Wednesday December 22, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Secret Panel - The end of each theme entry can precede PANEL.

17A. Escapes dramatically from prison : GOES OVER THE WALL. Wall panel, a lightweight decorative or protective panel which can be fixed directly to internal walls.

28A. Narrow defeat, e.g. : HEART BREAKER. Breaker panel, the main distribution point for electrical circuits in your home.

38A. Warning about wind chill, say : WEATHER ADVISORY. Advisory Panel, a group of persons selected to .. well .. advise.

46A. Steinbeck novel set in Monterey : TORTILLA FLAT. Flat panel, as in TV or computer.

61A. The lead pipe, the wrench or the candlestick, but not the rope: BLUNT INSTRUMENT. Instrument panel, on aircraft and automobiles, etc.

54D. Discussion group, and a word that can follow the ends of this puzzle's five longest answers : PANEL. Arguably, the most famous secret panel in the world.

Melissa here.

Another one from Dan Naddor. Clever as always, just a few unknowns for me. Had deja vu in several spots, and maybe i'm just in a musical state of mind, but i saw lots of musical references.

Across

1. Is down with : HAS. Fooled me, I was thinking the slang usage ...

4. Walk through puddles : SLOSH

9. Energize, as a crowd : ♬ AMP UP. As in amplify.

14. Mean Amin : IDI. Ha, rhymes. (♫ You're a mean one ...)

15. Nomo with two no-hitters : HIDEO. Born in Osaka, retired in 2008.

16. Europe's longest river : VOLGA. Nasa image.

20. Laurie of "House" : HUGH. TV drama on FOX.

21. Vitamin __: PABA : B-TEN. Vitamin B10, better known as PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid), is a water-soluble vitamin that is in the B family; often referred to as part of the B-complex.

22. Peke squeak : YIP. Pekingese. Great clue. Little yappy dog.

23. Torrid : STEAMY. Member this?

26. Impulses : URGES

33. Blubber : SOB

36. Potentially slanderous remark : SLUR

37. Boxer's wear : ROBE

43. Concerning, in memos : IN RE

44. 13 popes : LEOS. I'm one too. A leo, not a pope.

45. Part of UCLA : LOS. University of California, Los Angeles. Largest UC campus in terms of enrollment.

51. Computer data acronym : ASCII. Pronounced ASK-ee, it is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, and is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another.

52. Sandal parts : STRAPS

56. Gumshoe : TEC. Detective.

58. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI

60. "Dies __" : IRAE. Deja vu.

66. Dogpatch's Hawkins : SADIE

67. "Silas Marner" author : ELIOT. T.S. Eliot.

68. Opposite of alt, in Augsburg : NEU. German for old and new.

69. Preferred option : PLAN A. Rarely executed ... always have a plan b.

70. "__ at 'em!" : LEMME. Put 'em up.

71. European peak : ALP (♪ The hills are alive)

Down

1. Euphoric feelings : HIGHS. (♫ Ain't no mountain ...)

2. One point from a service break : AD OUT. Tennis. Ad = advantage. “Ad-in” is if the server is ahead, while “ad-out” is if the non-server won the point after deuce (40-40). If the player with the advantage wins the point, he wins the game. If not, the score reverts to deuce – the only time a score ever goes backwards in tennis. The game keeps going until the player with the “ad” wins the point. In this way, a tennis match can last a very long time, much like baseball.

3. Prolonged attack : SIEGE.

4. HBO alternative : SHO. Home Box Office and Showtime.

5. Actress Tyler : LIV (♬ Steven Tyler's daughter)

6. Tribute that usually rhymes : ODE. Deja vu.

7. Belgrade native : SERB

8. Back porch luxury : HOT TUB

9. Right, as a wrong : AVENGE

10. Do some yard work : MOW

11. Mr. Potato Head maker : PLAYSKOOL

12. Wrinkly fruit : UGLI. Just sounds funny.

13. Insect feeler : PALP. New to me. Palp, labial palp, and maxillary palp.

18. Bygone Mideast despot : SHAH

19. Frau's partner : HERR. See this pretty regularly.

24. Dovetail : MESH

25. Where Bill met Hillary : YALE. Didn't know.

27. Canal zones? : EARS. Nice.

29. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Karel Capek's play. Finally got this one down.

30. Refrain syllables : ♬ TRA LA. Deja vu.

31. Longest river in Spain : EBRO

32. Husband-and-wife creators of Curious George : REYS. (♪ Jack Johnson did a great Curious George soundtrack.)

33. Houlihan portrayer on "M*A*S*H" : SWIT. Hot Lips Houlihan.

34. Vintner's prefix : OENO. Deja vu.

35. Sporty 1960s-'70s Plymouth : BARRACUDA (♬ or Ann and Nancy Wilson's version)

39. Hanoi holidays : TETS.

40. Rock's __ Leppard : DEF. ♫♪♬ Gunter glieben glauchen globen ♫♪♬. My favorite Def Leppard tune is Photograph.

41. Encyc. units : VOLS. Volumes of Encyclopedias. So archaic now, everything's on CD or online.

42. "Time __ a premium" : IS AT

47. Summer cooler : ICE TEA

48. "Hi-__, Hi-Lo" : LILI ♬ Jimmy Durante's version.

