Thursday January 6, 2011 Gary J. Whitehead

Theme: You've got a lot of nerve! Revealed in 60A. Part of an axon (and what 17-, 28- and 46-Across each has?): NERVE ENDING. The last words of the three theme answers are all synonyms for Chutzpah.

17A. Marinara, for one: TOMATO SAUCE. Salty or heavily seasoned, saucy. Related: sass.

28A. Pentagon bigwigs: MILITARY BRASS.

46A. Not serious: TONGUE IN CHEEK. If you have cheek, you probably mouth off a bit.

Hi all, Al here.

Good puzzle for a Thursday. Some answers I didn't know, like LODZ, or NERI, but everything eventually fell with the perps for me today, no lookups. I think my favorite word was INEXORABLE; I want to be more like that. Other than a few, I thought all the answers were pretty easy. Some of the clues, though, were not...

ACROSS:

1. Techie talk, e.g.: JARGON. Argot is specifically the jargon of rogues and thieves. Jargon comes from Old French, literally a chattering of birds, unintelligible.

7. They have guards on both sides of them: Abbr.: CTRS. Centers and guards, football players.

11. Roman sun god: SOL.

14. Nine follower?: ONE ONE. 911. The emergency number, spelled out.

15. Menageries: ZOOS. From French ménagerie "housing for domestic animals". Zoo from Greek zoion "animal".

16. Worldwide workers' gp.: ILO. International Labour Organization. A UN agency.

19. Marked, in a way: XED.

20. Winter coat: SNOW. Or blanket. Nice misdirection.

21. Pusher pursuer: NARC.

22. The gamut: A TO Z. Originally the lowest note in the medieval musical scale "gamma ut", it came to mean the whole scale and from there expanded to mean the entire range of anything.

23. __ II, king who founded Borg (now Sarpsborg): OLAF.

25. Moor: HEATH. Swamp.

32. Swindle: CON.

33. Philip __: 16th-century Italian saint: NERI. If you say so...

34. Only just: BARELY.

36. Cheri who played Gail Hailstorm in "Scary Movie": OTERI. SNL alumna, list of characters including Ross Perot...

38. First person in Berlin?: ICH. Es gibt kein Ich im Team. Unless you look closely.

40. Yearned: PINED. Pine from Old English pineon "pain, torture, punishment".

41. Reliant Stadium NFL team: TEXANS. Houston. Unlike the Metrodome, this stadium roof won't collapse under the weight of snow. :-)

43. Latin quarters?: CASA. Spanish is a romance language derived from Latin. The clue may also mean Latin America.

45. French possessive: SES. His or her (things), plural form. Singular would be "son".

49. Artful dodges: RUSES. A clue reference to the artful dodger, who was a pickpocket in the Dickens novel Oliver Twist.

50. Mention with an ulterior motive: DROP.

51. Finish shooting: WRAP. The meaning of ending a filming session only is traced back to 1974...

53. Eldest Younger gang member: COLE. A play on the name Younger. Associated with Jesse James, and the James-Younger gang.

55. Louisville's river: OHIO.

59. Air base?: HUB. Like FedEx, I guess, a central location.

63. Feverish, say: ILL.

64. Natural balm: ALOE.

65. Browbeat: COERCE. Browbeat: to bear down with fierce or arrogant looks.

66. One of a jazz duo?: ZEE. Two letter "Z"s in the word jaZZ

67. It's often seen under a cap: GOWN. Graduation.

68. Swindle: HUSTLE.

DOWN:

1. Scribbles: JOTS.

2. Soon, poetically: ANON.

3. San __: REMO. On the Italian Rivera.

4. Commit a service infraction: GO AWOL. Absent without leave. Attempted misdirection towards a sport that has a central net, like a tennis fault.

5. Toronto's prov.: ONT.ario

6. Nursery arrival: NEONATE. Anyone else put NEWBORN at first?

7. Winter Palace figure: CZAR. The CZ spelling instead of TS for once. It was almost a welcome change.

8. Sensitive: TOUCHY.

9. "One Thousand and One Nights" bird: ROC. Associated with the story of Sinbad the Sailor.

