Thursday, May 19, 2011, Peter A. Collins

Theme:  Connect the dots. Click here. The circled letters A through J (the tiny bubbles from 57A) make the outline of (a little fishy from 38A) if you trace a line to each one in alphabetical order after completing the puzzle. (Note, the circles do not appear on the LA Times applet, you can see them if you do the Across Lite version on Cruciverb.com).

19A. Vast expanse (and a fitting setting for this puzzle): DEEP BLUE SEA. 

38A. Somewhat suspect (and a hint to what can be found by connecting the circled letters in alphabetical order): A LITTLE BIT FISHY.

57A. Don Ho hit (and what the O's in this grid represent): TINY BUBBLES.

This was kind of different, I don't remember doing any other connect the dots puzzles, but I'll bet it didn't help anyone very much in solving.  However, this seemed more like a Monday or Tuesday to me today anyway, less than 10 minutes to complete it.

ACROSS:

1. Ones minding their peas in queues?: PODS. Pea pods hold their seeds all in a row. There are many stories about the origin of the phrase this plays on, but investigations by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2007 when revising the entry turned up early examples of the use of Ps and Qs to mean learning the alphabet. The first is in a poem by Charles Churchill, published in 1763: “On all occasions next the chair / He stands for service of the Mayor, / And to instruct him how to use / His A’s and B’s, and P’s and Q’s.” It is more likely to be that than any of the more fanciful explanations.

5. __ band: PEP. Student sports boosters.

8. Where the music stops?: HARD C. The last letter of the word music has a "k" sound.

13. Uprising: RIOT.

14. Consider judicially: HEAR.

15. End of __: AN ERA. An overused trite phrase.

16. Bony beginning: OSTE. From the Greek word for bone: osteon.

17. Scots Gaelic: ERSE. Early Scottish variant of Old English Irisc or Old Norse Irskr "Irish"; applied by Lowland Scots to the Gaelic speech of the Highlanders (which originally is from Ireland)

18. They might be executed by a judge: STAYS. Original meaning is to stand (related to editor's "stet"), to come to a halt.

22. York's title: Abbr.: SGT. Alvin York, a Tennessee sharpshooter who was deeply religious/pacifist early on, and a conscientious objector to the war. He took out a German machine gun nest by killing 28 soldiers, but he saved 132 others, so he was fighting to save lives.

23. __ Lanka: SRI. Honorific for "beautiful".

24. Fourth-cen. monastic: ST. BASIL. Of Caesarea, (now Turkey) known for his care of the poor and underprivileged.

26. a.m. beverages: OJS. Skip the juice, which has been pasteurized and is concentrated sugar, eat an orange instead...

29. Citric __: ACID. A weak acid found naturally occurring in citrus fruits, it is added to soft drinks to make them sour. The commercial production technique is cultures of A. niger are fed on a sucrose or glucose-containing medium to produce citric acid. The source of sugar is corn steep liquor, molasses, hydrolyzed corn starch or other inexpensive sugary solutions. After the mold is filtered out of the resulting solution, citric acid is isolated by precipitating it with lime (calcium hydroxide) to yield calcium citrate salt, from which citric acid is regenerated by treatment with sulfuric acid. Yummy! Eat an orange instead...

32. Finesse shampoo maker __ Curtis: HELENE.

33. Shows inattention at a lecture, maybe: NAPS.

35. Shrinking sea: ARAL.

37. Chicago commuter carriers: ELS. Elevated trains.

43. Folksy negative: NAW.

44. Identical: SAME.

45. Very wide shoe: EEEE.

46. Lessens: ABATES. From O.Fr. abattre "beat down, cast down." Related to batter, to fell or slaughter found in abattoir.

49. "Voila!" cousin: TADA. Japanese: Yatta!

51. ENTs, e.g.: DRS. Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors.

52. Bonding capacity measure: VALENCE. Chemistry bonds between atoms to make molecules.

54. Actor Wallach: ELI.

56. Ideal conclusion?: IST. Suffix clue. The most charitable definition of idealist is one who pursues high or noble purposes or goals, such as justice, charity, altruism, equality, fairness, etc. As Terry Pratchett's character "Death" says: "You have to believe in things that aren't true, else how can they become so?"

63. Gaming pioneer: ATARI. The word "atari" in Japanese is a term in the board game of GO for one or more stones that are one move away from being surrounded and thus captured.

65. Judge: DEEM. To pass judgement, to form an opinion. Related to doom, which also meant judgement, condemnation.

66. "Please allow me": MAY I. Or, with "mother" a children's game similar to Simon Says.

67. Old dwelling for 68-Across: TEPEE. From Dakota (Siouan) thipi "dwelling, house."

68. Western natives: UTES. (Utah) from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin, perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).

69. Ready for use: PREP.  Used as the verb form here, to get ready.  PREP is apparently one of those words, like "rhino" that we use without considering it an abbreviation.

70. 20% of seventy-six?: ESSES. There are 10 letters in "seventy-six", two of which are the letter "s", so 2 is 20% of 10.

