Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Nancy Salomon

Theme: Get Thee Gone - The unifier would have us start each part of the themes with it's own start.

17A. *Sydney's locale, familiarly : DOWN UNDER. Go Down(Be nice.), Go Under.

21A. *Man, according to a longtime Desmond Morris best-seller : NAKED APE. Go Naked(Be nice.), Go Ape

33A. *Bluntly : STRAIGHT OUT. Go Straight(Be nice.), Go Out.

42A. *Skip-over-ads button : FAST FORWARD. Go Fast, Go Forward.

55A. *Hosting squad : HOME TEAM. Go Home, Go Team.

61A. Overachievers, and a hint to a word that can precede both words of the starred answers : GO-GETTERS

Argyle here. Lois should have blogged this one. Sort of doubled up on yesterday's theme. Very good fill.

Across:

1. Beat to a pulp : MASH

5. Dapper Dans : FOPS. "A dilettantism in nature is barren and unworthy. A fop of fields is no better than his brother on Broadway." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

9. Very cold : GELID

14. Mental block buster : IDEA

15. Guinness who played Obi-Wan : ALEC

16. Memorable mission : ALAMO

19. Bantu-speaking South Africans : ZULUs

20. Ain't right? : AREN'T

23. WWII bond designation : SERIES E

26. Mental block buster : MUSE. I like my first choice better. MASE(maze).

27. Spoiled-rotten kids : BRATS

29. Doggone : DAD-GUM. Dictionary prefers DAD-GUMMED.

37. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU. Arizona State University in Metro Phoenix, Arizona.

38. Work like a dog : TOIL

39. Clumsy dummy : OAF

40. Iditarod racer : SLED

41. "I'm with ya" : "YUP!"

46. Like porn : X-RATED

48. Very strange : EERIE

49. Skyline-blurring phenomenon : HAZE

51. One begins parallel parking in it : REVERSE

59. Lucy's landlady : ETHEL. Mertz.

60. "It was you," in a Verdi aria : ERI TU. Musical interlude Clip(4:35)

64. Odom of the Lakers : LAMAR.

65. Pianist Gilels : EMIL. Gilels plays the Prelude in B minor(3:22).

66. Case for notions : ETUI

67. Annapolis frosh : PLEBE

68. Smelling awful : RANK

69. "Look __, I'm Sandra Dee": "Grease" song : AT ME. Clip(1:35).

Down:

1. Big name in muffler replacement : MIDAS

2. Love to bits : ADORE

3. Runoff collector : SEWER

4. Memorable Alps crosser : HANNIBAL

5. Bleacher creature : FAN

6. Stale : OLD

7. Rounded hammer part : PEEN. Image.

8. "Get outta here!" : "SCRAM!"

9. Feasts one's eyes on : GAZES AT

10. Gave the slip : ELUDED

11. Tra-__ : LA-LA

12. "No need to wake me" : "I'M UP"

13. Two caplets, say : DOSE

18. Wombs : UTERI

22. Twisty-horned antelope : KUDU. They will never replace reindeer.

24. Droop : SAG

25. Cultural credo : ETHOS

28. Hillary's department : STATE

30. Big shindig : GALA

31. Web browser : USER

32. Emmy-winning newsman Roger : MUDD

33. River of Hades : STYX

34. Take to the road, as a rock band : TOUR. Styx on tour, cute. Memorabilia.

35. Philbin co-host : RIPA. Kelly.

36. "I'm gonna make him an __ he can't refuse" : OFFER. From Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather"(1972).

40. Popular Dixie drink : SWEET TEA

42. Main movie : FEATURE

43. Wood-shaping tool : ADZE. Here someone is using a small adze to form the interior of a bowl. Clip.(1:39)

44. Rock in a seam : ORE

45. Transfix : RIVET

47. What a treater picks up : THE TAB

50. Gung-ho : EAGER

52. Suave Butler : RHETT. Dashing.

53. Red Cross supply : SERUM

54. Borden's spokescow : ELSIE. Image.

55. "SOS!" : "HELP!". "Mayday! Mayday!"

56. Like some vaccines : ORAL

57. Play charades : MIME

58. NYC gallery : MOMA. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Tim Burton Entrance to MoMA's Special Exhibitions Gallery.

62. Bathtub booze : GIN

63. "Benevolent" fellow : ELK. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 3, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: Greetings - Three phrases (one split into two entries) used to greet old friends.

17A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LOOK WHO THE..."

27A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "HELLO, STRANGER!"

43A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LONG TIME NO SEE!"

59A: See 17-Across: "... WIND BLEW IN!"

Argyle here.

Much as I like starting a puzzle with some BABAS (1Across Rum cakes), and easy theme entries, I feel some of the fill isn't Monday material. I will say the perps usually filled in the difficult words. I wonder if "Look what the cat dragged in!" didn't meet the nothing untoward before breakfast rule.

Across:

6A. Greek god of love: EROS.

10A. Quite a long time: AGES.

14A. Got up: AROSE.

