Monday, October 18, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Pat, I would like to buy an 'E' - Now here is a theme that is not very evident until you get the unifier and a unifier that doesn't help much in getting the answers. All the theme answers have at least 4 Es and only an 'E' for a vowel.

20A. Was disappointed, as with a performance: EXPECTED BETTER. Five Es.

25A. Out-of-the-ordinary brews: EXTREME BEERS. Five Es.

37A. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE. Four Es.

44A. Calm by nature: EVEN TEMPERED. 5 Es.

52A. She replaced Paula Abdul as an "American Idol" judge: ELLEN DEGENERES. 6 Es.

56D. "Buy It Now" online site (and where vowels were bought for 20-, 25-, 37-, 44-and 52-Across?): EBAY

And an extra EEE (29. Third shoe width beyond D), connecting 2 theme answers.

Argyle (18A) here after a long night. Cruciverb was down again. No new puzzle until earlier this morning.

A rather difficult construct for a Monday puzzle (only 74 words). See the constructor's note at the end.

Solving was a notch or two harder for a Monday but probably no problem for this group. There are 25 'E's in the theme, 42 'E's all together. Record is 78 (NY Times).

Across:

1. White whale chaser : AHAB. "Moby Dick".

5. Cannes clergymen : ABBÉs. On the French Riviera.

10. Foam ball maker : NERF

14. Island nation near Tonga : FIJI. They are all island nations in the South Seas. Map.

15. Wild animal : BEAST

16. Leaf-to-branch angle : AXIL. Like this.

17. Difficult youngster : BRAT

18. Jolly holiday visitor : SANTA. Jolly all the time, right, elves?

19. Underground missile launch site : SILO

23. Shrinking Asian sea : ARAL

24. GPA booster : EASY 'A'. Grade Point Average (GPA)

31. Lewd material : SMUT

32. Compassion from the judge : LENIENCY

36. DDE opponent : AES. Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson II.

40. Big Band __ : ERA

41. Smudges in a psychological test : INK BLOTS. Whoopsie, I put down Ink Spots.

43. Lascivious look : LEER

48. __ Arabia : SAUDI

51. Not worth debating : MOOT

58. 1999 Ron Howard film : "EDtv". A strange movie.

59. __ Mountains: south-central U.S. range : OZARK

60. Term referring to a prev. citation : IBID. Latin, short for ibidem, meaning the same place.

62. Actress Hatcher : TERI. Image. (43A)

63. Mournful music : DIRGE

64. Stun : DAZE

65. Spoken : ORAL

66. Seven Dwarfs' only beardless member : DOPEY

67. Spud's buds : EYES. Cute rhyme.

Down:

1. Ohio's Wright-Patterson, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB). Southwestern Ohio. Location of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

2. Give the job to : HIRE

3. Sink-cleaning brand : AJAX

4. Very small role : BIT PART

5. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. The operation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property but was converted to a public corruption investigation. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of a United States Senator, five members of the House of Representatives, one member of the New Jersey State Senate, members of the Philadelphia City Council, and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

6. Fab Four member : BEATLE

7. Ruination : BANE

8. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD.

9. Attack, á la Brutus : STAB

10. '70s tennis star Ilie : NASTASE

11. They're marked with lit signs : EXITS

12. Lead the life of __ : RILEY. Who Riley (or Reilly, or Reiley) was isn't clear. If he had been a known individual then it surely would have been recorded. The lack of any such records points to the name being chosen as that of a generic Irishman, much as Paddy is used now. More here. Also, it was an early TV comedy. 2 minute clip.

13. Plant life : FLORA

21. Bard's "before" : ERE

22. Spooky : EERIE

25. Actor Morales : ESAI

26. Mutant superheroes co-created by Stan Le : X-MEN

27. Mammoth feature : TUSK

28. Hallowed : BLEST

30. Naval Acad. grad : ENS.

33. __-do-well : NE'ER

34. Canadian tribe : CREE

35. Lawn party site : YARD

37. NBA Hall of Famer Hayes : ELVIN. Elvin Ernest Hayes (The Big E). Position: Forward-Center Height: 6'-9".

38. John or Jane : DOE

39. Map feature with an elev. : MTN.

42. Torment diabolically : BEDEVIL

43. Left on the table, as a bet : LET RIDE

45. Come out : EMERGE

46. Organ grinder's pet : MONKEY

47. "Annabel Lee" poet : POE. Edgar Allan Poe.

