Monday, October 11, 2010 Kristian House

Theme: Don't Push Me - But they can be pulled. Four in language phrases that end in a smaller version of one of man's greatest inventions, ROPE.

18A. Engages in fanciful storytelling: SPINS A YARN

28A. Bench squad: SECOND STRING. AKA, the B team

46A. Connecting idea: COMMON THREAD

61A. Start acting independently: CUT THE CORD. An allusion to the umbilical cord.

Argyle here with an easy Monday.

Today's constructor is a math teacher in western Massachusetts (Pic, courtesy of the Xword Info) and had a puzzle on Tuesday August 4, 2009.

Across:

1. Payroll tax with Soc. Sec. and Medicare components : FICA. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).

5. Tibet's capital : LHASA

10. Joe in a cup : JAVA. AKA, Coffee.

14. Show that launched Kelly Clarkson's career, familiarly : IDOL. American Idol.

15. Vague emanations : AURAs

16. Actor Wilson : OWEN

17. "Give" or "take," e.g. : VERB. Great clue.

20. Mukluk wearer : ESKIMO

22. Mine access : ADIT. Monday word ONLY to long time solvers.

23. The Beatles' "__ Just Seen a Face" : I'VE. You might not have recognized the title but you will the song, I think.

24. Trap : SNARE

26. Subjects of wills : ESTATES

31. Only defenseman to lead the NHL in scoring : ORR. Bobby Orr spent most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Boston Bruins before joining the Chicago Blackhawks for his final two seasons.

32. Ballpark entrance : GATE

33. Watson of Harry Potter films : EMMA. Oh my, how she's grown. Image. She isn't really a member of 51D. Modern witch's religion : WICCA

37. Middle Corleone brother : FREDO. AKA, Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, brother to Santino "Sonny" Corleone and Michael Corleone, their sister is Constanzia "Connie" Corleone (previously Constanzia Corleone-Rizzi).

39. Band booster : AMP. AMPlifies(or boosts) the sound from a band.

41. Carrier renamed in 1997 : USAIR

42. "... __ forgive those who trespass ..." : AS WE

43. "__ in Boots" : PUSS. I've provided a link to the Wikipedia article because it is an interesting read. Kids today just know him as a character in Shrek movies.

45. Seventh-century date : DCI. 601.

51. "Yee-haw!" : "WHOOPEE!"

54. Prepare to drive : TEE UP

55. K+ or Na+ : ION. K+ = potassium / Na+ = sodium.

56. McDonald's symbol : ARCH. C'mon, we know it should be ARCHES, right?

58. Father to many? : PRIEST

64. Intl. defense gp. : NATO. International defense group.

65. Ornery type : CRAB

66. Seasonal sleigh driver : SANTA. Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa likes alliteration.

67. Micro or macro subj. : ECON.

68. Egyptian vipers : ASPS

69. Disapproved vocally : TSKED. Or if an Egyptian king, TUTTED

70. Damp at dawn : DEWY

Down:

1. Nine-to-__ : FIVE

2. Mid-month time : IDES

3. Wine cellar tool : CORKSCREW

4. White whale, e.g. : ALBINO

5. Hall of Fame manager Tommy : LASORDA. Baseball. Image.

6. Drill sergeant's "one" : "HUP!". I think there was a discussion about HUT or HUP on Thursday September 23, 2010.

7. Diva's moment : ARIA

8. Potential splinter remover : SANDER. It would smooth the wood, eliminating splinters.

9. Saint Francis's home : ASSISI

10. "Ode to __" : JOY. Performed by Beaker, of the Muppets. Video

11. Watch for : AWAIT

12. Zeal : VERVE

13. Authors Rice and Tyler : ANNEs. Rice writes about Vampires, Tyler wrote The Accidental Tourist.

19. Bus. letter directive : ATTN.. I remember it use to be on the lower left corner of the envelope. Is there an email equivalent?

21. Salsa fruit : MANGO

25. Juanita's "this" : ESTA

27. "Middle" period : AGES. Or the Third Age of Middle-Earth. Oops, not on Monday.

28. Family room piece : SOFA

29. Goofs : ERRS

30. Conductor's beat : TEMPO

34. Came to terms (with) : MADE PEACE

35. Flaky mineral : MICA. Used in isinglass.

36. Like the Mojave : ARID

38. 1920s-'40s art style : DECO

40. Usual fourth down play : PUNT

41. Wedding party member : USHER

44. Blended-family parent : STEP-DAD

47. Colorful fish : OPAH

48. Most insignificant : MEREST

49. Tourist draws : MECCAS

50. Unrepairable : RUINED

52. Doctor's time in the office : HOURS

53. Like much pub ale : ON TAP

57. Traffic complaint : HONK

59. Pack away : STOW

60. Cereal spokestiger : TONY. He's GRRREAT!

62. "Very funny" TV station : TBS. TBS is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally Turner Broadcasting System.

