Monday June 28, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: Wild Kingdom - Animals described by two separate animal names and before someone says a spider or a shark isn't an animal, I see everything as animal, vegetable, or mineral and they aren't one of the last two.

17A. Hammerhead relative with stripes: TIGER SHARK. Image.

27A. Huge walrus relative: ELEPHANT SEAL. Image.

48A. Primate with spindly limbs: SPIDER MONKEY. Image.

63A. One of two in "The Twelve Days of Christmas": TURTLE DOVE. Image.

Argyle here.

What a straightforward puzzle. Hardly a tricky clue in the batch. Entries from across the board. This is the one you might give to people to get them started on crosswords.

Across:

1. Apple computers: MACS

5. Subsurface woodwork decoration: INLAY

10. Coffeehouse convenience for Web surfers: WI-FI

14. Give off, as light: EMIT

15. '80s Pontiac roadster: FIERO. Image.

16. Ruckuses: ADOs

19. Pulls, as a camper: TOWS

20. Visibly stunned: AGAPE

21. 1930s-'40s New York mayor La Guardia: FIORELLO. Mayor for three terms from 1934 to 1945. La Guardia ordered construction of the airport that bears his name after his TWA flight arrived at Newark, NJ, even though his ticket said New York.

23. Submarine weapon: TORPEDO

26. Orange Free State settler: BOER. The Republic of the Orange Free State (Dutch) was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa. Boer is the Dutch word for farmer.

32. Covert __: spy activities: OPS. OPS is short for operations.

35. Be untruthful: LIE

36. Sharpshooter Annie: OAKLEY

37. Supreme Court intern: CLERK

40. Antlered critter: ELK and 42. Plains grazer: BISON. Two bonus animals.

43. Cooking class, for short: HOME EC

45. "__ Miz": LES. A colloquialism for the 1980 musical production, Les Misérables

47. Curry of "Today": ANN. Image.

52. One-named Irish singer: ENYA

53. Pago Pago natives: SAMOANS. From the South Seas.

57. Talky gatherings: GABFESTS

61. Large wall picture: MURAL. What our WM is known to paint.

62. Eins, zwei, __: DREI. German 1, 2, 3.

66. Alda of "M*A*S*H": ALAN

67. Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE

68. Words of understanding: "I SEE"

69. Oxen's harness: YOKE

70. Have a new __ on life: LEASE

71. Hanukkah moolah: GELT. The word gelt means money in Yiddish.

Down:

1. Convened in: MET AT

2. Compadre: AMIGO

3. "Close, but no __": CIGAR

4. Treeless Siberian tract: STEPPE

5. "No __, ands or buts": IFS

6. Fed. research org.: NIH. National Institutes of Health.

7. Fall faller: LEAF. An alliterate clue.

8. Speedy Gonzales exclamation: "¡ARRIBA!". Used as an exclamation of pleasure, approval, or elation. Speedy Gonzales is a Mexican cartoon mouse. Clip.

9. John Lennon's love: YOKO ONO. Her full name, for a change.

10. Ride behind a speedboat: WATER SKI

11. TV's "American __": IDOL

12. Chicks, ducks, etc.: FOWL

13. "That __ yesterday!": IS SO. Do they still call this Valley Speak?

18. Fishing line holder: REEL

22. Adjust a paragraph setting: RETAB

24. Biden's state: Abbr.: DEL.. Delaware.

25. Mayberry boy: OPIE

28. Phone call response: "HELLO?"

29. "Born Free" lioness: ELSA

30. Long, long time: AEON

31. Nashville's Loretta: LYNN. She was a Coal Miner's Daughter.

32. Folk legend Phil: OCHS. Philip Ochs(1940 – 1976) was an American protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer) and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice. He wrote "Draft Dodger Rag".

33. Sit (down) undaintily: PLOP

34. 18-wheeler: SEMI

38. Give new meaning to: REDEFINE

39. New Hampshire city: KEENE

41. Barbies' counterparts: KENS

44. Waterford product: CRYSTAL. A trademark brand of crystal glassware.

46. Caribbean music: SKA

49. Grown-up: MATURE

50. Plus-size supermodel: EMME. Image.

51. Cool cat's "Get it?": "YOU DIG?"

54. Cropped up: ARISE. (Correction: It's AROSE. Thanks, Tinbeni.)

55. Bellybutton: NAVEL

56. Winter hazard: SLEET

57. Melbourne greeting: "G'DAY". Kazie, are you there?

58. "The Motorcycle Song" singer Guthrie: ARLO. "I don't want a pickle, just wanna ride on my motorcycle"

59. Toucan's pride: BEAK. Here is a picture of a toucan's pride.

60. Mex. miss: SRTA

64. "__ the season ...": 'TIS

65. Jeans brand: LEE

Okay, I admit there may be an East Coast bias to this puzzle.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday June 27, 2010 Ed Sessa

Theme: The Ends Justify the Meanings - The end word in each theme answer is split into a compound word, and the first part of which forms a familiar "__ and __" phrase with the start of each theme entry.

