Friday, October 16, 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Tiny puns.

Mark B, is back with simple concept, where phrases which include a diminutive, are re-imagined by witty cluing. I found a couple to be very funny, but it did not feel entirely like a theme. His July effort which was on a Friday used legal terms which were clued in non-legal ways. Here the size aspect is vital to both the base phrase and the new definition. I hope he stops by, as he often does, because I have a nagging feeling I missed something. The rest was an interesting mix of very hard fill and very easy answers. GLADIOLI, LOOKS BAD, IDIOT LIGHT,  and SUGAR SUGAR are the featured non-theme long fill. Let's see the rest.

17A. Hummingbird feature? : SMALL BILL (9). Do you have any ones on you, I want to buy some food for the hummingbirds, they have such short noses.

26A. Foothills? : SHORT RANGE (10). My drone does not go very far, it cannot get close to the mountains.

37A. Hot Wheels Volkswagen? : MINIATURE GOLF (12). I love this one. They actually EXIST. The seed entry, or maybe

50A. Potty-training tool? : LITTLE JOHN (10). Charlotte was out of diapers before she was two because of this device.

60A. Mouthpiece for a Lilliputian horse? : TEENSY BIT (9). Very cute.

Across:

1. Type of hippo : PYGMY. I spent way too much time trying to work this into the theme.

6. 59-Down product : ATM. I am not in favor of these gratuitous cross-references that make you look at the bottom of the puzzle this early. Not sure why this was needed.

9. Color guard accessory : SABER. The ceremonial sword.  Not a flower.

14. Child on TV for decades : JULIA. Ah, not that kind of Child, but the incomparable....

15. Virgo preceder : LEO. One of the easy ones.

16. "I'm here" : USE ME. This required the perps, not synonymous for me.

19. Enjoyed Vegas : GAMED. Not gambled...

20. Valley : DALE.

21. Place to live in Spain : CASA. House?

23. Sore feeling : IRE. Not achy but angry.

24. Purported ancestor of Ragnar Lothbrok on TV's "Vikings" : ODIN. I do not know this History Channel SERIES (3:15).

29. Crazy scene : ZOO. An unPC TERM now.

30. Call-day link : IT A. I wish I could; it has been a long week.

31. Value : ESTEEM.

32. Did a cobbler's job : SOLED. Shoe enough....

34. Stain : IMBRUE. To stain (something, especially one's hands or sword)."they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood." Mark keeps an extensive word list to build his puzzles. This is a Friday word.

41. Hoedown move : DO-SI-DO. A wonderful CSO for our recovering dancer, YR.

42. Taking place : AFOOT. Hmm, dancing, cobblers and now this....

44. Is in store for : AWAITS.

47. Pine product : TAR. We recently linked the George Brett pine tar incident.

49. Maker of the GreenSaver Produce Keeper : OXO.

53. Absolut rival : SKYY.  Vodka in a blue bottle.

54. Explosive letters : TNT.  har har.

55. Collector's __ : ITEM. See another easy one.

56. Reveals in an unwelcome way : OUTS. Speaking of unPC, is there any good context for this meaning?

58. Naming : ID-ING.  I guess when you are naming a perpetrator....

64. Nursery supply : MULCH.

65. Psyche component : EGO. Id and superego.

66. Hiding __ : PLACE.

67. No longer an item : APART.

68. Oversaw : RAN. The business.

69. Teamed (with) : SIDED.

Down:

1. Jams : PJS.

2. Good remark? : YUM. What you say when it is good.

3. Plants with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLI. More swords...

4. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

5. Everyone in Mississippi? : Y'ALL.

6. Big ring name : ALI. Muhammed.

7. AT&T, for short : TELCO. We had this before.

8. Grinder : MOLAR. Not the sandwich, the tooth. hard.

9. 1969 hit with the line "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR SUGAR. You want the Music VIDEO (3:02)?

10. Botanist Gray : ASA. No idea of this PIONEER, but he fits with the flowers.

11. Candy heart words : BE MINE. marti...

12. Show one's face : EMERGE.

13. Make amends for : REDEEM.

18. Outdo : BEST.

22. Volume measure : STERE. A cubic metre.

24. Abbr. on some cans : OZS. Ounces, also volume.

25. Hardly a happy ending : DOOM.

27. Where the Santa Maria sank, nowadays : HAITI. How many remember this HISTORY.

28. Dined on, biblically : ATE OF.

30. Dash warning : IDIOT LIGHT. Modern technology. LINK.

33. "I suggest you move on" : END IT.

