Wednesday, July 29th 2015 Ian Livengood

Theme: Identified Flying Objects - as the hint clue tells you, the start of each theme entry spends some time airborne.

18A. Online intrusion : POP-UP WINDOW. Browsers can now block these annoyances, so not so bothersome any more.

24A. Complicated material, metaphorically : ROCKET SCIENCE. What do rocket scientists call it?

51A. 1981 Burt Reynolds film, with "The" : CANNONBALL RUN. Pretty sure I never saw this. If I did it was unmemorable.

60A. Early chronicler of the '50s-'60s civil rights movement : JET MAGAZINE. New to me, but then again I'm not exactly their target demographic.

and to tie it together:

40A. Sponsor's purchase ... or what the starts of 18-, 24-, 51- and 60-Across can have : AIR TIME

Hola, compadres. Steve here with July's final Wednesday. I found this to be trickier than the normal midweek fare. A few proper name unknowns that I needed the crosses to crack, a little misdirection here and there with the cluing, and the theme which seemed oddly un-thematic - to me it fell a little flat. A pop-up (fly ball), a rocket, a cannonball, and a jet (airplane) don't seem to be related by very much except that they spend time in the air, which is the theme. Fair enough, I suppose.

Moving right along:

Across:

1. Pretense : ACT

4. Dissatisfied diner's decision : NO TIP. Wow, you've got to be very dissatisfied to leave no tip at all. Remember folks, if there was something wrong with the food or the meal wasn't to your taste, it's not the server's fault.

9. God of Islam : ALLAH

14. To's opposite : FRO

15. Dry-__ board : ERASE. I attended a meeting once in a new conference room that didn't have the whiteboards in place, but the markers were all there. The presenter thought the wall was dry-erase and wrote all over it. It wasn't.

16. Run off : LEAVE

17. Stereotypical rodeo nickname : TEX

20. "Downton Abbey" character Lady __ Crawley : EDITH. Crosses. I watched Season One but couldn't recall the name.

22. "Get it?" : SEE?

23. Helpful contacts : INS

29. Be a debtor of : OWE TO

30. Places to stand and deliver? : DAISES. This is a word I'm pretty sure I have never used. "We're going to need two or three daises for all these speakers". Nope, I can't see me ever saying that.

33. They can call you out : UMPS. Two baseball references today.

36. Garden alignments : ROWS

38. Busch Gardens city : TAMPA. I don't go to theme parks. Rollercoasters scare me half to death. The first time I rode Colossus out here in Los Angeles I almost burst into tears. I was 35.

39. Walter Scott's title : SIR

42. Slender fish : EEL

43. Base exercise : DRILL.I used to enjoy drill on the parade ground during basic training in the reserve. People thought I was strange. They still do.

45. Way : MODE

46. Skort revelation : KNEE. Odd clue. All the skorts I've seen reveal a good deal of thigh too.

47. Heroic son of Aphrodite : AENEAS. Defender of Troy, demi-god and legendary founder of Rome, although Romulus and Remus might have something to say about that.

49. In a damp manner : WETLY. Here's another word I'm not sure I've used. "He came in wetly from the rain". Doesn't really have the right ring to my ears.

56. Voice vote call : AYE

58. Is laid up with : HAS

59. Outscores : BEATS

65. Messy abode : STY. Check out this posh one in Kent, England.

66. Snorkeler's haunt : ATOLL

67. Letter before lambda : KAPPA. I still need to learn the Greek alphabet. I haven't made much progress.

68. Common break hour : TEN

69. Laundry setting : RINSE

70. Fall faller : ACORN

71. Episodic story line : ARC. Some sources say that "episodic" and "arc" story lines are two distinct styles. Here's an in interesting discussion if you have a few minutes.

Down:

1. Hunting : AFTER. In the "I'm coming after you" sense.

2. System of belief : CREDO. I had CREED first until I saw that "EE-ITH was getting me nowhere

3. Like biohazards : TOXIC

4. One saying uncle? : NEPHEW.

5. Galeón load : ORO. I guess I didn't know I knew the Spanish word for "Galleon". I did know the Spanish word for "gold" though.

