Friday, June 28, 2013, Victor Barocas

Theme: Counting on you.

In the time I have been blogging I have had times where it is hard to name a puzzle and describe the the theme, but I usually manage, but this one has me, well, puzzled. The reveal is the a three step multi-word answer reminiscent of the quotation themes from days of yore. There is no way to solve the three parts to get the reveal except through perps, though because I always place the number of letters in a theme fill after the words, the concept came quickly. This allowed me to get it done after I had some of the letters. 54 theme letters and the wonderfully preserved symmetry makes this an impressive work from Victor Barocas, the Minnesota based constructor who was pictured along with C.C. in her Sunday write up. He has done early week puzzles for us before now, and this effort does include many 3 and 4 letter words which helped, but a trade off for such an intricate two headed theme. Let's dissect this one.

18A. With 33 and 52-Across, what 23-, 42- and 61-Across have in common : EACH OF THEM,(10)

33A. See 18-Across : ENDS WITH. (8).

52A. See 18-Across : ITS LENGTH. (9).

then:

23A. Intermediate level : MEZZANINE. Notice the number of letters in this entry? Exactly 9.  The only one where the pronunciation changed.

42A. How some veggies are sold : BY WEIGHT. This entry has 8 letters.

61A. Creator of Emma Woodhouse : JANE AUSTEN. This entry has 10 letters. This took a bit to focus on which Emma it might be, and it is nice to see a complete name. LINK. (2:17).

Across:

1. Pooh-pooher of the provincial : SNOB.

5. Round trip? : ORBIT. Actually, most orbits are elliptical not round.

10. Barclays Center team : NETS. This is tricky and meant for a true sports fan as the Brooklyn Nets are not a household name. What is most interesting is the appearance the team was bought only as part of a master real estate development PLAN.

14. Irish pop group family name : CORR. All perps, but they seem interesting, will have to listen, LINK.

15. How most fly : COACH. Nice clue/fill and more true now than ever.

16. Overseas "other" : OTRA. Straight translation.

17. Start to till? : ROTO. I was thinking how cool it would have been if the previous fill was OTRO, which along with ROOT is an anagram.

20. B-boy link : AS IN. Speaking of B-Boy, has anyone watched the Liberace movie on HBO with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon?

21. Foofaraw : ADO. Never heard of this word but the fill was easy.

22. It's often grated : ROMANO. Cheesy but easy answer when Parmesan did not fit. Not to be confused with this CHEESY (8:02) one.

26. Lets use for now : LENDS. Poor Polonius.

27. Skye writing : ERSE. The old language of this North Sea Island.

28. Tree sacred to the Druids : OAK.

30. Wheel man? : SAJAK. He has made a Fortune standing while they spin; as Fermatprime pointed out, he lends his name to the publication of some crosswords.

38. Force on Earth, for short : ONE G.

39. "___ of Identity": Conan Doyle story : A CASE. One of Sherlock Holmes most fun cases with the added twist that is a  fiction story telling how life is stranger than fiction.

41. ___ Cakesters : OREO.

44. Get value out of, in a way : SMELT. Another fishy clue, that misled me completely.

45. Firing org.? : NRA.  National Rifle Association.

46. Massage target : ACHE. It was not knot.

48. Not now? : DATED. Not new not now?

57. 1972 self-titled pop album : OLIVIA. She was young when I was young, and a CUTIE. (3:28)

59. Service support gp. : USO. United Service Organizations. Bob Hope anyone?

60. Blind element : SLAT. Literal clue originally from Venice?

63. Drop : LOSE. A few pounds? Money? Weight?

64. Eclipse, to some : OMEN.

65. Sierra ___ : LEONE.

66. Connecticut's State Composer : IVES. This Danbury born MAESTRO.(6:01).

67. Puts turf on : SODS.

68. Game with doubles and triples : DARTS. Not baseball this time C.C.

69. "Sesame Street" roommate : BERT. Why are some "E" and some "U"?

Down:

1. "Out!" : SCRAM.

2. Image on a poster for Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High" : NOOSE. I cannot find one to post, though there are many for sale, they all seem protected.

3. 2006 A.L. home run champ : ORTIZ. Red Sox star Big Papi David Ortiz.

4. Period marked by copper use : BRONZE AGE. I smelt out the answer to this one quickly.

5. Title word with eleven, twelve or thirteen : OCEANS. Brad Pitt, George Clooney...

6. Tour toter : ROADIE. Nice alliteration and I was initially thinking redcap or the like.

7. Quiche Lorraine ingredient : BACON. My favorite RECIPE.(26:46).

8. German I : ICH. This week was the 50th anniversary of the famous JFK speech, Ich bin ein Berliner, a speech which many claim means he was a jelly doughnut.

