Friday July 30, 2010 Ron and Nancy Byron

Theme: Brrr! - R is added after B in each two-word B-starting familiar phrase, which then goes through a spelling change, but maintains the same vowel sound.

18A. Short-lived agitation? : BRIEF STEW. The base phrase is beef stew. Long E sound remains the same after the transformation, from EE combination to IE. BEAD/BREAD wouldn't work due to 1) same letter combination; 2) sound change.

24A. Government security for the blind? : BRAILLE BOND. Bail bond. Does Playboy really have a Braille version? Long A sound. With AI combination.

34A. Places to buy orthopedic products? : BRACE STATIONS. Base stations. Dennis said "A base station typically has satellite stations, but it's the hub". Long A sound also. Just letter A. Different from the above AI combination.

50A. Reserved section for an eight-time stolen base champ? : BROCK'S SEATS. Box seats. Hall of Famer Lou Brock. I was unaware of his stolen base record. Short O. Serious changes on this one, including the unexpected X to CK'S transformation.

56A. Place with thugs in tents? : BRUTE CAMP. Boot camp. oo sound.

What other vowel reconstruction can you think of? I came up with long I: Bide Time. Bride Time. But it has a verb phrase to noun phrase change. Not really fit the above before & after both noun phrase pattern. Besides, it has no spelling modification.

A themeless-like 72 words, with the average word length 5.31. By comparison, last Friday's Donna Levin "Hat Pun" has an average length of 4.97. I suppose some of the scrabbly letters (J, Q, V, X & Z) will return tomorrow. None today.

Favorite clue today is IN A SLUMP (38D. Making out too much lately). Making "out" in baseball. I was picturing kissing "make out".

Across:

1. Like volcanoes : CONIC. Are all volcanoes cone-shaped?

6. John follower : ACTS. Bible book after John.

10. IRS workers : AGTS. CPAS popped into my mind first.

14. Item of rodeo gear : RIATA

15. K follower : MART. Thought of LMNO, but then the clue would be plural "K followers". I like the "follower' echo.

16. Qatar University city : DOHA

17. Cold : ALGID. Real word.

20. Blues legend Smith : BESSIE. Wikipedia says she's referred to as "The Empress of the Blues". Stranger to me.

22. Una y __ vez: time and time again : OTRA. Only know it means "other" in Spanish.

23. Alley prowler : TOM. Short for tomcat?

26. Rahm Emanuel's talent agent brother : ARI. The "Entourage" agent Ari Gold is based on him. Minor agent & AGT (10A) duplication.

27. Ballpark fig. : EST (Estimate)

28. Flee : LAM. Yeah, lam can be a verb.

29. Whale's blowhole, e.g. : NOSTRIL. Didn't come to me readily.

31. "I'll have a grande decaf triple vanilla 2% __, please" : LATTE

33. "Earth's Children" series author : AUEL (Jean)

39. Toast opening, across the pond : 'ERE'S. "Here's to...". The H sound is dropped in Cockney dialect. Safe traveling across the pond, Barry G!

40. Bluebirds, to some : OMENS. Omen of what?

41. Stand-up guys? : NO-SHOWS. Was thinking of the stand-up comedian. There should not be a dash between "stand" and "up", even with the question mark, correct?

45. Part of un giorno : ORA. "Hour" in Italy. Giorno = Day. Unknown to me.

46. "Buy __ drink?": bar come-on : ME A

49. Ring stat : TKO

53. Sushi selection : EEL. Yummy!

54. Vintner's prefix : OENO. As in oenophile.

55. American Society of Magazine Editors annual awards : ELLIES. Whom is it named after?

59. Extreme : ULTRA

60. Software test version : BETA

61. "Hooked on Classics" record co. : K-TEL. New to me.

62. Spiteful sort : MEANY. Meanie also.

63. Paradise : EDEN

64. '60s-'70s Japanese leader : SATO (Eisaku). Japan's prime minister from 1964-1972. Nobel Peace Prize winner 1974. I can never remember his name.

65. Jimmies : PRIES

Down:

1. Actor who was a 1932 swimming gold medalist : CRABBE (Buster). Tarzan actor. Another stranger to me.

2. Former Texas team : OILERS. Houston Oilers. Now Tennessee Titans. Who knows? Not I! Don't even watch the Vikings.

3. Pesters : NAGS AT

4. "Who's there?" answer : IT IS I

5. Lincoln rival : CADILLAC. Awesome fill.

6. Dipl. official : AMB (Ambassador)

7. Tree pod also called the locust bean : CAROB. I peeked at the answer sheet.

8. Neptune's largest moon : TRITON. So many moons are named after Greek gods.

9. Canned heat : STERNO. On the buffet table.

10. Some pop-ups : ADS

11. "No time to talk now" : GOTTA RUN. Love this entry.

