingling : EERIE.

6. Baby carriers : SLINGS.

7. Hunter's garb, for short : CAMO.uflage.

8. Clearing : OPEN AREA.

9. A.L. Rookie of the Year after Tommie Agee : ROD CAREW. Oh, OK. If you say so. (Who knew CAREW?)

10. Rights protection gp. : ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

11. Has a date : GOES OUT.

12. On the way : EN ROUTE. The Cardinals were EN ROUTE for a verrrrrry long time on Tuesday.

19. TV's Oz and Gupta : DRs. I knew Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Öz, but didn't remember Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

21. Barstool topper : SOT. Haha, funny clue!

22. Yellowfin tuna : AHI.

27. Like no-nonsense questions : YES/NO.

29. "When You Wish Upon __" : A STAR. Original soundtrack. 2:13

30. Big name in games : HOYLE.

32. Bygone Delta rival : TWA. Trans World Airlines. Merged with American in 2001.

34. "Illmatic" rapper : NAS. Oh, I just can't link it...

36. Cajun crawfish dish :  ÉTOUFFÉE. Yummm.

37. Went on and on : PRATTLED. I hope I am not PRATTLing too much?

38. In a manner of speaking : SO TO SAY.

39. Ready to go forward : IN DRIVE.

41. Blocks : IMPEDES.

42. Attack with profanity : CURSE AT.

43. That, in Tabasco : ESO. I never know whether to put an "O" or an "a" on the end. Perps tell me which way to go, usually.

46. Before, to a bard : ERE.

47. Offset, as costs : DEFRAY.

50. It may be gross : TON.

Gross tonnage is calculated by measuring a ship's volume (from keel to funnel, to the outside of the hull framing) and applying a mathematical formula. Bill G.?

52. "The L Word" producer Chaiken : ILENE. Never saw the show.

55. Woody Allen's "Radio __" : DAYS. With Mia Farrow. Never saw it.

56. Science fiction prize : HUGO.

57. Collector's suffix : IANA. Meh.

60. D.C. United's org. : MLS. Major League Soccer.

That's it from me for this week. See you next time!

Marti

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: Center Parting - as the hint clue explains the four theme answers reveal a hair-related word at the start and the end of each one.

17A. 1949 Olivia de Havilland film : THE HEIRESS. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance.

25A. Home of the Clinton Presidential Library : LITTLE ROCK. It's a pretty spectacular bulding:

36A. Bead in a necklace : CULTURED PEARL. As opposed to ignorant ones?

49A. Sam's Choice, e.g. : STORE BRAND. I rarely shop at Wal-Mart so this didn't jump out at me right away. The theme definitely helped me get this one.

59A. Nitpick, and what this puzzle's circled letters represent : SPLIT HAIRS

Maidin Mhaith to you all; I thought I'd exercise my Irish a little this morning! I know some of you won't have had the circles printed in your particular newspaper but I don't think they were necessary for the theme to become apparent. I thought this was going to be very tricky - on my first pass I was drawing lots of blanks until I got to the SW, and then things started to fall into place.

It didn't help that I always forget whether Reba McEntire or Kelly Ripa was Regis Philbin's co-host, and I also forget that the clue will indicate whether we're looking for the first or the last name, so that left me pondering the last few letters of the fill for a couple of minutes, especially with crosses that were also unknowns.

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. 10% donation : TITHE

6. "12 Angry Men" actor : COBB. Lee J. was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

10. Credit card bill nos. : A.P.R.'S. The Annual Percentage Rate. Some credit cards have extraordinarily high ones.

14. Lucy's landlady : ETHEL

15. __ code : AREA. 818 in my case.

16. Sodium hydroxide, on a chem test : NaOH. Sodium's symbol "Na" comes from the Latin Natrium, which begs the question why we didn't name just the element that?