71. Gambling area: PIT.  We just recently had pit boss.

72. Bad lads: CADS. Shortening of Cadet, "a jumped-up member of the lower classes who was guilty of behaving as if he didn't know that his lowly origin made him unfit for having sexual relationships with well-bred women." [Anthony West, "H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life," 1984]

DOWN:

1. Urge: PROD.

2. Seine feeder: OISE. French rivers.

3. Heap affection (on): DOTE. Or what a mairzy eats.

4. Self-help segments: STEPS.  A 12 step program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems.

6. Lessen: EASE.

7. Basketball ploy: PRESS.  Short for pressure. Often called a full-court press, this is an attacking defense employed in the backcourt before the ball crosses center court, where the objective is to force a turnover.

8. Argues (with): HAS A BEEF.

9. Tiny crawler: ANT. Also formerly called an EMMET from *ai- "off, away" + *mai- "cut," (maim).  Thus, its name means "the biter off".

10. Like much real estate, annually: REASSESSED. Originally meant to fix the amount of tax on, so to place a value on.

11. Bombay product: DRY GIN. Bombay is a brand name of  gin distributed by Bacardi.

12. Way to relocate a king: CASTLE. A chess maneuver which protects the king and frees up the rook.

14. Like rotini: HELICAL. Pasta.

20. Support in a dresser drawer: BRA.

21. Sudan neighbor: Abbr.: ETH.iopia.  Today's geography lesson.

25. Kate's sitcom pal: ALLIE. 80's sitcom starring Susan St. James and Jane Curtin.

26. "Leaving __ Jet Plane": ON A. We've had lots of Peter Paul and Mary lately, so here's the guy that wrote the song.

27. Flier to Tokyo: JAL. Japan Airlines.

28. Lumbar punctures: SPINAL TAPS.  Cerebro-spinal fluid analysis can be used to diagnose certain neurologic disorders, particularly infections (such as meningitis) and brain or spinal cord damage.

30. Inflames: IRES.

31. Pat: DAB AT.

34. Declare: STATE.

36. 5-Down's capital: LIMA. along with 5D. See 36-Down: PERU.

39. ATM output: TWENTIES.

40. Latin hymns: TE DEUMS. Literal translation: "Thee, O God, we praise".  According to the Devil's Dictionary (Ambrose Bierce) on the similar sounding word tedium:  Many fanciful derivations of the word have been affirmed, but so high an authority as Father Jape says that it comes from a very obvious source -- the first words of the ancient Latin hymn Te Deum Laudamus. In this apparently natural derivation there is something that saddens.

41. Slip floater, to its owner: HER. Boats referred to with feminine gender.

42. "Absolutely!": YES.

46. Fly: AVIATE. Latin "avis", bird.

47. Moistens with drippings: BASTES.

48. Acoustics, e.g.: Abbr.: SCI. One of the sciences.

50. Priestly garb: ALB.

53. Turn out to be: END UP.

55. High-tech debut of 1981: IBM PC.

58. "__ do fear thy nature": Lady Macbeth: YET I.  "It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." She is expressing doubt that he has the backbone for the ruthless action it will require to take and retain the kingship.

59. Epitome of redness: BEET.

60. Pasternak heroine: LARA. Dr. Zhivago...

61. Scrutinized: EYED.

62. Uses a straw: SIPS.

64. R&B artist Des'__: REE.  You gotta be.

Answer Grid 

Al

Wenesday, May 18, 2011, Bill Thompson

Theme:  RIGHT AS RAIN.  The theme entries start with a word that can describe a kind of SHOWER.  OK - they aren't all the RAIN kind of SHOWER, or even the kind that get you wet, but I'm going to run with it.  It's a great expression meaning "all is well and things are as they should be," dating back to the time when an agrarian society depended on spring and summer rains to get good crop yields.  Then, all was right with the world.

17 A. 1958 Robert Mitchum drama : THUNDER ROAD The story of a Korean War vet who comes home to take over the family moonshine business.  A THUNDER SHOWER is a brief rain storm with a natural light show and sound effects.

26 A. Dorm room snack : COLD PIZZA.  I was a townie, not a dormie, so I never developed this awful-sounding culinary habit.  A COLD SHOWER is simply a self-inflicted deluge of cold water.  It is reported to have numerous health benefits.  You be the judge.

40. '70s-'80s Haitian president, familiarly : BABY  DOC DUVALIER.  Jean-Claude was the son (hence "Bébé Doc") of the previous president, François "Papa Doc" DUVALIER.  He continued the family tradition of torture, tyranny and lavish personal life-style, while his subjects languished in bone-crushing poverty.   Odd, odd juxtaposition with BABY SHOWER, a joyful party where an expectant mother is SHOWERED with gifts by her friends.

52 A. Early spring shout : "APRIL FOOL."  The origin of APRIL FOOLERY is lost in the mists of time, but is believed to have started with the change to the Gregorian Calendar, around 1582.  News traveled slowly in those days, so some people didn't catch up with the change and didn't know the proper date.  Others resisted the change.  Both became the butt of practical jokes.  It's believable, I guess.  APRIL SHOWERS are springtime episodes of rain that bring May flowers, and kids cooped up in the house for hours.

