Theme: Name That Phrase - Common phrases are humorously reinterpreted and clued as if the last word were two people who share the first name.
20A. Robinson and Thomas?: BALLPARK FRANKS. A pair of Major League Baseball players. Frank Robinson is a former player and manager in the 60's and 70's. He was an outfielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He served as the first African-American manager in Major League history and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Recently retired designated hitter and first baseman, Frank Thomas became one of baseball's biggest stars in the 1990s, playing for the Chicago White Sox. Nicknamed "The Big Hurt".
37A. Owens and Henry?: COUPLE OF BUCKS. Buck Owens (1929-2006), was an American singer and guitarist and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Owens called Bakersfield, CA, home and pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound.
Buck Henry is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director. Noted for his dry sense of humor, Henry hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live ten times.
54A. Garfunkel and Tatum?: PERFORMING ARTS. "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. In particular, he is remembered for being the lead singer on the #1 hit single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
"Art" Tatum Jr. (1909 – 1956) was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was nearly blind. (He also had an encyclopedic memory for Major League Baseball statistics.)
Argyle here.
I had fun doing this puzzle but I had trouble deciding what to call the theme. The first and third phrases can be said to describe the people associated with them but what to do with a COUPLE OF BUCKS. Won't buy ya' much. Maybe I'll let C.C. decide.
A lot of alliteration today. No links today, but feel free to put in your own links. As a group, we have gotten real good at it and always interesting.
Across:
1A. Indiana senator Evan: BAYH.
5A. Half a '60s pop group: MAMAS. And the Papas
10A. News article: ITEM.
14A. Start of a crystal ball user's prediction: "I SEE".
15A. Dedicatee of Beethoven's "Bagatelle in A Minor": ELISE.
16A. Haydn sobriquet: PAPA. "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet", Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) was an Austrian composer.
17A. __ monster: lizard: GILA. Poisonous.
18A. Patty Hearst's SLA alias: TANIA. She was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 70's.
19A. Landed: ALIT.
23A. Sense of self: EGO.
24A. Poor offering: ALMS.
25A. Skewered fare: KABOB.
27A. "Impossible!": "NO WAY!".
29A. Where the buffalo roam: LEA.
31A. Fruity refreshment: ADE.
32A. Argue: QUARREL.
36A. Passed with flying colors: ACED.
40A. PBS science series: NOVA.
41A. Most corpulent: FATTEST.
42A. Do an impression of: APE.
43A. Jay-Z's genre: RAP.
44A. Point of contention: ISSUE.
48A. City of Light, to Cole Porter: PAREE. Paris.
50A. Memphis middle name: ARON. Memphis was the home of Elvis ARON Presley.
53A. Cease: END.
58A. Lively style: ELAN.
59A. Sylvan setting: WOODS.
60A. Muddy area: MIRE.
61A. Legendary Asian beast: YETI.
62A. Sweden neighbor, to a Swede: NORGE.
63A. Heavy hammer: MAUL.
64A. Let up: EASE.
65A. Marksman's game: SKEET.
66A. Corrida encouragements: OLÉs.
Down:
1D. Nickname of London's Great Bell: BIG BEN. In the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
2D. Italian region known for its cheese: ASIAGO. We haven't discussed cheese lately.
3D. Brick road color: YELLOW. Some cheese color, too.
4D. Cure: HEAL.
5D. Heavy rock?: METAL. Another musical genre.
6D. Frighten: ALARM.
7D. Weasel cousins: MINKS.
8D. "Yeah, right!": "AS IF!".
9D. Char: SEAR.
10D. Bucky Beaver's toothpaste: IPANA.
11D. Sass, with "to": TALK BACK.
12D. 45-Down parts: EPISODES.
13D. Wrestling surface: MAT.
21D. Settle a debt: PAY UP.
22D. Wanted poster letters: AKA.
26D. Garden plot: BED.
28D. Color similar to robin egg blue: AQUA.
29D. Baseball field?: LEFT. Center and right would be the other two fields.
30D. Hamburg's river: ELBE.
33D. A, in communications: ALFA. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, etc.
34D. Gather: REAP.
35D. Balderdash: ROT.
36D. Play segments: ACTS.
37D. Bargain for reduced charges: COP A PLEA. In a judicial court. And 43D. Court arbiter: REF. On a sports court.
38D. Pigs out: OVER EATS.
39D. Taking advantage of: USING.
40D. Doze: NAP.
45D. Story published in installments: SERIAL.
46D. Like lies: UNTRUE.
47D. Ford failures: EDSELS.
49D. Ford from Tennessee: ERNIE. But he was a success.
50D. Luigi's love: AMORE. Italian
51D. Mountain feature: RIDGE.
52D. Start: ONSET.
55D. Holds the deed to: OWNS.
56D. Rank-and-file chess piece: ROOK. But it can't move on a diagonal.
57D. Firearm filler: AMMO.
