Wednesday, June, 22, Ellen Leuschner and Mary Lou Guizzo

Title: TOPPING OFF

Ellen and Mary Lou have generated a lovely Wednesday puzzle in which they have selected ten compound words or phrases wherein both words can be "CAPPED" (preceded) by the word WHITE to produce two more compound words or phrases. The effect is further enhanced by having all the theme entries appear vertically and thus the word CAP becomes even more apropos as you can see in the grid below! Wonderful!

Theme Reveal:

40. Bit of ocean chop ... or, literally, what each part of 3-, 8-, 10-, 34- and 38-Down can have : WHITECAP - Here is Tom Hanks fighting through WHITECAPS to try to get to his VB friend Wilson

Theme answers: (Yes, I know there is more than one possible answer for some entries) 

3. Privy : OUTHOUSE - Rural restrooms and 

WHITE OUT - Where football could still be played 

WHITE HOUSE - 1600 Pa. Ave in not quite a white out

8. Home builder's purchase : WALLBOARD - Wall covering or

WHITEWALL - Remember when they were stylish tires and cost more than blackwalls? 

WHITEBOARD - A work space for Sheldon and Leonard

10. Equine-like fish : SEAHORSE - Marine creature where the father gives birth or

WHITE SEA - A Russian Sea unbeknownst to me near Archangel'sk 

WHITE HORSE - Prince Charming's ride

34. Award for excellence in the field : GOLD GLOVE - Given to MLB player who is the best fielder at his position or

WHITE GOLD - Gold alloyed with silver or other white metals

WHITE GLOVE  - Attire for Liz which I'm sure she uses to check her dusting! :-) 

38. Fritos snack : CORN CHIP - Longtime nosh in a bag or

WHITE CORN  - A sweet corn option 

WHITE CHIP - Usually lowest value poker chip

Now for the fun remainder of Ellen and Mary Lou's puzzlement:

Across

1. Physics building block : ATOM

5. Barbecue side : SLAW

9. Run-of-the-mill : USUAL

14. Track tipster : TOUT - My favorite is Nicely-Nicley Johnson (Stubby Kaye) in Guys And Dolls

15. "How's it goin'?" : HI YA

16. Grammar topic : TENSE - Piece 'o cake, right?

17. Folk story : MYTH

18. Autobahn auto : OPEL

19. British peers : EARLS - As in the EARL of Grantham

20. It may be coiled in the grass : HOSE

22. Frozen drinks : SLUSHIES - A minor side effect

24. Brownstone entrances : STOOPS - We call 'em porches here

26. Hebrew : Ben :: Arabic : __ : IBN

27. "... that golden key / That __ the palace of eternity": Milton : OPES - Liza Doolittle OPES her key OPES her door

28. "For real?" : YOU DO

29. Alias in a landmark case : ROE - v. Wade

30. Auctioned wheels : REPO

31. Unlikely replies from sycophants : NOS

32. Get dolled (up) : TOG - Merriaman-Webster: To dress especially in fine clothing —usually used with up or out

35. Atlantic and Pacific, in Monopoly: Abbr. : AVES

37. Prefix with magnetic : ELECTRO - A modern source of ELECTROMAGNETIC radiation 

39. Subscriber's order : RENEWAL

43. Like some coffee tables : OVAL

44. Biological building block : DNA

45. "Veep" network : HBO - The first place I heard the "F-word" from a TV.

46. Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine : PARR - Mnemonic: 
Divorced, beheaded, died
Divorced, beheaded, survived

49. Public health org. : CDC

51. Sends : MAILS

53. Chef's chamber : OVEN

54. NYC airport : LGA

55. Brahms' Opus 18, for one : SEXTET - 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos

56. Messenger bags : SATCHELS

58. Bend at a barre : PLIE - A PLIE complemented by dumbbell arm raises for your delts!

59. Nobelist Root : ELIHU

60. Kentucky border river : OHIO

62. Publisher Adolph : OCHS

65. Samurai without a master : RONIN - In modern Japan it means "between employers" or a grad student not yet admitted to a university