Plus the unifier:  65 A. Bath fixtures, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, 40- and 52-Across : SHOWER HEADS.  This is a device that sprays you with water (of any desired temperature.)  And HEAD indicates that the beginning theme words can precede SHOWER.  Pretty clever.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here.  In this tidy theme we have two meteorological events, get all cleaned up, and have a party.  Let's join the fun

Across

1. Frequently change positions : JOB HOP.  Previous generations worked one or two jobs in a life time.  Now, JOB HOPPING is the norm.  Still, I was thinking about tossing and turning.

7. Jury member : PEER.  The Constitution guarantees a trial with a jury of one's peers.  These are people of equal standing, who should be well equipped to render a fair verdict.

11. Patty Hearst's kidnappers: Abbr. : SLA.  The Symbionese Liberation Army.  According to founder Donald DeFreeze, "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word 'symbiosis' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body."   Sure.  That explains why they engaged in bank robbing, murder and, most famously, kidnapping.

14. Frosted pastry : ECLAIR.  Yum!

15. "The Raven" opener : ONCE upon a midnight dreary / As I pondered, weak and weary / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore . . 

16. Faddish '90s disc : POG.  I have no idea. 

19. GM had one in Nov. 2010 : IPO.  Initial Public Offering, an issue of new stock

20. Low digits : TOES.  Of course.  Cute.

21. Buddhist sect : ZEN. From Wikipedia:  The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán (禪), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state".    But you all knew that.

22. Roofing support : RAFTER.  For some reason I needed a lot of perp help to get this.

24. __ au vin : COQ.   "Rooster in wine" is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.  (Garlic is an option?!?)  Jeannie . . .

28. Musical with the song "Midway Chase" : BARNUM.  Phineas T. I presume.  Never heard of it, and there is no YouTube vid.

31. Like many eBay items : USED

32. Disco, for one : ERA.  An ERA is "A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic."  The disco ERA wasn't really long.  It only seemed that way.

33. Photographer Adams : ANSEL.  Famous for his usually panoramic black and white landscape and nature shots.  Here is a gallery full.

36. Self-titled 1969 jazz album : ELLA.   Can't find any songs from that album on YouTube, so you'll have to settle for Hammerstein-Kern.

44. Film lioness : ELSA.  She was Born Free.

45. Sports : HAS ON.  SPORT as a verb, meaning "wear."  Sport we now our gay apparel.

46. Sup : EAT

47. Clothes line? : SEAM.  Nice misdirection.  Did you find any SEAMS in the SPORTS-wear?

50. Prepare for online publication : WEBIFY.  This is an actual word, correctly used.  News to me.

57. Beat the house : WIN.  Casino games favor the house, e.g. the gambling establishment, without the need for cheating.  It's all about probability.  Gambling is a fool's game in any month, but sometimes a lucky person takes home some spare cash

58. Offshore eyesore, to some : OIL RIG.  Eye of the beholder, I guess.

59. Email forwarder's intro : FYI.  For Your Information.

61. Idiot : TWIT. We all know one or two.

64. Certain artery: Abbr. : RTE.  Route, a transportation artery.

68. Profs' aides : TAS.  Teaching Assistants.

 69. __-kiri : HARA.  Well, this is unpleasant.  HARA kiri is another name for sepukku, a ritual suicide performed by Samurai as punishment for disgrace, or to avoid capture and abasement.  Check Wikipedia if you want more detail.

70. Speedy Gonzales cry : ARRIBA.  Racially insensitive, a bit DF, and catch the last three words.

71. Intractable beast : ASS. 

72. Ex-Yankee Pettitte : ANDY.  Where is he now?

73. Empty __ : NESTER. A parent whose children have grown and moved away.

 Down

1. Rocker Joan : JETT.  She loves Rock 'n' Roll.

2. Cinco y tres : OCHO.  Can you add in Spanish?  Arriba! 5 + 3 = 8.  Numeros de Fibonacci.

3. Chesapeake Bay delicacies : BLUE CRABS.  Callinectes sapidus.  Beautiful swimmer that tastes good.  I am not making this up.

4. "MMMBop" band : HANSON.  Beats me.

5. Meteor tail? : OID.  Meteoroid  - and the infamous "tail" suffix clue.

6. Chief exec : PREZ.  Abbrv for President.

7. Dirty fare : PORNO.  Nothing I can add.

8. Ambient music pioneer : ENO.  Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.  I think I get him every time.

9. Hallmark.com offerings : E-CARDS.  For the sophisticated and discerning card giver.

10. Orangutan : RED APE. 

11. Norwegian Elkhound, for one : SPITZ

12. "J to tha L-O!" artist : LOPEZ.  "J to tha L-O!" is a remix of Jennifer Lopez's second album J-LO.  I'm learning a lot of stuff that I'm not going to remember.

13. Ancient market : AGORA.  Ancient Greek.

18. __ room : REC.  Home to many a big screen TV.

23. Brother of Raúl : FIDEL.  Somehow, I never think of FIDEL Castro as Raúl's hermano.

25. Campus hangout : QUAD.  A typical campus feature is a QUADrangle.  Literally, this is a building that surrounds a courtyard.  More casually, an open area surrounded by four buildings, often dorms.

