Wednesday October 13, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: For Richer or Poorer - The first part of each of the four theme answers describes the financial situation of a person, in descending order of wealth.

17A. Challenges for an interviewee: LOADED QUESTIONS. This is my favorite board game, spent many hours playing the GAME with my kids and their friends.

25A. Not even close: WELL OFF THE MARK. Important in target shooting, and new ad campaigns, I guess.

40A. Journalism bigwig: MANAGING EDITOR. I guess Dan wanted to pay homage to Mr. Norris.

51A. Defied tradition: BROKE WITH CUSTOM. Interestingly, the meaning having no money comes from 1700’s , while the meaning of tradition or habit is associated with COSTUME .

When I had my last eye operation, I worked in a brokerage firm, while recuperating and my motto was, “I guarantee to make you a small fortune. Just bring me a large one.”

Lemonade here, gifted with another Dan Naddor to discuss. Unlike many of his efforts only 4 theme words and no unifier, but they were two 14s and two 15s, so if you got them it was an easy ride, and if not a struggle. A very low word count for Wednesday as a result.

Across:

1. Mr. or Mrs.: ABBR. We begin with the classic misdirection, it does not matter what the words, just that they are abbreviations.

5. Furtive message: MEET ME. HALF WAY .

11. New Deal prog.: TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority, Still in operation providing ELECTRICITY .

14. Toon predator __ E. Coyote: WILE. Be careful WHAT YOU WISH FOR .

15. First pro team to play on artificial turf: ASTROS. ASTROTURF .

16. Used to be: WAS.

20. Serious religious dissents: HERESIES. Like MARTIN LUTHER who played the first Halloween trick.

21. Elite Eight org.: NCAA. The nickname for the college basketball championship quarter finals. You need to remember March Madness, too.

22. Trinidad's partner: TOBAGO. You too, can spy on the WORLD .

24. Digital greeting: E-CARD. Are they meant for ETARDS?

30. __ the finish: IN AT. Dan loved multiple word phrases. Like 47A. "If you ask me ...": AS I SEE IT. Or, 5D. Constituted from: MADE OF. 11D. Like some accidents: TWO CAR. 49D. "Pay __ mind!": IT NO.

31. Seventh of eight, now: URANUS. Planets, very cute and tricky now that PLUTO is just a dog; we have NEPTUNE as number 8, which ties in with 37. Neptune, for one: SEA GOD.

32. Japanese drama: NOH. We had this recently.

33. Bar shot: SNORT.

34. "May I help you?": YES. Or perhaps, BEING SERVED . Sorry, I was just being a 44A. Goof: BONER. Oh, oh, this showed up again, it must be a teen-age time for puzzles. So not clecho, just me.

39. It may be raw: DATA. My favorite clue, as I tried so hard to picture the correct fruit of vegetable.

45. Kind of will or trust: LIVING. A nice lawyer gimme, just for us.

46. Greek vowel: IOTA.

55. Spy novelist Deighton: LEN. Excellent SPY NOVELS .

56. It's attractive: MAGNET. My favorite clue, as I thought of all the pretty things in the world. (I know, so I have lore than one favorite).

57. Earthenware pot: OLLA. Real crosswordese for me; I have never heard the word used elsewhere.

58. Big name in ice cream: EDY. Big?

59. Church councils: SYNODS. Which ties in perfectly with the religion of our HERETIC .

60. Fix up: REDO. Ah, we can go back to that debate.

Down:

1. Hole-making tool: AWL.

2. Many a Britannica article: BIO. Now why is this not clued as an abbreviation, or is BIO a stand alone?

3. Mindless chatter: BLAH BLAH. Do we like this or YADDA YADDA?

4. Reacted to giving out too many cards: REDEALT. In my house the reaction would have been a mini-tantrum and cards being thrown. They took card games very seriously.

6. ABA honorifics: ESQS. Another gimme for me. HISTORY OF LAWYERS .

7. Case in a purse, perhaps: ETUI .

8. Elder or alder: TREE. Two very spiritual trees. We have a continuation of our reference to WICCA and ancient CELTIC belief. And of course, 9D. Trunk growth: MOSS.

10. D.C. setting: EST. Clock setting, Eastern Standard Time.

12. Joan of "Knots Landing": VAN ARK. Poor girl starred in Dallas and Knot’s Landing , and wanted to stay young FOREVER

13. Longtime Syrian ruling family name: ASSAD ..

18. Consequently: ERGO. And we must have at least some Latin for me.

19. Pizarro victims: INCAS. The story of how a small force led by PIZARRO conquered despite being outnumbered at least 20 to 1 is what makes history so amazing.

22. Womb-mate: TWIN. A golden oldie pun.

23. Vintner's prefix: OENO. Her we go, also a recent clue.

24. Outback critter: EMU. As was this denizen of OZ.

26. Yeasts, e.g.: FUNGI. Sounds yummy, like mushrooms.

27. Eight-time British Open host town: TROON. Get yourself a TEE TIME .

28. Greek leader?: HARD G. Silly, the beginning of the word Greek is Hard G.

29. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No this is not a doctor who treats trees in Middle Earth, it is Ear Nose and Throat.

33. Show signs of age, as a roof: SAG. A roof, yes, that is a better image.

34. 1950s Niners Hall of Fame quarterback: Y A TITTLE. Yelberton Abraham was a very talented quarterback when I was a boy, and one of my fondest memories was watching with my father and brothers, the Chicago Bears beating Tittle and the New York Giants in the 1963 championship game. However, the strongest memory of him is this IMAGE taken the following year.

