Monday, December 21, 2009 Holly Barnes

Theme: Your Services Are No Longer Required - Synonyms of "fire" are hidden in the beginning of the first word of each theme answer.

17A: War on terror foe: AXIS OF EVIL. That is what President Bush named Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

26A: Elton John tribute rededicated to Princess Diana: CANDLE IN THE WIND. Originally dedicated to Marilyn Monroe

46A: "Alice Adams" novelist: BOOTH TARKINGTON. His "Alice Adams" won a Pulitzer Prize. Full Name: Newton Booth Tarkington (died 1946).

60A: Donald Trump catchphrase, and hint to the first two, three and four letters, respectively, of 17-, 26- and 46-Across: YOU'RE FIRED.

Quite a tight theme. AX, CAN, BOOT are all independent verbs embedded in the start of the first noun of the theme phrase. Four X'es and one J also add a bit of scrabbliness to the grid.

Argyle here. If this isn't a theme you can relate to, congratulations. Two fifteen letter fills on a Monday must be unusual. And it seems to be a puzzle that being a little older is a good thing.

Across:

1A: Urge forward: IMPEL.

6A: Rock genre involving flamboyant garb: GLAM. Mere words won't do! We Want More - Brisbane's (OZ) Glam rock band.

10A: Hasn't yet paid: OWES.

14A: __ Gras: MARDI.

15A: Insolvent banking giant, familiarly: WAMU. Washington Mutual, Inc.

16A: Green Hornet's sidekick: KATO. Keye Luke (a frequent visitor to crosswords) took the role in the movie serials, and in the television series he was portrayed by Bruce Lee.

20A: Cake-making aid: MIX.

21A: 1492 ship: NINA. And 22A: Crow's-nest cry: "LAND HO!".

24A: Tex-__ cuisine: MEX.

25A: Litigator's org.: ABA. American Bar Association. And 38A: Litigator's field: LAW.

35A: Util. product: ELEC.. Electric utility.

39A: "__ Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts": old song: I'VE. Singing Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch

40A: Hens do it: LAY.

43A: Three-time Masters champ Sam: SNEAD.

49A: Pickle holder: JAR.

50A: Ballot marks: XES.

51A: Canal country: PANAMA.

54A: Bar in a grill: SPIT. Outdoor grill with a rotisserie.

56A: Tarzan raiser: APE.

59A: Economist Smith: ADAM. Followed by 65A: Exorbitant interest: USURY.

66A: Change of a five: ONES.

67A: Johnny of "Public Enemies": DEPP.

68A: Sugar bowl cubes: LUMPS.

Down:

1D: Mosque official: IMAM. And 9D: Islamic clerics: MULLAHS. Not the same?

2D: Leg-covering skirt: MAXI. You only get a pic if it's a mini.

3D: Grand __: auto race: PRIX.

4D: Publishing VIPs: EDS.

6D: Rock star Stefani or actress Verdon: GWEN.

10D: 1945 Pacific battle site: OKINAWA.

11D: Magician's rod: WAND.

12D: Engrave, in a way: ETCH.

13D: Manhattan district: SOHO. The NYC Manhattan today.

18D: Repairs: FIXES.

24D: XL squared: MDC. 40x40=1600

28D: Not familiar with: NEW TO.

29D: Turner autobiography: I, TINA. Cover.

30D: "No chance!": "NEVER!".

31D: Fine-tune: TWEAK.

32D: Archipelago part: ISLET.

33D: "Groovy!": "NEATO!". Time to retire "NEATO" and bring back "RAD".

34D: Israeli war hero Moshe: DAYAN.

42D: Orange Place on a Monopoly board: ST. JAMES.

43D: Got off course: STRAYED.

44D: The South: DIXIE.

45D: NFL three-pointers: FGS. Field goal- Kicking the football through the goal posts.

47D: Meat with eggs: HAM.

48D: Trawler's haul: NETFUL.

51D: Half a Samoan city: PAGO.

52D: Tennis score: AD IN. The server only needs one more point to win.

53D: Main church section: NAVE.

54D: __ pump: waste disposal device: SUMP.

55D: Yorick's skull, e.g.: PROP. "Alas, poor Yorick! A fellow of infinite jest, reduced to a mere PROP."

56D: Calla lily family: ARUM. Have we learned this yet?

57D: Cop's quarry: PERP. And our savior.

58D: "Grand" ice cream brand: EDY'S.

