Tuesday, September 5, 2017 ~ Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Are you ready for some football? - You will need a good front line.

63A. In jeopardy ... and where the first words of the answers to starred clues can be found: ON THE LINE

17A. *Fishing gear holder: TACKLE BOX

38A. *Final part of a chess match: END GAME

11D. *Site of many face-offs: CENTER ICE. Hockey.

34D. *Sentry's job: GUARD DUTY

Argyle here. We have a nice pinwheel formation on our grid but it wouldn't work on the gridiron.

Across:

1. Hungarian sheepdog: PULI

5. Glasgow native: SCOT 

Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow

9. 1983 taxi comedy starring Mr. T: DC CAB

14. Mideast chieftain: EMIR

15. Boob __: TV: TUBE

16. Last Olds model: ALERO

19. Old Ford subcompact named for a horse: PINTO

20. "__ missing something?": AM I. (blogger's lament)

21. Out on a cruise: AT SEA

22. Pickled-pepper picker: PETER

23. Like Disneyland at night: LIT UP

25. Public tantrum: SCENE

27. Snappy dresser: FOP ergo 9-Down. Smartly dressed: DAPPER

29. '60s sci-fi series created by Gene Roddenberry: "STAR TREK"

32. Vamoose, to Shakespeare: BE GONE. “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”

35. Long, slippery fish: EEL

36. Suffix with Israel or Jacob: ITE

37. Sch. in Columbus: OSU. (Ohio State University)

41. Chili __ carne: CON

42. RR depot: STA. (railroad station)

43. Common soccer result: TIE

44. Scope: EXTENT

46. Plush teddy with a heart for a nose: CARE BEAR

49. Red Seal record label company: RCA. (Radio Corporation of America)

50. Dryly humorous: DROLL

51. That is, in Latin: ID EST

55. Like some waves: TIDAL

57. Senate positions: SEATS

61. "Avatar" actress Saldana: ZOE

62. Word with safe or out: HOUSE. But is there a safe out house?

65. Speak: UTTER

66. Farmland measure: ACRE

67. Not yet eliminated from the contest: IN IT. Untill the fat lady sings.

68. Authority: SAY SO

69. Course of action: PLAN

70. Jacob's first wife: LEAH. Family Tree.

Down:

1. Petunia part: PETAL

2. Taste that's not sweet, sour, bitter or salty: UMAMI

3. Allowed by law: LICIT

4. Irritate: IRK

5. Copy editor's "Leave it in": [STET]

6. Wrigley Field team: CUBS. Chicago.

7. Double-reed woodwind: OBOE

8. Petroleum nickname: TEXAS TEA

10. Customer: CLIENT

12. Paintings in the Prado, por ejemplo: ARTE. The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid.

13. Ungentlemanly sort: BOOR

18. First track circuit in a race: LAP ONE

24. Sci-fi radar blip: UFO. (unidentified flying object)

26. More sedate: CALMER

28. Marker marketer: PENTEL. Wiki.

29. "Night Moves" singer Bob: SEGER

30. Historic British prep school: ETON

31. Superman, as a reporter: KENT

32. Greenish-yellow pear: BOSC

33. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA. "How are you?"

39. Shower bar brand: DIAL SOAP

40. Type of tax: EXCISE

45. Tiny bit: TAD

47. Wipes out: ERASES

48. Ravel classic used in the film "10": BOLERO. The clip is long(15:49) but fascinating.

52. Online periodical: eZINE

53. Justice Sotomayor: SONIA

54. Molars and incisors: TEETH

55. Like so: THUS

56. Tiny bit: IOTA

58. SASE, say: ENCL. (self-addressed stamped envelope/enclosure)

59. Razor brand: ATRA

60. Back in the day: THEN

64. "__ Abner": LI'L

Argyle

Monday, July 24, 2017 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Two Letters - S & A (essay)

35A. Anthology of personal writings ... and a phonetic hint to what is literally comprised by the answers of 17-, 23-, 46- and 56-Across: ESSAY COLLECTION. Words starting with S and A.