6. Brew dispenser : TAP

7. Terre Haute sch. : I.S.U. Indiana State, home of the Fighting Sycamores (I'm not kidding).

8. Soft drink with a red-white-and-blue logo : PEPSI

9. Put off : ALIENATE. I was thinking along the "prevaricate" lines at first.

10. Spy thriller writer Deighton : LEN. "The Ipcress File" is one of his best known. He writes cookery books too.

11. Romeos : LADIES MEN. I had the "L" and started entering "LOTHARIOS". I'm not sure what stopped me, it just didn't feel right.

12. Cosmetic titan : AVON. Final fill for me. My mind went blank and I couldn't think of a single cosmetics company.

13. Fells with an ax : HEWS

19. Nursery intruder : WEED. Great clue.

21. Bout enders, for short : TKO'S

25. Garr of "Young Frankenstein" : TERI

26. Blizzard, e.g. : STORM

27. Chisholm Trail community : COWTOWN. Abilene, for example, at the end of the trail.

28. Org. in many a spy thriller : C.I.A.

31. Olympian's weapon : EPEE. I got stuck on the "Gods of Olympus" train of thought and couldn't get off it for quite some time.

32. Black Friday event : SALE

33. Beef inspection org. : U.S.D.A.

34. Muddy spot : MIRE

35. Bill Bradley's alma mater : PRINCETON. I had the ETON part and couldn't get past thinking about the English school. Something's definitely wrong with my brain today.

37. Cassette half : SIDE B. We've had the argument before about whether anyone says "Side B" as opposed to "Side Two".

40. "Gilligan's Island" co-star : ALAN HALE. Thank you, crosses.

41. Prefix with carpal : META

44. Green span : LEA

46. NASCAR racer Busch : KYLE. He has a racing brother called Kurt, so needed to wait past the first "K". He must feel right at home when he goes to Tampa.

48. Fly in the ointment : SNAG

50. Maine mail order giant : L.L.BEAN

52. Japanese port : OSAKA. Busy place on the island of Honshu.

53. Dreadlocks wearer : RASTA. Time for some Bob Marley.

54. Say : UTTER

55. Backstreet Boys contemporaries : 'N SYNC. Not my cup of tea. Very successful and all seemed to be nice folk

56. Open a little : AJAR

57. Mysterious mountain climber : YETI

61. Chicago Fire's org. : M.L.S. Major League Soccer, in case you don't know.

62. Efron of "Neighbors" (2014) : ZAC

63. Financial pg. debut : I.P.O. Little bit of a clumsy "there's an abbreviation in the clue" here.

64. "Ask Me Another" airer : NPR. Apparently no longer an abbreviation.

Here's the grid, and my work here is done.

Steve

Thursday, December 11, 2014 Ian Livengood

Theme: "I Go To Pieces"


17. Archers' protection : THUMB RINGS. My family were all into archery, and I won several trophies when I was young. I never heard of this item. Evidently, it is only used for archers practicing  Mongolian or African archery techniques.

24. L.A.-based comedy troupe : THE GROUNDLINGS. Never heard of them, either. Lots of famous alums, so I should try to remember it.

50. Scoldings : TONGUE LASHINGS. Ummm, now this one I have heard of (from personal experience!)

61. Magi : THREE KINGS. It's that time of year when they are on the move.

38. Classic 1958 Chinua Achebe novel ... and a hint what literally happens in 17-, 24-, 50- and 61-Across : THINGS FALL APART. Never heard of the author or the book.  (I had better brush up on my Cliffs Notes!)

Three of the theme entries split it as TH-INGS and one splits it as T-HINGS.  It might have been more elegant to have all split the same way, or all split in different ways. But the reveal works well with the theme. Let's see what else Ian has thrown at us.


