Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: A Better Place - The last word of the theme entries is a Utopia.

17A. "I Dream of Jeannie" star : BARBARA EDEN. "Jeannie", with navel.

28A. WWII aircraft carrier nicknamed "Tokyo Express" : USS SHANGRI-LA. CV-38 Image.

44A. 1928 #1 song heard in a 1990 Steve Martin film of the same name : MY BLUE HEAVEN. This is that long ago song with some additional information.

58A. Narrator in Kerouac's "On the Road" : SAL PARADISE. "On the Road" is known as a semi-autobiographic story, and Kerouac admitted himself being Sal Paradise.

Argyle here. We can continue from yesterday being happy because now we are Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Across:

1. Sells for : COSTS

6. In any way, shape or form : AT ALL

11. Word with legal or lily : PAD

14. Fur tycoon John Jacob : ASTOR

15. Wild Australian dog : DINGO. Image.

16. Census datum : AGE

19. CD-__ : ROM

20. Flu-like symptom : AGUE

21. Lifesaving technique: Abbr. : CPR. (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

22. Slangy starting point : GIT GO

24. "Dig in!" : LET'S EAT

26. Bike without pedaling : COAST

32. Cricket call : CHIRP

35. Type of sax : ALTO

36. Steamed up : MAD

37. Solitary : LONE

38. Mag with a "Bachelor of the Year" contest : COSMO

40. Libraries do it : LEND

41. Menu catchphrase : À LA

42. Crate component : SLAT

43. Merchandise : WARES

48. Sequence with a Y, sometimes : AEIOU (vowels)

49. Spouse's resigned assent : YES, DEAR

53. Taxpayer's dread : AUDIT

55. Take in, as a movie : SEE

56. Ultimatum end : ELSE

57. Incidentally, in online shorthand : BTW. (by the way)

62. Plea from a lea : MAA. Cute rhyme.

63. Walk leisurely : MOSEY

64. Scammed : HOSED

65. Inclined to avoid the spotlight : SHY

66. Give the slip : ELUDE

67. Unable to sit still : ANTSY

Down:

1. Conspiring group : CABAL. Popularized in English, 1673, as an acronym for five intriguing ministers of Charles II (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale), which gave the word its sinister connotations. Online Etymology Dictionary

2. Oklahoma native : OSAGE. Their web site.

3. Pompous gait : STRUT

4. "Without a doubt!" : TO BE SURE

5. Mme. in Madrid : SRA. The Spanish term for the French Mrs., ¿comprende?

6. Copes with change : ADAPTS

7. Wedding cake layer : TIER

8. "Furthermore ..." : AND

9. Part of XL: Abbr. : LGE. (extra large)

10. In olden days : LONG AGO

11. Many a McDonald's worker : PART-TIMER

12. Psyched up : AGOG

13. Test-driven car : DEMO

18. Some HDTVs : RCAS

23. Jerusalem is its cap. : ISR. (Israel)

25. Eerie ability, briefly : ESP. (extrasensory perception)

26. Pre-storm period : CALM. Does an eerie calm precede a storm or is that just an old wives tale?.

27. Savvy about : ON TO

29. Too big a hurry : HASTE

30. Co-worker of Kent and Olsen : LANE (Superman)

31. Mixes in : ADDS

32. Be silent, with "up" : CLAM

33. Fit for sainthood : HOLY

34. Really hurting : IN A BAD WAY

38. Egyptian played by Liz : CLEO. Both names are shortened versions of the full name.

39. Diamond Head's island : OAHU

40. Stopped at, as a board game square : LANDED ON

42. "Sounds good" : SUITS ME

43. "Scream" director Craven : WES. Movie.

45. Luau wreath : LEI

46. Salt's assent : AYE, AYE. (salt = sailor)

47. Avoid a pothole, say : VEER

50. Mass-mailing tool : E-LIST

51. Pompous types : ASSES

52. Like a bassoon's sound : REEDY

53. Aerial defense weapons, for short : ABMS. (anti-ballistic missiles)

54. Bryce Canyon's state : UTAH

55. Exceeded the limit : SPED

59. IM provider : AOL. (IM = Instant Messenger) Rather passé in today's world.

60. Baton Rouge sch. : LSU. (Louisiana State University)

61. "Solved it!" : AHA. Now that is almost too cute to have that as the last entry, but I liked it.

Answer grid.

Here are Part IV of Kazie's Oz series. From her trip to Darwin. Such vibrant color! Gorgeous Sunset Over the Water.

Argyle

Monday, July 12, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Joyous Monday - The first word of each two-word (all ten letters) theme answers are what you might be after solving this puzzle. Additionally, each "joyous" synonym contains 2- syllables, with second containing a long E sound.

17A. "Have a nice day" emoticon : SMILEY FACE. If any one has been lucky enough to have missed seeing the ubiquitous smiley face, your luck ends here.

