Wednesday January 12, 2011 Ken Bessette

Theme: CIRCLE THE WAGONS. The circled letters at the beginning and end of each theme answer spell out a four letter word for a type of wagon.

17A. When some suits don't wear suits : DRESS DOWN FRIDAY. Companies often permit casual attire on Fridays. DRAY = a strong cart or wagon without sides. Like this.

23A. The Pawtucket Red Sox, e.g. : TRIPLE-A FARM TEAM. From Wikipedia: Triple-A (or Class AAA) refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball in the USA. Teams at this level are divided into three leagues: the International League, the Pacific Coast League, and the MLB-independent Mexican League. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams has an affiliation with one Triple-A team in the United States. However, Mexican Triple-A teams are not included in the organized farm team system. TRAM = a four-wheeled wagon that runs on tracks in a mine.

52A. Sandals in Jamaica, e.g. : CARIBBEAN RESORT. CART = a two-wheeled wagon, normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals.

60A. Assume a defensive position (and what we did to highlight this puzzle's theme) : CIRCLE THE WAGONS. On long trips, wagon trains would form a circle with their wagons for protection from enemy attack.

Melissa here.

So many different words for wagon, who knew? I can can think of five-letter paddy and buggy, but there's also conestoga, carriage, and coach. And of course there's the classic 'woody.' Station wagon!

Across

1. The Renault 5, in North America : LE CAR

6. One-named New Ager : ENYA

10. Lake plant : ALGA. Singular. Always makes me think of my favorite book as a kid.

14. Street of San José : CALLE. Spanish word for street.

15. Ending with play or party : GOER. Does she go?

16. Rosemary, for one : HERB.

20. Sound from Simba : ROAR. Hakuna Matata wouldn't fit.

21. Frat "T" : TAU

22. Fords with racing stripes : GT'S

28. Nuclear org. created under HST : AEC. Atomic Energy Commission.

29. __ Grey tea : EARL. Flavored with bergamot.

30. Deep Throat's org. : FBI. Mark Felt revealed his identity in June 2005. I still have the Vanity Fair magazine issue. (He died in December 2008.)

31. Bamboozle : SCAM

33. Christian surname? : DIOR. Christian Dior.

35. How oaths are taken : ALOUD

39. __ de espera: waiting room : SALA. Needed perps, muy poquito Spanish for me.

40. She played Buffy : SARAH. Buffy the Vampire Slayer played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Never watched it.

42. River to the North Sea : TYNE. In North East England.

43. Derby town : EPSOM

45. Trig ratio : SINE

46. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer : SEGA. Video game.

47. Shad delicacy : ROE

49. Schoolyard claim : DIBS. Thought it might be AM SO at first.

51. Frame for Roger Rabbit : CEL

57. Sinatra's Gardner : AVA

58. Mideast "son of" : IBN. The Arabic particle بن (English: son of) should be transliterated ibn. I had no idea, had to look that one up.

59. Cheese or its town : EDAM

66. Hard downpour : HAIL. Nice clue.

67. Music biz sensation, perhaps : TEEN

68. "If I Were a Rich Man" singer : TEVYE

69. Feminine suffix : ENNE. As in, comedienne.

70. Mex. miss : SRTA. Senorita.

71. Clear : ERASE. Fooled me, I was thinking adjective, not a verb.

Down

1. Elec. readout : LCD. Liquid crystal display.

2. Field unit : EAR. Corn.

3. Some temps : CLERICALS

4. Journalist Stewart or Joseph : ALSOP. Not familiar with either one.

5. Consignment shop transaction : RESALE

6. Swelled head : EGO

7. Word of urgency : NOW

8. Gossipmonger : YENTA

9. Kennel double talk? : ARF ARF

10. Tuna at a luau : AHI

11. Building shelf : LEDGE

12. Persona non __ : GRATA. Latin, literally meaning "an unwelcome person," indicating a proscription against a person entering the country.

13. Wide gulf : ABYSM

18. Bob Marley feature : DREADS

19. Cuban dance : RUMBA

23. Café cup : TASSE. French. Café = coffe, tasse = cup.

24. Roundup : RECAP

25. Met favorites : ARIAS

26. Where to see a lot of keys : FLORIDA. A few days ago it was valet.

27. Knight games : TILTS. Tilting is jousting.

32. Haka dancers of New Zealand : MAORI. Holy hotwick haka dance, that's a lot of testosterone.

34. Made a quick stop : RAN IN

36. Santana hit also covered by Tito Puente : OYE COMO VA. Original version written by Cachao.

37. Madison's foil : UNGER. Oscar Madison and Felix Unger of The Odd Couple. Funniest. Scene. Ever.

38. Passed out in Vegas? : DEALT

41. Sharon's language : HEBREW

44. Company that uses Pegasus as a symbol : MOBIL

48. Brooklyn's __ Field : EBBETS

50. Get under control, in a way : SEDATE

52. Buried supply : CACHE. Wagon train parties would sometimes cache supplies to lighten their load and ford rivers and streams.

53. Like most cardinals : AVIAN. Most? Okay, not these.

54. __ to go : RARIN'

55. Pencil maze word : ENTER

56. More wise : SAGER

61. Cavs, on scoreboards : CLE. Cleveland Cavaliers. I hear they might have a new announcer.

62. Worked (up) : HET

63. Bambi's aunt : ENA

64. Where Rockefeller was gov. : NYS

65. Match, as a raise : SEE

Answer grid.