66. Nix : VETO

67. Wailuku's island : MAUI 

68. Speaks harshly : SNAPS

69. Endor villager : EWOK

70. Design detail, for short : SPEC


Down

1. All-hrs. cash source : ATM

2. Fisher-Price product : TOY

4. Ore. skiing destination : MT HOOD - Wonder Carpet has replaced rope tow on MT HOOD's bunny slope there

5. Crocs, e.g. : SHOES - They're ugly or cool depending on your perspective

6. Guff : LIP

7. "Yes, cap'n!" : AYE SIR

9. Salt Lake City team : UTES - Not the JAZZ

11. Not ready for harvesting : UNRIPE

12. Catching some z's : ASLEEP - Kitty is fighting it!

13. To a smaller degree : LESS SO

21. Commercials on the tube, in adspeak : SPOT TV

23. In need of leveling : UNEVEN

24. Holiday song ender : SYNE

25. Level, e.g. : TOOL - I'm never without one!

33. Ancient source of prophecy : ORACLE

36. Nail polish : ENAMEL - We used Windex to get it out of our carpet successfully

41. Up to it : ABLE

42. Too far off the trail : LOST

46. Tough questions : POSERS

47. Land of Arthurian legend : AVALON

48. Eye part with rods and cones : RETINA - Ah, it's the teacher in me!

50. Kidney-shaped nut : CASHEW

52. Geometry rules : AXIOMS - Transitive AXIOM -  I have two legs. George Clooney has two legs. Ergo, I am George Clooney!

55. Hobgoblin : SPOOK

57. Followers of Attila : HUNS

61. Skater Midori : ITO

63. Palette shade : HUE

64. Incite to go after, with "on" : SIC

Ah yes, at one time our state's low taxes make it this. Oh well, lets move on to comments:

Monday, January 25, 2016 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Two-Letter Combos - Pick two letters and find two related words that start with said letters.

17A. *Game where one might have an ace in the hole : STUD POKER

36A. *Financial page listing : STOCK PRICE

43A. *Only woman ever elected governor of Alaska : SARAH PALIN. In the news again.

61A. *Stack of unsolicited manuscripts : SLUSH PILE. Previously, this clue/answer were reversed.

11D. *Informal surveys : STRAW POLLS

29D. *Touchy topics : SORE POINTS

68A. "500" Wall St. index ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues : S AND P. (Standard & Poor's)

Argyle here. Mary Lou is very good at this style of early week themes. The perps should get you through the rough spots.

Across:

1. '90s game disc : POG. Tough start unless you had kids in the '90s or you were yourself.

4. Infield fly : POP-UP

9. Invites home for dinner, say : HAS IN. If it's Hannibal, don't go.

14. 007 creator Fleming : IAN

15. Banish : EXILE

16. Unable to sit still : ANTSY

19. Actor __ Elba of "The Wire" : IDRIS. The name "Idris"; Wikipedia.

20. Liability offset : ASSET

21. Settle in a new country : EMIGRATE

23. Young Simpson : BART

26. "Coulda been worse!" : "PHEW!". "That was a close one!"

27. Biblical beast : ASS

30. Least fatty : LEANEST

33. __-12 conference : PAC. (Pacific Coast Conference)

38. "__ creature was stirring ... " : NOT A

39. Team in 40-Across : CARDS

40. Arch city: Abbr. : STL. (St. Louis)

41. Ship carrying fuel : OILER

42. Iowa State city : AMES

45. Very quietly, in music : PPP. (pianississimo)

46. Artist's paint holder : PALETTE

47. Farm pen : STY

48. Gave the nod to : OKed. Anon nit, yes, we know you think it should be OK'D.

50. Payroll IDs : SSNs. (Social Security number)

52. Became partners : PAIRED UP

56. To date : SO FAR

60. Ed with seven Emmys : ASNER

64. "I'll do it" : "LET ME"

65. Gum treatment, briefly : PERIO. (periodontal treatment)

66. Former president of Pakistan : ZIA. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Boy, did I mess this up!)

 



"Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq" by Wikifreund.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

67. Relaxed : EASED

69. Reheat quickly : ZAP

Down:

1. Leaning Tower of __ : PISA

2. Stable diet : OATS

3. Bearded antelopes : GNUs

"What are you looking at?"

