Tuesday, November 13, 2012 Jeff Chen

Theme: You think I'll tell you the theme? As if! - And if that's not enough, I'll repeat it five times.

17A. "As if!" : "AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!"

27A. "As if!" : "NO WAY, JOSE!"

38A. "As if!" : "DREAM ON!"

46A. "As if!" : "YEAH, RIGHT!"

57A. "As if!" : "FAT CHANCE OF THAT!"

Argyle here. You get the picture? Jeff has delivered a nice tight Tuesday, with two grid spanners and a couple of long climbers, too.

Across:

1. College donor, often : ALUM. A shortened version that can encompass single and plural of both genders. Handy.

5. 401(k) cousin, briefly : IRA. (individual retirement account)

8. Garden ground cover : MULCH

13. Mount Olympus wife : HERA. The wife of Zeus.

14. Break bread : DINE

16. Novelist Zola : EMILE. The most common of the crossword Emiles

20. Halley's sci. : ASTR. (astronomy)

21. Full of vitality : GO-GO. Full of Red Bull?

22. Ideological suffix : ISM

23. Lift with effort : HEFT

25. '60s counterculturist Timothy : LEARY. "Turn on, tune in, drop out"

31. Rants about the boss, e.g. : VENTS

34. Jacob's brother : ESAU

35. Niagara Falls prov. : ONT. (Ontario)

36. Gorky Park city : MOSCOW. Song.(5:13)

37. Like hor. puzzle answers : ACR. (horizontal/across)

40. Hostility : IRE

41. Started, as a keg : TAPPED

43. P.I. : TEC. (private investigator/detective)

44. Hypnotic trance breaker : SNAP

45. "Friend __?" : OR FOE

48. Pal of Threepio : ARTOO. Star Wars droids.

50. Not at all droopy : TAUT

51. Intro makers : MC's. (master of ceremonies)

52. One might say "shay" for "say" : LUSH. Drunks don't talk so good.

54. Inevitable end : FATE

61. Honolulu hello : ALOHA. Nice alliteration.

62. Egg on : GOAD. Phrase Finder link for "Egg on.

63. Sculling gear : OARS

64. Headwear in iconic Che posters : BERET

65. Many ESPN fall highlights : TD's. (touchdown)

66. Way to be tickled : PINK

Down:

1. Cry of enlightenment : "A-HA!"

2. Film heroine with memorable buns : LEIA. My mind was boggling for a bit there but, oh, it's just another Star Wars reference.

3. Java vessels : URNS

4. "Grumpy Old Men" co-star : MATTHAU

5. Rite words : I DO

6. Modern caller ID, perhaps : RINGTONE. Different tones can be assigned to frequent incoming callers, right? I still don't have a cell phone.

7. Part of A.D. : ANNO

8. Drop-line link : ME A. Exactly like Sunday's entry.

9. Wrigley Field judges : UMPIRES. Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs.

10. Mouthing the lyrics : LIP SYNCING

11. Red Skelton character Kadiddlehopper : CLEM. The joys of live TV.

12. Cooped-up layer : HEN

15. Bird on old quarters : EAGLE. How 'bout that; going from a chicken to an eagle.

18. Earl __ tea : GREY

19. Groundbreaking tool : HOE

24. Greenland coastal feature : FJORD

26. Company that rings a bell? : AVON. Cute clue.

27. "Marvy!" : "NEATO!" and 57D. "Marvy!" : "FAB!"

28. Green grouch : OSCAR

29. "Star Trek" velocity measure : WARP FACTOR. About 338,000 results if you Google "warp factor".

30. Word in many university names : STATE

32. Bar mitzvah reading source : TORAH

33. Didn't lose a game : SWEPT. Giants in the World Series this year.

36. Java order : MOCHA

38. Off! ingredient : DEET. Another Sunday answer.

39. Mike, to Archie : MEATHEAD. "All in the Family"

42. Upscale sports car : PORSCHE. Any Porshe owners out there?

44. Perch on : SIT ATOP

46. Like babes : YOUNG. I found this to be a little strange.

47. Dennis the Menace's dog : RUFF

49. Pay extension? : OLA. (payola)

51. Stallion or bull : MALE

53. Craig Ferguson, by birth : SCOT. The Late Late Show is hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It is on after Letterman.

55. Asian tongue : THAI

56. Bring home : EARN

58. Monopoly token : HAT

59. Has too much, briefly : OD's. (overdose)

60. Clucking sound : [TSK!]

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Don G and I made today's NY Times crossword. I hope you have a chance to solve it. Now, Jayce/Splynter/TTP, will NYT 11D's ex-girlfriend's husband "Call me, maybe?"
 
2) Here is a recent photo of dear Sallie.