Saturday, Nov 22nd, 2014, Brad Wilber

Theme: BW

Words: 70 (missing Q,W,X)

Blocks: 27

 Mr. Wilber's prolific solo Saturday work is starting to rival that of Mr. Silk~!  We last had a visit from Brad in September.  Lots of vagueness on the first pass, but the Downs gave me a lot of letters to work with, and I ended up smoking through the puzzle in about half time.  Not an intimidating grid at all, yet a block count that is only one more than last week's.  How deceiving - and just four 9-letter fills comprised the whole of the 'long' answers;

25a. Highly visible septet : BIG DIPPER - The Big Dipper consists of these seven stars, yet part of the larger constellation Ursa Major

45a. Gig at the brig : GUARD DUTY - I was thinking Jailhouse Rock

10d. Five-time A.L. home run champ : RODRIGUEZ - oh, him

31d. Baryshnikov move : GRAND JETÉ - Hello~!  I couldn't link a male in the pose, it looked too painful; yet this past Wednesday I played hockey, and the other goalie asked how I could get so low - I must be almost as flexible....my buddy Bob sent me this pic from a few years ago

OИMVЯD~!

ACROSS:

1. Jeweler's concerns : SETTINGS

9. Coke product : FRESCA - Coca-cola, that is

15. Passed : OVERTOOK - the kind of passing drivers of cars do; see 7d.

16. "Top Hat" dancer : ROGERS - Ginger - because ASTAIRE did not fit ( the only other dancer I know of that regularly appears in crosswords )

17. How Dickens' novels were first published : SERIALLY - I had S---IALLY, and I thought, SOCIALLY~? Naw, they didn't have Facebook back then....

18. Is wild about : ADORES

19. Backwash creator : OAR - I went with "EBB", but it fit better at 48a.

20. Montreal Canadiens' all-time leading point scorer : LaFLEUR - Guy; I went with Maurice "Rocket" RICHARD first; he scored 50 goals in 50 games in the '44-45 season, but LaFleur scored 50 goals a season for 6 straight seasons decades later

22. Toon shopkeeper : APU - The Simpsons

23. Signals one's presence, in a way : RAPS

27. Year in Clement VIII's papacy : MDCI - well, just had to wait on perps, but after the "M" and "I" appeared, I tried the other Roman numerals ( C, D, X, V ) that would work with the "down" answer

28. Piquancy : TANG

29. Silly sorts : GEESE - "Silly Goose~!"

30. Jump back into the fray : RE-ENGAGE

32. Clingy husk : BUR - seems short a letter....

33. Paper fatteners : INSERTS - ah, Newspaper; I did not get this until I came to do the write-up; our Sunday paper is about to gain some weight with the holiday season upon us

34. Flips : GOES APE

38. Hot air ballooning watchdog: Abbr. : FAA - we have a drone problem developing over here; they're interfering with JFK airspace

39. Almond confection : MARZIPAN

40. About 1% of the Earth's atmosphere : ARGON - I did not go with RADON; just linked this two weeks ago

43. Engine once known as Live Search : BING - WAG

44. Abbey section : APSE - APSE~?  NAVE~? wait on perps

47. Your alternative, at times : ONE'S - seen often in crossword clues

48. Taper off : EBB - ah - that's where it goes....

49. 1974 top ten hit for Carole King : JAZZ MAN - Link away~!

51. Kenyan export : TEA - had the "A", WAGed the "T-E-"

53. Green Giant morsel : NIBLET - toyed with CARROT first

55. Dietary practice : VEGANISM - it may be a practice, but I'm not in the game; I had this for dinner here at A Lure last night

57. Efface : DELETE

58. Sea along the Balkan peninsula : ADRIATIC - with the first "A", and "C" in place, this dawned on me

59. Letter closing : AS EVER

60. Buoys up : HEARTENS

DOWN:

1. Underwhelming : SO-SO

2. She played Principal McGee in "Grease" : EVE ARDEN

3. View providers : TERRACES

4. Prefix with athlete : TRI - TRIathlete

5. Right-leaning type?: Abbr. : ITALicS - see above

6. Bourbon Street city, informally : NOLA - New Orleans, LousianA

7. Drivers can be seen in them : GOLF BAGS - nailed it; did not confuse the 'club' with the 'car controller'

8. Broad view : SKYLINE

9. Mountebank : FRAUD - filled via perps; did not have any clue (except to consider the Alp, Mont Blanc ); a swindler

11. A BMOC may have a big one : EGO - speaking of EGOs, see above

12. Colorful cover-up : SERAPE - total WAG, total win~!

13. Brunch order : CREPES - anyone try OMELET~?

14. Guarantee : ASSURE

21. Whisking target : EGG - and, uh, see above

24. Miss badly : PINE FOR - I went with LONG at first; I am holding out hope for my blue-eyed girl still

26. Blofeld's cat, in Bond films : PERSIAN - I think Mr. Bigglesworth was a great way to satire the whole thing

27. Picture of health? : MRI - we've seen this before; the "?" denotes the slight mis-direction

28. "I'm off!" : "TA-TA~!"

