Thursday July 15, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: Route Puns - Double word roadway terms (all in plural form) are humorously reinterpreted and clued as if they are "Routes to work" for a person of certain occupation.

17A. Routes to work for a bell ringer?: TOLL ROADS. Toll is the sound of a bell, or a price to pay.

32A. Routes to work for a water company engineer?: MAIN STREETS. Water main, the name of the principle street in many towns.

41A. Routes to work for a window treatment installer?: BLIND ALLEYS. Window blinds, and a road with only one way in or out.

59A. Routes to work for a diet guru?: FAST LANES. To abstain from eating, (usually) the innermost lane on a highway, freeway, or turnpike.

Other words in the puzzle loosely related to the theme:

16A. Mayflower employee: MOVER

62A. Unlucky fisherman's catch, in comics: TIRE.

63A. It's hard to run on it: EMPTY.

31D. Classic Jags: XKES.

Here we go, dissecting an offering from our own Jerome. I found this puzzle to be a bit easier than the past couple of Thursdays, no black marks for me from AcrossLite. Seemed like there were quite a few proper nouns, but a pretty good balance of perps that allowed enough room to guess at them.

I especially liked: 46D. Who's on it (FIRST), 60A. gadget on a pad (MOUSE), and 63A It's hard to run on it (EMPTY). There was a bit of crosswordese here and there, but sometimes those are all I have to get started. When that happens, I know I'm in trouble. Not today though.

Across:

1. Balkan native: SERB.

5. "Fernando" singers: ABBA. Their group name for their first commercial single was originally Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid (Frida). Why would you ever change that?

9. Obviously impressed: AGAPE.

14. Maker of Java Freeze: ICEE. 210 calories = 58 minutes of brisk walking.

15. No bull: TRUE. Apparently from old French boll, deception, trick, scheming, intrigue

19. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.

20. Mourned poetically: ELEGIZED

21. Leave in the dust: OUTRUN. "Blow the doors off of" would have made this word theme related as well.

22. Do an usher's job: SEE IN.

23. New Ager with the album "Dare to Dream": YANNI.

25. View from la costa: AGUA. Depending on which coast, the view today would more likely be el petróleo instead of water.

28. Hood's heater: GAT. Old gangster movie slang for machine guns, from the original rapid fire weapon invented by Richard Gatling. Gat eventually came to mean any gun. Another term for a gun was an "eraser" as in 37A. Rubs out: OFFS. Shortened form of "kills off".

29. "Sour grapes" critter: FOX. Aesop's Fable.

36. Proceeding normally: AOK. Unrelated to this, but worth mentioning, Karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

38. Peace personified: IRENE. Greek goddess.

39. Shipwright's tool: ADZE. Related to axe, hatchet

40. Response to "Speak!": ARF. Talking dogs.

43. Cracker Jack bonus: TOY.

44. Tyler of "Jersey Girl": LIV. A pic with her Dad Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Sure, the resemblance is obvious...

45. Divided sea: ARAL.

46. Knocks for a loop: FAZES.

48. Like a milquetoast's spouse, often: BOSSY. Caspar Milquetoast, the timid soul, an old comic strip.

52. Wish for: DESIRE. I wish I had not done a google image search for desiree with the safe search option off. What has been seen cannot be unseen.

55. Payload's place: NOSECONE. Payload originally referred to the revenue producing portion of a conveyance. With a bomb attached to a rocket, that lends a whole new meaning to the term "money shot".

58. Ornament: ADORN. Used as a verb, not a fragile glass ball.

60. Gadget on a pad: MOUSE.

61. Bug and more: RILE.

64. Tons: A LOT.

65. Chows down: EATS.

Down:

1. Developer's offerings: SITES. Real estate.

2. Nice school?: ECOLE. French word for school. Nice is French city, pronounced like "niece".

3. J.E.B. Stuart's boss: R. E. LEE. Confederate generals, James Edward Brown (Stuart), Robert Edward Lee.

4. Antwerp natives: BELGIANS. Also Flemish, but that was a letter short.

5. The whole kit and caboodle: A TO Z.

6. Scottish hillside: BRAE. From old words for eye and eyebrow becoming the brow of a hill.

7. One to hang with: BUDDY.

8. 1950s political monogram: AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson. Defeated twice for the Democratic bid for president by DDE, later because Ambassador to the UN.

9. Is equivalent (to): AMOUNTS. That don't amount to a brae 'o beans.

10. "The Teflon Don": GOTTI. Almost all attempts at getting a conviction didn't stick to him.

11. State firmly: AVER. Related words: verify and very. To make true or prove to be true.

12. Emperor Atahualpa's land: PERU. The last Incan emperor, died in 1533.

13. The Auld Sod: ERIN. The old land, Ireland.

18. Audi logo quartet: RINGS.

21. Painting the town red: ON A TEAR. A riotous spree.

24. Chairman's list: AGENDA.

26. Put into play: UTILIZE. I hate it when someone utilizes this word (see how silly that sounds?). It just sounds like the person is trying to impress you with his vocabulary instead of his (lack of) knowledge. Reminds me too much of corporate-speak, a faker's language used to make a lot of noise without actually saying anything at all. Just use "use".

27. Make it big: ARRIVE. After 30 years of practice you too can become an overnight sensation.

29. Lose vitality: FADE.

30. Like sap: OOZY.

32. Zoo barrier: MOAT.

33. Early Jesse Jackson do: AFRO. Hairdo.

34. Up in the air: IFFY.

35. Bard's nightfall: EEN.

39. Parcel out: ALLOCATE. To locate, to place.

41. Flattery: BLARNEY. Lady Blarny, the smooth-talking flatterer in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield" (1766) preceded naming the Blarney Stone (1796).

42. Bar code's place: LABEL.

46. Who's on it: FIRST. The old Abbot and Costello routine. Who is the name of the man that is the first baseman.

47. Spiral-shelled creature: SNAIL.

49. Widow of Rajiv Gandhi: SONIA. Never even saw this clue, got it all through perps.

50. Hägar's dog: SNERT. Comic strip characters by Chris Browne.

51. Toadies' words: YESES. Originally, a toady traveled with a medicine man and literally ate a toad (which was thought to be poisonous) to enable his master to "cure" him and sell to all the easy marks. Not so different from ads on TV today.

