Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Bruce Venzke

Theme: Room (66A: Dorm unit, and a word that can follow each word in 18-, 27-, 34-, 47- and 57-Across.)

18A: Laundry room device: STEAM PRESS.

27A: Nonmember's club amenity: GUEST LOCKER.

34A: Place for a dip on the road: HOTEL POOL.

47A: Patient strategy: WAITING GAME.

57A: Indisputable evidence: SMOKING GUN.

Argyle here. There is really little to say about the theme. Pretty straightforward though some of the rooms may not be common, they exist. The use of ROOM in the 18A clue is unfortunate. It would have been better clued as Commercial laundry device.

Some old crosswordese reappears today, also. I think 2D: Prepares, as leftovers: HEATS UP sums up my feeling today. We have been served hash.

Across:

1A: Weary comment: "AH, ME".

5A: Rx's: MEDS.

9A: By oneself: ALONE.

14A: Square fare?: MEAL. "Three square meals a day". Nice rhyme.

15A: Film beekeeper: ULEE. Old crosswordese. Film: "Ulee's Gold".

16A: Defunct flier with a blue-globe logo: PAN AM.

17A: Links goals: PAR. Not quite true; the goal is to use the fewest number of strokes.

20A: "Four Quartets" poet: TS ELIOT.

22A: Leavening agent: YEAST.

23A: Havana residue: ASH. (Cigar)

24A: Organ with a hammer: EAR. Also called the Malleus.

25A: Some daisies: SHASTAS.

30A: "__ Beso": Anka song: ESO. Old crosswordese.

31A: Printer brand: EPSON.

32A: Cone maker: FIR.

33A: Zoomed: SPED.

38A: __-date: current: UP-TO.

41A: Harem chamber: ODA. Old crosswordese.

42A: Like Homo sapiens: HUMAN.

46A: Arafat's gp. until 2004: PLO. Old crosswordese.

50A: Jones or Johnson: SURNAME.

52A: West in old films: MAE. Old crosswordese. Mae West.

53A: Swaying direction: FRO. To and Fro.

54A: Crete peak: Abbr.: MT. IDA. Old crosswordese.

55A: Mental blackout: AMNESIA.

59A: Okra units: PODS. Not like pea pods. These are cut up whole, not shucked.

61A: Mortise's mate: TENON. Old crosswordese. See this illustration.

62A: 1993 Nobelist Morrison: TONI. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved.

63A: Land east of the Urals: ASIA. The Ural mountain range runs north/south and is used to divide Europe from Asia.

64A: Lead singer with The Police: STING.

65A: Graceful molding: OGEE. Old crosswordese.

Down:

1D: Roadie's load: AMP. Old crosswordese.

3D: Heron habitats: MARSHES.

4D: "Anything __?": ELSE. A new clue?

5D: Stan "The Man" of baseball: MUSIAL.

6D: Matador's opponent: EL TORO. Old crosswordese.

7D: Insect repellent ingredient: DEET. Old crosswordese.

8D: Triton's realm: SEA. Greek God of the Sea.

9D: Perform on stage: APPEAR.

10D: "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" melody: LARA'S. Some cool images with this clip.

11D: Basic dance: ONE STEP.

12D: Ilie of tennis: NASTASE. Ahh, his last name for a change.

13D: Ambulance initials: EMS. Emergency Medical Service.

19D: Rescued damsel's cry: "MY HERO!".

21D: "... __ man put asunder": LET NO.

23D: Some lie about theirs: AGE.

25D: Partner of hop and jump: SKIP. 'Hop, skip, and jump' is a track event.

26D: Groundskeeper's buy: SOD.

28D: Artsy Manhattan area: SOHO. Old crosswordese.

29D: Key equivalent to B: C-FLAT.

33D: Punch hard: SLUG.

35D: Without exception: TO A MAN.

36D: Falco of "The Sopranos": EDIE. Old crosswordese.

37D: "Gosh": ""OH, GEE".

38D: Co. with brown uniforms: UPS. United Parcel Service, what can brown do for you.

39D: Nose-dive: PLUMMET.

40D: Trattoria dessert: TORTONI. An ice cream made with eggs and heavy cream, often containing chopped cherries or topped with minced almonds or crumbled macaroons.

43D: Crime family member: MAFIOSO.

44D: Medium with much talk: AM RADIO.

45D: Prefix with natal: NEO.

47D: Walking in the shallows: WADING.

48D: Protected by shots, perhaps: IMMUNE.

49D: Family nickname: NANNIE. Not in my family. Nana is common though.

51D: F-series camera maker: NIKON.

55D: Bug-eyed: AGOG.

56D: Practice on canvas: SPAR.

57D: Bourbon et al.: Abbr.: STS. (Street)

58D: Pontiac in a '60s hit song: GTO.

