Saturday, Sep 8th, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 38

So it's a Silkie Saturday serving~! Psyched myself for such a puzzle, and was rewarded with a great looking spiral of four asymmetrical "pinwheel pluses" grid. Destroyed two of the corners, but the other two destroyed me. Proper names/titles/ foreign words were the culprits, but it was worth the totally DF grouping of the longest entries:

35A. Model first appearing in 1954 : PLAYBOY PLAYMATE - I still have a box floating around somewhere with the Vanna White issue in it; I really did read the articles....one for some of the ladies - I know C.C. will enjoy

6D. It involves the study of cleavage : MINERALOGY - oh, he means the science of rock fractures, of course....not the "other" cleavage found in the grid-spanner above....

27. Physiologist who won a 1904 Nobel Prize : IVAN PAVLOV - Some interesting stuff I did NOT know about his work; more to be found here; all I know is, mention pictures of semi-naked ladies, and I start to drool....

Onward, Ornery Orthorunicans~!

ACROSS:

1. Basketball center, at times : PIVOT MAN - so not interested in basketball; TIP OFF GUY did not fit

9. Navigates : STEERS

15. How beef tips may be served : OVER RICE

16. Touchdown locale : TARMAC - got it first time; no football confusion for me

17. Not brush off : LISTEN TO

18. More work : UTOPIA - ah, the author Sir Thomas More - I put in HARDER; hey, it means "more" work, right?

19. "You betcha!" : YEP - not YES

20. Deposit site : VEIN - not MINE or BANK

21. Give it up : DESIST - not ACCEDE

22. 32-Down, e.g. : PDA - Personal Data Assistant; 32D. Organizer introduced in 1996 : PALM PILOT - smart phone precursor - image

23. Journalist Kupcinet : IRV

24. Mus. direction often followed by "a tempo" : RIT

25. Bother : AIL

27. Santa Ana neighbor : IRVINE - map

30. 9, in many cases: Abbr. : SEPtember, like the month we're in

33. Type of trombone : ALTO - huh, not JZB'S~?!?!?

34. Mel Blanc, e.g. : VOICER

38. North Sea sight : OIL RIG

39. Times, in poems : E'ENS

40. It was dropped in the '60s : LSD - "Acid"; none for me, thanks - look what it did to Syd Barrett

41. Jazz pianist Lewis : RAMSEY

42. Electrical sound : ZAP - eh, not HUM

43. Kitchen meas. : TSP - teaspoon

44. German article : DAS - not DER

46. Member of the fam : SIB - Take your pic; BRO, SIS, MOM, POP, "unc"....

49. Protect : SHIELD - nailed it

53. Busy home : HIVE - Busy as a bee ~!!!

54. Completely : ALL

55. Border guard? : COLLIE - didn't fool me here, either

56. Volunteer : ENLISTEE

58. Roused : AWOKEN

59. Some English students : ETONIANS - dah~!! I kept thinking this was about foreign folk who are learning a language here in the US of A....nope - English students that might attend Eton college - like James Bond ~! See this in crosswords all the time, but I have never actually seen the 'campus', so to speak

60. Makeup of a sort : RE-TEST - Did you ever party so hard you missed an exam, and had to take the "makeup"~???

61. 1967 Nancy Sinatra hit : LOVE EYES - totally did me in - before my time, but I am sure we have plenty of people who will link to this. All I could get was LOVE - - ES

DOWN:

1. Medusa relative : POLYP - learning moment for me - the WIki

2. __ halls: academic symbol : IVIED - hence the "Ivy League" schools; here's a list Hey - I went to Cornell; got drunk there on a road trip....

3. Piaggio transport : VESPA - I thought this was an Italian town; check this model out ~!!!

4. Scrap : ORT

5. Historic Umbria town : TREVI - tourism info

7. What's going on : ACTIVITY - great clue/ans

8. Chemical discovery of 1898 : NEON - didn't think it was IRON; that's been around since, well, the Iron Age....

9. Wall support : STUD - Here's a stud with a stud (C.C.: Hello, is that you?)

10. Westminster gallery : TATE

11. Son of Aphrodite : EROS

12. Not theoretical : EMPIRICAL

13. Movie snack : RAISINETS - I don't like to eat in the theater, and I don't much care for people who chew like cows around me, too....

