Theme: Superman Rides in a Balloon
21A: Capable of doing a job: UP TO THE TASK
37A: Next in line to advance at work: UP FOR A PROMOTION
48A: Jackie Gleason catchphrase: AND AWAY WE GO
Nice pangram, all 26 letters have been used at least once.
The constructor Mel Rosen succeeded Will Weng (former NY Times crossword editor) as puzzle editor of The Crosswords Club and is also author of the Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook
Superman and the Fifth Dimension might well be singing, "UP, UP, AND AWAY" at next weekend's Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival .
Argyle here, and if this puzzle is an example, we may be in for an interesting week.
Across:
1A: Skills-sharpening piano piece: ETUDE. Here is Chopin's "Sunrise", for Mary, Lois and Barb B.
6A: El __, Texas: PASO. Spanish for "step". I hear they have a university there.
10A: SoCal cop force: LAPD.
14A: Bolshevik leader: LENIN.
15A: "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN.
16A: Prefix meaning "same": EQUI. As in equilateral. ISO is "Prefix meaning "same"" too.
17A: Elementary: BASIC.
18A: Bit of sports info: STAT. Usually we see this as a plural, STATistics.
19A: To-do: FUSS. Let's get it on! 34A: Group fight: MELEE. 8D: Minor quarrel: SPAT.
24A: "To whom __ concern": IT MAY.
26A: Tarzan actor Ron: ELY.
27A: Improvises lines: AD-LIBS.
29A: Solidify: JELL. JELL is a verb only while gel can be a noun or a verb.
31A: La __, Bolivia: PAZ. 22D: Daddies: PAS. PAS in La PAZ are padres.
35A: Pervasive quality: AURA.
36A: Yard event: SALE. Clever clue. Yes, Linda?
40A: Astound: STUN.
41A: Corp. leaders: CEOS.
42A: Acted boldly: DARED.
43A: Subj. for some immigrants: ESL. English as a Second Language.
44A: Berlin "Mister": HERR. Berlin "Mrs." would be FRAU.
45A: Mother with a Nobel prize: TERESA. Mother TERESA (Albanian) was awarded Nobel Peace in 1979.
46A: More than damp: WET. As many of you will discover today.
47A: With __ breath: tensely anticipatory: BATED.
53A: Sorrow: WOE.
56A: Sweet-talk: COAX.
57A: Dabbling duck: TEAL. Falcated teal falcated: curved like a scythe or sickle. Long sickle-shaped tertials hanging off its back give this species its name. Tertials: The third row of flight feathers on the basal section of a bird's wing. That's it. I'm done with this bird! Oh, it's a greenish-blue color too, same as AQUA (11D: Greenish-blue).
58A: Puts behind bars: JAILS.
61A: Northern Nevada town: ELKO. Here. It hosts the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Lois.
62A: Pop music's Hall & __: OATES. Six #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch".
63A: Lose, as skin: SHED.
64A: Eject, geyser-style: SPEW.
65A: Internet giant with an exclamation point in its name: YAHOO. Very descriptive clue.
Down:
1D: Napoleon's exile isle: ELBA. He was then back to France for 100 days before Waterloo.
2D: Oolong and pekoe: TEAS.
3D: Not practiced: UNSKILLFUL.And someone you don't want 31D: Assigned as the partner of, as in dance class: PAIRED WITH.
4D: 502, to Nero: DII.
5D: Burden: ENCUMBER.
6D: Annoying, like a kid brother: PESTY. My first choice was PESKY.
7D: Concerning: AS TO.
9D: Like an escapee: ON THE LAM. We finally get the whole phrase.
10D: Southpaw's nickname: LEFTY. Does anybody besides pitcher gets called LEFTY? OK, Phil Mickelson.
12D: Kitty or kisser: PUSS. Feline or face (or both).
13D: Floppy with data: DISK.
25D: Attach with rope: TIE ON.
28D: U.S. Cabinet divisions: DEPTS. Departments.
29D: Foreman in court, e.g.: JUROR. If the former boxer was on the jury, he could be the Foreman foreman.
30D: Bow-toting god: EROS. Think Cupid.
33D: "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. Poster.
38D: Plastic overlays for artwork: ACETATES.
39D: Poem used in Beethoven's "Choral Symphony": ODE TO JOY. Official anthem for European Union.
46D: Applied Simoniz to: WAXED. Remember from Karate Kid, "Wax on, wax off"?
48D: Unreturnable serves: ACES. Tennis.
50D: Pianist Brubeck: DAVE.
55D: Exxon, once: ESSO. Derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil (S O).
59D: Small battery: AAA.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Today is the 60th wedding anniversary of our fellow solver T. Frank and his wife Jean. Congratulations! They celebrated the occasion over the August 28, 2009 weekend before the school started. Left to right: Jean, Frank, Carl, Lee and Paul (Frank's sons and daughter, who live in New York State and Florida).
