Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Billie Truitt

Theme: J_N - Fill in the space with a vowel, A thru U, and create an entry that starts with it.

18A. Actress in a classic shower scene: JANET LEIGH

23A. Weight management guru: JENNY CRAIG

38A. 1996 Schwarzenegger Christmas comedy: "JINGLE ALL THE WAY"

51A. Comedy Central satirist: JON STEWART. All the other J?N words are embedded in another word.

56A. Kipling story collection, with "The": JUNGLE BOOK

Argyle here.

I checked twice, today is Tuesday. Puzzle feels harder than normal.

Across:

1. Pathfinder org. : NASA. The Mars Pathfinder was designed to be a demonstration of the technology necessary to deliver a lander and a free-ranging robotic rover to the surface of Mars.

5. D-Day carriers : LSTs. There were other ships but we only get this one.

9. Hi-tech classroom : PC LAB

14. Sixth Jewish month : ADAR

15. Tuckered out : BEAT

16. Bowl, e.g. : ARENA. "Are you ready for some football?" Well, maybe not the Metrodome.

17. Siamese checkers? : VETS. Siamese cats and veterinarian doctors.

20. Geometry truth : AXIOM

22. Low-lying area : VALE and 27. Low-lying area : DALE

31. Lieut. producer : OCS. Officer Candidate School (OCS) Graduates are brown bars(due to the subdued gold color of the single bar insignia), second lieutenants.

32. Beaujolais's department : RHONE. Quincié-en-Beaujolais is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.

33. Through : VIA

34. Blast from the past : A-TEST

35. Like this answer : ACROSS

42. Consensus builder : UNITER

43. Mountaineer's tool : ICE AX. Image. Used in mountain climbing.

44. Sleepy colleague? : DOC. Has anyone been keeping track of how many of the dwarves we've had?

45. Pops : SODAS

46. Inflation stat. : CPI. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

49. Most eligible for the draft : ONE A

53. Leeway : ROOM

55. First name in morning talk : REGIS. "LIVE! with Regis & Kelly" Regis Francis Xavier Philbin and Kelly Maria Ripa.

62. Prefix with -gon : DECA

63. "The Interpretation of Dreams" author : FREUD. Dr. Sigmund Freud.

64. Italian bread? : EURO

65. Golfer Norman : GREG. AKA, the Shark. His 2010 Shark Shootout was last week.

66. Patched pants parts : KNEES

67. Barbecue specialty : RIBS. Ummm! Bar-B-Q.

68. Standard Oil name : ESSO. In Canada.

Down:

1. Hogan dweller : NAVAJO. The hogan was much more permanent than the teepees of the plains Indians.

2. Madison Ave. VIP : AD EXEC

3. Some lustrous dresses : SATINS

4. Flaming offense : ARSON

5. Successor to 56-Down : LBJ. Lyndon Baines Johnson. 56. He defeated RMN : JFK. John Fitzgerald Kennedy defeated Richard Milhous Nixon.

6. Bounding main : SEA

7. Salon acquisition : TAN

8. Wonder of music : STEVIE. Started out as "Little Stevie Wonder". I like the way this song(4:45) starts out.

9. Cloud of gloom : PALL

10. Words to live by : CREED

11. Wahine's gift : LEI

12. Director Lee : ANG

13. Dickensian cry : "BAH!". Trivia: Scrooge uttered "Bah! Humbug!" only twice in the entire book.

19. Luggage label : TAG

21. __ Beach: South Carolina resort : MYRTLE

24. Shout of approval : CHEER. Not the actual word; had me going for quite awhile.

25. Parks on a bus : ROSA. But not on the back of the bus.

26. Adult doodlebug : ANT LION. The larva is often called "doodlebug", the adult is often called "lacewing". So where do they get the name Ant Lion? Well it's mainly because they are deadly predators (like lions) and their main diet is usually ants. Want some of your own? Buy 'em here, LittleAussieProducts.

28. Declare : AVOW

29. Maggie Simpson's sister : LISA. Part of the animated TV family.

30. Like pie? : EASY. I know a lot of cooks wonder where "easy as pie" came from.

34. Author's rep. : AGT.. Agent.

35. Really got to : ATE AT

36. Milder drink than the one before it : CHASER. I tried WEAKER for awhile.

37. "Oedipus __" : REX. The Latin title of a Greek play, Oedipus the King, an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BC.

38. Karate kin : JUDO

39. Privy to : IN ON

40. "Good one!" : "NICE!"

41. Watch readouts, for short : LCDs. Think wristwatch, liquid crystal displays.

45. Melancholy : SOMBER

46. Court shooters : CAGERS. On the basketball court, shooting baskets. Trivia: An early rule of the game was that when the ball went out of bounds, the team who touched it first got possession of the ball. This resulted in scuffles with the fans getting involved! So a fence of cage wire was erected around the court to keep the ball in bounds; whence the term, cagers, for the players inside. Finally, they decided changing the rule was easier than maintaining the fence.

47. Inflation drives them up : PRICES

48. "We're on!" : "IT'S A GO!"