52. Title for Kiri Te Kanawa: DAME. Operatic soprano.

53. Nation of Esau: EDOM. Esau was the brother of Jacob, the founder of Israel. Talk about sibling rivalry.

54. First course, sometimes: SOUP.

56. City founded by King Harald III: OSLO. Burned to the ground, then was rebuilt and renamed Christiana. Later it was renamed back to Oslo again.

57. Proofer's mark: STET. Let it stand, change the change back to the original text.

59. Monk's title: FRA. Friar. Probably derived from the French word frère ("brother" in English). According to Wiki, friars and monks aren't quite the same. A Monk is devoted to and lives within a single community away from the rest of the world, and a Friar has a wider range, spending time in each of several different provinces, but doing similar work.

Answer grid.

Here are some great pictures Gunghy took from his recent bike trip to Texas via California, Arizona & New Mexico. He finished 13 miles short of 4000 in 11 days in his Yamaha Raider. He's racing for High Sierra Regatta today. Good luck, Gunghy! Kazie's Oz Series will continue tomorrow.

Al

Tuesday May 25, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: Name That Phrase - Common phrases are humorously reinterpreted and clued as if the last word were two people who share the first name.

20A. Robinson and Thomas?: BALLPARK FRANKS. A pair of Major League Baseball players. Frank Robinson is a former player and manager in the 60's and 70's. He was an outfielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He served as the first African-American manager in Major League history and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Recently retired designated hitter and first baseman, Frank Thomas became one of baseball's biggest stars in the 1990s, playing for the Chicago White Sox. Nicknamed "The Big Hurt".

37A. Owens and Henry?: COUPLE OF BUCKS. Buck Owens (1929-2006), was an American singer and guitarist and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Owens called Bakersfield, CA, home and pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound.

Buck Henry is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director. Noted for his dry sense of humor, Henry hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live ten times.

54A. Garfunkel and Tatum?: PERFORMING ARTS. "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. In particular, he is remembered for being the lead singer on the #1 hit single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

"Art" Tatum Jr. (1909 – 1956) was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was nearly blind. (He also had an encyclopedic memory for Major League Baseball statistics.)

Argyle here.

I had fun doing this puzzle but I had trouble deciding what to call the theme. The first and third phrases can be said to describe the people associated with them but what to do with a COUPLE OF BUCKS. Won't buy ya' much. Maybe I'll let C.C. decide.

A lot of alliteration today. No links today, but feel free to put in your own links. As a group, we have gotten real good at it and always interesting.

Across:

1A. Indiana senator Evan: BAYH.

5A. Half a '60s pop group: MAMAS. And the Papas

10A. News article: ITEM.

14A. Start of a crystal ball user's prediction: "I SEE".

15A. Dedicatee of Beethoven's "Bagatelle in A Minor": ELISE.

16A. Haydn sobriquet: PAPA. "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet", Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) was an Austrian composer.

17A. __ monster: lizard: GILA. Poisonous.

18A. Patty Hearst's SLA alias: TANIA. She was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 70's.

19A. Landed: ALIT.

23A. Sense of self: EGO.

24A. Poor offering: ALMS.

25A. Skewered fare: KABOB.

27A. "Impossible!": "NO WAY!".

29A. Where the buffalo roam: LEA.

31A. Fruity refreshment: ADE.

32A. Argue: QUARREL.

36A. Passed with flying colors: ACED.

40A. PBS science series: NOVA.

41A. Most corpulent: FATTEST.

42A. Do an impression of: APE.

43A. Jay-Z's genre: RAP.

44A. Point of contention: ISSUE.

48A. City of Light, to Cole Porter: PAREE. Paris.

50A. Memphis middle name: ARON. Memphis was the home of Elvis ARON Presley.

53A. Cease: END.

58A. Lively style: ELAN.

59A. Sylvan setting: WOODS.

60A. Muddy area: MIRE.

61A. Legendary Asian beast: YETI.

62A. Sweden neighbor, to a Swede: NORGE.

63A. Heavy hammer: MAUL.

64A. Let up: EASE.

65A. Marksman's game: SKEET.

66A. Corrida encouragements: OLÉs.

Down:

1D. Nickname of London's Great Bell: BIG BEN. In the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.

2D. Italian region known for its cheese: ASIAGO. We haven't discussed cheese lately.

3D. Brick road color: YELLOW. Some cheese color, too.

4D. Cure: HEAL.

5D. Heavy rock?: METAL. Another musical genre.

6D. Frighten: ALARM.

7D. Weasel cousins: MINKS.

8D. "Yeah, right!": "AS IF!".

9D. Char: SEAR.

10D. Bucky Beaver's toothpaste: IPANA.

11D. Sass, with "to": TALK BACK.

12D. 45-Down parts: EPISODES.

13D. Wrestling surface: MAT.

21D. Settle a debt: PAY UP.

22D. Wanted poster letters: AKA.

26D. Garden plot: BED.

28D. Color similar to robin egg blue: AQUA.

29D. Baseball field?: LEFT. Center and right would be the other two fields.

30D. Hamburg's river: ELBE.

33D. A, in communications: ALFA. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, etc.

34D. Gather: REAP.

35D. Balderdash: ROT.

36D. Play segments: ACTS.

37D. Bargain for reduced charges: COP A PLEA. In a judicial court. And 43D. Court arbiter: REF. On a sports court.

38D. Pigs out: OVER EATS.

39D. Taking advantage of: USING.

40D. Doze: NAP.

45D. Story published in installments: SERIAL.

46D. Like lies: UNTRUE.

47D. Ford failures: EDSELS.

49D. Ford from Tennessee: ERNIE. But he was a success.

50D. Luigi's love: AMORE. Italian

51D. Mountain feature: RIDGE.

52D. Start: ONSET.

55D. Holds the deed to: OWNS.

56D. Rank-and-file chess piece: ROOK. But it can't move on a diagonal.

