Friday, November 4, 2011, Scott Atkinson

Theme: 90 degree LIE, I think I have the right angle on this puzzle. See this diagram (Notice the four LIEs are symmetrically placed.) In the never ending evolution of the 15 x 15 crossword, today we are treated to a new dimension, turning corners. Two of the 4 theme answers are 17 letter fill, and all 4 are run ons.The first two beginning with LIE and the last two ending with LIE. The beginning of the fill is clued correctly, with the remainder just showing a dash. Since Rich does not permit any rebus puzzles, this is another step in seeking originality. I recently did a NY Times, where the fill ran around, so I was ready. It also is the 4th or 5th Scott Atkinson puzzle I have blogged, and he always makes us work, but then he is an iron man triathlete, so let's get on our bikes and go. I am not sure what order to present the theme answers. Because all the LIE part of the words are in the Down grid, we have as our reveal:

12D. Rest a spell, or a fitting title for this puzzle: LIE DOWN.

1D. Henry Blake's rank in "M*A*S*H*": LIE, with17A. -: EUTENANT COLONEL, yields Lieutenant Colonel, which was the unit's first commanding officer's rank, played by McLean Stevenson on TV.

22D. Landlocked Alpine principality: LIE, with 33A. -: ECHTENSTEIN, yields the tiny nation of Liechtenstein. You want MORE?

44A. Lara Croft portrayer: ANGELINA JOL with 47D. - : LIE, yields Angelina Jolie, who inspired this CLIP. (4:08) BONUS: Jolie is the French word for pretty.

64A. Historic Cold War crossing point: CHECK POINT CHARL with 67D. -: LIE. yields Check Point Charlie, as the extended answer to the clue, the cross over at the Berlin Wall..

Well you asked for no puns, and no add ons, and you got what you wished for. Of course to make the two long words work, we have lots of three letter fill (24 total). What did you think? On to the rest.

Across:

1. Some are chocolate: LABS. I had some chocolate lab puppies as my avatar this summer for a while; they were fun.

5. Trim: SHAVE. More like a budget than a face.

10. 1968 self-titled folk album: ARLO. My least favorite Guthrie.

14. "My body's achin' and my time __ hand": James Taylor lyric: IS AT. One of his finest SONGS. (4:07).

15. "Climb aboard!": HOP IN. Sounds more like a train to me.

16. Israel's Iron Lady: MEIR. Former Prime minister Golda. For the boys:

20. Former Calif. base: FT ORD. Fort Ord is a tricky one to parse.

21. "CHiPs" star Erik: ESTRADA. Ladies, hunk or PUNK?

22. China's Chou En-__: LAI. Another part of his name this time.

24. See 25-Down: MEAL, for which you need 25D. Statement before a 24-Across: LET'S EAT.

26. "Dogma" star: DAMON. Matt played our crossword friend LOKI, the impish Norse god (2:02).

27. "Assuming I'm right . . .": IF SO. Part of a logic discussion.

29. Places to treat v-fib: ERS. Ventricular fibrillation (irregular heart beat) Emergency Rooms.

32. Not family-friendly: LEWD. I guess this really depends on the family.

38. Prefix for Caps or Cat: SNO.

39. Confuses: CROSSES UP. Like when your partner trumps your Ace in bridge.

41. Modem owner's need: Abbr.: ISP. Internet Service Provider.

48. Not very much: A TAD.

50. Hr. related to airspeed: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.

51. Garr of "Mr. Mom": TERI. One of my favorites, even in this MOVIE (1:21).

52. Patient contribution: CO-PAY.

54. Spanish hors d'oeuvre: TAPA. Yummy.

58. Driver's gadget: TEE. Golf.

59. Like many bazaars: OPEN AIR. Aren't they all?

62. Synopsis: RECAP.

68. Offer as proof: CITE. My token law word, an accepted abbreviation of Citation.

69. Navel variety: OUTIE. Show of hands for the rare protruding belly button.

70. Dramatic opener: ACT I. All plays begin at the beginning even if it is a flashback.

71. Part of AMEX: Abbr.: AMER. American Stock Exchange.

72. Turn aside: DETER.

73. Midway game word: SKEE. The sort of bowling game which spits out tickets.

Down:

