Wednesday August 25, 2010 Michael J. Doran

Theme: VALLEY (49D. Geological depression, and what the first word of 20-, 37- and 56-Across is). Each theme answer begins with a four-letter synonym for VALLEY, that is also a proper name.

20A. Apple hater's purchase?: DELL COMPUTER

37A. 2004 Daytona 500 winner: DALE EARNHARDT JR. Nice grid-spanner right in the middle, 15 letters and only 5 vowels.

56A. "Wichita Lineman" singer: GLEN CAMPBELL.

melissa bee here.

Canyon & gorge are synonyms of VALLEY too. But they all contain more than 4-letters and it's impossible to find a phrase that start with those two words.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, only one W away from a pangram. It also has 10 letter Us, more than our usual vowel allotment. Valley effect, maybe.

Across:

1. Urge : SPUR

5. It's not what it pretends to be : SHAM

9. Chef's topper : TOQUE

14. Vesuvius flow : LAVA. Holy hotwick lava bomb.

15. O'Hara home : TARA. Also this Tara.

16. Prevent : AVERT

17. Pins and needles holder : ETUI. Crosswordese.

18. Capital of Rhône department : LYON. French departments are administrative divisions. Rhône department is located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes, and named after the Rhône River.

19. Military lifesaver : MEDIC

23. Grind, as teeth : GNASH

24. Prefix with -naut : AERO. Seeing this prefix a lot lately.

25. Bygone French coin : ECU.

28. Aliens, for short : ET'S

29. Drive up the wall : IRK

31. Guerrero y Oaxaca : ESTADOS. Mexican states.

34. Run the show : EMCEE

36. City of NE Italy : UDINE. Pretty. Anyone been there?

42. Gaming pioneer : ATARI

43. Mends, as socks : DARNS

44. Divided differently, as city land : REZONED

47. 10 mi. on a clear day, e.g. : VIS

48. Eggs in labs : OVA

51. Principal tonality, as of a concerto : KEY

52. Ploy : RUSE

54. __ artery: forearm blood vessel : ULNAR

59. Bordeaux brother : FRERE. French for brother. Those French have a different word for everything! (Anyone remember who said that?)

62. Biblical physician : LUKE. And apostle.

63. Qualified : ABLE

64. Mystiques : AURAS

65. Life sentences? : OBIT. Great clue.

66. Nothing, in Normandy : RIEN. Again with the French.

67. Takes a look inside? : XRAYS

68. Homes, colloquially : PADS

69. Ocular malady : STYE

Down:

1. Heavy hammer : SLEDGE. Who doesn't remember this?

2. It may be pending : PATENT

3. Tonsil neighbors : UVULAS

4. Vagabonds might ride them : RAILS

5. Normandy town decimated in WWII : ST LO. Here.

6. Powerful punch : HAYMAKER. Hey/hay Windhover.

7. Soap-on-__ : A ROPE

8. Farm fertilizer : MANURE

9. Bring under control : TAME

10. No longer hung up on : OVER. So over it.

11. Logical abbr. : QED. From Wikipedia: An initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, which means "that which was to be demonstrated".

12. Ocean State sch. : URI

13. Mail Boxes __ : ETC

21. Give one's two cents : CHIME IN

22. How-__: instruction books : TOS

25. Change text : EDIT

26. Because, e.g.: Abbr. : CONJ. Conjunction . ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ Hookin' up words, and phrases and clauses ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬.

27. One at a keyboard, often : USER

30. JVC competitor : RCA

32. Uncovers, as evidence : TURNS UP

33. Inserts : ADDS

34. Dulles Airport terminal designer Saarinen : EERO

35. Stop : END

37. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK

38. Suit to __ : A TEE

39. Like a couch potato : LAZY. Or a teenager.

40. Give birth : HAVE A KID. Ouch.

41. Shapiro of NPR : ARI. White House correspondent.

45. Before, before : ERE

46. Longtime tire brand : DUNLOP

48. At all : ONE BIT

50. "What's My Line?" panelist Francis : ARLENE. No peeking.

53. Explore reefs, in a way : SCUBA

55. Construction pieces : L BARS. Hm. Well there's this, and then there's this. Different strokes.

56. Confederate color : GRAY. Confederate officer's uniform.

57. Take away : LESS

58. Beneficiaries of Bill Buckner's famous World Series error : METS. Here is the story. And here is the clip.

59. Phoned document : FAX

60. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Rossom's Universal Robots. Usually clued as 'Capek play.' In yesterday's puzzle also.

61. Nostalgic period : ERA

Answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Dave Mackey

Theme: "Play Ball!" - The ending words of the theme entries are activities used in baseball, softball, and cricket. Any others?

20A. Quilter's layer : COTTON BATTING. The layer of fabric that makes a quilt warm. Based on the notion of "beaten" fabric, it isn't woven from threads.

28A. Camper's activity : TENT PITCHING. A weak entry.