Melissa

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Knight Moves - There are three consecutive L's in each long them answer and one more L in the adjacent entry. The four L's form a letter-formation of a L-bar, which is then graphically represented by black squares in the same direction. Please read constructor Don G's notes at the bottom.

18A. Passé keyboard key: SCROLL LOCK. What is scroll lock and why is it passé?

9D. Cowardly : YELLOW. These four L's form one set of L-bar.

62A. "I'm afraid this will sound funny": "YOU'LL LAUGH".

47D. Have as a customer : SELL TO. Another set.

3D. Video game difficulty setting: SKILL LEVEL

27A. Was beaten by : FELL TO. Shouldn't be used to describe a squeaker like the Auburn/Oregon game last night! The third set.

31D. Names on it are off-limits to telemarketers: NO CALL LIST

48A. Like some quaint lamps : OIL-LIT. One of the earliest types. Image. Final set.

Unifier:

39A. Angle irons graphically represented by four sets of black squares in this grid, and by letter formations starting in the four longest answers: L-BARs (I have highlighted the 'L' in the appropriate cross word.)

And more:

64D. Ernie of the PGA, to whom this puzzle could be dedicated: ELS

Argyle here.

A puzzle for the books, with the strong visual and layers of meanings.

Across:

1. 17-Across in the neck : PEST. 17. See 1-Across : PAIN.

5. Adventurous : RISKY

10. Domesticated : TAME

14. Chase on stage : ILKA

15. Cat-__-tails : O'NINE

16. Wicked : EVIL

20. Bigger photo: Abbr. : ENL.

21. Extremely, in Essex : BEASTLY. Alliteration, I say, old chap.

22. Horror maven Craven : WES

23. Follower of Mary : LAMB. From the nursery rhyme.

25. Sphere : ORB

29. Midday energizer : POWER NAP

34. K-6 : ELEM.

35. Stroll : WALK

37. Vowel before omicron : IOTA. Omicron is just the Greek O.

38. Bounty rival : VIVA

41. Picket line crosser : SCAB

42. Garden site : EDEN

43. Actor Neeson : LIAM. In many movies.

44. Finishes the road : TARs

45. Got sick again : RELAPSED

50. Fair grade : CEE

51. German GM subsidiary : OPEL. Since 1929.

52. Workshop sprite : ELF. I hope their new-found fame won't go to their heads. That's all I need. Ho, ho, ho.

55A. Crete-born "View of Toledo" painter : EL GRECO. His view.

59. Texas ranch initials : LBJ. President Lyndon Baines Johnson's ranch and now the LBJ National Historical Park.

64. Dublin's land : EIRE

65. Red Muppet : ELMO

66. Trace : TINGE

67. Future atty.'s hurdle : LSAT. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

68. Boatload : SLEW. Do we need to say more today?

69. Preminger et al. : OTTOs. He was a famous film director.

70. Eyelid problem : STYE

Down:

1. Lounging jacket wearer's smoke, maybe : PIPE

2. Verve : ELAN

4. Bronze relative : TAN. I was a bit medal mental and had TIN at first.

5. Pasadena arena : ROSE BOWL

6. Andean ancient : INCA. Ancient can mean a person who lived in ancient times.

7. Letter addressees : SIRS

8. Masseuse's challenge : KNOT

10. Business card abbr. : TEL.

11. Speak bluntly : AVOW

12. Cats' quarry : MICE. Plural cat, plural mouse.

13. Benevolent lodgeful : ELKS. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order and social club.

19. Ancient strings : LYRE

21. NYC subway line named for two boroughs : BMT. Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit.

24. Farmers' publication? : ALMANAC

26. Brush component : BRISTLE

27. Hyped-up feeling : FEVER

28. Say "bo's'n," say : ELIDE

29. Scottish pattern : PLAID

30. Gumbo pod : OKRA

32. Big name in video games : ATARI

33. Big name in beer : PABST

36. Up to the task : ABLE

40. Wet ones, so to speak : SMOOCHES

46. Banana discard : PEEL

49. Stock mkt. debut : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

52. Makeup accentuates them : EYES. Painted eyes.

53. Recline lazily : LOLL

54. Do a slow burn : FUME

56. Trot or canter : GAIT

57. Litter's littlest : RUNT

58. Kellogg's toaster brand : EGGO. The Lego Eggo.

60. Donkey's protest : BRAY

61. Ballet leap : JETÉ

63. Sad : LOW

Answer grid.

Constructor's notes:

This puzzle is an example of how a simple idea kept getting more complex. I noticed a phrase where three L’s ran together and thought that was fun. Then I realized that if it ran vertically and another L was added to the side, the four L grouping could look like an L. So I started tinkering with all vertical phrases. It did not work out very well. I don’t know how I made the logical leap, but it seemed that I could have patterns of shaded squares that also look like L’s. When I started arranging them, I saw that they could be displayed symmetrically in a wheel-like configuration. I decided at that point that the L’s in the phrases should mimic the configuration of L’s. So you will notice that the four L pattern always has the same orientation with respect to the shaded square L pattern. I owe many thanks to Rich who came up with the final theme answer (SKILL LEVEL) to keep the pattern intact. As a final observation, I noticed there were appearing a number of EL patterns in the fill. I decided to play with that extra element to see how many I could get into the grid, and have a little bonus secondary theme answer at the southeast corner. I also owe more thanks to Rich who rejected a corner that had a lackluster fill. His suggested correction helped put an exquisite finishing touch on a most enjoyable puzzle constructing experience.

Argyle