32. Wimbledon five-peater : BORG - Bjorn

34. Largest moon of Jupiter : GANYMEDE - I love watching shows on the probes we've sent out to explore the solar system; this one took 6 years to get there, but had some great moments

35. Fondness : APPETITE - for Destruction?  Great album cover, which was, of course, banned

36. Submits, as an exam paper : PASSES IN - HANDS IN was not enough; but then again, I remember we used to "pass in" exams by handing them to the person at the desk in front of us

37. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : ENE - I threw in NNE

39. Bar __ : MITZVAH - this should have come easier than it did

40. Handout from a chair : AGENDA - I knew what direction this was pointing, but I spent Tuesday helping my buddy Adam move, and he has a 13 month-old son, so there was this image of baby food flying....

41. 40th anniversary symbols : RUBIES - an educated WAG after the "R" showed; I knew it was not Diamond, but a little further on than, say, "wood"; here's the list

42. Unintelligible talk : GABBLE - I had GARBLE in place; EBB fixed that

43. Sawyer of old comics : BUZ - the other "missing a letter" answer

46. "Antiques Roadshow" expert : DATER - carbon dater?  Now that's an antique~!

47. Booth warning sign : ON AIR

50. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire : AGRA - seems sensible, now that I look at it

52. Pacers and Ramblers : AMCs - nailed it - but then again, I owned a Concord Sportabout

54. Bk. of the Torah : LEV

56. Baseball's Ryan Zimmerman or Jordan Zimmermann, briefly : NAT - I defer to our  baseball-starved but fearless leader, C.C. on these answers (From C.C.: Here is a good old article about them. The former is a little (2 millions?) behind Derek Jeter in this 2013 list.

There's always room for dessert~!

Splynter

Friday, November 21, 2014, Mark Feldman

Theme: I am on the woof, maa, don't get hissterical.

Sounds like time to have some fun with Mark F. In the language phrases are reimagined with the first word of the phrase replaced with a sound-a-like animal sound clued using the animal. Mark seems obsessed with animal sounds if you recall his AUGUST puzzle blogged by marti. I last blogged his work on Black Friday last November. Five themers, including a gridspanner and a tricky use of sound make this a Friday effort. I was all in with BARK and BRAY, but the NEIGH/DAY slowed me down. 1,2 and 5 are pretty easy to suss, with a single letter change (ignoring the different spellings of GREY) with 3,4 requiring more imagination. The bird is the only non-mammal non-4 legged creature. Once you get the theme idea, the transition is quick. With some 8 letter fill in the theme, it is hard to include much long fill but CHEESIEST, IN ESSENCE , EAGLETS, LOCATOR, PANACHE, SPANISH are all nice. I left out BEGRIME, as to me it is a BE word like the A words, used in desperation. I do like that he does not rely on just the animal speaking, but uses a different set up for each sound. Well time to get to work.

17A. Where dogs chat? : BARK PLACE (9). Park Place emerges with a simple P to B switch. Is this Monopoly or just people in the park?

24A. Where donkeys make noise? : BRAY AREA (8). Grey Area also a simple.

37A. Where horses are treated for laryngitis? : NEIGH CARE CENTER (15).Day Care Center

45A. Where lions practice intimidation? : ROAR ZONE (8). War Zone. War is intimidating.

58A. Where birds sing? : TWEET SPOT (9). Sweet Spot. Golf?


Across:

1. One may be under a jacket : VEST. A literal beginning.

5. Drift on the breeze : WAFT. A fun word; her perfume wafted in the room and brought back all those memories.

9. Military group : BRASS.

14. Basically : IN ESSENCE.

16. Storyteller of a sort : YENTA. Really an old gossip, so the clue was tricky.

18. Sobriety symbol : WAGON. The derivation of 'on the wagon' meaning not drinking alcohol is unresolved. LINK.

19. Hosp. test : ECG. ElectroCardioGram. No need to renew the nit.

20. Pilot's stat. : ALTitude.

21. Manifest : PATENT. The answer was obvious.

22. Harsh : STERN. Howard Harsh has such good alliteration.

26. Fight a cold, say : AIL.

28. Ages and ages : EONS.

29. King of Naples in "The Tempest" : ALONSO. You remember the PLAY.

32. Fed. property overseer : GSA. General Services Administration.

33. Traveling, in a way : ASEA. An accepted A word.

40. Scrabble piece : TILE.

41. Singer DiFranco : ANI. We have not seen her in a while.

 

42. Alias : HANDLE. The CBers made this famous.

43. Small matter? : ATOM. I really like this cluing, and of course it reminds me of Sheldon and Dark Matter.

44. Freudian topic : EGO.

49. Not upfront : LYING.

53. Show : APPEAR.

54. Historic opening? : PRE. Prehistoric. Simple, classic crossword cluing.

56. Guernsey sound : MOO. A bonus animal sound.

57. Savage : FERAL. More animal related

61. Drivel : TRIPE. Didn't we discuss ways to say this...applesauce, codswallop (my favorite), folderol, rubbish, trash, trumpery, wish-wash. Right next to its cousin...

62. Most tacky : CHEESIEST. I think of cheesy as someone like Herb Tarlek.

63. Pace product : SALSA.

64. Coltrane collaborator : MONK. Thelonious. LISTEN (7:01) if you want.

65. Entreaty : PLEA.


Down:

1. Feelings : VIBES. A word from my youth.

2. Make official : ENACT.

3. Suit material : SERGE. Hard to see the fabric, but...

 4. "Shame on you!" : TSK. Only one?