35. Harrow rival: ETON. Where Britain raised their Prime Ministers.

36. Puppeteer Tony: SARG. He helped to inspire others to create puppets BIOGRAPHY .

37. Weasel: SNEAK. No, not the kid from Harry Potter.

38. Listening device: EAR. Another Naddor trademark, a clue so simple, it is hard.

39. ÷ follower: DIVISOR. Not to be confused with Dividends and Quotients.

40. Tied in the harbor: MOORED. LIKE THIS? .

41. 1963 Burton role: ANTONY. When he and Elizabeth Taylor made the most expensive movie at the time, CLEOPATRA , Eddie Fisher recently died.

42. Picks: ELECTS. It is almost time again.

43. "Mon __!": Poirot exclamation: DIEU. Ah, the working of the little grey cells from the Belgian (do not call him French) detective creation of Dame Christie.

44. Book read by millions: BIBLE. Still, the all time best seller. I wish I had the rights.

47. Traveling: AWAY. WE GO .

48. Communicate digitally?: SIGN. A definite NO NO .

50. Get rid of: SHED . Like a snake?

52. Magnesium has two: EMS. It wraps the word.

53. Passé: OLD. Okay, I get the hint, time to wrap this up.

54. Cultural Revolution leader: MAO. What a revolutionary new clue, not!

Thanks for listening, get ready to invite everyone back and Happy Birthday to the mother of my children.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Meredith Ito

Theme: DC COMICS - (60A. "Superman" publisher, and this puzzle's title) - The four comics in the theme have the initials "D C".

17A. "Vicious Circle" stand-up guy: DANE COOK. Dane Cook: Vicious Circle was a live stand-up comedy special performed for HBO written and produced by Dane Cook. Nine minute censored clip from his show. He has also done movies, Good Luck Chuck, and comedy albums.

25A. Stand-up guy who played Tobias Fünke on "Arrested Development": DAVID CROSS. Arrested Development was a sitcom on Fox. A lot of sexual innuendos in this clip.

36A. Stand-up guy with his own sitcom, 1995-2004: DREW CAREY. Full intro clip.

51A. Stand-up guy with multiple "SNL" personas: DANA CARVEY. A clip from the Tonight show.

Argyle here with a new constructor... or is it. We believe Merideth Ito is a new Rich Norris anagram, "I'm the editor". C.C. said the grid with just one break down the sides & columns of triple 7s in each corner is very Rich-like. The theme entries are rather short, which makes those 7s possible.

Whoever's puzzle it is they did good. I just noticed EPIC ROCK under DC COMICS. Cool!

Across:

1. See 4-Across : RIG

4. With 1-Across, fix à la MacGyver : JURY

8. "__ Bovary" : MADAME. Gustave Flaubert's first published novel (1856) and is considered his masterpiece.

14. Suffix with stamp : EDE.

15. "Lonely Boy" singer : ANKA

16. Hypothetical primate : APEMAN. Enough Anka, some Kinks instead. Clip.

19. Explosion sound : "KABOOM!"

20. Spiral-shelled mollusk : WHELK. Image.

21. Uncover, in verse : OPE

23. River inlet : RIA

24. Whit or bit : IOTA

29. Carpenter's fastener : NAIL GUN

31. Regis and Kelly, e.g. : CO-HOSTS. Morning TV.

32. Big initials in nutritional supplements : GNC. General Nutrition Centers or GNC is a Pittsburgh based commercial enterprise focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products.

33. Hot day coolers : ADEs

35. Clear the chalkboard : ERASE

39. Horrendous : AWFUL

42. NYSE debuts : IPOs. The New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) and initial public offering(IPO) (when a company, the issuer, offers common stock or shares to the public for the first time.)

43. Enzyme suffix : ASE

46. Predicting a market decline : BEARISH

49. Husky, e.g. : SLEDDOG

53. Start from scratch : REDO. Although you could start from scratch the first time, too.

54. The Trojans of the Pac-10 : USC. The football team of University of Southern California.

55. Luggage-screening gp. : TSA. Transportation Security Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

56. __ Lama : DALAI

57. Platitude : CLICHE

63. Little laugh : TEE-HEE

64. Large-scale work : EPIC

65. Rebellious Turner : NAT. He led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831.

66. Iraqi neighbor : SYRIAN

67. Loser to paper and winner over scissors : ROCK. A hand game is often used as a selection method, similar to coin toss, drawing straws, or throwing dice. Simpson clip.

68. USN rank : ENS. Ensign, a junior rank of commissioned navel officer.

Down:

1. Joe Louis Arena hockey player : RED WING

2. Pocatello resident : IDAHOAN. The county seat and fourth-largest city, largest city of Bannock County, and is in the southeastern part of Idaho.

3. Like some fingerprints : GENETIC

4. Tire-changing aid : JACK

5. Game with Draw Two cards : UNO. Fun for all ages.

6. "King Kong" studio : RKO. RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.

7. Comedian Smirnoff : YAKOV. Catch phrase, "What a country!"

8. Just about manage : MAKE DO

9. Therapists' org. : APA. American Psychiatric Association or American Psychoanalytic Association or American Psychological Association?

10. Society newcomer : DEB

11. Loving, to Luisa : AMOROSA. Luisa is a female name of German origin (from Ludwig) which means "glorious warrior". Luisa is the Italian form of the French "Louise".

12. "Little Red Book" adherents : MAOISTS. Chinese, mostly.

13. How stadium crowds move : EN MASSE

18. Mideast carrier : EL AL. Israeli.

22. Photo : PIC

25. "Bro!" : "DUDE!"

26. From the start : ANEW

27. Word preceding a 22-Down : "CHEESE!"

28. Golfer Sabbatini : RORY. South African professional golfer. His last PGA Tour title was the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May 2009, his fifth tour title. The young Rory McIlroy is probably more well-known.

