Sunday February 6, 2011 Mike Peluso

Theme: Subtraction (Parse it as "Subtract Ion) - Letter string ION is deleted from each common phrase.

23A. "Most Difficult Woman" pageant winner's title? : MISS IMPOSSIBLE. Mission Impossible. Fun clue.

35A. What Nadia Comaneci gave her Olympic opponents? : TEN'S HEADACHE. Tension headache.

57A. Batch of itch reliever? : CALAMINE LOT. Calamine lotion.

79A. Native American Washington baseballer? : CHEROKEE NAT. Cherokee Nation. I think Senators sounds better than Nationals, don't you? Of course, the old Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.

99A. Timeless witticism? : PERPETUAL MOT. Perpetual motion.

118A. Deal between thugs? : MUSCLE CONTRACT. Muscle contraction. Muscle = Thug.

16D. Restrictions on Cupid? : EROS CONTROL. Erosion control. Don't think Eros is controllable. Love is so irrational.

69D. Number in an Amtrak report? : RAILWAY STAT. Railway station.

Nice theme and theme title. I figured something was dropped after scanning the byline & puzzle title. Just not ION. So unexpected.

Washington National is not the only baseball reference in the puzzle, Mike also gave us:

22A. 1939 retiree who said "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" : GEHRIG (Lou). The Iron Horse. Babe Ruth appeared as himself in the "Pride of the Yankees".  I cried watching the movie.

56A. Former Cub slugger : SOSA (Sammy). Sigh. I have his rookie card. Worth nothing now.

83A. Hall of Famer Sandberg : RYNE. Inducted in 2005. Spent most of his career with the Cubs.

Looks like Mike had some trouble filling in the lower middle part of the grid. I bet he tried hard to get rid of DELICTO (95D. Flagrante __: in the act of committing the offense) & the adjacent PARSER (99D. Grammar student, at times), but the two helper squares didn't help much.

Across:

1. Hale : ROBUST. The crossing BESO (3D. Cancún kiss) brought out this answer quickly. Learned BESO from Paul Anka's song "Eso Beso".

7. Powerful Chevys, for short : 'VETTES

13. Fall bloomers : ASTERS

19. Newtonian concern : INERTIA. Newtonian sounds so sophisticated.

21. Unrestricted : AT WILL

25. Establish a new foothold : REROOT. Help! I don't get this clue.

26. Weasel cousin : STOAT

27. Nashville-to-Louisville dir. : NNE

28. Laced : TIED

29. Stacks like Tupperware : NESTS. Nice visual.

30. Alberta native : CREE

32. Playground retort : CAN SO

34. Middle x or o : TAC. Tic-tac-toe.

41. Paparazzi, briefly : PHOTOGs

45. Too violent, maybe : R-RATED

46. Baby in blue : BOY. Baby in pink is GIRL.

47. Final Four org. : NCAA

49. Eliza's mentor, to Eliza : 'ENRY. From "My Fair Lady". H is dropped.

50. Urged (on) : EGGED

51. Nite times : EVES

53. Compete : VIE

54. Soup legume : LENTIL. Not to my taste.

60. Sales __ : REP

61. Angry with : MAD AT

64. Sm., med. or lge. : ADJ. Tricky clue. Not size.

65. T-man or G-man : AGT

66. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH

67. 3 Musketeers relative : MARS BAR. My ex-boss (a Marine) lives on Snickers & cigarettes.

70. Old photo tone : SEPIA

72. Anglican church officials : BEADLES. New word to me. So close to beagles. .

74. Zeta follower : ETA

75. Likely : APT

76. In bed, maybe : ILL

77. Parson's house : MANSE

78. Thrice due : SEI. Italian for "six". Due is "two". Sometimes TRE is clued as a misleading "Amount pass due?".

87. Luther contemporary : CALVIN (John). I drew a blank.

89. Hall & Oates, e.g. : DUO

90. Fail to take the heat? : MELT. Hot clue!

91. Smudge : SMEAR

92. "... __ forgive those who trespass ..." : AS WE

93. Large-screen format : IMAX

95. Part of una semana : DIA. Semana = Week.

96. Egotist's array : BOASTS

97. Like buffalo, red meatwise : LEANEST. Oh, really?

102. Golf hole meas. : YDS. 18 holes in golf. I was thinking of the real holes (cups) & inches.

103. Verbally insistent : VOCAL. Always thought "vocal" just mean "outspoken".

106. Royal display : POMP

107. Speed, for a running back : ASSET

109. Actress Petty : LORI. Recognized her face when I googled. She's in "A League of Their Own". I've seen almost every baseball movie. I can watch "Field of Dreams" again and again.

110. White wine apéritif : KIR

111. "The Thorn Birds" and others : SAGAS

116. Conspicuous terrain features : BUTTES. Same as MESAS, right?

121. Thrilled : ELATED

122. 2,000 pounds : ONE TON

123. 1962 World's Fair site : SEATTLE. Needed crossing help.