48. Tend : SEE TO

49. Birch family tree : ALDER

50. Prefix with violet : ULTRA

53. Connecticut senator Chris : DODD. This man.

54. Basso Pinza : EZIO. He made it on to the cover of Life magazine.

55. "The World According to __" : GARP. A Robin Williams movie.

57. Magnitude : SIZE

61. __ Moines : DES

Answer grid.

Constructor Notes:

"This theme started out as something else. ELLEN DEGENERES got the ball rolling. I noticed all those E’s in her name. I had the thought of making an all E vowel puzzle. I know that it was done before in the New York Times, but I couldn’t remember how it was done. I didn’t realize that having long theme entries and all E vowels would be really tough. But I tried anyway. The fill suffered terribly. It was no fun. I looked for another hook, or unifier as C.C. would call it, that would give me a reason for having all E vowels in the theme answers. EBAY popped into my head immediately, and Rich agreed that it could serve as the unifier. I looked for theme answers with a lot of E’s, and still struggled with the fill. Being a Monday puzzle, it is always a challenge to make the fill fresh and familiar. I really enjoy solving LA Times Monday puzzles, and though they may be easy to solve, there is an element of fun there that all solvers can appreciate."

Argyle

Sunday October 17, 2010 Julian Lim

Theme: I Have a Weird Feeling... Or rather MIXED EMOTIONS (109A. Conflict, and a hint to unraveling the puzzle's circled letters). The spanning circled letters are anagrams of various emotions. In cryptic crossword, "weird" and "mixed" often indicate anagram trick.

22A. "The Age of Turbulence" memoirist : ALAN GREENSPAN. The circled five letters ANGRE is anagram of anger.

29A. Still in Hollywood : FREEZE FRAME. Fear.

32A. Event with a "six metres club" : POLE VAULT. Love.

45A. Treaty of Paris conflict, 1763 : THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. Envy. We also have a minor duplicated PARIS (58D. Montmartre's city). Montmartre is lovely. Had an incredible experience inside the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

59A. Defense strategy that's not an option in some states : INSANITY PLEA. Pity.

71A. Scandalmongers, often : TABLOID PRESS. Pride.

83A. Nintendo game that involves rescuing a princess : THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. Glee. Cross-referenced with NES (117A. 83-Across console).

92A. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" performer : BILLY JOEL. Joy.

94A. Common cell : MOBILE PHONE. Hope.

I love that all the anagrammatic emotion words consistently span two words in each theme entry rather than hidden inside some long words. More fun.

I am sure our Lemonade (Jason in real life) would enjoy the two references to him:

39D. Euripides tragedy : MEDEA. And JASON ( 93D. 39-Down's spouse), who deserted Medea after she helped him get the Golden Fleece.

86D. Lemon add-on : ADE

I think this is Julian Lim's first Sunday puzzle. If so, congratulations! Very creative theme. Many original and tricky clues too.

Across:

1. Hied : SPED

5. Redbox rental : DVD

8. Fond du __, Wisconsin : LAC. The French settled down there first I suppose.

11. NH3 : AMMONIA. Did not really know the formula.

18. Apple part : CORE

19. Service station offering : AIR. An unexpected answer.

20. "Rubáiyát" rhyme scheme : AABA

21. Trying to catch a break? : X-RAYING. Great "break" clue.

25. Speculator's reply to "Where's all your money?" : I LOST IT. Tough!

26. Bob Marley, e.g. : RASTA. Loved his "No Woman, No Cry".

27. Pupil of Plato : ARISTOTLE. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. We also have TELOS (71D. Final purpose, to Aristotle). Unknown to me. Aristotle duplication. Tough to avoid so in a giant 21*21.