Across

1. Long-necked instrument : SITAR. Cello? Banjo? (...time to check the perps.)

6. Spiced beverage : CHAI. Because "mulled wine" wouldn't fit.

10. Parched : ARID.

14. Annoy one's co-star, perhaps : EMOTE.

15. Suggestion : HINT.

16. Recording medium : TAPE. Does anyone still record on TAPE?

19. Say openly : AVOW.

20. Ungenerous sort : HOG.

21. "__ how!" : AND.

22. Money-related suffix : AIRE. Million-aire, billion-aire, gazillion-aire...

30. Hammers obliquely, as a nail : TOES. Essential technique when you are building a new wall--right, Splynter?

31. "Yikes!" : EEK.

32. Bit of pillow talk : COO.

33. Dress protector : APRON.

36. Fla. airport : MIA.mi.

37. Sign of summer : LEO. Zodiac.

43. MLB team whose home scoreboard is updated by hand : BOS.ton. Yay! A baseball clue that I knew the answer to.  Fenway Park is basically the same as it was on opening day, April 20, 1912.

44. Prom rental : TUX.

45. Full of recent info : NEWSY.

46. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN I.

48. Regarding : AS TO.

55. Vermeer's "__ With a Pearl Earring" : GIRL.

Vermeer

56. GI entertainer : USO.

57. Sénat vote : OUI.

59. Bear up there : URSA.

65. Verb, for one : NOUN.

66. One-named supermodel : IMAN. I finally remembered this name, thanks to Lucina. She said she parses it as I-MAN, even though the supermodel is "definitely not a man."

67. 10 out of 10, scorewise : IDEAL.

68. Canadian coin that's no longer produced : CENT. Canadian Eh!, do Canadians really have no cents?

69. Blog entry : POST. I'm working my tail off, here!

70. Yankee manager before Girardi : TORRE. 5 perps.


Down

1. Rogen of "Pineapple Express" : SETH.

2. "Let's get some air in here!" : I'M HOT.

3. Unyielding : TOUGH.

4. With 47-Across, payment for cash? : ATM. and 47-Across: See 4-Down : FEE.

5. Bull Run soldier : REB.

6. Casual pants : CHINOS.

7. Believer in karma : HINDU.

8. "Life of Pi" director Lee : ANG.

9. "You convinced me" : IT'S A DEAL.

10. Early game console : ATARI.

11. One of Hogwarts' four houses : RAVENCLAW.

Symbol

12. Nov. 2013 Twitter milestone : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

13. Morning drops : DEW.

18. Outback order : RARE. Outback Steakhouse does grill a pretty good steak.

23. Variety : ILK.

25. Prince Harry's alma mater : ETON.

26. Pagoda instrument : GONG. I was trying to think of the word for the instrument in "Memoirs of a Geisha," but by the time I thought of "shamisen," I had already filled this one in using perps.

27. Singer Young : NEIL.

28. Attendees : GOERS.

29. In need of a sweep, perhaps : SOOTY. HaHa, I was thinking of my kitchen floor after the cats finish eating.  But here, it's the chimney that needs a "sweep."

33. Plate appearance : AT BAT.

34. Platter player : PHONO.

35. 1992 Crichton novel involving a fictional Japanese company : RISING SUN. I did read it, but forgot what it was about.

36. Upper limit : MAX.

39. Boot option : STEEL TIP. Anyone else consider STEEL Toe?

40. Gas, e.g. : FUEL.

41. Not pro : ANTI.

42. Drudge : PEON.

47. Sable or mink : FUR.

48. Thumbs-up : ASSENT.

49. Vegas dealer's device : SHOE. It does kind of look like an open toed shoe, doesn't it?

51. 2014 World Series winning team member : GIANT. I was panicking, thinking I would have to come up with someone's name. Whew! I only had to WAG the team.

52. Vague qualities : AURAS.

53. Hopeless case : GONER.

54. Cotton candy, mostly : SUGAR.

58. Cruise destination : ISLE.

59. Chapel Hill sch. : UNC. University of North Carolina.

60. School of tomorrow? : ROE. Cute.

62. Med. care provider : HMO.

63. Set to be assembled : KIT.

64. Binding promise : I DO...believe it is time for me to leave!

Marti

Friday, January 11, 2013, Ian Livengood

Theme: The world is upside down.