15A. Light fog: MIST.

16A. Knight's lady: DAME.

19A. Big bore: DRAG. Someone or something tedious, perhaps in the sense time drags when around them.

20A. Calligraphers' supplies: INKS.

21A. Mr. T's TV gang: A-TEAM.

22A. Othello's false friend: IAGO. Shakespeare. As adviser to Othello, a general of Venice, Iago lies to his master and eventually drives him to murder his wife. Dictionary.com

23A. Wheels connector: AXLE.

25A. Kentucky Fried piece: WING.

32A. Levels in the ring: KAYOs. The letters KO (knock out) spelled out. Boxing ring.

33A. Make, as money: EARN.

34A. Urgent call at sea: S-O-S.

36A. "__ a man with seven wives": I MET. (Nursery Rhyme) As I was going to St. Ives I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?

37A. Tubular pasta: PENNE.

39A. Sail support: MAST.

40A. Exerciser's unit: REP. Repetition.

41A. Saintly glow: AURA. And 18D. Angel's topper: HALO.

42A. Flower associated with Holland: TULIP.

47A. Welcome word on a bill: PAID. Indeed!

48A. Fontanne's stage partner: LUNT. Alfred Lunt (1892-1977) and Lynn Fontanne (1887-1983) became known as the first family of the American theater. The Lunts lived for many years at Ten Chimneys, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

49A. Make a backup of: COPY.

51A. Loathing: ODIUM. Almost straight from Latin.

54A. Took a bus, say: RODE.

58A. Hertz competitor: AVIS.

61A. One of Columbus's ships: NIÑA.

62A. Moniker: NAME.

63A. Puppeteer Bil: BAIRD. One of his better known creations was Charlemane the lion. He and Cora Eisenberg produced and performed the famous puppetry sequence for The Lonely Goatherd in the film version of The Sound of Music. From Wikipedia.

64A. Uptight: EDGY.

65A. Iditarod racer: SLED.

66A. "Golden Boy" dramatist Clifford: ODETS.

Down:

1D. "__ Ha'i": "South Pacific" song: BALI. Charlotte Church sings Bali Ha'i.

2D. Elvis's middle name: ARON.

3D. Library volume: BOOK.

4D. Makes daunting demands (of): ASKS A LOT.

5D. Do some quilting: SEW.

6D. Hams it up: EMOTES.

7D. __ of passage: RITE.

8D. Fed. workplace regulator: OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health, signed into law on December 29, 1970.

9D. Goblets and such: STEMWARE. Tinbeni's favorite glass.

10D. Tacking on: ADDING.

11D. Event for unloading junk: GARAGE SALE. Does your town have town-wide garage sales?

12D. Online periodical, briefly: E-MAG.

13D. Lily with bell-shaped flowers: SEGO.

24D. Big tee sizes: XLs.

26D. Quaint lodging: INN.

27D. Veronica of "Hill Street Blues": HAMEL. Picture. Description below. (Oops! Right description, wrong actress. This is Sophia Bush, from One Tree Hill, TV show.) Veronica Hamel

28D. Amazing to behold: EYE-POPPING.

29D. Common coffee break hr.: TEN AM.

30D. Made tracks: RAN.

31D. "__ Radio" (O'Donnell talk show): ROSIE.

32D. White wine apéritif: KIR. And a good use of stemware.

35D. Gas additive brand: STP.

37D. Belittling remarks: PUT-DOWNS.

38D. Verdi aria "__ tu": ERI. For a baritone voice.

39D. 3-Down not to be missed: MUST READ.

41D. Form 1040 calc.: AGI. Adjusted gross income.

42D. Whole bunch: TON.

44D. Reject: NAYSAY.

45D. Sidestepped: ELUDED.

46D. Feeling no pain: NUMB.

49D. Vaudeville dancer's prop: CANE.

50D. Roman poet banished by Augustus: OVID.

52D. Retro phone feature: DIAL.

53D. "By the power vested __ ...": IN ME. And another wedding 57D. Comes to a close: ENDS.

55D. Boo-boo, in totspeak: OWIE.

56D. Dust and grime: DIRT.

60D. Debt-heavy corp. takeover: LBO. Leveraged buyout.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Thursday April 15, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: FILLING IN (65A. Subbing, and taxpayer's responsibility vis-à-vis the ends of 17-, 29- and 49-Across) - The end of each common phrase can be filled in.

17A. Doing what's just not done: IN BAD FORM. Fill in the form.

29A. You can't go back from it: POINT OF NO RETURN. Fill in the return. Excellent entry. Great clue too.

49A. Early: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. Fill in the schedule. Another nice grid-spanner.

Rich saves this particular puzzle for the Tax Day. Perfect!

Jerome understands Nancy's style better than I do. But I feel that Nancy is not into heavy themage. She likes to use three or four phrases for a very focused and pointed theme.

Lots of entertaining clues in this puzzle. My favorite is DENT (18D Unwelcome impression). But after Annette's "Accidentally on Purpose" crossword & sex revelation last night, this FILLING IN suddenly takes a different meaning.