38. Vet : EX-GI

39. Suvari of "American Pie" : MENA. Can never remember her name.

40. Big name in beauty : ESTEE. Estée Lauder.

41. "The X-Files" extras : FEDS

50. Dr. Alzheimer : ALOIS. I did not know this.

52. Dwells : RESIDES

53. Stretch out using : LIE ON. The clue sounds a bit awkward to me.

54. Many of their pieces are nearly identical : JIGSAWS. Seems so time-consuming.

57. Sushi bar supplier : EELER. Was in the food direction.

58. Homeys : PALS

61. Like pheasant : GAMY

62. Little rat : PUP

65. Slave : TOIL

66. Corrosive fluids : LYES

67. What vacationers are without, by choice : CARE. Without care.

68. Batman co-creator : KANE (Bob). Not a familiar figure to me.

69. It "enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time": Merton : ART. Oh, memory does the same, no?

70. Exploded : BLEW

75. "Charlie's Angels" angel Munroe : KRIS. Peeked at the answer sheet.

76. Fracas : MELEE

77. Ball Park Franks maker : SARA LEE

78. Links site : CHAIN. Thought of golf.

80. Bread component? : SILENT A. Letter A in bread is silent. Got me.

82. Key of the overture to Mozart's "The Magic Flute" : E-FLAT. Needed crossing help.

87. "See ya!" : TA TA

88. Buddy List user : AOLER

89. Heading under which cabs are listed : REDS. Wine list. Cab here refers to Cabernet.

90. Yeats's "__ and the Swan" : LEDA

101. Heart stimulant brand : ADRENALIN. Have never heard of the brand. Makes sense.

103. Romantic cocktail garnish : PETAL

104. First frat at U.C. Berkeley : ZETA PSI. Total unknown.

112. Delta follower : EPSILON

113. Sacha Baron Cohen character : ALI G. Borat too. Nuts.

114. __ de Cologne : EAU

115. Tenth: Pref. : DECI

116. She played Sasha Monroe on "Third Watch" : NIA LONG. Nice to see her full name.

118. Banned pesticide : DDT

119. "Understood" : I SEE

Down:

1. Gobble (down) : SCARF

2. Opposite : POLAR

3. Make blank : ERASE

4. Pasta order word : DENTE. Al dente.

5. __ es Salaam : DAR. Largest city in Tanzania. Literally "house of Peace" in Arabic, a la Wiki.

6. Fight (for) : VIE

7. Less upbeat : DREARIER

8. Error : LAPSE

9. Like __ out of 79-Down : A BAT. 79. See 9-Down : HELL. Like a bat out of hell. The clues told me nothing.

10. Spam-revealing aid? : CAN OPENER. Picturing the email spams.

11. Deodorant targets, anatomically : AXILLAE. Singular is axilla.

12. 1957 Bobbettes hit : MR. LEE. Here is the clip. Out of my knowledge zone.

13. Great Leap Forward architect : MAO. Crazy time in China. It preceded Cultural Revolution.

14. Cries of dismay : OYs

15. Niggling detail : NIT

16. Trattoria menu suffix : INI. Pasta suffix. Like Rotini.

17. Thespian's rep. : AGT. Thespian sounds so old.

20. "__ sure you've heard ..." : AS I'M

23. Wondering look : GAZE

24. Org. with many arms : NRA. Weapons.

28. Theater awards : TONYs

30. No. after a phone no. : EXT. Extension. Drew a blank.

31. Alphabet trio : FGH. The constructor has no other better choice here.

33. Indeed : VERILY

34. Boneheads : ASSES

35. Old CIA plane : U-TWO. Weird to see U-2 spelled out.

36. Like times of famine : LEAN

37. Thrice, in Rx's : TER

41. Sizzling Tex-Mex meat : FAJITA

42. "The Ladies' Man" author Lipman : ELINOR. Nope. Alien to me.