57D. Firearm filler: AMMO.

58D. CBS symbol: EYE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Friday April 23, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: W(in)! - W is inserted into the start of the first word of each common phrase.

17A. Stonemason's goal?: (W)ALL IN A DAY'S WORK. All in a Day's Work.

27A. Flirt's mascara stains?: (W)INK BLOTS. Ink Blots. Fun clue. Vivid image.

48A. Dermatology class videos?: (W)ART FILMS. Art Films. I sure don't want to see those videos.

62A. Inherited wealth?: (W)ILL- GOTTEN GAINS. Ill-gotten Gains.

One of the easiest letter (or letter string) addition/deletion/substitution Friday puzzles I've done. But it's packed with fun. Jerome's playfulness is in full display.

Seeing GELDINGS (4D. Kelso and Funny Cide) made me smile. Thought of Dan Naddor's suggested clue for Jerome: "Gone nuts, horsewise?". Probably too much for Rich.

Across:

1. Lively Cuban dance: CONGA. Obtained the answer from Downs.

6. They can be loose or tight: ENDS. Loose/tight ends. Awesome clue.

10. Shade of red: BEET

14. Sharon of Israel: ARIEL. Still in coma.

15. Bobby's informant: NARK. New to me. Looks like a variant of NARC, doesn't it? Bobby = Cop in Britain.

16. Moisturizer brand: OLAY. My favorite brand.

20. Word before or after dog: SLED. Nice clue too.

21. Islamic spiritual guide: IMAM

22. Contemptible people: SWINE.

25. Biography opener?: AUTO. Autobiography.

30. Fanciful idea: WHIM. I've got a lot.

34. "It's what's hot in pain relief" brand: BENGAY

35. Feudal estate: FIEF. Can you think of any other 4-letter word starting and ending in letter F?

37. Caesar's morning meal?: OVA. Eggs in Latin.

38. "Man is __ himself when he talks in his own person": Wilde: LEAST. Not familiar with this line.

39. Chain with pieces, briefly: KFC. Chicken pieces. Got me.

40. Rose petal pest: APHID

42. PC program: APP (Application)

43. French 101 infinitive: ETRE. To be.

45. Bustle (with): ABOUND

46. High-tech unit: BYTE

50. With wild abandon: AMOK

52. Chiwere speaker: OTOE. Easy guess. Chiwere is a new word to me also.

53. End of a series: OMEGA. Greek alphabet series.

58. Curdle: CLOT

65. Celtic language: ERSE

66. Whitecap formation: FOAM

67. Befuddled: AT SEA

68. Feat: DEED

69. Minnesota __: FATS. Pool player. He's in Paul Newman's "The Hustler".

70. Antares or Betelgeuse: M STAR. No idea. Star classification often stumps me. M is the tiny orange dot.

Down:

1. Crow cacophony: CAWS. CC alliteration.

2. Like much lore: ORAL. Like some of the Minnesota Fats stories.

3. River from Lake Victoria: NILE

5. Frazier foe: ALI. Joe Frazier. Boxing.

6. Glossy paint: ENAMEL

7. Zip, to Zapata: NADA. Alliteration again.

8. Like many a rescue: DRAMATIC. Great clue & Answer.

9. Something to look up to: SKY. Fooled me last time. Again today.

10. Certain pet, in totspeak: BOWWOW. Dog.

11. Childlike Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".

13. Kid: TYKE. I liked the consecutive kid clues in this corner.

18. "Build it somewhere else" acronym: NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)

19. Flier with a bent nose: SST

24. Shark or Penguin footwear: SKATE. San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL teams.

27. Obviously sad: WEEPY

28. Unsuitable: INAPT

29. Buyer's proposal: OFFER

31. Boring: HO-HUM

32. Political columnist Molly: IVINS. She had a sharp tongue, esp when she lashed out against W.

33. Anti-DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

34. Betray a confidence, perhaps: BLAB

36. One-named male model: FABIO. Not my type.

39. Volcano in the Sunda Strait: KRAKATOA. Also the name of the island, between Java and Sumatra. Violent eruption in 1883.

41. Skunk relatives: POLECATS. I like the four long Downs.

44. Company quorum?: TWO. Two's a company. Three's a crowd.

45. "Sweet" river in a Burns poem: AFTON. "Flow gently, sweet Afton".

47. Made 3 on a par-5: EAGLED. Two under par (on a par-3 hole, that would be hole-in-one). One under par = Birdie. One over par = Bogey. Loved Al's Eagle, Albatross, Condor, Ostrich & Turkey list last time.

49. Clan emblems: TOTEMS

51. Mad, e.g., briefly: MAG. The Mad Magazine.

53. Due: OWED

54. Bog down: MIRE

55. Word suggesting options: ELSE. Or Else.

57. Doc's "Now!": STAT

59. Tilt: LIST

60. Pre-military rank?: ONE A. Top draft status.

61. Royal Russian of yore: TSAR.

63. Amiss: OFF

64. Pinup's leg: GAM. Jennifer Aniston has the perfect gams.

Answer grid.

Here are a few beautiful pictures from Jazzbumpa's last Florida trip. Click on each one, it will enlarge. My favorite is the one titled Picnic. Lovely colors. Lovely clan. Is that you in "A Message in a Bottle", Jazz?

C.C.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: # TIC TAC TOE (57A: Pencil game that hints at this puzzle's theme, found in the first and last letters of 18-, 25- and 43-Across) - Each familiar phrase is bookended by O and X.

18A: Rival of Staples: OFFICEMAX.

25A: Red Cloud's tribe: OGLALA SIOUX. Chief Jack Red Cloud. As a warrior and a statesman, Red Cloud's success in confrontations with the United States government marked him as one of the most important Lakota SIOUX leaders.

43A: Jane, to Dick, e.g.: OPPOSITE SEX.

Argyle here (a lot more here than yesterday).

How long did you play tic tac toe before discovering how to always win or at least, draw? I'm afraid I didn't get it until I was nine or ten.

It's a little harder than our usual Tuesday and a Pangram, to boot. Four Xs.

