Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011, Donna S. Levin

Theme: First Pet. Each answer ends with the name of a Presidential Pet.

17A. Game played on a six-pointed star : CHINESE CHECKERS. Richard Nixon's dog (a cocker spaniel) while vice president, died before Nixon became president - made famous by the 'checkers speech.'

25A. 1964 Beatles hit : AND I LOVE HER. Him and Her, the most well known of the President Johnson's dogs, were registered beagles. Her died at the White House in November 1964 after she swallowed a stone. 

37A. Trendy aerobics regimen : TAEBO. Barack and Michelle Obama promised their daughters, Malia and Sasha, that they would get a pet dog after they moved into the White House. Bo, a Portuguese water dog, was a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy.

44A. Diamond-patterned attire : ARGYLE SOCKS. President Clinton's cat Socks had the run of the White House, until Buddy the labrador retriever showed up in 1997. The two animals didn't get along, and had to be segregated.

57A. Companion at the end of 17-, 25-, 37- and 44-Across : PRESIDENTIAL PET

A fresh, fun theme, with very few pauses. Did not remember Him and Her, in the Johnson years, but knew all the others. Learned that presidential pets also included a pony (Caroline Kennedy's), birds, hamsters, rabbits, a raccoon, a squirrel, a cow, and a flock of sheep.

Across:

1. Classifies, in a way : PEGS. Did anyone else hear the theme song from Frasier?

5. Antony listener : ROMAN

10. Envelope abbr. : ATTN. Attention.

14. Beige-like shade : ECRU. 

15. Representation : IMAGE

16. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Can hold multiple decks of cards.

20. Keystone lawman : KOP.  Keystone Kops, featured in silent films about bumbling policemen. 

21. Smart club : MENSA

22. Cry to strike up the band : HIT IT. But it made me think of this.

23. Penne relative : ZITI. Pasta is a lot like women .. so many shapes to appreciate.

24. She played WKRP's Jennifer : LONI. Anderson.

30. Time Warner "Superstation" : TBS

33. Capacious : ROOMY

34. Peddle : VEND

35. The tan in a Black and Tan : ALE

36. One of five states in which same-sex marriage is legal : IOWA

39. Fort with many bars : KNOX. The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Weight of a standard gold bar: approximately 400 ounces or 27.5 pounds.

40. Apparel retailer Taylor : ANN

41. Legatee : HEIR

42. In abeyance : ON ICE

43. La + la, in Lille : LES. Lille, France. La is French article "the" suggesting singular feminine form "her." Les is plural "the". 

47. Volunteer st. : TENN. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State" for the large number of Tennesseans who volunteered for duty in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. 

49. "Let's leave __ that" : IT AT

50. Producer Ponti : CARLO

52. "My Name Is Asher Lev" author Chaim : POTOK. Apparently a well-known book by American author and Rabbi, but i had no idea. Maybe a gimme for Lemonade and Hahtool?

54. Restorative place : SPA. Seems i get this a lot.

60. Jai __ : ALAI

61. Pentium producer : INTEL

62. Brand with a pony in its logo : POLO

63. A few : SOME

64. Seacoast : SHORE. For those of you that enjoy the musical links, a classic. 

65. Stern's counterpart : STEM. From stem to stern.

Down:

1. Chaste kiss : PECK. Yawn.

2. Reverberate : ECHO

3. Stagehand : GRIP. Moves equipment and scenery.

4. Heliocentric universe center : SUN. The conclusion that the earth circles the sun, was reached and publicized by Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Halley. This is the "heliocentric theory." 

5. __ the occasion : RISE TO. See Dennis's last "did you know" yesterday for a perfect example.

6. 1991 movie sequel subtitled "The Awakening" : OMEN IV. Never saw any of them.