43. Watch Fido, say : DOG SIT

44. Hemp fiber : SISAL. Learned from doing Xword.

46. Filters (through) : SEEPS

47. German donkey : ESEL. Made me smile. I got to know John Lampkin because of this word. Looks like this.

48. Odious : VILE

49. Arbored Southwestern walkway : ALAMEDA. Can never remember this word.

51. Japanese honorific : SAN. I would be called C.C. San.

55. Game : WILLING

56. Optical maladies : STYES

60. Longbow wood : YEW

61. Fed. auditor : GAO (General Accounting Office)

62. Valencian rice dish : PAELLA. Tasty!

63. Depose : UNSEAT

64. Old Catalan coin : PESETA. Forgot again.

67. Former Yankee Boyer : CLETE. No idea. I might have his baseball card.

68. Singles promoter? : KRAFT. Cheese.

70. Prickly, plantwise : BRIERY. Adjective of brier I suppose.

72. First Hebrew letter: Var. : ALEF. OK, variant of aleph.

73. Daimler contemporary : BENZ

74. Game opener? : PRE. Pre-game.

75. Survivor of Krypton's destruction : KAL-EL. No idea. Superman's birth name.

76. Broker : MIDDLEMAN

78. K.J. __, first Korean to win on the PGA Tour : CHOI. Gimmie. Love him. Very Asian style. Stoic. Hard-working. Do-er.

80. Villainous look : SNEER

81. 1967 Temptations hit : ALL I NEED. Obtained via crossings.

83. Check : TAB

84. Disintegrating : ERODING

85. Penn. neighbor : DEL

91. PDA entry : APPT

94. Leg hiders : MAXIS. Skirts.

95. Designer Cassini : OLEG. Jackie's designer.

96. Didn't pass, in bridge : BID

97. Alpine protagonist : HEIDI. Lovely.

98. Siouan tribesmen : OTOES

99. '30s V.P. John __ Garner : NANCE. Who knows?!

100. Milk pitcher? : ELSIE. Elsie the Cow. Great clue. I was thinking of the container "pitcher" rather than one who makes the sales pitch on TV.

102. River past Thebes : NILE

104. Buddhist sect : ZEN

105. Start to cure? : EPI. Start to the word epicure.

106. Hijack-prevention org. : TSA (Transportation Security Administration)

107. Feel peaked : AIL. New meaning of "peaked" to me.

108. Oslo Accords gp. : PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)

110. Furious : MAD

111. Partner of about : OUT. Out and about.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday October 16, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 28

Quite low black square count. One letter V away from being a pangram.

Barry framed this puzzle with 12 ten-letter entries, triple-stacked in each quadrant:

5A. Younger partner : JESSE JAMES. The Younger brothers. Four Js in the grid, two in this fill alone.

16A. Field for bug bugs : ENTOMOLOGY. I used to confuse it with etymology.

18A. They need to be transcribed : STENO NOTES

58A. Networking asset : SHARED FILE. Gorgeous entry.

62A. Scotch part? : PINE NEEDLE. Not familiar with Scotch Pine.

64A. Agent's accounts : SPY STORIES

1D. Southwestern national park, or the primary plant that grows there : JOSHUA TREE. This is a theme answer in Jerome's tease puzzle, with JOSH embedded in front.

2D. Apparent : OSTENSIBLE

3D. Strength-training exercises : ISOMETRICS. No idea. It strengthens an isolated area?

30D. Three-time U.S. Open champ : TIGER WOODS. Nailed it.

31D. He played Max Bialystock in "The Producers" : ZERO MOSTEL. Nailed it as well, since I got the crossing TZU easily.

32D. Act diplomatically : USE FINESSE.

A typical Silk puzzle. Long & scrabbly answers. Several baseball references as well, including his home team.

Across:

1. Bring together : JOIN

15. Bone, to Benito : OSSO. Osso Buco = Bone with a hole.

17. USAF plane for limited runways : STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing). Drew blank again, Dudley!

19. Surgical instrument that stops bleeding : HEMOSTAT. Hemo is prefix for "blood".

21. Ice cream choice : QUART. Was thinking of flavor.

22. A, in Arles : UNE

23. Crime show in its 11th season : CSI. "Crime" hint was a big help.

24. Modem speed unit : BAUD. Kept reading "Modern speed unit".

26. "Per ardua ad __": RAF motto : ASTRA. Literally "Through Adversity to the Stars".

