Monday May 25, 2009 Gia Christian

Theme: Play Ball!

18A: Not in working order, informally: OUT OF WHACK

23A: Crook who doesn't need the combination: SAFE CRACKER

36A: Union benefit during a walkout: STRIKE PAY

42A: Everything, informally: BALL OF WAX

47A: Promising picnic forecast: FAIR WEATHER

60A: Tendency to anger easily: FOUL TEMPER

(Note from C.C.: Argyle blogged today's post. Our editor Rich Norris seems to pick different alias name for himself according to the difficulty of the puzzle. All the Gia Christian and Lila Cherry puzzles we've solved are Monday's. Nora Pearlstone authored a hard Friday. Quite scrabbly puzzle today. Loved the OUT/SAFE, STRIKE/BALL & FAIR/FOUL order. Wish SHAG (54A: Thick carpet) were clued as baseball related too. )

Back to Argyle.

OUT OF WHACK. When a hitter is in a slump.

SAFECRACKER. Also known as a yegg or yeggman.

STRIKE PAY. Did ball players get any when they went on strike?

BALL OF WAX. Usually known as the whole BALL OF WAX.

FAIR WEATHER. Domed statiums don't worry about the weather.

FOUL TEMPER. None of that in baseball, is there?

Lest we forget: George Carlin's Baseball vs Football.

Across:

5A: Quick __ flash: AS A.

8A: Open, as a gate: UNBOLT.

15A: Dickens pen name: BOZ. Sketches by Boz was Dickens's first work.

16A: Connect, as a stereo: HOOK UP.

17A: Kind of party torch: TIKI. If you have watched "Survivor", you've seen these torches.

28A: Las Vegas's desert : MOJAVE. Most of it is in California.

33A: Shooter's aiming aid: SIGHT. Telescopic optic mounted on rifles.

41A: Shredded: TORE.

44A: Annual athletic awards: ESPYS. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards from ESPN (Entertainment Sports Programming Network). If you would like to see the Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Awards since 1993, go here. A-Rod won last year.

45A: Vote out: UNSEAT.

46A: Hip-hop Dr.: DRE.

54A: Thick carpet: SHAG. Also, a baseball term: shagging flies (to throw back fly balls during batting practice).

58A: Point on a wire fence: BARB. You won't find any barb wire fences on horse farms.

63A: Mrs. Peel of "The Avengers": EMMA. EMMA is due for a vacation.

64A: Regional dialect: PATOIS. Origin: 1635–45.

65A: Grammar best-seller "Woe __:: IS I. Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better to better English by Patricia T O Conner, an editor at the New York Times Book Review.

67A: Start to nod off: DROWSE. As at a four hour ball game.

68A: Souse's woe: DTS. We sure have a lot of drunk references lately.

69A: Full of pep: SPRY.

Down:

1D: Madrid misses: Abbr.: SRTAS. Spainish senoritas.

2D: Boxer Ali: LAILA. Laila Ali with father Muhammed Ali. She probably "floats like a butterfly but stings like a bee".

3D: Request from: ASK OF.

4D: Moby Dick, notably: WHITE WHALE. From the book by Herman Melville.

6D: Composer of marches: SOUSA. Might hear one in a parade today.

7D: Early Mexican: AZTEC.

8D: TV dial letters: UHF. VHF/UHF Very high frequency/Ultra high frequency. This will have to be clued as former TV dial letters after next month.

10D: Quantum physicist Niels: BOHR. Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist who worked on the Manhatten Project and a frequent answer in crossword puzzles.

11D: "Works for me": OKAY.

12D: Time co-founder Henry: LUCE. Time Magazine co-founders Briton Hadden and Henry Luce were classmates at Yale University: more Eli's to remember.

13D: Toll rds.: TPKS. Turnpikes: don't like 'em, take the shunpike!

24D: Maine coon, for one: CAT. I had a cat that had some Maine Coon Cat in her. And 62D: Suffix with Siam: ESE. Siamese cat.

26D: Soldier of Seoul: ROK. We learned they fought on our side in Vietnam and earned Dennis' respect.

29D: Fashionable fliers: JET SETTERS.

30D: Per unit: A POP.

31D: Fluctuate: VARY.

33D: Child star of "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940): SABU. Sabu Dastagir, 1924 – 1963, was a film actor of Indian (South Asian) origin. Credited only by his first name, Sabu, for his role as Abu. movie poster As Abu, the thief , son of Abu the thief, grandson of Abu the thief, he helps the real Prince escape prison.