Across:

1. NYPD alerts: APBS. APB = All-Points Bulletin.

5. Disdainful upperclassman?: SNOB. Got me. Great clue.

9. Greeting often requiring lip-reading: HI MOM

14. Jacob's first wife: LEAH. Sister of Rachel, Jacob's second wife. Here is Chickie again. Our Leah.

15. Numerical prefix: OCTA. Prefix for "eight".

16. Hersey's bell town: ADANO. Hersey's "A Bell for Adano".

19. Sank in a cup: HOLED. Golf hole is also called cup. Another golf reference is TEE (43D. Links launching point).

20. Citi Field NLer: NY MET

21. Crunch targets: ABS

23. 26-Across supply: ICE. And OPEN BAR (26. Place where liquor flows freely?)

24. Cupid's master?: SANTA. Was thinking of the love Cupid rather than Santa's reindeer. I am a dummy, Argyle!

32. Museum pieces: ART

33. Paid player: PRO. Alliteration.

34. Elastic wood: YEW

35. Not for neatniks: MESSY. Sometimes I just can't tell what part of speech the clue is asking for.

38. Sphere: ORB

40. March honoree, briefly: ST PAT

44. Many a lap dog: TOY

46. Stereo jack letters: MIC

48. Fish story: LIE

55. Way back when: LONG AGO

56. Vincent's successor as baseball commissioner: SELIG. Bud Selig is the only commissioner I know of.

57. Dickens pen name: BOZ. I forgot.

58. Tattoo site: ARM

60. Part of MO: MODUS. MO = Modus Operandi.

62. Tennyson work: IDYLL

68. Where Hercules slew a lion: NEMEA. No idea. Ancient Greek city.

69. Former VOA overseer: USIA (United States Information Agency).

70. Spicy Spanish stew: OLLA. Triple alliteration.

71. "Awake and Sing!" playwright: ODETS (Clifford). Also the playwright for "Waiting for Lefty".

72. Crash site investigator: Abbr.: NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)

Down:

1. Three-time '60s-'70s heavyweight champ: ALI

2. Quakers of the Ivy League: PENN. Did not know Penn's sports team is called Quakers. Is there a SHAKERS also?

3. Watches for money: BABYSITS. Did not come to me immediately. We also have TYKE (73A. Little shaver).

4. Medicine man: SHAMAN

5. Convertible type: SOFT TOP

6. Cpl. or sgt.: NCO

7. __ vez: again, to Alonso: OTRA. I am used to the "other" clue.

8. Shoots in a forest?: BAMBOO. Nailed it.

9. "Gotcha!": HAH

10. Marriage agreement: I DO

11. Pricey Southern California beachfront city: MALIBU

12. Like some garages: ONE CAR

13. Contemporary: MODERN

22. Agile: SPRY

25. High style: AFRO. Can't keep HAUTE out of my mind.

27. Wide shoe markings: EEES

28. Cereal box abbr.: NT WT

29. Dawber who played Mindy: PAM

30. Miner's matter: ORE. Alliteration.

31. Benchmarks: NORMS

36. Unaccompanied: STAG. Wanted LONE.

37. "Ready are you? What know you of ready?" speaker: YODA. He lives to be 900 years old, right?

39. Popular pens: BICS. I am using Paper Mate. You?

41. Thug: PLUG-UGLY. New word to me.

42. Affect adversely: AIL. Alliteration.

45. Tranquil discipline: YOGA. Made me think of Lucina.

47. Site of many a student experiment: CHEM LAB

49. Lacking pigment: ALBINO

50. Like some sweatshirts: HOODED

51. Digestion aid: ENZYME. Al is an expert on this stuff. I just know that if you eat plenty of raw veggies/fruits, you won't need any enzyme supplement.

52. On a lark: FOR FUN

53. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI

54. Terse childish denial: DID NOT. We also have NAE (67. Scottish refusal).

59. Niagara Falls feature: MIST

61. Epitome of smoothness: SILK. Oh, Barry!

63. Certain do-over: LET. Tennis.

64. Scale syllables: LAS

66. Fleur-de-__: LIS. Literally "lily flower".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday February 11, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: LOVE IS ALL AROUND (38 Across: 1968 Troggs Top 10 hit, and a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in the answers to starred clues) - All two-word theme answers start with LO and end with VE.

17 A. *"Get going!": LOOK ALIVE. Sounds from the past, Dennis?

24 A. *1986 Pulitzer-winning Western novel: LONESOME DOVE. By Larry McMurtry, made into a TV movie.

53 A. *Gunpowder, e.g.: LOW EXPLOSIVE. I didn't know this was a real term: They are compounds where the rate of decomposition proceeds through the material at less than the speed of sound. The decomposition is propagated by a flame front (deflagration) which travels much more slowly through the explosive material than a shock wave of a high explosive.

65. *Duffer's thrill: LONG DRIVE. Until it goes into the damn sand trap that some sadist figured out was exactly where a person would land on a par 5 double dog-leg. Not that I'd know about that, mind you...