4. Coaches' speeches : PEP TALKS

5. Losing tic-tac-toe string : O-X-O

6. Water__: dental brand : PIK

7. Title beekeeper played by Peter Fonda : ULEE. "Ulee's Gold"

8. Make waves? : PERM

9. San Francisco street that crosses Ashbury : HAIGHT. For all you hippies.

10. Netman Agassi : ANDRE. (tennis)

12. "__ just me?" : IS IT

13. Financial page abbr. : NYSE. (New York Stock Exchange) How's your stock price?

18. Budding socialite : DEB

22. __ dixit: assertion without proof : IPSE

24. Sales agent : REP. 18D and 24D don't have indications that they are abbreviations: we know.

25. Like ankle bones : TARSAL

27. Songwriters' org. : ASCAP. (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)

28. "Put __ here": envelope corner reminder : STAMP

31. Saltpeter, to a Brit : NITRE. (potassium nitrate)

32. Flashy displays : ECLATS

34. Took the loss, financially : ATE IT

35. Sideshow barker : CARNY. Short for carnival worker.

37. Music store buys : CDs

38. Actress Peeples : NIA

41. Workplace where union membership is optional : OPEN SHOP

43. DWI-fighting org. : SADD. (Students Against Destructive Decisions)

44. Growth chart nos. : HTs. (heights)

46. Looked carefully : PEERED

49. Krispy __ doughnuts : KREME

51. Soak (up) : SOP

52. Hardly healthy-looking : PALE

53. Out of port : ASEA

54. Snail-mail delivery org. : USPS. (United States Postal Service)

55. Formal petition : PLEA

57. Antacid jingle word repeated after "plop, plop" : FIZZ, FIZZ.

58. Et __: and others : ALIA

59. Harvest : REAP

62. Barista's vessel : URN

63. Rocker Vicious : SID. Bonus S&P: He was a member of the Sex Pistols.

Argyle

Saturday, Jan 9th, 2016, Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Word: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Wow, this one was a brain-drain, and just about the longest WAG-fest I have ever had the pleasure (or pain~?) of solving.  My first time with a Mary Lou construction, though I see she was prolific last year with her LATimes puzzles.  Jeff, on the other hand, has beaten me up on several occasions, so I have a feeling this was "all his fault"....had a vaguely Dan Naddor feel to it, IMHO, consisting of several two-word answers.  Pretty atypical Saturday grid, no chunky corners, but three spanners and a 13-letter climber;

16. Strength in numbers? : PREDICTIVE POWER - I thought we might be looking at a "numb-ers" kind of misdirection, then a numerology kind of thing, but it has a scientific application - the best example was the prediction that the planet Neptune (which threw me at 62a.) existed by scientists observing its gravitational effects of the other planets before its discovery

34. Beats the rap : GETS OFF SCOT-FREE - I have English parents, so this phrase was heard around my house a lot; here's the etymology

58. Best Actress the year before Kate Winslet : MARION COTILLARD - I thought this was a 1997/98 reference to Kate's Titanic role, but no; she won for the The Reader in 2008; Marion won for La môme - never heard of it, but I do recall her as "Mal" from Inception, which was a great movie

15. Really enlightened : WISE AS SOLOMON - at one point, I had "WISE-ASS-----"

 

ACROSS:

1. Directive to a dealer : HIT ME - I am reading Slash's biography, and so the 'dealer' I had in mind was like the one he scored heroin from

6. Adds liberally : HEAPS ON

13. Sustain : UPHOLD

15. Apple bug? : WORMHOLE - no "i-Computer" misdirection here.   I am attempting to write a book of my own, and part of the plot involves the other, 'travel-through-space-and-time' kind of wormhole

18. Blubber : SOB - dah~! Not FAT

19. What "this love is," in a Taylor Swift title : OURS

20. Shades go-with : SUN HAT - not sure if this was sunglasses or curtains shades

21. Shepherd's dishes? : MEAT PIES - of the first 10 answers, 6 have two-word elements

24. Fruit trees : PEARS

25. __ cut: fabric design technique : BIAS

26. Birch of Indiana : BAYH - one of many proper noun clues that I just had no clue on, and it's Birch Bayh, Senator from '63-'81

28. Unkempt abode : STY

29. Umbrian tourist town : ASSISI - mostly perps

32. Salisbury smooch : SNOG - British kiss; think Harry Potter

40. __ Accords: Israel/PLO agreements : OSLO

41. Acorn bearer : PIN OAK - OK, I cheated on the "N", since RED was not working, and I forgot about this kind of oak tree

42. Ad follower : HOC - ad hoc, Latin "for this"

45. Some 55-Across works : OILS - dah~! since I did not know who "Joan" was, I tried ODES; a 100% 50% correct WAG

47. Smidge : MITE - not IOTA

48. Mocks : JAPES

50. Blockers' targets : POP-UP ADS - now we are talking about computers, and I was thinking football

53. Dodges : AVERTS - AVOIDS, EVADES - tried 'em both

55. Joan of art : MIRÓ - oh, it's a dude

56. __ Dome: Lucas Oil Stadium predecessor : RCA

61. Dizzy with delight : IN A SWOON

62. Neptune, e.g. : SEA GOD - DAH~! not PLANET

63. Gently passes : EASES BY

64. Simmers : STEWS

DOWN:

1. Drill cadence syllables : HUPS

2. Swear words : I PROMISE

3. "If I Can't Love Her" singer, in a 1994 musical : THE BEAST - I was trying to think of a band called "The -----S", and then I realized it was a singular character from "Beauty and..."

