Theme: Pat, I would like to buy an 'E' - Now here is a theme that is not very evident until you get the unifier and a unifier that doesn't help much in getting the answers. All the theme answers have at least 4 Es and only an 'E' for a vowel.
20A. Was disappointed, as with a performance: EXPECTED BETTER. Five Es.
25A. Out-of-the-ordinary brews: EXTREME BEERS. Five Es.
37A. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE. Four Es.
44A. Calm by nature: EVEN TEMPERED. 5 Es.
52A. She replaced Paula Abdul as an "American Idol" judge: ELLEN DEGENERES. 6 Es.
56D. "Buy It Now" online site (and where vowels were bought for 20-, 25-, 37-, 44-and 52-Across?): EBAY
And an extra EEE (29. Third shoe width beyond D), connecting 2 theme answers.
Argyle (18A) here after a long night. Cruciverb was down again. No new puzzle until earlier this morning.
A rather difficult construct for a Monday puzzle (only 74 words). See the constructor's note at the end.
Solving was a notch or two harder for a Monday but probably no problem for this group. There are 25 'E's in the theme, 42 'E's all together. Record is 78 (NY Times).
Across:
1. White whale chaser : AHAB. "Moby Dick".
5. Cannes clergymen : ABBÉs. On the French Riviera.
10. Foam ball maker : NERF
14. Island nation near Tonga : FIJI. They are all island nations in the South Seas. Map.
15. Wild animal : BEAST
16. Leaf-to-branch angle : AXIL. Like this.
17. Difficult youngster : BRAT
18. Jolly holiday visitor : SANTA. Jolly all the time, right, elves?
19. Underground missile launch site : SILO
23. Shrinking Asian sea : ARAL
24. GPA booster : EASY 'A'. Grade Point Average (GPA)
31. Lewd material : SMUT
32. Compassion from the judge : LENIENCY
36. DDE opponent : AES. Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson II.
40. Big Band __ : ERA
41. Smudges in a psychological test : INK BLOTS. Whoopsie, I put down Ink Spots.
43. Lascivious look : LEER
48. __ Arabia : SAUDI
51. Not worth debating : MOOT
58. 1999 Ron Howard film : "EDtv". A strange movie.
59. __ Mountains: south-central U.S. range : OZARK
60. Term referring to a prev. citation : IBID. Latin, short for ibidem, meaning the same place.
62. Actress Hatcher : TERI. Image. (43A)
63. Mournful music : DIRGE
64. Stun : DAZE
65. Spoken : ORAL
66. Seven Dwarfs' only beardless member : DOPEY
67. Spud's buds : EYES. Cute rhyme.
Down:
1. Ohio's Wright-Patterson, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB). Southwestern Ohio. Location of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
2. Give the job to : HIRE
3. Sink-cleaning brand : AJAX
4. Very small role : BIT PART
5. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. The operation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property but was converted to a public corruption investigation. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of a United States Senator, five members of the House of Representatives, one member of the New Jersey State Senate, members of the Philadelphia City Council, and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
6. Fab Four member : BEATLE
7. Ruination : BANE
8. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD.
9. Attack, á la Brutus : STAB
10. '70s tennis star Ilie : NASTASE
11. They're marked with lit signs : EXITS
12. Lead the life of __ : RILEY. Who Riley (or Reilly, or Reiley) was isn't clear. If he had been a known individual then it surely would have been recorded. The lack of any such records points to the name being chosen as that of a generic Irishman, much as Paddy is used now. More here. Also, it was an early TV comedy. 2 minute clip.
13. Plant life : FLORA
21. Bard's "before" : ERE
22. Spooky : EERIE
25. Actor Morales : ESAI
26. Mutant superheroes co-created by Stan Le : X-MEN
27. Mammoth feature : TUSK
28. Hallowed : BLEST
30. Naval Acad. grad : ENS.
33. __-do-well : NE'ER
34. Canadian tribe : CREE
35. Lawn party site : YARD
37. NBA Hall of Famer Hayes : ELVIN. Elvin Ernest Hayes (The Big E). Position: Forward-Center Height: 6'-9".
38. John or Jane : DOE
39. Map feature with an elev. : MTN.
42. Torment diabolically : BEDEVIL
43. Left on the table, as a bet : LET RIDE
45. Come out : EMERGE
46. Organ grinder's pet : MONKEY
47. "Annabel Lee" poet : POE. Edgar Allan Poe.
48. Tend : SEE TO
49. Birch family tree : ALDER
50. Prefix with violet : ULTRA
53. Connecticut senator Chris : DODD. This man.
54. Basso Pinza : EZIO. He made it on to the cover of Life magazine.
55. "The World According to __" : GARP. A Robin Williams movie.
57. Magnitude : SIZE
61. __ Moines : DES
Answer grid.
Constructor Notes:
"This theme started out as something else. ELLEN DEGENERES got the ball rolling. I noticed all those E’s in her name. I had the thought of making an all E vowel puzzle. I know that it was done before in the New York Times, but I couldn’t remember how it was done. I didn’t realize that having long theme entries and all E vowels would be really tough. But I tried anyway. The fill suffered terribly. It was no fun. I looked for another hook, or unifier as C.C. would call it, that would give me a reason for having all E vowels in the theme answers. EBAY popped into my head immediately, and Rich agreed that it could serve as the unifier. I looked for theme answers with a lot of E’s, and still struggled with the fill. Being a Monday puzzle, it is always a challenge to make the fill fresh and familiar. I really enjoy solving LA Times Monday puzzles, and though they may be easy to solve, there is an element of fun there that all solvers can appreciate."