7. Apple products : MACS

8. Turkish honorific : AGHA

9. At birth : NEE

10. Be hospitable to : ASK IN

11. White Star Line's ill-fated steamer : THE TITANIC. April 14/15, 1912, 1,517 passengers perished after hitting an iceberg. The White Star Line's London offices, named Oceanic House, still exist today, and the White Star flag is raised on every 15 April, in memory of the Titanic disaster.

12. Actress Spelling : TORI

13. Place to brood : NEST. Cute.

18. Agent Prentiss on "Criminal Minds" : EMILY. Had to guess.

19. Bit of guitar music : CHORD

23. Coors malt beverage : ZIMA. 

24. His show has a "Jaywalking" segment : LENO. Hard to watch.

25. Serif-free font : ARIAL

26. Nary a soul : NO ONE

27. How things flow : DOWNSTREAM. I think we've all had some experience with this.

28. Each partner : EVERY. "Each and every."

29. Right-to-left lang. : HEB. Hebrew is written from right to left. Arabic, Persian, and Yiddish also.

31. "Old" chip producer? : BLOCK. "A chip off the old block."

32. Proverbial battlers : SEXES

37. Gull relative : TERN

38. 2008 govt. bailout recipient : AIG. Oy.

39. Granny, for one : KNOT. 

41. Red River capital : HANOI

42. Honshu metropolis : OSAKA

45. Roadside trash : LITTER. Despicable how common this is.

46. Twinkler in a Paris sky : ETOILE. French for star.

48. Borden's spokescow : ELSIE. I won't link the 'cows with guns' song. You're welcome.

50. Pros who work on schedules, for short : CPA'S. Certified public accountants.

51. He sang about Alice : ARLO. Guthrie.

52. Phnom __ : PENH. Largest, most populous, and capital city of Cambodia.

53. Suspicious of : ONTO

54. Catch a glimpse of : SPOT

55. Soccer great : PELE

56. Elemental unit : ATOM

58. Put down, slangily : DIS

59. 33 1/3 rpm spinners : LPS. 

Answer grid.

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great pictures from JD & Dick's recent trip. 

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Jack McInturff

Theme: And the First Shall Be Last - The first word of the first four theme entries can also be last when the unifier is in effect. Not the penultimate meaning of the unifier but, physically, following the word, LAST.

18A. Knock off: CALL IT A DAY. LAST CALL, the announcement made shortly before a bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages.

23A. Doomed fairy tale abode: STRAW HOUSE. The first of the three little pigs built his house of straw. The LAST STRAW comes from idiomatic Arabic story, where a camel was loaded with straw until a single straw placed on the rest of the load broke its back. Hence, any event that causes a sudden change.

40A. Stick to formalities: STAND ON CEREMONY. LAST STAND, when retreat or surrender is not an option.

51A. Fast-cook grain product: MINUTE RICE. LAST MINUTE, just prior to the end.

59A. Penultimate, and where you might see the first words of 18-, 23-, 40- and 51-Across: NEXT TO LAST

Argyle here. I think I better explain the theme again. The first word of the first four, when they are next to the word, LAST(and following it), create another idiom. Any better? Similar difficulty to yesterday.

Across:

1. Rope material : HEMP

5. Ready for the picking : RIPE

9. Staff symbol : C CLEF. Middle C. I listen to music; I don't pretend to understand it.

14. Old apple spray : ALAR. "Give me spots on my apples, But leave me the birds and the bees"

15. Like some vaccines : ORAL

16. "The Magic Flute," for one : OPERA. Composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Rock me, Amadeus.