4. Hip : MOD

5. Literature Nobelist who won two posthumous Tony Awards : ELIOT - perps and WAG

6. __ lane : HOV - I complain about this every time it's in a crossword; we have one here, part of the Long Island Expressway, and I think it's a colossal waste of black top

7. Spanish 101 word : ERES

8. Vitalize : AMP UP

9. Calls or cells : PHONES - got it, but thought "that can't be right"

10. "Like I care" : "SO WHAT~?"

11. Kevin of "Shark Tank" : O'LEARY - I had him confused with Mark Cuban in my mind; my buddy Mike, with the backyard games company, met Mark, I think

12. "Drat!" : NERTS

14. Support spec of a sort : D-CUP - ah, Dennis could appreciate this one

17. Salt Lake daily : TRIB - does leaving out "City" make for an abbr.~?

22. Sale warning : AS IS

23. Harmonize : SYNC - oops, not SING; that's another 50% correct in all places

25. Snare : BAG - not NAB

27. Shooter's target : HOOP - basketball~? I wasn't going to get it

30. Jack of "Barney Miller" : SOO

31. Logician's words : IF SO

33. Sporty VW : GTI

35. Cheeky : FLIP

36. From 2009 through Sep. 2015, it paid $143 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury : FNMA - stumped.  Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae - the Wiki

37. Concern for some bodybuilders : 'ROID RAGE - my first thought, but I did not factor in an abbreviation

38. Issues a mea culpa : EATS CROW

39. Squeak (out) : EKE

42. Museo de la Revolución city : HAVANA

43. "Ring Cycle" quartet : OPERAS

44. Color similar to crimson : CERISE - sounds blue, but that's cerulean; the word comes from "cherry", and I was going to link a pie pic, but I found this much more fascinating

46. Narrow shore point : SPIT

48. Portrayer of Django and Ray : JAMIE - took me forever to remember Mr. Foxx's name

49. Throws below : STOWS - oops, not SINKS

51. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS

52. Spherical extremities : POLES

54. Snoot : SNOB

57. Tosses in : ADDS - just wanted to ADD that yesterday marked 11yrs for me

59. Playing hard to get : COY

60. Pull-up beneficiary, briefly : LAT - the muscle of the back; I have been over at my friend Adam's house, where his 2yr old has moved on to "pull-ups", so I was in that frame of mind....who benefits from those~?

Splynter

Tuesday, December 29, 2015 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: Roast Beef

17A. Kansas City baseball color : ROYAL BLUE

36A. Tavern with a view : ROOFTOP BAR

43A. Dilapidated ship : RUST BUCKET

61A. Bucking ride : RODEO BULL

11D. Tour de France wheels : RACING BIKE

29D. 13th-century English friar/philosopher : ROGER BACON. Who is Roger Bacon? LINK

68A. "We Have The Meats" fast food chain, and a homophonic hint to the six longest puzzle answers : ARBY'S

Argyle here. Plenty of entries so a few tricky spots. Mine was the left coast, middle.

Across:

1. Glass edge : RIM

4. Personal histories : PASTS

9. Infielder Rod in Cooperstown : CAREW. Remember him from last Thursday? And someone new 65A. Hall of Fame second baseman Bobby : DOERR. Wiki for this Red Soxer.

14. "Caught you!" : "A-HA!"

15. Stag, at a party : ALONE

16. Egg-shaped : OVATE

19. Battery acronym : NICAD. (nickel–cadmium)

20. Olympics skating analyst Ohno : APOLO. He was a short track speed skater.

21. Laborious tasks : TRAVAILS

23. Post-shower powder : TALC

26. "Twin Peaks" actress Sherilyn : FENN

27. USN officer : CDR. (Commander)

30. Buying plan with a down payment : LAYAWAY. Odd clue.

33. Highway sign : GAS

38. "In memoriam" bio : OBIT

39. English: Pref. : ANGLO

40. Dashed : RAN

41. Job that doesn't pay? : CRIME

42. "__ 101": Jamie Lynn Spears sitcom : ZOEY. Britney's sister on Nickelodeon.

