Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Steve Salitan

Theme: Presidential Vocalists - The last names of the four singers, their famous song part of the clues, are also the names of US Presidents. Two-part unifier.

17A. "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" singer : BRYAN ADAMS. The song. The President or President. Our second President was John Adams and served from 1797 to 1801. Our sixth President was John Quincy Adams and served from 1825 to 1829.

29A. "How Glad I Am" Grammy winner, 1964 : NANCY WILSON. The song. The President. Our twenty-eighth President was Woodrow Wilson and served from 1913 to 1921.

45A. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" singer : BONNIE TYLER. The song. The President. Our tenth President was John Tyler and served from 1841 to 1845.

61A. 1971 Oscar winner for "Theme from 'Shaft'" : ISAAC HAYES. The song. The President. Our nineteenth President was Rutherford B. Hayes and served from 1877 to 1881.

12D. With 36-Down, patriotic song that's a hint to this puzzle's theme : "HAIL TO..." and 36D. See 12-Down : "...THE CHIEF". The song. Can't be placed symmetrically due to 6/8 letter combination. Also impossible to put HAIL TO THE CHIEF together in the middle as it has a total of 14 letters. The middle theme answer has to have an odd number of letters.

Argyle here.

Too bad the Presidents weren't in chronological order. I didn't find much about our constructor; the first time we have seen him. He did attend the 33rd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. I hope he drops by and that we may see more of his work.

Across:

1. Jib supports : MASTS

6. Apparel : GARB

10. Waikiki's island : OAHU

14. Preminger and Klemperer : OTTOs. A film director and a music conductor.

15. Skinned knee, to a tot : OWIE

16. Pained sound : MOAN

19. Where the pupil is : IRIS

20. School cheer : YELL

21. Tofu source : SOY

22. Be a snitch : TATTLE

24. Shower wall growth : MILDEW

26. Fireplace fuel : LOG

27. Broke fast : ATE

28. TV network with an eye logo : CBS

32. Prefix with violet : ULTRA

34. Gladiators' venue : ARENA

35. Mexican money : PESO

36. Tuckered out : TIRED

38. Gym iterations : REPS

42. Dislike big-time : ABHOR

44. Fess up : ADMIT

50. Tissue layer : PLY

51. Beatle bride Yoko : ONO

52. Tuber also known as a New Zealand yam : OCA . To whom is it known as a New Zealand yam? Kazie?

53. Does spectacularly : EXCELS

55. From the beginning : AFRESH

57. 12/24 or 12/31 : EVE

58. Ice cream holder : CONE

60. In apple-pie order : TIDY

64. One of the HOMES lakes : ERIE . HOMES is a mnemonic device for remembering the Great Lakes.

65. Be deserving of : EARN

66. Techie's clients : USERs

67. In-basket stamp: Abbr. : REC'D.

68. Pool table cloth : FELT

69. "One of __ days, Alice...": Ralph Kramden : THESE

Down:

1. Melville's "__-Dick" : MOBY

2. Quaking : ATREMBLE

3. Hair salon staffers : STYLISTS

4. "... and __ a good-night" : TO ALL . I knew this one! Santa.

5. Fig. in an identity theft case : SSN

6. Decrease in value : GO DOWN

7. On vacation, say : AWAY

8. Backboard attachment : RIM . The basket in basketball.

9. Presented, as an honor, with "upon" : BESTOWED

10. Forget to include : OMIT

11. Main arteries : AORTAs

13. Not visible : UNSEEN

18. On the bounding main : ASEA

23. Opposed to, in dialect : AGIN

25. Evidence in paternity suits : DNA

26. Orpheus' instrument : LYRE

28. Sugar borrower's amount : CUP

30. Haul in one's arms : CARRY

31. Fat in the pantry : LARD

33. Horse coloring : ROAN

37. Greek "i" : IOTA

39. One on the payroll : EMPLOYEE

40. Pale lagers : PILSNERS . Beer.

41. Porker's pad : STY

43. Life stories, for short : BIOs

44. Rainbow shape : ARC

45. Yachtsman, e.g. : BOATER

46. In flames : ON FIRE

47. From Scandinavia : NORDIC

48. Pianist/actor Oscar : LEVANT . Oscar Levant's celebrity was based upon his reputation as a pianist. Here he plays the Chopin Etude in c# minor,op.10,no.4., recorded on August 26, 1946.

49. Corp. bigwig : EXEC.

54. Online shopping outlay : E-CASH .

56. Watched warily : EYED

57. __ of Sandwich : EARL

59. Latin "to be" : ESSE

62. MS. enclosure : SAE . Stamped Addressed Envelope.

63. Crude abode : HUT

Answer grid.

Here is a great photo of JD, Dick and Carol (in purple) seated in front of lily pond at Sunset Botanical Gardens. JD is based in California, Dick lives in Pennsylvania, and Carol has spent all her life in Oregon I think. They met via our blog and spent a few days vacationing together in Bandon, OR.

Argyle

Monday, August 16, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Get Moving - The actions indicated by the first word of the four theme entries might describe the start of a person's day, in an orderly fashion.

17A. Be inactive, like a volcano : LIE DORMANT.

26A. Be in a favorable position : SIT PRETTY. John has a few photos demonstrating theme answers 26A and 55A, please scroll down to the end of my write-up.

42A. Don't give in : STAND FIRM.

55A. Proceed very cautiously : WALK ON EGGS.

Argyle again.

A bit of a stiff breeze for a Monday but diligence allows headway and safe passage into port.