27. Beauts : LULUS.  Slang terms for some rip-snortin' knockout who is a real doozy, or just the bee's knees.

28. Nixon confidant Rebozo : BEBE.  Charles, our second Bébé of the day, was the youngest son of Cuban immigrants, who moved up from the laundromat business to banking, and somehow made a lot of money along the way.

29. Sea damaged by Soviet irrigation projects : ARAL.  It's drying up and turning into a salt flat.

30. Letters below DEF : MNO.  On your push-button telephone.

34. Jerk : SCHMO.  From Yiddish.   I didn't realize that this is an anatomical reference.

35. Author LeShan : EDA.  She wrote about parent-child issues.

37. Prepare to ambush : LIE IN WAIT.  Because if you tell the truth, it's hard to ambush anyone.

38. Page (through) : LEAF. 

39. Pretentiously showy : ARTY

41. Arafat of the PLO : YASIR.  Rumor has that when he was born, his mother sang this song.

42. Pledge : VOW

43. From the top : ANEW.  Start over, so to speak.

48. Cuthbert of "24" : ELISHA.  Kinda looks like Debby Harry.

49. Knitting project : AFGHAN.  A blanket, wrap or shawl of colored yarn.

51. Black flies, notably : BITERS.  Nasty critters.

52. Major artery : AORTA.  A clecho!  The AORTA is the main blood line from the left ventricle, which supplies oxygenated blood to the entire body.  Crabs must not have one.

53. Deli pockets : PITAS.  Flat bread pockets.  Got any bread in your pocket?

54. Like May through August, in a way : R-LESS.  Refers to their spelling.  Traditionally these are the months when you should avoid eating oysters.  Back in the day, before refrigeration, they would spoil quickly in the warm months.  They also spawn in these months, making them fatty, watery, soft and less flavorful.

55. Right __ : OF WAY.  This has two quite distinct legal meanings.  In property law it is an easement or right to travel over another's property.  In traffic law it is the priority to proceed ahead of other vehicles or pedestrians.

56. Caustic solution : LYE.  Sodium hydroxide, and that's the truth.

60. Ahmadinejad's land : IRAN.  No comment.

62. "__ safe and warm if ...": "California Dreamin'" lyric : I'D BE.  Ah, those Mamas and Papas.

63. Winter Palace resident : TSAR.  Russian Royalty.

66. Old California fort : ORD.  Established in 1917, closed in 1994, for many years home to the 7th Infantry Division.

67. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr. : HRE.  Charles the Great was crowne King of the Franks in 768, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800.  Following his death in 814, things went into a bit of a decline.

Answer grid.

Well, there you have it.  A well constructed puzzle with lots of information , a bite of sea food, and a few eeewww moments for spice.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Jazzbumpa

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 Dan Schoenholz

Theme: 4 kg, slangily - The theme entries have homophonic endings, phonetically KEY.

20A. Built like George on "Seinfeld" : SHORT AND STOCKY. George.

33A. Three-term New York governor : GEORGE PATAKI. He might be a Presidential candidate yet.

43A. Sport played on 58-Downs : ROLLER HOCKEY

59A. Coors Field player : COLORADO ROCKIE. Major League Baseball team based in Denver.

Argyle here. A notch harder than yesterday but rather bland, theme-wise. Not much else to say. Our constructor had a LAT Sunday puzzle aways back.

Across:

1. Half a '60s pop quartet : MAMAS

6. Trail mix : GORP. The name may have been derived from the basic mix of "Good Old Raisons and Peanuts.

10. Messes (with) : TOYS

14. Precise : EXACT

15. Roman love god : AMOR

16. "... pretty maids all in __" : A ROW. From the nursery rhyme: Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

17. Formal rulings : DICTA. Plural of DICTUM, in legal use, a judge's expression of opinion which is not the formal resolution of a case. This should have been in Lemonade's puzzle.

18. It's usually returned after ordering : MENU

19. Irene of "Fame" : CARA Here. Cara lives in Florida and works with her band Hot Caramel. Song clips.

23. Fed. disease research org. : NIH. National Institutes of Health.

24. Mediocre : SO-SO

25. Golfer's concern : LIE

26. Noun modifier: Abbr. : ADJ.. Adjective.

29. "The Matrix" hero : NEO. Keanu Reeves.

31. "Absolutely!" : "INDEED!"

37. One-named Irish singer : ENYA

38. Kwik-E-Mart guy on "The Simpsons" : APU

39. Beef-and-veggies concoction : STEW

48. Opt not to be a state of the Union : SECEDE

51. "Lil'" rapper : KIM

52. Corrida cry : ¡OLÉ!

53. Script or text ending : URE. Scripture and texture.

54. Comply : OBEY

57. One of a matching pair : HIS

64. Hurried : HIED

65. Adidas rival : NIKE

66. Country star Travis : RANDY. Diggin Up Bones(3:06)

68. 43,560 square feet : ACRE

69. Change for a five : ONES

70. Mink cousin : OTTER

71. "Survey __ ...": game show phrase : SAYS. From "The Family Feud".

72. Tammany Hall cartoonist Thomas : NAST

73. Bright signs : NEONS

Down:

1. T-shirt size: Abbr. : MED.

2. Allies' opposition : AXIS. WW II.

3. Speed ratio : MACH. Here, if you need to know more. The Mach number is named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.