5. Excellently : WELL.

6. Vet sch. course : ANATomy.

7. TV monitor : FCC. Federal Communications Commission. Perhaps most famous for the reaction to Janet Jackson 'wardrobe malfunction' at the Super Bowl.

8. Rectangular links area, usually : TEE. (Tee box). Golf area where you begin each hole, which are generally rectangular.

9. Minor roads : BYWAYS. As opposed to the highways....

10. Lasso : REATA.

11. Steam : ANGER. The cartoons always show steam coming out of the ears.

12. Curling slider : STONE. The sport of curling; this what you slide to score in frozen shuffleboard. An Olympic sport.

13. Legendary guy traditionally wearing black boots : SANTA. Hey Argyle.

15. What mayo might be : SPANISH. I did not realize they do not capitalize the month.

21. Grand style : PANACHE. Fun word.

23. Gamut : RANGE.

24. Make dirty : BEGRIME. Of course this is accurate but when have you ever used this in a sentence.

25. Wine choice : ROSE. Where is my accent?

27. Kind of map : LOCATOR.

29. Social worker? : ANT. Another nice Friday clue.

30. Island garland : LEI. Me wan we are getting LEI'd so many ways these days.

31. Cook's supply : OIL.

33. Pester : ANNOY.

34. Norm: Abbr. : STD. A standard abbreviation.

35. It might be electric : EEL.

36. "__ you happy now?" : ARE. Usually said after doing something your spouse wanted done, which you did not want to do.

38. Any day now : ANON. A fun Shakespearian favorite word.

39. Young raptors : EAGLETS.

43. Spring bloomer : AZALEA.47D. Spring time : APRIL.

45. Loads : RAFTS.

46. Renée Fleming's field : OPERA. Perhaps most famous for this performance.

48. Brings in : REAPS.

50. Drive forward : IMPEL. This took longer than it seems in retrospect.

51. Western omen : NOOSE. Not a good omen at that.

52. "__ go!" : GOTTA. Not yet,  a few more to unravel.

54. Rounded tool part : PEEN. I hope I do not have hammer home this clue/fill.

55. Smell : REEK. My image:

58. Old films channel : TCM. Turner Classic Movies, not to be confused with anagram TMC.

59. "The __ Sell Out": 1967 rock album : WHO.

60. Nurse : SIP. Tin when you are enjoying your neat Pinch, do you sip?

Time to move on out, and remind everyone who reads this blog how grateful I am for C.C. and the amazing work she has done to create this little Corner where people come to talk puzzle, and family and life. As Thanksgiving approaches I once again ask all who read and enjoy to take a moment to write in; lurkers, regulars, now and thenners, MIAs each and everyone of you. Take time on Sunday or sometime this upcoming week to check in and say hello. We would not be here without C.C., and we would not still be here without you all.

Thanks Mark.

Lemonade out

Note from C.C.:

Our own Steve Marron is today's author (setter) of Guardian's Daily Quiz. Please click here to solve. Congratulations, Steve!

Thursday, November 20, 2014 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Little Rascals"

17. Office evaluations : JOB RATINGS.

23. Posh Riviera residence : SEASIDE VILLA.

46. "That's my general impression" : I'M PRETTY SURE.

58. Summer venue where kids can clown around? : CIRCUS CAMP.

And the reveal, sitting smack in the middle of the grid:
37. Mischievous ones hiding in plain sight in 17-, 23-, 46- and 58-Across : TROUBLEMAKERS.
BRAT, DEVIL, IMP and SCAMP all span more than one word.

My Thursday friend JW is back. 78 words and 42 blocks is a lot for an end-of-week puzzle, but theme entries of 10, 12, 13, 12, 10 make it tough to create a simple grid design. This one includes long 9- and 10-letter down entries to add to the mix. None of those down entries came immediately to mind, so this seemed tougher than a typical Thursday for me.

Across

1. 122-square-mile republic : MALTA. Oh good grief, who has memorized the acreage of every republic?  Tough start.

6. Three or four, say : A FEW.

10. Incise with acid : ETCH.

14. Voiced : ALOUD. Not "spoke."

15. Racing sled : LUGE.

16. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI. Gimme. "Thus do all (women)."

19. Industrialist who's had his ups and downs? : OTIS. HaHa - the elevator inventor.

20. Plenty : A TON.

21. Syncopated work : RAG.

22. Fla. neighbor : ALA.bama

29. Peaceful harmony : AMITY.

31. "Bravo!" relative : OLE.

32. Tied (to) : WED.

33. Riga native : LETT. If they are from Latvia, why aren't they called "Lats"?

34. Bamboozle : FOOL.

36. Damage, so to speak : COST. When you ask your mechanic, "What are the damages?" be prepared for even more - to your wallet.

40. Acute : KEEN.

41. Troubadour's offerings : AIRS.

42. Sinus docs : ENTs. Not to be confused with Tolkien tree folk.

43. Western treaty gp. : OAS. Organization of American States. Originally just the US and South American states, it later included Canada and the nations of the Caribbean.

44. One in a sports page column : WIN. I don't get it. "One" as in the #1 team? Or just a win that gets written up? [Update: The "columns" would be WINs-Losses-Ties.  Thanks for enlightening me, TTP!]

