Wednesday, June 6 2012, Janie Smulyan

Theme: DIVERSE DANCE DUDS. when i had can can and cha cha, i expected 20a was going to have the same pattern and the theme would be repeating syllables. wrong again.

20A. Short coat for a Spanish 51-Across : BOLERO JACKET. a short, cropped jacket. i usually see men wearing these, like matadors, but women sometimes wear them, too.

31A. Garment for a French 51-Across : CAN CAN SKIRT

38A. Shoes for a Latin American 51-Across : CHA CHA HEELS

and, without further ado, 51A. "Young and sweet, only seventeen" ABBA title girl : DANCING QUEEN

melissa here. who else loves matt? as of this writing, he is in seattle.

Across:

1. Reason for a flight delay : FOG. nailed it.

4. Part of EST: Abbr. : STD. eastern standard time.

7. Basic ballroom dance : TWO STEP. more dancing.

14. "Give __ whirl" : IT A

15. __ de coeur: pained outburst : CRI. french, literally cry from the heart.

16. Grainy cracker : OATCAKE. a type of cracker or pancake, popular in scotland, ireland, canada and parts of england.

17. Silky-coated dogs : BORZOIS. aka, russian wolfhound. never heard of it. borzois means swift in russian. looks like a long-haired whippet.

19. Served, as ice cream : SCOOPED

22. A-list : ELITE

23. Hydrating cream brand : OLAY

24. Most junk mail : ADS. the usps recently launched a campaign to save itself by increasing junk mail by five times. sigh. nobody asked me.

27. Ten, for openers? : DECA. prefix.

28. Cut of one's jib, so to speak : MIEN. learning moment for me. i've heard 'cut of one's jib,' but mien is new to me, seems kind of obscure. from dictionary.com: "one's general appearance, mien, or manner: I could tell by the cut of his jib that he wasn't the kind of person I'd want to deal with"

29. Very, in music : ASSAI

33. Cheerleader's accessory : POM-POM. also spelled pom-pon.

37. Pain-relieving drug : OPIATE

42. Piebald mount : PINTO. pied, or spotted horse.

43. __ mater : ALMA

44. Wall St. happenings : IPO'S, initial public offerings.

48. Word on a Chicago cap : SOX

49. Pierre's possessive : A TOI. Je suis tout à 'toi'

50. '60s-'70s TV Guide critic : AMORY. cleveland amory, so obscure.

54. Bit of the Big Apple : BOROUGH. map.

57. Supple : ELASTIC. adjective.

58. Shelter denizen, potentially : ADOPTEE

59. Well-used pencil : NUB

60. Ending with chlor- : IDE

61. Showy shower phenomena : METEORS

62. Lapsang souchong, e.g. : TEA

63. Scoundrel : CAD

Down:

1. Was a little false : FIBBED

2. "The Lion in Winter" co-star : O'TOOLE. peter.

3. Appetizing dinnertime smell : GARLIC

4. Make notches in : SCORE. no comment.

5. Quartet with an absentee : TRIO. cute.

6. Prevent the union of : DISJOIN. hmm ... seems like to disjoin is to undo after a union occurred, rather than to prevent it.

7. Region of central Italia : TOSCANA

8. Nutso : WACKY

9. Great Plains tribe : OTOE

10. Many a bagpiper : SCOT

11. Make use of : TAP. would have been nice to see this clued as a type of dance.

12. Barely make, with "out" : EKE

13. Crosswalk user, briefly : PEDestrian.

18. Letter on a sweater : ZETA

21. Novelist Waugh : ALEC. learning moment #2.

24. Giant panda's continent : ASIA

25. It has a sticking point : DART

26. Online destination : SITE

28. Doll's word : MAMA

29. Slithering symbols of the pharaohs : ASPS

30. Manage moguls : SKI

31. West Coast salmon : COHO

32. Superdome home, briefly : NOLA. new orleans, louisiana.

33. HMO doctor designations : PCP'S. primary care physicians.

34. Columbus's home : OHIO

35. Tailless feline : MANX

36. Inc. tax rate, e.g. : PCT. percent.

39. Concocts, as a scheme : HATCHES

40. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI. race of people in h.g. wells's novel.

41. Distinguished : EMINENT

44. Brash radio host : IMUS. i misread this as british radio host, and thought there must be some other IMUS i didn't know about. brash ... oh.

45. Flowery, in a way : POETIC

46. Golden Crinkles maker : ORE-IDA. i learned from michael pollan that industrial potato farmers have to put the potatoes in storage for six months to off gas all the chemical pesticides and fertilizers. no thanks.