2. Tempe sch.: ASU. Arizona State University. my cousin Beverly obtained her masters there.

3. Odd-shaped reef denizen: BATFISH. This is not the child of Bruce Wayne and a mermaid.

4. Keep one's word?: STET. This editors word for leaving a passage the way it was originally, is classic old time crosswordese.

5. Post on Facebook, e.g : SHARE. How many of us do Facebook or Twitter?

6. Passport issuer?: HONDA. One the car companies many SUV's not your ID for travel.

7. Fitting: APT.

8. __ squad: VICE. Reminds me of the classic POLICE SQUAD.(3:03)

9. Slaughter in the outfield: ENOS. How fitting, as he was a great St. Louis Cardinal.

10. Ethically unconcerned: AMORAL. See 32 Across.

11. Handles differently?: RENAMES. Not a pot handle, but a CB users name.

13. Seat of Florida's Orange County: ORLANDO. Where my youngest sleeps nightly, I hope.

18. Émile, par exemple: NOM. Our french lesson; NOM= NAME. Jeannnnie?

19. Abbr. on some cheques: LTD. The que tells you it from a place where they use LTD instead of INC for their corporations.

23. Pro Bowl div.: AFC. American Football Conference, the old AFL after it was absorbed by the NFL, and the home of many more Super Bowls than the NFC.

28. Needing no Rx: OTC. Over The Counter.

30. React in shock: REEL. Winning the $245 million Powerball jackpot sent Dudley reeling.

31. "I agree, señor!": SI SI. Oui,oui aussi.

34. Stat for Cliff Lee: ERA. Man, is it really luck or is it me; Earned Run Average; Cliff being one of the Phillies' pitchers who let St. Louis sneak in to the World Series. Sorry Dennis.

35. Share for the fourth little piggy: NONE. In case you forgot, LISTEN.

36. USMC NCO: SSGT. Staff sergeant, Non-commissioned Officer.

37. Parochial school figure: NUN. We had a Catholic girl's high school built in our neighborhood when I was a teenager. Saw lots of NUNS trying to make sure I got none, just like the fourth little piggy.

40. Light touch: PAT. There there, it will be all right little girl.

41. Big name in Chrysler history: IACOCCA. The Ford man who rescued Chrysler and became FAMOUS.

42. Shout after a purse-snatching: STOP HIM. How sexist! What if the thief is a woman?

43. Capital of French Polynesia: PAPEETE. Beautiful place, you think?

45. Personal transport, in science fiction: JET PACK. Rex Ryan's posse? I wonder why they are not more in use by now?

46. Refinery input: ORE. OR crude.

49. Comet colleague: DANCER. On Comet, and Dancer and Prancer; a little early Santa Claus for you all.

53. Tibetan milk source: YAK. Yes, they talk so much in Tibet, the milk just pours from their mouths as they just go on and on.

55. Links nickname: ARNIE. Arnold Palmer, who really will always be Mr. Golf, maybe not the best, but the one who made everyone want to play and watch.

56. '80s baseball commissioner Ueberroth: PETER. He was also head of the Olympic Committee when the US hosted the Summer games.

57. Eastern NCAA hoops gp.: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, home of perennial b-ball contenders Duke and NC and many more.

60. Modern music source: IPOD. UPOD, we all pod.

61. Don Juan sort: ROUÉ. A man who dedicates himself to sensual pleasure; hmm. Obviously not encouraged, as the word is from the French rouer which means to break on the wheel, a fun medieval torture.