58D. CBS symbol: EYE.
Answer grid.
Argyle
20A. Robinson and Thomas?: BALLPARK FRANKS. A pair of Major League Baseball players. Frank Robinson is a former player and manager in the 60's and 70's. He was an outfielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He served as the first African-American manager in Major League history and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Recently retired designated hitter and first baseman, Frank Thomas became one of baseball's biggest stars in the 1990s, playing for the Chicago White Sox. Nicknamed "The Big Hurt".
37A. Owens and Henry?: COUPLE OF BUCKS. Buck Owens (1929-2006), was an American singer and guitarist and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Owens called Bakersfield, CA, home and pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound.
Buck Henry is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director. Noted for his dry sense of humor, Henry hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live ten times.
54A. Garfunkel and Tatum?: PERFORMING ARTS. "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. In particular, he is remembered for being the lead singer on the #1 hit single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
"Art" Tatum Jr. (1909 – 1956) was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was nearly blind. (He also had an encyclopedic memory for Major League Baseball statistics.)
Argyle here.
I had fun doing this puzzle but I had trouble deciding what to call the theme. The first and third phrases can be said to describe the people associated with them but what to do with a COUPLE OF BUCKS. Won't buy ya' much. Maybe I'll let C.C. decide.
A lot of alliteration today. No links today, but feel free to put in your own links. As a group, we have gotten real good at it and always interesting.
Across:
1A. Indiana senator Evan: BAYH.
5A. Half a '60s pop group: MAMAS. And the Papas
10A. News article: ITEM.
14A. Start of a crystal ball user's prediction: "I SEE".
15A. Dedicatee of Beethoven's "Bagatelle in A Minor": ELISE.
16A. Haydn sobriquet: PAPA. "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet", Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) was an Austrian composer.
17A. __ monster: lizard: GILA. Poisonous.
18A. Patty Hearst's SLA alias: TANIA. She was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 70's.
19A. Landed: ALIT.
23A. Sense of self: EGO.
24A. Poor offering: ALMS.
25A. Skewered fare: KABOB.
27A. "Impossible!": "NO WAY!".
29A. Where the buffalo roam: LEA.
31A. Fruity refreshment: ADE.
32A. Argue: QUARREL.
36A. Passed with flying colors: ACED.
40A. PBS science series: NOVA.
41A. Most corpulent: FATTEST.
42A. Do an impression of: APE.
43A. Jay-Z's genre: RAP.
44A. Point of contention: ISSUE.
48A. City of Light, to Cole Porter: PAREE. Paris.
50A. Memphis middle name: ARON. Memphis was the home of Elvis ARON Presley.
53A. Cease: END.
58A. Lively style: ELAN.
59A. Sylvan setting: WOODS.
60A. Muddy area: MIRE.
61A. Legendary Asian beast: YETI.
62A. Sweden neighbor, to a Swede: NORGE.
63A. Heavy hammer: MAUL.
64A. Let up: EASE.
65A. Marksman's game: SKEET.
66A. Corrida encouragements: OLÉs.
Down:
1D. Nickname of London's Great Bell: BIG BEN. In the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
2D. Italian region known for its cheese: ASIAGO. We haven't discussed cheese lately.
3D. Brick road color: YELLOW. Some cheese color, too.
4D. Cure: HEAL.
5D. Heavy rock?: METAL. Another musical genre.
6D. Frighten: ALARM.
7D. Weasel cousins: MINKS.
8D. "Yeah, right!": "AS IF!".
9D. Char: SEAR.
10D. Bucky Beaver's toothpaste: IPANA.
11D. Sass, with "to": TALK BACK.
12D. 45-Down parts: EPISODES.
13D. Wrestling surface: MAT.
21D. Settle a debt: PAY UP.
22D. Wanted poster letters: AKA.
26D. Garden plot: BED.
28D. Color similar to robin egg blue: AQUA.
29D. Baseball field?: LEFT. Center and right would be the other two fields.
30D. Hamburg's river: ELBE.
33D. A, in communications: ALFA. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, etc.
34D. Gather: REAP.
35D. Balderdash: ROT.
36D. Play segments: ACTS.
37D. Bargain for reduced charges: COP A PLEA. In a judicial court. And 43D. Court arbiter: REF. On a sports court.
38D. Pigs out: OVER EATS.
39D. Taking advantage of: USING.
40D. Doze: NAP.
45D. Story published in installments: SERIAL.
46D. Like lies: UNTRUE.
47D. Ford failures: EDSELS.
49D. Ford from Tennessee: ERNIE. But he was a success.
50D. Luigi's love: AMORE. Italian
51D. Mountain feature: RIDGE.
52D. Start: ONSET.
55D. Holds the deed to: OWNS.
56D. Rank-and-file chess piece: ROOK. But it can't move on a diagonal.
57D. Firearm filler: AMMO.
58D. CBS symbol: EYE.
Answer grid.
Argyle
