Monday June 14, 2010 Bruce Venzke

Theme: Plunge into Monday - The last word of each two-word noun phrase means to go down (like BP stock) when taken as verbs. All four are nouns too, but with little connection.

17A. Cold sufferer's decongestant: NOSE DROPS

28A. 18-Down washing places: KITCHEN SINKS

47A. Honeymoon mecca: NIAGARA FALLS

64A. Creamy bowlfuls for chips: PARTY DIPS

Argyle here.

This is Monday; I checked. If you aren't versed in crosswordese, this could be tough. I constantly had to check the perps to see if I was on the right track. It is consistent with other offerings from Bruce Venzke.

Do you have a favorite recipe for party dip you would like to share? Me, I'm lazy and buy the pre-made stuff.

Across:

1A. Very attentive: RAPT.

5A. Kibbutz dance: HORA. Kibbutz is a Israel community settlement and hora is a traditional round dance.

9A. Throat ailment: STREP.

14A. Blond race in "The Time Machine": ELOI. The Eloi are one of the two post-human races in H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine. They are the main source of food for the other race, the Morlocks.

15A. Hatchets: AXES.

16A. Under-the-bridge folklore villain: TROLL. From the story of the three Billy Goats Gruff..

19A. Reach a cost of: RUN TO.

20A. Prevail over, at an auction: OUTBID.

21A. Paddock pop: SIRE. Alliteration. Paddocks are associated with horses, mostly.

23A. Internet address punctuation: DOT.

24A. Gobi Desert locale: ASIA.

26A. Four __: luxury hotel: SEASONS. A Canadian-based international luxury hotel.

32A. Breakfast area: NOOK.

33A. Canonized woman of Fr.: STE..

34A. Early anesthetic: ETHER.

38A. FGs often end them: OTs. In football, a field goal ends a "sudden death" overtime, where the first team to score, wins. Change is in the works to allow the opposing team a chance to score. (modified sudden death)

39A. Stiffly formal: STILTED. Perhaps from the action of a man walking on stilts; he is unbending.

42A. __ League: IVY. The Ivy League consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. The "Ivy" part of Ivy League is a reference to the plants that climb all over many of the old campus buildings at each school.

43A. Dressing table vessel, perhaps: BASIN. More likely, it would be on a dry sink, with an ewer. Image, with chamber pot!

45A. It's "the word": MUM.

46A. Ballet bend: PLIÉ.

51A. Nightclub enforcer: BOUNCER.

54. Be in on: KNOW.

55A. Superlative ending: EST.

56A. Fast food tycoon Ray: KROC. Don't mention him around Jeannie. (He is Mickey D. and she works for the King, Burger that is.)

58A. Gemini rockets: AGENAs. The Agena not only served as a docking target for the Gemini spacecraft , but the rocket was also fired on several Gemini missions in order to boost the combination to a higher orbit, and to bring it back again. Agena is also the name of a star in the constellation Centaurus. Wikipedia.

62. "You can't get __ from here": THERE. Ayup, true enuff over in Vermont.

66A. Barbershop quartet voice: TENOR.

67A. New York canal: ERIE.

68A. Words after shake or break: A LEG.

69A. Bosox rivals: YANKS.

70A. Society newcomers: DEBS.

71A. Cell phone message: TEXT.

Down:

1D. Vegas alternative: RENO. Nevada cities.

2D. 1966 N.L. batting champ Matty: ALOU. (without his brothers today.)

3D. Newsgroup message: POST.

4D. Curtain restraint: TIEBACK.

5D. Most robust: HARDIEST.

6D. Losing tic-tac-toe row: OXO.

7D. Weight room count: REPS. Repetitions.

8D. St. Francis of __: ASSISI.

9D. Barely ran?: STREAKED. As in ran bare. The Streak by Ray Stevens.

10D. Show about Capote: "TRU". Truman Capote, American author.

11D. Sonata finale, often: RONDO. Sonata Rondo Form from Wikipedia.

12D. Pop singer John: ELTON. Sir Elton John.

13D. Garden layouts: PLOTS.

18D. Spoon companion of rhyme: DISH.
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon

22D. Cartoon Chihuahua: REN. Ren is partnered with Stimpy, a cat.

25D. Against: ANTI.

27D. Old boom-creating speedster, briefly: SST. SuperSonic Transport, no longer in service.

28D. Gearshift topper: KNOB.

29D. Greek "i": IOTA.

30D. Mix, as a salad: TOSS.

31D. 1965 Freedom March city: SELMA. Alabama

35D. Country singer Faith: HILL.

36D. Pernicious: EVIL. Pernicious, to cause great harm.

37D. Whiskey choices: RYEs. Some would rather choose Scotch, ;-)

39D. Candy bar that makes you chuckle?: SNICKERS.

40D. Ankara native: TURK. Ankara is the capital of Turkey.

41D. Issues (from): EMANATES. The long version of EMITS.

44D. Country stopover: INN.

46D. Examined, cat-style: PAWED AT.

48D. __ Lingus: AER. Ireland's favourite airline.

