Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Double-Q - All six theme words end in I + QUE, which may be pronounced EEK.

17A. Outside-the-box method: UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

37A. Exclusive group seeking old collectibles: ANTIQUE CLIQUE

59A. Indirect evaluation: OBLIQUE CRITIQUE

Argyle here. A Dan Naddor puzzle. Need I say more?

Across:

1. Entr'__ : ACTE. An intermission between sections of a show, often a short entertainment itself.

5. Tony winner Judith : IVEY. She looks like she does crosswords. Image.

9. Stories of questionable veracity : YARNS

14. Any of five O-ending brothers : MARX. Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo.

15. Visibly embarrassed : RED AS A BEET

19. Seated yoga position : LOTUS

20. In inventory : ON HAND

21. Plaza Hotel pixie : ELOISE. A series of children's books drawn and written by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight.

23. Ones who take things the wrong way? : THIEVES

27. Catches some rays : TANS

28. Johannesburg's land: Abbr. : RSA. Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or eGoli, is the largest city in the Republic of South Africa.

31. College e-mail address ending : .EDU

32. Water frozen in mid-drip : ICICLE

35. Missouri tributary : OSAGE

40. Cooked in 35-Down : FRIED

41. Henner who played Elaine on "Taxi" : MARILU

42. "Gross!" : "ICK!"

43. "Whirled peas" is one : PUN. We will never have world peace if you don't eat your "whirled peas".

44. Slanted type: Abbr. : ITAL.

48. Capone catchers, familiarly : THE FEDS. Al Capone's reign ended when he was found guilty of tax evasion, and sent to federal prison.

53. Opt for a career without the band : GO SOLO

55. Euro predecessor, in Portugal : ESCUDO. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos.

58. Hurled : THREW

63. Agreement before marriage : PRENUPTIAL

64. Wacky : NUTS

65. Small sample : TASTE

66. Fancy tie material : SILK

67. Heroic deed : GEST. We just had GEST in Sunday's puzzle.

Down:

1. Lucky charm : AMULET

2. With 35-Down, healthful cooking liquid : CANOLA and 35. See 2-Down : OIL. What is the recommended oil to deep fry a turkey.

3. Son of Poseidon : TRITON. The Greek family of gods.

4. Especially elegant : EXQUISITE

5. Hot temper : IRE

6. White House no : VETO

7. Heaven on Earth : EDEN

8. Marina craft : YACHT

9. One-named New Age keyboardist : YANNI

10. Put up with : ABIDE. Funny placement. I can't 10D 9D.

11. Mil. supply order : REQ. Requisition.

12. Nicht alt : NEU. German: Not old / NEW.

13. Sault __ Marie : STE. It is in the eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River.

16. 1979 Iranian exile : SHAH

18. Battleship letters : USS. United States Ship

22. "ER" actor La Salle : ERIQ. Portrays Dr. Peter Benton. Image.

24. Calf meat, in Calais : VEAU. I put in VEAL and waited for the perps to fix it.

25. Brink : EDGE

26. Go after in court : SUE

29. Lowlife : SCUM

30. __ of faith : A LEAP

33. Spain's El __ : CID. Chief general, of Alfonso VI, and his most valuable asset in the fight against the Moors.(c. 1043 – 1099).

34. Light brown color : ECRU

36. Making a walking-in-mud sound : SQUISHING

37. St. Louis landmark : ARCH

38. "Just do it" sloganeer : NIKE

39. Suffix with weak : LING

40. Emotional outburst : FIT

45. Rotation-causing force : TORQUE. Just as important as horsepower in engine ratings.

46. Native Alaskans : ALEUTS

47. Most shameful : LOWEST

49. Boxer's maneuver : FEINT. Fakeout.

50. Roman ending : ESQUE. Often regarding a nose.

51. 60-Down spec : D-CUP and 60. Victoria's Secret staple : BRA. No Image Available.

52. Sheep fats : SUETS

54. Polo Grounds legend Mel : OTT

56. Twice CCCI : DCII. 301 x 2 = 602

57. Word-of-mouth : ORAL

59. Choose : OPT

61. "__ Misérables" : LES

62. Class : ILK

Now I'll continue looking for a suitable image for 51D/60D.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, November 22, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: If Only - Five synonyms for what we wish for, the first ones are at the ends of the longest entries with the unifier at the very end(Across) of the grid.

21A. Tokyo monetary unit: JAPANESE YEN. 1 Japanese yen = 0.0120 US dollars or roughly one cent. 10,000 bank note.

26A. 1983 Lionel Richie #1 song: "ALL NIGHT LONG". It reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). This clip(3:39) may make you long for the eighties...or not.

43A. Desolate title tree in a 1936 Fonda/MacMurray western: LONESOME PINE. Full title is "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" and isn't a western; it is set in the Appalachian Mountains, according to this short Wikipedia article.

