Thursday September 1, 2011 Steve Salitan

Theme: ROUNDS (64A. Clue for this puzzle's four longest answers) - Theme entries are four definitions of ROUNDS.

17A. See 64-Across : AMMUNITION UNITS

24A. See 64-Across : SPARRING PERIODS

42A. See 64-Across : TOURNAMENT PARTS

56A. See 64-Across : TRAYFULS OF BEERS

Boomer here. Good Morning and Happy September Fool's Day to all.

I found this puzzle difficult and also tough to cheat. After all, you cannot Google "See 64 Across" and get any help from the techno know-it-all. We had to rely on the Downers a lot. But once we got it figured out, I am thinking Trayfuls of beer is not correct. Traysful of beer seems better, but if it's truly a round, there better be a Manhattan for me on one of the trays. I don't like beer.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend. Why do they call it Labor Day and then give 90 per cent of the population the day off work??

Across:

1. "Close!" : ALMOST

7. Cartoon monkey : ABU - From Disney's "Aladdin"

10. __ bonding : MALE

14. Create trouble : CAUSE A STIR - Highlight of the puzzle.

16. Mount near Olympus : OSSA

19. Marx's "__ Kapital" : DAS

20. Smallish quarrel : SPAT - I had to read the clue twice. I was trying to think of a small squirrel.

21. With attitude : SASSY

22. It may be painted : TOE - Yeah, ladies polish their toe nails, but I could think of a thousand better clues for TOE

23. NASA moon lander : LEM - Acronym for Lunar Excursion Module

33. "Alfred" composer, 1740 : ARNE - Thomas Arne, a British Composer

34. Study fields : AREAS

35. Something golfers often break : TEE - I first wrote in "PAR". I never break a tee. (I never break PAR either.)

36. Martial arts facility : DOJO - This is a Japanese name. In the US it's called a Chuck Norris Movie.

37. Molasses-like : THICK - Okay, but I'd rather have a chocolate malt.

38. LaBeouf of "Transformers" films : SHIA - Shia Saide LaBeouf. You had to know this. I didn't. I suppose it would have helped if I saw the movie.

39. Latin 101 word : AMO - "I Love." I learned this in Brother Albert's Class. Amo, Amas, Amat, I love, you love, he loves - but nobody loved Latin class.

40. Drummer in Goodman's band : KRUPA - Gene Krupa, a very famous percussionist. My Mom listened to Benny Goodman. I was more of a Ringo Starr fan.

41. Crammer's concern : TEST

46. Quite a while : EON

47. Unsafe? : OUT - I had to think awhile to realize this was a baseball reference. I never heard an umpire holler "Unsafe".

48. It's sometimes shaved : SCALP - Again, it didn't hit me right away, even from a Jesse Ventura state.

51. Smith's item : SHOE - Making it tough - they could have maybe said "Blacksmith"

53. Contend : VIE

60. "__Cop": 1987 film : ROBO - Beverly Hills didn't fit

61. Plant-based weight loss regimen : HERBAL DIET - One of many

62. Former cygnet : SWAN - Well known in Hans Christian Anderson's "The Ugly Cygnet"

63. Scale notes : FAS

Down:

1. Riding sch., e.g. : ACAD

2. Dharma teacher : LAMA

3. Rose Parade flowers : MUMS - Mostly roses are featured, but I suppose there are a few mums.

4. Home of the Woody Hayes Athletic Ctr. : OSU - Ohio State - Woody is the only coach I ever knew who actually went on the field during a play and tripped or tackled an opposing player who was running for a touchdown. A colorful and ultra successful coach.

5. Electric eye, e.g. : SENSOR - Speaking of football, a tight end Joe Sensor played a number of years for the Vikings. Now he has a few restaurants in town.

6. Capital SSW of Seoul : TAIPEI - In Taiwan. I think we called it Formosa when I was a kid.

7. Going head to head : AT IT

8. Vita : BIO -Curriculum Vitae?

9. Spigoted vessel : URN - Well a coffee urn has a spigot, but I also know of others that do not.

10. Parisian words of friendship : MON AMI - I had only one year of French, my friend.

11. Sale caveat : AS IS

12. WWII transports : LSTS - LST is an acronym for Landing Ship, Tank

13. Lenient : EASY

15. Short stop? : STA (Short for Station)

18. Windows openers : USERS - this would be for Microsoft Windows. Another window opener could be a rock.

22. Palm in one's palm? : TREO - Some kind of Smart Phone. Please put them away when driving.

23. Reporter's source : LEAK - Deep Throat Mark Felt was the most famous

24. Co-Nobelist with Begin in 1978 : SADAT - Anwar tried for peace in the Middle East, like those before and after.

25. Teaser : PROMO - Way too many on TV these days

26. One variety of it remains green when ripe : ANJOU - I was thinking of a grape. When you pare a pair of pears, it's hard to tell the difference.