Argyle
20A. Was disappointed, as with a performance: EXPECTED BETTER. Five Es.
25A. Out-of-the-ordinary brews: EXTREME BEERS. Five Es.
37A. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE. Four Es.
44A. Calm by nature: EVEN TEMPERED. 5 Es.
52A. She replaced Paula Abdul as an "American Idol" judge: ELLEN DEGENERES. 6 Es.
56D. "Buy It Now" online site (and where vowels were bought for 20-, 25-, 37-, 44-and 52-Across?): EBAY
And an extra EEE (29. Third shoe width beyond D), connecting 2 theme answers.
Argyle (18A) here after a long night. Cruciverb was down again. No new puzzle until earlier this morning.
A rather difficult construct for a Monday puzzle (only 74 words). See the constructor's note at the end.
Solving was a notch or two harder for a Monday but probably no problem for this group. There are 25 'E's in the theme, 42 'E's all together. Record is 78 (NY Times).
Across:
1. White whale chaser : AHAB. "Moby Dick".
5. Cannes clergymen : ABBÉs. On the French Riviera.
10. Foam ball maker : NERF
14. Island nation near Tonga : FIJI. They are all island nations in the South Seas. Map.
15. Wild animal : BEAST
16. Leaf-to-branch angle : AXIL. Like this.
17. Difficult youngster : BRAT
18. Jolly holiday visitor : SANTA. Jolly all the time, right, elves?
19. Underground missile launch site : SILO
23. Shrinking Asian sea : ARAL
24. GPA booster : EASY 'A'. Grade Point Average (GPA)
31. Lewd material : SMUT
32. Compassion from the judge : LENIENCY
36. DDE opponent : AES. Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson II.
40. Big Band __ : ERA
41. Smudges in a psychological test : INK BLOTS. Whoopsie, I put down Ink Spots.
43. Lascivious look : LEER
48. __ Arabia : SAUDI
51. Not worth debating : MOOT
58. 1999 Ron Howard film : "EDtv". A strange movie.
59. __ Mountains: south-central U.S. range : OZARK
60. Term referring to a prev. citation : IBID. Latin, short for ibidem, meaning the same place.
62. Actress Hatcher : TERI. Image. (43A)
63. Mournful music : DIRGE
64. Stun : DAZE
65. Spoken : ORAL
66. Seven Dwarfs' only beardless member : DOPEY
67. Spud's buds : EYES. Cute rhyme.
Down:
1. Ohio's Wright-Patterson, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB). Southwestern Ohio. Location of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
2. Give the job to : HIRE
3. Sink-cleaning brand : AJAX
4. Very small role : BIT PART
5. 1970s-'80s FBI bribery sting : ABSCAM. The operation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property but was converted to a public corruption investigation. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of a United States Senator, five members of the House of Representatives, one member of the New Jersey State Senate, members of the Philadelphia City Council, and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
6. Fab Four member : BEATLE
7. Ruination : BANE
8. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD.
9. Attack, á la Brutus : STAB
10. '70s tennis star Ilie : NASTASE
11. They're marked with lit signs : EXITS
12. Lead the life of __ : RILEY. Who Riley (or Reilly, or Reiley) was isn't clear. If he had been a known individual then it surely would have been recorded. The lack of any such records points to the name being chosen as that of a generic Irishman, much as Paddy is used now. More here. Also, it was an early TV comedy. 2 minute clip.
13. Plant life : FLORA
21. Bard's "before" : ERE
22. Spooky : EERIE
25. Actor Morales : ESAI
26. Mutant superheroes co-created by Stan Le : X-MEN
27. Mammoth feature : TUSK
28. Hallowed : BLEST
30. Naval Acad. grad : ENS.
33. __-do-well : NE'ER
34. Canadian tribe : CREE
35. Lawn party site : YARD
37. NBA Hall of Famer Hayes : ELVIN. Elvin Ernest Hayes (The Big E). Position: Forward-Center Height: 6'-9".
38. John or Jane : DOE
39. Map feature with an elev. : MTN.
42. Torment diabolically : BEDEVIL
43. Left on the table, as a bet : LET RIDE
45. Come out : EMERGE
46. Organ grinder's pet : MONKEY
47. "Annabel Lee" poet : POE. Edgar Allan Poe.
48. Tend : SEE TO
49. Birch family tree : ALDER
50. Prefix with violet : ULTRA
53. Connecticut senator Chris : DODD. This man.
54. Basso Pinza : EZIO. He made it on to the cover of Life magazine.
55. "The World According to __" : GARP. A Robin Williams movie.
57. Magnitude : SIZE
61. __ Moines : DES
Answer grid.
Constructor Notes:
"This theme started out as something else. ELLEN DEGENERES got the ball rolling. I noticed all those E’s in her name. I had the thought of making an all E vowel puzzle. I know that it was done before in the New York Times, but I couldn’t remember how it was done. I didn’t realize that having long theme entries and all E vowels would be really tough. But I tried anyway. The fill suffered terribly. It was no fun. I looked for another hook, or unifier as C.C. would call it, that would give me a reason for having all E vowels in the theme answers. EBAY popped into my head immediately, and Rich agreed that it could serve as the unifier. I looked for theme answers with a lot of E’s, and still struggled with the fill. Being a Monday puzzle, it is always a challenge to make the fill fresh and familiar. I really enjoy solving LA Times Monday puzzles, and though they may be easy to solve, there is an element of fun there that all solvers can appreciate."
Argyle