49. Big name in small trains : LIONEL (♬ also Lionel Richie)

50. Svelte : TRIM

53. Gladiator's milieu : ARENA. (♪ Musician's milieu, too.)

55. Frame : SET UP. Like Dr. Richard Kimball, in The Fugitive.

56. Recipe abbr. : TBSP. Tablespoon.

57. Airline to Ben Gurion : EL AL

59. Man, for one : ISLE. Isle of Man. Located in the Irish Sea, between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

62. Palindromic diarist : NIN

63. Tiny guy: TIM. Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." He died in 1996, after suffering his second heart attack - on stage.

64. Bulg. neighbor : ROM. Bulgaria and Romania.

65. Versatile vehicle, for short : UTE. Short for Utility Vehicle.

Answer grid.

Melissa

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Steve Salitan

Theme: How's the Weather? - Four 2-word common terms that end in a word that could describe precipitation (in increasing intensity), plus the unifier at the very end, where it belongs.

17A. Throat soothers: COUGH DROPS

23A. Edible pastry decorations: CAKE SPRINKLES

47A. High-quality bed linen: PERCALE SHEETS. Percale describes the weave of the fabric, not its content.

57A. Wet bar containers: ICE BUCKETS

65A. Phenomenon described by the ends of 17-, 23-, 47- and 57-Across: RAIN

All wet Argyle here.

Boy, did this one rain on my parade. A very Tuesday-like theme but some of the fill....

Across:

1. It has more than 5,000 feet : MILE

5. With 60-Across, noodle product derived from "The San Francisco Treat!" : PASTA; 60. See 5-Across : RONI. My first splash; automatically put RICE-A. Image.

10. Game with trump cards : SKAT

14. Tehran's land : IRAN

15. "A work of __ a confession": Camus : ART IS. Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a representative of non-metropolitan French literature. His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work.

16. Whittle : PARE

19. Help in a holdup : ABET

20. Raggedy doll : ANN. Image with her brother, Andy.

21. Stackable cookie : OREO

22. Not chronic, as illness : ACUTE. Defined as a disease with an abrupt onset and usually a short course.

27. Hurting the most : ACHIEST

29. Going badly in the mil.? : AWOL

30. Answer : REPLY

31. Stingless male : DRONE BEE. Since DRONE means a bee, the answer is redundant.

35. Org. in Tom Clancy books : CIA

36. Gonzalez in 2000 news : ELIAN

38. Send packing : AXE

39. Ancient Roman language : OLD LATIN. As opposed to new Latin?

42. Exxon competitor : CITGO. Get their gas at the pump.

44. Eve's partner : ADAM

45. Like a costly victory : PYRRHIC. Splash! Two R's, what's up with that? I see he(image) was a king and could spell his name any way he wanted.

51. Dislike and more : ABHOR

52. __ scale: talc-to-diamond : MOHS. Hardness scale.

53. Yokohama yes : HAI. The word for yes in Japanese.

56. SpongeBob, e.g. : TOON

61. Very cold : GELID

62. Saragossa's river : EBRO. Spain Map. Saragossa is Zaragoza in Spanish; no idea why we haven't had that yet!

63. Swedish furniture giant : IKEA

64. Asia's __ Mountains : ALTAI. New to me. Map.

Down:

1. Isinglass : MICA. A mineral that separates readily into thin, tough, often transparent layers.

2. It's pumped in gyms : IRON

3. Liftoff spot : LAUNCHPAD. Over thought it, was looking for a stain remover. LOL

4. Class with vocab. lists : ENG. Or any language class, not just English.

5. West Coast team in the 1998 World Series : PADRES. New York Yankees vs. San Diego Padres. The Yankees swept the Series in four games. No need for a rubber game.

6. Collar, as a thug : ARREST

7. Small porch : STOOP. Not much more than a set of steps; a city thing.

8. Service reward : TIP

9. Beast of burden : ASS

10. Wall hole filler : SPACKLE. A paste-like substance that fills in small holes, cracks and seams that can be sanded smooth to prep a wall before painting.

11. Afghanistan's capital : KABUL

12. Mountain ridge : ARÊTE

13. French noodles? : TÊTEs. Heads.

18. Fake : HOKEY

22. Soon, to the bard : ANON

24. Plague : AIL

25. __ avis : RARA

26. Victorious shout : "I WON!". Finally, not, "I win!".

27. Sacramento's __ Arena : ARCO. Named for another gas company.

28. Provide with a roof : CEIL. To provide with a ceiling.

31. Clamor : DIN

32. King David's wife : BATHSHEBA. From a Hebrew phrase meaning “daughter of the oath”, she was the mother of Solomon.

33. Military vet : EX GI

34. Job rights agcy. : EEOC. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

36. End-of-list abbr. : ET AL.

37. Green wedge in a gimlet : LIME. Vodka or gin avatar.

40. New Hampshire city known for its annual motorcycle week : LACONIA. Big around here but common knowledge?

41. Purim's month : ADAR

42. Getting gradually louder, in mus. : CRESC.. Crescendo. I didn't see the abbreviation of music; rain in my eyes.

43. Subway under B'way : IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit.

45. Irrational fear : PHOBIA

46. Violinist Menuhin : YEHUDI. We had Itzhak Perlman yesterday.

47. Father: Pref. : PATRI. Patriarch

48. Digital novel : E-BOOK

49. River of Lyons : RHONE

50. Refine, as ore : SMELT

54. Longfellow's bell town : ATRI. Poem. CA?

55. "Help __ the way!" : IS ON

57. Supermarket chain with a red-and-white logo : IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.

58. Animation frame : CEL

59. Plop lead-in : KER

Answer grid.

Argyle