Wednesday December 1, 2010 Ed Sessa

Theme: ENEMY (56D. Foe hiding, in a way, in the puzzle's four longest answers). N & ME span across two words in each theme entry. Phonetically "N-M-E" sounds like "Enemy".

20A. Viral illness associated with a rash : GERMAN MEASLES. Wikipedia it's called "German measles because the disease was first described by German physicians in the mid-eighteenth century".

35A. List that comes from the top : DROP-DOWN MENU. Computer menu. Mangesh Ghogre used this great phrase in his "Missing You" puzzle in Games magazine. His answer is a hilarious "Drop-Down Men(u), clued as rappers referenced if I recall correctly.

43A. Possible response to "Gotcha!" : THAT'S ONE ON ME.

57A. Pie with a fluffy topping : LEMON MERINGUE. Still have not tried Lemon Meringue Pie yet.

C.C. here, pinch-hitting for the traveling Melissa Bee. When did you get the theme? Took me sometime to grok the gimmick.

We also have a bit of French current going on:

34D. Dijon honey : AMIE. I was picturing Dijon honey mustard, not how to say "Honey" in Dijon the French city.

60D. Old gold coins of France : ECUS. Classic crosswordese.

58D. Hot times in the cité : ETES

Favorite clue/answer today is LADY LUCK (40. Gambler's favorite woman?).

Across:

1. Chews the fat : GABS

5. "Here's to ..." tribute : TOAST

10. Lingerie size : C-CUP. Doesn't look like Salma Hayek is wearing a bra.

14. Inuit word for "house" : IGLU. That's how we get igloo.

15. Like bighorns : OVINE. Always thought bighorns are goats rather than sheep.

16. Obsessed fictional captain : AHAB. "Moby Dick".

17. Modeler's aid : GLUE.

18. More inclined to butt in : RUDER. Couldn't fit in NOSIER.

19. Comes together : GELS

23. Paint base : LATEX

24. A major, e.g. : KEY

25. Healthful resort : SPA

28. 911 responder, for short : EMS

29. Lanchester of "Witness for the Prosecution" : ELSA. Know her. Not familiar with the movie.

33. Like Fran Drescher's voice : NASAL

38. Cuba or Mallorca : ISLA

41. Thumper's friend : BAMBI. Thumper is a rabbit. There's also a character called Flower.

42. Agenda listing : ITEM

46. Like some waves : TIDAL

47. Have to have : NEED

48. Fond du __, Wisconsin : LAC

51. "School's out" response : YAY

52. "Eeeuuw!" : ICK

55. Bloodsucker : LEECH

62. Tight : TAUT

64. Sister's daughter : NIECE

65. Humorist Bombeck : ERMA. The "Joy of Cooking" author is Irma Rombauer.

66. "Going __, going ..." : ONCE

67. On the wrong side (of) : AFOUL. Have only encountered this word in the phrase "Run afoul of".

68. Track competition : MEET

69. Stir-fry cookers : WOKS

70. Full of juicy tidbits : NEWSY

71. Longings : YENS

Down:

1. Embarrassed reaction, maybe : GIGGLE. OK, "maybe".

2. Shining brightly : AGLEAM

3. Exclaims suddenly, with "out" : BLURTS

4. "Do something about it! I dare you!" : SUE ME

5. Betwixt and between : TORN

6. Egg, to Ovid : OVUM. Plural is ova.

7. Right-hand man : AIDE

8. Tiptoe : SNEAK

9. Succinct : TERSE. To me, TERSE has a negative one, succinct does not.

10. Place with bars : CAGE. Thought of JAIL first.

11. Where to find four knights : CHESS SET. Three consecutive Ss.

12. "Friendly skies" co. : UAL

13. "Masterpiece" airer : PBS

21. Hatchet man : AXER. ER words are seldom interesting.

22. "Coal Miner's Daughter" subject Loretta : LYNN

26. Glass section : PANE

27. Former senior, for short : ALUM. Couldn't quite parse the clue.

30. "Rio __": John Wayne film : LOBO. Was ignorant of the movie. Western again?

31. Wingspread, say : SPAN

32. Madison Ave. figures : AD MEN

35. Statistical input : DATA

36. Reed instrument : OBOE

37. Red, white or Blue Nun : WINE. Blue Nun is a German wine brand. Alien to me.

38. Bitty start? : ITTY. Itty-bitty.

39. Islamic branch : SHIA. And Sunni.

44. Svelte : SLIM

45. 1551, on monuments : MDLI

48. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" villain : LEGREE (Simon). No idea.

