Tuesday, March 2, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Insurance - The first word of the theme entries is related to insurance.

17A: Government declaration of its intentions: POLICY STATEMENT.

25A: Vietnam War defoliant: AGENT ORANGE.

43A: Gold Rush villain: CLAIM JUMPER.

55A: High-octane fuel: PREMIUM GASOLINE.

Argyle here. Ugh! This reminds me my auto coverage is due this month.

I am curious as to how the theme was chosen. I mean Donna did a good job and the insurance meaning of the target words is different from their use in the phrases and it did take me awhile to grok the theme, but still.... You might consider STATEMENT as a bonus word but it doesn't jump out as a related word.

Another low count of three letter fill and stale crosswordese.

Across:

1A: Palindromic title: MADAM.

6A: Ashen: PALE.

10A: Interrupter of a bad act, on an old game show: GONG. From the Seventies. Plenty of clips on YouTube. Remember Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine and The Unknown Comic? (He performed with a paper bag over his head.)

14A: Word after horse or soap: OPERA.

15A: Elvis __ Presley: ARON.

16A: Mayberry kid: OPIE.

20A: Prefix with gram: EPI. EPIGRAM - A witty saying tersely expressed. Great for Twitter.

21A: Modest shelters: HUTS. Almost time to get these HUTS off the lake.

22A: Madison Square Garden et al.: ARENAS.

23A: Variety of lily: SEGO.

24A: 1998 animated bug movie: ANTZ. With the voices of Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft.

29A: Speed Wagon maker: REO. Ransom E. Olds.

32A: Velma's rival in "Chicago": ROXIE. Together.

33A: Chat room chuckle: LOL.

34A: Detained at the precinct: HELD.

35A: Electrical network: GRID. Is this your original clue, Donna? Not crossword related?

36A: Pigs and hogs: SWINE.

38A: Etcher's need: ACID.

39A: Leer at: OGLE.

40A: Scepter's partner: ORB. Scepter and ORB with crown.

41A: Emulate Cicero: ORATE.

42A: Betty Ford, __ Bloomer: NEE. Born in Chicago(1918) to William and Hortense Bloomer.

46A: Jockey's tool: WHIP.

47A: Hearing requirements: EARS.

48A: Displaying buoyancy: AFLOAT.

51A: Periodic table no.: AT. WT.. Atomic Weight

52A: Protrude, with "out": JUT.

58A: Having all one's marbles: SANE.

59A: Rotary phone feature: DIAL.

60A: 1988 film farce fish: WANDA. Triple alliteration.

61A: School on the Thames: ETON.

62A: Bobbles the ball: ERRS.

63A: Taboos: NO-NOS.

Down:

1D: Sulk: MOPE.

2D: Each: A POP.

3D: Supermarket section: DELI.

4D: "Entourage" agent Gold: ARI. Entourage is an American comedy-drama on HBO. The series was created by Doug Ellin and chronicles the rise of Vincent Chase, a young A-list film star. ARI Gold (Jeremy Piven) is Vince's abrasive but lovable agent. The role has led to several nominations and Emmy Awards for Piven.

5D: Bushwhacker's tool: MACHETE.

6D: Congregation leader: PASTOR.

7D: Humanities: ARTS.

8D: Mauna __: LOA.

9D: Involve, as in a sticky situation: ENTANGLE.

10D: Morticia's mate: GOMEZ. The Addams Family. The family that the cartoons, movies, games, and television shows have been based on.

11D: Bid one club, say: OPEN.

12D: "Project Runway" judge Garcia: NINA. An American reality television series on Lifetime Television, focused on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. NINA.

13D: Understands: GETS.

18D: '80s-'90s Serbian auto import: YUGO.

19D: One-named Deco designer: ERTÉ. Romain de Tirtoff was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T..

23D: Insinuating: SNIDE.

24D: Soon, to the bard: ANON.

25D: Fluorescent bulb gas: ARGON.

26D: Stuff (oneself) with food: GORGE.

27D: "The Man Without a Country" hero, for one: EXILE. "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published anonymously in the Atlantic Monthly in December 1863. The novel is the story of American army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend the rest of his days at sea without so much as a word of news about the United States. I can remember hearing an adaptation of it on the radio in my youth.

28D: Suspect's excuse: ALIBI.

29D: Sports show summary: RECAP.

30D: Upper echelon: ELITE.

31D: More strange: ODDER.

34D: Injures: HARMS.

36D: Isolation: SOLITUDE.

37D: Sandwich in a tortilla: WRAP. I'm not sure the clue is worded correctly; maybe Sandwich made from a tortilla would be better?

41D: Thornton Wilder classic: "OUR TOWN".

43D: Spiced Indian beverage: CHAI. And 54D: 43-Down et al.: TEAS.

44D: Gold and silver: METALS.

45D: Shark flick: "JAWS".

46D: Part of NOW: WOMEN.

48D: Church recess: APSE.

49D: Toga party setting: FRAT. Animal House.

50D: Jay seen at night: LENO.

51D: Culture medium: AGAR.

52D: Arabian folklore spirit: JINN. (Genie)

53D: Reverse: UNDO.

56D: Space station for about 15 years: MIR.

