Tuesday, November 13, 2012 Jeff Chen

Theme: You think I'll tell you the theme? As if! - And if that's not enough, I'll repeat it five times.

17A. "As if!" : "AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!"

27A. "As if!" : "NO WAY, JOSE!"

38A. "As if!" : "DREAM ON!"

46A. "As if!" : "YEAH, RIGHT!"

57A. "As if!" : "FAT CHANCE OF THAT!"

Argyle here. You get the picture? Jeff has delivered a nice tight Tuesday, with two grid spanners and a couple of long climbers, too.

Across:

1. College donor, often : ALUM. A shortened version that can encompass single and plural of both genders. Handy.

5. 401(k) cousin, briefly : IRA. (individual retirement account)

8. Garden ground cover : MULCH

13. Mount Olympus wife : HERA. The wife of Zeus.

14. Break bread : DINE

16. Novelist Zola : EMILE. The most common of the crossword Emiles

20. Halley's sci. : ASTR. (astronomy)

21. Full of vitality : GO-GO. Full of Red Bull?

22. Ideological suffix : ISM

23. Lift with effort : HEFT

25. '60s counterculturist Timothy : LEARY. "Turn on, tune in, drop out"

31. Rants about the boss, e.g. : VENTS

34. Jacob's brother : ESAU

35. Niagara Falls prov. : ONT. (Ontario)

36. Gorky Park city : MOSCOW. Song.(5:13)

37. Like hor. puzzle answers : ACR. (horizontal/across)

40. Hostility : IRE

41. Started, as a keg : TAPPED

43. P.I. : TEC. (private investigator/detective)

44. Hypnotic trance breaker : SNAP

45. "Friend __?" : OR FOE

48. Pal of Threepio : ARTOO. Star Wars droids.

50. Not at all droopy : TAUT

51. Intro makers : MC's. (master of ceremonies)

52. One might say "shay" for "say" : LUSH. Drunks don't talk so good.

54. Inevitable end : FATE

61. Honolulu hello : ALOHA. Nice alliteration.

62. Egg on : GOAD. Phrase Finder link for "Egg on.

63. Sculling gear : OARS

64. Headwear in iconic Che posters : BERET

65. Many ESPN fall highlights : TD's. (touchdown)

66. Way to be tickled : PINK

Down:

1. Cry of enlightenment : "A-HA!"

2. Film heroine with memorable buns : LEIA. My mind was boggling for a bit there but, oh, it's just another Star Wars reference.

3. Java vessels : URNS

4. "Grumpy Old Men" co-star : MATTHAU

5. Rite words : I DO

6. Modern caller ID, perhaps : RINGTONE. Different tones can be assigned to frequent incoming callers, right? I still don't have a cell phone.

7. Part of A.D. : ANNO

8. Drop-line link : ME A. Exactly like Sunday's entry.

9. Wrigley Field judges : UMPIRES. Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs.

10. Mouthing the lyrics : LIP SYNCING

11. Red Skelton character Kadiddlehopper : CLEM. The joys of live TV.

12. Cooped-up layer : HEN

15. Bird on old quarters : EAGLE. How 'bout that; going from a chicken to an eagle.

18. Earl __ tea : GREY

19. Groundbreaking tool : HOE

24. Greenland coastal feature : FJORD

26. Company that rings a bell? : AVON. Cute clue.

27. "Marvy!" : "NEATO!" and 57D. "Marvy!" : "FAB!"

28. Green grouch : OSCAR

29. "Star Trek" velocity measure : WARP FACTOR. About 338,000 results if you Google "warp factor".

30. Word in many university names : STATE

32. Bar mitzvah reading source : TORAH

33. Didn't lose a game : SWEPT. Giants in the World Series this year.

36. Java order : MOCHA

38. Off! ingredient : DEET. Another Sunday answer.

39. Mike, to Archie : MEATHEAD. "All in the Family"

42. Upscale sports car : PORSCHE. Any Porshe owners out there?

44. Perch on : SIT ATOP

46. Like babes : YOUNG. I found this to be a little strange.

47. Dennis the Menace's dog : RUFF

49. Pay extension? : OLA. (payola)

51. Stallion or bull : MALE

53. Craig Ferguson, by birth : SCOT. The Late Late Show is hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It is on after Letterman.

