Tuesday July 27, 2010 Harvey Estes

Theme: OUTER CLOTHES - Circled squares at the end of each theme entry contain the name of a type of outer garment. (Note: LA Times website does not support circled squares, click here to see where the circles are.)

17A. Emergency exit with a ladder : FIRE ESCAPE. Cape. The most iconic is probably Superman's. But here, Santa, meet your match.

60A. Robotic solar system explorer : SPACE PROBE. Robe. For boxers/judges. One for the ladies.

10D. Pioneer's wagon : CONESTOGA. Toga, forum garb. The only one word theme entry. Tell me this wasn't your first image.

32D. Gibbon : LESSER APE. Serape. Mexican wrap, as shown on this festive guy. The only theme entry where the clothing spans two words.

The unifier is placed in the very middle of the grid as two cross-referencing perps:

38A. With 24-Down, category of garments fittingly found in the circled letters : OUTER

24D. See 38-Across : CLOTHES

And a bonus entry at the bottom of the grid:

66A. Put on fancy attire, with "up" : DRESS. Like this. Quite smart looking.

Hey, it's Dennis; my turn in the barrel. Had one stumble in solving this one, which was putting 'Glenda' for 2D.

Just a couple observations about today's offering: this puzzle has only 34 blocks, low for a Tuesday, resulting in an impressive Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) that C.C. used to highlight in Dan's puzzles: 20.

The key themed words are consistently placed too. In this type of circle gimmick, those circled words are not always consecutively placed and can appear anywhere in the theme entries; the beginning, middle or end. A well-done Tuesday puzzle.

Across:

1. "A Death in the Family" author James : AGEE.

5. Name on a fridge : AMANA. I swear, if you only did crosswords, you'd think there was only one brand of Appliances (Amana) and one brand of TVs (RCA).

10. Quote as a reference : CITE.

14. What flags do in the wind : FLAP.

15. Beeper : PAGER. Remember these? Seem so archaic now. The first ones basically just transmitted phone numbers, and you'd put '911' at the end if it was really important. Oh, and we quickly figured out how to send obscene words using just numbers.

16. Jazzy Anita : ODAY. She changed her name from Colton to O'Day, pig latin for 'dough', as in money.

19. Luggage tag datum : NAME.

20. Building additions : ANNEXES.

21. Steamed up : ANGERED.

23. Caesar's "that is" : ID EST.

24. Contract provision : CLAUSE. Not him.

25. "Way cool!" : RAD.

26. Train track : RAIL. Alliteration.

29. Woodland deities : SATYRS. The Nymph pursuers. Wow, so realistic!

32. Atoll enclosure : LAGOON.

34. Demi of "G.I. Jane" : MOORE. Say what you might about her, but she got herself in incredible shape for the movie. Definition like this does not come easily.

35. Frosty's smoke : PIPE . Friend of mine did one of these with a fake blunt instead of a pipe. Neighbors with kids weren't thrilled.

40. Wind blast : GUST. This is what a serious crosswind landing looks like when the wind is gusting perpendicular to the flight path.

41. Up to one's ears (in) : AWASH

43. Aussie lassie : SHEILA . Very topical, given Kazie's recent outstanding slide show.

45. Take a bad turn : WORSEN

47. Razor's cutter : EDGE

48. Homer, to Bart : DAD

51. "Angels & __": Dan Brown best-seller : DEMONS. It precedes The Da Vinci Code and explores the Illuminati. A great read, one that resulted in a few bleary-eyed mornings for me.