63. Cries from successful puzzle solvers: AHAS. More fun than the V-8 can in the head.

65. Hairy TV cousin : ITT. The Addams Family, not to be confused with Thing. Itt wore a hat.

66. AAA info: RTE. Route, which is here to remind me to move on down the road.

Answer grid.

It has been fun to read all the comments from our newly recruited members as well as our core. Good to see Carol, Lois and Warren, but I intend to keep pestering all of you who read silently or now and then to come by and say hi on Wednesday November 23, 2011 as we as a nation get ready to give thanks for all we have even, in bad times. We have the Corner, and I hope you enjoyed this brief journey. Thanks Scott A. for another new experience for this long time solver.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Re: Missing Numbers & Theme Clues:

Your local paper format (PDF) is exactly what the constructor & Rich wanted. Across Lite does not allow unnumbered & unclued entries, hence dashes in today's on-line theme clues.

Thursday, November 3, 2011 Julian Lim

Theme: Double Takes. Common phrases with the word “double” are transformed cleverly by doubling the key word, instead, like this:

17A. Much-feared economic situation. DIP DIP RECESSION. “Double” dip recession, or a recession, short-lived recovery, followed by another recession.

24A. Sightseer’s option. DECKER DECKER BUS. “Double” decker bus. Often, a London sightseer’s option.

42A. It both aids and hinders. EDGED EDGED SWORD. “Double” edged sword. If one edge is pointing at the enemy, the other edge is pointing directly back at yourself…

56A. Optimal design for clinical trials. BLIND BLIND STUDY. So, here is where I got the AHA moment. I had ****D BLIND STUDY. And I knew it was “double blind study”, or one where neither the participants nor the administrators of the study know the parameters. DUH! Pass the V8 can, please. How many double blind studies have I overseen in my research years? And to think that the most satisfactory one was in an LA Times crossword puzzle!!

Marti signing in today, and totally loving this puzzle! So let me share some of my thoughts…

Across:

1. Like gates, at times. AJAR. When is a gate not a gate?

5. Wide-brimmed hat wearers. AMISH. Did anyone want Tom Mix? (You are dating yourself!)

10. 5-Across, e.g. SECT. This actually let me go back and fill in AMISH for 5A.

14. Pasture gait. LOPE. Not pace, trot, step, clip or walk…

15. Archaeologist’s prefix. PALEO

16. Chat room “Just a thought…” IMHO. In my humble opinion…

20. AOL feature. ONLINE AD. Ubiquitous, IMHO.

21. Like grapefruit. CITRUS

22. Cross shape. TAU. The Greek cross.

23. It often has two slashes. DATE. 11/03/11. Yep, they’re right…two slashes!

32. Despises. ABHORS

33. Angst. WOE. “Angst is me!”

34. Egyptian threat. ASP

35. Bell, book and candle. NOUNS. We’ve had “Tom, Dick and Harry, e.g.” for NAMES before.

Why no “e.g.” here?

36. Reunion attendees. KIN.

37. Humeri attachments. ULNAE. Filled in rapidly, without thinking about it. But to analyze, “humeri” is the Latin plural of “humerus”, or the long bone of the arm from elbow to shoulder, and ULNAE is the Latin plural of ulna, which is the long bone from the elbow to the wrist.

39. Former station for 26-down. CNN. And 26D. Povich co-anchor. CHUNG. Maury and Connie Chung. “Weekends with Maury and Connie” debuted in January 2006, but was cancelled for lack of interest in June. Connie did a parody of herself in this “Thanks for the Memories” clip when it was cancelled.

40. Go astray. SIN. Who wanted “err”?

41. Advil alternative. ANACIN. Tylenol alternative yesterday, for “Bayer”. Today, ANACIN and Advil are both solid brand names, right? Either way, I’m getting a headache…

46. Mil. Field rations. MRES. Meal Ready to Eat…s. So, how would YOU do the plural? I would probably say “meals ready to eat”…or to abbreviate: MRE.