28. Pope before Paul V : LEO XI. Educated guess.

30. Lao-__ : TZU. It's Lao-Zi in Mandarin Chinese. Literally "Old Master".

33. Bitter outburst : TIRADE

35. 2008 World Series champs : PHILLIES. Barry made a tribute puzzle to celebrate the win.

37. Baseball stats : RBIS

38. Small opening? : MICRO. As in microscope.

40. Fiend : OGRE

41. Stiff's nickname : EL CHEAPO. I was picturing a priggish old woman.

43. Formed from : MADE OF

45. Some MIT grads : EES

46. Screams : RIOTS

48. Manhattan Project notable : FERMI (Enrico). 1938 Nobel Winner in Physics.

49. Forward : BOLD

50. Result in a roped-off area, briefly : TKO. Boxing.

52. Earned : WON. Oh, as in earned/won the trust.

53. Equally hot : AS MAD. I had different "hot" in mind.

56. Cobra-killing carnivore : MONGOOSE. Was ignorant that it feeds on cobra.

61. Scribbles : JOTS

63. Sidewalk sale items : ADES

65. Bikini component : ISLE. No bra. Just Bikini Atoll.

Down:

4. Court plea, briefly : NOLO. Nolo contendere.

5. Kids : JESTS

6. Necessitate : ENTAIL

7. Proof mark : STET. "Ignore the change" mark.

8. Didactic term of address : SON. Nice clue.

9. Expressive rock genre : EMO. Three letter rock genre has to be EMO. Dark stuff.

10. Flower in the amaryllis family : JONQUIL. No idea. See here. Dictionary says it's rooted in Latin juncus, meaning "rush".

11. Voiced : ALOUD

12. Manny with 150 career pinch hits : MOTA. Totally unknown. See this photo. #11. Dodgers. Did you get it immediately, Bill?

13. Hungarian wine region : EGER. Well, maybe Jazzbumpa knows.

14. Part of SSS: Abbr. : SYST

20. Large number : SCAD. And 55. Myriad : MANY.

24. Quantum physics pioneer : BOHR (Niels). Nobel Physics 1922.

25. Accepted principle : AXIOM

27. Impetuous : RASH

29. Disney acronym : EPCOT

34. Spam, at times : EMAIL

36. Rich supply : LODE

39. 2001 high-tech debut : IPOD. That early?

42. Like wind and surf : ERODENT

44. Clueless, after "in" : A FOG

47. 1966 U.S. Open champ Fred : STOLLE. Tennis. I drew a blank. Just knew it's can't be Couples. Fred Couples has never own US Open.

49. Discloses : BARES

51. Places for pads : KNEES. And MIDI (56. It covers the 51-Down). Did you want PADS?

53. Ancient royal symbols : ASPS. Ancient Egypt.

54. Crow's-nest sighting : SHIP

57. Resort NNE of Ventura : OJAI. Man, this has become a popular city in Xword.

59. __ gratias : DEO. "Thanks be to God".

60. French iron : FER. No idea. Fer-de-lance = Iron of the lance. Strange name for a snake.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday October 15, 2010 Kelsey Blakley

Theme: Get the L in Here! - Y is replaced by LY at the end of first word of each two-word familiar phrase.

17A. Mentioned with a yawn? : DULLY NOTED. Base phrase is Duly Noted. Adv to Adv.

23A. Tightfistedness scale? : MISERLY INDEX. Misery Index. Not a familiar economic term to me. A measurement of unemployment & inflation rate. Noun to Adj.

53A. Like a centaur? : PARTLY ANIMAL. Party Animal. Centaur is part human & part horse. Noun to Adv.

64A. Old enough to know better? : HARDLY BOYS. The Hardy Boys. Noun to Adv.

The first two theme answers experienced a vowel sound change after the transformation. Nothing happened to the last two.

