Monday, December 28, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: Pals of Snell - Common S?ELL patterned word leads off each theme answer.

20A: React to one's child's achievement, say: SWELL WITH PRIDE.

25A: Retail establishment with a mollusk feature as its logo: SHELL STATION.

43A: Word processing feature: SPELL CHECKER.

50A: Imminent winner's whiff: SMELL OF VICTORY.

Those are all the S?ELL patterned common words you can find in a dictionary, I believe. Or can you think of something else?

Argyle here. Four entries but still a weak theme. Ah, it's a Monday. 7 K's though.

Across:

1A: "Outta my way!": "MOVE!". Rude start for a Monday.

9A: Place to store firewood: SHED.

13A: Cereal "for kids": TRIX.

14A: Burstyn of "The Exorcist": ELLEN. She played the part of the mother, Chris MacNeil.

16A: Golf shirt: POLO.

17A: Prez's next-in-command: VEEP.

18A: Most-preferred invitees: A-LIST.

19A: "__ and Away": Fifth Dimension hit: UP, UP.

23A: Gimlet garnish: LIME. Four parts gin, one part sweetened lime juice. Mix and serve. Garnish with a slice of lime.

24A: Beau's dozen: ROSES. Who doesn't like roses? And 31A: Treat for Pooh: HONEY. Who doesn't like honey? Honey Roses

32A: Award nominations, e.g.: NODS.

33A: Sasha, to Malia: SIS. The Presidential kids.

36A: Nursery school song opener: A B C D.

37A: Frozen waffles: EGGOS.

39A: Pain in the neck: KINK.

40A: Wednesday's child is full of it: WOE.

41A: Haggard's "__ from Muskogee": OKIE. One for you country lovers.

42A: Fab Four member: RINGO.

46A: Columbus's Santa __: MARIA.

49A: Jeopardy: RISK.

56A: All's opposite: NONE. (All or none.)

57A: Jail, slangily: CLINK.

58A: Body fuel: FOOD. And 60A: Fiber source: BRAN.

61A: Argentine dance: TANGO.

62A: Actress Dunaway: FAYE.

63A: Boston hoopster, for short: CELT.

64A: Calendar row: WEEK.

65A: Tobogganer's need: SNOW. Got the snow, need the toboggan.

Down:

1D: "The Osbournes" airer: MTV. No link (I just couldn't do it.)

3D: Panorama: VIEW.

4D: Kicked out of school: EXPELLED.

5D: Spheres of influence: REALMS.

6D: Totally wrong: ALL WET. The original allusion in this expression is unclear, that is, how moisture or dampness is related to wrongness. Here's a theory. The newly born of most species are "all wet." So maybe it means ignorant, born yesterday.

7D: The year 1052: MLII.

8D: Mosquito, e.g.: PEST.

9D: Urge forward: SPUR ON.

10D: Pueblo dwellers: HOPIS. A scene

11D: Sidestep: ELUDE.

12D: Lunkheads: DOPES.

21D: Bell-shaped bloom: LILY.

25D: "Rich Man, Poor Man" novelist Irwin: SHAW. "Rich Man, Poor Man" was a 1976 miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes a week for twelve weeks. It was produced by Universal Television and was the first time programming of this nature had been attempted. It proved to be a critical and ratings success and was the forerunner for similar projects based on literary works, such as "Roots" and "Brideshead Revisited".

26D: Bum kin: HOBO. Another bum heard from.

27D: Suffix with exist: ENCE. (existence)

28D: Celestial messenger: ANGEL.

30D: Bouncer's requests, briefly: IDS.

33D: Hole, as a putt: SINK.

34D: "Picnic" playwright: INGE. William Inge (1913-1973). "Picnic" earned him a Pulitzer Prize (1953).

35D: Hershey's toffee bar: SKOR. Watch your teeth when you bite into one of these!

38D: Hodges of the Dodgers: GIL. Major league debut was October 3, 1943 for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

39D: Football openers: KICKOFFS. A different kind of football opener

43D: Like the "h" in honor: SILENT.

44D: Shrink in fear: CRINGE.

45D: "Wild" West lawman: HICKOK. Wild Bill Hickok really existed although some of his exploits are fictionalized.

