Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Gail Grabowski

Theme: PANTS (57D: Garment that can follow the starts of the answers to starred clues. Or, as was discussed yesterday, pairs of trousers. Speak of it one day - see it the next?)

17A: *Hilarious Joke: KNEE-SLAPPER. (I've always heard this said disdainfully of a not-so-hilarious joke.) KNEE PANTS. Fashion comes and goes. Style is forever.

39A: *Worry, slangily: SWEAT IT. More commonly: don't sweat, as in "the small stuff." SWEAT PANTS. Could this be why Dennis goes to the gym every day?

63A: *Frosted Lenten pastry: HOT CROSS BUNS. HOT PANTS. Of course. Can anyone identify the car? Also these. And this.

11D: *Enduring, as a storm: RIDING OUT. RIDING PANTS. Also known as jodhpurs.

34D: *Freight Bearing Vessel: CARGO SHIP. CARGO PANTS have lots of pockets.

Tight theme with five answers and all the key words at the beginning of the fill. The unifying answer PANTS is perfectly placed at the very end of the grid, providing solvers with the precious "Aha" moment.

Hi, Gang -- JazzBumpa here. The timing is only a coincidence, but after yesterday's travails, our intrepid blogger Argyle has a well-deserved day (or, as it turns out, night) off.

I've had my difficulties as well. All Cruciverb functionality related to LA Times puzzles appears to be inoperative - at least as of this writing (sometime 'round midnight PST. I'm in EST!

Across:

1A: Unshiny photo finish: MATTE. Also a finish on wall paint, but without the alliterative word play. And SEPIA (7D: Brownish photo tint).

6A: Tree with quaking leaves: ASPEN. Populus Tremuloides sounds like a Roman senator.

11A: Usually nonmelodic music genre: RAP. No melody, no music.

14A: Not moving: INERT. Also used for something chemically non-reactive. Frequent fill NEON, for example.

15A: Work on a loom: WEAVE. Don't forget Jerome's Navajo humility mark.

16A: Under the weather: ILL. Because a quick change in the weather can leave you feeling out of sorts - with a SINUS headache, for example.

19A: Narc's Org. DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency. Not headache drugs.

20A: Ages and ages: EONS. Like, forever.

21A: Depression era migrant: OKIE. The Joads migrated from Oklahoma to California, looking for a better life.

22A: Bat one's eyelashes, perhaps: FLIRT. Sometimes you make out better at both ends.

24A: Method: Abbr.: SYST. Short for system.

25A: Lincoln wore one: BEARD. Here is the before picture.

27A: Pay for a hand: ANTE. I saw this more cleverly as "pay to hold hands" over the weekend.

28A: Bank encumbrance: LIEN. This is a charge against real or personal property for the payment of any debt or duty, which must be satisfied before the property is sold.

30A: Sound hear twice in "Gargantuan." HARD G. But only heard once in Pantagruel. Remember Don "Hard G" Gagliardo's record-breaking "Hard and Soft G" puzzle from a few months ago? Total 21 G's.

32A: Command for an attack dog: SIC 'EM. Strange expression. Does anyone know the origin?

35A: Dressing for romaine and such: SALAD OIL.

38A: Palm Pilot or Blackberry, briefly: PDA. Personal Data Assistant. Like a virtual electronic secretary.

42A: Mex. neighbor: USA. Us, eh?

43A: Hardly geniuses: AIRHEADS. Will this unleash another barrage of blonde jokes?

45A: Contest submission: ENTRY. Or, a crossword fill.

47A: Arrived: GOT IN. Seemed like I just arrived in bed when the alarm went off.

48A: Poet Pound: EZRA. Another alliteration. And a Bible Book. Hebrew for "Help".

50A: Old hands: PROS. Professionals. An old hand is experience.

52A: Coerce: FORCE. Don't coerce me, bro!

54A: Infield protector: TARP. A big roll of plastic sheet that's rolled out onto a baseball infield during a rain delay.

58A: Retreats in the desert. OASES. Or maybe only a mirage.

60A: Bring up: REAR. Not bringing up the rear, but nurturing children.

61A: Field of expertise: AREA. Mine is being a grandfather. What's yours?

62A: Jr. high, e.g.: SCH. School abbreviation.

66A: Maneuver among moguls: SKI. Long alliterative clue for a short answer. Mogul here refers to the "bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope".

67A: One way to read: ALOUD. But only if reading aloud is allowed.

68A: White sheet wearer, on Halloween. GHOST. Usually cute and lovable. Not like these guys.

69A: Sixth Sense for short: ESP. Extra-sensory perception. I just knew it.

70A: Sources of blue eyes, say: GENES. Or as Mendel would say, "The eyes have it."

71A: Shipping weight deductions: TARES. The weight of the containers. Easy to confuse it with with TRET, the "Old waste allowance".

