Monday, December 17, 2012 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: J.D. - People with those initials.

44A. Law school grads, briefly, and an apt title for this puzzle : JD's (Juris Doctor)

16A. "Shakespeare in Love" Oscar winner : JUDI DENCH

24A. "Pirates of the Caribbean" series star : JOHNNY DEPP

34A. The Yankee Clipper : JOE DIMAGGIO

47A. "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" author : JOAN DIDION

56A. "East of Eden" co-star : JAMES DEAN

Argyle here. I don't feel this was aimed to be a Monday puzzle but here it is. Just Do It. (Four strong corners, which is only fitting for our Crossword Corner maven.)

Across:

1. Mop & __: cleaning brand : GLO

4. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman : TEVYE. I prefer him to Andre Rieu.

9. Hannibal crossed them : ALPS

13. Author Fleming : IAN

14. On __: counting calories : A DIET

15. Cathedral topper : SPIRE

18. Ann __, Michigan : ARBOR

19. Sporting site : ARENA

20. "Brian's Song" actor James : CAAN. IMDb. A real tear jerker. (The movie, that is.)

22. Johannesburg's land: Abbr. : RSA. (Republic of South Africa)

23. Part of a bottle : NECK

27. Moose relative : ELK

28. Cousin of edu : .COM

29. Perfectly : TO A TEE

30. Venus, e.g. : PLANET

33. USPS pieces : LTRS. (United States Postal Service/LETTERS)

37. 'Vette roof option : T-TOP

39. Cooks over boiling water : STEAMS

40. Sea west of Greece : IONIAN. Map.

43. Drill insert : BIT to go along with 38D. Gift for a handyman : TOOL SET

50. Song for two : DUET. from the 80's Duets.

51. Final: Abbr. : ULT. (ultimate)

52. Nerve cell part : AXON

53. "It's Not About the Bike" author Armstrong : LANCE. Ironically, so true.

54. Pale : ASHEN

59. "Cool beans!" : "NEATO!"

60. Eye-fooling pictures : OP ART

61. First of a Latin threesome : AMO amas amat

62. Periodic table fig. : AT. NO. (atomic number)

63. Uses a swizzle stick : STIRS. Not for Tinbeni, just a gentle swirl will do.

64. Good times : UPS. A shout out to Splynter?

Down:

1. Demi Moore military movie : "GI JANE". IMDb.

2. Hardy's comedy partner : LAUREL

3. Next to bat : ON DECK

4. "I did it!" : "TADA!"

5. Suffix with stamp : EDE

6. Wine, on le menu : VIN

7. "That's gross!" : "YECCH!"

8. Revolutionary Allen : ETHAN. The Amtrak train, Ethan Allen Express, runs from New York City to Rutland, Vermont, busy with skiers soon.

9. Showery mo. : APR. (April)

10. Opera text : LIBRETTO. The libretto contains all the words and stage directions; helpful when I go to the opera, not!

11. Flourish : PROSPER

12. Colorful shawls : SERAPES. Fun word.

15. Japanese electronics giant : SANYO

17. Squid's squirt : INK

21. Formicarium insect : ANT. A formicarium is a fancy name for an ant farm. Ants are of the family Formicidae.

24. "The Grapes of Wrath" surname : JOAD

25. Old Dodge hatchbacks : OMNIs

26. Works by Salvador : DALÍs

28. Cavs, on scoreboards : CLE. (Cleveland Cavaliers)

30. Drop by : POP IN

31. CPR specialist : EMT

32. Trendy aerobics regimen : TAE BO. Zumba is the hot ticket around here.

34. Satirist Swift : JONATHAN

35. Narrow the gap : GAIN

36. Prime meridian hrs. : GMT. (Greenwich Mean Time)

37. Mexican border city : TIJUANA

41. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. English Book Trailer: "A Bell for Adano"

42. Say no to : NIX

44. U.S. capital nearest the Arctic Circle : JUNEAU. In Alaska, but you knew that, didn't you?

45. Take down the tents and move on : DECAMP. Then an étape and put them up again.

46. Pool workers : STENOS. From the secretarial pool.

48. Judo schools : DOJOs. From Japanese.

49. Not suited : INAPT

50. Youngster's "play catch" partner : DAD. Fresh cluing.

53. D-Day fleet : LST's. (Landing Ship, Tank)

55. Gen. Eisenhower's arena: Abbr. : ETO. (European Theater of Operations)

57. Month after avril : MAI. French

58. Go down the wrong path : ERR

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

This puzzle was inspired by the beautiful grandma of these three cutest kids. Thanks, JD.

Left to right: Grady, Truman & Cameron

Left to right: Cameron, Grady, Truman, Halloween 2012