Sunday June 2, 2013 Mark Bickham

Theme: "Hair Majesty" - The first word in each theme entry is a hairstyle.

24A. Leader of the Wild Bunch gang : BUTCH CASSIDY

26A. Plush floor covering : SHAG CARPET

53A. Greet from a distance : WAVE HELLO

93A. Dreaded musician? : BOB MARLEY. Dupe with 4D. Hopes it never happens : DREADS THE DAY

118. Low-altitude delivery agent : CROP DUSTER

122. Fetal metaphor : BUN IN THE OVEN

17. One way to decide : FLIP A COIN

40D. Scenic Massachusetts route : MOHAWK TRAIL. Remember the NASA Mohawk guy?

68D. Four Corners nickname : BEEHIVE STATE

  

84D. Rams : BANGS INTO. My ex-boyfriend is crazy about Jane Birkin. She has the most famous bangs in the world.

Amazing grid design. Loved how MOHAWK TRAIL crosses two Across theme entries in the grid. The four other pairs intersect as well. It really takes luck and skill to make this work.

Across:

1. Profitable venture : GOLDMINE. Great start. We don't often see a 8-letter 1-Across.

9. Bombay bigwigs : RAJAHS

15. Fox role : MCFLY (Marty).  "Back to the Future". Michael J. Fox,

20. "My pleasure!" : I SURE CAN

21. Region north of Morocco : IBERIA

22. Finnish architect Alvar __ : AALTO. Stranger to me. Eero Saarinen is Finnish too. So many vowels in their names.

23. Punkish accessory : NOSE RING. Boomer's daughter-in-law Sherie has a nose ring.

28. Asian region, with "the" : EAST. "The East is Red" woke me up every morning in my childhood. Our reveille.

29. Lhasa __ : APSO

30. Wilmington's st. : DEL

31. Short : SHY

32. "Silent Spring" subj. : DDT

33. "Bossypants" writer Fey : TINA. Someday she'll change her mind and host the Oscar.

35. Loses one's cool : SEES RED

39. She played Molly in "Ghost" : DEMI. Oh, I loved "Ghost".

41. Ready to shoot : IN FOCUS

44. Contact, nowadays : TEXT

45. Walton of Walmart : SAM. Say what you want about Walmart. They've always paid their taxes, unlike Apple (!!!), Microsoft & Google.

47. Two bells, in the Navy : ONE AM. Got it, Dave?

50. Old pool ball material : IVORY

51. Oahu's __ Stadium : ALOHA

56. Hotel team : MAIDS

57. Apportioned, with "out" : METED

58. Nickname for Margaret : GRETA. Wow. I thought it's Meg or Peggy.

59. Start of something big? : MEGA

61. Devotee : NUT

62. Safari sightings : PRIDES. Lion packs.

64. Is aware of : KNOWS

66. Star : CELEB

69. Notes comprise them : SCALES

71. It's over a foot : ANKLE. Clever clue.

73. Amazingly enough : NO LESS

76. Mythical giants : YETIs

78. Newspaper section : STYLE. And 95. Common newspaper name : TIMES

80. Hardly a guffaw : TEE HEE

82. Graceful male swimmer : COB. Male swan. I can't swim. You?

85. Aware of : IN ON

87. Double-check : RE-ADD

89. Burns a bit : CHARS

90. "Our Gang" series creator Hal : ROACH. New to me as well.

96. Bother : ANNOY

97. Video game pioneer : ATARI
 

98. Site of heavy traffic, with "the" : NET

100. Wind indicator : VANE

101. City on the Tigris : BAGHDAD

103. Acronym that includes middle sch. : EL HI. It just won't go away. Too useful a letter combo.

106. Tinactin alternative : DESENEX. For Athlete's Foot.

108. Evidently are : SEEM

109. Engine housing : POD

111. Takes too much : ODs

113. Xi preceders : NUs. Not An.

114. "Madama Butterfly" wardrobe items : OBIs

116. Did perfectly : ACED

125. Uncommon thing : RARA AVIS

127. Playground rejoinder : IS TOO

128. Company promoted by a nine-month-old financial wizard : E-TRADE. The E-Trade Baby has his own Twitter account.

129. Theft target : IDENTITY

130. Beach shoe : THONG. The Bikini wear is more appealing than a single shoe.

131. Pastry-making aid : ZESTER

132. Like some loafers : TASSELED

Down:

1. Sling ingredient : GIN. Singapore Sling, right?

2. Zoo animales : OSOS. Bears.

3. Like some lawns : LUSH

5. Big deal : MERGER. So simple in retrospect.

6. Winter spikes : ICICLES

7. "Peter Pan" pooch : NANA

8. Many Caltech grads : ENGRS. Both Spitzboov & Splynter graduated from RPI.

9. Outback order : RIB EYE

10. Be next to : ABUT

11. Fast flier : JET

12. Like a parabola : ARCED

13. Percussion kit item : HI-HAT

14. Egg holders : SACS

15. Parental nicknames : MAs

16. Eponymous 18th-century adventurer : CASANOVA. Womanizer.

18. Old Fords : LTDs

19. Toy on a string : YO-YO

25. Envelope abbr. : ATTN

27. Postgrad degree : PhD

32. More than just eat : DINE

34. "__ any judge of character ..." : IF I'M. Sometimes partials are not easy for me to see.