45. Art print, briefly : LITHO. I toyed with "repro" at first, but that wasn't going to work very well.

50. Wear (through) : EAT. Such a small word, but it gave me lots of trouble.

51. Huffington Post parent co. : AOL.

52. Whiskey choices : RYES.

56. "Sea Change" musician : BECK. "Lost Cause" is one of the best songs on the album, IMO.

61. Seize : TAKE.

62. Pen sound : OINK.

63. Part of a TV signal : AUDIO.

64. Milquetoast : WUSS.

65. Pine for : MISS.

66. False __ : START.


Down

1. Subject of clothed and nude Goya portraits : MAJA. We have had her...

2. Frequently : ALOT.

3. Gray wolf : LOBO.

4. Becomes even more charming, say : TURNS IT ON. This is one of the long down answers that wasn't at the tip of my tongue.

5. Org. promoting water fluoridization : ADA. American Dental Association.

6. Police profile datum : ALIAS.

7. Spore producers : FUNGI.

8. Custard component : EGG.

9. Broncos wide receiver Welker : WES. Formerly of the New England Patriots...who are doing just fine without him, thank you very much!

10. USDA inspector's concern : E COLI.

11. Gross figure : TOTAL WORTH. TOTAL (sales?), (costs?), (value?)...

12. CBS series set in a lab : CSI. Crime Scene Investigation.

13. Presley's "(Marie's the Name) __ Latest Flame" : HIS.

18. Serving aid : TRAY.

22. Street sign abbr. : AVE.

24. Words to a traitor : ET TU. Another one of those little entries that gave me fits.

25. Seals the fate of : DOOMS.

26. First name in jazz : ELLA.

27. On a smaller scale : LESS SO.

28. Home security letters : ADT. American District Telegraph.  I have Discount Alarm, and pay half the price of ADT.

29. Orioles, e.g., briefly : AL TEAM.

30. Buildings from a plane, metaphorically : MERE SPECKS. Another long down answer that wasn't on the tip of my tongue.

34. City northwest of Detroit : FLINT.

35. "A hot temper leaps __ a cold decree": Shakespeare : O'ER.

36. Butcher's offering : CENTER CUT. Not my first thought.

38. Worms, perhaps : BAIT.

39. Actor Dullea : KEIR. You may remember him as Dr. David Bowman in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Or not...

40. Showy carp : KOI.

44. Moisten : WET.

45. Ripsnorter : LULU.

47. Does some gardening : RAKES. Been doing plenty of that the last couple weeks. We finally hired a crew to come in and help, and they ended up taking out seven pickup trucks full of leaves!!

48. Incredible stories : YARNS.

49. '90s White House cat : SOCKS. The "First Cat" of the Clinton era.

53. When tripled, a story shortener : YADA...yada...yada.

54. Muslim dignitary : EMIR.

55. Pal of Rover : SPOT.

56. Incidentally, in textspeak : BTW. "By the way..."

57. __ de parfum : EAU.

58. Kin of org : COM. Both url endings.

59. Trio on Big Ben : III. Nit: "Big Ben" is the name of the bell in the clock of Elizabeth Tower, not the clock itself.

60. Sweden-based carrier : SAS. Scandinavian Airlines System.


I'm off to see what kind of trouble I can stir up now...

Marti

Wednesday, November 19, 2014 C.C Burnikel

Theme: Cumulus cumulatives - or serious cirruses?

17A. Leave in a huff : STORM OUT. Storm cloud. Not something you'd want to be flying into.

25A. Book keeper? : DUST JACKET. Dust cloud. Not something you'd want to be flying into.

34A. Steak topper : MUSHROOM SAUCE. Mushroom cloud. Not something ... you get the idea.

48A. Deep-fried carnival treat : FUNNEL CAKE. Funnel cloud. Not some .. OK, OK, enough already. Yikes!

58A. Virtual storage area, and a hint to words that start 17-, 25-, 34- and 48-Across : THE CLOUD

G'day everyone! Steve here with a C.C. Wednesday special. No baseball unless I missed something glaringly obvious, but plenty of food (!), technology and frilly things to ratchet up my interest level. The theme might have been written for me today - I'm looking down at the cloud tops on my way to Detroit to discuss one of my companies' cloud offerings with a customer.

Et alia:

Across:

1. Amin portrayed in "The Last King of Scotland" : IDI. Exiled Ugandan despot.

4. Arabic "son of" : IBN

7. Took out : ERASED

13. __ race : RAT

14. Lingerie tops : BRAS. Frills!

16. Turkey feature : WATTLE. Not the most attractive of birds.

19. Necessitate : ENTAIL

20. "Evil Woman" rock gp. : E.L.O. Founder member Roy Wood went on to odder things with Wizzard. If anyone cares to explain the bass guitarist's outfit of angel wings, cricket pads and roller skates I'd be interested to hear it.

21. Lode loads : ORES. Clue-tactic

23. Jalapeño topper : TILDE. The squiggly diacritical on the "n".

24. Chignon, e.g. : UPDO I learned this from crosswords. I've never heard it used otherwise, but then again I don't hang out in hair salons on the eve of special occasions.

27. Ultimate authorities : SAY-SOS

29. "Have some!" : EAT

30. Seattle-to-Reno dir. : S.S.E.

31. Stains on a record : BLOTS

32. One who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, say : CRAB. Marti sometimes confesses to wrong-side awakening, but I'd hesitate to ever describe her as crabby.

