Saturday, June 2nd, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70

Blocks: 27

Welcome to the June 2012 edition of the Saturday Silkie ~! Today's offering has a geometrically pleasing grid pattern, with two 12-letter spanners, one that is both a seed entry and a shout-out to our constructor, and triple spirals of 8- and 6-letters. Firstly, let us say this one was ->

33A. Without a hitch : SMOOTH AS SILK - well, it's about time Barry gave himself a little credit; this one did go easily for me, ironically, once I got this answer....

41A. Reality cooking show with a pitchfork in its logo : HELL'S KITCHEN - Gordon Ramsey's cooking show; I used to watch regularly with my (now Ex-) wife, because she liked his raucous "it's rubbish~!!!" dish reviews; now I can't get into it anymore.

ONWARD -!-!-!


ACROSS:

1. Crams : JAM PACKS - I goofed with "WaLk up" & "St Etna" to start, left me with W_S PACKS (?)

9. Tool that requires steering : JIGSAW - this one took a minute, but it is true

15. Credit union offering : AUTO LOAN

16. Lab subject : AMOEBA

17. Buffet platform : CREDENZA

18. Evidence of a choice : BALLOT

19. Kit __ : KAT - can't stand the commercials for this candy

20. Physicist Ohm : GEORG

22. Stick in a percussion section : CLAVE - huh - as a drummer, this is new to me....but I know the sound they make

23. __ Reader : UTNE - I must be getting better at crosswords - I nailed this one, and who could say that? (alright, no bragging....)

25. Dixieland jazz highlights : SOLOS - somehow, I did not think it was "ARIAS" - JazzB, show us more ~!!

27. North Sea feeder : YSER - which four-letter European river did you try?

28. Rings : PEALS

30. Encouraging word? : ATTA - as in "Atta Girl/Boy ~!"

32. EuroBonus frequent flyers' airline : SAS - had this on Thursday

37. Riding a train, say : ON BOARD

40. Begin, for one : ISRAELI - Such a great mis-direction~! not BEE-gin, but Bay-GEEN - this guy

43. Displeased reaction : BOO

44. Slice and dice : HASH

45. Sticker : DECAL

49. Austrian river : ENNS - map; lots of good CW fill to be found in them rivers....

51. Event monitored by the CIA : N-TEST - nuclear detonations

54. Caramel candy brand : ROLO

55. Couldn't not : HAD TO

57. French toast : SALUT

59. NCAA athlete's eligibility factor : GPA

60. Top performers : A-TEAMS

62. Like one who can't hit a pitch? : TONE-DEAF - sorry, C.C., no baseball today

64. Depression : VALLEY

65. Fame : EMINENCE

66. Page and others : ELLENs - Don't know her; I recognize her from "Juno"

67. Frontman, often : ROCK STAR - for me, the ultimate "Frontman" was David Lee Roth, as exemplified here; honorable mentions go to Vince Neil, of Mötley Crüe ( although he was emulating DLR ), and of course, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin

DOWN:

1. Hike, in a way : JACK UP - ah, like prices, not 12 flights of stairs

2. Salt containing gold : AURATE - considered Pyrite, which is fool's gold


3. Eur. peak mentioned in the "Aeneid" : MT. ETNA - yeah, not SAINT Etna

4. Okra unit : POD

5. Shake __ : A LEG - show me your legs~!

6. Dairy Queen supply : CONES

7. Instrument honored in a Beaufort, South Carolina, museum : KAZOO - and here it is~!

8. Speak angrily to : SNARL AT

9. Poke : JAB

10. Jobs creation : IMAC - Steve Jobs, Apple computers; I'm a PC; too many problems with editing software when I used any Apple product, and my ex-wife's iBook crapped out regularly, too.

11. "Wow!" : GOLLY - we just talked about Gomer Pyle, too

12. Rasta's messiah : SELASSIE - frequently mentioned in Thievery Corporation tunes; this guy, from the WIki

13. Most important : ABOVE ALL

14. Sports item usually seen in pairs : WATER-SKI

21. Literature genre : GOTHIC

24. Common Latino newspaper name : EL SOL

26. Cache : STASH; and 29D. Big hit : SMASH - funny, but going through the clues, I did not see this semi-clecho

31. Start of an embarrassment simile : AS RED as a beet

34. Sitcom spender of brandels and grebbels : ORKAN - here's the Mork from Ork dictionary

35. Some lyrical writers : ODISTS

36. More stable : SANER

37. Austin Powers catchphrase : "OH, BEHAVE~!" - I liked his "shagging-ness" - and his arch enemy, Dr. Evil even more....