37D: Hijack-prevention gp.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration

38D: "Oedipus __": REX.

40D: Old Spice alternative: AFTA.

46D: Explosion remains: DEBRIS.

48D: "Big Blue": IBM. International Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue" (for its official corporate color).

49D: Fast: RAPID.

50D: Obtain using force: WREST.

51D: Overplay: HAM UP.

52D: Wascally Wabbit hunter: ELMER. Elmer Fudd, hunter.

54D: Bay Area enforcers, initially: SFPD. San Francisco Police Department.

57D: Vibrant look: GLOW.

It was a fun Monday puzzle. Everybody have a reverent Memorial Day and I don't believe today's honorees would mind if you watched a baseball game; it was one of the things they were fighting for.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 24, 2009 Kevin Donovan

Theme: Keep an Eye Out

24A: Betting a buck on Vegas?: STAKING ONE'S CLA(I)M

47A: Wheat farm operator?: BRA(I)N SURGEON

67A: Very old races?: ANCIENT RU(I)NS

83A: Notes from Charlie?: CHA(I)N LETTERS

106A: Think nostalgically about one's long-haired days?: REMEMBER THE MA(I)NE

3D: Hollywood exodus?: FLIGHT OF STA(I)RS

57D: Kudos after a great meal?: HAIL TO THE CH(I)EF

The theme title reminds me of "It's Not the Same Without You" puzzle Elissa mentioned two days ago. All of the letter U's were removed from the puzzle. There are still 4 I's left in the above theme answers.

I like REMEMBER THE MANE the best, as I often do think nostalgically about my long-haired days. Took me some time to figure out that Charlie in "Notes from Charlie" refers to Charlie Chan. Ah me!

Still a challenging puzzle for me. Got fooled by several tricky clues. But I had fun filling, erasing and filling again. Kevin Donovan is another regular contributor to Stan Newman's Newsday puzzle.

Across:

1A: Winchester, e.g.: RIFLE. Stumped immediately. Have never heard of Winchester RIFLES.

12A: Cultural Revolution leader: MAO. Cultural Revolution lasted 10 years (1966-1976).

18A: One with a big weight on his shoulders: ATLAS. The Titan with heavens on his shoulders.

19A: Angola neighbor: NAMIBIA. Here is the map. Angola is to its north. Strange capital name, Windhoek. Dictionary shows that W is pronounced as V.

21A: Dada Daddy?: ARP (Jean/Hans). Nice clue.

22A: Polished off: ATE

23A: Makes less dense: THINS

27A: Caught off base: TAGGED. Baseball.

29A: Form 1040 calc.: AGI (Adjusted Gross Income). I know nothing about income tax. My husband only asks me to sign those papers.

30A: Libreville is its capital: GABON. Easy guess.

31A: Puppy's protest: YELP. Alliteration.

32A: Its a pain: ACHE. So simple.

33A: Dwell constantly (on): OBSESS

37A: Fortitude: GRIT

43A: Paquin and Pavlova: ANNAS. Alliteration again.

44A: Hole in the wall: OUTLET

50A: Easygoing sorts: SOFTIES

52A: Brewer's need: YEAST. Baker's need too.

54A: Put on the rolls: LISTED

55A: Friend needing feeding: PET. No PET in our house.

56A: In the know: HIP

60A: Change: ALTER

64A: Occurred (to): CAME

66A: Makeup artist?: LIAR. Nailed it immediately.

73A: Hawk's weapon: TALON

74A: Peel's title: MRS. Emma Peel.

75A: Site of Floresta da Tijuca, one of the world's largest urban forests: RIO. Floresta da Tijuca is new to me.

76A: "2001" computer: HAL

77A: Tell: TATTLE

78A: Egyptian port: SUEZ. Near the south end of SUEZ Canal.

79A: Runaway bus film: SPEED. Starring Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves.

82A: Lunch and study hall: PERIODS. What is study hall PERIOD?

86A: Tight undergarment: CORSET. She has a perfect body!

87A: Patient record: CHART. And RECORD (72A: "Made to be broken" thing).

88A: Needle: HYPO. We just had NEEDLE clued as "Hypo" several days ago.

90A: Store door nos.: HRS. Thought of Dennis and his hobby stores.

93A: Thing intentionally dropped: HINT

94A: Lode load: ORE. Neat clue.

96A: Nearly boils: SCALDS

98A: Beetle's warning: BEEP. The car.

99A: Ga. Tech grad.: ENGR

100A: Sets limits on, with "in": REINS

103A: John __ Lennon: ONO. I like this new ONO clue.