Down:

1D: Studio sound equipment: MIKES. Microphones. An abbreviation that has become a standard word.

2D: Be a thorn in the side of: ANNOY. No obscure crosses to annoy me today.

3D: Prom goers: TEENS. High School Prom. Fashion or style? You decide.

4D: Railroad bridge support. TRESTLE. I can never remember how to spell it.

5D: UFO crew, presumably: ETS. Extra-terrestrials. Great bicycle riders.

6D: Greet the morning.: AWAKEN. Not so much fun at 2:00 a.m.

8D: Part head gear: PAPER HAT. Didn't we just see some of these.

9D: Genesis outcast: EVE. Yes. it was all about Eve.

10D: Spongy ball brand: NERF. Can you get enough?

12D: Tip off: ALERT. Stay alert for the start of basketball season.

13D: One in a buffet stack: PLATE. Get a clean one when you go back for seconds.

18D: Ear part. LOBE. Eeeewww!

23D: "Shane"star Alan: LADD. He made lots of movies. And lots of money.

26D: Surrealist Salvador: DALI. No beard - just a mustache.

29D: "That'll do, thanks": I'M SET. Abbreviation in the clue and answer. Nice.

31D: Movie critic at times: RATER. I'll give this clue two thumbs up.

32D: Restful Resort. SPA. A new and alliterative clue.

33D: Deposed Despot AMIN. A bad dude. A good alliterative clue.

35D: Stockholm bound carrier: SAS Scandinavian Airline System International. New to me. "Amsterdam bound carrier" is KLM.

36D: Jerusalem is its cap.: ISR. Israel, of course.

37D: Set (down): LAY. Now a lay me down to sleep (wishful thinking.)

40D: Street urchin: WAIF. I always think of this. Reminds me of granddaughter Emily.

41D: Ralph Kramden's Pal: ED NORTON. From The Honeymooners

44D: Sprinkler attachment: HOSE. I think of it the other way around.

46D: Boris's partner in 'toon espionage.: NATASHA. Fatale and Boris Badenov.

48D: Online birthday greetings, e.g.: ECARDS. Greetings from a distance.

49D: Round number?: ZERO. Literal, in this case.

50D: Outlaw chasing group: POSSE. Euphemism for a lynch mob.

51D: Poolroom triangles: RACKS. Where is the triangle?

53D: Prompt again: RECUE. Or break another rack, perhaps.

55D: Vine covered recess: ARBOR. ANN had one, here in MI.

56D: Get extra value from: REUSE. The ANN ARBOR reuse recycle center.

59: Thick carpet: SHAG. Or a certain haircut.

64D: Bullfight shout: OLE. What, no corrida?

65D: Rank above Cpl.: SGT. As in Sgt. Bilko.

Pretty good puzzle. That's all Folks. I'm going back to bed.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Matt and his friends backstage at "The Music Man". He was the train conductor. And he was wearing the conductor hat blue and black and a blue blazer. Matt uses screen name Red state Democrat when posting.

JzB the sleep deprived trombonist.

Monday, September 7, 2009 Teri Smalley

Theme: NFL Kickoff (61D: Org. where you can see the first words of 20-, 38- and 55-Across)

20A: Give one's verdict: PASS JUDGMENT

38A: Create a distraction: RUN INTERFERENCE

55A: Get rid of by promoting, as an employee: KICK UPSTAIRS

Argyle here. This puzzle gave me all sorts of trouble. No, not the puzzle itself but trying to get it here to the corner.

As of yet, Cruciverb didn't have the puzzle available, which meant, I couldn't do it with Across Lite. I had to wait for LAT version to come out.

I use a character recognition program to change my print out into a Word document so I can cut and paste. Well, the Java print out didn't work so well until I literally did some cut and pasting. Ok, it was cut and taping, but it got done and here I am. On to the puzzle.

KICK UPSTAIRS Unfortunately, this happens all to often, especially in government. People will mess up but it is easier to promote them than it is to fire them!

There were several sports references but, correct me if I'm wrong, none about football except, indirectly, the UCLA Bruins.

Baseball: 11D: Hodges who managed the Miracle Mets: GIL. And 29D: Polo Grounds slugger Mel: OTT. Golf: 30D: Hole in one: ACE. Tennis: 31D: Tennis great Evert: CHRIS (Golfer "The Shark" Greg Norman's wife). NASCAR: 36D: Racecar's stopping place: PIT.

Across:

1A: Small cluster, as of threads: TUFT.

5A: Garbage barge: SCOW.

9A: Rifle with tiny shot: BB GUN.

14A: Ready and willing partner: ABLE. Ready, ABLE and Willing.

15A: Home of the NCAA's Bruins: UCLA.