9. Title foe of Loki in a 2011 film : THOR. Ladies?

10. "Sorry, wrong guy" : NOT ME.

11. Wharton's Frome : ETHAN. A very sad tale.

12. Vogue : TREND.

13. Birthplace of Pythagoras : SAMOS. He had figure out all the ANGLES.

19. People : FOLKS.

24. Ship with two zebras on it : ARK. and two aardvarks.

25. Long periods : EONS.

29. Lemon attachment : ADE. Wow, a full blown shout out to your Friday phrase flinger!!! It is enough to make me...

30. Blubber : SOB.

31. One or more : ANY.

32. Shylock, e.g. : JEW.

33. Get down : EAT. I was thinking more of jamming with some good music, but I have also choked down some food.

34. Movement that fought stereotypes : WOMEN'S LIB. Really nice long fill.

35. Spleen : IRE.

36. Rolodex no. : TELephone.

37. ___ pants : HOT. Boys?

39. Dept. with a plow on its seal : AGRiculture.

40. Spiced tea : CHAI.  Interesting because the YUMMY is very much tied to the culture of....

43. Columbus's elusive destination : INDIA.

44. Ella's English counterpart : SHE.

46. Nod, say : ASSENT.

47. "Star Wars Episode II" soldiers : CLONES. This MOVIE. (2:31).

48. Schools where boards may be used to measure ability : DOJOS. Really fun Karate clue, where breaking a board is part of the training, as opposed to taking a medical or legal board exam.

49. Where Davy Crockett died : ALAMO. San Antonio however lost it in Miami in the last 25 seconds of game 6.

50. Pointed at the table? : TINED. Meh.

51. Ties : EVENS.

53. Seneca, to Nero : TUTOR. Really interesting history, though I must warn you the link includes ancient Roman politics. READ.

54. Boxer's protection : GLOVE. Interesting thought, because the padded glove is important in reducing injury, though not completely effective.

55. It's a stunner : TASER. Nice phrased clue, bro.

56. Operation Redwing event, 1956 : H-TEST.

58. "___ Lang Syne" : AULD. really? It is almost July?

62. Black or Labrador : SEA. I liked this deception, and the black lab image made it harder to focus on the simple answer.

Another Friday done, and another month almost gone; I am very curious how you all will react to this effort. Keep those cards and letters coming and have a wonderful week end. Thank you Victor.

Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Here is the photo Lemonade mentioned earlier. Our local constructors had a delightful get-together when Andrea Carla Michaels visited MN last week. Andrea, who is based in San Francisco, grew up here. Victor Barocas is a professor at the University of Minnesota. 

Left to right: Tom Pepper; Marcia J. Brott; George Barany; David Hanson; DK, C.C.; Andrea; Boomer & Victor

Thursday, June 27, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: "Bag it!"

20. *Polite words showing little interest : NOT MY CUP OF TEA. Unless it's Earl Grey. Right, Abejo?

32. *Words often heard after "Welcome" : YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Also, a cute movie starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

41. *Verbal gamesmanship : TALKING TRASH. Sports stars are really good at it.

55. *Metaphorical boundary : LINE IN THE SAND. Here's one.

And the reveal(ers):
59. With 62-Down, certain...and where to find the ends of the answers to the starred clues : IN THE
and
62-Down. See 59-Across : BAG.

The ends of the theme entries could each be found in a bag: TEA BAG, MAIL BAG, TRASH BAG and SAND BAG. Neat!

Across:

1. Worked a wedding, perhaps : DJ'ED. All I could think of was  the "Wedding Crashers."

5. Film on water : SCUM. Had it, took it out, scratched my head, put it back.

9. Worker with a whip : TAMER. Because "trainer" wouldn't fit...

14. Jackknifed, say : DOVE. Anyone else think of tractor-trailer trucks?

15. What you may do when you snooze? : LOSE.

16. Like Silas Marner before finding Eppie : ALONE.

17. Flow slowly : SEEP.

18. Conversant with : UP ON.

19. Cap'ns' underlings : BOS'Ns. Short for "boatswain." He is the senior crewman on deck.

23. Ready to sire : AT STUD. On our tour of the Lippizaner stables, I saw several studs looking like they were ready...

25. Forbid : OUTLAW.

26. Overly : TOO.

27. Be a bad omen : BODE ILL.

31. RB's units : YDS. Running Backs in football are measured by the yards they gain on each play.

35. Chamber opening? : ANTE. Antechamber.

36. Humerous Margaret : CHO. Not a big fan, so I won't give her a link. (It's my write-up, and I can do whatever I want!)

37. Landed : ALIT.

46. Old flier : SST.

49. Enlarge, as a blueprint : RESCALE.

50. Égotiste's pronoun : MOI. French - it's all about "me."