124. Kobe mat : TATAMI. Literally "folded". Same as Chinese character.

125. Walk in the park : STROLL

126. A player might be cut after one : TRY-OUT

Down:

1. Tire holders : RIMS. Your ABS too.

2. Taking care of business : ON IT

4. Bear up there : URSA

5. Sutured : STITCHED

6. "Tool Man" Taylor of TV : TIM. "Home Improvement".

7. Ming artifact : VASE

8. Aliens, for short : ETS

9. Acting like one has something to hide : TWITCHY

10. Shinbones : TIBIAE. So is TIBIAS.

11. 2010 panelist with Kara, Randy and Simon : ELLEN (DeGeneres). Those names are all  "American Idol" panelists for the last season.

12. Luges, e.g. : SLEDS

13. Cabinet dept. : AGR (Agriculture)

14. Handled : SEEN TO

15. What black clouds do : THREATEN

17. Funny one : RIOT

18. PD ranks : SGTS

20. Sleep ailment : APNEA

24. Linear, briefly : ONE-D. One-dimensional. Always tricky to parse, same as TWO-D, THREE-D.

31. Claret, e.g. : RED

33. German grandpa : OPA. Kazie or Spitzboov mentioned this before.

35. "__ bien!" : TRES

36. Sum preceder? : ERGO. Cogito, ergo sum.

37. Bothers : NAGS

38. Cooks, in a way : STEAMS. Chinese bread are often steamed.

39. Genesis victim : ABEL

40. __ Nostra : COSA. Literally "our thing". Mafia.

42. Chlorine or iodine : HALOGEN. Guessable.

43. Starting Miami quarterback in three straight '70s Super Bowls : GRIESE (Bob). Hall-of-Famer. Not on my radar.

44. Graceful women : SYLPHS

47. One of a reptilian comics quartet : NINJA

48. 2.0 GPA component, probably : CEE

51. French card game : ECARTE. Literally "discarded" in French, écarté.

52. Wine holder : VAT

53. Middle of a boast : VIDI (I saw). "Veni, vidi, vici".

55. James and Jones : ETTAS

58. Syrup source : MAPLE

59. Molson competitor : LABATT. Beer is too filling.

62. Eastern counters : ABACI. My sweet childhood memory, carrying a heavy abacus all the time.

63. Chloe's love : DAPHNIS. Daphnis and Chloe. Read the plot summary of this love story. So pure. I dimly recall an exchange between Jazzbumpa & Fred Jackson on Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloé". Isn't it beautiful?

67. Maguey plant liquor : MESCAL

68. Order to relax : AT EASE

70. Iowa's __ City : SIOUX

71. NE Nevada county or its seat : ELKO. Stumped me last time. Again today.

73. Skin-related : DERMAL

77. Adjusted opening? : MAL. Maladjusted.

80. Old vitamin bottle abbr. : RDA

81. Islamic leader : EMIR

82. Semimonthly tide : NEAP

84. Polite backwoods response : YES 'M

85. Alliance formed under HST : NATO. Just had a Warsaw reference last week. Fair & Balanced.

86. Once, once : ERST

88. Subject of a "Rigoletto" duet : VENDETTA. Didn't know the story line of "Rigoletto".

91. Afternoon TV idol : SOAP STAR

94. "Jersey Shore" airer : MTV. Snooki is all I know about "Jersey Shore". She's in the news all the time.
 
96. Rear in Liverpool : BUM

98. Look up to : ESTEEM

100. DeMille specialty : EPIC

101. Pamplona runners : TOROS

104. "Stand and Deliver" star : OLMOS. Edward James Olmos.

105. Mean something : COUNT. Everyone's blog post counts. But it's unrealistic to expect your every post to be commented upon. Clear Ayes expressed the posting philosophy perfectly on Saturday.

107. Create a distraction during, maybe : ABET

108. Toni Morrison novel : SULA. Have you read the book?

110. __ Ration: dog food : KEN-L

112. Culturally affected : ARTY

113. Castilian cat : GATO. JD or Warren mentioned Los Gatos & cats connection a while ago.

114. Anti-Patriot Act org. : ACLU

115. Ignore a Time change? : STET. Time magazine, right?

117. Reagan era prog. : SDI. How timely. Reagan's 100th Birthday today.

119. AOL guffaw : LOL

120. It's less than gross : NET. Sweet clue.

Answer grid.

C.C..

Wednesday October 6, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: The EAGLE has landed. Each theme answer is a different definition of the word eagle. All so colorful.

20A. Eagle : KEEN-EYED BIRD. Indeed. There are about 70,000 bald eagles living in the world today, about half of those in Alaska, and another 20,000 in B.C., Canada - because of the large amount of salmon in those areas.