35. Philatelist's find : STAMP

36. Catchers with pots : EELERS

37. Strikingly strange : EXOTIC

38. "Hi and Lois" pooch : DAWG

41. Daughter in Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" : IMOGEN. No idea.

42. Pakistani language : URDU. Still waiting for Anony-Mouse (aka Vidwan) to answer my Urdu question.

43. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYST

46. Blemish : MARK

48. Lumber tree : ELM. Hard to clue ELM in a new way.

49. Blind-from-birth pianist Templeton : ALEC. Never heard of him. 

52. British singer with the age-related albums "19" and "21" : ADELE. Pure talent.

54. __ cava : VENA

55. Berkshire jackets : ETONs

60. Almost all the time : A LOT

63. "The X-Files" org. : SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)

65. More sneaky : SLYER

67. Put in power : ELECT

70. Sailor from Basrah : SINBAD. I always use Basra.

72. It has both Hebrew and English letters on its planes : EL AL

74. Medicine man : SHAMAN

75. Still : SERENE

77. Stains on a red suit? : SOOT. Santa!

79. Perfect place : EDEN

81. Cambridgeshire neighbor : ESSEX

82. Grump : CRAB

83. O'Neill's daughter : OONA. Long time no see!

86. Pistons' org. : NBA. Detroit Pistons.

88. Added highlights to, in a way : DYED

91. Strong team quality : COHESION

92. Stevenson villain : HYDE. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

94. TV role for Bamboo Harvester : MR. ED

99. Grants academic security to : TENURES

102. Latin trio member : AMAT. Amo, amas, amat.

104. Good boy of verse : HORNER. Little Jack Horner. "What a good boy am I".

105. Response known to preclude its question : I DO.

107. Lazy __: trays : SUSANs

109. Golfer Calvin : PEETE. He cleared the fairway for Tiger Woods. Golf pioneer.

110. Reasons to clean : ODORS

112. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT. New word to me.

114. Late notice? : OBIT

115. Foundation plant : BUSH

117. Stylish eatery word : CHEZ. I bet it's all tasty Chez D-Otto's. He seems to be a great cook.

118. Give up : CEDE

119. Anti-art movement : DADA

120. Bad doings : EVIL

121. Altar event : RITE

123. Holiday quaff : NOG

124. Piece of winery equipment : VAT

126. Guitarist Barrett : SYD. Pink Floyd.

C.C.

Saturday, Jun 1st, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing Q)

Blocks: 33

   This was one of those deceptive grids with the double 10-letter answers hiding inside of the edges of the puzzle and in the downs through the middle.  I must admit, I had to Google to get a hold in the NW.  Yesterday it was 86° on Long Island - UPS was brutal, as well as doing construction outdoors that afternoon; then staying out late for a BBQ at Mike's made it hard for me to see some of the more obvious answers....oh well.  One from each section:

17. Cesar Millan, e.g. : PET TRAINER - DAH~!!! I had PETT----, and figured it was Petty 'something', and finally caved in to looking this guy up

57. Dunkin' Donuts order : ONION BAGEL - Fridays at UPS they get a platter of bagels for the drivers - so I conveniently punch out in the office and swipe me an everything bagel with cream cheese

10. Desert plant named for a Biblical spy : JOSHUA TREE - Music link #1; a commentary on the album, and I like what Bono has to say at 1:51 - and the song itself

27. Top-10 Lady Gaga hit from "The Fame Monster" album : BAD ROMANCE - Music link #2 - but from her debut album "The Fame"

6. Noble : ARISTOCRAT - which is mirrored by 29D. Dude who totally lurks in the bushes : CREEPAZOID - which to me seems WAY out of Mr. Silk's regular fill

 onwurd....

ACROSS:

1. Org. concerned with neglect : SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - I got this, and always makes me feel good going in

5. Rivera specialty : SAVES - Baseball for C.C. - Mariano, and I will leave it to her for the details (From C.C.: Greatest closer ever!  He's the only one who still wears #42 jersey.)

10. Group led by a council of 12 Masters : JEDI - It wasn't until I had the "I" that the V-8 can came sailing across the room....

14. Dart : FLIT - wasn't sure, but I filled it in right away

15. Restrict : CRAMP - and clecho 45A. Restricts : STEMS

16. Team members : OXEN - D'oh~!! I put in an "S" at the end, since, well, it's plural, right~!!?!?

19. Kebab need : SPIT

20. Child care option : DAY NURSERY

21. "Too great a burden to bear": M.L. King Jr. : HATE - Total WAG

22. Spends time at home : BATS - more baseball, but this one didn't fool me

23. Synthetic rubber used in footballs : BUTYL

24. Spoiler of a perfect GPA : ONE B

28. Northwestern winter fruit : BOSC PEAR - I WAGed "SNOW", since I am from the NorthEAST....

31. Foot-related : PODAL

33. Acoustically, it affects treble but not bass : CARPETING

36. Indian clay oven : TANDOOR

38. Officer Poncherello portrayer of '70s-'80s TV : ESTRADA - I grew up with "CHiPs"

39. Programs with previews : SHAREWARE

41. Lay into : SET AT

42. Wade Boggs book subtitled "My Favorite Chicken Recipes" : FOWL TIPS - HAR-HAR~!  It is quite funny, actually - and more baseball - C.C., have you heard this story? (From C.C.: What story? Boggs ate chicken before every single game.) (From Splynter: that's the one~!)

