Wednesday November 24, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Go directly to JAIL - The last word in each theme answer is a slang word for JAIL.

17A. Song involving body parts : HOKEY POKEY. That's what it's all about.

25A. Driveshaft component : UNIVERSAL JOINT

41A. Gulped-down Mexican cocktail : TEQUILA SLAMMER

55A. Marker : FELT TIP PEN

48A. Synonym for the ends of 17-, 25-, 41- and 55-Across : JAIL

Melissa bee here.

We've seen this theme before, but it's always fun. Other possibilities: clink, can, cooler. Without googling, what is a prisoner's favorite punctuation mark?

Felt more like a Monday/Tuesday level to me, breezed right through it. Like i had one of these.

Across:

1. Lots of plots : ACRES

6. Blue : GLUM. I guess that's why they call it the blues.

10. Memo abbr. : ATTN. Attention.

14. Lewis's partner : CLARK

15. "Mona __ Smile": 2003 film : LISA. Starring Julia Roberts.

16. Actress Perlman : RHEA. Wife of Danny Devito, best known as Carla Tortelli on Cheers.

19. One of two on some wedding cakes : TIER

20. View : EYE

21. English Channel port : DOVER. Claims to be the worlds busiest passenger port. Surrounded by chalk cliffs known as The White Cliffs of Dover. Inspired both a song and a movie.

22. Particular : FUSSY

23. Staff addition : HIRE. Employee.

24. Business : FIRM

31. McQueen or Martin : STEVE

32. "The Bridge on the River __": 1957 Best Picture : KWAI

33. "Rather not!" : NAH.

34. Quote : CITE. Verb.

35. __ light: moviemaker's tool : KLIEG. Intense lamp used in film making, named after inventor John H. Kliegl and his brother Anton Tiberius Kliegl.

37. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. The last of Thomas Hardy's novels, tells the story of Jude Frawley, who longs to be a scholar. Inspired a tv mini-series in 1971, and a film in 1996 starring Kate Winslet.

38. Husband of Fatima : ALI. Fatima (or Fatimah) was the fourth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughters. Ali was Muhammad's cousin.

39. Mottled : PIED. Having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly.

40. "Gymnopédies" composer : SATIE. The Gymnopédies, published in Paris starting in 1888, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. Very familiar.

45. "For __ us a child is born" : UNTO. Lyrics from Handel's Messiah.

46. Spoonbill's kin : IBIS. Scarlet Ibis.

47. Leave the cockpit suddenly : EJECT

49. Fawlty Towers, for one : HOTEL. British sitcom, i've never seen it.

51. Tabloid craft, briefly : UFO. Unidentified Flying Object.

54. Sports page info, e.g. : DATA. Specific clue for a non-specific answer.

57. Quibbles : NITS

58. Like some hygiene : ORAL. Yesterday it was clued as 'Word-of-mouth.'

59. Lasso feature : NOOSE

60. Sheltered, on a ship : ALEE

61. Hereditary unit : GENE

62. Ladies' men : GENTS

Down:

1. Dull pain : ACHE. Mainiac, still aching?

2. Be overly sweet : CLOY

3. Golfer's need, at times : RAKE. To rake the sand traps. And 12. Pro shop bagful : TEES

4. Poetic preposition : ERE

5. Execute a high jump? : SKY DIVE

6. "Lethal Weapon" co-star : GLOVER. Danny Glover. Also could have been Gibson.

7. Valley girl word : LIKE

8. Microsoft customer : USER

9. Kentucky Derby time : MAY

10. Maestro Toscanini : ARTURO. Finally have this one memorized.

11. "Now!" : THIS MINUTE

13. __ a soul : NARY. No one.

18. Small opening : PORE

22. Island country since 1970 : FIJI

23. Swarm's home : HIVE. Bees.

24. Standard : FLAG. Standard = any distinctive flag.

25. Functional : UTILE.

26. Avoiding off-topic posting, say : NETIQUETTE. Portmanteau of "network etiquette" or "Internet etiquette."

27. Path to ruin, with "the" : SKIDS

28. Dazzle : AWE

29. Low point : NADIR. Not sure i've heard this word before, the definition is simply the lowest point. Or, in Astronomy, the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer.

30. You, in a classic E.B. Browning poem : THEE

31. Sing like Satchmo : SCAT. Satchmo was Louis Armstrong's nickname. And 37. Jazz sessions : JAMS

35. Metric weight, for short : KILO. Kilogram.

36. Grazing field : LEA

39. Aniston's ex : PITT. Jennifer and Brad.

40. Like the Cheshire Cat : SMILING. From Alice in Wonderland.

42. Remove from its box : UNCASE

43. Chicken __ : LITTLE. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

44. Help to perpetrate : ABET

47. "Show Boat" author Ferber : EDNA

49. __ and now : HERE

50. "The Good Earth" heroine : OLAN. Pulitzer prize winning novel by Pearl S. Buck.

51. Shortly following : UPON

52. Suffix with slug : FEST. Slugfest. Not my favorite -fest.

53. Breakfast tip components, usually : ONES. I suppose it depends on where you eat.

55. Brit's pea-souper : FOG. Not sure why the er is needed.

56. "Lenore" poet : POE

Answer grid.

Melissa

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