google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Michael Dewey

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Showing posts with label Michael Dewey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Dewey. Show all posts

Jan 23, 2018

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 ~ Michael Dewey

Theme: If It's Tuesday, This Must Be ... - some European city.

20A. 1666 conflagration that destroyed St. Paul's Cathedral: FIRE OF LONDON. Capital of England.

28A. Raphael fresco depicting Greek philosophers, with "The": SCHOOL OF ATHENS. Capital of Greece

48A. Gypsum used for casts: PLASTER OF PARIS. France's capital.

54A. Pope: BISHOP OF ROME. Italy’s capital.

Argyle here. I say, what a capital idea for a puzzle. Michael hasn't had a puzzle here for over a year. I hope he doesn't stay a stranger.

Across:

1. Daily bread?: WAGE

5. Convenient bag: TOTE

9. Flower that's a Buddhist symbol of purity: LOTUS

14. Unattributed, as a quote: Abbr.: ANON

15. Prof.'s employer: UNIV.

16. Stupefy: AMAZE


17. Checkout line unit: ITEM


18. Actress Russo: RENE

19. Words to live by: MAXIM

23. Military abbr. on a Beatles album: SGT. Pepper.

24. NYC subway line: IRT. (Interborough Rapid Transit)

25. Pup squeak: [YIP!]

33. "__-ching!": CHA

34. Venison source: DEER

35. Sunny feeling: WARMTH

36. Seventh-day activity, in the Bible: REST

38. __ Gone: gunk-cleaning product: GOO

40. Repeated Doris Day song word: SERA. 'Que Sera, Sera'. 'Whatever will be, will be'



41. Gave the slip: ELUDED

44. Indian bread: NAAN

47. At this moment: NOW

51. Subj. for immigrants: ESL. (English as a second language)

52. Color gradation: HUE

53. Coastal inlet: RIA

60. Complete chaos: HAVOC

63. Each: A POP

64. Rapper whose name sounds like a drink: ICE T

65. Plato's marketplace: AGORA

66. Fodder storage tower: SILO

67. Not this: THAT

68. Wooden peg: DOWEL

69. Informal greetings: HEYs

70. "Star Wars" guru: YODA

Down:

1. Many a Dickens child: WAIF and maybe 46D. Innocent soul: NAIF

2. Prefix with social: ANTI

3. Suffix with party: GOER. An antisocial partygoer sounds like a fun sponge.

4. Catch in a net: ENMESH

5. Sports injury on an artificial surface: TURF TOE

6. First-year law student: ONE L

7. Former Yankee slugger Martinez: TINO

8. Should it arise that: EVEN IF

9. De Niro's "Raging Bull" role: LAMOTTA. Giacobbe "Jake" LaMotta, middleweight champion boxer.

10. Arabian Peninsula nation: OMAN. Khasab Fort.

http://www.khalidkharusi.com


11. Payroll deduction: TAX


12. Action film weapon: UZI

13. College yr. division: SEM. (semester)

21. Prayer opener: "O, GOD ... "

22. Sketch: DRAW

25. Native of Sana'a: YEMENI


26. Emcees' duties: INTROs

27. "Horsefeathers!": "PSHAW!"

28. Beachcomber's finds: SHELLS

29. Like some Friday work attire: CASUAL

30. Meet portion, or portion of meat: LEG. One LEG of a relay race at a track meet.


31. Maine college town: ORONO


32. Store posting: Abbr.: HRs. (hours)

33. Parisian pancake: CRÊPE

37. NFL six-pointers: TDs. (touchdowns)

39. Dolt: OAF

42. Virtuous: ETHICAL

43. Latin god: DEUS

45. At just the right time: APROPOS

49. Go over again: REHASH

50. Uncommon thing: RARITY

54. Droning lecture, e.g.: BORE

55. Freckled boy of old TV: OPIE. Little Ronnie Howard.

56. Roly-__: POLY

57. Eight, in Ecuador: OCHO

58. Renaissance faire quaff: MEAD. Fermented honey.

59. Jazzy James: ETTA. Something different.



60. "I've been __!": HAD

61. Back in time: AGO

62. Pledge: VOW


Argyle

Dec 12, 2016

Monday, December 12, 2016 Michael Dewey

Theme: TWEET! - Those aren't birds tweeting.

20A. Locomotive operators: TRAIN ENGINEERS

25A. Singer for the cops?: POLICE INFORMANT

47A. Gridiron adjudicator: FOOTBALL REFEREE

52A. What 20-, 25- and 47-Across all are, in one way or another: WHISTLE BLOWERS

Argyle here. Unusual; the first three are needed to reveal the fourth, the unifier of the theme. I do like Michael's puzzles. I like the whole answer being theme, not just a part of it.