17A. Wise guy: SMART ALECK

23A. Original "Tonight Show" host: STEVE ALLEN

46A. Home safety feature: SMOKE ALARM

56A. Home of the NBA's Spurs: SAN ANTONIO

Argyle here. Easy-peasey Monday.

Across:

1. Part of a flower: PETAL

6. Not working: IDLE

10. Final notice?: OBIT

14. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright Edward: ALBEE

15. "Hud" actress Patricia: NEAL

16. Foreshadow: BODE

19. Highway off-ramp: EXIT

20. Major Can. city: TOR. (Toronto)

21. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR

22. Reverse of a hit 45: B SIDE

26. Computer antivirus brand: McAFEE

28. Dugout rack lumber: BAT

29. Neon or Freon: GAS

32. Oyster gem: PEARL

33. Tasseled topper: FEZ

34. "City of New Orleans" singer Guthrie: ARLO

39. Madeline of "Paper Moon": KAHN. Trixie Delight(1973)

40. Lennon's lady: ONO

41. "Grey's Anatomy" patient who proposed to Izzie: DENNY. I'm sure some Cornerite can fill us in on this.

42. Suffix with legal: ESE. (legalese)

43. __ de plume: NOM. Pen name.

44. Yanni's genre: NEW AGE. Music.

49. Helped with the dishes: DRIED

51. Spice Girl Halliwell: GERI. Ginger Spice.

52. "Sorta" suffix: ISH

55. Charged particles: IONS

59. "Famous" cookie guy: AMOS

60. Saint Laurent of fashion: YVES

61. Surplus: EXTRA

62. Madcap: ZANY

63. Small salamander: NEWT

64. Status symbol watch: ROLEX

Down:

1. Over and done with: PAST

2. Red Muppet: ELMO

3. Ski lift: T-BAR

4. __ Lingus: AER

5. Shoot the ball, in hoops lingo: LET IT FLY

6. Totally smitten: IN LOVE

7. Big name in field equipment: DEERE

8. Fond du __, Wisconsin: LAC

9. Antlered animal: ELK

10. More than a little heavy: OBESE

11. Where Ali did his rope-a-dope: BOXING RING

12. Confession to "Who broke this?": "I DID"

13. Noggin in Nice: TÊTE. Nice, France.

18. Tommie Ageeof the Amazin' Mets: AGEE. Tommie Agee, the center fielder who made two of the most spectacular catches in World Series history, died in 2001 in Manhattan. He was 58.

22. Sandwich initials: BLT. (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato)

23. Transparent wrap: SARAN

24. Brother of Cain: ABEL

25. Lounge (about): LAZE

26. Flat-topped formations: MESAs

27. Profits from: CASHES IN ON

30. Unaccompanied: ALONE

31. Walkman maker: SONY

32. Chinese lap dog, for short: PEKE. Pekingese

33. Progressive insurance spokeswoman: FLO

34. Elite group: A TEAM

36. Man the grill: COOK

37. Treater's words: ON ME

38. PC device also called a burner: CD WRITER

43. Wordless acknowledgment: NOD

44. Washington Nats' div.: NL EAST

45. Make, as money: EARN

47. In disarray: MESSY

48. Nixon's first veep: AGNEW. (Spiro Agnew)

49. Actress Cameron __: DIAZ

50. Tomato type: ROMA. Not the type for a BLT though.

52. Part of IOC: Abbr.: INTL. (International Olympic Committee)

53. Stable father: SIRE

54. Fraud: HOAX

56. Thesaurus abbr.: SYN. (synonym)

57. Fifth in NYC, e.g.: AVE. (Fifth Avenue)

58. Kitchenware brand: OXO

Argyle

Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: METAPHORICAL MOOLAH

Robert has taken some euphemisms for money (many of which we see in our puzzles) and suggested them as payment for services rendered in units associated with the trade mentioned in the cluing. 