10. GPS heading: SSE. Directional clues have apparently been updated for the digital age.

11. Intuition: SIXTH SENSE.

12. Spread on the table: OLEO.

13. One of Poland's three most populous cities: LODZ.

18. Exotic honeymoon, perhaps: SAFARI. This idea would never have crossed my mind. Heat, bugs, dust, rain, sleeping on cots in tents? Not so romantic to me. I could have the wrong impression, I suppose. Do they have safaris available using air conditioned travel trailers now?

22. Asteroids maker: ATARI. Early arcade video game.

24. Winter coat features: LININGS. Clecho with 20A.

26. Withdraw: EBB.

27. Wyoming tribe: ARAPAHO.

28. Choral piece: MOTET.

29. Unyielding: INEXORABLE. Like the martians in Jeff Wayne's musical War of the Worlds.

30. "Monster" (2003) co-star: RICCI. Christina.

31. Streamlined: SLEEK.

32. No-frills bed: COT.

35. NFL gains: YDS.

37. What the mouse did clockwise?: RAN UP. Hicory Dickory Dock.

39. Radio moniker: HANDLE. CB radio name.

42. Take to court: SUE.

44. Collision preceder: SCREECH. And here I was, trying to think of a prefix. I wonder if this was from the tires or from the passengers?

47. Money set aside: ESCROW. From Old French escroue "scrap, roll of parchment", originally a deed held by a third person until a debt was paid.

48. Lyric poems: EPODES. The third part of an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement.

51. Crackerjack: WHIZ.

52. Run the show: RULE.

54. Bakery appliance: OVEN.

56. "Cotton Candy" trumpeter: HIRT. A top 10 hit in 1964.

57. Not left out: Abbr.: INCL.uded

58. Curved molding: OGEE.

60. Henpeck: NAG.

61. "Strange Magic" band: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

62. __-turn: NO U.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday January 5, 2011 Donna S. Levin

Theme: A Horse is a horse, of course, Of course - An anniversary tribute puzzle.

17A. 63-Across, for one : PALOMINO. Everyone knows Palominos cannot talk.

18A. Start of a quote : TIME TO

27A. More of the quote : HIT THE HAY

46A. More of the quote : OH, I FORGOT

61A. End of the quote : I ATE IT

63A. Speaker of the quote, whose show premiered in syndication 1/5/1961 : Unless of course the name of the horse is the famous MISTER ED. But why would he only talk to Wilbur?

Welcome all. Boomer here.

The sixties had talking cars, talking bears, and a Huckleberry Hound that sang "Clementine", and a famous old nag whose show debuted fifty years ago today.

Across:

1. "Truth in Engineering" automaker : AUDI - If they say so.

5. Low-risk fin. investments : CDS - As far as I know Certificates of Deposit have no risk, and very little return these days.

8. "Casablanca" star : BOGART - A little before my time - his nickname is one over par.

14. Kirk's Enterprise, for one : STARSHIP - There are still many Trekkies out there. Star Trek left a large footprint on the TV World. Larger than the hoof print left by our subject of today.

16. 2009 sci-fi movie that is the highest-grossing film in history : AVATAR - intensely different.

19. Biblical queen's land : SHEBA - Must be in Australia.

20. Enthuse : GUSH

22. Red root veggie : BEET - Best when pickled.

23. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH - Oshkosh is located in East Central Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Winnebago. Famous for manufacturing the best farm overalls ever made.

25. Swipe : STEAL - Odd how swipe can also mean running a credit card at a gas pump, and oil companies can "swipe" a few bucks from your pocket on every fill-up.

31. More than salty : LEWD

34. Game with Skip cards : UNO - A famous card game I have never played.

35. Actor Gibson : MEL - I liked him best in "Maverick". James Garner starred first in a TV show in the sixties that included a few horses from time to time. None were named Ed.

36. Workman's wheeled cart : BARROW - sounds funny without Wheel in front.

38. Make damp : MOISTEN

41. "William Tell" composer : ROSSINI - Theme song of the "Lone Ranger", starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Their horses were Silver and Scout. No Eds there either.

42. Load up with, as work : PILE ON

43. Coppertone letters : SPF - I'm not sure what the letters stand for, but the higher the number, the more it costs, and the less burn you receive.

44. Org. with Ducks and Penguins : NHL - Hockey teams of course, but wait commissioner, could they also be Batman enemies?