19. Kathryn of HBO's "Oz" : ERBE. No idea. Perps.

20. Dermatologist's concerns : RASHES.

21. Rowboat propeller : OAR

23. "Where __ sign?" : DO I

24. Cold drink brand : ICEE. I only needed four crosses to nail this one.

29. White House tween : SASHA. I usually blank on the Obama's kids. More perps to the rescue.

31. Delightful time : GAS. I had GAY initially until BESOTS came along.

32. Singer Shore : DINAH

33. Pope of 903 : LEO V. Crosses needed to decide between the possible I, V or X choices. I'm assuming there weren't enough Leos to get up into L or C territory.

35. Van Cleef & __: French jeweler/perfumer : ARPELS. Perps. Never head of this partnership. Interesting-looking watches though.

40. Small sword : RAPIER. Small as in slim, not short.

41. Corduroy ridges : RIBS

42. "__ Is Born" : A STAR. Barbra Streisand's Emmy-winning "Evergreen" was the theme.

43. Double-helix molecule : DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid is a bit of a mouthful, but it does have an elegant structure.

44. Coke and Pepsi : SODAS. Could easily have been COLAS also, so I waited for the crosses. Lots of waiting for crosses for me today.

52. Dramatic opening? : MELO. Was Romeo being melodramatic in 55A?

53. Blackguard : CAD

54. Small pop group : DUO

55. When, in Act III, Romeo cries, "O, I am fortune's fool!" : SCENE I

57. Course for Crusoe?: Abbr. : ANAG. I was wondering which direction Crusoe would have sailed to get from Chile to Más Atierra, and then realized Oh! Course is the anagram of  Crusoe.

62. Actor Jared : LETO

63. What NHL shootouts resolve : TIES

64. Mountain ridge : ARÊTE

65. Galley order : STET. Enjoyed the misdirection here. Galley proofs are edited before going forward to final typesetting and publication.

66. Sound that fits this puzzle's theme : SNIP. "Bonus" tie-in.

67. Outmoded : PASSÉ

Down:

1. Shape-fitting game : TETRIS, This was all the rage at one time. I never played it, but I knew people who spent hours and hours playing it. It is credited with driving sales of the hand-held Nintendo Game Boy.

2. Cayuga Lake city : ITHACA.

3. Ph.D. hurdles : THESES

4. Dastardly chuckle : HEH HEH. Dick Dastardly's dog Muttley has the best chuckle:

5. Gen. Robert __ : E. LEE

6. Train unit : CAR

7. Mineral resource : ORE

8. Stupefies with drink : BESOTS. This was interesting - I'd never thought of it in this context before; I'd always associated BESOT with falling hopelessly in love.

9. __ metabolic rate : BASAL. Used to calculate how many calories your body burns when at rest.

10. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN "E"

11. The president, vis-à-vis one Thanksgiving turkey : PARDONER. I always think it's odd that the president "pardons" a turkey - it's not as if the turkey did anything wrong! At school we studied Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale - I can still remember the opening lines:

"In Flanders whilom was a company

Of younge folkes, that haunted folly,

As riot, hazard, stewes, and taverns;"

12. Autodialed electioneering tactic : ROBOCALL. Learning moment for me - I didn't know this word.

13. Arab tribal leaders : SHEIKHS. I stopped short after "SHEIK--" - I couldn't figure out why there were two spaces left and only one S in my hand!

18. Map speck: Abbr. : ISL. You can't get much more of a speck than this - the world's smallest populated isle (in Rhode Island).

22. Right, as a wrong : REDRESS

26. Lab assistant of film : IGOR. This clip from "Young Frankenstein" explains the correct pronunciation:

27. Greek café : TAVERNA

28. Longtime Philbin co-host : RIPA

30. Took in or let out : ALTERED

34. Andorra's cont. : EUR. Andorra's also a bit of a map-speck in Europe.

35. Msg. to the whole squad : A.P.B. The All-Points Bulletin usually contains details of a suspect to be detained if seen.

36. Hand-held clicker : CASTANET. I couldn't get the "people counter" clicker out of my mind for quite some time.

37. Current : UP-TO-DATE

38. Perjurer : LIAR

39. Gorilla observer Fossey : DIAN

40. "Good Lovin'" group, with "the" : RASCALS. I wasn't familiar with this song, nor the group.

