Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Nancy Kavanaugh

Theme: THEY'RE DRAWN (61A: What you can say about sketches, and about the answers to the starred clues) - Theme answers all can be drawn, but with a different nuance.

17A: *Relaxing soak: NICE HOT BATH. Even more luxurious if someone else draws the bath for you, eh?

26A: *Great concert turnout: LARGE CROWD. Attracted to an event.

39A: *Many an exec's remuneration: SIX FIGURE SALARY. Most of us struggle to draw five figures.

51A: *Unlucky selection: SHORT STRAW. This is to physically draw a straw from a group of equal length straws except for one. Used to decide by chance who has to do something nobody wants to do.

Rather unique to have DRAWN apply to the three full theme answers & a fuller defining entry placed at the bottom of the grid.

Barry Silk did a DRAW puzzle for NYT in 2008. The unifying DRAW is clued as "Something you can do to the starts of ....". BATH TOWEL/CURTAIN CALL/BLANK EXPRESSION are among his theme answers.

Argyle here.

I suppose the breakfast factor (nothing disgusting at the breakfast table, when most are doing the puzzle) precludes the mention of DRAWN AND QUARTERED. You all have finished your breakfast, I hope.

A tick harder than Monday's. Still some Crosswordese and famous people but, hey, no Roman numerals.

Across:

1A: Western Florida city: TAMPA

6A: Rice-__: A-RONI. A nice bicoastal start.

11A: Air gun ammo: BBs

14A: Catherine of "Beetlejuice": O'HARA. as Delia.

15A: Binary system digits: ZEROS. And 46A: Binary system digits: ONES.

16A: Exercise unit: REP. (Shortened repetitions)

19A: Brew in a yard: ALE. A yard (or yard glass) is a very tall glass used for drinking beer or ale.

20A: "Just __ suspected!": AS I

21A: "... have you __ wool?": ANY Windhover?

22A: Company whose calling is calling: AVON. Their ads often started with, "AVON Calling"

23A: Bio kin: CHEM. (Biology) (Chemistry) And 55A: Course with many problems: MATH. (Mathematics)

29A: Sympathetic connection: RAPPORT

31A: Cease: STOP

32A: Blood system letters: A B O

33A: Confirmation, e.g.: RITE. (Religious)

35A: Outperforms: BESTS

43A: Work with hair: STYLE

44A: Pre-coll. catchall: ELHI. (Elementary-High school) A bit of Crosswordese.

45A: Bit of Internet mirth: LOL

49A: Pulls an all-nighter: BONES UP

56A: Hip-swiveling dance: HULA

57A: Beachgoer's shirt: TEE

58A: Rioting group: MOB. Creating 67A: Free-for-all: MELEE

60A: Former California fort: ORD

66A: NFL's Cardinals, on scoreboards: ARI. Arizona.

68A: McDermott of "The Practice": DYLAN. Don't look if you don't like a hairy chest.

69A: Soap-making need: LYE

70A: "__ my case": I REST

71A: Figure out: SOLVE. Great ending entry!

Down:

1D: Heavy weight: TON

2D: Bigeye or yellowfin, at a sushi bar: AHI. More CWese.

3D: Cheese partner: MAC. (Macaroni)

4D: Radio signal booster: PRE-AMP

5D: Sighs of contentment: AAHs. When Cruciverb came back online.

6D: HIV-treating drug: AZT. AZidoThymidine is a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor. (I have no idea what that means.)

7D: Masonry-reinforcing rod: REBAR

8D: Tree-dwelling apes: ORANGS. (Orangutans)

9D: "Almost ready--be patient": "NOT YET"

10D: Suffix with Brit: ISH

11D: "Top Chef" network: BRAVO

12D: Downstairs, at sea: BELOW. On board ship.

13D: Blow, as dough: SPEND

18D: Well driller: OILRIG

22D: Skin care maven Adrien: ARPEL

23D: Uncouth: CRASS

24D: Good thing to kick: HABIT

25D: Hobbyist's glue: EPOXY

27D: Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. From whence you can see Russia.

28D: Kurt of Nirvana: COBAIN

30D: Point in the right direction: ORIENT

34D: Preceding, in poetry: ERE

36D: Tex-Mex dip: SALSA

37D: "Rainbow" fish: TROUT

38D: Mythical air dweller: SYLPH. If anyone has a good knowledge of this term, please enlighten us.

40D: Regional plant life: FLORA

41D: Corsica neighbor: ELBA. Napoleon's exile.

42D: Skeptic's demand: "SHOW ME!"

47D: Her book is read during the Jewish holiday Purim: ESTHER

48D: "Remington __": STEELE. Television series, broadcasted on NBC, 1982 to 1987. It starred Stephanie Zimbalist as private detective Laura Holt and Pierce Brosnan as a roguish former white-collar thief and con man who assumed Remington Steele's fictitious identity. Ms Holt had named her agency "Remington STEELE" because she felt she would get more business if it was thought to be run by a man. It was a dated concept even back then.

