Tuesday May 11, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: C.C. - Both words in each theme phrase (and clues) start with letter C, including the unifier itself.

17A. Cough cause: COMMON COLD

27A. Courtside coverage: COLOR COMMENTARY

41A. Captain's concern: COLLISION COURSE. Two 15-letter grid spanning theme entries.

55A. Contract clone (whose abbreviation hints at this puzzle's theme): CARBON COPY

Argyle here.

Another clear and concise offering from Jeff Chen, whose note on this puzzle is attached at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1A. Pinochle plays: MELDS. A combination of cards for score or the act of laying down those cards, depending if you read the alliterated clue as a noun or a verb.

6A. Lure: BAIT.

10A. Arced line connecting two musical notes: SLUR. Image.

14A. Construction girder: I-BEAM.

15A. Rod in a hot rod: AXLE.

16A. Sniffer: NOSE.

19A. School reunion attendee: ALUM. Shortened version can mean male or female. Convenient.

20A. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO. Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality. From Wikipedia. Timbral - the adjective form of timbre: the quality given to a sound by its overtones. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (TMI, I know.)

21A. Madeline of "Blazing Saddles": KAHN. She portrayed Lilly Von Schtupp.

22A. Cathedral top: SPIRE. Top of the steeple.

23A. Not at any time, in verse: NE'ER.

25A. Flew a plane: AVIATED.

31A. Sources of fiber: BRANS.

32A. Blackens, as tuna: SEARS.

33A. Puts in stitches: SEWS.

34A. Like a birdbrain: DITZY.

35A. Rip: TEAR.

39A. Grand Canyon pack animal: BURRO.

40A. Flashy: GAUDY.

46A. Consecrates with oil: ANOINTS.

47A. Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO.

48A. Police operation: STING. Plus, 18D. 55-Down in a bust: NARC. 55D. One with a beat: COP. I was expecting 55D to be DEA.

49A. Central points: FOCI.

51A. Microwave: ZAP.

54A. Insect wound: BITE.

58A. Agreement from the flock: "AMEN!".

59A. Two-tone cookie: OREO.

60A. Office machine powder: TONER.

61A. One of a matching pair: HERS. (HIS & HERS)

62A. Red Rose: PETE. Pete Rose played baseball for the Cincinnati Reds; aka "Charlie Hustle".

63A. More than chunky: OBESE.

Down:

1D. Scampering squeakers: MICE.

2D. Black, in verse: EBON.

3D. Statute that protects car buyers: LEMON LAW.

4D. Public works project: DAM.

5D. Camel users?: SMOKERS. 34D. Pledge target: DUST. Hiding the fact that we are looking at proper names: Camel cigarettes and Pledge furniture polish.

6D. "Goldberg Variations" composer: BACH. A set of an aria and 30 variations for harpsichord published in 1741.

7D. Neural transmitter: AXON.

8D. Not well: ILL.

9D. Bill's "excellent adventure" partner: TED. Movie. Stupid fun.

10D. Be short with: SNAP AT.

11D. Nabokov nymphet: LOLITA. Lo-li-ta.

12D. Loan shark: USURER.

13D. Cure: REMEDY.

22D. Breaks a commandment: SINS.

24D. Ages and ages: EONS.

25D. Legendary female warrior: AMAZON. Was Xena an Amazon?

26D. Quite: VERY.

27D. Its eye is on TV: CBS. TV network.

28D. Refinable rock: ORE.

29D. Egyptian god of the dead: OSIRIS. Wikipedia entry.

30D. Part of MGM: METRO. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

35D. Lacking slack: TAUT.

36D. Multicountry union using the same currency: EUROZONE.

37D. Promos: ADS.

38D. Deli loaf: RYE.

39D. Soft-voiced Crosby: BING. Known as a crooner, sang "White Christmas".

40D. Started liking, as a hobby: GOT INTO.

41D. Section of Algiers: CASBAH. Specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, spelled kasbah.

42D. Prompt: ON TIME.

43D. Hang around: LOITER.

44D. Tablecloths and more: LINENS.

45D. Designer Chanel: COCO. A CC echo.

49D. Guitar ridge: FRET.

50D. Double-reed woodwind: OBOE.

52D. Big galoots: APES.

53D. Combustible pile: PYRE.

56D. "We __ the World": ARE.

57D. Corn unit: COB.

Answer grid.

Notes from Jeff Chen:

I heard a friend use the phrase COLLISION COURSE a few months ago, and I thought it was catchy. I looked it up in the cruciverb database, and luckily it's only been used once in crosswords (in a themeless puzzle) since the database's inception, but I wasn't quite sure how to make a puzzle out of it. After some brainstorming, I thought that other two-word phrases using the initials CC might make a good easy-ish puzzle, so I came up with a list of about ten that I thought were interesting. However, it still didn't feel like a very good puzzle, since it didn't have anything that tied the phrases together. Luckily I was reading your blog one day and it hit me that CC is an abbreviation for CARBON COPY, so that would serve to link up the phrases nicely. Luckily Rich agreed! Thanks for the inspiration CC! Jeff

Argyle

PS: Blogger software is having some glitches showing Comments.