38. Like some nurses : NEO-NATAL

39. Joan nominated for an Oscar in "The Blue Veil" (1951) : BLONDELL - from IMDb

42. Play area : THEATER

46. Effective, as an argument : COGENT

47. Fleece source : ALPACA - WAG, but then again, I had all the "A"s

48. Good-for-nothing : LOAFER

50. Passé : STALE

52. Certain reviewer's tool : SLO-MO - sports reviews, mostly in NFL football, though in the NHL, any goal ( or "non-goal"; we had one in this year's play-offs, and it was overturned ) may be reviewed "by Toronto"

53. Belted ancient garment : TUNIC

56. Sign : OMEN

58. Endurance race, for short : TEN-K

61. Part of Mac OS: Abbr. : SYS - Operating SYStem

63. Bouvier __ Flandres: herding dog : DES - total WAG, but then again, Des Frenche has shown up in DES plaines, and DES moines....

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Click here to see a few beautiful pictures Kazie took during her anniversary trip to Spain, where she and her husband Barry first met. Such an interesting looking hotel. Love the last picture. What's the color of Kazie's sweater? Cranberry?

Interview with Joe DiPietro

Today is our second encounter with Joe DiPietro, one of the most prolific NYT constructors in the Will Shortz era. Since 1995, Joe has had 109 puzzles published by the NY Times; 22 are Sundays.

Besides the NY Times and LA Times, Joe also makes puzzles for the Wall Street Journal. In fact, his "LIKE MY NEW OUTFIT?" ("Sets in Order" WSJ, Sept 3, 2010) is one of my favorite theme entries. So creative!

What's the inspiration for this puzzle? What were the other theme entries you also considered but discarded?

I think I just heard the phrase LEAVES IN THE DUST and worked it from there. I got the first three theme entries pretty quickly, but it took a long time to find the fourth (PLANT IN ONE'S MIND). I could have stopped at three. But who would interview someone with just three theme entries?

My only alternate entry was TURN IN ONE'S GRAVE, which was what Maleska would have done if he saw the clue I had for it.

What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

Strictly old school. I remember using my brother's old marbles as black squares. Not easy.

Themed puzzles are easier to make and nearly all constructors' debut puzzles are themed. But you started with a themeless on your first try, made a then-record low 20-black-square in 2001 and continue to make more themeless than themed grids. What's the special attraction of themeless?

Making a themed puzzle is a tender, loving experience. Good work if you can get it. Themeless puzzles are more -- to put it cruciverbally -- Onanistic.

What's the most proud puzzle you've made and why?

My daughter. She can't fall asleep because she has Words With Friends boards in her head.

What kind of theme and fill excite you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?

The only themes that excite me are the ones I haven't seen before. As for fill, I tend to favor trickery over Scrabbliness. Think SILENT I, or WENT TO BED (a past-tense phrase with -ED at the end). Wide-openness doesn't do that much for me anymore since so many people have become good at it.

As for grids, I despise partials. And the letter S in the lower right corner. I made a weekly 17x17 for two years and none of them had either of those.

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors constantly inspire you?

I only solve NYT Saturday and Sunday. I don't time myself, and the goal is to do them in pen without any write-overs. I used to solve more, but then I got hooked on Sudoku (and now I'm even worse with KenKen).

Inspired by? I hate all the other constructors. How DARE someone be more clever than me!

Besides crosswords, what are your other interests?

Actually, I'm not interested in crosswords at all. It's just the most surefire way to put three kids through college.

Friday, June 1, 2012, Joe DiPietro

Theme: The longer the pun, the greater the fun. We have four grid-spanning theme answers, each of which is a common phrase (all four words) that is clued in a totally silly but visually interesting way, with second level puns in each. The first word in the phrase is a verb which has a different meaning as a noun in the clue. Mr. DiPietro is a very regular NYTimes contributor, who is most famous for his themeless work. I may be missing something, but this is a semi-themeless themed puzzle. An odd puzzle with long and short fill. I enjoy each of the four theme answers, so let us see what I see.

17A. Litter in an abandoned library? : LEAVES IN THE DUST.(15) Reminds me of the Roadrunner. Anyway, pages in a book are leaves and libraries are notoriously dusty places.

31A. Imaginary nuclear facility? : PLANT IN ONE'S MIND.(15) Like an idea, and then we have a make believe nuclear plant, another interesting thought.

45A. Singles among the Pringles? : CASH IN ONE'S CHIPS.(15) Man, I would not mind opening my Pringles and finding money, but I am not ready to cash in my chips; let life ride.

58A. Bread seen while finding theater seats? : ROLL IN THE AISLES.(15) What you do when the play is very funny, but if you see a roll under the seat you may not laugh then.

okay, on to the rest

Across:

1. Jokes : KIDS. A hint from a constructor who likes to kid around; read C.C.'s informative interview.

5. Shade for a pool : AQUA. Not a tree, or a screen, but a color. Words have so many shades of meaning. See also the clecho: 14A. Brown shade : ECRU. And, 40D. It's usually not made in the shade : SUN TAN

9. Start of a familiar series : ABCDE. I guess we are back to the beginning.

15. Shoot the curl, perhaps : SURF. Gnarly man.

16. Copy : XEROX. Like Kleenex, this brand name became synonymous with the product.

20. Cross product : PEN. A big graduation present when I was a kid. Tricky clue. LINK.

21. Helping hand : AID. We have many (28) three letter fill in this puzzle.

22. Green around the gills : ILL. See, I told you.

23. Nice thing to steal : KISS. What a sweet, old-fashioned concept.

25. Harbinger of spring : BUD. The croci poking their heads from the brown earth...

27. Turkey's place, for the most part : ASIA. Not on your dinner table, but geographically speaking.

35. Places to get stuck : RUTS. Also 24 four letter answers.

36. Wield, as force : EXERT. As opposed to inert.

37. '50s political initials : DDE. Dwight David Eisenhower. the President.

