Monday, October 25, 2010 Robert A. Doll

Theme: Boys Only! - Four phrases that start with a man's name and a unifier.

17A. Wealthy relative: RICH UNCLE

24A. Emulate Muhammad Ali: BOB AND WEAVE

39A. Father-son talk, e.g.: FRANK DISCUSSION

50A. Assembled in a makeshift manner: JERRY-RIGGED

64A. Get-together for the starts of 17-, 24-, 39- and 50-Across?: STAG PARTY

Argyle here.

Even though there are five entries, I kept looking for a more complicated connection between the four names. Must be the effect of last week. Some others weren't invited to the party. 1A SETH, 19A TONTO, 17A BONO, 31A IAN, 47A DON, and 59D ART. O MAN!

Before anyone starts, JERRY-rigged and JURY-rigged are the same thing.

Across:

1. Eve's youngest : SETH. The only 3 names mentioned in the Bible are Cain, Abel, and Seth. Adam also had "other sons and daughters," though they aren't named. (Answers.com)

5. Special __: military force : OPS. Special OPerationS.

8. Priest's place : ALTAR

13. Trojan War epic : "ILIAD". The older of the two surviving ancient Greek epic poems, traditionally ascribed to Homer.

15. "The __": placekicker Lou Groza's nickname : TOE. Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football placekicker who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns. (Wikipedia)

16. Dog : POOCH

19. Sidekick who rode Scout : TONTO

20. Bagel flavoring : SESAME

21. Rio automaker : KIA. Korean automobile manufacturer. Image. A subcompact car.

23. Bones partner : SKIN. Emaciated. Nothing but skin and bones. But how many of you thought of Seely Booth from TV's Bones?

27. Free, as legal work : PRO BONO. A phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good", pro bono publico, shortened to just pro bono.

31. Author Fleming : IAN. James Bond creator.

32. Titled woman : DAME and 1D. 32-Acrosses' spouses : SIRS

33. Older but __ : WISER

36. Dean's list factor: Abbr. : GPA. Grade Point Average (GPA)

43. D.C. bigwig : SEN.

44. Annually : A YEAR

45. Jason's vessel : ARGO. Greek mythology.

46. Had some grub : ATE

47. Leave high and dry : ABANDON

55. North Carolina university : ELON. A private liberal arts university located in Elon, NC. Location.

56. Fed. loan guarantor : SBA. Small Business Administration (SBA).

57. Take turns : ROTATE

62. Bank takebacks, briefly : REPOs. Origin: by shortening of repossessions.

66. Used a prie dieu : KNELT. Image. A prayer desk.

67. Many, many moons : EON

68. Coach:athlete ::__:student : TUTOR. A coach is to athlete as a TUTOR is to student.

69. When tripled, and so on : YADDA. Or spelled with one D. Speaking of Double D's, where is my number one on the naughty list?

70. Gun lobby org. : NRA. The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA.

71. Rockwell or Gothic : TYPE. Types of type!

Down:

2. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE. This man.

3. Nervous spasms : TICS

4. "Very funny!" : "HA-HA!"

5. Non-Rx : OTC. Over-the-counter (OTC). Also can apply to stocks.

6. Oktoberfest dance : POLKA. Let's all get up and dance around the breakfast table. "Beer Barrel Polka" : Myron Floren on accordion.

7. Make welcome : SEE IN

8. On-target : APT

9. Let out a few notches in : LOOSEN

10. Toy truck brand : TONKA

11. When Ophelia drowns : ACT IV. From Hamlet, by Shakespeare.

12. River at Arles : RHONE. Map. Arles is on the coast, the Riviera.

14. Disney pachyderm : DUMBO. The Flying Elephant.

18. One of the noble gases : NEON

22. French farewell : ADIEU

25. Alamo hero : BOWIE. That would be James Bowie, not David Bowie.

26. Part of V.F.W. : WARS. Veterans of Foreign Wars.

27. Commonly e-mailed files, for short : PDFs. Portable Document Format.

28. Porterhouse order : RARE. I tell you, it is very rare when I get a steak.

29. Arabian sultanate : OMAN. On the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

30. Golfer Hogan : BEN. Legendary.

34. "This __ ripoff!" : IS A

35. Scrawny one : SCRAG

36. Prepare, as for action : GIRD

37. Walt Kelly's possum : POGO. Comic strip.

38. Soon, poetically : ANON

40. "K-K-K-__": 1918 song : KATY. Let's all sing now! Lyrics.

41. Batik artisans : DYERS. They use wax and dye to produce images on cloth.

42. __ Francisco : SAN

46. Composer Schoenberg : ARNOLD. I thought they should have clued Gov. Schwarzenegger, after the previous clue.

48. Arctic floater : BERG

49. Take in from a pet shelter : ADOPT

50. Beef __: dried meat : JERKY

51. Kagan who replaced Stevens on the Supreme Court : ELENA

52. Enticed, with "in" : ROPED

53. "Peer Gynt" dramatist : IBSEN. Edvard Grieg famously composed incidental music and songs for his play.