14. Disorganized : SCATTERED

26. Ruy __: chess opening : LOPEZ - here it is....did you get all that? OK, try #2

28. Bean and others : ROYS - this guy

29. Energy : VIM

30. It's usually a two-seater : SPORTS CAR - my new favorite



31. 2004 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee : ELIAS HOWE - Got it with very few perps - always good to see full names in grids

33. Nichols title hero of the '20s : ABIE

36. Sentence units: Abbr. : YRs - Prison sentence, that is

37. Provide a segue for : LEAD INTO

45. Marne outlet : SEINE

46. Thai appetizer : SATAY - looks good~!!!



47. Actress Graff : ILENE

48. Sanctify : BLESS

50. Paul's "The Prize" co-star : ELKE

51. More than stretches : LIES

52. Bit of progress : DENT - at 52 Down, I have made a pretty big dent in the blog

53. Scoundrel : HEEL

57. "__ liebt dich": German version of a Beatles hit : SIE - I don't know German, so this got me - but I recognize it now ~!!!

Answer grid.

Splynter

Friday, September 7, 2012, Kurt Mueller

Theme: Y me? Happy September, and I hope you all enjoyed last month's Blue Moon, which I forgot to mention, which segues into our 4th offering from Mr. Mueller, who also has 5 NY Times publications, including 2 Sundays. I had difficulty with this because it was (a) not easy; (b) the 5 theme answers each have a "Y" inserted in a common two word phrase to create a new and rib tickling phrase, clued to amuse. My problem is the first two have the Y replace an "E" while the last three just add the Y at the end of the first word. To add to the difficulty of constructing, all five theme answers have food related roots. The puzzle itself is a nice blend of mid-range 6, 7 and 8 letter words with lots of new stuff, but a great many very challenging intersections- no Naticks, but maybe a Framingham or two.

17A. Inferior swim? : CHEESY (E) DIP. (9) Cheese dip emerges from the pool.

26A. Impertinent camera movement? : SAUCY (E) PAN. (8). When a camera moves about to show a scene, it called panning, and this group certainly knows what saucy means.

35A. Burly Green Bay gridder? : MEATY PACKER. (11) We all know the team from Wisconsin and these days even the little guys are burly.

52A. Canine telling bad jokes? : CORNY DOG.(8) I might have tried something more with the dog part of the clue, considering all the other words in here subject to double meanings.

62A. Suspicious wartime sight? : FISHY TANK.(9) What image do you get?

Across:

1. Musician Ocasek et al. : RICS. Not to sound like marti, but who are the other ones? Here is a CUT (3:43) from his debut album after he left the Cars. You might want to hang on to some of it guys.

5. See 15-Across : JUST. with 15A. With 5-Across, barely : ONLY. I only just got this.

9. Cavaradossi's love : TOSCA. I did not know this, and the crossing with Henry Moore was tough, but the TO___ was enough for to make an educated guess. An excuse to LINK (3:00) some Placido.

14. When some deadlocks are resolved, briefly : IN OT, Over Time. I first read this as DREADLOCKS, too much SKA.

16. Racing venue near Windsor Castle : ASCOT. We had this track recently in a Bruce S./Doug P. collaboration.

19. Quick trip : JAUNT.

20. Ran out of patience : HAD IT. I've had with all the sniping in the world.

21. Column affording views : OP- ED. Last time I had this fill we started another dispute over the meaning so I am out of it.

23. Shirt size: Abbr. : LGE.

24. Novelist Glyn : ELINOR. Another unknown AUTHOR.

29. Shoved off : SET SAIL. Nice new fill.

31. Cried : SHOUTED. Hmm, okay another one.

32. Half a tuba sound : OOM. PAH!

34. Oafs : CLODS. We could be back playing in the dirt with C.C. and Hard G.

40. Split : APART. TomKat. You all enjoy the new Cruise scandal with the pretty Iranian girl? She was Barney's girlfriend on How I Met Your Mother.