38. Te-___ cigars : AMO. Literally, I love you. And now a word from our sponsor. LINK. (7:31)

39. WWII aircraft carrier known as the "Mighty Stinger" : USS WASP. No clue, but the clue was logical, so it was not hard to PICTURE.

41. Sushi fish : EEL.

42. Carmelo Anthony's org. : NBA. The Syracuse star who is now a New York Knick.

43. With 67-Across, museumgoers musing : BUT IS. 67A. See 43-Across : IT ART. Often said when Andy Warhol started exhibiting his work.

44. "What a ride!" : WHEE. Onomatopoeia. Not to be confused with I wanna poeia. See yesterday.

49. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE. WOW. Really classy.

50. Amount past due? : TRE. The old counting in Italian trick, DUE= two, TRE= three.

51. Square or level : TOOL.

52. Wanted-poster letters : AKA. Also Known As. Yes, I can explain this one, also.

54. Strikes (out) : XES. Sorry, C.C., no baseball, just the old way using a typewriter for a mustake mistake.

55. 2008 BCS football champs : LSU. Hahtoolah, where are you?

64. Bread in a deli : BAGEL. Another clecho, with 58 A a theme clue.

65. Make concessions : BEND. But do not break.

66. Art store stock : OILS.

68. Win over : SWAY. Like voters.

69. Sport : WEAR. Not where, or ware.

Down:

1. Laminaria, for one : KELP. Time to LEARN. Kelp sounds so much netter than brown algae.

2. Slush Puppie maker : ICEE. More SHELDON. I love the sub-titles!

3. Showed concern for someone's health? : DRANK A TOAST. Another visual and with 38D, a nice pair of 11s.

4. Durango, e.g. : SUV. By Dodge. Dexter voices the commercials.

5. Umbrian birthplace of two saints : ASSISI. Clare and FRANCIS.

6. Pounds in Plymouth : QUID. Plymouth, England. Debate over the how the term started, perhaps from the paper factory in Quidhampton where banknotes came from. Steve? Nice Cuppa you out there?

7. Kitchen server : URN. You want you coffee, you have to urn it.

8. "To the rear, Admiral!" : AFT. A little Navy humor, with no vice intended.

9. Skating maneuver : AXEL. For our dear CA and Robin who have skated into our hearts WATCH.(1:17) I love the sound.

10. Utter chaos : BEDLAM. Like XEROX and KLEENEX this word derived from the name of a London Hospital for the criminally insane, known for its cruelty and inhuman treatment of the mentally ill. See also Arkham Asylum for those of you who read and watch movies.

11. Unlikely classification term for 25-Down : CRU. A premier wine, never likely to end up as a 25D. Libation pooh-poohed by some : BOX WINE. It is pooh poohed, because that is what it tastes like. marti would be furious.

12. Novelist John ___ Passos : DOS. An important WRITER.

13. Dept. phone no. : EXTension.

18. All-Star side : EAST. I really wanted WEST!

19. It's quarry : HIDERS. Maybe not, you could have this PRODUCT.

24. Former U.S. Border Patrol gp. : INS. Immigration and Naturalization Service

26. Discomfort : UNEASE. Getting there.

28. Golf ball-on-a-slope challenge : SIDEHILL LIE. Shotgun start at 8:00am, but this is Florida, there are no hills except this MOUNT.

29. Irreversibly committed : IN DEEP. Probably the part of the rough I will be in tomorrow.

30. Astaire and Simpson : ADELES. Fred's dancing partner sister, and the fashion designer,

31. Derby winner's move : PRANCE. Which Derby? The horsies prance?

32. Like some medical punctures : LUMBAR. Like THIS.(0:55)

33. Trojan War sage : NESTOR. Nice MYTHOLOGY.

34. Longtime sponsor in NASCAR events : STP. Andy Granatelli's fuel additive company.

39. Latin "where" : UBI. SEMPER UBI SUB UBI.

44. "___ said so?" : WHO. I did.

46. Doctor, ideally : HEALER. _____ is a common given name for a male. It comes from Greek meaning "healer"

47. Main squeeze : STEADY. Not to be confused with the Squeeze Box.

48. Mozart's "___ fan tutte" : COSI. LISTEN. (4:25)

53. Skirt often worn with ghillie brogues : KILT. Skirt!

54. TV ally of Hercules : XENA.

56. Ward with awards : SELA.

57. WWII power : USSR.

58. Good squeeze result, for short : RBI. Finally, the baseball, a squeeze bunt.

59. Muffin morsel : OAT. I like Orange Cranberry better.

60. JFK alternative : LGA. Airport codes in NYC.

61. "Dinner and a Movie" channel : TBS. LINK.