43. Stop by unannounced : DROP IN

45. 1998 British Open champ Mark : O'MEARA. He beat Brian Watts by two strokes in a four-hole playoff.

46. Declares untrue : DENIES

47. Warnings : ALERTS

48. "That's quite clear" : SO I SEE

50. Some gallery statuary : BUSTS

51. Summer hrs. : D.S.T. It always makes me smile that there is somehow a way to "save" daylight by shifting the clocks around by an hour.

56. English guy : CHAP

58. Caught on to : GOT

60. Floral chain : LEI

61. AOL, e.g. : I.S.P. Internet Service Provider. We seem to have seen this a lot recently.

That's about it from me. As the sari saleslady said to her customer - "It's a wrap!"

Steve 

Wednesday, Mar 13 2013, Gerry Wildenberg

theme: go green!

17a. GREEN : CONSERVATIONIST. environmentally beneficial.

27a. GREEN : VILLAGE COMMONS. a common, open area within a settlement.

48a. GREEN : PUTTING SURFACE. on a golf course, where the flagstick and hole are located.

63a. GREEN : THE COLOR OF MONEY. the color of US paper money, and the name of a 1986 movie starring paul newman and tom cruise, a follow-up to the hustler.

melissa here. 

two grid-spanning theme entries - the black squares look so pretty the way they  cascade diagonally down.

no extra charge (get it?) for these:

5a. Parsley family herb : DILL 

9a. Straight from the garden : FRESH 

23a. First word of "Greensleeves" : ALAS my love, you do me wrong.

33a. Green prefix : ECO. as in eco-friendly.

34a. Green shade : TEAL. check him out. 

57a. "The Green Hornet" airer, 1966-'67 : ABC. superhero, a little before my time.

across

1. Sound finely tuned : PURR.  motor.

14. Role for Ronny : OPIE. ronny howard, in the andy griffith show.

15. Neighborhood : AREA

16. Ceiling : LIMIT. i won't say it.

20. Next in line : ON DECK

21. Hobbyist's buy : KIT. model airplane or car, etc.

22. Tennis racket part : GRIP. the handle.

25. In a glass by itself : NEAT. tin!

35. Aimée of "La Dolce Vita" : ANOUK. fellini film, italian for the sweet life.

37. Cozy reading rooms : DENS

39. Personal property : STUFF. unless you have a cat, then not so much.

42. "At Wit's End" humorist Bombeck : ERMA

43. Drilling tool : AUGER

45. Buster? : NARC. new clue.

47. It might say "Wipe your paws" : MAT

52. __ carotene : BETA

53. Draws : TIES

54. Parlor piece : SOFA. quaint.

59. Puget Sound port : TACOMA. washington state.

66. Japan's commercial center, historically : OSAKA

67. Accessory on the handlebars : BELL. does anyone use these anymore?

68. TV part? : TELE

69. __-case scenario : WORST

70. Oscillation : SWAY. a little tricky.

71. Body art, briefly : TATS


down

1. Little, to Leoncavallo : POCO. italian opera composer, poco is italian for little.

2. Aware of, as the latest : UP ON

3. Fruit coat : RIND. peel.

4. Protect again, as a driveway : RESEAL

5. Pre-Renaissance period : DARK AGES. sometimes i think we're going back there.

6. Football commentator Cross : IRV

7. Drip, say : LEAK

8. Emilio Estefan, notably : LATINO

9. Producer Ziegfeld : FLO. short for florenz - creator of ziegfield follies.

10. Cellphone customer's creation, perhaps : RINGTONE

11. Mideast ruler : EMIR

12. "Right away, señor!" : SI SI. c.c!