Sometimes our Monday puzzles have more theme entries than Friday's, but the theme concept is definitely more complicated on Friday: Adding/Deleting/Replacing letter (or letter strings), or punny wordplay. Monday's theme tends to be more straightforward, so is Tuesday's. Then we progress to Wednesday & Thursday (often) with a unifier.

Across:

1. A popular one is modeled after the Winchester rifle : BB GUN. Stumped immediately. Wiki says "One of the most famous BB guns is the Red Ryder BB Gun, modeled after the western Winchester rifle".

6. Three-time A.L. MVP : A-ROD. Four letter, with abbr. hint in the clue, who else could it be?

10. Narcissist's obsession : SELF

14. Oil source : OLIVE

15. __ fide : BONA

16. Gin flavoring : SLOE

19. Inn group member : MAID. Nice play on "In group".

20. __ trap : SET A. Didn't emerge quickly.

21. Like jellybeans : OVOID

22. Memo header : IN RE. Latin for "in the matter of".

26. Swiffer WetJet, e.g. : DAMP MOP. Have never heard of Swiffer WetJet.

29. Bereft : LORN

30. Jupiter, for one : ORB. Oh, God, I wanted GOD.

31. Allen contemporary : PAAR (Jack). Steve Allen. I was at a loss.

33. Lollipop-licking cop : KOJAK. Played by Telly Savalas.

37. Ristorante staple : VEAL

39. Explore deeply : PROBE

42. Derelict, perhaps : WINO. "Perhaps" yes.

43. Contest entry : ESSAY

45. Factor opening : BENE. Opening for the word benefactor. I don't think I would have gotten the answer even with a question mark in the clue.

47. Bucko : MAC

48. Goofs (around) : BUMS

51. Battle preparation place, in metaphor : WAR PATH

57. Actress Falco : EDIE

58. Oarlock pin : THOLE. Used to throw me off.

59. Vanishing points : ENDS

63. Outfits : RIGS. New definition of "rig" to me.

66. Send out : EMIT

67. End of a lover's ultimatum : OR ME. I penned in ELSE.

68. Designated : MEANT

69. Aussie sleep sounds? : ZEDS. Z is Zed in Australia.

70. European coal region : SAAR. No idea. Where is it?

71. Fire proof? : ASHES. We've seen similar clue before.

Down:

1. Mr. Olympia contestants' obsessions : BODS. The only Mr. Olympia I know is Arnold.

2. Risqué : BLUE. In China, yellow means risqué. By the way, this is for Jayce. Just omit the bamboo shoots. No such ingredient in authentic Chinese dumplings.

3. Thin ornamental layer : GILT

4. Black light, briefly : UV LAMP. Not familiar with the term. What is it used for? Why "black light"?

5. Marshal under Napoleon : NEY. Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".

6. Good, except on the links : ABOVE PAR. Always happy with a double bogey round.

7. Eggbeater feature : ROTOR

8. Tip of Massachusetts : O'NEILL. Tip O'Neill. From Massachusetts. Former Speaker of the House. Great clue.

9. Beatnik's address : DADDY-O. Unknown to me. Like today's "dude". Doesn't sound cool at all.

10. Gilligan's shipwrecked ship : S. S. MINNOW. The insane SSM* start made me doubt my crossing entries.

11. Savanna grazer : ELAND

12. River through Tours : LOIRE

13. Fly-by-night co.? : FEDEX. Nice clue too.

18. "It'll never wash!" : NO SOAP. Another new slang for me.

24. Little cut-up : IMP. "Cut-up" = Prankster. Followed by IRK (25. Bug like a 24-Down).

26. Went off the deep end : DOVE. Great idiom play.

27. God wounded by Diomedes in the "Iliad" : ARES. Greek war god. Was ignorant of the wound he suffered in "Iliad".

28. Wheels of Fortune? : MBAS. Tricky clue.

32. Knock over : ROB

34. "Sands of Iwo __": 1949 film : JIMA

35. Med school subj. : ANAT

36. "Mayor" author : KOCH (Ed). Needed crossing help.