44. Alarm sounds : EEKS

47. Shell with fish, perhaps : TACO - oh, now I get it

49. Mother of Hephaestus : HERA

50. Rhythmic fitness routine : JAZZERCISE

56. 10- or 13-digit ID : ISBN - Not SSN, and not your cell phone #, either

58. TVA product : ELECtricity

59. Had to accept the loss : ATE IT

60. Ticket word : LOGE - dah~!  Not TIER

61. Skate on thin ice : DARE

62. Square figures : NERDS

63. Native to : FROM

DOWN:

1. Its HQ was once destroyed as the result of an earthquake : SFPD - The San Francisco Police Department, in the "great" one of 1906

2. Bargaining focus : PLEA

3. Map listing : CITY

4. Fax abbr. : ATTN

5. Ancient amulet : SCARAB

7. Genus of butterfly that includes the Red Admiral : VANESSA - John Lampkin nailed this one

8. Urgent care abbr. : EMERgency

9. Active : SPRY

11. One likely to vote by absentee ballot : EXPATRIATE

12. Krishna, for one : DEITY

13. Surveillance product, briefly : INTELligence

18. Difficulty : RUB - Shakespeare appears later, too; "Aye, there's the RUB"

23. Sugar sources : BEETS

24. Goes (for) : OPTS

25. Ham kin : NOAH - Son and father

26. 1925 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist : EDNA FERBER - full name for Saturday

30. Ltr. extender : PPS - post-post script

32. Former MGM parent : LOEWS

34. Flickertail St. : N. DAKota - More here

35. Heaters : GATS - Guns, in slang; funny, but I was thinking "fastball"

37. Wide-faced bird : OWL

40. More chic : RITZIER

43. Essences : SCENTS

45. Backed (away) : SHIED

46. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA

48. "... the inconstant moon ... that monthly changes in her circled __": Juliet : ORB

50. Actress Cusack : JOAN

51. Initial payment : ANTE

52. Baby elephant : CALF

53. Classic name heard in the 1962 hit "Monster Mash" : IGOR - I'll leave music #3 to you~!

54. Utah lily : SEGO

55. I, O or U : ELEMent - Iodine, Oxygen, and Uranium

Splynter

Friday May 31, 2013, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Smile you are on Candid Camera."

LINK.

How nice to welcome Hard G and C.C. back to Friday, their first visit to my patch since last May. Appropriately for C.C. as a baseball fan, we have the old hidden ball trick, where the name of a popular camera manufacturer is found spread between the words of each of the three theme answers, with a classic reveal. Some really sparkly fill like RNA spelled out, PLUMMETS, NITROGEN, DERISIVE and ARCANE just to name a few. We also have some clecho, some arcane stuff that's fun to learn  So let us do this.

19A. "This will get better, I promise" : IT GROWS ON YOU.(12) For some reason SONY jumped right out at me once I filled in the answer, which took a while, as I had to resort to doing the down clues first to get a toehold.  Did not know if perhaps TVs were going to be the theme.

31A. "That's surreal!" : I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. (15) The CANON sure shot being perhaps the most advertised of all cameras.

39A. Substance usually abbreviated : RIBONUCLEIC ACID. (15) (RNA) LEICA  a very quality camera brand mentioned recently here.

53A. Surveillance device found in 19-, 31- and 39-Across : HIDDEN CAMERA. (12) It says it exactly, a camera hidden in each theme answer. A very conventional theme and grid with many fewer words than we have seen on Friday recently.

Across:

1. Manhunt msg. : APB. All Points Bulletin.

4. Facebook exchanges, briefly : IMS. Instant MessageS.

7. Put up a fight : BATTLE.

13. Nose-dives : PLUMMETS. Whenever something is falling to Earth, it is plummeting. Nice word.

16. Frozen, maybe : AFRAID. Very misleading, and while fear makes people freeze in their tracks, it took perps to get this one.

17. Toy mentioned in "The Chipmunk Song" : HULA HOOP.

18. Shade at the beach : BRONZE. Umbrella would not fit, so it had to be a shade of skin tone. The clecho: 10D. Shade at the beach : TAN.

21. Executes : DOES. We are not killing anyone here, just doing things.

22. Sault ___ Marie : STE. Saint abbreviation in French.

23. Moves a bit : STIRS. Shaken not stirred?  I do remember when that sleeping alligator stirred....

27. Prepare for chewing : TEETHE. I loved this one, especially as Charlotte now has two bottom teeth.

30. PC hookup : LAN. Local Area Network.

37. Calculating : SHREWD. Related to Shrew as in the Taming of?

38. Military fleet : ARMADA. Back this week as fill not clue.

43. "Microsoft sound" composer : ENO. Mr. Muzak, Brian-the man in your ELEVATOR.