42. Calypso cousin : SKA. Again?

43. Shackle : LEG IRON. More nice fill.

46. Kind of offer that saves time : ALL CASH. And money, usually.

54. Over : FINITO. A common foreign word, used in the language, like Ciao!

55. "He's mine, ___ am his": "Coriolanus" : OR I. Act I, Scene 10. Obscure Shakespeare, but still...

• Tullus Aufidius. Condition!
  I would I were a Roman; for I cannot,
  Being a Volsce, be that I am. Condition!
  What good condition can a treaty find
  I' the part that is at mercy? Five times, CORIOLANUS, 885
  I have fought with thee: so often hast thou beat me,
  And wouldst do so, I think, should we encounter
  As often as we eat. By the elements,
  If e'er again I meet him beard to beard,
  He's mine, or I am his: mine emulation
  Hath not that honour in't it had; for where
  I thought to crush him in an equal force,
  True sword to sword, I'll potch at him some way
  Or wrath or craft may get him.

56. "Get __": 1967 Esquires hit : ON UP. This SONG (2:30) which you will recognize, was recorded by many others who were more famous.

58. GPS precursor : LORAN. LOng RAnge Navigation is how ships long use triangulation to plot courses.

59. Critical : VITAL.

64. Wonderland cake words : EAT ME. You all are on your own here, as my thoughts cannot be captured, this puzzle begs for a Lois recap.

65. Urgent letters : ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

66. Behold, to Caesar : ECCE. back to haunt me from last week, the ECCO is part of the conjugation of the verb.

67. "Golf Begins at Forty" author : SNEAD. Slammin' Sammy, one of the 3 greats born in 1912.

68. Asian holidays : TETS. I do not want to be offensive, but I am sure we all have bad memories of this.

69. Starting point : SEED. Oh I do miss Lois and her comments; Dennis any comment from you?

Down:

1. Megabucks : RICHES. Like these? LINK.(1:55).

2. Sniff : INHALE. Tricky.

3. Make the cut together? : CO-EDIT. Another very difficult clue to suss.

4. Oktoberfest souvenirs : STEINS. The Friday beer reference.

5. Dawn rival : JOY. Not Tony Orlando, not dusk, not even Palmolive.

6. Menu choice : UNDO. I hit that key often when I write here.

7. Receipts, e.g. : SLIPS. I had a tough time with this as well.

8. High-strung sorts : TYPE A'S. I know no apostrophe goes there but you have to get away from reading it "AS."

9. New Jersey casino, with "The" : TAJ. Mahal.

10. Mama bear, in Madrid : OSA. We have this Spanish word often.

11. Henry Moore, e.g. : SCULPTOR. The only Henry Moore I knew was tailor in Hartford, but I guess it is my LOSS,. very abstractly sexual.

12. Joined a line, in a way : CONGAED. Is this a real verb? I know you dance in a CONGA (2:17) line, so I guess....

13. Shows up : ATTENDS.

18. Old congregating locale : STOA. The Greek built these for public gatherings.

22. "Like, no kidding!" : DUH.

25. Scream : RIOT. Similar to a Panic.

27. Prepare to fire : COCK. To pull back the hammer...

28. Noel : YULE.

30. Powell's "The Thin Man" co-star : LOY. Myrna as Nora CHARLES,(2:50).

33. Gitmo guards : MPS. Military Police (S?)

35. Belgian surrealist : MAGRITTE. Also very SEXUAL but not so abstract.

36. Yeats's home : ERIN. Considering all the sex and innuendo in this puzzle, I have to add, Go Braghless.

37. "It's worth ___" : A TRY.

38. Rap sheet letters : AKA. Also Known As.

39. New gnu : CALF. Who knew?

40. Breakfast places : ALCOVES. Not related to AL GORES.

41. Average American, it's said : PEORIAN. When I was a kid, they said the standard for airing a television show was, "would it play in Peoria" so this was a gimme for me.