104A: Cochise was one: APACHE. I forgot who Cochise was. Do know Geronimo though.

110A: Lacking color: ASHEN

113A: More modest: HUMBLER

114A: Traction aid: TREAD

115A: Oscar winner Kingsley: BEN. He won Oscar for "Gandhi". Great movie.

117A: Struggle: TUSSLE

118A: Dagger handles: HAFTS

Down:

1D: Caning material: RATTAN. Thought of Bangkok immediately. So hot there.

2D: Cornell University site: ITHACA

4D: "Cape Fear" actress: LANGE (Jessica). No idea. This poster looks scary.

5D: Latin being: ESSE

6D: Banana pair: ENS. Two N's in Banana.

7D: Information to process: DATA SET. Only knew DATA.

8D: Photographs, e.g.: IMAGES

9D: South Pacific idols: TIKIS. Are TIKIS all made of wood?

10D: Shikoku sash: OBI. Another alliteration.

11D: Criminal group: RING

14D: Covert __: spy doings: OPS. Got it from Across fills. I am used to the "Photo OPS" clue.

15D: Amalfi Coast city: SALERNO. See this map. It's foreign to me.

16D: Like 15-Down: ITALIAN

17D: Entices: TEMPTS

20D: Turkish title: AGA

26D: Trumpeter youngster: CYGNET. Someone mentioned trumpeter swan on the blog months ago.

28D: Dressed to kill, with "up": DOLLED

34D: Tournament exemptions: BYES. Tennis?

35D: 1986 #1 song by Starship: SARA. Stumped, though the tunes sounds very familiar.

41D: Used to be: WAS

45D: Unqualified: UTTER. Can you give me an example of how they are interchangeable?

46D: Theater section: TIER. Penned in LOGE first.

47D: Improved: BETTER. I was trying to think of another verb.

48D: Start of a damsel's distressed demand: UNHAND. UNHAND me? Nice alliteration.

49D: 5/7/1945 German surrender site: REIMS. Here is the map. It's in NE France.

50D: Race with gates: SLALOM. I was thinking of horse racing.

51D: Less sincere: OILIER

52D: Mysterious Asian giant: YETI

55D: Weight training targets, briefly: PECS

58D: "Dover Beach" poet: ARNOLD (Matthew). Unknown to me. I've never heard of the poem either.

59D: Public ones can be embarrassing: SCENES

61D: Real bore: SNOOZE. Why?

62D: St. Paul- to -Sault St. Marie dir.: ENE. Got it from Across fills.

63D: Implants firmly: ETCHES. Wanted EMBEDS.

64D: Temple feature?: CURL. I was trapped. Did not think of Shirley Temple.

67D: The Little Mermaid: ARIEL

68D: Line on a map: ROAD

69D: "Sonatine Bureaucratique" composer: SATIE (Erik). Obtained the answer from Across fills again.

71D: Main force: BRUNT

73D: Sea dogs: TARS. Both are slang for sailors.

77D: Saintly mother: TERESA. Mother TERESA.

78D: Onetime friend of Camus: SARTRE. A rare gimme for me. They were indeed friend once.

79D: Place with many grunts: STY. Pigs. I was thinking of soldiers.

80D: Energy: PEP

82D: Atlantic, to Brits: POND. The POND.

83D: Lantern type: CHINESE. Have you seen Gong Li's "Rise the Red Lantern"? A very influential Chinese movie in the 1990s. Gong Li is my favorite actress.

84D: Word-guessing game: HANGMAN. No idea. Does not sound like a good game title.

85D: "... all snug in __ beds": THEIR. From "The Night Before Christmas".

86D: Potter of "M*A*S*H" for one: COLONEL. Not familiar with this character.

87D: Winged child: CHERUB

89D: Channels you can't surf: CANALS. Excellent clue.

91D: Warm up, in a way: REHEAT

92D: Lays out: SPENDS. New meaning of "lay out" to me.

94D: Go around in circles?: ORBIT. Great clue.

95D: Gets out of the water, with "in": REELS. Fish.

97D: Tangle removers: COMB. Hair tangle.

98D: City of southeastern Iraq: BASRA

101D: Extreme degree: NTH

102D: Put a lid on: SHUT. Reminded me of the "Shh!" puzzle earlier this month.

105D: It may be beaten: PATH. Filled in immediately.

107D: It precedes juin: MAI. French for May.

108D: Outback runner: EMU

Answer grid.

C.C.