30. Marinara clove : GARLIC

34. Lab subj. : SCI. Science lab.

36. Commercial battery prefix with "cell" : DURA. Image.

37. Semicircular recess : APSE. To be found in churches.

38. __-poly : ROLY. "Ho, ho, ho!"

39. Kidnaps : ABDUCTS

40. Potter's friend Ron : WEASLEY. Harry Potter.

41. More decorative : FANCIER

43. "Sweet" girl in a barbershop song : ADELINE. Sweet Adeline by The Mills Brothers (1939).

44. Recycled item : SODA CAN

45. Ones with I-strain? : EGOISTS

47. Glossy fabric : SATEEN. A cotton fabric with a luster resembling that of satin.

48. Noon and midnight: Abbr. : HRs.

50. Wee weight : DRAM. A pour, right Tinbeni?

52. Skywalker's nemesis : VADER. Star Wars.

56. Pier : DOCK

58. T'ai __ : CHI. "Supreme ultimate fist", "boundless fist", "great extremes boxing", or simply "the ultimate".

59. "Isn't __ riot?!": "Funny guy!" : HE A. A comment on today's puzzle?

61. Naval noncom: Abbr. : CPO. Chief Petty Officer

62. Pres. title : CIC. Commander in Chief (of the military services).

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, October 11, 2010 Kristian House

Theme: Don't Push Me - But they can be pulled. Four in language phrases that end in a smaller version of one of man's greatest inventions, ROPE.

18A. Engages in fanciful storytelling: SPINS A YARN

28A. Bench squad: SECOND STRING. AKA, the B team

46A. Connecting idea: COMMON THREAD

61A. Start acting independently: CUT THE CORD. An allusion to the umbilical cord.

Argyle here with an easy Monday.

Today's constructor is a math teacher in western Massachusetts (Pic, courtesy of the Xword Info) and had a puzzle on Tuesday August 4, 2009.

Across:

1. Payroll tax with Soc. Sec. and Medicare components : FICA. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).

5. Tibet's capital : LHASA

10. Joe in a cup : JAVA. AKA, Coffee.

14. Show that launched Kelly Clarkson's career, familiarly : IDOL. American Idol.

15. Vague emanations : AURAs

16. Actor Wilson : OWEN

17. "Give" or "take," e.g. : VERB. Great clue.

20. Mukluk wearer : ESKIMO

22. Mine access : ADIT. Monday word ONLY to long time solvers.

23. The Beatles' "__ Just Seen a Face" : I'VE. You might not have recognized the title but you will the song, I think.

24. Trap : SNARE

26. Subjects of wills : ESTATES

31. Only defenseman to lead the NHL in scoring : ORR. Bobby Orr spent most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Boston Bruins before joining the Chicago Blackhawks for his final two seasons.

32. Ballpark entrance : GATE

33. Watson of Harry Potter films : EMMA. Oh my, how she's grown. Image. She isn't really a member of 51D. Modern witch's religion : WICCA

37. Middle Corleone brother : FREDO. AKA, Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, brother to Santino "Sonny" Corleone and Michael Corleone, their sister is Constanzia "Connie" Corleone (previously Constanzia Corleone-Rizzi).

39. Band booster : AMP. AMPlifies(or boosts) the sound from a band.

41. Carrier renamed in 1997 : USAIR

42. "... __ forgive those who trespass ..." : AS WE

43. "__ in Boots" : PUSS. I've provided a link to the Wikipedia article because it is an interesting read. Kids today just know him as a character in Shrek movies.

45. Seventh-century date : DCI. 601.

51. "Yee-haw!" : "WHOOPEE!"

54. Prepare to drive : TEE UP

55. K+ or Na+ : ION. K+ = potassium / Na+ = sodium.

56. McDonald's symbol : ARCH. C'mon, we know it should be ARCHES, right?

58. Father to many? : PRIEST

64. Intl. defense gp. : NATO. International defense group.

65. Ornery type : CRAB

66. Seasonal sleigh driver : SANTA. Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa likes alliteration.

67. Micro or macro subj. : ECON.

68. Egyptian vipers : ASPS

69. Disapproved vocally : TSKED. Or if an Egyptian king, TUTTED

70. Damp at dawn : DEWY

Down:

1. Nine-to-__ : FIVE

2. Mid-month time : IDES

3. Wine cellar tool : CORKSCREW

4. White whale, e.g. : ALBINO

5. Hall of Fame manager Tommy : LASORDA. Baseball. Image.

6. Drill sergeant's "one" : "HUP!". I think there was a discussion about HUT or HUP on Thursday September 23, 2010.

7. Diva's moment : ARIA

8. Potential splinter remover : SANDER. It would smooth the wood, eliminating splinters.

9. Saint Francis's home : ASSISI

10. "Ode to __" : JOY. Performed by Beaker, of the Muppets. Video

11. Watch for : AWAIT

12. Zeal : VERVE

13. Authors Rice and Tyler : ANNEs. Rice writes about Vampires, Tyler wrote The Accidental Tourist.

19. Bus. letter directive : ATTN.. I remember it use to be on the lower left corner of the envelope. Is there an email equivalent?

21. Salsa fruit : MANGO

25. Juanita's "this" : ESTA

27. "Middle" period : AGES. Or the Third Age of Middle-Earth. Oops, not on Monday.

28. Family room piece : SOFA

29. Goofs : ERRS

30. Conductor's beat : TEMPO

34. Came to terms (with) : MADE PEACE

35. Flaky mineral : MICA. Used in isinglass.

36. Like the Mojave : ARID

38. 1920s-'40s art style : DECO

40. Usual fourth down play : PUNT

41. Wedding party member : USHER

44. Blended-family parent : STEP-DAD

47. Colorful fish : OPAH

48. Most insignificant : MEREST

49. Tourist draws : MECCAS

50. Unrepairable : RUINED

52. Doctor's time in the office : HOURS

53. Like much pub ale : ON TAP

57. Traffic complaint : HONK

59. Pack away : STOW

60. Cereal spokestiger : TONY. He's GRRREAT!

62. "Very funny" TV station : TBS. TBS is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally Turner Broadcasting System.