62D: Terre Haute sch.: I.S.U.. Indiana State University. Indiana State was originally founded as Indiana State Normal School in 1865. The University changed its name three times and finally agreed upon today’s name in 1965.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday December 20, 2009 Alan Arbesfeld

Theme: Loose Lady. Or rather RUN AROUND SUE (120A. 1961 #1 hit for Dion, and a literal hint to this puzzle's hidden theme) - Letters SUE are running loose, bookending each theme entry.

23A. Seafood restaurant starter: SHRIMP BISQUE. Yummy creamy!

38A. Heirloom quality: SENTIMENTAL VALUE. What's the most treasured heirloom in your family?

54A. Acid rain component: SULFUR DIOXIDE

84A. Literally, "with highest praise": SUMMA CUM LAUDE

101A. The world's longest crosses Japan's Akashi Strait: SUSPENSION BRIDGE. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge. Unknown to me.

16D. Nickname heard in Manhattan: SUNFLOWER STATE. I was in NY direction. Did not know there's a city named Manhattan in Kansas.

50D. June observance: SUMMER SOLSTICE

I have never heard of the song "Runaround Sue". The lyrics says "She took my love then ran around with every single guy in town...". Hence "Loose Lady" theme title I suppose.

Most of the theme clues for our Sunday puzzles seem to have question marks and involve some sort of wordplay or out-of-the-box thinking. Today's theme clues are honest and straightforward. Nice to have a change.

How's your solving experience today? I felt quite challenged by the geography trivia. Had to peek at the cheat sheet a few times.

Across:

1. Have the final turn: GO LAST. Very seldom did 1-Across come to me immediately. Today was not exception.

7. Kin of ibid.: OP. CIT. Both footnote abbrs.

12. Plenty: A LOT

16. Alastair of "A Christmas Carol": SIM. He played the Scrooge. His name was not stored in my brain shelf.

19. Since way back when: IN AGES

20. Moonshine: HOOCH. Illicit liquor.

21. Convertible, maybe: SOFA. "Maybe" did not prevent me from thinking of car.

22. Game whose name must be spoken during play: UNO

25. Toned down: SOFTENED

27. Drops by Niagara Falls?: MIST. I fell into "drops by" verb trap.

28. Sweep's target, perhaps: SOOT

29. Hard worker's output: SWEAT

31. Actress Woodard: ALFRE. She campaigned hard for Obama, and of course she scored a precious seat at the last state dinner.

32. Mountain nymph: OREAD (AW-ree-ad)

34. Follow: TAIL

36. Will Smith title role: ALI. Someday he's going to play Obama in a biopic.

37. Swabs: SALTS. Both slang for "sailors".

43. "Nothing __!" TO IT

44. Unsavory pair of options: EVILS. The lesser of two evils.

46. Entrance: GATEWAY

48. "The Big Chill" director: KASDAN (Lawrence). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he wrote "The Bodyguard".

51. Heavy weight: TON. I like the clue.

52. Ill-gotten gains: LUCRE. Filthy lucre.

53. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist: ORU (Oral Roberts University)

60. Monopoly buys: Abbr.: RRS

63. Gives pieces to: ARMS. "Pieces" here refer to guns.

66. Old knowledge: LORE. I associate LORE with tales rather than knowledge.

67. Palace abroad: ELYSEE. The Élysée Palace. The French "White House".

69. Prom night rentals: LIMOS

71. Indic language: URDU

73. Smooth in the shop: SAND

75. Shining: LIT UP

76. Portrait photographer Richard: AVEDON. Oh, so he shot this famous snake picture.

78. Major in astronomy?: URSA. Ursa Major.

80. Old Italian bread: LIRA. "Bread" here refers to money.

82. History: PAST

83. Sun. discourse: SER. And SEM (5D. Theological inst.)

88. Driving aid: TEE. Golf drive.

89. Hot day refuge: SHADE

91. "The Partridge Family" actress: DEY (Susan)

92. Disquiet: UNREST. Always thought "disquiet" is a verb.

94. Expand: BROADEN

96. City ESE of Mocha: ADEN. In Yemen. Tricky new clue.

98. French noble: COMTE. French for "count". "Comte de Monte-Cristo" (The Count of Monte Cristo) is a fantastic read.

107. Party leaders: HOSTS. Was thinking of the political leaders.

109. Milk units: Abbr.: QTS

110. Queens stadium: ASHE. And LENDL (40D. Frequent McEnroe opponent). Ivan Lendl.

111. Vast, in verse: ENORM

112. When a teen's curfew may be: AT TEN

113. Did some after-dinner work, maybe?: BUSED. Excellent clue.

115. Extended: LONG. Adjective "extended".

117. Fair-hiring org.: EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

118. Gist: MAIN IDEA

123. Duke's gp.: ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)

124. Character __: FLAW

125. Tarnish: TAINT

126. Songlike: ARIOSE. Same root with Aria?

127. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr.: STE (Sainte).