47. Fruity suffix. ADE. Lemon-, lime-, orange-, block- (…whatever!)

48. Noted. ESPIED. “I espied, with my little eye…” Link.

51. Cold ones. BREWSKIS. Ahhh..now here’s one we can all relate to, right?

58. Tops. A-ONE. My favorite steak sauce!

59. Wading bird. EGRET.

60. Yeats’s homeland. ERIN. Note, the apostrophe in Yeats’s name!

61. Huck Finn-like assent. YES’M. Note, the apostrophe in the contraction…

62. Golden, south of the border. DE ORO. Literally, “of gold” in Spanish.

63. Something on the house?: Abbr. MTGE. Most people have a mortgage on their house.

Down:

1. Tough guy actor __ Ray : ALDO. No clue. This guy.

2. Make one : JOIN

3. Laundry room item: Abbr. : APPL. Appliance

4. __-Tea: White Rose product : REDI. The world's first instant iced tea (or is it "ice-tea"?)

5. Manifests itself : APPEARS

6. Emulate a conqueror : MARAUD

7. "__ Three Lives": old TV drama : I LED

8. Champagne designation : SEC . Meaning "dry" in French. Not to be confused with "sekt", which is the German term for "sparkling" wine.

9. Dixie breakfast fare : HOECAKE. Mmmm..DH loves him some HOE CAKE, made with cornmeal and milk, for breakfast!

10. Convent address : SISTER

11. Mideast chieftain : EMIR

12. Mid-20th-century Chinese premier : CHOU. En-lai, or Zhou Enlai. First Premier of the PRC. C.C. taught me that Cantonese has no "zh" word. Hence Zhou En-Lai becomes Chou En-Lai.

13. Scads : TONS.

18. Lays in a grave : INTERS. Spooky clue - should have had this one on Monday!

19. Where it's at : SITE. Loved this clue! Here's my first thought...

23. Brand in a ratty apartment? : D-CON. Ewww...

24. Ball : DANCE

25. WWII investment choice : E-BOND

27. Heyerdahl's "__-Tiki" : KON

28. Basketball Hall of Fame center since 2008 : EWING

29. Baccarat cry : BANCO. John Lennon mistakenly yelled "Bingo!" in "A Hard Day's Night".

30. Carrier renamed in 1997 : US AIR. Now US Airways.

31. Shell out : SPEND

36. "The __ Are All Right": 2010 Oscar nominee : KIDS

37. Prepares to redo, as a quilt section : UNSEWS. Comments?

38. Court standard : LAW

40. Ready-to-plant plot : SEED BED

41. Augmented : ADDED TO

43. "Crack a Bottle" rapper : EMINEM. Sorry, you're going to have to provide your own links here. I'm going to go crack a bottle of wine...(Hey, it is almost 11 PM when I am doing this, not 5:30 AM!!) (Jeesh!!)

44. Scott in an 1857 case : DRED. Review: Dred Scott unsuccessfully sued for his freedom, and that of his wife and children, because he had lived with his master in states where slavery was illegal. All this was made moot by Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

45. Dough maker? : EARNER

48. Modern option for sellers : EBAY

49. English jelly fruit : SLOE. I like mine with gin!

50. Establishes, with "down" : PINS

51. Ballpoint pen brand : BIRO

52. __ cell research : STEM. Gail Martin at UCSF is a pioneer in this area, and one of my "heroines".

53. "Timequake" author Vonnegut : KURT

54. Hipster's "Gotcha!" : I DIG

55. Word sung on New Year's Day : SYNE. Auld...lang...

57. Bigger than med. : LGE. (You want fries with that??)

Answer grid.

That's it for now. See you next week, same time, same blog spot!

Marti

Wedneday, Nov 2, 2011 David W. Cromer

Theme: SACK IT TO ME! you bet your bippy, all the theme clues are homophones (words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and spelled differently in today's case).

17A. Sachs : GOLDMAN'S PARTNER. goldman-sachs. not a lot of fans these days.