Argyle
21A: Capable of doing a job: UP TO THE TASK
37A: Next in line to advance at work: UP FOR A PROMOTION
48A: Jackie Gleason catchphrase: AND AWAY WE GO
Nice pangram, all 26 letters have been used at least once.
The constructor Mel Rosen succeeded Will Weng (former NY Times crossword editor) as puzzle editor of The Crosswords Club and is also author of the Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook
Superman and the Fifth Dimension might well be singing, "UP, UP, AND AWAY" at next weekend's Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival .
Argyle here, and if this puzzle is an example, we may be in for an interesting week.
Across:
1A: Skills-sharpening piano piece: ETUDE. Here is Chopin's "Sunrise", for Mary, Lois and Barb B.
6A: El __, Texas: PASO. Spanish for "step". I hear they have a university there.
10A: SoCal cop force: LAPD.
14A: Bolshevik leader: LENIN.
15A: "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN.
16A: Prefix meaning "same": EQUI. As in equilateral. ISO is "Prefix meaning "same"" too.
17A: Elementary: BASIC.
18A: Bit of sports info: STAT. Usually we see this as a plural, STATistics.
19A: To-do: FUSS. Let's get it on! 34A: Group fight: MELEE. 8D: Minor quarrel: SPAT.
24A: "To whom __ concern": IT MAY.
26A: Tarzan actor Ron: ELY.
27A: Improvises lines: AD-LIBS.
29A: Solidify: JELL. JELL is a verb only while gel can be a noun or a verb.
31A: La __, Bolivia: PAZ. 22D: Daddies: PAS. PAS in La PAZ are padres.
35A: Pervasive quality: AURA.
36A: Yard event: SALE. Clever clue. Yes, Linda?
40A: Astound: STUN.
41A: Corp. leaders: CEOS.
42A: Acted boldly: DARED.
43A: Subj. for some immigrants: ESL. English as a Second Language.
44A: Berlin "Mister": HERR. Berlin "Mrs." would be FRAU.
45A: Mother with a Nobel prize: TERESA. Mother TERESA (Albanian) was awarded Nobel Peace in 1979.
46A: More than damp: WET. As many of you will discover today.
47A: With __ breath: tensely anticipatory: BATED.
53A: Sorrow: WOE.
56A: Sweet-talk: COAX.
57A: Dabbling duck: TEAL. Falcated teal falcated: curved like a scythe or sickle. Long sickle-shaped tertials hanging off its back give this species its name. Tertials: The third row of flight feathers on the basal section of a bird's wing. That's it. I'm done with this bird! Oh, it's a greenish-blue color too, same as AQUA (11D: Greenish-blue).
58A: Puts behind bars: JAILS.
61A: Northern Nevada town: ELKO. Here. It hosts the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Lois.
62A: Pop music's Hall & __: OATES. Six #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch".
63A: Lose, as skin: SHED.
64A: Eject, geyser-style: SPEW.
65A: Internet giant with an exclamation point in its name: YAHOO. Very descriptive clue.
Down:
1D: Napoleon's exile isle: ELBA. He was then back to France for 100 days before Waterloo.
2D: Oolong and pekoe: TEAS.
3D: Not practiced: UNSKILLFUL.And someone you don't want 31D: Assigned as the partner of, as in dance class: PAIRED WITH.
4D: 502, to Nero: DII.
5D: Burden: ENCUMBER.
6D: Annoying, like a kid brother: PESTY. My first choice was PESKY.
7D: Concerning: AS TO.
9D: Like an escapee: ON THE LAM. We finally get the whole phrase.
10D: Southpaw's nickname: LEFTY. Does anybody besides pitcher gets called LEFTY? OK, Phil Mickelson.
12D: Kitty or kisser: PUSS. Feline or face (or both).
13D: Floppy with data: DISK.
25D: Attach with rope: TIE ON.
28D: U.S. Cabinet divisions: DEPTS. Departments.
29D: Foreman in court, e.g.: JUROR. If the former boxer was on the jury, he could be the Foreman foreman.
30D: Bow-toting god: EROS. Think Cupid.
33D: "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. Poster.
38D: Plastic overlays for artwork: ACETATES.
39D: Poem used in Beethoven's "Choral Symphony": ODE TO JOY. Official anthem for European Union.
46D: Applied Simoniz to: WAXED. Remember from Karate Kid, "Wax on, wax off"?
48D: Unreturnable serves: ACES. Tennis.
50D: Pianist Brubeck: DAVE.
55D: Exxon, once: ESSO. Derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil (S O).
59D: Small battery: AAA.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Today is the 60th wedding anniversary of our fellow solver T. Frank and his wife Jean. Congratulations! They celebrated the occasion over the August 28, 2009 weekend before the school started. Left to right: Jean, Frank, Carl, Lee and Paul (Frank's sons and daughter, who live in New York State and Florida).
Argyle