4. Heed, as advice : ACTON

5. Transfixed : STARING. This seems a little off.

6. Lisbon's Vasco da __ Bridge : GAMA. Rather impressive sight.

7. Portents : OMENS

8. Sonata's last movement, perhaps : RONDO

9. Frederick the Great's realm : PRUSSIA. Map.

10. Tijuana treat : TACO. Ok, I'll admit TACO was not my first thought.

11. Prophet at Delphi : ORACLE

12. Terrier type, familiarly : YORKIE. An extra KEY ending. Yorkshire Terrier, Aww!

13. Went back and forth : SWAYED

21. You, way back when : THEE

22. Honky-__ : TONK

26. Grow up : AGE

27. Home computer site : DEN

28. Elation : JOY

30. October birthstone : OPAL

32. Computer insert : DISC

34. Bloody at the steakhouse : RARE

35. Goon : APE

36. The NBA's Mehmet Okur, e.g. : TURK. This center-forward is 6' 11".

40. Decision when the ref stops the fight : TKO. Technical KnockOut.

41. Snaky fish : EEL

42. Ex follower : WYE. Just the letters, X and Y, spelled out.

44. Polecat's defense : ODOR

45. It borders Israel to the north : LEBANON

46. Sunshine cracker : HI HO. You can taste the difference!

47. Pi preceder : OMICRON. Greek. Small "O" but it has both upper and lower case. Large "O" is Omega. They represent different sounds.

48. For example : SUCH AS

49. Beethoven's Third : EROICA. Symphony; Italian for "heroic".

50. Bloody Mary stalk : CELERY

55. Twin Cities suburb : EDINA. Map. SW of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

56. Joins, as oxen : YOKEs. These guys don't look too thrilled about it.

58. Enjoy the ice : SKATE. No ice involved with ROLLER HOCKEY though.

60. Poems sometimes beginning with "To a" : ODEs

61. Take a break : REST

62. "He's Just Not That __ You": 2009 film : INTO. Ben Affleck. Jennifer Aniston.

63. Garden site : EDEN

67. 12-mo. periods : YRs

Answer grid.

Here is a lovely photo of JD's adorable grandsons. From left to right: Grady 1 1/2, Cameron 10 months, & Truman 3 1/2. Here is the one we showed last July. From left to right: Grady 11 months, Truman 3 & Cameron (2 weeks).

Argyle

Monday, May 16, 2011 Jeff Chen

Theme: Bravado - The first word of the first four theme entries, together and in order, create a phrase synonymous with the unifier.

16A. Dusk-to-dawn cramming session : ALL-NIGHTER

22A. Training neckwear for noisy dogs : BARK COLLARS

36A. "Definitely!" : "NO DOUBT!"

46A. Suffer defeat : BITE THE DUST

55A. Toothless menace described by the starts of 16-, 22-, 36- and 46-Across : IDLE THREAT

Argyle here. Jeff has provided us with a good start to the week. It would have been nice to have "AND" in the middle but that would have made things unnecessarily complex.

Across:

1. Self-indulgent place for breakfast : BED

4. Complete chaos : HAVOC

9. Opinion column, briefly : OP-ED. It probably bears repeating: Though often mistaken for opinion-editorial, OP-ED, abbreviated from OPposite the EDitorial page, is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board. These are different from editorials, which are usually unsigned and written by editorial board members.

13. Algeria neighbor : MALI. NW Africa, map.

14. "Don't be ___!" : A HERO. Yeah, Billy. Number one song for 2 weeks in June '75. (2:47). Check out their threads, dude.

15. Herr's mate : FRAU. German

18. Top pick, slangily : FAVE. Favorite

19. Bayer : Levitra :: Pfizer : __ : VIAGRA

20. Holy messenger : GABRIEL. One of the archangels.

25. Early Peruvian : INCAN

28. Bond creator Fleming : IAN

29. Bordeaux buddy : AMI. French.

30. Sharp to the taste : TART

31. HST predecessor : FDR. Our 32nd and 33rd Presidents.

32. Quaking trees : ASPENS

35. __ Balls: Hostess snacks : SNO

38. John or Jane, anonymously : DOE

39. Materialistic thirtysomething : YUPPIE

41. The Trojans of the NCAA : USC. University of Southern California.

42. Bank offer : LOAN

43. Like some rights and engrs. : CIV. Civil.

44. Opposite of NNW : SSE

45. Digit on a "Magic" ball : EIGHT. Quite a story behind the old Magic 8 Ball.

49. Longtime "20/20" co-host Walters : BARBARA

50. "A Streetcar Named Desire" woman : STELLA. "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!"

54. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Italian for bow.

58. "Kiss my grits" TV diner : MEL'S. The waitress named Flo's favorite saying.

59. Mary Tyler __ : MOORE

60. Assistant : AIDE

61. Summer quaffs : ADEs

62. Weapon for Zorro : SWORD. The Fox. "This bold renegade - Carves a "Z" with his blade, - A "Z" that stands for Zorro."