40. Neighborhood sale caveat : AS IS

41. Dishonorable fellow : KNAVE

43. Blissful sounds : AHS

46. Cherry core : PIT

47. Damaged : HARMED

52. One, to Goethe : EINS. This threw me - I confidently had EINE until EDE at 42D made no sense, as you can see from my final fill in the grid at the bottom.

53. Deceit : FRAUD

54. "Are we __ not?": "Is it a date?" : ON OR. Not exactly the most polite way to start out, in my ever-so-humble opinion.

55. Puerto Rico hrs. : A.S.T. The famous Atlantic Standard Time. Easterly bits of Canada (eh!) also use it.

56. TaylorMade parent : ADIDAS. I used to pronounce it "Addy-dass", as did the entire continent of Europe. I now pronounce it "Add-eee-das" due to the hilarity and mirth which ensued when I moved to the USA and my friends heard me say it. I use TaylorMade golf clubs, although similar hilarity and mirth often follows the witnessing of a shot played with them.

61. "Fighting" college team : ILLINI. Pah. Second-rate fighters. Irish first.

62. "Born Free" lioness : ELSA

63. Word after common or case : LAW

64. Starts over : RESETS

65. Pink Floyd guitarist Barrett : SYD. Or Roger Keith to his mom. If you've got 10 minutes to spare, here's "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" - the band's tribute to their former "madcap" member.

66. New Haven student : ELI

Down:

1. Govt. org. that may freeze assets : I.R.S. Not the warmest of agencies, that's for sure.

2. Desert fruit tree : DATE PALM

3. "See?!" : I TOLD YOU

4. "Big Blue" : IBM My first programming job was working on an IBM/370 mainframe using punch cards. Many years later, I had a meeting at the IBM offices in Frankfurt and was alarmed to see that the model of punch card machine I used every day was reverently displayed, under glass, in the building's lobby. Feel old, much?

5. Coop groups : BROODS

6. Tiny Pacific republic : NAURU. Small  indeed - 9,200 people on 8.1 square miles.

7. Ma that baas : EWE

8. Go off on : RANT AT

9. Place to stick rarely used stuff : ATTIC. Basements and garages for the overflow. Then to the neighborhood sales.

10. Celery pieces : STALKS.  STICKS first.

11. Fails to pronounce : ELIDES. I still shudder when I read "gonna" in print. I don't think I'll ever get used to that one.

12. Knock out, as a character : DELETE

15. Fr. holy women : STES

18. Dove bars? : ROOSTS. Cute! I had a couple of Dove squares last night, I like the little "fortune cookie" messages inside the foil wrappers.

22. Cooks, as dim sum dumplings : STEAMS. Oh boy!

24. iPad-to-PC port : USB. Universal Serial Bus, in case you wondered.

26. Ring punches : JABS

28. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH. From Wuscaahnsun.

32. Store with a Kirkland Signature brand : COSTCO

33. Many a Louis : ROI. Many indeed. Louis dix-huit was the last. Neither English kings nor Popes come close in the XVIII stakes.

35. One way to travel : RAIL

36. Letters in an APB : AKA

37. Beyond belief : UNREAL

38. Lingerie top : CAMISOLE. More frills! No links from me, I'll leave that to others.

39. Ultimate : EVENTUAL

42. Vogue VIPs : EDS

43. Intense romance : AFFAIR

44. Steeplechase feature : HURDLE. The obstacles in the Grand National steeplechase, which is run annually at Aintree racecourse near Liverpool, England, might feel insulted to be called "hurdles". The fences are around 5 feet high  and some are almost 12 feet wide.

45. Escargots : SNAILS. Garlicky deliciousness.

46. One fussy about minor details : PEDANT. Crossword constructors, editors and solvers? I hope not ...

47. Charge against Galileo : HERESY. Not public endangerment by dropping lumps of lead from the top of the Tower of Pisa? Odd.

49. Film with a minimal costume budget? : NUDIE. No-frills production!

50. Put in a chip : ANTE

51. JCPenney rival : KOHL'S. I thought JCP had disappeared with the Macy*s takeover, but apparently still going strong.

57. Paris, to Nicky : SIS. Ahhhh - the  Hilton sisters. Things have been quiet with those two recently, thank goodness.

59. Dishonorable fellow : CAD. Egad!

60. MADD focus : DWI

Just enough time for the grid before my blog-meter time expires.

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Creature, a very active member of our blog until an accident took away her husband on her birthday three years ago. I hope you've sold the farm and settled down on your city life. Leave us a note when you drop by, Creature. You're in my thought often, so is Chickie, who's taking a leave from the blog to take care of her husband Bill. Our best wishes also go to Misty, Dave and their loved ones. 

I feel incredibly lucky that I have you guys to turn to when I need advice and guidance, and I hope this blog can be of some help and comfort when you are in need as well.

Creature

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Sinkers - A reference to the weights a fisherman uses on his line, split-shots, and that's what Marti's puzzle has, split-shots.

17. Like a fajita pan : SIZZLING HOT

27. Daisy-plucking words : SHE LOVES ME NOT

43. To the point : SHORT AND SWEET

57. Not a likely chance, and, literally, a hidden feature of 17-, 27- and 43-Across : OUTSIDE SHOT

Argyle here. Marti has a certain "je ne sais quoi", European flair today, mardi. Coincidence? I think not.