49D. Felt one's way: GROPED.

50D. Stodgy old-timer: FOGY.

51D. Wilma's pal on "The Flintstones": BETTY. Wilma Flintsone and Betty Rubble, BFF.

52D. Milo of "The Verdict": O'SHEA. He had the part of Judge Hoyle in this 1982 film.

53D. Knoxville sch.: U TENN. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, founded in 1794.

57D. Part of TLC: CARE. Tender Loving CARE

59D. Christie's "Death on the __": NILE. Agatha Christie's murder mystery first published in 1937.

60D. Nadir's opposite: APEX. Nadir - lowest point; APEX - highest point.

61D. High-ranking NCO: SSGT. Staff sergeant, E-6.

63D. Seoul soldier: ROK. Korean.

65D. Poke fun at: RIB.

Well, that was the most work I've done on a Monday in a long time.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday June 13, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Final Advice - Familiar phrases are playfully clued as advice on how to ace a seemingly related course in finals.

23A. To ace Music Theory, don't wander off __: IN LA-LA LAND. Zoned out. La "a note to follow so". The sixth tone.

28A. To ace Oceanography, don't let the prof know you've __: GONE FISHING. Store sign. Taking a break.

40A. To ace Agricultural Science, avoid __ : GRASPING AT STRAWS. Being desperate.

69A. To ace Electrical Engineering, don't fall __: ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH. Not attending one's job.

95A. To ace Math, avoid being __: AT SIXES AND SEVENS. A state of confusion/disarray. Numbers & Math connection.

114A.To ace Cosmology, don't get __: LOST IN SPACE. The '60s sci-fi series.

120A.To ace Culinary Arts, avoid being __: OUT TO LUNCH. Not in touch with the real world. Crazy.

As the norm with John Lampkin (a musician) puzzles, there are music references:

116A.Clementi work: SONATINA. Clementi was an Italian composer best known for his piano sonatas and sonatinas, according to Wikipeida.

126A.Piano players?: HANDS. Wicked clue!

5D. Played crisply and detached, in mus.: STAC (Staccato)

36D. Slowing, in mus.: RIT (Ritardando)

115D.Schoenberg's "Moses und __": ARON. Three-act opera by Schoenberg, an Austrian/American composer. Maybe Elvis knew. I've got no clue.

Many probably would not notice that there's no cheater square in the whole grid (140-word, 4 less than our normal Sundays), which spoils the elegance of the puzzle in John's eyes. It takes some discipline and effort not to use the shortcut when you know it's there.

Again, a pangram, all 26 letters are used at least once. John said he always makes his Sunday a pangram to spice up the fill. And of course, his legendary cross-references & clue echos, which are highlighted in green colors in my write-up.

My favorite clues today are:

103./: SLASH

104., : COMMA

Very unexpected and fun. Great placement too. At first I thought those were printing errors.

Across:

1. 1996 Dream Team nickname: SHAQ (O'Neal). And LAY-UPS (24D. Dream Team shots).

5. Hit hard: SMASH

10. Bit of dough: CLAM. And LUCRE (22. "Filthy" dough)

14. Puritans: PRIGS. And MAYFLOWER (13D. Puritans' transport).

19. Machu Picchu's country: PERU. And INCAS (112D. Machu Picchu natives).

20. It goes from one joint to another: TIBIA. And KNEES (124. Creeping joints). Brilliant misdirections. Not the seedy bar joints I had in mind.

21. Role in the 1992 film "Chaplin": OONA. Easy guess.

25. Word with clerk or hall: CITY. City clerk. City hall.

26. "Save me __": A SEAT

27. Closet hangers: TIE RACKS

30. Piquant: ZESTY

31. Sycophant: YES-MAN

34. Rear-end: SLAM INTO. And DENT (127. Rear end blemish?).

35. Held by us: OUR. Our blog.

37. Done for: KAPUT. A seldom seen entry.

39. Arab League member: OMAN. IRAQ too, also 4 letters.

46. Clarified butter: GHEE. Indian cooking.

50. Clerical VIP: REV. And DIR (60. Film studio VIP).

51. Mink kin: STOAT

52. Certain about: SURE OF

54. Waterfront org.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)

55. Sudanese president __ al-Bashir: OMAR. Not familiar with this dude. Looks like a tyrant.

57. Vacuum, e.g.: CLEAN. Verb "vacuum".

61. Olympic racers: LUGES

63. Brobdingnagian: GOLIATH. Brobdingnagian is named after Brobdingnag, fictional land in Johnathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", where everything was huge.

66. Shape using heat: FORGE. Verb "shape".

68. Beach protection: SUN HAT

73. Scrapped, as a car: JUNKED. And LEASE (75. Car dealer's deal). Consecutive "car" clues.

76. Poetic "soon": ERELONG

79. Ref. set: ENCYC (Encyclopedia)

80. Harmless cyst: WEN

81. Cheri of "SNL": OTERI. She has become a gimme.

84. Smack back?: EROO. Back of the word smackeroo.

85. Fed. medical org.: NIH (National Institutes of Health)

86. "We build, we fight" military member: SEABEE. From letters CB (Construction Battalion).