51. Ready for : OPEN TO.

53. City on the Somme : AMIENS. Just north of Paris. Map.

60. Scull crew : OARS.

61. Names : DUBS.

64. Mule and whitetail : DEERS.

65. Balanchine bend : PLIE. George Balanchine is known as "The father of modern ballet."

66. Canon ending? : ICAL. Canonical. I guess non-Mac users wouldn't know that this is Apple's calendar app.

67. Peacock's gait : STRUT. Some women are just soooo hard to impress. 0:55

68. Law firm letterhead abbreviations : ESQS. Esquires.

69. Lines from the heart? : EKGS. Abbr. for Electrokardiogram, the German spelling of the term. Both EKG and ECG are in common use.


Down:

1. Smile specialist's deg. : DDS. Doctor of Dental Surgery.

2. Morning pick-me-up : JOE. Java, mud, battery acid, rocket fuel, mojo, jitter juice, caffeine fix...

3. Smooths : EVENS OUT.

4. Where to get a ticket to ride : DEPOT.

5. "___ Millionaire": 2008 Best Picture : SLUMDOG. Great movie!

6. Column filler : COPY. Not "data," but a newspaper column.

7. Biennial games org. : USOC. United States Olympic Committee.

8. List : MENU.

9. Bulgur salad : TABOULI. Yummm!

10. Up in the rigging : ALOFT.

11. To a large degree : MOSTLY.

12. Ball team, e.g. : ENNEAD. Group of nine.

13. Corrects in wood shop : RESAWS. My motto is always, "Measure twice, cut once." Splynter?

21. ___ top : TUBE. For the guys.

22. Old-time actress Negri : POLA. She lives on in crossword puzzles.

23. "Back ___!": "Same here!" : AT YA.

24. Bugs, for one : TOON. Nice misdirection.

28. Places to tie up : DOCKS.

29. Set of moral principles : ETHIC.

30. "___ roll!" : I'M ON A.

33. Hardly a rookie : VET.

34. "Knots Landing" actress ___ Park Lincoln : LAR. All perps.

38. Certain November also-ran : LAME DUCK.

39. Will occur as planned : IS ON.

40. The one here : THIS.

42. Most pretentious : ARTIEST.

43. Trotsky of Russia : LEON. He once had an affair with artist Frida Kahlo.

44. Ones resting on a bridge : GLASSES. Great clue!

45. Vivaldi motif : TEMA. "Theme," in Italian. I guess I can link his most famous one. 42:00

46. Infants don't eat them : SOLIDS. I had Steaks, then SaLaDS before SOLIDS appeared.

47. Parlor instrument : SPINET.

48. Backpacker, often : TENTER.

52. '60s rockers' jacket style : NEHRU. Popularized by The Monkees and The Beatles, but it was never worn by Nehru!

54. Many a low-budget film : INDIE.

56. Engage in frequent elbow-bending : TOPE.

57. Dutch artist Frans : HALS. One of my favorite Dutch painters. (Other than Rembrandt, of course!)

58. La Salle of "ER" : ERIQ. All perps.

63. Mercedes roadsters : SLs. From the German "Sport Leicht" ("Sport Lightweight"). First used on the Gullwing.

That's it from me for this week!

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, June 26th 2013, Paul Cuerdon

Theme: Sigmund is Psycho (analytical) and the reveal helps us identify some "mouthy" phrases

20A Liar's trait? : FORKED TONGUE. I went to Google a nice pic for this and amongst the first that came up was one of George W. Bush, one of yesterday's pair of Texas P'sOTUS. I've no idea why this should be so.

34A. Cold-sounding windup toy : CHATTERING TEETH. Mine aren't chattering today, I'm in Washington D.C. at 96F and what feels like 200% humidity.

40A. Warning to a sassy kid : DON'T GIVE ME NO LIP. Sassy kid might respond "Don't give me no bad grammar".

and the unifier:

51A. Freud's diagnosis of 20-, 34- and 40-Across? : ORAL FIXATION. Is that why he's smoking a cigar?

Happy Wednesday everyone - Steve here with a nice mid-week outing from Paul. I dove right in, and it seemed plain sailing until I got stalled in the middle and then in the south. I thought IDLE HANDS was part of the theme until I couldn't see how LOVE SCENE fitted with anything else, so that slowed me down for a while. Let's see what else we have.

Across:

1. Louis or P.W., the first and last South African prime ministers : BOTHA. I knew this right away, but then pondered why P.W. was the last, until I realized post-apartheid South Africa has a president, not a prime minister.

6. Disney World vehicle : TRAM

10. Avoid : SHUN

14. Common font : ARIAL. If the personal computer has done anything, it's made us all font experts. Two decades ago most of us would have been hard-pressed to name anything beyond Times New Roman or Helvetica.