Hi, all, Al guest blogging today.

A tricky puzzle, I thought. (18D. Big-time:) A LOT of clues seemed specifically designed to be misleading today. The theme actually helped me in a couple places today.

Across :

1. Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Muslim obligation to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

5. Kids' getaway: CAMP. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda, here I am at, Camp Grenada.

9. "Gimme a break!": AW MAN

14. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE

15. "This looks like trouble": UH-OH

16. Leonard Marx, familiarly: CHICO. The pianist Marx brother with the silly hat.

19. Peyotes, e.g.: CACTI. Lophophora Williamsii, the source of mescaline. Err, I've heard...

20. She played Donna in the film "Mamma Mia!": MERYL (Streep). Convincing actor, not nearly as convincing a singer. My wife and daughter liked the movie more than I did, but it was OK, I guess.

21. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT. Ear, nose, and throat doctor. Not to be confused with an enterologist, who treats gastric problems.

23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. I only know him from crosswords.

28. Feel the heat: SWELTER. Not doing much of that lately.

31. Food critic Sheraton: MIMI. No Wiki entry?

32. "Bingo!": AHA. On the nose.

33. X-Games bike, briefly: BMX. Bicycle motocross. (an X is a cross).

35. Run at a red light?: IDLE. Hyper-milers turn the engine off.

44. Jeans joint: SEAM

45. Yield to gravity: SAG. Do you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, like a continental soldier...What? I meant ears, of course...

46. Sportage maker: KIA. An example of an SUV, or UTE.

47. Fresh response: SASS.

50. Serious-and-funny show: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau of DRAMA and COMEDY.

57. They're not returned: ACES. Tennis, volleyball, etc. serves.

58. Bosox great: YAZ. Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Also a birth control drug getting a lot of heat and lawsuits filed due to reputed side-effects.

59. Comforting comment: IT'S OK.

63. Parts partner: LABOR I worked at a Ford dealership parts counter for too long in an earlier life.

68. Native Alaskan: ALEUT

69. Treater's words: ON ME. A Spiller's words, too.

70. Persian Gulf land: IRAN.

71. __ and all: WARTS. I fully accept you, even with all your faults.

72. Prime minister before Rabin: MEIR. Golda.

73. Ancient British Isles settler: CELT. Celtic Woman


Down:

1. Bridge position: HELM. Aboard a ship, not the card game east or west seat, as I first wanted.

2. Burn balm: ALOE

3. Fashionable Christian: DIOR

4. Stevenson physician: JEKYLL. Dr. Henry. And Edward Hyde.

5. __-de-sac: CUL literally "bottom of the bag". A dead end.

6. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. Becoming a victim of overfishing.

7. Changes places: MOVES

8. Rising star: PHENOMenon

9. N.C. State's conference: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, A collegiate athletic league consisting of: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

10. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO? Quite a few vernacular entries like this today.

11. Tiny: MICRO

12. When Brutus sees Caesar's ghost: ACT IV.

13. Hullabaloo: NOISE

22. "I didn't need to know that," informally: TMI. Too Much Information.

25. Birds' bills: NEBS.

26. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA

27. Islamic leader: EMIR

28. __ soda: SAL. Washing soda, sodium carbonate.

29. Grinch victims: WHOS. Dr. Seuss Christmas classic.

30. Place for Christmas lights: EAVE. Anyone else fall for the trap at first and put "tree"?

34. Tee choices: XLS. T-shirts, not golf tees for once.

36. Gospel writer: LUKE.

37. Camelot lady: ENID. Wife of Geraint in the Aurthur legend. I think she moved to Oklahoma eventually.

39. Removes gently: EASES OUT. umm, err, nope, not going there.

40. Eye-opening theater: IMAX. Image MAXimum.

41. Fellows: LADS

42. Rural prefix: AGRI. As in agriculture. Could have been AGRO as in agronomy.

43. Beatles' "A __ in the Life": DAY. I read the news today, oh boy.

48. Security threat: SPY. Actually in the computer world, the largest security threat is the legitimate users being naive, or simply not being careful

49. Course for weavers?: SLALOM. Skiing course, tricky clue.

51. Fired up: AVID

52. Like some weights: METRIC

53. Bochco series: LA LAW. How did Laurie Partridge ever find time to study law with all the touring her family did?

54. City NW of Orlando: OCALA. Near Silver Springs Park.

55. Brand on a patio, maybe: WEBER. Anyone still use charcoal for grilling anymore?

56. Hole site: OZONE. Another hot debate along with global warming.

60. Foal's parent: SIRE. Had MARE at first.

61. Rink, often: OVAL

62. Canterbury's county: KENT

64. Some NFL linemen: RTS. Right Tackles.

66. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: NMI. No Middle Initial.

67. Neighbor of Aus.: GERmany. Austria's two-letter abbreviation is AT. Can you imagine if someone named Dot worked at the Austrian Department of Transportation and had to tell someone her email address? dot@dot.gov.at (say it out loud).

