Wednesday September 7, 2010 Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Theme: Easy as A-B-C - All the theme answers are phrases that begin with a single letter followed by a single word. And all in alphabetical order.

20A. Elite socialite : A-LISTER

22A. Place for a finance major : B-SCHOOL (Business School)

27A. Delivery method : C-SECTION. Caesarean section - surgical procedure to deliver a baby.

37A. Planned attack times : D-DAYS. From Wikipedia: "D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. The best known D-Day is June 6, 1944 — the day of the Normandy landings — initiating the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II. However, many other invasions and operations had a designated D-Day, both before and after that operation."

48A. Online investing : E-TRADING. Electronic trading of securities, such as stocks and bonds.

54A. Camera lens ratio : F-NUMBER. Often called f-stop -f is for focal length, it is a measure of lens speed.

56. Bare wear : G-STRING. If i must. Wiki says "the origin of the term 'g-string' is obscure."

What else …? H- or I-Beam. O-Ring. U-Turn. X-Factor.

Great to see another puzzle by Mangesh. His second byline in LA Times. He was a commenter here for a time, and you can re-read C.C.'s interview with him here.

Mangesh also just had two puzzle accepted by the Games magazine (December issue). Congratulations, Mangesh! Do tell us how you developed today's Letter Openers theme.

Across:

1. Bit of cat chat : MEOW.

5. Phobia : DREAD

10. Cell signal strength indicators : BARS. A beautiful sight.

14. __ mater : ALMA. Latin for "nourishing mother.'

15. Unconventional : OUTRE. The Free Dictionary defines outre as Out of the common course or limits; extravagant.

16. Atty.-to-be's challenge : LSAT. Law School Admission Test.

17. Indian princess : RANI

18. Flightless birds : RHEAS. Similar to ostrich.

19. Where some descents start : ACME

24. Dick and Harry's leader? : TOM. Leader to the phrase "Tom, Dick and Harry".

25. __ name: computer ID : USER

26. "__ size fits all" : ONE

31. Russian coins : RUBLES. 1 Russian ruble = 0.0324 US dollars.

33. Grinders : HEROS. Sandwiches. Also called hoagie or sub.

34. 1960s Canadian prime minister Pearson : LESTER. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957. Quote: "The grim fact is that we prepare for war like precocious giants, and for peace like retarded pygmies."

36. Pound of poetry : EZRA

38. Middle __ : EAST

42. Ironic tales' tails : TWISTS

44. Sharapova of tennis : MARIA. Russian.

45. Low parts : BASSES

50. Bambi's aunt : ENA

51. "Baseball Tonight" channel : ESPN

53. Like some stocks, for short : OTC. The phrase "over-the-counter" can be used to refer to stocks that trade via a dealer network as opposed to on a centralized exchange.

60. Wasatch Mountains ski resort : ALTA. In Utah.

61. Body-care brand named from the Latin for "snow-white" : NIVEA

63. Sch. with Riverside and Irvine campuses : UCAL. University of California.

64. Soup vegetable : LEEK

65. Stunning weapon : TASER. Great clue. Don't tase me, bro!

66. Tableland : MESA

67. __ majesty : LESE. The crime of violating majesty. No idea. Check out the picture.

68. Like some bars : SMOKY

69. Pitt in films : BRAD. Sigh.

Down:

1. Kate of "We Are Marshall" : MARA. Had no idea.

2. Airline to Ben-Gurion : EL AL

3. Prefix with bus : OMNI. Omnibus. Several meanings.

4. Oxford vests : WAISTCOATS. Crossing two theme answers.

5. Moola : DOREMI. Both are slang terms for money.

6. German coal valley : RUHR

7. Riviera season : ETE. French summer. Should be a gimme by now.

8. Emirate natives, mostly : ARABS

9. Menu heading : DESSERTS. Nailed it. I don't have much of a sweet tooth - for dessert i just want more dinner.

10. Not at all scintillating : BLAH

11. Comparable to a cucumber : AS COOL. Cool as a cucumber.

12. Punk rock icon Joey : RAMONE. Died of lymphoma in 2001.

13. Inscribed slabs : STELES. Like this.

21. Young 'uns : TOTS. Curtain climbers. Ankle biters.

23. Rock's Mötley __ : CRUE

25. Yet to be had : UNEATEN. Seems sad.

27. Revolutionary Guevara : CHE. Funny.

28. "Oh yeah? __ who?" : SEZ

29. Misjudge : ERR. I suppose.

30. Auto pioneer : OLDS

32. Bit of a fairy tale trail : BREAD CRUMB. Cute.

35. Process: Abbr. : SYST

37. Begs to differ : DISSENTS

39. Jackie's "O" : ARI. Aristotle Onassis, Jacquelyn Kennedy's second husband.

40. Sloth, for one : SIN. Seven deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. Anyone else have a favorite?

41. Price indicator : TAG

43. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank : WEEB. Weeb was short for Wilbur.

44. Dillon of "There's Something About Mary" : MATT

45. Happen to : BEFALL

46. Shakers founder : ANN LEE. Had no idea, but she looks exactly like one would expect.

47. Pan-fries : SAUTES

49. Prayer beads : ROSARY

52. Trojan War king : PRIAM. Mythology, I never remember any of it.

55. Brand : MAKE

56. Computer nerd : GEEK

57. "Happy birthday" writer, perhaps : ICER. One who ices a cake.

