Wednesday January 27, 2010 Daniel A. Finan

Theme: NURSERY RHYMES (37A. Mother Goose offerings, or in a different sense, this puzzle's title) - the first word of each rhyming phrase can be found in a plant nursery.

17A. Longing for a fronded plant?: FERN YEARN. Frond is the leaf of the fern.

21A. Zinfandel, but not sake?: VINE WINE. Sake is Japanese rice wine.

23A. Oxygen emanating from a lawn?: GRASS GAS. The answer made me laugh.

55A. Steep, e.g.?: HERB VERB. You steep the "herbal tea", hence a verb for herb I presume.

57A. Like areas above the timberline?: TREE FREE. Trees do not grow above the timberline.

61A. Group devoted to small, woody plants?: SHRUB CLUB. What's the difference between shrub and bush?

Heavy themage. Total 63 theme squares. Very Dan Naddor-ish, isn't it? Esp with the first and last pair of stacked theme answers.

I got the unifying entry NURSERY RHYMES rather quickly, but did not understand the theme until I was completely done. Had thought the theme answers were all arbitrary. Then the precious AHA (6D: Cry of realization) hit me. Very clever tie-in. Loved Dan's subtle metapuzzle gimmick. Or "You've got to dig deep to find the theme...", in his own words.

The clues are a bit trickier than our normal Wednesday, no?

Across:

1. Bridges of "The Big Lebowski": JEFF. He's "The Dude" in the movie. A bowler.

5. River projects: DAMS. I like how it crosses DREDGE (5D. Channel maintenance machine).

9. Ritz cracker alternative: ZESTA. The Keebler brand. Two Zs in the grid. And only Q away from a pangram.

14. Swedish furniture giant: IKEA. So easy to get lost inside IKEA store.

15. Ostrich cousin: RHEA

19. Connection: NEXUS

20. H.S. dropout's test: GED (General Equivalency Diploma)

27. Spews: EGESTS. Thought of ERUPTS.

28. Bench press target, briefly: PEC

29. Côte d'Azur view: MER. French for "sea". Nice is at Côte d'Azur (the French Riviera). We also have "water" EAU (52A. __ Claire, Wisconsin).

30. Scratch or dent: MAR

31. Ed.'s pile: MSS (Manuscripts). Used to stump me.

32. Rural skyline cylinder: SILO. For forage.

34. Rock collection specimens: AGATES. Raw agates do not look pretty at all.

42. Cloverleaf element: ON-RAMP. Highway interchange "Cloverleaf".

43. Follower of once?: UPON. "Once upon a time ...".

45. Some TVs: GES

48. Scrap for Spot: ORT. Spot is a common dog name. Alliteration.

49. Anaheim team, on scoreboards: LAA. Silly name: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

53. Pair of blows: ONE-TWO. No idea. Boxing term?

59. Govt. auditing gp.: GAO (General Accounting Office)

60. Fruit soda brand: FANTA. No Coca-Cola brand in our house. Loyal Pepsi consumers.

66. "I Kissed __": Katy Perry hit: A GIRL. Not familiar with the song or the singer.

67. Diggs of "Private Practice": TAYE. Loved him in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back".

68. Golfer Isao: AOKI. Just remember the AO combination in both his give name and surname.

69. Kidney-related: RENAL

71. Joan at Woodstock: BAEZ. Nicely intersects BIZ (65D. Show __).

Down:

1. Choice of "Choosy moms," in ads: JIF. "Choosy moms choose Jif"

3. Not agin: FER. "For". "Agin" = Against.

4. Werewolf's weapons: FANGS

7. Griffin and others: MERVS. Merv Griffin created "Jeopardy".

8. Cleaning product prefix: SANI. Got it from Across.

9. "Riders of the Purple Sage" author: ZANE GREY. Have faintly heard of the book. Full author name is always desirable.

10. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron: ERE WE. "Ere" = "Before". I guessed.

11. Discrimination fought by suffragists: SEXISM

12. Talks trash to: TAUNTS

13. Size up: ASSESS. Typical grid (right/bottom) edge word, with all the four Ss.

18. Polite country affirmative: YES' M

22. Not o'er: NEATH. Poetically.

23. Modern rental car feature, briefly: GPS

24. Hold back: REIN

25. Scopes Trial gp.: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Was unaware of the Scopes Trial.

26. Turkish mount: ARARAT. The landing mount of Noah's Ark.

30. Christie heroine: MARPLE. Miss Marple.

33. Plata counterpart: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Plata = "silver". "Oro y Plata" (gold and silver) is Montana's motto.

35. Place where sweaters get fit?: GYM. "Sweat-ers" = Ones who sweat. Hot clue!

36. The Mustangs of coll. football: SMU (Southern Methodist University). The answer emerged itself.

38. Winter wonderland creator: SNOW FALL. Lovely Heidi Klum "Wonderland".

39. Shortstop's boot: ERROR. "Boot" is misplay of the ground ball.

40. Foil alternative: EPEE. Was picturing the wrap "foil", not "fencing weapon".

41. Fly high: SOAR

44. Worn-down pencil: NUB

45. Was successful: GOT FAR. And SEEN IN (47D. Shown to a seat). Tricky little multi-words, esp with the tense.

46. Bring to a boil?: ENRAGE. With the question mark, I still thought of liquid boil. Dummy!

50. Pleads in court: ARGUES

51. Simple poetry pattern: ABAB

54. Aquarium denizen: TETRA. Maybe Dennis has this species in his fish tank.

55. "__ it coming": "Serves him right": HE HAD. Again, obtained the answer with Across help.