50A. TUMS target: STOMACH ACHE. Calcium carbonate used as an antacid to relieve heartburn, acid indigestion, and upset stomach.

65A. Hanker, and a synonym for the ends of 21-, 26-, 43- and 50-Across: YEARN

Argyle here. Solid Monday offering from Donna with a couple of thorns thrown in to keep it interesting.

Across:

1. Like some short-term committees : AD HOC

6. How a lot of music is recorded : ON CD

10. Narrow-necked pear : BOSC. Image.

14. Museum with many Spanish masterpieces : PRADO. Located in Madrid, Spain, I envy those of you that have seen it. Spain is on my bucket list. (Hm, "bucket list", good optional theme title.)

15. Eight, in Spain : OCHO

16. Figure skating jump : AXEL

17. Consumed : EATEN

18. Postal delivery : MAIL. I think they will close on Saturdays and when they do, they might as well close for good.

19. Knish seller : DELI. Knish is an eastern-European Jewish or Yiddish snack food. It is a dumpling covered with a dough shell that is either baked or fried. In the most traditional version, the dumpling is made entirely of mashed potato. Jewish Recipes web site.

20. Henna, for one : DYE

24. Hawaii's coffee capital : KONA. How is it? Anybody drinking some this morning?

25. Reader's __: magazine : DIGEST

31. French city where Joan of Arc died : ROUEN. One of those thorns I mentioned, for me at least.

32. Wooden nickel, e.g. : SLUG. I always thought a slug had to be metal.

33. Milk units: Abbr. : QTs. However, milk units from the cow are measured in pounds, with the record being over 70,000 lbs. per year.

36. Old Italian money : LIRE and 55D. Swiss capital : BERN. Such straight forward cluing, it's either Monday or a trap.

37. Parcel of land : TRACT

39. New Age-y emanation : AURA

40. Single : ONE

41. Wine vintage : YEAR

42. Thread holder : SPOOL

46. It's north of the border : CANADA. Not for everybody, eh?

49. Cle. hoopsters : CAVS. Cleveland Cavaliers.

53. Long sandwich : SUB

56. Vaulter's need : POLE. Records jumped with the advent of the fiberglass pole.

57. "Today __ man": stereotypical bar mitzvah announcement : I AM A. TV's Frasier speaks Klingon at Frederic's bar mitzvah. Clip.

58. Hospital staffer : NURSE

60. __ even keel : ON AN

61. Shoemaker McAn : THOM

62. Spud : TATER

63. Camping shelter : TENT

64. Talks and talks : YAKS

Down:

1. Copied : APED

2. Open-sided cart : DRAY

3. Loathe : HATE

4. "__ on a Grecian Urn" : ODE

5. Unite : CONJOIN

6. Tuba sound : OOM-PAH

7. "March Madness" org. : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

8. Facial feature with a cleft, perhaps : CHIN. Perhaps, the most famous. Image.

9. Distributed sparingly : DOLED OUT

10. No-goodnik : BAD EGG. BAD GUY didn't fly.

11. Daisy variety : OX-EYE

12. Tennis great Monica : SELES

13. Eastwood of Dirty Harry films : CLINT

22. Namibia neighbor: Abbr. : ANG. Angola. Map. Africa.

23. Perform with the choir : SING

24. Kid's scrape site : KNEE

26. Woody's son : ARLO

27. Butcher's cut : LOIN

28. Entice : LURE

29. Ivan the Terrible et al. : TSARS. Russian rulers.

30. Partners' legal entity: Abbr. : LLC. Limited Liability Company (LLC),

33. "Je ne sais __" : QUOI. Literally 'I don't know what', meaning an indescribable quality. "Je ne sais pas" was my answer in French class.

34. Cyclo- ending : TRON. "Tron: Legacy" is an upcoming 2010 science fiction film based on "Tron", the 1982 movie.

35. Shopper's delight : SALE

37. Persistence : TENACITY

38. "Norma __" : RAE. Movie with Sally Field.

39. iPhone downloads : APPs. I knew when I first saw apps(applications) it would become a crossword hit.

41. Wizened "Star Wars" guru : YODA. Sorry but I have to link this song. Yoda, Weird Al.

42. Interstate speed limit, often : SEVENTY. Merely a suggestion. (Right, Dennis?)

43. Bemoan : LAMENT

44. __ razor: logical simplicity rule : OCCAM'S. Thorny.

45. __-jongg : MAH

46. A hundred bucks : C-SPOT. Quick, how many yen is that?

47. Make amends (for) : ATONE

48. Texas Rangers president Ryan : NOLAN. Nicknamed "The Ryan Express", he is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. ( New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers) Trivia: His first name is Lynn.

51. Often sarcastic joke response : HA-HA

52. In a frenzy : AMOK

53. Mlle., in Madrid : SRTA. Mademoiselle and Señorita

54. Exploitative type : USER

59. Abu Dhabi's fed. : UAE. United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven absolute monarchies.

Answer grid.

Argyle