Across:

1. On the __: broken: FRITZ. Now there's a word to start the week on.

6. Dressed (in): CLAD

10. Quail or turkey, e.g.: FOWL. Ok, there are birds tweeting, sort of.



14. Prefix with economics: MACRO

15. Impulse: URGE

16. "Yeah, sure": "I BET"

17. Do over 60 in Hawaii, say: SPEED. Vermont, too. Any others?

18. Upsurge: BOOM

19. Null and __: VOID

23. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO

24. Republican org.: GOP

34. Flower painted by van Gogh: IRIS


35. Burns with hot liquid: SCALDS

36. Mai __: TAI

37. One who shuns company: LONER. Prefers solitude.

39. Many a Monopoly prop.: AVEnue

40. Kick out: EJECT

42. "Brokeback Mountain" director Lee: ANG. Ang Lee

43. Snoozing: ASLEEP

46. Rank between viscount and marquis: EARL

50. Motor City labor gp.: UAW. (United Automobile Workers)

51. Preacher's msg.: SERmon

60. Billiards triangle: RACK

61. "Garfield" pooch: ODIE

62. Paradises: EDENS

64. Lotion additive: ALOE

65. __ monster: lizard: GILA


66. "Rabbit food" course: SALAD

67. Remain undecided: PEND

68. Staircase part: STEP

69. Sporty sunroofs: T-TOPS

Down:

1. Radio choices: FMs. (frequency modulation)

2. Completely engrossed: RAPT

3. Bakery employee: ICER

4. Dissertation: TREATISE

5. It has a dozen signs: ZODIAC

6. Ice tray unit: CUBE

7. Scientologist Hubbard: L. RON

8. Intensely eager: AGOG

9. Divine-human hybrid: DEMIGODList of demigods, if you care to see if your name is there.

10. Quitting hr. for many: FIVE PM

11. Double-reed instrument: OBOE

12. Flow-altering dam: WEIR


13. Former Ford models: LTDs

21. Thumbs-down votes: NOes

22. Like Eric or Leif: NORSE

25. Rice dish: PILAF

26. Home of the University of Maine: ORONO


27. Jargon: LINGO

28. Poker wager-matching response: "I CALL"

29. Bellybutton: NAVEL

30. Baseball card rival of Topps: FLEER

31. On __: rampaging: A TEAR

32. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE

33. Owner's document: TITLE

38. Morocco's capital: RABAT


41. Made heckling remarks to: JEERED AT

44. Snooze loudly: SAW LOGS

45. Mexicali money: PESO

48. Like warthogs and walruses: TUSKED


49. Smallest number: FEWEST

52. Rolled-up sandwich: WRAP

53. In good health: HALE

54. Venerated image: ICON. A religious work of art.

55. Proofreader's change: EDIT

56. Irascibility: BILE

57. Jump: LEAP

58. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. (relocation)

59. Go off the deep end: SNAP

63. Vietnam War protest gp.: SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)


Argyle

Dec 30, 2015

Wednesday, December 30, 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: Having a go at it -  or - disappointing Yoda.  The last word of multi-word in-the-language phrases are all synonyms for striving to achieve something.



17 A. It may lead to an acquisition : TAKE OVER ATTEMPT.  One corporation ATTEMPTS to take over another.

28 A. Coalition : JOINT ENDEAVOR.  Working together for a common goal.  Rather a different shade of meaning, as compared to ATTEMPT.

48 A. With "the," one's best shot : OLD COLLEGE TRY.  This is a wild and desperate ATTEMPT to achieve something, perhaps with a bit of showboating along the way.

62. Sincere intention to be fair : GOOD FAITH EFFORT.  This is actually a legal term, relating to "what a reasonable person would determine is a diligent and honest EFFORT under the same set of facts or circumstances." Troutt v. City of Lawrence, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61641 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 8, 2008)

As I see it, all except JOINT ENDEAVOR carry some implication of failure, realized after the fact. Does that seem right?

Hi, gang, JazzBumpa here.  Nicely constructed theme, with a couple of grid-spanners.  The rest of the puzzle lies before us.  Shall we do or not do?

Across

1. Coors "malternative" : ZIMA.  A kinda-sorta quasi-beer-like fluid from a company that makes other beer-like fluids.

5. NFL ball carriers : RBS.  Running Backs.   Who will be the first to take this DF?

8. Silently understood : TACIT.  That's one sense of it.  Another is simply remaining silent.  I have several segments of The Nutcracker marked TACIT.

13. National Air and Space Museum movie format : IMAX.    Large screen movie presentations.

14. Culturally affected : ARTY.   

16. Shrine to remember : ALAMO.   As the phrase "Remember the ALAMO" reminds us.

20. Bucket filler : ICE.   One of many possibilities.

21. Cooking oil brand : MAZOLA.   Corn oil.

22. Sport with masks : EPEE.   Fencing.

23. Nag's comment? : NEIGH.  Just horsing around - not emulating the Bickersons.

25. Binding words : I DO.   Marriage.

27. Stately tree : ELM.  Once upon a time.

32. SeaWorld swimmer : ORCA.  Shamu the killer whale.

33. Strauss' "__ Rosenkavalier" : DER.  The knight of the Roses.   DER is the nominative singular masculine definite article in German.

34. Source of ultraviolet rays : SUN.  And infra-red, and visible light, and even a small amount of X-Rays.  The solar spectrum actually peaks in the visible light region.  I'm not delighted with this clue.

35. Evidently is : SEEMS.  Appears to be.

37. Enthusiasm : VIM.   Usually travels with vigor.

39. The Masters or The Open : MAJOR.   Golf tournaments.

43. Aurora's Greek counterpart : EOS.   Goddess of the dawn.

45. Beat a hasty retreat : LAM.   Here a verb - not it's most common usage.

47. Yawner : BORE.   Uninteresting performance or presentation.

51. Dashboard meas. : MPH.  Miles Per Hour.

53. __ Jose : SAN.   California city.   Do you know the way?