56. Eng. lesson: VOCAB (Vocabulary).

58. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA. How do you reply then?

62. Bakery product: RYE

63. Mauna __: LOA. Hawaiian for "long".

64. Strummed strings: UKE. The Hawaiian strings. Nice parallel with LOA.

Here is a picture of our Jazzbumpa in full orchestra uniform. It's taken in Dec 2009 before their Sebelius concert.

Note to newcomers: I have a permanent Blog Photos link on the blog sidebar. If you want to join us there, do email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) your picture.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday January 26, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Saintly Cities of Cee A - Add SAN (61A) to the first names of 16A, 20A, 33A, and 59A to get cities in 56A.

16A: *Big name in tequila: JOSE CUERVO. Tracy Byrd might buy you a round. San Jose.

20A: *Mexican muralist: DIEGO RIVERA. Self-portrait. San Diego.

33A: *Spanish painter (1746-1828): FRANCISCO GOYA. Self-portrait. (No Nude Maja today). San Francisco.

50A: *Roger Federer rival: RAFAEL NADAL. Tennis Poster Boy. San Rafael.

56A: Home to this puzzle's theme: CALIFORNIA.

61A: Word that forms a city when combined with the first names in answers to starred clues: SAN.

Argyle here.

I thought for sure this was at least a Thursday puzzle, what with all the open squares I had but when I got to the South-West corner (how appropriate), 61A turned on the light bulb and filled in the picket fences. Still, it is a hard Tuesday but it is Dan's and it is doable.

Here is a list of more "San" cities in California.

Across:

1A: "I did it!": "TA-DA!".

5A: Outplays: BESTS.

10A: Jack's inferior: TEN. (playing cards)

13A: Holly genus: ILEX.

14A: Draw a better bead on: RE-AIM. I didn't find it in the Dictionary.com.

15A: Pitcher Hideo: NOMO. Nomo was the second Japanese native to pitch in the major leagues, and was famous for his "tornado" delivery.

18A: Gossip tidbit: ITEM.

19A: Abu Dhabi's federation: Abbr.: UAE. United Arab Emirates

22A: Actor Brody of "The Pianist": ADRIEN. (his abs)

24A: Pep: ENERGY.

25A: __ one mind: disagreeing: NOT OF.

26A: Fri. preceder: THU..

29A: Short film role: CAMEO. Hitchcock was famous for his brief appearances in his films.

30A: Some: A FEW.

31A: On the double: PRONTO.

38A: For all to see: OPENLY.

39A: Submissive: MEEK.

41A: Gas brand with a landmark sign outside Fenway Park: CITGO.

45A: Vegas cube: DIE. (plural is dice)

46A: Iraqi seaport: BASRA.

47A: Opposed (to): AVERSE.

49A: "The Picture of __ Gray": DORIAN. The only published novel (1891) by Oscar Wilde, it was made into a film and released in 1945, featuring Hurd Hatfield as Dorian.

54A: Gold units: Abbr.: KTS.. In U.S., karat is used for "proportion of fine gold in an alloy". CA, the Gold Coast.

55A: Big pictures: Abbr.: ENLS.. (enlargements)

58A: Fight-ending calls, briefly: TKOS.

59A: Insect stage: IMAGO.

60A: Animal whose fur was used for Crockett's cap: COON. What boy wouldn't want one.

62A: Slow to catch on: DENSE. Like me and today's offering.

63A: Barley beards: AWNS. Is it a "gimme" yet?

Down:

1D: Baja border city: TIJUANA. And not far from San Diego.

2D: What you "take" when you sit down: A LOAD OFF. (off your feet)

3D: Military no-show: DESERTER. They're locked-up in TIJUANA!

4D: Lumberjack's tool: AXE.

5D: UCLA player: BRUIN. No Boston Bruin today, wrong coast.

6D: Extra wide, on a shoebox: EEEE.

7D: Puppeteer Tony: SARG.

8D: VCR successor: TIVO.

9D: Campfire treat: S'MORE. Who can have just one S'MORE?

10D: For the full length of a pregnancy: TO TERM.

11D: Come to light: EMERGE.

12D: "Skip the sandwich dressing": "NO MAYO". Words I've never said.

15D: Skin care brand: NIVEA.

17D: B-G link: CDEF. (alphabetically)

21D: Working undercover, for short: INCOG. (incognito)

23D: Corn Belt state: IOWA. I'll bet it hurt to have put a Midwestern state in this CA puzzle.

26D: Gave it a shot: TRIED.

27D: Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI.

28D: "I give up!": "UNCLE!".

31D: Angel dust, briefly: PCP.

32D: Happy Meal extra: TOY.

34D: Lariat loop: NOOSE.

35D: Poet Khayyám: OMAR.

36D: "That's not news to me": "YES, I KNOW".

37D: Soda-making process: AERATION. Puts the bubbles in it.

40D: Topeka natives: KANSANS.

41D: Insertion marks: CARETS. This.

42D: The Donald's daughter: IVANKA. Her mother is Ivana.She born October 30, 1981.

43D: Nonstick coating: TEFLON.

44D: Lawn makeup: GRASS.

46D: Western tie: BOLO. What the good old boys are wearing.

48D: Spanish hero played by Heston: EL CID.

49D: Willem of "Spider-Man": DAFOE. No abs shot for him.

51D: Appoint: NAME.

53D: Uses a spade: DIGS.

57D: Color TV pioneer: RCA.

Answer grid.

Starting in February we'll only see Dan Naddor's puzzles every other week.

Argyle