Sunday July 18, 2010 Corey Rubin

Theme: Not I - You! Long U sound (in various spellings) is added to consonant-beginning parts of common phrases, the resulting theme phrases, some of which experience spelling changes, are then humorously clued.

23A. Organize guards? : UNITE WATCHMEN. The base phrase is nightwatchmen.

31A. How the Knicks of 1985-2000 may have rested their hopes? : ON A EWING AND A PRAYER. On a wing and a prayer. Patrick Ewing.

43A. Where the Oregon swim team practices? : EUGENE POOLS. Gene pools.

59A. Backlash from a Canadian territory? : THE WRATH OF YUKON. The Wrath of Khan.

68A. Reverse course against one's better judgment? : TAKE A U-TURN FOR THE WORSE. Take a turn for the worse. Perfect grid spanner.

78A. Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?" : TEST YOUTUBE, BABY. Test tube baby.

95A. Grateful words for a delivery company? : UPS I LOVE YOU. P.S. I Love You. Very sappy movie.

103A. Headline about declining sales of Nesquik? : YOOHOO'S LAUGHING NOW. Who's laughing now? I've never heard of Nesquik or Yoohoo chocolate milk. Don't eat any dairy products.

121A. Card in the game Car Flop Monopoly? : DO NOT PASS YUGO. Do not pass go. Yugo is the worst car in history, isn't it?

The constructor covered all the possible spellings for the long U sound, no? U, EW, EU, YU, YOU & YOO. Rather exhaustive.

Amusing theme. Heavy themage too. Nice & long theme entries. I like the title too.

Also a pangram. And no cheater square. Very John Lampkin like. But I spotted no cross-reference or clue echos, which are heavily featured in John's puzzles.

Across:

1. To blame : AT FAULT. He's to blame/AT FAULT.

8. Porch tune, maybe : CAROL. The "tune" is a duplication with the answer TUNE in 2D.

13. Spa treatment : MASSAGE. Hi, Melissa.

20. Washington's coin : QUARTER

21. Yoga posture : ASANA. Thought of Lucina and her always cheerful posts!

22. Fancy furs : ERMINES

25. Friday show? : DRAGNET. Sergeant Friday.

26. Prefix with plane : AERO. Aeroplane.

27. Lavish affection : DOTE

28. Roman's 103 : CIII

30. Oenophile's concern : NOSE. Oenophile = One who loves wine.

37. Take a shot : TRY

40. Post-OR area : ICU

41. Caspian feeder : URAL. Tried ARAL first.

42. Major ISP : AOL

48. Auto designer Ferrari : ENZO. He has become a gimme.

50. Chat room "Incidentally ..." : BTW. Needs to be reclued to avoid the "chat" duplication with the answers IDLE CHAT (29D. "Nice weather we're having" and the like).

53. Was too sweet : CLOYED

54. Meter opening : ODO. Opening for the word odometer. The clue needs a question mark. To be consistent with 92A.

55. Lab animals : MICE

57. Not stuffy : AIRY

58. Roll call response : HERE

63. Agt. under Ness : T-MAN

66. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores : IKEA

67. Lure sneakily : ROPE IN

75. Set straight : ORIENT

76. Execute perfectly : NAIL

77. Hun king of myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.

83. Ernest's unseen friend, in films : VERN. No idea. What film?

87. Chop finely : HASH

88. Mineo and a mule : SALS. Fun clue. A man and a mule.

89. Resistance unit : OHM

90. Andy's deputy : BARNEY. "The Andy Griffith Show".

92. Mock ending? : ERY. Ending for the word mockery.

93. McGregor of "Star Wars" films : EWAN

97. Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO. Annette was just talking about Oxo products.

98. College srs.' tests : GRES. Foreign students take GRE too, if they want to study for Masters in the US.

101. A, in Avignon : UNE. Alliteration.

102. Set, as a price : ASK

111. Summer quaffs : ADES. Can picture the groan in Barry G's face.

112. Navigate : WEND

113. Jumble wordplay: Abbr. : ANAG. Man, we really have some anagram experts on the blog. Awesome blossoms!

114. In __: stuck : A JAM

118. Rise again : RESURGE

125. Bridge call : NO TRUMP

126. Papal garment : ORALE. The cape over his vestments.

127. Fail : GO UNDER

128. Show contempt for : SNEER AT

129. Normand of silents : MABEL. Her name escaped me. Saw this clue before.

130. Reagan A.G. : ED MEESE

Down:

1. Turquoise hue : AQUA

2. Use a fork, in a way : TUNE. Tuning fork?

3. Off the foul pole, e.g. : FAIR. Baseball.

4. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. Stumper. "Star Wars" droid.

5. Salt Lake City athlete : UTE

6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW. Stranger to me.