23A. Angler's go-to lure?: BREAD AND BUTTER FLY. Bread and Butter. Butterfly. Anglers use artificial flies as lure.

37A. Intermittent photo session?: ON AND OFF SHOOT. On and off. Offshoot.

67A. "Father Knows Best," to some: MOM AND POP CORN. Mom and Pop. Popcorn. I've never watched "Father Knows Best". Is it really corny?

97A. Zigzags?:: IN-AND-OUT LINES. In-and-Out. Outlines.

114A.Wavering conservative faction?: BACK AND FORTH RIGHT. Back and Forth. Forthright. Conservative faction = Right.

16D. Thrill from using a mouse?: DRAG AND DROP KICK. Drag and Drop. Dropkick. Fun clue/answer.

43D. Fancy dance marathon?: HUFF AND PUFF BALL. Huff and Puff. Puffball. Very evocative answer.

Fun theme.

It reminds me slightly of Doug Peterson and Barry Silk's collaboration Sunday puzzle "And another thing...". Different approach of course.

None of the expensive letters J/Q/X/Z is used in this grid. Out of 36 3-letter & 32 4-letter entries, quite a few are abbreviations. Fortunately most of them have become gimmes to me. I've been solving & blogging puzzles for more than two and a half years.

Across:

1. Long cold spell: ICE AGE. Nice clue.

7. "The Whiffenpoof Song" words: BAAS. Wikipedia says "The Whiffenpoof Song" ends in "Baa, baa, humbug!". Unknown to me.

11. Big bang: BLAST. Triple alliteration.

16. Mil. decoration: DSM (Distinguished Service Medal)

19. Grand Canyon nester: CONDOR. Had trouble obtaining the answer.

20. Quartet named for its singers: ABBA. Initials of their first names.

21. Alice's husband in '50s TV: RALPH

22. Reine's spouse: ROI. Reine = Queen (in French)

26. Hole puncher: AWL

27. Dustin's "Kramer vs. Kramer" co-star: MERYL(Streep)

28. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER

29. Some nest eggs, briefly: IRAS

30. Mirrored: IMAGED

32. Sign that makes an angel happy: SRO (Stand Room Only). Angel here refers to a person who finances a Broadway show or a film.

33. Religious symbol: ICON

35. "Hold on __!": A SEC

36. Say over: ITERATE. And REPEAT (121.Echo)

40. __ White: SNOW

41. '90s Olds: ACHIEVA. Replaced by Alero in 1999. New trivia to me.

44. Work at assiduously: PLY

45. Took potshots: SNIPED

47. Lugs: HAULS

48. "A Doll's House" heroine: NORA. I forgot.

50. Passé platters: LPS. Cool clue!

52. Candy named for its creators: M AND M'S. Odd to see M & M's spelled out.

55. Overrun en masse, as ants: INFEST

57. Pedal pusher: CYCLER

59. Minsk's home: BELARUS. Nailed it.

60. Where wildebeest roam: Abbr.: AFR. Wildebeest = Gnu.

61. Possess, to Burns: HAE. "Have".

63. Two bells, at sea: ONE AM. Guessed. Don't really know the bells and the corresponded time.

65. Admission of defeat: I LOST

66. Palindromic Altar: ARA. Literally "Altar" in Latin.

71. Ale servings: Abbr.: PTS (Pints)

72. Yorba __, Calif. : LINDA. Just learned that the Nixon Library is located here.

74. Cockamamie: INANE

75. Here, to Pierre: ICI

76. Letters before a 76-Down: AKA. Nice crossing with ALIAS (76D. See 76-Across).

77. Blues Brothers toppers: FEDORAS. And SNL (118.Where the Blues Brothers began, briefly).

79. Like some outfield walls: PADDED

82. Quartz compound: SILICA

85. Quakers in the woods: ASPENS. Aspen quakes. The "in the woods" did not dissuade me from thinking of the religious Quakers.

86. These, to Thérèse: CES

87. Formerly, formerly: ERST

89. Suitable spot for a statue: NICHE. Triple alliteration in the clue.

90. Has the last of: USES UP

92. TV Guide abbr. : TBA

93. Director's do-overs: RETAKES

95. Sword handle: HAFT

101.1980s-'90s N.Y. senator D'Amato: ALFONSE. I peeked at the answer sheet.