15. Reprobate : ROUE.

16. Vigilant : WARY

17. Diamond game with no pitching : T-BALL. The first and only time my daughter played T-ball she was so proud of her new glove that she forgot to watch the ball and got a line drive straight in her "theme". A split lip, floods of tears and she never played again. I wonder what happened to the glove?

18. Devil's tools, proverbially : IDLE HANDS.

22. Dieter's shortening? : CAL. Slimmed-down calories. Nice.

25. Old cry of disapproval : FIE

26. "... her kerchief and __ my cap ..." : I IN. Ma was in her kerchief on the night before Christmas.

27. Response to a pointer : I SEE IT

29. Pesters for payment : DUNS. You wouldn't be pestered if you weren't late, let's be fair.

31. __ in Juliet : JAS. I'd  love to explain this one to you, but it was all perps for me and I have no idea what this is all about. Any offers?

37. Razor name : ATRA

38. RN's assignment : ICU. I worked in a hospital for a while when I left high school and was often assigned to mop the floors of the Intensive Care Unit. The Registered Nurses had rather more lofty responsibilities.

39. Kett of old funnies : ETTA

45. Quiz response: Abbr. : ANS

46. "Sorry to say ..." : ALAS

47. Setting : LOCALE

48. CIO partner : AFL. I was wondering who partner's the Chief Information Officer when the labor union penny dropped.

49. Rummy : SOT

50. Hot air : GAS

57. Feature of many a romantic comedy : LOVE SCENE. This one from "Ghost" has me weeping every time I see it.

58. High-minded : NOBLE

62. Church attachment? : GOER. I liked this one!

63. Embroidered ltr. : INIT. I need a stack of handkerchiefs when I watch "Ghost", but none of them have my initials embroidered on them.

64. Words to live by : CREED. As practiced by church attachments.

65. High style : AFRO

66. Highland caps : TAMS

67. Expels : EMITS

Down:

1. Ball club : BAT. Great little clue/answer.

2. Celestial body : ORB

3. Acapulco aunt : TIA

4. __ Moon Bay, California : HALF.  One of the biggest surf breaks in the world is just north of the town. Scary stuff.

5. The whole enchilada : ALL OF IT

6. First wheels : TRIKE

7. Was carried by, as a bus : RODE

8. New Year's word : AULD. "Auld Reekie" is a nickname for Edinburgh, pretty much the only other time I've heard the word used.

9. One may be called by a manager : MEETING

10. Hall of Famer Lynn of the Steelers : SWANN

11. Consort (with) : HANG

12. Karachi language : URDU

13. Where "X" means "U.S. Steel" : NYSE. I never knew this, and a great way to clue the abbreviated New York Stock Exchange.

19. Run up the flagpole : HOIST

21. Sacrament : RITE

22. Loud bug : CICADA They are loud, but somehow very soothing when it's all you can hear on a warm tropical night.

23. Actor Kutcher : ASHTON. I didn't put Demi Moore's picture on here to annoy him, I promise.

24. Catches on : LEARNS

28. One of America's cinquante : ETAT. Nicely obtuse, but difficult for non-francophones to know that we're talking about the fifty states.

29. Chops up : DICES

30. One on a one? : UNUM. Perps again, and no adequate explanation from me. Any ideas?

31. International traveler's concern : JET LAG. Happens with coast-to-coast trips too. I had a good travel day today though - I'm now on the TSA "pre screened" list so I got to zip through security without getting undressed and my laptop and deodorant stayed in the bag; then United upgraded me and finally Avis ran out of little cars and gave me a Mustang Convertible instead. I've had worse trips!

32. Hun ruler : ATTILA

33. Molds : SHAPES

35. 1972 Derby winner __ Ridge : RIVA

36. Fair-hiring initials : EEOC. More perps. I couldn't recall the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

41. Fishing hooks : GAFFS. Big, big hooks on a long pole.

42. Under-the-table : ILLICIT

43. "The Time Machine" people : ELOI. I always want to put "ELON" when I see this clue. Which I did today, of course.

44. Never ever : NOT ONCE

48. '90s-'00s Olds model : ALERO

49. Cancels a takeout order? : STETS. Great. Best clue of the day, IMHO.

51. Lingerie brand : OLGA. Perps!

52. Spot for shingles : ROOF. I filled in BACK first before it had to come out. Flashbacks to my hospital worker days maybe.

53. Claim : AVER

54. TV friend of Gabrielle : XENA

55. Lively, in mus. : ANIM. From the Italian "animato", animated.

56. "Cheers" cheer : NORM. I saw George Wendt in my local bar a few weeks ago, and it was all I could do to stop myself "Norm!"-ing. It really must get old.

59. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen": Andrews Sisters hit : BEI. Better late then never for a little musical interlude

60. Court do-over : LET

61. Masthead VIPs : EDS. Sadly, their are fewer and fewer newspapers for editors to get their name on the masthead today.

That's about does it for me; time to see if I can avoid any 31D problems. Have a great day!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy 48th wedding anniversary to dear Spitzboov (Al) and his lovely wife Betty!

 US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT,
 August 2012

Please click here and  here to see more pictures of them (and our Naples Corner crowd).

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Dyn-o-mite! - The reveal let's us know we are looking for "word 'and' word" phrases and each word starts with a "T".

17A. Proverbially, they wait for no one : TIME AND TIDE

23A. Ragged : TATTERED AND TORN

47A. Semi : TRUCK AND TRAILER

57A. Simple breakfast : TEA AND TOAST

57D. Big bang cause, and an informal hint to 17-, 23-, 47- and 57-Across : TNT

Argyle here. Our own tried and true constructor, C.C., gave us a slight respite from yesterday's puzzle but added some solid fill. The four nine letter vertical columns are neat. Two grid-spanners are great. Some fresh cluing rounds it out nicely.

Across:

1. Praline nut : PECAN

6. Grueling grad grillings : ORALS. Say the clue three times fast.

11. Nebraska panhandle hrs. : MST. (Mountain Standard Time)

14. Wear down : ERODE

15. Jousting weapon : LANCE

16. Irish actor Stephen : REA. He has played a wide range of roles.

19. Separating space : GAP

 20. Rocks in a bar : ICE

21. It's often used as a synonym for "thesaurus" : ROGET. He compiled one of the most famous thesauri.

22. Desert largely in Mongolia : GOBI

27. Salinger heroine : ESMÉ. Ah, but where is she now; Downton Abbey, perhaps.

28. Battery terminal : ANODE

29. Two foursomes : OCTET

32. Rock legend Frank : ZAPPA. He was here Friday. Have you forgotten him already?

35. Revolutionary Franklin : BEN. I'd like to see more of him in my wallet. That would be revolutionary.

37. "Gotcha!" cries : A-HAs

38. Birth state of two presidents : TEXAS. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Surprised? I was.

39. Bowl over : DAZE

40. Stout of whodunits : REX. Creator of the detective Nero Wolfe.

41. Takes the risk : DARES

42. Sale rack abbr. : IRREG. You can find some bargains in the irregulars.

43. Overzealous : RABID

45. Spork point : TINE. A bit short for a true tine but hey, it's a spork.

53. Jekyll's alter ego : HYDE

54. 2010 Super Bowl MVP : BREES

55. Connecticut collegian : ELI. Yale(the Eli's) is located in New Haven, Connecticut.

56. Press initials : UPI. (United Press International)

60. "__ Along, Little Dogies" : GIT

61. Duma dissents : NYETs. The Duma was a one time Russian elective legislative assembly.

62. Singer Tennessee __ Ford : ERNIE

63. Provençal possessive : SES. French for its.

64. Short and snappy : TERSE

65. Red and rosé : WINES. But Red Rose is a tea.

Down:

1. __ four: small cake : PETIT. French, meaning "small oven". So are there petit four recipes for Easy Bake ovens?

2. Susan's "All My Children" role : ERICA. Susan Lucci / Erica Kane. She has the most Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama and won in 1999.

3. Celestial streaker : COMET

4. Citrus drink : ADE

5. Most closely related : NEAREST

6. Eccentric senior, affectionately : OLD GEEZER. But watch out for them on the road.

7. Classified : RATED

8. Singer Baker : ANITA

9. Digital scale display, for short : LCD. (liquid-crystal display)

10. "Understand?" : "SEE?"

11. Hershey's treat in a yellow wrapper : MR. GOODBAR

12. Shore cooler : SEA BREEZE

13. Putter's gimme : TAP IN

18. Standard : NORM

22. Pontiac muscle car : GTO

24. Beach shirts : TEEs

25. Dozes off : NAPS

26. Forensic evidence letters : DNA

29. Rower's need : OAR

30. George Washington's favorite fruity dessert? : CHERRY PIE

31. Stressful reviews for filers : TAX AUDITS

33. Tool for the Tin Woodman : AXE

34. Like verbs describing what happened : PAST TENSE

36. Reverse pic : NEG. (negative)

38. "Yay, me!" : "TADA!"