Robert's pinwheel construction and theme fill is shown below:

Husker Gary here, let's review the theme answers Robert chose for this fun Humpday offering:

16. Newspaper reporter's compensation? : DAILY BREAD - Also redeemable at Pannera's?

38. Chiropractor's compensation? : BACK PAY - Does she get her money UPFRONT for working on a BACK?

61. Comedian's compensation? : FUNNY MONEY - One way to detect it

10. Landscaper's compensation? : HEDGE FUNDS - Clearly the coin of their realm

27. Domino's delivery driver's compensation? : PIZZA DOUGH - My idea for Christmas cash for the grandkids  this year!

Across

1. Bowling alley button : RESET - Before they were needed

                         

6. European cheese town : EDAM

10. Puddle jumper trip : HOP

13. Wedding figure : USHER

14. ChapStick container : TUBE

15. Fix up : REDO

18. Big star : IDOL

19. "I'm with ya" : YUP

20. Threatening words : OR ELSE

21. Farming prefix : AGRO

22. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN E - He had all his E's but look at what he guessed

23. Smooth, as transitions : SEAMLESS

25. Wise : SAPIENT - S A _ I E N T - "How 'bout an L Pat!"  "Sorry, Gary. There is no L."

29. DOJ bureau : ATF

30. Dry as dust : ARID

31. Speaker's spot : DAIS

34. Get out of bed : ROUSE - I had to ROUST a lot of teenagers out of bed on field trips to Orlando when they couldn't ROUSE themselves.

37. "__ who?" : SEZ

40. N.L. player whose home games include a President's Race : NAT - Between innings entertainment at Washington NATional's games

41. Brownish-green : HAZEL - Many here will realize the irony of the fact that Shirley Booth had HAZEL colored eyes

43. Greenish-blue : TEAL

44. Some prosecutors: Abbr. : ADAS - Law and Order had some attractive ones!

45. "Selma" director DuVernay : AVA - Ms. Gardner's day off

46. Drops in : STOPS BY

48. Medical emergency alert : CODE BLUE - A Japanese TV show

53. Baby fox : KIT

54. Soon, to a bard : ANON

55. Kibbutz setting : ISRAEL

57. Actress Thurman : UMA - My favorite memory of UMA. The guy's she's dancing with did pretty well too.

60. Cooling meas. : BTU'S

63. Bass' red triangle, e.g. : LOGO

64. Moran of "Happy Days" : ERIN

65. Flared dress : A-LINE

66. New Testament bk. : EPH - Ephesians

67. German battleship Graf __ : SPEE - Named for WWI hero Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von SPEE

68. Connection point : NEXUS


Down

1. Former NYC mayor Giuliani : RUDY - "America's mayor" after 9/11

2. Seesaw sitter of tongue twisters : ESAU - I saw ESAU sittin' on a see saw...

3. Send in a box : SHIP

4. Sushi selection : EEL - Ungai (Japanese for EEL) sushi

5. "Taste this" : TRY ONE

6. French I verb : ETRE

7. Stereotypical dawn challenges : DUELS - Burr and Hamilton DUELED at 7:00 am on July, 11 1804. Uh, Hamilton was the runner-up.

8. Take down a peg : ABASE

9. Scorned lover of Jason : MEDEA

11. Aromas : ODORS - Certain ODORS on a farm would never be called Aromas

12. Shirts named for a sport : POLOS

15. Theater district : RIALTO - Venice's fabulous RIALTO Bridge leads to the city's RIALTO  District 

17. Lee who was the top-charting female soloist of the '60s : BRENDA - I love BRENDA'S music so much I'll forgive her for Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

22. Helping hand : AID

24. Painter Cassatt : MARY

25. Over-the-shoulder band : SASH

26. Square statistic : AREA

28. Diplomatic skill : TACT

32. '50s prez : IKE

33. Health resorts : SPAS

35. Swedish automaker : SAAB

36. Internet crafts marketplace : ETSY

38. Spill the beans : BLAB

39. PC feature only used in combinations : ALT KEY - Used to get ¡ ™ £ ¢ ∞ § ¶ • å ∫ ç ∂ ´ ƒ ©...

42. "All the same ... " : EVEN SO

44. Fitting : APT

47. TV's J.R. Ewing, e.g. : OIL MAN - The man America loved to hate!

48. Part of CNN : CABLE

49. Winning : ON TOP

50. "__ Been Good": Joe Walsh hit : LIFE'S

51. Take over : USURP - "What do I put on top of my grits?"

52. Bath-loving Muppet : ERNIE

56. Novelist Rice : ANNE

57. Windows alternative : UNIX

58. Drop-down list : MENU - A Drop-down MENU and HTML codes on the template I look at every morning to write my posts

59. Yes votes : AYES

62. Chihuahua cheer : OLE

And now I look forward to your "on the money" comments:

Monday, February 15, 2016 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Not for the shallow - The first word in the theme answers can be the end of a phrase starting with DEEP.

38. Pool diving area ... and, literally, what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : DEEP END

17. *The president's annual salary, e.g. : SIX FIGURES. Deep Six, I'm going with the naval use of the term for a measure of six fathoms; a depth suitable for burial at sea.

61. *Prince film featuring "When Doves Cry" : PURPLE RAIN. Deep Purple. It seems unclear what Prince meant by 'Purple Rain'. Deep Purple is a rock band but what I like best is the use in the opening line of this remake of "Star Dust" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens. Deep Purple

11. *"Sweet dreams" : "SLEEP TIGHT". Deep Sleep. 'Sleep tight' may just mean 'sleep soundly'.

29. *Scatterbrain : SPACE CADET. Deep Space, the final frontier.

Argyle here in the deep freeze. At least we didn't get the wind they were predicting. A musical Monday, not theme related though. Standard pinwheel grid, some standard crosswordese and some c/a from recent puzzles. All-in-all, a good day.

Across:

1. Diplomat Henry __ Lodge : CABOT. (1850 - 1924) or (1902–1985)(Jr. or II) He was the grandson of Henry Cabot Lodge.

6. Former Ford division, briefly : MERC. (Mercury, 1938 - 2011)

10. "Kindly let us know," on invites : RSVP. (French: répondez s'il vous plaît). And 10D. English translation of the start of 10-Across : RESPOND

14. Like a noisy stadium : AROAR

15. Length times width : AREA

16. Israeli airline : EL AL

19. Lily that's Utah's state flower : SEGO

20. Mary __ cosmetics : KAY

21. Agree silently : NOD

22. Avoid shipping out? : SHAPE UP. Ultimatum: Shape up or ship out!

24. Electrically connected : WIRED

26. Weds in secret : ELOPES

27. Kind of football kick : ONSIDE. Deliberately kicked short in an attempt to recover the ball.

30. Prairie dog or squirrel : RODENT

32. Brown photo tone : SEPIA

33. Long skirt : MAXI. Not demure when it is see-thru or has a thigh-high slit.

34. Carpe __: seize the day : DIEM

37. Hawaii's Mauna __ : LOA

41. Dean's list fig. : GPA. (grade point average)

42. How some audiobooks are recorded : ON CD

44. Prayer ending : AMEN

45. Autumn shade : OCHER

47. Pencil mark remover : ERASER

49. PC memos : E-NOTES

50. Say yes (to) : ACCEDE

52. Arabian Peninsula country : YEMEN

54. Thick fog metaphor : PEA SOUP

56. Prefix with east or west : MID

57. Comedian Margaret : CHO

60. X-ray units : RADs. (obsolete?)

64. "Understood" : "I SEE"

65. Flanged fastener : T-NUT

66. It's measured in degrees : ANGLE

67. "Why don't we?" : "LET'S"

68. "__-dokey!" : OKEY

69. 1971 Eric Clapton hit : LAYLA

Down:

1. Wine barrel : CASK

2. Operatic solo : ARIA

3. Squarish, as some cars : BOXY

4. Lummox : OAF

5. __ and Tobago: West Indies nation : TRINIDAD

6. "All in the Family" spin-off : "MAUDE"

7. Make a typo, say : ERR

8. "Cheers" actor Roger : REES. (1944 - 2015)