Each of the six theme answers take two blocks to complete, reading from the bottom of the clued answer to the top, and then down the adjacent unnumbered fill. Visually this is a very creative and fun puzzle by one of the many young people out there. This is my second effort at deciphering an Ian Livengood special, having blogged the second of his two LA Times efforts back in February, both published in the same week. His theme then was too subtle for me, and if you read this LINK you will see the opinion is subtle themes are what make his puzzles special.(Sadly, this compendium only includes regular NY Times constructors). Much of this was easy once you got the gimmick.

1D. Weather forecast data : REPMET (start with the T and then head down from the empty square to get  TEMPER (REPMET) ATURES. They can rise and fall quite quickly here.

10D. Transporter in a shaft : ELEV (VELE) ATOR. The operator complains about his work being up and down.

29D. Two-person plank : SEE (EES) SAW. Be careful if you seesaw with a little one.

33D. Financial index : THE (EHT) DOW. The volatility of the stock market's ups and downs has made many rich and many poor. I always told my customers I could guarantee them a small fortune, if they started with a large one.

46D. Treatment seen in bedrooms : WINDOW (WODNIW) SHADES. Keep them down during your examinations Dennis.

51D. Oscillating curve :  SINE (ENIS) WAVE. I will let Fermat or Bill G. describe this smooth repititive wave.

and the unifier:

6D. What the six puzzle answers graphically represented in this puzzle have in common : THEY GO UP AND DOWN.

Across:

1. "Gnarly!" : RAD. Surfer world word.

3. In a mood : TESTY. I hope most of you did not get testy when you looked at REMET and said Wednesday Thursday, Friday!

8. Bean variety : FAVA. Used extensively in Egyptian and Greek cooking not my fave. Really COSTLY.

11. Sorority character : ETA. I love it when a three letter clue is clever, I am sure many of you thought of some wacky girl you knew back in the day.

12. Drug giant behind Valium and Klonopin : ROCHE. The USA division is part of the international Hoffman-Roche, Ltd.

13. Posh bathroom fixture : BIDET. Speaking of behinds, how many of you first saw one in a fancy hotel and had no idea what it was, turned it on and got squirted in the eye? 13D. IQ test pioneer : BINET. he did not invent the Bidet.

14. Puts out : PUBLISHES. Speaking of behinds, publishing is not what I think of when I see puts out.

16. "If on a winter's night a traveler" writer Calvino : ITALO. never heard of this JOURNALIST.

17. Top banana : MR BIG.

18. Longtime Rolling Stones bassist Bill : WYMAN. The guy playing bass. he is 76.

20. Each : PER.

21. Sushi options : EELS.

22. Feature of an old mattress : SAG. Not to be associated with Bill Wyman.

23. Dollars for quarters : RENT. A really fun play on words.

25. Fly out of Africa? : TSE TSE. Another nice play on an old regular, which is not cut in half.

27. Acorns, someday : OAK TREES. They should be MIGHTY.

30. Liqueur made from elderflowers : SAMBUCA. Elder flowers yield elderberries, but the Italian liqueur favored by my paisans is flavored with anise. It was part of my birthday gift to my friend on his 80th last weekend.

32. Realm : AREA.

33. O staff, briefly : EDS. Editors of Oprah's magazine.

35. Cravat holders : TIE PINS. We have been through the tie tac, pin controversy enough.

37. Las Vegas-to-Tijuana dir. : SSW.

38. Distort, as with false data, with "up" : HOKE. "to alter or manipulate so as to give a deceptively or superficially improved quality or value (usually followed by up  ): a political speech hoked up with phony statistics." Oh, I get it, from HOKUM.

40. Scroll source : DEAD SEA. Both misleading and accurate. Papyrus also fits.

42. Like part of a special delivery? : TWIN BORN.

44. "I'm With Stupid" T-shirt markings : ARROWS. Fun clue.

47. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM. A very important person in the 60's and 70's LINK.

48. Headphone wearers, usually : DJS. Disc Jockeys.

50. Literary honey lover : POOH. Winnie.

51. Flock member : EWE. But not you.

52. "You can ___ horse..." : LEAD A. Horse to water but you can't make him do the dishes.

54. Nintendo princess kidnapped by Ganon : ZELDA.

55. Alvin, Simon and Theodore : NAMES. Chipmunks just will not fit!!!

57. Tinseltown : MOVIE LAND. eh.

59. The Donald's first : IVANA. Mother of model Ivanka.

60. Whacks : SWATS.

61. Concern on the course : LIE. A double entendre, the lie of the ball on the grass,  as well as the lie of how many strokes your opponent had.

62. Canonical hour : SEXT. From the Latin for the SIXTH hour.

63. First stage : ONSET.

64. Pet store reactions : AWS. I am speechless.

Down:

2. Work casually : DABBLE. I often dabble.

3. Pre-calc course : TRIG.onometry. More for our math whizzes, not related to Whizzer White.

4. Goddess of the morning : EOS. We just had her two weeks ago.

5. Unstressed vowel sound : SCHWA.

7. Backwoods agreement : YES'M. Hey, it is just respect, not backwoods.

8. Match : FIT. This simple fill gave me fits.

9. Aids for a bad 8-Down : ADAPTERS.

15. Rolls at sea : LISTS.

19. Where Hope may be found : ARKANSAS.  The LIST.

22. Feature of some apses : SEMI-DOME.

24. Gp. with many hunters : NRA. National Rifle Association.

26. Picked up a lap? : SAT. Cute.

28. Alkali neutralizer : ACID.

31. Keg filler : BEER. Obligatory shout to my boys.

34. Late-night adult programming airer, facetiously : SKINEMAX. really fun clue for soft core Cinemax.

36. Sunday msg. : SERmon.

39. Roxy Music alum : ENO. Watch and LISTEN.(4:08)

41. Adrien of cosmetics : ARPEL. Estee, Helena and on and on.

43. Hobbyist's wood : BALSA. Dennis can explain why this wood is a favorite.

45. "Yowzah!" : OO LA LA. This is how I learned FRENCH. (3:57).

49. Diner cupfuls : JAVAS.

53. Playground reply : AM SO. AM NOT!

54. Twist at a bar : ZEST. The appealing name for the peel.

56. Med. specialty : ENT. Ear Nose & Throat

58. Mineral suffix : ITE. Not sure why, but BAUXITE comes to mind.

Thank you Ian for a new twist on the grid, and standing us on our heads to get this one done. For the rest, January is going quickly so go out into the 80+ weather and enjoy.  Oh, that is only here, my bad. See you all next time, thanks for the week off C.C. ladies, I did my best. L714 out.

Friday, February 24, 2012, Ian Livengood

Theme: Wear one brown shoe and one black shoe. In each of 4 sets of adjoining 2- word, 10 letter fill, the first word in each pair is switched, and clued to reflect the new and silly result. 2 sets are across and 2 are down. If ever a puzzle needed getting some perp help, and also needing to understand the theme, it was this effort by Mr. Livengood who presented an ambitious 8 theme answers plus two five letter related clues and for me a central hidden unifier. The sets appear in each of the 4 quadrants. It was deja vu all over again for me, as we have our second consecutive Friday where we last saw the constructor in February, 2011. He also had last Friday's NYT, and apparently like 10 letter stacks. I had a fun time once I saw the trick, and then appreciated the humor in the cluing. let's see each theme pair presented together

(Added later: The TV shows in each pair are swapped. Thanks, June & others.)

13A. Dieter's snack?: THREE CHIPS. Literally a very small snack, but paired with

17A. Crop production toast?: CORN CHEERS. Do you get a mental picture of farmers in the fields rooting on the ear pickers? Anyway, if you pair the words by color, you see the original phrases, which are not funny. "ChiPs" & "Cheers".