17. Diamond team : NINE. A baseball team, pitchers and catchers are in spring training now. Ahh, Spring!

20. Screwups : GOOFS

22. Capitol worker : AIDE. They work for the 20A on the Hill.

26. Overcharge, in slang : SOAK

30. Max of "The Beverly Hillbillies" : BAER. Son of boxing champion Max Baer.

31. Point a finger at : ACCUSE

33. Satisfied sound : "AAH!"

36. Drink away, as sorrows : DROWN

39. Largest of the Philippines : LUZON. It is home to the capital city, Manila.

43. Reef material : CORAL

44. Milo of "Ulysses" : O'SHEA. Irish actor who was still busy up till a few years ago.

45. Place for buoys and gulls : SEA

46. Gibson of tennis : ALTHEA. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier.

48. Let us know, in an invite : RSVP. From the French RSVP, répondez s'il vous plaît, meaning “reply please” or "please respond".

50. __ bargaining : PLEA

57. Meat pkg. letters : USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.

58. It has banks and a mouth : RIVER and 49D. Place up the 58-Across? : PRISON. Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a NYS maximum security prison in the Town of Ossining, NY. It is located approximately 30 mi. north of New York City along the banks of the Hudson River. Prisoners are sent 'up the river'.

65. Ice cream drink : SODA

66. Writer __ Rogers St. Johns : ADELA. She is best remembered for her groundbreaking exploits as a "girl reporter" during the 1920s and 1930s. She told Jack Paar once, "I just want to live long enough to see how it all turns out." She died in Arroyo Grande, CA, in 1988, at the age of 94.

67. Cavern sound : ECHO

68. Metal sources : OREs

69. Veranda : PORCH

70. Gush : SPEW

71. Wall St. market : NYSE. New York Stock Exchange.

Down:

1. Associates (with), slangily : HANGS

2. "The Naming of Cats" poet : ELIOT. T.S. Eliot.

3. Lord's estate : MANOR

4. Ready-made home : PREFAB. Prefabricated, not likely you'll find a Lord living in one.

5. Legendary bird : ROC. Said to be able to fly off with an elephant.

6. Songwriter Gershwin : IRA. Collaborated with his younger brother, composer George.

7. 2005 "Survivor" island : PALAU. It is one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states.

8. __ Island, former immigration center : ELLIS. Could be considered an early "Survivor" island.

9. Coop : COTE. Bird cage, for several birds.

10. No.-crunching pro : CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

11. Guided : LED

12. Big Band __ : ERA

13. Wray of "King Kong" : FAY. This Canadian-American actress many consider her as the first "scream queen".

19. It may be half-baked : IDEA

21. Wrap, as an infant : SWADDLE

24. Saver of the day : HERO. Saver of the 'scream queen'?

25. Maine college town : ORONO. Named in honor of Chief Joseph Orono of the Penobscot Nation.

26. Pond problem : SCUM

27. Greek liqueurs : OUZOs. An anise-flavored aperitif.

28. What "two shall be" after the I do's, in song : AS ONE. Written by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary in the fall of 1969 and first performed at the wedding of Peter Yarrow.

29. Land of Obama's father : KENYA

32. Butcher's tool : CLEAVER

33. Musicians' org. : ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

34. Lagoon border : ATOLL

35. Poker Flat creator : HARTE. Francis Bret Harte (1836–1902) was a author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California but he was born in Albany, NY.

37. Loos, briefly : WCs. Bathrooms.

38. Big name in Indian politics : NEHRU

41. Okinawa's capital : NAHA. Sounds like it should be 47D.

42. Musical silence : REST

47. Playground retort : "AM SO!"

52. Sits at a light, say : IDLEs

53. Anti-racism gp. since 1909 : NAACP. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

54. Classic Procter & Gamble soap brand : IVORY. It floats!

55. Formally gives up : CEDEs

56. Wipe off the board : ERASE

57. Colorado neighbor : UTAH

59. Short sleep : NAP

60. Tokyo, once : EDO

61. Signer, at times : Xer

62. Jilted lover's need, briefly : TLC. "Tender Loving Care". Somebody didn't get a Valentine's card.

63. Miss identification : SHE

64. Stranded motorist's need : TOW. It's been a good year for tow truck operators, I'll bet.

Answer grid.

I didn't use any links today, do you like it or hate it?

Argyle