54. Croc's cousin : GATOR

58. Drawn tight : TAUT

59. Culturally pretentious : ARTY

60. 'Vette roof option : T-TOP

61. Brontë's "Jane __" : EYRE

63. RR depot : STA.

65. Literary collection : ANA

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday October 24, 2010 John Lampkin

(Note: LA Times website does not support circled letters feature. Here is the pdf file of today's puzzle.)

Theme: Country Kitchen - a UN Day Tribute puzzle. Each familiar food phrase contains two 3-letter country codes used by the UN.

23A. Lunch box item : BOLOGNA SANDWICH. Bol: Bolivia. And: Andora.

41A. Sautéed fish entrée : PAN FRIED TROUT. Pan: Panama. Rou: Romania.

48A. Cup-shaped breakfast fare : BRAN MUFFIN. Bra: Brazil. Fin: Finland.

77A. Basil-based topper : PESTO SAUCE. Est: Estonia. Sau: Saudi Arabia.

85A. Honey-coated dish : GLAZED CHICKEN. Aze: Azerbaijan. Ken: Kenya.

103A. Tangy confection : PEPPERMINT CANDY. Per: Peru. Can: Canada.

16D. It's milder than yellowfin : ALBACORE TUNA. Alb: Albania. Tun: Tunisia.

58D. Some links : SWEET SAUSAGE. Swe: Sweden. USA, not AUSA, the first A is for the crossing Aze. John probably could not find a better phrase where all the embedded codes are isolated.

54D. Country __: used by the org. in 65-Across, there are 16 circled in this puzzle : CODES.

65A. Oct. 24, every year : UN DAY. Today.

Great central placements of the odd number lettered CODES & UN DAY.

Some of the codes are not familiar to me. Had to check Wikipedia NATO country code. So has trigram replaced digram or both are in use?

I can''t imagine the amount of research John did for this puzzle. We all can pick a few phrases which contains 2 different country codes. But to pick 8 with no repeat and to make the grid work is daunting.

As usual, no cheater square, only one letter Q away from a pangram. Lots of fun & witty clues, many clechos (highlighted in green) as well.

Across:

1. Breakfast-on-the-run choice : BAGEL

6. On the way : SENT. Mails.

10. Competed in a triathlon : SWAM

14. Moves with the music : SWAYS

19. Building on a 1936 centennial stamp : ALAMO. Was unaware of the trivia.

20. Speed : PACE

21. Plane starter? : AERO. As in aeroplane. And the real PILOT (22. Plane starter).

26. Ready to bloom : IN BUD

27. Shout : YELL

28. One-named Irish singer : ENYA. Bono too.

29. Its formula includes a plus or minus : ION. Because it can be both positive and negative?

30. Mattress giant : SERTA. Sealy is 5-letter as well.

32. Archimedes' shout : EUREKA

34. They may be behind pictures : SAFES. Wall safes are often hidden behind pictures.

36. People in trees, perhaps : NIECES. Family trees.

39. So-called autobiographer of "Before You Leap" : KERMIT. Here's the book cover. I thought the author is a real person

43. Dvorák contemporary : GRIEG (Edvard). Norwegian composer. Of "Peer Gynt Suite" fame.

44. Aegean region where an architectural order began : IONIA. Oh, no wonder the name.

46. False-sounding soap components : LYES

47. Tech sch. near Albany : RPI. Hey, Spitzboov!

50. Prying tool : LEVER

52. Glassmaker's oven : LEHR. Pronounced like "leer". New word to me.

53. Holes a gimme : TAPS IN. No yip.

54. Made 7 into 343, say : CUBED. "Made 1 into 1" could be tricky.

55. __-Rooter : ROTO

56. Rm. coolers : ACs

59. One of two in a Frost poem : ROAD. "The Road Not Taken".

60. Ping maker : SONAR. Dennis said "when a ship or submarine sends out a sonar signal, it's a PING. I was lost. Could only picture Ping golf clubs.