35. Pie makeup? : MUD.

36. Stock : BROTH. The key to much cooking.

38. Plus : ASSET.

39. Doesn't exactly help one's reputation : LOOKS BAD.

40. Stunning or cunning : FOXY. One for Splynter? LINK.

43. One under a tree, maybe : TOY. Only 70 shopping days left  until Christmas.

44. Nissan sedan : ALTIMA.

45. Start of a pitch : WIND-UP.

46. Fifth-century Roman Empire enemy : ATTILA. Never really thought about when the Hun was at large.

48. In a little while : ANON. Our one Shakespeare hint this Friday.

51. 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year : JETER. Who knew...

52. Psi follower : OMEGA. Straight Greek alphabet.

53. Needles : STYLI. here it is Latin that matters, the I plural for us is needed.

57. Org. whose logo features an eagle head : USPS. United States Postal Service

59. 6-Across maker : NCR. National Cash Register.

61. Awfully long time : EON.

62. Rocks in a bucket : ICE. Look away Tinman....

63. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Technology Entertainment & Design. LINK. 

So we have reached the end of another Friday; thank you Mark, time to get ready for the beginning of the costume party season. Be careful out there, lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the joy and happiness you've brought to me and many regulars the past few years. You're our sunshine!

2) Happy Birthday to Bluehen as well! I'm stealing a picture Dave got for you last year.

3) Welcome back, PK! Irish Miss just emailed me about you the other day. Now we need to hear from Montana, who has not replied to my email yet. We're quite concerned.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Mark Bickham

Theme: So and So - Four three-word phrases ... oh, never mind.

17A. Like stickers that smell when rubbed : SCRATCH AND SNIFF

27A. Little girl's makeup, so they say : SUGAR AND SPICE

48A. Terse : SHORT AND SWEET

62A. Old Glory : STARS AND STRIPES

71. Metaphor for time ... and, when divided into three words, puzzle theme found in the four longest across answers : SANDS. S and S

Argyle here. A reveal, really? Hardly necessary. Do you suppose he looked at SANDS and decided it could be parsed S and S? It is interesting that there are nine different length entries. Four long columns; the two longer ones cross three of the themes and the two shorter ones cross two theme entries. Overly easy but not USA mindless by any means.

Across:

1. Diagram with axes and coordinates : GRAPH

6. Very top : ACME

10. Shift neighbor, on PC keyboards : CTRL

14. St. __ Girl beer : PAULI

15. Guard site : SHIN. Cute.

16. Nabisco cookie : OREO

20. Buckwheat dish : KASHA. Not Little Rascals Buckwheat.

21. Court order to all : RISE

22. Fruit seed : PIT

23. Drop-down __ : MENU

25. Like some microbrews : MALTY

33. Crisp covering : CRUST

34. Welfare : SAKE

35. Firebird roof option : T-TOP

38. What cake candles may indicate : AGE

39. On the rocks : OVER ICE

42. Bart Simpson's grandpa : ABE

43. See 44-Down : BEST

45. City near Colombia's coastline : CALI

46. Leica competitor : NIKON

51. Sounded sheepish? : BAAed

53. Pop singer Vannelli : GINO. Clip

54. "Life of Pi" director Lee : ANG

55. Flood preventer : DIKE

59. Louisiana cuisine : CAJUN

66. Words starting many a guess : "IS IT ... ?"

67. Kind of dancer or boots : GO-GO

68. Atlanta campus : EMORY

69. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

70. Follow the leader : OBEY

Down:

1. Navig. tool : GPS. (Global Positioning System)

2. Pool hall triangle : RACK

3. Saintly glow : AURA

4. Some flat-screen TVs : PLASMAs

5. Until now : HITHERTO

6. Remnant of an old flame : ASH. Good one.

7. Blacken : CHAR

8. Prefix with series : MINI

9. Remnants : ENDS. 49D. Partner of 9-Down : ODDS

10. Grifter's specialty : CON

11. Exaggerated response of disbelief : TRIPLE TAKE

12. Equip anew : REFIT

13. Towering : LOFTY

18. "How many times __ man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?": Dylan : CAN A. Lot of clue for a short answer.