49A. Not out of contention : IN THE RUNNING

59A. "Tom Jones" author : HENRY FIELDING. (1707 - 1754) An English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess.

Argyle here.

Our constructor today has his own blogspot and did some NYT puzzles. Today's is a step up from yesterday's and, to me, not as smooth. No real problems.

Across:

1. Strikebreaker : SCAB

5. Start of a childhood learning song : ABCD

9. Music groups : BANDS

14. Movie director's unit : TAKE

15. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM. A professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

16. Each : EVERY

17. Song with a cadenza, perhaps : ARIA

18. Defunct Atlanta arena : OMNI. Completed in 1972, the arena was demolished in 1997.

19. Floored : WOWED

23. Comedian/actor Robert : KLEIN. This gentleman, is known for his wry wit and unique brand of humor.

24. Wagon wheel depression : RUT

25. Country with borders on three diff. oceans : USA. Did you forget the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's north shore?

33. Onetime Leno announcer Hall : EDD. A native of Boston, Hall grew up in Corning, NY, and attended Syracuse University. He now lives in Los Angeles.

36. Hockey score : GOAL

37. Capital west of Haiphong : HANOI. Haiphong is on the Vietnam coast.

38. Graceland middle name : ARON. Elvis Aron Presley.

40. Agile mountain animals : GOATS

43. Earth 42-Down : GEOL.. Earth Science = Geology.

44. Copy room powder : TONER

46. Ancient Andean : INCA. The best alliteration today.

48. Zoo swinger : APE

53. Mario Brothers letters : NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated to NES or Nintendo). Mario Brothers is their biggest game.

54. Demand payment from : DUN. Word origin & history of dun. "to insist on payment of debt," 1620s, perhaps related to dunnen "to sound, resound, make a din," or shortened from dunkirk (c.1600) "privateer," a private vessel licensed to attack enemy ships during wartime, from Dunkirk , French port from which they sailed. Yet another, less likely, theory traces it to a Joe Dun , supposedly a London bailiff famous for catching defaulters.

55. Ancient Greek region : IONIA. On the Turkish coast. Map.

64. TV spot : PROMO

66. Shoppe adjective : OLDE

67. Actress/artist Sommer : ELKE. This German-born actress and now artist, lives in Los Angeles, CA and has no children.

68. Some woodwinds : OBOES

69. Pass unprofitably, as time : KILL

70. Tiger's 2004 bride : ELIN. Tiger's 2010 ex.

71. Petrol purchase : LITRE . British lingo.

72. French summers : ETEs. French lingo.

73. Huff and puff : PANT

Down:

1. Pile neatly : STACK

2. Holiday tune : CAROL. Hi, Carol.

3. "Go fly __!" : A KITE

4. "Amscray!" : "BEAT IT!" . Amscray is scram in pig Latin.

5. In a short time, old-style : ANON

6. Box office disaster : BOMB

7. Where Jesus turned water to wine : CANA. There are four villages in Galilee which are candidates for the biblical Cana.

8. Composer Shostakovich : DMITRI. He was a child prodigy as both a pianist and composer. Romance (from The Gadfly).

9. Cast a spell over : BEWITCH

10. Bell-ringing fragrance giant : AVON

11. World's second largest island : NEW GUINEA. Greenland is the largest island.

12. Rap's Dr. __ : DRE

13. Guitarist Barrett : SYD. He was a founding member of the band, Pink Floyd; he died in 2006.

21. 10 C-notes : ONE G. C-notes = $100 dollar bills, ten would make $1,000, one Grand.

22. Syllable of rebuke : TUT

26. Prying sort : SNOOP

27. Like a contortionist : AGILE

29. Eggy seasonal drink : NOG

30. Lao-tzu principle : TAO. The way.

31. Like the nose on your face? : PLAIN

32. Broom rider : HAG

33. Skip the bistro : EAT IN

34. Monotonous sound : DRONE

35. Plea made with one's hands up : "DON'T SHOOT!"

39. Bk.after Ezra : NEH. The Book of Nehemiah is sometimes called the Second Book of Ezra.

41. Former Opry network : TNN. The Nashville Network (TNN)

42. Chem. or phys. : SCI.

45. Rudolph tip-off : RED NOSE. A good guide on a foggy night.

47. Indigo dye source : ANIL. A leguminous West Indian shrub.

50. Capek play about automatons : R.U.R.. (Rossum's Universal Robots)

51. Break up a team? : UNYOKE. A team of horses or oxen. This week is fair week.

52. Smack a homer, in baseball lingo : GO DEEP. and 65. Squeeze bunt stat : RBI. Special bunt when there is a man on third.

56. Nabisco wafer brand : NILLA

57. Finish, as a comic strip : INK IN. Fill in the outlines.

58. Rep : AGENT

60. Part of EMT: Abbr. : EMER.. Emergency medical technicians. EMT

61. Move like a butterfly : FLIT

62. Not working : IDLE

63. Marine shockers : EELS

64. D.C. deal maker : POL

Answer grid.

Argyle