54. Race paces : TROTS.   Well this interesting and brings out the pedant in me.  In harness racing, there are two varieties of races, for TROTTERS and PACERS.  They have distinctly different gaits, and breaking stride can lead to disqualification from a race.  In other races, where you sit down right on the horse, running is done at a full gallop.  So I'm not sure what this clue is getting at. 

55. Met showstopper : ARIA.  Opera song

57. "We can do it, team!" : LET’S GO.   Closely related to the theme, but not in an appropriate location.

59. Belittle : DIS.  Disrespect, in street talk.

65. Maneuver around : EVADE.   Or avoid.  I'm never sure.

66. Jordanian queen dowager : NOOR.  Lisa Najib Halaby [b. 1951, Washington D. C.] is an American woman who became the 4th and final wife of King Hussein [d. 1999] of Jordan.   She works on behalf of several international organizations.

67. Vacationing, perhaps : AWAY.   Perhaps on a business trip, the lam, or playing hooky.  Several possibilities.

68. Know without knowing why : SENSE.  Oh, what a feeling.

69. Second afterthought: Abbr. : PPS.  Post Post Script.  For when your thoughts are really untimely or disorganized.

70. Daughter of Elizabeth II : ANNE.  Born Aug 15, 1950.  She had two marriages and survived a kidnapping attempt.  She also has a criminal record, having violated both the speed limit and the Dangerous Dogs Act.  She is not to be confused with anther royal Anne who was the eponym for a common weed, a furniture design, and a neckline with a raised back and open front.   Oh, yeah - the earlier ANNE was also Queen of Great Britain from 1702 until her death from a stroke in 1714.

Down

1. Pasta choice : ZITI.   Medium sized pasta tubes.

2. All-in-one Apple : i-MAC.    Desktop computer system.

3. Act in a conciliatory way : MAKE NICE.   Whether you want to or not.

4. Log splitter : AXE.   Log splitter's tool.

5. Plundered : RAVAGED.   Plunder is the violent and dishonest acquisition of property.  Ravage is damage severely.   Not at all the same thing.

6. Khrushchev's successor : BREZHNEV.  Leonid, born 1906, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982.

7. Texas ALer : STRO.   Astros, an American League baseball team, inexplicably named after George Jetson's dog.

8. What Tweety tawt he taw : TAT.   Like this.


9. Out of the wind : ALEE.  Gimmee shelter.

10. Pitcher in the woods : CAMPER.   Tent pitcher.

11. Spur on : IMPEL.  Basically the same meaning as propel.   The use of "IMPEL" has been steadily declining for 200 years.

12. Tribal symbol : TOTEM.   A spirit being, sacred object or symbol that serves as emblm for a clan or tribe.

15. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : YALIE.    Student or graduate of Yale University.  These people are also know as Elis.

18. Fail to say : OMIT.   Leave out.

19. "Voilà!" cries : TADAS.   "There you are," or "I did it."

24. Glossy coating : ENAMEL.   Paint or the natural covering layer on your teeth.

26. Egg cell : OVUM.  Female reproductive cell in humans and animals.

28. "__ Boys": Alcott sequel : JO'S.   A Sequal to "Little Men," occurring 10 years later.

29. Rock to refine : ORE.   Pay dirt.

30. Practice exercise : DRILL.   A method of training and discipline.

31. How money might be lost : ON A BET.  One of many ways.

36. Fixes the fairway, say : SODS.   Here, a verb, meaning to install sod.

38. Soda jerk's workplace : MALT SHOP.

40. Makes a note of : JOTS DOWN.

41. Boston Garden hockey immortal : ORR.  Bobby.   YouTube has several long video compilations of his highlight moments.  Here is just one, and perhaps the most famous.



42. Spanish king : REY.  

44. Milan's Teatro alla __ : SCALA.   Opera house since 1778, one of the world's leading venues for opera and ballet.

46. Business deals : MERGERS.   The joining of two companies to make a new, bigger entity.  The opposite of what I had the last time I blogged.

48. John Glenn, for one : OHIOAN.   Do you know any others?

49. Words often starting a long shot : ONE IN . . .  Often followed by . . .  a million.

50. Blunder : GOOF.  All GOOFs [in this sense] are mistakes.  A blunder is a stupid or careless one.

51. Dungeons & Dragons spellcasters : MAGES.   D & D has several categories of characters, each with its own unique powers, potentials and vulnerabilities.

52. Demonstrate as true : PROVE.  Provide convincing evidence.

56. Tacks on : ADDS.  Emends.

58. Sporty car roof : T-TOP.   Removable roof panels make a vehicle so equipped into an almost-but-not-quite convertible.  



60. Farsi-speaking land : IRAN.   Across the gulf from Saudi Arabia, and contiguous with several other countries.



61. Eye sore : STYE.   An inflammation of a sebaceous gland in the eyelid, generally caused by a staph infection. I opted not to show any pictures.

63. Membership cost : FEE.   AKA Dues.

64. LAX overseer : FAA.   Federal Aviation Administration.   Are they lax?   I haven't flown in years.  You can enlighten me in comments.

Did you get the TADA, or did you not do?  That is the question.

That's all, folks.