Answer grid.

Al

Monday, November 16, 2009 Nancy Salomon

Theme: A Man of Action - Action phrases ending with synonyms of "huge".

17A: Striding self-confidently: WALKING TALL

60A: Enjoying an extravagant existence: LIVING LARGE

11D: Shooting for the stars: AIMING HIGH

29D: Carrying on conceitedly: TALKING BIG

I'm not sure what else to to call these four words. Three (TALL, LARGE and BIG) relate to size but HIGH is about position. Does that make sense? UPDATE: I see now I should have considered both words in the entries as the theme, so C.C. and I changed my theme title.

Argyle here, it is a scrablely puzzle, 3 X's but no q or z. Two Across theme entries and two Down entries are all 11 letter long and are all 'in the language'. Very tightly focused theme, as is always the case with Nancy's puzzles.

And plenty of 7/8/9 - letter non-theme answers to cohere the whole grid.

Across:

6A: Movie music: SCORE. And SONG (31D. iTunes download).

11A: Cigar residue: ASH.

14A: Like loud crowds: AROAR.

15A: "Family Matters" nerd Steve: URKEL. The "Did I do that?" kid.

16A: "I like __": '50s campaign slogan: IKE.

19A: Blender setting: MIX.

20A: Having sufficient skill: ABLE.

21A: No-brainer college course: EASY A.

22A: Lamp-to-plug link: WIRE. I wanted CORD.

23A: God of thunder: THOR. Germanic and Norse mythology.

25A: Short races: SPRINTS. NASCAR Sprint Cup races, however, are not SPRINTS. Go figure!

27A: It's a virtue, so they say: PATIENCE.

31A: iTunes download: SONG. Today's theme SONG.

32A: Midterms, e.g.: EXAMS.

33A: Emitted a delighted sigh: AAHED.

35A: Beaver or boater: HAT.

38A: Tick off: RILE.

39A: Paid to play: ANTED. You put some money in the pot to be dealt into a hand of poker. Small stakes games might have a nickel ante and a quarter limit to any raises.

40A: Hepcat's jargon: JIVE.

41A: Condescending cluck: TSK.

42A: Climbing tool for frozen surfaces: ICE AX.

43A: TV host Philbin: REGIS. I liked it when his wife, Joy, would co-host.

44A: About, in a memo: IN RE.

46A: Words while delivering a blow: TAKE THAT. AND THAT, for a second blow.

48A: Team supporters, collectively: FAN BASE.

51A: Hobbling gait: GIMP.

52A: Tiny pond plant: ALGA.

53A: Aired, as a TV show: WAS ON.

55A: Wolf's shelter: LAIR. Check out the alternate meanings to LAIR.

59A: Dry gently, as tears: DAB.

62A: Brit. record co.: EMI. (Electric & Musical Industries Ltd.)

63A: "Maria __": 1940s song: ELENA. Beautiful.

64A: Kitchen tearjerker: ONION.

65A: Pooch: DOG.

66A: '50s Ford flop: EDSEL. A success in crosswords, though.

67A: Part of a Santa costume: BEARD.

Down

1D: Muted trumpet sound: WA-WA. How about a clip, Jazzbumpa?

2D: Mideast native: ARAB.

3D: Dice throw: ROLL.

4D: Provide a schedule slot (for): MAKE TIME.

5D: Indian title: SRI.

6D: Crop yielding a common sweetener: SUGARCANE.

7D: PC monitors: CRTS. What with flat screens now this might soon be 'former computer terminals or monitors that included a Cathode Ray Tube.'

8D: Gives the nod to: OKAYS.

9D: Went off the wagon, e.g.: RELAPSED.

10D: Right-angled pipe: ELL.

12D: Mini, midi or maxi: SKIRT.

13D: Whammies: HEXES.

18D: Casino sign gas: NEON. The Strip.

24D: "For __ a jolly ...": HE'S.

26D: Towel holder: ROD.

27D: Saucy: PERT.

28D: Graph's x or y: AXIS.

30D: Bother big-time: EAT AT.

34D: Six-sided: HEXAGONAL.

36D: Nike competitor: AVIA.

37D: Try out: TEST.

39D: Game in which "bullets" can be whatever card you decide: ACES WILD. "Bullets" is poker lingo for aces.

40D: 747, for one: JET PLANE.

42D: Nest egg component, for short: IRA.

43D: Sleep lab acronym: REM. That is an acronym not for the sleep lab itself but what they use for a stage of sleep, Rapid Eye Movement, characterized by dreaming.

45D: Org. with dribblers: NBA. National Basketball Association.

47D: Crowned checker: KING.

48D: Washed-out: FADED.

49D: San Antonio mission: ALAMO.

50D: Gutter sites: EAVES.

54D: Trig function: SINE.

57D: Operatic prince: IGOR. Prince IGOR is an opera in Russian by Alekander Borodin.

58D: Tear apart: REND. Past tense can be a tricky RENT.