12. Conjectures : THEORIES. Always use "conjecture" as verb.

13. Board producer : SAWMILL. Fresh entry.

19. They don't last : FADS. Good clue.

21. Make ecstatic : ELATE

25. Initial response team, for short : EMTS

30. New Mexico county or its seat : TAOS

31. Small hair piece : LASH. D'oh, eyelash.

32. DDE's command : ETO (European Theater of Operations)

34. Negotiated : BROKERED

35. Steadfast : RESOLUTE

36. Wildly : AMOK. Run amok.

37. Unlike filibusters : TERSE

39. 1976 raid site : ENTEBBE. A Ugandan city. On Lake Victoria. I've never heard of Operation Entebbe. Educate me, Vidwan!

42. Double-reed instrument : OBOE

43. Ruins : WRECKS

44. Beethoven's "Hammerklavier," e.g. : SONATA. What does "Hammerklavier" mean, Kazie?

46. Tiki cocktail : MAI TAI

47. Endless, in poems : ETERNE. Archaic for "eternal".

48. Tests : ASSAYS

51. Under-the-sink brand : COMET. Scrub cleanser.

52. "Oklahoma!" aunt : ELLER. Aunt Eller. Clear Ayes likes "Oklahoma!". She loves nearly all the musicals.

57. You might get one at the pool : TAN. Can't fool me.

58. Mahmoud Abbas's gp. : PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Abbas succeeded Arafat.

Answer grid.

Here is a recent photo of our handsome, witty & caring counselor Lemonade714. I'll continue to show the key blog contributors in the next few Fridays.

C.C.

Thursday July 29, 2010 Doug Peterson and John Doppler Schiff

Theme: Wacky Competitions - The first word of all the theme answers is given a different meaning re-associated with the group given in the clue. Question marks in the clues indicate that the meanings are not the usual ones.

17A. Competition for witches?: SPELLING BEE. Magic spells.

27A. Competition for entomologists?: CRICKET MATCH. Insect classifiers.

43A. Competition for pastors?: STEEPLE CHASE. A church tower. This race would be over quickly, they don't move very fast.

58A. Competition for painters?: ROLLER DERBY. A derby was first a horse race, started by the 12th Earl of Derby. The hats they wore to these social occasions were likely named after the race, as are other types of races that followed, such as roller, soap-box, and demolition.

Hi all, Al here.

This write-up may be short due to a late start, because of a problem with Cruciverb. Had to wait two hours for the Fredricksburg puzzle to change online. This one seemed easier than yesterday (but fun, nice one, Doug and John, but is there a story to this collaboration?), only took me about 13 minutes, even with having to use my nemesis puzzle app. But I lost all that saved time by having to go through hoops to extract the text of the puzzle from a .sol format instead of .puz. Well, enough complaining (no disrespect meant to the puzzle itself), on with the show.

Across:

6. Northwest Passage seeker: CABOT. Giovanni (John) Caboto. Not Buffy and Jody's butler on Family Affair.

11. Spy's eye, briefly: CAM. Camera.

14. Ancient Greek dialect: IONIC. The Iliad and the Odyssey were written in old Ionic.

15. Sheepish?: OVINE. Latin ovus = sheep.

16. Carry a balance: OWE.

19. "Move it!": NOW!

20. Churl: PEASANT. Freeman, man without rank. This form of the word also gives us the name Carl.

21. Prove pleasing: SIT WELL. Waiting for the puzzle didn't sit well with me.

23. Prêt-à-porter monogram: YSL. Yves Saint Laurent. Prêt-à-Porter means ready to wear.

24. Nest egg segments, briefly: IRAS. Egg & EGGS (52A) duplication.

26. Not big bites: NIPS.

31. Churchill __: DOWNS. Home of the Kentucky Derby. They don't wear roller skates.

34. Brand that may cause brain freeze: ICEE.

35. "What have we here?!": OHO.

36. Words while anteing: I'M IN. Poker.

37. Brother of Moses: AARON.

39. Awestruck: AGOG.

40. Bridge turn: BID.

41. "First Lady of Song": ELLA. Fitzgerald.