7. Switch to a better model : TRADE UP

8. Saguaros : CACTI. They are in Gunghy's photos.

9. Visibly terrified : ASHEN

10. Try to sink, maybe : RAM. OK.

11. Like a family sharing a vehicle : ONE CAR

12. Pacific weather phenomenon : LA NIÑA

13. TV and radio : MEDIA

14. Sheet music abbr. : ARR. Arranged?

15. "'S a __ request": Burns : SMA. Better than the "Wee" clue yesterday.

16. Cell user's need : SIGNAL. Cellphone.

17. Tee off : ANNOY

18. Canada __ : GEESE

19. Perfumer's compound : ESTER

24. Drag : TOW

32. Number of Dvorák symphonies : NINE. Needed crossing help.

33. Breezed through : ACED

34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS

35. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Spanish for "Peace". Guerra is "war". Got me.

36. Milne tyke : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

37. PC troubleshooter : TECH

38. Have power over : RULE

39. Lab assistant in a 1939 film : YGOR. Or IGOR.

44. Some canines : EYE TEETH

45. "Impressive!" : OOH

46. Work of Sappho : ODE. Sappho is the Greek poet. A Lesbian. The word "lesbian" is derived from her birthplace island Lesbos.

47. In a funk : LOW

49. "The Matrix" hero : NEO

50. Helmet wearer : BIKER

51. Mousquetaires count : TROIS. Three. Did not know Mousquetaires = Musketeers in French. 'The Three Musketeers".

52. Crossword inventor Arthur : WYNNE. In 1913.

55. Hammerhead cousin : MAKO

56. Anatomical passage : ITER

57. Way to make steak : AU POIVRE. Poivre is French for "pepper".

59. Demolition supply : TNT

60. Biathlete's gear : RIFLE

61. Agonize : FRET

62. Cry of distress : YOWL

64. Umpteen : MANY

65. Self starter? : AUTO. Like autograph/autobiography. "Self" prefix. Somehow I am not fond of this clue.

68. "__ moon, Alice!": Gleason catchphrase : TO THE

69. Toward the back : AREAR. I checked. It's in the dictionary.

70. Inviting, as lips : KISSY. Only know kissable.

71. Straighten out : UNTANGLE

72. Brother of Fidel : RAUL. The Castros.

73. Birds' bills : NIBS

74. Stable staple : HAY. Nice alliterative & rhyming clue.

79. Dream Team's team : USA

80. Gillespie's genre : BOP

81. Doctors hear a lot of them : AHS

82. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Incorporated. New abbr. to me.

84. "The Council of Elrond" singer : ENYA

85. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOS. Had this identical before.

86. Syllable from Curly : NYUK. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Three times.

90. Beethoven's birthplace : BONN

91. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. What's the name origin, Santa?

93. Prefix with skeleton : EXO. "Outside" prefix.

94. Court : WOO

95. Pres. before RBH : USG. Ulysses S. Grant. RBH = Rutherford B. Hayes. Blank spots for me.

96. Carousel sight : LUGGAGE. Carousel is the revolving belt in the airports.

97. "Yeah, right!" : OH SURE

99. Like coin flips : RANDOM

100. Author Welty : EUDORA. Peeked at the answer sheet.

103. Fish stories : YARNS

104. Cinema name : ODEON

105. Compass dirección : OESTE. "West" in Spanish.

106. Took four of four, say : SWEPT

107. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Just remember it as A HOLE.

108. Drone's gathering, briefly : INTEL. Intelligence.

109. Be off one's guard : NAP

110. __ Manor: "Batman" mansion : WAYNE. Learning moment.

115. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". Too obscure a clue for me.

116. Seemingly forever : AGES

117. Greedy cry : MORE

119. 1921 Capek play : R.U. R. Where the word "robot" was first used.

120. ABC talk show, for short : GMA

122. Put the cuffs on : NAB

123. Grass in strips : SOD

124. Bottom line : SUM

Answer grid.

Here is Part VIII of Kazie's Oz series. Various Sydney Harbour pictures. Brilliant night shots. The last installment of her trip will appear tomorrow.

C.C.

PS: I have a question for Firefox Browser users: Do the links today appear in blue color in your screen? They look gray in my computer, but blue when I go to Internet Explorer.

Saturday July 17, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 27

Average Word length: 5.66 (Our normal Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday is often under 5.)

This puzzle is anchored by two 12s:

26A. Plotting problem, perhaps : WRITER'S BLOCK. Story plotting.

43A. Plan to minimize losses : EXIT STRATEGY. Could be the seed entry.

Barry also placed triple stacks of 8s in the NW & SE quadrants and triple columns of 9s in the NE and SW quadrants.

No scrabbly J/Q/Z, normally a Silk hallmark.