63. Place, as bricks : LAY

Down:

1. Vacation island south of Borneo : BALI. Map. Going by the names down there, I'd say they must grow a lot of coffee.

2. Jazz great Fitzgerald : ELLA. Ella singing about Black Coffee.

3. Archie's pet insult for Edith : DINGBAT

4. Comics Viking : HAGAR. the Horrible.

5. Sound at a sauna : "AHH!"

6. Doggie doc : VET

7. Crater Lake's locale : OREGON

8. Salmonesque color : CORAL

9. Turnpike exit : OFF RAMP

10. Great Plains burrower : PRAIRIE DOG

11. Hangover locales? : EAVES. Get it?

12. Hamilton vs. Burr, e.g. : DUEL

13. Big D hoopster : MAV. Dallas Mavericks

17. Shah's domain, once : IRAN

21. Turn way up, as radio volume : BLAST

23. Captain hanged for piracy in 1701 : KIDD

24. Go on a bender : CAROUSE

25. Teensy : ITSY

26. Half of Mork's farewell : NANU

27. Agricultural phenomenon sometimes linked to UFOs : CROP CIRCLE. Perhaps made by Orkian space ships, looking for Mork.

31. Antagonist : FOE

32. "Easy as" letters : ABC

33. Ark-itect? : NOAH. Get it?

34. Shipped : SENT

36. Skin care giant : NIVEA. Nivea products.

37. Like hand-me-downs : USED

40. Vegas supervisor : PIT BOSS. A casino pit is an area of a casino which typically contains tables for Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, and other games. The PIT BOSS is the person who looks after the employees who work in the pit.

42. Nonmetaphorical : LITERAL. For real, dude.

44. It lengthens toward evening : SHADOW

45. O.T. book before Job : ESTH. Esther.

46. Revealed : BARED

47. Minimal haircuts : TRIMS. I am due for my annual "trim".

48. "¿Cómo está __?" : USTED. How are you?

49. Crimson Tide, to fans : 'BAMA. The University of Alabama.

51. "Star Wars" princess : LEIA

52. Lord's mate : LADY

53. Absorbed, as costs : ATE

56. Bath bathroom : LOO. Bath the spa town in England.

57. Flub the shot, say : ERR

Answer grid.

Here is a wonderful picture of Jazzbumpa (Ron) standing outside Jazz Showcase on May 5, 2011, the day when his Schoolcraft Jazz Band opened  for Harold Mabern, a "a very cool guy who cannot read music". They also performed "Blues for Nate", a special piece Ron wrote for his grandson Nate, who was born blue and had to go through an open heart surgery when he was only one week old. Ron said "He'll be 9 in August, and he's doing great".

Argyle

Sunday, May 15th, 2011 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: SALE ! Today's theme relates to the "two month" period preceding the end of business for a company filing Chapter 11 -

23A. Week 1 : BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

39A. Week 2 : INVENTORY REDUCTION

57A. Week 3 : DEEP DISCOUNTS

67A. Week 4 : HUGE SAVINGS

82A. Week 5 : BLOW-OUT PRICES

97A. Week 6 : STORE-WIDE CLEARANCE

115A. Week 7 : EVERYTHING MUST GO

129A. Week 8 : CLOSED

I was there for the final days of a local hardware/paint store Pergament in 2001.

Splynter, filling in for today's blogger, who is actually today's co-constructor - C.C.~!

See both C.C. and Don's note at the end of the comments.

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Lifetime job : CAREER

7. "Let __ eat cake!" : THEM

11. "__ meant was ..." : ALL I

15. "Loser" rocker : BECK - music; for me, his first 'hit', and "I" get mentioned at 2:00

19. Commonly thorny tree : ACACIA

20. Whit : IOTA

21. Like people in pews : LAIC - not 'of the cloth'

22. Wheel shaft : AXLE

26. No View, No Touch Trap maker : D-CON rat traps

27. Sis's sib : BRO

28. Like an ant. : OPPosite - antonym

29. Org. that can help you get started : AAA quite some clechos today;  4D. Car starter? : ECO. Ecocar.

30. Fastens, as a ship's rope : BELAYS  "Belay that belaying~!" I think of Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation

32. One-named New Ager : YANNI - lots of music today, but this one y'all can link for yourselves....

35. Some strings : VIOLAS

38. Common Latino newspaper name : EL SOL

45. Catch word? : HOWEVER - don't "get" it

48. Beans spiller : STOOLIE

49. Many NASA astronauts were in it : BSA - Boy Scouts of America - tricky; I was looking for something much more "rocket science" - then again, isn't that a badge?  I was never in.