13. Internet address letters : HTTP

18. Brilliance : ECLAT

19. Gossip tidbit : ITEM

24. Install in Congress : SEAT

26. Dr.'s group : AMA. american medical association.

27. Sanskrit scripture : VEDA. archaic form of sanskrit.

28. Frost over : ICE UP

29. Mute sound? : LONG U. trying to trick us.

30. Stuck (to) : CLUNG

31. Marilyn, before she was Marilyn : NORMA jeane mortenson.

32. Poison __ : SUMAC

36. Latest addition to the British Royal Family : KATE. not for long.

38. Reversals : SETBACKS

40. __ food : FAST

41. Genetic research insect : FRUIT FLY. haven't seen tse-tse in a while.

44. U.S. 1, for one : RTE

46. Lobster Newburg ingredient : CREAM. 

49. Emphatic type: Abbr. : ITALics

50. Big wheels : NABOBS. just sounds funny.

51. Author Fitzgerald : F. SCOTT. the great gatsby. 

54. Put in the overhead bin : STOW

55. Very : OH SO

56. Cold feet : FEAR. alright.

58. Seagoing help : CREW

60. Military classification : ONE A

61. Go all weak in the knees : MELT. mmmm.

62. Seagoing assents : AYES

64. Bit of muesli : OAT

65. Schnozz extender : OLA. ha.

melissa

Wednesday, Jan 9 2013, Gerry Wildenberg

theme: partly cloudy

lenticular clouds over mt shasta

18. The money follows it : (SILVER) DOLLAR SIGN

23. Olympic hero : (SILVER) MEDAL WINNER

35. Treat like a child : (SILVER) SPOON FEED

50. Rapid rail transport : (SILVER) BULLET TRAIN

57. Actor's tryout : (SILVER) SCREEN TEST

2. With 47-Down, proverbial cloud feature, and a hint to the starts of 18-, 23-, 35-, 50- and 57-Across : (SILVER)

47. See 2-Down : (SILVER) LINING

melissa here. 

WOW (all caps, even). what a stunning, theme-heavy grid. SEVEN theme entries, five acrosses and two downs. just gorgeous. quite a challenging solve for a wednesday, which makes for a satisfying finish - the silver lining, as it were. 

clouds are a popular philosophical symbol. both alan watts and thich nhat hanh have waxed poetic about them. van morrison's tune, alan watts blues, is in reference to a poem by chia tao (777-841), cloud hidden, whereabouts unknown, which watts used as the title of a book, published shortly after his death.

lots of other tunes about clouds, too - performed by the stones, carly simon, joan baez, and django reinhardt, among others. 

across

1. "World Series of Poker" channel : ESPN. yawn. 

5. Improve : AMEND. not always an improvement.

10. Japanese noodle : SOBA. japanese name for buckwheat.

14. See 17-Across : NILE. 17. Queen of the 14-Across, familiarly : CLEO

15. Hawk's weapon : TALON

16. Neatness analogy ending : A PIN. neat as a pin.

20. Gardner of film : AVA. frank sinatra's second wife, and 28. Conductor André : PREVIN. mia farrow's second husband (mia was sinatra's third wife).

21. Lacking embellishment : BARE

22. Missouri tributary : OSAGE

27. Duty : TAX

29. __ which way : ANY

30. Suffix with phon- : EME. smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language. had no idea. if you're interested.

31. River project : DAM

32. Create, as words : COIN

34. ''__ Death'': Grieg work : ASES. from the ibsen play, peer gynt.

38. Sense : GIST

41. Lincoln et al. : ABES. the et al. indicates a shortened name.

42. __ gratia: by the grace of God : DEI

44. Italian article : UNA. yesterday it was acapulco article.

45. "Now I understand!" : OHO

46. Fin de __: end of the century : SIECLE. drew a blank here.

49. Approximate no. : EST. estimate.

53. Tokyo-based watchmaker : SEIKO

55. New Haven collegians : ELI'S. yale students.

56. Columbus-to-Cleveland dir. : NNE

60. Do bar work, perhaps : STIR. bartend.

61. British weapon of WWII : STEN. submachine gun.

62. Down Under soldier : ANZAC. australian and new zealand army corps.

63. Basic video game : PONG

64. __ buco : OSSO. italian dish, literally bone with a hole.