16A: Bangor's state: MAINE. This ought to make our fellow solver Mainiac happy. Stephen King has a huge Victorian style mansion in Bangor.

17A: Othello, for one: MOOR. A Moor is a Muslim of the mixed Berber and Arab people inhabiting NW Africa. This group that invaded Spain in the 8th century a.d. and occupied it until 1492. And 59D: Spanish hero El __: CID. Spanish soldier: hero of the wars against the Moors. Is there an echo inhere?

18A: Ogler's look: LEER.

19A: Relative via marriage: IN-LAW.

23A: On the Atlantic, say: AT SEA.

24A: Pant leg: TROUSER.

28A: Game-hunting trespasser: POACHER.

32A: Lumberjack's tool: AXE.

33A: Li'l Abner's home: DOGPATCH.

37A: Two-part: DUAL.

42A: Coup d'__: ETAT.

43A: Supply water to artificially, as farmland: IRRIGATE.

44A: Singer Garfunkel: ART. What's your favorite Simon & Garfunkel song?

45A: Degrading: ABASING.

48A: Military utensils set: MESS KIT.

50A: Teamsters leader who disappeared in 1975: HOFFA. His son James HOFFA is the current Teamsters president.

59A: "__ be?": "is that possible?": CAN IT. Yes!

62A: Lang. of Rome: ITAL.

63A: Disorderly type: SLOB.

64A: Prefix with structure: INFRA. Infrastructure.

65A: California wine valley: NAPA.

66A: Chichen __: Mayan ruins: ITZA. Chichen Itza was a major city for the Mayan people beginning in about 600 AD. Tourists still flock to the site to climb the temple steps.

67A: Idiots: DOLTS.

68A: Counterfeit: SHAM.

69A: Backyard storage facility: SHED.

Down:

1D: Florida city on the Gulf Coast: TAMPA.

2D: WWII German sub: U-BOAT.

3D: Dental thread: FLOSS.

4D: To the point: TERSE.

5D: "Star Trek" crewman: SULU. The "Star War" character is Han SOLO.

6D: Sent a duplicate letter to, briefly: CC'ED.

7D: Cassini of fashion: OLEG. Cassini was married to actress Gene Tierney. (1941) He was noted for being chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy to design her state wardrobe in the 1960s.

8D: Fireside feeling: WARMTH.

9D: Key related to D major: B MINOR.

10D: Language group that includes Swahili: BANTU. Zulu belongs to BANTU also.

12D: A, in Abruzzi: UNA. Alliteration again. Italian for "a", Spanish for "a" too. Abruzzi is a region of central Italy bordering on the Adriatic Sea.

13D: "__ and improved!": ad claim: NEW.

21D: Iwo Jima's country: JAPAN. And AKITAS (45D: Dogs from 21-Down). Looks worried.

22D: Before, in verse: ERE.

25D: Sweat spot: SAUNA.

26D: Precise: EXACT.

27D: Surrenderer to U.S. Grant: R.E.LEE.

33D: Reason for talking in one's sleep: DREAM.

34D: Freakish: OUTRE.

35D: Tiny flying biters: GNATS.

37D: Temperature meas.: DEG (Degree)

39D: Part of TGIF: Abbr.: FRI.

40D: Sea eagle: ERN. TERN is seabird too. Here is an ERN.

41D: Correct: RIGHT.

46D: Ballpoint brand: BIC.

47D: Low-carb diet maven: ATKINS. Dr. Robert Atkins died in 2003 when he slipped on the ice while walking to work, hitting his head and causing bleeding around his brain. He died to weeks later. He was 72.

49D: Dress bottom: SKIRT.

51D: Kalahari refuge: OASIS. Kalahari Desert is largely in Botswana. Plural of OASIS is OASES.

52D: Serious grime: FILTH.

53D: Didn't move a muscle: FROZE.

54D: Equally poor: AS BAD.

56D: Four Corners state: UTAH.

57D: Mama's mate: PAPA.

58D: Close angrily: SLAM.

60D: 365 dias: ANO. The lowercase case is año. Whole different meaning with ano.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver J.D and her family celebrating her grandson Truman's 2-year-old birthday on Saturday August 29, 2009. On couch: Joe (JD's Welsh son-in-law) and Shelby (on floor, JD's daughter), Truman, Derek (JD's Wyoming son-in-law) and Corie (JD's daughter) holding Grady (Truman's little brother), Judy and Bob (JD's husband). This stairs photo looks adorable too. From bottom to top: Truman with Daddy Derek, Grady with mommy Corie, Joe and Shelby, Judy and Bob. And Shelby's wedding picture, taken April 2008. Beautiful. From left to right: JD, Bob, Shelby and Joe, Corie, Derek and Truman.

Argyle

PS: Teri Smalley is another alias name of Rich Norris. Anagrams to "It's really me". Thanks, Jerome.