27A. Sacks : FIRES FROM THE JOB. wonder if this will ever happen to anyone from 17a.

48A. Saks : NEW YORK RETAILER. the image below is of his and hers saks fifth avenue stores on opposite sides of the street in chicago's magnificent mile.

64A. Sax : WOODWIND IN A BAND. mindi abair (6:16 - long and worth it). that's what i call a blowjob.

there's a brilliant bonus, that may or may not be intentional:

37A. "Awakenings" actress : MEARA. anne meara portrayed miriam in the movie awakenings, which was inspired by oliver sacks' book by the same name. sacks is a well-known neurologist and author, who suffers from face blindness. there is an interesting episode of wnyc's radiolab (download or stream) about face blindness, with guests oliver sacks and chuck close, an artist who paints faces.

mr. cromer, if you're out there, do drop in and let us know.

melissa here. four beautiful grid-spanners make for a very tidy puzzle. seemed like a perfect wednesday difficulty level to me.

across:

1. Nice forecast : FAIR. lucky us in california, spectacular weather right now.

5. Blatant promotion : PLUG

9. Entertain : AMUSE

14. Shoppe modifier : OLDE

15. Hoosier city : GARY. indiana. according to wikipedia, there doesn't seem to be much consensus about the origin of the word hoosier.

16. Kitchen gadget : PARER. or peeler.

20. Texas longhorn, for one : STEER

a cacophony of noisy entries today:

21. Shocked reaction : GASP. 67. Audibly : ALOUD, 69. "Yikes!" : EGAD, and 70. Sounds from pounds : YELPS. dog pounds.

22. 45-Down et al. : ISP'S. internet service providers, and 45d. Buddy List co. : AOL. in aol, your buddy list consists of the friends in your instant messenger window.

23. Hai or oui : YES. hai (はい) = japanese; oui = french.

25. Atop : UPON

35. Detours, e.g.: Abbr. : RTES. routes. appropriately misleading (detour).

36. Kitty : POT. a pool of money in some gambling card games.

38. Start to sing? : ESS. sing.

39. Fawned over, with "on" : DOTED

42. Uncertain word : MAY

43. Warren Buffett's city : OMAHA. didn't know this fact.

46. JFK listing : ETA. jfk airport, estimated time of arrival.

47. Matchmaker.com connection : DATE. never heard of matchmaker site, only match.

52. __ bargain : PLEA

53. Crunch targets : ABS

54. Uffizi offering : ARTE. museum in florence, italy. so beautiful. anyone here ever been there?

57. Couples with clubs : FRED. Fred Couples. and 5d. Couples's org. : PGA

60. Comic pianist Victor : BORGE

68. Taj Mahal site : AGRA.

71. Maintain : KEEP

72. Conifers with elastic wood : YEWS. lovely bending branches, used in archery bows.

down:

1. Turns opaque, with "up" : FOGS. sometimes the golden gate does that. definitely worth a GASP.

2. Loads : A LOT

3. Run in place : IDLE

4. Late-night flights : RED-EYES

6. Clubber __, nemesis in "Rocky III" : LANG. obscure for me, never saw the movie.

7. Bear in the sky : URSA

8. Plaster of Paris component : GYPSUM

9. Financing letters : APR. annual percentage rate.

10. Daytime fare : MATINEE. one definition for fare is offering.

11. Coffee hour sights : URNS

12. Ooze : SEEP

13. Misses the mark : ERRS

18. GI rations : MRE'S. meal ready to eat. i had some during search and rescue training - not terrible.

19. Date with an MD : APPT. not that kind of date.

24. Dirty Harry's org. : SFPD. san francisco police department.

26. Resistance unit : OHM

27. Refrigerant gas : FREON

28. Announcement at the door : IT'S ME. according to grammar girl: "fortunately, most grammarians forgive you for saying 'it's me,' and the 'it is I' construction is almost extinct."