44. Arkansas River city : PUEBLO. Why these are in Colorado, I do not know.

45. "Star Wars" title : DARTH. and the clecho 65A. "Star Wars" title : SIR. DARTH is Sith for Lord, as he was also called Lord Vader. In later movies (set earlier in time) we have Darth Maul which is a great name. Sir, I presume refers to Sir Alec Guinness who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, who said, "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"

48. Detriment to team performance, maybe : EGO. Who are your least favorite athlete? Is it a big ego who did nothing, like Brian Bosworth, or someone on a successful team who wants all the credit.

49. Master of ___ : ARTS. For some reason, I first plunked in ARMS.

57. Not widely understood : ARCANE. From the Latin word meaning secret, I always thought of it as mostly forgotten knowledge, though it is a wonderful crossword fill, and talking point. Are arcane words fair game to use in puzzles?

60. Air, mostly : NITROGEN. Love this clue as well since 85% of our air is nitrogen.

61. Where lizards hang out? : LOUNGE. Very sweet clue; are they lizards because of their cold nature? Their forked tongues?  Their shoes?

62. Mocking : DERISIVE. Love this being right after Lounge Lizard. It...

63. Lifted (up) : PERKED. up my day.

64. '70s kidnappers: Abbr. : SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army. Think Patty Hearst.

Down:

1. Farm pest : APHID. I put this in immediately and then thought about the fact that these pests are all over flowering plants and had to check the perps to be sure.

2. 1930 Clyde Tombaugh discovery : PLUTO. The P from APB gave me this, but he seems very interesting, suggesting the need for the scientific study of UFOs.

3. Love handle? : BULGE. The never ending Battle.

4. Online "Just saying" : IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Not sure why the opinion needs to be humble.

5. "Got milk?" : MEOW. Cute, like our 'let me out' last week.

6. Self-named Fox Business show : STOSSEL. I liked him since watching his personal revelations about his struggle with stuttering. LINK.

7. New addition of a sort : BABY. Charlotte is now 7 months old; tempus really fugits these days.

8. Big dos : AFROS.

9. Rainbow ___ : TROUT. I wanted BRITE so badly.

11. Songwriter Phair : LIZ. She also is a PERFORMER (2:39) who many feel has not ever lived up to her potential.

12. Back of a stamp? : EDE. If this one licked you, do not worry, it is just a StampEDE.

14. Viking landing site : MARS. Two planets in one puzzle, cool.

15. On-again, off-again : SPOTTY.

20. Vintage pop : NEHI. Radar O'Reilly's drink of choice, grape please.

24. Of a hip bone : ILIAC. Not to be confused with the ILIAD.

25. CNN journalist Kaye : RANDI. This 'investigative' journalist. LINK.(0:18) you get the impression C.C, watches a lot of news? (From C.C.: Randi Kaye used to be the news anchor for WCCO here at Twin Cities.)

26. 1984-2002 honorary Masters starting group member : SNEAD. Slammin' Sammy, one of the trio of golf legends born in 1912 who were featured in this fine PUZZLE.

27. Dot on a map : TOWN.

28. Turn out : END UP.

29. Virus carrier, at times : EMAIL. Simple, classy fill.

31. "The East ___": 1960s anthem in 32-Down : IS RED. No doubt an important part of C.C.'s childhood, this SONG.

32. Nepal neighbor : CHINA. More hometown stuff for our leader, this buffer country between China and India is historically and politically important and now friendly with China. LINK.

33. Place out of the sun : ARBOR. We already had shade as a clue, so it had to be something else. Do they celebrate Arbor day where you love?

34. Revival prefix : NEO.

35. ___ Arena, former Sacramento sports venue : ARCO. The first sports venue named for a sponsor (Atlantic Richfield Oil, now part of BP, is in its second location, and is now called the Sleep Train Arena. Really!

36. "Today" rival, initially : GMA. Good Morning America, not be confused with GMV.(2:07).

40. Signaled : CUED. Cue the dancing hippos.

41. Daniel Boone, e.g. : LEGEND. I was more a Davy Crockett kid.

42. Black keys : EBONIES. Not the IVORIES. (3:41). I hope the video tickled your fancy.

46. Show appreciation to : THANK. I thank C.C. for the Corner and her amazing creations, solo and collaborative.

47. Swinging joint? : HINGE. Not a busy bar, nor a place for couples to mingle and tingle, but...

49. Big name in cookies : AMOS. You might even say he is famous.

50. Longtime morning co-host : REGIS. Does Kelly miss HIM?

51. Eternal City fountain : TREVI. Or as we call it la Fontana di Trevi.

52. Less likely to lose it : SANER. As Thomas Eagleton said, "if they say I am 5% mentally disabled at least I can prove I am 95% sane."

54. Legal document : DEED. Real Property, and what I do for a living, part of the time.

55. Shortcut key : CTRL. Alt. Delete. Oops you are all gone.

56. Solo delivery : ARIA. Not horse or soap.

57. Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP. The mountain, not the PEN. So do you like or hate the Mountain as he rides off with Arya?

58. Canapé topping : ROE. fish eggs like from Shad.

59. Blackguard : CUR. I love the word Blackguard. Cur probably comes from ancient languages version of GRR, meaning to growl and first meant a mongrel dog. But is has become synonymous with bad people, for example Wyatt Earp called the Clantons curs in the movie Tombstone. (per wiki).

