Tuesday, January 4, 2011 David W. Cromer

Theme: Imelda's love - Three theme enders that are types of the hint in the unifier...and what Imelda Marcos collected over 2700 pairs of.

20A. How many fall in love: HEAD OVER HEELS

34A. Temperature control devices: HEAT PUMPS. Not comfortable with the clue, although the use of any source of heat could be said to be a temperature control device.

40A. Bonneville Speedway terrain: SALT FLATS. The Bonneville Salt Flats is a densely-packed salt pan in northwestern Utah that is a remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville.

53A. Abridged maxim about accepting an apt description, and a hint to this puzzle's theme found in 20-, 34- and 40-Across: IF THE SHOE FITS.... "...WEAR IT" was left off the end of the maxim, that's why it is abridged.

Argyle here.

Have to say this feels a little flat after yesterday's puzzle but then, I don't have a shoe fetish. I do think it's funny that some sneakers are pumps now. Image.

Across:

1. Like serious collectors : AVID. Could apply to Imelda!

5. Ristorante staple : PASTA

10. Bristol baby carriage : PRAM. Alliteration and British (and no comments about Palin, please).

14. Fishing need : LINE

15. Turn red, as tomatoes : RIPEN

16. Genesis creator : SEGA. Video games system.

17. It may be enough : ONCE. ONCE is enough. (Doesn't apply to buying shoes.)

18. Keats, e.g. : ODIST

19. Arabian Peninsula port : ADEN

23. Mule's parent : ASS. A palomino mule. Image.

24. __ majesty : LESE. A crime, esp. high treason, committed against the sovereign power.

25. Adjustor's assessment : DAMAGE

28. Sought office : RAN

29. Dent or scratch : MAR

30. Mauna __ : LOA. "Long Mountain" in Hawaiian, it is the largest volcano on Earth in terms of volume. Mauna Kea, a neighbor of Mauna Loa on the same island of Hawaii is the tallest, from the sea floor.

31. Israeli desert : NEGEV. Map.

37. Door-to-door company : AVON

38. Stolen goods dealer : FENCE

39. Went like the wind : TORE

42. Less, in La Paz : MENOS. Either La Paz, Bolivia or La Paz, Mexico, it is still Spanish.

43. Do the math, in a way : ADD

44. Rowing implement : OAR

45. With it : HIP

46. Duds in a lot : LEMONS. The cleverest clue? A car lot.

48. Tiny power source : ATOM

50. Drama featuring a DNA lab : CSI. Crime Scene Investigation.

56. Course list : MENU

58. Spanish folk hero : EL CID. A hero for his fight against the Moors.

59. Mound stats : ERAs. See 56Across from yesterday.

60. Golf rarities : ACEs. A hole in one. Aces are also baseball pitchers, too.

61. River through France : RHONE

62. Earth tone : ECRU

63. Sit for a shooting : POSE

64. Located : SITED

65. Fashionable way to arrive? : LATE

Down:

1. Hilo hello : ALOHA. Hilo is on the Big Island with those two volcanoes. Musical interlude. (3:51)

2. Jungle growth : VINES

3. Pizarro victims : INCAs. Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador.

4. Certain title : DEED

5. No longer in doubt : PROVEN

6. Helpers : AIDES

7. Kremlin feature : SPIRE

8. New Age musician John : TESH

9. Precede : ANTEDATE, A date before the date in question.

10. Biblical hymn : PSALM

11. Fish also called a sockeye : RED SALMON

12. Candle count, on many cakes : AGE

13. Isle of __ : MAN

21. Patron saint of Norway : OLAV

22. Wild West lawman : EARP

26. Give up amateur status : GO PRO

27. Lets up : EASES

28. Tenants' strike leverage : RENT

29. PC alternatives : MACs

31. Twangy : NASAL

32. Get around : EVADE

33. Places with valuable veins : GOLD MINES

34. Catch wind of : HEAR

35. Tolkien tree creature : ENT

36. Lone Star State sch. : UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.

38. Hazard lights, e.g. : FLASHERS

41. Type specification : FONT

42. Actor with nothing to say : MIME

45. Like some sweatshirts : HOODED. Hoodies, in modern parlance.

47. Helpful : OF USE

48. Fancy tie : ASCOT

49. Biblical possessive : THINE

50. Approximately, in dates : CIRCA

51. Onset : START

52. Debate subject : ISSUE

54. K-12 catchall : ELHI. The catchall we'all hate.

55. Sense : FEEL

56. It may be topographical : MAP

57. "The Name of the Rose" author Umberto : ECO. Finally has become a gimme but only through doing crosswords.

Answer grid.

Note from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the birthday of Dick (flanked by JD & Carol). With Dennis and Dr. Dad, Dick formed the formidable 3-D in the earlier days of this blog.

Argyle

Monday, January 3, 2011 Victor Barocas

Theme: Go Fetch - The dogs mentioned, by their color in the theme, love to fetch. I considered the connected answers as one for the purpose of the theme due to their mirrored placement.