29. Took in again : RE-SAW. i can hear the groans from here.

30. Pal of Tigger : ROO

31. Playful aquatic critter : OTTER

32. Actor Malcolm-__ Warner : JAMAL

33. Speak with style : ORATE

34. Tylenol alternative : BAYER. both are brand names. tylenol is acetaminophen, bayer is aspirin.

40. Summer on the Seine : ETE. french. pronounced ay-tay.

41. Computer fodder : DATA

44. Really enthused : HYPED UP

47. Act rebelliously : DISOBEY. like him.

49. Homeowner's option, in brief : REFI. re-finance.

50. Ancient Egyptian temple complex : KARNAK. this, but who didn't think of carnac?

51. "Fernando" quartet : ABBA

54. Sports schedule column : AWAY. home and away games. sharks play the next six games at home.

55. Audition aim : ROLE. or sometimes just a roll.

56. Word with box or belt : TOOL

58. On __: nervous : EDGE

59. Calamitous : DIRE.

61. Storm : RAGE. twenty years ago this week, the andrea gail and her six man crew, subject of the book and movie 'the perfect storm,' were lost at sea. riveting book.

62. Eat away : GNAW

63. Actor Byrnes and announcer Hall : EDDS

65. OED entries : WDS oxford english dictionary entries are words.

66. Suede feature : NAP

answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Todd Gross

Theme: "Tennis, anyone?" Scores at a tennis match, from LOVE(zero) to GAME.

18A. Missing someone special : LOVE-SICK

23A. Start of a fictional sea shanty : FIFTEEN MEN

34A. '80s-'90s ABC drama : "THIRTY SOMETHING"

49A. Quick nap : FORTY WINKS

54A. Competitive look : GAME FACE

65A. Where one hears the starts of 18-, 23-, 34-, 49- and 54-Across : TENNIS

Some bonus entries: 64A. Divisions in 65-Across : SETS and 43D. Court figures : JUDGES. The tennis line judge gets yelled at sometimes. We're missing a crossword favorite though, AD IN.

Argyle here. Anchored with a grid-spanner in the middle and the reveal in the lower right, a neat looking grid. Almost like a tennis doubles set up. This is Todd's second LAT puzzle and is quite similar to the first.

Across:

1. Held, as a protest : STAGED

7. Beggar's request : ALMS

11. T-shirt sizes, for short : S M L Small, Medium, Large.

14. Bow user : ARCHER

15. Homebuyer's request : LOAN

16. "Bali __" : HAI. From South Pacific.

17. "Great" Russian emperor : PETER I

20. Modern recording device : TIVO

22. "Now, listen to me ..." : "SEE HERE"

27. Flair : ELAN

28. "Was __ forward?" : I TOO

29. Have on : WEAR

30. Enjoys the shallows : WADES

31. Duke U.'s conference : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference.

32. Jib or spinnaker : SAIL. On the chance Jeannie is watching, "Is Lo-Li-Ta out of the water yet?"

33. Flab : FAT

40. Time workers, briefly : EDs. Time, the magazine; their EDitors.

41. Topsoil : DIRT

42. Not worth a __ : SOU. Sou is used as slang for a small coin of little value, as in sans le sou. "I'm broke", "without money".

43. Doorposts : JAMBS

46. Male swine : BOAR

47. Poetic black : EBON

48. Layer between the sclera and retina : UVEA. A good image.

51. Interrupt : DISTURB

53. Adam's second : ABEL

56. Black Sea port : ODESSA. I used this map because it shows the Sea of Azov.

60. Before, in an ode : ERE

61. Country south of Iran : OMAN. Map.

62. Discrimination based on years : AGEISM. See 21-Down.

63. Damascus is its cap. : SYR. SYRia. See the map at 61-Across.

Down:

1. Oozy tree output : SAP

2. Italian trio : TRE

3. Performance : ACT

4. Inner city area : GHETTO

5. Weird : EERIE. Anybody see some great costumes last night?

6. Garage entrances : DRIVEWAYS

7. More than most : ALL

8. Not so tight : LOOSER. Like this?(1:31)

9. Expert : MAVEN

10. Bygone knife : SNEE. SnickerSNEE.

11. Protection against spears : SHIELD

12. Gordon of "Oklahoma!" (1955) : MACRAE. Clip.(3:24)

13. Notes similarities (to) : LIKENS

19. Blade cover : SHEATH

21. "__ the loneliest number": old song lyric : ONE IS. Hey, who said OLD; I smell AGEISM here. Here, hear the clip.(2:56)

23. Italian automaker : FIAT. In a filing dated 22 July 2011, Chrysler reported that Fiat held 53.5% interest.

24. Skin irritation : ITCH

25. Centers of attention : FOCI. Not sure what the following means.

Cluster analysis of gaze points determined empirical foci of attention. The comparison between these foci and model-generated saliency centres based on ...

26. Unpleasant smell : MALODOR

30. Measure of power : WATT

32. Conventions, for short : STDs. That's short for STANDARDS. You MIGHT get the other STD at a convention. (My bad!)

33. Interisland transport : FERRY BOAT

35. Dealer's incentive : REBATE. Incentive to sell these Fiats or the following.

36. Sporty Mazda : MIATA. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show.

37. Literary ID : ISBN. International Standard Book Number. Ha! There are 9, 10, and now 13 numbered ISBN's.

38. Barnes & Noble e-book reader : NOOK. This. Anybody used one?

39. Six-shooters : GUNS. “I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots, or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?” from Dirty Harry.

44. Zoo section : AVIARY

45. German physician from whose name a spellbinding word evolved : MESMER. Mesmerize - to spellbind; fascinate.

46. Black-spotted feline : BOBCAT, Here, kitty, kitty.

47. Brennan of "Private Benjamin" : EILEEN. She portrayed Capt. Doreen Lewis in this 1980 film. She was Goldie Hawn's nemesis. Pic.

49. Oil holder : FRAME. Tricky. Oil painting.

50. Golfer's lofted iron : WEDGE

52. Sci-fi subjects : UFOs

55. One-point Scrabble letters : ENs

57. It can be carnal or cardinal : SIN

58. Govt. assistance program : SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

59. Trans __: certain Pontiacs : AMs. The Trans Am was a specialty package for the Firebird, 1969–2002.

Now that you've had your breakfast, here is Fifteen Men(on a dead man's chest) with lyrics.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Carol and happy 41st wedding anniversary also.

2) Here is a nice photo from our always entertaining & amusing Husker Gary, taken on his last day as a full-time teacher.

Monday, October 31, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Before Dawn - that's when it's blackest, and this Monday, BLACK can be in front of both words in the themes.

17A. *Shows like “Cheers” and “Friends” : LIGHT COMEDY. . A "black light" has a dark blue optical filtering material in the glass of the bulb which blocks most of the visible light, so the lamp emits mostly ultraviolet. A black comedy is a comic work that employs gallows humor.

25A. *Precious metal trading venue : GOLD MARKET. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea. You can find just about anything on the black market...for a price.

38A. *Soft, lumpy chair : BEAN BAG. Easy Black Bean Soup. Black bag operations are covert or clandestine surreptitious entries into structures to obtain information for human intelligence operations. Does Watergate bother you?

42A. *Winter fisherman’s access : ICE HOLE. Video of a fire truck trying to turn on black ice, watch the front wheels. Clip.(0:55). A spot in space where things go in but don't come out is a black hole.

56A. *Attractive facial mole : BEAUTY MARK. Attractive equine, Black Beauty. Horse theft is definitely a black mark on yor record.

64A. 1987 market crash, and this puzzle’s title, whose first word can precede each word in the starred answers : BLACK MONDAY

Argyle here. It is obvious from the title, this was meant to be a Monday puzzle but some fill is from later in the week. But, hey, we put on our big kids pants and soldier on. Happy Halloween! (Did you check out the Google banner?)