60D: "Casablanca" pianist: SAM.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 1, 2010 David W. Cromer

Theme: Gambler's Action - The first word of each familiar phrase are things one might do while playing POKER (69A: Texas Hold 'em, e.g., and a hint to this puzzle's theme).

20A: Broadway premiere: OPENING NIGHT. First official presentation of a new play.

28A: Making lots of noise: RAISING A RUCKUS. Ruckus (1890), possibly a blend of ruction "disturbance" (1825) and rumpus (1764), of unknown origin.

47A: Start of a wide-area police radio alert: CALLING ALL CARS. Aka, APB.

57A: Seating for extra guests, maybe: FOLDING TABLE. I thought it would have been better to clue this as "Seating for the kids" to lead away from FOLDING CHAIR.

Bonus fill: SEVEN (23A: __-card stud). This is related to poker, of course, but not to Texas Hold'Em or to an action.

Update (7:25am): What with Texas Hold'em so big, I forgot some of us may not understand the poker terms.

OPENING: making the first bet.

RAISING: increasing the size of the bet.

Which leads to the last two entries.

CALLING: matching the bet and any raises.

FOLDING: discarding one's cards and losing out on the current pot.

Argyle here. Not bad for a Monday. Four theme answers and a clarifying clue (and a bonus). Can't you just see Bogie hailing a taxi and asking the cabbie, "Where can I find a little action in this town?"

Across:

1A: Cribbage pieces: PEGS. Is there any gambling involved in cribbage? It's not what Bogie was looking for.

5A: Shaving gel alternative: FOAM.

9A: More than disliked: HATED.

14A: Power co. product: ELEC..

17A: Volcano feature: CONE.

18A: Equestrian's control: REIN. In dressage, control is done mostly with the knees.

33A: Genealogist's chart: TREE.

34A: No-treat consequence?: TRICK. Trick or Treat. At Halloween.

35A: Speech impediment: LISP.

39A: Arises (from): STEMS.

42A: Till bills: ONES. Fine rhyme.

43A: Like draft beer: ON TAP.

45A: 1492 Atlantic crosser: NINA. With Pinta and Santa Maria

54A: By way of: VIA.

55A: Athletic shoe's turf grabber: CLEAT. Forgot about the Pro Bowl. No biggie.

61A: Yell: SHOUT.

64A: __ club: singing group: GLEE. Anyone watching "Glee"?

65A: Decisive victory: ROUT.

66A: Lower in esteem: ABASE.

67A: Name on many Irish coins: EIRE. Pic

68A: Far Eastern detective played by Lorre: MOTO. That's Mr. Moto, if you please.

70A: Boys: TADS.

71A: British weapon of WWII: STEN.

Down:

1D: __ Bill: legendary cowboy: PECOS. Freshest entry today.

2D: Romeo or Juliet, marriagewise: ELOPER. Were they married?

3D: Swiss city on the Rhone: GENEVA.

4D: First part of an act: SCENE I.

5D: Plant with fronds: FERN.

6D: Designer Cassini: OLEG.

7D: Ugandan dictator: AMIN. Forest Whitaker portrayed Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006).

8D: Seles of tennis: MONICA.

9D: Discuss thoroughly: HASH OUT.

11D: La Brea stuff: TAR.

12D: CPR giver, often: EMT.

13D: Hair styles: DOs.

21D: MIT, for one: Abbr.: INST.. An institution of higher learning

25D: Porous organ: SKIN.

26D: Brownish purple: PUCE.

30D: Keep after taxes: NET.

31D: Davis who played Thelma: GEENA. "Thelma & Louise"(1991). Geena Davis played Thelma and Susan Sarandon played Louise. Thelma quote: "I've had it up to my a** with sedate."

32D: __-Magnon: CRO.

35D: Bonkers: LOCO.

36D: Words before instant or emergency: IN AN.

37D: WWII invasion city: ST LO. Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France.

38D: Good bud: PAL. Primo.

40D: Wire diameter measure: MIL.

41D: NBC weekend hit, briefly: SNL.

44D: One doing a pirouette, e.g.: PIVOTER. Worst entry.

46D: Brokerage cust.: ACCT..

48D: It's nothing: NIL.

49D: Thingamajig: GADGET.

50D: Security devices: ALARMS.

51D: Start again, as after a computer system crash: REBOOT.

52D: Military greeting: SALUTE.

56D: Wyoming's __ Range: TETON.

57D: Firecracker cord: FUSE.

58D: Hip bones: ILIA.

59D: Socially inept type: NERD

60D: Thousands, in a heist: GEES. Gee stands for a grand($1000)

61D: Maple syrup base: SAP.

62D: "True Blood" network: HBO.

63D: Acorn's destiny: OAK. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

Answer grid.

Argyle