62A. Buckaroo at sea?: LOST COWBOY. I cannot imagine the Lone ranger on a ship.

66A. Dance and theater in Texas?" DALLAS ARTS. Like Uma, people either love or hate Jerry Jones' Cowboys. "Lost" & "Dallas".

10D. One giving pep talks between acts of "Carmen"?: OPERA COACH. my mental pic is of the cast of an Opera in a locker room with Mike Ditka, between acts.

11D. Maternity ward?: LABOR HOUSE . My mother worked for 40 years as an OB nurse birthing them babies, but did not care much for the Opera House. "Coach" & "House".

28D. Pews, at times?: AMEN STANDS

29D. Intersection where cabs hang out?: TAXI CORNER. Amen Corner is the famous three hole stretch at the Masters in Augusta. "Amen" & "Taxi".

24D. With 35-Down, fairs, and a hint to making sense of this puzzle's pairs of adjacent 10-letter answers : TRADE.

35D. See 24-Down: SHOWS. get it, TRADING PLACES. (0:41)

And the clue which made me see the theme, so I class it an undisclosed unifier.

39A. Useless footwear: ODD SHOE.

Across:

1. Woolly grazers: EWES. We begin a little sheepishly, but this is good for our confidence.

5. It follows John: ACTS. In the Christian Bible.

9. Defunct Olympic sport: POLO. Introduced in 1900, the skilled horseman competed for the last time in the famous 1936 Berlin Olympiad.

16. On __ with: A PAR. From Golf, mean equal to, which Tiger is no longer, as his putting stroke, has left him.

18. 5'7" Spud who won an NBA Slam Dunk contest: WEBB. Obscure sports fact, but for us short people, we will remember his DUNKS. (1:29)

19. Words before coming or out: HAS IT. A Naddorish double word.

20. Telegraph sound: DIT. DAT is the other one. I am sure you all know Dit Dit Dit Dat Dat Dat Dit Dit Dit.

21. Lover of Psyche: EROS. These stories are either hit or MYTH.

22. Artist's pad: LOFT. Not where he draws, but sleeps. Cool.

25. Ability to detect a certain orientation: GAYDAR. Wow, is this an unPC clue, or does it only seem so because it is followed by, 27A. Not like at all: HATE?

30. PLO part: ORGanization. Palestine Liberation Organization.

32. Boxing statistic: REACH. Long arms help keep your opponent at bay.

33. Actress Thurman: UMA. People either love or hate her. She was great in Pulp Fiction.

34. Saint in red: CLAUS. A new clue for old St. Nick.

36. Raised entrance area: STOOP. In New England and new York, we sat on the steps, not the porch.

38. Ave. paralleling Park: LEXington, one of many parallel avenues in Manhattan.

41. Switz. neighbor: AUStria. Hmm, three abbreviation pairs already.

42. Soul: ANIMA. From the Latin, the root word of Animation, as well Carl Jung's theories of Anima and Animus, and an accepted religious name for the human soul.

44. Waist-length jackets: ETONS. Made famous from the English school UNIFORMS.

45. Gray gp : CSA. Confederate States of America.

46. Stray chasers: SCATS. I love this reversal clue, as he is not looking for someone chasing after a stray, but what one says to chase a stray away. SCAT CAT!

48. Not own outright, with "on": OWE. The American Dream.

49. Pique: WHET. Not to be confused with Marti's Piquet deck, which may have piques your curiosity, or whetted your appetite.

50. Debate choices: TOPICS.

52. Piano sonatas, usually: SOLI. To be played alone, or solo.

54. It covers all the bases: TARP. Our baseball shout out to C.C., as when they put out the tarpaulin during a rain delay, it covers the infield and all the bases.

55. Tuna of the Pacific: AHI. Never knew there was so much to learn about these fishies. LINK. hey Robin wherever you are. A nice shout out to our old Hawaiian contingent.