Well this week and this puzzle flew by, though I savored the solving, it was nice to see so few 3/4 letter fill. A pleasure blogging our Dynamic Duo, and maybe off to watch the new Star Trek movie. Good to see how many newbies are becoming regulars and always great to see any of the 2008 crowd. Sorry to see San Jose lose, just for Eddy B.

Seen, Creature, hey.

Peace out. Lemonade 714

Thursday, May 30, 2013 Peg Slay

Theme: "Al Fresco"

Four common phrases get a fresh new meaning with the addition of "al" to the entries.

20A. Wriggler's waterway : CANAL OF WORMS. I don't want to open a can of worms, here!

33A. Mail carrier's romantic activities? : POSTAL DATING. I wonder if they will be post dating their check for the meal?

42A. Fortress for summer shoes? : SANDAL CASTLE. A sand castle on the beach wouldn't be a very good fortress, especially if you have a lot of Jimmy Choo shoes!

58A. Collage of potpourri bits? : PETAL PROJECT. One of my pet projects would be to do something with all the petals falling from my dogwood right now.

This is Peg Slay's debut puzzle, and it is an honor to welcome another constructor to our little corner! If it weren't for the pun-ny theme, this puzzle would do very nicely in a Monday slot. The clues were ratcheted up a notch to make it Thursday-worthy, so let's see the handiwork.

Across:

1. It's a lock : YALE. So it is. I wondered "hair?"..."bolt?"..."hasp?"

5. Jostle : ELBOW. Like kids trying to be first in line at the ice-cream truck.

10. Niña or Pinta : SHIP.

14. Pressed into service : USED. I can't help but think someone will use this clue for "ironed" some day.

15. Fox's "War Stories With Oliver ____" : NORTH. Never heard of it, but easy enough to suss.

16. Mystique : AURA. This guy seems to have a certain mystique...

17. Sporting, with "in" : CLAD.

18. Raccoon relative : COATI.  Awww.

19. Suggestive look : LEER.

23. Flik in "A Bug's Life," e.g. : ANT. Fun movie with Dave Foley playing the role of Flik.

24. Like some narratives : ORAL.

25. Connect (with) : LIAISE. Literally, to communicate and maintain contact (with).

29. Patsy : STOOGE. And a clecho at 68-Across. Patsy : DUPE. So many possibilities: boob, mark, fool, goat, gull, butt, chump, doormat, sucker...

31. Poetic preposition : O'ER...(the ramparts.)

32. Source of tricks? : BAG.

37. On the calmer side : ALEE.

40. Also : AND.

41. Bad day for Caesar : IDES.

47. "Verses" poet DiFranco : ANI. Heck of a singer, too. 4:16

48. Objecting word : BUT.

49. You can get down from them : EIDERS. Fun clue!

53. Concert harp parts : PEDALS.

55. Artistic structure : FORM. So many possibilities for the clue.

57. "Take Good Care of My Baby" singer Bobby : VEE. Oldie from 1961. 2:44

61. Emporium : MART.

64. Poetry muse : ERATO.

65. Component : UNIT.

66. "King of New York" director Ferrara : ABEL. Never saw the movie.  Strong violence is not my cup of tea.

67. Gardener, at times : RAKER. Ohhh, my back!  I finally got my flowers planted this week.

69. Oldest British service branch : NAVY.

70. Vehicles on runners : SLEDS.

71. Pentathlon weapon : EPEE. Shooting, swimming, equestrian and cross-country running round out the other four events in the modern pentathlon.

Down:

1. Desert plants with sword-shaped leaves : YUCCAS. I have three of these in my garden. So what did I put for an answer? "Agaves." D'uh!

2. Italicized : ASLANT. "A" word!

3. Rough house? : LEAN-TO.  Anyone else want "tussle?" Nice misdirection.

4. 13th-century Scandinavian epic : EDDA.

5. Numbers that aren't programmed : ENCORES. Here's where Thursday clueing shines.  Totally flummoxed me until I got some perps in place.

6. Fibrous sponge : LOOFA. I put this in, then took it out because I thought it was spelled "loofah." But I see that LOOFA is an alternate sp.

7. Melee : BRAWL. Ah, here's where the roughhousing comes in!

8. Sgt. Snorkel's bulldog : OTTO. Desper- shout out?

9. Spun : WHIRLED...or twirled. Just sayin'...

10. Spicy condiment : SALSA.

11. Color wheel unit : HUE.

12. Argumentative state : IRE.

13. What amateurs rarely shoot : PAR. Husker G., how'd you do today?

21. Eye on CBS, e.g. : LOGO. For more than 60 years now.
 

22. Actress Sorvino : MIRA. Oscar for her role in "Mighty Aphrodite."

26. Footnote abbr. : IBID. Short for "ibidem," meaning "in the same place."

27. Level-headed : SANE.

28. Quiche essentials : EGGS.

30. Page with some right angles? : OP-ED. Another nice misdirection.

31. Auto pioneer : OLDS.

34. Delicacy : TACT.

35. Literary olio : ANA.

36. Going into overtime : TIED. I would love to see a clue about this...4:58 (But the first 30 seconds make my point.)

37. "I need it yesterday!" : ASAP.

38. Country road : LANE.

39. "National Velvet" writer Bagnold : ENID.