65. Grind, as teeth : GNASH

66. Old-fashioned sort : FOGY

down

1. Spend a night on the trail : ENCAMP. what's the difference between the verbs encamp and camp?

3. Begged : PLEADED

4. "The Matrix" hero : NEO

5. Early in the morning : AT DAWN

6. Native New Zealanders : MAORI

7. Former "Idol" judge with Simon, Kara and Randy : ELLEN. degeneres. just keep swimming.

8. Lon of Cambodia : NOL. prime minister. another unknown for me.

9. Genetic letters : DNA

10. Smart talk : SASS

11. Poppy products : OPIATES

12. Super Bowl, e.g. : BIG GAME

13. New wings, maybe : ANNEXES

19. Golf star McIlroy : RORY. blues fans may prefer this rory:

21. Super Bowl sight : BLIMP

24. "Stop, ya swabs!" : AVAST

25. Innocents : NAIFS

26. -trix relative : ENNE. feminine suffixes - trix from latin, enne from french. aviatrix, comedienne.

32. Early computer language : COBOL

33. Maître d's "Are you by yourself?" : ONE?

34. Run like __ : A DEER

36. Obama's birthplace : OAHU

37. Prepares for print : EDITS. i first read this as 'prepares for a pint,' and thought a priest walks into a bar ....'

38. "I suppose" : GUESS SO. i suppose.

39. Flies, for example : INSECTS. gotcha. noun, not verb.

40. Send-ups : SATIRES

43. Playground response to a challenge : I CAN TOO

45. Reed instrument : OBOE

46. Sewer line : STITCH. another gotcha, sew-er as in one who sews, not sewer as in ew.

48. Benefit of some bars and drinks : ENERGY. 

51. TV host Gibbons : LEEZA

52. Schiaparelli et al. : ELSAS. fashion designer. yet another unknown for me.

54. Lotto-like game : KENO

58. Racehorse, to a tout : NAG. had to look this up - a tout is one who spies out racing information for betting purposes. nag is slang for racehorse.

59. Spike TV, formerly : TNN

60. Coppertone letters : SPF. sun protection factor.

melissa

Monday, August 13, 2012 Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: It's a Monday, Natch - Five rhyming endings.

17A. Br'er Rabbit's thicket : BRIAR PATCH

39A. Dramatic grab in the outfield : SHOESTRING CATCH. Often while running full tilt towards the infield to catch a dying quail. Did you pay attention when we discussed what a BLOOP was?

59A. Mark with intersecting sets of parallel lines : CROSS HATCH

10D. Fight in a ring : BOXING MATCH

25D. Childproofing device : SAFETY LATCH

Argyle here. Gerry's second puzzle for us and again we might question the day of the week. Gerry made a comment on that puzzle you can read at the bottom of this link Monday, April 9, 2012. Starting out with Occam's razor did set the tone for what was to come. One grid spanner with two theme entries crossing it. All in all, a nice balance. No foreign words? Is that possible?

Across:

1. __ razor: principle of logic : OCCAM'S. Rule favoring simple theories, aka, the Law of Parsimony.

7. Tempe sch. : ASU. (Arizona State University) Google Map.

10. "Back to the Future" bully : BIFF. I was blown away by the size of the entry for Biff on Wikipedia. The Biff Tannen bio. TMI

14. Vladimir Putin's country : RUSSIA

15. Tractor-trailer : RIG

16. Face-to-face exam : ORAL

19. Powerful TV princess : XENA

20. Computer code acronym : ASCII. (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

21. Pub beer orders : PINTS

22. "Gil __": Lesage novel : BLAS. "Gil Blas" (French: L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It is considered to be the last masterpiece of the picaresque genre. Quote from Wiki.

26. Baseball's Ott : MEL

27. Underhanded type : SNEAK. Not softball.

28. Wyoming college town : LARAMIE. (University of Wyoming)

31. '60s "Gotcha" : "I DIG". "I'm hip, dude."

33. "Whee!" : "IT'S FUN!". the sixties.