63. U.S. 1, for one : RTE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday October 10, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Perfection, or rather TEN (116D. Theme answer count, amount of letters in each, word hidden in each, and, when repeated twice, today's date. ) - Multi-layered theme: Total 10 theme answers, each 10-letter long, with TEN spanning across, and the puzzle appears on 10/10/10.

22A. Audible sleep aid : WHITE NOISE. I need total silence.

24A. Stadium ticket datum : GATE NUMBER. Target Field has a Gate 34 in honor Kirby Puckett.

43A. Hiker's snack : DATE NUT BAR. Trader Joe's Lara Bars are the best. Dates with raw cashews.

46A. It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing : HEAT ENERGY. We have several tricky "it", "they", "them" in the clues today.

67A. Barely sufficient : JUST ENOUGH

69A. You, to you, at times? : WORST ENEMY. Great clue.

83A. Warning sign : DO NOT ENTER

88A. On and on : WITHOUT END

112A. Agreed to a proposal : GOT ENGAGED. I came to the US on Fiancée Visa.

114A. Library reminder : LATE NOTICE

We also have another implied TEN:

86D. MLB post-season mo. : OCT. Twins are done! Incurable Inferiority Complex against the damn Yankees. Windhover said this started when they were still Washington Senators.

You'll notice that besides the theme entries (perfectly placed), none of the fill are 10-letter long. It's no accident. Also the left & right grid edge three-finger rather than our normal Sunday four-finger break-up gave us plenty of 7-letter entries. 18 in total. Quite a few eye-catching 9s and 8s as well.

There's always something extra in Don's puzzles. That in turn often presents a challenge to his theme choices and grid designs. He's not called "Hard G" for nothing. I've attached his notes on the puzzle at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1. They're in Vogue : POSES. Vogue magazine.

6. Figs. disclosed before closings : APRS. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. On your mortgage.

10. Alley-oop setups, in hoops : LOBS. A term in tennis and golf too.

14. Work on, as pipe bowl ash : TAMP. What is "pipe bowl ash"?

18. Sex appeal : OOMPH. Zippy clue.

19. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" : LEO I. Educated guess on I. Can't be X or V.

20. "There's no step 3!" product : IMAC. Nice clue.

21. Chick on ivories : COREA. Jazz great Chick Corea.

26. Wing : ELL

27. Trifle : SOU. As in "not worth a sou".

28. Kept sacred : ENSHRINED

30. Where __ at : IT'S

31. Singer Corinne Bailey et al. : RAES. Recognize her face when I googled.

33. Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts : GESTALT. Can you give me an example?

35. Be in a bee : SEW. Be in sewing bee.

36. Monthly exp. : UTIL

37. Fill with joy : ELATE

39. Admonishing king? : TUT. King Tut. Nice clue too.

40. Aide: Abbr. : ASST

42. "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film : IRENE

49. "Wait __!" : A SEC

50. All-inclusive : A TO Z

52. An atheist can't be one : ELK. The Elks. I was unaware of this fact. They are not all-inclusive then.

53. Strikebreakers : SCABS

56. Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW

58. Kid who moves a lot : ARMY BRAT. Great "moves", more deceptive than "travels".

63. One bit : AT ALL.

64. Gets twisted : WARPS

65. Cries of disgust : FIES.

66. Miscellany : OLIO

71. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Learned from doing Xword.

72. Approximately : OR SO

73. __-ling : DING A. And BONER (59. Blunder). Tee hee.

74. Nods, often : YESES

75. Dec. purchase : XMAS TREE. Hmm, not so far away.

77. "The vine that ate the South" : KUDZU

78. Brusque : TERSE

79. It may need a boost : EGO. Nailed it.

80. Bindle carrier : HOBO

81. Meteor tail? : ITIC. Meteoritic. How is it different than meteoric?

94. In reserve : ON ICE

95. Sharpen : WHET

97. Ed.'s request : SAE. Self-Addressed Envelope.

98. "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" : POX ON. This clue is for Clear Ayes, who knows all the Shakespearean stuff.

99. Spinoff group : SECT

100. Two-piece piece : BRA. Ultra friendly letter combination, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.

102. Northern lights : AURORAS

105. Paper towel brand : VIVA

106. Consumed : ATE

107. 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" : TEEN ANGEL. Here is the clip. Not in my knowledge zone.

109. Add (up) : TOT

111. Small songbird : TIT. Oh.

117. Wading bird : EGRET

118. __ insurance : TERM. Had trouble getting the answer.

119. Road for Tiberius : ITER. Roman "road".

120. Code carriers : GENES

121. Versatile beans : SOYS. Versatile indeed.

122. Union mem. since 2/14/1912 : ARIZ. Drew a blank, Lucina!

123. Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" : CELS. Good to know.

124. It can make your heart pound : ANGST

Down:

1. Turned on, with "up" : POWERED

2. "Tres chic!" : OOH LA LA

3. Graciously greet : SMILE AT

4. Able, facetiously : EPT. Like "apt"?

5. Ladies : SHES

6. Song pour les enfants : ALOUETTE. We just had this entry a week ago.

7. Architect I.M. : PEI. He's born in Guangzhou.

8. Stone home : ROSETTA

9. College near Albany : SIENA. Was ignorant of the Siena College. Catholic college named after St. Bernardino of Siena, a la Wiki.