43. Fit : ABLE.

44. Polishing outcomes : LUSTERS.

45. Babysitting nightmares : TERRORS. They're often holy.

46. Stylish ride : LIMO.

50. Make equal : EVEN UP.

51. Cook's Illustrated offering : RECIPE. Here's a great one for Beef Satay that I plan to try this weekend.

52. Lounge sofa : SETTEE.

54. In a germane manner : APTLY. Not to be confused with a German manor...

55. Bit of dandruff : FLAKE.

56. Stopped waffling : OPTED. "Are you in, or out?"

59. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL.

60. Hardy's "___ the Obscure" : JUDE. It has also been called "Jude the Obscene," and was publicly burned by the Bishop of Wakefield because of it's scandalous themes of adultery, unmarried sex, murder and suicide. After receiving scathing reviews from his critics, Hardy never wrote another novel. (I'll have to read that one!!!)

61. Sixth-day creation : MAN.

62. Law school accrediting org. : ABA. American Bar Association.

63. Race in the driveway : REV. I'll leave you with this. Till next week!

Hugs,

Marti

Notes from C.C.:

1) Below is constructor's note from Peg Slay. She also said "I love your blog, and review it daily after completing the crossword, or in some cases, to get the correct answers. The bloggers are great and do a fantastic job."

  

I really like play-on-word themes, so the first theme entry of my puzzle came pretty easy – Canal of Worms.  The others were more work.  I really thank both Rich and Patti for their support and patience through all the revisions sent through.  I truly appreciate the input they gave to me, a rookie, in getting this puzzle to print.   

 

2) Happy Birthday to Splynter's mom! Hope he & his brothers make it extra special for you this year.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 Jerome Gunderson and Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Abbott and Costello, or "confusion at first" - the first words of each of the theme answers are anagrams of each other.

[Late breaking - check out the constructor's notes at the the foot that I received after I wrote up the puzzle - you're perfectly entitled to skip my stuff and cut to the chase!]

17A Hit a ball caught by Ted Williams, say : FLIED TO LEFT. Right off the bat a baseball reference - "The Kid" played all 22 years of his professional career as left fielder for the Boston Red Sox. On second thoughts maybe I should say "Left off the bat ..."

29A Outdoor sport with sticks : FIELD HOCKEY. I played this at school in the UK. It's tough on the shins, let me tell you. It's technically a foul to wallop your opponent's tibia, but schoolboys aren't big on technicalities.

45A Tried to collect unemployment benefits, say: FILED A CLAIM. I have a friend who works in the unemployment office who tells me her job is to make it as difficult as possible to do this.

60A Longtime Cuban leader : FIDEL CASTRO. Possibly as famous for loving baseball and cigars as being "El Jef Maximo".

Happy Wednesday everyone - Steve here with a collaboration between Jerome Gunderson and our own dear Marti. I've not "met" Jerome before, and as there seems no possibility of making "Rich Norris" out of any part of his name, I'd say congratulations are in order on his debut! (Notes from C.C.: Jerome was absent from the blog when Steve arrived. Read my interview with Jerome here. Like Marti, he's very witty and has a big heart. He supported me and this blog from the very beginning when we shifted to LA Times Crossword.)

The theme was a big help to me today - I'm an anagram fan and when I'd got "FIELD" and FIDEL" I saw what was going on and filled in a lot of the blank left-hand-side of the grid which was giving me trouble. The 3-2-3-2 theme word count was pretty neat too.

Lots more to discuss, so let's get started:

Across:

1 President of Syria : ASSAD. Two world leaders in one day.

6 Foreigner, to a Polynesian : HAOLE. I've finally stopped trying to spell this "howly". It took me a while.

11 Many SSI recipients: SRS. It took me some time to understand this, but now I see that many seniors receive Social Security Income .

14 Rich kid in “Nancy” comics : ROLLO. I remembered this from a C.C. puzzle in January and Argyle's helpful cast of Nancy characters

15 K.T. of country : OSLIN. Crosses for me. No idea.

16 Bounce : HOP

19 Future flounders : ROE

20 Motorola smartphone : DROID. The "Droid" name is used under license from "Star Wars" creator George Lucas because of these two chaps:

21 On the line: AT STAKE.

23 Bar order in a very small glass : SHOT. The shot glasses in my bar are on the large side (I'm not complaining, Tinbeni wouldn't either!).

25 Potter’s oven : KILN

27 Seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma : ENID.

28 “Mazel __!” : TOV

32 Rock or horse follower: OPERA. The Who's "Tommy" was the original rock opera with Pinball Wizard the iconic song. There are no standout horse versions almost by definition - if you have a formulaic western series - a "horse opera" - the very fact it has that label attached means it's not standing out from all the others. Fun phrase!

34 Firewood wood : BEECH

35 Bug on the phone : WIRETAP

38 Solo performance : RECITAL

42 Reference ending : -PEDIA Wikipedia being the friend of bloggers everywhere.

44 Grammar school sequence: AEIOU

50 UPS delivery : PKG

51 Polluted Asian sea : ARAL

52 “The Galloping Gourmet” : KERR. My mother was in love with Graham Kerr - the problem was she didn't pay any attention to his recipes or instruction. God rest her soul, but my siblings agree that her cooking constituted cruel and unusual  punishment. We all learned to cook in self-defense - perhaps that was her cunning plan to get out of kitchen duty.