61. Bolt down : SECURE. Crossing EAT (62D. Bolt down). Great clechos.

63. Herder's equine : COWPONY. Another new word for me.

66. Waxy-flowered plant : BEGONIA

67. Louisiana language : CREOLE

68. Bygone news medium : CRIER

69. Lewd look : LEER

70. Do one's part : ACT

71. Take-out order? : DELE. Editing "take-out".

72. Crabber and cutter : BOATS. Dictionary says crabber is a boat used in catching crabs.

73. Court clown : JESTER. And 83. __ clown : CLASS.

75. Partner of starts : FITS. Fits and starts.

76. Heavy hammers : MAULS

81. Gp. from which Cuba was suspended from 1962 to 2009 : OAS. Ha ha. I knew this fact.

82. Phone call : RING

84. Cranial recess : SINUS

89. Streetcar name? : DESIRE. "A Streetcar Named Desire".

90. Rocketeer gear : G-SUITS

91. Netlike hair wear : SNOOD. Learned from doing Xword.

92. Tiny sandwich : SLIDER

94. Ill will : SPITE

96. Early riser? : SUN. Lovely clue.

97. Jubilance : GLEE

98. Hip : COOL. And 87. Hip location? : IN SPOT. Where the hip crowd are.

101. Jumped : LEAPT

107. Heavenly body? : ANGEL

108. One with many fans : IDOL

109. Say no to : DENY

110. '60s protest : LIE-IN. Like what John Lennon and Yoko Ono did.

111. Name on a mower : DEERE

112. Puppylike : CUTE. And 113. "Puppy Love" singer : ANKA (Paul).

114. List in the back : INDEX

Down:

1. Labor day output? : BABY. Great clue. Also 4D. Compensation for labor : EMOLUMENT. Another new word for me.

2. Soothing balm : ALOE

3. Shopping mecca : GALLERIA

5. Turtle's basking spot : LOG. Vivid image.

6. Punish, in a way : SPANK

7. Hardly a tough course : EASY A

8. Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA

9. Pin in the back : TEN. Bowling pin.

10. Prune : SAW OFF

11. "Mad Men" creator Matthew : WEINER. No idea. Any "Mad Men" fans?

12. Episodic story line : ARC

13. Mineralogist with a scale : MOHS. Hardness scale. And 89D. You probably need a scale to tell if it's working : DIET.

14. Apparitions : SPIRITS

15. Concerto in Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" : WINTER. Needed crossing help.

17. Word said while pointing : YOU

18. Not irr. : STD (Standard)

24. First hair remover to be marketed in cream form : NEET. ENYA prevented me from penning in NAIR.

25. Roman goddess of the hunt : DIANA. Artemis in Greek.

31. Rear-__ : ENDER

33. Tediously detailed process : RIGMAROLE. Mainic likes to use this word.

34. Three-time All-Star pitcher Johnny who threw the first major league pitch to Jackie Robinson : SAIN. Interesting trivia. I knew his name only from the poem "First we'll use Spahn/then we'll use Sain/Then an off day/followed by rain...".

35. Dinnerware : SILVER

37. Deliriously happy : EUPHORIC

38. Recipe instruction : STIR

39. CIA rival, once : KGB. Putin was a KGB.

40. Lose money on "Jeopardy!" : ERR

41. Nabokov novel : PNIN. Also learned from doing Xword.

42. Looked at : EYED

44. "Suppose ..." : IF SAY

45. "The Wizard __" : OF ID. Comic strip "The Wizard of ID". I've learned not to recklessly put in OF OZ.

49. Barely winning : UP ONE.

50. Like some eclipses : LUNAR

51. 24/7 auction site : EBAY

52. Crackers : LOCO. Another great clue.

55. Backslid : REGRESSED

56. Blue Devils' gp. : ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). Blue Devils is Duke's sports team.

57. Liqueurs : CORDIALS. Oh, new meaning of cordial to me.

60. Piques : SNITS

61. Take care of : SEE TO

64. D.C. insiders : POLS

65. River to the Caspian : URAL

66. Defeats : BESTS

68. Hacks : COUGHS. Hack has so many meanings.

69. On sale, say : LESS

72. Judicial seat : BANC. Literally "bench" in French.

73. Author Auel : JEAN

74. Run riot : RAISE CAIN. Not many multi-word today.

75. Verne's traveler : FOGG. Phileas Fogg. "Around the World in Eighty Days". I can never remember his name.

76. Heart : MIDST

77. Appealed : PLED

78. Having a pressing need? : UNIRONED. Nice clue.

79. Contemptible one : CUR

80. Peking add-on : ESE. Pekingese.

82. Do an editor's task, perhaps : RE-TITLE. Rich does re-title some of the Sunday puzzles.

83. Unisex designer cologne : CK ONE. Sparkling fill.

86. It may be under a fly : ZIPPER

88. Link : COUPLE. Both verbs.

92. Move furtively : SLINK

93. Singer of many Weill songs : LENYA

95. "Paradise Lost," e.g. : EPIC. Did you want POEM?

97. Racketeer busters : G-MEN

99. Slobbering comics dog : ODIE

100. Forest cat : LYNX. Hey, dog and cat, consecutively.

101. Little shaver : LAD

102. 67.5 deg. : ENE. This kind of clue often confuses me.

104. Campus URL ending : EDU

105. Old vitamin bottle abbr. : RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowances). Now it's RDI (Recommended Daily Intake).

106. Caesar's 151 : CLI

Answer grid.

C.C.