50. Have a dispute : ARGUE

51. Average guy? : JOE

52. Club for most greenside shots : WEDGE. Golf.

54. Auto pioneer : OLDS. Ransom Eli Olds.

57. Coffee source for a crowd : URN

58. Originally called : NÉE

59. Yes, to Yvette : OUI. French.

60. Poetic planet : ORB

61. Levels, briefly : KOs. Knocks out.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, December 13, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Puzzle of the Moment - Four progressively longer periods of time that end the common phrase theme entries in the pattern of " __ OF THE __".

19A. Restaurant special: SOUP OF THE DAY

27A. '60s ABC boxing show: FIGHT OF THE WEEK

41A. Featured mail-order club offering: BOOK OF THE MONTH

47A. Motor Trend magazine award: CAR OF THE YEAR

Argyle here.

This is one of those rare ones where you can almost fill in the answer without seeing the clue. A neat trick to keep it simple but still fun. Good one, Gareth.

Across:

1. __ Squad: Best Buy service team : GEEK. One heck of a marketing gimmick. VW.

5. Paving surface : TAR

8. Classic orange soda : FANTA. Fanta originated when ingredients for the production of Coca-Cola became difficult to obtain in the company's Germany plant during the build up to World War II. A fascinating write-up in Snopes.

13. Bit of subterfuge : RUSE

14. Naked : BARE

15. Ruthless J.R. on "Dallas" : EWING. TV's famous season ending cliffhanger, "Who Shot JR?".

16. Inland Asian sea : ARAL

17. Write on, as sheet metal : ETCH

18. Mediterranean island country : MALTA. Map. I've heard of Malta but not Gozo.

22. Barrio uncle : TIO

23. MSN rival : AOL

24. Rap's Dr. __ : DRE. It seems he's crossword's Doctor, also.

32. Fillies, as adults : MAREs

33. Singer Chris or actor Stephen : REA. Chris Rea: "Fool (If You Think Is Over)", Stephen Rea: "The Crying Game".

34. Tennis star/anti-apartheid activist Arthur : ASHE

35. Microwave gadget : TIMER

36. Sci-fi escape craft : POD. An escape pod figures importantly at the start of "Star Wars".

37. Geometry calculations : AREAs

38. Minute stake? : ANTE

39. Vienna's land: Abbr. : AUS. Austria.

40. Nasal detections : ODORS

44. B'way "no seats" sign : SRO

45. Contrived : PAT

46. Run in : NAB. Police-speak.

53. Ribs sauce style, briefly : BAR-B-Q

56. Silents actress Theda : BARA

57. Niger neighbor : MALI. Map.

58. French parting : "ADIEU"

59. What avengers get : EVEN. (Must resist urge to post picture of Mrs. Peel!)

60. Study a lot in a short time : CRAM

61. Roger who played Bond : MOORE. Bond, James Bond.

62. Low grade : DEE

63. Cathedral recess : APSE

Down:

1. Mardi __ : GRAS. FYI: Carnival celebration starts on January 6, the Twelfth Night (feast of Epiphany); and picks up speed until Midnight on Mardi Gras(March 8), the day before Ash Wednesday.

2. Continental cash : EURO

3. Biblical twin : ESAU

4. Brown seaweed : KELP

5. Bit of body art : TATTOO

6. Semicircular entrance : ARCH

7. Prepared, as leftovers : REHEATED

8. Doe, for one : FEMALE

9. On holiday, say : AWAY

10. Zero, in soccer : NIL

11. Explosive abbr. : TNT

12. __ Khan : AGA. The divinely ordained head of the Ismaʿili branch of Shiʿism.

14. Suits : BEFITS

20. Catchall category : OTHER

21. Qatar's capital : DOHA, Arab emirate.

24. The Kalahari, for one : DESERT. Map. I'll admit I thought of sushi for a sec.

25. Uninspired new version : REHASH

26. Barely gets by, with "out" : EKES

27. Key of Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata : F MINOR

28. "You are not!" rejoinder : "I AM TOO!"

29. Plato's language : GREEK. Does the Geek Squad speak computer Greek? I wonder.

30. First-year student, briefly : FROSH. Freshman.

31. __ Terror: Bush campaign : WAR ON

35. Bills at bars : TABS

36. Finished dealing with : PUT TO BED. Often said of publishing a paper.

37. Hacienda brick : ADOBE

39. "We Three Kings" adverb : AFAR

40. Certain Nebraskan : OMAHAN

42. Opposite of transparent : OPAQUE

43. Main dish : ENTRÉE

47. Trucker with a handle : CBer

48. Top choice, for short : FAVE

49. Song sung with arm motions : YMCA

50. O.K. Corral name : EARP. The Earp brothers, Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil.

51. Word of sorrow : ALAS

52. "The __ of the Ancient Mariner" : RIME. A poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in 1798.

53. "Pow!" cousin : "BAM!"

54. Hoo-ha : ADO

55. __ Grande : RIO

So I'm weak! Mrs. Peel

Answer grid.

Argyle