Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Conjunction Malfunction - Three examples of what would be left if some common phrases were to lose their conjunction and lastly, the unifying conjunction.

17A. *Worm change?: BAIT(and)SWITCH

37A. *Relocation company's cocktail mixers?: MOVERS(and)SHAKERS

60A. *Court mistake?: TRIAL(and)ERROR

68A. Word usually found in the answers to starred clues: AND

Argyle here. A simple yet clever Tuesday; how hard is that? A pleasing grid layout and the most six letter words(16) I've seen in a weekday puzzle.

Across:

1. Utah Jazz's gp. : NBA. Basketball.

4. Slopeside structure : CHALET. Along the ski slopes.

10. Sodas : POPs. A friend's father always uses both; soda pop.

14. DDE opponent : AES. Presidential elections of 1952 and 1956. Ike won both times.

15. Dugouts, e.g. : CANOES

16. Frizzy do : AFRO

19. Sci-fi saucers : UFOs

20. Shimmery sushi fish : OPAH. Known also as Moon Fish or Sun Fish. Does it depend on when you catch them?

21. Lush : SOT

22. Speck in the sea : ISLET. And 48D. Strand on a 22-Across : MAROON

24. Lender's product : BAGEL. Pioneer of the frozen bagel industry. A North American leader in the marketing, distribution and sales, and the brand evolved into one of the top five fresh and frozen bagel producers in North America.

26. Hardly a tough decision : NO-BRAINER

29. Decelerate : SLOW UP

31. Dough dispenser, briefly : ATM. Do-re-mi, moolah, bread, cabbage, chicken feed, dinero, green stuff; it's all legal tender

32. Craps cube : DIE. An alliteration with a poor visualization; craps is a dice game.

33. Words before "Here's to," perhaps : "A TOAST!". At sunset, for some people.

36. Remain unsettled : PEND. It is a stand alone verb.

41. Without accomplices : LONE

42. Didn't run the ball : PASSED

43. Nice vacation time? : ÉTÉ. Summer on the heart of the French Riviera.

44. Old word of annoyance : FIE. As in, "Fie! I can't make it to Nice again this year."

46. Twitches : SPASMS

50. Kentucky's state flower : GOLDENROD. Perhaps a comment, windhover?

54. Sacro- ending : ILIAC

55. "How Do I Live" singer LeAnn : RIMES. Our first song(3:56) of the day.

56. One of a salty seven : SEA

58. Architect Saarinen : EERO

59. Start of a coconut cocktail name : PINA

63. Former Israeli president Weizman : EZER. He is a little tough for a Tuesday.

64. Shoelace holder : EYELET

65. Canapé topper, perhaps : ROE. Would you care for one?

66. Corporate freebie : PERK

67. Breaks down in English class? : PARSES. Parse comes from when school was taught in Latin. Quae pars orationis? "What part of speech?"

Down:

1. Pooh-bahs : NABOBs. Although not in the original meaning, they have a negative connotation now.

2. "C'mon sport, help me out" : "BE A PAL"

3. Cheese from Italy's Veneto region : ASIAGO

4. IV amounts : CCs. IV / IntraVenous and CC / cubic centimeter.

5. Hesitating sounds : HAWs. Usually partnered with HEM.

6. Negatively charged atom : ANION

7. Game with scratching : LOTTO. Upstate just had a Powerball winner that was purchased in a laundromat!

8. Treaty of Rome org. : EEC. European Economic Community, the forerunner to the European Union.

9. Top at the beach : T-SHIRT

10. St. __ Girl beer : PAULI. Image. It looks like she is wearing glasses. (On her face, guys.)

11. Lawbreaker : OFFENDER

12. Dietary needs found in beef : PROTEINS

13. Titanic signal : SOS

18. Coordinated fan effort at a stadium : THE WAVE

23. One of the Warner Brothers : SAM. Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack. Any besides Jack is a tad hard for a Tuesday. There are many easier SAMs out there.

25. Bard's instrument : LUTE. Classic image.

27. Bubbly soothers : BATHS. Or maybe Craklin' Rosie?

28. Wine choice : RED

30. __ favor: señor's "please" : POR

34. According to : AS PER

35. Retirement org. : SSA. Social Security Administration.

36. One on a bike : PEDALER

37. Add an engine to : MOTORIZE. Then you wouldn't have to pedal.

38. Quick joke : ONE-LINER. See above.

39. Biblical mount : ASS. Not mountain.

40. Foreign Legion cap : KEPI

41. Hose filler? : LEG

44. Giant's first word : FEE. Jack and the Beanstalk.

45. Arched foot part : INSTEP

47. __ Nevada mountain range : SIERRA

49. Made a basket, say : SCORED. Basketball again.

51. Old German money, for short : D-MARK. Deutschmark.

52. Wickerwork willow : OSIER. For making baskets but not for basketball.

53. Antes precede them : DEALS. Poker, you have to pay to play.

57. On the sheltered side : ALEE

59. Vim : PEP

61. Shaggy Scandinavian rug : RYA. Wednesday word.

62. Sci-fi invaders, for short : ETs

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here is a beautiful photo of HeartRx and her husband taken on their last evening as "singles", going out to a New Years eve gala. They were married the following day on January 1, 2009.