10. Laser entertainment : LIGHT SHOW. Debut entry.

11. Actor Epps : OMAR

12. Leader overthrown by Castro : BATISTA

13. Part of an act : SCENE. Play act.

14. Kite on the links : TOM. Tom Kite. Very friendly in person.

15. Dispute settler : ARBITER. And MEETING (16. Dispute settler, perhaps). Clecho (clue echo).

17. Decorative herb : PARSLEY. Never developed a taste for parsley.

21. Cow's second helping? : CUD. Fun clue.

23. Yuletide quaff : NOG

25. Improved partner? : NEW. New and improved.

29. '70s extremist gp. : SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)

32. Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort : STE

34. Contract segment : SUBCLAUSE. Another fresh entry.

36. Rapt ending : URE. Rapture.

38. Make possible : ENABLE

41. "__ me!" : SEZ

42. Black : INKY

44. __ Enterprise : USS

45. Role for Jackie : RALPH. Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners".

47. Brewer of song : TERESA. Another alien character to me. She looks pretty.

48. Horror film locale: Abbr. : ELM ST.

51. Brits' thank-yous : TAS. Don't know this slang.

53. __ und Drang : STURM. Spitzboov likes to use this term.

54. Ides assassin : CASCA. Could only think of Brutus.

55. Some choirboys : ALTOS

57. Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks : ARGO. I've forgotten most of the scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts".

58. Instrument that's not seen and not heard : AIR GUITAR. Awesome clue/answer.

60. Like "park the car," to a New Englander? : R LESS. Got me again.

61. Songstress Mann : AIMEE. Nope. Mystery figure to me.

62. Fisher Price products : TOYS

63. Achilles' cousin : AJAX

64. Passed tediously : WORE ON

65. Cool sitcom guy : FONZ. "Happy Days".

68. Krone-issuing land, to natives : NORGE. Norwegian name for Norway.

69. Black __ spider : WIDOW

70. Ocular washing aid : EYE CUP. Have never heard of eye cup.

73. Do a film editing job : DUB

76. Tours head? : TETE. French for "head". The city Tours.

77. 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel : KOREAN DMZ. Gorgeous entry. Crazy NDMZ cluster.

78. Sonora uncle : TIO

80. [I'm so clever] : HEH. Yes, you are!

82. Broadway array : THEATERS

83. Prescribed amounts : DOSAGES

84. Takeout order : ONE TO GO

85. "You gave it a shot!" : NICE TRY. Oui, oui!

87. Banjoist, e.g. : TWANGER. I suppose so.

89. Set apart from the rest : ISOLATE

90. "Mazel __!" : TOV. For Hahtool.

91. On the way out : EXITING

92. They're new at it : NOVICES. Tyros.

93. "CSI" procedure : DNA TEST

96. Act of war? : TUG. Tug of War.

100. More than ask : BEG

101. Rodeo rope : REATA. Or RIATA.

103. Valued old item : RELIC

104. Small business successor, maybe : SON. True.

107. Boom letters? : TNT

108. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI. Wanted AERO.

110. Loose garment : TOGA

113. Some Caltech grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.

115. Business card abbr. : TEL.

Answer grid.

Notes from the constructor:

"At the beginning of this year, I noticed that the tenth of the month was followed by the ten of 2010 when a date is written. I realized that October would be especially significant, being 10/10/10. There had to be a puzzle in that! The only theme I could think of was to have ten be buried in the answers. Then I realized I could imitate the date, and have the answer be ten letters long, and have ten answers, three TENS (a trifecta?) It sounded challenging, but I thought with common letters like T E N it would be doable. I did come up with at least ten phrases, and I believe a couple were weak. I got great assistance from Rich who cinched it with the final ten-letter phrase.

When designing and filling the grid, it seemed natural to simply place the theme answers side by side and spread them out evenly over the grid to allow for the best chance at filling it in. I also had the advantage that I could move the theme answers around a great deal to find the best combinations. In fact, it drove me crazy that I had so many options to try different combinations. I am certain I could have done better given enough time! As it was, filling this grid was quite a challenge. To make certain that the solver understands what is going on, I had to have TEN appear in the grid, which further added to the challenge."

C.C.

Saturday October 9, 2010 James Sajdak

Theme: None

Total words: 68. Total blocks: 33

Very unusual grid design. It has:

1) the standard 180 degree rotation;

2) a left to right symmetry;

3) a top to bottom mirroring pattern.

Rarely do we see this kind of grid structure. As a result, we have a even-numbered count of all entries with various length, including an amazing 28 of seven-letter words.

The puzzle is anchored by a pair of music grid spanners:

27A. It lost to "Moon River" for a Best Song Oscar : TOWN WITHOUT PITY. Unknown trivia to me. "Moon River" is lovely.

42A. 1964 Record of the Year Grammy winner, with "The" : GIRL FROM IPANEMA. Sweet song.

Across:

1. Avid ones keep Life Lists : BIRDERS. Is "Life Lists" a specific term to birders?

8. Weapons restriction of a sort : TEST BAN

15. Circling : IN ORBIT

16. Coin's "heads" : OBVERSE

17. Take a plane? : SKYJACK. My favorite clue today.

18. Formed before delivery, as concrete : PRECAST

19. Mom and pop financing gp. : SBA

20. Roger who coached eight NHL teams : NEILSON. No idea. Obviously this guy is in Hall of Fame. Is eight a record?

22. Taste : SIP. Drink.

23. Collaborator with a Count and a Duke : ELLA (Fitzgerald). Count Basie. Duke Ellington. I don't feel the two a's are necessary. You?