63. U.S. 1, for one : RTE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday October 10, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Perfection, or rather TEN (116D. Theme answer count, amount of letters in each, word hidden in each, and, when repeated twice, today's date. ) - Multi-layered theme: Total 10 theme answers, each 10-letter long, with TEN spanning across, and the puzzle appears on 10/10/10.

22A. Audible sleep aid : WHITE NOISE. I need total silence.

24A. Stadium ticket datum : GATE NUMBER. Target Field has a Gate 34 in honor Kirby Puckett.

43A. Hiker's snack : DATE NUT BAR. Trader Joe's Lara Bars are the best. Dates with raw cashews.

46A. It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing : HEAT ENERGY. We have several tricky "it", "they", "them" in the clues today.

67A. Barely sufficient : JUST ENOUGH

69A. You, to you, at times? : WORST ENEMY. Great clue.

83A. Warning sign : DO NOT ENTER

88A. On and on : WITHOUT END

112A. Agreed to a proposal : GOT ENGAGED. I came to the US on Fiancée Visa.

114A. Library reminder : LATE NOTICE

We also have another implied TEN:

86D. MLB post-season mo. : OCT. Twins are done! Incurable Inferiority Complex against the damn Yankees. Windhover said this started when they were still Washington Senators.

You'll notice that besides the theme entries (perfectly placed), none of the fill are 10-letter long. It's no accident. Also the left & right grid edge three-finger rather than our normal Sunday four-finger break-up gave us plenty of 7-letter entries. 18 in total. Quite a few eye-catching 9s and 8s as well.

There's always something extra in Don's puzzles. That in turn often presents a challenge to his theme choices and grid designs. He's not called "Hard G" for nothing. I've attached his notes on the puzzle at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1. They're in Vogue : POSES. Vogue magazine.

6. Figs. disclosed before closings : APRS. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. On your mortgage.

10. Alley-oop setups, in hoops : LOBS. A term in tennis and golf too.

14. Work on, as pipe bowl ash : TAMP. What is "pipe bowl ash"?

18. Sex appeal : OOMPH. Zippy clue.

19. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" : LEO I. Educated guess on I. Can't be X or V.

20. "There's no step 3!" product : IMAC. Nice clue.

21. Chick on ivories : COREA. Jazz great Chick Corea.

26. Wing : ELL

27. Trifle : SOU. As in "not worth a sou".

28. Kept sacred : ENSHRINED

30. Where __ at : IT'S

31. Singer Corinne Bailey et al. : RAES. Recognize her face when I googled.

33. Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts : GESTALT. Can you give me an example?

35. Be in a bee : SEW. Be in sewing bee.

36. Monthly exp. : UTIL

37. Fill with joy : ELATE

39. Admonishing king? : TUT. King Tut. Nice clue too.

40. Aide: Abbr. : ASST

42. "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film : IRENE

49. "Wait __!" : A SEC

50. All-inclusive : A TO Z

52. An atheist can't be one : ELK. The Elks. I was unaware of this fact. They are not all-inclusive then.

53. Strikebreakers : SCABS

56. Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW

58. Kid who moves a lot : ARMY BRAT. Great "moves", more deceptive than "travels".

63. One bit : AT ALL.

64. Gets twisted : WARPS

65. Cries of disgust : FIES.

66. Miscellany : OLIO

71. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Learned from doing Xword.

72. Approximately : OR SO

73. __-ling : DING A. And BONER (59. Blunder). Tee hee.

74. Nods, often : YESES

75. Dec. purchase : XMAS TREE. Hmm, not so far away.

77. "The vine that ate the South" : KUDZU

78. Brusque : TERSE

79. It may need a boost : EGO. Nailed it.

80. Bindle carrier : HOBO

81. Meteor tail? : ITIC. Meteoritic. How is it different than meteoric?

94. In reserve : ON ICE

95. Sharpen : WHET

97. Ed.'s request : SAE. Self-Addressed Envelope.

98. "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" : POX ON. This clue is for Clear Ayes, who knows all the Shakespearean stuff.

99. Spinoff group : SECT

100. Two-piece piece : BRA. Ultra friendly letter combination, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.

102. Northern lights : AURORAS

105. Paper towel brand : VIVA

106. Consumed : ATE

107. 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" : TEEN ANGEL. Here is the clip. Not in my knowledge zone.

109. Add (up) : TOT

111. Small songbird : TIT. Oh.

117. Wading bird : EGRET

118. __ insurance : TERM. Had trouble getting the answer.

119. Road for Tiberius : ITER. Roman "road".

120. Code carriers : GENES

121. Versatile beans : SOYS. Versatile indeed.

122. Union mem. since 2/14/1912 : ARIZ. Drew a blank, Lucina!

123. Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" : CELS. Good to know.