Cool regards!
JzB



Jun 4, 2015

Thursday, June 4, 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: "100 Pounds of Clay" 2:16

17-Across. Heavyweight who dethroned Sonny Liston : CASSIUS CLAY. First you take some CLAY,

25-Across. The London Eye, for one : FERRIS WHEEL...throw it on a WHEEL,

36-Across. Zesty meat coating : ORANGE GLAZE...coat it with a GLAZE,

50-Across. Beer-making device : BREWERS KILN...and cook it in a KILN.

And the reveal:

59-Across. Fictional wizard, and a hint to who would use the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across : HARRY POTTER. If you manage to come out with something useful or pretty, you are a POTTER! I liked the logical progression in the theme entries. Well done.


Across

1. Los Alamos projects : A-BOMBS.

7. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR. Khayyám. 

11. Shelter acquisition : PET. Oh, one acquired from a shelter...I thought it was something acquired for shelter, like a tent or an IRA.

14. Hat with a brim : FEDORA.

15. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO.

16. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Plural of ovum.

19. NASA transport : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.

20. Attacks : SETS AT.

21. Other, to Orlando : OTRA.

22. Happy hour site : PUB. "Bar" also fit.

28. Exception lead-in : UNLESS...

30. Memorable "Richard III" words : A HORSE, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

31. Disadvantaged : POOR.

32. One of the Mountain States : IDAHO.

35. Some hot rods : GTs. From the Italian Gran Turismo, they are not just hot rods. True "grand touring" cars have specific attributes to go along with the name.

40. Roulette option : ODD. "Red" also fit.

42. "Sorry" : I CAN'T.

43. Land of the banshee : EIRE.

46. Home of the NCAA's Wolf Pack : NEVADA.

48. "Tess" Golden Globe winner : KINSKI. Nastassja played the role so well.


54. Slew : TON.

55. Level, in London : RASE. Those Brits, I wish they'd learn to spell...  ;-)

56. Spelunkers : CAVERS.

58. Dash widths : ENs. Half as wide as an EM dash.

64. __ limit : AGE.

65. Assist badly? : ABET.

66. Words before "Happy New Year!" : ...TWO, ONE.

67. Kenan's TV pal : KEL. "Kenan and Kel" ran for four years on Nickelodeon. It was cancelled in 2000. Never saw it.

68. Chats : JAWS.

69. New York county on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. That sounds like an Air Force song: "Oswego, into the wild blue yonder..."


Down

1. Browns' gp. : AFCAmerican Football Conference. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences which make up the NFL.

2. Cole Porter's "__ Clown" : BE A. What movie was it from?

3. Takes too much, briefly : ODsOverdoses.

4. Peat component : MOSS.

5. Legal filings : BRIEFS.

6. Browns, perhaps : SAUTÉS.

7. Word before nod or buzz : OSCAR.

8. Millionaire starter? : MULTI. Because "mega"-millionaire was too short.

9. Org. with a monthly Journal of Ethics : AMA. American Medical Association.

10. Kevin's "Tin Cup" role : ROY. Not one of Kevin Costner's finest movies.

11. Disruptive spirit : POLTERGEIST.

12. Tibetans call it Chomolungma : EVEREST. Learning moment, but easily inferable.

13. They may be hot : TAMALES. Nailed it!

18. Belarus or Ukr., once : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.

21. "Looky here!" : OHO.

22. Small seal : PUP.

23. Low número : UNO.

24. Circulation need : BLOOD VESSEL. I briefly toyed with a "publication."

26. Humorist Mort : SAHL.

27. "Hold it!" : WHOA.

29. Bobble the ball : ERR.

32. Market chain based in Chicago : IGA. With the red and white logo.

33. Room with a recliner : DEN.

34. Insurance fig. : AGT. Insurance agent.

37. Helper : AIDE.

38. Site of Mt. Mitchell, highest Appalachian peak : N. CAR. Did you skip over the abbr. of "Mt." in the clue?

39. __ master : ZEN.

40. Taking five or ten : ON BREAK.

41. Drive up the wall : DERANGE. and 53-Down. One climbing the walls : IVY.

44. "King Kong" studio : RKO.

45. Cologne article : EIN. It can mean "one" or "a/an." It can be easily confused with "eins," which is the number "one."

47. Blow away : AWE.

48. Heavy lifter, for short? : KLEPTO.maniac.

49. Aligned : IN ROWS.

51. Head-turner's hardware? : SCREW. I had a hard time aligning the clue with the answer, since I feel it's the screwdriver that does the head turning, not the screw.

52. Super Mario racers : KARTS.

57. Stash : STOW.

59. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I read it when it first came out, so this was a gimme.

60. Old sports org. with a red-white-and-blue ball : ABAAmerican Basketball Association. It merged with the NBA in 1976.

61. Piggy : TOE.

62. Writer's coll. major, often : ENG.lish

63. Vintage auto : REO.


And my work here is done...

Marti

Note from C.C.

Our California Coven & Lucina had their annual get-together yesterday. JD said:

"Here we are today in Pleasanton, CA: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina. Chris (Garlic Gal)  read a sweet email that she had received from Dodo (wish I had brought some of mine too). Then we toasted her and a life well lived."

Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.

June 3, 2015

May 20, 2015

Wednesday, May 20th 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: Kobe Bryant Masterclass - hoops moves from all over the floor.