44. "Star Trek: DSN" character : ODO. he is the shape shifting head of security on Deep Space Nine, played by René Auberjonois, a character actor from many series.

45. Milk for losers : NON-FAT. Loser of weight, nothing un-pc.

47. ___ pad : LILY. Nickname of Marshall's wife on How I Met Your Mother. (See it really all ties together).

48. Grand decade : C-NOTES. It takes ten $100 bills to make a Grand, very hard.

49. Top gun : AIR ACE. We have had ace many times. More Tom Cruise?

50. Batting coach's subject : STANCE. Feet shoulder width, weight slightly on your back foot...

51. Tooted : HONKED. No bathroom humor hear.

53. Semblance : GUISE. The root word for disguise.

57. H.S. exam : PSAT. You know this one.

60. Dr.'s order? : AMA. American Medical Association.

61. Set the pace : LED. Wow, finally an easy one!

63. Some PCs : HPS. Hewlett Packards.

Answer grid.

This was quite a work out with a little of everything, by far my most time consuming solve and write up in a while, but you know what? We made it to the end, and we overcame- or was that a different puzzle? Kurt Mueller, hmm KM, killing me....until next time....มีวันหยุดที่ดี. Ha en flott helg.

lemonade

Thursday, September 6, 2012 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: Lost in translation....

20 Across. Prickly undergrowth : THORN BUSH

24 Across. Prop for a safety briefing : SEAT BELT

52 Across. It's often a tough cut : STEW MEAT

60 Across. Verbally overwhelm : SHOUT DOWN

And the unifier:

40 Across. They lead you astray...and what the starts of 20-, 24-, 52- and 60-Across are? : WRONG DIRECTIONS. Aaah, our master of mis-direction and anagrams has done it again! Each of the first words of the theme entries is an anagram of the cardinal compass points: NORTH (thorn), EAST (seat), WEST (stew) and SOUTH (shout). Brilliant theme, and well-executed. Jerome had me guessing all through this one!! (I hope you will summon the strength to join us today, Jerome!)

Marti here, so it must be getting close to the weekend again? I am already in party mode, so let's get cracking on this beaut...

Across:

1. Cask stopper : BUNG. My favorite cask stopper, but better when removed from the keg! and 26A. Brewer's vessel : VAT...I am beginning to sense a mini-theme here?!

5. Conquest for Caesar : GAUL. Who wanted "vici"?

9. Serbs, e.g. : SLAVS

14. School that expelled James Bond : ETON. For making martinis shaken, not stirred?

15. Gustav Mahler's wife : ALMA. Not his mater?

16. Hilarious person : PANIC. A real knee-slapper! Unusual clue for a typically frightened reaction, but decidedly more fun!

17. Grandmotherly nickname : NANA. I called my grandmother "Mémé".

18. Protective trench : MOAT

19. Miguel's gal : AMIGA. Spanish for "girlfriend".

22. Pine secretion : RESIN

23. More than te-hee, online : LOL. Laugh Out Loud!

29. Implore : BEG. I beg you to stay with me on this...

31. Wheels : CAR

32. Mideast language : FARSI

34. Finish a gymnastics routine, perhaps : LAND. My flying instructor threw cold water on my elation at taking off in a Cessna for the first time...he said, "Yes, taking off is easy. It's the landing that's hard!"

37. Toward the stern : AFT

44. Brian of Roxy Music : ENO. Musical interlude. 4:07 (If you can stand it...)

45. "Yeah, sure" : I BET

46. Surpass : ONE UP

47. Washed-out : WAN

49. Bob Marley genre : SKA. OK, this is more my style! 2:45 (Caution: ear worm!!)

51. Place in considerable disarray : STY. Funny cartoon.

57. Fighting Tigers' sch. : LSU. Louisiana State University. I hope hurricane Isaac was kind to them.

59. Ness and others : LOCHS. Is there a monster lurking in there?

65. Dim : UNLIT

66. Small pie : TART

67. Time for action : D-DAY

69. Mother of Don Juan : INEZ

70. Kerry's home : EIRE. I thought he had a home on Beacon Hill??

71. Much of the RMS Queen Mary, now : HOTEL. Interesting You-Tube video and musical accompaniment of the conversion. 5:34. The composition accompanying the video is by Henry Purcell (1695), and is a march from the "Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary".

