Tuesday, January 5, 2016 Tom Uttormark and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: May I have a word with you? - Words that are a???? are split into two words and clued as such.

20. One hospital celebration? : AWARD CEREMONY. A WARD CEREMONY (Ward - section of a hospital)

25. One mug from the boxing ring? : ABOUT FACE. (military command) A bout face; a face after a bout in boxing.

46. One news magazine managing editor? : AHEAD OF TIME. A head of Time(Time magazine)

52. One adorable romantic threesome? : ACUTE TRIANGLE. (triangle that has all angles less than 90°) A cute triangle.

Argyle here but no reveal. The puzzle has mirror crossword symmetry. Many proper names. I added a few songs to ease the pain.

Across:

1. Nothing, in Nogales : NADA but here's something...I'm not sure what.

5. A-list invitee : CELEB

10. Inhale in awe : [GASP!]

14. "The Big Country" Oscar winner Ives : BURL. Here is a clip from the movie.  Clip(2:41)

15. Hertz competitor : ALAMO

16. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO

17. Study at the last minute : CRAM

18. Decorated anew : REDID

19. Grown-up tadpole : TOAD

23. The blahs : ENNUI

24. Radon and ozone : GASES

29. Joe of "Casino" : PESCI. Pesci played Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro.

32. [Not my typo] : (SIC)

33. Ethan of "Before Midnight" : HAWKE

37. Sound system component : AMP

38. "Honest!" : "NOT A LIE!" Sure. 40D. "Honest?" : "IS THAT SO?"

41. Breathable mixture : AIR

42. "Count on it" lawnmower brand : TORO

44. Fast-spreading Internet phenomena : MEMES

45. Michelin rating unit : STAR

49. Without question : BY FAR

50. Store posting : HOURS

56. Long-distance swimmer Diana : NYAD. When she was 64, she swam from Cuba to Florida, the first person confirmed to have done so.

57. Crime scene clue exposed by dusting : PRINT

58. Hereditary code carrier : GENE

60. Table tennis video game : PONG. Do you remember?

61. Cozumel cash : PESOs. Was that where the ill-fated cruise was headed a few years back?

62. "__ but not least ... " : LAST

63. Trick : RUSE

64. Look after : SEE TO

65. Barely managed, with "out" : EKED

Down:

1. "Parks and Recreation" network : NBC

2. Heavenly glows : AURAE

3. Written (up), as a contract : DRAWN

4. Annually updated reference : ALMANAC. Did any almanac predict this winter?

5. Pulse-boosting exercise, for short : CARDIO

6. Utility measured in kilowatt hrs. : ELEC.

7. Fill with cargo : LADE

8. Qatari bigwig : EMIR

9. Hispanic convenience store : BODEGA

10. Set sail : GO TO SEA

11. Make reparations : ATONE

12. Hangs around : STAYS

13. Sci-fi escape craft : POD

21. Apply before cooking, as spice to meat : RUB IN

22. Papier-__ : MÂCHÉ

26. Spanish pronoun : USTED. (you)

27. Words of grande affetto : TI AMO. Italian for "I love you".

28. Bass staff symbol : F CLEF

29. On-the-back praise : PAT

30. Expressive rock genre : EMO

31. "Contents under pressure" containers : SPRAY CANS. Do not incinerate.

34. Plumbing problem : WATER LEAK

35. Sorento automaker : KIA

36. Throw wide of the cutoff man, say : ERR. (baseball)

39. Dr. Eric Foreman portrayer on "House" : OMAR EPPS. Full name today.

43. G-rated cry of dismay : "OH, FUDGE!"

45. Sneak across the border : SMUGGLE

47. Nosh : EAT

48. Electrified particle : ION

49. Louisiana wetland : BAYOU

51. Hearing, for one : SENSE

53. It has bark, but no bite : TREE

54. Get out of bed : RISE

55. Playing a fourth NHL period : IN OT. (overtime)

56. Network home to "A Prairie Home Companion" : NPR. (National Public Radio)

59. Takeoff approx. : ETD. (Estimated Time of Departure)

Argyle

Monday, May 18, 2015 Tom Uttormark & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Three for One - Three answers for each theme entry...what a deal.

17A. Whole-grain food ... or two universities : BROWN RICE. Brown in Providence, RI; Rice in Houston, TX.

40A. Soviet military force ... or two ants : RED ARMY. Reds; Army.