62. Cut down : HEW. EWE again? You? oooooo.

63. Farm female : SOW. Cow fits too, but not words to use with your DW. A good place to stop before I get into trouble. Enjoy June. Rabbit Rabbit out of Habit.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Thursday, May 31, 2012 Bill Thompson

Theme: Boxer set?

No...Boxing set??

Uhhh.. "Boxed"set?

...sorry, I got distracted with the theme today. AHEM!!

(On to the regular program....)

65A. With 1-Across, Time-Life Records product...and in a way, what each of the answers to the starred clues is : BOX, and 1-Across: See 65-Across : SET.

Aha! BOX SET !!

So how does that relate? Each of the theme entries begins and ends with a word that could be "boxed", making a "set":

17A. *Ongoing saga : SOAP OPERA. SOAP box is what a politician uses to express his views...and an OPERA box is my favorite place to be in Vienna.

29A. *Focaccia-like treat : PIZZA BREAD. PIZZA box is what I always wonder, "Can I recycle this???", and a BREAD box is where .... the bread gets green.

43A. *Kitchen extraction gadget : JUICE PRESS. JUICE box is what I wish my wine came in, so I wouldn't spill it... or, it might describe the coverage at OJ's trial? And a PRESS box is where all those pundits sit.

56A. *Barely find room for : SQUEEZE IN. A SQUEEZE box is another name for an accordion. My daddy used to play one (with mummy on the violin...). And an IN box is what I look forward to every Monday morning....(Not!!!)

Put them all together, and they make four "box set"s! Brilliant!

Marti here, to wend our way through the rest of the entries:

Across:

4. "My Cousin Vinny" star : PESCI. "What's a 'ute'?" Great flick!!

9. Mar. parade VIP : ST PAT.rick

14. Bio stat : AGE

15. Abbr. seen before a year : ESTAB.lished

16. Ad : PROMO. tion

19. Cougar and Impala : AUTOS. And a clecho with 7-down. Cougar or Impala : CAR. Take me for a ride in your car, car...1:50

20. Grammar class no-no : RUNON. Likethisanswer?

21. They're unbeatable : NEMESES

23. Prolonged suffering : AGONY

25. City on the Orne : CAEN. In Normandy, northwestern France. Image.

27. Cutting remark : GIBE

28. Broke down : WEPT

31. Vein pursuit? : ORE.

32. Brewer's need : MALT

33. "Surely you don't mean me?!" : MOI. Who...moi??? 4:47

34. 60-Across with heart-shaped leaves : LINDENS. (Why yes, they are...)

36. Set-up punch : LEFT JAB (...see second image, at top of page.) (Or, is that a right jab?) (I don't know my right from my left tonight!!)

40. Poet-punk music genre : EMO. Such drama!! 3:49

41. Ill-gotten gains : PELF. It took a while for this word to come to me, but I am resolved to use it in a sentence today! pelf...Pelf...PELF!!

42. Before now : AGO. How would you clue this one? (...not as easy as you thought, is it??)

47. Bikini specification : B CUP. OK, how about a few cups here? (I think we need Dennis's expert measurements here...)

48. In another life : ONCE...upon a time

49. Fireside stack : LOGS

50. Concession stand drinks : COKES

51. "True dat!" : I HEAR YA

53. Bovine bedding : STRAW

55. Off one's rocker : NUTSO (Thanks for catching that one, Anony-Mouse!)

60. "A nest of robins in her hair" poem : TREES. Joyce Kilmer (Where is Clear Ayes??):
"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."

61. Players take them : TURNS

62. Music-licensing org. : BMI. "Broadcast Music, Inc."

63. ___ de France: sports venue near Paris : STADE. Football and rugby stadium.

64. Sprouts-to-be : SEEDS

Down:

1. KLM rival : SAS. Can you say Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.? (Jerome?) And, Scandanavian Airlines System (OK, I can say that one!!)

2. Centrist leader? : EGO.

3. Eagerly deal with, as an envelope : TEAR OPEN. (Oh yes, I just "tear open" all those bills!!)

4. Indiana state flower : PEONY. Beautiful.

5. Hockey nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito, from the Boston Bruins and (ack!) New York Rangers.

6. Sign-making aids : STENCILS

8. Spanish writer Blasco ___ : IBANEZ. Best known for his novel "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"

9. Cyberjunk : SPAM. I get about 100 spam emails a day....fortunately, I have a program that filters them to a "junk mail" box...

10. 2010 Coen brothers Western : TRUE GRIT. Do you think Jeff Bridges lived up to John Wayne's original portrayal?