17A. With 25-Across, WWI U.S. Army command nickname: "BLACK JACK" 25A. PERSHING

32A. Custard-filled pastry: CHOCOLATE ECLAIR

41A. Flip side of "Eleanor Rigby": YELLOW SUBMARINE

50A. With 64-Across, breed whose common colors begin 17-, 32- and 41-Across: LABRADOR 64A. RETRIEVER

Argyle here. A nice puzzle that a few times I had to stop over-thinking the clue and just put in the obvious, such as 15A.

I bet we will hear some dog stories today. Some like to collect the whole set.

I discovered this old clip you might find interesting. Very early use of a live figure in an animation. Clip.(3:14)

Across:

1. Nick and Nora Charles's dog : ASTA. Skippy (aka Asta) was a Wire-Haired Fox Terrier.

5. When repeated, island near Tahiti : BORA. Map.

9. Game with checks : CHESS

14. Disapproving fans' chorus : BOOs

15. Tied, as a game : EVEN

16. Line with many stops : LOCAL. Commuter trains.

19. Greek market : AGORA. That's Greek for market.

20. Overnight flight : REDEYE

21. Sad interjection : "ALAS!"

23. PC linking system : LAN. Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, etc.

24. Haul to the shop : TOW. This guy will do it. Image.

27. Judge : ARBITER

31. Argentina aunt : TIA. Argentina's official language is Spanish.

38. Chop : HEW

39. Gift of the garrulous : GAB

40. Sch. WNW of Topeka : KSU. Kansas State University, but if you google KSU, you will find a lot of schools with those initials!

48. Three, in Asti : TRE. In Italia.

49. Most Chaplin films : SILENTS. Before the 'talkies'.

55. Chill in the air : NIP

56. Stat for Koufax : ERA. Baseball. Stat is short for statistic and ERA is short for Earned Run Average, an important stat for a pitcher.

57. Opposite of "yup" : "NOPE"

58. Rectangular : OBLONG. Well, I thought it was just for circles; a learning experience.

62. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG. Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was a Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. GULAG was the Soviet system of forced labor camps. GULAG is an acronym and we will leave it at that.

66. Extremely overweight : OBESE

67. First African-American selected for a U.S. Davis Cup team : ASHE

68. Trillion: Pref. : TERA

69. Indian wraps : SARIs

70. Attention to "pay" : HEED

71. Brings to a close : ENDS

Down:

1. This ans. is one : ABBR. Both are abbreviations.

2. Foot bottom : SOLE

3. Tadpole, grown up : TOAD

4. One leading a spartan lifestyle : ASCETIC

5. Decorate with gems : BEJEWEL

6. Eggs, biologically : OVA

7. Summary : RECAP

8. A bobby sock is often folded down to it : ANKLE

9. Like the most elegant old autos : CLASSIC

10. Monopolize : HOG

11. Dangerous bacteria : E. COLI. Some strains are very dangerous.

12. Plastic wrap brand : SARAN

13. Street language, often : SLANG

18. Environmental protocol city : KYOTO. In Japan. The Kyoto Protocol was formed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming.

22. Commedia dell'__ : ARTE. The closest translation being "comedy of art", (shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improviso, or "comedy through the art of improvisation") and is a form of theatre that began in Italy in the year 1560, characterized by masked "types", the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.

26. "2001" computer : HAL. From the sci-fi movie, "2001".

27. In need of a massage : ACHY

28. Syngman of Korea : RHEE. First president of South Korea.

29. Knock down some pins : BOWL

30. Joplin works : RAGS. Clip(2:46). Scott Joplin was dubbed the "King of Ragtime".

33. Sigma follower : TAU. 18 and 19 in the Greek alphabet.

34. Recedes to the sea : EBBS

35. Related : AKIN

36. "Winning __ everything" : ISN'T

37. Regrets : RUEs

42. P.O. box item : LTR.

43. Florida crops : ORANGEs

44. Shared wedding vow response : "WE DO". Curious; has anyone seen a ceremony where the couple did this?

45. Studied secondarily, with "in" : MINORED

46. Perp-to-cop story : ALIBI

47. Abundantly filled (with) : REPLETE

50. Kids' blocks : LEGOs

51. Curaçao neighbor : ARUBA. Off the north coast of South America.

52. Hay bundler : BALER. Mostly big round bales(700–900 lb) these days. Image.

53. Daytime TV mogul : OPRAH. She has started her own network now.

54. Pee Wee of the Dodgers : REESE, For the most part, the Brooklyn Dodgers.

59. Pizzeria fixture : OVEN

60. Teen comedy stereotype : NERD

61. Pâté de foie __ : GRAS. Formerly known as "Strasbourg pie" in English due to that city being a major producer.

63. "Just __ thought!" : AS I

65. Common article : THE

Answer grid.

Argyle