Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Anna Gundlach

Theme: It's Your Move - Four twelve-letter entries that start with synonyms for your avatar on BOARD GAMES.

1A. With 73-Across, where you might find the starts of 20-, 33-, 43- and 59-Across: BOARD and 73A. See 1-Across: GAMES. Symmetrically placed pair.

20A. Guy in a spotlight: MAN OF THE HOUR

33A. Feature of much of Bach's music: COUNTERPOINT

43A. Coin for Long John Silver: PIECE OF EIGHT

59A. Symbolic but inconsequential act: TOKEN GESTURE

Argyle here.

I don't know about you but it gave me a start to see a unifier as the first entry. Then to find the last Across entry was also a unifier and together, they gave me no clue...well, I wasn't a happy camper. But the perps came through and the unifiers weren't really needed to solve the the themed entries. They did clarify the theme, so all is right in my Tuesday world.

This might be a debut puzzle. I would like to see more from this constructor.

Across:

6. Skips, as stones : DAPS. Did you remember?

10. "This doesn't look good" : "UH, OH!"

14. Sleep problem : APNEA. The temporary suspension of breathing, occurring in some newborns (infant apnea) and in some adults during sleep (sleep apnea).

15. Scat queen : ELLA. Ella Fitzgerald, also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella".

16. Best Musical award, say : TONY. For excellence on Broadway. Obie is for off-Broadway.

17. Almost fail : GET A 'D'. Tricky to parse.

18. "Parlez-__ français?" : VOUS. "Do you speak French?"

19. Slightly : A TAD

23. Country in which Tetris was created : RUSSIA. The puzzle video game was originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov.

26. Work hard : TOIL

27. Simpson judge : ITO. Lance Ito, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who presided during the O. J. Simpson murder case.

28. Droid download, say : APP. Application.

29. Portfolio asset: Abbr. : STK. Stock.

31. Antacid named for its elements : MAALOX. Just google it if you need to know what they are.

37. Prefix with plasm : ENDO. Inner prefix.

38. Scepter's partner : ORB. Symbols of power. Image.

39. Inning sextet : OUTS. Three per side.

48. Spelunking spot : CAVERN. Spelunking = Cave Exploring.

51. Notable period : ERA

52. Meadow : LEA

53. Bird: Prefix : AVI

54. Senate helper : AIDE

57. Activating, as a fuse : ARMING

62. Numbskull : TWIT

63. Euterpe, to musicians : MUSE. Euterpe is the Muse of music.

64. Often unattainable perfection : IDEAL

68. Pre-Easter period : LENT

69. Blackjack needs : ACES. That and a face card or ten gives you 21 and that is good.

70. Nabisco's __ Wafers : NILLA

71. Beat by a whisker : EDGE

72. E-mail outbox folder : SENT

Down:

1D. Help a market cashier : BAG

2D. Unlock, poetically : OPE

3D. Hill crawler : ANT

4D. Chews (out) : REAMS

5D. Marcel Duchamp, e.g. : DADAIST. This is art? "Objet d'art".

6D. Punk/New Wave band since the '70s : DEVO. This is music? short clip.

7D. Like dirigibles : ALOFT. They are ALOFT when they're flying.

8D. Demoted planet : PLUTO

9D. Japanese fish dish : SASHIMI. Raw fish. Sashi = Pierced. Mi = Meat. Needs wasabi of course.

10D. The Beehive State : UTAH

11D. Hushpuppies are often fried in it : HOT OIL

12D. Running by itself : ON AUTO

13D. Original Oreo competitor : HYDROX

21D. __ Dogg, Snoop's cousin : NATE. Both are "musicians".

22D. Vivacity : ELAN

23D. 10K, for one : RACE

24D. Second word of many fairy tales : UPON. Once upon a time...

25D. Tater : SPUD

30D. McDonald's founder Ray : KROC

32D. Yours, in Reims : A TOI. Reims, a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lying 129 km east-northeast of Paris.

34D. "Don't think so" : "NOPE!"

35D. Start to conceive? : PRE

36D. Clarinet cousin : OBOE

40D. Fruit that isn't pretti? : UGLI. Cutesi to end them in "i".

41D. After that : THEN

42D. Male deer : STAG

44D. Turkey neighbor : IRAN

45D. Conundrums : ENIGMAS

46D. Weimar wife : FRAU. So we get a tad of German to go with our French today.

47D. Hoop or stud : EARRING

48D. Drive drove : CATTLE. Drove means herd.

49D. Swore : AVOWED

50D. Minnesota footballer : VIKING. Favre finally got Moss to play with him.

55D. Common wild card : DEUCE

56D. German industrial city : ESSEN

58D. Oil, watercolor, etc. : MEDIA

60D. Suffix with major : ETTE

61D. Part of SAT : TEST

65D. Horror film street : ELM

66D. Top-fermented brew : ALE

67D. __ Cruces : LAS. New Mexico.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, October 18, 2010 Don Gagliardo

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