55. Asian tongue : THAI

56. Bring home : EARN

58. Monopoly token : HAT

59. Has too much, briefly : OD's. (overdose)

60. Clucking sound : [TSK!]

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Don G and I made today's NY Times crossword. I hope you have a chance to solve it. Now, Jayce/Splynter/TTP, will NYT 11D's ex-girlfriend's husband "Call me, maybe?"
 
2) Here is a recent photo of dear Sallie.

Friday. October 19, 2012, Jeff Chen

THEME: Elementary my dear Watson, it goes on the Table, Period.

Wow, another of our many favorite constructors and mentors, who put together an effort filled with so many layers, and no hens in the bunch. For the newbies, here is his INTERVIEW. So the theme has three sets of two natural elements, (two 14 and one 15 letter combination) the atomic symbol for which spells out the first unifier, 39A, FASHION which is then enhanced by 59A, another grid-spanning clue, which clues you to think of the answers to 17A, 22A and 50A as elements. There are some three and four  letter fill to help get the theme going through perps, but all in all another gem. It is hard to believe Jeff has only been doing this for just over three years. For me the puzzle has much of the joy of a Dan Naddor, heavy themeage and lots of tricky word pairs. Some may not enjoy the referential cluing and the proper names, but hey that is what make the world interesting; so let's get to dissecting this one.

17A. Components of 39-across : FLUORINE (symbol F)  ARSENIC (AS). (15)

22A. Components of 39-across : HYDROGEN (H) IODINE.(I). (14)

50A. Components of 39-across : OXYGEN (O) NITROGEN (N). (14)

and the first hint:

39A. Symbolic sum of 17-, 22- and 50-Across : FASHION. (7) Symbolic being your first clue to the periodic table.

followed by:

59A. Classic manual, with "The," and what the starred answers' components are vis-à-vis 39-Across : ELEMENTS OF STYLE. (15). This book was still the BIBLE for authors when I was studying and teaching English at UConn. (Does your paper have the 17A, 22A & 50A starred?)

Across:

1. Kool Moe Dee's genre : RAP. I do not know this early rap ARTIST,(4:17) but I see he was the first to rap at the Grammys.

4. Response to a drought ending : AT LAST. Rain, at last!

10. Spot that many avoid : TV AD. Nice misdirection.

14. Words of attribution : A LA. Our first French of the day, and my recurring clue for three Fridays, though each was different. Literally, from the...

15. Inspiration for jambalaya : PAELLA. When the Spanish came to the new world, they found saffron too rare and too expensive, they used the exciting fruit, the tomato, the rest in gastronomic history.

16. Jaunty greeting : HI HO. A greeting which cannot be used in certain neighborhoods, or you will be beaten.

20. Yao-like : TALL. 7'6" tall, basically a walking tree who played basketball for the Houston Rockets until his body broke down.

21. Gummy : VISCID. from the Latin, like its more popular cousin, viscous; though not to be confused with vicious.

28. Lightsaber wielders : SITH. George Lucas explained to me, this race became so mean because everyone called them SITHIES.

29. Get ready for a drive : TEE UP. (third two word answer).

30. Elem. school staple : PBJ. Peanut Butter & Jelly.

33. Some emoticons : FROWNS. Turn that frown upside down, stand on your head.

37. Barbera d'___: Italian wine : ASTI. A brand new way to avoid Spumante.

38. Sushi topper : ROE. Wants some eggs with your fish?

41. Key for getting out of a jam : ESCape. Nice clue.

42. Humble reply to praise : I TRY. Number 4.

44. Visit : STOP BY. (5)Can people Stop By or do they need to call first?

45. ___ Cabos, Mexico : LOS. The southern most city in the BAJA.

46. Chowderhead : MORON. This is an actual medical term for a level of awareness.

48. Gaseous: Pref. : AERI. Not that kind of gaseous, silly!

56. Signal to try to score : WAVE IN. (6) and the Yankees did not wave in many runs did they. The horse AROD finished last at Belmont yesterday.

57. They're often bruised : EGOS. I also bruise my eggos, but that is just me.

64. Greg's love on "House" : LISA. Mostly known as CUDDY, she left the cast.

65. Hard pieces : ETUDES. I will let our resident maestro JzB discuss this musical concept.

66. Flicks : PIX. Not to be confused with 27D. Books that require a commitment : EPICS.

67. Pup without papers : MUTT. Speaking of which, how did the cat placement go divine miss m? An the semi-clecho 35D. Go after, puppy-style : NIP AT.(8). Not like the 43A. Support for a downward-facing dog : YOGA MAT.(9).