57. Golden __: AGERS. In tribute to CA, and all of us on the sunnyside of 60, I LINK post this poetic gem:

61. Rice from New Orleans: ANNE. Author of many Vampire books, like LESTAT played by the above pretty boy.

65. It has banks in Germany and Poland: ODER. How many think this river clue stinks?

67. Red areas, once: Abbr : SSRS. members of the old Soviet bloc.

68. Case workers, briefly: TECS. Technicians. (Correction: Tecs = Detectives.)

69. The greater part: MOST. as Yogi would say, we got the bigger half done.

Down:

1. Do some glass cutting, perhaps: ETCH. You want to come up and see my etchings, dear?

2. "Take it easy!": WHOA. Damn, that is exactly what she said! Telling me to not...

3. Goes astray: ERRS. Not to be confused with our earlier cats. Or maybe I am just...

4. Declining from old age: SENILE.

5. Bavarian carp?: ACH. Reminds of this SONG (2:44) and beer. I will let KZ explain.

6. Friend of Fidel: CHE. Ernesto (Che) Guevara was born in Rosario in Argentine in 1928.

7. Knotted: TIED. If these are synonymous, why do we say the couple tied the knot?

8. Mistletoe piece: SPRIG. Maybe after they kissed at Christmas, where he also...

9. Played with, in a way: PAWED AT her; hmmm.

12. Balls: ORBS. Oh how I miss Buckeye and some of our other Morel posters.

14. __-1: "Ghostbusters" auto: ECTO.

15. Relatively cool red giant: S STAR. We had nice discussion of star classifications in a puzzle by our own JEROME.

23. Fail in business: FOLD. Many businesses have folded their tents in the last few years.

26. Acknowledgments: YESES.

27. Pacific dance: HULA. Did you all see Kelly Ripa this week in Hawaii? Or her in this x-rated COMMERCIAL? (1:14).

31. Joie de vivre: GUSTO. The joy of life is our french lesson of the day.

34. Tropical ring-tailed critter: COATI. Crossword staple animal.

37. H.S. sophs may take it: PSAT.

40. Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. Like this CLIP (3:11).

43. Auto club employees: MAPPERS. Not with all the GPS systems out there.

47. Hot tea hazard: SCALD. Or coffee at McDonald's if you want to get rich.

49. Ojibwa home: WIGWAM. Not a Teepee, but THIS.

51. Young pig : SHOAT.

53. Thailand neighbor: LAOS. Right next to 54D. New Mexico ski resort: TAOS.

56. Buried treasure site, often: ISLE.

58. Iberian river: EBRO. The Iberian Peninsula, home for Spain and Portugal.

59. Disintegrates: ROTS. You hope it disintegrates after the smell gets bad.

60. Part of MS-DOS: Abbr. : SYSTem.

63. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC. Tender Loving Care.

64. __ in Charlie: C AS. I thought it was C As In Corpse? It is a mystery to me.

Answer grid.

And it is a mystery how quickly the weeks go by and this will be the final Friday in February, 2012; I hope it is a good one, and you enjoyed the puzzle and our brief time together, until next week...

Lemonade

Monday, February 14, 2011 Ian Livengood

Theme: XOXOXOX - Happy St. Valentine's Day. The three grid-spanning answers end with a word that, when combined with the unifier, describes many of our couples here on the Corner.

20A. Bounty, to the hunted: PRICE ON ONE'S HEAD

38A. Examine quickly: GIVE THE ONCE OVER

53A. Frolic vigorously: KICK UP ONE'S HEELS

69A. With "in," what can follow the phrase formed by the ends of 20-, 38- and 53-Across: LOVE

Argyle here. Three good in language phrases today. And how about our constructor's name. (Yes, I know I used a sentence fragment.) Good strong blocks all around the sides; a good start to the week.

Across:

1. Hearts, e.g. : GAME. Excellent start for this puzzle.

5. Soft pats : DABS

9. Physicist Enrico : FERMI. Professor Fermi married Laura Capon in 1928. They had one son Giulio and one daughter Nella. His favourite pastimes were walking, mountaineering, and winter sports.