Across:

1. About, date-wise : CIRCA

6. Togo neighbor : GHANA. West coast of Africa. Map.

11. Band booster : AMP

14. Ancient Greek theater : ODEAN. (Correction: ODEON.) I always picture this.

15. Hershey’s caramel candies : ROLOs. Skors yesterday and Rolos today; all gone tonight.

16. Card game with a belligerent name : WAR

19. Author Umberto : ECO. Best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa, 1980), an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory. That's what Wiki says.

20. “Garfield” dog : ODIE

21. Be shy, poker pot-wise : OWE

22. Onion kin : LEEK. Add some to the black bean soup.

24. Wheel edges : RIMS

29. Pub mug : STEIN

31. Simba’s mate, in “The Lion King” : NALA

32. Like a mint Mickey Mantle rookie card : RARE

33. Drilled commodity : OIL. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

35. Drill parts : BITS

37. Understand : GET

44. Klutz : OAF

45. Riverbank deposit : SILT. I never cared for this description; the river bottom or delta. yes.

47. “__ Haw” : HEE

48. Another, in Andalusia : OTRO. Andalusia, a region in Southern Spain, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

50. Like sour cherries : TART

52. Bust makers : NARCs

59. Hindu scripture : VEDA

60. Beatles meter maid : RITA. From the Sgt. Pepper's album. Clip.(2:43)

61. Zip : NIL

62. Bring home : EARN

63. Certain eBay click : BID. But there aren't many auctions anymore.

68. “__ Misérables” : LES

69. Flood barrier : LEVEE

70. Demoted planet : PLUTO. So sad.

71. Chinese menu general : TSO

72. “Yikes!” : "EGADS!"

73. Keys in : TYPES

Down:

1. Red, white and blue : COLORS

2. “Yay, me!” : "I DID IT!"

3. Ruling period : REGIME

4. Ability to stick together : COHESION

5. Picnic bug : ANT

6. Gradually appeal to : GROW ON

7. Amateur photographer’s workshop : HOME LAB

8. Bar pint contents : ALE

9. Green light : NOD. Bit of a stretch, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.

10. Safe havens : ASYLA.  This definition is from the 1913 Webster's Dictionary and may be outdated. (I'd say.)

11. Seven days before now : A WEEK AGO

12. Holy fish? : MACKEREL

13. Poker tour player : PRO

18. Minor player : COG. "I feel like a micro cog in a macrocosm" · - Mary Guyette.(Whoever she was.)

23. Goof up : ERR

26. 552, to Caesar : DLII

27. Fire starter : MATCH

28. Head, in France : TÊTE

30. Penpoints : NIBs

34. Flock at church : LAITY

36. Spotted : SEEN

38. Half-wit : BOOB

39. Diners and such : EATERIES

40. “Yes, unfortunately” : "AFRAID SO"

41. Glittery rock genre : GLAM

43. Angelic : HEAVENLY

46. Hypnotized : TRANCED

49. Ump’s call : OUT

51. Tots’ rides : TRIKEs. Check out this beaut!

53. Do research (on) : READ UP

54. Percentage quoted by a bank : CD RATE

55. Some plasma TVs : SANYOs. Good to see something besides RCA.

57. Dining room piece : TABLE. 65D. 57-Down support : LEG

58. Merged Dutch airline : KLM

63. Short lunch order? : BLT

66. Gardner on screen : AVA

67. Pick, with “for” : OPT

Answer grid.

Argyle

1) Constructors' Note:

This is Don's idea. We originally started color blue and changed to black after seeing blue has been done before. Then Don further enhanced our theme by suggesting going with phrases where both words can follow black. We had fun with this puzzle. Everything went smoothly, from theme entry selection to filling and cluing.

2) Here is a wonderful photo from our regular commenter Yellowrocks, who visited Japan some time ago.