57D: Vientiane native: LAO. Vientiane is the capital city of Laos.

Answer grid.

Happy one-year Crossword Corner commenting anniversary to Frank, KQ & Andrea!

Argyle

Monday, March 1, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Drop Down Menu - The word FALL (57D: Drop down, and apt word that can follow the last words of 4-, 8-, 15- and 28-Down) can be added to the last word of each descending theme entry to form a common word.

4D: "Cutting to the chase ...": "...LONG STORY SHORT". SHORTFALL. Not meeting expectations.

8D: "The Price Is Right" signature phrase: "...COME ON DOWN". The phrase comes from the TV game show where guessing the wrong price is a contestant's DOWNFALL. A regretable DOWN/down (57D clue) duplication.

15D: Going nowhere: DEAD IN THE WATER. You're going to go somewhere if you go over a WATERFALL.

28D: Like here-today-gone-tomorrow businesses: FLY BY NIGHT. They might FLY(flee) under the darkness of NIGHTFALL

Argyle here.

I hope this is a taste of what is to come this week. Sweet! It is a different look with all the themes dropping down. Very vivid FALL visual.

I considered EDEN (12D: Notable 57-Down site) a cross-referenced bonus, even though it's symmetrically placed opposite FALL in the grid. I am somewhat vertically challenged at recognizing down words but had no trouble today.

We last saw our constructor on Friday July 3, 2009. I wouldn't mind seeing more of his work. Only 8 three letter entries...and how about that THWACK? Not much to comment on so I linked a few songs. Enjoy!

Across:

1A: Word-of-mouth: ORAL.

5A: Plastic clog footwear brand: CROCS. Do they make boots?

10A: Before: Pref.: PRE.

13A: Quash, as a bill: VETO.

14A: Fathered: BEGOT.

15A: Monopoly card with a mortgage value: DEED.

16A: Mary Kay rival: AVON.

17A: Alabama march city: SELMA.

18A: Sea eagle: ERNE.

19A: Breathing organs: LUNGS.

21A: Finely sharpened: KEEN. We have seen a second meaning related to a wailing lament.

22A: Long, long time: AEON.

23A: Playground piece that has its ups and downs: SEESAW. Another down duplication.

25A: Caught 40 winks: DOZED.

27A: Relieved end-of-the-week cry: TGIF.

29A: Country west of Botswana: NAMIBIA. And 68A: Ivory Coast neighbor: GHANA. Both are on the west coast of Africa.

33A: Jackson 5 brother: TITO. TITO today.

36A: Musher's transport: SLED. (Dogsled)

38A: Traffic tangle: SNARL.

39A: Cold War empire: Abbr.: USSR.

40A: Compulsive fire starters, informally: PYROS. (Pyromaniacs)

42A: Lobster catcher: TRAP.

43A: Has (an audience) rolling in the aisles: SLAYS.

45A: Wail: BAWL.

46A: Coop group: HENS.

47A: Provider of kisses?: HERSHEY. Um,m,m,m

49A: Cyrano had a big one: NOSE.

51A: Reddish-orange dye: HENNA.

53A: Hit with a paddle: THWACK. Five consonants!

57A: Stereotypical dog name: FIDO.

60A: __ the lily: overembellish: GILD. Shakespeare wrote: “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily," but the years have cut out the middle, leaving just "to gild the lily".

62A: International Court of Justice site, with "The": HAGUE.

63A: Allege as fact: AVER.

64A: Radiant: AGLOW.

66A: Word after duct or ticker: TAPE.

67A: Time for fasting: LENT.

69A: Bad to the bone: EVIL. George. "He's bad, but he's not EVIL."

70A: D-Day craft: LST. Landing Ship, Tank (LST).

71A: Early anesthetic: ETHER.

72A: Cincinnati team: REDS. (Baseball)

Down:

1D: Egg shapes: OVALS.

2D: Variety show: REVUE.

3D: Make amends (for): ATONE.

5D: "The Amazing Race" network: CBS.

6D: Smell really bad: REEK.

7D: Leered at: OGLED.

9D: Poem part: STANZA.

10D: Pierre's pop: PÉRE. Alliteration again.

11D: "The Biggest Little City in the World": RENO. And 41D: 11-Down machine: SLOT.

20D: Drop in the middle: SAG.

24D: Thin smoke trail: WISP.

26D: There are three in "mommy": EMS.

30D: In the buff: BARE.

31D: Shah's land, once: IRAN.

32D: Swiss peaks: ALPS.

33D: Buttocks, in slang: TUSH. ZZ Top

34D: Bermuda, e.g.: ISLE.

35D: Old Russian despot: TSAR.

37D: Pitching stat: ERA.

44D: Ship, to its captain: SHE.

48D: Interlock, as gears: ENGAGE.

50D: "Quiet!": "SHH!".

52D: Koran deity: ALLAH.

54D: Tequila source: AGAVE.

55D: Deity with a bow and arrow: CUPID.

56D: Topples (over): KEELS.

58D: Singer Burl: IVES.

61D: Finished: DONE.

65D: Original Cabinet department renamed Defense in 1949: WAR.

Answer grid.

Argyle