14. Sink cleaner : AJAX

15. Straddling : ATOP

16. Hipbone-related : ILIAC

17. It's quite a story : SAGA

18. Kind of nut : KOLA

19. Bridal path : AISLE

23. "Cheerio!" : "TA TA!". Singular today.

24. 2011 Rose Bowl champs: Abbr. : TCU. Texas Christian University.

25. From A __ : TO Z

28. Fox-sighting cry : "TALLY HO!"

31. Dallas hoopster, for short : MAV. The Dallas Mavericks.

34. "Tosca" or "Pagliacci" : OPERA. Tosca by Puccini, Pagliacci by Leoncavallo.

36. Hawaiian neckwear : LEI

37. Gradually lose color : FADE

42. Strong as __ : AN OX

43. Wall climber : IVY

44. Skating jumps : AXELs

45. One of a D.C. 100 : SEN.

46. Golfer Craig known as "the Walrus" : STADLER. Ya think? Image. I think his wife is Sue but could find very little about her.

49. Once called, in wedding notices : NEE

50. Disco __ of "The Simpsons" : STU. He loves disco, of course.

51. Followers: Suf. : ISTs

61. Being not from 41-Down : ALIEN. 41D. Planet nearest Mars, usually: EARTH

62. Silents actress Negri : POLA. She had some love life.

63. Appeal : PLEA

64. Meas. of the cereal without the box : NET WT. Net Weight.

65. Helen of __ : TROY. Wife of Menelaus but abducted by Paris. Bet she got lots of valentines.

66. Run __: go wild : AMOK

67. Lock of hair : TRESS

68. Cuts, as logs : SAWS

Down:

1. [Heavens!] : [GASP!]. Reaction of husbands and boyfriends everywhere if they forgot what today is.

2. Cracked open : AJAR

3. Nativity trio : MAGI

4. Right on the money : EXACT. 'Exactamundo!' as Disco Stu would say.

5. Former territory where Mount Rushmore is : DAKOTA

6. Lacking a musical key : ATONAL

7. Western necktie : BOLO. One with a heart slide.

8. Time period : SPAN

9. Total flop : FIASCO

10. College benefactor Yale : ELIHU. Interesting read here. He had a brother named Valentine. He also had a wife and two misstresses. He made most of his fortune in the illicit diamond trade. Those diamonds must have come in handy keeping his women happy.

11. Greet the judge : RISE

12. __ fide: in bad faith : MALA. More familiar with bona fide.

13. Topped a cupcake : ICED

21. Really bug : EAT AT

22. Set of moral principles : ETHIC

25. Colosseum garments : TOGAs

26. Think aloud : OPINE

27. "Werewolves of London" singer Warren __ : ZEVON. Aaahoo!.(3:15)

29. Architect Frank __ Wright : LLOYD

30. Itch : YEN

31. Expert : MAVEN

32. Fred's dancing sister : ADELE

33. Limericks and such : VERSE

35. Stout of whodunits : REX

37. Sly critter : FOX

39. Asked boldly, as for money : HIT UP

40. Actress Longoria : EVA. In happier days, image. Not sure what her present status is.

46. Daring feats : STUNTS

47. Stay out of sight : LIE LOW

48. Blue book exams : ESSAYS

50. Depicts unfairly, as data : SKEWS

52. Flower leaf : SEPAL. Image.

53. "Critique of Pure Reason" writer : KANT. He never married.

54. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER. Image

55. Refer to : CITE

56. Chooses (to) : OPTS

57. Nick Charles's wife : NORA. The happy couple.

58. Sailor's patron saint : ELMO

59. Pope before Sergius III : LEO V. Okay.

60. "For Pete's __!" : SAKE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Today marks Dennis' 3rd anniversary with the blog, which wouldn't be where it is today without his nurturing and guidance. Dennis has been very supportive & encouraging of my every little effort, always patient and fast in response to all my questions, from baseball cards to slang/idioms. Always there when needed. Can you believe he even fixed our garbage disposal? Thanks, Dennis, I am glad of all the blogs in the world, you walked into mine.