Monday March 15, 2010 Lila Cherry

Theme: Beware the IDES OF MARCH (56A Today, to Caesar - and a hint to the hidden word appearing in this puzzle 15 times (including the one in this answer) - IDE is hidden and marching around in 15 different places.

16A Kids' game with an "it": HIDE AND SEEK

20A Curving pitch: SLIDER

36A Author André: GIDE. Nobel Literature winner 1947.

37A Fall apple drink: CIDER

41A Group of lions: PRIDE

44A 9-Down footballer: RAIDER. 9D. San Francisco Bay city: OAKLAND.

3D Bike outing: RIDE

10D Wedding party member: BRIDESMAID

14D As above, in footnotes: IDEM

26D Like most modern TVs, picturewise: WIDE SCREEN

28D Square's four: SIDE

31D Drop in pronunciation: ELIDE

40D Oceanic reflux: EBB TIDE

49D What's on your mind: IDEA

Another puzzle from our editor Rich Norris himself. Lila Cherry, one of his alias names, is an anagram of "Really Rich".

Very creative interpretation of "Ides of March" (the day Caesar was killed) and deliberate use of 15 as the number of IDE words/phrases. Perfect puzzle for March 15. Great crossing with DOOM (46. Dire fate) as well.

Among the IDE entries, four longest ones are symmetrically placed, and SIDES and CIDER are placed in the very middle of the grid crossing each other.

Brain dead Argyle here. I hope C.C. is up early enough to fix my mistakes today. For the longest tine, I could only find 14 Ides! Thank goodness most of the clue/answers are straightforward.

Across:

1. Month with showers: APRIL

6. Auctioned auto, briefly: REPO. (repossessed)

10. Journalist Nellie: BLY

13. Egypt's capital: CAIRO

14. Ancient Greek district: IONIA

15. Corned beef bread: RYE

18. Nest egg item, for short: IRA

19. Bridge supports: TRESTLES

22. Garment bottom: HEM

23. Suffix with meth- or prop-: ANE

24. Alley competitor: BOWLER. Bowling alley.

28. Backyard play apparatus: SWING SET

33. Like some college walls: IVIED

34. Employed: HIRED

35. Caesar's 1,051: MLI. One more Caesar reference.

38. Pass's opposite: FAIL

39. Single: ONE

40. City on the Ruhr: ESSEN

42. Nuclear treaty subjects: TEST BANS

45. Corn discard: COB

46. The Atty. General is head of it: DOJ. Department of Justice.

47. Low-level clouds: STRATI

50. Icy formation at either extremity of the Earth's axis: POLAR CAP

55. Peeper: EYE

58. Classic Jaguar model: XKE

59. Jeans material: DENIM

60. "What's in __?": Juliet: A NAME

61. Japanese money: YEN

62. Has a sandwich: EATS

63. Brawn: SINEW

Down

1. Eight, in Berlin: ACHT

2. Twosome: PAIR

4. Enrages: IRES. Verb, Groan!

5. Despised: LOATHED

6. Perot of politics: ROSS. Or H. ROSS Perot.

7. Denver-to-Chicago dir.: ENE

8. Crusty desserts: PIES

11. Old Greek stringed instrument: LYRE

12. 365 days: YEAR

17. Met, Nat or Card: NLer

21. Beethoven's "Minuet __": IN G

24. Archie Bunker type: BIGOT

25. Like lambs and rams: OVINE

27. Reb general: LEE. And 37. 27-Down's org.: CSA.

29. Birdhouse songbird: WREN

30. Suffix with bombard: IER

32. Flooring specialist: TILER

34. Yokel's possessive: HIS'N

38. End of most work wks.: FRI.

41. Dr. Denton's, e.g.: PAJAMAS

43. Ode title starter: TO A

44. Massage deeply: ROLF. Named after Ida Rolf, a U.S. physiotherapist who invented the techniques.

47. Like a sheer negligee: SEXY

48. Small child: TYKE

50. Trident-shaped letters: PSIS PSI

51. Hindu princess: RANI

52. Prefix with apple: CRAN

53. Summit: ACME

54. Relieved cry: "PHEW!"

57. Tolkien tree creature: ENT

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday March 14, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Why Not - The ending letter Y in each familiar phrase is dropped off.

23A. Attire at the UN?: WORLD WEAR(Y)

25A. Loaner policeman?: COURTESY COP(Y). I see one more untrimmed Y.

40A. Final step in a marksman's manual?: FIRE WHEN READ(Y). When ready, yes. WHEN READ confused me.

53A. Fairway shot that goes in the hole?: DRAMATIC IRON(Y). Golfers use irons when approaching the green from fairway. I always say iron shot, not just iron.