60A. Blackbeard's flag : JOLLY ROGER. The Skull & Bones.

11D. Shakespeare's women of Windsor : MERRY WIVES. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a comedy and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life.

28D. Bar discount times : HAPPY HOURS. Typically, it is in the late afternoon and lasts longer than a single hour. Bars that are near mills with a third shift often have a morning happy hour.

Argyle here. Not much to say. Happy Hour is a euphemistic term and usually isn't all that joyous of a time.

Across:

1. Salty drop : TEAR

5. Game for little sluggers : T-BALL

10. Gathering clouds, to some : OMEN

14. "In that range" : OR SO

15. Elephant gone amok : ROGUE

16. Nevada gambling haven : RENO

19. Ear-to-ear expression : GRIN. Like a smiley face.

20. Not as risky : SAFER

21. Archaic "For shame!" : FIE. It's a general sound of disgust that seems to have developed independently in most languages. Online Etymology Dictionary. "Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard?" Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.

22. Avant-__ : GARDE. French. Literally "advance guard" in a military sense; borrowed as an artistic term for "pioneers or innovators of a particular period." The advance group in any field.

23. Perry with a phenomenal success rate : MASON. Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional lawyer and crime-solver.

25. Like Tim Cratchit : TINY. The fictional character in the classic story "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

26. Kelly, to Regis : CO-HOST

29. Feature of a bad air day : SMOG

31. Needing a diaper change : WET

34. Dump truck filler : LOADER. Clip. If you wonder what he is doing, the operator of the loader is trying to flip the material to the far side of the dump box.

35. Pull, as a water-skier : TOW

36. Home with hexagonal cells : HIVE (Bee hive.)

37. Andersen character with "new clothes" : EMPEROR. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two conniving weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes invisible to those unfit for their positions or incompetent. No one wants to admit that they can't see the clothes(including the Emperor) but when the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

39. Lifelong residents : NATIVES

41. Washer or dryer: Abbr. : APPL. (appliance)

42. Frat party buy : KEG

44. Hamster or gerbil : RODENT

45. Commandment word : THY

46. Promo recording : DEMO

47. Like a top hat and tails : DRESSY

48. Sibilant boo : HISS

50. Like Satchmo's voice : RASPY. I had forgotten about this gem. Hee, he..., I mean "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

52. Leading edge of a weather system : FRONT

54. Tupperware topper : LID

55. "Gone With the Wind" family name : O'HARA

59. Gomez Addams portrayer __ Julia : RAUL. From TV's "The Addams Family". Update: Per L-714, it was John Astin on TV and Raul Julia in the movies.

62. Fairy tale villain : OGRE

63. Kukla's puppet pal : OLLIE. "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" was an early American television show using puppets and Fran was Fran Allison.

64. Period before Easter : LENT

65. Wind increase : GUST

66. Spills the beans : BLABS

67. Swirling current : EDDY

Down:

1. Pregame coin flip : TOSS

2. Witty Bombeck : ERMA

3. "__ I care!" : AS IF

4. One to look up to : ROLE MODEL

5. Take a stab at : TRY

6. Huge, at the box office : BOFFO

7. Opposed to : AGAINST

8. Time co-founder Henry : LUCE. Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967)

9. Spike or Ang : LEE. Spike Lee, African-American movie director, or Ang Lee, Oscar winning Chinese film director.

10. Broadway Phantom's instrument : ORGAN. Erik, The Phantom of the Opera.

12. Geraint's lady : ENID. Geraint is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, Enid and Geraint.

13. Poor dog's portion, in rhyme : NONE. From Mother Goose.

18. Solver's "undo" implement : ERASER

22. Date for a jazz cat : GIG

24. The 4 in "par 4" : STROKES. (golf)

25. Facing : TOWARDS

26. Golf shoe gripper : CLEAT. Argued before it should be SPIKE. (but we had SPIKE Lee)

27. Get-up-and-go : OOMPH

30. "__ Dieu!" : MON. French

32. Levels off : EVENS

33. Easily irritated : TESTY

36. Secret place : HIDEY HOLE. Where they found Saddam. Image.

38. Dream letters : REM. (rapid eye movement, when a person is dreaming.)

40. Extreme sluggishness : TORPOR

43. Greatest of the great apes : GORILLA

46. "Spring ahead" abbr. : DST. (daylight saving time)

49. Shoreline nook : INLET

51. Wing it on stage : AD LIB

52. Croaking critter : FROG

53. Pasta sauce brand : RAGU

54. Act like a couch potato : LOLL

56. Matured, as cheese : AGED

57. Rip apart : REND

58. Superficially cultured : ARTY

60. To-do list item : JOB

61. "I'd be delighted!" : YES

Answer grid.

Here are two fun pictures with funny captions from today's constructor John Lampkin. Click each one for enlargement.

Happy 80th Birthday to our blog grammar teacher Sallie!

Argyle