46D: 24-hr. TV news source: MSNBC.

47D: Leonardo's love: AMORE. Italian.

52D: Imperfection: FLAW.

53D: Plant with tendrils: VINE.

54D: Mottled equine: ROAN.

55D: Cellist __ Ma: YO-YO.

59D: Dawn drops: DEW.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Friday November 6, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: Slip of the Tongue - The first word of a common phrase is replaced by two identical letters which, when pronounced in plural form, sound like the word itself.

17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."

25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.

38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES

49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.

61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.

And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?

Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.

Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.

Across:

1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?

5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.

10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.

14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.

19. Island garlands: LEIS

21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".

22. Pained reaction: WINCE

23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.

28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE

35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.

43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.

44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.

45. Gag: JOKE

47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS

53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".

54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.

55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.

57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS

60. Really smell: REEK

64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.

66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.

67. Sit tight: STAY

69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!

Down:

1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.

2. Heidi's home: ALPS

3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.

4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.

5. Game room: PARLOR

6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".

7. Military physician: MEDIC

8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.

10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".

11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?

12. Erie Canal city: UTICA

13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.

18. Think highly of: REGARD

24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".

26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.

27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.

29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.

30. Bounces back: ECHOES

35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.

36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.

37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)

39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.

40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE

41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.

45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?

46. Fast asleep: OUT

49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.

51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA

52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?

58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".

61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA

62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: WILD (68A: Untamed, and word that can precede the starts of 17- and 61-Across and 11-and 28-Down)

17A: Stealthy felon: (WILD) CAT BURGLAR

61A: Apartment building emergency exit: (WILD) FIRE ESCAPE

11D: Wedding party tyke: (WILD) FLOWER GIRL

28D: Boating safety feature: (WILD) LIFE JACKET

Argyle here.

I hope everybody escapes those wild fires out west. The French girl in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" is probably the most famous CAT BURGLAR.

Quite a few long non-theme entries in this grid, four of them are nice double words.

Across:

1A: Wordsworth work: POEM. William Wordsworth,1770 – 1850, was a major English Romantic poet who England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death. Perhaps Clear Ayes can pick a selection of his poems for us.

5A: Pipe organ knobs: STOPS. Without getting too technical, the use of stops enables the organist to produce different sounds.

10A: Calif. cop org.: SFPD. San Francisco Police Department, where Dirty Harry worked.

14A: __ snuff: UP TO.

15A: Birdie beater: EAGLE. Golf terms: birdie, one under par; EAGLE, two under par.

16A: Ballerina's bend: PLIE. Oh. From this clip, it appears the bend they speak of, is the knees and not the waist.

19A: Very small amount: IOTA.

20A: Friend of Jerry and George: ELAINE. Characters from the Seinfeld TV show; they left out Cosmo.

21A: Tonsillitis MD: ENT. Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.

22A: McGregor of "Angels & Demons": EWAN. He looks intense.

23A: Anderson of "WKRP in Cincinnati": LONI. She portrayed the receptionist.

25A: Cannes cup: TASSE. French.

27A: Flamenco yell: OLE. Spanish

29A: Elementary school basics: ABC'S. English

31A: Left ventricle outlet: AORTA.

34A: "__ Old Man": kids song: THIS. Dylan!?!

35A: "Gloria in Excelsis __'': DEO. "Glory to God in the highest"

36A: The Greeks' Helios, e.g.: SUN GOD. The Romans called him Sol.

37A: Battle of Britain defense gp.: RAF. Royal Air Force.

38A: "Oh, be serious!": GET REAL.

40A: Call __ day: IT A.

41A: Sports spots: ARENAS.

43A: Like Paree, in song: GAY. It turns out, finding GAY Paree, in song, is difficult!

44A: Jam-pack: CRAM.

45A: Captain's superior: MAJOR. But not so if it's a naval Captain, then it would be Admiral.

46A: Grab bag category: Abbr.: MISC.

47A: Heart and soul: ALL.

48A: Pie fruit: APPLE.

50A: So: THUS.