58. Org. that reaches for the stars? : NASA

59. "I'm __ it's over" : GLAD. Almost.

62. Brandy letters : VSO. Very Superior Old.

Answer grid.

Melissa

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Am I Blue? - A timely question, now that summer is over. The first word of the four common phrases is a shade of blue, followed by the unifier in the SE.

20A. 1978 movie set in a Turkish prison : MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. It is based on Billy Hayes' book. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue, close to black.

35A. Volatile situation : POWDER KEG. Powder blue may refer to two different colors. Originally, it referred to a dark blue color, but it has since come to refer to a pale blue color. The original color is now called dark powder blue, also called smalt.

46A. White legumes : NAVY BEANS. Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black and got its name from the dark blue worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748.

57A. Big name in Danish porcelain : ROYAL COPENHAGEN Founded in 1775; its mark. Royal blue is traditionally defined as a deep to dark blue, often with a purple or faint reddish tinge.

70A. Shades of it begin this puzzle's four longest answers : BLUE. Did you consider placing BLUE as the last Across entry in 73A, Donna?

Argyle here.

I hope you all had a nice Labor Day. Now you can have a nice Tuesday puzzle. (After my write-up, I notice the hardest part is the language in the clues.)

Across:

1. Stinging flier : WASP

5. Unifying idea : THEME

10. Let the cat out of the bag : BLAB

14. Seed cover : HULL. The outer cover, the chaff.

15. "Bolero" composer : RAVEL

16. Monetary unit of Cyprus : EURO. Straight forward clue; no bread today.

17. Notion : IDEA

18. Repeated question in Matthew : IS IT I

19. Dollar dispensers, briefly : ATMS

23. Part of ESL: Abbr. : ENG. English as a second language

24. One of a "Great" quintet : ERIE. The Great Lakes.

25. Evian, e.g. : SPA. Evian-les-Bains is a lovely mountain city on the French-Swiss border.

28. Hotpoint appliances, familiarly : GES. Owned by General Electric. There is also Hotpoint appliance manufacturer in Britain but not related.

30. Peppery root veggie : RADISH

39. Because : SINCE

40. Island feast : LUAU

41. Peaceful protest : SIT IN

43. Sgts. and cpls. : NCOS

44. Real estate units : ACRES

48. Escaping, with "on" : THE LAM

50. Observe narrowly : EYE. "Narrowly" because you often squint your eyes to get a better look. The famous Eastwood squint.

51. Observe : SEE

52. "Gilligan's Island" shelters : HUTS

55. E. Coast border : ATL Atlantic Ocean.

65. Early sibling rivalry victim : ABEL

66. Mall booth : KIOSK

67. Cass's title : MAMA. Cass Elliot, of "The Mamas and Papas".

68. Scintilla : IOTA

69. Run off to get hitched : ELOPE

71. Island garlands : LEIS

72. "Robinson Crusoe" author : DEFOE. Daniel Defoe (ca. 1659-1661 – 1731)

73. Back talk : SASS

Down:

1. Caprice : WHIM

2. Car company whose name is Latin for "Hark!" : AUDI. Sona is Latin for "Honk!"

3. Winter ride : SLED

4. Carpentry smoother : PLANE. Image.

5. Gun activators : TRIGGERS

6. Diner hodgepodge dish : HASH

7. Online party notice : E-VITE. I can just imagine the groans going up when this answer was revealed.

8. Curbside payment collector : METER

9. Cure-all mixture : ELIXIR

10. Yogi or Boo-Boo : BEAR. Cartoon bears.

11. Mandolin relative : LUTE. Short clip.

12. Second Amendment subject : ARMS. Guns.

13. Chief : BOSS

21. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE

22. They may be split in soup : PEAS

25. Water balloon sound : SPLAT

26. Marsupial's pocket : POUCH

27. Cognizant : AWARE

29. Dermatologist's concern : SKIN

31. Eat in style : DINE

32. Machu Picchu architects : INCAS

33. Pastry at a Devonshire tea : SCONE

34. "Siddhartha" author Hermann : HESSE

36. Hamilton-Burr engagement : DUEL. Hamilton lost.

37. Greek "H" : ETA

38. Rhett's last verb : GIVE

42. Pinstriped ALer : NY YANKEE. Often paired with Rhett's last noun.

45. Humorist Mort : SAHL

47. "Little Women" woman : BETH

49. Folded (one's hand), in poker slang : MUCKED. Not a term I'm familiar with.

53. Patterned fabric : TOILE. Toile, which is a French word, translates literally to 'cloth'. Its origins can be traced to Jouy-en-Josas, France, where the first commercial plant to mass produce it started production in 1760. Despite its very proper reputation, toile had a decidedly illicit beginning.

54. "SNL" staple : SPOOF. Saturday Night Live (SNL)

56. Symbols of gentleness : LAMBS

57. Pool table border : RAIL

58. Bassoon cousin : OBOE

59. Legendary Himalayan : YETI

60. Sighed word : ALAS

61. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil, to his fans : ESPO. Philip Anthony Esposito(born February 20, 1942 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey center.

62. Festive party : GALA

63. Avian Aussies : EMUS

64. Hamish's refusals : NAES. Scottish.

Answer grid.

Argyle