61D: Soft toss: LOB.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday August 2, 2009 Nancy Salomon

Theme: At the Y (Letter Y's are added to familiar phrases)

23A: Conference call? MAN(Y)-TO- MAN(Y) CHAT

36A: Skittish about almost everything?: WORLD WAR(Y)

49A: Cheer from an ass?: SUPPORT BRA(Y)

81A: Successful cabbies?: BUS(Y) DRIVERS

95A: Thick stick-in-the-mud?: DENSE FOG(Y)

114A: Overt play for sympathy?: OPEN-PIT(Y) MINING

16D: Hamlet's cry after finding a gem?: AY, THERE'S THE RUB(Y)

43D: Editor's mixed bag?: GOOD COP(Y) BAD COP(Y)

The Y at the theme title "At the Y" refers to YMCA, correct?

I am not familiar with the communication term MANY-TO-MANY. "To sleep: perchance to dream: Ay, there's the rub" is from Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech. SUPPORT BRAY is so funny.

Smooth puzzle from Nancy Salomon. If there were a Crossword Hall of Fame, she should be among the first to be inducted.

I filled in lots of blanks on my first pass. Still had to cheat though. Disliked the clue for WOE IS ME (21A: Melodramatic cry) because MELO is the answer for 48A: Dramatic beginning.

Across:

1A: Downfall: DEMISE

7A: Religion founded in the Punjab: SIKHISM. SIKH is Sanskrit for "disciple".

14A: Valuable strings: AMATIS. Wrote down STRADS first. It fit well with SEC, my initial answer for the intersecting 14D: Wall Street org. (ASE).

20A: undermined: ERODED

22A: Agree to unit: SAY "I DO"

26A: Off the shelf: SOLD

27A: Followers of zetas: ETAS. Greek has 24 letters.

30A: Severe spasm: THROE

31A: Stud site: EAR LOBE. Stud earrings.

33A: Joe's con man buddy in "Midnight Cowboy": RATSO. Played by Dustin Hoffman.

34A: Loads: REAMS. Did anyone try SCADS first?

35A: Corp alias: DBA (Doing Business As)

40A: Ice cream thickener: AGAR. Made of seaweed.

42A: Makes true: ALIGNS. "True" here means "on target".

44A: Censor's deletion: OATH

45A: Secrecy metaphors: CLOSETS. My first thought is THE ROSE. Rose does denote secrecy, you know, sub rosa.

53A: Math ration: SINE

55A: Gathering clouds and such: OMENS. Chinese view crow as an OMEN of death.

57A: State stat: AREA

58A: Team with a star logo: ASTROS. Houston ASTROS.

62A: Charlie Brown's creator: SCHULZ. Charles SCHULZ was born and grew up here in Minnesota.

64A: Much of Egypt: SAHARA. SAHARA is just Arab for "desert".

65A: "Odyssey" enchantress: CIRCE. Wanted SIREN again. CIRCE turned Odysseus' crew into swine.

66A: Wavy lines, in comics: ODOR

69A: Skelton's Kadiddlehopper: CLEM. I can never remember this name.

70A: Fast times?: LENTS. Without the question mark, the clue is valid too.

71A: Lazy: OTIOSE. New word to me.

73A: Bumps up: RAISES

75A: Wagner works: OPERAS

77A: Get going: PROPEL

78A: Weapon with a bell guard: EPEE. I don't know what a bell guard is.

79A: SeaWorld star: SHAMU. Orca sounds deadly, doesn't it?

80A: Hard to grasp: EELY

85A: Chum, e.g.: BAIT. I kept thinking of "buddy" chum.

89A: Collectors' targets: DEBTORS. Was in the hobby "collector" direction. I am very into bobbleheads now.

92A: Atlanta suburb: SMYRNA. No idea. Here is a map.

94A: Former Sony brand: AIWA. Oh, I was not aware that Sony has killed the AIWA brand. Sony only acquired AIWA in 2002.

98A: Relocation: Abbr.: TRF (Transfer). Not a familiar abbr. to me.

99A: Feature of Goliath, but not giants: HARD G. My favorite clue. Very nice wordplay.

102A: Western star with a whip: LA RUE (Lash). He got his name Lash because of his exceptional skill with bullwhip.

104A: Scorecard listings: ROSTERS

106A: Period of note: EPOCH

107A: Layered do: SHAG. Like Farrah Fawcett's hair.

108A: Cameo shape: OVAL

111A: Polo of "Meet the Fockers": TERI. Dustin Hoffman was in "Meet the Fockers" too.

112A: Guarded bars: INGOTS. Thought of the prison bars.

118A: Passed gradually: SEEPED

119A: Soft, in a way: LENIENT

120A: Cooling-off period?: ICE AGE

121A: Dionysian attendants: SATYRS. They are part man, part goat, constantly drinking and chasing the nymphs. See this SATYR balancing a wine cup on his erect MOREL.

122A: City on the Elbe: DRESDEN. Famous for its fine china.