50D: Pre-fetus stage: EMBRYO

51D: Shallow sea area: SHOAL

52D: Speed things up: HURRY

53D: Song from the past: OLDIE

54D: Three-time N.L. stolen base champ José: REYES. (New York Mets)

59D: Gambler's concerns: ODDS

61D: Pa. plant in the 1979 news: TMI. (Three Mile Island) Nuclear incident.

62D: Like Gen. Powell: RET.

63D: Every last one: ALL

64D: Sound file suffix: WAV

65D: L.A.-to-Helena dir.: NNE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 15, 2010 Jack McInturff

Theme: BRAVE NEW WORLD - The ends of theme answers sequentially spell out the title of the novel written by ALDOUS HUXLEY (53A: Author of the novel indicated by the ends of 20-, 32-and 39-Across).

20A: Baseballer with a tomahawk on his jersey: ATLANTA BRAVE

32A: "Like I haven't heard that before": "WHAT ELSE IS NEW?"

39A: 4x platinum hit single co-written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie: "WE ARE THE WORLD"

Argyle here but I'd rather be abed. Cruciverb had no new puzzle and I finally went back to my old (and slower) method of retrieving clues and answers. So unless C.C. fills it out, it will be thin commentary today.

Feel free to add what you want to the blog. That is where some of the best info comes from anyway!

Across:

1) Put__: sail: TO SEA

6) Lyricist Sammy: CAHN

10) Word of woe: "ALAS!". We haven't had "Alack" lately.

14) "Lost" network: ABC-TV

15) "Milk's favorite cookie": OREO

16) Stoicism founder: ZENO. The stoic Zeno of Citium. Don't confuse him with the other Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea.

17) Upright or grand: PIANO

18) Office divider: PARTITION

22) Opposite of NNW: SSE

23) Myrna of "The Thin Man": LOY. Quite a few people today and echos of recent puzzles, too.

24) Sharpshooter Annie: OAKLEY

28) Corp. boss: CEO

29) Sawyer's buddy: FINN

31) Ore-__, maker of frozen potatoes: IDA. Ore-Ida, portmanteau of Oregon & Idaho.

35) Eyelid woe: STYE

37) Covert govt. group: CIA

38) Nights, to poets: EENS

44) PC key: ALT

45) Actress Natalie: WOOD

46) IM company: AOL

47) Diving seabird: PETREL

49) 24-hr. cash source: ATM

50) Watch chain: FOB

57) Actor's asset: GOOD LOOKS

60) Smallest: LEAST

61) Exile isle: ELBA. For Napoleon.

62) Run away: FLEE

63) Bring together: UNITE

65) Abstain from food: FAST

66) Painful spots: SORES

Down:

1) Spanish snacks: TAPAs. Interesting.

2) "In memoriam" news items: OBITS

3) Weighing device: SCALE

4) Sicilian erupter: ETNA

5) "Anne of Green Gables" setting: AVONLEA

6) Insured patient's outlay: CO-PAY

7) Many an Iraqi: ARAB

8) German "Mister": HERR

9) Zero: NOT A ONE

10) Pontiac SUV named for an early Mexican: AZTEK

11) Hawaiian garland: LEI. And UKES (55D: Hawaiian strings). For our Hawaiian gang.

12) It starts with enero: ANO. enero is Spanish for "January".

13) Trinity member: SON

19) Russian prince known as "Moneybag": IVAN I

21) Horn beep: TOOT

25) Ruled, as a writing pad: LINED

26) Genesis garden: EDEN

27) Deviates from a course: YAWS

28) Sonny's partner: CHER. Sonny & Cher.

29) Popped (out), as to the outfield: FLIED

30) "__ Mommy kissing ...": I SAW. Tryst?

32) Lawman Earp: WYATT

33) Bounce back: ECHO

34) Auction off: SELL

35) Exchange: SWAP

36) Prefix with conference: TELE

40) "The Seven Year Itch" actor Tom: EWELL. Famous scene

41) Rebuked: TOLD OFF

42) Promise in court: OATH

43) Remus' twin: ROMULUS. Founder of Rome.

48) Speeder's downfall: RADAR

49) Useful quality: ASSET

50) Knack: FLAIR

51) West, to a Spaniard: OESTE

52) Computer memory units: BYTES

54) "Return of the Jedi" dancer: OOLA

56) Strange: Pref.: XENO. Or "Foreign prefx.:". As in Xenophobia.

57) Jewelry stone: GEM

58) Corrida cheer: "OLE!"

59) "Madama Butterfly" sash: OBI

Answer grid.

Argyle