25. Dance genre : TAP

26. Peak in Thessaly : OSSA. Mt Ossa. Peak near Olympus.

32. View from Jackson Hole : TETONS. Grand Tetons. Big boobs.

33. Safe portfolio investments : T-NOTES

34. Ad-committee link : HOC. Ad hoc committee.

35. Dr. Ray Langston's TV team : CSI. Have never watched CSI. Don't know the doctor.

36. Come to a head : BOIL UP

39. Puget Sound port : TACOMA

45. Sub. for omitted names : ET AL. Literally "and others". French got their "et" from Latin I gather.

46. Hammett's Spade : SAM. Sam Spade. And 11D. Hammett's Spade, e.g. : TEC. Short for detective. Nice clue tie-in.

47. Library Card Sign-up mo. : SEPT

48. Like some painkillers, briefly : OTC

49. French lover? : AMATEUR. I don't get it. Is it literally "lover" in French, Kazie?

53. Frat letter : RHO

54. Told : RELATED. And 59. Not told : UNAWARE. Another clecho (clue echo).

56. Easily attached : STICK ON

58. Island north of Trinidad : GRENADA. Needed crossing help.

60. Sect linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls : ESSENES. I can never remember this sect. So close to Essences.

Down:

61. Jai alai balls : PELOTAS. It's just Spanish for "balls", correct?

1. "Bullitt" co-star : BISSET (Jacqueline). Total stranger to me. Bullitt is a character's name in the film.

2. Therapy aid : INK BLOT

3. Pluralis majestatis : ROYAL WE. Pluralis majestatis is "majestic plural" in Latin.

4. Court physician? : DR. J. Julius Erving. Basketball court.

5. "Personal Witness: Israel Through My Eyes" author : EBAN (Abba)

6. Potatoes alternative : RICE

7. Nevis neighbor : ST KITTS. See this map. Crazy STK*start.

8. Leadership position : TOP SPOT

9. River through Aragon : EBRO. To the Mediterranean.

10. 1984 Swedish speed skating medalist Gustafson : SVEN. Both his given name and surname are so Swedish/Norwegian.

12. Golfer's 2-wood : BRASSIE. Gimme to me. Watched lots of the old Bobby Jones golf tips when I first started golfing.

13. Rink stats : ASSISTS

14. Working capital? : NET PAY. Nice misdirecting "working".

21. __-di-dah : LAH

24. Colonial mound : ANTHILL. Tricky "colonial".

26. Sunroof and CD changer, e.g. : OPTIONS

28. "A Room of One's Own" author : WOOLF (Virginia). Not familiar with the book. What's it about?

29. Arouse, as wrath : INCUR

30. Open without a corkscrew : UNCAP

31. 1900 Puccini premiere : TOSCA. Well, 5-letter Puccini work answer is either TOSCA or OPERA.

36. Pink Gin ingredient : BITTERS. No idea. Have never heard of Pink Gin.

37. Sources of ambiguous answers : ORACLES. Warren Buffett would love this clue. He's called the Oracle of Omaha. Guess who's the Oracle of Nebraska?

38. Some Iberian inns : POSADAS. Spanish for "inns"?

39. "Pencils down" : TIME'S UP. From proctors.

40. Mongoose family member : MEERKAT. Cute.

41. Antique oil holder : AMPHORA. Or "Antique wine holder". The Greek vase. Learning moment for me.

42. Magazine whose debut issue featured a cover photo of Cindy Crawford dressed as Washington : GEORGE. Another gimme. See the cover. It's not worth anything collection-wise. The first issue of Playboy with Marilyn Monroe in good condition can easily fetch hundreds of bucks (just to annoy Annette).

43. Comb breaker, perhaps : MAT. Have never heard of "hair" being referred as "mat".

44. Makes up (for) : ATONES

49. __ end : AT AN. Partial.

50. Early Iranian : MEDE. They live din Media.

51. Big name in alternative press : UTNE. Utne Reader.

52. Shiraz spending money : RIAL. Another Iran reference. Shiraz the city. Not the wine.

55. Suffix with oct- : ANE. Octane.

57. USN rank : CWO (Chief Warrant Officer). Is it a common abbr, Spitzboov? I was clueless.

Answer grid.r grid.

To Jayce, a belated 生日快乐! Jayce speaks and recognizes some Chinese characters. I bet he knows a few naughty slang.

C.C.

Friday October 8, 2010 Paul Guttormsson

Theme: ADD ON (39A. Extra, and this puzzle's title) - "ON" is added to the end of a familiar two word pair to create a new and humorous visual.

20A. Milton Hershey, e.g.?: CHOCOLATE BARON. Milton? The candy bar man, No wonder he got in the candy business. This puzzle actually forms a perfect companion to Gareth Bain's NIXON puzzle we had a while ago. ON is nixed from familiar phrases. The word baron was in play as well.

56A. Segundo matrimonio result, maybe?: SPANISH STEPSON. Did we all understand second marriage? Of course they are in ROME .

10D. Body of brewing rules?: BEER CANON. I love this, both for the pun (we have our Canon of Ethics for Lawyers) and the extended visual BEER CANNON .

35. Ancient Germanic singer?: ALTO SAXON. I also like this one very much, it is also a double play on words with ALTO SAX and ANGLO-SAXONS .

Well hello Friday, it is surprise, surprise, Lemonade before your eyes, with a new day dawning. I am not sure I have seen this constructor before, or maybe only doing a NY Times.

Anyway, the theme was easy but fun; though apparent from the very first reveal of BAR ON from the perps, it did not make the clues and answers any less witty, and the rest was easy in places and hard in places, so I guess a Friday. Let’s have it!

Across:

1. Mother of Horus: ISIS. Wow, we start with an obscure but common crossword MYTHICAL FIGURE , I always loved Isis because her mother’s name is NUT.

5. Cheap reads: PULPS. People either love or hate cheap FICTION .

10. Divulge: BARE. Do we like the bare MIDRIFF .

14. 1959 British Motor Corp. debut: MINI, and a car semi-clecho, 15A. Last Olds: ALERO. It spawned its own fan club SIGN UP .