Across:

1A: Roaring group: CROWD. Bad start for me; had PRIDE. (lions)

6A: Bridge coup: SLAM. The card game. I'm more familiar with Denny's Grand Slam

10A: Boston NBAer: CELT. (basketball)

14A: Act like a doting grandma, perhaps: HOVER.

15A: Hawaiian port: HILO. (on the Big Island)

16A: Healthy: HALE.

17A: Musical narrated by Che: "EVITA".

20A: '40s-'50s paranoia that led to blacklisting: RED SCARE. Anti-communist fears played up by people like Senator McCarthy resulted in hearings where people were forced to name names and state, under oath, if you or anyone you knew, were communists. To stick to your constitutional right to not do so, got a person blacklisted.

22A: "For Your Eyes Only" singer Easton: SHEENA. The song was from the James Bond movie of the same name.

23A: Island strings: UKE.

24A: Rides roughshod over: STEPS ON.

30A: Board with eerie messages: OUIJA.

31A: Neither's partner: NOR.

32A: Microwaves: ZAPS.

36A: Not guilty, for example: PLEA.

37A: Make one of two?: UNITE.

39A: Came down to earth: ALIT.

40A: Cowpoke's prod: SPUR.

41A: Petunia, e.g.: PIG.

42A: Serpentine: SNAKY.

46A: Fillies and foals: EQUINES. (horses)

50A: __ la la: TRA.

51A: Track athlete: RUNNER.

52A: "The Breakfast Club" actors are part of it: BRAT PACK. Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy

59A: Conservative front?: ULTRA. Front of the word ultraconservative.

60A: Perry's creator: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner created Perry Mason.

61A: "Major" constellation: URSA.

62A: Grand __ National Park: TETON. You latecomers to the blog have missed some epic comments about the Grand Tetons.

63A: Futurist: SEER.

64A: Seamstress's fold: TUCK.

65A: Not approximate: EXACT.

Down

1D: "Believe" singer: CHER. Official Music Video. "Believe" is noted for its use of the Auto-Tune pitch-correction software on the singer's vocals to create a peculiar sound effect, sometimes referred to as the "Cher effect". An interesting read at Wikipedia.

2D: Wander: ROVE. When do we go back to ROAM(which I enter every time).

3D: "Ars amatoria" poet: OVID. A Roman poet who authored Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria, three major collections of erotic poetry.

4D: Antiprohibitionists: WETS. WETS vs. DRYS

5D: Count with a cape: DRACULA. Count Dracula.

6D: Coastlines: SHORES.

7D: Family board game: LIFE. When was the last time you played LIFE, or any board game, for that matter?

8D: TV E.T.: "ALF". A television sitcom that originally ran on NBC from 1986 to 1990 and was created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF (for Alien Life Form) and he was very fond of cats.

9D: Defogging target: MOISTURE.

10D: Nest noise: CHEEP. (alliteration) Not a good sound if it's from starlings in your eaves.

11D: Chair maker Charles: EAMES With his wife, Ray, they were both designers

12D: South American plain: LLANO.

13D: Houston pro since 2002: TEXAN. The Houston Texans is football team currently a member of the Southern Division of the AFC in the NFL. The Texans joined the NFL in 2002 as an expansion team after Houston's previous franchise, the Oilers moved to Nashville and became the Tennessee Titans.

19D: Whole grain cereal brand: CHEX.

21D: Dossier letters: AKA. (also known as)

24D: Flue filth: SOOT.

25D: "How clumsy of me!": "OOPS!".

26D: Big swig: GULP.

27D: Stead: LIEU.

28D: Slightly open: AJAR.

29D: Jones of English architecture: INIGO. This is NOT a Tuesday word.

32D: Author Grey: ZANE. This is a Tuesday word.

33D: Quaint word of regret: "ALAS!".

34D: High-speed highway: PIKE.

35D: Underworld river: STYX.

37D: Pugilist's punch: UPPERCUT. Alliteration, A fighter's fist to the face of his foe.

38D: Puppy bites: NIPS.

42D: Legislative act: STATUTE.

43D: Military service designation: ONE-A.

44D: Windex target: STREAK. Commercial.

45D: Lyricist Gershwin: IRA.

46D: Art works by Romain de Tirtoff: ERTES. Our old friend, "R.T.", with his full name.

47D: Paper measure: QUIRE. A set of 24 uniform sheets of paper.

48D: "I surrender!": "UNCLE!".

49D: Bury: INTER.

52D: Pear choice: BOSC.

53D: Suffix with cine: PLEX. The term was coined by Philip Taylor of Toronto in 1978 and is the registered trademark "Cineplex Odeon Cinemas"

54D: "__ boy!": ATTA.

55D: Gator's kin: CROC.

56D: "Critique of Pure Reason" philosopher: KANT. Immanuel KANT(1724 – 1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher.

58D: Capote, on the stage: "TRU". In 1990, Robert Morse received both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Capote in the one-man show, "TRU".

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 8, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: SHOOTING STARS (55A: Meteors, and what 20-, 28- and 48-Across all are) - Three diversely famous people known for their shooting skill.

20A: Pool legend portrayed by Jackie Gleason in "The Hustler": MINNESOTA FATS. The Hustler is a 1961 American drama film. It stars Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats. "Fast Eddie" desires to prove himself the best player in the country by beating legendary pool player "Minnesota Fats."

28A: NBA center who was a three-time MVP: MOSES MALONE. A three-time NBA MVP and one of the NBA's 50 greatest players, Malone had a twenty-one year career in professional basketball. Although he was a high scorer, he is more famous for his rebounding (getting the ball after a shot misses). He currently resides in Sugarland, TX, a suburb of Houston. Quote: "What am I doing? I’m doing nothing, just relaxing and enjoying life. I did 21 years of hard labor in the NBA, invested my money right, so I’m set. I earned the right to relax and enjoy, you know?"

48A: Wild West show markswoman: ANNIE OAKLEY. She was an American sharpshooter. Oakley's amazing talent and rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Using a .22 caliber rifle at 90 feet, Oakley reputedly could split a playing card edge-on and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground. (1860 – 1926).