47. Matched up, as a laptop and a smartphone : SYNCED. or as fred and ginger.

49. Infuriate : ANGER

50. Jordanian seaport : AQABA. don't have that one memorized.

51. Lowdown : DOPE

52. Geo or Reo : AUTO

53. Krazy __ : GLUE

54. Impact sound : BAM

55. Coleridge wrote one to dejection : ODE. if you're interested.

56. Go bad : ROT

Answer grid.

melissa

Note from C.C.:

Here is a beautiful picture of JD's garden. She said she spends LOTS of time there. I would too. That's orange tree on the right, correct? At first, I thought they were persimmons.

Monday, October 3, 2011 Janie Smulyan

Theme: Talking Cereal - I'll let them tell you themselves. Clip.(0:60)

17A. "Get a grip!" : "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

37A. Crafts technique for an old-fashioned look : CRACKLE FINISH

60A. Connector that completes a phrase made from the starts of the three longest across answers : AND

61A. Get the front of one's bike off the ground : POP A WHEELIE

Argyle here. This certainly passes the breakfast test. This is Janie's second LAT puzzle. Still too many esses for my taste but I like the long theme entries.

Across:

1. What ice cream does in the sun : MELTs

6. Mythical weeper : NIOBE. One of the more tragic figures in Greek myth.

11. With it : HEP

14. "Terrific!" : GREAT

15. Play-of-color gems : OPALs

16. Bambi's aunt : ENA

19. Albums kept in jewel boxes, briefly : CDs

20. Dogpatch dad : PAPPY. The Dogpatch crew.

21. Eat like a bird : PECK AT

23. Anti-alcohol types : DRYs

25. Greenish-blue hue : TEAL

28. Room for Renée : SALLE. French.

29. Stubbed extremity : TOE

30. Internet company : DOTCOM

32. Bear's advice : SELL. The bull says, Buy.

33. Screen partner : STAGE. The entertainment industry.

35. Folded Mexican snacks : TACOs

42. More than fumed : RAGED

43. Trifled (with) : TOYED

45. Green eggs and ham lover __-am : SAM-I

48. Scrape, to a tot : BOO-BOO. So good not to see 'owie'.

51. __ culpa : MEA

52. Pizza's outer edge : CRUST

54. Scissors sound : SNIP

55. With competence : ABLY

56. Cardinal's headgear : RED HAT. Image. It is called a biretta. I think it has appeared in later in the week puzzles

58. Film idol Greta : GARBO. Image.

66. Bro : PAL

67. Muse for Browning : ERATO. Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

68. Super Bowl hoverer : BLIMP

69. Opposite of NNW : SSE

70. Spread widely : STREW

71. Big name in foil : ALCOA

Down:

1. Brit. sports cars : MGs. Shout out to Garlic Gal and Bill G.

2. West ender? : ERN. Western.

3. When presidential elections occur : LEAP YEAR

4. Noshes in Nuevo Laredo : TAPAs. Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from Laredo, Texas.

5. Passenger pickup point : STOP

6. Reply to "Is it soup?" : "NOT YET"

7. Wall St. headline : IPO. Initial public offering.

8. Clumsy sort : OAF

9. Radar screen spot : BLIP

10. Colorado's __ Park : ESTES. View.

11. Badger at the comedy club : HECKLE. They aren't badgers; Heckle and Jeckle are magpies.

12. Ultimate goal : END-ALL

13. Muted, as colors : PASTEL

18. With 62-Down, at a satisfactory level : UP TO 62-Down. See 18-Down : PAR

22. Othello's lieutenant : CASSIO.

Othello. The servants of the duke, and my lieutenant.
The goodness of the night upon you, friends!
What is the news?

Cassio. The duke does greet you, general,
And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance,
Even on the instant.

23. Sot's woe, briefly : DTS. Delirium tremens.

24. Military prep org. : ROTC

26. Did something about, as an informant's tip : ACTED ON

27. Bread unit : LOAF

30. Ten: Pref. : DECA

31. Former telecom firm : MCI. Now acquired by Verizon Communications.

34. Overly ornate : GARISH

36. Aware of : ONTO

38. CIA Cold War counterpart : KGB

39. Some summer births, astrologically : LEOs

40. Like some gestures or logic : SYMBOLIC

41. Cad : HEEL

44. Week segment : DAY

45. Collage materials : SCRAPs

46. Convention sites : ARENAs

47. Work clumsily (through) : MUDDLE

49. "I'm so not impressed" event : "BIG WOW". Sarcasm.