Across:

1. Italian scooter : VESPA. I can just see her zipping around Roma on her put-put.

6. Weird : EERIE. and 2D. Weird-sounding lake : ERIE

11. "This is so frustrating!" : "GRR!"

14. Sharon of Israel : ARIEL. Abba Eban yesterday sets up Ariel Sharon today.

15. Old-timey "Yikes!" : "EGADS!"

16. Coventry bathroom : LOO. Now to England...

19. Perrier, to Pierre : EAU. on to France.

20. Casual Friday top : TEE

21. FAO Schwarz specialty : TOYS. Just in time for Christmas.

22. Turn away : AVERT

24. __ vivant : BON. Our constructor.

25. Tiny bit : IOTA

33. Farm or home ending : STEAD

34. Troubles : ILLS

35. "Now __ me down to sleep ..." : I LAY

37. James of "The Godfather" : CAAN

38. Count Chocula wear : CLOAK. The Count is European?

39. Turn on a pivot : SLUE

40. Start of many Internet addresses : HTTP. Adding an S (https) makes it more secure.

41. Actor Thicke : ALAN. Born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

42. "I can take __!" : A HINT

46. Bonny girl : LASS. A short hop from Canada to Scotland.

47. Owned : HAD

48. Hangout for some 38-Down : ALLEY. 38D. Some strays : CATS

                                      L.C.

51. Word spoken while pointing : LOOK

53. Short change? : CTs. (cents)

56. Month after avril : MAI

61. Pre-holiday time : EVE

62. Part of USNA : NAVAL. (United States Naval Academy)(pop quiz: another name for navel is __?)

63. "Keen!" : "NEATO!"

64. Twin of Bert Bobbsey : NAN. The Bobbsey Twins was a long-running series of children's novels published from 1904 to 1979, with a separate series of 30 books published from 1987 through 1992.

65. Picket fence parts : SLATS

66. Barbershop band? : STROP. The leather strap used to keep a sharp edge on a straight razor.

Down:

1. Like outer space : VAST

3. Clothing label number : SIZE

4. Candy in a collectible dispenser : PEZ

5. With everything accounted for : ALL TOLD

6. Choosing word : EENY, meeny, miny, moe. CSO

7. Omelet base : EGGS

8. Cheering syllable : "RAH!"

9. Binding words : "I DO"

10. Real __ : ESTATE

11. Delight : GLEE

12. Crowd cacophony : ROAR

13. Defeat decisively : ROUT

18. Prefix with sphere : IONO

23. Disappeared : VANISHED

24. Skinny sort : BEANPOLE

25. Hawaii component : ISLAND

26. Siberian city : OMSK

27. Box score numbers : STATS

28. Moor : HEATH

29. Luxurious homes : VILLAS. Perhaps overlooking the Mediterranean.

30. Online finance company : E-LOAN. Curious? Link

31. Stan's partner : OLLIE. Laurel and Hardy.

32. Gibe : TAUNT

33. UCLA or USC : SCHool

36. To this point : YET

42. Rouses from bed : AWAKENS

44. Synthetic fibers : RAYONS

45. In pumps, say : SHOD. In shoes.

48. "So be it!" : "AMEN!"

49. Volcano output : LAVA

50. Burden for some debtors : LIEN

51. Future atty.'s exam : LSAT. (Law School Admission Test)

52. Many Manets : OILS. Effect of Snow on Petit-Montrouge.

53. Blacken on the grill : CHAR

54. Four-legged Emerald City visitor : TOTO. Not in Kansas.

55. Halt : STOP

58. "Friendly Skies" co. : UAL. (United Airlines)

59. New Deal energy prog. : TVA. (Tennessee Valley Authority)

60. Put in rollers : SET

Argyle

Monday, November 17, 2014 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: Bullseye - Five compound words that start with a synonym for omphalos.

22A. Acid indigestion, familiarly : HEARTBURN

38A. Auto wheel covers : HUBCAPS

51A. Go-between : MIDDLEMAN

3D. Stripe that equally divides the road : CENTERLINE

30D. Early computer data storage term : CORE MEMORY

Argyle here. The first four are closed compound words while 30-Down is an open compound word. Still a tight theme though not much zest. We don't get to see Mr. Meaker that often. I do like the pinwheel with an entry in the bullseye.

Across:

1. Physicist for whom a speed-of-sound ratio is named : MACH. Ernst Mach (1838–1916)

5. Steamers in a pot : CLAMS

10. Post-WWII commerce agreement acronym : GATT. (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) This entry has been around before...but not lately.