33A. Eagle : LUNAR LANDER. The lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft. Six such craft successfully landed on the Moon between 1969–1972. Simulation.

41A. Eagle : TWO UNDER PAR. Golf. Timely for me, the Frys.com open is being held where i work next week. The whole resort is already a zoo, in preparation. I'll be glad when it's over.

54. Eagle : HIGHEST SCOUT. Boy Scouts of America. Coincidentally, at least 40 astronauts earned the rank as a youth, including Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon.

Melissa here.

Clecho (clecho, clecho, clecho). Perfect timing Mike Peluso and Rich, for our newly adopted word, coined by Dennis.

And a few timely baseball references:

25A. Ball club : BAT. Deceptively simple.

27D. Girardi's predecessor as Yankee manager : TORRE. Joe.

45D. Cleanup hitter's stats : RBI'S. Runs Batted In. From Wikipedia: "…the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best all-around hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

Across:

1. Dance fundamental : STEP

5. Spreading trees : ELMS

9. Cosmic payback : KARMA

14. __-up: slow Web connection : DIAL.

15. Bubbly label name : MOET. Champagne.

16. Like some kites : AVIAN. Bird species.

17. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison, nicknamed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" (New Jersey, not California).

18. Former credit card giant : MBNA. Purchased by BofA in 2005. No idea.

19. Shakespeare's title Athenian : TIMON. The Life of Timon Athens. New to me.

23. Big pix: Abbr. : ENLS. Short for enlargements, i suppose.

24. Reagan era prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.

28. Pancho was his sidekick : CISCO. The Cisco kid. I thought of Lefty first.

30. Running independently : ON AUTO

32. Trite : OLD

37. Leg-shaving alternative : NAIR

39. "Science Guy" Bill : NYE

40. Baking soda target : ODOR. Does anyone still keep an open box in the fridge?

46. Tint : HUE

47. Composer Berlioz : HECTOR. 19th Century French composer. Who knew?

48. WWII blockade vessel : U-BOAT

50. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY

51. Tic __: mint : TAC

53. Sale condition : AS IS. Seeing this a lot lately.

59. Ambulance attendant : MEDIC

62. Cathedral section : APSE

63. "Dark Angel" actress Jessica : ALBA.

64. Worship : ADORE. And 22D. Adored one : IDOL. Duplication.

65. Bring up : REAR

66. Diver's haunt : REEF

67. Au courant, with "in" : TUNED. French for aware, or conversant - meaning fully familiar, or knowledgeable.

68. Ancient Persian : MEDE

69. Ilk : SORT

Down:

1. Nebr. neighbor : SDAK. South Dakota.

2. Roofer's piece : TILE

3. Whence icicles hang : EAVE. 'Whence' is archaic English, meaning from what place. More Shakespeare.

4. Does a cabinetmaking task : PLANES. Like this.

5. Harris of country : EMMYLOU. Great voice. Stellar collaboration with Mark Knopfler.

6. They may be pierced : LOBES. Earlobes. And 8. Pierces : STABS. Clecho.

7. See 32-Down : MEND. 32. With 7-Down, feeling better : ON THE

9. Destructive 2005 newsmaker : KATRINA

10. Zealous : AVID

11. Part of most eyeglasses : RIM.

12. "Little Red Book" author : MAO. Book of quotations from Chairman Mao, explaining the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party.

13. Ex-Texas governor Richards : ANN. Colorful character. Died in 2006.

21. Check sent with a ltr., e.g. : ENCL. Enclosure.

25. Sanskrit for "awakened one" : BUDDHA. One who has achieved enlightenment. And 44. Like monastic life : AUSTERE

26. Enjoyed Denny's, say : ATE OUT

28. Scratched : CLAWED

29. Stupidity : IDIOCY

31. "That's __": "Uh-uh" : A NO

34. Toledo-to-Detroit dir. : NNE

35. Port on the Firth of Clyde : AYR. Scotland. I do not feel bad that i didn't know this.

36. Sen. counterpart : REP. Senator / Representative.

38. Road to nowhere, metaphorically : RUT. Great clue.

42. Spied : NOTICED

43. Schlep : DRAG

49. Annual Hollywood gala, with "the" : OSCARS

52. Amulet : CHARM

53. Syrian leader : ASSAD

54. Take on : HIRE

55. Fencing sword : EPEE

56. Stick on the table : OLEO. Noun, not verb.

57. Opposite of unter : UBER. German. Unter = beneath or under; uber = above or over.

58. First president to take up golf : TAFT. Easy guess. Only Presidents with four-letter last names: Polk, Taft, Ford, Bush.

59. Pin cushion? : MAT. Wrestling. Very nice.

60. University URL : EDU

61. Put on : DON

Answer grid.

Melissa

Wednesday September 15, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: ICED IN (48. Stranded at the ski lodge, perhaps, and a hint to this puzzle's hidden theme) - ICED is hidden in the middle of four two-word common phrases, each with the first word ending in ICE and the second beginning with D, as well as being the answer to the unifier.