45. Go astray : ERR

46. Thicker, as a beard : BUSHIER

47. Some MIT grads : EEs. (electrical engineers)

48. Indonesian island : BALI

50. Well-kept : NEAT

52. "That's shocking!" : "I'M AMAZED!"

56. Triumphant cries : TADAs. A welcomed sound.

60. Potato press : RICER

64. Sun-dried brick : ADOBE

66. Vintage roadster : REO

67. Guadalajara girls : NINAs

69. Woodsman's chopper : AXE

Down:

1. __ avis : RARA. (rare bird) 10D. For the birds? : AVIAN

2. All-You-Can-Eat-Pancakes chain : IHOP. (International House of Pancakes)

3. Spread on a BLT : MAYO. Should Steve have blogged today or what?

4. City near Stanford University : PALO ALTO. Located in Santa Clara County and the State of California.

5. Greece neighbor: Abbr. : ALB. (Albania)

6. Note after fa : SOL

7. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT

8. Clairvoyant : SEER

9. Transport, as on a factory belt : CONVEY

12. List-ending abbr. : ET AL.

13. Unites in marriage : WEDS

18. Bottom-row PC key : ALT

22. Off in the distance : AFAR

24. Thai language : LAO

25. Mediterranean island republic : CYPRUS

27. Hottest fashion : CRAZE

28. Philanthropist : DONOR

31. Embarrass : ABASH

32. Hope to participate : WANT IN

34. 'Til Tuesday lead vocalist Mann : AIMEE. I didn't know she is a bassist.

35. Decides not to dele : STETS

37. Swatter target : FLY

38. Tolkien beast : ORC

41. Museum overseers : CURATORS

43. All-Star Phillies catcher Carlos : RUIZ. Another ball player. Wiki

44. Pollen eater : BEE

46. Loud, raucous sounds : BLAREs. Like a tie-up at rush hour.

49. Tiny life form : AMEBA

51. Bill at a bar : TAB

52. OPEC founding member : IRAN

53. Calf-length skirt : MIDI

54. Wagner's Earth goddess : ERDA. A week ago Sunday: ["Ring Cycle" goddess : ERDA. German for "earth", right?]

55. Way in or out : DOOR

57. Battery name prefix with "cell" : DURA

58. "Jeopardy!" host Trebek : ALEX

59. Gin flavoring : SLOE

62. Belle of the ball : DEB. (debutante)

63. Suffix with trick : ERY. Enough trickery for one day.

Argyle

Thursday September 10, 2015 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: A LOW KEY Thursday, like this hilarious LOW KEY Comedian

Mary Lou's lovely Thursday exercise got me with LACT_/SAM_. I didn't know SAMI but had a good feeling about LACTO. Her LOW KEY theme used the gimmick that the word KEY could be appended to the last word in the  four down fills with asterisks to form a common phrase. The first word of the amended phrase was also LOW on the  vertical fill and so LOW KEY!

3. *Event for A-listers, say : PRIVATE FUNCTION - Where the elite meet and FUNCTION KEY on my MacBook Pro. Any of the 11 on the top row

11. *The Hagia Sophia, for nearly a millennium : BYZANTINE CHURCH - Constantinople CHURCH and CHURCH KEY - puncture or cap removal type

27. *Sirius' constellation : CANIS MAJOR - The winter constellation and MAJOR KEY signatures in music

29. *Space to maneuver : WIGGLE ROOM - Plausible denial or ROOM KEY (modern version) that all my Florida kids got and half managed to lose at one time or another

58. With 59-Down, subdued, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : LOW. 59. See 58. Down - KEY and there you have the reveal: LOW KEY

Marti is off in Europe sightseeing, staying with friends and helping to kick off Oktoberfest in Bavaria. I am her envious and barely adequate pinch hitter.

Across   
     
1. Oz. sextet : TSPS - 6 TSPS per oz. abbr/abbr. Not Kazie's Oz.

5. Hamlet's foppish courtier : OSRIC - Yeah, I knew that!

10. Abba not known for singing : EBAN - ABBA Eban who held many posts in Israeli government 

14. Other, in Orizaba : OTRO - Español - "On the other hand" becomes "pro OTRO lado"

15. __ Park: Knott's Berry Farm city : BUENA

16. Connecticut town for which a disease is named : LYME - Less favorable notoriety than Buena Park

17. Sinn __ : FEIN - An Irish political party. Name means "Ourselves"

18. 100-eyed guardian of Io : ARGUS - Yikes! I'm pretty sure we wouldn't see eye to eye to eye to eye... 