34. Chinese chairman : MAO

35. What rolling stones don't gather : MOSS. Phrase Finder.

42. Email status : SENT

43. Cont. north of Africa : EUR. (continent of Europe)

44. Country singer Kathy : MATTEA

45. Knitter's purchase : YARN

47. Theater section : BALCONY. Becoming a thing of the past, alas.

48. Ability : SKILL

51. Tina with a spot-on Palin impression : FEY

53. Chart toppers : HITS

54. Like pop music : TONAL. What is the difference between tonal and atonal?

55. "__ the loneliest number": '60s song lyric : ONE IS. By "Three Dog Night" (another past discussion on the blog.) Clip(3:07)

58. Sunrise direction : EAST

64. Actor Baldwin : ALEC

65. Suffer : AIL

66. '80s-'90s quarterback Dan : MARINO. Great Miami Dolphins player, Hall of Fame, but no Super Bowl Ring.

67. Subject with fractions : MATH

68. Urban transit org. : MTA. (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) The Kingston Trio sang about the Boston Metropolitan Transit Authority.

69. Least outgoing : SHYEST

Down:

1. Mars or Venus : ORB

2. Junkyard dog : CUR

3. CBS forensic drama : CSI. (Crime Scene Investigation)

4. Red __ beet : AS A

5. Actress Sorvino : MIRA

6. Patsies : SAPS. (dupes, victims, fools, chumps)

7. Wheelchair guy on "Glee" : ARTIE. Just Artie (or Arty).

8. Thick-crust pizza style : SICILIAN

9. "How gross!" : "UGH!"

11. Goodnight girl of song : IRENE. The Weavers hit number one with it in 1950.

12. Classic orange soda : FANTA

13. Back-pocket liquor holder : FLASK

18. High point : ACME

21. Letter before omega : PSI

22. Supreme happiness : BLISS

23. Wood shaper : LATHE

24. Fiery crime : ARSON

29. Conservatory subj. : MUS. (music)

30. Prefix meaning "between" : INTER

32. Church doctrine : DOGMA

34. Fallen space station : MIR

36. 10th century Roman emperor : OTTO I. There were no Popes named Otto? Is that right?

37. Perfume feature : SCENT

38. One-horse carriages : SHAYS

40. Try to escape capture : RUN FOR IT. Lam.

41. Lo-__: lite : CAL

46. Every bit : ALL

47. Tournament exemptions : BYEs. If there is an uneven number of entrants, the top seeds don't play anyone in the first round.

48. Teakettle emission : STEAM

49. Eucalyptus eater : KOALA

50. City map on a state map, e.g. : INSET

52. WWII plane __ Gay : ENOLA

56. Belief systems, for short : ISMs

57. Deposed Iranian ruler : SHAH

59. Photo taker : CAM. (camera)

60. Suffix with station or honor : ARY

61. 1-1 score, e.g. : TIE

62. Neurology subj. : CNS. (central nervous system)

63. Really sexy : HOT

Answer grid.

Argyle

From C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Chickie (with husband Bill)! I want to see your backyard with all the wonderful fruit trees.

Monday, April 9, 2012 Gerry Wildenberg

Theme: Hidden Gun Emplacements - Your mission is to locate the camouflaged anti-aircraft guns(ACK-ACKs) in the four longest entries. Good luck.

17A. Donald Duck's title adventures, in a '90s Disney series : QUACK ATTACK. Donald's Quack Attack was a television series on the Disney Channel (later rerun on Toon Disney) which ran from 1992 to 1994, and featured Disney animated short films, especially those with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Each episode lasted about 28 minutes, leaving about 2 minutes for commercials. Per Wiki

31A. Retrace one's steps : BACKTRACK

44A. Lunch box pudding brand : SNACK PACK

57A. Expert : CRACKERJACK. This term dates back to the late 1800's, and means "superb" or "excellent". In 1896 the name was trademarked (as CRACKER JACK) for the caramel popcorn product. In 1908 Jack Norworth wrote the lyrics for Take Me Out to the Ballgame, which mentioned the name of the candy propelling it to fame. This song is now sung during seventh inning stretches at baseball games. Wiki article here.