52A: Table salt, to a chemist: NACL. Sodium Chloride, NaCl

54A: Lupino of film: IDA. "Lupino was born in Camberwell, London, allegedly under a table during a World War I zeppelin raid." Betcha' didn't know that.

56A: "Sleepless in Seattle" director Nora: EPHRON. She is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. Update: She wrote and directed Julie & Julia.

60A: __-Seltzer: ALKA.

63A: Blueprint detail, briefly: SPEC.

64A: White-tie accompanier: TAILS.

65A: Finished: OVER.

66A: Handy bag: TOTE.

67A: Sidewinder, e.g.: SNAKE. Called a sidewinder for their mode of transportation; they don't slither.

Down:

1D: Dark purple: PUCE. How is it different from plum?

2D: October gemstone: OPAL. And its symmetrical partner is OPEL (58D: European auto).

3D: James of jazz: ETTA.

4D: Art pieces that hang from the ceiling: MOBILES.

5D: Woos with song: SERENADES. Preferably, from below the balcony.

6D: Game with an "it": TAG.

7D: Stare at obviously: OGLE.

8D: Herbs and shrubs: PLANTS.

9D: Big name in mattresses: SERTA. Nation wide?

10D: Watches secretly: SPIES ON.

12D: Bread with tabbouleh: PITA. Tabbouleh is a salad dish (primary ingredients are finely chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, scallion (spring onion), and other herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings, generally including black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice) often served with PITA bread.

13D: Martin of the Rat Pack: DEAN. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., DEAN Martin, Joey Bishop & Peter Lawford were known as The Rat Pack. They ruled Las Vegas and Hollywood during the 1950's-1960's.

18D: Family card game: UNO.

24D: "Not likely!": I BET.

26D: Nobelist Bellow: SAUL. SAUL Bellow, 1915 – 2005. In the words of the Swedish Nobel Committee, his writing exhibited "exuberant ideas, flashing irony, hilarious comedy and burning compassion...." For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only writer to have won the National Book Award three times, and the only writer to have been nominated for it six times. (I feel terrible, I haven't read any of his works.)

27D: Butler's love: O'HARA. Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'HARA, from Gone with the Wind.

30D: Short-legged Welsh pooch: CORGI.

32D: Do sum work: TOTAL.

33D: First mate?: ADAM. First man? First Dad? First grandpa? Etc.

34D: Streetcar cousin : TRAM.

36D: Photographer's request: SAY CHEESE.

38D: "The World According to __": John Irving novel: GARP. It was made into a movie starring Robin Williams.

39D: Cheyenne-to-Omaha direction: EAST. Nice change from the three letter directions we often get.

42D: "There's __ like home": NO PLACE. That would be Kansas, for Dorothy Gale.

44D: Consistent moneymaker: CASH COW. A dairy cow that produces milk over the course of its life and requires little maintenance is a cash cow. So a business, product or asset that, once acquired and paid off will produce consistent cash flow over its lifespan is known as a CASH COW.

46D: Middle of the road: MEDIAN. The center of a divided highway is known as the MEDIAN strip.

49D: Picks up: LIFTS.

51D: Favorable times: UPS.

52D: Democrat's donkey designer: NAST. Also the designer for the GOP elephant.

53D: Chop House dog food maker: ALPO.

55D: Diva's solo: ARIA.

57D: Sitarist Shankar: RAVI. Father of Norah Jones.

59D: Uncool sort: NERD.

62D: Moose, to a European: ELK.

Ever since I got high speed internet service, I think I try to do too much and then get burned out. Sometimes it is hard to know when to make a FULL STOP. ( ;-)>

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Warren and his lovely wife Ruth at a Lake Tahoe sail boat ride a few years ago. They solve puzzle together every day. Warren is an excellent researcher and he likes to use question mark in his comments.

Argyle

Wednesday June 24, 2009 Sharon Petersen

Theme: LET'S DANCE (58A: Ball offer, and a hint to this puzzle's theme)

18A: Good horse for a kid: WELSH PONY

23A: Fiery chip dip: RED HOT SALSA

37A: Pete Rose nickname: CHARLIE HUSTLE

51A: Dickens orphan: OLIVER TWIST

Not familiar with HUSTLE dance. But CHARLIE HUSTLE was a gimme. I probably have over 100 Pete Rose baseball cards.