50. "__ seen the light!" : I'VE

51. 1997-2006 U.N. leader : ANNAN

54. Foot or fathom : UNIT - of measure, in this case length; a fathom is 6 feet

55. Team : SQUAD

61. "Understood" : I HEAR YA

63. Els with clubs : ERNIE

64. 1968 U.S. Open champ : ASHE -, Arthur - the Queens, NY US Open tennis stadium is named for him

65. Put into law : ENACT

66. Group with the 1979 #1 hit "Babe" : STYX - sorry, but "lame", no link

71. __ world : ARAB

75. Silly : INANE - crossword standard

77. Lincoln in-law : TODD

78. Refrain syllables : TRA LA

79. Yacht feature? : SILENT C - love this, had the 'silent' part, and wondered if it was the "A" or "H", too - technically, it's "YOT"

86. Degrade : ABASE

87. Zeus' jealous wife : HERA

89. Chicago Eight defendant : SEALE - Bobby, the Black Panther co-founder, was the eighth member, and had his trial severed from the other seven

90. Mess up : ERR

91. Club __ : MED - I remember the commercial, the "antidote to civilization"

92. "Li'l Abner" and "Doonesbury," e.g. : SATIRES

95. Inner-city genre : GANGSTA - as in gangsta rap

102. Exeter's county : DEVON - map

103. As much as one cares to see : EYEFUL - went to Hooters for the hockey game, got my EYE FULL...

104. They may be childproofed : HOMES - I never had a baby, but I have been in these types of homes, where everything has a secondary catch on it

108. Place saver : DOG-EAR - as a book page

110. Got the gold : WON

112. __ Grande : RIO

113. Word to a masseuse : AAH

114. The mi. in Mile-High City : ELEVation

122. Ax : FIRE - Canned, 86'ed

123. Floor piece : TILE

124. Yahtzee quintet : DICE

125. Hall of Fame subject of "The Last Boy" : MANTLE - baseball, I am sure a C.C. contribution, Mickey Mantle

126. Lob : TOSS

127. Stops hedging : OPTS

128. Ton : SCAD

DOWN:

1. Hack : CABBY - hesitated, wanted CABBIE at first

2. Legend creator : ACURA -this car

3. Silky synthetic : RAYON

5. German article : EIN and, 33A. Freudian "never" : NIE

6. Arctic explorer John : RAE

7. Men's wear accessory : TIE PIN

8. East Asian stew : HOT POT - Wiki

9. Ike's command: Abbr. : ETO - Another crossword standard, the European Theater of Operations

10. "Oh, brother!" : MAN

11. Communications opener : ALFA - as in the pilot's alphabet, BRAVO CHARLIE, etc.

12. Zhivago's love : LARA

13. It's not good to get caught in one : LIE

14. Cool color for contacts : ICE BLUE - gotten cliche as 'vampire'

15. Rotten apples, so to speak : BAD LOT

16. Legendary sword : EXCALIBUR  - have to link this

17. Sate : CLOY - I thought this meant annoy, as in "I forget his name, and it cloys at me"

18. 50-year-old dolls : KENS - D'oh~!, I was thinking Barbie

24. Rules : GOVERNS

25. Routine grounder, say : EASY OUT - baseball again

31. F1 neighbor : ESC - keyboard, top row

34. Intrude upon, as one's space : INVADE

36. Part of 81-Down : LOS Angeles

37. Gallery fare : ART

38. Cutting, maybe : EDITING

40. One of a Latin trio : VENI - Veni, vidi, vici - I didn't know this, but "I came, I smoked, I quit" - the quitting part 4 years ago.

41. Silver and Glass : RONs

42. Yale Bowl rooter : ELI and 93D. Tarzan portrayer Ron : ELY

43. Anthem start : O SAY can you see...

44. Zippo : NADA - anyone else think lighter first?

45. Keeps secret : HIDES immediate clecho;

46. Hardly secret : OVERT

47. Squirt : WEENY

52. Confined, after "in" : A CAGE - this rocks

53. Inhaler? : NOSE - clecho, two "in" clues in a row

55. Dry, as wine : SEC

56. Doha native : QATARI - map #2

58. Playful sprites : PIXIES - had NAIADS at first

59. Hesitating sounds : UHS - had UMS first, made my Arthur "ASME" (64A)

60. "Peachy!" : NEAT-O

62. Owns : HAS

65. Assume, as a role : ENDUE

67. Bowler, for one : HAT

68. Let loose : UNCHAIN - gotta link it

69. Altar assurance : VOW immediate clecho;

70. Altar assurances : I DOs - and I had them reversed; I DO, then VOWS

72. Darts : RACES

73. It may be red : ALERT - Star Trek again

74. Iraqi seaport : BASRA

76. Manila-to-Seoul dir. : NNE

78. Dug-out area : TRENCH - ah, semi-baseball

79. __ Club: Costco rival : SAM'S

80. "Yeah, right!" : I BET

81. Six-time World Series-winning MLB franchise : L.A. DODGERS

82. Party wheel : BRIE - cheese wheel

83. It may be grand : LARCENY - as OPPosed to Petit

84. Manila tongue : TAGALOG - I have heard the word

85. Blueprint : PLAN

88. Airport stat. : ETD - Estimated Time of Departure

92. Affirmed in court : SWORE TO

94. "Get it?" : SEE?

96. Old Prizm maker : GEO - interesting history

98. "Speed" actor : REEVES

99. Uncle Tom rescues her from drowning : EVA - from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe - and an awesome song from Warrant

100. Aardvarks' land : AFRICA - Argyle had this Monday; linked one of my favorite all-time songs

101. Undone : RUINED

105. Dillon and Damon : MATTs

106. Hole in one, e.g. : EAGLE - the rarest of eagles, or "two under par" on a par three

107. Did a smithy's job : SHOED

108. Nimble : DEFT - I think the word sounds DEFT; crafty and skilled

109. Mixed bag : OLIO

110. Whip mark : WELT

111. Mined metals : ORES

116. Big shot : VIP

117. Favre's 508, briefly : TDs - Brett Favre, Quarterback, and his 1A touchdown passes

118. Fruit drink named for a vitamin : Hi-C

119. III x DCC : MMC - Roman math, 3 X (500+100+100) = 2100(1000+1000+100)

120. "Friendly skies" co. : UAL - United Airlines

121. __-Cat : SNO - image

Answer grid.