Monday, May 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Gents - The end of these common phrases are men's names beginning with J (all in plural form).

18A. Ground beef concoctions on buns: SLOPPY JOES. Image

23A. Dried meat sticks: SLIM JIMS. Image

33A. Winter underwear: LONG JOHNS. Image

50A. Toronto ball team: BLUE JAYS. Image

56A. Fruit-and-cinnamon-flavored cereal: APPLE JACKS. Image

Quite low block count for a Monday. And triple stacks of 7 -letter non-theme answers in each Down quadrant. 5 Scabbly Js.

Argyle here. A Naddor on a Monday. Everything seems to be in order.

Across:

1A. The U.S. minimum is $7.25 per hour: WAGE. The statutory minimum wage was first introduced nationally in 1938 at $0.25/hr.

5A. In the phone directory: LISTED.

11A. It can follow poli or precede fi: SCI. (poli sci - political science)(sci-fi - science fiction)

14A. One out of two: HALF.

15A. Break out of jail: ESCAPE. A great movie, The Great Escape.

16A. Refusals: NOs.

17A. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Latin

20A. Nervous twitch: TIC.

21A. Kitchen cabinet stack: PLATES.

22A. Light beige: ECRU.

25A. War's opposite: PEACE. Together, a very long book.

26A. Apprehension: UNEASE.

27A. Food fish that's often red: SNAPPER. Image Red Snapper with Lemongrass

29A. Quechua-speaking country: PERU. Quechua is the language of the Inca civilization, presently spoken by about 7 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Dictionary.com

30A. Two-time loser to Ike: ADLAI. We may have some discussion about using Dwight David Eisenhower's nick name to clue Adlai Ewing Stevenson II's first name.

32A. Radical '60s org.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

37A. Doofus: ASS.

40A. "Do __ See God?": Jon Agee palindrome book: GEESE. It appears this maybe an entry in his 1991 book, "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! and Other Palindromes".

41A. Meat-inspecting org.: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture

45A. Visibly embarrassed: BEET RED.

47A. Lynx family member: BOBCAT.

49A. Kind of carnival show: RAREE. A peep show, usually "raree-show".

52A. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben-Gurion airport is located near the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel. EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd is the flag carrier of the State of Israel.

53A. On the train: ABOARD.

55A. Rockies hrs.: MST. Mountain Standard Time

58A. Samoa's capital: APIA. Samoa Islands.

59A. Go after in court: SUE.

60A. Surgeon's tool: LANCET.

61A. Long race, for short: TEN K. 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)

62A. Military gps.: TPS. Troops?

63A. Military instructions: ORDERS.

64A. Coastal raptor: ERNE. Sea Eagle

Down:

1D. Bugs's question to "Doc": "WHAT'S UP?".

2D. Pooh's creator: A.A. MILNE. Winnie the Pooh.

3D. Ice Age remnant: GLACIER.

4D. Young newt: EFT. "They're so cute when they're young." Image.

5D. Nielsen of "Naked Gun" films: LESLIE. His movies are a farce.

6D. Muslim religion: ISLAM.

7D. Highlanders, e.g.: SCOTS.

8D. Record, á la Nixon: TAPE. Minus the an 18½ minute gap.

9D. Omar of "The Mod Squad" movie: EPPS. The 1999 movie. He is Dr. Eric Foreman on TV's "House".

10D. "L.A. Law" co-star Susan: DEY. Another TeeVee show.

11D. Nestle brand named for its covering of tiny white confection balls: SNO-CAPS. Image.

12D. Strong-armed: COERCED

13D. Publishers, e.g.: ISSUERS.

19D. Cherokee on the road: JEEP.

21D. Jammies: PJs. Pajamas.

24D. Handle roughly: MAUL.

25D. "Royal" annoyance: PAIN.

27D. Gin flavoring: SLOE.

28D. Slangy "No way": "NAH".

30D. Elderly: AGED.

31D. School dance VIPs: DJs. (disc jockey)

34D. Grimm beast: OGRE. (the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales)

35D. Formerly, in wedding news: NEE.

36D. Math or soc. studies: SUBJ. (subject)

37D. Side by side: ABREAST.

38D. Sea lion newborn: SEAL PUP.

39D. Pancho's ponchos: SERAPES. alliteration

42D. Run playfully: SCAMPER.

43D. Motel with a sunrise in its logo: DAYS INN.

44D. On the line: AT STAKE.

46D. Relate: TELL.

47D. Pops, as a bubble: BURSTS.

48D. Multivolume ref.: OED. (The Oxford English Dictionary) What I would dearly love to have.

50D. Italian bowling game: BOCCE.

51D. Southern California hoopster: LAKER.

53D. Open just a bit: AJAR.

54D. 57-Down, for one: BAND.

57D. "Xanadu" rock gp.: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra). We don't need to hear "Xanadu" again, do we?

58D. Chowed down: ATE.

Answer grid.

Argyle