53. "Don't even go __!" : THERE

55. Arachnoid zodiac sign : SCORPIO

57. Spiny lizards : IGUANAS. Kinda stately looking, huh?

59. Wrist-to-elbow bone : ULNA. Here. Have we had 'humerus' in a crossword before? Seems like a good crossword word.

62. Kid's summer haven : CAMP.

63. Chart holder : EASEL.

64. Mix with a spoon : STIR.

65. Many a proposal is made on one : KNEE. My first thought was 'bet'.

67. Cops, slangily : HEAT.

Down:

1. Festive gathering : AFFAIR. I'm not sure how 'festive' he's feeling.

2. Witch who helped Dorothy get home : GLINDA. Here.

3. Merited : EARNED.

4. Fencing blades : EPEES.

5. Recess at St. Peter's : APSE. As shown here.

6. PC alternatives : MACS.

7. Turkish title : AGA.

8. Tibet neighbor : NEPAL. Has anyone from our group been there?

9. Sports venues : ARENAS.

11. Challenging words : I DARE YOU. Those words have gotten me in trouble more than a few times. In his interview, Harvey said for non-theme fills, he likes to "work in phrases as much as possible, because I think they're usually more interesting."

12. Not exactly exciting : TAME .

13. Gawked at : EYED .

18. Crowd scene actor : EXTRA. X is the only scrabbly letter in this puzzle.

22. U.S. Pacific territory : GUAM

27. Back in time : AGO

28. Debtor's letters : IOUS

30. B&O and Reading : RRS

31. Filming site : SET

33. Financial aid criterion : NEED

35. Fido's foot : PAW

36. "Letters from __ Jima": 2006 film : IWO. One of the greatest battles in Marine Corps history. They were fighting an enemy that wasn't so much on Iwo Jima, as in it. Cost over 6800 Marine and Army lives to take it, but by securing the island, American bombers were able to use the island as a strategic emergency landing area, coming back from strikes on the Japanese mainland. Saved many pilots and crews.

37. "Sorry about that" : PARDON ME. You betcha.

39. Fix, as a fight : RIG.

42D. Rope fiber source : HEMP.

44. Ease off : LETUP.

46. Spread publicly, with "about" : NOISED. Yeah, it's legit; has anyone ever heard it used?

48. Indicate : DENOTE.

49. Oil-rich peninsula : ARABIA.

50. Most of 49-Down : DESERT. Nice link w/above.

52. Like stock without face value : NO PAR. Story of my golf game.

54. Tough to take : HARSH.

55. Use a straw : SUCK. Uh.......no; not gonna.

56. Scot's family : CLAN. Check out these Scottish clan crests.

57. Tops, as a cupcake : ICES. Hey, if you're gonna indulge, indulge!

58. Salon applications : GELS. You too can look like this.

61. Wall St. group : ASE (American Stock Exchange).

Answer grid.

Dennis

Monday July 26, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Visual Arts - Each two-word phrase starts with a form of visual arts.

17A. Bodybuilder's pride : SCULPTED ABS. Here (for the Ladies) / Here (for the Men)

28A. Melted dip for steamed lobster : DRAWN BUTTER. Where the best lobsters are: right, Mainiac?

42A. Table-ready hearty entrée : CARVED ROAST. Medium rare.

54A. Colorful butterfly : PAINTED LADY. Here is a set of five butterfly photographs from constructor John Lampkin. Here is a sound clip of "The Butterfly and the Rose", a movement from John's 8-movement woodwind quintet called "A Walk Through Shaw's Garden", commissioned and performed by the Equinox Chamber Players and recorded on Albany Records.

Argyle here.

Eighteen 3-letter words but also, eighteen 6-letter words. Four pairs of echo clues.

Notice the black square in the very center of the grid? You won't see a non-theme entry in the middle of a John Lampkin puzzle.

Across:

1. Mr. Potato Head maker : HASBRO.

7. Mickey and Minnie : MICE.

11. Calculator display, briefly : LCD.

14. Find not guilty : ACQUIT.

15. "__ in the Morning": talk show : IMUS. Don Imus, shock jock. (I'll spare you any image.)

16. "Caught you red-handed!" : "A-HA!".

19. Plead for a treat, dog-style : BEG.

20. Barely make, with "out" : EKE.

21. FHA loan : MTGE.. Federal Housing Administration, mortgage.

22. Diver Louganis : GREG.

23. "__-doke!" : OKEY.