17A. Complete set of recollections : MEMORY BANK. My recollections may be complete, but sometimes my memory bank doesn't want to let me make a withdrawal, at least not without a battle.

26A. Den fixture : TELEVISION SET. This seems archaic, or at a minimum dated. If I walked into Best Buy and asked to look at "television sets" there would probably be some sniggering. That's if I could remember what I went in there for in the first place.

43A. Climber's aid : GRAPPLING HOOK. More the "assault" type of climbing, rather than recreational.

55A. Thrill-seeker's leap : BUNGEE JUMP. I think I'd have a heart attack before I was half-way down if for some reason I was forced to do this.

63A. NBA scoring attempt, which can be preceded by the ends of 17-, 26-, 43- and 55-Across : SHOT. All basketball. Bank shot (off the backboard and into the hoop), set shot (usually a free-throw), hook shot (one-handed aerial move) and jump shot (airborne version of the set shot).

This is one of the most famous jump shots of all time - Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater as Duke edged Kentucky 103-102 in the 1992 NCAA Championship Final.


A Wednesday welcome to you all. Steve here with Michael's hoops-fest, timely as the NBA teams enter the Conference Finals phase of the play-offs. This was pretty much plain sailing for me, a left-to-right, top-to-bottom solve. I didn't look for the theme until I'd finished with the "T" in "SHOT", but I did enjoy the ride.

Let's see what else we've got going on here:

Across:

1. Swerves : ZAGS. Can you zag-zig, or do you always have to zig first?

5. Decorated one : HERO

9. Selects, with "for" : OPTS

13. Hockey violation : ICING. Like offside in soccer, which doesn't really help anyone who doesn't know either sport.

15. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA. A beautiful song, it's worth enduring the 15 seconds of commercials over on YouTube.

16. Pebble Beach cry : FORE. I've never played at Pebble Beach, the green fees are incredibly expensive. I've had my picture taken on the famous 18th green though.


19. Elite Eight letters : NCAA. The term for the last eight teams remaining in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's annual basketball championship.

20. Nile snake : ASP. Run!


21. "__ to please" : I AIM

22. Check : LOOK IN. Don't we need an (on) here?

24. Written words : TEXT

25. Price-regulating blocs : CARTELS

30. Screenplay units : SCENES

31. Extinct flightless bird : DODO

32. Pledge : VOW

35. Start to fall? : PRAT. Pratfall.


36. Olive __ : OYL

37. Spot to grab a bite : DELI

38. South, in Soissons : SUD. Obscure little town in northern France, but the name looks "French enough" for me to not cause any problems.

39. Sweater material : WOOL

41. Fries in a little butter : SAUTÉS. Food! You can sauté in other fats too.

46. Vacation options : CRUISES. I've never been on a cruise, I think I'd feel trapped.

48. Rover exploration site : MARS

49. Bit of fruit in a box : RAISIN. All the raisins produced in the US are grown right here in California. The HQ of Sun-Maid is right up the street from me.

50. Rubberneck : GAPE. A bad California freeway habit.

51. Consumes : HAS

54. Pay for a hand : ANTE. In betting parlance, the price for getting into the card game.

58. Headliner : STAR

59. In unison, on a score : A DUE. Shown on a shared score where both musicians should play the same notes.

60. Steadfast belief : DOGMA

61. __ d'oeuvres : HORS. Food! Finally!

62. Revolutionary sewer : ROSS. Not a sprial waste-water pipe, but needle-wielding Betsy. Nice clue

Down:

1. MillerCoors malt beverage : ZIMA. Never tried one. Never will. It's not sold in the USA any more, but apparently you can still buy it in Japan.

2. High-paid pitchers : ACES

3. Hitch in one's step : GIMP. To be honest, I've only seen this used in a derogatory fashion to describe someone physically handicapped.

4. Winter product prefix : SNO- Food! Here's a Sno:LA frozen yoghurt from the famous Los Angeles Farmer's Market on Fairfax:


5. They can be hard to kick : HABITS

6. Red-wrapped cheese : EDAM. Turning into a food-fest here.

7. __ Tin Tin : RIN

8. One end of California's Bay Bridge : OAKLAND. More California today. The new Bay Bridge is now open, the old one which had a span collapse in the 1989 Lomo Prieta earthquake is being dismantled. Here's the two southern spans side-by-side from San Francisco to Treasure Island:



9. Buzzworthy : OF NOTE

10. Rarely used Oval Office strategy : POCKET VETO. Lovely expression. Basically, the President vetoes a bill by not taking any action - essentially keeping his hands in his pockets.

11. Way to ski : TRAIL

12. Connery and Penn : SEANS

14. Feel the pain of a loss : GRIEVE

18. Graph line : Y-AXIS. I vaguely remember being taught which direction this axis goes, but it's deep in my MEMORY BANK and not easily found.

23. Thereabout : OR SO

24. Camping shelter : TENT

25. "Sweet!" : COOL

26. Recipe amts. : TSPS. I rarely measure any more, although I cooked a recipe from an English website the other day that confused the heck out of me as it was all metric. I now know that 15g is roughly a large tablespoon, 5g is roughly what we have here, a teaspoon.