Splynter

Notes from C.C. & Don:

This "Sale" idea first came to us last August. We had to change a few theme entries that are either too plain or did not resonate with Rich. We originally had different clues for the theme entries. Rich went a step forward and came up with the "Week 1, 2..." idea. Putting the final punch line CLOSED in the lower right corner created the greatest challenge to completing the fill smoothly. It took 8 months of back and forth with Rich before the puzzle was finally accepted. 

Saturday May 14, 2011 Victor Fleming

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 29

This puzzle is anchored by two grid-spanners:

19A. Was left out, facetiously : DIDN'T GET THE MEMO. Orderly A, E, I, O, U, Y in the word "facetiously". Very unusual.

50A. Man, to Aristotle : POLITICAL ANIMAL. He said "man is by nature a political animal".

The two 15s are then crossed by two 9s each. All great entries. I especially liked GOOD CATCH (35D. Matrimonial prize).

Tough cluing overall, typified by:

45A. Case, for instance: Abbr. : SYN (Synonym). Case is a synonym of "instance": in this case/in this instance.

Across:

1. "American Pie" actress : TARA REID. Always nice to see a full name.

9. Leading, usually : ON BASE. Leading off base.

15. Refinement : ELEGANCE

16. Goes without saying? : MOUTHS. Great clue.

17. Subtle differences : NICETIES

18. "Where ignorant __ clash by night": Matthew Arnold : ARMIES. I just freeze when seeing a quote clue.

21. Round-topped topper : TAM. Scottish topper.

22. Ticked : IRATE

23. Duchamp contemporary : ARP (Jean)

26. Nursery employee : NANNY. Not plant nursery.

28. Milky way? : UDDER. Fun clue.

32. Rye server : DELI

34. Trifle : TOY. Verb.

35. It's good to be in one : GROOVE

36. Something taken by a shooter : DEAD AIM. Take dead aim.

38. Some incentives : BONUSES

39. Non-acidic vitamin brand : ESTER-C. So other brands might be acidic?

40. Labor gp. that initially supported FDR : CIO. Who knows?

41. Jack's wife in Season 1 of "24" : TERI. No idea.

42. Therapy goal : REHAB

43. Bridge units : HANDS. Game, Dummy! Not river bridge.

46. Last straw : LIMIT

48. Video end? : CAM. Oh, Video camera.

57. Throws : AMAZES. This throws me.

58. "Sure, why not?" : LET'S DO IT. Clue & answer sound very Dennis.

59. Meet people? : RACERS. "Meet" is a noun then.

60. Pedigree : ANCESTRY

61. Black-tie : DRESSY

62. Diamond gem : NO-HITTER. Baseball diamond. Two no-hitters this season. One by Twins' Liriano.

Down:

1. Keep an eye on : TEND

2. Et __ : ALII

3. Like most mailed pkgs. : REC'D

4. Deal maker : AGENT

5. Palm prevalent in Indonesia : RATTAN

6. Hard to figure out : ENIGMATIC. Like Mona Lisa's smile.

7. Frozen pop brand : ICEE

8. Fortune : DESTINY

9. It's across the Missouri from Council Bluffs, Iowa : OMAHA. Happy fill for Husker Gary.

10. Point from which one must proceed? : NO RETURN. Another tricky clue.

11. Disappointed, slangily : BUMMED OUT

12. End in __ : A TIE

13. Noah's eldest : SHEM. One of his brothers was called Ham.

14. Sinclair Oil rival : ESSO

20. Subject to strain : TRY

23. Puff __ : ADDER

24. Eponymous candy company founder : REESE

25. "Lady Lazarus" poet : PLATH (Sylvia). What a tragic life she had.

27. Henri, e.g. : NOM. Just a name.

29. Doctor's orders : DOSES

30. All possible : EVERY

31. Mastic, for one : RESIN. Did not know Mastic is plant resin.

33. Puts on a pedestal : IDEALIZES

37. Judges : ARBITERS. The constructor is a judge.

38. Storage unit : BIN

40. Pablo Casals, e.g. : CATALAN. Dali also.

43. Sound heard after a lot of shots? : HIC. Bar "shots".

44. Third-generation Japanese-American : SANSEI. San = Three/Third. Same as Chinese. Sei means "birth".

47. Rapper Elliott : MISSY

49. Core : MIDST

50. Frontier friend : PARD

51. Shortstop Vizquel : OMAR. He was with the Indians for a long time.

52. Oxford fastener : LACE

53. Star seen around midnight : LENO (Jay)

54. Suffragist Lucretia : MOTT. I forgot. I think we had her before.

55. Leeds's river : AIRE. Another stumper.

56. Astron. distance : LT-YR (Light year)

Answer grid.

C.C.