64A. Bridal bouquet flower ... or two waters : WHITE ROSE. White water, rough river rapids; Rose water, rose petals steeped in water.

11D. Immigrant's document ... or two rooms : GREEN CARD. Green room, where TV guests wait before going on. Card room, often set aside from the rest of the casino; bit quieter.

35D. Aristocrat ... or two moons : BLUE BLOOD. Blue Moon(3:35). Blood moon, when the moon is in a total eclipse, it takes on a deep red hue because of light filtered through Earth's atmosphere.

Argyle here. Tasty little treat today. Nothing forced at all. Decent fill. update: Lemon pointed out that all the entries start with a color.

Across:

1. Prepare, as water for tea : BOIL, and maybe some 1-Down. Spongy sweet cake : BABKA. Something for Steve.

5. Koi or goldfish : CARP. As has been mentioned here before.

9. Toaster waffles : EGGOs. Also with tea?

14. Taj Mahal city : AGRA

15. Great Salt Lake site : UTAH

16. Start of a tennis point : SERVE

19. Fuss in front of a mirror : PREEN. Titivate.

20. Native land of many recent marathon winners : KENYA

21. Look after : TEND

23. Show flexibility : BEND

24. Agreement : ASSENT

26. Dispatches, as a dragon : DOES IN. They're all done in now.

28. Bubble and churn : ROIL. Now where did I put that eye of newt?

30. Retail security employee : MALL COP. It's a franchise for Paul Blart.

33. Corn discards : COBs

36. GPS display : MAP. 42-Across. GPS suggestion : RTE

38. Aquafina rival : DASANI

39. Gmail alternative : AOL

43. Careful with money : FRUGAL. No, not cheap.

45. Stocking part : TOE

46. Altar promises : I DOs

47. Lasting forever : ETERNAL. What those altar promises were suppose to be.

49. Toasty : WARM

51. Expenditures plan : BUDGET

53. Capulet killed by Romeo : TYBALT. How did this sneak in here?

57. Six-time Emmy winner Tyne : DALY

59. Close tightly : SEAL

61. Jazz singer Jones : NORAH

62. Double-reed instruments : OBOES

66. Regional plant life : FLORA

67. Simple choice : A OR B

68. Part of EMT: Abbr. : EMER.

69. Delivery co. with a white arrow outlined within its logo : FED EX

70. Pro votes : YEAs

71. Have the nerve : DARE

Down:

2. Grim Grimm guys : OGRES. Full scale alliteration.

3. Waffle cookers : IRONS. Maybe make some for tea, also.

4. Courtroom team : LAWYERS

5. Nasty mutt : CUR

6. Going __: fighting : AT IT

7. Went fast : RACED

8. Wunderkind : PHENOM

9. Sixth sense letters : ESP. (extrasensory perception)

10. Small pet rodents : GERBILS

12. Broiling spot : OVEN

13. Texter's button : SEND

18. Prefix with second : NANO

22. Doomed one, in slang : DEAD MEAT. Like a Star Trek crew member in a red shirt beaming down to the surface.

25. Intervals between causes and effects : TIME LAGS

27. Delight at the comedy club : SLAY

29. Young boy : LAD

31. Suspicious of : ON TO

32. Desserts with crusts : PIES. Steve definitely should have blogged today.

33. Sidewalk eatery : CAFE

34. __ cloud: remote solar system region : OORT. Another non-Monday entry.

37. "__ the Bunny": touch-and-feel baby book : PAT.

40. "The Fountainhead" writer Ayn : RAND

41. Line of seats : ROW

44. Swiss cheese : GRUYÈRE. See, more food!



named for the medieval Swiss town of Gruyères

46. Cabin fever complaint : "I'M BORED"

48. Wiggle room : LEEWAY

50. Baseball Hall of Famer Sandberg : RYNE

52. Western resort lake : TAHOE

54. Coffee lure : AROMA

55. Surgical beam : LASER

56. "Voilà!" : "THERE!"

57. Tip, as one's hat : DOFF. (better than unhat)

58. Skilled : ABLE

60. Old Italian coin : LIRA

63. Doo-wop horn : SAX

65. "Superstation" letters : TBS. (Turner Broadcasting System) "Very Funny"

Argyle

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 Tom Uttormark & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: WHO'S DA MAN? - T.A.'s the man.