45. Bit of foliage : LEAF

49. Sip slowly : NURSE - I've nursed a Manhattan now and then, but maybe a better clue would be medical professional.

51. Vein find : ORE - Could also be state south of Wash.

52. Trade : SWAP - Favorite pastime among Baseball card collectors, and MLB team owners.

55. Luminous glow : AURA

57. Dispatch boat : AVISO

65. Bucking beasts : BRONCS - Rodeo favorites. I don't think any are named Ed though.

66. Intimate confidante : ALTER EGO

67. Three sheets to the wind : STINKO

68. Super-secret intelligence gp. : NSA

69. Villagers' tormentor in "Fiddler on the Roof" : TSAR - Now I'll be humming "If I were a Rich Man" for the rest of the day.

Down:

1. Nile slitherers : ASPS - These snakes sure show up in a lot of puzzles. I think they eat Oreos by Lake Erie.

2. Six-sided state : UTAH - Actually, Utah has only four sides, North, East, West, and South. But Wyoming took a little bite out of it.

3. Chip's buddy : DALE - Famous Chipmunks of years past.

4. Asimov classic : I, ROBOT - This sounds like a future Apple product.

5. Scoreboard letters for "Da Bears" : CHI - NFC Central Champs this year. But I always think of Mr. Buttermaker's baseball waifs.

6. Parking lot mishap : DING - I had DENT at first. Had to open the Liquid Paper bottle.

7. __ support: alimony : SPOUSAL

8. Enjoy a soak : BATHE

9. Prefix with duct : OVI

10. Risk takers : GAMBLERS - Not the same people who buy the CDs.

11. Fits to __ : A TEE - I've heard this for years, but I still don't get it. Must be some tailor thing.

12. Distance ÷ time : RATE

13. Harness race pace : TROT - I've been there. I think the horse needs to have a left and right foot on the ground at all times or be disqualified. They go at a very fast trot. None of the trotters are named Ed.

15. Shatter : SMASH

21. Place to wallow : STY - Actually, I thought you needed mud to wallow.

24. Macho guys : HE MEN - Are Macho women then called SHE MEN?

26. "Sorry to say ..." : ALAS

27. A dromedary has one : HUMP - The Metrodome in Minneapolis also had a hump until last month. Now it's a big bowl.

28. Packed like sardines : IN OIL - Okay, but not much tuna, sardines, or anchovies are packed in oil anymore.

29. Patterned fabric : TOILE

30. Cooped-up layer : HEN - Producers of the incredibly edible egg.

32. Clasp tightly in distress, as one's hands : WRING - Hands, yes. No one wrings out laundry anymore.

33. Hawaiian crooner : DON HO - Okay, forget "If I were a Rich Man"; now I am humming "Tiny Bubbles" for the rest of the day.

36. Hugely successful, in Variety : BOFFO - Couldn't be that hugely successful. I've never heard of it. But I admit I don't read Variety.

37. Droop : WILT - Also the name of Mr. Chamberlin, who once scored 100 points in an NBA game.

39. 2008 Harvey Milk portrayer : SEAN PENN - I still liked him best as Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" way back in 1982.

40. Bean curd : TOFU

41. NY campus that's home to the Engineers : RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

43. Civil War general who captured Atlanta : SHERMAN - And left a large path of destruction.

46. Buckeyes' sch. : OSU - Ohio State, a respected power in the Big Ten.

47. Emulate Cicero : ORATE - Can also be obtained by Odistance ÷ Otime.

48. Go back : REVERT - Another Oops. I had RETURN. Had to use the Liquid Paper again.

50. Dustin's "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO. Still liked Sean Penn as Spicoli better.

52. A boy and his sis : SIBS

53. Witch blemish : WART - For some reason, they always seem to be on the nose.

54. Yours, in Tours : A TOI - I'm still trying to learn English.

56. Troubles : AILS

58. Infuriates : IRES

59. Super Monkey Ball publisher : SEGA - I have not left the PacMan and Final Fantasy era. Super Monkey Ball sounds like something Brunswick or Storm could manufacture for bowlers.

60. Olfactory stimulus : ODOR - This is near the end of the puzzle. maybe they could have just clued Bad Smell.

62. "Ugh" relative : ICK - Maybe I'm getting to Picky, but the clue is a bit Icky.

64. RR depot : STA

Answer grid.

Boomer