16A. What b.i.d. means, in prescriptions: TWICE DAILY. It comes from our old friend Latin, BIS IN DIE.

26A. Some rear entrances: SERVICE DOORS. When I was a kid, I worked in a grocery store unloading the trucks through the back door.

44A. The first official one was November 11, 1919: ARMISTICE DAY. The end of World War I, which became a holiday in 1938 and was changed to VETERAN’S DAY to acknowledge those who served in later wars.

59A. Many are German shepherds: POLICE DOGS. I wonder if the GERMAN connection with the war was intentional.

Happy Hump Day all, Lemonade here.

I thought this was pretty difficult puzzle, from one of our regular constructors, MIKE PELUSO, who told C.C. in the interview, this letters in the middle theme, is his go to grid. I often would do the puns and anagrams from the London Times with my mother, and the third type of fill was recognizing words created by other words running together, so the theme was obvious, even before the reveal, but I found much of the fill hard.

Across:

1. "Mamma Mia!" group: ABBA. What do you all think of the movie?

5. Social rebuff: SNUB. For our Norwegian followers, this term is mid-14c., "to check, reprove, rebuke," from Old Norse, snubba "to curse, scold, reprove. Also 29D. Chief Valhalla god: ODIN.

9. Tunesmith Porter: COLE. How about a little FRED and GINGER doing one of his standards.

13. Hang-glide, say: SOAR. And 45D. Wax-winged flier of myth: ICARUS, along with dad DEADALUS. Glided too high.

14. RL and TL automaker: ACURA. I have a friend who will not drive anything else, but they seem just okay to me.

15. Top: APEX.

18. Masters champ between Fuzzy and Tom: SEVE. Fuzzy Zoeller won his only- Masters in 1979, Tom Watson won his second in 1981, leaving Seve Ballesteros to win his first of two in 1980; obscure if you do not love golf, but a great tournament.

19. ___ spill: OIL. Bad taste after the BP mess? With 34D. 19-Across holder: DRUM.

20. When Good Friday occurs: LENT. And what do our Catholics all give up?

21. Like citrus juices: ACIDIC.

23. Many a realty deal: RESALE.

25. North African port: ORAN. We just had this about two weeks ago, clued then as ALGERIAN SEAPORT, otherwise I would never have known.

32. Garage, perhaps: ADD ON.

35. Minuscule bits: IOTAS. And 64A. Seat of Allen County, Kansas: IOLA. This is actually a common clue in the NY Times, but I thought it was a tough cross with 50D. Brit's fireplace: INGLE, which I only have heard of from INGLENOOK.

36. Dover is its cap.: DEL. Delaware, cap. Is an abbr., so the ans. is one as well.

37. Feudal laborer: SERF.

38. "__ clear day ..." : ON A. YOU CAN SEE FOREVER .

39. Beatles girl who paid the dinner bill: RITA. A WAG, but it is their in the LYRICS .

40. __ de vie: brandy: EAU. Literally, the water of life. This fruity brandy is not aged in a wooden cask, so it remain CLEAR .

41. Singer K.T.: OSLIN. NO CLUE .

43. Eye or ear follower: CANDY. Ear Candy??? Huh?

47. Detective fond of aphorisms : CHAN. Who did you like better Warner Oland, or SIDNEY TOLER ?

52. Deep bow: SALAAM. Part of the Islamic RITUAL .

55. Wild party: BASH.

57. Transfer __ : RNA. Back once more.

58. Dubai leader: EMIR.

62. Pull-down item: MENU. No, not your pants.

63. Still-life subjects: EWERS. VASE , is this a Wednesday word?

65. Tees off: IRKS. Sadly, I do not play often enough, so teeing off does irk.

66. Like morning grass: DEWY.

67. Kadett automaker: OPEL. Also a somewhat obscure reference to an out of service car, but one that kept resurfacing IMAGE .

Down:

1. Fur giant: ASTOR. JOHN JACOB there is much written about this family; I enjoyed Gore Vidal’s books on the growth of America, from BIRR on.

2. Knife named for a frontiersman : BOWIE. One of the many brave men who died at the ALAMO.

3. Gets water out of: BAILS.

4. Softball pitch path: ARC.

5. CAT procedure: SCAN. CUTE .

6. Jour's opposite: NUIT. Our French Day and Night lesson; I always feel more french at night.

7. Link letters: URL.

8. San Francisco and environs: BAY AREA.

9. Vegas attraction: CASINO. There is so much more there TO DO .

10. Page with views: OP ED.

11. __ Johnston, former fiancé of Bristol Palin: LEVI; talk about trying to stretch his 15 minutes.

12. Corp. VIP: EXEC.

14. Like __ in the headlights: A DEER.

17. Sitcom with a coming-out episode: ELLEN, and she keeps on. Oprah is taking her audience to Australia, with John Travolta flying the plane.