38. Doctor's orders, often : LAB TESTS

40. Stump : BEWILDER

41. Plaque holder? : ENAMEL. The question mark should point you at the teeth direction.

44. James's "Westworld" costar : YUL (Brynner). No idea. Not familiar with the movie. James Brolin.

46. Time slice : ERA

49. Aristotle's first element of tragedy : MYTHOS. See here. It consists of 6 parts, a la Aristotle. Another learning moment.

50. Home to many Berbers : SAHARA. Berbers are those North African tribesmen.

52. Annapolis newbies : PLEBES

53. Two-time Venezuelan president Carlos : PEREZ. Alien to me.

54. Turn on __ : A DIME

55. Intolerant : RIGID

56. "__ Rae" : NORMA

60. Early animal handler : NOAH. OK, Noah handled those paired animals in his Ark.

61. Bit of force : DYNE

62. Ret. fliers : SSTS

65. Sumac from Peru : YMA. Classic crossword name.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday October 14, 2010 Matt Matera

Theme: Aye-Aye, Sir - Various ways to answer in the affirmative appear at the starts of the answers to starred clues, with different language bracketed at the end of each clue as a hint. Tip off in the clue for 66A. Parliamentary votes : YEAS.

1A. *Hip-hopper who married Beyoncé (German): JAY-Z. Symmetrically placed with YEAS.

20A. *Old stories (English): YESTERDAY'S NEWS.

28A. *Inferred cosmic substance (Russian): DARK MATTER. Matter that cannot be detected directly, but "must" exist because "something" massive is interacting with the observed gravitational behavior of the matter that can be detected.

44A. *Séance device (French): OUIJA BOARD. Actually, the trademarked name comes from combining two "yes" words, OUI and JA. That makes this answer stand out a bit from the others.

51. *Fatal problem in Genesis (Spanish): SIBLING RIVALRY. Cain v. Abel.

Al here.

A fairly "agreeable" puzzle today, no? A pangram. Kind of slow starting, but once it got going, it filled in faster for me than yesterday's. More than a few obscure names and places make this a Thursday puzzle, though.

ACROSS:

5. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. From French serge de Nîmes, cloth from a town in southern France.

10. Delhi wrap: SARI. Women's wear in India. Also has an alternate of spelling saree. A seemingly infinite variety of styles.

14. Movie apiarist: ULEE. Peter Fonda's character in Ulee's Gold was a beekeeper.

15. Like sandalwood leaves: OVATE.

16. Green Zone site: IRAQ. A heavily fortified central portion of Baghdad that contained several palaces of Saddam Husein. The International Zone. Also a recent movie about the same starring Matt Damon.

17. Gets into: DONS. Puts on clothing.

18. Brewers' kilns: OASTS.

19. Things you saw while out?: LOGS. Sawing logs, slang for snoring.

23. "Paris, je t'__": 2006 film: AIME. (Paris, I love you) a film made up of 18 short stories, and had 22 directors.

24. Charged particle: ION.

25. Nashville awards gp.: CMA. Country Music Awards.

33. Mythological ride: CARPET. Close your eyes, girl, or if you prefer, don't you dare close your eyes.

35. Derisive cry: YAH. If you say so, I guess.

36. Pivotal part: CRUX. Latin for "cross".

38. Bug, perhaps: ERROR. Latin errare, wander, go astray.

39. Hottie: FOX. Obligatory pic. Just don't google images for her with the word "thumbs"...

40. Easternmost state: MAINE. Ayuh is another way to say yes.

41. "Don't touch that __!": DIAL.

42. Body art, in slang: TAT. Tattoo.

43. High-speed raptor: FALCON. Raptor (Latin) and rapid are related words. To call a raptor high-speed is sort of redundant.

47. Former World No. 1 tennis player Ivanovic: ANA. What is it that draws attractive women to tennis?

48. With 6-Down, one in fear of an audit: TAX. and 6. See 48-Across: EVADER.

49. "Dagnabit!": RATS. Charlie Brown's second-favorite interjection, especially at Halloween. "Rats, another rock."