27. Book after Micah : NAHUM - One of the twelve prophets

28. Kvetch : GRIPE - I guess I've been kvetching about some of the clues in this puzzle.

29. Hard nut to crack : PECAN - Actually, pecans have an easy to crack thin shell, but hard to harvest the nut in two pieces.

30. Questionnaire catchall : OTHER

31. Certain believer : DEIST - A religious belief. I stay away from religion and politics.

32. Election prizes : SEATS

37. Air__: Southwest subsidiary : TRAN

38. BA or HR : STAT - Baseball leads all sports in stats.

40. Titan of publishing : KNOPF - Alfred Knopf founded his publishing house in 1915, It was acquired by Random House in 1960.

43. Put trust in : RELY ON

44. Where distasteful humor often goes : TOO FAR - But may be okay on September Fool's Day.

45. Hopi home : PUEBLO

48. Violas, cellos, etc.: Abbr. : STRS (Strings)

49. Bad thing to eat : CROW - I wonder if anyone has ever really eaten crow. Does it taste like chicken?? Colonel Sanders Kentucky Fried Crow.

50. "Rubáiyát" rhyme scheme : AABA. Whatever.

51. Georgia and Latvia, once: Abbr. : SSRS - Once a Soviet Social Republic

52. Fireplace shelf : HOB - I thought the hobs were the side pieces that hold the grate. Shelf seems a bit misleading.

53. Gold source : VEIN

54. Really ticked : IRED

55. Some attendance figs. : ESTS (Estimates)

57. TV dial letters : UHF (Ultra High Frequency). LOAITP - (Lots of acronyms in this puzzle)

58. Herd dining area : LEA

59. Prof's address letters : EDU

Answer grid.

Boomer

Note from C.C.:

Here is a photo of baby Boomer. I just couldn't remove the right camera light on his left leg. (Added later: Photo fixed. Thanks to Kazie and Fermatprime.)

Thursday, March 31, 2011, Steve Salitan

Theme: Take me out to the Ball Game, revealed in 62 Across: Its season starts today; its equipment starts the starred answers: BASEBALL.

1A. *One way to reach a superhero: BAT PHONE. I've been reliving my childhood lately, a newer cable channel called the HUB is re-running the old Batman TV series.

23A. *2008 Republican hopeful: MITT ROMNEY. I hope I don't catch (see what I did there) any flack for saying this; I'm uncomfortable now whenever a political clue comes along... It has been said that the biggest hurdle in his bid was that he is a Mormon: Both politics and religion controversy all rolled up in one single clue.

34A. *Roll-fed toy: CAP PISTOL. Speaking of childhood, anyone else remember hitting a whole roll of caps at a time with a hammer?

46A. *Musical about rock's 4 Seasons: JERSEY BOYS. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Hi all, Al here. I kind of rushed through this one today, and didn't even need to read all the clues; sorry about the brevity. The perps filled a lot of the answers in for me and I found myself going back to the grid thinking "where was that?" quite a bit. There were a few nice tricky clues, but to me, the thing that seemed to stand out most was the number of two-word answers.

ACROSS:

9. Blind slat: LOUVER.

15. Concurred about: AGREED ON.

16. Lower, for now: ON SALE. There was gonna be one there. We was gonna buy one anyway, so aren't you glad I got it . . .

17. Ogled: LEERED AT.

18. Skinned: PEELED.

19. One of two O.T. books: SAML. Clue and ans. both abbrs. 1 and 2 Samuel are part of the Hebrew Bible. The Book(s) of Samuel originally was a single text.

20. When Donne is done for the day?: EEN. Poetic evening.

21. Genesis outcast: EVE. Because Peter Gabriel wouldn't fit.

22. Go by: PASS.

27. Focus of some trips: EGO. Last week's star wars clue.

28. Justice Sotomayor: SONIA. First Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, serving since August 2009.

29. Unsatisfactory marks?: ACNE. Wanted to fill with DEES or EFFS.

30. Explain: CONSTRUE. I always construed construe to mean "understand". Guess I was always wrong...

32. Fiona, after Shrek's kiss: OGRESS. Before that, too, but only at night.

36. Fertilizer component: POTASH. Along with Nitrogen (first) and Phosphorus (second), potassium is the third number you see on a commercial bag.

39. "I can't explain it": NO REASON. Often the answer to: "Why'd you do that?