25. Melville's sequel to "Typee" : "OMOO".

26. Flirtatious one : TEASE.

27. -, on an AA batt. : NEG. Plus, 54D. +, on an AA batt. : POS. Great clue echos.

30. "Wait a moment" : "ONE SEC".

32. "Dagnabbit!" : "NERTS!". Now there is a word I haven't heard in a while.

33. Quaint horse-pulled winter rides : SLEIGHS.

35. Machine gun syllables : RAT-A-TAT.

39. Psychoanalyst Fromm : ERICH.

41. Surgeon's stitch : SUTURE.

46. "Fill 'er up!" filler : GAS.

47. Say "Ditto" : AGREE. And 51. "__ here": "Ditto" : SAME. Another echo.

48. Catch sight of : ESPY.

49. Goes back out, as the tide : EBBS.

50. Gal. or oz. : MEAS.. Measure.

51. Horse trade : SWAP.

52. Mideast political initials : PLO.

53. "The Lord of the Rings" tree being : ENT. If you see any female Ents, please contact Treebeard, care of Fangorn Forest.

58. Poem of tribute : ODE.

59. Seer's sign : OMEN.

60. __ d': headwaiter : MAÎTRE.

61. Blue : SAD.

62. Blood supplies : SERA.

63. Depletes : USES UP.

Down:

1. Possesses : HAS.

2. Gp. with UNC and Duke, among others : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference (college sports)

3. Windshield-cleaning tool : SQUEEGEE.

4. Like a heavy parka : BULKY.

5. Ready to pick : RIPE.

6. Mel of the Giants : OTT. Baseball.

7. Central area in a big city : MIDTOWN.

8. "There's no hope for me," in oaters : "I'M A GONER".

9. Dice unit : CUBE.

10. Tee preceder : ESS. S, T.

11. Maze runner : LAB RAT. And 12. Maze runner's incentive : CHEESE. Adjacent clue echo.

13. Cloak go-with : DAGGER.

18. Thompson of "Howards End" : EMMA. A story of class struggle in turn-of-the-century England.

22. Suggests indirectly : GETS AT.

23. Yoko's family : ONOs.

24. __ Ration: dog food : KEN-L. The dog must be well fed by now, what with all the Ken-L ration we've had lately.

25. Prom corsage : ORCHID.

26. "My, my, that's a no-no" : TUT, TUT. Four Ts.

28. One of 90 in a right angle : DEGREE.

29. Like band music : BRASSY. All bands, JzB?

31. Flour strainers : SIEVES. Personally, I'd rather sift my flour than strain it.

34. Having fewer marbles? : SCREWIER.

36. Harbor pushers : TUGBOATS.

37. Saudi, usually : ARAB.

38. Thomas Hardy heroine : TESS.

40. Biblical cry of praise : HOSANNA.

42. Stars' brief film appearances : CAMEOS.

43. Meeting to-do list : AGENDA.

44. Not for kids, as films : R-RATED.

45. Pocket PC entry : APPT.. Appointment, which is why they are called: 52. Pocket PCs, e.g. : PDAs. (personal digital assistant). One more echo.

49. "Dallas" matriarch Miss __ : ELLIE. Dallas was a TV prime time soap opera.

55. Ostrich kin : EMU.

56. Joanne of "All the King's Men" : DRU. All the King's Men is a 1949 drama film based on the novel of the same name. It is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion. His affair with Anne Stanton (Joanne Dru) would be scandalous because she's the daughter of an ex-Governor. Joanne Dru was the elder sister of Peter Marshall, the original host of the Hollywood Squares.

57. Nope's opposite : YEP.

Answer grid.

Two more notes:

1) This is the first time that our blog presents a puzzle in a unified way. The puzzle itself, key theme photographic art & music are all provided by the constructor. If you are inspired by John's music or want to learn more about his artistic work, please visit his website.

2) Tomorrow's puzzle involves circles, which are unsupported by LA Times website. A pdf file will be released on the blog Comments section around 9:00pm tonight.

Argyle