49. Keen judgment : ACUMEN

50. Marked deck users : CHEATS. What is "Marked deck"? Poker?

53. Movie barbarian : CONAN. "Conan the Barbarian".

54. Swiss Army __ : KNIFE

59. Catty remark : MEOW. The clue works with or without the question mark.

61. Bank (on) : RELY

62. Auto club service : TOW

63. Year, in Yucatán : AÑO

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Mark Feldman

Theme: While You Slept - Occupations you might want to be kept in the dark about?

20A. One debating the unpopular side: DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

31A. Healer using magic: WITCH DOCTOR

41A. Uncredited author: GHOST WRITER

55A. Wee-hours work period for 20-, 31- and 41-Across?: GRAVEYARD SHIFT

Argyle here.

Not too sure of the theme since none of the three entries necessarily work at night. Oh well, not many names today. Good solid corners on the grid. Long entries. On the whole, I liked it.

Across:

1. Roe source : SHAD

5. Scrape, cat-style : CLAW

9. 100 kopeks : RUBLE and 6D. Turkish bread? : LIRA. Russian bread and Turkish bread. No euros yet.

14. Geographical extremity : POLE

15. Little suckers : LICE. 16. Matriculate : ENROL. 23. Washing aid for pupils : EYE CUP. 11D. Sassy kid : BRAT. The clues all made me think of students.

17. Turow memoir subtitled "The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School" : ONE L

18. The "Habanera" from "Carmen," e.g. : ARIA. Clip.(4:14)

19. Blunt, as reality : STARK

24. Blood bank fluid : SERUM

25. "Hold on __!" : A SEC

27. Stew : SEETHE

36. "Man oh man!" : "WOW!"

37. Out of kilter : AWRY

38. Dove murmur : COO

39. About 1,609 meters : MILE

40. Game system played with gestures : Wii. Nintendo's spelling of "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together. So they say. The big thing is it gets people off the couch to play.

45. Long-haired cat : ANGORA

47. Part of a family business title : SONS

48. Pitching miscues : BALKS

51. Where AMZN stock is traded : NASDAQ. Amazon.com, Inc. / "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Systems," but the exchange's official stance is that the acronym is obsolete.

58. Japanese cartoon genre : ANIME

59. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE. They're out there somewhere. The tribe got moved around a lot and you can't be sure from where they might be clued.

60. Naysayer : ANTI

61. Deadly : FATAL

62. Zip (along) : TEAR

63. Chick's sound : PEEP

64. Head lock : TRESS. Had me thinking wrestling move for awhile.

65. At __: arguing : ODDS. This idiom uses odds in the sense of "a condition of being unequal or different," and transfers it to a difference of opinion, or quarrel.

66. Messes up : ERRS

Down:

1. Fine porcelain : SPODE. Named for Josiah Spode who developed the manufacturing of bone china with blue glaze, based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Image. I think porcelain and bone china aren't exactly the same but I'll read the Wikipedia article later.

2. Sweetheart : HONEY

3. Naproxen, commercially : ALEVE. Image.

4. Epicurean delight : DELICACY

5. Held firmly : CLASPED

7. Fatty __ : ACIDS

8. Make, as baskets : WEAVE

9. Fireman, sometimes : RESCUER

10. Wild : UNTAME. More familiar with untamed.

12. Folk tales and such : LORE

13. "Benevolent" fraternal member : ELK. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE)

21. Having abundant vegetation : LUSH

22. Thereabouts : OR SO

26. Chanel of fashion : COCO

28. Nincompoop : TWIT

29. Burrow indicator : HOLE

30. Pretty pitcher : EWER. Pretty alliteration.

31. Guitar effect : WA-WA

32. Triumphant cry : "I WIN!"

33. Math course : TRIG

34. Business orgs. : COs.

35. Little ones : TOTS

39. Form incorrectly : MISSHAPE

41. Covers, as a driveway : GRAVELS

42. Robust : HALE. NYT Sunday puzzle once had this clue for HALE: Sarah Josepha ___, who wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Can you say obscure?

43. Worldly seven : WONDERS

44. Messenger molecules : RNAs. These little molecules are everywhere.

46. White House family : OBAMAs

49. Onetime capital of Japan : KYOTO. Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. The city in the central part of the island of Honshu, southwest of Tokyo.

50. Filled up : SATED

52. Restaurant patron : DINER

53. Following : AFTER

54. Wax removers : Q-TIPS

55. Growl : GNAR. Add an 'L' at the end and it becomes a tree knot.

56. Ceremony : RITE

57. Country way : ROAD

58. Toward the rudder : AFT

Answer grid.

Argyle