124. It can make your heart pound : ANGST

Down:

1. Turned on, with "up" : POWERED

2. "Tres chic!" : OOH LA LA

3. Graciously greet : SMILE AT

4. Able, facetiously : EPT. Like "apt"?

5. Ladies : SHES

6. Song pour les enfants : ALOUETTE. We just had this entry a week ago.

7. Architect I.M. : PEI. He's born in Guangzhou.

8. Stone home : ROSETTA

9. College near Albany : SIENA. Was ignorant of the Siena College. Catholic college named after St. Bernardino of Siena, a la Wiki.

10. Laser entertainment : LIGHT SHOW. Debut entry.

11. Actor Epps : OMAR

12. Leader overthrown by Castro : BATISTA

13. Part of an act : SCENE. Play act.

14. Kite on the links : TOM. Tom Kite. Very friendly in person.

15. Dispute settler : ARBITER. And MEETING (16. Dispute settler, perhaps). Clecho (clue echo).

17. Decorative herb : PARSLEY. Never developed a taste for parsley.

21. Cow's second helping? : CUD. Fun clue.

23. Yuletide quaff : NOG

25. Improved partner? : NEW. New and improved.

29. '70s extremist gp. : SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)

32. Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort : STE

34. Contract segment : SUBCLAUSE. Another fresh entry.

36. Rapt ending : URE. Rapture.

38. Make possible : ENABLE

41. "__ me!" : SEZ

42. Black : INKY

44. __ Enterprise : USS

45. Role for Jackie : RALPH. Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners".

47. Brewer of song : TERESA. Another alien character to me. She looks pretty.

48. Horror film locale: Abbr. : ELM ST.

51. Brits' thank-yous : TAS. Don't know this slang.

53. __ und Drang : STURM. Spitzboov likes to use this term.

54. Ides assassin : CASCA. Could only think of Brutus.

55. Some choirboys : ALTOS

57. Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks : ARGO. I've forgotten most of the scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts".

58. Instrument that's not seen and not heard : AIR GUITAR. Awesome clue/answer.

60. Like "park the car," to a New Englander? : R LESS. Got me again.

61. Songstress Mann : AIMEE. Nope. Mystery figure to me.

62. Fisher Price products : TOYS

63. Achilles' cousin : AJAX

64. Passed tediously : WORE ON

65. Cool sitcom guy : FONZ. "Happy Days".

68. Krone-issuing land, to natives : NORGE. Norwegian name for Norway.

69. Black __ spider : WIDOW

70. Ocular washing aid : EYE CUP. Have never heard of eye cup.

73. Do a film editing job : DUB

76. Tours head? : TETE. French for "head". The city Tours.

77. 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel : KOREAN DMZ. Gorgeous entry. Crazy NDMZ cluster.

78. Sonora uncle : TIO

80. [I'm so clever] : HEH. Yes, you are!

82. Broadway array : THEATERS

83. Prescribed amounts : DOSAGES

84. Takeout order : ONE TO GO

85. "You gave it a shot!" : NICE TRY. Oui, oui!

87. Banjoist, e.g. : TWANGER. I suppose so.

89. Set apart from the rest : ISOLATE

90. "Mazel __!" : TOV. For Hahtool.

91. On the way out : EXITING

92. They're new at it : NOVICES. Tyros.

93. "CSI" procedure : DNA TEST

96. Act of war? : TUG. Tug of War.

100. More than ask : BEG

101. Rodeo rope : REATA. Or RIATA.

103. Valued old item : RELIC

104. Small business successor, maybe : SON. True.

107. Boom letters? : TNT

108. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI. Wanted AERO.

110. Loose garment : TOGA

113. Some Caltech grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.

115. Business card abbr. : TEL.

Answer grid.

Notes from the constructor:

"At the beginning of this year, I noticed that the tenth of the month was followed by the ten of 2010 when a date is written. I realized that October would be especially significant, being 10/10/10. There had to be a puzzle in that! The only theme I could think of was to have ten be buried in the answers. Then I realized I could imitate the date, and have the answer be ten letters long, and have ten answers, three TENS (a trifecta?) It sounded challenging, but I thought with common letters like T E N it would be doable. I did come up with at least ten phrases, and I believe a couple were weak. I got great assistance from Rich who cinched it with the final ten-letter phrase.

When designing and filling the grid, it seemed natural to simply place the theme answers side by side and spread them out evenly over the grid to allow for the best chance at filling it in. I also had the advantage that I could move the theme answers around a great deal to find the best combinations. In fact, it drove me crazy that I had so many options to try different combinations. I am certain I could have done better given enough time! As it was, filling this grid was quite a challenge. To make certain that the solver understands what is going on, I had to have TEN appear in the grid, which further added to the challenge."

C.C.