22. Slimeballs: CADS.

24. Dating from: AS OF.

25. Pump figure: OCTANE.

27. Benny's instrument: VIOLIN; a great Humanitarian.

28. Greek column style: IONIC.

30. On Soc. Sec., maybe: RETD; again the abbreviation determines the answer.

31. Off, so to speak: SLAY. A new word and an old one.

32. On the briny: ASEA.

33. Letter starter: DEAR.

39. Martha of comedy: RAYE. SLAPSTICK QUEEN .

41. Workers' protection gp.: OSHA.

42. Ready to mail : STAMPED.

43. Stashed supply: CACHE.

46. Frisbees, e.g. : DISCS. We recently alluded to WFDF .

49. Slump: DROOP.

51. Like a cold sufferer's voice: NASAL; every time I blog, the puzzle hits home, and I have a cold today.

52. Weigh station rig: SEMI.

53. AKC part: Abbr.: AMER. Okay another abbreviation, enough already.

54. Sausage unit: LINK.

55. Lost, as a big lead: BLEW. Oh, oh, putting these two clues together is dangerous.

56. Open to breezes: AIRY.

60. Have obligations: OWE.

61. Giovanni's god: DIO. Equal time for our Italian speakers.

Answer grid.

Here are a few nice pictures Warren took with his iPhone during his recent trip to Hawaii. The bromeliad is so pretty and delicate.

Well another Wednesday in the books, I hope you enjoy this effort; I think it will take a bit longer than the last two days. Happy Birthday Megan!

Until next time, your humble servant

Lemonade714

Friday August 27, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: Odd Ending (oddity)- ITY is added to the end of the second word (a noun) of a two-word common noun phrase. The resulted nouns all have different roots than the originals.

20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.

29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.

46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.

56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.

Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.

It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.

I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?

Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.

Across:

1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.

6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).

10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.

14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR

16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)

17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.

18. Benefit : SAKE

19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?

23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.

24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL

25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.

26. Arena cheer : RAH

32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT

35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.

36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.

37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.

38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.

41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?

42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.

44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A

45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.

50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.

51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.

52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH

53. Half-witted : DIM

60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.

62. Like Erté's art : DECO

63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE

64. Follow : OBEY

65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.

66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.

67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?

68. "Gotcha" : I SEE

69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.

Down:

1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES

2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.

3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE

5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.

6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.

7. __-Israeli War : ARAB

8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.

9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?

10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.

11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.

12. Toupee : RUG

13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.

21. Injures badly : MAIMS

22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.

27. Make restitution : ATONE

28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.

29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI

30. Frenzy : MANIA

31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.

32. Coffee asset : AROMA

33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.

34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".

39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.

40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.

43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.

47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.

48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS

49. Crowd : THRONG

53. Slew : DID IN

54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!

55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"

57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!

58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE

59. __ gin : SLOE

60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.

61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.

Answer grid.

Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.

C.C.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: PRIME (70A. Steak rating, and word that can precede the first words of the answers to starred clues) - The first word of each ER-ending phrase can follow PRIME.

17A. *Funny story : RIB-TICKLER. Prime rib.

27A. *Financial analyst : NUMBER CRUNCHER. Prime number.

47A. *Influential one : MOVER AND SHAKER. Prime mover.

63A. *Diversion while waiting : TIME-KILLER. Prime time.

Argyle here.

I have two problems with 27A: 1) I always thought it was NUMBERS CRUNCHER (turns out I was wrong) and 2) This may reopen the discussion of what a PRIME number is (I hope I'm wrong).

We just had CARVED ROAST and now we're having PRIME RIB. You vegans hang in there, we will get back to tofu and soy eventually.

PRIME MOVER - I thought this meant the main impetus behind an idea but the Wikipedia disambiguation covers so much more, including a entry for Australian English.

Across:

1. Tug trailer : BARGE. Or tug leader. I think a tug pushes a barge, not tow it.

6. Grand __ : SLAM. Another disambiguation page. Did you know there was a GRAND SLAM in curling? I sure didn't!

10. Tach nos. : RPMs. Tachometer / Revolutions per minute

14. Slobber : DROOL.

15. "Othello" villain : IAGO. (Shakespeare)

16. Strategic Chinese border river : YALU. Between China and North Korea. Map.

19. Stereotypical insomnia cause : DRIP. From a faucet.

20. Stocking style : MESH.

21. Hub once known as Orchard Field : O'HARE. Chicago.

22. Icicle site : EAVE.

23. Where to get PIN money? : ATM.

25. Seniors' D.C. lobby : AARP.

34. Cub Scout group : DEN.

35. Asteroids game company : ATARI.

36. Knickknack shelf item : CURIO.

37. Demolish : RUIN.

39. Grey Goose alternative, familiarly : STOLI. Stolichnaya® vodka. Product of Russia. 80 Proof.

41. Places for notes : PADS.

42. "The King" of golf, to fans : ARNIE. Arnold Palmer.