39. Three, to Angela Merkel : DREI. She is the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and has a marvelous range of facial expressions. LINK

41. Cartoonist Browne : DIK. Creator of Hägar the Horrible.

42. Rather worried : IN A STEW

44. Dating letters : BCE. (Before the Common Era)

46. Hopping mad : IRED

47. Tough guys : THUGS

48. Knick or Celt : NBAer

49. Mild oaths : DRATS

50. Rimes of country : LEANN. Here is the song that launched her career. (2:45)

51. Borden mascot : ELSIE

52. Religious ceremonies : RITES

58. Needle-threader's target : EYE

59. "... __ quit!" : OR I

Argyle

Monday, June 24, 2013 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: Inclement Weather - The stars of any weather report are the bad things that may occur. Our starred entries begin with those types of storms that bring warnings.

20. *Vice president's official entrance march : HAIL, COLUMBIA. LINK(0:47)

28. *Anxiety-reducing meeting opener : ICE BREAKER

34. *Hoffman's 1988 title savant : RAIN MAN. It was on TV last night.

38. *Stir-fry veggie : SNOW PEA. Yum! Picture

42. *Endurance-building full-speed run : WIND SPRINT. Start them while they're young. LINK (0:28)

53. Weather advisory, and hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues : STORM WARNING

Argyle here. A few hard-for-Monday entries but not unduly so. Maybe a spot or two where the perp needed a perp but in the end, all doable. Substantial white space in the NW and SE.

Across:

1. Where the Stars and Stripes flies, familiarly : US OF A

6. Approximate fig. : EST.

9. Stops on the way home? : BASES. "Just to hit the ball and touch 'em all - a moment in the sun" (J.C. Fogerty)

14. Fragrant evergreens : PINES

15. "I'm underwhelmed" : "MEH"

16. "You __ right!" : ARE SO...said the boy wonder.

17. Sharply inclined : STEEP

18. Put on a pedestal : IDEALIZED

22. Trying experience : ORDEAL

23. Corn core : COB

24. Church-owned Dallas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

27. Bygone Russian despot : TSAR

32. Gabor and Peron : EVAs

33. Irritating sorts : TWITS

40. "Ready __, here ..." : OR NOT

41. Leave speechless : STUN

45. Zap with a weapon : TASE

49. '60s militant campus org. : SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)

50. Sleep phase initials : REM. (rapid eye movement)

51. Elevated : RAISED

56. Entrance whose top half opens separately : DUTCH DOOR. Double Dutch door.

59. Stop : CEASE

60. Not warranted : UNDUE

61. Man-mission link : ON A

62. Champing at the bit : EAGER

63. Thingy : GISMO

64. Chef's meas. : TSP. Teaspoon

65. Smeltery refuse : DROSS. The waste matter when refining ore.

Down:

1. End result : UPSHOT. 1531, from up + shot (n.); originally, the final shot in an archery match, hence the figurative sense of "result, issue, conclusion" (1604).

2. Indian stringed instruments : SITARs

3. New York lake near Syracuse : ONEIDA. I have an aunt who lives on the north shore, in Cleveland, NY.

4. Information-eliciting negotiation tactic : FEELER

5. Furry friends' protection org. : ASPCA. I'd hope it wasn't just the furry animals that get protection. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

6. Jannings of classic cinema : EMIL. In 1929 he won the first Best Actor Oscar.

7. Beguiles : SEDUCES

8. Cosa Nostra : THE MOB

9. Indonesian island : BALI

10. Operatic showstopper : ARIA

11. "__ who?" : SEZ

12. WNW's opposite : ESE

13. Landscaper's purchase : SOD

19. Shortened wd. : ABBR. (abbreviation)

21. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. He is here so often, we're on a first name basis.

24. Hop, __ and jump : SKIP. Track event.

25. Parcel (out) : METE

26. Constellation bear : URSA. Major and Minor or also known as the Big and Little Dippers.

29. Recycle bin item : CAN

30. Thames school : ETON

31. "How cute!" : "AWW!". As Spitzboov said on Saturday...All the bear news from Canada.(7:42)

32. CPR pros : EMTs

34. Handles the oars : ROWS

35. Extremely dry : ARID

36. Roadside retreats : INNs

37. Agree wordlessly : NOD

38. RR stop : STN. Rail station.

39. __Sweet: aspartame : NUTRA. In the blue packets.

41. Beautyrest mattress maker : SIMMONS. That was interesting about the Sleep Number beds the other day.

43. Cattle poker : PROD. Cattle poker - "I'll see your two Herefords and raise you a Holstein."

44. Get established in a new planter : REROOT

45. Musical liability : TIN EAR

46. Italian cheese : ASIAGO

47. Has an inkling : SENSES

48. Lawn neateners : EDGERS

52. Followed a curved path : ARCED. Edging gets a little trickier if it's curved.

53. Mr. Clean target : SCUM. But not riff-raff.

54. "The Cosby Show" son : THEO

55. Rolled sandwich : WRAP. When did sandwich wraps become popular and are they really a sandwich?

56. Used a trowel : DUG

57. Prefix with lateral : UNI

58. QB scores : TDs. (Touchdowns)

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy 25th wedding anniversary to Dennis and his lovely wife Linda. Click here to see some fun pictures from their wedding and reception.