Across:

1. Voter reaction of sorts : BACKLASH. Had BA* immediately.

9. Come forward : STEP UP

15. Liqueur often used to flavor tiramisu : AMARETTO. Also WHISKEY (37. Jell-O shot ingredient).

16. Benedict XIII's family name : ORSINI. No idea. Wikipedia says the Orsini family has produced three popes.

17. Emeril might make one with provolone : TUNA MELT. Emeril is a fun guy.

18. Slangy "got that right!" : BETCHA. You betcha!

19. Certain Honshu native : OSAKAN

20. Followers: Suff. : ITES. Filled in ISTS first.

22. Auntie Em's st. : KAN. "The Wizard of Oz".

23. A transfer might entail one, briefly : RELO. Thought of plane/bus transfer. Not job transfer.

24. Gang follower? : STER. Gangster.

25. High guy : ALTO. Oh, high voice guy.

30. Office efficiency meas. : WPM (Words Per Minute)

33. Jungian archetype : ANIMA. Jung's inner self, as opposed to "persona".

34. Café drinker's request : LECHE. "Milk" in Spanish.

35. Big talk : ORATION

39. Simple organism : MONAD. New word to me. Single cell.

40. Milo, e.g. : GRAIN. I've never heard of milo, an early-growing, usually drought-resistant grain sorghum, resembling millet.

42. Tom Hayden's '60s org. : SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

46. Luxor's river : NILE. Luxor is city in Central Egypt. On the Nile. I bet our Mr. Ed knows.

47. High in the French Alps? : HAUT. The feminine is Haute, as in Haute Couture/Cuisine.

48. Organization with many boomers : AARP

52. Wee : SMA. Small.

53. __ Mawr : BRYN

54. Google Earth, e.g. : MAPPER. Er word...

56. Apt to change : LABILE. Another new word.

58. Ojibwa speakers : CHIPPEWA. They are a big tribe here in MN.

60. Torino's home : ITALIA

61. Cramped : HAMPERED

62. Past : BEYOND

63. Waits for, at an intersection : YIELDS TO

Down:

1. Ulan __ : BATOR. Mongolia capital.

2. Tickle : AMUSE

3. Place for a low bridge : CANAL. Did not come to me readily.

4. Former capital on the Vistula River : KRAKOW. No idea. Capital of Poland (1038-1596).

5. 1964 British Open winner : LEMA. The Champagne Tony. It sure would not be British Open without wind, would it? Rory, Go!

6. Rate __: be perfect : A TEN

7. N.L. Central team : STL. St. Louis Cardinals.

8. Brisk seller : HOT ITEM

9. Gets serious : SOBERS

10. A third of nueve : TRES. Spanish for "three". Nueve is "nine".

11. Pawtucket hrs. : EST

12. Thieves' tools : PICKLOCKS

13. Like a dinosaur embryo : UNHATCHED. I don't get this clue. Know nothing about dinosaur.

14. They activate hammers : PIANO KEYS. Ear hammers? I was stumped.

21. Huge amount of power : TERAWATT. Equals to one trillion watts. Tera is a prefix for "one trillion". (Sorry for the "suffix" error earlier.)

24. 1963 Chevrolet debut : STINGRAY. Don't know the history.

25. They're often drawn : ALES

27. Speakeasy owners' concerns : RAIDS

28. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. Pronounced like "I know", right? Sea goddess who rescued Odysseus from drowning by giving him a magic veil.

29. Rappers' accessories, in slang : BLING

30. Betty Friedan cause : WOMEN'S LIB. Have dimly heard of the name Betty Friedan.

31. Close : PROXIMATE. Awesome entry.

32. 1898 battle site : MANILA BAY. Spanish-American War battle site.

36. Where Gainsboroughs hang : TATE. Tate Galleries.

38. Step on it : HIE. Was thinking the clue is asking for the "it", you know, like PEDAL.

41. Like dirty jokes : RAUNCHY

44. Nut feature : THREAD. Again, I was picturing edible nuts. Not nuts/bolts/screws.

45. Went on and on : YAPPED. Man, John Daly just can't stop talking to the reporters.

49. Some parodists : APERS

50. Keep from drying out : REWET. I rewater, so I suppose it's OK to REWET.

51. Madrid must-see : PRADO

53. Russian pancake : BLIN

54. Some street art : MIME. Needed crossing help.

55. Kitchen item: Abbr. : APPL. OK, appliance.

57. 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy. : ILO (International Labor Organization)

59. River through Beijing : HAI. Hai River. Hai is literally "sea" in Chinese. Love the new clue.

Answer grid.

Here is Part VII of Kazie's Oz series. The last ones of the Northern Territory, still in Kakadu.

C.C.