44. Consider responsible for : OWE TO.

46. Cruise milieu : SEA.

50. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER.

51. '50s campaign button name : IKE. President Dwight David Eisenhower.

52. Holders of chips? : POTS. Poker

54. Stone memorial : CAIRN.

58. Art class subject : VASE.

62. Sandusky's lake : ERIE. Sandusky is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Erie County.

65. One of the Ivies : PENN. University of Pennsylvania.

66. Prefix meaning "peculiar" : IDIO.

67. Husband and wife : MATES.

68. Omelet essentials : EGGS.

69. Fires : CANS.

Down:.

1. Classified ad abbr. : BDRM.

2. Two-time Indy champ Luyendyk : ARIE. He won in 1990 and 1997.

3. Takes badly? : ROBS.

4. Bruce Wayne's city : GOTHAM. Batman

5. Quarterback Manning : ELI. Football, New York Giants (2004–present)

6. Punjab sect member : SIKH.

7. Like a land for dreamers? : LA-LA. Sometimes known as Los Angeles.

8. Time, for example : AGER.

9. Wells's island doctor : MOREAU. The Island of Doctor Moreau is a 1896 science fiction novel and has been made into a movie on three occasions.

10. Biennial team golf competition : RYDER CUP. Competition between pro teams from Europe and the United States.

11. Put another way : PARAPHRASE.

12. XII years before the Battle of Hastings : MLIV. The Battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October 1066. (MLXVI) take away 12 (XII) gives you 1054 (MLIV)

13. Apartment manager, briefly : SUPE. Superintendent.

18. Halley's and Hale-Bopp : COMETS.

24. Timetable abbr. : TBA. "To Be Announced"

26. Anti-apartheid org. : ANC. The African National Congress.

27. Prefix with surgeon : NEURO.

28. Disagreeable : UNINVITING.

29. Betray, stoolie-style : RAT ON.

30. Grandstand filler : CROWD.

31. Agitates : RILES.

32. Down-yielding duck : EIDER.

33. Sub __: confidentially : ROSA.

34. Wee bit o' Dewar's, say : DRAM. There you go, Tinbeni. A dram is the traditional Scotch whisky measure. A pour. The amount is determined only by the generosity of the pourer.

38. Much-followed ratings, with "the" : NIELSENS. TV ratings service.

40. Opinion opener : "I THINK".

43. Before, to Keats : ERE.

45. Symbol of strength : OAK.

48. Frigid : ARCTIC.

49. Bulletproof vest material : KEVLAR.

52. Stinker Le Pew : PEPÉ. Cartoon skunk.

53. State bordering Wash. : OREG. Oregon

55. Verdi's slave girl : AIDA. Opera

56. Statement of commitment : I'M IN. Poker, again.

57. Classic autos : REOs. Early Oldsmobile's.

59. Some choristers : ALTI. Singular, ALTO.

60. Appear : SEEM.

61. Gaelic tongue : ERSE.

64. Brat : IMP.

Answer grid.

As we all know, Gunghy finished 13 miles short of 4000 in 11 days in his Yamaha Raider in early July. Here is part II of his series. The scenic ones. Click here for all the Gunghy photos.

Argyle

Wednesday June 30, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: ANAGRAMS! - The second word of each theme answer is an anagram of 'Skate.'

16A Prospector's funding: GRUBSTAKE. New to me. Noun: Supplies or funds advanced to a mining prospector or a person starting a business in return for a promised share of the profits. Also a historic restaurant near me.

23A. Compete in a derby, maybe: ROLLER SKATE. Roller derby.

36A. "To Autumn" poet: JOHN KEATS. There's your cue, Clear Ayes.

54A. Disbelieving looks: DOUBLE TAKES

62A. Tenderized cut of beef: CUBE STEAK

Only other possible anagram is TEAKS. But it has the same scheme as TAKES, with the plural form.

Melissa Bee here. Mike scattered in lots of artistic references today: RED A, JOHN KEATS, DELFT, ERIK, ALULA, ADELE and KLEE.

Across:

1. State of disarray: MESS

5. BLT condiment: MAYO. i have been making my own, very easy.

9. Ding-a-ling: DODO. and 45D: Featherbrain: AIRHEAD

13. __ Alto: PALO. Gimme for Californians.

14. Baby step? A TO B

15. Human, e.g.: BI-PED. Two -footed.

18. Simpson of fashion: ADELE. Is it just me, or does she look exactly like Erma Bombeck?

19. Zone: AREA

20. It's not pretty: EYESORE

22. "Bad Moon Rising" band, familiarly: CCR. American rock band, Credence Clearwater Revival. Played at Woodstock.