72. Bank (on) : RELY

73. "Seasons of Love" musical : RENT. Great song! 2:58

Down:

1. Not in good shape? : BENT. Great clue!

2. Natural Bridges locale : UTAH and 68-Across: 2-Down, for one : STATE

3. Second helping, to a dieter : NO-NO. Anyone else think of "Nanette"?

4. Twist : GNARL

5. Long shot, say : GAMBLE. Hey, if I lost my shirt at Saratoga, it wasn't on a long shot!!

6. Baseball's Moises : ALOU. Can I tell you, that this name has finally sunk in, and I actually remembered it?

7. It has a campus near the JFK Library : U-MASS. Gimme!!

8. Turning tool : LATHE

9. Ancient Athens rival : SPARTA. Filled it in, without a second thought.

10. Nitwit : LAME BRAIN. Fun fill, Jerome!

11. Ouzo flavoring : ANISE. Oh my - I just used this same clue in a puzzle I was constructing today. (Note to self: "Find different clue for 'anise'...")

12. Watch : VIGIL

13. Barely sufficient : SCANT. Like this?

21. Slangy "Don't worry about it" : NO BIG (deal)

25. "High Voltage" rockers : AC-DC. Another fav musical interlude! 4:15 (What can I say? I have eclectic tastes in music...) Speaking of music, which Verdi opera did you watch last night, Misty? Aida? La Traviata? Rigoletto?...

26. Ex-GIs' org. : VFW. Veterans of Foreign Wars

27. Bern's river : AARE

28. 1982 sci-fi film : TRON

30. Superficially fluent : GLIB

33. Grumpy friend? : SNOW WHITE. Also, Doc, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful or Dopey.

35. Exist : ARE

36. Mosquito protection : NETS. Nah, I still say my handy-dandy fly swatter does the trick better!

38. Unfriendly types : FOES

39. Fastener named for its shape : T-NUT

41. Have supper : DINE

42. Wedding reception highlight : TOAST

43. Catch sight of : SPY

48. Heineken brand : AMSTEL

50. All thumbs : KLUTZY. Great fill!

52. Winter puddle cause : SLUSH. All too soon, here in the Northeast...

53. Scout master? : TONTO. Old-timey clue. Remember Tonto's horse, "Scout"?

54. Elaborate display : ÉCLAT. Direct from the French "éclat", meaning "radiance" or "brilliance".

55. Up and at 'em : ASTIR

56. Scottish feudal lord : THANE. "The thane of fife had a wife..." (Name that play!)

58. Milker's handful : UDDER. Oh, I could go "udder-ly" DF here...but, it is all done by machines now.

61. Hurler Hershiser : OREL. More baseball. He was a 1988 Dodger's pitcher who went 59 consecutive innings without giving up a single run. Impressive!

62. Large-tongued comics dog : ODIE

63. Wave a red flag at : WARN

64. Nikita's no : NYET. Am I done nyet?

Answer grid.

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, September 5, 2012, Mel Rosen

theme: GET OVER IT!

17A. *(OVER)Saw : SUPERVISED

22A. *(OVER)Head : TENNIS SHOT

36A. *(OVER)Come : DEFEAT ADVERSITY

46A. *(OVER)Board : INTO THE SEA

56A. *(OVER)Do : EXAGGERATE

61A. Prefix missing from the starred clues : OVER

aside from the theme, which i needed the unifier to get, this was one of the fastest wednesday solves in a long time.

melissa here.

across:

1. Home to the Ibsen Museum : OSLO. didn't know this. any of our world travelers ever visited?

5. Online auction payment, say : E-CASH

10. Animation : LIFE

14. Part of a Clue guess : ROOM. the mystery board game clue. professor plum, in the conservatory, with a wrench.

15. Salsa holder : NACHO

16. Political pal : ALLY.

19. 1997 Peter Fonda role : ULEE. ulee's gold.