50. Exotic sushi fish : OPAH

53. Carton sealers : TAPEs

55. "Does this ring __?" : A BELL

57. Legal wrong : TORT

59. McEntire of country : REBA

63. Put away at dinnertime : ATE

64. Texter's "Here's what I think" : IMO. In my opinion.

65. Clean air org. : EPA

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, August 8, 2011 Janie Smulyan

Theme: Me - Not me personally but ME musically.

20A. Polite egotist's musical request? (Beatles) : PLEASE, PLEASE ME. Clip(1:59)

36A. Adamant egotist's musical request? (Doris Day) : LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. Clip(2:16)

47A. Needy egotist's musical request? (Supremes) : COME SEE ABOUT ME. Clip(2:24)

Argyle here. Unusual circumstance today; our constructor Janie Smulyan had her NY Times crossword debut yesterday and now her LAT debut today. Impressive. And so is her puzzle.

Across:

1. Treble symbol : CLEF

5. Knock for a loop : DAZE

9. Red Delicious, e.g. : APPLE

14. Fishing need : LURE

15. [Lightbulb!] : IDEA

16. Bay Area county : MARIN. North of San Francisco.

17. Landed on a perch : ALIT

18. Confidence-inspiring : REASSURING

22. "Just __ naturally" : ACT

23. Dr.'s field : MEDicine.

24. Paranormal : OCCULT

28. Uppercase letters, briefly : CAPS

30. Weep and wail : SOB

33. "__ turn is it?" : WHOSE

34. Paper towel unit : ROLL

35. GI no-show : AWOL

39. Barely made, with "out" : EKED

40. Wild and crazy : ZANY

41. They may be faith-based or quantum : LEAPS

42. Boxing count : TEN

43. Quick on one's feet : SPRY

44. "Kings are __ gods": Shakespeare's "Pericles" : EARTH'S

45. Red, Yellow or Black : SEA

46. "So-o-o-o good!" : "MMM!"

55. Fettuccine Alfredo topping, e.g. : CREAM SAUCE

56. A mere step away : NEAR

57. "The Threepenny Opera" composer Kurt : WEILL

58. Walked heavily : TROD

59. Sandwich seller : DELI

60. Box for Beeb watchers : TELLY. Cuppa, you've got this one.

61. William and Harry, to Charles : SONS. Also seen on the Beeb.

62. Black cat, to some : OMEN

Down:

1. Show appreciation at a show : CLAP

2. Quiet time : LULL

3. New York canal : ERIE. It runs through Utica.

4. Greek salad cheese : FETA

5. Run the show : DIRECT

6. Really good (at) : ADEPT

7. Fervor : ZEAL

8. Leisure : EASE

9. Gets a smile out of : AMUSES

10. Peeled with a knife : PARED

11. Puritanical : PRIM

12. Bit of poetry : LINE

13. Subj. including grammar : ENG.

19. Sales rep's giveaway : SAMPLE

21. Oregon's capital : SALEM

24. Little hooter : OWLET

25. Fail in the clutch : CHOKE

26. Group of witches : COVEN. A shout out!

27. Like many flea market items : USED

28. Groanworthy, as a joke : CORNY

29. Friend in war : ALLY

30. "Don't __ the small stuff!" : SWEAT

31. Punchiness : "OOMPH!"

32. Make holy : BLESS

34. Lion's warning : ROAR

35. Declare with confidence : AVER

37. Convenience for Northeastern toll-paying drivers : EZ PASS. It allows you to drive through the booths without stopping...and provides David Letterman with lots of bits.

38. "Remember the __!" : ALAMO. I forgot and remembered the Maine instead.

43. In good taste : SEEMLY

44. Fixes securely (in) : EMBEDS

45. T-shirt size : SMALL

46. City nicknamed "The Heart of Georgia" : MACON. I remember Macon County Line (1974).

47. Canadian tribe : CREE

48. Eye, to Yvette : OEIL. Finally some French.

49. Packs away dishes? : EATS

50. Dollar rival : EURO

51. Reverse, in word processing : UNDO

52. Rain really hard : TEEM

53. Like 61-Across : MALE

54. "__ Brockovich" : ERIN. The real ERIN pictured with her lawyer.

55. 100 lbs. : CWT. A unit of weight measurement created by U.S. merchants in the late 1800s. A hundred weight(Cwt) is equal to exactly 100 pounds.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Belated Happy Birthday to our honeybee Melissa & sailor Gunghy.