27. Remedial treatment: THERAPY. A term used in massage therapy, and, as i just learned, also in forestry and woodworking.

29. Opus __: "The Da Vinci Code" sect: DEI. Never saw it. Yeah, yeah, i know.

30. Rolodex no.: TEL. Telephone number. Does anyone still use a Rolodex? Seems a little archaic, but then again you never had to worry about viruses or power outages.

31. "The Scarlet Letter" letter: RED A. Nathaniel Hawthorne's book about an Adulteress in 17th century Boston. Also a play and a movie.

32. __-en-Provence, France: AIX

34. Run-down: SEEDY. Like this. Or this

40. Son of Abraham: ISAAC

43. Memorable time: ERA. Yawn.

44. Lawyer's aide: PARA. Paralegal.

48. Spa benefit, for short: TLC. That'll be extra.

49. FedEx rival: UPS

52. Tehran inhabitant: IRANIAN

57. Some OR staff: RNS. Registered Nurses in the Operating Room.

58. Showing no emotion: STOICAL

59. German chancellor, 1982-'98: KOHL. Helmut. Oversaw the end of the Cold War and the German reunification. According to George H. W. Bush, "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century."

61. Flay and Ray, e.g.: CHEFS. Bobby and Rachel. Even though i don't watch t.v., i nailed it.

66. Dutch city known for its blue-and-white pottery: DELFT. View of Delft, by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

67. Swiss abstractionist: KLEE. We've seen his name before. He liked shapes and colors.

68. Fee: RATE

69. Breyers competitor: EDYS. Ice cream brands.

70. Succumbed to being grilled: SANG. Grill is slang for interrogate. Sang is slang for confessed, or ratted out. Made me think of this.

71. Mideast city on its own gulf: ADEN. Seaport city in Yemen, in the crater of an extinct volcano.

Down:

1. EPA sticker datum: MPG. Environmental Protection Agency / Miles Per Gallon.

2. Otitis: EARACHE

3. Like a sot's speech: SLURRED

4. Fruit juice brand: SOBE

5. Protective pad: MAT. Here's Drew with hers.

6. Words with clip or time: AT A

7. Backwoods type: YOKEL

8. Heeded: OBEYED

9. Passed, say: DID OK

10. Run: OPERATE

11. Erased: DELETED

12. 36-Across work: ODE

15. Paul McCartney or Sting: BASSIST

17. Lee with frozen desserts: SARA

21. Poetic preposition: ERE

22. NFL snapper: CTR. The center passes (or "snaps") the ball to the quarterback at the start of each play.

24. Shimmering aquarium fish: OPAH

25. "__ Eyes": Eagles hit: LYIN'

26. Tarzan portrayer Ron: ELY

28. Rani's spouse: RAJA

33. 1960s-'70s Jaguar Down: XKE

35. "Baseball Tonight" airer: ESPN

37. Eye doctor: OCULIST

38. The Phantom of the Opera: ERIK

39. Bern's river: AARE. Wow, beautiful.

40. "__ be an honor": IT'D. Groan. I suppose it can't be helped.

41. Waded (through): SLOSHED

42. Keen way to be aware: ACUTELY

46. Lasted longer than expected, as a meeting: RAN LATE. Not always a bad thing.

47. Q&A part: Abbr.: ANS. Question and answer.

50. Push-up target: PEC. i was thinking this.

51. IHOP servings: STACKS. Pancakes.

53. Wants to know: ASKS. And if you don't want to know … don't ask.

55. Smash hits, in slang: BOFFS. No comment.

56. "Be-Bop-__": 1956 hit: A-LULA. Originally by Gene Vincent, but check out one of the greatest live albums ever, imo, Van Morrison's A Night in San Francisco - disc 2, track 4.

60. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRA

61. B-F connectors: C-D-E

63. Kingsley who played Gandhi: BEN

64. Short head lines?: EEG. 'Short' to indicate abbreviation. EEG = Electroencephalogram.

65. Baseball's Griffey: KEN

Answer grid.

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

I am very pleased to announce that Melissa Bee will blog two Wednesday puzzles a month from now on. Melissa joined the blog in May 2008 and has entertained & educated us with many of her fun links and witty comments. Thanks for the time and commitment, Melissa!

Friday May 21, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: PLANE TALK ( 63A. This puzzle's title?) - Part of a plane related two-word common phrase is substituted by a homonym, and the resulting punny phrase is humorously clued.

17A. Capri beach chairs?: ISLE SEATS. Aisle Seats. Isle of Capri.

25A. Quiz a Roman judge?: TEST PILATE. Test Pilot. Pilate is the Roman judge who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

38A. Affable terriers?: FRIENDLY SKYES. Friendly Skies. Skye terriers.

51A. Really dark beers?: BLACK BOCKS. Black Box. I am not familiar with the Bock beer.