27. Color similar to sand : ECRU

28. Rock band soloist : LEAD GUITAR. Hmmm. I'd say that Keith Richard is lead guitarist with the Rolling Stones, he plays lead guitar. Would you say that The Edge is U2's lead guitar? What do you all think? While you're pondering that, let's rock the first track on U2's Joshua Tree album

29. Rustic writing : IDYLL

33. Faux butter : OLEO. I always like seeing this as it reminds me of the time C.C. first taught me the difference between OLEO and OLIO.

34. Tide rival : WISK

36. "Careless me!" : OOPS

37. "Stupid me!" syllables : DUHS. I had a minor misstep with DOHS first, quickly corrected.

39. "What __ thinking?" : WAS I

40. Holiday party perk : OPEN BAR

41. Hogwarts potions master : SNAPE. Played by Alan Rickman in the movies.


42. Settled : AGREED

44. Steplike platforms : RISERS

45. Computer desktop array : IMAGES

46. Computer headache : CRASH

47. Totaled : RAN TO

50. Bearded antelopes : GNUS. A gnu is an antelope designed by a committee.

51. Romcom actor Grant : HUGH. I think he's pretty typecast at this point, he does always seem to play the same role.

52. BBs, e.g. : AMMO

53. Trivial tiff : SPAT

56. Japanese salad veggie : UDO. Final Food! reference today. I'm replete.

57. "__ Boys": "Little Men" sequel : JO'S

Here's the grid, and that's it from me!

Steve


May 6, 2015

Wednesday, May 6th 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: All About Eve-n The word EVEN is wrapped around each theme entry.

20A . Toy with a heating element : EASY BAKE OVEN. Wow, this old classic has gone all hi-tech and politically correct. It didn't look like this when I bought one for my daughter back in the 90's - it was pink in those days and it definitely didn't have a boy on the box. 



35A. Fairy tale villain : EVIL QUEEN. The antagonist in Snow White and other tales, and definitely a 22-Down in this incarnation:


45A. 1961 Rick Nelson hit : EVERLOVIN' I wasn't familiar with this song, and I can't say I'm surprised. It wasn't exactly a smash hit - it made the Billboard Top 20 in the US but only at #16.

55A. Neither ahead nor behind ... and what 20-, 35- and 45-Across are literally doing : BREAKING EVEN. A good thing after a weekend in Vegas, less so if we're announcing the company's annual results.

Morning! Thanks to Michael for this one; the theme entries split "EVEN" on a 1-3, 2-2 and 3-1 letter-count basis and a 3-2-1 word countdown, so a pleasing progression by the numbers; and a pangram to boot so plenty to like for a midweek offering.

I was having a little trouble with the west, so the theme reveal definitely gave me a leg-up there. When I thought a pangram was emerging that gave me another helping hand towards the end. Good stuff.

 Let's see what else catches the eye (Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen obviously does!)

Across:

1. Common lunch hr. end : ONE PM

6. Lowers, as lights : DIMS

10. Drift gently : WAFT

14. Half an Evergreen State city : WALLA. Walla Walla, Washington. In the news as recently as Monday for making Global Yodel's list of the 15 most underrated cities in the US.

15. Fancy entrance : ARCH

16. Clickable image : ICON. Part of the WIMP quartet of user interface concepts introduced by Apple, "borrowed" from Xerox PARC research lab. Windows, Icons, Mice, Pointers

17. Bit of dental work : INLAY

18. Indian noble : RAJA

19. On deck : NEXT. No problem for C.C. I'm sure. Next batter up in the on deck circle at the ballpark.

23. Like "las" in Sp. : FEM. I had to look closely to see whether that was an L or an I, then some head-scratching before "Aha! Feminine".

24. Out of the reach of : BEYOND

27. Country where Quechua is an official language : PERU

30. Erstwhile TV ministry : PTL. No clue, needed the crosses. I didn't live in the US when this show was on the air, and to be honest I wouldn't have watched it anyway.

33. White Label Scotch maker : DEWARS. "Nailed it" says Tinbeni.

38. Camera setting : F/STOP. Controls the size of the aperture on a manual camera. Apparently the "F" stands for "focal ratio".

39. Carol contraction : 'TIS the season to be jolly, falalala ...

40. "Not my decision" : UP TO YOU

42. Hoppy brew, briefly : IPA. Cheers! Not much in the way of Food! for me today, so a liquid diet instead.

43. Satellite-launching rocket stage : AGENA. Developed by Lockheed and named for the alternate name of the star Beta Centauri because this upper stage would "ignite in the sky".

47. Nightly news fodder, with "the" : LATEST

49. "__ only a game" : IT'S. Not to the fans it's not. My English Premier League team Chelsea clinched the championship on Sunday so big smiles from me! Here's my Facebook profile picture today:


50. Marshy areas : FENS

51. Public figure? : NOTARY

53. Bungler : OAF

61. Clown of renown : BOZO. I had COCO first; that caused a little slowdown in the southwest.

64. Met or Nat : NL-ER. Another gimme for C.C! The New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball's National League. For some reason I thought the Mets were in the AL, so I was left wondering how "TREADY" at 48D was a word.

65. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA. Thank you, crosses.

66. Crumbled ice cream topping : OREO

67. 2013-'14 Magic Johnson Award winner Nowitzki : DIRK. Dallas Mavericks All-NBA power forward.