42. Inside information?: X-RAYS. Another question mark clue, very punny.

47. R&B singer India.__: ARIE.

48. __ Sutra: KAMA. So little time, so much to read...

49. Some H.S. students: SRS. Seniors.

52. Bodybuilder's breakfast, maybe: RAW EGGS. I can't do it. I don't mind soft-boiled or poached, but the texture of completely raw is too much for me. Besides, the raw whites bind biotin, preventing it from being absorbed, so even though the yolk provides some, it's a net loss.

55. Nod off, in slang: ZONK OUT.

57. She played Bea in "Kill Bill": UMA. The Thurmanator. 1A. Cry of feigned innocence: WHO ME? (Bet you thought I skipped this clue earlier, right?)

60. With 29-Down, cabbage variety: BOK. Along with 29D. See 60-Across: CHOY.

61. Typeface type: ARIAL. Very plain, sans-serif (no flourishes), proportional font (smaller size letters like "i" take less width than a "w" would).

62. Agree to participate: OPT IN.

63. __ out: barely manage: EKE.

64. Some are urban: MYTHS. If someone tells or emails you something unbelievable, it probably is. These are always from a friend of a second-cousin's neighbor, or a guy from work has a friend who heard that... Check them out on Snopes.com before forwarding them on. And then don't forward them on.

65. Vampire's concern: STAKE.

Down:

1. Thin, as smoke: WISPY.

2. Signs of optimism: HOPES.

3. Hollywood dad or his acting daughter: O'NEAL. Ryan, Tatum.

4. Thickness measures: MILS. 1/1000 of an inch. Also an abbreviation for millions. Also a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of 360 degrees and used especially in artillery.

5. Cream puffs: ECLAIRS. This makes me hungry. To me they aren't the same thing though. Eclairs are long, have custard filling and are iced with chocolate. Cream puffs have whipped cream filling, are roundish in shape and are dusted with powdered sugar. Both can be made from the same dough however, choux pastry.

6. Source of cold comfort?: CONTAC. Over The Counter, non-perscription "medicine" brand name.

7. Batter's fig.: AVG. Wanted RBI here.

8. They hang in seafood restaurants: BIBS. Good one.

9. Not a good shot: ONE IN TEN.

10. Links appointment: TEE TIME. Golf.

11. Pre-railroad transport: CONESTOGA. Deja vu with this answer.

12. Missing in the mil.: AWOL. Absent without leave.

13. Little cry: MEWL.

18. Cross letters: INRI. Iesus Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm, Latin for Jesus Christ, king of the Jews.

22. New Deal prog.: WPA. Works Progress Administration.

25. Aspen rooftop sight: SKI RACK.

27. 1980 Turner launch: CNN.

28. Natural prefix: ECO. Ecological.

30. Big bikes: HOGS. Harley Davidson cycles.

31. "Mine!": DIBS.

32. Leave out: OMIT.

33. Not nodding: WIDE AWAKE.

37. "The Tortoise and the Hare," for one: ALLEGORY. Figurative language, description of one thing under the image of another. A form of linguistic analogy. Others: exemplification, comparisons, metaphors, similes, and parables

38. Sam Adams, maybe: ALE. That will go well to wash down my eclair. (kidding).

39. "We __ the Champions": ARE. I'll spare you the Freddy Mercury (Queen) video.

41. Bon mot: EPIGRAM. A brief, clever memorable statement: To be safe on the Fourth, Don't buy a fifth on the third.— James H Muehlbauer.

42. Playbook symbols: X'S AND O'S. Sports diagram starting positions.

44. Poetic preposition: ERE.

45. Shrubs with edible nuts: HAZELS.

46. Latin love: AMOR.

49. To some extent, colloquially: SORTA.

50. Hexahedral puzzle inventor: RUBIK. The cube.

51. "Gypsy" composer: STYNE. Jule. Also composed music for Funny Girl.

52. Yahoo: RUBE. Shortened form of Rueben, a typical country man's name. Well, back in the 1800's, maybe.

53. Bad way to run: AMOK. Run amok.

54. Thin opening: SLIT.

56. Didn't surrender: KEPT.

59. "Well, __-di-dah": LAH. Six fill-in-the-blanks in this puzzle.

Answer grid.

Here is part III of Gunghy's series. Click here to see all his photos.

Al