Argyle here. This appears to be a debut puzzle from Gerry. While I liked the theme there were 26 three-letter entries, some crosswordese and some entries that for those just starting out may not get.

Across:

1. Info in a folder : FILE

5. Mystical secrets : ARCANA

11. Polynesian paste : POI

14. Prayer ender : AMEN

15. Mazda roadsters : MIATAs

16. Landers with advice : ANN

19. Vigor : PEP

20. Ten Commandments verb : SHALT

21. The house, to José : LA CASA

23. __ pig: experiment subject : GUINEA

27. Hallway : FOYER

28. West Coast capital : SALEM. (Oregon)

33. Lament for Yorick : "ALAS". Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy"

34. Pan-cooked in oil, say : SAUTEED

35. Reach one's limit on, as a credit card, with "out" : MAX

36. Heavy wts. : TN's. Now that is just being silly, you don't need to abbreviate TON.

37. Pres. or gov. : LDR. (leader)

38. Fell with an axe : HEW

41. Luau cocktails : MAI TAIs

43. Galileo launcher: Abbr. : NASA

47. Emcees : HOSTS

48. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" channel : A AND E

49. __ Pieces : REESE'S

51. H.S. class with microscopes : BIO LAB

53. Jenna, to Jeb : NIECE. Bush. Family pic.

56. Ancient : OLD

62. Casual shirt : TEE

63. Like some Coast Guard rescues : AIR/SEA

64. Native Nebraskan : OTOE. Indians.

65. Disruptive '60s campus gp. : SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)

66. "__: rewind": VCR rental reminder : BE KIND

67. Skinny : BONY. Bony Maronie.(3:07)

Down:

1. Website info source : FAQ

2. Don of talk radio : IMUS. Now in syndication through Citadel Broadcasting after being fired by CBS.

3. Jacob's first wife : LEAH

4. Confines, as a pet bird : ENCAGES

5. Violin maker Nicolò : AMATI. Italian luthier (1596 – 1684)

6. Slowing, in mus. : RIT. (ritardando) Italian terms for change in tempo.

7. Siamese or Burmese : CAT

8. __ loss for words : AT A

9. Most common food additive, to a chemist : NaCL. (salt)

10. Inquire about : ASK AFTER

11. Tropical fruit : PAPAYA

12. "Almost ready!" : "ONE SEC!". not "in a sec"

13. Garaged for the night, gearwise : IN PARK

18. Heidi of "Project Runway" : KLUM. Television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network. Heidi

22. Light rope : CORD

24. Jeremy Lin or Kobe Bryant, e.g. : NBA STAR

25. __ de Cologne : EAU

26. Imitate : ACT LIKE

28. "Casablanca" pianist : SAM

29. Chicken __ king : À LA

30. Southern Cal. airport : LAX. (L.A. International Airport)

32. Popular sneakers : KEDS

34. Barbershop sound : SNIP

36. Eschew the subway and bus : TAKE A CAB

38. Owns : HAS

39. N.Y. clock setting : EST. but not at this time.

40. Used to be : WAS

41. 1450, in old Rome : MCDL. Hey! That's what I have; motorcycle and commercial driver license.

42. Get an "A" on : ACE

43. Rhinoplasty : NOSE JOB. We had rhinitis yesterday. [from Greek rhis, rhin: indicating the nose or nasal]

44. Wooden shoes : SABOTS. Wha...??

45. Got an "A" on : NAILED

46. Battery terminals : ANODEs

47. Estate beneficiary : HEIR

50. Three-time Masters winner Sam : SNEAD. Yesterday's finish wasn't great but the potential for greatness kept me glued to the set.

52. Soft French cheese : BRIE

54. "Elder" or "Younger" Roman statesman : CATO

55. Financial subj. : ECON. (economy)

58. Noah's refuge : ARK

59. CBS forensic series : CSI

60. Barbie's boyfriend : KEN

61. Phi Beta Kappa symbol : KEY

Answer grid.

Argyle