11. "Happy Days" pal of Richie : POTSIE

12. It divides to multiply : AMOEBA. Opposite of "E pluribus unum"?

13. Threw easily : TOSSED (Somehow, this had a really bad vision of leaning over a toilet...ewww)

18. Kick with a "hang time" : PUNT. I got a kick out of this clue!

22. Glossy coats : ENAMELS

23. Illegally off base : AWOL. Absent WithOut Leave

24. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI

26. HIV-treating drug : AZT. Azidothymidine. (But you knew that, right??)

29. Impressive display : PANOPLY.

"Thee for my recitative,
Thee in the driving storm even as now, the snow, the winter-day declining,
Thee in thy panoply, thy measur'd dual throbbing and thy beat
convulsive,
Thy black cylindric body, golden brass and silvery steel..."
- Walt Whitman
(...where is ClearAyes??)

30. Box office smash : BOFF. From the British "boffin", meaning a scientist or technical expert. Not sure how that translates to a "box office smash".

32. Internet ___: fast-spreading item : MEME. Nonsensical internet clips that go viral, like this one. Why?

35. "That parrot is definitely ___": line from a Monty Python sketch : DECEASED. Funny clip. 5:34

36. Not as confident : LESS SURE

37. Friday guy? : JACK WEBB. Who remembers him? "Just the facts, ma'am..." 2:21

38. Feverish chills : AGUE

39. Conks on the head : BOPS

41. Throw hard : PEG

43. Ace bandage sites : JOINTS

44. Injury-free : UNHURT

45. Picnic pitcher filler : ICE TEA. No, no, no...IT IS ICED TEA!!

46. Friars Club events : ROASTS

47. Ruth's husband : BOAZ

50. Mustard family plant : CRESS

52. Lost a lap? : ROSE. (Stood up)

54. Serve behind bars : TEND. "Two termites walk into a bar..."

57. José's "Huh?" : QUE. And here is how to pronounce it. 0:01

58. "As I see it", in email : IMO. "In My Opinion", or, more politely: "IMHO" ("In my humble opinion").

59. Quash : NIX. Ix-Nay!

Answer grid.

That's all for tonight. See you next week!

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: The joke's on Ewe!

17A. "My bad!" : I SCREWED UP! As I did in a couple of places today before sanity prevailed.

24A. Compact disk carrier : JEWEL BOX. I thought it was a Jewel CASE, now I know better.

37A. Stairway post : NEWEL. I want to buy a house with an upper floor just so I can point out my newel posts to visitors.

51A. Like shish kebab : SKEWERED. Oh Lordy - Awesome!

3D. Steered clear of : ESCHEWED. Wonderful word.

11D. Dodger great Reese : PEEWEE

26D. Common time between paychecks : ONE WEEK. I wish mine came as regularly!

39D. Fashionable retailer named for an address : NINE WEST. I actually knew this from spending some considerable time in women's shoe departments over the years shopping with girlfriends. You've got to have something to talk about while they're trying on three hundred pairs. The original store was at 9, W. 57th Street in Manhattan.

46D. Gushed : SPEWED

62D. See 59-Across : EWE

and the unifier:

59A. Fight insomnia, in a way ... and if you do it in this puzzle, you'll find ten 62-Downs : COUNT SHEEP

Hi everyone, Steve here with the latest outing from the Dynamic Duo! I'm sure there's a fancy-schmancy word to describe this style of puzzle, but what we've got here are no less than 10 theme answers, one of which is the theme word on its own, all tied together by the 11th unifying clue/entry.

My absolute favorite is 51A - Skewered! It seems so wrong, but so ... right! And Food!

The fill was full of fun too - when you've got so many W's floating around it had to be a struggle to fit everything in around the theme. I think Don and C.C. did a great job. I had a couple of "hmmmmms", but nothing that made me groan, at least not out loud. Let's see what else we've got here:


Across

1. Quite some time : AGES

5. Pals, in slang : PEEPS

10. __ arms : UP IN

14. Prurient interest : LUST

15. __ vincit amor : OMNIA. Love Conquers All.

16. Suvari of "American Beauty" : MENA. I had to dig this one out of the dim recesses. This whole quadrant was a struggle for me.

19. "MacArthur Park" songwriter Jimmy : WEBB. Part of my personal Natick today. I didn't know this gentleman, and I couldn't see that the "M" in U.M.W. didn't stand for Mineworkers, so I was thinking "Union of Mineworkers ... something .....". Darn. DNF for me for that one letter.

20. "Take this" : HERE

21. Work undercover : SPY

23. Whisper sweet nothings to, say : WOO

27. Harsh : ACERB. I love this word, and resolve to use it in a sentence today. ESCHEWED comes a close second for my WOTD.

29. Sound over a cornfield : CAW

30. Chieftain's group : CLAN. I had the music meme running around in my head - I knew the Chieftains were a group anyway, so this one stumped me for a while. Then - D'oh!

31. Composer of "The Wizard of Oz" songs : ARLEN. Who knew? Plenty of you smart folks I'm sure, but this was news to me.

32. Turn away, as one's eyes : AVERT

34. Maintain an address : RESIDE. I wanted "Orates for way too long when we all want to do is make the toast so we can start the party" at first but it didn't quite fit.