20. Like some stadiums : OPEN AIR. at&t park in san francisco is one, home of the giants.

21. Drove (on) : EGGED

26. Like prison windows : BARRED

30. Doesn't mention : OMITS

31. Toe the line : OBEY

32. Peach pit : STONE

33. Close, as a windbreaker : ZIP. or a mouth.

40. Glamour VIPs : ED'S. magazine editors.

41. Denmark's __ Islands : FAROE. part of denmark, in the north atlantic. beautiful.

42. Suffix with tip or trick : STER

43. Erin of "Happy Days" : MORAN. joanie cunningham, with the scarf.

44. Mathematician Pascal : BLAISE

49. Decree : EDICT

50. Tummy soother : ANTACID

55. One in a four-part harmony : ALTO

59. Gubernatorial turndown : VETO

60. Cassette half : SIDE A.

62. Composer Satie : ERIK

63. __ once in a while : EVERY

64. Like Broadway's Yankees : DAMN

down:

1. Inexact words : OR SO

2. Gazpacho, e.g. : SOUP

3. Easy run : LOPE. at my age, there are no easy runs anymore.

4. Hint of things to come : OMEN, and 26. Hint of things to come : BODE

5. Begrudged : ENVIED. never really thought of these as synonymous before.

6. Meaningful pile of stones : CAIRN. i have these all over my deck.

7. Bldg. coolers : AC'S. air conditioners.

8. "Steady as __ goes" : SHE

9. Mason's tray : HOD. so obscure, i had no idea. a hod is a container for carrying - so a mason's (or brick) hod is a three sided box to carry bricks:

and this is a garden hod.

10. Comic's rewards : LAUGHS. anyone listen to comedian marc maron's interview podcast?

11. "Any volunteers?" reply : I'LL GO

12. Sails force? : FLEET. cute.

13. Scrutinized : EYED

18. Award two stars to, say : RATE

21. Glyceride, for one : ESTER. dr. dad, are you out there?

23. Improper : NOT DONE

24. Start of a parliamentary proposal : I MOVE

25. Math ratio : SINE

27. Not yet stirring : ABED. not necessarily.

28. Game callers : REFS. referees.

29. Caraway-seeded bread, often : RYE

32. Comic Silverman : SARAH

33. Tubular pasta : ZITI

34. Urban addition : ITES

35. Ceremonial pile : PYRE

37. In progress, to Sherlock : AFOOT

38. Causing puckers : TART

39. Fed. benefits agency : SSA. social security administration.

43. N. Zealand's highest peak : MT. COOK. named after british explorer captain james cook. wow.

44. "Deep penetrating pain relief" brand : BENGAY

45. Subject to a penalty fee, maybe : LATE

46. Thumb twiddler : IDLER

47. Capone henchman : NITTI. frank. new to me.

48. More wise : SAGER. i guess.

49. Roof overhang : EAVE

51. 2007 A.L. MVP : A-ROD

52. Vena __ : CAVA. superior and inferior, veins in the heart.

53. Gossip column couple : ITEM

54. "Coming Home" actor : DERN. bruce.

56. Language suffix : ESE. i.e., chinese.

57. Letters for Louis Quatorze : XIV. quatorze is french for fourteen.

58. Lemony quencher : ADE

Answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Psst, got a second - The first word in four common phrases can be the second word, behind the word 'SECOND', in four new common phrases.

20A. Socioeconomic tension : CLASS STRUGGLE. Second class.

27A. Skinny guy's nickname : STRINGBEAN. Second string(B squad).

38A. Wages sans overtime : BASE PAY. Second base.

47A. Informational stroll through the forest : NATURE WALK. Second nature.

55A. "Same here," and what might be said about the start of 20-, 27-, 38- or 47-Across : "I'LL SECOND THAT"

Argyle here. I found this to be a smooth conglomeration with a couple of minor themes. As with yesterday, decent fill.

Across:

1. Banned chem. contaminant : PCB and 43D. Contaminate : POLLUTE

4. Confess : OWN UP

9. Pie-in-the-face sound : SPLAT

14. __ Na Na : SHA. Retro rock group.

