Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: Let's Go Shopping - Before you know it, the school supplies sales will start and you might visit these four entries. Unusual two-part unifier.

20A. Information disparity in a social system: KNOWLEDGE GAP.

32A. Ready-made graphics for frames: CLIP ART BORDERS.

40A. Standard cooking supplies: KITCHEN STAPLES.

56A. Skeet challenge: MOVING TARGET.

45A. With 66-Across, each of this puzzle's four longest answers ends in one: RETAIL. and 66A. See 45-Across: STORE.

Argyle here.

The NE may have caused some problems but, all-in-all, a good continuation from Monday.

Across:

1A. Smoocher's smoochers: LIPS. More than alliteration, eh?

5A. Course with fractions: MATH.

9A. Russian country home: DACHA. Also spelled datcha. It is a second home or summer home, not just a home in the country.

14A. Short race distance, for short: ONE K.

15A. Peek or bug ending: -A-BOO.

16A. Moral principle: ETHIC.

17A. Birthday treat: CAKE.

18A. Mannerly man: GENT.

19A. "Here Come the __": 1945 college comedy: CO-EDS. Starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The main attraction is seeing Lou Costello in drag.

23A. Greets and seats: SEES IN.

24A. Piggy bank opening: SLOT.

25A. Calif.'s second-busiest airport: SFO. San Francisco International Airport.

28A. Office conf.: MTG.. Used in texting?

30A. Clapton's strings: GUITAR. Eric Clapton, is a rock guitarist.

37A. Small songbird: WREN.

38A. Actress Lupino: IDA.

39A. Substitute spread: OLEO.

46A. NBC weekend revue: SNL.

47A. Ltr. afterthoughts: PSS.

48A. Docs prescribe them: MEDS. Docs and MEDS are both shortened versions: doctors, medications.

51A. Coffee orders: DECAF.

58A. Can't stomach: ABHOR.

61A. Wordsmith Webster: NOAH. Weak alliteration.

62A. Field of expertise: AREA.

63A. Mouthed on-field greeting: "HI, MOM".

64A. Gardner of mysteries: ERLE.

65A. Painful skin ridge: WELT.

67A. College leader: DEAN.

68A. Not as much: LESS.

Down:

1D. Security devices: LOCKS.

2D. Absurd: INANE.

3D. Orange __ tea: PEKOE.

4D. Distorts, as data: SKEWS.

5D. Purplish hue: MAGENTA. Interesting etymology: The brilliant crimson aniline dye was discovered in 1860 shortly after the Battle of Magenta, in Italy. The French and Sardinians defeated the Austrians in 1859, which advanced the cause of Italian independence and fired the imagination of European liberals. The dye magenta (commonly called fuchsine) signified the color of the land all covered by blood after the battle.

6D. Still in the sack: ABED.

7D. Salad servers: TONGS.

8D. The Waldorf, e.g.: HOTEL.

9D. Central Illinois city: DECATUR. "The Soybean Capital of the World".

10D. Situated on: ATOP.

11D. Revolutionary Guevara: CHE. We haven't seen Castro's buddy in a while.

12D. Stayed out of sight: HID.

13D. Their capacity is measured in BTUs: ACs.

21D. Flaccid: LIMP.

22D. Like disco dancers: GO-GO.

25D. Inscribed pillar: STELE. Image of a new STELE and not on the grand scale of this one.

26D. Taxi charges: FARES.

27D. Estimate phrase: OR SO.

29D. Broad smile: GRIN.

31D. Pop star: IDOL.

32D. Reacts to a tearjerker: CRIES.

33D. Baltic natives: LETTS. Archaic word for Latvians. Map

34D. Cuzco empire builder: INCA. Cusco, often spelled Cuzco, is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the historic capital of the Inca Empire. From Wikipedia.

35D. NFL six-pointers: TDs. Football TouchDowns.

36D. Dugout equipment: BATS. I got stuck on thinking dugout canoe.

37D. Sitcom radio station: "WKRP". Echo from Monday: the song that was playing "on air" when thee station made the switch from adult contemporary to Rock was "Having My Baby" (written by Paul Anka).

41D. Boyfriend-to-girlfriend "You have to choose!": "HIM OR ME!".

42D. Mountain ht.: ELEV..

43D. "Here's what happened next ...": "AND THEN...".

44D. Courtroom response: PLEA.

49D. Ate a formal meal: DINED.

50D. Sleeper's sound: SNORE.

52D. Move on all fours: CRAWL.

53D. See eye to eye: AGREE.

54D. Has a hunch: FEELS.

55D. ERA and RBI: STATS. Baseball.

56D. Drop anchor: MOOR.

57D. Red-carpet event: GALA.

58D. Satisfied sounds: AHs.

59D. Small piece: BIT.

60D. Patient care gp.: HMO.

Answer grid.

Congratulations to JD and Bob those third grandson Cameron Joseph was born yesterday! Congratulations to Shelby and Joe (front two) as well!