2)  Happy Birthday to Barbara B, Melissa's beautiful mother, who was very active on the blog a few years ago. 

Left to right: Melissa's daughter, Barbara B & Melissa

Sunday June 23, 2013 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: "Now Showing at the Colosseum" - The number in each movie is replaced by a Roman numeral.

23A. 1993 drama for which Stockard Channing got an Oscar nomination : VI DEGREES OF SEPARATION. "Six Degrees of Separation".

40A. 2009 sci-fi Best Picture nominee : DISTRICT IX. "District 9". Unfamiliar to me.

71A. Kurosawa period film remade into a Western in 1960 : VII SAMURAI. "Seven Samurai". No plural ending S, Yellowrocks?

74A. 1988 baseball scandal movie : VIII MEN OUT. "Eight Men Out". About the Black Sox Scandal. Shoeless Joe's role is rather limited, to my surprise.

119A. Grant/MacDowell romantic comedy : IV WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. "Four Weddings and a Funeral". I guess A is not a number.

7D. 1960 Rat Pack film : OCEANS XI. "Ocean’s 11". I only saw the remake.

31D. Hitchcock thriller remade three times : THE XXXIX STEPS. "The 39 Steps". Big number conversion here.

36D. Academy Award-nominated 1949 war film : XII O'CLOCK HIGH. "Twelve O'Clock High". Never saw it.

93D. 2003 Penn/Watts drama with "The weight of a hummingbird" in one of its taglines : XXI GRAMS. "21 Grams"

105. 1995 Tom Hanks docudrama : APOLLO XIII. "Apollo 13".

I figured out the gimmick immediately, you? Constructing crosswords has greatly improved my solving ability. I even know words that Barry G is unfamiliar with. 

Very skillful theme entry arrangement. Amazing intersections. 10 are not easy to grid, esp with 2 grid spanners & those X's and V's.

Argyle dug out this information about Pawel Fludzinski last time. I think it's our constructor.

Across:

1. Pianist Argerich : MARTHA. Gimme for Pas de chat. Wiki said she won the seventh Chopin Competition in 1965,

7. Counterbalance : OFFSET

13. Burdensome : ONEROUS

20. "... there's __!": Hamlet : THE RUB

21. Trounces : CREAMS

22. Forwards, say : RE-SENDS

26. Now, in Nicaragua : AHORA

27. Fish with bobbing bait : DAP. For Dave, though he might not solve this puzzle today. The "Fist bump" meaning of DAP stumped some last time.

28. Golden number : OLDIE

29. D-Day transports : LSTs

32. Columnist Coulter : ANN. I do like her hair. That's about all.

33. Soothsayers : ORACLES

35. Let go : AXED

39. Nicole Kidman's birthplace : OAHU. Nice trivia.

42. Trattoria starters : PRIMI. Plural of "Prima"?

43. Onetime "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI

45. Thermal opening : EXO. "Outer".

46. Can plan : ESCAPE. Can = Prison.

48. AOL backs-and-forths : IMs

49. Points of view? : PIXELS

51. Islamic leader : IMAM. And 54. Islamic leader : EMIR. Do you how many times Allah appears in Koran?

55. Yiddish laments : OYs

56. Word with fair or opposite : SEX. Fun comments yesterday on Splynter's bed, PK. Totally agree with Linda. You do have a way with words.

57. Andean stew veggie : OCA. Haven't seen this word for a long time.

59. In need of wiping up : SPILT

62. Coterie : CIRCLE

64. Kane's estate : XANADU. Rosebud.

67. Effort before the effort : PRE-WORK. I guess you can Pre anything.

70. North Carolina university : ELON

76. "Devil Inside" band : INXS

77. Nobility : PEERAGE

79. Like the West Coast's U.S. Route 101 : SCENIC

80. Guinea pig : TESTEE

82. Prepared to propose : KNELT. Did you actually kneel down to propose to your wife?

84. Cabinet dept. created in 1965 : HUD

85. Spy org. until 1991 : KGB. What's Russia's CIA now?

88. Subway line to Columbia Univ. : IRT

89. Muffin choice : BRAN

92. Engels collaborator : MARX (Karl)

94. More upscale : POSHER

96. Bore, as a cost : ATE

97. Inclined : ASLOPE

100. Time-saving phone no. : EXT

102. Madrid monarch : REINA. Queen.

103. Two sheets to the wind? : TIPSY

109. Farming prefix : AGRI

110. Alleviate : EASE

111. Held lovingly : CRADLED

112. Rental car feature, briefly : GPS

113. First word of the Declaration of Independence : WHEN. "When in the course of human event...."

114. "Spider-Man" director : RAIMI (Sam)