89. Tennessee father-son politicos: GORES. Nice change from gory horn related clue.

92. Turn on the waterworks, so to speak: SOB. True.

93. Jump for Sonja: AXEL. And HENIE (2. 1932 Lake Placid gold medalist Sonja) & SKATE (32D. Emulate 2-Down).

99. Uruguay's Punta del __: ESTE

101.Rationed (out): DOLED

102.Clavell's "__-Pan": TAI. Literally "big" in Cantonese. Pan = Boss. "Tai-Pan" = Big Boss.

103.Kids' transports: SCOOTERS

107.Removed soap from: RINSED

110.Holy quest object: GRAIL

118.Mideast capital once called Philadelphia: AMMAN. Jordan's capital. Was unaware of this trivia.

119.Mata __: HARI

122.With 64-Down, wiseguys: SMART. And ALECS (64D. See 122-Across).

123.Love god: EROS

125.French state: ETAT

128.Shabby: SEEDY

129. Sonoran assent: SI SI. Sonora is a state in Mexico.

Down:

1. Thick-furred dog: SPITZ. German for "pointed'. The dog has erect ears.

3. Inspiration for Van Gogh: ARLES. Look at my compact mirror. Van Gogh's "Bedroom in Arles".

4. Publishing formats for Shakespeare: QUARTOS. No idea. Four leaves (eight pages).

6. Like liquid in 10-Down: MILKY. And COCONUTS (10. Palm produce). Fresh coconut water is actually not milky.

7. Denigrate: ABASE

8. Sloth, for one: SIN

9. Possessed: HAD

11. Cut of meat: LOIN

12. Chips in a chip: ANTES. Good clue.

14. TV type: PLASMA

15. Super Bowl stat category: RUSHING

16. Trap up north, maybe: ICE IN

17. Research money: GRANT

18. Ready followers?: SET GO. "Ready, Set, Go!"

28. Voids: GAPS

29. Retort to a skeptic: I AM SO. And NOT SO (59. Skeptical retort). Not fond of the SO repetition.

33. Pin cushion?: MAT. Wrestling "pin" = "fall". Great clue.

38. Plod: TRUDGE

40. Blackbeard's quaff: GROG. Blackbeard the pirate.

41. San __: Riviera resort: REMO

42. Big snow fall?: AVALANCHE. Awesome answer/clue.

43. Night, in Nogales: NOCHE. Alliteration. I've never heard of Nogales, a city in Sonora, Mexico. Also a town in Arizona, bordering the Mexican Nogales.

44. Liq. measure: GAL

45. Taurus preceder: ARIES. First zodiac sign.

47. Haughty attitude: HIGH HORSE. Get off your high horse.

48. Zeno's town: ELEA: Zeno of Elea. Greek philosopher.

49. Right way to go?: EAST. Direction. Nice clue.

53. Toaster's glass: FLUTE

56. Dicey: RISKY

58. Mennen lotion: AFTA. After Shave.

62. Org. in a '60s spy series: U.N.C.L.E. Spy series "The Man from U. N. C. L. E."(United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). I forgot.

65. Knight on TV: TED

67. Part of the anc. art of discourse: RHET (Rhetoric). Anc is "ancient"?

68. Common honorific: SIR. And PLEBS (70. Common folk). Another consecutive echo.

71. Virgil epic: AENEID

72. More than strange: WEIRD

73. German university city: JENA. Have never heard of University of Jena.

74. Windows alternative: UNIX. Operating system.

77. Certain halfway point: NOON. D'oh!

78. Oodles: GOBS

80. Transition point: WATERSHED. Watershed moment.

82. "Tarnation!": EGADS. "Tarnation" is new expression to me.

83. '70s-'80s pitcher Guidry: RON. Gimme. Spent his whole career with the Yankees. I have quite a few of his baseball cards. Unfortunately they are not worth anything.

87. Corroded: EATEN

88. Dispossessor?: EXORCIST. No problem!

90. Part of ETA: Abbr. : EST

91. "Fire Down Below" star: SEAGAL (Steven)

94. It's named for a trapeze artist: LEOTARD. Can you picture Dennis in his infamous leotard? I just can't.

96. "Night" writer Wiesel: ELIE

97. H. Clinton, once: SEN

98. Good points: VIRTUES. Sweet clue.

100.Tours of duty: STINTS

105.Turkish empire founder: OSMAN. No idea. Ottoman Empire is named after him.

106.Doughnut for the road: SPARE. Why? The tires are doughnut shaped?

108. Big name in compacts: ESTEE. Oh, Cosmetics products.

109.Fussed over, with "on": DOTED

111."__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny line: AIN'T I

113.Emmy winner Christine: LAHTI. Man, I can never remember her name.

117.Curious to a fault: NOSY

120.Green lights: OKS

121.A, in France: UNE

Answer grid.

JD's Crossword Story continues. Here is the updated version with letter D.

C.C.