Monday, January 24, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: Love Ole Lampkin - Four phrases based on what is probably the first internet shorthand we learned, boxing the unifier in the middle.

20A. Comfortable situation to live in, with "the": LAP OF LUXURY

41A. Cyberchuckle, and a hint to this puzzle's four longest answers: LOL

56A. Low-paying but rewarding project: LABOR OF LOVE

11D. Minnesota-based dairy cooperative: LAND O'LAKES

29D. "Like that's going to work!": "LOTS OF LUCK!"

Argyle here. Laugh Out Loud, if you like but I want a show of hands for people who first thought LOL stood for Lots Of Love. I'll start by raising my hand.

Across:

1. Where many knots are tied : ALTAR. [insert smart remark here]

6. Tabula __: blank slate : RASA. Comes from the Roman tabula or wax tablet, used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothing it to give a tabula rasa. Rasa meant scraped, leading to erase.

10. Elmer's product : GLUE. This Elmer and not this Elmer.

14. Ballerina's rail : BARRE. Image.

15. In __: stuck : A JAM

16. Bear with too-hot porridge : PAPA

17. Twisty-horned antelope : ELAND

18. Powerful wind : GALE. The National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (63–87 km/h, or 39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds.

19. Tiny army marchers : ANTS

23. Anonymous Jane : DOE

24. Research facility : LAB

25. Songwriter Neil : DIAMOND. And singer. Cracklin' Rosie(3:01). The story behind the song, per Wikipedia, is worth a quick read.

27. A deuce used as an ace, say : WILD CARD

32. Store, as a hose : COIL

33. "Much __ About Nothing" : ADO. Shakespearean comedy.

34. Beethoven's Third : EROICA. A symphony completed in August 1804, and first performed April 7, 1805.

36. Li'l Abner's creator Al : CAPP

39. Went to the polls : VOTED

42. Cake maker : BAKER

43. "Born Free" lioness : ELSA. She was an orphaned lion cub raised to adulthood, and released into the wilds of Kenya. Subject of book, movie, and song.

44. "Romeo and Juliet" city : VERONA. And now this Italian town is a tourist mecca for romantics.

46. Before, to Shakespeare : ERE. Our third Shakespeare reference.

47. "Free Willy" critter : ORCA. Misnamed the killer whale, it belongs to the oceanic dolphin family.

49. Turns on, as an engine : STARTS UP

51. What mirrors do : REFLECT

54. Golfer's support : TEE

55. Dot-com's address : URL

62. Very dry, as Champagne : BRUT

64. Musical quality : TONE

65. __ but wiser : OLDER

66. Nuts : LOCO. And 70A. Nut, e.g. : SEED

67. Ending for exist : ENCE

68. Leaves out : OMITS

69. Actress Sommer : ELKE

71. Past or present : TENSE

Down:

1. Adam's second son : ABEL

2. Refrain syllables : LA LA. Reminds me of this Jan and Dean song(2:35).

3. Mouse catcher : TRAP

4. Golfer Palmer : ARNOLD

5. Showing shame : RED-FACED

6. Brand over spaghetti : RAGU

7. Brand under the sink : AJAX. That clue just sorta lays there.

8. Spanish toast : "¡SALUD!"

9. Part of USA : AMERICA

10. 4.0, for one: Abbr. : GPA. Grade Point Average.

12. Pulitzer author Sinclair : UPTON

13. Relaxed : EASED

21. Angle iron : L-BAR. Add a letter, L-BEAM. Add another letter, L-BRACE.

22. NBA's __ Ming : YAO. Basketball Player Yao Ming, 7' 6"

26. Glittery mineral : MICA. Remember the isinglass discussion?

27. Breaker at the shore : WAVE

28. People magazine focus : IDOL

30. Romeo or Juliet, e.g. : ROLE. Shakespeare even down here.

31. Christian's dresses? : DIORS. Christian Dior launched his haute couture empire in 1946.

35. Coagulate, as blood : CLOT

37. Lima's country : PERU

38. Get ready, briefly : PREP

40. British peer : EARL

42. Like a stroller at the shore, shoewise : BAREFOOT. Or in the park.

44. Moves out : VACATES

45. Peacekeeping gp. since 1949 : NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

48. Animation collectible : CEL. From before they became digital cartoons.

50. "Out with it!" : "TELL ME!"

51. Moscow money : RUBLE

52. Filmdom's Flynn : ERROL

53. Steakhouse steak : T-BONE

57. Grimm beginning : ONCE. upon a time.

58. Oboe or bassoon : REED

59. Chief Norse god : ODIN

60. Docs for doggies and dogies : VETS

61. Gaelic language : ERSE

63. Stubbed digit : TOE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

A belated "Happy Birthday" to our talented constructor John Lampkin, who turned 65 on January 22 Saturday.