9. Redeemed, as casino chips : CASHED IN

12. Unclear : VAGUE. Purple Rain?

13. Lands heavily : PLOPS

18. 2000 Bush opponent : GORE

23. Pub potable : ALE

24. Nintendo game system : Wii

25. Window treatment : DRAPERY

27. Capital of Norway : OSLO

28. Gas used in signs : NEON

31. Team on the farm : OXEN

33. Viral video, e.g. : MEME

35. Fencing sword : EPEE

36. Fourth planet : MARS

39. Approach cautiously : EASE UP TO

40. Fait accompli : DONE DEAL

43. Puts on clothes : DRESSES

46. "Vaya __ Dios" : CON

48. Commotion : ADO

49. Actor Jannings : EMIL

50. Tax deadline month : APRIL

51. Put an end to : CEASE

53. "E" on a gas gauge : EMPTY

55. Rock genre : PUNK

57. Clever : CAGY

58. Sledding slope : HILL

59. Most fit for military duty : ONE-A

62. Regret : RUE

63. Genetic stuff : RNA

 Argyle

Note from C. C.:

Happy Birthday to Hondo (Skip), whose comments often crack me up, esp the grouchy ones :-). Hope Lucy makes today extra special for you, Hondo!

Left to right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana (Sept 2013)

 

Thursday, January 28th 2016 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Scrambles, neatly explained by the reveal entry:

35A. 1980 sci-fi thriller, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : ALTERED STATES

17A. Downpour : DRIVING RAIN. Virginia. "Driving Rain" word association? Crossfire Hurricane!

25A. Weasel relative : PINE MARTEN. Maine. They look cute until one invades your soccer game and you try to pick it up. Those teeth are sharp.

49A. 1988 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner : GEENA DAVIS. Nevada. She won for "The Accidental Tourist", and scored a follow-up mention for "Most Nervous Acceptance Speech".

56A. Christmas, for many : PAID HOLIDAY. Idaho. Home of Hell's Canyon, at 7,900 feet the deepest river gorge in the US. We all knew that, right?


Bonjour! Blogging en Paris ce matin. Straightforward enough theme from Robert; the names of four states are scrambled in each theme entry. I was looking to see if there was any connection between the four, but came up blank. Finding 8-letter VIRGINIA in an 11-letter word was neatly done - I wonder if that was the inspiration for the theme? Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Takes shape : LOOMS. Generally associated with big, scary stuff; I don't think a mouse has ever "loomed" into view.

6. Military installations : BASES

11. Armonk, N.Y.-based tech company : I.B.M. Here's the first PC - two floppy drives, no hard drive and it didn't come with MS-DOS, you had to buy the operating system separately. We got one at the bank I was working at in London and we all stood around looking at it wondering what to do with it.

14. Quarterback with the 2011 autobiography "Through My Eyes" : TEBOW. I think it's fair to describe Tim as an ex-quarterback now. He flamed out pretty quickly.

15. Tell's target : APPLE. Archer William. The name of the apple is lost to history.

16. PBS funder : N.E.A.

19. 40-yr.-old NBC show : S.N.L.

20. Mature insect : IMAGO

21. Singer Vannelli : GINO. I couldn't name you one song of his.

22. Fairy tale word : ONCE

29. Horned Frogs' sch. : T.C.U. Seems that there's a lot of TLA's today (geekspeak for Three-Letter Abbreviations). Texas Christian University.

30. Spot : SEE

31. Forward, in a way : RE-ROUTE. Hmmmm - really? "Could you forward that email to me?" "Could you re-route that email to me?" One isn't really like the other.

32. Ankle bones : TARSI

34. Put up : ERECT

40. Sister of Clio : ERATO. She's popped up 75 times in the LAT puzzle since 2002. Her sister Polyhymnia gets - surprisingly - one mention. I was sure she was going to register zero mentions.