19. Weizman of Israel : EZER - Seventh president of Israel

20. Bean used in falafel : FAVA - They were also a side dish in a grotesque meal in Silence Of The Lambs.

21. Half a comedy duo : MEARA - Part of Stiller and Meara and mother to Ben Stiller

22. Two-time MLB all-star Ron : GANT - Now host of Good Morning Atlanta, a city where he once played

23. Three-handed game : SKAT - Aggressive SKAT play

24. Wrench handle? : ALLEN - I loved this clue. My bike requires ALLEN wrenches on most bolts

25. Stats for QBs : INTS - When your number of INTerceptionS exceed your number of COMPletionS, you will probably have to seek other employment

26. "Clueless" co-star __ Dash : STACEY - I know it's lame, but I was CLUELESS about Stacey

28. Johannesburg section : SOWETO - SOWEstern Townships. 

30. Salad option : CAESAR - Et tu?

31. Social calls : VISITS 

33. "__ Wiedersehen" : AUF - Literally means "until we see again". AUF Wiedersehen, Marti!

34. It often says "Hello" : NAME TAG

38. FDR loan org. : NHA - National Housing Agency was part of FDR's alphabet soup

39. "Pardon me, Giuseppe" : SCUSI - Dean Martin sang "Grazie, Grazie, SCUSI, Prego"

41. CPR provider : EMT - First responders run TO danger

42. Something in your eye : GLEAM

44. Wires, e.g. : SENDS - Used mainly to transfer money today

45. Mr. Rogers : ROY

46. Dairy prefix : LACTI - LACTOse occurred to me first 

47. Brown shade : CAMEL

49. "He that __ down with dogs shall rise up with fleas": Franklin : LIETH - Birds of a feather...

51. Bar made by Hershey's : KIT KAT 

53. Enterprise bridge regular : MR SULU

56. "Vous êtes __": Paris map words : ICI - You are here!

57. Dog days mo. : JUL - A fairly cool July on the prairie this year

59. Kitchy-__ : KOO

60. Cartoonist Chast : ROZ - Clueless redux

61. Disney's Bob Iger, e.g. : CEO

62. Dash prefix : ODO - The ODOmeter on your car's dashboard. Can they still be turned back?

63. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums : ENO - A frequent cwd commodity

64. "__: Miami" : CSI

65. 54-year-old doll : KEN - Middle-aged KEN and Barbie

66. VCR button : REW

67. Sweet tuber : YAM - YAMS with brown sugar, marshmallows and football. Now that's Thanksgiving!

68. Bulls and bucks : HE'S - Both male

 Down:

1. Farnham Fops - TOFFS - A gaggle of TOFFS

2. Outback condiment : STEAK SAUCE

4. Piano pieces : SONATAS

5. Period since 2009 : OBAMA ERA

6. Without a doubt : SURELY - From my "funniest movie ever"

7. Courtly : REGAL

8. Hardens : INURES

9. 18th-century Italian adventurer : CASANOVA - Oh, it's called adventuring 

10. Poetic laments : ELEGIES - Was I the only one who read this in high school?

12. "I'll say!" : AMEN TO THAT - Right on, brother!

13. "Darn it!" : NERTS

30. Mama known for singing : CASS - "...and everyone's getting' fat 'cept Mama CASS"

32. Scandinavian native : SAMI- Not a clue, er no idea. These are Indigenous people living in the very north of Sweden, Finland and Norway. Tundra is a SAMI word used in many other languages. 

35. Jazzman Saunders : MERL - SF jazz organist/keyboard player

36. Expressive music genre : EMO

37. Texter's sign-off : TTYL - Talk To You L8r

40. Home to Pierre: Abbr. : S DAK - Where Lewis and Clark encountered Teton Sioux or Lakota tribes

43. Back muscles, briefly : LATS - Latissimus Dorsi

48. Czerny piano piece : ETUDE

50. "__ roll!" : I'M ON A

51. Bit of excitement : KICK 

52. Frozen treat : ICEE

54. Shed : LOSE

55. Strong arms? : UZIS - I'll bet EZER Weizman knew his way around one

C.C. was very LOW KEY when we visited with her and Boomer but I wonder how many of my other crossword friends here. There are a lotta hot buttons out there! Who knew a comma could raise IRE?

Husker Gary