36. Diddly, in Cádiz : NADA

38. Med school subj. : ANAT. Is it Grey's Anatomy or Gray's Anatomy? One is the show, the other the textbook. Need to Google to check.

42. What Annabel Lee's kingdom was by : THE SEA. Edger Allen Poe's poem. I know the phrase from the title of a travel book by Paul Theroux describing a journey by train around the coast of the UK.

44. Chief's group : TRIBE. Nice echo of 30A here.

45. It may be liquid or frozen : ASSET. Cleverly done.

47. "What __ is new?" : ELSE

49. Born, in some bios : NÉE. French. I think you're not meant to put diacritical marks on capital letters in French, but I put the e-acute here for emphasis.

50. "Whammo!" : KAPOW!

53. Standout pilot : ACE

54. Bit of rest : NAP

56. From scratch : ANEW

57. Politico Gingrich : NEWT

64. TV musical set in Lima, Ohio : GLEE. I got this completely through crosses and didn't even see the clue until I got here to write it up.

65. Kitchen occupant of song : DINAH. Completely unknown to me, and again filled in through crosses. Jazzbumpa - any insight into this one?

66. "Even __ speak ..." : AS WE

67. "M*A*S*H" actor : ALDA. Alan of "Hawkeye" Pierce fame. Donald Sutherland played the character in the original movie.

68. Feat of genetic engineering : CLONE. Dolly the Scottish Sheep was the first of the clones clan. That sounds like a Star Wars sequel, and fits the theme today!

69. Early all-metal bomber : B-TEN. Another learning moment for me. I knew there was a B-17 and a number of subsequent numerations, I suppose it's obvious that there was probably even a B-1.

Down:

1. Baba the woodcutter : ALI

2. Gloomy guy : GUS

4. Scatter : STREW

5. Secretary of State before Rice : POWELL. I'm sure Colin was observing Memorial Day yesterday.

6. Linguistic suffix with morph- : EME. I just looked this up to give you all a jolly smart explanation of what a morpheme is. I can't. C.C. is my go-to person for language explanations, so I'll ask her to chime in here. (C.C.: To me, morphemes are what make up words. Two morphemes in "Cheated", cheat & ed. But I'll defer to our language expert Kazie. Welcome back, by the way!)

7. Wrap up : END

8. 1903-'14 pope : PIUS X

9. NFLer Warren who competed on "Dancing With the Stars" : SAPP. He was paired with my favorite, Kym Johnson and they were runners-up in Season 7.

10. Coal industry labor org. : U.M.W. (United Mine Workers). Second half of my personal Natick today.

12. Congenital : INBORN

13. "Nattering" big shot, in an Agnew speech : NABOB. How anyone could ever attempt to use the phrase "Nattering Nabobs of Negativity" followed up by "hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history" shows enormous faith in your speechwriter and your ability to deliver back-to-back alliterations.

18. Standing tall : ERECT

22. Home front? : YARD

24. Morning mugful : JAVA. I'm hopeless without it.

25. Uncovers : BARES

28. Easy to follow : CLEAR

29. Give the heave-ho : CAN

31. Have the sniffles : AIL

33. Dustin's "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO. Usually have to wait for the cross to decide between "S" or "Z" here, especially as Hoffman's character has the last name of "Rizzo".

35. Black Panthers co-founder Bobby : SEALE

37. Bottom line : NET

40. In for the night : ABED

41. Golfer's doohickey : TEE

43. Chopped down : HEWN

44. Adolescents : TEENS

45. Smallish battery : AA CELL. Hmmmmm - one of my least-favorites today.

48. Wrap snugly : SWATHE. However, this was one of my most-favorites, so all is forgiven. I didn't think until today that SWATHE has more than one meaning (cutting a swathe). For such an unusual word, well, it's unusual!

50. Milne bounder : KANGA. Roo's Mom in The Hundred Acre Wood. I much prefer the original book illustrations to the Disney-fied versions.

51. Ruin : SPOIL

52. P.T. center, e.g. : REHAB

55. Adaptable, electrically : AC/DC. Not just electrically, but that a subject for another day and another blogger.

58. Pekoe or oolong : TEA. Tea has the most wonderful names. A boon to crossword constructors everywhere.

60. Dos halved : UNO

61. Bread served with vindaloo : NAN. Yay! More food! Lamb Vindaloo too!

63. Fenced-in area : PEN

Answer grid.

That's all from me. I'm off to look up some recipes for lamb, this whole puzzle made me hungry.

Steve

1) Note from C.C. & Don:

Don got this idea while reading a comic book. He said the story line was about counting sheep to fall asleep. We thought of putting ZZZ in one corner, but discarded the idea eventually. Did you count how many EWEs we put in the grid?

2) Happy LXXIII-rd Birthday to EddyB! What's on the menu today?

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Jeff Stillman

Theme: The Fab Four

20A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "BAND ON THE RUN". Paul McCartney & Wings Clip.(5:14) There is an extensive write-up with it.