68. Eastern faith : ISLAM

69. Sticky goo : GUNK. Had "G", wanted "GLOP", saw sense.

70. Urges : YENS

71. Writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Thank you, crosses.

Down:

1. Baby's boo-boo : OWIE

2. Family nickname : NANA

3. Plumbing joints : ELLS. I'm assuming ells are short for elbows, but I can't find anything to back that up.

4. Lighthearted : PLAYFUL

5. "I'll think it over" : MAYBE

6. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK. From the Greek nyktos, "of the night".

7. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE

8. Low-paying position, in slang : MCJOB.

9. Cut off : SHAVED

10. Gathers choice parts from : WINNOWS. Nice word.

11. Celebrated pilot : ACE

12. Cunning critter : FOX

13. Demolition aid : TNT. Boom!


21. Stimulate : AMP UP

22. Good-looker : EYEFUL

25. Hardy's "The Return of the __" : NATIVE

26. Pop over : DROP IN

27. "She loves me not" piece : PETAL

28. Greg of "B.J. and the Bear" : EVIGAN. All crosses, again. I'm relieved I knew AGENA otherwise the "G" would have been a big empty square when everything else was finished.

29. Take on successfully, as a challenge : RISE TO

31. Béret bearer : TÊTE. The grave accent on the first 'e' and the national stereotype is your hint that we're looking for a French word here.

32. Pope after John X : LEO VI

34. Bridge measures : SPANS

36. Deep-space energy source : QUASAR

37. Duma vote : NYET. Fourth language of the day. English, Spanish, French, now Russian.

41. Director Welles : ORSON

44. Tablet relative : NETBOOK. Lower-cost, simplified laptops running a browser such as Chrome.

46. Side with the ball : OFFENSE. Interesting. True for American Football, less so in other sports such as soccer where the offense and defense are on the field at the same time.

48. Hot, for now : TRENDY

52. New England collegian : YALIE

54. Born-__ : AGAIN. No doubt fans of the PTL Show at 30A

56. "Show Boat" composer : KERN

57. Really gets to : IRKS

58. TV handyman Bob : VILA. More crosses. Not a good "name" day for me today.

59. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL. Et alia in full. I like how list-shorteners seem to be abbreviated - also "et cetera".

60. Reputation : NAME

61. Marshy area : BOG. Second marsh of the day.

62. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist : O.R.U. Oral Roberts. Born-again, PTL and this one make a evangelical trifecta.
.
63. "__ in the Art of Writing": Ray Bradbury collection : ZEN. When I corrected my "COCO" clown at 61A I tried BOBO instead. Then I saw I was left with "Ben in the Art of Writing" and asked myself "Who the heck is Ben?" The penny finally dropped.

That's it from me. Here's the grid:


Steve

Jan 20, 2015

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: Jump Back Jack - "Are you ready for some football?"

33. Returning to action, and, on a gridiron, what each first word of 17-, 24-, 47- and 55-Across is : BACK IN THE GAME

17. Soccer scoring opportunity : CORNER KICK. Cornerback, defensive position.

24. Vice presidential hopeful : RUNNING MATE. Running back, ball carrier and blocker.

47. Musical symbol : QUARTER NOTE. Quarterback, the field general.

55. Hold that's illegal in amateur wrestling : FULL NELSON. Fullback, blocking and taking the ball straight ahead,.

Argyle here. Are we ramping up for the Superbowl or what? I wouldn't be surprised to find this theme has been done before but it wouldn't detract any of my enjoyment of solving this one. Some other football references included.

Across:

1. PBS science series since 1974 : "NOVA"

5. Barton of the Red Cross : CLARA

10. Secret language : CODE. That seems a little off.

14. Fictional rabbit's title : BR'ER

15. Persian Gulf tanker : OILER

16. __ about: roughly : ON OR

19. Lang of Smallville : LANA. Superman's boyhood friend.

20. Hairpiece : TOUPÉE

21. How French dip sandwiches are served : AU JUS

22. Neruda's "__ to Wine" : ODE

27. Cultural no-nos : TABOOs

29. Goings-on : DOINGS

30. Hamilton opponent : BURR. Backstory

31. NFL Hall of Famer Lynn : SWANN. Wide receiver.

39. "Am not!" reply : "ARE SO!". Age old argument over who's a booger.

40. Whacked arcade critter : MOLE. Whac-A-Mole

42. Greek markets : AGORAE

45. Between-meals meals : SNACKS

50. Disney frame : CEL

51. Vaulted church areas : APSEs

52. Singer Newton-John : OLIVIA

54. Table salt, to a chemist : NaCl

59. "Buenos __" : DIAS. "Good Morning"

60. Characteristic : TRAIT

61. Frustrating toy for Charlie Brown : KITE

62. "Rule, Britannia" composer Thomas : ARNE



63. Breaks bread : DINES

64. Shoveled precipitation : SNOW

Down:

1. "Football Night in America" network : NBC

2. Guatemala gold : ORO

3. Spinal bone : VERTEBRA

4. River of Pisa : ARNO. Haven't seen this flower in awhile.

5. Habeas __ : CORPUS. "you [shall] have the body"

6. Compare : LIKEN

7. From another planet : ALIEN

8. Camcorder button : REC

9. "Raiders of the Lost __" : ARK

10. Op-Ed piece : COLUMN

11. Deep into the pub crawl, say : ON A JAG

12. Dunkin' __ : DONUTS

13. Take off the board : ERASE

18. Currency since 1999 : EURO

21. Winery process that can take years : AGING

22. Wagering letters : OTB

23. Apply haphazardly : DAUB

25. Potato state : IDAHO

26. __ of the above : NONE

28. Tolkien monster : ORC

31. Look of disdain : SNEER

32. Scale amts. : WTs. (weights)

34. Wii game rides for Mario and Luigi : KARTS

35. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE. (Day of Wrath)