43. Imitated: APED.

44. Old 51-Across devices: ETNAS. Burners, along with 51A. Trial site, perhaps: LAB.

45. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper: APU.

49. Benjamin et al.: Abbr.: PVTS. Goldie Hawn movie, Private Benjamin.

50. Give pieces to: ARM. Gats, rods, heaters.

52. Jai __: ALAI. Basket = cesta. Ball = pelota, which travels at speeds up to 250 feet per second (170 MPH). Ouch. And I used to think it hurt to get hit with a racquetball.

53. "The Executioner's Song" Pulitzer winner: MAILER. Norman. The events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder.

55. Burlesque act: FAN DANCE.

59. Show up: ATTEND.

60. Some feelers: ANTENNAE.

61. Viewed to be: SEEN AS.

DOWN:

1. __ masqué: dance with costumes: BAL. A masquerade ball.

2. A good while back: AGES AGO.

3. Crime of betrayal: TREASON.

4. Stylish waves: PERMS.

5. Cad: HEEL. Cad is a shortening of cadet originally used of servants, then of town boys by students at British universities and public schools (though at Cambridge it meant "snob"). Meaning "person lacking in finer feelings". A heel is a "contemptible person," in U.S. underworld slang, originally "incompetent or worthless criminal," probably from a sense of "person in the lowest position."

6. "How peculiar": ODD.

7. Tishby of "The Island": NOA. Cute, but never heard of her...

8. Head M.D.?: ENT. Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders. Practitioners are called otolaryngologists–head and neck surgeons, or sometimes otorhinolaryngologists (ORL).

9. Horse warming up, say: LOPER. I misread this clue as house instead of horse.

10. Bridge opener, briefly: ONE NO. Trump.

11. Take for a chump: USE.

12. Chemical bonding number: VALENCE. The numeric portion of the charge of an ion whether it is positive or negative.

13. Winning numbers: ELEVENS. Craps. (Thanks, melissa)

14. Flights that often span two days: RED EYES. Late night plane trips. Another misread, I kept seeing "fights" instead of flights.

20. LAX posting: ETA.

22. Chest ripple: PEC.torals. Trying to be fair, for the ladies.

23. Transform eerily, in sci-fi: MORPH. A smooth transition from one shape or face to another, SFX trickery.

24. __ to one's neck: IN UP.

25. Link with: TIE INTO.

26. Donald's second ex: MARLA. Trump, Maples. Not bad for 46...

28. Coming and going spots: Abbr.: STAS. Stations. Always have to wait for perps to see if the third letter will be A or N.

31. Carloads: SCADS.

32. Others, in Oaxaca: OTRAS. Spanish.

33. Proceeds: GOES.

35. Sharp competitor: SONY.

36. Hefner garb: PAJAMAS.

37. Work: OPERATE.

38. Unhappy home inspection find: TERMITE.

40. African plain: SAVANNA.

41. Like some film effects: OPTICAL.

42. Sorority letters: NUS. 13th letter of the Greek alphabet. We are the knights who say "ni" (as in onion).

44. Flow back: EBB.

47. "The Vampire Diaries" heroine Gilbert: ELENA. On the CW network, which I apparently don't watch much of... Another unknown to me.

48. Play places: YARDS. Wanted to get "stage" to be plural with only five letters.

49. Secondary strategy: PLAN B.

52. Chick chaser?: ADEE. Suffix: Chickadee.

54. Quarterback Dawson: LEN.

55. "Super!": FAB.

56. Actress Gasteyer: ANA. From Saturday Night Live.

57. Some Windows systems: NTS. This should have an obsolete tag on it... But without it I can't do my favorite (geeky) Microsoft joke. There is Windows CE for compact devices (WINCE, what you do when you have to work with it), Windows ME (Millenium Edition, now also obsolete), and Windows NT (New Technology, but commonly called "Nice Try") Put those all together and you get CE ME NT, as hard as a rock and as dumb as a brick.

58. Epitome of slipperiness: EEL.

Answer Grid.

Al

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Steve Salitan

Theme: How's the Weather? - Four 2-word common terms that end in a word that could describe precipitation (in increasing intensity), plus the unifier at the very end, where it belongs.

17A. Throat soothers: COUGH DROPS

23A. Edible pastry decorations: CAKE SPRINKLES

47A. High-quality bed linen: PERCALE SHEETS. Percale describes the weave of the fabric, not its content.

57A. Wet bar containers: ICE BUCKETS

65A. Phenomenon described by the ends of 17-, 23-, 47- and 57-Across: RAIN

All wet Argyle here.

Boy, did this one rain on my parade. A very Tuesday-like theme but some of the fill....