128. Squealer: FINK. Rat.

129. They may follow dogs: SLEDS. Nailed it.

130. Seeded: RANKED

Down:

1. Doodads: GISMOS. GIZMOS is more commonly used.

2. Available for work: ON HIRE

3. Only World Series perfect game pitcher: LARSEN (Don). Gimme. Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

4. Worked up: AGITATED

6. Cup's 48: Abbr.: TSPS. One cup has 48 teaspoons. I was thinking of bra.

7. Natives of Lima or Toledo: OHIOANS. Gimme for the Pollo-ed out Jazzbumpa, I am sure. But I did not know there's a Lima in Ohio.

8. Popular yellow office product: POST-IT. From 3M.

9. __ au vin: COQ. Cock in French. Needs MOREL mushroom for extra flavor.

10. Hosp. areas: ICUS

11. It's caused by standing fans: THE WAVE. Lovely clue/answer.

12. Tear into: ASSAIL

13. Plunder: LOOT. Verb or noun.

14. Vacationing: OFF

15. Breezy farewells: TATAS

17. Couch potato quality: INERTIA

18. "The only sure bait when you angle for praise": Lord Chesterfield: MODESTY. Not familiar with this quote. Modesty is very valued in Asia.

24. Waterside inn: BOTEL. Bo(at) + (ho)tel. New to me.

26. One who gets you up: ELATER. Not excited about any ER suffix word.

33. Celebrated singers: DIVAS

35. Workers: LABOR. This S-less style entry often stumps me.

39. Less: MINUS. Verb.

41. Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. It's quite sweet.

42. __ Cologne: EAU DE. What are you using? I love my husband's Polo Sports.

47. Immune system lymphocyte: T-CELL

48. Eucalyptus eaters: KOALAS

49. Show up: ARRIVE

51. Arctic plain: TUNDRA. Minnesota is sure a tundra at this time of the year.

55. Bud's bud: LOU (Costello). Bud Abbott. "Who's on First?" fame.

56. Discussion site: FORUM

57. Aegean island: IOS. Island where Homer is supposed to be buried.

58. How much medication is taken: ORALLY. I am sure Dennis has other clue on mind.

59. City near Dayton: XENIA. No idea. Another city in Ohio. Wikipedia says Xenia means "hospitality" in Greek.

62. Deadly sins, e.g.: SEPTET

64. Earth: SOD

68. Kennel sound: YIP. More commonly seen in crossword than YELP.

70. "What a pity": SO SAD

72. Sch. with a record 33 Rose Bowl appearances: USC (University of Southern California)

74. Joanne of film: DRU

77. Ones who can barely be seen?. NUDES. Nudes are bare. My favorite clue today.

79. "The Age of Anxiety" Pulitzer winner: AUDEN. Poet W.H. Auden.

81. "What __ idea!": "How stupid!": A DUMB

85. Course list: MENU. Meal course.

86. Smart set: MENSA. "Stupid" in Spanish.

87. __ nous: ENTRE. Literally "between" in French.

90. Pick up the pace: HASTEN

93. Kept under control: REINED IN

94. Atlantic commonwealth: BAHAMAS. Have you been there?

95. Reading in a disorderly class?: RIOT ACT. Got the answer with the Across help.

96. 2-BR listings, perhaps: APTS

97. Strands: DESERTS. Can you come up with 2 sentences in which the two words are exchangeable grammatically?

98. Pals: COHORTS

99. Bridge bid, for short: ONE NO. No problem this time.

102. Bellyache: SQUAWK. And GROUSE (105D. Bellyache).

103. Large-kitchen feature: ISLAND. Our kitchen is rather small.

104. Manages: DOES OK. Alas, my multi-word woe.

106. Ran the show: EMCEED

108. Get a whiff of: SNIFF

113. Noodle: BEAN. Both slang for "head".

116. __ gum: thickening agent: GUAR. Have never used it.

119. Mid sixth-century date: DLI. Roman numeral 551.

121. Never, in Nuremberg: NIE. "No, in Nuremberg" is NEIN.

122. Strong D.C. lobby: NRA

Answer grid.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Audrey and all the LAT Sunday solvers!

C.C.