68. Writer de Beauvoir : SIMONE. This unique and powerful woman was the life partner of Jena Paul Sartre, but together they lived a rather debauched LIFE, which you can read about there, or you can consider this LINK. to ponder her contribution to philosophy and feminism.

69. Miss Pym's creator : TEY. Josephine a wonderful mystery and historical mystery author.

Down:

1. Lake floater : RAFT. If you watch CSI, NCIS and BONES you probably thought BODY.

2. Burka wearer's deity : ALLAH. Same one.

3. Comedian Shore : PAULY. Is he FUNNY? (2:03). I really only know him as an early MTV VJ.

4. CPA's busy time : APRil. Tax day the 15th, now. It was March 15 when I first recall my father grumbling.

5. Mai ___ : TAI. The drink.

6. "Dancing With the Stars" judge Goodman : LEN. The dancing prune.

7. Bayer painkiller : ALEVE. If you read the literature, you will never take PILLS.

8. Knocked off : SLAIN. OFF bad, UP bad, on wood, good.

9. Tibia neighbors : TARSI. Speaking of Bones, work your way down.

10. "Why, I never!" : THE IDEA! (7) I can see Aunt Bee, only I think it was always the very idea hmph!

11. "Fast Five" star : VIN DIESEL. Fuel for your tank ladies? Get your motor running?

12. Sushi tuna : AHI, or do you prefer expensive fish?

13. One of a toon septet : DOC. From the Latin for 7, Dwarves of course, or is it Dwarfs?

18. Cutlass maker : OLDS. Not a sword maker but a defunct car manufacturer.

19. Many a St. Andrews golfer : SCOT. They vote next year to be independent of Britain, Steve, Nice Cuppa, anyone?

23. Jazz lick : RIFF.

24. Others, abroad : OTRAS. Our Spanish lesson 1.

25. Spirit : GHOST.

26. Bats : NUTSO. Both colloquial for insane, which is what you have to be to inject your body with 31D. It might make you forget your lines : BOTOX. A portmanteau of Botulinum Toxin, the neurotoxin responsible for many deaths. Worse than taking Aleve. I love the clue, forget your lines...those ones coming from my eyes and my smile and....

30. Tops : PRIMO. From Latin, Italian and  I think Spanish  for "first."

32. Ex-Laker silhouetted in the NBA logo : JERRY WEST. One of the all time great players, with this interesting STORY. The ABA gave us more than the 3 point shot.

34. Detective's pronoun : WHO. From WHO DUNNIT, I guess.

36. Serious : SOBER.

40. "Eli's Coming" songwriter : NYRO. a wonderful SINGER (3:59) song writer who died young of ovarian cancer just like Gilda Radnor. Sad. makes the song more powerful.

47. Campbell of "Wild Things" : NEVE. For those who have not seen the SCENE(1:12), it is very R-rated. Not related to 51D. Tampico tots : NENES, Tampico is also in Mexico, and the NENE is the bebe..

49. "Is this what ___ for...?" : I GET. (10)

52. Gangster Frank : NITTI. I am really enjoying reading Max Allan Collins'  Nate Heller historical mysteries, often featuring Nitti. He was my favorite gangster on the Untouchables.

53. Briefly : IN SUM. (11).

54. Abu Simbel's land : EGYPT. These were dug out by Ramses II's slaves and saved by the Asswan DAM.

55. "Honest!" : NO LIE. (12) Do you ever trust anyone who says this?

58. Steamy : SEXY.

59. Sunblock of a sort : ELM. Under the branches of the old elm tree.

60. Sch. with a Riverhead campus : LIU. Long Island University. LINK.

61. Prefix with meter : ODO. The one that tells yo how many miles you have traveled.

62. Marshland : FEN. A good old English cozy word.

63. Lubbock-to-Laredo dir. : SSE. Well I guess if we are going to go in that direction, I had better get out of here and leave it to you. I love Jeff Chen's work as he always makes me work and think, whether a Monday or a Friday; I hope you had a good time, I know I worked you hard in places as well, so see you next time.

Lemonade

Saturday, Aug 25th, 2012, Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 37

I do believe that this is Jeff Chen's first themeless (Saturday) puzzle - at least for the LA Times. In fact, we last saw Jeff with his Aug 8th "L.A." puzzle, and his well done "VW" women's initials puzzle in July - and this means he has "batted for the cycle", having a puzzle published every day of the week; S, M, T, W, T, F, and now S. Two grid spanners,

14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings

47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!

and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:

12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?