16. Ostrich cousins: EMUS are from Australia (right KZ) which is near NZ, and 28A. Fictional tree shepherd: ENT. Amazing visuals of New Zealand, and the March in LORD OF THE RINGS . And we should give equal time to 46D. Brute: OGRE .

17. Routing abbr.: ATTN. Tricky, as most of us thought first of travel routes, rather than routing a letter.

18. Subordinate to: UNDER. Not a very PC use of the word.

19. Give off: EMIT.

23. MPG rating agency: EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

24. Millennium-ending year: ONE BC. Now this is a topic for debate, when do milienia begin and end? Is this followed by 1 A.D.?

25. E. African nation: ETH. Landlocked ETHIOPIA . Their calendar is 7.5 years off from the Gregorian.

30. Place to see an Audi: STRASSE. German for Street.

34. A.L. player whose team logo includes an Uncle Sam hat: NY YANKEE. For all of those who worship the dark side IMAGE .

37. Got in on a deal: ANTED. A deal of cards, gambling, as opposed to a business deal, like with Bernie Madoff, no gamble at all.

38. Form often requiring an SSN: APPL. Application, one of many abbreviations, such as 42A. Master: Abbr.: ORIG. I guess this comes from the music business where the master recording is the original.

43. Buck parts: CENTS. What is a Buccanear? A very high price for corn.

45. Improve one's bargaining power, in a way: UNIONIZE. OOO, very tempting, but no politics!

47. Radar user: TROOPER. My favorite POLICE FORCE .

50. "Star Trek" sequel, briefly: TNG. The Next Generation, featuring our recent favorite DEANNA TROI . Not to be confused with Star Wars and 2D. Jedi nemesis: SITH .

51. St. crosser, on signs: PED. estrian clue.

52. Yahtzee score sheet row: SIXES. I have played but did not remember this score sheets. You can print them ON LINE .

54. Suffix with ranch: ERO. My favorites IMAGE .

62. Imitation: FAUX. YOU THINK? .

63. Playgroup reminder: SHARE. Like this GROUP .

64. Reference work, usually: TOME .

65. Curly coif: AFRO. No comment IMAGE .

66. Austrian dessert: TORTE. YUMMY .

67. Thought: IDEA. Better than IDEATE.

68. "It's __ fun": BEEN. Damn I wish this had been saved for the end, it is a great exit line.

69. Malibu, for one: SEDAN.

70. Word avoided by optimists: CANT.

Down:

1. Apple variety: IMAC. Apple computer.

3. Involved with: INTO. Eh, a stretch for me, but reminds me of the line from the movie, Mary: I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting.

4. From that time: SINCE.

5. "She's a Lady" songwriter: PAUL ANKA. But is he a GENTLEMAN ?

6. Radius neighbor: ULNA. Your arm bones.

7. Helped come about: LED TO. The cause and effect of life.

8. Grooms: PREENS.

9. Frozen dessert: SORBET.

11. Gun shop stock: AMMO.

12. Wreck: RUIN.

13. Winter hrs. in N.J.: EST. Who wants to be in NJ in the winter? Oops, sorry Dennis.

21. Not booked: OPEN.

22. Lover of Cal, in "East of Eden": ABRA. Gone so soon CAL .

25. Put on the books: ENACT. A legislative intent.

26. Blood __ :TYPER. This was all perps, otherwise I would have had no idea.

27. Therapy lead-in: HYPNO. Kind of a pun.

29. Rocker Nugent: TED. I liked him better for his MUSIC

31. Comic unit: STRIP. Nice juxtaposition with 32. Jump on, as an opportunity: SEIZE, right ladies.

33. Beat by a bit: EDGED.

36. http://mit.__: EDU. I guess the small letters are to keep you from realizing it was Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

40. Man.and Minn. neighbor: ONT. Ontario, Canada. More abbreviations, but gimmes for our northern contingent.

41. What an apostrophe may stand for, in dates: NINETEEN. ‘30s, ‘40s

44. Reinterpret, in a way: SPIN. A true American CREATION .

48. Is: EXISTS. Cogito Ergo Sum.

49. Work on hooves: RESHOE. Anyone seen Secretariat yet? I think it came out today.

53. Pottery piece: SHARD. My son digs for shards.

55. Sight-related: OPTIC. The nerve of him to use this clue.

56. Protected: SAFE. Yes boys and girls, always be safe, and stay 57D. Not corrupted: PURE.

58. Madrid miss:Abbr.: SRTA. Senorita, I have not counted the abbreviations, but gee.

59. Club __: SODA. Great to take out stains.

60. Comet, to some: OMEN. Classic MOVIE .

61. Tidy: NEAT. Which is also pretty 62D. "Cool!": FAB.

Answer grid.

Lamonade

Thursday October 7, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: "I'm puzzled and have some cross words for you." revealed in 64A. Where this grid's starred answers' ends have particular relevance: ON THE PUZZLE PAGE.

17A. *Stand firm: PUT ONES FOOT DOWN.

29A. *Find by chance: COME ACROSS.

37A. *Utility company network: POWER GRID.

49A. *1990s-2000s kids' show starring a pooch named for its color: BLUE'S CLUES. A blue spotted (female) puppy assists Steve, a minimalist artist, solve mysteries with the help of other animated friends.

Hi all, Al here.

Pretty straight forward theme answers, lots of 7 and 8 letter answers, and more than a few abbrevs to balance that out. Just about right for a Thursday, I'd say.