Nice theme. I like the pun on "plain talk" too, though I do feel the resulting phrases are just the opposite of the tie-in PLANE TALK.

Quite a few creative clues today. My favorite is ALTAR (60A. Where to see an approaching train?). D'oh, the wedding gown "train".

Across:

1. Like a javelin's path: ARCED

6. Balancing pro?: CPA. Nailed it.

9. 2.3, roughly: C-PLUS. Oh, I don't know this equivalent.

14. "The Wreck of the Mary __": DEARE. Have never heard of this film (1959). Starring Gary Cooper.

15. Steak seasoning: RUB. Alliteration.

16. Picked up: HEARD. Did not come to me immediately.

19. Rhythmic feet?: IAMBS. Poetic feet.

20. Faint: DIM

21. "The Metaphysics of Ethics" author: KANT

22. Camera type, briefly: SLR (Single-Lens Reflex)

23. Sailing, say: ASEA. Alliteration.

30. Play with a brushing motion: STRUM. I see, play with musical instrument.

32. Fights in the sticks: RASSLES. Hillbilly for "wrestles".

33. Idealist: DREAMER

37. Post-WWII alliance: OAS

42. "Who, me?": MOI. Who will educate us about French when Kazie leaves for Oz next Wednesday? She'll be gone for a whole month!

43. They're not content to see you: RAISERS. Poker term "see", to match (a bet). Got me.

44. Stays in memory: LIVES ON

47. Greek fabulist: AESOP

55. See 54-Down: REMO. And SAN (54D. With 55-Across, Italian site of a post-WWI Allied conference). I only know it as a resort.

56. Golfer's concern: LIE. The position of the golf ball. We also have PUTTS ( 7D. Uses the "flat stick," in golf). "Flat stick" is slang for putter, which is flat comparing with other clubs.

57. Many a Middle Easterner: ARAB

59. Tokyo-based chip maker: NEC. Was unaware that NEC makes chips.

65. Like a game in baseball's record books: NO HIT. And MLB (42D. Bud Selig's org.). Selig is the current commissioner.

66. Sitcom E.T.: ALF

67. Coco rival: ESTEE (Lauder). Cosmetics.

68. Traveling options: TOURS

69. Pin site: MAT

70. "Grace Under Fire" star Butler: BRETT. Total stranger to me. A male sounding name.

Down:

1. Puma competitor: ADIDAS

2. Put up a fight: RESIST. I've learned to yield.

3. Less windy, say: CALMER

4. Bard's preposition: ERE. Before.

5. Certain sergeant's post: DESK

6. Rail relative: CRANE

8. Workout targets. ABS. This is for Jeannie. Clear Ayes likes Ryan Reynolds too.

9. Tex-Mex restaurant chain: CHILI'S. Headquartered in Texas.

10. Bits of wisdom?: PEARLS. Pearls of wisdom.

11. Flight: LAM

12. Suffix with sub- URB. Suburb.

13. 1968 Columbia U. protesters: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). Why Columbia U in particular?

18. Put away: EAT. Not the "put away" I have in mind.

22. Hardly dense: SPARSE

24. BMW competitor: AUDI

26. Small diamonds: TREYS. Of course, I was picturing real diamonds, not playing cards.

27. Soothing lotion: ALOE

28. Chai and oolong: TEAS

29. Mountain road feature: ESS

31. Desert Storm mess, briefly?: MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). Again, I was in real snafu mess direction. Not military meal mess.

34. Prepare for court, perhaps: ENROBE. OK, for the judge.

35. Town in a 1945 Pulitzer-winning novel: ADANO. Hersey's "A Bell for Adano".

36. 11th-century year: MLI. 1,051.

38. Prevent: FOIL

39. 1972 Kentucky Derby winner __ Ridge: RIVA. Mike used the identical clue in a Sunday puzzle last year. I simply forgot. The horse won 1972 Belmont Stakes as well.

40. Malay Peninsula's Isthmus of __: KRA. See this map. Stumper for me.

41. Belgian river: YSER

45. Iced pastry: ECLAIR

46. Sidesteps: SKIRTS

48. Legislative century: SENATE. Senate has 100 members.

49. It's folded and filled: OMELET. Nailed it.

50. Sink, as a billiard ball: POCKET

52. __ lily: CALLA

53. "Make today delicious" food giant: KRAFT

58. U.K. network, with "the": BEEB. Nickname for BBC I suppose.

60. Hill dweller: ANT

61. Manchester head?: LOO. Ha ha, toilet "head". I was tricked again. I thought of MAN, since MAN starts the word Manchester.

62. Cal. column: THU

63. Robin's "Mork & Mindy" co-star: PAM (Dawber). Easy guess.

64. Dungeons & Dragons co.: TSR (Tactical Studies Rules). No idea. Wikipedia says TSR was purchased in 1997 by Wizards of the Coast, which no longer uses the TSR name for its product.

Answer grid.

C.C.