116. "__ Crazy": Paul Davis hit : I GO

117. Riveting icon : ROSIE

127. Stinkers : MEANIES

128. Rear : BOTTOM

129. First in line, perhaps : ELDEST

130. Deep down : AT HEART

131. High-hats : SNOOTS

132. Gave lip to : SASSED

Down:

1. "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" launch of 1981 : MTV

2. Yellowfin tuna : AHI. 18. Side for 2-Down : UDO. See here for more info.

3. Common color in national flags : RED

4. Cherish : TREASURE

5. Actor Laurie : HUGH. So talented. Genius doctor. 

6. Using a passport : ABROAD

8. TV sites, in realty ads : FRS.  No idea. Argyle said it's "Family Rooms".

9. Russian basso Chaliapin : FEODOR. Stranger to me.

10. Honeymoon adventure : SAFARI

11. Typographic measure : EM SPACE. I wonder if PK got this quickly. I just could not see it.

12. J.A. Prufrock's creator : TSE. And 122. Literary monogram : GBS. George Bernard Shaw.

13. Degree requirement, maybe : ORAL EXAM

14. Dorks : NERDS

15. Actor Morales : ESAI

16. Injure again, as a ligament : RE-TEAR

17. Covert maritime org. : ONI. Office of Naval Intelligence.

19. ID in MDs' records : SSN

24. Banks on a diamond : ERNIE. Mr. Cub.

25. Enforcement group : POLICE

29. Froot __ : LOOPS

30. Composer of gnossiennes : SATIE (Erik). I don't even know what "gnossiennes" means.

34. Pennies: Abbr. : CTs

37. Country singer Harris : EMMYLOU. Is she your type, D-Otto?

38. Minority opinion : DISSENT

41. Some cats : TOMS. We have a few TOMs on the blog. Nice cats.

42. Prefix with scope : PERI

44. Actress Massey : ILONA. Long time no see.

47. Double espresso, say : PICK-ME-UP

50. Darts : SCAMPERS

52. Rome's __ Way : APPIAN

53. Salyut successor : MIR

58. In unison, in music : ADUE

60. Parking garage section : LEVEL A

61. Light opening? : TWI. Twilight.

63. Baroque painter Guido : RENI

65. Part of ADA: Abbr. : ASST

66. Portrait finish? : URE. Portraiture.

68. Grafton's "__ for Outlaw" : O IS

69. Sumptuous : RICH

71. Spoil : VITIATE. New word to me.

72. Subject of Newton's first law : INERTIA

73. Ararat arrival : ARK

75. Ewok's planet : ENDOR

78. Masterpiece : GEM

81. Auction site : eBAY. I'm just so distrustful of those Lady Gaga pink lipsticks on eBay. Too bad Mac discontinued the product.

83. Cretaceous giant : T-REX

86. Class : GENRE

87. Jellyfish's lack : BRAIN. Wow, I don't know. I liked pickled jellyfish.

90. Chicken Little, notably : ALARMIST

91. Half a workout mantra : NO PAIN

95. Common coastal arrivals : SEAWEEDS

98. Okra unit : POD

99. "Invisible Man" author : ELLISON (Ralph)

101. "It's on the __ my tongue" : TIP OF

104. Composed : SERENE

106. Smooth, musically : LEGATO

107. Tooth: Pref. : ODONTO. A rather long prefix.

108. Promulgates : ISSUES

111. Drink from a press : CIDER

115. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA. I love her "I'll Remember You". So beautiful.

118. At Staples Center, briefly : IN LA

119. "__ little teapot ..." : I'M A

120. Lab inspector? : VET. Lovely clue.

121. Crib cry : WAH

123. Period, for one : DOT

124. Hi-__ monitor : RES

125. "Peer Gynt" widow : ASE. His mother. Learned from doing Xwords.

126. Inc., in Ipswich : LTD

Boomer and I attended a local constructor gathering last Wednesday. The beautiful Andrea Carla Michaels was in town. 

Left to right: Tom Pepper (He has a puzzle in Rich's queue); Marcia J. Brott (Hope to see your LAT soon); George Barany (He made that amazing Turing tribute puzzle last June); David Hanson (He had one puzzle published by the NYT); DK (Andrea's friend, a psychologist); C.C. (sleeping); Andrea (She is so caring and sweet); Boomer & Victor Barocas (He's made a few brilliant puzzles for NYT, LAT and CHE).

 I woke up in this one.