19. Freeway hauler : SEMI

24. Boot from office : UNSEAT

26. Work with a cast : ACT

27. Natural cut protection : SCAB

28. Strong desire : URGE

29. "Still wrong, take another stab" : "GUESS AGAIN

30. Alfalfa's girl : DARLA. Now we're talking Little Rascals.

31. Coming down the mountain, perhaps : SKIING

32. Push-up target, briefly : PEC. Build them up by doing push-ups. (Not my first thought)

36. Reed instrument : OBOE. A Püchner Oboe, model 30.

37. Cooped (up) : PENT

40. DVD predecessor : VCR. You remember videocassette recorder, right?

41. Catches, as in a net : ENSNARES

44. With 43-Across, outstanding : THE

47. Historic Japanese island battle site : IWO JIMA. Still a little rock in a big ocean.

50. Merriam-Webster ref. : DICT. (dictionary)

51. Underlying principle : BASIS

52. Restless : ANTSY

56. "Othello" villain : IAGO. Perennial bad guy.

57. Door opener : KNOB

58. Periphery : EDGE

60. Well-versed in : UP ON or maybe DOWN ON?

61. Uncool type : NERD

63. AAA suggestion : RTE. American Automobile Association/Route

64. Dim sum sauce : SOY

65. Part of PBS: Abbr. : SYS. I'm shocked! Public Broadcasting Service, not System.

Argyle

Tuesday, September 1 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Go Deep.

19. Judgments made on the fly : SNAP DECISIONS

 
29. Call it quits : THROW IN THE TOWEL

39. Take a nap : CATCH FORTY WINKS

55. Football play comprised of the starts of 19-, 29- and 39-Across : COMPLETED PASS

See above.

Melissa here. This will be brief - having some issues with blogger.

Across

1. Pop singer Anthony : MARC

5. Drive-__ window : THRU

9. Annoying email : SPAM

13. "Then again," in texts : OTOH. On The Other Hand.

14. Real howler : RIOT

15. In and of itself : PER SE. Latin, meaning in itself.

16. Arnaz of early sitcoms : DESI

17. Save-the-date card follow-up : INVITATION

21. Joe of "NCIS" : SPANO

22. "Dang!" : RATS

23. "The Crying Game" actor Stephen : REA

24. Hole in one : ACE

25. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : ELI

27. Taunting laugh : HAH

36. Champ's cry : I WON

37. Airport compliance org. : FAA. Federal Aviation Administration.

38. Cuban currency : PESO

44. Patriotic women's gp. : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

45. Clever laugh : HEH

46. Ef counterpart, in temperatures : CEE. Ef as in Fahrenheit, CEE as in Celsius.

47. NW state with a panhandle : IDA. Idaho.

50. Simpson who's a member of 12-Down : LISA

53. Tryst participant : LOVER

58. First sequel's sequel : EPISODE III

59. Pandora's boxful : ILLS

62. Cut again, as lumber : RESAW

63. Apollo 11 destination : MOON

64. Earth goddess : GAIA

65. Part of GPS: Abbr. : SYST

66. Like some telegrams : SUNG

67. Tiny part of a min. : NSEC. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second.

Down

1. "The __ Squad" : MOD

2. Dined : ATE

3. 1995 Reform Party founder : ROSS PEROT

4. Great Wall locale : CHINA. Look.

5. Libyan port : TRIPOLI

6. Rear : HIND

7. 63-Across exploration vehicle : ROVER

8. Erie Canal city : UTICA

9. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI

10. Aforementioned : PRIOR

11. Together : AS ONE

12. Group with an annual Mind Games competition : MENSA

15. Volkswagen family car : PASSAT

18. Ten percent donation : TITHE

20. From the beginning : ANEW

21. The "u" sound in "census" : SCHWA

24. Suffix with problem : A TIC

26. Help desk offering, briefly : INFO

28. Arizona tribe : HOPI

30. How some pics are stored : ON CD

31. La Brea stuff : TAR. Museum.

32. Owns, biblically : HATH

33. Holiday carol's "Good King" : WENCESLAS

34. Glacial ridge : ESKER. Virtual field trip of Blakeney esker.

35. Get rid of : LOSE

40. Consecrate : HALLOW

41. Like much pub grub : FRIED

42. Kennel cacophony : YELPING

43. "Now, just hold on" : WHOA

47. "Happy birthday" writers, perhaps : ICERS

48. Dwarf who swept up Doc's discarded diamonds : DOPEY

49. Off the mark : AMISS

51. Plant parts : STEMS

52. Vowel fivesome : AEIOU

54. Champ's gesture : V SIGN. V for Victory.

56. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifying exam : PSAT

57. Frontman for the Belmonts : DION. Dion and the Belmonts.

60. Perjure oneself : LIE. All too common in court.

61. __ fly: RBI producer: SAC. Sacrifice.