71A. Autograph candy for the Halloween visitor?: SIGN A TREAT(Y)

74A. Lawyer's sure thing?: MIGHTY CASE(Y). Mighty Casey from the great baseball poem "Casey at the Bat". One more untrimmed Y in MIGHTY.

87A. "Grey's Anatomy" leading man?: CLINICAL STUD(Y). This clue made me laugh.

102A. Unexpected piece in a chicken order?: SURPRISE PART(Y). Why "chicken order"?

119A. Russian rodent's approval?: GROUNDHOG DA(Y). Da is Russian for "yes". We often see NYET ("no") in our puzzles.

122A. Dentistry expo?: TOOTH FAIR(Y)

I liked how Don lopped off each Y at the end of each theme entry, very clear and consistent theme pattern.

After glancing at the theme title, I grokked immediately that letter Y might be cut off from theme entries. Just not sure where. So clever interpretation & application of "Why Not".

This puzzle is simpler in concept than Dan Naddor's "Why, Yes!" Sunday puzzle we had last October. Dan inserted Y sound in familiar phrases and it took me some effort to understand his gimmick due to my poor grasp of English pronunciations.

Very pleasant solving. I was engaged and had fun. A couple of question marked clues did confound me.

Across:

1. Heathrow landers until 2003, briefly: SSTS. The best SSTS clue I've seen is "Retired boomers?".

5. Cookbook meas.: TBSP. And BASIL (22. Pesto herb). Food items are always welcome!

9. Hunt down: TRACE

14. "All Day Strong" medication: ALEVE. Advil has 5 letters too.

20. Discipline: AREA

21. Tranquil disciplines: YOGAS. Nice consecutive "discipline" clue echo.

27. Ontario-born hockey legend: ORR (Bobby)

28. Suffix with Capri: OTE. Capriote.

29. Film doctor with 7 faces: LAO. "7 Faces of Dr. Lao".

31. River of Germany: EDER. ODER is also a German river.

32. Scale sequence: SO LA. And FAS (116. Followers of mis).

33. Tolkien ringbearer: FRODO. "The Lord of the Rings".

35. National park near Springdale, Utah: ZION. Have you been there?

37. Blastoff follower: ASCENT. Had a brain freeze.

39. Abode: Abbr.: RES (Residence)

43. Liqueur in a godfather cocktail: AMARETTO. Easy guess. The other ingredient is Scotch.

45. Rope loops: NOOSES

46. Hoot: RIOT

48. '60s-'70s hot spot: NAM (Vietnam)

49. B'way sellout sign: SRO (Standing Room Only)

52. Barre move: PLIE. Barre is the ballet handrail.

58. Peerage member: EARL

60. Rajiv's mother: INDIRA (Gandhi). Both assassinated.

62. "Boola Boola" singer: ELI. "Boola Boola" is Yale's fighting song.

63. Pull up stakes, slangily: RELO

64. Dolts: IDIOTS

66. Uncertain word: MAY

67. __ about: meddles: NOSES

70. Enero, e.g.: MES. Spanish for "months".

76. Longtime Tom Petty label: MCA (Music Corporation of America). Now belongs to the Universal. Got me.

78. Sch. that had a Roger Williams Dining Center: URI (University of Rhode Island). Have never heard of Roger Williams.

79. "Swan Lake" swan: ODETTE. Peeked at the answer sheet.

80. Pet food brand: IAMS. Named after the founder Paul Iams.

82. 401, in old Rome: CDI

83. Five-time speed skating gold medalist Eric: HEIDEN. His name escaped me.

86. Neutral hue: ECRU

91. Rainbow goddess: IRIS

93. Sam-I-Am's meat: HAM. Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham".

94. Digital comm. method: ASL (American Sign Language). Of course I was thinking of the electronic digital rather than my fingers.

95. FEMA part: Abbr.: EMER

96. Quixote's squire Panza: SANCHO. Sancho Panza. He has an impossible dream too.

98. Some cigarette boxes: FLIP-TOPS

107. Terhune dog: LAD. "Lad, A dog". Stumped me.

108. Quick court contest: ONE SET. Tennis court.

110. Multi-talented Danny: KAYE

111. First name in fragrances: ESTEE

112. Bird that probes mud for food: IBIS. Oh, good to know.

114. Scatter supreme: ELLA (Fitzgerald). Scatter made me think of "disperse" rather than one who scats.

115. Scribble (down): JOT

118. Little amphibian: EFT. Little newt.

125. Corner: HEM IN

126. Hi-fi pioneer Fisher: AVERY. Stranger to me.

127. Mark's successor: EURO. German mark.

128. Pres. Carter's alma mater: USNA. Only know Sen. McCain went there.

129. Flavor: TASTE

130. Frawley role: MERTZ (Fred). Ethel's husband in "I Love Lucy". Played by William Frawley. Blind spot for me.

131. Tease: RIDE. Was ignorant of this meaning.

132. English horn, e.g.: REED

Down:

1. Said "Bon voyage!" to: SAW OFF

2. "Edda" author __ Sturluson: SNORRI. He penned "The Prose Edda (or Younger Edda). Nobody to me.