53 “... baked in __” : A PIE. Food! Four and Twenty blackbirds this gourmet filling. I know of an Australian company, "Four 'N Twenty,  which produces meat pies, and a two-restaurant chain here in LA called "FourN20", originally selling dessert pies.

54 Garage event : TAG SALE

57 Bank holding : MONEY.

59 Short life story? : BIO.

64 Barcelona bear : OSO. Need to be on your Spanish toes (dedos de los pies Espanõl) today with three answers in Spanish. This is numero uno.

65 Get a chuckle out of : AMUSE. I get many chuckles out of these blogs. Cheers!

66 Showed dissatisfaction, fan-style : BOOED

67 Itch : YEN

68 Move to new soil : RE-POT

69 Run through 57-Across : SPEND. That's me.

Down:

1 Weimaraner warning : ARF. Any dog noise is a warning as far as I'm concerned. Grrs, Barks, Arfs and I'm wary.

2 San Juan sun : SOL. Numero dos.

3 Made room on a crowded bench : SLID OVER

4 Heads-up : ALERT

5 Ignoramus : DODO. I feel sorry that the poor dodo is now synonymous with a dolt - they weren't ignorant in the unintelligent sense of the word, they were trusting and friendly - and ignorant of the fact that the humans they were cozying up to had nefarious intentions.

6 Sweatshirt with a head cover : HOODIE

7 Syst. with hand signals : ASL. American Sign Language was developed by Thomas Hopkins Galluadet in 1817 and was taken directly from French Sign Language. The British, as they are prone to do, refused to work with Gallaudet when he traveled to the UK to learn the English method, whereas the French were delighted to share (also the Brits refused to have anything to do with the French as per normal). Ergo, the two English-speaking powers developed completely different systems. SNAFU.

8 Poisonous flowering shrub : OLEANDER. Pretty, though. I'm not sure if it's native to Southern California but there's certainly a lot of it about.

9 Hitchhiker’s hope : LIFT

10 Tolkien’s Treebeard et al. : ENTS

11 Got smaller : SHRANK

12 Dugout newcomer : ROOKIE. Jerome Gunderson today?

13 Quick : SPEEDY

18 Polynesian carving : TIKI. To sell to the HAOLES.

22 Computer wonk : TECHIE. Guilty as charged.

23 Stash : STOW

24 Kachina doll maker : HOPI. These are awesome! The Hopi spirit-creatures from Arizona.

26 Me. retailer, initially : LLB. I missed the period in the clue and was stumped as to who would be selling "me". Then oh! Then oh! L.L.Bean!

29 Destined : FATED

30 Bray beginning : HEE. Needs HAW to finish.

31 Philosopher William of __, known for his “razor” : OCCAM. Was he a "one hit wonder" in philosophy circles? I don't recall hearing about his toothbrush or his comb.

33 Drives away : REPELS

36 Cavity filler’s org. : ADA. That reminds me, I need to make an appointment with my dentist.

37 Paid for everyone, as the tab : PICKED UP. A very popular person, the check picker-upper.

39 Step stealthily, informally: TIPPYTOE. More nursery than informally, I'd say.

40 World Golf Hall of Famer Isao: AOKI. A hugely entertaining Japanese golfer now playing the PGA Senior Tour.

On a side note, after 30 years of playing golf badly I've now hired professional help and I'm taking lessons. When my teacher saw my swing for the first time she said "Ohhh - that's funny". It's a good job I've got a sense of humor.

41 Swift sled : LUGE. Swift indeed. This is what 80MPH flat on your back on what amounts to a tray looks like.

43 Bar pint : ALE. You need one after the luge run.

45 Oxymoronically named British DJ __ Slim : FATBOY. I knew the name, I didn't know that he was a British DJ. Now I do, and I won't confuse him with the restaurant in Pulp Fiction, Jack Rabbit Slim's. Which I did.

46 Poker declaration : I RAISE. I'm a coward. I FOLD.

47 Coral reef enclosure : LAGOON

48 Sleeve band : ARMLET. You don't see these much any more - springy things to go around your arms to make your sleeves the correct length. You get the "just so" amount of cuff protruding from your jacket. Nowadays we buy shirts the right size, it seems the better approach somehow.

49 Camaro __-Z : IROC

53 Greek fable writer : AESOP. He of the convenient vowel-count.

55 Miles away : AFAR

56 Garnish for a Moscow Mule : LIME. Vodka, ginger beer (not ginger ale) and lime. A friend insists it doesn't taste the same unless it is served in the copper mug.

58 Arrests : NABS

61 That, in Spanish : ESO. Numero tres.

62 Bug-eyed TV dog : REN

63 Peculiar : ODD

I think that about wraps it up. Lots of food and drink references so I'm off to figure out what to cook for dinner tonight. Bon appetit!

Steve

P.S. Constructor's insight -thanks to Jerome for sharing these notes!

"I thought it intriguing, rare, and somewhat odd that you could have a five letter word that begins with a scrabbly F and no matter how you anagram it, it will still begin with an F. 

Thus, FIELD, FILED, FLIED, and FIDEL. 

And there’s a fifth one, FELID, which means cat-like. However, that one’s on the cutting room floor with other obscurities. I knew this type of theme wasn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off… especially the crossword hip Corner crowd, but I hoped some might see it as interesting as I do.

