Theme: Target of Identity Thieves
17A: One who goes from party to party: SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
37A: Comforting carry-along for kids: SECURITY BLANKET
58A: Test taker's writing implement, often: NUMBER TWO PENCIL
Argyle blogging.
Getting just one of the theme answers wouldn't help you to get the theme, but getting two leads easily to the third and our old friend, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, which we usually get as an abbreviation.
Speaking of abbreviations, there weren't that many today but one was a clinker. 57D: Wordplay in the Jumble: Abbr.: ANAG. Anagram (but there is no such abbreviation that I could find.)
Across:
1A: "The Fox and the Grapes" fable writer: AESOP.
6A: Autodom's Sable or Grand Marquis, for short: MERC. Mercury, fills the gap between Ford and Lincoln.
15A: Mine, in Montreal: A MOI. Montreal is in the French-speaking Province of Quebec, Canada. Alliterative clue.
20A: Water-carved gully: ARROYO. Origin: 1800's, Americanism; from Spanish; akin to Latin arrūgia, mine shaft. There seems to be a nice geographical mix in this puzzle.
23A: Marshy area: FEN. Chiefly British.
26A: Early September observance: LABOR DAY. It falls on the seventh this year.
32A: Hawaiian veranda: LANAI. This is much nicer than 54D: Ancient Greek meeting spot: STOA. Covered walkway or portico, commonly for public usage.
35A: Rod attachment: REEL. Fishing gear.
36A: Dinghy movers: OARS. I didn't really need to include this one; I just like the word, dinghy.
42A: Contests with pistols: DUELS. Pistol-packing pacers!
44A: Saviors: MESSIAHS.
46A: Confer knighthood on: DUB. "I dub thee Sir Knight." Guess who is the new Sir?
51A: In one's bare feet: SHOELESS. Interesting site about Shoeless Joe Jackson. He should be in the Hall of Fame, too.
56A: Delphic prophet: ORACLE.
61A: Shot into the net: GOAL. The word that says it all, in any language.
62A: Poke fun at: TAUNT. Tease is "poke fun at"; taunt is much meaner, IMHO.
Down:
1D: Syria's Bashar al-__: ASSAD. President of the Syrian Arab Republic and head of the Syrian Ba'ath Party.
2D: Atlanta university: EMORY. The real thing. Asa Candler, founder of The Coca-Cola Company, wrote the "million-dollar letter" to offer seed money, and sweetened the deal by donating land in Atlanta, to move Emory College from the small Georgia town of Oxford. Emory University (named after John EMORY, a Methodist bishop) received a DeKalb County charter to build at its present location in 1915.
3D: "__ bleu!": SACRE. Comment about the above entry.
5D: "No cheating!": PLAY FAIR.
6D: Shakespeare's fairy queen: MAB. Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
8D: __-Rooter: ROTO.
9D: You can't fight it, in a saying: CITY HALL.
11D: Couch potato's spot: SOFA.
12D: Ceramist's oven: KILN.
13D: Stone and Stallone: SLYS.
18D: Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB. Partners in the slaying of the Bobby Franks boy in 1924, for the thrill of getting away with murder.
19D: Site for cyberbidders: EBAY.
24D: Diagram tops, in bridge columns: NORTH. Probably the most misleading of today's clues, it refers to newspaper columns written about the game of bridge. It is accompanied by a diagram of the hand being discussed.
26D: Sing the praises of: LAUD. Thank you TESS (38D: Mystery novelist Gerritsen, Saturday) for reading our blog.
27D: California's Point __ National Seashore: REYES. Map. Point Reyes was originally named Punto de los Reyes ("Kings' Point") by the Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino as his ship, the Capitana anchored in Drake's Bay on the Day of the Three Kings (Epiphany, or the end of the 12 Days of Christmas) on January 6, 1603. From Wikipedia.
28D: Remains of a wreck: DEBRIS.
30D: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. Known for his slight frame and fierce competitive spirit, Hershiser was nicknamed "Bulldog" by team manager Tommy Lasorda.
31D: Concordes: Abbr.: SSTS.
32D: D-day ships: LSTS. Landing Ship-Tanks.
33D: Prefix with -nautics: AERO.
34D: Sgts. and cpls.: NCOS.
36D: Burden: ONUS.
38D: North Atlantic hazards: ICEBERGS. During WWII, there were more dangerous hazards; U-boats.
39D: Follow, as a principle: ADHERE TO.
44D: Backless slipper: MULE. There are so many types, I couldn't pick one for a picture!
46D: Borrower's burdens: DEBTS.
48D: Happen: OCCUR.
49D: Oscar winner Kevin: KLINE. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor 1989 for Otto in A Fish Called Wanda.
50D: Shoulder muscles, for short: DELTS. Cannon Ball Deltoids.
52D: Wahine's dance: HULA. They don't have grass skirts but they have the moves.
55D: Ugly duckling, in time: SWAN. Anybody have a good ugly duckling story?
59D: Worn-out: OLD. But old doesn't have to mean worn-out, right?
Answer grid.
Argyle
Note from C.C.: Now Argyle has cable connection, I can confidently say that he will blog all the Monday puzzles from now on.