30A. '60s pop group : BEATLES

35A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "MY SWEET LORD". George Harrison Clip.(4:57) I've never heard this version and had a hard time believing it really was George. (still not sure)

44A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "IMAGINE". John Lennon Clip.(3:32)

54A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "YOU'RE SIXTEEN". Ringo Starr Clip.(2:47)

Argyle here. It was tough listening to all those clips but somebody had to do it.

Across:

1. Canal locale : PANAMA. "A man, a plan, a canal – Panama!" Famous palindrome.

7. Exile isle : ELBA. "Able was I ere I saw Elba" Another one.

11. Young boy : LAD

14. Mount where Noah's ark landed : ARARAT

15. Color similar to aqua : TEAL

16. "__ was saying ..." : AS I

17. Staccato's opposite : LEGATO. Detached versus smoothly, per this handy site.

18. "B.C." creator Johnny : HART. Comic strip.

19. Mex. neighbor : USA

23. Longtime U.K. record label : EMI. There is a connection between EMI, Apple Records and the Beatles.

26. Speechifier's spot : DAIS

27. Botanical puffiness : EDEMA

28. High-pitched flute : PICCOLO

32. Shady spot : ARBOR

33. Detective's lead : CLUE

40. Ain't as it should be? : ISN'T. Clever clue.

41. Bring together : UNITE

49. Gasoline ratings : OCTANES

51. Parceled (out) : DOLED

52. Sharer's word : OURS

53. Tree juice : SAP

58. Advanced legal deg. : LL.M. (Master of Laws)

59. Top of the line : A-ONE

60. Stylish Oldsmobiles : ALEROs. Gone but not forgotten.

64. PC linking acronym : LAN. A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, or office building. (Wiki)

65. __ Gaga : LADY. I have no idea what this clip is about. It is a collection of clips of the Beatles while Lady Gaga sings Let's play a Love Game.

66. Catches some z's : SLEEPS

67. Doo-wop's __ Na Na : SHA

68. Terrier named for a Scottish isle : SKYE

69. Expansive home : ESTATE

Down:

1. Bud : PAL

2. "My lips __ sealed" : ARE

3. Re-re-re-remind? : NAG. "If I told you once, I've told you five times ..."

4. Oman man, usually : ARAB

5. Bullfighters : MATADORS. We had TORERO yesterday. Both fight the bull but it is the MATADOR that may kill the bull.

6. Keyless : ATONAL. Tricky clue.

7. Spirit of a people : ETHOS

8. Hamburger grading word : LEAN

9. Starr of the NFL : BART. Card. No relation to Ringo Starr.

10. '50s tennis standout Gibson : ALTHEA

11. Bay leaf source : LAUREL

12. Undertake, as responsibilities : ASSUME

13. Rigg and Ross : DIANAs. A couple of candid shots. Rigg; Ross.

21. Bishop's domain : DIOCESE

22. N.J. summer setting : EDT

23. Org. with a monthly "Go Green!" newsletter : EPA. The May issue.

24. Craft whose name means "peace" : MIR. The space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001.

25. SALT weapon : ICBM. (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks/InterContinental Ballistic Missile)

29. Playfully noncommittal : COY

30. "Keep your opinions to yourself!" : "BUTT OUT!". Unfortunately, we must tell some Anons to do this when they cross the line. Oh wait, we delete and ignore the trolls.

31. Long-bodied swimmer : EEL

34. Novelist Deighton : LEN

36. Carry the day : WIN

37. Bests in the market : OUTSELLS. (both verbs)

38. Messenger molecule : RNA

39. Headache intensifiers : DINS

42. Afternoon social : TEA

43. Debatable mental ability : ESP. (ExtraSensory Perception)

44. Poems with pastoral themes : IDYLLs. Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Care to read them? Link.

45. Do-re-mi : MOOLAH

46. Mount Holyoke grad : ALUMNA. Although Mount Holyoke only considers female applicants for admission, it will award diplomas to transgendered students who become male or identify themselves as male by the time they complete their studies. So are they ALUMNA or ALUNUS?

47. Lang. of Luther : GER.

48. Worthy principles : IDEALS

50. Pressed-pants feature : CREASE

52. Yellow-and-white daisy : OXEYE

55. Linger in the Jacuzzi : SOAK

56. Memorial Day race, informally : INDY

57. Old Nair rival : NEET

61. "Michael Collins" actor Stephen : REA. He may not have much on this side of the Atlantic but check out his IMDb entry.

62. Pick, with "for" : OPT

63. U-turn from NNW : SSE. (HDG's)

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 28, 2012 Kurt Mueller

Theme: That's One Strange Critter - Do we have any artists that could sketch this animal and posted it somehow? I'm sure I could search all of Googledom and not find an image to match!

17A. TV-top antenna : RABBIT EARS. You don't see ads for rabbit ear antennas much anymore.

30A. Airhead : BIRDBRAIN

36A. Sharp bends in fairways : DOGLEGS

38A. Reedy marsh plant : CATTAIL. They are being pushed out by invasive Phragmites.