15. "One of __ days ..." : THESE. "BANG, ZOOM! Straight to the moon!"

16. Break down over time : ERODE

17. '60s-'80s Bosox star : YAZ. Carl Yastrzemski.

18. Talk big : BOAST

19. Cattle breed named for an English county : DEVON

23. Get well : HEAL

24. Dawdler who prefers to remain horizontal : LIE-ABED

32. Modern recording device : TIVO

33. Take exception : DEMUR

34. Toast starter : "HERE'S ..." and 22D. Martini liquor : GIN

35. Spot for a peel : SPA. Clever clue.

41. Grammy-winning Dr. : DRE and 47D. "Stillmatic" rapper : NAS

42. Big name in trading cards : TOPPS

44. YouTube shorts : CLIPS

46. Dalmatian's dinner, perhaps : ALPO

52. Auto racing safety device : ROLLBAR

54. Pulitzer-winning author James : AGEE

60. Stimulate : PIQUE. Great word.

62. Bonkers : NUTS-O

63. Colony member : ANT

64. Like intense pain : ACUTE

65. Change one's pants? : ALTER

66. Cardinals' home: Abbr. : STL(St. Louis) and 67A. Young cardinal's call : CHEEP and 28D. Cardinals' beaks : NEBS

68. Warehouse supply : STOCK

69. Digit with a ring, maybe : TOE

Down:

1. Intimidates, with "out" : PSYCHS

2. Swiss Alps abode : CHALET

3. Mideast market : BAZAAR

4. Wagering venues, briefly : OTBs. (Off-Track Betting)

5. "__ Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" : WHO'S. Broadway play that was made into a movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

6. Uncluttered : NEAT

7. Pre-1991 atlas abbr. : USSR

8. "Downtown" singer Clark : PETULA

9. Swamp plant : SEDGE

10. Church dignitary : PRELATE. On their way to being a Cardinal?

11. One of an amorous pair : LOVEBIRD. We certainly have our lovebirds here on the blog.

12. Big fuss : ADO

13. Decimal base : TEN

21. Tried to avoid a tag : SLID

25. Always : EVER

26. Two capsules, say : DOSE

29. Show for early risers, briefly : GMA. (Good Morning America)

30. Urban transport : BUS

31. Build : ERECT

34. Overblown publicity : HYPE

35. Symbol on Texas's flag : STAR. The Lone Star State.

36. Golfer's shirt : POLO

37. Sewn-on ornamentation : APPLIQUE

39. Not sing. : PLU. (singular/plural)

40. Hair dryer? : AIR. Clothes dryer, too.

45. Do in, as a fly : SWAT

48. Big game venues : ARENAs

49. Horrified : AGHAST. Great word.

50. Simple shelter : LEAN-TO

51. Stovetop pot : KETTLE. Did you have kettle corn at your local fair?

53. Censor's sound : BLEEP

56. Religious sect : CULT

57. Film director Preminger : OTTO

58. Fraction of a min. : NSEC. Nanosecond (ns or nsec)

59. Geeky sort : DORK

60. NCAA's __-12 conference : PAC. (Pacific-12)

61. "__ bin ein Berliner" : ICH

Answer grid.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Last time when we had Gail & Bruce's "Dog Days of Summer", I said this:

"Here is my guess at how the puzzle was created:

1) Gail came up with the theme idea (Her name came up first in the byline);

2) Bruce liked it, then they brainstormed for the full set of the theme answers;

3) Bruce did the grid design;

4) They each filled in half the grid;

5) Gail clued the whole grid, since Bruce is not fond of cluing."

Gail and Bruce later told me that I was right except except #4. Bruce filled in the whole grid. I imagine they followed the same procedure on this puzzle.

Gail & Bruce are also regular contributors to the CrosSynergy & Newsday. Gail is noted for her smooth grids & Bruce for his masterful gridding skill. Just look at the theme intersection in this grid. No cheater squares again today. Bruce makes all his black squares count.