ACROSS:

1. The Bob Hope Classic component and others: PRO-AMS. Professional-Amateur sporting events, in this instance, golf.

7. Privately, to a lawyer: IN CAMERA. Latin for "in chamber", as a judge would have.

15. Like some Egyptian churches: COPTIC. Early followers of Christianity.

16. Robin's band: MERRY MEN. My favorite take on the story was Robin and the Seven Hoods starring the Rat Pack.

19. Writer de Beauvoir: SIMONE. I have no idea why I knew this name, but I just typed it in without thinking. Maybe it came up in an episode of Home Improvement or something...

20. Amiable: SWEET. Amiable music.

21. PIN requester: ATM. A new twisty clue, too bad it had to be all in caps.

22. European capital: RIGA. Capital of Latvia. I put in EURO right away and thought I was being clever to see through the clue.

24. 1871 Cairo premiere: AIDA. An opera by Giuseppe Verdi (Joe Green), who did not attend the premiere and was not happy that none of the attendees there were members of the general public.

27. Latin god: DEUS. Literally.

33. Own up to: ADMIT. Confess.

35. Pierre's peeper: OEIL. French for eye.

36. Eastern theater genre: NOH. Nōgaku is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles.

41. Fig leaf's outer edges?: EFS. Fig leaF.

44. iPod model: NANO. I'm sure these are designed for children with small fingers.

45. Surprise at the door: POP IN. This is seriously bent.

53. Rowlands of "Gloria": GENA. Virgina Cathryn Rowlands. Born in Madison, Wi. The only movie I've seen her in was Paulie, a picaresque (didn't we just have this word?) tale about a parrot, which also starred Tony Shaloub, who coincidentally was born and raised in Green Bay. Yes, it was a green and yellow parrot.

54. Gets free, as a smoke: BUMS. As Nice Cuppa might say, "bums a fag".

55. Flub: SLIP. Related word: slime, which also in turn gives us potter's clay, which is also called slip.

57. Highest power?: NTH.

58. One in a cast: ACTOR. Wrist? Thumb? What other 5-letter part can be broken?

62. Conceive: IDEATE.

68. Woo, in a way: SERENADE. From Italian serenata "an evening song," literally "calm sky," from sereno "the open air," noun use of sereno "clear, calm," from Latin serenus "peaceful, calm, serene." Sense influenced by Italian sera "evening".

69. Tied: EVENED. Verb form. I had EVEN UP at first.

70. Snuck up on, perhaps: STARTLED. Not completely the same thing, but the clue does only say "perhaps".

71. Ritual repasts: SEDERS. Passover meals. (I hope I got that right).

DOWN:

1. Angel dust, briefly: PCP. 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine, shortened to phencyclidine. Related to dextromethorphan, which is what you get in some cough syrups. Now you know why they tell you not to operate heavy equipment...

2. Caused to get up: ROUSTED. Rouse, a hawking term of obscure origin was originally used of hawks shaking their body feathers.

3. Best: OPTIMUM. From a form of Latin "optimus". Related: optimism, to think the best of.

4. Unit quantified in a subscript: ATOM. As in chemical formulas: H₂O (water) or C₅H₁₂ found in 46D. Compound used as a lab solvent: PENTANE. A five carbon chain. Organic chemistry, not organic farming...

5. Secondary: MINOR. Latin for smaller. Smallest (minimus), gives us minimum.

6. Having lovely panoramas: SCENIC. Equal rights pics, one for each.

7. "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds" fictional spy org.: IMF. Impossible Missions Force, Mission Impossible.

8. Modernists: NEOS. Greek prefix for new.

9. Gloat: CROW. Old English: crawian "make a loud noise" the sense of "exult in triumph" is perhaps in part because the English crow is a carrion-eater, that is, feeding on the "dead" opponent.

10. Johnson of "Laugh-In": ARTE.

11. "Frankly, __ ...": MY DEAR.

12. Poker face's lack: EMOTION. From Latin ex- movere: "to move".

13. VCR's "Go back": REW.

14. Abby's twin: ANN. Ann Landers, Abigail Van Buren.

18. Bell-shaped lily: SEGO.

21. Oklahoma city: ADA. Birthplace of Oral Roberts...

23. Lovey-dovey: AMOROUS.

25. British mil. honor: DSO. Distinguished Service Order.

26. Resilient wood: ASH.

28. Nurse: SIP.

30. Data for a neurologist, briefly: EEG. Electroencephalography

31. Broadcast: AIR.

32. Hair holder: CLIP.

34. Loads: TONS.

38. WWII female: WAC. Women's Army Corps.

39. It usually shows more detail: Abbr.: ENL. Enlargement. Just fill it in and move on.

40. Follow closely: DOG.

41. Wane: EBB.

42. Swine __: FLU. Don't get me started...

43. Indonesian island: SUMATRA.

47. Two, for one: INTEGER. Number 2 is an integer. Directly from Latin in- tangere, meaning not touched, whole. Related word: intact.

48. "Never mind": NAH. Something along the lines of "slangy" would have helped.

50. Artist known for spatial impossibilities: ESCHER. Maurits Cornelis (M. C.)

51. Part of QE2: Abbr.: ELIZ. Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner. Now, just sitting in Dubai.

52. Walks like a crab: SIDLES. Sideways motion.

56. Irk: PEEVE. I kept reading this clue as ink.

59. Big top, for one: TENT.

60. Official gem of South Australia: OPAL. Really an abundance of a straight-forward clue...

61. Brusque: RUDE. From French brusque: "lively, fierce".

63. Mimicked: APED. To mimic is "of or related to mimes". Can't say I ever saw an ape try to get out of an invisible box.

64. CIA predecessor: OSS. Office of Strategic Services, wartime intelligence.

65. Safety device: NET.

66. The London Zoo has one: ZED. British for ZEE. Starting letter of Zoo,

67. Ms. evaluators: EDS. Manuscripts, editors.

Answer grid.

Al