46A. Craps loser : SNAKE EYES. Rolling a two(3 or 12 are crap/loser, also.) in the dice game called craps.

63A. Snug-collared top : TURTLENECK

Argyle here. Minor problem: some entries are one word and some are two. Does it matter? Not to me. They are all animals and they are all body parts but they are clued as animorphized objects. Don't bother looking that one up; I just coined it. It is giving animal traits to non-animals. You got something better, let's hear it.

In the meantime, six entries and a couple of strong corners make for a pretty good Monday puzzle, eh? Kurt hasn't been around for a couple of years but he still has it.

Well, I'll be, the NYT puzzle today is Kurt Mueller's, too.

Across:

1. Cotton swabs : Q-TIPS

6. "Rush Hour" co-star Jackie : CHAN

10. Installs, as carpeting : LAYS

14. Figure out, as a bill : TOT UP

15. Promote extravagantly : HYPE

16. All over again : ANEW

19. Enthusiastic hand-raiser's cry : "ME! ME!"

20. Canonized mlle. : STE. French.

21. Iowa crop : CORN

22. Like pant legs : SEAMED. Or a silk stocking.

24. Adjust the pitch of, as a guitar string : RETUNE

26. Pickling liquid : BRINE

27. Hightail it : FLEE

32. Corrida showman : TORERO. A bullfighter. Kingston Trio - El Matador.(2:28)

35. Stud farm stud : SIRE

43. Where resented comments stick, metaphorically : CRAW. (throat)

45. Concert memento : T-SHIRT

51. The "E" in FEMA: Abbr. : EMER. Fed. Emer. Mgmt. Agcy.

52. Circle dances : HORAs

53. Mr. Bill's nemesis, in "Saturday Night Live" skits : SLUGGO

56. Unwilling (to) : AVERSE

58. "Pants on fire" fellow : LIAR

59. __ Vegas : LAS. No longer a Splynter destination.

62. Man-to-man defense alternative : ZONE

66. "This weighs __!" : A TON

67. Hint : CLUE

68. Atlanta university : EMORY

69. David Wright's team : METS. Third baseman.

70. Ranch employee : HAND

71. Vetoes : NIXES

Down:

1. Fiscal-yr. fourths : QTR's. (quarters)

2. Right on the nose : TO A "T"

3. "Could __ Magic": Barry Manilow hit : IT BE. Barry with the late Donna Summer, Link(5:42), at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, NV, on June 5, 2004.

4. Place for drafts and darts : PUB

5. Cinnamon or cloves : SPICE. Spice up your eggnog.

6. Rosy-cheeked angel : CHERUB

7. Cape Cod fishing port : HYANNIS. Gee, isn't there a famous compound out there.

8. Mo. for fools? : APR.. When the 99% pay taxes.

9. Monster's loch : NESS

10. Hollywood's Hedy : LAMARR

11. Iron-poor blood condition : ANEMIA

12. Sana'a native : YEMENI. Map. West of Oman, which means it is west of Mumbai.

13. Homeland of Saab and Volvo : SWEDEN. Sob! Sob! Saab is homeless now.

18. Moppet : TOT

23. __ Field: Brooklyn Dodgers' home : EBBETS. Charles Ebbets financed the building of Ebbets Field in 1912 by selling half his shares in the team to the McKeever Brothers.

24. Barn dance dance : REEL. Yellowrocks.

25. Songwriter Clapton : ERIC. He's much more than just a songwriter.

27. Busy co. on Mother's Day : FTD. Founded as Florists' Telegraph Delivery, it is now Florists' Transworld Delivery.

28. Lav in London : LOO. Lav is shortened lavatory.

29. Unit of work : ERG

31. "Dang!" : "DRAT!"

33. Schoolyard playtime : RECESS

34. Fairy tale baddie : OGRE

37. Utters : SAYS

39. Van Gogh's brother : THEO. A quick peek at the Wikipedia article, will explain why he is famous.

40. Zero in : AIM

41. Ill temper : IRE

42. Photocopier tray size: Abbr. : LTR. (letter size)

44. Like an efficiently managed business : WELL RUN

46. Exclamation from Gomer Pyle : "SHAZAM!"

47. Dissenting ballot : NO VOTE

48. "Am too!" reply : "ARE NOT!"

49. Actresses Black and Allen : KARENs

50. Befitted : SUITED

54. Guy's partner : GAL. Guys and Gals premiered on Broadway in 1950.

55. Eco-friendly : GREEN

57. Make an engraving : ETCH

59. Tenth of 13 popes : LEO X.

John - 23 times

Benedict - 16 times

Gregory - 16 times

Clement - 14 times

Innocent - 13 times

Leo - 13 times

Pius - 12 times

Stephen - 10 times

60. Farm fraction : ACRE

61. "The __ the limit!" : SKY'S

64. Suffix with "form" : ULA

65. Abbr. for people with only two names : NMI. (no middle initial)

Answer grid.

Argyle