123A: Cordage fibers: ISTLES. This word used to stump me.

Down:

1D: DNC part: Abbr.: DEM. DNA is Democratic National Committee.

2D: Subject to being wiped out: ERASABLE

3D: Way around Disneyland: MONORAIL. No idea. Have never been to Disneyland.

4D: Pastoral piece: IDYLL

5D: Put on the table: SET DOWN

6D: Shogun's capital: EDO. The name became Tokyo in 1868. Shogun is literally "general".

7D: Police crisis acronym: SWAT

8D: Isle of Mull neighbor: IONA. See this map. I've never heard of Isle of Mull.

10D: Sot's syllable: HIC. Hiccup.

11D: 1987 Beatty bomb: ISHTAR. Funny, Dustin Hoffman is in this movie too. ISHTAR is also the Babylonian/Assyrian goddess of love/fertility. Counterpart to the Phoenician Astarte.

12D: Wiseacre: SMARTY. Wonder how SMARTY Jones is doing.

15D: Chanted words: MANTRAS

18D: "Jump the Shark," e.g.: IDIOM. "Jump the Shark" is derived from the scene in "Happy Days" when the Fonz water skied over a shark. The phrase refers to a point where TV shows has run out of ideas and resorts to stunts to retain viewer interest. Of course, things all go downhill from there.

19D: Pump bottoms: SOLES

24D: Dutch artist Jan van der __ van Delft: MEER. I only know him as Jan Vermeer. "Van" means "from" or "of" in Dutch. He was born and buried in Delft. Probably most famous for "The Milkmaid" and "The Girl with the Pearl Earring", the latter inspired the Scarlett Johansson movie with the same title.

29D: Eucalyptus muncher: KOALA

31D: Cheese tray choice: EDAM. Dutch cheese.

33D: Gung-ho: RAH RAH

37D: Cuts: LOPS

38D: Skip along the water: DAP. This has become a gimme as well.

39D: Intl. commerce group since 1995: WTO (World Trade Organization). Replaced GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade).

41D: some El Prado works: GOYAS. Both his "The Naked Maja" and "The Clothed Maja" are in El Prado.

45D: Hot item: CRAZE

46D: King Zog's capital: TIRANA. Capital of Albania. I did not know who King Zog is.

47D: Bar belts: SNORTS. Stumped. Both "belt" and "snort" are slang for "a drink of liquor, esp when swallowed in one gulp" according to dictionary.

50D: Second commandment preposition: UNTO.

51D: Fighting ender: TRUCE. Korean War simply ended with a TRUCE, not a peace treaty.

52D: Nautical time units: BELLS. The half-hour units. Navy's traditional timekeeping system.

54D: Those, in Tijuana: ESAS. ESOS too.

56D: Attorney general under Reagan: MEESE (Ed).

59D: Capital north of Sacramento: SALEM

60D: Like British bishop: MITRED. British spelling of miter, the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishop.

61D: Ray's opponent: ORIOLE. Both belong to American League East Division.

62D: All lathered up: SOAPY

63D: Turned on the waterworks: CRIED

65D: Handle things: COPE. Thought of DEAL first.

67D: Become decent: DRESS. OK, #7 definition of "decent" according to Dictionary.com: "wearing enough clothing to appear in public".

69D: Former "Last Comic Standing" host Jay: MOHR. Stumped. But when I googled his name, I realized he was the nice guy Nick in Jennifer Aniston "Picture Perfect".

72D: Jostle: ELBOW

74D: Unruffled: SERENE. Like Mona Lisa's smile.

76D: Turn a corner, in Monopoly: PASS GO. No idea. Know nothing about Monopoly.

79D: Fitness magazine: SELF. Eva Longoria is very pretty, even without make-up.

82D: Range mostly in Russia: URALS

83D: OR hookups: IVS. Reminds me of a clever clue for STU (RV hookups).

84D: Go head to head: VIE

86D: Main street: ARTERIAL

87D: Encroach (upon): INFRINGE

90D: More like best buds: TIGHTER. The clue just does not feel natural to me.

93D: Occult figures: MYSTICS

95D: Cloth dealer, in Cambridge: DRAPER. British for dealer in cloth/clothing/dry goods. What do we call "Cloth dealer" in America ?

96D: Debs in politics: EUGENE. Unknown figure to me. Wikipedia says he was one of the founding members of the International Labor Union.

97D: Air France destination: ORLY. Main airport of Paris prior to Charles de Gaulle.

99D: 1960 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Carol: HEISS. Nope. She looks so cheerful.

100D: Sleep disturbance: APNEA

101D: Creator of an immortal 1852 lexicon: ROGET. Oh, the man with many words. I did not know ROGET's Thesaurus was published in 1852.

108D: Page with essays: OP-ED. OP(posite)- ED(itorial).

110D: Ltrs. in a letter: ATTN

113D: Tom Hayden's '60s org.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

116D: Early 11th century year: MII. 1002.

117D: Some appliances: GES. Hey, finally Goldman Sachs upgraded GE.