Argyle

Monday June 21, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Should Have Used Cold Water - Three common phrases, the first word of which describes what can happen to clothes, and a unifier of when this happens.

17A. *Losing ground quickly: FADING FAST.

25A. *Seeking a municipal office: RUNNING FOR MAYOR.

46A. *Extreme introvert: SHRINKING VIOLET.

59A. When the accidents at the starts of the answers to starred clues are apt to occur: LAUNDRY DAY.

Argyle here with a Gareth Bain Monday.

Not bad. Two grid spanning entries, unusual for a Monday but easily attainable. A nice mix of old and new.

Across:

1A. Lost in a good book, say: RAPT.

5A. __ prof.: ASST..

9A. Attacker of seals: ORCA. Also, polar bear, up north.

13A. Length times width: AREA.

14A. In the freezer: ON ICE.

15A. Blockhead: FOOL.

16A. Jagger of the Stones: MICK.

19A. Farmer in a '40s-'50s film series: PA KETTLE. Rural comedy featuring 29D. Bumpkin: YOKEL.

21A. Golfer Els: ERNIE. He finished alone in third in the Open.

22A. Nabisco cookie: OREO.

23A. None: ZERO.

32A. Disney toon who traded her voice for legs: ARIEL. From Disney's "The Little Mermaid".

33A. Astronomical time span: EON.

34A. TV's kid explorer: DORA. Very big in product endorsements; "Dora the Explorer" everything!

35A. "The __ is up!": JIG.

36A. Southern Calif. daily: LA TIMES. Right there in the center (gotta help catch the editor's attention).

40A. The Sunflower St.: KAN..

41A. Poker "bullets": ACES.

43A. Hearty holiday quaff: NOG.

44A. Letter before iota: THETA. Greek to me.

50A. Color akin to aqua: TEAL.

51A. "Auld __ Syne": LANG.

52A. Knock out: FLOOR.

55A. Notified: SENT WORD.

62A. Atlas section: ASIA.

63A. __-skid brakes: ANTI.

64A. Whirlpool brand: AMANA.

65A. Dalmatian, e.g.: SLAV. Dalmatia, a region mainly in the southern part of modern Croatia. Map

66A. Gone by: PAST.

67A. Shaggy Tibetan beasts: YAKS. LOL Thought of Yeti first.

68A. Inedible doughnut part?: HOLE. So why can you buy them?

Down:

1D. Knievel prop: RAMP. For jumping his motorcycle.

2D. Diva's solo: ARIA.

3D. Chaste kiss: PECK.

4D. Offer from a flier distributor: "TAKE ONE".

5D. Like old television signals: ANALOG.

6D. Fries, e.g.: SIDE.

7D. __-fi: SCI.

8D. Hamilton is on it: TEN. Scott Hamilton is ON ICE.

9D. Designed for rough terrain: OFF ROAD.

10D. Palomino's stablemate, perhaps: ROAN. Two horses named for their coloring.

11D. Mozart's "__ fan tutte": COSI. Literally "Thus do all (women")." We had it on Sunday, June 6.

12D. Old, to Oskar: ALTE. German

14D. Time and again: OFTEN.

18D. Idea's start: GERM.

20D. Coloratura's vocal effect: TRILL. Wikipedia article. Probably the toughest entry today, for me at least.

23D. Camera function: ZOOM.

24D. Seaside flier: ERNE.

25D. Indian princes: RAJAS.

26D. Robert of "Spenser: For Hire": URICH. TV detective series set in Boston. Robert Urich He died in 2002.

27D. African river or country: NIGER. Map

28D. Pretend: FEIGN.

30D. Spout speeches: ORATE.

31D. Charged: RAN AT.

37D. "(You're) Having My Baby" songwriter: ANKA. Paul Anka, singer/songwriter.

38D. Hard work: TOIL.

39D. Time in the Army, e.g.: STINT.

42D. "Happy Days" catchphrase: "SIT ON IT!". The "Welcome Back, Kotter" catchphrase was...?

45D. Bunk: HOGWASH.

47D. Jock's antithesis: NERD.

48D. Learns bit by bit: GLEANS.

49D. Chekhov title uncle: VANYA. "Uncle Vanya", a play (1897) by Anton Chekhov. " ... just life, played out over four acts..."

52D. Exercise, as wings: FLAP.

53D. Turner of "Ziegfeld Girl": LANA. A poster from the 1941 film.

54D. Exposes: OUTS.

55D. Pierre's home: Abbr.: S. DAK.. Pierre, capital of South Dakota.

56D. Norwegian capital: OSLO.

57D. Iranian capital: RIAL. First, two cities then money; did it fool anybody?

58D. "I'm sorry, __": "2001: A Space Odyssey" line: DAVE. Spoken by HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), , the computer.

60D. Flat fish: RAY.

61D. Singer Sumac: YMA.

Answer grid.

Argyle