This puzzle really dances, rhythmic in each word, none feels forced or made-up. Scrabbly too. One more letter Z, we would have had a pangram.

I was confused by the clue for WORD (44D: Sponsor's offering?). Then a big V-8 moment: "And now, a WORD from our sponsor".

Across:

6A: Doorway part: JAMB. I wonder if letter B is just like K (knife/knock), which was pronounced 500 years ago.

14A: Not quite a liter: QUART. Oh, I did not know a QUART is only 0.946 liters.

15A: Most draftable: ONE A

20A: Land in la mer: ILE

21A: 35mm camera type: SLR

22A: From Buffalo to Boston: EAST. French for EAST is EST. Spanish is ESTE.

27A: Where Mork and Mindy honeymooned: ORK. Learned from doing Xword. Old TV shows are definitely my weakest link in solving Xword. What's yours?

30A: Online investing service: E*TRADE. They offer savings/checking account as well.

32A: Org. in the 2008 film "Burn After Reading": CIA. I've yet to see this Coen brother film.

33A: Big name in yellow journalism: HEARST. Wiki says the term "yellow journalism" originated during the American Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century with the circulation battles (peaked from 1895 to about 1898) between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randoph HEART's New York Journal.

41A: Monk monikers: FRAS

44A: WWII female: WAC (Women's Army Corps). Our fellow solver Southern Belle was one during the Korean War.

50A: Tree toppler: AXE

54A: Lobbying group for 50-and-over folks: AARPS. Who is the most powerful lobbying group in the US? NRA?

56A: Helpful contacts: INS

57A: Title Pontiac of song: GTO. "Little GTO".

63A: Rara __: AVIS. Sade is one.

64A: "Mask" actress: CHER. She looks amazing in the video. I also like her "Believe".

65A: Achilles, for one: GREEK. Brad Pitt played Achilles in "Troy".

68A: Howard Hughes's phobia: GERMS. Donald Trump's too.

Down:

1D: Escort: SQUIRE

2D: Young hen: PULLET. Wish EGG (61D: Fabergé treasure) clued as "Hen product" to pair up with PULLET.

3D: Like many violent films: RATED R

4D: Bobble the ball, e.g.: ERR. Baseball & alliteration. Lovely ERR clue.

5D: O'Hare approx.: ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)

6D: Prominent bulldog features: JOWLS

7D: End of __: AN ERA

10D: "Klutzy me": OOPS

11D: Diplomatic etiquette: PROTOCOL. No such thing for the mad man Kim Jong-il. About 21% of Koreans have Kim as their surname.

12D: Salon offering: TAN

19D: Lukas of "Mars Attacks!": HAAS. Got his name from Across fills. Not familiar with the movie neither.

25D: Poland-Germany border river: ODER. Same pronunciation as odor. Here is the map. It begins in Czech Republic and flows into the Baltic Sea.

34D: Christina of "Black Snake Moan": RICCI. Know her name. Have never heard of the movie. Looks awful.

35D: Neptune's realm: SEA. Neptune is the Roman god of sea. The Greek equivalent is Poseidon.

37D: Heart: CRUX. As in "The CRUX/heart of the matter...".

38D: "Dig in": HAVE AT IT. Here we go again, AT IT.

41D: Hialeah's home Abb.: FLA. Wiki says Hialeah is literally "pretty prairie". And it has the second highest percentage of Cuban and Cuban American residents of any city in the US. After Miami I suppose.

45D: Poncho wool: ALPACA. LLAMA can be clued as "Poncho wool" too.

47D: Pooh Corner cat: TIGGER. Again, I obtained the answer from Across fills. I think I am going to confuse him with the "Buster Brown dog" TIGE. Are these two both playing on the word "tiger"?

49D: Baby birds?: STORK

52D: Immoral practices: VICES

53D: Month in el invierno: ENERO. Easy guess. I don't know "invierno" is "winter" in Spanish.

55D: Man Fri.: ASST. "Robinson Cruso". Man Friday. Nice clue.

59D: "Uncle Tom's Cabin" girl: EVA

Answer grid.

C.C.