103."Denial __ just a river in Egypt": Twain: AIN'T

104.State with conviction: AVER

105.Sleep lab acronym: REM

108.Bump off: RUB OUT

109.Anthem starter: O SAY

110.Expected: DUE

111.Typical start?: PROTO. Start of the word Prototypical.

113.GP's gp. : AMA

119.Taken as a whole: IN ALL

120.__ worlde: quaintly fashionable: OLDE

122."Rebel Without a Cause" actor Mineo: SAL

123.World carrier: ATLAS. The clue needs a question mark, does it?

124.Lanolin source: WOOL. Did not know the meaning of lanolin: a fatty substance obtained from wool and used in soaps, cosmetics, and ointments.

125.Fuel in a can: STERNO

Down:

1. Some WMDs: ICBMS. Stumper. ICBM = InterContinental Ballistic Missile.

2. Semicircular utensil: CORER. I seldom use our corer.

3. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. January.

4. Beatles' "__ in the Life": A DAY

5. Sanctity: GODLINESS

6. '70s NOW cause: ERA. I know NOW = National Organization for Women. But I don't get the clue.

7. Villains often come to one: BAD END. Wish it's true in real life.

8. Mass. or Miss.: ABBR. Can't get STATE out of my mind.

9. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU. No idea.

10. Make happy: SATISFY

11. Dam damage: BREACH

12. "__ and the Real Girl": 2007 film: LARS. Here is the poster. Doesn't look interesting to me.

13. Franklin's 1936 foe: ALF (Landon)

14. Mid-race statistic: SPLIT TIME. Car race?

15. Part of a Simon & Garfunkel quartet: THYME. "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". Love the song.

17. Johannesburg area: SOWETO. Nope. What's it famous for?

18. Shower problem: MILDEW

24. Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy)

25. Spanish crowd?: TRES. Spanish for "three". Three's a crowd.

31. Military depot: ARSENAL

34. Cleveland hoopster, for short: CAV. Cavaliers.

35. Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC

36. Charge carrier: ION. I blanked on the clue.

37. Crude carrier: OILER. Nice consecutive "carrier' clues.

38. Venue for Minnie Pearl: OPRY

39. CIA predecessor: OSS (Office of Strategic Services)

41. Sashimi fish: AHI. Yummy!

42. Birds named for an island group: CANARIES

46. Monty Python member: PALIN. Someone is pouting for the clue.

49. Neptune's domain: OCEAN

50. O'Brien's successor: LENO

51. Type of school: PREP

53. Pencil or toothbrush, e.g.: MUSTACHE. Devious clue!

54. Retd. boomers: SSTS. Nailed it.

56. Howe'er: THO

58. Ran easily: LOPED

59. College QB, often: BMOC (Big Man on Campus)

62. "Time's Arrow" author: AMIS (Martin). Has anyone read the book?

64. Bases' antitheses: ACIDS

66. Bravo preceder: ALFA. Alfa and Alpha both right.

67. Seine tributary: MARNE. Can never remember this river.

68. Kitty pickup spot: NAPE

69. Spiral molecules: DNAS

70. Grafton's "__ for Ricochet": R IS

73. Argumentative cry: DOES TOO

78. Second: ASSISTANT. Constructors love this kind of ambiguous part of speech.

80. Coming-out: DEBUT

81. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT

83. Make sense of: INTERPRET

84. DDE adversary: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)

86. Audit rep: CPA. And HRS (117. 86-Down billing units).

88. Hot-pot support: TRIVET. Three-legged stand.

91. Somme one: UNE. In French.

92. Wally Cleaver portrayer: TONY DOW. Learned from doing Xword.

94. Reno-to-Elko dir.: ENE

95. Bust chops: HARASS. "Bust chops" is new slang to me.

96. Wellesley grad: ALUMNA. Women's college.

98. Some sonorant sounds: NASALS. Another triple alliteration.

99. "Gorillas in the Mist" subject Fossey: DIAN. Can never commit her name to my brain.

100. Victory emblem: LAUREL

102.Ancient Nile Valley kingdom: NUBIA. Current Egypt-Sudan region. JD said Aida is from Nubia.

105.Ham's "Gotcha": ROGER

106.Frome of fiction: ETHAN

107.Words often etched in stone: MOTTO

109.Sooner St.: OKLA. Lois is there now.

110.Birdbrain: DODO. Our Dodo got her avatar name from the starting two letters of her given & family name.

112.Ready to pluck: RIPE

115.Baseball "Iron Man" Ripken: CAL. So humble!

116.Waitress at Mel's: FLO

Answer grid.

Happy 75th Birthday to Jeannie's Dad!

C.C.