Argyle here.

Without 55A, I'm not sure I would have made the connection. I felt the construction was uneven for a Monday. Mostly easy-peasey entries but a few tough ones, i.e.: 9A: John who married Pocahontas: ROLFE or 8D: Old music halls: ODEONS.

Give us your opinion; that is what we're here for.

Across:

1A: Grandmotherly nickname: NANA. Certainly better than the recent NANNIE.

5A: Hershey's caramel candy: ROLO

14A: The yoke's on them: OXEN. A spin on "the joke's on them."

15A: In the sack: ABED

16A: Sci-fi staple: ALIEN

17A: Small salamander: NEWT. A young NEWT is an eft.

18A: Therapist's response: "I SEE". And "How do you feel about that?"

23A: 1860s White House nickname: ABE. (Honest ABE Lincoln)

26A: Pecan or cashew: NUT

27A: Mingle at the party: MIX. If we all got together, would it be mixed nuts?

37A: Shoe without laces, e.g.: STEP IN

38A: Emulate Rembrandt: ETCH

39A: Holliday of the Old West: DOC

41A: Lady's man: GENT

42A: It's in the eye of the beholder: BEAUTY. Check out the daisies at the bottom.

45A: Caveman Alley: OOP. Cute clue. Alley OOP was/is a comic strip character known for riding on his dinosaur with his girlfriend, Ooola.

51A: __ Lanka: SRI

52A: Food from a shell: EGG

54A: Immigrant's subj.: ESL. (English as a Second Language)

61A: Dog from Wales: CORGI. Used for herding.

62A: Supermodel Macpherson: ELLE. Another candidate for areoles?

63A: Hops drier: OAST. Easy for me. Difficult for you?

67A: Age, as tires: WEAR

68A: "__, be a pal!": C'MON

69A: Actress Zellweger: RENEE

70A: Stitches: SEWS

71A: Mild-mannered Clark: KENT. Superman's secret identity.

Down:

1D: Oui's opposite: NON

2D: Gave the __: fired: AXE

3D: Arizonan's neighbor: NEW MEXICAN

4D: Naysayer: ANTI

5D: Word with trout or sherbet: RAINBOW

6D: Fixated: OBSESSED. Like some of our anons.

7D: Majors and Trevino: LEES. Lee Majors is an actor; Lee Trevino is a professional golfer. (Senior Circuit now.)

9D: Sound from a woodpecker: RAT-A-TAT

10D: Name of several Norwegian kings: OLAF

11D: Peru's capital: LIMA

12D: Tootsies: FEET. I disagree; tootsies are just the toes to me.

13D: Conclusions: ENDS

21D: War site during LBJ's presidency: NAM. (Vietnam)

22D: Antacid brand: TUMS

23D: One-celled organism: AMOEBA. Finally with the extra "O".

24D: Attacked by Dracula, say: BITTEN

29D: Novel on the Net: E-BOOK

30D: Kid's interlocking block: LEGO

31D: Ali Baba's magical command: "OPEN SESAME"

32D: California NFL team, briefly: NINERS. San Francisco Forty Niners.

33D: Involve: ENTAIL

35D: Feng __: Chinese aesthetic system: SHUI. Literally translates as "water".

40D: Picnic side: COLESLAW

43D: Line on a golf course schedule: TEE TIME

44D: Hindu mystic: YOGI

46D: Tin alloys: PEWTERS

49D: Former V.P. Spiro and family: AGNEWS. (Nixon's V.P.)

50D: Affirmative vote: YEA

55D: Al Capone feature: SCAR

56D: Sock darner's target: HOLE. This is an interesting darner's egg; if you could afford a Sterling silver egg, why not buy new socks?

57D: Algerian port: ORAN

58D: Giant who's not jolly: OGRE

59D: Joy: GLEE

60D: Heavy metal is a subgenre of it: ROCK

64D: Leif, to Eric the Red: SON. Norse explorers.

65D: Blowup letters?: TNT

Here is Jeannie's Daisies painted by WM. Also, Happy Two Year Anniversary with Crossword Corner, Crockett! Here is his first ever comment.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, October 26, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: An Arnold Catch Phrase - "I'll Be Back" (The first words of 17-, 34- and 39-Across)

17A: Hymn whose title follows the line "When I die, Hallelujah, by and by": I'LL FLY AWAY.

34A: Scout's motto: BE PREPARED.

39A: How duelists begin: BACK TO BACK.

56A: With "The," Schwarzenegger film released 10/26/1984, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in the first words of 17-, 34- and 39-Across: TERMINATOR.

Nice 25th anniversary tribute puzzle.

Funny thing: In the first film he was the bad guy but when he came 'BACK', he was the good guy.

Argyle here. If you notice I didn't weed out the easy clue/answers, it is because I want to see what Lois can do with them.

Across:

1A: Highway hauler: SEMI.

5A: Cut off: SEVER.

10A: "__ Silver, away!": HI-YO. Sheesh! I always thought it was HI-HO SILVER.

14A: Gas in a sign: NEON

15A:. Utah city: PROVO. Above the A in UTAH.

16A: Sign of the future: OMEN.

19A: Fill to excess: SATE.

20A: "Cats" poet: T. S. Eliot . "Dare I eat a peach" 47D: Like ripe peaches: JUICY.

21A: Gum arabic tree: ACACIA. A striking tree. And 61A: "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor Deanna: TROI. A striking woman and she is an empath so watch what you're thinking around her.

24A: Traffic cone: PYLON.

26A: Knight's lady: DAME.

28A: Slimy stuff: GOO.

29A: Relative known for quitting?: UNCLE. Making your opponent in a fight cry, "UNCLE", means they give up. Is STOWE clue (37D: Uncle Tom's creator) your original, Jerome?

33A: Run the country: RULE.

37A: Air ace's missions: SORTIES.

41A: Baseball stats: RBIS.

42A: "Old MacDonald" refrain: EIEIO.

43A: Rile up: IRK.

44A: Ado: FUSS.

45A: Resided: DWELT.