36. Physicians' org. : AMA. (American Medical Association)

37. Soft shoe : MOCCASIN

38. Sommer of films : ELKE
 
41. Immigrant's class: Abbr. : ESL. (English as a Second Language)

42. Live-in nanny : AU PAIR

43. Stranded motorist's aid : GAS CAN

44. Threat-ending words : OR ELSE

45. Tours of duty : STINTS

46. Campbell of "Scream" : NEVE

47. Info-gathering exchange : Q AND A

48. Ryan with a record seven no-hitters : NOLAN. Some baseball slipped in.

49. Hardy of Laurel & Hardy : OLLIE

53. Classes : ILKs. That seems a little off also.

55. Teleflora rival : FTD. (Florists' Transworld Delivery)

56. Sch. in the smallest state : URI. (University of Rhode Island)

57. Oklahoma tribe : OTO

58. Cutting-edge : NEW


Argyle


Sep 9, 2014

Tuesday, September 9, 2014 Michael Dewey

Theme: Who let you in? - Unwanted groups.

20A. Uninvited guests : PARTY CRASHERS

27A. Gold rush bad guys : CLAIM JUMPERS

49A. Thieves in the tombs of the pharaohs, say : GRAVE ROBBERS

58A. Early arcade game with pixelated aliens, and, in a way, what 20-, 27- and 49-Across all are : SPACE INVADERS



Argyle here. Just a Q short of a pangram. Everything worked out nicely; no strain to get words to pffft. A little step up from Monday.

Across:

1. Rhubarb desserts : PIES

5. Blue cartoon critter : SMURF

10. Spoiled one : BRAT

14. Mount of Greek myth : OSSA. A real mountain.

15. Old Testament prophet : HOSEA

16. Move like slime : OOZE

17. St. Bernard's bark : [WOOF!]

18. German WWII threat : U-BOAT. The submarine one.

19. Cowboy boot attachment : SPUR

23. '70s-'80s Olympic skier Phil : MAHRE. Remember?

25. Suffix with glob : ULE

26. "Just as I predicted!" : "SEE!"

32. Irish dance : JIG

33. Right triangle ratio : SINE

34. Minor quarrels : TIFFS

38. Egg cell : OVUM

40. "May the __ be with you" : FORCE

43. Fizzy drink : COLA

44. Hemmed in : BESET

46. Pop's Lady __ : GAGA

48. Flashlight output : RAY

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

56. Miss Teen __ : USA

57. "John Brown's Body" poet : BENÉT. Stephen Vincent Benét

63. 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan : SATŌ. Eisaku Satō was the 39th Prime Minister of Japan and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Seán MacBride in 1974.

 
64. Hersey's bell town : ADANO

65. Athletic equipment giant that sponsors golfer Rory McIlroy : NIKE

68. This, in Tijuana : ESTO

69. Twangy : NASAL

70. Like summer tea : ICED

71. Marvel Comics mutants : X-MEN

72. Succumbed to the sandman : SLEPT

73. Jacob's twin : ESAU

Down:

1. "Wham!" : "POW!"

2. Prefix with metric : ISO

3. Gullet : ESOPHAGUS. Whoa! Not a common word for any day of the week(but common enough for TV ads).

4. Jungle journey : SAFARI

5. Boarded up : SHUT

6. "__-Dick" : MOBY

7. Biennial games org. : USOC. (United States Olympic Committee)

8. Rise on hind legs, as a horse : REAR UP

9. Femme __ : FATALE

10. "Fiddlesticks!" : "BOSH!"

11. What rookies are shown, with "the" : ROPES

12. Sky shade : AZURE

13. To the point : TERSE

21. Radiation measures : REMS. Straight from the NRC Library, meaning.

22. Rockefeller Center muralist José María : SERT

23. Low-paying employment, slangily : McJOB

24. Partner of kicking : ALIVE

28. Peter Pan rival : JIF. Peanut butter.(#1 brand Jif)

29. Numero __ : UNO

30. Road sign with a double-tailed arrow : MERGE

31. Attack command word : SIC

35. "CSI" science : FORENSICS

36. Distress signal : FLARE

37. Speak, biblical-style : SAY'ST. "Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all." - Ode on a Grecian Urn - John Keats

39. Ryan of "When Harry Met Sally..." : MEG

41. Bronco or Mustang : CAR

42. Self-regard : EGO

45. Factual : TRUE

47. French cleric : ABBÉ

50. Chinese and Thai, e.g. : ASIANS

51. Property destroyer : VANDAL

52. Elton John collaborator Taupin : BERNIE



53. County near London : ESSEX

54. Twitch : SPASM

55. Drink with steamed milk : LATTE

59. Maine __ cat : COON. Aww!

60. Flower holder : VASE

61. Take __: doze : A NAP

62. Simpleton : DOLT

66. Hawaii's Mauna __ : KEA

67. College URL ending : .EDU


Argyle