14. Toast topping : OLEO

15. Lose one's cool : PANIC

16. Eight, in Tijuana : OCHO

17. __ and rave : RANT

18. Stars, in Latin : ASTRA. Fly on an astral plane.

19. What winds do : BLOW

20. Book spine info : TITLE

24. Snigglers' catch : EELS

26. Not feel well : AIL

27. Serious play : DRAMA

28. San Francisco transport : CABLE CAR

33. Daring : BOLD

34. Ottoman governors : BEYs. Not a Monday word?

36. Chip away at : ERODE

37. Prefix with lateral : UNI

40. Fishing tool : ROD

41. Henry or Jane of "On Golden Pond" : FONDA

43. Kal Kan alternative : ALPO Pet food.

44. 0 : ZERO

45. Area where goods may be stored without customs payments : FREE ZONE. And then what?

47. Oozy stuff : SLIME

49. NRC predecessor : AEC. (Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Atomic Energy Commission)

50. Scotch __ : TAPE. and for Tin; 56D. "No ice, please" : NEAT

57. Performed without words : MIMED

60. Mesozoic and Paleozoic : ERAs

61. More pathetic, as an excuse : LAMER

63. Four-legged Oz visitor : TOTO

64. No longer here : GONE

65. Pacific, for one : OCEAN

66. Russia's __ Mountains : URAL

67. "Puppy Love" singer Paul : ANKA. "Puppy Love" is a popular song written by Paul Anka in 1960 for Annette Funicello, whom he was dating at the time. Clip

68. Campground sights : TENTS

69. War journalist Ernie : PYLE

Down:

1. Satirist Sahl : MORT

2. Jai __ : ALAI

4. Detective's breakthrough : HOT LEAD

5. Tax season VIP : CPA

6. Mascara target : LASH

7. Start the poker pot : ANTE

8. Actress Sorvino : MIRA

9. Sacred Egyptian beetle : SCARAB

10. Male turkey : GOBBLER

11. Rights org. : ACLU. (American Civil Liberties Union)

12. Son of Odin : THOR

13. Chrysler __ & Country : TOWN. Van.

21. Nightmare street of film : ELM

23. Mah-jongg pieces : TILES

25. "Elephant Boy" actor : SABU. India-born actor of 1940's movie fame making a rare Monday appearance.

27. Blood bank participant : DONOR

28. Washer phase : CYCLE

29. Manager's "Now!" : "ASAP!". (As soon as possible)

31. Be wild about : ADORE

32. Update, as a kitchen : REDO

33. Physically fit : BUFF

35. Israeli diplomat Abba : EBAN

38. Brownish-green eye color : HAZEL

39. Blog update : POST

42. Scrolls source : DEAD SEA

44. "Pipe down!" : "ZIP IT UP!". (snicker)

46. Spotted wildcat : OCELOT

48. Hightail it : LAM

51. Million: Pref. : MEGA

52. Golfer's choice : IRON

53. Unpleasantly moist : DANK

54. Medieval spiked club : MACE

55. Prayer finish : "AMEN"

58. And others: Lat. : ET AL.

59. Clinton's 1996 opponent : DOLE. Bob Dole.

62. BP checkers : RNs. (blood pressure/registered nurse)

Argyle

Sunday November 16, 2014 Drew Banneman

Theme:  "PC Lab" - C is changed into P in the starting letter of each theme entry. All first words go through spelling changes.

24A. Challenge for one with an array of walking sticks? : CANE MANAGEMENT. Pain management.

26A. Perspective on a heist? : CAPER VIEW. Pay-per -view.

52A. Farmer? : CROPPER NOUN. Proper noun. Somehow I thought "cropper" is a machine.

 

71A. Sweatshirt part with wrinkles? : CREASED HOOD. Priesthood.

95A. Anthracite storage site? : COAL VAULT. Pole vault.

100A. Judge? : COURT AUTHORITY. Port authority.

33D. '40s-'50s first lady with her dog? : CORGI AND BESS. Porgy and Bess.

37D. Place for a collection of pub mementos? : COASTER BOARD. Poster board.

There are ten P's in the grid, but none in the theme answer. 

Sound changes all occur in the first letter, all have spelling changes. You would think CAIN MANAGEMENT works for the first theme entry, but it doesn't. It would break the spelling change consistency.

Lots of creativity and hard work went into today's theme selection. No USA-style loosey goosey two BAR contained in front & one isolated in the back as Argyle highlighted two days ago. Rich would have rejected that puzzle immediately.

Across:   

1. Don Rickles specialty : INSULT. Not my cup of tea.

7. Really wants : ACHES FOR

15. Reykjavik-born singer : BJORK. Aren't glad the answer is not Reykjavik?

20. Be relevant : MATTER

21. Sophist's forte : RHETORIC

22. Geometry measures : RADII

23. God, in Hebrew : ADONAI. Same root as Adonis.

28. Display aid : RACK

29. Chou En-__ : LAI. Loyal to Mao until the end.

30. Many a comic book collector : NERD

31. At a Lakers home game, e.g. : IN LA

32. Mortgage limitation : RATE CAP

36. Large chamber groups : OCTETS

39. Novelist Nin : ANAIS

40. Granite State campus: Abbr. : UNH

41. Hockey immortal : ORR. He'll always be a solid fill in my book. Same with OTT.

42. Hair cover : SNOOD

43. Former boxer Ali : LAILA

44. Adventurer Jones, familiarly : INDY. Indiana Jones.

45. 85-Across rival : RKO. And 85. 45-Across rival : MGM. I like when one of them is clued.