47A: Dance from Ireland: JIG.

48A: __ Tar Pits: LA BREA. We learned last time that LA BREA means "the tar" in Spanish , so it's The Pit Tar Pits.

51A: Daybreak: SUNRISE.

55A: French franc successor: EURO.

59A: Ford Explorer Sport __: TRAC. TRAC is ad-speak for TRACK.

60A: Storage room: ATTIC.

62A: Armored vehicle: TANK.

63A: Snappish: TESTY. And 1D: Grumpy mood: SNIT.

64A: Lip-__: mouth the words: SYNC.

Down:

2D: Morays, e.g.: EELS.

3D: Lawn burrower: MOLE.

4D: Arouse, as passion: INFLAME. I hardly dare combine these two. 5D: Watch covertly: SPY ON.

6D: The E in Q.E.D.: ERAT.

7D: Solemn promise: VOW.

8D: Sister of Zsa Zsa: EVA.

9D: Fit for a king: ROYAL.

10D: Biblical cry of adoration: HOSANNA.

11D: Popular Apple: IMAC. Noticed Apple is capitalized? I tried to put in iPOD; didn't work.

12D: Himalayan giant: YETI.The "Abominable Snowman" was coined in 1921.

13D: Fit to be drafted: ONE A.

22D: Political takeovers: COUPS.

24D: Kellogg's toaster pastry: POP-TART. They are facing a stiff ad campaign from Toaster Strudel.

25D: "Alas, poor __!": Hamlet: YORICK. The cemetery scene. "Alas, poor Yorick" has always been one of the most fondly remembered lines from Hamlet (or misremembered lines—Hamlet does not say "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well" but "I knew him, Horatio).

26D: Persian Gulf emirate: DUBAI. It has the world's tallest building.

27D: Wonderland girl: ALICE. Alice in her rightful place.

28D: Rodent kept as a house pet: GERBIL.

30D: Baby beds: CRIBS.

31D: Lee jeans alternative: LEVIS.

32D: Ice cream brand: EDY'S.

33D: Judge's attire: ROBE.

34D: Scarer's shout: BOO. and 35D: Scared response: EEK. Neato! Nice clue echo.

40D: Duettist with Sheryl Crow in the song "Picture": KID ROCK. The song.

41D: Toon babies of '90s-'00s TV: RUGRATS.

44D: Sawyer's friend: FINN. Tom and Huck.

46D: Frequent, as a diner: EAT AT.

48D: Riga native: LETT. A native of Latvia.

49D: Distinctive emanation: AURA.

50D: Muffin ingredient: BRAN.

51D: Infatuated, old-style: SMIT. We still use SMITTEN.

52D: "This is my best effort": I TRY.

54D: Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. "... You look wonderful tonight..." What's your favorite Eric Clapton song?

57D: Somme summer: ETE. Alliteration.

58D: Privileges: Abbr.: RTS..

Answer grid.

Argyle

Wednesday September 2, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: O Brother - Two pairs of aptly described, first name swapped names.

18A: "Little" comedian's big brother? HULK HERMAN. "Little" comedian here refers PEE-WEE HERMAN, the only fictional character among the four base theme entries. Big = HULK.

26A: "Big" wrestler's little brother?: PEEWEE HOGAN. "Big" wrestler refers to pro wrestler HULK HOGAN. Little = PEEWEE.

44A: "Thin" character actor's big brother?: FATS PICKENS. "Thin" character actor refers to actor SLIM PICKENS. Big = FATS? FAT?

56A: "Heavy" R & B singer's little brother?: SLIM DOMINO. "Heavy" R & B singer refers to singer FATS DOMINO. Little = SLIM.

I've never heard of SLIM PICKENS. Wikipedia says his most famous role was a pilot in "Dr. Strangelove". I actually misinterpreted his surname as SPICKENS, as Big = FAT to me.

Why are "Little", "Big", "Thin" & "Heavy" in quotation marks? Shouldn't the question mark at the end of each clue be sufficient enough to indicate wordplay?

This puzzle reminded me of Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito's "Twins", silly fun.

Across:

1A: PDQ relative: ASAP. Or STAT, to a doctor.

5A: Violin virtuoso Zimbalist: EFREM. Zimbalist Sr. He and soprano Alma Gluck had a son: actor Zimbalist Jr. I can never remember his name. Hebrew for "fruitful".

14A: "To Sir With Love" singer: LULU. Wow, I want to drink from the same Fountain of Youth as she does. Beautiful.

15A: Decorative sofa fabric: TOILE. French for "cloth". Often sheer and scenically patterned.

16A: Dagger handle: HILT. Sometimes it's HAFT.

20A: Blink later than, in a contest: OUTSTARE.

22A: Scooter favored by '60 British mods: VESPA. Must be the influence of "Roman Holiday".

23A: "That __ hay!": AIN'T. No idea. Dictionary says it means "That's a great deal". Can you make a sentence for me?

33A: Homeric epic: ILIAD. Odyssey too.

37A: Streaker with a tail: COMET. Cute.

42A: Tabloid creature: ALIEN

48A: Conscription category: ONE A

49A: Words of sympathy: I CARE. And MEH (9D: Slangy word of indifference).

52A: Trivial: PIDDLING

60A: Put in the hold: LADE. "Hold" here refers to the space in a ship below the lower deck, in which cargo is stowed.

61A: Piebald horse: PINTO. "Piebald" is a new word to me. It means patched, esp in black and white.

62A: River through Saint Petersburg: NEVA. Pronounced like NEE-vuh. I got the river from Down fills. It's the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge (after the Volga and the Danube). It flows to the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea.

64A: Libidinous deity: SATYR. The horse-tailed MOREL guy with perpetual erection.

65A: State, to Sarkozy: ETAT. Nice alliteration. Sarkozy is the current French president, with enormous vanity.

Down:

2D: "Star Trek" navigator: SULU. Ah, I confused him with Han SOLO of the "Star Wars".

4D: Saves: PUTS AWAY

5D: Odorless gas: ETHANE

6D: Stick shift gear: FOURTH. No idea. Have never driven a stick shift car.