Across:

1. It has more than 5,000 feet : MILE

5. With 60-Across, noodle product derived from "The San Francisco Treat!" : PASTA; 60. See 5-Across : RONI. My first splash; automatically put RICE-A. Image.

10. Game with trump cards : SKAT

14. Tehran's land : IRAN

15. "A work of __ a confession": Camus : ART IS. Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a representative of non-metropolitan French literature. His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work.

16. Whittle : PARE

19. Help in a holdup : ABET

20. Raggedy doll : ANN. Image with her brother, Andy.

21. Stackable cookie : OREO

22. Not chronic, as illness : ACUTE. Defined as a disease with an abrupt onset and usually a short course.

27. Hurting the most : ACHIEST

29. Going badly in the mil.? : AWOL

30. Answer : REPLY

31. Stingless male : DRONE BEE. Since DRONE means a bee, the answer is redundant.

35. Org. in Tom Clancy books : CIA

36. Gonzalez in 2000 news : ELIAN

38. Send packing : AXE

39. Ancient Roman language : OLD LATIN. As opposed to new Latin?

42. Exxon competitor : CITGO. Get their gas at the pump.

44. Eve's partner : ADAM

45. Like a costly victory : PYRRHIC. Splash! Two R's, what's up with that? I see he(image) was a king and could spell his name any way he wanted.

51. Dislike and more : ABHOR

52. __ scale: talc-to-diamond : MOHS. Hardness scale.

53. Yokohama yes : HAI. The word for yes in Japanese.

56. SpongeBob, e.g. : TOON

61. Very cold : GELID

62. Saragossa's river : EBRO. Spain Map. Saragossa is Zaragoza in Spanish; no idea why we haven't had that yet!

63. Swedish furniture giant : IKEA

64. Asia's __ Mountains : ALTAI. New to me. Map.

Down:

1. Isinglass : MICA. A mineral that separates readily into thin, tough, often transparent layers.

2. It's pumped in gyms : IRON

3. Liftoff spot : LAUNCHPAD. Over thought it, was looking for a stain remover. LOL

4. Class with vocab. lists : ENG. Or any language class, not just English.

5. West Coast team in the 1998 World Series : PADRES. New York Yankees vs. San Diego Padres. The Yankees swept the Series in four games. No need for a rubber game.

6. Collar, as a thug : ARREST

7. Small porch : STOOP. Not much more than a set of steps; a city thing.

8. Service reward : TIP

9. Beast of burden : ASS

10. Wall hole filler : SPACKLE. A paste-like substance that fills in small holes, cracks and seams that can be sanded smooth to prep a wall before painting.

11. Afghanistan's capital : KABUL

12. Mountain ridge : ARÊTE

13. French noodles? : TÊTEs. Heads.

18. Fake : HOKEY

22. Soon, to the bard : ANON

24. Plague : AIL

25. __ avis : RARA

26. Victorious shout : "I WON!". Finally, not, "I win!".

27. Sacramento's __ Arena : ARCO. Named for another gas company.

28. Provide with a roof : CEIL. To provide with a ceiling.

31. Clamor : DIN

32. King David's wife : BATHSHEBA. From a Hebrew phrase meaning “daughter of the oath”, she was the mother of Solomon.

33. Military vet : EX GI

34. Job rights agcy. : EEOC. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

36. End-of-list abbr. : ET AL.

37. Green wedge in a gimlet : LIME. Vodka or gin avatar.

40. New Hampshire city known for its annual motorcycle week : LACONIA. Big around here but common knowledge?

41. Purim's month : ADAR

42. Getting gradually louder, in mus. : CRESC.. Crescendo. I didn't see the abbreviation of music; rain in my eyes.

43. Subway under B'way : IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit.

45. Irrational fear : PHOBIA

46. Violinist Menuhin : YEHUDI. We had Itzhak Perlman yesterday.

47. Father: Pref. : PATRI. Patriarch

48. Digital novel : E-BOOK

49. River of Lyons : RHONE

50. Refine, as ore : SMELT

54. Longfellow's bell town : ATRI. Poem. CA?

55. "Help __ the way!" : IS ON

57. Supermarket chain with a red-and-white logo : IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.

58. Animation frame : CEL

59. Plop lead-in : KER

Answer grid.

Argyle

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Steve Salitan

Theme: Presidential Vocalists - The last names of the four singers, their famous song part of the clues, are also the names of US Presidents. Two-part unifier.

17A. "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" singer : BRYAN ADAMS. The song. The President or President. Our second President was John Adams and served from 1797 to 1801. Our sixth President was John Quincy Adams and served from 1825 to 1829.