46. Writers' degs. : MFAs

47. God of lightning : THOR

49. Barrage from bleacher "birds" : BOOS

50. Opposin' : AGIN

51. Oktoberfest rocks : EIS. Ice.

56. Edge : BRINK

57. Session with a model, maybe : ART CLASS. And 42. Paint problem : SMEAR

59. Ore holders : VEINS

60. Pond growth : ALGA

61. Put back in : RE-ELECT

62. Clued in about : HIP TO

63. Clobber : TROUNCE

66. Like some collectibles : RARE. I like this better than his rookie card.

67. After-school helper : TUTOR. Hi Bill!

68. Joined : SIGNED UP

69. Man with a cube : RUBIK

73. Pal : BRO

74. Minuscule bit : ATOM

75. Hail in a harbor : AHOY

76. Baltimore-to-Dover direction : EAST

77. Set an example : LEAD

78. Mauna __ : KEA

79. Not out of the game : IN IT

80. Swiss peak : EIGER

83. Social division : CASTE

84. Stumble : ERR

86. One in a firing line? : AX MAN. Oh, Donald Trump style firing.

87. Just look : BROWSE. My specialty.

89. Fountain order : SODA POP

91. Tach readings : RPMs

92. North Sea feeder : YSER And 94. City west of Caen : ST. LO

93. Seminary subj. : REL

105. One may evoke ahs in spas : OIL RUB. Never had an oil rub.

106. Noted Beethoven interpreter Claudio : ARRAU. Guilty of using him in my own puzzles.

107. Rank follower, for short : SERIAL NO. Name, Rank & Serial number.

108. City known for wool : ANKARA. Angora goat is named after Ankara (also known as Angora).

109. Show prizes : TONYs

110. Immaculate : SPOTLESS

111. Test drive offerer : DEALER

Down:

 1. Teacher's Apple : iMAC

2. "De __": "Gracias" response : NADA

3. Point on a train schedule : STOP

4. __ Reader : UTNE

5. Well-educated : LEARNED

6. Hot pot spot : TRIVET. Three-legged. Hot pot is very popular in Xi'An, winter or summer.

7. Like Delaware's northern border : ARCED. Learning moment to me.

8. Tobacco wad : CHAW

9. Farm girl : HEN. Cute clue. We also have 13. Farm sound : OINK.

10. Always there : ETERNAL

11. Mogadishu's land : SOMALIA

 

12. Brawl : FRACAS

14. Color TV pioneer : RCA

15. Like Marilyn Monroe's voice : BREATHY. Wish she had not left Joe DiMaggio.

16. Farr of "M*A*S*H" : JAMIE

17. Dedicatory opus : ODE

18. __ Tin Tin : RIN

19. Word after mess or media : KIT

25. Sweat __ : GLANDS

27. Org. with involved schedules : IRS. Indeed.

31. Pasta suffix : INI

32. Long sentence : RUN-ON

34. Oscar winner Alan : ARKIN

35. Jump with all four feet off the ground, gazelle-style : PRONK. New word to me. Pronking.

36. Burning : ON FIRE

38. How-__ : TOs

39. Group with many boomers : AARP. Baby boomers.

43. Cuts short : LOPS

44. Promises to pay : IOUs

47. Hint : TRACE

48. Large number : HOST. A host of.

49. U2 frontman : BONO

50. Present in court : ARGUE

52. Store employee : CLERK

53. 1980 Tony winner for Best Musical : EVITA. More familiar with the 1996 Madonna film.

54. Some picked-up pickups, briefly : REPOs

55. Brit's saltpeter : NITRE

 

56. Fair-haired : BLOND

58. Assertion : CLAIM

60. Specialized jargon : ARGOT

62. "Hip to Be Square" rocker Lewis : HUEY

63. Familia members : TIOS. Uncles. I call my mom's brother "Jiu", but I call my dad's brother "Da". Different words for aunts also: "Yi" for mom's sister, "Gu" for dad's sister.  All my Jiu, Da, Yi and Gu had arranged marriages, same as my own parents.

64. Manage, as a museum : CURATE

65. Lyrical work : EPODE

67. Home run run : TROT

68. __-Pei : SHAR

69. Lawn maintenance tools : RAKES

70. In __: awaiting delivery : UTERO

71. Bonzo, in a '51 film : CHIMP

72. "Paula's Home Cooking" host : DEEN. Paula Deen. Southern Cooking is foreign to me.

75. Zambia neighbor : ANGOLA

77. __ school : LAW

79. Driving force : IMPETUS

80. Use : EXPLOIT

81. Wicked : IMMORAL

82. Freeway sign word : GAS

83. Like crows : CORVINE. Also a new word to me.

86. Joint: Pref. : ARTHRO. Boomer put Knox gelatin in his coffee yesterday. I heard it takes 3 weeks to notice the effect. Do you have any tip to relieve the old age arthritis pain?

87. Org. with Eagles : BSA

88. Prepare for more shooting : RELOAD

90. Impressive spread : ARRAY

92. Toys on strings : YO-YOs

94. Pace : STEP

95. Warehouse stack: Abbr. : CTNS (Cartons)

96. Commercial word with Seltzer : ALKA

97. Caspian feeder : URAL

98. Attract : LURE

99. One way to get to the top : T-BAR

100. "'Meow' means 'woof' in __": Carlin : CAT

101. Gold, to Gomez : ORO

102. Server with a spigot : URN

103. __ Arizona : USS

104. One may be seen from La Tour Eiffel : ILE. French for "isle".

Happy Birthday to Ergo (Husker Chuck). Chuck is the author of these three books. Gary is an expert in "Nursing the Corn" :-)  Hope you all have a chance to meet someday. Also, Chuck, why did you choose Ergo as your avatar handle?

C.C.