3. Holy one?: TERROR. Holy terror! I wrote down TOLEDO, Jazzbumpa.

4. N.L. cap letters: STL. St. Louis Cardinals.

5. Verb for Tweety: TAWT. The Tweety Bird.

6. Arrives casually: BREEZES IN

7. Vast expanse: SEA

8. Settee settings: PARLORS. I love the sound of the clue.

9. Big name in little trains: TYCO. Now part of Mattel.

10. Milne baby: ROO. Kanga's baby in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

11. Fits of fever: AGUES

12. Bygone library feature: CARD CATALOG. Thank God for computers.

13. Admiration: ESTEEM

14. Toning targets: ABS

15. Chip brand: LAYS. Intel too.

16. Arm offerer: ESCORT

17. Bath salts scent: VIOLET. Sweet violet.

18. City near Ciudad Juárez: EL PASO. Got the answer from crosses.

24. Street corner genre: DOOWOP. Why "street corner"?

26. Elvira's lover, in a Verdi opera: ERNANI. Man, I can never remember this guy's name. He's a bandit chief.

30. Hydrocarbon suffix: ANE

34. Place for a La-Z-Boy: DEN

36. "__ a vacation!": I NEED. I do!

37. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song: ADIA. I often confuse this song title with Verdi's AIDA.

38. __ II razor: TRAC

41. New Age gurus: HOLISTS. According to Wikipeidia, the general principle of holism was concisely summarized by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts". I don't understand the "New Age" connection.

42. It may be imposing: ARRAY. Great clue.

44. Kaffiyeh-clad ruler: EMIR

47. "__: The Final Conflict": 1981 horror sequel: OMEN III. No idea. See this poster. I've never heard of any of the Omens series.

49. Groundbreaking?: SEISMIC. And RADICAL (50. Groundbreaking). Fantastic pair of clues.

51. Paper tiger, perhaps: ORIGAMI. Nice clue too. Chairman Mao called US "Paper Tiger".

53. "Fiddlesticks!": DRAT

54. Gomez's wife, affectionately: TISH. "The Addams Family".

55. Chance to get even: REMATCH

56. Fat substitute: OLESTRA. OL (eo) + alteration of (poly) Ester. New fake fat to me.

57. Tiny gnat: NO-SEE-UM. So called because it's hard to see 'um. Yet one more unknown to me.

59. Chaney of horror: LON

61. Poetry movement promoted by Amy Lowell: IMAGISM. Faintly remember Clear Ayes brought us a imagism poem from her.

65. Sigma follower: TAU

68. Some athletic shoes: ETONICS. I like their golf shoes.

69. Chaplin's half brother: SYD. Who knows?

73. 1981 Ross/Richie duet: ENDLESS LOVE. Here is the clip.

74. Wilbur's horse: MR. ED. "A horse is a horse, of course, of course".

75. 2.0: CEE. 2.0 average.

78. Freedom, in Swahili: UHURU. Nope. Not in my memory file. It's pronounced as oo-HOO-roo.

81. Cinch: SNAP

84. Book with a key: DIARY

85. "Sixteen Tons" singer: ERNIE FORD. Here is the clip.

89. Duplicated: CLONED. Penned in COPIED first.

90. Driving need?: TEST. The question marks made me think of golf and TEE(S).

92. "Jeepers!": SHEESH

96. Frying pan mishap: SPATTER

97. Word after photo: OPS. Photo ops.

98. Standby's desire: FLIGHT

99. Tar pits locale: LA BREA. La Brea Tar Pits. La Brea = "the tar" in Spanish.

100. Language learner's challenges: IDIOMS. So true. Slang too.

101. The "P" in P.G. Wodehouse: PELHAM. No, no. Too obscure for me.

103. Studio that made nine of the ten Astaire/Rogers films: RKO

104. Feeling no stress: AT EASE

105. Make genteel: REFINE

106. Monopoly's railroads, e.g.: TETRAD. Group of four.

109. Psyched up: EAGER

113. Exec: SUIT. Slang for business executive.

115. Rapper who co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records: JAY- Z. Very business savvy. Married to Beyoncé.

120. 22.5 deg.: NNE. I forgot the rationale for this clue again.

121. "__ & the Women": 2000 Gere film: DR. T. Is it a good movie?

123. Non's opposite: OUI. Oh, oui, Je t'aime.

124. It may fly in a fight: FUR. Idiom "make the fur fly" = Cause a fight.

Answer grid.

C.C.