41. Drive respondent : DONOR

43. It's usually taken in twos : ASPIRIN. Not "They're usually taken ..."? The grammar seems a little clunky.

46. Rival : FOE

48. Reason for adolescent angst : ZIT

51. Only : SOLE

52. Mythical arrow shooter : EROS. He just keeps cropping up. You can't keep a good archer down.

53. Key : ISLET

55. 2014 FIFA World Cup champion: Abbr. : GERmany. Many consider their 7-1 demolition of hosts Brazil in the semi-final a few days earlier one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. I was watching in a bar in Mexico and by the time Germany went 5-0 up after a little more than half an hour the place was stunned into silence.

62. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN I

63. "__ Grows in Brooklyn" : A TREE. I should get around to reading this one day. It appears in a lot of "must read" book lists.

64. Carrot family herb : ANISE. Pretty. The seeds are most commonly used in cooking (whereupon anise becomes a spice), the leaves less so.

65. __ jacket : PEA

66. About 17 of them equal a United States dollar : PESOS. This struck me as odd when I was solving - I thought one of the rules of cluing is that the clue must not be dependent on when you do the puzzle. Unless the exchange rate is between the peso and the dollar is fixed, "17" is going to change over time.

67. Toyota's luxury division : LEXUS

Down:

1. Former Ford model : LTD. GTO went in; GTO came out when I remembered it's a Pontiac.

2. Poetic preposition : O'ER. O'er to you, Walt Whitman:

Gliding o'er all, through all,

Through Nature, Time, and Space,

As a ship on the waters advancing,

The voyage of the soul—not life alone,

Death, many deaths I'll sing.

3. Japanese sash : OBI

4. Tinseltown vehicle : MOVIE. Because unless you have a stretch LI-I-MO, it's not long enough.

5. Show off a butterfly, perhaps : SWIM

6. Snack sack : BAGGIE

7. Grilling garment : APRON. If you ever catch me wearing one of these, please take me aside and have a quiet word with me.

8. Place to kick back : SPA

9. Whitney, by birth and by education : ELI

10. D.C. VIP : SEN.

11. As found : IN SITU

12. "Pride and Prejudice" family name : BENNET. I knew the name, I'm not sure I remembered the spelling until I ran out of room - I wanted two "T"s.

13. NBA great Karl : MALONE. For a while, he had an odd habit of referring to himself in the third person during interviews. Hall-of-Famer, Olympic Gold medalist and a host of other awards, but he never played on a championship-winning team.

18. Scruff : NAPE

21. Underground chamber : GROTTO

22. Polo Grounds slugger : OTT. Giants' outfielder Mel back in the New York days.

23. Univ. sports organizer : N.C.A.A.

24. Circular lock : CURL

26. Drops the ball : ERRS. Is all the talk when Mel drops a catch just Ott err?

27. Track competition : MEET

28. Penny __ : ARCADE

30. "The Treasure of the __ Madre": Bogart classic : SIERRA

33. Beer orders : STEINS. Usually at Oktoberfest:

34. Tokyo, long ago : EDO

36. Vice squad tactic : RAID

37. Peak south of Stromboli : ETNA

38. Automaker Ferrari : ENZO. Also the name of the dog in the novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain". Guaranteed to make you bawl your eyes out.

39. Get dirty : SOIL

42. Map abbr. : RTE.

43. Generation-to-generation span : AGE GAP

44. Calm : SERENE

45. Illinois county or its seat : PEORIA

46. Drops a line : FISHES

47. European capital : OSLO. We know lots of factoids about Olso, right? Home to the Ibsen, Munch and Norsk Volke Museums, the Nobel Prizes are awarded there, you can see the Kon Tiki and the Vigeland Sculpture Park and possibly have a beer with King Harald V. Skål!

50. Tape, maybe : VIDEO

51. "Goosebumps" series author : STINE. Thank you, crosses.

54. Ben Gurion carrier : EL AL

56. Drivel : PAP

57. Emptied the feedbag : ATE

58. Govt. collection agency : I.R.S.

59. Twice cinq : DIX. Nailed it! My hotel room is dix trente-quatre this week.

60. Pac-12 sch. : A.S.U. Please step forward, Arizona State University.

61. "Of course" : YES

That just about wraps it up for me. Here's the grid, circles a-plenty.


À bientôt!

Steve