For some reason I had a tough time creating a grid that allowed for some juicy and fun fill. I think those damn F’s kept getting in the way. Out of the blue I asked Marti for some help, and like the puzzle pro she is, she designed today’s grid with those lovely NE and SW corners, and found a way to work in a whopping eighteen entries that are six letters or longer. 

After tweaking the grid a little and writing the clues, it was off to fame and great fortune with a puzzle you could say was all about the F-word. Or for the critics in the peanut gallery, the F-bomb."

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 Steve Blais

Theme: "How Much Farther?" - The ends are different measures of distance.

18A. Eschew punishment, in an old saw : SPARE THE ROD. 16.5 feet

29A. Really puzzling : HARD TO FATHOM. 6 feet (used for depth)

37A. "Toy Story" space ranger : BUZZ LIGHTYEAR. 6 trillion miles, about

46A. Athletics group for kids : PEE WEE LEAGUE. 3 miles.

60A. From afar, and how 18-, 29-, 37- and 46-Across literally end : AT A DISTANCE

Argyle right here. Give the kids the answer in these units and make them figure out how far it is for themselves. Right, Bill G.? The use of these words in the answers do not relate directly to distances; that's cool. Two a-words for Tuesday. Three tomorrow? All together, a decent puzzle that will end when we get there. But we're not there yet.

Across:

1. Clumsy type : OAF

4. Like a male lion : MANED. The males have a ruff of hair.

9. Sits for a portrait : POSES

14. Popeye's Olive : OYL

15. Clamorous : AROAR

16. Posthaste : APACE

17. Longtime Elton John label : MCA. (Music Corporation of America, formed in 1924)

20. With, in France : AVEC. Straightforward.

22. Movie-rating org. : MPAA. (Motion Picture Association of America)

23. Santa __ winds : ANA

24. Positive particle : PROTON

26. Carson's sidekick : McMAHON. Johnny's, yes, but who was Kit Carson's sidekick?

32. Currency-stabilizing org. : IMF. (International Monetary Fund)

33. Geography suffix : ERN. Add them to the points on a compass.

34. Part of Columbus's fleet : NINA

42. What there oughta be : A LAW

43. Luau souvenir : LEI

44. "I hate it!" : "UGH!"

51. Not as tidy : MESSIER

54. Shaving aid : LATHER. Shaving can be messy or so I hear.

55. Refugees' subj. : ESL. (English as a second language)

56. Key __ pie : LIME. 3D. Likely to evoke yums : FLAVORFUL

59. Tornado-riding dog : TOTO. Hm, how to measure the distance from Kansas to Oz.

64. "__ Got a Secret" : I'VE

66. "Rosemary's Baby" author Ira : LEVIN. Perps supplied the answer.

67. Perfumer's compound : ESTER

68. Yet, poetically : E'EN

69. Amens : YESes

70. Unfeeling : STONY

71. Monopoly quartet: Abbr. : RRs. (Reading, Pennsylvania, B&O, and Short Line)

NO, we're not there yet!

Down:

1. Half a tuba sound : OOM. 9D. The other half of a tuba sound : PAH

2. Bart Simpson's "Holy cow!" : "¡AY,CARAMBA!"

4. The Phillie Phanatic, e.g. : MASCOT. On the left.

5. Alsatian dadaist : ARP. Jean Arp was born in the Alsace-Lorraine region.

6. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM. His web site.

7. O.K. Corral gunfighter : EARP. (Wyatt)

8. Imagined : DREAMT

10. Uncover, poetically : OPE

11. "Adia" singer McLachlan : SARAH

12. Prefix appealing to frugality : ECONO

13. Car buyer's choice : SEDAN

19. Dial on a dash : TACH. Shortened words in both the clue and answer.

21. Takeoff approx. : ETD

24. 21st Greek letter : PHI

25. "Joy to the World," e.g. : NOEL. (the Christmas carol)

27. When repeated, a 1987 #1 hit for Billy Idol : MONY. Originally by Tommy James and the Shondells.

28. Lille lady friend : AMIE. Lille is north of Paris, on the Belgium border.

30. "F" that most school kids look forward to: Abbr. : FRIday. Clever.

31. It's measured in degrees : ANGLE

35. Less deserving of a Christmas present? : NAUGHTIER

36. Have a debate about : ARGUE OVER

38. Microwaves : ZAPS

39. Düsseldorf duo : ZWEI. In western Germany.

40. Giggle in an IM : HEE. Is this less than LOL?

41. Cash drawer : TILL

45. Seagoing pronoun : HER. Ships are female.

47. Skinny swimmers : EELS

48. Puts pen to paper : WRITES

49. Place to grab a bite : EATERY

50. From __ Z : A TO

51. __-mouthed: indirect : MEALY. In the sense of not saying what one means?

52. Lauder of lipstick : ESTÈE

53. Some Balkan natives : SLAVS

57. Sail support : MAST

58. Opposite of ecto- : ENTO

61. Backgammon cube : DIE

62. "I know people" people : INs

63. 100 yrs. : CEN. (century) Oh, it hasn't been that long.

65. USNA grad : ENS. (ensign)

Ok, we're here.

Argyle