Answer grid.

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

C.C.

Interview with Nancy Salomon

I've never solved a Nancy Salomon (left) puzzle. But I am familiar with her name and the incredible success she's had as crossword constructor.

Nancy has had over 180 puzzles published by NYT since 1997, some solos, some collaborated with other constructors. LAT has also published more than 40 of Nancy's puzzles since 2002. Her byline has appeared in NY Sun, Wall Street Journal, CroSynergy Syndicate, Washington Post, etc.

Our LAT constructor Gail Grabowski mentioned in her resume that she "learned the ropes" from Nancy. And Mike Peluso, John Lampkin and Jerome Gunderson all talked about how generous Nancy has been in helping them.

Hope you enjoy the interview (We will have her puzzle later this month). I found her observations on the novice constructor mistakes to be very interesting. Also laughed that she does not like writing clues.

Can you tell us a bit about your background? I read somewhere that you majored in English in college but your favorite course was actually biology.

Yes, I majored in English. I did love Biology, but the math requirements for a science major scared me off. Then, professionally, I wound up as a computer programmer! I started with IBM as a technical writer, but they taught their writers programming on the grounds that it might help to know what one was writing about. After going through programming school, I was hooked. I got out of technical writing and into systems programming just as soon as I could.

How did you get into crossword construction and who has been the most influential on your own development as a constructor?

In 1982 I was disabled with inoperable herniated discs. 10 years later, in one of my puzzle magazines, Stan Newman offered a "course" for beginners who promised to do the "homework." I decided to give it a go. The course led to the creation of a 15x15 crossword. Stan bought the resulting puzzle and I was off to the races. But I did exactly what I advise my students not to do--after my first puzzle I switched exclusively to 21x21 puzzles. I'm not sure why. They're so much harder to construct than dailies. On the plus side, once I finally rediscovered 15x15 puzzles, they seemed like a snap.

What is a perfect crossword for you? What kind of theme/fills fascinate you and what are the entries you try to avoid?

This is a toughie. The theme is the most important element of a themed puzzle. With today's software, anyone can fill a grid competently if the person is picky enough.

I look for the same thing that editors look for--themes that are tight, consistent, and clever. But there are many paths to that end.

My first NYT daily puzzle sale is still my favorite thematically. It had these theme entries:

LIGHTEN UP Dieter's credo?
TAKE A LOAD OFF Dieter's credo?
BE A GOOD LOSER Dieter's credo?
THINK FAST Dieter's credo?

It was such a stroke of luck to find four in-the-language phrases that could be reinterpreted as advice to a dieter. The crossword gods are seldom this kind!

Several constructors mentioned that they are not fond of writing clues, how about you?

I hate cluing. It's the one part of constructing that I find to be a chore.

What kind of mistakes do novice constructors make and what advices would you give to those tyros?

a) Trying to do too much. So many rookies have no realistic idea of how much can be accomplished in a 15x15 puzzle. They try to do 8 theme entries in their puzzle. The result is often worse than just ugly fill. The theme entries need to cross and so the constructors settle for marginal theme entries to meet the grid requirements. Another symptom of trying to do too much is the very low word counts I see from some beginners. They try and do themed puzzles with themeless word counts. I sometimes have a very hard time convincing students that a 78-worder with a solid theme and a good, lively fill, will take them a lot further than a theme-heavy puzzle with a marginal fill and a low word count.

b) Settling for inferior fills. Anyone can fill a grid with Crossword Compiler. The trick is getting a good fill.

c) Coming up one entry shy of a good theme and settling for a weak, strained entry to round out the set. Often students have a good set, but they mess things up by trying for an extra theme entry or two.

d) Themes that are way too broad or inconsistent. Editors like themes that are tightly focused. Many students don't get that at first. Editors also prize consistency. Odd-men-out have led to many a rejection. Yet there are times when inconsistency is acceptable. It depends on the ambitiousness of what one is trying to do thematically. One develops a feel for this after a while.

There are plenty more where these came from, but I've run out of gas.

What prompted you into mentoring aspiring constructors and how has it changed your life?

You know, I'm not really sure how I got into mentoring. I helped a few constructors and then the word just seemed to spread. Overall, it's extremely gratifying. When I started, the internet wasn't what it is today. Like most crossword constructors I mainly worked in a vacuum with some occasional feedback from editors to guide me along. I really enjoy the fact that I can shorten the learning curve for newcomers. They don't have to learn everything the hard way as I did.

I'd be lying if I told you it was roses all the way though. The students who drive me up a wall are those who are just looking for someone to confirm the brilliance of their creations. If a constructor isn't open to constructive criticism, he or she should bypass mentoring.

How has the crossword landscape changed since you first started in the early 1990s?

There's an enormous difference--just huge. One reason is the advent of Crossword Compiler. It's a very powerful tool that can lead to excellent results when used correctly. Thanks Antony! The other, at least as important, is the development of a community of constructors. Cruciverb.com is a godsend to new constructors and veterans alike. Thanks Kevin!