8D: Yellowstone grazer: ELK

12D: Brouhaha: FLAP. The answer is often TO-DO.

13D: Europe's highest active volcano: ETNA. Good trivia. ETNA is Greek for "I burn".

19D: It's what's happening: EVENT

21D: Made, as a knot: TIED

24D: Decoratively curved molding: OGEE. Hi, buddy, nice to see you back.

26D: Pie serving: PIECE. Thought of SLICE.

28D: Sea duck with prized plumage: EIDER

29D: "American Me" actor/director Edward James __: OLMOS. Unknown to me. He is a Mexican-American. OLMOS sounds German. Have never heard of "American Me" either.

30D: Courage, in Slang: MOXIE

31D: Senator Specter: ARLEN. Now a Democrat (PA). Just flip-flopped a few months ago.

39D: Like some batteries: ALKALINE. Baseball HOFer AL KALINE is probably a bit tough for non-baseball fans.

41D: Rubbed out, gangster style: OFFED. Both slang for "murdered".

45D: Like a spitz's ears: POINTY. Wanted POINTED. Spitz is German for "pointed".

46D: Not alfresco: INDOOR

47D: Packing heat: ARMED. Heat is a slang for gun.

49D: Key: ISLE. Like Florida Keys. I thought the clue was asking for an adjective.

50D: Modeling medium: CLAY. For potters. Another alliteration.

52D: Pub order: PINT

53D: Hip-hopper born Tracy Marrow: ICE-T. Gimme, right? We've seen identical clue before.

57D: Special __: military force: OPS. Special Operations.

Two announcements:

1) Argyle will blog Monday and Tuesday puzzles from now on.

2) Please email me at crosswordc@gmail.com if you have family photos to share. Thanks.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow LAT solver Chickie and her husband. It was taken in Germany at a Scientific Library in Berlin two summers' ago. Chickie is a retired primary teacher who taught Primary Grades for over 30 years. She loves sewing & knitting & reading.

C.C.

Interview with Jerome Gunderson

Since June 2007, Jerome Gunderson has had 6 puzzles published by LA Times. Had we switched to LAT one week earlier on March 16, 2009, he would be the first LAT constructor we encountered.

Jerome loves anagrams. And he has a terrific sense of Norwegian humor, being a great grandson of an Olaf. Last time when Dennis brought up "Water a Flower Day", Jerome responded with "Baloney! Why would anyone put more water in a river?" - one of my favorite blog Comments.

I also enjoy and value Jerome's analysis of each puzzle. He always brings out the highlight of each grid and helps us to appreciate every constructing effort.

I love imperfection in art/life, and I am really touched by Jerome's "tiny flaw in a Navajo rug" & blemish fill in a perfect puzzle analogy.

How is today's puzzle different from your original submission? Any significant change on the grid?

Today's puzzle is very different from the original submission. The first draft had TEASE hidden in TEA SERVICE. Rich canned that because tease split two words and the other theme words were contained in just one. Big mistake on my part. So tease was out the window and replaced by RAZZLE DAZZLE. That change led to altering, by necessity, a large part of the grid. The constructor is the one responsible for having to deal with that. It's not the editor's job to redo a puzzle. It's the author's responsibility.

Which is the seed word of this puzzle? How did you come up with the set of theme answers?

Tease was the seed word. It simply occurred to me that you could take other words that meant tease and use them in a clever way by hiding them in unrelated phrases. I wanted the solver to have to work a little to catch on even though the theme is staring you in the face, right smack-dab out front.

The theme entries were fairly easy to come up with. How many phrases start with RAZZ, JOSH, KID and RIB? That easiness was pure luck. Not often does it work that way.

What's your background? How did you get involved in crossword solving/constructing?

When I was a lad my heroes were Jack London and Maxim Gorky. I was going to be as adventurous as they. Turns out that I never sailed the seas or walked the breadth of Russia. But I did land a job as a short order cook in a funky little diner. After two days training I was left on my own to handle breakfast and lunch. It became clear really quick why it is said all cooks are drunks. Each morning one of the waitresses would come in early and do the daily puzzle in the San Francisco Chronicle. I got into the habit of helping her. I don't think we ever finished one but it began a lifelong love of crosswords. In 2005 I made one and managed to get Merl Reagle to take a look at it. I thought the puzzle brilliant. A couple of days later he sent me a detailed critique. He pretty much said it might have been the crappiest puzzle he'd ever seen. His honesty (I still owe him for that) compelled me to improve. For two years I did every puzzle I could lay my hands on, and continued to make puzzles. Which I showed no one. I constantly compared the puzzles of the pros against my own stuff with the purpose of discovering the difference between the two. In 2007 I sent Nancy Salomon a few theme ideas and she liked a couple of them. In fact, she co-wrote my first puzzle and it appeared in June of that year in the Los Angeles Times. To this day she's gracious enough to respond when I ask for a helping hand.

As I was trying to be London or Gorky I wandered around a lot from town to town. Mostly in the Southwest and California. I had many jobs in my teen years. From the age of twenty to twenty nine I was an organizer for the United Farm Workers Union and a Teamster. For the last thirty years I've been a union carpenter. I live in a small town called Healdsburg. It's about an hour north of San Francisco. I'm blessed to be married to an extraordinary woman named Roxanna.

What is a perfect puzzle to you? What kind of themes/fills fascinate you?

The perfect puzzle would have Dan Naddor's cleverness, Merl Reagle's zaniness, Cathy Allis's humor, Nancy Salomon's fabulous fill, and the clues written by Bob Klahn.

I was fortunate to have lived on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona for two years. While there I learned that some rug makers purposely weaved a tiny flaw into the rug. The idea being that humans were not perfect, only the gods were. The flaw was simply a statement of humbleness. My puzzle today has the word ETES in it. It's my offering to a higher power. So I don't want to hear about it.

I enjoy any well crafted puzzle regardless of the theme. However, my favorite crosswords to solve are ones with a lot of whacky words and phrases. The whackier the better. I also love the tough Saturday type puzzle. When it comes to fill I'd rather see a phrase than a word.