Quite low black square (34) and word (74) count, which bring us plenty of non-theme long fill, including nine 7-letter and fourteen 6-letter entries.

Across:

1. Trig or algebra, e.g. : MATH. We also CIRCLE (21D. Geometry shape) and TRIANGLE (36. Pool rack shape).

5. Range dividing Europe and Asia : URALS. Geography 101

10. "Java" trumpeter Al : HIRT. I always picture the Muppet version.

14. Professor 'iggins : 'ENRY. From "My Fair Lady". Both Hs are dropped in Cockney accent.

15. Brown-toned old photo : SEPIA. So called because of a brown pigment used was obtained from the ink-like secretion of the cuttlefish.

16. Basie's "__'Clock Jump" : ONE O. Some more jazz.

19. Johnson Space Center org. : NASA. Originally known as the Manned Spacecraft Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, Texas.

20. Showing profound knowledge : ERUDITE. From Latin ērudītus, from ērudīre to polish, from ex-(not) + rudis (unpolished, rough). Sort of a backhanded compliment.

21. Red bullring props : CAPES.

22. To the extent that : AS FAR AS.

24. Like many old movies : SILENT. Very old!

25. Highlands family : CLAN.

29. Tony of "Some Like It Hot" : CURTIS. Here with Jack Lemmon (Tony on left) from the 1959 film.

32. Brother's daughter : NIECE.

33. Pro __: for now : TEM.

34. TV surfer's selection : CHANNEL. Not a block in the middle of the grid, John?

36. __ chi: martial art : TAI. Tai chi chuan (literal translation "Supreme Ultimate Fist"). That is what Wikipedia said.

39. Bobby of the Black Panthers : SEALE. Founder, chairman and national organizer of the Black Panther Party.

40. Remains of a wreck : DEBRIS.

46. Dublin's land : EIRE.

47. Go berserk : LOSE IT.

48. Satisfy by offering concessions : APPEASE.

51. '50s "The Tonight Show" host Steve : ALLEN. Classic clip of Steve Allen cracking up at himself during a sportscaster sketch on live TV. Every time he looked at a monitor, he'd go off again.

52. From abroad : FOREIGN.

54. Make a sharp turn : VEER.

58. Crossword constructor's germ : IDEA. How did you get the IDEA for today's theme, John?

59. Spruce oneself up : PREEN.

60. St. __'s fire : ELMO. I've never seen it. Any of you sailors witnessed it?

61. Egyptian Christian : COPT. The word "Coptic" was originally used to refer to Egyptians in general, but it has undergone a semantic shift over the centuries to mean more specifically Egyptian Christian. Per Wikipedia.

62. Given to pouting : MOODY.

63. Splinter group : SECT.

Down:

1. Singer Tormé : MEL. The Velvet Fog.

2. Singer DiFranco : ANI. The Righteous Babe.

3. Supplier of firs : TREE FARM

4. Firefighter's water source : HYDRANT.

5. Vitamin intake std.: US RDA. std = standard. RDA Recommended Daily Allowance.

6. Neglectful : REMISS.

7. Give __ on the back : A PAT.

8. "Come here often?" is one : LINE. This could be clued as geography related too.

9. H.S. senior's exam: SAT

10. Puff the Magic Dragon's land : HONA LEE.

11. Acting peevishly : IN A PET. Being petulant.

12. Take offense at : RESENT.

13. Warm and cozy : TOASTY.

18. Lord's Prayer starter : OUR.

22. Bank statement no. : ACCT..

23. Revolve on an axis : SLUE.

24. Radar gun reading : SPEED.

27. Word before self or sanctum : INNER. An echo to the INNER SELF (ego) puzzle last week.

28. Oz Woodman's makeup : TIN. And no heart. From "The Wizards of Oz".

30. Stranded in winter, perhaps : ICED IN.

31. Mine passage : SHAFT.

35. Self-proclaimed "Greatest" boxer : ALI.

37. Runs on TV : AIRS.

38. "Understood" : "I SEE".

39. Show disdain for : SNEER AT.

41. "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack singers : BEE GEES.

42. Like Serbs and Croats : SLAVIC.

43. Holy Ohio city? : TOLEDO. There are many theories of where "Holy Toledo" came from.

44. Catching z's : ASLEEP.

45. Like cards in a crooked deck : MARKED.

49. Showy perennial : PEONY.

50. Wrestler's victory : PIN.

52. Casino card game : FARO.

53. Nondairy spread : OLEO.

55. Typing test fig. : WPM. Words Per Minute.

56. Maker of Terrain and Acadia SUVs : GMC. Terrain and Acadia The Acadia is bigger and much more expensive.

57. Boozehound : SOT.

Answer grid.

Constructor John Lampkin is also an avid Nature photographer. He writes:

"Last month I shared some of my butterfly pics as a tie-in to one of my theme entries, PAINTED LADY. Today, two entries, SIT PRETTY and WALK ON EGGS, reminded me of a photo journal I self-published six years ago. “Into a Nest of Tree Swallows” chronicles the hatching and development of a family of young birds from egg to fledgling. The book is a hand-crafted set of 16 pages of the best of the hundreds of images I created by photographing the inside of a nest at a local park over a three week period. Coincidentally, the shots were all taken with a Coolpix, the same camera C.C. received as a gift in June! Here are seven pics from the book, guaranteed to melt even the hardest of heart."

If you are interested in John's photographs, music or other artistic work, please visit his website.

Argyle

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