58. Colombia neighbor: PERU.

59. Funnel-shaped: CONED.

60. Architect Mies van der __: ROHE. Father of "modern" architecture. i.e. big square buildings with lots of glass. Also tubular steel furniture.

61. Animal shelter: LAIR. Related to "lie", as in lie down.

62. Gather: AMASS.

63. Intuited: KNEW. Not quite the same? My sense of the word is to perceive or guess immediately without thinking, but without knowing beforehand. Maybe I'm wrong.

64. About: OR SO.

65. Greet respectfully: BOW TO.

DOWN:

1. Kids' author Blume: JUDY.

2. Succulent plant: ALOE.

3. Dieters may fight them: YENS.

4. Keebler cracker: ZESTA. Saltines competition.

5. Pushover: DOORMAT.

7. Org. with rovers: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Rover as a remote exploration vehicle, not a dog. SPCA for first thoughts anyone?

8. __-bitty: ITTY.

9. Handel bars?: MESSIAH. Cute musical pun, bars of music, Handle's Messiah. (famously, the Hallelujah chorus)

10. '20s White House nickname: SILENT CAL. Coolidge. 30th president. A possibly apocryphal story has it that Dorothy Parker, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His famous reply: "You lose."

11. ... ducks in __: A ROW. Explanations from decorative plaster ducks on the mantle in the 70's, to shooting galleries, are everywhere, but the likely origin is much simpler, think of the image of a mother duck leading her ducklings across a pond, which could have been observed ever since there were ducks.

12. Poverty, in metaphor: RAGS. From rags to riches.

13. Brightness nos.: IQS. I wanted something to do with lumens, or other light sources.

21. Down source: EIDER. Harvested from nests after the ducklings mature and leave it.

22. "Kidding!": NOT! Popularized by Wayne's World skits and movies (from SNL).

25. Included in the e-mail chain: CCED. Carbon Copied, a holdover from business snail mail. You can still buy carbon paper, but why?

26. Video game plumber: MARIO. Nintendo's go-to guy has appeared in over 200 games since 1981 where he was "jumpman" in the Donkey Kong arcade game.

27. Pianist Claudio: ARRAU. From Chile, which also neighbors 58A. Peru. Moonlight Sonata.

29. Honshu city: KYOTO. The Koyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emission reduction (the US has refused to participate) was first adopted there. And 45D. Airline to 29-Down: JAL.

30. Top limit: MAX.

31. Actress Durance who plays Lois on "Smallville": ERICA. On the one hand it wasn't clued with (Erica) Jong. On the other, hand, if you're not into comic book heroes made into TV shows, you're unlikely to have heard of her. This year is the last season for Smallville, which has been somewhat more soapy than super. We don't know yet if Ms. Durance has a fear of flying yet, as the red and blue blur has not figured out how to do it yet in this alternate Superman story line.

32. Bad sentence: RUN ON.

34. Former Kremlin policymaker: POLITBURO.

37. TV princess: XENA. Lucy Lawless.

39. Terrif: FAB.

40. Former sketch comedy that used Don Martin cartoons: MAD TV.

42. Hailed ride: TAXICAB.

43. "I wish 'twere otherwise": 'FRAID SO.

46. Slap the cuffs on: ARREST.

50. Like a biting remark, in British slang: SARKY. Sarcastic.

51. Burn slightly: SEAR.

52. Novelist Murdoch: IRIS. Apparently one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Sorry to say her work is completely unknown to me.

53. Pitcher Hideo: NOMO. First Japanese major leaguer to relocate to US MLB (Dodgers).

54. Chew: GNAW. Sort of an onomatopoetic word.

55. Unaccompanied: LONE. Had SOLO at first.

56. Flightless bird: RHEA. Finally. Something other than EMU. Not new to crosswords, though.

57. Trees used to make longbows: YEWS. Foliage is poisonous, especially to horses. Rare to poison humans, unless you're like Euell Gibbons and eat everything in the forest. (Actually, that's not true. Euell died of a complications due to a genetic disorder, not from eating pine trees.)

58. Abbas's gp.: PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization. Mahmoud Abbas succeeded Yasser Arafat.

Answer Grid.

Al

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