What kind of references books do you use? And where do you get your puzzle inspirations?

My dictionaries are Random House Unabridged and Merriam Webster's. On line I use Onelook quite a lot. These sources are mostly for cluing and making sure my spelling is correct.

Inspiration and ideas can only come from your mind. There are an infinite amount of puzzle ideas to draw on. You simply have to find a way to tap into the billions of possibilities just sitting there unused. I don't believe that puzzles are an art form or that they take exceptional talent. I certainly don't believe you have to be a brainiac or highly educated to create one. I'm living proof of that. Most people are talented in something and most people have a good imagination. I firmly convinced that almost anybody could learn to make a crossword puzzle. Ultimately, I suppose you have to inspire yourself to accomplish anything. The inspirations of a muse are only you talking to yourself.

If anyone has a question I'd be delighted to respond.

Wednesday July 29, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: Just a Tease!

17A: Mojave Desert grower: JOSHUA TREE

26A: Flashy theatrically: RAZZLE-DAZZLE

44A: VIP at a grand opening: RIBBON CUTTER

60A: Place to wade: KIDDIE POOL

A pangram. 5 Z's. Unbelievable. There are also 6 V's in the grid. Quite unusual.

Such a tight & focused theme. RAZZLE-DAZZLE is certainly the showiest entry. Wish NEEDLE (45D: Bit of Christmas debris) were just clued as "Tease".

I had trouble with lower right corner. Penned in TROY instead of EPIC for 55D: "Cast-of-thousands movie" and messed up the whole corner.

Across:

1A: Knocks senseless: DAZES. And TKOS (52AD: Ali stats).

6A: "__ Zapata!": 1952 film: VIVA. Elia Kazan film, starring Marlon Brando. I obtained the answer from Down fills. I had ?IVA there and thought of DIVA first.

10A: Hook for landing large fish: GAFF. Faux pas is GAFFE.

14A: Send to the Hill, say: ELECT. Capitol Hill.

15A: Sister of Ares: ERIS. Twin sister to be exact. ERIS is the apple thrower who indirectly initiated the Trojan War. Greek goddess of discord.

16A: Teen follower?: AGER. Teenager.

19A: Tear to pieces: RIVE. So the person who tears the stuff to pieces would be RIVER?

20A: Coin-op eatery: AUTOMAT

21A: Moved to and fro, as a golf club just before swinging: WAGGLED. I'm glad Sergio Garcia gave up his waggle habit. Painful to watch. Just hit the damned ball.

23A: Harris' __ Rabbit: BR'ER

25A: Last Olds ever made: ALERO. Discontinued in 2004. Some source says ALERO is a Nigerian name meaning "Grace of the Land".

32A: "Tiny Alice" dramatist: ALBEE (Edward). The answer emerged itself.

33A: Rattler's pose: COIL

37A: Haunted house sound: MOAN

38A: Scout's job, for short: RECON

42A: Former wrestling star __ Brazil: BOBO. No idea. Wikipedia say this guy was credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, and he is often referred to as the Jackie Robinson of wrestling,

43A: Luxurious fur: SABLE

47A: Up and about: RISEN

51A: Exams for would-be Mensas: IQ TESTS. Why did those Kamikaze pilots bother to wear helmets?

54A: Perfumery product: ESSENCE. ATTAR is often clued as "Essence of roses".

59A: Simon & Garfunkel et al.: DUOS

62A: Show flexibility: GIVE. A perfectly ripe mango should GIVE a little when pressed.

64A: Popular DVRs: TIVOS

65A: Seine summers: ETES. What Jerome himself said.

67A: 1"=100', e.g.: SCALE. What kind of SCALE?

Down:

1D: __ vu: DEJA. "DEJA Vu" is also a Denzel Washington movie. Very strange.

5D: Trip: STUMBLE. Verb.

6D: Checked out thoroughly: VETTED. Brutal vetting process in politics.

7D: Bargain tag abbr.: IRR

8D: Penthouse feature: VIEW

10D: Use Listerine, say: GARGLE

11D: Mentally quick: AGILE. "Physically quick" too.

12D: Peggy Lee signature song: FEVER

13D: Feckless Corleone brother: FREDO. He is indeed feckless. Sonny is hot-headed and reckless. Michael is just a perfect Godfather, calculated and ruthless.

18D: Bern's river: AARE. Or AAR. The river flows from the Alps into the Rhine. Aa is an old German for "running water". R is "river" I presume?

22D: It may be unmitigated: GALL. Is "unmitigated GALL" a common phrase?

28D: Letter-shaped beam: Z-BAR. No idea. Like this?

29D: Buddhist sect: ZEN. I like how it mirrors ZIN (31D: California red, briefly) in the grid.

34D: Cardholder's woe: DEBT

35D: Car bar: AXLE. Nice rhyme.

36D: Textile worker: DYER

39D: Fall away: EBB

42D: Trash holders: BINS. Wrote down CANS first.

43D: Romantic lowerings: SUNSETS. Did not come to me immediately. I was stumped by "lowerings".

44D: __ Pieces, candy brand: REESE'S. I've never had this candy. Do they taste similar to M & M?

46D: Mozart's "__ fan tutte": COSI. Italian for "Thus do all (women)" or "Women are like that". COSI = thus, in this way. Fan=do. Tutte=feminine form for "all". Mozart's comic opera (buffa). Alien to me.

47D: Ruffles potato chip feature: RIDGE

48D: Fed-up employee's announcement: I QUIT

49D: Potbelly, e.g.: STOVE. Wikipedia says the potbelly sandwich name is derived from the potbelly STOVE.

53D: Hindu "Destroyer": SIVA. Or Shiva. Plus Brahma the "Creator" & Vishnu the "Preserver". Hindu Trinity.

56D: 1960s-'80s Chevy: NOVA. No idea.

57D: Calm under pressure: COOL. "Grace under pressure" = COURAGE (Hemingway).

58D: "All __ being equal...": ELSE

61D: Hydroelectric project: DAM. China's Three Gorges DAM is the world's largest hydroelectric project.

Answer grid.

C.C.