17A. *Miracle Mets center fielder : TOMMIE AGEE

26A. *Creator of Daffy and Bugs : TEX AVERY

37A. *"Songs About Me" country singer : TRACE ADKINS

49A. *He voiced Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story" : TIM ALLEN

58A. *Three-time Super Bowl-winning Cowboys quarterback : TROY AIKMAN

47D. Husk-wrapped Mexican dish, and when divided in three parts, a hint to the answers to starred clues : TAMALE. T A MALE

Argyle here, also Tom (desper-otto) Uttormark and C.C. Quite a few CSO's today; to be expected, I guess, given who our constructors are. The unifier ties it all together and quantifies it as a Tuesday puzzle.

Across:

1. Tie with a cord : BOLO

5. Acute anxiety : ANGST

10. Miss from Madrid: Abbr. : SRTA. (Señorita)

14. Texter's "That being said ..." : OTOH. (on the other hand...)

15. Get on the phone, say : REACH

16. Lustful look : LEER

19. ''If all __ fails ...'' : ELSE

20. Weed whacker : HOE

21. Friskies eater : CAT

22. "Your choice" : "NAME IT"

24. Skip over in pronunciation : ELIDE

28. Nevada gambling city : RENO

29. __ for the course : PAR

31. Variety show : REVUE

32. Dressing component : OLIVE OIL

36. Nav. rank : ENS. (Ensign)

39. Dashboard meas. : MPH. (miles per hour)

41. Unsettled detail : LOOSE END

42. Island near Venezuela : ARUBA. Wish I was there.

44. Mexican mama bear : OSA

45. Official records : ACTA. (plural noun)

52. European toast : SKOAL. English spelling of Skål or skál.

53. Come by : OBTAIN

54. Fraternal club member : ELK. CED provided this link of their secret meetings.

56. CCV x X : MML. 205x10=2050

57. Roughly : OR SO

61. Dumbfound : STUN

62. Wished (for) : HOPED

63. Odometer unit : MILE

64. Pajama parts : TOPS

65. Line in a ledger : ENTRY

66. Fret : STEW

Down:

1. Pester : BOTHER

2. Peter of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969) : O'TOOLE

3. Chinese noodle dish : LO MEIN

4. Unit of resistance : OHM

5. Bay __: Oakland's locale : AREA

6. Tidy : NEAT

7. Joke : GAG

8. Bad thing to make in public : SCENE

9. Bad thing to get at work : THE AX. It might be the result of 8D.

10. Record protector : SLEEVE. Some sleeves and album covers are worth more than the record itself.

11. Takes over for : RELIEVES

12. Trial in simulated conditions : TEST RUN

13. "You __ My Sunshine" : ARE

18. Skating surface : ICE

23. Large game fish : MARLIN

25. Way in : DOOR

26. High-level betrayal : TREASON

27. "You betcha!" : "YES!"

29. __ de gallo: salsa fresca : PICO

30. Chevy hatchback : AVEO

33. [I don't remember the words] : LA LA LA

34. Laudatory poems : ODEs

35. Swedish furniture giant : IKEA

37. Good sign from Ebert : THUMBS UP

38. Fargo's state: Abbr. : N. DAK. (North Dakota)

39. Yoga class rental : MAT

40. Before : PRIOR TO

43. They're waved by conductors : BATONS

46. Say "I do," say : COMMIT

48. Never seen before : ALL NEW

50. Supple : LITHE

51. Scandal-plagued energy giant : ENRON

52. Enjoy the slopes : SKI

54. Watcher : EYER

55. Title for Godiva : LADY

57. East, to Ernst : OST

59. Make a choice : OPT

60. Metric distances: Abbr. : KMs. (kilometer)

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) As Argyle mentioned, Tom Uttormark is our own Desper-otto (D-Otto), who's super efficient and fun to work with. I led him in the wrong paths a few times, but he never complained or gave up. Thanks for the trust, Tom! Thanks also for being a trusted friend. Click here for Tom's potato dumpling recipe (Bluehen, your Sawmill Gravy is not in the Blog Recipe archive also).

2) We had TICO ("Costa Rican native") for 29D in our original submission. Rich changed it PICO to fit the Tuesday difficulty level. He also made the reveal entry easier to grasp. 8D is also Rich's (and lots of others as well), 9D's is Tom's. I love that  "Bad thing to ..." clue echo.

 Tom Uttormark (D-Otto)