51A. Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components : CHESS BOXING - never heard of this; requires skill in both areas - chess and boxing, in alternating rounds....I'll bet the later rounds of chess get harder with each left hook you take....

On~ward Orthorunicans~!

ACROSS:

1. Bout with padded weapons : PILLOW FIGHT - can't say I have ever participated, and I was married to a woman with a young child, too; I would like it to be "all out" and have the feather stuffing strewn all over the place~!

16. Score direction: Abbr. : RITARDando - Gradual slowing of the tempo

17. Gull-like bird : TERN

18. Island food in a bowl : POI

19. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer : STYNE - a WAG, but the perps took care of 80% of the fill; I would have to say this one was a Natick for me, crossing nuiT, and a clecho with 9D - how's that for cramming in some CW blog phrases?

20. Some shooters, briefly : SLRs - Cameras, that is

21. Go on (one's way) : WEND

22. Certain hustler's tools : CUES

23. Setting for Ariadne : MAZE - Daughter of Minos - from the labyrinth myth

24. Observation after "Clean your room!" : IT'S A MESS~!!!

29. Pea family trees : CAROBS

31. Student's supper spot : COMMONS

32. "Oh no!" from Poirot : MON DIEU - French

33. Showed contempt for : SPAT AT

34. Where Daniel was thrown : LION'S DEN - First line here, from one of my favoritest bands Monster Magnet

35. Sellout signs : SROs - Standing Room Only

36. President under whom Texas was annexed : POLK - Hey, four letters and a president~! Another clecho, too; 43D. 34th pres. : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower

37. "__ be in England ...": Browning : "OH TO"

38. Goggle : GAWK

39. Fragment : SHARD

44. Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA - 'Golden Girls' foursome

45. Bartlett relative : BOSC

46. Whistled at, perhaps : HAILED - oh, for a cab, not those legs.... see below

50. Characterized by extremes : FEAST OR FAMINE - seems that way in carpentry; now that I am involved in a large project, everyone seems to need some work done~! (BTW, I am not complaining~!)

DOWN:

1. __ hose : PANTY - ah, Jeff, pantyhose, the perfect clue/ans for me; have to restrain myself and pick just one image~!

2. "Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait": AT&T ad tagline : "IT CAN" - pretty harsh commercials, but then again, what I see here on the roads of Long Island is far more terrifying....

3. BP unit : LITRE - British Petroleum, and the English spelling

4. Hard to look at, in a way : LOUD - like this outfit

5. Words with diet or dime : ON A

6. Turkey features : WATTLES - seen here

7. Circulars : FLIERS

8. Sikorsky and Stravinsky : IGORs - 'copters and composers

9. '50s-'60s title detective whose show's theme was composed by Mancini : GUNN - Earworm~!

10. Breakfast choice : HAM

11. Figure with two legs askew : TRAPEZOID



12. Matin preceder : NUIT - Ugh, morning & night

13. Queen's mate : DRONE BEE

14. Button on older phones : PRS - the other 'odd' one was WXY



15. Razz : KID

20. Figure (out), in slang : SUSS - Dah~! I left this one out of my little run at 19A~!

21. Districts : WARDS - Did any of you like the movie "District 9"~?

22. Lincoln's place? : CENT



23. Author of the novel "Doctor Faustus" : MANN

24. Suffix with robot : ICS - RobotICS

25. Of the best quality : TOP SHELF

26. "Everyone's a comedian" : SMART ALEC

27. Kid's retort : AM TOO

28. Extinct kiwi relatives : MOAs

29. One who's at home on the range? : COOK

30. Nearest star to Pluto : SUN - Duh~! I thought "hey, Alpha Centauri is no closer to Pluto than to Earth at 4.37 light years....oh wait....

32. Take advantage of : MILK

34. Like the Atkins diet : LOW CARB

36. Leisurely walks : PASEOs

37. "Memoirs of a Geisha" prop : OBI - our Crossword sash

38. State runners: Abbr. : GOV'TS

39. Highly seasoned pheasant stew : SALMI

40. Used for cover : HID IN - remember this hiding spot?

41. During : ALONG

42. Russo of "Tin Cup" : RENE

45. Supporting part : BASE

46. Fraud : HOAX

48. Cry of derision : HAH~!!!

49. Fiscal VIP : CFO - oops, not CPA

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are two great pictures from Yellowrocks' 2009 trip to Costa Rica (Sorry for the error earlier). The first is of her and her son Alan. The second is of her and their guide & driver.