17A: One who goes from party to party: SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
37A: Comforting carry-along for kids: SECURITY BLANKET
58A: Test taker's writing implement, often: NUMBER TWO PENCIL
Argyle blogging.
Getting just one of the theme answers wouldn't help you to get the theme, but getting two leads easily to the third and our old friend, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, which we usually get as an abbreviation.
Speaking of abbreviations, there weren't that many today but one was a clinker. 57D: Wordplay in the Jumble: Abbr.: ANAG. Anagram (but there is no such abbreviation that I could find.)
Across:
1A: "The Fox and the Grapes" fable writer: AESOP.
6A: Autodom's Sable or Grand Marquis, for short: MERC. Mercury, fills the gap between Ford and Lincoln.
15A: Mine, in Montreal: A MOI. Montreal is in the French-speaking Province of Quebec, Canada. Alliterative clue.
20A: Water-carved gully: ARROYO. Origin: 1800's, Americanism; from Spanish; akin to Latin arrūgia, mine shaft. There seems to be a nice geographical mix in this puzzle.
23A: Marshy area: FEN. Chiefly British.
26A: Early September observance: LABOR DAY. It falls on the seventh this year.
32A: Hawaiian veranda: LANAI. This is much nicer than 54D: Ancient Greek meeting spot: STOA. Covered walkway or portico, commonly for public usage.
35A: Rod attachment: REEL. Fishing gear.
36A: Dinghy movers: OARS. I didn't really need to include this one; I just like the word, dinghy.
42A: Contests with pistols: DUELS. Pistol-packing pacers!
44A: Saviors: MESSIAHS.
46A: Confer knighthood on: DUB. "I dub thee Sir Knight." Guess who is the new Sir?
51A: In one's bare feet: SHOELESS. Interesting site about Shoeless Joe Jackson. He should be in the Hall of Fame, too.
56A: Delphic prophet: ORACLE.
61A: Shot into the net: GOAL. The word that says it all, in any language.
62A: Poke fun at: TAUNT. Tease is "poke fun at"; taunt is much meaner, IMHO.
Down:
1D: Syria's Bashar al-__: ASSAD. President of the Syrian Arab Republic and head of the Syrian Ba'ath Party.
2D: Atlanta university: EMORY. The real thing. Asa Candler, founder of The Coca-Cola Company, wrote the "million-dollar letter" to offer seed money, and sweetened the deal by donating land in Atlanta, to move Emory College from the small Georgia town of Oxford. Emory University (named after John EMORY, a Methodist bishop) received a DeKalb County charter to build at its present location in 1915.
3D: "__ bleu!": SACRE. Comment about the above entry.
5D: "No cheating!": PLAY FAIR.
6D: Shakespeare's fairy queen: MAB. Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
8D: __-Rooter: ROTO.
9D: You can't fight it, in a saying: CITY HALL.
11D: Couch potato's spot: SOFA.
12D: Ceramist's oven: KILN.
13D: Stone and Stallone: SLYS.
18D: Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB. Partners in the slaying of the Bobby Franks boy in 1924, for the thrill of getting away with murder.
19D: Site for cyberbidders: EBAY.
24D: Diagram tops, in bridge columns: NORTH. Probably the most misleading of today's clues, it refers to newspaper columns written about the game of bridge. It is accompanied by a diagram of the hand being discussed.
26D: Sing the praises of: LAUD. Thank you TESS (38D: Mystery novelist Gerritsen, Saturday) for reading our blog.
27D: California's Point __ National Seashore: REYES. Map. Point Reyes was originally named Punto de los Reyes ("Kings' Point") by the Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino as his ship, the Capitana anchored in Drake's Bay on the Day of the Three Kings (Epiphany, or the end of the 12 Days of Christmas) on January 6, 1603. From Wikipedia.
28D: Remains of a wreck: DEBRIS.
30D: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. Known for his slight frame and fierce competitive spirit, Hershiser was nicknamed "Bulldog" by team manager Tommy Lasorda.
31D: Concordes: Abbr.: SSTS.
32D: D-day ships: LSTS. Landing Ship-Tanks.
33D: Prefix with -nautics: AERO.
34D: Sgts. and cpls.: NCOS.
36D: Burden: ONUS.
38D: North Atlantic hazards: ICEBERGS. During WWII, there were more dangerous hazards; U-boats.
39D: Follow, as a principle: ADHERE TO.
44D: Backless slipper: MULE. There are so many types, I couldn't pick one for a picture!
46D: Borrower's burdens: DEBTS.
48D: Happen: OCCUR.
49D: Oscar winner Kevin: KLINE. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor 1989 for Otto in A Fish Called Wanda.
50D: Shoulder muscles, for short: DELTS. Cannon Ball Deltoids.
52D: Wahine's dance: HULA. They don't have grass skirts but they have the moves.
55D: Ugly duckling, in time: SWAN. Anybody have a good ugly duckling story?
59D: Worn-out: OLD. But old doesn't have to mean worn-out, right?
Answer grid.
Argyle
Note from C.C.: Now Argyle has cable connection, I can confidently say that he will blog all the Monday puzzles from now on.