29A. "How Glad I Am" Grammy winner, 1964 : NANCY WILSON. The song. The President. Our twenty-eighth President was Woodrow Wilson and served from 1913 to 1921.

45A. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" singer : BONNIE TYLER. The song. The President. Our tenth President was John Tyler and served from 1841 to 1845.

61A. 1971 Oscar winner for "Theme from 'Shaft'" : ISAAC HAYES. The song. The President. Our nineteenth President was Rutherford B. Hayes and served from 1877 to 1881.

12D. With 36-Down, patriotic song that's a hint to this puzzle's theme : "HAIL TO..." and 36D. See 12-Down : "...THE CHIEF". The song. Can't be placed symmetrically due to 6/8 letter combination. Also impossible to put HAIL TO THE CHIEF together in the middle as it has a total of 14 letters. The middle theme answer has to have an odd number of letters.

Argyle here.

Too bad the Presidents weren't in chronological order. I didn't find much about our constructor; the first time we have seen him. He did attend the 33rd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. I hope he drops by and that we may see more of his work.

Across:

1. Jib supports : MASTS

6. Apparel : GARB

10. Waikiki's island : OAHU

14. Preminger and Klemperer : OTTOs. A film director and a music conductor.

15. Skinned knee, to a tot : OWIE

16. Pained sound : MOAN

19. Where the pupil is : IRIS

20. School cheer : YELL

21. Tofu source : SOY

22. Be a snitch : TATTLE

24. Shower wall growth : MILDEW

26. Fireplace fuel : LOG

27. Broke fast : ATE

28. TV network with an eye logo : CBS

32. Prefix with violet : ULTRA

34. Gladiators' venue : ARENA

35. Mexican money : PESO

36. Tuckered out : TIRED

38. Gym iterations : REPS

42. Dislike big-time : ABHOR

44. Fess up : ADMIT

50. Tissue layer : PLY

51. Beatle bride Yoko : ONO

52. Tuber also known as a New Zealand yam : OCA . To whom is it known as a New Zealand yam? Kazie?

53. Does spectacularly : EXCELS

55. From the beginning : AFRESH

57. 12/24 or 12/31 : EVE

58. Ice cream holder : CONE

60. In apple-pie order : TIDY

64. One of the HOMES lakes : ERIE . HOMES is a mnemonic device for remembering the Great Lakes.

65. Be deserving of : EARN

66. Techie's clients : USERs

67. In-basket stamp: Abbr. : REC'D.

68. Pool table cloth : FELT

69. "One of __ days, Alice...": Ralph Kramden : THESE

Down:

1. Melville's "__-Dick" : MOBY

2. Quaking : ATREMBLE

3. Hair salon staffers : STYLISTS

4. "... and __ a good-night" : TO ALL . I knew this one! Santa.

5. Fig. in an identity theft case : SSN

6. Decrease in value : GO DOWN

7. On vacation, say : AWAY

8. Backboard attachment : RIM . The basket in basketball.

9. Presented, as an honor, with "upon" : BESTOWED

10. Forget to include : OMIT

11. Main arteries : AORTAs

13. Not visible : UNSEEN

18. On the bounding main : ASEA

23. Opposed to, in dialect : AGIN

25. Evidence in paternity suits : DNA

26. Orpheus' instrument : LYRE

28. Sugar borrower's amount : CUP

30. Haul in one's arms : CARRY

31. Fat in the pantry : LARD

33. Horse coloring : ROAN

37. Greek "i" : IOTA

39. One on the payroll : EMPLOYEE

40. Pale lagers : PILSNERS . Beer.

41. Porker's pad : STY

43. Life stories, for short : BIOs

44. Rainbow shape : ARC

45. Yachtsman, e.g. : BOATER

46. In flames : ON FIRE

47. From Scandinavia : NORDIC

48. Pianist/actor Oscar : LEVANT . Oscar Levant's celebrity was based upon his reputation as a pianist. Here he plays the Chopin Etude in c# minor,op.10,no.4., recorded on August 26, 1946.

49. Corp. bigwig : EXEC.

54. Online shopping outlay : E-CASH .

56. Watched warily : EYED

57. __ of Sandwich : EARL

59. Latin "to be" : ESSE

62. MS. enclosure : SAE . Stamped Addressed Envelope.

63. Crude abode : HUT

Answer grid.

Here is a great photo of JD, Dick and Carol (in purple) seated in front of lily pond at Sunset Botanical Gardens. JD is based in California, Dick lives in Pennsylvania, and Carol has spent all her life in Oregon I think. They met via our blog and spent a few days vacationing together in Bandon, OR.

Argyle